English Football Thread 2008-2009 Season [Archive]

Heath

07-18-2008, 02:57 PM

I am becoming increasingly worried about the state of Everton. The complete lack of activity in the transfer window, the fact Moyes has still yet to sign the contract that - apparently - has been ready to sign since the last game of the season and the complete quagmire over the Kirkby move. It's unbelievable that Moyes apparently won't have any real money to spend. It's all well and good expecting Moyes to deliver European qualification on a shoestring, but it's going to become increasingly more and more difficult. I will be fuming if we have to sell Johnson to fund transfers. We already need at least one more striker to replace McFadden. And looking at how our extremely small squad is floundering with injuries at the moment, I think Everton need to get a severe kick up the backside and get things sorted. Of course spending money doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but the squad is too small as it is and we need to strengthen it and increase our numbers or else the likes of Spurs, Man City and Villa could overtake us.

Other than that, everything's rosy. Besides, it's genetically impossible for Evertonians to be optimistic about anything.

Jess

07-19-2008, 01:59 AM

It's Newcastle's first friendly today. Hurray! :jess: It's not televised as far as I know (and I've checked five, setanta and ss) :( but I've missed football muchly!

Newcastle haven't impressed me thus far in the transfer window. We've signed two midfielders. The one area of the squad that wasn't in desperate need of new players....argh! Sign atleast ONE decent defender god damn. and don't let milner leave pleaaaaaaaaaaaase.

also; good season plz *hopeful* :love:

Psychotic

07-19-2008, 02:16 AM

Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal.

And win the CL. Of course.

charliepanayi

07-19-2008, 01:47 PM

Our season will go either one of two ways:

1. Spurred on by last year's near-miss (and it was a near-miss in a way, to finish only four points off even when we'd been utterly dismal from February to April and won one game in eight), the team will band together and go that extra step and deliver the title, or the CL.
2. Last season will have been a missed opportunity, and losing the element of surprise we had for a lot of last year when no-one expected us to do well, we'll spend the whole season toiling away to finish 3rd or even 4th (or worse!), miles behind the league leaders.

Which one will it be? I honestly don't know, it all depends on how we respond to losing players, who we buy, and whether Van Persie can stay fit, he can be a huge boost for us if he plays. I have to hope we can build on last year though, rather then have it as an aberration.

Chelsea to win the title...maybe.

07-21-2008, 05:40 PM

I like the signing of Nasri, and unless he has big problems adjusting to the English game I think he's an upgrade from Hleb. I'm more worried about the loss of Flamini and Gilberto, which leaves us with very few options in central midfield. I've liked Diaby when he's played in the "Vieira" role instead of being stuck out on the left, but I doubt he's ready to step in and play a full season, and I don't like the idea of Alex Song being called up for long-term duty in the event of an injury crisis.

I think squad depth will be our problem this season as it has been in the past. We've got a good selection of strikers available, especially if Carlos Vela works out, but elsewhere we just don't have the quality in reserve that you need to win consistently over nine months of the year.

That said, we did very well last year in spite of the same problem, so I could yet be proven wrong. And if Van Persie and Rosicky managed to stay fit for more than two weeks at a time, that's like two quality new signings right there. We'll need luck to win the title, but not an unrealistic amount.

On other matters, I can quite easily see all three promoted clubs going down this year. West Brom are the best of the three, and they don't look as good as Birmingham did last year. Meanwhile, a few of the established clubs that were looking threatened (Bolton, Fulham) look to have sorted themselves out a bit, and a bit of manager stability ought to help them stay safe. Man City are set for a good year under Mark Hughes, but Blackburn will drop into the bottom half of the table without him. And lastly, Spurs will learn how to defend and will actually push the top four like everyone said they were going to last year. They might even win a real trophy, although I really hope not.

champagne supernova

07-21-2008, 06:00 PM

I think Ronaldo will probably stay. All this nonsense seems to be a ploy by his agent to get him an improved contract.

Anyway, I see Chelsea as title contenders. Their squad is very efficient, and always seem to grind out results. But, one has to see what changes Scolari is going to make. And whether Lampard & Drogba are still there. Anelka & Shevchenko don't seem to fit well in the team. Anyway, also a work in progress.

I'm uncertain about Arsenal, because I don't know who's actually going to be left there when the season starts. Saw a report on Sky that teams want Gallas and van Persie now. So, Flamini, Hleb & Gilberto are gone, and as far as I'm aware, Wenger has only bought in Nasri to replace them in the short-term. If Gallas (who is class), van Persie & Adebayor also leave, and Wenger doesn't replace them, there could be problems. So, I'll wait until September 1 to determine what's going to happen to Arsenal.

I don't think Liverpool are going to contest again this year, which is a pity. There doesn't seem to be much transfer movement, and their main target is Gareth Barry. To be honest, I don't see how Barry is better than Alonso or Mascherano, so don't really know what the point is. What Liverpool really, really need is another top class striker and attack-minded midfielder. At the moment, if you nullify Torres and Gerrard, there isn't anyone else who they can look to.

And now, to Manchester United, who I support. A lot depends on whether Ronaldo stays or goes. Also, with Saha spending most of the time on the physio table, they need to buy a tall, big striker. Berbatov would be perfect, but that has to develop. I think that United have a very established squad will aid them in their title bid.

So, basically my predictions all depend on what happens until the end of the transfer window.

But, at the bottom, I think Bolton will go down this season. They haven't signed a striker to replace Anelka. Without his goals, they would have gone down last season.

Fulham should stay up, if they keep Bullard fit. I think that Sunderland also should stay up. West Brom look like they could be the newly promoted team to stay up. Hull I think will land up in the relegation battle, but dependant on who they sign, may stay up.

07-21-2008, 06:32 PM

Damn you all for underestimating the power of Dean Windass. It is his time to shine.

07-21-2008, 06:34 PM

Dean will be snapped up by Inter before this transfer window is out. Without him, and without Jay Jay Okocha, Hull are screwed.

Psychotic

07-21-2008, 07:07 PM

Nick Barmby will lead them to glory. You watch.

Also worried about plans to now offload Voronin. Not that he's crucial or key but he's not exactly the worst striker we've had in recent memory. With him gone, the only out and out striker we would have is Torres. Yeah, Kuyt, Gerrard and Babel can play up there, but they're better suited to other positions. Maybe we'll see Pachecho come up. He's a 17 year old striker we stole from Barca in the same manner than Arsenal nicked Fabregas, and he's looked very tasty in the two pre-season friendlies I've seen so far. Look out for him!

Heath

07-25-2008, 07:35 PM

Oh. We've extended Phil Neville's contract until 2012. It'll just be like having a new signing...

Oh Lord no.

Psychotic

07-25-2008, 07:57 PM

You think that's bad?

We've just signed Jean Alain Boumsong's cousin, David Ngog. :(

Heath

07-28-2008, 02:42 PM

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Johnson on verge of Fulham move (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/7520955.stm)

Oh bloody hell.

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Everton | Everton bid for Moutinho rejected (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/7527890.stm)

At least we're showing some ambition by going after a player like that, but when we already need at least one striker other striker, selling the likes of Johnson isn't good. I trust Moyes, I really do, but I also trust my instincts that we need at least five or six new players and I don't see us buying them if we're looking at spending £18m on one player. Where the hell has the money from the McFadden transfer gone?

07-28-2008, 03:22 PM

I think £12m is a good deal for Andy Johnson, and it shouldn't be hard to find a replacement for him. It's odd that you haven't been linked with many people over the summer though, so either Moyes is playing his cards cose to his chest or he's content with the squad he has. I'm assuming it's the former, since your squad has a frightening lack of depth, and the club won't move forward until that's addressed.

Heath

07-28-2008, 03:24 PM

It's the budget constraints that worry me though. It is good business and it's a healthy profit made on him, but with the money we have or haven't got, I'm unsure as to whether or not we can find a replacement or two for Johnson with the money we've got. Our defence is fine, but we certainly aren't the most prolific of goalscoring teams. Unless you're Sunderland or SK Brann.

Psychotic

07-28-2008, 03:29 PM

If Everton did land Moutinho that would be an extremely good buy for them.

Apparently we're on the verge of signing Craig Bellamy Mark 2, aka Robbie Keane. Upon signing he will probably undergo the standard Liverpool striker training of being locked in a room for 12 hours while people chant "You will only score 8 goals in a season" at him. Still, even if he isn't prolific (and he probably won't be!) I think he could be a good foil for good ol' Fernando.

07-28-2008, 03:37 PM

Andy wasn't exactly a goal machine for you though, Heath. What was it last year, five goals? Obviously Anichebe or Vaughan are a downgrade, but if the £12m gets you Moutinho, you might find that the better service from midfield makes you a more dangerous attacking force than you were last season. I'm not convinced of that myself, but I do think that Moyes is shrewd enough to have a striker lined up as a replacement. It might have to be someone cheap, but in terms of value for money it might be the right way to go.

