The Football Thread - 10/11

[Zat]

Because 2009/10 is done and dusted.

Cole joins Liverpool and gets their "famous" No 7 shirt ...
Here

"I loved my time at Chelsea, I love the fans but it is a story for another day and I will tell it but now is not the time."

Interesting comment !
Or else it could be a teaser ahead of his droll Memoires ...

[Merlin]

Noice !

Glad this set up by a regular forummer and not the Frenchie cheese munching tart who fronts as the Mod....

[Zat]

Frommie's not that bad. (Says he, who's never heard boo from the cheese...)

[Merlin]

My attempts at drawing him out with choice barbs in order to set up a decent 5 post exchange-banter always seem to fall on deaf ears ... hence my continued efforts ...

Yeah, I guess he's okay ...........................................as far as frenchie's go.

[Zat]

Pete's too busy coming up with puns to engage in banter as Fromage at the same time.

[skully]

So Chelski, Manure and the Arse to battle it out at the top for a change?

[Jontyh]

Be surprised if Man City aren't in the mix. Much depends on whether Mancini can get his mercenaries to gel, of course..

[Merlin]

I'd skip Arsenal for next season's top 4 ... too much internal sh!t going on ...

[DJ_Smerk]

Hernandez will be one to watch - that's if Valencia don't snap him up on loan first.

[G.Wood]

Be surprised if Man City aren't in the mix. Much depends on whether Mancini can get his mercenaries to gel, of course..

The betting man was on the wireless this morning - gave the odds as

2.8 chelski
3.5 manure
7.0 Mancity
8.5 Gunnas
18 Liverpool
51 Spurs
151+ ffs others

[Zat]

Spurs @ 51? That's too short.

[Zat]

And on tab.com.au they have the following:

Chelsea 2.50
Manchester United 3.25
Manchester City 6.00
Arsenal 7.50
Liverpool 10.00
Tottenham 26.00
Others 201+

So if you're betting on the EPL, don't bet on the tab. Unless you're looking to throw money at a longshot.

[skully]

But don't the Scousers have to play a pub team given they are so far in debt? 18s and 10s seems very short for a side with no prospects of improving their side with expensive imports.

Of course expensive imports don't always guarantee results.

[G.Wood]

But don't the Scousers have to play a pub team given they are so far in debt? 18s and 10s seems very short for a side with no prospects of improving their side with expensive imports.

Of course expensive imports don't always guarantee results.

They have offloaded Aurelo (sp) and picked up Joe Cole. There's an improvement even though "Free" hardly qualifies as expensive

[skully]

I don't see you doing cartwheels at the prospect of the Reds picking up the 10-11 title.

[Merlin]

But don't the Scousers have to play a pub team given they are so far in debt? 18s and 10s seems very short for a side with no prospects of improving their side with expensive imports.

Of course expensive imports don't always guarantee results.

Wouldn't write the Scousers off quite yet, skulls - and the 18's Woody mentions is a tasty bet.

Hodgson is a canny manager, a father figure, no tantrums and no frills ...
After what he did at Fulham with a squad of "no names" ... I reckon he will turn the 'Pool round, after the crap last
two years under Raffa Benidorm.

I worry about the Arse .... we seem to be going nowhere right now and the internal strife with a couple of the top players looking uncomfortable, wanting silverware and looking at other clubs enviously does not bode well ...

[G.Wood]

I don't see you doing cartwheels at the prospect of the Reds picking up the 10-11 title.

I haven't done cartwheels since I discovered what fabric softener could do to an old sock

If they can keep Mascherano and keep Torres on the park I reckon a top 3 isn't out of the question. Raffa was great at getting a team to play well in Europe but never quite worked out the day in day requirements of the EPL. It's Hodgson's bread and butter

[skully]

Seems Merls and Woody are in agreement. Far be it from me to argue.

[G.Wood]

Acquilani should also be better this year

Their major problem is that if Torres and Stevie don't play they turn into Charlton

[Merlin]

Papers here this morning reporting that Gerrard and Co have confirmed their committment to Liverpool and Hodgson after meeting privately with him yesterday.

I wager they finish ABOVE both ManCiteh and the Arse this season ... and may just even pop Manure's bubble into 2nd spot....

Manure, the ageing team ... have they still got it?

[Jontyh]

If Hodgson gets Liverpool into 2nd place that will be some managerial feat indeed given how woeful they were last season.
The ManU is an interesting one. I was surprised at how well they did last season given that their squad doesn't look that great on paper. Fergie's team is always going to be well organized and have a fantastic will to win, but can Rooney play as well again this season? Also, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, and VDS are coming to the end of their careers; Rio is injury prone and not the player he was; rumours abound that Evra and Vidic want out; Berbatov will probably still be mercurial and Fergie's hands still appear to be tied in the transfer market.
Still, most of that applied last year and they still did us 3 times so I'm not sticking my neck out!

[DJ_Smerk]

Hernandez....anyone? No?

[beamer]

If they can keep Mascherano and keep Torres on the park I reckon a top 3 isn't out of the question. Raffa was great at getting a team to play well in Europe but never quite worked out the day in day requirements of the EPL. It's Hodgson's bread and butter

In fact he's only managed 2 and a half seasons at Fulham and a shorter spell at Blackburn in the Premier League, the rest of his career has been largely spent abroad. He's effectively a European manager who happens to have been born in England, this is his first crack at managing a team expected to challenge at the top end of this league, so it's not guaranteed.

A couple of the top four places could be quite closely fought this season, so they could be in the mix but the cover for the star players is fairly thin and they don't have a left-back at all at the moment! The Yank debt will prevent a lot of expensive signings, they need a really good run of luck in terms of injuries to be in there.

[WideWally]

Franck Ribery facing sex charges

.

[DJ_Smerk]

I thought that said, "sex changes". Wouldn't surprise me, he's one of the ugliest farkers I've ever seen.

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