English Football Thread! 2006-2007 Season

[Loony BoB]

This is for discussion of the 2006-2007 season for English football clubs and whatnot. Of course, at the moment, it's all about transfers, but oh well. I like to read about that sort of thing while the World Cup is going on!

Latest for Man Utd fans (all rumours these days, of course, due to private ownership) includes...
- £10m bid for Carrick rejected by Spurs with Jol saying he'll never sell him, but suddenly they went all quiet after a £15m bid with Carrick apparently wanting to go for it and not happy that they're holding him back.
- Ghana's 21 year old midfielder Sulley Muntari is eager to move to the premiership, targetting his old club Manchester United.
- Ruud and Sir Alex have apparently got over their issues and he could be staying at United after all.
- ...not stopping MU apparently agreeing on something in the range of £20-25m for Spanish striker Torres.
- Meanwhile, the favourites of the fans Riquelme and Diarra seem to have nothing happening with Man Utd with the past weeks with little report on either of them.

[Psychotic]

Liverpool are trying to sign Daniel Alves, one of the stars of Sevilla's UEFA Cup winning team. And with that, we'll have the two best right-backs in the Premiership. And Jan Kromkamp. Oh baby.

Eidur Gudjohnsen is on the brink of a move to Barcelona, which is good news as his talent is wasted at Chelski, but will he get into the team ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho, Messi and Giuly? Should've joined us, Eidur. We would have given you love :(

Everton *snort* after spending *chuckle* £8.6 million on *giggle* Andy Johnson, have now spent £5m on a *guffaw* Wolves defender.

I have no idea why United fans think they have a chance in hell of landing Riquelme, but I'd love to see him and Rooney combine all the same. Carrick is now probably Old Trafford bound, which is a shame as I liked the guy (and as a Liverpool fan it is my duty to detest and loathe every United player :p), but on the other hand, it will show whether or not he is ready to make the step into the big-time. If he'd signed before the WC, you know Sven would start with him and Stevie G...

[Shoden]

Newcastle news - Well Lee Bowyer has gone to West Ham I think, Roeder is beggin' Steve Harper to stay and Michael Chopra has gone to Cardiff city.

[Loony BoB]

We have a chance for Riquelme only because Riquelme has openly stated that he would like to play for Manchester United in the past. That, and <s>I think</s> his club has not qualified for the CL next season, something which is also working against Athletico (who have Torres), who haven't even managed to make the UEFA Cup.

EDIT: On a quick check, Riquelme's current club Villarreal haven't made the UEFA Cup, either.

[Psychotic]

And then Chelski will take United's bid, and treble it, as per Robben and Essien. And they'll quite happily buy players so that other teams don't get them, and then leave them to rot on the bench. Look at SWP, and even Robben to a lesser extent.

Still, now is as good a time as any for English clubs to land big stars (As seen by Shevchenko, Ballack and Rosicky joining the Premiership) thanks to English teams doing well in Europe, and the Italian league currently being in turmoil. It wouldn't be too surprising to see Torres or Riquelme in the Premiership next season, but I still think they'll both remain in La Liga.

[Loony BoB]

With the exception of Ballack, Chelsea haven't actually gone after any of the players Manchester United are going after. Diarra, Riquelme, Torres, Carrick and more have all been linked with us for a long time but not once have Chelsea made a known move for them.

I think it's the upside of the Glazer takeover, being able to do everything in private so that word doesn't get out until it's happened. In the past, MU's offers were often known to the public before they were known to the player's team.

EDIT: I should note that I don't think Riquelme will be coming our way, personally. I think it'll be Carrick, some attacking midfielder and either Ruud will stay or Torres will come. Both preferrably but with Rossi in the mix, that's doubtful, we don't need five strikers. Torres also has offers from Newcastle and supposedly Arsenal on the table.

EDIT: Riquelme's contract also notably ends next year, meaning Villareal may wish to cash in before he can leave on a free.

[Resha]

Apparently Wenger's interested in Celtic goalie Artur Boruc, and he'll be watched closely during the Poland vs Germany game. (Kinda interesting, like a face-off between Lehmann and Boruc.) Lehmann still has a year left on his contract, but it's doubtful he's a long-term measure. But it's just a rumour, yeah.

*Tomas Rosicky.

[SaintDave]

who does everyone think will get promoted next season from the championship?
there were a lot of surprises last season.

[Loony BoB]

Manchester United have reportedly put in a bid for Benfica & Portugal midfielder Petit, who, after confirming that there was a bid, stated that "Anybody would love to play for Manchester United".

[tomamar04]

who does everyone think will get promoted next season from the championship?
there were a lot of surprises last season.

Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff

[SaintDave]

cardiff?
replace that with the mighty saints
WE ARE GOING UP

[Cz]

Bit early for this, doncha think? ;)

Trasnfer speculation all over the place, and the World Cup can only generate further rumours. All sorts of ideas fly around at this time, the difference being that with funding from Abramovich and Glazer respectively, Chelsea and Man. Utd actually have the resources to make such extravagant purchases. The vast mounts of money being showered on our rivals are enough to make any Arsenal fan seethe with fury, but at least this year the purchase of Rosicky shows that we're going to make changes too.

United are going to be the biggest spenders this summer, as they'll be pushing to challenge Chelsea for the top prize, and they can't do that with the players they've got now. The addition of Riquelme or Torres would be a great help in reconstructing their attack, but what they really need is a new Roy Keane to provide a dependable base that enables those attackers to roam free in the opponents' half and wreak havoc. Currently there's nobody really filling that role, and I don't think United can really take on Chelsea until they've found that man. Liverpool have already been linked with a number of players too, and while Benitez might not spend as much as his rivals this summer, the quality of the players he's already brought in suggests they'll be quality signings.

What should be very interesting is the outcome of the Juventus match-fixing scandal. I doubt any action will be taken, but if the worst comes to the worst Juventus' squad is sure to scatter, and one or two will be guarenteed to come to the Premiership. Zlatan Ibrahimovic? Yes please. :D

[Loony BoB]

United are going to be the biggest spenders this summer
What planet are you living on? We're in massive debt, there's no way we're going to spend more than Chelsea did on Ballack (on a free, but the cost of his wages is big enough) & Shevchenko (undisclosed), let alone Obi Mikel (£12m) and Kalou (undisclosed). It's possible we won't even spend as much altogether as they did on a single player (Shev rumoured to have costed up to £35m, or as "low" as £25m). Man U will probably spend about... £20-35m, at a guesstimate.

If we spend £15m on Carrick, £5m on Petit and £25m on Torres, though, along with an attacking central midfielder... well, I'll be very surprised.

EDIT: And obviously happy. ;)

[Cz]

What planet are you living on? We're in massive debt, there's no way we're going to spend more than Chelsea did on Ballack (on a free, but the cost of his wages is big enough) & Shevchenko (undisclosed), let alone Obi Mikel (£12m) and Kalou (undisclosed). It's possible we won't even spend as much altogether as they did on a single player (Shev rumoured to have costed up to £35m, or as "low" as £25m). Man U will probably spend about... £20-35m, at a guesstimate.Pfft, every football club is in debt to some extent. You don't think we built a £400 million stadium on profit alone, do you? You won't be spending as much as Chelsea, with their bottomless purse, but I'd be surprised if they added more than one or two new players now that they've got Ballack and Sheva. Given that Chelsea's squad has got even stronger since the season ended, you'd be foolish not to give your side a make-over. The Glazers promised plenty of transfer funds for just this purpose, and you'll probably get a decent amount of cash from sales (not to mention the £10m hush money you got for not buying Jon Obi Mikel). United aren't flat broke, and they'll be bringing in all the personnel they can if they want to pose a large-scale threat next year.

EDIT: Although bear in mind that the more you spend, the sadder I'll get. ;)

[Loony BoB]

I think we have £32m to spend, after Obi Mikel's money came in. I think it was either £20m or £25m before that happened, though, so yeah. Hence, if they have indeed offered £15m for Carrick, we're already running out of cash.

[Jess]

Newcastle news - Well Lee Bowyer has gone to West Ham I think, Roeder is beggin' Steve Harper to stay and Michael Chopra has gone to Cardiff city.
Yep. Bowyer has indeed gone to West Ham. I'm glad that Chopra has left though - as far as I'm concerned he wasn't very good. :-\

[Shoden]

The problem was he was never given a chance at all to show the team what he could do, he scored a goal or 2. Hope Fat Freddy opens that wallet soon, all the good players are going quick.

[Cz]

I think we have £32m to spend, after Obi Mikel's money came in. I think it was either £20m or £25m before that happened, though, so yeah. Hence, if they have indeed offered £15m for Carrick, we're already running out of cash.That's fair enough, but while it's hardly comparable to Chelsea's spending, to spend £30m plus on one or two players doesn't exactly suggest hard times. As it is, I think United are going to be making quite a few changes over the summer, and when it comes down to it the price of those changes matters very little. United's next stars are just as likely to come from their youth ranks as from big-money transfers anyway.


Yep. Bowyer has indeed gone to West Ham. I'm glad that Chopra has left though - as far as I'm concerned he wasn't very good. Apparently you're linked with Gareth Barry. It's a glorious revolution at St. James' Park, huh? :p

[Croyles]

Pff, im annoyed Ballack is moving, what a sell out.
I guess im gonna have to watch more Premiership games and start supporting Chelsea! ^^
(I still love you though Ballack! Do well for Germany!)

Will chelsea ever run out of money?

[Shoden]

I think we have £32m to spend, after Obi Mikel's money came in. I think it was either £20m or £25m before that happened, though, so yeah. Hence, if they have indeed offered £15m for Carrick, we're already running out of cash.That's fair enough, but while it's hardly comparable to Chelsea's spending, to spend £30m plus on one or two players doesn't exactly suggest hard times. As it is, I think United are going to be making quite a few changes over the summer, and when it comes down to it the price of those changes matters very little. United's next stars are just as likely to come from their youth ranks as from big-money transfers anyway.


Yep. Bowyer has indeed gone to West Ham. I'm glad that Chopra has left though - as far as I'm concerned he wasn't very good. Apparently you're linked with Gareth Barry. It's a glorious revolution at St. James' Park, huh? :p

Roeder says he is waiting for the right moments and he is going to wait and not rush for players at the start of the transfer season.

[Loony BoB]

Pff, im annoyed Ballack is moving, what a sell out.
I guess im gonna have to watch more Premiership games and start supporting Chelsea! ^^
You accuse Ballack of selling out and then say you'll have to start supporting Chelsea? :confused:

[Heath]

Everton *snort* after spending *chuckle* £8.6 million on *giggle* Andy Johnson, have now spent £5m on a *guffaw* Wolves defender.


Be glad you can laugh about it! On one hand, I'm glad we're actually making an effort to get strikers in, but on the other I think it's a bit of a shame that McFadden is probably going to lose out. I quite like McFadden and the only reason he's not been putting out the performances is because Moyes has refused to play him in the correct position.

Though Cahill came from the Championship too, so you never know.

[Psychotic]

Yeah, come on Croyles, support a true German legend in Dietmar Hamann.

Although he's supposedly very close to signing for Bolton. He's been an absolute legend for Liverpool, and was crucial in not only our recent cup successes, but also the ones in 2001. He really is an underrated player. I can see why he'd move, because he doesn't get as many games any more, thanks to the emergence of the sublime Xabi Alonso, and the outstanding Momo Sissoko. If he does leave, I wish him all the best.

Kuja, McFadden, Beattie and Johnson? Watford will be quaking in their boots :p

[Heath]

Kuja, McFadden, Beattie and Johnson? Watford will be quaking in their boots :p

When'd we sign Kuja? I don't suppose using magic is against the rules. And besides, since when have Everton had a strike-force that caused anyone to quake in their boots? Well, I suppose Duncan if you happen to play for Wigan :D

[Psychotic]

Yeah, I noticed it could be interpretted that I said Kuja played for Everton, and I figured I'd leave it as it was because it looked funny. Oh, and I think using magic is a professional foul, and so therefore Mr. Trance would get sent off for it.

