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Official Football Thread 2006/2007 (Soccer)

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psycho_snake said:
I doubt they are going to have a problem with low attendances. Its the loody world cup. Whilst SA might not be as popular as germany, I reckon tickets will still sell very very quickly.
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We'll see. I hope the tickets sell well, but I remember a lot of empty seats in South Korea when I was there. Nothing more frustrating than paying good money for some mediocre seats, then having the organizing committee giving away nice seats to schoolchildren so it looks like the stadiums are full.
 
I think that Ferdinand could be better, but he isn't.

If I would have to build a team for one season I would still choose Campbell over Ferdinand.

Mama Smurf said:
There's no way I'm going to South Africa. They have spiders the size of dinner plates! I'd rather Robbie Savage sat on my face.
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:lol

I don't think I'm going either. That's what I said for this world cup too though, but my girlfriend sneakily bought tickets.
 
Mama Smurf said:
Carragher lacks pace, nothing else. The reason he can cope despite lacking pace is because he's technically so good. There's a reason Liverpool have such a good defence, and he's it. They;ve had the second best defence these last two seasons, second only to Chelsea.
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Im not so sure. he's part of the reason that Liverpools got an excellent defence becasue of his amazing workrate and because he isnt scared to go in for a tough tackle or a header, but i think the main reason why liverpools defence is so good is because they work so well as a unit. I feel its got more to do with that rather than individual ability. I also cant see how he's technically so good. Terry and Vidic can handle fast strikers better than he can and there are a lot of strikers in italy that would make carra look poor.
 
Defending isn't really about 'footballing' ability. It's about positional play, communication and concentration. Carra is at least in the top three defenders in the country at these aspects, although I wouldn't have him in the premiership team of the season because he had a terrible first 2 months or so.

His only downsides are that he lacks pace and his distribution is mediocre. Apart from that there's nothing you can legitimately criticise him for.
 
Let's all just agree that the Premiership is overflowing with central defensive talent.

It appears to be true that Abidal is signing for Barcelona, for about £8m.

To be honest, I think Arsenal have been saved a poor buy there. From what I saw of him at the WC he was an average defender, not worth £8m...especically not worth £8m if the transfer budget is only £20m and there are other positions more in need of strengthening than left back.

Arsenal have been linked to Adriano today. I think Inter would let him go, they have a crapload of strikers (although the rumour is Chelsea are going to take Crespo back from loan again), and if he could replicate the form of past season the could be great...

...but I don't think that's the position Wenger should be buying in either. Henry and Van Persie will get so many goals between them and will be well supported by Adebayor, Walcott and Brendtner (and Vela if he ever gets a work permit).

Wingers/centre backs/right backs is where Wenger should be looking to my mind. And they better hope Lehman stays or that budget will be cut into buying a top keeper to replace him.
 
Stevie Gerrard kind of covered why Carragher is so technically good. It's his positioning, his communication, his concentration...his leadership, his work rate, his timing...it's all perfect.

He can just get caught out if someone like Henry is running past him. Every other defensive quality he has, and he has it at the peak.
 
I reckon that Adriano could become a premiership great if he does move, but its unlikely he will move. He's got what it takes to succeed, but he's quite similar to baptista and he's done poorly in the premiership. However Adriano has more pace and he's slightly better on the technical side. His form as of late has beena concern, but I reckon its just a matter of getting out of inter. His head isnt right, he isnt playing games and he's currently wasted talent. In a way he's like the fat ronaldo. At madrid he wasnt that good, but he's really showing his worth at milan. A move for adriano could have the same impact.
 
Shunsuke Nakamura, revealed as Scottish Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year on Sunday, intends staying with Celtic next season.
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42836597nakamura203xj1.jpg


What a pity. He's one of my favourite players and it would be nice to see him in Bayern.
 
What happens with Reyes when Baptista goes back to Madrid btw? I think it's clear he's not going to stay, hasn't hacked it in the Premiership and now he doesn't even want to play here.

Only Reyes doesn't either. How's he done at Madrid, are they likely to buy him? I think Wenger's always liked Reyes and would take him back, but if he really doesn't want to play I guess they'll have to sell. Seems to rate him really highly though, as in wouldn't sell for less than £15m.

EDIT: I think Adriano would be better off at United, Chelsea or Liverpool personally. Arsenal have their two perfect strikers, the others aren't quite there.
 
