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[cae]

Err, slightly? If Argentina doens't wins the cup is a ****ing failure. Brazil is going with it's C squad! They beat us (after Adriano-ton on the last 10 seconds and penalties) with their B squad on 2004, but we had that match almost won with our sub-23+5 older players there.
That's why i think this is ridiculous, there's two or three teams with their full squads, then it's rubbish. If we actually won this i don't care, because we didn't face anyone. If we lose, off with their heads.
What's sadder, we are not thinking of the future. Abbondanzieri, Ayala, Verón, Crespo, most of them won't make it to South Africa. Why are they still playing? We need to find the replacements, for ****s sake. And this could have been a good testing tournament...

 

[Mama Smurf]

Shit I've gotta get on it fast, I like the odd chubster as long as it's not excessive.

 

[hadareud]

you're not talking about Frank, are you?

 

[Cornballer]

Crap. Johann Smith, one of the US U20 starters, went down with an ankle injury against New Zealand in a friendly. He's out for the U20 tournament in Canada. That's a big loss, but there are other guys that can hopefully pick up the slack.

 

[Mama Smurf]

you're not talking about Frank, are you?

Frank's such a stupid name when alone, honestly. I've only just realised.

Sorry to anyone called Frank or called their son Frank or their daughter...you evil bastard.

 

[Falch]

Frank's such a stupid name when alone, honestly. I've only just realised.

Sorry to anyone called Frank or called their son Frank or their daughter...you evil bastard.

 

[Steroyd]

Frank's such a stupid name when alone, honestly. I've only just realised.

Sorry to anyone called Frank or called their son Frank or their daughter...you evil bastard.

You know what.... that phone FRANK drugs campaign actually make more sense.

 

[Cornballer]

41 percent more households tuned into Gold Cup final than Stanley Cup final and that doesn't even include the FSC numbers. USA-Mexico game is third most-viewed sports event in Univision history. Sweet.

 

[Mama Smurf]

You know what.... that phone FRANK drugs campaign actually make more sense.

I like that advert, the girl he wakes up bouncing on her bed is hot and close enough to comatose that I could get away with it.

 

[h0pper]

Well it seems likes Sagna really wants to come to Arsenal.

Bakari Sagna has pleaded with Auxerre not to deny him a move to Arsenal.

The full-back has emerged as a target for the Premier League club, although Auxerre insist the chances of Sagna leaving are less than 50 per cent.

However, the defender is hoping to link up with Arsene Wenger's side and has urged his current club to pave the way for his departure.

"I don't know how I will react," Sagna told the French media about what would happen if Auxerre did not agree to his exit.

"I always worked my hardest to receive such offers. Now that I have these opportunities, I especially do not want to miss them.

"The foreign experience does not frighten me. I am ready to make the great jump."

Sagna has insisted he has not held talks with The Gunners, but revealed he has spoken to Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby about life at Emirates Stadium.

He added: "It is a club I like enormously. I had the chance to discuss it with Abou Diaby at a gathering of the French squad.

"He said to me that he liked it a lot and that, if I came, it would enable me to become better.

"For me, it would be a really exciting challenge. Arsenal has a promising team, which plays good football.

"It is not for nothing that they are one of the best English and European clubs."

 

[hadareud]

that's the 3rd one that definitely wants to come

what are we waiting for?

 

[Wes]

I was about to agree with you, until I got to this bit...

...what say we give her a full two months to get back into prime shape before we cast her off with last week's trash, eh?

hah ok I didn't read that, deal!

 

[h0pper]

that's the 3rd one that definitely wants to come

what are we waiting for?

I dunno but it's about time we sign someone for f**k sake.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

that's the 3rd one that definitely wants to come

what are we waiting for?

The managerial search is what's taking up most of Arsenal's time right now.

 

[hadareud]

 

[h0pper]

The managerial search is what's taking up most of Arsenal's time right now.

neg.

 

[celestial body]

sky sports breaking - dowie takes over at the emirates and mido is first signing

Spoiler

But I'd love the look on your faces if that happened.

 

[Cornballer]

The managerial search is what's taking up most of Arsenal's time right now.

Sorry, I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of Benny Feilhaber crushing the winner against Mexico....

Spoiler

La-la-la-la-la-la! I'm not listening!!!

 

[Mama Smurf]

Neil Warnock's free.

