On the Eve of the new Season...

[vansmack]

Saturday, August 15

9:30am Blackburn vs Man City (Set)
10:00am Aston Villa v Wigan (FSC)
12:15pm Coca-Cola Championship - Newcastle vs Reading (Set)
12:30pm Everton v Arsenal (FSC)
2:30pm Stoke City v Burnley (FSC)
5:00pm Wolverhampton vs West Ham (Set) (also on at 10AM on Set Xtra)
6:45pm Portsmouth vs Fulham (Set)

Sunday, August 16

8:25am Man Utd vs Birmingham (Set)
11:00am Tottenham v Liverpool (FSC)

So still no word on Chelsea v Hull City on ESPN2, but I just can't see that deal not getting done.  I would expect the match to be on at 7:45am on the deuce.

[godsshoeshine]

rumors flying that there is going to be a bunch of player movement tyneside, which to me says that ashley is staying 

You mean like Danny Simpson?

danny simpson in (thoughts?) and duff to fulham are the two most likely. steven taylor to everton, argies and nolan to wherever are gaining some steam. supposed to get some young spurs on loan, ect.

i'm going to be bummed if we dont get chelsea/team jozy. the lunch game is the best thing first weekend

[vansmack]

\i'm going to be bummed if we dont get chelsea/team jozy. the lunch game is the best thing first weekend

I'm hearing that FSC will play the game if the deal doesn't get done, ESPN2 if it does get done.  The other rumor is that the hangup is that ESPN only wants it if they can also get HD rights, which apparently Fox doesn't have, so ESPN is negotiating with Fox and Sky (which is ironic since they're both owned by Rupert).  Fox is in a huge bind here.  They're on the hook for $4.75M and want ESPN to pick up some of that, but if ESPN is out of the box with HD, that puts a ton of pressure on Fox to have HD sooner than Jan 2010.  Awesome.

[vansmack]

danny simpson in (thoughts?)

He didn't play much for United, but was a constant in Blackburn's squad for the first half of last season.  Fell out of favor in the second half (not sure why) and never played for them again.  He looked fine when I saw him last season, but apparently struggled against the top teams in the Prem. 

[Frank Gallagher]

I must admit, I didn't see a 6-1 thrashing of Everton by Arse coming. I expect Arse to struggle for a top 6 spot this season, still do but maybe there's more than meets the eye with no more clashes of egos etc.

[Frank Gallagher]

the u.s. isnt the prettiest national team to watch, but (no offense or anything) england national team matches arent the most beautiful thing either. especially not worth ppv, and i like english players a lot. i guess the national team is the national team if youre a footie fan

as far as mls goes, i watch maybe 3 matches a year. i have tickets to see golden balls here next weekend, though

None taken - I believe I'm on record on this thread as stating that England are probaly the worlds biggest underachievers.  As a squad I'd say England is the most talented team in the world on paper. I put it down to a combination of the wrong manager and lack of chemistry. I think the manager issue has been addressed so hopefully he can also get some chemistry going.

[vansmack]

I must admit, I didn't see a 6-1 thrashing of Everton by Arse coming. I expect Arse to struggle for a top 6 spot this season, still do but maybe there's more than meets the eye with no more clashes of egos etc.

They were by far the best looking squad this weekend.  Sure, Everton couldn't mark to save their lives, but Arsenal kept the ball moving nicely.  Chelsea deserved a draw at best and Liverpool were horrible - a well earned Spurs victory. Wigan were surprisingly strong as well. 

[Frank Gallagher]

I must admit, I didn't see a 6-1 thrashing of Everton by Arse coming. I expect Arse to struggle for a top 6 spot this season, still do but maybe there's more than meets the eye with no more clashes of egos etc.

They were by far the best looking squad this weekend.  Sure, Everton couldn't mark to save their lives, but Arsenal kept the ball moving nicely.  Chelsea deserved a draw at best and Liverpool were horrible - a well earned Spurs victory. Wigan were surprisingly strong as well. 

I'm nothing short of amazed that United were able to show up sans Tevez.

I think we'll see a few 1-0 2-1's for the first 1/3 of the season till we find our post Ronaldo mojo. SAF may have to dig into his transfer kitty to figure out the defensive injury problem though, or we'll get torn apart by Arse in a couple of weeks and we aren't quite there yet for a shoot-out type of game.

I'm loving the fact that the tabloids faves for the title this year got a serious smackdown by 'Arry and the boys at White Hart Lane yesterday. They score on a penalty then have the nerve to piss and moan that they weren't awared two more......scum, just stinky smelly steaming scum that breeds on the turd of more scum

[vansmack]

With the new broadcasters taking over the Champions League, I'll have to think about the best way to show the new schedule.  For right now I'm going to do it this way...Setanta is likely to broadcast the Prem League on their main channel and may do the Champs League on the extra channel.  If not, expect delayed coverage on Setanta.

