EPL Gossip Thread [Archive] - Page 12 - RedFlagDeals.com Forums

Fimo

Feb 8th, 2012, 09:50 AM

Suarez isn't just a racist thug, he's a rabid animal

LOL! Don't you love it when someone on RFD takes the moral high ground especially when it comes to racism? Most Man Yoo fans will call him racist, but the FA's Independent Committee didn't find him racist and also had no concrete evidence, OTHER than Evra's claims, that Suarez was racially abusive numerous times, he even said that Suarez used the word n****r and then later changed his story. Also lets not forget Suarez was found "guilty" on a probability and not without reasonable doubt, yeah we'll see how that stands up in a proper court of law, the FA are a bunch of clowns as has been evident with both cases of Suarez and Terry, they have no clue, which is why England will never win anything anytime soon.

I don't think there's as much wrong with Suarez as the media make it seem. The FA ban was a joke, they were hellbent on making an example of him from the first Evra moan about racism. Now people are examining him under a microscope to see if he slips up again. +1

The kick to Parker's stomach was simply stupid though. Suarez should have known better, because 90% of the time that's a red.
+1

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/SPORT/Pix/pictures/2012/2/8/1328713968140/Howard-Hobson-007.jpg

A Manchester United fan who shouted racist abuse at a black player has been fined £200 and banned from football matches for three years.

Howard Hobson, 57, shouted the abuse and made monkey noises at Stoke City's Trinidad-born player Kenwyne Jones during the first half at Old Trafford on 31 January, Trafford magistrates court heard.

The defendant was asked to explain his actions by JPs after pleading guilty to a single charge of a racially aggravated public order offence.

"I'm not racist," he told the bench. "I have coloured people in my family and most of my best mates are coloured. I don't know what came over me. I'm deeply sorry."

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 12:15 PM

LOL! Don't you love it when someone on RFD takes the moral high ground especially when it comes to racism? Most Man Yoo fans will call him racist, but the FA's Independent Committee didn't find him racist and also had no concrete evidence, OTHER than Evra's claims, that Suarez was racially abusive numerous times, he even said that Suarez used the word n****r and then later changed his story. Also lets not forget Suarez was found "guilty" on a probability and not without reasonable doubt, yeah we'll see how that stands up in a proper court of law, the FA are a bunch of clowns as has been evident with both cases of Suarez and Terry, they have no clue, which is why England will never win anything anytime soon.

If you're black, as your past posts appeared to indicate, then I really pity you, defending an ******* like Suarez. But that's something you'll have to live with. He wouldn't have been banned if there was nothing but a single player's charge to go on. The video cameras, microphones, and/or other witnesses obviously backed Evra up. Not being obsessed with the case, like some at LFC (particularly the manager), I haven't bothered reading up on the details. But if you want to talk about harsh, undeserved extended punishments, you need to look no further than United. We have a long track-record of being penalised by the FA, presumably in hopes of allowing other clubs to catch up. Instead of sulking and moaning though, we get on with things regardless. That's why United are consistent champions, while LFC are perpetual also-rans. That situation obviously won't change under Dalglish.

As for your clip exposing racist misbehaviour in a single United fan, out of over 70,000 in attendance at each game - :eek:. Mere statistical probability tells us that there were likely many more, far worse even, in that huge crowd. Just as we have seen with the smaller crowds at Anfield, where far more racist activity has been observed, at several different matches. How are you going to explain your support of that club to your family and friends if they carry on this way, to the point where the label irrevocably sticks? Having a squad of mostly tattooed white skinheads hardly helps either. Watch for sponsorship and advertising boards promoting the National Party sprouting up around Anfield in the coming months. Apparently they're quick to take advantage of situations like this. Their recruiters are probably already outside the grounds, in and around the turnstile queues, doing what they do.

Anyway, as I said up front, Suarez isn't just racist. He's a dangerous thuggish animal all round. If you really want to overlook that, that's your problem.

malaujai

Feb 8th, 2012, 12:44 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 01:04 PM

Really? Here's your problem in a nutshell:

Who are you again?

Don't you know it's rude to interrupt other people's conversation?

Especially when you have nothing useful to add yourself.

Go back to Off Topic where the rest of your ilk hang out/lurk. Like this one:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KljuTcXd7NU/TlDsBUkly_I/AAAAAAAAAmA/xJlHiO5iHms/s1600/files_troll_2.jpg

malaujai

Feb 8th, 2012, 01:23 PM

Really? Here's your problem in a nutshell: you spew stuff out of your mouth you don't really know what you're talking about.

It's clear you haven't read the details because if you had, then you would know that there was no video/microphone/other witness in the case other than Evra's accusations himself.

Ah, now I remember why I don't post in this thread... Overrun by a narrow minded ManUtd fan

Who are you again?
Someone who used occasionally post in this thread. Am I not entitled to reply to your post in a public forum?

Don't you know it's rude to interrupt other people's conversation?
I didn't know it was rude to make a post in a public forum? If you want to have a "conversation" without "interruptions", maybe you should PM him? For something that's actually rude, see the blue bold.

Especially when you have nothing useful to add yourself.
So pointing out that your statement was not true and stating part of the crux of the Suarez case is not useful? Sounds a bit one-sided there...

Go back to Off Topic where the rest of your ilk hang out/lurk. Like this one:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KljuTcXd7NU/TlDsBUkly_I/AAAAAAAAAmA/xJlHiO5iHms/s1600/files_troll_2.jpg

Anyway, this will probably be my last post for a while in here again :) Think your post summed it up for me.

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 03:01 PM

Anyway, this will probably be my last post for a while in here again :) Think your post summed it up for me.

Sob. Sniff. :cry:

Okay, I just checked your post history. I do recall your posts, but not your name. You have been here before. But this latest visit sure did make you look like a lurker troll. You love Suarez? Fine. You'll see how that works out. (See: Tevez). Just don't expect non-LFCers to waste our time following every story about your has-been (apparently... a long, long time ago) club. Suarez's true nature was there for everybody to see in his brief appearance the other night, but apparently his adoring fans are blind in their alegiance to the little jerk. Shows how hard up and desperate you've become, I suppose. Oh well.

As for this weekend's game, if your lot somehow do manage to take points from United, be sure to enjoy it well. At the end of the season that may well be all you'll have to look back on. LFC are rapidly becoming the new MCFC - mid-table also-rans, with nothing but an occasional win over a top club to celebrate. But if you're happy with that...

jcon

Feb 8th, 2012, 03:12 PM

Capello Out as England Manager

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16941457

I'm kind of surprised he quit.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 8th, 2012, 03:37 PM

Despite the looming impact of Uefa's financial fair play (FFP) regulations, Chelsea's full accounts show that Roman Abramovich finds it hard to break one expensive habit – it cost the club £28m to sack Carlo Ancelotti in the summer and hire his replacement, André Villas-Boas.

The £28m it cost to pay off Ancelotti and his back-room staff and compensate Porto for the acquisition of Villas-Boas takes to around £64m the total Chelsea have paid out in hiring and firing managers in the last four years alone.

wow, just wow :facepalm:

ancelotti should have been given more time, he did really well in his first year at chelsea

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 04:12 PM

ancelotti should have been given more time, he did really well in his first year at chelsea

I'd prefer Ancelotti over Mourinho as United manager. He and Fergie seemed to get along well, and I liked his AC Milan.

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 04:18 PM

Capello Out as England Manager

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16941457

I'm kind of surprised he quit.

Surprising if he only resigned over the Terry matter. I expect there's something more to it.

The timing is odd though. Who gets his seat at OT on Saturday? He could have waited a few more days.

Fimo

Feb 8th, 2012, 04:35 PM

If you're black, as your past posts appeared to indicate, then I really pity you, defending an ******* like Suarez. But that's something you'll have to live with. He wouldn't have been banned if there was nothing but a single player's charge to go on.The video cameras, microphones, and/or other witnesses obviously backed Evra up.Not being obsessed with the case, like some at LFC (particularly the manager), I haven't bothered reading up on the details. But if you want to talk about harsh, undeserved extended punishments, you need to look no further than United. We have a long track-record of being penalised by the FA, presumably in hopes of allowing other clubs to catch up. Instead of sulking and moaning though, we get on with things regardless. That's why United are consistent champions, while LFC are perpetual also-rans. That situation obviously won't change under Dalglish.

LOL, yikes! You haven't even read the report yet come out with a statement like that? Talk about an OTT reaction. BTW, does it even matter if I'm black or not, what does colour have to do with it, unless one's a racist? As for telling me and other's what what to do or not to do, must be that oppressive, suppressive, discrimanatory British Colonial past still coursing through the veins I must say.

Really? Here's your problem in a nutshell: you spew stuff out of your mouth you don't really know what you're talking about.

It's clear you haven't read the details because if you had, then you would know that there was no video/microphone/other witness in the case other than Evra's accusations himself.

Ah, now I remember why I don't post in this thread... Overrun by a narrow minded ManUtd fan

+1 It's one thing to have arguments/banter with fans from other clubs but to alienate fans from his own club, now that's a special talent, its no wonder he has been banned from RFD before.:facepalm:

Fimo

Feb 8th, 2012, 04:39 PM

Capello Out as England Manager

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16941457

I'm kind of surprised he quit.

Crapello should have gone after the dismal WC England had. Of course having a bunch of clowns for bosses does not help his cause one bit, no wonder Fergie thinks the England job is a "poisoned chalice". Let's see if 'Arry takes over eventually, talk is the Stuart Pearce and Gareth Southgate will fill in for the interim. Thankfully I am not an England fan.:)

flexwong

Feb 8th, 2012, 04:41 PM

Stupid that Capello left. The FA are dumb (what else is new). Capello is a world class manager.

Maybe they'll replace him with Mourinho. That'd be entertaining. I hate him but he knows how to win...

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 8th, 2012, 09:10 PM

The 20 richest soccer clubs based on revenue for the year ending June 30, 2011, as listed by accountancy firm Deloitte in its annual report released Thursday (2010 positions in parentheses):

1. Real Madrid, Spain, $636.5 million (1).

2. Barcelona, Spain, $598.3 million (2).

3. Manchester United, England, $487.2 million (3).

4. Bayern Munich, Germany, $426.6 million (4).

5. Arsenal, England, $333.3 million (5).

6. Chelsea, England, $331.6 million (6).

7. AC Milan, Italy, $312.1 million (10).

8. Inter Milan, Italy, $280.6 million (9).

9. Liverpool, England, $269.9 million (8).

10. Schalke, Germany, $268.7 million (16).

United's failure to qualify from the group stage of the Champions League this season will see the gap widen further next year, says Deloitte.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/08/1840505/soccers-richest-clubs-list.html

#1 :cheesygri

elty

Feb 8th, 2012, 09:48 PM

People are/were having unrealistic expectation on England, with or without Capello.

