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[Cedeo]

Just signed up for the fantasy premier league, my team is 'Useless United', at least I won't be too dissapointed when I come in last at the end of the season.

 

[Karakand]

I did see you linked with Curtis Davies today though, he'd be a great buy.

Yeah I was happy to see his name come up.

Looks like Blackburn are closing in on the signing of Santa Cruz. Don't want

Thank god. All his rumored links to MCFC made me a sad, sad panda.

 

[MrPing1000]

I hope you've already begun writing chapter one of the new thread mama.


ps I'd lol if this thread got stickied on tuesday.

 

[Mama Smurf]

The Mail reckons Arsenal have made a £4m bid for Chelsea's Diarra.

I dunno about that. Pretty good player, but would Chelsea really sell to Arsenal? I can't imagine it happening beyond a swap situation like Cole/Gallas.

Then there's the fact that Diarra can play either right back or defensive central midfield. Arsenal have Sagna, Hoyte, Eboue, Gallas and Toure who can play right back, and even with two of them heading off to the ACN in January, that's still plenty of cover. In defensive central midfield, there's Gilberto, Diaby, Denilson, Flamini...even Song and Randall if it comes down to it. Just seems like it'd be the most pointless buy ever.

EDIT: Why has my continual refusal to do the new thread made no impact?

 

[Mama Smurf]

I wouldn't be surprised if Diarra is for sale, he has 6 central midfielders ahead of him now (plus Joe Cole can play there), 3 of whom are strong defensively. Chelsea appear to be in the hunt for a right back, Alves or Chimbonda seem to be the targets, and already they have Ferreira, Johnson and Ben Haim fully capable of playing there (even Essien if injuries are that bad).

I just don't believe Arsenal want him, and if they do he shouldn't join. Newcastle, Man City and Spurs should wake up and look at him.

 

[Frenck]

Real Madrid seems to be interested in Ballack according to the latest rumors. Or at least Schuster, he repordetly said that Ballack would fit right into the team as it is.

They signed Metzelder and that youngster from Hertha Berlin so you never know, Real might be the biggest german club soon

I don't think he is as bad as last season made him look, if I remember correctly he scored 8 goals across all competitions and he was injured for most of the time.

He is an integral part of our national side and he is a world class footballer but nobody should expect him to score as many goals as Lampard does or as Gerrard does. He's a great coordinator and penalty taker, not much of a goalscorer except for setpieces (great header, quite a shot).

But if you have Lampard, why would you sign Ballack?

You can have either of them on the field, but not both of them, it makes one of them look bad and in this case it's Ballack. He won't improve his skills at Chelsea, he earns a shitload of money for chasing after the game without ever making his mark on it. In order to play at least a small role in the team he is forced to commit fouls (which he did quite rarely in Germany, his red card at Chelsea was his first straight red card).

Chelsea should sell him to some club in Spain or Germany, it's better for everyone involved.

EDIT:

Link

 

[Mama Smurf]

He'll do better at Chelsea next season, I'm confident. Chelsea didn't cross last season, because they didn't play with wingers, which took away a major part of Ballack's game. They're going back to their 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation this year, should get a lot more chances to show off his heading ability. I think Chelsea would be insane to sell him.

 

[Eeikod]

Real Madrid seems to be interested in Ballack according to the latest rumors. Or at least Schuster, he repordetly said that Ballack would fit right into the team

He also said that Madrid is not going after him atm.

 

[milanbaros]

The times have a new fantasy football game starting today doe any one have any info on it?

 

[Shinobi]

What version do you have of PES? I've been looking for more people to play on LIVE as when I play ranked I always manage to play against the people in the top 1000 =/

PS2 version I'm afraid...I couldn't stomach dealing with the butchered 360 version.

7/27/2007 6:58 PM

Henry Says He Will Never Bad-Mouth Arsenal

Thierry Henry spoke to journalists at St Andrews on Barcelona's pre-season tour of Scotland - and stressed that he will never bad-mouthing anyone at Arsenal.


