DCharlie said:
holy shit, Raul was in the gym in Ebisu this morning.
I almost threw my panties at him.
Sounds like they are stopping in the Westin over the road from where i work (free use of the gym if you are stopping at the Westin).
CVXFreak is stopping there this week as well! (i don't think i'll throw my pants at him though)
Oh yeah, well BOLTON WANDERERS used to come to my gym all the time!
...
Yeah okay, it's not that impressive, though it is true. I dunno how often they were there, or even why they were there as you'd think they'd have facilities of their own, but I saw various players a few times over about a month. Maybe their gym was getting redone or something.
The only really impressive player was Djorkaeff, whom I had the pleasure of watching on a running machine right in front of me for half an hour. It doesn't get much better than Djorkaeff ass 4 feet from your face for half an hour, I'll tell you that.
Anyone else think the tranfer market has been pretty boring so far? Still, should heat up soon, it is open until the end of August.
Arsenal definitely need players. Sure, they brough in Hleb. But they've lost Vieira and Edu! I'm having a hard time believing that's actually it, but as far as I can remmeber, that's all that's happened. I know they're after Baptista and that's great (though I'm beginning to think it's a lost cause), but for FUCK'S SAKE Wenger, buy a fucking keeper! Then another striker if Baptista doesn't work out, then some central defensive cover.
Chelsea have done...not that well. Sure, they got Wright-Phillips and Del Horno and they're both GREAT (well I hear Del Horno is, don't know), but apart from that they've only brough in youth. Not that Chelsea need that many players, but everyone knows Chelsea were after 3 fantastic players for left back (done), attack, and CENTRAL midfield, which W-P most assuredly is not. So Crespo came back from loan and he's a good player, plus they still have Drogba and Gudjohnsen and Carlton Cole (plus most of their goals will come from midfield anyway), but I still don't think they have that world class striker. They need an Henry, a Shevchenko, an Eto'o, a Van Nistelrooy (ignoring last season), an Adriano. To give Chelsea their due, they have tried. No one wants to sell the best strikers in the world though, not teams who don't need the money, so I think Chelsea are just going to have to look at those players who are a step behind the very best to bolster their options. Owen is by far the most obvious target. As for midfield, obviously they were dying for Gerrard and looked like they'd get him (speaking of Gerrard, it's sad to see him still playing for Liverpool for me. He's just so clearly above the rest of the team, no matter that the rest are pretty damn good themselves. Ah well). Essien could still happen and I don't know much about him but he seems to be highly rated, but money seems to be getting in the way. If that falls through...I dunno. They already have plenty of good midfielders, it's that absolute quality that's missing and not many available players have it. What're they gonna do, pry Kaka or Ronaldhino away? They might try!
Man Utd are probably quite happy with their squad. I don't think they need to strengthen their attack, it's better than Chelsea's if they can stay fit, they've hopefully solved their goalkeeping problems (if only in the short term) with Van der Sar, and their defence was damn strong once Rio was back last year (they need to sort out that contract quick, they can't afford to lose him). Their midfield still looks good for the coming season, especially now they've strengthed it with Park (can't recall him personally, but I remember being INCREDIBLY impressed with the entire Korean team at the last World Cup and I know he was part of the PSV team that did so well last year in the Champions League), though it's definitely aging and, if not this break, they need to sort it soon enough. Keane, Giggs, Scholes...they won't last forever. They could do with a right winger IMO (so when Giggs or Ronaldo need a rest or are injured/suspended they don't have to put Rooney on the wing), but I don't know who. Maybe it won't matter with Solskjaer coming back, he's done well there before. United's main problem though isn't a matter of cover or general strength...it's that in key positions, Chelsea are just that bit stronger. Like I say, I give United the edge up front, but everywhere else...Lampard's better than Scholes, Makelele's better than Keane, Robben's better than Giggs, W-P is better than Ronaldo (maybe equal), Ferreira's better than Neville, Cech's better than Van der Sar, Ferdinand may be equal to Terry, but Carvalho AND Gallas are better than any of United's second centre backs. I haven't seen Del Horno yet, but he's likely around Heinze's level.
Liverpool have done alright. If they can hang onto Baros then I think they've got a good little attack going in Baros, Crouch, Morientes and Cisse. If they lose him it's still ok, but not ideal. They have a good midfield but...they did last year! I'd still play Riise, Gerrard, Alonso (maybe Hamman if defending is needed more) and Garcia across the midfield, but they had those players last season and were sometimes overrun. Their defence is pretty good, though I'm glad they're going after another central defender, though maybe they need a higher quality left back (though Traore did alright). Not sure about their buys though. Crouch is great, really gives them another options. They might have overpaid, but that's all. Everyone else just seems to be cover though. It's good that they're getting a big squad, they potentially have a looooooong season ahead of them, but apart from Crouch and Reina, I'm not sure they're buying players who will actually break into the first team. Zenden is fine, but he's not exactly blowing me away (good cover on the left side between him and Riise though, might as well just sell fucking Kewell), I've only seen Sissoko in one game but no way will he displace Xavi Alonso or Gerrard, and I can't even remember who else they've got. I don't see how they could hope to challenge for higher than fourth place, which is sad for the champions of Europe. What they really need is a better team spirit, especially away from home and against lower teams.
Blackburn (my team) have done ok so far. Once Hughes came in last season and brought in Mokoena and Nelsen for fuck all (both international captains btw, so leaders too), we were SO much stronger defensively, one of the strongest in the league. Couldn't score to save our lives though. So bringing in Bellamy and Kuqi (some Ipswich striker) to have along with Dickov and Gallagher actually gives us an attack!
We're pretty much set in most places, but I think we could do with cover at right back and a new right winger as Thompson has turned shite. Wouldn't mind another striker, but yeah right.
The rest are only vaguely interesting. Poor
Everton are a Champions League team, have money to spend, but no one wants to go to them. I think Souness has lost it over at
Newcastle. He's brought in Emre and Parker, which is fine, they're great players, but they were alright in central midfield as is! Faye, Jenas, Dyer, Butt...I know they didn't all fire last season, but did they need to bring in two? Especially when they sold Bowyer and Robert and lost Solano a while ago? They need wingers! And a striker, though that's in motion it seems. Defenders would be nice!
Man City may have lost W-P, but I don't think it'll turn out as bad as their fans think. They'll have Musampa and Trevor Sinclair on the wings, which is decent service, and bringing in Andy Cole and Vassell (fucking great deal on Vassell, so he had a bad season? £2.5m is a steal) should give them some firepower along with Fowler.
Middlesbrough are so middling, no matter what they try. Steve McClaren has no control. They have Hasselbaink, Viduka, Nemeth, Job and now they've bough Yakubu and want Lovenkrands. Stop buying strikers!
I can't be bothered doing any others right now.
