₦airaland Forum

coogar: why not? those of us who play fantasy league know baines has been productive in the last 3-4 seasons. what is new to you is a well-known fact to many of us.



it's either you are producing the goods as a defender or keeping clean sheets. baines play for everton so keeping clean sheets can't be his strength. however, what he loses by conceding goals, he makes up by scoring/assisting/creating chances.



this definition had been written before rooney made the pass. if opta defines a long pass as 30 or more yards and rooney made a 29-yard pass then rooney's pass is not a long pass. it's as simple as that. we should not take opta serious because it failed to recognise rooney's pass as a long pass? you must be a joker. if rooney cüms in a condom, i am 100% sure you would drink it.



if young was poor, his fellow midfielders were poorer than him.

Even the Queen knows Young is shitty Coogar. there is no argument about that. he is the worst thing ever to happen to man Utd after bebe and djemba djemba.

elampiro: Is this true? or still speculating?

is true ooooo. the god of soccer smiled on naija.

Cote d'Ivoire v Senegal
Ethiopia v Nigeria
Tunisia v Cameroon
Ghana v Egypt
Algeria v Burkina Faso

coogar: --------lindegaard-------
fabio-smalling-evans-buttner
---cleverley---fellaini---
--nani---kagawa---zaha--
--------hernandez-------

this team is good enough for leverkusen. no need risking the big boys in this game. the game against city is far more important.

Coogarrrrrrrrrrrrr

against leverkusen and put into mind that it is DM's first CL game. he cannot be that audacious. I can bet my life. 5days is enough days for those guys too recuperate. we need the 3points like yesterday. Any news on Rafael yet?

General:

Bayer Leverkusen is currently probably the third strongest German team and main rival of Schalke 04 for the 3rd CL spot. Their biggest strength is that they have a very well rounded and balanced squad. They have no real star players with the exception of maybe Lars Bender, whom I will describe later on, but have on every positions except the FB, who most would describe as good. Still, the difference in quality between them and the two German major powers Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund is significant.

Formation/tactics:

Their general system is a 4-3-2-1, something that is often called "Tannenbaum"(fir tree?)-formation in Germany. They look defensive on paper and it does make them very compact, but offensively they transforms in a 4-1-4-1 with the two CMs moving up and the DM acting as an anchor.

Coaching:

Last season they ran a pretty unique project with having not one but two head coaches: the (former, now once again) youth coach Sascha Lewandowski and the current coach Sami Hyypiä. It worked out pretty well, but they still decided to split up for this season. Hyypiä is a no nonsense coach, who seemingly realy dislikes interacting with the press/media, but is full of competence. Makes very rarely tactical mistakes and is well liked by his players. In short a quality coach.

Key players/ players to look out for:

Lars Bender (CM): Like I said before, if you want to call one of their players a star, it would be the older Bender twin. He is their vice captain and most important lead player. Extremely well rounded with no glaring weakness. Potential world class player, who is unlucky that Germany is so well equiped in his position.

Stefan Kießling (CF): Their main attack source. Very reliable striker with very good instinct. He is also in the form of his life coming from a great season (25 goals, 10 assists), when he won the goal cannon, edging out Robert Lewandowski. He also already scored 5 goals in this season. Underrated in my book, mainly because he is for whatever reason not in the national team despite being Germany´s best striker in the last season. But then again, he is not the only case of being ignored by our national "coach" depite showing true class (*cough* Weidenfeller *cough*).

Heung-Min Son (LW/RW): Their biggest signing this summer and replacement of the departed Andre Schürrle. He is also pretty similar to him. Limited player, but what he does, he does well. Good pace and very good shooting. He is also known for scoring some really cracking goals from outside the box. A player, whom you don´t want to give space.

Gonzalo Castro (CM): Former full back, who was turned to a midfielder. Was considered as an eternal talent, but made a big step forward when he changed positions. The most offensive of the 3 man midfield (can also play as winger) and a good crosser.

Bernd Leno (GK): The Nr. 1 of Germany´s U 21. He is less spectacular than Marc-Andre Ter-Stegen, but more reliable and consistent. A very good shot stopper, who has all the tools to become world class one day. Still a good way off that, though.


Current form:

Leverkusen is right now 3rd in the league with 4 wins and 1 loss. The one loss was against main rival Schalke 04, but that does not say much. That game was a mixture of several Leverkusen players having off days and Schalke receiving a boost from signing Kevin-Prince Boateng a few days earlier. They overall look very good and hungry to play CL again. They could potentially pose problems to United, because they don´t offer much space to the opponent due to their compact formation. A lot will come down to the wingers in this games, because their weakest area are their FB. If United can use the width of the pitch well, then it is their game to win. Taking all positive things of Leverkusen into account, United is still the clear favourite. They should not underestimate Leverkusen, though.

