Fierce_LiNk Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 I'm glad someone else is watching this game. The USA are playing well. Very disciplined performance, and they've worked the ball well, I think. Defensively, they look solid, with Tim Howard looking very good in goal. Going forward, they've looked dangerous, too. I tipped Brazil to win the competition, and I still think that they could do it. They've got the ball into great positions, had some good chances, but I think the luck may be with the USA today. Freekick outside the Brazilian box, right side. Headed away by Gilberto Silva. Corner to the USA. Now a freekick to Brazil outside their opponent's box. There's a good pace to this.
Happenstance Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 It is a good game to watch. You do feel like Brazil sooner or later will manage to get a goal back but saying that the US have had some more good chances and if they take them the next time it could get worse for Brazil.
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 Like the commentator has just said, Brazil get the ball outside of the box, and then they run out of ideas. It's patient play, and then the patience seems to go out the window when it comes to having a shot on goal. They've got the ball out wide quite a lot, and there are crosses into the box, but the USA are heading the ball away each time. How ironic that as I type this message that another ball is crossed into the box with it landing on an American head. As long as they can remain solid defensively and keep knocking these balls away, they should be ok.
Happenstance Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 Bloody freeview, I missed the end of that half as my signal was all over the place. Hopefully it'll be sorted by the start of the second half.
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 Well, there's that Brazilian goal. Start of the second half, Luis Fabiano with a nice finish. Really enjoyed this game and tournament.
flameboy Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 Yeah Confederations Cup has been really enjoyable nice to see SA getting behind their team and their semi final appearance (however fixed it may seem by the group draw) will keep them buoyant ahead of next year. Roll on tomorrow and our under 21's...unbelievable some of the talent we've had and not won anything at youth level for years.
Fresh Posted June 29, 2009 Posted June 29, 2009 So Man City have put in a £25 million bid for Eto'o however to be honest I've expected more from them this summer. I thought they would be putting in ridiculous bids for every superstar. I suppose they will tie up the Tevez thing though.
Platty Posted June 29, 2009 Posted June 29, 2009 (edited) Looking forward to the U21 euro final! I think we can do it! C'mmaaaaannnn Engerland! EDIT: ok well maybe not..... Edited June 29, 2009 by Platty
Gizmo Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/8125576.stm So apparently Ronaldo alone is worth more than the entire Newcastle team, staff, grounds and brand
Fresh Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Welcome to the club Antonio, maybe not number 7 but the Benzema rumour mill is continuing and I suspect if we were to get him Sir Alex would give him the number.
Roostophe Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 I reckon Man Utd will get Benzema. He probably will have the 7 shirt too. In other news, Man City's Darius Vassell is having talks with a Turkish team named Ankaragucu. Apparently, it will be a big signing for them... Vassell hasn't been any good for about 4 years... :blank:
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) Welcome to the club Antonio, maybe not number 7 but the Benzema rumour mill is continuing and I suspect if we were to get him Sir Alex would give him the number. I had a feeling he would be signing either yesterday or today, so I've been pretty much hammering Sky Sports News, the website and the BBC 606 forums in preparation. I'm happy to see him at United, and I've got a feeling he'll do well. Instantly, I know many people are going to compare him to Ronaldo, especially in terms of goals. It would be a bit unfair to do that, because the team aren't looking for someone to take his place. What I do think is good is that he can cross well, which I think will hopefully provide more for Rooney, Berbatov, and any other players in the box. I saw one stat the other week which showed how many tackles Ronaldo and Valencia had made in a season. Valencia had made something like 150, whereas Ronaldo had only made 15. When you're a goal down, or when the game is 0-0, you need all your players closing down and pressuring the opponent. Sometimes, it seemed as if we were playing with a man short, but hopefully Valencia can do a great job on the wing. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. Apparantly, Miralem Pjanic, who is a team-mate of Benzema's at Lyon says that a move is on the cards for him, but how accurate these reports are I do not know. I'd like to see him come, but who knows. I reckon Man Utd will get Benzema. He probably will have the 7 shirt too. In other news, Man City's Darius Vassell is having talks with a Turkish team named Ankaragucu. Apparently, it will be a big signing for them... Vassell hasn't been any good for about 4 years... :blank: There's a lot of talk about who would get the number 7 shirt, and it's a pretty big shirt to fill, imo. I just hope if Benzema does take it, that he lives up to it! For his sake! haha Also, Vassell: Can't believe the guy is still going. In the Premier League, too. However, if Benzema did come, I would be a bit dubious about what would happen regarding the strike-force for next season. Rooney, Berbatov and (potentially) Benzema would all want to start every game, and play the striker role. One would have to either be left out, or played in a different position, or all three could be played in a 4-3-3. The worry is, we just went through this trouble with Tevez. Do we need Benzema coming and the same problem occurring again? It all really depends on whether or not each of these three would be content with being on the bench for certain games. That is why players like Park, Fletcher, Anderson and Nani get my respect. Ideally, they want to play as many games as possible, and start as many as possible. But, they know that they may have to sit it out on the sides for a while. However, from what I know, none of these players moan about it. They come in, and do a good job, and then wait for the next game. Could Benzema cope with that? I don't know. Edited June 30, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk Automerged Doublepost
Fresh Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 (edited) Thing is though Benzema is 21, Tevez is 25. Of course Tevez always wants first team football, and he deserves it, however Benzema has the time on his side to blend and mould with the team. I think he can be a top player maybe one of the best in the world and I hope now he realizes United are the club to push him there. I've been looking at the stats as well flinks, here are some more quite interesting ones I've pulled off another forum: VALENCIA % RONALDO 81% PASS COMPLETION 82% just as good passing and will get better with the quality of our players 44% DRIBBLE COMPLETION 33% even in a weak team he has got a better dribble completion than ronaldo 59 CROSSES 26 attempted more crosses than ronaldo with a lot more success 33% CROSS COMPLETION 16% a much better cross completion than ronaldo 87 TACKLES 13 attempted 74 more tackles than ronaldo 67 INTERCEPTIONS 17 3 BLOCKED SHOTS 4 a much more team player 12 CLEARENCES 4 81% TACKLE COMPLETION 80% a better tackler and he tracks back aswell 29 GAMES 31 14 SHOTS 58 someone else will have a chance to shoot with valencia on the pitch 3 GOALS 18 not a great goal scorer but thats where rooney and berbatov will come in because of his crossing ability 21% SHOT TO GOAL RATIO 31% 4 ASSISTS 6 So, according to those stats above, it seems like Valenica definitely would be a decent winger for us! ^ I know anyone can look good on youtube however it's the best Valencia video out there to see what is coming. Edited June 30, 2009 by Fresh
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 30, 2009 Posted June 30, 2009 Those are good stats, but I'm not sure if that tackles made stat is entirely right. I've seen different numbers for some of these, but it still paints the same picture, so it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. He looks like he'll be a good winger for us. To be honest, we need players who can cross a good ball into the box. I'd like to look at stats which show how many goals United score from crosses, or how many we try to get into the box. We need someone who can work the flanks and work them well. Some to get behind defenders. Also, we need someone who will work hard and track back down the wings when they need to. If Valencia lives up to his promise, he should do well at United. I'm going to predict he'll be a quiet success. He won't take the world by storm, but he'll be effective in what he does. Sorta like how Carrick does, he does his job with little praise, and just gets on with it. Although, he is a winger, so I'm expecting him to show some flair along the way. About Benzema: He is young, and if he does come I hope Fergie will man-manage him will. I believe he has the ability to do that. I just really want to have an attacking force that work well together, but also work for the team. The Tevez saga got pretty nasty towards the end, imo.
Noodleman Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 Real Madrid have agreed a 38 million euros fee with Lyon for Benzema. Surprised hes going for that little tbh both he and Lyon have said hes not going anywhere this summer. Unless Madrid are chucking a couple of squad players in as well.
