2011/12 Soccer Thread - Because Vacations Are For Cowards

What are snide streams, davet?

Sorry - 'snide' is a Mancunian slang word meaning 'false' or 'fake', so I am referring here to live internet streams of games via various oddball foreign websites, particularly useful if the match in question is not being televised and is not being streamed on the club's official channel.

Aguero at City having his medical...hope he plays next week against the vermin.

Ah, justin.tv etc. Thanks for the explanation!

THAT'S A LOT OF STRIKERS

Well, Jo has gone

And Adebayor will be going. 'Arry's obviously keen, so long as 'we can sort something out with City about his wages'. Yeah, of course we'll loan him to another team (I nearly typed 'rivals' but that dog has had its day) and pay his wages as well - maybe you'd like Bellamy as well ?

Poor old Twitcher - he's having to hang on before he does his 'we had a bid accepted for Aguero but obviously City jumped in with an unrealistic offer' spiel to the gullible Spurs fans...can't do it before the deal is actually done, obviously.

Bye-bye, Bob Bradley. Hello, Jurgen Klinsmann?

Lord knows, but we had done everything there was to be done with Bob. A chance was needed after the World Cup, really, and not because he's awful, just because a change was needed. That said, I hope fans don't think the next coach should be getting us into the Semi-Finals. The USMNT just isn't there yet, we have to start producing players of serious quality first, and right now, we've got, tops, 4 or 5 guys who could hack it in the best European leagues. Most really good international teams have... well... at least 11.

I hear that Arsenal agreed fee for Juan Mata. Anyone excited? (I view him as more creative alternative to Nasri.)

There is also talk of Jagielka coming from Everton. I haven't seen him in a long, long time, because of that long injury he had previous season (I think). Can he play left back? Because right now the weakest link in Arsenal defence is Kieran Gibbs on left, and in the centre we have Vermaelen back.

UCRC wrote:

I hear that Arsenal agreed fee for Juan Mata. Anyone excited? (I view him as more creative alternative to Nasri.)

There is also talk of Jagielka coming from Everton. I haven't seen him in a long, long time, because of that long injury he had previous season (I think). Can he play left back? Because right now the weakest link in Arsenal defence is Kieran Gibbs on left, and in the centre we have Vermaelen back.

1.) Perhaps, although the hype is good, but frankly, the star of Valencia was David Silva, and he's gone now (obvs).

2.) Jagielka is a solid CB who can occasionally put on a spectacular run of 2-4 games. I think Arsenal would be better off with Gary Cahill (what better way to deal with the stereotypical Bolton attack than by buying Bolton's best CB?), but Jagielka is strong, albeit injury-prone. He's not world-class, but he's the kind of steel that Arsenal needs. Problem is, he could spend as much time on the trainer's table as Vermalen. Wikipedia has him as already signed, but the papers don't quite yet (nor does Arsenal.com).

Also, can this Fabregas thing please end? Please. I'm begging you. I'm about this far away from joining the Fiver's "STOP FOOTBALL" campaign. If I have to read another "Xavi urges..." column....

I seem to remember that he's somewhat undersized for a CB, so LB might be his best spot. The issue with Cahill seems to be that Bolton believe he's worth about £17-20m, which is a bit more than most teams who are interested in buying him...premium for being English, I presume.

Not seen much of Juan Mata, Valencia don't feature as much in Sky's coverage of La Liga as they used to due to them not being quite as good as they once were. Still, Valencia have colossal debts so I can well see them cashing in if the offer is good enough.

davet010 wrote:

I seem to remember that he's somewhat undersized for a CB, so LB might be his best spot. The issue with Cahill seems to be that Bolton believe he's worth about £17-20m, which is a bit more than most teams who are interested in buying him...premium for being English, I presume.

Yeah, that's the rub indeed. Cahill's quite strong, and I even think he could be continental quality (he'd be in the England team if not for EBJT and Lord Merk) but at the moment, he's not worth 2/3rds of a Roy Carroll. (This isn't a reflection on Cahill's quality, I just believe that Carroll's ludicrous transfer fee should be forever more used as a unit of measure. For instance, Sergio Aguero is worth one Roy Carroll, +5M.)

