haha, got the ol' stinkface eh? wish i was there for that..

no biggie, I think the guy sucks personally.

so no mertesacker, no jagielka, we're looking at spahic and...some other dude who plays next to him in ligue 1?

bleh.

I dont think AW is throwin around enough green, once again, being a miser.

ok, not like it matters, but since i don't see milner staying and i don't want to waste one of my 30 moves when he does:


Rodallega - Saha (Carroll)
Arteta - J. Cole - Dorrans - Gerrard (Fábregas)
Jagielka - Shawcross - Huth - G. Johnson (Cahill)
van der Sar (Hahnemann)

(First week lineup)

shawcross :mad:

Mark Schwarzer desperate to sign for Arsenal - Transfers - ESPN Soccernet

schwarzer is begging fulham to let him go to arsenal. he's better than flappyhandski, but WHY ARE WE NOT EVEN TRYING TO GET IGOR AKINFEEV.

Wenger must have something REALLY special in Wocjech Sczesny.

Judging from the Legia Warsaw match, his shot stopping ability is superb, however, his decision making on a corner kick led to a goal, reminds me of ol' Muniepoo himself, great shot stopping, awful decision making.

I was ******* around on twitter & saw that over the last two years, Chamakh has scored more headed goals than anyone in the top five European leagues.

I like the sound of that.

yeah I youtubed him up a bit and thats great news, only person we have on the team with a head is Bendtner and he only hits the target 25% of the time, we need more target men, especially with all them crosses that clichy and bakery whip in from the flanks.

I was watching some video of Spahic last season and the guy is solid as a rock, but at 29, hes not a long term option, Christian Zapata is looking like a good buy, c'mon AW, we only have 2 weeks left... its starting to look a bit bleak at this point.

Can we ever have a full squad for christ sakes!!!!

Arsene Wenger’s injury update on his midfielders ahead of Liverpool | Arsenal Blog & Arsenal News

whelp, according to mirrorfootball, ol' Bob Bradley resigned as the coach of the US... good, now we can hire Jurgen Klinsmann. I swear to god, if Gulati hires another MLS coach, im going to mail him a suitcase full of anthrax.

:crying:

L'pool 9, Gunners 4. FML.:shakes head:

But I only spent thiiiis much!
http://sportige.com/wp-content/uploa...engernew11.jpg

I haz booger.

http://eurolivesoccer.info/wp-conten.../12/wenger.jpg

:icon17:

and it was THIIIIIIIIIIIIS BIG!!!

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/a...er_449031a.jpg

I have an incredibly stupid soccer-related question, if anyone cares to field it...

Can someone give me a good reason why not to go back to this ball? I mean, it is the iconic shape of the thing. Plus, I think the Jabulani (sp?) was a bit controversial with its use in the world cup. I admit I'm biased because I grew up kicking these. But if most pro footy organizations announced tomorrow that they were going back to it, would anyone object?

http://www.students.stedwards.edu/ah...occer_ball.png

Soccer has been blamed over the years as being boring. It has been decided that more goals = less boring. So manufacturers have been prodded along to develop balls that have a greater rebound off the foot for increased ball speed and unpredictable flight paths to confuse the goalkeeper thus creating more opportunities for goals. Believe me buddy, I grew up playing with that ball as well, and to me, it doesnt matter either way. I'll tell ya what though, the world cup 2002 fevernova ball is absolutely amazing, we used that for our club championship last year and that thing FLIES off the laces and is a delight to head.

the two we used:

http://photos3.flickr.com/3937277_1928702c72_m.jpg

I don't like the whole "more goals = less boring" in any sport. I mean, watch lacrosse (a sport I love and played). College lax games are boring, and they score 20 goals between teams. Arena (Am.) Football? No defense, boring.

When it comes to futbol and hockey, though, I think the tension is the thing. I love a good, low-scoring game between rivals. The less scoring and the further into a game it goes, the higher the stakes taken on by every offensive opportunity, and the greater the "WOW" or "DAMN" that results when one team scores.

Dunno, just my two nickels (seriously, who uses pennies anymore?)

I wouldn't object at all

thx, red and phelan. I kinda figured that.

