Punk77

Cult hero? I reserve that for players that are below par, but who still manages to contribute to the club. Tiote is God, and I see him as our captain in a couple of years.

Of course. But MA and Pardew were originally not prepared to sell him. But then that ludicrous offer came along. And NUFC was prepared to give Carroll a new contract. But he demanded to be the best paid player in the club. Something he probably said as a result of being "advised" by his agent. The sale of Carroll could actually be one of the reasons why we now have tied Tiote up for 6,5 years. If he's now sold, it will be a price that reflects his sacredness!

:fwap:

My god! Him signing could be so bloody important for the outcome of Enrique and Barton too. He may be a shy fellow off the pitch, but on the pitch he's captain material.

That's may be the reality, but it's still wrong. If they were paid more, less overtime is needed. And for Nike, increasing to minimum pay is a minimal economical expense.

That was back in the 90s. Nike has cleaned up their act significantly. http://www.ehow.com/about_5485125_nike-sweatshops.html

From an ethical perspective I prefer Puma or Adidas. They are two brands who is fairly known for treating their workforce with respect, while Nike treat them like s***. Or to be more precise: Nike consist only of an administrative apparatus. The actual production is outsourced to pettiest bidders. So you can imagine the profit and the working conditions.

Shephard knew football? He made some BAD footballing decisions and ran the club into the highest debt its ever known. Handing out wages to footballers who had already peaked and were on a downward trend, not omce thinking to himself "if we bought younger players, we would spend less on wages" He was f***ed up man. And he withdrew money from the club on yearly basis, despite its horrible economical situation.

www.kitbag.com

On a general basis: Quality: Adidas>Puma Design: Adidas<Puma

Next season, it will be nr 10 though....Me want!

Kevo: You're indirectly saying that who's your manger has not a significant effect on how you develop as player. You're completely ignoring the importance of being taught by one of the world's best managers. You're attributing every accomplishment of Ronaldo to his internal talent. By so doing you're making the classical attribution error. Look at how Ronaldo was the first season compared to how he played when he left Man U. Some of that improvement can be attributed to Ronaldo's own hard work. But most of it can be attributed to the fact that he was TAUGHT by some of the best football brains known to man. Accordingly the variables talent and being taught by the right persons are mutually dependent on each other: On the on hand, Ronaldo could have not achieved what he's done today without being taught correctly. But on the other hand, without the talent, SAF could have soaked Ronaldo in knowledge without getting results

Noone was comparing the two talents ya big fanny fart. I likend Arfa to the young Ronaldo, needed development. Ronaldo wasn't the complete article when he signed for Man U, fergie had to work with him. Exactly! That's what I've tried to explain all along.

You're completely missing the picture. First :the only reason why we got HBA, was because of his reputation as a difficult player. Second, do you actually think that as long as you got talent, that is enough? You need proper guidance. Ronaldo received that under SAF. You can be as talented as you like, but you will never realize it to full potential if you don't have the correct people around you. It was under the tutorship of SAF that Ronaldo became "classed as one of the best footballers in the word." If you remove SAF from the equation, Ronaldo could easily have been just another big talent who never realized himself to full extent..And as you probably remember, Ronaldo did not have great start on his career in Man U..But SAF saw the potential and developed him into the player he's today

That's bullshit.. HBA is suffering from the same problem as Ronaldo, fondness of the ball. SAF is the best antidote for that problem. Talent wise, HBA is just as big a talent as Ronaldo. It's his mentality that has stopped him from realizing his potential. No other man could convince me otherwise. I'll rather die before admitting HBA is inferior to Ronaldo He is inferior. You've already admitted to not watching much of him, yet you're certain he is/can be better than probably the second best player in the world. Insane. In all my eagerness, I have been less precise. What I'm being trying to say is this: TALENT-wise HBA has just the same potential as Ronaldo, or even more. But HBA has no been able to release this talent, because of his fragile mentality and lack of good guidance. As of today, Ronaldo is a better footballer than HBA yes. I on the other hand argue that HBA has the POTENTIAL of becoming just as good, or better, if he gets correct guidance. Ronaldo would have been half the player he is today if it wasn't for SAF. HBA on the other hand has not benifited from the advice from one of the greatest managers of all time. Imagine where he could have been if he had..

