Carzola looked fucking brilliant. Everyone else made me sick to my stomach. Going to be a long season.
Confirmed Alex Song has left for Barcelona. :)
Try being a Palace fan!
#FreedmanOut
Quote from: Rob on August 18, 2012, 03:40:27 PM
Try being a Palace fan!
#FreedmanOut
I hope that hashtag is sarcasm Robert!
No not being sarcastic in the slightest, it is time for Freedman to go, negative approach in the transfer market, negative tactics and his belief that 3 strikers with a combined total of 15 goals last season is shocking. He is a Palace legend and for his time at our club as a player and as Paul Hart's assistant he saved us on multiple occasions (I can think of 3 different times), but as a manager he is not positive enough.
Yesterday we sat back and defended a 1 goal lead for 55 minutes. And eventually we faltered because it is virtually impossible to sit back with 11 behind the ball and NOT make a mistake.
He's a young manager and he's learning. Last season he improved on the season before it - who's to say that he won't do the same this season?
Who would you get to replace him? Teams and supporters need to exercise patience - Palace won't get promoted this year or next year, and likely the year after that. Look at Derby. Clough is now the longest serving manager in the Championship, his results have improved steadily, his financial control is excellent and a good crop of youth players is now coming through. They're outsiders for the playoffs at the moment but if they continue their upward curve they'll get there.
The grass isn't always greener. Have some faith and get behind Dougie, I'm sure he'll do you right. Besides, this is the WORST time to get rid of a manager. Your season is over if you do it now so you need to stick with him.
Quote from: Dorling on August 19, 2012, 07:21:35 AM
Look at Derby. Clough is now the longest serving manager in the Championship, his results have improved steadily
Because nothing says 'steadily improved' like throwing away a 4-1 lead at home to draw 5-5 and lose on penalties in the cup or sitting behind a comfortable two one lead and conceding in the 90th minute a few days later to draw 2-2 in the league..
Ha ha.. Sorry am just not a derby fan (local rivalries) and if the continue like this then they will be relegated
Quote from: Blade on August 19, 2012, 07:32:02 AM
Because nothing says 'steadily improved' like throwing away a 4-1 lead at home to draw 5-5 and lose on penalties in the cup or sitting behind a comfortable two one lead and conceding in the 90th minute a few days later to draw 2-2 in the league..
Ha ha.. Sorry am just not a derby fan (local rivalries) and if the continue like this then they will be relegated
Come on now, we all know that it's the league table at the end of the season, not the start, that counts. You could say the same about QPR who have lost an aggregate of 9-0 on the first day for the last two years but they achieved their goals last year.
Stability is the best recipe for long term success.
I don't think Dougie has done a bad job, and calling for his head on day one of the new season is a tad harsh. Not sure you can really attribute negative business in the transfer market as solely the mangers problem, unless you're in know with what goes on behind the scenes.
A lot of Burnley fans were thinking the same of Eddie Howe last season and through this summer, obviously selling Jay-Rod was inevitable and we've not signed someone to replace him. Our squad has progressively got smaller since we got relegated from the PL, but so has our wage bill, our outgoings. Pretty much every player is on the kind of wage that befits this league and we've got a young, talented squad now that can only get better. Not trying to compare Howe & Freeman as I think they are very different managers in their approach tactics and what not, but I think you can only play the kind of football that suits your players.
Cracking start to our season though, and one derby win in the bag, bring on Blackburn!
HARSH?! Hah, we have won 3 games in our last 23... He is too negative, there are plenty other options out there that we could go with for something new. Better now with the transfer window still open than in 12 days after Freedman has not replaced any of our top players that he has sold.
This isn't a rash decision, this is something that has been gaining momentum after a poor end to last season. If i'm honest, it was a poor 6 months. After we beat Man U, the season went rapidly down hill. And that won't improve at all if you don't replace 2 of our fantastic players. When CPFC 2010 came in they said (2 years ago) that they had the financial backing to produce a play-off contention side within 2 years.. They haven't spent a penny for Palace since they arrived, and they really, really need to.
From what Steve Parish has said on twitter and to the Palace fans on the BBS, he has reiterated time and time again that Freedman has a budget, but he just isn't spending it. And if he's going to continue to be so negative in the transfer market and as negative with tactics as he has done for the past 23 games (that's over half of last season), then he will have to go.
I'm not saying he isn't young and inexperienced, but that's what Lenny Lawrence is there for, and apparently that assistance has counted for fuck all because Freedman needs to take a few more risks. After having Jose Baxter who looked very sharp on trial for us and Alexis Allart who scored 16 goals last season for his club and deciding they are too unfit, despite having given the likes of Calvin Andrew, KG Dikgacoi, Owen Garvan, Peter Ramage and Aaron Wilbraham the benefit of the doubt over his management of Palace.
We need strikers and wingers to replace those that have left and Freedman appears to be utterly reluctant to do so.
