The Soccer Thread

Since there seems to be enough interest here. Let’s keep this open for soccer discussion and continue on from the Barca-MU thread. We have the Copa America coming up and then the leagues will start in the fall. Who should ManU sign for their central midfield, I think a couple of targets are Diego Ribas, Javier Pastore, and Toni Kroos. Out of them I think Kroos is closest to a Ferguson type of player…

I believe SAF will go for someone experienced. maybe Scott Parker? we’ve already spent 50 mn pounds + with De Gea confirmed now. a budget option seems likely. n its very evident that Fergie likes players with PL exp (Young, Phil Jones)

I still think Sneijder is the most likely option, regardless of all the stories regarding Nasri. Gasperini is the new coach at Inter, and his 3-4-3 formation does not allow for the role that Sneijder usually fills. I can see him offloaded to fund further purchases, and while I hate to see it, I think he would be perfect for United. I think Fergie might have to sell to buy though given what he has already spent- still reeling over the thought of him getting Ashley Young when they are desperate for some creativity in the midfield though

True fans dont call it soccer. It’s called football. Those clowns in the US don’t even use their feet! And yes, I know the word stems from an abbreviation of Association Football (Assoc = Soccer). But that was what some posh knob termed it, not the true fans and players. like me. Rant out of the way, I think sbmarti2 has hit pretty much all the nails on the head. I’d love Utd to accomodtate either/both Nasri and Sneijder. I haven’t seen anyone for a while who is a true playmaking midfield genius, but that is what we could do with. A bit of Cantona/Zidane magic in a slightly deeper role. But these are rarities and I have been blessed to see them play, so no complaints really.

We definitely need to rank the talent level of the players on the US women’s national team. My top three are: 1. Morgan 2. Mitts 3. Solo

Women’s football… for crying out loud, no. Please, never come back on this thread.

dude if that soccer lock out keeps going I might turn mad!11

What is the quality of the MLS these days? I’ll be in New York the August 28th weekend, and I’m considering taking in the Red Bulls/Galaxy match. How hard is it to get tickets?

wow…the “soccer” thread is getting a lot of hits. Palantir…are you based out of India? n Sbarmti…the only options that we ahve to sell are Oshea, Brown and Gibson, who would fetch a total of 12 mn pounds if some reports are to be believed. Sneijder will cost way more than that i would imagine

Yes, those three sales sound possible- O’Shea being the only one you maybe want to keep (not a bad utility player to have in reserve). Otherwise, don’t rule out other sales- Carrick, Anderson, and Berbatov could possible move on, even if it’s unlikely. Sneijder would cost around 30-35, depending, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you paid up. I’m a Gunner, so I’m just hoping we move and get Gervinho and Cahill. Mata and Vidal are both pipe dreams, but would be nice.

Gervinho is very much on the way i wud think. Cahill is a possibility too. But Mata says he doesnt want to move. Samba wud be a v good addition to the Arse. you guys have too many “classy” centre backs. you need a bulldozer of a CB like Samba On United, he wont sell Anderson. i think this would be a make or break season for the Brazilian. he impressed in spells last season so SAF will give him a season to show what he can do. Berbatov, i dont think he’ll sell cuz then we’d be kinda short on strikers. Just Rooney, Chicharito and Owen. Welbeck and that Macheda are there but they arent full Man u senior team material yet

^yeah, Owen - sounds so menacing! how did that work out in the final? this team is seriosuly lacking in firepower in SAF is to blame

Well, Owen is on a pay as you play contract. makes financial sense to keep him. he would have otherwise left on a bosman free anyways. he chips in with goals here and there. but playing him in the CL Final ahead of Dimitar did not make sense (even though it would hardly have changed the end result). btw since we are on United, did anyone notice that one reading in Schweser Level 3 on taxes where ALL the examples had names of current/past united players? i had noticed Rooney, Neville, Keane, Pallister, Owen and Giggs ! made that reading just a BIT more interesting !

Dude_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Women’s football… for crying out loud, no. > Please, never come back on this thread. Seriously, check out the work of Alex Morgan and Heather Mitts. A google image search will reveal their talents.

reddevil_l3 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Gervinho is very much on the way i wud think. > Cahill is a possibility too. > But Mata says he doesnt want to move. Samba wud be > a v good addition to the Arse. you guys have too > many “classy” centre backs. you need a bulldozer > of a CB like Samba I would be happy with Samba as well, he’d add a bit of menace to our back line. I’m actually hoping we get both him and Cahilll- would strengthen us quite a bit. Plus we could use Vermaelen and Koscielny in the DM role if necessary. Both are terrific tacklers, and can pass and shoot quite well- especially Verm. I see him as our next captain, as I have to figure Fabregas is gone. Mata is still possible though, as Valencia are in pretty dire straits. He could be persuaded, who knows? Unlikely though. Gervinho looks like a done deal, supposedly he had a medical today.

Damn. this got a lot of hits. reddevil - I am indian but not based in india. Mata is not a pipe dream at all, he is likely on the way out at Valencia, and unlikely to go to B/RM, leaving probably Arsenal as a likely destination. I think the best target for Arse is Samuel Eto’o. IMVHO. Arsenal could also do worse than take Sergio Canales on loan. But I don’t know if Wenger would take the risk of starting him. ManU’s big question is midfield, and while Sneijder is an option, I think he will be too expensive at this point. South American central midfielder is probably unlikely, and they really would like to get players under 25. Tim Cahill could work, but haven’t heard any rumors at all.

This is where I go for my daily ‘soccer’ fix http://www.football365.co.uk/mailbox/7010193/The-Mailbox For the record: Man U fan since '78. First game '84 (Bryan Robson/Mark Hughes). Lived in Manchester from '91-94 as a student (no prizes for why I went to Uni in Manchester). Was there for the first premiership win / first title for 26 years… Minor interesting fact. Was in same bar as Ryan Giggs when we were both 19ish.

wow…Dude_CFA ! btw even i check F365…the enw layout looks better.

I’m restricted to bigsoccer.com and goal.com, might give f365 a try. Arturo Vidal is a good option for ManYoo

Gooner here!!! goal.com is crap football365 is the place to be, but i hate the new layout! ManU look like theyre gettin Sneider. I just want Nasri to say and for us to get Vidal. Benzema would be nice… As gooners, we can only wish