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2012/2013 Soccer/Football thread
- Thread starter tml
- Start date
Andy Carroll looked pumped for the few minutes he played. I still would rather Liverpool playing a 4-4-2.
WARNING: BIG POST
Premier League teams roundup.
Arsenal look short on attack, but have hope in a vastly improved defence, and Santi Cazorla. However, I predict a non-top four finish, as they need their finishing to improve.
Aston Villa have been torrid, and it will only get worse. I said before the start of the season that they would get relegated, and I stand by that. A better attacking threat is needed for survival.
Chelsea are in form, and so is Torres, who I predict to snatch the Golden Boot. Hazard has been great so far, but improvements need to be made. Chelsea usually lay off the pressure once going two goals up, when they could take advantage of the situation and increase their goal difference. They also rely heavily on penalties. I predict 2nd place.
I will add more when I have time.
Everton have been brillian
Premier League teams roundup.
Arsenal look short on attack, but have hope in a vastly improved defence, and Santi Cazorla. However, I predict a non-top four finish, as they need their finishing to improve.
Aston Villa have been torrid, and it will only get worse. I said before the start of the season that they would get relegated, and I stand by that. A better attacking threat is needed for survival.
Chelsea are in form, and so is Torres, who I predict to snatch the Golden Boot. Hazard has been great so far, but improvements need to be made. Chelsea usually lay off the pressure once going two goals up, when they could take advantage of the situation and increase their goal difference. They also rely heavily on penalties. I predict 2nd place.
I will add more when I have time.
Everton have been brillian
Flog Walcott for a decent fee (20mil+), buy back RVP for 50mil. Problem solved!
In all honesty, I wouldn't be fussed in the slightest at Walcott leaving. He is an injury waiting to happen with no end product and no dribbling or passing or finishing ability. The only thing I'd like to see Walcott do is be paired up front with Giroud in a 442 with two destroyers like Wilshere and Frimpong holding the midfield together. Otherwise I still believe he is absolutely wasted out on the wing because he doesn't have any of the qualities of a proper winger like Valencia or Ronaldo or even Oxlade-Chamberlain... We have Chambo, Podolski, Cazorla, Gervinho (and Arshavin??) and a whole bunch of randoms that are waiting for their chance to play on the wing so it's not like Walcott is needed, or has been needed for some time.
But that was just rumour anyway. Arsenal in general need another top quality striker (which we 100% will not get) and another good centre back for backup (which we will most likely not get seeing as Miquel has been drafted into the first team squad) and I'd personally like to see another proper winger being signed in the mould of Chambo and Cazorla (which we 100% will not get).
So in summary, this is the Arsenal XI I have come to accept as acceptable for this season:
Comparing with the first XI from 2 seasons ago is depressing stuff but at least the centre back and goalie positions are stronger, and I've come to trust Wenger to pull 3rd/4th out of his arse so I don't really have any concerns about getting CL football. However if the cheese eating surrender monkey(s) would only have kept RVP for one more season, and, dare I say it, bought expensive shit like Hazard (who he scouted for a good few years...) with the money that he isn't in short supply of (he has a transfer kitty of estimated 50mil still to spend right now) then maybe, just maybe, we could have pushed for #1 like we were doing just 2 seasons ago!!!
But I couldn't stay mad at Wenger, he's a cool cucumber.
edit: Just saw that Dembele is being signed by Spurs. He's a really good player and I keep wondering why Wenger doesn't show any interest, he could work great as an attacking mid and push Cazorla onto the wing. Too late now!
In all honesty, I wouldn't be fussed in the slightest at Walcott leaving. He is an injury waiting to happen with no end product and no dribbling or passing or finishing ability. The only thing I'd like to see Walcott do is be paired up front with Giroud in a 442 with two destroyers like Wilshere and Frimpong holding the midfield together. Otherwise I still believe he is absolutely wasted out on the wing because he doesn't have any of the qualities of a proper winger like Valencia or Ronaldo or even Oxlade-Chamberlain... We have Chambo, Podolski, Cazorla, Gervinho (and Arshavin??) and a whole bunch of randoms that are waiting for their chance to play on the wing so it's not like Walcott is needed, or has been needed for some time.
But that was just rumour anyway. Arsenal in general need another top quality striker (which we 100% will not get) and another good centre back for backup (which we will most likely not get seeing as Miquel has been drafted into the first team squad) and I'd personally like to see another proper winger being signed in the mould of Chambo and Cazorla (which we 100% will not get).
So in summary, this is the Arsenal XI I have come to accept as acceptable for this season:
Szczesny
Sagna Vermaelen Koscielny Gibbs
Wilshere Arteta
Gervinho Cazorla Podolski
Giroud
Sagna Vermaelen Koscielny Gibbs
Wilshere Arteta
Gervinho Cazorla Podolski
Giroud
Comparing with the first XI from 2 seasons ago is depressing stuff but at least the centre back and goalie positions are stronger, and I've come to trust Wenger to pull 3rd/4th out of his arse so I don't really have any concerns about getting CL football. However if the cheese eating surrender monkey(s) would only have kept RVP for one more season, and, dare I say it, bought expensive shit like Hazard (who he scouted for a good few years...) with the money that he isn't in short supply of (he has a transfer kitty of estimated 50mil still to spend right now) then maybe, just maybe, we could have pushed for #1 like we were doing just 2 seasons ago!!!
But I couldn't stay mad at Wenger, he's a cool cucumber.
edit: Just saw that Dembele is being signed by Spurs. He's a really good player and I keep wondering why Wenger doesn't show any interest, he could work great as an attacking mid and push Cazorla onto the wing. Too late now!
Dembele moves...to tottenham. Never saw that coming considering they already have siguardson and van de vaart. It'll be interesting to see how they play.
beautiful
Yeah,you're really lucky they signed AVB :P And I'd have watched Madrid win if it wasn't at 2 in the morning....oh well. And I'm sure we all agree that Spurs aren't gonna get CL football next season.
Yeah how unlucky has Robert Green been in his career lol? Saw respectable West Ham go to shit, saw his England career evaporate before it even started and young upstart Joe Hart take his place, and now his starting place is uncertain already after just signing for QPR.
That fumble at the 2010 WC must still be running through his head as the day his career fell off a cliff!
That fumble at the 2010 WC must still be running through his head as the day his career fell off a cliff!
Champion's League group stage draw going on. Real Madrid and Man City already in same group!
Official Groups:
A: FC Porto, Dinamo Kyiv, PSG, Dinamo Zagreb
B: Arsenal, FC Schalke, Olympiacos, Montpellier
C: AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, Malaga
D: Real Madrid, Man City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund
E: Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Nordsjaelland
F: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, BATE Borisov
G: Barca, Benfica, Spartak Moskva, Celtic,
H: Man United, Sporting Braga, Galatasaray, CFR Cluj
First Thoughts: Group D for Group of Death haha, let the conspiracy theorists for Man United's group roll?
Official Groups:
A: FC Porto, Dinamo Kyiv, PSG, Dinamo Zagreb
B: Arsenal, FC Schalke, Olympiacos, Montpellier
C: AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, Malaga
D: Real Madrid, Man City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund
E: Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Nordsjaelland
F: Bayern Munich, Valencia, Lille, BATE Borisov
G: Barca, Benfica, Spartak Moskva, Celtic,
H: Man United, Sporting Braga, Galatasaray, CFR Cluj
First Thoughts: Group D for Group of Death haha, let the conspiracy theorists for Man United's group roll?
