Footie thread

[Anders Limpar]

Nasri was a one man team. First goal for Liverpool was horrible even for a Liverpool fan. Should have been disallowed. I guess it is a giveback from the beach ball goal against Sunderland last year. Not looking good for Merseyside teams right now. Hicks should be banned from owning any teams. Only problem this week was Man City winning even against Chelsea. Liverpool will almost have to win out to have any shot now. Torres will be gone come January if they don't have new owners. Roy could be gone too. Arsenal need a keeper bad.

Stuart Atwell is a terrible ref. We had him and couple a weeks ago when we played Bolton. He missed an obvious red card for a horrible tackle by Paul Robinson. Atwell is the same guy who gave a goal in the championship that not only did not go in the goal it wasn't even on frame. You can look at his wikipedia, they list about 5 or 6 of his high profile errors. The scary thing is that the FA is basically fast tracking him to start refing the champions league. He was rushed into the Premier League before he was ready, I shudder to think of him in the Champions League.

Everybody bar Arsene Wenger knows we need a keeper. We just announced record profit and yet Wenger was unwilling to budge an extra mil or two for Marc Schwarzer, who would have only been a marginal improvement.

[Anders Limpar]

Liverpool drew today with Utrecht. Granted their was no Stevie G but Woy needs to start getting some wins especially considering whatever is gonna go down regarding the Royal Bank of Scotland either demanding a repayment of the loan or assuming control of the club.

[bobtheace]

Torres is just invisible. His value is going to start slipping if doesn't perform. He has had a horrible 12 month spell with injuries. I think a buyer is sitting there waiting to get bottom line number. Hicks is maybe the worst sports owner ever. Every franchise he touches goes broke. Europe needs to tighten rules on teams and money. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man U, Liverpool all mired in debt. Yet Bayern Munich makes money hand over fist.

[Anders Limpar]

Karl Henry with another shocking challenge that saw him red carded today for Wolves. "But he's an honest lad, he's not that type of player, he wouldn't hurt a fly, etc."

[Anders Limpar]

Tough day to be an Arsenal fan or a Liverpool fan.

[bobtheace]

Roy is going to get the sack. I can't understand what is wrong with this team. Losing at Anfield to Blackpool is criminal. I know they won't end up in relegation zone but still, this is embarrassing and has nothing to do with the sale situation. Getting docked 9 points is a big deal to ponder now. No offense to Leeds but they are not Leeds United. King Kenny will be coach within 3 weeks if they do not get Wins. Chelsea are the class of the Prem at this point. Makes me sick but it is what it is.

[Anders Limpar]

BTW, I saw on sky sports news last night that the debt payment owed is about $215mil and it is due to be paid 10/15.

[Anders Limpar]

Oh and did you see that the proverbial stuff hit the fan today with Hicks and Gillette blocking a sale? Purslow and the other guy are doing their best to ensure the club gets sold. Both buyers are supposedly going to eliminate the debt. One is from Asia and the other owns the Red Sox.

BTW I have this sinking suspicion that you'll beat Everton in the Merseyside derby and that'll kick start your season. Although at the beginning of the season I did pick Liverpool to finish second so maybe I have no idea what I am talking about.

I wouldn't count on any miracles from Dalglish to be honest. He hasn't coached since the mid-90's, right?

[CrustyJuggler]

This is a pretty sad day for Boston sports. Not only did we lose Randy Moss, but we learned that the last few Red Sox seasons, and a few upcoming seasons were/are all just a ploy for John Henry and company to raise enough capital to buy Liverpool. It explains so much now. Nobody could understand why they threw so much money at JD Drew and John Lackey (who nobody wanted). It was just to say "hey, we ARE investing in the team" without having to pony up too much for a real elite player. But when Mark Texiera, a true franchise player, came along they balked at the extra $10 million it would have taken to sign him and watched him go to the Yankees. I'm thankful for the two WS in my lifetime, but there is nothing to look forward to for the Red Sox in the next 3-5 years - but they'll still somehow get away with charging insane ticket prices for the tourists who want the "Fenway experience".

[Anders Limpar]

This is a pretty sad day for Boston sports. Not only did we lose Randy Moss, but we learned that the last few Red Sox seasons, and a few upcoming seasons were/are all just a ploy for John Henry and company to raise enough capital to buy Liverpool. It explains so much now. Nobody could understand why they threw so much money at JD Drew and John Lackey (who nobody wanted). It was just to say "hey, we ARE investing in the team" without having to pony up too much for a real elite player. But when Mark Texiera, a true franchise player, came along they balked at the extra $10 million it would have taken to sign him and watched him go to the Yankees. I'm thankful for the two WS in my lifetime, but there is nothing to look forward to for the Red Sox in the next 3-5 years - but they'll still somehow get away with charging insane ticket prices for the tourists who want the "Fenway experience".

