₦airaland Forum

Scholes was poor, but Giggs was immense tonight --- RvP and Chica misses almost cost us all 3 in the end.

Carrick -> MOTM

All in all, that was quite an epic!

CARRICK is god!

Bisjosh: A bag of rice and a gallon of vegetable oil

Same here...do we work in the same company!?

ThoniaSlim: What happened to walking up to her and striking an intellectual stimulating conversation?

I don't think "pick-up lines" are childish or un-necessary. . .the idea is not to make the person fall head over hills in that instant; it is generally a means to "break the ice" and perhaps initiate that intellectual stimulating conversation. A lot of ladies walk around with very frightening demeanor and sometimes it'd take way more than a mere "hello" or "hi" to crack that veneer!

How about Pako-Aguda, all the way through Ijesha, Itire, Lawanson and environs. . .!?

[quote author=Mr_TA]All of you complaining about Nani, I hope you're been enjoying Valencia's performances these few weeks? Worst player on the pitch in our last 3 matches.[/quote]Well, if Nani played well with consistency any where near his demands for pay-rise, we wouldn't have to 'manage' Valencia!

shiiiooorr!

And Fergie calls on the "Council of Elders". . .and they never fail to deliver!

Am I the only one that thinks the pace of this game is kind of slow!!?

One game at a time jare...next up is Swansea, make we focus on dem and lef' Madrid matter till then!

Is Vidic going to start?

usbcable: well real madrid will be real madrid regardless of the results.

unlike Sevilla 14 place rock bottom
mauled by Atheltico 4 goals to nil
beaten at home by same malaga with 2 unreplieds goals
that has won only one away match all season long against who? Deportivo La coruna

now go clap for yurself. Looser.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. . .bla, bla, bla. . .at least we don't have "God" for Manager and billions of Euros worth pvssies pretending to be footie players.

So we can be content with rock-bottom 14th

Mourinho's words about Pellegrini after taking over from him at the Bernabeu in 2010 - "second place is just the first loser". . .

I wonder if he still feels the same now!

chrisley024: Do u tink we can win Malaga?! They used dia wide men dat r skilful, dribbles n can cut inside n open up defence n nt a predictable n 1-legged winger dat can only cross wen d chance n space is dia

Oh! Now we can't beat Malaga. . .I bet we also cannot beat Espanyol, Getafe, Betis, Sevilla and Sporting Gijon. Heck we probably can't beat anybody in the segunda too. *smh*


I repeat, that it is the attitude we take into that Madrid game that will determine our fate. If we genuinely believe that we can win it, go out there and play our game without fear, then we're doing ourselves more good than harm.
But if we persist with this negative mindset; then why bother playing the match because we've already accepted defeat without even trying!

Iker Casillas. . .my heartfelt sympathies. Perhaps its time to move!

Thats the Real I should be quaking in my boots over. . .!!?

Well, he changed his name from "Special One" to "Only One" - looks like he is going to be the only Madrid manager to have lost the ligue way even before the half-way point!

That leftie Wigan midfielder is a baller!

Coquelin for Podolski

AW has probably done Nairabet that this would end in a draw

TW14 is really trying to be TH14

Good to see though!

1920MaMa: you mean you expect a guy to pursue a lady for 1yr in this generation where 7 women are holding unto one man to marry them? if you see a man that has all the qualities you desire in a man, why play hard to get? wat if you loose him in the process? on the other hand, if a guy does not meet your standard, why waste his time? until we realize that not all relationships must end in marriage, we still have a long way to go, relationship-wise.

Thumbs up for this one. . . hit the nail on the head precisely!

Last night Arsene Wenger urged Theo Walcott to sign a new Arsenal contract to show his loyalty to the club.

Among other things, Wenger said: "I am happy to pay Theo the money he deserves. You feel as well, I bought Theo at 17 years of age and spent a lot of money for him, gave him big support as well. I believe he's happy here, he's always looked to me like he's an Arsenal man.

"You want the players to stay because they love where they are and they are committed to the club. That is the most important. What is important to keep the young players together is at some stage I stand up for them.

"When they are ready to produce you would like to say: 'OK let's stay together and win together, and give back to the club what the club has given to us.'

