There's NFL and NBA threads for each season, but there isn't one for football and there's enough fans I think to have a running thread.
Seeing as I am posting this during the England vs Brazil game, how can Chelsea want to get rid of Lampard? I don't rate him as a n England player but for Chelsea he is probably in the form of his life and is virtually their best and most loyal player of the last 10 years.
Yeah. They're mental. His value's very obvious. If you have 25 registrations then he's worthwhile as a guy in the squad, even if he doesn't have the legs to play a full game. He's been an impact sub how many times for Chelsea this season?
Their stats with him and without him are incredible, it was something ridiculous last I saw like lost zero, drawn 1 and won all the rest with him in the side whilst without him was very average, lost something like 3 or 4...
Fucking Wenger. That is all.
Fantastic transfer windows.
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/crystal-palace-chase-peter-odemwingie-8484483.html (http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/crystal-palace-chase-peter-odemwingie-8484483.html)
No thanks
One of the reasons that Lampard is and should be on his way is that Chelsea will never get a manager who can put his own stamp on the club while the likes of Lampard, Terry and Cole are still there. Chelsea have to get rid of those players or just admit that they are the ones running the club and give them the manager's job. Just look at AVB. He's a very good manager who never had a chance at Chelsea because players lie Lampard thought they knew the best way to run the club. It also doesn't help that Fat Frank is best mates with the press as well. Chelsea will never sort themselves out while he is at the club.
I think that's a bit harsh to be honest. Cole is arguably the best English left back for a long, long time. Lampard whilst never been good as an international midfielder, has been wonderful for Chelsea and probably one of their best players of the last 10 years.
The issue for me with Chelsea isn't the fact those 3 are at the club. It's the fact they continually bring in managers who have never spent money before in previous jobs or are just uneasy with it. They go from extreme's of buying inexperienced, unknown players that never manage to shine or the chairman goes crazy and decides he wants to fork out a LOT of money for players that are old, not worth it, or are simply just a name on a brand that is going to sell some tshirts, like Shevchenko.
They need someone that has a plan that can come in and tactically build a team around that. I'm going to appear foolish for suggesting this but it's a similar thing as to what Freedman and co did at Palace at the beginning of the season. Tactically, they found out what kind of formation and game they were going to play. Then they bought in players that could enforce that and tactically, made sense to buy. Rather than buying extra players for the sake of buying players. People like Demba Ba don't make sense because he is a player that works at his very best in a 4-4-2 formation with solid, defensive teams who can cut out passes in and around the 18 yard area.
They need to start looking at their team and think who have we spent a shit load of money on over the past 5 years that hasn't produced but is still getting regular game time? I think there are probably 2 or 3 that just are not proving their worth and need to be cut from the time. The problem for me is they have a lot of individuals speaking a lot of different languages but there is only a few that pulls all that together. Which for me at any rate is a LOT different to Man City who at least have had a team which has been built over a few years and these players have been given the time over a long period to work together and learn each other.
Chelsea rotates it's first 11 every week and they struggle because of that. They have too many players that play in the same position. Hazard, Mata, Oscar, I'm sure there are others. All are good players, but there's no stability. There's no leadership. There's no consistency at the top in the manager's position. It strikes me as strange that the team has been under-performed for it's value for years now but all the top managers in the world are to blame rather than the mediocre players who have been bought for silly numbers.
Also, because it's been a while since this started. That whole Nigel Adkins/Brian McDermott thing was complete shite. Neither manager should ever have been sacked, they both did wonders for their respective clubs! Insane world we live in that 3 or 4 successful seasons on the trot mean nothing when you might get relegated from the Prem!
Re: Frank Lampard.
Great player in the Premier League, playing fantastically. Best season from an English midfielder this year. They're mad to want to get rid of him. He keeps his head down and contributes. I'd take Lampard at Arsenal in a heartbeat.
Age isn't the same as it used to be in football. Look at Giggs. Frank has more time if he wants it, the drive is there.
Results last night were very interesting...
But United have the league won. It's a shame City didn't lose cause I think Mancini is close to being sacked and it would've been good to see Spurs have a chance to go past them
I think that Spurs should be looking down not up tbh. Bale, Defoe and Lennon out at least for the moment they need to be careful. They might not be the same when they return.