The Blaugrana's high-profile new £16.1 million man opened his account for the Catalans by scoring only goal of the game at Dundee United in a midweek friendly.

On Saturday Barca take on Hearts in front of a 55,000 crowd at Murrayfield.

But inevitably the question that most wanted to hear Henry answer was why did he leave Arsenal?

"How many times can I answer that question?" he said. "I'm not going to be the sort of player who talks after they leave.

"I wish Arsenal good luck and I will miss everything - not only at Arsenal. I will miss - it's a bit weird to say, but I will miss the boos at Tottenham.

"I never lost against them in an Arsenal shirt, that is something amazing to say.

"I'll miss the games against Manchester United, I'll miss the Chelsea games, I'll miss all the stand-out games. Playing in England was always amazing because the stadiums are always full, the fans are always singing.

"But going back to the question, I've answered that so many times."

It has been well documented that Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein's departure from board at The Emirates was a key factor behind Henry's decision.

But the Gunners' all-time top scorer with 226 goals said he was shocked by former team-mate Freddie Ljungberg's swipes at Arsenal since joining London rivals West Ham United. The Sweden captain has accused the Gunners of lacking ambition, and believes the Hammers will soon overtake them as he feels his former club are heading backwards.

"Freddie's a grown man. He says whatever he wants to say," said Henry. "Obviously I was here and I saw it on TV.

"It was the strangest thing going to play for West Ham. I wish him all the best.

"Everyone is entitled to their own decision. He did what he did. The boss [Arsene Wenger] knows why I left, that is the most important thing for me."

Arsenal fans still coming to terms with Henry's departure will be reassured to hear that, unlike Ljungberg, he believes Arsenal can seriously challenge Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool for the Premiership title.

"Everybody is always talking about the young team, this sort of thing, but a year ago we reached the Champions League final.

"Last season so many key players were injured. I'm not trying to make any excuses for the club. I'm sure this year, with everybody back, Arsenal can compete for the League.

"Everybody has to get behind the boss, so I can only wish them all the very best."

Although he did not rule out returning to Arsenal for a second spell one day - something unlikely to happen for a variety of reasons - Henry, 29, stressed that his commitment is now to Barcelona, and that he could never play for any English club other than the Gunners.

He revealed that leaving Arsenal had been "definitely emotional."

"I had a special relationship with the fans and a special relationship with everybody at the club - with the boss, everybody knows that.

"Playing at Highbury was always so special, wearing the jersey, the red one, was like something which is difficult to describe.

"I became another player throughout my years there. I can really thank the boss and all the people there. Everybody who is involved with Arsenal, especially the fans, they were always amazing with me.

"I will always have them in my heart and will have the chance to go back and see a game.

"I've kept my box, so now I can finally say I will be an Arsenal fan and hopefully they can win the League."

He added: "I've got a contract for four years with my new team Barcelona, and I'm sorry but I can never play for a team [in England] other than Arsenal. For me it's Arsenal...I could never wear a shirt other than Arsenal. It's impossible for me."

Turning to British football in general, Henry said he believed the home-grown players being produced are as good as those being imported into the British leagues.

He cited Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Dundee United's young captain Barry Robson as classic examples, the latter impressing during United's game against Barca.

http://www.goal.com/en-india/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=365265

Henry's love for the English game continues to amaze me. I'm beginning to think his divorce played a far bigger role in his departure than anything else. Though again, I think turning down playing with THAT Barcelona squad TWICE is pretty difficult, regardless of what you've got going on with your present team.

 

[Shinobi]

Arsenal Hoping For Silva Lining On Eduardo Work Permit Appeal
Arsenal are hoping their new striker Eduardo da Silva will be available for the start of the Premiership season on August 11th after the £10 million Croatian international, who was signed from Dinamo Zagreb earlier this month, had his request for a work permit rejected by the UK Home Office.

