The Soccer Thread

[soundchazer]

Who would've thought that Mexico as first in its group would have to go against Brazil? Well... that is what is going to happen. It will be interesting to watch if Mexico is able to repeat the history of the last 6 matches against the verdeamarelha (Mexico has not lost a match vs. brazil in the last 6 times going back to the last Copa America).

[jl11210]

Who is watching the Copa America Final Brazil is in it again was there a time they were not in it

[jl11210]

Brazil beat argintina

[loner]

They really should make the Copa America a once in 4 years event. We saw a lot of interesting new talents in this Copa, but really, who cares if a reserve Brazil side shoots better penalties than an under-strength Argentina side. Maybe it's to good to give guys like Adriano, Edu and Tevez a chance to show how good they are, but really, without Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Roberto Carlos, Crespo and Samuel, not many people will be interested.

And the fact that Kily Gonzalez and Juan Pablo Sorin still starts when better left-sided players are available still baffles me. Bielsa should be fired now.

What's even more embarassing is that Peru, Chile and Uruguay all included near-full strength sides, and all failed to trouble Argentina and Brazil's reserve. I'm afraid the rest of the continent is failing to catch up to those two giants. Sure, they may spring a few surprises during the qualifiers, but in serious tournaments, they are no match for any Argentinian or Brazilian side.

[soundchazer]

Wow...

Anyone who says Mexico is not an attractive place to play for international players will need to reconsider:

Just a thought:

Club America, one of only 2 or 3 Mexican teams in the Fifa 100 clubs hired:

Claudio "Piojo" Lopez - Who comes from the Lazio in Italy
Djalminha - Midfielder previously in Deportivo la Coruña
Horacio Ameli - Main defender in River Plate
Sebastian Saja - Goalkeeper of San Lorenzo de Almagro

and they already had the star forward of the Chilean national team (Navia) and one their Midfielders (Rodrigo Valenzuela)

Now they can surely be called the Mexican equivalent of the "Galácticos". It will be interesting to see if money and good players can win a championship.

[loner]

I know, it's kinda weird really. Ever since last season, more and more high profile American players are joining Mexican clubs. Saja was touted as one of the most promising goalkeepers of Argentina, Ameli was also a former international, while I still can't forget Djalminha's old tricks. But Claudio Lopez is a player who's played in the Champions League final and won the Seria A championship. That's one helluva signing.

But what the hell's happening at Lazio. Fiore and Corradi, two of Lazio's best attacking players, have gone to Valencia for 2m. Stam has gone to Milan, Mancini got stolen by Inter and now even Mihajlovic had followed him. Unless some good signings come in soon, Lazio is likely to be relegated next season.....

[Benny_]

Lazio relegated? Seems a bit melodramatic don't you think? I've got no doubt they will make some decent signings to fill the hole, enough so that they won't be relegated anyway :P. Then again I must say I've got very little idea what's been going on in Italy of late. From what I've observed in sporadic articles about transfers on the continent, there's been a lot of activity in the big Spanish clubs, but no so in Italy. I know Roma's had to sell a few of their ebst to cover their debts, but I'm pretty much in the dark about the going ons at Inter and Juve, except that Davids has decided to ruin his career by going to Inter. Nice that you're keeping me posted loner :P If you have an online source for this sort of thing I wouldn't mind having a look however.

[loner]

For transfers, I always check skysports.planetfootball.com for the most updated news. soccernet.espn.go.com is also very resourceful on British footy news, but not so much on the international scene. Other sites I check are www.sportinglife.com (which has an updated Transfer Centre) and www.uefa.com, though I only go to those sites occashionally.

Anyways, the biggest Italian transfer news so far are Emerson's move to Juve, Inter's usual summer transfer influx and outflux and sadly, Fiorentina's rebirth and Lazio's gradual death. Really, the best attacking players the Lazio have now are Simone Inzaghi and Roberto Muzzi. I can't see good things from that, especially since Lazio have very little transfer fund.

[Benny_]

OK.. time for another one of my trademark ressurections of this thread :P

Bit worried about the Pool this season now. I was very excited at the beginning when Rafael Benitez was shipping out Houllier's useless signings, but it's approaching the deadline for eligibility to play UCL and he's still dump out the trash, but he's still only signed Josemi and Cisse. I'm hearing a lot of rumours that we'll be getting Alonso, but that doesn't solve our Smicer injury induced problems, or cover for the lack of a decent CB. I have heard however Diouf's imminent move to Malaga will bring another Spanish defender going by the name of Alexis, but I don't really know much about him.

Anyway good news for you loner, it seems that there's a fairly decent chance Paolo di Canio is going back to Lazio, sure he's aged a bit, but he still has quality Inzaghi and Muzzi couldn't hope to match :)

[loner]

Really, I think Liverpool have a pretty good squad already. After all, Rafa never emphasised the individuals, but the entire team. The likes of Pellegrino, Marchena, Curro Torres, Rufete, Angulo and Mista are not top drawer players, and while Carboni is, he's 40. However, they make one helluva team, capable of bringing down anything, and literally did so last season. I think he can make good use of the likes of Carragher, Henchoz and Josemi and create a decent defense. And I don't know who Alexis is either, but I will be the last one to doubt Rafa's ability to spot a good player.

Signing aging players: the first sign of demise. Alright, Di Canio is better than anything we got right now. But in Italy, it has become a fashion that when a team struggles, they turn to aging stars. While some teams did fine (Parma with Carbone), some failed miserably (Perugia with Ravanelli, Ancona with...um....its entire team). And we lost so many players that there are too many holes for one Di Canio to fill in.

[Benny_]

Uh.. loner, you're forgetting that in addition to the handful of passable players Valencia fielded last year whom Rafa turned into a champion team, they also had more than their share of exceptional world class players where it counted. Let's see.. Canizares > Dudek, Ayala> All of Liverpool's back 4, Vincente>Smicer, Aimar+Baraja>Hamann+Gerrard. The only area in which Liverpool had more quality than Valencia was in the strikers, where in theory Owen+Baros should've swept all before them. Too bad Baros was injured most of the season and Owen was, and is playing like he wants to go to Madrid/Barca.

In fact, he's looking like he wants to go to Madrid/Barca now. I say good riddance, Baros will prove his worth, and the supposed 10 million pounds + Eto'o or Morientes we'll get for him is much better than having an unhappy, underachieving super star striker (I'm thinking Kluivert quality, except to a lesser extent). With that 10 mil + hopefully around another 5 mil from Murphy and Finnan (I hear Blackburn's interested, not sure if Rovers fans are as enthusiastic), we might be able to buy some real quality to balance out the squad.

[loner]

And what do you expect to win this year, domestic and European double like Valencia? Yes, Liverpool is one huge step behind Valencia. But I believe Liverpool fans should expect this season to be one of dismantling Houllier's legacy and rebuilding the squad. Before splashing big bucks around on big names, Rafa knows he's got to inject some confidence into the existing players. If I remember correctly, Vicente used to be a very inconsistent winger (in fact he began his career as a striker), Canizares was considered past it by Real Madrid and Baraja was at most a fringe player. But Rafa made these players improve to what they are now, and then added the qualities of Ayala and Aimar, and built a terrific team. I believe he has the ability of bringing out the best out of the likes of Gerrard and Baros, who are all very promising players. I believe he is wise to not spend big this summer. That would make people have wild expectations and put too much burden on the players. Remember Chelsea last season? They have a squad on paper that can thrash any club 5-0, but ended up trophyless and knocked out of the Champ League by a team that almost got relegated.

Have patience, mate. Rafa will build a very good team for you in the future.

Finnan....will he snuffed at Liverpool. But considering the fact that Blackburn's best (uh, and only) right back is Lucas Neill, he is actually welcomed here. And btw, Murphy deal broke down. He expects to be in Spurs' first team...-_-

[Benny_]

Well Murphy's found a new home at Charlton quickly enough for 2.5mil, goodbye and good luck to him, he was a reliable squad player who always fully committed to the reds. Also we've finally made a bid of 10.7 million pounds for Alonso, and it seems Sociedad has accepted the offer.

You're right about dismantling Houllier's legacy, but what I'm more concerned about is the lack of squad depth. Our first team looks competitive enough, and with good coaching shouldn't have any problems qualifying for the Champions League this year at least this year, it's when people start getting injured that we'll be deep in it,

Anyway.. seems Vieira may well be off to Madrid now, damn they're gonna be hard to beat in Europe this year with the leaking defence being patched up by Samuel and Vieira

Casillas
Salgado/Samuel/Helguera/Carlos
Figo/Beckham/Vieira/Zidane
Ronaldo/Raul

Figo's probably leaving when the Christmas Xfer window opens, but that'll allow Beckham to slot comfortably back to the right and Guti to reclaim a first team spot. Everyone's happy.

What's Valencia been doing in the Xfer market this summer loner? Maybe they've just been comparatively quiet next to Barcelona and Madrid, but I really haven't heard a lot about them.

[loner]

Valencia is quickly becoming an Italian team now. Ranieri had bought Fiore, Corradi (both from Lazio for a combined price of 2m, good buy, but considering it's from Lazio, I'm not too happy), Moretti and Di Vaio. The only non-Italian signing is Caneira. Not too busy, but then again, with such a good squad, there is no need to buy too many players. Ranieri's bought well over all, with Corradi adding depth in attack, Fiore fill in the gaping hole at right, Caneira replacing the eager but talentwise limited Curro Torres and Di Vaio supposedly replacing Angulo, who is going to Arsenal I presume.

I wouldn't worry too much about Liverpool's squad depth. Maybe Rafa can inject some life into the likes of Biscan and Diao. Xabi Alonso is a terrific player who will replace the aging Hamann and become a force in the midfield with Gerrard. And I say, accept that ridiculous bid from Real Madrid now. Getting 10 m and Morientes or Etoo for Owen is the bargain of the century. Morientes and Eto'o are both more consistent and talented than Owen, and will lead the line well. And you get 10m more for him. Damn, why do Real need Owen when they already got Morientes and Eto'o?

Samuel and Vieira are good signings, and reduce their defensive woes. But as long as Helguera is Samuel's partner, and Salgado and R. Carlos continue to wander up front w/o returning to their defensive duties, Real will still leak goals. Not as much as they used to, but still a lot.

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

Veirra has till saturday to make his choice. Real or Arsenal.

The tension is nailbiting!!!!

More importantly, will Arsene Wenger ever get Highbury to loosen those damn pursestrings of theirs. They know they'll never make that new stadium anyways.

[Benny_]

Wenger's greatest virtue is his ability to buy smart, so I wouldn't worry too much about the purse strings. Vieira though atm is irreplaceble.. except perhaps by Steven Gerrard, and he's not going anywhere :P I don't fancy Arsenal chance's of keeping Vieira though. I'd rather him go though, if he doesn't go there's a pretty good chance Madrid will turn straight back to Alonso, as I'm still not quite certain as to whether his deal has been closed off yet.

