430+ posts is too damn many, let's start anew...

Bayern stomped on a B team barca yesterday, but Tata's not getting introduced till later today, so whatever. Anyone heard of this Santiago Vergini guy from Newell that rumors say might join Barca as a CB? he's 24, supposedly good, and tall! TALL!!!!


-----------
Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

this seems silly.

spurs-esque, even.

suarez is going to miss the first six (?) games of the coming season and will likely miss more after slapping a ref or vomiting on a fan. plus, he's already stated he doesn't like the english press which should go well.

higuain provides the safer bet and more muscle up top, which arsenal have lacked.

Def provides more bite upfront.

I'll be here all week folks!

shit i'll take Fellaini right now.

they will sign people...but it will be Cabaye, Fellaini, Baines.....that is it. Forget all the Falcao, CR7, Thiago, Cesc nonsense....they never intended to go that route. Glazers won't spend the money for all that. They are gonna make it look like the players didn't want to come. Imagine that. They are throwing out names without offering actual contracts worth those players coming over. Falcao was never coming...CR7 is fighting with Madrid for 100% of his image rights, and something he knows Utd will never give him, plus he had to eat shit at times from SAF...Thiago was never coming..and Cesc is not leaving Barca for Utd...it is not all on Moyes, he is just saying what he has to say in public, he ain't the dude negotiating the contracts..he is just a mouthpiece....

wait till August, and you will get Cabaye, Fellaini, Baines.....that is our war chest.

not just about signings but about moyes as MUFC mgr.

if you are looking for tactical and beautiful football..it won't happen


If you are looking for a Brit, someone who will be there long, someone they can market to the fanbase, someone who will make it a priority to overpay for a bunch of British players from time to time, then he fits it perfectly.


he will win a ton of games over the years because at the end of the day, it is Man Utd, and they will always attract some of the best talent in the world, and when push comes to shove, have the money to throw at a problem. But we aren't winning the champion league in the next 5 years. Not till we solve our central midfield and a couple of other spots with real pure talent. We need to invest real money in our youth teams and get some international players who can really pass and move coming through, or buy real talent at a young age and develop them. We aren't doing that anymore.

the only thing I really likes about Moyes, was that he developed some young players at Everton. But he was forced to. Now he is here, I wish he does the same.

I particularly like Jack Rodwell, and thought we could have bought him for a CDM, or a Central Defender, but we teased and watched him go. I hope he pans out at City. I liken it to years ago when Bale played for Southhampton, and he was a left back. He badly wanted to come to United, and we could have bought him for cheap. I thought we should, and let him develop behind Evra. But we waited till he got bought by Spurs, and he struggled, till Redknapp converted him to a winger. I always thought the kid was class, but we didn't evaluate him properly, and now it is at least 60 million bucks too late.

very disheartening. But he also said (not highlighted in this story) that he would never close the door on going back to FCB.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1506962/bayern-munich-thiago-alcantara-rejects-manchester-united-claims?cc=5901

Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara has claimed that Manchester United did not come close to signing him from Barcelona.


Thiago was strongly linked with a move to United this summer before choosing to join Champions League winners Bayern.

On Wednesday, Thiago's father Mazinho told La Xarxa his son "was close" to making the switch to Old Trafford, but the midfielder has appeared to contradict that opinion.

"The truth is that in no moment did United come to us and talk to us. It came from the press, it was always a lie," he told RAC1.

Reflecting on his decision to leave Barcelona, he said: "It's unfair to say I wasn't patient. The club knew my situation. I waited for them, especially before the European Championships, but they never contacted me. I didn't feel valued.

"I wanted to compete. The club knew that I wanted to leave and they didn't do much to change that.

"Everyone looks out for their interests, I wanted to feel valued and I wanted to compete so I decided to leave the club and join Bayern.

"I was waiting and waiting all summer, there was a point when I had to decide.

"All a footballer wants is to play football and I wanted to play, they didn't do much for me to stay, so here I am."

fuck him as a staff, family (o hai rafinha!), and as a motherfucking crew

dude imagine if he stayed we couldve stacked 40+m on cesc. now we're stuck w that dude. GAWD.

GOD

shit fuckit. he's gone so you won't see me smiling about it. hopefully pep bounces in 3 years to run for FCB (the real FCB) prez and thiago comes with. he signed a 4 yr contract for a reason right?

idc idc.

PSG would be pretty stupid to let him go. just give him a raise.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/news/ligue-1-verratti-extends-psg-contract-155054086.html

SLAP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY075-EJqqE

meanwhile Madrid is coming back for Bale, after the Spurs declined their first 94M offer (what the fuck).

