***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[guru_007]

Howard's good, but I tend to agree with Charvik that his performance on USMNT has overvalued his perceived worth. He's good, I'd rank him mid pack in EPL, and between 20-30 in the world seems about right.

Isn't this what Charvik disagreed with, though? I said he'd be in the 20-25-30 range, and Charvik disagreed...

ah, I was agreeing with him stating people overvaluing his worth based on USMNT....I thought some people were putting him top 10I think he would almost certainly crack top 30 in the world. I could rattle off 10-15 off the top of my head world wide better...but after that you'd be nitpicking I would think.link posted earlier about statistical analysis of epl keepers didn't work for me, I'd be interested in reading that though.And I definitely would love to see United work in some form of non-traditional formation such as the inverted triangle...but without Carrick for the love of God. :XNot sure what SAF will do, but to me it makes a lot of sense to get a lot of attacking players in spots where they will be trouble for opponents, especially when you don't have a great option at holding mf. I fully expect to see a lot of Anderson this year. SAF loves that guy.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Seems like the EPL rights are up for bid soon:

yeah, I have posted on this numerous times in the last few months. Lots of interesting stuff likely going on.The EPL rights this time around are going to be fascinating IMO. Here are some notes and thoughts* The rights will be for a three season package from 2013/14 through 2015/16.* The likely bidders will be Fox, NBC, and beIN Sports. I see ESPN involved but I think they may simply do the same thing they did during the current contract and sub license a couple of games a week from the primary winner. Who they partner with is anyone's guess.* If beIN Sports does not penetrate enough households quickly, they are likely going to have to partner with someone to make the numbers work. beIN partnered with say NBCSN would make for a very interesting mix.* If Fox does not win the rights, I think many foresee FSC will be re branded into a more generic sports station named something like Fox Sports 1. I also feel like this may be a must win for Fox if they want to stay in the game in the coming years. If Fox loses, they will have to wait until 2015 for the new MLS package and 2016 for the new EPL packages to get back in the game so to speak in support of WC 2018.* First round of bidding is expected to be on Friday October 12.

 

[charvik]

Seems like the EPL rights are up for bid soon:

yeah, I have posted on this numerous times in the last few months. Lots of interesting stuff likely going on.The EPL rights this time around are going to be fascinating IMO. Here are some notes and thoughts* The rights will be for a three season package from 2013/14 through 2015/16.* The likely bidders will be Fox, NBC, and beIN Sports. I see ESPN involved but I think they may simply do the same thing they did during the current contract and sub license a couple of games a week from the primary winner. Who they partner with is anyone's guess.* If beIN Sports does not penetrate enough households quickly, they are likely going to have to partner with someone to make the numbers work. beIN partnered with say NBCSN would make for a very interesting mix.* If Fox does not win the rights, I think many foresee FSC will be re branded into a more generic sports station named something like Fox Sports 1. I also feel like this may be a must win for Fox if they want to stay in the game in the coming years. If Fox loses, they will have to wait until 2015 for the new MLS package and 2016 for the new EPL packages to get back in the game so to speak in support of WC 2018.* First round of bidding is expected to be on Friday October 12.

Appreciate the info!

 

[NewlyRetired]

Seems like the EPL rights are up for bid soon:

yeah, I have posted on this numerous times in the last few months. Lots of interesting stuff likely going on.The EPL rights this time around are going to be fascinating IMO. Here are some notes and thoughts* The rights will be for a three season package from 2013/14 through 2015/16.* The likely bidders will be Fox, NBC, and beIN Sports. I see ESPN involved but I think they may simply do the same thing they did during the current contract and sub license a couple of games a week from the primary winner. Who they partner with is anyone's guess.* If beIN Sports does not penetrate enough households quickly, they are likely going to have to partner with someone to make the numbers work. beIN partnered with say NBCSN would make for a very interesting mix.* If Fox does not win the rights, I think many foresee FSC will be re branded into a more generic sports station named something like Fox Sports 1. I also feel like this may be a must win for Fox if they want to stay in the game in the coming years. If Fox loses, they will have to wait until 2015 for the new MLS package and 2016 for the new EPL packages to get back in the game so to speak in support of WC 2018.* First round of bidding is expected to be on Friday October 12.

