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Cackalacky

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I think it would be entertaining to see Man City get Mourinho. But I still see him returning to Chelsea.

Man City would be dumb letting Mancini go. Mourinho is a lock to go back to Chelsea. I can't see them keeping Benitez, though he is the only one who knows how to use Torres, so if Rafa goes, I think Torres goes too, sooner than later.

Under Rafa at Liverpool, Torres scored most of his goals from running onto slotted balls from the deep midfield. Other coaches have tried to play him in other ways or positions which have failed miserably.

The interesting question is where does Benitez go?
 
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Cackalacky

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What is more impressive... Clint Dempsey's 23 goals in the EPL or Altidore's 31 in Dutch League?
 

ACamp1900

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How many games???? I think that plays a role here.
 

ACamp1900

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Jozy's is still impressive though... if only we could get him to stop being a statue with the National team........
 

IHateMarkMay

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Dempsey... I think the Premeirship is one of the top in the world. That tier consists of La Liga and lately the Bundesliga. I wouldn't even put the Dutch league in the second tier, I'd consider them in the third.
 
C

Cackalacky

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Dempsey... I think the Premeirship is one of the top in the world. That tier consists of La Liga and lately the Bundesliga. I wouldn't even put the Dutch league in the second tier, I'd consider them in the third.

I don't know, there has been a lot of great young talent come out of the dutch league recently. They do not do well in Europe Cups but they have some talent hidden in their ranks.

And ACamp, you are right. Dude plays like Brian Ching for the National team.
 

notredomer23

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Dempsey... I think the Premeirship is one of the top in the world. That tier consists of La Liga and lately the Bundesliga. I wouldn't even put the Dutch league in the second tier, I'd consider them in the third.

I think it goes

Premiership>La Liga>Bundesliga>Serie A> Whatever they call France's>Then either Portugal, Belgium, or the Dutch.
 

NDinL.A.

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I think it goes

Premiership>La Liga>Bundesliga>Serie A> Whatever they call France's>Then either Portugal, Belgium, or the Dutch.

No no no no no no no no bro.

If you want great theatre, great story lines, great drama, then it's the Premier League. But as far as quality of soccer from top to bottom, it's La Liga and the Bundesliga (with the gap closing/closed? big time). And this is not just me saying this, this is BIG-TIME British soccer fans that I know who believe this, and many British commentators as well, including Ian Darke (the greatest) and the British reporters from the Men in Blazers podcast (best soccer podcast for me bar none).

Who would know more than these guys who follow it for a living? Truth is, the quality of soccer this year was not very good, ManU included, who plodded through many of their games, good enough to beat middling teams 1-0 but not playing the breath-taking soccer we have come accustomed to with the top teams. There is some very physical and fast soccer, no doubt (my vote for Dempsey too, btw), but technically the game just isn't as good as other leagues.

Hell, just watch teams 8-20 play each other...the amount of 0-0/1-0, poorly played games is astonishing. They just don't have the attacking quality that other teams in the world do, even the lower-placed teams.

I'm sure that's not a popular opinion here considering all the EPL fans on this site, but I personally believe it to be true. And I still love the league - I DVR and watch every single game (although b/c of time I fast forward through some of the games for the exciting parts LOL), and the drama of the league is awesome. But there is a dearth of quality in that league, and it shows up on the English national team yearly (oops, another can of worms LOL).
 
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notredomer23

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No no no no no no no no bro.

If you want great theatre, great story lines, great drama, then it's the Premier League. But as far as quality of soccer from top to bottom, it's La Liga and the Bundesliga (with the gap closing/closed? big time). And this is not just me saying this, this is BIG-TIME British soccer fans that I know who believe this, and many British commentators as well, including Ian Darke (the greatest) and the British reporters from the Men in Blazers podcast (best soccer podcast for me bar none).

Who would know more than these guys who follow it for a living? Truth is, the quality of soccer this year was not very good, ManU included, who plodded through many of their games, good enough to beat middling teams 1-0 but not playing the breath-taking soccer we have come accustomed to with the top teams. There is some very physical and fast soccer, no doubt (my vote for Dempsey too, btw), but technically the game just isn't as good as other leagues.

Hell, just watch teams 8-20 play each other...the amount of 0-0/1-0, poorly played games is astonishing. They just don't have the attacking quality that other teams in the world do, even the lower-placed teams.

I'm sure that's not a popular opinion here considering all the EPL fans on this site, but I personally believe it to be true. And I still love the league - I DVR and watch every single game (although b/c of time I fast forward through some of the games for the exciting parts LOL), and the drama of the league is awesome. But there is a dearth of quality in that league, and it shows up on the English national team yearly (oops, another can of worms LOL).

