Official European Football 2008/2009 Thread

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:57 am

Not as fancy as the offseason topic, but it'll do. I'm not going to bother and post all the venues of every team in Europe, forgive me for that.

Anyway, anyone watched the Champions League qualifier games last night? Twente played pretty well against Arsenal but lost anyway, and I heard Liverpool was nearly beaten by Belgium side Standard the Liege. All in all, Liverpool's not safe yet, but Arsenal are ready to play in the Champions League; I don't see Twente winning at least 2-0 in the Emirates. And this time, Arsenal can probably field a midfield with an avarage age older than 20.

In somewhat related news, I heard Lampard signed a new and improved contract at Stamford Bridge, which will keep him there for 5 more years. This should make an end to transfer speculations.

Juice · Post by **Juice** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:14 am

all the results from the third qualifying round for the CL

First leg :

Fiorentina - Slavia 2-0
Sparta - Panathinaikos 1-2
Juventus - Artmedia 4-0
Spartak Moskva - Dynamo Kyiv 1-4
Levski - BATE 0-1
Shakhtar - Dinamo Zagreb 2-0
Anorthosis - Olympiacos 3-0
AaB - Kaunas 2-0
Galatasaray - Steaua 2-2
Brann - Marseille 0-1
Schalke - Atl

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:15 am

Twente dudes must feel embarassed that they couldn't crack the youngest and most lightweight midfield ever fielded. Ramsey, Wilshere and Walcott are literally the size of a peanuts.... combined.

let's predict stuff and look completely stupid by the end of this season.

Spain top 4

Real
Villareal
Barcalona (lol)
Atletico

ts: Aguero

England top 4

Arsenal (

)
Manyoo
Chelsea
.........Tottenham

ts: Adebayor (cunt)

Italy top 4

Inter (yawn)
Juventus
Roma
Milan

ts: Tooti Fruity

Germany top 3

Bayern
Werder
Stuttgart

ts: Klose

France top 3

Lyon
Bordeaux
Marseille

ts: whoever Lyon plays up-front.

CL Final:

Real Madrid - Inter (Mourinho)
Winna: Real Madrid

CL ts: Ibrahimovic

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:29 am

I don't know if you watched the game, but Twente played a lot better than Arsenal, especially the first half. It's just that the topscorer the past few years was absent, and the substitute has only scored once in the first team (ok, he's only 19 and talented, but still). Especially the midfield was overtaken with the quick football Arsenal likes to play. Also, the central defenders had no problems with Adebayor and Van Persie in the first half.

I'm not a Twente fan, but I was suprised to see them play so well. As far as predictions go:

England:

Manchester Utd.
Chelski
Liverpool
Tottenham
Arsenal

Spain:

Real Madrid
Barcelona
Villareal
Valencia

Italy:

Inter Milan
AC Milan
AS Roma
Fiorentina
Juventus

France:

Olympique Lyonnais
....
....
...
...
random team

Holland:

Ajax
PSV
Twente
AZ
Feyenoord

I'm also particulary interested in your opinions about Dutch football. We call ourselves the Mickey Mouse Competition (name courtesy of Louis van Gaal) for obvious reasons, but nevertheless it's a fun league.

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:09 am

We looked terrible. We're always lazy when playing "small" clubs in their country. Not impressed, but we won a game 2-0 where we played pretty bad. That's the stuff winning-teams are made of. The 5-man midfield was obviously a smart tactic, just not enough. I almost went to Holland since the flight is cheap, but knowing the midfield we would show up with I decided to pass.

Y@K already owes me a pint for predicting Tottnumb to finish 4th instead of Arsenal. Are you willing to make the same mistake?

I see lots of Eresdivision on Eurogoals. I support Feyenoord if I had to pick a team. As far as the PSV/Ajax rivalry I'm partial to Ajax because I love Amsterdam and their kluivert-Seedorf-Winter era.

BTW, I pm'd Poppa to sticky this and unsticky the other thread.

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:32 am

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:We looked terrible. We're always lazy when playing "small" clubs in their country. Not impressed, but we won a game 2-0 where we played pretty bad. That's the stuff winning-teams are made of. The 5-man midfield was obviously a smart tactic, just not enough. I almost went to Holland since the flight is cheap, but knowing the midfield we would show up with I decided to pass.

Y@K already owes me a pint for predicting Tottnumb to finish 4th instead of Arsenal. Are you willing to make the same mistake?

