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The Soccer thread
- Thread starter goldemblem
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Looks like no harm done. Brazil leads.
...
...and Brazil wins. What a shocker.
You know, they need to find a way to play ALL of their games in Africa; they always win!
...
...and Brazil wins. What a shocker.
You know, they need to find a way to play ALL of their games in Africa; they always win!
Eh, I kinda feel let down in this game. It seems like the U.S. went back to lets play D all the time in the second half. In the first half, they came out strong and got those two quick goals. Then they played conservative in the second half, and thats what kileld them. It seemed like Brazil had the ball all the time, and when USA had it they would turn it over. Howard couldnt save them all, but he did play well I thought. His D just wasnt giving him that effort in return.
First things first - good riddance. Owen epitomised the reason why we went down...our top players just didn't seem to care as long as they were getting their fat pay package.
But this is the only signing so far that has made me actually want to watch the Premiership next season. There's few players more exciting than an on-form Owen and Alex Ferguson knows exactly how to bring that out. There's doubters now but I have a feeling that Ferguson will be getting showered with praise in the near future for this decision.
It's also great news for England. Assuming Owen does well and gets his place back then it'll be nice to have him and Rooney up front for both club and country so they can gel together. It has been said a million times that the only thing holding England back is their inability to work together so it'll be nice to have a cohesive strikeforce.
But this is the only signing so far that has made me actually want to watch the Premiership next season. There's few players more exciting than an on-form Owen and Alex Ferguson knows exactly how to bring that out. There's doubters now but I have a feeling that Ferguson will be getting showered with praise in the near future for this decision.
It's also great news for England. Assuming Owen does well and gets his place back then it'll be nice to have him and Rooney up front for both club and country so they can gel together. It has been said a million times that the only thing holding England back is their inability to work together so it'll be nice to have a cohesive strikeforce.
The only reason that keeps me from complaining about the Owen saga is the fact that it was a free move and his wages have been intelligently handled; low with a "pay to play" stipulation documented on his contract.
I feel we need a Essien or a David Silva before this window is closed.
I feel we need a Essien or a David Silva before this window is closed.
I still think that Utd. lack a prolific goalscorer, and until they can get that I can see them struggling to maintain their domination.
Our squad is in better shape than many people think in fact. Michael Owen is a good piece of business, he had a better goals to game ratio than Tevez last season playing for a considerably shitter Newcastle team and cost £25m less. Brown and Hargreaves are virtually new signings, and Brown will improve what was the best defence in the world last season. Hopefully Ferdinand will be fit more too. There's also a lot more to come from Berbatov, Nani and Anderson in particular and Rooney will improve should he not come back for pre-season overweight and carrying a virus like last season. And there's youngsters like Welbeck, Rafael, Fabio, Macheda, Evans etc who are a year younger and wiser.
I don't expect any more buys unless its a special talent, like a Rooney or maybe even another midfielder if Fergie doesn't trust Hargreaves' fitness and Scholes' form.
I don't expect any more buys unless its a special talent, like a Rooney or maybe even another midfielder if Fergie doesn't trust Hargreaves' fitness and Scholes' form.
I don't see how Rooney isn't a 'prolific goalscorer'- he may not have scored as many as Ronaldo last season but he was being played out of position on the right for most of the season to accomodate him. Now he's gone, you can expect Rooney to drift back into a more central role next season and score a lot more goals.
As for Owen, I was sceptical at first, but it really is a complete risk-free deal that could come off brilliantly for United. He's also not going to be complaining too much about being left on the bench, a la Tevez last season. Sure, Owen isn't going to be the most reliable striker, but Ferguson's still got at least 64m to find another striker (you can't rely on Owen as a sure-fire third striker, as he _will_ get injured) and someone to boss the play from midfield.
Slightly unrelated, but I think that Man City have more reason to be worried than United at the moment- with Kaka, Terry and potentially Eto'o all turning down potential moves, it's going to get harder and harder for big-name players to accept the money and move until City have proven that they are genuine contenders- which they have no hope of doing with their current squad. Don't get me wrong, Barry and Santa Cruz are steps forward, but I can't see them challenging for CL football next season.
