The TT Football Club

[Feña14]

^^^^

Interesting! There is always a big debate about a mid-season break in England. Other League's have one and their players seem fresher in the summer tournaments. I personally love football over Christmas, but you can understand why the managers don't.

Chelsea have finally agreed a fee for Moses then. We could of done with him at the weekend with Marin injured.

[Gorecki]

did anyone see neymar? i heard he is mia...

[Feña14]

http://www.clubcall.com/serie-a/cava...e-1452830.html

It looks like Napoli have agreed a fee for Cavani! Possibly involving a trade for Meireles? It seems to be just the wages that need to be negotiated now.

He was incredible in the game with Juventus today, just after getting back from the Olympics. It would be great if it could be sorted before the start of the season.

[Breaker]

Originally Posted by Gorecki

did anyone see neymar? i heard he is mia...

Played like a show pony, me me me entire game. Disappointed about that considering he was pretty unselfish and set up a lot of goals linking up with Marcelo, Oscar, and Damiao in the previous rounds.

Hulk made a few mistakes as well but what impressed me was how he pulled it back a bit and was happy to create space and put some great balls into the box when his dribbling wasn't working - that last one that Oscar should have put away was brilliant, maybe Neymar will learn as he gets older..

[Feña14]

Up nice and early for the Community Shield! We've had the Euro's and the Olympics, but the real stuff starts here

[Breaker]

Deeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeent, sure it was against 10 men but the result was never in doubt really , the 3-5-2 looked good second half (though Ramires being pushed back had a lot to do with that) and with the likes of Silva, Barry, and Micah back will be great occasionally throughout the year.

Milner Tevez Kompany Yaya were the standouts and Ramires the only one who really stood out to me on the other end. Torres bullied Savic a bit in the first half but once he was subbed didn't have a sniff, good signs before the first league game!

[Gorecki]

Originally Posted by Breaker

Played like a show pony, me me me entire game. Disappointed about that considering he was pretty unselfish and set up a lot of goals linking up with Marcelo, Oscar, and Damiao in the previous rounds.

Hulk made a few mistakes as well but what impressed me was how he pulled it back a bit and was happy to create space and put some great balls into the box when his dribbling wasn't working - that last one that Oscar should have put away was brilliant, maybe Neymar will learn as he gets older..

i honestly didnt folow the OG footbal competition, so i will take your word for truth.

meanwhile my team just scored another cup!!!! GO FCP

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Breaker

Deeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeent, sure it was against 10 men but the result was never in doubt really , the 3-5-2 looked good second half (though Ramires being pushed back had a lot to do with that) and with the likes of Silva, Barry, and Micah back will be great occasionally throughout the year.

Milner Tevez Kompany Yaya were the standouts and Ramires the only one who really stood out to me on the other end. Torres bullied Savic a bit in the first half but once he was subbed didn't have a sniff, good signs before the first league game!

We were fantasic in the first half, looked far better than we have done before in pre-season. There was a Manchester City fan and his kid behind us and he said to his Dad "I thought you told me City were better than Chelsea?"

The sending off changed it all. It's a shame really, the game was good as it was, but it could of been amazing seeing both teams going at each other full strength in the second half.

I've been saying for so long we need a right back, we're going to play the first 3 games with the ancient Ferreira by the looks of it.

As for Man City, Toure has been your best signing for me. Kompany, Silva and Aguero get the attention, but he's the best of the best. Worthy man of the match.

[Feña14]

So the season starts in a few days, I thought i'd start the top 8 predictions!

1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6 Tottenham
7. Newcastle
8. Everton

[Breaker]

1. City
2. United

3. Spuds
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea

6. Everton
7. Liverpool
8. Newcastle
9. Sunderland

10. QPR
11. Fulham

12. Wigan
13. Aston Villa

14. Stoke
15. Swansea

16. Big Fat Sam's West Ham
17. Norwich
18. Southampton
19. West Brom
20. Reading

Think any of the top 5 have potential to win the title with a few changes (Arsenal/United get the RVP situation sorted and United become favourites imo), if Chelsea or Spurs bring in another forward (Spurs probably need two if getting rid of Defoe) they're in with a shout as well. Think the bottom 5 will have problems scoring goals which will get them in trouble, up to their forwards to see where they will end up in the end though I think West Ham will be solid enough and comfortably get to 39-41 points and make themselves safe.

[Feña14]

Van Persie is going to Man Utd after the fee was agreed earlier, I agree, they are now the favourites for me. Interesting to see where Kagawa plays, he's more of a behind the front man kind of player. Will be tough to fit 2 wingers, Rooney, Van Persie and Kagawa into the team.

Chelsea still won't do much, even with another striker. Our midfield is Mikel and an aging Lampard. They couldn't get control of games when Ancelotti was here, the game has moved on and Lampard is older, so it's an even bigger weakness now.

Last year mid table teams dominated the middle of the pitch against us, let alone top teams. I heard on the radio we won 3 games against top 10 teams all last season (Everton, Man City and Newcastle) and not one single win against a top half of the league side since the 12th December last year! How poor is that?

