2005-06 Soccer Thread

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Really, I probably am just bitter that Wenger made zero play for Nigel de Jong and Dean Ashton. Especially given De Jong's quality and the price.

Meanwhile, y'know, teams are fighting it out for various supposedly well-rated defenders (Aggers, Latka, Pele . . . Portuguese defender from Belenenses, not the OTHER Pele) and we just stand by and watch. I mean, we're starting Pascal Friggin' Cygan for Goodness' Sake!

I can 100% see your problem with this situation

[Crapshoot]

Yeah, I'm shocked at the lack of interest in De Jong - for a measly million pounds - no interest from Rafa ?

[daedalus]

De Jong . . . Dutch. Rafa believes in buying Spanish.

Fowler excepted.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by daedalus

De Jong . . . Dutch. Rafa believes in buying Spanish.

Fowler excepted.

He did sign Jan Kromkamp, swapped a Spanish player for him too, so he's not adverse to the odd non-Spaniard every now and then.

Not sure why there was so little interest in De Jong, I guess it's the chance of teaming up with Van Der Vaart at Hamburg that drew him there, but it's strange that a current Dutch international would go for so little. I looked at an Ajax newsgroup and they didn't seem overly disappointed to see him leave either, so maybe he's not the great prospect he was once thought to be?

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by daedalus

De Jong . . . Dutch. Rafa believes in buying Spanish.

Fowler excepted.

Don't forget Crouch too. Rafa actually paid 7mil for an Englishman.

[Critch]

Today's the end of the winter transfer window so there should be a flurry of transfers coming through over the next few hours.

Big stories so far are that Portsmouth have signed Andres D'Alessandro on loan from Wolfsburg (a potentially great player who's ruined his chances at Wolfsburg by complaining that they made him train too much), Spurs have signed yet another midfielder (Hossam Ghaly from Feyenoord) and strangest of all Quincy Owusu Abeyie has left Arsenal and joined Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee.

[MIJB#19]

A lot of transfer news from Feyenoord the past days, especially today.

American Cory Gibbs going from Feyenoord to ADO Den Haag on loan. His buddy central defender Karim Saidi from Tunisia when Gibbs arrived here has been sent out for a loan to Lecce (Italy). The right back of the days he got here, Swede Alexander Ostlund was sold to Southampton. All three defenders are hoping for a spot on their countries' World Cup squads.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by Critch

Big stories so far are that Portsmouth have signed Andres D'Alessandro on loan from Wolfsburg (a potentially great player who's ruined his chances at Wolfsburg by complaining that they made him train too much),

That guy was money for me in FM2005.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Critch

He did sign Jan Kromkamp, swapped a Spanish player for him too, so he's not adverse to the odd non-Spaniard every now and then.

Not sure why there was so little interest in De Jong, I guess it's the chance of teaming up with Van Der Vaart at Hamburg that drew him there, but it's strange that a current Dutch international would go for so little. I looked at an Ajax newsgroup and they didn't seem overly disappointed to see him leave either, so maybe he's not the great prospect he was once thought to be?

De Jong was out of contract in the summer and was already on his way out, he didn't want to stay. The trainer Danny Blind said he won't be using leaving players much at all the rest of the season. De Jong is a good player, decent right back or central midfielder. Ajax just decided to get something for him while they still could. He'll probably be a backup on the World Cup squad, but playing together with two other Dutch internationals, Rafael van der Vaart and Khalid Boulahrouz (who's from my home town).

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by moriarty

That guy was money for me in FM2005.

I have this kind of reaction regarding many guys when watching the EPL review show, or any other EPL game. Maybe not allways "money" but along the lines of "aww, that dude helped me a lot"

Mikel Arteta, Fabio Rochemback, Stephen Warnock, Steve Finnan to name a few...

FM

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by moriarty

WHAT? I missed this one. I wonder if this means Cisse or Pongolle is now on the move.

Hell, Fowler at least can poke in sitters right in front of the goal which is more than Cisse managed at Man U. I wonder if this is a "make up" for failing to bring back Owen to the club when they're desparate for a consistent scorer, or if it's just a thank you to Fowler, and they'll release him at year end.

Well looks like Pongolle lost out, at least for the short term. He's been loaned out to Blackburn. I still don't see Cisse here after next season but he is the only one left (out of Crouch, Morientes, Fowler) with pace.

