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[kaizoku]

Dude, everyone's laughing about it, even Defoe. Do you think McClaren is only looking at the scoresheet, not watching the game? That he's not going to realise that it was going in anyway, and that Defoe did more?

I think a lot of people have way too high standards for England. With better finishing we would have won that 7-0, no joke. Completely dominant, never any threat against us, a crapload of good chances created. I honestly believe that all it would take is a few more of those shots to go in for the media to be full of praise. Exactly the same performance except the finishing is improved and they're suddenly all stars again. Exactly the same performance but the ball doesn't hit the net and we're a team who can't play.

WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?!*

We have very different minds.

*except better finishing

EDIT: Apparently that Rooney booking means he's suspended for the Estonia game anyway, so I guess I get my wish. Owen and Joe Cole should be fit by then, but it's too far away to talk about in depth, hell of a lot of injuries can happen between now and then.

of course we have different minds, I am all about playing fast flowing swashbuckling football. I'm a total romantic, I'm a man utd maniac, I'm a visionary, and I happen to have a very deep understanding of the sport that is football.

If I'm Cantona, you can be Shearer.

Put it this way, if that was a Utd game, I wouldn't be happy. Everyone will be raving about Gerrard ripping them to shreds, a notion I find laughable. He was ok.

Its funny when people say international football is a higher level which is how people explain away England's struggles - rubbish. Andorra was the worst team I have seen in a long time. Utd's reserves would have probably beat that team 5-0. Only reason England struggle with their top players is they dont play as a team.

Today I admit you saw something which resembled a team for about 10 minutes at the end. With dyer and Defoe moving all over and actually looking to connect passes, England started to you know...play football. Lennon also started to threaten - a little bit.

A far cry from Gerrard trying stupid hollywood pass after stupid hollywood pass, and Downing doing blind crosses and Lennon running into dead ends. Talk about starving our strikers, what a joke.

Full backs were poor, why they stayed so deep I dont know, when they did get forward it was such a pedestrian and dull effort I can see why they dont bother. Ashley Cole world class my ass, he simply raises his game against Ronaldo and calls himself the best. What a waste of talent. Evra has shown him what a left back should be this season. Up and down the pitch for 90 minutes, brave as a lion, committed and passionate in the tackle and tireless supporting the winger. Same should be applied on the right.

Hargreaves did very well breaking up play though. He should be first choice probably, of all the midfielders playing today you could see the difference between him and others, he actually knows what it means to play for a top class club. at times it was like watching roy keane play for ireland.

I'm sorry mama, but I'm used to watching top class football, I can see where England dont hit the sweet spots and where they can improve. I'm not used to watching stuff like blackburn so when I see a crappy performance I bring it up. I only do it because I am constantly in pursuit of perfection and improvement.

I bet the utd players thank their lucky stars they have a real team to return to who play football the way it should be played.

 

[kaizoku]

He did what every good striker should do - follow up and make sure the ball goes in the net.
But I guess things are different on your planet. :lol

Also, I think England should play in all white more often. The national colours of England are red & white; no blue, that's for Scotland!

oh about this - I realise everyones laughing about it, but on the inside defoe will be furious and even sad, especially when he finds himself on the bench again and nugent making the headlines.

there is a certain level of professionalism here, when the ball is pretty much over the line, dont bust a gut to get your toe on it, its just ridiculous. I bet every player is congratulating nugent but everyone will be thinking it inside, "he's not done the right thing".

Defoe was desperate to claim that goal as you could see, he would have appreciated not having to contest the decision, sadly it was stolen cleanly and he simply has to grin and bear it. who knows how many more england goals he will get.

common courtesy, ettiquette, professional respect - you would never get that at a club because its purely a selfish act. Defoe will be moaning about that tonight for sure.

but yeah apart from that it is funny. I'm just sparing a thought for defoe.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I haven't seen a team dominate like that in the Premiership all season. Nor create as many chances. I know the opposition is incredibly weak, but they can only beat what's put out there and they did it with ease.

Of course the best domestic teams are better, that's obvious. They can buy the best from England and the best from the rest of the world. If they don't have a finisher, they buy a finisher. Even international teams who have stars in basically every position can't compete, because they only get together infrequently. They can't learn how to play with each other to the level a domestic team can, it's just not possible with so much less time. Even when they do get together there are often different faces depending on form or injuries, plus half the games a year are used to try things out. Formations, different players...you can try these out every so often when you're a domestic side and it won't have too much of a negative effect, but you're basically taking up 1/3 of your games a year trying things out at international level.

