English Football Thread 2008-2009 Season
Pre-season tours are underway so now is as good a time as any to start up the discussions. Any thoughts on the season ahead? Will Adebayor and/or Ronaldo still be in the PL? What about incoming stars, such as Moutinho and Jo? Do you think Hull and co can stay up? Blah blah blah.
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
I just want the swans to avoid relegation
there was a picture here
Get that exclamation point out of the thread title right now you massive ponce.
also yes Hull will be the dark horse winners of the premiership with Dean Windass scoring 35 goals in the league to take the Tigers to glory
Copy/Paste treatment fails me again.Originally Posted by DK
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
I am becoming increasingly worried about the state of Everton. The complete lack of activity in the transfer window, the fact Moyes has still yet to sign the contract that - apparently - has been ready to sign since the last game of the season and the complete quagmire over the Kirkby move. It's unbelievable that Moyes apparently won't have any real money to spend. It's all well and good expecting Moyes to deliver European qualification on a shoestring, but it's going to become increasingly more and more difficult. I will be fuming if we have to sell Johnson to fund transfers. We already need at least one more striker to replace McFadden. And looking at how our extremely small squad is floundering with injuries at the moment, I think Everton need to get a severe kick up the backside and get things sorted. Of course spending money doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but the squad is too small as it is and we need to strengthen it and increase our numbers or else the likes of Spurs, Man City and Villa could overtake us.
Other than that, everything's rosy. Besides, it's genetically impossible for Evertonians to be optimistic about anything.
Not my words Carol, the words of Top Gear magazine.
It's Newcastle's first friendly today. Hurray!It's not televised as far as I know (and I've checked five, setanta and ss)
but I've missed football muchly!
Newcastle haven't impressed me thus far in the transfer window. We've signed two midfielders. The one area of the squad that wasn't in desperate need of new players....argh! Sign atleast ONE decent defender god damn. and don't let milner leave pleaaaaaaaaaaaase.
also; good season plz *hopeful*
Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal. Just finish ahead of Arsenal.
And win the CL. Of course.
Our season will go either one of two ways:
1. Spurred on by last year's near-miss (and it was a near-miss in a way, to finish only four points off even when we'd been utterly dismal from February to April and won one game in eight), the team will band together and go that extra step and deliver the title, or the CL.
2. Last season will have been a missed opportunity, and losing the element of surprise we had for a lot of last year when no-one expected us to do well, we'll spend the whole season toiling away to finish 3rd or even 4th (or worse!), miles behind the league leaders.
Which one will it be? I honestly don't know, it all depends on how we respond to losing players, who we buy, and whether Van Persie can stay fit, he can be a huge boost for us if he plays. I have to hope we can build on last year though, rather then have it as an aberration.
Chelsea to win the title...maybe.
"Excuse me Miss, do you like pineapple?"
I like the signing of Nasri, and unless he has big problems adjusting to the English game I think he's an upgrade from Hleb. I'm more worried about the loss of Flamini and Gilberto, which leaves us with very few options in central midfield. I've liked Diaby when he's played in the "Vieira" role instead of being stuck out on the left, but I doubt he's ready to step in and play a full season, and I don't like the idea of Alex Song being called up for long-term duty in the event of an injury crisis.
I think squad depth will be our problem this season as it has been in the past. We've got a good selection of strikers available, especially if Carlos Vela works out, but elsewhere we just don't have the quality in reserve that you need to win consistently over nine months of the year.
That said, we did very well last year in spite of the same problem, so I could yet be proven wrong. And if Van Persie and Rosicky managed to stay fit for more than two weeks at a time, that's like two quality new signings right there. We'll need luck to win the title, but not an unrealistic amount.
On other matters, I can quite easily see all three promoted clubs going down this year. West Brom are the best of the three, and they don't look as good as Birmingham did last year. Meanwhile, a few of the established clubs that were looking threatened (Bolton, Fulham) look to have sorted themselves out a bit, and a bit of manager stability ought to help them stay safe. Man City are set for a good year under Mark Hughes, but Blackburn will drop into the bottom half of the table without him. And lastly, Spurs will learn how to defend and will actually push the top four like everyone said they were going to last year. They might even win a real trophy, although I really hope not.
"The most important and recognize player in the history of the country."
Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I were as great as Paulo Wanchope.
I think Ronaldo will probably stay. All this nonsense seems to be a ploy by his agent to get him an improved contract.
Anyway, I see Chelsea as title contenders. Their squad is very efficient, and always seem to grind out results. But, one has to see what changes Scolari is going to make. And whether Lampard & Drogba are still there. Anelka & Shevchenko don't seem to fit well in the team. Anyway, also a work in progress.
I'm uncertain about Arsenal, because I don't know who's actually going to be left there when the season starts. Saw a report on Sky that teams want Gallas and van Persie now. So, Flamini, Hleb & Gilberto are gone, and as far as I'm aware, Wenger has only bought in Nasri to replace them in the short-term. If Gallas (who is class), van Persie & Adebayor also leave, and Wenger doesn't replace them, there could be problems. So, I'll wait until September 1 to determine what's going to happen to Arsenal.
I don't think Liverpool are going to contest again this year, which is a pity. There doesn't seem to be much transfer movement, and their main target is Gareth Barry. To be honest, I don't see how Barry is better than Alonso or Mascherano, so don't really know what the point is. What Liverpool really, really need is another top class striker and attack-minded midfielder. At the moment, if you nullify Torres and Gerrard, there isn't anyone else who they can look to.
And now, to Manchester United, who I support. A lot depends on whether Ronaldo stays or goes. Also, with Saha spending most of the time on the physio table, they need to buy a tall, big striker. Berbatov would be perfect, but that has to develop. I think that United have a very established squad will aid them in their title bid.
So, basically my predictions all depend on what happens until the end of the transfer window.
But, at the bottom, I think Bolton will go down this season. They haven't signed a striker to replace Anelka. Without his goals, they would have gone down last season.
Fulham should stay up, if they keep Bullard fit. I think that Sunderland also should stay up. West Brom look like they could be the newly promoted team to stay up. Hull I think will land up in the relegation battle, but dependant on who they sign, may stay up.
Damn you all for underestimating the power of Dean Windass. It is his time to shine.
Dean will be snapped up by Inter before this transfer window is out. Without him, and without Jay Jay Okocha, Hull are screwed.
"The most important and recognize player in the history of the country."
Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I were as great as Paulo Wanchope.
Nick Barmby will lead them to glory. You watch.
Also worried about plans to now offload Voronin. Not that he's crucial or key but he's not exactly the worst striker we've had in recent memory. With him gone, the only out and out striker we would have is Torres. Yeah, Kuyt, Gerrard and Babel can play up there, but they're better suited to other positions. Maybe we'll see Pachecho come up. He's a 17 year old striker we stole from Barca in the same manner than Arsenal nicked Fabregas, and he's looked very tasty in the two pre-season friendlies I've seen so far. Look out for him!
Oh. We've extended Phil Neville's contract until 2012. It'll just be like having a new signing...
Oh Lord no.
Not my words Carol, the words of Top Gear magazine.
You think that's bad?
We've just signed Jean Alain Boumsong's cousin, David Ngog.
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