And I think it'd be the FA Cup that saves Mancini as opposed to anything else. I'm not sure if he can get away with winning NOTHING as well as failing in the Champions League
I think Spurs can start looking up the table again. Lennon will be back for their next game and they made City look very average. If they can play like that second half against Chelsea, they have every chance of ending the season as the top London club... obviously they will still Spurs it up and finish 5th, but it's still been a good season for them regardless.
How can we have a topic like this and no congratulations for the Champions. It wasn't a great season for Utd but they were still miles better than anyone else in the league. A few signings in key positions and next season might be over by the end of February. Well done, lads. Can we please buy a few midfielders this summer?
Because outside of Man United fans, nobody likes Man U lol
All im saying is German teams are freakishly good, or Real and Barca are the most overrated teams in history.
Quote from: Cory on April 26, 2013, 03:12:15 PM
All im saying is German teams are freakishly good, or Real and Barca are the most overrated teams in history.
It's probably neither, being objective.
Barca especially are getting on a bit now. Xavi isn't the player he was, the team plays as a parody of itself and has got narrower and narrower, removing all width from their game. Teams finally got wise.
I wouldn't say they were overrated - their achievements justify all of the praise, and when was the last time they got beat by 4...? Yeah, I don't remember either.
I will say Michu's exclusion for the PFA nominations list was horrendous, and the most hot/cold player won.
Michu's problem was that he hasn't really done anything since the League Cup final (as my fantasy team can show you). That trophy seems to be a curse.
Regardless, Michu has to be credited for a lot of the good things that Swansea have done this season. And RVP and Bale have both had dry spells during this season too.
I agree that Michu has been one of the best performers this season, but his dry spell came during the time when people were starting to think about awards. Bale found his form at the perfect time and RVP has a high enough profile to remain in people's thoughts despite a poor spell. It also helps that he has started scoring again recently. Michu should have made the list, but he has missed out because of his post-cup form.
To be honest I think Bale is just a flash in the pan, he's not spectacular. He has moments of brilliance and sheer class but really!? Has he really walked the league this year?
RVP & Suarez were more deserving.
Fuck Saurez... Blinding footballer but he should be jailed. Racism, assault, putting the game into disrepute... Disgusting bloke really
I agree that hes a sack of shit as a person and plays the game like a coward, but up till his suspension he was leading scorer in the league and scored some really crucial goals for Liverpool.
As I said, fantastic player, he's got the natural gift of netting goals, but I dislike him immensely as a person.
Tomorrow is potentially the biggest day of my season so far. We beat Peterborough and we're in the play-offs... We draw and Forest lose, we're in. We got e very chance of going up if we're in I think, but we need to cross the line before any of us dream of promotion. Nerves are jangling a plenty, more than they were last time we were in the play-offs and Bristol Shitty walloped us one!
I hope you hammer them (4-0 would be good).
I think the term "one man team" was invented to describe Spurs this season. Don't get me wrong, they have some good defensive players but I just don't see them being able to win games without Bale. If they sell him in the summer, they are going to be in a lot of trouble next season (because we all know that they won't use the money on any strikers or wingers).
In other news, Wolves were relegated without putting up a fight again (my father is a Wolves fan, so that's why I care about how they're doing). It was another pathetic season on and off the pitch and I think they will be favorites for the drop again next season. Their players are paid too much, eat too much and have no talent. The manager has been to the Brendan Rogers school of PR but doesn't have a single tactical thought in his head. Saunders has said that he won't leave the club, but I think the board needs to purge the club and start from scratch.
Obviously my flag is nailed to the mast as a Tottenham supporter, but I feel the main reason that we've been reliant on Bale is because of a couple frustrating injuries and, well, Levy being a tight git. I appreciate that in that him being stubborn and sticking to his guns is what kept Modric around for another season and was what got us a mint for him, but when what we obviously needed was another striker, he refused to meet the price on Damaio. Supply and demand, y'know...