Football these days is about the work you do in midfield, our midfield doesn't have what it takes to make any title challenge. I was being generous giving us 5th, Tottenham and Newcastle could easily finish above us and we'll be in 7th.

[PED]

What UTD needed was a central midfielder to take over from the ginger prince but I'm glad they gave us their money.

With our summer signings, we should be ok, RvP will probably be hurt by Christmas anyway

I agree with you re Obi and Frank, Obi has never really done it for me.

[PED]

Originally Posted by Feña14

So the season starts in a few days, I thought i'd start the top 8 predictions!

1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea
6 Tottenham
7. Newcastle
8. Everton

Those look about right to me but I'd put City above Utd, some of the fear factor is gone with Utd that used to be there. I realize they almost won last year but City are playing better nowadays and Fergie no longer has the magic pocketbook to spend that he used to have.

[BauerAlmeida]

Van Persie to Man United...WOW, I certainly didn't expect that. I thought that he would leave for a club outside England (Juventus had made an offer). Arsenal fans are really pissed off.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by PED

What UTD needed was a central midfielder to take over from the ginger prince but I'm glad they gave us their money.

With our summer signings, we should be ok, RvP will probably be hurt by Christmas anyway

I agree with you re Obi and Frank, Obi has never really done it for me.

I think Giroud and Podolski are a great pairing in the making, with Cazorla there aswell, it looks good. I still think a defender and maybe a strong midfielder would be needed if you wanted to challenge. I have you down as favourites for 3rd though, that would be a great result.

Our midfield is actually embarrassing, the only thing worse is that nothing has been done to fix it for years. Martinez has been sold to Bayern Munich today, he would of been good. Moutinho, Sahin, Gundogan, Torres at Atletico, Isco, Marvin Martin went to Lille for around £7 Million, Verratti (the new Pirlo) etc.. There are so many options we've just sat around and done nothing about.

Originally Posted by PED

Those look about right to me but I'd put City above Utd, some of the fear factor is gone with Utd that used to be there. I realize they almost won last year but City are playing better nowadays and Fergie no longer has the magic pocketbook to spend that he used to have.

I had Man Utd as favourites before they got van Persie. It was very close last year, now they have Vidic back, Cleverley, Kagawa and van Persie. Ferguson also hates going 2 years without the title, they always come back strong after missing out. I think both Manchester teams will run away from the pack early on, with Utd taking it in the end.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by Breaker

1. City
2. United

3. Spuds
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea

6. Everton
7. Liverpool
8. Newcastle
9. Sunderland

10. QPR
11. Fulham

12. Wigan
13. Aston Villa

14. Stoke
15. Swansea

16. Big Fat Sam's West Ham
17. Norwich
18. Southampton
19. West Brom
20. Reading

Think any of the top 5 have potential to win the title with a few changes (Arsenal/United get the RVP situation sorted and United become favourites imo), if Chelsea or Spurs bring in another forward (Spurs probably need two if getting rid of Defoe) they're in with a shout as well. Think the bottom 5 will have problems scoring goals which will get them in trouble, up to their forwards to see where they will end up in the end though I think West Ham will be solid enough and comfortably get to 39-41 points and make themselves safe.

Loos about there, frankly i'd take 16th happily, finish the season now and i won't hae to of seen the footbally required to get there...
Anyone see the hammers owners saying they were going to pay Carrol £110 k per week to build a team around him?!

[PureAlph4]

1. United
2. City

3. Arsenal
4. Chelsea
5. Spurs
6. Newcastle
7. Liverpool

I'm fairly satisfied that the Van Persie saga is over; 24 million (apparently 22.5 + 1.5 if United win a league or CL during his 4 year contract) is good money under the circumstances. The key factor is that Wenger learnt from last summer and bought in advance so whether RVP left or not we had the players to field a competitive team.

What really concerns me more are the reports that Song's move to Barca (EUR 20m) is now imminent. In spite of not being the most thorough screen for the defence, he is a very dynamic player who can contribute in all areas of play. If he goes and is not immediately replaced, we are left with Frimpong and Coquelin. Arsene has generally been able to spot in the past when a young player is ready to step up and take more responsibility, but I think it is a big risk going into the season. I'm not so keen on being linked to M'Vila bearing in mind his reputation for being a destabilising influence on the dressing room.

The other issue for us is the dead wood in the squad who we have failed to move on during the summer. Arshavin, Squillaci, Park, Bendtner and Chamakh are still making big demands on the wage bill.


Anyway, I think this move has helped reignite some interest in the PL after the negativity / disinterest applied to the Euros, and then the national Olympic fever. With Modric's move to Real seemingly on, it could lead to a lot of business between now and the close of the window. I'm interested to see how we look with Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla, but also Chelsea with their reinforcements, and how Rodgers will manage to recalibrate Liverpool's style of play.

