RIP Sir Bobby. Was a true gent and had an immense passion for the game.

7/31/2009 8:55:10 PM

i didn't say i like man city, but if they have a chance to shake things up amongst the big 4, more power to them

i haven't been into soccer very long, but there is only one team i hate in the epl and it's the other manchester club.

7/31/2009 9:07:04 PM

Garry Cook is a plonker. Nuff said.

7/31/2009 10:23:15 PM

start liking Citeh and next thing you know, you'll find yourself giving handjobs in the john for a snort of blow


it's a slippery slope



if you wanna like a shitty team that sets the bar too high for themselves, take a good hard look and lolverpool. at least there's a bit of history there that warrants you being a fan.

[Edited on August 1, 2009 at 3:13 PM. Reason : *incites scouser riot*]

8/1/2009 3:12:44 PM

hahah

5 European championships is pretty sucky, I agree

8/1/2009 11:20:34 PM

nvermind

[Edited on August 1, 2009 at 11:58 PM. Reason : ddd]

8/1/2009 11:57:37 PM

I don't like either Manchester team, but I'd love to see Citeh beat Man U just to see SAF's reaction.

8/2/2009 12:02:22 AM

at least you can respect a lolverpool fan

like I said, there's history there

not much of it lately, but still history




citeh never has been and never will be worth a shit

8/2/2009 11:46:38 AM

ok since ive been drinkin and have nothing better to do im gonna make some BOLD predictions for the upcoming season:

Top 5 in the table:

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Lolverpool
4. Everton
5. Aston Villa

Top 5 Goalscorers:

1. Owen (homer call but i see him going nuts this year barring injury)
2. Torres
3. Lampard
4. Anelka
5. Gerrard

Relegated Teams:

1. Wigan
2. Hull City
3. Burnley

#of times aimorris says "fuck man u" this season:

7

[Edited on August 3, 2009 at 1:00 AM. Reason : lol]

8/3/2009 12:59:18 AM

so how do you guys watch games? i've heard atdhe.net has some. does justin.tv have this? any other sites?

8/3/2009 6:09:15 AM

Quote :

"#of times aimorris says "fuck man u" this season: 7"

haha nice

I'd definitely take the over if I were a betting man though

8/3/2009 8:07:02 AM

Justin.tv for me, mostly

8/3/2009 9:09:32 AM

that's where i watch most of my stuff too.

8/3/2009 10:10:25 AM

I used to do the sopcast and tvu shit, but for the last year or so this has been my source. http://www.iraqgoals.net Basically they link to all the feeds on atdhe and Justin.tv so it makes it easy to find.

8/3/2009 10:42:33 AM

dude I don't like Man City either, but I'd have a hard time excluding them from the top 5. Honestly, as a Liverpool fan, I'm most worried about Man City and Arsenal. Arshavin is good as fuck and I think the Gunners could very easily have an awesome season

8/3/2009 5:48:37 PM

arsenal and man city have no leadership. not worried about them this year. man city is not gonna run house with the 9 strikers they have. egos are gonna fly at that club cause mark hughes has no experience with dealing with bigger name players



actually...how in the hell do you worry more about man city and arsenal more than united and chelski?? both teams finished higher. chelski didnt lose anyone of importance, and do you guys really think united is gonna fall that much from ronaldo? berbatov was the team leader in terms of offensive efficiency with goals and assists. united and chelski had the best defenses last year and will have the same players again this year

[Edited on August 3, 2009 at 6:00 PM. Reason : g]

8/3/2009 5:51:50 PM

I can see Chelsea taking the league over United, but I don't see them falling further than 2nd. I think Man City ends up 6th or 7th, probably in a Europa League spot, but they aren't cracking the top 4 this year.

8/3/2009 6:03:02 PM

Quote :

"actually...how in the hell do you worry more about man city and arsenal more than united and chelski?? both teams finished higher. chelski didnt lose anyone of importance, and do you guys really think united is gonna fall that much from ronaldo? berbatov was the team leader in terms of offensive efficiency with goals and assists. united and chelski had the best defenses last year and will have the same players again this year"

I agree with the first part of this... Citeh won't be an easy game but I can't see them seriously challenging. I also think people are quick to write off Arsenal but I'm not sure why... they're getting Rosicky and Eduardo back, Adebayor was a cancer anyways, and I like Toure but he's not in his prime anymore... I don't think they'll seriously challenge either though.

I think the favorites have to be Chelsea... insanely deep team that hasn't lost anybody from last year and you know damn well they're going to add some more players.

I think United will have a bit of a drop-off but not out of Top 3 drop-off... I've never been that impressed with Nani/Anderson as being the core of a midfield and there's an awful lot of pressure on them to step up this year... I guess we'll just have to see. I don't really see United losing Ronaldo just as "oh shit, there go all his goals" because they have strikers to replace him... it's more about the threat coming from the wings, the counter-attack, the ability to go at and beat guys one-on-one. They don't really have that anymore so I think teams will be able to take more chances and expose United's midfield.

