football thread No11

[Quackers]

Phillip Neville says Saints can finish in the top four, he said once you move Man city/Chelsea from the equation we can compete with United/LP/Arsenal/Spurs.

I think he is talking bollocks but i hope he is right.

 

[azzaman333]

Phillip Neville says Saints can finish in the top four, he said once you move Man city/Chelsea from the equation we can compete with United/LP/Arsenal/Spurs.

I think he is talking bollocks but i hope he is right.

With the way City, United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs keeping dropping points it's definitely not beyond the realms of possibility.

 

[dutchfire]

City minus Aguero were so poor yesterday.

 

[Quackers]

Spoiler :

Anybody like the new Bayern away kit? At first I didn't like it, but it has grown on me. Looks like a kit from the 1990s (may need to be a bit baggier for that).

 

[BirraImperial]

I like that kit too. Their home kit is also a reminiscent of the 90's.

Looks like my boy Campbell isn't going to get much chances at Arsenal, specially with Walcott fully recovered...he might even leave by the next transfer window...

 

[Mise]

I don't think he's good enough to play for Arsenal really. If someone like Podolski struggles to break into the team then Joel Campbell has no chance.

 

[Quackers]

I don't know the entire situation but I think JC was covertly pushing for a move after the World Cup. I did hear rumours that his agent was asking around, a bit premature (could he really do better than Arsenal atm?) but he did have a stunning World Cup.
What do you make of Arsenal's recent struggles Mise? Should Wenger just pack it in and retire? Surely you can't enter a season with Merte/Koscielny/Chambers as your CBs in a 45 match season (minimum). Come on guise.

 

[Mise]

It's just abysmal and I don't see how Wenger can survive without improving substantially on last season results-wise. So that means at least quarter finals in CL and top 3 finish, and then maybe he can think about staying on another season. Another season without moving forward is not acceptable. The fact is, other teams are pushing ahead, so standing still is like moving backwards. We need a manager who can take us to the next level and frankly I don't think Wenger is the one to do it. I wouldn't mind a couple seasons finishing 7th like Man U if it meant that we'd be in a good place in 3 or 4 years to challenge seriously in Europe again. For me, this sort of stagnation just isn't acceptable any longer.

 

[BirraImperial]

Well it's sadly true. Joel has a lot of competition at Arsenal, so it's best that he looks for another team. There are rumors that Milan might be interested, but those are mere rumors so far...


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[Takhisis]

Ah-ha. Mise, would another FA Cup (or a '93-style Cup Double) be enough?

 

[Mise]

Nope. I won't be happy until we can challenge in Europe and push for the title every season. It's not unrealistic given the talent and resources that we have, we just need a few key signings. I appreciate us signing world class players like Ozil and Alexis, as well as "useful" signings like Welbeck (who I've always rated) and Debuchy, but we've gone 3 years now with Arteta as our main (only!) DM. And then this season, letting Vermaelen go without securing a replacement was just ridiculous... Chambers can play RB, CB and DM, but not all three at once. If we had done those things, would we be leaking goals every match? Would we have thrown away a 3-0 home lead against Anderlecht? Would we have let in 2 goals in 3 minutes at Swansea? Would we have had to chase games from behind so many times against weaker opposition in the league? I hope these are the questions that keep Wenger up at night.

 

[Takhisis]

Define 'challenge in Europe'. At the moment, the big-money clubs (Chelsea/Manchester City/PSG) + Bayern/Barça/Madrid are far better at attracting talent than anyone else. Even the three Italian juggernauts aren't seen as that good anymore.

 

[Mise]

Atleti runners up last year, Dortmund runners up the year before. That sort of success in Europe shouldn't be out of Arsenal's reach, given its resources and ability to attract talent. I don't think our squad this year is much worse than Chelsea's squad that won it 3 years ago, for example.

 

[dutchfire]

Well, since Arsenal's 06 CL final, the only clubs to have had multiple appearances in the final are Barca, Bayern, Man U and Chelsea. There are not so many clubs that can regularly compete at the CL final level*. Even Real played only a single final in a decade!

*And there also not so many spots available in the final.

 

[Mise]

I'm not saying that we should be able to get to the finals regularly, merely that getting to a CL final shouldn't be out of our reach. At the moment, another CL final isn't out of Athlethico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund's reach, whereas you would have to say that it is out of Arsenal's.

 

[Takhisis]

Well… '06 was against all odds, as I recall. Arsenal were dismal in England that day and only Totenham's silly antics -which have since become usual fare- got them into the following year's CL.

Real Madrid playing only one final in the last 11 years is an underperformance, they have wasted enormously talented squads on playing Mourinho's anti-football.

 

[Gucumatz]

Apparently Fabio Capello hasn't been paid by the Russian FA since June. Maybe they are trying to get rid of him for a new coach?

 

[Takhisis]

They say they can't pay for him.

 

[BirraImperial]

So what's going on with the Netherlands? The defense looked incredibly weak today against Mexico, who got their "revenge".

 

[warpus]

I just watched the second part of the second half of the Georgia - Poland game. 4-0! I went to the local campus restaurant/bar for a late lunch after my work evaluation with my boss was done (I got the best evaluation I've ever had!) and turns out the game is on.. I completely forgot! It was 1-0 when I got there with about 25 minutes left in the game. I got a beer and Poland started playing better. So I stayed for the whole game.

10 points out of 4 games, including one against Germany, which we won.. not bad!