[FrogMan]

I've been paying a bit of attention to the current African Nations Cup and found this write-up interesting:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ca/4670754.stm

He basically rates every team's group stage performance...

And this tidbit is kind of sad for South Africans, who now have 4 years to at least put themselves on the path of respectability:

SOUTH AFRICA


Have you ever watched a football match and wished you were having your teeth pulled out instead?

Well, watching South Africa in their opening game against Tunisia made some of us pine for the dentist's chair. It was that ugly!

At times Bafana Bafana looked like a collection of individuals who had just met at a bus station moments before kick-off.

Ted Dumitru's side picks up my 'Worst Team of Egypt 2006' award.
Grade: F

ouch! South Africa have since sacked Ted Dumitru. Dude had been in post for only a few months...

FM

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Well looks like Pongolle lost out, at least for the short term. He's been loaned out to Blackburn. I still don't see Cisse here after next season but he is the only one left (out of Crouch, Morientes, Fowler) with pace.

Yeah, I think Rafa believes Fowler > Pongelle in the short run. Rumors were flying that they made an offer for Defoe - a straight swap for Cisse. That would be frigging perfect - Defoe would be a great foil of Crouch, and with a poacher like Morientes as well - that's a good collection of strikers.

[ISiddiqui]

Do you think Tottenham would agree to a swap of Defoe for Cisse? I seriously doubt it.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Do you think Tottenham would agree to a swap of Defoe for Cisse? I seriously doubt it.

Well, Jol hates playing with Keane and Defoe upfront together- they're both small, and his system relies on a bigger target man. Defoe's been on the bench for something like 9 of the last 10 games, and hasn't exactly been profilgate this term. Cisse gives him someone like Mido who can play a smaller striker alongside. FWIW, Cisse has scored 12 goals in all comps this season - (4 in the EPL), Defoe has 5 (all in the EPL). Cisse was a 14 million pound buy and was considered one of the brightest if not the brightest french striking talent since trezugeut. Given the tactical needs of both teams (Benitez needs someone to play of Crouch, Jol can't pair Keane and Defoe with Mido - ) - it may make sense, in a screwed up kind of way.

[Critch]

Duncan Ferguson ties the record for most sending offs in the EPL, and he does it in style.

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl9PNF1exfE

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Yeah, I think Rafa believes Fowler > Pongelle in the short run. Rumors were flying that they made an offer for Defoe - a straight swap for Cisse. That would be frigging perfect - Defoe would be a great foil of Crouch, and with a poacher like Morientes as well - that's a good collection of strikers.

Damn, while I can understand why Tottenham didn't go for it, I would have overjoyed with a Cisse / Defoe swap.

BTW - anyone catch Fowler's comeback perfomance for Liverpool? Scored a late winner ... crowd went nuts ... only to be called offside.

[Critch]

Who had February 2nd in the preseason "when will Souness get the boot" sweepstake? Because he's good and gone.

Now I just have to hope that Glasgow Rangers don't take him back.

[moriarty]

Back in August I had Souness going at the end of the year, but not February.

Originally Posted by moriarty

I think they're a good team (i.e. they have talent) but will underperform with Souness. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but I suspect he'll be gone after this season.
.

But then again Isiddiqui had him staying even longer.

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I think with Owen and Luque along with Parker and Emre, Newcastle will probablt do well enough to make the UEFA Cup with that talent. Souness's job should be ok for this year.

Sorry Isiddiqui, I couln't resist.

[ISiddiqui]

Well, I think my statement shows why Souness was canned. ALL FOUR of the players I mentioned had injuries that kept them out of a number of games. Owen has been gone for a month or so, Luque was gone for a long time early this year. Parker was out for a few weeks. And has Emre even played 2 games in a row?!

[daedalus]

Good. God. We. FUCKING. Suck.

Who needs to transfer in defenders when you have Pascal Cygan? Who needs to transfer in defenders when you can get beat by West Ham with a backline of 2 midfielders (Flamini and Larsson) and 2 teenagers (Djourou and Senderos)? De Jong, Shma Jong! We have Pascal Cygan!

Me? Bitter? Nah, not anymore than the average Red Sox fans (pre-'04).

