EPL Season

[Unknown]

originally posted by fatboy:

funnily enough, lahm had an excellent tournament.

fb.

Yes, but when I saw his facial expression in the tunnel before the Italy game, all I had to say was "oh, shit". I have witnesses. Never seen him fidget like that before. And he is usually the one that keeps on going, particularly when the team is down, like nothing happened.

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by .sasha:
when I saw his facial expression in the tunnel before the Italy game, all I had to say was "oh, shit".

i assume that having sat through loew's team talk ("no need to pressure pirlo, he's old and can't pass.") lahm had realized just how fucked up things were going to get.

fb.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:
Maradona's favourite ball boy

originally posted by fatboy:

originally posted by .sasha:

originally posted by fatboy:

originally posted by .sasha:

originally posted by fatboy:
"at least we didn't buy thomas müller."

What ?!

i take it you didn't watch germany too closely in the euros?

fb.

I take it you didn't watch every single Bayern and Germany game for the past two years - leagues, cups, international, friendly, unfriendly, jeebus, wives and girlfriends fashion contests. etc. ?

nope. but based on watching the past year, i think i can articulate a problem with thos m's current game plan. unless, of course, your idea of an attacking midfielder, is: sit on the wing, vaguely control, and return pass, then jazz it up with a few embarrassing infield forays.

it has gotten so bad recently for both club and country that you can see his colleagues actively trying to avoid passing to him, if only to avoid the clunky control and return...

fb.

Well, what do you expect me to say, that M has lived up to his potential thus far? Of course not, and your opinion is one supported by the popular majority, but since when have you been one to toe the Wine Spectator line?

...

His style is unorthodox and can be borderline clumsy, but incredibly effective. It's not atypical for him to be face first in the mud after an assist. He overcommits but he does so to beat very good coverage.

The thing about Muller is that he doesn't fit any kind of archetype for a modern footballer. I think can be a strength. His lanky, awkward runs, his height, and strange control and movement just aren't comparable to anyone I can think of. He doesn't disrupt the team the way a Gerrard does, but he can mess up the timing for those around him, probably why fb thought he looked best off the bench.

With his size and types of skills, if he and been black (like Diaby, an eerily similar player, IMO), he would have been forced into more of a defensive midfield role ("the new Viera").

I find him intriguing instead of infuriating because I have no rooting interest at stake.

What's next, the Monkey telling me again Lahm is too small to be a world class full back ?

Lahm is too small to be a world class left back. And he plays a weird hybrid position sort of like Alves at Barca, except under more control. He is like a playmaking left back. Very odd, but it works within a 4-3-3.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by fatboy:

originally posted by .sasha:
speaking of problems in the head, are you sure we should be excluding Bastian from that conversation, or is it too early to tell after a very long and strange year?

i think he looked pretty mentally shot at the euros too. it was less a six feet high neon sign than t.m. though.

funnily enough, lahm had an excellent tournament.

fb.

I thought Lahm was great. Maybe the player of the tournament from ?Germany, for me.

None of Kroos, Sweiny, nor Khedira really looked fully together when the competition got sticky. Ozil seemed to get lost at times as well.

I think Khedira is a poor man's Song.

I see flashes from Kroos that I really like, but have yet to see him put it together for Germany.

Re-watched the Bayern-Benfica group match the other day and they looked great.

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by VLM:
I thought Lahm was great. Maybe the player of the tournament from ?Germany, for me.

You are so funny when it comes to Lahm. While I do have the benefit of having watched most Bayern and Germany games in the past three years, even a casual observer has to admit that he saves people asses defensively on a regular basis, whether the people in question are central defenders of midfielders. He made a couple of big mistakes at Euro 2012, but I think the team was bizarrely out of sorts against both Greece and Italy, so I'd give the guy a break.

None of Kroos, Sweiny, nor Khedira really looked fully together when the competition got sticky. Ozil seemed to get lost at times as well.

