2007/2008 European football thread

[LFC1892]

Originally Posted by edrooney

OI!! LFC1892 - are you familiar with the acronym 'NSFW'? Dude.

It was removed by the moderators, so taken care of I guess. Sorry about that.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by LFC1892

It was removed by the moderators, so taken care of I guess. Sorry about that.

Ah ... lame. Didn't want to make a fuss, but it did pop up when my boss' boss walked past my PC. She's a chick, too, so probably wouldn't have appreciated it. Didn't mention it though ...

Just in case, I didn't alert the moderators by PM or anything. They must have just picked up on it. Now, are you going to link to the pic in your sig, or what?

[LFC1892]

Originally Posted by edrooney

Now, are you going to link to the pic in your sig, or what?

No, but you can,lol.....http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ic026300ys.jpg

[bababui]

Originally Posted by LFC1892

No, but you can,lol.....http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ic026300ys.jpg

Marcone's best discovery since radio!!

[LFC1892]

Just to cover my ***, the link I posted is NWS.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by LFC1892

No, but you can,lol.....http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ic026300ys.jpg

Reminder to self. Revisit this thread tonight. And bookmark.

PS. Buy tissues.

[edrooney]

On football related matters, looks like the Liverpool move for Babel is almost a done deal of sorts. Negotiations seem to be going well, and all parties are optimistic for a fee of approx. £11.5m.

Also, it seems a done deal for Yossi Benayoun at around £5m. Good price for a good player. Look, he ain't no Cristiano Ronaldo, but with Torres the new man in the middle, it was vital that Rafa upgraded the wide areas, and that's what seems to have happened. Babel / Benayoun is certainly an upgrade over a combination of Zenden / Gonzales / Pennant. (Although, of course, Benayoun isn't a natural wide player, more of a 'in the hole' guy, but I think Rafa will play him out on the wing.)

Interesting to see what happens to Harry Kewell now. I say keep him. 4-5 years ago, he was one of the best young players in the EPL. He's had major injuries since then, and suffered periodic lapses of form. Simply, we wouldn't get much for him given his last couple of years, so worth keeping him just in case he can recapture some of his best form. You never know.

Finally, on the Liverpool front, comedy upon comedy. Not only did West Ham pay £8.5m for Bellamy, but they're giving him 70k pw. Bellamy's a good player, but it's TOO MUCH!! Curbishley has gone money mad.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by edrooney

Finally, on the Liverpool front, comedy upon comedy. Not only did West Ham pay £8.5m for Bellamy, but they're giving him 70k pw. Bellamy's a good player, but it's TOO MUCH!! Curbishley has gone money mad.

Mad doesn't even begin to cover it

[LFC1892]

Wonder what they did?

The Chilean FA have banned six international players for 20 games each for bad behaviour during the Copa America.

Captain Jorge Valdivia, striker Reinaldo Navia, and defensive trio Jorge Vargas, Rodrigo Tello and Pablo Contreras were involved in an incident at the team hotel when celebrating qualification for the quarter-finals.

Chile went on to lose 6-1 to Brazil in the last eight.

The Chilean FA later found out a sixth squad member was also involved - Alvaro Ormeno, who played for Argentinian outfit Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata last season.

The bans were revealed by the governing body's general manager Gustavo Camelio, who read a statement at a press conference.

"The Chilean FA board met on Tuesday and, after being notified about what happened on July 5 in one of the Hotel Mara Inn rooms in Puerto Ordaz, decided to ban each of the players involved for 20 international matches of the Chile national team.

"They will not be given any prize money for their participation in the 2007 Copa America," he added, referring to the US$180,000 (A$208,000) each member of the squad was to be given.

"Finally, as long as this board remain at the helm, none of them will be able to captain the national team."

[LFC1892]

WTF?

Reports in Spain suggest that AC Milan are prepared to pay £89 million for Ronaldinho.
Spanish daily AS claims that Milan chief Silvio Berlusconi is prepared to pay the 125 million Euros required to trigger Ronaldinho's buy-out clause at Barcelona.
The reports claim that Milan will make a series of bids for the striker, but if they do not succeed then such is Berlusconi's desire to bring him to the San Siro, he will meet the enormous buy-out clause, which would comfortably break the world transfer record currently held by Real Madrid, who paid £45.6 million for Zinedine Zidane in 2001.
AS goes on to claim that an agreement has already been reached between Ronaldinho and Milan, that will see him sign a five-year contract worth around £6m a year, plus exclusive image rights.
Ronaldinho has been in extensive contract negotiations with the Catalan giants to improve his current deal, which runs until 2010.
However, talks have stalled, leaving the prospect of the Brazilian joining the European champions open.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by LFC1892

WTF?

No. Way. If there's even the kernel of truth in that, Barca should offer to collectively blow Berlusconi to make it happen.

[ukhotstove]

All transfer fees are above what they should be, but until the end of the season nobody can say if the player was worth it. Is Torres worth close to £30 million, no way but if he scores the winning goal in the Champions League then yes he is. Is Koumas worth £4 ½ million (only goes to £5.3 with add on’s) no he isn’t but if he does what Unsworth did last season and scores the winning goal to keep them up then yeah he’s worth around £40 million in the end.

