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Official Football Thread 2006/2007 (Soccer)

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Yeah, and most of the world doesn't speak English, but I don;t see people complaining that that's what everyone speaks on gaf.

It doesn't matter what most leagues round the world follow, it matters what most of us follow. I know you like to rile against our love of European football whenever possible, but you're free to make a thread January 1st 2008 if that's what you wish, the rest of us will keep posting in the 2007/2008 thread.
 
we could argue all night, but in the end the main interest lies with the big leagues - and they are in Europe, like it or not.

Both the Champions league and the UEFA Cup start in September and end in May/June too.

Add into that that this thread has gone on for more than a year by August - it is so big that it might be a bit intimidating to newcomers.

That and the fact that we already discussed it a few times and the majority of people agreed that August would be the appropriate time.
 
Arsenal are concluding "A VERY BIG DEAL" this coming Tuesday.

Revealed on newsnight in an interview with agent Barry Silkman. Is it the sale of Henry? Is it Malouda? Have we found a 14 year old Goalkeeper somewhere?

I AM EXCITED
 
MrPing1000 said:
James wtf have u been in this thread before? :lol

1st August = new thread. No arguing.
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I don't know if you're joking or not (my apologies if you are), but jamesinclair has been a regular contributor to this thread since the beginning. He's pretty much the guy giving us info on the CONMEBOL region and it's leagues, so yeah, you should have seen posts by him before. I know it's tough when the post isn't headed by the words Arsenal, Liverpool, ManU, Chelsea, etc. but they're still there.

I sympathize with James, but unfortunately there is nothing that can be done. There just aren't enough people interested in anything other than the English premier league on this forum.

So to James I say continue posting, ignore the English stuff if it doesn't interest you (I ignore a lot of it), and just enjoy the little pockets of non-epl discussion when they do pop up. There are some of us that do appreciate the info you've given on the Libertadores, Sudamericana and South American leagues.
 
Can't you just make this this the "Official Football Thread" and be done with it? I don't really see the need for starting a new thread.
 
Aegus said:
Can't you just make this this the "Official Football Thread" and be done with it? I don't really see the need for starting a new thread.
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Ok, sure. If you can get all the American Football, Baseball and Basketabll threads to do the same, without having serpeate threads just for different competitions, off-seasons and what not.
 
MrPing1000 said:
James wtf have u been in this thread before? :lol

1st August = new thread. No arguing.
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Im numer 14 when it comes to posts in this thread, and read it ever day, even the transfer crap.

But I dont remember ever having a vote on this. Maybe it was during college finals or something.
 
Dammit, all the Sunday La Liga games involving possible champions are on at the same time! EVIL.

I guess I'll be flipping back and forth between the Barca-Mexico games. :(
 
Wes said:
Ok, sure. If you can get all the American Football, Baseball and Basketabll threads to do the same, without having serpeate threads just for different competitions, off-seasons and what not.
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But the benefit of just using this thread next season is that we will have a ridiculously large thread thats bigger than any other.
 
Dammit, I'm the 4th top poster in this thread. Just wait til my exams are over, then I'll overtake you cornballer!
 
Outdoor Miner said:
Dammit, all the Sunday La Liga games involving possible champions are on at the same time! EVIL.

I guess I'll be flipping back and forth between the Barca-Mexico games. :(
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Yeah, I hate when that happens.

psycho_snake said:
Dammit, I'm the 4th top poster in this thread. Just wait til my exams are over, then I'll overtake you cornballer!
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Bring it on! :P

Are you up right now because it's early or late?
 
Mama Smurf said:
It's like when people meet the Queen and are told how to address her. No, **** that. I don't mind us having a monarch, but no one's telling me how to address someone, I already know how. I'll be polite and friendly like I am with everyone, what's with this formal crap? I'd be seriously tempted to give her a hug just to piss these people off.
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I'd give Helen Mirren a hug.

A nice, long hug.

Yeah...so, who's gonna watch the 24 hours of Le Mans?
 
