thejolta

Bah I took a nap this afternoon and I wake up and there's still a good 3 and a half hours til the match. Can't wait. It's a shame Zhirkov won't be able to play because of the stupid UK work permit. Anyways I want to see Mourinho get pissed off tonight. Go Chelsea! edit: and yeah that counter is fucked! I missed the game in Seattle because of it Not to worry though as I caught it on espn360.com a few nights ago.

Ahaha suck it you mancs. Here's to a long successful career for the kid.

Hate to burst your bubble but Benzema is all but locked up to Manchester United, Tevez to City, and Pato is currently chained to a metal pipe in Leonardo's crawlspace. Should be interesting to see what players we make a push for once Carlo takes over though. Anyone know when he's taking over? Is it July 1st?

He's a great player to watch with remarkable pace and strength. He will undoubtedly inject some pace into our attack. He's going to be sold cheaply (9mill tops). He's either 24 or 27 . He's be an amazing super sub for Anelka/Drogba. He's got a great leg and an incredibly powerful shot. Only drawback I see is his ties to the African Cup of Nations. I just don't see why we wouldn't want to give Obafemi a shot. Give me a reason?

Gourcuff already finalized his transfer to Bordeaux. If we were going to buy him it would have been before that. I'm with the wes... I'd love to see us sign Douglas Costa. Young Brazilian scouted by ManU, wanted by ManU. Would love to see us have more of a presence in Brazil. Get some youngsters in here. Maybe loan them out til they get a work permit. I guess I'm talking long term though, anyways here's my list GK -- Cech, Hilario, Taylor, ASSMAN (simply because he's South American like me and given I am an assman, having a Chelsea kit that has Assman on the back would be perfect). DF -- Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, A. Cole Mancienne, Ivanovic, Belletti, Ferreira, Slobodan Rajkovic (or is his loan deal not up til next year?) MF -- Lampard, Essien, Mikel, Ballack, Malouda, J. Cole, Douglas Costa, Scott Sinclair,One of Luka Modric (likely a pipe dream)/Pirlo/Gatusso (if we get them for at the most 15 million quid for Pirlo and 9 million quid for Gatusso). FW -- Drogba, Anelka, Stoch, Di Santo, Tevez, Sturridge, Nouble (is he ready?), Gaël Kakuta ------------Cech------------------- Bos---Terry---Alex---A. Cole---- ---- Mikel ------ Gattuso -------- Essien ---- Lampard --- Malouda ------ - ---- Drogba ------ ACON squad ------------Cech------------------- Bos---Terry---Alex---A. Cole---- --- ----- Gattuso -------- J. Cole---- Lampard --- Malouda ------Anelka ---- Tevez ------ This could be total bullshit though haha. All depends on us signing Gattuso which I think would be wise considering the loss of Mikel and Essien in Jan.

Definitely a questionable expenditure.

Agreed. We should also stop thinking of Mikel as strictly a CDM too.

Obviously you are unaware of the name greatest hockey team in the history of the universe as coached by one Gordon Bombay. The Mighty Ducks.

I chose Pato. I don't think Franck or Villa are realistic. Of the remaining players I think Pato gives us the most complete option in attack. Shooting, passing, dribbling, pace, finishing (better than Agüero at least). Also he's the youngest with the highest potential and he can be a threat in the air. I want the duck... bah

What do you guys think about swapping Carvalho and may Deco in a deal for Pato? Everyone knows AC Milan's defense could use some help especially in central defense and Nesta partnering with Carvalho would be brilliant and Carvalho given his age at just 31 would give him about 4-7 years to play for Italy. I'm not as certain about offering Deco to AC Milan as I'm not sure they need another midfielder with Dinho, Pirlo, Flamini, Seedorf, and Ambrosini, but if they value him that could be another fee reduction for us. Why should we sell them to Inter when Inter has nothing to offer us. Selling Carvalho to AC Milan in exchange for a fee reduction on Pato would be mutually beneficial and give Milan some much needed depth at the back.

Bullshit i say.

I don't think Guus needed to say anything for people to think that already. I think the only way his comments are hurtful to Ancellotti is if he actually becomes a coach of one of the big four then hurting CA directly.

So what are you doing in Turkey now? I assume some sort of business? I'd love to make it out to that country at some point.

No more fucked than we already are having Cech as our keeper though.

I don't think anyone will ever play him right now. I'm pretty sure he's like 16 or 17. He would just be a future replacement for Cech and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get him here as early as possible to acclimate to London and the language. Think this is a situation similar to Man U signing Macheda.

If I see him in 2011 on the sidelines of Old Trafford I'm going to go f'ing ballistic. I saw them writing about him being coveted as the next coach at Man U after Ferguson leaves, but I wrote it off as Republic of Mancunia wishful thinking. Coach the US national team or some other national team and have them advance further than they ever have don't coach against Chelsea please.

And another quote from Agüero... I don't think there's any chance Barcelona will sign him though. He's too raw right now and they've already got two young forwards in his mold (Bojan and Messi). Barcelona doesn't need another short quick ball handler who can't get up for headers. With that said, I have no idea what Agüero will do, but I'd be shocked if Barcelona made an offer. Agüero would never be able to play in the middle of the front line for them and they already have messi, krkic, and iniesta to play the wings for them.

