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[LiveWire]

DC U-NI-TED!!!! CLAP-CLAP-CLA-CLA-CLAP-CLAP! :lol

Wow, what an awesome experience. My second MLS game, and one of the most intense sporting events I've ever been to....not necessarily for brilliant play, but for my fellow Americans actually getting batshit crazy over soccer.

I was able to get pretty good seats right behind the Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava, DC United's two biggest fan groups. The pics I took below were from my iPhone--so no zoom.

Some are hard to make out, I tried to pick the best. When the rain was coming down hard for about 10 minutes the entire section (even the 400 level) was going nuts. I don't know if it came in through the broadcast, but wow. I really hope this is a glimpse of future MLS coverage and enthusiasm...

Pics!

Pre-game--stadium still filling up

Fans begin chants and songs

United's 1st corner kick

Sold out? Only time I've seen it more crowded is at the July 4th Nats game...

GOOOAAAALLLLL!!!

In the midst of the 2nd half downpour, unbelievably loud cheering

Beckham subs in to mixed female euphoric screams and male booing (and plenty of middle fingers too! :lol)

Red card against the Galaxy

 

[hadareud]

cool pictures!

rumours:

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Chelsea will step up their bid for Sevilla right-back Daniel Alves as soon as Arjen Robben completes his move to Real Madrid. (Independent)

West Ham could move for Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano after his £4m move to Manchester City broke down. (Independent)

Everton are set to sign Manuel Fernandes after Benfica accepted their £6m bid for a 50% stake. (Daily Mail)

Arsenal defender Johan Djourou is set to join Birmingham on loan for the season. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is still hoping to tie up a deal for £5m-rated Livorno keeper Marco Amelia. (Daily Express)

Middlesbrough are adamant they will not sell Yakubu. (Daily Mirror)

Albert Luque has told Newcastle he wants to leave and is set to join Feyenoord or Levante. (Daily Mirror)

Eidur Gudjohnsen has rejected a move to West Ham even though Barcelona accepted an £8m bid. (Sun)

Manchester City and Newcastle are also after the former Chelsea striker. (Independent)

Tottenham have made Portsmouth's Matt Taylor a target but Pompey are asking £8m. (Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and Renault chief Flavio Briatore are set to buy QPR for £25m. (Daily Mail, Times)

QPR boss John Gregory will get £10m to spend on players in January. (Times)

Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn says if manager Roy Keane goes, he will go too. (Daily Mirror)

Kasper Schmeichel could make a shock debut for Manchester City on Saturday if the club do not wrap up a deal for Marco Amelia. (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham's Aaron Lennon is set to miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers next month with a knee injury. (Daily Star)

AND FINALLY

Former Wimbledon striker John Fashanu is now the host of the Nigerian version of Deal or No Deal. (Daily Express)

Fulham defender Moritz Volz almost missed a pre-season trip to Brighton because he got stuck in the toilet for 40 minutes. He was eventually rescued when his cleaner called out a handyman. (Sun)

Liverpool players have nicknamed manager Rafael Benitez 'Max' because they reckon his goatee beard makes him look like the character from Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights. (Sun)

Manchester United 'rebel' Gabriel Heinze has been told to stay away from Sunday's game against Reading at Old Trafford. (Daily Mirror)

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6939787.stm

Published: 2007/08/10 06:07:52 GMT

© BBC MMVII

I don't know why but I have a feeling that there will be an announcement at Arsenal today.
Maybe Wenger's new contract?

Something might happen at Arsenal today (Hadareud)

 

[hadareud]

the reaction to Gallas' appointment as Arsenal captain has been quite angry

I think it’s fucking horrible and I don’t think I’ve ever disagreed more with a decision Arsene has made ....
.... we have to just live with the fact that the moany old cunt is our captain.

On Wednesday, I said:

“I think Gallas deserves another chance after a disastrous first season. I’ve got a feeling he might change a lot of people’s minds this season.”

