On the Eve of the new Season...

[vansmack]

There is supposed to be a big announcment on Fox Soccer Report tonight, though it could be about the channel going HD....

Or that they have a new female co-host replacing Carlos Machado....hilarious.

[vansmack]

so should i cancel setanta or hold tight

Still no official word, but my favorite comment thus far, from a QPR fan:

"Hey - bonus Championship coverage this weekend - score!"

[vansmack]

Setanta's online schedule now shows EPL matches for this weekend.  No idea what this means except that I hope you didn't cancel.

Now only the weather can keep us from watching this weekends matches...

[godsshoeshine]

lando looked decent today...

[vansmack]

lando looked decent today...

Agreed, he did better than I had expected and the Everton fans certainly appreciated his efforts.  His speed was confirmed too - I always thought he looked faster than he really is because he plays over here, but he was definitely one of the faster guys on the pitch today.  If he had gotten that ball to find the net in the 52nd minute, it would have been a dream debut with a goal and an assist. 

[brennser]

not sure this adds much but posting anyway

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0111/1224262051406.html

[godsshoeshine]

do you man u supporters have any thoughts on the debt?

[brennser]

yes, its scary and obviously less than ideal but I'm not sure I fully understand the "financialese" behind it all - hoping that some rich sheikh makes the Glazers an offer they can't refuse and writes off the debt 

this is turning out to be a bit of a transitional season anyway - I don't buy the whole we don't have enough money to buy new players argument - I'm 100% behind Fergie in not paying double what any given player is worth - there are just not that many Ronaldo's around and those that are are not for sale

but as we've discussed elsewhere in the thread everyone is struggling this year so despite our relative lack of form it wouldn't surprise me in the least if we snuck the title again

and fwiw I think Liverpool are in worse shape relatively speaking

[vansmack]

do you man u supporters have any thoughts on the debt?

Say you have a credit card that's nearly maxxed out.  You realize that you're paying 15% in interest when other credit card companies are offering much lower rates.  Wouldn't you look for a deal with another credit card company offering you a lower interest rate, especially in this ecomony?

When the Glazers bought United, 15% seemed like a good deal.  Now that the economy has tanked, 15% is way too high to make payments on and they're looking for someone to restructure their debt.  There is always the possibility that the restructuring will lead to a complete sale of the club, but I think that they really are just looking to restructure the debt.

[vansmack]

not sure this adds much but posting anyway

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0111/1224262051406.html

I hear this will be $15 a month and be in HD, but we shall see.  I will feel pretty betrayed if this is not in HD and they put the good matches there, otherwise I have no problem with this. 


http://www.latimes.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-soc-fox-soccer-second-network,0,7282981.story

NEW YORK (AP) ? Fox will announce Tuesday that it is launching its second all-soccer network in the United States on March 1.

The new network, called Fox Soccer Plus, will televise matches of the European Champions League, England's Premier League, the English Football Association Cup and the Italian Serie A.

Fox Soccer Channel began operation in 1997 and changed its name to FSC five years ago.

"As America's interest in the world's game is increasing, the launch of Fox Soccer Plus will complement and enhance our current programming on Fox Soccer Channel," new FSC general manager David Nathanson said.

The new network will draw content from Setanta USA, whose sublicenses with Fox are expiring, a person familiar with the negotiations said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail won't be included in the announcement.

Fox, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is negotiating with cable carriers to determine what tiers the new network will be placed on. The new network will be broadcast in high definition; Fox also has been preparing to start high definition telecasts of FSC.

Fox has been televising the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998 and sublicenses some of the games to Setanta USA and ESPN2, which is televising 48 matches this season.

Also Monday, FSC said it was hiring Andy Gray of News Corp.'s Sky Sports in Britain for its studio show during this year's World Cup. Gray, a former Scotland national team player, worked for ESPN's U.S. coverage of the 2008 European Championship.

Richard Keys of Sky Sports also will be a part of FSC's World Cup coverage. 

[godsshoeshine]

matches in hd, maybe add a few more leagues, i could see this working

its hard to imagine it being worse than setanta but i'll reserve judgement.

[godsshoeshine]

so liverpool have crashed out of the fa cup, the league cup, the cl and are on the outside looking in of the top 4. now torres is out for 6 weeks and jerkard is out for two. are they the new newcastle or what

[hutch]

so liverpool have crashed out of the fa cup, the league cup, the cl and are on the outside looking in of the top 4. now torres is out for 6 weeks and jerkard is out for two. are they the new newcastle or what

Well, at least they signed Maxi Rodriguez.. I think that could work out well for them going forward...

Tevez- much to the delight of everyone on this thread I'm sure- is kicking ass and taking Man City upwards..

As I said many months ago: say what you will about him the guy wins wherever he goes.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/2813939/Id-pick-Tevez-over-Berba.html

[Barcelona]

Tevez is like Higuain, a good player, but that's it. Berbatov, decent player also.

[vansmack]

Tevez can score all goals he wants in losing efforts.  I don't care....