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AC Milan - Milanfan.com _ Football Discussion _ [EN] Premier League 08/09
Posted by: aLbErTo May 17 2008, 10:23 AM
hm...good(& sad) commercial for EPL 08/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAt1PjWPR8M&eurl=http://www.net.hr/sport/page/2008/05/16/0861006.html
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 17 2008, 05:09 PM
Congrats to Portsmouth on winning the FA Cup today. They beat Cardiff 1-0 with a goal from Kanu towards the end of the first half. Harry Redknapp has become the first English manager since Joe Royle in 1995, with Everton, to win the Cup.
Poor Cardiff. 
Posted by: whoarethepatriots May 17 2008, 05:21 PM
Poor Cardiff.
Should this not technically be in 07/08 thread, considering FA cup ends a season not starts it?
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 17 2008, 08:27 PM
Oh, my bad, I didn't even realise there was an 08/09 thread. The season doesn't start for another 3 months!
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 19 2008, 07:09 PM
Nothing official, but I think it could be genuine as that is widely rumoured to be our sponsor for next season
Not sure on the away kit yet and the home shirt just doesn't look.. "Villa". Looks like a design Scunthorpe would wear.
Posted by: Portikins May 20 2008, 11:14 AM
Liverpool Football Club today confirmed that Swiss international defender Philipp Degen will sign a contract with the club on July 1.
The right sided full-back - who will represent his country at this summer's European Championships - is out of contract with Borussia Dortmund this summer and has opted to begin a new career on Merseyside from next season.
Degen, 25, spent four seasons in his homeland with FC Basel before his move to the Bundeslga and will provide competition for Steve Finnan and Alvaro Arbeloa in the right-back role at Anfield.
So, official. Degen signs for Liverpool, another freebie.
But again - this is not the type of players who're going to take Liverpool to the other level.
Posted by: LaPalma May 20 2008, 01:27 PM
But again - this is not the type of players who're going to take Liverpool to the other level.
In other words: He's absolutely useless. Even for Dortmund.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 20 2008, 07:24 PM
Scousers are funny people, they really don't have a clue.
1. We are not that far off.
If you were a betting man and a statistics enthusiasts you’d excited after studying Liverpools last few league campaigns. Ask any statistician and they will tell you that trends are everything in their line of work. In 2004/2005, Benitez’s first season Liverpool finished 37 points behind the winners. Since then we’ve closed the gap and in the season just gone we finished just 11 points behind. Not that far off considering if we beat Man United home and away, which would have happened if it weren’t for incompetent refereeing we would have won the league. We are not that far off. - No, really, you are that far off. In the last 5 years you have won 6, drew 6 and lost 18 against the other 3 from the big 4. This is exactly why you aren't competing for the title, they're alot better than you, they don't need the refs help to beat you!
2. The manager.
Rafa’s done it; he knows how to win the league now. This season we’ve seen a dramatic change in tactics seeing us beat teams by six or more goals. We were also in the league right up until April, when United managed to jammy a win over us. Rafa has also got the balance right in his rotation policy. Problems off the field caused us to lose concentration at a critical time. - You were in the league up until April? Whoa, wait a minute! At the end of March you were 17 points off the pace, at the end of January you were 14 points off, even at the half way point you were 10 points off. So no, you were never in it. Rafa's won the league in Spain, since when has that translated into winning the league in England? Hmm.
3. The prospect of getting some DIC.
There’s no doubt that if we went with DIC over the yank words removed we would be chasing a treble right about now. Once we become par with United and Chelsea in terms of spending god help the rest of the league and the rest of Europe. A sleeping giant is about to rise. With a bit of DIC, that will happen next season. - The current owners spent alot of money on players, over £50m and that didn't get you any closer to the title. DIC wouldn't make a difference in terms of investment, you really think they'd give you the £100m you want? HA.
4. El Nino.
For those of you that aren’t aware, Torres has scored the most goals by a foreigner in his first season. Yep, you heard right. More than Van Nistelrooy, Henry and Ronaldo. Considering it usually take foreigners 12-14 months to adapt, the prospect of what Torres will become is simply mouth watering. For me he’s far and away TBPITW. He has more to his game than Ronaldo, who is so vastly overrated it’s not funny. You would expect Torres to get somewhere in the range of 40-50 goals next season. Premiership defenders just aren’t accomplished enough to deal with him. - A great striker he is. Unfortunately for Liverpool, great away form is just as important as great home form. How many goals did Torres score on his travells this season? 3 to be exact, not good enough to win the league.
5. Our Midfield.
Everyone’s heard the song and a few other teams imitate it, but there’s no doubt who actually has the best midfield is the world. With Alonso and Macherano opposition teams just have simply no chance of playing through us. With Lucas, we probably have the most exciting young midfield prospect in the world. With Gerrard driving power in front, we simply have the midfield that is the envy of all Europe. - Gerrard is World class. But Alonso? Who? Does he still play for you? The fact that he starts in your midfield shows why you won't win the league. Mascherano is a good player, but you wouldn't expect anything less for someone you paid £17m for.. yet the other 3 in the big 4 have better players in the middle of the park. Lucas, hottest prospect in the World? Clearly you don't wath any teams other than Liverpool then. Okay midfield, for a 4th placed team, I suppose.
6. Skrtel and Agger.
With these two leading from that back next season expect us to concede few goals, especially in the league, where I’d be surprised if we conceded more than 12. Not only are they accomplished defenders but they can also use the ball as good as any midfielder. With Carragher possibly going to right back we will have the most penetrable wall since Berlin fell. Even the Chinese would be proud of such a wall. - Both good defenders, but again. Skrtel & Agger or Ferdinand & Vidic and Terry & Carvalho. Again, not good enough to compete.
7. The new signings.
All in all we have a great spine. If we went to see a chiropractor, he’d have quick feel and take some photos for his textbook so he could show clients what the perfect posture and spine looks like. Therefore, we just need a couple of players to play ancillary roles along with one or two major signings. We can only speculate at the moment. But you know there’s going to be big names. I would expect someone to partner Torres and I imagine Rafa pulling of the coup of the season for this position. Imagine the damage that Kaka from Milan or Benzemia from Lyon could inflict on the premiership. If I were a manc or a bitter, I’d be shitting myself right now with the though that we could possible sign those type of players. - Kaka'? Are you serious! It's always all talk from Liverpool, how many years do we hear about these World class signings? What strikers have you bought in in recent years. Torres being the classy exception, but Crouch, Voronin, Fowler, Kuyt? If only your talk matched your actions, but it doesn't.
8. The opposition.
On paper the mancs look favourite for next season, but consider this: Only very rarely to teams win three league titles in a row. Have a look through the history books if you like. I’ve done the maths and the mancs only have about a 1 in 15 chance of winning it next season. Arsenal and Chelsea will be going though rebuilding phases. Half the Arsenal team are already off and Chelsea have already lost Drogba and Ambrovich has promised a cleanse. Now is the perfect time for us to take advantage of this and win ourselves a league title the same way Chelsea took advantage of Arsenal and United rebuilding to win there first Premier League crown. - Chelsea may lose Drogba, but you do realise he didn't even net double figures in the league for them this season? I'm sure Chelsea will find it almost impossible to replace his 8 goal haul this season. On paper, and on the pitch, United and Chelsea are miles ahead of you, so far ahead that I'm surprised you can see them - which you clearly can't based on your assesment. I think you have to worry about who's catching you rather than who you'll be catching.
9. The supporters.
Do I need say more? We get ourselves in position to win the league come late April or May next season and the supporters will do the rest. Could you imagine the Kop with us closing in on the league title? Best supporters in Europe. - Liverpools fans really are amazing.. in a Champions League semi-final at Anfield. Where are you in other games? It's easy for fans to be heard in big games, but what about when it's a horrible rainy Saturday against Wigan, where are you then? The 2007 noise recordings had Liverpool placed as the 16th loudest fans in the league, which seems very accurate. Often outsung by the away fans at Anfield, you're only heard in big games. A joke.
10. The status-quo
I see a lot of supporters worrying about United overtaking our league title haul. You can only laugh at these fools. Liverpool have been the top dog in England for pretty much ever and it’s not about to change anytime soon. It’s squeaky bum time, as Fergie calls it, for the mancs right now. They know we are on the verge of getting our act together and they know that as soon as we get that first one the floodgates will open. They know they will never have a better chance to go level with us and you’ll see the nervousness creep in. “Knock us off our perch†yeaaaahh right. Check back in a few years and it will be 25 - 17. - Do you know the history of football, at all? "Liverpool have been the top dog in England forever". Incorrect. You were the top dog from the late 70s until the late 80s, a whole 15 years of dominance - which United have had for the last 15 years - but before the late 70s it was all Arsenal, Villa, Sunderland and Everton. Where were Liverpool? It's easy to pick out the facts that suit yourself, isn't it.
Posted by: dst May 20 2008, 07:48 PM
So utterly stupid! For ****s sake somebody give this scouser an award for his stupidity, he tops it all off! Especially the Skrtel and Agger part!!!
On the other hand it's annoying to hear them boast all the time... the best this and the best that... and they can't even rememver how it is to win the league...
I really like Alonso. I think he is their best player behind Torres. He's had a bad season yeah but... who hasn't?
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 20 2008, 07:50 PM
@Kurt: Whoa...with the vitriol!! 
I get the feeling someone's really pushed u off the edge!
But mostly true yep. I find the DIC excuse the most pathetic. That and the we're not far off and the status quo excuse.
The rest, you can put down to subjective decisions.
Posted by: Portikins May 20 2008, 08:21 PM
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Drogba has claimed that Grant, who took over from Jose Mourinho last year, has played virtually no part in the team's success this season and achievement in reaching their first Champions League final.
Drogba told France Football: 'What do you want me to say about him?
'Apart from the fact he brought his own vision of football, he is less charismatic and less argumentative than Mourinho. That creates a gap.
'In any case, Grant did not have a lot to say. He just had to wait for the results to come along or not.
'Like a son after the loss of his father? In our case, we found ourselves with a stepfather we had not chosen.'
Drogba also revealed he is still paying the price for admitting back in 2005 to diving.
He added: 'Since I had the misfortune to say that I occasionally dive because people pushed me and not through simulation, I had the feeling people take me for a cheat.
'The referees in both the Premier League and Champions League come to see me before games to tell me no diving today. I believe they don't listen to me.'
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/article.html?in_article_id=148633&in_page_id=43
FACT.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 20 2008, 08:39 PM
I agree. I think the majority of the credit has to go to Jose.
Posted by: dst May 20 2008, 09:10 PM
This Chelsea is Jose's creation...
Posted by: Locke Lamora May 20 2008, 09:13 PM
WTF Drogba, in less than 24 hours your team will be playing the Champions League final and you prepare by blasting your manager?
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 20 2008, 09:15 PM
It does seem very silly. It seems to happy whenever an English team's involved in a Final though. Gerrard rumours before Istanbul, Henry rumours before Paris. Now this and the Lampard rumours. 
Posted by: Habitant May 21 2008, 04:56 AM
Not sure on the away kit yet and the home shirt just doesn't look.. "Villa". Looks like a design Scunthorpe would wear.
the away is very nice, home is ok... just the sponsor isnt great...
i got a couple of pairs of villa shorts btw the 3rd from 06/07 season and the white from 07/08. I'm officially adopting vill as my premiership team!
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 21 2008, 07:06 PM
i got a couple of pairs of villa shorts btw the 3rd from 06/07 season and the white from 07/08. I'm officially adopting vill as my premiership team!
I'm not a fan of the way the sponsor looks, but it's a charity so I'm all for having it.
Posted by: Tennie May 21 2008, 07:26 PM
Wow, and a children's hospice too. Man, Kurt. Randy Lerner is going to give greedy American club owners....a good name.
(Well done to Villa + its clueful owner, Randy Lerner)
Posted by: dst May 22 2008, 02:51 PM
So like with Juventus at Turin, there are not United fans at Manchester... is this happening with any other team? What about Everton and Liverpool?
Posted by: LaPalma May 22 2008, 03:28 PM
Munich. The real bavarians support 1860 München. Not Bayern.
Posted by: zdrossoneri May 22 2008, 05:32 PM
I was just wondering... what will happen to post-Ferguson Manchester United? who will replace him? who dares to? will the new coach succeed? [of course not!!!]... etc... etc...
I think Man U will go through a very dark period when SAF finally retires!
Posted by: morgoth May 22 2008, 05:34 PM
I think R.Keane maybe the one.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 22 2008, 05:49 PM
Well tha area they are both in is Greater Manchester. Man City are actually in Manchester itself while I think United are from Trafford, so Man City's fans are in the City of Manchester, while most of Uniteds are from Trafford and Salford.. at least that's how I've always seen it. But technically United fans have as many fans from Manchester as City do.
Both Everton and Liverpool are from the same area, the stadiums are a few hundred feet from each other and I think it's just a mix all over. Alot of families are split by who they support.
Alot of people think Martin O'Neill, he's done well wherever he has gone. But I'd think Mark Hughes may be the guy they'll get. Proven manager, often took Blackburn into Europe and he's done well considering it's a poor club. Roy Keane, Bryan Robson (
) and Steve Bruce would be other options if they wanted a former player.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 23 2008, 06:31 PM
Rafa Benitez has increased his £10m offer for Gareth Barry to £12m. MON rejected it immediately. 
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 24 2008, 08:40 AM
If Tottenham got that whats-his-name for 18 mill to play him on the bench...Villa ought to ask for 25 mill to sell Gareth.
Posted by: morgoth May 24 2008, 01:18 PM
A.Ferguson : There is no doubt, I think Carlos will be here for a long time.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7418151.stm
Will Carlos Queiroz be the next Man U coach?
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 24 2008, 03:57 PM
I'm hoping for around £25m to be honest. He 'only' 27, but pace is not a part of him game at all, so he could easily go on for another 7 years or so. And similar players to him in recent years - Hargreaves & Carrick - both went for about £18m, and Barry is keeping them out of the England team, so..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/7418151.stm
Will Carlos Queiroz be the next Man U coach?
That's a possiblity, he has been there for a while now. And the last two seasons he's defintly become more involved, he does the majority of post match interviews and apparently does most of the coaching. So he could very well be the next manager.
Posted by: dst May 24 2008, 04:36 PM
I don't think Queiroz can be United's next manager... the coaches are usually closer to the players and are seen as the nice guys and that's the first thing a manager does not want to be seen as...
Posted by: Bluesummers May 24 2008, 04:41 PM
+1
So many of carlo's problems are said in this line.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 24 2008, 08:11 PM
Odds for next season.
Chelsea 9/4 Man City 250/1 Wigan 2000/1
Arsenal 7/2 Portsmouth 500/1 Fulham 2000/1
Liverpool 13/2 Blackburn 500/1 West Brom 2500/1
Tottenham 66/1 West Ham 1000/1 Stoke City 5000/1
Newcastle 150/1 Middlesbrough 1000/1 Hull City 5000/1
Aston Villa 150/1 Sunderland 1000/1
It makes me laugh how Newcastle and Spurs are rated that highly, yet Everton are always under-rated. Newcastle are as predictable as life - build themself up and fail, just like birth and death!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 24 2008, 08:18 PM
250/1 on Man City...?
Might be worth a flutter, new manager, big budget you never know 
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 01:42 AM
Might be worth a flutter, new manager, big budget you never know
I'm still trying to work out which manager is brain dead enough to actually go to Man City. McClown maybe?
Boro's new home kit.. is it just me, or does this look really, really gay?
Posted by: Tennie May 26 2008, 01:44 AM
So....will Joey Barton play next year? He's got what? Six months of jail time now?
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 01:46 AM
I'm not sure any team is stupid enough to want him anymore, then again, he does play for Newcastle. Up there he's probably seen as the new Maradona.
Posted by: arivanjj May 26 2008, 01:56 AM
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=241425&cc=3888
wat a story!... really happy for them, and hope they make something of the opportunity.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 01:59 AM
I'm not sure if it's Hull or Stoke that said they won't spend much, as they don't want to be in any financial trouble if they were to get relegated straight away - talk about optimism! They obviously haven't learned from Derby, that's exactly what they did, and they became a joke because of it.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 26 2008, 02:02 AM
wat a story!... really happy for them, and hope they make something of the opportunity.
