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Yeah, I think he'll do well. He's a great club coach, but far too conservative at NT level.

So you guys may actually have a competative derby.

Yes.

So you can be sure it'll be a boring team.

Arcade - Carrick?

Ali, I wanted to choose a defensive midfielder to play alongside Anderson, and Carrick seems to be something in between. I think Hargreaves is better suited to that position in a 4-4-2 formation.

Well. An interesting read today from an Italian daily had SGE say that he had never seen about half of their new players ever play before. And that he had to watch footage of them.

then he apparently asked the Bulgarian Valeron Bojinov (ex-Fiorentina) how he felt after signing for Manchester UNITED (instead of City)

Mark

I am looking forward to watching the Red Devils this year. I saw the Charity Shield game against Chelsea, which gave a hint of what promises to be another successful season. I see no reason why United cannot dominate the league this year.

My only concern is the quality of the defense in the CL. It still seems that Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, O'Shea and co will suffer the occasional catastrophic failure against top opposition.

If CRonaldo can realize his potential, I have to think the offense will be as potent as any other in the CL.

By the way, Corluka is Croatia's latest and greatest hope. I hope he and Da Silva, a naturalized Brazilian playing for Arsenal, once again start the trend of Croatians having significant roles at big clubs.

What exactly Morinho was going to test with Joe Cole as a forward I have no idea:)

You know what, Joe didn't look all too bad, although he certainly is not a pure forward. Chelsea still are looking for the right man to partner Drogba, who is a must if they are to be a consistent offensive threat against top teams. However, they still lack a true world class big game player.

Whatever the case, I still can't stand Chelsea. From the way they run their team to Jose to their style, I hope they lose big.

They bought Pizzaro to partner Drogba, since Sheva proved an expensive flop!

That man Mourinho is one of the most amusing aspects of the EPL the last 3 seasons, specially when his team lose! I reckon he will try shut up more often this season. He talked a lot of rubbish last year some of which worked against him, like his comments on penalties and referees.
Hopefully he has learnt that in England you can't get around people with comments like that.

Go Tottenham.

Hopefully he has learnt that in England you can't get around people with comments like that

Lol, that is sort of funny, if you allow me to draw a very rough sterotype, there are many englishmen (while not everyone fortunately) who are devoted to bingedrinking while not really having the "talent" for it, yet still expect that you should "be nice" to them .

What amazes me about Chelsea, and Jose for that matter, is how they evince stereotypical English football. They manage to take clearly skillfull players and enforce a high energy, high pressure game that relies more on pace and power than guile and cunning.

I much more prefer Manchester United's philosophy and style of play, which is indeed attacking, attractive, and improvisational football. The Red Devils simply let their players be more like themselves.

Compare how Cristiano Ronaldo can do as he pleases with how Jose chews out Joe Cole publicly for backheels.

Mate - It may look that way but most of the players are quite clear as to what their particular job is.

Cronaldo only last season became the effective player he is, before that he was trying a little too hard.

I agree though that for any creative player a move to OT is far more attractive than Chavski.

AF likes flowing football and to win. Jose Mourinho likes to win.

Mate - It may look that way but most of the players are quite clear as to what their particular job is.

Cronaldo only last season became the effective player he is, before that he was trying a little too hard.

I agree though that for any creative player a move to OT is far more attractive than Chavski.

AF likes flowing football and to win. Jose Mourinho likes to win.

United looked okay and should have done better than a 0 - 0 draw. However, they still are looking for that incisive big game leader than can create an opportunity when things aren't going their way.

Cristiano still seems to have some maturing to do. Rooney will never be that man, as he just doesn't have the skill nor composure on the ball. Scholes, for all his experience, is past his best and not a go to guy anyways. Giggs is simply past his prime.

Maybe only the good thing about Rooney's injury is that it will truly give Tevez a chance to show what he can do at a big name club in English football? It has to be Tevez, because the others just are not enough to get this club to the next step.

Since when did Rooney lack skill and composure on the ball, Mate? :P

Sorry for taking my time to respond. Doesn't appear to be a lot going on here these days. I agree with you re: the respective styles of United and Chelsea, but drawing at home to Reading is dismal. Chelsea seem to have made a nice acquisition in Malouda

I too hope Tevez can step up to the plate, but it's a hard task as he's not match-fit (whatever that means) just yet. With all the other forwards injured, he has one hell of a weight on his shoulders.

