You'd be mad to bet against Spain winning it.
Their starting line up includes 5 of the Barcelona team plus Casillas, Ramos, Alonso, Villa and Torres.
The likes of Fabregas, Silva and Mata can't even get in the side!
Veron has never done it for me when it matters for Argentina, as for Forlan, only saw him at Man U, felt sorry for the bloke as he looked decent as his record in Spain appears to indicate.
South American players in general find the UK quite a culture shock as opposed to continental Europe. Forlan a prime example. It's not just about playing football. Yours and your familys home life have to be settled and comfortable. A South American family will find Spain a far easier place to settle than NW England!
"He is like a PlayStation player," Wenger said. "He can take advantage of every mistake you make. He can make a difference at any moment."
I wish I could get Messi to play that good on my Playstation! The first 2 goals were terrible defensive mistakes from Arsenal - mistakes I can not see Inter Milan making - but the 3rd and 4th were superb.
[cite]Posted By: PeteF[/cite]Veron has never done it for me when it matters for Argentina, as for Forlan, only saw him at Man U, felt sorry for the bloke as he looked decent as his record in Spain appears to indicate.
Also, I would still say the Premier League is the toughest in the world to play in. The teams outside the top 4-6 in La Liga aren't up to much and would probably be mid-table Championship sides in England, whereas most sides in the top flight here have internationals throughout their team. However I have no doubt that someone of Messi's talent would do very well over here.
[cite]Posted By: PeteF[/cite]Veron has never done it for me when it matters for Argentina, as for Forlan, only saw him at Man U, felt sorry for the bloke as he looked decent as his record in Spain appears to indicate.
Also, I would still say the Premier League is the toughest in the world to play in. The teams outside the top 4-6 in La Liga aren't up to much and would probably be mid-table Championship sides in England, whereas most sides in the top flight here have internationals throughout their team. However I have no doubt that someone of Messi's talent would do very well over here.
See - I think the leagues are quite even. There isn't a fag paper between the top six sides in the championship and the bottom six sides in the prem. Mid-table teams in the prem are aeons behind the top six - and that's pretty much the same in Spain. I think the overall quality of the two leagues is similar - where the premiership is better than la liga is in squad depth. Most of the prem teams (even the gash ones) have much deeper squads than those from outside the top six in Spain. The quality of subs' benches teams in Spain really is crap.
I think this is the weakest season of the Premier there has ever been. As Steve Claridge said the other day: Let's face it, you don't have to that good to stay in this league this season.
96/7 season was on Sky yesterday afternoon, the third from bottom team Sunderland,were relegated on 40 points, 41 would have taken you down if Boro hadn't have thrown that sickie.
There is undoubted talent in the EPL but it is thinly spread. West Ham could quite possibly stay up on what they have now - 28 points.
Man Utd have lost SEVEN games this season and could still conceivably end up as champions. That does not indicate a strong league to me.
What is a strong league? the fact at this time of year with 5 games to go, we still have 3 teams in with a shout (Arsenal look unlikely) indicates it is very competitive, does not mean the league is any worse than before. Given the choice of viewing I think the Prem is the best entertainment, on any given day, most teams can beat the top teams as we have seen, it is difficult to judge who has the best league, although I would look at Champions League Semi's over the past few years and it shows I think English teams dominate.
[cite]Posted By: PeteF[/cite]What is a strong league? the fact at this time of year with 5 games to go, we still have 3 teams in with a shout (Arsenal look unlikely) indicates it is very competitive, does not mean the league is any worse than before. Given the choice of viewing I think the Prem is the best entertainment, on any given day, most teams can beat the top teams as we have seen, it is difficult to judge who has the best league, although I would look at Champions League Semi's over the past few years and it shows I think English teams dominate.
Agreed. Difficult to predict over the next few years what countries the dominant teams will come from. Barcelona will continue to do well but I can not see a situation where 3-4 Spanish teams are dominating European competition, like the top four in England have over the last few years. Real Madrid need some serious stability and restructuring of the club, Valencia have some real financial problems and I can't see Sevilla, Mallorca or Villarreal ever reaching a Champions League quarter/semi-final five years running. The leagues to keep an eye for here, as well as the English are the German sides and maybe even some of the Eastern European counties.
I have to say its a nice change to have a discussion where differing views are respected, sometimes on here it ends up a slanging match, been an absolute pleasure!
Can't believe how many people are righting off Argentina on the basis that Messi doesn't seem to be at his best playing for Maradona. Even if you take Messi out of the equation they've got a lot of quality left.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
[cite]Posted By: Bournemouth Addick[/cite]Can't believe how many people are righting off Argentina on the basis that Messi doesn't seem to be at his best playing for Maradona. Even if you take Messi out of the equation they've got alotof quality left.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
We're writing Argentina off on the basis they have Maradona as a manager, not because Messi doesn't play that well for them.
[cite]Posted By: Bournemouth Addick[/cite]Can't believe how many people are righting off Argentina on the basis that Messi doesn't seem to be at his best playing for Maradona. Even if you take Messi out of the equation they've got alotof quality left.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
[cite]Posted By: Bournemouth Addick[/cite]Can't believe how many people are righting off Argentina on the basis that Messi doesn't seem to be at his best playing for Maradona. Even if you take Messi out of the equation they've got alotof quality left.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
and Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard...
Oh joy.
Ferdinand has had numerous stints out injured this season.
Cole is injured and faces a race to be fit.
Terry has had obvious problems this season.