I don't think Redknapp is a good replacement, but it is probably either him or Pearce.

hyperion

Feb 8th, 2012, 11:11 PM

You guys are wrong, it's obvious Capello stepped down to allow Roy Hodgson to step up the position. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 11:42 PM

LOL, yikes! You haven't even read the report yet come out with a statement like that? Talk about an OTT reaction. BTW, does it even matter if I'm black or not, what does colour have to do with it, unless one's a racist? As for telling me and other's what what to do or not to do, must be that oppressive, suppressive, discrimanatory British Colonial past still coursing through the veins I must say.

You're not seriously defending Suarez by accusing ME of being racist are you? :facepalm: Sheesh! You and him belong together. :rolleyes:

+1 It's one thing to have arguments/banter with fans from other clubs but to alienate fans from his own club, now that's a special talent, its no wonder he has been banned from RFD before.:facepalm:

http://www.theenthusiast.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/whatchoo-willis.jpg

A difference of opinion over Fergie is hardly alienation. And I'm not the one with the dissenting opinion either. As for an RFD ban, you must have a LONG memory. I sorted out the attack trolls ages ago. (By having them banned, as it should be). :D

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 11:46 PM

Thankfully I am not an England fan.:)

Well you couldn't be, could you, with your obvious anti-English prejudices.

Tornado F2

Feb 8th, 2012, 11:58 PM

You guys are wrong, it's obvious Capello stepped down to allow Roy Hodgson to step up the position. :D

Woy wouldn't be my first choice, but then neither would 'Arry. If England seriously want to win international tournaments they'll need to resort to a defensive "never lose" approach. Sadly that's not going to be much fun to watch. Mourinho seems to have a knack for getting those sort of results, but I wouldn't want him in the job either. I can't off the top of my head think of anybody better than Capello, especially with the Euros fast approaching. It looks like the FA have cocked things up yet again.

Looking at the current EPL table, the best "never lose" managers are Fergie and Mancini - with 3 losses each. 'Arry has the best record for an English manager, with 4 losses. Maybe that's why he's considered the leader. But he couldn't really take on the job full time until the end of the season, so possibly that counts him out, at least until after the Euros.

Gary Neville's probably available... :lol: Or Steve Bruce.

hyperion

Feb 9th, 2012, 12:16 AM

Tornado F2

Feb 9th, 2012, 12:39 AM

England's current crop of players simply isn't anything special. No world-class manager can turn them into world or Euro champion, unless there's some luck involved.

And TF2, you gotta stop scaring everyone that's not a ManU fan from this thread. Sometimes it seems like it's only me and you talking.

You're definitely wrong on the proof about Suarez. It was widely reported in the press that:
1. there was no other proof other than Evra's testimony
2. he was found guilty at a lower standard(read: less reliable) than "innocent until proven guilty" such as that used in a real court
3. there's a lot of cultural undertones and interpretation here (ie. who's culture takes precendence over whos, or should neither be superior?), on a very hot-button topic

and 4. I am tired of hearing about this crap.

+1 to #4 for sure. :) Somebody kill Kenny. (Or at least shut him up).

http://www.gwpvx.com/images/5/54/You_Killed_Kenny.jpg

Was there really no other proof? With all the cameras and spectators present? Didn't Suarez himself admit to it, claiming that his own wife for some reason uses the same term for him? Still, it wouldn't be the first time somebody's been hung out to dry to set a public example. It's happened many times before to United players. Look at the length of Rio's ban - for what?

As for me "scaring" people, I really don't see why. I may have strong views on topics that are important to me, and I'm not afraid to express them, but I don't think any of my views are extreme, offensive, or otherwise upsetting. People who know me in real life would certainly not assign any of those undesirable traits to me. Believe it or not, I really am a nice guy. You just need to understand my sense of humour. I'd probably come across a lot clearer if I were on TV, rather than posting in a thread. Something of a Rick Mercer perhaps (but not gay).

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1260/1398277764_4d2f9245f4.jpg

blzn

Feb 9th, 2012, 01:09 AM

Tornado F2

Feb 9th, 2012, 01:38 AM

You do go a bit harsh and get a bit extreme :lol:

From what I read, Suarez admitted he called Evra the 'n-word-used-in-Uruguay-to-mean-friend' in an attempt to calm him down. I highly doubt that was his objective as I think Suarez is a bit of a dirty player but not a racist, think he was just trying to get under Evra's skin.

Ah, but even you've grown to love me, once you tuned in properly. :D

As for Suarez, if Fimo's not bothered by his use of the "n word" then why should we be? Other than the fact that it's clearly wrong, whoever it's coming from. Especially somebody in the public eye, who should be setting a better example.

My issue with Suarez has always been his cheating - ironically enough this first came to widescale attention when he upset all of black Africa at the WC with his blatant goalline "save". He then demonstrated his mastery of the cheater's art during last summer's S. American tourney, where he got one player after another carded with his dives, culminating in the sending off of Mascherano. But even all that can be laughed off to some extent, especially when coupled with all his wasted shots and prima-donna pouting. What really gets me is his blatant disregard for the safety of other players, as demonstrated by his assaults on Parker the other day. If he ends up seriously injuring another player, he really should be banned for life. Better still, he should be banned before somebody else gets injured, if he doesn't soon correct his ways.

pavelbure10

Feb 9th, 2012, 08:49 AM

What if the next england manager names john terry as his captain, will the FA take his captaincy away again? No wonder england never wins. . .too much drama

harpoon

Feb 10th, 2012, 12:07 AM

England's current crop of players simply isn't anything special. No world-class manager can turn them into world or Euro champion, unless there's some luck involved.

And TF2, you gotta stop scaring everyone that's not a ManU fan from this thread. Sometimes it seems like it's only me and you talking.

You're definitely wrong on the proof about Suarez. It was widely reported in the press that:
1. there was no other proof other than Evra's testimony
2. he was found guilty at a lower standard(read: less reliable) than "innocent until proven guilty" such as that used in a real court
3. there's a lot of cultural undertones and interpretation here (ie. who's culture takes precendence over whos, or should neither be superior?), on a very hot-button topic

and 4. I am tired of hearing about this crap.

the blocking doesn't help much when everyone quotes each other, I don't bother coming back much myself. It's too snipe-y and hateful here, not enough talk about what the topic is, "EPL gossip". Banter is cool but the place shouldn't resemble RAWK or Red Cafe. I like talking footy with fellow Canadians but this doesn't feel like the place anymore. Sinnacle was/is the MAN, even for a Mourinho fanboy.

Nice summary of the whole Suarez thing. I have people seeing me in LFC gear and asking me about our 'racist player' and I'm tired of explaining it. I'm not Suarez's biggest fan (I'm a Lucas and Kuyt fanboy, I have to admit it) but I know enough Spanish to know that what Suarez said was totally fine. Negro (with a soft 'e') is NOT racist, it's casual slang. Like someone said, Evra's story changed several times from "n***er at least 10 times" to "maybe 5 times". It was embarrassing for all concerned and could've been dealt with right after the game with an explanation as it was a misunderstanding at best.

I don't think any Red would call Luis an angel, and LFC don't hesitate to villify our own when something terrible happens like Diouf spitting at the Celtic fan years ago. He had to go, that was horrible, we all hated him after that although he'd started to hit some form.

It seems that the FA needed a victim, especially after Blatter's stupid comments, and they picked one. ANYWAY, we're all sick of this now, let's move on.

I think Saturday's game will be a 1-1 draw. I actually hope Carroll starts as he's hitting form at last and he terrorized Spurs, Wolves and Man U consecutively. His touch is improving and it's just a matter of getting players closer for his flick-ons. But I think Charlie Adam will screw something up and we'll concede. I'm not a fan, to put it kindly.

hyperion

Feb 10th, 2012, 11:28 PM

I think Saturday's game will be a 1-1 draw. I actually hope Carroll starts as he's hitting form at last and he terrorized Spurs, Wolves and Man U consecutively. His touch is improving and it's just a matter of getting players closer for his flick-ons. But I think Charlie Adam will screw something up and we'll concede. I'm not a fan, to put it kindly.

I'd love to see Liverpool start offensively (4-4-2) and that would mean Suarez and Carroll up front, but based on recent examples there's little chance of that. It will probably be the usual 4-1-4-1 with Suarez alone up front, unless he's not fit and Kenny decides to go with Kuyt.

So who's going to be up tomorrow at 7:45am for this? I am.

xlash

Feb 10th, 2012, 11:32 PM

What if the next england manager names john terry as his captain, will the FA take his captaincy away again? No wonder england never wins. . .too much drama

I'm pretty sure whoever gets hired won't get JT back as captain because he sees eye2eye with the FA. Fabio would have taken this team to the knockout. The youngsters in the squad played for him.

England doesn't win because the whole team lacks harmony. The German and Spanish (read Catalan) players play with each other on a regular basis because of Bayern and Barcelona. Under Prandelli and Blanc even France and Italy are in a better position than England. Netherlands would be on my list too but other than Van Persie the rest of the forwards/attacking mids aren't having the greatest year. Netherlands enjoyed a stellar world cup because of Schneijder. If Robben plays a big role in the CL run then they've got a shot.

xlash

Feb 10th, 2012, 11:37 PM

Stupid that Capello left. The FA are dumb (what else is new). Capello is a world class manager.

Maybe they'll replace him with Mourinho. That'd be entertaining. I hate him but he knows how to win...

Mourinho would be perfect. England plays a physical counter attacking game, a Mou specialty. I'd love to see him get hammered by the Catalans....errr Spaniards.

Tornado F2

Feb 11th, 2012, 12:26 AM

I'd love to see Liverpool start offensively (4-4-2) and that would mean Suarez and Carroll up front, but based on recent examples there's little chance of that. It will probably be the usual 4-1-4-1 with Suarez alone up front, unless he's not fit and Kenny decides to go with Kuyt.

So who's going to be up tomorrow at 7:45am for this? I am.

