**OFFICIAL Association Football 2012/2013 Season thread**

[Hellsinkey]

Fergie leaving hasn't helped out in transfer market either. Every top player is waiting to see how Moyes will do first. I still wish it had been Mourinho.

Yeah. I think he's already fucked up with his statement about Rooney being second fiddle to Van Persie.

That was his first real DOH! moment. His actual quote was longer, but you don't give press that kind of material to work with.

[MickeyG]

Yeah, he's manager of Manchester United now, not some tinpot club from Miseryside. You can't get away with saying shit like that.

RIP Bert Trautmann.

[Hellsinkey]

Only friendlies, but pathetic. Mourinho has already started his mind games.

[pieceofme]

Only friendlies, but pathetic. Mourinho has already started his mind games.

And winning easily.

You know i'll give Moyes a chance but I am skeptical to say the least.

Doubt we will get Fabregas. Doubt he would want to leave Barca to play under Moyes.

[Hellsinkey]

100 mil € offer for Bale?

[pieceofme]

100 mil € offer for Bale?

Crazy money. I mean he's a great player but lets not get carried away. I wish we had signed him from Southampton. I remember rumours going around that both United and Spurs were interested, but Spurs got him for 5 million.

Still remember seeing him play for Southampton and scoring a great freekick.

Can anyone remember the debate between Micah Richards and Bale, in regards to who was the better player?They were both left backs then. Now Bale could become the most expensive player ever, and Richards can't make the City bench!

[MickeyG]

To be fair to Richards, he was injured for most of last season. I rate him as a player, when on his game.

Anyhoo, Nani scored 2 goals on his comeback against Crewe last night, and there are strong rumours Moyes has convinced him to sign a new contract. Hope it's true.

[Hellsinkey]

Practise games have been rubbish, but some of the kids are showing promise. I hope Lingard, Zaha and the rest get a chance during the season.

Moyes is as pathetic as Wenger in transfers.

[pieceofme]

Practise games have been rubbish, but some of the kids are showing promise. I hope Lingard, Zaha and the rest get a chance during the season.

Moyes is as pathetic as Wenger in transfers.

Yeah he really is.

What about Norwich! Seven new signings already! Don't know where they are getting all this money. Hope they do well.

[Hellsinkey]

Sunderland have bought a bunch too.

Tomorrow is the last day for Fellaini at a bargain price. We'll see what happens...

[MickeyG]

Yep, hope Zaha, Lingard and Januzaj all get chances and maybe Fabio too.

[pieceofme]

Sunderland have bought a bunch too.

Tomorrow is the last day for Fellaini at a bargain price. We'll see what happens...

Please no. Talk about the booby prize.

[Rageman]

Possibly the final post of this thread . . . but, admit it. You were all either shocked or at least surprised at Dempsey's move to Seattle.

Impressive analysis of Dempsey's career in the Premiership. Great EPL site.
http://www.eplindex.com/epl-news/36441/ ... gland.html

Pretty cool article about the signing and coming changes to MLS
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Dail ... nders.aspx

Galaxy and USA centerback Omar Gonzalez starting and finishing against Juventus

He's expected to be the Galaxy's next Designated Player when he re-signs
This league is still improving and will be expanding up to at least 24 teams by 2020.

[Hellsinkey]

I saw Citeh vs. Arse at the Olympic Stadium today, one of the warm up games. Don't care about either at all, but I had promised to take my son to this game, as it was the first game for PL teams here. Makes at least a change from shite Finnish teams for once. The stadium was full, but what surprised me was the amount of Arse fans, most of the stadium was in red, with very few Citeh fans. I knew that Liverpool was the most poplar PL team here, but Arse's popularity was surprising. The hate for Citeh, not as much. Unfortunately United have never player here. Oh and Arse won 3-1.

[Rageman]

This is supposed to be a tattoo of Clint Dempsey on a Seattle Sounders supporter.

Bad idea and bad tat.

[Hellsinkey]

Looks more like Bez from Happy Mondays.

[pieceofme]

Looks more like Bez from Happy Mondays.

Nice call.

[Hellsinkey]

Funny/sad story.

http://www.football365.com/f365-feature ... -Midfield-

The Community Shield began with the elan one would expect from a newly reinforced and reinvigorated Manchester United. With his new club in need of a new midfield, amongst other things, David Moyes' impressive band of reinforcements made a mockery of the contest between the Premier League champions and recently relegated Wigan Athletic. Given Manchester United have finally spent the 'Ronaldo money' it was no surprise they ran out comfortable winners. Robin Van Persie may have scored both the goals, but without the support of the new purchases the club would have struggled against Wigan's energetic midfield.

At the back, Patrice Evra has struggled for the last few years with form. Evil man Luis Suarez is to blame for a great deal of this, but the rest of it is mainly due to his age and to the fact all of us, even you, decay. His pace is one of the few things that remain, but positionally he has lacked concentration and his focus throughout matches has been utterly absent. Luckily, Moyes acted swiftly to bring in Leighton Baines, and the benefits were obvious. No longer did the centre-back pairing spend the game wondering when Evra would leave them exposed, and no longer did Danny Welbeck have to fret over his defensive responsibilities. With Baines, Manchester United have acted quickly to solve what was evidently a longstanding problem from the Ferguson era.

And that's not all they've done. Marouane Fellaini is another Everton purchase who has quickly settled under his old manager. It's a different colour of shirt, but the same performance level as under Moyes: Fellaini was precisely what any United fan could have asked. Not only was he as assured as you might expect from years of Premier League experience, he offered quick, reliable passing and, most importantly, a genuine physical presence in midfield. No longer do United look like they're fielding a team of also-rans, apologies, geriatrics, and Michael Carrick. Given David Moyes' links with Everton, it's no surprise the move was so quickly completed, with so little fuss, rather than embarrassingly dragging on throughout the summer with no sign of anything happening, at all.