Danny Cadamateri and Paul Rideout. :love:

[Heath]

Yeah, I noticed it could be interpretted that I said Kuja played for Everton, and I figured I'd leave it as it was because it looked funny. Oh, and I think using magic is a professional foul, and so therefore Mr. Trance would get sent off for it.

Danny Cadamateri and Paul Rideout. :love:

I was half expecting you to bring up Francis Jeffers.

[DK]

I thought I'd already done posted in this thread laughing about a wolves player, but I haven't, so I will now.

Bwahahahaha.

Also, Francis Jeffers lol. THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Some are superstars. Some are those who go on to become living legends. Some are those who go on too long and become has-beens. Francis Jeffers is a NEVER WAS-been.

Also: Someone tell Stuart Pearce not to buy Quinton Fortune. Please. :(

Edit: We already have the Mighty Paul Dickov, what with his 5 goals in 21 games last season. Sure to drag us up from 15th in the table. Right? RIGHT?

[Resha]

Leave Francis Jeffers alone. :(

[Jess]

Yep. Bowyer has indeed gone to West Ham. I'm glad that Chopra has left though - as far as I'm concerned he wasn't very good. Apparently you're linked with Gareth Barry. It's a glorious revolution at St. James' Park, huh? :p
We've been linked with aload of people. :-\

For example: Darren Bent, Van Nistlerooy, Dirk Kuyt, Steed Malbranque, Marco Materazzi, Obafemi Martins and a few others I can't remember.

[SaintDave]

newcastle are gonna get linked with every striker now sherear has gone.

[Croyles]

Pff, im annoyed Ballack is moving, what a sell out.
I guess im gonna have to watch more Premiership games and start supporting Chelsea! ^^
You accuse Ballack of selling out and then say you'll have to start supporting Chelsea? :confused:

It was a joke. Not a very funny one imo but still.
I dont accuse Ballack of selling, out, im just annoyed he's moving.

[Loony BoB]

But he did sell out!

[Croyles]

Well then i'm a sell out too, but even if he would have moved to Norwich City I would support Norwich City :D

[Resha]

Most people who move to Chelsea or Real Madrid sell out, and sell out badly.

[Spatvark]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but why is Ballack a sellout for going to Chelsea? Sure, he's getting payed a crapload of money, but think about it. Chelsea are making a name for themselves as a giant club in Europe, they've got a really impressive team roster, they've got to be one of the favourites to win the Champions League this coming season and the Premiership once again, so why wouldn't Ballack want to play there? Or is it just 'cause he signed for Chelsea whom everyone hates? XD

I do forsee problems though, with Ballack's huge ego, if he isn't regularly starting matches, there may well be trouble, and with the quality and depth of the team, he's gonna have to fight for it.

This season as a whole though is shaping up very nicely; a lot of top talent from Europe is making its way to our small isle, and while I imagine a few won't perform as well with our more physical style of play (remember Rebrov's horrific time at Tottenham?), the league as a whole is going to really shout out to the rest of the world that we are big-time. Not that we haven't previously, but the international depth and upcoming home-based talent are really making a stand for this poxy nation XD

[Croyles]

Ballack's got a normal footballers ego, which is still high nontheless.

[Cz]

Just wondering, what does everybody make of the managerial changes that have been made since last season ended? From what we've seen of Roeder at Newcastle, he looks a decent appointment, and should be able to help the side achieve their potential. I'm not so sure about the others though. Obviously Gareth Southgate can't be judged on past performance, but he hardly strikes me as the sort of man who can reform Middlesbrough football club. Next season should see them wallow in mediocrity at best. Dowie, meanwhile, is an average manager with an average squad of players. Charlton need to attract some decent talent if they are to go anywhere, and having Iain Dowie in charge isn't going to make that any easier.

Oh, and Ballack isn't a sellout. He's achieved pretty much everything he can at Bayern, and if he wants a Champions' League medal in the near future there's no better bet than Chelsea. Of course the wages are going to be astronomical, but if you think that's the only reason Ballack has made the move, then you're not looking at the full picture.

On the other hand, I am willing to admit that Michael Ballack is a jerk, and that his newfound Chelsea-ness makes him doubly so. :D

[Loony BoB]

I will continue to call anyone who is brought in by Abro's millions a sellout! I don't care what anyone says. :p

Also, looking forward to seeing how Keano's situation develops, there are already rumours that he may be the next Sunderland manager. It would be awesome if he does well and takes over from Sir Alex at Man Utd someday.

[Psychotic]

I will continue to call anyone who is brought in by Abro's millions a sellout! I don't care what anyone says. :pWhat if Chelsea hire a new tea lady?

I doubt Keane will go into management, or if he does, not just yet. I think the next United manager after Fergie is gone will either be Martin O'Neill (and I wish we'd taken him over McClaren, although even better, I wish we hadn't messed Hiddink about) or Mark Hughes.

[Loony BoB]

I will continue to call anyone who is brought in by Abro's millions a sellout! I don't care what anyone says. :pWhat if Chelsea hire a new tea lady?
A £1,000,000 tea lady? ...you know, it's kind of sad that such a thing wouldn't surprise me. :(


I doubt Keane will go into management, or if he does, not just yet. I think the next United manager after Fergie is gone will either be Martin O'Neill (and I wish we'd taken him over McClaren, although even better, I wish we hadn't messed Hiddink about) or Mark Hughes.Hughes is the hot favourite. And I don't think he'll be there very soon, either. It's just a nice thought. But I do, however, think that there's a good chance that he'll be MU manager someday.

[Psychotic]

A £1,000,000 tea lady? ...you know, it's kind of sad that such a thing wouldn't surprise me. :(Only if it looked like Man United, Liverpool or Arsenal were going to sign her...

And apparently Marseille still want Djibril Cisse despite his broken leg, which would leave our strikeforce down to 2, Crouch and Fowler (unless you want to count Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor) So Torres or Kuyt (or both, although I doubt we could afford that) would be nice.

[Cz]

The 2006-07 Fixture List, for those who haven't seen it yet.

[Psychotic]

Liverpool have signed Craig Bellamy for £6m. Compared to Everton's signing of Andy Johnson for £8m, we have got a fantastic deal.

The only issue is with his attitude, but I think Rafa can keep in him check, and as he is a lifelong Liverpool supporter, I can't see him doing anything against the best interests of the club.

[Jess]

So now Newcastle are chasing after two strikers as Owen *could* be out for the whole of the 2006-2007 season.

The two who are looking the most likely at the moment are Dirk Kuyt from Holland who is desperate to play in England and has confirmed that he'd 'love to play for Newcastle', and also Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

We'll see. :)

[Loony BoB]

2006-07 in English football (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006-07_in_English_football)

For those of you wishing to keep up with confirmed transfers.

In other 'big name' news...
David Beckham linked with Newcastle United.
Ruud van Nistelrooy linked with Newcastle United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo linked with Real Madrid.

Manchester United continue to be linked with every midfielder under the sun.

[DK]

Pie can you write to Liverpool and ask them to give Craig Bellamy the surgery he's needed for many years now, the poor man clearly has no neck.

[Resha]

Arsenal are also looking at Kuyt. So are Liverpool. Everyone's looking at Kuyt and I wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea bought him just to spite us all! >:O

Arsenal're looking at Saviola and I think that's great ^_^ I really like him. Someone also said something about selling Ashley Cole to Chelskanrjy for 20 mil' and getting...Michael...Carrick?! But wasn't he offered to us a while ago for 3 mil'?! O_O I am not sure about this. Not sure at all.

[Doomie]

Hargreaves is Canadian. Everyone wants him.

[Shoden]

2006-07 in English football (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006-07_in_English_football)

For those of you wishing to keep up with confirmed transfers.

In other 'big name' news...
David Beckham linked with Newcastle United.


Don't scare me, the team's mucked up enough. The only problems are strikers and defence. £6M for Bellamy is a massive bargain.

[Doomie]

What? I'd love to have Beckham in Milan. Although I doubt he'd come now that they're in Serie B.

[Shoden]

Owen's only out til new year, the injury was bad but not as bad as first thought, he's having surgery in Colorado.

[Psychotic]

UNF! UNF! UNF!

"What is that noise?" I hear you ask? That is my reaction to Liverpool's summer transfers so far.
Craig Bellamy - Proven Premiership goalscorer with pace. 17 goals last season, and imagine how well he'll do with Gerrard and Alonso feeding him.
Gabriel Paletta - Can't say much about him because I've never seen him play, but he's apparently one for the future.
Fabio Aurellio - (We got him on a free, nice) I've seen a couple of games where he's played for Valencia, and he was class.
Mark Gonzalez - Finally got a work permit. This is the transfer I am most excited about. Chile's star player, and when we loaned him out to Sociedad last season he managed 5 goals in 12 games (remember he's a winger and had just come back from a serious injury) including a 35 yard screamer and one against Real Madrid, and Sociedad fans hail him as the reason they stayed up. Yes, yes and yes. :D

There are only one or two transfers left for Rafa to make. Personally, I think itwill either be Daniel Alves, or Jermaine Pennant and Dirk Kuyt.

Arsenal don't need Kuyt, as Saviola is pretty much theirs, and I can't see why on earth Kuyt would take Newcastle over Liverpool, unless he's got brain damage (Unless they do something fantastically stupid like bid £17m again)

Pennant...hmm...slightly iffy, but he did make more crosses in the Premiership last season than any other player, while playing for Birmingham of all teams, so we'll see.

Ashley Cole leaving Arsenal wouldn't be so bad for our resident army of Gooners, as I for one would like to see whether Clichy has what it takes to become a good player. The same goes for RVN's departure from Man United - surely they have to give Rossi a first team run sooner or later, or else there's no point in having him, unless Sir Alex is determined to win the reserves league.

[Resha]

I dunno about Ashley Cole leaving Arsenal but Sol Campbell just did. o_o All the best to him. Almost 200 appearances for us. :) Another one I forgot to mention was Yaya Toure. I think that would be subliminally awesome; so far as I saw in the WC, he's a pretty good player. ^_^ Both the Toure brothers -- ours?

[Psychotic]

That's good news for Arsenal fans, and hopefully this means Phillipe Senderos will grow as a player as a part of Arsenal's first choice centre-back pairing, with Djourou as backup.

I've said it before, but as I haven't said it yet in this thread I'll say it again: If Arsenal don't get a tough midfield player, they can look forward to coming fourth at the best. It's very well playing nice passing football against the likes of Aston Villa and Charlton, but when they come up against teams like Bolton and Blackburn, they'll be absolutely slaughtered if they make Fabregas and Rosicky their central pairing. Oh where are the Vieiras and the Petits of yesteryear?

Unless we think Abou "As good as Sissoko" (I'm never letting him forget that one) Diaby is going to start ahead of those two, Gilberto Silva and Hleb.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I rather liked Sol and whilst I am sad to see him leave I have to admit that his chances would have been better elsewhere.

I think saying Arsenal finishing in a second consecutive fourth place is a bit too harsh. Our players have demonstrated good defensive skills, strength and resilience in order to show what it takes to reaching major finals. The World Cup has no doubt provided valuable experience to many of our young players and will spark more hunger for trophies in some of our key players. There are some household names joining or likely to be joining our squad which will be good for the overall confidence of the team. Thierry Henry's contract renewal was absolutely key to us and will surely make the rest of the team willing to show him that he made the right decision in staying. There is only one pre-season worry which is the possible effects of the rounds of qualifying for CL might have on our earlier games. We could do with a positive start

[ff_sweden]

Sol campbell is leaving?. Yes it´s good news, remember West Ham United (2-3) home last season. And a bit too old now.