I'll be up even earlier! :D Hope we get good refereeing, along with an attacking game. United will need the 3 points, even if LFC are (foolishly) content with 1.

hyperion

Feb 11th, 2012, 09:28 AM

Not that great of a game to watch, and way too much drama. Pretty much all 3 goals were flukes caused by defender mistakes. Spearing is not up to snuff as a DM in my mind, Kenny should stop playing him, especially in hard matches. I expected Liverpool to put a lot more pressure on ManU's back 4 which beside Evra were not #1 choices, but ManU did a great job of closing down and pressing the ball as soon as it got to midfield.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 11th, 2012, 09:32 AM

Fimo

Feb 11th, 2012, 10:12 AM

missed the match, early kickoff ftl

"Certain players should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again. Sir Alex on Suarez"
"Fergie on Suarez: He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club"

wtf happened? what did suarez do this time? :-0

He didn't shake Evra's hand, Evra had a hissy fit, Rio thought Suarez was JT so didnt shake his hand either.

Man Yoo deserved winners, our MF in the second half was useless.

Game ends, Evra celebrates like Man Yoo have won the league. Fergie thinks Suarez could have caused a riot at OT he must have forgotten October 20 1990.

The Suarez v Evra saga continues unfortunately. Both players didn't help themselves today.

Love Fergie on his high horse he clearly has forgotten the Ian Wright v Peter Schmeichel racism incident from 1997.

hyperion

Feb 11th, 2012, 10:21 AM

Turns out Capello managed to win some silverware with England after all:

http://youtu.be/JCj3OwRT-0A

xlash

Feb 11th, 2012, 10:57 AM

This is unrelated but Real Madrid won't offer the Santiago Bernabeu for Copa del Rey final. Despicable. Despite uneven broadcast distribution, poor economy and petty relations between the top Castillian and Catalan sides La Liga still competes with the EPL.

xlash

Feb 11th, 2012, 11:06 AM

I want to see Abramovich's face when Chelsea don't make it to the top 4. Here's hoping the the Magpies win match day 25.

blzn

Feb 11th, 2012, 11:28 AM

hyperion

Feb 11th, 2012, 12:15 PM

As I thought, this Tottenham - Newcastle game is turning out to be a real cracker. Look for some goals from Newcastle in the 2nd half.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 11th, 2012, 12:30 PM

http://i.minus.com/ihQW3lvkIebDk.gif

dat classless suarez! :-0

barca/real interested in RVP (one year left in his contract)

http://i.minus.com/iH9rT60gxoOW4.gif

dat goal!

xlash

Feb 11th, 2012, 01:34 PM

Poor of RM but how does this show La Liga competes with EPL?

Chelsea continue to be bad.

It doesn't. I was thinking out loud.

xlash

Feb 11th, 2012, 01:48 PM

dat classless suarez! :-0

barca/real interested in RVP (one year left in his contract)

I am not supporting Luis Suarez nor attacking Patrice Evra when I say that all the former called the latter was "negra"; a term that is used rather jovially in spanish-speaking South America. For that his reputation was (further) tarnished, he took heat from the league and he lost 40,000 pounds and was hit with an 8 match ban. And I bet you Liverpool brass wasn't too happy especially since he's been their best player this season. If they were playing in any other UEFA league Evra would not only not have a case but this wouldn't even make the back pages of the sports sections. And let's face it Patrice Evra doesn't have a stellar reputation like Rio Ferdinand or Steven Gerrard. So as far as the handshake incident goes I'm not saying he should have yanked his hand away but I understand.

And RVP is not staying at Arsenal. He made up his mind to leave the moment Cesc Fabregas called him to say good bye. He made sure he stayed injury-free and keep top form. Arsenal can cash in all they want for him but they won't be keeping him. He wants trophies and the Gunners ain't getting any without world class players.

xlash

Feb 11th, 2012, 01:55 PM

Madrid's won La Liga

harpoon

Feb 11th, 2012, 02:34 PM

So who's going to be up tomorrow at 7:45am for this? I am.

4:30 PST. Ugh. Watching footy makes me crave breakfast, I associate one with the other. I'll walk by a game and want scrambled eggs or something!

Not that great of a game to watch, and way too much drama. Pretty much all 3 goals were flukes caused by defender mistakes. Spearing is not up to snuff as a DM in my mind, Kenny should stop playing him, especially in hard matches. I expected Liverpool to put a lot more pressure on ManU's back 4 which beside Evra were not #1 choices, but ManU did a great job of closing down and pressing the ball as soon as it got to midfield.

It was ugly, ugly, ugly. Worst I've seen LFC play against Man U in 4-5 years. Spearing had his worst game and Scholes/Carrick went around him, making Gerrard and Henderson drop deep. Passes weren't there, no dominance. Our back 4 were ok bar Johnson's mistake for the first, and Enrique for the first 10-15 minutes. Suarez was rusty, Downing was a downer as usual. Man U's pressing was excellent. Really disappointing to see that, particularly in the second half as they just gave up. I'm hoping Kenny sorts it out, the mentality was unacceptable.

Carroll and Bellamy should've started, but the players on the field need to put in a shift and cut out the errors. The occasion got to everyone.

I am not supporting Luis Suarez nor attacking Patrice Evra when I say that all the former called the latter was "negra"; a term that is used rather jovially in spanish-speaking South America. For that his reputation was (further) tarnished, he took heat from the league and he lost 40,000 pounds and was hit with an 8 match ban. And I bet you Liverpool brass wasn't too happy especially since he's been their best player this season. If they were playing in any other UEFA league Evra would not only not have a case but this wouldn't even make the back pages of the sports sections. And let's face it Patrice Evra doesn't have a stellar reputation like Rio Ferdinand or Steven Gerrard. So as far as the handshake incident goes I'm not saying he should have yanked his hand away but I understand.

I don't care about handshakes, if someone accused me of racism or vice versa I wouldn't expect it but the Evra acting it up there at the end like that and goading the referee after the handshake was missed (I remember Scholes and Roy Carroll not shaking Vieria's hand after the Keane fracas in the tunnel, who cares?)...the Hillsborough and racist chants...yes, some of Suarez's behaviour...the KKK photo in the fanzine that got confiscated by the cops...it's all supremely ugly. Gone way too far, it's tribal and stupid and needs to stop. It was just horrible and hateful, way too far, and a blemish.

I'm dreading the next games, things gotta get more realistic here. It's disgusting all around. Support spills into loathing and disgust too easily and it's way OTT right now.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 11th, 2012, 03:03 PM

Madrid's won La Liga

only february

madrid needs to win tomorrow

http://i.minus.com/iJhl6YtlpY1Ig.gif

hyperion

Feb 11th, 2012, 03:38 PM

@MarioBalotelli If I was in Suarez boots and got banned for 8 games for something I didn't do, I wouldn't shake Evra's hand either

Mario with a rare moment of lucidity. :P

rooney11

Feb 11th, 2012, 04:53 PM

@MarioBalotelli If I was in Suarez boots and got banned for 8 games for something I didn't do, I wouldn't shake Evra's hand either

Mario with a rare moment of lucidity. :P

lol, it's fake. :lol:

hyperion

Feb 11th, 2012, 06:18 PM

lol, it's fake. :lol:

That explains it!

elty

Feb 11th, 2012, 09:02 PM

Suarez has the best chance to end all this drama today, but he chose not to.

Tornado F2

Feb 11th, 2012, 09:18 PM

As I thought, this Tottenham - Newcastle game is turning out to be a real cracker. Look for some goals from Newcastle in the 2nd half.

Sadly for neutrals, it was the WRONG UNITED. :D

That 5-3 game of two halves was a true classic. Supposedly Hoddle told his Spurs players to go out in the 2nd half and "show everybody how Spurs play". They certainly did. :lol:

Tornado F2

Feb 11th, 2012, 09:54 PM

Suarez has the best chance to end all this drama today, but he chose not to.

Of course not. He, like all prima-donnas, loves to be the centre of attention. All of this just fulfills his petty selfish needs. Possibly by the end of the season LFC and their fans will finally realise just how high maintenance he is, and how little they've received in return for their foolishly blind support. He'll then jump ship to City. :lol:

All he managed to do today (over than that one extremely lucky goal) was to throw the rest of the LFC squad, and especially their increasingly deluded manager (check out his post-match interview), off their game. Not that there seems to have been much of a plan, other than holding out for a 0-0 draw. United were deserved winners, and could have really racked up the scoreline in the 2nd half had it not been so essential to keep all 3 points. Rooney possibly should have had his hat-trick, but for a mistaken call for a non-foul by Welbeck. As for Evra's celebrations at the end, who can really blame him? After all the pre-match pressure, he and United got the last, and most important, laugh. The release of all that stress would leave anybody euphoric. Can anybody honestly say that Liverpool (and especially Suarez) would have behaved any differently at the end, had LFC somehow won? Of course they wouldn't. And Chelsea used to finish practically every away win with similar displays back in the Mourinho days. They even acted like they'd won the league when Torres finally broke his duck last season. :D Evra ended up celebrating in front of Suarez, but that was after he'd practically lapped OT with his celebration. What was Suarez still doing on the pitch at that point? He stormed off the field looking mad at the final whistle. Was he hanging around hoping to get in one last bit of trouble-making theatrics? Of course he was - that's what he does. In fact it's rapidly becoming ALL he does. Now that everybody (but LFC and their followers) sees through him, it's actually becoming almost comical. Especially his drama queen antics after every miss. If only he wasn't such a danger to the physical health of everybody around him. And to years of anti-racism efforts not only in the UK, but around the world. The sooner he's moved on - to one of those more racist-friendly Continental countries xlash alluded to - the better. Better for LFC too, if only they realised it.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58449000/jpg/_58449796_rooneygoal.jpg

Tornado F2

Feb 11th, 2012, 10:05 PM

http://i.minus.com/ihQW3lvkIebDk.gif

dat classless suarez! :-0

Why's his right hand bandaged? To limit contact with "negra" skin? Pathetic.

Tornado F2

Feb 11th, 2012, 10:19 PM

I am not supporting Luis Suarez nor attacking Patrice Evra when I say that all the former called the latter was "negra"; a term that is used rather jovially in spanish-speaking South America.

Presumably you're referring to the predominantly-white Spanish-speaking countries in South America. Mostly-black, slave-descended Brazil of course speak Portuguese. Is "negra" used "jovially" there too?

If they were playing in any other UEFA league Evra would not only not have a case but this wouldn't even make the back pages of the sports sections.

