₦airaland Forum

Hannibal:
Show us stats that say players in the 80s run 5Km per game compared to the 12Km per game now!!
Is this speculation or your own wet dreams??
David Ginola and Ted Sheringham were all chain smokers and they were very strong. . . . .Sheringham retired at 42!!!!!
How many of today's players can match Maradona's strength??
The theory of " a player don't make a team" was put into shambles by Diego in 86 world cup.
He is still the only player in FOOTBALL HISTORY to have dragged a mediocre team to the world cup and he was a CHAIN-SMOKER.

Well, not exactly 5km. I heard that from Tim Vickery from the BBC . . . . but I did a little research and it turns out that players back then did significantly less running than now . . . . and at slower speeds . . . .with more recovery time inbetween sprints . . . . players now are running 3 - 4 km more than back then.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20021215/ai_n12669615

Show me a top player in 2008 who is chain smoking, don't tell me about old man Ginola who was unfit (ask George Graham).


BTW, funny you say Maradona was a chain smoker because I read his autobiography "El Diego" and there was no mention of it till the end of his playing career with Boca.

Dr Kit, it seems like your whole purpose on Nairaland is to defend Ako. I am just playing with him, nothing serious. Everybody knows Ako is the baba when it comes to Nigerian football.

Hannibal:
Maradona, Zidane, Cryuff and now Rooney so whats your point??
I have told u to leave footie analysis for real pundits and stick to barbing.
What has smoking gotta do with skills?? Socrates(Brazilian) and Fabien Barthez all smoked.

In the 1980's players ran 5 km per game, now they are running 12 km per game easy. Please show us an example of a top modern footballer who smokes. Zidane, unlike Rooney played his game while barely running so smoking did not affect him.

folahann:
The Rooney of 5 years ago is the Rooney of 3 years ago and the Rooney now

Spot on!

debosky:
They many times quote without any sources - who on earth was their source when at the end of an article they are speculating to the extent that they are drawing triangles between Ade's trade to either Barca and Milan and some other club completely uninvolved in the (alleged) deal?

No - I read that article. It was actually an editorial. The writer was drawing a triangle between Adebayors transfer setting off a chain of transfers. It happens all the time even in The Times and other newspapers. Check this out - the same BBC that said two days ago that Russian media told them Arshavin had already agreed personal terms with Chelsea - today they are telling us that Barca are the only team who have made a bid for Arshavin. Inconsistency is everywhere. Goal.com carry more articles than anyone else. In a single day, they could have 50 different articles - so of course there is more bunkum spewed with increase in quantity. I have just looked at their front page and they have stories on Sorrentino, Prandelli, Vargas, Barcelona elections, Fernando Meira, Didier Digard, Simone Perrotta, Wenger etc . . . . . . who else has that breadth of info? Some people never even heard of half those people - I know you have, but someone like Ako is very Naija/Anglo-centric. Maybe he could learn something from goal.com. 

@Debosky,

Alves is obviously a good player and probably better than Bosingwa . . . . I have not seen enough of Bosingwa to make that judgement because when I watch Portuguese league, I only watch highlights and defenders do not show up much on highlights. . . . but your argument of Alves being much better because he won UEFA Cup twice holds no water. Many players won UEFA Cup including Ivica Dragutinovic who also plays for Seville . . . . but that does not make Dragutinovic a better defender than say Bruno Alves who plays for Porto.

As for goal.com, please name a more Euro-centric website. All of them are Anglo-centric, whether it is Soccernet or BBC or Football365 or whatever. Just by reading goal.com, you learn what is happening in all the other leagues and which players are performing. Eg: The English papers today are saying that Newcastles new winger Jonas Guiterrez bought out his contract at Mallorca. But if you have been reading goal.com, you will know that Gutierrez has been on strike at Mallorca for the last two months and announced two months ago that he would seek to buy out his contract. Tell me which website can you learn that from? Is it Soccernet who only concentrate on Premier League? I don't think so. I have found out about many players that a normal football fan would not know about, just by reading goal.com. Of course, like you said, they quote many sources. But it is all part of learning because you learn about players. And they do NOT publish without quoting sources unless their journalist was there himself. Is it not Somze that told us that Chelsea were interested in Hereenveen winger Sulejmani? I had never seen him play but I knew who he was because I had seen reports on him on goal.com a few months earlier. Now tell me how the normal football follower would know about Sulejmani from other websites? Not only him . . . . .many many others. The fact is that no other website covers European football as comrehensively as goal.com.  

