European Football leagues - Season 2005-2006

Ladies and Gentleman,

the serious bussines of the European football season is to begin shortly. In an effort to keep the other sports a multi sport environment and not just aplace littered with football thread I suggest we follow last years example and put all football news regarding the national leagues in this thread.


We have the Mercato thread for tranfer discussions: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=139720
And we also have the European football thread (you can post about the UEFA cup here as well, as if anyone would want to post about the UEFA cup anyway ;)) http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=148090&page=1&pp=15


I think this thread should be as much fun as last year, we have correspondents from the
French League 1
Dutch Eredivisie (allthough I haven't seen our Dutch friends around a lot lately)
Belgian Jupiler league (as if anyone cares)
German Bundesliga
Spanish La Liga
Portugese league
English Premier league
Scottish premier league
Italian Serie A
Autrian league
Finnish league
Danish league
Swedish league
Norwegian league
Slovakian League

I think we can even get reports on the Czech, Slovenian, Ukraine or Russian leagues if we really wanted. It seems like we're only missing Turkish posters here and we'd almost have the full picture. :clap:


Tables, Standings and fixtures:

Ligue 1 (http://fr.sports.yahoo.com/football/ligue1/standing/full_standing.html) (France)

Scottish Premier League (http://www.scotprem.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10002,00.html)

German Bundesliga (http://de.sports.yahoo.com/football/bundesliga/standing/full_standing.html)

Belgian Jupiler Liga (http://www.sport.be/nl/jupilerleague/0506/ranking.html?comp=2304)




You can also join HF's official Fantasy Premier League competition, all details are in Jussi's hands: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=159390

To quote the immortal Rik De Saedeleer:
En voilá, we zijn vertrokken!!

Well, I follow the SVK League but nobody would care about it.

The SVK League started 2 weeks ago already.

The National Television, which usually shows the hockey and soccer League matches, STILL doesnt have a TV contract and its quite possible there will be 0 soccer matches on TV this season from the SVK Soccer League! :shakehead:

Really can't wait for the Premiership to get underway. The story lines for this year look really good, just an overview of a couple if anyone wants to chat.

- Can anyone beat Chelsea? Especially now that they have SWP? I'm betting yes, but who knows?

- Will Manutd ever get back to that top form that propelled them to the famed (or dreaded for me) treble in 99?

- How will Arsenal react to the loss of Vieira. They won 5 times and had a draw in 6 league games without him last year, but I think they will really miss him over the season.

- Which Edgar Davids will we see?

- Will Liverpool recover from their terrible year last year?

- And finally and perhaps most compelling, Will Jose ever shut up? :D

- And finally and perhaps most compelling, Will Jose ever shut up? :D


Certainly the most compelling question for me.


Here he is complaining about having trouble buying the absolute best in the world players:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1711138,00.html


And the winner of the most immodest person on the planet goes to........



"You think it’s easy to buy a goalkeeper for Chelsea? Where is the goalkeeper better than Petr Cech or Carlo Cudicini? How can I improve that position? I can’t. Where can I get a better central defender than what I have? I can’t. Where can I find a midfielder to improve our group"


Its actually really funny, but good lord the man is a class A ********. Too bad he couldn't conquer Europe with a 400 million dollar squad last year. They will definitely be the team to beat this year.

I do think they should hand the premiership trophy and Ol' Big Ears to whomever comes 2nd, if Chelski win either this year. I despair that such a cool guy like The Rage supports such a horrible club.

my views on Jose are already well-known, but this last piece really does take the cake so far.

Yet again, he's right, though.

The way he comes across may be wrong, but what he says is always 100% right.



wtf. Yeah, hes right, but why verbalize something that even a mentally retarded chimpanzee knows. The only explanation is that he is *****ing about how hard his job is. This is stupid, because he has the easiest job in the entire ****ing world. I agree with the general consensus that he is a very talented man manager, but seriously, I could do his job. I would compare the unlimited funds he has at his disposal to cheat codes in a video game that completely eliminate any challenge involved.

Yet again, he's right, though.

The way he comes across may be wrong, but what he says is always 100% right.

So you think Chelsea's second team could win the premiership too, then?

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1537634,00.html

The Danish league is, of course, already up and running.

Two games in, AGF of Aarhus and AaB of Aalborg are off to rough, rough starts. Coach Bruce Rioch has got OB of Odense back on track though, and newcommer (well, returnee) HFK Sønderjylland is doing very well, having managed a win and a tie. FC Copenhagen, Brøndby and Viborg all with max points so far.

On the European scene, only Brøndby and Esbjerg have played so far. Brøndby played the 1st leg 2nd round ChL qualifyer Tuesday, a 2-0 at Dinamo Tblisi (Georgia). Esbjerg, who got a UEFA cup qualifyer spot off UEFA's Fair Play list suffered an embarrasing loss at home to Flora Talinn in the first round, 2-1. Return leg underway though, Esbjerg leading 3-0 after 37 minutes. It would have been VERY embarrassing and VERY bad for the Danish UEFA coefficient if they'd suffered an aggregate loss. We need to do well in Europe this season, or we'll lose (yet another) spot.

Yet again, he's right, though.

The way he comes across may be wrong, but what he says is always 100% right.

Yea, I just don't see how he can complain about that. I mean it must be hard to choose what players to put in the starting XI, but I'm sure most managers would be glad to have that problem. It's a shame really, I think Jose really manages to take away attention from the fact that Chelsea had an unbelievable year last year and that he himself is an incredible manager. Winning CL with Porto was astonishing I think.

- Can anyone beat Chelsea? Especially now that they have SWP? I'm betting yes, but who knows?

- Will Liverpool recover from their terrible year last year?



Well DC United only lost to Chelsea 2-1 tonight hehe. I think Liverpool will have a better Premiership performance this year but I still don't think they can finish higher than 3rd place.

Well DC United only lost to Chelsea 2-1 tonight hehe. I think Liverpool will have a better Premiership performance this year but I still don't think they can finish higher than 3rd place.

Well, they did play their 2nd XI for most of the 2nd half I think, something like 10 subs. Of course according to Jose, this 2nd side could win the Premiership, so not a terrible showing for DC. I was a bit disappointed in Adu though, he had flashes, but always seemed to end up passing the ball away. I'm American, but honestly, American football commentators just shouldn't be allowed.


No, you just don't get it. Its not that he's an egotistical, callous, paranoid dweeb. He's taking the pressure off his players by continously whining about his misfortune and how FIFA, UEFA and the FA are all in a conspiracy against his team.

Duh!


Ahhhh now I get it. Gee, I wish Arsenal had a manager who was that clever.

It's a shame really, I think Jose really manages to take away attention from the fact that Chelsea had an unbelievable year last year and that he himself is an incredible manager.


No, you just don't get it. Its not that he's an egotistical, callous, paranoid dweeb. He's taking the pressure off his players by continously whining about his misfortune and how FIFA, UEFA and the FA are all in a conspiracy against his team.

Duh! :shakehead

Well, they did play their 2nd XI for most of the 2nd half I think, something like 10 subs. Of course according to Jose, this 2nd side could win the Premiership, so not a terrible showing for DC. I was a bit disappointed in Adu though, he had flashes, but always seemed to end up passing the ball away. I'm American, but honestly, American football commentators just shouldn't be allowed.



Yeah they made a wholesale change for the second half. I believe Tiago was the only player not subbed right away. I agree about Adu, he had flashes but I think he was trying to catch lightning in a bottle. He was definitely trying to impress the international crowd, I'm sure he'd rather play overseas at some point.

You people are being ridiculously simple-minded if you think all Jose Mourinho's job is about is to put the starting XI.

The man is a brilliant tactician, can acclimatize to ANY playing environment or style, leaves _ZERO_ gaps on the pitch with his club, and they can counter-attack in a style that few clubs can.

Yeah, if Mourinho was the coach, Chelsea's 2nd team probably could win the Premiership. There's that much of a gap in class, IMO.

No one here doubts Mourinho's coaching ability. I have already stated many times that he is one of the best managers in European football. However, his incessant complaining does tend to get tiresome. I think most of us here find it rather ludicrous that he would complain about buying players and how hard it is when he has by far the most funds of anyone in Europe.

Of course the starting XI isn't Mourinho's only job, he has a brilliant football mind and is a master tactician as you already stated. This new complaint of his though just comes across as absurd.

Yeah they made a wholesale change for the second half. I believe Tiago was the only player not subbed right away. I agree about Adu, he had flashes but I think he was trying to catch lightning in a bottle. He was definitely trying to impress the international crowd, I'm sure he'd rather play overseas at some point.

The environment here in America just stifles creativity, I think the MLS should give him to a European club and then try to bring him back in a few years when he is an established star. Or even better, have him make a name for himself in Europe. Once American players are respected, the MLS should have an easier time getting European recruits.

Yeah, if Mourinho was the coach, Chelsea's 2nd team probably could win the Premiership. There's that much of a gap in class, IMO.A gap in class in terms of player material or coach? If you mean the coach, I beg to differ, because Benitez is on the same level.

There are several excellent managers out there : Le Guen, Deschamps, Hiddink, Van Gaal, Benitez, Boloni, Wenger, etc...
They don't have Mourinho's material, so it's really unfair to say Jose is better than these. It's pretty hard to compare managers.

There are several excellent managers out there : Le Guen, Deschamps, Hiddink, Van Gaal, Benitez, Boloni, Wenger, etc...
They don't have Mourinho's material, so it's really unfair to say Jose is better than these. It's pretty hard to compare managers.I think he was talking about the EPL. And then it's probably Mourinho and Benitez above the rest, if you focus on tactical ability. Wenger isn't that much of a tactitian, but he's got his other qualities of course.

About your list: I think that Ancelotti and Capello would definitely deserve a spot in there.

Sure.

About Wenger, I disagree. Wenger has one thing that few coaches have : the ability to create a "collective".
Many coaches have the ability to make players play together : Mourinho, Benitez, etc...
Even though Wenger may not be as good tactically, but he can create a team that plays together so well that they're unbeatable and they overachieve so much it's funny.
For instance, the years they went unbeaten, they had a good team, but certainly not a vintage team. But it seemed like players could find themselves eyes closed, and that helped them in close games.
I think Wenger is the best coach on that point. Ferguson is a good one in that aspect as well.
I have trouble explaining what I mean, in french we call it "créer un collectif". It's a very common approach in France. Nantes is one example of a team that plays like that. Sometimes it works so much that they're unbeatable (1995, the team finished with one loss) and sometimes it doesn't (like last year). But they try to play it this way. Wenger too.

There are several excellent managers out there : Le Guen.....


Where is Le Guen this year?