We don't need another striker. Berbatov and Owen can lead the line; Rooney behind either one of them. Macheda and Welbeck can develop, but will be given chances when necessary.
A player who can play on the left side of midfield and a midfielder who can break up the play is what we need. Essien and David Silva would be dream selections of mine, but there is De Rossi from Roma and perhaps Mata from Valencia who I wouldn't say no to.
A player who can play on the left side of midfield and a midfielder who can break up the play is what we need. Essien and David Silva would be dream selections of mine, but there is De Rossi from Roma and perhaps Mata from Valencia who I wouldn't say no to.
Macheida is on loan to a team no? Rooney is a very hard working striker, infact he's too hard working to be what utd. needs. They need a Nistelrooy
So Tevez has gone Man City and Adebayor looks like he's following. In my opinion £25 for adebayor is a amazing deal for us, i wouldn't rate him much above £12 after how hes playing, hopefully we can hijack Stuttgarts deal for Huntelaar as hes the type of striker we really need. As for City they are buying too many strikers, they have a rubbish defence and at this rate are dreaming if they think this is suddenly going to make them a great team.
£25m is not that great a price for him, it's pretty close to his value but considering that this time last year he was worth around £30m and that Glen fucking Johnson cost £17m and Roque "Only one good season in 10 years" Santa Cruz cost £17m too, and that you're selling to moneybags city I think you could have gotten £5m more on top of that.
I think if Manchester City can sign the right central defenders (they're in dream land if they expect to prize Terry and Lescott away from their respective clubs) and score a deal on Adebayor, they could be a real force in the upcoming season. I must say I'm a little more worried about how well they could do if it all gels, than I thought I would've been.
As for the Michael Owen deal, seeing as he came on a free, I have no problems with it now. If he gets injured, then we're down a striker and it gives Macheda and Welbeck more chances to be impact players. I expect Owen to score more goals this season than Tévez did in either of his, though. Whether we can replace Ronaldo's goals, we'll wait and see. But an on-song Rooney, Berbatov, and Owen should hopefully match the combined totals we've been used to seeing from Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tévez (60-80).
Our midfield could be fine now if Hargreaves returns and stays injury free, but I would like us to 'break the bank' and get Douglas Costa sooner rather than later since he looks promising and could be our next terrorising winger. You have to look at the list of players we have for the midfield role in the upcoming Premier League season: Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher, Anderson, Hargreaves, Gibson; Valencia, Park, Tosic, Nani, Obertan. I've probably missed someone, but Possebon is on loan to accomodate more space and O'Shea can play defensive midfield if we have a ridiculous amount of injuries. Another central midfielder could be a good idea, but someone relatively young and promising could be a better choice (I'm talking probably over 22) as Scholes and Giggs are on their last legs.
Remember that in all honesty, we've still yet to see Nani, Anderson, and other talented youngers at United reach their true potential, I think this season, we could see more from Nani now he's not outshined completely by Ronaldo, and Anderson will only get stronger and more experienced in the middle. Berbatov will hopefully settle a bit more and push past the 20-goal mark, and hopefully Rooney can finally stay up front where he needs to be and be that 25+ a season man everyone expects him to be.
I can see us lining up like this most of the time in the next season:
Obviously it could be a lot different sometimes. Scholes and Giggs are the players who will be used even more sparingly, so this will be where our other attacking players (Obertan, Macheda, Welbeck) will get their chances on the bench. While Park will also probably feature a lot, it's just difficult to fit them all in a squad. Park could also be seen playing in the middle a bit more.
Neville is a player I'm unsure of now, but he will get his play-time like everyone else. I just feel that Wes Brown is the most complete right back we have, he'll be like a new signing if he stays fit. It's a nice competition to have with Neville, Rafael, and Brown all fighting for one space, though I think the team will almost always feature two of them since one will get the bench position. I feel safer with O'Shea always on the bench, since he can fill in for any defender, and not just at right or left back which is all you can really have Rafael or Fabio doing.
It should be another exciting season as always anyway, and there's bound to be more breaking news in the transfer window yet (ala Ibrahimovic going to Barcelona). I've got my new Man Utd shirt now and I can't wait for it to all start again.
