***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (4 Viewers)

[Slapdash]

Liverpool land Barca youth Canos

Boom

Not "rent", huh?

That one must not be good enough for Barca to want him back.

Just keep your grubby paws off of Sergi Samper...

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Arsenal rent another Barca teen

The English announcers should have a real fun time pronouncing his last name

 

[The Gator]

Higuain to Napoli seemingly done?

 

[Spartans Rule]

Higuain to Napoli would be pretty disappointing. If he had stayed at Real, or went to Chelsea, then you wonder if Arsenal was ever really that close and maybe the rumors just got out of control. But if he goes to Napoli, you have to believe he was there for the taking.

On the other side, Napoli's really having a nice offseason. They did great on the Cavani sale, got a reasonable replacement for half the price, and can use the rest of the money to shore up other areas and maybe keep Hamsik around awhile, too.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

This Martino guy sounds pretty good by everything I've read.

He probably is, but he's completely unproven in Europe, to say nothing of the unbelievable pressure cooker that is the Barca hot seat. That's really taking a flier.

80 percent of his work is already done for him, it's not like he has to build chemistry or overhaul the team tactically. If he's as good tactically as advertised, they'll be fine.

 

[T Bell]

This Martino guy sounds pretty good by everything I've read.

He probably is, but he's completely unproven in Europe, to say nothing of the unbelievable pressure cooker that is the Barca hot seat. That's really taking a flier.

80 percent of his work is already done for him, it's not like he has to build chemistry or overhaul the team tactically. If he's as good tactically as advertised, they'll be fine.

It's never that easy with elite level prima donnas. We'll see.

 

[Sebowski]

I'm not sure I've seen a U.S. team create that many chances. The U.S. scored five on a night when they didn't really have their finishing boots. It could have been far, far worse.

When ES was pressing in the 4-3-3 at the start of the second half, I was muttering to myself about subbing in Shea and EJ and punishing them. And sure enough, that's exactly what they did. It completely opened the game up and gave the US backline a direct option. And that's why Shea is going to keep getting chances, because he can give a dimension that we don't really have that can solve some specific problems.

I was actually thinking they needed to bring in Holden. Beckerman was just getting sloppy with the ball and couldn't find a play out of the back. Plus, all game long he kept going up the right side. He's just not good enough. However, he did provide me with an intriguing thought towards the end of the game. I thought you're not supposed to get dreads wet, so how does he protect his hair in that weather?

Right? That's why you never see any Jamaicans at the beach. Wait....

 

[Sebowski]

This Martino guy sounds pretty good by everything I've read.

He probably is, but he's completely unproven in Europe, to say nothing of the unbelievable pressure cooker that is the Barca hot seat. That's really taking a flier.

80 percent of his work is already done for him, it's not like he has to build chemistry or overhaul the team tactically. If he's as good tactically as advertised, they'll be fine.

It's never that easy with elite level prima donnas. We'll see.

Wrong team, guy.

 

[The Gator]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

 

[Slapdash]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Wow, that is massive.

In other news, it sounds like ManU is going to make a THIRD bid for Cesc.

 

[GoFishTN]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

What's the shark move for Gold Cup final tickets? Buy now and risk a loss to Honduras or wait until Wednesday night and risk a big price jump? It seems I can get decent seats for me and my son for approx 100-125 per right now.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

What's the shark move for Gold Cup final tickets? Buy now and risk a loss to Honduras or wait until Wednesday night and risk a big price jump? It seems I can get decent seats for me and my son for approx 100-125 per right now.

I'm probably jinxing the hell out of them (I'm even seeing a baseball game with friends on Wednesday night), but I just don't think this Honduras team has the goods to beat the US.

I think they were fortunate against Costa Rica and even against Haiti (who seriously outplayed them). They have defended well, but they haven't seen this many dangerous players. They've only scored two goals once in the tournament.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

Not to mention that Spurs would scuttle their CL ambitions next year, as there really isn't time to reinvest the windfall they'd receive from selling Bale.

