Oso planning to go pro
That fourth goal was a lovely move. Michael Bradley made a great run, and still weighted the pass perfectly.The difference in Jozy's finishing ability is incredible. Hard to believe that is the same player that used to miss sitters on a semi-regular basis.
Amazing what a couple years in Holland can do for a guy. It's a great nation for strikers to cut their teeth. Just hope he can keep it up at Sunderland.
The free kick was flawlessly placed.
Lets hope it does the same for Johansson
young guy already looked pretty solid in his time on the field. Took several defenders on one-on-one. only other US players that even try that, let alone succeed, are Brek, Landon and Clint.
Hasn't he already gotten off to a great start with AZ?
My EPL prediction:1. Chelsea2. Man City3. Man Utd4. ArsenalRelegated: Hull, Crystal Palace, Stoke
Can I get a chance to modify this? I didn't think Arsenal would do nothing in the transfer market...and Tottenham selling Bale at his top valuation might end up being better for them in the long run.
This one will be interesting...getting pipped to Willian by Chelsea certainly didn't help matters. Looked like they would bring in plenty for Bale, and while they still may, losing their top target to a cross-city rival isn't going to help matters. Not sure where Arsenal will end up, but one thing seems certain...it's about time for Arsene to hang them up. Not sure if it's a case of ownership not giving him money and telling him to cover (so he's lying to media) or if he really rates his current players as highly as he says (simply not as good as in years past) but that's a side that really needs an injection of fresh blood. Somewhat ironic, considering how much a focus they've had on youth over the years.
I imagine we can all agree, NBC 's coverage is the tits.
Tottenham I think would rather lose someone to a club that is going to finish above them than to one that could challenge them for fourth. (Liverpool)
Without a doubt, but they screwed up with Willian. Announced it as a virtual done deal so Chelsea knew he was fit and knew how much to offer. Guys like that aren't easy to find. He could have been the type of player to assure them top-four, not sure anyone else on the market they can afford will provide them that kind of quality production.
Willian wasn't going to assure spuds a Champions League finish if they couldn't achieve that with Jesus-reincarnated Curious George lookalike Bale. spuds fans end all and be all is qualifying for Champions League and that's all they aim at. Meanwhile, for Arsenal, they do that crap in their sleep and its an utter failure in the eyes of everyone. Strange world.
Strange world? Not in the least. Not even remotely strange. In this sport more than any other teams are judged based on their own expectations. For some teams, finishing 17th is a wildly successful year. For others, it's a top half finish. Meanwhile, for Manchester United, a finish outside the top-3 would be considered a disaster, even if they finished 4th and assured a CL spot. That holds across other countries as well. This isn't the NFL where everyone has title dreams on day one (thanks, Rams) and half the teams have a legit shot.
Full Champions League draw:A: Manchester United, Shaktar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real SociedadB: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, FC KopenhagenC: Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiakos, AnderlechtD: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Viktoria PlzenE: Chelsea, Schalke 04, FC Basel, Steaua BucharestF: Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, NapoliG: FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Austria ViennaH: Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax Amsterdam, CelticGroup F jumps out as the Group of Death, but H is also tough. I like United and Leverkusen in Group A (Shaktar lost too much). In B, Real and Juve look like near locks in a lopsided group. C is one of the weakest groups, PSG should be a strong bet and I think Anderlecht can escape it as well. Munich will certainly come out of D, the question will be if City can edge CSKA to join them. I think so this year. E looks like Chelsea and Schalke, though Basel could make things interesting. F will be awesome to watch. I like Dortmund and Napoli to advance, further pressuring Wenger. Group G I like Atletico and Zenit. Finally, leaning towards Barca and Milan in H, though it will be a dogfight for the second spot, could be all three in it if Celtic can do well at home.
I think the way UEFA determines the seedings need some thought. Here we have Porto and Benfica in Pot 1. And last year's runner up and winner of two of the last three Bundesligas (Dortmund) in Pot 3?
Strange world? Not in the least. Not even remotely strange. In this sport more than any other teams are judged based on their own expectations. For some teams, finishing 17th is a wildly successful year. For others, it's a top half finish. Meanwhile, for Manchester United, a finish outside the top-3 would be considered a disaster, even if they finished 4th and assured a CL spot. That holds across other countries as well. This isn't the NFL where everyone has title dreams on day one (thanks, Rams) and half the teams have a legit shot.And it wasn't Willian alone, Spurs had what, 4-5 guys rumored to be coming in? But only one had any hope of coming close to replicating Bale's impact, and that was Willian. All I'm saying is they really screwed the pooch on that and if the difference of 4th and 5th comes down to a handful of points, Willian may have been the unrealized difference.
Exactly. And Spurs has a wage cap, so even if they develop great players, they can't pay them like other clubs and they will depart. (see Luka Modric) Thus they have to play a moneyball game of sorts (even though Wenger's approach at Arsenal coincidentally is more moneyball-esque). Spurs have a good core, a great manager, but they can't just go out and sign mega players with the same efficiency and success as one of the big spenders in Arsenal.Speaking of Arsenal, those expectations are a result of the cult of Wenger. He's been good for so long, that people just assume they should be in a certain position. If Arsenal had sacked Wenger, and had a new manager this year with this roster and lack of offseason moves, the mindset would be very similar to Spurs.
Uh, spuds will be biggest spender of the window. Already put down nearly 150m US. That's a strange sort of moneyball. And not sure you're familiar with Arsenal. Hard to be called a "big spender" when your club record fee of £17m is eclipsed three times in this window alone by spuds (not to mention any of the other top six clubs). And I laugh at you describing Arsenal with "efficiency" and "success" regarding signings (see: Juan Mata and Gonzalo Higuain). Who was the last "mega player" signing for Arsenal?
Who was the last "mega player" signing for Arsenal?