Damn it, if we suck any worse, we'll be confused for White Hart Lane residents.

----

*For the record, I am aware that they're above us in the table for now and are probably far more deserving of a Champion's League spot next season than we are. But, y'know, insulting Sp*rs is never, ever (and I mean EVER) out of fashion.

[Coder]

Been reading that Chris Waddle thinks Eriksson will be the next Newcastle manager.. I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell Eriksson will ever coach in England again..

[Blade6119]

Interesting to see the african nations cup, as a few of my FM players are starting for teams competing(3 nigeria, 1 ivory coast, 1 South Africa)....very interesting to see...FM has increased my world knowledge of soccer so much its crazy

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Coder

Been reading that Chris Waddle thinks Eriksson will be the next Newcastle manager.. I'm sorry, but there's no way in hell Eriksson will ever coach in England again..

Why not? It was only last week that he was saying he'd like to be the new manager of Aston Villa if they are taken over. He'll go where ever he gets paid.

[Coder]

Originally Posted by Critch

Why not? It was only last week that he was saying he'd like to be the new manager of Aston Villa if they are taken over. He'll go where ever he gets paid.

Not a chance. The Sheikh-thing was the last drop (and that's where he mentioned Villa)... He'll either go back to Rome (Lazio in particular, but Roma is a stronger contender), or he'll be in Madrid next year. The press has kicked him out of England.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, I don't see him as shying away from the money... do I want him in Newcastle.. that's another story .

[SirFozzie]

Wow.. the tabloids strike again:

Got this from a person who should know:

A British tabloid is apparently running a story this weekend "outing" two high-profile EPL players - England international players at that. It's the same paper have already screwed up England's chances of potentially winning the World Cup with the Sven scandal.

Apparently the rumors have it that the players to be forcibly outed are Jenas and Campbell, thus why Campbell has been having such issues.

[Coder]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Wow.. the tabloids strike again:

Got this from a person who should know:

A British tabloid is apparently running a story this weekend "outing" two high-profile EPL players - England international players at that. It's the same paper have already screwed up England's chances of potentially winning the World Cup with the Sven scandal.

Apparently the rumors have it that the players to be forcibly outed are Jenas and Campbell, thus why Campbell has been having such issues.

This is the absolute worst part about England.. the tabloids.. I don't see how any of this has ANY relevance at all to the "public". If Campbell is gay, which I don't give a flying fuck about, the only "benefit" of this being known to the public is that he'll feel more uncomfortable as a player/person if it's known (or he would have gone public himself).. The end result is that the newspapers have once again weakened the English squad..

What the hell.. has someone checked the nationalities of the reporters writing these stories? Are they all from Trinidad & Tobago?

This is exactly the kind of "journalism" that made me not pursue reporting as a career after school and made me look in other directions. It's at it's peak in England, but it's coming here to Sweden as well. These journalists are creating news rather than reporting news.

[ISiddiqui]

YAY, Magpies! Get rid of Souey, get 3 points, Shearer gets his 201st. Great week all in all .

[FrogMan]

wow, crazy, crazy quarter final between Cameroon and Ivroy Coast in the African Cup of Nations. 0-0 after 90 minutes, 1-1 after extra time, all 22 players scored on their first attempt and it took until the first round of the next 11 to break the tie ... Look at this:

Penalty shoot-out:

11-12 Didier Drogba puts Ivory Coast into the last four.
11-11 Samuel Eto'o fires over with his second shoot-out penalty.
11-11 Ivory Coast keeper Jean-Jacques Tizie scores.
11-10 Cameroon keeper Souleymanou Hamidou scores.
10-10 Marco Zoro scores. It is down to the keepers.
10-9 Stephane Bikey scores for Cameroon.
9-9 Didier Zokora holds his nerve for Ivory Coast.
9-8 Rudolph Douala scores for Cameroon.
8-8 Arthur Boka scores for Ivory Coast.
8-7 Alioum Saidou scores at the second attempt. His first shot was saved but the keeper was penalised for coming off his line.
7-7 Christian Koffi Ndri keeps Ivory Coast in it.
7-6 Cameroon skipper Rigobert Song finds the top corner.
6-6 Blaise Kossi Kouassi cooly strokes the ball home.
6-5 Jean Makoun's penalty just eludes Jean-Jacques Tizie.
5-5 Arouna Kone keeps Ivory Coast in the tie.
5-4 Albert Ze Meyong scores for Cameroon.
4-4 Emerse Fae sends the goalkeeper the wrong way.
4-3 Daniel Ngom Kome scores for Cameroon.
3-3 Bakari Kone slots home a cool penalty.
3-2 Thimothee Atouba puts Cameroon back in front.
2-2 Kolo Toure scores for Ivory Coast with a great penalty.
2-1 Njitap Geremi smashes the ball home for Cameroon.
1-1 Didier Drogba scores for Ivory Coast
1-0 Samuel Eto'o puts Cameroon ahead.