This time, they're saying 60M + Di Maria and Coentrao. I would take this in a heartbeat if I was Tottenham. I mean, Bale did have a crazy hot streak last year, but I think he's being seriously overrated right now (I'll admit I have nothing more than 'general Brit hating' as a justification for that stance).

other than that, Porto is asking for 40M for Jackson Martinez

marca is one thing, but i don't think the guardian moves unless there is smoke ... but that's just, like, my opinion, man.

ugh.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jul/27/gareth-bale-real-madrid-tottenham-hotspur

Gareth Bale has been left distraught by the refusal of Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, to consider a world record €100m – £86.3m – offer from Real Madrid.

Real have made their move for their long-time target and Bale is determined to complete the transfer. He wants to play Champions League football, which Tottenham cannot offer after they finished fifth in the Premier League last season, but the allure of Real runs some way deeper.

Bale recognises Real as one of the world's leading clubs, capable of competing for the grandest prizes. In the event of leaving Tottenham, whom he joined from Southampton in 2007, he has always dreamed of playing for the Bernabéu club.

He has enjoyed his six years at White Hart Lane, where he is feted by the supporters, but feels that the time is right to move on. It is impossible to dispute the value and service that he has given to the club, with last season being his best. The 24-year-old scored 26 goals in all competitions and swept the individual awards, being named as the PFA's player and young player of the year and the Football Writers' Association player of the year.

Bale is horrified by Levy's intransigence. The chairman has a reputation as a tough negotiator but to Bale, the offer from Real is one that should be impossible to refuse. The world record transfer is Cristiano Ronaldo's £80m move to Real from Manchester United in 2009.

Bale cannot believe that Levy is blocking what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with the chairman merely maintaining that his prized asset is not for sale. Bale's worth to André Villas-Boas's team is obvious but the Wales international feels that there comes a point when it is unfair to hold somebody to the terms of his contract. His deal has three years to run.

The situation has got under Bale's skin and it is threatening to turn ugly. He has had a glute muscle problem, which has restricted him in pre-season, but it has come to feel slightly convenient as he has been in no frame of mind to play. Bale featured in the club's opening friendly against Swindon Town but he missed the game against Colchester United and, although he travelled to Hong Kong for the Asia Trophy, he has not trained and he missed Tottenham's matches against Sunderland and South China.

Villas-Boas said after his team's 6-0 win over South China on Saturday that he expected Bale to return to training on Wednesday and be available for the friendly against Monaco at the Stade Louis II on Saturday. But it is highly unlikely that he will play.

Villas-Boas has been exasperated at the persistent questions over Bale's future but it felt as though his tone had changed at his press conference following the South China match. He has toed the line about Bale not being for sale and repeatedly stated that his information is that it is impossible for a deal to be struck with a rival club.

But in Hong Kong on Saturday, he was reticent, refusing to deny that Real had made a bid for Bale and also refusing to be drawn on reports from Spain that the player was pressing for the move. "I don't want to comment on anything like that," Villas-Boas said. "I cannot speak about anything." The manager gave the same response to a question about Real's conduct.

Tottenham used Bale at a promotional launch for their new kit at the beginning of the month and he talked of wanting to help the club finish in the Champions League places, which raised hopes that he could yet snub Real's advances.

Only on Friday, Villas-Boas said that talks were "ongoing" with Bale's representative about the possibility of the player signing a new deal at White Hart Lane. But there have been no such negotiations and Bale's mind is made up about his next move.

Tottenham continue to press ahead with business for the new season and they are close to finalising the transfer of the €30m-rated Valencia striker Roberto Soldado. They have already signed the midfielder Paulinho for a club-record £17m from Corinthians and the winger Nacer Chadli for £7m from FC Twente.

but Spurs better take that stupid Madrid money

think everyone is desperately holding on to the idea that gareth said he would play one more year at WHL. gareth's head has been turned and levy is about to fuck up ... £86m can buy you a handful of players to replace bale and stabilize the lineup.

>but Spurs better take that stupid Madrid money

I can't imagine why/how they'd turn that down.

bale isn't going to be as good next season.

He knows he still has time with the transfer window not into august yet....I expect him to slow-play and milk RM like he did for Modric. There's no way Tottenham doesn't sell at or near 95+ million combined with Bale's increasing frustration.

I feel that he is being grossly overvalued, as well.. I just don't see his hegemonic, superstar epl pedigree at all translating to la liga (nor bundes or serie a, for that matter)

pretty nice summer for the French youths

Adrien Rabiot prolly tournament MVP, too. ICI C'EST PARIS.