But here´s my new fave player:D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3L9TtFj5AE&search=Tomas%20rosicky

[Psychotic]

I think saying Arsenal finishing in a second consecutive fourth place is a bit too harsh. Why is that harsh? All the Premiership winning teams have had good defensive midfielders: United had Keane, Blackburn had Batty, Arsenal had Vieira (and Petit) and Chelsea have Makelele. If the only differences to the Arsenal squad are attacking ones - when there is absolutely nothing wrong with their attack to begin with - then I can't see how Arsenal can make up the 15 point gap on the top three.

I'm not saying they will definitely finish in fourth place. Arsenal can finish in the top three if they buy a good, solid defensive midfielder, because they need to grind out results in tough, battling games when teams won't let Arsenal play their usual passing game.
Our players have demonstrated good defensive skills, strength and resilience in order to show what it takes to reaching major finals.Yeah, Arsenal's cup experience in recent years is an advantage over the Spurs and Newcastles of this world, but you could apply the same sentiments to the defences of Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool, and they're the ones you want to be challenging.
The World Cup has no doubt provided valuable experience to many of our young players and will spark more hunger for trophies in some of our key players.And it will have most likely added fatigue to them. Remember how well Van Nistelrooy played in 02-03 after Holland didn't feature in the World Cup? Although that will affect other teams too, I do believe Arsenal had more players at this World Cup than anyone else.

And now, a note on the Lord of All Teams, Chelsea.

I get the feeling that in order to accomodate Shevchenko, Mourinho, that tactical genius (His genius involves sending on Robert Huth as a striker when Chelsea are losing. What a manager!) will play a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with the midfield consisting of Makelele, Ballack, Essien and Lampard. He played just that formation against Liverpool in the FA Cup, and what happened? Harry Kewell ripped them to shreds on the flank. That formation has absolutely no width, and they'll pay a heavy price for it. No doubt Jose will switch to his favoured 4-5-1/4-3-3 in September or October or so when he realises 4-4-2 diamond doesn't work, and hopefully by then Chelsea will have dropped enough points to allow another team to have forged ahead.

Also, Ballack and Lampard patnership in midfield? That reminds me of the Gerrard - Lampard England combination. Let's hope it produces the same results.

Oh, and Man United need some good widemen. Ronaldo can't cross, Giggs, a legend of the 90's is now past it, Kieran Richardson is good enough for West Brom but not good enough for potential title contenders, leaving Park Ji-Sung as the only decent one they have. If they buy Carrick, he and Alan Smith will provide a good central midfield - something they were lacking last season - and Scholes should just be used as a game-turning substitute or as cover, really. Other than the flanks, United have a very good team in all areas of the pitch. If I was Sir Redface, I'd move for the likes of Simao and Joaquin.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

There were many problems with our defenders mid-season with the likes of Campbell going AWOL, both our left-backs injured and Lauren only making 11 apperances. We are not guaranteed to have that problem this year unless lightning strikes twice. We also have a few of our younger players maturing and going through a toughening-up process and we are sure to see more glimpses than what we saw last season of what good players they can become in the future. Don't forget we are still a young team and most of our players have not hit their peaks yet.

I really don't think the World Cup will have too long a lasting effect to do much damage to our early season campaign. I mean four weeks is almost an eternity to tennis players. If they can't handle being on the pitch after a month then they shouldn't be getting paid as much as they do. Also don't forget that only two members of our first team squad played a part in the last four games of the WC, three less than Chelsea, not to mention a lot of our players getting as little as only three games.

Based on last seasons final statistics we haven't had too bad a goal scoring record. We have scored way more goals then Liverpoool and conceded less than Manchester United. If we can convert more of the goals we score into matchwinners then we will be right on your tail

[Cz]

You're probably all already aware of this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/5120332.stm) by now, but it's worth posting all the same. This is bad news for United, since while Ronaldo's game is slightly flawed at the moment, a few years under Sir Alex could have turned him into a world-beater. Psy's absolutely right to point out their lack of wide players (and I don't think much of Park Ji-Sung, either), and this can only add to their troubles.

In other news, it looks like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is off to Charlton, making him the first striker with personality ever to play for the Addicks. It's a good move from his point of view, since he's pretty much guarenteed some games there, which wasn't necessarily the case for 'Boro.

I'm sad to see Sol go, since he's been brilliant for us in the past, and I hope we'll go about finding a replacement in the summer. I like the idea of a Senderos/Toure central pairing, but beyond that our defensive options look dodgy. Djourou hasn't impressed me when I've seen him play, and Pascal Cygan is...well. Bring back Matthew Upson, I say. :D


blah blah blah Abou "As good as Sissoko" (I'm never letting him forget that one) Diaby blah blah blahYou will when he proves me right. :p

[DK]

I would laugh pretty hard if both Real Madrid and Barcelona turned around and said "We don't want Ronaldo". :D

[Loony BoB]

Can't help but be amused by the fact that Ruud and Ronaldo have a bustup, resulting in Ruud being tipped to leave, then Ronaldo is also tipped to leave, both are tipped to go to Real Madrid, and everyone's forgotten that the main reason both players apparently want to leave is that they don't get along with each other. Would be kind of funny if they both ended up at Real and had yet another bustup there. Maybe then they'd both transfer to Chelsea and have a bustup there. And then -- oh, you know.

[Shoden]

Well Newcastle are giving European hopes in the hands of Albert Luque, if really was a good hitman for the opposite goal in Spain I'd like to see what he can do. Finally seeing him play up front instead of midfield is a good change.

[ff_sweden]

Hmmm, Nistelrooy´s tipped to go to Bayern Munich, right? http://www.football.co.uk/shared/images/teams/bayern_munich.jpg

[Loony BoB]

Hmmm, Nistelrooy´s tipped to go to Bayern Munich, right?
I think it's like this at the moment - 30% likely he'll stay, 30% likely he'll go to Real Madrid, 30% likely he'll go to Bayern Munich, 10% likely something else will happen (eg. Newcastle).

[ff_sweden]

Jay!, the swedish player Björn Runström, from Hammarby IF, signed for Fulham today
http://expressen.se/content/1/c6/46/67/00/9ba7c03e.jpg

[Shoden]

Hmmm, Nistelrooy´s tipped to go to Bayern Munich, right?
I think it's like this at the moment - 30% likely he'll stay, 30% likely he'll go to Real Madrid, 30% likely he'll go to Bayern Munich, 10% likely something else will happen (eg. Newcastle).

I would hate Roeder for eternity if he signed horseface. We don't need him, we just need someone who's a decent passer and a sly one for getting in the opposition box, which Ruud never did much. Back when I played the game I was a goal whore until I got set as a defender.

[Psychotic]

I would hate Roeder for eternity if he signed horseface. We don't need himNewcastle have two fit strikers: Ameobi and Luque.

I'd say that you very much need "horseface".

[Shoden]

I would hate Roeder for eternity if he signed horseface. We don't need himNewcastle have two fit strikers: Ameobi and Luque.

I'd say that you very much need "horseface".

We don't need because
1. He's sheer ugly
2. He's an attention whore
and 3. He looks like a horse.

3 very good reasons to not need him. Ameobi is getting better Luque has his chance to shine and there's plenty of time to jump into the transfer window.

[Psychotic]

Ronaldinho, of course, is a very attractive man who does not seek attention in any way with his silly little Nike adverts, and he doesn't look like a beaver, therefore, Newcastle are very much interested in him. Give me a break.

Ameobi is not getting better. Luque, meh. Wouldn't get into any of the top 5's line ups, and that's where you kids want to be, right? Heck, he couldn't get into the first 11 of West Ham or Middlesbrough.

[Shoden]

He was very, verry good back in Spain, he just lost his touch, once he gets it back he'll be pretty good. As long as they score goals and aren't whiners like horseface then pretty much settled. With Owen out til New Year or Easter we need to get our strikeforce up a bit while building defence, as good as Given is, he isn't a god.

[Psychotic]

IF he gets it back. Just ask Fernando Morientes. And Luque is more of a whiner than Van Nistelrooy, he even bitched about everybody's favourite barcodes, saying they were a long ball team and there was no place for him in it.

[Jess]

I would hate Roeder for eternity if he signed horseface. We don't need himNewcastle have two fit strikers: Ameobi and Luque.

I'd say that you very much need "horseface".

We don't need because
1. He's sheer ugly
2. He's an attention whore
and 3. He looks like a horse.

3 very good reasons to not need him. Ameobi is getting better Luque has his chance to shine and there's plenty of time to jump into the transfer window.
...What!? We don't need a striker? Especially a good one such as Nistlerooy just because he is ugly? Are you kidding me?

Ameobi isn't getting better and nobody knows how well Luque will perform this season, we'll have to wait and see. We do need another striker. A good one would be nice, too.

The only part of Newcastle Utd that doesn't need improving is our Midfeild. 3 strikers in total - one of which is constantly injured, the second is useless and the third hasn't proven himself yet - and an awful defence put with a half-decent midfeild most certaintly isn't going to get us anywhere.

[Shoden]

Luque didn't go super emo on ferguson for stupid reasons, it seems Newcastle are running out of targets with Hasslebank going to Charlton. It's defence I'm worried about, who wouldn't be if you had Boumsong as your main hitman in the def departmant? Dyer, Parker, Emre and Solano is a good midfield don't you think? Emre needs time, he's shown he can score goals and set up goals. Like I said I have my reasons. GOOD REASONS TOO!

[Loony BoB]

Ameobi
Who?

Luque
Who?

We don't need him, we just need someone who's a decent passer
It certainly would make for an exciting game if an out-and-out striker was to spend his time passing the ball around all day, yeah. It'd be like watching Chelsea when they're 1-0 up! Perhaps Newcastle should make a bid for Nolan, I hear he can pass.

and a sly one for getting in the opposition box, which Ruud never did much.
What!? Oh! I know. You must have Ruud van Nistelrooy confused with Wes Brown. That's understandable. And clearly the only way you could possibly think that van Nistelrooy of all people never gets into the opposition box. Sorry, Shoden. I just wasn't aware you were blind, that's all. :p

[Cz]

As much as I dislike Van Nistelrooy, he is a bloody good striker who would be an asset to any team. If I were a Newcastle fan, I'd be honoured to have him, since you're not heading for major silverware any time soon, and there are plenty of other places he could go.

[lfc_Baz]

Chris Kirkland- Wigan
Diddi Hamman- Mn City

[Loony BoB]

To clarify on the above...
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink from Middlesbrough to Charlton Athletic, free
Chris Kirkland from Liverpool to Wigan Athletic, six month loan deal
Seol Ki-Hyeon from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Reading, £1.5m

Meanwhile, Man United have made a news statement on their website slamming any intention of selling Ronaldo. "Manchester United has noted the increasing media speculation over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Club can confirm there is no possibility of Cristiano being sold. Cristiano recently signed a new contract until 2010 and the Club fully expects him to honour that contract. The Club will not listen to any offers for Cristiano. Cristiano is one of the brightest young stars in world football as demonstrated by his performances at the World Cup and Manchester United is not in the business of selling their best young players."

[Shoden]

I just don't like Ruud Van Nistelroy that much, sure he maybe good, but it'd be a one man team, he's over rated but not as good as everyone says. So far Roeder hasn't made any transfers for the Intertoto cup. Not good.

here's the thingamajig.

NUFC: (from) Given, Harper, Krul, Elliott,
Babayaro, Bramble, Carr, Ramage, Taylor, Edgar, Finnigan, Huntington, Gate, Butt, Emre, Faye, N'Zogbia, Pattison, Solano, O'Brien, Parker, Luque, Milner.

Doubtful: Ameobi (not in full training)

Unavailable: Boumsong (back in training 28.07.06), Moore (back in training 17.07.06), Dyer (unfit), Owen (injured).