Like I said goal.com is just an information portal, take it or leave it. If you want to know which stories are breaking (in any European country) from any media source, go there. Where else can you get such information at the tip of your fingers? Only a mumu would not be able to judge which stories are credible and which are not.

I'm telling you guys they were swimming and shooting . . . . . .do you think they approached the Islands by boat? Biafran soldiers would have easily picked them off if they invaded by boat.

Ako, no source is 100% credible. If BBC is not always credible, then no source is 100% credible. Like I said, it is up to the reader to discern whether the information is credible. If you see an article on goal.com where they are quoting The Sun, you will obviously take it with a pinch of salt. But if you see an article where they are quoting from France Football, you will believe it 95%. So like I said, it is an information portal. What is your point anyway?

Debosky - Abeg lemme ask you . . .if Dani Alves is so good, why is Maicon benching him for Brazil? Abeg leave Bosingwa alone. The transfer market is heavily inflated this summer and the price we paid for him is 'almost' normal given the prices we see players gong for. Alves is older than Bosingwa by a year. Seydou Keita also went for about £16m so the price is normal.

You idiots . . . . BBC Radio 5 broke the news on Arshavin, not Goal.com

Goal.com never provide information, they just relay information provided by other media sources eg France Football, BBC, Telelombardia, Gazzetto Della Sport etc.

In all my time following football, Goal.com is the most reliable source because they only quote other sources. They never say a story is true or not, they just say "according to blah blah blah, player X will move to club Y for £Zmillion. Firstly, they don't have many full time staff so they don't do investigative journalism, they just report what other news sources have investigated. The only investigative journalists they have are in America. Every other journalist just gets their information from local news sources and they translate it into all the different languages. I know because I worked there for a year for almost nothing. I was writing match reports from my own house after watching the match on TV. However, what you find is that everyone there really loves football and is football crazy. They even have a Naija guy there now . . .Awenlimobor Sylvester who deals with African football.

Since they have journalists in every country, there is a quick diffusion of information. If something happens in Spain, someone like Luis Mira will quickly pick it up and you can read it here in England or Naija or wherever the hell you are. That is the strength of goal.com. They are always first to the story . . . . way before Soccernet or anyone else . . . . now you see that the BBC update their Gossip column throughout the day . . . .so they are also catching up.

The Ben Arfa to Marseille story was on Goal.com and no other website had it, not Soccernet or BBC. A week later, the transfer was finally sealed . . . . so if you want to be ahead of the game, go to Goal.com. A story comes out in Goal.com and you see it two days later in the Times newspaper . . . . . this happened last weekend actually, I forget the story.

No source is a credible source . . . all football journalists are required by their editors to sensationalise transfer stories so they can sell more papers or whatever. Was it not the BBC's own Mihir Bose that told us Mark Hughes was going to be Chelsea manager? The Times, Telegraph etc constantly get things wrong . . . .it is up to you to decide which is true or fake . . . . for example, The Daily Star always make up bullshit . . . they always say Roman is ready to pay £80m for this player and that player when it is obviously nonsense.

Yo . . . . lets not get carried away with this Arshavin thing. The deal isn't done yet.

Anyway, check this out . . . . . .

WTF happened to Ivanovic. No one has told us why he hasn't made his Chelsea debut yet. Was he intimidated at Stamford Bridge by all the big names in the squad. Did he simply fail to settle. We know he is a good player, that much is undisputable .  . . . . . so why hasn't his Chelsea move worked out so far?


http://www.goal.com/en-US/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=761497


Juve Prepare Ivanovic Move

According toe the Corriere dello Sport, Juventus are considering making a loan move for Chelsea outcast Branislav Ivanovic.

This time last year the Serbian defender was the talk of the continent following some outstanding displays in the Under-21 European Championships in Holland.

The 24-year-old had a whole host of Europe’s top clubs after him, including Juventus, Inter, Milan, and Manchester United, but it was Chelsea who eventually won the race to sign him.

The Blues paid Lokomotiv Moscow €13m for the defender, who joined in January of this year. However, since arriving in West London, Ivanovic has become something of an outcast, and indeed he has mysteriously still yet to make his first team debut, only playing for the reserves.