Arsene, if you were reading, then you’ve completely misunderstood. Like Hitler reading Nietzsche, you’ve got it all wrong

 

[enishi]

Oh, the Barcelona exhibition match has been postponed due to a sudden typhoon... Maybe I'm lucky that I didn't buy the ticket

 

[Karakand]

West Ham could move for Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano after his £4m move to Manchester City broke down. (Independent)

First a loss to DCU and then this. Why do you hate me futbol, why? ;_;

 

[Karakand]

The MEN says the talks broke down because Mackintosh doesn't want to pay the transfer fee in full up front. Typical City...

 

[Steroyd]

Does anyone have the confirmed transfers list for this offseason that Lakitu posts from time-to-time?

May not be Lakitu type list but... meh.

ARSENAL

Ins: Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, undisclosed), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m), Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed).

Outs: Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, undisclosed), Mart Poom (Watford, free), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, free), Thierry Henry (Barcelona £16.1m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m), Jose Antonio Reyes (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Ryan Garry (Bournemouth, free).

ASTON VILLA

Ins: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham, £8.5m), Harry Forrester (Watford, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (West Ham, undisclosed), Eric Lichaj [unattached] free

Outs: Gavin McCann (Bolton, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Bolton, free), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, free), Stephen Henderson (Bristol City, free), Aaron Hughes (Fulham, £1m), Lee Hendrie (Sheffield United, released), Steven Davis (Fulham, undisclosed), Chris Sutton (retired).

BIRMINGHAM CITY

Ins: Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow, £2.7m), Stuart Parnaby (Middlesbrough, free), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal, undisclosed), Olivier Kapo (Juventus, £3m), Daniel de Ridder (Celta Vigo, free), Richard Kingston (Antalyaspor, free), Rafael Schmitz (Lille, season-long loan), Franck Queudrue (Fulham, £2.5m)

Outs: Bruno N'Gotty (Leicester, free), Stephen Clemence (Leicester, £1m), DJ Campbell (Leicester, £2.1m)

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Ins: Gunnar Nielsen (BK Frem Copenhagen, undisclosed), Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda, undisclosed), Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern Munich, undisclosed).

Outs: Andy Todd (Derby, undisclosed)

BOLTON WANDERERS

Ins: Gavin McCann (Aston Villa, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Aston Villa, free), Gerald Cid (Bordeaux, undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (FC Zurich, undisclosed), Zoltan Harsanyi (FC Senec, undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Liverpool, season-long loan), Mikel Alonso (Real Socieded, loan), Christian Wilhelmsson (Nantes, loan).

Outs: Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, free), Henrik Pedersen (released), Quinton Fortune (released), David Thompson (released), Cesar Martin (released).

CHELSEA

Ins: Florent Malouda (Lyon, undisclosed), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Danny Philliskirk (Oldham, undisclosed).

Outs: Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, season-long loan), Yves Makaba-Makalamby (Hibernian, free), Geremi (Newcastle, free), Michael Mancienne (QPR, season-long loan).

DERBY COUNTY

Ins: Andy Todd (Blackburn, undisclosed), Robert Earnshaw (Norwich City, £3.5m), Tyrone Mears (West Ham, £1m), Andy Griffin (Portsmouth, free).

Outs: Seth Johnson (released), Paul Peschisolido (Luton, free), Morten Bisgaard (released), Paul Boertien (Walsall, free), Lee Grant (released), Ryan Smith (Millwall, £150,000), Lionel Ainsworth (Hereford, free), Richard Jackson (released).

EVERTON

Ins:Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Swindon, undisclosed), Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United, £4m), Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund, loan)

Outs: Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, £1m), Richard Wright (West Ham, free), Alessandro Pistone (released), Scott Phelan (Bradford, free).

FULHAM

Ins: Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.025m), Paul Konchesky (West Ham, £3.25m), David Healy (Leeds, £1.5m), Lee Cook (QPR, undisclosed).

Outs: Claus Jensen (released), Mark Pembridge (released), Tomasz Radzinski (released), Mark Crossley (released, now at Oldham), Michael Brown (Wigan, undisclosed), Franck Queudrue (Birmingham, £2.5m).

