beast

Togo withdraw from ACoN after shooting

Adebayor and teamates really shook up after that attack. Quite a few of them were in tears afterwards.

I bet that will not stop the Gunners faithful from coming up with another song about Manny being a crybaby or he should have died in the coach (just like the songs about Ronnie should have died in the tunnel) after the one about his mum being a hooker and dad cleaning elephants.

ha. i dont think wenger would be that dumb to let trade feb for higuain. just another transfer rumour.

Probably the papers cooking up a Cesc transfer.

Think Barca will definitely gun for Cesc, a former academy player and Real will want to beat them to it and rub it in their faces.

Think of holding midfielders like Xabi and Lassana cutting out attacks. Xabi doing his short and medium range passes to Cesc who can pass long 2 CR9, who can pass to the left to Ribery. Who can pass to the striker in the hole, Kaka. Who can pass to Benzema or Higuain. With Saint Iker, the greatest goalie now and definitely in Spain, a team to beat in the World Cup and Saint Iker is definitely better than Dida or Julio Cesar of Brazil, that leaves 2 slots in the back for Pepe and Arbeloa I think. Haha!

Hope the snow wont mean postponed BPL matches this weekend. What a bore it will be.

the cesc shit is bullshit. i think the traore kid: (6'6 19 year old from the ivory coast). sounds like a more probable signing. but probably wouldnt be the best person to sign. we need experience not a black peter crouch to come in in the middle of the season.

Yup. Why get Higuain, the argentinean wonderkid who is overlooked by maradonna and scored regularly with Raul and now alone or with CR9 and can partner with top madrista players? Why spend 35 million for him when for only 5 million more, you can get a seasoned and experienced Argentinean striker who has experience in BPL and Serie A. Yup I can only be talking about Maurio Zarate.

One can only imagine the silky 1-2 he will have with another south American emirates future product - Denilson and with RVP, Fabregas, Diaby and Arsh. Oh yah. You need not worry about where the goals will come from when he is around.

Anyway, the latest transfer news/rubbish I heard is from the Spanish dailies that Arsenal will let go Fabregas for Higuain. Higuain is a raw but good striker but to let go of your midfield engine and dynamo for another striker? Come on! Wenger got RVP, Bendtner, Theo, Arsh and tons of other rising strikers. But the dailies cooked it up.

I'm interested in the oil-stained ones!

Dips called. : )

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he was subbed in when he wasnt fully fit. in fact he was still injured. but he totally changed the game once hes in. thats something not most footballers can do. 2 nice goals. thats something really worldclass.

honestly manu rely too much on ronaldo and their 1-0 wins last season. they are nothing anymore plus their weaksauce backline right now.

losing to leeds ytd was the first time they were knocked out of fa cup 3rd round i think.

1. Yes. Cesc’ 2 goals in his cameo was impressive and in a deadlocked match, he gave them all 3 points. I was just bitching the fact that he couldn’t complete the 90 min. Yes I know he was injured.

2. I don’t think you can say Man U are nothing without Ronnie. The majority of their 1st team are 1st choice for many big clubs and their countries. They just need some settling down and rebuilding for life without Ronnie.

3. As for the Leeds match, Wes had a bad day and Wazza shouldn’t have ran up and down like Tevez. I think this resulted in fatigue and he fluffed all his shots when he could have converted at least one easily. I’m not making excuses for them. That was a bad result and they should have played Valencia, Giggsy and Evra from the start and bench Neville. Valencia was tormenting Leeds the whole time. And what was Owen doing? Why play Owen? SAF should get Ruud back as a loan.

Leeds was stealing the ball from Man U players like most of the time and they even did it to Wazza. Not only that, how did the 4th official got 5 min extra time?

Like Reading and West Ham over the weekend, all 3 teams are shit at attacking and the only time they could score was probably from set pieces. Yes. I know Beckwith scored from open play once and almost scored the second time. Nouble for WHU was shit. I mean he would run and run until he was surrounded by Arsenal defence and lose the ball meekly. He have no space to shoot or pass and he never created space for himself and others. Same for Reading. Pool can have a 3 man defence and still Reading cant score.

But they can still win something this year even without Ronnie.

I recall 2 or 3 seasons ago, Man U lost in the Carling Cup very very early and SAF was very mad at Anderson who played but sucked but Anderson got better. This reminded me of the Pompey match 2 seasons ago at OT where Glen Johnson and David James were magnificent and nothing Man U did could get them goals.

