The Football Thread - Season 2013/2014

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Don't got Sky, and football is for girls

I've heard him on the radio though and although there are some disgraceful accents out there, his is more comical than punch yourself in the head irritating..:)
 
Arsene Wenger says he will spend money but he's just looking for the right player.

That wont please the fans as they also need a left player, a goalkeeper, striker, and a couple of centre backs.


Arsene Wenger says he thinks Arsenal will challenge for the championship.

He's panicking isn't he, They've only lost one game, bit early to be talking of relegation

:D
 
Arsene Wenger says he will spend money but he's just looking for the right player.

That wont please the fans as they also need a left player, a goalkeeper, striker, and a couple of centre backs.

Arsene Wenger says he thinks Arsenal will challenge for the championship.

He's panicking isn't he, They've only lost one game, bit early to be talking of relegation

:D

:lol:
 
It seems quite an odd way to work. :thinking: :lol:

Every time they offer something so low, they just have to say to David Moyes, 'you wouldn't have taken that amount when you were here, why would we take that now?' :shrug: :bonk:

Seems to me Moyes doesn't really know what he wants, he just wants to spend some money to make it look like he's improving the team. Fabregas or Fellaini? What kind of team do you want, because they are totally different players? :shrug:

I suspect there have been a number of targets in different areas. I agree with what you say regarding Baines and Fellaini - you would think Moyes was fairly clued up on that front however whilst Moyes identified the players, the bids are Woodward's doing.
 
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I suspect there have been a number of targets it different areas - however I agree with what you say regarding Baines and Fellaini - you would think Moyes was fairly clued up on that front. I can only imagine Moyes identified the players and the bids are Woodward's doing.

It does look a little like Moyes just wants to sign anyone now to prove he has the pulling power.
 
It does look a little like Moyes just wants to sign anyone now to prove he has the pulling power.

Possibly but who knows.

If the club were insecure enough to feel the need to sign some Marquee player to make some sort of Moyes statement (something they hardly ever did with Fergie anyway) they would have been more bullish in their dealings.

Although United generally bring players in early, Fergie was linked to players every year right up to deadline day and most didn't happen because of meagre offers.
 
That's true enough. Perhaps it's Arsenal's crazy panic bidding that's influencing how I see this. ;)
 
Ok, so here were the rules from last year for the Premier League TP prediction table.

Scoring was as follows:

Correctly predicted in bottom 3 or top 6 - 1 point per team
Correctly predicted in exact place - 3 bonus points per team (does not have to be in bottom 3 or top 6).

All entries in by end of play next Friday 23rd August - I'll then collate into an XLS so I can update the scores easily each week. Will leave it a bit more open as some signings will be made after that date. Feel free to post here, or PM me if you do not wish to reveal your 1-20 in advance of the deadline.

I'd be grateful however you do it to keep to the conventional naming convention, unlike someone last year, as I post these into excel and have scores total by recognising the names, so renaming every team whilst humorous means I have to rename each one! :)

So all I need is your 1-20 in order of finishing places :)

So the doors will shut at the end of this Friday if anyone else wants to enter :thumbs:
 
That's true enough.

I think we're waiting for:

Bale to Madrid

Wiilian to Tottenham

Ronaldo to United.

We'll offer £23m for Ronaldo and then when it's turned down we'll wait a few days and increase our offer to £24m for Ronaldo and Modric :D
 
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you would think Moyes was fairly clued up on that front however whilst Moyes identified the players, the bids are Woodward's doing.

But surely Woodward must consult with Moyes about his value for the players, and you would think, his inside knowledge of Everton. :shrug: Maybe he did, and these bids are the result. If it is, they have both misjudged the situation. :bonk:

If the club were insecure enough to feel the need to sign some Marquee player to make some sort of Moyes statement (something they hardly ever did with Fergie anyway) they would have been more bullish in their dealings

They didn't feel the need to do it with Fergie because he'd been there so long, and mostly had a successful team. Most teams buy a few players when a new manager comes in, though most managers are coming into a failing team, ;) so changes need to be made. It also makes a statement that a new manager is starting to make the team 'his'.

Nearly all teams buy a few players (Arsenal aside ;) :lol:) every summer to improve the team as most teams need improving. It also energises the fans and the players too. :)

Whilst Utd are champions, I don't think even the most blinkered Utd fan thinks they couldn't be improved in some areas. I wonder if for many of them think Fellaini is one they should be going after though. ;) :shrug:
 
But surely Woodward must consult with Moyes about his value for the players, and you would think, his inside knowledge of Everton. :shrug: Maybe he did, and these bids are the result. If it is, they have both misjudged the situation. :bonk:

You'd think so wouldn't you.

It may be an initial offer - it may just be United's valuation based on how much they want them. Who knows.

They didn't feel the need to do it with Fergie because he'd been there so long, and mostly had a successful team. Most teams buy a few players when a new manager comes in, though most managers are coming into a failing team, ;) so changes need to be made. It also makes a statement that a new manager is starting to make the team 'his'.

Nearly all teams buy a few players (Arsenal aside ;) :lol:) every summer to improve the team as most teams need improving. It also energises the fans and the players too. :)

Whilst Utd are champions, I don't think even the most blinkered Utd fan thinks they couldn't be improved in some areas. I wonder if for many of them think Fellaini is one they should be going after though. ;) :shrug:

Never mind blinkered United fans - just about every United fan has been screaming out for years for quality addition/s in centre midfield.

Yes fergie was successful but that was 'despite' having midfield issues for about the last 5 years.

