NAMING RIGHTS THREAD: Liverpool really won't win the Premiership 2010-2011

Sunderland will not have wanted to lose Bent, a striker who has been on fine form for The Black Cats. However, they may have felt Villa's bid too good to turn down in increasingly austere times. For Villa, the move represents a gamble: Bent will score goals, but at what cost to the frugal transfer policy previously in place at Villa Park? The answer promises to be an exciting one - this is a drama to be played out arguably between now and the end of the season.

You'll all get bored of this sooner or later.

I wonder if Randy Lerner's just been sitting in front of a computer in mute fury since the week of O'Neill's departure, repeatedly refreshing newsnow, unshaven and wild-eyed, and just finally snapped, flung everything off the desk and bellowed down the phone at Faulkner to spunk an ungodly amount of money on a player, any player, as a gesture of humongous financial might.

(But one thing is for sure - whatever his private thoughts, if Bent does indeed score the goals that keep Aston Villa in the top flight, Lerner will be a happy man.)

...1. It boggles the mind that people who are paid so handsomely to 'analyse' sports consistently get the most obvious rules wrong. Efan Ekoku was moaning about the second yellow for Rafael for the rest of the match even though it was obvious he made contact and brought him down from behind. Why is Efan arguing this point? Because Rafael didn't mean to do it?! Sorry Efan, it isn't a handball call, where the intent actually matters. He made contact from behind, it is a foul and a bookable one at that. It doesn't matter how innocent he looks after the fact! The ref got it EXACTLY right, and without the benefit of hindsight. Efan then goes and excuses that cretin Rooney for shouting in the ref's face. Yet, the next game the announcers will be moaning about the lack of respect shown to refs and the Respect campaign, what a bunch of bollocks! It was the same last week, when Berbatov was fouled (a foul is when the opposing player makes contact with the man he's marking inside the box without getting the ball, no matter how hard or soft - this is basic rule of the game, in case you don't know it Efan), it doesn't matter that it was a 'soft' foul or if Agger had Terry-style rugby tackled him, it was a clear penalty. End of discussion.

2. How bad is Peter Crouch? The fact he is still starting and playing the whole game for Spurs is the clearest indication that their title credentials are not in place this season. I have never seen someone use (or misuse) their height so poorly. He was routinely beaten in the air by the centre-backs, including on the last throw in by Bale which was placed perfectly to his head. Watching Crouch use his height is like watching an OAP drive a Ferrari...it's maddening. Like the awful Gareth Barry on City, Crouch is the clear piece of the puzzle that needs upgrading before Spurs are taken seriously as title contenders...is it a coincidence both of them are still England regulars?

3. Third paragraph. What the hell has happened to Palacios? He was brilliant during his first season but now he resembles George Foreman during his last few fights when everyone started to just feel sorry for him. Why does he think he can shoot from 30 yards out? Time to ship him out to Birmingham while they are still clearly obsessed with signing the Spurs B team.

Justin, football fan

had to check it wasnt me had written this tbh

(a foul is when the opposing player makes contact with the man he's marking inside the box without getting the ball, no matter how hard or soft - this is basic rule of the game, in case you don't know it Efan)

This seems a little confused, though the general sentiment is pretty much yeah.

Liverpool Sign Bent

I wonder if Randy Lerner's just been sitting in front of a computer in mute fury since the week of O'Neill's departure, repeatedly refreshing newsnow, unshaven and wild-eyed, and just finally snapped, flung everything off the desk and bellowed down the phone at Faulkner to spunk an ungodly amount of money on a player, any player, as a gesture of humongous financial might.

― Sgt's Laughter (Sgt. Biscuits), Monday, January 17, 2011 10:55 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i can believe this to be 100% true.

Not sure I agree with 'Justin football fan'. While they might technically have both been fouls, you'd think the referees could use a certain amount of discretion. The Rafael one didn't seem worthy of a booking (though it was obviously a free-kick), and the penalty given to Berbatov was very generous (the kind you'd expect not to be given 95% of the time) and a less convincing one than the two penalty calls in the second half. You don't expect a free-kick, never mind a booking, every time there's any contact.

Bent Liverpool Sign! I get it!

3. Third paragraph.

^1. First paragraph. I like this numbering system. Absolutely no possibility for confusion.

Wasn't Lerner trying to REDUCE costs? Best way to do that is to not sell off your dross and instead spend 24m on 1 player who is struggling at Sunderland iirc

French left-back Patrice Evra thinks the whole nation was against unbeaten league leaders Manchester United as they fought out a goalless draw with Spurs on Sunday. "All the country was against Manchester United," he said. "Everybody wanted us to lose."

Football fans all over the country wanting United to lose? I've never heard of such a preposterious idea. Next they'll be saying that non Real fans throughout Spain want them to lose.