 

[Steroyd]

I heard Paul Ince wants to manage in the premiership.

 

[Karakand]

according to Wikipedia they only have 9 strikers at the moment. That's basically nothing

They always make Samus's shoulder pads too large, ****ing Retro.

The managerial search is what's taking up most of Arsenal's time right now.

:lol :lol

 

[Lakitu]

Graeme Souness s=sssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[Cornballer]

The Guardian's Copa America preview.

Argentina ready to right 14-year wrongs

With the Copa América set to kick off tonight in Venezuela, we cast an eye over the runners and riders.
Rodrigo Orihuela
June 26, 2007 12:22 PM

Baseball-crazy Venezuela is the only South American country where football is not the most popular sport. This is the main reason why the Caribbean nation has never hosted the Copa América, the world's oldest ongoing national team championship (it was played for the first time 91 years ago). But this will change tonight when Venezuela take to the field at home against Bolivia in the opening match of the 42nd edition of the cup.

A key factor in the arrival of the championship to the country has been the dramatic growth of Venezuelan football over the past decade. However, the international prices of petrol and the significant revenues they generate cannot be overlooked when analysing how the top South American tournament came to Venezuela. Petrol money has enabled the necessary construction and refurbishment of stadiums, with the central government of Hugo Chávez having reportedly forked out $720m and local governments having added another estimated $350m.

Chávez, a baseball lover himself, proclaimed this week that the Vinotinto, as the local team are known, will win the Copa América. The maverick president's optimism may seem a bit overblown but the hosts are likely to make it at least into the second round as they are pitted in the weakest of the three groups with Bolivia, Peru and Uruguay - who were all conspicuous by their absence from the World Cup last year.

Unlike Chávez, almost everybody else who has been paying attention to the run-up to the tournament believes Argentina will lift the trophy on July 15. The two-time world champions and 14-time Copa América winners are the undisputed favourites because of the strength in depth of a squad that can afford to leave talents such as Carlos Tevez and Diego Milito on the bench, while Juan Sebastián Verón - who returns to the team after being dropped prior to Germany 2006 - Juan Román Riquelme, Lionel Messi and Hernán Crespo form a world-class offensive quartet. Also, the team in general and the veterans in particular (Verón, Crespo, Javier Zanetti and Roberto Ayala) are obsessed with winning a major tournament after participating in three consecutive World Cup failures. The Copa itself has also eluded Argentina since 1993, not least last time around, when Brazil came from two goals down in the final and beat them on penalties. The 14-year drought is Argentina's second longest without winning any titles.

The tournament also has a special allure for Alfio Basile, currently in his second spell commanding the national team. In the first (from 1991 to 1994) he won two Copa Americas - 1991 and 1993 - the first memorably with a team led by a then little known 22-year-old forward called Gabriel Batistuta. Argentina are in Group C with Paraguay, Colombia and the US, who they face in their first match on Thursday. The Americans are on the up after winning their second consecutive Golden Cup against Mexico at the weekend.

One of the few coaches to dismiss Argentina as the top contender has been Gerardo Martino, the Argentine manager of Paraguay, who believes the US are ready to pull off a big upset on the back of its recent title. Group C is probably the toughest, as both Paraguay and Colombia are solid teams that Argentina regularly have trouble beating. Jorge Pinto, Colombia's coach, has announced that he plans to win the Cup, but has also added that he is working with the qualifiers for South Africa 2010, which kick off next year, in mind.

Whatever Martino and Pinto say, bookies believe Argentina's main rivals are Brazil, who play Mexico tomorrow in Group B, which also contains Chile and Ecuador. However, Dunga, Brazil's no-nonsense debutant coach, has predicted an Argentina win in this, the first major test of his managerial career. A two-time winner of the Copa America and a world champion as a player, Dunga has not been able to select the best players available, with Ronaldinho and Kaká asking for time-off to rest. Still, Brazil being Brazil, their "weak" team includes the likes of Julio Baptista, Gilberto Silva and Robinho.

The absence of Brazilian stars, Pinto's preoccupation with next year's qualifiers and the eagerness of several teams to re-build (Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) might suggest the quality of this year's Copa América may be below par. However, there's plenty to look forward to: the US trying to prove themselves on a bigger stage then the Concacaf; Mexico attempting to bounce back from their defeat in the Golden Cup (and shake off their reputation as bottlers); displays by lesser-known Brazilians; and, maybe, the flair of one of the most talented Argentine squads in many years.

