Soccer Thread 2013-14

[sovereignstar v2]

This is how it feels to be City, this is how it feels to be small....

Manchester City dream of a future as the 'new Barcelona’ - Telegraph

From a viewing platform above the Etihad Campus, a £200 million monument to the cultivation of football as the finest craft, the astonishing extent of Manchester City’s ambition unfurls. Across a swathe of brownfield wilderness once home to the Clayton Aniline dyemakers, whose effluvia had turned the ground a toxic shade of purple, 80 acres of the lushest greensward – the giant carpet for a veritable production line of sky-blue starlets – are reaching the final stage of fruition.

If the Premier League’s great pretenders do truly aspire to a mantle as the ‘new Barcelona’ then this sprawling talent foundry, lit by pale winter sunshine on the eve of City’s defining confrontation with the Catalans, is the most dazzling manifestation of that dream.
Privately, City executives reject the label of ‘Barcelona-fication’. They do not perceive their ‘campus’, their pride and joy linked directly to the Etihad Stadium through a bridge across Alan Turing Way, as a direct emulation of Barça’s La Masia school or the gilded compound at Sant Joan Despí that has superseded it. Instead, the club have drawn inspiration from an eclectic set of 30 templates, encompassing the Los Angeles Lakers, the Australian Institute of Sport, the New York Giants, Nike’s laboratories in Oregon and – almost out of a sense of duty – Barcelona.

Brian Marwood, the leading architect of City’s academy structure, talks effusively of replicating the “DNA and philosophy” of the Blaugrana, as if imitation could indeed be the sincerest form of flattery. And yet the notion of copycat tactics is over-simplistic. The Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan-sanctioned vision, of juxtaposing first XI and youth team within a huge catch-all complex embedded in a once benighted corner of east Manchester, was in place long before the Barça brains trust of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain even arrived here.

From the initial takeover in 2008, it became clear that the powerbrokers in Abu Dhabi were intent on forging a system far removed from Thaksin Shinawatra’s Eastlands regime. An emirate that has imported its own versions of the Guggenheim and the Louvre to a ‘cultural district’ on Saadiyat Island resolved at the outset to apply the same high production values to a football club.

There is a story at City of how, when former chief executive Garry Cook reported for his first day at the office, he asked where the human resources department was, only to be told: “We don’t have one.” Such duties rested, the incredulous Cook was informed, in the hands of “Pam from accounts”.

That chaos has given way, in just five years, to the slickest streamlining. Even the arrangement of Khaldoon Al-Mubarak’s ‘chairman’s lounge’, an über-deluxe set of suites inside the Colin Bell Stand, is meticulously configured by Natasha Mullany, City’s ‘head of protocol’.

But chief executive Soriano, the urbane 46-year-old whom City waited a whole year to prise from Barcelona, is eager not to project any impression of boardroom remoteness. It was he who decided that on match-days, the top table of executives should dine not separately, but alongside all fellow staff and guests. On the night of City’s scheduled home match against Sunderland, the atmosphere in the lounge is a vibrant one, if slightly subdued by the game’s abandonment 30 minutes earlier due to tempestuous weather.

Signs of the club’s increased global reach are everywhere: Jason Kreis, head coach of New York City FC, the club’s US franchise, is in town, while staff talk of having to conduct evening teleconferences in four time zones – from the East Coast to Australia, where City have just acquired A-league side Melbourne Heart, and from Manchester to the Abu Dhabi mother-ship.

On high table itself, the chatter is largely in Catalan. Soriano is accompanied by Jorge Chumillas, the kindly chief financial officer with whom he used to work at now-defunct airline Spanair, and during dessert Begiristain comes over to scrutinise Arsenal’s performance against Manchester United on the plasma screen. Their interest in the Arsenal threat to City’s league position is acute and yet it is the prospect of Tuesday night’s Champions League collision with Barcelona, and of reunions with several former compadres in the Nou Camp hierarchy, which looms largest.

For this Barcelona confrontation has the feel of a signal moment in the fulfilment of City’s ambitions. Soriano, in his 2012 book Goal: The Ball Doesn’t Go In By Chance, identified the 10 global leaders in club football as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Milan, Inter and Bayern Munich. “Others, like Manchester City,” he noted, “are trying to be in that group.”