[loner]

If Vieira is sold, Maniche will be signed. However, Maniche can't replace Vieira, because they are totally different players. I expect Gilberto Silva to be the one to take over Vieira's role, while Maniche venture upwards and fire in a bunch of long shots. I personally don't want Vieira to go to Real, because that will make them actually stronger on the football field, not just in the market. So by all means, sign Owen instead.

[jl11210]

anybody here like olympic game soccer
iraq is playing portugal doesnt sound like a fairly matched game

5hrs later

portugal 2- iraq 4
just saw the game what an upset i thought Portugal had this in the bag when Iraq scored in its own goal then all of a sudden iraq's offense just out matched portugal with four goals.

[Benny_]

@*#(&@!#*!_(#&!@)*(&#@!@_(#&!@(_$&*@!^$(! Madrid are been reported to have offered a measly £8 + a makeshift in Antonio Numez and/or Juanfran WTF!*()@&*_!@*()!#*()!#)*(!

If this is the deal we end up getting I have no doubt Owen will forever be spat upon in Liverpool's history books as the little upstart who dragged on contract talks for over a year decreasing his value tremendously, then whoring himself off to sell shirts from the Madrid bench.

*Ahem* Sorry about that outburst, but i know absolutely nothing about Antonio Numez except that he's a RM who's barely if ever played first team football at Madrid(not surprisingly), and is hardly promising to be a player for the future. Juanfran though at least has plenty of promise, so I'd be pretty happy if we got the both of them, but in our position I guess Madrid are calling all the shots.

[Datsun]

Well, Jose Camucho did a pretty smart thing by playing Morientes in their CL match. He obviously rates him highly enough to basically block off the possibility of trading him for Owen, who in my opinion, has only a slight chance to be a success at Madrid.

I mean he's good and all, and he used to be awesome, but now he doesn't seem to have the spark he use to possess. Not only that but with 3 quality forwards in Ronaldo, Morientes and Raul (still out of form?) he's going to have a hard time getting game time.

Still, at 8million quid and unknown midfielder does seem like a pretty crappy deal for Liver's.

[loner]

Ok now that's a crappy deal. I think Antonio Nunez played last season and even scored a goal, but he isn't by any means a starter. Juanfran I think I've heard something about him, though I've never seen him play either. Anyways, both players stink in Champ. Manager. I think Rafa and Camacho had some kind of a deal between them that both Owen and Morientes will sit on the bench for their respective Champ. League games to keep their values up. Rafa kept faith to that promise and saw his side win easily. But Camacho saw his side struggle to score against Wisla Krakow and basically went back on his promise and put Morientes on. And the deal is therefore scuppered.

I never trust badge-kissers like Owen and Alan Smith. Almost all of them end up to be the biggest traitors.

As for Iraq beating Portugal, I'm actually not that surprised. The Portuguese players just returned from their holidays and lack match fitness. The Iraqi olympic squad however was sent to the Asian Cup and played very well, reaching the quarterfinals. A battle-hardened Iraqi side with lots to prove to the world would of course beat a lacklustre Portuguese side.

[Datsun]

Well, the Owen deal has apparantly been made. Like I alluded to earlier, I think both sides are slightly worse off because of the deal.

In fact, Liverpool are looking distinctly vulnerable now, unless guys like Kewell, Baros and Cisse can provide more support for Gerrard. Although, these guys are probably awesome on their day, what happens when they have an 'off-day'. I think that being in the top 6 (Uefa cup place) would be an achievement for them by the end of the season.

However, their new coach Benitez has a proven record at the top level, so he may or may not be able to form them into a cohesive unit (with the right tactics). But honestly, he's not working with much compared to the likes of the Arsenal, ManU, and Chelski.

My pick is for them to finish at about 7th or 8th.

EDIT: Oh, and Patrick Viera's staying at the Arsenal. Yay if you're an Arsenal fan, but yeah, I was hoping he'd go to Real Madrid so they'd have the complete set. :)

[Benny_]

Uh.. 7th or 8th? I think you're underestimating Benitez and the Liverpool squad just a tad...despite Owen leaving for a pittance, I'm still fairly optimistic so long as we manage to seal the Alonso deal (stay away Real, stay away) and manage a better RM. I'll go out on a limb and tip Liverpool to finish 3rd. Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs are both past their best for Man U, their defence, even with Heinze still looks fairly shaky, and with RvN and Saha both out for a month, it'll be tough work for them to keep their usually lofty standards at the start of the season at least.

[Yurika Star]

I can see Liverpool getting 5th or maybe 4th.

You're over-estimating them with 3rd. Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea still have superior sides and more qaulity depth. And Newcastle don't look to shabby this season either, better than Liverpool imo.

And if Boro full fill potential (yea i know, asking alot) Liverpool will have there hands full getting in the top 6, especialy if any teams have great runs again (Villa, Birmingham, Charlton). Sorry to any Liverpool fans but the sides dropping imo. Definately not top-3 finishers, top-6 is where it'll be this season. Unles something drastic happens.

I wouldn't mind seeing Man U getting a 6-4 finish though (but i'd rather Newcastle take that from them).

[Benny_]

Well we'll soon seen won't we, it all starts tonight.

My start of season predictions.

1. Arsenal (Vieira staying plays a large part in them not being 2nd)
2. Chelsea (Good signings, great Mourniho, but another season will be necessary to allow the team to gel again)
3. Liverpool (Great manager, 2 good signings with the possibilty of another to come.. 3rd is hoping for a lot but it's achievable)
4. Man U (I belong to that group that believes Man U's time in the sun's over, they'll stay here for a while as Chelsea and Liverpool grow)
5. Middlesbrough (Quality signings all, I'm expecting great things from them this time)
6. Newcastle (You'd have to wonder how many games Kluivert will get unless there's an injury to Bellamy or Shearer.. on the decline)

[loner]

My predictions of the next EPL season:

1. Arsenal (Since Vieira is not leaving, they have only got stronger and younger)
2. Chelsea (I agree with Benny, another season to gel)
3. Man Utd (On paper, a tough season for them. But they still have better teams than most others, but expect the gap between them and the other two to widen)
4. Liverpool (A season of rebuilding, and I believe Rafa will bring more success in the next season)
5. Aston Villa (Heh, actually a lot of teams can get this place, but Villa looks like a very solid unit right now. Unless injuries strike, they can achieve great things)
6. Charlton (Curbishley have been making good progress with this club. Rommedahl will prove to be a terrific signing)

As for Newcastle, I don't care what people say about their new 'exciting' striker *ahem*, their defence is still sh*tty. Woodgate is always terminally injured, Bramble is always in a shamble when clearing the ball and O'Brien is good for nothing. Plus, the club president made a stupid blunder announcing Shearer and Bobby Robson will go at the end of the season, annoying greatly the twin pillar that is holding the team together.

As for the Owen deal, I think Liverpool have no choice but to sell him. Since he won't sign a new deal, the club may risk losing him for free. So they had to sell him quickly in order to have time to find a replacement. Rafa needed to make a quick decision and he did. And I don't agree with Datsun that Liverpool will suffer without Owen. Remember that for the last two season, Owen had many barren spells, followed by goal explosions against the likes of West Brom. Sure, Kewell, Cisse and Baros will have their off-days, but that applies to everybody, and I don't see how that has anything to do with Owen leaving, since Owen had more off-days than those three last season.

Edit: Well that's the first game of the season. Spurs 1, Liverpool 1. Cisse scored on debut, which could promise great things.

[Benny_]

Well I didn't get to see the match myself.. but from the looks of the Soccernet Gamecast I must say some pretty strange things went on. First half we seemed to be dominant, with something like 68% of possession and Cisse playing well. Second half all of a sudden our attacks seemed to totally dry up, while Tottenham peppered Liverpool till Defoe finally got a goal (He had a fair few shots on goal, looks like a really promising prospect for England). What's most bizzare about is was th at with no injuries, Rafa decided to sub off Baros (who admittedly had a quiet game), Cisse AND the holding MF Hamann.. what in the world was he thinking there?

[loner]

Um.....he said Cisse looked 'tired'. And Santini changed the gameplan in the second half and Spurs came out attacking. I don't know about Hamann. Maybe he has an injury or something, or maybe he is 'tired' as well.

[The Macaque]

OK, my bet for the weekend. Arguments for and against are welcomed.

Birmingham - Chelski - 2
Newcastle - Tottenham - 1,X
Pool - Man C - 1
Crystal Palace - Everton - 2
Fulham - Bolton - 1,X
Charlton - Pourtsmouth - 1
Man U - Norwich - 1
Plymouth - Sunderland - 2
QPR - Derby - 1,X
Leeds - Nott. Forest - X,2
Crewe - West Ham - 1
Burnley - Wolves - 2
Coventry - Millwall - 2

The experts over at the finnish betting agency think Birmingham might stand a chance againts Chelski. I say they place way too much hope in Forssell (who's not even playing today). Newcastle is strong at home and Tottenham have a few key players injured. A surprise draw might give a better refund if I manage to win. West Ham lost to Wigan on their home pitch and Crewe managed to clinch an away draw against Forest. Leeds have already been beaten by Gillingham *shrudders*, which is why I bet against em. Millwall isn't as strong away as they are at home, but I believe in the lions (as well as Everton, so shoot me).

[Benny_]

Well I must say I'm very happy with Rafa's signings, unproven as it might be, on paper Liverpool now has a midfield and striker pairing that's right up there with Arsenal's and Man U's, especially in the centre with Alonso and Gerrard. Heard a couple of days agao that Collocini wanted to come to Liverpool as well, that'd just about complete our top 11 (Riise needs a bit of working on, but otherwise it's beautiful). Seems to be the beginning of a beautiful new few seasons. With neither Alonso nor Garcia playing I'm tipping Liverpool to manage a 2-1 win tonight, fingers crossed. Other games, tipping Scum to restore confidence with a 2-0 victory over Norwich. Bolton to ride their form to a 1-0 win over Fulham, who haven't really compensated for the loss of Saha.

Also I'm tipping Tottenham to salvage a draw from Newcastle, especially since they seem to be incapable to have good starts to the season

[The Macaque]

OK, so I bummed on a few targets there, including the Tottenham game. Oh well, guess I'll have to try again next week. Good thing Everton won. They really need to get points from those newcomers if they want to avoid relegation.

Oh and my bet is Everton will finish in the top half :O!!! OMFG!!! Take that all you "footy experts"!!!

