Steau Bucharest…

Free

27/10/2008

…are starting to take the piss. I mean, just how many former players are they going to get a good season out of before disposing of them? News reached me today of Marius Lacataus’ dismissal only to be replaced by Dorinel Munteanu, one of Romania’s most legendary footballers. How long before their chairman sits back and says “Ok, you’ve now got 4 years to turn this club into a club that can fight to progress from the Champions League Group Stage as opposed to the makeweight they currently are”? I firmly believe that if they don’t do that and show a bit of allegiance to one manager then they’ll become a great side like they once were. Let’s not forget that Steau Bucharest have won the Champions League before (or “European Cup” to give it the more accurate title). Whereas I think it’s unlikely they’ll win it again without a massive cash injection, I do think they can give a better performance. Steau Bucharest are currently in a very delicate position domestically too. Whereas they’re never going to stop being arguably Romania’s biggest club, they can be overtaken in the league by either their bitter rivals Dinamo Bucharest or perhaps even the emerging CFR Cluj. So the club needs to establish itself and thus return to their better days. Let’s hope Munteanu has the ability to take the club there!

It’s also interesting to see that Alessandro Costacurta has entered management with Serie B outfit Mantova. I have a lot of respect for the former AC Milan defensive stalwart and his career achievements – I hope he can recreate those achievements at management level.

Anyway, onto the picks now after I’ve bored you all stupid!

Tuesday’s Picks

Argentinian Primera Division:

Estudiantes de la Plata vs Lanus (5)
Tigre vs Independiente (6)
Godoy Cruz de Mendoza vs Huracan (3)
Velez Sarsfeld vs San Martin de Tucuman (6)

Chilean Primera Division:

Universidad de Chile vs Universidad Catolica (6)

Dutch Eredivisie:

Ado Den Haag vs PSV Eindhoven (5)
Roda JC vs AZ Alkmaar (2)
Volendam vs Willem II (6)

English Premier League:

Newcastle United vs West Bromwich Albion (4)

English Championship:

Bristol City vs Sheffield United (6)
Burnley vs Reading (5)
Cardiff City vs Blackpool (6)
Derby County vs Norwich City (6)
Doncaster Rovers vs Barnsley (5)
Ipswich Town vs Charlton Athletic (6)
Preston North End vs Watford (4)
Sheffield Wednesday vs Plymouth Argyle (8)
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Swansea City (7)
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest (7)
Queens Park Rangers vs Birmingham City (6)

English League One:

Brighton vs Leicester City (3)
Carlisle United vs Hartlepool United (5)
Crewe Alexandra vs Peterborough United (6)
Huddersfield Town vs Yeovil Town (6)
Leyton Orient vs Milton Keynes Dons (6)
Millwall vs Hereford United (8)
Northampton Town vs Colchester United (5)
Oldham Athletic vs Scunthorpe United (3)
Southend United vs Leeds United (4)
Stockport County vs Tranmere Rovers (4)
Walsall vs Swindon Town (4)

English League Two:

Aldershot vs Port Vale (7)
Bradford City vs Bury (2)
Chester City vs Brentford
Dagenham & Redbridge vs Grimsby Town (5)
Exeter City vs Chesterfield (7)
Lincoln City vs Gillingham
Luton Town vs Bournemouth (6)
Morecambe vs Accrington Stanley (4)
Notts County vs Rochdale
Rotherham vs Darlington (5)
Shrewsbury vs Barnet (9)
Wycombe Wanderers vs Macclesfield Town (9)

French Ligue 1:

Bordeaux vs Le Havre (7)

German Bundesliga:

Arminia Bielefeld vs Energie Cottbus (5)
Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen (2)
Karlsruhe vs Schalke 04 (6)
Wolfsburg vs Moenchengladbach (5)

Italian Serie B:

Albinoleffe vs Ascoli (7)
Ancona vs Livorno (6)
Brescia vs Salernitana (4)
Cittadella vs Bari (5)
Frosinone vs Piacenza (3)
Grosseto vs Treviso (10)
Parma vs Triestina (3)
Pisa vs Avellino (8)
Rimini vs Mantova (6)
Sassuolo vs Empoli (5)
Vicenza vs Modena (8)

Swedish Allsvenskan:

GAIS Goteborg vs Helsingborgs (6)
Ljungskile vs Malmo (5)

Enjoy

Steau Bucharest…

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