*Official* English Football Season 2005-06

[steds]

Wigan are only where they are because of money.

There because of the money?! Before last season, Wigan had possibly made 8 or 9 signings that cost more than £350,000 (Filan, Liddell, McMillan, McCulloch, Ellington, De Vos, De Zeeuw, Horsefield, Roberts), which isn't much money even by Championship standards. By the standards of many Premiership and Championship Clubs, the team they're currently putting out cost next to nothing. Look at the eleven which started yesterday:

Pollitt £200,000
Chimbonda £0
Henchoz £0
De Zeeuw £0
Baines £0
Teale £200,000
Kavanagh Undisclosed
Scharner Undisclosed (3 million+,iirc, but i cba finding it elsewhere)
Bullard £275,000
Camara £3 million
Roberts £1.4 million

That's nothing considering they were playing a major cup final against a team that can afford £30 million and for Rooney, having beaten Arsenal in the semi final. So what, Whelan paid more money than other Division 2 chairmans. He still didn't fork out a fortune compared to the teams in the two leagues above, which is where he wanted to be.


Besides, if that's the case, what's the difference between Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors. Whelan has also pumped bucketloads of cash into them. As much as is humanly possible, considering there's a salary cap. And he's spending more and more - the most succesful coach of the Superleague era wouldn't come cheap, nor a key part of West Tigers NRL winning team in Pat Richards, nor the leading try scorer in the superleague last year Mark Calderwood, not to mention David Vaealiki, the highest paid player in the Superleague - so why are they getting worse and worse? Surely Whelan's other team is proof that money alone that gets you nowhere.

 

[simmy]

He didn't say "this season".

Anyone who has written off Man United from being Premiership champions in near future seasons is an idiot, as far as I'm concerned. Much the same for Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Predicting the future is a generally unwise thing to do.

I agree...

I misinterpreted Rooney's initial quote then.

 

[Tom Halsey]

It's one win each in the CL (Celta/Depor) - but Arsenal reached the 2000 UEFA Cup final.

Only because they failed in the CL - lets penalise United for getting through the group stage then shall we?

 

[aussie]

mhmm...he took an obscure Portugese team (beira something...although that may be wrong) and effectively did a Wigan with them...
then moves to Porto and from nowhere wins the UEFA + Champion's League with them....
now at Chelsea he's effectively almost won the lot...

spot on Mourinho has done wonders for Chelsea..

 

[aussie]

Don't get me wrong, I think he's a good player. I'm just saying that for him to point out Fletcher as the symbol of Man Utd's talent is a joke.

so what about Rooney, Brown & Ronaldo?

 

[aussie]

New guard in that they're the best defenders in Italy.

Gerrard isn't top 20 for me. Great player, great leader, but he's not there for me. Top 11-20 would include, in no order:

Buffon, Terry, C. Ronaldo, Robben, Cech, Van Nistlerooy, Carvalho, Oddo, Viera, Deco and Cordoba.

I guess it just boilds down to my appreciation of defenders.

I don't know if I'd even have Gerrard as Liverpool's best player... I probably would, but Carriger and Alonso are pretty awesome as well.

Owen, Adriano & Ballack?

 

[aussie]

He didn't say "this season".

Anyone who has written off Man United from being Premiership champions in near future seasons is an idiot, as far as I'm concerned. Much the same for Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. Predicting the future is a generally unwise thing to do.

yea thats true, even though i would want to be on the side of United, Chelsea have been doing superbly in england since 2004 but if either one of Man U, Liverpool or Arsenal start of well in one of the coming season they all have good enough teasm to win the league..

 

[aussie]

looking at england's squad for the uraguay game, i feel so sick when i see blokes like Jenas & Richardson in the squad when they are people like Parker & Barton around, but then again happy to see Carrick in their. Also IMO i thougt it would have been fair if Gerrard could have been given this game, he has been playing a lot of late, so he could have done with a break their.

also i thought with Owen out that bloke form Bolton who has looked decent this season cant remember his name of hand may have been called up

 

[Matteh]

also i thought with Owen out that bloke form Bolton who has looked decent this season cant remember his name of hand may have been called up

Kevin Davis? doesn't really deserve a call up...
Kevin Nolan? mhmm...probably deserves a cap at some point...but he's not a forward

 

[Neil Pickup]

Nolan to become captain when Allardyce takes over. Davies to play up front. England to be less attractive to watch than Xpression FM FC.

