The World of Football/Soccer.

[ukhotstove]

Europa League qualification tonight, couple of big shocks have happened so far in the first legs. Minsk were red hot favourites against Renova but only managed a 2-1 home win, S Belupo were also red hot favourites at home to Birkirkara but only take a 1-0 lead into the second leg but probably biggest shock is Helsingborg being held to a 1-1 scoreline at home against MIKA with only 13 minutes left on the clock.

[ukhotstove]

Game of the day probably goes to Internacional 2 - 2 Corinthians in Brazil, game of two halves with Corinthians taking a first half 2-0 lead only for Internacional making it 2-2 in the second half throw in a couple of red cards and seem's like a decent game.

[ukhotstove]

Helsingborg left it late with 2 goals in the last four minutes to make it 3-1, another big shock taking place with Motherwell trailing Llanelli 1-0 at home.

[ukhotstove]

How times have changed, there was once a time when the nearest thing to a foreign player playing for Wigan Athletic was a Scot or an Irish player. Today Wigan signed Hendry Thomas who becomes the third Honduran to play for them after Palacios (Now at Spurs) and Figueroa, we now have players from Honduras, Holland, Senegal, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Spain, France, Ghana, Austria and Colombia how times have changed.

[ukhotstove]

Owen to United ?

At first I thought it was crazy but then when you look at in depth it isn't such a bad idea after all in fact could be perfect for both United and Owen, United get a proven goalscorer and yes before you say he's an injury waiting to happen (which he is) he wouldn't be their first choice forward or even their second choice, he'd be someone who would start only to rest a player and would be on the bench most of the time.

Also it would give Owen that spark, come on if you can't find a spark playing for United then you may as well quit. If they can get him on a cheap weekly wage and build his contract with a bonus system this could be a decent signing, don't forget he's only 29.

[Tommysixfingers]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Helsingborg left it late with 2 goals in the last four minutes to make it 3-1.

Larsson scored twice to save the day for them.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

Larsson scored twice to save the day for them.

37 and still as good as most forwards, I'd have him in a heartbeat at Wigan.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Owen to United ?

At first I thought it was crazy but then when you look at in depth it isn't such a bad idea after all in fact could be perfect for both United and Owen, United get a proven goalscorer and yes before you say he's an injury waiting to happen (which he is) he wouldn't be their first choice forward or even their second choice, he'd be someone who would start only to rest a player and would be on the bench most of the time.

Also it would give Owen that spark, come on if you can't find a spark playing for United then you may as well quit. If they can get him on a cheap weekly wage and build his contract with a bonus system this could be a decent signing, don't forget he's only 29.

I didn't see this coming either, but I think it's well worth a punt. It's coming through now that he's got a two-year deal with them.

[Tommysixfingers]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Owen to United ?

At first I thought it was crazy but then when you look at in depth it isn't such a bad idea after all in fact could be perfect for both United and Owen, United get a proven goalscorer and yes before you say he's an injury waiting to happen (which he is) he wouldn't be their first choice forward or even their second choice, he'd be someone who would start only to rest a player and would be on the bench most of the time.

Also it would give Owen that spark, come on if you can't find a spark playing for United then you may as well quit. If they can get him on a cheap weekly wage and build his contract with a bonus system this could be a decent signing, don't forget he's only 29.

Good points made. I can also see a "Solskjaer kind of role" for Owen, backing Rooney and Berbatov.

[bababui]

Owen is a selfish player. He didnt play well with Rooney for England and probably wont here. He likes to poach goals and doesnt try to set up the other striker. He needs to be at a place where he can be the man.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by bababui

Owen is a selfish player. He didnt play well with Rooney for England and probably wont here. He likes to poach goals and doesnt try to set up the other striker. He needs to be at a place where he can be the man.

There isn't a team in any of the top European leagues where that would be the case right now, though, sad to say. If he couldn't lead the line effectively at Newcastle, where could he?

[rudel.dietrich]

I hate the term 'poach goals' it almost makes it sound like scoring goals is a bad thing. Some of the most prolific goal scorers of all time were poachers. Off the ball skills are some of the most important skills for strikers. Ronaldo and Gerd Muller were fantastic 'poachers' in their day.

Owen was for a time a world class player but sadly knee injuries tore apart his carrer. That last devastating injury reduced his speed drasticly.
He is still an excellent mental player with good finishing skills. I have always thought he would fit well in Serie A or maybe even in a 'lesser' league like Holland or Portugal.

[bababui]

Look at the England striker combos Rooney/Heskey and Rooney/Owen. Rooney/Heskey usually worked better because Heskey is a guy who will also look to set up the other striker while the Rooney/Owen pairing failed because Owen wont.

