THE FOOTBALL THREAD Vol 2
- Thread starter fgl
- Start date
zac89
New member
^dang u beat me to it =D
CHAMPS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE DRAW IS OUT!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=671000&sec=uefachampionsleague&cc=4716
group C seems funky
AC and Real and GRoup F also quite cool, inter and barca
CHAMPS LEAGUE GROUP STAGE DRAW IS OUT!
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=671000&sec=uefachampionsleague&cc=4716
group C seems funky
AC and Real and GRoup F also quite cool, inter and barca
fgl
Well-known member
> > > > > > >
Cesc Fabregas is “50:50” to make the trip to Manchester United on Saturday.
The Arsenal midfielder injured his hamstring in the first half of the 4-1 win against Portsmouth last weekend and consequently missed Wednesday’s win over Celtic at Emirates Stadium.
However, according to Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal captain is improving and will have a fitness test on Friday to determine his inclusion for the squad at Old Trafford.
“He had a training session today that was quite positive,” the manager told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon. “He will have a definite test tomorrow where we will decide if we include him in the squad or not. Today I would say it is a real 50:50. Yesterday it I would say it was 60:40 against but he looked positive today.”
Meanwhile Wenger had mixed news over another two midfielders.
Aaron Ramsey has undergone a scan after picking up a knock against Celtic but it is hoped no significant injury will be diagnosed. Tomas Rosicky is back in training but will not be risked at Old Trafford.
“From last night we have an uncertainty about Aaron Ramsey,” said Wenger. “He is having a scan at the moment.
“The news was quite re-assuring this morning and we are hoping we’ll get some more [news later]. We don’t think it is a knee injury. We were scared it was a cartilage problem but the news was positive today. It did not swell and he had no restriction of movement. It could be a muscle behind the knee provoked, at first, by a kick on his shin. But we could have some news today that he has nothing at all.
“Rosicky is back in full training but I think a game of that intensity will be too early for him.”
Cesc Fabregas is “50:50” to make the trip to Manchester United on Saturday.
The Arsenal midfielder injured his hamstring in the first half of the 4-1 win against Portsmouth last weekend and consequently missed Wednesday’s win over Celtic at Emirates Stadium.
However, according to Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal captain is improving and will have a fitness test on Friday to determine his inclusion for the squad at Old Trafford.
“He had a training session today that was quite positive,” the manager told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon. “He will have a definite test tomorrow where we will decide if we include him in the squad or not. Today I would say it is a real 50:50. Yesterday it I would say it was 60:40 against but he looked positive today.”
Meanwhile Wenger had mixed news over another two midfielders.
Aaron Ramsey has undergone a scan after picking up a knock against Celtic but it is hoped no significant injury will be diagnosed. Tomas Rosicky is back in training but will not be risked at Old Trafford.
“From last night we have an uncertainty about Aaron Ramsey,” said Wenger. “He is having a scan at the moment.
“The news was quite re-assuring this morning and we are hoping we’ll get some more [news later]. We don’t think it is a knee injury. We were scared it was a cartilage problem but the news was positive today. It did not swell and he had no restriction of movement. It could be a muscle behind the knee provoked, at first, by a kick on his shin. But we could have some news today that he has nothing at all.
“Rosicky is back in full training but I think a game of that intensity will be too early for him.”
theGroovyMusic
New member
kaka against former club hahaha
i dont see group of deaths in this cl draw. ac and real will make it through C, barca and inter will make it through F. simple straight forward. however things with group E will get very interesting. and unfortunate for my own club, group D will get complicated too.
my predictions
(in order. 1st 2nd)
A: Juve Bordeaux
B: Man Utd, Wolfsburg
C: Real Madrid, AC Milan
D: Chelsea, Porto
E: Liverpool, Fiorentina
F: Barcelona, Inter Milan
G: Sevilla, Stuttgart
H: Arsenal, Olympiakos
group E and G hard to predict ah
my predictions
(in order. 1st 2nd)
A: Juve Bordeaux
B: Man Utd, Wolfsburg
C: Real Madrid, AC Milan
D: Chelsea, Porto
E: Liverpool, Fiorentina
F: Barcelona, Inter Milan
G: Sevilla, Stuttgart
H: Arsenal, Olympiakos
group E and G hard to predict ah
Lovehurts
New member
Yeah I think both Group F & C are groups of death.
