It's been fun so far! Well....for just about everyone but this guy!



Anyone want to share observations, predictions, etc?

:uhuh:That miss yesterday was brutal! I felt for him.

United is just incredible, going to be so tough to beat. I love City and if anyone is to challenge United this year, I think it will be them. My sentimental favorite is Liverpool.

its amazing how united managed to get so much younger and more athletic without really any trade off (except money of course, which isn't a worry for them) in one off season. young, jones, welbeck (who was theirs, but on load last year) and cleverly bring alot to the table. and apparenly alittle hair goes a long way for rooney's self esteem.

man city looks very strong. their defense with nasri and silva in the midfield and some combo of aguero/tevez/dzeko up front matches up pretty well with united. could give united a run, or at least make it close. i think united still have the edge if they can keep ferdinand (although jones looks good in that spot too) and vidic healthy. especially if smalling can continue to improve as he has been.

arsenal looks horrible which I love. chelsea is a rung down from united and city IMO.

with the moves Liverpool made in the off season I thought they would be better than they are (they're killing me in fantasy league, especially last week). i question whether suarez can stay healthy all year too, and there's a big drop off at striker behind him. would have liked them to hang on to meirales too.

:uhuh:That miss yesterday was brutal! I felt for him.

Brutal is right. I don't know why but I like him and really find myself pulling for him to do well. He can't get any lower than what happened yesterday.

On Man U I I question their midfield depth. Even though I don't like him I wish they got Snyder. Anderson has looked good but how long can he keep it up? He already looked a little suspect this weekend. Wellbeck and Cleverly go down and they're already showing weakness. The scoreline didn't represent the flow of play to me yesterday against Chelsea. Don't get me wrong, i think they will win the EPL but I'm not so sure they will have the depth for the UCL or even FA cup. Carrick, Park, and Anderson clearly are not going to hang with Iniesta, Fabergast, and XAVI or Real Madrid. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.

True. The one thing they are missing is a top central midfielder. Their style doesn't require one though as they like to attack outside in with nani and young and let Rooney drop back towards the offensive center midfield area. I think they match up better with Barcelona this year but still don't have the edge.

If Ferdinand and vidic are healthy, you'll probably see Phil Jones playing in central midfield as season progresses.
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True. The one thing they are missing is a top central midfielder. Their style doesn't require one though as they like to attack outside in with nani and young and let Rooney drop back towards the offensive center midfield area. I think they match up better with Barcelona this year but still don't have the edge.

If Ferdinand and vidic are healthy, you'll probably see Phil Jones playing in central midfield as season progresses.
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At least if everyone is healthy they will have more young legs to keep up with Barca or Madrid.

i watched tottenham/ arsenal last night. good game. i'm taking a liking to tottenham. there doesn't seem to be any egos on that team. walker's goal to win it was awesome. nobody wears those skin tight jerseys on that team either. i thought that guy crouch played for tottenham but didn't see him on the field. newcastle/ tottenham should be a good one to watch.

Crouch is at Stoke now. Tottenham replaced him with Adebayor.

Tottenham started well last season but faded badly.
Their problem is depth. They are OK in the midfield (although Bale is irreplaceable) but thin at attack and both Van da Vart and Defoe are injury prone.

Liverpool looks like their main competition for that fourth CL qualifying spot (with Arsenal looking a dark horse at this point). At the end of last season Liverpool was playing the best soccer in the EPL, but Carroll changes how they play (more direct and predictable) and I think it will hurt them.

The upcoming game between ManU and Liverpool (2 weeks) should be telling.

Crouch is at Stoke now. Tottenham replaced him with Adebayor.

Tottenham started well last season but faded badly.
Their problem is depth. They are OK in the midfield (although Bale is irreplaceable) but thin at attack and both Van da Vart and Defoe are injury prone.

Liverpool looks like their main competition for that fourth CL qualifying spot (with Arsenal looking a dark horse at this point). At the end of last season Liverpool was playing the best soccer in the EPL, but Carroll changes how they play (more direct and predictable) and I think it will hurt them.

The upcoming game between ManU and Liverpool (2 weeks) should be telling.


You hit it on Spurs. I think depth was an issue last year because of the addition of all the champions leage games. Andy Carrol has spent alot of time on the bench for Liverpool and I think we will continue to see that though I do think they've put him out for some of their bigger fixtures so far.

My fantasy EPL team is in the top 1% on ESPN.com out of about 100,000 entries. That information is not useful to anyone but I enjoy bragging about it. :uhuh:

As an Arsenal supporter I can not really see them getting into the top four this year with the shape and injuries to the current squad. Our manager has dug himself a hole that will be hard to get out of. It is early days but I would give the nod to Spurs (oh how I hated writing that) over Liverpool as they seem to be playing better and Liverpool are just not firing on all cylinders yet.

Crazy thing about this season is that the top two goal scorers from last year, Tevez and Berbatov, are uninjured and unable to find a place in their squads!

My fantasy EPL team is in the top 1% on ESPN.com out of about 100,000 entries. That information is not useful to anyone but I enjoy bragging about it. :uhuh:

Who is on it?

As an Arsenal supporter I can not really see them getting into the top four this year with the shape and injuries to the current squad. Our manager has dug himself a hole that will be hard to get out of. It is early days but I would give the nod to Spurs (oh how I hated writing that) over Liverpool as they seem to be playing better and Liverpool are just not firing on all cylinders yet.
!

Losing Wilshere and now Sagna are big blows, but I expect Arsenal to come on strong at the end of the season and I wouldn't be surprised to see them nip Liverpool and Tottenham. I don't see Liverpool or Tottenham getting much better, but I can see Arsenal improving a lot.

Losing Wilshere and now Sagna are big blows, but I expect Arsenal to come on strong at the end of the season and I wouldn't be surprised to see them nip Liverpool and Tottenham. I don't see Liverpool or Tottenham getting much better, but I can see Arsenal improving a lot.

Thanks Mr. Skull for offering some hope. You are right losing Sagna is a massive blow however hopefully Santos will be able to fill the gap.

Who is on it?

Friedel -Net

Smalling, Micah Richards, Lescott, Bosingwa -Defenders

Lampard, Silva, Ashley Young, Dempsey -Midfield

Rooney, Suarez- Strikers

Bench
Fabianski, Bale, Adebayor, Robert Huth

I've been a little transfer happy and have already swapped out Saha, David Luiz, and a few other players I can't think of.

Richards, Smalling, and Adebayor were really my key pickups as they were dirt cheap and allowed me to stack the rest of the line up.

We should do an s-b group for next season if there is enough interest.

Nice to see that people are into it. I have been a fan for a long time of the EPL but this year I have not been following. I like that the clock runs continuously. There is a real poetry about a good passing game. A good book is Bloody Confused about an American journalist following Portsmouth for a season. I like Liverpool.

Nice to see that people are into it. I have been a fan for a long time of the EPL but this year I have not been following. I like that the clock runs continuously. There is a real poetry about a good passing game. A good book is Bloody Confused about an American journalist following Portsmouth for a season. I like Liverpool.