Having been living in Bristol I've heard nothing but this for weeks!
To be honest neither really should be in the EPL they don't have the quality to do anything. Yes they have £50mil but I think there's more chance of me playing for Milan than them staying up next season.
In a few seasons Nottingham Forest, QPR and Leeds will be up there, teams that have a chance of staying up. The only other team I would have seen having a chance to stay up in the play-off's was Watford. Even they were useless towards the end of the season.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 02:51 AM
Reckon West Brom will stay up, easily the best team in the Championship, and went out to a dodgey goal in the FA Cup Hopefuly they fall apart and break Derbys worst points record though, that'd be nice.
Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich is ready to smash the world transfer record to land the 24-year-old Spaniard.
Abramovich was prepared to pay that much for Thierry Henry when he first took over at Chelsea and he has given chief executive Peter Kenyon permission to offer the same amount for a brilliant marksman who scored 33 goals in his debut season at Anfield.
In sacrificing Avram Grant, Roman finds himself back at the Colosseum
Grant's chance to spill the beans on Chelsea exit as Abramovich begins search for successor
Avram Grant was sacked as Chelsea's manager on Saturday and the search now begins for his successor, with Guus Hiddink and Frank Rijkaard among the favourites to take over.
But it is understood the club will continue to pursue those players Grant identified prior to his dismissal - and Torres was top of his wish list, with the Barclays Premier League and Champions League runners-up happy to take advantage of the chaos at Liverpool.
Chelsea believe they have a chance of pulling off one of the most extraordinary transfer coups in football history which could beat the world record fee of £46m Real Madrid paid Juventus for France midfielder Zinedine Zidane in 2001.
"There is a desire among certain people at Liverpool to sell at the right price," said an insider last night. "It's just a case of whether they have the nerve to incur the wrath of the Liverpool fans."
Disruption reigns at Anfield, with the ownership of the club as well as the future of manager Rafa Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry uncertain.
Tom Hicks says he is desperate to raise funds to take sole control and the sale of Torres only a year after he arrived from Atletico Madrid for £23m could be good business.
Benitez: will raise strong objections if owner Tom Hicks decides to cash in on Torres
Benitez will not think so and agreeing to sell could add more tension. The Liverpool manager claims a lack of resources means his side will again be fighting against the tide for the title next term.
He said: "It's more difficult because after two years of Chelsea winning the league and spending big money, United needed to do the same. They started spending big money, and Arsenal were also spending big money on young players.
"We're trying to do the same but it's more difficult to catch up. We'll do our best. The key is to not talk about the title."
But his objections regarding the sale of Torres may not hold sway and it would represent good business for Chelsea as well as Hicks because striker Didier Drogba is up for sale.
As well as Jose Bosingwa - who has agreed to join Chelsea for £16m - Grant identified AC Milan's Kaka and Real Madrid's Robinho.
Like Torres, Kaka is an ambitious target and someone Milan have said they are not prepared to sell. But Chelsea will attempt to lure the World Player of the Year by offering Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and possibly even money in return.
Chelsea do not envisage the next manager objecting but they want to make an appointment quickly.
Rijkaard has long been considered the favourite and the football he produced at Barcelona to win the Champions League in 2006 impressed Abramovich.
But there are concerns about the strength of his leadership and Chelsea could turn to someone like the experienced Hiddink.
The return of Jose Mourinho has been dismissed but among other possible targets are Luiz Felipe Scolari, Marcello Lippi, Mark Hughes and Sven Goran Eriksson.
Daily Mail
Haven't got a link. Found it on Liverpools' Red and White Kop forum.
The worrying thing for Liverpool fans is that Hicks seems to see them as a business, not a football team, especially as he's "looking to raise cash". And he'd be making £27m on Torres, which would be good business. It'd be wonderful if they sold him, just wonderful.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 26 2008, 02:52 AM
They're Scousers, if Torres got sold for that reason, there would be well you know what they're like...
Posted by: Tennie May 26 2008, 02:56 AM
The English tabloids are awfully entertaining. I liked the 'Drogba + Carvalho + money for Kaka' bit.
EDIT: Waitasec.....Kurt, what were you doing on a Scouser forum? 
dst will want to have you decontaminated now! 
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 02:58 AM
I'd expect something like this:
Scouser 1: "Wha' tha f*ck is goin' on, like!? You can't do tha, Hicks! Ya b*stard!"
Scouser 2: "Eh boss, calm down, calm down. We can jus' go back an' steal him, like."
Scouser 1: "Oh yeah, sound."
EDIT: I was on their forum mainly to see what they think on the Barry thing, plus they're a team with alot going on at the moment, so it's a good read.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 26 2008, 03:04 AM
Scouser 1: "Wha' tha f*ck is goin' on, like!? You can't do tha, Hicks! Ya b*stard!"
Scouser 2: "Eh boss, calm down, calm down. We can jus' go back an' steal him, like."
Scouser 1: "Oh yeah, sound."
Oh so true.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 26 2008, 03:42 PM
AVRAM GRANT’S father claims Chelsea sacked his son because Roman Abramovich caved in to anti-Jewish critics.
Meir Granat, whose family were victims of the Holocaust, believes Abramovich bowed to anti-Semitic feelings against Grant — despite the Blues’ owner being a Russian Jew himself.
Outraged Granat, 80, said: “I have never met Roman Abramovich and I don’t know him. But I was sure that, as a Jew, he would support Avram.
“Yet Abramovich was probably influenced by the anti-Semites and could not stand the pressure of the negativity against Avram and the publicity against him.â€
It was an astonishing attack, though not the first time anti-Semitic claims have been raised.
Grant’s agent Pini Zahavi recently argued anti-Semitism was having an influence on his client’s chances of staying at the club.
And Grant has also received death threats linked to his background.
Grant pleaded for his job at a 2½-hour meeting at Abramovich’s London mansion on Saturday.
A pal said: “He is very hurt and disappointed by what has happened. He knows certain members of the board always wanted to get rid of him.â€
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1206068.ece
Yawn. Really pathetic, you're just being petty when you pull the religion card. But I agree, it must clearly be anti-Jewish stuff as to why he's been sacked, that's why no Jewish players like Ben Haim play for Chelsea. Oh, wait..
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 26 2008, 07:46 PM
This makes me laugh.It sounds like what a kid would say in a school class.
Posted by: Habitant May 27 2008, 03:26 AM
Robinho, Ramos, Diarrà & €50m For Ronaldo - Marca
apparently thats what man u want for CR
....
...
Is real madrid dumb enough to do that?
tune in the next few weeks to find out.
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 27 2008, 03:40 AM
That's just silly. Anyways, Cristiano said that he's sick of repeating himself about his future - he is focusing on Euro 2008 and Portugal - so he doesn't want to talk about staying/moving until after the competition. SO I'm guessing this will be going on for quite some time.
Posted by: dst May 27 2008, 10:48 AM
wow!! That can't be true!!!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 27 2008, 12:19 PM
Don't think so... Ramos + Robinho + Diarra + 5 mill would I think be fair. Certainly not 50 mill.
Posted by: dst May 27 2008, 12:27 PM
That's close to E80m... still a lot of money!!!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 27 2008, 12:28 PM
About fair...We'd want that much for Kaka...and cumulative performance over the past two seasons has been better for Cristiano than Kaka.
Posted by: dst May 27 2008, 01:29 PM
What is it that you don't get!??
It is a lot of money!!
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 28 2008, 02:16 AM
This was on BBC, not the biggest picture, I know. West Ham and Villa averaged over 6 English players per game(Maybe foreigners hate claret and blue? ) and Arsenal less than half a player!
What Arsenal do really isn't acceptable, something needs to be done quickly. It'd also stop them stealing players from other theams as they'd have no use for them!
I have to say I'm very proud of my team though! Not only are we one of two teams who play alot of English players, but we had 5 regular English starters that were 23 or under, and we had a great season. Maybe England future isn't so bleak!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 28 2008, 02:23 AM
Whats up with all points, 0.34 for Arsenal? Oh, they're talking about Walcott's ability now I get it...
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 28 2008, 02:28 AM
Amount of English players starting, per team, per game. If you get what I mean!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 28 2008, 02:31 AM
Haha, I know, it's just if Walcott was starting its half a player anyway... ah nevermind it's late and I should stop trying to be harsh on 'Arsene'al
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 28 2008, 02:32 AM
Ooohhh, you were taking the p!ss? That one went way past me! Think I should stop staying up this late!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 28 2008, 02:35 AM
Shouldn't we all but I'm still on Student Time!
Posted by: Tennie May 28 2008, 02:43 AM
The fish doll dutifully offers Ash a keg of beer. Such is a staple of student life!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 28 2008, 04:45 AM
^^
You might want to adjust his caffeine I.V as well 10ster. Me for one is all for Blatter's 6+5 rule. I mean they're called English clubs and French clubs and Italian clubs for a reason.
But then again, I can't say, because as a Milan fan, I have little to lose if that rule is brought in.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 28 2008, 05:08 AM
Grant was in charge of the team at Stamford Bridge for eight months following the departure of Jose Mourinho last September, but lost his job on Saturday after a three-hour meeting with Abramovich, reports the Mirror.
The newspaper says Grant did not like what Abramovich was saying, because he felt he had earned the right to build his own team instead of having to work with the players inherited from Mourinho.
But it claims the meeting ended amicably with a drink and a joke, Grant believing he be remembered as the man who built the platform for what Chelsea can go on to achieve.
The Israeli coach would have received a huge pay rise if he had taken the opportunity to return to his former job as director of football on £4million per year.
But he preferred to walk out with his head held high and a pay-off nearer £1million.
Pride mattered more to Grant than the cash. He was proud of his achievements at Chelsea and proud that his reign ended in a Champions League final in front of some 20,000 Chelsea fans who never previously experienced such an occasion.
They were, after all, just a kick away from winning the biggest prize in European club football.
Grant, who received a lot of farewell texts from his players over the weekend, has returned to Israel before going to the United States on holiday.
But the Mirror quoted 'close friends' of his as saying: "It is ridiculous to say that Avram was angry. It's just not right. Roman rang him and asked him to come to his house for a meeting. When he got there, he was asked to go back to being director of football, for a huge pay rise.
"The conversation was pleasant. It was not a negative atmosphere at all. Roman tried to persuade Avram to stay at the club, reminding him how much he loved Chelsea, and that he hadn't come to the club to be manager in the first place.
"But Avram has always believed that you have to be true and honest to yourself, that you have to keep your integrity. If you lose that, you cannot stay anywhere. For Avram, he had to leave."
The newspaper added that Grant feels the decision that finally terminated his tenure as Chelsea manager was not sending on Andriy Shevchenko during extra-time in the Champions League final, especially when the substitute he did nominate, Nicolas Anelka, missed the decisive penalty
I kinda thought it was wierd too. Sheva was definitely playing better than Anelka then. But kudos to Grant. It was a good move on his part.
Posted by: aLbErTo May 28 2008, 02:13 PM
good (or even great) news for those who like arsenal or those good-natured
milanfan members...Eduardo da Silva has started training after his hard injury, it's just easy running though, but it's a great improvment !!
Posted by: Tennie May 28 2008, 02:22 PM
That's very good news indeed, Alberto!
Posted by: Locke Lamora May 28 2008, 03:31 PM
milanfan members...Eduardo da Silva has started training after his hard injury, it's just easy running though, but it's a great improvment !!
Kurt's not going to like this...another scary foreigner will be back in about 8 months...
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 28 2008, 10:20 PM
I want him back. I want no excuses for Croatia in the WC qualifying!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant May 29 2008, 03:21 AM
milanfan members...Eduardo da Silva has started training after his hard injury, it's just easy running though, but it's a great improvment !!
Can't say I particularly rate him as a player but good on him nevertheless.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 29 2008, 04:51 AM
Me neither...I didn't think he was so crucial to Arsenal, that his injury cost them all three competitions.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow May 30 2008, 08:47 AM
A great read from goal.com
A Tale Of Three Managers
The experiences of Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Roberto Mancini during the last eight months - and in particular the last eight days - provide an illuminating if somewhat chilling commentary on what constitutes success in modern top-level football.
All three men were sacked despite delivering results that most other managers would die for - or at least be delighted to have achieved. Yet they were deemed to be not good enough by their respective employers, Chelsea and Internazionale.
In the surreal world of football club management, one of the men Chelsea discarded - Mourinho - is set to be installed as the new messiah at San Siro, while Inter's sacked coach Mancini is being linked with the Chelsea job, though it remains far from certain that it will be offered to him. As for Grant, he has headed off on holiday to the United States to reflect on the nature of loyalty and integrity in the beautiful game.
What has been highlighted in West London and Milan, yet again, is how thin the dividing line is between success and failure. Discounting national FA and League Cup competitions (as the biggest clubs increasingly do), there are only two genuinely 'major' prizes that any club can win each season: their national domestic league championship; and the Champions League. Manchester United won both those jewels this season; Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich won their respective domestic titles. Does that mean that every other club in England, Italy, Spain and Germany endured a campaign of failure? Certainly by the criteria that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich applies, they did. Daft and unrealistic though it is, that is how rarefied the atmosphere is becoming.
It's Roman's Empire
Mourinho was fired after bringing Chelsea their first domestic title in 50 years, then repeating the feat, adding domestic cups along the way and reaching two Champions League semi-finals. But by not conquering Europe as he had done with Porto, by giving priority to winning rather than winning prettily, and by resisting interference from above in matters of team selection, he fell foul of the Russian billionaire who regards Chelsea as his personal plaything.
So in this particular Toy Story, Mourinho's Woody was displaced by Avram Grant's Buzz Lightyear. He guided the Blues from sixth to second in the Premier League with a 22-8-2Â W-D-L record and nearly overtook Manchester United in the final furlong. He also led Chelsea to two cup finals - including, for the first time in their history, the Champions League final which they lost by the width of a post in a dramatic shoot-out. But Grant was still told to buzz off.
Peter Kenyon, the Machiavellian chief executive at Stamford Bridge, explained that Grant's record - bettered only by Manchester United - was "not acceptable" for "a club like Chelsea."
But then what exactly is a club like Chelsea? Their recent trophy haul is impressive; but the emphasis here is on recent. They do not have a heritage of harvesting silverware on an annual basis; their traditions are more modest. Vaulting ambition can be commendable, but it needs to be tempered by perspective or it tips over into arrogant pretension. Isn't football less about instant fixes than solid development that bears fruit over time? Chelsea have the big-club swagger; but by the words and actions of the Stamford Bridge hierarchy they sometimes betray a small-club mentality. Kenyon implies that Chelsea now see themselves in a unique category where anything less than the Premier League title and/or European Cup on the sideboard in any one season constitutes failure - requiring the removal and replacement of the manager.
Good Enough For Most?
Chelsea's record over the last five seasons has been phenomenal by most measures, but especially by their own standards during the preceding 97 years. In 2003-04, Claudio Ranieri took them to their highest league finish for 49 years and might well have won the title but for Arsenal's remarkable unbeaten campaign. He also took them further in the Champions League than they'd ever been before. Mourinho bettered that with a bang, winning back-to-back titles, two League Cups, the FA Cup and also making it to the Champions League semi-finals twice. And while Grant was in charge, his record in Premier League matches was actually better than that of Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Rafael Benitez. The Blues also lined up in their first ever Champions League final.
Yet few were surprised that Grant was sacked. Like Ranieri and Mourinho before him, he was unable to spare Abramovich the "embarrassment" of not winning the Champions League, so he had to go.
However, it is likely that even if John Terry's spot-kick had hit the net rather than the post and United had been the heartbroken ones in Moscow, Grant would still have been fired.