“My gut feeling is that he belongs to this club and I hope he will do it and sign for us. Once he has made up his mind it will be very quick."

Firstly, Walcott has repeatedly said his reluctance to sign a new contract is not about money, but his desire to play as a central striker. Whether you believe that or not is a matter of interpretation, cynicism and personal choice. Some will insist he is telling the truth; some will insist he is lying. Only Walcott knows.

That Walcott’s purported wish is being granted should be conviction enough, although one wonders if it is as much through the circumstance of his team-mates’ inability to score regularly. The player has to assess whether this is a temporary solution for Wenger, or a dawning reality that the England forward is best used through the middle.

Secondly, Wenger is being disingenuous with the statement that “he's always looked to me like he's an Arsenal man”, and the implication that – by default of spending money on him and taking him to Arsenal – Walcott is morally obliged to stay.

Walcott is not an Arsenal man – he supported Liverpool as a boy and was developed by Southampton. Arguably he has barely developed since then – only a few months ago the general wisdom was that he has the same technical and tactical limitations as he did aged 17.

Walcott is aware of his limitations. While a gifted player he does lack the technique and consistent crossing ability to be a top-class right-sided midfielder; he is blessed with pace and plays on instinct, and is surely more suited to the role of the speedy striker. Certainly more so than Gervinho, or Marouane Chamakh (shudder).

It may also be also that Wenger is a better judge of talent and potential than he is a coach of skills and tactical acumen. Arsenal’s successful youth policy under Wenger has revolved largely around poaching the best foreign (and occasionally British) talent at an early age. Even Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs aren’t strictly-speaking Arsenal developed – Wilshere came from Luton Town’s school, and Gibbs was at Wimbledon until they relocated to Milton Keynes.

ED is not entirely sure Wenger is too concerned about the accuracy of his statement on Walcott. It smacks of an attempt to psyche out the player and his agent, to use the recently-signed contracts of Walcott’s fellow British team-mates as emotional leverage to draw his commitment.

Walcott is clearly happy at Arsenal, but is not happy with the rate of his development. Wenger is playing a risky game by effectively accusing him of greed, attempting to cover his back in the case of an exit. Arsenal fans are already strongly questioning his judgement in the transfer market and, while Walcott may not be universally adored, he is their most effective striker.

ED reckons Walcott will pen a new deal, but by going to the media Wenger is showing a lack of discretion that may harm his chances of signing others.

http://eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/early-doors/wenger-statement-smacks-desperation-085137836.html;_ylt=Av0tYg7PV78nZyAeIevYf.syg4t4;_ylu=X3oDMTRpZ2QwazZ2BG1pdANFeHBlcnRzIE1vZHVsZSBGb290YmFsbCBTRgRwa2cDODgwZTRlY2ItN2Y3MC0zMGU3LWJmN2YtOTg0MGQzODU0ZTNiBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNNZWRpYUJMaXN0TWl4ZWRMUENBVGVtcAR2ZXIDYzcyNDRkMzAtNGI1My0xMWUyLTg5N2QtNTljMTQ0NDdiMGFi;_ylg=X3oDMTFxcDR1NGsyBGludGwDZXVyb3BlBGxhbmcDZW4tZ2IEcHN0YWlkAwRwc3RjYXQDZm9vdGJhbGwEcHQDc2VjdGlvbnM-;_ylv=3

I think I believe Walcott more. . .he doesn't look the 'mercenary' kind of player that will follow the money. If he moves, he is going to move to a club that will offer him a shot at his favored position!

debosky: It's fees pure and simple - if he signs a new deal at Arsenal, it's like getting a promotion at your existing company. If he leaves on a free transfer, he costs the new club less and they can afford to pay him more in wages. It's really that simple.

Arsenal have to consider the impacts of any wage deal with Walcott on other players in the squad to ensure they can afford to pay more if others demand higher pay using Walcott's deal as justification.

The fact is that if Walcott was really interested in signing he would've done so by now - I'm 90% sure he will leave and the closer to May we get the more certain I'll become.

But Theo's statements all the while hasn't suggested so; perhaps you guys are a little too quick to judge!

@ ortopazz.

I disagree oh. Karim Benzema is a baller!

