Footy the 22nd!

[polishgenius]

I reckon Ronaldo will do fine. He's already shown over his career that he's capable of adapting to new situations, and his off-the-ball runs should tally really well with Ozil's passing once they get used to each other.

I don't think Ozil would be better off at Barca either. I mean, he'd fit in there, but he'd be one among many, and he doesn't really do anything Iniesta doesn't. At Madrid he can be the centerpiece of the creative play.

Arsenal were class tonight. Not the strongest challenge they'll ever face but Wilshere looked wicked and Chamakh looks much better than I expected from him.

[Calibandar]

Ajax absolutely crushed by Madrid last night. Saw the game live and 8-0 would have been a fair result. Madrid was far from top form and still about 5 times as good as Ajax. Enormous difference in quality.

Di Maria and Ozil in midfield are very good, as is Xabi Alonso. Then Ronaldo and Higuain upfront, who are still removed from top form otherwise this would have looked far different. It's a shame a class player like Benzema is withering away on the bench though.

Arsenal stunning as well, once again. Milan now have Pato, Ronaldinho in top form, Zlatan and Robinho upfront and are one hell of a side as well. I expect a lot from them this year, maybe finally toppling Inter.

When Bayern get Robben back in a few months they will be up there with the very best again. They beat Roma last night without Ribery as well.

A couple of the topclubs seem to very powerful already ( Barca, Chelsea, Arsenal) whereas others look like they might well be tremendous once they really get going ( Milan, Man U, Madrid, Bayern). I would be surprised to see Inter give a repeat performance this year.

[Renasko]

Europa League tonight. Not too keen on either of the English club games. Best picks of the night seem to be:

PSV Eindhoven v Sampdoria

and

Sevilla v Paris SG

Looks a disappointing night, otherwise. I really don't want to watch another Liverpool game anytime soon, and I'll be watching them come Sunday, so.

[Black Wizard]

That Fabregas kid is pretty good. I'm surprised Barcelona haven't put a bid in for him.

[Fireball07]

That Fabregas kid is pretty good. I'm surprised Barcelona haven't put a bid in for him.

;)

Fabregas really is a class act, I definitely think he was the best player in the PL last season, and he's pretty consistent.

[Renasko]

I'm not bothering to watch the football online, so I'm stuck with this Liverpool game on the telly. Very average stuff, again. Got off to a great start, after the Steau defender slipped up with a poor lay-off to his goalkeeper, allowing Joe Cole to steal in and finish well. But all credit to the Romanians, they've done pretty well and their supporters are making an embarrassment of Liverpool's grumpy home support.

[Black Wizard]

My favourite score of the night has to be Karpaty Lviv 3-4 Borussia Dortmund.

[Renasko]

Ngog is on 6 goals already this season. Amazing what can happen when you play in a half decent team in the Europa league.

Won't score come Sunday, though.

[Renasko]

Worth a read. I raised this issue up in the international thread last week. These price hikes are ridiculous. What the German supporters are doing is admirable. It's sad when it comes to the point that you can't even watch your team play.

[mormont]

Best football story of the day: Sam Allardyce modestly assesses his own ability.

Ahead of his team's clash with Fulham, the 55-year-old said: "I would be more suited to Inter Milan or Real Madrid.

"It wouldn't be a problem for me to manage those clubs because I would win the double or the league every time."

Although happy in his current role, Allardyce added: "Give me Manchester United or Chelsea and I would do the same, it wouldn't be a problem.

"It's not a problem to take me into the higher reaches of the Champions League or Premier League and would make my job a lot easier in winning it."

Is this a windup?

[Jon AS]

Well, taken on it's own the sentence "It's not a problem to take me into the higher reaches of the Champions League or Premier League and would make my job a lot easier in winning it." makes perfect sense: Inter or Real could easily hire him (he'd clearly jump at the chance) and winning titles with those clubs is much easier than with Blackburn. The rest is really bizarre though. Wasn't he a involved in Newcastle going down a few years ago (admittedly, that club seemed in a downward spiral for several years already when he got there)?

[Horza]

Nah, he had a bad run at Newcastle but they sacked him the season before their relegation.

As for the rest of it, he's always had a chip on his shoulder and while he probably has suffered discrimination on account of being unfashionable and Northern he's been his own worst enemy with outbursts like this and questionable transfer practices.

[Fireball07]

He's probably right in a way....if he was a fashionable manager and was hired by Real Madrid or Inter, he probably would win things, he's pretty effective. Of course we'll never know as the chances of him being hired by them are very very small.

It's hard to argue with what he's done though, he did superbly with Bolton, and with a rather limited Blackburn side is getting some great results.

[polishgenius]

Wasn't he a involved in Newcastle going down a few years ago

Not really. He took over a club in turmoil, wasn't playing very well admittedly but I don't think they were in the relegation zone either, got about three months before they sacked him for not playing pretty football.

Anyway, they played the remarks on 5live earlier and while he's making a point (about the glass ceiling - it was in response to a question about whether Mark Hughes is more suited to lower-middle sides like Fulham than ambitious ones) he's clearly exaggerating for comic effect.

[MercenaryChef]

hatem ben afra has scored his first goal for the toon. i think that he will likely be the best transfer newcastle has made in a long long while.

[Horza]

Spurs... :rofl:

[mormont]

He's probably right in a way....if he was a fashionable manager and was hired by Real Madrid or Inter, he probably would win things, he's pretty effective.

Well, he's 'effective' at grinding out moderately good results from smaller, unfashionable clubs on a limited budget using somewhat unattractive football. That doesn't show that he would be suited to a club like Inter or Real - quite the reverse, in many respects.

It's hard to argue with what he's done though, he did superbly with Bolton, and with a rather limited Blackburn side is getting some great results.

It's certainly quite easy to argue with the claim that he'd 'win the double or the league every year' with a big club, though - see above.

[The Inquisitor]

That Fabregas kid is pretty good. I'm surprised Barcelona haven't put a bid in for him.

That would be perhaps because he'll play third fiddle in Barcelona to the two best players in the world (who also happen to play in that position): Xavi and Iniesta.

Now, if he were to come to Real Madrid...:drool:

[Alcibiades]

Time Magazine recognizes his ability.

[Alcibiades]

Why does it seem like no one can take a penalty anymore? I just watched Rosicky blast one over the bar. Lampard cannot score a pen to save his life these days. And a few weeks ago, I remember something like 3 or 4 penalties getting missed over the weekend.