MASSIVE

Barcelona confirm Pep Guardiola's assistant Tito Vilanova will become first-team coach for next season - Telegraph

Let me add also that I hope that FIFA overturns the bans on both sides playing in the Champions League final. I'd like to see both teams go head to head at full capacity rather than fielding anything but their first team options.

Should be an interesting final either way. Bayern look very, very strong, and they're playing at home. With that being said, I think all the pressure is on them to win it in the end. Even the most die hard of Chelsea supporters cannot honestly say they expected the team to get this far, so I think that relieves some pressure on the players. However, it might be the last opportunity that Drogz, Lampard, JT, and Cech have to lift the European trophy, so we'll see.

I doubt FIFA will overturn the ban. It's a rule of the tournament, and it's been implemented for ages, so I don't see what precedent would cause them to reconsider.

Bayern is at home, and the Allianz is a ******* fortress. I'm going to predict a 3-1 win for the Germans based on the severe drop in talent you get from losing Raul Meireles and Ramires in the midfield. Juan Mata can't do it by himself, and I think the German defense is more suited to stand up to Drogba than Barcelona ever was. Torres, if he finds some form (and to be fair, he hasn't been BAD lately), may be a better option.

I honestly do not expect the Chelsea back line to cope with Gomez though. Not with Cahill and Terry both out, and Ivanovic suspended.

Always been that way and always will be! It's crazy how calm they are. I even called my friend and said "if it goes to PK's Bayern has it, you know Germany NEVER loses in them" and what do ya know! :icon18:

FIFA wont overturn it. And Bayern are hands down one of the most solid teams in Europe. A lot of people overlook them because of the league they are in....but look what happened lol....2 finals in the recent years speaks for itself as well as who they owned on the way.

LA BESTIA NEGRA. Some of you will get it :icon17:

Losing Badstuber is HUGE for Bayern and Torres still gives Germans nightmares. Still standing with your 3-1 though.

Also, +1 on Gomez. Gomez with the brace, Robben/Ribery with 1.

Also, I wish him well. Great asset to any club.
Ivica Olic looking to leave Bayern Munich on a high - ESPN Soccernet

Ollie is leaving?! I was just watching a game where he played and spanked in a great goal!

Not only calm... Just like Paul the Octopus, the Germans are damn good at predicting things.:tup:

Arsenal agree long-term Podolski deal | News Archive | News | Arsenal.com

wow we got a confirmed transfer to arsenal already. wenger might actually be serious about keeping rvp.

lol at rumors linking AFC to kagawa though. i think it'd be a pretty decent move, and kagawa can directly interact with miyaichi, but i think man utd will grab him first.

when the hell did chelsea sign marko marin? that was a small surprise, is he going to play second fiddle to juan mata?


in other non-EPL news, barcelona just absolutely shat all over rayo vallecano (sp?). wtf was that dance they were doing that pissed madrid off though lol. and i'm depressed that in france lyon didn't collapse in the coupe de france, and the 3rd tier semi-professional team didn't win it all. that would have been hilarious :rofl2:

Chelsea sign Marko Marin from Werder Bremen with German club wanting Romelu Lukaku on loan - Telegraph

Great news actually. I've watched him at Bremen for a while, I always thought he was a quality player. Mario Götze gets a lot of attention because he's at a higher profile club, but Marin has a lot of similar playmaking abilities. I think he'll actually compliment Mata well, as they're both playmaking midfielders. I think the idea behind the signing is to recreate something like a Xavi/Ineista tandem pulling strings in midfield. This will actually free up Ramires or Danny Sturridge to play wider. The Marin/Mata pairing also gives the strikers up front quality service behind them. It's not a bad signing really. Di Matteo might play him out wide though, keep Lamps anchoring midfield attack. However he is used, I'm excited to see him playing in a Chelsea shirt next season.

And I really, REALLY hope Di Matteo gets the job. If we win the FA Cup, Champions League(unrealistic, I know, but this is theoretical), and place 4th to play in the CL next season, I can't see how you can't give him the job. Even if he achieved just 1 of those 3 goals mentioned it'd be a miraculous turn-around from where we were in February; I can't see how you can snub him for a higher profile manager like Guardiola.

I think my only issue with that would be that Chelsea trying to recreate Barcelona is what they brought AVB in for, and that failed spectacularly because of the old guard. I can see what they're trying to do, though, so I assume that Terry / Drogba will be moving on this summer. With Torres suddenly finding a pair of shooting boots somewhere in Stamford Bridge, it might actually work. But the egos must be kept in check.