In the terms of that awful modern-day cliché, he just didn't tick all the boxes. He was persistently sniped at for his tactics and substitutions, and accused of lacking the big-match temperament. Notwithstanding Terry's slip on the Luzhniki turf, he surely nailed those criticisms during the last few weeks of the campaign.Â
A Need To Be Loved
Yet it seems that the internal politics at Stamford Bridge were always undermining him. He had an 'image problem' from the start, which shouldn't be an issue but is. In that respect he was the complete antithesis of the dashing, media-savvy and manipulative Mourinho, so adored by the Chelsea fans who have grown accustomed to charismatic managers over the last decade (Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli, Ranieri and Mourinho). But what Grant shared with the Special One was an inability to make Chelsea liked if not loved beyond Stamford Bridge.
And it seems that Abramovich craves this, as well as the glittering prizes, for his King's Road project. It has been revealed this week that Chelsea's next manager will be expected to change the public perception of the club and make them more popular among the public at large.
To change the club's image, Chelsea must first understand why current perceptions of the club are as they are. For any club, the normal state of affairs is that they are worshipped (though not uncritically) by their own loyal fan-base, hated by their traditional rivals and mostly tolerated by everyone else as an object of curiosity, amusement or indifference. In Chelsea's case, the tolerance is lower and the hatred, or at least negativity, higher than the vanity of the club's hierarchy can stand. Unlike Millwall, whose fans famously and defiantly made a virtue of their unpopularity by singing, "No-one likes us, we don't care," Chelsea clearly DO care. So why the negativity towards them?
Reasons To Be Unpopular
Firstly, they are the epitome of the nouveau-riche. And it is a fact of life that while lottery winners and others who come into big money without a history of handling wealth have no problem attracting hangers-on, the typical reaction towards them is envy, turning quickly to jealousy and resentment - especially if they indulge in conspicuous consumption. And Chelsea's spending has certainly been conspicuous. They are perceived by many to have bought their trophies in recent years. It is a trite criticism, because it takes a lot more than a collection of galacticos to make a successful team. But perception can be a powerful thing.
Secondly, some of the Chelsea players are perceived to be too big for their handsomely endorsed boots. Player-power, whether real or imagined, is rarely seen as attractive these days. The tendency of Terry and Frank Lampard to question every decision against their team, or indeed to want to referee the match as well as play in it, irks many people. Haranguing officials like indignant shop-stewards, encouraging others like Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba to follow suit, is not endearing. As for Drogba, leaving aside the notorious theatricals, he undermined team unity all season with indiscreet utterances to the media about leaving, then staying, then leaving again. He certainly did nothing to bolster Grant's position.
Thirdly, Chelsea's style of play is criticised by many (fuelled by the media) for being dull and boring. They are certainly a more pragmatic proposition than say Arsenal; but the card that they are not entertaining has been heavily over-played. Chelsea are capable of excellent football; and they are very hard to beat. But again, the perception is that they lack the 'wow' factor. Tellingly, that seems to be what Abramovich thinks, too.
Fourthly, the Russian oligarch’s club and its main mouthpiece, Kenyon, are accused of acting disrespectfully and lacking 'class'. There is an element of snobbery in the accusation but their treatment of their own managers (and of assistant first-team coach Henk ten Cate, sacked on Thursday after being told on Saturday his position was safe) hardly strengthens the case for the defence.Â
Under Mourinho, the goading of rival managers, the histrionic railing against Anders Fisk and Frank Rijkaard, and the tapping-up of Ashley Cole, earned him kudos among his own fans, but elsewhere? Not really.Â
Â
So the task of polishing Chelsea's image will not be an easy one. It will be an additional challenge for whoever becomes the new manager. It is being said that those on the short-list will be sceptical about accepting the job in view of what has happened to the last three incumbents. But this is the real world and the managers in the frame are in a win-win situation. If they deliver trophies to Abramovich they will enhance both their bank balances and reputations. If they fail, they will be compensated with a lavish pay-off, and find their job prospects in no way diminished, because football manager is one profession where getting sacked is not so much a career set-back as an invitation to another club to take you on. That's why Inter are lining up Mourinho; and why Mancini and Rijkaard and Deschamps are thought to be possibilities for Chelsea.
Inter Active
The case of Mancini, of course, underlines the earlier point about the narrow margins between success and failure. A hat-trick of Scudettos should be enough to keep anyone in a job, but not Mancio at Inter. Why?
Firstly, he has been denied much of the credit for the first two of those titles by calciopoli and its subsequent fall-out. The 2005-06 championship was stripped from Juventus and given to runners-up Inter. The 2006-07 title was won with Juve in Serie B and AC Milan hobbled by a points deduction, so although Inter's results were outstanding, the team were given a clear run, said the critics. Mancini's latest title was certainly achieved in a fully competitive Serie A, although since March the Nerazzurri were decidedly less convincing.
That March turning point was precipitated by the second black mark against Mancini: another failure in the Champions League, where his overly defensive tactics against Liverpool were perceived as handing the initiative to the Reds.
Thirdly, Mancini's emotional response to elimination by Liverpool - to resign, then reverse his decision 24 hours later - raised question-marks about his temperament and also fatally damaged his standing with club owner Massimo Moratti.Â
But fourthly and most damningly, Mancini's management style seems to have alienated too many key players in the Inter squad. It appears their opposition to the boss sounded the fatal death-knell to his reign. Player-power again, albeit in a rather more blatant and brutal fashion than Grant experienced.
The issue of compensation is delaying the announcement of Mourinho as Mancini's successor, while Mancini's agent is making a point of stressing his client's availability to Chelsea.
Whatever Next?
Whoever is managing at Stamford Bridge and San Siro next season, they will know what to expect. The bar has been set high and if they fall short they will be out with little ceremony. Is that the best way to guarantee success? And how exactly is 'success' to be defined these days?
Interestingly, Mourinho used to taunt Arsene Wenger that the Arsenal boss didn't need to win trophies to keep his job. The Gunners have just completed a third successive season without silverware, but there was never a hint from the hierarchy at the Emirates that Wenger would be sacked. Has that made the man who has won seven trophies for Arsenal complacent, or is it the sort of support that helps build sustained long-term success? 60,000-plus sell-out crowds for every Arsenal home game suggest that the fans enjoy what they're seeing, though of course they'd prefer that elusive silver lining. Alex Ferguson famously needed nearly four fraught years to bring the first of his 22 trophies to Old Trafford. And in 1994-95, 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2004-05, Manchester United won nothing, but never threatened to pull the plug on Fergie. Chelsea and Inter have a less patient approach to management.
But which model is the best?
It's a very great debate. Mourinho shouldn't have been fired. But then for that matter...neither should have Grant or Mancini.
EDIT: And in what sounds like a rumour but a plausible one...
I got this from a guy who knows a guy whose cousin works at Stamford bridge. (there might be another guy in between...not sure)
Roman's keen on getting Scolari...and Scolari's all but agreed to a new 3 year contract.
Scolari's terms:
1.Minimal interference from the bosses. Keep your eyes on the trophy cabinets and the playing style. Leave the rest to me i.e. handling the players etc.
2. Will sign in two players from the youth squads. And not a lot of big name players.
3. After his contract ends, and it has gone well...he shall take over Grant's old position of director.
Posted by: morgoth May 30 2008, 07:07 PM
Cheslea's assistant manager Ten Cate has been fired ...
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 30 2008, 07:21 PM
Well, he certainly made an impact on the club!
Posted by: aLbErTo May 31 2008, 01:18 AM
it was actually his first season...remember kranjcar's last season, he was pretty average, while this season he was a big role in portsmouth side...and in my belief, eduardo was to many times played in wrong position, he's not a great winger, he played it decent, but when he was played as a striker he showed his special abilities...he scores two goals from one good chance...if you think of what he might bring to arsenal if he was there, adebayor wasn't enough, van persie & rosicky wasn't prepared whole season, so appearntly, eduardo's injury was just too much...
Posted by: kurtsimonw May 31 2008, 01:20 AM
Kranjcar was better last season than this one! He was the star of their midfield, this season only Muntari and Diop ever showed up.
Posted by: Locke Lamora May 31 2008, 01:24 AM
I totally agree with you.
When Eduardo and Van Persie got injured we were left with just Adebayor, Bendtner and Walcott.
Posted by: aLbErTo May 31 2008, 10:38 AM
you are very mistaken...he probably has the most caps in his club this season,lot of them playing pretty well...last season he had 10 caps whole season, how can that be better...c'mon
The Brazilian-born Croatia striker suffered a broken leg and dislocated ankle during the February game against Birmingham, and had been expected to be out of commission until the end of the calendar year at the earliest.
Now, based on his highly encouraging progress while in rehab in Rio de Janeiro, the 25-year-old has issued a far more optimistic prognosis.
"I am returning to Europe from Brazil at the beginning of August, perhaps even the end of July," said Eduardo.
"Doctors tell me by then I will be fully recovered and able to play football again. I hope so too.
"I'm feeling well and my rehabilitation is going better than I would ever have hoped."
Eduardo has been reduced to cheerleading role for Euro 2008, but is backing Croatia to make waves in the tournament.
"I think the boys will play very well without me," he added.
"They'll get through the group and, after that, we'll have to wait and see."
Croatia are fancied to go through along with Germany in Group B, which also contains Poland and co-hosts Austria.
goal.com
Posted by: Portikins Jun 1 2008, 09:37 PM
So kurt, hows the Barry-Liverpool thing?
Everybody seems to understand that Alonso is heading Juventus and the English international going to Anfield.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 2 2008, 12:43 AM
Nobody knows yet, not even his wife apparently. He said he hasn't made the decision, and rumour is he's not actually going to. Villa want around £20m for him, if Liverpool pay it, they can have him, if not, then they can't. Though we may refuse to sell to them after the way they've gone about it - like United did with Heinze.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 2 2008, 11:15 AM
Geez bud.
That's what? 25-27 M/euros? You guys are nuts.
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 2 2008, 02:00 PM
Wow thats crazy, if Liverpool cave into their demands is Liverpools loss. Pretty good deal for Villa if it goes through
English players do tend to be overpriced though (Man Utd especially love to pay too much - Rooney, Rio, Carrick etc)
Posted by: dst Jun 2 2008, 04:55 PM
I think the amount of money Villa are asking for is normal. I mean... Liverpool got €13 million for Sissoko for ****s sake! The clubs in the Premier League have lots of money and they don't think twice about spending it (and why should they?) so it's only logical that the prices are so high...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 2 2008, 07:42 PM
That's what? 25-27 M/euros? You guys are nuts.
You have to take into account many things.
-We do NOT want to sell.
-He has 2 years left on his contract
-Carrick and Hargreaves were both sold for around £18m.. Barry is keeping both of these out of the England team.
He's always been under-rated. Mascherano was bought for £17m, and all he is, is a DM. Barry is also a top DM, but he also finished 4th for assists in the EPL last season and scored 9 goals (I think Mascherano, Hargreaves and Carrick combined made less assists and scored less goal) . If we only got £20m for him, I personally would be very disappointed, he's a much more complete player than the likes of Hargreaves, Carrick and Mascherano, so I don't see why his value should be the same as theirs. I wouldn't sell him for any less than £25m and I also wold not sell to Liverpool.
Posted by: Bluesummers Jun 2 2008, 09:29 PM
That's what? 25-27 M/euros? You guys are nuts.
barry is class and very underrated. His price tage undoubtedly is 25 million euro+
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 2 2008, 09:34 PM
But he doesn't play for a top European club and doesn't have a name like Barrizinho, so he'll probably end up going for £15m.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 2 2008, 09:36 PM
Only player to play every England game this season, enough said.
Posted by: Bluesummers Jun 2 2008, 09:39 PM
lmfao
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 3 2008, 03:19 PM
I just heard about this
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/jun/03/astonvilla.premierleague
Its a noble thing to do
(extract from article)
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 3 2008, 08:12 PM
I think it goes to show that all these foreign owners aren't ONLY in it for the money. So far he's built us a £13m training facility, completely re-built the Holte Pub, done up the surrounding area with claret and blue everywhere, donated £5m to an art gallery - and has a floor of the gallery named after him - now using this sponsor. Randy lerner may not be English, but I think it'd be tough to find a classier chariman in the league.. Oh, and most importantly, he does not interfere with transfers!
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 3 2008, 08:22 PM
Randy Lerner is the exception to the rule. He is the only one that is actually developing the club instead of exploiting it and seeking quick cash
If only all premier league owners were like that...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 3 2008, 08:46 PM
Yep, there are very few nowadays who seem to want the best for the club. Boro's owner seems a decent guy, he gives alot of money to the club - which is unfortunately wasted by its managers.
Anyways, it looks like Mark Hughes is set to leave Blackburn to join Man City. Mistake in my opinion, he was doing great at Rovers, but now he has to work under a terrible owner. Sam Allerdyce is favourite to take over at Blackburn.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 4 2008, 05:29 AM
Big big mistake. But Mark must have thought, this is the only chance he'll have to buy big, and break into the big league. I think he wants to coach Man Utd, and he has two years to stake his claim before Fergie retires.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 4 2008, 01:57 PM
Mark Hughes to Manchester City.
Manchester City have confirmed that Mark Hughes has been appointed as the club's new manager.
City parted company with Sven-Goran Eriksson on Monday and were immediately given permission to talk to Blackburn manager Hughes, 44, with a compensation package agreed yesterday.
Hughes was also believed to be interesting Chelsea after a successful four years at Rovers but has opted to move to Eastlands on a three-year deal.
City's new chief executive, Garry Cook, told the club's: 'I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. In our view he is the brightest young manager in the game and he was our number one target for the manager's job.'
Hughes, who will be presented to the media at a press conference tomorrow morning, agreed to the move after meeting Cook yesterday evening.
Cook himself has only just had his appointment confirmed by owner Thaksin Shinawatra and flew in from the USA to seal the deal.
Cook continued: 'He made it clear to us from the moment we met that he shared our vision and ambition to make Manchester City one of the top sides in the country.
'It's a privilege to join Dr Thaksin here at Manchester City. There is no better opportunity in world football.
'The club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long-term services of key members of the current first-team squad.
'Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately.'
Hughes will take up his new position with immediate effect.
Hughes is expected to be followed to the City of Manchester Stadium by his assistants Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki with compensation believed to be in the region of £5million.
Hughes began his managerial career with the Wales national team following his international retirement in 1999.
Wales were at a low ebb when Hughes took over but the former striker turned things round and, after beating Italy, they narrowly failed to reach Euro 2004 when they were beaten in a play-off by Russia.
Hughes left his Wales post in September 2004 to take over at Blackburn, who were struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League.
In his four years at Ewood Park, Hughes - a former Blackburn player - transformed the side into a top-six outfit, twice qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
Rovers also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup twice and the last four of the Carling Cup, while Hughes has proved himself a canny operator in the transfer market, bringing in strikers Benni McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz in cut-price deals.
Blackburn just missed out on European football for next season and, with City having qualified through the Fair Play League, that may have influenced Hughes' decision.
City owner Thaksin hailed the qualities of his new manager, telling the Daily Mail today: 'He's an outstanding manager who has achieved many things with Blackburn.'
Hughes was a legend at Manchester United during his playing days and has been tipped for the top job at Old Trafford when Sir Alex Ferguson retires.
I'm convinced he wants the job after SAF leaves. And Man City gives him the opportunity (and the big money) to do that. But still you'd think joining the cross town rivals of the club which made you a legend and which you want to coach for, would be a little strange?!
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 4 2008, 02:19 PM
Spalletti is faveourite for the Chelsea job according to the English press
Posted by: morgoth Jun 4 2008, 04:06 PM
According to that same press Ancelotti agreed terms with Chelsea ...
Posted by: Portikins Jun 4 2008, 08:20 PM
So, when does Cristiano join Real? This Summer or the next one?
He's clearly playing around with Man Utd.
Real are reportedly willing to double his current wages, are the greatest club in the world and his dream club.
If United don't offer the best wages to the arguably the best player in the world... he'll be off.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 4 2008, 09:39 PM
Wherever he ends up, the money he'll be on is going to be stupid. He's so young, stop spoiling him!
Posted by: dst Jun 4 2008, 09:57 PM
Is it sure he'll be going to Real? Some time ago he said he prefers Barcelona...
