Totally agree with you Mike. There have been a lot of upsets across Europe and it's made for a riveting season. the right team won the CL as well as the big 3 leagues. Football is in a good way at the moment. Less doom and gloom please.

Oh and Newcastle got relegated. Woot Woot!
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it's actually pleasant to hear from people who acknowledge the other leagues as the quality is amazing..the turkish league mystifies and enthrals me for some reason,we never see coverage of it,yet the talent is there in mass and the atmosphere in stadiums is supposed to be somewhat surreal..I was astonished that no big European clubs took advantage of the Turkish display at Euro 2008..what performances they had from the likes of Semih Senturk,Arda Turan and Sabri!

mikeoneill16 wrote:

it's actually pleasant to hear from people who acknowledge the other leagues as the quality is amazing..the turkish league mystifies and enthrals me for some reason,we never see coverage of it,yet the talent is there in mass and the atmosphere in stadiums is supposed to be somewhat surreal..I was astonished that no big European clubs took advantage of the Turkish display at Euro 2008..what performances they had from the likes of Semih Senturk,Arda Turan and Sabri!

Technically, Turkish footballers are in my opinion well up there world football. They have a great keep-ball culture with a nice blend of passion and grit.
With the Turkish league, a lot of their top players are quite handsomely paid domestically so the motivation to move elsewhere isn't so great.
I don't think Turkey have produced a genuinely top star footballer that would attract the likes of Barca or Man Utd, but what they have done is produce loads of very good players who would perhaps do a great job for teams like Arsenal, Sevilla, Roma etc. However, as I say these players can earn more in Turkey than at these clubs so tend not to move.

zeds wrote:

Technically, Turkish footballers are in my opinion well up there world football. They have a great keep-ball culture with a nice blend of passion and grit. With the Turkish league, a lot of their top players are quite handsomely paid domestically so the motivation to move elsewhere isn't so great. I don't think Turkey have produced a genuinely top star footballer that would attract the likes of Barca or Man Utd, but what they have done is produce loads of very good players who would perhaps do a great job for teams like Arsenal, Sevilla, Roma etc. However, as I say these players can earn more in Turkey than at these clubs so tend not to move.

true statement zeds, it is fair enough paying your best players mammoth wages to keep the standard of the league as high as possible,I'm hoping that they qualify for the World Cup as they give the impression of a humble squad intent on making a lasting impact.

I remember Barca signed Rustu years ago - remember him, the warpainted goalie? But I think he played about 5 games and was left to rot because he wouldn't learn the language. And that midfielder's name escapes me who was pretty average for Inter and Newcastle but great for Turkey. Maybe Turks are the new Spanish players and are no good at fitting in outside of their own country (before Fabregas and Torres settled).

Emre was the Inter player. Tugay did well and Tuncay was Boro's best player by a mile last year.

Tugay was a genius at times for Blackburn likewise with Tuncay, surely a Premier League team will snap him up..there was rumours about Liverpool wanting him a while back I remember

Things are about to get interesting in Spain this week. Eto'o will be made the highest paid footballer if as expected he moves to City. This will mean Barca step up their pursuit of Villa. Meaning Real miss out on Villa and forced to turn their attention on Benzema...or maybe Ibra.

Oh and Barca are on the verge of signing young Brazillian forward Keirrison (will play on loan at Valencia if Villa move goes through), who is part-owned by a company quite aptly named Traffic Sports Marketing  

il ferret wrote:

I remember Barca signed Rustu years ago - remember him, the warpainted goalie? But I think he played about 5 games and was left to rot because he wouldn't learn the language. And that midfielder's name escapes me who was pretty average for Inter and Newcastle but great for Turkey. Maybe Turks are the new Spanish players and are no good at fitting in outside of their own country (before Fabregas and Torres settled).

Nihat is pure quality but gets very little recognition.
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"melo-momo and the crazy little trio behind amauri are amazing" - Gurjio 28-10-09

Micky wrote:

Nihat is pure quality but gets very little recognition.

Yes, his finish against the Czechs in last year's Euros was beautiful. He's just left Viallareal to join Besiktas.

whats the situation with villa at the moment? i gather madrid are no longer interested. would barcelona have to sell eto before signing villa?

coco wrote:

whats the situation with villa at the moment? i gather madrid are no longer interested. would barcelona have to sell eto before signing villa?