The time of noble endeavour has since passed. The manner of City’s maiden qualification for the Champions League knockout phase, beating the all-conquering Bayern away, confirms that they belong in this rarefied realm. The next two matches will illustrate how far advanced they are to realising their hope, and in some places the fear, that they can burgeon into the dominant force in Europe.

In Manuel Pellegrini, City have the man they want to sustain that quest.
Any assumptions that the scrupulously low-key Chilean is a stop-gap figure, an interim appointment until Jose Mourinho next becomes available, are misplaced. In the eyes of Soriano and Begiristain, the 60-year-old Pellegrini provides the perfect antidote to the madness of life under Roberto Mancini, satisfying every criteria they seek in a manager: measured, cerebral, wedded to the pursuit of play of great artistic merit, and sufficiently pliant to tolerate the input of a director of football.

Ultimately, it was not Mancini’s failure last season to retain the league title for City that triggered his sacking, but the chaotic culture he engendered. There was the fight with Mario Balotelli, the public traducing of Carlos Tévez, the attempt to import doctors from Lombardy not registered to practise in the UK, and even a mortifying moment where he lambasted communications chief Vicky Kloss to reporters as she stood next to him.

City’s rationalisation for removing Mancini – that they desired a more “holistic” environment – invited mocking suggestions that they should bring in the Dalai Lama and hold training talks in air thick with scented candles. While the word might be alienatingly corporate, the ideal is one in which the club are passionately invested. On the wall of the staff refectory there is a montage of photographs, featuring everybody from Soriano to the night porter, under the banner “One team”.

Soriano has absorbed enough lessons throughout his extraordinarily varied career, which has comprised banking, venture capitalism and the thwarted efforts to establish Catalonia’s own airline with Spanair, to appreciate that no company benefits from being too rigidly stratified.

Those who have served at City through fair weather and foul, from a third division defeat to York to tonight’s engagement against the most feted club team on earth, attest that the working ambience is the best they have known it. Having witnessed the machinations of Shinawatra, the alleged human-rights abuser who would lavish absurd salaries on such useless players as Felipe Caicedo and Nery Castillo, City’s longer-serving, battle-hardened employees recognise a charlatan when they see one. And the Abu Dhabi owners appear very far from that category. Granted, there were mis-steps, not least in their choice of Sulaiman Al-Fahim – a ‘Dubai Del Boy’ noted mainly for his fondness of Lamborghinis – but their enticement of a coveted leader like Soriano reflects a readiness to enlist the best possible candidate for each role.

Soriano serves as a corrective to City’s earlier extravagances – the desperate bid by Cook to secure Kaká for £100 million at Milan Malpensa Airport, or the 2008 deadline-day signing of Robinho for £35 million – which all supported a theory they were nothing more than vulgar arrivistes, propped up by petrodollars. Under his guidance, the club’s expansionist impulses are more carefully controlled. The purchase of NYC FC, for example, is an opportunity one that Soriano claims “many others were looking at”.

Rival Major League Soccer clubs have expressed at whether the New York fan base can support a second franchise, next to the existing Red Bulls in New Jersey, but City are pressing ahead in their annexation of the US market with a rare fervour. Already the partner club have a substantial Manhattan office close to Grand Central Station and are understood to be targeting a stadium site in the Bronx, harnessing the passion of local Hispanic constituencies, in time for their first match next April.

Claudio Reyna, the ex-City midfielder who combines popularity at the club with a respected record as US Soccer’s technical director, is installed as the perfect salesman as NYC FC’s director of football. The addition of Melbourne Heart to their global empire represents a further significant step, raising a possibility that future academy products could move between continents, spending their entire careers playing for teams under the club’s care.

But it is the central citadel of the Etihad Campus that constitutes City’s most emphatic statement of intent. Spanning 15 full-size pitches, on-site accommodation for 32 first-team members and a 7,000-capacity stadium for youth-team games, it affirms a commitment – bred by Barcelona, who fielded eight homegrown players in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley – to form a self-perpetuating centre of excellence.

To think, this is a tract of land once earmarked for the country’s first ‘super-casino’. Here in the districts of Beswick and Harpurhey, among the poorest communities in the country and which until recently did not even have their own sixth-form college, the gambling plan was not exactly a masterstroke of sensitivity. One City source goes further, asking: “Honestly, can you think of an idea more reprehensible?”