While some say this was just to protect him physically after he joined at the end of the Russian season, with the likes of John Terry, Riccardo Carvalho, and Alex ahead of him in the pecking order, it will be difficult for him to find space in this coming season.

The Corriere says that Juventus are preparing a loan offer to Chelsea so that Ivanovic can spend the 2008/09 season in Turin.

The Bianconeri have already signed two central defenders this pre-season in the form of Aston Villa’s Olof Mellberg, and Livorno’s Dario Knezevic.

Jakumo:
Great story, but physically impossible in reality since it tales BOTH arms to subdue the recoil of most assault rifle sufficiently to hit anything. Even the comparatively light recoil of an M16 will cause a one-handed shooter to spray wildly and miss with every single round. The Nigerian troops used FN, G3 and AK47 rifles during the civil war, and all those weapons kick like a mule when fired. Somebody has been watching too many Rambo re-runs.

Hehehe . . . . my popsie said they were swimming and shooting. I added the one hand part. I guess they must have been swimming, stopped and held the guns with both hands, fired, then swam again, stopped again, shot . . . . . swam again, shot again . . . . you know what I mean.

Yeah . . . . all hail Di Matteo for landing the MK Dons job. Another Chelsea old boy, Eddie Newton is his assistant.


As for Arshavin, God knows if Scolari wanted him or Abramovic wanted him. I hope Scolari wanted him cos otherwise, who does Scolari want? Nateevs, I don't think Scolari knows the transfer market at all - cos all I keep hearing is Ronaldinho, Robinho, Deco etc - all are players familiar to Scolari.

I sensed that Arshavin has been stopped by Zenith from joining Barca. Arshavin always said that Barca was his first and only choice. But when Barca made bid for him, Zenith told them to pay £20m + Lionel Messi. Haha. I believe Abramovic's friends at Zenith were stopping the deal from going through. Anyway, Chelsea has finally made their bid so we look forward to seeing him at the Bridge.

Well, they have more like six months since Iran have a contract with Russia to sell them anti-air defence system by December. After that, they will be able to protect their nuclear installations.

jagwar:
@ bami
The Nigerian army is not as conventional as the NATO & US army so they can't be compared. Let loose the army on the niger delta for a day & u'l see what they can do. With or without the war ships these bandits will be brought 2 their knees within 24hrs.

The niger delta needs a military occupation so that the area can be developed for those who really want & need progress in the area.

I don't think you know the Naija-Delta to be talking like this. Unless Nigeria government bombs civilian settlements, there is no way they can win the war in Naija Delta easily. It will take at least a year if full-scale war breaks out and it will bring Nigeria almost to its knees. Obasanjo was wise to negotiate. Yar'Adua is making a mistake. I remember my popsie told me about the invasion of Okrika mainland during the civil war. The Nigerian soldiers (of Naija Delta extraction) attacked the island, shooting at the Biafrans with one hand whist swimming with the other. From the water, they finished off the Biafrans. That stretch of water from OGS to Mainland is about 400m, yet they swam it whilst shooting and killing Biafrans.

scantee:
my brother, there is no other way to leave except by choper.
all are stranded here, that is why i said if government can provide choper for us we will be grateful

You can take speedboat straight from Bonny to Port-Harcourt. It is only 45 minutes. My popsie used to fly there by chopper in the morning and come home to PH by 'flying boat' at night. Although with all the militants on the water now, I don't know if this service is still open to non-Ijaws.

Surely your company should handle your evacuation?

Breaking news: Russian media is reporting that Arshavin has agreed personal terms with Chelsea. I will try and find some links in the morning.

akinalabi:
@ Ibime,

Rooney has not improved a jot since 17? We must be talking about another
Rooney here.

I mean Man Utd's Wayne Rooney. Oko Coleen.

At 17, at Everton, he was averaging less than 10 goals a season. His last
season at Everton, he scored 9 goals in 40 appearances. The least he's
scored a season since joining Man Utd is 17 a season.

2006/2007 he scored 23 goals in 55 appearances. That is almost a goal
in 2 games.

And you said he has not improved a jot.

Armchair analysis don't cut it with me.

What you fail to mention is that in his last season at Everton, he started 2/3 of his games from the bench. So your analysis holds no water. He even had problems with Dave Moyes because Moyes was trying to break him in slowly.