Lampard - fair enough he's been his usual self.
And Gerrard has been sh*t for months and looks uninterested.
Can we just see how our players do in the World Cup before we start writing them off. We have the best manager in the tournament, and a squad capable of beating anyone.
[cite]Posted By: Bournemouth Addick[/cite]Can't believe how many people are righting off Argentina on the basis that Messi doesn't seem to be at his best playing for Maradona. Even if you take Messi out of the equation they've got alotof quality left.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
and Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard...
Oh joy.
Ferdinand has had numerous stints out injured this season.
Cole is injured and faces a race to be fit.
Terry has had obvious problems this season.
Lampard - fair enough he's been his usual self.
And Gerrard has been sh*t for months and looks uninterested.
It is a fair point and I think we would struggle to win the WC without Rooney. However, they are quality players and are just as good, if not better than the Argies. As with every tournament, it is difficult to look past the Italians - organised, disciplined, intelligent, experienced and proven winners.
[cite]Posted By: RodneyCharltonTrotta[/cite]"Gerrard has been sh*t for months".
Christ you must be suicidal when you watch our lot.
made me laugh out loud that comment
with regards the WC, I backed Italy in the last one at 9/1 and will back them again. Also had £20 on Brazil before the confederations cup semi final last year on them to win that and then the WC at 9/1
England have an outside chance IF Rooney stays fit, once through the group stages it's all one-off games and on our day we 'could' beat anyone
The World Cup is as it says in the title, a cup competition. The best team does not always win the cups including the WC, Italy proved that in Germany, they should have gone out but for a typical bit of cheating against Australia.
Back to the Prem and judging its strength by Champions League success, well I was talking about this years EPL, I think it is the worst season ever and this may will be reflected in 24 hours time by us not having one team in the semis of the CL for the first time in many years.
[cite]Posted By: Chirpy Red[/cite] Back to the Prem and judging its strength by Champions League success, well I was talking about this years EPL, I think it is the worst season ever and this may will be reflected in 24 hours time by us not having one team in the semis of the CL for the first time in many years.
So if Man U go out tonight, is the French league better than the PL just because they'll have a representative in the semis? I don't think so.
Comments
Their starting line up includes 5 of the Barcelona team plus Casillas, Ramos, Alonso, Villa and Torres.
The likes of Fabregas, Silva and Mata can't even get in the side!
Cant see him being able to handle the 3 group games with a squad of 26!!
Great player who had a bad time in England. By that logic Diego Forlan would also be shite.
"He is like a PlayStation player," Wenger said. "He can take advantage of every mistake you make. He can make a difference at any moment."
I wish I could get Messi to play that good on my Playstation! The first 2 goals were terrible defensive mistakes from Arsenal - mistakes I can not see Inter Milan making - but the 3rd and 4th were superb.
How old is Messi then? 47?
You can only be a team of promise for so long. One day you actually have to deliver.
Also, I would still say the Premier League is the toughest in the world to play in. The teams outside the top 4-6 in La Liga aren't up to much and would probably be mid-table Championship sides in England, whereas most sides in the top flight here have internationals throughout their team. However I have no doubt that someone of Messi's talent would do very well over here.
96/7 season was on Sky yesterday afternoon, the third from bottom team Sunderland,were relegated on 40 points, 41 would have taken you down if Boro hadn't have thrown that sickie.
There is undoubted talent in the EPL but it is thinly spread. West Ham could quite possibly stay up on what they have now - 28 points.
Man Utd have lost SEVEN games this season and could still conceivably end up as champions. That does not indicate a strong league to me.
Agreed. Difficult to predict over the next few years what countries the dominant teams will come from. Barcelona will continue to do well but I can not see a situation where 3-4 Spanish teams are dominating European competition, like the top four in England have over the last few years. Real Madrid need some serious stability and restructuring of the club, Valencia have some real financial problems and I can't see Sevilla, Mallorca or Villarreal ever reaching a Champions League quarter/semi-final five years running. The leagues to keep an eye for here, as well as the English are the German sides and maybe even some of the Eastern European counties.
By comparison, take Rooney of the England team and we have....er.....Peter Crouch?
We're writing Argentina off on the basis they have Maradona as a manager, not because Messi doesn't play that well for them.
PMSL on that note love the way he does track back even when scored 3/4, thats something all players should learn from a young age
and Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard...
Oh joy.
Ferdinand has had numerous stints out injured this season.
Cole is injured and faces a race to be fit.
Terry has had obvious problems this season.
Lampard - fair enough he's been his usual self.
And Gerrard has been sh*t for months and looks uninterested.
Christ you must be suicidal when you watch our lot.
It is a fair point and I think we would struggle to win the WC without Rooney. However, they are quality players and are just as good, if not better than the Argies. As with every tournament, it is difficult to look past the Italians - organised, disciplined, intelligent, experienced and proven winners.
made me laugh out loud that comment
with regards the WC, I backed Italy in the last one at 9/1 and will back them again. Also had £20 on Brazil before the confederations cup semi final last year on them to win that and then the WC at 9/1
England have an outside chance IF Rooney stays fit, once through the group stages it's all one-off games and on our day we 'could' beat anyone
Back to the Prem and judging its strength by Champions League success, well I was talking about this years EPL, I think it is the worst season ever and this may will be reflected in 24 hours time by us not having one team in the semis of the CL for the first time in many years.
So if Man U go out tonight, is the French league better than the PL just because they'll have a representative in the semis? I don't think so.