I see lots of Eresdivision on Eurogoals. I support Feyenoord if I had to pick a team. As far as the PSV/Ajax rivalry I'm partial to Ajax because I love Amsterdam and their kluivert-Seedorf-Winter era.

BTW, I pm'd Poppa to sticky this and unsticky the other thread.

No, I wouldn't. Arsenal is my favourite Premier League team as well, and I hope they do well, but it seems that Wenger only focusses on very young talents. When Van Persie and Adebayor are your most experienced players as Arsenal, something is wrong. Fabregas is an amazing player though, and I have high expectations for Merida as well.

Suprised to see you'd pick Feyenoord. Ajax and AZ compare the best to Arsenal when you look at the playstyle. Feyenoord is no-nonsense, hard working steez whereas ajax and az love to play technical football. Also, the main rivalry would be Ajax/Feyenoord, but since PSV is superior in Holland for the last 4 years, that might be the reason you view it in a different light as the Dutch do.

Anyway, I can't wait for the next season.

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:47 am

I stayed in Den Haag for a while (Int. Law School

) with Feyenoord supporters, and figured I'd join their crowd. I like some of their individual players too.

ROFL 2 Overmars returning, is his Go Ahead Eagles team any good?

Gallas, Toure, Rosicky and Sagna are experienced. Fabregas certainly is too, by now. We'll buy another experienced player for the central mid too.

Merida is forgotten at this point. Wilshere and Ramsey are the stars-to-be by now. I predict England NT to be dominated by Arsenal players by 2012 (if the Earth doesn't dissolve.) Lansbury, Randall, Gibbs, G Houte, Emmanuel-Thomas, Walcott, Wilshere and Sanchez Watt looks to have what it takes. Not to mention what's coming up from the u18 team.

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:50 am

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:
Gallas

yeah, experienced at being a complete knob

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:02 am

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:I stayed in Den Haag for a while (Int. Law School ) with Feyenoord supporters, and figured I'd join their crowd. I like some of their individual players too.

ROFL 2 Overmars returning, is his Go Ahead Eagles team any good?

Nope, not at all. Overmars recently played in the "Team Jaap Stam" versus Ajax where he crazed out right back Ogararu. Overmars has like 40 million euro's and doesn't have to do anything ever again, but Go Ahead is the team that gave him the chance in professional football. They think he still has what it takes to play in the Dutch first division, and his club love persuaded him to join again, after a 4 year hiatus.

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:Gallas, Toure, Rosicky and Sagna are experienced. Fabregas certainly is too, by now. We'll buy another experienced player for the central mid too.

Merida is forgotten at this point. Wilshere and Ramsey are the stars-to-be by now. I predict England NT to be dominated by Arsenal players by 2012 (if the Earth doesn't dissolve.) Lansbury, Randall, Gibbs, G Houte, Emmanuel-Thomas, Walcott, Wilshere and Sanchez Watt looks to have what it takes. Not to mention what's coming up from the u18 team.

Not a fan of Sagna. I think he's a fruitbasket. England has way too many foreigners in their league though, makes it too hard for young talent to play at a high level and get more experienced, so half the names you just posted up probably won't ever play for the English team.

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:21 am

I believe they will. Look at Bentley for instance. England can't afford to not give these guys chances, a lot of them will tear up the Championship on loan-spells too.

I don't like Gallas either, but hes a world-class defender when he wants to be.

Sagna is the real deal. You could cut your skin on his elbows and he works like an ox. One of the toughest dudes in the prem and easily a top5-right-now right-back.

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:25 am

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:I believe they will. Look at Bentley for instance. England can't afford to not give these guys chances, a lot of them will tear up the Championship on loan-spells too.

I don't like Gallas either, but hes a world-class defender when he wants to be.

Sagna is the real deal. You could cut your skin on his elbows and he works like an ox. One of the toughest dudes in the prem and easily a top5-right-now right-back.

Really?

Maybe I should observe him more during Arsenal games then.

The 6+5 rule should happen as soon as possible.

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:55 am

Hes been in Ligue 1s team of the season for three consecutive years and he was in the Prems team of the season, his debut year. Not many can walk right in a top-flight team in a much better league and play the role to perfection. Him being our best defensive header at 175cm says a lot about how tough he is (and how shitty Gallas/Toure are at it).

Our song for him is great too
"Sagna, whooooa
he came from Auxerre
he has stupid hair
Sagna, Whooooa"

I think the best players should play for the best teams. Simple as that. Should an Englishman have the advantage over an Angolan kid? Does the English kid not have enough advantages already? (better grounds, better coaches, better equipment, better over-all living conditions.)