From the looks of it, Man City may just win the FA Cup not to mention Carling Cup unless SAF rubs Mancini’s face this week for Carling Cup.

i could see bellamy going to either spurs for shy of 10 or maybe everton for much less. actually a loan deal would make more sense but i doubt anyone would be interested in paying his man city wages

I dont know why we are talking about Bella who after all these years didnt exactly set BPL on fire. Bella would be a good addition to Spurs and Arry can save a bundle by selling Keano and Pavluchenko as a package deal. They can go to Bolton who would be desperate to stay afloat. Pompey aint got no money and they got the transfer ban.

Dont know if Moyes wants him. Saha when fit is very very good and the Yak is a scoring version of Heskey. Jo? He can send him back to City.

Finally even Arsene expressed his admiration for Bella. Cant imagine what he and Gallas will do to team morale after they are through with the Gunners.

Fabregas 45-60 million pounds

Craig? 12-14 million.

obviously fabregas is the better player, but for what barca needs (what do they need?) and what city need, I think the way things are aren't so bad.

oh and beast, you think chelesa needs to buy during the transfer market to stay atop during african cup of nations?

Carlo already said he will run naked around the training pitch if they buy during the Jan window.

But Chelsea desperately needs to buttress their squad when the Kakuta ban kicks in probably in the summer. They need to plan long term and cant rely on players 30 and above anymore. There is no indication their academy is working for them and if they rely on the Geriaticos and they get injured and their squad and youth players cant cut the grade, they will find themselves out of the running this and the next season and Roman craves silverware so necks will be on the chopping board. They definitely need support in January but its a bit too late to get in players to do so now since the new players need time to get use to the squad, tactics and BPL. But this is something they would know since they have not groom someone good enough to replace Drogs until now and who can take over Essien? Well, you need a couple of players like Ballack to play the midfield anchor and a Lamps like player to go forward when needed.

Cesc should go to Spain to cement his international spot in the Spain team. As it is, I bet Xabi is higher in the pecking order than him. Can you imagine how good Xabi, Iniesta and Cesc would be for Barca and Spain?

Craig aint worth 12 million. At 30, with bum knees, rabble rouser, I think a 5 to 10 million is a fair price. Plus no big 4 team will want him so his price is even lower. If he doesn't want to go to a team like Sunderland or Hull, his options are even lesser.

barca is lucky if they don't get fabregas- he gets hurt every 3 games or so.

bellemy should stay in city. good finisher.

aston villa better make it to champions league.

chelsea need to change their course or they will no win the premiership. the way the played in the beginning, i picked them to win the champions league, but they won't win the way they are playing.

death to the big 4! long live team parity and end the unlawful hegemony of the almighty pound!! to every city a champion, to every team the fear of relegation! viva la revolucion!

oh, and depending on the transfer market, real madrid will be the team to fear.

1. Man City stands the best chance to make it 4th. More than Spurs and certainly more than Villa.

2. Already mentioned tactically Carlo shouldnt keep sticking to his diamond formation. Plus I believe the absence of Anelka has an effect on their goal ratio. The likes of Kalou and Sturridge cannot finish as good as him.

yeah hopefully hell only miss the next two games against portsmouth and bolton and will be back for everton. diaby has had a good a couple of games hopefully he can keep it up.

Pompey and Bolton away will be tough for the gunners. Arsenal got Everton's number. They were trashed at Goodison and they have no chance in Emirates.

what a game by cesc! 29 minutes on the pitch and 2 goals. world class!

Yah and he limped off injured after being subbed. Bet thats not world class either.

Still dont think Arsenal have it to be champs. The Man U back line is coming back except for VDS and Rio whose mysterious injury is very very bad news for Capello and England.

exactly - does anyone remember swp to chelsea and then back?

don't talk about keano, breaks my heart. you can never go home again i guess

Nah. The lesson learnt from SWP's transfer is timing is everything. They closed the deal a few days before the Sheikh took over and if the Sheikh was there, you bet he will pay a Sheikh premium just like Abramovich paid a Chelsea premium for SWP like 23 or 26 million.

They can probably get SWP for 20 million which is not a bad price for City since SWP scores and terrorises defences with his running. Not saying he is world class and the best winger in BPL or even City.

nobody will pay 10 million for him but city shit money so they might let him go for less if they get someone else. they can surely afford someone better.