I reckon they should go chasing after Gary Speed, bring him back.

[Loony BoB]

Latest transfer news:

11 July 2006
Gabriel Zakuani from Leyton Orient to Fulham, £1.5m
Paul Smith from Southampton to Nottingham Forest, £500k

12 July 2006
Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool to Manchester City, free
Djibril Cisse from Liverpool to Olympique Marseille, season-long loan
Damien Francis from Wigan Athletic to Watford, £1.5m
Yoann Folly from Southampton to Sheffield Wednesday, Undisclosed

[ff_sweden]

HEY, don´t forget Björn Runström from Hammarby IF to Fulham!!!!

[Loony BoB]

I can't keep track of every website out there, I'm just posting from the Wikipedia updates. :) I'll update Wikipedia with that now, though.

EDIT:
12 July 2006
Björn Runström from Hammarby IF to Fulham, Undisclosed
;)

[DK]

Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool to Manchester City, free

At least we have one good signing. :{

[Shoden]

Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool to Manchester City, free

At least we have one good signing. :{

You're a city fan? No wonder BoB doesn't like you so much, bargain, literally. at least City got something, better then nothing. Better then Newcastle atm, no signings yet...

[Loony BoB]

Dan's my best friend. Since when did I not like him? :p

[DK]

Yes, I'm a City fan, and glad we have someone of good quality, as opposed to our previous signings Paul "The Dick" Dickov and Ousmane "Who?" Dabo.

[ff_sweden]

Andreas Isaksson is tipped to go from Rennes to Man City
http://media.staderennais.com/2/3676.jpg

[DK]

Hell I'll take that. NO MORE DAVID JAMES <3

[ff_sweden]

Isaksson is the best swedish goalkeeper since Thomas Ravelli =)

[Cz]

Isaksson's a damned good keeper. Sweden's 2-0 exit to Germany in the World Cup would have been a lot worse if it wasn't for him. Good signing for City. :)

[Psychotic]

Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool to Manchester City, free Correction:
Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool to Bolton Wanderers, free.
Dietmar Hamann from Bolton Wanderes to Manchester City, £400,000.

Didi = Legend. Sad to see him go. Without him, we would not have won the Champions League, or indeed the FA Cup last season.
Djibril Cisse from Liverpool to Olympique Marseille, season-long loanIt was always going to happen. He and Rafa have never been the firmest of friends. £14 million? Ugh, what a muppet Houllier was at times.

[ff_sweden]

YES! CESC WILL STAY IN ARSENAL!!

Hamann´s best goal ever? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZzA_tPTmx8&search=Hamann%20

[DK]

I'll take one of those every saturday thx :love:

[Psychotic]

I dunno, the one he got from his own half against the Wolves reserves I believe it was (I doubt you could find that on YouTube but you never know) was pretty special.

But still, that was incredible to watch. Look at the way the ball swerves on the first replay. Awesome.

[Loony BoB]

Continuing the updates...

13 July 2006
Charlie Griffin from Wycombe Wanderers to Forest Green Rovers, loan
Stevland Angus from Barnet FC to Torquay United, free
Scott Flinders from Barnsley FC to Crystal Palace FC, £1m

[Shoden]

Scott Parker is the new captain of Newcastle and Shay Given named Vice captain,

[ff_sweden]

Where does the former Newcastle player Olivier Bernard plays?

[Cz]

Scott Parker is the new captain of Newcastle and Shay Given named Vice captain,Wow, that's a strange choice.

[DK]

Strange choice indeed.

Edit: then again didn't they have Jermaine Jenas as captain for a while? They have a history of dodgy choices.

[Loony BoB]

14 July 2006
Pascal Zuberbuhler from FC Basel to West Bromwich Albion, free
Sam Sodje from Brentford to Reading, £350k
Abdoulaye Meite from Olympique Marseille to Bolton Wanderers

[Psychotic]

Where does the former Newcastle player Olivier Bernard plays?When I last heard, it was Rangers in Scotland.

I can't see what's wrong with a Parker-Given combo, seeing as those two were their best players last season, and are their best players overall, imho.

[ff_sweden]

ok thanks.

[Cz]

I can't see what's wrong with a Parker-Given combo, seeing as those two were their best players last season, and are their best players overall, imho.I was more surprised at Parker than Given, really. Shay would make a great captain, since he's so consistent for Newcastle, and has been one of the first names down on the team sheet for almost ten years now. Parker, on the other hand, only arrived last year, and doesn't have the same sort of experience that Given does (particularly after Chelsea did their best to ruin him). You're right to say that he was their best player last season (although the same can be said for Henry at Arsenal, and I'm not sure that he was the best choice for our captaincy) but that doesn't necessarily mean he has the leadership qualities that make a good captain.

Anyway, the captaincy isn't that important. As long as Newcastle make the right additions to their squad over the summer, and Roeder continues his promising start, the Toon Army should have a much happier season in 06-07. Let's hope they can get it off to a good start with a convincing win tonight.

[Shoden]

From that match I can say we need another striker and some better defence.

1-1 is better then getting beat, Luque saved the day in the 50th min with that equalizer.

[ff_sweden]

1-1 against Lilleström.........haha

[Loony BoB]

Good to see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring two goals in United's 4-0 against the Pirates in South Africa. Richardson scored as well, with an own goal from the Pirates keeper making the fourth. Most important thing is that Solskjaer is proving he's still got some left in him, even if it's hardly a Premiership quality side.

[ff_sweden]

When was last time Solskjaer scored.. 2003?

[Loony BoB]

Wouldn't have a clue, actually. He was out injured and is getting on now, so yeah. Great that he's stuck with a club that has stuck with him, though, even if he's only getting paid for the few games he actually plays. A great sportsman, he is, a real advertisement for the spirit of the game.

EDIT: He scored nine goals in the 2002-03 season in 37 appearances, and not a single goal in 34 appearances the season after that. He didn't play a game in 2004-05, but made three appearances (no goals) in 2005-06. While a United legend, I personally wouldn't put him in the first team against any Premiership level side these days. I think he's being kept on at the club primarily in a coaching role.

[ff_sweden]

Do you think he´ll play in the Norwegian national team?

[Loony BoB]

Not unless he revives his form of old. Oh, and you can thank Reuters for this one - Solksjaer's last goal for United in an official match was against Panathinaikos of Greece in a European Champions League tie in September 2003.

[Psychotic]

You're right to say that he was their best player last season (although the same can be said for Henry at Arsenal, and I'm not sure that he was the best choice for our captaincy)Would you have picked Kolo too?

In other friendly news, Liverpool beat Wrexham 2-0, and Bellamy scored on his debut, and PAUL ANDERSON :love: :love: :love: scored.

There you guys go, I told you he'd hit the big time. Scoring a goal in a friendly away at Wrexham is an incredible accomplishment. :D

Also, behold our brand new European away kit:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/images4/3rdkit_o6_riise_body_full.jpg

I like it. But Adidas, why do you love giving us white and dark green away kits? I still have the wonderful one from 94-95, which was white with green sleeves and black shorts. :D

[Loony BoB]

The most tipped moves for Manchester United are now...

Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid for approximately £12m (now that's cheap for a player of his calibre)
Fernando Torres to Manchester United for approximately £23-25m from Athletico Madrid
Patrick Vieira to Manchester United from Juventus
Michael Carrick to Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspurs
Possibly with John O'Shea (and £10m) going the other way to Tottenham Hotspurs, although apparently this deal has been rejected.
Tomasz Kuszczak to Manchester United from West Brom

Still missing that future Paul Scholes replacement. Other players we've recently been linked to include Jermaine Defoe,

Van der Sar expected to get a one year extension - his current contract ends after this season.

Upcoming star Giuseppe Rossi may be given a loan spell at West Brom should Torres be signed up, with Rooney, Saha and Solskjaer filling the remaining three striker positions. This would help with the potential signing of Tomasz Kuszczak from West Brom.

Possible lineup next season for Man U...


Van der Sar ---backed by Kuszczak

Neville Ferdinand Vidic Heinze ---backed by O'Shea, Piqué, Brown, Silvestre, Evra

Vieira ---backed by Carrick, O'Shea

Ronaldo Scholes Giggs ---backed by Park, Smith, Richardson, Fletcher

Rooney Torres ---backed by Saha, Solskjaer, Rossi

Hell, I'll take that. Still think we should get a replacement for Scholes though... at least someone to train up for it.

[ff_sweden]

VIEIRA TO UNITED? I WOULD NEVER FORGIVE HIM!

[Loony BoB]

Guess you haven't read his autobiography either, then. Some journalist has!


Ferguson is a long-standing admirer of the France midfielder and is thought to rate him among the best of a series of possible replacements for Roy Keane. Ferguson said last season that he missed the opportunity to sign Vieira before the player's move to Italy last summer. 'We'd been down that road so many times, where we'd been told he wanted to sign for United and then ended up staying at Arsenal. So I dismissed it, and then it became a reality when he left Highbury for Juventus. Whether Arsenal would have sold him to us is another matter.'

Vieira, also a target for Roma and Internazionale, revealed in his autobiography last year that he would contemplate joining United, despite his numerous run-ins during matches against the club, notably with Van Nistelrooy. 'When you are a player, you always look at the best,' he said. 'And that Manchester United team was the best in the country.'

[ff_sweden]

WAS. They are not the best right now

[Loony BoB]

Neither were Arsenal when he signed for them. ;) In fact, outside of three of his ten or so seasons, they never were.

Given the alternative two clubs going after him, we're the best of his options. Chelsea won't be in for him, at least I doubt it when they have Makélélé, Essien, Lampard, Cole, Duff, Robben, Wright-Phillips, Ballack, Obi Mikel, and a few others that might end up being sold just to add to the equation. Real Madrid might go for him, although again, they aren't the best in their group either.

Having said all of that, I wouldn't be surprised if Manchester United don't offer too much for him since he's aged, and Man Utd rarely pay big money for an older player, generally preferring to pay for young future talents such as Rooney and Ronaldo. Maybe Carrick will be the only incoming player, maybe it'll be Diarra or Maschereno. Have to wait and see!

<hr />

On a completely different note: Arsenal must start looking at bringing in more British players. At the moment they have nine English players in their 38 man squad, but only one of them is a first team regular. However, taken from an article last year since it's fairly old news...


TALLINN (Reuters) - Clubs taking part in European club competitions must include eight home-grown players in their 25-man squads by the start of the 2008-09 season following a landmark decision taken at UEFA’s annual congress.

The new rule will come into force at the start of the 2006-07 season with four home-grown players in the squads for Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, rising to six in 2007-08 and eight the season after.

With Sol Campbell out, Ashley Cole is the only first team regular - and he's being tipped to go elsewhere (again!). At the moment, that would leave Justin Hoyte, Theo Walcott, Matthew Connolly, Ryan Garry, Kerrea Gilbert, Ryan Smith, Fabrice Muamba, Joe O'Cearuill.

In other words, that kid that never really made it to the World Cup along with Who?, Who?, Who?, Who?, Who?, Who? and Who?. Arsenal may have to get purchasing next season or just hope that they won't need to use their full squad.

[ff_sweden]

I think Real Madrid is the best alternative for him. They haven´t won anything since Makelele signed for Chelsea

[Loony BoB]

I think Real Madrid is the best alternative for him. They haven´t won anything since Makelele signed for Chelsea
He probably wouldn't want to go there for the same reason he wouldn't go to Manchester United beforehand.

One Ruud van Nistelrooy.

[Topcat]

Anyone here support a team outside the premiership?

I support the mighty Eagles! (Crystal Palace:p ). It's been a interesting year for the club alot has happened, loads of players have been shipped out- AJ:( and manager Iain Dowie left. We how have Peter Taylor who i think will do a good job, he seems to be bringing in good young talent. However i don't think we will go up this year, this year will be a rebuilding season and next year we will come back stronger than ever.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Anyone here support a team outside the premiership?