SailorXY: @superstar
Another left hand drive for Nani

Lol

dademola: i'd rada rest vidic. I think his aerial prowress wld be key at d etihad. We need him fresh for dzeko/negredo

Yea you are right. We must have an eye on Man City.

Proposed Line Up against Leverkusen

Degea

Fabio Evans Vidic Evra

Carrick Fellaini

Zaha Rooney Kagawa

RVP

NB: I think Nani is suspended. Valencia as RB wont be a bad idea though. I dont wat to see Giggs and Young on that list tomao. I pray they both get injured.

afrodoc: i don erase Valencia from my setting tey tey.
2 years or so ago i was arguing with someone here (i think it was Coogar) that the guy's lack of a left leg would be his downfall at United long term.
u can hide ur deficiencies in Wigan but not at Old Trafford...here the whole world is watching.shey na at age gbogboro the guy wan learn to use left? his own case is settled

You can't rule out the fact that he comes in handy for defensive duties, which is a major plus for him.

afrodoc: no be by just physique o!

silva,mata and co are not the biggest lot but they are doing ok.
the guy has great touch and technique and he has got vision and passing to back it up.and dont forget he is 18,he will get bigger

even with his physique u want to tell me u have not been impressed with his performances so far?

If raheem sterling, Walcott, wilshere and sturridge can cope, Adnan will.

dademola: d boy is too slender joor. his physique isnt cut out for the rigours of the EPL IMO

De Gea used to.be more slender and Giggs during the days when butchers were playing football.

Januzaj is ferrari and young is keke napep.

Januzaj anytime anyday. Young is the one that deserve loaning

Fellaini is a very good addition to our midfield. #Gbam

We seems to have more speed, tenacity, press high up and maybe urgency. We are inept tactically.

Elampiro and Coogar --- You guys can argue for Africa

Na wa oooooooooooooo

so this was the reason while they were jubilating over the opening of the international route to the airport. Barely 3weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Choiiiiii. Nna mehnnnnn u na no try at all. let the truth be told.

[quote author=Livinus.c]okwanu ogodo mmadu ka ewu n'ata,What federal govt should d is to set out a committee dat ll fish out d fake from d original so dat pple biz ll not b cripple[/quote]see you. is it not the duty of the genuine ones to protect their business by exposing the fakes ones or not even allowing them in at all. if none happens, they are all culprits, starting with the chairman of the killers association.

I say for all those people in that association that have been dealing in fake drugs and using the proceed to send their children to school, e no go beta for dem, they will bury their children with their hands one by one if they do not repent. Lmaooooooooooo

elampiro: Marouane #Fellaini arrived for the first time into the Carrington Training Complex this morning as an official Manchester United player. (Source: Daily Mail)

That is a Left wheel drive. the pix is definitely wrong.

[quote author=nitlad]You are a fool. The intelligent ones among you knew I was merely trading banters, but the masochistic tendencies of you sapheads -yourself and StarBoard- of getting gruesomely slaughtered made you insult me first. I return the favour and this hypocritical runt starts screaming blue murder? You will suddenly!

When will you fruitcakes stop this "get out of our thread" opata?
Something your mother couldn't achieve with her avowed fëllating skills, what makes you think you, her child of perdition will fare any better?

Try harder....[/quote

Moronic slowpoke produced from a retardeen spermatozoa, where were u insulted. Go and slay your Goliath bearing Barcelona first and come back here to run your mouth like tap water.

nitlad: Lol, who be dis learner?



Decimated? You are mistaken.

For that to happen;
1) StarBoard's mother would pass a virginty test;
2) Superfool's dad would somehow beat his chronic testicular cancer.

Dude, it takes a lot more than the incoherent rantings of two inbred hillbillies to get close to Nitlad.

You are indeed a dummy from the abyss of poverty. E no go beta for u, na sapona go eat ur eyeball. All your family members are super fools, even your mama dat produced u as a result of her molestation by garage boys. Don't ever cross my path again. If you are a learner on NL, be warned and get your lousy mouth of our thread.

