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The 2015-2016 Football Thread

3-3 draws are exciting for the neutral but emotional roller coasters for the supporters.

Alphazoid said:
The good news for Arsenal is that it is essentially as you were since NONE of the big boys won this week. The bad news is they failed to capitalise yet again despite having the tougher run of fixtures.
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Leicester must still be taken seriously, and they gained a precious two points to draw level with Arsenal. Every win increases their chances of beating Spurs, West Ham, Man Utd or another club to a top four finish. The league title itself is still a real possibility, though they need to get Vardy and Mahrez scoring again.
 
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Whats this transfer ban to Real and Atleti for? And surely they'll appeal it, stock up on players while the appeal is adjudicated?
 
throwthedice said:
Whats this transfer ban to Real and Atleti for? And surely they'll appeal it, stock up on players while the appeal is adjudicated?
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Breaking rules - lots of them. Similar to Barca's recent infractions, for which they received a ban. They have all been hoovering up promising young teenagers (or younger) from all over the world and registering them as Real players in their academy system. None of them are truly "homegrown" anymore.

One the one hand, this is extremely good news for Man Utd - they won't lose De Gea to Real for another full season now - but on the other hand it means no Gareth Bale or Crispy Ronaldo going the other way.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
Breaking rules - lots of them. Similar to Barca's recent infractions, for which they received a ban. They have all been hoovering up promising young teenagers (or younger) from all over the world and registering them as Real players in their academy system. None of them are truly "homegrown" anymore.

One the done hand, this is extremely good news for Man Utd - they won't lose De Gea to Real for another full season now - but on the either hand it means no Gareth Bale or Crispy Ronaldo going the other way.
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Glad we can keep De Gea for another season.
 
throwthedice said:
Or you could see Madrid coming back for De Gea in the summer while their ban is being appealed in CAS.
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That's possible. I can't remember how long Barca were able to delay their ban through appeals, but if memory serves it bought them enough time to do some significant transfer business (I think they bought Suarez after the initial ban announcement but before they lost their appeal).

So there is a chance that Real and/or Atletico will have time to plan ahead. I wonder if Man Utd could be persuaded to part with De Gea if Real decide they must get him before they lose their appeal?
 
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Wenger said something in his presser today about RM appealing their ban, which lifts their ban for a while so they can push through some transfers.
 
It could be a busy January in general - the Premier League is very tight right now, so a small boost in performance for any team could mean gaining a few league positions. Real and Atleti have to plan ahead, so I expect them to mask a glut of signings.
 
I think you don't have to have any fear that Munich will take a look at de gea. Not even a quick one. Neuer will play there for a looong while.

Pep won't do with Hart though. That I would place a huge bet on - if I were betting. Probably making a move for ter Stegen. If De Gea is somewhat available, he may stay in the city but change the club, dunno.

And yes, the ban didn't stop Barca from buying players - but did stop those from playing. Turan and Alex Vidal for example. If it weren't for the ban I could hae seen them going harder after Pogba or even Gündogan. But as a player you had to sacrifice half a year of your career (still getting pay but no option for absolute top players), not that many would have done that.
 
throwthedice said:
Finish what you were saying :p
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This is what happens when you post in the PRSI forum and Football thread at the same time. ;)

Fizzoid said:
Let's face it, the transfer ban didn't stop Barca buying players
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It did stop them from buying players - but the appeals process also permitted them to plan ahead so that the impact of the punishment was seriously diminished. At best, it was an inconvenience.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
It did stop them from buying players - but the appeals process also permitted them to plan ahead so that the impact of the punishment was seriously diminished. At best, it was an inconvenience.
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No, they were technically at any given time in the position to sign players. That is my understanding. But those players could be listed and fielded Jan. 1st 2016 the earliest. That reduced the pool of players willing to do so significantly (+ that they were better prepared by gaining time by the appeal). I believe they listed 77 new players (mostly younger ones) after New Years eve but those were - at least the two for the first squad, Turan and A.Vidal - already bought. Those players were already part of the team (training and whatnot) for half a year. Bit like Suarez after the WXC after he was banned for a a couple of months for being present at any official football related events (matches, friendlies, etc) but could train with the squad.