I support the mighty Eagles! (Crystal Palace:p ). It's been a interesting year for the club alot has happened, loads of players have been shipped out- AJ:( and manager Iain Dowie left. We how have Peter Taylor who i think will do a good job, he seems to be bringing in good young talent. However i don't think we will go up this year, this year will be a rebuilding season and next year we will come back stronger than ever.

Crystal Palace are the nearest football club to where I live and I really should be supporting them instead of the mighty Arsenal. I think Dowie was right to leave but joining another club soon after revealing that he was to spend more time with his family. Bull

[ff_sweden]

I support Helsingborgs IF. Henrik Larsson´s New club:love:
http://www.mff.se/Bilder/Helsingborg.jpg

[Resha]

I don't think Ashley Cole will stay much longer :/ Apparently he blistered Arsenal in his biography! I reckon he'll probably move, and then we'll have no English players in the first team, until Walcott moves up anyways (which he should do, hopefully. He's so mysterious I want to die ;_;).

They should be looking at some English players -- although they might bring in Hoyte and Gilbert. (I don't know how likely this is though :/) They looking at Davies, and I seriously hope they rope him in. :D

And Wenger has said he doesn't want Cole to leave, so...well.

[Topcat]

[/QUOTE]Crystal Palace are the nearest football club to where I live and I really should be supporting them instead of the mighty Arsenal. I think Dowie was right to leave but joining another club soon after revealing that he was to spend more time with his family. Bull[/QUOTE]

I thought Iain Dowie was a fantastic manager but the way he left the club was discraseful, claiming he wanted to go back up north with his family and then going several miles downtown to our rivals the clowns. Anyway i think it was best for him to go, i feel we have a better manager now in Peter Taylor.

[ff_sweden]

We have to bring back Matthew Upson, he´s english

[Psydekick]

West Ham News:

Lee Bowyer has joined for the second time

Preston wonderkid Tyrone Mears has joined as well

Shaka Hislop has left to FC Dallas, much to my dissapointment as he is a legend

Chelsea misfit Carlton Cole has been snapped up and pardew reckons he will be a big hit

Man U defender Johnathan Spector has joined

[Croyles]

If Arsenal are thinking of buying Buffon, where will Lehmann go?

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

If Arsenal are thinking of buying Buffon, where will Lehmann go?

Simple, up front partnering Henry where he can begin to build on his tally of 2 goals

[Resha]

If Arsenal are thinking of buying Buffon, where will Lehmann go?
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? THEY CAN'T BE. O___O WHO SAID SO!??!?! WHO?

[Loony BoB]

Buffon is tipped to go to AC Milan.

Arsenal Boss Wenger Says It Is "Unlikely" The Gunners Will Make Any Transfers From Serie A (http://www.worldcuplatest.com/arsenal-boss-wenger-says-it-is-unlikely--4283.html).

[ff_sweden]

But they already have Dida

[Psydekick]

Yes but people beleive he is there "weak" link, i do not agree with this but many people do

[Loony BoB]

*shrugs* Just tipped, probably won't actually do it (although you never know these days).

Interestingly, Arsene says they aren't interested and Buffon's agent says they have made a bid! Gotta love the lies. God knows what to believe in the press these days.

[ff_sweden]

yes I know, just tipped

[DK]

But they already have Dida

Dida is crap.

And ahahaha, oh man, I'd be so happy if Buffon went to Arsenal, just so Paul was right in that MSN convo with Pooja.

[Tohoya]

Anyone know where an American get some British Premier league? I ahve a subscription to DirectV.

[Psychotic]

But they already have Dida

Dida is crap.That is exactly what I was going to post.
With Sol Campbell out, Ashley Cole is the only first team regular - and he's being tipped to go elsewhere (again!). At the moment, that would leave Justin Hoyte, Theo Walcott, Matthew Connolly, Ryan Garry, Kerrea Gilbert, Ryan Smith, Fabrice Muamba, Joe O'Cearuill.

In other words, that kid that never really made it to the World Cup along with Who?, Who?, Who?, Who?, Who?, Who? and Who?. Arsenal may have to get purchasing next season or just hope that they won't need to use their full squad.Oh, I know some of those:
Hoyte went on loan to Sunderland last season, just like Anthony Le Tallec - what more can you say on the situation?
Ryan Smith was on loan at Leicester, and in the couple of games I went to see he wasn't especially good. Christ, when Stephen Warnock went on loan to Coventry he was their player of the season.
Kerrea Gilbert scored sometime last season, but he only came into the side because of their insane amount of defensive injuries...before promptly getting injured himself.

Basically, the vast majority of them are going to get sold to the likes of Colchester without being given much of a chance in the first team (except in the League Cup) along with their young foreign imports like Lupoli and Larsson.

This is why PES5 is my god. You get to learn all about the reserves of teams you don't particularly care about. :D

Still, I can understand why Arsenal and other teams have less English players these days, when the likes of Curtis Davies are being quoted at costing £10m. What a joke.

Oh, and, it's Tottenham Hotspur, not Hotspurs. ;)

Apparently Liverpool are chasing David Trezeguet. I'm not convinced if this is such a great idea, because it could well be Fernando Morientes all over again. Still, in the Rafalution we trust, and if it's a loan rather than a permanent thing (Which would probably set us back £10m at the very least) then I won't be too displeased.

[ff_sweden]

Pavel Nedved is tipped to go from Juventus to Spurs

[Loony BoB]

Duff is expected to move to Tottenham quite soon, apparently. This would enhance the likelihood of Man Utd getting Carrick.

[Psychotic]

Wow, Spurs really are going crazy this summer. Berbatov, Zokora, and now Duff and Nedved. They want that Champions League spot and they might just get it with the way things are going.

[ff_sweden]

what´s the difference between Spurs and a Squirrel?...................The squirrel has Champions league experience!:p


remember? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l88zRn_4r4&search=Arsenal-villareal%20squirrel

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

The squirrel is also allowed to run around the pitch in the nude and not get booked

[Psychotic]

Didn't Teddy Sheringham once do that? My brother has always insisted that he did, citing Fantasy Football (The awesome TV show which is no longer on) as a source, although by the same logic, I can say Jimmy Greaves sodomises horses.

[Cz]

Vieira to Man. United would break my heart, but it would also be a fantastic move for that lot. Vieira plays the sort of role that wins titles; that of the commanding midfielder with the strength to run the game from midfield. United haven't had that type of player since Roy Keane left, and Patrick might just be the guy they're looking for.

Spurs are very active in the transfer market at the moment, and Martin Jol isn't the type to waste money on big names that don't bring results. I don't see the logic behind selling Michael Carrick, but the players they've targeted all look like strong additions to the squad. They'll be a force to be reckoned with next year, and I hate it. :mad:

And Trezeguet to Liverpool? Surely that's stretching even Rafa's powers just a tad?

[Psychotic]

I don't see the logic behind selling Michael CarrickI do. £15m is ridiculous unless you're Chelski.
And Trezeguet to Liverpool? Surely that's stretching even Rafa's powers just a tad?Not really. Juventus are down, Liverpool have Champions League football, and offering a loan deal benefits Juventus as they'll get him back as soon as they get promoted again (which they invariably will)

[ff_sweden]

News: Phillipe Senderos´s injured, 3 months. What are we gonna do? cuz Campbell´s leaving. Who´s gonna play with Kolo?

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

offering a loan deal benefits Juventus as they'll get him back as soon as they get promoted again (which they invariably will)

you're not suggesting more match-fixing are you?

[Resha]

News: Phillipe Senderos´s injured, 3 months. What are we gonna do? cuz Campbell´s leaving. Who´s gonna play with Kolo?
Curtis Davies, maybe? If they rope him in.

[ff_sweden]

Good idea,...cuz he´s english and we need english players!

[Psychotic]

offering a loan deal benefits Juventus as they'll get him back as soon as they get promoted again (which they invariably will)

you're not suggesting more match-fixing are you?Haha, nah, we won't see anymore of that for, ooh, 5 years if we're lucky. Juventus have a huge fanbase, a large stadium, and will still make a lot more money than their Serie B rivals.
Curtis Davies, maybe? If they rope him in.Is he really worth £10m? It set us back £5m for Daniel Agger and I know which one I'd rather have.

Never mind, there's always Pascal Cygan.

[Resha]

But we can't use Pascal Cygan that's why they need to bring Davies in :(

[Psychotic]

Why not? And why not get Matty Upson back? He won't set you back as much as Davies, and he's English.

[ff_sweden]

I agree about Davies...... Ashley (if he´ll stay) is the only english player. Theo Walcott too if he´ll play

Upson isn´t linked to Arsenal

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Weren't Juventus planning to have their stadium capacity reduced at one time?

[DK]

PASCAL CYGAN IS THE BEST PLAYER IN ARSENAL'S ENTIRE SQUAD AFTER JENS LEHMANN.

http://www.4thegame.com/media/00/02/83/cygan_pascal_afc_profile_2005.jpg

LOOK AT HIM HE IS BALD AND HE LOOKS LIKE KRYTEN FROM RED DWARF.

They put his overall skill points on Fifa 2003 as 91. This puts him alongside people like Edgar Davids, Ronaldo, etc.

hahhahahahahhaaaahahahahahaa

[ff_sweden]

in which team is Dennis Bergkamp gonna play for in Arsenal-Ajax (Dennis Bergkamp testmonial)?

[Cz]

Not really. Juventus are down, Liverpool have Champions League football, and offering a loan deal benefits Juventus as they'll get him back as soon as they get promoted again (which they invariably will)What I meant was that Trezeguet is an overrated player, and that even Benitez wouldn't be able to drag a decent performance about him. I don't doubt that you can get hold of the guy; I just can't see why you'd want him.

Oh, and the Dennis Bergkamp testimonial is supposed to be on TV. This news is placing an immense strain on my pants. :D

[Resha]

IT'S ON TV OH WOW OKAY YAY. I have a hope then.

[ff_sweden]

But I can´t watch it on swedish tv:cry:
GUNNERS!!!

[Resha]

I'm so glad Wenger's decided to focus on getting a good defender as opposed to a striker etc. Because the defensive situation is always a little dire and it's always thin and stretched out, with the slightest injuries affecting it. o_O

'pparently Wenger doesn't wanna pay 10 million for Davies (but ew, like getting outbid by Portsmouth :() There're rumours that WBA have rejected Pompey's bid but...I dunno, I can't find any reliable source that says so. :rolleyes2

There're also *rumours* that Wenger is interested in Thuram, in Chiellini and in Man City's Micah Richards. The Juve links made despite Wenger saying the wages were above what Arsenal could afford, though.

[ff_sweden]

hehe...how many gooners are we?:p

[Loony BoB]

Man Utd have rejected a bit for Ruud from Real Madrid. Should be interesting to see just how this ends up.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I'd like to see Ruud go to Bayern Munich. They need another big name joining their squad now that their captain's left

[ff_sweden]

Ballack was a midfielder
10 Roy Makaay
11 Lukas Podolski
14 Claudio Pizarro
24 Roque Santa Cruz
33 José Paolo Guerrero isn´t this enough? 5 strikers already

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Roy Makaay and Ruud Van Nistelrooy would gel well since they've played with each other before. Makaay is however knocking on a bit and his absence in the Dutch World Cup squad maybe signifies how long he has left of a playing career. I've hardly seen Santa Cruz play in the CL for the last 2 years so I don't know how he's getting on. Guerrero seems like a bit of a super-sub to me.

Madrid strikers?
Robinho, Ronaldo, Raul, Cassano, Soldado

[Loony BoB]

It's rumoured that the likes of Ronaldo and Raul may be sold this transfer window, mind you.

