Ongoing Soccer Thread

[blacksun]

God's honest truth. But as a die-hard lifelong Evertonian there's no way i'd tell you in public who i would pick....

That would be Stevie G then , and U can't have him hes staying on the red side

As for Messi I'd take him in a heartbeat but he is exactly what we(Liverpool) need as we have great players in other postions but still need a tricky winger, him and Ribery would be great (well I can dream cant I)

As for the game, Barca weathered Utd's fast start for the 1st 10 mins then caught them cold and never looked back, unfortunately (for them not me

) I think Utd have done this a lot this year but they have had the talent to claw it back against the likes of Villa, Wigan and Spurs but Barca were just too good. hopefully next year they will do it against the likes of Wigan Spurs et al too

 

[Swear Engine]

Gerrard

That would be Stevie G then

You might think that but i couldn't possibly comment.

 

[Swear Engine]

Okay i thought about starting a thread for it but if i'm gonna take stick for this i thought it may as well be hidden away in here.

Tomorrow afternoon Everton(come on you blueboys) take on moneybags Chelski at Wembley in the English FA Cup Final. It's the moment when Everton (come on you blueboys) seek some tangible reward for the progress they've made since David Moyes (if you're unfamiliar think Moe's looks crossed with groundskeeper Wilie's hair colour and accent..) took over the reins at Goodison. The man is a great manager, the only one to win the League Managers Association Manager of the Year award 3 times. Which bearing in mind the financial constraints he's worked under is pretty close to miraculous.
He's brought in some very smart signings, Cahill, Lescott and Jagielka have all made the step up from the second level of English football and proved to be great buys. He's also shown he can spend money when he has it. The deadline day signing of Marouane Fellaini raised a few eyebrows at the time as it looked as though Moyes had been panicked into spending £15m. But Felly's first season in the Prem has been excellent. He's curbed his early use of elbows and when he masters the lingo i'm sure he'll improve further, plus he's still very young.
All in all Moyes has fashioned a team of over-achievers who work their socks off for each other and never lie down. He deserves to see his captain Phil Neville (another inspired signing) lift the famous old trophy at around 5pm tomorrow (although it may be closer to 6 if we go to extra time and penalties again..). Anyway, by that time i shall be very..very...very drunk and either ecstatic or philosophical. So good luck to the boys in blue tomorrow. We may not be entering the field to the familiar strains of Johnny Todd but me and my brother will be singing it. I just hope we relax and play our game and if we do i'm sure Moyes will beat Chelsea for the first time as manager... I'm going for 1-0 with Tim Cahill popping up to send the Evertonians into raptures.

COME ON YOU BLUEBOYS!!!!

 

[Gesshoo]

Moyes has done a fantastic job at Everton for all the reasons you state. Every season they (to me) look like a slightly-above-average team but always exceed my expectations, even when they have injuries like this season.

They have a balanced team with no real "stars" - although there are some very good players such as Cahill, Lescott, etc.

I don't care too much who wins tomorrow - I wouldn't mind seeing Everton win as they deserve something for how they have done over the past few years, and I also have a great friend and a brother-in-law who are both staunch Chelsea fans for many years.

Either way, I hope it ends up 4-3 or something similar!

 

[beardyian]

Moyes has done a fantastic job at Everton for all the reasons you state. Every season they (to me) look like a slightly-above-average team but always exceed my expectations, even when they have injuries like this season.

They have a balanced team with no real "stars" - although there are some very good players such as Cahill, Lescott, etc.

Agreed :top:

But i do have money on Chelski to win 2-1, although an Everton win would be nice :top:

 

[beardyian]

But i do have money on Chelski to win 2-1

Pay up Mr Bookmaker

 

[Nick]

What a great bet that was!

Blue is the colour - gg to mr Hiddink & wp to Chelsea, Malouda finally starting to show he's a solid player. Next season could be a big one. But let's buy Messi in the summer plskthx.