EDIT: It saddens me to say this, but Robbie Keane is good enough to go to Liverpool and not suck. I really hope I'm wrong, because he was annoying enough at Spurs without us having to worry about his goals actually posing a threat to our league position.

Heath

07-28-2008, 03:51 PM

10 goals in 30 games, apparently. League and cup. I suppose he wasn't a goal machine, but Johnson had a bad season last season. He was excellent the season before. I suppose I'd just like Everton to play some more attacking football sometimes because too often I see us get draws in games we could win if we were better going forward. If we get more firepower up front, I shan't miss Johnson too much, but my worry is that we won't. Anichebe is good, I think, but as good as Johnson at the moment. And Vaughan is definitely promising, but spends too much time on the sidelines with injuries.

Psychotic

07-29-2008, 03:46 PM

I think £19m is a bit much for a player aged 28. But oh well, he is still a good addition. Rather him than Gareth Barry. I think one more signing - a top class winger (don't care which flank) - would be enough for me and enough to achieve the dream of finishing ahead of Arsenal.

EDIT: Huh. Ngog thread on a Liverpool forum I lurk at is longer than the Keane thread. Some think he is the second coming of Henry/Anelka/Benzema, others think he is the second coming of Anthony Le Tallec.

Loony BoB

07-29-2008, 05:38 PM

Oh, the difference between being called the second coming of Benzema/Henry and the second coming of Anelka...

07-29-2008, 09:52 PM

No way does Benzema get a second coming yet. Until he proves himself in a real league, he hasn't even had his first. :rolleyes2

Loony BoB

07-29-2008, 11:17 PM

No way does Benzema get a second coming yet. Until he proves himself in a real league, he hasn't even had his first. :rolleyes2
To be fair, having watched him in the Champion's League, that guy is freaking good. And he's only 20! Doesn't care for the PL though, so he'll probably go to La Liga. Gay.

Jess

07-30-2008, 01:10 AM

EDIT: Huh. Ngog thread on a Liverpool forum I lurk at is longer than the Keane thread. Some think he is the second coming of Henry/Anelka/Benzema, others think he is the second coming of Anthony Le Tallec.
Ngog is Boumsong's cousin. :bigsmile:

edit: crap. You already posted that. I completely missed it. :(

ok now just laugh at us for doncaster.

Psychotic

07-30-2008, 01:13 AM

I like to think they have "Who has the silliest name?" contests at family reunions.

Rocket Edge

07-31-2008, 06:01 PM

I think £19m is a bit much for a player aged 28. But oh well, he is still a good addition. Rather him than Gareth Barry.
19 million is a huge ammount for a 28 year old, but I believe Robbie will do well at Anfield.

Seriously, Spurs look very strong. Ramos i'd imagine will have sorted out the spurs mess that is their defence, and made their attack even more deadly with Bentley & Modric now equiped, even without the exception of Keane. I expect a strong surge towards the top come the opening weekends of the season.

08-01-2008, 02:02 PM

charliepanayi

08-02-2008, 02:55 PM

Keane is a loss for them, but in all other departments Spurs are looking much stronger than last season. If Ramos can teach them how to defend then they'll push the top four this time around. Bastards.

Oh please, it's bad enough listening to Spurs fans delude themselves year on year without having you give them ammunition like that!

Psychotic

08-02-2008, 03:08 PM

I looked on a Spurs forum after we signed Keane and apart from the "bin-dipping" hatred directed at "sheetpool" (what) they insisted it did not matter because they had signed David Villa and it was a done deal and everything. They really are deluded.

Heath

08-02-2008, 03:56 PM

Don't be so hard on them. We all laughed at them last season when they said 2007-8 was going to be their year to break into the top 4 and they sure showed us.

Loony BoB

08-16-2008, 10:47 AM

Not sure on this Max Rushden chap. Doesn't look gay enough, really.

charliepanayi

08-16-2008, 02:54 PM

Well we won, but it was all pretty rusty and it seems like the same old faults are still there, like an inability to shoot or kill a game off. Same old story this season if things don't change :( - but may as well take the three points for now.

08-16-2008, 05:18 PM

Hull Cityyyyyyyy!!

Psychotic

08-16-2008, 05:24 PM

Hull Cityyyyyyyy!!

Loony BoB

08-16-2008, 05:25 PM

A very interesting day so far!

Heath

08-16-2008, 05:31 PM

Naturally disappointing result to lose the game right at the death and to concede 16 seconds after we went ahead at 2-1. We didn't play that badly considering, but definitely not as good as we should've. How Jose Baxter missed and didn't break James Vaughan's record for youngest Premiership goal scorer I'll never know. He deserved the goal. I expected a draw (and a boring one at that), but our lack of options really showed. We need players and we need them quickly. Anyone who saw us at the start of last season will know why Jagielka does not play in midfield and today he played in midfield. Baines is pacey and attacking enough to play in midfield, but Jagielka is not. I love seeing Baines at left back charging down the flanks, but I'll take him in midfield while we're short.

Still, I think we have Hull, Stoke and West Brom as our next three games, so hopefully we shan't be in the bottom half for too long.

Psychotic

08-16-2008, 07:27 PM

Ah, it's going to be one of those not giving a smurf until October/November when we realise we're 9th and need to do something about it type seasons. Great.

Having to play Plessis and El Zhar in the opening game of the season does not bode well. Still, Dossena looked decent, and my beautiful Fernando will always save us. :love:

And fuck the chatroom on the justin.tv stream. Jesus christ.

Heath

08-16-2008, 08:08 PM

Ah, Justin.tv. I watched Everton against PSV on that but managed to find an extremely good feed posted on an Everton forum I lurk at. The people watching that were all berks and/or Dutch, so I think it's more the site itself than the people. Does something to people.

And playing Plessis and El Zhar doesn't bode well? Did you see our team today?

08-16-2008, 09:06 PM

Hull are going to destroy Everton. Outclass them in all areas by a fair distance.

http://www.hullcityafc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/10/a8/0,,10338~3450896,00.jpg

08-16-2008, 10:06 PM

I'm going to hazard a guess that the Setanta pundits were better than the chat room on justin.tv, but not by much. Iraqgoals steam for the Everton-Blackburn game was ace, though.

Three points to start the season is great, even if the manner of victory was less than impressive. Our fixture list is pretty good for the first couple of weeks, so we should be able to eke out the wins for a bit until we get our midfield back and hit our stride. It's not as if our opener last season was any more encouraging.

And Spurs. :p

Psychotic

08-17-2008, 08:15 PM

I think I like Man United being crap, but I'm not sure if I like it at the expense of Newcastle being good.

Heath

08-17-2008, 08:42 PM

I think I like Man United being crap, but I'm not sure if I like it at the expense of Newcastle being good.

Perhaps they could just both even out into mediocrity and get themselves both relegated. Along with Liverpool, naturally.

Loony BoB

08-17-2008, 08:47 PM

Fair play to Newcastle, I have to say I think they were our equal on the day. I expected better from ourselves and there were chances for both teams to score that weren't taken (or saved, or the ref didn't allow them, or whatever). It was a decent game overall to watch but draws always leave me annoyed. It's not how often you lose, after all, but how often you win that counts. Draws are just another lot of points dropped from the tally.

Onto Pompy, I guess.

Psychotic

08-17-2008, 08:57 PM

Perhaps they could just both even out into mediocrity and get themselves both relegated. Along with Liverpool, naturally.You'll be pleased to know a poll on the official Liverpool website entitled "Which team is the most likely to get relegated this season?" is headed by Stoke, Hull and Manchester United. Everton are in fourth place on the poll, just above West Brom.
It's not how often you lose, after all, but how often you win that counts. Draws are just another lot of points dropped from the tally.Drawing games that we should win is usually the reason Liverpool fail to really push for the title. I'm pretty chuffed we managed to get all three points yesterday.

charliepanayi

08-17-2008, 09:11 PM

Well Man Utd had a frustrating start last season, so I wouldn't read too much into this opening weekend. The press will go nuts over Chelsea though and already be trumpeting 'crisis at Man Utd!'

Burtsplurt

08-18-2008, 06:24 PM

Wicked, went to see Boro play on Saturday. Without being too biased, I thought we looked pretty good. Really solid at the back, the midfield looks fit and organised, and we look like we might actually score some goals upfront.

Pretty exciting times. I think the oldest player we have in our squad is 27, but hey!

I think Didier Digard is going to be a very good player. He only played for 20 minutes on Saturday, but in that time he looked very bright. Athletic, good vision and good passing.

demondude

08-18-2008, 06:40 PM

Well Man Utd had a frustrating start last season, so I wouldn't read too much into this opening weekend. The press will go nuts over Chelsea though and already be trumpeting 'crisis at Man Utd!'

And that's the way it was always meant to be. :cool:

08-18-2008, 10:06 PM

Admittedly, Chelsea did look very good. But anyone using evidence from this weekend as a measure of revolution/crisis at any club is being very hasty.