The continuos clock is huge. I'm a big american football fan but I'm starting to get fed up with all the commercial breaks after watching uninterupted soccer so much.
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pretty easy to get in a game on a weekday night. a couple hours of soccer when your eating dinner and draining some pumpkin beers down.

i still don't know how you all acquired so much knowledge of all the teams. probably years of following. i'm lucky in i can get in one game and watch that premiere league wrap up show on fsc.

pretty easy to get in a game on a weekday night. a couple hours of soccer when your eating dinner and draining some pumpkin beers down.

i still don't know how you all acquired so much knowledge of all the teams. probably years of following. i'm lucky in i can get in one game and watch that premiere league wrap up show on fsc.

your fantasy league team sucks :hihi:. makes me feel better as i'm looking up at luds. i'm right at about 90%. eveytime i have a good week and think i'll gain a bit, he just pulls away a bit more. and i didn't know the rules so i burned most of my transfers just trying things out and playing with salary cap (didn't realize that those counted, though it was only lineup from week to week).

looks like united, city, chelsea, then either totteham or liverpool to me. I think arsenal is out this year unless they make a big splash in the january transer window (they need a striker, a midfielder, a defender and a goalie, tough to do all that).

your fantasy league team sucks :hihi:. makes me feel better as i'm looking up at luds. i'm right at about 90%. eveytime i have a good week and think i'll gain a bit, he just pulls away a bit more. and i didn't know the rules so i burned most of my transfers just trying things out and playing with salary cap (didn't realize that those counted, though it was only lineup from week to week).

looks like united, city, chelsea, then either totteham or liverpool to me. I think arsenal is out this year unless they make a big splash in the january transer window (they need a striker, a midfielder, a defender and a goalie, tough to do all that).

I think Arsenal should hold on to their keeper. He has had some howlers but he has also made game saving saves and is young. Tough to do much better.

Pretty sure my fantasy team will start to implode after all the bragging....

I see Arsenal improving drastically in the second half of the season. They have loads of good midfield options once Wilshere is healthy. This kid Frimapong looks like the real deal, as does this O.....-Chamberlian kid. Ramsey, Arteta,and Walcott are plenty good and Song is very solid.
Certainly they need another striker, but I suspect Wenger will find one come Jan. Their defensive backline is not bad, the problem has been injury and Wenger's foot to the floor attack philosophy leaving them exposed. But put Frimapong and Song in D mid, Wilshere in front of them, run OC and Walcott wide, with VP and Gervinho (or whoever they buy in Jan....Forlan perhaps?) at attack and they will be a very hard team to beat once they start to mesh.

I don't see Tottenham getting better than they are now. Liverpool will improve some with Gerard, but I think Daglish blew it giving away Meriles and Aqualani. He has built his team around Carroll and is going to be stuck with a 4-4-2 using "next step down" wingers like Downing and Henderson, when he could have played a formidable 4-3-3 using Kuyt, Suarez, and Carroll up front, Gerard, Meriles, and Lucas behind. Bad move, I suspect, their attack becomes too predictable and Suarez (their best player) becomes a second choice target.

I see Chelsea improving as well, but I don't think ManU will maintain the level of play they began the season with (remember last year how well Chelsea started), and I think Man City will self-destruct at some point.

I'll predict the season ending with Chelsea over ManU at the top, then Man City, then Arsenal squeaking by Tottenham at the wire.

Whatever, it will be fun and plenty interesting. Play on.

Love the lingo too "A cracking good darby!" "He's a diver." They got a bunch of them.
Why the the trainers come out and spray the leg with that cold stuff and make a big show of a non-injury, that's a little annoying. But other than that, it's excellent entertainment.
Ever notice that Americans who like/follow the EPL are not ignorant?

I see Arsenal improving drastically in the second half of the season. They have loads of good midfield options once Wilshere is healthy. This kid Frimapong looks like the real deal, as does this O.....-Chamberlian kid. Ramsey, Arteta,and Walcott are plenty good and Song is very solid.
Certainly they need another striker, but I suspect Wenger will find one come Jan. Their defensive backline is not bad, the problem has been injury and Wenger's foot to the floor attack philosophy leaving them exposed. But put Frimapong and Song in D mid, Wilshere in front of them, run OC and Walcott wide, with VP and Gervinho (or whoever they buy in Jan....Forlan perhaps?) at attack and they will be a very hard team to beat once they start to mesh.

I don't see Tottenham getting better than they are now. Liverpool will improve some with Gerard, but I think Daglish blew it giving away Meriles and Aqualani. He has built his team around Carroll and is going to be stuck with a 4-4-2 using "next step down" wingers like Downing and Henderson, when he could have played a formidable 4-3-3 using Kuyt, Suarez, and Carroll up front, Gerard, Meriles, and Lucas behind. Bad move, I suspect, their attack becomes too predictable and Suarez (their best player) becomes a second choice target.

I see Chelsea improving as well, but I don't think ManU will maintain the level of play they began the season with (remember last year how well Chelsea started), and I think Man City will self-destruct at some point.

I'll predict the season ending with Chelsea over ManU at the top, then Man City, then Arsenal squeaking by Tottenham at the wire.

Whatever, it will be fun and plenty interesting. Play on.

I agree with everything you said other than maybe the comments on the Arsenal back line. When healthy they have the talent but their defensive strategy scares me. Maybe it's because of the injuries and a lack of cohesiveness because they don't have a unit that has played together enought but their team defense is very suspect. I like when teams hold a high line but they don't do it well and seemed to get burned doing it every week. Anyone team makes penetrating runs seems to abuse them heavily.

Man U has a depth issue. I keep saying it. They need to spend in January on the midfield but I think that's unlikely. Man City needs to implode soon and get over it quickly. If it happens late in the year I agree they have problems. Despite embarrassing the embarrassing moments Torres and Chelsea look better and better every week. They also have healthy competition within the team and if you watched them play united a couple weeks ago you know they out played United. If Man U slips up enough I think Chelsea has a great shot but I'm not counting out City either.

Not sure what to say about Liverpool but dropping Meriles definitely hurt them. It might have had something to do with team safety though. :devil2: That guy just makes me think Dinero Taxi Driver every time I see him. Forgetting what game it was but after a goal this year he went on a little hissy fit yelling and flipping off fans. He's a nut but he is a fast nut!

Love the lingo too "A cracking good darby!" "He's a diver." They got a bunch of them.
Why the the trainers come out and spray the leg with that cold stuff and make a big show of a non-injury, that's a little annoying. But other than that, it's excellent entertainment.
Ever notice that Americans who like/follow the EPL are not ignorant?

Do they still do that? I think they just go out and look at them now. I do like the term physio.

The best english term is "rubbish" properly pernounced "roobish".

Man U has a depth issue. I keep saying it. They need to spend in January on the midfield but I think that's unlikely.!

I see this as well. Right now their most irreplaceable player....hard to believe....is Anderson. He is the guy who connects all their outstanding attacking players. Without him, they become very average in the middle. Carrick can distribute, but does so from a much deeper position than Anderson which is a disadvantage much of the time. Anderson is no star, but he does a crucial job for ManU and I don't see anybody backing him up. That is why Snyder made such good sense. Ferguson may well regret not pulling the trigger on that deal.