Sorry for the derail, folks. I don't know enough about pro footy to hold my own in this room for very long. lol

don't need to. just read up on arsenal FC and you'll be fine in here :rofl2:

Ok gentlemen, i'm in a bit of a bind.. New fall season is about to begin and I'm in the market for some new boots. I'm torn between the new Predators and the new Puma Kings. I've never owned Preds, so I dont know how they fit, I have really narrow feet, i'm not sure how wide they fit. The Kings are my tried and true faves, what do yall think? Synthetic material uppers are completely out of the question, Roo leather or GTFO.

These...
http://www.soccer.com/Images/Catalog...s/300/8969.JPG

or these...
http://www.soccer.com/Images/Catalog...s/300/7762.JPG

stick with the pumas imo. then again i haven't bought boots in a while.

i'm leaning that way, but i have a friend in Germany that keeps raving about how that predator material actually does help you get more spin on the ball, i'm not one to buy into the hype, but i'll probably be the primary free kick taker again and I'd love any help I can get! And BTW, the Preds are selling for $100 off msrp, thats actually making it sound sweeter as well...

After switching to high end synthetic, I prefer it to leather. It doesn't wear down & from the beginning feels like kanga leather does after a season.

Regarding the question about balls, fewer panels on the ball equates to more aerodynamics which equates (in theory) to more goals.

I'm at sea level, so not affected as much, but I really like the Jabulani.

So would it upset you if they reverted to that model?

Side question, do you follow the theory that "More goals = better game"?

More goals = better game FOR THE CASUAL VIEWER. I think to get soccer to really expand, they need any help they can get. And yes, the game on the surface is much more exciting if the goals are flowing.

To veterans I think we can appreciate low scoring games, but FIFA is trying to bring in fresh blood.

I had the nike vapors for awhile and some microfiber Lottos, i didnt like the fact that the material didnt conform to my foot, Roo leather just feels more comfortable to me. As far as the wear is concerned, I use Roo Goo after every match, i have a pair of Copas that have lasted me 8 seasons :tup: Also probably helps that I dont get trampled on as much as you defender/midfielder types do either :)

As far as goals, the American public is used to watching high scoring basketball games, football games, baseball games, whatever, and when they see a sport much like hockey that results in even fewer goals, the attention span just isnt there. So in that respect, more goals I think, would make the game more attractive to the casual American viewer.

My personal opinion, while I love seeing a boatload of goals, I also love watching a game thats back and forth, battles being fought all over the pitch, nears misses, it just makes the game more intriguing to me, nothin beats a good ol' fashioned ManUre-Arsenal game.

As far as goal scoring is concerned personally... I scored 7 two weeks ago against a team that we beat 13-0 :icon17: Nothin beats it.

Hey, that USA-Algeria Tilt this year was awesome, considering the Brits had already punched their tickets and USA was OUT until Donovan in stoppage time.

That drama is lacking in a high-scoring atmosphere, imo. 1-0 games :yum:

I dunno. Personally, I love D. I grew up playing defense in every sport I could. I hate how rules have been twisted in many pro sports to bring about more scoring and bring in the casual viewer, all so that some ESPN anchor will blather about it for 5 seconds in between hour-long specials on where LeBron's gonna play.

Sorry, I'm a spiteful cuss.

^ wtf hahahaha

but i agree, defense is fun for me, even if it makes the game not pretty to watch. even when i play basketball, i pride myself on being the best damn defender on the floor.

just in my league, i'm apparently also the best offensive player on the floor 90% of the time :facepalm:

sorry, I believe that "moar goalz do not imply better sportz"

I just ranted nonsensically to say as much.

and shado i updated my post right after that :rofl2:

:tup:

I just noticed you're elite. Wow, I'm swift :bowrofl::roflpuke2:

I wouldn't care, really. I'll be happy as long as I get to play.

On the side note, I play goalkeeper, so in general, I think more goals scored by my team = better game. Kidding aside, though, I agree with everything said-- the World Cup final was a great match despite its being 0-0 until the 117th minute. I'm not a casual fan, but if I stumble across a match with teams I don't care about, I'd prefer to see goals, but I appreciate the beauty of a 1-0 tilt*.


*as long as both teams are trying to score & are playing positively, but happen to cancel each other (as opposed to catenaccio trash)