Appreciate the info!

No problem. I will periodically post when I read new things (usually rumors but they tend to be fairly decent. The beIN Sports rumors I posted were nearly exact to what happened)

 

[SmoovySmoov]

17 – West Ham

As I've noted on here I am not an EPL fan, but I've decided to give it a little bit of a try this season. After attending an Iron Maiden concert last month I was reading a bio on Steve Harris and saw that he was a big West Ham supporter, so I'm going to try and follow them this season. It may be a stupid reason to pick a club, but there it is. The Bobby Moore connection could have been a deal breaker, but the '66 World Cup was a long time ago.

So, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"

I think the movie "Green Street Hooligans" is about West Ham supporters. They have a decent rivalry with Chels and Spurs but the main enemy is hated Millwall. They've had some vicious gang battles in recent years.

I haven't seen GSH (Frodo as a hooligan doesn't really appeal to me), but I have seen The Football Factory, which is about Chelsea hooligans. Their main rival in the movie is also Milwall. What has Milwall done to be hated by everybody?

 

[charvik]

17 – West Ham

As I've noted on here I am not an EPL fan, but I've decided to give it a little bit of a try this season. After attending an Iron Maiden concert last month I was reading a bio on Steve Harris and saw that he was a big West Ham supporter, so I'm going to try and follow them this season. It may be a stupid reason to pick a club, but there it is. The Bobby Moore connection could have been a deal breaker, but the '66 World Cup was a long time ago.

So, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"

I think the movie "Green Street Hooligans" is about West Ham supporters. They have a decent rivalry with Chels and Spurs but the main enemy is hated Millwall. They've had some vicious gang battles in recent years.

I haven't seen GSH (Frodo as a hooligan doesn't really appeal to me), but I have seen The Football Factory, which is about Chelsea hooligans. Their main rival in the movie is also Milwall. What has Milwall done to be hated by everybody?

The rivalry between Millwall and West Ham United is one of the longest-standing and most bitter rivalries in English football,[3] with both sets of supporters considering the other club as their main rival.[4]

West Ham and Millwall both originated in East London and the competition between the two clubs can be traced back to the end of the 19th century between rival dockers at shipyards on either side of the River Thames.

all three clubs above are from London.

 

[El Floppo]

I think you'd be very, very hard pressed to come up with 25 keepers who are more highly regarded than Howard. Howard has consistently started in a top 3 league for a decade. For most of his time at Everton, he's been regarded as a top 5 EPL keeper. Below Van der Sar and probably Reina consistently, sure. At times below Cech (who has been very, very inconsistent at times for Chelsea). Maybe behind Friedel at times. Now, he's rated below Hart, but Hart has a long way to go to have a career like Howard's. Howard's club career has been at least as good as Shea Given's.

Extrapolating to other leagues, the list of obviously better keepers isn't that big. St. Iker and Buffon certainly. Probably Valdes, Steklenberg and Julio Cesar. Guys like Lloris and Neuer are better now, but after them you're getting to guys like Muslera and Hamdonovich who I'd argue are probably rated just about in line with Howard.

Well, I was talking about now, not how he's been ranked over his career.

so now he's over-rated? Has his game dropped somehow? Or other keepers have gotten better?

I agree with wetdream's analysis and I think it's easy to put him in a list of the top 25 GKs in the world. Somebody mentioned Krul, who I like- but he hasn't been playing at this high level as long as Howard. And let's face it- Friedl, Keller, Van der Saar, ad nauseum, proved that GKs can keep playing at a top level deep into their 30s and even 40s.

