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2008-09 Football Thread - The Second Half

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Off the back of last night's result, I am now convinced England will easily win the next World Cup, European Championships, African Cup of Nations and the Eurovision Song Contest.

Any Englandshirer who disagrees is clearly unpatriotic and obviously wants the French to win.
 
Blue Velvet said:
The lunacy and hyping has already started.

England beat Andorra — ranked 196th in the world between Aruba and Dominica — by six goals at Wembley and now the press has started calling them 'impressive'... and in the Time's case 'The Invincibles'.
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To be fair, and without getting carried away, I think we were impressive. So many times I've seen us struggle against the lesser teams who simply defend for 90 mins, where as last night we actually played some football, rather than just punt the ball up field all night and hope we score from a set piece.
 
It was a good performance by England and we did the job we were expected to – but had we only registered, say, a 2-0 win against such a side those same papers would no doubt be calling for Capello's head on a platter this morning, and the phone ins would be dominated with folk wanting Stuart Pearce to be given his job.

I think Croatia will naturally be a far worthier test of our credentials than Andorra, so let's see how we fare against them in our next qualifier before we get too carried away.

For me, our first choice eleven is a strong side and on its day it's capable of taking on any side in the world. As ever though, I'm concerned about our strength in depth. Qualifiers are one thing, but when you're in the second half of a quarter-final and a goal down – with a couple of players carrying knocks, another missing through suspension and your star player has just been stretchered off – that's when you see how strong a team you actually have.
 
Crikey – Manchester United have accepted a £80million bid for Ronaldo from Real Madrid. :eek:

I'm not sure, but I think a bid of that size may activate a release clause in his contract so Manchester United really wouldn't have much choice in the matter. I'm sure I read recently his contract contained such a clause, perhaps one of our Manchester United fans here knows for certain if this is the case?
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Crikey – Manchester United have accepted a £80million bid for Ronaldo from Real Madrid. :eek:

I'm not sure, but I think a bid of that size may activate a release clause in his contract so Manchester United really wouldn't have much choice in the matter. I'm sure I read recently his contract contained such a clause, perhaps one of our Manchester United fans here knows for certain if this is the case?
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Yeah, I believe it was around £76m for him to be able to leave. I'm not sure whether to be suprised or not. If he wanted success he would have been better staying where he is, so I guess he's going for the lifestyle. However, with the names being linked with Real, if he gets in a strop now after being subbed on 70 mins, he's going to get real (pun intended) stroppy when he finds himself warming the bench for 80 mins
 
BoyBach said:
It's the Galácticos Mk. II, and I remember how awful the first attempt was.
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As a Barça fan I can't help but laugh. I understand what Perez the president is doing, it sort of works but only if you continue to buy the biggest names. Once you stop you actually end up losing money. They will make money from marketing the players. Ronaldo and Kaka are Nike endorsed but will now be wearing Adidas kit every week. Its smart up to a point!

Anyhoo... Ronaldo being the arrogant **** he is will get a lesson in humility from Raul. It will cause a huge rift through the team and sorting it will mean the unceramonious dumping of Raul (yes I said it Raul) which will lead to even more unrest.

I can't wait! :D
 
Indeed, we all know how it happens. They'll spend a few years buying the likes of Kaka and Ronaldo and win very little. Then some bright spark will come up with a revolutionary solution – they need to buy a defender or two!

Such a bold move will be carefully considered, but given that they thrashed Sporting de Gijón 4-0 the previous weekend it'll be clear they don't need to waste money on frivolous things like defenders.

It's the Galáctico way. :p
 
^ Real is sending nine players away. So far they have bought two or three? So you think that those strikers are the only ones coming in Madrid? You have forgotten that Zidane is there helping Perez. :p I'm pretty convinced that they will make good decisions together. They are likely to buy some new defenders too. Something has to be done. They're chancing their team just like Barcelona did last season. If they'll have new team with new players then wasting money isn't so important. New beginning again. I see that very many are just scared and jealous about Madrid's new players (or because there is still time to get other players too, getting Kaka and Ronaldo is just beginning :) ). So how about we just wait and see what happens next season? ;)
 
So, who's going to replace Ronaldo? Valencia looks good, but is a long way off Ronaldo's level. He might be there in a few seasons, but isn't a direct replacement. Bayern are asking £65m for Ribery and I can't see Man U paying that.
 
Qwertylizer said:
^ Real is sending nine players away. So far they have bought two or three? So you think that those strikers are the only ones coming in Madrid? You have forgotten that Zidane is there helping Perez. :p I'm pretty convinced that they will make good decisions together. They are likely to buy some new defenders too. Something has to be done. They're chancing their team just like Barcelona did last season. If they'll have new team with new players then wasting money isn't so important. New beginning again. I see that very many are just scared and jealous about Madrid's new players (or because there is still time to get other players too, getting Kaka and Ronaldo is just beginning :) ). So how about we just wait and see what happens next season? ;)
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Barça only bought Dani Alves, Hleb, Caceres and Pique last season. Only Alves and Pique were used as 'first team' players. So I dont agree with you saying Barça changed their team. It's essentially the same team as last season, as Ronaldinho hardly ever turned up and Deco hardly played.