Arsenal have appealed against the decision, and the appeal will be heard next Thursday.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: "We've an appeal hearing on 2nd August for his work permit," and added that “if there is any justice," the appeal will succeed.

"He has 50% national games for Croatia, which is a great achievement. He's played every game in the last year, so it'll be extremely close."

Brazilian-born Eduardo has 14 caps for his adopted country, and scored against England in a Euro 2008 qualifier last October. He has signed a four-year contract with the Gunners.

"He has played 50 per cent of internationals for Croatia over the past two years and every single game for them in the last 12 months," said Wenger.

“He’s also one of the top scorers in the European Championship qualifiers.

"We are very optimistic he will soon be allowed to play for us. But if the appeal turns us down again, we’ll have to see.

"There are some signings in England who didn't play even one game for smaller countries than Croatia," added Wenger.

A Home Office spokesman insisted: “Certain criteria have to be met and he has not met them.”

http://www.goal.com/en-india/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=365628

Well...that could be a problem.

 

[MrPing1000]

EDIT: Why has my continual refusal to do the new thread made no impact?

Oh noes. Shall we just make hadareud do it again then troll him when he forgets to include stuff?

 

[psycho_snake]

Blackburn have signed santa cruz for 3.4 million pounds. Bad news for mama. I guess that means you've replaced franny "fox in the box" jeffers.

 

[Batongen]

Yeah I'm a wee bit late with my announcement, but I'm Frontline_United. Now you know who to be afraid of :lol

 

[Mama Smurf]

Blackburn have signed santa cruz for 3.4 million pounds. Bad news for mama. I guess that means you've replaced franny "fox in the box" jeffers.

And nowhere's showing the Vetra match this afternoon This is not a good day.

Well...that could be a problem.

It's not. Or at least, it's not a new problem.

I really do hate the media, trying to hype this up into a big issue. Eduardo was always going to fail his initial application for a work permit. There are very strict rules which he doesn't meet, and Arsenal would have 100% known he'd fail the application when they signed him. He hasn't played 70% of Croatia's competitive games in the last 2 years not due to suspension or injury, he's not going to get it.

It was ALWAYS going to come down to the appeal. Unfortunately, you can't appeal until you've been rejected from the initial work permit request, regardless of whether you know you're not going to get it or not. Anderson went through the same thing at United just weeks ago.

Now the appeal comes down to two things:

* To consider whether the player is of the highest calibre
* To consider whether the player is able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in UK.

Now Arsenal will point out his goalscoring record for Zagreb and Croatia, particularly last year. They'll say he scored against some of England's best defenders in their 2-0 win. They'll say how he scored against Arsenal in the CL. They'll say how he's the first ever player to score a hat trick in the derby between Zagreb and Hadjuk Split. They'll point out his hat trick against Israel helped inflict the first home defeat on that nation in 7 years.

And, with a little bit of luck, that will justify a work permit.

 

[Lakitu]

I think £3.4 for Santa Cruz is a good signing, he's a good player but his stats don't hold up well.

 

[h0pper]

Santa Cruz to Blackburn? I haven't seen much of him lately, only in the Gold Cup where he seemed to be decent. I don't think he'll do well in the English league though.

 

[h0pper]

I think £3.4 for Santa Cruz is a good signing, he's a good player but his stats don't hold up well.

Well if his stats don't hold up well in the Bundesliga with one of the better teams, how is he going to perform in the Premiership?

 

[h0pper]

anyone know where I can watch the Arsenal - PSG match?

 

[hadareud]

it's raining here today and I'd like to see the Arsenal, unfortunately it seems like it's not on tv here and there's no chance watching it on the pc as my parents have dial up.

I hate it when things like that happen

I took a few pictures of the Salzburg game on wednesday, I'll see if I can post them at some point. The game was quite poor, the stadium nice, the Salzburg fans and the catering an absolute disgrace. Waiting more than half an hour for a beer that is watered is not my idea of fun.