This is all irrelevant ...
Top of the league. Top of the league!
Well joint top
Heres to RVP sitting on the bench.
Quote from: Cory on August 20, 2012, 02:53:10 PM
Heres to RVP sitting on the bench.
First game and has trained with them what 3 days?
Bitter arsenal fan
Fucking hell do we need some bite in midfield...
I think Scholes and Cleverley is it? They played well, but Nani, Valencia and Young when he came on were so ineffective. And Kagawa looked so clumsy and too desperate to impress that he kept missing his team mates, especially Rooney who was contained very well.
Everton looked incredibly solid, especially at the back. One or two more signings to their midfield and they will prove why I think they will do very well this season
hahahahaha. Well the one positive of the weekend. Piers Morgan said it best, wonder if Michael Owen is upset RVP took his spot on the bench
Piers morgan is a bitter goon.
Top of the league.
That is all
Quote from: Trumpers on August 20, 2012, 05:58:59 PM
Fucking hell do we need some bite in midfield...
Honestly, you just need some defenders to be fit again. Vidic couldn't cope with
both Everton's strikers (if you count Fellaini as one as well). I was surprised Fergie didn't start Wooton. I know he's a youngster but surely a defender is better than a midfielder when it comes to central defence? Either way just got a bit bullied. But there's enough time to sort that out and the attacking options United have now are unreal
Quote from: Rob on August 20, 2012, 06:43:13 PM
I think Scholes and Cleverley is it? They played well, but Nani, Valencia and Young when he came on were so ineffective. And Kagawa looked so clumsy and too desperate to impress that he kept missing his team mates, especially Rooney who was contained very well.
Everton looked incredibly solid, especially at the back. One or two more signings to their midfield and they will prove why I think they will do very well this season
Kagawa I completely diagree on he was incredibly impressive. Nice touch, good through balls and for me was the best midfielder for United on the park.
Everton wanted it more. They played with heart and were tough. We looked weak as you like and I felt it was obvious we were playing two natural midfielders in defence during this one. With an unpredictable keeper in goal (depiste a good game) we need to look a lot more solid there.
Its about time we sold off Michael Carrick I think. Looking at the team we dont need him and we desperately need to add a quality rightback to compete with a fit Phil Jones. Just someone with bite in midfield as well is also a must.
You bought one more defender which you probably could've done with... From what I gather he is a left back??? Not too sure, but I agree Carrick has to go and Evans I don't think is good enough to play for United so a few more defensive signings would've been good, especially with Ferdinand being so injury prone lately..
Quote from: Rob on August 24, 2012, 10:56:57 AM
You bought one more defender which you probably could've done with... From what I gather he is a left back??? Not too sure, but I agree Carrick has to go and Evans I don't think is good enough to play for United so a few more defensive signings would've been good, especially with Ferdinand being so injury prone lately..
Yes a young Dutch lad named Buttner. He was suppose to go to Southampton I believe at one stage, but the deal collapsed. I dont see him as anything apart from the end of Fabio as Evra's deputy.
Evans I do believe has the quality to play for United he was quite solid in spells last season with Vidic. Though I am not convinced he would be my first choice to play alongside Vidic. Ferdinand is getting on a bit now in footballing terms and yes you are right, far too injury and twitter prone these days.
Still no one for Arsenal. Were gonna reinvest the RVP and Song money, get some Mr. Pibb cola dispensers for the Emirates or something.
Whats up with Dembele on Fulham? Great player, looked good today, but the announcers here were riding his jock the whole game. More on him then RVP.
Plus what a nasty gash of Rooneys leg
I've heard that Rooney cut was fucking nasty. Here's hoping we don't get the slow motion close up on MOTD tonight.
Swansea looked great today. Now there's a team that play good football. Granted West Ham were beyond shit, but you can only beat what's in front of you and 3 goals and a display like that was excellent. Very impressed early doors with Swansea, be interesting to see how they do against better sides.
Hazard for Chelsea is just unreal. What a signing he's going to be. Pace, skill, not afraid to shoot and best of all - not ball greedy and can pick out a team mate with a pass.
The Chelsea machine could be pretty dominating this season if they get some momentum going.
Looking forward to Liverpool v City tomorrow.
Peace
Duckman
Fantasy wise hard for me to say about Swansea. Michu and Dyer have played phenomenal, but I mean QPR and WHU aren't the toughest matchups by a long shot....but I always like seeing a smaller team excell.
Great win for Chelsea today, Torres looks to be back to scoring regularly and Hazard is fucking immense.
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9bp3bZXae1r1fq7do1_500.gif)
(http://i.imgur.com/y2VTm.gif)
Dembele played classy football today and was pleased with how we played. Don't get the over embrace of Dembele especially to the detriment of Fulham as though he is the standout only player in the team. And the Real thing was a bloody rumour but Fox commentators jumped all over it like it was gospel
Kagawa played brilliantly. Ruiz missed an open fucking goal and I am beginning to despair of him.