Nah. City can always loan him out unless they think he is really a negative influence like Elano on Robinho. People like Jo and that fat Bulgarian winger, Valery something are still on their books.

it'd be great if bellamy came to spurs in january - harry was in for him before he went for keano. plus i'm sure man city would puke on the transfer fee

Funny thing you mentioned about Keano. He has been sucking since he came back with him occupynig his time on the bench. Arry has been picking Crouchy and Defoe over him.

Wonder if he will ask for a transfer in Jan for not playing. Maybe Rafa knew something when he was benched in Pool and let go after half a season. Unless even Keano knows he is already washed up?

not a keen fan of Man U, I dont really see them winning it this season. They have rely on CR too much last season and their lucky 1-0 wins. However, one thing about them is that they are consistent because luck is always on their side. Manu will fall apart if Rooney starts playing bad.

Rooney is like the heart of Man U.

Whatever it is, I hope to see Barce Vs Chelsea/Arsenal in the champs final. Gonna be exciting.

Rooney hasn't been playing well for the past few games. Fergie got to tell him not to run up and down and help out with the defence. Stay in the opponent's third and create chances and score.

At the rate things are going, doubt Chelsea will make it to the finals. Jose will have something to say about that when Inter play Chelsea. Arsenal may do better but without RVP and without new reinforcements, they may get unstuck. If so, Barca can stroll into the finals unless Real do something about it. And the finals are at Bernabeau. Iker Casillas said in an interview how much they would hate it if Barca wins at the Bernabeau.

he's been hurt a lot but when he plays he's still very good. especially when he's fine with playing on the left. fee might not be that bad if mancini doesn't rate him.

Even if Mancini hates his guts, I dont think City would be dumb enough to flush down millions of pounds by letting Bella go for cheap. But for a guy who concedes he can play for a few years more, would Spurs or anyone pay 10 million for him? Remember Ledley and Dean Ashton?

What i meant "before he left arsenal, like retire from the club"

anw, mancini will probaly sell off players that are probably gonna be against him, he will definitely bring in a couple of players, balotelli might be one of the few. if he were to manage the team well, (selling and getting the right players) could really see them fighting for a 4th spot.

For this season, at this rate, its either chelsea or manu or arsenal to win the title.

1. Of course any manager will sell off players against him or surplus to requirements. As it is, there are no untouchable players.

Robinho at 32million pounds is still expendable if the price is right. So Mancini would not be ousted or has to deal with unco-operative players by player power like Cech, Ballack and Drogs against Scolari.

2. I don't know how close is Balotelli with Mancini and Inter does not seem to be a selliing club. They sold Ibra for money and player which was actually a ridiculously favourable deal for Inter. So would City pay 30 million for Balotelli and throw in a few players like Micah whom Jose wanted to sign and maybe even Robinho?

3. Arsenal aint gonna win it. Its Man U or Chelsea. Tip Man U and Man U will finally be the most successful club in BPL and EPL making Pool 2nd most successful club.

word.

what do you think about bellamy and given saying that they may want to leave because of the ways that hughes was sacked? think they will?

Bella maybe. And no one cares if he does because he is a Pool reject and he will rot in mid table with the WHUs and Blackburns of BPL.

If he leaves, he will end up in some exotic locale like Hull and Wolves and Swansea before calling it a day 2 years later due to his bum knees.

And lets face it, where will Sparky end up? Chelsea or Man U? Probably neither. He will end up in Blackburn, WHU or Hull which desperately needs him to stay up and Bella can join him there.

Givens wont leave because he remembers being in a crap club like Newcastle which makes him look shit. Its been often said Givens is Hughes best signing. Better than Robinho and Adebayor. If he leaves, he can go to either of the top 3 clubs but they probably wont want him if he leaves. So Givens best chance for glory and money is still City and he is at the top of his game at City. Yeah I know he aint got much clean sheets but he is still a good goalie.

You forgot Rocque. Mancini probably will sell him since he is a Bayern reject unless he really does well.

is essien going to the afc? i feel like i read somewhere that he was uncertain whether or not he was going to join up with them. i could be mistaken though. man utd need to get some defenders back. theyre shit at the back.

Of course he is going unless his knee or is it hamstring is so conked, he cannot go. If he can't go, means he cant play for Chelsea too. I think he is Ghana captain or some national hero in Ghana like Drogs is for Ivory coast.

Fergie just said he aint buying defenders in Jan. More good news for Kuczak, Carrick and de Lert or whatever his name is.

This is a good assessment. I think City will challenge for the title next year, and it will be more of a seven horse race.

With that said, the title is really Man U's to lose.