Loving the new seven man bench, by the way. Maybe if we're lucky we'll get some Havard this year. :greenie:

demondude

08-19-2008, 03:41 PM

John Terry for England captain! Glad Ferdinand didn't get it. :cool:

The Captain

08-21-2008, 12:09 AM

Man, that was a bad looking game that I'm not sure how England drew.

I really think Ashely Young deserves a real look, in place of Lampard who just doesn't do it on the International level. I like Joe Cole coming on as a second half sub, he brings energy and I think Walcott could do the same. The back line is still sort of odd to me. I think Micah Richards should be recalled, for one thing.

England's problem is and will continue to be, a lack of a true world-class striker. Rooney doesn't possess the all-around ability of say, Torres (But few in the world do) and his lack of size makes it tough to link-up with him. He tries very hard sure, but he needs someone else up there with him. Defoe is too much like Rooney, short attack-minded and not able to really create on his own, so I think Capello needs to use someone else, who contrasts Rooney in both size and ability.

I think once Hargreaves comes back to fitness, he should be back in the lineup, but the midfield continues to be a puzzle. Gerrard, who had his moments today, and Barry should stay. Young, like I said, deserves a shot and Beckham is still the best option there. Bentley needs to prove it still, he won't just be handed the starting spot.

As for goalie, I don't know. No one has really stood out lately. James, can still play, but he is still prone to the mind cramps.

Why not try perhaps a lineup like this:

James
Richards Rio Terry
Hargreaves
Beckham Gerrard Barry Young
Rooney Ashton

Bring on Joe Cole and Walcott as subs and perhaps a taller striker for the later stages.

Take care all.

08-21-2008, 12:36 PM

Mikael Silvestre???

Rocket Edge

08-21-2008, 02:29 PM

The big problem with England I believe is that because there is such a surplus of talent, the players are picked itself at times rather than players who suit best to play as a team. What England really needs is a quality holding midfield player to dictate play, something like an Essien or what Roy Keane was. Without, I not only think that they lack shape but also lack serious leadership.

Psychotic

08-21-2008, 08:46 PM

Mikael Silvestre???Bahahahaha. :laugh:
England's problem is and will continue to be, a lack of a true world-class striker. Rooney doesn't possess the all-around ability of say, Torres (But few in the world do) and his lack of size makes it tough to link-up with him. He tries very hard sure, but he needs someone else up there with him. Defoe is too much like Rooney, short attack-minded and not able to really create on his own, so I think Capello needs to use someone else, who contrasts Rooney in both size and ability.Yes.
What England really needs is a quality holding midfield player to dictate play, something like an Essien or what Roy Keane was. Yes.

charliepanayi

08-21-2008, 10:29 PM

Mikael Silvestre???

I think he's a decent signing really for the price, not amazing but he'll provide cover and some experience. Would like another signing but will have to wait and see.

08-22-2008, 11:08 AM

As long as this doesn't turn out to be Wenger's one signing before the Twente game then I'm fine with it. It was supposed to be a midfielder, so there's still a good chance.

demondude

08-22-2008, 12:55 PM

Looks like Arsenal are looking to interfere with the Gareth Barry signing, and get him for themselves.

Psychotic

08-22-2008, 07:01 PM

He's all yours, boys. £18m is a bit of a joke.

charliepanayi

08-22-2008, 08:26 PM

This is coming from the side who payed that much for Robbie Keane!

Psychotic

08-22-2008, 08:36 PM

I think £19m is a bit much for a player aged 28. But oh well, he is still a good addition. Rather him than Gareth Barry. :monster:

charliepanayi

08-22-2008, 08:53 PM

That's just the warped sensibilities I'd expect from a Liverpool fan ;) (the battle for 3rd is on once again!)

Besides, we have no idea if it even is Gareth Barry yet anyway!

Psychotic

08-22-2008, 09:01 PM

Yeah well Arsenal more like ARSEnal. http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/photobucketamazingness/emot-colbert.gif

But seriously, we needed Keane a lot more than we could ever need Barry. We've got Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and Lucas in the centre, so we're fine there. Up front we've got Torres and uh...um...Voronin...and uh...:erm: Although I wouldn't pay £18m for either.

Heath

08-22-2008, 11:02 PM

Shall we have sweepstakes on how many defenders Everton play tomorrow? With the possibility of Phil Neville being out, we could see up to 7!

This is really beyond a joke. How Moyes hopes to sign 6 or 7 players is entirely beyond me.

08-23-2008, 02:14 PM

I don't think Barry's worth the money Villa are asking, but at least we have a need in his position. Wenger spending £18m on a central midfielder makes way, way more sense than Benitez doing the same. I think that at this point I'd rather pay a little over the odds for a proven midfielder than take a gamble on a low key signing.

This is really beyond a joke. How Moyes hopes to sign 6 or 7 players is entirely beyond me. Seriously. He's leaving it really late if he wants to strengthen the squad, and there can't be many squads with more need of new acquisitions than yours.

demondude

08-23-2008, 02:52 PM

Looks like Robinho is coming to Chelsea, not only has he openly said he wants to go, but a Real Madrid spokesman has said the move is likely.

Heath

08-23-2008, 04:56 PM

I liked one of the chants the fans were doing at West Brom today.

2-0 and we've signed no one! 2-0 and we've signed no one!

Psychotic

08-23-2008, 07:53 PM

Cisse...scoring...goal? :confused:

Also hurray, yet again, for being total <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /> and still managing to win. Sign of a good team, and all that... :p

charliepanayi

08-23-2008, 07:54 PM

Right, that trace of optimism I had about this season? The one that suggested maybe we could build on last year? Yeah, that just went out of the window after being complete crap against Fulham. Seriously, worst we've played in ages. Forget last season, this is already looking more like 2006/2007, out of the league title race by October and spending the entire season in second gear.

08-23-2008, 08:10 PM

Please come back Cesc. :(

Croyles

08-27-2008, 10:46 PM

Ive decided to actually start watching more English football. Ive always been a very half-hearted English football watcher and don't know that much. How do you START supporting a team? Thats a little difficult lol.

My favorite team in Germany isn't one of the top teams so I never follow international club football with much enthusiasm.
Also, German teams are really going downhill in international club football. They all stand around like a bunch of headless chickens.
None of them even follow the first ever important football guideline for teams which was first said in the 50s, "Keep the ball moving.". Really its such a simple concept yet all german clubs seem to think that they need to stop the ball and think about the next pass for half and hour before realising the opposing player has already taken the ball.

If you look at the top teams in Europe, they all have a bunch of debt because they actually take some risks in investing in good players. In Germany they feel the need to keep everything clean and import cheap eastern league players who seem to be good value for money but dont really bring anything.

At least my team usually has around 7-8 German players in the starting squad, all brought up by great youth training programs (one of the only positive things in German football), thats better than importing crap players. Best thing however would be to just put some kaching into the league so we can actually have a chance in Europe.

Its really embarrassing actually. The only league that seems to be worse at the moment is the Italian, yet those usually do quite well internationally.

Oh yeah, Schalke lost 4-0 to Athletico Madrid today, after winning 1-0 at home. LOL! I don't need to say anymore...

So. Which english team should I support? Maybe ill make a new thread with a poll ^^

charliepanayi

08-27-2008, 10:55 PM

If you're especially masochistic, try supporting Arsenal this year.

Good to see our painfully thin squad can deal with FC Twente anyway. If only there were 19 teams like that in the Premier League!

A Cypriot team made it to the group stage of the CL for the first time, hail Cyprus! :) - quite a few minnows in it this year - Anorthosis, Aalborg, BATE Borisov, CFR Cluj. Best start brushing up on your geography fans of the 'big four'!

Psychotic

08-27-2008, 10:58 PM

Support anyone but Arsenal. EoFF has too many Arsenal fans. Hell, one Arsenal fan would be too many, let alone five+ of the smurfers. :p

As for Liverpool, oh dear god. When will we realise that the gameplan of "smurf about until Torres/Gerrard saves us" is not what we need to be doing at all? Thank god our gold medalist is soon back (and our bronze medalist, who was amusingly sent off in the Olympic semi-final for a foul on said gold medalist) because he gave us bite and purpose.

08-27-2008, 11:14 PM

Support Man City because we are beautiful and we have a mix of awesome people and idiots at our club and things look up and down from day to day to ensure you will never be bored. See Thaksin's Thailand hi-jinks, for example, or the highs of getting Mark Hughes as a manager to the lows of hearing he wants to bring Craig Bellamy to the club. Never a dull moment.

Heath

08-27-2008, 11:16 PM

Or support Everton because we're cooler than Man City.

