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[Scotch]

So when do we hear if Juventus gets demoted?

 

[soepkip]

Friday or Saturday. But it's pretty much of a guarantee they"ll be playing in the Serie B next season.

 

[bud]

This thread needs some video's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-KMTW25edo&search=henry%20soccer%20am

Its a minute long, there are three different incidents. The last one is about Thierry Henry and its ****ing hilarious:lol

:lol love the look on thierry's face.

 

[psycho_snake]

Here are some more videos

Abramovich getting very exited

Arsenal player practicing his karate

Arsenal player (ljungberg I think) doing a wierd dance

Why women shouldnt use camera's

The best of Gordon Strachan - really funny interviews

Insane Barca fan

Crespo's miracle recovery

Jimmy Bullards acrobatics

 

[psycho_snake]

Here are videos of players talking about their teammates

Wayne Rooney

Rio Ferdinand

Thierry Henry

James beattie

Robbie keane

Jimmy Bullard

Crouch and Carragher

 

[MrPing1000]

*Gordon Strachan walking doing tunnel briskly*

*Interviewer tries to stop him*

"Gordon can I have a quick word?"

"Velocity"

*Gordon keeps on walking*

 

[Shinobi]

Ribery's agent denies that Arsenal has made a formal deal for him, and says no one has really talked to him yet. Might just be a smokescreen, but there it is.

 

[Shinobi]

BTW, FIFA lifted their ban on Greece after their government wisely scrapped their er, interfering law or whatever it's called. So the England/Greece friendly on August 16 at Old Trafford will take place after all.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I'm back guys. Sorry to have missed out on World Cup discussion (actually, given England...not so sorry), but I was moving house AND had shitloads of work on my course I should have done months ago due for a deadline AND somehow had to fit in watching 2 - 5 hours of football a day and I just didn't have time to get drawn into long posts as you know I would have been, I didn't even read the football discussion for that reason. At best I'd scan the gaming forum for news.

Incidentally, having moved I'm now 4 hours away from Blackburn Worst still, I was watching the local news second day I moved in and the top sporting story was...Bristol City are getting new seats in their stadium. I could have cried. I used to get Blackburn, Man Utd, Liverpool, Man City, Bolton, Everton, Wigan news...now Bristol City and Swindon Town.

I suppose I should comment on the World Cup briefly. England were so disappointing, mostly because the world who don't see England regularly now think we are overhyped crap as we never performed at the sort of level we did in that friendly against Argentina for example. Not even close. Worst possible time to have such awful form. Well I suppose if you combine our first half attacking display against Sweden and our second half (and extra time) defensive display against Portugal you'll get pretty much what England are like at their best...but it never came together.

Lampard and Beckham should have been dropped. Normally I support those two, but not on that form. Hargreaves was a revelation and shut me and everyone else up and Lennon was excellent. Possibly our ONLY two positives from the tournament coincidentally playing in the two positions where we had players in really poor form, and he didn't change it. Why does Beckham play so goddamned deep? I still think he has an England future, but he should be our third choice attacking/creative central midfielder now instead of Jenas ('cos I do think he's better than Jenas), and Lennon and Wright-Phillips should be our right wingers.

Rooney up front on his own...wtf? As far as I'm concerned, you build your team around your best player. Rooney's our best player, he needs to be first on the teamsheet in his favoured position, and THEN put the rest around him.

There is another positive of course. Eriksson's gone. People said he didn't have balls, but I don't think that's true...I just think he made some wacky decisions. Let's face it, it takes balls to take an untried 17 year old striker to the World Cup as one of four when two of them are kind of injured. It takes balls to keep Beckham in the team when an entire nation is screaming at him to be dropped. People question if he knows what he's doing at all, and I can understand that given what we've seen, but I don't know wtf has happened to Eriksson. You look at his domestic team record before he managed England...it's fantastic. And his England reign started off extremely well too:

His first coaching position was with Degerfors IF, a third division Swedish team, and within 3 years he'd taken them to the first division. This got him a job at Gothenburg, where he won more stuff including a treble year of the Swedish title, the Swedish Cup and the UEFA Cup (and this was before it was shit). Then he went off to Benfica, again winning championships and almost winning the UEFA Cup again, finishing runner up. He went to Roma and won the Italian Cup, went to Fiorentina and didn't do much, went back to Benfica and this time ended up runner up in the European Cup and also won the league again. Back to Italy after that to take on Sampdoria, who he won the Italian Cup again with, agreed to join Blackburn and then didn't (the bastard), instead going to Lazio. He won the Italian Cup twice more, along with a European Cup Winner's Cup triumph and a Serie A title (also a double year). Only the second time Lazio had won Serie A, and a long time since the first.

He was seemingly an incredibly talented manager, great at leagues and possibly even better at knock out competitions. He seemed perfect for England, and he started well. In fact, it was the bets start EVER for and England coach. Beat Spain 3-0, Finland 2-1, Albania 3-1, Mexico 4-0 and Greece 2-0 in his first 5 games. A loss to Holland could have left things shakey, but the next game being a 5-1 destruction of Germany confirmed him as the saviour we'd hoped for...but then things went wrong. Not dramatically wrong, he never failed to get us to a tournament and through the group stage, but things were so inconsistent.

I reall don't know where it went wrong. Clearly he was a great manager, and people forget that. How can this be the same guy who brought Andy Johnson on for his one international chance in a friendly that didn't even matter and played him on the right wing? The guy who played Rooney up front on his own, brought a 17 year old who he hadn't even seen as part of 4 strikers when 2 were injured? Just...I don't understand it.

Anyway, he's gone. I really, really wish it was O'Neill instead of McClaren, I don't know what the **** the FA are thinking with that choice, but I expect an improvement anyway. I hope to see some youngsters coming through and being given a chance..certainly they'll get a chance up front with Owen injured and Rooney suspended for a couple games. This would probably be my 23 man squad right now, if everyone was fit:

GK

Robinson
Kirkland
Carson

D

Terry
R. Ferdinand
Carragher
A. Ferdinand
G. Neville
A. Cole
Konchesky

M

King
Hargreaves
Carrick
Lennon
Wright-Phillips
J. Cole
Lampard
Gerrard
Beckham

S

Rooney
Owen
Crouch
Bent

Some notes on that. Kirkland would be my number 1 if he could just stay fit for ****'s sake, I think he's superb. I think Robinson is too...or I did, until I saw his World Cup form. Good god. Hopefully just a bad run and he doesn't always crack under pressure.