The alternative, we are soon to discover, is a gleaming bastion of one club’s determination to elicit both respect and disquiet from their rivals as they ascend to European football’s grandest stage. The new Barcelona? Not exactly, but Manchester City are an institution who could soon be very much more than the sum of their exorbitant parts.

[flere-imsaho]

Relevant, and Awesome: Key & Peele: Fútbol Flop - YouTube

[sovereignstar v2]

Attention-grabber never should've been filmed IMO.....

[SirFozzie]

PSG have taken Leverkusen out to the woodshed, 3-0 (and three away goals) in the first half

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Interesting points, Mac, and I'm not going to dispute anything you've said.

So, is United destined to become the Everton to Man City's Liverpool? At least, as long as the Glazer's are in charge?

It remains to be seen, frere-imsaho, whether the rumours about Glazer making 150/300 million available for players is true or not.

3 or 4 years ago we used to talk about Utd's "donut formation" - the formation with a hole in the middle - reflecting the weakness of Utd's central midifeld. But with Vidic and Ferdinand at the back, Nani and Valencia out wide (earlier Ronaldo) and Rooney and Berbatov up front the weakness wasn't crucial.

But look around the hole today and everything except up front is in decay. Evans, Smalling, Jones are not top class defenders. Evra is past his sell-by date. Nani has disappeared, Valencia was always one dimensional and his effectiveness bound to deteriorate once defenders came to terms with him (Young isn't even worth considering).

A full rebuild of defence and midfield is necessary now and, to bring it back to top European levels, will be VERY costly. And still the question will remain whether Moyes is the man to do it. He has no experience at this level and hasn't shown anything so far to convince he can step up.

So, lots of questions. There is the possibility of following Liverpool's performance after their domination of the 80s. Hopefully not but it can't be ruled out.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Think this is a good trade for Sporting KC. Just too many players at Teal's position. He should get more playing time in New England.

Teal Bunbury traded to New England Revolution | Sporting Kansas City

[JPhillips]

Algernon Moncrieff greatly approves of Bunbury.

[sovereignstar v2]

I'm a very fortunate man today. It was announced that City will be playing Olympiakos just a mere 4 hours away from me at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on August 2nd as part of the International Champions Cup Tour. Already bought tickets in the City Supporters Section. Super stoked!!

[SirFozzie]

So, Chivas USA was bought out by MLS today (rumored for only $25 million when they turned down an offer of $70 million last year).

So a not-so-fond farewell to probably the most controversial MLS owner (the HBO story on how they were weeding out non-spanish speakers had to hurt)

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

So, Chivas USA was bought out by MLS today (rumored for only $25 million when they turned down an offer of $70 million last year).

So a not-so-fond farewell to probably the most controversial MLS owner (the HBO story on how they were weeding out non-spanish speakers had to hurt)

I feel bad for their fans, and it's going to be a weird year, but this is a hugely positive move.

The league should have also tied a permanent transfer for Cubo Torres into this though - that kid is the truth.

[miami_fan]

Is there one interesting group? Group I?

Group A
Netherlands
Kazakhstan
Iceland
Latvia
Turkey
Czech Republic

Group B
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Andorra
Cyprus
Wales
Israel
Belgium

Group C
Spain
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Belarus
Slovakia
Ukraine

Group D
Germany
Gibraltar
Georgia
Scotland
Poland
Republic of Ireland

Group E
England
San Marino
Lithuania
Estonia
Slovenia
Switzerland

Group F
Greece
Faroe Islands
Northern Ireland
Finland
Romania
Hungary

Group G
Russia
Lichtenstein
Moldova
Montenegro
Austria
Sweden

Group H
Italy
Malta
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Norway
Croatia

Group I
Portugal
Albania
Armenia
Serbia
Denmark
France

[AlexB]

Groups A, H and I are all pretty tough IMO, with one strong favourite but two or three sides who will push them but likely fight for second

[whomario]

Hate that he did it against Dortmund, but holy hell what a goal:



the kid has like 10 goals from free kick in the last year i think.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Group I?

Remember that the games against France do not count in the standings.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Is there one interesting group? Group I?

Group D (after Germany) should be interesting. Four or those teams (not Gibraltar) should be able to, in theory, take games from each other.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by whomario

Hate that he did it against Dortmund, but holy hell what a goal:

I normally download the HSV games but skipped this week because they've been so bad it's been depressing to watch, thought there was no chance they'd get anything from Dortmund. Great result, maybe relegation isnt certain after all.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Group D (after Germany) should be interesting. Four or those teams (not Gibraltar) should be able to, in theory, take games from each other.

