Official Football/Soccer Thread

The European domestic seasons are just getting started. The English Charity Shield is tomorrow with the Premiership kicking off the next week. Le Championnat in France starts this week. Die Bundesliga in Germany is already underway.

I am really looking forwards to this season. I support Liverpool and I am really excited to see Kewell and the young French players. I am hoping this is the year it all comes together.

Man U will be tough. I agree with the theory that the team is at the dawn of a decline (wishful thinking?), but I think they will have something to prove without overrated Beckham and that could propel them this season.



ps. The Montréal Impact own the A-League. ;)

i am also excited about this season, me a Manchester United fan my whole life but with beckham and veron gone and that idot barthez as goolie we are gonna have some trouble this season but me still confident with giggs & crew. kudos sggg for making this thread

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Originally Posted by t_mac

i am also excited about this season, me a Manchester United fan my whole life but with beckham and veron gone and that idot barthez as goolie we are gonna have some trouble this season but me still confident with giggs & crew. kudos sggg for making this thread

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I'm really excited about the upcoming Premiership season. I'm also a Man Utd. fan and I think they have an even better team than last season even without Beckham and Veron. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks like he might be starting material finally. Nicky Butt and Quinton Fortune have played decently and maybe later on in the season Darren Fletcher will be ready to start in Beckham's spot. Some are already drawing similarities between the two. I'm hoping that Fergie isn't going to give Barthez the starting GK shirt and instead give it to either Tim Howard or Roy Carroll. So I think Man Utd. will be fine and I'm expecting them to win it again, despite usual stiff competition from Arsenal and possibly Chelsea.

I don't really follow any other leagues except for Spanish Primera Liga and Italian Serie A. I'm looking for Real Madrid to finish on top in Spain and either Juventus or AC Milan in Italy. I'll be rooting for AC Milan.

Anyways, that's all from me. I also thank sggg for this thread.

SC

I don't think Man United's going anywhere. They outscored the teams over here 14-3 or something in 4 games.

They score a lot of goals, but have a so-so defense. That's always been their weak point. Ferdinand is coming along and Tim Howard looks surprisingly good.

They still have a few good young players but if they want to win in 5 years, they better bring in the younger players now.

Selling Veron and Beckham is tough, but oh well. Scholes was and is better than both. They just need to line up a Keane replacement, he'll be gone in a few years.

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Originally Posted by MVS

They score a lot of goals, but have a so-so defense. That's always been their weak point. Ferdinand is coming along and Tim Howard looks surprisingly good.

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I agree, but I don't think Rio Ferdinand is really that good. There are plenty of better defenders out there.

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They still have a few good young players but if they want to win in 5 years, they better bring in the younger players now.

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Man Utd. still has a lot of good young talent like Fletcher and Kieran Richardson, Bellion is shaping up to do quite well, and Danny Pugh could be a really good player in the future. If Man Utd. can get a few more to become major players then they'll be in good shape to stay on top.

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Selling Veron and Beckham is tough, but oh well. Scholes was and is better than both. They just need to line up a Keane replacement, he'll be gone in a few years.

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I completely agree. Scholes is a much better passer than both and as good as Veron is at defending. I don't see Beckham as that much of a loss. He does have incredible placement on the long ball and he is excellent at free kicks, but both of those skills are more bonuses than anything. Real Madrid got more glamour than actual football skill. I agree on the bit about Roy Keane. Man Utd. needs to sign someone to eventually take his spot because he is one of the best midfielders in the entire league. He's like 31 or 32 so yeah, he'll be retiring soon. Ryan Giggs is getting up there too.

SC

WE win!!! oh yeah it really feels good to beat arsenel even on penalties i hope Howard keeps it up and here's hoping Fergie gets rid of barthez or sell him to chealse or somethin

keep it Man Utd i will always support you ;)

Man, what a good game. Very exciting. I think this should be enough to give Howard the GK job. I was hoping Van Nistelrooy would score, but he couldn't even get through on his penalty shot. Anyways, it was a fun game to watch.