That's a sad comment on those leagues that would allow racist taunting. Not that "any other UEFA league" would allow it either. I'm confident that most others, especially the non-Mediterranean countries, would have punished him too.

And let's face it Patrice Evra doesn't have a stellar reputation like Rio Ferdinand or Steven Gerrard.

You're kidding, right? Evra's world-class, one of the best attacking left-backs out there. He's just not into self-promotion like some others out there, especially Rio. He gets on with his job, the United way. And he's ever-present, practically never missing games. That's why he's carrying the captain's armband in (similarly modest) Vidic's absence.

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 10:37 AM

Madrid's won La Liga

It took you 6 months to find a coin to flip? :razz:

It's been around 50:50 since before the season started, Spain being a 2 team league and all. It must still be too early to know for sure.

Use your coin again to see which Manchester club is taking this season's title. I'm still confident United will do it.

Come on Villa! Keep City out.

blzn

Feb 12th, 2012, 12:57 PM

City get's a hard fought win to push them barely above MU. I think if Madrid wins their game today La Liga has to be theirs for the taking.

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 01:33 PM

City get's a hard fought win to push them barely above MU. I think if Madrid wins their game today La Liga has to be theirs for the taking.

Are Barcelona really doing that badly? I've not seen the Spanish table in a while.

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 01:43 PM

Barca's results look impressive enough here. Madrid must be consistently performing around 100% to even think of conceding them the title yet.

http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=50080/domestic/index.html

blzn

Feb 12th, 2012, 01:49 PM

They seem to have trouble against the lower teams, if Madrid wins that will be a 10 point gap between the two clubs.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 12th, 2012, 02:25 PM

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/403205_294944210567363_110653658996420_829525_6562 53592_n.jpg

:-0

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 02:44 PM

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/403205_294944210567363_110653658996420_829525_6562 53592_n.jpg

:-0

Which manipulative dictator will fall next?

Shoot, that means at least another fortnight of massacres in Syria.

You should create a thread in Off Topic. It will be more worthwhile than 90% of the threads already there.

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 02:46 PM

They seem to have trouble against the lower teams, if Madrid wins that will be a 10 point gap between the two clubs.

Look at those Barca scorelines. They put Chel$ki's early-last-season 6-0s to shame.

blzn

Feb 12th, 2012, 06:44 PM

Look at those Barca scorelines. They put Chel$ki's early-last-season 6-0s to shame.

See this is where you confuse me, you ask if Barca are doing that bad and I say that they have trouble against lower teams (6 draws compared to Real's 1). Where does the Chelsea comparison come in lol? Take a look at what score lines?

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 07:23 PM

See this is where you confuse me, you ask if Barca are doing that bad and I say that they have trouble against lower teams (6 draws compared to Real's 1). Where does the Chelsea comparison come in lol? Take a look at what score lines?

Looking closer I see that the draws have added up, but along the way there have been plenty of 4-0, 5-0, and even 8-0 and 9-0 wins. Their record would be extremely impressive if the competition was up to EPL standards. Seems there are a handful of teams that have figured out how to get a draw against Barca, but plenty of teams are still lying down and being flattened.

Interestingly, Madrid have achieved a lot fewer clean sheets. Very un-Mourinholike. Take away CRon's goals and they'd be the ones trailing.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 12th, 2012, 09:18 PM

take away messi's goals and barca will be trailing by more points

after cr7, higuain has 14 goals, benzema has 11 goals

after messi, fab has 9 goals, sanchez has 8 goals

di maria has more assists than messi and he has been injured for awhile now, ozil also has more assists than messi in la liga

http://i.minus.com/ibdJUAcUo3mkpn.gif

goal of the weekend :cheesygri

Tornado F2

Feb 12th, 2012, 09:27 PM

Anybody still (inexplicably) supporting Suarez needs to read this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17004667

LFC, from the top down, have effectively disowned him. There's even talk of him having to "salvage" his LFC career by demonstrating "better judgement" in future. That's coming straight from the owners. He and Dalglish have had to make public apologies.

harpoon

Feb 13th, 2012, 09:29 AM

Suarez has the best chance to end all this drama today, but he chose not to.

I'm truly done with all this, but it's a shame he isn't. Suarez isn't as supremely evil as the media would have you believe, but if he said he was going to shake Evra's hand he should've followed through. If he didn't want to he should've said, fair play to him if he doesn't want to shake someone's hand who we (and many others) think isn't being truthful about the whole thing. I don't blame Luis for that.

The middle finger at Fulham and a couple other incidents...he's gotta take a chill pill. Take a page out of Bellamy's book and relax, enjoy his game a bit more. He could turn it around but if not, fine, off to Spain you go and LFC can spin a profit or whatever.

We all should have moved on, hopefully lifting a trophy in a couple weeks (if we win) will help draw a line and get LFC back to what they love to do best...lifting cups.

take away messi's goals and barca will be trailing by more points

after cr7, higuain has 14 goals, benzema has 11 goals

after messi, fab has 9 goals, sanchez has 8 goals

di maria has more assists than messi and he has been injured for awhile now, ozil also has more assists than messi in la liga

http://i.minus.com/ibdJUAcUo3mkpn.gif

goal of the weekend :cheesygri

Watching Madrid, I think Mourinho's taken his game to a new level. What a ridiculously good goal that is, the balance and technique coupled with power is phenomenal. I'm a big fan of Higuain in the team, what marvellous finishing and movement.

I'm curious how RM do in Europe, it seems like Barca's legs have gone after the exertions of previous seasons (along with maybe being one dimensional) and La Liga is theirs.

Tornado F2

Feb 13th, 2012, 12:18 PM

Somebody quote this post so that harpy can finally get the news that LFC (ie. the owners) gave Suarez (and to a lesser degree Dalglish) a stern telling off and the matter is now (hopefully, finally) over:

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre also released a statement which read: "We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did not shake hands with Patrice Evra before yesterday's game. The player had told us beforehand that he would, but then chose not to do so.

"He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to offer his hand to Patrice Evra. He has not only let himself down but also Kenny Dalglish, his team-mates and the club.

"It has been made absolutely clear to Luis Suarez that his behaviour was not acceptable. Luis Suarez has now apologised for his actions, which was the right thing to do.

"However, all of us have a duty to behave in a responsible manner and we hope he now understands what is expected of anyone representing Liverpool Football Club."

Tornado F2

Feb 13th, 2012, 01:12 PM

Wolves have fired Mick McCarthy after their 5-1 home loss to West Brom. (Shows again what Woy can do with a club that actually listens to him). I suppose that now leaves him free to take on the England job. He got Ireland to perform above their station at the Japan-Korea WC, even without Roy Keane. (Perhaps even in response to the Keane fall-out). Perhaps England should give him a try this summer? They've gone the suave and sophisticated, mastermind manager route, but seen no great improvement in actual tournament results. Perhaps foulmouthed Mick, with his Yorkshireman ways, can give England that strong English backbone that they've been missing for too long? It might just be worth a try. Other countries won't know quite what to expect until the opening games are already in the bag.

He hasn't had the best track record with clubs, especially his relegation season with Sunderland, but then he's never really had that great a squad to work with. What he has had available though he has usually managed to get working hard and giving 100% effort. Throw in some world class players, and a little bit of luck, and who knows? At least it will leave 'Arry free to concentrate 100% on Spurs through to the end of the season. Reshape things in August if necessary. I'm sure Mick would accept a short-term trial contract if it was offered.

As for Wolves, unless they have a quality relegation-battling manager lined up, (obviously Woy's not available), they may well regret this decision. But at least it may give Rafa the opportunity to fulfill his dream, so nearly achieved with Liverpool, of taking an EPL team into relegation. :lol: Apparently he's an early front-runner. Though the LFC job might be open again soon too, if he waits just a bit longer...

Tornado F2

Feb 13th, 2012, 01:15 PM

Oh, and over in the SPL, Rangers have apparently filed administration papers... :-0

Could become a one-horse race in Scotland. Unless perhaps a rich Russian (or American) steps in.

Maybe Henry could move LFC north of the border? There's a decent statium there already in place, and the squad might be up to SPL levels. Then again, they'd likely be marketed to exactly the same crowd that support Celtic, leaving the Rangers half of town clubless, so that wouldn't work.

jcon

Feb 13th, 2012, 02:47 PM

jcon

Feb 13th, 2012, 03:48 PM

This isn't EPL related (but then so much of what is discussed in this thread isn't) but I thought it was appropriate for fans of the beautiful game and fans of Canadian Soccer:

Former Canadian Soccer Star Reveals Drug Tainted Double Life (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/former-canadian-soccer-star-reveals-drug-tainted-double-life/article2336191/)

An excerpt from the Globe and Mail article:

Hall of Fame player. World Cup veteran. Former NCAA, university, club and Canadian under-20 coach. TV and newspaper analyst.

Paul James’s soccer pedigree is long and distinguished.

But away from the pitch, James lived a secret hell. For more than a decade, the intense, meticulous coach was a crack cocaine addict who lived in fear that his secret might leak out.

I was quite surprised to read this, James is somewhat of an icon of Canadian Soccer, playing and holding many coaching positions. Perhaps, I should no longer be surprised of anything that happened in the past.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 13th, 2012, 04:17 PM

Mourinho on leaving madrid

"Who told you I was going in June? Ask your so-called sources, and if your sources are anonymous, then ask them again. If they're imaginary, then you'd better think up some new ones."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/1021360/ball:-all-managers-great-and-small?cc=5901

who knows, maybe it will be pep who leaves barca at the end of the season while mourinho stays on at madrid (3rd and probably his final season at madrid, he's not the type who sticks around for a long time)

Man City striker Carlos Tevez has claimed that manager Roberto Mancini treated him ''like a dog'', although insisted that he could be ready to play for him again in two weeks

so tevez stays at man city??!!

Standard Chartered, which pays around £20m a season to sponsor Liverpool, went public with its criticism in a brief statement, saying: "We were very disappointed by Saturday's incident and have discussed our concerns with the club." A person familiar with the matter said: "It was a very robust conversation."

hmm, i wonder if pool will sell suarez in the summer ...