I see this as well. Right now their most irreplaceable player....hard to believe....is Anderson. He is the guy who connects all their outstanding attacking players. Without him, they become very average in the middle. Carrick can distribute, but does so from a much deeper position than Anderson which is a disadvantage much of the time. Anderson is no star, but he does a crucial job for ManU and I don't see anybody backing him up. That is why Snyder made such good sense. Ferguson may well regret not pulling the trigger on that deal.

Yeah. I don't think it was United's decision to not aquire Sneider. Inter said publicly that they would not both part with Eto'o and Sneider and Eto'o went to a russian club. I was surprised to see you consider that Forlan might end up in an Arsenal shirt. I would be surprised to see Inter part with him so quickly but I have not followed his progress with them at all.

My bad. I thought Forlan was still in Spain.

I'm starting to come around on Anderson. He's young and steadily improving. When Cleverly gets back I think they'll compliment each other well. Carrick is ok option on the bench but they could certainly upgrade there.

Should be a good one this weekend.
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Weak looking united lineup today.
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Liverpool let a big opportunity slip away today.
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Weak looking united lineup today.
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Did someone say they had a depth issue. :)

Don't they have a champs league match on Tuesday? They need some good results in the group. Mix that with the recent international play the side they put out today makes sense.

I missed the game today
Bummer

I missed the game today
Bummer

Ya gotta DVR everything and then watch what you can watch. The nice thing about being an american soccer fan is that the scores are not in your face 24/7. You have to go on-line and look for them or put on a soccer channel. I highly recommend not "liking" your favorite team on facebook though. That has ruined a few saturdays for me when the score is the first thing I see on there.

I have a work buddy I collaborate alot with out in CO.. He would not stop talkin all week about the MU game that was going to happen today.
Most English soccer fans are total fanatics.

I have a work buddy I collaborate alot with out in CO.. He would not stop talkin all week about the MU game that was going to happen today.
Most English soccer fans are total fanatics.

I wen to a night club last weekend wearing a liverpool jersey. The door man...an english guy basically screamed at me. "Liverpool for life......you will never walk alone"! Honestly scared me to death. I'm afraid to know what he would have done to me if he knew I liked United better.

But everyone has a depth problem when you sit your two top strikers and 3/5 best midfielders (with another hurt) and your best defender hurt. They're not that good. Probably could get away with that against arsenal, but not a top side :hihi:. Could have probably gotten away with sitting 2 or maybe 3 of them today but not all.

Giggs looks old.

I think they took Liverpool to lightly.

Did someone say they had a depth issue. :)
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I don't think so.

Ferguson has an important Champions League game this week, then Man City next weekend (I think). He will need his best attacking players fresh. He knew Liverpool lacked defensive options in midfield. Charlie Adams, Henderson, and Downing defend very poorly (Henderson is shockingly naive). Gerard was bound to tire having not played 90 minutes in a 3/4 of a year. I suspect he liked his odds playing a defensive 4-5-1 until the last 20-30 minutes, then cutting apart a tired Liverpool midfield with 3 attacking subs.

His strategy may have cost him 2 points ( only because of a wall error), but he still has 6 more crucial points to pick up this week and he has to plan for those while he is picking a team to play Liverpool.

I thought pulling off Lucas was a bad move by Daglish. Even with a yellow card, he is their best midfield defensive player and against a team with ManU's attacking options on the bench, you can't afford to open your midfield and expose the back line.

In any case, the season is a marathon, not a sprint and Ferguson has shown again and again that he knows how to pace his team so he gets the best out of it over the long haul.

I hear you. Think we're pretty much saying same thing. I just think Liverpool gave them more than Ferguson expected. Suarez should have scored early and de gea saved them a few times. Can't wait for man city next weekend. Now that tevez (my man crush) is out I'm back to full on hate for city.
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Mancini is annoying, and Dejong a thug, Nasri a snot, and Barry/Milner/Johnson a bit dull but I could watch Silva, Augero, and Kompany play all day, and I have to admit I've become a Balotelli fan. The guy is talented, amusing, and interesting all wrapped up in one. He had a beautiful goal against Villa, then stared down their fans. The British announcers hate him, which makes it all even better.

The team that is a surprise is Newcastle. They looked the better team today against Tottenham and should have won. Tiote in particular is turning into a first rate player. He reminds me of Makelele, only much better offensively.

:hang:

I hate that barton is on qpr. I was excited when they got promoted as I liked them back in the 90s. And I like wright-phillips. But I really can't pull for a team with barton on it. At least I can pull for Newcastle to get the 4 spot now.

Curious to see if anything comes from the Suarez racism accusations. If true, he certainly lost me as a supporter. Don't think he'd fare to well in a fight with evra if it comes to that.
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Suarez bit a guy in Holland. Pretty good chance he used racist terms with Evra to wind him up. I doubt he is a racist, however.

Newcastle is a breath of fresh air now that they got rid of Nolan and Barton. The need to replace Obertan, however. Speed is of no use if you thoughts move through molasses. Guiterrez is cool to watch. the guy looks like a clutz but is very effective.

Balotelli is THE MAN. That will be all on that.

Man U lost badly, but didn't get beat. There is a difference. They kept on attacking and might have pulled it back if Smalling's header had been lower. Down to 10 men and down 2 goals it was very plausible they could have salvaged something after Fletcher scored. ManC looked shakey at that point. Ferguson will see this, the team will gain confidence from it and be very motivated for the rematch.

Arsenal looks back in gear and will likely continue to improve.

Chelsea hit a bump. I think they'll get rolling soon enough to give evryone a scare as well.

Look out, here come Arsenal.

Look out, here come Arsenal.

Yeah, if Van Persey stays healthy and that's a big if. I'm tempted to swap out Suarez for him in fantasy but he's so fragile.

What a great game to watch on Saturday. Not that Chelsea's defending was any better but Arsenal is still pretty suspect in the back. I guess that's never been their best feature (in my memory anyway) but that's probably why they don't have much to show for silverware. Really hoping that Chelsea's performance means that David Luiz will start seeing some playing time. I love that guy. Ivanovich is a stiff.

Bosingwa was terrible that game, left gaping holes for arsenal to run into over and over.
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You will know whether Arsenal are for real by Xmas break. They have an easy run of games coming up with just one top seven side Man City before the New Year. If they do well they will have a very good chance at 3rd or 4th. The big risk for them is Van Persie's health as he has never played a full season without one major injury break. Arsenal will have to buy a striker in January. Another factor in their favor is all the second half games against the big clubs will be at the Emirates. Newcastle will come back to earth as their next run of fixtures will be against all the big boys.
Agree with all the comments regarding Barton. It is a shame because he can be a very good footballer.

spain-england tomorrow at noon. capello is supposedly missing his sons wedding for the trashing they'll probably get.

You will know whether Arsenal are for real by Xmas break. They have an easy run of games coming up with just one top seven side Man City before the New Year. If they do well they will have a very good chance at 3rd or 4th. The big risk for them is Van Persie's health as he has never played a full season without one major injury break. Arsenal will have to buy a striker in January. Another factor in their favor is all the second half games against the big clubs will be at the Emirates. Newcastle will come back to earth as their next run of fixtures will be against all the big boys.
Agree with all the comments regarding Barton. It is a shame because he can be a very good footballer.

