do these fucks never learn

foster

alves dann pique warnock

xavi gerrard lampard messi

rooney carroll

do think there is scope for a separate thread noting when british isles footballers claim technical parity with... well, anyone, i guess.

Not sure who these "British Isles Footballers" are... any of them not English?

fletcher >>>>>>> busquiets

uhm

no

Absolutely, have you ever seen him play for Scotland?

Absolutely, not as good as Busquets, in case there's any confusion there. Not even as good as Gary Caldwell when he plays for Scotland.

fletcher is pretty good but busquets is probably the best dmid around now

sandro, thudd, jenas

but busquiets is a dick

is there a reason u spel it like that

boo

cambiasso was great but i think he trailed off badly in the last year

Fletcher is hardly that likeable is he? Suppose anyone looks good in comparison to Busquets. He was also pretty crap last season even before his mysterious virus

i kinda like him

makes the most of his talents

Yaya Toure > Busquets

uhm

no

uhm

yes

yaya isn't a dmid, he was a playmaker at monaco and has just has his best season ever playing predominantly as a goalscoring box to box type

so... a creative player who is still better at dm than sergio buscunts

do u srsly think he is better than the player who has just replaced him

i mean i know it's a hoy but still

eduardo replaced henry doesn't mean he was better than him

yeah that's exactly the right comparison

Can't think why Barcelona would have replaced the African midfielder with the homegrown Catalan type.

jesus u ppl

like do u get anything about football

touré was patently inferior to busquets at dmid while they were still playing in the same side

toure is better than busquets, but not at dm, and certainly not as dm at barca

Song is also not a dm, and neither is thudd. They just hang round there while performing other functions

like do u get anything about football

― http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteAmericanFolks.jpg (nakhchivan), Thursday, 16 June 2011 15:02 (5 minutes ago)

this is the one where they throw the ball, wear helmets and text pictures of their weiners, right?

touré will never be as good at any given role as busquets is at his

featuring delap, cech and shelvey, yeah xp

:-)

if u srsly believe barcelona overpromote their own youngsters at the expense of bought players u might want to consider former new messi bojan krkic whose agent is currently complaining he is getting shafted by barca who are trying to sell him to udinese against his will

DM at Barca is kinda different to being DM anywhere else though because they keep posession so well there just aren't as many opposition attacks to break up. Be interesting to see how Busquets would do behind midfielders that aren't Xavi and Iniesta.

In any other team Toure or Mascherano would be the better pick. Obviously Busquets is by miles a better passer of the ball than Mascherano, even if Masch is as good at positioning and better at tackling.

I mean obviously Barca are the best team in 20 years so who are we to judge but...

busquet's main attributes are his close control and positioning, his passing is usually pretty simple

How many simple passes have you seen Mascherano fuck up though?

i kinda hate busquets, wanted them to keep touré and thought mascherano would displace him this season, but the last season confirmed he is just insanely good at what he does, and i think 80% of that is transferrable to another top level side

then again my idea was that barca could do without without a dedicated deep lying, purely destructive midfielder hence my pref for touré as a kinda roving box to box type alongside x & i

but seeing busquets this season i doubt even fabregas is good enough to displace busquets and change the system of their midfield

cesc is going because xavi is getting on and iniesta hasn't the greatest injury record, not because of the cunt

idk if he is going

think arsenal would be happy to sell for a good price but barca have their own financial issues so

if it does happen, he will get enough games to keep him from bitching but assuming x & i are fit, their starting xi for big games will remain the same imo

xavi is getting on, is he

xavi could play for longer than scholes imo. He simply doesn't get tackled.

wouldn't mind seeing x & i vs xi england u-21 players in a possession competition

you'd want busquets there to keep the naughty stuff out of it, and alves there to run around a lot, dive and provide fuck-all end product

alves usually has one of the best assist records in la liga

he is one of those rare players whose obnoxiousness makes them even more useful, he is really exceptionally good at diving/feigning/sly fouls

the last time i played for barca i got six assists

Yeah but i created more "goal-scoring chances"

Pep Guardiola has not had it all his own way at Manchester City and Fletcher's take on that and his belief in Pulis's methods are fascinating.

Fletcher said: 'I heard Guardiola speak about the English use of the 'second ball' and it was interesting. English teams recognise you can control a game without possession.

'Turning teams round, playing a ball up and not caring if you win the first ball but ensuring you win the second or third ball. That's unique to British football.

'I am not sure you get too many of those phrases in Spain, where your manager always talks about pass completion.

'That's why stats don't always work. There are times when I can play a pass that's not complete, but it's what this team needs.

'It can leave a good team facing its own goal. They have to put the ball out of play and then we have territory and a throw-in that we have worked at.

'So now the ball is in their area and we get a chance or a corner. We are progressing but I haven't completed a pass have I?

'So my stats are down but I have done my job.

'At Man City or Barcelona, your passing stats will be off the charts but you have to look at football with your eyes as well. A pass that goes five yards isn't always that dangerous, is it?'

To listen to the way Fletcher has broadened his understanding in two years is intriguing. He has designs on coaching and keeps thoughts and ideas in a notebook.

christ help us all

Fletcher is hardly that likeable is he? Suppose anyone looks good in comparison to Busquets. He was also pretty crap last season even before his mysterious virus

― Number None, Thursday, 16 June 2011 14:34 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i kinda like him

― http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteAmericanFolks.jpg (nakhchivan), Thursday, 16 June 2011 14:47 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

makes the most of his talents

― http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhiteAmericanFolks.jpg (nakhchivan), Thursday, 16 June 2011 14:47 Bookmark

Posted at 20:15
Post update
Newcastle 3-0 Rochdale

In all seriousness Rochdale play some lovely football on the eye and should be applauded for it, I guess. You don't concede goals like that under Keith Curle though.

it's proving a poor night for lower-league goalies thinking they're iniesta, that's all

nothing wrong with passing it around the back if you have personnel who can handle it

lower league goalies thinking they're iniesta are tempting fate. before they know it they'll find themselves growing grapes, sending their quids on running a bodega in sussex, until one day the sky cracks open, death reigneth and a voice from above booms: 'you're trying to make wine in england ffs, what did you expect other than excrutiating pain and unending suffering, mortal?'

:D

like nigel blackwell himself

I'll take it!

it's proving a poor night for lower-league goalies thinking they're iniesta, that's all

nothing wrong with passing it around the back if you have personnel who can handle it

Did you see the Bournemouth game at the weekend?

that guy is a lower-league goalie making his three or four career EPL appearances tbf