2013/2014 English Premier League Thread

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

That finish by Welbeck was brilliant. Just a perfectly floated chip.

love a good chip

[devo22]

absolutely thrilled for Welbeck. His finishing is the only thing has held him back, so it's great to see him double his goal total from last season on the first day. He has a lot of confidence right now

[GirlySports]

I have seen 3 penalty misses this season already. All low and to the keeper's right

[Matty81]

Chelsea looked good this morning... They are so stocked with early 20s talent, I had to look up half their roster, pretty impressive young stable of talent though.

I don't like players not honoring their contract but man u with Rooney are handling it super poorly. Get him buying in or sell him. In 18 months Rooney can sign for somebody else on a free transfer, sell him to somebody abroad, take the 20 million plus and walk. Instead even by Christmas the are going to lose 25% of his value and 50% at least by next summer with his contract running down, more if he plays badly.

Guy looks sullen out there and has clearly not changed his mind imo.

An aside but I have to grit my teeth every time I see Begovic out there. #### that guy!

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Matty81

An aside but I have to grit my teeth every time I see Begovic out there. #### that guy!

Normally I'd agree with you but in this case it was Canada's fault. They had many opportunities to cap him. He played under-20. He was called into the squad for 2010 WC qualifiers, he was there, he was on the bench! Why not play him. Canada wasn't going anywhere, instead they played Hirschfeld for the 1000th time for nothing.

Canada obviously didn't value him so he went somewhere else.

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Normally I'd agree with you but in this case it was Canada's fault. They had many opportunities to cap him. ...
Canada obviously didn't value him so he went somewhere else.

Not this again. Begovic was capped. Canada had no cause for concern until FIFA changed the rules at which point it was too late to do anything differently. While I agree they could have given him a run out during the one game in the 2010 qualifiers that he was there for (at age 21) it would only have been for the purpose of getting him some extra experience, not because they needed to tie him. We also tried to call him for the 2009 Gold Cup but he opted to stay in Portsmouth for training.

And even if he somehow felt hard done by, there is still no excuse for him going on a radio show in Vancouver and stating clearly that "I'm happy to stay with Canada, that's where I see my future" and "I have no intention on playing for Bosnia" and then two months later accepting a call up from Bosnia.

[GirlySports]

I think Portsmouth made him stay for training. I agree with you but overall I still think it was a tough situation for him so I blame Canada more than him. Need to get him a real cap, u20 caps are a bit fishy anyways. Canada was so out of it in 2010, dead last. If they valued him, he should have played all 4 of the final matches in that round (I actually said it at the time back in 09) and get him that experience like you said.

Unlike these bozos like Hoillet and De Guzman who still haven't declared for anyone (De Guzman finally played for Holland this year) and won't play for Canada. At least Begovic played for someone right away due to Canada unorganization.

[604flames]

Pablo Osvaldo signs for Southampton from Roma for 15 million pounds. Second time Saints have broken their transfer record this summer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23750101

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't like players not honoring their contract but man u with Rooney are handling it super poorly. Get him buying in or sell him. In 18 months Rooney can sign for somebody else on a free transfer, sell him to somebody abroad, take the 20 million plus and walk.

Couple of questions.
(1) How are they handling it poorly and (2) what do you mean by getting him to buy in?
He was fantastic yesterday when he came on.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Bagor

Couple of questions.
(1) How are they handling it poorly and (2) what do you mean by getting him to buy in?
He was fantastic yesterday when he came on.

I think they're stupid for keeping him against his will while his value diminishes and his contract is almost up. I'd say he looked OK, and it was against Swansea who are a glorified championship team. His body language is saying loud and clear that he wants to leave.

I dunno why you would keep a player who wants to leave and it almost seems a bit hypocritical after they unsettled and bought RVP last summer.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't like players not honoring their contract but man u with Rooney are handling it super poorly. Get him buying in or sell him. In 18 months Rooney can sign for somebody else on a free transfer, sell him to somebody abroad, take the 20 million plus and walk. Instead even by Christmas the are going to lose 25% of his value and 50% at least by next summer with his contract running down, more if he plays badly.

I can't see how they are handling this "super poorly". The situation is delicate and more complicated than "just sell him if he wants to go". I don't think that United are completely against selling him, but obviously they don't want to sell him within the league. Why strengthen one of your biggest rivals? The problem is that nobody outside of the Premier League wants to take him. There have been no offers from Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Monaco or any other team. It's just Chelsea who has come in with two embarrassing bids, and I wouldn't be shocked if those were just Mourinho trying to play mind games and to cause trouble at United.

Rooney has a contract until June 2015 and still is the team's top earner. If he wants to go, he has to come out and publicly say so. He hasn't done that and his silence in that matter is mind-boggling to me. Also, it'd be interested to learn his reasons if he indeed wants to go. Money can't be the reason, he earns plenty at the club and won't earn significantly more some place else. In 2010, he said the team wasn't ambitious enough - he can't play that card now after they bought van Persie. Maybe that's the problem though - he's not the main man anymore and doesn't feel worshipped enough. Well, the United fans still gave him an ovation when he came on yesterday. He can't hope for more than that after all the drama.