LIVERPOOL

Ins: Andrey Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Kristian Nemeth & Andras Simon (both MTK Hungariam, undisclosed), Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, undisclosed), Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m), Lucas Leiva (Gremio, undisclosed).

Outs: Mark Gonzalez (Real Betis, undisclosed), Bolo Zenden (Marseille, free), Robbie Fowler (Cardiff, free), Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2.7m), Danny Guthrie (Bolton, season-long loan), Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m), Djibril Cisse (Marseille, £6m), Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid, released).

MANCHESTER CITY

Ins: Geovanni (Cruzeiro, free), Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m), Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion, undisclosed), Martin Petrov (Atletico Madrid, £4.7m), Javier Garrido (Real Sociedad, £1.5m), Vedran Corluka (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk, £8m)

Outs: Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth, free), Trevor Sinclair (released), Stephen Jordan (Burnley, free), Hatem Trabelsi (released), Joey Barton (Newcastle, £5.8m), Nicky Weaver (Charlton, free).

MANCHESTER UNITED

Ins: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, undisclosed), Anderson* (FC Porto, undisclosed), Nani* (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed)
(* Combined transfer fee for Anderson and Nani was £30m)

Outs: Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, undisclosed), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, undisclosed), Alan Smith (Newcastle, £6m)

MIDDLESBROUGH

Ins: Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce, free), Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal, £2m), Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid, £7m), Luke Young (Charlton, £2.5m).

Outs: Mark Viduka (Newcastle, free), Stuart Parnaby (Birmingham, free), Abel Xavier (LA Galaxy, free), Malcolm Christie (released), Danny Graham (released), Jason Kennedy (Livingston, loan).

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Ins: Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m), Geremi (Chelsea, free), Alan Smith (Manchester United, £6m), Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free), Jose Enrique (Villarreal, £6.5m).

Outs: Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, free), Antoine Sibierski (Wigan, free), Craig Moore (released), Olivier Bernard (released), Alan O'Brien (undisclosed).

PORTSMOUTH

Ins: David Nugent (Preston, undisclosed), John Utaka (Rennes, undisclosed), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, undisclosed), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, £7m), Sylvain Distin (Manchester City, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton, free), Martin Cranie (Southampton, undisclosed).

Outs: Svetoslav Todorov (Charlton, free), Daryl Fordyce (released), Andy Griffin (Derby, free), Collins Mbesuma (Bursaspor, undisclosed).

READING

Ins: Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £1m), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m).

Outs: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £2.5m), Curtis Ujah (Yeovil, free), Jonathan Hayes (MK Dons, loan).

SUNDERLAND

Ins: Dickson Etuhu (Norwich, £1.5m), Kieran Richardson (Manchester United, undisclosed), Greg Halford (Reading, £2.5m), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen, £1m), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, £5m), Paul McShane (West Brom, £2.5m), Stephen Elliott (Wolves, undisclosed), Craig Gordon (Hearts, £9m).

Outs: Kenny Cunningham (released), Tommy Miller (Ipswich, released).

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Ins: Gareth Bale (Southampton, £5m), Adel Taarabt (Lens, undisclosed), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed), Darren Bent (Charlton £16.5m), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre, £8m), Danny Rose (Leeds, undisclosed), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Hertha Berlin, undisclosed).

Outs: Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn-Oslo, undisclosed), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria, undisclosed), Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed), Charlie Daniels (Leyton Orient, loan).

WEST HAM UNITED

Ins: Scott Parker (Newcastle, £7m), Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m), Richard Wright (Everton, free), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m).

Outs: Paul Konchesky (Fulham, £3.25m), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Teddy Sheringham (Colchester, released), Shaun Newton (Leicester, released), Roy Carroll (Rangers, free).

WIGAN ATHLETIC

Ins: Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle, free), Titus Bramble (Newcastle, free), Mario Melchiot (Rennes, free), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Carlo Nash (Preston, £300,000), Jason Koumas (West Brom, £5.3m), Michael Brown (Fulham, undisclosed).