I'll definitely watch it.

rumours:

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Shaun Wright-Phillips has been told he can leave Chelsea if an offer of £10m is received for him. West Ham are favourites to snap him up. (The Sun)

Charlton striker Darren Bent rejected a £17m move to West Ham because he wants to join Liverpool. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson has promised more big-name signings despite missing out on Darren Bent. (The Sun)

And the Hammers could start with a swoop for Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy. (Daily Express)

West Ham's Hayden Mullins will still join Charlton despite the collapse of the Darren Bent move. (Star)

Palermo plan to hijak Celtic's bid to sign Sampdoria star Gennaro Delvecchio. (Daily Record)

Fulham are set to sign Aston Villa defender Aaron Hughes and Leeds striker David Healey for £1m apiece. (Mail)

Spurs boss Martin Jol is chasing Sweden international winger Christian Wilhelmsson. (The Sun)

Barcelona's former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen has set his hopes on a move to Manchester United. (Daily Mail)

Middlesbrough hope to bring former defender Geremi back to The Riverside from Chelsea. (Daily Mirror)

Yossi Benayoun wants to quit West Ham for Liverpool. (The Guardian)

New Sheffield United manager Bryan Robson wants to sign Celtic midfielder Thomas Gravesen. (Daily Record)

Dutch striker Robert Fik has rejected the chance to join Aberdeen because he was only offered a one-year deal. (Daily Record)

Arsenal have agreed a £2m deal for Norwegian side Haugesund's 16-year-old centre-back Havard Nordtveit. (Daily Mail)

The Gunners are also tracking Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso and Ajax winger Ryan Babel. (Daily Mirror)

Wolves are set to sign Southend striker Freddy Eastwood in a £1.5m deal next week. (The Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

Jose Mourinho says he and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich have made peace. (The Sun)

Former Luton manager Mike Newell has launched a claim of unfair dismissal against the club. (Daily Express)

Derby manager Billy Davies thinks he will be favourite to be the first Premiership manager to get the sack next season. (The Sun)

Davies is considering adding former Scotland coach Craig Brown to his backroom staff at Derby. (Daily Record)

England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce will be given the job on a permanent full-time basis if he guides his team to the last-four of the European Championships. (Various)

Former Fulham boss Jean Tigana has emerged as a surprise candidate to be the next Manchester City boss. (Mirror)

But City have not given up on persuading Sevilla coach Juande Ramos to come to Eastlands. (The Guardian)

AND FINALLY

John Terry, whose Friday marriage was the first of the weekend's WAG weddings, spent £10,000 to have a mirrored dance floor for the bash. (The Sun)

David Beckham, who could clinch the Spanish title on Sunday, will appear at best mate Gary Neville's wedding via live video link-up. (The Sun)
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6759331.stm

Published: 2007/06/16 06:17:41 GMT

© BBC MMVII
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United slammed over Nani deal
By Gerrit van Leeuwen - Created on 16 Jun 2007


Chelsea scout Piet de Visser insists Manchester United paid over-the-odds for Nani.

The Dutchman, a personal adviser to Blues owner Roman Abramovich and one of their main scouts, is known as one of the best judges of talent in Europe.

Talking to Dutch television, de Visser revealed that he and Chelsea were well aware of Nani - but he was not worth the money that United paid.

"Of course we knew about Nani for a long time," he told Tien TV.

"He is a talent, but if you look at the European Championshop in Portugal and the current tournament in the Netherlands - Nani has not shown any progress.

"Therefore I think Manchester United have paid too much money for a player who has talent, but has not developed since last year."

De Visser also revealed that he was looking at up to four players at the current European Under-21 tournament.
Click to expand...

Source

I agree with him based on what I've seen of Nani so far. It's obvious he's very talented, but I'm not sure he can handle the Premiership yet. I'd rate Man United other new signing (Anderson) much higher.



Blues to place defender at PSV
By Gerrit van Leeuwen - Created on 15 Jun 2007

Reports in Holland suggest Chelsea will look to loan their Serbian starlet Slobodan Rajkovic to PSV Eindhoven next year.

Rajkovic - who is currently in the Netherlands playing for his country's Under 21 team in the European Championship - has spent the past 18 months on loan at OFK Belgrade.

Chelsea agreed to loan the promising defender back to the Serbian club after they paid £3.5million to sign Rajkovic as a 16-year-old in November 2005.

