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The 2014-2015 Football Thread

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An injury, yes...or a signing, since the window is still open. Ed Woodard appears incompetent but if Man Utd were to bring in some big guns at the last minute (or if any of the other contenders did the same) it could make things more interesting.
 
Indeed. But Woodward's record thus far doesn't instil confidence. Plus its now 2 weeks left which means clubs will be increasingly reluctant to sell...even more so if its a top-class/world-class player. Because there's little time to replace them (except its a Midfielder and you're shopping at Madrid).

And those who do sell will milk you for every penny because they know you're desperate.

But deadline day never fails to disappoint so lets see. Wonder what 'Arry will be up to. Certainly not wheelin'/dealin' tho. Cos he's a flipping Football Manager.
 
When you look back and see that Kroos was available for £20m, you wonder what Woodward/LvG were playing at (with the caveat that Kroos may have only been interested in Real Madrid all along).

Lallana is a good player but I'd take Kroos over him every day and twice on Sundays.

Luis Suarez took to the pitch for Barca as a sub in a friendly against a Mexican side. So, the ban applies to "all footballing activities"...except transfers, training and now friendlies. 😉 Weirdly, FIFA chose to explicitly ban him from charity events though. I have no idea how their twisted little minds work at that organization.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Luis Suarez took to the pitch for Barca as a sub in a friendly against a Mexican side. So, the ban applies to "all footballing activities"...except transfers, training and now friendlies. 😉
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It's simple mathematics...Multiply 2 negatives together (a banned player transferring to a club who have a transfer ban) and you get a positive!

Lord Blackadder said:
Weirdly, FIFA chose to explicitly ban him from charity events though. I have no idea how their twisted little minds work at that organization.
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Presumably they only get a smaller 'cut' of the profits from a charity game...😉
 
oscillatewildly said:
Nani out, Rojo in subject to the usual - red cards ahoy! So they let Nani go, which attacker is done?
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There seems to be a bit of trouble satisfying all the owners - Rojo's rights seem to be owned by three or more parties, each of whom must be negotiated with. This third-party ownership is something I really wish FIFA would get rid of - and could do easily with the stroke of a pen.
 
I remember when Nani was hyped up to be the new CR7. Well...they were from the same country after all so it was a sensible enough comparison.
 
Arsenal and Besiktas put up an entertaining first half of football marked by some big misses on both sides. Should be at least 1-1 but Giroud and Ba both duffed some clear chances. The Turkish crowd is putting up a simply terrific amount of noise. Still 0-0 at the half.

EDIT: I should have chosen to watch FC Copenhagen v Bayer Leverkusen...five goals in that one already.
 
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0-0 in Turkey, Arsenal seeing out the last ten minutes a man down after Wilshire picked up a second yellow. Now they have to go win at the Emirates next week after a tough match against Everton on the weekend.
 
Without Ramsey too. But it's the Emirates so big advantage. And the German trio will be back by then.

And yet again it has to be said Giroud is not the answer for Arsenal. Wiltshire continued where he left off last season. Might be why Wenger is moving for Rabiot.

Napoli and Bilbao also played out a draw.

Time for the Super Cup then.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
There seems to be a bit of trouble satisfying all the owners - Rojo's rights seem to be owned by three or more parties, each of whom must be negotiated with. This third-party ownership is something I really wish FIFA would get rid of - and could do easily with the stroke of a pen.
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http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/...era-A-Movie-Clip-Party-of-the-First-Part.html

He's in Manchester, medical tomorrow morning.

Kariya,

Nani had a great season and a half but seems to have trouble recovering from injury - physical and mental. He isn't Ronaldo, but is very good when on his game.

Cheers,
OW
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Giroud always falls down. Always. Not diving, mind you, but every time he challenges for the ball he ends up on the floor.
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Yup. Which begs the question why is he in the team if he can't even do the hold-up game properly.

Wonder why Campbell was benched again today. Could've played on the left. instead of Cazorla who never looks comfortable there.

Anyhoo Athleti and Real play out a draw. Real's defence still as suspect as ever. And Athletico continue from where they left off last season.

oscillatewildly said:
Kariya,

Nani had a great season and a half but seems to have trouble recovering from injury - physical and mental. He isn't Ronaldo, but is very good when on his game.