Uh a defenser midfielder counts as a defender in my book. What do you think the primary role of Obi Mikel or Makelele was in that holding position? To defend and feed balls to the midfield from the back. I never said he was a natural center back or right back.... In the first match he played a kind of sweeper role, in the second game he was a center back. He's naturally a center midfielder which just shows how talented he is. How you come to say he sucked balls as a centre back against us boggles my mind... did you watch the match? We should have been up 3-0 in the 2nd leg and the only reason we weren't was because everytime Drogba and Anelka would get behind the back four Toure would run in and power them off the ball. He's got pace, toughness, and incredible strength. Nothing about the dude is poor. Please justify this bullshit claim that he 'sucked balls as a centre back against us' because I don't see how anyone who watch either of the matches can say something like that. Absolutely ridiculous. --------------- Anyways during that match I was just thinking about how insanely dominant our defense could be with him in the holding role, Mikel and Essien in midfield, Alex and Terry at center back, with Jose and Ashley on the wings, and Malouda and Lampard tracking back. Not to mention his height on set pieces and his powerful long range shots.

All I could think about during the semi-finals was how much I'd love to have Yaya on our team. He shut down Drogba and Anelka whenever they got free. Just an absolutely dominating defender. I know we're already stacked defensively but I can't help it. He looks to be having contract issues with Barca. Yaya Toure's future at Barcelona is under increasing doubt, after he rejected the club's latest contract offer. According to El Mundo Deportivo, negotiations between Barca sporting director Txiki Begiristain and Toure's agent, Dimitre Seluk, have reached a standstill. Toure currently earns the least among Barca's first team and while the club have offered an improved contract, it has not proved sufficient to reach an agreement. Yaya Toure's profile has shot up since his move to Barcelona, especially after the vital role he played in their treble winning season. However, while Barca want to reward him for his performances and professionalism, they are not willing to place him among the top earners at the club. As a result, the interest of Europe's top clubs has heightened in recent weeks. Arsenal remain desperate to re-unite him with brother Kolo, while Liverpool could seek to include him in any deal for Javier Mascherano, in whom Barca have shown an interest. There are also said to be a number of Italian clubs in the mix. Toure, however, would not come cheap. He has a minimum release fee of €90million and his contract does not expire until 2011, giving Barca a clear advantage on the negotiating table.

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has ruled out any move to England because he does not like the country's climate. The explosive midfielder is currently the subject of much interest from English and Spanish teams, and could leave the Allianz Arena this summer. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are all gearing up for a summer battle for the 26-year-old, who has hinted that he could be on the move. Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly after the French winger as he sees him as the ideal replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, should the Portuguese star leave the club for Madrid. The Spanish giants themselves are attempting to start up another galactico era, with president Florentino Perez reportedly chasing Kaka, Ronaldo and Ribery. Primera Division and European champions Barcelona are also understood to be after the France international, as they are looking to strengthen their squad with a view to retaining both their newly-acquired championships next season. Ribery himself has said that he is happy at Bayern, but admits he does not know what will happen over the summer. Speaking to Telefoot, Ribery said, "Honestly, I do not know, but it is a question I am asking myself frequently at this time. "I will see how the situation evolves. It is not easy. I am happy at Bayern." "[i won't move to England] because they have the same weather as in Germany." Ribery has been with Bayern since 2007, and has made 53 Bundesliga appearances for the club, scoring 20 goals. http://goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/06/...ts-england-move

So I'm new to the kit purchasing. These things costs 80-100$ so I can only purchase them slowly. What is your favorite kit you own? At the moment I have a 2006 Italy World Cup Jersey Blue with no name on the back. Had a friend just kind of leave that at my house then he went off to school elsewhere and I haven't brought it up I also had a 2002 Spain World Cup Jersey Red. Again no name on the back. But right now my favorite kit is my Essien 2009 Black Chelsea kit. My love for Essien is so huge. However I've got a 2010 France World Cup Jersey with a custom name on the back (Makélélé). I think this jersey will be my most proud possession when it arrives in about 2 weeks (ordered it from the UK, shipping to the US is about 14-21 days and the embroidering process with the patches and name takes about 7 days). So my question to you guys... I figured since it's the offseason and I'm incredibly bored of all this transfer talk that amounts to absolute shit with articles stating Chelsea snubbed by Scrotum Phillips etc etc. So the question is what kits do you own? Be specific and what kit is your favorite of the ones you own. Also what kits do you think would be awesome to get. Also does anyone know where I could get an official Drogba OM jersey from a few years ago? I think that will be the next kit I buy.

I watch a lot of Atletico games on GolTV here in the states. We get a lot of Barca, Real, Atleti, and sevilla games on gol tv. Lots of replays. Anyways, Atletico is a great team to watch. Forlan, Agüero, Simão, and Maxi Rodriguez are brilliant to watch. Excellent passing, amazing moves and pace, and a constant attacking nature. Aguero and Forlan are a big part of this. Watch any game and you'll fall in love with the partnership these two have formed. Forlan leads the league in goals because of the attention Agüero requires from defenders. If Aguero was a world class finisher he could have 30+ goals a season. He's constantly getting the ball behind the back 4. Typically he shoots wide. The biggest weakness in his game is his finishing. Without a doubt though he's worth having on the team just because of the pressure he causes the defense, his pace, and his passing. Aguero is still very raw in his game, but that's the beauty of it. If he can learn to be more accurate with his shots he's going to be an unstoppable player. I can't tell you how happy I'd be to sign Agüero. We need more players who can control the ball and slice through the back four and Agüero is just that.

also life's a bitch and then you die that's why we get high cuz you never know when you're gonna go

And Scheva just scored in the 13th minute for Ukraine vs. Croatia.

Against San Marino but hey :/ not too bad that's 2 full international goals against San Marino now.