Ok ok, my predictions:
Group A: Bayern Munich & Juventus
Group B: Man Utd & Wolfburg
Group C: Real & Milan
Group D: Chelsea & Porto
Group E: Liverpool & Lyon
Group F: Barca & Internazionale
Group G: Stuttgart & Sevilla
Group H: Arsenal & Olympiakos
Ok ok, my predictions:
Group A: Bayern Munich & Juventus
Group B: Man Utd & Wolfburg
Group C: Real & Milan
Group D: Chelsea & Porto
Group E: Liverpool & Lyon
Group F: Barca & Internazionale
Group G: Stuttgart & Sevilla
Group H: Arsenal & Olympiakos
why do you say group of death when there are 2 obvious winners with no other big clubs going down? lets say it was real, ac and maybe 1 of the english clubs inside, where 1 big club will exit the competition early then that's a group of death. if by group of death you mean dynamo kiev and rubin sure die then yes. but that's the same with many other groups aint it?
extremers
New member
*laughs* that made sense. but yea, probably why i'd call it group of death is because if arsenal were to be replaced with any weaker team in group c or group f, then sure die. so i think the proper term will be; Groups C and F is the Groups of Death (in which the team i supported shouldn't be and if they are, it's a damn uphill battle)
fgl
Well-known member
In-form midfield trio can cover for Captain
Arsène Wenger is confident his other in-form midfielders can cover for the injured Cesc Fabregas.
The Arsenal captain has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Old Trafford with a hamstring strain with the scan on his injured muscle described as “not conclusive”.
But Fabregas is not the only midfielder to have excelled in the Gunners’ new-look 4-3-3 formation. Denilson and Abou Diaby punctuated the side’s impressive opening with some stunning strikes, while Alex Song has received glowing reports playing further back as the midfield anchor.
Wenger admits that losing his skipper’s craft and guile is a blow but he believes that the trio’s brawn can “compensate” for the loss.
“I believe ideally Cesc gives us stability,” the manager said at Friday’s press conference.
“Cesc masters well the timing of the game - when you need to slow down and speed up.
“He always gives you one or two goals to score in every single game. So we have to compensate for that.
“But, the form of Diaby, Denilson and Song, who are physical, can compensate.”
Arsène Wenger is confident his other in-form midfielders can cover for the injured Cesc Fabregas.
The Arsenal captain has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Old Trafford with a hamstring strain with the scan on his injured muscle described as “not conclusive”.
But Fabregas is not the only midfielder to have excelled in the Gunners’ new-look 4-3-3 formation. Denilson and Abou Diaby punctuated the side’s impressive opening with some stunning strikes, while Alex Song has received glowing reports playing further back as the midfield anchor.
Wenger admits that losing his skipper’s craft and guile is a blow but he believes that the trio’s brawn can “compensate” for the loss.
“I believe ideally Cesc gives us stability,” the manager said at Friday’s press conference.
“Cesc masters well the timing of the game - when you need to slow down and speed up.
“He always gives you one or two goals to score in every single game. So we have to compensate for that.
“But, the form of Diaby, Denilson and Song, who are physical, can compensate.”
fgl
Well-known member
Manchester United
Arsenal
official
- Referee
Mike Dean
By Richard Clarke
Can absence make the team grow stronger?
Around this time of year Arsenal are often adapting to the move of a player or two in the summer just gone. When it is someone who has dominated your pattern of play in previous seasons then the hole can take some time to fill.
Arsène Wenger’s side were in this predicament in 2007 when Thierry Henry left for Barcelona. Right now, Manchester United are in the same boat as they try to cope with the sizeable loss of Cristiano Ronaldo following his departure to Real Madrid. The Old Trafford side are reportedly the richest club side on the planet but taking out £80 million of talent is still going to have an effect.
Arsenal go to Manchester on Saturday evening for the first Big Four clash of the nascent season with a certain confidence flowing in their football. Four games, four wins, 15 goals and two successful Champions League Play-Off games – that is the mathematics of their season so far. Numerically a win at Old Trafford would add just a little more to their stats but psychologically it could be enough to form the foundation of a real title challenge.