So I would never, ever expect consistent quality that we see at the top domestic level in international football. It'll happen occasionally, I think back to the World Cup and I probably saw 5 or 6 games out of 64 that were up to the best in the Premiership, spread out over a number of teams. And you know, that's all the best teams in the world, not just England. Hell I saw Ghana outplay Brazil the other day. If you're hoping or expecting United style play from England...then I stand by my theory that people have too high expectations.

I haven't seen anyone say international football is at a higher level than domestic for a long time...though I suppose retards must exist. It's a different level, some players who do really well domestically just can't handle the international scene, but that's not because it's better, just different. If you're used to fast paced, hard tackling play, for example, and can't adapt then you may well struggle internationally.

I don't think our strikers were starved, there were lots of chances. Defoe could have had a hattrick after coming on, easily. I don't really like Downing as you know (and he should have scored that chance from 2 yards out from...I forget whose cross), but I'm not too worried about that as he's only in whilst Joe Cole is out. Lennon could have put in better crosses, it's true, but I have to say, our initial strikers were so slow to move. The number of times Lennon and even Downing put the ball in to the near post and they were standing there between the defenders. It made those two look like idiots, like they kept hitting the first man, but if your strikers aren't tall, that's the right place to put the cross. They have to gamble and get to the front post, because they're not going to beat their markers in a battle for the ball. Owen is particularly good at this, which is why he scores so many goals with his head despite his height, he knows how to move. It's not really Rooney's job to be fair, and they can't both go to the front post so I'll blame Johnson on this one.

I thought Micah Richards got forward well, but I agree that Ashley Cole should have gone for it more. He's world class because of his defending, not that he really needed to today, rather than his forward play which is normally just good. I think he feels more comfortable overlapping when his namesake is playing, because when Joe Cole comes inside he takes the defender with him and leaves the room. I did see Ashley get overlooked by Downing quite a few times after getting into the box though, as he swung it in again to the unmoving Johnson. I don't think it's fair to compare him to Evra, who I think is the best left back in the world. It'd be like saying Van der Sar's no good because Buffon is showing him how it's done...Van der Sar's still really good, he's just not the best.

 

[hadareud]

Mama is right, England fans are unreasonable in their expectations.

As I said before the game I have yet to see a good game against a team like Andorra, regardless if it's 2:0, 4:0 or 9:0. It's always shit.

People travelling their just to act like pricks does not help the team, or anyone else. Blablabla we paid so much, we deserve an exceptional performance. **** off. You deserve shit. All you deserve is a team that gives their best, and I don't think anyone can dispute that. Listening to the 606 show after the game made me want to throw up. SHUT UP. Everybody knows everything. For ****s sake.

It made me angry as you can probably tell.

Anyway, as long as the team is giving their best there's no reason to react the way people do. You can complain, of course, infact you should. But the slagging off and name calling is uncalled for. Qualifying campaigns are rarely brilliant btw. It's the same for any other country. Be it France, Holland, Portugal, Spain or England. Except for Germany of course, because they're the best team in the milky way.

Did Denmark play today by the way?

 

[MrPing1000]

denmark were playing germany in a friendly, they beat them, Bendtner scored.

 

[kaizoku]

stop making excuses when its not necessary, you dont have to defend anyone for the sake of it nor do you have to disagree with me. you just basically made a huge post which mostly agreed with me but made some soft excuse for these millionaires.

Lennon is notorious for being a horrible crosser, thats what you call no end product. Dyer and others showed him how you can play a useful or dangerous ball into the box even if you have nothing but small players. He really needs to work on that otherwise he's a blunt weapon.

Anyway England fans have always been stupid. I'm not bothered with their issues. All I do is watch a game of football and spot where things could have been done better. When I watch players I spot what they could do better and what they do well etc. Thats how you improve after all.

btw andorra were the biggest wimps I have ever seen. wow. they must watch too much italian football or something. what a bunch of cowards.

 

[hadareud]

nm

 

[shpankey]

United States men national team comes on in a bit (8pm central) on ESPN2 for anyone interested. I think they play Guatemala (sp?). Hope Donovan can keep it going.