So . . . . . if he had started all Everton games he would be scoring the same 18-20 goals that he is scoring now. Plus he gets more chances laid on a plate for him at United. At Everton, he had to create his own chances. With better players around you, your output is supposed to improve.

I have witnesssed no improvement in his a.) dribbling b.) shooting c.) passing d.) left foot e.) heading f.) set pieces

Look at him in Euro 2004 and look at him now? Is there any noticable difference?

If anything he does not have the freedom of youth and sheer bloodymindedness and youthful exuberance he once had. Back then they called him the White Pele. Who would dare compare him to any top player now, talkless of Pele?

Can you compare him to the player who scored a hattrick on his debut against Fehnerbahce?

As far as I am concerned, Rooney is typical English and like Capello said, English players lack the humility to learn anything new. I even saw pictures of him chain-smoking on his holiday with Coleen. Which top player chain smokes?

Meanwhile guys like Ronaldo are growing from strength to strength, doing new things, being more effective etc.

In this case, it is time for the man to play his own game and run triz on this chicka. Hit that then split that.

The following two stories lead me to think that Inter Milan are trying to pay peanuts for Lampard - Mourinho says that "Chelsea and Chelsea officials don't want to sell him" (implying that our asking price is too high).

And Chelsea are playing a deadly game of brinksmanship by insisting that they will leave Lampard in the reserves (if Inter Milan do not pay the asking price.)


http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoid=758376


Mourinho Gives Up On Lampard - For Now

Internazionale boss Jose Mourinho has confessed he is unlikely to lure Frank Lampard away from Chelsea this summer, but insisted there is always next year…

The Special One has made no secret of the fact that Lampard is right at the top of his wish-list, as the pair had a very good relationship while Mourinho was Blues boss.

Speculation has increased over the last few days concerning the England midfielder’s potential switch to Inter, as the 29-year-old is currently holidaying in Italy with his family.

The announcement that Portuguese playmaker Deco – also an Inter target – has officially joined Chelsea only served to cast Lampard’s future at Stamford Bridge into further doubt.

But Mourinho believes he has missed the boat on the ex-West Ham man this summer, although he is supremely confident of signing him next time around.

“This season? I don’t think so,” the former Porto boss is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“Why won’t he? Well it’s not because we don’t want him, but I’m sure Chelsea and Chelsea officials don’t want to sell him.

“However, for next season it will be easier for him to join me at Inter. I’m 100 percent sure in 2009/2010 he will be playing here.”

Mike Maguire



http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=755918


Chelsea To Let Lampard Rot In Reserves?

Sources close to Stamford Bridge suggest that Chelsea will dump Frank Lampard in the reserves for a year rather than allow him to join Inter Milan.

Lampard has been linked with a move to Inter Milan for several weeks now, following the appointment of former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho as the new boss of the Italian champions.

France Football claimed on Friday that Lampard had signed a four-year contract with Inter, worth €7.3m a year, and that the Nerazzurri would pay Chelsea a transfer fee of €9m.

This deal has not become official yet though, and there are reports emanating from Stamford Bridge that Chelsea are fighting tooth and nail to prevent the player from leaving.

Indeed it is even said that if Lampard refuses to sign a new contract in West London, Chelsea could decide to let the player rot in the reserves for a year until his contract expires in 2009. Lampard would then be able to leave on a Bosman transfer as he would be a free agent.

Inter have made the signing of a top class attacking midfielder their summer priority, and they are also believed to be on the verge of capturing FC Porto star Ricardo Quaresma.

Luca Capofranco

Wormy,

You can forget about Drogba leaving. The Milan deal collapsed long time ago. I think either Scolari vetoed the deal or Milan changed their mind.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1029600/Drogba-staying-Chelsea-say-AC-Milan.html


Striker Drogba surprised after AC Milan insist he's 'staying at Chelsea'

Didier Drogba is stunned by AC Milan's claims that he will definitely be staying at Chelsea.

Drogba looked certain to leave Chelsea this summer after the club decided it was time to sell the striker following his sending-off in the Champions League Final.

The Ivory Coast international frustrated the hierarchy with his behaviour last term, publicly expressing a desire to leave on many occasions, and his needless red card in Moscow was the last straw.

AC Milan, Inter Milan and Barcelona have all been strongly linked with the 30-year-old, but none have made a major bid so far.