[Benny_]

LOL that my friend is a huge call, but who knows, if Rooney doesn't get pinched in these last couple of weeks (and it doesn't look like happening), they'll comfortable finish above the relegation zone. Top half? You're dreaming ;)

Chelsea won 1-0 again at Birmingham..omfg they're gonna be a boring team to watch. Mourinho's gonna turn them into another Porto, efficient and boring. At least with Porto he had Deco and Maniche playing some creative football.. and he has good creative options at Chelsea too, but he doesn't seem to be too interested. He has what.. THREE defensive MFs + a combatative MF in Lampard.. Also it was interesting to hear his post match comments about Savage elbowing Kezman:

'I see this kind of behaviour in Spain and Italy, but one reason I like English football is the fair play,'

What a hypocrit, considering the club he came from. This man may be good, but there's something tremendously irritating about him. At any rate by all accounts it was far from convincing, so I'm hoping the Pool will be in with a shot in a couple of months.

P.S Hooray for Milan, who silenced his critics with a great
performance today :D:D

P.P.S bad luck to Blackburn, who played well against Saints. I have a feeling they might be in a relegation scrap again this season though

[Neith]

I vote for Blackburn, Palace and maybe Everton for relegation this season!

0_0

[loner]

I vote for Blackburn, Palace and maybe Everton for relegation this season!

0_0

Don't give me an urge to attack you Neith, even though you are probably making a good guess.

If Souness don't buy a defender, and those damn referees keep on making stupid decisions against Blackburn at last minutes, we will be in a scrap.

[Benny_]

Farewell to Sir Bobby Robson, who's had a horrid stretch of bad luck this season at the Magapies and paid for something that wasn't really within his power. I can only hope that he'll keep his spirits up and enjoy whatever he may pursue from here on in, managing or otherwise. He's taken such a lot of BS from his players, administration and dodgy umpiring decisions this season I'm amazed the Newcastle board has the gall to sack him. Especially when they were the ones who sold Woodgate and then decided to 'wisely' spend the money on a striker when they badly need to patch up their defense. I'm thinking by the end of the season when they're middle of the table with no European place to even fight for they'll regret what they've done.

[Yurika Star]

Don't give me an urge to attack you Neith, even though you are probably making a good guess.

If Souness don't buy a defender, and those damn referees keep on making stupid decisions against Blackburn at last minutes, we will be in a scrap.
Don't worry, I don't see us going down!! If we do then....it's Neiths fault!!

We can't have the referees against us all season...can we?

[Datsun]

Don't worry, I don't see us going down!! If we do then....it's Neiths fault!!

We can't have the referees against us all season...can we?

Ugh, don't get me started. If Blackburn do eventually get relegated, which I don't think they should, they'll look to the start of the season where 4 points were lost because of bad decisions from referees.

In contrast, everyone's big tip for relegation Everton have made a great start. Both them and Blackburn have few wonderfully gifted players and will have to graft and slug out every match if they're both to stay up. However it looks like it's straight back down for poor ole Crystal Palace.

[loner]

Don't worry, I don't see us going down!! If we do then....it's Neiths fault!!

We can't have the referees against us all season...can we?
Mmm....we went a whole season without getting a penalty last year. I don't like the odds, Yuri. The refs, for some reason, don't like Blackburn. Maybe they just don't like Yorke. He's gone now, so maybe we'll get a penalty the next game?

I dunno how hard will Rooney's betrayal hit Everton. They seem to be playing fine right now, but good starts don't always promise good endings.

[Benny_]

So I hear Gerard Houllier might be taking over at Rovers now Souness has defected to Newcastle. I feel sorry for you, I'm not sure who's worse between the 2. I'm pretty sure that both Newcastle and Blackburn have come out of Sir Bobby's sacking a little worse than before. What cracked me up was Souness's defense of his move being 'his last chance to manage one of the biggest clubs in England'. I'm fairly sure he coached Liverpool, and I'm fairly sure he screwed us over bigtime in his reign as well. The nerve of the fellow

[loner]

I dunno whether Souness leaving is a bad thing or not. We have been in sharp decline since last year, and this season's start does nothing to suggest things will be better, so a fresh start may be a good thing. As for Houllier, well, is he a very bad coach? I don't think he is. He just couldn't take Liverpool any further after some cup successes and stayed on the job for too long. Houllier plays a rather negative method and puts great emphasis on defence. For a team going for top 5 or 6 places, this is no good. For a team that's threatening relegation and would let in 5 or 6 goals per game if not for a very talented goalkeeper, this is a good thing. So I rather see him in charge than, say, Walter Smith.

[Benny_]

*obligatory cheer for 3-0 Pool win*

Wow.. watching the Barcelona-Celtic game, and.. wow. Barcelona are so damn awesome it makes me feel very much deprived indeed that I don't get to see any La Liga :'(. Barcelona's attacking quartet is in perfect, PERFECT synch. Watching Ronaldinho alone is enough incentive to get satellite tv.

[loner]

Watching David Marshall save his penalty is also worth it.

Of course their attacking quartet is perfect. What else do you expect from Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Deco and Giuly, possibly the 4 most technically gifted players in the world? However, their defence still look unstable. Silvinho and Belleti are great players, but not the most responsible defensively.

Real Madrid are woeful. Kusen completely flattened them like pancakes. And I expected much more from Walter Samuel. He was outplayed by Roque Junior, a player who cost Leverkusen, um, nothing. In fact, I believe Krzynowek, the guy who banged in from 30 yards, cost nothing as well. It's pretty sad to note that a side that only spent 1.8m euros in the summer can walk over a side that spent nearly 40m.

[Benny_]

And what do you think of Mark Hughes taking over at Rovers? I don't know too much about him as a coach myself, except that he raised the standards of the Wales national team.

Madrid were pretty damn shambolic. I'm betting Fiorentino Perez's feeling like a real idiot for selling Makele to Chelsea. I just hope it doesn't mean Gerrard will go to Madrid in January. Then again, if we keep playing as well as we did against Monaco, I see no reason why he'd want to go.

[loner]

Mark Hughes is a rather bold choice. He has no credential as a club coach, and while he did improve the Welsh national team, I'm not sure if he's got the calibre to succeed in the premiership. But then again, nobody expected Cookie to be much of a success, but he is, and I can only hope Mark Hughes is as good as a player as he is a coach.

I believe Real Madrid is either targeting Mascherano, who is part of the Argentinian Olympic team, or Gerrard. Maybe you should pray that Real goes for Mascherano.

[Benny_]

You mean you hope he's as good a coach as he was a player right? Anyway he wasn't that wonderful a player, scored some beautiful goals, but his ratio reall ywasn't that impressive and wasn't what you'd call a playmaker either.

Now I'm eagerly anticipating the match between the Reds and Man Utd tonight.. on paper, I think for the first time in a long time, we have a better first team, mainly due to the fact that most of the reliable Utd players of the past are now over the hill, especially Keane and Giggs. I suspect Scholes may just be suffering from a bad patch of form though. Meanwhile the replacements they've brought in, especially in centre midfield have proven to be Houllieresque in their mediocrity. Worse still is their CB pairing of Rio +Silvestre/Brown and Howard in goal, which I expect Garcia + Baros/Cisse will fully exploit (I doubt Rio will make an instant impact considering his time out). Nevertheless Liverpool haven't fully geled yet (it's evident between both Cisse and Baros as well as Carragher and Dudek), so it should be a tight match, especially at the Old Trafford, but I think Liverpool will edge it in the end 2-1.

[loner]

Oi, Mark Hughes wasn't Eric Cantona and didn't score as many goals as Andy Cole or Dwight Yorke, but he was a good player on his own right. He was a responsible player who cared about both offence and defence and, yes, scored many spectacular goals. And Blackburn only need a good coach now. A great coach never goes to Blackburn. And we won. Barely and probably didn't deserve it, but whatever, we won.

Luis Garcia looks like a great buy. He needs to finish off more of his chances, but he certainly got great skills and pace and breaks well. Xabi Alonso's distribution is amazing, and with Gerrard playing his best football Liverpool now have a midfield to be proud of. You must be glad that you are seeing these geniuses playing instead of Murphy and Diouf, right? Man Utd need to work out their defence fast. I don't think they have any choice but to put Rio straight in. I'm wondering if Sir Alex should start switching Heinze and Silvestre's positions. Silvestre looks very shaky now, and an unfit Rio needs a more stable partner. Heinze can't cross anyways, so maybe he will be more useful in CB.

Carragher and Dudek have been playing together for, what, 4 years, and they still haven't geled? Damn.

[Benny_]

I don't think Carragher played as the first choice CB till recently :P Yeah.. it's wonderful to see Xabi and Garcia player.. Josemi too actually, 3 out of the 4 buys Rafa's made have been sheer class. Don't know if you saw the Monaco game the other day, but in all my years watching Liverpool play, I've never seen them play such a beautiful style of football. I wouldn't be hoping for 3rd this year if I hadn't been so impressed with what Rafa's done already here in such a short period of time. Fingers crossed for tonight.

[loner]

Tough, Benny, tough. Silvestre must have heard me talking about him, and Rio, well, he did return. Gerrard is out too for quite a while, so I guess terrible night out for Liverpool. Better marking in set pieces needed btw.

We got an Arsenal coach. That can only be good news.

[Datsun]

I must admit, I've changed my view on Liverpool. They're certainly more impressive than I'd previously given them credit for, but then, that was before all of their Spanish signings, which seemed to have given them a touch of class that was lacking before.

They did however play a pretty poor game against ManU, with Crist Ronaldo making Kewell and Riise second rate down his side of the pitch, and Rio being able to slide comfortably into the CB position without that much difficulty.

That said, I can certainly see them retaining their CL place next year, and also advancing to the knockout stage as well.

[Benny_]

Well.. I must say I am very very bitter about the Man U game. No excuses, we played very poorly (I think the shot count - something like 15-5 in favour of Utd) said it all. What's so much more disappointing though is Gerrard breaking his foot. Today was a gloomy day for Liverpool fans. Just as Utd returned to form by welcoming back their best defender, we completely lose the plot and our best player for 2 months to boot. I don't think even getting that dodgy free kick decision which led to one of the goals would cheer up any Liverpool fan. The only upside is that our squad's still a lot better than last year (thank god we signed Xabi), and more importantly Rafa's doing a great job. I can only hope the team holds together in Gerrard's absence and don't drop too many points in the meantime.

[loner]

Goals are flooding in in the Champ. League, and the Real-Roma game was messed up. I don't have anything positive to say about both side's defence, but I guess Roma was rightfully overran by a vengeful Real. Rooney hat-trick at debut? That's just messed up, and since when can he score free kicks as well? And I must say, Liverpool must do better than being outplayed by Olympiakos. Last I remembered, Juventus thrashed Olympiakos 7-0 last year, and last year was considered a failure for Juve.

Djorkaeff was a classy player, but at 36, can he still revive Blackburn??

[Yurika Star]

Goals are flooding in in the Champ. League, and the Real-Roma game was messed up. I don't have anything positive to say about both side's defence, but I guess Roma was rightfully overran by a vengeful Real. Rooney hat-trick at debut? That's just messed up, and since when can he score free kicks as well? And I must say, Liverpool must do better than being outplayed by Olympiakos. Last I remembered, Juventus thrashed Olympiakos 7-0 last year, and last year was considered a failure for Juve.

