Bufftvs – Now that Tevez looks like he can play in the EPL, where will he be next year? And who else from West Ham do you see moving on when they go down, as seems inevitable?
Bobby – I can’t see Tevez staying with West Ham or moving to another Premiership team. Spain or Italy would be likely destinations I suppose.
Henry14 - Do you see Wenger signing Eto'o if he is made available? As an Arsenal fan l feel we are probably an Eto'o like striker and a winger of Ribery's quality from challenging for the title and if Wenger does not have a trophy next season do you see him being told to go to the board of directors and stop coaching? Q2 looking at the remaining fixtures who has the advantage to win the title Chelsea or United?
Bobby – I don’t see Arsenal having the kind of money it would take to sign Eto’o. Plus I cannot see Barcelona making him available. As I see it he would be the last player that they would want to let go. Ribery is a more likely transfer target. As for Wenger being upstairs I don’t think that is going to happen either. A manager is moved for one primary reason – the board thinks that someone else could do a better job. Given that they have supported him in the youth movement I can’t see them giving up before it is complete.
United has the advantage in that they can afford at a minimum to lose to Chelsea and to one other team and still win the title because they have a much better goal difference – 16 goals is a lot to make up. In terms of the teams they each have to play it looks very even to me.
bigdave disaster - Is there anything more to read into Henrik Larsson, king of kings, leaving Man U than just his loyalty toward Helsingborgs? Man U prime to win the league and very much in contention for FA and more importantly Champions League it would seem the only person happy is Saha.
Bobby – Larsson showed when he left Celtic and Barcelona that he very much knows his own mind. From a Manchester United perspective I don’t think chasing Larsson would be a good message to send to the other forwards. He is 35 and is not one for the future. It has been fun watching him the last few weeks though. It has also been fun listening to the number of commentators who have suddenly realized what a great player he is/was.
wja425 - What are the consequences of relegation for a player? I have heard that contracts are often written such that they become null if a team is relegated. For a player who stays with a club on a contract negotiated while the team was in the Premier League, do their wages remain at their original level, or are there automatic pay cuts written in if the club is relegated?
Bobby – It depends on the contract. The North American comparison would be one-way or two-way contracts in hockey. Some players enjoy enough clout to negotiate a salary level no matter what happens; while others might have to accept a significant reduction should relegation happen. Lucas Neil is rumoured to have a “get-out” clause should/when West Ham are relegated. I assume that it would allow him to become a free agent.
Flashman - Enjoy watching the weekly EPL review you do Bobby, but after your review of West Ham-Spurs, you said 'You have to feel sorry for West Ham.' Really.
Their season of sel####estruction includes a bizarre pre-season of takeover speculation, signing players illegally(allegedly), players' gambling addiction problems, boardroom turmoil, a dysfunctional, clique-filled roster full of self-centred 'Bentley Babes', sideline punchups, sacking a manager who comes back to thrash them and a player charged with assault in a nightclub rhubarb who then leaves the country against club rules.
To that you can add, as the media report that the Upton Park stadium announcer made a series of inappropriate comments and an FA investigation that Spurs fans were racially taunted throughout Sunday's game.What exactly is there to feel sorry for with a club like this? Oh, sure, they have a history; just not sure they have a future to match it. Also, since they are often Spurs' feeder club, do you see anyone shifting over? They have some good players but this season really puts a stain on some reputations.
Bobby – The comment was made in the context of the game not in relation to West Ham’s history or off field antics. In order to have cracking game like that you need two sides going at it and that was the case on Sunday. In that sort of situation it is tough to see one team walk/limp away with nothing to show for their efforts. However, having said that football is often a cruel game.
I read that Marlon Harewood might be a Spurs target – I found that surprising. The Spurs left side is still a problem but I don’t see Paul Konchesky providing a solution or Matthew Etherington who Spurs gave up on previously. Luis Boa Morte perhaps?
Danny Gabbidon is a fine player who WHU have badly missed this season and Dean Ashton – if he recovers from the broken ankle – could play for any side in England.
ulsterson - All the recent articles the youth and future of the English game as well as a low murmuring about so few English players on EPL teams made me wonder what ever came of the laws FIFA seemed to be trying to pass a while back. If I remember correctly it had to do with a certain number or percentage of players being required to have come up through the youth system or at least in the league. I don't know how great that would be for the EPL but I would think it would help individual nations nurture their young talent to a greater degree and perhaps forge more of a bond between club and country. Any news on this or did I miss it?