[Breaker]

Originally Posted by Feña14

Van Persie is going to Man Utd after the fee was agreed earlier, I agree, they are now the favourites for me. Interesting to see where Kagawa plays, he's more of a behind the front man kind of player. Will be tough to fit 2 wingers, Rooney, Van Persie and Kagawa into the team.

Chelsea still won't do much, even with another striker. Our midfield is Mikel and an aging Lampard. They couldn't get control of games when Ancelotti was here, the game has moved on and Lampard is older, so it's an even bigger weakness now.

Last year mid table teams dominated the middle of the pitch against us, let alone top teams. I heard on the radio we won 3 games against top 10 teams all last season (Everton, Man City and Newcastle) and not one single win against a top half of the league side since the 12th December last year! How poor is that?

Football these days is about the work you do in midfield, our midfield doesn't have what it takes to make any title challenge. I was being generous giving us 5th, Tottenham and Newcastle could easily finish above us and we'll be in 7th.

I don't think having the best midfield necessarily dictates who wins the league, United have gotten away with having a good but not great midfield for the last half a decade and instead focus on having midfielders who suit their style of play by being able to spread the ball wide and chip in with goals with the space available. Arsenal, Chelsea (with fit Essein) and City (with Yaya) have had consistently more powerful midfields with better ability to keep possession but still they always find themselves being the benchmark to surpass.

Chelsea have 5 players who can play the deep lying midfield role (6 if you include Ramires), 3 great playmakers (again, 4 if Ramires plays in that right attacking mid role), and 2/3 wide players to mix things up, on paper that is one of the best groups of midfielders in the world, let alone the league (only Arsenal have better to me, City are about equal).

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Breaker

I don't think having the best midfield necessarily dictates who wins the league, United have gotten away with having a good but not great midfield for the last half a decade and instead focus on having midfielders who suit their style of play by being able to spread the ball wide and chip in with goals with the space available. Arsenal, Chelsea (with fit Essein) and City (with Yaya) have had consistently more powerful midfields with better ability to keep possession but still they always find themselves being the benchmark to surpass.

Chelsea have 5 players who can play the deep lying midfield role (6 if you include Ramires), 3 great playmakers (again, 4 if Ramires plays in that right attacking mid role), and 2/3 wide players to mix things up, on paper that is one of the best groups of midfielders in the world, let alone the league (only Arsenal have better to me, City are about equal).

As I said, the midfield area has become far more important in the last few years. Man Utd have had a good midfield the last few years imo. Scholes, Carrick, Park, Fletcher and Giggs has been a revelation since he adapted his game. This year they will probably be going with Carrick (a great passer) and Cleverley, a great young modern kind of midfielder. It's evolving and a change was needed.

Ramires isn't a holding midfielder, he's only played there a couple of times (the away leg against Napoli was his last, he got torn to pieces). Mikel goes through periods where he is decent, then others where he is a real liability. Meireles has been at his best when he played as a number 10 for Liverpool and the start of last year with Chelsea. When he plays further back he's not great. Essien is essentially done unfortunately, it's no fault of his own and he will always be special to Chelsea fans, but his legs just don't have it anymore. Lampard is ok and will be useful again this year.

I agree that we have great playmakers, Mata, Hazard and Oscar is arguably the best around, the wide pacey players are getting there (Marin will be very important this year and Sturridge maybe?) I love Bertrand on the left wing, he's one hell of a player for me. Cole was injured a bit last year and he did a great job, he was man of the match in the away game against Arsenal and was huge in the Champions League final. I've said before that it was no coincidence Munich scored at the back post from a ball in from the right, just after Bertrand had gone off. Even in the Community Shield he changed the momentum and gave us a real chance to get it back level. Moses would make me happy with the wide areas (him, Marin, Sturridge and Hazard/Mata).

I just really don't think we have what it takes in midfield, which is where it counts these days. Would Messi be as great without the midfield behind him? Would Ribery and Robben get the platform to perform without Schweinsteiger behind them? Would City be as great without Toure doing everything he does? I don't think they would personally. We saw in the Euro's how a fairly average Italian team looked brilliant when Pirlo was at his best.

I think the 3 wins all season against top 10 teams (so 18 games) is such a telling statistic. Against Fulham for instance, we struggled in both games. Dembele and Murphy are built for modern day football. Our midfield is essentially the one that was good 5-7 years ago. Things are different in todays game. You see average teams like Swansea doing great things with a modern midfield. I'm not saying the players we have are no good, they're great in their own way, just not for the way we need them to be. We've essentially gone for a change in style (more wide players, no Drogba, lots of creative forward players, Torres etc..) but the midfield is one built for a different era.

On Chelsea forums, the transfer section has been about forwards and these creative players all summer. Now all of a sudden i'm seeing names like Modric come up again, Sahin, Witsel, Moutinho, Dembele, Martinez (before he signed for Bayern today). People are worried about it now, not sure what took them so long really!

[norbac]

RVP and now Song might go to Barca? Poor Gunners. They worked very well together. We'll see how Podolski and Giroud work out.