Right, instead of a yearly thread (which only got to like 12 pages), let's just have a permanent soccer/association football/futsal thread. FOCUS: Everything soccer/association football/futsal related. Transfers, gossip, news, etc.. Have at it. Also, if anyone is participating in any free fantasy leagues, post that info here if you want any TiBers/TiBettes to join it. Or if you want to start one specifically for TiBers/TiBettes, which I might do if I get a big enough response.
So I'll kickstart this. What the fuck is going on at Arsenal? All these promises of signings and only Yaya Sanogo has signed and Joel Campbell apparently wants to go on loan again. At least Squillaci, Arshavin and Denilson are gone, as is Djourou (Hamburg again on loan), but Bendtner is still there... Also, how fast is Ryo?!
Ryo is fast as fuck: Arsenal signings... man, I don't even know. Higuain fell through (if it was ever on to begin with), Suarez is falling through (if it was ever etc etc). At this rate it'll be nobody. At least Sanogo looks like he'll eventually be quality.
Yes. Yes, he is. I hope that with Arshavin now gone that he will get some game time. There were never any signings. It was all smoke and mirrors, just what I expected from that greedy bastard Gazidis.
Really? No-one has *any* interest in playing a free fantasy soccer game? Wow. So Arsenal have 11 players out injured. Good times. Again. #pleasesignsomeone
So, the first managerial firing of this season has to be Wenger. Months to prepare, time to recruit, money to spend, 24 players out, one player in and a 3-1 loss at home to Aston Villa, who finished 15th, on the opening day of the season. Pretty sure now that Fenerbahce will knock Arsenal out in the Champions League qualifiers. Also, no time now to recruit a decent manager to take over. Thanks Arsene, you've fucked over all the fans.
I think Wenger has been at it so long that he's just so deep into his own head that he can't see the forest for the trees. Now the wheels have come off, The Gunners looked listless. Happy with 3 points for Liverpool. Its always nice to win an opener, no matter the competition. Lot of action for only a 1-0 outcome. Mignolet looked sharp, especially on the double save on the penalty, though he was saved by the crossbar once or twice. Though Liverpool also hit the woodwork a bit. It would be amazing if they can somehow snag Willian from Anzhi. That would be a stacked attack.
That was my thought yesterday about Arsene, too. Apparently, AFC are now being linked with Gourcuff. I like him as a player, but I'm not sold on why we need him - we have enough attack-minded central midfielders, what we need is a good DM (someone like M'Vila, Essien, Carrick, etc.). I was hoping they'd tie up Flamini since he's free and was reported to be training with the team and would be an ideal fit for that role (not to mention he used to play there so knows the club). And now today there's reports of Michu being linked for £25m - probably about £5m too much for a player with only 1 seasons' experience in the PL. Arsenal could get both Michu and Gourcuff for £37m or so, but defensive reinforcements are also urgently required, including a new bench goalkeeper. As for Liverpool, I thought they played really well. Mignolet is a great goalkeeper (the penalty save was excellent, as was the save immediately after) and a much better long-term choice for the club than Pepe Reina. I think Pepe will be sold after his loan with Napoli ends, possibly to Napoli if Benitez does well and stays there as manager for next season. Willian is a good player but not sure if he's worth the rumoured £30m fee. Aspas also looks like a good buy - can't see Borini getting in the starting XI unless injuries and/or suspensions take their toll. Coutinho looked even more sharp and inventive than last season - he was an excellent buy imo.
Ramsay was pretty solid over the weekend in a defensive midfield role. There's a good article on his performance here if you've got the time to read it. Man United Vs Chelsea tomorrow, which such be an awesome fixture, and also has the interesting subplot of Rooney's transfer movements between the two clubs.
Yes, that was a pretty good article on him vs. Fulham, but he also played really well (and scored) in the away leg of the Champions league qualifier against Fenerbahce - he's more effective as an attacking midfielder in my opinion but we lack anyone else in the DM position at the moment, aside from Frimpong who is a bit inexperienced. We had Coquelin, who I think could develop into an excellent DM but he was loaned out again - he has much more experience than Frimpong. There were rumours about Flamini re-signing but I haven't seen any concrete proof of that yet. Re. Rooney - if he signs for Chelsea, they will win the league. Their midfield is much more creative than MUFC's - Mata is individually better and more consistent than Nani or Valencia, not to mention Oscar and Lampard > Anderson and Fletcher. Rooney will score a LOT if he moves to Chelsea.
He won't. Chelsea will probably make another offer after tonight's game, but there's no way United will sell Rooney to Chelsea, let alone any club in the EPL. Chelsea are already looking into Eto instead. It was great watching City lose to Cardiff last night.
