manpe

Did anyone know about this guy before the Euros? It seems his name has popped up suddenly after the England game, all is forgotten about this Azpilicueta guy. When people were coming up with lists of quality right backs in the world, Debuchy was nowhere to be seen. I guess I have to be (one of) the first to admit that I had no idea who he was before the Euros, and I'm always cautious at forming an opinion on a player based on 1-2 games. I do like his name though, a proper footballer's name. So how good is he really? Aside from the 2 games in the Euros. Was he by far the best right-back in Ligue 1? He is in the French squad so I know he can't be total trash, but so was Bosingwa in Portuguese team and look how well that went. And why is he supposedly evaluated so low?

What is it with Hazard? I hope at least his game won't get derailed

Baila? I've had to drink some mix too, twice. I think it was vodka, beer, cider, tonic.. No milk though, that's just disgusting.

This story reeks of bullshit

It's amusing when people say that RDM didn't have a good league campaign. Let's look at the games he lost: Away v Man City 2-1: City have simply more quality, especially at home. They were always the favourites. Home v Newcastle 2-0: At that point we were conserving energy for the FAC and CL. Concentration was lost. And Cisse had one of those days again. Away v Liverpool 4-1: We played our reserves after winning them in the FAC final to preserve energy and avoid injuries for the CL final. A meaningless loss we could afford. Then there are the draws. Home v Spurs 0-0: Tottenham were considered a better team than us at that time. It also came right after the loss to City and before an important game against Benfica. A point well taken in a hectic schedule against a strong side in the midst of 2 important and difficult games. Had we lost concentration, it could have easily been a loss. Away v Fulham 1-1: Shit happens. Was well vindicated later on with the thumping of Spurs in the FA semis. Away v Arsenal 0-0: A game in between the 2 historic Barca games. Reserves were played away to conserve energy, massive balls were shown, a draw well earned. And that's it. It wasn't outstanding, but it was satisfactory given the resources we had. It was a stretch anyway with the squad we had to have remarkable campaigns in 2 cup competitions. The league was sacrificed for realistic trophies. Had we gone all in in all 3 competitions, I don't think we'd be boasting the greatest cup double ever and salivating over the biggest talents, one who we've already signed.

I think you mean Tommy. Tomo is a well respected member here.

Have to admit I've become more disinterested lately too. I still read and post, but not as often as before. Maybe it's a summer thing, I dunno. But sometimes I do feel that the whole forum has become belligerent.

Is that so? Fuck em then. In that case I must come out of neutrality and declare Rangers as my preferred choice.

I'm not particularly fond of Scottish league, so I have no preference. As I'm non-British it's probably just natural that I don't feel the need to take sides in this matter.

1 or 2 maybe, that would do for me anyway.

That's a bit reassuring, because it hopefully shows maturity and responsibility. Much rather have a mature and settled 21-year old than a Balotelli.

I don't remember this kind of stuff. I'm sure I missed some, have no idea which ones though. Oh, one that I remember is the Napoli 2nd leg game, I was without internet that day. Was gutted and happy at the same time after seeing the result. Also the Arsenal game where Bertrand played, don't remember why, but most likely reason was that I overslept. I managed to watch majority of games though.

They even said they didn't discuss it. This is probably the most unrealistic transfer you can think of.

I would like a video instead.

Nice try. Kalou belongs here as much as anybody else. This Samba kid or whoever, was a prospect at the age of 14.. I doubt he was considered the future WC winner and Johan Cruyff at that age. There are many young uns being hyped and destroyed that way. Kalou on the other hand was still a talent at the age of 19-22, which is a much bigger fall than some kid being called the next big thing after scoring insane amounts of goals in some kids' league and then failing to extend a contract with Millwall at age 17 or something. It's simple really. Nowhere is it said that this thread is about new Maradonas who never came to be. It says "players that wasted their talents" and imo this is what Kalou did.. or he had no talent in first place, which I doubt.

Also, an honorary mention goes to Salomon Kalou. Thanks to cap for reminding about him.

Ronaldinho the Ballon d'Or winner?

Robinho hasn't lived up to his hype, but he's still good. Adriano, Bogarde come to mind. Giovani dos Santos and Royston Drenthe, once biggest prospects around, have fallen into abyss.

I would be more than 'more than happy'

"Right listen up geezers, my best friends cousin’s facebook friend has a source inside Chelsea FC’s megastore who has told us that Hulk is going to sign for Chelsea this week." yes, very interesting indeed this article is probably just taking the piss on rumours.

Ivan needs competition.

If you ban me for a day I can confirm or deny it for you

One more point I would like to add. You can't buy success in international football, it's a fair reflection of how good a country really is. And yes, I would trade Chelsea's CL for Estonia's WC in a heartbeat. It's unrealistic for us to ever win it, that's why I would choose it.

Do players get paid for representing their country? I don't think they do. In club football you get players representing their employer, a company.. many play just for the money, no sense of pride wearing their team's colours. In international football they play for something else, for their nation and pride. International competitions hold more value also, since they are played and can be won only once every 4 years. That's 2, maybe 3 chances to win it in a player's career. Yes, club games are much more exciting, but international games involve more honour and pride. I think most players would prefer the World Cup over CL.

Should fit right in with QPR