08-27-2008, 11:21 PM

You're the crap secondary premiership club of a major city with a Scottish manager, we're the crap secondary premiership club of a major city with a Welsh manager. There are a lot of accusations that could be levelled at either club but being cool is not one of them.

edit: that being said we are home to some glorious and beautiful men such as Martin Petrov, Didi Hamann, Micah "swear on live television" Richards, the seed of the legendary Dane Kasper Schmeichel and once had the greatest player to ever play the game of football, yes that's right the almighty Paulo Wanchope grace our turf. Your most noteworthy player at the moment is only noteworthy because he is descended from convicts, which is reason enough alone to avoid Everton. Throw in Phil Neville and well, that's just the less talented and quite a bit uglier brother shaped last nail in the coffin.

Old Manus

08-28-2008, 12:07 AM

Don't worry about the new thread, Swansea City is calling for you.

Croyles

08-28-2008, 01:31 AM

Well im already supporting one team that doesnt get to international football, so my english team will be one of the top six most likely.

No Swansea City Manus, id rather support Bristol Rovers than them, no offence of course.

I used to like Arsenal somewhat, but I noticed you get picked on a lot when your an Arsenal fan heh! I know what its like because my club doesnt have any sympathy because last season we beat a lot of the high teams with about 5% of their budgets heheheh.

I dont know. I like Arsenal's youth program, but do even have any english players in their starting line up?

Liverpool or Man U are definitely options, even Man City, though they dont score many goals.

I like teams with fast football that are good at counter attacks.

God this is strange. You cant just BECOME a fan right? Theres usually some sorta connection.

08-28-2008, 01:37 AM

Yes Bristol have that beautiful man Lee Trundle who used to play for some no name team. He also owns everyone for Crewe in my FM game

Old Manus

08-28-2008, 12:28 PM

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/7903/outrage4yvdj3bf67oqxx5.jpg

08-28-2008, 02:38 PM

Just keep watching Premiership games for a few months, and I guarantee that by Christmas you'll hate at least three quarters of the league. From the remaining five teams, pick the one with the coolest nickname.

Croyles

08-28-2008, 03:00 PM

Sounds like a plan.

Only problem is, I dont have sky, I have to go to the pub to watch games and im getting tired of pubs lol. Meh, ill think of something.

Psychotic

08-28-2008, 07:20 PM

Ouch, we got a very nasty Champions League draw. On the plus side, less travel time and warmer climates.

charliepanayi

08-28-2008, 08:19 PM

Our draw was tougher than Man Utd or Chelsea's, but easier than Liverpool's. We are always rubbish when playing in Russia or the Ukraine, so I'm worried about the trip to Kiev.

Heath

08-28-2008, 08:33 PM

Ouch, we got a very nasty Champions League draw. On the plus side, less travel time and warmer climates.

I know the BBC's 606 is full of idiots, but a Liverpool fan reckoned having Marseille and PSV in their group would represent one of the easiest draws.

Also Dan, that hurt. I'll just have to take consolation in the fact that Man City never had the likes of Duncan Ferguson, Richard Wright, Per Krøldrup, Kevin Campbell or the mighty James Beattie. And that's not even touching on Kevin 'Zinedine' Kilbane.

Edit: I KNEW we'd get Standard Liege. Just knew it.

Psychotic

08-31-2008, 12:12 AM

Edit: I KNEW we'd get Standard Liege. Just knew it.Have fun with those fuckers. Hahahaha. :mwahaha:

Hull. :( Why.

Loony BoB

08-31-2008, 10:02 AM

Just 38 hours to go and we're apparently going to send Campbell off to either Hull or Tottenham and bring in both Berbatov and Huntelaar. Alternatively we could be bringing in just the former with the latter going to Spurs. Alternatively whoever doesn't get Berbatov will end up with Owen for a paltry £2m since he's only got a year left. Can't see that happening, Owen for a single season is worth more than £2m surely? Hoping we do get both the Bulgarian and the Dutchman and send Campbell to Hull City.

Old Manus

08-31-2008, 11:20 AM

Oh good God, the Swans have Cardiff in the Carling Cup. Riots I tell ew

08-31-2008, 03:48 PM

Our CL draw could have been a lot better, but it's hardly a nightmare, and we should be able to make it through without too much hassle. Our last couple of showings have been a bit more encouraging, so maybe we'll hit our best form by the time the tough fixtures arrive.

Psychotic

08-31-2008, 06:07 PM

Owen for a single season is worth more than £2m surely?A single season for Michael Owen consists of roughly seven games.

Also not a bad result with Torres and Gerrard both injured and the rest of the team not particularly giving a <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" />.

08-31-2008, 09:53 PM

SHAUN YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL BASTARD YOU NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT GOD DAMN IT I LOVE YOU

Zeldy

08-31-2008, 10:03 PM

The lack of ENGLISH RUGBY THREAD saddens me. I'd make my own, but I don't know crap all about rugby, but I just want to be all yaaay SAINTS.

yeah, football. Don't watch it so much ;]

I could start a Rugby > Football war.

Heath

08-31-2008, 10:21 PM

I'll gladly support St. Helens properly (as opposed to passively saying that I do and then paying no attention to rugby) if you support Everton. Also if you slap David Moyes and make him buy players.

SWP is terrible because 1. he didn't come to Everton and 2. he completely crocked up Elano's place in my Fantasy Football squad.

I Don't Need A Name

08-31-2008, 10:39 PM

08-31-2008, 10:41 PM

Old Manus

08-31-2008, 10:51 PM

The lack of ENGLISH RUGBY THREAD saddens me. I'd make my own, but I don't know crap all about rugby, but I just want to be all yaaay SAINTS Wales!

yeah, football. Don't watch it so much ;]

I could start a Rugby > Football war.

correct answer (rugby does own football though)Especially since the Neath-Swansea Ospreys pretty much single handedly won the Six Nations without a loss.

Oh, I went there. :cool:

Zeldy

08-31-2008, 10:55 PM

The lack of ENGLISH RUGBY THREAD saddens me. I'd make my own, but I don't know crap all about rugby, but I just want to be all yaaay SAINTS Wales!

yeah, football. Don't watch it so much ;]

I could start a Rugby > Football war.

correct answer (rugby does own football though)

check this (http://www.saintsrlfc.com/results), Saints are pretty unstoppable. Like I said though, I know crap all about Rugby, so I don't know whose better. Saints did just win the Carniege cup down in Wembley though!

This thread is about football!

Heath

09-01-2008, 01:57 AM

That's because Everton are crap and Man City is the club where SWP shines. Though I would personally like to see both SWP and Elano in the team. God damn that would be some tasty attacking power, especially with Petrov back on the left and SWP on the right.

Was a pretty random game though, and there were some absolutely awful decisions by the referee. I don't think he quite understands what a foul is supposed to be, Sunderland got screwed over a couple of times. And the Andy Reid dicking Kompany and Corluka and getting away with it was terrible as well, crap ref.

Yeah, must admit that aside from the FF comment, I think SWP is great and am genuinely disappointed we didn't get him. Not that I think we were ever seriously in for him aside from papertalk, but whatever. Elano, Petrov and SWP in midfield is pretty damn nice, I must admit.

Psychotic

09-01-2008, 02:04 AM

egg chasers gtfo

09-01-2008, 09:32 AM

A very small part of me hoped that SWP would suck at City to teach him a lesson about not joining Evil Russian Corporations, but pretty much any ill feeling has been squashed now. Maybe if he's back on form again he'll move ahead of David Bentley in the England pecking order. Please?

egg chasers gtfoAssenting to this.

Psychotic

09-01-2008, 03:40 PM

I would have thought him succeeding at City would've taught him a lesson about Russian corporations.

Also: Tottenham accept City bid of over £30m for Berbatov

hahahahaha DO IT. Fergie would flip his <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" />.

09-01-2008, 04:19 PM

I meant that I was hoping he'd ruined his career by joining Chelsea, so maybe he'd regret joining them instead of us. You know, because we're pure and just and all that.

But if there's any truth to this crazy Berbatov rumour then City are about to become a whole lot eviler, so the forces of darkness may yet prevail. :(

EDIT: Although I admit that it'd be worth it just to see Ferguson/United fans' reaction.

Psychotic

09-01-2008, 04:26 PM

City would be evil only in the sense that they'd be top four contenders, which makes you evil in the eyes of the rest of the league by default. Yeah, fuck you Martin O'Neil. Anyway, a lot of attention is already on the signing of SWP, and even more will be on Berbatov if they pull it off, but you know, in Jo and Kompany they've made a pair of very, very solid signings.

09-01-2008, 04:37 PM

Dimitar Berbatov is by a fair margin the most evil man in the league. If I were casting a film, I can't imagine a more perfect fit for the calculating, black-hearted Eastern European crime boss. Yes I judge people by their appearences, what of it?

09-01-2008, 07:53 PM

Nah it's all because of this Arab group taking us over that the media is just going ape<img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /> with us. Over the last 5 hours or so we've been linked to Berbatov, David Villa (even though he just signed a new contract with Valencia and turned down Real Madrid in the process), Robinho (:laugh:) and Mario Gomez. I don't see any of them going through really.

