A Beautiful Thread for the Beautiful Game

Yeah, I know. But they should adjust to that, then.

(By the way, you never commented on Finland's win over Sweden, did you?)

-sigh-

The reason I asked is that I just found out that that rule was the only thing stopping QPR from signing Sunil Chettri, who would've then been the first Indian footballer in the Championship (and perhaps even the Premier League). This rule has apparently pissed off Wenger somewhat... though, again, I don't have an unbiased source (an unofficial Facebook group of the Indian Football Team, though their information is generally good). Someone else seems to be interested in Indian players as well, especially after the ISL showed some decent talent.

edited 26th Jan '15 4:37:05 AM by arcanephoenix

Wenger did moan in a recent press conference about the FA's work permit rules. He thinks it's unfair towards players from outside the EU and also from players from countries with a very strong national team, as they'll have a harder time accumulating appearances for their national team. (Mikel Arteta, for instance, has never played for Spain even though he's good enough that he would surely play in a squad like England or Portugal if he had been born in those countries. He is actually eligible for England by now because he has lived in England for so long but obviously he's not going to play for any country other than Spain.)

I actually meant to watch Finland's friendly against Sweden but for some reason I forgot about it - and I didn't remember it again for a day or two until I happened to see the result somewhere. The game wasn't broadcast on Finnish TV but the national broadcasting corporation did a live stream of it that I was going to watch. It was a meaningless friendly with both sides featuring a mixture of up-and-coming youngsters and established first-team players. Obviously I'm happy that Finland won but since I didn't watch it and it was only a friendly I didn't care enough to write about it.

If it was a competitive game or at least 100% first-team regulars on both sides it would've been big news for the Finnish team, as Sweden is obviously our main rival and although they're better than us by a huge margin we usually play a positive game against them. A win against Sweden in football is always a very positive surprise but in a friendly in an apparently random venue it just doesn't matter that much.

Finland also played another friendly in that trip to the UAE - a goalless draw against Yemen. That result shows how little the game meant, even to the national team. I actually have no idea why they decided to go to the UAE of all places to play those friendlies. Probably they were invited to some sort of exhibition tournament but I just don't know.

When competitive matches start again in March I'll probably write some kind of commentary on each match. We've almost no chance of qualifying for the Euros by now because we've lost some games we absolutely could and should have won but if other sides fail miserably we'll still have a shout.

The draw for the FA Cup's 5th round have just finished. Here are the upcoming matches between February 13-16:

• Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool/Bolton (The ultras in Selhurst are going to be explosive for this one.)
• Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough (Thoughts on a home-tie to the team that shocked City, Best Of?)
• Aston Villa vs. Leicester City (If only Spurs didn't disgrace themselves two days ago, this could've been a straight forward match. Alas... )
• West Brom vs. West Ham (The battle of the two "west" teams.)
• Bradford City vs. Sunderland/Fulham (Sunderland and Fulham fans must be pissing themselves in fear given who they have to face next.)
• Blackburn vs. Rochdale/Stoke City (Hopefully Ewood Park won't be nearly as empty as it was during their match against Swansea.)
• Derby County vs. Reading (The promotion favorites probably won't slip against Reading.)
• Preston North End/Sheffield United vs. Cambridge United/Manchester United (Cambridge fans must feel that a match against either League One team would be an anti-climatic reward if they win the replay in Old Trafford. Thoughts on the matchup, Arcane?)

edited 26th Jan '15 11:48:36 AM by sanfranman91

Last season Arsenal never left London in the FA Cup, as they were the home team all the way to the Wembley Semi-Final and Final. The home games weren't easy, though: Liverpool, Everton, and Tottenham all tried to beat Arsenal at the Emirates.

Arsenal had great home form in the cup, though, and they carried it into this season by disposing of Hull in the third round. Now they've also been tested away and they've shown that they're taking it seriously and playing professionally.

A home game was what I was hoping for, and I don't really care about the opposition. This should be a fairly easy game. Let's not forget that Arsenal also made it through Wigan last season, despite Wigan being the reigning champions and having beaten Manchester City in the cup two seasons running.