Think you mean Andy Carroll, Pred.

It's Friday, so it must be time for an attack on Platini ! I hope the Gallic Gonk sees this as a football club running its finances the 'right way'.

According to Süddeutsche Zeitung, and as reported by PressEurop, Spain’s Bankia group of savings banks — which financed Real Madrid’s acquisition of the world’s most expensive football player Ronaldo — is now seeking to borrow funds from the European Central Bank. In exchange for ECB liquidity,

Bankia has “pledged” Ronaldo as well as Brazilian footballer, Kaka. (Technically it’s pledged a Collateralised Loan Obligation which includes loans to Real Madrid for the acquisition of players.)

Here’s a snippet from the PressEurop report:

“Could we see a situation in which the ECB seizes one of the players?“ wonders the Munich daily. “In theory, it is possible. Bankia would first have to become insolvent. Thereafter, Real would have to default on its loans, which are secured by advertising and television revenues. It goes without saying that Real Madrid is in debt to the tune of several million euros. However, in Spain football clubs have a history of obtaining publicly funded bailouts — just like the country’s banks.”

davet010 wrote:

Think you mean Andy Carroll, Pred.

Oh for god's sake.

Anyway, the USMNT has gone for the Surfin' German. I am interested to see how he'll handle the team.

Dave, make sure not to miss interview with I Am the Walrus:

That's what I've done and that's what I do. I turn dreams into reality

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...

LOVE. HIM. He's like England's own Fat Mourinho.

You put me in a football environment anywhere in the world and I can deliver the module. I can modify the module for the particular culture and the way of playing.

BLACKPOOL, BOLTON, NOTTS COUNTY, IVE SEEN IT ALL

It looks like a compilation of quotations from his legendary Twitter feed TheBig_Sam.

Warning - it's NSFW. And probably not him.

In other news, City gave a pretty full power (ie only missing players who'd been at the Copa America) Inter side a good shoeing yesterday, 3-0 with one more wrongly disallowed. Some good youngsters also played in Saturday's win as well.

Javier Pastore to PSG for 43M Euros? So says Palermo chairman. Looks a bit pricey, considering you probably could have either Modrić or Sneijder for that money (and factor in their higher wage demands). Not that they'd agree to play for PSG.

Badferret wrote:

Bye-bye, Bob Bradley. Hello, Jurgen Klinsmann?

I heard he wasn't on board until he saw Jermaine Jones' dive in the Copa de Oro.

and of course ...

I forgive him that dive against Argentina because they were one of the most cynical, underhand and all round fortunate teams ever to make the final of a major world trophy. I even rooted for Germany in the final although they had knocked England out in the semis, and only because they were playing against Argentina, who were playing for penalties from the first minute and had 1 (ONE) shot during the entire match - and that was from a free kick.

The fact that it was a complete dive that won the penalty, that an Argie became the first player ever to be sent off during a final, and that they complained long and hard that the ref who was described as Mexican was actually born in Uruguay (who hate Argentina) made it all the more amusing.

I would have to be honest though, and admit that it was quite possibly the worst game of football I have ever seen.

Prederick wrote:

Lord knows, but we had done everything there was to be done with Bob. A chance was needed after the World Cup, really, and not because he's awful, just because a change was needed. That said, I hope fans don't think the next coach should be getting us into the Semi-Finals. The USMNT just isn't there yet, we have to start producing players of serious quality first, and right now, we've got, tops, 4 or 5 guys who could hack it in the best European leagues. Most really good international teams have... well... at least 11.

Have I aired my theory here that what US soccer most needs is a governmental exemption for men's soccer from Title IX? We have women's scholarship soccer everywhere, and we're a world power. I don't think having universal scholarship men's soccer would make us a world power overnight, but it would have to help. It would make focusing on soccer a much more viable choice for our athletes.