I don't fear Real's new players as I have stated above. Beating them 6-2 on their home ground kind of fills me with a warm glow. 2 players dont make a team. ;)
 
MacBoobsPro said:
Barça only bought Dani Alves, Hleb, Caceres and Pique last season. Only Alves and Pique were used as 'first team' players. So I dont agree with you saying Barça changed their team. It's essentially the same team as last season, as Ronaldinho hardly ever turned up and Deco hardly played.

I don't fear Real's new players as I have stated above. Beating them 6-2 on their home ground kind of fills me with a warm glow. 2 players dont make a team. ;)
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Yep, you're right about Barca's situation. But they sent Ronaldinho away which I think was a pretty big move still.

I don't even wanna remember the last El Clasico. :cool: Madrid was so messed up. They didn't play like a team (team was like a crap) but they still were second and that fills me with a warm glow... We'll just have to wait until season 2009-2010 starts. :)
 
SactoGuy18 said:
Oh great--Real Madrid CF is trying to "buy" a championship like the New York Yankees are trying to do in Major League Baseball here in the USA. :rolleyes:
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It's nothing new. They've done it before, as have Chelsea and many other clubs, or at least, tried to
 
I always assumed that Zidane would be rooting for his french compatriot Ribery and yet Real still opted for Ronaldo, whereas Ferguson seems to be selling CR7 to get Ribery. Interesting to see which turns out the better investment if this script plays out like how it seems it will so far.

Also on a side note, i can't help but get the feeling that some Barcelona fans here are getting a tad arrogant.
(a) you cant ignore Kaka and Ronaldo being bought by your rival in the same transfer window, you can say you'll focus on your game only but dismissing it just shows lack of better judgement.
(b) This whole notion of buying and selling "teams" between seasons was infact what barcelona were trying to do when they were trying to catch up to Real, i cant recall what seasons but i remember good talent getting lost in between like Bommel and Riquelime (ignore the spelling)
 
Hm, do I smell envy here, big time?

I understand critizing Manchester City for just buying the "big boys". Indeed, without a concept, youth work, good trainer and team spirit, you just do fail.

But talking trash about Real buying Kaka or Ronaldo just show how you envy the club and not understanding the strategy.

If Ronaldo, who is good looking and understands how to controll the ball, garuantee a sold-out in the stadium, which is not petite and sell jerseys like crazy, then whats wrong with that? He fits to the lifestyle in Madrid. The chic, the sun, the nightlife, etc. Playing in a team with the best (Raul, Casillas, Kaka, maybe Ribery, etc.) is the decision to make.

The Galacticos-era with Zidane, Backham, Raul, Owen, Figo, Roberto Carlos were just functionable for everyone. The club won every title!!! The club sold tickets, PayPerViews, merchandise. We, the fans saw just the masterpiece in matches when it came to technique, finesse and a synergy seeing superstars connecting to each other, you see this in every 10 years.

I am happy to see this great club investing in superstars. When I come back from work, I want to see just the best and not waste my time with crap clubs.

It's 2009. It's all about generating money. When something is worth 93.000.000,00€, then let it be. You get what you pay for. We are the best example. You can buy a crap laptop with an all time crapOS like windows, or invest in a Mac.
 
hardliner said:
The Galacticos-era with Zidane, Backham, Raul, Owen, Figo, Roberto Carlos were just functionable for everyone. The club won every title!!! The club sold tickets, PayPerViews, merchandise. We, the fans saw just the masterpiece in matches when it came to technique, finesse and a synergy seeing superstars connecting to each other, you see this in every 10 years.

I am happy to see this great club investing in superstars. When I come back from work, I want to see just the best and not waste my time with crap clubs.
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Spoken like a true glory hunter :rolleyes:
Also, during Real's last Galactico era, didn't Man U still manage to become a bigger\more marketable club despite spending considerably less on players?
 
Real Madrid did manage to form a successful team during the last period of big spending - does no one remember that Zidane left foot volley to win the Champions League?

Of course it takes more than just money, but they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with. Kaka is absolutely fantastic and I suppose Ronaldo isn't bad either...
 
Fizzoid said:
If he wanted success he would have been better staying where he is, so I guess he's going for the lifestyle.
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He has already won everything there is to have in England, Johnson's Paint Trophy excluded :) (and perhaps some others), made a boatload of money along the way.

New challenges and different titles are what some players want/need. I thought United were lucky to keep him for last season but riding on the coattails of the season prior to that his price was a lot higher. Now that he has had a so-so season and served extra time it will be a loss easier to take for the fans/club.
 
Fizzoid said:
So, who's going to replace Ronaldo? Valencia looks good, but is a long way off Ronaldo's level. He might be there in a few seasons, but isn't a direct replacement. Bayern are asking £65m for Ribery and I can't see Man U paying that.
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I like Valencia and all, but he's nowhere near an adequate replacement for CR on his own. No one player can be that, though Ribery would come the closest to pulling that off.

Ribery says he doesn't want to play in England, Lyon says they won't sell Benzema, Real Madrid looks ready to splash out more big bucks on David Villa, Tevez is as good as gone. (See his penalty kick against Ecuador yesterday? Made Berba look strong and decisive from the spot by comparison.)

Don't cry for SAF, though. I'm sure he'll make good use of all that newfound spending money one way or the other. Should be a very interesting summer.
 
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