However, Algemeen Dagblad now reports that The Blues are keen to see the defender perform at a higher level, and are looking for PSV to take him on loan for next season.

The clubs already enjoy a close relationship, with Chelsea set to take Alex to Stamford Bridge this summer after sending the Brazilian international to Eindhoven on loan.

Now Rajkovic could be the latest Chelsea defender to try and make a name for himself in the Eredivisie.
Click to expand...

Source

Should be quite a good addition to our defense.
 
Although most of you probably won't care, I'll shove it in here anyway.

The Asian Cup is around the corner with the first match on July 7th. Australia are doing their virgin debut to the competition and already the ball has been spat on and thrown into our court with Kawaguchi the Japanese goalkeeper saying the team is seeking revenge for their 3-1 loss (and technically, the entire dropout for the Japan team) in the first round of the World Cup group stage.

I'm hoping for an Australia vs Japan final to watch the sparks fly :lol
 
Falch said:
United slammed over Nani deal
By Gerrit van Leeuwen - Created on 16 Jun 2007


Chelsea scout Piet de Visser insists Manchester United paid over-the-odds for Nani.

The Dutchman, a personal adviser to Blues owner Roman Abramovich and one of their main scouts, is known as one of the best judges of talent in Europe.

Talking to Dutch television, de Visser revealed that he and Chelsea were well aware of Nani - but he was not worth the money that United paid.

"Of course we knew about Nani for a long time," he told Tien TV.

"He is a talent, but if you look at the European Championshop in Portugal and the current tournament in the Netherlands - Nani has not shown any progress.

"Therefore I think Manchester United have paid too much money for a player who has talent, but has not developed since last year."

De Visser also revealed that he was looking at up to four players at the current European Under-21 tournament.
Click to expand...

63wc67d.gif



ps Franky says relax. The fact of the matter is Europe is the most important region for football. It's the most powerful and it's the most watched. Like it or lump it we go by Europe.
 
For some reason that skysports article doesn't quote de Visser fully, as he also said:

"He dribbles too much with the ball because he wants to entertain, not because he wants to be effective. Cristiano Ronaldo had the same problem when he first played for United."
Click to expand...

That may well be the WORST attempt to discredit a player ever. "Oh he won't make it in the Premiership, he's just like Ronaldo when he came over...who...who's now the best player in the league....ah shit"

Shinobi said:
I'd give Helen Mirren a hug.

A nice, long hug.
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Yeah, I hear this sort of thing a lot, and it never fails to creep me out. She's so old looking, it's weird! I guess I'm just not a gilf guy.

4673e5988a6db.jpg


....

I retract my previous statement.
 
Do Arsenal fans want my scouting report on Veloso? I've seen him twice now in the U21 championship, I'm quite the expert.

Unlike a lot of his team, he's actually been quite impressive. Reminds me a lot of Petit, and not just because of his ponytail. Real hassler for the ball as well, like Sissoko, the sort of defensive midfielder players hate coming up against.

Also scored a great freekick against Holland, which you can see here http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=2240/match=85175/index.html

Well, I assume you can see it there, it's the highlights of the game. I haven't actually bothered watching it through myself, I saw it live.

Also check out Drenthe, the shortish, black, dreadlocked Dutch left winger, who had an amazing game. Falch says he doesn't normally play like that, but I still think a Premiership club should grab him and give him a chance.
 
Mama Smurf said:
Do Arsenal fans want my scouting report on Veloso? I've seen him twice now in the U21 championship, I'm quite the expert.

Unlike a lot of his team, he's actually been quite impressive. Reminds me a lot of Petit, and not just because of his ponytail. Real hassler for the ball as well, like Sissoko, the sort of defensive midfielder players hate coming up against.

Also scored a great freekick against Holland, which you can see here http://www.uefa.com/competitions/under21/fixturesresults/round=2240/match=85175/index.html

Well, I assume you can see it there, it's the highlights of the game. I haven't actually bothered watching it through myself, I saw it live.