I'm fed up with players who are trying to force their clubs into selling them, despite having valid contracts. Rooney has now twice caused problems over the last three years and the Lewandowski drama in Dortmund has been even more pathetic. Go out and do the job that you were signed for.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Chelsea looked good this morning... They are so stocked with early 20s talent, I had to look up half their roster, pretty impressive young stable of talent though.

I don't like players not honoring their contract but man u with Rooney are handling it super poorly. Get him buying in or sell him. In 18 months Rooney can sign for somebody else on a free transfer, sell him to somebody abroad, take the 20 million plus and walk. Instead even by Christmas the are going to lose 25% of his value and 50% at least by next summer with his contract running down, more if he plays badly.

Guy looks sullen out there and has clearly not changed his mind imo.

An aside but I have to grit my teeth every time I see Begovic out there. #### that guy!

Who do they sell to?

Rooney needs games, and needs to be keen during a World Cup year. The club holds the cards.

Further, clubs that can afford him & his wages, can be counted on one hand.
Bayern, PSG, Monaco. Perhaps Real. The Spanish & Italians leagues are in financial trouble, and are either stocked up top or can't pay him.

Speaking of Chelsea, I expected a thrashing of a recently promoted Championship club, didn't really see it yet saw alot of flopping from Hazard, & Oscar.

I expect both Mata & Rooney to start next weekend.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by devo22

I'm fed up with players who are trying to force their clubs into selling them, despite having valid contracts. Rooney has now twice caused problems over the last three years and the Lewandowski drama in Dortmund has been even more pathetic. Go out and do the job that you were signed for.

i'd say thats a bit rich coming from a fan of any big club like united, it's pretty much exactly how they've done their business signing RVP, Berbatov, Carrick, Young, Jones etc. Every team does it, targets players who mght want more playing time or money.

It almost seems like united think they are above it when it happens to them. They aren't getting offers from abroad because they haven't granted his wish and listed him, they are publically saying he is not for sale to anyone who will listen. I actually think he's handled things very professionally by not going public.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I think they're stupid for keeping him against his will while his value diminishes and his contract is almost up. I'd say he looked OK, and it was against Swansea who are a glorified championship team. His body language is saying loud and clear that he wants to leave.

I dunno why you would keep a player who wants to leave and it almost seems a bit hypocritical after they unsettled and bought RVP last summer.

Swansea is a glorified championship team? This is a team, that took points from EVERY visitor a season removed.

Thanks for those lols.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Swansea is a glorified championship team? This is a team, that took points from EVERY visitor a season removed.

Thanks for those lols.

Had one half decent premier league season. They are not a premier league club long term playing in a crappy erector set stadium with barely 20k seats in a city the size of Kelowna. I'd happily make a wager that they'll be back in the championship within a few years.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I think they're stupid for keeping him against his will while his value diminishes and his contract is almost up. I'd say he looked OK, and it was against Swansea who are a glorified championship team. His body language is saying loud and clear that he wants to leave.

I dunno why you would keep a player who wants to leave and it almost seems a bit hypocritical after they unsettled and bought RVP last summer.

Ok? What do you mean by that? Disinterested? Lethargic? Slow? Average.

He ran his nuts off, was a constant threat and was responsible for the last 2 goals and was involved in most attacks. Who it was against is irrelevant. Nothing United can do about that.

I could care less about his body language as long as he continues to perform and do the job that he's well compensated to do.

[The Big Chill]

Swansea are a very good team, and I think they'll end up in the top half of the table by the end of the season.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Matty81

it was against Swansea who are a glorified championship team.

... really?!? Swansea has been a wonderful addition to the Premier League, they are playing attractive football and have had more than 50 percent possession against literally every top team at least once since being promoted. Don't be shocked if they finish somewhere between 7 and 10 again. They shouldn't have lost 4-1 yesterday, they were better than the scoreline would suggest.

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Rooney needs games, and needs to be keen during a World Cup year. The club holds the cards.

exactly.

Originally Posted by Matty81

Every team does it, targets players who mght want more playing time or money.

but this is Wayne Rooney. He can't complain about money and he wouldn't have to complain about playing time if he was in great shape. He clearly wasn't this spring and that's why Sir Alex rightly benched him. Even Rooney has to earn playing time, he's not entitled to it automatically any more.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for selling Rooney if it makes sense. I think that we have already seen the best from Rooney, that we already have a great replacement in Kagawa and that United could use the money. But I don't want them to sell him to Chelsea unless it's for an absolutely ridiculous amount.

Originally Posted by Matty81

It almost seems like united think they are above it when it happens to them.

Beckham, van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo ... they all got their wishes. It's not like we have a history of forcing players to stay.

[Matty81]

I think this is getting sidetracked with the Swansea thing, I think they're a tiny club with an OK squad list who overachieved last year. I can see how others would hold them in a higher regard, Bony looks a solid signing and we'll see where they end up, certainly don't wish them any bad luck.

My main point was, Rooney can sign for somebody else on a pre-contract in a year and a little bit. If he has asked to leave, it's bad for team morale and the balance books to keep him. You're losing money every window you wait and to me (which is subjective) he looks visibly unhappy on the bench and pitch. Cash in and move on.

[cam_wmh]

Club > Player.

Always.