It works for me; one more reason and not to like them and they'll be playing better football... his tricks and flicks are perfect for the Madritista applauders! But somebody should warn him... he's going to have to face many unsporting tackles in Spain; it's either the man or the ball that goes through you in latin football: never both!
Posted by: morgoth Jun 4 2008, 10:25 PM
According to some reports he already told his close friends that he chose madrid, but it could also be a Spanish press ...
Oh, and I think he never said he likes Barcelona, it was always about the merengues.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 4 2008, 11:12 PM
 Actually, QPR's Lakshmi Mittal is by FAR the richest football president in the world. It's La Coruna's Amancio Ortega Gaona in second place and Abramovich "only" comes third! I wonder how the situation in the EPL will be like if Mittal starts spending his money like Abramovich has been doing. Actually, where do QPR stand now? (Please answer in the EPL thread)
I knew about Mittal.. but never even heard of this Genoa guy!
They were just above relegation when he took over, but finished between mid-table and the play-offs. They made quite a few signings in January, bought in a few decent signings for a Championship team, and they'll be in the EPL in a few years - maybe next? - but their location will play against them in my opinion. They'll be the 5th/6th best club in London, and trying to beat out the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs.. even West Ham, for signings will take long, long time.
So far they've not made any big money, signings, but bought in a few decent players for a Championship team. Radek Cerny is a good keeper, they bought in Newcastle youngster Peter Ramage and then made themself the 'Chelsea of the Championsip' by just buying the top players from other teams. Agyemang from PNE, Vine from Blues, Mahon from Watford, Fitz Hall from Wigan, amongst others.. They seem to have too many strikers though! They recently signed an Italian too - Matteo Alberti - from Chievo, dunno if he's any good though!
Posted by: dst Jun 4 2008, 11:20 PM
Do you know the exact number of London professional clubs? It's ridiculous!
I think if he starts splashing out the money... QPR will soon be the new Chelsea.
Someone should buy Leeds though, I really liked them when they reached the semis some years ago!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 4 2008, 11:34 PM
Yeah, I've never understood why guys like Carson Yeung and Mittal/Ecclestone are interested in buying teams with small fanbases/no history like Birmingham and QPR, especially when that area is already dominated by other teams.. but Leeds makes perfect sense, decent history, great support, and I don't think there's even a Yorkshire club in the EPL, so they'd make perfect sense to buy. I can't think of one reason why nobody is interested to be honest.
And London currently has 13 teams in league football!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 4 2008, 11:44 PM
Same, although they have their finances pretty much back on track now and their team's not exactly useless they will be back in the top division about 3 seasons I'm sure.
Nottingham Forest got promoted to the Championship this season too so who knows they could be making a return as well.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 5 2008, 12:38 AM
It works for me; one more reason and not to like them and they'll be playing better football... his tricks and flicks are perfect for the Madritista applauders!
But somebody should warn him... he's going to have to face many unsporting tackles in Spain; it's either the man or the ball that goes through you in latin football: never both!Cristiano will never join Barcelona.
If someday he leaves Man Utd (he will, dunno if now, in 1 year or 2) it will be for R.Madrid. He and his entire family consider them the biggest club in the world and his/their dream.
PS: Only a fool would reject Man Utd for Barcelona.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 5 2008, 08:20 AM
Hey aren't my number 2 England team Hull City a Yorkshire based outfit??
Third fastest ascent from the bottom league to the top. Go tigers...
Though we do look like we'll be getting owned in the Premier League. They seem hesitant to buy big, which was the same mistake Derby did.
Posted by: dst Jun 5 2008, 10:32 AM
PS: Only a fool would reject Man Utd for Barcelona.
I read he'll be in Madrid next year... at the very latest.
Unless you mean right now I think you are biased.
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 5 2008, 02:15 PM
About the QPR thing, they have a link with R.Madrid, young players can go both ways and each has the first option on the other players (QPR for Cantera players, RM for senior QPR players if they want them)
We might be seeing the next Granero's and De La Red's in QPR
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 5 2008, 03:17 PM
I stand to be corrected but I don't think anyone can play as badly as Derby. They might get similar points but as long as they don't lose 4-0, 5-0, 6-0 every game they're a step ahead.
Anyway, Wigan were a smaller club than both Hull or Bristol City when they came up and they've managed to be in the league for a few seasons now.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 5 2008, 09:23 PM
weird transfer. too bad he dint go to villa, i could see him doing well there. and you need to sign some strikers that can score!He'd be alright, we've already got enough quick players though! Villa scoring goals? We had 2 strikers in double figures, Carew scored more than Drogba, Anelka and Rooney, and we were the 3rd highest scoring team in the league.. goals are the least of our worries.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 6 2008, 05:31 AM
It's the bunch of crazy fans that aren't working out.
So Barry to Liverpool for 14 mill pounds?? Are you guys nuts? Or is Barry raising a fuss?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 01:20 PM
Today Figo in a interview to the biggest sports newspaper in Portugal says as you can see: "Ronaldo, go to Madrid! No fear."
After Scolari told him to go to Spain, now it's Figo.
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 01:23 PM
How much do you think he will cost?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 01:29 PM
Ufff. I don't know. Something around 70-80M/euros.
I mean, now. In 1 or 2 seasons I dunno if he won't cost half of that. (Look at Ronaldinho... in 2006 he was a 100M target, now he's 25 M worth)
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 01:34 PM
talking of wages of £300,000 a week in the press today!! no transfer figure tho
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 01:40 PM
Platini has also started a crusade to rid the Premier League of debt-ridden clubs, branding the Chelsea v Manchester United Champions League Final as a battle of the "cheats".
He said: "Look at the deficits of Chelsea and Manchester United. FIFA and UEFA are going to have to combat that because, today, it is the ones who cheat who win.
We are starting to work on this. It’s a race for money. The passion in England is exceptional and hooliganism has been fought but, as for the rest, we are going to have to find something.â€
Chelsea and United have reported combined debts of £1.5bn but have signed a string of top names for top prices, such as Wayne Rooney (£28m) and £31m Andriy Shevchenko.
His comments came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a plea to the Football Association and the other home nations to avoid any future repeat of a non-British finals.
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/euro2008/article-1024628/Platini-England-wont-missed-Euro-2008--lets-rid-football-cheats-like-Chelsea-Manchester-United.html
It's a fact. Man Utd should get banned for having 1B debt. It's just pathetic.
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 02:16 PM
It's a fact. Man Utd should get banned for having 1B debt. It's just pathetic.
just wondering does the debt belong to the club itself or the Galzier family or is it the same thing?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 02:30 PM
Club itself.
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 02:34 PM
if that is the case for once we agree
the fact the club can still be in business and actively seeking transfers to me is a joke. the same with Chelsea. surely if the benefactors of these 2 clubs left there wold be no way they could function as a going concern and that fact must be taken into account!
Posted by: dst Jun 6 2008, 02:57 PM
What does Figo mean "No fear'? He means the fear of failure?
All big four in England are in debt, it's not just United. And I don't see why they should get banned... I mean... football is now also business... and United as a company can be in debt right? Who can tell them not to be?...
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 03:03 PM
All big four in England are in debt, it's not just United. And I don't see why they should get banned... I mean... football is now also business... and United as a company can be in debt right? Who can tell them not to be?...
actually Arsenal have a operating profit so they can't be included, to participate in Serie A and B you have to provide your financial papers for the forthcoming season and even have to in the football conference so do you think that Man.Utd and Chelsea and possibly Liverpool would pass these tests?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 03:06 PM
All big four in England are in debt, it's not just United. And I don't see why they should get banned... I mean... football is now also business... and United as a company can be in debt right? Who can tell them not to be?...
Fear of failure, fear of critics, fear of Man Utd/England's reaction.
The big four are in debt. But Liverpool and Arsenal did not reach 1B... that's ridicule. Not even nowhere that figures.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 03:57 PM
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/catala/noticies/futbol/temporada07-08/06/n080606104518.html
Giovani dos Santos sold to Tottenham.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jun 6 2008, 04:04 PM
QPR has history...they had Ian Wright
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 04:14 PM
cost i s'pose...can't see any other reason look how much money it took to buy Man.Utd and Chelsea...it's perhaps a cheaper way to the EPL
Posted by: amancik Jun 6 2008, 04:24 PM
Giovani dos Santos sold to Tottenham.
how much for?
Posted by: mishie Jun 6 2008, 04:39 PM
£4.7m and could rise to £8.6m depending on appearances also a 20% sell on clause for the first 2 years then 10% there after
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 06:43 PM
Looks like a steal then. Good for Spurs though I doubt Giovani will do anything in EPL.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 6 2008, 07:27 PM
Don't think Barry has said anything himself, but the articles I've read about Barry to Liverpool for £14m say MON is reluctantly going to sell.. if he said such a thing, why not quote him in the article? It's all bull, the press work for the big 4, they're just trying to make sure they get him on the cheap!
I mean, now. In 1 or 2 seasons I dunno if he won't cost half of that. (Look at Ronaldinho... in 2006 he was a 100M target, now he's 25 M worth)
I can see United wanting £70m rather than Euro's. But the price could be lowered if Ronaldo does say he wants to leave himself.
Giovani dos Santos sold to Tottenham.
Really bad signing! In pre-season I heard alot of hype about this kid, barely heard a thing about Bojan. But Bojan was about the only bright spot in what was a bad season for them. Dos Santos? Scored a hat-trick against an already relegated team, didn't score at all in his other 25+ games, didn't offer the team anything at all, doesn't surprise me Barca let him go for next to nothing, even the fans were booing the kid. He's small and not built well either.. he's going to be snapped in two by guys like Rio/Laursen/Gallas.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 6 2008, 07:46 PM
I've been told he's the next Adu, massively overrated
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 6 2008, 07:59 PM
Couldn't agree more, it's his profile that makes him such a good player - his cool name and because he's from an 'exotic' country.
Yeah, he's 19, but he has a huge amount of talent around him, yet he still had a bad season. 3 goals in 28 games (all 3 in 1 game!) is quite poor. Luke Moore at the age of 19 scored 8 goals for Villa in 25 games (16 starts).. with very little talent around him, and even I'll admit he's shite.
What sounds better to you? Luke Moore from Birmingham, or Giovani Dos Santos from Mexico.. can anybody say hype?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 6 2008, 08:45 PM
He's a talented player. So is Adu. They just need time and the right coach/team.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 8 2008, 01:43 AM
He is currently co-owned by Samp and Fiorentina and it has been suggested that he could move back to Florence.
However, Calciomercato claim that Aston Villa are preparing to swoop for the player by offering a mega-money deal.
The Birmingham based club are ready to offer €13m in order to try and prize the stopper away from Serie A.
Aston Villa’s offer would have to be considered carefully as it is double from what Milan and Napoli are willing to spend for the player.
It seems as if Villa are now in pole position to swoop for Maggio.
The player came within touching distance of a place in Roberto Donadoni’s Italy side this year and he has been earmarked as Christian Panucci’s replacement at rightback for La Nazionale in future.
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=727239
I'd be amazed if we got him, especially if Milan want him, and even Napoli as he may want to stay in Italy. But it would be a nice solution to our RB problem!
Posted by: Portikins Jun 8 2008, 12:59 PM
Real Madrid have outfoxed Sir Alex Ferguson, who will now struggle to keep his star player
John Carlin in Madrid
Prising Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United will be less of a challenge than was the case the last time Real Madrid went to war for a prince of Portuguese football.
Luis Figo’s defection from Barcelona in 2000 for a then world record fee of £38m was Real’s first transfer coup of the century, causing incredulity and pain at the Nou Camp in equal measure, and their most audacious by far. They did not do too badly over the next three years either, adding Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo (the Brazilian) and David Beckham to their superstar collection.
Does that mean Cristiano Ronaldo is destined to be Real’s next big-name scalp? Probably, though not necessarily. Real do not always get their man. Not any more, not since the departure 2½ years ago of their formidably ambitious president Florentino Perez, the father of the gloriously failed galactico project. Ramon Calderon, his distinctly uncharismatic successor, tried hard last summer to prise Kaka from Milan but failed, settling instead for Arjen Robben, who could not command a place in the Chelsea starting XI, as his big new-season signing.
They spent £70m in 2007 on new players, none of them remotely household names. It worked, in a distinctly unglamor-ous sort of way, in that a workmanlike team won the Spanish championship for the second year running, but they were easily beaten in the Champions League by Roma (who were even more easily beaten by Man-chester United) and, save for a couple of mightily celebrated victories against a deadbeat Barce-lona, the team failed to stir the blood of the Bernabeu fans. As for the Chinese, Thais, Japanese and Singaporeans, they were mad about Real when Beckham, Zidane and company were there, but have no interest whatsoever in Gago, Pepe and Higuain.
Hence, suddenly, the desperation to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, whatever he may cost. The brains behind the push to sign the Portuguese prodigy, the man who understands best of all that a club with Real’s reputation does not live by bread alone, is not Calderon, or even the club coach, Bernd Schuster. It is Jose Angel Sanchez, Real’s chief executive, originally brought to the club by Perez eight years ago as marketing director. Of all the people on the Perez team, it was Sanchez who got the message most clearly when his enigmatic boss, a business genius in his own right, would say, “the most expensive players are the cheapestâ€. Perez realised that the impact on the global Real Madrid brand of acquiring players who were famous beyond football itself was enormous and, cleverly administered (which was where Sanchez came in), would translate into big money. The return on the Beckham investment is still being felt now, because of the long-term deals signed during his time at the club.
What Sanchez sees, and the reason he has encouraged Calderon to spend whatever it takes to get Ronaldo, is that if Real do not give themselves a boost of galactico adrenalin, not only are they going to lose their status as the world’s richest club, but a serious risk exists of a big gap beginning to open up between them and the top British clubs, in terms of money in the bank and quality on the field.
The manner in which the Ronaldo soap opera is unfolding bears the unmistakable stamp of Perez, meaning in this case the carrier of the Perez flame, Sanchez. The script was first written for Figo, then repeated with Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham.
You begin by approaching the player secretly, planting seeds in his mind, tempting him (and his agent) with the offer of huge money and the fabled white Real shirt. You then deploy the friendly Spanish sports press, whose reports are picked up within seconds elsewhere in Europe and the world, to generate some momentum, to get the player’s family and friends talking, to elicit quotes in support of the move from your own coach and potential future teammates, to make the whole prospect more substantial and real and enticing in the player’s mind.
If you get lucky, the target club, the one from which you are trying to filch the player, will show signs of panic, and start issuing angry threats. The good thing about that is that the player you seek may start waning in his loyalty, in so far as it may go, and cooling in his affection for the club to which he belongs.
Real have got lucky this time, prompting increasingly intemperate outbursts from Sir Alex Ferguson, who first accused Real of behaving unethically (to which a number of Spanish commentators have responded by recalling the way he set about snatching Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich last year) and then made what must surely be the mistake of threatening the player himself. It is hard not to imagine the cool, calculating, collected Sanchez rubbing his hands in glee when Ferguson said that he would have Ronaldo watching football from the stands all year rather than let him go to the Iberian enemy.
The objective of the exercise, now as with Real’s previous big-name signings, is to reach that checkmate point where the player unequivocally wants to move, and says as much. At which point all talk of condemning the player to Siberia, of owning him and not playing him, becomes so much guileless bluster. All the more so if the money on the table is vast, as in the case of Ronaldo (£80m is the figure mentioned in Spain).
News reports yesterday that Ronaldo would not welcome a visit from Ferguson to the Portugal national team camp sounded as if they might not be too far off the mark, which is not to say the transfer is a done deal. These summer soap operas have a habit of going on and on, and holding surprises in their tails. But as of now, the balance has swung Real’s way. Barely a month ago signing Ronaldo from United seemed like mission impossible. Today it is United who have all the work to do.
John Carlin is the author of White Angels: Beckham, Real Madrid and the New Football
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article4087648.ece
Good read on Ronaldo situation.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 8 2008, 03:29 PM
Ah, who cares anymore this has dragged on longer than the Ashley Cole situation...