I watched Toulouse play a couple of times last season, I like what I see from the youngster, although he does throw me off with his philosophy student looks haha. Do we still own his rights? He doesn't have a shot this year but I'd like to think if he keeps progressing we can take him back.
Good creative vision of the game, just needs to bulk up a little. Pretty sad backstory with his pops, makes me want to root for the kid to do well in Paris since his dad is a lifelong PSG fan.

haven't seen him play in the tournament, but yeah, he did well with Toulouse last year, scored a cracker. Even before that, he was good with Paris whenever he was called up. Maybe Blanc will take a flyer on him, then again prolly not...

generally speaking, we got a bunch of good youngsters (Antoine Conte was the hero vs Spain, from what I read), too bad they'll never get a real chance

what happened to Rabiot's pops, I don't even know?

so basically he can only express himself by moving his eyelids, like in that book/movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

I'm with you on the youngin situation. It's maddening that the club keeps paying lip service to youth training, yet the chances of in-house talent making it with us keep getting slimmer.

F

Hard to say much about his performance... as he didn't come on until the 80th minute and he was with all the B-teamers (came on for Alexis, Messi had already been subbed off). He did have a few nice passes... a few times he tried to dribble too much.

Friday against Santos he should play with Messi for the first time. I'm kinda excited to see how it works.

Put America back on the map.

So I'm gonna take it as disrespect.

I guess that Piojo .gif went viral.

But I did read about Benitez earlier today.
Yeah... RIP

Chucho's story is heartbreaking.

Peep Valencia's (Man Utd) tweets once news broke :o/

levy being levy. straight up FM style move here.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jul/31/tottenham-gareth-bale-alvaro-morata


Gareth Bale will be allowed to leave Tottenham if they can secure Alvaro Morata, above, in exchange. Photograph: Gregorio Lopez/Cordon Press/Corbis
David Hytner

Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to sell Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and they will tell the Spanish club that the prospect of a deal would increase if the striker Alvaro Morata were included as a makeweight.

Real have so far bid a world record €100m (£86m) in straight cash for Bale, which has not been enough to sway the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, and they have indicated a readiness to offer players as further sweeteners.

They have put forward the left-back Fábio Coentrão and the winger Angel di María, whose values they have variously factored into the potential package, but Tottenham maintain that the deal will be on their terms, meaning that they choose any makeweights and the one that they want is Morata.

Given the 20-year-old is the most highly rated young player at the Bernabéu, particularly after he secured the Golden Boot as Spain won the European Under-21 Championship this summer, it effectively means that the package Tottenham are seeking is worth more than £100m.

Real, who have waged an increasingly aggressive campaign to sign Bale during this transfer window, may consider Tottenham's willingness to negotiate, at last, as a positive sign.

On the other hand, they will be loth to lose Morata, especially as he has been earmarked by the coach, Carlo Ancelotti, for a more prominent role. Real's decision to sell Gonzalo Higuaín to Napoli for £32m was motivated in part by the feeling that Morata was ready to challenge Karim Benzema for a place in the starting XI.

Real believe that Morata could be Spain's future No9 and their appreciation of him has been reflected in their efforts to secure him to a long-term deal with an enormous buy-out clause. Morata's contract expires in 2015.

It must be noted that swap or part-exchange deals at the highest level are extremely rare, because of their complexity. The reasons include the inevitable argument over the value of the makeweight, his personal terms and desire to make the move. Levy would want any makeweight to come over and above the €100m fee for Bale whereas Real would decrease the cash sum according to the player involved.

Tottenham continue to press on with their other business and they are poised to break their transfer record for the second time this summer with the €30m (£26m) signing of Roberto Soldado from Valencia. They paid £17m for the midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians, which eclipsed their previous record outlay – the £16.5m spent to take Luka Modric from Dynamo Zagreb in 2008.

Tottenham's technical director, Franco Baldini, has spent time in Valencia to broker the deal, which will end Andre Villas-Boas's search for a centre-forward. The Valencia president, Amadeo Salvo, said on Wednesday that the transfer was all but done.

"The deal with Tottenham has been completed," he said. "A problem with Soldado's agents has come up and the player will not leave the club until a solution has been found."

Tottenham do not anticipate any hitches and they are looking forward to welcoming the 28-year-old Spain international, who scored 30 goals in 46 appearances for Valencia last season. Villas-Boas, who had also looked at Aston Villa's Christian Benteke only for him sign a new contract, went through last season with Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor as his recognised, senior strikers.