Djorkaeff was a classy player, but at 36, can he still revive Blackburn??
Doubt it, but we sorely need a goal scorer.

Rooney is just a bit to good for his age =/
And when couldn't Rooney score free kicks >_> I'd guess he's been able to for a long while. He just seems that good, He still ****s up though.

Yea, alot of goals. Sucks that Liverpool lost, but atleast they're fulfiling my prophecy of them sucking this year. And comparing Juve to Liverpool....

[Benny_]

Yeap.. seems that Liverpool is simply incapable of performing away from home. We've made Anfield damn solid again, but it ain't pretty wherever else we go. Really though, with all the moans about the Liverpool defense, it hasn't been that bad except on set pieces. Both the goals scored by Man U, the goal by Olympiakos, and I think the goal by Tottenham have all come from headers. So in that department we've been atrocious.

UCL looks very open this year I must say. Roma, Leverkusen and Real are all bad form in their group, so it's anyone's guess who'll get through (although Roma does look especially poor). Liverpool's group is similar in that Depor is having a horror run, while Olympiakos' lead is sure to be temporary. Liverpool and Monaco to get through.

Blackburn.. sorry but if Di Canio is too old to revive Lazio, Djorkaeff is too old revive Blackburn. Plus he's not really the type to score truckloads of goals, which is what you need. Maybe if his arrival revives Stead somewhat you'll survive the season.

[loner]

I think in Real Madrid's group, Dinamo Kiev will go through as top seed. No serious. They look fantastic and play wonderful flowing football. Real Madrid look better at home, but I think they'll lose most of their points against Kiev. I doubt Roma can still win any points, since they don't have any games at home anymore with any fans in sight, unless Del Neri can revive them immediately. Leverkusen is crap on travels, but at home they're undefeated so far, and handed out 3 goals thrashings to Real and Bayern, so I say they go through 2nd seed with 9 points. Real can play UEFA cup (lol) and Roma can kiss their sorry asses goodbye.

Djorkaeff doesn't score truckloads of goals, but he is a very smart player and scores when it matters. And his passing is still perfect even at this age. With Stead off-form, maybe we should play ****ov+Jansen up front. Both are not classy finishers(well one was before he crashed his motorcycle), but at least they work their socks off every game.

I know, I know, Liverpool is still lightyears away from Juve. /me winks at Benny

[Benny_]

Yep, the most diehard Liverpool fan would have to admit to that.Still Liverpool shouldn't be losing to Olympiakos either. Oh well, fairly certain we'll pick up points at home to Depor and Olympiakos, which should see us through. I agree with your assessment of Real's group, it'll definitely be a season of rebuilding for them and I see them getting through maybe to win the UEFA cup (UEFA cup doesn't seem to be packed with quality this year, so if Remon can steady the ship at Real they shouldn't have too many problems).

What's going on with Arsenal? A run of a 1-0 win and 2 draws is hardly the barnstorming stuff they started the season with. Surely they're not missing Gilberto? :P

[Datsun]

I don't think you should be underestimating Olympiakos. They seem to be a pretty good unit with Brazilian duo Giovanni and Rivaldo still being a dangerous attacking force at their age. In fact, their squad is a very experienced side and would otherwise have been playing quite a while with each other, whilst Nikopolidis seems to have been in the form of his life between the sticks.

As for the premiership and the rest of the Champions league, I'd have to say now that ManU have their key 1st choice players back they'll be dark horses for both competitions - if they don't get injured that is.

[loner]

No matter how 'experienced' the Olympiakos players are, Liverpool should still have won. Remember their goal didn't come from the skills and flairs of the washed-out Brazilians, but rather a simple header from a textbook corner. Carragher looks vulnerable at set pieces. Maybe it's time to bring the likes of John Welsh into contention?

Man Utd looks fantastic attacking against Fenerbahce, but really, they were expected to win that one. Time will tell if Rooney is capable of scoring hat-tricks against the likes of Nesta and Cannavaro.

[Benny_]

I agree with you loner. Rooney is far from the finished article, and the rave reviews have come a few CL matches against the likes of Milan too early. If anything I think the best thing Utd have going for them right now is that Rio is back. Mark my words if he had returned another 2 weeks later they would've dropped points against Liverpool and would've been nowhere near as fluent against Fenerbrace. His importance to Utd isn't limited to holding together their defence, his presence, like Hyypia for Liverpool inspires confidence at the back.

[Yurika Star]

Yep, Rio is by far the most important player for them to come back. Up until he got suspended last year Man U had a chance to win the title, but with out him they were nothing. But even with Rio the Man U defence looked shabby, but that midfield was far from what i'd expect.

[Datsun]

No matter how 'experienced' the Olympiakos players are, Liverpool should still have won.

Should have, would have, could have. Well, unfortunately they didn't. I guess the game itself was comparable to the way Greece won Euro 2004.

Liverpool are a good side, but their squad is definitely not world class throughout its ranks.

If you consider that any of the sides in European competition can cause an upset even over the likes of Arsenal, AC Milan or Real Madrid (probably not really an upset for that last team at this current time) especially when they're at home, then beating Liverpool would seem easier by contrast.

It's all good and well saying before a game you would expect to win, but just don't be surprised if some of the so-called lesser sides beat your favourite team.

Time will tell if Rooney is capable of scoring hat-tricks against the likes of Nesta and Cannavaro.

I agree with you loner. Rooney is far from the finished article, and the rave reviews have come a few CL matches against the likes of Milan too early.

I think that's a little unfair to be expecting hat-tricks against the likes of Milan and so on and so forth, but you still have to admire the quality of the goals he scored in that game after being sidelined for so long.

I concede that in the big games, he won't be afforded with the same space and time, but then that opens up space for the other players with the class of Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo and the 'experience' of Giggs, Keane and Scholes.

[loner]

Well, I'm not saying he's not a good player. He is, anybody can see that. But all the English media are acting like he's going to be the best player of the world. They are comparing him with the likes of Pele, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law. Rooney may become a player like these guys in the future, but right now he's no where close. The people raving him are making his ego expand too much, IMO. Remember that Whiteside guy (i think that's his name)? He was also considered one of the most promising striker ever when he came through the United ranks, and raved in the same fashion. But now I can't even remember his name.

[Benny_]

Look.. at the moment it would be too great a compliment to Rooney to compare him to Ronaldo or Zidane, because they've achieved everything and Rooney's achieved nothing. Sure he looks promising at 18 (19?), but there are a lot of players who promise but fail to deliver, time will tell if Rooney will fulfill his potential. He is probably up there amongst the top 4 talented youngsters in the world (Tevez, Kaka and Ronaldo being the other three) though.

[Datsun]

Look.. at the moment it would be too great a compliment to Rooney to compare him to Ronaldo or Zidane, because they've achieved everything and Rooney's achieved nothing.

I think we're both trying to say the same thing, except of course through different wordings. I never said anything remotely to the effect of 'he should be considered a great', and I basically agree with both comments anyway that Rooney is a fantastic talent but not a player of legendary status of yet. Besides, he had a pretty poor game against Middlesborough today, so I guess it's a reality check of him and everyone else as well.

[loner]

Blah...this thread had been dead for such a long time.....

Maybe I should give Mark Hughes some time, but I'm not impressed with his work in the Boro game. Tugay was sent off in the first half, so I know it's going to be hard for Blackburn to get anything in the game. But he had the halftime break to adapt the team to this change in gameplan and insert some confidence in the players. Instead, everybody looked clueless in the second half and Hasselbaink went rampant over a vast wasteland of nothingness.

[ZalorD]

rampant over a vast wasteland of nothingness
Nice. I like that. Would you like to be my game commentator when I overtake the wankers at M.U.?

Signed,
Malcolm G.

[Benny_]

Hey someone else resurrected the thread this time, awesome. Couple of cool things I want to bring up firstly.

1. Milan vs Barca at the San Siro on Wednesday. I don't want to jinx it, but this may well be one of the highlights of the season. Milan's rather indifferent form is offset by the San Siro factor, while Milan are looking rather...to quote the word of the day, rampant. I can't think of 2 teams I'd rather see play against each other in this year's CL.. except maybe Arsenal vs Barca or Arsenal vs Milan.. *drool*

2. The Biscanator scored a goal, and what a cracker it was! I'm not so optimistic a person that I'd believe he'll ever score another, but moments like these need to be treasured.....

3. ...Especially when it involves Liverpool overturning a 2-0 deficit at halftime to come back and win 4-2 with 10 men. Great to see Milan coming good, and Xabi doing possibly even Gerrard couldn't do for the team.

Now to the Rovers.. rather unfortunate about Hughes isn't it? A Reds fan probably isn't the best sort of person to offer any comfort considering what happened on the weekend, but yeah.. give him time. He's barely been at Blackburn and he's had a torrid time with Wales in his last few games (imagine getting eliminated from the WC 2 years before it starts, terrible). Anyway I hope you guys do stay up, it's still early in the season, and the new EPL sides have been woeful, so my bet is for them to all go down.

Looks like Adrian Mutu's career is headed for a cocaine propelled end...now what is it with Chelski and cocaine addicted players? The last player I recall being banned (as Mutu will be rather soon) for coke abuse was Mark Bosnich, Australia's own former no.1 keeper. Anyone have any ideas?

Finally.. LOL@ Real Madrid for buying Woodgate, and LOL@Woodgate for turning his back on Newcastle. Seems everyone got their just desserts. Woodgate will barely play before the Xmas break, and Real are still stuck with Helguera as a defender. Ah...good stuff.

[loner]

Heh, it's been my childhood dream to sit in a congested press box and give my sixpences on Manchester United at Crystal Palace. I can own Alan Green any given day, anyways.

Mr. Glazer, it's an honor to work for you. I just love the way you showed those lousy Shareholders Utd. who's the boss when you tripled the ticket prices. We hell-bound moneygrabbers need to stick together.

Edit: Biscanator, I like that. You're my summariser, Benny.

[UZ_white]

If this can have anything soccer... GO COLUMBUS CREW!!!!!!11

[loner]

lol yes go Columbus Crew!

Well, I just don't know how pitiful this can get. Blackburn got smashed 4-0 AGAIN! And again, Chelsea were screwing us as if we don't exist. I guess I must thank Kezman for flopping, or this could've been 8-0. Curse? What curse?

Mmm...that fella named Duff is not bad, brilliant goal he scored. His name sounds a bit familiar....I wonder where Chelski stole him from....

Adriano vs. Shevchenko, this should be fun. Shevu is scoring loads of goals right now, but Adriano has turned into some kind of monster. The 35 yard cracker he scored against Udinese should scare any team.

[darylcrowe]

The Man Utd vs Arsenal match brought a smile to my face at last

Manchester United won 2-0!!!!!!!

