Sports The Football Discussion Thread!

It was a stupid pen to concede as well.

Pretty fun match though. Diego Costa's getting punched was pretty satisfying.

Norwich City FC ‏@NorwichCityFC 20m

City confirm transfer request from Irish international midfielder Wes Hoolahan has been rejected, statement here: http://po.st/HoolahanStatement …

So he'll be gone before the window closes then. Clueless Chris continues to suck the identity out of the club BUT AT LEAST WE HAVE DEFENSIVE WINGERS.

I'm glad to see Real back in the title hunt after being however many points they were behind. I mean I know you hate them Went, but if Atlético weren't to win I'd want Real to because I simply can't stand Barcelona. Either way, a three horse race for once can only be good for Spanish football. Plus Ronaldo has been my favourite player since I was 7/8 so you know it's nice to see his team to do well.

Things are still rolling along nicely on the Karanka train, Jose's student has got us all the way up to ninth with a great run of form. Hopefully the gifts Jose has granted us (Omeruo and Chalobah on loan) can take us even further.

I read an article about one of the players saying that 'Hughton out' signs spurred Norwich on to play better so maybe this will be the turnaround you're looking for -Lapras-.

From what I've heard and read Omeruo is set to have a big future, looks a good signing to me. Things are really on the up at Boro.

All I can do is hope for the best. Considering where we were 5 years ago it is amazing that it can still be doom and gloom whilst sitting 12th in the Premier League.

If Wes was to get sold I sure hope McNally and co have someone impressive lined up to replace him. Somebody like Hiroshi Kiyotake pls.

Sunderland are winning the League Cup.

Sunderland are one of my fave soccer teams!

It's nice to see some north east representation in the final even if they're Boro's rivals technically.

As for United, they better pray that Mata will help them out big time. If it stays like this I can't see Moyes being given time even if they do have some sort of 'long term project' with him. The project sounds like bs to me anyway, if they were planning for a future with Moyes surely some young players would've been bought in the summer instead of just throwing away money on Fellaini.

FA Cup matches this week. I expect wins for Arsenal and Forest tonight.

Biggest news regarding a Spaniard transferring clubs is obviously Ayala from Norwich to Boro. Twitter seems to think this is a done deal now and considering he isn't one of the 14 players Hughton uses he was always going to go.

If United signs Mata and RVP/Rooney recover from injury it'd be interesting to see where they kick on from there, will they fight up to top 4 or fall off like AC Milan?

Anyways I can't wait for 2nd period of Bundesliga to kick off, for some reason I thought it was last week but it wasn't. I'm more interested in who gets the second place instead, as you don't need a fortune teller to predict Bayern winning the league outright.

Mata will probably end up wasted at United, like Kagawa. Especially if Rooney stays.

There's a difference between Mata and Kagawa - One has PL experience, other doesn't. For that reason it'd be strange if Mata all the sudden flops against teams he used to play well against, though if he doesn't adjust to the team it could possibly happen.

There is a difference between being a flop and being wasted. Kagawa has been forced out to an unfavored position the wing during his time at United thus far. If Moyes continues to use the 442 the same will happen to Mata, although I suppose Mata would do a better job on the left than Kagawa.

That being said this move might indicate that they will switch to a 4231 which could utilize both Mata and Kagawa.

-Lapras- said:

There is a difference between being a flop and being wasted. Kagawa has been forced out to an unfavored position the wing during his time at United thus far. If Moyes continues to use the 442 the same will happen to Mata, although I suppose Mata would do a better job on the left than Kagawa.

Click to expand...

You're right, stupid tabloids overusing that term has rot my brains.

But again, Mata is less of a "gamble" per se, than Kagawa, because Mata has Premier League experience while Kagawa didn't. Every time I watch United, one big issue that they have is that they lack imagination going forward, their Plan A is mostly hoping for Valencia to cross which he fails at most of the time, and Plan B... well... they don't have much up their sleeves, don't they. Here's hoping Mata fixes that problem.

Speaking of which, I hope deadweights like Young and Valencia leave United as well. As much as I care less for United than I used to, I still watch them from time to time but watching them has been painful because they're so boring.

The only real gamble is one that Mata is taking. If he isn't the number 10 and given that freedom he obviously isn't going to perform as well as he can

If they do switch to a 4231 it will probably be the end of the out and out wingers like Young and Valencia. Or it would be if it was me playing football manager anyway.

-Lapras- said:

Biggest news regarding a Spaniard transferring clubs is obviously Ayala from Norwich to Boro. Twitter seems to think this is a done deal now and considering he isn't one of the 14 players Hughton uses he was always going to go.

Click to expand...

Indeed, who cares about small time clubs like Man United and Chelsea?

Seriously though, that will probably be good business for both clubs, although Ayala didn't show it yesterday when he was at fault for a Leicester goal.

As for Mata, I think the only real option to accommodate him is to go 4-2-3-1. Plus the United wingers are awful so it makes no difference if they cut them out I suppose.

>januzaj will never take you out for chicken

;__;

Woohoo! Derby day!
For the first time in the history of the Premier League (or since cable TV came here) a Man Utd match won't be telecast on SD. Really enjoying reading all the whiny posts by Man Utd fans on the Star Sports Facebook page.

Looking forward for tonight's game, especially considering Newcastle are in the process of selling their best player. Hopefully it gives our lot a lift

inb4 3 - 1 loss as this probably isn't a must win for Hughton.

Hoolahan not even in the squad tonight. He's off then. ;___;