Football Focus

[maxxi]

Why they didn't get Ba? - Mourinho was willing to lend him out - just not to the gooners

[Parkdrive]

maxxi Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Why they didn't get Ba? - Mourinho was willing to

> lend him out - just not to the gooners

Cos CSKA Fulham apparently want ?3 million for a years loan, that probably put them off. I know we only offered 1.5 mill

[Jah Lush]

?3 million or even ?1.5 million is a ridiculous amount of money for a loan move.

[Parkdrive]

Jah Lush Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> ?3 million or even ?1.5 million is a ridiculous

> amount of money for a loan move.

Indeed, but that late in the day they chanced their arm, and failed.

[Otta]

But if a team sign a player on a 4 year conreact and pay say ?12m, then he is costing ?3m a year.

Don't agree with it, but when you consider it that way it doesn't seem so outlandish.

[maxxi]

It's just frustrating - Sullivan & Gold had all summer to flog off Vaz Te & Maiga and now the club has looked out of the office door and seen a lonely figure playing keepy-uppies... a figure who failed to land a club even as a free agent... a striker with a crappy average - and they've said "'Ere, fancy a game son?"

[Mick Mac]

So there was a genuine attempt to spend money by Arsenal after all SJ. And not before time.

HAVENT SEEN MUCH OF HIM IN CLUB FOOTBALL BUT HE ALWAYS LOOKED BLOODY GOOD FOR gERMANY. Ignore caps....

[Otta]

European Leagues summer transfer window spend 2013

Premier League - ?630m

La Liga - ?335m

Serie A - ?335m

Ligue 1 - ?315m

Bundesliga - ?230m

Just goes to show how absolutely mental things are over here.

[StraferJack]

remind you of anything?

[Jah Lush]

Spurs money out ?110 million. Money in ?110 million. ;-)

[bon3yard]

Spurs with %10 of all the transfer business, spending ?110 and recouping the same. Damn, Levy knows how to balance a book. He must be an accountants wet dream.

[maxxi]

So just as he's aboout to come back Andy Carroll injurs his foot in training - not to worry, I'm sure BFS has a plan. After all, you'd never put all your eggs in such a fragile basket, never structure a whole squad around one injury-prone laddie, unless you had a plan B like buying some serious striker back-up... oh, wait.. no, plan C - we're going to play like Barcelona "sans striker".

I wonder if Carroll has Dean Ashton's phone number?

[Otta]

Yeah poor old Andy does look like playing half a season will be considered a good year for him.

[Parkdrive]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yeah poor old Andy does look like playing half a

> season will be considered a good year for him.

RVP was like that for many seasons at Arsenal. We were lucky to get half a season out of him.

[maxxi]

so the general shittiness of the last 87 minutes and Hodgson's total cluelessness aside:

Wilshere off for Young - what a stupid substitution

When did Walcott finally lose his bottle?

(edited for vowel manipulation)

[Jah Lush]

I think he took Wilshere off as a precaution. To be fair to the lad he hasn't played much and is coming back from a very long time out through injury. It's another 65 minutes under his belt. Young was pretty anonymous though but there again another player coming back from injury. Walcott however, rubbish. Another crap game for England. Still a shit Aaron Lennon for me.

I would have liked us to have been a bit more attack minded and adventurous. Would have liked to have seen Defoe come on who I think given the service would have scared the shit out of their defence with his guile, pace and ability to score a goal out of nothing. Still, you can't really complain with all the injuries we had coming into the game its still a good away point and we should win our last two home games against Montenegro and Poland.

[Otta]

Kyle Walker was a bit of a liability.

[maxxi]

If liability means clod hopping dullard.

No invention, no ideas, just heavy-footed ambling which any decent team would murder. England just don't have any truly world class players any more. No game-changers.

[ratty]

The realisation over the last few years is strongly that the England football team mean nothing to me anymore. Oh how different to the teams of 86 - 90 for whom I would have supported to the ends of the earth. Quite sad really!

[Parkdrive]

A few comments on the Engerlund game last night. Walker, why, just why? Hodgson said Wilshere is finding his way back to full fitness, why fcuking play him then? Cleverley, appalling, Young gain why? Milner, I give up. Nobody in that side covered themselves in glory. And if Lambert is really the best option we have up front, then fair enough, and we have to hold our hands up and say the rest of the world has not only caught up, but has gone racing by and left us standing. The sooner the poxy media wake up to this and stop the stupid hoopla surrounding the national side each time a major tournament approaches the better.

[Otta]

ratty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The realisation over the last few years is

> strongly that the England football team mean

> nothing to me anymore. Oh how different to the

> teams of 86 - 90 for whom I would have supported

> to the ends of the earth. Quite sad really!

I think sone of this is just age.

[Parkdrive]

ratty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The realisation over the last few years is

> strongly that the England football team mean

> nothing to me anymore. Oh how different to the

> teams of 86 - 90 for whom I would have supported

> to the ends of the earth. Quite sad really!

I'm with you on this one, but I've never been overly fussed with Engerlund. At least I've seen them win the world cup in my life time and on home soil, albeit I was 9 years old, so yes I have given my age away.

[Mick Mac]

ratty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The realisation over the last few years is

> strongly that the England football team mean

> nothing to me anymore. Oh how different to the

> teams of 86 - 90 for whom I would have supported

> to the ends of the earth. Quite sad really!

Also perhaps the realisation that over time the team is going to continue not to achieve anything. I think if the team stepped up and looked like winning (eg 1996) there would be a new level of excitment and support. It just seems for England its "same old same old".

[Otta]

Yep, what Mick said.

Also in 96 there was a much bigger pool of players playing every week fir their clubs in the top flight. At that point we had a few great foreign players who added something to the premier league.

But for me at least I was much more likely to go and neet mates in the pub to watch the matches and just got more excited about the whole thing.

[StraferJack]

Leaving aside premier league for a second, you just don't see as many kids playing football these days. That's ultimately why the England side (and others) aren't as good "as they used to be"

As for last night - it was dismal sure, and I'm no defender of the England team.

BUT

It's rare to see teams considered "very good" - say your Madrid, your top London teams etc go to old soviet bloc countries and play well. I can't recall many matches that showed those teams at their best. for whatever reason it's case of travel, get as much as you can and get out

So i wouldn't damn England on last night alone (I know there are other reasons to but the headlines this morning are talking as if this game Proves Everything)