*Official* English Football Season 2014-15

[Uppercut]

I liked Rosicky before it was cool.

 

[grecian]

I liked Rosicky before it was cool.

He's **** and he knows he is.

Dean Moxey and George Friend clearly the weekends heroes, it's like Exeter City is at the root of all good things in football. If only Grimes wasn't cup-tied or no doubt the Swans would be through.

 

[Cabinet96]

Grecian hates stats but hates Rosicky. That's surely one of the more unusual sporting paradoxes.

 

[Furball]

I liked Rosicky before it was cool.

Think my brother wins this one. Whichever Champ Man it was where he was good but still at Sparta Prague, he was literally the first player my brother would sign.

 

[Uppercut]

Grecian hates stats but hates Rosicky. That's surely one of the more unusual sporting paradoxes.

Does Rosicky do badly in the statgame?

 

[Cabinet96]

Kind of. Certainly doesn't get near the likes of Özil, Cazorla and Ramsey but I guess he doesn't anyway. But he's the sort of player you'd usually use to argue why stats fail. Little output in terms of goals and assists, but he increases the tempo of Arsenal's play and does really intelligent nice touches. Plus he's an artist and great to watch.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

I liked Rosicky before it was cool.

What, before the 2006 World Cup?

 

[Uppercut]

Kind of. Certainly doesn't get near the likes of Özil, Cazorla and Ramsey but I guess he doesn't anyway. But he's the sort of player you'd usually use to argue why stats fail. Little output in terms of goals and assists, but he increases the tempo of Arsenal's play and does really intelligent nice touches. Plus he's an artist and great to watch.

Maybe, or you could say he's not as good as he looks. I think he's great at creating line breaks, which AFAIK isn't something anyone has tried to quantify.

I think it's interesting because stats will eventually catch on, maybe they already have. And when they do, the only value will be in buying players with abilities that aren't picked up by commonly-used statistical models. So whatever Rosicky's qualities are, they're probably about to become really important in the transfer market.

 

[sledger]

Just a shame Rosicky himself has probably only got about 2-3 years tops left in the tank tbh.

Really weird to think he's nearly been at Arsenal for a decade now. Hasn't played anywhere near enough for a player who's been around that long really, but I guess that's just what injuries do to a player.

 

[sledger]

So Arsenal have managed to secure a work permit for Gabriel Paulista on the basis of the "exceptional talent" guidelines.

Not quite sure how they've managed that, but oh well. Will be interesting to see if he's actually any good. Have heard mixed things, but Villareal's defensive record this season has been really good, so I guess that's a promising sign.

 

[Cabinet96]

As Duffer alluded they're changing the rules on work permits soon to actually make it harder (but with no appeal process if you fail to qualify) and Gabriel would qualify under that so it wouldn't really make sense to reject him. Never properly seen him play, but he's getting compared to Koscielny a lot, and if he turns out to be half as good it'll be good business for a little over £10m for a 24 year old in January when we had obvious shortages.

Maybe, or you could say he's not as good as he looks. I think he's great at creating line breaks, which AFAIK isn't something anyone has tried to quantify.

I think it's interesting because stats will eventually catch on, maybe they already have. And when they do, the only value will be in buying players with abilities that aren't picked up by commonly-used statistical models. So whatever Rosicky's qualities are, they're probably about to become really important in the transfer market.

Yeah, it's worth noting the last few games when people have been raving about Rosicky he's been really good by all the basic stats. Maybe Iniesta is the best example of the sort of player actually. He's an all time great by any way you chose to evaluate players, but he probably doesn't shape up as well statistically compared to the likes of Özil and Fabregas in their primes. I know some stats guys want to start looking at pre-assists and are convinced that someone like Iniesta would shape up really well in a stat like that because he's a great passer who might not always play the final ball.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Just a shame Rosicky himself has probably only got about 2-3 years tops left in the tank tbh.

Really weird to think he's nearly been at Arsenal for a decade now. Hasn't played anywhere near enough for a player who's been around that long really, but I guess that's just what injuries do to a player.

Still looks about 12 too.

I'm keeping an open mind about Paulista, but would've preferred a known Prem quantity like Reid, who's out of contract in June, as one understands.

Still love to get Stones tho. Wave of the future, the boy.

 

[Cabinet96]

Trust mid table mediocrity less than foreign imports these days. It's much harder to play for a club like Arsenal than west ham. Look at Jenko the other way.

 

[sledger]

Trust mid table mediocrity less than foreign imports these days. It's much harder to play for a club like Arsenal than west ham. Look at Jenko the other way.

Yes, I'd be inclined to agree. Very rare that transfers in this vein ever transpire, and probably for good reason, as it's even rarer that they ever seem to work out. Cahill to Chelsea is the only example I can think of where such a move has really come off in recent years.

 

[sledger]

Trust mid table mediocrity less than foreign imports these days. It's much harder to play for a club like Arsenal than west ham. Look at Jenko the other way.

Yes, I'd be inclined to agree. Very rare that transfers in this vein ever transpire, and probably for good reason, as it's even rarer that they ever seem to work out. Cahill to Chelsea is the only example I can think of where such a move has really come off in recent years.

 

[Pothas]

Want this window to shut already.

Hate that Chelsea are going to yet again make a profit on a player that never really played all that much.

 

[Cabinet96]

Them thinning their squad even more isn't really a bad thing for anyone else though.

I'm personally hoping de Bruyne and Schürrle destroy the Champions League next season, just to leave a bitter taste for Chelsea fans. Though they probably won't care if they win the league this season.

 

[sledger]

If they get rid of Schurrle and Salah they'll likely bring in Cuadrado though won't they? So it won't really be a case of thinning their squad as such.

 

[Pothas]

Yeah or Douglas Costa.

 

[Cabinet96]

2 out 1 in, how is it not thinning the squad?