Seems like smoke to me. Is RM really upping their bid enough to get it done now when they couldn't get it done before?

 

[GoFishTN]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

Not to mention that Spurs would scuttle their CL ambitions next year, as there really isn't time to reinvest the windfall they'd receive from selling Bale.

Seems like smoke to me. Is RM really upping their bid enough to get it done now when they couldn't get it done before?

More rumors of Spurs haggling over £3M for Soldado today. Pretty stupid if you're getting £80M.

 

[Sebowski]

Breaking News!

Spurs Pretty stupid.

 

[GoFishTN]

Breaking News!

Spurs Pretty stupid.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

Not to mention that Spurs would scuttle their CL ambitions next year, as there really isn't time to reinvest the windfall they'd receive from selling Bale.

Seems like smoke to me. Is RM really upping their bid enough to get it done now when they couldn't get it done before?

The window closes august 31. Plenty of time to sign some players imo.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

Not to mention that Spurs would scuttle their CL ambitions next year, as there really isn't time to reinvest the windfall they'd receive from selling Bale.

Seems like smoke to me. Is RM really upping their bid enough to get it done now when they couldn't get it done before?

The window closes august 31. Plenty of time to sign some players imo.

Higuain seems to have his heart set on a London club that's a bit more bold on the field than off it. Spurs need a striker. I see a match!

 

[TLEF316]

Wahl posted pics of the field in Dallas on twitter. It's a disaster. Total embarrassment.

 

[Slapdash]

This Martino guy sounds pretty good by everything I've read.

Word today is that Real Madrid, Malaga, and Real Sociedad all approached him earlier in the year.

 

[jonessed]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Good Posting Judge" data-cid="15757890" data-time="1374610266"><p><p><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="CletiusMaximus" data-cid="15757876" data-time="1374610039"><p> They seem to be close on Soldado who I have actually seen very little of.

 

[T Bell]

Bale to Madrid for £80M and Coentrao????

Being talked about in print on the radio...

He's not going unless Levy decides to sell. RM isn't going to be able to force this through.

That being said, you almost have to accept an offer like that, but it smells more like selling papers to me.

Not to mention that Spurs would scuttle their CL ambitions next year, as there really isn't time to reinvest the windfall they'd receive from selling Bale.

Seems like smoke to me. Is RM really upping their bid enough to get it done now when they couldn't get it done before?

The window closes august 31. Plenty of time to sign some players imo.

Higuain seems to have his heart set on a London club that's a bit more bold on the field than off it. Spurs need a striker. I see a match!

Ah, but he doesn't want to play on Thursdays. Shucks, huh?

 

[Sebowski]

Wahl posted pics of the field in Dallas on twitter. It's a disaster. Total embarrassment.

Yeah, looks like garbage.

Also, Stadium has banned drums and banners from the Outlaws. Ridiculous. Wonder if they will enforce that policy on the Mexican game too.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

As always, the lesson here is #### Jerry Jones.

 

[Sebowski]

As always, the lesson here is #### Jerry Jones.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

 

[jonessed]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

They aren't going to sell him to Arsenal. He will either stay or go to RM later in the window.

 

[The Gator]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

They aren't going to sell him to Arsenal. He will either stay or go to RM later in the window.

I think he stays during this window. If Liverpool aren't in contention for fourth come January, he'll be off.

 

[GoFishTN]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

£40,000,001.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

When Arsene bought his Jaguar, he didn't have to pay for the drive train protection. The man knows how to bargain.

 

[Slapdash]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao is worth £53 ...

 

[Slapdash]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao is worth £53 ...

I don't think Suarez is on that level but Liverpool doesn't exactly have one of the oil clubs ready to pay those prices either...

 

[The Gator]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao(WHO ALSO APPEARS TO BE 29!!!) is worth £53 ...

 

[Slapdash]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao(WHO ALSO APPEARS TO BE 29!!!) is worth £53 ...

What the #### are you guys talking about. Cavani is 26 and Falcao is 27.

