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

[Kimchi Papi]

Rooney posted another image of the gash on his FB page... Spoiler mode because this one's a little more gruesome.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

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[Coupé It]

:x

Rooney was meant to be ugly by god himself.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

He's definitely Shrek incarnate but a great footballer when he wants to be.

Is his hair plug treatment done? I hope not because he's still looking a little light on top...

 

[jr23]

Damn Rooney 

 

[imasoleman18]

Mourinho's son signed for fullham today

 

[mr marcus]

Yikes!

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Get him the Cech headgear

 

[Coupé It]

His son is a goalkeeper. Why I don't know?

I'm no doctor but Mourinho's tops 5 ft 8, his son will not grow to be much bigger. Unless its one of those freak occurrences. Making his son take the GK route is one of those odd decisions Mou has made lol.

 

[Thierry Henry]

I still can't believe we signed Mesut ******g Ozil.

He's not a difference maker though Giroud has to be salivating

 

[AZwildcats]

For those of you who watch Athletic Bilbao play, is Ander Herrera really that good of a player? I have heard of Iraola, Javi Martinez, Llorente, Munain and a couple others that played for Bilbao, but Herrera's name never came up before. Is it treally that big a failure by Man Utd not to close the deal?

 

[hugebird]

^ Herrera really is an excellent player. Excellent tackler. Good range of passing. Helps dictate tempo. He would be a balance of the steel that United needed in midfield and as well as an asset in the attack. I expect teams to try to mark Carrick out of the game more this season and a player like Herrera would have made it a lot more difficult as teams wouldn't be able to have the numbers in the midfield to press to mark them like they would need to. I don't think he's a done deal at the moment, but I think in the future he has the potential to be a massive asset to any club. Much like Illarramendi, they probably aren't "worth" the buyout at the moment, but sometimes that's the premium that you pay for young talent when you don't have much leverage. I honestly expect this move to happen in January, and I think it will be a worthy signing.

United supporters should remember his face from when he bossed the midfield in that Europa League tie from a couple seasons ago.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I'd agree with hugebird's assessment for the most part however at 24, he should be more polished then he is. He's not as creative in the box as you'd like in shooting or creating for others as you'd like. He's someone that could've really benefited from Moyes' guidance. I would've loved seeing what Rene Meulensteen could've done if he was still at Man U & also had Herrera come over.

I like that he's very physical player on & off the ball. I'm not sure if it's true but I heard or read somewhere that he won more tackles than the Prem's Frank Lampard, Jack Wilshire, & Yaya Toure combined last year.

 

[Thierry Henry]

For those of you who watch Athletic Bilbao play, is Ander Herrera really that good of a player? I have heard of Iraola, Javi Martinez, Llorente, Munain and a couple others that played for Bilbao, but Herrera's name never came up before. Is it treally that big a failure by Man Utd not to close the deal?

 

[mastamind89]

So this is what our senior squad looks like at full fitness

two more for the 1st team midfield:
View media item 566003[/quote]

Yes, you're right, them as well. I hope Ozil becomes Eisfeld's and Zelalem's mentors. I mean, it kind of goes without saying that it should happen


@karlsentk Interesting to follow debate as to how/why certain PL clubs appeared more decisive and successful in the transfer market than others . Though I generally favour DoF/HC model, I don't necessarily believe efficient recruitment is solely down to management structure. Having a DoF per se doesn't offer any guarantees, as with any other positions you depend on finding a competent and suitable profile. The way I see it, the issue of management structure (DoF/HC vs Manager) is a much wider and complex debate (for another day). However, what I do believe is paramount at any club is a "figure" (high ranking capacity) whose responsibilities are exclusively. Essentially a figure that links the club's business/commercial competences (CEO/Board) with the sporting side (Manager/Chief Scout). A role which requires understanding of finances, budgets and structures while also "lobbying" for resources on behalf of Manager. The role entails permanently monitoring the transfer market, keeping contact with agents/middle men, preliminary negotiations. And, crucially, preparing technical aspects of (complex) transfer cases for CEO/Board (who, honestly, have enough on their plates). I've seen the such concepts working well in GER/ITA/FRA - now also seeing similar models starting to successfully emerge in the PL. Given the appointment of the right person/profile, this role "fixes" some of the main deficiencies of the "classic" Manager model.

