Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:27 am  

If the Spanish FA are only thinking about doing something for the World Cup now then it's too late.

The perfect thing that the Spanish FA should have done is to have said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to the Confederations Cup. The last thing the Spanish squad needed was an extra month of playing tacked on to the end of the season.

If the Spanish FA ask Barca and Real Madrid for help resting players then I think the clubs will have a similar response to the Premier League fixture schedulers when they gave the FA the exact opposite of what they asked for on dates before England qualifiers.

Personally I think Spain will just fight through their tiredness during the World Cup. The World Cup is worth fighting for. The Confed Cup isn't.

Barca are being written off far too quickly and so are Spain. Yes, Barca were ripped a new one by Munich in the CL, but the injury to Messi perfectly screwed Barca up. Let's wait until Bayern do that to Barca when Messi is fit before drawing too many conclusions. And Spain's dominance will only be ended by defeat in the World Cup.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:26 pm  

I had a dream last night that Wigan beat Manchester United 4-0 in the Community Shield.

What's everyone's views on the upcoming season. I'm looking forward to it and fairly optimistic as a Liverpool fan, although I hope the Suarez situation is sorted soon, he wants to go just let him go.

I think the title race will be close, United, Chelsea, City being the three main challengers but of course all have new managers. Will Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs be able to put forward a sustained challenge?

Will Everton perform like they usually do under Martinez? Will Swansea/ West Brom push on from decent seasons last season?

How will the three promoted teams do? I fancy Bruce to go well with Hull and keep them up, Cardiff's first taste of PL football with a untried manager in this league, so it will be interesting to see how they do. God knows what Holloway will do with Palace.

Then there's a group of about 6 or 7 teams that could either be in a dog fight or be safely placed in mid table for the majority of the season.

The Championship is anyone's as usual.

Looking forward to it.

[John_D]

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jul 04, 2013 1:52 pm  

Missing football. Not missing Nigel Worthington's football.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:47 pm  

I think Liverpool are still a number of signings away from competing for fourth, let alone the title.

A new defence would go down well. If we sign Mkhitaryan we'll be much better offensively, but we're still light in defence and I'm not convinced that Allen, Gerrard, Henderson and Lucas will be the midfielders to compete over 38 games. If Suarez is going to go Sturridge isn't an adequate replacement. He done well last season but he hasn't shown enough to be Suarez's replacement. A great option, but can't be depended upon like a world class striker.

IMO, our weakest areas last year was our defence and central midfield. Aspas, Alberto and Mkhitaryan may improve us overall, but not the areas of huge weakness.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jul 04, 2013 9:54 pm  

Roddy B wrote:

If Suarez is going to go Sturridge isn't an adequate replacement. He done well last season but he hasn't shown enough to be Suarez's replacement. A great option, but can't be depended upon like a world class striker.

In 2011/12 Suarez got 11 league goals in 31 games. That season Sturridge got 11 in 30 at Chelsea. Suarez was one of the main men at Liverpool. Sturridge was picking up whatever scraps he could get from Drogba and Torres.

Suarez was on fire last season and got 23 in 33. But after Sturridge's 10 goals in 14 games was a fantastic return from a player bought in January.

WTF does that guy have to do to get a chance?

Chelsea bent over backwards to give Torres chances. Liverpool have buried their heads up their arses multiple times for Suarez. But Sturridge is barely even given a chance even when he gets fantastic numbers.

If Liverpool aren't going to give Sturridge a chance then I hope he walks and goes to a club who will actually give him a chance. I reckon Stoke City would be guaranteeing their PL future by snapping up Sturridge. And I think Sturridge would be up there with RVP challenging for the Golden Boot.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:02 am  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

In 2011/12 Suarez got 11 league goals in 31 games. That season Sturridge got 11 in 30 at Chelsea. Suarez was one of the main men at Liverpool. Sturridge was picking up whatever scraps he could get from Drogba and Torres.

Suarez was on fire last season and got 23 in 33. But after Sturridge's 10 goals in 14 games was a fantastic return from a player bought in January.

WTF does that guy have to do to get a chance?