Posted by: Portikins Jun 8 2008, 06:26 PM
Man Utd and Real Madrid fans.
In other words... half-world.
Anyway photos from today's training:
[Man Utd fans going mental after seeing this]
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 8 2008, 08:08 PM
I found a very interesting article on the Times
Chelsea and Manchester United have thrived with huge debts, but changing times could be on the way
I assume it includes, too, all sorts of people who “follow†Manchester United in much the same way as I “follow†the Conservative Party - taking a vague interest in them and hoping all the while that they fail. By rights, that makes me a “follower†of Manchester United as well. I check their results, with fingers crossed, on a Saturday. Or a Sunday or Monday evening, whatever. “Followers†is close to the correct name for the sort of people who one typically pompous football columnist last week said he wished were the norm for the game - not people who “parochially†support one club and loathe the rest, but people who enjoy a lovely game of footie wherever it is played, without fear or favour. Typical West Ham fan. Or “followerâ€, take your pick.
The boss of Uefa, Michel Platini, has incurred the wrath of the cynical monkeys who run our top Premier League clubs by calling Manchester United and Chelsea the “cheats†of English football, claiming the former “won the Champions League final on the never-neverâ€. Once again he lamented the “never-ending gold rush†of the Premier League, epitomised by its magnificently objectionable scheme to add a 39th game in the middle of the season to be played in some benighted foreign capital (a scheme they still haven’t dropped entirely). But the majority of the contents of his bile duct were sprayed in the direction of our top two clubs.
The cheating stuff referred to the fact that Chelsea and United have combined debts of a remarkable £1.5 billion. “The goal is not to win titles but to make money to pay off debts,†he said. The response to this was, as you might imagine, furious. A “source†at Chelsea - not the medal-collecting millionaire Peter Kenyon, I’m sure - stamped his little foot and said: “People in the Premier League will not just stand for being slagged off like this.â€
Well, yes you will, mate, because you can’t do anything else, unless you want to break away and form a new Champions League consisting of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. Platini is right about this as he has been right about almost everything else that is horribly amiss with the English game. And despite those 333 million “followers†of Manchester United, you suspect that the force is with him; with Platini and indeed with Sepp Blatter, the boss of Fifa, who is no more greatly enamoured of the greed of the English Premier League. There will be plenty of people - Kenyon, Scudamore, Barwick, the Glazers - who will insist you can’t buck the market, and that both it and the laws of international finance are in some way inviolable and based on solid foundations, beyond dispute. Therefore debts of £1.5 billion are perfectly legitimate, providing they are underwritten somehow; interest payments of £100m a year are fine, so long as they can be met. But of course money is loaned according to the fashion of the day, and fashions change. What was once a sure thing suddenly becomes, overnight, more risky. The loans are then called in. Those vaunted 333 million “followers†are United’s equivalent of Northern Rock’s sub-prime mortgages, the stuff the company diversified into because it wasn’t satisfied with being a normal building society - it wanted evermore money, quickly, secured on the most slender basis. Money loaned to people who could not possibly pay their debts. It is borrowing based upon smoke and mirrors - and sooner or later, someone gets twitchy and takes the mirrors away and all you are left with is smoke. Where will those 333 million followers go then?
For Chelsea, read Gretna - except on a much more elevated plateau, obviously. Remove Roman Abramovich from Chelsea, which is not an inconceivable scenario, and you are left with a mountain of debt and fairly ordinary players earning £120,000 a week. And with the removal of Abramovich, the removal of success too - and thus the rapid evaporation of Chelsea’s new fan base, the ones who have arrived in the last 10 years attracted solely by the prospect of vicarious success, of being part of a winning team.
Platini also took a swipe at the England side. They would not be missed at Euro 2008, he said, and their failure to qualify was their own fault. Right on both counts, but he might have added that our failure to qualify was a direct consequence of the malaise he correctly identified within the top tier of the British game - too much money invested in the most tenuous of causes. Smoke and mirrors.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 8 2008, 09:52 PM
Classic, and so very, very true!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 9 2008, 06:54 AM
More than 300 disgruntled Reds fans congregated yesterday to post eviction notices all around Anfield, continuing their push to oust the Merseyside giants’ warring possessors.
And the pressure on the bickering Americans will only continue to mount after the release of their first set of financial figures since they took control of the club in February 2007.
The Times reports that, according to accounts submitted to Companies House last week, one of Liverpool’s parent companies Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd endured a ₤33million loss as of July 31, 2007.
The club’s ₤350million in loans must be refinanced by January, while they will also have to pay interest on a ₤64million borrowing from Kop Football.
The accounts also revealed that Hicks and Gillett wrote off some ₤10.3million when ditching designs for Liverpool’s new stadium, while claiming in excess of ₤1.4million for personal expenses – figures which will do nothing to improve their standing with Reds fans.
I think Madrid and Chelsea are the only clubs in the world, who can just buy and buy and buy and not give a second thought. Everyone else, has to be careful.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 9 2008, 05:52 PM
On 27 May, Manchester United made clear its intention to report Real Madrid to FIFA if it continued to involve itself in the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Unfortunately, Real Madrid has not kept its own counsel and the Club feels it has no alternative but to make a formal complaint to the world governing body, which it has done today.
The precise content and nature will remain confidential.
Communications Department,
Manchester United Limited
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6611277
Nothing hypocritical here.
Hagreaves, Saha, etc... f idiots.
Plus this is a bad idea for United as Cristiano may react badly to this attempt to limit his choice.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 9 2008, 05:55 PM
These two are as bad as each other.
Posted by: dst Jun 9 2008, 06:18 PM
At least United don't come out with c**t comments such as "They won't write on my gravestone that I did not sign [ ]" or "[ ] will sooner or later come to us, it's inevitable"!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 9 2008, 10:19 PM
Since when should a player decide over the club?
He's on a contract I know they (the Glaziers) won't do this because of the money but they could just put him in the stands for 4 years and ruin his career potentially if he acts like this...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 10 2008, 03:24 AM
It seems that a few papers are pretty confident that Barry wants to go to Liverpool. Apparently he wants to play Champions League football and doesn't want to 'risk trying to get it' with Villa, when he can have it right now with Liverpool.
But after MONs "I will not be supporting anything to do with Liverpool (At the Euro's)" comment, he looks likely to want the £20m he's valued him at - which seems very low when Rafa has told us he wants £10m for Carson and £15m for Crouch!
Probably our best player gone. Me thinks this isn't Liverpool wanting Barry, more of a "They're threatening our position, buy their best players" kind of move. Oh well. 
Posted by: KillerMax Jun 10 2008, 03:51 AM
(Off-topic) OK, what bet did you lose Kurt and who is the girl in the Croatian jersey?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 10 2008, 03:56 AM
That England would qualify for the European Championships.. not sure who the girl is, Fillipo gave me a few links to some pics that I could choose from for my sig.
Posted by: KillerMax Jun 10 2008, 04:00 AM
For some reason, this makes me laugh...
It's a little weird and out of the blue since England not qualifying was a long time ago...
Posted by: Portikins Jun 10 2008, 01:28 PM
I still believe Eto'o will be in EPL next season. Probably in Chelsea.
Inter is an option too but they've Adriano back.
Posted by: morgoth Jun 10 2008, 01:53 PM
According to the Daily Mail, Scolari have reached an agreement with Chelsea to be their next manager ...
And Cantona gave an interview to Sky where he said he'd like to coach Man U after Ferguson, he also said that he'll only coach Man U or ... England
Posted by: Portikins Jun 10 2008, 03:19 PM
Gareth Barry tells Aston Villa: Let me go to Liverpool
Gareth Barry has told Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill that he must now let him join Liverpool.
The England star called O’Neill to beg for a move and his agent Alex Black confirmed: “Gareth has spoken to Martin since he returned from England’s game in Trinidad and told him how he feels.
“Gareth wants to be playing Champions League football and believes this is his chance to do it.â€
Villa have turned down offers of £10million and £12m for Barry but will find it impossible to keep their skipper against his will.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2008/06/10/gareth-barry-tells-aston-villa-let-me-go-to-liverpool-89520-20602153/
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Jun 10 2008, 05:24 PM
Would be interesting to see how Benitez does next season, hopefully he will have a better squad available.
I also want to see Arsenal do well .. Too bored of the usual suspects (United) winning all over again.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 10 2008, 05:58 PM
It's a little weird and out of the blue since England not qualifying was a long time ago...The bet was made about half way through qualifying, and England were in about 5th in the group at the time. I was confident they'd make it back.. I was wrong.
As for Barry.. Rafa p!ssing us off over this will just mean he'll have to pay more. If he don't pay what we want, he don't get the player. It's as easy as that.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 11 2008, 10:04 PM
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/NewsHomePage/0,,10268~1326946,00.html
So it's official. Scolari is the new Chelsea's coach.
I don't know if it's a good choice. We'll see.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 11 2008, 10:10 PM
I'm guessing Scolari will be killed by the Portugese press if they don't win the competition.. who the hell announces they're joining another team during the tounement!?
He'll have to learn English quickly, hopefully he doesn't use the same teacher as Sheva!
Posted by: Portikins Jun 11 2008, 10:19 PM
He'll have to learn English quickly, hopefully he doesn't use the same teacher as Sheva!
It wasn't him. It was Chelsea who announced it.
Kenyon, the fat ****.
Anyway, lol. Be prepared for some drastic and stupid options in the squad. In Brazil, he left Romario out. In Portugal Vitor BaÃa. So... who's an icon for the country (or club) in Chelsea? Terry? It's an option...
Edited to take out naughty words.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 12 2008, 04:44 AM
^^^ He'll drop Lampard. Though I have hopes for Sheva under Scolari.
Posted by: amancik Jun 12 2008, 05:42 AM
I think we'll be seeing one or two brazillians in Chelsea next season
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 12 2008, 05:58 AM
I get the feeling Deco may go there now.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 12 2008, 11:19 AM
+1. We should get Deco really. Would be good in place of Seedorf in the 4-3-1-2.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 12 2008, 02:46 PM
Villa have rejected another bid from Liverpool for Gareth Barry - reportedly around £15m.
Now I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but when Villa say they want around £20m for a certain player, and then you make bids of £10m, £12m and £15m.. you don't really have the right to be surprised when they get rejected. Either Rafa thinks 10, 12 and 15 are higher than 20, or he's being a tw@t, probably both.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 12 2008, 08:08 PM
Now I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but when Villa say they want around £20m for a certain player, and then you make bids of £10m, £12m and £15m.. you don't really have the right to be surprised when they get rejected. Either Rafa thinks 10, 12 and 15 are higher than 20, or he's being a tw@t, probably both.
I'm starting to think Liverpool should spend there money on other players.
Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of Barry but I feel there centre midfield currently is second to none unless they plan on playing him elsewhere.
I think the money spent on someone like Silva, Villa or Quaresma would be a far better investment for them.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 12 2008, 09:11 PM
Quite obvious.
And it's not with FB's like Degen or Dossena that they're going to 'the next level'. They need to buy players like Torres... like they did last year. They should have learnt.
MANCHESTER UNITED are reeling after FIFA said: We won’t stop Real Madrid tapping up Cristiano Ronaldo.
As the winking winger inspired Portugal to a win over the Czech Republic, a senior FIFA official said: “United’s chances of getting Real punished are zero.â€
The Red Devils have already made an official complaint, hoping world soccer’s governing body will stop the Spaniards’ bid to lure Ronaldo from Old Trafford.
SunSport yesterday published pictures of a Real official meeting Ronaldo, 23, in Rome.
But the Spaniards insist no one can prove they have tapped up Ronaldo — and FIFA agree, despite United’s protests.
A member of FIFA’s executive committee told SunSport: “I think everyone knows that these things go on in football but proving any wrongdoing is next to impossible.
“Real are very powerful and I don’t think they’ll be too worried about United’s claims.â€
Ex-United winger Gordon Hill reckons Ronaldo has taken the mickey out of boss Alex Ferguson.
Hill said: “It looks like there’s been something cooking for months. What pees me off is that meanwhile they grab the shirt and they grab the badge. That takes the mickey.â€
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1280662.ece
So predictable. I still think this was an excuse (a good one) in case he goes Madrid. In the end they can say "We even went to FIFA..."
Posted by: Tennie Jun 12 2008, 09:23 PM
Why on earth would you believe anything written in the Sun?
Posted by: Portikins Jun 12 2008, 09:29 PM
It was in Man Utd official website too, though it was in Papers section.
Don't forget it was The Sun who got the "pic" of Real's physio and Ronaldo talking in Rome.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 12 2008, 09:48 PM
Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of Barry but I feel there centre midfield currently is second to none unless they plan on playing him elsewhere.
I think the money spent on someone like Silva, Villa or Quaresma would be a far better investment for them.
From what I've read on both Villa and Liverpool forums, this seems to be the bigger picture. Gerrard isn't happy, he wants more English players and has basically given Rafa his own shoppoing list. Barry being #1 on it as they're apparently good friends.
The reason they aren't buying 'bigger names' is that they simply can't afford it. Even MON says he's not sure they can afford Barry at the moment, they need to sell before they can buy - hence Alonso needing to leave before they'll buy Barry.
I think in the end they'll pay over the odds for Barry. He almost has to leave Villa now as if he was to stay after supposedly saying he wants to leave, I'm not sure the fans will forgive him. But as long as we rip Liverpool off, it's fine by me.
Posted by: Tennie Jun 12 2008, 09:50 PM
Don't forget it was The Sun who got the "pic" of Real's physio and Ronaldo talking in Rome.
Oh, was that the visit at the lap dance place?
EDIT: In any event, the Sun is - in my mind - not reliable at all. I'd prefer to see the information in a more reputable publication/website before I'm asked to believe it. To me, the Sun is only marginally better than tribalfootball. (It is, however, extremely entertaining to read and I enjoy reading it when I'm in the UK).
Posted by: Portikins Jun 12 2008, 09:52 PM
Dunno. But as Cristiano was there... probably.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 12 2008, 09:58 PM
They should be getting rid of players though. They have quite a lot of average players that they could make a few million off. Alonso they will get a fair amount for. Players like Crouch, Lucas, Benayoun, Pennant, Voronin etc.
And have they sold Carson yet? I'm still not sure but I've heard that will be roughly £10mil. I think they can easily make up £20mil + Alonso's fee.
I know they bought Mascherano in January but they did sell Sissoko to at least make 50% of that fee up.
Depending on how much money gets fed into the club I'm not sure about the whole Liverpool board room speculation they can buy big players in my opinion.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 12 2008, 10:08 PM
They may struggle with Rafa's valuations, not quite sure he's on the same planet as us. He rates Carson at £10m and Crouch at £15m, which is quite absurd really. They should get a decent amount for Benayoun though. Just depends if their are teams willing to match their valuations.
Yeah, Villa have first rights on Carson, as part of the loan deal we paid form. But £10m? Up until December I'd have bit their hand off at that price, but he went really downhill after that. Around £5m is more like it!
Depending on how much money gets fed into the club I'm not sure about the whole Liverpool board room speculation they can buy big players in my opinion.
I can see them getting around £35m from the sales of Alonso, Carson, Crouch, etc. but with about half of that going on Barry.. I'm not sure what kinds of players they're looking for. I mean, they signed Degen at RB, a player who can't even get into the Swiss starting XI, doesn't say alot.
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Jun 13 2008, 01:00 PM
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has delivered a damning indictment on Cristiano Ronaldo in his column for The Sun.
Manchester United are growing increasingly anxious and annoyed with the attempts of Real Madrid to keep the fires stoked with regard to a deal, as well as the fact that Ronaldo himself is more than happy to reciprocate his suitor's advances.
Wright, for once, was firmly on United's side, and suggested that Ronaldo 'the person' is nowhere near the caliber of Ronaldo 'the player'.
"As a player, there's no doubt what you're capable of. As a man, you're not showing any class whatsoever." Wright scathed.
"You're also failing to show any respect to either Alex Ferguson or the Manchester United fans.
"To be honest, I'm embarrassed for you.
"You're now 23 and you should not be acting quite so immature.