Some papers are reporting that Gabriel's work permit was granted but last I checked there was nothing on Arsenal.com and I'm not buying it until it's official.

I'd wager for Sheffield United against Manchester United - Sheffield have been quite strong in cup competitions, to the point I'm starting to have doubts whether we'll be able to hold the 1-0 advantage in the second leg of the Capital One Cup semifinal, especially if we capitulate as horribly as we did in the last ten minutes against Leicester. Man United, on the other hand, should've ideally finished it off at Cambridge, but I still think it'll be a bit too much for Cambridge to beat United, at Old Trafford - it'd make for a nice movie, but real life rarely gives such a filmy result.

I'm pretty sure van Gaal will play a stronger team to make it absolutely certain that he remains in the running for the FA Cup, because he'd like to start his time at United with some silverware. I wouldn't say full first team - you'd probably still have maybe Valdes, or Januzaj or some other youngsters.

The main issue is that LVG really needs to stop playing good players out of position - Àngel dì Marìa as a number 10 behind the strikers? Sometimes it works, especially if it's rational extrapolation - Valencia at RB, or even Rooney as the no. 10 behind van Persie and Falcao (for that matter, Falcao has been rather terrifically misused by van Gaal) - but other times it's just asinine.

As for Spurs, well, given that we managed to lose to Leicester I don't think a game against Aston Villa would've been much better. Honestly, at this point I don't care about the money spent - Soldado and Adebayor need to go, even as free transfers - hell, at least it'll mean money won't be spent on their wages. As for replacements... well, we can always hope someone like Huntelaar or Destro or Kévin Gameiro or Paco Alcacer or hell, perhaps Higuaìn or Benzema (it seems Real want to offload him, for some reason) comes along.

In somewhat related news, Spurs and United seem to be interested in the young Dutch winger Memphis Depay, and if there's any truth, I'd pull for Spurs - United already have one young talented winger that they can't play; I doubt adding to that would help in any way.

edited 27th Jan '15 8:56:11 AM by arcanephoenix

Real are the wealthiest club in the world at the moment but they've got FFP trouble looming in the horizon.

They recently bought a young central midfielder from Brazil and he'll play in a central midfield position where Real already had Khedira, Modric, Kroos, and Illarramendi. Since none of those players seem set to go anymore, at least in this window, Real will have to sell someone else to relieve their wage bill.

Maybe they'll transition into a false-9 with Bale or Isco in the central attacking position - that's what they'd almost have to do if they sell Benzema, as they don't have a lot of depth at centre-forward.

If Benzema becomes available Wenger will probably make a competitive offer. He's shown before that he's willing to pounce on a world-class player that suddenly becomes available if there's any chance he can find room in the squad (with Fabregas the notable exception). Arsenal have loaned out three forwards this window and it's unlikely that all three - or even two - will return. Thus Arsenal will have slots in the squad and the money they need to cover Benzema's wages in the long term.

If Benzema is bought Giroud's days will be numbered and Welbeck will become primarily a winger but that'd surely be worth it, results-wise.

If many teams bid for Benzema Arsenal won't pursue him past a fairly early point in the bidding war, though - the price might soar and he'll be offered over-the-top wages by a number of clubs and even if Arsenal want him they won't want him that much.

The rumour mills says though that it's not Benzema that is being linked to Arsenal, but rather one of the names in that quoted portion. Another clue - he has two double consonants in his name.

edited 27th Jan '15 7:01:13 PM by entropy13

I've heard that one, as well. I don't buy it. Illarramendi is a fairly recent arrival and hasn't really been given a proper chance to establish himself in the first-team. You'd normally sell an older player to make room for the long-term prospect you've bought. What's the point of buying someone for a hefty fee and then barely playing him at all before selling him on at a loss?

edited 28th Jan '15 2:03:51 AM by BestOf

[[www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/28/luis-figo-fifa-presidency Luis Figo to stand for Fifa presidency]]:

I can't see a Portuguese footballer getting the presidency (people would throw all kinds of negative stereotypes at him), but Sure, Why Not? Go ahead.

edited 28th Jan '15 6:18:34 AM by Quag15

Luis Figo as chief would be awesome, but honestly I think he'll retract in four weeks. Or Step Ladder will get a bullet through the head; I guess there's always that.