 

[Mama Smurf]

stop making excuses when its not necessary

If I say "stop being too harsh when it's not necessary" does that seem like a good argument? No, neither did yours.

you dont have to defend anyone for the sake of it

I never would, do you see me defending our strikers? Robinson? Downing? Nope, but why not? They're as English as any of the other players, shouldn't I be defending them for the sake of it?

Oh that's right, I'm not defending anyone for the sake of it.

nor do you have to disagree with me.

I know, that's why:

you just basically made a huge post which mostly agreed with me

So why would you think I feel I have to disagree with you, when you've just said yourself that I mostly agreed.

but made some soft excuse for these millionaires.

Reasonable reasons for these football players.

Lennon is notorious for being a horrible crosser, thats what you call no end product.

For a guy with no end product, he sure does get a lot of assists. I mean, goals from wingers is great, but their main job is assists, that's their bread and butter, so the fact that he has 3rd best assists record for wingers in the Premiership and the best for English wingers is to his advantage.

This is where you tell me you know what you see on the pitch, and I don't and put too much emphasis on stats.

Dyer and others showed him how you can play a useful or dangerous ball into the box even if you have nothing but small players. He really needs to work on that otherwise he's a blunt weapon.

Dyer came on at the same time as Defoe, who actually moved.

Anyway England fans have always been stupid. I'm not bothered with their issues. All I do is watch a game of football and spot where things could have been done better. When I watch players I spot what they could do better and what they do well etc.

Really? I've been doing this all wrong, you're telling me I should watch what the players are doing and spot what they could do better? I feel like such a fool, I've been making judgements based on their haircuts and shoe size. I should have been watching their play!

btw andorra were the biggest wimps I have ever seen. wow. they must watch too much italian football or something. what a bunch of cowards.

I understand their fouling, to a degree, must make you really angry going out there knwoing your going to lose just about every game...but why they spend most of the game rolling around on the floor I don't know.

 

[Cornballer]

United States men national team comes on in a bit (8pm central) on ESPN2 for anyone interested. I think they play Guatemala (sp?). Hope Donovan can keep it going.

I'll be watching.

Our U-20's just beat Haiti's national team 2-1 in a friendly. Gabe Ferrari with the winner at the death. He plays at Sampdoria these days and lined up against Inter in the Italian Cup earlier this season.

 

[jamesinclair]

Justs aw todays highlights:

2nd english goal: Fantastic

Norways Goalie is going to get fired

 

[radiuhm]

Sorry to sound like a noob, but does anyone know what channel or network usually shows the African Cup of Nations games? I'm dieing to watch them.


GO NIGERIA SUPEREAGLES! ITS OUR YEAR!

 

[jamesinclair]

Sorry to sound like a noob, but does anyone know what channel or network usually shows the African Cup of Nations games? I'm dieing to watch them.

!

:lol :lol

Spoiler

Unless theyre playing team USA, youre out of luck

 

[Cornballer]

Norways Goalie is going to get fired

Yup, he gifted Turkey two goals. Ugly stuff.

Speaking of ugly.... The US drew 0-0 with Guatemala tonight. Dull game, poor performances by pretty much everyone on the pitch, overall a thorough waste of time. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Bradley because a big win might have been enough to sew up the coaching gig for him.

 

[radiuhm]

:lol :lol

Spoiler

Unless theyre playing team USA, youre out of luck

Sucks, thought there were a lot of international soccer fans on GAF

 

[jamesinclair]

Sucks, thought there were a lot of international soccer fans on GAF

I dont mean we dont care (well, 99% of the people in this thread care mroe about transfers than games), its just that they dont air in the US.

(Assuming youre in the US)


As for Mexico-Ecuador....

Tesorio just pulled a germany 2006 opener, same goal.

 

[jamesinclair]

Meixco winning 4-2.

Fantastic game, they should automatially for the euro 2008 final.

I still dont know why el bofo wasnt in the world cup

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Meixco winning 4-2.

Fantastic game, they should automatially for the euro 2008 final.

I still dont know why el bofo wasnt in the world cup

Yeah Bofo was good. At least he's on the team now.

Mexico really didn't really get going until down 2-1, then the floodgates opened and it was great. They need to have that kind of pace and intensity for 90 minutes, not just when they're down.