Outs: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lee McCulloch (Rangers, £2.25m), Matt Jackson (Watford, free), Arjan de Zeeuw (released), David Unsworth (released), Andreas Johansson (AaB Aalborg, free).

 

[hadareud]

Djourou is joining Birmingham on loan until January.

I am quite surprised I must say, because if both Gallas and Toure should be injured we're in trouble. Of course, Gilberto and Song can help out at centre back, but still.

On the other hand I understand that Wenger wants Djourou to get some Premiership games under his belt should he be needed once Toure and Eboue are off to the African Cup of Nations. So from that perspective it's a smart move.

 

[Mama Smurf]

The reaction to Gallas's captaincy is embarrassing.

Some season predictions coming up.

 

[Hooker]

Supposedly Mijatovic himself is in Amsterdam to seal the Sneijder deal

 

[hadareud]

The reaction to Gallas's captaincy is embarrassing.

Some season predictions coming up.

gunnerblog is only joking though. The Hitler thing is from Ricky Gervais.

Arseblogger is genuinely pissed off.

In the end of the day Wenger knew that the reaction by the fans wouldn't be overly enthusiastic. Gallas has a lot to prove to the Arsenal fans and Wenger knows it. Making somebody a captain after 1 year of service is unusual.

 

[psycho_snake]

The guys that work for football365 have been asked a set of questions about what they think will happen this season, so I thought it would be a good idea to post the questions here and see how everyone will answer them.

Here are what the F365 crew said:
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,12994_2652509,00.html

And here are the questions along with my answers


Who will win the Premier League?
Manyoo

Who will finish second?
Chelsea.

Can Tottenham actually crack the top four this year?
Nope

Who will score most goals - Darren Bent, Eduardo Da Silva or Fernando Torres?
Darren Bent.

Who will be crowned the Players' Player of the Year?
Rooney. Ive got a good feeling that he'll be amazing this year.

Who will be the first manager to go?
Hutchings

How many points will Derby County amass?
28

Who will be bottom at Christmas?
wigan.

Which three teams will be relegated?
Wigan, birmingham and derby.

How many games will Steve Sidwell start?
All the league cup games the early FA cup games and a couple of EPL games. Id say no more that 15

Which player will be the surprise over-performer?
van persie.

Who will be top scorer?
Drogba, with one of the tottenham strikers in second

Who will play on the right wing for England at Euro2008?
Probably stevie G, but I hope becks can find his form in USA so he can be picked to play on the right.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Premiership:

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
--------------
5. Tottenham
6. Everton
7. Portsmouth
8. Man City
9. West Ham
10. Newcastle
11. Aston Villa
12. Blackburn
13. Bolton
14. Reading
15. Sunderland
16. Middlesbrough
17. Fulham
--------------
18. Birmingham
19. Wigan
20. Derby

Notes:

I can only see Man Utd or Chelsea winning the title. I do expect Arsenal and Liverpool to do better, but the other two were already ahead and have strengthened better than Arsenal or Liverpool.

It's really hard to call it between the top 2, but I think Chelsea have the squad to cover the injuries that fucked them up last year. I think their switch back to 4-3-3 is crucial as well. It won't necessarily be the prettiest title win, but I think they'll just about grind it out. Their main disadvantage is Drogba and Essien, two of the key players in the spine of the team, going off to Africa for however many matches, whereas United don't have that worry. I think it'll be really close though.

Liverpool have spent a lot, but most of their signings don't impress me. They still lack a finisher, I still think they're weak down the wings...hard to believe given the amount they've spent. I also question Benitez's rotation policy and formation, it seems so clear to me that they should play 3 central midfielders, but every friendly I've seen has been 4-4-2.

As for Arsenal, Henry is a loss, whatever anybody says. There's not a team in the world who wouldn't be stronger for Henry's presence. I do think if the best players can stay fit and Eduardo and Sagna perform then they'll be stronger than last year overall, just not as strong as they would have been if they'd kept Henry. A bit like Benitiez, I'm worried that Wenger will still play Hleb on the wing. And every friendly I've seen has shown Arsenal are still incredibly suspect to crosses into their box, and I think that'll lose them points. But they'll create so many chances, I still think they'll finish above Liverpool.