Campbell's time is up for me. I see no benefit to him being in the squad, he's not going to get in the team anyway (I'd play Terry, Ferdinand, Carragher or King ahead of him) so we might as well get a youngster in there for some experience.

I really wanted to put Reo-Coker in the squad, and totally would have....but Hargreaves came through. I can't really justify Reo-Coker ahead of Hargreaves, King or Carrick in that position right now. He's only young though, he could get there. As for no other left winger than Joe Cole...I still don't like Downing. I say change the formation or play Konchesky/Cole on the wing if we have to...or give Lennon/W-P a go out there, it's not like Cole's left footed.

I think 4 strikers is fine when they're all fit and have experience. And yes, Crouch dammit. We saw some just....atrocious play from him in the World Cup (and some good to be fair), but the fact remains that with 20 minutes to go, can't break down their defence, throwing him on is a good tactic. I WISH we had a tall striker who was super talented too, but we don't. When we do, he's in, Crouch can **** off. As for Bent over Defoe, I just think Bent offers more. I'm fed up of hearing how Defoe has proven himself at international level...WHEN has he done this? When he scored his one and only goal? Bent is just as fast, just as clinical, and is a hell of a lot better in the air. I actually want to see what Ashton can do, he might just get his chance when Rooney's suspended, he could possibly be there instead of Bent. Looking forward to seeing Johnson's Everton form too.

Ok, given the length of this post, I might leave domestic stuff for another one. Moving away from England though...I enjoyed the World Cup overall. Sadly, I'm a grass is always greener person. Before the World Cup I was SO excited...then halfway through I couldn't wait for the Premiership. But towards the end of a Premiership season with a World Cup coming up, I'm the exact opposite.

Some great games though. Spain - Ukraine, Argentina - Ivory Coast, Argentina - S&M, Holland - Portugal, Italy - Germany, Argentina - Mexico, France - Brazil...I hear Australia - Croatia but annoyingly I was watching Brazil - Japan.

Ivory Coast were soooooo unlucky. I was getting pretty mad at the commentators watching them against Argentina as they were being so ****ing condescending. It was like congratulations Ivory Coast, you do deserve to be at the World Cup, you're not being embarrased at all. They were more than not being embarrased, they were the better team! Same with Ghana against Brazil...if they could just ****ing finish they'd have won that game! Some big teams get way too much leeway (England probably do abroad, I wouldn't know, at home as with most teams I'm sure we focus way too much on the negatives), always part of the commentators mind is judging them on reputations and pre-concieved notions rather than what they're actually seeing. Anyway, whoever that left back was for the IC, I forget his name, I'd love to see him at Blackburn. I really hope Yoyo Toure goes to Arsenal too, he was excellent. Also, who was that person in Drogba's shirt? It can't be Didier Drogba...I mean...I see him play for Chelsea week in week out. That was not the same player, I refuse to believe it.

What else...disappointed in some of the big stars. Ronaldinho particularly, Rooney too though coming back from injury and being played out of position I couldn't expect much.

I can't believe Zidane got player of the tournament. I'm not going to talk about the headbutt 'cos I'm ****ing bored of it. He had a bad start, he had an EXCELLENT game, he had a couple of ok games. That gets you player of the tournament? Oh no, that's right, retiring after a great career and getting through to the final gets you player of the tournament. Should have been Cannavaro, who was excellent throughout.

Alright, there's probably stuff I've forgotten about the World Cup, but I'll end it here and do a domestic post. Sorry they're so long, I don't even know if you guys read these things, 'cos I mean bloody hell...

 

[bionic77]

Probably really old, but this is a hilarious youtube video about the Italians practising for the Euro 2004.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9m5rN3MEpQ&search=italy%20

I don't know if that is really making fun of the Italians or the page was just named that but regardless it is hilarious.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Blackburn...Blackburn, Blackburn, Blackburn. Why must you do this to me? Shearer, Duff, Bellamy. Always our best player.

To be fair...it's not like we wanted to. It's just the worst situation ever though. We have to sell one of the best strikers in the league (I'll give some stats for that in a minute) for cheap because of some stupid dumbass clause...a clause which would have run out by the end of the month...and a clause which wouldn't even have been taken up if Cisse hadn't been injured and Liverpool could have sold him and used the funds to buy someone more expensive! Arrrgh!

He's going to do great at Liverpool, they've got such a bargain there. I don't think people realise quite how good he was. Check out these stats from last season:

I've taken the number of games a player's played and the number of goals he's scored and worked out the average games it takes him to get a goal. For sub appearances, I'm not ****ing adding up every damn minute, so I've just said if a player has 13 sub appearances for exapmple, I halve it and treat it as 7 full games. Oh, and only players who played at leats 20 games.

Henry 1 goal every 1.33 games (****ing hell)
Saha 1.67 (see why Ferguson wants him more than Van Nistelrooy now?)
Bellamy 1.71
Van Nistelrooy 1.79
Bent 1.95
Keane 2.06
Andy Cole 2.10
Rooney 2.32
Mido 2.36
Cisse 2.56
Crespo 2.62
Harewood 2.69
Roberts 2.86
Defoe 3.56 (could be harshly treated by sub appearances)
Crouch 3.62
Heskey 8.00

There are more in between those of course, up to Andy Cole it's the 7 and then I just picked a few good ones, but you can see how amazing Bellamy was.

I'm finding it hard to stay mad at him. I should be, he just up and left us after one season...but I can understand, dammit. He supports Liverpool, he might win something with us in the next few years but he probably will at Anfield, the fanbase dwarfs ours, full crowds every game, the chance to play in the Champions League...I can't even accuse him of going for money as our contract offer was a lot higher than Liverpool's.

At least Pedersen and Reid stayed. And they so could have gone, Spurs would have had both of them and Man Utd might have taken Reid...that would have just been awful. Now I desperately want Neill to stay, damn his good WC performances! Everytime he played well I despaired, and with apparent interest from Barcelona and Bayern Munich, I was right to. I'm still hopeful he'll stay though.

So we bought Roberts and Jeffers. I don't mind us getting Jeffers, apparently it's a contract almost entirely focused on incentives, so if he doesn't perform he cost us **** all, if he gets back to his old form then we've got an incredible bargain. I'm glad we picked up Roberts, especially as it's clear he's not supposed to be our main striker as we keep persuing others. If we could get Mido (and he doesn't want to come, I know Blackburn's a dump but come on, you can live in Manchester, that's only half an hour away and much nicer), then Mido and Roberts up front will probably make us stronger than Bellamy and whoever else we partnered him with last season. Of course, Bellamy and Mido or Bellamy and Roberts would have been better still...but nevermind.