Also check out Drenthe, the shortish, black, dreadlocked Dutch left winger, who had an amazing game. Falch says he doesn't normally play like that, but I still think a Premiership club should grab him and give him a chance.
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Where did you get that quote about C Ronaldo, Mama? I watched the show with de Visser yesterday, but I don't recall him comparing Nani with C Ronaldo. All he said was that he'd scouted Nani too, but that Nani hadn't improved since last year, and that Man United had overspent on Nani.

Veloso's been one of Portugal's best players so far. Fun fact: his dad missed the decisive penalty against PSV in the Europa Cup I final in '88.

I believe Drenthe just recently said that he won't be leaving Feyenoord anytime soon. He still feels like he can learn a lot in the Eredivisie at Feyenoord.
 
I havent seen nani play, but Ive just seen a couple of youtube clips and he looks like a decent talent. I doubt he'll live up to his price in the first season, but you've got to look at the long term. A lot of players struggle in their first season in the EPL and I expect him to find it difficult, but he's still young and he's got plenty of time to improve. Ronaldo is the perfect example. We paid quite a bit for him and in his first season he didnt really convince everyone that he was worth it, but look at him now; his value has quadroupled. The same could very well happen with nani.

The chelsea scout is right to an extent, but its too early to tell and no one from chelsea should be talking about paying over the odds for a player.
 
Honduran striker Carlos Pavon (no, not the one that plays for Inter) just signed with the Galaxy. They're trying to add some firepower before Beckham arrives. Not sure where they're going to put Buddle with Pavon and Donovan already inked into the lineup.
 
psycho_snake said:
I havent seen nani play, but Ive just seen a couple of youtube clips and he looks like a decent talent. I doubt he'll live up to his price in the first season, but you've got to look at the long term. A lot of players struggle in their first season in the EPL and I expect him to find it difficult, but he's still young and he's got plenty of time to improve. Ronaldo is the perfect example. We paid quite a bit for him and in his first season he didnt really convince everyone that he was worth it, but look at him now; his value has quadroupled. The same could very well happen with nani.

The chelsea scout is right to an extent, but its too early to tell and no one from chelsea should be talking about paying over the odds for a player.
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Yeah, I see your point. But still, it's a huge gamble, paying 25 mil euro for a player that has yet to prove himself in a big competition.

And fyi, although de Visser is linked to Chelsea (he also scouts for PSV), he's never been a fan of the absurd amounts of money that Chelsea's been throwing around the last couple of years.
 
Its amazing just how people's thoughts on beckham have changed in the last 6 months, especially capello. When he signed for LA Galaxy capello said that he would never use david beckham again. Now he says that beckham is one of the best players he has ever worked with. The same goes for some england fans. I think a majority of people thought that it was right to drop him, but most people agreed that dropping him was a bad idea and that he should atleast have a place in the squad. After he's been called up, he's proved just hopw important he is.

Ive always beena big fan of beckham. A lot of people never judge him properly because of his celebrity lifestyle, but he's always put in so much effort and does the right things off the pitch. Some people will say that this hasnt always been the case and dropping him was the key to his brilliant form, but I dont think that is entirely true. I do think that since he's come back, he has made some slight improvement, but he's more or less the same player he was before. Just look at the world cup, he was arguably one of our best players. He scored one and he set up several goals. Thats a bigger contribution than most players made. I couldnt care less that beckham cant dribble. he can pass so ****ing well and he's shiown everyone since his comeback just how important his contribution has been,
 
Falch said:
Yeah, I see your point. But still, it's a huge gamble, paying 25 mil euro for a player that has yet to prove himself in a big competition.
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There is an element of risk, but if ronaldo is any indication then that risk could really pay off. I think that a couple of years from now it will be a good deal. I reckon next year will br a frustrating season for him becaus it'll take him time to adapt, but given time he'll develop into a great player.
 
Falch said:
Where did you get that quote about C Ronaldo, Mama? I watched the show with de Visser yesterday, but I don't recall him comparing Nani with C Ronaldo. All he said was that he'd scouted Nani too, but that Nani hadn't improved since last year, and that Man United had overspent on Nani.
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I can't remember, but that's an exact quote so you could probably enter it into google and find it.

If he didn't say it in the interview you saw, he's said a similar thing twice and that's pretty sad.
 
