(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

[Jax]

ManU are apparently done with their summer transfers. Thought that Ronaldo dosh wasn't going to pay off the debt and be used for players?

Well, in all fairness it probably hasn't paid off (all) the debt.

Drop in the bucket, no doubt.

Technically aren't US taxpayers subsidizing AIG's sponsorship of United? Too funny.

I don't see where Utd have the room to buy more players now, I would expect Fergie to spend a lot next summer hes been eying up players like Silva andYoung who won't be cheap but have greater chances of going next year.

With Gerrard out Young can prove how much better a real winger on the left can be

Tommorows team is looking like...

Green

Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, A.Cole

Beckham, Lampard, Barry, Young,

C. Cole, Rooney

 

[Tomalak]

Who's this Alberto Aquilani that Liverpool have signed? Don't know much about him, but I doubt he's an adequate replacement for Alonso.

He's hot stuff. Been injury prone the last couple of seasons, but before then he was very highly rated. We only got him because Roma are even worse off financially than we are.

A different player to Alonso, more likely to get forward and play one-twos and through balls around the box. He's more like Scholes or Fabregas than Alonso. I'm really looking forward to seeing him in action. Hopefully he can adapt to England better than Dossena.


Good to see Dirk ripping the piss out of Ferdinand and "JT".

 

[Tomalak]

With Gerrard out Young can prove how much better a real winger on the left can be

Well, Young's done nothing (again), and England have no creativity without Gerrard (again).

 

[HappyDayRiot]

As far as I can gather, most of England are playing to avoid getting injured. It's the only way I can explain them kicking the ball to the opposition - they want to avoid getting tackled.

Could be worse though - they could be Scotland. I don't know how our keeper got called into the first team but it doesn't look like he's any better for Scotland than for Cardiff. At least the Wales game doesn't matter... so typically Ramsey is playing really well. Not a great night for any of us really!

 

[Tomalak]

My Norwich-supporting mate loved Marshall. Really rated him.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I'm happy to give the guy a fair chance - it's not like he had a lot to do on his one appearance so far. I just hope he gets to as good as he apparently sooner rather than later, because I've not got a lot of faith in our back-up keeper either.

 

[Jax]

2-2 despite our mistakes Holland looked equally as shaky so a fair result in the end I suppose. Dissapointed with Young but then again we looked like we didn't want to play down the left he didn't get much of the ball but I still say Gerrard cannot play on the left against the top 7/8 in the world.

Green (7) - Not his fault 2 goals went in so unlucky after he made the save for 2nd one. Pulled off a few smart saves and for the 1st time has me believing he can ply for ENG.

Johnson (4) - £18 million seems a bad price tag now, against better oppostion he looked out of his depth and always out of position just to far up field. While Rio made 2 bad passes he got on with it but Johnson looked shaky all night long.

Ferdinand (5) - Worst start for him in a ENG shirt and needs a good kick up the backside. However he did get his act together as the match went on.

Terry (6.5) - Should cleared Kuyt's effort off the line but he looked mostly solid tonight, his lack pf pace still worries me especially when Rio has an off night.

A.Cole (7) - ENG's best defender, looked solid and assured. Always prefers his opponents to run at him rather than force hom to go to them and never looked in trouble.

Beckham (7) - Passing was excellent and stayed cool when those around him crumbled. Has to go to South Africa

Lampard (6.5) - Could of done more to prove why hes better in the middle then Gerrrd but did ok. Set up the 1st goal but never looked like scoring himself after a good early opportunity.

Barry (5) - 2nd worst performance in a ENG shirt and once again proves he struggles against the best, so needs CL experience. His fault for the 2nd goal and never got into the game.

Young (5.5) - Looked half ok with the ball but put too much thought into his play didn't let his natural instincts just play out. However ENG negelcted him when he had space but is the right man in the long term.

Heskey (6) - Tried hard but his knock from the other day shown and he never should of started.

Rooney (6.5) - Looked frustrated but kept his anger in check. Tried hard but needed better support like from Gerrard but I still think Gerrard works better in the middle.


SUBS...

Carrick (6.5)- Apart from one misplaced pass he proved why his CL experience potentially makes him the best choice over Barry against the top teams.

Defoe (8) - Took his goals well and unlucky not to have a hat trick. 1st time he proven to me that hes worth a place with goals against actual top oppisition. Owen and Defoe can still ne in the same squad IMO.

Milner (7) - Played well for his 1st cap and did great work to set up goal number 2. Interesting how he can play on the left like J.Cole & A.Young worth another look and start at somepoint.

C.Cole (6.5) - Hate to say it but looked decent when he came on and maybe could of had a goal. However I still doubt is ability to help us win a World Cup.

Bridge (N/A) - Not long enough on the pitch.

 

[Hermiod]

My ratings.

Green - 6. Looked shaky and nervous in the first half. Improved in the second.