Fuck if only Arsenal pulled the trigger on Hazard 2 seasons ago.....
Oh well if Carzola gets on the board tomorow he could compete with Edin for best newcomer....Michu as well
And petric
Adam, what's you're take on how Fulham could do this season? Jol looks like he's signed a couple of really good players. Obviously Dempsey will be on his way but I don't actually see you guys missing him so much.
Also, is Dembele as good as he showed yesterday against UTD? He looks like another gem of a player to me.
Peace
Duckman
Real shame without Dempsey with the form he was in if they had him playing with Dembele I'd actually believe they could push for Champs League spot, but IMO rank them with the Evertons and Newcastles for a top 6 finish
Pretty good game between City & Liverpool, last twenty minutes should be great.
LOL Skrtel
Shaky starts from United and City.
Arsenal have the best D in the league [/sarcasm]
Liverpool vs. Arsenal should be fun next week, Arsenal should be able to get their first goal of the season.
City players will do anything to get back into the game...
(http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae61/BladeisGFX/refcity.jpg)
Quote from: Cory on August 26, 2012, 09:25:19 AM
Real shame without Dempsey with the form he was in if they had him playing with Dembele I'd actually believe they could push for Champs League spot, but IMO rank them with the Evertons and Newcastles for a top 6 finish
I don't think this'd have happened even with Dempsey. Fulham struggle away from home and I'm not sure I see that changing. I expect them to finish about 9th but this is what money has done to football. It means that Fulham can't realistically go much further without some outrageous backing imo
I know this is called the EPL thread but I don't really follow the EPL so I will talk about Palace...
Yet again an embarrassing loss... I think that is now 3 wins in the last 30 games. That's 4 losses in a row this season out of 5 games and one of them a 4-1 loss to Preston a division below.
It has been long enough for Dougie, it is time to go.
Quote from: Duckman on August 26, 2012, 05:39:22 AM
Adam, what's you're take on how Fulham could do this season? Jol looks like he's signed a couple of really good players. Obviously Dempsey will be on his way but I don't actually see you guys missing him so much.
Also, is Dembele as good as he showed yesterday against UTD? He looks like another gem of a player to me.
Peace
Duckman
We have just lost our best player IMHO in the shape of Dembele who is a fucking beast in the flesh. Dempsey has shot himself in the foot with his behaviour. His Twitter talks about 2 sides to the story but his silence speaks volumes...
Current squad speaking Schwarzer is still a beast, Stockdale should go out on loan or sold if the Steklenberg rumour proves to be true. Defensively our CBs are solid, RB will be great of we sign Riethe to a permanent move and Grygera gets fit. Briggs and Riise battling at LB is awesome. Midfield is decent. The center still has a choice of Kasami, Diarra and Sidwell with Kaclacnicik and Frei on the wings.
We need more firepower though. Ruiz finds the barn doors tricky to hit and Rodellega and Petric can't do it alone. Rhodes would be a great addition. Van Der Vaart too.
I still feel with a couple of decent signings made we can make inroads on a top 8 finish this season. Genuinely though we had a chance in the cup this year hence predicting us to win it but that got shot down pretty quickly.
We need to buy a couple of decent players. I'd like to see Douglas from Twente, give Richardson a chance, Gomis and maybe VDV on loan and maybe we can really assault the top half of the table again.
I'd just like to say to anyone complaining about their team this season. I support Rangers. Yep...you honest to fuck do not get any lower than we've fallen.
Enjoy your season lads, it could be worse, you could be struggling to win away at Peterhead and Berwick fucking Rangers.
Peace
Duckman
I almost know how it feels mate, one point in July 2010 I didn't think I'd have a team to support anymore...
Damn, Dembele to Spurs
damn indeed...
Arsenal seriously should look at Dempsey... he wants Champs League football, can score goals and is available
Yeah...wouldnt mind him...but he kinda plays where Carzola does, and what would be cost? 15-20? I would personally rather M'Villa, very tough defensive midfielder after a crushing loss in Song who was IMO our best player outside of RVP.
We need a finisher. Podolski has looked good......Giroud is trash as well as Gervinho. We need a clinical finisher...gotta find us a Demba Ba like player or something. A Benzima, Lewandowski would actually be a perfect fit but I doubt Dortmund would sell him.
Carzola is fucking immense. If Giroud and Gervinho weren't so bloody awful he probably would've set up 7-8 goals already this season. Could you imagine if van Persie had stayed at Arsenal with Carzola? Would've been the kind of time fighting for trophies this season...
A positive I think for Fulham is Berbatov having a medical there, he's still a great striker, think he'll have plenty of goals in him. He scored 7 in 12 last season in the Premiership... Obviously United were focusing on Rooney, Wellbeck and Hernandez, so in my view this is great for Fulham.