Where is Le Guen this year?
Probably taking a year off.
There are a lot of speculation.
He's turned down multiple teams (Benfica, Lazio, Stuttgart, Fenerbahce, Bordeaux, PSG, etc...), and some think this year off is because he wants the national team after the world cup (since it's not even sure we'll qualify, so Domenech is out after next year).
Others think he wants a big foreign project, and that none fitted his ambition this summer (Milan, Chelsea, Arsenal, Juventus, Real, Barca, ManU were all taken). If one of these teams sack their manager, Le Guen is probably the best left on the market.
What's sure is that a guy coaching 3 years in Lyon and winning three titles is intriguing (with two CL quarters to boot).

I think Wenger is quite underrated as a coach. He hasn't met with European success, but Arsenal operate on about the same budget as Tottenham I believe. Well below clubs such as Manu, Chelsea, Juventus, Milan, Real, Barcelona, and perhaps even Liverpool. Wenger picks out good players that no one has heard of (Vieira, Henry, Ljungberg) and turns them into superstars. Not the best of tacticians, but still a very capable coach.

And with Mourinho coaching, I do think that Chelsea's 2nd XI would have a good shot to win the Premiership.

Vieira was a highly touted youngster (playing in AC Milan mind you) and Henry was already a big name.


L1's first game is tonight, PSG-Metz!
PSG is already leading 2-0 after 37 minutes. Kalou has a goal and an assist, Rothen has the other assist and Cissé has the other goal. Pauleta hit the post.

Looking quite good, I'm excited!

Make that 3-0! Rothen on an assist from Kalou!
Rothen 1G, 1A
Kalou 1G, 2A

WOW!
It's only 50 minutes played!

Make that 3 - 0, Rothen in the '49. Looks to be a good year for PSG, I hope!

3-1, Ahn with a goal after his first 5 L1 minutes.

4-1 after Kalou's THIRD assist for Landrin's header.
Metz had too many opportunities to my liking though.

Another good coach is Claude Puel. He turned Porto down last summer, and he has done some amazing stuff in Lille. He did well when in Monaco as well.

Would it be unacceptable to start a poll for each league to determine where eveyone will think the teams will finish? Perhaps on the poll board or is there no room for this kind of thing?

Vieira was a highly touted youngster (playing in AC Milan mind you) and Henry was already a big name.


L1's first game is tonight, PSG-Metz!
PSG is already leading 2-0 after 37 minutes. Kalou has a goal and an assist, Rothen has the other assist and Cissé has the other goal. Pauleta hit the post.

Looking quite good, I'm excited!

Henry was a big name, but as a left winger I believe, Wenger turned him into the striker that he is today. Vieira was a bit before my time, but I was under the impression that he had a lot of problems in Milan with racism and didn't really achieve much until he came to Arsenal.

Not bad for PSG so far though.

L1's first game is tonight, PSG-Metz!

Looking quite good, I'm excited!
That game was on tv here last night. Pretty good footie.

Tonight they'll feature Tommy's L1 debut for Auxerre, @ Strasbourg. Sooo looking forward to that.

Henry was a big name, but as a left winger I believe, Wenger turned him into the striker that he is today. Vieira was a bit before my time, but I was under the impression that he had a lot of problems in Milan with racism and didn't really achieve much until he came to Arsenal.

Not bad for PSG so far though.
Yes he was a left winger, but surely not an unkown.
Vieira was stolen by AC Milan from Cannes, and was touted a future big player.
He didn't get playing time (2 games), which forced him to move to Arsenal. Nothing to do with racism.

From L'Equipe today, the grades were given for yesterday's game.
The best mark was Kalou's obviously (1G, 3A) who had a whopping 8.5! The second player, Rothen (with Letizi) had 7. Rozehnal had a 5.

Rozehnal had a 5.

Hopefully for the PSG fans he'll improve beyond what he's shown in the past, but I seriously doubt it. If you don't want to get a headache DON'T count the wrong passes he gives :)

Yes he was a left winger, but surely not an unkown.
Vieira was stolen by AC Milan from Cannes, and was touted a future big player.
He didn't get playing time (2 games), which forced him to move to Arsenal. Nothing to do with racism.

Hmm thought I had read something about some racism, but perhaps not, even so though, hasn't Serie A had a couple problems with that recently? I'm not a big following of Italian football though so I can't say for sure. Unknown was too strong for Henry, but I'd still give Wenger a lot of credit for making Henry the player that he is today.

The Dutch league will once again go between the 4 familiar teams..

PSV and Ajax own the best cards, though I definitely give Ajax the edge. Whereas I could see AZ definitely edging out Feyenoord. Better players, better system, better coach > chaos..

Surprising teams could be NAC Breda. With a frontline of Vonlanthen, Sikora and van Hooijdonk, they won't have any trouble scoring goals. Vitesse is looking extremely sharp as well.. Another team which could make more noise than most would expect would be ADO Den Haag. The team with "the most dangerous hooligang fan-group of the world" really attracted some quality players (Mols, O'Brien).. They might improve from a relegation candidate to somewhere between 10th and 12th..

Hopefully for the PSG fans he'll improve beyond what he's shown in the past, but I seriously doubt it. If you don't want to get a headache DON'T count the wrong passes he gives :)
He made good passes actually. Where he was not so good was in one on one situations. He tends to be in trouble with fast forwards.

Hmm thought I had read something about some racism, but perhaps not, even so though, hasn't Serie A had a couple problems with that recently? I'm not a big following of Italian football though so I can't say for sure. Unknown was too strong for Henry, but I'd still give Wenger a lot of credit for making Henry the player that he is today.
Racism is definately a problem in Italy, especially for some Lazio fans (and players). But it wasn't a problem with Vieira.

And Henry definately owes a lot to Wenger. Especially since he was the guy that made him play in L1 at 19 I think.

One week till the start of the Bundesliga :handclap:

Can´t await the start and the interesting new players :)

I´ll expect a tough race between Bayern, Schalke, Stuttgart and maybe Bremen.

Relegation: I´d say Frankfurt, Duisburg, Bielefeld will not escape the relegation.

L1's weekend :

PSG 4-1 Metz.
Metz played a decent game and Ahn was good enough to score 5 minutes after coming on to the pitch. But it was the Kalou (1G, 3A) and Rothen (1G, 1A) show. Pauleta will soon score a lot of goals with these passers. Landrin and Cissé also scored to PSG.

OM 0-2 Bordeaux
Bordeaux was surprisingly good, with a great Bruno Cheyrou (yep you read that well) playing DM along side Mavuba. Faubert and Ducasse scored and OM was simply bad.

Lille 1-0 Rennes
It was all Rennes in this game, as they dominated everywhere, but Sylva was superman and stopped everything. Kallstrom and Frei were dangerous many times. Bodmer was the MOM IMO and Makoun scored off a rebound to steal three points for Lille.

Nancy 0-1 Monaco
Just like Lille, Monaco stole three points. Nancy was much much better than Monaco, but Kapo scored on his only opportunity. Nancy finished the games with two red cards.

Nantes 2-0 Lens
Lens was expected to be much stronger than what they showed here. Nantes lead by 2 after 7 minutes after goals from Yapi Yapo and youngster Glombard. Lens hit the post through Thomert, but couldn't mount a comeback.

Nice 1-1 Troyes
Nice completely dominated this game and scored through Vahirua (on a free kick), but Troyes resisted well and scored on their only opportunity (Dallet with a nice header).

St Etienne 0-0 Ajaccio
A boring game, with Ajaccio having the best opportunity with a Saifi header on the crossbar.

Sochaux 0-1 Toulouse
Santos scored against his former club, and Sochaux was too weak to react. Menez made some nice moves when he finally came on to the pitch and he almost scored.

Strasbourg 0-0 Auxerre
Auxerre quickly got a red card and played defensive football for the rest of the game. After Pagis got himself a red card as well, Auxerre almost scored by Bolf.

Tonight : Le Mans-Lyon

My prediction for L1 this year :

1- Lyon
2- PSG
3- Monaco

16- Nancy
17- Metz
18- Ajaccio

OK, time for my Belgian Preview!

Here's a list of all the transfers
http://www.sport.be/nl/jupilerleague/0405/nieuws/article.html?comp=2041&Article_ID=88264

All in all it's been a relatively steady off season in Belgium. Kompany remained at Anderlecht so there weren't any huge deals, the biggest one is probably Bruges loosing Simons to PSV.

My predictions / previews.

1. RSCA Anderlecht

Vercauteren has now been able to take control from the preseason on, and most signs so far have been positive.

Transfers:
Incoming
Marius Mitu en Laurent Delorge (Lierse), Serhat Akin (Fenerbahçe), Bart Goor (Feyenoord), Silvio Proto (La Louvière)

Leaving
Aruna (Lens), Maarten Martens (RKC Waalwijk), Sherjil McDonald (Hamburg amateurs, uitgeleend), Sergio Hellings (Heracles Almelo, uitgeleend)

Basically Anderlecht did VERY well in the off season. Aruna was always going to leave but with Akin I think they have added a guy from the same calibre, more of a goalscorer, less of a creator though.

With Proto Anderlecht now have arguably the best goalie in the country
The defense with Vanden Borre (looking better and better), Kompany, Tihinen and Deschacht is rock solid.
The midfield has tons of experience (Zetterberg, Vanderhaege, Goor) and the necessary skills. Also loads of squad depth here (Legear - not featuring prominently in Vercauterens plans right now :(, Lovre, Baseggio (will still leave probably) and a few more (Mitu is very talented but probably not suited for a real top club).
Up front Jestrovic and Akin are scorers, Wilhelmsson is the best winger in the country along with Conceicao and Mpenza looks better then ever.

RSCA is still looking to add a centre back though, only De Man (youngster) and Traore (shakey youngster) are there as backup. Dabizas will not come though so there are probably still other possibilities being explored.


On talent Anderlecht should be able to regain the crown as champion of Belgium (and also do better in the CL) but the problem will always be their motivation against the smaller teams. They have a bad tendency to drop points against those.

2. Standard Liege

D'Onofrio was retained as coach because they couldn't get Gerets (Galatasaray). This may very well be the calmest off season in the club history and for me that's a great sign. It looks like Preud'homme (director of football) will lead the club to a new era of stability and that's great for these fantastic fans.

Transfers:
Incoming
Mohamed Adama Sarr (AC Milan), Mathieu Beda (Sint-Truiden), Benjamin Onwuachi (Juventus), Christian Negouai (Manchester City)

Out:
Aliyu Datti (AA Gent), Jorge Wiston Curbelo (einde contract), Juan Ramon Curbelo(einde contract), Fréderic Bozak (La Louvière), Moustapha Oussalah (Moeskroen), Aleks Pasaoglu (La Louviere) , Laurent Gomez (La Louvière), Miljenko Mumlek (einde contract), Michael Turnbull (einde contract)

Loads of dead weight was cut loose. only marginal additions (allthough it's not entirely sure they won't add another big tranfer) and they have kept the team pretty much intact.