Johnson - 4. Looked like a fool up against the quality wide players the Dutch have. Kept fouling his new Liverpool teammate in the second half. Babel doesn't normally need an excuse to go down.

Ferdinand - 3. Should have been substituted.

Terry - 3. Just as bad as Ferdinand.

Beckham - 6. He had to work his butt off to cover for Johnson's failures which limited him and going forward he wasn't helped by Heskey never being where he was supposed to be.

Barry - 5. Generally poor and his mistake didn't help.

Lampard - 1. Completely anonymous for the entire game. The problem of how to play him and Gerrard together has now been solved - you don't. You leave Lampard on the bench.

Young - 6. Tried hard, but again was let down by his Villa teammate Heskey not doing his job properly.

Heskey - 2. I had just watched John Carew play for Norway against Scotland and show Heskey how to play the game he was trying to play. Carew was a constant danger to Scotland's defence, held the ball up extremely well and was ready for a cross whenever they got it out wide. Heskey, on the other hand, lost the ball every time he received it, didn't win a header all night and was completely absent when the crosses came in. Young's crosses from the left kept finding their way to Beckham who was doing a better job as a target man than Heskey did.

Rooney - 4. Huffed and puffed while waiting for other people to give him tap-ins as usual. The old Wayne Rooney who used to charge at defenders is gone.

Subs...

Carrick - 7. England looked much more solid with him around.

Defoe - 9. Possibly his best performance in an England shirt. Two well taken goals too, he's starting to look like a proper international striker.

Milner - 8. A good example of why England should look at their U21s and give them chances to shine.

C. Cole - 8. Did a much better job in the target man role than Heskey can dream of. Jumped ahead of Heskey in the queue, in my view, last night.

Bridge - N/A. Not fair to rate him based on his brief appearance. Not sure why Fabio wasted a substitution on him. I would have given Lescott 45 minutes instead.

 

[BRG]

Aye, the old Sweaty Socks produced another vintage display, we certainly put those Norwegan bounders in their place.
It looks like yet another World Cup that Scotland will miss. Get Burley slung.
BRG

 

[Jax]

Lampard - 1. Completely anonymous for the entire game. The problem of how to play him and Gerrard together has now been solved - you don't. You leave Lampard on the bench..

Thats an Arsenal fan judging a Chelsea player score there He did actually set up our 1st goal and was better in the 2nd half than the 1st...

SERIOUSLY 1

In fairness to Heskey he was carrying a knock and I think Capello even admitted he shouldn't of played him. The boy works hard I will let him have his 1 bad game.

 

[Hermiod]

Lampard - 1. Completely anonymous for the entire game. The problem of how to play him and Gerrard together has now been solved - you don't. You leave Lampard on the bench..

Thats an Arsenal fan judging a Chelsea player score there He did actually set up our 1st goal and was better in the 2nd half than the 1st...

SERIOUSLY 1

This isn't an anti-Chelsea thing. He's dynamite for his club. Knowing what he is capable of and the performance he put in yesterday, I'm sorry but my rating stands.

I did accidentally neglect to give Ashley Cole a score. There's no-one in Football I hate more than him but he was our best defender last night. I'll give him a 7. My problem with Ashley Cole has never been about his ability. I'm convinced that not having to play against Cole is a good reason why Ronaldo has disappeared off to Spain.

In fairness to Heskey he was carrying a knock and I think Capello even admitted he shouldn't of played him. The boy works hard I will let him have his 1 bad game.

If he is injured then he shouldn't have played.

 

[Tomalak]

Rooney - 4. Huffed and puffed while waiting for other people to give him tap-ins as usual. The old Wayne Rooney who used to charge at defenders is gone.

Absolutely. It's nothing new either - Rooney's been like this since about 2004. He's got the typical Man Yoo attitude that anything that goes against him is unjust, so he just gets in a strop and moans. He's got none of that love for the game he had when he was at Everton. He just waddles around, mouths off at his team-mates when they don't manage to set him up with a tap-in, then stomps off the pitch shaking his head when someone with pace and desire comes on. Give me Carlton Cole any day.

I'm convinced that not having to play against Cole is a good reason why Ronaldo has disappeared off to Spain.

There's only one fullback I've seen who has kept Ronaldo in his pocket whenever they have met, and that's Fabio Aurelio. Scoff if you wish, but he had the measure of Ronnie.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

^ Was that just the two games last season? Can't remember when Aurelio joined for the life of me. I do remember Ronaldo being anonymous against Liverpool the season before though, even though United doubled them.

All I know is Carew was on fire last night. If he doesn't start against Wigan and Heskey does, I'm declaring MON insane.

 

[Daedalus12]

If footballers and managers are on facebook:

David Moyes Became a fan of Michael Owen
6 Hours ago

Sir Alex Ferguson became a fan Of Michael Owen
6 Hours ago

David Moyes Became a Fan of Kyle Naughton.
5 hours ago

Harry Redknapp Became a Fan of Kyle Naughton.
5 hours ago

David Moyes became a fan of Rasmus Elm
4 Hours ago

Mark Hughes became a fan of Rasmus Elm
4 Hours ago

David Moyes Became a fan of Fabien Delph
3 hours ago

Martin O'neil Became a fan of Fabien Delph
3 hours ago

David Moyes became a fan of Gary O'Neil

Sir alex ferguson, Harry Redknappp and 2 others like this.