 

[Cornballer]

Heh.

 

[Falch]

Copa America just started. Looking at Peru - Uruguay via a great (*knocks on wood*) stream with English commentary.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Sorry, I couldn't hear what you said over the sound of Benny Feilhaber crushing the winner against Mexico....

Spoiler

La-la-la-la-la-la! I'm not listening!!!

You may have won this round (and the last 10 or 12), but NEXT TIME!!! *shakes fist*

 

[Falch]

Goal by Villalta, Peru takes the lead.

 

[Cornballer]

You may have won this round (and the last 10 or 12), but NEXT TIME!!! *shakes fist*

:lol In retrospect, I can see how you were just trying to get Sarachan a new gig coaching Arsenal.

Peru up 1-0 on Uruguay, btw.

 

[Falch]

Second goal by Peru, disallowed by the ref.

 

[Karakand]

Heh.

bon gringo Francais

 

[Cornballer]

My goodness, that was a bomb. 2-0 Peru.

 

[nitewulf]

oh man, if fabregas leaves, i am gonna cry.

 

[cae]

I still can't understand how Uruguay plays this badly. They have some really good players.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

What we've learned from the 1st match of the cup:

- Peru has a nice, solid squad that could become a surprise.
- Uruguay still sucks big donkey balls.
- Uruguay is still just a bunch of dirty ****ers.

 

[Cornballer]

3-0 final. Uruguay looked awful. Forlan was cracking shots into the stands from all over the place. A couple nice goals by Peru.

 

[Mama Smurf]

More than a month before the start of the new season, Sheffield Wednesday’s first match is already in doubt after torrential rain left their pitch up to 12 feet under water. “There are dead fish floating on the water,” Alan Roberts, the operations manager at Hillsborough, said.

Wow, can't believe they sent their players out in that.

 

[Cornballer]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. I'll bet that pitch smells nice.

Venezuela - Bolivia about to start...

 

[MrPing1000]

Wow, can't believe they sent their players out in that.

ZING!

 

[jett]

YEAH PERU MUTHA****AZ :rock

cochinos uruguayos am cry

 

[Cornballer]

From another thread in the OT. It's part of the Reggie Bush - David Beckham commercial. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Apparently Madrid is going all out to sign Drenthe, as in "that kid must be ours or we're throwing ourselves from a bridge".

I'm crossing my fingers for it to work.

 

[Mama Smurf]

That'd be disappointing, as I suspect they see him as a Roberto Carlos replacement rather than a left winger, and I'm not really interested in seeing that.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

Nah, we're not talking about dumbass Florentino running the show here. Roberto Carlos's successor has been signed for a while now and his name is Marcelo.

Drenthe would share duties on the wings with Robinho most probably.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Oh. In that case, good. He's said he wants to play in England, but unless someone like Chelsea comes in for him, I don't see how he could turn down Madrid.

 

[godhandiscen]

I am from Peru, so I have been following my national team very closely and this victory did not come to me as a surprise. Well, I was expecting Uruguay to score at least one because our defenders ussually suck, but the fowards just did what is expected from them.

Guerrero did a good job at Hamburg after he recovered from his injury, so he is most likely the one player from whom I expect the most goals. Farfan is the leading scorer for PSV, but in the national team he has creative responsabilities (we desperately need a midfielder). Pizarro, well he is not at his best to be honest and I am surprised Chelsea got him, but I believe Mourinho knows best. Also, the strikers in the bench, Mendoza and Malingas, play in Ukraine and Argentina respectively, and they are at least on par with what our direct rivals have to offer (Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia and Venezuela).
Also, Peru is missing its 2 most important midfielders, Solano (Newcastle) and Vargas (Catania). However, Pedro Garcia and Marinho (he is not in WE ) did not dissapoint.

Honestly, nobody cares about winning this tournament (well, maybe Mexico). Any of the South American teams would take a place in the World Cup over winning this tournament. Therefore, this is more like a big experiment for most participating nations, and Peru is trying to shape a team for the upcomming qualification process.

 

[hadareud]

Arsenal chairman waits on Wenger
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood admits he has no idea if boss Arsene Wenger will agree to extend his stay at the club beyond next season.

Thierry Henry claimed uncertainty over Wenger's future played a part in his £16m move to Barcelona.

