The Official Football Thread 2006/2007 (2 Viewers)

[LMF^^]

As for United overtaking our league record.. you seriously think you'll win another THREE titles before we win it again? You're really going out of your way to set yourself up for major disappointment.

Looking at our squad, I'd certainly think so. We have invested heavily in young players, and by the time they mature we're set to dominate domestically. Our future certainly looks brighter than 3 or 4 seasons ago. Our squad depth is at a similar level to our 99-01 seasons, perhaps even better. Chelsea are probably the team that can test our depth the greatest. For you guys to win the league, especially with the amount of competition at the top, is becoming ever more difficult. So I'd say you'd have to wait at least 5 more years.

 

[Benny_]

You say tomeito, I say tomato I'll agree that the onus is on Liverpool and Arsenal to catch up in terms of experience and cohesion with Chelsea and United. But the gap is closing quickly. Barring some disastrous misjudgment in purchases, I don't expect any of the big 4 to ever be any more than 2-3 purchases from the strongest squad in the future. And that's what it will come down to really, if your buys somehow all live up to the hype, you'll probably have the edge. If on the other hand one or even a couple of them stumble, things will be a lot more difficult. It will be the same for us with Torres and possibly Quaresma/Mancini/Simao, as well as Eduardo and whoever else Arsenal bring in. This is a pivotal transfer window though. United have a number of aging legends, Liverpool have a good core but are still a couple of attacking players away, and Arsenal have lost their captain and are otherwise young and lacking in experience. By the end of the season, whoever bought the best will have the most settled squad for the next season, while those who bought poorly will be (depending on who they are) left behind. Exciting times.

There are some disturbing stories out there that we're on the verge of buying Ryan Babel for 6.75m. I'd be perfectly happy with that if we were signing him as a future prospect on top of a Quaresma, Simao or Mancini, but if he's going to be our new LW option I'd be pretty damn disappointed. Basically it means we won't be challenging next season, full stop. Maybe in a couple of seasons when he's had time to sharpen his skills and adapt to the premiership, but damn.. hope it doesn't happen. I'm sure there's a reason why Wenger didn't snap him up.

 

[LMF^^]

Babel suits Arsenal perfectly, because he can't seem to be able to finish.

I watched him during the Euro U21 tournament. Even though he was a regular starter, he was nowhere near as influencial or stood out like some of the other players in the Dutch team. The best thing for him would be to stay at Ajax and improve himself first before making a move to the big leagues. Drenthe on the other hand is already a monster. I really hope Chelsea don't get him.

Has there been anything solid links between 'Pool and those players listed above? I have never really read anything about it other than from the garbage transfer rumour sections of British tabloids. If those are anything to go by Newcastle would be getting Raul and Deco.

 

[bazookajoe]

Florent Malouda looks set for Chelsea, 13.5 million pounds.

And nah, I haven't seen any solid reports linking Liverpool to anyone yet, only paper rubbish

 

[Benny_]

Mancini and Quaresma were in The Guardian, which is relatively reliable.

 

[bazookajoe]

I've heard Babel as well

 

[HeCtic]

Mancini and Quaresma were in The Guardian, which is relatively reliable.

No newspaper can be considered reliable these days, tabloid or broadsheet all they do is recycle each others stories. I've heard more rumours linking you guys with Babel for 13m than with Quaresma or Mancini so you better hopethe Guardian has guessed one right.

In other news Cuntski fans analyse their new signing Malouda via email:

perhaps a better indicator of his talent -- i played FIFA World Cup 06 on X-Box for about 2 straight months last summer. almost cost me my marriage. anyway, Malouda was an awesome player. probably one of the fastest players in the game, matched only by Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. maybe Cisse (but I didn't play Cisse much, because I thought it would have given France an unfair advantage, what with him having a broken leg in real life and all). i really enjoyed playing him on the ball. so maybe if Jose is a gamer, he'll know how to use Florent.

isnt florent malouda the lad who missed the first french world cup game cos he had his piles frozen off? he had no shame in telling the massed press about it, either- good on him. rectal problems should be discussed, its not something to be ashamed of.

 

[Benny_]

Babel is not worth £13.5m imo. dearly hope he proves me wrong because it looks like it's gonna happen. Probably won't end up being as much as that though, more like 10m with a couple of clauses based on performance etc

If Malouda is a replacement for Robben then they've just taken a huge step backwards, he's not in the same league.

 

[HeCtic]

Arsenal sign Sagna from Auxerre. Good player, can play all across the back and we'll need him when Eboue and Kolo fuck off to the ANC next year.

Liverpool wrapped up Babel too. Surprisingly most Scousers seem disappointed, he's a top talent and given the right guidance will be world class. Better to disregard the price, when teams know you have lots of money they're not going to sell unless they get something ridiculous. Their squad is looking a lot better now IMO.

 

[Benny_]

Yeah.. I think most Pool fans wanted Quaresma for a long time. Personally I think Babel has the potential to be better than Quaresma in a couple of years, but I don't think he'll contribute any more than Ronaldo did to United when he first arrived in England. 17 years is a long time to wait for those that have waited that long. Then there's the fact that Babel isn't a genuine winger, which everyone was hoping for. Still, he is definitely an exciting signing. Fantastic to watch on his day.