MATCH (network/DirecTV channel)



Tuesday, August 18

2:40pm Premier League - Sunderland vs Chelsea (Set/621)
2:45pm Champions League Celtic vs Arsenal (FSNHD/466)
2:45pm Champions League Sporting Lisbon vs Fiorentina (Setanta Xtra maybe?/622)      
2:45pm Champions League FC Sherriff vs. Olympiacos (FSC/464)   
2:45pm Champions League Timisoara vs Stuttgart (Fox Sports Espanol/462)   
2:45pm Champions League F.C. Copehagen vs. APOEL (DirecTV 463 only)   
4:45pm Champions League Sporting Lisbon vs Fiorentina (Set Delayed)
8:15pm Champions League FC Sheriff vs Olympiacos (Set Delayed)


Wedensday, August 19

2:40pm Premier League - Burnley vs Man Utd (Set/621)
2:45pm Champions League Olympique Lyon vs Anderlecht (FSC/464)   
2:45pm Champions League Panathinaikos vs Athletico Madrid (Fox en Espanol/466?)   
2:45pm Champions League Salzburg vs Maccabi Haifa (Setanta Extra maybe?/622) 
2:45pm Champions League Ventspils vs Zurich (DirecTV only 462) 
2:45pm Champions League Levski Sofia vs Debreceni VSC (DirecTV only 463)
4:45pm Premier League - Hull vs Tottenham (Set Delayed)
8:15pm Champions League - Panathinaikos vs Atletico Madrid (Set Delayed)
10:00pm Champions League - Lyon vs Anderlecht (Set Delayed)

[godsshoeshine]

are we thinking that the celtic/arsenal match is in hd then? (pleasepleaseplease)

i didnt watch any matches yesterday (but 4 on saturday). even when arsenal came out i really wondered how much theyd miss adebayor. i dont think this side will hurt for goals this year

thought newcastle looked really good against reading. withholding final judgement until after the window closes, though

man city have the biggest bunch of asshole soccer players on the planet. stupid bels almost ruined saturday for me with his constant offsides

i actually thought chelsea were dominant in the second half

the window being open during the first couple makes it hard to do predictions, but i really wonder about not only everton but villa as well. they added nothing, and you have spurs and shitty spending big. 6th cant be good enough for their supporters

[vansmack]

are we thinking that the celtic/arsenal match is in hd then? (pleasepleaseplease)

There is an HD logo next to the game on 466 and all through out the regional channels in the 600's so I'm guessing yes. 

The downside is there is also an HD logo next to all of the other games listed in the 460's, and I know for a fact that the FSC and Setanta games will not be in HD. Those however, do not have the logo in the 600's, so I'm guessing the only reason why Fox would move their premier game (Arsenal vs Celtic) from FSC to the regional FSN's is because the regionals are capable of broadcasting in HD.

[godsshoeshine]

i'm guessing stupid comcast sports net will screw me out of getting it on hd there. but the mirror should work, right?

[vansmack]

i didnt watch any matches yesterday (but 4 on saturday). even when arsenal came out i really wondered how much theyd miss adebayor. i dont think this side will hurt for goals this year

They really need to do everything they can to hold onto Fabregas.  It was fairly evident to me yesterday how much a different squad they are when he's on the pitch.  Those 4 months without him last season were very telling.

[vansmack]

i'm guessing stupid comcast sports net will screw me out of getting it on hd there. but the mirror should work, right?

That's the million dollar question.  I'm in a Comcast Sportsnet area too and the game is not listed as HD in my guide (if you are 642, then you are listed as having the game in HD).  I'm hoping they do a west coast mirror and east coast mirror and that's it.  If they do eveyone's regional mirror (which is extremely tough to do) we may not get it in HD.  They have not blacked out the regional FSN's for soccer though so we may still get it as part of the sports pack.

My plan is to record the mirror and a regional FSN and see if either of those are in HD.  I'll record Chelsea and Sporting on my other DVR.

[godsshoeshine]

that sounds like a good plan. i'm unlikely to watch more than one match on tuesday

i didnt watch any matches yesterday (but 4 on saturday). even when arsenal came out i really wondered how much theyd miss adebayor. i dont think this side will hurt for goals this year

They really need to do everything they can to hold onto Fabregas.  It was fairly evident to me yesterday how much a different squad they are when he's on the pitch.  Those 4 months without him last season were very telling.

i agree. similar to essien at chelsea, except arsenal doesnt have ballack and lamps and obi mikel ect