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 08:01 PM

I've also got SWP rage. I should have put him in my Fantasy Football team, but I forgot! AAAHHH!!!!!

Transfer D-Day is always awesome, but Man City have really turned it into the biggest circus we've had for a long time. I've never known a club to be bought out on the same day that it tries to buy 4 strikers at 30mil+ a pop.

09-01-2008, 08:06 PM

It could be worse though, we could have signed Saha and be linked with signing Alan Smith :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 09:35 PM

It could be worse though, we could have signed Saha and be linked with signing Alan Smith :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Saha's not bad. In 06/07, he was the top goalscorer at United before his injury. If Everton can keep him fit, they have a bargain.

According to Skysports, Berbatov is finalising his move to Manchester United.

09-01-2008, 09:57 PM

Carlo Nash :laugh:

charliepanayi

09-01-2008, 09:59 PM

My favourite daft rumour so far is the one about Vieira returning to Arsenal.

Looks like we're signing no-one :(

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 10:08 PM

Carlo Nash :laugh:

I quit defending Everton.

Robinho for 32.5 million pounds. Apparently confirmed. Man City are on a roll today.

Rocket Edge

09-01-2008, 10:30 PM

Hah, quite like that one. ^

Berbatov apparently looks certain to join United now after completing a medical and has already held talks with both Fergie and David Gill at Old Trafford. Must say I'm happy, always thought he was a great player. Hopefully everything will go smoothly over the next couple of hours.

09-01-2008, 10:33 PM

I hope Berbatov goes to Man Utd really, I think £34 million for him is hilariously overpriced. Would be a total waste of money

Rocket Edge

09-01-2008, 10:36 PM

At least its better than forking out the same ammount for Robinho!

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 10:41 PM

At least its better than forking out the same ammount for Robinho!

That is so true. And I doubt Spurs will get that amount anyway - probably between 25-30 million.

09-01-2008, 10:43 PM

Yeah true. I don't really want to fork out that much for any of them but like someone on the beeb said Mark Hughes has basically just been told "here you go son, you've got £100 million to spend but only 12 hours to do it" so he's just thrown around silly money all over the place.

Although one of the deals would annoy Ferguson which would be great because bitched the <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /> out of Real Madrid for trying to get Ronaldo off them and has done exactly the same <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /> with Berbatov and the other deal pisses off Peter Kenyon. So both would have an upside

09-01-2008, 10:47 PM

My favourite daft rumour so far is the one about Vieira returning to Arsenal.

Looks like we're signing no-one :(I knew playing well against Newcastle was a bad idea. Now Wenger's convinced that we don't need another signing, despite the games prior to Cesc's return providing plenty of evidence to the contrary.

I wonder what it's like to be excited on deadline day?

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 10:52 PM

I seriously doubt that Berbatov arrived at Carrington without the approval of Tottenham. Maybe a final fee had not been arranged, but there's no way Berbatov's agent would allow him to go there unless Spurs had given him their blessing.

charliepanayi

09-01-2008, 10:56 PM

champagne supernova

09-01-2008, 11:04 PM

All we have to do is keep Fabregas from getting injured all season!

What the hell, this is our strategy so no point moaning about it now. Just have to see how it goes. If we mess up though not having enough depth then we know what to blame. Signings or no signings, we'd have a fighting chance if we learnt to defend, decided not to pass the ball into the net all the time and had a captain who could act like one. I think I'm asking for too much there though.

I think Arsenal fans should be upset that they didn't sign some quality in depth. You cannot expect Fabregas to play every game of the season - not even Steven Gerrard (who would play through the pain barrier for Liverpool) could.

And last season, Arsenal fell out of the title race because of a lack of depth. And then experienced players are sold, with youthful replacements signed.

I would be seriously upset with the Arsenal board if I was an Arsenal fan.

09-02-2008, 12:43 AM

Robinho huh? I guess pissing off Chelsea isn't as good as pissing off United, but it'll do. I guess City may have pushed up the price of the Berbatov deal too. I bet the blue half of Manchester can't wait for the next transfer window now.

Easily the most action-packed deadline day in ages.

Rocket Edge

09-02-2008, 01:23 AM

Easily the most action-packed deadline day in ages.
Definitely. Oh well, theres goes the good nights sleep. Welcome Berbe. :aimkiss:

demondude

09-02-2008, 01:08 PM

Loony BoB

09-02-2008, 02:09 PM

I hope Man City does horribly, so all us Chelsea supporters can laugh, laugh at how much of a fool Robinho is, laugh at Real Madrid for ruining a great player.

I'm gonna be angry all day now, I hope the idiots that let this atrocity happen go to hell, seriously.
Translation: "I can't believe anyone would do the same thing we do! It's horrendous that any club (aside from ourselves) would ever do such a thing."

Psychotic

09-02-2008, 03:42 PM

I love the hypocrisy of United's actions with Berbatov in light of how angry they were at Real over the Ronaldo saga.

Also, from Italy:

Diego Milito's transfer from Zaragoza to Genoa was doomed to fail when the Italian Lega Calcio (agency who deal with all the transfers) announced they had closed at 7 last night and pulled out all the plugs so the fax machines wouldn't work anymore. If the papers were in before 12 o'clock last night,the transfer would go ahead.

Milito's agent, Pastorello, had a very smart technique to make sure the papers were in on time, by throwing them over a temporary wall into the office.

Video: video - SPORTMEDIASET (http://www.sportmediaset.it/calcio/video/video1962.shtml)

hahahaha what a nutter. Apparently the transfer was confirmed.

Loony BoB

09-02-2008, 03:48 PM

Hahaha, that's excellent. xD

I love the hypocrisy of United's actions with Berbatov in light of how angry they were at Real over the Ronaldo saga.
Every club is a hypocrite in this area. Be it Ronaldo, Barbatov, Barry, Robinho... they all do it. Although the news report that SAF said Berbatov's name was based on a fansite in Norway which used a poor translation and later apologised for this, so United were within their rights when they said that they'd done no (publically knowledgeable) wrong.

Psychotic

09-02-2008, 05:34 PM

Well yeah of course everybody does it. My point is that United did it in such an extreme manner right after acting like Real had shagged their mum and then proceeded to wipe their arse on United's best bath towels.

Anyway, with Man City set to become the new Chelsea, I wonder if the Big 4 will become a Big 3 or a Big 5. I'm not entirely sure if Liverpool and Arsenal can consistently spend ridiculously insane amounts of money to the degree that Chelsea, United, and apparently City can.

09-02-2008, 06:13 PM

Oh Newcastle, you are a constant source of amusement. xD

09-02-2008, 06:37 PM

As I said before I do think the ridiculous sums of money being thrown around yesterday was mostly purely down to the fact that we only had about 12 hours or so where we'd suddenly gained the ability to make offers for players that previously were never anywhere near being possible. Sure, from now on we're probably going to be up there with the United and Chelskis but Chelski have wasted enough money on flops to show you that money can't buy you fuck all if you spend it in the wrong places. As long as we get our priorities straight and take care with what we are doing I think we'd become a lot more effective if we wrote off what happened yesterday as a one off and planned out the future, next season or two say than if we just try and throw money in everyones faces and end up like the Real Madrid "galacticos" who had all the shirt selling players but did fuck all with them. Which is probably going to be hard listening to the statements made by the new owners who are pretty much going to be demanding we win every fucking trophy going.

Psychotic

09-02-2008, 06:59 PM

Oh Newcastle, you are a constant source of amusement. xDI know, what a joke they are. :laugh:

Heath

09-02-2008, 07:33 PM

Oh Newcastle, you are a constant source of amusement. xDI know, what a joke they are. :laugh:

Whenever things look dire at Everton, I just need to look at Newcastle and I instantly feel better. Thanks, Newcastle!

Also I cannot explain Dan's actions in this thread as being anything but bitter jealousy. Everyone knows that we're linked with Alan Smith because Moyes doesn't want him there when he becomes Newcastle manager tomorrow/next week/end of the season/never. Carlo Nash also significantly boosts out "players with interesting names" list, along with Phil Jagielka, Segundo Castillo and Lukas Jutkiewicz.

We also seem to now employ the most expensive Belgian footballer ever.

charliepanayi

09-02-2008, 08:27 PM

champagne supernova

09-04-2008, 03:56 PM

Maybe Arsenal will do alright, but it seems a bit silly not to invest a bit more. Anyway, completely pointless to debate this, because time will tell.

What the hell is going on with club owners though? Keegan & Curbishley were both seriously undermined. It's ridiculous that managers don't have any input in their players anymore.

I just hope this trend does not continue.

Psychotic

09-04-2008, 04:22 PM

Newcastle and West Ham have always been crazy clubs. It's not exactly a new phenomenon. Just sit back, enjoy it and provide mocking laughter.

charliepanayi

09-04-2008, 08:23 PM

Yes, I may not know what the future holds for Arsenal, but at the very least right now, I can be thankful I do not support West Ham or Newcastle.