Villas-Boas has allowed Steven Caulker to move to Cardiff City for £9m, which becomes a record transfer for the Welsh club, overtaking the £8.5m that they paid to tempt the Denmark striker Andreas Cornelius from FC Copenhagen. The move raised eyebrows in some quarters as Caulker, who made a goalscoring debut for England in the 4-2 friendly defeat by Sweden last November, had been touted as the future for Tottenham.

Moreover, with the long-term injury casualty Younès Kaboul still to feature in pre-season, Jan Vertonghen out with ankle damage and William Gallas released, Villas-Boas now has only one fit, senior centre-half in Michael Dawson.

Tottenham are pushing to sign the 23-year-old Romania and Steaua Bucharest central defender Vlad Chiriches, although it has been reported that the club's owner, Gigi Becali, who is in jail, is unhappy for the deal to proceed. Caulker feared that his starting opportunities at Tottenham stood to be limited.

Tottenham have also signed the winger Nacer Chadli from Twente for £7m but Bale's future continues to dominate. The 24-year-old, who is determined to be granted his dream move to Real, reported to the Tottenham training ground on Wednesday morning when the squad reconvened after their involvement in the Barclays Asia Trophy and two days off.

But Bale did not train with the first-team group, as he felt the minor gluteal muscle injury that has hampered him for the past two weeks. He is unlikely to feature in the friendly against Monaco at Stade Louis II on Saturday.

mentioned as replacements.
not sure why they cashed in on Caulker.
they could've used him at CB to start the season

not sure i like pastore unless benny or nightripper can tell me why he seemed so disinterested.

lamela could be interesting. 100m can buy a lot, but it's also going to serve notice to other clubs that spurs are desperate.

when he's fit, he's actually really, really good

depends on what your club needs. He's not a classic 10, I think that may be part of what disappointed fans in Paris after his insane hot streak at the beginning of his first year. He's not a volume player, he's not going to dominate the ball and give your team an identity. But he is going to make the most of the few touches he's gonna get. Rarely do you see him do something useless.

I would not like to see him go, would much rather send you wack ass good job good effort Lavezzi for instance, but if your boy is willing to put 60 mil or so on the table, I don't see how Paris does not sign that deal, oil money be damned

Lamela impressed me the few games I've seen of him

was thinking, "60m? from levy? you cray!"

depending on what we get from madrid, if anything, then there will be some decisions to make. at this point, i would prefer lamela given his position and play style. he's not bale, but he would plug the hole better than pastore.

EDIT: supposed to be a reply to benny.

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

I look forward to my 15th place finish every year.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/01/liverpool-warrior-sports-man-up

Liverpool's kit supplier, Warrior Sports, has fallen foul of the club's new guidelines on unacceptable language by telling customers to "man up" on its website.

"Man up" is one of several phrases the Anfield club deems unacceptable on a list issued to members of staff as part of a wider education programme aimed at combating discrimination. Others in the section on gender include "queen", "princess", "play like a girl" and "don't be a woman".

The club's official sportswear supplier, however, requests that people "Man Up, Sign Up" to receive its product updates by email.

Eagle-eyed readers have also highlighted that the Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers told the Anfield Wrap about his players: "If you get little niggles or little injuries, you've got to man up," when his squad was stretched before the January transfer window.

Bale's to Madrid sounds like its almost done.

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1512434/clint-dempsey-join-seattle-sounders-tottenham-sources-say?cc=5901

I didn't believe any of the rumors. But if this is true...I'm pretty fucking pumped.

4 yrs / $32M is the reported salary in Seattle. no fucking way he makes that much anywhere else. good piece of business for him and his agent.

for comparison, Landon makes something like $2M/yr and Henry makes $5M/yr

but i think he'll be like WTF if he sees an italian or german defense in the WC :o/

>but i think he'll be like WTF if he sees an italian or german
>defense in the WC :o/

don't see how you can deny that.

put any striker in a 3rd (at best) tier league for a year before a world cup and they'll have to adjust a bit. not sure which friendlies we have scheduled leading up to the cup but that could certainly help.

only Landon honed his craft in MLS...

please don't mistake this as MLS hate

when klinsmann took the helm he said itd be a good thing for demp doggy to leave fulham for tottenham so he could get some european experience (yes ive seen the goal vs juventus numerous times)

and now with the re-emergence of joseph h. altidore and some other MLS (!) strikers hitting, i'm wondering if it's a good idea to leave for MLS.