Given their strong second round last year and the fact they retained everyone I think they'll move up 2 places from 4 to 2 next season. Very solid everywhere!


3. Club Brugge

Bigger changes then usually here, and they were mostly forced upon them.
Trond Sollied left the team in euhh... controversial circumstances to join Olympiakos. Naming Jan Ceulemans as the new coach was a natural move for Bruges. They also named Franky Van Der Elst as assistent so now everyone in the coaching staff has a huge history at the Club (Ceulemans, v d Elst, Verlinden, Verheyen). Director of football Marc Degryse (who also has a famed history at Club) knows what he needs to do to retain the spirit of the Club.

Unfortunately for them they have been weakened in the off season on the pitch:

Incoming:
Joos Valgaeren (Celtic), Ivan Leko (Hadjuk Split), Grégory Dufer (Caen), Dieter Reynaert (Ajax), Sven Vermant (Schalke)

Out
Peter Van der Heyden (Wolfsburg), Hans Cornelis (Genk), Nastja Ceh (Austria Wenen), David Rozehnal (PSG), Sebastian Hermans (Roeselare), Timmy Simons (PSV), Peter Mollez (AA Gent)

5 guys from last years starting XI left.

And with Simons, Van Der Heyden, Cornelis and Ceh that were 4 very important guys. (Simons was the Clubs best player for years and will be equally great in Holland)

The replacements are OK, but not of the same level. Tactically things will be different too. Judging by what we've seen in the preseason I think they'll have a tough season, with a possible loss of a CL place.



4. RC Genk

Hugo Broos replaced Rene Vandereyken who was mysteriously removed from coaching duties.

Transfers:

Incoming:
Hans Cornelis (Club Brugge), Sunday Oliseh (Borussia Dortmund)

Out:
Daan Vaesen (Roeselare), Vincent Euvrard (KVSK United), Sem Franssen (Kermt-Hasselt)

Basically nobody of importance left (they were able to hang on to both Engelaar AND Daerden despite serious foreign interest) and with Cornelis they have seriously strenghtened the right bacl position. I'm not sure how effective Sunday Oliseh will still be but he could be usefull as well.


Despite the good off season I think they'll be worse off, Vandereycken was very important to the team last season and now with Broos I'm not so confident in their progress this year. Allthough with the team they have they could be third, but that would mean one of the big three will have to have a bad season.

5. AA Gent

Georges Leekens did very well with these guys last year and accrding to people who've watched them in the preseason (they made it tough on Valencia in the Intertoto) they will be very good this year.

Incoming:
Aliyu Datti (Bergen/Standard), Jovica Trajcev (Vardar Skopje), Nenad Mladenovic (Metalurg Donetsk), Kenny Thompson (G.Beerschot), Anyanwu Blessing (Skopje), Zéphirin Zoko (Oostende), Peter Mollez (AA Gent)

Out:
Tjorven De Brul (Zulte-Waregem), Philippe Buyssens (Zulte-Waregem), Tim Matthys (Zulte-Waregem), Matthieu Verschuere (Zulte-Waregem), Olivier Van Impe (Meldert), Ali Lukunku (ontslag), Tim Helin (RC Gent), David Vanhoyweghen (einde contract, naar Sint-Truiden), Nordin Jbari (La Louvière), Bjorn De Coninck (Roeselare)

Most of the new guys are as much a mystery to me as they are to you, but apparently there's some real quality in there.

6-11

Barring anything very spectacular these teams should be safe. As always there will be a surprise amongst these teams which may end up fighting for fifth or 4th spot.

6 Lokeren
7 G. Beerschot
8 Charleroi
9 Westerlo
10 Sint-Truiden
11 Lierse
12 La Louviere

These two teams should be OK to IMO, but with some bad luck or a bad start you never know.
13. Cercle Brugge
14. Moeskroen

4 Relegation possibilities IMO. Beveren really hasn't looked good apparently. Brussels barely escaped last season but on the other hand Emilio Ferreira is one of the best coaches I know to work with a small team, he could easily guide them out of trouble.
The two newcomers are amongst the relegation favorites as well, Zulte Waregem might have the best chance of survival of the two, I really don't expect Roeselare to survive this season.

15. Brussels
16. Beveren
17. Zulte -Waregem
18. Roeselare

Not bad for Lyon although I see that Essien didn't play because of a "stomach injury." Anyone have any more information on that?

Yep it was announced this morning. When I saw that, I thought it as a kafe injury period.
The Lyon staff swears he's really sick.

Can't tell you more except Aulas will meet Abramovitch mondy or tuesday.

Evilo, are you aware that 8 Swiss players are in the Ligue 1 this season? That's more than ever before. It really looks like this is becoming the preferred destination for Swiss players abroad, even more than the Bundesliga.

Weekend wrap-up of the Danish league

Viborg, FC Copenhagen and Brøndby IF continue to lead the league with max. points, all after tight games this weekend, though.

Despite playing against 10 men most of the game, Viborg let in two goals, ended with a 3-2 win @ AGF, the GWG scored by Steffen Højer, his 100th in the top Danish league.

FCK won (as they always do) at FC Nordsjælland, 2-1.

Brøndby got two late goals from substitute Kim Christensen (formerly of Twente) to win 3-2.

Elsewhere... no great shakes. AaB and AGF continue to struggle at the bottom of the table, along with newly promoted Horsens.

Silkeborg played newly acquired David Preece in goal (formerly Aberdeen). He showed himself to be a very good goaltender.

Evilo, are you aware that 8 Swiss players are in the Ligue 1 this season? That's more than ever before. It really looks like this is becoming the preferred destination for Swiss players abroad, even more than the Bundesliga.
Yep, Rennes has two, Lille 2 or 3 and Sochaux has 2 I think.
Since the Frei deal, french teams are not afraid to look there.
It's interesting because usually, there's no real problem with the language.

Yep, Rennes has two, Lille 2 or 3 and Sochaux has 2 I think.2 in Rennes (Frei and Rochat), 2 in Lilles (Gygax and Lichtsteiner), 2 in Sochaux (Lonfat and Bühler), 1 in Le Mans (Chiumiento), and 1 in Auxerre (Grichting).
Since the Frei deal, french teams are not afraid to look there. It's interesting because usually, there's no real problem with the language.Yes, but for some reason only recently german-speaking Swiss players started to go to France. Even though they usually speak some French anyway (we learn it in school).

Last game of the week was Le Mans-Lyon yesterday. Here is the report :
Le Mans 1-2 Lyon
A very balanced game, with Le Mans giving all they can (and they can do a lot of damage) with offensive players such as Romaric, Fanchone, Matsui, De Melo and a two way player in Hautcoeur.
Lyon started by a nice goal from Wiltord. He showed his class once again : control off a long pass, shot just inside the post : typical Wiltord.
Le Mans fought well and tied the game in the second half through young brazilian De Melo on a nice move between Romaric and Matsui.
On the whistle, Diarra sends a long pass to Govou on the right side, who crosses to Carew, who buries it home with the header. I'm telling you, Carew will score a lot of goals on this team. And his power will provide headaches (and not only to the head) for opponents.

Lyon won thanks to experience, as Le Mans was still celebrating their tying goal when they got scored on.

After one week, PSG is leading the league! :eek:

In case anyone did not know yet, Zizou is back from his national team retirement. So is Makelele and maybe Thuram. Problem is Makelele was not selected even when available...

In case anyone did not know yet, Zizou is back from his national team retirement. So is Makelele and maybe Thuram. Problem is Makelele was not selected even when available...

If Makelele isn't selected for the WC, there should be some kind of uprising among the French people. Maybe the best defensive mid in the game although Vieira could give him quite a run for his money. France and England look really nice for WC06 though.

Looking forward to Arsenal vs. Chelsea on Sunday, but I'll be away for a week so who knows when I'll find out the result? :cry:

Erh I don't think so. Makelele is not seen as a great DM over here.
We have plenty of guys that are better, and he was never a fixture of our midfield.
Plus his incident in Monaco with Chelsea two years ago completely digsusted the french audience.

First game of the season yesterday, Bruges starting off with an apparently impressive 2-0 win over Mouscron.


And once again I was too early with my prediction, Standard has lost Milan Rapaic just days before the kick off because he wanted to go home, blatantly breaching his contrac which went until june 2006. There is also a lot of talk about Ivica Dragutinovic moving to Olympiakos and Trond Sollied.


Also Zulte-Waregem whom I had as second from bottom could end up a good few places higher, they added some experience and look like they have a good mox now of youth and experience.

After two L1 weeks, PSG is first and OM last.... :banana:

I won't comment about PSG but the way OM has been playing they should definately be worried. In two games they barely created any chances and their strikers aren't one chance one goal types of guys anyway...


I'll do my report on the Belgian league tomorrow, the bulk of the first day is played already, one more match to go today.

Just letting everyone know, that those who have the "new and improved" Coolstreaming, the Community Shield game between Chelsea and ARSEnal is on at CCTV-5.

Just letting everyone know, that those who have the "new and improved" Coolstreaming, the Community Shield game between Chelsea and ARSEnal is on at CCTV-5.

It's on US TV, for those with Fox Soccer Channel.
It's not on Canadian TV, for those with FSWC. :(

Correction on the channel, it's on Quandong Sports, (the 3rd from bottom, the one with lots of people watching).

I do not expect this trend to continue, however.
Why so?
I think PSG has a much better team than OM this year.
I don't expect PSG to be first in may, but they should be among the top 5. OM on the other hand...

Why so?
I think PSG has a much better team than OM this year.
I don't expect PSG to be first in may, but they should be among the top 5. OM on the other hand...

Allez PSG!!

There seems to be something going wrong with Essien in Lyon, but they are too good of a team. They will probably end up 1st but I can see PSG taking 2nd.

OM...well that's what you get for letting a talent like Pedretti go...

Actually, that's what you get for selling Drogba for 38M euros and being moneyless one year later :shakehead

Hearts pasted the Hibs 4-0 in the Scottish Premier.
Great start for Hearts but it will all depend on what they are capable of doing against the Old Firm.

1st gameday of the Bundesliga:


FC Bayern München : Borussia M'gladbach 3:0 (1:0)
MSV Duisburg : VfB Stuttgart 1:1 (1:1)
1.FC Köln : 1.FSV Mainz 05 1:0 (0:0)
Hamburger SV : 1.FC Nürnberg 3:0 (2:0)
VfL Wolfsburg : Borussia Dortmund 2:2 (1:0)
Werder Bremen : DSC Arminia Bielefeld 5:2 (3:2)
Hannover 96 : Hertha BSC Berlin 2:2 (0:0)
Eintracht Frankfurt : Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1:4 (1:1)
FC Schalke 04 : 1.FC Kaiserslautern 2:1 (0:1)

No big suprises at all...
Nuri Sahin (16 years old) started for Dortmund as Kehl´s replacement. Did have a good game and looks like a player. Aside from that Makaay with a 2-goal performance for Bayern. Klose & Klasnic both with two goals for Bremen, like Barbarez (Hamburger SV).

