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[The_Hitcher89]

George Milton is the best one-book character of all time. Discuss.

 

[Pachimari]

Cadena Ser reports that the Bale deal will be official on Monday and that he'll be presented on Tuesday. I must admit I have never been a fan of this signing for the amount of money rumoured but I'm getting excited about the prospect of seeing him play with Cristiano.

Unfortunately Jesé will be shipped out to Malaga on loan probably, and I won't be surprised if Di María leaves too.

 

[bobito]

I don't get to post much but wanted to put my opinion forward on the Willain issue.

Mourinho can talk until he's blue in the face. His excuses don't wash with me. This wasn't a squad issue, it was personal. Chelsea have a habit of hoarding/killing talent. I'm not sure what their intentions are in each case but in this it was obviously the fear direct threat Spurs would pose with Lamala AND Willain in their attack.

That is the easiest and most obvious answer.

They have no business buying a 30million midfielder with Juan Mata looking at more bench time this season. The same Juan Mata who was instrumental in both of their recent European cup wins.

This purchase of Willain could go two ways.

1. He ends up bench-buddies with Marko Marin, DeBruyne, Schurrle, van Ginkel, Mosses and McEchran...

2. He displaces Hazard/Mata/Oscar

And he will have to be exceptional to break that particular trifecta, which is imo one of the best in Europe.

Ultimately they haven't hurt spurs but will cause disuption to their squad if genuine talent feels left out.

If Spurs do manage to get Laeala then their squad imo is ready for at least a major cup.

---------------------------- Soldado -------------------------------

Lamela/Chadli ------ Dembele ------------------- Lennon

---------------- Paulinho -- Capoue/Sandro ----------------

Rose --------- Vertonghen - Dawson --------- Walker

------------------------------ Lloris ----------------------------------

That's an impressive team.

Levy should save that 30million for next transfer window. There's not much more I'd do apart from another CB or ST (but Defoe is good off the bench).

Makes sense as a Roman transfer though, given the russian link/obsession with attacking players.

 

[DominoKid]

I'm really interested in seeing how well Bale does in La Liga.

When Ronaldo went there was never a doubt in my mind that he would tear it up. But I just don't see it with Bale.

 

[Mastadon]

George Milton is the best one-book character of all time. Discuss.

As in the best character in literature that only appears in one book? That's a bold

Spoiler

and wrong

claim.

 

[Gareth Bale]

Will Hughes is more of a CM than an AM. Suso is definitely a playmaker - I think Derby County uses Will Hughes as an AM because they don't have anyone of his quality to play that position, so he's de facto more than de jure. Kind of like how Swansea used Joe Allen as an AM, but for Liverpool he hasn't been good enough in that position (though he may be fine with Coutinho).

Swansea used Joe Allen as an attacking midfielder?

 

[anthonyOA]

The Roman theory is so much more plausible than Mourinho being terrified of Spurs.

"Easiest and most obvious answer" ?

lol

Spurs were on the radar because of Bale. This uppity shit is almost as priceless as the "Fergie is scared of Liverpool" stuff.

lol That first 60mill was spent without Bale leaving in mind. Chadli, Capoue, Soldado and Paulinho were arriving regardless. Willain and Lamela are the Bale replacements.

At the beginning of the last few seasons Spurs have been identified as a 'threat'. Receiving £100million and building the squad to no end, they'd no doubt be considered a 'further threat' as well.

Mourinho (and Ferguson) has(have) also always been aware of the threat Spurs would pose given the correct signings.

Chelsea's pursuit of Rooney is another bid to disrupt another side rather than have any genuine interest. I'll eat crow if I'm wrong but If Rooney isn't a Chelsea player by Tuesday (after the Man Utd game) then the interest will die off. Moyes is new and Mourinho is basically just shaking the tree.

btw I've seen hijackings (everyone is guilty of it) but I've never seen one after a successful medical.

Anyways, after Lamela a striker or defender please, Based-Levy.

 

[Gareth Bale]

George Milton is the best one-book character of all time. Discuss.

Interesting and very general statement!

Are you trying to get us to write a GCSE English Lit essay for you?

 

[dc89]

I love B-Rod's comments on Kolo

"He is funny to watch sometimes when he's running about. He always has a smile on his face."

 

[Arnie]

A few things:

Suso is absolutely bossing it at Almeria. This season will be great for him.

Carragher's column on the banned website is brilliant, and reveals that Mourinho wasn't play acting for the United job when he licked Ferguson's arse at Old Trafford.