And Liverpool is Liverpool... can they win the games they're supposed to win? I'd say they were favorites if they held on to Alonso and even if they lose him and get somebody else to fill in, I don't think that drops them out of the Top 4. Gerrard/Torres are too good to let them drop that far.

So, my prediction (could change with more signings) - Chelsea, Liverpool, United, Arsenal, Citeh. And I think the top 3 will be VERY close.

8/3/2009 6:45:51 PM

City will take time to gel as a squad. They've had a terrible preseason and they probably won't start well until there's some continuity within the team. it'll be interesting to see how hughes manages all his forwards.

8/3/2009 8:08:05 PM

1. Chelski
2. Lolverpool
3. Man Eww
4. Arsenlol
5. Citeh
--------------
Everton


Just to rile up you man fags.

I can't write off Citeh too easily. I still think they'll pick up a decent defender by the 31st. I just hope it's not Lescott. Damnit, right as I wrote that I stumbled upon this, published four hous ago:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1204119/England-defender-Joleon-Lescott-tells-Everton-ready-leave-Manchester-Citys-riches.html

8/3/2009 11:29:29 PM

not riling me up. ill be more happy with an epl win this year than the last 3 years. if nani steps up this year so that park doesnt have to play all the time then united will run rampant this season again

8/3/2009 11:39:06 PM

Chelski's core is getting old...Drogba is definitely not the striker he once was, and Lampard has seen better days too, although the effect is not as apparent as in Drogba's case. Even Cech is slipping. But frankly my feeling that Chelski won't win the league is more a gut feeling than a carefully-reasoned decision...their glory days seem past.

United lost Ronaldo, the best player on their team...they also lost Tevez, and United won't be the same without him. Rooney and Berbatov are both in-the-hole strikers...and even if they can generate lots of goals and establish a solid partnership, what if one of 'em gets hurt? And Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes (if they even play) are both a year older, at a time when a single year can make a lot of difference.

City's weakness is obviously not going to be up top...we'll just have to see how they pan out. It'll be an intriguing season.

Oh, and Alonso's sale is now official

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8184444.stm

8/4/2009 2:56:48 PM

Yeah, it sucks for Liverpool but 30 mil is a damn good bit of business for Alonso... it'll be interesting to see who Benitez tries to replace him with.

I'd rather see a couple of guys to provide a little more depth instead of trying to buy someone to directly replace him 100% because that's not going to happen. Some cover for Torres and somebody like Defour whose name I see mentioned alot, although 18mil would be stupid for somebody like him, which is what I've seen following the mentions of his name.

8/4/2009 3:17:17 PM

I personally think we should come as close to replacing Alonso as we can, and not worry about depth...Alonso's role was incredibly important and an impairment in his role is a huge impairment to the entire side

whoa, wait a minute...how about Benayoun for Alonso's replacement? he's a different sort of player, obviously, and in a holding-midfielder role he wouldn't have the luxury of trying to beat any defender who challenged him...but I've always been a strong proponent of Benayoun - he's a superb ballhandler with great vision and a really nice touch - and could definitely see it working.

it also depends on whether Masch stays or goes...if he goes then a rethink in formation/approach would probably be in order, and in that case they should obviously buy new players based on that. And it would be nice to pick up one natural winger

8/4/2009 3:28:49 PM

Quote :

"I personally think we should come as close to replacing Alonso as we can, and not worry about depth...Alonso's role was incredibly important and an impairment in his role is a huge impairment to the entire side"

Yeah, his role is important - the main reason Alonso was so important is because it allows Gerrard to do whatever the fuck he wants, and that's when he's the best. A calming influence next to Masch and somebody to organize the midfield... I mean, they won't be able to replace the quality of Alonso this season, but you can get by with somebody that plays that role, especially with Gerrard in front of you. I think it's more of a blow to Liverpool that he left now and with no real replacement available... not so much that Liverpool absolutely NEEDS Alonso.

As for depth, what happens when Gerrard or Torres are out for a few games? Want to count on Ngog and Babel for goals? Can Spearing play with the first team?


oh and if Masch leaves, they're fucked

[Edited on August 4, 2009 at 3:41 PM. Reason : .]

8/4/2009 3:40:54 PM

berbatov is not an in the hole striker. hes an out and out striker. tevez scored maybe 5 goals in the league last year...im hardly sweating his loss. i think one of the youngins plus owen will easily fill that void. and from what im seeing in valencia, while he wont replace ronaldo all the way, his speed and power will be great out on the wing. i didnt realize how strong he was on the ball.

if lolverpool lose alonso and marsch theres no chance of a title this year for them.