We really missed a bullet with Heskey though. I was SO relieved when Wigan bought him as we were rumoured to be after him too. That 8 up there isn't a mistake...he actually scored 1 goal every 8 games last season. And he cost Wigan £5.5m, while they gave us Roberts for about £3m :lol And this isn't some fluke, he played 40 games NONE of which were sub appearances. 40 games, 5 goals. Just atrocious. Must be one of the most overrated players I have ever seen.

We still need a right winger. I was a bit worried that Hughes didn't seem to realise as he hadn't bid for anyone in that position, but then he went for Geremi (who doesn't want to leave Chelsea sadly), who would have been a great signing. We need another stiker (pleeeeeaaaase come Mido, if not then...I dunno, maybe someone cheap and save the money until we can try again in January), a right winger (Pennant if Liverpool don't get him?) and some defensive cover (apparently Delaney might be coming from Villa...he's not young, but he can play centre back or right back so would be very useful).

Oh, I almost forgot...maybe we can get Rossi on loan still. If United sell Van Nistelrooy and buy elsewhere...Torres let's say...then the possibility is back on.

Well that's Blackburn. Elsewhere....Portsmouth's troubles are just hilarious. They did so, so well at the end of last season, right up there with the best form in the Premiership, and there's a new stadium on the way and a backer with lots of cash so they're on their way up....but anyone they try to buy just looks at the league table, sees they only just missed relegation and decides they're not going there. I think Harry needs to be a bit more realistic in his buying and just get the players who'll take them to the top half of the table this year, then next year you can buy players who want to compete for Europe.

I'm surprised at Liverpool's lack of funds. They haven't exactly been saving up in the transfer market, but I'd have thought they'd have more than they seem to. They should sell some of their players, fund some purchases. I know Cisse kind of messed them up a bit, but they have some players who could bring in some decent money and are surplus to requirements. Their left side is way overpacked, with Gonzalez, Kewell, Riise, Warnock, Aurelio and Traore (even Zenden could play there, though Benitez wants him in the middle). Sell Kewell and have Gonzalez and Riise as left wingers and sell either Warnock or Traore, whoever would bring in more, and have whoever's left as back up to Aurelio.
I'm absolutely certain Spurs would buy Kewell, they need a left winger so bad and he's been in good form this past year, though I heard he could be sold for £2m...which is just never going to happen surely. He's 27 and hios contract doesn't run out for 2 years, why the **** would they sell him for £2m? More like £7m.

Still, their squad is good. Still need that right winger, but once they've got him they'll do really well. I know they want another striker, and if they can afford it then great, but Bellamy and Fowler would be a good partnership.

Have United bought anyone yet? I know they want Kuszczak, who'd be good cover for Van der Sar, but is that it? I get the feeling Ferguson's waiting to see who he could get from Italy if teams are relegated. Oh they went for Carrick didn't they....is Carrick really worth £15m? I'm not sure. It's certainly the position to be looking, but if they can get get Gattuso for a knock down price, that would be such a better deal.

How many strikers do Arsenal need? They want Saviola now? Sure, at £4m he'd be a bargain, but they already have Adebayour and Van Persie to back up Henry (and Walcott, if he's going to come through this year, we'll wait and see). How long's Van Persie going to be happy on the bench when he's in his national team? And I'm not even sure if Arsenal are going to play with two strikers, I figured the Rosicky signing was an indication of 5 midfielders. I mean, you wouldn't just play Rosicky and Fabregas alone through the middle would you? Surely need a more defensive player...but who would you drop of those two? Anyway, they still need a centre back and a defensive midfielder before a striker.

Chelsea...****ing hell. They really, really have strengthened. In the past they have too, but they've just sort of filled gaps where someone perhaps isn't as good as the rest of the team, knowing they didn't need to do anymore. But I reckon they've looked at who's coming up behind them and realised they were no longer guaranteed to be the strongest squad, so really upped the game. Kalou, Shevchenko, Ballack, Obi Mikel and Roberto Carlos/Ashley Cole? Holy crap. And is Kalou going to play up front or on the wing? If he's gonna be a winger, for god's sake let W-P go Chelsea, for the love of god.

I just hope with the Italian bargain bin of a summer we're likely to get, anough of the other teams will be able to snap up players they wouldn't normally be able to afford to keep up with Chelsea. Liverpool could get Trezeguet up front for example, that'd be a good partnership between him and Bellamy.

 

[psycho_snake]

Finally your back mama smurf. Its good to see one of your novel like posts again, the football threads dont feel complete without them! I agree with everything you said really, I think most England fans feel the same way. We just never lived upto the hype because Sven didnt know what he was doing and lamaprd was shooting like he was wearing tobelerone shaped boots.

Ive been waiting ages to say this for ages, so here it is: :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol @ losing Bellamy. Its a big loss because he was excellent, infact he is probably one of the best strikers in the premiership. You cant blame him for leaving though. No disrespect to Blackburn, but Liverpool are a big club and they look like they are getting stronger and stronger. I hope you do get Rossi on loan, Both Blackburn and United would really benefit from that.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Save your damn laughter for when you take Hughes off us and he takes all our best players with him like he did with Welsh players when he took over at Blackburn. God I dread that day.

 

[psycho_snake]

Its bound to happen mama. He's a legend at old Trafford and he's proved to be a good manager. If he had the chance to manage manchester United he would definately do it. It could even happen in the 2007/08 season. Next season will be fergie's last and Hughes will probably be considered for the job.

Cheer up though, you've got to look at the posatives despite Bellamy's departure. Just consider yourself very lucky that Heskey didnt join you, that would have been a kick in the teeth. having lost one of the best strikers in the premiership, it would have been even worse to have replaced him with one of the biggest muppets of english football. Mido was a good option, but he doesnt seem intent on joining. Rossi could be a possability especially if Ruud stays, but if he leaves and we dont buy anyone else then rossi wont be loaned out. Hughes will find someont though, he's brought in good players in the past so it shows he knows what he's doing in the transfer market.

 

[Ryck]

We dont know whats happening with ruud either. If he does stay, its good because we will have a player capable of scoring a lot of goals, but if he does go, its not that big a blow. We have rooney and if saha can stay fit we wont have a problem. Saha did very well with limited appearances last season. He is a very capable player and he can score a lot of goals. We also have alan smith once he's fit. I love Smith but I hated seeing him play in midfield because he cant do it. Smith is a striker. If Ruud goes it will give him the chance to play more often. We also have Rossi who is a massive talent. If ruud goes he will also have more chances to play, which will enable him to really progress. I like the sound of having Rooney, Saha, Smith and Rossi to choose from. They are all capable of scoring goals and they all work hard.

