• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

*Official* English Football Season 2008-2009

Barney Rubble

International Coach
Arteta is a class, class player. Would welcome him into the England ranks with open arms - has a level of technical ability most players in England can only dream of.
 

Goughy

Hall of Fame Member
Just saw this from years ago. It made me chuckle

On Carlton Palmer

“He covers every blade of grass out there,” said Saints manager, Dave Jones. “But that’s only because his first touch is so crap.”
 

grecian

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yes Arteta 10-times better then most of them. Also he's the type of player we lack, technical excellence who can keep possession of the ball. Those other players are just much inferior versions of Gerard/Lampard.

I don't mind Reo-Coker or Noble, but Arteta is much more accomplished then them, and I'd actually rather have a Carlton Palmer at his best then any of the others, who are just poor, IMHO.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Huddlestone, haha what an insult to Arteta.

No need to be wishing we had a foreign player anymore if England's core strenght of players keeps performing of course, plus i acutally don't think Arteta is that far out of the reckoning of the Spanish squad either.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Upson and Bridge did really well. Wasn't sure about Upson (he plays for West Ham, FFS), but hardly noticed him tonight, which is always good for a centre-half. Well ahead of the crock-duo of Spurs now,...
Yea it would be hard for Upson to lose his place as a squad player evevn if Woodgate/King get fit & Tottenham catch themselves.

On Bridge, really don't know why he just doesn't leave Chelsea, he comes across to me as a man who is more worried about his pay check decreasing if he leaves London that playing regular football. He snubbed Portsmouth, so maybe with Hughes right here calling for him hopefully he comes in January.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
A totally frivolous detail if I might say so.
LOL, well of course you would think so if i said it.

Seriously though, he clearly wouldn't have heard much about Defore, Downing and there past exploits for England before he came. This is where Stuart Pearce's job maybe is in question luckily he has Capello to cover him.

He came just when Defore coincidentally joined Pompey & his been scoring goals and is right to pick him & Downing he probably in training has seen him display exciting technical ability as a natural left-footed & wants to work with him.

So past international failures againts the big sides is irrelevant to him just at the moment which i can live with.

I'll be very interrested to see in the future if a very likely scenario comes up where maybe Defoe keeps scoring for Pompey in the league againts the weaker sides but againts the BIG 4 @ their European tie with AC Milan he goes missing & Newcastle keep struggling & Owen keeps scoring who Capello would pick.
 

Tom Halsey

International Coach
I'll be very interrested to see in the future if a very likely scenario comes up where maybe Defoe keeps scoring for Pompey in the league againts the weaker sides but againts the BIG 4 @ their European tie with AC Milan he goes missing & Newcastle keep struggling & Owen keeps scoring who Capello would pick.
I don't know about the other members of the big four, but Defoe definitely scored against Chelsea last year, a goal that turned out to be quite important in the context of the title race.
 

aussie

Hall of Fame Member
Yea it probably did in the end, but thats just one goal, all of his other goals at the end of the last season where againts the average defenses.

This season for Pompey he has looked good againts all the league strugglers & indecisive sides, was well covered by United & Chelsea in Pompey's opening fixtures & againts Robinho/SWP rejuvented Citeh as well. Unless he does something big in these games which are close to the standard of international football, Owen come n play for little old Macclesfield town i'll still pick him infront of the Andy Cole clone.

But no worries just yet, i'd want to tell myself maybe he can come good but i don't believe he will. So between now & 2010 i'll let Defoe make the mistakes & get dropped.
 

Matteh

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Yea it probably did in the end, but thats just one goal, all of his other goals at the end of the last season where againts the average defenses.

This season for Pompey he has looked good againts all the league strugglers & indecisive sides, was well covered by United & Chelsea in Pompey's opening fixtures & againts Robinho/SWP rejuvented Citeh as well. Unless he does something big in these games which are close to the standard of international football, Owen come n play for little old Macclesfield town i'll still pick him infront of the Andy Cole clone.

But no worries just yet, i'd want to tell myself maybe he can come good but i don't believe he will. So between now & 2010 i'll let Defoe make the mistakes & get dropped.
I know you meant Mansfield, everyone always says Macclesfield ffs.
 

Barney Rubble

International Coach
Yea it would be hard for Upson to lose his place as a squad player evevn if Woodgate/King get fit & Tottenham catch themselves.

On Bridge, really don't know why he just doesn't leave Chelsea, he comes across to me as a man who is more worried about his pay check decreasing if he leaves London that playing regular football. He snubbed Portsmouth, so maybe with Hughes right here calling for him hopefully he comes in January.
He snubbed Pompey because he's ex-Saints, not because he didn't want to leave Chelsea. We wouldn't have wanted him anyway, Traoré and Belhadj are both better players.
 

Barney Rubble

International Coach
Last part wasn't exactly a serious statement, guys. Perhaps not ideally phrased for humour, but come on, keep up.

Traoré will be a better player in five years, and Belhadj is definite quality, but I don't think either would make the England squad or anywhere near. Doesn't change the fact that Bridge is a Scummer ****, though.
 

Barney Rubble

International Coach
You guys are all aware I'm talking about ARMAND Traoré, right? :laugh:

I only just remembered we have both of them on our books, apologies. Djimi is, of course, an embarrassment. Armand is a future star.
 

Top