Just when you thought the Gareth Barry transfer talk was over, now comes word from Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill that Barry could still be sold to Liverpool.
Apparently Villa and Barry had a agreed on a deadline by which a transfer would have to be made by. That Wednesday deadline came and went but Barry still wants to leave and is still waiting for Liverpool to come calling with a bag of cash. Whether Liverpool has the money after buying Robbie Keane for $40.5 million remains to be seen.
With Barry still praying to leave Villa I can’t help but wonder what Villa will do once Barry does leave. With the close of the transfer window looming at the end of the month, the longer Barry-Liverpool transfer takes to happen the less time Villa will have to land a replacement.
Toja transfers to Steaua
FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja finally made his highly-publicized move to Steaua Bucharest on Friday, ending weeks of speculation.
Before you go calling the move devastating, I would like to state that Toja hadn’t performed at a truly high level since about August of 2007 and his departure won’t be that detrimental to an FC Dallas squad with other options in the midfield (including newly-signed Viktor Sikora). With rookie Eric Avila showing the promise that had so many people high on him heading into the 2008 MLS draft, and newly-acquired Bruno Guarda expected to compete for time, FC Dallas has done a good job of stockpiling a boat-load of young talent.
Juventus tops Arsenal in Emirates Cup
David Trezeguet scored the lone goal in Juventus’ 1-0 victory against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup on Saturday. Earlier on Saturday, Real Madrid defeated Hamburg, 2-1, with teen standout Daniel Parejo scoring the winner for the Spaniards. Rafael Van Der Vaart, the Hamburg playmaker linked to a move to Real Madrid, did not play.
Share your thoughts on these, and any other stories from Saturday, in the comments section below.
Have fun at Steau Juan. Clubs owned by neo-fascist gangsters are not typically noted for the stable environments or for having the same manager for more than two months.
I agree with SonicDeathMonkey on the moves FCD has made recently. Toja was loafing like he didn’t want to be around, and despite his talent, doesn’t really have a true position. He isn’t responsible enough defensely to play at D-mid, can’t cross at the left side, and doesn’t distribute like a quality A-mid should. Basically, he was effective last year because of his tenacity, which has been absent all season.
And Alvarez is similar in that he doesn’t have the skills necessary to play at a top level at any particular position. He does a lot of things well, but the more you see of him the more you realize the deficiencies. Can’t cross, doesn’t distribute terribly well, plays no defense, and tends to disappear for long periods of time. A first round pick + partial allocation sounds fair to me.
That Sikora (finally someone on FCD that can actually cross a ball) was signed and Guarda acquired in the same week eases the losses. Oh, and Avila already looks like the team’s best (only?) attacking mid since Pareja retired. He needs to put on some muscle though.
Jay-Z- is that an attempt at being original?? i mean, seriously, that hasnt been worn thin yet…
Didn’t Juve beat Man Utd last year in a friendly? Well we know how the Man Utd’s season turned out hehe.
Wow, and Juve played their full strength squad against Arsenal too… give me a break. 5 starters for Juve vs 3 starters for Arsenal.
And Jay-Z, that joke is all played out. Grow up, man. And this coming from a Milan fan.
Not too worried about the Arsenal yet! They were missing key players in the Juve match. It is only the pre-season and Arsene is trying to bleed some of the younger players. I will begin worrying in two weeks. As for now – COME ON YOU GUNNERS!
FORZA JUVE!!!
The latest on Sidwell is that he has a calf strain and might not be ready for the start of the season. I think he’s the replacement for Barry. If O’Neill can sign an actual right back and a quality right winger they, along with Friedel, should help to make up the drop from Barry to Sidwell.
Finishing 6th without an actual right side of the formation was a great accomplishment but MON is crazy if he thinks he can do that again without his 2nd best player.
Arsenal better shape up in time for the regular season…Still waiting for that last midfield signing
Please, Wenger, Please
Convey seemed to have another solid game for Reading against Villa today. He was the only player who played the full 90 and he did it again at left wing. From the match tracker’s seemed like he was consistently in the action. We can only hope that he is back at full strength and can get some of his confidence back.
Brett- Not if you pay for it, it isn’t…
I thought AV had their Barry replacement already: Steve Sidwell.
With their additions, FCD could actually be stronger than they were. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Avila,and the Guarda kid is suppose to be the real deal. Things could not get any worse for them. Maybe this shakeup is what they need.
Zheri – a WIN is a WIN, no matter how you slice it…. JUVE!!!
Lee- alvarez just wasnt impressing the new coach…. it was obvious he was bound to bounce out… Toja wasnt having a stellar season either… he’s talented yes, but producing?? not this season… i dunno when his contract was up either, they may have seen it as a must trade to get something from him scenario
well Dallas sold Toja and Alvarez beccause they were not really producing like they are suppose to; but on the other hand Cooper is.
Dallas doesn’t want to sell Cooper because they want to win championships, yet they trade Alvarez for almost nothing and then sell Toja. FC Dallas is officially full of it.
JUVE! JUVE! JUVE!`
Posted by:brett | August 02, 2008 at 02:41 PM
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Didn’t play too well… Trezeguet was offsides on his goal, too.
JUVE! JUVE! JUVE!`