"You've been at Old Trafford for five years but it's only the last two seasons you've set the place on fire.
"Previous to that, Fergie stuck with you. Despite your diving and despite the fact you would always try to take on a defender rather than pass to a team-mate. When you acted a right winker at the World Cup two years ago, your club manager once again showed extreme loyalty to you, along with United's fans.
"They could have turned on you after your behaviour during the England match in Germany but they didn't.
"You've now become one hell of a player - the best on this planet. I'd pay just to see you warm-up, let alone play a game.
"But with the drop of a hat, it seems you're ready to join Real Madrid."
Goal.com
CR as a player, has come a long way and deserves to be crowned the best player this year .. But truth be told, I was never fond of him, and Wright underlines just a fragment of what I dislike about him ..
In the case that he does move to Madrid, it wouldn't be the first time that United let an important player go ... They have done it countless of times in the past!
Posted by: whoarethepatriots Jun 13 2008, 03:35 PM
Manchester United have completed the signing of promising Roma youngster, Davide Petrucci, to the fury of the club and the local press...
You Son of a b******!
This rampant piracy has to stop. United will in all likelyhood loan him out or let him rot in the reserves, only to be sold back to an Italian club in a few years time. They will effectively freeze his career if not ruin it. Same thing happened to Lupoli. Arsenal swooped in, loaned him to Derby and disposed of him, ruining his career. I dont think he will ever reach the heights that he was set for
Instead of issuing illegal quotas, That idiot Blatter and Platini need to do something about this. Platini is supposedly pissed off about this but he hasnt done anything so far
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=735026
Posted by: dst Jun 13 2008, 03:50 PM
This is annoying. I hope to see CR go to Madrid and piss on a United shirt on his presentation day!
Posted by: rhy_A4 Jun 13 2008, 03:51 PM
lets just hope they Loan him out to a team in Italy we can only hope now
Posted by: KillerMax Jun 13 2008, 04:02 PM
It's not like this kid had no choice...
Posted by: Tennie Jun 13 2008, 04:10 PM
True enough, Max. It still is really unfortunate that a team like United choose to poach kids from teams rather than focusing on their own youth system.
I hope Platini et al do something about this.
Posted by: dst Jun 13 2008, 04:20 PM
That's what I thought at first but then... we don't know the influence his parents have on him...
Posted by: morgoth Jun 13 2008, 04:29 PM
Just a question, what if that club was an Italian one, is it OK for you guys if the kid signed for an Italian club?!
Posted by: Tennie Jun 13 2008, 04:40 PM
Yeah, Morgoth, I'd be okay with it if it were an Italian club-Italian club transfer. The respective primaveras transfer kids back and forth all the time. I think the data is even on the Lega Calcio site.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 13 2008, 04:41 PM
I think it's only okay if the kid signs with the club that has bought him up as a player, it's the right thing to do really. That kid is just as bad as United.
Posted by: dst Jun 13 2008, 04:50 PM
It's been a long time but we agree!
Posted by: Portikins Jun 13 2008, 05:36 PM
They'd do "a Barcelona" so. Letting the important players leave.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 14 2008, 12:51 AM
Well, 2 of the players Liverpool wanted to sell to free up some cash look like they will not be leaving, at least for now. Juve don't want to pay Liverpools valuation of Alonso, and Portsmouth don't want to pay the valuation of Crouch. Liverpool won't be making many summer moves by the looks of it.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 14 2008, 05:18 PM
To add to the above, MON has told Rafa that he can either offer £20m cash, or don' bother offering. And Benitez doesn't feel Barry is worth £20m. This is going to be a long summer.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 14 2008, 08:59 PM
Apparently these are the leaked fixtures for the opening weekend.
Middlebrough v Tottenham
Stoke v Chelsea
Man United vs West Brom
Liverpool vs Newcastle
Sunderland vs Everton
Hull vs Bolton
Blackburn vs Wigan
Portsmouth vs Man City
Fulham vs West Ham
Arsenal vs Villa
Wouldn't surprise me if they're true becayse as usual Villa get a nice easy game, away to Arsenal, home to Liverpool and away to Arsenal in the last 3 seasons. Oh, and United get a nice head start, like usual.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 16 2008, 10:19 AM
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is having to wind back his transfer plans this summer, it has been revealed.
The Sunday Mirror says the United boss was allowed to broker deals worth £50m to bring in Owen Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani last summer.
And 12 months on, most of the cash on those deals is now payable to Bayern Munich, Porto and Sporting Lisbon respectively.
United must also decide in the coming months whether to pay £25m to Media Sports Investments to secure Carlos Tevez on a permanent deal.
United banked more than £40m from their Double triumph, but the realities of the worldwide credit crunch are starting to bite.
The Glazer family, who own the club, have racked up debts which stood at £665m last year - with interest on those borrowings now running close to the £100m-a-year mark.
Ferguson is looking to raise cash to bolster his transfer funds. But there have been no takers for Louis Saha due to his dire injury record at Old Trafford, although Gerard Pique has been sold to Barcelona for £4.9m.
Ahhh...how come we never mentioned Louis Saha?
Now here's someone who can make Ronaldo look injury free.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 16 2008, 05:45 PM
Thankfully the "leaked" fixtures were wrong, here are the official opening day fixtures for the 2008/09 Premier Legaue season.
Saturday, 16 August 2008
Arsenal v West Brom, 15:00
Aston Villa v Man City, 15:00
Bolton v Stoke, 15:00
Chelsea v Portsmouth, 15:00
Everton v Blackburn, 15:00
Hull v Fulham, 15:00
Man Utd v Newcastle, 15:00
Middlesbrough v Tottenham, 15:00
Sunderland v Liverpool, 15:00
West Ham v Wigan, 15:00
But still, an easy home game for United. What a surprise!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 17 2008, 12:16 AM
It is now thought that Liverpool are preparing their final offer for Gareth Barry. Rafa Benitez has had bids of £10m, £12m and £13m (+ £5m if they won the league.. so £13m) all rejected so far. He is expected to make a final bid between £14m-£16m, if this is rejected he will turn his sights towards Man City's Michael Johnson and Villarreal Santi Corzola. The bid is expected to be rejected as O'Neill wants in the region of £20m, and another offer less than this will only annoy him even more.
This would be so great if the deal doesn't go through. Could it be the end of the big 4 getting who they want!?
Posted by: dst Jun 17 2008, 12:54 AM
Who are they kidding?Liverpool want £15m for Crouch and they refuse to spend £20m on Barry!?
What a joke!But Kurt... wouldn't it be bad if you kept him while he wants to go?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 17 2008, 02:01 AM
It would be bad if he's desperate to leave, but he says it's all upto the manager. MON has improved him as a player and put him back in the England team, so I'm sure he won't turn his back on him and do a Gallas and threaten him with things until he sells.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 17 2008, 05:02 AM
@kurt: Did you just say Man United had an easy home game? I think you meant Arsenal... 
Posted by: dst Jun 17 2008, 08:51 AM
I remember Gallas saying he'd score own-goals if they did not sell him!
Posted by: Devillito Jun 17 2008, 10:10 AM
I remember Gallas saying he'd score own-goals if they did not sell him! Really?
That desperate?
Posted by: morgoth Jun 17 2008, 02:59 PM
I remember Gallas saying he'd score own-goals if they did not sell him! Gallas never confirmed it, there was a huge fuss about it and I think the footballers association came out and defended him saying that he always was a great professional, of course that was before this year's incident when he wanted to go out of the field after Clichy's error (I forgot the opponent)
Posted by: Portikins Jun 17 2008, 06:30 PM
SIC - a Portuguese TV channel - is saying Deco is already a done deal with Chelsea.
http://www.record.pt/noticia.asp?id=791730&idCanal=292
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 19 2008, 07:01 PM
Porty, João Pereira any good? We've been linked with him, yet another Portugese right-back! £4m the price.
Posted by: Portikins Jun 19 2008, 07:40 PM
He's OK. Nothing like Bosingwa though. Benfica youth product I think.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 19 2008, 11:50 PM
Guillem Ballague, who does all the Spanish football stuff on Sky Sports, has said tht Ronaldo has told him that his "Premier League caree is over". Thank God for our defense!
Posted by: Tennie Jun 22 2008, 08:54 PM
Paul Ince has been named the new coach of Blackburn Rovers.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 23 2008, 01:15 AM
Good player but coach?
Ok, he got Wimbledon (MK Dons) promoted but they, like QPR are the Chelsea of the lower leagues I mean have you seen their stadium?!
It will be interesting to see how he does at this level.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 23 2008, 07:42 AM
Can't be worse than others they were linked with.. Steve McClaren!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 23 2008, 05:33 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1028676/Tottenham-set-sign-10m-PSV-goalkeeper-Gomes.html?ITO=1490
Decent keeper, but terrible at coming for crosses, which is probably the most vital thing for an EPL keeper. Not to sure about this one.
And just accross North London.. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3728160,00.html
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 27 2008, 11:48 PM
Man City have agreed a fee of £19m to sign Jo from CSKA Moscow, and he's been given a work permit. The movie will go through after personal terms have been agreed and when Jo has been given a medical.
But £19m?
Still seems to me that a few teams are allowed to be excepted from rules in the EPL. Jo has made 1 international appearance, yet has been given a work permit? Yeah, that's how it works.
Posted by: Rossoneri7 Jun 28 2008, 02:53 PM
The Sun reports that City have withdrawn from the race to sign Ronaldinho, they have instead opted for Joe from CSKA Moscow for an estimated 18MM deal.
Posted by: amancik Jun 29 2008, 01:09 AM
Good, Man. City! Remember your place.
Posted by: acid911 Jun 29 2008, 03:10 AM
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 29 2008, 03:34 PM
Villa have already rejected big-money bids from Liverpool for the midfielder and are reluctant to lose their captain.
But Barry, who has spent his entire career at Villa Park, wants the opportunity to play UEFA Champions League football with the Reds next season.
"My mind's made up, I want to join Liverpool," Barry told the News of the World.
Desperate
"There's no going back, it's time for me to move on.
"I'm desperate to play Champions League football and that's why I have to leave Villa."
The 27-year-old also expressed his disappointment with the lack of contact from Villa boss Martin O'Neill and feels the club have done nothing to persuade him to stay.
He added: "Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay, but I have not heard from the manager for weeks.
Flattered
"It's seven weeks now since the season finished, but while the gaffer's found time to be a pundit for the BBC at Euro 2008, he hasn't found the time to speak to me.
"But Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has shown how much he wants me at Anfield. I am obviously flattered that someone as successful as Rafa Benitez thinks so highly of me.
"And that he's not been afraid to put his valuation of me in black and white for Villa and all the world to see.
"But have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing."
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3753460,00.html
Hmm. I know he wanted to leave, but I think some of his comments are unwarrented and incorrect. Our owner flew back and forth from Cleveland to Birmingham 3 times for mettings with Barry, only for him to put them off with excuses of "I don't want to decide anything until after the England games" or "When I'm back from holiday". It was also revealed in the paper that Villa were prepared to double his wages, but he said he won't be signing anything until his mind has been made up. He's certainly going to lose legend status, and it's a shame he's so close to have plaedy 400 games for the club at such a young age. I won't be booing him, but to be critical of MON - the guy who's made him who he is - is not right at all. Hurry up and pay up the £20m Rafa, this is getting boring.
Posted by: rhy_A4 Jun 29 2008, 04:42 PM
if he leaves i can see Young taking his place later on
Posted by: KillerMax Jun 30 2008, 08:42 AM
Doesn't Barry play in the center?
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 30 2008, 09:09 AM
^^
Also on the left. But nowadays, he plays the holding role in mid-field.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 30 2008, 11:34 AM
We changed to a diamond midfield at the end of the season, Barry on the left of it. He's quite a complete midfielder, not many defensive minded players score 9 goals and get 11 assists.. we're gonna miss him big time.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jun 30 2008, 12:21 PM
^^
Why don't you guys get Michael Johnson, oreven Huddlestone. I hear they're both prospects. But then they're English, so I expect the price to inflate 400%.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 30 2008, 01:02 PM
Huddlestone we could get cheap, Juande doesn't rate him apparently. I'm hoping the Sidwell deal goes through too. Them two and Milner and Bent and I'd be very happy, even if Barry goes. It'd give the team a very English look, but also very young. No Barry in the team will allow Petrov to play his game better, and when he plays well, he really plays well.
I'm looking forward to next season, with or without Barry. We had the same thing with Dwight Yorke a while back, he was one of the best strikers in the league at the time, and we managed without him, so I'm sure we can without Barry! Yorkie went the wrong way about it though. I actually had a cat named Yorkie.. then renamed it Judas when he left.
EDIT: It seems I was wrong about Ramos and Huddlestone. SSN are saying he's signed a new 5-year deal.
Posted by: Tennie Jun 30 2008, 07:59 PM
Chelsea have signed Deco from Barcelona. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7482359.stm
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 30 2008, 08:09 PM
Doesn't surprise me.
Not really a major fan of him though.
Posted by: CrazyMilanFan Jun 30 2008, 08:26 PM
well lampard will sign for inter now
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jun 30 2008, 09:39 PM
It's gotta be either Lampard or Ballack that's leaving. Lampard leaving wouldn't really make sense to me. Why would you leave your home town where you're a star and guaranteed trophies.. to go to Inter?
Posted by: dst Jun 30 2008, 09:40 PM
It'd be a big gamble for him to go to Inter. But I don't think it's not possible.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jun 30 2008, 10:39 PM
I see Lampard going. I don't see many foreign coaches letting Ballack go over Lampard, I mean he's English not Brazilian so he's no good right? 
Posted by: dst Jun 30 2008, 11:45 PM
Right! Oh wait, that was a rhetorical, wasn't it?
Posted by: Devillito Jul 1 2008, 04:15 AM
Wake up and smell Mourinho's after effect?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 1 2008, 09:44 AM
That's a point, I keep forgetting Jose's there. Damn him and his awesomeness.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 2 2008, 03:41 PM
And the Villa boss confirmed Barry has been disciplined by the club in the light of comments made to a national newspaper on Sunday.
Barry will not be returning for pre-season training tomorrow and O'Neill told www.avfc.co.uk: "There's no truth in this morning's reports and the situation remains the same.
"Gareth will not be returning to training tomorrow and he has been disciplined after giving an unauthorised interview to the News of the World."
http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10265~1337572,00.html
I love GazBaz, but what he said was out of order and against his managers wishes. So this, quite frankly, serves him right. The longer this goes on, the more pathetic it's going to make Liverpool look. When a club wants a player, and that player wants to go to a club, they usually end up getting him for a cut price.. but Liverpool just don't have the power anymore, they've become a joke, so they aren't able to do that anymore.
Posted by: Tennie Jul 2 2008, 03:56 PM
No cookies for GazBaz. It really was uncool of him to give that interview and...well...I'm glad the club disciplined him for it.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 2 2008, 04:34 PM
I think he'd have got a great reception at VP, he's been here 10 years. But after his recent interview I don't see that happening. £15m for the latest England captain? Gotta be having a laugh, Rafa!
Posted by: dst Jul 2 2008, 04:48 PM
How can Benitez be only willing to spend £15m on Barry when he's asking for £15m for Crouch? This is ridiculous!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 2 2008, 04:49 PM
Because he's childish.
He went in a little mood when we told him Barry would cost £80m/£20m, so he started over-valuating all of his players as if to prove a point to us. It doesn't work, now he looks like a fool.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 3 2008, 08:50 AM
Ugh, the Barry thing has turned real ugly today. He's been banned from all Villa premises and fined 2 weeks wages, and Liverpool have made an offer of between £17m/£18m icluding add-ons. So it looks like we win in the end, but I think the club went a bit too ar with punishing Barry. But MON 1-0 Rafa, funny how they've come up with the money now.