 

[Kinan]

Just got back from the game. Eh, I dunno, Torres looked pretty good. Had a couple of chances, but I wasn't annoyed that he missed them (one was a good save from James). Kuyt though, what the hell? He comes deep for the ball, bunch of awkward touches, loses it. Picks it up and runs with it, loses it. Tries to spread it wide, takes too long, loses it. And finishing?!

Was Voronin playing? How did he look if yes?

 

[h0pper]

it's raining here today and I'd like to see the Arsenal, unfortunately it seems like it's not on tv here and there's no chance watching it on the pc as my parents have dial up.

I hate it when things like that happen

I took a few pictures of the Salzburg game on wednesday, I'll see if I can post them at some point. The game was quite poor, the stadium nice, the Salzburg fans and the catering an absolute disgrace. Waiting more than half an hour for a beer that is watered is not my idea of fun.

haha. Do you have a stream hadareud? I tihnk it's on Arsenal TV but I'm not a subscriber. I probably should sign up. Not all Arsenal games get aired here in the states and I hear the extras are pretty cool.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Blackburn are beating Vetra 1-0 (3-0 on aggregate) at half time. Pedersen scored, just before half time Vetra have had a player sent off, so that should be that.

Was Voronin playing? How did he look if yes?

No. It was Babel and Kuyt first half, Torres and Kuyt second.

 

[Osorio]

I took a few pictures of the Salzburg game on wednesday, I'll see if I can post them at some point. The game was quite poor, the stadium nice, the Salzburg fans and the catering an absolute disgrace. Waiting more than half an hour for a beer that is watered is not my idea of fun.

Good to hear the stadium's nice. Apparently Red Bull wants to copy the Salzburg one and replicate it on this side of the ocean for the New York team. What was disgraceful about the fans?

 

[hadareud]

disgrace is a bit harsh. disappointingly quiet and not very good is a better description.

They also didn't bother even turning around while I was letting them know how I felt in a clear fashion during the whole game, which too was disappointing.

 

[Cornballer]

anyone know where I can watch the Arsenal - PSG match?

I think it's only on Setanta here in the US. I was lazy and forgot to sign up for it on DirecTV, so no match for me. Hopefully I get it hooked up in time for tomorrow.

Hi hadareud!

 

[Mama Smurf]

Blackburn beat Vetra 4-0 (Pedersen, Roberts, McCarthy, Pedersen), 6-0 on aggregate. That final goal might actually be Samba's, depends if he got a touch or not.

We haven't actually qualified for the UEFA Cup yet, we've just qualified for the qualifying round. Win that and then we're in it.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I didn't see the game, but Rangers beat Chelsea 2-0.

It's 1-0 at half time in the Arsenal - PSG game, though PSG are much the better side. Don't know if there's much to take from that, they're much further on in their pre-season and playing a first team, whereas Arsenal are playing only 5 or 6 first teamers, depends what Wenger sees as his first team.

What I can take from it is that Brendtner better hope there are injuries to forwards this season or he won't play outside the Carling Cup, and Arsenal are still susceptible to balls into the box, I'm surprised Wenger hasn't bought a new, taller centre back.

 

[Cornballer]

Thanks for the update, Mama.

A few questions...

- Who scored the goal?
- Why wouldn't Bendtner play more, because he isn't very good? I'm confused by that comment.

Also, I believe Senderos is supposed to be the ball-clearing tall centerback, but he had a bad season last year with his injuries and lack of confidence. I'm hoping he can turn things around.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Senderos is playing.

Yep, because he's not very good. Did chest the ball down from a Clichy cross in the box for Flamini to finish though.

First half line up:

Almunia
Clichy
Senderos
Toure
Sagna
Diaby
Flamini
Fabregas
Denilson
Van Persie
Bendtner

I dunno how mnay changes there'll be, the other half of the squad have to play Inter tomorrow.