Lamela isn't a sufficient Bale replacement, and Chelsea know that. But Spurs fans can't complain about 'hoarding players'. They've got their own attacking midfielder complex going on. Holtby, Sig, Lennon, Chadli, Townsend, Lamela, and presumably Paulinho (central) occupy three positions.

 

[Walshy]

We could perhaps train Henderson to become DM and put him in Lucas' position, then Hughes in Henderson's. So tidy. So comfortable. So yoof. So movement.

I think Henderson can definitley become a DM based on his work rate alone. He can't tackle though.

Will Hughes is more of a CM than an AM. Suso is definitely a playmaker - I think Derby County uses Will Hughes as an AM because they don't have anyone of his quality to play that position, so he's de facto more than de jure. Kind of like how Swansea used Joe Allen as an AM, but for Liverpool he hasn't been good enough in that position (though he may be fine with Coutinho).

I like the idea of Hughes coming in as a replacement for Shlevey. Although we are forgetting about Luis Alberto, he could have a good future here and I see him as a utility player in the squad, he could definitley surprise a few this season.

 

[spidye]

Hello again, footy-gaf.

Finally, I can watch my first Bundesliga game today. My two weeks of hiking were great, though. I am actually feeling much better for it.

Time for Pep's Bayern to impress.

welcome back bro

In GÖDZE we trust

 

[Salazar]

At the beginning of the last few seasons Spurs have been identified as a 'threat'. Receiving £100million and building the squad to no end, they'd no doubt be considered a 'further threat' as well.

Mourinho (and Ferguson) has(have) also always been aware of the threat Spurs would pose given the correct signings.

Chelsea won the CL quite recently. Spurs have been busting their little hearts trying to even qualify for it.

Do me a favour and resolve your midget tiff with Arsenal before you come with the big talk.

 

[Freewheelin']

My 3DSXL has quite a visible scratch on the top screen when you close it

 

[Arnie]

"and at the same time Paul looks like he wants to be coach, manager, and ref"

I laughed out loud. And at the video of Mourinho discussing medicals.

He's a funny fucker I'll give him that.

 

[Sleeplessnights]

Its better than him dong nothing on our bench. He needed a loan, and while I wasn;t ecstatic that w sent him to a Spanish team who will struggle, its better than nothing and is working well so far

Anyone else avoiding the GTAV soundtrack until they play it?



This post reads like a Crytek employee trying to raise hype without giving himself away

I already got spoiled a bit because I follow the bands fan page, nothing serious but It would have been nice to hear it by mistake

Fuck release dates on digital products, 24 days is too much.

 

[Gambit]

welcome back bro

In GÖDZE we trust

Thanks. Yes, we do.

Has he been playing yet? Only in friendlies, right?

 

[Sane_Man]

God Spurs fans are annoying. Fair enough they've amassed a really good side but somehow it's now the case that Willian was the difference between Spurs pushing for the title or not. LOL. Willian is a quality player, obviously with a lot of suitors, and Chelsea were in for him before. I know it stings when players are snatched away like that but it happens time and time again in football. Spurs are not a Champions League side and, as Liverpool have shown, it's inevitable that players would rather move to a team in that competition if the offer is there.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

@ other Liverpool fans, would you be satisfied with a draw today?

Have a horrible feeling that Villa will just destroy us on the counter, and when they mix it up with long balls

 

[panty]

Bale will be our

 

[spidye]

Thanks. Yes, we do.

Has he been playing yet? Only in friendlies, right?

just in the friendlies but today is judgment day.

 

[Gambit]

just in the friendlies but today is judgment day.

great. I am in the nick of time.

 

[Sleeplessnights]

My 3DSXL has quite a visible scratch on the top screen when you close it

They still haven't fixed that with the XL?

I use 2 bumpers to prevent it from closing in on itself, they were on the bottom of an old router.

 

[Gareth Bale]

A few things:

Suso is absolutely bossing it at Almeria. This season will be great for him.

Carragher's column on the banned website is brilliant, and reveals that Mourinho wasn't play acting for the United job when he licked Ferguson's arse at Old Trafford.

Lamela isn't a sufficient Bale replacement, and Chelsea know that. But Spurs fans can't complain about 'hoarding players'. They've got their own attacking midfielder complex going on. Holtby, Sig, Lennon, Chadli, Townsend, Lamela, and presumably Paulinho (central) occupy three positions.

I wrote out a long explanation as to why this isn't the case and then my browser crashed.

But remember when we played Dembele right midfield against Liverpool last season. Consider the reasons for that and then consider whether we have enough attacking midfielders/wingers to secure a place in the top 4.

 

[GHG]

Chelsea won the CL quite recently. Spurs have been busting their little hearts trying to even qualify for it.