Cheers,
OW
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He is a good player when in form. I just found the CR7 comparisons ludicrous.
 
Me thinks the boys are still suffering a hangover from their Community Shield win.

If we played against top opposition today, we would've been turned over. I understand there is a shortage of world class forwards but surely there's a decent chunk of alternatives on the market compared to the lamp-post upfront (Giroud). Our midfield is so wasted on him its cringeworthy.

This gif is an accurate description.

Then there's Wilshere (Wiltshere). How much longer do we have to wait...

On the bright side Chambers looks a shrewed addition.

Also Wenger should stop playing Cazorla on the left, its not working. He just cuts in anyway. Put him in the hole and play Campbell on the left.

All to do now but still fancy us. However, its gonna be cagier than necessary since we didn't score. Beskitas will likely park the bus and look for a counter. But at least we don't get beaten easily at the Emirates anymore so there's that.

Anyway, bring on Everton. Can't wait for Martinez to shift Lukaku out wide again to 'accommodate' Monreal.
 
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The current generation of world-class forwards are probably locked up for good now. Benzema has signed a new 5yr deal, Falcao is already 28 and looks intent on avoiding the EPL. Suarez has found his nest, Costa, Aguero etc speak for themselves.

Its time for clubs to look at the next generation i.e. the 19-25 yr olds who are still polishing themselves up. Like Dortmund have done with Immobile.
 
^I agree, though contracts are meaningless these days. I think Benzema could go if the offer was right or if Real found a new bauble to spend money on.

Nani: his biggest crime is that he is not as good as Crispy Ronaldo...though you could argue that he has been frustratingly inconsistent, and that's a real flaw.

Flamini picked up a yellow within minutes of coming on. Trademark.

Arsenal should be OK in the return leg though. They played poorly and nearly won anyway (though you could say the same about Besiktas). When the German contingent comes back it should give them a boost. A shame about Giroud, really. He was scoring goals right and left at the beginning of last season, but he just seems like a player who is very easy to bully. Once defenders figured that out he was finished as a Premier League threat.

I was having a conversation with my Arsenal-supporting friend yesterday and we wondered if perhaps Wilshire's decision making is just a fraction of a second too slow to cut it at the top level. He has the physical tools but he always seems to take one touch/one stride too many with the ball. He needs to move it faster.
 
Fizzoid said:
Cue the mad spending spree...
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I'm not sure whether Barca will go on a spree, but if they do it could have a knock-on effect throughout Europe - Barca can and will outbid everyone else for the players they need, meaning no top players will be available to other clubs.
 
As you know me, I do my ocassional women football advertisement. ;-)

Tonight U20 half finale GERMANY - FRANCE (like an early finale!)
in europe on Eurosport. (this will be a fast match with a lot of fine technique shown).

both have been the best teams in the tournament, from what I have seen. Both looked even mature sometimes (especially Germany).
Germany play with two players that have been a last minute backup for injuries at the Euro 2013 and they played several matches.
France has two players that had guest appearances in the A-team.

One interesting note about the German tactics. I already reported that tehy lost 2 CBs and replaced them with a winger and a midfielder. In the two matches I have seen with them (Brazil and Canada), it turned out, that the the wingers stay in the back, while the midfielder at the CB position goes forward and takes the position of one if the 6ers. The Winger on the CB position waits and follows the midfielder a few seconds later and replaces the next 6. It is the first time that I have seen them play that.

The US was out after the 4th final after 1:1 and penalties against north korea, btw. A pitty to see that the youth is not catching up, while the aged A-team is in a transition phase.

The other half final (right now on TV) is North Korea vs Nigeria, OK with some major mistakes, but not quiet catching.
 
^Shame about the USA, but players are still raw at that age and hopefully it was a valuable experience from which they will learn.

Maribor 1-1 Celtic

Celtic's European luck continues.. They played poorly but got a priceless away goal and are on track to get through to the group stages. 20 million Euros are about to fall into their lap, all due to a silly little error in Poland.

It will be a small consolation, but they are sure to be shredded in the group stages.
 
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