Football 2013/14

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Seems odd for Cahill to have been bought for big money a while back when the easily as good if not more experienced Jagielka was available. His performances for England indicate that he could probably hack it at a top four club now.

[EOLAN]

No he doesn't, but at the same time, it won't do to show up as the new manager of a top 8 club and say "I think we can avoid relegation for the next few years". All the fans would be thinking "S'not very ambitious is it? Martinez out, Martinez out".

Ah well I do think that is pretty much the realistic aim for us West Brom fans.
Though as you can guess, the real point of my post is just me wanting to jump in on the top 8 club association for the brief few moments that it will last :P

[holyzombiejesus]

Martinez thinks he will get Everton into the Champions League. Good luck with that.

I think he'll succeed but you'd think that after living in the UK for so long, he'd know it's called 'the Championship'.

[hoverdonkey]

£30m for Fernandinho - a 28-year-old who's won five caps for his country. Holistic.

[phantom_power]

How are City going to cope with the Financial Fair Play stuff? Is it so loose that they can blow £50 million without even blinking?

[onthebeach]

£30m for Fernandinho - a 28-year-old who's won five caps for his country. Holistic.

Can't find a source for this but I recall it being said that the Brazil manager wouldn't pick him because of the league he pays in. So he's moved to City.

[Bobby Treetops]

Fernandinho is the signing of the summer, according to Jamie Rednapp, which seems absolute nonsense as there's only been two major signings in the Premiership so far, both by Man City. Still it makes a good headline. [nb]I hadn't link the Daily Mail article because I don't want you to read that horrible little rag[/nb]

[hoverdonkey]

Well

How are City going to cope with the Financial Fair Play stuff? Is it so loose that they can blow £50 million without even blinking?

Well they cocked a snook at FFP when their owners paid 10 times over the odds to sponsor their own stadium.

[SetToStun]

How are City going to cope with the Financial Fair Play stuff? Is it so loose that they can blow £50 million without even blinking?

I can imagine several hundred million quidsworth of City shirts being "sold" in the middle east every year. Amazing revenue potential and all completely above board, of course.

[Unoriginal]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/10105012/Harry-Redknapp-left-furious-after-Queens-Park-Rangers-bid-for-free-agent-Wayne-Bridge-is-hijacked-by-Reading.html

Fuck off then.

[Beagle 2]

Is that the best he can do? He must have been looking for any old excuse to get out of there without it looking like it was his fault, but that is piss weak.

[holyzombiejesus]

Jeez.



Ooof!






As The Guardian says, they look like a toddler's pyjamas.

[onthebeach]

Eek, ugly. Last season's home shirt was my favourite in years, so I bought it but I'd not buy that for a tenner.

Edit: Re: Liverpool's, sorry.

[phes]

Eyebrows by Fabregas doesn't look all too thrilled by it:



Just, baffled. Please, someone buy me..

[Mildly Diverting]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/10105012/Harry-Redknapp-left-furious-after-Queens-Park-Rangers-bid-for-free-agent-Wayne-Bridge-is-hijacked-by-Reading.html

Fuck off then.

Harry's overtaken El Tel's previously thought unbeatable number of 'friends in the media'.

[the midnight watch baboon]

The always interesting-ish free trannie list was released today:

http://www.premierleague.com/content/dam/premierleague/site-content/News/publications/other/Premier-League-released-player-list-2012-13.pdf

Arshavin! Denilson! Gallas! Malouda! Benayoun! K Toure! erm, Bramble! Fwack orff, the lotta ya!

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

doesn't look all too thrilled by it:

It's just like the sort of picture Watchdog take of disgruntled consumers holding up their failed faulty purchases.

[Danger Man]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/10105012/Harry-Redknapp-left-furious-after-Queens-Park-Rangers-bid-for-free-agent-Wayne-Bridge-is-hijacked-by-Reading.html

Harry doesn't do 'reading'.

[Rolf Lundgren]

That Norwich looks alright. That Liverpool one looks like a crap 80s sofa pattern.