Ireland vs Scotland should be fun.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Ireland vs Scotland should be fun.

A great boost to the brewing industries of both nations, I feel.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Is there one interesting group? Group I?

Okay, let's break this down a bit.

Things to note first: France plays out of competition. Of the 53 remaining teams, 23 need to qualify. The top two per group qualify directly, as does the best third placed team. The eight remaining third placed teams play playoffs. Now let's break down group by group.

Group A
strong: Netherlands
second-tier: Turkey, Czech Republic
third-tier: Iceland*
longshot: Latvia
little hope: Kazakhstan
* initially had Iceland as 'longshot', but they do have some talent right now. Turkey and Czech Republic are on a downswing recent years after good generations, but structurally should be good enough to play close to their usual level.

Group B
strong: Belgium*
second-tier: Bosnia-Herzegovina*
third-tier: Israel
longshot: Cyprus*, Wales
no hope: Andorra
* Belgium and Bosnia-H. have a talented generation that raise their teams to a higher echelon than where they'd 'normally' rank. In native competition level, Cyprus is closer to Israel than Wales, but their national team isn't on that level.

Group C
strong: Spain
second-tier: Ukraine
third-tier: Slovakia
longshot: Macedonia, Belarus*
no hope: Luxembourg
* Somehow Belarus has yet to live up to the level of their club teams. They could push Slovakia for third place.

Group D
strong: Germany
second-tier: Poland
third-tier: Scotland, Republic of Ireland
longshot: Georgia
no hope: Gibraltar*
* Gibraltar is the unknown with no reference of past results, but initially I'd put them in the realm of Andorra and Luxembourg.

Group E
strong: England
second-tier: Switzerland
third-tier: Slovenia
longshot: Lithuania, Estonia
no hope: San Marino
Nothing to add here, really.

Group F
strong: -
second-tier: Greece
third-tier: Hungary, Romania
longshot: Northern Ireland, Finland
no hope: Faroe Islands*
* I'd rate the Faroe Islands ahead of other 'no hope' teams and close to Northern Ireland in this very weak group.

Group G
strong: Russia
second-tier: Sweden
third-tier: Austria, Montenegro*
longshot: Moldova*
no hope: Liechtenstein
* probably making things look better than they are for the M-named countries, but with the rest of the group, I think this is about right. Montenegro did have decent campaigns recently.

Group H
strong: Italy
second-tier: Croatia
third-tier: Bulgaria, Norway
longshot: -
no hope: Malta, Azerbaijan*
* Maybe Azerbaijan is slightly better than the other mini-countries, but so is Malta.

Group I
strong: Portugal, (France)*
second-tier: Serbia, Denmark
third-tier: -
longshot: Albania, Armenia
no hope: -
* Strange group without any mini-countries and the added factor of France playing out of competition.

[flere-imsaho]

United down 0-1 at halftime against Olympiakos with a lineup of:

DDG
Smalling
Ferdinand
Vidic
Evra
Carrick
Cleverley
Jones
Valencia
Rooney
Van Persie

I'm following the Guardian's MBM report - apparently there have been many crosses, terrible defending from everyone but Vidic, Rooney stomping deep into midfield to win the ball off of Carrick or Cleverley (yes, I did that on purpose) and little invention.

[flere-imsaho]

0-2 down, now.

[flere-imsaho]

Link to Guardian's MBM report: Olympiakos v Manchester United: Champions League – live! | Jacob Steinberg | Football | theguardian.com

Caution: lots of snark

[bhlloy]

It really has been that bad. United can't put two passes together

[DaddyTorgo]

2-0. Yikes.

Byebye Moyes.


72 min: United are offering nothing. Where’s Januzaj? “This is the game that will convince the few remaining doubters that Moyes is simply not good enough for a club like Manchester United,” says Rob Edwards. “This is the worst performance of any team in any competition and in any sport for the past 40 years.” I beg to differ - they once conceded twice to Jonathan Spector in a 4-0 defeat to West Ham. Those were dark days. Dark, dark days.

[sovereignstar v2]

Interview: Do you know what is wrong with this United?
RvP: Yeah but, I won't point fingers, because im not like that.

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

0-2 down, now.

For the first time in decades of watching Utd I put my pvr on 6 times fast forward for the last 20 minutes of this game.