 

[Matteh]

Arsenal have basically sucked this season because of dismal away form...despite having quite good home form...
Fulham have exactly the same home form as Arsenal...but they've not won an away game consquently they're in the bottom half...
shows how important away games are

 

[marc71178]

To be honest, last season aside, the record of English clubs in the CL since Man Utd won it in 99 is not good. Only Chelsea (was it the semi's under Ranieri?) and Leeds (YEY!) in 2001 made any real impression until Liverpool last season.

It can't be that bad, because otherwise we wouldn't have the coefficient that we do.

 

[marc71178]

There because of the money?!

Yes, without Whelan, they'd still be in the bottom 2 divisions of the football league.

 

[Neil Pickup]

It can't be that bad, because otherwise we wouldn't have the coefficient that we do.

UEFA Cup counts pretty highly in that as well - as shown by Romania being second on this year's table so far!

 

[aussie]

Kevin Davis? doesn't really deserve a call up...
Kevin Nolan? mhmm...probably deserves a cap at some point...but he's not a forward

its Nolan i'm talking about, haven't really been following Bolton but i heard he has around 10 goals this season, but if he is not a foward better yet pick him instead of Jenas or Richardson..

 

[Matteh]

Nolan has been pretty good without being outstounding for a couple of seasons now...

 

[Craig]

New guard in that they're the best defenders in Italy.

Gerrard isn't top 20 for me. Great player, great leader, but he's not there for me. Top 11-20 would include, in no order:

Buffon, Terry, C. Ronaldo, Robben, Cech, Van Nistlerooy, Carvalho, Oddo, Viera, Deco and Cordoba.

I guess it just boilds down to my appreciation of defenders.

I don't know if I'd even have Gerrard as Liverpool's best player... I probably would, but Carriger and Alonso are pretty awesome as well.

Oddo?! At this stage there is about as much chance of him getting picked for Italy for the WC as there is of CC becoming pro-US.

Have you been sniffing Acetone?

 

[Craig]

How come Mourinho gets so many plaudits, when in reality, he has achieved very little.

Let's look at the facts.

Ranieri signed or brought through all of Chelsea's best players. The spine of the Chelsea team is all Ranieri's work. Cech, Gallas, Makelele, Lampard, J Cole, Duff, Robben, Crespo all signed by Ranieri. Terry brought through the ranks to first team regular whilst Ranieri was in charge. Yes, Ranieri had a disappointing domestic season after Abramovich's first year, but is that really surprising when he had a new team?

The stars of the Chelsea team now are all there because of Ranieri. He not only signed some of the World's best (Crespo, Makelele), but also demonstrated he could spot excellent young talent (Cole, Lampard, Cech, Robben).

Who has Mourinho signed of any real value? Drogba is garbage. Carvalho is overrated, Ferreira is unreliable and Del Horno is terrible, as shown by the sheer dominance held over him by Messi. Essien looks handy but was hardly a snip at £20 odd million. Maniche looks average at the moment as well and he is wasting Wright-Phillips.

Hahaha, and who remembers Jiri Jarosik?

Mourinho is a good manager, yes, but he is not a GREAT. Ranieri was criminally underrated and could have done a good job given half a chance.

Thankyou for your time!

I do!

I joined the dark side when I was over there last year and brought a Chelski shirt with his name on the back and proudly walked around London with it on.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Yes, without Whelan, they'd still be in the bottom 2 divisions of the football league.

The evidence Steds presented proves otherwise.

I notice no response to the evidence.

 

[Tom Halsey]

To be honest, last season aside, the record of English clubs in the CL since Man Utd won it in 99 is not good. Only Chelsea (was it the semi's under Ranieri?) and Leeds (YEY!) in 2001 made any real impression until Liverpool last season.

United also reached the semis in 2002 before frustratingly going out. IIRC they scored right on the stroke of half-time to put us out (Keane's early goal had seen us going through until that point).