Bobby – The answer was Chivas but for a different reason. The only team in the leagues listed that doesn’t have a part of its name a city, state or nickname of the state.
MasMaz – Please give us your opinion of Fabregas. I have beaten the dead horse in exclaiming that he is a very skilled but limited player. Wenger is making a huge mistake in building his team around him. He was terrible on Saturday. I realize he is young but he shows me nothing of a player who could become a match winner or tempo controller. His crossing, corners and free kicks are the worst in the league. Arsenal is supposed be a top class side yet, corner after corner and free kick after free kick is poor. These are fundamentals. I think Arsenal will miss Eduardo most on corners.
Bobby –If you can’t see what Fabregas brings to the game then it doesn’t matter what I say because it won’t change your mind. He is playing in the most difficult position on the field, he’s not twenty-one yet and he rarely makes a poor decision when he has the ball. However, I see that you are reevaluating!
Henry14 - I think you know l feel Arsenal can win in Milan, historically I do think wins in Europe when you are in an iffy period tend to help in the League and the opposite is not true , as how Arsenal consolidated 4th and got to the final , l think a win in Milan is what the Gunners need right now.
Bobby – Great call.
Zuco2 – The FSR studios are in Winnipeg so you must be living in Winnipeg, right?
Bobby – Correct.
Djnima -My question is, 70 million quid for Lyon? I don't think United would be willing to drop that much dough for the kid. That's Real Madrid and Chelsea money. When Fergie signed Nani and Anderson it was very hush hush. In contrast with Hargreaves he was very vocal. Do you think this is Fergie's way of calling dibs on Benzema? Do you think it will work?
Bobby – I think it was Fergie’s way of hopefully putting Benzema off his game. (I agree with Venti.)
Ringo - Are you interested in the UEFA cup yet? And I can't pick up the Beeb on my telly ,can you help me out?
Bobby – Getting there. Everton – Fiorentina, Spurs – PSV and Rangers – Werder Bremen have me a bit more interested. We get the BBC ……Canada.
Craigy_f -MLS starts in less than a month - what's your take? Do you have any thoughts on the UEFA CUP first leg round of 16? Particularly Fiorentina V EFC, although I'm interested in all the games. 20-30 years ago that many black players on a pitch at Goodison (many of them wearing blue) would have been unheard of/greeted with bananas and #### calls. Happily that sort of malarkey seems to be behind us. What vestiges of racism do you see in the modern day game, fans or pundits (if any)?
Bobby – I think it will take me a month to catch up with who is playing for which MLS team. To be honest I totally switched off at the draft stage. Far too much space and discussion dedicated to a bunch of young players who largely will have little or no impact for a couple of seasons. I can understand it is a fantastic thing for them to be drafted but the coverage is way over the top.
As I said above there are some very good looking ties and if Everton and Fiorentina both take the games seriously – and you would hope at this stage that they would – it will be a great match up and a real contrast.
I was praising Prandelli on Monday and the same goes for Moyes - two managers who have worked at it and learned their trade.
As far as racism is concerned you would have to differentiate between the clear and very obvious types we have seen and heard about in certain European countries and the overt stuff such as why are there not more black managers in the English game? It’s a fight that will never be totally won as far as soccer and society in general are concerned.
Redfan2000 - With all the chat about bad fouls in the press after the Eduardo tackle, do you think there is a marked difference between the English game and the rest? I am wondering if the FA or even UEFA will start to crack down on the players by maybe bringing in the FIFA standards, as used at World Cups, across the board. Would that be good in your opinion?
Bobby – I think that a lot of people mistake physical contact and speed with dirty play. I also go back to a comment I made last week that we don’t often see the really dirty players as they are better at disguising it.
There was also a host of bad fouls from other leagues that illustrated that no one league has a monopoly on awful fouls. The game is much cleaner than it was thirty years ago.
As for FIFA World Cup standards would you be meaning something like this game from the 2006 World Cup?
Craigy_f - You've alluded to the corner kick prowess of Villa and the Blues on the show (and Bolton are still dangerous on set pieces). What makes them so dangerous? The delivery, the organization, the defenders coming up or what? I'll rephrase, can you dissect a good corner kick for us?