Ruud quite clearly wants to link up with Beckham again, which is one of the major factors in him most likely going to Real Madrid. Beckham crossing in to van Nistelrooy is something that many oppositions have fallen to over the years.

I would imagine Real Madrid will send in a new bid and Man Utd will accept it - provided Torres makes it clear to Man Utd that he is open to the idea of going to Old Trafford, mind you. Inter Milan have apparently sent in a bid of around £25-26m for Torres and although Torres' agent has been quoted in the past as saying that Torres is not interested in Italy, it would be interesting to see if the price detailed pushes Man Utd out of the fray. Some news sites are saying United is already put off by such a price and are looking to Defoe... God, I hope that's not true.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

yeah I guess Internazionale are the ones who can really cash in on winning all of the trophies now that their biggest rivals have a setback. I rather like seeing Martins and Adriano play in the CL but I guess a little healthy competition wouldn't be too bad

[ff_sweden]

Nicolas Anelka is tipped to go from Fenerbache to Portsmouth............He was great when he played for Arsenal 1997-1999

[Shoden]

Poor spurs. Newcastle have dived in on Damien Duff. Sod that I'll just paste from nufc.com, the other nufc website for news....

This is from the mirror it seems? ah w/e here it is.

Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has clinched a dramatic £10million deal to steal Chelsea winger Damien Duff from under Tottenham's noses.

Roeder will land Duff after Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reluctantly admitted yesterday that he is ready to sell him after two hours of crunch talks.

Spurs manager Martin Jol has made two bids for Duff but Newcastle are confident of tying up a deal in the next 24 hours because the Republic of Ireland star has made it clear he would prefer a move to the North East. Duff has agreed to terms and is undergoing medical, the board announced it a few minutes ago.


If he does come I would like to say "spurs got owned" but that's a bit too cliche so... In other news the new 3rd strip has been released. http://www.nufc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10278~870475,00.html

[Resha]

DENNIS BERGKAMP TESTIMONIAL TODAY! :hyper: Ah, Bergkamp was just about one of the greatest guys that ever played for Arsenal imho. It's a wrench to see him go, but I'm so glad he stayed as long as he did. :) Kudos to HIM! I wish they were playing it on Asian telly, but they're not so -- live updates, huh. xD

[Thorn]

Following Australians who are in Premier League.

-Mark Viduka (Middlesborough)
-Harry Kewell (Liverpool)
-Tim Cahill (Everton)
-Lucas Neil (Blackburn Rovers)
-Tony Popovic (Crystal palace)
-Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers)
-Mark Swartzer (Middlesborough)

My favourite Non Aussie players are Djbril Cisse and Christiano Ronaldo.

But I dont have cable, so I dont see alot of Premier League, but I know its a strong competiton with disputeably the best players and teams.

[Shoden]

Following Australians who are in Premier League.

-Mark Viduka (Middlesborough)
-Harry Kewell (Liverpool)
-Tim Cahill (Everton)
-Lucas Neil (Blackburn Rovers)
-Tony Popovic (Crystal palace)
-Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers)
-Mark Swartzer (Middlesborough)

My favourite Non Aussie players are Djbril Cisse and Christiano Ronaldo.

But I dont have cable, so I dont see alot of Premier League, but I know its a strong competiton with disputeably the best players and teams.


You forgot Craig Moore from Newcastle United.

[Thorn]

Following Australians who are in Premier League.

-Mark Viduka (Middlesborough)
-Harry Kewell (Liverpool)
-Tim Cahill (Everton)
-Lucas Neil (Blackburn Rovers)
-Tony Popovic (Crystal palace)
-Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers)
-Mark Swartzer (Middlesborough)

My favourite Non Aussie players are Djbril Cisse and Christiano Ronaldo.

But I dont have cable, so I dont see alot of Premier League, but I know its a strong competiton with disputeably the best players and teams.


You forgot Craig Moore from Newcastle United.

I'm incredibly embaressed and ashamed.

[Russielloyd]

Lucas Niell being the best out of the lot! :)

[Shoden]

Lucas Niell being the best out of the lot! :)
They're all good.


Newcastle are winning the game 2-0 and it's half time. *pastes*

29m NEWCASTLE GOAL (0-1) A foul by Sogard on Emre gave United a free kick 30 yards out. Splano backheeled the ball into the path of N'Zogbia, and when his low drive was pushed out by Fredrikson, Ameobi reacted quickest to sidefoot home the rebound for his 11th European goal and put United into a 2-1 aggregate lead.

36m NEWCASTLE GOAL (0-2) Ameobi was on target again, making a good run into the middle to get on the end of Parker's cross from inside the six-yard box to poke the ball over the line and give the visitors a commanding lead in the tie. Shola's second goal of the afternoon lifted him above Craig Bellamy into second spot in the all-time European goals chart, with Alan Shearer on top with 30.


and it's half time.

[Russielloyd]

I should of said aswell.

Roberto Ayala has been strongly linked with Blackburn. One of Argentina's best players at the World Cup, if we pull this one off i'll pee myself!

Also been linked with us again is Benni McCarthy and with Mido hopefully signing aswell, we won't miss Bellamy at all and deffo be able to challenge for a Champ League place, but it will be very hard, though we only missed it by 4 points least season.

Future is bright for Blackburn :D

[Shoden]

90m NEWCASTLE GOAL (0-3) Emre made it 3-0 with a great strike from distance, firing home after Solano sent Taylor away to tee up the Turkey midfielder.


I guess all that training knocked the lads back into shape.

[Russielloyd]

90m NEWCASTLE GOAL (0-3) Emre made it 3-0 with a great strike from distance, firing home after Solano sent Taylor away to tee up the Turkey midfielder.


I guess all that training knocked the lads back into shape.

Well that's the point...

[Shoden]

looks like there's gonna be another EPL team in the UEFA cup soon, yay. If they don't slop up they can do it.

[Resha]

Huh, not sure if this is the full-time score, but I think it's Arsenal 1 - 1 Ajax. Live update stuff...not working, yow. Henry scores the first goal at The Grove (I have decided to never refer to it as Emirates ever because ew). :)

[Cz]

2-1 was the final score, with Kanu getting our second. The game was nothing more than a novelty, really. Dennis didn't play particularly well, but he got a good reception, and that's all that mattered. The highlight was Gilles Grimandi's foul on Davids; probably his finest moment in an Arsenal shirt.

Good to see that Newcastle were more convincing against Lillestrom this time out. They'll make the UEFA Cup yet.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

I didn't know this was going to be an exhibition match. And why did it only run for 80 minutes (or was that just me?). Bergkamp is well past it. But I'll hold the goal he scored against Argentina as possibly his finest moment.

Just out of interest my personal favourite Gilles Grimandi moment was his winner against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup (year we won first double under Arsene Wenger).

[ff_sweden]

KANU´S GOAL FROM YEASTERDAY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io1XZwfjCQc&search=arsenal-ajax

[Shoden]

Liverpool and Spurs lost Duff. He has passed his medical at Newcastle and has signed a 5 year contract. He's just what's needed at the Toon.

[Resha]

Arsenal raised Cole's price to 25 million. :laugh: This maker me laugh, and it was an excellent move.

[ff_sweden]

hehe Cashley:p

[Loony BoB]

'ole Cashley. ;)

Transfer Update

15 July 2006
Sam Ricketts from Swansea City to Hull City, £300k
18 July 2006
Denny Landzaat from AZ Alkmaar to Wigan Athletic, Undisclosed
Jay-Jay Okocha from Bolton Wanderers to Qatar Sports Club, free
19 July 2006
Kenny Cunningham from Birmingham City to Sunderland, free
Pedro Pele from Belenenses to Southampton, Undisclosed
Tony Popović from Crystal Palace to Al Arabi, free
20 June 2006
Bernardo Corradi from Valencia CF to Manchester City, Undisclosed
Gary Breen from Sunderland to Wolverhampton Wanderers, free
Barry Hayles from Millwall to Plymouth Argyle, £100k
21 July 2006
Kelvin Davis from Sunderland to Southampton, £1m
David Livermore from Millwall to Leeds United, Undisclosed
22 July 2006
Asier del Horno from Chelsea to Valencia CF, £4.8m
Damien Duff from Chelsea to Newcastle United, £5m
25 July 2006
James Scowcroft from Coventry City to Crystal Palace, £500k
Brian Priske from Portsmouth to Club Brugge, Undisclosed

[Russielloyd]

Yep, everyone is talking about all those transfers...specially the Kenny Cunningham one :p

[ff_sweden]

Cunningham, isn´t he too old?.,,.,..,born 28 June, 1971

[Shoden]

Isn't Julio Arca going to boro? I wanna know if the deal's been finalized yet or if it's still a rumour. Neil Quinn is a dumbass, Peter Reid was the guy who got sunderland in the financial state they're in now, it's been years since he was sacked and they're still not much better, and he wants him back, that's like letting Sven Goran Erikson stay at England with as much money to spend as he pleases, pointless, lame, suicidal and funny to anyone who isn't affected. Duff for 5m is a bargain, I'm surprised Chelsea didn't squeeze anything else out of fat freddy's wallet.

[Psydekick]

Well Duff has hardly played at all for chelsea, but yes 5 mil is still quite cheap i would thought thye would get about 10 mil for him.

West Ham are closing in on this really good Colchester youngster(sorry cant remember his name) and are intrested in Portugal stopper Ricardo but he is happy at Sporting Lisbon

[Cz]

I don't think Chelsea are particularly bothered about getting huge sums of money for their outgoing players. It's not as if they need the cash, after all. It's a good move for Duff, since he's not exactly the first name down on the team sheet over at Stamford Bridge, and he's guarenteed regular football at Newcastle. It's not a bad signing for the club either, since Duff is a tricky winger who can really worry defenders, and can pop up as an occasional goalscorer to supplement Newcastle's somewhat limited strikeforce. At £5m, he's a good buy.

Jermaine Pennant's gone to Liverpool for £6.7m. He's not worth that sort of money, but he could be a nice addition to the squad. The guy's a bit rough around the edges, but he can put in a cross better than most. He was wasted at Birmingham (and admittedly in the Arsenal reserves as well) so next season will be his chance to really impress.

[Loony BoB]

Meanwhile, Manchester United's youth squad + Schole & Brown managed to win 3-0 against Celtic. Nice to see our youth is there, even if we're not bringnig in anyone lately.

Scholes involved with all three goals is fantastic news for Man United and even possibly England (Lampard better be taking notes) supporters. Celtic aren't the toughtest opposition, but it's still good considering the level of players around him.

[Cz]

Scholes involved with all three goals is fantastic news for Man United and even possibly England (Lampard better be taking notes) supporters.No chance, I'm afraid. Scholesy retired from international football years ago, and his national displays never really matched his United form anyway.

[Russielloyd]

If Scholes got into the England squad i'll punch myself, he's over the hill and not good enough. Even when he was in the team, he was just as poor as Lampard has been in an England shirt.

Scholes is past it, makes him ideal for Manure really.

[Loony BoB]

Going by the rumour mill, it seems that the following moves are all but announced:

Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid
Michael Carrick to Manchester United

Desperately hoping that Mascherano will be another to join us, but I highly doubt we'll get any more than Carrick, sadly.

[Russielloyd]

Blackburn sign striker McCarthy

Blackburn have signed Porto striker Benni McCarthy on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.
The South Africa international, 28, has had spells with Ajax and Celta Vigo, and has previously been linked with moves to Everton and West Ham.

"We tried to sign Benni 12 months ago and we have been tracking the situation since then," Blackburn chief executive John Williams told the club's website.

"We are delighted that we have managed to bring him to Rovers."

McCarthy has won 47 caps for South Africa, scoring 21 goals.


More to follow.