I don't think Title IX has anything to do with our ability to succeed from soccer, inasmuch as adopting the model the rest of the world uses of the academy system, and not looking to the NCAA to develop talent, which it absolutely does not. Player development should be left to the clubs or hell, even corporate-run academies, not NCAA coaches whose primary goal is to win now. Ever see a Men's NCAA game? It's terrible, brutal Non-League quality stuff, lots of running, about as much technique as a horse. Fixing that kind of issue isn't changed by doing anything to Title IX. It's fixed by developing players in a system designed to help players refine and maximize their talents, rather than stunting those abilities and not developing them because of the head coach doesn't, the AD will fire his ass.

The less NCAA Men's Soccer the better.

bleh. Same old rumor mill for Arsenal. Supposedly actually tabbed a bid for Mata that was rejected and had an increased bid for Jags at 12m rejected. I wonder if they realize the season does start in oh 10 days?

So Cesc and Nasri still unsettled. One signing that will push the first team. Bendtner and Almunia still at the club. Diaby ankle surgery and Walcott and Wilshere ankle knocks. Shoot me in the face.

According to Guilliam Balague's blog, Mata was on a release clause of €17m, but that expired on July 31 and no bid materialised from anyone, so the price has gone up again. Not heard anything on the Jagielka tale, but I guess Everton may be trying to line up a replacement from the bargain bin.

Bendtner I'd heard was off to Portugal somewhere, I think Turkey might be off the destination list for a lot of players given the turmoil that league is in.

davet010 wrote:

According to Guilliam Balague's blog, Mata was on a release clause of €17m, but that expired on July 31 and no bid materialised from anyone, so the price has gone up again. Not heard anything on the Jagielka tale, but I guess Everton may be trying to line up a replacement from the bargain bin.

Bendtner I'd heard was off to Portugal somewhere, I think Turkey might be off the destination list for a lot of players given the turmoil that league is in.

The Bendtner bid was followed up the day after with someone saying it was pure fiction. I think thats the second time already where the papers jumped the gun saying a deal was 99% done and the supposed clubs director/chairman rubbishes the whole thing.

I have a sneaking suspicion his father/agent is a real clown ass when it comes to this stuff. Face it. Your kid isn't that good and no one f*cking wants him. Even Arsenal.

What Arsenal need to cultivate is a number of ex-players who now manage, upon whom your second rate garbage can be offloaded...you know, like Steve Bruce.

Rangers out of the CL already, after a bad-tempered affair in Malmo. That'll please their bank manager...

Thanks to Monsieur Platini Wisla Krakow will have a shot at playing in CL this season: they've just eliminated Litex (yes Pred, team that you know from FM ;)) and in last qualifying round they play some other national champion (like FC Kobenhaven or BATE Borysov or Dinamo) instead of Arsenal, Bayern or Villareal.
For most of Western European it means more mediocre and boring teams in group stage, but for me it means chance of seeing CL football in here, more TV revenue and higher profile for the club. For all it's drawbacks it's a good way for smaller leagues to stop being sh*te, one step at a time - every season Polish league can get a team into Europa League and CL it means more money getting introduced to local football economy and more people interested in coming to watch games, which hopefully starts a feedback loop.

Brusque as Dave can be at times ( ) I really am rooting for City this year. Part because I don't give six sh*ts about the "you bought the title" stuff because pro sports are a business these days and let's not pretend 90% of this "sanctity of the game" stuff fans parp about is actually realistic, and part because OH GOD ARE THE MANU FANS I'VE COME ACROSS ONLINE INSUFFERABLE.

Also, I find myself looking at another Fulham season where I have no idea what to expect or hope for. Although, if i'm honest, I'd totally take finishing 16th but winning the Europa League. I'll also take 10th and a Carling Cup win. Failing that, let's finish 7th again.

Aww shucks

With regard to UC's point about CL football, I can see what he's saying, the only issue I have is that in a number of the smaller leagues, even group stage CL money has catapulted one or two teams way above the others in financial terms...and if that is maintained for any length of time, then you get to the point where that distance is only bridgeable if Team C manages to qualify for the CL themselves. Think of it as Rangers and Celtic (except the SPL is now so poor that Rangers can't even qualify for the group stages anymore). All that CL money has done is to cement their dominance.

The other issue is what happens when smaller clubs start to budget for actually being within the CL. One failure to qualify and the whole thing unravels.