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2010-2011 Football Thread

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Yes, I can't see the fans taking it well at all.

Just when people were beginning to forget how big an idiot Ashley was, he does something to remind us all. :rolleyes:

Too bad Ashley didn't wait a month though, he'll be able to get Rafa Benitez as a replacement. :D
 
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I just saw the Jol announcement. Very convenient, no?

Jol is a good manager, but Hughton was decent and had the dressing room...

EDIT: It just occured to me that football management is one of those unusual careers where you are almost sure to be fired at some point, even if you are good at your job.
 
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Speaking with my colleagues, most of them are red and white as opposed to the barcodes, they also think Pardew is most likely. They say the reason Hughton left was nothing to do with CL places but because they are below Sunderland. But they would say that.

I was training at the Riverside this morning, unfortunately not the running about kind of training. Apparently under soil heating is switched on (probably on low to keep the ground from freezing and let the snow protect from frost.) Otherwise they'd better get a man with a brush to do the lines and use an orange ball.
 

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Phil Brown has been linked with quite a few vacant posts (Boro, Southampton, Bristol City to name a few), but he never seems to get very far with them. I think he's has a pretty decent CV, but you do wonder if some clubs are a little wary because, let's be honest, he can be a bit of a tit at times.

I'd be up for him taking over at Aberdeen, with Deano as his assistant manager. It would be a managerial dream team, that. :cool:
 
Quick summary of today's Champions league matches:

  • Spurs score plenty but can't defend
  • Man U are relatively weak (compared to previous years) but defend well and always score late
  • Benitez is a complete flop at Inter
  • Nobody cares about Copenhagen and Panathanaikos et al., see below.

And finally, the most crucial point: none of these games matter one jot, because advancing in the Champions League this season just means you get a chance to eventually get totally humiliated by either Barcelona or Real Madrid.
 
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Complicated MLS update: Today MLS held the inaugural Re-Entry Draft. MLS has lots of drafts...the usual one bringing college players into the league, the Expansion draft that steals players from existing teams and makes them available to expansion teams, and now the Re-Entry Draft, which makes players of a certain age and experience available for selection when either their contracts end or their options are not picked up by their current club.

It's a somewhat complicated affair, with two stages of two rounds each, and in the second round a player can be picked up by his old club, which makes the whole thing sound a bit circular.

Juan Pablo Angel is in among a number of veteran players in the draft, though in today's first round only Columbus and DC United each took a player in the draft. All other teams passed unitl the second round, scheduled Dec 15th. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. :eek:

The Wikipedia article on the draft is most enlightening in showing just how little most MLS players make. Veteran Columbus utility defender Duncan Oughton, for example, makes a paltry $40,000 a year in base salary. Wayne Rooney makes more than that each time he visits the toilet. Most of the players (who are all veterans, not youngsters) earn under $200,000 a year. Angel is the only player in the draft (and one of the very few in the league) with a 7-figure salary. Comfortable to live on for the most part, but very low by the standards of professional sport.
 
Former Tiger Geovanni recently left the San Jose Earthquakes after the team decided not to renew his contract – I take it though that in this instance he's literally a free agent who can go to any team in any league, and isn't tied into a draft (he obviously isn't on the list for this one)?
 
Jaffa Cake said:
Former Tiger Geovanni recently left the San Jose Earthquakes after the team decided not to renew his contract – I take it though that in this instance he's literally a free agent who can go to any team in any league, and isn't tied into a draft (he obviously isn't on the list for this one)?
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Yes - as far as I'm aware? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the benefits of the Re-Entry draft are versus simply making yourself available to any club in the league, which is the situation players that aren't selected in the draft will be in anyway...

EDIT: This article attempts to explain things and I'm still re-reading it to get things straight...Geovanni does not have 3 years experiences in the league though, as the draft participants do, so San Jose or MLS may have more say in where he goes.

It seems that the draft may give the players more say in negotiating a new contract.
 
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I've mentioned before, but player drafts are something we're unused to over here so it takes a bit for me to get my head around it all. And just when I think I've managed to grasp it, you go and add another even more bizarre and convoluted draft to beguile me further. :D
 
So all the English clubs have made it into the last 16 and top their group save for the gunners.

I pray Arsenal draw Barcelona or Real Madrid next. Please, gods of football, let this happen.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
I've mentioned before, but player drafts are something we're unused to over here so it takes a bit for me to get my head around it all. And just when I think I've managed to grasp it, you go and add another even more bizarre and convoluted draft to beguile me further. :D
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I've grown up watching American sports drafts and I still find the MLS drafts confusing.

