*Official* English Football Season 2009-2010

[Matteh]

He's not back back, needs to regain match fitness.

 

[marc71178]

Indeed - would rather he get eased back so that he's match fit and not knackered come the World Cup.

Mind you, he was linked with a move to Coventry for a month to get him match-fit a while back - that'd be a good move for him I reckon.

 

[roseboy64]

There's a difference between spending loads of money on quality and spending loads on crap. Both teams have spent loads but one on the former and the other on the latter. League table and trophy cabinet should point to which is which.

Can't wait for Sunday.

 

[marc71178]

Oh yes, the quality of the likes of Veron, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Kleberson, Dong, ...

 

[sledger]

Dong actually had a lot of potential to be fair.

 

[The Sean]

Oh yes, the quality of the likes of Veron, Forlan, Djemba Djemba, Kleberson, Dong, ...

Jeez there were some baffling signings for a few years there - I was really excited by Veron and so disappointed when he didn't work out, but none of those other ones you mention ever made any sense to me. If stories are to be believed, Kleberson was only bought to help Ronaldinho settle in...

 

[aussie]

I was pretty excited when Forlan signed as well. Some of the real bad signing where the some of keepers between Schmeichel & VDS god damn..

 

[Matteh]

Taibi the obvious one. Tim Howard is very good, just lacks a little bit to be top class.

 

[sledger]

Van Der Sar isn't exactly top class either tbh, in fact if anything he's not a great deal different from Howard imo.

 

[The Sean]

Van Der Sar isn't exactly top class either tbh, in fact if anything he's not a great deal different from Howard imo.

I'm going to write this off as a joke I just don't get.

 

[sledger]

I'm going to write this off as a joke I just don't get.

Can you honestly say that the success of Man Utd would be any different if Tim Howard had been in goal rather than Van Der Sar?

 

[Matteh]

Van Der Sar isn't exactly top class either tbh, in fact if anything he's not a great deal different from Howard imo.

Not anymore, but then he is a billion years old. His time was the 90s and arguably behind the Man Utd defence he doesn't have a lot to do.

Statistically Scott Carson was the best keeper in the Premiership last season, but as West Brom were getting dicked most weeks it didn't look like it, but there's only so much a keeper can do after the fourth one v one.

 

[Uppercut]

Van Der Sar isn't exactly top class either tbh, in fact if anything he's not a great deal different from Howard imo.

Howard was excellent for a season, then he absolutely went to pieces. Couldn't even catch a ball.

VDS isn't world-class, but you know what you're getting with him. That's why Ferguson bought him- no more of the trying to pluck an unknown from Serie B or America, just take the player everyone knows is a solid enough stopper. He'll do.

 

[The Sean]

Can you honestly say that the success of Man Utd would be any different if Tim Howard had been in goal rather than Van Der Sar?

I couldn't honestly say that because it's pure speculation, but I'd wager that Van Der Sar would, over a period of time, win or save us more important points than Howard would. I personally think Van Der Sar is top class, and even if we did get him after his very best days were past he's done a superb job for us.

 

[sledger]

Howard was excellent for a season, then he absolutely went to pieces. Couldn't even catch a ball.

VDS isn't world-class, but you know what you're getting with him. That's why Ferguson bought him- no more of the trying to pluck an unknown from Serie B or America, just take the player everyone knows is a solid enough stopper. He'll do.

Yeah this is exactly my point, he will do, but that's not to say he is anything better than average. Can you really argue that if any other keeper worth his salt would have been playing behind the defence of the last 3 years or so the results of the team on a whole would have differed greatly, if at all?

 

[The Sean]

All personal taste I guess and I am clearly a bigger admirer of VDS than some around these parts, but for mine descriptions like "solid enough" and "no better than average" are massively underrating an outstanding 'keeper.

 

[sledger]

All personal taste I guess and I am clearly a bigger admirer of VDS than some around these parts, but for mine descriptions like "solid enough" and "no better than average" are massively underrating an outstanding 'keeper.

I'd agree with you if this was 1996.

 

[Uppercut]

Yeah this is exactly my point, he will do, but that's not to say he is anything better than average. Can you really argue that if any other keeper worth his salt would have been playing behind the defence of the last 3 years or so the results of the team on a whole would have differed greatly, if at all?

It depends what you mean by "any keeper worth his salt". I don't think having a world-class man in there would have made much difference either. VDS is a better keeper than most. Bet you wish Arsene Wenger had just paid £2m for him four years ago and skipped all the BS with Almunia and Lehmann and that Polish guy.

 

[The Sean]

I didn't see the Fulham-Roma game but it sounds like the Cottagers were unlucky - did anyone see it?

Everton completing an outstanding week for Merseyside.

 

[sledger]

It depends what you mean by "any keeper worth his salt". I don't think having a world-class man in there would have made much difference either. VDS is a better keeper than most. Bet you wish Arsene Wenger had just paid £2m for him four years ago and skipped all the BS with Almunia and Lehmann and that Polish guy.

Well, no, I don't tbh, because imo the difference between Lehmann and VDS is/was minimal and I don't for a minute think Arsenal would have done any better with VDS in goal than they would have done anyway, can you really think of many times over the last 3 years in which Arsenal have been cost anything of great significance by a goal keeping error?