....Interesting....

 

[psycho_snake]

....Interesting....

Whats the problem?

 

[Ryck]

Whats the problem?

None I just totally agree with you is all... not that, that should be too shocking.


[edit] Looks like we are keeping Ronaldo, I hope his heart is still in it...

 

[Mama Smurf]

I think you should keep Ronaldo, I don't really see how you could replace him. Not that there aren't players as good as him out there, I just don't think any are for sale (maybe Ribery). And given that Giggs and Solskjaer (don't forget he's a 5th striker btw, if needed) are getting on a bit now, those are the ones who'll need replacing. If you lost Ronaldo too you'd be left with Park and Richardson soon...and while I think those two are decent players, they really should be back up to two excellent wingers if possible, not the mian choices.

Perhaps I'm just getting too cynical, but I swear to god that after the England game Ronaldo actually increased his rather...annoying moments. Part of me thinks he did it delibrately, to make sure he could leave United for Madrid this summer...only he hasn't made sure of anything, so if he did do that and he doesn't go, he's really shot himself in the foot.

He's going to go through some crap, probably for at least the first half of the season, but if he sticks it out, it'll largely go away. He still played well when being booed at the world cup, so it looks like he can take it.

I like United's squad, I think it looks really solid. You had some pretty bad injuries last season which didn't help, mainly to your fullbacks and central midfield. In a way though, that could make you stronger this season. Giggs and O'Shea developed into a pretty damn decent partnership in central midfield, something I would never have thought possible, so now you have extra cover in different positions.

I do think you need to strengthen your main team though, and be aware that the older players will need replacing soon.

In terms of strengthening the main team, the most obvious area is central midfield. Scholes is back, so perhaps an attacking midfielder isn't a priority (though there's really no cover for him aside from Giggs), but a destructive one is an absolute must. Gattuso, Hargreaves, Carrick, Diarra, Vieira, Senna...possibilites are out there.

In terms of the older players, in the next couple of years you're looking at a goalkeeper, two wingers, an attacking midfielder and maybe a right back. Kuszczak is a good start and I wouldn't say a right back is an absolute priority. Neville has plenty of life left in him, and Brown and O'Shea can play there just fine. I really do think you should try and get a winger ASAP though, and an attacking/creative central midfielder.

I'm not entirely convinced you need another forward even if Van Nistelrooy goes, though if the money's there then why not?

You've got rid of Fortune and Bellion and Howard's out on loan, but there's still a bit of deadweight at United, especially once new signings come in. Fletcher stands out as the main one, if Van Nistelrooy stays then I can't see Smith really contributing much and if you can actually sign wingers then I don't think Richardson's ever going to make it properly at United.

Regardless of what happens in the Van Nistelrooy siuation, I reckon United should have 4 transfer targets this year: a younger goalkeeper to potentially take over from Van der Sar (not just cover), a defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder and a winger. Perhaps that'll cost too much, I'm not sure, but they're going to have to make those signings sooner or later.

 

[Ryck]

I think you should keep Ronaldo, I don't really see how you could replace him. Not that there aren't players as good as him out there, I just don't think any are for sale (maybe Ribery). And given that Giggs and Solskjaer (don't forget he's a 5th striker btw, if needed) are getting on a bit now, those are the ones who'll need replacing. If you lost Ronaldo too you'd be left with Park and Richardson soon...and while I think those two are decent players, they really should be back up to two excellent wingers if possible, not the mian choices.

I agree completely we are not in a situation where we could lose Ronaldo at the moment, although Richardson showed flashes of great play I thinks he's got maybe another season before he's in the starting eleven. Not to mention he's also a left sided player. I like Park alot actually, hopefully he will have another good year ( I felt last year he played excellent)

I like United's squad, I think it looks really solid. You had some pretty bad injuries last season which didn't help, mainly to your fullbacks and central midfield. In a way though, that could make you stronger this season. Giggs and O'Shea developed into a pretty damn decent partnership in central midfield, something I would never have thought possible, so now you have extra cover in different positions.

Agreed again, I think with everyone healthy ( and a few transfers god willing) we can really put a good side out this season, Smith will be back from his injury in mid spetember IIRC and I think Scholes is good to go. The great thing is now they can alternate Scholes and Giggs in that creative role. As much as I like O'Shea I really do think we need a world class holding player, preferably Hargreaves. He really impressed me this summer.

In terms of the older players, in the next couple of years you're looking at a goalkeeper, two wingers, an attacking midfielder and maybe a right back. Kuszczak is a good start and I wouldn't say a right back is an absolute priority. Neville has plenty of life left in him, and Brown and O'Shea can play there just fine. I really do think you should try and get a winger ASAP though, and an attacking/creative central midfielder.

Agreed. Id love for us to get Ribbery but I think he really wants to go to Arsenal and who can blame him with Wenger and Henry there. Hopefully if we do get a winger this year he's younger and not older.

I'm not entirely convinced you need another forward even if Van Nistelrooy goes, though if the money's there then why not?

Me either what I saw last year from the Rooney/Saha partnership gave me alot of hope for this season. Plus Rossi really needs to get some top flight experience.

You've got rid of Fortune and Bellion and Howard's out on loan, but there's still a bit of deadweight at United, especially once new signings come in. Fletcher stands out as the main one, if Van Nistelrooy stays then I can't see Smith really contributing much and if you can actually sign wingers then I don't think Richardson's ever going to make it properly at United.

Regardless of what happens in the Van Nistelrooy siuation, I reckon United should have 4 transfer targets this year: a younger goalkeeper to potentially take over from Van der Sar (not just cover), a defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder and a winger. Perhaps that'll cost too much, I'm not sure, but they're going to have to make those signings sooner or later.

Completely agreed aside from a winger, I think we'll need one but it can wait a year, the other three however cannot.

 

[psycho_snake]

if Ruud goes I dont see the need for another striker. We'll still have Rooney, Saha, Smith and Rossi which is good enough. You could probably play any two of those strikers together and they'll play well together.

A holding /defensive midfielder is a priority. It seems that fergie is waiting to see what happens in Italy. If Ac Mian get relegated Man Utd will probably make a bid for gattuso and after seeing his performances in the world cup Ive got no problem with that. If Ac Milan dont get relagated Id like to see United go after Hargreaves. He proved that he's a very good player and he would fit in great at United. Carrick has been linked with us quite a lot, but Im not prepared to pay £15 million for him. He's good but not that good.