Someone FINALLY to replace Bellamy. Out strikers are of better quality then last season and with a midfield get stronger and better, great defenders in Neill and Nelsen we can seriously push for a Champions League place.

Bring on the season!:bigbiggri

[ff_sweden]

and here´s round one :p

Arsenal - Aston Villa
Bolton - Tottenham
Chelsea - Man City
Everton - Watford
Man Utd - Fulham
Newcastle - Wigan
Portsmouth - Blackburn
Reading - Middlesbrough
Sheff Utd - Liverpool
West Ham - Charlton

[DK]

Chelsea - Man City

Marick

[Cz]

Ruud's gone to Real for £10.5m, according to that Wiki page.

[Bart's Friend Milhouse]

Are there are interesting European transfers?
I can't seem to find a reliable website

[Skogs]

If you guys are interested, check out this thread (http://forums.eyesonff.com/showthread.php?p=1802754#post1802754).

[ff_sweden]

Marcos Senna is tipped to go from Villareal to Man Utd

[Psychotic]

Jermaine Pennant's gone to Liverpool for £6.7m. He's not worth that sort of money, but he could be a nice addition to the squad. The guy's a bit rough around the edges, but he can put in a cross better than most. He was wasted at Birmingham (and admittedly in the Arsenal reserves as well) so next season will be his chance to really impress.Couldn't have put it better myself. He was a nice little earner in Fantasy Football last season, so here's hoping he turns out alright. Bellamy and Pennant...methinks Rafa's new thing is bad boys, instead of Spanish guys.

Apparently Carrick is going to United for £18.5m. That's absolutely ridiculous if it's true, and United will have been taken for a ride.

[Cz]

Apparently Carrick is going to United for £18.5m. That's absolutely ridiculous if it's true, and United will have been taken for a ride.£18.5m? I could understand that sort of preposterous sum from Chelsea, but United should have more sense than that. Carrick's a fine player, but for that sort of money they could've done better.

[Russielloyd]

Carrick's move has been completed, nowhere near worth 18.6 million. Ah well, long as it will add to Manure's debt and another routine defeat to Blackburn, i'm happy.

Leeds United anyone? :D

[Psychotic]

It's not really a Leeds situation when you consider they've just made £10m from Mikel (a guy who didn't even kick a ball for them) and £11m from RVN.

[Russielloyd]

Leeds were only in debt by only about 100 mill, Manure are in about 500 million, with a weak midfield compared to Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. They aren't going to win the league, i mean they were happy enough to win the eague cup last season, when 3 years previous they thought the league cup was a joke after losing to Liverpool.

You say they got 20 odd million from those 2 players, then they blow near enough all of it on just a good player.

[Psychotic]

If by £500 million you mean the £660 million Glazer debt which has been saddled upon the club, then yeah, there's that, but the purchase of Carrick won't really have an affect on that. Player transfers, while more limited than before, won't really bear most of the burden, as they're instead trying to conquer America (I'm surprised they sold Spector and sent Howard out on loan) and Asia (It's not a coincidence that Park Ji-Sung was one of the players modelling their new kit, and that Dong Fanzhou is being pushed as a big hope...) with their mass marketing machine to make the required money. Let's be honest, Manchester United is a more profitable business than Leeds United.

Yeah, at present their midfield is average, even with Carrick. It amuses me that they paid £18.6m when we paid £10.5m for the superior (and younger) Xabi Alonso, especially when Carrick has no experience in international competitions, and his international experience consists of 6 friendlies and a World Cup game against Ecuador. Still, that's the price you pay when you buy English, as we found out with £6.7 Pennant.

I think that money, and anymore they have, would've been better spent on trying to lure Riquelme or Torres, or even Patrick Vieira.

[Psydekick]

I think Carrick's fee is terrible. although i can understand that they can afford that.

I wouldnt want to be a Villa fan at this moment in time with all the off-field stuff going on and they havent signed or sold anyone, leaving them with the same team as last season which was really rather poor. They still havent found a new manager either

EDIT: btw i am a not a villa fan:p

[Loony BoB]

I think that money, and anymore they have, would've been better spent on trying to lure Riquelme or Torres, or even Patrick Vieira.
Speaking of which, Vieira has revealed he's not ruling out a move to United. Oh, how I would love to see him walk out in Arseanal's new stadium in a Man United shirt, along with thousands of MU fans in the same shirt - possibly the biggest slap in their face we could make against a rival club, I reckon.

Nice to see that not every player is snubbing us, though.

As for Carrick, it's expected that the £18.6m is made up of roughly £12-13m for the transfer and the rest is based on performances - probably how often he plays in the next year or two, what results we get out of it and what trophies we manage. So if £18.6m is the price to get a player to help us win the league, then hell, so be it.

Either way - a midfield including the likes of Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Park and Giggs isn't a midfield to be scoffed at - especially if we can pull in Vieira as well, or possibly (but far less likely) Mascherano.

[Psydekick]

I tell you at West Ham a player we need is Andres D'Alessandro, is he joining Portsmouth full time? He's a great player it would be good to see him in the premiership next year

[Russielloyd]

I still think Ferguson is losing it, i would say i hope he retires but then they would come poaching around Mark Hughes.

[Loony BoB]

Or Martin O'Neill, if he doesn't take up the Villa position (which is likely).

And no sooner had I posted that last post of mine, it looks like Vieira is off to Inter!

[Blitz Ace]

DAM YOU CARRICK!!! why go to Man U for?? ... i disown you forever :mad2:

[Loony BoB]

Meanwhile, I've signed up for the Fantasy Football being run by Metro UK

GK - P Robinson, TOT, £3.8m
DF - J Terry, CHE, £5.8m
DF - P Chimbonda, WIG, £3.7m
DF - L King, TOT, £4m
DF - E Eboue, ARS, £4.6m
MF - C Makelele, CHE, £3.4m
MF - S Gerrard, LIV, £5.3m
MF - C Ronaldo, MU, £5.2m
MF - F Fabregas, ARS, £4.2m
ST - D Bent, CHA, £6.3m
ST - W Rooney, MU, £8.5m

Not a bad team, and all with £0.2m to spare... struggled to get it under the £55m total for some time though.

[ff_sweden]

are you sure Christiano Ronaldo will stay?

[Loony BoB]

Yep. Unless he's sold for in excess of £50m :) Possibly even higher!

Changed the squad around a bit after reading the scoring rules though.

It's now...

GK - J Reina, LIV, £4.5m - More likely to get clean sheets than Robinson. (+£0.7m)
DF - J Terry, CHE, £5.8m
DF - P Chimbonda, WIG, £3.7m
DF - L King, TOT, £4m
DF - R Gardner, BOL, £3.8m - Well, I had to make up the numbers... (-£0.8m)
MF - X Alonso, LIV, £4m - Makelele isn't going to get me goals or assists (+£0.6m)
MF - S Gerrard, LIV, £5.3m
MF - C Ronaldo, MU, £5.2m
MF - J Park, MU, £3.9m - 2nd most assists for Man Utd last season says this is a good deal (-£0.3m)
ST - D Bent, CHA, £6.3m
ST - W Rooney, MU, £8.5m

Used up the full £55m now.

[ff_sweden]

you should join our mini-league on http://premier.fantasy-manager.co.uk :p

[Russielloyd]

I do my team on premierleague.com, you get 100 million to spend.
My team is called "Supreme Team"

GK: Friedel (Blackburn,5 Mill)

DF: Neill (Blackburn, 5 Mill)
DF: Terry (Chelsea, 8 Mill)
DF: Young (Charlton, 5 Mill)
DF: Sommeil (Sheffield United, 3.5 Mill)

MID: Gerrard (Liverpool, 10.5 Mill)
MID: Barry (Aston Villa, 6.5 Mill)
MID: Tonge (Sheffield United, 4.5 Mill)
MID: Pedersen (Blackburn, 9 Mill)

FWD: Henry (c) (Arsenal, 14 Mill)
FWD: Shevchenko (Chelsea, 12 Mill)

SUBS: Chamberlain (Watford, 3.5 Mill), Short (Sheffield United, 3.5 Mill), McNamee (Watford, 4.5 Mill)), Pedersen (Bolton, 5.5 Mill)

Think i've done really well, i won my league last season, hopefully i'll be challenge again this season :D

[Cuchulainn]

The United situation isn't scaring me at all. Carrick is decent & 18 million is about right for an English player of decent quality. We do need to buy more players but United have always messed around when it comes to signings. Look at how we lost our on Ronaldninho.

It's still probably Chelsea's league but looking at the other teams, none of them scare me at all. Liverpool's signings have been....weird to say the least. Arsenal will always be there but I think wr're better & then there's Tottenham who will struggle to top either Arsenal or Liverpool.

The season hasn't started yet & I think United have a few more signings to complete, hopefully Javier Mascherano is one. Torres may be possible next year. Who knows.


are you sure Christiano Ronaldo will stay?

Yes his mum told him to.

[chrisfffan]

This seems to be a very anti Chelsea thread its made out as if noboady eles has spent BIG and won things, Man United fans allways say they won trophies with a great youth set up but did cantona come from the ranks or Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, Stam, Veron, Van Neistlrooy, Rooney i could go on. I know we have spent loads of roubles but we are only doing what Man United and other clubs before them have done.

My dream team is

Given
Terry
A Ferdinand
Yobo
Trore
Gerrard
Duff
Cahill
Fabregas
C Cole
A Shevchenko

[Cuchulainn]

Why have you picked United as the focus of your rant? The people here who were anti-Chelsea were mostly fans of other clubs. And of course we have bought players as well as brought them through our ranks, I cannot see a basis for an argument here.

United are easy targets nowadays for ANY fan of ANY club to divert attention & blame. Bring it on, just know it still won't sort out your own problems & failings.

The whole of English football should be worried about the Chelsea situation, including Chelsea fans, that bubble is going to burst. When it does it will affect the whole Premier League. As a United fan I'm worried about the Glazer situation, I'm not ignorant to it like Chelsea fans seem to be.

We'll see how the season fares but my prediction for the top 5 are basically the same as last season. Chelsea need one season where they lose the league title and the Russian will run....or get arrested for his crimes in Russia, one of the two.

[ff_sweden]

my team......
K Antti Niemi Fulham

D Ashley Cole Arsenal
D Kolo Toure Arsenal
D Rio Ferdinand Manchester United
D Steve Finnan Liverpool

M Aaron Lennon Tottenham Hotspurs
M Joey Barton Manchester City
M Cesc Fabregas Arsenal
M Morten Gamst Pedersen Blackburn Rovers

S Collins John Fulham
S Lomana Tresor Lua Lua Portsmouth

Morten Gamst Pedersen is one of my fav players :p http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x_zJECZ4aA&search=Morten%20Gamst%20pedersen

[Russielloyd]

Why are Chelsea fans ignorant, their team has a chairman who's has about 13 billion and has just made 500million in the last 6 months from his oil company and are set to break even in 2010.

Manure won't win the league for a while, Liverpool are better equipt to challenge Chelsea this season. Manure fans complain Chelsea are buying up all the good players, they wern't complaining when they were doing 5-6 years ago, so they need to be quiet about what Chelsea do.


Morten Gamst Pedersen is one of my fav players http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x_zJ...mst%20pedersen

ff-sweden, you're a clever person! ;)

[chrisfffan]

He wont run hes more likely to get shot! im not worried even if Abramovich goes because of the club and where Chelsea is, we will survive one way or another it wont be the end of Chelsea, we might go down a division or two so im gona enjoy it while its larst but il still be there singing my heart out. Man U would struggle too if Malcom Glazer made them bankrupted but you would live the best clubs allways do look at Leeds.