Also in friendlies Bent has scored 4 goals in 5 games so far for Spurs. Not exactly against the most testing opposition ever, but I get the feeling he and Berbatov will make up the main partnership next season, despite Keane's class. Keane's scored a couple too though.

Defoe needs to get out of there, unless he likes the idea of missing Euro 2008.

EDIT: Sorry, meant Denison, not Hleb.

 

[Ronok]

Urghhh Denilson down after like 20 seconds.

Can't really see what happened.... Just went down.

 

[Ronok]

Hleb upfront in second half.... Wenger trying to force him into some shooting boots? lol

Eboue looking good on the right now.

 

[Blablurn]

League Cup Final

Schalke - FCB 0:1

Goal by Klose =) - 55 minutes to go

 

[Ronok]

Bendtner: What a miss..

 

[Ronok]

Wow! Bendtner really can jump. lolol

Urgh, I keep forgetting this forum doesn't edit double posts into a single post.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I didn't realise how tall Bendtner is, he towers over Gallas. Maybe he does have more of a chance of playing then, especially in those games where Arsenal just can't break down a dogged defence, send him on and hit him in the box.

 

[h0pper]

I just watched the Arsenal - Manchester Utd. game from 1/21/07. Now I remember why I am an Arsenal supporter. What an amazing finish to that game. It's a repeat and I found myself screaming when v. Persie scored and I got chills when I saw Henry's header to finish Man U off.

Wow.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Randall's not a subtle player is he...

 

[h0pper]

is Arsenal losing 2-1 now?

edit: Nevermind we are winning 2-1

 

[Ronok]

Hleb great play to get the penalty..... Bendtner wastes it.

 

[h0pper]

Hleb great play to get the penalty..... Bendtner wastes it.

are you kidding? He missed a PK?

 

[Ronok]

Yeah, and he missed a good chance again.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Now he's a true Arsenal player not called Gilberto.

It was a terrible, terrible penalty.

 

[Ronok]

You're not kidding. It was horrid. lol

That's not to say he looks like a bad player.. He's looked pretty good in everything but his finishing. lol

 

[Ronok]

Some really stand out performances today.....

Hleb, Clichy, Traore, Eboue and possibly Hoyte. They are the players who really stood out for me.

Eboue looks really suited to the right wing to me. He looks very comfortable.

Clichy was amazing both in left back and on the wing. He really is way too quick.

Traore looked pretty much like a Clichy clone. lol

Hoyte he had a solid performance and looked to be really good cover for the right back position.

Hleb seems to be back to the form that impressed me earlier last season.


Oh I almost forgot Almunia, really kept us in the game, especially in the first half.

 

[h0pper]

match is over I suspect?

 

[Mama Smurf]

Well Hleb was playing through the middle, which is where he should be, but Wenger likes playing central midfielders out of position for some reason.

 

[psycho_snake]

I just watched the Arsenal - Manchester Utd. game from 1/21/07. Now I remember why I am an Arsenal supporter. What an amazing finish to that game. It's a repeat and I found myself screaming when v. Persie scored and I got chills when I saw Henry's header to finish Man U off.

Wow.

Too bad you cant score against small teams.

 

[Cornballer]

buuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrnnnnnn!

 

[psycho_snake]

There's quite a lot of football on tomorroww. At 4:30 dubai time its the asian cup final between iraq and saudi. Then there is newcastle vs Juve at 6:00, and then arsenal play inter at 7:15. Its a bit annoying that the arsenal game starts before the juve one finsihes. I'm still not sure if Im going to watch the last half hour of the newcastle Juve game or miss the first half an hour of the other game.

I could end up not watching any of them. My mums friend from england is visiting and she's got two daughters who are a year younger than me, so I'll have to keep them entertained. Now I wouldnt mind if they were hot, but neither of them are. They're just going to get in the way of my football. If they do come at the same time as the game starts, then I probably will make them watch it with me