Rafa Marquez- WTF! He continues to have costly breakdowns defending (responsible for both Ecuador goals today). As bad a game as he had defensively, it was the polar opposite offensively. He must have made 10+ long passes and connected on every single one of them today (including a crucial one that led to the third goal). His passes were REALLY on. Not to mention his freekick goal. Just move him to defensive mid Hugo.

 

[jamesinclair]

Yeah Bofo was good. At least he's on the team now.

Mexico really didn't really get going until down 2-1, then the floodgates opened and it was great. They need to have that kind of pace and intensity for 90 minutes, not just when they're down.

Rafa Marquez- WTF! He continues to have costly breakdowns defending (responsible for both Ecuador goals today). As bad a game as he had defensively, it was the polar opposite offensively. He must have made 10+ long passes and connected on every single one of them today (including a crucial one that led to the third goal). His passes were REALLY on. Not to mention his freekick goal. Just move him to defensive mid Hugo.

Thats whats so great about Rafa though. His position is defense, but he scores goals, and sets them up.

 

[psycho_snake]

I didnt watch the game, but reports from various websites are making it sound like we played shit.

 

[gollumsluvslave]

Ach well, as expected 2 nil to the Italians. Just a bind that the other results went bad as well.

Although Italy were reasonably comfortable, I liked the way that McLeish set out the Scottish team - we played some decent passing football and created a few excellent chances. It gives me a cause for optimism!

Our next 2 games are crucial, in that we should look to get 6 points from them.

1. Faroe Islands (away) (France home to Georgia, Italy away to Lithuania)
2. Lithuania (home) (Italy home to France, Ukraine away to Georgia)

The next game after that is France away which means no points, but hopefully that won't matter so much if results over the next 2 games go our way!

 

[RamzaIsCool]

Norways Goalie is going to get fired

:lol :lol don't say that.....I like him a lot. Anyway we and Greece pretty much decided this group and have qualified for the Euro champ.

 

[Osorio]

Speaking of ugly.... The US drew 0-0 with Guatemala tonight. Dull game, poor performances by pretty much everyone on the pitch, overall a thorough waste of time. It'll be interesting to see what happens to Bradley because a big win might have been enough to sew up the coaching gig for him.

Why is Eddie Johnson still getting a starting position? He shouldn't even be on the team for how long he has underperformed for both the national team and the Wizards. I'm not blaming the performance entirely on him as the US played that game with barely an attacking initiative, but there could've been some goals if there was somebody other than Johnson up there.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Huh. Apparently the FA are lining up a Brazil friendly as the first England game on May 31st instead of Germany in August. I mean, the Germany game will still go ahead, just won't be the opener.

Well, Brazil, Germany...both are big games. I've said it before, but I wish we'd only play big teams in friendlies, lot easier to get excited about them that way. Plus we play better.

 

[Blablurn]

Huh. Apparently the FA are lining up a Brazil friendly as the first England game on May 31st instead of Germany in August. I mean, the Germany game will still go ahead, just won't be the opener.

Well, Brazil, Germany...both are big games. I've said it before, but I wish we'd only play big teams in friendlies, lot easier to get excited about them that way. Plus we play better.

It seems like they are just too much afraid about losing the first match against Germany

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Terrific goal by Rolando Fonseca, from Costa Rica, yesterday against Chile, in Chile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4P3MycQz68

It was our 1000th goal at the international level. The game ended 1-1.

 

[Mama Smurf]

It seems like they are just too much afraid about losing the first match against Germany

Well I initially heard it was going to be South American opposition, in fact not long before the Germany announcement, so I was surprised when it was Germany. And Brazil were always meant to be our opening opponents, but then Wembley got delayed messing things up.

In fact, has the Germany game being the first come from England at all, or just Germany? I know it initially came from German sources, but I can't remember if it was since confirmed by any of the English authorities as being the opener.

 

[Eeikod]

Found this lurking around youtube
Never forget

 

[Shinobi]

The only problem with a meet-up is that Ive got a feeling shinobi will punch kaizoku.

:lol While I'd never say never, I'm about as far away from the violent type as you'll see. Chances are I'd just give him a playful choke hold and head rub.

Maldini called out the Scots as frauds and he was correct. They should go back to doing whatever it is that they do best...assuming of course there is something..

Italia has much more class, history, style and flair than these generic MacDougalls...

:lol Your first post in this thread in like nine months and you shit on Scotland and it's culture in forty words.

