The 2012-2013 Football Thread

[cambookpro]

Originally Posted by Fizzoid

Edit: But more importantly, we've signed Leroy Lita until the end of the season

He was a bit mental when he was with us, I remember him scoring late on when we were 3-1 down and rather than getting the ball out of the net to the centre circle, he took his shirt off and ran to the away fans to celebrate...
Saw he scored on his debut today though.

In other news, Reading really have a crap fifth-round FA cup tie, away at Old Trafford. Wanted Luton, Barnsley or the Dons at home, then could've had a slim chance of a good QF, then possible Wembley...

The draw also seemed to have favoured all of the big PL sides, none of them playing each other and most at home. Oh well...

[Lord Blackadder]

So, apparently Tony Fernandes has decided that swooping in and meddling with QPR wasn't enough; if they get relegated as a result of that meddling he plans to steal off into the night, doubtless leaving the club with a huge wage bill and generally unsustainable finances.

This kind of madness is becoming frighteningly typical in English football.

[daneoni]

Probably feels he's pumped in too much money with zero return and is now a laughing stock. Typical businessman feels its time to run. QPR now facing the prospect of ending up like Portsmouth.

[Fizzoid]

To be fair, he has pumped in a fair few £££ and is now staring relegation square in the face

[2020mike]

Everton have decided to move forward and reached an agreement with FC Twente on Leroy Fer. Can't say I've seen him play so I'd figure I'd let Bunny offer some in sight on him.

[daneoni]

Continuing on transfer talk, apparently Balotelli is off to Milan for £17m pending a medical.

Spurs have landed Holtby

Also there's a rumour that Pep will target Falcao and Suarez in the summer...tempting the latter with CL footy. Suarez's agent is Pep brother btw.

Meanwhile, Wenger is still struggling to get that money out of his pocket.

[Lord Blackadder]

Originally Posted by Fizzoid

To be fair, he has pumped in a fair few £££ and is now staring relegation square in the face

Indeed - and that is mostly his fault. He has assembled a squad of expensive has-beens and nearly men who can't be bothered to put in an honest day's work. Bringing in Mr Wheeler Dealer as manager has not improved things on the pitch by much if at all, but it has facilitated the continued parade of new signings.

If they get relegated (as seems all but certain now), all these rats are set to flee the sinking ship, leaving the fans to pick up the pieces for a decade to come.

Originally Posted by 2020mike

Everton have decided to move forward and reached an agreement with FC Twente on Leroy Fer. Can't say I've seen him play so I'd figure I'd let Bunny offer some in sight on him.

They are paying a decent, if not huge, amount of money for him too.

[Happybunny]

Originally Posted by 2020mike

Everton have decided to move forward and reached an agreement with FC Twente on Leroy Fer. Can't say I've seen him play so I'd figure I'd let Bunny offer some in sight on him.

He played 38 games in one and a half seasons, scored 11 goals, and has been capped for the Netherlands twice.

He is a typical Dutch defender more at home going forward than staying back defending.

[Confuzzzed]

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

I thought we had a decent amount of wide play, but the quality of crosses and corners was not great. Coates did not have his best performance, but those big Oldham forwards were absolutely mugging him all night. Lots of fouls not given.

Can't argue with any of that. Dodgy keeper didn't help either. An Aussie in -2°C wind blowing from all directions and a physical centre forward. Disaster waiting to happen...

[daneoni]

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

Indeed - and that is mostly his fault. He has assembled a squad of expensive has-beens and nearly men who can't be bothered to put in an honest day's work. Bringing in Mr Wheeler Dealer as manager has not improved things on the pitch by much if at all, but it has facilitated the continued parade of new signings.

If they get relegated (as seems all but certain now), all these rats are set to flee the sinking ship, leaving the fans to pick up the pieces for a decade to come.

Well he seems to have back-pedalled

[Lord Blackadder]

Manchester United's paper worth has now exceeded 3 billion USD. Giggs and Scholes must really be the best midfielders on earth by miles if the Glazers still don't feel the need to tap any of that wealth to replace them...I suppose they are on track to sweep the domestic trophy scene, and will be facing a weakened and demoralized Real Madrid in Europe...so if they keep winning you can't argue with Ferg's squad.