Bobby – The proposal is still on the table but the big clubs are fighting it.
Gunner44 - I read this on BBC is it true and if it is how good is this guy? "Arsenal are weighing up a £6m summer swoop for Ajax winger Ryan Babel. (Daily Mirror)"
Bobby – The Daily Mirror is not all that reliable although Wenger has been linked with a bid for Babel before. I have not seen very much of him lately but he played for Holland in the FIFA Under 20s two seasons ago and looked very good. Being an Ajax product – there again so was Patrik Kluivert!! - £6m would seem to be a bargain but he has only scored three league goals this season so I am wondering if he has stalled out. Any Dutch league fans out there that can add anything?
verbal97 - Ahead of the build-up to the 2nd leg today, Liverpool's website asked who would you build your team around - Gerrard or Ronaldinho? Not surprisingly, Gerrard got 95.4% of the vote. But that got me thinking, if you were offered carte blanche to build a team right now, who would be your choice of player to build your team around and why?
I would choose Gerrard (as atleti rolls her eyes) because of leadership qualities and he's one of (if not the) best all-around players in the world. I would have to say my second choice would be John Terry for again, the leadership qualities, plus it's a nice luxury to have a central defender that can actually score a few goals.
Bobby – I would go for Peter Cech.
Thierry Henry - Where do you get CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in CANADA these days? TSN only shows CURLING... and we have no ESPN...
Bobby – I had the choice of Liverpool – Barcelona (RDS – the French language TSN) and Valencia – Inter on TLN. RDS was 15 minutes late in joining the game because of Canada Games curling. I switched back and forward during the first half then opted for Liverpool – Barcelona in the second half. My Dad called at half time (he has Shaw Cable) to say that he had found the Liverpool game with English commentary on channel 1 – no idea how that happened. Tomorrow I am hoping for a choice between Real Madrid/Bayern Munich and Milan/Celtic.
Gongatore - Now that Liverpool manhandled Barca out of the CL and rightfully advanced, who would you look FR (will he stay?) to buy for next season? Barca needs to regroup in order to compete next year. They will be very lucky to win La Liga at this juncture.
Bobby – FR may well move. There have been comments made about how he has strong man-management skills but tactically he is not top drawer. Before Barcelona decides who to buy they will first have to decide who to sell and no doubt the Ronaldinho to Milan stories will surface again. As I said earlier I can’t see Eto’o leaving and I would say the same about Messi. Ronaldinho might turn out to be more expendable than it might appear. I might come down to how quickly Giovanni dos Santos is maturing.
Bobby:
Great pick, tipping Liverpool to knock out Barca, before the first legs. Most of us picked Lyon and Inter to progress too!
I would say we had 3 upsets today and could've had 4 if Porto had a goalie.
How do you like the rest of your picks now, before tomorrow's second legs?
PS. Would you really build your team of choice around a goalie (who I assume you think is the best in the world)??
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on March 6th at 5:59 PM.
Hey Flash:
The "unwilling Valencia player" was a substitute - David Navarro - who is a coward; took a cheap shot at Burdisso and broke his nose and then ran like a little ####. He should get additional punishment just for being a coward. He's very lucky that the Inter players didn't get a hold of him, because the likes of Figo don't have much to lose anymore.
Benitez reportedly claimed post-game that he did very well tactically. Could Bobby, or anyone here, be kind enough to elaborate about his tactics or FR's mistakes if any?
VVV - If Cech isn't the best in the world then he soon will be. He's only 23 so a club can look to get another 12-15 seasons out of him. A great keeper must be worth 10-15 goals a season at least so it would be like signing a striker who will score you around 200 goals in his career. Not a bad return to say nothing of the confidence that flows trough a team when they know that they have one of the best behind them to take care of any mistakes.