Day one in Belgium:

05-08 20:30 Club Brugge - Moeskroen 2 - 0

Solid performance by Bruges, great first half and their confidence is back now for the game against Valerenga on tuesday in the CL qualifying.
New boy Ivan Leko (Croatia) proved to be the main man in midfield, scoring and setting the other one up for his compatriot Bosko Balaban. Up front Balaban looks as sharp as he did this time last year. With Rune Lange out injured they'll need his goals because Ishiaku isn't really a good goalscorer.

06-08 18:00 Standard - Lierse 3 - 1

Standard played OK but were very lucky, Lierse had a clear penalty but the ref wouldn't give it and a goal which wasn't offside for a mile was ruled out for Lierse as well.
Great goal from Sergio Conceicao, check out those highlights :clap:

06-08 20:00 Sint-Truiden - Roeselare 1 - 0

Roeselare were just as good as STVV, but they seem to lack some scoring punch up front.

06-08 20:00 Westerlo - Cercle Brugge 2 - 0

New boy Coelho (on loan from Feyenoord) did wel for Westerlo.

06-08 20:00 Anderlecht - La Louviere 6 - 0

Most impressive of the big four. Anderlecht was not brilliant but simply too good for La Louvière.
New signing Serhat Akin scored two and was a danger throughout with his pace and skills. Vanden Borre continues his impressive preseason form and is starting to look like the player he should become. Everyone did pretty well but Serhat stood out.

06-08 20:00 Lokeren - Racing Genk 1 - 1

Lokeren were very impressive. On the left wing Karim Bouchouari, who came from the third division showed a lot of craft and skill.
Genk's defence didn't look good, Vandenbergh scored the equaliser from the spot.

06-08 20:00 AA Gent - Zulte-Waregem 1 - 3

The surprise of the day, the newly promoted side knocked down last years number 6, and not underserved. As I said Zulte added some valuable experience and it showed, they also had a good organisation, it looks like their coach, Franky Dury is a good one.

06-08 20:00 Beveren - FC Brussels 0 - 2

This was already something of a relegation battle on the first day. Beveren were horrible, the new batch of Ivorians don't look to have any stars of the Touré, Né (didn't play with an injury), Yapi Yapo, Romaric or others calibre.


07-08 18:00 Charleroi - G. Beerschot 2 - 0

Horrible first half, second half was a lot better, Grégory Christ got on the scoresheet. Also for GBA Kubilskis and Prince saw only limited action and couldn't do much.

Sweet victory! Villareal 2-1 Everton



:bow: Diego Forlan!

Round 4 of the Danish Superliga

Brøndby and Viborg continue to show strong form, with max. points, while FCK fell to third over a home tie against an AGF side that had a man sent off after 40 minutes.

Much as expected, newly relegated Horsens and Sønderjyske continue to struggle, though it is a bit of a surprise that AaB hovers around the bottom.

Sweet victory! Villareal 2-1 Everton



:bow: Diego Forlan!

How did Kromkamp look?

Sweet victory! Villareal 2-1 Everton



:bow: Diego Forlan!


Wrong thread :p:

Time for a little EPL preview.

I don't think there can be much if any doubt about who will get the big prize this season, Chelsea was a class above the others last season and should be even stronger this time around. And no I don't think the gap with ant of the following teams will be much smaller either.

Below Chelsea I do think however there will be an interesting battle for the first 4 places and then for the next few as well.

1. Chelsea F.C.

In: Asier del Horno (Athletic Bilbao, £8m), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City, £21m), Lassana Diarra (Le Havre, undisclosed)

Out: Mikael Forssell (Birmingham, £3m), Mateja Kezman (Atletico Madrid, £5.3m), Scott Parker (Newcastle, £6.5m), Juan Sebastian Veron (Inter Milan, loan), Alexei Smertin (Charlton, loan), Joe Keenan (Brentford, loan)

They've strenghtened the left back position which was a bit of a problem with Babayaro gone and Bridge injured, Gallas was pretty awful going forward from that position and with Del Horno there should be no more such worries.
Wright-Phillips is going to be a good signing, he'll be better then Cole or Duff on the right wing, I really like him.

Their only weak point remains the lack of a true top class finisher amongst their strikers, something which hurt them for instance in the CL last year. However Drogba can only improve so that's part of the problem out of the way.

Apart from that everything is still pretty much the same, and that's only a good thing. Which leads to the conclusion for me that only Chelsea can beat themselves in the race for the title by being sloppy or not overly motivated, but Mourinho should still be able to cope with that in only his second year at the club.


- I think the next three clubs will be very close to each other -

2. (a) Manchester United F.C.

In: Edwin van der Sar (Fulham, undisclosed), Park Ji-Sung (PSV Eindhoven), Ben Foster (Stoke, £1m)

Out: Roy Carroll (West Ham, free), Ricardo (Osasuna, free), Jonathan Spector (Charlton, loan), Daniel Nardiello (Barnsley, free), Ben Collett (NZ Knights, free), David Poole (Yeovil, free), Lee Lawrence (Livingston, free), Ramon Calliste, Paul Tierney (both released), Ben Foster (Watford, loan), David Jones (Preston, loan), Phil Neville (Everton, £3.5m), Paul McShane (Brighton, loan), Kleberson (Besiktas, £2.5m)

Up front Ruud is back to where he needs to be. Rooney is a year older and better, and Ronaldo looked a bit better towards the end of last season as well. The only problem is depth: when Ruud is injured they don't have a top class finisher as Saha and co are not really apt to play and score against top class opposition.

In the midfield things will more or less stay the same but Park gives a few extra options. It will be interesting to see how Keane can keep up, he'll be essential for the succes of the team and the chances to stay close with Chelsea.

The defense is still the weaker point, that won't change. Rio is signed so that's a boost and while I don't see Van der Sar as world class, he should be an improvement over Howard and Carrol.

2. (b) Arsenal F.C.

In: Alexander Hleb (Stuttgart, £10m)

Out: Patrick Vieira (Juventus, £13.7m), Edu (Valencia, free), Jermaine Pennant (Birmingham, £500,000), Stuart Taylor (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Sebastian Svard (Guimares, undisclosed), Frankie Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Olafur-Ingi Skulason (Brentford, free), Danny Karbassiyoon (Burnley, free), Graham Stack (Reading, loan), Jeremie Aliadiere (Celtic, loan), Adam Birchall, Jordan Fowler (both released).

I don't like their off season one bit. I'll agree that Vieira wasn't top last season but he was always a very steady factor in the important games. Now they're left without his leadership and steel, which will be missed in the clashes against the fellow pretendents.

The defense and the goalie are still not what they should be for a team that wants to win in Europe (and the EPL). Possibly we'll see a new partnership with Senderos and Campbell but that still leaves Cole as defensively not top class and Lehmann and Lauren as below average players for the level they want to achieve.
Clichy is a nice backup and so is Touré I guess. Oh and of course the great Pascal Cygan is still around as well.

Moving to the midfield, they've given up steel and leadership here like I already mentioned. Cesc will be more relied upon but he's so good you can't really doubt he will step up. Gilberto will be essential for the balance in the team. Apart from that not many changes apart from the addition of Hleb so footballing wise this team will still be the quickest in moving the ball around and creating space for Henry and co on the semi counter attack. This is where Hleb should help a lot if he can adapt to the physical battles he'll face in England, especially on Arsenal's mini pitch.


Up front nothing has changed either, maybe Lupoli, Quincy and co will get a few more minutes now with Alliadiere gone. Also we'll have to see how Van Persie copes mentally with the events of last summer. Oh and most importantly for this team's succes: Henry needs to be healthy!

4. Liverpool F.C.

In: Boudewijn Zenden (Middlesbrough, free), Jose Reina (Villarreal, undisclosed), Mark Gonzalez (Albacete, loan), Antonio Barragan (Sevilla, free), Mohamed Sissoko (Valencia, £5.6m), Peter Crouch (Southampton, £7m)

Out: Alou Diarra (Lens, £1.98m), El Hadji Diouf (Bolton, undisclosed), Vladimir Smicer (Bordeaux, free), Bruno Cheyrou (Bordeaux, loan), Chris Kirkland (West Brom, loan), Gregory Vignal (Portsmouth, free), Mauricio Pellegrino (Alaves, free), Jon Otsemobor (Rotherham, free), Antonio Nunez (Celta Vigo, undisclosed), Anthony Le Tallec (Sunderland, loan) Patrice Luzi, Paul Harrison, Richie Partridge, Mark Smyth (all released)

This team is probably the biggest question mark of the projected top four. There has been a lot of activity on the transfer market but none of the new boys is of the quality required to put as anywhere close to Chelsea.
The depth of the team has been improved though, that's a big plus. But seriously, with this team I can't see us challenging for the title.

Pepe Reina should be an improvement over Dudek, but he's still not a world class guy who is on Cech's level.

In the defense not many things are changed. Possibly Riise will move a row back now with Djimi injured but that's it. That's very dissapointing for me as this is just NOT good enough to be able to win close games consistenly. Carragher is great of course but Hyypia was already questionable at more then one time last season. Neither Riise or Finnan / Josemi are anywhere near top class wing backs either.
Of course the good thing is that Rafa is a great organisational coach which he already showed last season. So the flaws will be kept to a minimum. Also Rafa insisted last week he's still in the market for a centre back, and he should be, right now we are in so much trouble if Carra or Hyypia go down it's not even funny anymore.

The midfield has improved, especially depth wise. However I still don't see a winger (especially now that Gonzalez won't come) on either side who can unlock tight games with the possible exception of Luis Garcia. The centre of the pitch is rock solid and maybe even world class. Gerrard and Xabi certainly are world class and Hamann, Sissokko and Zenden are more then capable runners / backups for those three spots. Out left Kewell is a question mark as always, and with Gonzalez now not coming I think Zenden will be there a lot in the beginning of the season, until Riise can move back in that position. Rafa is quoted as still being in the market for a RW and that's a good idea too, it allows Luis Garcia to move to his more natural AMC position and have a breathtaking pair of Xabi and Stevie G behind him.

Peter Crouch was Rafa's other big signing, much to the dismay of many LFC fans, me included. Hopefully Rafa is right and he will help us with away games...
The biggest plus for me is the fact that Cissé is back to fittnes, he'll probably be our top scorer (unless Rafa continues playing him on the right). I'm still not confident at al In Morientes succeeding in England and Baros is still a bit of a question mark too.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

For me this top 4 is more or less set in stone. Sure nobody expected Everton so high last season but they struggled towards the end and only hung on to 4th because of Liverpool's suckiness.

