On the Eve of the new Season...

by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

Real Madrid crash to village side

Coach Manuel Pellegrini was "very embarrassed" after Real Madrid were crushed 4-0 by third tier village side Alcorcon in the Spanish King's Cup.

Real fielded a strong team but were 3-0 down to the Segunda Division B club by half-time in the round of 32 first leg.

"There's no reason or explanation for how the team performed. We hope our fans can forgive us," said Pellegrini.

Real director general Jorge Valdano also apologised to fans but backed under-fire Pellegrini.

"It's difficult and I know how the Madrid supporters must be feeling," Valdano stated on the club's website.

We must stick together, and when I say 'together' I am also thinking about the coach
Real director general Jorge Valdano
Despite embarking on a £226.5m spending spree over the summer and signing Chilean Pellegrini from Villarreal, Real have won only one game in their last five, with three defeats.

Reports suggest Pellegrini could lose his job if Real, who were without their two most expensive signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, lose to Getafe at the weekend or are beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday.

But Valdano stated: "We have to take it as a lesson in humility that must serve as a starting point for a fresh beginning.

"We must stick together, and when I say 'together' I am also thinking about the coach."

And Pellegrini added: "I am not thinking about my job or about resigning, only the next match."

Madrid, who have not won the Spanish King's Cup (Copa del Rey) since 1993, suffered an upset last season as they were knocked out at the fourth-round stage by another third-tier side, Real Union, on the away goals rule.

Pellegrini conceded: "We've seen it 3,200 times before: a team who were tremendously motivated and were able to play at their best.

"I saw them in recent games, we had reports, but they played very well.

"We need to react. We are going to find difficult opponents all over the place. We need to play well everywhere."

just saw this - highly amusing…..

Barcelona wrote:
by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

brennser wrote:
just saw this - highly amusing…..

Barcelona wrote:
by the way, what about Real Madrid last night? can it get better? the capacity of the stadium where they lost is 3,200! such a small team and trashed them 4-0, priceless.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8329227.stm

For 80m quid I'd expect Ronaldo to have beaten them on his own…..

Hilarious.  Thanks for sharing Barca.

I watched United's Carling Cup match last night - probably the most entertaining United squad I've seen all season.  Obertan was amazing - one of the most technically gifted 20-year olds I've seen in a long time and Tosic and Macheda were great as well.  The only downside was Macheda had a little too much of the Ronaldo Kool-aid and lost a ton of possession with too many tricks.  Left-Back Da Silva in the midfield wasn't the strongest positioning for him, but it worked out ok (I doubt we'll see it again).

And just for shoeshine - Owen's goal was vintage 20 year old Mikey.

Anyhow, the future is bright at Old Trafford and SAF's "no more players over 25" strategy looks like it will keep United competitive for years to come.

vansmack wrote:
Hilarious.  Thanks for sharing Barca.

I watched United's Carling Cup match last night - probably the most entertaining United squad I've seen all season.  Obertan was amazing - one of the most technically gifted 20-year olds I've seen in a long time and Tosic and Macheda were great as well.  The only downside was Macheda had a little too much of the Ronaldo Kool-aid and lost a ton of possession with too many tricks.  Left-Back Da Silva in the midfield wasn't the strongest positioning for him, but it worked out ok (I doubt we'll see it again).

And just for shoeshine - Owen's goal was vintage 20 year old Mikey.

Anyhow, the future is bright at Old Trafford and SAF's "no more players over 25" strategy looks like it will keep United competitive for years to come.

Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent. I was pretty handy 20 years ago and could probably have made at least the Barnsley bench in my prime (okay, maybe not but you get my point)…..not intending to be mr. pessimistic, just realistic. We need Wes Brown with some game time though so that's a positive…another bright side to this evening is scumbags got back on the losing trail. As much as they are a fierce rival you have to respect Arsenal, which I don't chelski or scumpool. I also hope Spurs challenge bigtime because 'arry Rednap is a hell of a manager and should've been given a chance with England imho. United have always had an excellent youth program. Giggs -2x Nevile - Beckham - Scholes - Butt - O'Shea etc. etc. they just never get credit for it because they're a rich team who splash out now and again. Having said all that an entertaining game is an entertaining game so it's all good.