Earlier this week, AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani revealed his club's main target was Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor because, he claimed, 'Drogba is not for sale'.

But that has come as a surprise to Drogba for, although he has yet to decide his future, sources close to the player insist he could still leave Stamford Bridge.

Inter manager Jose Mourinho expressed his desire to work with him again last week, although the Portuguese may have to convince his president Massimo Moratti, who declared Inter wouldn't be signing any strikers this summer.

Drogba has grown more open to the idea of staying at Chelsea, especially now they have appointed Luiz Felipe Scolari as the new manager, but the decision may not be in his hands.

Chelsea have already begun eyeing up his replacement, with David Villa and Samuel Eto'o in the frame.

Akolawole:
2) So you are quoting Sun Newspaper from Newagedb? One of the reason(s) why loyika is in another level on Nairaland. Its either Guardian,Telegraph or Yaradua link.

Haba, I just dey pass info. I don't usually use The Sun link but it was the first story I found from Google search. I decided the story was credible because the article named the scout Juan Soler. Usually, when the red-top newspapers are telling fibs, you can decipher that they are lying. But the level of info on the story should let you know that it is not a fib.


The question is not that Mourinho rejected Torres. So did Sir Alex. The story is that he considered him 'too slow'. I find that amazing.

Deco - I am still not sure if he can succeed in Prem. We should have bought a young midfielder who is not scared to ride the bench and wait for his chance. My preferred midfield (on the assumption that Lamps has left) is Maka, Essien and Ballack. Anyway, we wait and see . . . . . . .

Looks like this Scolari guy does not know the transfer market too well, relying on the same old bunch of players he has worked with before  . . . . . . . . a Mourinho-esque trait.

Speaking of Mourinho, I was talking to my Portuguese friend yesterday and he told me Chelsea wanted to buy Fernando Torres but Mourinho pulled the plug on the deal cos he considered Torres too 'slow'. I thought he was fibbing so I went to do some Google searching and it turns out he may have been right . . . . . .

http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jan/18/spt.html

According the The Sun, further tension has emerged between Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and football chief Frank Arnesen.
  Arnesen sent Spanish scout Juan Soler to check out Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres at the weekend – even though Mourinho does not want the Spain international.
  Mourinho considers Torres, 22, too slow but he scored twice in Atletico’s 3-1 win at Celta Vigo and Arnesen plans to keep monitoring the striker.


I wonder if Mourinho turned down Torres just because of his antipathy for Arnesen.

Anyway, seeing how we read that article about Arnesen signing Boulahrouz when Mourinho wanted Micah Richards, I wonder if Arnesen wrote his own article, whether we would see a different story. For example, would we have Ribery instead of Malouda? Nani instead of Malouda? I know for certain that Rakitic was wanted by Arnesen. . . . . . . . . . .

somze:
It's just one sad news after another this season.

The worst may be yet to come . . . . .

http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=755621


[center]Carvalho Is Leaving - Alcides[/center]
Chelsea central defender Alcides has hinted that team-mate Ricardo Carvalho will leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The Brazilian player, surplus to requirements at the London-based club, spent the last 18 months on loan at PSV Eindhoven.

Although Alcides was expected to stay at the Dutch club, he has now revealed that Chelsea have called him to replace Ricardo Carvalho.

"PSV Eindhoven wanted me to stay, but I have learned that Chelsea want me back. It seems that Ricardo Carvalho is leaving and I am going to replace him," Alcides said.

The Portuguese international has been linked with football away from Chelsea, having been tipped to join Inter Milan and play under José Mourinho for the third time after joint spells at Porto and Chelsea.

Despite Saturday's reports suggesting Inter Milan to be interested in FC Porto's Bruno Alves, Carvalho is understood to be The Special One's prime target to reinforce the defense.

Alcides, 23, signed for Chelsea in 2004 but has yet to have his official debut for the Blues.

Luis Mira

Somebody tell me how Peter Crouch is worth £9m and Lamps is only worth £7.5m when they both have a year left on their contract. Chelsea have been taken for punks once again.


http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=754960

[center]
Lampard Touches Down To Complete Inter Switch[/center]
Frank Lampard has arrived in Italy to complete his proposed £7.5million transfer to Internazionale.

Following reports from France Football on Friday night that the deal for Lampard had been agreed between Inter and sellers Chelsea, it is now understood the England midfielder is travelling to Milan this weekend to undergo a medical.