Originally Posted by Confuzzzed

Can't argue with any of that. Dodgy keeper didn't help either. An Aussie in -2°C wind blowing from all directions and a physical centre forward. Disaster waiting to happen...

Oldham's second goal was 100% keeper error, it was a routine scoop and Jones duffed it. Baxter blocked at least two on-target shots and saved the tie for Oldham. His timing was excellent.

Despite all the mistakes, Gerrard very nearly leveled it with that late shot off the bar. But it would have been a lucky escape. I would say that had the pitch been in better shape, a few of Suarez and Sturridge's tricky little flick-ons and backheels would have found their marks and created more scoring opportunities. Both of them were consistently under-hitting their passes; the balls just died on that pitch. On the other hand, they failed to adapt to the situation and that is their fault, not Oldham's. I doubt they'll make it any further, but best of luck to them in the next round.

Originally Posted by daneoni

Well he seems to have back-pedalled

That article makes it sound like fans are prostrating themselves at his feet. Besides, I doubt he'd ever openly admit to planning to leave upon relegation.

[Confuzzzed]

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

I doubt they'll make it any further, but best of luck to them in the next round.

Way too magnanimous. Who do they have in the next round? Oh, wait. Everton did you say?!?

[Lord Blackadder]

Right now Everton are better than Liverpool, and will be at home if I recall...I expect a 3-0 victory for Tim Howard & Co.

[2020mike]

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

Right now Everton are better than Liverpool, and will be at home if I recall...I expect a 3-0 victory for Tim Howard & Co.

Unfortunately Everton will be playing away at Oldham. Still think they should be able to snatch a win though.

----------

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

They are paying a decent, if not huge, amount of money for him too.

Just saw £8.5 hope he's a suitable replacement for Fellaini. It's almost a guarantee he will get off loaded this summer if their paying that much.

[Lord Blackadder]

Originally Posted by 2020mike

Unfortunately Everton will be playing away at Oldham. Still think they should be able to snatch a win though.[COLOR="#808080"]

I think Liverpool would have won it at Anfield, what with the better pitch and crowd support. It would not have been a deserved win probably, but I think Oldham made good use of their home field advantage.

Originally Posted by 2020mike

Just saw £8.5 hope he's a suitable replacement for Fellaini. It's almost a guarantee he will get off loaded this summer if their paying that much.

It's a fair chunk of change. Hopefully he moves his girlfriend into a flat with a stable nearby this time.

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by daneoni

Well he seems to have back-pedalled

i like this line:

"...Proving once and for all that no matter how many airlines, football clubs and Formula 1 teams you own, sometimes all you need is a little bit of love. "

is his airline as crap as his F1 team and his football club?

[daneoni]

Originally Posted by pachyderm

is his airline as crap as his F1 team and his football club?

Wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

EDIT: Balotelli deal confirmed

[Lord Blackadder]

Originally Posted by daneoni

EDIT: Balotelli deal confirmed

£17m plus bonuses....his value is dropping. He is one of those players that needs a contract that is heavily incentivized - you get your money if you play and stay out of trouble.

From a purely selfish standpoint, it's a huge shame that he's leaving the Premier League, as his entertainment value was massive.

[Fizzoid]

Originally Posted by Lord Blackadder

£17m plus bonuses....his value is dropping. He is one of those players that needs a contract that is heavily incentivized - you get your money if you play and stay out of trouble.

From a purely selfish standpoint, it's a huge shame that he's leaving the Premier League, as his entertainment value was massive.

I think that would have to be, you only get paid if you stay out of trouble, rather than a bonus, as the only way of him staying out of trouble.

You're right though, he's an entertaining character!

I wonder if we'll soon see him in an Inter shirt

[twietee]

I like him. Think he will benefit greatly from a squad where he's actually needed and not only 1/4. Good move.

Wonder who will fill his 'gap'.