If Real is smart they will stick with Pellegrini. he is a first class coach. Everyone can have a bad run.

Frank wrote:
Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent.

I stand by what I said, even considering the opponent.  United threw an entriely new 11 out there which was mostly dominated by their youth/reserve squads, and I was delighted with what I saw.

Obertan is going to be an incredible first team player for United.

vansmack wrote:

Frank wrote:
Smackie - you know me more than anyone needs some positives after last weekend, but you must consider the opponent.

I stand by what I said, even considering the opponent.  United threw an entriely new 11 out there which was mostly dominated by their youth/reserve squads, and I was delighted with what I saw.

Obertan is going to be an incredible first team player for United.

So you're saying…."the future's so bright, they gotta wear shades"???  I agree but United have always  invested in the future.

BTW - I'm part of the referee pool for a HS Girls tournament in Boca this evening. YIKES!!! Wish me luck, I'm quickly realizing the girls are worse than the boys. It's a freebie on the refs part but a good warm up for the high-schools season which starts next week.

loan us more players

ashley finally let out the obvious and took newcastle united off the market and made hughton the permanent manager. it was obvious like 2 months ago that moat didnt have the money

he says that £20m is coming in, but i'll believe that when i see it

hutch wrote:
If Real is smart they will stick with Pellegrini. he is a first class coach. Everyone can have a bad run.

seriously? what did he do with River Plate or Villarreal? or even before, not sure I would consider him a first class coach. Villarreal started being a good team before he joined them, he got there when they had money to buy good players. I think he was hired for Real Madrid because he looks like a gentleman and is always well dressed like Queiroz or Capello, but not like Del Bosque, who was fired but was the one who made a good football team. Not joking, Florentino Perez wants players and coaches to sell t-shirts, appear in fancy magazines and make money, this monday before losing 4-0 against a small team from a working class neighborhood in Madrid, all the Madrid players got their new fancy Audi cars. It is a joke of a club. By the way, who did they want before Pellegrini? Wenger, another coach considered a gentleman. Anyhow, in principle I am against firing coaches in the middle of the season, but as a Barcelona fan, I hope they keep Pellegrini until the end of the year.

Benitez to Real Madrid at the end of this season - remember where you heard it first.

I doubt Wenger will move because he really does seem like a man of honor and has it in his head he WILL bring the Champions League to Arse.

Mourinho will stay at inter because he wants the United job so bad he can taste it so prob won't go anywhere until (if) it happens, which it won't.

I know I've gotten away from posting schedules do to my own busy schedule, but I'll get back to it.

What you need to know now is that the 1st legs of the other three European World Cup playoffs will be live on Setanta.

Ireland vs. France will be pay-per-view only for BOTH legs.

Portugal's second game will be on Setanta live and the Greece game will supposedly be on ESPN2.

vansmack wrote:
Ireland vs. France will be pay-per-view only for BOTH legs.

i know i shouldnt be surprised, but i am a little bummed

hope everyone says a little prayer for the boys in green tonight!…..monumental odds but stranger things have happened

I will be watching at Lucky Bar

Keep a clear head and get it PK's - anything can happen there.

allez les bleus!

sweetcell wrote:
allez les bleus!

Friendship. Over.

so can i come over tonight to watch the game with you? (assuming you can dvr pay-per-view).

i'll bring a nice beaujolais or chateauneuf-du-pape.

surprised no mention but world cup group heads were announced yesterday… the usual suspects italy, germany, brazil, south africa, england and spain.. interesting argentina held on…seems rather undeserving.

france will be a group head if it makes it.. or netherlands would take their place

the draw will be december 6…