Scholes and Giggs are indeed coming to the end, but they both contributed greatly to last season's championship success. However, I hold out great hope that Anderson and Nani will be ample replacements in the long term.

We should get our first glimpse of Tevez at Portsmouth on Wednesday. I do hope that Fergie doesn't throw that useless lump John O'Shea up front again. I wonder if Anderson could play as an emergency striker instead? Hargreaves is very much needed too, and his eventual return should also spell the end of John O'Shea's midfield days.

It's time that piece of junk was kicked out of the club once and for all.

'Piece of junk'!!!!? O'shea?
He is a legend already!

I was surprised that Eagles didn't come on at some point instead of O'Shea. But to say he is useless is very harsh.

mate,
They did everything against Reading but score. I agree there was some lack of sharpness and a few misplaced passes. But it was the first game of the season against a very well set up and desciplined opposition. The possession statistic tells you everything, it was 74% United. It wasn't as if Unitd had no chances while Van der Sar had to make saves to keep it 0-0. Then you'd have to worry.


Nani reminds me of Cronaldo when he first arrived in that his moves often don't have an end product. Too often his crosses didn't clear the first defender. But that will come in time.

Congrats to svennis and his Manchester City (apropos the win against Man United)...

Adel Taarabt - I'm going to watch this kid whenever I can. I've seen him only for a few mins against Derby County. He is pure gold!

Damn. United again failed to translate their domination into goals. A piece of the puzzle is still missing. By the way, I don't know why Vidic let that Brazilian City player have so much time as to wind up and take a full shot right outside the box.

Anyways, United dominated in terms of possession and shots, but the killer instinct wasn't there. Tevez, like Mark says, has to step up and assume responsibility, even when Rooney and CR are out.

Mark, for me, Rooney is not composed, not like a RVN. He hurries his chances and sometimes doen't make the most opportune pass or shot. I saw RVN this weekend against Sevilla. Although Real got shellacked, RVN showed some nice touch. Rooney never could play like that.

Oh well, at least Arsenal and Chelsea dropped points. It is still way early in the season, so no need to worry yet.

Wait did Manu U lose its derby with City?

I should start paying attention.

Bineaz

Yes they did. Sven-Goran was so happy I thought he would jump out of his trousers. You could read all over his face: they're going to take me seriously again:)

Fergie better instill a sense of urgency in his kids. Two points here, three points there, it all adds up come spring. A team like Manchester United must score even when odds are stacked against it.

Leonid wrote:Bineaz

Yes they did. Sven-Goran was so happy I thought he would jump out of his trousers. You could read all over his face: they're going to take me seriously again:)....

LMAO

BRAVO

Fabio Capello is poised to be confirmed as the new England manager after the Football Association board approved his appointment on Thursday.

Capello handed England job until 2012

By Mike Collett

LONDON (Reuters) - Italian Fabio Capello was given the England manager's job until 2012 by the Football Association (FA) on Friday.

The FA confirmed his appointment on a four-and-a-half year contract in a statement on its Web site (http://www.thefa.com). The 61-year-old succeeds Steve McClaren, who was sacked last month after the team failed to qualify for Euro 2008.

Capello, the oldest man to take charge of England, will start his new job on January 7. His first match is a friendly against Euro 2008 co-hosts Switzerland at Wembley on February 6.

The appointment of England's second overseas coach following Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson (2001-06) was ratified by the FA board on Thursday. Contract details were finalized by the FA and Capello's lawyers on Friday.

"I am delighted Fabio Capello has agreed to become England manager," said FA chief executive Brian Barwick.

"When we set out to recruit the new manager we said we were committed to appointing a world class candidate. In Fabio Capello we have that man."

BACKROOM STAFF

Capello's backroom staff will consist of assistants Franco Baldini and Italo Galbiati, goalkeeping coach Franco Tancredi and fitness assistant Massimo Neri.

An English presence will also be drafted into the set-up in due course, the FA said.

Tancredi, 52, was looking forward to the task.

"I am very happy but I realize it will not be an easy job seeing as there are four foreign keepers at the first four teams in the Premier League and often the reserve keepers are too," the former Italy keeper told the Italian news service ANSA.

Capello has had a glittering career in club management and was also a top player, winning 32 caps for his country.

He has won nine league titles in Italy and Spain, although the two he achieved with Juventus in 2005 and 2006 were wiped from the record books because of an Italian match-fixing scandal in which he was never implicated.

