The Football Thread

[TheInterceptor]

Another big name from England retires from Football. This times it's David Beckham. England's second most capped player and former captain. Going to miss his crosses and free-kicks.
I still think he made the biggest mistake in his career by leaving Manchester United.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

Another big name from England retires from Football. This times it's David Beckham. England's second most capped player and former captain. Going to miss his crosses and free-kicks.
I still think he made the biggest mistake in his career by leaving Manchester United.

He was kicked out off Man Utd (literally really)

Anyway he has had a great career and has been a winner. I guess now he might come back to Man Utd maybe as a club ambassador. Glazers would love that given his commercial appeal.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by joslicx

He was kicked out off Man Utd (literally really)

Anyway he has had a great career and has been a winner. I guess now he might come back to Man Utd maybe as a club ambassador. Glazers would love that given his commercial appeal.

I agree, he did a commendable job in balancing Beckham the player v/s Beckham the celebrity. Even though got kicked off Man U, he resurrected himself at Real Madrid, and then finally now leaving on a high after the brief stint at PSG. I believe the greatest beneficiary of Beckham magic was Ruud van Nistelrooy.

On a side note, Looks like the football scene is going through a sea-change this year, especially in England. Characters like Sir Alex, Mancini, and even Trophy king Rafa Benitez will be missed. But it’s good news that the Special One will make a comeback. I don’t like Chelsea, but his presence adds colour to BPL.

[TheInterceptor]

And thats the curtains on the English Premier League season 2012-13. The top 4 positions stand as follows:

Manchester United - 89 pts
Manchester City - 78 pts
Chelsea - 75 pts
Arsenal - 73 pts

Tottenham miss out on Champions League football yet another time.
Wigan, Reading and QPR are relegated.

Although it may not have been an exciting season as we have seen before in the league, it was very exciting for us Manchester United fans . Winning the Premier League for the 20th time and with the legendary manager stepping down. He has been there at the touchline for every single match I have watched and even before I was born too.

26 years, 1500 games, 38 major trophies. Irreplaceable legend.

[vb-san]

It was odd to see Arsenal celebrating like Champions for just sneaking in to the CL spot. It should have been better if Spurs get in there, atleast for Arsene and Arsenal management to do a reality check.

Hope to see an improved Liverpool side in August

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by vb-san

It was odd to see Arsenal celebrating like Champions for just sneaking in to the CL spot. It should have been better if Spurs get in there, atleast for Arsene and Arsenal management to do a reality check.

The celebration was due to the late arrival of St. Totteringham's day!

Arsenal was 7 points behind in mid March after losing to Spuds. And since then, its been a remarkable run, the team have been very consistent and took 26 from 30 points available. And piping Spuds is always fun. Football is also about celebrating the small joys of life.

Now, fingers crossed for the window.

[saadat1992]

Paulo Ferreira! One of the most loyal players at Chelsea!
9 seasons, 3 premier league titles, 1 CL , 1 Europa league , 4 FA cups.
The first guy to be signed by Mourinho!
Stayed with Chelsea even though he was being benched for the past few seasons!
Goodbye Paulo!

This year is the year of retirements. So many people retiring from Football!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The celebration was due to the late arrival of St. Totteringham's day!

Arsenal was 7 points behind in mid March after losing to Spuds. And since then, its been a remarkable run, the team have been very consistent and took 26 from 30 points available. And piping Spuds is always fun. Football is also about celebrating the small joys of life.

Now, fingers crossed for the window.

Well the funny thing is, as a Man Utd fan I am also very happy to see l'Arse pip Spurs to 5th and thus out of CL for next season. It would be tad bit easier to pinch Bale out of White Hart Lane ( I think Bale would be our transfer priority no. 1 this season if he is available ). I think Bale is going to be long term replacement for Ryan Giggs who surely would be hanging up his boots in near future.

[nemesis86]

Mod team note: Please avoid creating back to back posts, you can EDIT the original post once its approved. Thanks

I honestly don't see Bale to be a long term replacement of Giggs. Coming from a Chelsea fan. Its better Bale moves out to Europe (he already has his eyes stuck there). No doubt he has been on an awesome run this season but Utd do not need Bale, they need a Scholes. Carrick was awesome this season.

Originally Posted by saadat1992

Paulo Ferreira! One of the most loyal players at Chelsea!
9 seasons, 3 premier league titles, 1 CL , 1 Europa league , 4 FA cups.
The first guy to be signed by Mourinho!
Stayed with Chelsea even though he was being benched for the past few seasons!
Goodbye Paulo!

This year is the year of retirements. So many people retiring from Football!

I loved Paulo during his peak days. So many RBs during his tenure at Chelsea bench (Belletti, Bosingwa, Ivanovic and now Azpilcuetta), but the great Paulo stayed there till the end. Respect!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by nemesis86

I honestly don't see Bale to be a long term replacement of Giggs. Coming from a Chelsea fan. Its better Bale moves out to Europe (he already has his eyes stuck there). No doubt he has been on an awesome run this season but Utd do not need Bale, they need a Scholes. Carrick was awesome this season.