442 still seems most popular in the PL (with the odd 451 or 433) In Serie A there is still a lot of 442 but also a fair amount of 433 and 352) - the Pl is filled with 'foreigners' so why do you think the 442 remains so popular and nobody is even trying a 352. This question comes of the article in the latest 442 about the 460 formation and how it could be very dangerous if used correctly.
Bobby – First of all here are some stats as of the end of January. The first number is goals scored from dead balls, the second is the total goals scored. I went back to the 2004/05 season and worked forward to this season. Bolton 20/49, 16/49, 17/47, 7/24; Everton 15/45, 13/34, 17/52, 10/40; Aston Villa 16/45, 8/42, 10/43, 16/43.
As for what makes a team dangerous on set pieces? First off a lot of preparation and practice. A good delivery, movement and trying to isolate the defending sides weak spot to match up with your strength. I was going to add height and strength but that probably helps but is not necessarily decisive. Finally execution – someone who is confident and attacks the area that the ball is played into.
Formations – I’m a bit surprised that Martin O’Neill hasn’t given 3-5-2 a shot as he favoured that set-up when at Celtic. Overall it is probably down to a comfort level with the system. After all it has been around since the mid sixties. I don’t think it is necessarily a case that the system has not changed but I think we are seeing more team use 442 in different ways. United has used two defensive anchors at times this season when there is usually a balance with one attacking midfielder and the other shielding the back four.
Cabby - Almost a perfect day on Sat. - the Dee win in the last minute and Hamilton only 1 minute away from defeat. I used to think you were lousy when i watched you on Fox but when i found out you were a Dundee supporter I now think that you are brilliant - keep up the good work.
Bobby – Thanks for the ringing endorsement. If I am ever looking for an agent I will make sure and try Andy Millman’s first.
Neophyte - Did you see Robinho's performance this weekend? There is a lot of talk on the blog about c. Ronaldo. Yet Robinho is never mentioned in the list of top players. Where do you think he is in his development and do you expect to see him take over the world like his country man (Ronaldinho) did a couple of years ago?
Bobby – Only bits and pieces as the broadcaster could not decide which game they wanted to follow so they opted for neither. Comparatively I don’t think all that much of him to be honest and this stage in his career he would not be on my list of the top ten players in the world. There again I doubt he will lose any sleep over my opinion!
Elliot123 - Based solely on this season's performance to date, who would you select for a Merseyside Top XI?
Bobby – Here goes and light the fireworks. Reina; Jagielka, Carragher, Yobo, Lescott; Gerrard, Mascherano, Cahill, Arteta; Torres, Yakubu.
Jagielka at right back because he seems comfortable anyplace – even in goal. Finnan has been poor and Tony Hibbert has looked a bit off at times. I just can’t pick Phil Neville and Carragher is a terrible full back. If he had not been injured so much I would have expected Agger to be in. Leon Osman is unlucky not to have made the eleven.
Henry 14 - Bobby has a great big egg on his face after Arsenal went through.
Bobby – Nice one coming from someone who at various times has wanted to get rid of half the Arsenal side and wanted Wenger sacked. (Henry14 – all this stuff is archived and can be easily traced to you). I’m amazed that you have not done yourself some serious damage leaping on and off the bandwagon.
Foxcube - Enjoyed your sharp wits and bright insight, but please DO remember to raise questions to Bobby, or he'll feel not needed again like on Feb 24, and we don't want to lose this space.
Bobby – Don’t worry about me. There are more than enough questions buried in the banter.
If anyone has egg on their face it is yours truly.
Still would like a Wed. night show during this incredible tournament. It is always such a letdown on the Friday show when Bobby has to rush to insert some CL analysis into the normal pre-weekend show.
Bobby,
I recently discovered your excellent blog, so perhaps you have opined on this before, but can you explain why Philippe Senderos continues to feature in Arsenal's starting XI? He doesn't possess blistering pace, his headers are rarely authoritative, and he's prone to making costly mistakes. Two moments in the Milan game struck me as quintessential Senderos: 1) After failing in his attempt to steal possession from a Milan player who blew past him, he spun around and clipped said player's heels, conceding a free kick, and 2) With the near post unguarded, he shot right into the keeper's arms. I love Arsenal, but I can't figure out why Wenger keeps faith with Switzerland's answer to Titus Bramble. Injuries aside, can you?