The Scottish, not supporting the England team? What kind of country is this?

Re: costs, promising young player Steven Sidwell was probably earning about 60 grand a week.

Poor lad.

The Bent transfer is insane money but I get the feeling Sunderland might want him around once Welbeck goes back to United and someone comes in and unsettles Gyan.

Every New Year Ferguson must sit the players down in a lecture hall for a week and bombard them with no-one-likes-us propaganda. There's always someone comes out and states the bleeding obvious around this time. Great bonding technique, but you'd think the older hands would be a bit bored of it by now.

Gary Neville is kind of the living embodiment of that rhetoric, it would be like getting bored of his arms.

fergie's big, strong arms

Jorge Mendes's ascent to football "super-agent" has been stratospheric. His Gestifute agency harbours most of Portugal's stellar names – José Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Carvalho – as well as Bébé, the former third division striker Manchester United signed this summer. In a few short years, Mendes has made enormous money from football as his client players have joined United, Chelsea and Real Madrid; he is reported to have received €3.6m of the €9m United paid for Bébé, earned handsomely when Real Madrid signed Ronaldo from United for £81m in 2009, and untold millions from other deals.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2011/jan/18/jorge-mendes-super-agent

these fucking guys

I mean, why do they exist at all? The clubs know who the players are, the players know who the clubs are, why don't they just engage a PR company and a solicitor instead of letting the likes of Mendes skim off millions?

cuz presumably the players would break their contracts with the agents if they were to negotiate without them?

40% is a ridic agents fee tho

all has gone quiet on the bébé front, i think sralex scared all the journos shitless last time they had the temerity to say he looks crap, so unless a court order loudly states that bébé is indeed crap, it will never be mentioned again

he will never be mentioned again

you know who I really don't like at Manchester United?

MIKE PHELAN.

I didn't mind him as a moustachioed midfielder in canary yellow and green c.1987. Not at all.

But the Phelan we see each week now is an icy cold scumbag.

He is more 'partisan' than anyone else in the league. He doesn't talk about 'respect for Liverpool, they played well', 'we knew we were in a tough game today', 'it could have gone either way', etc. He just attacks any decision, however correct, that's gone against United, and defends any that have gone for them.

He makes Neville look relaxed, balanced, fair-minded and ecumenical.

And he's not even the manager. He's a stooge who turns up and talks to the BBC, a public broadcasting body that the manager will not talk to, though he will talk to Sky TV, because, of course, he is a Govan trade unionist who's never left behind the red camaraderie of the shipyards.

nakh getting right to the heart of the agency issue there

the agents /are/ effectively a pr company for the players (and various other things too -- also they 'get' players when they are v young and will sign anything)

you know who I really don't like at Manchester United?

MIKE PHELAN

YES

i was going to do some sort of thread of hatred for him and maybe wayne rooney, kinda a general mancunian hate thread

phelan is such a tard, witness his endless invocation of a manchester united player as if that numinous descriptor conferred some ethereal grace on an otherwise lumpen scrap of decomposing flesh like the vile rooney

The always humble SuperMario when told of Berlusconi describing Cassano as the most talented Italian footballer -

“Either Berlusconi is wrong or he doesn't know Balotelli well”.

Gonna miss this guy when he goes back to Madrid.

<3 Mario

Does he talk in the third person?

Gonna miss this guy when he goes back to Madrid. I meant Milan of course not Madrid. Yeah, talking in the third person like a boxer apparently.

a hoy hoy is actually balotelli and to answer you, yes, you do appear to refer to yourself in the third person

i wish. i'm more david dunn than super freaking mario

bad day today huh? that's what getting nutmegged by nigel de jong can do to your inflated sense of self-esteem

super mario got caught using his invisbility cloak going into the ladies only sauna

biggest shocker in that graun agents scoop was finding out "timeously" is actually a word

Steven Pienaar tweets that he is off to Spurs

Woah, where've you been?

hmmm. At what we're likely payin him i'm not sure we couldnt have spent our time and money better.

good buy imo if you can offload a ohara/jenas and move krancjar inside

wb drunk boat!

Yeah Kranjcar is really likely to get a position in the middle of the park as a result.

Probably entails dropping Lennon to the bench and using him as an impact sub.

ohara is ace. Better dm than jenas, prob better lb than bae. Good cover for at least three positions.

kranjcar in middle doesnt convince, but a good option as deep lying striker i reckon

I was being sarcastic about Kranjcar. Difficult to see where he'll fit in really bar an injury crisis ruling out three players. He's a good player and we should sell him.

We're not keeping O'Hara in purgatory out of spite, he's had a back operation that's ruled him out for most of this season.

usa 3rd-lung midfielder exodus to lower-table prem teams underway? Jermain Jones to Blackburn.

Jermaine

i asked you yr opinion on him when it became obv he was going - so...?