Norwich are after Craig Mickael-Smith which is fantastic cause this hopefully means Brighton won't score any goals anymore.
The only thing I'm curious about is why Spurs are going after so many central midfielders when they really need wingers and strikers...
And in other news Arsenal still not bringing anyone in
Quote from: Cory on August 30, 2012, 12:18:28 PM
And in other news Arsenal still not bringing anyone in
Because they aren't a buying club. I wouldnt be surprised if they didnt sign anyone else because they did all of there business early on.
Loses Song.......M'Villa PERFECT replacement, makes total sense.....Wont happen.
Loses RVP.....signs 2 guys and still havent scored a single goal this season, find clinical finisher, makes total sense....wont happen
Starting to admit defeat and agreeing with you Blade.
Quote from: Rob on August 29, 2012, 04:01:42 PM
I almost know how it feels mate, one point in July 2010 I didn't think I'd have a team to support anymore...
One of the most horrible feelings in the world man. And as always, no one is held accountable for what happened. With Rangers the level of financial mismanagement and basic fraud is fucking criminal.
I just hope the current owners actually do get us back on an even footing and we can look to get back into the top flight.
Just don't hold out a great deal of hope to be honest.
Peace
Duckman
Quote from: Cory on August 30, 2012, 01:04:41 PM
Loses Song.......M'Villa PERFECT replacement, makes total sense.....Wont happen.
Loses RVP.....signs 2 guys and still havent scored a single goal this season, find clinical finisher, makes total sense....wont happen
Starting to admit defeat and agreeing with you Blade.
See in my eyes, they seem 'content'
QuoteCompleted Ins
Player Name Amount/Type
Santi Cazorla
Olivier Giroud
Lukas Podolski
Completed Outs
Player Name Amount/Type
Alex Song
Robin van Persie
Carlos Vela
Denilson On Loan
Manuel Almunia
If I remember, they did most of their business in the January window last season?. They seem to leave it too late, And unfortunately the players that have left have left a hole and the players that have come in are going to take time to gel.
Can we get like a +/- on funds in an out? Seems like Carzola/Podolski/Giroud came out of the Fabregas fund that we essentially didn't reinvest last season. All 3 guys were like 15mil, 12 mil, 10mil or something close to that....and we got 30 from Fabregas.
So the money for RVP and Song is going to.....
Fuck this Ivan Gadis guy, Ivan the Terrible Piers Morgan calls him. I need to focus all of my frustration on him and off Wenger.
Quote from: Cory on August 30, 2012, 01:32:35 PM
Can we get like a +/- on funds in an out? Seems like Carzola/Podolski/Giroud came out of the Fabregas fund that we essentially didn't reinvest last season. All 3 guys were like 15mil, 12 mil, 10mil or something close to that....and we got 30 from Fabregas.
So the money for RVP and Song is going to.....
Fuck this Ivan Gadis guy, Ivan the Terrible Piers Morgan calls him. I need to focus all of my frustration on him and off Wenger.
i used Sky Sports, bear in mind that I left the loan/youth players out
http://www1.skysports.com/transfer-centre/11670 (http://www1.skysports.com/transfer-centre/11670)
That should be the Arsenal link.
it only has outgoings, and the 3 signings at 'undisclosed fees'/ But you have to remember that the 340 million for Fabregas isnt 'money available'
Oh, and Piers Morgan is a cunt.
You were lucky because all the tabloids had Walcott signing for Liverpool or City yesterday, but that seems to have been nipped in the bud
As an Arsenal fan I find him hilarious man, a guy that high in media here in North America just rip prem players on Twitter.
Called Rooney and RVP Shrek and Donkey.....hilarious.
And today is the day when Roman wishes he'd splashed out on Falcao as he absolutely schooled Chelsea tonight.
His goals were brilliant. He looks like one of the best strikers in the world at the moment, his all round game is terrifying.
See Even Athletico is smart. The lose Aguero and go get Falcao. We lose RVP and get Giroud. Arsenal should have offered 40 mill for Falcao
He's got a 50mill release clause
Lol Cory your support of Arsenal amazes me to no end because your solution to all of their problems is "SPEND LOADS AND LOADS OF MONEY OR YOU'LL LOSE MY SUPPORT"
When you have loads and loads of money to
Spend (all reports say we had 50 mill available for transfer) and we've not replaced Song or RVP I think the object of staying a top 4 team is to spend.
I think when Spurs brings in and spends more money kn talent it makes our club look even more like a business and less a competitive team
Quote from: Rob on September 01, 2012, 04:58:42 AM
Lol Cory your support of Arsenal amazes me to no end because your solution to all of their problems is "SPEND LOADS AND LOADS OF MONEY OR YOU'LL LOSE MY SUPPORT"
Yep lol
Thank you Carzola
and Ian you can't complain, Man U does what I've been begging Arsenal to do. You guys got RVP just for the fuck of it and replaced The aging midfield with Kagawa and De Gea/Young/Valencia over past few seasons.