I was hoping that we might be able to get pirlo, but if pirlo comes in then scholes will have to be sacrificed. If we dont get a defensive midfielder we might be able to play them both together but they'll probably get in each others way.

 

[Ryck]

Yeah no Carrick please he's good but as you said way overpriced. Gattuso on the other hand I would gladly welcome.


Oh and two attacking players in central midfield would be a disaster.... although Pirlo could... nevermind *remembers Gerrard and Lampard partnership*

 

[Mama Smurf]

Ewwww, I just saw those Liverpool shirts on the previous page. Talk about crappy. Not like this cool Blackburn away shirt:

Cool! NOT garish and disgusting.

I hear Pirlo wants to go to Spain, which is a shame. Good thing about Ronaldo is you don't need to look for a specific sided winger, as he can play either. So you don't have to be like Spurs, desperate for a left winger.

Was there any discussion of Graham Taylor's claims that England didn't do well at the world cup because of the number of foreigners in the Premiership? If not, allow me to start: bullshit.

 

[Ryck]

Actually those Liverpool shirts are not real... I was watching Sky Sports News this morning and they signed two new players ( who I can't recall) and the Shirts were different... more like Spain's kit minus the stripes ( no polo collar). Besides everyone knows who has the best kit this season....

....Just beautiful


Oh yeah and my condolences on Bellamy mama.

 

[Mama Smurf]

That's ****ing classy.

I'm just happy we've got a new away strip. I blame our poor away form last season entirely on the rather depressing dark blue away strip we had.

 

[jamesinclair]

World Cup really helped soccers image in the US.

I was reading in todays Fresno Bee that the local team played the Orange County Stars yesterday at the abseball stadium and had a record crowd of 7,000+

They lsot count at 6,500 because they ran out of tickets.

Why is such a high turnout a surprise?

US soccer league:
MLS
USL Divison 1
USL Divison 2
USL Development league

Guess where Fresno is?

Yup, the last one.

The team had previously played in different high schools, as they have no stadium. Theyre trying to get into the baseball stadium permanently for next year.

 

[hadareud]

good to see you back mama smurf, I missed your posts.

Just wanted to say that I got tickets for the Bergkamp testimonial next Saturday today! First game in the new stadium and Bergkamps last game - I am really really looking forward to it. I hope they anounce to keep him as a coach or something, would be sad to see him go completely, he's a legend.

It's gonna be a pain because I'm moving to the countryside on the same day (or day before, I feel a sick day coming), but this is too good to miss.

 

[Mama Smurf]

You're moving on the same day you're going to a game?

Well....enjoy that

 

[Outdoor Miner]

The US is going to make a push for Klinsmann.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is interested in pursuing Juergen Klinsmann to be the next men's national team coach, according to a report Tuesday in the The Daily Telegraph.

Britain's morning broadsheet newspaper is reporting a senior USSF source says that the federation has made "preliminary contact" with Germany's current national team manager.

Despite being called "California Klinsey" before the World Cup by the German press - a reference to Klinsmann's residential address in Huntington Beach, Calif. - Klinsmann has become very popular among German football fans for advancing Germany to the semifinals of World Cup 2006 before losing to Italy in the dying seconds of extra time Tuesday.

The German football federation (DfB) are under pressure to sign Klinsmann to a new deal and are not likely to be so willing to part with him.

However, should the USSF desire to pursue him, they could bank on the 45-minute drive to the National Training Center in Carson, CA, as well as a lucrative financial offer, to be attractive to Klinsmann compared to another four years of transcontinental commuting.

The Telegraph has speculated that a forthcoming offer would exceed "three times what they have been paying (Bruce) Arena." Arena would be expected to pursue a head coaching position in club soccer. Red Bull New York is rumored to be one of the club's that has an interest in Arena.

Prior to becoming manager of the German national team, Klinsmann served as technical director for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

Article is a week old, they hadn't known at the time that Klinsmann turned down the German fed. I really don't think it'll happen, but man it sure would be an upgrade over Arena.

 

[hadareud]

You're moving on the same day you're going to a game?

Well....enjoy that

It's gonna be absolutely disgusting, I know. But I've been looking forward to this game for months (since the last day of last season to be precise) and you can't let little matters like private life come in the way of that.

 

[Ghost]

Im not ready for the EPL yet, im still in therapy after the FA Cup :'(


Bit worried about Pardew too, his signings thus far have been, well shit. Tyrone Mears at right back may prove to be a good signing, as we apparently turned down Young after he failed a medical and Charlton were lining up Mears as his replacement, so im fine with that signing.

Johnathon Spector too im ok with as he's good cover for pretty much the whole defense and midfield.

Carlton Cole is a bit of a risk, its already pissed off Zamora who i thought was great last season, and it'll put the willies up Harewood too if he doesnt get off to a good start...Pardew will be eager to put cole in at the earliest opportunity. I dont think he's all that good either, Im sure he took a lot from training with the Chelsea bunch but his scoring record is pretty poor and i dont know what specific threat he brings.

But Lee Bowyer? wtf? He was in the squad that got West Ham relegated and since then he's been getting deal after deal based solely on his 'latent talent', he took a pay cut to come back apparently, but i doubt he he had any offers on the table that wouldnt have led to a cut.

I just hope he ****s off before he ****s up the spirit at the club.



So yeah the quality is pretty damn low given Pardews statement at the end of last season that he'd go out to buy experience and quality for the UEFA cup campaign, he passed on Steed Malbranque (wages), Duscher from Deportivo seem to have folded for the same reason. Understandable, id hate to see the club bloat the wage bill and go down again in a terrible financial state, but im worried that other than right back (which was a totally vacant position), no one has been bought that adds to the first team quality at all.




On the Ghost biased England front, i want Ashton in the full England squad, and i want Crouch out. I also want Beckham, Neville and Cambell out, but i dont care who replaces them.

 

[Blablurn]

> ALL

 

[psycho_snake]

Actually those Liverpool shirts are not real... I was watching Sky Sports News this morning and they signed two new players ( who I can't recall) and the Shirts were different... more like Spain's kit minus the stripes ( no polo collar). Besides everyone knows who has the best kit this season....

....Just beautiful


Oh yeah and my condolences on Bellamy mama.

That is by far the best kit Ive seen in the premiership in ages. Its so nice.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Why do you want Neville out? He's easily the best right back in this country right now, it's actually a position that worries me quite a bit when he retires, I don't see anyone coming up to replace him. Maybe Micah Richards if he continues to improve? Young isn't good enough for anything but a reserve to my mind, kind of like Bridge.