The next group are the teams that should have a shot at European football. Not sure how to rank them in order but I'll have a go at it:

5. Tottenham Hotspur

In: Wayne Routledge (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Paul Stalteri (Werder Bremen, undisclosed), Teemu Tainio (Auxerre, free), Tom Huddlestone (Derby, undisclosed), Aaron Lennon (Leeds, undisclosed), Edgar Davids (Inter Milan, free)

Out: Simon Davies (Everton, £3.5m), Rohan Ricketts (Wolves, free), Nicky Eyre (Grays, free), Paul O'Donoghue, Michael Malcolm, Owen Price (all released), David Limbersky (Vikria Plzen, loan return), Thimotee Atouba (Hamburg, undisclosed), Dean Marney (Norwich, loan), Mark Yeates (Colchester, loan)

This team has only gotten stronger. First of all the kids are all a year older and more experienced. Secondly they added Edgar Davids to help keep the balance in the team and to provide some grit and leadership from the middle.

One of the best keepers in England, a solid allbeit unspectacular defense, added depth in midfield (Taino, Routledge) and a very good bunch of strikers who can all score when needed. Looks good for Spurs, but then again it always does and for some reason they can't put it together.

And as always Spurs bought a few next big things in Huddlestone and Routledge

6. Birmingham City

In: Mikael Forssell (Chelsea, £3m), Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal, £500,000), Medhi Nafti (Racing Santander, undisclosed), Nicky Butt (Newcastle, loan), Walter Pandiani (Deportivo la Coruna, £3m)

Out: Darren Carter (West Brom, £1.5m), Ian Bennett (Leeds, free), Robbie Blake (Leeds, undisclosed), James Dormand (Tamworth)

This team is my darkhorse pick for European football, I think they could be last year's Everton/Bolton. They have put together a nice mix of experienced players and with people like Pandiani and Forssel they'll have less trouble finding the net this year. Some added grit with Butt in midfield as well. The only problem is the defsense and goalie.

7. Bolton Wanderers

In: El Hadji Diouf (Liverpool, undisclosed), Jared Borgetti (Pachuca, £1m), Ian Walker (Leicester, free), Abdoulaye Faye (Lens, loan)

Out: Vincent Candela (Udinese, free), Anthony Barness, Julio Cesar, Charlie Comyn-Platt, Florent Laville Bastia, free), Kevin Poole (Derby, free), Ricky Shakes (Swindon, free), Jason Talbot (all released), Fernando Hierro (retired)

They still look very good and big Sam will keep their spirits high all season long. Borghetti looks like a good transfer to me, at least the price is reasonable if it goes wrong. He'll also fit in well in their style.

8. Newcastle United FC

In: Scott Parker (Chelsea, £6.5m), Belozoglu Emre (Inter Milan, £3.8m), Tim Krul (Den Haag, undisclosed), Lee Clark (Fulham, free)

Out: Craig Bellamy (Blackburn, £5m), Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, undisclosed), Andy O'Brien (Portsmouth, £2m), Patrick Kluivert (Valencia, free), Laurent Robert (Portsmouth, undisclosed), Darren Ambrose (Charlton, undisclosed), Jamie McClen, Stephen Brennan (both released)

This team is a bit off a meass for me. Still they could do very well once Souness gets things really organised. Adding Owen would be an immens bonus, he should do fabulously well with Shearer up front. The back is still the problem child for this team though.
But the midfield should be OK, even when Jenas ends up leaving, Parker is a very good player and if Emre adapts (and he should, he likes physical play) he'll be a good one too.


9. Everton F.C.

In: Simon Davies (Tottenham, £3.5m), John Ruddy (Cambridge Utd, £250,000), Per Kroldup (Udinese, £5m), Phil Neville (Manchester United, £3.5m), Mikel Arteta (Real Sociedad, £2m)

Out: Steve Watson (West Brom, free), Alessandro Pistone, Alan Stubbs (Sunderland), Daniel Fox (Walsall, free), Anthony Gerrard (Walsall, free), Guillame Plessis, Eddie Bosnar (both released)

Moyes did well on the transfer market but was unlucky to miss out on one or two impact players. Normally Beattie should do better then last year but my question is weather Everton as a whole can repeat what they did last year (when you win so many games with 1 goal difference you can easily take a big step back in the league next season). They should still be safe but I doubt their European credentials.


10. Manchester City

In: Kiki Musampa (Atletico Madrid, loan), Andy Cole (Fulham, free), Darius Vassell (Aston Villa, £2m)

Out: Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea, £21m), Jon Macken (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Paul Bosvelt (Heerenveen, free), Steve McManaman (released), Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard (released), Christian Negouai (Standard Liege, undisclosed), Carlos Logan (Darlington, free)

Loosing SWP will hurt them big time. Still I like Pearce as a coach and I think they'll have a safe season, hopefully one or two nice results to spice things up as well. Vassel is a nice transfer at that £2M price ticket, he will probably end up playing SWP's right wing position with Fowler once again being used as finisher and as key passer (I always knew he had that in him but he really showed it last year) up front.
The defense is still slow and vulnerable, and James is still James in goal...




Will add on later!

I expect a huge season from Drogba.

I expect a huge season from Drogba.


I didn't see the second, but his first goal Sunday was quite impressive.

I hope PSG will make it 3 wins in a row this week. Otherwise I might have to change my avatar again! ;)

Heh, Ajax's first game of the season is already postponed.

Ajax - ADO Den Haag is postponed all the way to January. Both supportergroups have a lot of hatred towards eachother, so the city of Amsterdam decided it was better to have it further along the way so they can prepare themselves with the necessary policeforces and such. Hooligangs play a huge part in the Ere Divisie, unfortunately.

Anyway, Ajax just signed Maxwell's replacement (he's out at least another month or two), Spanish international Juan Francisco García (read: Juanfran).

Healthy, Ajax will have quite the defense:

- Heitinga
- Trabelsi
- Maxwell
- Escudé
- Grygera
- Juanfran
- Lindenbergh
- Emanuelsson

All happen to be internationals in one way or another as well..

First time since the Koeman/Blind/Rijkaard days we've had such a good and deep defense.

Heh, Ajax's first game of the season is already postponed.

Ajax - ADO Den Haag is postponed all the way to January.
One less important game for Ajax to spin up their form, before the 2nd leg of the CLQ http://www.hfboards.com/images/smilies/applaud.gif

Tommorrow, from 7 AM - 2:30 PM...EPL action

*drools*

let's go United *dun dun. dun dun dun*

The Eredivisie officially kicked off yesterday..

AZ hosted former powerhouse Sparta on what proved to be a sunny evening.

Both teams looked rusty and started off shaky before AZ's Shota Arveladze scored the season's first goal in the early minutes. The rest of the half wasn't that bad, a few chances for both but the pace of the game wasn't really fast at all, just yet. 1-0 At the half.

In the 2nd half, Loui van Gaal's side started off nearly identical, as Shota Arveladze scored his second of the game (nice one btw), again in the early minutes of the half. The pace improved a bit but still wasn't stellar. Then Sparta brings in Bouaouzon, (from the thread "A Dutch footballer gets 6 months for a tackle") and he was boo'd constantly, even by his own supporters. Tarik Sektioui then put the icing on the cake for AZ by scoring the 3-0 (he was miles off-side though). AZ missed a few mportant players due to injury, they missed their 2 best defenders (Mathijsse and Vlaar), their most promessing youngster (Medunjarin) while their best, or 2nd best player, Danny Landzaat played through an injury..

Decent opener. I figure if AZ gets going they will win the league title for the first time in franchise history.

Tommorrow, from 7 AM - 2:30 PM...EPL action

*drools*

let's go United *dun dun. dun dun dun*

And for those who can't watch it on tv, It's on Coolstreaming (ESPN), complete with English commentary.

Nice first half at Goodison. united is 0-1 up on the good, but the game is pretty tight as you'd expect any Everton game to be.


Also, I just noticed I overlooked Middlesbrough in my EPL preview, I'll add them after this match in order to jinx them for the late kickoff today :D

Well, any win is a good win, though 2-0 looked more comfortable than the first half was. Good to see v. Nistelrooy back on the scoresheet, even though he looked a bit off...though I think that cna be attributed to the fact that it's the first game. Ji-Sung impressed me somewhat, he showed nice bursts of speed and energy and some nice touch (first I've seen him, didn't see him with PSV), though sometimes he disappeared as well. Hey, a win's a win.

Liverpool - Borough at 12:30, hopefully that'll be a good game as well.

Nice to see Tainio score in his first game with Tottenham.
I'm sure Mole and co will ove him.

Saturday:

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern München: 2-5 (1-3)- Maakay with 3 goals
Bor. M'gladbach vs. VfL Wolfsburg: 1-1 (0-1)
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04: 1-2 (1-1)
Hertha BSC vs. Eintracht Frankfurt: 2-0 (0-0)
1. FC Kaiserslautern vs. MSV Duisburg: 5-3 (2-1)- Altintop with 3 goals
1. FC Nürnberg vs. Hannover 96: 1-1 (0-1)
Arminia Bielefeld vs. Hamburger SV: 0-2 (0-0)- van der Vaart's 1st goal (a beauty)

Sunday:

VfB Stuttgart vs. 1.FC Köln
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Werder Bremen

Nice to see Tainio score in his first game with Tottenham.
I'm sure Mole and co will ove him.

I have Defoe scoring and an own goal for Tottenham?

I have Defoe scoring and an own goal for Tottenham?
I have two goals for Tottenham on lequipe.fr : Tainio and Defoe.

I have two goals for Tottenham on lequipe.fr : Tainio and Defoe.

First one was an own goal by all accounts, pressure from Mido and Griffin putting it in his own net

I have two goals for Tottenham on lequipe.fr : Tainio and Defoe.

Kicker ticker: Griffin (45.,Own Goal)

Saturday:

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern München: 2-5 (1-3)- Maakay with 3 goals
Bor. M'gladbach vs. VfL Wolfsburg: 1-1 (0-1)
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04: 1-2 (1-1)
Hertha BSC vs. Eintracht Frankfurt: 2-0 (0-0)
1. FC Kaiserslautern vs. MSV Duisburg: 5-3 (2-1)- Altintop with 3 goals
1. FC Nürnberg vs. Hannover 96: 1-1 (0-1)
Arminia Bielefeld vs. Hamburger SV: 0-2 (0-0)- van der Vaart's 1st goal (a beauty)

Sunday:

VfB Stuttgart vs. 1.FC Köln
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Werder Bremen


Makaay with 3? Wow.. 5 goals in his first two games, no?

Also, could you please describe van der Vaart's progression as the season goes on, as the media has scrapped a lot of German soccer on the Dutch tele. How was his goal exactly?