When you sold Ronaldo Fergie didn't just sit on that money and never reinvest it, the fans would have been wild not to spend money that's there to fill a void.
I hope RVP tears his acl at some point this evening.
Personal dislike of players or not, I think it's a bit much to wish an injury on somebody, especially something as debilitating as a ligament tear. I think Ronaldo is a smug prat, for example, but that doesn't mean I'm crossing my fingers for him to break his leg. Sport's too fickle for that kind of thing.
...And this is speaking as a Spurs fan, who has had every reason to dislike Van Persie for quite some time.
Quote from: Cory on September 02, 2012, 01:04:18 PM
I hope RVP tears his acl at some point this evening.
I couldn't help but laugh that he scored a hat trick after you posted this.
It was before....I posted it after what disgusting act I just watched.
WHY COULDNT WE JUST SELL HIM TO JUVENTUS!
Quote from: Cory on September 02, 2012, 12:19:23 PM
and Ian you can't complain, Man U does what I've been begging Arsenal to do. You guys got RVP just for the fuck of it and replaced The aging midfield with Kagawa and De Gea/Young/Valencia over past few seasons.
When you sold Ronaldo Fergie didn't just sit on that money and never reinvest it, the fans would have been wild not to spend money that's there to fill a void.
There is a massive difference in the money we had for Ronald vs. RVP first and foremost. Secondly, United have always had a good policy of young players coming through the ranks to play for the club. Thirdly, I was laughing more at your comment about finding another team when times were hard.
The teams I support in any sport have a certain special meaning to me whether it be where I was born, where I lived for 4 years (Chicago based teams) or teams I have worked at (DC United). I wouldn't throw in the towel on any of these teams. Football fans in the UK specifically probably because of the amount of teams are fickle about specifically foreign supporters choosing a team to support for in some cases not a lot of reasons other than them being popular. Foreign fans are therefore tagged as being fairweather fans a lot of the time and lets be honest...how many kids in Japan have selected to support Tramere Rovers. Your comment exemplifies to me and if on a public forum of loads of football fans their isnt a real emotional bond between you and Arsenal.
I cannot express to you enough the amount of shit I get in the UK for being a United fan because despite my roots and how long I have suppported them because I have a Southern sounding accent I am tarred with the same brush as a lot of fairweather fans until I explain my roots. Even I would not classify myself as a massive United fan compared to people I have met or people who follow other clubs.
I saw sometime ago you mentioning liking Spurs I think it was...that is just unacceptable in terms of footballing allegiance. Following on from this the comment about changing teams if they continued the way they did?
I will always tip my hat to you in terms of knoweledge of football in the UK and your knowledge of worldwide football you buck a lot of trends, but you got Rob on here, Adam on here speaking about two smaller market clubs specifically I'd say Rob more than Adam as Palace are all a small market club. Never would either of these two lads dream of stopping supporting their boys WHATEVER is thrown at them. That is a massive culture you will have to understand which doesn't transcend to American sports as much...particularly younger fans. I can remember being in the 90s living in Virginia and the kid in the family I was staying with supported the Cowboys despite the fact DC was 40 minutes away and his family were avid Redskins fans. It blew my mind he would sit there and try and talk 10 year old boy smack to me about the Cowboys being great when he had ZERO affiliation with them and hadn't even visited Texas. His Dad told me he was a massive Cowboys fan...and I should respect it. I laughed and said not in a million years because he also liked the Broncos and a variety of colleges for no apparent reason either.
It's a very British thing. When the chips are down you support your club through the good and bad times. You might get pissed off, you might wanna smash your head into the wall or disagree with something, but you never say you LIKE one of their rivals or threaten to change support of a team.
TWO BIGGEST NO NOS
That was my point. I absolutely cannot stand what the Glaziers did to Man Utd and when FC United was formed a load of fans went and followed them, I wish FC United all the best and was even looking into investing in them at one stage for financial gains, but if you ask me which team I support I would always say Manchester United, even with casual trips in the last few seasons to see Exeter play with my mates.
I am off the soap box now lol, but thats what I found amusing about Rob's post. He is right. His club have fuck all money, play in the 2nd tier and will never be close to one of the top 4 teams in terms of finances, but you cut that lad open and he is Palace through and through.
Extremely well said, Sir Ian.