I'm sick as a dog right now, and I know I'm not making myself clear on this and probably coming across a bit ... testy or even redundant... but IMO Howard has actually gotten better with age. I've mentioned repeateedly that when he came over to England, he couldn't handle the deep driven cross for his life- timing and anticipation was terrible. And his distribution was always forced and too fast, putting his team in trouble as much as it freed up counters. He was always a fantastic shot-blocker- great hands, intuitive positioning and cat-like reflexes, and those haven't gone away- but his foibles have all improved a ton, making him a GK without any weaknesses and very consistent. Those two factors are most of what puts him up in the top 25.

 

[The Gator]

I haven't seen GSH (Frodo as a hooligan doesn't really appeal to me), but I have seen The Football Factory, which is about Chelsea hooligans. Their main rival in the movie is also Milwall. What has Milwall done to be hated by everybody?

Worth the watch. He doesn't start out a hooligan, but a ####. Which is why it works imo

 

[The Gator]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow.

Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

ReinaJohnson Skrtel Agger Enrique Lucas Gerrard Shelvey Downing Suarez Borini
Allen should come on as a sub

 

[El Floppo]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

What, no Adams and Carrol?

 

[El Floppo]

OOF

Fulham: Clint Dempsey refuses to playAugust 17, 2012By ESPN.com news servicesClint Dempsey was fined Friday for his alleged refusal to play for Fulham Saturday in its Premier League season opener vs. Norwich City, and manager Martin Jol confirmed that Dempsey will not start."Clint Dempsey wants to move," said Jol of Dempsey, 29. "He doesn't want to commit to this club and, while I would like to keep him, it's impossible because he wants to move. He told me that he wants to go to a Champions League club -- he said it last year, he said it in the summer, and he said it again."We'll have to wait and see what happens but it's a sad situation for us and it's almost embarrassing."We've got a chairman who is strong and if we get the right price for Clint then we will sell him. If we don't, then he will stay here. We won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure."Dempsey has been at Craven Cottage since 2007 and his contract expires next year. The American was left out of the club's preseason training camp in Switzerland amid speculation about his future."Clint was not involved over the last four weeks, so he is not going to be in the squad," Jol said.Liverpool has been the club most strongly linked with Dempsey, with manager Brendan Rodgers having confirmed an inquiry was made.At one stage, the website for the Massachusetts-based news channel New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group, published a story suggesting the deal was done, but the posting was removed soon afterwards."That was very disappointing," Jol said. "There was never an offer. Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool before he came back, so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him."Even [Rodgers] told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing. If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't.Jol also expressed his disappointment at the recent conduct of Moussa Dembele's agent, denying that there had ever been interest from Real Madrid. Jan de Visser, Dembele's representative, had made comments to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf indicating that a bid had been made by the Spanish side."I spoke to his agent and I said to him it's not the cleverest thing to do, to speak about players. There was no offer on the table (from Madrid) and hopefully the situation will stay as it is. Hopefully Dembele will stay here," said Jol."There was one low bid from one Premier League club, very low. Moussa is quite happy here. He wants to play here and if something happens, we will have to wait.''Information from Press Association was used in this report.

 

[The Gator]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

What, no Adams and Carrol?

Expect Carroll to come on as a sub for downing and they'll move Borini out wide.Expect Adam to be a make-weight in the Dempsey deal and he won't get on the field.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

OOF

Love the guy and hope he ends up with Liverpool, but that's pretty bad.

 

[Bonzai]

OOF

 

[Eephus]

AFC Wimbledon's second season in League Two starts tomorrow at home vs. Chesterfield. The Dons are looking to solidify their position in League football and improve upon their 16th place finish of 2011/12. They've already been bounced from the League Cup due to an own goal and goalkeeping blunder, so I guess they can concentrate on the league now.

There's been a lot of roster turnover but it's hard to get information about lower division players. Four of their new acquisitions appeared in the League Cup loss including veteran defender Warren Cummings who had one Scotland cap a decade ago.

I'm always optimistic about Wimbledon's chances. Aside from one dismal stretch in February-March, they weren't outclassed at League level. The road to promotion is obviously much tougher than in their march through the lower ranks but they've done a good job sticking to their plan both on and off the field.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.

Oh well.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

 

[Sebowski]

OOF

WTF, Clint. Suit up and play for the team that made you. Don't #### on them like this.

 

[charvik]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

rumor has it that Sahin was waiting on this decision before making a call between Liverpool and Arsenal... looks like it's the Gunner's.

 

[Sinn Fein]

OOF

Who held him out of training camp? the club, or Dempsey?

 

[NewlyRetired]

OOF

Who held him out of training camp? the club, or Dempsey?

it i similar to what Tottenham did with Modric and Arsenal did a bit with Van Persie.When a player is 100% fixated on leaving, the club believes he will be a significant distraction and sometimes asks the player to practice alone.I do not like how Dempsey handled this at all though and seems to have backed himself into a corner. If beginning offers have not even come in for him, he looks foolish IMO.And as a US fan this doubly sucks because he may not be sharp at all come the two critical WCQiers we have coming up in a few weeks.Awful situation all around. I feel bad for Fulham. No player should ever refuse to play for a team he is under contract for. It is not like Clint is way underpaid even, which maybe, just maybe you could understand.

 

[GoFishTN]

OOF

Fulham: Clint Dempsey refuses to play

August 17, 2012

By ESPN.com news services

Clint Dempsey was fined Friday for his alleged refusal to play for Fulham Saturday in its Premier League season opener vs. Norwich City, and manager Martin Jol confirmed that Dempsey will not start.

"Clint Dempsey wants to move," said Jol of Dempsey, 29. "He doesn't want to commit to this club and, while I would like to keep him, it's impossible because he wants to move. He told me that he wants to go to a Champions League club -- he said it last year, he said it in the summer, and he said it again.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens but it's a sad situation for us and it's almost embarrassing.

"We've got a chairman who is strong and if we get the right price for Clint then we will sell him. If we don't, then he will stay here. We won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure."

Dempsey has been at Craven Cottage since 2007 and his contract expires next year. The American was left out of the club's preseason training camp in Switzerland amid speculation about his future.

"Clint was not involved over the last four weeks, so he is not going to be in the squad," Jol said.

Liverpool has been the club most strongly linked with Dempsey, with manager Brendan Rodgers having confirmed an inquiry was made.

At one stage, the website for the Massachusetts-based news channel New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group, published a story suggesting the deal was done, but the posting was removed soon afterwards.

"That was very disappointing," Jol said. "There was never an offer. Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool before he came back, so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him.

"Even [Rodgers] told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing. If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't.

Jol also expressed his disappointment at the recent conduct of Moussa Dembele's agent, denying that there had ever been interest from Real Madrid. Jan de Visser, Dembele's representative, had made comments to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf indicating that a bid had been made by the Spanish side.

"I spoke to his agent and I said to him it's not the cleverest thing to do, to speak about players. There was no offer on the table (from Madrid) and hopefully the situation will stay as it is. Hopefully Dembele will stay here," said Jol.

"There was one low bid from one Premier League club, very low. Moussa is quite happy here. He wants to play here and if something happens, we will have to wait.''

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

One of these things is not like the other.

 

[prefontaine]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

imo this could be more devastating than losing RVP. Song is a world class player just entering into his prime.

 

[Slapdash]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

Please let this happen

 

[Steve Tasker]

Dempsey just dropped 2 short tweets. "There are two sides to the story" and "The truth will come out soon".

 

[brewer]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

imo this could be more devastating than losing RVP. Song is a world class player just entering into his prime.

Couldn't agree more. I think Song is going to be harder to replace than RVP or Cesc.Think the back line had problems last year... just wait until Song is gone.

 

[NewlyRetired]

A buddy of mine emailed me and said to pretend every break went the US's way in the past few years in terms of injuries and choices and come up with a lineup.

It is pretty amazing how strong the US lineup could have been..................

...............Howard

Chandler....Subotic....Cameron....Johnson

.......Holden......Bradley......Jones

...............Dempsey

..........Jozy...........Rossi

Bench Depth: Boyd, Herc, Boca, Edu, Cherundolo, Landon etc

If it was a one game take all today, I think I would start Boca over Cameron but I put Cameron in the lineup looking towards the future. Dempsey and Jones would be the only starting players that would need replacing because of age in the next few years.

Wow, would this have be fun to watch develop over the next 4-5 years :(

 

[NewlyRetired]

Dempsey just dropped 2 short tweets. "There are two sides to the story" and "The truth will come out soon".

oh good lord, this is entering Hope Solo territory now :(

 

[Steve Tasker]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

imo this could be more devastating than losing RVP. Song is a world class player just entering into his prime.

Couldn't agree more. I think Song is going to be harder to replace than RVP or Cesc.Think the back line had problems last year... just wait until Song is gone.

I agree completely, hence my post yesterday about losing him. I just hope they have some plans to replace him ASAP (and it sounds like they might).

 

[Bonzai]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

imo this could be more devastating than losing RVP. Song is a world class player just entering into his prime.

:gutpunch:

 

[charvik]

Bumping this again to see if there's more interest: FBG Euro Soccer Survival contest

 

[QuizGuy66]

If this happens, this will be second NBA owner this year that bought an MLS team. It would also finally reduce AEG down to just one team after almost single handedly carrying the league in the early 2000's.

FOX 26 Sports has learned Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is in negotiations to purchase the Houston Dynamo franchise.Major League Soccer sources told FOX 26 Sports Alexander is in the process of buying out the three partners who currently own the Dynamo.They are Anschutz Entertainment Group (50 percent), former boxing great Oscar de la Hoya (25 percent) and Los Angeles businessman Gabriel Brener (25 per cent).

I still want the NJ Nets' new owner... oh- sorry- the Brooklyn Nets... to pony up and buy the only NYC MLS team.

That team can suck it - they play in NJ but won't say so. Screw 'em.-QG

You talking about the Giants or the Jets?

Them too.-QG

 

[QuizGuy66]

17 – West Ham

As I've noted on here I am not an EPL fan, but I've decided to give it a little bit of a try this season. After attending an Iron Maiden concert last month I was reading a bio on Steve Harris and saw that he was a big West Ham supporter, so I'm going to try and follow them this season. It may be a stupid reason to pick a club, but there it is. The Bobby Moore connection could have been a deal breaker, but the '66 World Cup was a long time ago.

So, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"

It would be awesome if there's a Maiden cover of that song.-QG

 

[El Floppo]

Dempsey just dropped 2 short tweets. "There are two sides to the story" and "The truth will come out soon".

oh good lord, this is entering Hope Solo territory now :(

This smacks of Freddy. "It's not me- it's them."

 

[The Gator]

OOF

Fulham: Clint Dempsey refuses to play

August 17, 2012

By ESPN.com news services

Clint Dempsey was fined Friday for his alleged refusal to play for Fulham Saturday in its Premier League season opener vs. Norwich City, and manager Martin Jol confirmed that Dempsey will not start.

"Clint Dempsey wants to move," said Jol of Dempsey, 29. "He doesn't want to commit to this club and, while I would like to keep him, it's impossible because he wants to move. He told me that he wants to go to a Champions League club -- he said it last year, he said it in the summer, and he said it again.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens but it's a sad situation for us and it's almost embarrassing.

"We've got a chairman who is strong and if we get the right price for Clint then we will sell him. If we don't, then he will stay here. We won't let Clint Dempsey go on the cheap, that's for sure."

Dempsey has been at Craven Cottage since 2007 and his contract expires next year. The American was left out of the club's preseason training camp in Switzerland amid speculation about his future.

"Clint was not involved over the last four weeks, so he is not going to be in the squad," Jol said.

Liverpool has been the club most strongly linked with Dempsey, with manager Brendan Rodgers having confirmed an inquiry was made.

At one stage, the website for the Massachusetts-based news channel New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group, published a story suggesting the deal was done, but the posting was removed soon afterwards.

"That was very disappointing," Jol said. "There was never an offer. Clint himself told everyone he was going to Liverpool before he came back, so we really thought there was quite a firm interest in him.

"Even [Rodgers] told everyone he was interested in Clint Dempsey, but our people never had an offer on the table, so it's almost embarrassing. If you have shown interest in a player, especially in England, you have to follow it up with an offer. They didn't.

Jol also expressed his disappointment at the recent conduct of Moussa Dembele's agent, denying that there had ever been interest from Real Madrid. Jan de Visser, Dembele's representative, had made comments to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf indicating that a bid had been made by the Spanish side.

"I spoke to his agent and I said to him it's not the cleverest thing to do, to speak about players. There was no offer on the table (from Madrid) and hopefully the situation will stay as it is. Hopefully Dembele will stay here," said Jol.

"There was one low bid from one Premier League club, very low. Moussa is quite happy here. He wants to play here and if something happens, we will have to wait.''

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

One of these things is not like the other.

<_<

 

[Christo]

17 – West Ham

As I've noted on here I am not an EPL fan, but I've decided to give it a little bit of a try this season. After attending an Iron Maiden concert last month I was reading a bio on Steve Harris and saw that he was a big West Ham supporter, so I'm going to try and follow them this season. It may be a stupid reason to pick a club, but there it is. The Bobby Moore connection could have been a deal breaker, but the '66 World Cup was a long time ago.

So, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"

Chim Chimney Chim Chimney Chim Chim Charoo!We Hate Those B*****ds in Claret and Blue!

 

[GoFishTN]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

Please let this happen

 

[Txns8]

A buddy of mine emailed me and said to pretend every break went the US's way in the past few years in terms of injuries and choices and come up with a lineup.It is pretty amazing how strong the US lineup could have been.................................HowardChandler....Subotic....Cameron....Johnson.......Holden......Bradley......Jones...............Dempsey..........Jozy...........RossiBench Depth: Boyd, Herc, Boca, Edu, Cherundolo, Landon etcIf it was a one game take all today, I think I would start Boca over Cameron but I put Cameron in the lineup looking towards the future. Dempsey and Jones would be the only starting players that would need replacing because of age in the next few years. Wow, would this have be fun to watch develop over the next 4-5 years :(

Where would you see Davies?

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

Swap Allen for Shelvey, and you've got my starting lineup, too.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

Swap Allen for Shelvey, and you've got my starting lineup, too.

Dempsey for Downing in the future if he transfers?

 

[NewlyRetired]

A buddy of mine emailed me and said to pretend every break went the US's way in the past few years in terms of injuries and choices and come up with a lineup.It is pretty amazing how strong the US lineup could have been.................................HowardChandler....Subotic....Cameron....Johnson.......Holden......Bradley......Jones...............Dempsey..........Jozy...........RossiBench Depth: Boyd, Herc, Boca, Edu, Cherundolo, Landon etcIf it was a one game take all today, I think I would start Boca over Cameron but I put Cameron in the lineup looking towards the future. Dempsey and Jones would be the only starting players that would need replacing because of age in the next few years. Wow, would this have be fun to watch develop over the next 4-5 years :(

Where would you see Davies?

Yikes, I forgot about Davies injury. I guess he would add to the bench depth. The competition would be healthy for everyone.

 

[Brady Marino]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

Swap Allen for Shelvey, and you've got my starting lineup, too.

Dempsey for Downing in the future if he transfers?

One can dream.

 

[Eephus]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

Swap Allen for Shelvey, and you've got my starting lineup, too.

Dempsey for Downing in the future if he transfers?

One can dream.

