Bloody Football!

[The Piper]

And I say that having grown up as a Spurs supporter.

AHHH! Now we know the problem


Yes Arsenal are contenders,it's just that Wenger is such a misery.
So it's anyone of the four really.
City have the games in hand and i can well see them winning those.
It's going to be an exciting finish to the season which is great for the neutral and brown trousers if you support any one of the top four.

[Stavros]

I think City have a strong squad but are over-rated. Although I think Arsenal would be in a stronger position if they had a fit Walcott, Wilshere and Ramsay, I think its just do-able. Mourinho winning it would confirm that he must be one of the best managers Europe has ever had. Also tight at the bottom, in a manner of speaking. I would like to see the back of Fulham and Crystal Palace, I don't even know why Palace still exists as a football club, but Cardiff and Norwich look like contenders. Not so long ago Solskjaer was touted as Ferguson's successor, I think he might still be in the frame if things look shaky in Wales and Moyes gets his books.

[beaufont]

Pretty sure Utd will give Moyes time but their resolve will be seriously tested if they go out of the Champions League. If they do replace him it will be for a big name & I don't mean Schwarzenneger

[Stavros]

I don't think they would make a move without a replacement ready to step in.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph is revealing new allegations about the FIFA award of the World Cup to Qatar -

Qatar World Cup 2022 investigation: former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and family paid millions


A senior Fifa official and his family were paid almost $2 million (£1.2m) from a Qatari firm linked to the country’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup, The Telegraph can disclose.

Jack Warner, the former vice-president of Fifa, appears to have been personally paid $1.2 million (£720,000) from a company controlled by a former Qatari football official shortly after the decision to award the country the tournament.

Payments totalling almost $750,000 (£450,000) were made to Mr Warner’s sons, documents show. A further $400,000 (£240,000) was paid to one of his employees.

It is understood that the FBI is now investigating Trinidad-based Mr Warner and his alleged links to the Qatari bid, and that the former Fifa official’s eldest son, who lives in Miami, has been helping the inquiry as a co-operating witness.

full story here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-millions.html

[robertlouis]

So nobody fancies Arsenal's chances? Some of their best young players seem to get injured easily, but Wenger's next is the 1,000 game of his career in London. Rosicky's strike was wickedly brilliant. And I say that having grown up as a Spurs supporter.

Would that be the Arsenal that lost 6-3 at the Etihad and 5-1 at Anfield? But I have to agree about Rosicky's goal on Sunday, stunning technique.

What unites the current top four is that all their back fours can have horrific off days. The difference is that Man C and Liverpool are the only two who currently look irresistible going forward.

And with Chelsea and City still to visit Anfield, plus their current momentum, Liverpool are looking at least as strong as the others.

I still take City to win the title, but after that it's anyone's guess.

[Stavros]

It occurred to me today that if the match with Olympiakos is crucial to Moyes' survival (and he claims it isn't because he has the backing of the Board) and if the players don't like him, could they under-perform and get beaten to ensure that Moyes goes?? Sick, I know, but given Moyes has not used Giggs who might at least inspire some of the other players, you can't rule anything out.

[robertlouis]

It occurred to me today that if the match with Olympiakos is crucial to Moyes' survival (and he claims it isn't because he has the backing of the Board) and if the players don't like him, could they under-perform and get beaten to ensure that Moyes goes?? Sick, I know, but given Moyes has not used Giggs who might at least inspire some of the other players, you can't rule anything out.

I can't help thinking that Moyes' failings are shown just as much by what Martinez has done at Everton with pretty much the same group of players that he inherited at the start of the season, where they are playing with a flair, style and freedom that they didn't show previously. Everton are definitely better to watch this year.

Maybe the United board should have gone for Martinez, who seems to combine the pragmatic and romantic with the panache which denotes all great managers. Watch this space?