Bale to united totally makes sense. Why would it not? He is a world class footballer and he can win things at united (that he would not at Spurs). And United will be needing a left sided midfielder as and when Giggs retires (which should be next season). Nani has not developed as we hoped (he is not dependable) and Young is pretty useless. I think Nani will be sold this summer alongwith Rooney.

Next season we can play with RVP leading the attack flanked by trio of Bale Kagawa and Valencia/Zaha. I think Felliani will come to united so he will anchor things in midfield alongwith Carrick. That makes for a very tasty side
None of the top teams now play with two frontmen and RVP is better than Rooney at everything so Rooney has to go (thats why SAF also favored RVP in the leading role this season). Welbeck will be his understudy and so will be Chicharito (who can also start as and when united play 2 attackers in front against weaker sides).

All in all I think Nani, Rooney, Macheda, Bebe etc will be sold this summer. This should allow us sufficient funds to purchase Bale and Felliani. If not Bale (in case he decides to leave England and go to Real to win nothing there) then I think theres somebody like James Rodriguez from Porto who also fits the bill.

[nemesis86]

Originally Posted by joslicx

All in all I think Nani, Rooney, Macheda, Bebe etc will be sold this summer. This should allow us sufficient funds to purchase Bale and Felliani. If not Bale (in case he decides to leave England and go to Real to win nothing there) then I think theres somebody like James Rodriguez from Porto who also fits the bill.

Well I do understand that Bale is a perfect buy given his current run of form. May be I was not too elaborate on my earlier comment; what I really meant was that since Giggs is going to stay there for one season atleast, ManU should focus more on a holding midfielder like Fellaini (as you rightly pointed out and it seems to be a good deal since Moyes is at Old Trafford now). The strikers that you mentioned should go (including Rooney, given his fat pay package). Other than that I would also suggest to look out for a world class defender since Rio is also out after arguably his best season in Premiership.

I read somewhere that Bale is going to sign a new deal at Spurs? Was that true?

The coming season for sure is going to be a tasty affair. Tough two months ahead without the action :(

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by nemesis86

Well I do understand that Bale is a perfect buy given his current run of form. May be I was not too elaborate on my earlier comment; what I really meant was that since Giggs is going to stay there for one season atleast, ManU should focus more on a holding midfielder like Fellaini (as you rightly pointed out and it seems to be a good deal since Moyes is at Old Trafford now). The strikers that you mentioned should go (including Rooney, given his fat pay package). Other than that I would also suggest to look out for a world class defender since Rio is also out after arguably his best season in Premiership.

I read somewhere that Bale is going to sign a new deal at Spurs? Was that true?

The coming season for sure is going to be a tasty affair. Tough two months ahead without the action :(

Well Giggs cannot play 50+ games a season. He is a bit part player now and also he cannot run on the wings continuously. He is mostly used in central midfield nowdays. Nani and Young were supposed to fight for the left wing but they are both too inconsistent. Hence there is a case for a left midfielder.

In fact the whole united midfield needs a reboot. In most games the midfield has struggled badly (save Carrick). Carrick too struggles when it comes to battles with physical opposition. I think a hustler like Felliani will definitely come to united. Additionally one more midfielder will be required (Scholes replacement). There are names like Strootman of Holland (he is the team captain there!) or even Luka Modric if he fancies premiership again. I think our defense is alright. Rio and Vidic are still first choice and are class defenders and there are able deputies in Evans, Smalling and Jones. wingbacks are also still alright. This season defense was exposed because of poor midfield.

Lets hope Moyes makes the right signings. I think Sir Alex purposely didnt address midfield last season as he knew he would be leaving soon and the new manager should get a chance to bring his own men.

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The celebration was due to the late arrival of St. Totteringham's day!

Arsenal was 7 points behind in mid March after losing to Spuds. And since then, its been a remarkable run, the team have been very consistent and took 26 from 30 points available. And piping Spuds is always fun. Football is also about celebrating the small joys of life.

I really hope next season will be a breakout. We've got our chance, with SAF out, Chelsea's next manager again, and we have a gritty squad. Just need a good DM and a better striker. Gonalons and Jovetic, maybe? For once though, our defence is sorted!

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

I really hope next season will be a breakout

I am not saying anything till the summer is over. Though, there is genuine optimism that we will spend on quality this time around, we have heard this story many times over. And without proper signings, we will again fall way short.

Like this excellent column by Gary Neville Moment-is-now-for-Arsenal-to-target-title-push He is as good as it gets for a football pundit.

[AbelAFC]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I am not saying anything till the summer is over. Though, there is genuine optimism that we will spend on quality this time around, we have heard this story many times over. And without proper signings, we will again fall way short.

Like this excellent column by Gary Neville Moment-is-now-for-Arsenal-to-target-title-push He is as good as it gets for a football pundit.

Maybe the board has finally learnt their lesson? I hope they drop their ticket prices too, since they've got the new sponsorship deals. The prices for the 'A' class games are eye-wateringly expensive.

GNev is surprisingly an astute and intelligent pundit, I thought he would support Utd and hate on everyone else. He's probably the only pundit who doesn't bash Arséne.