I was watching the Premier League world show on FSC and the did a segment on an organization that helps athletes with personality disorders and addictions. Barton was a member. He definitely seems to have some person demons including addiction in his past but he came across as a pretty good guy. They showed a handful of his uglier tackles and they made Jamie Carragher's leg breaking tackle on Stuart Hold look like a hug. He is definitely a violent character.

Good effort by England, though Spain didn't play very well.

Barton is a rat, he will instigate all game, then flop when someone retaliates. Lots of ability, no class.
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Good effort by England, though Spain didn't play very well.

Barton is a rat, he will instigate all game, then flop when someone retaliates. Lots of ability, no class.
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thanks for not posting the score. just about to watch it. hopefully there were a couple goals at least.

I found that England-Spain game almost unwatchable. It is almost as if Spain is so good in possession that no one dares open up against them. Makes for very dull soccer if Spain does not score first. Too bad more teams don't go at them the way Uruguay did in the WC. Spain looks beatable when pressed high and hard enough to force their midfielders to play deeper. Playing a 4-5-1 against them and hoping for a lucky break makes for dreary stuff. Boo on England.

certainly wasn't pretty, but england isn't nearly skilled enough, especially in the midfield, to be pretty IMO. sadly, they're a team that has to sit back and try to counter punch when they're playing a decent team. they've got decent strikers and a pretty solid defense, but lack any type of creativity and possession skills in the midfield, especially in the center. its been they're biggest problem for a while. there must be something about the football culture and youth development programs over there that doesn't promote that style of play (the same seams true here). all the best central attacking midfielders in the premeir league come from Spain, France, Holland, etc. and have for quite a while it seams.

alot of premier league teams could probably take England apart at this point.

Glad I found this thread!

Good season so far with Newcastle being the obvious surprise. It's great to see them doing well after relegation a few years ago.

I think City or ManU will probably win the title, although it is hard to count out Chelsea. I think Arsenal has actually been a surprise so far, and like somebody pointed out already, Van Persie just won't stay healthy and the fact that he won't discuss a contract with the team until after the season shows his teammates that he is probably ready to move on. They're also a team with definite depth issues. Tottenham will finish 5th or 6th.

Liverpool is my team and I'm not sure they'll finish in the top four. Suarez is brilliant but for strikers it really ends there. Carroll was a waste of money, and given the ownership of the team, I figure there is a good chance he'll be gone by the start of next season. If they can make a move for a proven striker in the January window (David Villa?) Carroll might be gone then. Mereiles was a loss as the midfield really lacks creativity; the biggest mistake Liverpool have made in recent memory is getting rid of Xabi Alonso. I wish Daglish would play Maxi Rodriguez as he showed some promise the end of last season. Gerrard is always hurt. Central defense is weak as well. I'm hoping that they play some summer friendlies here in the next few years....Liverpool FC at Fenway would be pretty cool.

Nice for England to win against Spain but lets face it if there was not unlimited subs Spain would have run them into the ground in the second half. Until England gets someone Rooney can play with up front they will never be much of a threat. With Euro 2012 coming up they have a tough decision in deciding whether to bench the old guard of Lampard, Terry, and Gerrard and go with their younger players to give them experience for the next World Cup.

England is going nowhere fast with the status quo. They play boring reactive football....Capello is the wrong choice as well. But in the end who really cares how the Brit's fair? About to watch the US vs Slovenia match on DVR.....
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Wishing for David villa as a Liverpool fan is pretty optimistic. I think your stuck with Carroll for a while. Liverpool was agressive over the last year, but made some pretty vanilla selections.
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Wishing for David villa as a Liverpool fan is pretty optimistic. I think your stuck with Carroll for a while. Liverpool was agressive over the last year, but made some pretty vanilla selections.
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Villa is being VERY optimistic, but one can hope...I'd settle for Eden Hazard though. :)

Looking forward to Newcastle / Man City today

Interesting weekend.

Interesting how tough Champion league games mid-week slow the best teams down just enough to be make things competitive.

Kudos to Liverpool for having a go at ManC and playing them even.
Lessor kudos to Newcastle, who were lucky to survive against ManU, but at least in the first half looked willing to go at them toe to toe.

I'm surprised to see ManU get the bad end of a penalty call, particularly at home. I don't think it is intentional, but unconsciously refs know that a bad call against a top team could have an inordinate effect on the league title, so the top teams get a level of protection against big calls the rest of the teams don't.

Go Canaries, just saying.

liverpool looked good in that game. joe hart looked really good, especially toward the end. probably not city's best starting lineup, but a pretty solid one none the less. I would have had either Dzeko or Ballatelli in the starting lineup if it were me, but that may just be because of my dislike for Nasri. Ballatelli trying to explain what happened to Mancini was entertaining.

mancini's job may be on the line if they don't win a trophy with their likely failing in the champions league, his owner's number one prize.

Balotelli has got some real issues for sure. He was on for what, 10 minutes? Mancini was in no mood for his bs when he came off....funny stuff. :rotf2:

Hoping Liverpool can beat Chelsea today in the Carling Cup...

Ohhhhhhheeeeeeeaaaaaawwwww. My poor little Norwich got crushed. Loved Balotelli's goal, however.

Tottenham is flying again, but I bet they wear down like last year.

Losing Hernandez will hurt ManU, even with plenty of good alternatives, and I bet they lose ground to City. I've been enjoying watching this kid Jones play. Quite an accomplishment for a 19yo.

Newcastle is screwed without Taylor. The transfer window could cost them Tiote, too.

Likewise, methinks Liverpool is screwed without Lucas. That guy was looking like the best holding mid in the EPL.

Chelsea doesn't scare anyone anymore. Bad for them.

looks like 8 games for Suarez. Even if it gets knocked back a few by appeal, that, combined with Lucas, will be a real blow for Liverpool's hopes of a top 4 finish.

wish i could be home today to watch Chelsea v. Tottenham. Really pulling for Tottenham. Hopefully Bale will play, but he's listed as doubtful. He is a ton of fun to watch, just hope he can stay healthy as he seams to take alot of injuries.

I was looking for gifts at Barnes and Noble the other day and spotted a Gareth Bale biography. Really? The guy is 22 and just getting started. Hope Tottenham can hang on to him and he doesn't end up at Madrid or Barcelona.

Game's on....Bale starting and just had a great run at net. I'm on a 1/2 delay due to starting the game late. All Spurs early and no start for Torres or Lampard.

1-0 Spurs....nice feed from Bale to Adebayor. 8th minute
1-1....Sturridge 23rd minute

looks like 8 games for Suarez. Even if it gets knocked back a few by appeal, that, combined with Lucas, will be a real blow for Liverpool's hopes of a top 4 finish.