A ship called dignity

For a brief spell on Sunday, Liverpool's website turned into apology.com, and it's a bloody good job it did. A series of climb-downs helped King Kenny et al edge back onto the fringes of the map marked 'credible football clubs' after a shameful episode in their proud history reached its nadir on Saturday. Perhaps Dalglish's preposterous insistence that it was "bang out of order to blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today" provided the epiphany he and the club needed to emerge from their ludicrous bubble of self-importance and hysterical paranoia. Their wave of contrition was the necessary first step in what will be a long road to redemption.

For all the talent that flows so fluidly in Luis Suarez's boots, zero blood seems to run through the man's brain cells. His decision not to shake Patrice Evra's hand was so staggering, it forces one to repeat the circumstances again and again in a bid to comprehend why a man who was found guilty of racially abusing another player saw fit to snub said player's offer of a handshake, when closure of a grubby affair that has seen Liverpool's stock sink lower than the Titanic was within his grasp.

Even more disturbing was his manager's refusal to admit even the slightest hint of wrongdoing as Kenny lapsed into his familiar aggressive, defensive posture. You get the feeling that had Suarez pulled Evra's arm out of its socket, Dalglish would still have backed him. But Suarez is the chief culprit, his actions leading his manager to make a mockery of himself. Dalglish staunchly maintains he is trying to protect the good name of his football club but look where that has brought Liverpool - into an embarrassing triple apology that could have been so simply avoided.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/1021383/the-fifth-official:-red-rumble?cc=5901

suarez and kenny out in the summer?

Fimo

Feb 13th, 2012, 05:34 PM

Fimo

Feb 13th, 2012, 05:40 PM

harpoon

Feb 14th, 2012, 12:43 AM

I hope Fergie can swallow his pride an issue an apology as well. Suarez's actions were inappropriate but so were Fergie's comments after the match.

It's up to Liverpool to decide what it will accept and not accept from its players, not for outsiders. They should have had an opportunity to address the situation before comments were made.

You know who LFC should sign? Some PR guys! I have to say that Man U have excellent PR, even going back to the 90s, and nailed the marketing thing down. Even their lawyers are good, as evidenced in the Evra/Suarez case and many others over the years. That's important these days...cripes, "these days", I'm not that old...

If Suarez said he was going to shake hands and there was an official statement from LFC saying he was going to do it, he should've followed through. It was a stupid, selfish mistake. I get why he wouldn't want to shake hands and power to him if he doesn't (I wouldn't if I knew I was innocent either), but he should've thought of what it would do to the PR, sponsors etc...putting this nonsense to bed would've been ideal. The crowd was frothing at the mouth and he gave the pundits and press exactly what he wanted.

+1 however Fergie apologising? lol its never going to happen.

This is an interesting point of view, especially considering after the hoopla the FA and English Press gave Sepp Blatter for suggesting that "racism" could be sorted out by a handshake a few months ago, irony at its best right there, not to mention double standards.

"It's an interesting code of ethics Sir Alex Ferguson lives by when it comes to footballers.

Kung-fu kick a fan? That's fine. Sleep with your brother's wife? No problem. Bed an OAP prostitute? Splendid. Admit to deliberately trying to break an opponent's leg? Boys will be boys. Refuse to shake hands with an opponent? Ban for life.

Everyone will have a view on Luis Suarez's conduct on Saturday but far more unpalatable was the fact that Fergie was allowed to poke his purple nose into another club's business without censure.

Bookies Boylesports are betting on whether the outdated Premier League pre-match handshake tradition will be scrapped by next season and at 12-1 I'd say that's a very good bet.

More interesting, though, is the betting, next time the two North West giants meet, on whether Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish will shake hands with his Scottish nemesis.

Dalglish will be fuming that he's been forced into a humiliating climbdown by a PR drive at Anfield while Fergie has been allowed to escape scot-free for his incendiary comments.

Fergie should tread warily on the race row. Last time he got involved in a race row, Rock Of Gibraltar cost him a fortune.

BetVictor offer 16-1 for the two Scots not to shake when United next face Liverpool. Not a good bet -Dalglish will shake with rage.

Suarez's dignified response to scoring and his equally dignified response to Patrice Evra's dangerously provocative gloating should have spared him the vitriol heaped on him because of a) his decision not to shake the Frenchman's hand, and b) his decision to be Uruguayan.

Wayne Bridge was a hero when he snubbed John Terry's handshake; Samir Nasri drew no criticism for a similar snub to William Gallas. But Suarez has been deemed the villain in a media pantomime so even if he'd sponsored a Mother Teresa fun run around the Old Trafford pitch on Saturday you suspect he'd have been castigated for cruelty to pensioners. Wayne Rooney would merely have asked for her number.

Hills go 5-1 for Dalglish and Suarez both to have left Liverpool by the first game of next season.

The Uruguayan is 11-5 with Boylesports to be sent off this season and it's 3-1 for another player to refuse to shake hands with him before a game."

I'd ignore the talk that Suarez and King Kenny are leaving. It came from nothing whatsoever. Kenny merely apologized and he has before too. He needs some proper PR to help him out, he should have said nothing until he had a chance to sort out what the hell was going on.

Suarez, if he doesn't stop with some of the stupid stuff this season, will be sold (is my guess). He has a chance to level his temper and move on and if he doesn't, he's gone. No player is bigger than LFC.

I don't think he's the spawn of Satan, but he's a guy who 1 out of 10 times doesn't pick the smart option. His mom even said in an interview that he's too hot-headed on the pitch. The guy has a wife and daughter and does all kinds of charity/humanitarian work, but on the pitch he has to calm down and play his football. The abuse he gets is way OTT and doesn't help, but he has to rise above it.

One thing that was strange, and curious, was the fact that the away team moved to shake hands. It's always the home team who do.

All this could have been done and dusted in October when it happened. That's the real shame, it's made an ugly fixture even more disgusting. People are construing what racism is and what a racist is, it does more harm than good to cheapen it and hurl it at someone who clearly isn't racist. The classlessness of all parties involved at times is pathetic.

John Barnes sums it all up nicely here w.r.t Racism in football and in general. He also has a very good opinion piece in tomorrow's Times Newspaper.

Video: John Barnes on Racism (http://news.sky.com/home/video/health/video/16144726)

Nobody came out with any credit from all of this other than Barnes, what a class act. Cuts it right down to the basics.

Alright, let's be done with this handshake crap already. I probably said that last time, didn't I? I'm done.

xlash

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:50 AM

Presumably you're referring to the predominantly-white Spanish-speaking countries in South America. Mostly-black, slave-descended Brazil of course speak Portuguese. Is "negra" used "jovially" there too?

That's a sad comment on those leagues that would allow racist taunting. Not that "any other UEFA league" would allow it either. I'm confident that most others, especially the non-Mediterranean countries, would have punished him too.

You're kidding, right? Evra's world-class, one of the best attacking left-backs out there. He's just not into self-promotion like some others out there, especially Rio. He gets on with his job, the United way. And he's ever-present, practically never missing games. That's why he's carrying the captain's armband in (similarly modest) Vidic's absence.

We get it, you're a Red Devils fan. A player who dons that jersey can do nothing wrong in your eyes. Then again Evra was a "class act" after the match when he celebrated like he'd just won the world cup. Speaking of which he sure led that team to glory, didn't he? 4 years after Zidane carried the team to the finals.

I was very clear when I said spanish-speaking countries, wasn't I? If I wanted to include Brazil I would have said South America.

It took you 6 months to find a coin to flip? :razz:

It's been around 50:50 since before the season started, Spain being a 2 team league and all. It must still be too early to know for sure.

Use your coin again to see which Manchester club is taking this season's title. I'm still confident United will do it.

Come on Villa! Keep City out.

If you knew beforehand which team would win La Liga, where is your post? Even if injuries creep in, Madrid has a deep enough squad and personnel to win given the 10 point gap. Manchester City has the personnel to win as well. Yaya Toure is returning, Mario's ban will be up and so will Kompany's. And there's talk that Tevez might be returning to the fold as well. What kind of a boost is United getting? The logistics of playing in the league and the UEFA cup makes it harder on players than the UCL. SAF, himself, claimed that. Speaking of the UCL (since their EPL record is so close), City lost to Napoli and Bayern in Europe, United lost to Basel!! Beating Galati was a struggle for them. They may win the title but it'll be inspite of their squad, not because of it.

xlash

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:52 AM

Are Barcelona really doing that badly? I've not seen the Spanish table in a while.

Barca's results look impressive enough here. Madrid must be consistently performing around 100% to even think of conceding them the title yet.

http://www.uefa.com/teamsandplayers/teams/club=50080/domestic/index.html

Next time you want to offer you $0.02 on a particular league at least watch some of the teams in action or read up.

jcon

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:59 AM

They may win the title but it'll be inspite of their squad, not because of it.

Why do people post such useless tripe?

So, based on your comments, if United win the title it means less and they didn't really earn it?

xlash

Feb 14th, 2012, 10:09 AM

Why do people post such useless tripe?

So, based on your comments, if United win the title it means less and they didn't really earn it?

Why would it be useless? And who said anything about earning a title? Most points at the end of the season equates to a win. But the quality of the team doesn't have to be directly correlated. A team doesn't necessarily win because it's got a great squad. Last season so many experts said it was the worst Man U squads to win the EPL and gave credit to SAF citing the meltdown of the London clubs. Inter won the treble in 2010 and Mou got most of the credit.

Fimo

Feb 14th, 2012, 10:12 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV1M7wn5Zfs&feature=player_embedded#!

xlash

Feb 14th, 2012, 11:21 AM

You know who LFC should sign? Some PR guys! I have to say that Man U have excellent PR, even going back to the 90s, and nailed the marketing thing down. Even their lawyers are good, as evidenced in the Evra/Suarez case and many others over the years. That's important these days...cripes, "these days", I'm not that old...

If Suarez said he was going to shake hands and there was an official statement from LFC saying he was going to do it, he should've followed through. It was a stupid, selfish mistake. I get why he wouldn't want to shake hands and power to him if he doesn't (I wouldn't if I knew I was innocent either), but he should've thought of what it would do to the PR, sponsors etc...putting this nonsense to bed would've been ideal. The crowd was frothing at the mouth and he gave the pundits and press exactly what he wanted.

I'd ignore the talk that Suarez and King Kenny are leaving. It came from nothing whatsoever. Kenny merely apologized and he has before too. He needs some proper PR to help him out, he should have said nothing until he had a chance to sort out what the hell was going on.

Suarez, if he doesn't stop with some of the stupid stuff this season, will be sold (is my guess). He has a chance to level his temper and move on and if he doesn't, he's gone. No player is bigger than LFC.

