This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
That makes sense.
TU, I would agree except United are equally banged up and also have a midweek match the following week. I still think United will win (but I'm a fan and always think we'll win), but it'll be close. I have a hard time believing Harry will really field his weakest team. I think he's trying to make a point with Levy or whomever that he needs more players or more likely BETTER players.
Bruce has done a great job with Wigan, but I can't buy them being better than Everton - in the last 4 years they've finished in the top 6 three times and look like they will do it again this year. Moyes is a great coach, a potential successor to SAF and has done a nice job while he's been there. Wigan has some good looking players and it's a shame because they most likely won't keep them long term.
Bellamy is a meant as a stop-gap until City can get someone in better in the summer. Then he'll be used as cover at striker and right wing. I agree that they paid too much for him. They had to get someone in and he should be better than anything currently on their roster.As for De Jong, I saw an article dated Dec. 17th saying he resigned for Hamburg which meant the buyout clause was removed or alterted. Most of the media only noted his buyout clause so I'm not sure if the article was bogus or the media are not up to speed. Also, there were a couple of more high profile teams (such as Real) poking around and were interested in him in the summer. So City had to overpay to get him in now.As for the keeper, they keep talking to New Castle about Given. If a deal gets done I would guess it'll be after City play them on Wednesday.All in all, they're better skilled than they were a few weeks ago. They solidified their biggest weakness at LB with Bridge. Still need a CB or another defensive mid so they can move Kompany to CB.
almost?
Christo said:
And anyone who thinks "soccer=boring" has no brain.Stupid noob question No. 4:In that game, Villa was awarded a free kick about 5 yards outside the box and I saw two things I've never seen before: 1) As the Villa player approached the ball, two Doncaster guys that made up the wall ran at him. What's up with that?2) Also, there was a Doncaster guy on the line guarding the left side of the goal (as you faced him). Hence, the goalie really only was responsible for the right side (which was good because that's where the ball went). I don't recall seeing a defender right on the line in previous free kicks I've seen (granted, I haven't seen that many). Is that SOP and I've just been missing it?Thanks.1) The foul was obstruction rather than a trip or kick. The free kick for that infraction is indirect rather than direct. That means the first person to kick the ball cannot shoot at the goal. It has to be touched before the shot. Like any other free kick, the defensive team is allowed to move towards the ball as soon as its kicked the first time.2) Not to my knowledge. It's SOP for a corner kick. But you usually don't see it on a free kick because it plays all of the offensive players onside.Christo said:And anyone who thinks "soccer=boring" has no brain.Stupid noob question No. 4:In that game, Villa was awarded a free kick about 5 yards outside the box and I saw two things I've never seen before: 1) As the Villa player approached the ball, two Doncaster guys that made up the wall ran at him. What's up with that?2) Also, there was a Doncaster guy on the line guarding the left side of the goal (as you faced him). Hence, the goalie really only was responsible for the right side (which was good because that's where the ball went). I don't recall seeing a defender right on the line in previous free kicks I've seen (granted, I haven't seen that many). Is that SOP and I've just been missing it?Thanks.
Thanks for the insight. It DID look like the foul was pretty ticky tacky; hence, the indirect rather than the direct kick (I had no idea there was a difference).If I catch it on replay I'll check, but I could have sworn the Doncaster guys were running towards the kicker BEFORE he kicked. Maybe not.I see what you mean about not having a player on the line in regards to everybody then being onside. Very strange. Ya learn something new every day...1) The foul was obstruction rather than a trip or kick. The free kick for that infraction is indirect rather than direct. That means the first person to kick the ball cannot shoot at the goal. It has to be touched before the shot. Like any other free kick, the defensive team is allowed to move towards the ball as soon as its kicked the first time.2) Not to my knowledge. It's SOP for a corner kick. But you usually don't see it on a free kick because it plays all of the offensive players onside.Christo said:And anyone who thinks "soccer=boring" has no brain.Stupid noob question No. 4:In that game, Villa was awarded a free kick about 5 yards outside the box and I saw two things I've never seen before: 1) As the Villa player approached the ball, two Doncaster guys that made up the wall ran at him. What's up with that?2) Also, there was a Doncaster guy on the line guarding the left side of the goal (as you faced him). Hence, the goalie really only was responsible for the right side (which was good because that's where the ball went). I don't recall seeing a defender right on the line in previous free kicks I've seen (granted, I haven't seen that many). Is that SOP and I've just been missing it?Thanks.
Osasuna has been looking pretty good these last few weeks. They could have and should have won their last two matches versus Real and Barca. I would be surprised to see the relegated if they keep up this form.
Sevilla is currently losing to Racing at home as well (though Racing are now down to 10 men). Hopefully Real will struggle with Deportivo today, though I doubt it considering their recent good form and Deportivo's terrible play of late.
bumpAs the driver of the official Sacha Kljestan bandwagon, I can say I approve this move....as long as it's not some team in fear of being relegated.
It was implied.I didn't see the game though.Steve Tasker for Prez said:bumpAs the driver of the official Sacha Kljestan bandwagon, I can say I approve this move....as long as it's not some team in fear of being relegated.
The free kick was a great goal. The PK I thought was average, but whatever. And the other was a pretty good play all the way around. He looks good and I can't see him not getting more PT with the 1st squad. He looks like the real deal as a solid attacking mid.Too hard to say everything was awesome, when it was B team against B team, but US looked pretty good.
It is very fun for me.
Me too
And Pskov makes a good point - Barça haven't been playing boring soccer this season.
No, Barça needs to return to failing even though they have top talent. It was much better that way. :bitteratletifan:
Why not just enjoy Real and others do that?
For those interested, Goal.com has replays of all the goals in the game. I agree with the above assessment, except to add that Ching made a GREAT play on the third goal, controlling a very difficult pass coming over his shoulder, and laying it off perfectly to Sacha. The play still needed at least a decent finish, and Sacha provided that.
The Ching play was an amazing athletic play for a big man. You can also see all the highlights on Youtube right after any US game if people miss a game.Like others it is hard to get too excited about such a meaningless friendly. I was disappointed to not see more of the first team especially with the Mexico game right around the corner. This may have been the last chance to play together before that game.Sacha's recent play (even ignoring the hat trick), was putting pressure on Bradley to find a way to get him into the line up. The problem is that we all know that Bradley seems to prefer two holding midfielders. I don't see Sacha performing well in that role, which could limit his ability to get on the field.
fixed
I watched the game and it was painful. They didn't have a number of first team choices due to injury, but the real problem for me was the midfield play. They started Ramsey and Song as the Center Halfs... and honestly, they both were awful for the entire first half. Ramsey seemed to let the crowd get to him(he came to Arsenal from Cardiff and was getting jeered quite a bit). Eboue on the right wing was probably the worst player on the pitch. His passes are terrible and he made an obvious dive in the box to earn a yellow card. I've grown tired of his antics. The squad seemed to pick up a bit when they replaced Ramsey with Diaby and Eboue with Adebayor(moving Bendtner out wide right), but it also could have just been that Cardiff was running themselves into the ground. Adebayor missed an easy strike from point blank which should have given Arsenal the win.... however, Cardiff could have easily scored about 3 or 4 times in the first half.Nasri was solid as usual, Van Persie played a good game and Bendtner had a decent game. Sagna, Toure and Djouru were all solid and the one extreme positive of the game is that Keiran Gibbs filled in nicely for the suspended Clichy.Jack Wilshere came on with like 3 minutes remaining. I really wish that Wenger would start giving him some more time when we are without our top midfield options. Also, I believe that Vela would have seen some time in this game had he not fallen ill in warm ups. The squad seems to perk up when he injects his pace as well.I'm officially over 1000+ posts in this threadDid anyone see the Arsenal-Cardiff game this weekend? I didn't, just wondering how the Gunners looked. From the stuff I was reading, it seemed like they played an A/B side and were on the back foot for the first 60 before pouring on the pressure for the last 30. Ended in a 0-0 draw though, replay at the Emirates coming up on February 3rd.
Because only poseurs change allegiances just because one team is doing better.
Z is not a fan of any of the top la Liga teams this year. His hate for Barca seems to grow as their success does. Don't know what you are talking about here.I thought he was an Atletico Madrid fan.Z is not a fan of any of the top la Liga teams this year. His hate for Barca seems to grow as their success does. Don't know what you are talking about here.