There is a lot about the Suarez situation that doesn't sit well with me. First, it is one players word against another. and no one should be able to be convicted of anything on heresay. Even the ManU players testified that they didn't hear Suarez say anything to Evra. Also, what about John Terry? Reportedly he was heard making racist remarks to another player (forgot who), so why not prosecute him quickly? I guess the FA doesn't want to prosecute the England captain....what a load of bullsh!t. How are they able to get away with this??
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077017/John-Terry-racism-charge-Fury-footballer-ISNT-stripped-England-captaincy.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

If the 8 game ban is upheld, Gerrard remains unavailable, and Liverpool can't land a real top quality striker in the transfer window, top 6 will be about the best they'll be able to do, if that.

terry saved the draw in the extra time... wow great defensive play

Any of you guys have interest in doing a fantasy league for the 2nd half of the EPL season? If you do I'll start a group. I believe the scoring starts from zero in a couple weeks for the 2nd segment of the year.

Sending everyone who's posted in this thread some info.

Might be fun to track our team's progress and talk a little trash in this forum.

I'm game! I don't have a great history in Fantasy Football but I'd be willing to play doormat for the group. :smash:

another suspension for suarez. this won't help with his appeal of the big one.

FA is definately biased toward Brits, its in their interest to be. But also, racism is a huge deal right now after sepp blatter's recent comments. Think they had to make an example and set a precedent.

how good is bale's form right now. that second goal was amazing the other day. so fast and in control at all times.

and how about the end of the Man. City v. West Brom game. Great save and clearance off the line in stoppage time.

I thought Man C was lacking something against West Brom. Nasri doesn't seem to working for them, and Aguero seems off his feed. Balotelli is the MAN, but ManC looked better offensively at the start of the season with Dezko in there and with Tourre playing higher. Their inability to open distance from ManU while ManU is at reduced strength has to worry Mancini.

I agree Liverpool looks like they won't be able to stay with Totenham and Arsenal. I still think the best from Asenal is yet to come.

Looking forward to the opening of the transfer window.
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ballotelli and aguero don't quite seam to mesh. maybe too much ego, or maybe it will just take some time. each seams better with dzeko along side even though he isn't the player that either of them is.

united should get cleverly back soon which I think will be a big boost. they could use someone to play with him in the middle at the transfer window with anderson out, unless phil jones is going to fill that role once they start getting defensemen back from injury, which I'm all for.

ManU's offense is broke without Anderson (hard to believe but true I think). He plays a more forward midfield role than their other inside mids, including Jones. Anderson seems to get Rooney the ball in better positions in particular, but he also interconnects all their attacking players better than their other players.
In spite of a misfiring offense, Man U has kept up there with ManC but it has not been easy. Ferguson must see that he needs another player with Anderson's skill set and I suspect he will buy one this month.....maybe this Danish kid at Ajax (though the little I've seen of him has not wowed me).

Tough day for the top clubs.

Anderson looked rusty, but at least he's getting fit. They deserved to lose just for letting Nani on the field with that hair cut. Need vidic back. Relying on berbatov to mark samba was not pretty.
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And ManC chokes against Sunderland, amazing. Ferguson got his Bday present after all. Interesting time of year in the EPL. Seems like the best teams and weakest teams both hit the wall. The good teams fatigue and hope to get by coasting a little, the newly promoted teams start to run out of the adrenalin that kept them competitive. The mid table teams start to get their act together and that costs the best and weakest teams both.
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And ManC chokes against Sunderland, amazing. Ferguson got his Bday present after all. Interesting time of year in the EPL. Seems like the best teams and weakest teams both hit the wall. The good teams fatigue and hope to get by coasting a little, the newly promoted teams start to run out of the adrenalin that kept them competitive. The mid table teams start to get their act together and that costs the best and weakest teams both.
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That sums it up pretty well.

Don't know if you guys caught the Man Cit/Sunderland match but the ending was amazing. Sunderland's goal was literally in the last 5 seconds of play. To be fair the goal should have been flagged for off sides but it was still awesome to see them win in the last moment of the game.

just watched arsenal vs. fulham. good match up, good game. gary cahill heading to chelsea after his team gets relegated??:)

so are we doing the s-b epl fantasy??

bad performance by united. wow. offense broke without anderson, as numbskull said, and defence broke without vidic. tottenham is right on their heels for the no. 2 spot.

Fear not. ManC will miss Yaya Toure even more. He is the motor of that team.
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Resigning schoals seams a bit desperate to me.
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Resigning schoals seams a bit desperate to me.
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They are desperate. Happy to see the win today but I didn't feel comfortable even after Company's red card. I hope Sir Alex has something up his sleeve for this transfer window.

suposedly he's after two german guys, can't remember their names, and maybe christian eriksen, which looks the best of the rumors to me. Kompany's 4 match suspension should help a bit, along with City losing a few guys to the African nations cup (both of which are also screwing me in fantasy selections). There's a big opportunity for Tottenham right now as thet still have a game in hand and are pretty healthy, especially since they'll get City during Kompany's suspension. I thought the card was a joke personally, but with today's rules, I can't see the card being recinded.

suposedly he's after two german guys, can't remember their names, and maybe christian eriksen, which looks the best of the rumors to me. Kompany's 4 match suspension should help a bit, along with City losing a few guys to the African nations cup (both of which are also screwing me in fantasy selections). There's a big opportunity for Tottenham right now as thet still have a game in hand and are pretty healthy, especially since they'll get City during Kompany's suspension. I thought the card was a joke personally, but with today's rules, I can't see the card being recinded.

Agree on the card. Thankfully it didn't completely ruin the game.. Did he tweet something about it after the game that led to the suspension or something?
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automatic for second red of season. one game for first. It will end up being 2 carling cup and 2 league games if they don't appeal. If they appeal and the FA decides the appeal to be frivilous, they will add another game. supposedly mancini wants to get a center half on transfer to replace him temporarily, but City can't until they complete some transfers out due to FIFA fair play regs. rumors of ballotelli moving on, but i don't see that. Tevez to milan seams likely though.

Liverpool headed for 10th. :wall:

Still bummin after the Spurs V City result today.
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Still bummin after the Spurs V City result today.
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yup. terrible. will spurs get another chance at them? balotelli needs to be annihilated by someone during his next game.

Balotelli is great, such a perfect villain. I'm kinda liking Man City, nice to see them rocking the boat a bit, the league needs it. This Tevez soap opera is amusing, too. Silva is an amazing player to watch.

Chelsea is a sorry team but gotta love Norwich City. Quite the coaching job there.

Tottenham looks weaker with Bale inside. Other than his goal, he seemed invisible against ManC.

Arsenal was foolish to send Frimpong out on loan. He looked fantastic for Wolves until he took the boot to the head. Arshavin is useless. This Ox-Chamberlian kid was great.