Rocket Edge

09-05-2008, 04:12 PM

What the hell is going on with club owners though? Keegan & Curbishley were both seriously undermined. It's ridiculous that managers don't have any input in their players anymore.
Yes yes, its bordering on pathetic at this stage.

Heath

09-05-2008, 04:48 PM

There's only one downside to Newcastle being in disarray: "MOYES LINKED TO NEWCASTLE JOB," etc, etc. Moyes isn't that stupid. I hope.

charliepanayi

09-06-2008, 08:10 PM

Oh England - even with a different manager, still managing to go in at half-time 0-0 against Andorra. Managers change, things stay the same...Still the game on Wednesday will be the important one for them.

Scotland's chances already in jeopardy after that opening defeat.

France 2-0 down to Austria at half-time. This is what happens when you keep Domenech as manager.

charliepanayi

09-06-2008, 09:51 PM

Lots of rustiness this evening from teams:

France lose, England looking sluggish, Spain 0-0 at half-time at home to Bosnia, Italy requiring a 92nd minute goal to beat Cyprus (argh damn you Italy! - we were so close :( ), even Holland losing a friendly to Australia!

Rocket Edge

09-06-2008, 10:34 PM

Seriously, damn you Italy!

On the plus side of things, Ireland won. We didn't look to bad and were great defensively. Steven Reid is a little hidden gem for us in the middle of the pitch.

Jings

09-07-2008, 01:01 AM

Looks like our game against Iceland is going to be crucial. I can't see us qualifying if we lose on Wednesday.

charliepanayi

09-07-2008, 01:42 PM

Looks like our game against Iceland is going to be crucial. I can't see us qualifying if we lose on Wednesday.

I think Scotland need a win on Wednesday or they're already staring at the precipice. They've only got 6 games left after Wednesday and if they have only one or zero points at that point they'll probably need to win five or all six of the remaining games to have a chance (and two of those are against the Netherlands - not impossible to win those of course but it'd still be very tough).

If only we could all be like New Zealand, they've won the Oceania section and now have to wait a year to play the 5th best team in the Asia section for a place in the World Cup - they're only two games away already! Alright for some XD

charliepanayi

09-10-2008, 10:21 PM

Hat-trick for Theo Walcott - who says Arsenal do nothing to help England :D

Be glad you're not Switzerland anyway, losing at home to Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier - ouch! Scotland respond with a win, which is what they needed.

Back to the Premiership grind now, tough game away to Blackburn for us. If we lose this one frankly the title will be looking pretty much out of reach already. Got to improve on that dismal showing against Fulham in our last away game.

Croyles

09-11-2008, 03:01 PM

Wow, the Fins nearly beat us. But it ended 3-3. Great game! And also a very embarrassing game for our defense O_O

As for England, they might be on the right track, but Croatia was VERY poor and England didnt do more than was necessary. I mean, apart from the goals they didnt exactly play great nor did they need to. They just had to stand around Croatias box and wait for an opening.
I hope Englands next foes actually try so England can properly pick themselves up again.

09-11-2008, 06:13 PM

This is the Golden Generation. We're going to win the next World Cup. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we dominate so totally that the other teams decide to give up and go play softball instead.

champagne supernova

09-11-2008, 06:49 PM

The Croats were also down to 10 man. I think it's a bit early to be going on about a golden generation.

Rooney really had a good game last night. He was involved in all the goals. Hope he keeps the form until the weekend. Although Tevez might get the nod, as he'd be fresher. Either way, it will be an epic game.

Portugal lost to Denmark. That's quite a shock result.
Apparently de Rossi scored a cracker of a goal. Want to see highlights to judge it.

Rocket Edge

09-11-2008, 09:21 PM

Heath

09-11-2008, 10:05 PM

It was an excellent result, but it was a largely poor first half display by England. Absolutely fantastic second half though. I watched the game with a friend who doesn't normally watch football, but he appreciated how in control Croatia were before the first goal. Really enjoyed the game and was happy for Walcott to get a hat trick too. He had a great game.

charliepanayi

09-11-2008, 10:18 PM

England won't go further than the Quarter finals if they do qualify. The english press are the most misleading of any papers I've come across. Not saying that they're team is not brilliant individually, but they never seem to get it right when it matters.

Well the problem is the press have two settings for England with nothing in between
"England are complete <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" />"
"England are the most amazing team ever, we're going to win it all!"
This doesn't help matters.

I would note that Croatia fell into that over-confidence trap before this game I feel. They started to believe their own hype maybe.

Psychotic

09-13-2008, 01:53 PM

Now, I know you've all seen "Last post by: Psychotic" and will expect this to be about Liverpool vs Evil FC (Sorry Donal. I always feel guilty when I insult United here because I like Donal. I don't like BoB though. He is a jerk) but I have some very, VERY important news.

Dean Windass has a column in the Daily Mail.

I don't care what past war crimes the Daily Mail has committed against paedophile asian gypsy asylum seekers.

This

This makes up for everything.

EDIT: Tell you what, though. We'll dominate United for the rest of the game and do fuck all with that domination, then in the 92nd minute, Evra will score a jammy goal.

09-13-2008, 02:39 PM

oh my god

oh my god

GIVE ME A COPY OF THE DAILY MAIL NOW

Psychotic

09-13-2008, 02:41 PM

I STAND CORRECTED

MMMMMMMMM YES BETTER THAN SEX OHHHHHH ALEX FERGUSON LET ME LICK THE TEARS FROM YOUR TOMATO COLOURED FACE

Loony BoB

09-13-2008, 02:43 PM

Liverpool deserved that. After the first ten or twenty minutes, we were utter crap throughout. Don't know what went wrong - too many options such as "Rooney on wing" or "Carrick sent off" but regardless of any of that, we were crap. Really crap. Berbatov and Tevez saw so little of the ball it was terrible. The amount of time the ball was either being headed (anywhere) or booted (to the other team) rather than passed was insane, and the passing when we did have it wasn't up to our usual standard.

09-13-2008, 02:47 PM

Man Utd lost because Carlos Tevez has a monobrow and any organisation that endorses a person with a monobrow is destined to fail because monobrows are the worst evil on this planet and to support and even fund someone with a monobrow is a crime against humanity and YOU WILL PAY

Psychotic

09-13-2008, 03:02 PM

What I like about this game from a footballing point of view was that it was probably our best performance of the season, and it was done without Torres and (mostly) Gerrard. And Riera looks good too.

Jess

09-13-2008, 03:54 PM

hahahahahhahahahaha. We're such a joke. :kaocry2:

09-13-2008, 04:18 PM

There is nothing to be ashamed of in falling to the Mighty Hull. It is only the natural order of things, Frank my old friend.

Psychotic

09-13-2008, 06:21 PM

Well done plucky Newcastle for putting up a decent fight and only losing 2-1 to Hull. I really expected them to knock 4 or 5 past you. You can be proud of this result, Frank.

09-13-2008, 07:02 PM

Heath

09-13-2008, 07:16 PM

I'll reserve whether or not to laugh at Newcastle until tomorrow when Everton probably decide to play terribly and lose against Stoke. If, however, we decide to play properly tomorrow, I'll laugh at Newcastle then.

Also for the second week running: Fuck Manchester City for messing with my Fantasy Football team. Why the hell aren't Elano and Petrov playing? They got me megapoints last season and Elano is my captain. Sort this out immediately, Dan.

09-13-2008, 07:59 PM

I thought Petrov was injured, no idea about Elano though.

charliepanayi

09-13-2008, 08:15 PM

We looked pretty good today. Adebayor will have gone some way towards winning back the fans with that hat-trick, and Denilson looked improved enough to suggest that he isn't out of his depth in the first team after all. Blackburn worried us a bit early on though, and if they'd taken their chances it could have been a different game.

hahahahahhahahahaha. We're such a joke.So much. Just rename yourselves Schadenfreude FC already. :p

Watch out, we have Hull at home in two weeks, and I'm taking nothing for granted ;)

Good performance today, now we have two more away games at Kiev and Bolton to come and we need to prove ourselves in those. Can't afford to be dropping points at this stage, or to start the European Cup off on a bad note. I still wish I knew if that Fulham game was an aberration, a harbinger of things to come or just evidence of how rubbish we are without Fabregas.

Croyles

09-14-2008, 03:24 PM

charliepanayi

09-14-2008, 03:29 PM

Psychotic

09-14-2008, 03:46 PM

09-14-2008, 05:20 PM

Spatvark

09-14-2008, 05:57 PM

After watching highlights of yesterday's game, I have to wonder how we've managed to keep three clean sheets out of four so far when our defence looks about as solid as a wall of tissue paper at times. It needs to be tightened up, to borrow an American sports phrase, defence often wins championships.