Cornballer said:
Honduran striker Carlos Pavon (no, not the one that plays for Inter) just signed with the Galaxy. They're trying to add some firepower before Beckham arrives. Not sure where they're going to put Buddle with Pavon and Donovan already inked into the lineup.
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When did this happen?
 
Portsmouth are favourites to sign Diarra from Lyon, according to the Lyon president. It's not the Diarra (obviously, Madrid bought him last year), but he has 12 caps for France all the same.

Portsmouth are building up quite the team. They've already signed Distin and Muntari, if they can persuade Campbell so sign up for another year and get Diarra, they'll be well on the way to a top (well, top below the top 4) side:

----------------------James--------------------

Lauren----Campbell----Distin----Stefanovic

O'Neill------Muntari-----Diarra--------Taylor

--------------_____------_____---------------

I've left the strikers blank because I don't think any of them are good enough. Well, I think Kanu would be but he's refusing to sign another contract and will leave, and Lualua seems unhappy at the club and I think will go as well. That leaves Andy Cole (good, but 35 coming up 36), Todorov and Benjani...those 3 should be the support strikers frankly. I think they could do better than O'Neill on the right hand side of midfield too.

They're overloaded in some positions too, so they could sell players to fund others. If this was their central midfield then Mvuemba (if they manage to sign him permananetly from Rennes), Kranjcar, Mendes and Davis would be on the bench and you could certainly sell the latter. Likewise in cental defence you have Primus and Hreidarsson as back up, so someone like Andy O'Brien could go.

They'll probably be looking at the same players as everyone else...Nugent, Bellamy, Defoe, Mido etc., though I did read recently they might swap Lualua with Camara from Wigan, which would be a great start as I think the latter is pretty dangerous and could play well alongside one of those other names. I'd suggest Mido (tall frontman) and Camara (pacey frontman) wouldn't cost much, and then they can concentrate on the right wing and buy...I dunno, Solano or someone. I really don't know who Portsmouth can attract, they seem surprisingly good at bringing in big names for such a small club (I mean James, Campbell, Kranjcar, Muntari, Lauren...), so perhaps someone like Wright-Phillips isn't as impossible as I think. I mean, Diarra is being chased by Juve and Bremen too, yet somehow Portsmouth are head of the pack.
 
Is it me or are the mid table teams starting to really spend and bring in quality players. In a few years the Epl could be wide open at this rate. ( ok Im exageratting a bit but its got to be more than before)
 
speedpop said:
Although most of you probably won't care, I'll shove it in here anyway.

The Asian Cup is around the corner with the first match on July 7th. Australia are doing their virgin debut to the competition and already the ball has been spat on and thrown into our court with Kawaguchi the Japanese goalkeeper saying the team is seeking revenge for their 3-1 loss (and technically, the entire dropout for the Japan team) in the first round of the World Cup group stage.

I'm hoping for an Australia vs Japan final to watch the sparks fly :lol
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Im still baffeled at why Australia was allowed to enter Asia.
 
Wow, Canada is actually winning a game in the Gold Cup.... and no network shows the game. :lol The Score is showing golf :lol. I thought we had a golf channel for that reason. Put the damn football match on.
 
Oh yeah, the rumour is that the transfer not named in the Stevens Report, because it's under investigation by the police, is Kanu's move from Arsenal to West Brom. Who klnows who the guilty party is though, if anyone.

Holland - Belgium U21 is on. Or Portugal - Israel if you prefer.
 
Dein's known as a bit of an asshole outside of Arsenal, but it's not illegal to be an asshole.

Belgium have scored against Holland, despite Holland being the much better side.
 
I don't know about that. But I don't think he'd do anything illegal, since he's a smart guy.

Unless of course he wasn't kicked out for takeover reasons.

But that's highly unlikely.
 
hadareud said:
there's a few cases of that. Israel is not strictly a country in Europe for instance.

FIFA.
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Im aware that Isreal has been in many confederations, but thats for different reasons.

I also understand why Australia wanted to be in Asia, but I dont think Fifa should have allowed it.

Instead they should have done an invitational type of scenario, in the same way that Mexico and the US play in the Copa America, and Mexican teams qualify for the Libertadores and DC United will play in the Sudamericana.
 
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