then you consider well tottenham is gonna have 100M+ to spend and theyve already got soldado so his playing time might've been a factor

just thinking out loud here

the only question now is what move the Player's Union is gonna make going forward

>3rd (at best) tier league

ouch that hurt.

does this logic only work for soccer? cuz i don't understand how people seem to believe that going to a different (horribly worse in your opinion) league is going to make your skills decline. especially when this does not seem to be the case in ANY other sport. baseball players go play in the minors on a pretty regular basis. a whole bunch of NBA players went over to other countries during the lockout and the NBA seems to be just fine. so does this just apply to soccer?

barely 3rd tier dude? really? dang.




oh yeah and Obafemi Martins (former Serie A, Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga player) disagrees with you btw.

"It's not easy to play in MLS ... It's a bit like England. The competition in MLS is strong and they're physical as well ... And the league is getting much better, and every team out there wants to win, so we have to be ready."
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=2149249.html

scary

http://i.minus.com/iix1EX3gxSTmB.gif

probably our best piece of defense transfer business was not letting this guy go. the ultimate utility man! Brasil would be foolish to keep him off of the squad yet again in 2014.

but yeah, he's a fullback/wing utility master. that shot is such a nice, unexpected weapon for the squad.

looked good in the gamper. fiesty squad. neymar's assist was gully, cesc was cesc'ing all over, and alexis was fucking world class. JUST BUY A FUCKING CENTER BACK.

-----------
Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

he's only played as CB a handful of times that I can recall, like when abidal, puyol, and mascherano were out, ie as a last option. his RB/LB/LW/RW game is where it's at. i think he's vastly underrated.

man this CB drama has been going on for years. it's getting comical at this point.

they can't convince Porto to let go of Jackson Martinez, so they would be looking to snatch Giroud. While I think he's a tad underrated, him instead of Martinez is an L for Napoli. Regardless...it would be funny on top of Higuain.

Arsene is still talking about Suarez.

in unexpected, kinda irrelevant, but still cool news...Ronnie is considering a come back to Europe with Besiktas. I was excited for a second, but I just remembered they're banned from European competitions next year. He needs to go somewhere else.

ohh damnnn son

It would only take $45M, he's a much more special player than Higuain in my opinion.

.

first official game of the season, although nobody really cares about that so called trophy (Chapmpions' Trophy, cup winner vs league winner)
at 1:40pm central on bein
no Cavani, no Marquinhos

before that, a Monaco / Tottenham friendly (at 11 something central on bein too)

with no respect for tradition or history because there is none

supporters too apparently

>first official game of the season, although nobody really
>cares about that so called trophy (

and yes i replied to you twice, get over it

that trophy was created maybe 5 years ago or so and is being artificially hyped up as some real shit because the media needs some ratings
it's not a tradition, which is exactly why most long time fans don't give a fuck

damn.

play to win every time son!

Filling in the void left by all stah

soccer players play soccer. like i said above, im a barca fan, which most of you know and nighty gets his own nightys in a tighty about.

ok so do you want your team to lose games? to prepare? obviously it might happen and it does happen but do you clap to that beforehand?

this is news to me.

cmon man try to not to brand me as the new all stah because im nowhere near as comedy as he is

plus w chelsea as DANGEROUS as theyre looking where is he btw?

Clearly no one can fill the void left behind by All Stah.

In seriousness though, you came in popping about tradition and such when talking about some fabricated cup so c'mon lol.

Don't like these Parisian rich boys. Only started watching at the50 min mark, but this ain't no exhibition... Quality play with plenty of intensity

Love that the equalizer was scored by a kid who might not play again all season (League Cup excepted), he did well to finish off that terrific pass by Ibra. Dope free-kick by Lucas too

NT, looks like we're gonna have to ramp up the FREE MENEZ train early this year, unless there's some injury concern I'm not aware of

weather was gorgeous here today, I could not possibly justify watching that live
I caught some of the first half, though, and I gotta say my burgeoning Pastore agenda took a hit, he was ass.

>Love that the equalizer was scored by a kid who might not
>play again all season (League Cup excepted), he did well to
>finish off that terrific pass by Ibra.

second goal by the kid so far. Ibra might lobby for him, he already said he was good after the game in Sweden (although he didn't remember his name at the time...)

I hear Koman's playing well too. Most of these kids are from the city or surroundings too, that's what's exciting to me. ICI C'EST PARIS.