Despite the fact that the link doesn't work, in your response to Redfan about a World Cup Standard of officiating, but I'm going to assume that was supposed to be the Netherlands-Portugal game...
I saw the US has a game set up with Argentina. My first thought is WHY? This is a complete waste of time, because Bob Bradley is too damn scared to put a real XI out there and see how they match up, because if we lose real bad, it makes him look bad. It's going to be like the Copa America all over again, where when we lose, he covers it up with a "Hey, this was just for experience for the younger guys, and for me to see who could do what when given the chance" Bob Bradley is a ####, and an ####, and he belongs no where near the US National Team... Ok, rant off...
Serious question, after I got to think about it, do you ever forsee CONCACAF and CONMEBOL uniting? I know this idea probably seems incredibly farfetched, but as an American, that'd be the absolute best thing that could happen for us. No more dinking around with the Gold Cup, and World Cup Qualifiers by playing Guatemala, and Canada, and Honduras... And it'd force us to play REAL teams, teams that are actually going to be there in the World Cup fighting to win it, teams that are good enough, that if we choose not to show up, they're gonna bury us and happily take our spot. What makes me think this actually COULD happen (not that anyone in CONCACAF other than the USA and Mexico would like it) is CONMEBOL only having 10 members. It's not like Argentina and Brazil are gonna lose their grip on being the 2 best teams on
The Monday blog was designed to be the blog to ask questions. Even then I try to get responses back to some of the simpler questions when they are posted and as the blog progresses . But when it gets to two or three points or long paragraphs I am afraid that I can't keep up. I would love to blog all day but that isn't possible. So it would be greatly appreciated that if you want responses to post Monday.
Thanks
Bobby
BOBBY / RF
How many truly world class howlers have been made made in the WC by officials?
Reina - YES - less mistake prone the Howard
Jags - NO - not as good as Hibbo
Carragher - YES - vast experience and easy on the refs
Yobo - YES - just because you don't grab the headline doesn't mean you aren't good, a total rock
Lescott - YES - not everton's best LB but done enough their this season to warrant an england place - oddly enough he looks better and better when attacking and his crosses have gotten better. Baines is better but not fit.
Gerrard - I'd have to say No, too inconsistent.
Mascherano - YES - by a hair's breadth over Carsley
Cahill - NO - love tiny tim but a wide player in a 442 he isn't, as a replacement for gerrard sure. I'd go with Pienaar. Better than Babel, maybe not, but this season he's had a bigger impact on the team when he plays. Long term it's more dependent on what the playing philosophy is.
Arteta YES - even though he's not been great this season, one of the best dead ball deliveries in the Prem for sure and wins plenty of free kicks
Torres and the YAK - (I'm sure someone would opt for Torres and Couch) - 39 goals between them this season - plenty of whingers would talk about how two 'similar player' won't work together but they know jack, a good manager would get them clicking and they'd terrify defences all over Europe.
Reina
Hibbo Yobo Carragher Lescott
Arteta Masch Osman Pip
Yak Torres
not my choice if both squads were 100% fit; not a bad side though.
Of course they'd be managed by DM.
Yes ,Cesc looked Fab again ,but one game doesn't mean he's back to his early season form.
VVV - It was a good run while it lasted ,things might a lot different from now on.
What was Strachan doing? needing to score twice ,and three after just a couple of minutes ,he doesn't take any chances? think he threw the towel in.
Celtic are no Atletico.
I see one game ending 1-1 today ,and I think y'all might like it.
Bobby
In the speakers corner u posted a question posed to u about formations. One of the formations mentioned were 4-6-0. u did not ellaborate on it much. Is this formation mainly used to protect a lead or aggregate score line or is there some other science behind it.
P.S. I must admit C Ronaldo had a very good game yesterday. the Lyon back 4 could not seem to keep up with him.
Leche010
U r being a bit harsh on Bob Bradley. I believe he is doing an excellent job and furthermore he is doing a better job than the man the US soccer federation wanted 2 bring in would have done (Jurgen Klinsman). The Argentina game will be a good test for them. Now all he needs to do is leave Landycakes out the squad the guy is rubbish.