The ACN should be a very interesting period in the premiership this year. Pool's only got Sissoko playing in it so hopefully that'll work in our favour for a decent tilt at the title.

 

[adders]

Babel isnt a bad signing, the kids only 20 and has plenty of talent, the price tag is based on his age and his potential and he can play 4 positions which gives us versatility, something we have lacked in the past. With benayoun, although he isnt world class, we get another player with the ability to put the final pass into the strikers, hopefully with torres they'll finish this year

 

[Benny_]

What I want to know is where Babel's been playing. If he's been playing exclusively on the wings. If he has, then he's indeed been effective if not dominant in Holland. If he's been playing as a forward, then I'm a little worried. Ajax scored 84 goals in the Eredivisie last season and Babel got all of 5 in 27 starts. Pretty crappy. What's more according to soccernet, (admittedly not the most accurate source for player statistics in Europe outside of goals) he got ZERO assists in the league. Rafa's comments in last night's press conference seem to indicate that he doesn't intend on using Babel too much as the main striker, so we could be facing relying on a guy who rarely if ever provides assists and doesn't get that many goals supplying our strikers. A little worrying. Still, I realise he's full of potential so hopefully in two or three seasons he'll be great.

For the moment though I'm more excited about Benayoun. Take a look at how he scores his goals on youtube.. almost invariably they involve him running past two or three defenders and angling a difficult finish into the corner. We didn't have players with the ability to do dribble past his marker and put in a good final ball or score last season, and now we have three (Torres, Yossi and Babel..4 if Kewell stays fit). He's scored and made plenty too. In West Ham's good season he scored 5 and assisted 8 times. With players around him and heading into his best years at 27 he could easily, EASILY prove to a better asset than Luis, especially in the league against those packed defences that we were completely inept at breaking down last season. Very happy with this signing. If only Rafa didn't rotate so much he'd be one of the first names on my team sheet.

 

[HeCtic]

Heh, looks like Thierry got caught playing away by his wife, and when shit hit the fan at home he tried his hardest to engineer the move to Barca. Try blaming the board for that you fucken coward.

Yeah, when Mr Dein left things changed. Arf!

 

[HeCtic]

Oh and here's some news from our friends at Boca Juniors

I love exclusives like this

 

[Benny_]

I know he's really highly rated in Argentina, but not much else. He was crap in the Copa though. What can you tell us about him Hectic?

 

[mat2154]

Palacio is probably the best argentinian based player, now that hinguain has left scored 38 times in 74 games for boca, but he has suffered severe injuries during his time at boca and was linked to barcelona earlier in the year. his main weapon is his speed.

A few transfer rumours from the BBC:

Arsenal are set to smash their transfer record with a £15m swoop for Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio, who plays for Boca Juniors. (The Sun)

Striker Marlon Harewood has agreed a move to Wigan after being told he can leave West Ham. (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid have tabled a £13.5m bid for Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. (The Sun)

Manchester City striker Darius Vassell is set to be allowed to leave the club for about £1.5m following the arrival of Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United are so confident of signing striker Carlos Tevez from West Ham that they have booked a medical for the Argentine on Wednesday. (The Sun)

 

[HeCtic]

I know he's really highly rated in Argentina, but not much else. He was crap in the Copa though. What can you tell us about him Hectic?

I think the fact this rumour was started on a blog should give us a bit of cause for skepticism. I wouldn't be surprised if Wenger signs another forward, RVP, Dudu ,Ade, Bendtner and Theo is probably the weakest strike force we've gone into a season with.

However if we're serious about signing a striker I'd prefer a guy like Anelka, fits into the style, knows the league, has the ability to lead the line, and is the right age to step aside once Theo and Bendtner are ready to be top dogs. But hey, we'll wait and see I guess.

Geez, I can't wait for the new EPL season to start. Or the Champions League.

Heh, I've been fiending like a crack addict these past few weeks. Euro U-20's and Asian Cup is a poor substitute for the real thing. At least Amsterdam tournament is on ESPN this year. Arsenal, Ajax, Lazio and Atletico should be a good watch.

 

[timlay]

reyes is pretty good.. i don't get why arsenal wouldn't get him back...

can't wait for epl. man utd is gonna own.

 

[LMF^^]

Reyes is a whining bitch, that's why Arsenal don't want him back.

In other news, RICHARDSON JOINS SUNDERLAND! Oh that's the best transfer news from Old Trafford this off season. It's good to see him go.

Oh well, best wishes to him and hope he does well for our Keano.

 

[Benny_]

I think the fact this rumour was started on a blog should give us a bit of cause for skepticism.

Normally I'd agree, but recently there's been a Liverpool blogger that's been two out of two predicting Torres and Babel a week before the rest of the news caught on. Even a broken clock's right twice a day and all, but apparently he has quite the track record even before this window.

And yes, Reyes wasn't all that successful even was here, and he clearly doesn't want to be here. No point in keeping around a player if he wants to leave.

Amsterdam tournament's got some potential. Arsenal and Ajax should be good anyway. Atletico is boring as heck for all their great players. Lazio I don't know too much about.