Apart from Tottenahm being 5th, the chasing pack is ridiculously hard to predict. Every team from 6th to 14th I'm unsure about, it's that close for me. I've put Blackburn towards the bottom of that bunch because I don't think we have the squad size to compete strongly in both the UEFA Cup and the league.

The bottom 6 are my relegation candidates. I'm 99% certain Derby will go down, and pretty sure they'll go down bottom. I like a couple of Wigan's signings (particularly Koumas), but everyone's strengthened and the others have done it better, and Wigan were already one of the weakest sides in the league before any transfers. There's also question marks over the boss, I think there's a strong chance they'll be relegated.

So there's 4 scrambling to avoid the final place. I don't like Middlesbrough's signings, and they've lost Viduka, but they probably have too much strength to go down. I do like Sunderland and Fulham's signings, and it's just the basis of the team they've added to which I don't think will get them too high in the league...but I think those signings should save them.

Birmingham...they've signed a lot of players, 10 I think, and that'll make them stronger, but the worry is that they're pulling a Sunderland from a couple of years ago. Rather than a few top signings and a couple of frees, they're just getting lots of average players in. In fact, veyr much like Sunderland when they were awful, they've lost their two best strikers from last year (Bendtner and Campbell) and haven't really replaced them. They're still chasing Mido, and I think it's crucial they get him, but Middlesbrough and Sunderland want him too and I wouldn't choose Birmingham over them.

That was exhaustive. On to other stuff.

Champions League:

As ever with cups, it's really difficult to call. Any decent team can get to the final, and with a little bit of luck win it. You look at Chelsea, Man Utd, both Milans, Barcelona, Madrid...all have strengthened. I don't think a German team will win it without Munich being there, and Lyon look weaker to me too with some key players leaving and Perrin replacing Houllier.

I have a sneaky feeling this could be Chelsea's season in the CL. They're always there or there abouts, and sooner ot later they're going to make it. I would never bet on it though.

FA Cup:

It's likely to be one of the top 5. Unless they all get drawn against each other and knock the others out until there's only one of them in the final, playing another team who just has to play their best and hope the top side has a bad day, it's unlikely to go elsewhere. I think liverpool will have a good cup run this season, I don't really like them as a league team but I think, like Arsenal last season they'll do well in individual games against the other top sides. So Liverpool.

Tottenham or Munich for the UEFA Cup (I'll go with Spurs), Man Utd for the League Cup.

 

[psycho_snake]

Gilberto wont be playing in the EPL for the first couple of weeks.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_2653034,00.html

Its not such a huge loss. They've got enough replacements for him.

 

[Osorio]

I'm so disappointed in the Galaxy. Then again that's what you get for having Edson Buddle and Carlos Pavon up front. Becks wasn't bad and a penalty was in order when Donovan was taken down in the box.

 

[Karakand]

They'll make it up to you in their SuperLiga match against them, Osorio. BELIEVE

 

[Osorio]

They'll make it up to you in their SuperLiga match against them, Osorio. BELIEVE

Oh I believe, but yesterday's DC win affects me personally. Now those putos are 3 points ahead of us.

 

[Osorio]

Btw Livewire nice pics. I hate your team, your fans, and your stadium but the people there seemed soccer savvy and represented the MLS well.

 

[psycho_snake]

I'm surprised you put Newcastle 10th mama. They've made some really good signings this summer. They've got quite a strong team. The only concern is that they might rely on their strikers too much because that is the strongest part of their team. But as you said, its so difficult to predict who will finish where in the chasing pack. Its only going to be a couple of points that separates them all throughout the season.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I just don't see Allardyce as the sort of manager to turn a club around immediately. Within a few years time I think they'll be doing great, but this season just better. And while I've read up about his three defensive signings, if I've seen any of them play I can't remember how they looked...could be great, could be crap.