[flere-imsaho]

At this point it's tempting to hope they keep Moyes on so he can blow through more of the Glazer's money in what's looking more and more likely to be an ill-fated run of things. Except that it's not really the Glazer's money - it's just more debt for United.

It's a shame, because everything I've read about Moyes indicates that he's a good person. But in this day and age, at this level, you simply can't come to the job without good tactical ability, an ability to work the transfer market, and a clear vision for how to develop your team, all of which Moyes doesn't have. And he hasn't been helped by what is clearly a talent deficiency all around him in these areas, including, most damning, Ed Woodward. But even if he did, would he still be able to motivate these players? Not on the evidence of last night.

Moyes needs a mentor to help him develop and execute a vision for the team, as well as get his head right. He needs a Director of Football with actual European (and further) football contacts to make the transfer market more of a success. And he needs an assistant or two who understand tactics at this level who can help him understand how to send out the team that's set up to win, not just avoid losing.

But none of that's going to happen under the Glazers. Could be a few years in the wilderness, one feels.

[SirFozzie]

Geez. What a beating by Madrid (6-1 over Schalke)

[rowech]

Arsenal sent the JV team today. City, Chelsea, and Liverpool will all be ahead and they can't beat any of those teams. Time to start the fall to 4th place.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

At this point it's tempting to hope they keep Moyes on so he can blow through more of the Glazer's money in what's looking more and more likely to be an ill-fated run of things. Except that it's not really the Glazer's money - it's just more debt for United.

It's a shame, because everything I've read about Moyes indicates that he's a good person. But in this day and age, at this level, you simply can't come to the job without good tactical ability, an ability to work the transfer market, and a clear vision for how to develop your team, all of which Moyes doesn't have. And he hasn't been helped by what is clearly a talent deficiency all around him in these areas, including, most damning, Ed Woodward. But even if he did, would he still be able to motivate these players? Not on the evidence of last night.

Moyes needs a mentor to help him develop and execute a vision for the team, as well as get his head right. He needs a Director of Football with actual European (and further) football contacts to make the transfer market more of a success. And he needs an assistant or two who understand tactics at this level who can help him understand how to send out the team that's set up to win, not just avoid losing.

But none of that's going to happen under the Glazers. Could be a few years in the wilderness, one feels.

If he can't motivate, can't develop tactics, can't navigate transfers and doesn't have a vision for the team, what's his strength?

[SirFozzie]

So a headbutt from a player means five or so games off. What does a MANAGER headbutting a player get?

Alan Pardew headbutts Hull City's David Meyler in touchline row | Football | The Observer

[bhlloy]

I think he will get 8 given his previous history. The FA have already commented on it, so you know it's bad

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

If he can't motivate, can't develop tactics, can't navigate transfers and doesn't have a vision for the team, what's his strength?

His accent is very similar to Sir Alex's.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I think he will get 8 given his previous history. The FA have already commented on it, so you know it's bad

Newscastle has fined Pardew $100K and given him a formal warning. Let's see what the FA does.

[SirFozzie]

Dola: Three weeks till Cambridge United plays for the FA Trophy at Wembley.. hopefully a good pay day, a trophy in the cabinet (and if they win, hopefully they won't be back to defend it, as they are in second place in the Conference.. which is playoffs)

Edit to avoid double dola: Oops: Liverpool say "Yeah, there was a release clause on Luis Suarez after all. Oops, too bad, so sad Arsenal"

Liverpool chief John W Henry admits Luis Suarez did have release clause - ESPN FC

[Ronnie Dobbs3]

Not sure why Henry is bothering bringing this up, but didn't the PFA head examine the contract and say there was no release clause? I think he's feeling his oats about this a bit too much on this one.

[PilotMan]

Didn't see the game today. How bad was it?

[DaddyTorgo]

I was just watching tonight, but I had a headache and fell asleep after the first goal until the game was over.

[SirFozzie]

Wigan done dood it again. So much for the Citeh Octuple or whatever they were aiming for

[TroyF]

Arsenal catch the break with the Wigan win. Don't get me wrong, I know anyone can beat anyone and it's happened plenty (Wigan has won a lot of consecutive games in this competition) That said, this has to be the year, right? If Arsenal can't find a way to beat Wigan and then Hull or Shefield United, it may be another decade before we win anything.