You have to remember about the African Cup of Nations..

With Chelsea's strong African core leaving for part of the season, they won't be as crisp. With Drogba and Kalou not up front who will run it? Of course, the Frenchmen Anelka might, and Malouda can chip in but I don't see them scoring enough to win it. Also, the ever reliable Essien will be missed without a doubt.

With City's current run of form I see them staying where they're at. Without

the African man up front to lead them on their form hasn't been as good as it could be, and he's not coming back for a while.

1. My assessment has always been superb and as 78 would attest, my predictions even more so.

2. Mancini cannot single handedly make City champions. Many top players are adopting a wait and see approach before joining them. They want to join a team fighting to be champs and euro champs annually.

So Mancini got to do it with his present crew and those of similar ilk. Therefore the talk about buynig Ribery, Aguero, Silva, Torres, Messi are all rubbish unless City pays 100 million or more for 1 of them and makes an offer no one will refuse.

Mancini though had a good run in Serie A, is unproven in European footie. Therefore, we don't know how fast he will adapt to BPL. No matter what, I don't think it will be a shoo-in for them to be 4th this season. But next season, they might be.

As it is, City should get rid of Bridge, Lescott, Toure, SWP, Zabaletta. He should get new back 4. 8 players to cover the positions. 2 good attacking midfielders since Gaz Baz isnt' working and Ireland is still not Lamps yet. City needs to get all 11 or 16 top class players. Those who are numbr one choices for their countries or even the entire world no matter what. Just look at Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal to see how many are first choice for their countries or any fantasy league no matter what.

Would Bridge, Lescott and SWP be top choice? What about Bellamy? Yes because Wales is small. Ditto for Ireland.

The question therefore is, can the Mancini name attract good enough players for City. Can City get Maicon and Chievallani or whats his name? Probably not even with Mancini there.

Therefore he has to man manage the egos and nutters there until he gets somewhere or before he gets the can. Unless he can spot rough talents and polish them into bona fide stars like Wenger.

2,. The truth is if Chelsea and Man U get their acts together, Spurs and Villa will never make it as champs and not even top 4 material since Arsenal will be top 4 and Pool should be too unless they blunder real bad.

3. Sturidge was a nuisance at Upton Park but Carlo would probably play a 4-5-1 during ANC with Anelka. He wont even use a wide formation and will use Cole or Deco as the tip of the diamond. Ballack as holding midfielder, Lamps as attacking and Belletti or Malouda or Zhikov as the other attacking midfielder. This X'mas may result in the repeat of Scolari's final days as Chelsea drop points. Starting with Birmingham, unbeaten in 9 games and at St Andrews.

4. As for Man U, I can understand their defence sucking but their midfielders and strikers? Come on! Whats wrong with them? Scholes, Rooney, Valencia all having bad days? Why isn't Giggsy playing? And what happened to Park? And Darren Fletcher being their best player? I can remember Fletcher and O'Shea being squad players and despite Fergie's affection for Fletcher, is he worth 20 million and more if he is sold? Probably not.

Why start with Owen at Craven Cottage? Can Owen create anything? I think Ruud on loan will be better than Owen for them and that will make it 4 strikers for them. Forget about Welbeck.

favourite player - dennis bergkamp.

still can rmb his goal against newcastle just before his retirement.

anyway,

what a weekend. manu/liverpool lost, chelsea drew. only arsenal claimed full 3 points

The BPL is for Man U or Chelsea to lose.

There are weaknesses in Arsenal and Pool is so long gone, making it fourth is a big problem.

Villa is still too thin to be champs but can be fourth, probably not though.

Spurs still can crack against the big 3 but can make it fourth.

Its too far for Man City to be champs but can also make it fourth once they spend another 100 million in Jan.

and hughes gets the sack.

Expected expected. More surprised he revealed Man City's goal is to finish 6th?

Zhirkov Plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayed

Actually I wanted to predict Chelsea will get a scored draw in view of the other 2 losing in away fixtures but alas! I did not do so. If I did, you would have marvelled at my accuracy instead of making snipy remarks .

I didnt think Chelsea will lose at Upton given WHU were lacking Carlton and Dean and Hines.

Here's another tip: Chelsea will drop points at St Andrews at Boxing Day. Carlo is too rigid with his diamond. Bet Jose will find it easier beating Chelsea than Man U. Anyway surprised Zhirkov played. I didn't think you would throw him in a derby match. Chelsea desperately need wide players if they dont want to be runners up in BPL again.