I'd have actually taken Lee Bowyer at Blackburn, for our right wing. I think that says more about the quality of our right wingers than it does Bowyer's quality though.

Other than that, I find Pardew's signings pretty strange. For the right back fine, but the other signings seem to be strengthening the squad rather than the team, which I don't really like unless you've got a truly great team. If you don't, you strengthen your team with a few good signings who can go straight in and that in turn strengthens your squad as previous first teams go into a reserve position. As for signing Cole...well, I'm glad you did as it may mean Blackburn can grab Zamora which I'd like, as I remember him playing well against us last year.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fblwc2006usamedia&prov=afp&type=lgns

More people in the US watched the WC final than the NBA finals.

A sign that things are on the up here in the states? Even better if South Africa fail in preparations for 2010 and it goes to us.

 

[Ghost]

Why do you want Neville out? He's easily the best right back in this country right now, it's actually a position that worries me quite a bit when he retires, I don't see anyone coming up to replace him. Maybe Micah Richards if he continues to improve? Young isn't good enough for anything but a reserve to my mind, kind of like Bridge.

I'd have actually taken Lee Bowyer at Blackburn, for our right wing. I think that says more about the quality of our right wingers than it does Bowyer's quality though.

Other than that, I find Pardew's signings pretty strange. For the right back fine, but the other signings seem to be strengthening the squad rather than the team, which I don't really like unless you've got a truly great team. If you don't, you strengthen your team with a few good signings who can go straight in and that in turn strengthens your squad as previous first teams go into a reserve position. As for signing Cole...well, I'm glad you did as it may mean Blackburn can grab Zamora which I'd like, as I remember him playing well against us last year.

Neville probably is the best right back in the country now, but he wont be by 2008, not if someone else gets a chance now anyway.

You can probably get Zamora by January, Pardew is saying he's not leaving right now, i imagine he will have to let him go unless there are some injurys. We're taking Bret Emerton off you in return (apparently), lord knows why, Pardew must be keen on slipping down the fair play league

 

[Dr Zhivago]

Actually those Liverpool shirts are not real... I was watching Sky Sports News this morning and they signed two new players ( who I can't recall) and the Shirts were different.

Those were just the training tops, sadly.

That ManU kit is nice though, I suppose you're due a decent one.

Graham Taylor

I can't believe they're actually asking this guy's opinion on international football (or pretty much anything for that matter).

 

[Mama Smurf]

I see what you're saying with Neville. I'm not so sure he won't be our best right back come 2008 when he'll be 33, depends how he keeps up his fitness. I don't know if we need him out of the squad yet, he can do a good job, but we could gradually bring someone else in at the same time. Maybe give Neville the games against Russia, Croatia and Israel, someone else Andorra, Estonia and Macedonia. Just to make sure we qualify and hopefully by 2008 have someone ready to step in.

Emerton hasn't been brilliant recently. But until we have another right winger, I want him to stay. Otherwise it's just Bentley out there and possibly Reid, but I'd prefer not to pull Reid out of position. And Bentley doesn't thrill me out there either.

You know, I was trying to think of an England team that would allow Gerrard and Lampard to play in the position they want, without losing a defensive midfielder, and not leave Rooney up front alone. What do you guys think of this idea?

--------------------Robinson--------------------

------Carragher----Terry----Ferdinand-------

-------------------Hargreaves------------------

Lennon----------------------------------A. Cole

----------Gerrard----------Lampard-----------

-----------------------Rooney------------------

------------------Owen-------------------------

It has certain advantages and disadvantages, I realise.

+ Rooney's in the best position
+ So are Gerrard and Lampard
+ Room for a defensive midfielder
+ Plenty of width and pace
+ Make use of our strong central defenders
+ No great right backs coming through, so no need for a right back
+ When under a lot of pressure, it's quite easy to send Cole to left back and Carragher to right back with Hargreaves in front
+ Joe Cole would become a great substitute to come on and change a game

- No Joe Cole
- Lennon has to track back a lot
- Ashley Cole isn't a genuine left winger
- Lennon and Ashley Cole are going to be exhausted
- Not a formation many (any?) are used to playing domesticaly

Luckily, some of those negatives aren't all that bad, or have solutions. Joe Cole doesn't always perform (though when he does he's great) and drives me mad coming inside all the time and ignoring Ashley's overlap. With so much attacking talent inside anyway, we don't really need Joe Cole there, we need someone down the wing.

As for Lennon and Cole getting tired...well, they will, but we have ready made replacements in Wright-Phillips and the other Cole to come on after 60 minutes.

 

[Shinobi]

Yeah no Carrick please he's good but as you said way overpriced.

An English player who's overpriced? Never!

Was there any discussion of Graham Taylor's claims that England didn't do well at the world cup because of the number of foreigners in the Premiership? If not, allow me to start: bullshit.

Why waste time discussing such a ridiculous point? It's 40 years of futility for England now, and for two thirds of that time the Prem/first division was overwhelmingly English, so it's just a stupid excuse that holds less water then a seive.

A far better reason for England's lack of performance is a pretty simple one...they played too many ****ing games. Lampard and Gerrard between them have played almost 120 games in the last year. Stevie G hasn't had a proper off season in two years. And we expect a team that's used to playing in cooler weather, to somehow play the same way they did against Argentina in humid conditions for a month? Please.

The issue of too many games is another one that FIFA oughta be addressing yesterday, but instead will take their sweet time with it or ignore it altogether as they usually do. The fact that Champions League '07 qualifying kicked off LAST WEEK, while Celtic played an exhibition game against MLS side DC United (DC thumped them 4-0 BTW) is a huge part of the problem. To be fair I heard that Blatter would like to see the top divisions in Europe drop to 18 teams. To be honest I think 16 teams might be the way to go, if they're gonna keep up the qualifying/exhibition schedule of the national teams. And in the case of England, get the top teams the **** out of the league cup already...nobody cares (though I suppose the top teams field nothing but youngsters and second stringers for those games, so it's not that big a deal).

 

[Blablurn]

i think this thread should get a sticky!

furthermore i still hope that van nistelrooy is coming to bayern...

 

[Wax Free Vanilla]

That is by far the best kit Ive seen in the premiership in ages. Its so nice.

Yeah it looks very nice:

The Nike designed strip has a 1950’s retro style – a tribute to the success of the Busby Babes and their enduring influence – and will carry the logo of AIG, the club's new shirt sponsor.

Sir Matt Busby's principles of youth, courage and success bore the ultimate fruit 50 years ago in 1956, when the Babes clinched the League Championship. That landmark success had been several years in the making as young players progressed from winning the inaugural FA Youth Cup in 1952 to establishing themselves in the first team.