Gone are the days of Adams, Keown, Dixon and Winterburn forming a rock solid defence. More and more in recent times, since Wenger's been managing us, have defenders been purchased more for their attacking attributes and their defensive qualities. When we've played our best, it's been because our midfield tracked back extensively, and completely closed out our opponents attacks, but we've been weaker in the middle of the park for the last few seasons, and that's really exposed our frailties at the back.

With the money being thrown around the Premiership now, I think we might have picked the wrong time to move to the Emirates, and would have been better served by increasing our squad's depth, much like Man U and Chelsea have been. Playing at our best, we're the top team in the league, but the problem is we don't have the players to keep it up for the entire season's length.

charliepanayi

09-14-2008, 08:19 PM

Now now, you're being too hard on yourself. Arsenal are easily good enough to win the Championship. They might have to grind out results at Molyneux and the Ricoh Arena, but I think they could get the job done.

I'm getting this bizarre flashback to May 1990, the last time Liverpool actually won the title ;) - I'd mock less about being able to win the title when Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers have won titles more recently than you have :D

But enough of this slanging match, at least you helped make sure that we're not the only of the Big Four to have lost a game thus far this season.

Psychotic

09-14-2008, 08:22 PM

Hey now, when you say "championship" you're fair game. If I ever say it, feel free to use the same joke on me. :p

And I know we're not going to win the Premiership. We're going to fight you lot for third. And damnit, we're gonna win!

charliepanayi

09-14-2008, 08:49 PM

I don't call it the Championship though, I hate that whole Championship/League One/League Two nonsense - what was wrong with Division One/Division Two/Division Three?!

I guess this is my having some memory of football pre-Sky and pre-Premiership here XD - no-one calls it the league championship anymore I have to keep remembering.

Spatvark

09-15-2008, 12:34 AM

What was wrong with Division One/Division Two/Division Three/Division Four?! *old*

Heath

09-15-2008, 12:37 AM

What was wrong with Division One/Division Two/Division Three/Division Four?! *old*

In my view, nothing. I find it slightly absurd that the Championship is called the Championship when the winners are fighting to get into a better league and are thus not champions of England anyway.

Rocket Edge

09-15-2008, 02:09 AM

The Liverpool praise is worth it. United just wern't good enough yesterday. :(

On the flipside of things, Dean Windass gets his own column? ahahahahha xD

charliepanayi

09-15-2008, 09:58 PM

Good old Spurs, four games in and bottom of the league.

Psychotic

09-16-2008, 09:42 PM

That was a satisfying result. The players were obviously still feeling the effects of the gargantuan effort to bring down United, so it was good to come away with a win in Marseille.

Still, I suppose it helps when you have Italy and Brazil internationals ready to come in. :D

charliepanayi

09-16-2008, 09:56 PM

Anorthosis getting a point away to Werder Bremen, and CFR Cluj beating Roma away! The underdogs have their day :)

charliepanayi

09-17-2008, 09:42 PM

Well we were very poor tonight. But frankly, we are always rubbish playing in Russia and Ukraine (probably just as well we didn't make the final last year really). Still, I'm glad it's out of the way, but better will be needed for the remainder of the group stage if we don't want to be heading for the early exit door.

Serapy

09-19-2008, 10:51 AM

I'm quite nervous for the Man Utd vs Chelsea game. :(

Loony BoB

09-19-2008, 02:20 PM

Honestly don't mind if we lose - it's arguably our hardest game this season in the PL so I'd rather we lose away to the side with such an impressive unbeaten record than draw at home to Fulham and Bolton or something.

However, if we win, it would be massive. So here's hoping :D

Heath

09-19-2008, 02:22 PM

Man, that first half against Standard Liege was immense. We controlled the game for the most part and really should've finished them off good and proper. Still, I think we can get past them. We were really unlucky with the draw we got.

Rocket Edge

09-20-2008, 12:24 AM

I expect to win Chelsea 4-0 away with Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick & John Terry to score an own goal. Here's to optimism!

Psychotic

09-20-2008, 04:57 PM

Now that's the Liverpool I know and love.

charliepanayi

09-20-2008, 08:11 PM

Good win for us, coming from behind. We're finally shaking off this whole tag of not being able to play when we go to the North-West of England (it will be a new geographic region that screws us up this year clearly). Though as usual we spent the whole second half refusing to kill the game off. Fingers crossed for a draw between Chelsea and Man Utd tomorrow.

That Liverpool v Stoke game shows we can't get complacent when we play at home to Hull next weekend.

09-22-2008, 06:27 PM

Wish I could remember who the pompey fan I know is so I could abuse them :(

Heath

09-22-2008, 06:42 PM

Just make one up. Azar's always struck me as the type of support Portsmouth. Or Brighton and Hove Albion.

09-22-2008, 06:57 PM

Azar is a ginger, he doesn't need any additional abuse to be fair

Psychotic

09-22-2008, 07:07 PM

Besides, he'd obviously support Man United to show solidarity to Paul Scholes.

champagne supernova

09-22-2008, 07:39 PM

I have this strange feeling that Liverpool might win the league this year.

Now that I have jinxed them, I really can't understand what happened to Man U in the second half (actually after they scored). & Berbatov - he really needs to get his act together quickly.

Although I might be a bit harsh. Playing Liverpool & Chelsea away is an astoundingly hard task. And Ferguson probably didn't want to rev his team up too much against Villareal, so as to save them for the weekend. Maybe I'll comment again in a month once things are a bit more settled.

Old Manus

09-23-2008, 09:58 PM

Epic victory. It's all downhill for Cardiff.

charliepanayi

09-23-2008, 10:10 PM

Hooray we win 6-0! Oh bugger it's in the League Cup...

Heath

09-23-2008, 10:51 PM

Epic victory. It's all downhill for Cardiff.

gratz

09-24-2008, 09:28 PM

Hooray we win 6-0! Oh bugger it's in the League Cup...At least we got to see what Carlos Vela can do. A lot, it would seem.

Now that I have jinxed them, I really can't understand what happened to Man U in the second half (actually after they scored). & Berbatov - he really needs to get his act together quickly.

Although I might be a bit harsh. Playing Liverpool & Chelsea away is an astoundingly hard task. And Ferguson probably didn't want to rev his team up too much against Villareal, so as to save them for the weekend. Maybe I'll comment again in a month once things are a bit more settled. There's no reason to write anyone off at this stage in the calendar. After all, United had a pretty awful start to last season, too. And like you say, Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge are two of the hardest fixtures you'll play this year. It's hardly cause for panic.

Heath

09-24-2008, 10:01 PM

Well, I'm certainly not confident about Saturday.

Psychotic

09-27-2008, 01:58 PM

I hate it that all our big games are on at 12:45 because I never cba to wake up for then, so I usually only catch the last 35 minutes or so.

EDIT: Looks like I started watching at a very good time!

On the subject of, :rolleyes2 at Everton for playing a 4-5-1 at home though. It always depresses me when they do that because it's such a disappointing attitude I think. We came in fourth, they came in fifth, they have to look at the fixture as "Alright, we can get three points here" and go out to get us from the start. At Anfield, maybe you are justified (well, I would disagree!) in playing for the draw, but not Goodison. You can keep Liverpool out for over 90 minutes. It's possible. But if you let Torres or Gerrard go for just a few seconds then, well, things like that will happen to you, and you're fucked.

charliepanayi

09-27-2008, 08:06 PM

Now I remember why I was getting fed up with all the waxing lyrical over our League Cup game in midweek - because as today proved, it ultimately counts for nothing. This just showed up our title ambitions as being pretty laughable. Awful, awful, awful.

Heath

09-27-2008, 09:40 PM

I hate them being 12:45 because I work until 2pm. I only saw the last fifteen minutes. I think I've only seen all of two Everton games this season because of them being on while I'm at work or public transport being a pain.

I expected us to lose. I don't think that 4-5-1 is terribly negative when we're playing Cahill as well, as it's more a 4-4-1-1 formation. We're a complete mess at the moment and I would've been happy with a draw. I've been saying this since the creation of the thread, but we seriously need sorting out on and off the pitch. I might laugh at Newcastle, but I know that Everton could be almost as bad. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if Moyes left this season. I don't want him to, but I wouldn't bet against it.

09-27-2008, 10:02 PM

HULL

FUCKING

CITY!!!!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Psychotic

09-27-2008, 10:04 PM

Hull City v Arsenal: Truly a triumph of good over evil.

09-28-2008, 03:21 PM

Horrible, horrible game. We haven't been defending well all season, and this was the occasion where it finally cost us. Not that we were any better at the other end of the pitch, but it's the defence that's going to keep us out of the title race this season.

EDIT: At least Spurs are still bottom. This weekend wasn't a total catastrophe after all.