In any case, Defoe got hurt just as he was in his flow, Kaboul has been out for almost the entire season and tbh is probably our best defender alongside Vertonghen. At the time Sandro got injured, he was aroundabouts the top in the league for tackles and interceptions per game. He's like Parker (who has lost a step) but better. We've also looked limp without Lennon on occasion... Obviously Bale is the lynchpin, but we missed Sandro particularly in a bad way.
Screw Adebayor though. Do not understand him the slightest. Tries hard for a season or two, can't be bothered after that. Inexplicable.
I think Fulham have been frustrating in the last few games. 4-2 loss at home to Reading being the lowest ebb. I still think we have done well to be mid table considering we lost our entire midfield in the summer due to stepping down (Murphy) or by Spurs taking Deuce and Moose. We replaced them with Dejagah who has been immense but is now injured and Karagounis who is 104.
Berba plays well when he wants to and it is ridiculously frustrating.
Football will never be the same again. It'll be a strange experience watching Utd slip into mid table mediocrity under Moyes.
Quote from: Kirk on May 08, 2013, 10:06:24 PM
Football will never be the same again. It'll be a strange experience watching Utd slip into mid table mediocrity under Moyes.
Yup. Rooney seems as good as gone to Bayern as well. People wanted to play for Fergie, now that he's gone it's going to be tough. Add in Evra/RVP aren't getting younger, and Nani/Vidic cant stay healthy. its going to be interesting to watch Man U.
I got to shake Sir Alex's hand when I visited the Man U training session a while back and it'll always be something I carry with me. Hes arguably the greatest coach in ANY sport ever, and its going to be weird watching United not get 7 minutes of extra time every game their down by 1.
A recent study concluded that Man U get 79 seconds more added time when they're losing compared to when they're winning - add in the fact that the team beating them is likely to waste time and make subs etc and it makes sense. Fergie Time is a bit of a myth all told.
Moyes is a good manager, he will have everything he ever needs at Man U and he will be successful.
I think how he handles the Rooney thing will be huge. I'm not sure on the true perception of Rooney in Manchester, but seems like he's a fan favourite. If he dolts to Bayern, the fans could quickly jump on Moyes for his replacement. I think how he replaces Rooney will be a huge factor in people backing him.
Well he gave Rooney his first ever professional game so him even leaving looks unlikely now. I can see Bainesand Fellaini following Moyes to Everton to be fair
I think Moyes has been lined up as Fergie's replacement for a long time. Wouldn't think it coincidental that his contract at Everton expires the same season Fergie retires, that and the constant praise between the two, the relationship between the teams in terms of transfers and such. I've always wondered why he was never snapped up by the other big clubs when they were looking, he's done a fantastic job at Everton.
Baines would be the most likely player to move over, considering the years of speculation about that move and needing a natural replacement for Evra. With Ferdinand's contract up and Vidic never seemingly fit, I could see Jagielka making the switch as well, the best English centre back in the league in my opinion and the perfect partner for Jones/Smalling. Fellaini would be interesting, especially if Rooney goes, as they probably occupy similar positions, though Fellaini can play more defensively. The only reason for Fellaini not making the move is reputation, he is very Suarez like in his play, throws a lot of elbows and in a high profile team like Man U, he'd quickly become vilified.
Players leaving, I think Nani will definitely be going. Injury prone, inconsistent when he is playing, and generally just seems out of place in the team when he does play. Anderson, for similar reasoning, though he seems to have a little better understanding with his teammates (may just be the difference in positions). Rooney hasn't seemed particularly happy in every game I have seen him play, essentially being pushed out of his preferred position by RVP. Might be the right time to cash in.
Certainly interesting times ahead for the summer, sad to see him retire, not sure it will be the same without him.
As for the club I support (Burnley), both our keepers are out of contract and leaving, not sure how the fuck that happened, and I doubt Charlie Austin will be with us come September. I think we have one of the strongest back four in the Championship, but no creativity in midfield, and just the one consistent striker (who will be leaving), need some proper reinforcements if we're not going to be involved in the relegation battle next season. We've been hemorrhaging players for a couple of seasons now, it made sense in the post-premiership season, but we've been steadily declining, something needs to change.