That's why I love ya. :lol

I've just realised, thanks to Rick Burr, that Lima is the wind-up merchant in Ruud van Nistelrooy's famous penalty miss. He's fast becoming my hero.

:lol :lol :lol As much as I disliked Ruud when he was with United, that was one of the coolest revenge reactions I've ever seen. Figures the ref had to make himself the star once again...

England would've been in a LOT of shit had they not won (or scored...same diff). So I'm glad to see that they did. Of course in typical English fashion, we managed to fall from third to fourth in the group despite doing so. :lol

 

[Cornballer]

Why is Eddie Johnson still getting a starting position? He shouldn't even be on the team for how long he has underperformed for both the national team and the Wizards. I'm not blaming the performance entirely on him as the US played that game with barely an attacking initiative, but there could've been some goals if there was somebody other than Johnson up there.

I was surprised he got another run out last night, but Ching went back to Houston and Twellman was sick, so they didn't have many other options. (Just Cooper, I guess.) He's obviously pretty talented (or at least moreso than most forwards we have) but can't get it done at the moment - it's frustrating. At this point I'd just send him back to Dallas and if he doesn't perform in MLS, perhaps there's no reason to call him up again.

 

[Kinan]

So Ukraine managed to not slip on easy matches against Faroe and Lithuania and now top the group B qualification with 12 points in 5 games. Next game against France in June, and if our antifootball will be in a good shape we can hope for a point there.
We could get a points of Italy as well, but somehow in the second half our guys got impression that they can play football and went to attack mode for some reason . Not gonna happen anymore, I'm sure.

 

[Lakitu]

Well it seems, according to the Times, Arsenal have practically signed Franck Ribery:

Ribery set to bolster the French revolution at Arsenal

Franck Ribery, the dynamic Marseilles winger who has been a target of Arsène Wenger for the past year, is believed to have reached a verbal agreement with the Arsenal manager that will see him arrive at the North London club this summer.

Wenger believed that he had secured a deal with Marseilles to sign Ribery for a minimum of £13.5 million in August, but the Frenchman was persuaded to agree a new deal at the French club until 2010, increasing his wage to about £40,000 a week and providing a one-off bonus of £400,000.

According to France Football magazine, however, Marseilles have agreed that Ribery could leave the club this summer, provided that they do not qualify for the Champions League, which is unlikely as, at present, they are in eighth place in Ligue 1.

Marseilles rejected a bid of £15 million from Lyons for the winger in the summer and Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have also expressed an interest.

“I don’t want to relive the same situation as last summer,” Ribery said in January. “My main objective remains to qualify for the Champions League with Marseilles and then we will see what happens. The clubs that were interested in me after the World Cup continue to contact me.”

Ribery made an impression as one of France’s most exciting prospects at the World Cup finals in Germany last summer. His inspirational performances for Marseilles have resulted in him being hailed as the next Zinedine Zidane and earned him the young player of the year award in France last season. He is unpredictable, but with the freedom to roam he can drive forward from midfield and deliver incisive passes. He is also a sharp finisher, scoring three times in the French league this season. At 23, he has played for six clubs and earned a reputation for having a short temper in spells at Galatasaray and FC Metz.

Ribery could join Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Gaël Clichy, among other compatriots, at the Emirates Stadium, where a key factor in his arrival is likely to be the prospect of European football.

Arsenal’s involvement in the Champions League this season, which ended in defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the first knock-out round, has been a contributing factor in Cesc Fabregas making more then 40 first-team appearances this season.

The Spain midfield player believes that he is in danger of losing his cutting edge as a result. “I am looking forward to this summer, although the thing is that when we finish at Arsenal, we have international games in June and that breaks up my plans a little bit,” he said. “Sometimes I do think I need one summer just to rest. I remember when I was 16 turning 17, I had seven weeks’ rest and I came back in preseason refreshed and ready to go.

“You do need that rest when you are so young and you start playing so many games under a lot of pressure, especially in midfield, where you have to run a lot and make a lot of tackles. Of course I like to play football and I will never say ‘no’ when I am asked to play because I love it so much. But after six or seven years of this you can get injuries so you have to be professional and take care of yourself.”