Honestly, it's like Game of Thrones.

@Best Of: Honestly, the issue still remains - for all their talent up front, Real have no genuine CF (I guess they could hold on to Hernandez, but is he Real Madrid quality?), so they'll have to lose one of those midfield options regardless, because a false 9 is still a system I don't exactly think works.

edited 28th Jan '15 6:36:25 AM by arcanephoenix

I'm not sure how Barca fans would react to having Figo as the new FIFA president, but frankly almost anyone would be far better than Bladder. Seriously, I'm morbidly impressed by how rapidly Sepp's reputation went down the toilet thanks to his corruption and dictator-esque style of control of the organization. Hopefully the other federations will step up against Sepp, but I have a feeling that Sepp will remain president until he dies... then again Fifa is practically a real-life equivalent to A Song of Ice and Fire, so who knows.

Speaking of Figo, I know Benzema continues to get (undeserved) stick from Real fans, but their lack of depth in the forward department makes me think they'll keep him for the time being. They'll probably need another forward soon given Chicharito's poor form, but they can easily call up a forward from their Castilla team to avoid further violating Financial Fair Play.

I heard a rumor that Inter tried to buy Illaramendi but he refused because he still thought he had a shot of making it. With the purchase of Lucas Silva and Ancelotti favoring Kroos and Modric, I'm now certain that Illaramendi is regretting his decision and will probably move either to another La Liga team (Valencia or Sevilla might not be bad) or a mid-table Premier League team. Though coming to think of it... why did Real buy Lucas Silva again?

Not to double-post, but Spurs have a chance at making it to Wembley tonight at Sheffield. Frankly, I don't know what to think of my team after their embarrassing loss to Leicester and I hope that we could put all the defensive stops against a team known for shocking results. Given the dire form of the defenders and forwards who "starred" in the FA Cup match, here's my 11.

My projected 11:

• GK: Lloris
• DEF: Walker - Vertonghen - Dier - Rose
• MID: Townsend - Eriksen - Mason - Paulinho - Lamela
• ST: Kane

Overkill? Perhaps, but I do not want Spurs to be disgraced again tonight even with the 1-0 aggregate advantage.

Tonight's official 11:

• GK: Vorm
• DEF: Walker - Vertonghen - Dier - Davies
• MID: Eriksen - Stambouli (oh HELL no...) - Mason - Dembele - Lamela
• ST: Kane

Pretty close to my projections, but why on earth are we giving that clown Stambouli another shot? He screwed up against Palace, he screwed up against Besiktas, and I'm... less than confident that he won't screw up against the Blades in their house. Also, Dembele's been struggling over the last few weeks. Hopefully, this match will help him settle his nerves and recover his form.

edited 28th Jan '15 11:18:35 AM by sanfranman91

Gabriel Paulista's transfer to Arsenal is now official - finally. Arsenal should now have enough defenders to make it to next summer at least. If only there was a world-class defending midfielder available...

NO!!! NOOOOO!!! NOT THIS WAY! NOT THIS WAY! You're seriously telling me that after leading from a beautiful Eriksen freekick and 2-0 aggregate advantage, we're now trailing 2-1 in the match and 2-2 on aggregate?! Even if we progress via away goals after Extra Time, we just gave away a comfortable advantage YET AGAIN. Wake up, Spurs... or I'm out.

And apparently we did, thanks to Eriksen. But seriously, I'm through with Spurs' lack of effort in matches, league or cup. I can tolerate losses and upsets. I can tolerate not qualifying for the Champions League. Hell, I can tolerate relegation to the Championship. But you know what I can't stand? Players and coaches who don't care about the team. Don't blame this shit on Levy, oh no, he's been doing the best he could with an aging White Hart Lane and the cut-throat deals he can place. Rather, it's time for his players to step up so they won't let us down, again and again. Say what you will about Arsene Wenger and the Gunners winning only 2 trophies in the last 10 years, but at least all of them seem to give a fuck about their futility.