Liverpool has to be the biggest disappointment of the season. At the end of last season they were playing the best soccer in the EPL. Too bad they are run by idiots. Carroll has been a disaster, Henderson, Downing, and Adams are not good enough, they were plain stupid to give up Merileis, and this young Spanish defender they sent away to Norwich is looking like a steal. Losing Lucas hurt, but so has getting Gerard back. As incredible player as he is, his one man team all over the field style seems to create enough uncertainty in his teammates that their play slows and they underperform.

scott - no more spurs v. city games, city beat them twice. they're hamstrung in those games because city still owns adabyor (they loaned him to someone, who then loaned him to spurs I think), so he can't play against them. but city is just plain better overall. They did not have either of the Torre brothers on Sunday.

a four game ban is under consideration for Balotelli for the stomp, even though the match official didn't call anything. given the FA's recent history of dealing with non-england internations, it would not surprise me. That could be his ticket out of england since the manager and balotelli's agent both seam to be leaning toward a transfer to Italy anyway.

it almost seams that liverpool has the same management as the red sox the way they're going with bad big money signings and locker room turmoil. oh wait, they do. now they want demba ba? Newcastle just brought in a young up and coming striker so maybe its time for them to sell high on Ba in Liverpool with overpay. Liverpool could end up being Newcastle's sponsor on the road back to the being an elite side by financing all of their signings.

Liverpool looked great today against Man S h i t t y! Dominated much of the game and got a much deserved draw in the end. Amazingly Gerrards presence in the lineup didn't seem to confuse and befuddle his teamates....on to Wembley!
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ManC looked limp against Everton. Awful movement off the ball, few people other than Silva trying to make something happen. They seemed unable to rise the occasion, everyone looking to someone else to save the game. Content to outclass the other team rather than outplay them. Hardly the stuff of champions.

Can say the same for Arsenal vs Bolton. Chamberlain looked special, but Arteta and Song don't have any push in the center and Ramsey, try as he might, is more a box to box guy than a playmaker. Loads of possession but no real idea what to do with it.

Man U v Chelsea this morning on Fox. Should be a great match, especially considering the standings.
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Man U v Chelsea this morning on Fox. Should be a great match, especially considering the standings.
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Funny how they are hyping it considering Chelsea's unsuccessful season but with City's win yesterday it's definitely a big game for united. Hoping for a big game from Rooney and a united win but at some point I would like to see Torres wake up and start scoring.....not sure that will ever happen though.

ManU and Chelsea was a fun spectacle......although why AVB didn't shut up shop and call it a day when up 3-0 with 30" to play is beyond me. Was Mikel injured or something? I can't imagine even Man U breaking down a midfield with Mikel, Essien, and this exBarca kid in it.

The Liverpool-Tottenham game was interesting as well. Tottenham is in the running for the league title, but seemingly made little effort to win the game. Not a good sign for them. Liverpool, on the other hand played like demons, but generated very little worth mention.
Now that Capello has quit, Redknap will be very tempted to take the England job. Will he walk out on Tottenham? Nervous times for Tottenham fans I'd imagine.

mikel has a hamstring.

liverpool can really defend. how much offense they can generate is a question though.

tottenham hasn't shown an ability to beat the big boys, and until they do that, i don't see them as a serious contender. although, nobody really looks all that great this year, so if there was ever an opening for them, its now.

i'm really hoping that newcastle can go on a run with Ba and Cisse up front and grab the 4 spot from Chelsea. I'd love to see Chelsea and Arsenal out of the top four.

I think Harry will get the England job. Seems a much better fit than Capello ever was.

I think Harry will get the England job. Seems a much better fit than Capello ever was.

I think Harry would be much better off staying at Spurs. The England job is a thankless one and he has seen many of his colleagues who have taken the position go down in flames. He has a good side at Spurs club (that supported him in his latest tax troubles) that are likely to wind up in the CL next year compared to an England squad in need of a massive overhaul. I think we will use the England job as leverage to get more funds from the Spurs board to be able to sign Bale and Modric to long term deals and buy a new striker.

I think Harry would be much better off staying at Spurs. The England job is a thankless one and he has seen many of his colleagues who have taken the position go down in flames. He has a good side at Spurs club (that supported him in his latest tax troubles) that are likely to wind up in the CL next year compared to an England squad in need of a massive overhaul. I think we will use the England job as leverage to get more funds from the Spurs board to be able to sign Bale and Modric to long term deals and buy a new striker.

I agree that would appear to be the smart move, but I think the allure of rebuilding the national team may be too much for him to pass up. I love the soap opera that is the English National Team! What a mess. :rotf2:

England coach is a lot less work than Tottenham coach, and likely pays better. Nice pre-retirement job. He'd probably get a 4-6 year contract. I think he will jump all over it if offered. It isn't like Harry hasn't walked out on other teams before in midseason. Priceless how AVB is pushing him for the job.

maybe that will be mourinho's window to get back to the EPL as rumored.

it would be interesting to see how differently the brits treat one of their own as coach than a foreigner (look at how differently suarez and terry were treated for a similar offense).

[QUOTE=Clogston29;919817]maybe that will be mourinho's window to get back to the EPL as rumored.QUOTE]

I always figured the special one holding out for Sir Alex to retire...Spurs are a step down for him. Don't forget Rafa Benitez needs work too and Tottenham might be the perfect place for him.

he has come right out and said that he sees himself as sir alex's replacement. there are some rumors that united may try to push him toward retirement if mourinno really is available. personally, i hope not. i don't enjoy his strict, defensive style (neither do most of his players). that, along with gigg's retirement, would probably be enough to push me toward being a tottenham fan.

maybe that will be mourinho's window to get back to the EPL as rumored.

it would be interesting to see how differently the brits treat one of their own as coach than a foreigner (look at how differently suarez and terry were treated for a similar offense).

Well there are reasons why Suarez and Terry cases are being treated differently. In Terry's case the police were informed about the alleged conduct by a fan which prompted them to be involved in the investigation which has led to the current charges. Once the police were involved the FA decided to not conduct their own investigation concurrent with the police one. If Terry is convicted the FA will then suspend him.

The Brits have been very hostile to Brit coaches that have not had success. Look at Gordon Taylor and Bobby Robson both had a torrid time while in charge.

AVB :rotf2:

Quite the spectacle, Suarez/Evra. The game itself sorta sucked. Liverpool looked sloppy, ManU a bit dull. But the sideshow was worth the admission.

This will be fascinating to see what the FA does.

The more I read about it, the more I doubt they will act against Suarez. It seems refusing to shake hands is not unheard of in the EPL. Still, I suspect they are going to be very tempted to punish him again because this mocks them as much as it mocks Evra.

The FA is a friggin joke. The double standard shown by them regarding these two cases is ridiculious. Who knows if Suarez, when he called Evra a "negrito" meant it in a negative manner, but by his account, and many others familiar with Central American culture, he likely did not. Evra is a scumbag, he proved that at the last World Cup, and has cried wolf in this manner before; this time it just happened to stick. I wouldn't shake his hand either.

50554
:confused:

Well there are reasons why Suarez and Terry cases are being treated differently. In Terry's case the police were informed about the alleged conduct by a fan which prompted them to be involved in the investigation which has led to the current charges. Once the police were involved the FA decided to not conduct their own investigation concurrent with the police one. If Terry is convicted the FA will then suspend him.

The Brits have been very hostile to Brit coaches that have not had success. Look at Gordon Taylor and Bobby Robson both had a torrid time while in charge.