 

[hadareud]

predictions so far

1. Arsenal
2. Man Utd
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
---------------
5. Spurs
6. Man City
7. Everton
8. Blackburn
9. Newcastle
10. Portsmouth
11. West Ham
12. Aston Villa
13. Sunderland
14. Bolton
15. Middlesbrough
16. Reading
17. Fulham
----------------
18. Wigan
19. Birmingham
20. Derby

1. United
2. Chelsea
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
-------------------
5. Spurs
6. Everton
7. Newcastle
8. Blackburn
9. West Ham
10. Man City
11. Pompey
12.Villa
13. Bolton
14. Reading
15. Sunderland
16. Borough
17. Fulham
-------------------
18. Birmingham
19. Wigan
20. Derby

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
--------------
5. Tottenham
6. Everton
7. Portsmouth
8. Man City
9. West Ham
10. Newcastle
11. Aston Villa
12. Blackburn
13. Bolton
14. Reading
15. Sunderland
16. Middlesbrough
17. Fulham
--------------
18. Birmingham
19. Wigan
20. Derby

come on people, predict!

 

[Osorio]

1. Man Utd
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
----------------
5. Spurs
6. Blackburn
7. Bolton
8. Newcastle
9. Everton
10. Man City
11. Portsmouth
12. Aston Villa
13. West Ham
14. Sunderland
15. Reading
16. Fulham
17. Middlesbrough
------------------
18. Wigan
19. Derby
20. Birmingham

 

[Mama Smurf]

Tevez has been registered as a United player.

He won't play against Reading apparently, though I think he could, so he'll debut against Portsmouth or Man City I guess.

EDIT: I like how we've all got the same teams going down.

 

[enishi]

Tevez has been registered as a United player.

He won't play against Reading apparently, though I think he could, so he'll debut against Portsmouth or Man City I guess.

EDIT: I like how we've all got the same teams going down.

Looks like he will start in the derby game. It may be good

Everyone already know who will go down this season, did you get the memo?

 

[Osorio]

Tevez has been registered as a United player.

He won't play against Reading apparently, though I think he could, so he'll debut against Portsmouth or Man City I guess.

EDIT: I like how we've all got the same teams going down.

All of us have the same teams going down but in a different order. I think that means all 3 are actually staying up.

 

[Ghost]

1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
----------------
5. Spurs
6. Everton
7. Man City
8. Portsmouth
9. Blackburn
10. Aston Villa
11. Newcastle
12. West Ham
13. Bolton
14. Middlesbrough
15. Reading
16. Fulham
17. Sunderland
------------------
18. Wigan
19. Birmingham
20. Derby

 

[psycho_snake]

Tevez has been registered as a United player.

He won't play against Reading apparently, though I think he could, so he'll debut against Portsmouth or Man City I guess.

EDIT: I like how we've all got the same teams going down.

I like how we've all predicted liverpool to come fourth, but ghost has now broke the trend.

 

[Osorio]

Why is everyone else putting Man City in a UEFA Cup spot? Have they proved themselves that much or is everyone just basing their prediction on money spent and Sven being the manager?

edit: nm just 2 of you have them in the top 7 but still for those who did the question applies

 

[Outdoor Miner]

1. Chelsea
2. Man United
3. Liverpool
4. Spurs
----------------
5. Arsenal
6. Newcastle
7. Blackburn
8. Everton
9. Portsmouth
10. Bolton
11. Man City
12. Aston Villa
13. Middlesbrough
14. West Ham
15. Reading
16. Sunderland
17. Derby
------------------
18. Fulham
19. Wigan
20. Birmingham

 

[hadareud]

4. Spurs
----------------
5. Arsenal

 

[Outdoor Miner]

:lol

 

[Osorio]

You're an American and chose Fulham to get relegated? Where's your pride man?!

 

[Outdoor Miner]

I just tried to pick standings that would get a rise from you folks. Was gonna do Blackburn too, but I saw Mama himself put them at 12. :lol

 

[Ash_69]

1. Man U
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool

 

[enishi]

SAF still gives a number to Heinze. But it is unlucky 14 :lol I think Foster is ahead of Kuszczak to be our number 2 this season.