I mean, I don't even have a particularly close affiliation to my own club, but then, I'm from Jersey, which by default doesn't have any professional teams. But when I got into football, my dad passed on his club to me and I've been Tottenham through and through ever since. When we were 2 points from 9 games a few seasons ago, I wasn't sat around saying "I think I'm going to quit Spurs", in spite of the high level of banter I was getting about it. They're my team, and being a fan is about supporting that team when you're doing badly, as well as when you're doing good. (And believe me it's frustrating as hell how often Spurs choke when the chips are down)
--
As a semi-related thing, it's the distinction between me saying that I like Barcelona and I support Barcelona. I don't support Barca, I follow them (though my dad likes Real Madrid so I do root for them just to be a bit contrary, lol). I like watching Barcelona play and I like seeing them do well. That doesn't mean they're 'my' team. I'm gutted when Spurs draw to Norwich and West Brom. If Barcelona lost to... I dunno, Zaragoza? Don't care, I have no real affiliation with them. I guess I'm belabouring the point, but y'know...
Long story short, loving that post, Ian.
Yeah, you finally got me right in a way. You used to give me shit about saying I enjoy watching other teams, but I tried my best to explain in Canada I kinda just picked a team and ran with it. I caught onto Arsenal about half way through their undefeatables season because I thought the way Bergkamp and Henry played was unbelievable, and thus became a fan.
I have no personal knott, family routes/history, or hell even been to a game. (I've only actually been to a Man U and Newcastle game respectively while I was training there a few years ago). I dont know aside from playing the Fifa games what its like to support a small level club and or local team (MK Dons for the win) and I base all my knowledge on well, almost a decade of loving the sport, especially the Premier League from a far.
I guess my passion for the Philadelphia Eagles (another team I latched onto, but more popular here in North America) resembles passion for teams in the UK. Id never cheer against the eagles, no matter how many times we fail in the playoffs. I'd never think about ditching them when the times are tough or anything and this discussion more and more makes me hate where I live and how there's ZERO professional teams for me to get behind.
That being said, I can say "me find a new team" didnt have any weight(i think ive said it 2-3 times on these boards over the last two seasons), I'll always been a Arsenal fan, and always cheer for the newly promoted teams as well to upset the big dogs much like Southhampton today. I dont think it gets any tougher for an EPL fan than an Arsenal fan at the moment, even coming off a loss not only sitting on shit tonnes of cash that we DIDNT use to replace Song/Jenkinson, seeing our manager be turned from one of the most competitive coaches in the prem to a pure "yes man" to Ivan the terrible, and watching our club sell our best player...maybe the best player in the Prem to our rivals and watch him save Man U from a horribly deserving loss.
But fair post and its true. I hardly consider myself a fair weather fan, always only cheer for Arsenal, but its the lack fo having anything really connected to the club that makes me feel at any time after their HORRIBLE management that I can move on, yet never will and endure the frustrations of any fan that travels to the Emirates every other week.
Yes and as I said to everyone when we were almost folded up 2 years ago, whenever anyone asked who I would support, I would not support another team. To be honest, if Palace had been folded down, I would've stopped watching club football because I have no interest in or support for any other club. Obviously I have a soft spot for Crawley and Bournemouth but I will bleed Palace and sing Glad All Over even when losing 3-0 (after many experiences of this)
Fair enough be critical of your club because nobody will ever be completely happy with their team, that's why I love football tohugh. The amount of emotion I've put into this sport and club, I am so heavily invested in it that I could never dream of flat-out not supporting a team anymore.
But I guess some fans are different to others, personally I grew up several miles away from Selhurst Park and I have loved the team for 16 years now, whereas for you football isn't something you are bought up on so the deep emotional value isn't completely there.
My team have no money. In fact my team actually died a few months ago, 140 plus years of history down the shitter and became a 'new co.' That ALL came about because the people in charge spent and spent and spent and used tax loop holes and spent and spent. They took on horrendous amounts of debt to buy players and give mid level players over the top wages.
Then the whole bubble burst. The world as they knew it came crashing down around them. We lost everything. All our best players. Dumped down the leagues. The laughing stock of Scottish football. A transfer ban until fucking 2014!
Then again we still get 50,000 plus fans at home every week even though we're now in the 3rd division of the Scottish League. Which is about as low as you can get without actually fucking your dog.
In other words, money isn't the be all and end all. I would take a well run club bringing through good young players and having the ability to sign TOP players (Podolski and Carzola are fucking awesome footballers) when the time is right.
Unfortunately with Chelsea and City the trend is now to buy big and win the league.
Just remember what happened to Rangers because when that buy big mentality goes tits up, the effects are like a fucking nuke going off and the aftershocks throughout the community and the economy that relies on that club are felt for years to come.
It sucks that Arsenal aren't winning trophies but it could be a fuck load worse.
Oh and I still support and watch Rangers. It just really, really fucking hurts. But I'll stick with them, cause we're Rangers and we don't do walking away.
Peace
Duckman
The whole Rangers thing is an unfortunate sign of the times Sam.
Remember when Rangers actually had BIG players playing for them like Laudrup, Gascoigne, the De Boers, Amoruso etc?
How does a team go bankrupt paying the wages of Steven Davies and Sone Aluko?
Bad times all round.