Do me a favour and resolve your midget tiff with Arsenal before you come with the big talk.

Exactly. We all know spurs gonna spurs so theres no reason for anybody to be afraid of them. They need to learn to play without bake before people will start taking them seriously. All the conspiracy theories their fans are coming up with make me laugh.

 

[Arnie]

@ other Liverpool fans, would you be satisfied with a draw today?

Have a horrible feeling that Villa will just destroy us on the counter, and when they mix it up with long balls

No, we need to build momentum and go out to win every game.

Look, there's a very high chance that Villa will murder is on the counter-attack, but I'd rather try and play on the front foot and go for it than sit back and counter ourselves. I think Kolo will deal with the long balls, too. He loves an aerial duel.

 

[Freewheelin']

They still haven't fixed that with the XL?

I use 2 bumpers to prevent it from closing in on itself, they were on the bottom of an old router.

Nah it's not where it is in your pic, it's on the front of that.

Will post a pic later to show you.

 

[Xhenxhefil]

@ other Liverpool fans, would you be satisfied with a draw today?

Have a horrible feeling that Villa will just destroy us on the counter, and when they mix it up with long balls

I probably wouldn't say "I'm satisfied with a draw" but I've also got that, "Oh god they're gonna fuck us up" feeling so I wouldn't be as disappointed as if we drew against, say, Crystal Palace or Hull. I'm predicting a score draw. Probably 2-2.

That said, we beat them last season in this fixture so I might just be being overly pessimistic.

 

[Walshy]

@ other Liverpool fans, would you be satisfied with a draw today?

Have a horrible feeling that Villa will just destroy us on the counter, and when they mix it up with long balls

No. We should be beating Villa.

I think we need a good start this season if we want any chance of fourth.

 

[Yurt]

Milan’s Kevin-Prince Boateng has officially come out of international retirement to play for Ghana.

He really shouldn't be allowed to do that. You can't ditch your country in the qualifiers/African Cup and then come back for the World Cups.

 

[anthonyOA]

A few things:

Lamela isn't a sufficient Bale replacement, and Chelsea know that. But Spurs fans can't complain about 'hoarding players'. They've got their own attacking midfielder complex going on. Holtby, Sig, Lennon, Chadli, Townsend, Lamela, and presumably Paulinho (central) occupy three positions.

Paulinho is a CM/DM. Townsend is raw but talented.

Chelsea won the CL quite recently. Spurs have been busting their little hearts trying to even qualify for it.

Do me a favour and resolve your midget tiff with Arsenal before you come with the big talk.

I fully understand Chelsea is the bigger team right now, but your comment about Spurs 'busting their little hearts' looks childish when you actually look the content of my post/s. With a few quality signings Spurs would surely not have to "bust" anything, right? And could even perhaps expect more?

God Spurs fans are annoying. Fair enough they've amassed a really good side but somehow it's now the case that Willian was the difference between Spurs pushing for the title or not. LOL. Willian is a quality player, obviously with a lot of suitors, and Chelsea were in for him before. I know it stings when players are snatched away like that but it happens time and time again in football. Spurs are not a Champions League side and, as Liverpool have shown, it's inevitable that players would rather move to a team in that competition if the offer is there.

Chelsea's link to Willain came from [drum roll] Villas Boas. The history, and not the good kind. This won't end well.

Predictions for today:

Ful v Ars DRAW
Evr v West brom
Hull v Nor
New v West DRAW
Sot v Sund
Stk v Cryst P DRAW
A Villa v Liv

 

[Mastadon]

I wouldn't be satisfied with a draw today to be honest. I think we're playing with a lot of confidence, and I think Villa might find it difficult physically after playing midweek. I do think a draw is fairly likely, but I'd expect us to win this match.

 

[LTWheels]

I don't know if the home crowd will allow Villa to stay back and counter. Hopefully they will push forward more. In theory their weakness is when players drop between their lines. That's the strenght of our attacking players.

 

[Freewheelin']

He really shouldn't be allowed to do that. You can't ditch your country in the qualifiers/African Cup and then come back for the World Cups.

Didn't Zidane do that? Granted, Zizou was a legend

 

[Mastadon]

Predictions for today:

Fulham 0 - 2 Arsenal
Everton 3 - 1 WBA
Hull 0 - 2 Norwich
Newcastle 1 - 2 West Ham
Southampton 2 - 0 Sunderland
Stoke 1 - 0 C. Palace
Villa 1 - 3 Liverpool

 

[Arnie]

The thing with Spurs is they're trying to run before they can walk.