Aldoray - Congratulations no bleeps! 460 is as much about attack as it about defense, I would say that the basic idea is that you can use creative and mobile midfielders to to take opportunities as they are presented to attack while presenting defenders with the dilemma of do they mark space at the back or do move forward to pick up a midfielder. If they mark space then their team is badly outgunned in midfield, if they move forward they run the risk of the opposition exploiting the space that they leave. Both Roma and Arsenal (a couple of seasons ago) have used the formation and Man Utd could easily use it. It is a more extreme vesion of the withdrawn centre forward that Hungary used in the 40s and 50s and was copied by a number of teams.
Was I the only one that noticed Wayne Rooney tripped De Clerc as he was trying to track back to cover Ronaldo just b4 his shot. That slip allowed Ronaldo to be open for the goal Wazza should have gotten a yellow for that.I wanted to put up a link to youtube that shows what I am talking about but thoses arses at uefa ordered Youtube to pull the clip something about infringment. Gimme a break
I am surprised- Not alot of people realize or remember Sir Viv is from Antigua. I see that guy almost every week just cruising around the place him and Curtley Ambrose . He is a real legend and hero over here although i personally cannot stand cricket
This goes out to the chelsea fans mainly but anyone can answer. Its been reported that Juve r looking to by Lamps. How much do u think lamps is worth and how much do u think he would actually go for. My evaluation is no more than 10 mil and thats being kind. He is a penalty specialist and a poor mans Gerrard.But his value is that he is not afraid to show up when it really counts
-Chelsea fans try not to rip me a new one with your responses
Nice gesture by Arsenal fans to make Eduardo February player of the month. Hopefully it won't be his last accolate.
His top-class bycicle kick goal against City was voted as the Premiership goal of the month.
I don't want to get into last month's events again, but I do find it interesting that while a good number of English pundits felt that "accidents" happen, most of the commentators, coaches, and players in the rest of the world felt that Taylor's foul was cruel and that he should have been suspended for a longer period of time. Hmmm......
That's it on the Eduardo issue for me, until the Euro Cup.......
Last edited by Sleeper000 on March 5th at 6:54 AM.
Hey in that Holland game they started it! the second tackle on Ronaldo should of been a straight red and maybe that would of woke the players up that the ref was serious that day. I feel bad for the ref actually in that game as he tries to curb the violence with yellows and the players just kept on going as if to call his bluff. Its games like that you wish the ref had another means of punishment.
This 4-6-0 formation interests me. Someone needs to email it to Scolari as Portugal has no striker worth a damn right now and more then enough mids. Ronaldo, Simao, Quarsema, Nani and Deco in midfield with one more defensive minded one behind them maybe, and if not a defensive one take your pick of Fernandes, Velloso or Moutinho.! genius!
What a great Champions League day yesterday. Today probably won't be as memorable but I do expect Schalke to pull through against Porto. However, regardless of the result, I think Slomka is gone by the end of the year. Too many disappointing and inconsistent results.
Still, if they manage to pull through, it would be quite an accomplishments for a team that squeezed through to reach the knockout stage. I am not saying they were lucky, but aside from Rakitic and Rafinha, the squad looks rather ordinary.
Last edited by Sleeper000 on March 5th at 6:56 AM.
I can't speak to the prevalence of racism 30 years ago, but I don't think that as a whole you could say that Liverpool supporters are racist and therefore give Crouch, Kuyt, Bellamy more accolades than Cisse or Flo-Po. As for the boards, shame on you alberta for using the minority to judge the majority. And for off-field issues, you can't bring up Bellamy's antics and not expect someone to bring up Cisse's off the field issues. Also, I know plenty of women that would disagree with you on domestic assault taking a complete backseat to racism.
Do you think Ancelotti will be replaced in the summer? If so, who would you like to see come in? And which players in the Milan team need to move on as is come in...
I don't think whole sale changes need to be made. This is still a great team.
First of all a slid keeper needs to be brought in. Boruc might be a good option from Celtic. With a better defense in front of him, he could do much better. But I think they should opt for Timo Hildebrand from Valencia. I have heard he is not having a great season, but I think he will bounce back.
I'm not sure who it could be, but Milan need a backup player for Seedorf of similiar qualities. When he is not playing they seem to be off stride. I don't think they should sell or bring in any other attacking player.
I also see the need for a great center back. Although I'd like Barzagli to play for Inter, I also see him thriving at Milan. That way Bonera could provide cover at CB while Kaladze could push out to LB or provide cover to Jankulovski.