[Benny_]

The Man Utd vs Arsenal match brought a smile to my face at last

Which part of it made you the happiest? When Van Nistelrooy stamped Cole? When the Nevilles were digging their studs into Reyes? No sorry, it must've been when Shrek to a dive to win the game. :rolleyes: Something really needs to be about Mike Riley, seriously this guy is getting fat off Man U's bribes and teams are suffering for it. Last year after the Arsenal vs United game I didn't agree with Wenger's comments, but this time he was spot on. Arsenal were the better side and should've been celebrating a 50 game unbeaten streak but thanks utterly unprofessionalism Utd are back in the running.

I didn't see the Milan derby, but the scoreline seems to indicate to me that Scheva vs Adriano was a bit of a let down, ah well. Inter's doing great in the CL, but they're really struggling in the league, kinda like Barca were a couple of seasons back.

Finally loner, Liverpool vs Blackburn next weekend. Looking forward to it? ;)

[loner]

yeah looking forward to another 4-0. We are on the streak now.

Seriously, if you guys don't thrash those idiots, you need new strikers.

Inter...I don't know, better defence in Italy? I guess Nesta and Stam can cancel out Adriano. (Vieri? Who's Vieri?) On the other hand, Palermo and Lecce are doing really well. They could be dark horses for a Europe place. Lazio? Last I looked they are fighting relegation...

[Benny_]

Wow.. your comment about not thrashing those idiots and needing new strikers really seems ironic now doesn't it? I didn't see the game, but I did see Cisse's injury and damn.. it may well be career ending. The poor guy :S

[loner]

Hmmm...what's with Blackburn giving your players career-threatening injuries? Last year, Neill nearly killed Carragher and Baros left with a broken leg. Now, we might just put Cisse out for season. I'm wondering now why you don't hate us yet?

I suddenly feels like Pele. Remember how he always gets his predictions wrong before every World Cup? How his bets for the winner always fail spectacularly? Remind me to never make a prediction again...

[Yurika Star]

In two places \o/

We may not stay up in the league, but we can take as many of those barstards out with us =D

Pele just loves saying "An african or asian side will win it this year" and they never do, he'll always say it.

[loner]

Heh, that's our great Blackburn sportmanship. If you're going to sent us to hell, we might as well grab a few of you to hell with us.

Seriously, I think Johansson really meant to hurt Cisse. It was a freak injury, but Ewood Park seems to have a curse against Liverpool players. If you don't anymore injuries to your players, you may want to think about building us a new stadium (larger one please). :D

Hmmmm......
"Blackburn will lose all their remaining games this season"
>_><_<

[Yurika Star]

Whoo, we're gona make a great come back and win the league now \o/

[The Macaque]

I've been wondering why there haven't been any Liverpool scum around to feel sorry for Everton...

...oh yeah, that's right, cause Everton is 3rd in the league, and have regained their title as the nr.1 team on the Merseyside.

[Yurika Star]

And everyone on the red side is injured due to our power.

[loner]

YES! So when you blue wackos get to play in the Champ. League next season, remember to thank that "Championship" club from the northern wastelands that helped you get there buy getting rid of your opponent's no. 1 players!

[Benny_]

Pffffft sorry, but you blue noses are already running out of steam. You're just mediocre team that's had a lucky streak of form and made it in the top 4 for a short period. Never mind, we'll see you back in mid table mediocrity pretty soon ;)

Wow.. Ronaldinho is truly the world's best right now. What an awesome goal to finish off an awesome game. Meanwhile Arsenal choked again :D

[loner]

Hmmm...I watched Champs. League instead of the election. Wonder who won? Nader, right?

If Ronaldinho doesn't win the World Footballer of the Year, then FIFA is more screwed up than I thought it is. I defy anyone who claims they could do what he did against Milan. He made defenders like Nesta and Maldini look like fools.

Lucky Liverpool. You definitely need new strikers. And Juve, who went to Munich half-heartedly looking for a draw, somehow managed another 1-0. I was unimpressed by Lehmann when he wanted to be Germany's no. 1 gk, but now maybe it is time for Kahn to step aside. That was truly embarrasing.

[Yurika Star]

Football Manager 2005 released (the new champman).

Very awesome =D

[Hyoung]

(Warning: Probably not "work" safe.)

Speaking of Soccer...

Soccer Practice (http://www.gaypimp.com/audio/soccer%20practice.mp3)

[Yurika Star]

Woah, Robinhos wife, or mum or something, has been kidnapped.

[loner]

/me drools over the new FM

Looks super. Brand new features, including agents, manager's big talk and you finally can get rid of player you don't want without paying him any compensation.

I no longer need to shop Johansson and Yorke for three years until their contracts run out to get rid of them. :D

Kidnapping is quite a common thing in South America. I wish Robinho all the best.

[Yurika Star]

Kicking ass as Atalanta, i think i have found my formation now, and a decent training schedule.

And Ferguson doesn't sound to hopeful, but he's only voicing what we all think.

[Dempsey_Roll]

what about cm5 ? any news on its release ?

[loner]

Because of licensing disputes and stuff, the CM brand had moved to another company. The new FM can be seen as the continuation of CM, just under another name, as it is made by the same company that used to make CM. However, I believe there will also be a new CM made by another company that will be released later. However, I would go with FM.

Find out more information here: www.footballmanager.net

Spurs 4, Arsenal 5. WTF?

[Yurika Star]

Chelsea to win Premier League, maybe even European Cup.

Arsenal second in Prem.

United doing better than I thought now, if they can keep it up 3rd.

So same old same old, well except United having to perform for only 3rd, and Chelsea winning...so yea >_>


And on FM2005, Milans youth team = "OMG i just came."

[Benny_]

yeah.. chelskis looking absolutely awesome atm. So much for all those peeps criticizing Mourinho for boring football at the start of the season. How many 4-0 wins have there been now? They have a near perfect team now, the only aspect they might want to improve is in the striking deparment. Gudjohnson's still their best, and while he's damn good, his name still isn't surrounded by the same brilliant halo the rest of the team members are. Speaking of strikers, the Pool badly needs some. Hoping for Morientes in Jan

[Yurika Star]

Well you had a striker i remember, Cisse or something.

Then the McEverly train hit...BOOYAH!

[Datsun]

They have a near perfect team now, the only aspect they might want to improve is in the striking deparment. Gudjohnson's still their best, and while he's damn good, his name still isn't surrounded by the same brilliant halo the rest of the team members are.

Really? I've always thought (since I've seen him play that is) that Drogba was just a better striker than Guddy. And while Kezman hasn't exactly lit the world on fire yet, I still think he's got more potential than Gudjohnson as well. I guess I value the fact Drogba seems to be a tad faster, and a lot stronger as well, so he's a better targetman, whereas Gudjohnson is that rare breed of a passing type forward but isn't really awesome in anything else, shooting, dribbling, or heading either.

[Benny_]

Gudjohnson's underrated, Drogba's overrated. Kezman has potential, but we've yet to see it realised.

[loner]

I will not comment on Drogba since I've seen too little of him so far, though what i have seen, I am pretty impressed. Kezman is a good striker, but I'm not sure the premiership, with tough, physical defenders (e.g. the said McEveley train, and he's only 19), is the right league for him to flourish. Gudjonsson will never set anything on fire, but his overall contribution to the game cannot be ignored. While he's not particularly good at anything else other than passing, he's got ample amount of everything to score goals in the premiership. All in all, a typical striker who works hard and always contributes something. You need this kind of player on your team when the going gets tough.

A Eidur Gudjonsson is exactly what Arsenal is missing at this moment. They have the mercurial Thierry Henry, the sheer pace and delicate skills of Jose Antonio Reyes and the ever graceful Dennis Bergkamp. While these players on their best day will crush anything in their way, when the team goes to a slump they will all become subdued.

I can't say much about Blackburn, since we lost a winnable match, but at least we are not bottom now. However, if they can't beat Palace next week, I'd say the only thing we can hope for is that Southampton, West Brom and Norwich may be worse than us.

And Yuri: Remember to mention Everton.

[Benny_]

At the moment guys, I'm too happy to care :). Besides.. Merseyside derby this weekend should sort out all this Everton nonsense.

[UZ_white]

I wish I kept up with worldwide soccer, I really like the sport... The only 2 leagues I ever see are the MLS (go crew!) and the Mexican Soccer League! (Hmm... That would be the MSL...)

[loner]

At the moment guys, I'm too happy to care :). Besides.. Merseyside derby this weekend should sort out all this Everton nonsense.


I believe this could be the turning point for Liverpool. Things could become rosy for the Kop, but you really need to keep Stevie Gerrard. I'd say by now he has truly become a worldclass midfielder.

I think Benitez had done a terrific job at Liverpool so far. It's not just getting Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard to play terrific football, they were doing that before he became the manager of Liverpool. What's more important is how he managed to make the players marginalized by Houllier to play as well. In a post 10 pages back, I believe I singled out Igor Biscan as a player Liverpool must get rid of in the summer. But now he's playing decent football. So are the aging Hamann, the clumsy and erratic Traore, the paceless Carragher and Neil Mellor, former 5th choice striker at West Ham. I believe that if he is given sufficient time, you will see a good Liverpool side threatening Chelsea, M.U. and Arsenal.

Monaco vs. Deportivo should be made a permanent fixture of the Champions League. They never fail to entertain, do they?

[loner]

Ok, this had been quite a long stretch, and I shall not be denied my carnal pleasures! I need to revive this!

Plus it's about time the season ends, and the Champions League is heating up. And Liverpool??!! Jamie Carragher should be their player of the season, period. He is playing better football than any English defender right now, bar John Terry. I want Liverpool to win now, since I despise Chelsea, and don't like AC too much either. Rafa was the coach of Valencia after all, so I'll support him. But Benny must be laughing himself silly by now.

[Benny_]

Laughing myself silly? A little of that I suppose, along with a lot of elation and a lot of anxiety. There's so much at stake in this year's Champions League for Liverpool, we all but have to win it if we want to qualify for next year, and it's not guaranteed even then. On top of that we'll have to probably put 2 past the Chelskis to advance, since I don't see us knicking a 1-0 victory at Anfield. It's definitely going to be a very neverwrecking Wednesday morning.

What do you think about the job Mark Hughes has done ey? Blackburn well clear of relegation dangers for another season! He's doing a much better job that Souness anyway. What a chump he is. Looks like I'll have at least another 2 more matches to dread next season. The Liverpool lads don't fare too well against you bullies injurywise. That match you guys played against Arsenal wasn't pretty either.

[Datsun]

You know, I always had a feeling after the Carling Cup defeat when Steven Gerrard was quoted as saying "I'll make Chelsea pay" that this tie was almost destined to happen. And I also get the feeling that Liverpool will prevail, although it's going to be tough without Alonso. It's just a feeling, but Chelsea seem to be running on empty at this late stage of the season.

As for Blackburn, it's nice to see Ryan Nelson establish himself as a mainstay in the 1st team. He's probably the best defender or even midfielder in New Zealand, but in England he would simply be seen as solid, which is actually what Blackburn needed at the time anyway.