I don't think he's the spawn of Satan, but he's a guy who 1 out of 10 times doesn't pick the smart option. His mom even said in an interview that he's too hot-headed on the pitch. The guy has a wife and daughter and does all kinds of charity/humanitarian work, but on the pitch he has to calm down and play his football. The abuse he gets is way OTT and doesn't help, but he has to rise above it.

One thing that was strange, and curious, was the fact that the away team moved to shake hands. It's always the home team who do.

All this could have been done and dusted in October when it happened. That's the real shame, it's made an ugly fixture even more disgusting. People are construing what racism is and what a racist is, it does more harm than good to cheapen it and hurl it at someone who clearly isn't racist. The classlessness of all parties involved at times is pathetic.

Nobody came out with any credit from all of this other than Barnes, what a class act. Cuts it right down to the basics.

Alright, let's be done with this handshake crap already. I probably said that last time, didn't I? I'm done.

Nice. Very well said.

blzn

Feb 14th, 2012, 04:05 PM

harpoon

Feb 14th, 2012, 07:39 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:19 PM

Interesting graph on the 4 teams going for the much coveted last Champions League spot, showing how many points gained from every 3 games:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/950599/progress_medium.png

All teams have been erratic this season, should be interesting who get's it.

Chelsea has the toughest away schedule of all teams however they actually need to worry about fixing themselves before worrying about who we play.

Take the average of all those datapoints and you should see the favourite, though lack of squad depth may play a role at the end of the season. A quick look at the graph shows that LFC are the most consistent - due to all their draws. They have yet to achieve 3 consecutive wins though, unlike the other 3. Arsenal look to have the edge overall, especially lately. Don't discount the experience of Chelsea's squad though - it may well pull them through at the end. Chelsea are also most in need of the ChLg funds, to help cover (and justify) their higher salaries. Expect LFC and NUFC to bring up the rear, unless LFC somehow get the guts to finally go all out for wins.

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:36 PM

Why would it be useless? And who said anything about earning a title? Most points at the end of the season equates to a win. But the quality of the team doesn't have to be directly correlated. A team doesn't necessarily win because it's got a great squad. Last season so many experts said it was the worst Man U squads to win the EPL and gave credit to SAF citing the meltdown of the London clubs. Inter won the treble in 2010 and Mou got most of the credit.

The league isn't necessarily won by the best squad - as we've seen, just 2 seasons ago, a single goal (such as the one Gerrard handed to Chelsea) or poor refereeing decision can be decisive in a close race - but only the best are in contention right at the end. Lately the best two teams have definitely been United and Chelsea. Before that it was United and Arsenal. This year it's unquestionably United and City.

Time will tell if SAF is key or not, but United have consistently been at the top. And LFC have consistently been with the next rung of also-lans. The truth really hurts, huh? :lol:

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 09:51 PM

We get it, you're a Red Devils fan. A player who dons that jersey can do nothing wrong in your eyes. Then again Evra was a "class act" after the match when he celebrated like he'd just won the world cup. Speaking of which he sure led that team to glory, didn't he? 4 years after Zidane carried the team to the finals.

I was very clear when I said spanish-speaking countries, wasn't I? If I wanted to include Brazil I would have said South America.

Sure they can. I've been disappointed by a number of United players over the years, especially for off-field activities, and if they're not great players they're usually not United players for much longer afterward. I've never had any problem with Evra though. You can't blame him for the French manager's failings. Zidane can certainly be blamed for blowing the WC final though.

As for Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina and Chile, which I assume you are referring to, they are predominantly white. And they've been run by mass-murdering neo-Fascist dictators too. It's hardly positive if countries like that use the term "negra" "jovially".

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 10:07 PM

If you knew beforehand which team would win La Liga, where is your post? Even if injuries creep in, Madrid has a deep enough squad and personnel to win given the 10 point gap. Manchester City has the personnel to win as well. Yaya Toure is returning, Mario's ban will be up and so will Kompany's. And there's talk that Tevez might be returning to the fold as well. What kind of a boost is United getting? The logistics of playing in the league and the UEFA cup makes it harder on players than the UCL. SAF, himself, claimed that. Speaking of the UCL (since their EPL record is so close), City lost to Napoli and Bayern in Europe, United lost to Basel!! Beating Galati was a struggle for them. They may win the title but it'll be inspite of their squad, not because of it.

Did anybody here post pre-season who would win in Spain? Why would they? This is an EPL thread, even though we do accept gi4c's posts as he's generally a useful contributor. And besides, it would be a bit redundant, given the clear 2-team dominance there, mostly in Barca's favour over the past several seasons.

The UEFA cup shouldn't affect the outcome between United and City, since both clubs are in the same boat. And if Tevez returns, that will likely be to City's detriment. Your comment about City getting a squad boost, and United not, just goes to show how little you actually know. I could fill you in, but I see no point wasting my time doing so.

As for the comment about watching Spanish teams, the Spanish league isn't aired on any of the numerous sports channels I pay for. I did watch Barca today though and they certainly didn't look bad to me. They'd literally pass rings around LFC, that's for sure.

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 10:17 PM

John Barnes sums it all up nicely here w.r.t Racism in football and in general. He also has a very good opinion piece in tomorrow's Times Newspaper.

Video: John Barnes on Racism (http://news.sky.com/home/video/health/video/16144726)

Very well spoken by Barnes.

A week after that interview, after Suarez' latest stunt, he said:

Former Liverpool striker John Barnes said on ESPN: "When I saw it live and they didn't shake hands, it just amazed me. I can't imagine after everything that has gone on this week that this was not discussed by Liverpool in terms of are they going to shake hands or not."

So Suarez is still an idiot. In Barnes' eyes too.

Tornado F2

Feb 14th, 2012, 10:58 PM

Tevez actually has arrived back in Manchester - with serious police protection.

But why is he really there, after just accusing Mancini, publicly, of "treating him like a dog"? (A seriously overpaid one at that).

Ah yes, it must have something to do with the £9.3m or so that he (and by extension his owner) has lost over the past few months. No doubt he'll be moaning to his (former) teammates about it first chance he gets.

In the meantime, could it be mere coincidence that the Argentine FA is reportedly planning to rename its league for the General Belgrano - the cruiser sunk during their failed 1982 invasion of the Falklands? I'll not be surprised in the slightest if he had some influence in that. Assuming, of course, that he actually can communicate in Spanish. He still hasn't figured out English after all these years. FIFA have warned Argentina against such a name change. After all, it would be like Germany renaming its league "Bismarck" or "Hermann Goering", or Japan naming its one after "General Yamamoto". I really hope England don't go with "Maggie Thatcher". :rolleyes:

hyperion

Feb 15th, 2012, 01:07 PM

Nice goal from today Zenit vs. Benfica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P93YRcQTmg

Tornado F2

Feb 15th, 2012, 09:21 PM

Henry should have left on the weekend, right after his late winner, while he was on top. I thought he was lucky to get a ChLg game, but it ended up being Arsenal's biggest European defeat ever. AC Milan 4 - 0 Arsenal. Milan were good value for the win too, especially Ibra who had a better game than I've seen from him lately. Boateng's goal was excellent. Robinho's goal celebration (ignoring Ibra, who did all the hard work) was typical of him, and the reason why he'll gain very few people's respect, even fans of the clubs he plays for.

United are on TLN tomorrow, at 1PM. Set your recorders.

BTW, poor old Wenger in the dugout. He was so low at the end he was practically below the ground. Bet he wishes he could stay there. What sort of Arsenal crowd will they find at Emirates for the next leg? It could get nasty.

xlash

Feb 15th, 2012, 09:42 PM

The league isn't necessarily won by the best squad - as we've seen, just 2 seasons ago, a single goal (such as the one Gerrard handed to Chelsea) or poor refereeing decision can be decisive in a close race - but only the best are in contention right at the end. Lately the best two teams have definitely been United and Chelsea. Before that it was United and Arsenal. This year it's unquestionably United and City.

Time will tell if SAF is key or not, but United have consistently been at the top. And LFC have consistently been with the next rung of also-lans. The truth really hurts, huh? :lol:

That's precisely what I've said, haven't I? Last year Man U won despite not having the best squad. Buddy, when I commented on Evra vs. Suarez my point was that I don't agree with the latter did but I understand. I'm not an LFC supporter and even if I were I wouldn't attack Man U to make myself feel better.

Sure they can. I've been disappointed by a number of United players over the years, especially for off-field activities, and if they're not great players they're usually not United players for much longer afterward. I've never had any problem with Evra though. You can't blame him for the French manager's failings. Zidane can certainly be blamed for blowing the WC final though.

That's speculation. France wasn't completely dominating the Italians. When it boils down to penalties it's 50-50 especially in the world cup finals. I can't blame Evra for Domenech's failings but:

A) he was the team captain
B) he could have followed Zidane's foot steps
C) be a leader, finish the tournament and then act against Domenech

He failed in all of the above. Partly because of his character and partly because I think he was used as a scapegoat. He can be classy at times and he has that fighting spirit but he doesn't have a spotless record like e.g. Xavi, far from it. And he can be rather provocative, especially after the last win against LFC.

As for Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina and Chile, which I assume you are referring to, they are predominantly white. And they've been run by mass-murdering neo-Fascist dictators too. It's hardly positive if countries like that use the term "negra" "jovially".

That's besides the point. The fact is it IS used jovially and that's what Suarez is used to and what he believes.

Did anybody here post pre-season who would win in Spain? Why would they? This is an EPL thread, even though we do accept gi4c's posts as he's generally a useful contributor. And besides, it would be a bit redundant, given the clear 2-team dominance there, mostly in Barca's favour over the past several seasons.

The UEFA cup shouldn't affect the outcome between United and City, since both clubs are in the same boat. And if Tevez returns, that will likely be to City's detriment. Your comment about City getting a squad boost, and United not, just goes to show how little you actually know. I could fill you in, but I see no point wasting my time doing so.

As for the comment about watching Spanish teams, the Spanish league isn't aired on any of the numerous sports channels I pay for. I did watch Barca today though and they certainly didn't look bad to me. They'd literally pass rings around LFC, that's for sure.

We don't know how City will perform when Tevez comes back. Whatever he did off the field he was their key player on the field last season. You seriously think the return of Kompany and Balotelli from their bans and the Toure brothers from Acfon isn't going to make a difference? Yeah I mentioned them too. Read my post. I may know little but I at least assess and think it through. I don't follow football through Man U coloured glasses.