And the legend of Marco Negri
Im piss poor with my geography....but if all goes well I'll land another footy tryout later in the Fall. My good friend just finished practicing with the Motherwell U20s and if my birthday is late enough I should be able to snag a tryout. Here in Canada the deadline is October and if you turned 20 before you can play at said level. Still need a few things to fall in place, but seems like you guys could help me out.
Is Motherwell based far out from Glasgow? I assume theres not a city named Motherwell..... Usually these things are two weeks or less, especially for international based on my previous experience with the Man U soccer school as well as Newcastle's (I was at each 2 weeks a piece in 2009). Id love to catch either a Celtic or Rangers game, seems like a Rangers game would be easier on my wallet. That and the Guinness brewery are high up on my list.
Motherwell is less than 20 miles from Glasgow if my memory serves correct, sure it was mentioned when I studied new towns in Geography, so yeah, it is a real place mate.
Damn not bad at all, won't be too much in Cab fare,
Yeah it's one of those places outside Glasgow that pretends it's not part of Glasgow, but it really is.
The problem with Rangers Dorling was those big name players. David Murray used an elaborate tax avoidance scheme to pay those guys in 'loans' which weren't taxable. Problem being they never paid them back and no repayment terms were agreed - making them legally not a loan.
He even paid himself £1 million in loans from the scheme.
When the tax man looked into it, turned out the liability could run into £100 million plus as they'd been doing it for ten years.
Murray was famous for saying, "for every £5 Celtic spend, we'll spend £10." But what he really meant was "for every £5 Celtic spend, we'll borrow a fuck load from the bank, then borrow from another bank to pay that debt off, while at the same time cheating the tax system to pay wages we could not afford if done through the normal channels."
It's just taken this long for the tax man to get round to investigating it.
When Murray sold the club for £1 to Craig Whyte (the dodgy fake billionaire) it was on the understanding he'd have no tax liability in the future. Whyte agreed. Then took tax and national insurance from the players and staff, filtered that off to fund his own companies. Then when the tax man came looking for about £9 million in PAYE in NI payments. He put the club into administration as they couldn't pay that debt.
He called that 'the wee tax case' while the Murray one was 'the big tax case.'
In the end the old club was liquidated and with it all previous liablities on tax and other debts. A new co was formed but had to re register with the SFA and start life in Division 3.
Anyway, I'll stop highjacking this thread with Rangers shite. I've been hearing it all year, doubt you guys want to read about it all the time here.
And yes Ian, Marco Negri was amazing. 40 something goals in one season. Then got hit in the eye with a squash ball and ever played for us again...seriously.
Peace
Duckman
Negri had a ridiculous year, he scored at least 30 of those goals before Christmas before it all went tits up and he went back to Italy in a paddy. I remember it well!
As I do keep up with the game...
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ronaldo-returning-manchester-united-fans-031400347--mls.html (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ronaldo-returning-manchester-united-fans-031400347--mls.html)
Thoughts on Sir Alex trying to get Ronaldo back, no matter what the cost?
Never going to happen.
I agree. He's got a hefty contract with Real Madrid... I don't see the Glazers forking over that much for him, either. But then, we have been wrong before with American owners with disposable incomes.
I think its a load of bollocks. Plus I am not sure I'd want him back at Old Trafford. Far too much of a Diva. United need to strengthen in different areas.
They honestly do, Trumpers. But the problem is... Sir Alex seems to "want" him. And hell, coming off a year were Cit-eh won the EPL... You know United is in that panic mode.
And a statement from David Cameron about the Bishop of Liverpool's "Hillsborough Distaster" report.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/david-camerons-statement-hillsborough-disaster-full-text (http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/david-camerons-statement-hillsborough-disaster-full-text)
While not relevant to this season, it's probably going to re-open more wounds in Liverpool...
Arsenal want to try and ink Drogba.....this would make me very happy, considering the year he had last season.
Quote from: The Stonewall on September 12, 2012, 08:12:14 AM
They honestly do, Trumpers. But the problem is... Sir Alex seems to "want" him. And hell, coming off a year were Cit-eh won the EPL... You know United is in that panic mode.
Ronaldo would cost at least £100 Million + after the time he's had at Madrid, not to mention he's looking for £12 Million per year AFTER tax. There's no way United could afford him.
Quote from: Cory on September 12, 2012, 12:35:02 PM
Arsenal want to try and ink Drogba.....this would make me very happy, considering the year he had last season.
No chance.
Quote from: The Stonewall on September 12, 2012, 09:40:06 AM
And a statement from David Cameron about the Bishop of Liverpool's "Hillsborough Distaster" report.
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/david-camerons-statement-hillsborough-disaster-full-text (http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/david-camerons-statement-hillsborough-disaster-full-text)
While not relevant to this season, it's probably going to re-open more wounds in Liverpool...
Liverpool in 'living in the past shocker. How many times are they going to open and reopen this? Police and government blamed liverpool fans based on their track record. Heysel was still fresh in the memory. Government have been held accountable. Nearly 100 people died and the families continue to dredge it up causing more pain.