Hill-Wood dismissed that as "an excuse" but revealed he is still in the dark about whether Wenger will stay.

He said: "I've no reason to think that he won't - but at the same time I have no reason to believe he will say yes."

Hill-Wood was reacting to Henry's claims that the departure of vice-chairman David Dein, and the fact that Wenger only has one season left on his current contract and had not committed himself further to Arsenal, were factors in his decision to leave.

He said: "I am not particularly worried about what Thierry said but whether it really influenced his decision or not we will have to wait and see.

"We certainly don't think Thierry Henry going and Arsene Wenger's contract situation are in any way linked. That was just an excuse."

Wenger continues to be linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium, but Hill-Wood hopes the French coach will remain in north London.

He said: "I am really hopeful he will extend but at this moment I am only in a position of hoping.

"I've no reason to think that he won't but at the same time I have no reason to believe he will say yes. Certainly we would like to see him sign a new contract - we have made no secret about that.

"But we have not talked any details about anything with him or the board. We will wait and see what he wants to do. Then we can sit down and discuss things if he is positive about it. I am very relaxed. We are in good shape."

Hill-Wood, who also said Arsenal "would like to find another player or two" in the transfer market, revealed he has not met with American tycoon Stan Kroenke since their meeting in New York recently.

Kroenke has a 12.19% stake in the club and is expected to mount a full takeover bid but that prospect is another area of uncertainty.

"I have not heard anything further from him since we met," said Hill-Wood.
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/6244102.stm

Published: 2007/06/27 06:29:04 GMT

© BBC MMVII

edit:

David Dein good, board bad?

One afternoon in April, Ferran Soriano, vice-president of Barcelona, received a phone call. It was Darren Dein, son of the ex Arsenal vice-chairman and Thierry Henry’s personal advisor. “Are you still interested in Henry? I believe there’s still a possibility…”, he said.

and the rumours:

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Parma have made a bid, thought to be £6m, for Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi. (The Guardian)

Liverpool's record £25m bid for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres is being held up by the striker's £2.5m pay-off clause. (The Sun)

West Ham striker Carlos Tevez is likely to leave for Inter Milan this summer. (Daily Mirror)

Thaksin Shinawatra has set his sights on bringing Shaun Wright-Phillips back to Manchester City when his takeover is complete. (The Sun)

Preston striker David Nugent could have to wait until Christmas to get his dream move to Everton. (The Sun)

Blackburn boss Mark Hughes is pulling out of a deal for Roma's Shabani Nonda and will offload Francis Jeffers to Ipswich. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge will snub a move from Stamford Bridge as he expects to be number one left-back at the club next season. (Daily Star)

Tottenham will listen to offers for Jermain Defoe once they complete the signing of Charlton's Darren Bent. (Daily Mirror)

Charlton are refusing to budge on their asking price of £17m for Bent. (The Independent)

Birmingham boss Steve Bruce is lining up a double swoop for Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini and Celta Vigo's Daniel de Ridder. (The Sun)

Bruce is close to signing French star Olivier Kapo from Juventus. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland boss Roy Keane is plotting a swoop for West Brom defenders Paul McShane and Paul Robinson. (The Sun, Daily Mail)

Keane is close to agreeing a £1m move for Aberdeen skipper Russell Anderson. (Daily Record)

Dutch star Ryan Babel will snub a move to Arsenal this summer to stay at Ajax, but has admitted he is tempted by a move in the future. (Various)

Fulham are ready to battle with Reading to sign Didier Digard. (Daily Express)

Fulham made a £4.5m offer for West Brom's Diomansy Kamara after Heidar Helguson snubbed a swap deal. (Daily Mirror)

Reading have offered Leroy Lita has been offered a new £20,000-a-week contract to keep him. (Various)

Wigan are ready to sell striker Lee McCulloch to Rangers - as long as they agree to take defender Andy Webster too. (Daily Mirror)

Rangers must fork out £1.5m up front, plus another £500,000 in add-ons if they are to sign Kilmarnock's Steven Naismith. (Daily Record)

The Gers fear their chances of signing Bordeaux's Julien Faubert are no better than 50-50. (Daily Record)

Crystal Palace's move for Benfica defender Jose Fonte is in jeopardy after interest from Steaua Bucharest. (Daily Mail)

Wolves are close to a £500,000 deal for Crystal Palace defender Darren Ward. (Daily Mirror)