Of course, just Fellaini alone would have been a sensible reinforcement, but given that Manchester United had not bought a midfielder since Owen Hargreaves in 2007, that would have been a bit of a sop rather than a complete solution. United's fans will be even more grateful for the transfer of Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, giving them a new, genuinely world class midfielder for the first time in six years. Fabregas, of course, was never able to truly convince at Barcelona, his direct tendencies sitting uncomfortably with his snootier, tiki-taka worshipping colleagues, like a fart in an art gallery.

But at Manchester United he can offer box-to-box coverage, technical excellence, and a talismanic quality that Barcelona never needed but that United have always thrived upon and have sorely missed. Not only did he set up one of Van Persie's goals, displaying the long established understanding the two have from their days at Arsenal, but his energy and presence kicked against Wigan's youthful enthusiasm. Having identified his willingness to move several months ago, Edward Woodward and David Moyes have clearly been working together long before Moyes' official start date of 1 July. To have actually waited until that date to get going in what might be the most important summer for the club ever, would have been certifiable.

Fabregas and Fellaini both prove that Manchester United were able to spend the money that they received from Wayne Rooney's inevitable departure to Chelsea, and Baines was bought with the usual net spend skimming permitted by the Glazer family. What is most surprising is that Gareth Bale/Cristiano Ronaldo is wearing a United kit. Few would have imagined the man from Spurs/Real Madrid would have made the dramatic transfer/return to United, but it goes to show that the new man, Edward Woodward, is not messing about in establishing Manchester United (and himself) at the very top of the pile.

This was a crucial summer: Alex Ferguson and David Gill had left, Chelsea had Jose Mourinho and Manchester City had spent loads, and quickly. The one thing United could not be seen to do was to faff along incompetently like the entire operation had fallen to pieces. That's why Bale/Ronaldo was such a vitally important signature. It proved to the rest of Europe, and the Premier League, that the club were still ultimately the most beguiling and important attraction in England, and one of the greatest in the world. A team with such tradition, and with owners who say they are fully committed to on-pitch success, simply could not have continued with Tom Cleverley, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick any longer, without looking like risible chumps operating purely on a knife edge devoted to profit, and to the furtherance of Mister Potato and Kansai Paint.

Not only that, but Antonio Valencia's generous and logical (and in no way weird or cowardly) abdication of the glamorous number 7 - the shirt of Best, Ronaldo, Beckham, and Owen - demonstrates that the new owner, Bale/Ronaldo, has ensured that United remain their arrogant selves. They weren't just saying that any squad number is any squad number: Bale/Ronaldo has chosen to be the centre of attention, to lead from the front. No longer is a cowardly 1-0 victory going to be the way for United. No more two banks of four. Moyes' future is an exciting one for all fans, not just United's.

Up front, too, things had changed. Having finally rid themselves of the toxic, lazy, narcissistic, victimhood-loving and unfit Rooney, United have secured their long-term target of Robert Lewandowski. An athletic and committed striker, physically forceful and technically excellent, this was his chance to reconnect with Shinji Kagawa, his mobile and incisive erstwhile Dortmund colleague. Where Rooney was out-of-shape, Lewandowski is strong, where Rooney was terrible in his first touch, Lewandowski brings calm and control, and where Rooney was frustrated and frustrating, the Pole plays for the team as much as himself. This, finally, is the United that has been promised by Ferguson and the Glazers, ready to blossom under David Moyes.

The midfield is reinvigorated, Baines and Fellaini will adapt quickly to their old boss' demands and the new fans' expectations. Fabregas is the superstar to satisfy Ronaldo/Bale, and Lewandowski will take over from Van Persie when the times comes. Rooney will not be missed. There's been a lot of paper talk about United and purchases for years. Finally, it's come true, and a farcical mess of increasingly humiliating/hilarious nothingness has been avoided.

For Wigan, of course, this was a game that nobody saw them in, not even themselves.

[MickeyG]

United have signed 5 commercial partners this summer, and 1 player.

Seems like the commercial department should be doing the deals to sign players too.

[Hellsinkey]

Though I'm a fan, I'd be surprised if United won the championship this season. Moyes can't do as good job as Ferguson with this same material.

[pieceofme]

Though I'm a fan, I'd be surprised if United won the championship this season. Moyes can't do as good job as Ferguson with this same material.

Pretty much.

United have signed 5 commercial partners this summer, and 1 player.

Seems like the commercial department should be doing the deals to sign players too.

Top four will be in this order:

1. Chelsea
2. Man City
3. United
4. Arsenal

[MickeyG]

I fear unless some signings are made, then that will be the order at the top of the table.

Part of it is Fergies fault for leaving the midfield weak. That said, we've seen this summer how shit the top level management is in the transfer market. I mean, 2 piss poor offers for Fabregas? Barca are in no position where they need to sell, so at least an offer of 40 mil was gonna be needed to make them blink.

[Hellsinkey]

Now Moyes is complaining about the difficult fixture list. He's just scared, right from the start.

[el_nino]

He's just following the script left for him by the last guy. He ALWAYS whined about the fixture list. It's textbook, really.

[Hellsinkey]

For Fergie it was more about a odd game here or there. In this case Moyes is scared. He's in quick trouble if the season starts badly.

[Hellsinkey]

Good start for Welbeck.

[Tenacious_Dio]

Good win for Aston Villa.

[pieceofme]

Good start for Welbeck.

More than he scored last season isn't it!

[Hellsinkey]

Good start for Welbeck.

More than he scored last season isn't it!

Yes and I hope it continues.

[Rageman]

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013 ... t-swansea/