Craig
World Traveller
I thought that secret was between you and meI'm surprised you could look at his face long enough to notice the mono-brow.
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*Official* English Football Season 2007-08
- Thread starter GIMH
- Start date
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
very surprised to see Babel going to liverpool. Really though him & Ribery would have gone to Arsenal this season given Wenger's presence.
Also haven't seen much talk about it, but i think Carragher's possible decision to quit international football would be horrible. I understand the blokes frustration of not getting to play regularly & when he does play its out of position but thats a key man. England can't afford to have him & Scholes not playing for the national side.
Around Europe i see the spanish giants are going crazy in the transfer market as well especially in defense, Real's signing of Pepe is interesting given that they signed Metzelder already & Barca signing of Milito is strange as well given the amount of competition they have in defense already
Also haven't seen much talk about it, but i think Carragher's possible decision to quit international football would be horrible. I understand the blokes frustration of not getting to play regularly & when he does play its out of position but thats a key man. England can't afford to have him & Scholes not playing for the national side.
Around Europe i see the spanish giants are going crazy in the transfer market as well especially in defense, Real's signing of Pepe is interesting given that they signed Metzelder already & Barca signing of Milito is strange as well given the amount of competition they have in defense already
steds
Hall of Fame Member
Yes it can.
Tom Halsey
International Coach
Barcelona definitely don't have a good defene, the only possible competition there is there is that they're equally poor. Valdes is also an extremely dire 'keeper.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Goalkeeper Higgins a particular strength, I hear.
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
eh?, what made a full-strenght defense of Zambrotta-Puyol-Thuram-Van Bronkorst (spell check) plus back up from Oleguer, Marquez, Sylvinho a poor defense?. If you want to use the argument that defensive issues cost Barcelona the title and an early elimination from the CL you'd be wrong also.
Not based on his form over the past two seasons..
steds
Hall of Fame Member
Gillespie's useful in front of goal.
TT Boy
Hall of Fame Member
Presumably because Thuram is two year past his sell by date, Oleguer plays due to his Catalonian roots, Marquez is a libero who works well under a catenaccio system (which Barcelona do not play), Gio has gone back home and Sylvinho bench warms for top clubs.
Barcelona's defence desperately needed Gabriel Milito (and Éric Abidal), a partner who for Carlos Puyol is finally an equal or even a superior to himself. Coming from a self confessed Spanish football fan, surely you may have noticed their penchant of letting one goal too many in?
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roseboy64
Cricket Web Content Updater
Agreed on Valdes. Always rib my friends who are Barca fans about him.
Tom Halsey
International Coach
They still have the ability to self-destruct defensively. Don't like the defence in big games, and while admittedly they had a good defensive record last year in La Liga it cost them in Europe. Prior to last season their defensive record wasn't good. Aditionally, 3 out of the first-choice four you mention are 30 or over, and the one who isn't is 29, so I'm not convinced about the longetivity of it.
As for Valdes, have you been watching the same games as me?! He's absolutely shocking, how he came to play for a club like Barcelona is beyond me.
Craig
World Traveller
Because he is Catalan?
Tom Halsey
International Coach
Go and play for Barcelona B then. Seriously, I don't see how it's possible to defend Valdes as a 'keeper.
Craig
World Traveller
I'm not, I fully agree that he is dire.
Scaly piscine
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Someone get the CW Fantasy Premier League up and running again, I've got a title to win again...
bugssy
Cricketer Of The Year
i will push ya all the way again buddy lol
aussie
Hall of Fame Member
Well i probably have, no doubt before the start of the 2005/06 season i would 100% agree with you, but i watch basically Real Madrid & Barcelona games in La Liga & Valdes has shown improvement without doubt over the past two seasons.
Tom Halsey
International Coach
No he really hasn't, I'm guessing if someone bothered to find a Valdes bloopers compilation on Youtube (if such a thing exists), I'm confident it would be a long video.