"Once the police were involved the FA decided to not conduct their own investigation concurrent with the police one." - I guess that's the part I'm questioning. Would they make that same decision if it was not an England international? I doubt it, but its just my opinion. In either case, there seams to be alot more evidence against Terry than there was Suarez.

And i agree on the coach thing in the past, i just wonder if Harry might get a bit for slack. Maybe not.

I think Evra and Suarez are both pricks, but in the interest of moving on Suarez should have just gone ahead with the hand shake IMO. You have to shake hands with guys you hate sometimes, just a fact of life.

lots of boring games this weekend.

The issue with the FA is that if they went ahead with their own hearing Terry's legal team would not let him participate because you can not risk having him say something that will come back to haunt him in the criminal case. In a way that leaves the FA with not much to do. That turns out to be a blessing for Chelsea as they get the player for the rest of the season as they fight for a CL spot where Liverpool lost its top striker for 8 games.

As an Arsenal supporter I thought this w/e went rather well as everyone around us dropped points. Will be interesting to see if the return of Gervinho means Walcott goes to the bench (hopefully). The Mertsacker injury is worrisome. All in all I think the schedule does not favor us getting a fourth place finish.

in the interest of moving on Suarez should have just gone ahead with the hand shake IMO.

I agree.

On another note....

50627

Just in case anyone missed this...

Aston Villa Mascot Refuses Handshake - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv46nGqU0vQ)

:rotf2:

Just in case anyone missed this...

Aston Villa Mascot Refuses Handshake - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv46nGqU0vQ)

:rotf2:

LOL Chunkah

Carling Cup was fun to watch :humpty:

Does this count as a Red Sox win? :hihi:
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Carling Cup was fun to watch :humpty:

Does this count as a Red Sox win? :hihi:
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Great win for Liverpool....Cardiff played great. I'd like to see a rematch in the FA Cup final....and no...eff the Sox. ;)

Man U & Arsenal pulled out some classy wins today too....hate those guys.

AVB fired by Chelski....a team in trouble!!! This brings me joy.
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AVB fired by Chelski....a team in trouble!!! This brings me joy.
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Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

No matter what they do that squad is going to be broken up at the end of the year. Hard to say if any big name coaches will accept Chelsea's management by committee set up. Rafa may be good for Torres. They had a pretty good understanding at Liverpool

I think Benitez would want much more control than he'd get there.
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Not so sure...it make make the tie breaker tomorrow a lot more interesting.

-spence

DVR is set!
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The plot thickens.

Now we find out what ManC is made of. Kudos to ManU for forcing them to crack.....but if and how ManC responds should be interesting and telling. Good teams take on the personality of their manager and that is probably ManU's advantage.

Tomorrow's Arsenal/Newcastle game is also fascinating. Tottenham must also be starting to get nervous.

Next few weeks are going to be great. Chelsea play Man City and Spurs back to back. Arsenal have Man City and Chelsea in April. Spurs look to have the easiest run in after they play Chelsea. CL fourth spot may be decided by the Arsenal Chelsea game at the end of April.

Awful stuff today...

Muamba 'critically ill' | Bolton Wanderers News, Fixtures, Results, Transfers | Sky Sports (http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11672/7605478/Muamba-critically-ill-)
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Pathetic loss by Liverpool today....
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liverpool sucks. screwed me in fantasy this week. every time they start to look alittle better, they do that. i'm done with them, except maybe skrtel.

A whole new low for LFC today. Andy Carroll is a POS and needs to be sold....sad times.
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Although the Suarez suspension hurt Liverpool season really went downhill when they lost Lucas and Agger to injury. I agree with you all regarding Carroll. May go down as the worst transfer in the history of the EPL. In fact most of the moves King Kenny has made up to now have not panned out (Jordan Henderson is another one - Enrique was a good signing though). The thing that made the Carroll signing for such a large fee strange for me was he had a lot of off field issues while at Newcastle which showed him to be a bit unstable.
As for Arsenal it was hard to watch. Chance to put Spurs under pressure for third and they just did not show up and QPR pushed and bullied them all over the park. Thought when the equalized a bell would go off but they were asleep at the wheel. Makes next w/e game against Man City tough to call because both teams are playing poorly.

what makes the andy carrol signing so bad, at least to me, is that it was so predictable. i don't see how they thought he would thrive a liverpool. he never really even showed signs of being worth that kind of money. if they wanted that type of player, they could have gotten crouch (who I'm not a big fan of) for alot less money. i think liverpool was just desperate to make a splash.

at least some of the other recent big busts, like fernando torres, looked good on paper.

Credit to Newcastle they have been the biggest surprise in the EPL this year. Very entertaining side they have now with Ben Afra pulling the strings for Cisse and Ba, Tiote and Guthrie stonewalling the midfield and Cabaye tying things together. Whoever is finding players for them is doing the best job in the entire EPL right now. Their defense is thin, but with a little luck they could yet end up 4th. It would be nice to see them hold onto Ba and Tiote come summer. They are not far away from putting a scare into the EPL elite.

Agreed. Pardew should be a top contender for Manager of the Year. However I have a lot of time for David Moyes of Everton who despite the fact that he never has any money always finds a way to keep them in the top ten close to the European slots. If they finish above LFC Merseyside will be a real interesting place over the summer. Newly promoted Swansea and Norwich have also done quite well.

Pardew gets credit, but it is really whoever at Newcastle is finding the players for him that deserves the praise.

Agreed Moyes is a class act. It would be interesting to see what he could do with some $$$ backing him.

The guy I admire most is Lambert. He would get my vote for manager of the year. The team he has built plays way above the sum of their individual skills.

cisse looked great again, second goal was great. very interested to see how they handle ba in the off season, especially if Liverpool come calling as is rumored.

looks like city can't take the heat. mancinni will lose his job for backing, and failing to rein in, Balotelli, Tevez and the rest. Its a shame, because Balotelli has so much skill, but he was an embarrassment this weekend. The chosen one is probably already house shopping in Manchester, which would remove any doubt about Balotelli's future there. love the soap opera stuff.

meanwhile united just chug along. got a bit of a gift in that game, but I think they would have taken 3 points even without it. what a run of form by scholes at his age. i thought that move was pure desperation and would never work out, should not have doubted sir alex on that one.

I love these mid week league games. Just called my wife at home to have her set the DVR for the City and United games this afternoon.

That United Wigan game was great!
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As was the Arsenal-Wigan game. Gotta love watching Wenger dissolve in frustration. That Moses guy was a handful. I'll be surprised if Wigan can hold onto him.

I hear you numby...Wenger is great to watch when in full meltdown.
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good run by wigan. could save their status in the EPL and marinez's job. al habsi has had a good year. was funny that he got carded in stoppage time for time wasting, seeing that he started doing it in the first half.

bad loss for united but their still in control if they take care of business down the stretch.

will be interesting (at least for me) to see how tevez does down the stretch. don't always like how he handles things off the field, but on the field he's the man. i still wish it had worked out for him at united.

Totally focused on champs league right now. I have this love hate thing with Chelsea. I want them to be destroyed when they play Spurs and United but for some reason I need them to do well in other games. It's like all is not right with the league if they are not dominant. Watching them get a result against Barca today was great and they did it with some great defending. I also sympathize with Torres for some reason and want him to do well and surprise everyone.