6-1 is nice to see.
Berba starting at the Cottage and scoring twice was fucking awesome
Quote from: M.D.K. on September 15, 2012, 03:23:18 PM
Berba starting at the Cottage and scoring twice was fucking awesome
He'll be class for you. Does this mean Petric won't be playing much for now you though? If Jol can get them both in the team there's some real fire power for Fulham
Petric was carrying a back injury this week.
He's experimenting with set ups right now. Saturday was a prime example. I personally would like to have Petric and Berba playing alongside with Rodallega as an impact sub. Contrary to some fans, I think once they are used to each other, the midfield could be immense for us. Sidwell (Ginger Iniesta), Diarra, Karagounis, Ruiz, Frei, Kasami, Kaclacnicik and Richardson with Baird moving into a more midfield role as well. We also have the German Iranian who I hope doesn't suck.
I expect a totally different formation against Wigan TBH but feeling positive.
Rod needs a goal... so unlucky with the 3rd goal
I know Palace arent an EPL team but there's nowhere for me to post about Championship,
Great game tonight against Forest, we should've beaten them about 4/5-0 but I am happy with a 1-1 draw. Zaha was class tonight, a Forest fan said he thought Zaha had about 60% possession himself. But a positive game, made a lot of chances, we just need to convert them now. Either way good performance and now I'm feeling a tiny bit more positive about Cardiff next
Zaha is fucking quality.
Quote from: Rob on August 28, 2012, 06:18:24 PM
It has been long enough for Dougie, it is time to go.
So, Rob...still want Dougie to go?
What did I say? Stick with him.
What happened? 19 points out of a possible 21.
To be fair every criticism I had of Dougie was rectified. I said they played negatively, now we play very attacking football as is the case against Bolton and Wolves away, he spent money on a few players (Bolasie, Blake, Moritz, Gabbidon, Goodwillie) all of whom are probably Premiership quality. Moritz is definitely a top division player who turned down Rangers to play for Palace. Arguably Palace have the strongest backline in the entire league now (or will do when Paddy's back). It's very encouraging. I just hope that IF Zaha goes that we replace him. The board have said it's all balderdash and DF has stated that Zaha isn't going anywhere this season in case we get promoted, but I'm hoping for at least £12 million for him and for all of that money to be reinvested in transfers and wages immediately.
Quote from: Rob on October 10, 2012, 02:24:48 PM
To be fair every criticism I had of Dougie was rectified.
Exactly. Even I as a non Palace fan had faith it would be. Things don't get fixed overnight. Your good run will come to an end and you will get smashed at some point, but Dougie is learning as a boss and the early signs are encouraging. Stick with him and get behind him and maybe he can become a great boss, and not go the way of other promising coaches like Ince, who do well but then get shafted and can't get back in the game.
To be fair if Dougie had not got it right after all the time he was given, he would had to have gone. We went 27 games in the with only 3 wins. He was given plenty of time to get it right, fortunately now he has and we can move on
27 games is nothing. Ferguson was 200 in before he won anything. Chairmen need more faith these days.
Look at Arsenal and Man U. Look at Stoke. Look at Southampton. Then look at Liverpool. Stability is key.
And Fergie would've lost his job had Sir Steve started Wrighty in either one of those FA Cup final matches. And anyways, at least Fergie won a few more than 3 in 27 matches. They were mid-table with a lot of old players when he joined... When Freedman joined we had a budget with some good players and still almost went down
Quote from: Rob on October 12, 2012, 04:14:15 PM
And Fergie would've lost his job had Sir Steve started Wrighty in either one of those FA Cup final matches. And anyways, at least Fergie won a few more than 3 in 27 matches. They were mid-table with a lot of old players when he joined... When Freedman joined we had a budget with some good players and still almost went down
In 88/89 Fergie went through three spells of 2/3 points out of a possible 30. Budget couldn't have been that great at Palace or you could have kept players like Clyne and Ambrose! My point is perfectly valid - things generally get worse before they get better and you have a coach that cares about the club so he needs time. The best example actually, forgetting the obvious ones, would be Curbishley at Charlton. No money but unbelievable stability from a first time manager with an affinity for the club. Nobody will ever do that again because managers get fired too quickly.
Actually neither Clyne or Ambrose left due to budget problems. Clyne was at the end of his contract and considered himself to be better than the club. Ambrose left to Birmingham for a minimal fee and was replaced pretty quickly with a superior player. The board have always stated that there's been a transfer budget for Freedman to use but he has decided against using it for the most part, it almost cost us last season too. He was lucky last season, now he's finally practically done a complete u-turn on tactics and transfer mentality. I think the board informed him that he would need to.
Shame they lost Clyne...he was around when I was over in England, lots of hype and shit, if Palace kept him plus Zaha, they have two future stars on their rise to the top flight