Anyway, bit curious that this seems to be a 'problem' of Spanish clubs mostly. Hard to believe somehow but I have no clue about those accademies in the first place.
 
Twietee's right as far as I can tell, they bought Turan & Vidal, they just couldn't play until the ban was over. Certainly makes a mockery of what a ban is, but there you go
 
twietee said:
No, they were technically at any given time in the position to sign players. That is my understanding. But those players could be listed and fielded Jan. 1st 2016 the earliest. That reduced the pool of players willing to do so significantly (+ that they were better prepared by gaining time by the appeal). I believe they listed 77 new players (mostly younger ones) after New Years eve but those were - at least the two for the first squad, Turan and A.Vidal - already bought. Those players were already part of the team (training and whatnot) for half a year. Bit like Suarez after the WXC after he was banned for a a couple of months for being present at any official football related events (matches, friendlies, etc) but could train with the squad.

Anyway, bit curious that this seems to be a 'problem' of Spanish clubs mostly. Hard to believe somehow but I have no clue about those accademies in the first place.
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It's a Spanish problem because England doesn't bother with academies, and (this is just a guess) Italian and German academies seem more focused in on indigenous players (and probably have less money to spend - we are talking about the top Spanish teams here and they are very spendthrift).

I thought they bought Suarez after the initial ruling but before the final appeal failed? So they knew they were probably going to lose and had time to buy more players. They did, as you say, buy players after the ban took effect, they just couldn't register and play till this year.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
It's a Spanish problem because England doesn't bother with academies, and (this is just a guess) Italian and German academies seem more focused in on indigenous players (and probably have less money to spend - we are talking about the top Spanish teams here and they are very spendthrift).
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Hard to believe imo regarding what amount of cash is involved everywhere. And it is my understanding that those bans are specifically cast regarding the age of the signed ones and not the money that was involved. But England = maybe. City is said to have a top academy, fairly young one though.

I know that the younger players (kids) are already infested with managers surrounding those, well their parents, waving cash and checks around. There are some clubs that are especially famous for that (Leipzig I think). Forgot the name but just some short time ago they signed a 14yo from the Hertha youth, "made" him / convince his parents to take him out of his school and move to a new city. Hertha appealed to that so I believe he had to move back. Poor kid.
 
Actually, we do have academies here in England, a mate of mine's son (I believe he's about 6-7) plays for the Leeds United academy, they just don't generally sign foreign players
 
The top English clubs still have academies, but they are nowhere near the fertile ground they once were. United's academy in particular has been left far behind by other clubs in England and across Europe. Really depressing stuff because so much of the club's history and prestige stems from products of their academy. Oh well, the hits just keep coming.
 
I didn't mean to sound overly dismissive of academies in England - they certainly exist - but the fact is they are producing very few elite players compared with the best academies in Europe.

Man City have taken their academy pretty seriously but it will be years before we can judge the results.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Rhetoric has become increasingly threatening and violent. It's clear that v


That's possible. I can't remember how long Barca were able to delay their ban through appeals, but if memory serves it bought them enough time to do some significant transfer business (I think they bought Suarez after the initial ban announcement but before they lost their appeal).

So there is a chance that Real and/or Atletico will have time to plan ahead. I wonder if Man Utd could be persuaded to part with De Gea if Real decide they must get him before they lose their appeal?
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I hope Man U hangs on to him for as long as they can.
 
Chelsea deserved to lose, their equalizer was offside. Everton are so open at the back they make Liverpool look like 2009 vintage Stoke.

Leicester failed to beat Villa today, that's two points lost but they are top of the league nonetheless.
 
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