Other people like debosky dayokanu comment and even make fun of us without insulting us our thread. Who u be or who be u. U r definitely a learner and bring the war on

The guy is a dumbhead. Despite all their over priced players that cannot deliver la decima, that cannot even free themselves from the shackles and manackles and slavery of Barca, they still cannot sell more shirts than cleverly welbeck and buttner and he is here gloating over their revenue that we all know is largely due to their 2 teams la liga format of negotiating TV rights. He is indeed a nitwits. If he is so in love with his Madrid, he won't be obsessed with United's thread.

[quote author=♛AndrERush♛]Fabregas was to be used as a CM for us. We didn't need him to play as a No10 so he wouldn't have been a direct threat to Kagawa. We turned down the chance to sign both William and Ozil because we weren't looking for a No10. If we were, we could've signed Ozil instead, he's way better than Fabregas in that position.[/quote]Fabregas has never fulfilled his potential ever since he left Arsenal and he will never, as long as Messi and the evil triad of Xavibusiesta are still busy doing there thing. He will continue to play a second fiddle, even at national team level. His best position as seen when he was in Arsenal is orchestrating play and dropping into the hole in the last third of the opponents half. His false 9 usage now, is more out of necessity to play him and not because of its abilities.

I hope Moyes will draw is list of wanted players against January on time. We need to redeem our battered image. Though a lot of the image battering was majorly based on press false rumours and extrapolations.

Can't wait for the next match. The combo of Carrick and hard fighting Fellaini in the middle is mouth watering and tantalising. Can't wait for us to prove doubters and doomsday seers like debosky and dayokanu wrong.

Manchester United still baffled by Ander Herrera transfer farce

• United claim no knowledge of three mystery lawyers in Spain
• No agreement ever reached with Athletic Bilbao over transfer

Manchester United's failed attempt to sign Ander Herrera is not the only time the Premier League champions have experienced bizarre tactics at the top end of the market during a difficult, complicated transfer window that has brought fierce criticism on the club.

United's information is that earlier this summer a forged email, purporting to originate from Old Trafford and reputedly confirming their interest in a player, was sent to another club in an apparent attempt to trigger a rival bid and increase the price. That player has subsequently moved, for significant money, with the buying club under the false impression they were beating United to him.

The revelation is an insight into some of the tricks employed by clubs, agents and other middle men when such vast sums of money are swilling around before the transfer deadline. However, it is the Herrera deal that has caused the most consternation behind the scenes at Old Trafford and, specifically, the role of the three lawyers who turned up at the offices of the Spanish league (the LFP) on Monday apparently purporting to have United's authorisation to sign off the €36m (£30.4m) buyout clause.

The club are aware that journalists have been briefed by sources at the Spanish league that the three men – identified as Rodrigo García Lucas, Alvaro Reig Gurrea and Guillermo Gutiérrez, from the Spanish law firm Laffer – were, in fact, operating officially on United's behalf.

United's position is that surely the only confirmation of this should come from Old Trafford and they have reiterated, categorically, that they did not know of these men, recognise them or commission them.

United employ their own legal firm in Spain but did not mobilise it for one simple reason: no agreement was reached with Athletic Bilbao and they never had any intention of paying the full price when they valued Herrera £10m lower.

Instead, the arrival of Laffer's lawyers – credited with helping to arrange Javi Martínez's transfer from Bilbao to Bayern Munich a year ago – created the impression the deal was imminent and led to a frenzy of speculation; the Bilbao newspaper El Correo compared the pursuit of Herrera to a Benny Hill sketch.

United's version is rather more straightforward. Having followed Herrera for two years, they had concluded he was worth around £20m, their feeling being it would be another 18 months or so before he was a guaranteed first-team pick. Bilbao insisted they wanted the full amount, no compromise was reached and that would have been it finished, in United's opinion, until the television pictures of Laffer's representatives led to the inaccurate impression that an agreement was close – building up hopes for a deal that had already failed. The Guardian on Tuesday night contacted the law firm Laffer who, for reasons of professional confidentiality, declined to comment or to reveal the identity of their client.

Two days on, there is still confusion at Old Trafford about the involvement of the three lawyers described on deadline night as "impostors" and United feel so strongly about it they have been willing to put their position on the record. Herrera has also, to a point, backed their story. "I do not feel used by United. How can I feel used? They made a formal offer. Athletic did not want to negotiate, I value that. They [United] had to pay the €36m clause. I reached no agreement with United. I am proud they made an offer for me, and that Athletic wanted me [to stay]."

Herrera's agent has been in touch with United to ascertain if they knew who the lawyers were. United's response was emphatically no. Herrera added: "The lawyers that were at the LFP did not represent me. I didn't even know who they were."