>
>NT, looks like we're gonna have to ramp up the FREE MENEZ
>train early this year, unless there's some injury concern I'm
>not aware of

he's hurt right now, recovering from some minor surgery on his back
if wack ass Lavezzi gets more PT than my man, I'm going to be heated

that defense still looks a little suspect

somebody else who looked suspect is Hugo Lloris...lol at the first goal in particular, but even the second one from Falcao was something I'd expect him to save in an official game

</damage control>

Lol!
This is some beef I can go for.
Clap back Cristiano! Clap back!

Quick to stab anybody in the back.

He's right about this one though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KeG_i8CWE8

Concept is a little hokey but they nail pretty much all the jokes. Well played NBC, now let's see what the game-day product looks like

they'll probably need it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2byo9jDDVg

absolutely twisted off one touch.

plus, it wasn't just that one touch, the route he ran to establish position was absolute perfection, too. So was Sneijder's pass.

really a top notch goal

I wish Galatasaray would give Ronnie his final euro run rather than Besiktas
they'd be fun to watch

Gunners can't even win their own cup. And the mighty mos drogs did it to them again.


Poor, poor Arsenal.

Should have went after the Dempsey. He would have fit in perfectly.

The gunners are not going to win a CL place this year. It's not happening. Man City is much more improved, and the blues will contend as well.

1.Man City
2. Chelsea( could win the league)
3.ManU
4.Spurs

5. poor, poor arsenal

...said every year by non-arsenal fans since.... forever

Loic Remy to Newcastle (good for him)
Adel Taraabt on load to Fulham (good for him too)
MU would have given up on Cesc and would now be looking to lure Bastian Schweinsteiger (which, to me, would be a come up vs Cesc)
Rooney is getting closer to Chelsea
Milan would be getting Keisuke Honda and releasing KPB, who Borussia is interested in

>MU would have given up on Cesc and would now be looking to
>lure Bastian Schweinsteiger (which, to me, would be a come up
>vs Cesc)

Apparently we're still trying to get Luiz which won't happen.

Maybe they ought to do some super swap where United get Cesc, Chelsea get Rooney, and Barca get Luiz.

Nah.

At this point I say take either Vertongen or Vermaelen for cheap and ease Bartra and Bagnack in.

>>At this point I say take either Vertongen or Vermaelen for
>cheap and ease Bartra and Bagnack in.

Puyol's injured too.

You have no idea how funny this defensive crisis has been to me over the last 3 years. I don't think I can discuss it logically anymore.

http://90sgoaliekits.tumblr.com/

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/7857565/liverpoolwarrior1314.0_standard_352.0.jpg

http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com/2013/8/7/4598400/etienne-capoue-tottenham-hotspur-transfer-rumours

AVB could play Dembele as a 2nd striker - like how he played at Fulham
A shocking signing if this is true.
Arsenal should've been all over this b/c that transfer fee is chump change.
Spurs still need a striker and help at CB

capoue can play CB and i see him as cover for both positions should something happen to sandro again. parker could be held around for another year as cover as well, plus he's a good old head to have around. with europa football, spurs will need bodies.

not saying another CB -- and a true CB at that -- wouldn't be nice, but capoue covers a couple positions nicely.

with soldado, i'm not sure another out and out striker is in the cards ... unless we get that bale money.

AVB's/Levy's targets are a CBs and attacking mids right now

Sure, he has a rocket shot (although he won't be taking any FK's with Messi and Neymar out there) and great offensive skills for a defender. But he seems like he is prone to habitual mental lapses, like, ALL the time. It's not an occasional thing, it just happens consistently. So don't know that he'd really solve our defensive problems. How is he in the air, would he help us there? Also, for those who've watched more Chelsea games than I have, is his best position really in the center of the defense or on the wing?

Is anyone else a legit target this month, now that Thiago Silva's reupped with PSG? (Don't get me started on how dumb it was to refrain from emptying the money truck for him last year when he was leaving Milan. Luiz is a few years younger, but I'd much rather have Silva.) I've read Daniel Agger's name, but that's it (now that PSG have ALSO paid through the nose for Marquinhos -- somewhat of a gamble given his age). How would Agger be? Who else is rumored to be -- or SHOULD be -- in Barca's sights right now?

We've already got two "defenders" that spend as much time in the attacking half as they do in the defensive half. We need someone who is a ROCK in defense. Luiz is not that.

So I'm not entirely sure. I think he's a lot closer to what we need than Luiz is. But I'm not entirely certain he's the right fit.

What do you think about him?

PLEASE!

One hopes his mental mistakes would chamge in a different system, but that's unlikely.

I don't think anyone is coming at cb this season. Sigh. We might end up rushing bagnack. Or tata thinks he can convert song. Also, uggh.

