Had to explain to some dumbass why Jordi Alba is 100x the footballer Adriano is @ the poker table tonight. I don't know if the guy was just trying to purposely put me on tilt but you will get your argument privileges revoked saying such non-sense.

Originally Posted by Future Half the players that i mentioned trained at other clubs before being bought....[pic] I completely forgot about Messi......[pic][pic][pic] And i was doing my list based on last 5-7 years....I believe Fabregas was bought by Arsenal in 03..... [pic]

They all played on the same youth team, that was the point.

[pic] @ Alba being a Valencia youth product.

crouches was quite abit better, but still a great goal by cisse

Cisse da god stylin' on my squad [pic] gotta win the CL now.

Cisse and Modric goals today [pic][pic][pic]

Originally Posted by Gramz They all played on the same youth team, that was the point. [pic] @ Alba being a Valencia youth product.

Most of the players on my list were bought by those teams when they were 15-16 years of age....Does that mean they didn't come from their youth systems? You don't see a lot of players being grown by their youth systems since they were 6-8 years of age. Thiago was bought from Fluimense when he was 15-16....but people consider him La Masia product. Alaba n Chesney were bought at around the same age and broke thru those youth systems. I don't see why you would have a problem with that. [pic]

68 goals for Messi with 3 games to go, surely he cant score more goals than this next season (i thought he and Ronaldo couldnt get more than what they had last year).

Messi will break 70 n Ronaldo will break 60.....

[pic] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBtxqONZ6F0

Cristiana gracious in defeat and in victory. What a class act.

At least we know one club Javi Martínez won't sign with for next year.

Originally Posted by Dy-lan Cisse da god stylin' on my squad [pic] gotta win the CL now.

[pic]

Originally Posted by Gramz Cristiana gracious in defeat and in victory. What a class act. At least we know one club Javi Martínez won't sign with for next year.

he won't do this kinda sh!t out of blue

someone definitely provoked him

p. cisse is fuking scary...mancini sh!ttin brricks as we speak

Originally Posted by Ole-G he won't do this kinda sh!t out of blue someone definitely provoked him p. cisse is fuking scary...mancini sh!ttin brricks as we speak

like gramz was going to give the full story [pic]

On a final note, the San Mamés crowd had a very hostile reaction to Cristiano Ronaldo, which led the Portuguese player to also respond in a few occasions. Starting with the shameful and provoking chants of "That Portuguese, son of a **** he is...", or simply throwing lighters and other objects to the field, it has to be said that the crowd really disappointed us. That being said, Ronaldo probably should have known better, but he ended up losing a bit of his emotional control, by responding to some of those provocations, first by pointing to Real Madrid and La Liga's badge and later on, just after the final whistle, by reacting to Javi Martínez who decided to ran into him to exchange a few words. This time, Cristiano Ronaldo had a typical Portuguese gesture called "Manguito", which basically means he told Javi Martínez to "shove it" and deal with it.

Lucas Barrios signs for a Chinese Club [pic]

Originally Posted by Lay Lucas Barrios signs for a Chinese Club [pic]

What a waste....he was kinda decent for sometime. [pic]

Sol Campbell retired....Man I remember this man was one of the best defenders in the world.....great player

LA LIGA CHAMPIONS!!!!! [pic]

Originally Posted by Lay Lucas Barrios signs for a Chinese Club [pic]

money talks [pic]

The worst signings of the season

10. Charlie Adam (Liverpool, £7.5 million)

When[..]essing Charlie Adam's season, it is worth remembering Liverpool did not need to sign a central midfield passer. Adam was recruited in a summer in which they sold Raul Meireles and loaned out Alberto Aquilani. Nine months later, the Scot still seems best suited to Blackpool, to having a team built around him, rather than Liverpool, where he has struggled to dovetail with greater talents. The set-pieces Sir Alex Ferguson once described as being worth £10 million have been a grave disappointment while the playmaker has struggled to dictate games. Though many of Liverpool's poorer results have occurred in his absence, it is hard to claim they have actually missed Adam.

9. Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa, £10 million)
While Stewart Downing may be mocked elsewhere, the Villa Park faithful could be forgiven for feeling nostalgic for the days he manned the flanks. His successor, Charles N'Zogbia, was brought in as a replacement for both Downing and Ashley Young and was Villa's marquee summer signing. A return of two goals and three[..]ists all season is one sign he has failed; another is that he has been on a bench otherwise populated by untried rookies while Villa have had injury problems. The mercurial Frenchman has proved both unsuccessful in and unhappy with manager Alex McLeish's defensive brand of football.

8. Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, £16 million)
Normally, being a near ever-present is a sign a footballer has excelled. Yet no Liverpool player has made more appearances this season than Jordan Henderson and he is no nearer to justifying an inflated fee that could rise still further to £20 million. Of course, Henderson's price tag is not his fault but, despite occasional glimpses of talent, such a costly signing ought to deliver more. It hardly helps that he has been played just off a sole striker and on the right wing, neither his best position.

7. Myles Anderson (Blackburn, free)
Not just a poor signing, but also a perplexing one as far as supporters were concerned. Steve Kean likened him to Chris Smalling when signing a player who made a solitary appearance for Aberdeen. Since then, Anderson has not played at all for Blackburn. Neither, for that matter, has full-back Bruno Ribeiro, described as a Brazilian Denis Irwin when recruited. Neither even got on the bench when Rovers had five defenders out injured, so why sign them?

6. Stefan Savic (Manchester City, £6 million)
If one game summed up Stefan Savic's season, it was surely the Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Anfield when he was hauled off at half-time. The conclusion, then and all too often, appeared to be that the Montenegrin is a liability, that whatever talent he possesses, he is too callow and error-prone to be risked. He has not featured in the league since playing in the 1-0 loss to Swansea which, coincidentally or not, might have been City's worst performance of the season and has appeared in a disproportionate number of their domestic defeats.

5. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, £18 million)
It can be easy to criticise the super-rich for spending money without really thinking things through, but sometimes it is fair enough. Consider the case of Romelu Lukaku, who cost more than Swansea paid for their entire squad and has played a mere 83 minutes' Premier League football this season. With a team happiest playing one out-and-out striker and in a squad that also includes Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge and Salomon Kalou - plus, for half a season, Nicolas Anelka - it was always hard to see where Lukaku would figure. As it is, the giant has been virtually invisible. Include Thibaut Courtois and Kevin de Bruyne, both out on loan, and Chelsea have spent more than £30 million on Belgians who have not played. They may prove astute long-term investments, but in the short term, they have had a negligible impact.

4. Shaun Wright-Phillips (QPR, £2.5 million)
There is a temptation to choose Djibril Cisse, whose five QPR appearances have brought two red cards, but at least the temperamental Frenchman has contributed on the rare occasions he has managed to stay on the pitch. Shaun Wright-Phillips, on the other hand, has achieved virtually nothing, whether on the right, the left or playing just off the attack. While Jamie Mackie's recovery from a badly-broken leg has been one of the more heartening stories of the season, it has had an added benefit for Rangers: it has enabled them to leave Wright-Phillips on the bench.

3. Stewart Downing (Liverpool, £20 million)
It beggars belief that, after 32 games, a £20 million winger still has not scored or created a goal in the Premier League this season. Perhaps, in some ways, Stewart Downing epitomises Liverpool: by the law of averages, something surely should have gone in, even if it was the product of a mi!!. Yet the damning statistics are not the only indications Downing has failed. He appears to lack both the mentality to play for Liverpool and the pace to get beyond defenders. Liverpool supporters who want to depress themselves might ponder how such a huge sum could have been better spent.

2. Scott Dann (Blackburn, £7.7 million)
Go back to last summer and Scott Dann seemed a man in demand. Liverpool and Arsenal were allegedly interested, so it seemed a coup when Blackburn signed him at the end of the transfer window. Now it looks another of the mistakes that could cost Rovers their Premier League status. Secure in a well-drilled and rigorously-screened Birmingham back four last season, Dann has been exposed and embarrassed at Ewood Park. Examine the many goals that Blackburn have conceded and all too often he is culpable. The ruptured testicle he suffered in December may have seemed the most painful part of his season, but arguably his defending has caused more anguish.

1. Roger Johnson (Wolves, £7 million)
Wolves' relegation to the Championship is largely attributable to two disastrous decisions: firstly, sacking Mick McCarthy and ending up with Terry Connor as his replacement and, secondly, the former manager's move to make Roger Johnson his biggest buy and new captain. So reliable alongside Scott Dann at Birmingham, they sit side by side again in this list. But while Dann has been dreadful, Johnson has been worse. He has turned up drunk for training, almost come to blows on the field with team-mate Wayne Hennessey and, rather than improving the defence, has not even merited a place in it.

The best signings of the season


10. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, £38 million)
There are fewer excuses for failure when paying out huge fees, but Manchester City certainly chose wisely when signing Aguero. The Argentine has allied speed, skill and deadly finishing in a year where his class has been a constant. He is closing in on 30 goals and while all of City's other strikers can be faulted - Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli for their temperament, Edin Dzeko for his performances - Aguero could end the season as top scorer for the champions.

9. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea, loan)
It is a problem many managers never experience but a loan signing who does too well can be troublesome. Sigurdsson's eye for goal may make it harder for Swansea to recruit the Icelander on a permanent contract. However, it has also taken City safely into mid-table and enabled them to add incision to their trademark passing game. Indeed, Brendan Rodgers was bold in introducing Sigurdsson, omitting a less adventurous midfielder and reaping the rewards in the shape of seven goals.

8. Nikica Jelavic (Everton, £5.5 million)
It is fashionable to mock the Scottish Premier League but, as David Moyes has proved, scouting trips north of the border can profitable. Former Rangers striker Jelavic has been a revelation in his brief Everton career, finishing with ice-cool composure and delivering on the big stage, whether an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool or a trip to Old Trafford. Together with another inspired January signing, Steven Pienaar, he has restored optimism to Goodison Park and it is telling that not since 1912 had an Everton player reached ten goals in as few minutes as the Croatian.

7. Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle, £4.5 million)
Even at the time, the fee seemed ridiculously low. Cabaye was a France international who, with Lille, had just won Ligue 1. Now the whole deal seems too good to be true: Cabaye has dovetailed perfectly with Cheik Tiote, providing the brains to complement the Ivorian's brawn. A fine technician, he has shown the ability to pick a pass and, when shifted into a more advanced role by Alan Pardew in recent weeks, proved capable of scoring. And, like Newcastle, he is showing signs of peaking at the business end of the season.

6. Michel Vorm (Swansea, £1.5 million)
A week before the start of the season, Swansea City still did not have a goalkeeper to replace the departed Dorus de Vries. Then Vorm arrived, excelled on his debut at Manchester City and the notion that the newcomers would be the division's whipping boys started to look more unlikely. Arguably, the Dutchman was at his best in the opening months of the campaign, helping Swansea acquire momentum. As a footballing 'keeper, he suits Swansea's style of play. As a penalty specialist, he ensures opponents cannot be too confident when they get a chance from 12 yards.

5. James McClean (Sunderland, £350,000)
The mere mention of Steve Bruce's name can prompt criticism, but the former manager has, albeit indirectly, played a significant role in Sunderland's revival under Martin O'Neill. For the first half of the season, it seemed the free-transfer acquisition of Sebastian Larsson was Bruce's best bit of business. But, while the Swede has continued to impress, he has been overshadowed by McClean. The Irishman debuted in O'Neill's first game - Bruce had parked him in the reserves to allow him to acclimatise to life at Sunderland - and has meant that left wing is no longer the Black Cats' problem position. Strong, direct and a fine crosser, he is worth many times the minuscule amount Bruce paid for him.

4. Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, free)
In its own way, Bellamy's success damns the former director of football Damien Comolli. While spending vast amounts on underachievers, Liverpool, without paying a fee, made one of the signings of the season. Bellamy is probably the best finisher at Anfield, a fast, feisty force who can be deployed either on the left or as the central striker. His monumental performance against Manchester City took Liverpool to the Carling Cup final and his free kick led to Andy Carroll's FA Cup semi-final winner. He has been underused, but that is not his fault.

3. Yakubu (Blackburn, £1.5 million)
It was no secret Yakubu was available. Loaned out to Leicester last season, unwanted at Everton, the consensus was that he was finished as a force in the Premier League. So his success this season must rank as one of the strangest elements of Blackburn's surreal season. The Nigerian has been an ever-present in the top scorers' chart, and arguably none of his rivals has been quite as cool a finisher. His brace against Manchester United brought one of the year's shock results and, in the unlikely event Blackburn do survive, they will do so principally because they fed 'the Yak' and he scored.

2. Papiss Demba Cisse (Newcastle, £9 million)
Such statistics are more meaningful after a long career but, in Premier League history, no one has a better goal-per-minute ratio than Cisse. An extraordinary volley against Chelsea may be the Senegalese's best strike but a natural scorer is best measured by the total and significance of his goals. If they propel Newcastle into next season's Champions League, his £9 million fee will have been repaid many times over. As it is, he is testament to the acumen of manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr.

1. Demba Ba (Newcastle, free)
Cisse has taken over as Newcastle's finisher now, but it should not be forgotten that Ba provided them with their initial impetus and that he helped rebrand them as the cleverest operators in the transfer market. After the 2011 sales of Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll, their two premier goalscorers, Newcastle had not spent a fee on a striker until Cisse's January arrival. Yet in the meantime, Ba's golden run of 15 goals in 15 games ensured Carroll was not missed and Pardew's side were a constant at the upper end of the table.

Roger Johnson used to play for my local side (was the captain) in League 2. He was never ever Premiership material. Championship at best. The fact he went for £7m and that his wife has to complain about his lack of games on Twitter is even more laughable.