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ca/4679194.stm

FM

[terpkristin]

Yeah, FM, I saw that (it was in the "Latest Headlines" in Firefox).

How crazy, but congrats to Ivory Coast!

/tk

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by Coder

This is the absolute worst part about England.. the tabloids.. I don't see how any of this has ANY relevance at all to the "public".

Unfortunately, the tabloids print what people buy. This rag has been around for a long time, it's filled its pages with crap for all that time and it's always been popular. I have to admit that it sometimes makes me ashamed to be British

[Critch]

Apparently the front page of the News of the World isn't anything about Sol Campbell and Jenas after all.

Only story about Campbell is one about him seeing a faith healer for depression, and a photograph of him with an ex-girlfriend.

[daedalus]

Damn it.

Sorry, Frogger, but I was rather hoping Cameroon would have advanced. We need Manu and Kolo back, badly.

[Desnudo]

Adu to Chelsea for $9 million? If he complains about lack of playing time at DC United, what does he think is going to happen there?

[ISiddiqui]

MLS is denying it. It would seem strange, though, because Adu is not 18 yet.

[DaddyTorgo]

WASHINGTON -- Major League Soccer insists Freddy Adu will play for D.C. United for the "forseeable future," denying a British newspaper report of a deal that would send the 16-year-old prodigy this year to Premier League power Chelsea.

The Times of London reported that Chelsea is in advanced stages of negotiations with MLS, which holds Adu's rights, for a transfer fee of about $8.7 million.

"We haven't had any discussions with any club about a transfer for Freddy," MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said Tuesday. "He plays for D.C. and will be playing for D.C. for the foreseeable future."

Adu has often said Chelsea is his favorite team and his dream is to play in Europe. But international rules make it extremely difficult for a player to transfer overseas until he is 18. Adu will turn 18 in June 2007.

"Freddy Adu is a member of D.C. United, and we expect him to remain so through the 2007 season," United president Kevin Payne said. "Neither we nor the league has had any conversations with any club about a transfer of Freddy. Freddy knows the task before him this year is to continue to improve and become a game-in, game-out contributor to the success of D.C. United."

Adu was suspended for one playoff game last season by United for complaining publicly about playing time, but he was upbeat about contending for a regular starting spot after his first preseason practice Monday.

"I'm glad to be coming back to D.C. United," Adu said. "I don't want to go anywhere else. I get the best of both worlds, getting to live at home and play for the best franchise in MLS."

Adu was 14 when he was drafted No. 1 overall by United in 2004. United acquired the pick in a trade so Adu could continue to live with his mother in Maryland.

Adu made his U.S. national team debut Jan. 22 against Canada and has an outside shot at making the roster for the World Cup in Germany this summer.

[daedalus]

I don't think he can. Arsenal has or had the same problem with Vela.

Of course, they can probably send him to one of their feeders for awhile.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I don't think he can. Arsenal has or had the same problem with Vela.

Of course, they can probably send him to one of their feeders for awhile.

PSV? Nah that would be tooo obvious...

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

PSV? Nah that would be tooo obvious...

I wouldnt put it past them, apparently they already love Nguyen, another young american to top off DMB...i can see it, as i doubt he really stays MLS till hes 18

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I don't think he can. Arsenal has or had the same problem with Vela.

Of course, they can probably send him to one of their feeders for awhile.

Adu to CSKA Moscow?

[FrogMan]

wow, are they that desperate to find a referee???

Banned referee for final


A Tunisian official, once banned for a year for trying to influence another referee, will take charge of the African Cup of Nations Cup final.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced that 43-year-old Mourad Daami will officiate the final between Egypt and Ivory Coast in Cairo.

