Barclays Premier League Season 2009/2010

[Subject Delta]

I think friendlies are vital as it happens, to test second string players and see how they fit into the overall squad picture, but I feel using mainline players that may be vital is a bit more ludicrous.

[Rappy Veteran]

yeah I didn't mean in general should of mentioned that but I meant at this time of the season it can be bad

[Dance.]

Looks like Van Persie is sidelined for a few weeks.

Arsenal will be breathing a huge sigh of relief following the news that Robin van Persie will only be sidelined for "four to six weeks" after partially tearing an ankle ligament on international duty.

[Subject Delta]

Better than a fracture, but Arsenal will still miss his absence as they have been starting to build a good run of results of late.

[Rappy Veteran]

Better than a fracture, but Arsenal will still miss his absence as they have been starting to build a good run of results of late.

Yeah but I suppose they have Vela has backup and he's more the capable of filling the void

[Kralik]

I think friendlies are vital as it happens, to test second string players and see how they fit into the overall squad picture, but I feel using mainline players that may be vital is a bit more ludicrous.

Spot-on there Frank.. exactly what I was thinking.. it was coaches fault risking his best striker against the Italians who are vicious tacklers.. RvP is very injury prone I'm sure the coach knew that.. just look at the team England played against Brazil.. thats what friendlies are for..

Yeah but I suppose they have Vela has backup and he's more the capable of filling the void

Vela is out too.. but expected to return soon.. so is Bendtner.. so for now we have Eduardo, Arshavin, Nasri//

Carlos Vela has missed the last four games with a knee injury but is close to a comeback, according to Ars?ne Wenger.

Also can Walcott be tried in this position?

Theo has been sidelined by a knee injury and is expected to return to training this month. "He will be back in training the week after the international break," said Wenger ahead of the Wolves game.

[Dance.]

Tbh, Arsenal are the only people who can save United the title :p.

[Rappy Veteran]

Sir Alex Ferguson will be forced to speak to the BBC under new Premier League rules

n the same week in which he was hit with the most severe punishment the Football Association has handed out for comments about a referee, Ferguson has suffered another blow to his authority as the Premier League passed a motion at its board meeting on Thursday to make post-match interviews with rights holders mandatory.

Ferguson has not spoken to the BBC since 2004 when Panorama ran a documentary which portrayed his son, Jason, an agent, as using his father?s status to gain influence in the transfer market.

He was never found guilty of any wrongdoing and Ferguson subsequently swore never to speak to the BBC again, describing them as ?arrogant beyond belief?.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill attended the Premier League board meeting on Thursday and the club are aware of the changes in rules.

Harry Redknapp, of Tottenham, and Sam Allardyce, of Blackburn, who also boycotted the BBC for allegations made in a separate Panorama documentary, will also be forced to speak to Match of the Day and Radio Five Live.

Any manager who does not will be in breach of Premier League rules and subject to a sliding scale of punishments.

The new rules could also force Ferguson to speak to the written press. For the last seven years he has been the only manager in the league to consistently refuse to talk to newspaper reporters after Premier League games, only giving interviews to Manchester United?s in-house television station MUTV.

Under the new rules it is also mandatory for the manager or a senior member of the coaching staff to give a press conference.

In a further widening of media access by the Premier League, television rights holders will be allowed on to the pitch to interview players from the winning team straight after the final whistle, as happens in the FA Cup final. If the game ends in a draw both sets of players can be interviewed.

[Dance.]

What ballocks, if the managers boycott a sensationalist news channel, it's for a reason. It's like they're slaves to the Premier League.

[Farstrider]

Robin Van Persie is such a drama Queen.

He will be back within 3 weeks.

You are so right, most modern footballers are a bunch of daffodils; love the part where it says he was taken off the park, screaming! (Like a girl?)

Serious injuries are one thing but some of the **** that passes for injury in the modern game is actually embarrassing! I have shattered both my Achilles Tendons playing sport, plus a bunch of other stuff and not once was I taken away screaming! :rolleyes:

[Martyn]

So Rafa will be forced to speak to The S*n?

My arse.