Right, but there are plenty of under performing top teams to delight in this year. Particularly Real Madrid, which was my point.I thought he was an Atletico Madrid fan.
Exactly, particularly his cross town rivals who have been great entertainment to watch this year losing to REal Union and such.
tough one here. Beckham's season at LA was highly disappointing, injury filled, team was bad, etc... But, he did bring a spotlight to the league like no other before him. If he comes back, does that spotlight stay on again this year? Maybe, but I think it will wear thin fairly quickly as the casual fan will see that one player can't really dominate, you need a team to be good. I didn't read all the details of the transfer, and how much LA would be on the hook for subsequent years, etc.... But, if I were LA, I think I'd want to make sure Beckham 100% wants to come back and play in the states before rejecting the transfer. I couldn't help but catch some of the Milan game this weekend, and that team is loaded and I think Beckham enjoys playing on the highest stage all the time (United, Real, Milan - these are not just good teams, these are storied franchises). If he isn't 100% committed, I think maybe accept the transfer, bolster up the finances and try going after other, mid-tier star type players that could be great at the MLS level. Just the way I think about it.Other tidbits from the EPL....Keane back to Spurs? Wow, I know Keane's time at Liverpool hasn't been great, and he's been very unhappy about his playing time, but Liverpool would be making a big mistake (imo) in letting Keane go. Of course I'm not privy to the back story and his relationship with Benitez, but Liverpool struggles to score, and Torres is a very good player, but he needs someone else up top with him to open the game, and Kuyt is not that guy. I'm not sure why Keane isn't getting full games to be honest, he makes a perfect compliment to Torresandy_b said:
Spurs need a striker. Pavlychenko has been nothing short of dreadful this year. Bent is highly skilled, but probably best served as a reserve striker. Losing Berbatov killed their attack. They brought back Defoe, and he's decent, bringing back Keane would be a pretty big coup here. Of course, their biggest concern is defense/goal and with King and Gomes hurt, right now they are teetering on relegation which would be a pretty big story. Another team bordering on relegation is Bolton - and they just made a big money bid to Veloso from Sporting. I recall United was after him for a while (although I'm hoping they make a bid for Sergio Ramos still), and this is really not like Bolton - but I think they need to do something. Dropping from the premiership costs a club millions and millions of dollars, and while some clubs are tight with the proverbial purse strings, I think they see that sometimes you need to spend a little to make a little.Lastly, Arshavin to Arsenal is getting sewed up the last I heard. I'd be really, really, really interested to see this happen. Gunners lost a ton in the midfield/attack and Arshavin seems a guy perfectly suited to play there, keeps the ball on the ground, quick, crisp passes, makes great runs. I hope he makes a bigger impact (if he goes) on the EPL than Pavlychenko has. Russia was a fun team to watch Euro2008
We also have to factor in Donovan to the equation here as well in case he stays in Germany. LA goes from having arguably the two biggest stars in the league to losing them. Granted it will free up a ton of space, but there is likely no time to rebuild the team for the start of the season and will now have to wait until the summer to complete any transfers in.I too worry about the opt-out in October. I am weary of that "fact" since I have never heard about it until now. If it is true, I think get as much money from Milan as you can (say $8M or above) and rethink the situation in LA.
Gotcha. I still think it applies. I was born with a hatred for Notre Dame that burns with the white hot intensity of a thousand burning suns (as was any good Sooners fan). It has not abated with ND's fall from grace. And it can never be transferred to another school.
Horrible game by Stuttgart. Bayern looked like the better team from the beginning. The final result could have been even higher. Ribery had a penalty shot that he gave away. Olić (the new guy for Podolski) had three goals for Hamburg yesterday.The third round of the DFB Pokal was played today and Bayern dismantled Stuttgart 5:1 with goals from Schweinsteiger (twice), Toni, Ribery and Ze Roberto. Stuttgart’s goal was scored by Gomez.Donovan got around 25 minutes in and put one wide and one straight at Lehman.The second half of the Bundesliga gets going this weekend; starting with Bayern on Gol TV on Friday.
I knew when Beckham was coming in to the MLS he thought his international career was over. I don't know why I forgot to consider his resurgence in England a huge reason for him wanting to return to a top flight league like Serie A. It makes sense, and I agree with the writer that if Beckham does stay with Milan that I see him returning to the MLS eventually.