[loner]

Hehe, what d'you expect from a side featuring Robbie Savage? I thing Mark Hughes had done a brilliant job. I had my initial doubts about him, since this is his first club job. But he's done magnificently. We went from a team that lose 4-0 twice in a row to one of the best defensive side in the Premiership. His signings made the side a lot better. Yes, New Zealanders can play football! Ryan Nelsen and Aaron Mokoena are hard workers who add a lot to the squad, and Andy Todd had turned into the tough defender he never was. We are physical, I admit that, and I can see why neutral fans may not like the way we play. But c'mon, we aren't Arsenal. We only have two players with decent technical abilities and skills (Pedersen and yes, Savage). So we have to play physical and close people down, and make the opposing team unable to play. I'd rather have this group of bullies than the bunch of losers at Southampton. No offence to Saints fans, but your team doesn't do you justice. And yeah, the Arsenal matches aren't pretty, but how else could we get a result?

Djibril Cisse wasn't intentional, I'll just say that. Carragher and Baros probably are, but that's last season. Souey was still here, so blame him. And I'll give him some slack at Newcastle. You got the king of SMS Bellamy, and Dyer and Bowyer's attempt to remake Fight Club. It's fun to see how they explode.

Lazio, on the other hand, had fell into obscurity. Well, at least we are better than Roma. We may have sold all our best players, but our 17-year-old youth team defenders >>>>> Abel Xavier.

[Datsun]

Yes, New Zealanders can play football!
Ehh, tell me about it. But some of our rugby players would fit right in with the current Blackburn tactics. :D

It's possible if Wynton Rufer had joined an English club instead of Werder Bremen all those years back, the following in New Zealand would be a hell of a lot bigger. It may not have produced any stars as big as him, but we'd certainly have a heck of a lot more armchair experts.

[Benny_]

Ye Gods Roma have plummeted in the last few weeks. I take my eyes of them for a little while and suddenly they're 5 points from the relegation zone. What a waste of talent. If Capello had another season with that Roma squad it'd be a 3 horse race for this year's Serie A, or maybe a 2 horse race with Roma and Milan, since Juve wouldn't have had his guidance. Mexes has been shit though, good that we didn't go after him.

Valencia have paid the price for not treating Rafa right this season, but they look like they're getting their act back together, and are closer to Champions League qualification than Liverpool anyway. They should be there anyway, it's still an awesome squad.. if we could just nick Vincente or Ayala off you guys :)

[loner]

Yes, New Zealanders can play football!
Ehh, tell me about it. But some of our rugby players would fit right in with the current Blackburn tactics. :D

It's possible if Wynton Rufer had joined an English club instead of Werder Bremen all those years back, the following in New Zealand would be a hell of a lot bigger. It may not have produced any stars as big as him, but we'd certainly have a heck of a lot more armchair experts.


Lol yes definitely. Our team was built for Ryan Nelson.

Urgh, God I hate Ranieri. Rafa had a perfect system, and he just HAD to ruin it. Rafa had a player playing well in every position, and he HAD to get a bunch of Italians to make them feel unsettled. Antonio Lopez >>> Ranieri, because he knows Rafa had a WINNING formation and worked along with it. That's common sense, but apparently Ranieri played too much Russian Roulette in Roman's mansion and lost his wits. OH another reason Valencia were so bad this year is because Ayala and Vicente were injured for most of the season. You just can't win anything without your two best players. And no, you are not going to touch them. You may nick Aimar though, and mind you that'll hurt pretty bad as well.

I don't blame Rafa for leaving. The boards were horrible to him, especially after what he did for the team. I would've done the same thing.

Roma went downhill because of Xavier. No self-respecting team nowadays signs Abel Xavier, starts him every game, and expect to keep a clean sheet. The guy should just retire, or go to Qatar. Mexes and Ferrarri were also pretty disappointing, but Totti had NOT lead by example. They should just get over hm and hand the armband to Cufre. Seriously, Cufre has been their best player this year.

Edit: Spoke a bit too soon about Southampton. They are out of the relegation zone now temporarily. However, conceding 3 goals to Norwich at home is nothing to be proud about.

RIP Nottingham Forest. It will be fun to see a former European Champion playing in the former Division 2 (Championship my ass). Brian Clough will feel lucky he didn't have to witness this.

[Benny_]

Dear god we were rubish last night. Morienties and Pellegrion are really struggling to find their feet, but aside from them, the whole team played pretty indifferently. Nice goal by Gerrard though.

[loner]

Well, if this makes you feel better, Everton were even worse. I am sorry, but none of you Merseyside guys deserve to be in the Champions League. Even if Everton finish 4th, they'll be immediately knocked out in the qualifying round. There are lots of better teams out there in Europe than Everton. If they bumped into teams like Stuttgart, Sevilla, Ajax, Monaco or perhaps Inter, they'll just go straight into UEFA Cup.

Hmm...Chelsea won the Premiership. *Yawn

Morientes will get better, he just needs to adapt. Pellegrino though, he'll just get older and slower. Bad signing IMO. He probably should've brought Marchena with him instead.

[Benny_]

Big game just over 9 hours away! Coverage is delayed on the only channel I can see it by 2 hours. I can't decide between watching the match without checking the result with the knowledge that Liverpool's fate is already decided or agonising myself through the 90 minutes. Then again maybe I won't be able to sleep and I'll just read the live commentary on soccernet.. nerve wrecking times. I can't see myself doing anything other than permutations of how the match might be played now.. which is a shame, because I do have some work due tomorrow.

:migrane: :migrane:

[Benny_]

:) We're in the final. :)

[loner]

/me claps enthusiatically for Liverpool

Good job guys for kicking Mourinho and his sarcastic ass out of the competition. Me and Anders Frisk will definitely celebrate this. Now, good luck trying to do the same to AC Milan (unless of course, PSV go Deportivo on them).

Kezman is crap. I'd put Forssell on instead of him.

[Benny_]

Yeah.. Kezman had the gall to say that they were 'already in the final' and that Anfield was 'no Nou Camp'. What a silly git. The guy's played a total of maybe 120 minutes all season and is by all accounts on his way out for god's sake. It's not his place to say anything. Frankly I'm pretty surprised that Forssell wasn't used as well, I guess Mourinho hasn't quite molded him into the type of striker he wants, then again, he still couldn't be much worse than Kezman.

I don't know if it's just me, but lately I've had the feeling that everyone in the footballing world has been cheering on Liverpool for these semis.. or at least praying for Chelsea to lose. I might just be projecting my own overactive imagination on to everyone else, but it's almost as if Chelsea has come to embody some large evil empire that everyone aspires to bring down. Far more so than Real or United ever did.

[Datsun]

Well, the fact that they've (until recently) been winning consistently is enough reason in itself for hating any team, but the other contributing factor is of course the Abramovich factor which provides another reason for all other fans to start hating as well, and also tips the whole scale of hating over and above other historically hated teams (except maybe Juventus in Italy).

And there's always Mourinho, who I'm pretty sure does what he does almost for tactical and theatrical reasons rather than any actual human malice (although that's probably hard to accept with the whole Frisk Saga).

But yeah, for some reason it seemed like out of all the Champions League quarter finalists, Liverpool seemed like the team to beat Chelsea, probably because they had already experienced playing them 3 times earlier and had a chance to get used to their style of play and form effective defensive tactics to counter them.

[loner]

I've been starting to hate Chelsea ever since Mourinho accused Anders Frisk of conspiring with Rijkaard. It was a false accusation and a cheap move to give your side the advantage. Then they go on and ask Juve to pay for Mutu, a player that they kicked out. The lad had problems with drugs, so his team should support him and help him get through his personal problems, not immediately fire him as and claim he is not their problem. Asking another club who is willing to help that player get his career back on the right track to pay them, when they are the richest club in the universe, is simply unethical. They deserve this.

And as for me supporting Liverpool, well, Benitez is my favorite coach. It's great to see him doing so well in Europe. Personally, I think Benitez is a much better coach overall than Mourinho. Tactically speaking, both are the top of the pile, but Benitez is a caring coach that is humble and respects his opponents, while Mourinho is an arrogant prick that deserve a kick in the back side.

[Yurika Star]

Chelsea need a better forward. I'm sure they'll buy one, another one, maybe he'll do better.

:(

:(

:(

Chelsea are like, my 3rd team...4th....5th team!! But way higher than pool!

And I love Mourinho, man, he's so funny, it's brilliant. He thinks he's the Pelé of management. Arrogance <3

Chelsea know how to pick the most entertaining managers that's for sure, first the Tinker, with his award winning press conferences, and now Mourinho xD

Ohh yea, and his press conference after "The best team lost." Ahaha, man, he's so good, i love it.

[Benny_]

I like Mourniho ok. He does add a little spice to the EPL. Fergie and Wenger clashing week after week was getting pretty stale anyway. I like Rafa too, he's humble, yet always quietly confident that he'll get the result he wants. It's refreshing to see a top manager who isn't a total blowhard (Mainly referring to Wenger and Fergie here.. and Souness to some extent, although he's shite). I think The Premier League has really benefited from the injection of these 2 managers these season, and we'll see a lot more of that next season. I'm expecting that we'll have a hard fought 4 horse race.. that's something we haven't had to look forward to for a long long time.

[loner]

Actually, I wanted Chelsea to win the Premiership before the start of the season. All these years of Arsenal/MU monopolizing the title is getting really stale. Plus Mourinho seems like a fun fellow. But what they did over this season IMO is not acceptable. I understand that you strive to win at all cost. Blackburn does that too, by being physical, sometimes over-physical to the opposing team. But whatever you do, keep it on the pitch. Don't jeopardize another person's career and even life just for a win. And for god's sake, stop asking other people for money!

[Yurika Star]

OMG...SOUNESS....WANKER....DON'T MENTION THAT NAME O:

Although glad we got Hughes in instead, he's better :|

Ok, now i gotta go learn Mandarin or Cantonese, help me loner T_T

[darylcrowe]

Oh well, i'm just going to say Congrats to Liverpool. There were the team who wanted it more and therefore they got the result.

[Benny_]

Wow.. so, so disappointing for PSV today, but as a Liverpool fan I can only take a lot of heart from this result. Milan, the team lots of people thought were unbeatable were almost given a Deportivo 2 tonight. It really almost happened. If there's the slightest bit of doubt in 3 weeks time it will happen again and Pool will lift the trophy.

[loner]

OMG...SOUNESS....WANKER....DON'T MENTION THAT NAME O:

Although glad we got Hughes in instead, he's better :|

Ok, now i gotta go learn Mandarin or Cantonese, help me loner T_T


Why? So you can yell insults at Souness when he comes to Ewood Park? In that case, i will definitely help you. Just give me the list of insults that you need me to translate.