 

[The Gator]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao(WHO ALSO APPEARS TO BE 29!!!) is worth £53 ...

What the #### are you guys talking about. Cavani is 26 and Falcao is 27.

Maybe....

 

[Slapdash]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao(WHO ALSO APPEARS TO BE 29!!!) is worth £53 ...

What the #### are you guys talking about. Cavani is 26 and Falcao is 27.

Maybe....

 

[T Bell]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

£40,000,001.

I think we're going to start hearing Suarez agitate for a transfer to Arsenal now. I'd suspect a fresh start elsewhere for a club playing in the CL will be very attractive to him.

 

[T Bell]

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

 

[Steve Tasker]

I'd like to make it publicly known that Gator lost his "double or nothing" bet with me re: Arsenal's league finish vs. Liverpool's league finish for the second straight year.

Will he pay up this year? I will keep you posted.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

How the heck does that get rejected?

I suppose if Cavani is worth £55 and (29 year old) Falcao(WHO ALSO APPEARS TO BE 29!!!) is worth £53 ...

What the #### are you guys talking about. Cavani is 26 and Falcao is 27.

Jokes about Falcao's age are kind of a thing this week.

 

[The Gator]

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

It's not a buy out clause. It's a clause that once reached, the club have to inform the player that they have received an official bid.

Tony Barrett, in The Times (subscription)

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/arsenal/article3823768.ece

Arsenal have failed in their latest attempt to sign Luis Suárez despite making an extraordinary offer of £40,000,001 that they had hoped would force Liverpool to sell the Uruguay forward.

The eye-catching figure was formulated by Suárez’s agent, Pere Guardiola, who believed that Liverpool would have to allow his client to leave in the event of any interested party offering in excess of £40 million.

Liverpool have always held a different interpretation of the relevant clause in the former Ajax player’s contract, however, insisting that they need only to consider such a offer, and their conviction that is the case resulted in a swift rejection of Arsenal’s latest bid.

Liverpool officials were bemused by the nature of Arsenal’s latest attempt to acquire Suárez, particularly after Ian Ayre, the Anfield club’s managing director, informed Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, over a fortnight ago that £40 million would not be enough to buy the 26-year-old regardless of whatever encouragement Guardiola was offering them.

That came in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s initial £30 million offer, which they claimed would be their first and only bid. Arsène Wenger’s growing belief that Suárez is willing to join Arsenal, however, encouraged the North London club to submit an improved offer. After Liverpool also gave that proposal short shrift, they will have to decide whether or not to continue their pursuit.

In keeping with their own analysis of Suárez’s contract, Liverpool will inform the player of Arsenal’s latest offer after their pre-season friendly against Melbourne Victory today.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

They didn't trigger his release clause. You would be correct if they had, then it would be out of Liverpools hands.

 

[The Gator]

I'd like to make it publicly known that Gator lost his "double or nothing" bet with me re: Arsenal's league finish vs. Liverpool's league finish for the second straight year.

Will he pay up this year? I will keep you posted.

what was the bet amount?

 

[Steve Tasker]

I'd like to make it publicly known that Gator lost his "double or nothing" bet with me re: Arsenal's league finish vs. Liverpool's league finish for the second straight year.

Will he pay up this year? I will keep you posted.

what was the bet amount?

Loser buys winner a beer at Brickhouse. Are you even going this year???

 

[T Bell]

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

They didn't trigger his release clause. You would be correct if they had, then it would be out of Liverpools hands.

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

It's not a buy out clause. It's a clause that once reached, the club have to inform the player that they have received an official bid.

Tony Barrett, in The Times (subscription)

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/arsenal/article3823768.ece

Arsenal have failed in their latest attempt to sign Luis Suárez despite making an extraordinary offer of £40,000,001 that they had hoped would force Liverpool to sell the Uruguay forward.

The eye-catching figure was formulated by Suárez’s agent, Pere Guardiola, who believed that Liverpool would have to allow his client to leave in the event of any interested party offering in excess of £40 million.