As I said earlier it's been a running Joke with Fergie as (despite being close to so many) he's failed to get anybody of note since Carrick and Hargreaves in 2006.

Fellaini - I think he'd be a good addition to United. Not the 'Marquee' signing the media insists that Moyes needs but he'd do the job.

Not after Arsenal have offered £23m+£1 though. ;) :lol:

LOL
 
So it's reported that Tottenham have accepted a £93m bid for Bale with Coentrao moving to White Hart Lane for £15m as part of the deal.

Part of the deal ?

So is that £78m for Bale or do Real just want to make a £93m world record statement ?
 
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I think we're waiting for:

Bale to Madrid

Wiilian to Tottenham

Ronaldo to United.

We'll offer £23m for Ronaldo and then when it's turned down we'll wait a few days and increase our offer to £24m for Ronaldo and Modric :D

Seems fair. ;)
 
Even before Saturday's game he said he needed to make signings. It's obvious he needs to make signings because the squad is simply too thin to compete in four competitions.

So, as that's the case - He will make signings!
 
That's a Scrivenism if ever there was one. ;)

I almost missed those on the first day of the season....something along the lines of:

"Of course I want Liverpool to win but I've put a tenner on Stoke so it's win win either way. And if Man U lose that'll be icing on the cake and will show old blue nose....Oh wait - he's gone and it's Gollum now...I bet the Toffees are Bitter - or is that the other way round...Suarez is misunderstood and the best player in the world and you'd bite your arm off to have him in your team....no pun intended!.....blah blah blah" :cuckoo:
 
I almost missed those on the first day of the season....something along the lines of:

"Of course I want Liverpool to win but I've put a tenner on Stoke so it's win win either way. And if Man U lose that'll be icing on the cake and will show old blue nose....Oh wait - he's gone and it's Gollum now...I bet the Toffees are Bitter - or is that the other way round...Suarez is misunderstood and the best player in the world and you'd bite your arm off to have him in your team....no pun intended!.....blah blah blah" :cuckoo:

Joe (Liverpool) and me (United) seldom saw eye to eye but it was always good banter.

We had our fair share of ding dongs and despite the 'pedantics' - I miss the Hedge.

He half knew his real ale too.
 
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Ha! Inadvertent - what I was trying to say is that Arsenal will make signings between now and the closing of the window, because they have to.

I've been up late with the baby :bonk: and have listened to Wenger's Fenerbahce presser.

I like Wenger and in some respects I admire his apparent stubbornness but I can't recall him ever sounding so rattled.

The whole 'what's best for Arsenal Football Club' stuff lends itself to the view that the Arsenal manager's job is a financial one. If the books (rather than football) are the basis of his employment then he's doing a good job and taking a lot of stick for doing it.

The Gunners boss was put on the spot about a lack of summer arrivals at the Emirates ahead of tonight’s crucial Champions League tie against Fenerbahce.

Arsenal go into the game on the back of a humiliating 3-1 home defeat by Aston Villa.

And the Frenchman has come under increasing pressure for his failure to make a move in the market, apart from the free transfer arrival of Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew slammed Arsenal for their £12m bid for midfielder Yohan Cabaye on Monday.

But defiant Wenger said he was under no obligation to explain the club’s transfer policy – even to increasingly unsettled fans.

“There is nothing to explain, you know,” he said.

“You have your opinions. First of all, you don’t know what we have done, you don’t know if we did bid, and you have come to a conclusion without knowing everything that has happened.

“It’s quite amazing that all of the people don’t know and yet they always have opinions about things they don’t know.

“I won’t explain to you what happened. It’s not down to me to explain to you everything I do.
 
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Joe (Liverpool) and me (United) seldom saw eye to eye but it was always good banter.

We had our fair share of ding dongs and despite the 'pedantics' - I miss the Hedge.

He half knew his real ale too.

And I still have no idea why he got banned.
 
Just seen a story about why Oxlade-Chamberlain didn't play too much last year, apparently every time he plays over 20 mins, Southampton get £10k. :eek: 13 of his 33 appearances were for less that 20 mins, but Arsenal didn't take into account injury time so got stung a few times. :eek: :lol:

Weird clause to agree to if it's true. :thinking: Clauses for a certain number of games maybe, but not a certain number of minutes. :bonk:

Not that weird at all. If he exceeds 20 minutes in 200 games that's still only £2m over multiple seasons. That's assuming the full clause isn't something along the lines of £10,000 if the player exceeds 20 minutes for the first 50 games, which is much more plausible. Regardless, it's actually a very effective way of reducing the purchase price of a player and instead paying a price that reflects his use to the club. As long as any performance/appearance clauses don't discourage a player's use, having played 20/33 games for over 20 minutes I don't think that's the case here, then it's a good way of managing transfer fees.

Our Harvard boffins are doing their job, at least.
 
Not that weird at all. If he exceeds 20 minutes in 200 games that's still only £2m over multiple seasons. That's assuming the full clause isn't something along the lines of £10,000 if the player exceeds 20 minutes for the first 50 games, which is much more plausible. Regardless, it's actually a very effective way of reducing the purchase price of a player and instead paying a price that reflects his use to the club. As long as any performance/appearance clauses don't discourage a player's use, having played 20/33 games for over 20 minutes I don't think that's the case here, then it's a good way of managing transfer fees.

Our Harvard boffins are doing their job, at least.

Agreed. There are much crazier clauses out there. This is just a cheap attempt of 'kick 'em while their down'. But people will lap it up.
 
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