The Ultimate Football Thread 2013-2014 Vol. 4 EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc

[mastamind89]

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Almeria beating up on Granada 3-0 with about 10 mins to go...

Aww damn, got some Liga MX games on tonight! America vs Tigres & Monarcas vs Queretaro...

 

[hoosiergunner]

Does Arsenal still have a rebuy clause in Vela's contract (They do in Football Manager)? I know he probably wouldn't be real thrilled about coming back, but it would be a big help at striker.

 

[cs02132]

I think Gnarby should go on loan somewhere. He has a few flashes of great potentional almost every time ive seen him play. If he went on loan and got regular first team experience i think it'd help him out

 

[mastamind89]

If Gnabry can get loaned out within the EPL, I think he will. I know Leeds wanted him on loan during the summer window but Arsenal rejected. Him and a few other players really need a loan spell under their belts, especially Eisfeld.

What are you thoughts on feeder teams? Chelsea currently has one with Vitesse and it seems to be going well for both parties. They have a handful of players there, getting a nice amount of playing time as well. I was hoping that the Arsenal-Real Betis deal would have gone through but it looks like it fell apart for whatever reasons. Probably money, that's usually been the issue in the past. I know a lot of players get loaned out and don't even make it to the bench. I don't see the FA letting it happen, not sure of their current stance on B teams. I think both could be very beneficial.

Sherwood hungry for Spurs feeder clubs... but Football League has lost its appetite
By CHARLES SALE
PUBLISHED: 18:19 EST, 17 December 2013 | UPDATED: 18:19 EST, 17 December 2013

comments
Tim Sherwood taking over as temporary Tottenham boss will bring further scrutiny on Premier League moves for feeder teams in the lower divisions — an idea that is strongly opposed by the Football League.
Sherwood has championed the plan in his role as technical co-ordinator at White Hart Lane and made a presentation to the Spurs board on picking the right club with which to forge links.
It was Sherwood’s friendship with Swindon director Lee Power that led to five Spurs players being sent on loan to the League One club — the maximum allowed under FL regulations.

Manuel Pellegrini manager of Manchester City is interested in feeder clubs
Brendan Rodgers manager of Liverpool is interested in feeder clubs

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has stated his interest in a tie-up with Oldham, with a City spokesperson saying there was ‘potential for that’, and Liverpool are believed to have been in discussion with MK Dons.
The League say clubs already have plenty of flexibility with the number of loans allowed and they will not countenance any of their teams losing their independence in official feeder agreements with Premier League outfits.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger keen on Barnet link-up
Arsène Wenger has entered into the debate over the Premier League using so-called feeder clubs by suggesting that Arsenal would be interested in a formal link-up with Conference club Barnet.
Arsene Wenger supports idea of using feeder system
Looking ahead: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger can see a future when his club tap into a feeder system. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Jason Burt By Jason Burt10:00PM BST 21 Sep 2013 Comments5 Comments
The idea of having feeder clubs or B-teams in the lower leagues re-emerged last week with a suggestion it may be put before the commission being set up by Football Association chairman Greg **** over the future of English football.
It has the backing of a number of Premier League managers with Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Martínez – who even suggested a hypothetical link-up between Everton and Accrington Stanley – having previously voiced their support.
Now Wenger has suggested a similar connection for Arsenal with Barnet, although he has also proposed the creation of a competitive new league within the pyramid of English football made up of leading clubs’ B-teams as an alternative to feeder clubs.
“Barnet could be a good feeder club for us,” Wenger said.
“But I respect as well the history of English football and, maybe, we should organise only a league of professional clubs, a complete league, a feeder league, because you don’t want to destroy clubs like Barnet and their history. You have to find a good mixture between the two.”