Mackay's cardiff did well yesterday against City. Hull also won recently - was it this weekend or last? I think now all of the promoted teams have won a match already, so early into the season. I think it'll be very tight between the lower-end teams - Stoke could find themselves in trouble if Hughes doesn't get them scoring goals, and fast. Obviously, I would be ecstatic if Stoke went down, just because that cunt Shawcross still plays for them. Classless team with classless fans. I can't believe Mourinho didn't start Mata against MUFC. What was he thinking? You can't leave a player of Mata's quality on the bench in an important early season game like this. I heard it was a dull draw (but that Rooney and Terry played well for their teams). Now the denials are coming out about Di Maria... Hahaha. I pity the fools who thought AFC would pay that kind of money (£28m +) for a player. I simply don't see it happening. Also, Fellaini would have made more sense than Di Maria, since AFC are in more desperate need of a box-to-box midfielder that can make tackles and pass reasonably well.
Rooney had a motor all game. Like he was either auditioning extra hard for Mourinho or trying to prove himself to Moyes, either way, spirited effort. Terry was a rock in the back. But otherwise, not a lot of good chances, Chelsea seemed content with a draw. Just an overall disappointing game
Out of the newly promoted teams, Crystal Palace are yet to get a point. Going on their first three games, it seems Mata isn't going to figure strongly in Mourinho's plans. Last night 6 midfielders got a run for Chelsea whilst he sat on the bench. On top of that they have Essien, and Willian will arrive at the club this week. The current rumors for Mata's short term future include a loan spell at Atletico, and United have also shown interest
Ramsey is playing with a solid head on his shoulders, I really like the look of him this season. There's no tentativeness about his play, and he looks assured and mature in the midfield. There's a distinct absence of the fumbling around in the final third which was a hallmark of so many Arsenal players last year. Not to make too much of two matches, but it's definitely encouraging.
But Crystal Palace has been competitive in both. I picked them for relegation solely because they weren't even top 4 in the Championship last year, so struggles are expected. I've always had a soft spot for them for some reason (hottie cheerleaders don't hurt), so I'd like to see them pull it together. Bit surprised at Swansea so far, lost to two good sides to be sure, but didn't look particularly sharp in either. I'm gonna enjoy watching Cardiff City the rest of the season though, Frazier Campbell is electric, and, as an LFC fan, its good to see Bellamy playing well in his element.
They also lost their best attacker to United, so that will make things more difficult. Definite regulation for me. Ramsay continued his good form with a double against Fenerbahce last night, meaning Arsenal have qualified for the UCL.
I don't think Palace realistically expect to stay up, but Ian Holloway will *always* send his team out to attack - they won't sit back and die in games like Reading did last season. I may be biased here but Chamakh is one of the more talented forwards playing nearer the perceived bottom of the league (the others being Frazier Campbell and Bellamy - Campbell used to play for Manchester United. I bet Moyes wishes he had Campbell instead of Welbeck). Ramsey did well last night and has been playing really well recently. I'm worried about Podolski's hamstring - any time a player has to be stretchered off usually indicates a serious problem, just what Arsenal need with an already threadbare squad. Oh, and Özil and di Maria both said today that they want to fight for their places at Real Madrid - I can't see any new players coming in. If that does come to pass, Wenger must be replaced next season for simply failing to do his job effectively - he's had 2+ months to recruit new players and nothing has been forthcoming. It's getting ridiculous now.
So Palace got their first win yesterday, 3-1 over Sunderland, at Selhurst Park. Sunderland didn't play well - Di Canio has his work cut out, particularly in sorting out their midfield because they were invisible yesterday. Palace were superb on the counter-attack - Dikgacoi in particular was excellent at breaking up Sunderland's attacks and Gayle and Puncheon looked very good on the counter-attacks that resulted. Delaney was also quite solid in defence. Sunderland only started to threaten when Steven Fletcher came on in the second half. As for the North London derby, Arsenal beat Spurs 1-0, Giroud again. I wish people would criticise him a bit less now - he's obviously worked hard on his finishing and his ability to get into space. That said, Tottenham put Arsenal under real pressure for much of the last twenty minutes of the match when Dembele (who was surprisingly quiet) came off for Defoe. It was more of a lucky three points for the Gunners than 3 points wasted by Spurs... Oh, Newcastle beat Fulham 1-0 and the goal by Ben Arfa was a fucking blinder - the Fulham keeper Stockdale had no chance. I also have had no chance of finding a decent quality video of it yet.
So, this just happened. Wow. Still, one great player means now Arsenal is only 5 great players short of a good squad. Still very short on numbers...