European Soccer Part XIII

[Rhett]

Originally posted by Jimjamesak
Stadium Names:
Victoria Street or The Toolbox: The Home Depot Center in Carson (LA) California.

I've also seen it called 'The Cathedral' many times on BigSoccer.

[Jimjamesak]

Originally posted by Rhett
I've also seen it called 'The Cathedral' many times on BigSoccer.
I think only Nick Webster (aka Bigsoccerradio) and some Gals dorks use it.

[Rhett]

Originally posted by Jimjamesak
I think only Nick Webster (aka Bigsoccerradio) and some Gals dorks use it.

I think I saw it in the expansion boards alot, probably due to the Chivas USA talk.

[Bob Gray]

First half of Arsenal-Birmingham is a total snoozer, with no shots on goal and in Birmingham's case, no attempts. Reyes is starting on the wing. Could be a sign of things to come for the Gunners.

[Bob Gray]

And it ends up 0-0 in the most boring Arsenal match I've seen in a good while. Classic case of both sides being satisfied with a draw. The most entertaining part of the game was Keown coming on at the end of the game. You could see Wenger and Keown teasing each other near the end and then Keown went in up front for Bergkamp and actually got a late touch in the box. Alas, no goal for Keown. But 3 games to go and Arsenal have run the table.

[ColbyWMHB]

It's official:

We've known it was coming.....Leicester and Wolves each get points today (Leicester a 2-2 draw with Charlton, and Wolves a 2-1 win over Everton) but it's too little, too late. They're down.

Better luck next year to the Wolves and Foxes....I personally hope to see them back up soon.

[FerrisLives]

With a player as marketable as Beckham maybe it will bring some of the other clubs out of spending stasis to make a big splash on him other than just Chelsea. Beckham would make Liverpool or Aston Villa top EPL contenders again. Beckham with Tottenham would liven up the Spurs-Gunners rivalry.

[3W]

Originally posted by FerrisLives
With a player as marketable as Beckham maybe it will bring some of the other clubs out of spending stasis to make a big splash on him other than just Chelsea. Beckham would make Liverpool or Aston Villa top EPL contenders again. Beckham with Tottenham would liven up the Spurs-Gunners rivalry.

I think a lot it has to depend on glamour. I just don't think the city of Birmingham or Aston Villa are posh enough for Posh and Becks. Birmingham seems to me to be something like the Detroit of the UK. Also, take into account that Deadly Doug Ellis still holds the pursestrings. No way that they'd splash out 20 million pounds for Becks when Ellis says they're broke after spending a million and a half for Norberto Solano.

[Bob Gray]

Even when Beckham was at ManU, there were occasional rumors about a move to London. I don't see him going to a city other than London, for a number of reasons.

[Hobart Higgins]

Originally posted by Bob Gray
The rumors of RvN leaving Old Trafford seem to be heating up. Fox Sports has a story now indicating that SAF is apparently upset with RvN, not only about the reported bust-ups, but because RvN said ManU misses Beckham. Apparently SAF has taken that as a personal criticism and it has led to a falling out between the two. And there are also reports that RvN's contract with ManU has an out clause for going to Real Madrid, which is puzzling, as RvN said he wanted to play at ManU forever. If RvN does move, that leaves Saha as the only good attacking option at ManU, necessitating even more transfer activity before next season. It may all still be just rumors, but it is starting to sound more feasible than it once did. To me it'd be another example of SAF's ego hurting his team. While I don't like RvN, I do respect him as an excellent striker, who is extremely dangerous when in form.

Van Nistelrooj and Ronaldo have both stated they would like to play with Beckham in the future. I think Michael Owen feels the same way. The team that signs Beckham gets a lot more than just the player.

[MavrckMngr]

Yeah, Hobart, they also get your boyfriend. :p

Beckham coming back to the Swamp, in United's current state, is about as absurd as Noel Gallagher managing Manchester City next year...but, with Keegan so high on my s*** list, that's really not such a bad idea.

You'd better believe King Kev's milking the 1-0 win today over Newcastle for everything it's worth. He admits it doesn't guarantee safety (although I think a single point from either Boro or Everton would do the job), but he's going on about how big a step it is, as though he's really done a whole lot to take credit for up to now. The only thing that worries me right now about City's chances for safety is whether, as Barry Melrose might say, 'the right names show up'. Wanchope, who was terrible in the loss to Southampton and again at Leicester, scored at the hour mark to steal 3 from Newcastle. With Van Buyten and Anelka almost surely leaving over the offseason, David James is the only one saving City's bacon, day in and day out, as he's totally stood on his head since he came to City from West Ham. The DunneyMonster has looked promising lately, however.

[Rhett]

Originally posted by MavrckMngr
Anelka almost surely leaving over the offseason

:(

[MavrckMngr]

Originally posted by Rhett
:(

Tell me about it. I really don't think he was the cancer in the dressing room that he was once rumored to be. Macken and even Fowler have been more consistent this year than Le Elk, but he doesn't deserve the amount of criticism he's received this year. Regardless, it will take something else to keep him at Eastlands.

