Sports The Football Discussion Thread!

Really hoping Moyes can continue United's success, I wasn't at all surprised at him being named as manager but I did think back for a good hour or so about the football he had Everton play and try to predict how he would utilize our squad. Really hoping he will find peace with Rooney and then find a system that can be used with Kagawa, Rvp and Rooney while still giving Hernadez some game time.

In terms of the Mourinho - United battle I would have to think all past stats are going to get thrown out the window, just too many things have changed to assume Mourinho's record will give him an advantage or anything.

Aaaand it appears that the player we've been close to recruiting for some time (Maghoma from Burton) is now off to Charlton, so we literally have nothing done in the transfer market up to this point. It really isn't looking good for next season.

Also Moyes shouldn't just give Hernandez game time for the sake of it, I think he's only really required by United as a backup player.

It's not just for the sake of it, I honestly believe Hernandez is one of the most natural gifted goalscorers in the premier league. I don't think he should be flung into the starting lineup if it will cause the side to be unbalanced but I do think that he has alot to offer the side either starting or off the bench.

Off the bench is probably for the best. I think their system of three attacking players behind Van Persie is disrupted when Hernandez is involved from the start. United fans are always talking about signing Lewandowski as well, which suggests Hernandez is never really going to become the first choice striker.

Even if it doesn't look like it from the outside I'd imagine you're working on getting a few new players in.

I like Hernandez but yeah, he'll never be a regular starter at United.

Hopefully so, but even when we do sign players they probably won't set the world alight. I have too many reasons to be pessimistic for the coming season. :P

The pull factor of Ferguson just isn't there in my opinion. Many players in the past thought that Ferguson could shape them into amazing players; Moyes being only well-respected in England I doubt much foreign players would be as attracted to United because of it. But who knows, Ferguson isn't completely gone so I guess he still has some kind of part in the development of the players in the club. I'm not exactly sure what a director even does haha.

I think the job description can largely differ depending on who is in the role and which club they are at. I will assume, as most people would, that he will basically act in an advisory role toward Moyes to assist in the first few seasons of his management.

For all we know, 'director' could be an empty label and he will simply walk away from any involvement at OT. That is highly unlikely though.

It's highly unlikely that a player wouldn't want to go to United because Fergie isn't the manager anymore because although him being the manager may have been a pull factor for some players, at the end of the day players are going to Manchester United! A player is going there for champions league football, possible high wages and the chance to player for one of the greatest clubs ever. Moyes being there wont turn any players away.

Meanwhile in the Confederations Cup, Italy just won Japan 4-3. It was a close game, Italy was lucky, Japan hit the woodwork about 3-4 times. However, Italy took advantage of their physical size and strength and defended while standing off, forcing Japan to hit the long ball.

Great work from Japan though, they were hardworking and played at a really quick tempo. They pressed and pressed, forcing the Italian centrebacks to make a lot of errors.

Seems like Messi's father has been charged for tax fraud and Messi himself will be in court on September 17. Interesting to see how this will play out, especially after I played it off think Messi would come off scot-free.

"If he is convicted, Messi could face up to six years in prison and a big fine, according to Spain's Efe news agency."

It's very unlikely it will come to that, but it could be very interesting if he did receive such a sentence. Imagine six years down the line Messi comes out of jail and starts playing again for Barcelona's B team. I imagine his lawyers will sort things out for him regardless of whether he is truly guilty or not.

Nuke said:

"If he is convicted, Messi could face up to six years in prison and a big fine, according to Spain's Efe news agency."

It's very unlikely it will come to that, but it could be very interesting if he did receive such a sentence. Imagine six years down the line Messi comes out of jail and starts playing again for Barcelona's B team. I imagine his lawyers will sort things out for him regardless of whether he is truly guilty or not.

Click to expand...

As a journalist in Spain's Efe news agency, I can tell you how excited people were in Madrid XD "Great! Hopefully he'll be jailed before August so we can win the Spanish Supercup!".

Still, he can avoid going to jail if he pleads guilty and pays a x6 fine, a mere €24 million.

The fact that he's so loaded makes me wonder if he'd really take the risk over a few million euros.

For all we know, it was his father who set the whole system up when Leo was 16 and had signed his first professional contract with Barcelona, and obviously couldn't imagine that his kid would get raises worth a few more millions every year from then on. So he wanted to save as much as possible from the very beginning just in case.

That's fair enough, I guess.

Anyone watching the Spain-Tahiti game?

This is the only Confed Cup game I plan to see (I might end up watching the final). Most of the fun has gone already though thanks to Torres.

Spain smartly putting out a B-side giving the other players a chance to shine and impress, only hoped Casillas would have gotten a game. Miss seeing him in goal.

Edit: Tahiti actually holding up well for a side that lost 6-1 in their previous match.

Tahiti have held up well, but unfortunately they concede again as I decide to post this.

That dribble from Chong Hue (?) was something special.

Edit: Yeah this is going to end badly now.

Haha I think we might have actually jinxed Tahiti who weren't doing badly but as you said It's going to end really badly now.