First one was an own goal by all accounts, pressure from Mido and Griffin putting it in his own net
Weird they gave it to Tainio...

Don't you have ARD on the cable in Holland O = S?? They have a highlights programme every saturday around this time of the day. You get to see all goals (and a whole lot of irritating commercials) straight away

Wow. Bryan Bergougnoux is sent off after 30 minutes against PSG for a dangerous tackle on Kalou.
It was a bad tackle, but a straight red might seem harsh.

Cissé will start from the bench for Liverpool, along with Riise in a pretty surprising selection by Rafa:


Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Carragher
Warnock
Sissoko
Gerrard
Alonso
Zenden
Garcia
Morientes

Subs:
Carson
Baros
Riise
Cisse
Whitbread

What a bonehead play by Yobo. :shakehead:

I mean, I wanted Everton to lose so I am happy he made such a bad move, but still, it's shameful.

Cissé will start from the bench for Liverpool, along with Riise in a pretty surprising selection by Rafa:


Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Carragher
Warnock
Sissoko
Gerrard
Alonso
Zenden
Garcia
Morientes

Subs:
Carson
Baros
Riise
Cisse
Whitbread


WHAT? Djibs is not starting? He has been MUCH better than Nando in preseason, except in the very last game though. I don't really like that formation to be honest even though I am glad Sissoko is starting. It was to be expected that Rafa would always want one of Crouch or Nando playing, but I would have though it'd be on a pair with Cissé.

Hasn't Cissé scored twice in the CL games already?

Don't you have ARD on the cable in Holland O = S?? They have a highlights programme every saturday around this time of the day. You get to see all goals (and a whole lot of irritating commercials) straight away

Ah, ofcourse.. but they they no longer show live Bundes Liga games as RTL 5 usually did (2 live games every weekend (including every Bayern game))..

Hasn't Cissé scored twice in the CL games already?

Cissé scored against TNS in second leg, Kaunas (in both legs) and CSKA Sofia's first leg. So that's four goals

While in the same time Morientes has scored two goals total, right?

How was his goal exactly?

Never mind, nice free kick..

Just got back from looking at colleges for a week, American newspapers are terrible where football is concerned. Little worried about Arsenal, but Chelsea are the more talented team after all. Manu looked decent, I'm a little worried. Tomorrow's game should be a good gauge of where the Gunners are.

3 wins in 3 games for PSG.
And though they've looked shaky at times defensively, they have been scored on only once in these three games (for 7 goals for).

I LOVE IT! :handclap:

If Stevie G. had any finish today, that would've been a superhuman performance.

Well, you can't say Liverpool didn't try...shame Gerrard couldn't get it in, he was everywhere. Cisse on the wing confused me as well, though he did well enough.

Frustrating game for us.


Gerrard should have buried at least one of his 5 or 6 good opportunities.

The defense looked solid to me, only one half chance to Middlesbrough on 90 minutes, that's very encouraging.

The problem was going forward. Xabi was pure class and orchestrated things. Gerrard was everywhere but lacked finishing touch. Sissokko showed a lot athletic ability but needs to work a lot on his play on the ball. Zenden and Luis Garcia had poor games, our wings continue to be the reason why we have so much trouble unlocking tight defenses.
Nando was decent up front, but not very good. Cissé's touch wasn't great either when he came on but who can blame him as he was placed out wide...

All in all very solid but not enough class to finish it off with a nice 0-1 victory like a real title contender would have done.

I missed the game but just got in and checked the score. I'm not happy with a scoreless tie but it's better than a loss.

How did Van der Sar look? From what I read he looked good but Id like to hear it from a person from here too.

How did Van der Sar look? From what I read he looked good but Id like to hear it from a person from here too.

Yes, he looked very solid. Had two or three decent saves (one very good one), but apart from that not too much work.

Yes, he looked very solid. Had two or three decent saves (one very good one), but apart from that not too much work.

going to get a copy of the match pretty soon, hope van der Sar is good cause of Holland considerations. How did Park look to anyone that saw the game?

He was quick and energetic, and trying hard. He might have been all nerves, but I thought he just didnt have that 'touch' that your other wingers have.

van der Sar looked good....not only that, but based on the number of times Neville and O'Shea strolled forward, there's a confidence in the keeper I don't think Carrol ever gave to his players....van der Sar-Howard's looking good so far.

Park was jittery, but ehh, you can expect that....was surprised Ronaldo didn't start, till they said that he had an infection.

He was quick and energetic, and trying hard. He might have been all nerves, but I thought he just didnt have that 'touch' that your other wingers have.

I'm actually an Arsenal fan, but I'll ignore that brazen insult. ;)

Thanks for the info, just curious to see how the enemy is shaping up and truth be told, I liked Park a lot when he was at PSV.

I can't see Liverpool being at all happy with today's result. Middlesbrough is a decent side, but I think the Scousers really should have pulled out a victory.

PSG is also looking pretty good, any updates on Essien?

I can't see Liverpool being at all happy with today's result. Middlesbrough is a decent side, but I think the Scousers really should have pulled out a victory.



I agree. 'Pool needs every point they can get if they are going to challenge for a top 4 spot. I can't see Chelsea, Arsenal, or Man U going 0-0 against Middlesborough.

I agree. 'Pool needs every point they can get if they are going to challenge for a top 4 spot. I can't see Chelsea, Arsenal, or Man U going 0-0 against Middlesborough.

That's a nice way to sum it up although I'll reserve judgement on Arsenal. That team could have an excellent year or they could really flounder. I haven't seen the game yet (living in the US can be tiresome), but by all accounts, Liverpool was rather disorganized in attack. I'm a bit surprised that Sissoko started, I'd rather see a striking pair of Cisse and Morientes.

EDIT: Didn't see this mentioned anywhere, but West Ham beat Blackburn 3-1 today at Upton Park (I think Blackburn has a long losing streak there). Highlights included Teddy Sheringham returning from the dead to score the Hammers' first goal. 1999 really does feel like yesterday, I don't see how he keeps doing it.

any updates on Essien?
Same usual stuff : deadline is Sunday (was last sunday supposedly, and then it was two weeks, ago, blah, blah, blah).
Aulas has acknowledged secretly meeting Abramovitch, but said nothing's signed.
In any case, Essien refuses to sign his extension, and he is not among the possible players for this weekend's game.

Looks like a deal coming up if you ask me.

Same usual stuff : deadline is Sunday (was last sunday supposedly, and then it was two weeks, ago, blah, blah, blah).
Aulas has acknowledged secretly meeting Abramovitch, but said nothing's signed.
In any case, Essien refuses to sign his extension, and he is not among the possible players for this weekend's game.

Looks like a deal coming up if you ask me.

Yeah it really is a pity for Lyon but I think a deal is necessary by now. Maybe they could pick up another midfielder, but I would think that they'd wait until January.

I'm actually an Arsenal fan, but I'll ignore that brazen insult. ;)


You should probably check that out with a doctor, then.

Gerrard was phenomenal. I'm really worried that he's hitting form too early and wont be the same player by the time the WC comes around.

Incidentially I read that the Championship (level below EPL) had more fans at the games than Serie A last year. I'm not sure if the average was higher too. That really surprised me.

Yeah it really is a pity for Lyon but I think a deal is necessary by now.If they can get the fee they're asking for, you shouldn't feel sorry for them at all. Because that would be a sum that no other club is willing to give up for Essien.

Yep. They rejected a 39M offer last week, so Essien will surely leave with a fee in the 40s.
Aulas sure played hardball, and he won two contests :
1- the huge overpayment
2- next time Chelsea is interested in a Lyon player, they won't even try. Not worth the trouble. The message is probably through to the other big teams as well.

Aulas is an ******* on many accounts, but you can't help but admire what he's brought to the team. He buys cheap, sells incredibly high (Luyindula was a complete steal when he sold him to OM) and knows how to choose those around him.
Houiller was IMO his first mistake.

Oh and I think John Carew will develop into the dominant player we always thought he'd be in Lyon. He's been incredible since L1 started and he already has 2 goals in 2 games (and you know L1's defenses are hard).

Here's my weekly L1 :

PSG 2-0 Toulouse
PSG wasn't overly impressive, but Toulouse was once again disapointing. Pauleta scored two goal scorer's goal.
MOM : Pauleta (7.5).
Prospects : Aubey 5, Mathieu 5.5, Bergougnoux not ranked (was sent off in the 30th).

Auxerre 1-0 Bordeaux
Average game, but Auxerre benefitted from a good Pieroni who scored a nice goal. He'll now have to face the competition of Benjani and Luyindula.
MOM : Pieroni (7)
Prospects : Kahlenberg (6.5), Mavuba (5), Chamakh (5.5).

Nantes 0-2 Ajaccio
Perfect tactical game from Rolland Courbis' side. They scored two nice goals and could have scored more.
MOM : Rodrigo and Edson (6.5)
Prospects : Toulalan (6), Fae (5.5), Glombard (4)

Nancy 1-2 Lens
Lens played well enough to win. This team has potential to be impressive...
MOM : Alou Diarra (6.5)
Prospects : Jussie (5.5)

Lille 1-2 Troyes
Troyes played a very opportunitic game. Lille lacked some offensive impact here.
MOM : Kouassi and Le Crom (7)
Prospects : Cabaye (4.5), Debuchy (1 goal, 5.5) and Maloun (5.5)

St Etienne 2-0 Metz
St Etienne scored twice very quickly, before hitting the post. Metz had one big chance and hit the post as well. Deserved victory. St Etienne hasn't been scored on yet.
MOM : Piquionne (7)
Prospects : -

Le Mans 4-0 Rennes
Rennes now has 3 defeats, 0 goal scored, 8 goals against in 3 games. The turning point of the game was at the 9th minute when Matsui shot the ball that was stopped by Monterrubio on his goal lin with the hand. Rather than giving the goal to Matsui (the ball went in), he ref prefered to give a penalty and red card :shakehead
After that, Le Mans totally dominated with a very impressive De Melo (see prospects thread), who scored twice and now has three goals in three games. Note : Romaric was not selected by his coach because he was late in practice.
MOM : De Melo (7.5)
Prospects : De Melo (7.5), Kallstrom (4), Didot (5.5), Gourcuff (4)

Nice 1-2 Sochaux
The most controversial game of the season, and hopefully it will stray that way until the end of the season. Goals were scored by Ilan (twice) for Sochaux and Traore for Nice.
But it first started by a goal refused to Ilan for an offside that wasn't.
Then at 1-0 Nice, the ref decided to send off Balmont for saving the ball on his goal line with his... knee. Obviously the ref though it was the hand, but everyone could see it's wasn't.
On the penalty, Gregorini saved Ilan's shot, but the ref decided to take it again since Gregorini left his goal line before the shot was taken. Imagine the roar in the crowd. The game had to be suspended because the crowd was throwing things at Ilan.
When play resume, Ilan scored his penalty on his second attempt.
Later on, an awful simulation by a Nice played resulted in a penalty whistle. Among the celebration from the Nice crowd, the assistant ref called the main ref and told him it was a simulation. So the ref called the penalty back and gave a yellow card to the Nice played.
Ilan scored a clean winner afterwards, but controversy is at its peak.
MOM : Ilan, Isabey and Diawara (7)
Prospects : Menez (4.5, who shot a great free kick on the post).