By the end of the 1954/55 season almost all the old guard - the players who had won the FA Cup in 1948 - had been edged out by a generation of burgeoning talent. One year on, this youthful team won the title. The home shirt will be revealed on 14 July, during the pre-season tour of South Africa, and will go on sale, globally, on 27 July 2006. The away kit will be launched on 24 August. As special edition celebratory shirts, they will be available for one season only.

If you pre-order your home shirt now, you can have it delivered on the day it goes on sale - 27 July - and therefore be one of the first United fans to wear it. To pre-order, please go to www.store.manutd.com

 

[Shinobi]

That does look pretty cool. I wish Arsenal was using last year's design for one more season...I just fell in love with it. But I suppose the one year of use makes it a little more special.

 

[hadareud]

I really like the new homeshirt, I liked last years too - but I'm quite happy that things are going back too "normal".

Now, it seems that the italians have come to a decision: Juve, Lazio and Fiorentina are going down - Milan stay up. Rumors for now, but it seems true.

It is gonna be Seria B for the 3.

 

[morph]

psycho, you left Matt Dawson of your list of defenders for england btw

he will most definitely be in the next euro champhionships squad.

 

[Guns N' Poops]

New Borussia Dortmund kit

 

[Hooker]

Borussia kit looks noice!



And Ruud has agreed on the personal terms with Real Madrid. Madrid has €15 million for him, while Man Utd. wants 15 million pounds. I reckon that should get sorted within a day or 2...

 

[Mama Smurf]

psycho, you left Matt Dawson of your list of defenders for england btw

he will most definitely be in the next euro champhionships squad.

Are you talking to me? I can't see a post where psycho has a list of England defenders, though maybe I've just missed it.

If you are talking to me, I'm guessing you mean Michael Dawson

rather than Matt Dawson

I like Michael Dawson, I think he has a bright future, I'm just not sure if he'll make it to Euro 2008. Campbell's really the only central defender on his way out, as by 2008 Carragher will be 30, Rio Ferdinand will be 29, Terry will be 27 and King (though perhaps considered a midfielder for England) will also be 27. So with one centre back on the way out, that means one on the way in.

There's Dawson, sure, but there's also Anton Ferdinand. He was actually first choice ahead of Dawson to come into the England reserves, but when the call came he'd just had an operation and there was no way he could play, so they went with Dawson instead. And let us not forget Woodgate, who, if he can stay injury free and play at the level he did before his injury spells, is almost a certainty to make it back into the squad (he'd be 28 then, btw).

Of course, a lot could change in terms of form and injuries over the next two years, but right now I'd say it's more likely than not that he won't make it for 2008.

The issue of too many games is another one that FIFA oughta be addressing yesterday, but instead will take their sweet time with it or ignore it altogether as they usually do. The fact that Champions League '07 qualifying kicked off LAST WEEK, while Celtic played an exhibition game against MLS side DC United (DC thumped them 4-0 BTW) is a huge part of the problem. To be fair I heard that Blatter would like to see the top divisions in Europe drop to 18 teams. To be honest I think 16 teams might be the way to go, if they're gonna keep up the qualifying/exhibition schedule of the national teams. And in the case of England, get the top teams the **** out of the league cup already...nobody cares (though I suppose the top teams field nothing but youngsters and second stringers for those games, so it's not that big a deal).

I agree and disagree here. I absolutely think the League Cup should be stopped or, as you say, should carry on without Premiership teams. Not sure how much of a difference it'll make to fitness levels of the stars, they're usually the ones dropped and rested during those games anyway, generally only playing the semi-finals at the earliest (which should be one leg). They probably save themselves one or two games without a league cup....but that's only if their team actually gets that far. You pretty much covered this.

As for making the Premiership smaller...hell no. That might be easy to say as an Arsenal fan, you guys have been in the top flight for the last 87 years, but for those of us with the constant threat of a relegation battle and perhaps just surviving, it's a terrible prospect. It would make the Premiership even more elite, with more money going to fewer clubs, and promoted teams having an even harder time staying up.

Besides, the Premiership already went smaller a while back, FIFA can shut the hell up and make some of their own competitions smaller if they're worried about the schedule, instead they keep making them bigger and adding more, while telling us to go smaller because there are too many games. The World Cup doubled in size, the World Club Championship was introduced, the European Championship got bigger (UEFA, but the same point), a league format was added to both the European Cup and the UEFA Cup (to be fair the Champions League got rid of the second group stage, which was stupid anyway), more teams were allowed into the Champions League...it all adds up.

What if we did go down to 18 teams? That saves what...4 games a year? That's it? I don't see it making much difference, that could just mean that Chelsea have a bit more energy to go further in the Champions League and those 4 Premiership games are wiped out by two rounds of European competition (with the prospect of extra time). Or they could go further in the FA Cup or whatever.

And I can see FIFA getting worst. I can just see them looking at Africa and thinking "Hmmmm, only 5 teams qualifying, and Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt didn't even make it. Surely some of those teams are worthy of playing at the highest level". And they're right, those teams wouldn't be out of place at the World Cup at all, so I can see them putting the WC up to 40 teams sometime soon. It's easy enough, it's only 8 more teams so you just make it groups of 5 rather 4, top 2 going through still. Only adds 1 more game, it's easy enough to find 8 teams who didn't make it to this WC who wouldn't be out of place: Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Uruguay, China, Turkey, Ireland, Norway.

Surely the easiest way of cutting down on fixtures would be to cut qualification groups down. Look at Euro 2008. Most teams are in a 7 team group, so 12 games each. There are 50 teams overall, going for 14 places, so how about instead of 7 groups of 7 teams and the top 2 go through, we have 12 groups of 4 teams and the top side goes through. Then, the best 4 second place sides would play off against each other for the last 2 places. That cuts European qualifying in half, from 12 to 6, and even if you have to go through a play off it's still down to 8.

You could cut the Champions League down by removing the group stage. 32 teams enter right now and to get to win it (or finish runner up), you have to play 13 games. If it was a straight knock out from start to finish, you only have to play 9 games (this can apply to the world cup too).

And **** the world club whatever, no one even gives a shit. There are so many ways that FIFA and UEFA themselves can cut down on the number of fixtures, but no, they try and force others to do it when it can only be bad for their domestic game, and icnrease their own competitions.

 

[psycho_snake]

And Ruud has agreed on the personal terms with Real Madrid. Madrid has €15 million for him, while Man Utd. wants 15 million pounds. I reckon that should get sorted within a day or 2...