I'm glad Arsenal isn't getting Abidal. Doesn't make sense to me and would have been a lot of money.

Adriano - I'd be very surprised to see that happen. Doesn't seem like the sort of move Wenger would make.

Wenger has been critical of Lehmann's recent antics, so it'll be interesting to see if he sticks around. When he's focused, he's a great keeper, but he's had more problems with that recently. Maybe they need to up his ADD medication or something.
 
I've been trying to find info on the Baptista/Reyes situation and how the deal was structured, but I can't find anything that sufficiently explains it. At the moment, I'd guess that Baptista is headed back, and Reyes is going to stay in Spain, but I'm not sure how much money Arsenal would get if that's the case.
 
I have to say, I'd be shocked if Ribery isn't at Arsenal next year. I don't know why, 'cos he's linked to other clubs too, but it's just a done deal in my mind.

I think he'd make the team stronger...but he's still not a goalscorer.
 
Arsenal should get much better production out of the midfield next year, but I don't know if it'll be enough. Fabregas has started to get a few, and hopefully Rosicky is more settled (and injury free!) next season. Both of them are capable of scoring more. (Of interest, Rosicky's scoring rate is about 1 in 4 matches for the Czech Republic but only 1 in 8 matches for his club sides. Weird.) Freddie looks useful when he's fit, but the injury problems are really starting to stack up as he ages. Hleb is never going to be much of a goalscorer. Gilberto will help out with a few, but I think about half of his goals this season were from the penalty spot. Walcott is a bit of an x-factor - not sure what to expect from him. Diaby and Denilson look capable of scoring, but they're still so young and one never knows. As a few people on here have suggested, it might be good to grab a goalscoring winger to help ease the burden on Henry and Van Persie.
 
There's quite an interesting story on gazetta abour ronaldo. Its an italian site so you have to type in gazetta on google and get it translated. I would post the link but for some reason Im blocked from translating the page. My dad understands italian so he told me what it was about. Ronaldo's dad was an alcoholic and his brother was a drug dealer. Because of what happened to his dad he doesnt drink. His dad died becasue of the alcohol and his mum had to take out a loan from the bank to put his brother into rehab because she earned 580 euros a month. Eventually he saved his brother because he had the money to put him in the best rehab centre.
 
I agree with Mama, I think the Ribery deal is probably already done.

To be honest, all we really need now is a decent back up striker and a back up left back. I think we will be a very strong contender next season, especially if Fabregas and Rosicky can keep up scoring.
 
I don't think it really matters if it's your midfield scoring, so long as players outside of the striking positions are. I did that look at top scoring sides minus strikers a bit ago...hang on I'll find it...here we are:

47 Man Utd
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29 Man City, Chelsea
28
27 Reading
26 Arsenal
25 Everton
24
23 Newcastle
22 Spurs
21 Liverpool
20 Portsmouth
19 Fulham
18 Bolton
17
16 Wigan, Villa
15 Charlton, Blackburn
14 Middlesborough
13
12 Sheff Utd
11 Watford
10
9
8
7
6 West Ham

It's probably changed a bit as that was a week and a bit ago, but you know, Arsenal are doing alright. Few more from Rosicky and Fabregas and you'll be right up there with the best barring United.

We all know how many goals Henry can score, if fit I don't think there's any chance of less than 20 and closer to 30 is more likely. And Van Persie, until he was injured, was heading towards 21 goals himself by my estimates.
 
hadareud said:
To be honest, all we really need now is a decent back up striker and a back up left back.
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So you don't think Henry, van Persie, Adebayor, and Bendtner would be enough? Might be too much to ask of Bendtner...

A rumor this morning about Juventus trying to maybe grab Senderos.
 
Apparently Javier Saviola is not going to sign a new Barcelona contract and is free to leave in the summer, I'd love for Liverpool to snag him up. He's been linked to Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham. He stated that he is in talks with an "important" club.
 
Lakitu said:
Apparently Javier Saviola is not going to sign a new Barcelona contract and is free to leave in the summer, I'd love for Liverpool to snag him up. He's been linked to Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham. He stated that he is in talks with an "important" club.
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Well we can take one club off of that list....
 
Cornballer said:
So you don't think Henry, van Persie, Adebayor, and Bendtner would be enough? Might be too much to ask of Bendtner...