Arsenal have had strong links with Barnet in the past: a pre-season friendly used to be played between the clubs at Underhill Stadium, which also used to host games for Arsenal Reserves.
The creation of feeder clubs would doubtless be met by strong opposition from the Football League although Wenger’s proposal of a new, competitive division of ‘B’ teams might be less contentious.
Wenger even stated that he would support B-teams being drawn against their parent clubs in cup competitions.
“If you draw them in the cup then in Germany it exists,” he said. “I have seen Stuttgart against Stuttgart II in the cup. It happened once that the second team won.”
Wenger’s biggest complaint is that there are around “400 players in the professional top league clubs who have no real chance of ever playing for the first-team” and are therefore lost in the system. He said that the introduction of feeder clubs should lead to the abolition of the current under-21 league.
“We have too many players in the clubs who have no chance of playing in the first-team and are going nowhere,” Wenger said.
“For example we have 45 players between 16 and 21. You need to keep 20 from 19-21 but amongst this 20 not many have a realistic chance of playing one day for the first-team. It would be better for them to go somewhere and play. It’s demoralising for them to be there.”

 

[Coupé It]

Feeder clubs are alright with me, wish they'd do it to some Portuguese teams besides the big 3. It'd help the league out.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Goal.com is reporting that Balo's agents are letting clubs know their client might be ready to leave Milan. At this point, would anyone want to spend money to acquire this dude? There is no doubt this kid has ungodly talent but his head just isn't screwed on right. He could be a world beater but he's just such a head case. I really hope he figures everything out soon & unleashes his ability & just dominate like I know he can.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/69/t...lsea-chasing-unsettled-balotelli?ICID=HP_BN_3

 

[Thierry Henry]

Speaking of Lewa

@TransferSources: Robert Lewandowski will have his medical at Bayern Munich today ahead of his move from Dortmund. [SkySports]

Dude seems like a classless piece of ****.

Scumbag Lewandowski, just like Gotze. I hope Reus does not follow in their lead

proper gooner
https://t.co/HbsJ7TlqTn

#VermaelenGawd

Well, that can't be good. 

EDIT ~ Theo, trollin'... lol. 

View media item 726610

my N___ Theo

great job by Gnabry drawing 2 defenders and making the perfect pass to Santi on the left

Rosicky with the dispossession and the nice chip


Real talk, Rosicky and Sagna have been playing real well, if we don't offer them something at the end of the year, I will go to the Emirates and slap Wenger myself.

 

[demps]

the African accent made that golden...

 

[flyeed]

With CR holding down the left side in Real, and Neymar in Barca, I'd be shocked if Reus doesn't eventually replace Ribery in Bayern. What other club would a top German talent want to play for?

I can see him moving to a club in a different league for 2 seasons max before eventually moving to Bayern. It's sad to say, but there's no point in playing for Dortmund if you're elite since Bayern basically has a strategic monopoly of the Bundesliga in place by buying up any top players from their competitors within their league.

I mean, they're getting Lewa without even giving a penny to Dortmund. That's a ridiculous financial hit on BVB.

 

[tomdiginson]

BVB should have sold him then in the past. Hell, I'd try and sell him now to another team .If I'm not mistaken , Lewandoski had initially came to a verbal agreement in the past with the club that he would be sold to Munich since last summer. However, the club deceived him and instead decided to keep him for the entire duration of his contract. So if I were in Lewa's place I would probably have done the same thing if that story is true.

 

[mastamind89]

Feeder clubs are alright with me, wish they'd do it to some Portuguese teams besides the big 3. It'd help the league out.

I think most leagues could benefit someway if they had that in place or a b squad. Has there been specific reasons to why it hasn't been done to Portuguese teams, aside from the big 3?

With CR holding down the left side in Real, and Neymar in Barca, I'd be shocked if Reus doesn't eventually replace Ribery in Bayern. What other club would a top German talent want to play for?

I can see him moving to a club in a different league for 2 seasons max before eventually moving to Bayern. It's sad to say, but there's no point in playing for Dortmund if you're elite since Bayern basically has a strategic monopoly of the Bundesliga in place by buying up any top players from their competitors within their league.