Psychotic

10-02-2008, 02:35 AM

10-03-2008, 06:08 PM

Dunno if any of you have heard this yet, but here is a fully uncensored recording of Joe Kinnear going absolutely ape <img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /><img src="http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gif" alt="skull" /> at the press

Audio: Hear Joe Kinnear's full unbleeped, uncensored rant at Daily Mirror man Simon Bird - mirror.co.uk (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/2008/10/03/audio-hear-joe-kinnear-s-full-unbleeped-uncensored-rant-at-mirror-man-simon-bird-115875-20770121/)

Absolutely hilarious. Every day you think Newcastle can't get any more of a joke and they out do it every time :laugh:

RocketMBA

10-03-2008, 06:45 PM

13 minutes of that?! That's almost as long as Martin goes on for.

Rocket Edge

10-03-2008, 07:21 PM

This is a rapper who plays for a top Premiership club. His rapper name is "Rio". (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkNboKZFDP0) See if you can guess who it is, before clicking the link. HINT: It's not Rio Ferdinand.

Lyrics are helpfully provided in the more info.

...dear god.

Audio: Hear Joe Kinnear's full unbleeped, uncensored rant at Daily Mirror man Simon Bird - mirror.co.uk
These are may favourite posts. :)

Psychotic

10-03-2008, 07:22 PM

I want to see Ryan Babel and Joe Kinnear collaborating on a rap.

RocketMBA

10-04-2008, 02:38 AM

Ryan Babel IS Kanye West, after all.

Rocket Edge

10-04-2008, 12:42 PM

To be fair, Ryan is a lyrical genious.

Heath

10-04-2008, 09:00 PM

I want to see Ryan Babel and Joe Kinnear collaborating on a rap.

Only if Martin O'Neill does backing vocals.

Psychotic

10-05-2008, 05:00 PM

I'm frightened. This isn't Liverpool. What's going on? Why haven't we collapsed yet? Let my hopes of us getting our precious title back die already. :(

(but not really. Oh Fernando, you are the one man...)

Heath

10-05-2008, 07:33 PM

On the one hand, I'm thankful that we haven't imploded entirely; Newcastle aren't better than us.

On the other hand, I think we're about the only team bar Spurs who probably can't beat Newcastle. Spurs and Newcastle are SUPPOSED to be bad because they're overrated and underperform like I don't know what. But Everton are supposed to be the plucky underdogs punching above their weight and finishing in the top 6 ;_; FIX THINGS MR MOYES

Psychotic

10-11-2008, 07:06 PM

Best moment of the game? Ashley Cole being punched in the bollocks in the first half. I laughed until I cried.

charliepanayi

10-11-2008, 08:31 PM

Scotland's miss today against Norway was painful. I urge people to see it and see how bad it was.

Poor old Austria - a month ago they were beating France. Now they can't even beat the Faroe Islands!

RocketMBA

10-14-2008, 06:57 PM

BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Belarus v England (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7666668.stm)

Scroll down to Upson's interview, and fast forward to 1:15...

It's unfortunate that it happened, but, y'know, everyone's gonna make a mistake at some point in their career, or even playing for England, if they're unfortunate enough...

Psychotic

10-14-2008, 07:18 PM

It is pretty unfortunate having to play in the same team as Frank Lampard, as he always scoffs down the post-match buffet before you have a chance to put a single sausage roll or scotch egg on your plate.

demondude

10-14-2008, 07:42 PM

Psychotic

10-14-2008, 07:43 PM

Sorry Frank. Here, have some cakes by my way of an apology.

demondude

10-14-2008, 07:57 PM

Even if he does eat a lot of cake and stuff, he played the midfield role much better then Gerrard did.
The Daily mail agrees with me. :cool:

Psychotic

10-14-2008, 08:02 PM

You're right, let's judge the value and worth of players by one game. I will use the Champions League Final 2005 to deduce that Djimi Traore is the world's greatest left-back.

demondude

10-14-2008, 08:05 PM

In the state England are playing in at the moment, a one game judgment is the only way forward.

Psychotic

10-14-2008, 08:09 PM

Yeah, winning 4-1 and 5-1 in successive games is pretty dismal, isn't it? :p

demondude

10-14-2008, 08:10 PM

Against Kazakhstan. xD

(And was it Andorra)?

10-14-2008, 08:12 PM

The Daily mail agrees with me. :cool:

hahahahaha

The Daily mail agrees with me. :cool:

hahahahahah

The Daily mail agrees with me. :cool:

hahahahahaha!

Psychotic

10-14-2008, 08:21 PM

(And was it Andorra)?Close, but no! It was Croatia. In Zagreb.

charliepanayi

10-14-2008, 08:24 PM

England should know from what happened after thet beat Germany 5-1 that one good result doesn't mean they're suddenly going to be world-beaters. Beating Croatia in Zagreb is good - but the plain fact is no-one really knows what England will be capable of until they're playing in the World Cup (I think they will qualify anyway).

demondude

10-14-2008, 09:06 PM

I'm trying to get at the fact that England are very inconsistent, sometimes they are great, and other times they downright suck.

@DK: :P Daily mail is the only newspaper the newsagent stocks (Besides Devon times), and I don't buy it, just read it when I see it around the house.

Psychotic

10-18-2008, 04:58 PM

Liverpool Football Club: We don't know how to play football unless we go a goal down.

charliepanayi

10-18-2008, 08:17 PM

Arsenal Football Club: We play football whenever we can be bothered to. Like the second half today.

Optimism levels - Still zero.

Jack

10-19-2008, 07:37 AM

What is nice is now Leicester has got down to League One, I actually get to see them on the right side of 2-0 results. :) Not today, we gave into typical "Leicester falling asleep and throwing away 3 points", which plagued our stint in the Championship. :eep:

As for England, I still don't understand why Upson is playing. 4 wins in 4 games does bode well considering, but it means little considering that we looked confortable last time and we ruined it. I wish we were more consistant.

Oh, Psy... Well done your team for beating a 10 man Wigan. It must have been very difficult. :D

10-20-2008, 06:45 PM

Spurs are silly. :greenie:

10-21-2008, 06:19 PM

Haha, Ameobi's first goal in two years comes against us. So shameful

Edit: George your profile is still the best :love:

Loony BoB

10-21-2008, 08:19 PM

Haha, Silly Silly Silvestre. Even when you're winning.

10-22-2008, 07:43 PM

Our defence was awful. If we play like that against West Ham on Sunday then we're screwed. Not that I'm complaining about yesterday's result, of course.

Psychotic

10-22-2008, 09:36 PM

It speaks volumes about Liverpool's progress when I am genuinely annoyed at drawing away to Atletico Madrid.

charliepanayi

10-22-2008, 09:55 PM

Anorthosis put in a decent performance and only lose 0-1 at Inter Milan. They've done really well so far in the the CL this year, good to see a Cypriot team holding their own.

One month of horrible games now for us - tough away games (god knows what Rory Delap's long throws will do to our defence), facing Aston Villa, Man Utd and Chelsea, and a Spurs side desperate to prove a point in the North London Derby. Let's see what state we emerge in.

10-26-2008, 04:43 PM

There goes Chelsea's unbeaten home record. I suppose there's something to be said for a competitive Liverpool after all.

demondude

10-26-2008, 04:45 PM

:kaocry:

Serapy

10-26-2008, 04:48 PM

Congratulations, Liverpool! :p

Rocket Edge

10-26-2008, 05:54 PM

I wish I was there to see the look on every chelsea fans face. The silence from their support at the final whistle was a little weird.

Psychotic

10-26-2008, 06:16 PM

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/photobucketamazingness/killjoy.gif KILLJOY!

Loony BoB

10-26-2008, 06:23 PM

xD Well put, Psy.

Really wanted for United to end that run but we threw away our opportunity. Glad it's over.

Psychotic

10-26-2008, 06:30 PM

It's great and also somewhat frightening that we've now beaten Chelsea and United without Torres.

Oh, and in other football news, Harry Redknapp goes insane.

10-26-2008, 08:31 PM

ahahah winner Paul

also yeah, Harry, wtf.

charliepanayi

10-26-2008, 09:02 PM

Hard-fought win, so that's good. But now Spurs on Wednesday...I'll weep if we don't beat these idiots.

Jack

10-29-2008, 02:17 AM

It's great and also somewhat frightening that we've now beaten Chelsea and United without Torres.

Oh, and in other football news, Harry Redknapp goes insane.

Insane? Possibly, but is it as insane as when Aledayce saw ££ and signed for Newcastle? The difference here is that Spurs have a functioning team, when they actually play as a team. But seriously, Bentley is a waste of space. The Adams appointment is no surprise, but the shifting of leadership can really affect a team, especially one such as Portsmouth.
I got punched by Babz because of Liverpool Psy, I hope you're happy. My happiness or Liverpool top of the league, what's its gonna be buddy boy?

In other news:
- Maradona coaching Argentina. Now that's gonna be fun.
- I know noone cares about League One, but I'm getting annoyed with Leicester. They were doing really well, but bad bad bad defending (seriously, Hansen would lose his nut) against Brighton as well as poor performances against Northhampton are making me fear that we'll be a mid-table team, and that scares me.

:P