On August 03 2011 05:03 King.Crimson wrote:Abramovic not showing the proactive interest in the team like in the old days
If going to all the home games (and even some reserve/youth games) is not proactive interest then well.
Would rather start making predictions at end of transfer window though. Although already I can say old squad is bs because Terry still does a job better than most (even better than glass leg ferdinand sorry), Lamps has been sitting deeper under AvB with a more prominent role for McEachran. Cole finally got to rest his ankle all pre-season and Drogba is just inhumane. The only issue is linking midfield to the strikers and its set. Which is where transfers can come in.
United haven't strengthened at all imo. Lost 2 defenders, gained 1. Lost scholes, gained a valencia equivalent in young. Lost VdS and gained De Gea who is not gonna perform at the same level.
But United haven't really gotten too much weaker, I wouldn't say. Just going to be important how well the new signings step up and if De Gea can gel with his defence and live up to his hype.
The biggest loss for me was VDS. As brilliant as Scholes is, we've needed some form of replacement for him for the past few seasons but have managed with him playing less of a role last season.
Brown, O'Shea and Neville hadn't played much last season. I can see Rafael and Fabio getting better this season, if Rafael in particular can hold his temper rather than receiving yellow cards all the time.
There's still rumours going on about Sneijder, but I'm not overly worried about a lack of a world class CM until Giggs has to move on as well
Liverpool has the potential but so far in preseason they look like shit.... Hopefully they find their form early this year and not like last year super late... YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!!!! LFC 4 LIFE!
I have a feeling Real will take it this year, they've been improving year on year and Mou doesn't like to lose.
Really interested in how the PL shapes up next year. Man Utd....have pretty much stayed the same for me, apart from losing VDS. I have high hopes for De Gea, but he will have to play a blinder of a season to step up, and make no mistake it's a hell of a step up, to replace VDS. Other signings haven't particularly impressed me, none stand out but they should be able to come in a do a job. But City and Liverpool have made some interesting signings, City a hell of a lot more exciting - can't wait to see Aguero playing. And a whole season with Kenny at the helm will make 'Pool a scary team to face.
Villas-Boas may be exactly what Chelsea need to form a dynasty, hopefully he has the time. Not sure if he will have that effect this year, but he did a great job for Porto. Let's see if he can do the same for Chelsea and their insane chairman - anyone remember the last man to come from Porto to Chelsea?
Arsenal... Wish they would make some strong signings. They have the money, and they have the will, except for Wenger. As he waits to slowly make deals come to fruition, Arsenal are standing still and the other teams are improving. They will struggle to make the top four without a new centreback (unless their first two, VerDjou, stay fit all year - yeah right) and a left back. Plus replace whoever leaves out of Cesc or Nasri with an equally strong player. I would love to see them challenge but without signings it will be hard for them.
Being an Arsenal fan is a bit depressing at the moment, but I have faith that we can have a good season. We started pretty strong last season, but after losing to Barcelona (fuck you referee who sent VP off, wtf who does that! I will find you.) our season pretty much fell apart.
I'm a little disappointed with United's low quantity of signings this summer, but if Sneijder comes through that will turn things around. Midfield was the team's biggest weakness last year and it looks to remain that way in 2011 (lacking Sneijder, of course). The defense gets a modest upgrade with Phil Jones, who might play at RB (he played there during some of the MLS games) which would be great because the de Silva twins, while they've shown flashes of being good, are also horribly inconsistent. Also he gives us a viable backup should Ferdinand miss a few games for injury or Vidic pick up too many cards. Likewise, Ashley Young is an upgrade over Valencia and allows Nani to play on the right where he is a little better, and it also means that the team has depth if an injury occurs at that position like it did last season. Striker wasn't in need of an upgrade. Keeper is going to be a downgrade but that was kind of inevitable once Neuer signed with Bayern... VDS was too good to just replace easily. Overall I expect the team to be a little better than last season, as last season had an out of form Rooney for most of the year, critical injuries with no depth to fill in, but was also buoyed by VDS's outstanding keeping in some games where we were outshot badly.
Arsenal have the talent to win, as long as they don't lose one of their key players... which at this point is looking safe for another season.
Liverpool should be title contenders. Suarez looked in top form during the Copa America. New signee Charlie Adam was one of the best midfielders in the EPL last year.
I just saw City play over the weekend and they looked fucking good against Inter. Preseason friendly, sure. But this team just needed to gel, and they may have finally done that. Aguero and Clichy are good adds.
It's tough to predict Chelsea because I'm not sure how their older players will regain their form from the 2009-10 season / early weeks of 2010-11. Torres is going to get it together, right? Also if they add Modric, that would make this team extremely good in the midfield.