I disagree on the race thing. Fans most definitely give a pass to certain players over others but it transcends race into nationality. The fact that Cisse was black and French did not help him. If he was black and English people might of been more forgiving.
All you have to do is look at a player like Crouch where most level minded non Liverpool fans are able to accurately judge his ability but once you put on those red glasses and a English shirt for good measure he becomes some kind of great player who is being victimized and needs more time. I'm sorry he needs no more time he needs to be sold to one of the other clubs who like to be so nationalistic and turn around and spend the money on a real striker whos orange blue green brown or whatever from timbuktu to siberia. I know its nice to root for players you can relate closer to on your club team that might match your nationality or race but you have to draw the line somewhere. Usually when they suck is a good start.
even s.u.c.k gets bleeped. sheesh. LGB its probably the weekend or week after the Inter Pool fixture as they have to wait for all the ties to be resolved so thanks allot for keeping us in limbo that much longer.
I hope all these issues of racism at liverpool is not true I really hope so. Because as much as i love the team I would stop supporting them. Racism of any sort is unacceptable and dastardly. Although it is quite strange that there are very few players of african decent getting in the first team (only Babel) yet alone in the squad as a whole. Its strange with great black players of the past like Collymore and John Barnes.
By the way John barnes was here in antigua like 2 weeks ago as part of a talent search for players to take to suderland AFC. I met him as well seems like a nice guy. of all the caribbean islands he went to looking for talent my country (Antigua) was the only one that had no one picked.
I cant tell u how much that s.ucks. Everybody here seems to be in luv with cricket. What a waste of time
Did anybody see the comment yesterday by the espn commentator when the ref dropped his little book and grosso picked it up and handed it to him. The commentator said "not to worry everybody it does not seem like any funds were passed in the transaction" LOL
Mags: Heading for more temperate climes in SW of blighty.
Craigy, your comparisons look a tad partisan. I am quite happy with my thoughts on all that.
My 10 yr old saw the similarity between Smicer's goal in the 05 final and Cescs yesterday. Both times the GK unsighted by defenders. Good goals both of them. I hope we do better next week and give English clubs a 2 fer in Milan.
Bobby no sign of Spring yet but hopefully soon eh? Thanks for all you do. Do try the fresh cooked English style fish and chips at the Brit Cafe and Market on Portage, just west of Moray by Dillan O'connors. Excellent stuff no mistake.
Keep at it chaps!
Update: we might get up to -1c Sunday way hayyyyy!
Last edited by redfan2000 on March 5th at 8:22 AM.
Cragiy/Bobby,
I have been thinking a lot on formations lately. I recently watched a preseason match between two very talented teenage boys teams. One played a 442 and the other played a 343. Talent wise I thought they were both evenly matched. The 343 seemed to frustrate the 442 at first. It is not all formation but understanding of the system by the players...anyway it was a good match and enligthening. you rarely see the 343 these days.
Gotta say I'm still absorbing the shock of beating Milan at the San Siro. I knew we had a decent chance, I knew that our record against Italian teams was in our favor and that we had already proved once before that we could win at the San Siro. But that was against Inter, a much less intimidating opponent on the int'l stage.
This was Milan. I don't care how old SOME of their players are or how poorly they're doing in Serie A. They were doing poorly in Serie A last season too. For Milan, the CL is different. This is a team that has reached 3 CL finals in the last 5 years, and won twice. My respect for Milan--the very classy, brilliant Maldini in particular-- can't be measured. If you saw him play in the first leg, you know that his age mattered little. As a Brazilian, I have to say that I'd hoped for a better performance by Pato -- but as a gooner, I was happy that he had a quiet day.
Just a wonderful evening of football, with the added plus of seeing how United's performance v. Lyon was so lackluster and unconvincing.
I am SO happy to see Fenerbahce progress, tho I so wish Sevilla were still in the competition. Both play fantastic football. I like Turkish football a lot -- I visited the country years ago and lived there for a year. Got to watch several matches, I just wish they had more success in int'l football. The 3rd place Turks were so much better than either the Germans or Brazilians in the 2002 wc. Plus I like seeing all those Brazilians in Fenerbahce, and like most Brazilians maintain a deep affection for the great Zico, their manager.