It is a confusing, complex and embarrassing issue for United, even if it is true it was not a farce of their own making. What is beyond dispute is that they have found the transfer window frustrating and unsatisfactory. They are, however, a lot more relaxed about it than might be expected and bemused, too, about some of the mistruths that have accompanied the genuine disappointments.

United are taken aback, for example, by the latest suggestion they challenged Arsenal for Mesut Ozil. The truth is that United and Manchester City were both offered the player three weeks ago. United turned it down because they had already made up their mind that Wayne Rooney would not be leaving and they did not want to break their transfer record, paying upwards of £40m, for someone who plays in the same position.

Their thinking also took into account they have Shinji Kagawa, among others, for the No10 role. Kagawa still features prominently in the thinking of David Moyes despite not even being on the bench against Liverpool on Sunday. His problem is two-fold: one, that he has had an exhausting summer with his national team and is being brought back slowly; two, that Moyes has not really seen him play or got to know him very well. He is not, however, being marginalised.

United rebuffed an approach from Atlético Madrid for the Japan international and would have done the same if Borussia Dortmund had been in touch. As it was, there has not been a single telephone call from the Bundesliga club, despite talking up a possible return.

Juan Mata is a player United like but linking the Chelsea midfielder with a move to Old Trafford was, like Ozil, a red herring. Mata, as Chelsea have repeatedly stated, was not for sale; it is just that some people did not believe them. United did not try to get him and he was never mooted in a cash-plus-player exchange with Rooney because, as the Guardian revealed last month, Rooney was never going to be allowed to join Chelsea, no matter what the offer. Behind the scenes at Old Trafford, there is frustration that this has largely been overlooked when it has taken up so much time and effort and, in their opinion, could be the difference between United winning the title or not.

Rooney's determination to force a transfer, with a proactive agent in Paul Stretford, and Chelsea doing everything they could to push it has been such a major issue at Old Trafford it is estimated to have taken up more than half the time that United's top-level officials have devoted to working on player arrivals and departures. United were determined to make a show of force and efforts are continuing behind the scenes to convince Rooney that he can, once again, be happy at Old Trafford. It is a continuing process and there is an acceptance it will not be easy. However, it is being seen as a victory of sorts that they refused to cave in, as a point of principle, when the alternative was potentially to see him scoring 20 goals a season at Chelsea for the next few years.

That still leaves a lot of unanswered questions such as why United paid £27.5m for Marouane Fellaini when his buyout clause could have been activated earlier in the summer for £4m less. The long pursuit of Cesc Fábregas was fundamentally flawed because they were encouraged to believe he was open to the offer; United, in short, were told Fábregas was increasingly agitated about his potential lack of games for Barcelona in a World Cup year – but ultimately they could not get the man they regarded as their top target and they recognise that amounts to a long, drawn-out failure.

The issue of Thiago Alcântara also needs clearing up. In his case, it has been portrayed as him snubbing United for Bayern Munich when the truth is actually that Moyes decided he was not entirely comfortable going for the Barcelona player. United had been monitoring him for three years and effectively lined up the transfer but Moyes, as everyone at Everton can testify, likes to have a huge amount of background information on new signings and, having initially gone along with it, decided in the end he did not want to take someone else's word about a player he had seen infrequently. Again, it boils down to a new manager shopping in a new market, with a limited amount of time.

United had not wanted to overrule Moyes and promised they would keep their squad together, with the exception of Bébé. They have kept true to that and, as well as rejecting the approach for Kagawa, they turned down a Tottenham offer for Javier Hernández and at least five approaches from different clubs for Nani.

That, nonetheless, does not change the fact Moyes had wanted two central midfielders as well as a rival left-back to Patrice Evra, missing out on Leighton Baines and then Fábio Coentrão. On that basis, there is a frank admission at Old Trafford that they have come up short by bringing in only Fellaini.

United, however, are angry about the suggestion, emanating from the Herrera farce, that a club of their stature and transfer experience somehow failed to understand the Spanish tax system – and bewildered, more than anything, that they are supposed to have employed three lawyers they say they had never heard of.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/sep/04/manchester-united-ander-herrera-transfer-farce

We are not that bad afterall. LOL. Thinking objectively, Fellaini is a good stealth addition to that brittle midfield and it will really take a lot off Carrick. The sad part of the whole horror story and transfer saga and excursion we just had,is, why did we not activate the release clause before it expired.

Woodward should be sacked and Levy should be contracted asap. Woodward is circus jocky, a comedian in the class of baba Sala.