Tata did say he wants a larger squad than tito or pep ever did. So thata good. Maybe fewer imjuries and more rotation?

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Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Manufactured or not

For real though, Chelsea were c ing at him with some cheap shots, surprised he handled I as well as he did

not to mention the celebration directed at Mourinho: http://i.minus.com/i2bvVqCT0MTep.gif

like that .gif...if it weren't a real shirt, i'd post it myself.

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Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

like, he knew ivanovic was bearing down on him and he had time to move but he took the contact, knowing that its the perfect spot for him to hit one of patented free kicks.

also, people can hate on CR7 all they want, but when that fan came on the field, that was all class by Ronaldo.

Basically just spend £40M to fuck him over.

Related, a recap of just how terrible of a person he is. I had forgotten about punching the Chilean national player:

http://paisleygates.com/?p=12979

It all spurred on from Manchester United’s Patrice Evra racial abuse incident in 2011 where he was fined £40,000 and banned for eight games....

Suarez then refused to shake Evra’s hand the next time the two clubs met, causing outrage and putting Liverpool Football Club’s name in the dirt once again. Unfortunately, the Evra incident wasn’t the end of Suarez’s mad reign; it was only the start of it.

The controversial striker would keep the ball rolling by kicking Michael Dawson, pulling Rafael’s hair, putting his middle finger up after getting a bad reception from Fulham fans, blatant dives versus Arsenal and Stoke, a subsequent admission of diving in the press, taunting then Everton boss David Moyes after scoring, punching a Chilean player while on international duty and finally, and most famously, biting Branislav Ivanovic .

he doesn't really have much leverage, so he better stfu and hope someone offers more money to take him off liverpool's hands. because rodgers and the owners don't seem like they're fucking around.

although i'd take the 40m for him this year rather than the cut price they'll get next year.

you just can't.

You are giving one of the best players in the world to a direct rival.

at least thats what they say.

very excited to see how the Cavani/Ibra duo works. Am conveniently scheduled to work from home this afternoon, funny how things work out.

dude was way too inconsistent, don't think he'll be missed much

Granted, he was as consistent as anyone else on their squad. Well, that's not Spanish, at least.

can't finish

Dude is a one trick pony in the final 1/3 (hesitation, sprint to the byline), doesn't provide any consistent service, and has zero composure in the box.

There's no player on that team that can truly be counted on for much of anything. They were really fortunate to get Santi last year, but I don't know where they go from here.

That makes zero sense.

They were able to sell Chamakh and Arshavin, but Tomáš Rosický and Bendner are still around for some reason...

Bendtner is still there bc well no one wants him at that salary.

Selling Gervinho doesn't somehow exclude the team from also trying to sell other players.

I never thought the Landon Donovan water fountain picture could ever be topped, but Pablo Mastroeni annihilates it.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9529241/usmnt-new-york-s-magazine-greatest-photo-shoot-history

MUST SEE photos.

I was looking for the American Soccer Post to put this up in, but this works as well. So much comedy but my favorite was "By itself, in a different slideshow, this picture wouldn't excite a lot of attention, even if Keller does seem to be playing fuck/marry/kill in his mind and picking you for all three."

dear god spend some fucking money ASAP.

and we need to extend Januzaj and play him as much as possible.

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Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

Perhaps we'll try giving it to someone worthy again after he managed to be worse than Owen with it.

I'm not going to jinx it and say his name...but yeah. seems to be coming. GREAT signing if true #nohiguain

the correct answer is, "when he holds up the shirt"

TransfersCenter ‏@TransfersCenter 25m
Arsenal refused to pay what Bayern demanded for Luis Gustavo. The player is now set to sign for Wolfsburg. #AFC

If Wenger gives the "the team we have is good enough" speech one more time...I might fucking losing my mind.

....two years after buying him for 20 mill. LOLZ.

http://drakethetypeofniggathat.tumblr.com/

I like this one better than everyone that's been mentioned since Silva. Let's make it one happen.

and that would be good for his world cup chances, too
I'm kinda pissed at Paris for pretty much giving up on him as a starter

if so + that costs us bartra (I still believe)...that'd be disappointing.

if it's a permanent, tho? sheeeeit. i'd be happy.

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Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

I would be really impressed with Nasser & them if they swing that

I'm not giving up on Bartra, I'd like for him to stick around.

