Very true. The points are there for them, but there's not a large margin for error at the moment. They need to start getting some wins in qualifying.Mama Smurf said:To be honest, I think England will miss him more than United. They have Tevez and are perfectly capable of playing one up front, and Saha and Solskjaer should be back in that time too. The Germany match doesn't matter, it would have been nice to have two fully fit teams but that's never, ever gonna happen with England it seems (and I know Germany will be missing Ballack at the least), but it's the qualifiers that are worrying.
Maverick said:Anything new on the Robben situation?
Ghost said:Ashton + Owen = Goals!
Maverick said:Damnit, I was telling everyone I know that watches football here in the states (read: 3) that Hleb was going to have a breakout season, I wanted to pick him for my fantasy team, and of course, I somehow forget to pick him up since there were so many players to consider.
What does Hleb do? Score in the first game.
I am starting to believe that this could be a real three to four horse race for the title. With Man. U drawing against Reading and losing Rooney for two-months, combined with Chelsea losing Terry and looking considerably shakey at the back, I think Liverpool and Arsenal could get a jump on them early on in the season.
Anything new on the Robben situation?
In other news, after watching the Man City/West Ham game on Saturday, I think West Ham could easily go down this season. They just looked so slow. No creativity.
Lakitu said:Drenthe would be a fantastic buy, he was immense against Liverpool in the friendly. Ran our defense ragged. We couldn't cope with his pace. Same with Agbonlahor against Villa. Quite worrying.
Mama Smurf said:Young too. As in Ashley, not as they're young. Though they are.
You say "would be" which is a bit confusing, do you know they've already signed him?
Interesting to hear about Lyon losing to Toulouse again. There was an article in a North Jersey newspaper by where I live about Toulouse's upset over Lyon last year when they won 2-0 and how they are ready to do the same. Is it that Lyon is weaker or is Toulouse just really good against Lyon?Mama Smurf said:Where've you been? Henry retired years ago, his son's playing for Arsenal now.
Liverpool fans might want to know Lyon lost to Toulouse on Saturday, don't know if that emasn anything. I've already said I think Lyon will be weaker this year, losing players and changing manager.
And Man Utd fans might be interested to hear Lyon are being linked with a move for Heinze after Cris getting injured.
Falch said:I don't think Chelsea's defense is very shaky at all. They did concede 2 goals against Birmingham, but I consider that a fluke. They've still got the likes of Carvalho, Tal Ben Haim, and Alex.
Rank GP Pts PPG
1 NE Revolution 19 33 1.74
1 FC Dallas 19 33 1.74
3 Houston Dynamo 20 34 1.70
4 D.C. United 18 30 1.67
5 Chivas USA 17 27 1.59
6 KC Wizards 19 29 1.53
7 NY Red Bulls 18 27 1.50
8 Columbus Crew 19 26 1.37
9 Chicago Fire 18 20 1.11
10 Toronto FC 19 20 1.05
11 LA Galaxy 14 14 1.00
12 CO Rapids 19 18 0.95
13 Real Salt Lake 17 12 0.71
Those guys can do a decent job. They're good replacements to terry, However Chelsea need to do something about Glen Johnson. He wasnt good before and he doesnt look any better now. He looked clumsy against birmingham and the second goal chelsea conceded was partly his fault. Kapo got past him far too easily. Chelsea need a good right back and alves would have solved their problem, but sevilla are being very stubborn about it. They wont let him move even though he wants to and they've rejected bids 2 bids over 20 million pounds.Falch said:I don't think Chelsea's defense is very shaky at all. They did concede 2 goals against Birmingham, but I consider that a fluke. They've still got the likes of Carvalho, Tal Ben Haim, and Alex.
I think they may have missed the Sunday results, but I can't be sure.Osorio said:That list needs to be slightly updated but it's true for the most part.
Altidore's stock keeps rising
So it's a day after watching Jozy Altidore record his first two-goal game as a pro and couldn't help but think about the recent trend of young American players making the move to Europe and the realization that Altidore will leave MLS far sooner than I ever expected.
As recently as five months ago I would scoff at people who suggested that Altidore was going to leave MLS early. Not because I didn't think he was good enough, but because he had stated repeatedly that he was in no rush to leave and because I didn't see the Red Bulls parting with a true jewel of a prospect who could be be perfect to feature when the Red Bulls' new stadium opened.
Now that Red Bull Park is almost two years away, and Altidore's stock is rising faster than any other player in MLS, it is growing increasingly unlikely that he will ever play a minute in Red Bull Park.
Will European teams really line up to make big bids for Altidore? You can bet on it. He's only 17 (will turn 18 in November), has shown good finishing ability and is a beast from a physical standpoint. He's about 6 feet tall and growing and also boasts a personality that will make him easy for any team to market.
Could Altidore be that young American forward who goes overseas and makes the type of impact that will lead European teams to stop looking at the USA as a place to find goalkeepers, defenders and defensive midfielders? It is very possible.
I know what some Red Bulls fans are thinking. "Just great, we finally have a young superstar field player to root for and watch grow and he's ready to leave after his first full season." Yes, it will be disappointing but it really is better for MLS when more players, particularly young players, go abroad and find success. This will increase the league's reputation and will lead to more players considering MLS as a legitimate stepping stone to Europe. That goes for Americans as well as foreign prospects.
:lolMama Smurf said:Are they asking when they get the finger up the arse? Best part of a medical.