Harry Redknapp Says: We're not fuckin stupid davey

David Moyes says: Cunts.

Martin O'Neil says: LMAO unlucky

Bobby Zamora rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Fraizer Campbell rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Marc-Antoine Fortune rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Michael Owen rejected Phil Brown's friend request

Alberto Aquilani: Oh no! I've just had my new house robbed!!!
Steven Gerrard, Jerzy Dudek, John-Arne Riise, Lucas Leiva, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Jose Reina and Daniel Agger like this

Frank Lampard is LOLing at Stevie G - 3 hours ago 3 comments

-Steven Gerrard ****** off Lamps

-Rio Ferdinand oi oi epic banter lads

-Steven Gerrard did he dedicate the banter to his Mum

David Moyes is skint

Mark Hughes likes this

Didier Drogba poked Jens Lehmann 3 years ago

Jens Lehmann went down holding his face

Marcus Bent is hoping to start at Old Trafford - 1 hour ago
Sir Alex Ferguson Likes This.

Ashley Cole: xxfdfwgnasdwvvjjdkjf

 

[HappyDayRiot]

The idea of Rio Ferdinand on Facebook is quite frightening. Just think of the hilarious murking he would get up - trying to sell Crouch an island shaped like a penis and pretending to kidnap Beckham (thus making him jump out of a moving vehicle)...


Love the Aquiliani and Bent statuses. Funny cos they're true.

 

[Jax]

If footballers and managers are on facebook:

David Moyes Became a fan of Michael Owen
6 Hours ago

Sir Alex Ferguson became a fan Of Michael Owen
6 Hours ago

David Moyes Became a Fan of Kyle Naughton.
5 hours ago

Harry Redknapp Became a Fan of Kyle Naughton.
5 hours ago

David Moyes became a fan of Rasmus Elm
4 Hours ago

Mark Hughes became a fan of Rasmus Elm
4 Hours ago

David Moyes Became a fan of Fabien Delph
3 hours ago

Martin O'neil Became a fan of Fabien Delph
3 hours ago

David Moyes became a fan of Gary O'Neil

Sir alex ferguson, Harry Redknappp and 2 others like this.

Harry Redknapp Says: We're not fuckin stupid davey

David Moyes says: Cunts.

Martin O'Neil says: LMAO unlucky

Bobby Zamora rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Fraizer Campbell rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Marc-Antoine Fortune rejected Phil Brown's friend request
Michael Owen rejected Phil Brown's friend request

Marcus Bent is hoping to start at Old Trafford - 1 hour ago
Sir Alex Ferguson Likes This.

Ashley Cole: xxfdfwgnasdwvvjjdkjf

As for the Rooney thing hes a great player but god I wish he was the player we had at 2004, I don't understan what happened to his pace which was on par with Owen and his dribbling skills which were goo as what Messi haas now

hes more a complete player now but I would of prefered a more complete striker.

 

[Jax]

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Everton
6. Manchester City
7. Aston Villa
8. Tottenham Hostpur
9. West Ham Utd
10. Fulham
11. Sunderland
12. Blackburn Rovers
13. Bolton Wanders
14. Stoke City
15. Wigan Athletic
16. Wolves
17. Birmingham City
18. Portsmouth
19. Burnley
20. Hull City

That was my prediction 2 weeks ago and with the season about to start and a few more transfers done this is what I think now...

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Everton
6. Manchester City
7. Aston Villa
8. Tottenham Hostpur
9. West Ham Utd
10. Sunderland (moved up)
11. Blackburn Rovers (moved up)
12. Fulham (moved down)
13. Bolton Wanders
14. Stoke City
15. Birmingham City (moved up)
16. Wolves
17. Wigan Athletic (moved down)
18. Portsmouth
19. Burnley
20. Hull City

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I would only revise one thing about my prediction and that is to swap Wigan and Sunderland. Cattermole will vastly improve the Black Cats and Wigan will miss him. Those two teams are still down as my 'shocks' for this season though.

Robbo Robson on BBC has predicted Spurs to finish 4th. Laugh? I cried.

 

[Tomalak]

As for the Rooney thing hes a great player but god I wish he was the player we had at 2004, I don't understan what happened to his pace which was on par with Owen and his dribbling skills which were goo as what Messi haas now

hes more a complete player now but I would of prefered a more complete striker.

Erm, not even close. Messi has the best close control of any player I've seen. He's untouchable.

 

[StolenThunder]

Well, decent opening weekend I think. Mixed results and performances for the top 4, goals throughout the league.

Pleased about the Arsenal result, anyway.