They've qualified for the Champions League once in the last decade, albeit they were unfortunate not to have doubled that statistic. That's why talk of clubs like Chelsea shitting themselves into throwing away £30 million seems premature.

The main reason people were 'worried' about Spurs, and I use the quoted term very loosely, is Gareth Bale. The guy had unnatural physical attributes, and the ability to win a match single handedly.

Spurs may very well become a better team as a result, but right now clubs aren't worried about that. Clubs won't register it until Spurs go out and put together a sequence of results and performances that merits such awe. I thought they were fairly lacklustre against Palace, but I won't make too much of it because they were lacklustre at the start of last season, and became very formidable.

Although a lot of what was good about Spurs last season, the cutting edge that drove them to some very big results, was Gareth Bale.

 

[LegoArmo]

Villa got fucked with their fixtures. Bit ridiculous. Playing 3 times in a week, twice away, to Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

 

[D_prOdigy]

Don't care if DCing

Interview with Meulensteen. Good read.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...he-best-job-in-the-world-at-Old-Trafford.html

I'm suddenly more pessimistic about everything going forward.

Really think we'll miss him. More than we know.

 

[pappe]

No, we need to build momentum and go out to win every game.

Look, there's a very high chance that Villa will murder is on the counter-attack, but I'd rather try and play on the front foot and go for it than sit back and counter ourselves. I think Kolo will deal with the long balls, too. He loves an aerial duel.

Kolo va Benteke.

This has potential to be absolutely hilarious.

 

[Yurt]

LOL, UnitedGAF will love this..

Carlitos tevez ‏@carlitos3210 12h
Hello everyone !!! This is my official Twitter . The best way to communícate while away.

Yeah, I don't know why he's holding the Scudetto either.

Spoiler

Still not sure if it's a fake or real accountl

Didn't Zidane do that? Granted, Zizou was a legend

But Boateng is 26!

 

[Hixx]

So apparently our lads got in a scrum with a wedding party at their hotel last night. At 3am. Nowt new there then.

TODAYS PREDICTIONS

Fulham 1 - 1 Arsenal
Everton 2 - 1 WBA
Hull 2 - 2 Norwich
Newcastle 2 - 1 West Ham
Southampton 2 - 2 Sunderland
Stoke 2 - 0 C. Palace
Villa 1 - 2 Liverpool

 

[Arnie]

Just lumped on a triple of:

Everton, West Ham, Norwich.

Fucking mental. £2 wins £30.

 

[Kinan]

And here is me again with Top10 goals of the week video, this time from tvgol.com.

There are some real stunners this week from all over the world. Its so good to have the season running

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4z3df_vBg

 

[Hixx]

Emily Atack is on Soccer AM. So it's worth watching this morning :3

 

[Mastadon]

And here is me again with Top10 goals of the week video, this time from tvgol.com.

There are some real stunners this week from all over the world. Its so good to have the season running

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs4z3df_vBg

I watched us play Tavirya the other week and we looked good. I think we'll beat Metalurg tomorrow, but 3 games in 7 days is crazy!

 

[fuenf]

He really shouldn't be allowed to do that. You can't ditch your country in the qualifiers/African Cup and then come back for the World Cups.

But it gives his country a better chance to achieve something at the WC. As long as his squadmates / coach / federation don't have any troubles with it, it's okay.

 

[Arnie]

That Rene interview is top.

Jesus, Moyes is a fucking dinosaur.

 

[Yurt]

Juventus once again want Nani, Manchester United are willing to sell him for 15m.

Spoiler

(Tuttosport)

 

[Broder Salsa]

Carragher's column on the banned website is brilliant, and reveals that Mourinho wasn't play acting for the United job when he licked Ferguson's arse at Old Trafford.

It is indeed.

Then he moved on to talking about Madrid and the alterations he made to his style at the Bernabeu. He explained that he deployed a system with two wingers and a No 10 playmaker because Madrid’s tradition demanded it.

After that, the conversation turned to the Premier League and he casually dropped into the conversation that one of his children would be starting in school in London. There was a shrug of the shoulders and a grin. It was obvious he was going back to Chelsea.

So much for all those masterful analysis from UnitedGAF. Not sure why Mou would go to a club with no funds for any transfers anyway. You got the best you could get, Moyes.

 

[Mr Cola]

Todays Predictions
Fulham 0 - 3 Arsenal
Everton 2 - 2 WBA
Hull 0 - 2 Norwich
Newcastle 1 - 1 West Ham
Southampton 0 - 2 Sunderland
Stoke 2 - 0 C. Palace
Villa 1 - 2 Liverpool