I have no idea what the three of them were doing on the field at the same time, a strange compromise to accommodate an out-of-form Bastian, and a terrible decision by Jogi. Very unlike him, I think he's been a good manager until Euro 2012.

I think Khedira is a poor man's Song.

You and I do think alike. I actually sent an email to a friend yesterday, using the same wording, except I called him a "poor man's Yaya", based on the Euro performance.

I see flashes from Kroos that I really like, but have yet to see him put it together for Germany.

He's not had much time on the pitch for Germany since his form at Bayern has improved, which was essentially in the past year. The boy is good, as the two legs against Real demonstrated. But he needs to stop shooting from 35 yards at every opportunity and start thinking about the deadly long ball that Bayern has not enjoyed in over a decade. And I am pissed as hell at him for refusing to take a penalty kick in the final.

Re-watched the Bayern-Benfica group match the other day and they looked great.

Again ?? They did not play Benfica. If you want to see FCB at their best, watch the first half against Napoli at home in the group stage, or the second half against Shitty ( even though they scored both goals in the first half ). Both without Robben, naturally.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:

originally posted by VLM:
I thought Lahm was great. Maybe the player of the tournament from ?Germany, for me.

You are so funny when it comes to Lahm. While I do have the benefit of having watched most Bayern and Germany games in the past three years, even a casual observer has to admit that he saves people asses defensively on a regular basis, whether the people in question are central defenders of midfielders. He made a couple of big mistakes at Euro 2012, but I think the team was bizarrely out of sorts against both Greece and Italy, so I'd give the guy a break.

Lahm is not a terrible defender, but he isn't really a fullback. He's some sort of weird midfield hybrid. You see that for club and country. That doesn't make him less effective. He is an interesting player.

None of Kroos, Sweiny, nor Khedira really looked fully together when the competition got sticky. Ozil seemed to get lost at times as well.

I have no idea what the three of them were doing on the field at the same time, a strange compromise to accommodate an out-of-form Bastian, and a terrible decision by Jogi. Very unlike him, I think he's been a good manager until Euro 2012.

Totally agree. Very odd.

Re-watched the Bayern-Benfica group match the other day and they looked great.

Again ?? They did not play Benfica. If you want to see FCB at their best, watch the first half against Napoli at home in the group stage, or the second half against Shitty ( even though they scored both goals in the first half ). Both without Robben, naturally.

Didn't they have a Portugese team in the groups? Maybe I'm confusing them with Villareal, I'll check (yes Villareal is it).

I watched the Napoli game where Gomez scored a hat trick. That one? I think that's the one you mean.

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by VLM:
Didn't they have a Portugese team in the groups? Maybe I'm confusing them with Villareal, I'll check (yes Villareal is it).

If you watched the home game against Villareal, then you saw me in the stands.

I watched the Napoli game where Gomez scored a hat trick. That one? I think that's the one you mean.

Was that game a blatant case of Arsenitis, or what? And a prelude to what happened in the last 10 minutes of UCL final. Napoli was being blown out of the building, and when Bayern, who have no idea how to park the bus, not that they even own a bus, decided to sit on a 3-0 lead in the second half by merely taking the foot off the pedal, they came close to losing 2 points. Won't these teams ever learn that their best defense is possession?

 

[VLM]

He's not bad. About the same class as Mata, IMO. An upgrade over Arteta and Walcott.

It looks like M'Vila is off, but I hope that is just a smoke screen.

Just out of curiosity, any idea what Kroos would cost? Marco Reus?

What about Gotze? Whatever happened to him?

 

[VLM]

Do you think England or Arsenal are at fault for Wilshire's injury problems?

Or is it just one of those things?

 

[Unknown]

originally posted by VLM:
Santi Carzola
He's not bad. About the same class as Mata, IMO. An upgrade over Arteta and Walcott.

It looks like M'Vila is off, but I hope that is just a smoke screen.

Just out of curiosity, any idea what Kroos would cost? Marco Reus?

What about Gotze? Whatever happened to him?

I can't imagine either Kroos or Reus being in the market, the latter having just replaced Kagawa at Dortmund.