SC

Err you United fans have got it all wrong. :rolleyes: Manu have the best defence in the premiership, it's up front that you guys are stuffed. Van Nistelrooy carries the whole team, you have no world class cover for him. If he gets injured then your attacking options are decimated. Whilst in defence you have both youth and talent with Silvestre, Brown, Ferdinand and O'Shea. For goal keepers you have France's #1 and an emerging talent Howard.

Scholes better than Veron and Beckham? Totally fucking different players! Scholes fits in nicely up front or behind 2 strikers, Veron is one of the best passers in the game (and was brilliant in the champions league) whilst Beckham works hard, passes well and is one of the world's finest at set pieces. Kenyon fucked up by getting rid of those two, especially for pocket change they got from Beckham's sale (even under the current transfer climate). Your side often ditches their best players anyway (witness Stam) so that's no surprise.

Please, if you're going to support Manu at least know your team. Glory hunters :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by spacecowboy

Man, what a good game. Very exciting. I think this should be enough to give Howard the GK job.

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Yes because one good performance is enough to secure your place in the starting XI. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by spacecowboy

Real Madrid got more glamour than actual football skill.

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:lol:

Normally I would be more polite, but when it comes to the scum I make exceptions. I mean seriously, did they conquer your hearts on their US tour? More proof that to be a United fan you can't know shit about football.

Does anyone follow any other European leagues besides the Premiership?

I like to watch French football, maybe Sidez does too ;)... but I don't really have a favourite team. I just cannot seem to latch on to one. I usually just support the underdogs when possible. I kind of like Saint-Etienne, er, because of the band that is named after them. Stupid reason.. but oh well. Lens is cool too. Nice stadium. I really need to pick a single team because the matches are shown live on TV5 every week and I'd enjoy it more with a favourite.

I support VfB Stuttgart in Germany. The first Bundesliga match I ever saw had them playing at home, so why not. Also when I was in Germany I picked up a Stuttgart kit for a song. :)

I like SK Brann in Norway, Malmö FF in Sweden (Mama, take me home to Malmö), and Sparta in Czech (the only Euro team I have actually seen in person). I don't have a favourite Spanish team but I definitely hate Real now! I guess I kind of like Valencia? I truly can't stand Italian football and hardly ever watch it, I only watch Italian teams when they play in Europe. The only Italian team I like a little bit is Sampdoria because I saw them play in New Jersey back in the mid90s (and I like their hoops, heh).

I also like to watch the lower divisions in England. In Canada they show the occasional lower division and cup matches on SportsNet, which is nice. The 1st division playoffs last year were great! A few of the teams I tend to follow are Cardiff City, Coventry, and Macc Town. I followed Fulham from Div 3 all the way to the Premiership, because one of my mates is a huge supporter.

I don't really "support" all of these teams. Liverpool is my team - the only one that truly matters, but it's nice to have a small rooting interest when you watch different leagues and look at the various tables, you know? :)

i follow the spanish liga aswell , i support barcelona who are my 2nd team after MAN UTD , and ofcourse the champions league

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Originally Posted by Sidez

. Van Nistelrooy carries the whole team, you have no world class cover for him. If he gets injured then your attacking options are decimated. Whilst in defence you have both youth and talent with Silvestre, Brown, Ferdinand and O'Shea. .Scholes better than Veron and Beckham? Totally fucking different players! Scholes fits in nicely up front or behind 2 strikers, Veron is one of the best passers in the game (and was brilliant in the champions league) whilst Beckham works hard, passes well and is one of the world's finest at set pieces. Kenyon fucked up by getting rid of those two, especially for pocket change they got from Beckham's sale (even under the current transfer climate). Your side often ditches their best players anyway (witness Stam) so that's no surprise.

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i agree with u that Nistelrooy carries the team and we really need another striker to share the burden this would have changed if Ronaldinho came. i also agree that scholes ,beckham,veron are totally different , as for beckham and veron getting ditched err well shit happens but usually after players get ditched(hmmmm ditch is a bit harsh) Fergie comes up with somethin. as for barthez he sucks never liked him never will, get rid of him ASAP,

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More proof that to be a United fan you can't know shit about football.

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:wtf: