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How Are We Going To Fit In Berbatov?
So it looks like United are going to sign Berbatov in time for the big kick-off this weekend. I sit here wondering about the transfer and have some reservations. Don't get me wrong, he is a fantastic player and would add quality to any side but I'm still a bit pensive. Why? I here you ask...
Well, what's the line up going to be??? Fergie has already come out and said it's his fault that Rooney hasn't been scoring as many as he should because he's been playing him out of position so much to accommodate Ronaldo. All that suggests that he is going to play up front more often this season. Tevez has been our best player in pre-season and at first glance it would appear that he is going to be the one to miss out. For me that is terribly harsh on a player who works his nuts off, scores his fair share of goals and has the uncanny knack of popping up with vital late goals (Spurs and Lyon for two examples). Just say for example that this isn't the case and Berbatov doesn't play the majority of games...
We have already seen last season and in pre-season that he can be a moody f***er and doesn't always give it 100%, so what will change if he's warming the bench for a few games??? If United are struggling and need a late goal to pull us out of the s**t, I know which one I'd rather have on the pitch.
Secondly £28 million is way too high a price for a 28-year- old. Even £20 million would be pushing it for me. That is of less concern as transfer fees are just insane in the Premier League and it's all done in stages anyway.
Fergie will now have to shoehorn three top-notch players into two positions and is going to be a massive test of his man-management skills. Can he keep them all happy and for how long???
Having said all that, I'm just a flamin' hypocrite as I hope he plays every week cos I've got him in my dream team!!!
Tim (he's better score s***-loads) Collins
Dimi Is Gay
I love reading your site, but there is one thing that I just can't stand! Please stop calling Berbatov 'Dimi' -it sounds awful as for a little boy or hmm....gay!
Try instead with Mitko...the way we call him here in Bulgaria!
Keep up the great work you're doing
Alek
Shut It JT, ManYoo Will Be Better
Good old John Terry and Ashley Cole. Talking up Chelsea's chances this season. Just a few points.
Firstly, Terry reckons Man U can't possibly play as well this season. He thinks Ronaldo can't possibly score as many goals. Fair enough. He's gonna miss some games with the injury, and even if fit he'd struggle to hit 42 goals again. But even if he comes back and scores 25 goals, it would still be an excellent return.
Does 'JT' think that players like Nani and Anderson are not going to be better next season? I mean, did he even think about what he said before he opened his mouth? It's almost inconceivable that Nani and Anderson wont make a bigger impact this season.
Then there's Carlos Tevez, who wasnt fit for the first part of last season. This season he's hit the ground running, MOM in the charity shield, and at 24 I would say is likely to be able to improve upon last season. And Hargreaves missed so many games through injury last season that it won't take a huge improvement in his fitness for him to have a bigger impact this season.
Then there's Rooney. He did pretty well last season but its generally believed, and was acknowledged by SAF, that there's more to come. A player of his ability, at his age, has the potential to improve vastly on last season.
And that's not counting the fact Rio (who JT seems to think is due a bad season because he's had two good ones) and Vidic are in the prime of their careers and getting better all the time, as is Evra beside them. Or this morning's news that Utd are likely to sign Berbatov by the end of the week.
So I would say it's distinctly possible, indeed highly probably, Utd will improve upon last season's performances, so Ashley, it's unlikely that Chelsea are the only team who's players will improve. Granted Ronaldo mightn't hit the same heights but there's 10 other guys on the pitch too. I think SAF must have hit a bit of a nerve when he said Chelsea may already be at their peak with not too much room for improvement. Have Carvalho and Terry, good as they are, any scope for improvement at this stage? Or Lampard, Ballack, Drogba?
Birdy, Ireland
...Great to see that John Terry is relying on Man Yoo getting worse this season rather than Chelski actually getting better.
Interesting approach.
Chris Speet
Toffee Stuck In Depression
After reading the email from the scared Man City supporter I felt I had to write in the express my dismay and fears in regards to the club I have always supported - Everton F.C. (not sure if being from Ireland and only being able to afford a half season ticket makes me a plastic fan?)
Reading about the numerous players being touted yet nothing happening and with a threadbare squad (and now Pienaar out till September) I am under no illusions about the season ahead - thankfully the first few games could be winnable.
I do think that the blame has to be given to one man and one man only - Mr. David Moyes, I believe that the fact he has not signed a new contract despite saying it's only a matter of time for the guts of three months, has completely destabilised Everton. Why would the board back a manager 100% with transfer funds if there is a possibility he will be gone soon? Where is his commitment to the club he says he loves? Don't get me wrong, I know Moyes is the main factor in stabilising a club from being in relegation dogfights every year to being top-eight club for the foreseeable future, and all Evertonians will be grateful to him even if he does leave.
Let me just lay out the worst case scenario as I see it. Moyes doesn't bring in any new signings, we are sitting mid-table and out of Europe by Nov/Dec he decides enough is enough and leaves then come January all his signings (Arteta, Cahill, Yakubu, Lescott, Yobo - the backbone of the side) hand in transfer requests on the back of the man who signed them leaving and head for brighter pastures. Where will the club I love be then? In the sh*t I would say. I would love to know what other Evertonians' opinions are on the whole situation.
David (can't think of anything witty as I am utterly depressed). Ireland
A Punter Predicts...