As for examples, I do find Brighton's concept of "Director of Football Operations" (David Burke) very interesting and forward thinking. Essentially, the international transfer market has become so complex, wide and fast moving that a Manager or a CEO cannot be expected. to keep up without the assistance of expert knowledge (and that "expert" doesn't necessarily need to be a DoF/Sporting Director)

David Bond BBC SPORTS EDITOR
More from David
England players
3 September 2013
Last updated at 18:40 GMT

Greg ****: FA chairman to make 'grand statement'

One of the most significant trends to emerge from this summer's transfer window is - once again - the Premier League's reliance on foreign talent.
According to consultancy group Deloitte, England's top 20 clubs spent a record busting £630m in this window - but only £60m of that was on English players.
Put another way, 90% of the money invested this summer was on foreign stars.
It's a statistic which will only reinforce the view held by England manager Roy Hodgson that he is working with a dwindling pool of top-class players.
Over the course of the next week the football agenda will switch from club to country and England's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova on Friday and Ukraine next Tuesday.
But before a ball is even kicked new Football Association chairman Greg **** will deliver a key speech which could have even longer-term implications for the health of the national team.
Since taking over in June, the former BBC director general and Manchester United director has been taking soundings from people across the game on the FA's most daunting challenge - namely how to make the England team a force in world football.
On Wednesday at Millbank Tower, just along the River Thames from the Houses of Parliament, **** will try to reset the national game's priorities.
Greg ****
New FA chairman Greg **** is set to give a key speech about the future of the England team
According to sources sounded out in the past few weeks, **** is keen to make a grand statement about the vision for his four-year term as head of the FA.
Central to that is the health of the England team, but plans to reveal exactly how that might be achieved are believed to have been watered down as **** has come to understand the complexity of the issue.
Instead we should expect **** to issue a challenge to the Premier League and the rest of football to search for new answers to the age-old question.
As one FA board member told me, this should be seen as the start of a process, not the end.
There has been talk of a voluntary agreement between the FA and the Premier League to put England first - particularly in those seasons which culminate in international summer tournaments. This would mimic a similar agreement in place in German football between the Deutsche Fussball Bund and the Bundesliga.
This could mean anything from new rules on the release of players to the introduction of a winter break, or maybe the rescheduling of big domestic fixtures to avoid clashes with important England games.
The idea of a gentleman's agreement on home-grown player quotas has also been mooted but it's difficult to see how this can be made to work. Such a quota would be open to legal challenge under European law and besides, clubs would never agree to anything which restricted their freedom to pick teams as they see fit.
Squad for World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster, Joe Hart, John Ruddy

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Phil Jagielka, Glen Johnson, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Kyle Walker

Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Raheem Sterling, Andros Townsend, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere

Strikers: Jermain Defoe, Rickie Lambert, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young

The league says any quota system which forces managers to pick a certain number of home-grown players will not only weaken Premier League teams but also the national team in the long run.
And if challenged by **** to put England first, the Premier League will counter it already does this.
It will point to the £340m invested centrally in the elite player performance plan - introduced in the wake of England's abject performance during the 2010 World Cup.
It will point to the home-grown squad quota rule which dictates that almost a third of Premier League squads must be home-grown.
And it will turn its fire back on the FA, saying the governing body needs to restructure Team England to match the quality and performance targets set by clubs.
As the recent spat between Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore and England boss Hodgson showed, this is a debate which divides more than it unites, and ultimately the league will agree to nothing which damages the success of its competition.
****'s challenge on Wednesday will be to try to start a process which tilts the balance back towards the national team at the same time as avoiding a major confrontation with the people best placed to deliver that shift.

 

[Beans]

Nani given 5 more yrs... ionno how i feel about that

 

[JJ Goon]

Im happy with the Nani deal, Inconsistent YES but no doubting his talent and on his day the best Winger we have

 

[eiddyfouw]

Nani given 5 more yrs... ionno how i feel about that

Surely that is just to keep his TF fee high when they sell him on next season?

 

[tkim1343]

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[fear the ibis]

Nani given 5 more yrs... ionno how i feel about that

Surely that is just to keep his TF fee high when they sell him on next season?

So high that nobody we pay it and he's stuck there

 

[champcruthik]

United likely still regrets the Zenit deal falling apart for Nani.

 

[AZwildcats]

 

For those of you who watch Athletic Bilbao play, is Ander Herrera really that good of a player? I have heard of Iraola, Javi Martinez, Llorente, Munain and a couple others that played for Bilbao, but Herrera's name never came up before. Is it treally that big a failure by Man Utd not to close the deal?

Dude is nicer than I thought. Would have added some quality to Utd's midfield. 

 

[tomdiginson]

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[eiddyfouw]

 

[b fresco]

Ozil lookin good in those Gunner Kits boyyyyyyyyyy!!!

#COYG

 

[Kimchi Papi]

This was an amazing back heeled pass to himself by Ajax youngster Dejan Meleg.