Capello took AC Milan to Champions League glory in 1994 and also won domestic titles with AS Roma and Real Madrid.

SOUTHGATE RESERVATIONS

Although his appointment looks set to galvanize a team that for too long has underachieved, not everyone in England was happy with the FA's choice.

Former England defender Gareth Southgate, now manager of Premier League Middlesbrough, said: "I feel it should be our (English) players, our manager, our coach, our kit-man and our faith-healer against the best of the rest of the world.

"I don't see the point of having a national team with a national anthem and patriotism and a foreign coach. It might as well be club football."

Former England winger Steve Coppell, manager of Premier League Reading, welcomed Capello's arrival but said he wished he was English.

"I am sad," he said. "I'm a proud English manager and I would have loved an Englishman to be in charge."

TOP MANAGERS

The FA canvassed the opinions of many of the game's top managers including Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) and Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) on McClaren's successor and spokesman Adrian Bevington said Capello was the only man they interviewed for the job.

The only other candidate appeared to be former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho but the Portuguese ruled himself out this week.

Among the issues to be resolved is whether Capello can continue working as a pundit for RAI TV in Italy.

RAI want him to stay on until Euro 2008 but it remains to be seen whether he can combine both roles. He is due to be on a RAI show on Sunday evening before holding his first news conference in London on Monday.

There is a small statistical probability that things can totally unravel under Capello. Simply consider the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Charlie Weiss. Who the hell could have seen that one coming?



Anyways, this is the right step for England. 6 years is about right to start to turn things around. I emphasize the word start, because after seeing the EPL today, I realize there is a long way to go.

This has to start at the grass roots level. English kids have to be taught to play with the ball, to produce players like Kaka, Zidane, Ronaldo and so. It as been a long time since the world has seen dominating English footballers in abundance.

I dare say you would have to go back to 1970 for that. Let's hope that England takes its rightful place as one of Europe's premier footballing nations...but, not at the expense of Croatia.

United pull off another win in another step to the title. Tevez continues to rise to the occasion, scoring a classic poacher's goal. I like this. When Rooney is off, Tevez takes up the slack. There is a lot of scoring redundancy on this team.

By the way, I still think Arsenal flatters to deceive. They didn't look all that great against an injury depleted Chelsea. I still think Chelsea is the chief rival to United. Don't get me wrong, as I like how Arsenal play and Wenger is a fantastic coach. I just think they don't have dig in the dirt grit, especially when playing a top opponent. The certainly can move the ball nicely, but I am not convinced of their forwards scoring consistently against top defenses.

Abedayor and Van Persie are okay, but not enough in my book.

Damn! A slight setback today, especially as Arsenal again flattered to deceive.



Actually, Arsenal showed a lot of class in beating an Everton team that poured it on in terms of strength, grit, and commitment. The gunners do have enough raw talent that will see them beat most EPL teams that aren't at top 4 level.

United need to get a replacement for Roy Keane. Period. Brilliant as Cristiano is, he is not the type to consistently take charge and lead. Once this happens, United can dominate like they did in their 90s and early 00's run.

mate, United need an out-and-out striker. Also, Ferguson must change this 4-5-1 formation he has become obsessed with. It's the formation suited for a draw whereas United should be going out to places lik WH to win. ALSO, WH are not Sunderland. Recent history says that you should take your best team there because they love to give it all against United. Ferguson decided to rest Rooney and Carrick today!!! Couldn't he have done that against Birmingham next week?

Anyhow, long way to go. Berbatov would be a great addition in January as Saha is not good enough, but still not the total striker United really needs.

I agree with you on the need for 2 pure strikers, which United have in Rooney and Tevez. This is armament enough to play a 4-4-2, using the other forwards as needed.

But, what really is needed is a play making, ball winning enforcer in the middle. Keane never was replaced in this role. Cristiano is an improvisational and creative force, somebody who needs to be complemented by the latter type of player. Scholes and Giggs are tired legs who can't anymore. Guys like Evra and so are still young and emerging, if indeed they ever will reach world class status.

Get that midfielder and this team could seriously challenge for the CL, let alone the EPL.

I think Anderson is supposed to be that midfielder. He has a good engine but he hasn't learnt the ways of English football yet. In a couple of years he has the potential to be just the ticket.

It's very hard to criticise Ferguson seeing what he has achieved in the last 15 years at United. But some of his decisions still leave the fans scratching their heads!