Posted by: Tennie Jul 3 2008, 12:09 PM
If I understand things correctly, Barry's contract states he must get club permission for media interviews -- something he didn't do for that Sunday interview. So being fined isn't a big surprised. Banned from the property seems a bit harsh, but given his clearly stated desire to leave perhaps it's because he's deemed a negative influence etc on training.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 3 2008, 12:16 PM
You're correct on both accounts.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 3 2008, 02:03 PM
Here's the new Arsenal home kit...http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=493463&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Fans+flock+to+The+Armoury+to+buy+new+Arsenal+home+shirt
...and no, I don't like it. We should stick to white sleeves.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 3 2008, 04:40 PM
Agreed. Villa's kit isn't unveilved until Monday, but I'm worried we'll have a similar desgin being Nike and all. It's not bad, but there's better designs to choose from!
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jul 3 2008, 05:57 PM
I swear the Arsenal kit looks nearly identical to the older one with 'dreamcast' across it.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 3 2008, 05:58 PM
Looks a little similar. Still never seen an Arsenal shirt with so little white on it though!
Posted by: Tennie Jul 3 2008, 06:00 PM
(The fish doll wants to see what Harchester's new kit is.)
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 3 2008, 06:08 PM
An Arsenal WHAT???
Anyway, I couldn't agree more. The whole "red torso, white arms" worked brilliantly, so why change it?
Appearantly, this is to be our new away kit. I'm not overly fond of that one either.
Makes us look...swedish...ugh!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 3 2008, 06:12 PM
Apologies, I did intend to put Arsenal shirt, I missed out the 'r'. It was an accident, as hard as that may be to believe.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 4 2008, 12:02 PM
It is understood representatives of owner Mike Ashley have met counterparts from New York-based private equity fund InterMedia Partners.
A report claimed Ashley named a price of £420m - about £286m more than he paid for the club a year ago.
Sources in America confirmed that the US company held initial talks, but Newcastle have not commented.
Former chairman Freddy Shepherd had already fought off a series of potential takeover bids when Ashley made his move last summer, eventually securing a £134.4m takeover.
He has since ploughed around £100m into the club to address the debt situation he inherited and to strengthen the squad.
Ashley has now embarked upon a economy drive in an attempt to slash transfer expenditure and a spiralling wage bill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7489444.stm
This really is too funny. £420m? You could get Liverpool for that! So it's not just their fans who're deluded and think Newcastle is a big club, even teir owner has half a brain. Gold help Newcastle.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 4 2008, 01:53 PM
Villa's away kit for next season..
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jul 4 2008, 01:57 PM
Rocks...
Posted by: KillerMax Jul 4 2008, 03:23 PM
That's a joke right? It looks totally fake.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 4 2008, 03:28 PM
Yes, it's a joke.
There would be anarchy if we had anything that looked like that!
Posted by: KillerMax Jul 4 2008, 03:53 PM
There would be anarchy if we had anything that looked like that!
Is it a 4th of July spoof?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 4 2008, 03:58 PM
I think it's just a coincidence. Our kit hasn't been released yet so people are doing moc-ups and stuff. I think it's more to do with us having an American owner.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 4 2008, 04:07 PM
Arsenal vs Chelsea. The more things change, the more they stay the same. 
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jul 7 2008, 10:25 AM
Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will probably have to sell their star players every year for nearly another two decades.
The Arsenal boss is currently trying to persuade Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb not to follow Mathieu Flamini out of the club.
Adebayor has made it clear only a huge wage increase will persuade him to stay, but Wenger has revealed the ongoing cost of the move to the Emirates Stadium two years ago means, financially, his hands are tied.
'The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players,' he told the News of the World.
'We manage at Arsenal to maintain all our football ambitions - national and European - while having to free up - for 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24million to pay for our stadium.
'The club's strategy is to favour the policy of youngsters ahead of stars and to count on the collective quality of our game.'
Wenger is frustrated by the financial power players have over clubs.
'If I had the power to change anything basic in football, it would be the transfer system which makes mercenaries of players,' he continued
'If they are bad ones, they stay and, if they are good, they think only of leaving.
'I have fought for them to earn a very good living, but I impose respect for their contract upon them.'
Whoa!!
This is asking for trouble. I just don't see Arsenal/Wenger doing this for the next 17 years for one. And I don't see the EPL holding onto the crown for the next 17 years. Now I'm almost certain Arsenal will be purchased within the next 10 years.
Posted by: beijing Jul 7 2008, 11:42 AM
Who can tell me the Premiership player's annual salary of the tax system？
If the players in the Premier League with 5 million annual salary, How much he has to pay tax？
And the Premiership players’s salary is Pre-tax or After-tax?
Posted by: Tennie Jul 7 2008, 12:28 PM
I'm not sure of the income tax structure in the UK, but the salary figures quoted for footballers '5 million a year' or '120,000 a week' are the pre-tax figures, I believe.
Posted by: beijing Jul 7 2008, 12:58 PM
Thankyou....
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 7 2008, 02:33 PM
Can't say I'm a fan of it myself, but it's for a good cause and hey, it's claret and blue!
New Away Kit
I really love this! Usually we have white or yellow, but this is something different and a nice surprise, definitly getting it!
Posted by: KillerMax Jul 7 2008, 03:37 PM
The away kit is class. Very nice.
Posted by: Tennie Jul 7 2008, 03:41 PM
I like the away kit too. Might just have to get one.
It's also very classy that Villa have the 'acorns' logo on their kit this year. Well done for that.
Posted by: dst Jul 7 2008, 07:32 PM
I like the home jersey! But it's Nike...
What do you all like in the away one, it's not that good at all.
Posted by: acid911 Jul 7 2008, 07:56 PM
It's black. And it's blue. What more does one need?
Posted by: Jako19 Jul 7 2008, 08:01 PM
Some Red inplace of the blue
Posted by: KillerMax Jul 7 2008, 08:40 PM
Oh shut up...
It looks good. The colors complement each other.
Posted by: mishie Jul 7 2008, 08:44 PM
It looks good. The colors complement each other.
are you Porty in disguise?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 7 2008, 09:08 PM
Yeah, I think having a claret/blue home shirt and a red/black away shirt would clash, what would we wear against United, Liverpool or Arsenal away!?
Yeah, that's what I like. Better than having the same boring colours every year.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Jul 7 2008, 10:15 PM
If the players in the Premier League with 5 million annual salary, How much he has to pay tax？
And the Premiership players’s salary is Pre-tax or After-tax?
Tax for top earners in the UK is 40%
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 7 2008, 10:18 PM
This is sometimes referred to as 'theft'. But our govornment would never do that!
Posted by: Tennie Jul 7 2008, 11:59 PM
This is an update of sorts on the continuing Gareth Barry-to-Liverpool saga.
Xabi Alonso is quoted as saying that he's happy at Liverpool. The Italian press is running articles that the Zebras have given up on a possible Xabi-to-Juve deal because of complications and the high price the Scousers are insisting on. According to a couple of sources (including Mediaset), the Zebras are now looking to bring Sevilla's Christian Poulsen to Turin.
If Xabi isn't leaving Liverpool, then the question of whether Liverpool have space for Gareth Barry comes up. Where else (in whose place) would he play? With all due respect to Barry's talent, I don't see him taking Mascherano's starting spot.
So with Xavi seemingly staying, are the Scousers going to get rid of someone else? Are they going to give up on their bid for Barry?
Posted by: acid911 Jul 8 2008, 12:06 AM
To be honest, kits this season have been generally much better than last season ones. At least for the bunch I've seen up till now. Doesn't matter if it's Adidas or Nike, the overall look is both clean and - oh, how would you put it - full. Even your kit, Kurt, is a step above from last year. The only way I think it could be better would if it were pink and black. The Pink & Black Attack, baby! 
Then again there is a matter of club colors, so all proper considerations have to be made.
I can't wait for the red+black one to be released. Wonder who'll do the photo shoot for the goalkeeper's kit for us?
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 8 2008, 12:10 AM
Barry is just Mascherano with creativity + the ability to score in my opinion. The only reason he wouldn't be picked in front of him is because Rafa would look an idiot spending £17m on Mascherano only to buy a replacement 6 months later.
I think Liverpool will play with 5 midfielders next season anyways, allowing Gerrard, Barry and Mascherano to all play together. I personally think Alonso is terrible, last season he'd have struggled to get into any EPL side - yes, even Derby.
Villa want £18m for Barry, and Liverpool are only ready to offer £16m. But it seems Steve Finnan may be included in a deal as he wants out and we need an RB, so that'd make sense to me.
Otherwise if Barry doesn't leave, I can see us reporting Liverpool to the FA for tapping up Barry and we'll get some money out of it that way. I wish we'd do this anyway, whether he leaves or not, but it seems our board don't want to report them.
@Acid: On Milans GK kit.. which teams at the Euro's wore Adidas? I'm trying to think of what our GK kit would look like!
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jul 8 2008, 11:24 AM
@kurt: Germany wears adidas.
Adebayor is flirting with both Barcelona and AC Milan after having his ₤120,000-per-week wage demands flat-out rejected by the Gunners, who would go no higher than ₤60,000.
The Togolese hitman’s departure would leave Arsene Wenger with a decidedly lightweight forward line, as Eduardo da Silva is still recovering from injury while it remains to be seen whether Robin van Persie can overcome his chronic fragility.
Hence, the 13-time league champions are unwilling to let the 24-year-old leave before a replacement is signed; however, the deal could fall through altogether given both Barca and Milan are baulking at Adebayor’s ₤38million price tag.
The north London club are more than willing to compromise on the ex-Monaco man’s demands, however – by offering him the same ₤60,000-per-week deal.
Given Adebayor is currently on ₤30,000-per-week, Wenger and co believe this double-or-nothing offer is more than fair.
If he refuses, then the Gunners will almost certainly have to lower their asking price, as neither the Blaugrana nor the Rossoneri will go much higher than €30million.
Ok...now if Ade refuses this deal and wants to leave, he is a bit of a money hungry so-and-so. I think a double wage is excellent remuneration for one good season.
Hleb has long been toying with a summer exit from Emirates, and has been tagged as a near-certainty to leave since Internazionale made an approach towards the end of last season.
It has been suggested that the Belarusian attacker is fed up with the hustle and bustle of life in London, while the player himself has admitted he is yet to fully adapt to the pace of English football.
However, the 27-year-old’s main beef may in fact be with the fact Wenger has deployed him almost exclusively on the wings, despite the fact his preference is to play through the centre.
“My view of how I should be playing didn’t coincide with the manager’s,†Hleb was quoted as saying in The Sun.
“I told him last season I wanted to leave and think he was quite upset about it. But ask him. It may turn out he’s happy to see me go.â€
Selfish
Fabregas is the reason Hleb cannot get a game in the middle, as the Spanish playmaker has taken the Premier League by storm over the last few seasons since bursting onto the scene as a teenager.
But Hleb is not so enamoured with his team-mate as the rest of Europe is, insisting the EURO 2008 winner is greedy and goal-hungry.
“When we get scoring opportunities, Fabregas is much more selfish than me,†said the ex-Stuttgart player, who has often been criticised for his minimal contribution on the score-sheet.
“Given a chance to shoot, he always goes for it — unlike me.â€
Barca Bound
Hleb and his representatives are reportedly deep in negotiations with Barcelona, who are keen to replenish their creative stocks after ditching both Deco and Ronaldinho.
And the former Dinamo Minsk youngster confirmed that Catalonia is his preferred destination: “I don’t know where I’ll be next season but I’d prefer Barcelona. It is being negotiated and, hopefully, will be decided soon.â€
Heh....suddenly Arsenal are being criticised everywhere. The media hate being made to look like jackasses. Beginning of the season, they're all on about how Thierry Henry's departure leaves Arsenal rudderless and how they'll flop...and Arsenal flip them the bird and run to the top. Then they change their track to how youth is truly the best way to win etc...and Arsenal flop at the last hurdle. So they're left with pie on their faces again. They won't forgive Arsene for some time now. Pundits hate being wrong.
And Peter Crouch sold to Portsmouth. I believe it's on Liverpool's official site. Somebody ask dst to check.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 8 2008, 01:53 PM
Crouch will be going for £8m/£9m with add-ons, so the final price could be at around £11m, crazy.
Scolari's had a press conference today. Wasn't too many important things really.
-He says he has a 'great' relationship with Roman.
-Lampard has told him he wants to stay at Chelsea.
(In response to Lampard Scolari saying that Lampard wants to stay, Moratti has said that he HAS made an offer for Lampard, but doesn't want to create a problem over it).
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 9 2008, 04:07 PM
Sidwell is having a medical at Villa..
I know I want us to be English, but this is starting to take it too far..
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 9 2008, 04:26 PM
F-ing hell I'm sick of these one-good-season ba*tards.
After Wenger still let them play even when everyone thought they were useless, they have one good season and expect to be treated like once-in-a-decade players. Flamini, Hleb and possibly Adebayor can all go to hell, the only loyal players we have left is Toure, Clichy, Sagna, Fabregas(I think) and Van Persie. Eboue as well but that's only because no-one else playing in a first-division league would want him in their team.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 9 2008, 04:39 PM
I think that's a problem with buying young players, they let it get to their head a bit too quickly, they think they're God.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 9 2008, 04:41 PM
Hleb is 27, that should be enough to not act like a total jerk.
Posted by: Jako19 Jul 9 2008, 04:49 PM
Villa agree deal for Chelsea midfielder Sidwell
Updated: July 9, 2008, 7:37 AM ET
Aston Villa have agreed to sign Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell - Martin O'Neill's first capture of what is expected to be a hectic second half of the summer.
The midlands club have settled on what is believed to be a fee of around £5 million for the former Reading player, subject to him passing a medical.
If that goes to plan, Sidwell will then fly out to link up with Villa's pre-season tour of Switzerland.
Sidwell has been one of manager O'Neill's main transfer targets since the season ended.
A club statement said: 'Aston Villa have agreed to sign Chelsea's former England Under-21 midfielder Steve Sidwell, subject to a medical.'
The 25-year-old played a major part in Reading establishing themselves in the Premier League two years ago before moving to Stamford Bridge last summer.
The former Arsenal trainee, who has also attracted interest from Manchester City, had limited opportunities under Jose Mourinho and then Avram Grant as Chelsea narrowly missed out on Premier League and Champions League glory.
His arrival will offset some of the disappointment surrounding the club over the expected departure of Gareth Barry to Liverpool.
Sidwell was part of the Arsenal side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 and 2001 and had loan spells with Brentford and Brighton.
He was unable to force his way into the first team with the Gunners and moved to Reading in January 2003 on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
Sidwell played a big role in Reading gaining promotion to the top flight for the first time two years ago.
But he rejected a new contract that summer and left the Royals on a free transfer to move to Chelsea in 2007.
The England Under-21 player struggled to hold down a regular spot after claiming he had not gone to Stamford Bridge 'to make up the numbers'.
Now the England Under-21 player will be looking to rebuild his career under O'Neill.
The Northern Irishman has a number of other potential targets in the pipeline, namely Paul Robinson, James Milner and David Bentley.
He is aware of the need to bolster what was the smallest squad in the Premier League last season having already lost the services of Olof Mellberg, Patrik Berger and Thomas Sorensen.
And midfielder and skipper Barry is certain to leave once Liverpool match O'Neill's valuation of around £18 million.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=554332&sec=england&cc=5901
Posted by: dst Jul 9 2008, 04:50 PM
After Wenger still let them play even when everyone thought they were useless, they have one good season and expect to be treated like once-in-a-decade players. Flamini, Hleb and possibly Adebayor can all go to hell, the only loyal players we have left is Toure, Clichy, Sagna, Fabregas(I think) and Van Persie. Eboue as well but that's only because no-one else playing in a first-division league would want him in their team.
I agree with you on Hleb and Adebayor but certainly disagree with you on Flamini. And because he joined Milan. The guy asked for an extension last summer and he did not get it... if anything he is the one that was betrayed and not the other way around.
Posted by: Jako19 Jul 9 2008, 04:52 PM
And yeah, I agree the youngins think "Holy **** im worth $40E, Im awsome". I personaly would get slightly like god myself, I mean I wont see that much money in my account ever in my entire life.
