On the Eve of the new Season...

[vansmack]

Shay Given was pretty much spot on with his complaints about the draw and he predicted exactly what would happen. 

Good luck Brennser.

[brennser]

eh, the 2006 playoffs were seeded too so honestly I'm not that sure what all the fuss is about

would it have been nice to get Greece? Sure.....

Its a tough draw but on our day we can beat anyone as long as we crack down on the mental lapses that have plagued us throughout qualifying (problem is we have to beat em over 2 days  ).

[Barcelona]

reactions on the Liverpool Man Utd game? I haven't watched too many games this year yet, permier league to be a battle between United and Chelsea or do Liverpool and Arsenal still have a chance? Chelsea looking stronger than United?

as for champions league, some interesting results in Spain last week, wide open this year, I would say looking at all teams and the quality of the players, Barcelona, Chelsea, Man. U., Real Madrid (if Ronaldo does not get injured) and Inter. but who knows, world cup year and players do not want to get injured, maybe Oporto, Dinamo Kyev, Rubin...?

[Frank Gallagher]

Scum v Man Utd = No complaints regarding the result from my perspective. United didn't really show up for that game, and I hope to God they offload Babytov asap and get a striker that actually runs now and again. Sublime passes only goes so far, and not nearly far enough. The ref was out of his league in my opinion and let the crowd make a lot of decisions for him.....just what does Carragher have to do to get sent off? Rape maybe? Vidic sneezes and gets cards and that douche gets away with murder every game regardless of oponent. Regardless of the weak ref, Liverpool were still worthy of the 3 points. I see United beating chelski so the round robin in points will be a wash between the three teams.

I doubt scum will challenge for the premiership because they're lacking in depth, so over the course of a season they will have injury problems. I think it will be a close 3 horse race with United, chelski and arsenal with United to take it again. Remember, for some reason known only to the footie Gods United are a second half of the season team so this is one of the best starts they've had to the season in some time.

I think the Champs league is anyones call at the moment. The russians look pretty impressive but can they survive a knock out competition??? I don't see Barca repeating I'm afraid. United have looked invincible in the contest so far and Real Madrid is a train wreck waiting to happen in my opinion.  Should be very interesting once the also rans are gone and it's down to the nitty-gritty....

[vansmack]

I mostly agree with Mankie (except for maybe the Champions league stuff - way too early).

United's midfiled looked like they were a bunch of mid-30 somethings playing against a bunch of mid-20 somethings...oh wait, they were.  The pairing of Scholes and Carrick was a disaster and they were badly outplayed.

Carragher should have been sent off as he was clearly the last man, but still a point would have been a gift for the way United played.  As soon as that happened and watchign Vidic's reaction (who was actually having a pretty strong game until that moment), there was no doubt he was going to push his luck and get sent off for the third straight time.  Rio's still a step off his pace and hasn't yet realized it - that's an equal liability right now to United's inability to score from a true forward position creating his own space in the box (yep, I'm talking about you Berbatov).

[Barcelona]

by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

Real Madrid crash to village side

Coach Manuel Pellegrini was "very embarrassed" after Real Madrid were crushed 4-0 by third tier village side Alcorcon in the Spanish King's Cup.

Real fielded a strong team but were 3-0 down to the Segunda Division B club by half-time in the round of 32 first leg.

"There's no reason or explanation for how the team performed. We hope our fans can forgive us," said Pellegrini.

Real director general Jorge Valdano also apologised to fans but backed under-fire Pellegrini.

"It's difficult and I know how the Madrid supporters must be feeling," Valdano stated on the club's website.

We must stick together, and when I say 'together' I am also thinking about the coach
Real director general Jorge Valdano
Despite embarking on a £226.5m spending spree over the summer and signing Chilean Pellegrini from Villarreal, Real have won only one game in their last five, with three defeats.

Reports suggest Pellegrini could lose his job if Real, who were without their two most expensive signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, lose to Getafe at the weekend or are beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.

But Valdano stated: "We have to take it as a lesson in humility that must serve as a starting point for a fresh beginning.

"We must stick together, and when I say 'together' I am also thinking about the coach."

And Pellegrini added: "I am not thinking about my job or about resigning, only the next match."

Madrid, who have not won the Spanish King's Cup (Copa del Rey) since 1993, suffered an upset last season as they were knocked out at the fourth-round stage by another third-tier side, Real Union, on the away goals rule.

Pellegrini conceded: "We've seen it 3,200 times before: a team who were tremendously motivated and were able to play at their best.

"I saw them in recent games, we had reports, but they played very well.