A rumor this morning about Juventus trying to maybe grab Senderos.
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I think we need a back up should Henry and Persie be injured again at the same time, however unlikely this may be.

Adebayor is most effective when he plays alongside somebody he can work together with. I think he plays very well with both Henry and The Perse, but he does leave a little to be desired when he's playing alone upfront.

He will still give you an extraordinary work rate, but in the end there's nobody to finish it off. Bendtner might be that guy, but from all accounts he's a little overrated. I hope they are wrong.
 
I've heard Saviola will be offered another contract...but if I were him I'd leave anyway. It really doesn't seem like Barca appreciate him the way he would be elsewhere, he could be a star.
 
Mama Smurf said:
I've heard Saviola will be offered another contract...but if I were him I'd leave anyway. It really doesn't seem like Barca appreciate him the way he would be elsewhere, he could be a star.
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Yeah he is a class player, only 25 years old and I don't think he's reached his full potential there this season. He has a lot of potential and considering he'll be free, a very good bargain. I've heard Rafa was interested in him.
 
There is some good news regarding our defenders. Vidic has recovered quicker than expected and he began trainign today. He wont play against AC Milan, but he should be back against everton. Evra might be able to make it for tomorrows game, but he looks certain to play against everton. Gary neville is in the same position as evra too.
 
Good morning fellow footballeristas is today not the first leg of milan, m. utd? T minus 1 hour? Anybody knows if you can stream it online?
 
^ That hair is perfect.

So who are the big/decent potential free transfers this summer? I'll start, feel free to add to it:

Saviola (Barcelona)
Tevez (whoever he's owned by)*
Sidwell (Reading)
Distin (Man City)
Ben Haim (Bolton)
Upson (West Ham)**
Neill (West Ham)**
Lehman (Arsenal)
Nesta (AC Milan)
Duscher (Deportivo)
Viduka (Middlesbrough)
Fowler (Liverpool)

*may not count, depends if they're willing to let him play somewhere free again or if they want to sell him

**Assuming West Ham go down and they really do have a release clause
 
hadareud said:
Bendtner might be that guy, but from all accounts he's a little overrated. I hope they are wrong.
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I'm not sure what to expect from Bendtner. He had a goal and an assist on the weekend, btw. Sounds like he's technically skilled and physically gifted, but there are also questions about his attitude (being lazy/arrogant/getting into fights). I really hope he pans out, but as you said he may be overrated.

WARCOCK - all of the semifinal legs are being shown on ESPN2.
 
What would be your World XI football team be, just out of curiousity?

For me:

-----------Buffon
Essien Nesta Vidic Lahm
----------Gattuso

----------Fabregas
Messi---------------Ronaldo
------------Totti

--------Ronaldinho
 
Cedeo said:
What would be your World XI football team be, just out of curiousity?

For me:

-----------Buffon
Essien--Nesta--Vidic--Lahm
----------Gattuso

---------Fabregas
Messi----------------Ronaldo
-----------Totti

--------Ronaldinho
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Fixed up the formatting.

Essien at right back? Ronaldinho as the out and out striker? Interesting.

I'll have to think on my team.

He is contracted till 2008 and going to renew it soon.
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Really? Alright, you're a Milan fan so you should know. It's been reported that his contract is up this year, but then again the same has been said of Heinze and I think his goes to 2009.
 
You have to realise I rarely see matches outside of the Premiership, domestically I mean. So it's perfectly possible that there are better players all over the pitch who I simply don't know about or don't see regularly enough to judge...but here's my team anyway.

---------------Cech----------------

Finnan----Vidic----Nesta-----Evra

---------------Essien---------------

-------Fabregas-----Kaka---------

Messi----------------------Ronaldo

----------------Henry--------------
 
whats with all the Vidic >>> Rio stuff?? do you guys actually watch football?

Rio is head and shoulders the best defender we have and the best defender in the league if not the world. on countless times he has bailed Vidic out this season, and he singlehandedly transforms an ok defence into arguably the best defence in the league. Thats how important he is and the only CB who even comes close is Terry (who has only really risen to this level in recent years). Rio makes mistakes, but if you watch football you'd know that every amazing defender makes mistakes.

Vidic is great, he deserves to be in the team of the year because he has had a great year, but Rio has been the key man.

The weirdest choices are Gerrard and Berbatov who hasnt scored very much and has only really performed very well in recent weeks.
 