Tonight OM-Lyon and Strasbourg-Monaco

Interesting quote from Deschamps about the refereeing in football :
I've worn some shot that enabled me to be on the good side of the fence, and you can see whistles come your way (Nantes, Marseille, Juventus, Valencia, Chelsea and the national team). When you're on the other side of the fence, it's hard.

If they can get the fee they're asking for, you shouldn't feel sorry for them at all. Because that would be a sum that no other club is willing to give up for Essien.

I felt more sorry for them because Essien was a key part of their Champions League chances and I think that the reason they kept him for so long was to try to make another run. With his departure however, that team is still good, but greatly weakened now.

Newcastle vs. Arsenal game just finished. I don't want to talk about game but about one player. He reminds me someone :D


http://www.fotodatabase.nl/foto/Fotografen/ProShots/Voetbal/Nederland/Clubs/Feyenoord/2003-2004/Spelers/persie-robin-van

http://www.rimouskiweb.com/nouvelle/nouvelle030808.jpg

Imo, they look similar ;)

****ING CHELSEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :madfire: :madfire: :madfire: :madfire: :madfire:


Anyway,this is why they are going to be champions...

Wow,Wigan Athletic took Chelsea to the limit. Hernan Crespo in extra time though showed his form.....

Arjan de Zeeuw baby!

Nice game for Arsenal although perhaps they were a bit lucky to get the win. 3 points is 3 points though.

Don't even start on those ******** Chelski b*******. Yea I'm a bit disappointed.

Saturday:

Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern München: 2-5 (1-3)- Maakay with 3 goals
Bor. M'gladbach vs. VfL Wolfsburg: 1-1 (0-1)
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04: 1-2 (1-1)
Hertha BSC vs. Eintracht Frankfurt: 2-0 (0-0)
1. FC Kaiserslautern vs. MSV Duisburg: 5-3 (2-1)- Altintop with 3 goals
1. FC Nürnberg vs. Hannover 96: 1-1 (0-1)
Arminia Bielefeld vs. Hamburger SV: 0-2 (0-0)- van der Vaart's 1st goal (a beauty)

Sunday:

VfB Stuttgart vs. 1.FC Köln: 2-3 (0-1)
FSV Mainz 05 vs. Werder Bremen: 0-2 (0-1)

Todays games just finished.

How was Crespo's goal? Decent? Lucky?

How was Crespo's goal? Decent? Lucky?

I've heard it was pure class.

How was Crespo's goal? Decent? Lucky?

"Ice Cold"

damn it.
I missed the game.
For those who've seen him, did Wigan play well enough, or were they lucky to be at 0-0 at the 90th?
Was Chelsea any impressive?

The kind of stuff that makes Wigan want to go back to the Championship, the goal was.

My team won, but I felt horrible for Wigan. Must be all that empathy as a Canuck fan.

damn it.
I missed the game.
For those who've seen him, did Wigan play well enough, or were they lucky to be at 0-0 at the 90th?
Was Chelsea any impressive?


Wigan played extremely well.

Chelsea had most of the posession but failed to create many chances. In the entire first half they had two good ones (Terry on a corner and Robben on a dribble).

Wigan played high energy football and had about three very good, almost clear cut chances in the first half.

The second half was even more dominating by Chelsea but still not creating anything too much. De Zeeuw adn Henchoz had Drogba (and later on Crespo) in their back pockets. Wigan hit the bar on one of their counters as well.

Then in the 93'd minute: A Chelsea freekick, blocked by the wall and a Three on one for Wigan. They mess it up and then Cech pumps the ball forward, De Zeeuw gives Crespo two yards at the edge of the box and Crespo curls it into the left top corner, brilliant goal, very harsh result. (Mourinho went to apologise to Jewell after the goal)

Wouldn't be suprised to see de Zeeuw getting a call from Marco any moment now.. ;)

Newcastle vs. Arsenal game just finished. I don't want to talk about game but about one player. He reminds me someone :D


http://www.fotodatabase.nl/foto/Fotografen/ProShots/Voetbal/Nederland/Clubs/Feyenoord/2003-2004/Spelers/persie-robin-van

http://www.rimouskiweb.com/nouvelle/nouvelle030808.jpg

Imo, they look similar ;)

van Persie > Crosby

van Persie > Crosby

I'll give the edge to van Persie cause of Arsenal as well, but it is freaky how much they look alike.

The Dutch league will once again go between the 4 familiar teams..

PSV and Ajax own the best cards, though I definitely give Ajax the edge. Whereas I could see AZ definitely edging out Feyenoord. Better players, better system, better coach > chaos..
O=S, another victim that has been influenced by the media. :propeller


No, Feyenoord will not win the title this year.
Its indeed possible that AZ will finish in front of Feyenoord this season.

I don't understand why it's chaos with Feyenoord. It's not their fault that others act like a bunch of dirty ********.

Better players ? I beg to differ.

Jaliens, Opdam, Buskermolen, Schaars, Ramzi, Sektoui etc. will have a hard time to crack the Feyenoord squad.

No O=S, I think you have been overly excited. ;)

Jaliens, Opdam, Buskermolen, Schaars, Ramzi, Sektoui etc. will have a hard time to crack the Feyenoord squad.

No O=S, I think you have been overly excited. ;)

Feyenoord lined up one of the worst midfields I've ever seen for a supposed contender. Aside from Kalou, Kuijt and possibly Boussabon, few would crack AZ's squad.. ;)

Feyenoord lined up one of the worst midfields I've ever seen for a supposed contender. Aside from Kalou, Kuijt and possibly Boussabon, few would crack AZ's squad.. ;)
Feyenoord is not a contender this season, neither is AZ.

AZ won't get any weaker with players like Ono, Ghaly and Castelen. :propeller

Feyenoord is not a contender this season, neither is AZ.

AZ won't get any weaker with players like Ono, Ghaly and Castelen. :propeller

They are contenders..

But regardless, AZ has a better squad IMO. Their defense as a whole is better, their midfield is better but up front Feyenoord owns AZ, as they own every club in the Ere Divisie.

hate chealsea screwwwwwwwwwww chealsea

Spell at least their name right if you hate them.

I read somewhere than Kalou was about to sign with Benfica.
Any truth to that Frolov?

Nope, Feyenoord supposedly wanted to sell him to Benfica but he wants a Dutch passport and wants to play for the Dutch NT so that's why he only wants to move to PSV. He's not interested In Benfica.

I'm glad to see that his older brother had made quite a name for himself in the French league. I think Bonaventura Kalou, when on form, is one of the most technical gifted players on this planet.

Well, he was finalist for MVP last year (Essien won) with the likes of Essien and Juninho.
He finally showed some consistency, and even though he was close to the only dangerous player on Auxerre with Benjani, he still produced.

He was also magical in the cup final (playing ten minutes and scoring the winner at the last minute).
This year he'll be at another level IMO.
Him on the right side, Rothen on the left side, and a very solid midfield with Dhorasso, M'Bami and Cissé.
Yepes has been an absolute rock on defense.
PSG is starting strong, and I love all of it. Thanks to Kalou and the other new players that brought their mental game as well.

And with the end of the OM-OL game, PSG is officially alone in front, being the only team with 3 wins in 3 games, as Lyon could only manage a draw with Marseille.
Carew scored his third tonight, and Ribéry I thought was fantastic for OM. Taiwo scored the OM goal.
Standings :
1- PSG 9 points, +6
2- Auxerre 7 pts, +3
3- Lyon 7 pts, +2

Lyon hasn't been overly impressive since the beginning of the season but there are many reasons for that :
1- Juninho and Cris have only started playing tonight. They didn't play the first two games (they were still on vacations).
2- Houiller is still trying to find a good plan and the best way to use his players. He started a 4-3-3 Le Guen's style tonight, and Lyon was more effective (even thought they only managed a tie).
3- Houiller is still not sure how to use his players, since he has maybe too much depth up front. He would like to use Ben Arfa, but he doesn't fit well in the 4-3-3, as he's not a fast winger like Malouda (whom he subed tonight) but rather a playmaker/shadow striker. Same with Wiltord, whom he used as Govou's replacement tonight, even though he played great around Carew in the first games.

I think it's not the system Evilo, it's rather the players which are dissapointing right now for Lyon.

They gave the ball away needlessly too many times (Juninho especially made a few strange passes for a guy of his class) and generally were outfought to the ball. It seems they lack one or two %. Especially the pace of the passing was much slower than it used to be, that meant OM's defense always had a few extra seconds to get in position... The pace and intensity was just not there for me.

Ben Arfa was the only guy playing with real fire when he came on. Wiltord looked terribly out of place on the wing too for me...


Also why wasn't Nasri on the pitch once again? I can't believe Fernandez prefers a guy like Mendoza who's been useless in three games over Nasri :shakehead
(joy indeed, we have more Ligue 1 and we got 3 OM games in Belgiuim the last three weeks ;))

Belgian Report:

12/08 20.30 La Louvière - AA Gent 1-1

Ghent dominated, Datti and co missed a bunch of chances after the 0-1 (also Datti). In the last minute some horrific defending (once again by Laybutt, two weeks in a row) gifted La Louvière a point. It looks like La Louvière is heading for a long season, they're a pretty poor team; even by Belgian standards.

13/08 20.00 G. Beerschot - Westerlo 0-1

Westerlo enjoyed the better part of the game. Super Sub Bjorn De Wilde scored and absolute stunner to win it in the final moments. Westerlo is one of the few teamw with the maximum of the points now.

13/08 20.00 Brussels - Club Brugge 1-1

First shocking result of the season. Bruges still didn't play well, had a few chances in the first half but only scored once (Ishiaku). However Brussels quikcly equalised (Igor De Camargo - starting to play like a really solid player finally)
Second half was awful from Bruges, Brussels were the closest to snatching a winner.

13/08 20.00 Moeskroen - Lokeren 0-2

Mouscron is a pretty awful team as well. Lokeren played OK but not too great. A lucky goal (Vidarsson) and a great finish by Gunther Vanhandenhoven (ex-Metz) sealed the three points.

14/08 13.00 Cercle Brugge - Anderlecht 0-2

Easy victory for Anderlecht, not a great performance though. A couple of regulars were rested so Baseggio got a rare start. Mpenza won a penalty which Serhat Akin scored. Akin created the second for Mpenza, returning the favor.