[chand]

Fernandinho is the signing of the summer, according to Jamie Rednapp, which seems absolute nonsense as there's only been two major signings in the Premiership so far, both by Man City. Still it makes a good headline. [nb]I hadn't link the Daily Mail article because I don't want you to read that horrible little rag[/nb]

Heh, football pundits, like most fans, don't know shit about players from other leagues. My favourite part of summer is watching fans demand the signings of players they saw a YouTube highlights video of and heard described as 'highly rated' by a bunch of recycled press reports. I guarantee that Redknapp will know jack shit about Fernandinho beyond what he's heard. I never get the feeling many pundits spend their evenings watching the Brazilian or Russian leagues or whatever.

That 'Arry story is so transparent. He'll leave acting like he's been wronged somehow and the press will gobble it up. Wayne Bridge, for fuck's sake.

[Unoriginal]

To be fair to Redknapp the Younger, Fernandinho bossed the midfield in both matches against Chelsea last season and was outstanding throughout Shakhtar's CL campaign. With Chelsea seemingly on the verge of signing Cavani, next season is going to be a TITANIC battle between those two.

[doppelkorn]

The always interesting-ish free trannie list was released today:

http://www.premierleague.com/content/dam/premierleague/site-content/News/publications/other/Premier-League-released-player-list-2012-13.pdf

Arshavin! Denilson! Gallas! Malouda! Benayoun! K Toure! erm, Bramble! Fwack orff, the lotta ya!

Nice to see Ross Turnbull on there. I'm reminded of an amusing anecdote I once heard about him a long while back

But amazed to see Mark Schwarzer on there. I hear Rob Hulse is on his way back to Crewe. I was amazed to see he was still at the quippers.

Also Joshua Webb has five names. FIVE!

[phes]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22802344

According to the BBC England's hopes of (automatic) qualification for Brazil 2014 have just been 'boosted' by Ukraine beating Montenegro. Looks more like our chances of not qualifying at all have just been boosted. Don't much fancy that away fixture in Ukraine now.

[daveoblivian]

Na, the team ahead of us being beaten definitely helps. England have to be massively odds-on to qualify now. Poland were held which also helps.

[Subtle Mocking]

It is sad that we have to rely on other teams being shite to scrape through, though. Look at the 2010 World Cup. We barely squeezed through a group we should have dicked on, but then rightfully got our arses handed to us by Germany.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Simply check the circumstances:

-Three tough away fixtures in anyone's book, it encourages the attitude of 'a draw will do'.
-Throw in Hodgson who will encourage that, is safety first, this does not equate to stomping on a group
-Then you have three teams in Ukraine, Poland and Montenegro capable of getting results against each other either way. It all adds up to it being quite tight at the top.
-England not being all that good at the moment anyway, probably the biggest crisis in terms of where the national team is going since 2008.

Still, the kind of teams we have this time around is completely standard. Most international football for England involves games against weaker teams, sometimes in difficult away cauldrons, and the odd very very tough match against a top side. On the basis of the cards dealt (figurative cards), we ought to qualify in first place and it isn't unreasonable to expect that.

[ThisIsHardcore]

Predictions then:

Premier League

1) Chelsea
2) Manchester United
3) Manchester City
4) Arsenal
-----------------------
5) Tottenham Hotspur
6) Everton
7) Swansea City

18) Stoke City
19) Crystal Palace
20) Norwich City

Championship

1) Wigan Athletic
2) Leeds United
-----------------------
3) Ipswich Town
4) Nottingham Forest (P)
5) Reading
6) Bolton Wanderers

22) Birmingham City
23) Yeovil Town
24) Huddersfield Town

League One

1) Coventry City
2) Preston North End
-----------------------
3) Sheffield United
4) Wolverhampton Wanderers
5) Swindon Town (P)
6) Tranmere Rovers

21) Crewe Alexandria
22) Walsall
23) Port Vale
24) Colchester United

League Two

1) Bristol Rovers
2) Portsmouth
-----------------------
3) Scunthorpe United
4) Exeter City (P)
5) Oxford United
6) Northampton Town

23) Mansfield Town
24) Torquay United

[Mildly Diverting]

24) Torquay United

Mother.

Fucker.

[ThisIsHardcore]

In fairness I don't really follow League Two so I just took a stab in the dark. Anyone can go up or go down in the Football League though. Nothing personal!

[Mildly Diverting]

To be honest, if was the double whammy of us being relegated and the Exeter City promotion prediction that tipped me over the edge.

I mean, that's just callous!