And to the poster about Fifa 2010, I'll probably buy it for the Wii when I can. I'll be glad to start a league for it when I get it, but I'm going to assume that most people on this forum who buy football games will be purchasing them for the Xbox or Playstation...
Edit: Oh and if by some chance we can hijack the deal for Huntelaar I'd be over the moon. If Stuttgart or Arsenal manage to snap him up cheap from Madrid, they are getting one hell of a deal. But we can only hope..
As for the Michael Owen deal, seeing as he came on a free, I have no problems with it now. If he gets injured, then we're down a striker and it gives Macheda and Welbeck more chances to be impact players. I expect Owen to score more goals this season than Tévez did in either of his, though. Whether we can replace Ronaldo's goals, we'll wait and see. But an on-song Rooney, Berbatov, and Owen should hopefully match the combined totals we've been used to seeing from Rooney, Ronaldo, and Tévez (60-80).
Our midfield could be fine now if Hargreaves returns and stays injury free, but I would like us to 'break the bank' and get Douglas Costa sooner rather than later since he looks promising and could be our next terrorising winger. You have to look at the list of players we have for the midfield role in the upcoming Premier League season: Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher, Anderson, Hargreaves, Gibson; Valencia, Park, Tosic, Nani, Obertan. I've probably missed someone, but Possebon is on loan to accomodate more space and O'Shea can play defensive midfield if we have a ridiculous amount of injuries. Another central midfielder could be a good idea, but someone relatively young and promising could be a better choice (I'm talking probably over 22) as Scholes and Giggs are on their last legs.
Remember that in all honesty, we've still yet to see Nani, Anderson, and other talented youngers at United reach their true potential, I think this season, we could see more from Nani now he's not outshined completely by Ronaldo, and Anderson will only get stronger and more experienced in the middle. Berbatov will hopefully settle a bit more and push past the 20-goal mark, and hopefully Rooney can finally stay up front where he needs to be and be that 25+ a season man everyone expects him to be.
I can see us lining up like this most of the time in the next season:
Van der Sar
Brown Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Valencia Carrick Anderson Nani
Rooney Berbatov
--
Subs: Foster; Rafael, O'Shea; Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs; Owen
Brown Ferdinand Vidic Evra
Valencia Carrick Anderson Nani
Rooney Berbatov
--
Subs: Foster; Rafael, O'Shea; Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs; Owen
Obviously it could be a lot different sometimes. Scholes and Giggs are the players who will be used even more sparingly, so this will be where our other attacking players (Obertan, Macheda, Welbeck) will get their chances on the bench. While Park will also probably feature a lot, it's just difficult to fit them all in a squad. Park could also be seen playing in the middle a bit more.
Neville is a player I'm unsure of now, but he will get his play-time like everyone else. I just feel that Wes Brown is the most complete right back we have, he'll be like a new signing if he stays fit. It's a nice competition to have with Neville, Rafael, and Brown all fighting for one space, though I think the team will almost always feature two of them since one will get the bench position. I feel safer with O'Shea always on the bench, since he can fill in for any defender, and not just at right or left back which is all you can really have Rafael or Fabio doing.
It should be another exciting season as always anyway, and there's bound to be more breaking news in the transfer window yet (ala Ibrahimovic going to Barcelona). I've got my new Man Utd shirt now and I can't wait for it to all start again.
And to the poster about Fifa 2010, I'll probably buy it for the Wii when I can. I'll be glad to start a league for it when I get it, but I'm going to assume that most people on this forum who buy football games will be purchasing them for the Xbox or Playstation...
Edit: Oh and if by some chance we can hijack the deal for Huntelaar I'd be over the moon. If Stuttgart or Arsenal manage to snap him up cheap from Madrid, they are getting one hell of a deal. But we can only hope..
Well Adebayor did go to City, and you've also lost Nasri for three months due to a broken leg in training. There are also reports that Huntelaar has agreed a move to Stuttgart already (I don't understand why he'd bother going to Germany if there is any interest from a Premier League club though). Doesn't seem like a great time to be an Arsenal fan. Still, at least you've got Rosicky back, eh? Wenger needs to sign a good few players quickly. I think Arsenal need at least another striker, midfielder, and defender of high quality if they expect to challenge for the league at all now. They may even need that just to stay in the top four at this rate.
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