Rooney will leave. He's been a great player for us, but he just doesn't fit into the team any more. RVP is better than him up front and Kagawa needs to be given a good run in behind him (otherwise signing him was pointless). Rooney could be moved back into the midfield, but why play him out of position when you can sell him and buy two specialist players with the transfer fee and freed up wages?
As for Moyes and the Everton players that have been mentioned, this season was their best chance in years to show that they are capable of competing at the highest level and they have fallen short. Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs were al, there for the taking this year but Everton didn't gain on them. The players Moyes has had at Everton for the last couple of years should have been capable pushing the teams above them much harder and they are certainly good enough to have done much better in the cup competitions. Moyes is tactically rigid, has no experience of dealing with players with the wages and egos the size of the United players, has won nothing in 10 years and has utterly failed to keep hold of and develop the youth players at Everton. His transfer history doesn't exactly fill me with excitement either. People have said to me that Fergie picked him and I should trust his judgement, but Fergie told Randy Lerner to hire Alex McLeish at Villa. We all saw how that turned out.
Giving Moyes the Utd job reminds me of when Liverpool gave Hodgeson a chance. They are both sensible British managers who had done well at a mid table club and were moving to a club with one of its legendary managers on the board. The difference is that Hodgeson had already won loads of trophies, had extensive European experience and had been in charge of Inter Milan (another big European club). Hodgeson was far more qualified than Moyes and he cocked it up at Liverpool. I don't see Moyes fairing much better at Utd.
Moyes is the wrong choice and giving him six years is insane. I'll get behind him once the season starts, but I'm not remotely optimistic about the future. At least Jose would have given us a fun couple of years before everything imploded.
Harsh. Moyes is a very good manager. You have to learn sometime. Ferguson will be there to guide him and Ferguson had no knowledge of egos and wages when he arrived either.
Keeping hold of young players is an argument that doesn't make sense - Everton never had the money to hold on to them and develop them, they could not possibly have turned down the cash they were given for players like Lescott, Rooney and Rodwell. Moyes would have liked to keep them I'm sure - but it wasn't his choice.
His transfer history isn't that bad either, he's never had any real money to spend. The only expensive flop I can think of is Bilyaletdinov. Mirallas, Fellaini, Baines, Jagielka, Distin, Cahill, Neville, Howard, Lescott etc have all been great signings for his side - not to mention mostly very cheap by Utd standards and exactly what his squad needed at the time.
It's simply unrealistic for a side with the squad size and money of Everton to expect to compete consistently with teams that spunk their money up the wall like Utd, City, Spurs, Liverpool (who they actually beat often) and even my Arsenal. Everton are the last of the big teams to break the top four. I think Moyes will do very well after a possibly difficult first season. Man U will probably finish 1st or 2nd next year.
Moyes is going to be a fantastic choice. I was chatting with my Dad about it last night and we were putting the pieces together and realised that this has most probably been in the pipeline for at least 2 years now. I personally wondered whether Fergie would've left last season had he won the title, I suspect so. I think the plan was going to be for United to win one last title under Fergie and then he'd step down, and Moyes is the perfect replacement.
Now, enough about United and their crap.
REAL FOOTBALL TONIGHT. Palace vs Brighton. I am so unbelievably excited and nervous, and I'm not even going!
Quote from: Dorling on May 10, 2013, 06:44:58 AM
Harsh. Moyes is a very good manager. You have to learn sometime. Ferguson will be there to guide him and Ferguson had no knowledge of egos and wages when he arrived either.
Keeping hold of young players is an argument that doesn't make sense - Everton never had the money to hold on to them and develop them, they could not possibly have turned down the cash they were given for players like Lescott, Rooney and Rodwell. Moyes would have liked to keep them I'm sure - but it wasn't his choice.
His transfer history isn't that bad either, he's never had any real money to spend. The only expensive flop I can think of is Bilyaletdinov. Mirallas, Fellaini, Baines, Jagielka, Distin, Cahill, Neville, Howard, Lescott etc have all been great signings for his side - not to mention mostly very cheap by Utd standards and exactly what his squad needed at the time.
It's simply unrealistic for a side with the squad size and money of Everton to expect to compete consistently with teams that spunk their money up the wall like Utd, City, Spurs, Liverpool (who they actually beat often) and even my Arsenal. Everton are the last of the big teams to break the top four. I think Moyes will do very well after a possibly difficult first season. Man U will probably finish 1st or 2nd next year.