They're similar talent wise. Crronaldo became direct and effective under SAF. The first season he was just about dribbling, never passing the ball. SAf taught him how to be direct. And that''s what HBA lacks in his game. But abilities with the ball, speed etc is practically identical. I'm arguing that HBA is just as skillfull, but haven't received good enough guidance to release his potential fully. If he had been taught by SAF, he would have been just as good as Ronaldo..

That's bullshit.. HBA is suffering from the same problem as Ronaldo, fondness of the ball. SAF is the best antidote for that problem. Talent wise, HBA is just as big a talent as Ronaldo. It's his mentality that has stopped him from realizing his potential. No other man could convince me otherwise. I'll rather die before admitting HBA is inferior to Ronaldo

I disagree, HBA has more talent than Ronaldo. Notice eg at how Ronaldo dribbles: Unlike Zidane, Messi and HBA, he never looks at the opponent before making a move. Instead he whirls with his feet in high speed, hoping that will make the opponent dizzy. Zidane and HBA on the other hand makes their move while they at the same time watches the opponent: that means that if the opponent goes to HBA's left, HBA will go to the right. That's why HBA, Zidane or Messi can surpass a player with just one single movements, while Ronaldo has to use many faints to achieve this. Also as I mentioned above, SAF deserves a huge credit for developing him. Man U's play suited Ronaldo perfectly in the end. Fast play forward and few touches led to him constantly receiving the ball in a position where the opponent was disorganized. Now In Real Madrid he's a bit back to his old habits. Shooting instead of passing to players in obvious better positions. SAF would never allowed that. And another important thing, HBA has never benefited from SAF's wisdom. I'm pretty sure that if HBA had been placed under his wings a few years back, he would have flourished just as Ronaldo, or even more.

You infidel! Someone punish this man! Were you a regular watcher of his full games in France? I must confess I have not been a regular watcher. I first got my eyes on him when he played CL. From those matches and videos on the tube, I have on single impression of him: He's an outstanding talent, but he sometimes loves the ball too much. He eases past 2 players, but instead of passing he then goes for the 3rd and 4th player and subsequently looses the ball. He suffers in other words from the Ronaldo syndrome. What SAF tought Ronaldo, that took him to another level as a player, was the skill of when it's appropriate to pass and when you should dribble. If HBA is able to learn this with us, I honestly believe he will play for Barca or Real Madrid in a couple of seasons. His talent is very rare. Few players have that touch he possesses. Is this a correct picture of him?

You infidel! Someone punish this man!

I heard rumors that one of the reasons why he signed for us was that he was promised his favorite position: AM. And I think Ben Arfa could do much more damage in that position than as LM. His acceleration and touch are beyond belief. A cd is fucked if HBA comes directly at him. The worst thing he could do in such a situation is to back off. That will invite HBA into the box, and we've seen his shot. So the cd has no other alternative than to pressure him. But that disrupts the defense line and a room opens up for other players to run in, enabling HBA to pass them through. However, when the defense line is disorganized, HBA will have few problems dancing through. If HBA on the other hand is on the LM, it's easier to contain him. Like with Bale, the opponent rm and rb must not give him room, and always double up and lead him to the edges of the pitch, forcing him to cross, leaving the cd with the job of clearing them.

Zhirkov had some impressive matches in CL for his previous team. Tbh, I''m a bit skeptical to Cisse. Hasn't he been in a fight with HBA?

:clap:

Gamerio doesn't fit that well either if we're going to play 4-4-1-1. According to Wiki he's only 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) tall. Without having seen any games, it's easy to assume that because of his height, he's no holding attacker. If HBA plays am next season, it's essential that the attacker is able to keep the ball so the rest of the team has time to move upwards. Shola has done this brilliantly in some games, away against Arse for example. 4-4-1-1 generally demands much from our new attacker: He needs to move much too and he should have an eye for the good pass when our midfield overlaps him. Speed is also preferable, that will make it easier for him to utilize the killer passes from HBA.

So shall I continue using it then?