 

[Gesshoo]

Congrats to Chelsea - and to Ian - on the win. Well-deserved on the day. Commiserations to all the blue-noses out there - at least you did set a record today.

Should have been 3-1 with the "goal" from Malouda....still not convinced about Howard Webb, but then again it will take 5 or 6 years for me to forgive him for the penalty that wasn't.

Next up it's the World Cup qualifiers - I hope to be going to down-town Atlanta on Saturday morning to watch it in a bar down there with a ManU friend of mine. Let's hope for another England win and early WC qualification!

 

[Swear Engine]

Well done Chelsea boys (and Ian, nice bet). I think the heat took too much of our pressing game away and we sat off allowing Chelsea to get their passing going. Also scoring so early completely changed the mindset of the players and ultimately played into Chelsea's hands, although credit to them for bouncing back so smoothly. We had our chances, particularly the Saha header but just not our day. We did ourselves proud but just came up against a stronger side. Hopefully if Moyesey can work his magic in the transfer market we'll strengthen the team (not just with Owen...) and be back bigger and stronger next year. Have a cheeky each way on us for the Europa league. At least you're guaranteed we'll always play our strongest line up.

 

[Swear Engine]

Gareth Barry talking to Man.City....

Looks like he's on his way out of Villa....but to City?? Rafa better get his skates on if he wants him. Obviously someone as ambitious as Barry believes the arab money will push City on to greater heights soon..... can't see it myself. Maybe in 5 years but not for a while. City will be 7th at best next year.

 

[ryodejaneiro]

Looks like he's on his way out of Villa....but to City?? Rafa better get his skates on if he wants him. Obviously someone as ambitious as Barry believes the arab money will push City on to greater heights soon..... can't see it myself. Maybe in 5 years but not for a while. City will be 7th at best next year.

Yeah, I saw this news today. Quite baffling that Barry would consider a move to a team that won't even play in the Europa League much less Champions League next season. But as you mentioned, the money factor and getting better players on the team might be the main lure.

 

[Swear Engine]

Yeah, I saw this news today. Quite baffling that Barry would consider a move to a team that won't even play in the Europa League much less Champions League next season. But as you mentioned, the money factor and getting better players on the team might be the main lure.

Done deal apparently. Medical this evening. Supposedly getting a pay rise from £40k per week to over £100k per week (or £20k to £50k after the nasty taxman takes his cut lol). I'm gobsmacked about this tbh. Just because you throw £100 million worth of players at a team doesn't mean they're gonna be any good. I really don't see City challenging for anything next season and Barry is supposed to be ambitious. I heard he was unhappy with the way Liverpool handled his situation last year. But he really must've wanted to get away from Villa to take this leap of faith.

 

[ryodejaneiro]

Done deal apparently. Medical this evening. Supposedly getting a pay rise from £40k per week to over £100k per week (or £20k to £50k after the nasty taxman takes his cut lol). I'm gobsmacked about this tbh. Just because you throw £100 million worth of players at a team doesn't mean they're gonna be any good. I really don't see City challenging for anything next season and Barry is supposed to be ambitious. I heard he was unhappy with the way Liverpool handled his situation last year. But he really must've wanted to get away from Villa to take this leap of faith.

Wow........wow. After I saw your post, I checked out the BBC website and yeah, it seems like City paid £12 million. I'm surprised that he chose City so quickly too - that is, instead of entertaining offers from other clubs. Granted that from what I read the past few days, City was the only one that had asked permission to talk to Barry. It certainly does make you wonder if he wanted to get away from Villa. :dontknow:

 

[Gesshoo]

Great signing for City. He's still a helluva player. Villa could have got more from Liverpool last year but held out for 18 mill that they never got - serves them right.

I agree that City won't be top 4 next year. I don't think Hughes is anywhere near as good a manager as they need - I predict he'll be gone before the end of next season at the latest. They'll buy more players this summer but that will only make everyone's expectations that much higher and it is unrealistic to expect instant success.

 

[Swear Engine]

Great signing for City. He's still a helluva player. Villa could have got more from Liverpool last year but held out for 18 mill that they never got - serves them right.