Neophyte--Juande Ramos seems to be very comfortable with playing 3 at the back he has done quite often since he arrived in england. I cant be totally sure wether most of the time it was out of necessity or just his decided technique
And I have to say this: how funny (and telling) is it that the one English club that keeps breaking these records of "first English club to beat so-and-so on their home ground" is the one English club with mostly non-English players? Guess that's the only way these records can be broken. :-) Wonderful to see Theo do so well last night, on the int'l stage.
alberta, have enjoyed reading your posts on Lpool, Cisse and racism. My limited experience of Liverpool coincides with your sentiments about the city's troublesome attitudes toward black players. I'm not trashing the city entirely, I had a fantastic time there (spent 3 months there), made great friends, incl. several Lpool and Everton fans who remain friends to this day.
Also your comments on the xenophobic English press are so on-target, and hilarious. You just know the likes of the Sun, Mail, Mirror, the idiots at MOTD and slysports are just fuming at Arsenal's victory. And I love all these rival fans and pundits telling us to not to get carried away, to calm down, scolding us and putting us in our place, reminding us we haven't won anything yet, like we don't know that, like we don't know the team still has several problems to work out. They can't bear to let us enjoy the moment after a horrible run of games in the last few weeks.
BTW, fair play to VVV, I know Milan fans are very disappointed. There were a number of Milan fans who stayed after their team had lost just to applaud Arsenal. Almost until the very end I really thought Milan would nick a goal because we kept missing so many chances. Mi
It seems that the English medias critisized Cahill for his celebration in that weekend game against Portsmouth. I saw the celebration many times and I just can't figure out what's wrong with the celebration.
Anyway, my CL predictions :
Real Madrid 1-1 Roma (the match will be broadcast on ESPN and RDS, I think)
Do you think that now Messi is injured Barca has given the title to Madrid, and I disagree with your opionion on Robinho, he was intergral in the Copa America win, Madrid's win and you can see how integral he is to the Madrid team this season as they began to drop points when he was out.
Zuco his celebration was to honor his brother who is going to jail for 6 years. The controversial part is even though hes his brother the crime was kicking someone in the head and making them partially blind all caught on camera.
Or thats at least what they said on the report on Monday I think.
CIAO:
Milan lost a tie – a very important tie, but nonetheless was one game against a very good opponent. In the previous five seasons in the UCL, Milan have been to the final three times, and lost once in the semis, so Ancelotti & Co. are, or least have been, doing something right.
On the night, Arsenal appeared much more hungry and determined than Milan, and deserved to go through. The match did highlight some glaring shortcomings in this team.
I think Ancelotti will keep his job ONLY if they finish in the top four, otherwise he will probably “resign”. Milan definitely need a world class keeper. I don’t know if Buffon or Cech, et al. would’ve stopped Cesc’s strike, but good keepers don’t get beaten like that. Milan have built their team around Pirlo and Kaka’ and cannot function without both at their best. They are very unique players who cannot be replaced, and when they are not in their best form, Milan become very ordinary. Milan’s play also depends greatly on great fullbacks who can overlap. Oddo is great at that but simply cannot produce a decent cross, and it’s a shame because he is outstanding as everything else. Milan will sign Zambrotta this summer, which will help for a couple of seasons on the left side. Finally Milan need a big striker, and are rumored to be pursuing Drogba, so we’ll see.
Anyway, congrats and good luck again to Arsenal – they thoroughly deserved to go through, and hopefully they go far this season.
I too was a critic of Senderos but I have changed my view. Since Toure went to the African Nations Senderos has shown his class, he has been superb and even in the Villa match despite putting in that goal he played a pretty stable game in the defense, I think this is why Arsenal is moving forward this season, as soon as one person goes down some is there to pick up where they left off, and with Denilson, Rosisky, Toure and RVP all coming back soon I think we will be able to have a good burst in the final lap. Get well Edu we will be needing you to defend our titles next season.
Mags: Gotta be closish to Truro for work and school. Am looking for a small holding/small farm for a business base and near enough to sail from Penryn. Only downside is the Sky coverage. With 2 passports I do not think the yanks would want me anyway! That plus fed politics and CNN eveyday perlease!
LGB, Eduardo needs to cheat on Sleeper and go to another team, like Spurs, for the comments to stop.
VVV, signing Drogba would only temporarily take care of your striker needs. Soon he'll be 30 and will be in the same boat as the rest of the Milan squad.