I think the Pats will be fine without Moss, plus the rumor is they are going after another elite wr.

I'd love it if the Pirates were only spending enough money to buy the John Lackeys and JD Drews of the world. Instead we either dont spend money, or we spend it almost exclusively on Aki Iwamura, who was a monumental bust.

Lastly to be honest, I'm not sure NESV can pull this off, they are supposedly worth 1.1bil. Not sure how much it will cost to buy Liverpool and pay off the debts. But we know a debt payment of 215mil is due October 15th, and thats just debt, that doesn't include the club's worth. They want to build a staidium and say they have money to fund purchases in the transfer window. I'm not sure how this happens unless Henry wants to sink all he is worth into Liverpool or they are going to take on debt just like the previous owners.

[CrustyJuggler]

Yeah, rumor has it that they're in trade talks with Seattle to bring back Deion Branch which would be cool. They just need somebody to take the defensive pressure off Welker.

I know, I really shouldn't complain considering there are lots of other MLB teams like the Pirates, Marlins and Royals who have horrendous ownership. But still, ever since 2007 the team has been in a steady decline, but the ticket prices are still the highest in the game. Theo's been very lucky in the past with Ortiz, Lowell, Bill Meuller, the Nomar trade, etc. But recently, he's been completely cold and has made some questionable decisions (let Alex Gonzalex walk and sign Marco Scutaro instead for almost twice as much money). And the fact that they pretty much gave up on the team in August and didn't trade for any RP before the deadline really pissed a lot of fans off. Oh well.

Henry's a smart business man. I never saw the $100 million Dice-K signing as a way to improve our rotation (though it did to an extent). It was more of a way to make the Red Sox brand profitable in an un-tapped Japanese market. To him, he's not buying just a sports team, he's buying one of the most popular brands in the sportsworld at a bargain price (relatively speaking). And he knows how to squeeze the most out of it (just look at the absurd number of "Pink Hat" fans at Fenway Park and you'll understand). I'm sure he'll do just fine with Liverpool. What waits in store for the Red Sox though is what worries me.

[Anders Limpar]

Some big games this weekend. I'm really excited for the Merseyside Derby even though I don't have a true dog in that fight, although I lean much more to the blue side if I'm being honest. Villa v Chelsea is another big one especially b/c playing at Villa Park is Chelsea's boogey ground. And we need a win bad against the Brummies cause we got City next week and Sp*rs coming up.

[Anders Limpar]

West Brom and Blackpool continue to be amazing stories.

[bobtheace]

United took their foot off the gas. Bad goal but good for Wset Brom. Reds will win 4-0 tomorrow and then all is well. Everton will get red card in first 15 minutes. NESV is good for the club. Started off right by not going to derby and putting on scarves. Hopefully, we will see more US trips in the preseason. What a weekend for sports. Flyers-Pens, Phillies-Giants, Eagles-Falcons, Liverpool-Everton, Phils-Giants. Need a sweep!

[bobtheace]

Update: Wow, speaking of kiss of death. Flyers-Pens LOSS, Phillies-Giants LOSS, and now down 2-0 to Blue Side. NESV team did attend so my post was absolute rubbish! Hope my sports fortune turns around with the last two or this is just a lost weekend. Especially as I broke my foot on Thursday and am totally on the couch all weekend for sports. No gripes from wife either. Not good to watch loss after loss.
At this rate Torres will not fetch a penny in January!

[Anders Limpar]

Sorry for you unfortunate condition...being a Liverpool and Philly sports fan. Oh and my sympathies as well for breaking your foot.

[bobtheace]

Thanks! I think you found delight in the Flyers losing though!

[Anders Limpar]

Great result for Wolves beating Citeh at home. Alex Song, who has more league goals than Wayne Rooney, popped up with the winner for my boys in the 88th minute.

[Anders Limpar]

Great win for Liverpool on Sunday, El Nino looks rejuvenated. We were poor against Newcastle. Fabianski made a pretty big error on the goal however so it should have finished 0-0. Midweek games this week. The Manchester derby is the pick of the bunch.

[bobtheace]

Really needed 3 points against Wigan, hopefully will get it against Stoke. Real glad Shelvey is getting first team minutes. He could be a real player. Need to develop Kelly and Pacheco more.

[bobtheace]

Wow, 1 out of 6 isn't helping the cause. Could have been right outside top four with any kind of performance. Up and down stuff will not cut it. Who is consistent at this point.

[Anders Limpar]

All I'll say about yesterday is disaster.

[buzzcoleman14]

Liverpool needs to make some moves during the next transfer window.

[Anders Limpar]

Luckily lightning didnt strike twice against Villa and I'm lovin the fact that Chelsea is all the sudden no longer invincible.

[Anders Limpar]

Top of the league, Nasri scored two excellent goals against Fulham at the weekend. Fingers crossed that we get thru today.