It is hard for me to defend the EPL because much of what you said about its flaws are true. I see what you are saying for sure, but if you take Real Madrid and Barcelona out of La Liga, that is not a top 5 league in Europe. If you take Bayern out of the Bundesliga, that is not a top 5 league in Europe. If you take Manchester United and Arsenal out of the EPL, that is still a top 5, competitive league. While individually La Liga and the Bundesliga may have a team or two that are superior to any of that in the EPL(I can't deny that at all. Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern, and probably Dortmund are all better than any team in the Premier League this year), I will still take those 8-20 teams any day over the 8-20 teams in Spain or Germany...

That said... England is in big trouble if they continue with how they are going. The biggest reason the Bundesliga is closing the gap is because their youth development programs are the best in the world. They are learning the system from such an early age and thrive in it. I just looked at a few German rosters, and then a few EPL rosters, and the difference is astounding. These German rosters are almost always AT LEAST 50% German. These EPL rosters are barely 10% from England. Really happy with Klinnsman trying to model the US system off Germany because of this.

So I guess my main point from this is that the EPL still has the best quality of talent overall, but it is certainly not the league to watch if you want to see a 4-3 game on the regular. For England to be successful as a national team though, they are going to have change their youth systems significantly or they are not going to be a top 10 nation for soccer in the world(they are close to not be right now IMO).

I am not sure how valid these points are to be honest. I am a budding soccer fan. I have always loved soccer(played my whole life) and have been into the EPL since about 2008 or 2009. I feel like my knowledge of the game has jumped exponentially in the past year though living across the hallway from an Italian and a Brazilian who breathe soccer.
 
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IHateMarkMay

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I like the EPL, I don't know if it is because of the style of play was vastly similar to the way I used to play or that is what I grew up watching or because the Iberian Peninsula is full of divers and cry babies... I just prefer the EPL.
 
C

Cackalacky

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HahahahahahahahahhahahaHahahahahah Man City..... HAhahahahahahahahahhahaha
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notredomer23

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and Mancini is officially gone. I can't say I am surprised, but this disappoints me greatly.
 

illmatic630

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Pellegrini is a pretty damn good coach. Took Villarreal, and Malaga to the semi's of the Champ's league. Didn't get a fair shot with Real Madrid.
 
C

Cackalacky

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Pellegrini is a pretty damn good coach. Took Villarreal, and Malaga to the semi's of the Champ's league. Didn't get a fair shot with Real Madrid.

Man city's current roster does not have the players Pelligrini needs to play his style of football. I cannot believe Mancini was on such a short leash..... this is just cut-throat
 

illmatic630

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Man city's current roster does not have the players Pelligrini needs to play his style of football. I cannot believe Mancini was on such a short leash..... this is just cut-throat

shouldn't be a problem, considering the fact that Man City has money to blow.Pellegrini could bring Isco with him.
 

GowerND11

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The way Arsenal played the second half of the season was brilliant. Undefeated in the last 10 games, and had the second most points, behind Man U, in the second half of the season.

Here's to Arsene making a splash in the transfer window, and we got ourselves one HELL of a team.
 

ChiRish

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The way Arsenal played the second half of the season was brilliant. Undefeated in the last 10 games, and had the second most points, behind Man U, in the second half of the season.

Here's to Arsene making a splash in the transfer window, and we got ourselves one HELL of a team.

Agreed. Locked up the young kids, played excellent down the stretch. Need to add a few pieces but similar to last year the team came through down the stretch. Love it.
 

nlroma1o

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How bout that goal by Bale yesterday!? Fitting his last goal of the season was that beauty. Kinda feel bad for the Spurs for not making top 4. But dont feel that bad. lol. The worst part is Bale is probably going to leave.
 
C

Cackalacky

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I just wanted to give a shout out to Carragher..... a real professional. Thanks for the 737 fine performances. So close to finishing on this final screamer. Denied by the woodwork.

8753535789_84e65320c0_o.gif
 

peoriairish

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Pumped to head to down to Busch soon for Chelsea v Man City

I'm so jealous, man. I tried to get tickets, but they sold out too fast and didn't want to pay the crazy premium prices. It's gunna be so awesome down there. Have fun.

Go Reds.
 

STLDomer

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Amazing experience, was only 7 rows back and it really increases your appreciation for soccer seeing these guys do their stuff up close. Both teams put on a show (Chelsea more first half and Man City more second half). I was pleasantly suprised w/ how many of the main guys played. S/O to Yossi for taking of his jersey and giving it to a kid right in front of me. STL really wants and deserves a pro team, huge soccer town.
 

IHateMarkMay

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A little surprised England didn't beat Ireland... I didn't get to watch it but it sounded like they had their chances.

In other news... Is Germany the World Cup favorite? I think so.
 

ACamp1900

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Gonna be hard top beat Brazil there though...
 
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