Calibandar Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Madrid played very well last night and Sneijder looks the part, just what Madrid needed. Barca won as well. BTW just like last season Samuel Eto'o is injured for two months again, at the least. Could hurt Barca again, even if this time they have Henry to replace him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 At the beginning of the season I thought Spurs, Villa, Newcastle, Portsmouth and possibly Everton would make up the pack chasing the big 4...performances thus far would seem to indicate that Man City need to be added to that list, although it may just be a flash in the pan. In any case, I believe that it's possible for one of those teams to overhaul Arsenal this year. I'll admit they looked very comfortable against Portsmouth, but I think that they've fallen behind Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool. What the chasing teams need is some consistency - with the gaps between the big teams and the rest closing, more points are going to be dropped from the top of the table, and it falls to the dogs below are going to have to make sure they snap them up when they come. If they can avoid slipping up too often themselves, I think they're in with a shout. Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 None of the chasing pack of teams have any chance of finishing higher than Arsenal IMO. Arsenal had terrible injury problems last year and they still took fourth place fairly comfortably. Its unlikely that they will have as many injuries this year (lightening doesn't strike twice and all that), and also Cesc Fabregas looks as though he has stepped up another gear. Arsenal need to find consistency, thats all. Last year they thumped Liverpool three times, beat Man U home and away and drew twice with Chelsea IIRC. They're as talented as any team in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Spurs have had a torrid start. Before the season began I was scared they could take our CL spot, but those fears have been buried for now. I'll reassess after the North London derby. Newcastle are looking good. The big worry there is they have Allardyce who pushes the perfect game to frustrate Arsenal, and he has a more talented squad and more money at Newcastle. Scary prospect... maybe not this season, but most certainly next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLU-RAY Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Spurs have had a torrid start. You use this word. I do not think it means... what you think it means. Horrid, maybe. Chelsea needs to get their chemistry together for their next few matches. The FSC commentators were right, in that they missed Lampard badly; they squandered at least five corner kicks that I saw, and I missed the first half hour of the match. It'd be nice to have Ballack healthy also, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. (BTW, it's possible you were being sarcastic by saying torrid there, if so... oops.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDonegal Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 I like the sarcastic explanation. Uh... we'll go with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathis Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Even if Spurs win the North London Derby (which I doubt) they still won't take a top four position. They can't defend for shit and despite having a million midfielders they lack true quality in the centre. I would say they lack a left footer in midfield but it looks as though they will play Gareth Bale there, at least in the short term. He had a good game against Fulham. I hope he turns out ok. We need good players if we're ever gonna qualify for a tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 It'd be nice to have Ballack healthy also, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. Dunno, Joachim Löw seems convinced he's going to be fit soon. It just appears that Mourinho is pissed at him, so maybe even when he's fit he is not going to play much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Baelish Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Well he was possibly even worse than Shevchenko last season, and that took a lot of doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I think it's more linked to the ankle operation saga last season. If you remember, Ballack had an ankle injury which the club said didn't need to be operated on until after the season finished. Ballack disagreed and went to Germany to have it done without the club's permission. He was then unavailable for the rest of the season, and indeed officially isn't fit yet. It was never likely that Mourinho would put up with that, and unlike Shevchenko, Ballack isn't a personal friend of Abramovich (although he was an Abramovich signing). It would be different if Ballack had been delivering on the pitch or was popular in the dressing room, but neither is true. I think both Ballack and Chelsea would prefer a move, but nobody's willing to pay a transfer fee plus £120,000 a week for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Ballack is a player I can never make up my mind about. Sometimes he seems to be brilliant, at other times I think he is a horribly overrated player and a damn cheat to boot. Which also kinda sums up at least the opinions of domestic football "experts" on his abilities. But I do think he scored as many goals as Shevchenko last season, that has to count for something. Still, I hope he'll get fit soon, since central midfield is the one position where the current German team is pretty much devoid of any depth. (although he was an Abramovich signing) Really? I thought Ballack was a Mourinho signing, which was the reason he featured regularly even when all of the English press seemed to think he was rubbish. But the surgery certainly seems to have enraged Mourinho, I think he accused him of putting the national side before the club or some such idiocy. IIRC Ballack claimed his injury was much more severe