The English players are simply not good enough and it's their own fault. If the rule is activated every single decent English player will play for Chelski/Man Yank/Litterpool as they are the only ones to afford it. You'll have a lot of Darren Bents going for more than 16 million quid.

England has to decide: do we want to have the best club-teams in the world by far, or do we want to get a decent national team by implementing subtle racism in our league.

Sideways · Post by **Sideways** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:18 pm

The problem with the English national team isn't really anything with foreigners in the league - its more to do with the basic mentality and approach to the game at the grassroots level. Kids of 8 or 9 years old are playing on pitches too big for them, and encouraged to play percentage football to win meaningless games rather than hone their skills. Too much emphasis is placed on the physical side of the game rather than technique. Its why the EPL is the fastest and most exciting league to watch, but also the most technically incompetent. If England want to produce more world class players we need to totally change our way of thinking about the game....

Anyway - my predictions

Chelski
Man U
Arse
L'Pool
Villa
Spurs

Don't really watch enough of the other leagues to comment but it'll be interesting to see how Mourinho gets on at Inter and I'd like Guardiola to do well at Barca cos he was a dope player.

Also - Overmars is a rudeboy. When he was on his game at his peak he was more or less unplayable. Its cool to see him back....

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:14 pm

Im gonna make a bold prediction: Chelsea are finishing no higher than 3rd. Hear me out....

1. Scolari is an unproven European club manager. Infact, he's never managed in Europe on a club level. Granted, his successes with Gremio and Palmerias in South America were impressive, but it's a completely different ball-game on this side. The player structure is vastly different, the skill levels arent on the same chart (i.e. you could never take a team of 11 workhorses with your imprint on them and win the Premiership with them like he did at Gremio) and the press are that more vicious (remember, this was the guy that turned down the England job previously because he feared he couldnt handle the media pressure).
Even at an international level, he failed to get his teams to perform consistently against lesser opponents, which is something you absolutely have to do if you're gonna challenge for the Premiership. Now the obvious counter to that is that he didn't have the same selections for each game. But the same is true of the Premiership. It's unlikely you're gonna field the side who played Liverpool against Sunderland. And it's picking up draws and losses in those crappy little games which can ruin your campaign.

2. The Midfield Issue. Frank Lampard, Deco, Michael Ballack and likely another high profile attacking midfielder that they'll sign before the deadline. I haven't the slightest clue how this is supposed to work, in either terms of tactics or chemistry. You certainly can't play them all at the same time considering you still need space for a holding player or two such as Essien and Obi Mikkel and players of that sort of profile don't work in a rotation system. It would only work if 1 or 2 are willing to sit on the bench for periods of time, which is unlikely given the egos of a cunt like Ballack, Deco and Chelsea's loyalty to Lampard.

3. Drogba is a mental breakdown waiting to happen. Under an ultra-supportive mentoring coach like Mourinho, Drogba excelled. Under a more hard-line Avram Grant and Henk ten Cate, he started acting up. Scolari makes the latter 2 look like Kevin Keegan. There is a major bust-up waiting to happen here. Same goes for Anelka. And if Anelka, Drogba and Shevchenko are all playing like shite, who's left? Kalou and Pizarro?

4. Their defense is as shaky as ever. Dont get me wrong, Terry and Carvalho work well together and are top 3 in terms of Premiership defensive duos. The only problem is Varvalho is a year older, has a history of ligament damage and John Terry wasn't exactly ironman last season. We've seen what's happened in the past when one of them has been injured, their entire team seems to crumble. Alot may hinge on the progress of Branislav Ivanović who looks to be quite handy but has yet to play for the team. I'm very high on the addition of Jos

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 1:34 pm

Req wrote:
plz do not up this post next April if United are in 5th place 20pts back and out of all cups, thnx

I know I will.

My Manc friends all seem to think that this is Fergies masterplan [beating Liverpool].

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:21 pm

Req wrote:Lolz@Alex, who the fuck buys Brazillian defenders?

You lost all credibilty right here my man.

Req · Post by **Req** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:55 pm

Yohan wrote:
Req wrote:Lolz@Alex, who the fuck buys Brazillian defenders?
You lost all credibilty right here my man.

LOL, name me one world-class Brazillian centre-half. The only one who even comes close is Lucio. If he can recover from his injuries, maybe Juan.... maybe.

Give me Nemanja Vidic anyday.

RacquetballGangsta · Post by **RacquetballGangsta** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:48 pm

leeverpewl are awesome!

avalanche · Post by **avalanche** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:04 pm

Comedy Quaddafi wrote:
let's predict stuff and look completely stupid by the end of this season.

