yes, but traditionally, malnutrition has also played a role in limiting the pool of available athletes. i wanted to mention this the other day but didn't want to pile on.

e.g.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americ...055804722.html

now they're also on the other side of malnutrition, a country more obese than the US

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...ms.html?pg=all

it's fucked up.

Good to see a fan's point of view on the Billic thing. As for the Europa Cup, it's pretty much a curse for any team who gets into it. The clubs in it aren't usually blessed with big squads that can handle that and the league. Plus you've now got Russian teams involved which is a hell of a lot more travel thn travlling to say Spain or whereever. Hate it.

Mourinho has said Chelsea won't bid any more for the Everton defender Stones (last bid was £26 mill)l. Man, am I glad about that. Now all Martinez needs to buy is just one defender and another striker.

so you're sticking with martinez after all? good. i like the guy.

BTW, The Guardians team-by-team preview for the Premier League has been brillint so far. Worth a read, even if just for a couple of the teams that interest you.

Lefty paper

Aye. Not sure how this season is going to go though. I'm not even wanting to make a prediction on it.

EDIT:In fact I'd go as far as to say I'm dreading the season start.

Big season for Martinez but if you do struggle I think it'll be more to do with Kenwright spending so much time trying to keep the players you already have that you won't have strengthened enough. Deulofeu looks good but Cleverley?

The teams around you are spending heavily and you could fall behind a bit. I think you'll ultimately be safe but can see this being a very hard season for both of us.

No idea about relegation but I can see this being a good season for Arsenal. With Costas's hamstring flairing up again, Mourinho may well find his faith in Falcao biting him, especially as he's hardly made of iron himself, even if he does get some of his form back. Same for Man City. Aguerro's brilliant but where's their cover if/when he gets injured?

or, you could buy what they're selling off, cheap, because there's nobody else left to buy above them, and hit them with their own former players

What do you mean?

a kind of "what goes up must go down"

a team cannot buy every player in existence, so in order to buy someone they have to get rid of someone--right?

when top teams unload, in average they shouldn't be able tounload for a higher price than they themselves would pay-- because they're the top bidders. i'm not saying that they might not be able to sell a star or two for a high price, but given that other teams can pay less than they do, they need to sell at an agreeable price to buyers.

so, basically, all you need to do to outfit a top team is to attend the yardsales of big spenders. kinda like shopping at a thrift store in a rich neighborhood. and then you turn around and beat them with their own ex-players.

There's lots of reasons why that never happens, chief among them being the loans system. Big teams don't have to sell. They can stockpile as many players as they can afford and then just farm those they don't need out on loan. Sometimes those loans turn into permanent deals (Lukaku at Everton started there as a loanee from Chelsea) but most of the time they just provide cover for a season or two until they're recalled, usually to be loaned somewhere else. Chelsea alone have about 30 players currently out on loan.

holy shit, 30????

see, a quick way to restore parity should be to limit the roster size. not just of active players but also the loaners.

best time to buy a great 2nd hand car is when everyone is buying new ones

I personally think loans should be outlawed altogether. Besides the negative effect it has on smaller teams, in terms of the actual players involved it feels like little more than a slave trade. If a team owns a player then he should be counted as part of their squad.

that's bananas. bayern had 7 in and 7 out. some of those are loans.

i just saw the transfer log for chelsea this season and it looks insane.

===

and fox soccer 2go finally has bundesliga on!!!

german supercup today -- wolfsburg vs. bayern -- a great starter for the year

ah... looking forward to this season... finally able to watch bundesliga the right way... no more bullcaca streams...

apparently the FA community shield will also be on

The big news here is actually how little business Chelsea are doing. Which only goes to show how busy they've been in the past.


Not a match I usually bother with but this year it looks quite intriguing. Arsenal will be making a genuine bid for the title but Wenger really struggles tactically against Mourinho. If he can beat him tomorrow it'll be a real statement.

yeah i remember their tiff last year, can't recall what match, and wenger looking really angry. did they almost get physical? their interactions should be broadcast separately ha ha ha ha.

Some pushing, mostly from Wenger. He genuinely dislikes Mourinho.

Although I'm nervous about how West Ham will do I'm really looking forward to this season. Seems wide open at the top and the bottom ends of the Prem. I really like the look of Arsenal this season but something about them always makes me think they'll ultimately fall short. But if they can tighten up at the back they could be a real force.

vidal in for thiago!

bayern ahead 1-0

--

and now wolfsburg ahead in penalty kicks!

..


...aaaaaaand wolfsburg wins, ha ha ha ha.

oh, pep oh pep oh pep!

How has Thiago generally done at Bayern?

was hurt last year mostly. today i only realized he was there when he was subbed out.

That'll explain why I'd heard nothing about him for so long. Wasn't he meant to be Pep's big statement signing when he first got there?