i think they are also trying to set a record for having the most fast attacking short dudes on their roster

Real just might have just landed Ruud

Liverpool just signed winger Jermaine Pennant. Very solid pickup.

that pick up actually worries me...im not a fan of his off field behavior and i worry that he could ruin the chemistry

They said the same thing about bellamy and to a certain extent Baraja because of the trouble he had at Atletico before moving to Valencia. Rafa only managed to win two La Liga titles and the CL with him.

Rafa knows what he is doing and has shown that if you cause problems then you'll sit.

Pennant is no worse than Van Persie (2 DWIs 1 rape charge) but no one would complain if he got picked up. The kid is 23 now and has one more shot at success, I'm pretty sure he'll be fine. And if not, he'll sit til January and then find a home with a bottom dweller

[This message has been edited by riley290 (edited 7/27/2006 9:46a).]

Looks like its official. Ruud to Real, sounds like $15M Euro, be interesting to see who ManYoo throws some cash at to join.

its now official, ruud is gone, and it now looks like manU is gonna shell out the cash for carrick after all.

great moves if the Carrick deal goes thru. I have to say, RVN was a real professional going to training with ManU and not griping and *****ing about it, even though he did not want to be there. i have a little more respect for him, not a lot, but he isnt as big a doosh as i thought at the end of the season.

one of the rumors that is going around right now is that ManU is looking to go after Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez...I dont think it would happen but having Rooney and Tevez as a strike duo would be a show...

Also Birmingham (recently relegated) put in a 1 million dollar bid on Brian Mcbride...i doubt Fulham will bite, but it would suck if they did

18 million euros is too much for Carrick.

It's 18 million pounds, so more than 26 million euros. Carrick is a good player, but like you said, this is way too much. This is the problem with signing English players - they're way overpriced.

On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

Benni McCarthy to Blackburn is a good pickup. It will be hard to replace Bellamy but that guy is talented.

I seriously doubt that Fulham would accept that offer. McBride just signed a new contract, was voted Fulham POTY, and was purchased for more money than that. Wouldn't make any sense to sell an integral part of your team for essentially nothing.

I read this morning it is the fifth highest transfer fee ManU has ever paid, behinf only Ferdinand, Veron, Rooney and RVN. Is this kid that good?

The amount paid for carrick is more of a team need price than a player value price. Man U desperately needs a holding midfielder and Carrick is one of the best in all of england. He isnt worth that price but that is the price Man U was going to have to pay to pry a guy like that away from tottenham. This is basically the price that Man U had to pay to stay competitive for the second spot in the EPL and its also the sum of money that tottenham needed to go out and get better.

For the second spot in the EPL? Easy there big guy. With the improvements made at Liverpool as well as the emerging talent at Arsenal as well as Tottenham getting stronger, Chelsea probably will not top 90 points this year. The winner of the EPL will probably have a final number in the low 80s. ManU can do that with the squad they have.

I heard this morning or last night that Man U would go after Kaka. Don't they have a limit on how many foreign players they could have on their squad (if I remember right, Roberto Carlos and another..maybe Ronaldo had achieved citizenship and did not count as foreign players)?...thanks!

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I heard this morning or last night that Man U would go after Kaka. Don't they have a limit on how many foreign players they could have on their squad (if I remember right, Roberto Carlos and another..maybe Ronaldo had achieved citizenship and did not count as foreign players)?...thanks!

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I'm confused by the question. Spain has a rule about foreign players (hence the benefit to Real Madrid if Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos have EU passports) but England doesn't. You could field a team of 11 non-English if you wanted to, Arsenal already has, as long as they are either EU passport holders or are good enough to get UK work permits if they are non-EU passport holders.

So if Kaka wants to play for ManU, all he would have to is be granted a UK work permit and he'd have no trouble seeing as how he has been a mainstay in the Brazilian national team for quite a while now.

I think England has a rule limiting teams to 3 non-EU players in the squad of 16 (starters plus substitutes)

On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

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that pick up actually worries me...im not a fan of his off field behavior and i worry that he could ruin the chemistr

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What's the story here? I read about Jermaine Pennant yesterday on Liverpool's website, and of course, it was all positive.

Can you give me details on his off-field problems? Thanks, in advance.

Early in 2005, while his license was suspended (I forget what he did for this to happen), he managed to crash his Mercedes into a lamp post, while intoxicated. When they arrested him, he told the police his name was Ashley Cole (which, after seeing what Cole's done the past year, is actually kind of funny). He pleaded guilty to DWI (or whatever the British term is) and driving without a license, and spent 30 days in jail, although the sentence was originally 90. This all happened midseason, mind you, while on loan from Arsenal to Birmingham, and he had to wear an electronic tag after being released.

Sadly, that wasn't the only problem. He had a tendency to show up late for training, and he also had some other off field problems that eventually convinced Wenger to give up on him, but it's the jail sentence which most people remember.

On the bandwagon since birth. Raised in the bleachers of Kyle, Olsen, and G. Rollie White

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he told the police his name was Ashley Cole

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I had no idea about that part. That's really funny.

And you may be right about the 3 non-EU player thing. I've never heard of it but that makes sense.

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For the second spot in the EPL? Easy there big guy. With the improvements made at Liverpool as well as the emerging talent at Arsenal as well as Tottenham getting stronger, Chelsea probably will not top 90 points this year. The winner of the EPL will probably have a final number in the low 80s. ManU can do that with the squad they have.

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Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal are getting stronger which will take more wins away from ManU than Chelsea...Chelsea added two of the top ten players in the world this year to a squad filled with all stars. If Jose works his magic again they will run away with the title by midseason. Then Man U is left fighting those other three clubs for tops in the EPL. Its going to take a miracle run for anyone to snatch the title away.

I see Liverpool or Arsenal taking the second spot away from united. If anything United lost ground to those two clubs this summer

Or they are building with youth just as they did in the early to mid 1990s.

Hey Dre_00, my screw up..it was not Man U but Real Madrid that I heard was going after Kaka. got my teams mixed up.

Thanks!

carrick is a done deal for about $33.5.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=374741&cc=5901

Martin O'Neill to manage Villa and Gallas doesn't show up for training. O'Neill might be good enough to keep Villa up.

Newcastle will win it all.

birmingham just uped their offer for mcbride to 1.2 mill I still think he is way undervalued there...an average striker of their premiership should run at least 2.5 or 3 mill

Crespo is being sent to inter milan on a free transfer. Its sick how good chelsea's players are this year...Every other team in the premiership would kill for a guy like crespo but chelsea deem him expendable

Crespo?

I don't think he's very good. He's not getting any younger either.

good riddance. i hate crespo. i think he looks like a woman. and that her name is karen. dont know why, but whenever he gets that pissy expression on his face for his 15th offsides call, i just want to yell, "shut up karen!"

end of rant.

Crespo is solid. I'm still not a Drogba fan, and thought Crespo seemed more dependable.

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"When I look to this lion it looks arrogant, it is aggressive, it is powerful. He is proud of being a Chelsea lion." -- José Mourinho