What junior league does that? In the case of scheduling conflicts the lesser competition gets its game postponed.
Group A: Barcalona Chelsea Werder Bremen Levski sovia Group B: Inter milan bayern Munich Sporting Spartak Moskva Group C: Liverpool PSV Bordeaux Galatasaray Group D Valencia Olympiacos Roma Shaktar Group E Real Madrid Lyon Steaua Dynamo kyiv Group F Manchester United benfica Celtic Kobenhavn Group G Arsenal Porto CSKA Moskva Hamburg Group H AC Milan AEK Athene Lile Anderlecht I am rooting for Man U and Barca but hope Ruud does well with Real. I believe ESPN 2 shows one or two matches a week...I wish they would show more, even if it is tape delayed and on at midnight...It would be better than only getting to watch 1-2 matches a week. It really pisses me off that they broadcast little league world series, bowling and poker non-stop but won't provide more CL coverage. Also, Ronaldinho racked up another award as UEFA Footballer of the Year for his role in Barcelona's La Liga and CL's conquest. Puyol got best defender, Deco best midfielder and Eto best striker. UEFA Awards
And just the next day, with these four players on the pitch, Barca gets hammered 3-0 by a very underrated Sevilla side in the European Super Cup. I love it
I didn't see the match but barca was probably playing at half speed as they did against club america here in houston until the last 25 minutes or so. I take it you don't like barca. I have liked them since back in the day, especially when they were the 2nd dutch national team.
Nah, I'm okay with Barca.. what I don't like are the popularity contests called football awards But come on, don't automatically assume they were playing poorly - Sevilla are a solid side. One reason La Liga is considered the best league in the world currently is that all the teams, even the lowly placed ones, can give the top sides a run for their money in one-off matches.. and Sevilla are no bottom feeders
So, since you're bringing in van Bommel, do you think that's the sign that Hargreaves is on the way to Old Trafford, or are you going to keep a player that clearly no longer wants to be at Bayern?
We'll make a statement by keeping him. It's less about Hargreaves as a player, but more about sending a message to ManU and the other top teams - Bayern is not one of those teams where you can just hunt for players. Plus, we still have a little bone to pick with ManU, since they screwed us in the van Nistelroy deal. Hargreaves can go to ManU - in 2010. arno, what do you think about van Bommel? Is he any good?
I'm not the biggest fan of Van Bommel(but that is partly because he was a PSV player). However he is a good player. He was great when he played for PSV, but with Barca he was less good. Also with the national team he didn't play great(however that was partly Van BAstens Fault because he did not give Van bommel any confidence, and he clearly showed he was not a fan of van Bommel). He is a hard working Midfielder. He is very good in disrupting the offense of the opponent(kinda like Davids, but not that good). He is an all round player. I think he will be a good acquisition for Bayern. I think he will do good in Germany like so many Dutchmen.
We didn't screw you in the Ruud deal, he wanted to go to Real, not Bayern. Fergie said earlier last week we wanted to do a swap deal involving Ruud and Hargreaves, but he refused to go to Germany.
Keep him! I like Hargreaves but he is not worth the reported $32 million they are asking. No offense but Ruud did not want to play in a lesser league after playing in the EPL, he wanted to play in La Liga where it will be more challenging.
He's not coming, his agent said that he hopes United will move for him again in January. It looks like we're going to make a last ditch effort to sign Javier Mascherano, who would be a brilliant addition to the squad. I bet we're done dealing until the new year though.
We are not asking anything. We are refusing to let him go, so we are not asking for a certain price. Looking at the combined results of the English national team compared to the German national team during the last 20 years, as well as club team performances on the European level, I disagree with your statement that the Bundesliga is a "lesser league" than the English Premier League. Offense taken.
Well that's the price that is out there. That's fine but I don't think you can judge a league's strength by their national team's success. I can't argue with the national team's success though. As far as champions league success in the 10 years they are pretty even but English clubs have had more recent success: Champs England 2 Germany 1 Finals England 3 Germany 3 Semi England 7 Germany 6 Qtrs England 10 Germany 12 Sorry I offended you but I don't think the Bundesliga has better competition than the EPL. The talent and competition in the EPL is overall better.
I was just about to post this. Something's fishy here, and it has Ambramovich's stink all over it. MSI own the contracts to both Tevez and Mascherano, and guess who owns 15% of MSI? Anyone else find it odd that West Ham refuse to release the transfer fees and length of contracts for Tevez and Mascherano? There's no way in hell two of the world's brightest stars sign with f**king West Ham United otherwise. I guarantee both will end up at Stamford Bridge next season. BTW, how sick is West Ham going to be once Dean Ashton returns? Anton Ferdinand in defense, Reo-Coker and Mascherano in CM, Benayoun out wide and Tevez and Ashton up front, that's a team that can match just about anyone in the Premiership.
I might have to become a Hammers fan. Generally any given year in the EPL I will root for whatever non-Big 4 team has a chance of breakign through the Chelski-Pool-ManYoo-Arsy cartel, at least for a year.
That was the offering price, not the price asked, because no price was asked. The statistics you cite do not really seem to underscore your statement that the talent and competition is overall better. As you say, the champions league success has been pretty even over the last 10 years - it's almost exactly even. The one championship more...that was extremely close...the ManU-Bayern game. So it could hardly be more even.
