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2010-2011 Football Thread

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Jaffa Cake said:
We'll have him! our squad is looking a little thin... :eek:
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He's still a free agent as far as I know....I wonder why he has no club. Is he hurt? Asking high wages? I've not heard anything. I've always rated him at least as high as Jonathan Spector, and Spector seems to have a lock in the first team at West Ham, if only as a regular sub.
 
...like a phoenix from a flame, he returns.



Hello all, apologies I've been away for so long - got a bit caught up in the Leeds promotion celebrations and have only just come down from cloud 9. ;)

In all seriousness, how are we all?

Jaffa, I hear rumours of terrible financial troubles at the KC - hope all is well of course. :p



Anyway, on to the serious business.

Leeds have strengthened this summer, and in my opinion we have a very good chance of getting to the playoffs if we can get off to a good start and get some momentum going. The Championship looks like being the most open and exciting league in the country by a mile and any team could mount a serious promotion challenge IMO.

New signings :
Kasper Schmeichel - Son of Scum no.1; one of the best keepers outside the Premiership. Happy with this.
Billy Paynter - Prolific League One striker, tidy finisher, not alot of pace but a fair amount of ability. Not bad on a free. Provides some healthy competition to Luciano Becchio this season.
Paul Connolly - Solid Championship right-back. We've been crying out for two full backs, Connolly is one...
Federico Bessone - ...and Bessone is the second. Part of pretty much the best defence in the league last season, I'm not complaining.
Neill Collins - Neill with two l's, solid Championship defender.
Alex Bruce - Son of Scum no.2; decent centre-half can also play in midfield and at full-back. Good signing.
Lloyd Sam - Here come the exciting signings. Looks like a bundle of energy based on pre-season, can't wait to see what he can do in a proper game.
Adam Clayton - Now this is exciting. Only a month long loan at the moment but that's widely accepted as being a prelude to a season long loan or permanent deal, this is just to get him in the squad for Derby tomorrow.
Sanchez Watt - Pacey winger with bags of potential? Yes please. Thanks Arsene.

We're also rumoured to have signed Jay Simpson from Arsenal but I'll believe it when I see it...

So overall a very good transfer window for Leeds. In terms of tactics, we've been playing 4-5-1/4-3-3 in preseason and it's working very well indeed. Pace on the flanks (something we've been missing since Lennon left) in the shape of Gradel (suspended for the first 4 games), Lloyd Sam and Sanchez Watt and a tremendous finisher in Luciano Becchio have made us very dangerous during pre-season. We've also got Bradley Johnson and Jonny Howson in the middle with freedom to come forward which has really brought the best out of them both. Neil Kilkenny sat behind them dictating play is Xabi Alonso-esque in its class. Defence looks solid too.

Derby will be a tough test, but I think we'll do it. Look out for me on telly...
 
Who's this John Bostock Jaffa? Hull City are off to a winning start at any rate. :)

I am increasingly nervous about the takeover at Liverpool. It looks like the Kenny Huang bid is for real, but ownership in the Prem is so murky these days I just hope we don't snag the next Thaksin Shinewatra, Mike Ashley, Ken Bates, Sulaiman Al-Fahim etc. etc. etc...... :eek:
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Who's this John Bostock Jaffa? Hull City are off to a winning start at any rate. :)
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A young Spurs midfielder, he's played for England at Under-19 level and below, captaining the Under-17s.

He opened the scoring today with what the press would describe as a '30-yard screamer' if they actually realised that the Football League season had started. A 2-0 win for us then, which is a smashing start – I note Leeds lost, mind. :D
 
Bostock for England, eh? :D

I think I'm going to be following the Championship more closely this season. I wish I could get it on the TV here....they do show Championship matches occasionally but never at convenient times.

AEK Athens supporters have attacked their manager (who previously managed rivals Olympiakos) after a loss. You'd have to really hate your manager...crikey, they didn't even do that to Joe F. Kinnear! Or Roy Keane, though I expect Keane's players all feared him as they do fire....

Who do we reckon are going to be the three sides to top the Championship this year?

EDIT: I came across this clip of Van Bommel absolutely battering Messi in a Champions League match (with Howard Webb reffing). That Van Bommel is a nasty man.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Who do we reckon are going to be the three sides to top the Championship this year?
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The Championship is a remarkably difficult league to try and predict, it's much more open than the Premier League and there's usually a surprise team or two up there at the end of the season.

Burnley, Middlesbrough, Forest and Sheffield United will be there or thereabouts.

Mid-table for us, I reckon. Top ten might be a possibility but I think we'll be shy of the play-offs.

EDIT: Here's a bit of an odd one – East Yorkshire's finest goalkeeper Paul Robinson was recalled into the England squad last night... and has promptly announced his retirement from international football.
 
Any day that United win anything is a depressing day for me.

Not shocked about Robinson's retirement, only the timing. Why wait till you're picked and then pull out? One would have to think David James is also all but out of contention by moving to Bristol City - if Capello wouldn't pick Becks as long as he played in MLS, Capello would be showing inconsistent behavior by picking a player from the Championship (though the Championship is admittedly a tougher league than MLS).
 
AAPLaday said:
Ahhh Community Shield has just finished and United already have their first trophy of the season. 1 down 4 to go :D
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It may just be me, but I found this one more interesting than those of past.
Tactically I quite enjoyed the first half, although I've got a feeling Ashley's mind was elsewhere. ;)

One point of interest, in the first half Rooney was the more advanced of the two strikers, even though you'd expect that of Owen.
I take that as an indication that Fergie will deploy him the same way he did last year (if it ain't broke) but where will that put Chicarito who's deadly on the shoulders of the last defender (as Terry found out today)?
Does that mean we won't be seeing the two of them much?
 