No Zuco your missing the point thats a normal part of his celebration. The controversial part is his brother is not innocent or his crime is very forgivable. In the eyes of some people honoring his brother was in poor taste because his crime was very disgusting in nature. If his crime was something more victimless like going to jail because of traffic fines or small tax evasion and not so violent people wouldn't care as much. Even if it was say a non violent robbery people might not care but the difference here is he was kicking someone in the head and they lost some vision. Scary stuff.
who knew... where in Turkey did you live? I lived in Istanbul. That is where I became a fan of Besiktas.
VVV
Kaka in his first season was a sub for Rui Costa. They seem to hold the same position so the transition was smooth. They could try to find a young player of like skills to sit on the bench while he develops and step in as needed.
Pirlo in my opinion is harder to replace. It is very rare to find a deep holding midfielder that can be as accurate and clinical passer as Pirlo. I think he is still highly under-rated. And I still loth Inter for letting him go. Regardless, they do have Gattuso, Ambrosini and Emmerson that can at least play as holding midfielder -they are not as accurate but they stop the ball -most of the time.
I could see how having a big forward could come in handy. I think Inzaghi and Ronaldo would really benefit from such a player arriving.
Regardless, I see the defense as needing a face lift if you will. Starting this summer they should begin bringing in 1-2 players. Simic (32), Favalli (36), Kaladze (30), Oddo (31), Cafu (37), Jankulovski (30) and Nesta (31). They have 3 defenders on the books that are below 30. Bonera (26), Digao (22, younger brother of Kaka) and Darmian (18). How do you rate Digao and Darmian?
Bringing in Zambrotta will provide some great relief. Altough I think he will end up playing more as a RB than LB. I see Jankulovski as LB with Kaladze as his cover. Zambrotta as RB as Oddo (and Cafu if he doesn't retire) his cover. Zambrotta also can push to midfield. He will fit in great at
Zambrotta could also provide the much needed cover for Seedorf. He has the pace and the creativity. I look forward to watching him at Milan. He will be an energizer.
For the keeper position. The three names that do not come up too often that have impressed me over the last 2-3 years are:
My pick would still be Timo Hildebrand (28 - Valencia) over Akinfeev. I think Hildebrand will move to a bigger club and Milan could be the luring destination. If not, Akinfeev would make an interesting choice too.
The only Italian keeper I could see making way to Milan would be Cudicini as a back up keeper to end his career at the club his father made a name.
Racism is not as bad as it was 30 years ago, but it is still visible in Liverpool today (see Walker, Anthony, murder of).
I did not say Liverpool supporters are racist as a whole. Most people who read my post grasped that point. I did say there is an element of supporters who are, as would be evident to anybody who has spent any time in the city, even today, as others have stated.
I did see it as possible explanation for why SOME Liverpool supporters seem to display more patience with Crouch, Kuyt than Cisse and Flo-Po. Does that mean people who feel that way are racist? Not necessarily. But it is an issue, something you'll quickly discover when you visit Merseyside (especially if you happen to be of darker hue).
As for Cisse's well-known problems with domestic abuse, they are disgraceful but you missed my point there, too. Those kinds of problems wouldn't have the same affect on the dressing room as a player who went after a teammate with a golf club during a training session in Spain designed to promote team-building. Or a player being charged with inciting racial hatred when you play with on a club with black teammates. Unless Liverpool had female players during DC's run at the club, it's not going to have the same type of impact on dressing room dynamics.
So I guess it's really shame on you for failing to understand or acquaint yourself with the very revelant history about the city and club as well as failing to appreciate the difference of the impact on the club between assaulting a teammate at work and off the field issues. Unless you want to
I read where Mark Hughes is complaining that the Premier League (PL) is snubbing, get this,"British Managers" for foreigners at the top clubs in England. I sense somewhere in that statement that Mr. Hughes is trying to promote his own agenda.
The Welshman is qualifying his nationality as being acceptable to manage one of the top clubs in England. He is redefining foreigners to his own benefit. The PL is an English competition, and if you are not English you are a foreigner. This British umbrella with wish Mr. Hughes has placed himself is full of holes. What he may need to think about is that the same manner in which he defines foreigners, could be the same way the top club just decides to define it themselves but instead decides that as long as you are a European its okay and everyone else is a foreigner. Guys what do you think.
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