The Football Thread - Season 2013/2014

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dinners said:
After the farce that was Thiago and Fabregas, United are today being linked with Ozil. I'd be over the moon but I really can't see that happening.
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I'd be amazed if that happened.
 
The23rdman said:
I'd be amazed if that happened.
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Same here.

If Rooney goes then at least Kagawa should finally get to play in the position that saw him win Bundesliga Football Player of the Year with Dortmund. Ozil would kind of hinder that. I'd also like to see more of Januzaj.

Given our continued weak central midfield I think Fellaini would be a decent option even if he's not that 'marquee' sighning some people seem to crave.
 
dinners said:
Same here.

If Rooney goes then at least Kagawa should finally get to play in the position that saw him win Bundesliga Football Player of the Year with Dortmund. Ozil would kind of hinder that. I'd also like to see more of Januzaj.

Given our continued weak central midfield I think Fellaini would be a decent option even if he's not that 'marquee' sighning some people seem to crave.
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Fellaini is a great player but I'm not sure he's exactly what you need, but, yes, it could mean Kagawa gets to play on position. He could be a key player for you, but you still need more creativity.
 
The23rdman said:
but you still need more creativity.
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What we really need is a carbon copy of Scholes.

Zaha, Nani, Young, Valencia, Kagawa have all been wide options.

Centrally we have Carrick who pretty much runs our team.

If Carrick gets an injury we have Fletcher (who knows what will happen with him) Anderson (who is never fit) Giggs (cough) Cleverley (still not convinced) Jones (make do midfielder) and Powell (is he ready)

Januzaj is a very creative player but it remains to be seen what we're going to do with him.
 
dinners said:
What we really need is a carbon copy of Scholes.

Zaha, Nani, Young, Valencia, Kagawa have all been wide options.

Centrally we have Carrick who pretty much runs our team.

If Carrick gets an injury we have Fletcher (who knows what will happen with him) Anderson (who is never fit) Giggs (cough) Cleverley (still not convinced) Jones (make do midfielder) and Powell (is he ready)

Januzaj is a very creative player but it remains to be seen what we're going to do with him.
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Just like we need a Fowler and Barnes. ;)

Yep, replacing legends is very hard - even Fergie was struggling to do that. I'm interested to see how Moyes copes.
 
The23rdman said:
Just like we need a Fowler and Barnes. ;)

Yep, replacing legends is very hard - even Fergie was struggling to do that. I'm interested to see how Moyes copes.
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Fergie's aversion to signing a central midfielder has been a bone of contention for years. Unless you count Kagawa - Nick Powell is about it since buying Carrick, Hargreaves and Anderson in 2006
 
I can't say that I'm overly bothered. With a decent creative midfielder or two you'd have been unstoppable.
 
I hope Sam decides to play ravel Morrison more this season the guy has been blinding during pre season yes he was a idiot in the past and I think he realised he's in last chance saloon and he has knuckled down now .

Mark
 
Kyodo News are quoting Suarez as saying “I didn’t say that, maybe someone else did and the main thing is that I am here now with the national team” in reference to his decision to stay with Liverpool because of fan support (probably the most laughable reason Martin could have dreamt up!) following Uruguay's victory over Japan.
 
My Tartan Army mates are sending me phone pics of their 'invasion' LOL
 
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We play ... Wales tonight. I can barely contain my excitement ...


:D
 
The coverage on STV has kicked off with The Proclaimers :bonk:

I may have to go into the other room and watch ITV
 
taff63 said:
Transfer news breaking Scott Parker has signed for qpr
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Been rumoured for a while, lots on the twitterspehere apparently, nothing confirmed that I can see.

I'm quite looking forward to the end of the transfer window :)
 
akr said:
Been rumoured for a while, lots on the twitterspehere apparently, nothing confirmed that I can see.

I'm quite looking forward to the end of the transfer window :)
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Surely not consider Huddlestone and Livermore have just left spurs?
 