So tired of the "Do you guys actually watch football?", "If you watched football you'd know..." crap.

Seriously, give it a rest. See those Carragher/Ferdinand debates? See how people have completely different point of views, yet discuss it reasonably with no accusations of the other not understanding football or not watching it?

Rio is head and shoulders the best defender we have and the best defender in the league if not the world.
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Good lord.
 
I think Ribery will be with Arsenal next year... which is going to be a fantastic move.

On the defensive side of the ball I've heard Arsenal linked with Alves, which I'm not sure about, haven't seen enough of him to make a good judgement on him. Anybody else know if you would be a good fit in the Arsenal back line?

And about Abidal... I think we need to cure up that left back spot... and Clichy will be good enough one day, its just not happening soon enough. We need somebody, even someone on loan, to come in for a year and show Clichy a few more things about the position.

And I saw the stories about Adriano and I just have to say we don't need that quality of a striker until Henry retires in 5 years.

Next year with Ribery on the right wing and Rosicky on the left, we won't run into the problem we are having this year with there not being enough wingers healthy. Ljungberg is not the man he was 2-3 years ago, and Hleb does nothing for me. I don't even know why we signed him.

-----------------Lehmann---------------
--Alves--Toure--Gallas---??(Clichy)--
Ribery--Fabregas--Gilberto--Rosicky
--------Henry----van Persie---------
 
Alves is a fantastic player, he's being chased up by Liverpool and Arsenal according to rumours. But he won't leave Sevilla purely because they're doing incredibly well. I also think Ribery for Arsenal is a done deal.
 
Lakitu said:
Alves is a fantastic player, he's being chased up by Liverpool and Arsenal according to rumours. But he won't leave Sevilla purely because they're doing incredibly well. I also think Ribery for Arsenal is a done deal.
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Arsenal is more French than anything anyway, Quasimodo will feel right at home in EPLs Notre Dame.
 
Alves would likely take up your entire transfer budget, and maybe more.

Championship update

1---Birmingham-----44---24----83
2---Sunderland------44---23----82
//////////////////////////////////////
3---Derby-----------44----16----81
4---Preston----------44---12----71
5---West Brom------44---18----70
6---Wolves----------44---/-2----70
//////////////////////////////////////
7---Southampton---44----20----69
8---Stoke------------44----19---69
9---Colchester------44----18----69
10--Sheff Wed------44-----5----68

Sunderland and Derby have both screwed up, handing the initiative back to Birmingham. None but the top 3 can make automatic promotion even mathematically now, and the one who doesn't has also secured a play off spot, obviously. The race for the other 3 play off spots is incredibly close, 3 points seperating 7 teams.

I won't go through every team chasing the play offs, but I will say that West Brom and Wolves have easy enough fixtures that they should easily hang on to their spots, while Preston's are quite hard and include Birmingham. So if anyone is likely to slip, it's them.

I will go through the chase for top spot though:

Birmingham

H Sheff Wed 10
A Preston 4

Sunderland

H Burnley 15
A Luton 24

Derby

A Crystal Palace 13
H Leeds 22

I really can't call it. Sunderland are in the best position, they're ahead of Derby and have the easiest games. Whether they'll win the title or not I don't know, but they should grab one of the top two spots.

The other spot...so tricky. Derby's games are much easier than Birmingham's. Even more so as Birmingham have to go away to the hardest fixture of the lot, Preston. On the other hand, they have two points and a pretty much unassailable goal difference over their rival. If they lose to Preston though, Derby could well pounce.

It's all very exciting. I'll back Birmingham and Sunderland to make it, but I certainly can't call a champion.

EDIT: While Sevilla are doing well, they wouldn't be the first Spanish team to have a great season and then drop off rapidly (Deportivo, Betis, Villarreal?). It's possible Alves might see them this way and decide to move to a bigger club if one comes in with a good enough offer.

And that's another point...unfair as it may be, some teams just aren't considered big even if their league position is better than others. I could see him picking one of the traditionally big sides if they come in for him.

I'm not sure they will though, at the price Sevilla want.
 
Mama Smurf said:
Alves would likely take up your entire transfer budget, and maybe more.
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According to the transfermarket website he's valued at 10 million Euros *

I could practically buy him myself after a decent week of betting.

* likely to be absolute bullshit. edit: he actually has a release clause of 60 million euros
 
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