According to Italian media sources, Lampard touched down in Positano last night and will be in Milan to sign the contract later today.

The details of the deal, so far as is known at this stage, are that Lampard will earn some £5.8million per season over the lifetime of a four-year contract.  That would represent an estimated £2million increase, more or less, from what he is on at Chelsea, who would received a £7.5million transfer fee.

The relatively low size of the fee reflects the fact that Lampard only had one year left on his existing contract with the Blues.

The player has reportedly been keen to link up again with new Inter manager Jose Mourinho, with whom he struck up a strong working relationship at Stamford Bridge.

Speculation in Italy suggest that an agreement over Portuguese international Deco facilitated the Lampard transfer. Apparently Inter, who like Chelsea wanted to sign Barcelona's midfielder, agreed to back out of the race for Deco, leaving the coast clear for Luiz Felipe Scolari to recruit him for his new Chelsea squad.

Mark Hinton, Goal.com

Are you sure? I read it on goal.com earlier today but I didn't wanna believe it. Apparently France Football broke the story.

Ibime:
(2.) Essien played 8 games: Reading (H), Fulham (H), Villa (A), Liverpool (A), Wigan (H), Blackburn (H), Charlton (A) and Tottenham (H) in Carling Cup - and we conceded 7 goals of which 2 were own goals by Essien (against Reading and Tottenham). Infact, Essien started the Reading and Fulham games in midfield but was put in central defence after the substituion of Geremi in both games (and then we promptly conceded late equalisers). In reality, only Liverpool, Tottenham and possibly Villa should score against us in that fixture list.

Sorry, did I say we conceded 7 when Essien played CB? I meant to say 9. We conceded 2 each against Reading, Fulham and Liverpool and 3 against Tottenham. That is an average of more than 1 goal a game.

Akolawole:
(1.) In my opinion, Michael and Paolo are better

(2.) How many matches do Essien played as a central Defender?

(1.) Wow! Really? You are a brave man. Soon you will be telling me that Ashley Cole is a better centre-back and only height is impeding him. This is preposterous.

(2.) Essien played 8 games: Reading (H), Fulham (H), Villa (A), Liverpool (A), Wigan (H), Blackburn (H), Charlton (A) and Tottenham (H) in Carling Cup - and we conceded 7 goals of which 2 were own goals by Essien (against Reading and Tottenham). Infact, Essien started the Reading and Fulham games in midfield but was put in central defence after the substituion of Geremi in both games (and then we promptly conceded late equalisers). In reality, only Liverpool, Tottenham and possibly Villa should score against us in that fixture list.

Ferreira played only 5 games: Reading, Fulham, Villa, Liverpool and Middlesbrough - and we conceded 6 goals.

Forget the conspiracies. Let us look at the games Boulahrouz played for Chelsea:

PREMIERSHIP

Blackburn Rovers(Away) (2-0)
Charlton(Home)  (2-1)
Liverpool(Home) (1-0)
Reading(Away) (1-0)
Spurs(Away) (1-2)
West Ham(Home) (1-0)
Everton(Away) (3-2)
Villa(Away) (0-0)
Wigan(Away) (3-2)
Sheffield united(Home) (3-0)
Arsenal(Away)(1-1)
Everton(Home) (1-1)


CARLING CUP

Blackburn(Away) (2-0)
Aston Villa(Home) (4-0)
Newcastle(Away) (1-0)

FA CUP

Norwich city(Home) (3-0)
Spurs(Away) (2-1)


UEFA CUP

Barca(Home) (1-0)
Barca(Away) (2-2)
Werder Bremen (Home) (2-0)



We only lost one, away to Tottenham. Even with Cech and Cudicini injured, he played 5 Premiership games, losing only the Tottenham game. Essien and Ferreira came in for the home games to Reading and Fulham and we dropped 4 points, conceding 4 goals. We then lost 2-0 away to Liverpool with them in defence again despite the fact that Cech was back. Not only was their performance poor, but it also deprived us of our best midfielder - Michael Essien, who was playing centre-back. I remember against Liverpool, We played 4-4-2 with only Mikel and Lampard in midfield. Liverpool sliced through our midfield like a hot knife through butter (where Essien should have been). I remember all of this very clearly and my thought at the time was "What is Jose doing?". I am pretty certain we would have won the Reading and Fulham match if Boulahrouz had played, maybe not the Liverpool match. That means that when we played Man Utd at home, we would have won the league if we beat them.