Prior to Euro 2008 I made my predictions for what would happen...I'm pretty sure I got most of them right, with only 'Top Scorer' my notable failure. I'm now expanding my crystal ball and making my precidtions for the whole season!
So here we go...
Winners: Chelsea - I think with some stability in the hot-seat and the addition of Deco and others, they have the tools to topple Man Utd.
Runner-Up: Man Utd - They havn't really bought big this summer - even if Berba joins he won't have much of an impact, being in the pecking order behind Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo. If they want to accomodate him as a regular player, they need to mix up their formation which could unsettle the team.
Champo League: Arsenal and Tottenham/Liverpool - Arsenal are a dead cert, but they need more midfield cover for Cesc and an experienced name at the back. The jury is still out on 4th place. I've never really been impressed with Liverpool in the league (apart from Torres and Gerrard) but they could suffer the same as Arsenal did last year by piling the pressure on two players (Cesc and Adebayor).
Uefa Cup: Liverpool/Tottenham (see above) Aston Villa (if they keep Gareth Barry), Portsmouth.
Relegated: Stoke (no-brainer really!) Hull City, West Brom.
Surprise Team Of The Season: When I say surprise, I don't mean they're going to win anything, I mean they are going to do a lot better than everyone expects...so I'm going with...NOBODY. Nobody will punch above their weight this year, all teams will perform to their average/poor/not-quite-made-it standards.
Top Scorer: A tough one, I don't see Ronaldo putting them away like he did last term, but he will definitely be up there. As will Torres, but with Robbie 'The Poacher' Keane along side him the goals will be shared this year. Adebayor has his new deal at the Goon so I doubt he will bust a gut (plus his ratio is something like 10:1), but if RVP can stay fit then he has a good chance. Shot in the dark, I'm going foooooor...Torres.
Sergei Rebrov award: For big-budget low-impact goes to Elmander (or whatever his name is, it doesn't matter he won't be in the headlines this year!)
First Manager out the door: Roy Hodgson. But, he'll jump before he's pushed.
FA Cup - Arsenal - they have to win something soon!
League Cup: Tottenham.
For legal reasons I cannot be held responsible if you lose loads of money based on my predictions. Blame the players!
Kye McCarthy (Russell Grant is my Hero!) Essex
Put Journos In The Commentary Box
I have thought about the topic of commentary in sport for a long time and I have found much like some recent mailboxers that football is so far behind every other sport. But I think I have a solution. Having watched a lot of American sports coverage I have found sports writers are used heavily. This goes for all US sports American Football, Baseball, Baskteball etc. On Espn (can we say their name on a Sky website?) they have daily shows where three or four sports writers debate topics with a high level of insight. Mostly importantly I have found the level of argument and disargeement to be quite refreshing. These men (and women too) diss the other opinions and it reminds of a few mates chatting away about sports rather than four prats towing the same line like you see on the BBC and SKY. These men have a huge knowledge and love for the game, most of whom have never played the game in question but have the most important skill of all when it comes to punditry - an analytical mindset. They dont spout cliches and lines of high intellect such as "he will be disappointed to let that goal in".
In the US their commentary booths are full of old sports writers who have beaten the weary track of journalism and have now with an accummulated level of knowledge they can disect a play with great detail and with a light touch which a lay person such as myself can understand what's just happened. It beats Lawro hands down.
So why not do like the Americans? Get in the sports writers and get rid of the dumb ex-footballers, most of whom haven't written an essay since the age of 14, have never analsyed a game from the outside looking in and who haven't got strong debating skills.
Now I know in the excellent Mediawatch we all ridicule the journalists in these fair isles but surely we can find three or four to do our great sport justice and finally get an aftermatch coverage which gives insight.
May I suggest Bill O'Herlihy for the anchorman job. He asks the tough questions and makes rte's coverage the best of a bunch when it comes to football. Then have Stan Collymore and Martin Parry in the commentary booth. And hey, maybe some of the Football365 crew in the studio with Bill? thats sounds very good to me!!
So how about it? Can you Sky employees get onto Rupert and pull a few strings?
David (I suggested a highly-paid job for the Football365 bloggers, I have to be printed) Purdue Dublin
Anger At The Miller
I don't usually write in but Nick Miller's article really riled me.
The reason that clubs should pay for policing is that the relative cost to them is miniscule compared to the cost to the police. If Man Utd can afford to bid £21m for yet another striker, I'm sure they can manage to raise £500k a season. But to the police, £500k is an awful lot out of their budget.
And as for the statement 'The times of hoards of blood-thirsty hooligans that need shepherding from station to stadium in a tight police cordon are gone.' - Nick has obviously not been to many football matches - last season I attended a Wolves - Cambridge Utd (those famous rivals) cup match, and on leaving, was told a) not to go into town as it might be dangerous b) not to go straight to the train station as it might be dangerous and c) to put my coat on over my Cambridge shirt lest I got set upon by the Wolves fans who were not in town or at the train station. Then look at the staggering number of people required to police, say, a Forest - Derby game and you have to conclude that anyone claiming that there isn't much of a need for a strong police presence at games these days is living in a fantasy land, or watching all the games on TV.
It's a sad comment on today's society that someone like Nick would side with clubs who are making millions a year rather than a state which, frankly, needs all the money it can get to protect the people of this country.
Andy Marr, London