BASTARDS

 

[Cornballer]

Well it seems, according to the Times, Arsenal have practically signed Franck Ribery:

Ribery set to bolster the French revolution at Arsenal


BASTARDS

I'll believe it when I see it - this rumor has been floating around for a long time. He does solve a few problems that Arsenal have been having this season (lack of width, some scoring bite from the midfield), but I haven't kept tabs on him since the WC and I have no idea how well he's playing these days...

 

[hadareud]

I always thought that he's a bit overrated, but he's more than welcome to join Arsenal and prove me wrong. Also, since Keown is gone there was something missing at Arsenal, there's only pretty boys (and Hleb). Ribery could right that wrong.

On the Fabregas thing: he definitely played too many games this season and needs a rest. Luckily Spain didn't play him yesterday, so he should be good for the weekend against the Scousers.

 

[Un4]

denmark were playing germany in a friendly, they beat them, Bendtner scored.

:lol Nr 1 in Europe, my ass! :lol

 

[Cornballer]

Also, since Keown is gone there was something missing at Arsenal, there's only pretty boys (and Hleb). Ribery could right that wrong.

I don't know what you're talking about....











:lol

 

[hadareud]

just remember:

 

[Cornballer]

??????????

 

[hadareud]

??????????

!

 

[Shinobi]

Also, since Keown is gone there was something missing at Arsenal, there's only pretty boys (and Hleb). Ribery could right that wrong.

:lol

:lol Nr 1 in Europe, my ass! :lol

:lol Losing friendlies doesn't mean shit man...

Some interesting thoughts from Arsene Wenger...

FA Cup cost Arsenal dearly

Having bombed out of all the cup competitions, Arsene Wenger now reckons that he should have sacrificed the FA Cup.


The North Londoners' season unravelled as PSV and Blackburn knocked them out of the Champions League and FA Cup respectively, while the Gunners starlets lost the Carling Cup final to Chelsea.


The Frenchman also bemoaned the fixture pile up that his side faced, but confirmed that he will continue to blood youngsters in the Carling Cup.


However, the former Monaco manager will not have endeared himself to traditionalists by telling the Arsenal magazine: "We should have sacrificed the FA Cup this season.


"It is a competition we love but last year, when we went out early, we reached the final of the Champions League.


"So this year, once we knew we were in the final of the Carling Cup, we should have completely sacrificed it because in the end it caught up with us. We had two replays in the FA Cup, one just before the PSV tie and one right in between it.


"We had already given a lot, playing 17 games in December and January. Also, we had no possibility to rotate the side because we had many injuries and then all the suspensions.


"So I think it was a mistake on my part. When we drew Blackburn at home we didn't think we would go to a replay.


"When you have 60,000 fans in you own stadium you can never say you will sacrifice the game. But the replay? Perhaps I should have sacrificed it."


Meanwhile, Wenger has confirmed he will continue to play Arsenal's promising youth players in the Carling Cup, with the Champions League taking priority among the cup competitions.


He added: "In the future I will not play senior players in the Carling Cup. But I will not say the same for the FA Cup.


"I think in future our priority should be to qualify from the Champions League group - then take it from there."

http://www.itv-football.co.uk/Story/0,14272,6107_2024832,00.html

In restrospect I agree with him, but it would've been special to have played the first FA Cup final at the new Wembley. Ultimately we were our own worst enemy, drawing two home ties thus forcing the two extra games. But such is life...you live, you learn.

 

[Mama Smurf]

There's a UEFA proposal for the main cup competitions in each country to get a Champions League spot rather than a UEFA Cup spot. I could take or leave the idea given that the last 11 finals have been won by one of the top 4 anyway and the extra place would then go to the 4th league team rather than the cup runners up, but given Wenger's comments it looks like Platini might have a point about a growing apathy to domestic cup competitions.

 

[Ghost]

Betting heads up!


You can get 2/1 on Middlesbrough beating West Ham this weekend. Which means West Ham are favourites in a game for the first time in 3 months, a defeat is assured.

 

[Lakitu]

Hadareud, I'm gonna need you to bet on Arsenal to win tomorrow mmmk. Everyone knows you're very lucky with betting.

 

[hadareud]

finally, betting time!