On August 03 2011 05:03 King.Crimson wrote: Bayern was a major dissapointment last year, i can't really explain it, seeing how their coach and squad are top notch. Hopefully they get their shit together, especially Ribery, and own this Bundesliga.
Bayern really kind of had a magical season in 09-10; Muller was brilliant, Robben had his best year ever, and they nearly won the treble.
In 10-11 they started slow because of the WC and because Robben was out for half the year. They never recovered and finished 3rd...still not a horrid year or anything.
This is a cool video of some of Robben's goals that year
Too bad Robben gets injured all the time - he would be far more effective of a player if he could just stay injury-free. Its a problem thats affected him at Chelsea, Real Madrid, and at Bayern
If Fabregas ends up going to Barca, I might not even follow the EPL lest Arsenal's late season incompetence crush my heart again. I'll probably just tune into the CL and El Clasicos.
Exeter City fighting! ewww Aghh We are X E ter (got to through a West country (pirate) accent).
Great season last year. Lets make sure we stay in League 1 and put on a good show. I'll be back in England in February and definitely get to a game. Highlight of the season last year has to be are manager Paul Tisdale who hasn't played as a player since 1997 subbing himself on to the pitch away against Sheffield Wednesday with one minute to go to waste some time and take the appreciation he rightly deserved for such a great season we had.
25,000 Leeds fans drowned out by the 2,000 Exeter away fans
On August 03 2011 21:54 jhNz wrote: i read that wenger is fine with fabregas leaving for barca if arsenal signs mata.
btw, is it just me or is it absolutley ridiculously ludacris that psg pays 43 mio for pastore?
I don't follow much of Serie A, but it does seem so when Sanchez was only in the mid 20m mark...who I would say is the better player. He seems like a relatively cheap signing this summer what with Aguero, Pastore and the prices United have been playing for English players
On August 03 2011 21:54 jhNz wrote: i read that wenger is fine with fabregas leaving for barca if arsenal signs mata.
btw, is it just me or is it absolutley ridiculously ludacris that psg pays 43 mio for pastore?
I don't follow much of Serie A, but it does seem so when Sanchez was only in the mid 20m mark...who I would say is the better player. He seems like a relatively cheap signing this summer what with Aguero, Pastore and the prices United have been playing for English players
Different circumstances cause different prices. We have no clue what goes on behind the scenes. Maybe Sanchez was in the final few stages of his Udinese contract? If you recall, Ozil went last season for only €15 million (wtf lol) due to the fact that he was in the final year of his contract.
Furthermore, prices for English players, while always being traditionally high, have increased because of the home-grown rules that are coming into effect. And rich teams like Man City and PSG are willing to accept whatever price is demanded by a club if they really want a player.
On August 02 2011 03:32 rea1ity wrote: Arsenal will win the league. Heard it here first.
I sincerely hope so.
Without Fabregas
Elaborate?
Fabregas going to Barca...anything else is wishful thinking. Just listen to Wegner's comments, not really votes of confidence.
If Fabregas goes we will be fine. People really under estimate Ramseys ability and even then Nasri can fill the Cesc role (who's passing ability is very close to being on par with Cescs) and Mata/Arsha/Theo could play wide left, the options are endless.
Cesc will realize how good he had it at Arsenal when he returns to Barcelona, he'll be getting splinters on his bum, he should ask Flamini and Hleb if the grass really is greener on the other side. Cesc is captain, loved by the fans and is a vital player in our line-up, he will go over there and be another squad player....
Personally i see it as a toss up between City, Manu and Chelsea this season. The questions are: Can city's big spendings actually make a difference and gel, because they have a VERY strong team on paper now. Can man u's younger players step up this season?, with david de gea, the twins and cleverly and Anderson in midfield (hopefully they will sign sneijderr). Also will thier midfeild be good enough? And lastly will villa boas get Chelsea playing to their former glory? Personally i think united will pip it, with city very close behind, and look something like this: Man u City Chelsea Tottenham Arsenal liverpool
I think if arsenal loose narsi and fab, they will probs end up below spurs, otherwise 4th is probally theirs. As for liverpool, I think they are massively over-ratted, only Suarez and pepe are their only world class players, Gerrard is past it. And torres was better than Suarez is now and Gerrard was playing better back then and he couldn't carry the team. Also King Kenny is also over-ratted insanely as a manager, he's been out of the game for so many years, and his only PL win was when Cantona was banned. Just look at their pre-season, i think anyone who thinks they are going to finish top 4, let alone higher, is either a Liverpool fan or someone who has got it very wrong imho.
EPT