It is difficult to know who the real Manchester United are right now – the edgy outfit who beat Birmingham 1-0 on the opening day, the bullied side who lost to Burnley or the well-oiled machine who breezed past Wigan 5-0.
Certainly, their campaign has not settled down and, though they retain much of the quality that has given them a hat-trick of Premier League titles, Wenger ventured to suggest they will miss the Portuguese winger who scored 68 goals in his last two seasons.
“I believe that nobody, not even the specialists, know what kind of effect [the loss of] Ronaldo can have on Manchester United’s results,” said Wenger at Friday’s press conference.
"It takes time to adapt but in our case [when we lost Henry] we had someone, Adebayor, who scored 24 goals in the season that followed. Also we had players who gained a little bit of charisma, like Hleb.
“Personally I believe even though he was good last year he was not the Ronaldo of the year before. It was for two reasons. Firstly, he was injured at the start and had a little surgery on his ankle and secondly he was certainly already thinking to move.
“Then again when you look at his numbers you’d think I have the wrong opinion. He didn’t look as convincing as the year before but when you look at the number of games he played and the number of goals he scored, he was still as efficient as before. So we'll see what happens.
“But I still believe Man United will miss Ronaldo. Will they find a new balance in the team and will Rooney pop up with 20 goals or Berbatov with 20 goals? That can happen.
“When a player becomes too strong in a team, sometimes the way of a game goes too much through him and others are a little bit isolated or forgotten. When he disappears suddenly other players turn up because the way of the game goes through different players and they maybe are capable to do that. Nobody knows really.
“In the end, Henry had a big weight in the team. No-one could refuse to give Thierry Henry the ball so sometimes the play becomes a bit more diversified when these players go.”
Cesc Fabregas is out of the trip to Old Trafford because the fitness test on his hamstring on Friday was “not conclusive”. Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) will not be risked. Wenger went on to say that there were no additions or omissions from Wednesday’s win over Celtic. From that we can conclude Aaron Ramsey has recovered from the knock he suffered against the Scottish side.
Despite all the talk about Ronaldo, Rooney and Berbatov, Manchester United scored the same number of Premier League goals as Arsenal - 68. The difference came in the goals against column – 24 for Manchester United, 37 for Arsenal.
"An influential player for Manchester United last year was Vidic,” admitted Wenger. “Ferdinand as well, but Vidic because he popped up with scoring goals in the air and they kept very many clean sheets. That was their main strength."
This game is being billed as Arsenal's first real test of the season. That overlooks the problems posed at Goodison Park in recent weeks but, certainly, a win would demand a hasty re-writing of certain pre-season predictions that suggested Wenger's men would struggle to retain their top four status.
“Yeah, of course, I accept that it is the big test for us,” said the Frenchman somewhat dismissively. “That’s why it is an interesting game for us.”
An away win would suggest Arsenal are playing with the swagger they had with Henry in the side. A home defeat may indicate Manchester United are still in the recovery position.
This game has arrived far too early to define the seasons of either team.
But it is certain to augment or diminish the trends we have seen in the opening weeks.
junkiemanxl
Active member
Although i was left dissapointed with the result, It was a great game filled with..
Wonderful play on both sides
Beautiful goal from arshavin
Yellow cards galore
Booking for simulation ( eboue -- WTF?! You never learn! )
Bad ref judgements
Almunia bringing rooney down for the penalty ( Ref should have shown almunia RED )
Diaby's own goal ( It was a beautiful own goal. It wasnt even scratchy! )
Persie hitting the post from that odd angled free kick
Wenger Sent off
last min goal dissallowed ( Yes it was off side on gallas. )
Epic game!
Hats off to united for capitalizing and making it 3 points even though Arsenal dominated the game for the most of it.
Wonderful play on both sides
Beautiful goal from arshavin
Yellow cards galore
Booking for simulation ( eboue -- WTF?! You never learn! )
Bad ref judgements
Almunia bringing rooney down for the penalty ( Ref should have shown almunia RED )
Diaby's own goal ( It was a beautiful own goal. It wasnt even scratchy! )
Persie hitting the post from that odd angled free kick
Wenger Sent off
last min goal dissallowed ( Yes it was off side on gallas. )
Epic game!
Hats off to united for capitalizing and making it 3 points even though Arsenal dominated the game for the most of it.