Urgh. Total robbery. PSV deserve so much more out of this. The Korean boys were brilliant, and showed that Asians can play damn good football. Lee tortured Cafu, and Park made Stam, Maldini and Nesta look like schoolboys. Cocu is one of the best player in Europe this season IMO, and is actually playing some of his best football. People thought that he will go the way of the De Boers or even Overmars before the season, but Hiddink knew better. I give my props to Hiddink, and Milan better play a lot better than this, or Juve and Liverpool will kill them.

[Datsun]

OMG...SOUNESS....WANKER....DON'T MENTION THAT NAME O:

Although glad we got Hughes in instead, he's better :|

Ok, now i gotta go learn Mandarin or Cantonese, help me loner T_T


The Korean boys were brilliant, and showed that Asians can play damn good football. Lee tortured Cafu, and Park made Stam, Maldini and Nesta look like schoolboys.
Damn. Beat me to the punch.

It's amazing how quickly Korean players in general have come to the fore since Hiddink coached the Korean national side. Both of Lee and Park have improved a heck of a lot since I saw them play Deportivo last year.

But surely Alex is destined for greater things, whether that be with Chelsea, who I believe may have some sort of complicated deal where they have first shot at signing him in a couple of years, or perhaps PSV may be able to keep him, although he would have to be one of the best current and future defenders in the game. Apparantly he's suited to any position as well, and I wouldn't be surprised at that either.

[loner]

I give Hiddink a lot of credit for improving their play. And it's not just the Koreans. You can see a general improvement in every player in PSV after he took over. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink only had a wacky name going for him before, but now he's the most feared striker in Holland. Mark van Bommel's improvement IMO is equal to that of Lampard, as both can dominate the midfield, defend and score some cracking goals. I see Gomes, Alex, Farfan, Beasley and Robert becoming great players in the future under his guidance.

And yeah Alex will become a top defender, probably for Chelsea though. In fact, I think he's better than Carvalho, so they might as well get him NOW.

[Yurika Star]

I think they need a reliable goal scorer first, but yea, getting Alex in now would do them a helluva alot of good.

Depends how he plays on the right i guess, that's there defencive weakspot.

[Benny_]

I don't rate Alex as much as you guys. His sense of position let him down a few times yesterday, and he was fully responsible for the Milan goal, Carvalho is better imo. Chelsea's defence doesn't need too much tinkering, they just need better backups for Ferreira and Bridge.

I know it's been said, but the Koreans were excellent. I must say that I was especially proud as an Asian of Lee's forays down the left. Great stuff to see. Top marks to Hiddink for what he's done with this PSV team. If he can keep the players together for a few years they'll be serious European contenders for years to come. I wonder what he'd be able to do for a team like China.. hmm..

[loner]

Well, he was injured. And he still dominated the defence. Shevchenko didn't get a sniff of the ball the whole game. It's true that Alex was responsible, but Carvalho was also responsible for Liverpool's goal, and that was a much bigger mistake on Carvalho's part IMO.

Hiddink for China? That would be heaven-sent for all Chinese football fans. South Korea were a better team than China when Hiddink took over, but he made them much more than an Asian superpower. I'd say that with him in charge, at least China will not lose to Kuwait. Plus China has some very promising players like Zheng Zhi, Dong Fangzhuo and Sun Xiang, and I love to see what Hiddink can do with them.

Edit: More flare-throwing in Russia. They should just ban those things from stadiums. Plus there is some inconsistency on UEFA's part, IMO. Inter fans thrown flares and hit Dida, so they get a 3-0 loss. CSKA fans thrown flares and hit Bucci, yet it's their team that go through with a 3-0 victory. As much as I think Parma is shite, they should be the ones in the final.

[Benny_]

I guess it's my turn to revivie this thread again.The big news of course is that Glazer has taken over at Utd. This is the single worst thing to happen to football since Abramovich's takeover at Chelsea. Abramovich turned a good, hardworking PL side into a monster of a team. Glazer's takeover threatens to destroy the wealthiest club in the world in the long term. My heart goes out to Manchester United fans. Both are really 2 sides of the same penny though. The game's long been too money driven, but now it's getting to a point where it's under serious threat.

Then on the other hand I guess you could argue that United simply paid the price for not taking itself off public listing when Glazer reared his ugly head for the first time.

[loner]

That's why I'm always against public listing. Sure it earns you loads of cash, but when things go wrong, things go really wrong. Just look what it did to Leeds, and what it is doing to Man Utd. But the thing is, once you go public, it's difficult to take yourself off. Once you're tempted the dark side, it'll be hard to turn back.

People may argue that Abramovich may be a good thing for Chelsea at least, since he did bring them a Premiership title and a top manager, and made the club more well-known. Plus stars like Lampard and Terry still work hard for the club's cause. But Abramovich at least had some experience with football before, having had a hand in running CSKA Moscow. He also have gone to Chelsea many times before buying th club, and now lives in London and goes to every Chelsea game. He at least seems to be interested in making this club better. Glazer is a totally different proposition. He's never been to Old Trafford before, and his interest is purely in the $ he will be making. Nevermind asking if he has any interest in the club, I seriously doubt he even cares about this whole game. He didn't even bothered to defend his image when the fans went to the streets against him, and just keep on throwing more and more money at the United shareholders. I feel sorry for them, since this is the last hing MU fans need after a terrible season.

[Benny_]

I don't think the treble would be enough to console Utd fans at this point in time. Man.. Liverpool supporter's dogma tells me to cheer their misfortune, but it's always sad to see the mighty fall.. as I predict they will.

Lots of rumours flying around that we're signing Vincente btw. With your best player and your manager at Liverpool, maybe you should think about switching clubs loner :p

[loner]

You wish. :D I'll support you in the Champions League final, but whenever you come against Blackburn or Valencia, I'll still be behind MY teams 100%. Players will move on, and i can't control that. But I ain't part of their deals with their new teams. Damien Duff is my favorite player in the Premiership, but do you see me cheering for Chelsea?

As for Vicente joining the Spanish Armada at El Pool, I'll just say good luck and have fun. The board is alienating everybody who made this club a success, so no wonder the players are leaving.

[Yurika Star]

He has the club.

Rumours are Rio may be going to Real.

But let's just wait till Season Tickets/Tickets come on sale, and see how it goes. Roll on August.

[loner]

Real is rumoured to sign 50 players every year. Bah.

The curse is broken. WBA did it, thanks to some stupidity from Palace for giving away a pointless free kick. Southampton gets shot down by Messr. Glazer's new multi-purpose money-making tool. Let's see which club will he ruin next. Norwich goes gets blitzed on the most important day of their season. I respect their effort for the run the put together, but when you can't win away and lose your last game 6-0, you deserve to rot in the 'Championship'.

I'll look forward to seeing the likes of Sunderland, Wigan and whoever that comes through the playoffs to entertain me in the relegation battle next year.

And on a side note, Milan should probably start preparing for the Champion's League final now. They've surrendered the title to Juve.

[Yurika Star]

Wigan will, should, stay up next year, they have the money to that's for sure.

[loner]

Yes I just noticed they seem to have millions of transfer kitties available. But that doesn't mean they'll be safe. The squad right now look pathetic compared to the rest in the Premiership, so they'll need to buy a player for practically every position.

Whatever. There'll always be West Brom to help them achieve safety. As long as Blackburn's safe, I could care less really.

[Yurika Star]

Werd, let's see if we get anything in the summer. Or end any more careeres. Are defence is looking tighter, we need a goal scorer!

[loner]

Lol. And I demand Forssell. To hell with the Brummies, we need him more. He will have to compete with Pandiani and Heskey in Birmingham, but he's bound to get first team here.

And now I think Pompey looks pretty dangerous. They've just got rid of their best players: no Yakubu, no Berger, no Stone...and if they sign more Chalkias, Skopelitis or Rodic, they'll follow their newly-deceased best friend down the gutter next season.

[Eunnie]

I really dont understand soccer as much but in the world cup
I'd have to go with Korea! Teh hamingo! =D

[Benny_]

Going by Mourniho's 2 player for every position system, it's hard to see Chelsea letting Forsell go unless he has personal issues with the management, especially given that they'll probably offlload at least Kezman this summer.

I can't believe WBA stayed up. I don't think anyone particularly wanted to see such garbage in the Premier League for another season. At least Norwich and Palace were entertaining.

Having said that, now that Norwich, Soton and Palace have been relegated, their best players will probably go on to bigger things. Routledge, Johnson, Green and Crouch should all be available to give some of the struggling clubs a much needed boost. Everton might be pretty interested in taking a look at the likes of Routledge and Johnson as well for their European adventures.

[Yurika Star]

I wouldn't mind Johnson or Crouch at Rovers, but I doubt that will happen. Crouch looks like he's going, but Johnson won't go for anything that isn't over value.

I dunno, Wigan maybe?

[darylcrowe]

You know what 2 teams i would like to see back in the premiership?, Nott Forest and QPR. it would be cool to have them back.

[loner]

You know what 2 teams i would like to see back in the premiership?, Nott Forest and QPR. it would be cool to have them back.


Forest? Um, it'll be a while before they'll be back. I think they should try to return to the Championship first. QPR, though, they had a decent season this year for a promoted team, and Derby is in the playoffs this year, so you never know...

Going by Mourniho's 2 player for every position system, it's hard to see Chelsea letting Forsell go unless he has personal issues with the management, especially given that they'll probably offlload at least Kezman this summer.

I can't believe WBA stayed up. I don't think anyone particularly wanted to see such garbage in the Premier League for another season. At least Norwich and Palace were entertaining.

Having said that, now that Norwich, Soton and Palace have been relegated, their best players will probably go on to bigger things. Routledge, Johnson, Green and Crouch should all be available to give some of the struggling clubs a much needed boost. Everton might be pretty interested in taking a look at the likes of Routledge and Johnson as well for their European adventures.


You don't think Chelsea will sign a big name striker this year? Once Adriano or whoever comes, Forssell will be warming himself up in the reserves again. They might as well give him to Rovers. And yeah, I'd like to see Crouch and Johnson at Ewood Park, but do we have the money for them. They are England internationals now after all, and it's sad but we are going to be outcompeted by Wigan in terms of quids.

Now that I think about it, Routledge is not bad either. Tommo is linked with...sigh..Wigan, and Routledge is more creative and a more orthodox winger.

And yeah, WBA were shite most of the year. If anyone prise Gera frome them, they are goners next year.

[Benny_]

I'm expecting Chelsea to sign one of the 'big 3' strikers this summer for certain. It won't be Schevchenko or Henry though, as they seem to be very committed to their respective clubs. That leaves Adriano. Tantalizing prospect for next year to watch when they're not playing Pool. However they do need 2 players for every position, and I think Forsell will suffice if he can reproduce his preinjury form.

Chelsea 22

Cech/Cudicini
Bridge/??Cole??
Terry/Gallas
Carvalho/??Alex??
Ferreira/??
Duff/??Joaquin??
Lampard/Parker (or new CM, if Lyon/Essien change their mind for some reason)
Makelele/Smertin/Tiago
Robben/Cole
Gudjohnson/??
Forsell/??Adriano??