With Wilshire going down, there is no real shot of winning the title now. (it was meager before that, I don't see the depth being there now) Obviously, this week will see the end of the line in the CL. So that means it's playing to stay above fourth and then the two biggest games of the last half decade coming up to close the year.

One thing is for sure, Arsenal did not catch many breaks in "draws" this year.

The toughest CL group with Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille. Chelsea in the LC. Everton, Tottenham, Liverpool and then City in the FA Cup. (City may have helped us out, but Wigan seem to have this FA Cup thing down) Then Bayern in the CL knockout stage.

Doesn't get a lot harder than that grouping. Hopefully next years draws get a little easier.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Arsenal catch the break with the Wigan win. Don't get me wrong, I know anyone can beat anyone and it's happened plenty (Wigan has won a lot of consecutive games in this competition) That said, this has to be the year, right? If Arsenal can't find a way to beat Wigan and then Hull or Shefield United, it may be another decade before we win anything.

With Wilshire going down, there is no real shot of winning the title now. (it was meager before that, I don't see the depth being there now) Obviously, this week will see the end of the line in the CL. So that means it's playing to stay above fourth and then the two biggest games of the last half decade coming up to close the year.

One thing is for sure, Arsenal did not catch many breaks in "draws" this year.

The toughest CL group with Dortmund, Napoli and Marseille. Chelsea in the LC. Everton, Tottenham, Liverpool and then City in the FA Cup. (City may have helped us out, but Wigan seem to have this FA Cup thing down) Then Bayern in the CL knockout stage.

Doesn't get a lot harder than that grouping. Hopefully next years draws get a little easier.

I think they will play better with Wilshere out. He doesn't focus on actually playing enough. He's too busy arguing, flopping, and fighting.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by rowech

I think they will play better with Wilshere out. He doesn't focus on actually playing enough. He's too busy arguing, flopping, and fighting.

We'll see. Ox has looked fantastic in the middle this year. Ozil is looking very good the last couple of weeks. If we play better without Wilshire, we will finish in the top four with zero problems and should win the FA cup and end the trophy drought. I'm not so sure that will be the case, but we will see.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by TroyF

We'll see. Ox has looked fantastic in the middle this year. Ozil is looking very good the last couple of weeks. If we play better without Wilshire, we will finish in the top four with zero problems and should win the FA cup and end the trophy drought. I'm not so sure that will be the case, but we will see.

I would play Chamberlin ahead of Wilshere any day of the week. If he keeps trying to play Sanogo though, it's all for naught. That kid offers nothing.

[MIJB#19]

Oranje hopes on a world championship have plummeted mightily today, Kevin Strootman is diagnosed out for half a year with a knee injury...

[DaddyTorgo]

14pts clear with 11 games to go.

[whomario]

Bayern Munich president Ulli Hoeneß is currently on trial for tax evasion. A whopping 18 mio Euros aparently. That´d could get interesting ...

What´s not interesting is the Bundesliga title race ...

Bayern ahead by 20 points and on even on track to break their insane records from last season. They are at 22 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses and 72-11 goals. After they went 29/4/1 with 98-18 last season. That´s a combined 51/6/1 with 170-29.
And that´s while dominating the CL as well.

[SirFozzie]

Pardew gets seven game ban

BBC Sport - Alan Pardew: Newcastle United boss banned for seven games

[rowech]

Becoming very frustrating to watch Arsenal of late. The lack of just playing is irritating. They whine every call, they complain after the game, and then ignore the fact they just lost and got beat about pretty good. With Ozil now out, the next two weeks will not only end the top run but I have a feeling it will end the top 4 too. That's something I could not imagine a moth ago.

[DaddyTorgo]

Stuart Holden out for 6-9 months, as serious injury hits U.S. international once again | ProSoccerTalk

I love the guy's game - if healthy he could really be a missing piece for this team, and I'd certainly rather see him in midfield then just about anybody (excepting I guess Michael Bradley), but at this point I gotta think maybe he's done.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by rowech

Becoming very frustrating to watch Arsenal of late. The lack of just playing is irritating. They whine every call, they complain after the game, and then ignore the fact they just lost and got beat about pretty good. With Ozil now out, the next two weeks will not only end the top run but I have a feeling it will end the top 4 too. That's something I could not imagine a moth ago.

Given that the two most talented teams chasing them are managed by Tim Sherwood and David Moyes, Arsenal would have to work pretty hard to lose the top 4.