Tomorrow's games - I can't see Manchester United losing; Real Madrid I fancy to sneak it with maybe a draw; Milan to beat Celtic in a low scoring game; Arsenal I think are in very tough - might be extra time and perhaps even penalty kicks.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on March 6th at 6:48 PM.
foxcube - I would say that he got his tactics correct in the first half but as the second half progressed Barcelona took over much of the game. I thought Carragher was man of the match and Kuyt and Bellamy worked really hard to keep the Barca defense occupied. Sisokko had a good first half but he could hardly get a touch of the ball in the second. Alonso faded as well I thought. Even though Pennant set up Crouch for what should have been an equalizer with a couple of minutes left I thought that Pennant for Bellamy was a substitution that almost back fired. Pennant hardly touched the ball and he looked absolutely lost on the right wing - it was as if Liverpool had been reduced to ten men.
The initial reaction from Liverpool fans to Eto'o going off after an hour was probaly relief but Gudjohnsen came on to replace him and he has done an number on Liverpool in the past. I would say that Gudjohnsen and Crespo play on the shoulder of the last defender better than anyone else.
Guess I was too late to get my question in before the responses, but here it is anyway:
Do you see any justification in Rijkaard playing Eto'o as the left winger and Ronaldinho as the striker? Ronaldinho seems to operate better when he can have a moment to weigh up his options then dart in, and Eto'o is a more natural goal scorer. Even taking into account Sammy's speed, it still doesn't seem worthwhile.
Since the talk is about who may or may not stay at Barce: isn't it about time that they maybe thought of getting a top goalkeeper? Who might they look to acquire?
Bobby:
After further deliberation, I will concede that it is not a bad idea to build a dream team starting with a great keeper. However this only because there are only a couple of great ones around who make such a bigger difference than the rest, whereas there are a lot more great strikers around. I would start building with Kaka’, but I won’t disagree with Cech.
I also can't see Man Utd losing and agree that Arsenal have to be careful because if they concede a goal will need to score three to progress. Real are in a good position because they know Bayern have to come out and score, but Bayern do have the away goals. As far as Milan goes, they are definitely capable of beating anyone, but alas at times can struggle mightily against anyone. However, lately they are finding ways to #### wins, and that is very encouraging. I guess all that experience (age!) comes in handy at this time of year.
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on March 7th at 3:54 PM.
Bobby, I think Arsenal has allowed too many "easy" goals this year. Especially early in the season. I have heard rumors that GK Carson may be available with Charltons probable relegation. I've been impressed with him the few times I've seen Charlton play. Lehman is getting old and often causes more trouble than what he's worth and Almunia just won't cut it. I'm still angry he got nutmegged in the CL final last year. Are there any other keepers out there that Arsenal may be able to pick up this summer?
I take offense to your implication that just because I would build my hypothetical team around Gerrard and Terry that I must not know anything about other leagues. In fact, they would be the only two English players that I would choose in a hypothetical first team 11.
As for the players you mentioned...I don't rate (my opinion only) Rooney, Torres, Joaquin, Ramos, Fabregas, Villa and Riquelme as highly as others, including yourself, do. Although I feel Fabregas and Ramos have very high ceilings, I wouldn't revolve a team around them at the current time. I also would argue that age would prevent me from considering Cannavaro (33), Juninho (32), Ayala (33), Totti (30) and Nesta (30) from building a team around. So, if you're adding them up, the only people from your list that I would consider to be elite are Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Kaka, Greg Louganis, Puyol and Deco.
That's just my opinion though and apparently I have no perspective on world football.
it's silly that anyone would take offense to my post however that's ones' cross to bear. opinions are one of the many common attributes we all have in the blogosphere.
To fire Arsene Wenger would be the most ludicrous thing that Arsenal could do. The man is the reason why the Gunners are playing at the Emirates Stadium and while exiting from the Champions' League is a disappointment for them, Wenger is not the one to blame. He is at the starting point of a cycle of managing new and young players. In the ten years he has managed Arsenal, he has brought three championships and a number of FA Cups...mind you at a budget that is a tenth of what The Special One has had at his disposal for the past three seasons. Only fools would fire Wenger because I do believe in a few years time, this squad of players (Walcott, Eboue, Senderos, Fabregas, Hleb and co) are going to win titles despite their current position in the league and in Europe. That kind of shortsighted thinking is the reason why clubs like Real Madrid are floundering and tanking. This is from someone who does not profess to support Arsenal.
I was joking, I have yet to figure out how to transfer my cunning wit to electronic communication. I had been vigorously defending Wenger all week and being overly optimistic.
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