Wow. . .thats all I can say. But its just a pity he choose to put his talent to use for the wrong things and reasons!

I wonder why peeps cannot see any positives. . .look at Real, all over the field they have "lazy" players who won't track back and help the defence out. Coupled with this Jose is prone to making "crazy" decisions, in the name of tactical nous, which good sides can take advantage of.
It doesn't matter who they play, everytime that team successfully strings a few "clean" passes together, they look like their gonna score only that they hesitate to commit men forward or show more adventure.

On the contrary, we have a team of grafters and husslers (not talking of our "Council of Elders" oh). Guys who will work tirelessly, up and down the field - in this regard, we have a slightly better defence than Real Madrid.

To defeat this Madrid side takes nothing special - we play our normal game, two strikers on the field - only thing is everybody puts in a bit more effort which, as Emperoh just pointed out, we seem to have been able to do against the 'big sides' so far this season.

For me, am ready to go as far as putting my money on the line and am not just saying because I can hide behind the relative anonymity the WWW provides; even SAF himself cannot tell me different. . .we will beat Real Madrid even at the Santiago Bernabeu!

[quote author=A-40]You want to beat Madrid? Stop Ozil! Its as simple as that[/quote]I feel on this. . .these are the type of "silent", intelligent footballers that can do real damage when you least expect 'em. The likes Di Maria, Ronaldo I am very confident we can stifle; in the case of CR, even get under his skin and mess his head up some. Ozil needs a bit of roughing up to be knocked off his stride.

I have full confidence that Rafael can keep CR7 quiet. Yes, he still has some minuses but he likes a challenge and going toe-to-toe with CR7 is one he will relish. He can match CR7 for pace and will definitely not be shy to exert himself. Jones or Smalling will be a little too trepid; Rafael on the other hand will not be over-awed!

Must be exhausting the number of ball.s they've got to handle

Athletico vs Rubin Kazan. . .good one!

dayokanu: Both sides are similar. Heavy in attack susceptible in defence

Thank you very much. . .

StarBoard: For real?
Rafael? Who couldn't deal with the Robson Kanu guy of reading and had to be subbed 22 minutes into the game after copping a yellow card?
Please. . .
I didn't say Real had a better defence.If anything, their midfield is set to over-run ours unless we go tactical and neutralize their speed.
All I said is I'm about to watch as your theory about having a sharp attack and keeping the other team busy is put to test.
You forget they also have goal threats everywhere. And with our Mickey Mouse defending, I'm not sure we can survive the first leg at the Bernabeau.
Nothing would ple

Different day, different game, different player! So what if Robson-Kanu got the better of Rafael. . .does this imply that Rafael cannot do a decent job against any other winger or is it because CR7 struts around with a 100mil+ price tag on his head!?

I just pray that SAF isn't thinking the way you are because if thats the case, then there is no use playing this game. It is this sort of attitude that gets us defeated in some of these so-called 'big games' in the first place. . .for heaven's sake, loose with the shackles!

All I can say for now is, our strength is in our attack. . .and I'd rather we played up our strength rather than our weaknesses!

StarBoard: @RuuDie,
Time to test that attack/defence theory.
We might get by in England, but i fear Ronaldo will tear our defence to shreds.
February is 2 months from now.
If United progress after those ties, I'll never say a word of criticism at this side anymore till season ends.

Please. . . .Rafael Da Silva will put that nucca in his back-pocket all-day long over the two legs!

You sound as though Real have a better defence. . .well, brace yourself for a shocker; we will BEAT Real Madrid and not by a slim margin too.
Yes, RuuDie sayeth so and you can quote me, anytime!

debosky: I want Bayern - we need to destroy those Muschit scum once and for all and shut DK up permanently.

you've got wish. . .pray your boys can do the biz

chamotex: Madrid it is

Yes. . .and I am very optimistic this time!

Is the issue with Walcott about fees or his insistence on playing CF. . .!!?
If it is the latter, I see know reason why he can't play CF and do well; bar experience, he is no different from Defoe.

Everyday, we hear stories of how Wenger could have signed so-and-so who later went on somewhere else to become 'big' stars - perhaps this could pan out to be so!