Village Idiot

Then why the funk is he not in the national team now!! Didn't Villarreal replace him with Capdevilla after he left? Yes, they bought Capdevila from Depor. Going abroad usually hurts your NT chances in Spain, unless you're aready established or play in a big team (sorry). The relegation didn't help either. He's off the radar for now but let's see what the next callups are. Capdevila is 33, Amorebieta seems to have chosen Venezuela, Arbeloa is average... I suppose Del Bosque will go for Monreal/Arbeloa for now but we'll see. Oh really? Will that make him the first 'foreign' player to play for Athletic since Lizarazu? Infact isn't he more of a natural CB anyway? It's a crying shame for Enrique if he can't get in ahead of that bunch tbh. He also plays as LB. And he would be the second player to play for another national team (not really "foreign") in Bilbao's history yes. And yes I rate José Enrique above Monreal/Arbeloa, we have much less talent on the left than on the right though. We also have San José or Domínguez that can play on the left, but are natural CBs. is there any buzz at all in the spanish media about Enrique? arent you a sports journalist or something - maybe you could pull a few strings. it took the british media and fans of other clubs long enough to pick up on Enrique, but now they're raving about him. There's no buzz about him. As said, players on foreign teams usually fall off the radar unless they are top European sides or Liverpool. I'm not a sports journalist, my bro is but he mainly covers basketball.

Then why the funk is he not in the national team now!! Didn't Villarreal replace him with Capdevilla after he left? Yes, they bought Capdevila from Depor. Going abroad usually hurts your NT chances in Spain, unless you're aready established or play in a big team (sorry). The relegation didn't help either. He's off the radar for now but let's see what the next callups are. Capdevila is 33, Amorebieta seems to have chosen Venezuela, Arbeloa is average... I suppose Del Bosque will go for Monreal/Arbeloa for now but we'll see. Oh really? Will that make him the first 'foreign' player to play for Athletic since Lizarazu? Infact isn't he more of a natural CB anyway? It's a crying shame for Enrique if he can't get in ahead of that bunch tbh. He also plays as LB. And he would be the second player to play for another national team (not really "foreign") in Bilbao's history yes. And yes I rate José Enrique above Monreal/Arbeloa, we have much less talent on the left than on the right though. We also have San José or Domínguez that can play on the left, but are natural CBs.

Then why the funk is he not in the national team now!! Didn't Villarreal replace him with Capdevilla after he left? Yes, they bought Capdevila from Depor. Going abroad usually hurts your NT chances in Spain, unless you're aready established or play in a big team (sorry). The relegation didn't help either. He's off the radar for now but let's see what the next callups are. Capdevila is 33, Amorebieta seems to have chosen Venezuela, Arbeloa is average... I suppose Del Bosque will go for Monreal/Arbeloa for now but we'll see.

It's not like José Enrique was a Spanish boy you found tending tables at the pub around the corner... Spanish international at all youth levels, he was in the fringes of our NT when you signed him...

24m could feasibly get them Benzema if he wanted to go to a relegation-threatened team... Madrid paid 30m for him!

WTF is that thing Sewelly?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Milan: 20m Darren Bent to Aston Villa: 24m

Bent will need a new twitter account now.

Bent looks more similar to Gabriel than Carew though.

That's the end of Agbonwhateverhor then? Was having a torrid season.

The thing about Pedro (and lots of our other players) is that they have been playing at this since they were teens in our youth setup. They may not be the best technically or physically in their position (Pedro is a fine player though), but you can take any of our youngsters and put him on the first squad, and they already know what they have to do.

Madrid pondering a €40m bid for ManCity's Tévez, according to Marca.

Will never make it at Barça. Was signed behind Pep's back and he just doesn't want him.

Henrique has never played an official game with a Barça shirt, so can't count him. Decent CB, just don't good enough and doesn't seem to handle pressure well. I'd have stuck with Chygrynsky but he was sold to balance the books and Márquez was a liability in his waning years. Abidal at CB is fine, although he's just much better as LB. With Milito staying (who I rate), and the odd guest appearance of Fontàs/Bartra we should make through the season, but we need something else for the next season imho. At some point Puyol's legs will definitely fall off.

Aye is awful that we have two of the top 5 goalscorers in the league! No. Ideally, we wouldn't be dependent on two players for 2/3 of our goals. Real Madrid league goals = 47. Cronaldo+Higuaín = 29 Barcelona league goals = 61. Messi+Villa = 32 You're fine.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8263034/Alan-Hansen-Wayne-Rooneys-selfless-endeavour-shows-why-Manchester-United-have-Premier-League-edge.html :banghead:

Valdés is the best goalkeeper there is for Barça. There are better shot-stoppers out there, but they aren't as good at playing the keeper-sweeper role. Casillas is on decline too, I'd rather have De Gea who at 20 is just incredible. Abidal has been fantastic for us. Never makes much noise, but it's one of those players you rarely ever see putting a foot wrong. Cáceres has been allright. Nothing great. Don't think he's a Barça-level player really. EDIT: Thiago is more an AM than a CM. He is more Iniesta than Xavi so to speak. The younger Dos Santos is the player more like Xavi that we have in our B team, but he has stagnated these past two years.

Xavi is starting to feeling the weight of being first choice since he was 20 though. Of course the WC hurt his recovery but this season he had strong fatigue and muscular problems and had to be used sparingly until his body recovered. The problem is of all the likely successors, even Cesc, they look more like AMs than CMs. Not that you can replace a player like Xavi at the drop of a hat, but we have to start working on it.

We are mostly lacking in depth. I think our starting XI is the best for the way we set out to play but our squad is thin. I have barely seen Afellay play, but for the little glimpses in our shirt he looks at least to be in the same wavelength as the rest of our boys so hopefully he'll blend into our system. Ideally I'd love to have a pacey forward that we can bring in on certain games, giving us what Eto'o or an on-form Henry provided. Also Puyol is getting on and I'd like to have another top CB lined up. We have a number of promising CBs in our B team, and hopefully at least one can make the stepup. Oh, and Cesc Fàbregas.

They told a cool stat in a pitchside interview with David Villa after the Barça-Málaga game: he's the first player since the 1950s to score at least 14 goals in eight consecutive seasons.

the night we spanked West Ham 5 nowt they started with the already televised 0-0 between Arsenal and Man City. Because they cater to the notion that people are more interested in the so-called bigger and better clubs. I can't see it changing anytime soon, the ordering of MOTD highlights is usually subject to much debate and backhanded humour but for the foreseeable future, if Man Utd/Chelsea/Arsenal have played, then regardless of the result, 9 times out of 10, they'll be shown before the likes of Newcastle and Everton. Plus Everton - Liverpool was a relegation rivals clash

Our DoF said in the aftergame that Gaby Milito will remain at Barça.

Your local lad wearing #9 > our local lad wearing #9

Bah. Duda's class, mind.

Just realized 5 players of the current Málaga XI were signed last week