Bolton have emerged as favourites to sign Sheffield United's Phil Jagielka. (Daily Star)

OTHER GOSSIP

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has admitted he does not know whether Arsene Wenger will stay at the club. (Daily Mirror)

But Wenger's good friend Max Hild, his former boss at Strasbourg, says that he will remain at the north London club for life. (The Sun)

Former Fulham boss Chris Coleman has had talks about becoming the new Real Sociedad coach. (Various)

Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung Ka-Shing is closing in on his takeover of Birmingham. (The Sun)

Newcastle's new owner Mike Ashley is ready to invest £50m in transfer cash to trigger the club's revival. (Daily Mirror)

Alan Curbishley's future as West Ham boss could be in doubt despite him leading them to Premiership safety last season. (Daily Star)

Sven-Goran Eriksson has agreed to take the Manchester City job and prove his critics wrong. (Daily Express)

Eriksson has agreed a three-year deal worth £3m a season - making him one of the Premiership's highest paid managers behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.

City fans have been rushing to snap up season tickets with the prospect of Eriksson to splash £50m of the new owner's money. (The Sun)

Eriksson will have to wait until next week to be named as Stuart Pearce's successor. (Daily Star)

Thai prosecutors are stepping up their bid to derail Shinawatra's £81.6m takeover bid. (Daily Telegraph)

Officials from the Premier League, FA and Football League have agreed to meet sports minister Richard Caborn for talks over foreign ownership of clubs. (Various)

Chelsea want Portsmouth's technical director Avram Grant in place as their sporting director in time for their pre-season trip to LA. (the Sun)

Everton's plans to move to a new 55,000-seater stadium in Kirkby have been hit by protests from local residents. (Daily Mail)

Bolton's new arrival Bierim Dzemaili has been ruled out until 2008. (Daily Mail)

West Ham are still waiting for almost £1m in compensation over the injury to Dean Ashton while on England duty. (The Guardian)

AND FINALLY

David Beckham is being urged to cut short his holiday to help the LA Galaxy, who have slumped to second bottom of their division. (The Sun)

Sheffield Wednesday's pre-season plans are in doubt because of the flooding at Hillsborough. (Daily Express)

Uefa has admitted English football fans are unfairly targeted by foreign riot cops. (The Sun)

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6244010.stm

Published: 2007/06/27 05:59:25 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[godhandiscen]

 

[Karakand]

Thaksin Shinawatra has set his sights on bringing Shaun Wright-Phillips back to Manchester City when his takeover is complete. (The Sun)

Sven-Goran Eriksson has agreed to take the Manchester City job and prove his critics wrong. (Daily Express)

Eriksson has agreed a three-year deal worth £3m a season - making him one of the Premiership's highest paid managers behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.

I know I shouldn't get too excited because this is MCFC after all but... **** it.

Thai prosecutors are stepping up their bid to derail Shinawatra's £81.6m takeover bid. (Daily Telegraph)

Ah yes, that's more like it on the City news front.

David Beckham is being urged to cut short his holiday to help the LA Galaxy, who have slumped to second bottom of their division. (The Sun)

Maybe if the roster could stay steady for 2 ****ing weeks in a row the team wouldn't be in this mess. Every match has a guy making his debut for the G's it seems.

Knowing Lalas he'll make another 4 or 5 swaps before the Beckham reboot even happens and they'll still miss the playoffs.

 

[Hooker]

Apparently Madrid is going all out to sign Drenthe, as in "that kid must be ours or we're throwing ourselves from a bridge".

I'm crossing my fingers for it to work.

Yeah, some more news hit the Dutch media. about Madrid forseeing that he'll be the next best left-footed player this decennium, surpassing Henry and 10 years younger. God I hate sensasionalist press :S.



That boy isn't that good!! Let him stay at Feyenoord for a couple of years before he leaves. (Feyenoord who just signed Giovanni van Bronckhorst and are close to signing Makaay as Klose joined Bayern)

 

[hadareud]

It would be a shame if he went to a club like Real or Chelsea, it would do him no good to sit on the bench somewhere.

Also, does anyone else get the feeling that Mourinho is probably not the manager you want to work with as a young player?

just found out that Kia Joorabchian (owner of Tevez) is a Gooner and even has a box in the Emirates. Not that it means a thing, but I'm bored.