English Football 2008-2009

[Viking]

Will be interesting to see how he copes, has done well at Milan but only managed one league title. He hasn't had the biggest budget in the last two seasons, and hasn't done especially well - I wonder if he is the guy for rebuilding the aging Chelsea squad.

 

[raidersoftheark]

I rate Ancelotti in Europe. He'll be a step down in the league though. I also don't think he'll do much better than Scolari.

 

[AnthonyG]

Celtic want Swans boss Martinez

Martinez had Swansea playing some nice football this year. It was wild and premature speculation but he was even talked about in some quarters as a possible AFC candidate down the line.

 

[tam1886]

Gareth Barry is in talks with Man City

Realistically, he could be one of a few good options for us, it'd be a shame if Man City get a good price and we decide to pass on him

 

[alonso14]

Gareth Barry is in talks with Man City

his agent is probably talking to a few clubs

I cant see him signing for a side that doesn't guarantee him CL football

 

[Stevo the Villan]

Its a test of his word now. My guess is Man City are giving us a big price and so we've told gareth he can talk with them.

This will show if his "I'll only leave for CL football" is true or not.

 

[Sover]

Bit of a sideways step for Barry, maybe even a step backwards. He'd be better off staying at Villa than going into any Hughes team that could take anything upto 3 years to pull together.

 

[lagos]

Actually I think it is a good move for Barry (and for City) None of the top 4 are going to make a move for him so he was never going to play CL football and Villa have peaked and are not likely to make progress next season, City on the other hand, can only go up

 

[OohtobeaGoonerGal]

***BREAKING NEWS***

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5360063,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 63,00.html</a>

Manchester City have completed the signing of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa in a £12million deal

I can't believe it!

 

[hackajack]

Bit of a sideways step for Barry, maybe even a step backwards. He'd be better off staying at Villa than going into any Hughes team that could take anything upto 3 years to pull together.

That's probably right, they've got to go through the sack-Hughes phase, then knee-jerk past-it big rep manager phase, all of which which wastes a couple of years

 

[nazo]

Did i just read that Barry was signed for 12 million? That's a good price for him actually.

 

[A_Gooner_Matata]

Did i just read that Barry was signed for 12 million? That's a good price for him actually.

His contract expires at the end of the season. He's not really top four quality. I think the price is about right (I wouldn't pay more than that for him).

 

[xcdude24]

What does everyone make of these Adams to Celtic rumors? I still doubt his quality as a manager.

<a class="postlink" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8079665.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 079665.stm</a>

 

[A_Gooner_Matata]

What does everyone make of these Adams to Celtic rumors? I still doubt his quality as a manager.

<a class="postlink" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8079665.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/footbal ... 079665.stm</a>" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Me too. I'd be astonished if his next management position wasn't lower league (like Roy Keane has gone back to basics with Ipswich). I hate to say it, but Big Tone at Celtic would be a recipe for disaster and I really don't want him to have another high-profile flop.

 

[lagos]

I really hate to diss a legend but my first thought (not being too familiar with the scotish league) was "are Celtic that bad?"

 

[Shredder]

Had to laugh when I saw the headline "Latest figures show Premier League clubs owe £3.1bn" accompanied by the following image:

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/02/premier-league-clubs-debt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... clubs-debt</a>