Jagielka is better than Lescott, and I'd say £15 million is a ridiculous price that you wouldn't have seen last summer. Everton could easily let him go and use that cash to buy a proper striker or dominant midfielder. They've got Yobo and Rodwell who can play in defence perfectly well.
Well, £15m for Lescott is obviously the result of the Real Value + Being English Value + Man City Have A Whole Lotta Cash Value cost equation all clubs have to do. Same sort of thing happened with Barry, Hargreaves, Glen Johnson and pretty much every other English player this decade.
I can't believe I wasn't going to bother watching this tournament. That was a really enjoyable game, classic underdog win against the big boys, and Dempsey got the decisive goal AGAIN! Gutted for Bradley though.
USA doesn't have the best players, but in the end it's the players that play the best as a team that carry the day and it looks like that's what happened here. Not that the Yanks are a bunch of cripples. If you read the BBC account, you'll note they have a solid core of players from the top Euro leagues. You have to expect Brazil to take note and demolish S. Africa which could set the stage for a USA breakthrough opportunity. For the BBC account click here.
Striker would definitely need to be a priority, although lose Lescott and you lose goals there (although I can't remember if he did as well last season) Get the impression Moyes doesn't want to lose him, but also that Everton's finances dictate he will have his price.
Lescott started last season really badly, as could be seen in Everton's early form. I think he probably had his head swayed by some interest in him last summer. Even so, he picked it up from about November onwards and it showed in Everton's form again. I'd probably take Jagielka over him as well, but he's a major asset for that team.
Well the season for me starts a week today for me. So glad to be back in action although we're about to loose our top striker who at the tender age of 23 has played a full 7 seasons for the club
US ended Spain's 35 match unbeaten streak. Considering there were people who thought they would lose to Egypt, that's a pretty big upset.
That would only be true if the Confederations Cup had the slightest bit of significance. But a very nice result for the US team nonetheless.
Yep. I watched that entire game. Spain were bothered. Players yelling at each other on the pitch and the looks on their face after the second goal told me the cared. A lot. Their streak was on the line and they played hard. If they would have won this game they would have passed Brazil unbeatable streak and would have forced themselves into the conversation when the best teams ever was discussed. But ... every once in awhile a team has all 14 players play at the top of their game; has the right game plan for a superior opponent; comes out full of belief and energy, and gets that bounce of the ball while the other team doesn't; and they win. We all watch enough football to count dozens of games like that.
As long as you remember that the official name of the sport ain't that nor should we call it that like you Americans Man Utd have been linked with Hunterlarr today and for a decent price of £17 million, he would be a perfect partner for Rooney IMO and a proven goalscorer.
As I've been following this thread, a couple of things confused me: How are the player contracts structured in the European leagues - is the contract with the team or the league? What is the "transfer window"? Is it like free agency in US sports where the player can hold out for the best offer? Make sure and use a lot of short words in the answers, I'm a hockey player who's had one too many concussions, probably. Thanks
The official name is "Association Football", but most people don't bother to say association in its entirety.
Very true, these are human beings not machines at the end of the day, and sometimes the "poorer" team wins. Hell footy would be a boring game if the favourites always won.
Someone else will probably answer better but... Players are contracted to specific clubs/teams (although there are occasional weird joint ownership things but mainly they happen in South American football). Clubs are only allowed to buy new players from other clubs during the transfer windows. There are two windows, one during the summer the other encompassing all of January. You can't buy a player outside of these times. There are some exeptions, in that you can sign a free agent pretty much anytime (as in someone without a club) in addition the football league in England (ie everything below the Prem) have an emergency loan system so you can borrow players from other clubs outside of the transfer window. I'm only really clear on the system in the UK, I think Europe works the same way but can't say with certainty.
^ I just want to add that free agency isn't nowhere near rampant in UEFA football as it is in North American sports leagues. it wasn't until the Bosman ruling in 1995 the concept of free agency became "legalized" for most European football leagues. This is in contrast with NFL, MLB, and the NBA which all had free agencies since the 70s. The lack of free agency doesn't hamper player movement. Most clubs would decide to sell their players for a fee before their contracts expire should they already decided that they want to leave.