Fierce_LiNk Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 (edited) Real Madrid have agreed a 38 million euros fee with Lyon for Benzema. Surprised hes going for that little tbh both he and Lyon have said hes not going anywhere this summer. Unless Madrid are chucking a couple of squad players in as well. Yeah, just found out about this a few minutes ago. So, this brings Real Madrid's spending so far to: Raul Albiol - 15 million euros (about 12.8 million) Kaka - 59 million pounds. Ronaldo - 80 million pounds Benzema - 38 million euros. (about 32.6 million pounds) So, all together, we're talking in the region of 186 and a half (estimated) million pounds. So far. Care to comment, Mr. Platini and Mr. Blatter? Madness, I wonder who they'll go for next. It'll be very interesting to see how they manage to keep all these players happy next season. But, fuck...that's a brilliant squad of players to choose from. Edited July 1, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk
kyletherobot Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 Real Madrid are fucking ridiculous, I really hope that they fall flat on their arses onto a spike and Barcelona win everything in Spain again. Anyway, here is something I'm particularly pleased to see: Iain Hume heading a ball again! I cannot wait for the season to start, lets hope he is better than ever. 5 weeks and counting!
Fierce_LiNk Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 Real Madrid are fucking ridiculous, I really hope that they fall flat on their arses onto a spike and Barcelona win everything in Spain again. Anyway, here is something I'm particularly pleased to see: Iain Hume heading a ball again! I cannot wait for the season to start, lets hope he is better than ever. 5 weeks and counting! There are so many talented players who can score goals at their club. But, at the same time, is that going to make a functioning team, or a unit? Time will tell. That scar on his head is pretty horrific. Poor lad. Hope he's alright.
kyletherobot Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 There are so many talented players who can score goals at their club. But, at the same time, is that going to make a functioning team, or a unit? Time will tell. I have no doubt that they will hand out a few thrashings to some of the poorer teams in La Liga but as soon as they come up against a team with quality and team-spirit, I think their team of talented individuals will struggle. I really hope so anyway otherwise everyone is screwed. That scar on his head is pretty horrific. Poor lad. Hope he's alright. I hope that in his first game back he gets clattered by someone, that'll be the only way for him to begin to get over what happened to him.
Fierce_LiNk Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 I have no doubt that they will hand out a few thrashings to some of the poorer teams in La Liga but as soon as they come up against a team with quality and team-spirit, I think their team of talented individuals will struggle. I really hope so anyway otherwise everyone is screwed. I hope that in his first game back he gets clattered by someone, that'll be the only way for him to begin to get over what happened to him. There will almost certainly be many 5-0s and 6-0s next season in favour of Real Madrid. Still, I still believe that teams win games and not individual efforts. You do get games which are affected by individual players, but how the whole team functions as a unit is more important. We had many games last season (during the clean-sheet run) where we looked superb as a unit. Then, it just started to crumble slightly, because some of the individual efforts were just not good enough, and we lost that ability to work as a team. If the players can combine talent with the ability to work hard and work as a team, then this Real Madrid team will be one to fear. Sometimes getting clattered after something like that is a good thing, to get rid of that fear of being hurt again. A lot of people still think Petr Cech is still a bit wary of getting stuck in, due to his accident. Sometimes the best way to overcome that fear is to confront it head on.
Roostophe Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 I hope that in his first game back he gets clattered by someone, that'll be the only way for him to begin to get over what happened to him. That, and do a Keano and clatter Morgan.
Ramar Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 Real Madrid are the only team that could go on a spending spree like that and no one give a toss. As for Iain Hume, did that bastard Morgan ever get punished for that? Good to see him recovering and getting back into the game though.
Platty Posted July 1, 2009 Posted July 1, 2009 Getting fed up with Real signing everyone and his dog. I've been wanting us to sign Benzema for a couple of seasons and just as it looks like we might BANG Real come in with their moolah. Fuck off.
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