[Stavros]

I don't understand what the process was; I am assuming Ferguson was a key figure in the decision but I understand some Board members and respected elders were too -didn't I read somewhere that Bobby Charlton didn't want Mourinho at United? There are good managers in Europe who would have wanted Ferguson's job, yet it seems Jurgen Klopp maybe didn't want it; I don't know. You look at Real Madrid and ask how many managers have they had in recent years? Is Carlo Ancelotti doing something there now Mourinho didn't? It hasn't stopped Ronaldo who's goal scoring form is beyond the ability of most other players...

[up_for_it]

I can't help thinking that Moyes' failings are shown just as much by what Martinez has done at Everton with pretty much the same group of players that he inherited at the start of the season, where they are playing with a flair, style and freedom that they didn't show previously. Everton are definitely better to watch this year.

Maybe the United board should have gone for Martinez, who seems to combine the pragmatic and romantic with the panache which denotes all great managers. Watch this space?

I've been a fan of Martinez since his days managing Swansea, and I think its worth pointing out that he's revolutionized the culture of every club he's managed. So much that Swansea actually built his passing style and attacking play into the club's philosophy so that future managers have to adhere to it:



BBC's 'Final Days' docu on Swansea in 2003

He's a great young manager and I can't wait to see how he develops. Its worth fantasizing about what he could to with a proper transfer budget, and I really wish United would have hired him, I think the players they currently have (Kagawa, Young, RVP, Rooney, Mata, Januzaj) reflect his attacking style of football much more than Moyes' effort to adhere to a boring 442, which he will try to impose during the summer transfer window by buying players that fit it. I really think Martinez is an asset to the Premiership because he's one of the those managers who indicates the future of the game, which in some respects is a more continental style of football.

As for today's game- its obvious Moyes lost the dressing room weeks ago and I recently read that even Giggs is now among his detractors. Its obvious the players need to step up and take charge, since they bear a lot of responsibility for their current predicament, but my big worry is that Moyes has failed to properly motivate them, which doesn't bode well for the future. Sure, he currently has to contend with a group of players such as RVP and Hernandez who wanted to work with SAF and became a bit jaded, but at the end of the day, I worry about putting 100 million quid in that man's hands this summer given how badly he's failed in the dressing room. If United take a bath and fail next season after splashing out big, the club will have manufactured a financial crisis that will be hard to come back from. To circle back around to Martinez- its really telling how much he's done with Everton since Moyes left. United have traded an success for mediocrity.

[SammiValentine]

I've been a fan of Martinez since his days managing Swansea, and I think its worth pointing out that he's revolutionized the culture of every club he's managed. So much that Swansea actually built his passing style and attacking play into the club's philosophy so that future managers have to adhere to it:



BBC's 'Final Days' docu on Swansea in 2003

He's a great young manager and I can't wait to see how he develops. Its worth fantasizing about what he could to with a proper transfer budget, and I really wish United would have hired him, I think the players they currently have (Kagawa, Young, RVP, Rooney, Mata, Januzaj) reflect his attacking style of football much more than Moyes' effort to adhere to a boring 442, which he will try to impose during the summer transfer window by buying players that fit it. I really think Martinez is an asset to the Premiership because he's one of the those managers who indicates the future of the game, which in some respects is a more continental style of football.

As for today's game- its obvious Moyes lost the dressing room weeks ago and I recently read that even Giggs is now among his detractors. Its obvious the players need to step up and take charge, since they bear a lot of responsibility for their current predicament, but my big worry is that Moyes has failed to properly motivate them, which doesn't bode well for the future. Sure, he currently has to contend with a group of players such as RVP and Hernandez who wanted to work with SAF and became a bit jaded, but at the end of the day, I worry about putting 100 million quid in that man's hands this summer given how badly he's failed in the dressing room. If United take a bath and fail next season after splashing out big, the club will have manufactured a financial crisis that will be hard to come back from. To circle back around to Martinez- its really telling how much he's done with Everton since Moyes left. United have traded an success for mediocrity.

moyes held everton back just as much as martinez has done things for them though, which is the ironically amusing thing.............. he desevres a big xmas bonus already x love him,top guy.

oohhhh manchesterrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........