The Soccer Thread

[NAHSTE]

30 minutes until the Rudi/NAHSTE fest begins in full.

Prepare your collective anus, VSN football fans.

[1ke]

That was taken waaay before the transfer went down. Sometime in June I think. Still dont know where he will play, still dont know why they went 25 mil into MORE debt for him. Stll just dont get it.

When Ronnie left for Madrid, I felt like you kind of. He was bought when he was 17, came in and played. Watched his debut. Clowned Bolton, became a fucking beast in the Prem and in general I guess. But, the whispers never stopped, (just like LeArse) and he couldnt be held back. When he signed for Madrid I was happy for him but sad. I eally didnt know what to feel, I just kept thinking, 80 mil and we got Obertan(3), Valencia(15), and Owen on a free. Then youll just move on....

Fabregas to Barcelona is now officially done.

I should feel something about the move. Fabregas has been my favorite Gunner since Henry left and I've watched him develop from his very first match. Yet I really just feel ambivilent. I don't feel sad to see him go or happy that he got his wish. I just feel mild (normal degree) of concern for the squad and what Wenger is going to do with that money (nothing).

I do feel a bit of bitterness toward Barcelona for how they conducted themselves throughout the whole thing. It wasn't just the club but also the players and they whole thing just felt classless. Not what I expected out of the club at all. I guess you can argue that the club and players felt like Fabregas had been "stolen" from them initially, but that's a pretty narrow view. They weren't really giving chances to players coming out of Cantina back then, so Fabregas took another opportunity. Which obviously worked out. And if Barcelona didn't lose Fabregas that way, the likes of Messi probably don't get a chance as early as he did.

[Bigpapa42]

Quite similar to Ronaldo, I guess. I thought Madrid acted really untoward throughout that saga too. I don't recall the players getting involved much, which is a big part of why I dislike Barcelona's approach so much here.

I guess Reds supporters might feel a bit the same with Torres, though in that situation, he was world class and coming from a big club when they bought him, so they didn't have that whole "developing into a superstar" growth that both Fabregas and Ronaldo did.

How Fabregas fits into Barcelona is an interesting question. Xavi and Inestia are key cogs in that midfield. Fabregas seems to similar to have 3 of them working in concert without overloading that part of the field and leaving holes. Fabregas has flourished in the Arsenal side by being the key midfield guy, but in Barcelona its all about working to feed it up to Messi. I just don't know how Cesc fits...

I typically watch a lot of La Liga, but I'll probably watch even more than usually this season. Really hoping that Madrid rip it up and roll Barcelona...

As a Gooner, I should have faith in Wenger. He's shown briliance when it comes to finding the right time to sell players and replacing them with similar quality. But I'm just getting frustrated that he refuses to spend money to shore up the few weak spots and give them the depth they need... because those seem to be a big part of why they can't challenge for titles the past couple of seasons.

[Rudi]

Jesus, get it in the damn net.

[kyhadley]

Impressive.

[wr50l]

See this club's not far behind anyone at all. Dominant performance which will give Chelsea and Man U the fear!

[Rudi]

Sergio Aguero. All I got to say.

[Sharkweather]

See this club's not far behind anyone at all. Dominant performance which will give Chelsea and Man U the fear!

Not worried.

[CaribbeanJoseph]

Like I told my scum friends about West Brom, Swansea are hardly world beaters and the league isn't won in August, although credit must be given for easily dispatching inferior opponts which the rest of the contenders failed to do :applause:

[Obst]

Robbie Keane to LA Galaxy on a 3.5M bid.

Angel is out in LA, either going to Philly or retiring. Not sure what's happened there yet.

He went to Chivas. Pretty weird.

[NAHSTE]

Kun.

[Rudi]

This was a big problem last year...not disposing of teams that they should beat. City would always be drawing with bummy squads or eeking out a 1-0 victory. I like this dominant performance, hopefully it's a sign of things to come

[killgod]

He went to Chivas. Pretty weird.

the hell. good for Chivas I guess, they could use him with Labrocca and Braun.

just can't see anyone stopping LA from winning the title though. although you never know in the stupid layout of the MLS playoff...

[wr50l]

Not worried.

Why not? Your team could desperately do with a Silva (or Nasri) just now.

[calgaryballer]

Toure was immense today too. You gethe feeling that Mancini could play eight defenders and silva + aguero could score goals.

Can't fall in to too much hyperbole though. Lat year chelsea rammed seven past witan and that didn't work out as planned