The thing about Moyes' signing is that the successful ones are almost all defensive. The problem for Utd at the minute is a lack of creativity in midfield (in the middle and out wide). Moyes seems to have a blind spot for attacking players and that is why I'm not excited about our prospects in the transfer market. I think It'd fans have to accept that finishing 3rd or 4th will be the most we can reasonably expect next season (City and Chelsea are going to throw their financial weight around in the summer). Like I said before, I'll get behind him when the season starts (I really didn't want RVP last summer but was cheering his name as soon as he put the Utd shirt on) I'm just disappointed considering the managerial talent that is available this year.
Out of curiosity, who would you have preferred, Kirk?
I think you'll be proven wrong with your expectations of Moyes. His Everton side's are all about solidity, but when you're working on a budget, that is exactly the kind of base you need for the team. If you look back at the transfer history of Moyes at Everton, he is up there with the best of them in terms of bringing in quality for pennies. I'll just name a few players who have had a huge impact on the club, Tim Cahill - £2mil, Arteta - £2mil, Phil Neville - £3.5mil, Lescott - £2.5mil, Tim Howard - £3mil, Baines - £6mil, Pienaar - £2mil, Distin - £5mil, and more recently, Jelavic - £5mil, Mirallas - £6mil. His biggest signings have been Yakubu, Fellaini, Bilyaletdinov, and Andrew Johnson. Johnson and Bilya were the only guys who I would consider flops considering the money spent on them, and they made a £2mil profit on the sale of Johnson to Fulham, and a £3mil loss on the sale of Bilya. Lescott they sold for £25mil, Arteta for £10mil, and then there were the sales of youth players Rooney & Rodwell. That is a broad spectrum of quality signings in all areas, and he has shown an aptitude for knowing when to sell, and how to rebuild squads, something I'm sure Fergie will see as a huge positive. I don't think his transfer policy will change just because he has more money to spend, as long as he brings that same approach to transfer to United, I expect him to have a successful reign.
In terms of playing style, I think he is as tactically savvy as Fergie, well respected amongst his peers for a reason, must be good at motivating his players as well, don't think I've ever seen an Everton team half-assing it. I get that it is a blow for United fans to have such a legendary manager step down, and the replacement will never compare, but expecting not to challenge for the title? Ludicrous. Don't forget, Chelsea will have a managerial replacement as well, and no doubt City will be having a overhaul.
The only worry would be Europe, but then, that was never a strongpoint under Fergie's (especially the last few seasons) reign either.
Johnson was a flop yeah but when Moyes bought him, he was the highest scoring Englishman in the country. He may be on his way back to Palace too... Woopty doo
It was the season after they were relegated that he was signed, which showed how decent a player he was at the time as Everton forked out £8mil + for him even though he'd not had the most prolific season in the championship. Shame the injuries got to him.
He only scored a shade under 20 goals the season after we got relegated. He was one of the highest ratio scorers we ever had, as high as Ian Wright. It was a safe bet to make that he was a good player, but Moyes wasn't to anticipate that he was going to be injury prone
Not to be mean Kirk, but to say you 'really didn't want' RVP doesn't show a great deal of judgment! Best striker in the Prem.
lol Wigan.
Here's the ESPN story about Wigan's victory.
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1443356/wigan-stuns-man-city-win-fa-cup?cc=5901 (http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1443356/wigan-stuns-man-city-win-fa-cup?cc=5901)
Fair play to Wigan, but Man City were dreadful. This team did not look like a premiership winning side. Mancini definitely to get the sack this season
Quote from: Dorling on May 11, 2013, 04:38:57 PM
Not to be mean Kirk, but to say you 'really didn't want' RVP doesn't show a great deal of judgment! Best striker in the Prem.
I didn't think he would stay fit and thought he was a luxury player (considering the attacking talent we already had) and that the money would be better spent elsewhere. I'll admit that I got that one wrong and that may well be the case with Moyes, but it doesn't mean I have to like the decision.
Well done Wigan. It's good to see the two cups go to teams outside of the big clubs. Maybe it will inspire more clubs to take the cup competition seriously next year.