And thus we progress... I don't think an upset against Chelsea's in the cards for us though. We'd be lucky to lose 2-1 in the dying minutes after leading 1-0 in Wembley honestly if we're going to blow leads to the likes of Sheffield and Leicester.

BBC Five Live said where would we be without Eriksen. I don't know, but frankly he and Kane should just leave Spurs if that's the best everyone else in our team can do. Seriously Christian and Harry, you two are way too damn good for us...

edited 28th Jan '15 2:14:01 PM by sanfranman91

Eriksen, of course, was heavily linked to Arsenal in transfer rumours at the time of his transfer to Spurs but almost everyone is so it doesn't really mean anything. I did want him at Arsenal, though.

Even less relevant: Kane was an Arsenal youngster at one point but was released before he turned 10. Bale has recently revealed that he supported Arsenal before Spurs bought him. I don't think Arsenal fans will like that bit of trivia any more than Spurs fans do.

More relevantly, well done for Spurs. This season the cup competitions have been full of shocks and nobody has an easy time advancing now. To be honest I hope you beat Chelsea to the cup - after Stoke Chelsea are the very last team I want to see winning anything.

Arsenal contract news: Campbell signed a contract extension before going on loan to Villarreal. I'm happy that Wenger sees him as a long-term option. If he improves in Spain again he should challenge for a spot in Arsenal's first-XI. One more: Arteta, of all people, has been given a new contract that'll keep him at Arsenal until 2016. He's missed much of this season to injury and when he's played he hasn't impressed. Flamini's contract is out in the summer, though, so presumably Wenger wants to have Arteta as a rotation option when Arsenal establish a long-term solution at defensive midfield.

edited 28th Jan '15 2:25:42 PM by BestOf

Thanks Best Of. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted that we're going to our first final in about 6 years and I do want to see us beat Chelsea. Still, that second Sheffield goal gave me a serious heart attack and I hope the team can finally understand how resting on laurels will cost us massive points or other opportunities to make this season better than the last.

To be honest, Arsenal's more like a friendly Sibling Rivalry than a team I detest. The real Arch-Enemy that I have blood-boiling hatred for is Chelsea and their shock exit to Bradford on Saturday was priceless (it actually saved me from risking alcohol poisoning after Spurs' loss to Leicester). I hope we will lift the cup in Wembley, though Poch is really going to need to push his players beyond what's expected of them over the next few weeks.

Arsenal fans or not, Kane and Bale have done good for Spurs and I fully support both in whatever either one decides to do next. Speaking of which, Joel Campbell's loan to Villareal after signing a long-term contract is an interesting choice, but it does prove that a future at the Emirates is not out of the question for him. I'm glad to see him finally getting a few games for Wenger's side before being loaned out yet again, perhaps Campbell will be set as a companion/competitor for Giroud after this season?

edited 28th Jan '15 4:06:01 PM by sanfranman91

Separated by Teams, United by Hatred of Chelsea.

So, I woke up fearing the worst (the match was 1.30 am IST, and I had a somewhat early start today), so I'm pretty bemused by the 2-2 result - it seems Podgy Tina's team is unable to win without

1. Unnecessary drama and/or
2. Eriksen/Kane/Chadli/Lloris

I hope we can win against Chelsea (even if drama is required) just to see the look on José Mourinho's face when the tenants of 'Three Point Lane' maintain their record of winning a major trophy in each of the last seven decades. Ideally, after that, it'd be great if they're hammered by PSG, and then manage to lose the title to, most realistically, Manchester City (another team I generally don't like, but Enemy Mine), just to see the smug deflate from a team on course to win all four major trophies.