[HilariousNinja]

I don't see the big deal of not wanting to talk to the rumour mongers at The Mail, Sun or Daily Star.

And the BBC has been criticized before for Panorama being a bit too much like Channel 4 and trying reign in the masses with controversial stories. What right has the Premier League to force managers to do this?

[Kralik]

Carlos Tevez, the Argentina forward, has stunned Manchester City by saying he will consider retiring from football after the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer.

Tevez became the fifth most expensive footballer of all time when he joined City for ?47 million in July, but despite being only 25, exhaustion, the desire to spend more time with his family and disappointment at losing his place in the Argentina national team have led him to consider hanging up his boots.

?It?s complicated, there?s my family, the desire to return to Boca Juniors, but I think about it [retirement],? Tevez said. ?It crosses my mind to hang up my boots if we win the World Cup, although I have a contract [with City] until 2014.

?I?m a bit tired of so much football. I want to enjoy my family a bit. I?m very keen to stop and get a bit of calm. I?ve already won a lot. Living for football has saturated me.

?After four years here I speak no English. Even my daughter speaks English and I speak none. Life in England is very good but it?s difficult because my dad works in Argentina and my family is there.?

[JoeC]

Yeah, seems like the kind of d*ck move Tevez would pull :/ I never really liked him when he was at MU and still don't at MC.

And about the compulsory interviews, I'm split on whether or not I agree with the interview rule, certainly the bit about going onto the pitch is ridiculous. I wonder if Fergie will just give a silly interview, like;

Interviewer: Congratulations on a match well won.

Fergie: Thanks.

I: How would you say you did.

F: Good.

I: And Carrick, what did you think of his game.

F: It was good.

[Rappy Veteran]

Kralik - yeah created a thread for that thought it would be good discussion matter :D

[Subject Delta]

Sounds like a pile of crap to me, I don't think team officials should have to speak to anyone that they don't wish to speak to.

Also Martyn, I think it applies to rights holders, I presume the sun hold no specific rights, therefore nobody would have to speak to them

[Kralik]

It has been a difficult week for Arsenal on the injury front but, when Ars?ne Wenger spoke to Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon, he was finally able to report some good news.

The manager has scratched the names Lukasz Fabianski, Carlos Vela, Denilson and Armand Traore off his injured list. He also confirmed that, following nine weeks out with a back problem, the Brazilian midfielder would definitely make the trip to Sunderland on Saturday.

[Kostaz]

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City

I watched only the first half and it looked like Liverpool dominated the game,can't say much about the result though.I'd prefer the pool to lose but a draw is good for my team.

I expect the Wolves game to be a piece o cake.

[Dance.]

Already 3-0 :/.

[Subject Delta]

Questionable tactics from Rafa there, can't understand why he brought on a defensive midfielder rather than an attacking one in the form of Aquilani when the game was at 2-2 and there to be won.

Disappointing

[Rappy Veteran]

Arsenal lost today as well...title race is swaying in Chelseas favour

we chucked away 2-0 lead again...don't why we bother :p

[Martyn]

Aquilani wasn't even in the squad, he wasn't fit enough to play today.

As for bringing Aurelio on, he was brought on with about 5 minutes to go in place of Benayoun to play left wing, who himself has barely recovered from his hamstring injury and was brought on to replace the injured Babel after 15 minutes of the match.

We are struggling a lot with injuries at the moment, coupled with the fact that Torres is injured and we cannot exactly defend it seems our best form is some way off.

I was at the match today as well, in The Kop... and the game had a fairly poor atmosphere. The doom and gloom of the American's reign and our poor form has transferred through to the atmosphere of The Kop.

Roll on Debrecan.

[Subject Delta]

I wonder why the BBC's commentators said Aquilani was on the bench and gassing on about bringing him on if he wasn't eligible to play :/

[Martyn]

Just looking on the site, it turns out he was on the bench. Didn't even see the boss eyed git warm up myself.

The point still stands though, Aquilani is a central player and Aurelio was brought on to replace Yossi on the left wing.

[nothuman]

3-0, easy football I might say. Once again Giggs and Scholes were superb. The title race has begun.