Mbuti said:
Surely not consider Huddlestone and Livermore have just left spurs?
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Who knows, I'd be surprised, but transfer wise at QPR nothing will really surprise me any more. From his point of view, not sure why he would drop to the championship, other than £££. Staying in London I suppose, but Fulham, Palace, West Ham etc would surely be better options..
 
akr said:
Who knows, I'd be surprised, but transfer wise at QPR nothing will really surprise me any more. From his point of view, not sure why he would drop to the championship, other than £££. Staying in London I suppose, but Fulham, Palace, West Ham etc would surely be better options..
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True, surprised you let Remy go. Although I gather he would probably want a move away. He looked dangerous when you signed him. Just shame he seemed to pick up a couple of knocks.
 
Welbeck.... MOM... really???

Cant understand why we continue to play Hart? Yes, he made a big error but is undisputed no.1, so why not play Ruddy and give him experience? What happens if Hart is sent off, injured, or even has a big loss of form? Crazy!
 
Mbuti said:
True, surprised you let Remy go. Although I gather he would probably want a move away. He looked dangerous when you signed him. Just shame he seemed to pick up a couple of knocks.
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Remy is too good for the Championship, loan suits everyone, plus probably wants to try and get into French sqaud. If he stays fit (I believe since signing he has picked up an injury :D) he could be fantastic for the Geordies. In theory we get him back next year once we are back up :suspect:

cambsno said:
Welbeck.... MOM... really???

Cant understand why we continue to play Hart? Yes, he made a big error but is undisputed no.1, so why not play Ruddy and give him experience? What happens if Hart is sent off, injured, or even has a big loss of form? Crazy!
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I would agree we should give someone else some playing time - Hart is clearly the No1 though.
 
cambsno said:
Welbeck.... MOM... really???

Cant understand why we continue to play Hart? Yes, he made a big error but is undisputed no.1, so why not play Ruddy and give him experience? What happens if Hart is sent off, injured, or even has a big loss of form? Crazy!
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Completely agree. Besides his goal he really made very little contribution. Baines was up and down that wing providing an outlet without putting a foot wrong all game and barely gets a mention. (Or at least they didn't during the 90 minutes. I turned the tv off at the final whistle to spare myself anymore of ITV's and Adrian Chiles' coverage!)

Delighted for Lambert. I was very pleased to hear he'd got his chance and said to my friend as he was readying himself on the touchline he's exactly the type of guy to step up and make the most of an opportunity like this. A couple of minutes later he bangs one in with his first touch. Fantastic!

Who knows what was going through the linesman's mind for Rooney's goal. I thought he'd seen some other incident when he raised his flag because Rooney was so comfortably onside!
 
Delighted with the England win or at least delighted not to have lost as I'd have had to go into hiding for the next few weeks.
 
pooley said:
Never said there was anything wrong with him, its debuting a 31 year old I have an issue with.
Maybe we could have used one of those involved in the 6-0 last night, or is that a bit too much like forward thinking?
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What's your issue with 31 :thinking:

2016 / 2018 is a different thing altogether but I'm not so sure 'forward thinking' is the name of the game for a World Cup that's just around the corner.

Lambert scores a good variety of goals and I get the impression he'd give evrything to get into an England World Cup squad. As I said the other day, if he has another good season then he's a serious option so it makes sense to be giving him match time.
 
Could be a useful 'super sub'

The Ireland-Wales game proved to be utterly pointless. As expected. And goalless. Oh well, it's another unbeaten game for Trap.
 
dinners said:
What's your issue with 31 :thinking:

2016 / 2018 is a different thing altogether but I'm not so sure 'forward thinking' is the name of the game for a World Cup that's just around the corner.

Lambert scores a good variety of goals and I get the impression he'd give evrything to get into an England World Cup squad. As I said the other day, if he has another good season then he's a serious option so it makes sense to be giving him match time.
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My only issue with '31' is I'll never see it again :thumbsdown:

There seem to be a fair amount of Ostrich syndrome going on here, so lets just all agree that Lambert will win us the world cup, and provide a clear pathway for all the youngsters to get their opportunities so when the next Euros and World cups come around we have the right experience to mount a serious challenge.:thinking:
 
If we were giving debuts to 8 players aged 31 then I'd agree with you about a lack of forward thinking and the blocking of youth but we're talking about one player in a specific position that deserves to be considered on merit. I'd say that's less Ostrich like than blindly ruling him out.