United squad numbers 2007/08

1 VAN DER SAR (GK)
2 NEVILLE
3 EVRA
4 HARGREAVES
5 FERDINAND
6 BROWN
7 RONALDO
8 ANDERSON
9 SAHA
10 ROONEY
11 GIGGS
12 FOSTER (GK)
13 J.S. PARK
14 HEINZE
15 VIDIC
16 CARRICK
17 NANI
18 SCHOLES
19 PIQUÉ
20 SOLSKJAER
21 DONG
22 O’SHEA
23 J. EVANS
24 FLETCHER
27 SILVESTRE
28 GIBSON
29 KUSZCZAK (GK)
30 MARTIN
32 TEVEZ
33 EAGLES
35 LEE
36 GRAY
37 CATHCART
38 HEATON (GK)
39 CAMPBELL

No. 32 Tevez

 

[Cornballer]

Livewire - nice pics of the DCU game!

May not be Lakitu type list but... meh.

Thanks, that's what I was looking for.


I'm ok with complaints about Gallas until the season gets started up. Then it's time for people to support the team and see whether or not it works out.

 

[Cornballer]

Djourou is joining Birmingham on loan until January.

I am quite surprised I must say, because if both Gallas and Toure should be injured we're in trouble. Of course, Gilberto and Song can help out at centre back, but still.

On the other hand I understand that Wenger wants Djourou to get some Premiership games under his belt should he be needed once Toure and Eboue are off to the African Cup of Nations. So from that perspective it's a smart move.

As long as no one gets injured, it's a good move. Hopefully that's the case, but I don't like being so thin at centerback.

 

[Osorio]

I just tried to pick standings that would get a rise from you folks. Was gonna do Blackburn too, but I saw Mama himself put them at 12. :lol

You could've done much worse, you picked Bolton higher than anyone but me.

 

[Ronok]

1. Arsenal
2. Man Utd
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
---------------
5. Man City
6. Spurs
7. Newcastle
8. Reading
9. Portsmouth
10. Everton
11. Blackburn
12. Aston Villa
13. Fulham
14. Bolton
15. West Ham
16. Sunderland
17. Middlesbrough
----------------
18. Wigan
19. Birmingham
20. Derby

 

[Shinobi]

Btw does anyone else cringe when Sky Sports News tries to talk MLS? I don't know who writes that stuff up but they've got all their shit wrong. The Galaxy are not playing Washington DC today, and Salt Lake is not bottom of the Eastern Conference. They should just hire me, and I'll do all the MLS news for them.

What's amusing is that they probably spend half their time during their MLS coverage talking about how ignorant America is of the game and various leagues, yet they can't get their news right about a league with a mere 13 teams.

"We have a three-week plan to build (Silva) up again," said Wenger. "He did not play the last game of the Copa America and had three and a half weeks off. It will take two or three weeks to get him ready. If you don’t do that he will suffer during rest of the season."

It's interesting that this is being done now. A year ago one of Arsenal's trainers said that Henry should've missed the first few weeks of the season, since it was clear he hadn't fully recovered from the World Cup. Instead he played and limped through an injury plauged season. And now idiots think he's over the hill, when the year before he'd had arguably the best season in the history of English football. Crazy people.

In a few years, Fabregas will be captain. That is if Schuster's prophecy doesn't come true. F***ing pr**k.

:lol

The pics I took below were from my iPhone--so no zoom. ]

:lol That might be the funniest thing I've read all week...

:lol

 

[Cornballer]

Just a reminder for people to get their predictions in for this week.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Why is everyone else putting Man City in a UEFA Cup spot? Have they proved themselves that much or is everyone just basing their prediction on money spent and Sven being the manager?

edit: nm just 2 of you have them in the top 7 but still for those who did the question applies

7th isn't an automatic UEFA Cup spot, even 6th isn't. Only 5th defeinitely gets you UEFA Cup.