The Championship is miles ahead of the MLS in terms of quality.

Robinson retired because he doesn't see any point being 3rd choice, he'd rather not bother and let someone younger have a chance. Fair enough.

He should have gone to the World Cup though.
 
smwatson said:
The Championship is miles ahead of the MLS in terms of quality.
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It's certainly a better league, but I think a few of the better MLS teams would not look completely out of place there. My personal opinion (though it's a fairly useless comparison to try and make) is that MLS slots between League One and the Championship in terms of quality.

smwatson said:
Robinson retired because he doesn't see any point being 3rd choice, he'd rather not bother and let someone younger have a chance. Fair enough.

He should have gone to the World Cup though.
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Who is England's next number one? Nobody seems really confident in any of the prospects. I vote Almunia. :D
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Who is England's next number one? Nobody seems really confident in any of the prospects. I vote Almunia. :D
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It has to be the boy Hart, surely – although if he spends his time stuck at Citeh getting splinters in his arse it's not going to do his England chances the world of good.

EDIT: And now Wes Brown has retired from international football too, just after being named in the England squad. Any English-born MacRumormongers should head down to Wembley this Wednesday with a pair of boots, at this rate you might get a game. :)
 
I agree that Hart seems the best option - or at any rate the least tainted.

Not sure how much Brown's retirement affects things; He was never a key player for England.

All these retirements and yet England's Brave yet Chastened Former Captain John Terry remains on the squad. Arguably there is nobody to replace him I suppose, even though he's just too slow IMO.

The big question is, are there players in the pipeline to step in to replace the current squad as they retire? And I don't mean hyped-up teenagers, but players in their early 20s who are getting regular playing time with top clubs?
 
Lord Blackadder said:
All these retirements and yet England's Brave yet Chastened Former Captain John Terry remains on the squad. Arguably there is nobody to replace him I suppose, even though he's just too slow IMO.
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The retiring players are fringe ones though – someone like Terry will either find themselves in the team or at the very least be close to it. A player like Robinson is only going to find himself as back up, probably third choice.

In any case, we need to be blooding the youngsters in friendlies and the upcoming qualifiers – otherwise we'll end up in our usual situation of getting to a tournament (assuming we qualify, of course :)) with a set of players either past it or crocked and the only replacements are regarded as too inexperienced. Bring the youngsters in, let them get the experience, and let them make their mistakes and learn from them if need be.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
The Championship is a remarkably difficult league to try and predict, it's much more open than the Premier League and there's usually a surprise team or two up there at the end of the season.

Burnley, Middlesbrough, Forest and Sheffield United will be there or thereabouts.

Mid-table for us, I reckon. Top ten might be a possibility but I think we'll be shy of the play-offs.

EDIT: Here's a bit of an odd one – East Yorkshire's finest goalkeeper Paul Robinson was recalled into the England squad last night... and has promptly announced his retirement from international football.
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That Bullard story is a bit infuriating for Hull fans. Now we're hearing that Hull haven't paid Fulham for him. What's your thoughts on him, Jaffa?
 
Lord Blackadder said:
EDIT: I came across this clip of Van Bommel absolutely battering Messi in a Champions League match (with Howard Webb reffing). That Van Bommel is a nasty man.
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That's ok, Drogba got him back :eek:

In more thrilling news, we got off to a good start with a 2-0 win over footballing giants Dagenham & Redbridge. Yay! :)

It's certainly a better league, but I think a few of the better MLS teams would not look completely out of place there. My personal opinion (though it's a fairly useless comparison to try and make) is that MLS slots between League One and the Championship in terms of quality.
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I'd say that's a fair judgment. There are a few MLS sides that could probably survive in the Championship
 
numbersyx said:
That Bullard story is a bit infuriating for Hull fans... What's your thoughts on him, Jaffa?
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He hasn't even been allocated a squad number, while both Pearson (Adam) and Pearson (Nigel) have indicated he's not in our first team plans. Hmm.

A major cause of disgruntlement is the high wage he's on. On the one hand, he's only got the contract he was offered. However, a number of other players have volunteered wage cuts and the like over the summer, and it's unfortunate that he's not done the same as it would be a huge help, especially after we have spent a lot of money sending him out to the States on more than one occasion to see the top knee chap over there to get the glass in his knees replaced. But, as I say, he has no obligation to do so.

There's also the fact that if he plays a couple more games for us he's entitled to a wage increase, something that we simply can't afford. Again, other players have had similar entitlements which they've offered to forego, but once again Bullard has no obligation to make such an offer.

The problem is though when all parties have agreed to him going out on loan to Celtic – who would have paid a sizeable chunk of his wages, helping us financially – he decides that he wants us to carry on paying his wage sin full and get the Celtic contribution on top of that. Not going to happen, Jimmy.

He's also said to be a pretty bad influence on a number of other players – there's a fair bit of innuendo and rumour involved but if there's any truth in it all we're better off shut.

I say we strip him down and us what's left of him as spares in case any of our other players get injured.

numbersyx said:
Now we're hearing that Hull haven't paid Fulham for him.
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We owe a number of clubs money from transfers over the past two years, I don't know the details of who exactly is owed what at the present time but I wouldn't be surprised if Fulham are still wanting cash off us – I suspect it's not the full sum on him though.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Or, possibly, me.

If that happens and you want tickets or anything, let me know and as a part-owner I'm sure we can sort something out...
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You mean US surely? :)
Hmm, I wonder how Torres feels about going out on loan to Hillsborough :p
 
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