[Lord Blackadder]

Balotelli could still become one of the top strikers in world football if he can screw his head on a little tighter. I agree with twietee as well - he needs to be the center of attention rather than competing for playing time at a big club that rotates often.

Perhaps this move will also settle Dzeko down a bit, since he'll obviously be getting more playing time now that the roster of forwards has been reduced by 25%.

[2020mike]

Looks like Everton are weary of Fer's knee after his medical and seem to be looking for a discount on transfer fee to be based on appearances.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/convers...318881&cc=5901

[Happybunny]

I know people always say about every incident, It could happen anywherewell it's true.

Rascist chanting come to provincial Netherlands.

Tuesday FC Den Bosch the town where I live, played in the Beker quarter finals against Erdevisie opponents AZ 67.

They were beaten by five goals to nil, and that should have been that. But no a group of about fifty you cannot call the supporters began to make Jungle noises. Even attempts made by the players and the staff of FC Den Bosch could not bring peace back into the stadium.

The referee didn't stop the match which is normal rules for the KNVB, because it was so near the end of the match. According to the news papers it started in the 82 minute.

What stood out of the whole rotten affair was the attiude of the main target "Jozy Altidore" forward for AZ 67. He said after the match on TV to reporters, "I am not going to fight these people, but pray for them, I was brought up by my parents to stand tall and be proud of who you are, both as a person and as a player"


The police and the club staff are going through the CCTV pictures, there will be very large penalties for this, also for the Club.

[twietee]

Originally Posted by Happybunny

I know people always say about every incident, It could happen anywherewell it's true.

Rascist chanting come to provincial Netherlands.

Tuesday FC Den Bosch the town where I live, played in the Beker quarter finals against Erdevisie opponents AZ 67.

They were beaten by five goals to nil, and that should have been that. But no a group of about fifty you cannot call the supporters began to make Jungle noises. Even attempts made by the players and the staff of FC Den Bosch could not bring peace back into the stadium.

The referee didn't stop the match which is normal rules for the KNVB, because it was so near the end of the match. According to the news papers it started in the 82 minute.

What stood out of the whole rotten affair was the attiude of the main target "Jozy Altidore" forward for AZ 67. He said after the match on TV to reporters, "I am not going to fight these people, but pray for them, I was brought up by my parents to stand tall and be proud of who you are, both as a person and as a player"


The police and the club staff are going through the CCTV pictures, there will be very large penalties for this, also for the Club.

I'm always a bit torn in these matters: although clearly racist, I'm never sure if at the core it's only about hurting your opponent, verbally that is, where it hurts the most (not an excuse at all). But what about all the other discriminating chants and so on? They hardly make a headline. Nevertheless, stuff like this makes me avoid such places, can't stand these dumb people - and I'm also not going to argue with them as they don't care at all. I remember a game in Munich against a Turkish club where hundreds of the so called supporters waved Aldi bags in the stadium. Aldi is kind of the embodiement for a cheap supermarked.

[Jaffa Cake]

Indeed, I read about this a little earlier. Outside of the Netherlands the reports are rather conflicting, with some saying the match was abandoned and others saying that it was completed – there's also some disagreement about which points of the match were affected. Needless to state, it's disgraceful behaviour and as you say happybunny it's proof that it can happen anywhere.

If there is a positive to be found from this incident, it's that comments from the Den Bosch staff indicate that they're deeply ashamed by what happened and and aren't prepared to turn a blind eye to this. All too often it seems that clubs and Associations try to sweep this sort of thing under the carpet and don't take it seriously, but hopefully Den Bosch can set an example to others by stamping out this kind of behaviour from their club.

Originally Posted by Happybunny

What stood out of the whole rotten affair was the attiude of the main target "Jozy Altidore" forward for AZ 67. He said after the match on TV to reporters, "I am not going to fight these people, but pray for them, I was brought up by my parents to stand tall and be proud of who you are, both as a person and as a player"

Altidore was on loan with us for a season (2009-10), so I'm rather familiar with him – he always came across as an extremely nice kid and his response here is typical of him and does him great credit. It's unfortunate though that he's been put in this position in the first place.