Disgusting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6292746.stm

What’s their next punishment ? 100 lines “I shall not keep getting caught cheating”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/6290492.stm

Proof that Roy Keane is crazy, pays £5 million for an unproved Championship player then has the gall to offer £5 million for a proven Premiership player and future England international in Baines.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/6291244.stm

Reckon Rangers will have paid around £2 million, now this guy is worth his fee, decent player who will work his socks off just a pity he’s gone to Rangers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wigan_athletic/6242590.stm

Predictions.
Veikkausliiga - Tampere United
EPL - Man Utd
SPL - Celtic
Serie A - Inter
La Liga - Barcelona
Bundesliga - Bayern
Eredivisie - Ajax
Ligue 1 - Lyon

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

All transfer fees are above what they should be, but until the end of the season nobody can say if the player was worth it.

True. True. Always a laugh arguing about it before the season, though. Then, at the end, everybody can point at me and go Ha Ha! Torres was brilliant! He scored 40 goals! You are @ n00b! (Here's to hoping.)

Disgusting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6292746.stm

Heh heh. Dirty Leeds at the bottom of the toilet yet still pulling on the flush. I thought on first read, it said 'Leeds sold to undisclosed scum', then a picture of Ken Bates.

What’s their next punishment ? 100 lines “I shall not keep getting caught cheating”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/6290492.stm

Everything that happens with this guy every day confirms more and more that the situation is really dodgy.

[zoraster]

Well I’ve seen off my last weekend without football until next spring We had our first game of the new season on Tuesday - albeit an unofficial training match rather than a formal friendly - and produced some good stuff in a 4-1 win. We’ve got our first proper game on Saturday in our now traditional clash with Crystal Palace. The new season is here

Originally Posted by bababui

"""""

Joey Barton

The big difference with Barton is there is still (just about) scope to believe he is just young and stupid. Factor in the inevitable psychological turmoil caused by his brother - Barton doesn’t get the credit he deserved for the way he handled that - and there is a reasonable case for giving him a final chance. Moreover from a purely cynical on-field perspective you are talking about a dynamic midfielder who has equalled the performances of the likes of Keane, Gerrard and Lampard at the comparitive stage of their careers. Getting a player of that ilk and still having change from £6million is an absolute bargain. But for the sordid side of Barton’s personality the big four would have been involved in one hell of a fight for his signature.

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by edrooney

As a Welshman, and a lifelong fairweather Cardiff City supporter, I have a decent knowledge of Koumas. He can be a tremendously skilled performer, with a great touch, and an eye for a gap. He's also a very good direct free kick taker. That's 50% of his games. The other 50%, he's lazy, he gives the ball away, and cow's arses are unthreatened by banjos.

As such, £5m is TOO MUCH!!

He is totally worth that sum - well, in the context of the absurd market anyway. In a sane world he‘d be worth about £20k, but I digress. You are talking about a proven EPL performer who can win matches. Sure he is inconsistent, sure he downright stinks when his head is down, but for a club where wins are a precious commodity a talent like Koumas can be the difference between mid-table obscurity and a relegation battle.

You need to make a bit of a paradigm shift. You are not talking about a side chasing a title where any slip is very expensive. Wigan lost over half their EPL games last season. Moreover when they went behind they lost. Off the top of my head they only picked up two points all season in matches where they had been behind (Watford and Everton). In that sort of context a Koumas who has that occasional bit of magic is invaluable. Taking last season all you’ve got to do is turn a quarter of those defeats into draws and you’ve got a mid-table finish. Koumas gives Wigan someone who can break down defences and on the basis of their performances over the past 18 months that is going to be worth a lot more than five points. Sub-£6million is a bargain.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by zoraster

You are talking about a proven EPL performer who can win matches.

He played about 100 games in 5 seasons for West Brom, of which only 2 were in the premiership. Don't have the exact numbers, but I remember judging WBA managers for not picking Koumas enough. Better than the other WBA midfielders at the time? Yes. Proven EPL performer? Don't get that.

You need to make a bit of a paradigm shift. You are not talking about a side chasing a title where any slip is very expensive.

I'm talking about a side without a great deal of money to spend in total. £5m is a chunk of their budget that can be better spent. The top 4 and a couple of others can, to some extent, afford the absurdly inflated prices nowadays. Wigan can't afford to take a £5m gamble.

In that sort of context a Koumas who has that occasional bit of magic is invaluable. Taking last season all you’ve got to do is turn a quarter of those defeats into draws and you’ve got a mid-table finish. Koumas gives Wigan someone who can break down defences and on the basis of their performances over the past 18 months that is going to be worth a lot more than five points.

On this, you may have a point. Like I said, he can be brilliant at times, and if he can luckily do it enough at the right times, he could provide important points. Is it worth half of your transfer budget in the hope that this comes true - don't think so.

[bababui]

Argentina v Mexico is in the 12th minutes and so far an amazing attacking passionate match. This is one that if you have the slightest desire to know why people are passionate about the sport, you should check it out.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by bababui

Argentina v Mexico is in the 12th minutes and so far an amazing attacking passionate match. This is one that if you have the slightest desire to know why people are passionate about the sport, you should check it out.

I'm watching, but a few minutes behind. Diego Sanchez looks great. :ghey:

[bababui]

Between Nery Castillo, Messi and Tevez there is no shortage of exciting players to watch.

[bababui]

Looks like a bit of play acting from Veron to avoid a yellow on that last tackle.