Akolawole:
(1.) Michael and Paoulo canplay nearly anywhere on the field but for their Height NOT technicalities


(2.) If Khalid can get that number of matches in a star-studded Chelsea team then JM is minister of Fairness.

3.) Is Alex going to bench Ricardo and John Terry?

(1.) Firstly, I don't give a shit about height or no height. Are they the best for the position?

Is it not Somze who has been criticising Ferreira all season? As soon as Jose is involved, Ferreira suddenly turned to a good central defender. The guy is even weak at right-back talkless of centre-back.

(2.) Minister of which fairness? How many centre-backs did we have that season? How many games did Terry and/or Carvalho miss? Who was best suited to replace them when they were injured? Please stop arguing nonsense.

(3.) And your point is? Where Terry and/or Cravalho fit in January last season? Stop ducking the obvious issue.


Please answer the question: Are Ferreira and Essien better centre-backs than Boulahrouz. I have been asking this question for the last three days, yet neither you nor Somze has had the balls to make the statement. Answer the question!

I love this debate because it gives me a chance to show you guys how much WORSE Essien and Ferreira were at centre-back than Boulahrouz.

Ako, I am glad that you have listed the number of games that Boulahrouz played - yet I can remember the no of poor games he played - at Nou Camp, White Hart Lane. Of course we remember his red card at Emirates but I do not count that because he was already a broken man by then. No one is arguing that Boulahrouz was superb - but he was ten times better than Essien and Ferreira at centre back. Essien and Ferreira made TWO mistakes in EVERY single match they played at centre-back. In March 2007, we played Spurs at the Bridge in the FA Cup. Need I remind everyone of Essiens performance that day? Please watch this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djgFiPmeSr8

Only a MAD MAN can watch that video and tell me Essien is a better defender than Boulahrouz. Boulahrouz was on the bench that day and I was SO ANGRY at Jose while I was watching Essiens schoolboy defending. That was the day I confirmed that Jose's treatment of Boulahrouz was political. I see three mistakes for all three Tottenham goals. Yet Jose insisted on playing Essien throughout December and January that season and we haemorraged points during that period. Going into that period, we were about level with Man Utd, yet we came out about 6 points behind them due to Essien and Ferreira shakiness. If Boulahrouz was shaky, I wonder what you will call Essien and Ferreira - Parkinsons disease?  . I can produce at least 4 more horror videos of their performances during that period but I think you already catch my drift.

There is a difference between being dribbled by Robbie Keane (as Boulahrouz was) and being caught out of position countless times (like Essien was). Anybody can dribble anybody but poor positioning is the bread and butter of defending. On top of that Essien and Ferreira are no good in the air and lost almost every header they challenged for, heaping pressure on our defence. Ferreiras positioning was good, but his strength and jumping were non-existent. Essien's positioning was frankly laughable.

On top of that, Alex could have solved our problems in January, NO ONE IS MENTIONING THAT! Like I said some months ago, Jose produced a DVD for Abramovic pointing out all of Alex's mistakes. By this time, Jose was in war mode and had lost sight of the bigger picture - winning the league. If he had kept his calm, won the league and then argued with them in the summer, I would have nothing against Jose. Alex played for us from September till February and acquitted himself well. He is now Brazil first choice centre-back - QED.

Akolawole:
Additional Note:
"Against Fulham
Khalid Boulahrouz, believe it or not, was unwell and unable to take his place. So Paulo Ferreira was shifted across to centre-back from the right where he finished against Liverpool, and Geremi was introduced."

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/MatchReport/0,,10268~33119,00.html

Nonsense, I remember that time. That was a political injury.

I quote from your link:

"Khalid Boulahrouz, believe it or not, was unwell and unable to take his place."

Do you not detect the irony in that statement? There was a lot of media furore around Chelsea at that time and Chelsea press office told the press that he was 'unwell' to diffuse the situation. How many times have we heard that Shevchenko is injured when we all know that he has been dropped? It happens all the time in the Premiership. The quote says he was 'unwell' - not injured, but 'unwell' - was it flu? or food posioning? or malaria? Boulahrouz was never injured or 'unwell' during that period. He was injured in November and early Decmber but he was already fit by the time Terry got injured.

somze:
Someone that started so many high profile games when he first came, got injured for most of the season and came back with shaky performances against Spurs and Arsenal suddenly becomes a great player. What did he do in Sevilla - 6 freaking appearances.