Passing rings around a team isn't good enough. Go watch the highlights from 2007, narrow away goals victory but victory nonetheless. Barca is the best team in the world not because they hold on to the ball against all opponents but because they are tactically intelligent enough to break down the toughest defences. This season poor form and injuries have taken a toll. Geez for someone who knows so little I sure feel like you know absolutely nothing.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 15th, 2012, 10:19 PM

if arsenal doesn't finish in top 4, i expect rvp to leave

http://i.imgur.com/yHgNn.jpg

Tornado F2

Feb 15th, 2012, 10:29 PM

if arsenal doesn't finish in top 4, i expect rvp to leave

http://i.imgur.com/yHgNn.jpg

It will certainly be hard to keep him. Are there any teammates remaining that he'd be too loyal to leave behind? Given the offers he can expect from other clubs, with bigger salaries and better chances of silverware, it will take something special to keep him loyal.

If they miss out on the ChLg, I'll not be overly surprised if Wenger calls it a day too. He may love the club, but he rarely looks like he's enjoying the job these days.

BTW, Chesney might be right. Arsenal might beat Milan in the 2nd leg, especially if Milan rest key players on the bench. Even Wenger rates them at a <5% chance of progressing though. The damage is already done. A single away goal for Milan will need to be countered by 2 more Arsenal goals, on top of the 4 already needed. I'll be mighty impressed if they can recover from that, especially with this season's squad. A 1-0 home win will be a somewhat-honourable way for Arsenal to bow out.

Tornado F2

Feb 15th, 2012, 11:11 PM

That's precisely what I've said, haven't I? Last year Man U won despite not having the best squad. Buddy, when I commented on Evra vs. Suarez my point was that I don't agree with the latter did but I understand. I'm not an LFC supporter and even if I were I wouldn't attack Man U to make myself feel better.

That's speculation. France wasn't completely dominating the Italians. When it boils down to penalties it's 50-50 especially in the world cup finals. I can't blame Evra for Domenech's failings but:

A) he was the team captain
B) he could have followed Zidane's foot steps
C) be a leader, finish the tournament and then act against Domenech

He failed in all of the above. Partly because of his character and partly because I think he was used as a scapegoat. He can be classy at times and he has that fighting spirit but he doesn't have a spotless record like e.g. Xavi, far from it. And he can be rather provocative, especially after the last win against LFC.

That's besides the point. The fact is it IS used jovially and that's what Suarez is used to and what he believes.

We don't know how City will perform when Tevez comes back. Whatever he did off the field he was their key player on the field last season. You seriously think the return of Kompany and Balotelli from their bans and the Toure brothers from Acfon isn't going to make a difference? Yeah I mentioned them too. Read my post. I may know little but I at least assess and think it through. I don't follow football through Man U coloured glasses.

Passing rings around a team isn't good enough. Go watch the highlights from 2007, narrow away goals victory but victory nonetheless. Barca is the best team in the world not because they hold on to the ball against all opponents but because they are tactically intelligent enough to break down the toughest defences. This season poor form and injuries have taken a toll. Geez for someone who knows so little I sure feel like you know absolutely nothing.

Why so confrontational all the time? Are we not allowed to agree on anything? How do you define "strongest/best squad" anyway? Who do you think was better than United last season? United may not have the best squad we've ever seen, but they're clearly still plenty good enough to remain competitive. And with such a young squad, we will likely get better over the coming years, while recent rivals are forced into expensive rebuilds.

As for Evra at the WC, he didn't revolt on his own. As squad leader he merely fronted (pretty much) the entire squad, who were clearly agreed that wacky Domenech wasn't their man. This wasn't the first French WC squad to go home early. It just seems to be something in their nature. With Zidane, on the other hand, iirc France had the upper hand in the final. Then Zidane went insane, got sent off, and likely threw his teammates off their game. The PKs may have been 50:50, (though my money would have been onBuffon over Barthez - ironic that neither actually made a PK save) but it likely wouldn't have gone to PKs is Zidane had kept his head and not left his team a man short. It certainly wasn't a great way to end his career, even if it was memorable.

The KKK likely use the "n word" jovially. That still doesn't make it right. Suarez has been playing in Europe long enough to know he's not living in his old 'hood anymore and racist abuse isn't acceptable.

You talk about players that City have coming back, but forget that United have good players of their own coming back into the squad. The fact that City are even considering allowing Tevez back into their squad may well be a sign of desperation on their part. He's become a cancer and he's best left out. You'll see. IF they take the gamble of using him.

Passing rings and keeping possession is enough to win once you've scored the first goal. Barca are demonstrated masters of it. If you check the stats, I'm pretty sure that most matches lost by Barca come when they concede the first goal - and that doesn't happen often these days.

Finally, wrt your "Man U coloured glasses" remark, it just shows how little you know about me. It may be blatantly obvious which team I support (unlike yourself), but that's never stopped me from recognising great football and footballers from other teams, even United's rivals. I may have been a United fan all my life, but I've always been a great football fan too. For some of us it is possible to be and do more than one thing at a time. Maybe you should try opening your own closed mind a bit.

xlash

Feb 15th, 2012, 11:56 PM

Why so confrontational all the time? Are we not allowed to agree on anything? How do you define "strongest/best squad" anyway? Who do you think was better than United last season? United may not have the best squad we've ever seen, but they're clearly still plenty good enough to remain competitive. And with such a young squad, we will likely get better over the coming years, while recent rivals are forced into expensive rebuilds.

As for Evra at the WC, he didn't revolt on his own. As squad leader he merely fronted (pretty much) the entire squad, who were clearly agreed that wacky Domenech wasn't their man. This wasn't the first French WC squad to go home early. It just seems to be something in their nature. With Zidane, on the other hand, iirc France had the upper hand in the final. Then Zidane went insane, got sent off, and likely threw his teammates off their game. The PKs may have been 50:50, (though my money would have been onBuffon over Barthez - ironic that neither actually made a PK save) but it likely wouldn't have gone to PKs is Zidane had kept his head and not left his team a man short. It certainly wasn't a great way to end his career, even if it was memorable.

The KKK likely use the "n word" jovially. That still doesn't make it right. Suarez has been playing in Europe long enough to know he's not living in his old 'hood anymore and racist abuse isn't acceptable.

You talk about players that City have coming back, but forget that United have good players of their own coming back into the squad. The fact that City are even considering allowing Tevez back into their squad may well be a sign of desperation on their part. He's become a cancer and he's best left out. You'll see. IF they take the gamble of using him.

Passing rings and keeping possession is enough to win once you've scored the first goal. Barca are demonstrated masters of it. If you check the stats, I'm pretty sure that most matches lost by Barca come when they concede the first goal - and that doesn't happen often these days.

Finally, wrt your "Man U coloured glasses" remark, it just shows how little you know about me. It may be blatantly obvious which team I support (unlike yourself), but that's never stopped me from recognising great football and footballers from other teams, even United's rivals. I may have been a United fan all my life, but I've always been a great football fan too. For some of us it is possible to be and do more than one thing at a time. Maybe you should try opening your own closed mind a bit.

You attacked me for taking a stance on Suarez and now accuse me for being confrontational!?! WTH mate. Who said we don't agree on anything? I'm sure we will at some point. But in this case you are looking through Man U coloured glasses. A young squad doesn't necessarily equate to future success. For every Ronaldo there's a Bebe. For every great rebuild like Barcelona there's an Arsenal - forever rebuilding. Plus SAF isn't going to be around to nurture another era ala Neville, Becks, Giggs and Scholes etc. And I hate to bring this up but financially Man U isn't in a very favourable position, especially after losing out on the CL knockout rounds.

I never said using the n-word in any shape or form was right. What I said was that Suarez believes that particular rendition isn't a racial taunt. And if they were playing in Uruguay this would not make the back pages of their sports section. Hence I don't condone what he did but I understand. I don't know how many times I have to say this.

Ok fine, forget Tevez. The jury is out on that. Which player equivalent to Balotelli, Yaya Toure and Kompany are returning for Man U? The two that matter i.e. Vidic and Fletcher are out for the season. Would you really take Cleverly and Anderson over the trio I mentioned?

If you check the stats ANY team that concedes the first goal has a greater chance of losing. Doesn't matter what style the team plays. I can throw stats at you too. Ultimately, the only stat that matters is goals.

If you truly understand and love football you should know that Zidane did more for the sport and his national team than Evra ever did. The one chance he got, he blew it. As team captain, leading a nation's hope he should have put on-pitch performance first. Instead it was his and the team's tussle with Domenech.

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 10:44 AM

You attacked me for taking a stance on Suarez and now accuse me for being confrontational!?! WTH mate. Who said we don't agree on anything? I'm sure we will at some point. But in this case you are looking through Man U coloured glasses. A young squad doesn't necessarily equate to future success. For every Ronaldo there's a Bebe. For every great rebuild like Barcelona there's an Arsenal - forever rebuilding. Plus SAF isn't going to be around to nurture another era ala Neville, Becks, Giggs and Scholes etc. And I hate to bring this up but financially Man U isn't in a very favourable position, especially after losing out on the CL knockout rounds.

I never said using the n-word in any shape or form was right. What I said was that Suarez believes that particular rendition isn't a racial taunt. And if they were playing in Uruguay this would not make the back pages of their sports section. Hence I don't condone what he did but I understand. I don't know how many times I have to say this.

Ok fine, forget Tevez. The jury is out on that. Which player equivalent to Balotelli, Yaya Toure and Kompany are returning for Man U? The two that matter i.e. Vidic and Fletcher are out for the season. Would you really take Cleverly and Anderson over the trio I mentioned?

If you check the stats ANY team that concedes the first goal has a greater chance of losing. Doesn't matter what style the team plays. I can throw stats at you too. Ultimately, the only stat that matters is goals.

If you truly understand and love football you should know that Zidane did more for the sport and his national team than Evra ever did. The one chance he got, he blew it. As team captain, leading a nation's hope he should have put on-pitch performance first. Instead it was his and the team's tussle with Domenech.

Your posts remind me of the trolls found in Off Topic, who completely ignore what doesn't suit their needs. I don't bother replying to them, and I'm very close to applying the same approach to you.

For starters, I NEVER attack other posters, unless perhaps they attacked me first, and that hasn't happened in a long time. Certainly not in the short time you've been butting in. I've found smarter ways to deal with morons than joining them in their own game.