14/08 15.00 Lierse - Sint-Truiden 1-0

Nunes with the lone goal here (assist by Vairelles). STVV were equal though but couldn't score. Stolica (STVV) is looking like a great aqcuisition for the Belgian league

14/08 15.00 SV Roeselare - SK Beveren 1-0

Newly promoted Roeselare fought an early degradation battle. Solid goal by Eloi, Beveren sucked throughout (but had a goal unrightfully dissalowed).

14/08 18.00 Zulte-Waregem - Standard 1-2

Great match!
Zulte Waregem took an early lead (Meert) and held Standard for 92 minutes. In the 93d minute Tchité equalised, in the 94th minute Garbini gifted Standard the win. Very entertaining and Waregem is surely too good to go down as was to be expected.

14/08 20.00 RC Genk - Charleroi 0-0

Boring match. A few opportunities for both teams but Broos will need his Genk to improve a lot if they want to do as well as last season.



League Table
1 Anderlecht (AND) 2 2 0 0 8 0 8 6
2 Standard (STA) 2 2 0 0 5 2 3 6
3 Westerlo (WES) 2 2 0 0 3 0 3 6
4 Club Brugge (BRU) 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
5 Lokeren (LOK) 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
6 FC Brussels (FCB) 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 4
7 Charleroi (CHA) 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 4
8 Zulte-Waregem (ZWA) 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3
9 Sint-Truiden (STV) 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
10 Roeselare (ROE) 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
11 Lierse (LIE) 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3
12 Racing Genk (GNK) 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
13 AA Gent (GNT) 2 0 1 1 2 4 -2 1
14 La Louviere (LAL) 2 0 1 1 1 7 -6 1
15 Beveren (BEV) 2 0 0 2 0 3 -3 0
16 G. Beerschot (GBA) 2 0 0 2 0 3 -3 0
17 Moeskroen (MOE) 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0
18 Cercle Brugge (CER) 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0

14/08 18.00 Zulte-Waregem - Standard 1-2

Great match!
Zulte Waregem took an early lead (Meert) and held Standard for 92 minutes. In the 93d minute Tchité equalised, in the 94th minute Garbini gifted Standard the win. Very entertaining and Waregem is surely too good to go down as was to be expected.
What's going on, now we even get the chance to see live matches from the Eerste klasse on the telly. :D

What's going on, now we even get the chance to see live matches from the Eerste klasse on the telly. :D

I know, but unfortunately that's all we get to see here too :(

The new Belgacom TV digital supplier is not yet available where I live. Word is it will be at earliest in december. that means I'll have to do with one lousy game per week all that time :cry:

Just finished watching Arsenal vs. Newcastle, couple observations.

- Pires was rubbish, killed a couple good chances including a great one from Hleb, didn't really add at all to the game. I'm not too worried yet, but he was like this in preseason as well.

- Hleb will be a star if he isn't one already. His creativity and vision not to mention his dribbling skills are top class. It was when he came on that Arsenal really started to become dangerous.

- Shay Given was incredible and always seems to play well whenever I see him. I'm a bit surprised that he doesn't get more mention, made quite a few great saves and very nearly saved the Henry penalty.

- van Persie will be a pretty good player as well, I could see him scoring 15 in the Prem this year although that is a bit of a stretch.

- Scott Parker was excellent. Blocked several good Arsenal chances and just had a good game all-around, hopefully he can put last year behind him.

Overall, I was really impressed with Newcastle. They were definitely very unlucky to have Jenas sent off (especially when Campo wasn't even carded the day before). I also thought that the penalty was unlucky for them as well, Ljungberg had already miskicked. I think they could be a sleeper team this year. They certainly have the talent and I really think that Parker will re-establish himself. I could see them challenging for the 5 or 6 spot.

Arsenal were decent. Certainly not top form, but pulled out a win. I really think Hleb should take Pires' place. It wasn't until Hleb and van Persie came on that the Gunners began to truly look dangerous.

So the Gunners were probably lucky, but as a fan, I'm quite happy with the 3 points.

I think it's not the system Evilo, it's rather the players which are dissapointing right now for Lyon.

They gave the ball away needlessly too many times (Juninho especially made a few strange passes for a guy of his class) and generally were outfought to the ball. It seems they lack one or two %. Especially the pace of the passing was much slower than it used to be, that meant OM's defense always had a few extra seconds to get in position... The pace and intensity was just not there for me.

Ben Arfa was the only guy playing with real fire when he came on. Wiltord looked terribly out of place on the wing too for me...


Also why wasn't Nasri on the pitch once again? I can't believe Fernandez prefers a guy like Mendoza who's been useless in three games over Nasri :shakehead
(joy indeed, we have more Ligue 1 and we got 3 OM games in Belgiuim the last three weeks ;))

I think the players have trouble finding themselves too.

Anyway, it was Juninho's first game, and you could see it. Even on the free kicks.
And Nasri played in Deportivo, and Fernandez wants him to play the return.
We'll see more of Nasri in L1 after the Toto cup is over.
Last season, Nasri finished the season on his knees. Fernandez surely wants him not to play two games a week right now.

My reports from yesterday's two L1 games :

Marseille 1-1 Lyon
A game that was often boring between a side with two defeats and a side with two wins. Marseille started strong, but Lyon dominated the last part, so a draw is a fair result here. Taiwo scored on a lucky free kick, while Carew scored his third on a Govou assist.
The big news was after the game when Aulas announced Essien would leave for Chelsea, and that his replacement would be Fabinho, who's playing in Japan. That may not seem very impressive, but the scout who said he was a must was also the one that found Edmilson, Juninho, Cris and co... This will mean one of the brazilians will leave or be loaned, and it will probably be Nilmar. And of course, the big rumor is that Aulas will now go after Owen. On the departure front, Wiltord may be on his way to Liverpool, as he can't stand Houiller. Govou could leave as well.
MOM : Réveillère, Ribéry and Ferreira (7).
Prospects : Taiwo (6), Ribéry (7). Ben Arfa came in late and made some interesting moves.

Strasbourg 1-2 Monaco
Monaco has played bad in its three games now, but has two undeserved away wins to show for it. In this game, Strasbourg dominated, but couldn't score before the 92nd. On the other side, Squillaci scored on a lucky bounce (the ball bounced off him) and Cheventon scored a nice one later on.
MOM : Maicon (6.5)
Prospects : Adebayor (6), A. Farnerud (3.5).

Wouldn't be suprised to see de Zeeuw getting a call from Marco any moment now.. ;)


That's a bit of an exaggeration, is it not ? ;)

Anyway, Feyenoord beat NAC by 2-0.
Happy ?
No, that dumb*** Erwin Koeman kept Swedish international Öslund on the bench.
How stupid is that ?

So much depth, interminded, that Even Swedish internationals can be kept on the bench. ;)

With the signings of Essien, one of Chelsea's two holes has been filled up. If one of Crespo or Drogba steps up (and they both have the ability) then Chelsea will have a flawless line-up.

Seriously, if MSI is truly linked to Chesea, this is how we could be lining up next year:

-------------------Tevez (Drogba, Crespo)
---Robben (Duff)------------SWP (J.Cole)--------
--Lampard (Gudjonsen)--------Essien (Tiago)-----
-------------Mascherano (Makalele)-----------
DelHorno (Bridge) Terry (Carvalho) Gallas (Huth) Ferreira (G.Johnsen)
-------------------Cech (Cudicini)

Not bad.

With the signings of Essien, one of Chelsea's two holes has been filled up. If one of Crespo or Drogba steps up (and they both have the ability) then Chelsea will have a flawless line-up.

Seriously, if MSI is truly linked to Chesea, this is how we could be lining up next year:

-------------------Tevez (Drogba, Crespo)
---Robben (Duff)------------SWP (J.Cole)--------
--Lampard (Gudjonsen)--------Essien (Tiago)-----
-------------Mascherano (Makalele)-----------
DelHorno (Bridge) Terry (Carvalho) Gallas (Huth) Ferreira (G.Johnsen)
-------------------Cech (Cudicini)

Not bad.

And don't forget the final piece is the master Mourinho. The lineup looks unstoppable but as we have seen, anything can happen.

With the signings of Essien, one of Chelsea's two holes has been filled up. If one of Crespo or Drogba steps up (and they both have the ability) then Chelsea will have a flawless line-up.

Seriously, if MSI is truly linked to Chesea, this is how we could be lining up next year:

-------------------Tevez (Drogba, Crespo)
---Robben (Duff)------------SWP (J.Cole)--------
--Lampard (Gudjonsen)--------Essien (Tiago)-----
-------------Mascherano (Makalele)-----------
DelHorno (Bridge) Terry (Carvalho) Gallas (Huth) Ferreira (G.Johnsen)
-------------------Cech (Cudicini)

Not bad.


The MSI link seems very plausible. From what I remember reading a while back, the Mascherano deal was done already, and its to be completed after the WC. I'm very excited about him replacing Makele. I think Masch is already at his level, maybe, yes, even better. He is so young, yet already the glue on that Argentina team.

Tevez is so ****ing ugly that its scary. He might hurt marketing :sarcasm:

So much depth, interminded, that Even Swedish internationals can be kept on the bench. ;)


I mean, not he has to play BECAUSE of the fact that he's an international player, but why play Greene over Ostlund ?

Anyways, I just don't like Koeman. He is not the right man for the job.
But what you gonna do ? The season has started....

I mean, not he has to play BECAUSE of the fact that he's an international player, but why play Greene over Ostlund ?

Anyways, I just don't like Koeman. He is not the right man for the job.
But what you gonna do ? The season has started....
On paper it was a 4-3-3 line up but in reality they played 3-4-3. Greene has more experience in playing in the centre of the defense (and played a more than solid match) and Ostlund is from my understanding a true rightback and may have felt uncomfortable while playing 3-4-3.

On paper it was a 4-3-3 line up but in reality they played 3-4-3. Greene has more experience in playing in the centre of the defense (and played a more than solid match) and Ostlund is from my understanding a true rightback and may have felt uncomfortable while playing 3-4-3.


Okay, you do have a point there.

How do you feel about Gabor Babos by the way ?
Shouldn't he get a second chance to prove himself this year ?

I feel he's a bit the main victim of last year's fluke.
Allright, he had some bad bounces, but he's still a great goalie, if his confidence level is high.
I think (& hope) he'll have a great year in Nijmegen and show Feyenoord they made a mistake.
Let's be honest, Lodewijks is a nice guy and for his age a superb goalie, but he's not a guy you want for the long run.
And Aerts ... I just don't trust him.

Okay, you do have a point there.

How do you feel about Gabor Babos by the way ?
Shouldn't he get a second chance to prove himself this y