Check the oil! Check the oil!BatiGOOOOOOL said::lol
They want their temperature taken.
Cornballer said:Altidore
Adu was definitely overhyped from the beginning. I still think he could be a very useful player for the national side and perhaps a bit more than that, but he was never going to be the next Pele as some suggested.QVT said:Wasn't it supposed to be Adu? I'm never sold on any american guys being the next big thing.
As a United fan the realisation of the new season did not take long to dawn. All the pre-season talk of United being favourites had me a little on edge I have to admit I don't believe a word of it. Almost as soon as the game kicked off at Stamford bridge on Sunday there was a different Chelsea on show. Mourinho spent much of his first two years at Chelsea generating this "us against the world mentality" - a policy that disapperaed last season due to him being pre occupied bickering with the board and in particular Abramovich.
Chelsea look awesome! They're cutting, calculating and effective on attack, and despite their rather meagre spending in the market (by their standards at least) they have bought for the here and now unlike United buying for the future. The passion and the us against the world attitude seems to be re-ignited and this I feel will be telling over the course of the campaign.
It is fair to say that nobody has seen the "new" United team yet because in no game have all four new players featured yet. It is however safe to say if Carrick plays as poorly as he did against Reading, the closest he'll get to a United jersey is offering to personally wash Hargreaves' shirt on a weekly basis. United looked ordinary yesterday. Our "superstar" Ronaldo proving he should never be allowed address a dead ball, relying on luck and swerve caused not by design, but as a result of hitting the ball as hard as he can, a policy I doubt is a favourite of Ronaldinho/Kaka/Messi.
Chelsea have the best squad in the Premier League! Player for player, pound for pound they beat United and every other club with the exception of the front two (they have one at least).
If Drogba stays injury free and Pizzaro can score half as many goals as he did last season (a feat I believe to be well with in his abilities) I might talk a year off work and go on a retreat to Alaska. Don't be surprised if Chelsea run away with the show this year because United look too ordinary and clueless and losing Rooney is like losing our one creative talisman, a loss that I believe could decide United's fate as early as December.
The difference is Mourinho has added players to his squad that will allow a more diverse style of football in formations,attacking or defensive styles. Chelsea will be diverse this season. Ferguson has just bought newer models of existing players,to add to our attacking football formula a formula Chelsea play better. Gutted!
Adu was hyped without playing on the field. Altidore got his hype from his play on the field.QVT said:Wasn't it supposed to be Adu? I'm never sold on any american guys being the next big thing.
Yep the Red Bulls are at 19 GP with 30 points, NE has 36 pts now, so on and so forth.Cornballer said:I think they may have missed the Sunday results, but I can't be sure.
."Just great, we finally have a young superstar field player to root for and watch grow and he's ready to leave after his first full season."
Cornballer said:Adu was definitely overhyped from the beginning. I still think he could be a very useful player for the national side and perhaps a bit more than that, but he was never going to be the next Pele as some suggested.
People are very high on Altidore right now, and it's deserved to a large extent. He could still end up being a bit of a bust, but that gets more and more unlikely as he continues to develop and play better.
I think the good news for US fans these days is that there are more and more young players to get excited about. It used to be that our hopes rested on one or two guys per cycle, but now there's a bigger crop every year. It makes it an exciting time to be a fan.
Why not?QVT said:Ah, well to be honest I never pay much attention to MLS anyways.
Mods hate what they don't understand.LiveWire said:Any reason why this thread isn't stickied? If shitty baseball and basketball can get stickied why not soccer?
LiveWire said:Any reason why this thread isn't stickied?
LiveWire said:Any reason why this thread isn't stickied? If shitty baseball and basketball can get stickied why not soccer?
Sounds like nitewulf and U.S. Soccer. :lolCornballer said:The only Spurz fans we have around here just participate in drive-by postings where they'll come by for a snappy remark or two, then disappear off the radar for a few months.
This.Wes said:We're so cool we don't need to be stickied.
If so I need to work on becoming a professional footballer. My girlfriends don't look anything like that and I'm decades younger than him!Cornballer said:Sheringham?
Ghost said:Nope, his ex, he broke up with her after she turned into a big of a racist on 'celebrity' big brother. Shes damn fine, and dumb as shit to boot, the perfect package!
LiveWire said:Any reason why this thread isn't stickied? If shitty baseball and basketball can get stickied why not soccer?
Osorio said:Why not?
Go to a game then. Don't you live in Cali? I understand it's not the EPL but why should it if it's not being supported by this country's biggest soccer fans? Answer me this question. If every soccer fan went to their respective MLS team's stadium don't you think the MLS would be one of the biggest leagues in the world? At its current financial state they can only afford a salary cap of 2.4 million, but eventually it'll rise and better players will come thus bringing the quality up. Trust me you might be bored watching it on TV but the playstyle is much nicer live. Being in a supporters group helps tremendously as well. If you liked watching Chivas then head to the Home Depot Center for their next game and check it out! It's your country's domestic soccer league, at least give it a shot.QVT said:Because every game I've tried to watch (with the exception of Chivas who have an amazing offence) has bored me to tears. It just isn't the same style of game that I love.
I mean, I would rather watch it than terrible other sports, but I'm not going to wake up at 5 am on a saturday to see it.
BatiGOOOOOOL said:![]()
10th European title in the horizon!