Raheem Sterling is for the dreamers

 

[PIK95]

Pretty freaking excited for tomorrow. Here's who I hope starts for the Reds:

                ReinaJohnson    Skrtel    Agger     Enrique                Lucas        Gerrard       Shelvey Downing                      Suarez                Borini

Allen should come on as a sub

Swap Allen for Shelvey, and you've got my starting lineup, too.

Dempsey for Downing in the future if he transfers?

One can dream.

Raheem Sterling is for the dreamers

I'm ordering a Sterling shirt for my son and a Dempsey one for me as soon as it's official. YNWA!

 

[Rustoleum]

I used to think Howard was overrated. Perhaps I was mistaken.

Perhaps...

Overrated? wtf? When?

Pretty much all of my exposure to Howard has been through watching the USMNT. I watch very little soccer other than World Cup. maybe a little EPL here and there when channel surfing.A constant part of the commentary has always been how awesome he is, but the footage just seemedto be him #####ing at the defense whenever anything gets near the box, and I don't recall seeing a ton of clean scoresheets in that time either. Granted, for years the US was prone to spectacular defensive breakdowns that resulted in quick goals, so he was justified in looking pissed off all the time, but if the end result really wasn't going to change whether he was in goal or not, then I felt that he really wasn't all that, and the hype was just to make US fans think we were elite at t he most visible position to a cause (edit: casual damn iPad autocorrect) fan, since everywhere else on the pitch we were wayyy behind the skill level of most of the rest of the soccer playing world.Dunno. Maybe because I've mostly only seen him play, and the US lacked finishers to pressure opposing goalkeepers for much of my viewing lifetime, I haven't truly seen how much better he is than other international keepers. That said, those two saves were awesome, and he doesn't make those stupid faces like that English guy, so I am revisiting my previous opinion.

So you only saw him play a handful of games and came to your opinion about him being over-rated. And now you've seen him make a couple of great saves and are revisiting.Well- ok, then.

It's more than handful of games, but it's been almost all. USMNT nonetheless (Gold Cup, Confed Cup, WCQ, and some international friendlies), I should have stated that better, but other than that, yeah, pretty much. Other than occasional highlights, I don't think I've seen more than a few minutes of Howard's EPL career.I wouldn't say I've done a total 180 or anything, but that brief stretch of play did come a ways towards matching up some of the hype from the US announcers with actual play.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

rumor has it that Sahin was waiting on this decision before making a call between Liverpool and Arsenal... looks like it's the Gunner's.

Sahin would be an excellent acquisition, although I'm guessing it would just be on loan. Real holds the cards and we know Wenger doesn't overpay for anyone.

 

[El Floppo]

This Dempsey thing is starting to piss me off.

That and three straight days of sucking down Theraflu.

 

[charvik]

Well, apparently after practice this morning, Alex Song sat down with Wenger and asked to leave. From the sound of it - per my biased Arsenal news sources - Song's agent had been talking to other teams despite Song having 3 years left on his Arsenal contract. Apparently Arsenal agreed to the 17 mm GBP transfer fee from Barca without conferring with Wenger, who wanted to have a sit-down 1-on-1 with Song to discuss before signing off on anything. After practice this morning, they had that meeting, Song asked to leave - Wenger approved the transfer, Song cleaned out his locker, and won't play tomorrow against Sunderland.Oh well.

I guess this isn't quite correct. Song has already agreed to terms with Barca, but the transfer fee has not been approved. Barca and Arsenal are in talks, fee is believed to be about 17 mm GBP.

rumor has it that Sahin was waiting on this decision before making a call between Liverpool and Arsenal... looks like it's the Gunner's.

Sahin would be an excellent acquisition, although I'm guessing it would just be on loan. Real holds the cards and we know Wenger doesn't overpay for anyone.

Yeah, that was/is for a one year loan I believe

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Feels like Christmas Eve

 

[El Floppo]

Feels like Christmas Eve

So United shot down a Chels approach for Cheech.I'm still saying Dempsey would look good and play well in Blue. Not the pacey guy they maybe are looking for to play next to Torres, but I still think would be a good fit up high.