The pieces are coming together. Besides, United after all are defending EPL champions. They are within striking distance of 1st place currently. The roster is filled with top players. Fans can't quibble too much.

I do have to give some credit to Arsenal, who are starting to look like a decent outfit. I still think they are overachieving, but they have an excellent strike force: Da Silva, Van Persie, Bendtner, Adebayor, and Walcott backed by Rosicky, Fabregas, Flamini, and Hleb are no slouches. Plus, they do try to play attractive and attacking football.

But, try as they might and good as they are, I just don't think the whole is greater than the sum of the parts with Arsenal. United had them pinned in their last match, where Arsenal got somewhat lucky to get a draw.

We'll see. I could be wrong, but I'm still sticking with United as probable winner this year.

Reports in England today are suggesting Berbatov will leave Spurs to join Manchester United this January. We'll know more in the next couple of weeks or so.

I would love to get Berbatov, especially now that Tevez might be hurt.

FOR SALE - LIVERPOOL FC (plus fixtures & fittings)


We are instructed on behalf of our clients Messrs Gilett & Hicks to offer for sale Liverpool Football Club, also known as 'Liverpool Reds'. The opportunity to purchase this franchise is quite unique as this type of opportunity only comes along once every six months or so.

Liverpool FC has a long history of association with the city of Liverpool although most of its core support nowadays comes from Norway, indeed the tea bar at the Kop is the only one at a UK football ground to accept Kroner.

The league championship has been won on many occasions and there are still several old age pensioners on Merseyside who can remember the last occasion this prestigious honour was won by the club.

Plans have been drawn for a new stadium, but these have since been downgraded to a smaller stadium and it is hoped that the new owners will not downgrade too much because architect's drawing are not cheap and it may not be possible to fund the commissioning of another set of drawings, although we should point out that Beryl who cleans the Kemlyn Road stand toilets on match days has a grandson with a CSE in art, and she thinks that with a bottle of Tippex and a HB pencil he could re-vamp the plans and come up with a good drawing because he did a very good sketch of Jordan the other day, although in fairness he did just trace around a picture of her head and t*ts that was in The Sun, and anyway we all thought the moustache suited her.

Several parts of the ground are deteriorating badly, in particular the pitch, which for some reason only allows two players to play well. This clearly leads to unbalanced play in the team, however the current owners intend to sell Gerrard and Torres before the club is sold so that will guarantee a more even level of play in the team.

The sale of the club will include the club coach, which is unique in that the suspension was reinforced several years ago to enable the coach to travel at 50 MPH while carrying Sammy Lee. The boot of the coach contains several items of club memorabilia including a set of golf clubs owned by Craig Bellamy, although some of these are damaged. There is also an electronic tag which was once worn by Jermaine Pennant and several used syringes that were once the property of Robbie Fowler The coach interior is in extremely good condition and the upholstery has benefited from manager Rafa Benitez's rotation policy, no player has ever sat in the same seat twice.

The sale of the club also includes the club bar although this is now empty due to a visit from Jamie Carragher's father. The trophy cabinet is also included in the sale, although there is uncertainty as to whether the key still fits the lock, Jermaine Pennant's father however has offered to pick the lock if the key doesn't work.

Also included is a VHS video player from the director's lounge and several VHS video tapes, some of these tapes were made in Amsterdam and feature Andriy Voronin in 'action' (wink wink, you know what I'm saying!)

Also included are the Shankly Gates, together with a statue of Bill Shankly with arms outstretched as he was being frisked just before being arrested for his part in the Shanklygate affair that the gates commemorate.

Bidding is starting at just 99p and there is no reserve on this auction. There is no going back on the final bid, the owners are keen to dispose of this franchise quickly and the new owner will be required to step in straight away to take over the administration of the club, this may also include team selection as it is likely the manager will not be at the club much longer.

Please feel free to ask any questions...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=220193111286

Why not invite Mike Huckabee's son to hang his second dog on the pitch, for yanking up the price?

Tottenham!!!

Are a joke of a club.

They've already released a DVD of the semi final game.

8 years it took them.

Are a joke of a club.

When measured to financial means available compared to other clubs as well?

No just performance on the pitch, where it really counts.

Come on, they been up there despite being the inherent underdog team. Has been my fav english team almost since Lineker but definitely since when they landed Ginola and stayed rooting for it since they left.
None perhaps the most genious players but sufficient flamboyant without it appearing as supraficial.
And it's no surprise that the film "Fever Pitch" about a wacky fan was about an arses fan