I don't think Chelsea has the rear guard settled yet. Luiz is still comical at times, Cahill is...an oddity. That one will be interesting to watch, and Chelsea could do with an up and coming left back to take over for Cashley, and augment Bosingwa (lol).

Sturridge, to me, needs to play central, he's an idiot on the wings because he doesn't look up enough.

Di Matteo should, based on his body of work, get the job, but knowing Roman he won't give it to him. He needs a sexy name leading his team lol.


Anybody else watching Serie A right now? Roma are just in shambles right now. BarceRoma my arse!

Poor, poor Blackburn.

Watched the match vs. Wigan the other day. Like the announcer was saying, it's never nice to see a team relegated from the Premier league.

I'm glad Wigan will come back next year. maybe more consistency can put them higher up the table next season.


It's not too far-fetched to think of any team being relegated. After that 8-2 loss to Man U last year, Arsenal were looking like relegation material...

Go Gunners (!) Victory gives us 3rd place ======

thanks fulop!

Congrats Man City (!) Nasri and Clichy got what they were looking for . . .

Speaking of Samir Nasri...

Samir Nasri mocks Arsenal's third-place finish following Manchester City's Premier League title - Telegraph

A few excerpts:


Followed with:


What a class act.

Sami ur a c*nt, ur a c*nt, saaamiii ur a c*nt
nanananananananana

for what it's worth, Nasri & Arshavin were my favorite Arsenal players last season.

You can't really blame him for moving on, but at the end of the day: Samir is a c*nt (!_.)

CL final prediction time!:happydance: I predict Chelsea win!:tup: Why? Coz...

As a Gooner, it's basically choosing the lesser poison.

If Chelsea win, I have to suffer watching JT and Lamps lift the trophy and claim the first London side to win the UCL. But then I get to watch Sp*rs toil in misery every Thursday in the Europa League, sans Bale and Modric :icon17:

If Bayern win, I get to watch JT cry, and save the chance for the Arsenal to lift it for the Londoners first time. Then I'm banking on Sp*rs bottling it in the qualifiers.

...

Yeah, I'm going for Bayern on this one :icon17:

:(

:rofl2: I'm an Arsenal fan Jon, I can't bring myself to cheer for Chelsea in the CL final :icon17:

my 2nd favorite team is Chelsea :ugh2:

it would be nice to see Spurs out of the competition...

either way, i'm not cheering for either team - - :)

Fawk Chelsea!!!!!!




You're a br0 Jon but tomorrow I want Bayern to absolutely tear Chelsea apart. With that said, good luck :D

^ Pretty amazing ^

So pumped lol

so blue66, you're a Bayern fan ?

I've never really seen them play, so been watching re-runs of some of their games from earlier this champions league season...

any score prediction/s ?

Hell yeah I am a Bayern fan.

3-1 Bayern. Gomez with the brace and Robben with a goal.

Nice. I'm a gooner .

i agree, 3-1 bayern. drogba for chelsea.



robert lewandowski lewandowski LEWANDOWSKI!!!!

THat game was pathetic lol

TOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR Thomas Muller!

fuk

well...at least tottenham doesn't get champions league.

Pathetic when you dominate the game and the other team sits in the box and wins.

:woot:

I wouldnt go THAT far man, Chelsea had you guys on the back foot quite a few times, i'd not say it was a dominant performance for any team really, Gomez was shyt once again (nice sitter from 8 meters btw), Robben was shooting for Jupiter and Boateng was all 6's and 7's. They showed alot of intent to score, but couldnt find one. That Muller goal was class, but Cech should have saved that one, it went over his head for christ sakes.

But like Phe said, in the end, Tottenham wont be playing in Europe next year :tup:

btw, this Van Persie shyt is giving me flashbacks of Fabregas last year... same stories, same player comments.. "we'll wait until the summer", "we'll wait until after the Euros"... I hate to admit it, but I think we may lose Captain VanTastic, I just pray we have better backups planned than we did last transfer season. Poldi will be a nice addition TO RvP, but not a slot in by a longshot.

I gotta say, I think Van Persie is too good for the current Arsenal team. He really played great this season, but no one knows if his loyalty is w/ the Gunners.

Do you know which teams are most interested in him? What is he worth ($) ?

I watched that 8-2 loss against Manchester on TV a few days ago. For finishing 3rd place, we really had to work hard and Wenger had to make those purchases. If it's what Van Persie wants and the manager sees some way/ someone to strengthen the front line, I'm all for the change.