I don't think anybody is saying that Lambert will win the World Cup for England - just that his age isn't an issue for this World Cup and if he continues to perform this season it's important that he gains some experience in and around the squad before World Cup selection.
 
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So if we can agree that Lambert isn't going to win the world cup for us, then what possible use can there be in using him?

I really don't have anything personal against him, but do you really think that the likes of Spain and Germany would be tinking the same way as you are? If he was the final icing on the cake of a team that could mount a serious challenge for the trophy then his age wouldn't be an issue, but he's not. At best he's an impact substitute in a team that might be good enough to get to the quarters if the draw goes in our favour.

I honestly can't see the benefit in taking him, and its attitudes like this that are one of the reasons we are no longer considered a threat by the established top nations
 
pooley said:
So if we can agree that Lambert isn't going to win the world cup for us, then what possible use can there be in using him?
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That's a pretty weak statement. If you're serious then what possible use can any single English player be ?

I've already stated why he should be in the squad at this point in time.

He is playing week in week out against Premier league opposition and was the 2nd highest scoring English player in the Premier League despite not playing for a top club.

The above is a stronger case for consideration or inclusion than exclusion due to his age given that he's probably one of a few players competing for the 4th pick.
 
I understand that you're thinking about the long term future of the England football team.

It's just that you haven't really made a particulary strong case for why Lambert shouldn't be getting the opportunity to prove himself within the England set up as it stands on the eve of a World Cup.

I completely agree with what you say here....

"At best he's an impact substitute in a team that might be good enough to get to the quarters if the draw goes in our favour".

.....because we should have somebody that can perform that role given where we are right now.

When the Euro's are 2 years away and the World Cup 4 years away (the minute the World Cup is over or if we fail to qualify) we should turn to youth and stick with it.
 
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pooley said:
So if we can agree that Lambert isn't going to win the world cup for us, then what possible use can there be in using him?

I really don't have anything personal against him, but do you really think that the likes of Spain and Germany would be tinking the same way as you are? If he was the final icing on the cake of a team that could mount a serious challenge for the trophy then his age wouldn't be an issue, but he's not. At best he's an impact substitute in a team that might be good enough to get to the quarters if the draw goes in our favour.

I honestly can't see the benefit in taking him, and its attitudes like this that are one of the reasons we are no longer considered a threat by the established top nations
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Well the likes of wickham will hardly win it for us either. You should pick the best players available regardless of age and up front we are short.

Aside from Sturridge and welbeck what young strikers do we have who are playing regularly and scoring goals?
 
If we're talking about age then surely it's time to pension old Stevie G off. What'll he be at the next World Cup, 34? Seems like sentimentality keeping him him in the squad.
 
Stevie G can offer the experience though. Like Lambert, he can still do the business on the pitch, but unlike Lambert he has the stature to bring on and guide the younger players around being on the international scene. Its all about getting the right mix, so when the next set of qualifiers come round we hit the ground running, instead of having to start all over again, and immediately putting the pressure on the young' uns.

If we throw in the youngsters straight into the next set of qualifiers with no prior experience, then all we're doing is going back to square 1, whilst all the nations with a bit of nous pull futher away.

Put simply, we cannot and will not win the world cup in 2014, no matter which players we send, so make the most of a bad situation, take a mix of the next generation along with the mid-career players like Walcott and some experienced players like Stevie G and give them a taste of tournament life. There will probably be about 5-6 players in the squad who won't see any playing time, its the same for each team. A 31 year old substitute newcomer is completely the wrong player to be on the plane.
 
pooley said:
A 31 year old substitute newcomer is completely the wrong player to be on the plane.
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Whilst I largely agree with your sentiment about moving on to a new generation, a player who can score goals is precisely the type of player to be on the plane. Let's face it, Rooney has barely delivered a thing for England and there isn't exactly much other talent out there. If Lambert can take the chances when they come then his age and experience is utterly irrelevant. If yesterday, and indeed last season, showed us anything it's that he is that type of player.

As long as Roy's in charge we'll never see a new-age England side. As much as I like the man, he's about as old school, traditional and one dimensional as managers come. As soon as football moved on from the old flat banks of a 4-4-2 to the now standard 4-2-3-1, with players operating between 'strata', he's looked lost and left behind.
 
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