Its no surpsie he's going. It looked certain that we would lose either ruud or ronaldo and Fergie would have done anything to keep ronaldo at United, even if that meant getting rid of ruud. Ronaldo is still very young and he showed us that he can do so much at the world cup. Ruud was poor at the world cup and although his performances for United were good, we have enough quality strikers. Its good for everyone. United get to make some extra cash, Real get a quility striker who can play very well with beckham.

It looks like we might have quite a big transfer kitty. The galzers promised £25 million each transfer window and we also get to user the money we get from selling player to bring in players. We got £12 million from Mikel and we could get another £15 million from ruud, so in total we could have just over £50 million. With that money we could really make a very strong squad. A defensive midfielder is a priority and now that it looks like AC Milan wont get relegated, it could be possible that we buy Vieira!

 

[psycho_snake]

Are you talking to me? I can't see a post where psycho has a list of England defenders, though maybe I've just missed it.

If you are talking to me, I'm guessing you mean Michael Dawson

rather than Matt Dawson

I like Michael Dawson, I think he has a bright future, I'm just not sure if he'll make it to Euro 2008. Campbell's really the only central defender on his way out, as by 2008 Carragher will be 30, Rio Ferdinand will be 29, Terry will be 27 and King (though perhaps considered a midfielder for England) will also be 27. So with one centre back on the way out, that means one on the way in.

There's Dawson, sure, but there's also Anton Ferdinand. He was actually first choice ahead of Dawson to come into the England reserves, but when the call came he'd just had an operation and there was no way he could play, so they went with Dawson instead. And let us not forget Woodgate, who, if he can stay injury free and play at the level he did before his injury spells, is almost a certainty to make it back into the squad (he'd be 28 then, btw).

Of course, a lot could change in terms of form and injuries over the next two years, but right now I'd say it's more likely than not that he won't make it for 2008.

He was talking about your list. I didnt make a list of our next team.

Dawson is a relal possability. He played very well for Spurs last season. The problem is that there is a lot of competition for central defender places. As long as terry, ferdinand and Carragher stay fit they'll have guaranteed places in the team. King will probably get a place too, so as you said that leaves one more place.

Judging by last season its Ferdinand that deserves the palce, but we wont be able to tell who will get it until we see both of them in action this season and the one after that. Who knows, maybe dawson will begin to improve rapidly and he gets the place or maybe ferdinand will still be the favourite. Its one of the two though, I doubt that Woodgate will get the place. His fitness is a major problem and his chances at real madrid seem to be getting slimmer and slimmer. If Juve do get relegated and Real bring in cannavaro, he will have less chance to play. Ferdianand and dawson play week in week out int he premiership and therefore have an advantage.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I read Vieira isn't likely to return to the Premiership even if Juve get relegated, which I imagine would be because he doesn't want to play for another team here but Arsenal, and they're not likely to take him back. Shame if true, though there's plenty of bullshit around so we'll see.

Apparently Liverpool have been reading my posts and Traore might be going to Bolton for £1m. I'd like Blackburn to hijack that deal, we have Gray at left back who I like, but he's 31 and we really have no cover for him, plus Traore can play centre back if needed.

 

[MrPing1000]

Manchester United are having a conference in South Africa today, not sure when. Anyway theres been crazy rumours on the internet that we're going to announce signings then, sorta like a big fan faire due to the Glazer influence. It's probably a load of bollocks. Here's the best made up one :lol

In recent months there have been a number of unsubstantiated reports on whom Sir Alex Ferguson desires to purchase and who he wishes to place on the market to acquire more funds. What you’re about to read is confidential plans for Manchester United set up by Sir Alex, David Gill and the Glazer Family. Firstly can I say that, Utd fans are going to be amazed by this report your about to read, like myself when I first read it.
The document stipulated that Manchester United will announce a Press Conference at 12.00pm on Friday 14th July 2006. Sir Alex will be present along with David Gill, Bryan & Joel Glazer. The Conference will be held for 45 minutes in this time David Gill will
Start off presenting the new home Shirt sponsored by American International Group (AIG), David Gill will then go in to detail about the design. Once this is over David Gill will hand over the Conference to Joel & Bryan Glazer, who will then turn to the press and in typical American Press Conference fashion (meaning over the top and having the shock factor) say ‘I would like you all to welcome the new members of the Manchester United family and out will walk the new players, to the shock of the press entering the room will be Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano, Esteban Cambiasso in the new Manchester United home shirt. David Gill will then say that they hope this will reassure the fans and that there summer spending is not yet over, David Gill will then go on to say that they have 3 to 4 more potential signing. Sir Alex will then go into detail about the transfers, contract lengths of each player and why they have signed each player. Fans who think that this is just a fan writing this report and what you have read and about to read below is very suspicious and strange behavior for Manchester United are wrong as this is what the Glazers are known for in America, the Glazer family are renowned for there strange approach towards the press and straight to the point, over the top conferences. The report I read also had some names of the other potential signing that David Gill stated earlier in the press conference, those names were Franck Ribery, Juan Roman Riquelme, Rafinha, Rafael van der Vaart, Joe Cole, Simao and Klass Jan Huntelaar. Now next to the player called Klass Jan Huntelaar, written was January 2007. so I can only presume that they are signing him in the January Transfer window. Then Sire Alex will let the press ask questions, once this is over Sir Alex will then go onto say that they have also signed Kerlon Souza from Cruzeiro Fc and that with them unable to acquire a work permit, Kerlon will go straight on loan to Racing Santander Fc for 2 seasons and that they have the promise of Racing Santander coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, that Kerlon will play at least 15 games in each season that he is there. Then nearer to the end of the press conference there will be more questions from the press and then Sir Alex will talk about the upcoming season, he will go onto to say that Ben Foster will be the new number two goal keeper and Gerard Pique and Guiseppe Rossi will be heading to West Brom on loan for a season.

Ruud is a goner. I'm rather annoyed.

Tempted to get the new kit with Neville on the back because he rocks so much and all my friends hate him :lol

I still dunno who we're going to sign, we need a better midfield and if ruud goes maybe a striker (not overly so). Midfield is turning into a mess. Scholes has been out a long time but before that his form wasn't good. Giggs isn't getting any younger, he did well in central midfield but he should be out in the wing. O'Shea did really well, a good squad player nothing more. Fletcher is dead wood. Richardson will never be good enough. Ronaldo is far too fupping wasteful.

Maybe David Jones will get his chance this season and Rossi.

Quiet atm, still a month and a bit before the league kicks off. Plenty of time.