[Don King]

---I remember seeing an Arsenal button or a banner or something with the following chant:

"Chim chimmery chim chimmery chim chim chiroo
Who needs Anelka, when we've got Kanu"

I think both teams lost out on that one. :)

---It only took one year for the "Beckham to Arsenal" rumors to resurface. Funny how that works. As I said before: first, I don't think Arsenal can afford him. Second, why mess with perhaps the best Premiership side ever? But third, it's not like Beckham wouldn't improve the Gunners, because he would. (Remember, this is a team that regularly uses Gilberto in midfield.)

So if Real wanted to sell him to Arsenal on the cheap, I'd be fine with that. Maybe Chelsea will fall asleep over the summer.

---Does anybody else think we should have a party when Leeds officially goes down?

[MavrckMngr]

Originally posted by Don King
Does anybody else think we should have a party when Leeds officially goes down?

Hey, as the City chant goes:

S*** on, s*** on,
S*** on, s*** on,
S*** on Leeds United!

Don't forget that Man City's the supposed favorite to pick up Kanu over the summer, especially if either a.)Anelka does indeed leave, or b.)they don't sign the striker from Real Sociedad they've been looking at lately.

[nubobcat]

Originally posted by Hobart Higgins
Van Nistelrooj and Ronaldo have both stated they would like to play with Beckham in the future. I think Michael Owen feels the same way. The team that signs Beckham gets a lot more than just the player.

Wow Michael Owen. Will he be teaching the other players how to miss penalties?

[FerrisLives]

Leeds lost 4-1 to Bolton. It's all over. Leeds -38 goal differential compared to Manchester City's -2 means it's over.

[FerrisLives]

There's going to be a great final weekend in division 1. Norwich and West Brom have been promoted. But the standings for the 4 playoff spots are

West Ham 73 points +22
Sunderland 73 +15
Crystal Palace 73 +12
Ipswich 72 +12
Wigan 70 +15
Sheffield United 70 +9
Reading 70 -1

And there are some excellent games in there: West Ham vs. Wigan, Sunderland vs. Norwich, Ipswich vs. Cardiff, Crystal Palace vs. Coventry.

[3W]

And Villa take another three points on a Juan Pablo Angel strike against Tottenham to put them into fifth place and a Europe spot. The problem is that Newcastle in sixth are only two back with a game in hand. AVFC was even in a CL spot before the Reds beat Boro at Anfield, but the Villa's only a point back.

[Chuck Murray]

Originally posted by ColbyWMHB
It's official:

We've known it was coming.....Leicester and Wolves each get points today (Leicester a 2-2 draw with Charlton, and Wolves a 2-1 win over Everton) but it's too little, too late. They're down.

Better luck next year to the Wolves and Foxes....I personally hope to see them back up soon.

Too bad for Wolves ... they finally discovered their best form of the season, with the Camara/Cort frontline partnership providing Wolves' first real consistent offensive threat all year during the last month. But for a couple of last-second (literally) collapses in matches against Man City, Liverpool and Notlob in early April with points nearly in hand, they'd still be in the fight with Man City. :(

Big big BIG issue for Wolves will be to retain Camara, if at all possible. They've got plenty of firepower left over for Division One (i.e. Kenny Miller, Dean Sturridge), but neither of those two could cut it consistently in the EPL. Camara is under contract for two more years with Wolves, and the club have said it would take "silly money" for them to even consider moving him ... but I will officially hold my breath 'til we get to August in hopes that he stays.

Cort is another nice story ... one of Wolves' last transfer window buys, pretty big risk from two-plus injury riddled seasons with Newcastle. But once he got rid of the rust and started to get close to full speed, he and Camara started popping them in left and right. Too bad they didn't start clicking a month or two sooner, but the way the Wolves have finished up the schedule, there is definitely more than a glimmer of hope for the future. :)

I will still believe to the end that had 'keeper Matt Murray and '03 Wolves Player of the Year Joleon Lescott (centerback) been able to play even part of the season, we'd have scraped into #17. In the end, the center defense was THE big issue that killed Wolves all season (see Leeds-ish goal differential). Lescott would have been a BIG step up over the likes of Craddock and Okoronkwo, with his size and blistering pace. Hopefully the knees will be in good shape come August.

Fullback Dennis Irwin is 99.9% likely to retire, with very promising Wolves Academy player Mark Clyde likely to fill his spot, as he'd already supplanted Irwin late in the season. Midfielder/skipper Paul Ince (36) is probably 50-50 for a return for yet another "last year in football" for the Guv'nor! Alex Rae is 95% likely gone to Rangers in a homecoming for the big Scot.

Like they say in Wolvo ... "Out of darkness cometh light" :) :) :)