2007/2008 European football thread

[edrooney]

dola, in all of this talk of Tevez, nobody seems to be mentioning Mascherano. Wonder what his position is in all of this. Hope he's OK to play next season.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by bababui

Well...firstly I must give Brazil enormous kudos for a great defensive performance.....but...

Dunga's Brazil and their 3 defensive midfielders must score first against an offensive team like Argentina. Were these two teams to play again, there is no guarantee Brazil would win. They were definatly not dominate on the offensive end. They played classic counter attacking football. They are much less effective playing from behind.

And losing to Brazil doesnt mean they arent better than any other team in the world. One last thing, hate to add it, but I wonder if the result might have been different had the game been played at night and not in 90 degree heat with 70% humidity.

The best team in the world should be able to play from behind without folding up -- especially a team like Argentina that's capable of dominating possession and breaking down defenses. They aren't a classic counterattacking quick-strike team at all, really, but a short passing team that looks to work the ball around as much as possible and work a defense to death. They looked just about as ineffective doing that at 1-0 as they did at 3-0.

What we saw last night highlighted the big weaknesses to the Argentinian team I pointed out earlier: Abbondanzieri isn't a world class keeper (he failed utterly to control his area on the Ayala own goal and looked lost on Alves' goal) and Juan Roman Riquelme has a tendency to utterly disappear from a match for extended lengths of time. I still think they're one of the top teams in the world, but they're a player or two away from being the best.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6901085.stm

Police have raided three football clubs as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in football.

Newcastle United and Rangers FC are believed to been raided but the third club involved has yet to be named.

The operation is not connected to Lord Stevens' ongoing Quest inquiry into the Premiership and was "totally independent", police said.

Search warrants were executed on the club premises and two homes between 0730 and 0900 BST.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by bababui

It snowed in Buenos Aires last night. Remember they are in the southern hemisphere.

They didn't play in Buenos Aires and the Argentinian football I get to see (which is alot) they play in sunshine and hot temperatures, it's not like they play in the Artic.

They have some good players but Veron was hopeless against Brazil, like Lyons said Riquelme always goes missing specially on the big stage, lets also not forget Argentina played the strongest team they could but Brazil had their top players missing.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6901085.stm

Ok I'm to blame for the Portsmouth corruption as I tried to bribe a ref in a UEFA Cup game against Spurs (FM that is )

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Ok I'm to blame for the Portsmouth corruption as I tried to bribe a ref in a UEFA Cup game against Spurs (FM that is )

I hope it worked!

[Russ]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Ok I'm to blame for the Portsmouth corruption as I tried to bribe a ref in a UEFA Cup game against Spurs (FM that is )

Oh ****. Can you do that?

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

I hope it worked!

Nope they were my bogey team in my third season beating me in 2 cup competitions one being the UEFA Cup Final

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Russ

Oh ****. Can you do that?

nah least don't think so.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Nope they were my bogey team in my third season beating me in 2 cup competitions one being the UEFA Cup Final

I would so hate to have Spurs as my bogey team

[Muppetus Galacticus]

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?...+Harewood+deal

Aston Villa have clinched the signing of Marlon Harewood from West Ham.

As revealed by skysports.com earlier this week Villa agreed a fee with West Ham for the striker.

Villa made their move for Harewood after he held talks and underwent a medical at Wigan last weekend.

After weighing up both offers, Harewood has opted to join Villa and he has signed a three-year deal at Villa Park.

I was pretty surprised when he got a big contract before last season at Upton Park. It was obviously a fluke season for him.

[edrooney]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?...+Harewood+deal


I was pretty surprised when he got a big contract before last season at Upton Park. It was obviously a fluke season for him.

Don't know how much he cost. He's pretty good for 10 goals or so if he plays regularly, so anything less than £5m would be a decent price. Villa are pretty bereft of good strikers.

Actually, given that Kieran Richarson today went from ManU to Sunderland for £5.5m, this puts Harewood's value, at £20m.

(Expect me to include a lot of "Actually, given that Kieran Richarson went from ManU to Sunderland for £5.5m, this puts Player X's value, at £Ym." where Y is comically inflated in my posts until the end of the transfer window.)

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by edrooney

Don't know how much he cost. He's pretty good for 10 goals or so if he plays regularly, so anything less than £5m would be a decent price. Villa are pretty bereft of good strikers.

Actually, given that Kieran Richarson today went from ManU to Sunderland for £5.5m, this puts Harewood's value, at £20m.

(Expect me to include a lot of "Actually, given that Kieran Richarson went from ManU to Sunderland for £5.5m, this puts Player X's value, at £Ym." where Y is comically inflated in my posts until the end of the transfer window.)

I predict this to become funnier each time it is told!

[Fallschirmjager]

Football in returning!

I have Liverpool vs Werder Bremen on here in the office

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

Football in returning!

I have Liverpool vs Werder Bremen on here in the office

It never left Fube

Remember the Gold Cup?? Copa America???

Oh..non Euro football doesnt count.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by bababui

It never left Fube

Remember the Gold Cup?? Copa America???

Oh..non Euro football doesnt count.

Well league football is returning
Unless you live in Scandinavia in which case it is winding down

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

Well league football is returning
Unless you live in Scandinavia in which case it is winding down

Or the USA.

Its been horrible for the Bundesliga that Bayern can be so disproporionatly wealthy. The Bundesliga should revenue share and help out some of the teams with massive debt like Dortmund. It isnt good for any sport to have 1 massivly rich ream..the MLB included.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by bababui

Or the USA.

Its been horrible for the Bundesliga that Bayern can be so disproporionatly wealthy. The Bundesliga should revenue share and help out some of the teams with massive debt like Dortmund. It isnt good for any sport to have 1 massivly rich ream..the MLB included.

Umm
That debt is no ones fault but Dortmunds for building their planet sized stadium
Last seasons attendance averaged over 70,000 per game so that debt will not be around much longer

And Bayern did not win the Bundesliga last season
In fact they are not being going to be in the Champions League ()
Last seasons Bundesliga was probably the greatest season ever
Teams like HSV came out of nowhere to qualify for the Toto Cup
Three teams fought for the title to the bitter end
No once predicted Stuttgart would win (besides my cousin Lukas who made alot of money betting on Stuttgart to win the title)
And on top of that almost every team in Germany made money hand over fist thanks to the World Cup

It was an extremly successful season
So think before you speak
There needs to be no revenue sharing or any ideas of the sort

The league is among the most entertaining and healthy in Europe

[bababui]

How much did Bayern spend this offseason??

How much did everybody else spend. Dont have the figures but they could easily have spent more than the other 17 teams combined. Im not sure if FM uses accurate figures but Dortmunds debt is close to $200 million.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by bababui

How much did Bayern spend this offseason??

How much did everybody else spend. Dont have the figures but they could easily have spent more than the other 17 teams combined. Im not sure if FM uses accurate figures but Dortmunds debt is close to $200 million.

Bayern spent alot
I dont agree with all of their spending unless they play 5 strikers a match
Its still possible for them not to win the league

Dortmund has a massive debt due to building their stadium in time for the WC
The league paid for a large chunk of it, but the stadium was so expensive that the team had to take out huge loans to pay for their part of it
It will be worth it however
I watched one game inside it during the WC and it is a incredibly nice stadium