Still, I think they are sort of temporary. As the league grows, the college draft will decrease in importance (players coming out of college are too old), and the Expansion drafts will only happen a couple more times as the league expands to its (more-or-less) final size.

The Re-Entry Draft is something the players' union cooked up to give veterans more control over their contracts, and its something that may disappear in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, though that is years off. Time will tell if it serves any purpose.

daneoni said:
So all the English clubs have made it into the last 16 and top their group save for the gunners.

I pray Arsenal draw Barcelona or Real Madrid next. Please, gods of football, let this happen.
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Of the English clubs, I don't see a single one with a single chance in hell of beating the Spanish Big Two. So for me the draw really doesn't matter. Of the remaining clubs, Arsenal and Spurs have very weak defense. Chelsea are faltering. United still seems fairly strong defensively but nowhere near good enough to go toe-to-toe with the Spaniards, especially in midfield. I'll be shocked to see any English clubs in the semis.

Of the remaining sides, Milan looks set to go deep, and might be just the side to knock out Real. But, ultimately, who can bet against Barcelona?
 
I know on paper it looks like a done deal but any team can have an off day and/or make a mistake or two. It only takes a second.

The worst case scenario is we get another exhibition match, in which case i'd rather we go out early now so we can focus on the remaining competitions, or we pull a shock victory...either way it'll be hilarious to watch and great for football. Plus we'll know where we stand early on.

I agree about the other English clubs, they've all resoundingly proven that they are weak. United only know how to defend when Vidic AND Ferdinand are on the pitch...just having one of them isn't enough and Ferdinand has become significantly fragile too. Chelsea have forgotten how to score and are severely lacking in depth, plus, without Lampard their midfield is pretty much non-existent. Tottenham's back four might as well go on vacation, and without Bale and Van der Vaart...

I'm still unconvinced by Madrid. They've rarely come up against serious opposition and miserably failed their first major test. So i still fancy some notable teams to give them a run for their money.
 
I can see Madrid failing to make the final, but I would be shocked if Barca got knocked out, though there are a couple teams good enough to do it if Barca play badly on the day.

In theory, Inter could go very deep if they can pull their collective fingers out. Perhaps we'll see some surprises from the French or German teams (or Copenhagen or Schalke). Spurs have been entertaining so I hope they do well, though you cannot give up 2-3 goals a match and expect to beat the best. Valencia are through but a bit disappointing. They sort of prove the notion that Spain is a two-team league.
 
Yup. May the premier league never fall into such atrocity.

Let's hope the whole competition turns out to be entertaining and equally unpredictable. But the script seems to already be written.
 
Mike Ashley is an absolute fool and doesn't know what he is doing. Just thought I'd repeat that before the official announcement of Newcastle's new manager. Carry on.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
I can see Madrid failing to make the final, but I would be shocked if Barca got knocked out, though there are a couple teams good enough to do it if Barca play badly on the day.

In theory, Inter could go very deep if they can pull their collective fingers out. Perhaps we'll see some surprises from the French or German teams (or Copenhagen or Schalke). Spurs have been entertaining so I hope they do well, though you cannot give up 2-3 goals a match and expect to beat the best. Valencia are through but a bit disappointing. They sort of prove the notion that Spain is a two-team league.
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i have seen the barca-kasan game with Messi, Xavi, Inesta and Puyol off the pitch
yes they dominated the midfield and possesion but without those players it seems on the attack they are simply not dangerosu enough:
and with having all those palyers in great shape _now_ it can easily happen that in a few months they aren't in shape or even 1-2 get injuries and then barca is screwed
currentlyi ismply think that madrid is more likely to suceed in the european circus

on german teams it's rather surprising to see Schalke so easily qualifiy with them having so much problems in the league... on the offensive though they have the potential to hurt anybody (Farfan: very underrated, Raul:endless international expierence, Huntelaar: clinical center forward) and the defensive simply needed more time at the beginning of the season

Werder simply is too shaky this season but in the end showed what they could have done with winning over inter

Bayern going to be interesting: they have/had countless injuries making them go into games with only 3-4 replacement players from the amateur team on the bench on multiple occasions, also a few of their core players are still searching their shape thus it's gonna be interesting if the Bayern returing to the championsleague in spring has anything to do with the team currently playing
 
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