I would be inclined to think just that. They'd wait for Eto'o to leave before bringing in Villa. But that doesn't explain why they'd offer Eto'o a new contract. Unless they know he won't sign it and are just guarding themselves from possible criticism from fans. Barca tried to flog Eto'o last year but there were no takers, this year I can see him ending up at one of the Manchester clubs.

I think Barca are aware that someone with Villa's qualities rarely becomes available. Moreover, with Villa not wanting to come to England and his move to Real Madrid broken down, it should be a fairly straight forward transfer for Barca...provided they get rid of Eto'o.

I'm even more miffed by David Silva not having moved yet. Valencia are broke and it was taken as given that Silva and Villa would be leaving this summer. Silva, similar to Villa doesn't really want to play in England (he turned down a move to Man Utd last summer), so again you'd be looking at him ending up at Barca or Madrid.

Looks like the summer shopping sprees are over for Barca and Real. The XI?

Valdez
Abidal
Puyol
Marquez
Alvez
Keita
Iniesta
Xavi
Messi
Henry
Ibra

v

Casillas
Ramos
Pepe
Albiol
Marcelo
Ronaldo
Diarra
Alonso
Kaka
Raul
Benzema

I'd back Barca again. More stability and balance.

Still can't believe Silva and Villa remain at Valencia. If they are still there by COB Aug 31st, I wouldn't discount Valencia making a serious challenge.
Of the rest, Malaga and Villareal have been making some solid signings. Nilmar could be a star next season. While Sevilla remain strong, regardless of whatever happens in the Fabiano saga.

I think you're a bit kind to Puyol there Zeds.  Pique has to be part of the first choice XI, with Puyol providing cover for centre backs and Alves, I'd suggest.  And where on earth is Ya Ya in that line up?  Keita is decent back up (after Busquets), but surely isn't first choice holding midfielder?  

There's no reason to think Real won't be a total shower.  Handy enough at home, but a shambles away.

Sir George wrote:

I think you're a bit kind to Puyol there Zeds.  Pique has to be part of the first choice XI, with Puyol providing cover for centre backs and Alves, I'd suggest.  And where on earth is Ya Ya in that line up?  Keita is decent back up (after Busquets), but surely isn't first choice holding midfielder?   There's no reason to think Real won't be a total shower.  Handy enough at home, but a shambles away.

I'm not a fan of Puyol. But I think Pep sees the intangible value in Puyol, with his leadership skills and ability to encourage those around him. With Eto'o gone, Puyol is maybe the only player in the XI that has this about him.
I've always preferred Keita over Toure. Ya ya has scored some crackers, but for me, Keita is a better passer, more elegant and more dynamic.

Well I have to say, that Real team that I've guessed at, does appear pretty damn impressive, and should be enough for them to finish 2nd at least (esp when you think they'll have the likes of Sneijder and Huguain as cover). The difference between this spree and the ones of the past is that now they're recruiting younger, hungrier players, who aren't here just for show, but to further prove themselves. Kaka's integrity will ensure he keeps up standards. Ronaldo's bloody mindedness will mean he continues on the up. Benzema, Albiol and Alonso won't feel they have a devine right to start every game, so will be fighting.
Barca are still better, but the gap has narrowed, I feel.

$132 Million Dollars (How many pounds or Euros is that?).  WHAT!?!?  That's insane...  I'm pretty sure this picture sums up his reaction, and the guy behind him represents every other player LOL:




got this from some soccer hub on MSG.com - you can search teams, leagues, or players and get news/pics from different sources... here's some more Cristiano pics plus a link to the hub:

 Link blocked: we regret that new members can not post links because of previous spamming attempts. 

 Link blocked: we regret that new members can not post links because of previous spamming attempts. "

That's very clever, it started out like a regular post that began to grab my attention and then BAM! A thinly veiled spam post for something or other.

"some soccer hub", nice touch of pretending you don't quite recall that random website.
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nino

With all the worry about wheather anyone in the UK will broadcast SerieA, I seem to have taken SKY's la liga coverage for granted. It seems that after the previous deal expired last summer, the new deal is yet to be agreed with only 6 days left until the start of the season.
If they decide not to show la liga, i'm cutting off the digital after the cricket season.