- 09:10 PM
- 11/23/24
Sorry to keep this thread running, but I thought this was relevant: Haaland and City to sue Keane. Could turn out to be quite entertaining - at least Keane will have to come up with some sort of explanation.
posted by jipe at 02:41 PM on August 16, 2002
Not only did they lose - one of their few half-decent defenders (Wes Brown) also broke his ankle, and was replaced by the ever-awful Phil Neville (who was at fault when Zalaegerszeg scored). Latest news is that Brown will be out for three months...
posted by jipe at 04:25 PM on August 15, 2002
Not really sure about Inamoto. He didn't do much for Arsenal last season, but they didn't give him much of a chance, either. On the other hand, he looked great during the World Cup, and you really can't blame him for not being able to break into a midfield consisting of players like Vieira, Pires and Ljungberg. He also seems to have a great attitude - I can't recall him complaining, despite spending almost an entire season playing for Arsenal's reserve team - so I hope he gets the chance to prove his worth at Fulham.
posted by jipe at 03:40 PM on August 14, 2002
I don't really believe that the lawyers haven't had a look at the book prior to publication. I think that even if they do haul up Keane before the courts/fa, he'll claim that he didn't do it on purpose and his "biographer" (come on, he didn't really write it himself) made that little piece up. You're right, Manchester United's lawyers did check the book and yes, it is ghost-written. Not that I think he would need a ghost-writer to come up with brilliant lines like "I fucking hit him hard. Take that you cunt". Leeds & Newcastle have had their attempt at it for the moment and will now fade - step forward Man City & Spurs who will both do surprisingly well this season. I'm not so sure about Spurs - they really need to buy a decent striker. And now Gustavo Poyet is out for most of the season, so they'll be missing all the goals he scored while playing in midfield. Man City I really want to do well, especially as they have some players I'm looking forward to seeing (look out for my fellow dane Niclas Jensen, who might impress as left wingback). Peter Schmeichel is a worry, though, as I'm not sure he's quite the goalkeeper he once was.
posted by jipe at 10:25 AM on August 14, 2002
It would certainly be interesting to see some of these matches. I know that football is supposed to be quite popular in some parts of Asia, but I really don't have any idea as to the level of play. (Though it's not nearly as big in India as I thought, judging by these attendance figures) It would also make the World Cup a lot more interesting if some of the big Asian nations became truly competetive. Japan may already have a few genuine star players in Hidetoshi Nakata and Shinji Ono, but other nations like India and China still seem lacking. I also can't help wondering who are considered the favourites for this competition - maybe the japanese teams?
posted by jipe at 06:38 AM on August 14, 2002
Can't he just keep his mouth shut and ride out what is probably his final season of top-level football? I think his contract runs for a few years more, and if he can keep his head right, there's really no reason why he shouldn't be able to continue for a good while more. Patrick Vieira apart he's still the best defensive midfielder around, which is probably also the reason United tolerates his increasingly erratic behaviour (not that he hasn't been involved in controversy earlier). As for United, I think they're set for a bad season, Keane or no Keane. While Rio Ferdinand will be a massive improvement to their defence, he'll still be partnered by the paceless Laurent Blanc (who really should have retired a few years ago), while their attack seems to much too dependent on the excellent Ruud van Nistelrooy - why on earth they decided that replacing Andy Cole with Diego Forlan was a good idea, I will never know. My bet for the premiership: Arsenal, followed by Liverpool and then one out of ManU, Leeds and Newcastle.
posted by jipe at 03:57 PM on August 13, 2002
Red card withdrawn after the game.
I don't think in-game video reviews will be adapted anytime soon - somehow it just doesn't seem compatible with soccer (and it would make the game a lot less flowing, which would be a real bad thing). And as for Ashley Cole - having seen the situation - I don't really think he dived, so I don't see any reason he should be punished. In fact, I think that post-game punishments should only be given in extreme cases (like Keane/Haaland), where everyone can agree that something should be done. Otherwise teams who are punished will complain that worse offences go unpunished (like Arsenal/Vieira for the past two seasons), and a lot of needless controversy will be generated.