Word in the press is that Sakho could go for around 15m. If true, that's a great price.

willian in town for a physical and roma sporting director to london to discuss a lamela transfer.

i need that money may flinging hundreds gif.

this is from the guardian live blog:

http://www.theguardian.com/global/blog/2013/aug/20/transfer-news-latest-cabaye-willian-fellaini-baines

If you watched Madrid/Betis this Sunday, that is exactly the sort of player they DONT need: another attacker that prefers to start wide and come narrow. Same game plan that Ozil, Ronaldo and Isco were horrible at. Only thing good that can come from this is a possible move for one of the first two of those players, as there really is no place or reason to have all four of those guys, plus Di Maria.

not a spurs problem.

this influx of new faces is spurs new problem. gonna take a while to get everyone on the same page ... and they still haven't moved for depth at CB.

If every team needs a Bale, wouldn't Spurs be better than the 5th place team in England?

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Y'all stupid...should've tanked for Lebron/Wiggins in 2014 -Rex LongFellow

It's only funny till someone gets mad. Then it's hilarious.

https://twitter.com/UncleChizzy/statuses/369917771767107584

I sure hope this pic was taken after saturday...

Because Danny Rose and Assou-Ekotto are not good enough to carry the leftback role on their own.

Because Chelsea need a dribbly, speedy, small attacking midfield player, they outbid Spurs for Willian. Since they actually don't need a dribbly, speedy, small attacking mid currently, this likely opens the door for Mata to become a make-weight for Rooney, Chelsea just pulled the trigger early to get ahead of Spurs.

Moyes, having learned from the master, has announced "no new signings" and "Rooney isn't for sale" again, which in Glaswegian means "expect some signings and Rooney is gone".

Since "we have money" Arsenal have learned that Madrid still want a boatload of cash for Benzema, they've turned to option Z: un-list Bendtner. After they re-signed Flamini yesterday, I'm expecting The Green Goblin is somewhere in Belarus packing his shit.

supposedly, Ozil to Arsenal for $50M...shaking my head really hard at him going for half the price of Bale. Fuck outta here, Real Madrid. That would be an awesome deal for Arsenal.

Sakho to Liverpool

PSG would be trying to sign Mata (why?)

Kaka to Milan

Thauvin (really good u20 frenchie) to Marseille

they really dominated this off season, that's another smart buy

Now that he's left the seventh circle of hell.
Too bad he ain't got no strikers.
Maybe Ox and Walcott will finally step up.

for this embarrassment of a transfer season.

And I'm not sure which one I dislike more.

http://i.imgur.com/0pVEObb.jpg

He could be had for 30, 35 definitely. And he is a potential superstar. This is who Arsenal should be buying. (Love the Ozil move but it's not enough)

Don't care about need, this guy is all world all class. And in today's market great value.

Not a title contender, but fuck it I'm on cloud 9 and don't care

>Don't care about need, this guy is all world all class. And
>in today's market great value.
>
>Not a title contender, but fuck it I'm on cloud 9 and don't
>care

http://instagram.com/p/dxgkMyOJ-E/#

there is no way in the world Bale is as good a player as Ozil
yet...they're buying him for twice the price they're selling Mesut

just mind boggling

>there is no way in the world Bale is as good a player as
>Ozil
>yet...they're buying him for twice the price they're selling
>Mesut
>
>just mind boggling

I love Bale too... That speed is hypnotizing I guess

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which is a big negative if you ask me.

I'd love to see video of these guys trying to pull this off and somehow get their cut in cash upfront. Fantastic effort!

http://abload.de/img/uniteds_midfielddbuty.jpg

- the summer starts w/ "no budget" "everything is in place to sign a world class player"
- we sniff around Thiago until Bayern swoops in and we act like we were never even interested.
- then we go after Fabregas, why i have no idea, and bid so far below his value that it's a fucking joke. follow that up w/ 2 more joke bids until Barca/Fabregas come out in a press conference and basically tell us to fall back.
- go after Baines w/ an insulting bid that Everton rightly terms as derisory. sit on our hands for a month and bid the same thing AGAIN.
- wait until the last weekend to try and break Herrera's complicated ass spanish release clause. then IMPOSTERS show up to the La Liga offices to negotiate the deal. IMPOSTERS!!! you cant make that shit up.
- this all while Fellaini's release clause is at 23m until July 31. we wait to the last day and end up buying him for 28m.

and i don't even think that covers half of the fuckery that this transfer season was to United. that's just astonishingly bad.

I don't even like Moyes and I think he's not fit for the job, but for his sake Woodward shouldn't have a job tomorrow. He needs to fall on the sword for this.

Not much behind Kosc and Per and then pretty much nothing behind Giroud with the Demba Ba loan being thwarted.