Posted by: dst Jul 9 2008, 05:04 PM
http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-birmingham-sport/west-midlands-sports/aston-villa-fc/2007/12/29/ex-villa-player-ivor-powell-awarded-an-mbe-65233-20294632/
This is old news but that man was presented with his award only a week or so ago. He's the world's oldest manager, at 92 he is still the manager of Team Bath F.C.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jul 9 2008, 05:46 PM
Eboue, how I can't stand that arrogant guy who seems to think he was meant to be in G-Unit...It's good to see him have turned sh...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 9 2008, 07:28 PM
Soccernet must be slow, we signed Curtis Davies last week..
Ah, that's true. Not sure what his problem is. But I do think that Wenger needs to take some blame, he's very stubborn and this is clearly getting to some players.
Posted by: Jako19 Jul 9 2008, 07:33 PM
Personally I feel that all players should just shut up, and finish up their contracts. Why sign one for 5 years when you think your gonna leave in 3. And to the young players, respect the club that made you who you are, dont go demanding money, or transfer, be honerable and finish the contract you started... "woohh, ahh"
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 9 2008, 09:01 PM
Still, before this season Flamini was regarded as pure, undiluted shite.
Not even birmingham wanted him, so he was given one last chance to prove his worth in order to get a new contract and he did it. Then a big money offer came up and off he went.
@kurt, the problem was never Wenger. Players like Bergkamp, Campbell, Parlour and Seaman all stayed at the club until they knew they couldn't produce high-quality football anymore.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 9 2008, 09:21 PM
The difference between those and the current players - and no disrespect intended - is that they had a chance of winning the league and we're being paid more, these younger kids aren't getting as much which is why they complain and want out. Also, most of the players you mention are English, and it's uncommon for them to move abroad.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 9 2008, 09:54 PM
Not completely true.
Bergkamp, Parlour and Seaman all stayed on during that horrible period 1999-2001, when there was lots of clubs who wanted to sign them, hell Man U made more than one offer for Bergkamp.
And about being payed more, Bergkamp accepted several pay cuts during his later years when he could have gone off to Quatar and played not even remotely hard opponents and still cash in several millions a year.
Posted by: Jack Sparrow Jul 10 2008, 08:39 AM
Not even birmingham wanted him, so he was given one last chance to prove his worth in order to get a new contract and he did it. Then a big money offer came up and off he went.
@kurt, the problem was never Wenger. Players like Bergkamp, Campbell, Parlour and Seaman all stayed at the club until they knew they couldn't produce high-quality football anymore.
Well if you want to raise that argument, I'd have to point out what we did to Gila. He was given a contract extension, the year before last, inspite of it being a disappointing season. I think it was a public gesture of confidence. Perhaps Flamini wanted the same thing?
The big money offer is I guess a matter of conjecture. I don't know how much Arsene offered him. I doubt, Flamini asked for 100,000 a week. To understand this situation, I placed Brocchi in a similar situation and asked myself how I'd react if he played well next season, and then refused a contract extension. And I think it would be difficult for Milan to outbid the player, if Arsenal truly wanted to keep him.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 01:14 PM
Sepp Blatter has once again showed his love towards the Premier League. He's comparing what United are doing with Ronaldo as 'slavery' and that if a player wants to leave, you must let him go.
Now the last I heard, United never forced him to sign a 5 year contract. And earning 120,000 a week is hardly slavery now is it. Contracts are pointless now, to the point where they may as well not even be signed, players should just choose whoever they want to play for.
Posted by: dst Jul 10 2008, 01:52 PM
Not even birmingham wanted him, so he was given one last chance to prove his worth in order to get a new contract and he did it. Then a big money offer came up and off he went.
And... ?
I really don't see what he did wrong... he was out of contract and a couple of big offers came by... I don't see why he should have stayed... ?
You honestly confuse me when you compare him to Hleb and Adebayor who are under contract and considered vital members for the team's future...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 02:06 PM
He hasn't done anything wrong in terms of legality, it's more of a moral thing. Arsenal bought in this very average player, paid him and made him who he is.. so he leaves. Not illegal, but just not a very classy thing to do.
Posted by: Jako19 Jul 10 2008, 02:11 PM
Now the last I heard, United never forced him to sign a 5 year contract. And earning 120,000 a week is hardly slavery now is it. Contracts are pointless now, to the point where they may as well not even be signed , players should just choose whoever they want to play for.
Completely agree, I feel if players sign it then they should abide by it. Not just flake out cuz they want a new city or "challenge"
Posted by: dst Jul 10 2008, 02:20 PM
He was not given many chances and when that happened he was fielded at LB. I don't think Arsenal made him who he is. I mean... it was just one season for all we know he could turn out to be a big flop. A player does not turn from **** to great in one season because of somebody else. If he had been consistent for let's say 3 seasons and then he went out like that then yeah I'd agree with you.
I don't think class has anything to do with it but if anything he was class. He gave everything until the end even when he had decided he would go, he did not create any problems that we know of, he never talked about any transfer and he never talked bad of Wenger. If you care about not classy things, look at what Wenger said about him and Milan... the Alsatian is a whiner and a jerk.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 10 2008, 02:22 PM
The big money offer is I guess a matter of conjecture. I don't know how much Arsene offered him. I doubt, Flamini asked for 100,000 a week. To understand this situation, I placed Brocchi in a similar situation and asked myself how I'd react if he played well next season, and then refused a contract extension. And I think it would be difficult for Milan to outbid the player, if Arsenal truly wanted to keep him.
That's two completely different scenarios.
Gilardino had proven himself to be a great player before he came to Milan, so you always knew the potential was there. Flamini was seen as a complete waste of space, and Wenger was the only one who saw any kind of talent in him, gave him the chances, and basically made him the player he is today.
@dst, the reason I'm so disapointed about him is that when no top-side in Europe would even think about signing him he was complaining about lack of playing time. Then, this season, he talked non-stop about how he loved the club and everything about it, and how this was a team with a glorius future and how he could see himself staying for maaany years to come etc.
Then big money enters the scene and off we go.
Posted by: dst Jul 10 2008, 02:28 PM
Then big money enters the scene and off we go.
Yeah he could have avoided speaking about his future but I don't think it's just money that drove him away.
In any case, whether he's class or not and whether he's a mercenary or not I don't think one can put him in the same basket with Hleb and Ade.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 03:04 PM
We'll have to disagree on this one then dst. If you're given a chance by a lub and you play well, I think you owe that club something, otherwise you'd be a nobody. Martin Laursen was the same at Villa, he was injured for 3 years, we decided to give him a chance and he was amazing, his contract was up at the end of the season and he could have walked away to a bigger team. But he owed us, and he signed a new deal. That's exactly what Flamini should have done in my view.
I do agree about Wenger though, he's very hypocritical and whines an awful lot. Maybe Flamini leaving for free is karma for him taking all these young players.
Posted by: dst Jul 10 2008, 03:26 PM
Oh damn no! We had 100% coincidence of views up until now!
How can you give that example for this case? What you did for the guy was amazing! I don't think giving a chance to someone you chose to buy is the same as what Villa did with Laursen... what if Flamini had blew the chance he was given? Would you still consider it to be immoral if he left? I mean the chance was given in both cases that's what matters to me...
In any case, I think he was already frustrated with the fact that he was refused a contract extension last summer.
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 03:33 PM
I do agree with what you've said regarding the whole if he wasted his chance thing. This one is a tough one really, but some of the blame does need to fall on Arsenal for not giving him a deal sooner. You can't expect to let the contract run down and expect him to stay I suppose.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 10 2008, 06:34 PM
In defence of Wenger..I assume most of the animosity you feel for the guy comes from his comments about Milan, no?
Those were indeed hasty words, but I'll give him the benefit of doubt on this one. It was a time when half our squad was linked with practically everyone and I think he did not mean it in the way the press publicised it.
He has said a ot of good things about Milan as well, but like every time Wenger says something that isn't critical or complaining, then the press doesn't care. They want whinge-stories from him, nothing else.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Jul 10 2008, 06:45 PM
Now the last I heard, United never forced him to sign a 5 year contract. And earning 120,000 a week is hardly slavery now is it. Contracts are pointless now, to the point where they may as well not even be signed, players should just choose whoever they want to play for.
In the similar situation we let Sheva go and didn't send him to the stands to see out his contract
And he went to a Premier League club!
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 08:00 PM
Not for me. The thing that annoys me with him is how - if you go buy what he says - every single decision in football history has gone against Arsenal. If one of his players makes a bad foul or does a clear handball that isn't given, all you ever hear is "I didn't see it". If that happens to his teams, the player fouling the Arsenal player is an "Animal" and the handball thing means the refs are against him.
That's what gets me with Wenger.
And he went to a Premier League club!
Yep, and did Blatter complain about Milan 'treating Sheva like a slave', of course not, he wouldn't want a great player to join the EPL.
Anyways. Sidwell officially signed with Villa today for £5m, he looked genuinly happy/releived that he is here. We had a friendly in Switzerland tonight, we beat FC Wil 1900 6-0 with Harewood (2), Carew, Delfouneso, Maloney & Routledge getting the goals.
Delfouneso is one that excites me, has Gabby like pace, but great upperbody strength and finishes very well. Looks like our youth academy coaches are doing their job.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 10 2008, 08:11 PM
That's what gets me with Wenger.
The thing is, Wenger is shielding his own players and allowing the blame to fall on him, but that doesn't mean he don't take action against the players off the pitch.
Remember the 99-01 period when we were picking up cards and suspensions left right and center and Wenger spammed "I didn't see it" all over the place? Well, a few years later Arsenal tops the fair play league.
And I reckon Mourinho and Ferguson are worse by far.
Posted by: Tennie Jul 10 2008, 08:15 PM
Speaking as someone who generally likes very little at all having to do with the English league, I can say that I find good and bad things about Wenger.
The good: he's a good coach for building a team that plays flowing, attractive football. He's got a good eye for talent and is good at nurturing that talent.
The bad: he never sees when his players are naughty, I'll freely admit that I REALLY didn't appreciate the nasty dig at Milan, and, well, there are times when he reminds me a little TOO much of Raymond Domenech.
Would the fish doll have him over for milk and cookies? Probably so.
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jul 10 2008, 08:25 PM
That statement is a joke if it was the other way around he'd be putting transfer sanctions on United and fining them for 'tapping him up'...
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 09:04 PM
Ronaldo has now agreed with Blatter that players are treated like slaves nowadays.
Teams should start signing players to 1-year contracts from now on, the only reason big contracts are made is for a player to have a protection policy in case he gets injured.
I'm starting to wish I was a slave, earning £120k a week don't sound all that bad.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Jul 10 2008, 09:43 PM
How could Milan treat Sheva like a slave when we let him go? Like I said we didn't say "we will let him rot in the stands". And like I say he went to an English club, and an English club is moaning about the same thing!
Double standards in my eyes
Posted by: Kaka Is Brilliant Jul 10 2008, 09:45 PM
Teams should start signing players to 1-year contracts from now on, the only reason big contracts are made is for a player to have a protection policy in case he gets injured.
I'm starting to wish I was a slave, earning £120k a week don't sound all that bad.
The guys a clown 3 years ago Blatter said this...
Fifa president Sepp Blatter wants to see a situation where clubs are suspended from buying players during the transfer window.
"I think that is a good idea," said Blatter.
"We need more discipline and more respect for the regulations."
Now he says what he has today...
Oh and for the source of that quote for disbelievers: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4599103.stm
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 09:54 PM
Double standards in my eyes
What?
I have to be honest and say I'm not sure what you're getting at. Who said Milan treated Sheva like a slave? What does that even have to do with it?
Which English club is moaning? The only person moaning at the moment is Blatter. But Blatter does have double standards, when Milan refused to sell Shave to Chelsea at first, did Blatter complain? Of course he didn't, because he would be happy to see Sheva stay away from the EPL. But he soon started complaining at Man U.
@Ash: Blatter is a fool. Platini is just as worse. THey let their own likes and dislikes interfere with their job, which is why they're going to ruin football.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Jul 10 2008, 10:16 PM
I have to be honest and say I'm not sure what you're getting at. Who said Milan treated Sheva like a slave? What does that even have to do with it?
Which English club is moaning? The only person moaning at the moment is Blatter. But Blatter does have double standards, when Milan refused to sell Shave to Chelsea at first, did Blatter complain? Of course he didn't, because he would be happy to see Sheva stay away from the EPL. But he soon started complaining at Man U.
@Ash: Blatter is a fool. Platini is just as worse. THey let their own likes and dislikes interfere with their job, which is why they're going to ruin football.
Right then, when Roman first met Sheva he told him he wanted him to play for Chelsea(which is wrong as they should have gone through Milan first). Luckily at the time Sheva was happy at Milan and declined, even though he was offered anything he wanted. The following season they tried yet again and were told Sheva was not for sale, but being Chelsea they just ignored that. Anyway when Sheva decided he wanted to leave (even though he was under contract) I didn't hear any of the Milan management say "he will rot in the stands before signing for them" in fact Galliani tried to give him a contract equal to what Chelsea offered him and he refused. Do you see the similarities now? Or does your love of the premier league stop you?
Like I said, double standards
Posted by: kurtsimonw Jul 10 2008, 11:03 PM
Yes, this is also what has happened in the Ronaldo-Real Madrid saga, so I see no difference here.
Again, which is the same as Ronaldo-Real Madrid. They wanted him last year, he said he was happy at United, and they offered agains this season and United told them to F off.
So? What does Milan not saying that and United, allegedly, saying that have to do with each other?
Like I said, double standards
Okay. I'm beginning to think you don't know what double standards means..
Answer me this question as you seem to have avoided it until now - WHO EXACTLY HAS DOUBLE STANDARDS? I don't see why you keep saying this double standards thing.
Hmm, my love for the EPL, or your jealousy, pick one.
Posted by: Tennie Jul 10 2008, 11:08 PM
I don't think Sepp Blatter likes any league except perhaps for Spain. He's probably even less popular in Italy than he is in England. His comment re: Ronaldo moving to Real was out of order.
Posted by: Locke Lamora Jul 10 2008, 11:33 PM
The good: he's a good coach for building a team that plays flowing, attractive football. He's got a good eye for talent and is good at nurturing that talent.
The bad: he never sees when his players are naughty, I'll freely admit that I REALLY didn't appreciate the nasty dig at Milan, and, well, there are times when he reminds me a little TOO much of Raymond Domenech.
Would the fish doll have him over for milk and cookies? Probably so.
As for the bad things about him, I can only say to yo what I said to kurt.
And for the Domenech bit...Wenger and Domenech are known for disliking each other to the extreme.
Posted by: dst Jul 11 2008, 12:45 PM
Those were indeed hasty words, but I'll give him the benefit of doubt on this one. It was a time when half our squad was linked with practically everyone and I think he did not mean it in the way the press publicised it.
He has said a ot of good things about Milan as well, but like every time Wenger says something that isn't critical or complaining, then the press doesn't care. They want whinge-stories from him, nothing else.
It's true, not everything he says is negative and I remember him talking nice of Milan in the past.
For me, what he said about Milan was only the motive. The cause is his behavior in general.
I think you like him too much and you're biased when it comes to him so you don't see somethings that I do or you don't see them as negative. I don't blame you, I'm not different.
Posted by: I_Rossoneri Jul 11 2008, 01:00 PM
Again, which is the same as Ronaldo-Real Madrid. They wanted him last year, he said he was happy at United, and they offered agains this season and United told them to F off.
So? What does Milan not saying that and United, allegedly, saying that have to do with each other?
Okay. I'm beginning to think you don't know what double standards means..
Answer me this question as you seem to have avoided it until now - WHO EXACTLY HAS DOUBLE STANDARDS? I don't see why you keep saying this double standards thing.
Hmm, my love for the EPL, or your jealousy, pick one.
Right then seeing as you still don't understand, what i'm saying is that when Sheva wanted to leave we let him leave(even though he was under contract), yet Manu have threatened to let him rot in the stands - hence the slavery comments. The double standards come from the nauseating "Blatter hates the EPL" - yet it was an EPL club that did exactly the same thing and yet no one said anything then!
I do hope you can understand that as I have put it in as simple terms as I could
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