He was banned in 2001 after being found guilty of trying to influence the referee at the 2000 African Champions League final in Ghana between Hearts of Oak and the Tunisian club Esperance.

Daami, who as at the match as a member of Esperance's delegation, entered the referee's change room to try to persuade colleague Robbie Williams of South Africa to call off the match because of rioting by spectators at Accra's National stadium.

Esperance, who were trailing on aggregate, had sought to induce several stoppages during the match in order to get it abandoned and were also later sanctioned by Caf.

Daami's ban was rescinded after nine months and in 2002 he was among the officials at the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

Friday's match will be Daami's second Nations Cup final.

He also looked after the 2000 final in Lagos where Cameroon beat hosts Nigeria after a post-match penalty shootout.

That result was clouded in controversy when television replays showed that Daami had erred in disallowing a kick during the shoot-out by Nigerian Victor Ikpeba.

The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and crossed the line before bouncing out.

The mistake proved decisive as Cameroon won 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Daami's assistants on Friday will be Brahim Djezzar of Algeria and Celestin Ntagungira of Rwanda.

Wow, you got a guy who not only once, but twice was in kinda controversial situations and you still give him a final???

I was a referee dispatch in my younger days and I can tell you that I was tougher in my selection of referees for the U16 (and even down to U12) games than these guys seems to be for a continental competition...

[Coder]

Originally Posted by Critch

Apparently the front page of the News of the World isn't anything about Sol Campbell and Jenas after all.

Only story about Campbell is one about him seeing a faith healer for depression, and a photograph of him with an ex-girlfriend.

Today, News of the World are reporting that "two premiership players have been caught having sex on camera," without saying who they are.

One has played several games for the national team, while the other is a midfielder with a "substantial salary".

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Coder

Today, News of the World are reporting that "two premiership players have been caught having sex on camera," without saying who they are.

Yeah, it's frightening. I'll never be able to set my mobile phone to vibrate ever again without thinking about it.

They're also reporting that Martin O'Neil will be the new Newcastle manager.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Coder

Today, News of the World are reporting that "two premiership players have been caught having sex on camera," without saying who they are.

One has played several games for the national team, while the other is a midfielder with a "substantial salary".

Dola....

Alledgedly (from somebody who has seen the photographs) the two players involved are not Campbell or Jenas. That would fit in with the descriptions in the NotW story, they said it was a big money midfielder and a player who had long been thought of as a rebel both on and off the pitch. Although Jenas would fit the big money midfielder description, Campbell has never really been thought of as a rebel either on or off the pitch.

As we're all grown up and don't think this is any of the public's business, I won't say who the two players actually are

[MikeVick7]

On an aside...I've been watching the EPL now for the last three seasons now so I don't know much about Harry Redknapp's past so I don't have much to base an opinion on him. But why am I enjoying the fact that he could manage a team right out of the EPL for the 2nd year in a row?

First he jumps ship from Portsmouth last year and joins Southampton and they procede to relegate. Now, he rejoins Portsmouth again this season and it appears that they are headed for relegation as well.

Again, he seems like a nice guy and I know that both clubs don't have the greatest talent but with all the crap that he's put himself through for the last year just makes me chuckle when I think that he could be headed to the Championship again.

[Crapshoot]

Oh no - I dislike Rednapp as well. He's a character, but he's a charltan as well, and gets away with stuff because he's just being "Arry" - god forbid if one of the "foreign" managers dared to do what Redknapp does.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by Critch

Dola....

Alledgedly (from somebody who has seen the photographs) the two players involved are not Campbell or Jenas. That would fit in with the descriptions in the NotW story, they said it was a big money midfielder and a player who had long been thought of as a rebel both on and off the pitch

I'd laugh my butt off if it was Lee Bowyer.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Critch

Dola....

Alledgedly (from somebody who has seen the photographs) the two players involved are not Campbell or Jenas. That would fit in with the descriptions in the NotW story, they said it was a big money midfielder and a player who had long been thought of as a rebel both on and off the pitch. Although Jenas would fit the big money midfielder description, Campbell has never really been thought of as a rebel either on or off the pitch.

As we're all grown up and don't think this is any of the public's business, I won't say who the two players actually are

Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney.

Hrm?