I agree that City won't be top 4 next year. I don't think Hughes is anywhere near as good a manager as they need - I predict he'll be gone before the end of next season at the latest. They'll buy more players this summer but that will only make everyone's expectations that much higher and it is unrealistic to expect instant success.

From what i remember Rafa wanted Barry but Rick Parry/Gillette/Hicks whoever, sanctioned the move for Robbie Keane instead. That used most of their transfer budget so they were forced to try and haggle the Barry price down and Villa, who didn't want to sell anyway, were having none of it. That led to all the hassle over Rafa's new contract and him demanding the final say on transfers etc. It also explains why Rafa treated Keane so poorly, and he did treat him poorly.
I think £12m for Barry was pretty decent business for a 28 year old with only one year left on his contract.
Today's CityWatch transfer talk is all about Eto'o, Tevez and even Joleon Lescott. Hopefully Joleon won't be swayed by the stench of cash from the other end of the East Lancs Rd. I can imagine Moyes reading about City's supposed interest in Lescott in the newspaper and his coffee cup trembling and quaking then exploding in his grip.

 

[beardyian]

So Real Madrid are going to try and get Ronaldo - well i hope they do, he'll be well suited to a team that constantly dive, foul, cheat and think they deserve to win all the time .

Another of Real Madrids 'star' players Pepe going mental a few weeks back

YouTube - Agresion de Pepe To Pillao

 

[GeoffLacey]

So Real Madrid are going to try and get Ronaldo - well i hope they do, he'll be well suited to a team that constantly dive, foul, cheat and think they deserve to win all the time .

Another of Real Madrids 'star' players Pepe going mental a few weeks back

YouTube - Agresion de Pepe To Pillao

Lol wtf? That's insane. You know what set him off?

 

[Swear Engine]

Yeah i saw that, absolutely horrific. So many kicks, stamps and punches. He got a ten game ban but the reaction from his manager and club president illustrate why footballers think they can get away with this sort of thing.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article6146367.ece

http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,16368,7555_5236573,00.html

I think he's lucky to escape criminal charges.

 

[beardyian]

No idea, he is a bit mental in his play at times, he got a 10 game ban and Madrid thought it was harsh!

 

[Worak]

Another of Real Madrids 'star' players Pepe going mental a few weeks back

I know a player from my amateur league I play in getting banned for 12 months for a head-butt.

So much for setting a good example, pepe.

 

[beardyian]

Most surprising i think is the fact that most clips ive seen on youtube and stories in the papers etc, dont even mention he then went on to smack another player on the chin with a right hook!.

Kind of blows Madrids claim of accidental kicking out of the water when you also accidently chin someone else as well lol

 

[Gesshoo]

Well - a new transfer record and it wasn't Man City!

59 million pounds for Kaka - great player but they are also talking 69 million for Ronaldo!

Not many teams are in that kind of financial league - it makes even a great club like Milan a selling club.

 

[S93]

Well - a new transfer record and it wasn't Man City!

59 million pounds for Kaka - great player but they are also talking 69 million for Ronaldo!

Not many teams are in that kind of financial league - it makes even a great club like Milan a selling club.

Well its only a new record if your British.
Zidane was bought for 73,5M euros but Kaka for a reported 67-71M euros but todays exchange rate compaired to the 2001 rate means Zidane is more expensive in € but Kaka in £, strange i know

 

[Dorkus Malorkus]

"Pepe lost his cool but he did not mean to attack Casquero," the former Tottenham Hotspur manager said. "He was more upset with himself and he only wanted to kick at the air in anger but at no moment did he intend to hurt his opponent.

rofl at ramos

 

[ryodejaneiro]

Wow, not sure how new/old this news is since I haven't been checking football news the past few days, but I just checked ESPN's page and they're reporting that Man U have agreed on an £80m transfer for Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Wow. Looks like Ronaldo's getting his "dream" fulfilled now. Wonder what this means for Tevez and Man U?