Spain top 4

Real
Barcalona
Atletico
Villareal

ts: van Horse Face

England top 4

Chelsea
ManU
Arsenal
Tottenham

ts: Tevez

Italy top 4

Internazionale (

)
Milan
Juventus
Roma

ts: Adriano

Germany top 3

Bayern
Werder
Schalke

ts: Klose

France top 3

Lyon
some crappy team
some other crappy team

ts: whoever Lyon plays up-front.

CL Final:

Chelsea - Internazionale
Winner: Internazionale

CL ts: Torres

Yohan · Post by **Yohan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:04 am

Req wrote:
Yohan wrote:
Req wrote:Lolz@Alex, who the fuck buys Brazillian defenders?
You lost all credibilty right here my man.
LOL, name me one world-class Brazillian centre-half. The only one who even comes close is Lucio. If he can recover from his injuries, maybe Juan.... maybe.

Give me Nemanja Vidic anyday.

Daniel Alves maybe? Nah, that's a wing back but still a defender. Anyway, I agree that Brazil don't have the absolute killer defense Italy has, but Alex is a very very good defender, especially when paired with Terry. They'll eat you alive.

Req · Post by **Req** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:07 pm

lol you're ALOT higher on Alex than i am.

apparently Arshavin to Spurs is all but said and done. This could spell a domino fall for Berbatov to MUFC to cover the fee and more. There's talk it could be a done deal during the weekend.

Pizarro has been sent out on a season-long loan, surely that means Chelsea are picking up another forward before the deadline.

VideoKilledThe · Post by **VideoKilledThe** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:19 pm

Can someone please explain to me how the fuck does an all-time loser like Bruce Arena keep getting jobs? How many places do you have to fail before people realize you suck?

RacquetballGangsta · Post by **RacquetballGangsta** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:16 am

where's bruce arena now? lol yeah he's a fuckn joke of a coach

just watched the arsenal match..denilson performed like a man possessed
i think he might be a breakout player for arse this year...

VideoKilledThe · Post by **VideoKilledThe** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:37 pm

The Galaxy which while not the most prestigious of coaching spots, is still probably the best place to be in the MLS. He deserves to be unemployed/beaten to death by the millions of USA fans who he tortured for so long.

Belgium ousting Italy this morning was a shocker.

VideoKilledThe · Post by **VideoKilledThe** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:49 pm

As a Liverpool fan I see this season mirroring the last. Struggling greatly in the epl just to stay in the top 4 (mostly due to the fact that we can't create chances outside of Torres and Gerrard) and us throwing everything we have at Champions League. Keane will be a nice addition but not enough to change our fortunes. The defenders we added I am not so sure about.

I suppose I am resigned to the most excitement coming from Gerrard saving a game or two with a signature blast.

Both the home red, and away grey shirts are coppably sweet, but the away european green is just vomit.

Req · Post by **Req** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:32 pm

New Squad announced for the upcoming England games. Absolute dung up front. Rooney doesn't even play on the frontline anymore for the most part.

England squad

Goalkeepers:

David James (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Blackburn), Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Defenders:

Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), John Terry (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), Matthew Upson (West Ham)

Midfielders:

Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), David Bentley (Tottenham),

Strikers:

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth), Emile Heskey (Wigan)

mud · Post by **mud** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:38 pm

No Ashley Young?

Req · Post by **Req** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:52 pm

No Robot Dancer either

[quote]Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch has missed out on a place in the England squad to face Czech Republic on Wednesday, but Emile Heskey has earned a recall.

England manager Fabio Capello was at Upton Park to watch Heskey in action for Wigan on Saturday.

And once West Ham's match-winner Dean Ashton, whose injury curse has struck again, was ruled out, it was the former Liverpool man who got the nod ahead of Crouch, who left Merseyside for Pompey in an

Req · Post by **Req** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:50 pm

a striker, a striker, my kingdom for a striker

The_Kernel · Post by **The_Kernel** » Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:42 pm

Tottenham really baffle me. Last season when their midfield was lacking they go out and splash like 18m on Daren Bent, who hardly gets any games because they already have two excellent strikers. So what do they do this year? Ship out two strikers (well, most likely) leaving them very short up front, but bring in three attacking midfielders (assuming Arshavin comes). There's no way Spurs are breaking into the top 4, and I think Villa have a much better chance of at least getting close in any case, especially if Barry sticks around.

Oh and Chelsea will be top