Chelsea bent over backwards to give Torres chances. Liverpool have buried their heads up their arses multiple times for Suarez. But Sturridge is barely even given a chance even when he gets fantastic numbers.

If Liverpool aren't going to give Sturridge a chance then I hope he walks and goes to a club who will actually give him a chance. I reckon Stoke City would be guaranteeing their PL future by snapping up Sturridge. And I think Sturridge would be up there with RVP challenging for the Golden Boot.

You really like Sturridge don't you? He looks a decent player, plenty of pace and very sharp. But he also seems to be a player that needs 5 clear cut opportunities to score once. There is an article on liverpoolscout.com that says he converts 15% of chances he gets. He strikes me as one of those players who will always be at a top half club, but who will never actually be relied upon to be the chief starting striker. Liverpool probably should give him the shirt and give him the season to see how he goes, but if they sell Suarez for £30m+ I can only see them replacing him with another top striker from Europe.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:44 am  

Saddened! wrote:

You really like Sturridge don't you?

It's almost totally a reaction to putting up with 2 1/2 years of dross from Torres and seeing a young player with potential never given a chance.

CFC never gave him a chance. Chelsea fans wrote him off for ridiculous reasons.

I just see a player who could be a very good one held back and I don't get it.

But he also seems to be a player that needs 5 clear cut opportunities to score once. There is an article on liverpoolscout.com that says he converts 15% of chances he gets.

Last season Suarez got 23 goals from 169 shots. Sturridge 11 from 68.

The season before Suarez got 11 from 117 shots. Sturridge 11 from 88. (Sturridge offside 7 times, Suarez 47)

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:58 am  

Lord God Jose Mourinho wrote:

In 2011/12 Suarez got 11 league goals in 31 games. That season Sturridge got 11 in 30 at Chelsea. Suarez was one of the main men at Liverpool. Sturridge was picking up whatever scraps he could get from Drogba and Torres.

Suarez was on fire last season and got 23 in 33. But after Sturridge's 10 goals in 14 games was a fantastic return from a player bought in January.

WTF does that guy have to do to get a chance?

Chelsea bent over backwards to give Torres chances. Liverpool have buried their heads up their arses multiple times for Suarez. But Sturridge is barely even given a chance even when he gets fantastic numbers.

If Liverpool aren't going to give Sturridge a chance then I hope he walks and goes to a club who will actually give him a chance. I reckon Stoke City would be guaranteeing their PL future by snapping up Sturridge. And I think Sturridge would be up there with RVP challenging for the Golden Boot.

It's the way Sturridge plays, though. He has talent in abundance but he fades for far too long in games. Some of the games he played last year, he was invisible all game then he'd stick one in as though it was his first touch all game. Suarez may not be the most clinical, but he's continually in the game and the opposition rarely get a minutes rest. He's an excellent talent but I don't believe he's been 'at it' as much as he could have been, as much as Suarez was. I'm not saying I want Sturridge to be Suarez-esque, but he goes missing too often and the fact he still produces only frustrates more because you've been moaning for him to come off for sixty minutes because he's been warming his hands all game watching everybody else play. IMO we need an insurance plan if Suarez does leave, Sturridge will need more back up than Borini and Aspas, regardless of if he's first or second choice.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:30 am  

You know the tourist photos of people sat in the conference rooms and on the bench during a stadium tour? That's what Moyes looks like in his Man United photos.

They might come good. They are taking over sides at the top which is a good place to start. But I just can't help laughing when the combined honours won by the Man Utd and Man City managers is less than Roberto Di Matteo has won. I will fully admit that the boards of City and United will have forgotten more about managing FC's than I'll ever know, but I just think that they are exaggerating their talent spotting abilities when they appoint Pellegrini and Moyes to their clubs.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:35 am  

http://www.footballtradedirectory.com/n ... uarez.html Jesus Christ. How does a story talking about Jan Molby giving an interview about Liverpool possibly getting ready to sell Suarez get that headline? I know standards on football gossip sites are low, but surely they're not that low.

http://www.footballtradedirectory.com/n ... uarez.html Jesus Christ. How does a story talking about Jan Molby giving an interview about Liverpool possibly getting ready to sell Suarez get that headline? I know standards on football gossip sites are low, but surely they're not that low.