The other two spots go to the FA Cup and the League Cup. However, if the FA Cup final is contested between two teams already in Europe (ie. the top 5), the spot goes back to the league. If there's at least one team in the final not in Europe, the cup gets the spot instead, as either the winners or runners up will qualify.

The League Cup's slightly different. The runners up don't get a UEFA Cup spot even if they're beaten by a side in the top 5, so for the UEFA Cup spot to move over to the league here, a team outside of the top 5 can't win it.

I put Man City 8th for a couple of reasons. One is I think Eriksson will o well again, now he's back in domestic football, the other is that Man City already had a great defence last year (8th best in the league), and that's only been improved upon, but their goalscoring was terrible (joint worst in the league). They've signed a lot of attacking players though, good players, so if they can keep their great defence and add a load of goals, they should move up the league quite considerably.

And who knows how much they'll be able to spend in January if things aren't going right.

 

[Mama Smurf]

You Arsenal fans...me 'n' Ghost, we understand realism!

 

[Osorio]

7th isn't an automatic UEFA Cup spot, even 6th isn't. Only 5th defeinitely gets you UEFA Cup.

The other two spots go to the FA Cup and the League Cup. However, if the FA Cup final is contested between two teams already in Europe (ie. the top 5), the spot goes back to the league. If there's at least one team in the final not in Europe, the cup gets the spot instead, as either the winners or runners up will qualify.

I know all of that but the 7th placed team got to the UEFA Cup most of the time the last few years so I have no reason to believe it won't happen again either through the FA Cup slot or Intertoto Cup.

 

[hadareud]

1st is as realistic a finish for Arsenal as any other spot in the top 4. 5th would have been unrealistic. Realistically, Arsenal are more often challenging for the title than not.

Wenger believes that the title race is not limited to the big 4:

"Will it be West Ham, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle? All of these clubs who were not in the top four have bought. If one of these clicks it will
click."

 

[Mama Smurf]

It happens about as often as it doesn't, 6th is extremely unlikely not to be a spot though.

And the Intertoto isn't the UEFA Cup, you have to apply for it, teams turned it down last year which is why Blackburn got it despite finishing 10th. There's no guarantee City would go for it, I'm not sure I'm happy Blackburn did, I'm certain it'll cost us points in the league.

 

[Osorio]

It happens about as often as it doesn't, 6th is extremely unlikely not to be a spot though.

And the Intertoto isn't the UEFA Cup, you have to apply for it, teams turned it down last year which is why Blackburn got it despite finishing 10th. There's no guarantee City would go for it, I'm not sure I'm happy Blackburn did, I'm certain it'll cost us points in the league.

If an English team decides to enter the Intertoto Cup they'll most likely get one of the 3 spots that enter the UEFA Cup. And if Man City has a chance to get into Europe I don't think they'd turn it down.

 

[Cornballer]

Cory Gibbs is healed and getting match fit. He'll debut for Charlton in a few weeks. It would be great to have him back in the mix for the US backline. Boca and Gooch do a solid job, but they scare me sometimes. Competition is a good thing.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Well I wouldn't have thought Portsmouth or Reading would turn it down either, but they did. There's not much benefit to it, there's no prize money until the final and even that's not much, you're stretching your squad further, you're travelling every other week which is tiring...and if you look at the sides last season as opposed to the year before:

2005/06

5. Spurs 65 pts
6. Blackburn 63 pts
7. Newcastle 58 pts
9. West Ham 55 pts

2006/07

5. Spurs 60 pts
10. Blackburn 52 pts
13. Newcastle 43 pts
15. West Ham 41 pts

Only Spurs managed to hold onto their placing, but they still dropped 5 points. It's just not a very good competition to be in, unless you actually think you can win it.

Anyway, the point is that people choosing Man City high up aren't necessarily thinking they're putting them in a UEFA Cup spot.

 

[Cornballer]

Arsenal.com reporting that Eduardo is facing a late fitness test to be ready for Sunday. Adebayor is definitely out. All signs point to Hleb playing behind Van Persie, eh?