Liverpool have always held a different interpretation of the relevant clause in the former Ajax player’s contract, however, insisting that they need only to consider such a offer, and their conviction that is the case resulted in a swift rejection of Arsenal’s latest bid.

Liverpool officials were bemused by the nature of Arsenal’s latest attempt to acquire Suárez, particularly after Ian Ayre, the Anfield club’s managing director, informed Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, over a fortnight ago that £40 million would not be enough to buy the 26-year-old regardless of whatever encouragement Guardiola was offering them.

That came in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s initial £30 million offer, which they claimed would be their first and only bid. Arsène Wenger’s growing belief that Suárez is willing to join Arsenal, however, encouraged the North London club to submit an improved offer. After Liverpool also gave that proposal short shrift, they will have to decide whether or not to continue their pursuit.

In keeping with their own analysis of Suárez’s contract, Liverpool will inform the player of Arsenal’s latest offer after their pre-season friendly against Melbourne Victory today.

Yeah, I saw that. So WTF is the purpose of this "inform clause"? It seems like an awfully toothless clause to have in there, no?

 

[The Gator]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

£40,000,001.

I think we're going to start hearing Suarez agitate for a transfer to Arsenal now. I'd suspect a fresh start elsewhere for a club playing in the CL will be very attractive to him.

I'd much rather them sell him to Madrid for £20M then give him to Arsenal

 

[The Gator]

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

They didn't trigger his release clause. You would be correct if they had, then it would be out of Liverpools hands.

Here's what I don't understand about the 40M offer for Suarez-

As I understand it, if a bid in the amount of a release clause is made, then the club currently owning the player is obligated to accept that and the would-be buyer then sees if they can't hammer out a contract with the player. If another club comes in and bids more, then that offer could in turn be accepted by the selling club, but if nobody else does, they're sort of out of luck.

That would mean that Liverpool can't reject Arsenal's bid for Suarez. Is that not the way this works?

It's not a buy out clause. It's a clause that once reached, the club have to inform the player that they have received an official bid.

Tony Barrett, in The Times (subscription)

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/arsenal/article3823768.ece

Arsenal have failed in their latest attempt to sign Luis Suárez despite making an extraordinary offer of £40,000,001 that they had hoped would force Liverpool to sell the Uruguay forward.

The eye-catching figure was formulated by Suárez’s agent, Pere Guardiola, who believed that Liverpool would have to allow his client to leave in the event of any interested party offering in excess of £40 million.

Liverpool have always held a different interpretation of the relevant clause in the former Ajax player’s contract, however, insisting that they need only to consider such a offer, and their conviction that is the case resulted in a swift rejection of Arsenal’s latest bid.

Liverpool officials were bemused by the nature of Arsenal’s latest attempt to acquire Suárez, particularly after Ian Ayre, the Anfield club’s managing director, informed Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, over a fortnight ago that £40 million would not be enough to buy the 26-year-old regardless of whatever encouragement Guardiola was offering them.

That came in the immediate aftermath of Arsenal’s initial £30 million offer, which they claimed would be their first and only bid. Arsène Wenger’s growing belief that Suárez is willing to join Arsenal, however, encouraged the North London club to submit an improved offer. After Liverpool also gave that proposal short shrift, they will have to decide whether or not to continue their pursuit.

In keeping with their own analysis of Suárez’s contract, Liverpool will inform the player of Arsenal’s latest offer after their pre-season friendly against Melbourne Victory today.

Yeah, I saw that. So WTF is the purpose of this "inform clause"? It seems like an awfully toothless clause to have in there, no?

Agreed, who knows with these agents, though. Maybe it's just there to get a player unsettled and keep the club from denying bids if things get that high.

 

[T Bell]

Liverpool reject Gooners £40mil bid for Suarez. This is getting good. I would love to see him stay in the prem.

£40,000,001.

I think we're going to start hearing Suarez agitate for a transfer to Arsenal now. I'd suspect a fresh start elsewhere for a club playing in the CL will be very attractive to him.

I'd much rather them sell him to Madrid for £20M then give him to Arsenal

I'm sure you would!