than Chelsea/Mourinho thought, and considering he hasn't made it back to match fitness yet there may have been something to that claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Ballack is a player I can never make up my mind about. Sometimes he seems to be brilliant, at other times I think he is a horribly overrated player and a damn cheat to boot I think he just should have stayed with Bayern. Few players really come to flower there and he isn't one of them. Yet he did very well at Bayern. I just don't see the room for him at Chelsea either, he's extranneous. You've got Essien, Lampard and Makelele already for the two central midfield positions, plus that Sidwell chap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I think he just should have stayed with Bayern. Few players really come to flower there and he isn't one of them. Yet he did very well at Bayern. I just don't see the room for him at Chelsea either, he's extranneous. You've got Essien, Lampard and Makelele already for the two central midfield positions, plus that Sidwell chap. Well, Bayern started to blame him for their lack of success in Europe (at least by their own, slightly delusional standards). Then Rummenigge made a public show out of withdrawing an offer for extending his contract (while negotiations with other players were continued) just to score some cheap points with the fan base, claiming he was holding the club to ransom. Then he and Hoeneß began to publicly belittle Ballack's contributions to Bayern winning back to back doubles in 2005 and 2006. If I had been in Ballack's shoes I'd have buggered off, too, particularly if I had an offer of a significantly higher salary elsewhere. ETA: Got my chronology a little bit confused there. Obviously the belittling of Ballack started before they won the second double. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cteresa Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 By the way, that was a nice by Rui Costa, Teresa... I guess old rockers do not die! Thankfully! A king never loses the majesty. And Rui Costa at his best can make your toes curl. Maybe the greatest playmaker I have ever seen, pity so few comparatively have seen him at his best, and he has such a thing for goal, he had it when he was younger, and he seems to be back at it again, maybe playing differently. But I don´t know how long his body will hold out , I so want this season to go well for him - Camacho better know his priorities right. Rui will back at the San Siro in any case for the group stage, they better treat him right in the return. About Manchester City, somehow the myth grew that Eriksson was an horrible coach because duh, England did not win anything or play too dazzlingly - but IMO Eriksson was not at all bad ( though I can not say I was enthusiastic about him returning to Benfica when it was rumored so, I would rather have had him than a lot of other people). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 About Manchester City, somehow the myth grew that Eriksson was an horrible coach because duh, England did not win anything or play too dazzlingly - but IMO Eriksson was not at all bad ( though I can not say I was enthusiastic about him returning to Benfica when it was rumored so, I would rather have had him than a lot of other people). Sven is a good coach, but he kept messing things up late in his reign at England. Playing good players out of position and constantly not getting the performances out of his star players. The number of times, in important matches, where his tactical nous let him down (specifically, gaining a lead and then losing it) was pretty damning. He was excellent in the first few years, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Another thing about Sven is that there are quite a few differences between managing at International and Club level. No buying and selling of players at international level, and you have to do your own signing. The players have no time to gel as a unit, and you have less time with them to drill them on tactics etc. Sven brought in a lot of new signings to Man City, and he has the time to get them all used to playing each other, luxuries he never had with England. I don't think Sven's performance as an England manager will be in any way indicative of his performance as Man City boss. Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barry Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Really? I thought Ballack was a Mourinho signing, which was the reason he featured regularly even when all of the English press seemed to think he was rubbish. I think you will find that it was the Abramovic signings which had to play hence the tension at the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon AS Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I think you will find that it was the Abramovic signings which had to play hence the tension at the club. Yeah, that actually makes more sense. Though Ballack does not strike me as the kind of player I'd peg to be signed by a crazy Russian billionaire. His game just isn't spectacular enough to draw that kind of attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Yeah, that actually makes more sense. Though Ballack does not strike me as the kind of player I'd peg to be signed by a crazy Russian billionaire. His game just isn't spectacular enough to draw that kind of attention. He's a big name though, I think that's enough. I doubt Abramovich will have seen Ballack play that much, he'll just have been going on reputation, something that Ballack has in plenty. Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Sven is a good coach, but he kept messing things up late in his reign at England. Playing good players out of position and constantly not getting the performances out of his star players.On the other hand, now that we've suffered for quite some time under McClaren I'm almost beginning to miss Sven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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