I mean, they're getting Lewa without even giving a penny to Dortmund. That's a ridiculous financial hit on BVB.

Reus is BVB through and through, him going might be the worse of the other two. I think they have players in set in place that will take Ribery's role but while I think about it, one for Robben will be needed as well. Them making a move for Reus certainly won't be surprising whenever the time comes. But I agree, they should have sold Lewa when they had the chance. It reminds me of the RvP situation.

It will be interesting to see which striker BVB buy. Anyone know if they have been scouting any players? I know they have been linked to Michy Batshuayi, as well as Arsenal.

 

[cs02132]

Now that Lewandowski is going to Bayern, I think Manduzkic is going to be sold. How would you all think he'd do on Arsenal? With our midfield, i think a poacher like him could do some damage if they meshed properly

Also i got him in my FIFA career and he had 43 goals one season

edit: just thought about it, he might be too similar to Giroud, in the way that neither are clinical finishers, like suarez. it could either work out really nicely or not at all

 

[flyeed]

I think Reus' loyalty to BVB is being overestimated. Dudes only been there since 2012 (23 years old.) There's no way he stays if the right opportunity comes his way.

Bayern and Mandzukic will both be fine with him backing up Lewa. All it takes is for one injury, playing out of form, etc. and he's back in as a starter. And regardless, they'll find minutes for him since they compete in multiple competitions and play plenty of matches.

 

[mastamind89]

I mean that Reus grew up supporting BVB, he's from Dortmund. That's what I was putting emphasis on

This is a good read on the Chelsea and Vitesse partnership, it's long
http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2013/11/13/5098996/chelsea-fc-vitesse-arnhem-relationship

CONCLUSION
In large part due to extremely strict FA work permit regulations and British immigration law, Chelsea has recognised the necessity to form a strategic partnership with a club located somewhere where work permit regulations are easier to obtain for its non-European prospects.

The combination of relaxed work permit regulations in the Netherlands, the emphasis the Eredivisie places on youth development, possession football, and technical skills, and the fact that Chelsea had previous experience working with an Eredivisie club makes Vitesse an ideal fit for Chelsea.

Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "if you do not seek out allies and helpers, then you will be isolated and weak." As applied to strategic partnerships, the words ring as true now as they did when they were first written over 2,500 years ago.

Roman Abramovich, Bruce Buck, Michael Emenalo, and lately, Marina Granovskaia, have built Chelsea Football Club into a global footballing empire, rivalled only by the two Spanish giants, the Manchester clubs, and Bayern Munich13Sorry Italy, French upstarts, and that other London club with a penchant for red, yellow and purple.. The true test of an empire is its ability to not only withstand, but also successfully rise to the challenges of the globalised landscape. With regards to Chelsea, the present and future challenges take the form UEFA’s financial fair play regulations and the FA’s restrictive work permit regulations.

The "clever sharks" have been swimming towards successfully acclimating to the age of financial fair play for quite some time, and a large part of that lies in the club’s realization that continuing to invest significant resources into its global scouting network and youth development system will yield a return in the form of quality players that can make positive contributions at Stamford Bridge. By developing from within, Chelsea not only has the ability to control an important part of the player’s developmental progress, but it also provides cost-effective talent that would otherwise have to be purchased on the highly inflated transfer market. While Chelsea earns enough revenue to continue spending heavily in the transfer market, the days of unlimited spending are over.

Chelsea has wisely tasked Michael Emenalo with developing a global scouting network. This network has has led to Chelsea signing and then subsequently loaning more players than just about every other club on the planet.

Chelsea currently has twenty-four players on loan, more than double that of any other Premier League club. In fact, only three Premier League clubs have more total players on loan than Chelsea has at Vitesse alone -- only Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool have more.