"We need to react. We are going to find difficult opponents all over the place. We need to play well everywhere."

[brennser]

just saw this - highly amusing.....

by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

[Frank Gallagher]

just saw this - highly amusing.....

by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

For 80m quid I'd expect Ronaldo to have beaten them on his own.....

[vansmack]

Hilarious.  Thanks for sharing Barca.

I watched United's Carling Cup match last night - probably the most entertaining United squad I've seen all season.  Obertan was amazing - one of the most technically gifted 20-year olds I've seen in a long time and Tosic and Macheda were great as well.  The only downside was Macheda had a little too much of the Ronaldo Kool-aid and lost a ton of possession with too many tricks.  Left-Back Da Silva in the midfield wasn't the strongest positioning for him, but it worked out ok (I doubt we'll see it again).

And just for shoeshine - Owen's goal was vintage 20 year old Mikey.

Anyhow, the future is bright at Old Trafford and SAF's "no more players over 25" strategy looks like it will keep United competitive for years to come.

[Frank Gallagher]

Hilarious.  Thanks for sharing Barca.

I watched United's Carling Cup match last night - probably the most entertaining United squad I've seen all season.  Obertan was amazing - one of the most technically gifted 20-year olds I've seen in a long time and Tosic and Macheda were great as well.  The only downside was Macheda had a little too much of the Ronaldo Kool-aid and lost a ton of possession with too many tricks.  Left-Back Da Silva in the midfield wasn't the strongest positioning for him, but it worked out ok (I doubt we'll see it again).

And just for shoeshine - Owen's goal was vintage 20 year old Mikey.

Anyhow, the future is bright at Old Trafford and SAF's "no more players over 25" strategy looks like it will keep United competitive for years to come.

Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent. I was pretty handy 20 years ago and could probably have made at least the Barnsley bench in my prime (okay, maybe not but you get my point).....not intending to be mr. pessimistic, just realistic. We need Wes Brown with some game time though so that's a positive...another bright side to this evening is scumbags got back on the losing trail. As much as they are a fierce rival you have to respect Arsenal, which I don't chelski or scumpool. I also hope Spurs challenge bigtime because 'arry Rednap is a hell of a manager and should've been given a chance with England imho. United have always had an excellent youth program. Giggs -2x Nevile - Beckham - Scholes - Butt - O'Shea etc. etc. they just never get credit for it because they're a rich team who splash out now and again. Having said all that an entertaining game is an entertaining game so it's all good.

[hutch]

If Real is smart they will stick with Pellegrini. he is a first class coach. Everyone can have a bad run.

[vansmack]

Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent.

I stand by what I said, even considering the opponent.  United threw an entriely new 11 out there which was mostly dominated by their youth/reserve squads, and I was delighted with what I saw.

Obertan is going to be an incredible first team player for United.

[Frank Gallagher]

Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent.

I stand by what I said, even considering the opponent.  United threw an entriely new 11 out there which was mostly dominated by their youth/reserve squads, and I was delighted with what I saw.

Obertan is going to be an incredible first team player for United.

So you're saying...."the future's so bright, they gotta wear shades"  I agree but United have always  invested in the future.

BTW - I'm part of the referee pool for a HS Girls tournament in Boca this evening. YIKES!!! Wish me luck, I'm quickly realizing the girls are worse than the boys. It's a freebie on the refs part but a good warm up for the high-schools season which starts next week.

[godsshoeshine]

loan us more players

ashley finally let out the obvious and took newcastle united off the market and made hughton the permanent manager. it was obvious like 2 months ago that moat didnt have the money

he says that £20m is coming in, but i'll believe that when i see it

[Barcelona]

If Real is smart they will stick with Pellegrini. he is a first class coach. Everyone can have a bad run.

seriously? what did he do with River Plate or Villarreal? or even before, not sure I would consider him a first class coach. Villarreal started being a good team before he joined them, he got there when they had money to buy good players. I think he was hired for Real Madrid because he looks like a gentleman and is always well dressed like Queiroz or Capello, but not like Del Bosque, who was fired but was the one who made a good football team. Not joking, Florentino Perez wants players and coaches to sell t-shirts, appear in fancy magazines and make money, this monday before losing 4-0 against a small team from a working class neighborhood in Madrid, all the Madrid players got their new fancy Audi cars. It is a joke of a club. By the way, who did they want before Pellegrini? Wenger, another coach considered a gentleman. Anyhow, in principle I am against firing coaches in the middle of the season, but as a Barcelona fan, I hope they keep Pellegrini until the end of the year.