[loner]

I guess Carlton Cole won't suffice eh? Hey, who's to say Chelsea won't sign 2 strikers? Adriano and maybe say...Benni McCarthy? Mourinho would like to have him back, and he works well as a supersub. You also seems to forget about Drogba and Glen Johnson.

And I actually believe Mourinho will play a 4-5-1/4-3-3:

GK: Cech/Cudicini
DL: Bridge/ ?Cole (Gallas)
DR: Ferreira/Johnson (Gallas)
DC: Carvalho/Gallas
DC: Terry/ ?Alex
MC: Makelele and ?Gerrard (heh)/Smertin/Tiago
(A)MC: Lampard/Parker/?Essien (Gudjonsson)
LW: Robben/JCole
RW: Duff/?Joaquin
S: ?Adriano/Drogba/Gudjonsson

...yeah I play too much CM/FM.

[Benny_]

I think he'll switch between 4-4-1-1 and 4-3-3, Gudjohnson's been playing in the hole for a while, but he's the only one (except for maybe Cole) who can do it at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me if they brought someone in of a similar quality. I didn't forget Johnson and Drogba, I just don't think they're good enough. Actually I think if Mourinho had the choice, he'd bring Crespo back for Drogba.

I don't think Gerrard will go now to be honest. As good as he and Lampard both are, they don't work well together (as their dodgy Euro2004 partnership proved) because they both like to get forward too much, often leaving a gaping hole in the centre of the park.

Johnson, when he's been called upon this season, has been poor.

[Yurika Star]

And it must be the deluxe 10-a-side version! (too loner!)

Ughh, agreed with Crespo, he has that option and with the form he's been in who knows, under Mourinho he may work better.

I think he'll get a right wing-back, or left (Dedé?) with Gallas there. And a centre back would be nice for him, Alex ya.

And then a Striker.

GK: Cech / Cudicini
DL: Bridge/ ?Dedé?/ Gallas
DR: Ferreira/ Johnson / Gallas
DC: Carvalho/ Gallas
DC: Terry / ?Alex?
MC: Makelele / Smertin / Tiago
(A)MC: Lampard / Parker / ?Essien?
LW: Robben / JCole
RW: Duff / ?Joaquin
AMC: Gudjonsson / Lampard / Parker / ?Essien?
S: ?Adriano? / ?Crespo? / Drogba

[Benny_]

Hahahahaha. This is hilarious.

http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/chesterchronicle/tm_objectid=15486198&method=full&siteid=50020&headline=cisse-lords-it-over-town--name_page.html

[loner]

Lol, now Jay will really get it. He had nearly killed off the career of a Lord!

Hmm. I think Mourinho wants Crespo back, but I don't think Crespo wants to come back. Milan wants to keep him as well. Crespo + Shevchenko...that used to be THE fantasy strike partnership in CM3. If you can pair these two up, you're bound to win anything (provided the rest of your team is at least adequate).

I now must lament what perhaps is the last moments as a professional footballer of Craig Short. I will miss that fella. He is slow as hell now, but he always gave 100% to the club's cause. He'll be sorely missed, but alas, age has long caught up with him. As for that other idiot, the Swedish bloke, I'll say this: Get the hell outta here, and don't ever come back. And for God's sake, get a better hair stylist. You look like a freaking bandit.

[Yurika Star]

lol, my sentiments exactly. But it was time for Shorty to hang up his boots, I just hope we can get decent replacements.

Jansen is on a break (dunno what he's been on the last 6 months then) and offered a pay-as-you-play contract, let's hope he can get back to form =/

[loner]

Well we have Admiral Nelson, and there is the rejuvenated Todd. I remember I used to badmouth him even more than Johansson a while ago, but now I have nothing but praise for this guy. He works twice as hard now, and while he is never a pacy player, Mark Hughes taught him good positioning. And while all his aggression is used on cards back in the Souey days, now he is using it to be a pest to attacking players. I think our defence is almost complete. Just another decent leftback and we have one of the best defence in the Premiership.

Matt Jansen...he's still here? Damn, haven't seen his name for so long, I thought he already gone on loan or left somewhere else. I'd like to see him back, but my hopes are not high.

Lets see: (4411)
GK: Friedel/Enckelman
DL: Matteo/?? (McEveley)
DR: Neill (Mokoena, Emerton)
DC: teh Admiral/McEveley
DC: Todd
ML: Gamst/Gresko
MR: Emerton/Tommo
DMC: Savage/Flitcroft/Tugay
(A)MC: Reid/Tugay
S (in the hole): Dickov/Jansen
S: ?Forssell? ?Benni?/Gallagher/Stead

I'll stop, I'll stop....

[Benny_]

:thewave: :victory:

[Yurika Star]

!!OMG!!
!~UP THE POOL~!

I didn't think they'd be able to get through the first 90, but if they did I thought they'd get it. But that was always a longgggg shot for me. But well played....dind't see that coming.

[Benny_]

Can't blame you. I was pretty distraught after the first half. Magnificent win though. This win means so much to Liverpool.. not only in terms of restoring our prestige, but financially as well. I'm so very certain we'll get to defend it next season, which means more money, and the players that will be keen to come in... and the investors that will be keen on getting in on this.. this is the beginning of a new era surely.

[loner]

That depends on UEFA. I'd prefer to see Pool next year than Everton, since the Reds are obviously a better team than Toffees.

Ok, I admit I was considering turning the TV off after first half. I felt it was even more 1-sided than last year's final at that moment. In fact I though AC will kill it off once Maldini scored. But boy were they crap in the beginning of the second. No team deserve to win this if they lose a 3-0 lead in just 10 mins, no matter how much they dominated most of the game. And what the hell happened to Serginho in penalties? Is he learning them from Stam? And Shev, I expected better than that.

Anyways, fantastic victory for Liverpool. Some dodgy defending here and there, but overall, the players put in 100% for this one. Carragher deserves this at the very least. And I must say I loved it when my man Rafa handed a total tactical smackdown on Ancelotti and tore Milan apart. This is the biggest turnaround in Champ. League history, and I truly believe the main man responsible for this is Rafa.

And just for good measure: You'll never walk alone.

[Yurika Star]

UEFA still says it's down to the FA whether Pool can play in next years Cup.

Rules are rules.

I still say Everton have to stay in it, they got 4th they earned there place over 38 games, and Liverpool got pipped domesticaly. I guess you have to prioritise, win the Champos and defend it, or win another chance to win the Champos....or...something...yea.

Liverpool deserve to play in it next year, but rules are rules. And giving Evertons spot to Liverpool....wow, you'd be a dead man to do that.

Ohh yea. Rafa awesome. Stevie G and Jamie Carra....words can't describe them.

[Benny_]

Some Welsh team wants to give Liverpool a chance to play off for the spot. Sounds like a good deal for everyone really. Everton vs Liverpool playoff wouldn't be bad either.

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

I'm still quite shocked. I wish I'd made a bet now.

[Admiral Ackbar]

All I can say is that it's a good thing Liverpool didn't have David Beckham for those penalties. He always misses the crucial ones.

[loner]

Some Welsh team wants to give Liverpool a chance to play off for the spot. Sounds like a good deal for everyone really. Everton vs Liverpool playoff wouldn't be bad either.


I still dunno how that's going to work. I mean, that qualifying berth was given to a Welsh team, so if one Welsh team forfeits their right to play in the competition, it should be another Welsh team to fill the spot, or probably their opponent in the qualifier will get a free pass to next round. So unless Liverpool wants to play in the Welsh league next season, I don't see how they could use this back door.

But of course, if UEFA wants them to play next year, who's going to say no? It's still down to UEFA IMO.

And Becks at Anfield? Why would Rafa need someone as useless as Becks in Pool when he's got much better players like Xabi and Stevie G? Well, that's something for you to think about, Benny.

[Yurika Star]

I dunno, UEFA basicaly said they're not going to give a spot to Liverpool, and that the FA has to give them one from the pre-exsisting slots.

But I dunno, they may allow something like that playoff thing for a Welsh side.

But I still stand by my view, Everton earned that 4th place over 38 games, nobody should take it away from them.

This was a side who were thought to be relegation battlers this season, they've done amazingly. And let's not forget the cash troubles they were having, and to deny them something like the Champos is too cruel when they earned it over the season.

But I'd like to here UEFAs opinion on the Welsh playoff thing, but i haven't heard anything about it.

And ughh, Andy Johnson Spurs (maybe) do they need more upfront? Come to Rovers.

Bellamy snubbed Villa, but Burmingham and Rovers are after him I think. I wouldn't mind having Bellamy, the fact that Hughes is there is the pulling point.

*Edit* Just heard about it on the radio, I think it would probably be better in the long run for the Welsh side, they'll get more money and TV rights from this, as oppose to them not even getting though to the groups or going out to nobody in the UEFA cup. But it's UEFAs desicion.

[Benny_]

Sorry, but why would you want Bellamy? And Why would Bellamy join Rovers or Birmingham when he snubbed a relatively club with a relatively superior squad + manager?

In any case public opinion seems to be overwhelmingly in Liverpool's favour, as too would be commercial pressure. I've got my fingers crossed for UEFA to agree to that Welsh team. It's a good solution for everyone involved. Liverpool deserve the spot more than the second placed Welsh team because they've got claim to it as champions. Now that the Welsh Champiins have offered this opportunity, UEFA should grab it with both hands.

Becks at Liverpool? But he's just a much worse version of Xabi with slightly better dead ball skills. In any case I don't think he'd go to United's biggest rivals. I think he still has some degree of loyalty to the Mancs.

With the windfall from the CL + sold players, I think we'll be able to buy much better, cheaper players anyway. Aside from Reina, I'm hoping for Shaun Wright-Phillips, Sergio Ramos and Patrice Evra.. and maybe Torres.

[loner]

Fernando Torres worths 50m in the eyes of A. Madrid. How is he cheaper than Becks?

And I'd say Bellamy will be alright at Blackburn. Why would he join Rovers when he snubbed Villa? Because Rovers has Mark Hughes in charge. Mark Hughes actually brought the best out of Bellamy when he was in charge of Wales. Bellamy seems to be rather obedient to him, and Hughes has shown he can deal with Bellamy's troublemaking tendencies. Of course, he could still explode after a while. Still, we really need a more talented striker than what we have right now. Dickov has great heart but is limited talentwise, Stead had a horrible season, Gallagher is still too green and Jansen is in a everlasting limbo.

Damn those Spurs and their neverending quest to buy every player in the world. Their midfield is already obscenely overflowing with players. They already, have Defoe, Keano, Kanoute and Mido. Why do they need another striker?

[Benny_]

Torres is like Owen though, the entirety of Athletico's game is centred on him scoring goals. When he doesn't fire they lose. He's also reputedly rather in