8/4/2009 3:49:11 PM

is benitez even going to have any of that 30 mil or are gillett and hicks going to use it all to pay off debt

8/4/2009 3:56:58 PM

yeah good question

I get the feeling they're going to buy one more player in the 15-20 range, and I guess the rest will go to banks

8/4/2009 4:02:08 PM

^^^
okay, Berbatov's an out-and-out striker, the "in-the-hole" was inaccurate. But he is not a classic striker by any means...he is highly tactical, and my impression is that he excels more as an all-around wild-card who can make brilliant things happen. It looks like he scored 9 goals in 31 league appearances last year, which, while not at all bad, is hardly what one would expect from Manchester United's first striker. True, he probably would have scored more goals if they'd played him up top every game, and if Ronaldo hadn't been their go-to guy...but still imo Berbatov is not an elite forward and not enough of a pure goal-scorer to shoulder it all himself.

Of course, there's Rooney, and the two of 'em could be a really sick tandem. We'll just have to wait and see.

What Man U lose with Tevez is
1. Depth, i.e. the ability to rest all their other forwards throughout the long season (which they will need especially with Ronaldo gone. True, they can use Owen, or that young fella whose name escapes me but who won a 1-0 game late with that incredible goal; but those options are not nearly as solid as Tevez was.)
2. Attitude and spirit, tenacity, a positive influence on everybody else while he's on the field.

And yes, Liverpool need to hold the fuck onto Masch, now that Alonso is gone.

8/4/2009 4:43:36 PM

berbatov also led the team in assists. its highly important he stays healthy this year. im actually excited for the season to begin to watch michael owen on a team that i root for. tevez will not be missed. united have let go numerous high profile players and didnt miss a beat... beckham, veron, van nistelrooy, etc. ronaldo will be the biggest loss but at least now i wont have to worry about as many counter attacks from opposing teams cause he fell to the ground looking for a foul then bothered not to track back on defense

8/4/2009 4:50:28 PM

Did anyone on here set up a TWW Sky Sports fantasy league yet?

8/4/2009 5:50:36 PM

I set up a Yahoo one. PM me if you want in.



and this:

Quote :

"tevez will not be missed."

No more need be said, because it is 100% true.


BTW that Judas slipped in the tub and hurt himself, and is out of Citeh's first game or two. LOLZ!!!1

[Edited on August 4, 2009 at 6:57 PM. Reason : .]

8/4/2009 6:46:27 PM

ahaha nice. im in a fantasy league at premierleague.com, but i may want to join yahoo too...i usually get tired of these thing abt halfway through the season though

8/4/2009 7:15:52 PM

^BS you gave up when you dropped past 3rd.

<-- this guy one every week except for 1 or 2 times.

8/4/2009 9:36:51 PM

Quote :

"this guy one every week"

8/5/2009 1:53:15 AM

liverpool sold alonso >.<

8/5/2009 2:52:09 AM

van der sar will be out for 2 months it looks like with surgery on a broken finger or something...

not sure if thats good or bad, but i guess foster will be forced into action. might be the end for VDS if foster plays well.

8/5/2009 5:19:02 AM

looks like Altidore will be going to Hull City...

not sure how I feel about that, I was hoping he would stay in Spain but at least it'll be easier to watch his games

8/5/2009 8:50:18 AM

true. he will get more playing time at hull. i dont think spain is a good fit for him. at least now he can get settled in better without learning a new language

8/5/2009 8:55:03 AM

I was hoping Spain would force him to develop more of his weaker areas - we already know he's big and strong, he needs to work on his off-the-ball abilities and passing

8/5/2009 9:01:53 AM

id rather him just get minutes. and hopefully he gets minutes in the best league in the world

8/5/2009 9:38:32 AM

Liverpool: Alonso out Aquilani in

8/5/2009 5:32:34 PM

Milan signed Huntelaar


I bet amac is happy

8/6/2009 9:20:23 AM

Altidore will wear #9 at Hull City. It's official, only waiting on work permit.

8/6/2009 10:41:54 AM

I'd consider buying a jersey if they had a different sponsor...

I'll probably try to find a Charlie Davies Sochaux jersey though.

8/6/2009 10:44:21 AM

I'm thinking about getting one, what's wrong with their sponsor? Looks like a random gambling site to me.

I think their jerseys look pretty good, I like the tiger look. I might as well get one with some Premier League badges to mark the occasion, since they've got to be amongst the favorites to get sent down.

8/6/2009 11:16:43 AM

Yeah, that's what I meant... the ones with the random gambling sites just look cheesy to me. I also like the thicker stripes they had last year compared with the pinstripes this year.

But speaking of cheesy, I'm pretty sure French jerseys end up like NASCAR or Mexican teams with 4 or 5 sponsors all over everything - I just really like Davies and feel the need to rep him.

I guess I could always just get a Dempsey Fulham jersey. Ah who knows, all I know is that I want to get a jersey from an American player I like playing in Europe because I hate the current US national team jerseys.

8/6/2009 11:22:56 AM

im getting an altidore jersey

8/6/2009 12:20:19 PM

hey guys, what's the american television coverage look like this season? (only read first couple pages and last)

8/6/2009 2:40:54 PM

Same as last year. Coverage split between FSC and Setanta.

8/6/2009 3:00:29 PM