Here's my bets for the weekend:

Liverpool vs Arsenal 3.20
Bolton vs Sheffield Utd 1.61
Charlton vs Wigan 2.00
Fulham vs Portsmouth 3.20
Manchester Utd vs Blackburn 1.28
Newcastle vs Manchester City 1.80
West Ham vs Middlesbrough 3.40
Watford vs Chelsea 1.28
Tottenham vs Reading 1.72
Aston Villa vs Everton 3.00

potential winnings of 66.47, betting 3 pounds per game. I will most likely lose 10 quid though.

I also put an accumulator on it, 780 to 1. That's what I need.

Hadareud, I'm gonna need you to bet on Arsenal to win tomorrow mmmk. Everyone knows you're very lucky with betting.

:lol

you're not taking the piss, are you? See above though.

 

[psycho_snake]

Hughes said that he would love to succeed fergie as Man United's manager. Its going to be difficult to replace fergie when he decides to leave, but I think that Hughes would be a very good successor. Over the last few years he's proved that he's a capable manager. he turned rovers from a team fightiong to avoid relegation to a team fighting for a place in the uefa cup. He's got good attributes. he seems tactically aware and he's good in the transfer market. Buying bellamy was a brilliant move and he evejn managed to bring in a good replacement after he left. Most teams would suffer if their star striker left, but hughes bought mccarthy and he's been doing very well.

HAving soemone liek capello as our manager would be nice, but the problem with him is that it would only be for a couple of years. id rather get someone like hughes who would remain as a manager for a long time as long as he's performs well, and judging by blackburns progress he can definately do it.

 

[Ghost]

Cant see the Glaziers going with a low profile successor.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

My point is this thread is the closest thing I have to that. It'd be great to have some sort of E3-style meet up at a big football match every so often, but we're all over the world, so it's just not gonna happen.

It's a partcular shame none of you live in South Africa, as far as I know, so you can't put me up for free for the next world cup.

Fortunately, I have a lot of family in South Africa... in fact, my father lives there, so where to stay when I go to the World Cup isn't a problem. I'm sure most other people here don't have that luxury, but a meet-up in 2010 would be cool.

Hughes said that he would love to succeed fergie as Man United's manager. Its going to be difficult to replace fergie when he decides to leave, but I think that Hughes would be a very good successor. Over the last few years he's proved that he's a capable manager. he turned rovers from a team fightiong to avoid relegation to a team fighting for a place in the uefa cup. He's got good attributes. he seems tactically aware and he's good in the transfer market. Buying bellamy was a brilliant move and he evejn managed to bring in a good replacement after he left. Most teams would suffer if their star striker left, but hughes bought mccarthy and he's been doing very well.

I think for a while there was some consideration of buying Heskey over McCarthy... thank god that never happened to Rovers. However, Hughes has been a manager I've been following for quite some time, and the only problem I see with him taking over is the board itself. While he might be a great long-term option, I wouldn't be surprised if Man Utd board went after a star manager (ie Capello) to get the short-term glory they're used to. Then again, they might just be smarter than I give them credit for.

 

[Shinobi]

There's a UEFA proposal for the main cup competitions in each country to get a Champions League spot rather than a UEFA Cup spot. I could take or leave the idea given that the last 11 finals have been won by one of the top 4 anyway and the extra place would then go to the 4th league team rather than the cup runners up, but given Wenger's comments it looks like Platini might have a point about a growing apathy to domestic cup competitions.

I like that idea...and frankly I don't know why it wasn't done in the first place. Teams place importance on matches based on what the biggest financial return will be, and in the case of the EPL it's far more beneficial financially to get a top four spot or avoid relegation than win a Carling Cup or FA Cup tie. Give those cup wins the other two Champions League spots (assuming it's someone other than the top two winning), and suddenly teams start caring about those spots a whole lot more.

Of course you could have the rather bizarre sight of say, Luton or Preston representing England in the Champions League. But hell, if they've won the cop, they've earned that right.

The most impressive thing about Fergie's post with Man U has been his longevity. Twenty years of stability is no joke. You'd be lucky to get four years out of Capello before he gets bored and moves onto Barcelona or some other big club. Hughes on the other hand is a red devil, and knows how important it is to represent that club. He sure as hell won't be a threat to bolt to some other team at the first sign of trouble. I think he'd be the perfect successor.

 

[Mama Smurf]

You guys SHUT YOUR MOUTHS about Hughes! He's staying for life, and not going to leave and take all our best players with him.

Quieroz will probably get the job anyway.

 

[hadareud]

Van Persie will not come back this season

Will we ever score goals again?