Josh,
I can't believe you think Roberto Martinez job is in jeopardy. I know its the EPL and every coach is on the hot seat other than Sir Alex but RM has a solid rep. Are there alot of rumors about him getting #^&#^&#^&#^& canned? I hope not. Wigan has such a weak roster.

Funny, I have a hate / hate thing with Chelski and want to see Torres or Terry blow a knee....

Martinez seems to be a pretty good coach. Excellent results recently with a glorified Championship squad...hope the guy gets a shot with a "big" club one day.
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just speculation on my part. relegation is never good for a coach. better managers on worse clubs have been fired for getting relegated before.

Everton played a hell of a match today and ManC won....a nice tight race for the title!

Another home loss by Liverpool....boy they need a first class striker. Newcastle keeps rolling and QPR pull out a huge win....a good weekends action for sure!
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ManC looked impotent until Silva went off and Toure moved forward. I hope they leave him up there for the game against ManU. Still, I will be surprised if ManC pulls off a win. They look too to be playing too slowly to threaten ManU much. We'll see.

Newcastle's offense is as good as anyone's right now. It wouldn't surprise me entirely that even if ManC takes the points from ManU, they still go on to lose the title against Newcastle.

Chelsea in the CL today were fantastic. Played with 10 men for 53 minutes and scored two goals. They will have a number of key player suspended for the final but a Chelsea real Madrid final would be great.
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Fascinating spectacle. I haven't liked Chelsea since the days of Jimmy Floyd and Zola ended, but I like Dimatteo and want to see him do well. I've also gotten a bit tired of Barcelona. As amazing as their players are their passing and possession dominance forces other teams into a shell and the game becomes stagnant.

Fascinating spectacle. I haven't liked Chelsea since the days of Jimmy Floyd and Zola ended, but I like Dimatteo and want to see him do well. I've also gotten a bit tired of Barcelona. As amazing as their players are their passing and possession dominance forces other teams into a shell and the game becomes stagnant.

Barca very much remind me of an Arsene Wenger team (with obviously better players at present) in that there is no plan B to the offense. If they can not play their one touch game they have no other way to score. What happens is you blow out 95% of the teams you play but when you get to the critical games that you must win against solid defensive clubs you get frustrated and the play goes from side to side endlessly. In the second half Alves tried putting some corners in but hardly anyone on Barca is close to or over 6 foot so Chelsea dealt with them with not much stress. Why they did not try shooting from the top of the box is a question but it goes back to your point that they only know one way to play.
Once again Terry shows himself to be a complete mug and may be the first man in history to cause his team to lose two CL finals. Glad to see Torres get a goal as I think he is a class player. Finally, Ramires is showing himself to be a real force and may be the center of that team in years to come.

Once again Terry shows himself to be a complete mug and may be the first man in history to cause his team to lose two CL finals. .

It really is unreal. Talking about digging your own grave. I hope Luiz and Cahil are health for the final. I love them both.

Roy Hodgson approached by FA to become the new manager of England....who would have guessed?
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Roy Hodgson approached by FA to become the new manager of England....who would have guessed?
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The FA were never really comfortable with Harry as he is too dodgy a character to have as the coach of the national team. They see him as another Terry Venebles. Watching the Manchester City United game and I can not understand why Sir Alex has not taken Nani off and tried Ashley Young. Nani does not have it tonight.
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ManU looked old. No shots on net against a team that had to push forward to win a game? Ferguson blinked when it counted the most.

strange lineup to be sure. i didn't get to watch the game, but was very surprised to see the lineup online.

guess i'll be pulling for joey barton and the rest of the rangers this weekend.

guess i'll be pulling for joey barton and the rest of the rangers this weekend.

Yeah. Me too. Interesting how Fox is broadcasting so many games at the same time on all their networks like speed. I'll be at a mothers' day brunch and my DVR can only record 2 games at a time unfortunately.

Jamie Mackie !!!!!!!

A lot easier to pull for qpr now that barton is off. What a piece of #^&#^&#^&#^&.
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Wow. Don't like the result but that was entertainment.
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WOW!

Great end to the season! Watching the highlights I feel sorry for Bolton as the first Stoke goal was clearly a foul on the keeper. Barton should be cut by QPR and if not the league should give him at least a ten game suspension.
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once he got the red, flipping out and trying to take someone with him was actually probably a smart move. luckily for city, someone grabbed ballotelli because he was on his way off the bench. i think micah richards got between them, so at least he contributed something towards the end of the season.

Liverpool sack Kenny. Let the games begin. Just shows how little winning the Carling Cup means.
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Liverpool sack Kenny. Let the games begin. Just shows how little winning the Carling Cup means.
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Don't think it will happen but that is where I would like to see the special one. would be very interesting.

Liverpool is linked to a lot of candidates...Martinez, Rodgers, AVB, Pardew, Capello, Guardiola, Benitez. Some reports say Txiki Begiristain will be named as Director of Football in the next few days....if that's true, Guardiola could be a perfect fit.
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I can't see Guardiola getting involved with Liverpool. He just burned out coaching the best team in the world and his preferred style of play is not something Liverpool could likely pull off.

I think they may shy away from a big name manager who would demand another big outlay in the transfer market. Rather, I suspect they will go with an organizer type, some one like Martin O'Neill, who can get the most out of what they have already bought. If Chelsea cuts Dimatteo loose, they might go after him as well.

I read somewhere DiMatteo has the Lazio job lined up if he isn't asked to stay at Chelsea. I have the feeling it will be AVB or Martinez that gets the Liverpool job.
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I read somewhere DiMatteo has the Lazio job lined up if he isn't asked to stay at Chelsea. I have the feeling it will be AVB or Martinez that gets the Liverpool job.
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Someone would want AVB right now? To me he goes back to the minors.

I get the impression Guardiola needs a few yeas away from the game.

Very happy for drogba and czeck. Not a big chelsea fan, but two class players came up big.
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Very happy for drogba and czeck. Not a big chelsea fan, but two class players came up big.
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I agree. Would be interesting if both squads had full team. Torres,did himself no favors whining after the game. Best part of Chelsea's win is spurs getting no CL.
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Someone would want AVB right now? To me he goes back to the minors.

I get the impression Guardiola needs a few yeas away from the game.

I agree about AVB, but then again, who knows, he had an outstanding reputation before the Chelski debacle....maybe it was just that locker room? I'd think Liverpool could do better, but it seems all the young coaches (apparently they want to go young) are turning them down.
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It'll be interesting to see what happens with Chelsea as Torres and Drogba both look to be gone, and DiMatteo still waiting to hear if he gets the job.
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Barton gets a 12 game suspension. News story says QPR want to cut him but he has three years left on his contract at 4 million a year. They will try to sell him in January if there are any takers.
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Rodgers new LFC manager....hoping van Gaal or Txiki Begeristain gets DOF.
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Rodgers new LFC manager....hoping van Gaal or Txiki Begeristain gets DOF.
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Kind of seems backward to me. Wouldn't you want to have the DOF in place to make sure he and the coach were on the same page on how to take the club forward.
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