Spurs seem addicted to 2-1 results, whether winning or losing, so I guess it'd be a good omen if Chelsea scored first, so that Kane/Eriksen/Chadli could score/assist and get us back and (hopefully) stay there.

@SFM: At cynical moments, I've thought that KEC&L are likely to leave Spurs for better teams, especially Eriksen and Lloris for teams playing in the Champions League (I mean, Lloris is the French first team goalkeeper and captain, for god's sake), but happily, all four seem pretty content at Spurs, with Kane having added motivation as a homegrown talent who loves the club.

Good job Arsenal for getting a decent defender. I'd still say one more is necessary, along with that CDM, but, to quote the great philosopher Jagger, you can't always get what you want.

edited 28th Jan '15 7:34:43 PM by arcanephoenix

Just for the record my relaying of those comments by Bale and of Kane's very early career were not meant to imply that the former wasn't and the latter isn't a loyal Spurs player. Neither player would ever agree to join Arsenal in anything short of truly exceptional circumstances.

Kane will have a great career with Spurs if their board and manager don't sell him to the first team that makes a solid offer. He'll probably resist a sale if it's not to Bayern or Barcelona or Real - and he's not close to that level just yet.

As for Bale, there's no way he's leaving Real any time soon. He's a bigger star than he ever was in England and he's surrounded by a team so good that he's possibly not even among their top-3 players.

Personally I'm not too happy that Bale says he used to support Arsenal. Sure, there are elements of his game that were typical of the Wenger-ball played by Arsenal; but Bale is such a filthy diver that if he was to arrive to Arsenal on a free transfer I'd probably wish that he hadn't. I've always hated it when someone in an Arsenal shirt has dived and I'd surely hate it again even if (well, especially if) it was a key player in the team. Tottenham doesn't normally dive a lot, either, but Bale was probably the worst about it in the whole league.

I know what you meant in the last post. Regarding Bale, I do think he's gonna stay for Real for quite a while so long as he remains in good form. Real has more stars than you can shake a stick at, so it's hard to say who's their best three. Personally, I think Bale, Ronaldo, and Kroos are the big three right now, partially because the former always seems to be clutch in big games for the Galaticos. Bale could use some work in not diving as often, though he's now in La Liga where you have the likes of Busquets, Neymar, and Dani Alves to contend with.

Just watched some videos of Gabriel Paulista and he looks solid, not perfect just yet. Then again Wenger enjoys coaching youth, so we'll see how well he can rise to the occasion in a few years time. Any midfielders you have in mind to purchase Best Of?

edited 29th Jan '15 5:44:35 AM by sanfranman91

Schneiderlin might be available so I'd really pursue him. He'd be perfect. When there was all that talk about Khedira I thought it probably won't happen but if it did it'd be great. I'd also settle for Illarramendi.

Scottish League Cup Semi-Final on Sunday.

Rangers v Celtic at Hampden.

My prediction: 4-0 Celtic

My hope: dozens of fouls and injuries on both sides, leading to Celtic and Rangers' title hopes being crippled in their respective leagues, and Dundee Utd or Abderdeen to take the League cup.

Lots of people wanting crowd disorder so that both teams will look stupid - don't see the appeal myself. All it will mean is trouble for the NHS and A&E departments, as well as the law-abiding, respectable citizens of Glasgow.

edited 31st Jan '15 2:53:22 AM by Achaemenid

Don't wish for someone to get injured. I get where you're coming from but that's just petty and stupid. Go ahead and wish that they lose and score own goals or whatever but don't say you want them to get injured.

Also, they're gonna complain about the injuries, and blame them when losing later, and that's just annoying. Hope for suspensions for bad behaviour or something like that, instead.

edited 31st Jan '15 4:40:27 AM by Elva

They can complain all they want, everyone knows what they're like now.

Nothing life or career threatening, but enough to keep them out of their next few matches. After what they tried to to do us at Tynecastle, it would be poetic justice really.

Still, not looking forward to the crowd trouble - which there almost certainly will be, even as the idiots in the commentator's box witter on about how "Scotland has missed this fixture".