One needs only to look to Chelsea’s business in Belgium alone to see how this model has already started to pay off. Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht), Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne (both Genk), and the younger Hazard (Lens, but born in Belgium) have all proven to be extremely good investments, after spending time playing first time football during their respective loans. Chelsea's commitment to those four totals £52.3m. I'm not going to try to put a valuation on the players, but suffice it to say, they are becoming increasingly valuable commodities by the day.

Without the Vitesse partnership, Chelsea would be leaving much more to chance when sending its non-European youngsters to the continent, where work permits are much easier to procure than in England. At Vitesse, Chelsea has the benefit of exercising an increasing amount of control in every facet of the club, from the decisions being made in the boardroom to the decisions being made on the pitch. This creates a unique environment where the success and development of Chelsea’s loanees are made a top priority.

Despite the significant benefits Chelsea receives from this partnership, it is Vitesse that is actually getting the better end of this deal. The Chelsea partnership provides Vitesse access to talent that would otherwise be unavailable to them, from Chelsea executives like Michael Emenalo and Marina Granovskaia advising in the boardroom to burgeoning legend Lucas Piazon, one of the best left backs in the Eredivisie, Patrick van Aanholt, and mainstay Gael Kakuta on the pitch. Further, without Chelsea, Vitesse almost certainly has no Russian billionaire owner of it’s own in Alexander Chigirinsky. Most importantly, without Abramovich, Chigirinsky, and Jordania stepping in three years ago, Vitesse would likely still be tens of millions of sterling pounds in debt and relegated from the Eredivisie, rather than sitting at the top of the table, with not only their first-ever Eredivisie title, but also Champions League football within reach.

 

[sfc415]

RIP Eusebio

View media item 728026
Portugal football legend Eusebio, who was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, has died at the age of 71.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25611509

 

[Sinner]

RIP.

 

[flyeed]

I mean that Reus grew up supporting BVB, he's from Dortmund. That's what I was putting emphasis on

yep my bad on this one actually didn't know he's from there, and also played for their youth teams from 7 to 17 yrs old.

 

[eiddyfouw]

@TransferSources: Robert Lewandowski: "I was told a Polish player could not be the best paid player at Dortmund."

@CentreTransfer: AC Milan's Mario Balotelli is looking to leave the Serie A side and would like a return to Chelsea to reunite with Mourinho. (Daily Star)

@LeFootballMan_: PSG have met Xabi Alonso's agent and offered a 3-year deal worth €40m. [El País]

 

[eiddyfouw]

@FootballFunnys: Sam Allardyce in 2010: "I'm not suited to Bolton or Blackburn, I would be more suited to Inter or Real Madrid."

West Ham just got smacked 0-5 to Nottingham Forrest.

 

[dlo13]

Draw for the 4th Round is ******g boring.

The Draw
Sunderland or Carlisle vs Kidderminster or Peterborough
Bolton vs Cardiff
Southampton vs Yeovil
Huddersfield vs Charlton or Oxford
Port Vale or Plymouth vs Brighton
Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich or Preston
Southend vs Hull
Rochdale vs Macclesfield or Sheffield Wednesday
Arsenal vs Coventry
Stevenage vs Everton
Wigan or MK Dons vs Crystal Palace
Derby or Chelsea vs Stoke
Blackburn or Manchester City vs Bristol City or Watford
Bournemouth or Burton vs Liverpool or Oldham
Birmingham or Bristol Rover or Crawley vs Manchester United or Swansea
Sheffield United vs Norwich or Fulham

Ties will be played on the weekend of 25th and 26th of January.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Forca Barca!!!

VV is back in front of the net!!!

 

[colim22]

Chelsea about to beat that ***

 

[Sinner]

Lindegaard; Smalling, Evans, Ferdinand, Büttner; Valencia, Fletcher, Cleverley, 香川真司; Welbeck, Hernandez.

 

[dlo13]

He scores when he wants...
(Every 75 games, that is.)


Edit: FOH with that, Ramires.