Helluva weekend. Looking forward to tomorrows play-off game, not as much as Rob, but I think either team will give Watford a good game. Watford vs. Brighton would be a fantastic game, and personally, I'm hoping Brighton get promoted just because I think Poyet has done an amazing job with them. Palace will be up there next season with Holloway and Watford would probably be favourites to win the league if they continue with their current transfer policy.
On the contrary mate I am not looking forward to tomorrows game, they are going to trash us
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JgUevnYJOvI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JgUevnYJOvI)
....draw dropped.
*Jaw :)
Same thing happened on the final day of league 1 my friend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm8--yA5Dqc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm8--yA5Dqc)
friggin auto correct and damn, lower league at its best
FA Cup champions are down :( Damn shame, but between them and Villa, I'm glad Villa stayed up. Think Newcastle deserved to go down and no doubt they'll hand that last champions league spot to Arsenal on a platter.
Cazorla was HUGE today, such a brilliant player.
WE CLAP WITH OUR HANDS WE CLAP WITH OUR HANDS WE'RE CRYSTAL PALACE AND WE CLAP WITH OUR HANDS
Looking forward to the playoff final, I think Palace have a good chance, they have, I think, the perfect system to counter Watford. Zaha and Balasie down the wings, and Watford playing with wingbacks, it is where they struggled against Leicester and that diving French guy (Knockaert), Jedinak will be huge for Palace as well, never appreciated how a good a player he is until the Brighton games.
Can they stop Vydra tho? He looks to be heating up again, Almunia looks to be on high momentum form after his play in the dying minutes.
Vydra isn't that great, that little fella will look lost standing next to Delaney and Rambo or Gabbidon.
Quote from: Rob on May 15, 2013, 05:05:50 AM
Vydra isn't that great, that little fella will look lost standing next to Delaney and Rambo or Gabbidon.
That might be a bit understated. He's a very, very good finisher and doesn't need a lot of chances to put one away. My concern with the 'big boys' of Palace's defence is pace. Watford have loads of it.
I don't see Palace defenders pushing up, with Jedinak in front of them, they will be sitting deep and dealing with Vydra and Deeney. From what I have seen of Watford they tend to overwhelm their opponents midfield, wing-backs hugging the touchline, three in midfield and usually Chalobah from the back three pushing forward, that is where it well get dangerous for Gabbidon and Delaney. I think the weakest link for Watford is Anya, the right wingback, stick Zaha on the left and he will have a field day, and with Moxey backing him up, could be a key area. Shame that Murray is out because Wilbraham isn't the greatest, what happened to the days of sticking Danny Butterfield up front and having him run rampant?
Yeah I just read about Murray. Massive miss. Could be out for a year.
Butters was a right back, one fantastic hattrick. Now the thing about Murray, he is a huge miss, but he has been out of form for about 2 months now, he was playing injured anyways. We showed on Monday we can cope without him. My thinking is Wilbraham has the stamina and pace to worry Watford's defense.
The thing with our defense, especially our wing-backs, they are quick. Moxey, who had a great game in the 2nd leg and Ward who was one of the best on the pitch in the 1st, are more than capable on the wings, especially with Wilf and Bolasie or Williams playing in front of those two. We're potentially the strongest in the division with our fullbacks and central midfielders, they will not trouble us in that aspect.
The only question is whether Vydra is on form and as of late, he's been struggling. Deeney is a tricky customer, as are a few other of their loanees from Udinese, but I am confident in our squad. We've also got Kevin Phillips who can potentially play up front for 20-25 minutes in the final. In the 2nd game against Watford, he was unlucky not to score 3 rather than 1 in only 10 minutes. He's been rested for the last game, I honestly think we have a fantastic chance of winning this. Our confidence is going to be a lot higher than Watford's who only scrapped through last minute vs Leicester.
Wilbraham didn't display a lot of place while he was wearing a Norwich shirt! I look forward to the match though, two entertaining teams.
He's definitely a lot fitter now, I think he was better than he's ever been on Monday for Palace. He didn't score but he definitely worried their defense.
I'm looking forward to it either way, we're the most successful team upon reaching play-off finals