heruiyou wrote:

watched champions league just now. second round, first leg match - barcelona beaten 1-2 by liverpool. looks like barcelona will be kicked out of champions league early this season. second leg match will be in liverpool and they need to get at least 2 goals to progress. highly unlikely.

yeah... barce seems to be down form recently... good..hehee
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kami is "god", kaze for "wind"

Can't blame Barca, any (top) team has it's highs and lows. Look at how rubbish Chelsea is these days. Even Arsenal got beaten by PSV, which is not even that surprising, gunners have been struggling to score lately.

Terryb wrote:

Look at how rubbish Chelsea is these days.

they say because of john terry injury, the defence is weak So wat's the Billion of cash for
For Burning maybe, LOL
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kami is "god", kaze for "wind"

kami_kaze wrote:

they say because of john terry injury, the defence is weak So wat's the Billion of cash for For Burning maybe, LOL

long live chelsea!
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A big fan of �ؑ��J�G���肦

Terryb wrote:

Can't blame Barca, any (top) team has it's highs and lows. Look at how rubbish Chelsea is these days. Even Arsenal got beaten by PSV, which is not even that surprising, gunners have been struggling to score lately.

poor Barca! liverpool, you'll never walk alone..
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A big fan of �ؑ��J�G���肦

Well at least they have Czech, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, back. Mourinho used to blame their bad performances due to the absence of him and Terry.

But with so many great players you'd think they could play alot more attractive football. Like Arsenal does, they've been my favorite team for years.

And boy, I'm still amazed how ManYoo is performing in the Premier League, they didn't bring in any new players last summer, except for Carrick. Still they're on top of the table.

Terryb wrote:

Well at least they have Czech, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, back. Mourinho used to blame their bad performances due to the absence of him and Terry. But with so many great players you'd think they could play alot more attractive football. Like Arsenal does, they've been my favorite team for years. And boy, I'm still amazed how ManYoo is performing in the Premier League, they didn't bring in any new players last summer, except for Carrick. Still they're on top of the table.

Man U is on top form this season.Same as Getafe of Spain if you do follow the Spanish La Liga closely.Don't be fooled by Getafe's position.They had beaten teams of higher standard...most recently a 2-0 win over Valencia.

Chelsea's problem is about their lack of versatile players.Most of theri players,especially in defense can only play in one particular position,for example Ferreira,Geremi,"Cashley Cole",Terry...all these can only play in one position.So when Mr.Versatile in Boulahouz is out of selection then boom!!!They start to panic.Essien and Ferreira in central defense is a joke right from the start.If Wenger can make Flamini becme from a pure DM to a LB/RB/DM/RM...then why not Mourinho?I think Mourinho don't feel the need to train players.Afterall..."Chelski" rule the transfer market!!!
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Love conquers hatred just as water subdues fire!!!But some try to extinguish a bonfire with just a cup of water,which obviously is not enough.So instead of saying one can't love,one should try harder to love.

--- Mencius(�Ўq)

Maybe they can transform Sheva into a topclass defender (it's true, oftenly failed wingers/midfielders are transformed into defenders)

but yeah, Chelsea is rather sad to watch. Even worse after they bought Cole/Sheva/Ballack. But they'll probably claim Alex from PSV next season. Alex + Terry would be like untouchable. Add Boulahrouz and Cole in form, you'd say Chelski has truly worldclass defense.

Terryb wrote:

Maybe they can transform Sheva into a topclass defender (it's true, oftenly failed wingers/midfielders are transformed into defenders) but yeah, Chelsea is rather sad to watch. Even worse after they bought Cole/Sheva/Ballack. But they'll probably claim Alex from PSV next season. Alex + Terry would be like untouchable. Add Boulahrouz and Cole in form, you'd say Chelski has truly worldclass defense.

Shevchenko is alright at his position.Just that the long ball tactic of England contradicts the Italian playing style of direct passing,so it's a little hard for him to adapt.His finishing and ball control is withput doubt one of the best...so the striker role is the best for him.

Alex will definitely be a good selection but he's somehow of a bulky defender.Big,strong,hard tackler but acceleration just not up to standard.For a fast tempo like England...it will be hard for him to follow up the outside trap tactic...if Chelsea ever played that.

I also feel that Boulahouz should continue on the right back position.His crunching tackles and body challenges might be a little too dangerous for central defense.What I recommend is Nigel De Jong of Hamburg SV.Hamburg screwed up big time this season so Chelsea should try to sign him.He's versatile.LB/RB/CB/DM.And since he can both attack and defend...you can add LM and RM to his position list.Too bad most teams focus more on attacking players...if not he should be in a giant team now.Great player.
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Love conquers hatred just as water subdues fire!!!But some try to extinguish a bonfire with just a cup of water,which obviously is not enough.So instead of saying one can't love,one should try harder to love.

--- Mencius(�Ўq)

ben_galahad
wow.. you seems to know a lot about soccer
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Nigel de Jong huh? Interesting that you know about him, he went to HSV last year, being from Holland, even I don't see/hear much about him. But I like him, can play nearly every mid position: that's a quality.