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by bababui

Look at the England striker combos Rooney/Heskey and Rooney/Owen. Rooney/Heskey usually worked better because Heskey is a guy who will also look to set up the other striker while the Rooney/Owen pairing failed because Owen wont.

I think Rooney/Owen failed because they are two somewhat similar players. Both are good strong mental strikers who will not wow you with athleticism (unless you count strength).
Personaly I feel the best tactic it to play two polar opposites at striker. One who is fast and can latch onto through balls and the other who has good off the ball skills and 'poaching' skills who can come in after the play and receive a pass or pick up a rebound and put it away.

But anyways I doubt it matters at this point, Owen is done as a international player.

[bababui]

I think Owen would have done better to sign at a Bolton/West Ham situation where he would have gotten plenty of playing time and maybe his form would return. But I guess he chased the money and fame.

[rudel.dietrich]

I agree, I think he would have done better at either Aston Villa or Everton. Besides money I don't know why he wants to be a part time player.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I agree, I think he would have done better at either Aston Villa or Everton. Besides money I don't know why he wants to be a part time player.

I agree. I dont think he could have been a starter at Aston Villa. Man U is now a far weaker team. They will have a very hard time pulling out those tight matches without the goal creating ability of Ronaldo from basically anywhere within 30 meters of the goal. And they will miss the energetic spark of Tevez. Defenses now will concentrate much more on Rooney and Berbatov.

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by bababui

Man U is now a far weaker team. They will have a very hard time pulling out those tight matches without the goal creating ability of Ronaldo from basically anywhere within 30 meters of the goal. And they will miss the energetic spark of Tevez. Defenses now will concentrate much more on Rooney and Berbatov.

Bit hard to miss a player who spent virtually every significant match getting splinters in his backside. Basically they’ve swapped Ronaldo for Valencia, and that makes them a better balanced side. Valencia isn’t much of an offensive downgrade, but is light years ahead defensively. That will allow the likes of Anderson to play his natural role. United won’t be anything like as predictable next season. Ronaldo was a real anchor this past season. Next year they can actually get full value from the creativity of the likes Carrick, Anderson and Berbatov rather than have Ronaldo getting into everything and running down blind avenues. There is a reason United have struggled to create chances in open play.


As for missing Ronaldo’s free kicks I can only assume that comment comes from people who only recall highlights. Sure he hits a beauty when he gets it right, but his conversion ratio was nothing special. In fact I’m adamant United would have got more goals from free kicks if Ronaldo was sent into the box and they crossed it in for Ronaldo and Vidic. That is where United will massively miss Ronaldo’s presence. He was great in the air, and he was a great outlet ball. Everything else was eye candy, oft counter-productive eye candy at that. The rare occasions when United flowed last year saw Ronaldo playing a more direct game, and that is exactly what Valencia will try to provide each week.

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

I agree, I think he would have done better at either Aston Villa or Everton. Besides money I don't know why he wants to be a part time player.

Owen has always been rubbish when less than match fit. That was true when he was a teenager, and is certainly true today. At smaller clubs he has to play semi-fit, with the resultant negative image and loss of confidence. At United he’ll be able to spend time in the stiffs when needed and will be allowed to take time out to heal properly rather than be rushed back to deal with the latest crisis. It makes perfect footballing sense for Owen, and in fact I suspect it will probably cost him money given the inevitable large portion of his wage tied in with appearances.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by zoraster

Bit hard to miss a player who spent virtually every significant match getting splinters in his backside. Basically they’ve swapped Ronaldo for Valencia, and that makes them a better balanced side. Valencia isn’t much of an offensive downgrade, but is light years ahead defensively. That will allow the likes of Anderson to play his natural role. United won’t be anything like as predictable next season. Ronaldo was a real anchor this past season. Next year they can actually get full value from the creativity of the likes Carrick, Anderson and Berbatov rather than have Ronaldo getting into everything and running down blind avenues. There is a reason United have struggled to create chances in open play.


As for missing Ronaldo’s free kicks I can only assume that comment comes from people who only recall highlights. Sure he hits a beauty when he gets it right, but his conversion ratio was nothing special. In fact I’m adamant United would have got more goals from free kicks if Ronaldo was sent into the box and they crossed it in for Ronaldo and Vidic. That is where United will massively miss Ronaldo’s presence. He was great in the air, and he was a great outlet ball. Everything else was eye candy, oft counter-productive eye candy at that. The rare occasions when United flowed last year saw Ronaldo playing a more direct game, and that is exactly what Valencia will try to provide each week.

A few good points, one thing I will add and that's you will not see Valencia throwing his hands up and slowley making his way back to defend like Ronaldo did on many occasions. The one point I will highlight that Zoraster makes is they will miss Ronaldo's heading ability and because of that teams will have less danger men to mark on set pieces.