Gotze could not get into the lineup either for club or country after he returned from injury in the spring. I am still surprised we have not seen Hazard-like activity over the summer.

 

[Unknown]

is RvP going to Italy ?

is Song going to Barca ?

are we signing Sahin ?

will Diaby last more than 38 minutes this time ?

are there any good reds in Germany ?

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:
Big questionsis RvP going to Italy ?

That would shock me, but I'd rather see that than Manchester.

is Song going to Barca ?

I doubt it. I think he is replaceable though so if they offer insane $$, we should take it. I really do see him as an Arsenal lifer.

are we signing Sahin ?

It makes sense, but Wenger has said no.

will Diaby last more than 38 minutes this time ?

He'd be like a new signing.

are there any good reds in Germany ?

People say so, but I've yet to experience this personally.

 

[VLM]

What a great off season.

I don't think it is too much of a stretch to put him in Cesc's class as a player. I'd still like some cover at right back.

Do you think that signing Santi means that Wenger thinks Wilshire is crocked for good? Or at least for the season?

So does it look like this:

Giroud
Cazorla-RvP-Gervihno
Song-Ramsey
Gibbs-Vermaelen-Koscielny-Sagna
Wojo

The back line picks itself, as does Song, RvP if he stays, and Cazorla.

So does Walcott get in the first team? Does Arteta? Does Coquelin so that Song gets more freedom? What about the Ox?

 

[Unknown]

I think Arteta starts alongside Song.

FWIW, my sources, which were in some proximity to the medical staff, reported that Jack was not a healthy boy about a year before the current string of injuries.

You want cover at right back, and I want a real threat at left back. To each his own.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:
I think Arteta starts alongside Song.

FWIW, my sources, which were in some proximity to the medical staff, reported that Jack was not a healthy boy about a year before the current string of injuries.

You want cover at right back, and I want a real threat at left back. To each his own.

I also like Arteta, but Song emerged as a creative threat last year (he led the team with 11 assists) and for that to continue, he will need defensive cover. Maybe.

I rate Gibbs higher than you do and whatever you think of his "defense", Santos provides a bit of unpredictability and is a threat going forward.

 

[Unknown]

is he staying or going ?!
for crying out loud!

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:
is he staying or going ?!
for crying out loud!

Staying! No one believes he'll stay fit and won't pay $25M to find out. I actually think RvP will blink first. FFP is a game changer.

Poldo with the brace.

I can't wait for Saturday!

Rennes report a "concrete English offer" for M'Vila. Can't be Spurs without having sold Modric first.

 

[Unknown]

I guess FFP would not allow for someone like Debuchy to be the backup for Sagna. And even if it did, City we are not.

 

[VLM]

originally posted by .sasha:
I guess FFP would not allow for someone like Debuchy to be the backup for Sagna. And even if it did, City we are not.

It might, depending on his wages. IIRC, under FFP we can have a wage bill of 55% of revenue (364M), which is about 200 million. I don't know how accurate these number are. The revenue is from Forbes, the wages are from a study published in ESPN magazine, reprinted in this blog.

Arsenal (#9)
Wages: $132,002,699
Revenue: $364,000,000

Man City (#3)
Wages: $185,093,858
Revenue: $246,000,000

Others of interest, in order of wages.

Barcelona (#1)
Wages: $217,014,221
Revenue: $653,000,000

Real Madrid (#2)
Wages: $194,915,932
Revenue: $695,000,000

Bayern (#4)
Wages: $170,231,332
Revenue: $466,000,000

Chelski (#5)
Wages: $169,897,463
Revenue: $362,000,000

Milan (#6)
Wages: $152,619,219
Revenue: $341,000,000

Inter (#7)
Wages: $142,522,871
Revenue: $307,000,000

and, surprise!

Man United (#8)
Wages: $138,035,567
Revenue: $532,000,000

 

[Yixin]

Well, I'm not sure it was sensible selling RvP to ManU, even if the stated difference in return was as much as 8m.