[Loony BoB]

Anyone who thinks that Chelsea or Manchester United are going to pull a Leeds have got another thing coming - particularly in the case of Manchester United. Even if our 'bubble burst' there are enough fans to support the team around the world and any company in the right mind would love to be "the sponsor that saved the team with the world's biggest fanbase". I don't think the likes of teams such as MU, Real Madrid, Liverpool, etc. will ever completely drop out of their respective top leagues unless they are caught out for illegal activity of some sort. There are too many fans which are too loyal to let that happen.

Chelsea I'm not so sure on as they're a 'new' team without the history of the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd, and I'm not really sure on how loyal the fans are... dunno.

I don't think Chelsea's bubble will burst, but I don't think that Manchester United are in as bad a position as they are made out to be either. Big debts, yes. But Glazer is a very, very shrewd businessman and he'll make his money one way or another. He's also smart enough to realise that you can't make that money without investing.

[ff_sweden]

Glazer is popular http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aGH42dzPeE&search=%20Glazer

haha:)

[Shoden]

Man U will last even if they burst, they've got alot of money, with that Glazer guy in charge I don't see them ever dying out, unless he loses a bet. It's only natural for fans of teams to hate or even blame or dislike other teams, when people get extremist about it and stuff then it's gone over the top. It's fun to point and laugh at other teams, you just get your team laughed at back. still 18m for Carrick is a bit too much. And Newcastle really pulled a bargain for Duff for 5m. Fat Freddy really does have a little bit of sense. I call him fat because look at the fricking size of him.

[Russielloyd]

Bellamy is the bargain of the season so far so doubt. with duff there will deffinately add-ons.

[chrisfffan]

in the last two seasons their has been a few new fans but the core support is the same of five years ago! we have always had a good support even in the bad days and you are right when you say that we dont have the history of Man U and Liverpool however before Abramovich we won

The FA CUP 3 times
The Leaugue Cup 3 times
The Leaugue Championship 1
The Cup Winners cup 2 times
The Charity Shield
The Super Cup

so you cant say we have won nothing before Abramovich.

[Shoden]

in the last two seasons their has been a few new fans but the core support is the same of five years ago! we have always had a good support even in the bad days and you are right when you say that we dont have the history of Man U and Liverpool however before Abramovich we won

The FA CUP 3 times
The Leaugue Cup 3 times
The Leaugue Championship 1
The Cup Winners cup 2 times
The Charity Shield
The Super Cup

so you cant say we have won nothing before Abramovich.

How long did it take you type his name correctly?

[Cuchulainn]

Russeilloyd, your hatred of Manchester United is seriously clouding your judgement.

It's ok to dislike a team but it's important to remain LOGICAL.

Man U will never do a Leeds, Chelsea MIGHT. United have financial backing all over the world & a history which is beaten only by Liverpool. It is the fly-by-night successes like Leeds & Blackburn that crash & burn as their finances are basically by one man's hand.

Chelsea's bubble will burst. They won't do a Leeds but they will be caught & might return to their previous mediocrety. Their fate lies in whether Roman gets tried for his crimes in Russia. That itself lies in there being a change in government as he's in bed with Putin & that's the sole reason he is free.

We'll see.

[Psychotic]

Chelsea's bubble had already burst. They were going to go into administration before Abramovich came along and snapped them up.

If and when something happens to Abramovich (and the reason why he bought Chelsea was so that it wouldn't - he's too public a figure to be taken out) then Chelsea are finished and will be destroyed. But how long will it take for that to happen?

[Russielloyd]

Russeilloyd, your hatred of Manchester United is seriously clouding your judgement.

It's ok to dislike a team but it's important to remain LOGICAL.

Man U will never do a Leeds, Chelsea MIGHT. United have financial backing all over the world & a history which is beaten only by Liverpool. It is the fly-by-night successes like Leeds & Blackburn that crash & burn as their finances are basically by one man's hand.

Chelsea's bubble will burst. They won't do a Leeds but they will be caught & might return to their previous mediocrety. Their fate lies in whether Roman gets tried for his crimes in Russia. That itself lies in there being a change in government as he's in bed with Putin & that's the sole reason he is free.

We'll see.#

What's Blackburn got to with the financial debate here? We're not in debt and havent been for over 15 years.

P.S Manure are scum! :D

[Shoden]

Russeilloyd, your hatred of Manchester United is seriously clouding your judgement.

It's ok to dislike a team but it's important to remain LOGICAL.

Man U will never do a Leeds, Chelsea MIGHT. United have financial backing all over the world & a history which is beaten only by Liverpool. It is the fly-by-night successes like Leeds & Blackburn that crash & burn as their finances are basically by one man's hand.

Chelsea's bubble will burst. They won't do a Leeds but they will be caught & might return to their previous mediocrety. Their fate lies in whether Roman gets tried for his crimes in Russia. That itself lies in there being a change in government as he's in bed with Putin & that's the sole reason he is free.

We'll see.#

What's Blackburn got to with the financial debate here? We're not in debt and havent been for over 15 years.

P.S Manure are scum! :D


shhh, not so loud, they might hear you. At least these teams aren't yoyo teams like Sunderland, up and down and up and down and up and down, reckon this niel quinn dude is gonna be a knight in shining armour for them?

[ff_sweden]

which team, has the best logo do you think?:p

[Shoden]

Well most logos are based off the city's coat of arms right? When it comes to the most flashy and kickass it has to be I have no fricking idea!! =D

[Cuchulainn]

What's Blackburn got to with the financial debate here? We're not in debt and havent been for over 15 years.

P.S Manure are scum! :D

Blackburn are in the debate because of their sudden cash injection from a certain Mr Walker which temporarily made them title challenders (then winners). THAT'S why they're there. Their bubble of temporary decentness burst as fast as it came.

PS Blackburn......aren't worth an opinion.

[Russielloyd]

Blackburn are in the debate because of their sudden cash injection from a certain Mr Walker which temporarily made them title challenders (then winners). THAT'S why they're there. Their bubble of temporary decentness burst as fast as it came.

Yet, here we are back in the Premiership, beating manure's butt all the time, 6th best in England with 1 trophy, with not even a third of the money the top teams got, one reason being that we've never been in debt.




PS Blackburn......aren't worth an opinion.

Because Blackburn beat Manure all the time? It's that type of talk that most people think most Manure fans sod all about football.

Do you want to give use 3 points now or wait till we actually beat you? lol. :D

[Cuchulainn]

Beating one team all the time isn't enough. You need to beat the rest too. I'll ignore your vehemency as you are clearly a kid with a chip on his shoulder, but suffice to say, you can beat United but we're still a better team & you will never be any better than mediocre. So lap up those minor triumphs, they won't last.

[ff_sweden]

That´s why I love Blackburn Rovers, because Blackburn beat Manure all the time:p

[Russielloyd]

Beating one team all the time isn't enough. You need to beat the rest too. I'll ignore your vehemency as you are clearly a kid with a chip on his shoulder, but suffice to say, you can beat United but we're still a better team & you will never be any better than mediocre. So lap up those minor triumphs, they won't last.

I wouldn't call 6th place and beating 3 of the top 4 mediocre, and were just as good at home as manure was, so try again with that one.

From what i've watched over 15 years or so, Manure are diving cheating scum, i think that warrants enough reason to dislike them, ever wondered why Manure are the most hated?

Leeds didn't didn't maintain their high league place, so players had to be sold to pay the debt, leading to their Championship status. Manure will win hardl anything in the next couple years which wont be enough, no matter if they make the 2nd biggest income in football because Leeds at the time had about the 5th-6th biggest income in football in the world and they had 6 times smaller debt, do the logic.

Anyways, end of that.

Title will go to Chelsea.

I think Sheff United, Waford, and Villa (if no one buys the club) will get relegated, maybe a fight between Fulham and Villa.

[ff_sweden]

Manure always get advantage by the referee

http://www.football.co.uk/shared/images/teams/blackburn.jpg

hmmm..Arte Et Labore...what does it mean?

[Psychotic]

Manchester United are essentially doing a Liverpool. Dominant for a decade or so (although in the case of Liverpool it was two :D), before it all starts to fall apart. Enjoy years of coming 3rd and 4th, guys. (It isn't as much fun as it looks)

Relegation? Wigan. Emile Heskey + Chris Kirkland = Asking for it, especially after selling Roberts and Bullard, and Chimbonda seems to be on his way. Landzaat is a good buy though. Sheffield United are another one likely to face the drop, and the other spot will be filled by either Villa, Watford, and possibly even Portsmouth (no D'Alessandro anymore) or Fulham.

As for the title...Liverpool. :D:D:D:D:D Well, maybe not, but it's definitely our best chance since 96-97 when we looked certain to win it before David James decided that being crap looked like a promising career option. Unless Arsenal or United make a couple of key buys, Liverpool are currently the only team that can step in if something happens to Chelsea.

[Loony BoB]

Unless Arsenal or United make a couple of key buys, Liverpool are currently the only team that can step in if something happens to Chelsea.
United during last season's late run of wins...
Keeper: Van der Sar
Defenders: Neville, Ferdinand, Brown/Vidic, Silvestre
Midfield: Ronaldo, O'Shea, Giggs, Park.
Strikers: Rooney, Saha

That's the team that had the success that pushed the gap on Chelsea in a way that wasn't done in the first half of the season.

At the start of this season...

Keeper: Van der Sar
Defenders: Neville, Ferdinand, Brown/Vidic, Heinze
Midfield: Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs/Park.
Strikers: Rooney, Saha

You tell me which looks stronger, last season or this season? We came second last season and we have a stronger lineup than we do now.

Until injuries come into play, we're right up there with the best of them at the moment. I'm not saying Liverpool don't have a chance, but only a fool writes off Manchester United at any point of the season, let alone before it has even begun.

EDIT: Regarding Blackburn - Dude, you guys were 15th the season before last. Don't get an all-time ego over a 6th placing.

[blue phoenix]

im a villa fan, so feel free to laugh. but i honestly think as long as we dont sell anyone we wont get relegated. and if the american billionaire does invest, happy days!

[Russielloyd]

EDIT: Regarding Blackburn - Dude, you guys were 15th the season before last. Don't get an all-time ego over a 6th placing.

Yeah 6th, only 4 points out of a Champions League place, just tells you how good Mark Hughes is and what he has done on a small budget.



hmmm..Arte Et Labore...what does it mean?

It is latin and it means "by skill and labour". Good motto, because Blackburn are now are a very hard working team.


im a villa fan, so feel free to laugh. but i honestly think as long as we dont sell anyone we wont get relegated. and if the american billionaire does invest, happy days!

Don't worrie no one will laugh, unless there's any Birmingham fans here, even then they can't say much, so your alright. Looks like Martin O'Neill is to become the new manager, so things are starting to look up.

[ff_sweden]

Scholes and Giggs are too old

[Loony BoB]

Scholes and Giggs are too old
Old, but not too old. Look at Teddy Sheringham - that's too old. 40, and a striker! 6 goals in 26 games as a striker last season. Still, they did bag the FA Cup final and UEFA cup spot, so if he's still got it then he's still got it, I suppose.

Giggsy and Scholesy are most certainly not too old, though. Any respectable football fan would know that. Midfielders can generally go on to about 35 or so with ease enough, I'd say.

[Shoden]

Scholes and Giggs are too old
Old, but not too old. Look at Teddy Sheringham - that's too old. 40, and a striker! 6 goals in 26 games as a striker last season. Still, they did bag the FA Cup final and UEFA cup spot, so if he's still got it then he's still got it, I suppose.

Giggsy and Scholesy are most certainly not too old, though. Any respectable football fan would know that. Midfielders can generally go on to about 35 or so with ease enough, I'd say.


They've got a few more good years left to give, the 2 of 'em, Shearer's about the same age as Sheringham aint he? They were a strike duo on the england squad in the older days, before Owen and Rooney. Depending on the individual's will to play they can go on til they go grey. What's the oldest guys have played to?

[Loony BoB]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3058219.stm

It's old, but it's a good article all the same.