Boulahrouz only ever had a minor injury at Chelsea. He had a major injury at Sevilla, hence he only played 6 games. Infact, he was just regaining fitness when Euro 2008 came and he nearly missed the squad due to lack of fitness. Jose's camp fed the press the story that Boulahrouz was playing poorly. If you look at his first ten games, the press were raving about him. After the Barca game, he suddenly turned into the worst Chelsea defender of all time. No, he played poorly in 2 games - and the press made their judgement by December. This is a case of history being shaped by men's opinions - Jose's opinion to be precise.

somze:
When it comes to Jose, Lampard or Drogba, Ibime suddenly loses rationale.

Drogba, yes. Jose, maybe. But Lampard? I think you are confusing me with Nateevs. I have always been a Lampard fan. My only 'loss of rationale' is that I do not agree that Chelsea should pay £135,000 to a 34 year old (as Lampard is insisting on 4 year contract). If that is 'loss of rationale', well . . . . . .   





OK - to end this debate. Hand on heart - I am still to hear ANY of you state categorically that Essien or Ferreira is a better centre-back than Boulahrouz. I dare you. Infact, I double-dare you! When I hear that one, then I will give up. Can you not see how preposterous that statement is?  I challenge anybody to say that - and if you cannot say that, then this debate is over. Please do not lie to yourself. I triple-dare you!

going, going, GONE!



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2008/russia/7470415.stm

[center]Barcelona make Arshavin approach[/center]
Zenit St Petersburg say they have received an approach from Barcelona for Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin.

The 27-year-old said earlier this week that playing for Barca, the club he supported as boy, is his "dream".

Barcelona vice president Ferran Soriano said: "We are interested in Arshavin. But it won't be easy to sign him because all teams want him now."

A Zenit St Petersburg official said: "Barcelona have made a formal proposal to Zenit for the purchase of Arshavin."

The forward has starred in Russia's run to the semi-finals at Euro 2008 and has also been linked with a move to the Premier League after asking to leave the Uefa Cup champions.

Barca now appear to head the list of suitors, but the Zenit official added: "We will only talk about this once Andrei returns to Zenit."

Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter said the player would cost about 25m euros (£19.8m) but said money was not the main issue. 606: DEBATE
Arshavin is a good player but he has only played two games in Euro 08

workvisaspermitting

"It's time for him (Arshavin) to look for new challenges, and this is a great opportunity for him," he told Spanish television station La Sexta.

"Everything depends on how interested Barcelona are and how much the player wants to play there.

"There are not that many clubs in the world that can match his pay at the moment, but the main reasons for leaving will be sporting ones."

Barcelona say they have been monitoring Arshavin since earlier this year.

"Our interest isn't sudden since we have been following him with discretion for a few months now," said Soriano, who added that the Spanish giants had first noticed him in April when he played against German side Bayer Leverkusen in the Uefa Cup.

"We were under the impression that he played in midfield, but now we have seen that in big games, with his national team at the Euro, that he plays on the flank," Soriano told Mundo Deportivo.

"That's dispelled any doubt and this is the profile of a player we would like."

On Wednesday, Arshavin said: "Barcelona are my dream, I never thought I would have a genuine chance to play for the club.

"I have supported Barcelona all my life, let's see how the situation unfolds. For now I can't say anything for sure."

Arshavin had previously told BBC Radio 5 Live of his admiration for England's top level.

"I see English games on TV - it's the best league in the world," he said.

"I would like to change club. It's not a big difference between England and Spain. It's another level for me."

Zenit coach Dick Advocaat is already resigned to losing his star player.

"I can understand that he wants to play in Europe," Advocaat told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I think he has some clubs in his mind, some in England and others in Spain, because they are the only two countries he would like to play in.

"If you lose one of your main players you don't like it as a coach but you have to be realistic."

Arshavin was suspended for Russia's opening two games at Euro 2008, but his return has propelled Guus Hiddink's side to a semi-final meeting with Spain, the team that beat them 4-1 in their first group game.

I don't know about Army but I lived next to Navy barracks and there was order and discipline there, plus a healthy outdoor lifestyle for the children.