Sadly it can be a disadvantage at the same time, I remember how Cocu played nearly every position during the Worldcup '98?, from defender to midfielder, and even scored as a striker. Only thing missing was goalkeeping

Terryb wrote:

Nigel de Jong huh? Interesting that you know about him, he went to HSV last year, being from Holland, even I don't see/hear much about him. But I like him, can play nearly every mid position: that's a quality. Sadly it can be a disadvantage at the same time, I remember how Cocu played nearly every position during the Worldcup '98?, from defender to midfielder, and even scored as a striker. Only thing missing was goalkeeping

Everyone can play any position in the world but it's just how good they are at that position.Even Rooney played as a keeper in his youth but he realised that he got the natural instinct of a goal-hunter so he became a striker,oh sorry I mean central forward and well...scored many many goals!

But it's good as well to experiment with various positions.Henry is horrible as a left wing mid and what did Wenger did?Play him in centre!!!And now's he's one of the best at his position!Zambrotta is around the same,but he's much better at adaptation.Right midfield he was so good...then when Appiah arrived in Juve he was given the option to be secong fiddle to that Ghanian or play as a totally unfamilar left back.He did that and now he's also one of the best there!!!

In Cocu's case...I am not too sure since I was too young then to watch soccer.1998..I was only 8 then.Care to enlighten me?My dad always tell me about the history of soccer but that's the real old one.The period of The Kasier Franz Beckeneuer and the immortal soccer god Edson De Arantes Nascimento "Pele".So any soccer events between 1990-2000...I have no idea.
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Love conquers hatred just as water subdues fire!!!But some try to extinguish a bonfire with just a cup of water,which obviously is not enough.So instead of saying one can't love,one should try harder to love.

--- Mencius(�Ўq)

Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final to Chelsea but from my point of view...they had lost nothing.It's a achievement in itself to reach that far with a full youngster squad.Denilson,Walcott,Armand Traore,Fabregas,Flamini,Jeremie Aliadiere,Hotye...the list just keeps going.And what did Chelsea played?A first team.Drogba,Sheva,Lampard,Ballack and so many more first teamers.

And what did Arsene tell his players?Even the youngsters played such stylish one-touch passing and I even saw Aliadiere chasing a Chelsea winger all the way from their half-line to Arsenal's half!!!That's high and shockinh work rate not expected from youngsters!
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Just will like to ask everyone this question...will Chelsea F.C follow the footsteps of Real Madrid and create a Chelsea B team?!?With their array of talents watching from the bench,with some not even on it...it'll be such a waste not to create a B team.
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ben_galahad wrote:

Just will like to ask everyone this question...will Chelsea F.C follow the footsteps of Real Madrid and create a Chelsea B team?!?With their array of talents watching from the bench,with some not even on it...it'll be such a waste not to create a B team.

indeed, it will be a waste of money if they dun create a B team..... but, is there any players with high salaries will like to go B team ?
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kami is "god", kaze for "wind"

kami_kaze wrote:

indeed, it will be a waste of money if they dun create a B team..... but, is there any players with high salaries will like to go B team ?

Well...best example is Winston Bogarde.2 years in Chelsea and the amount of first-team matches he played is only a handful.And he earned like one of the highest in Chelsea then.But he's plagued with injury so it's not relevent here...

Some players now are playing not because they love the sport...but rather they want to earn big bucks.So there are some who are willing to play or not...as long as they get their weekly salary.And a B team is good in some sense...those youngsters from Chelsea(who I had no idea about since the team I support is Aston Villa) can get a chance to impress the coach and who knows...first team possiblity might be on their way!!!

But having said that...it seems that Arsenal and Man U should be the ones to create a B team.Wenger and Sir Alex are well-known for their keen eye in unearthing talent,particularly Wenger these days.So more first team action for these unknown yet talented youngsters might be a big boost for their respective team's managers.
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Love conquers hatred just as water subdues fire!!!But some try to extinguish a bonfire with just a cup of water,which obviously is not enough.So instead of saying one can't love,one should try harder to love.

--- Mencius(�Ўq)

they had to keep a balance btw youngsters and experience players....
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Well I'm not going to explain Bergkamp, just search on youtube for his legacy. I think I posted some links before during the worldcup last year.
edit: found some:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2pHYudIyx4&search=bergkamp%20newcastle
especially the pirouette goal: best goal I've ever seen. the way he passes his oponent with a counter effect flick: phenomenal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zBHtD2XYc


Wenger is just unrivaled for picking up youngsters and talent.
Before Van Persie joined Arsenal, he was this rebel at his former club Feyenoord. For real the manager got totally tired of his behaviour and didn't play him much, he was usually a sub.

Terryb wrote:

Well I'm not going to explain Bergkamp, just search on youtube for his legacy. I think I posted some links before during the worldcup last year. edit: found some: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2pHYudIyx4&search=bergkamp%20newcastle especially the pirouette goal: best goal I've ever seen. the way he passes his oponent with a counter effect flick: phenomenal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42zBHtD2XYc Wenger is just unrivaled for picking up youngsters and talent. Before Van Persie joined Arsenal, he was this rebel at his former club Feyenoord. For real the manager got totally tired of his behaviour and didn't play him much, he was usually a sub.

Well...that's typical Dennis Bergkamp for you!!!No other words to describe him at his prime.Phenom.

Wenger is no doubt talented in scouting players.I dare to say that if he could be the best scout in the world!But seems like his import of Africians seems to peak up as the years go by.No qualms about that.I love Africians soccer players,especially those from Ghana.Hardworking and not afraid to challenge others bigger than them.That's what I call devotion to soccer!
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Love conquers hatred just as water subdues fire!!!But some try to extinguish a bonfire with just a cup of water,which obviously is not enough.So instead of saying one can't love,one should try harder to love.

--- Mencius(�Ўq)

my favourite is Gianfranco Zola
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