For another, we agreed here. You're just unwilling (or too ignorant) to realise it.

The rest of your post isn't worth my time. You obviously lack sufficient knowledge of the United squad.

Past posts leave me still wondering which EPL team, if any, you actually support. Obviously it's not United. Apparently not Chelsea or LFC either. You must be a recent Citeh bandwagon jumper, going off your fascination with them. You should go try out. I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to sign a talented player like you up. :lol:

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 10:53 AM

This one's hilarious:

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/if-you-could-redo-undergrad-what-would-you-major-1135122/8/#post14205090

"After reading the thread I'd focus on my skills rather than take the school route. I have decent footballing skills and if I had focused and built on that I would have been playing in England/Spain/Italy/France/Germany today. Assuming I'm just average and playing on a mid-table team top I'd be making 20-50k euros a week. After the footballing career I could become an analyst, writer, coach etc. If I maintain a moderate lifestyle I'd always have enough cash if I was hard pressed for jobs at midlife."

:facepalm:

xlash sure thinks highly of himself. Seems he thinks he's that much better than the billions of schoolkids who had the exact same dream. Except many of them likely had more real footballing talent than he'll ever have. That explains his obvious frustration.

:lol:

blzn

Feb 16th, 2012, 11:37 AM

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 11:53 AM

Lol let's not make this personal.

I think Man City defintely has the greatest boost with Kompany+Balotelli+Toure returning. They're simply huge for Man City and Man U don't have any combination of players as good returning for them this season. Not to mention if Tevez actually returns.

However, MU mentality + having a manager like SAF is something City do not have atm. Hopefully next season other clubs outside Manchester can stay in the title race to make it even better.

I think this will be the biggest couple of weeks for AVB, FA Cup and Champions League are our only chances to win a trophy this year. We should progress to the next round in both competitions but I'm sure it will be very difficult against Napoli.

Too much drama going on at Chelsea atm, we really just need some results.

Things don't look too good for him when he publicly admits that several players don't agree with his "project". If they're the same players that got previous managers removed, he doesn't stand much of a chance unless he gets rid of them first. But he'll have to wait until the end of the season now.

K, B, and T&T are definitely key to City, but United have talented younger players just returning to the squad, and I believe they'll give us the edge. T&T could have brought winning experience back with them, but were defeated in the African final. Hopefully they'll spread runner-up mentality instead. :)

United's squad today, with Evra, Giggs, and Berb rested:

01 De Gea
04 Jones
05 Ferdinand
06 Evans
20 Fabio
16 Carrick
17 Nani
18 Young
23 Cleverley
10 Rooney
14 Hernandez
Substitutes
40 Amos
12 Smalling
13 Park Ji-sung
22 Scholes
25 Valencia
42 Pogba
19 Welbeck

Quite a few recent returnees among them. If the returnees come back even half as well as Valencia has we'll be in good shape.

Anyway, time to go switch on the TV. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 02:43 PM

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson: "I'm delighted with the scoreline. It was an ordinary performance and didn't reach any great height. We didn't play well at all and didn't have any rhythm. There wasn't any tempo to our play in the first half, but in the second half we improved. It wasn't a brilliant performance, but it's good enough. The second goal gives us a good opportunity at Old Trafford to get us through."

Still good enough to get us a good 2-0 away win over Ajax though. The only bad news is that Valencia's going to be out again for a month with a hamstring injury. Young was still a bit rusty, but scored United's first UEFA Cup/Europa goal of this millennium. Scholes successfully completed several tackles, as a sub, without earning himself a yellow card. :-0 I think he's finally figured it out. :lol:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58548000/jpg/_58548730_58548729.jpg

jcon

Feb 16th, 2012, 02:48 PM

Scholes successfully completed several tackles, as a sub, without earning himself a yellow card.

That in itself is a win!

United did what they needed to do - despite injuries and what not.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite having a horrible team (as per the locals on RFD) they manage to put enough points together to stay within 2 of that vastly superior (as per the locals on RFD) Citeh club.

Maybe they'll manage to have everyone in the league lose all their games for the rest of the year and be handed another trophy? Crazy times these are.

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 03:09 PM

That in itself is a win!

United did what they needed to do - despite injuries and what not.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite having a horrible team (as per the locals on RFD) they manage to put enough points together to stay within 2 of that vastly superior (as per the locals on RFD) Citeh club.

Maybe they'll manage to have everyone in the league lose all their games for the rest of the year and be handed another trophy? Crazy times these are.

Yeah, I was impressed by that new youngster Scholes. :D

It wasn't a classic United performance, but the 2nd half was good, and it gave returnees another competitive match to get back into shape.

Are we missing any LFC posters here this week? I watched the Footy Show earlier and Sharmen's apparently away this week. I'll bet he caught the RFD-special to Manchester ($400, taxes included) that caught my eye a few weeks back. It arrived too late for the United-LFC match, but that won't keep him from going on a drunken pub crawl. :lol:

xlash

Feb 16th, 2012, 09:09 PM

Your posts remind me of the trolls found in Off Topic, who completely ignore what doesn't suit their needs. I don't bother replying to them, and I'm very close to applying the same approach to you.

For starters, I NEVER attack other posters, unless perhaps they attacked me first, and that hasn't happened in a long time. Certainly not in the short time you've been butting in. I've found smarter ways to deal with morons than joining them in their own game.

For another, we agreed here. You're just unwilling (or too ignorant) to realise it.

The rest of your post isn't worth my time. You obviously lack sufficient knowledge of the United squad.

Past posts leave me still wondering which EPL team, if any, you actually support. Obviously it's not United. Apparently not Chelsea or LFC either. You must be a recent Citeh bandwagon jumper, going off your fascination with them. You should go try out. I'm sure they'd jump at the chance to sign a talented player like you up. :lol:

Your posts remind of someone who plays football sitting on the couch. You attacked one of my first posts on this thread, clearly you contradict yourself. You resort to personal attacks calling me a troll and a moron and yet you're smarter?!?

The reason why you didn't respond to the rest of my post is because you don't know how to. You don't understand football and based on your posts you don't understand the business of the sport either.

This one's hilarious:

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/if-you-could-redo-undergrad-what-would-you-major-1135122/8/#post14205090

"After reading the thread I'd focus on my skills rather than take the school route. I have decent footballing skills and if I had focused and built on that I would have been playing in England/Spain/Italy/France/Germany today. Assuming I'm just average and playing on a mid-table team top I'd be making 20-50k euros a week. After the footballing career I could become an analyst, writer, coach etc. If I maintain a moderate lifestyle I'd always have enough cash if I was hard pressed for jobs at midlife."

:facepalm:

xlash sure thinks highly of himself. Seems he thinks he's that much better than the billions of schoolkids who had the exact same dream. Except many of them likely had more real footballing talent than he'll ever have. That explains his obvious frustration.

:lol:

Ah, so now you know everything about me, eh? Geez if only you could have used your super powers to push Manchester United past Basel. Stick to your day job as a keyboard warrior chump. You aren't very good at that either.

Tornado F2

Feb 16th, 2012, 10:58 PM

Your posts remind of someone who plays football sitting on the couch. You attacked one of my first posts on this thread, clearly you contradict yourself. You resort to personal attacks calling me a troll and a moron and yet you're smarter?!?

You really need to work on your reading skills. I didn't call you either. You are the one who read it that way. :rolleyes:

hyperion

Feb 16th, 2012, 11:23 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 17th, 2012, 12:23 AM

I think xlash makes a lot of good points and I agree with pretty much all of them. Being a fan of Liverpool has nothing to do with it. It's just my outsider's view and opinion on Utd.

At the same time, while Man City's squad is better now, they won't be able to keep doing what they've been doing so far (buying world-class talent at high prices, offloading failed projects left and right through loans) both because the Sheiks will probably want some sort of return on their investment, and because of the new FIFA rules. For the future, academies should hold the key to which club can attain or maintain greatness.

And there again United's future still looks bright. :D

(Sorry, I can't help it if the club I've supported all my life is consistently at the top. They've made moves like fielding Barthez, or even a squad full of kids, to give other teams a chance and keep the league interesting, but they can't be expected to replace the entire squad with mediocrity just to keep rival fans happy. If you guys want your clubs to "knock United off their perch", you need to take it up with your respective clubs and get them to raise their own game. United have no good reason to lower theirs).

If you and xlax are claiming that City's current squad is better than United's, you need to apply Pele's test for evaluating Messi - look at the silverware won. What is it, one trophy in 25 years? Versus how many for United? And the current United squad won last year's EPL title. So until Citeh win the league they have little claim to truly being "best". Even then (and if), they've still got a LONG way to go to approach United's proud record. Citeh are unquestionably the best they've been in decades - they've bought their way into Chelsea's spot - but they've not topped United yet. Until they do, they'll never be anything more than second-best. :)

But as I've said before, I have no problem with City's newly-purchased quality. Other teams' challenges are what spur United on. Things would quickly get boring if the gulf between United and everybody else became too large. Having the two best English football teams in Manchester is great for the city. Manchester is becoming Manchester. Even more than before. :D

xlash

Feb 17th, 2012, 12:25 AM

And there again United's future still looks bright. :D

(Sorry, I can't help it if the club I've supported all my life is consistently at the top. They've made moves like fielding Barthez, or even a squad full of kids, to give other teams a chance and keep the league interesting, but they can't be expected to replace the entire squad with mediocrity just to keep rival fans happy. If you guys want your clubs to "knock United off their perch", you need to take it up with your respective clubs and get them to raise their own game. United have no good reason to lower theirs).

If you and xlax are claiming that City's current squad is better than United's, you need to apply Pele's test for evaluating Messi - look at the silverware won. What is it, one trophy in 25 years? Versus how many for United? And the current United squad won last year's EPL title. So until Citeh win the league they have little claim to truly being "best". Even then (and if), they've still got a LONG way to go to approach United's proud record. Citeh are unquestionably the best they've been in decades - they've bought their way into Chelsea's spot - but they've not topped United yet. Until they do, they'll never be anything more than second-best. :)

But as I've said before, I have no problem with City's newly-purchased quality. Other teams' challenges are what spur United on. Things would quickly get boring if the gulf between United and everybody else became too large. Having the two best English football teams in Manchester is great for the city. Manchester is becoming Manchester. :D

A record of trophies means absolutely NOTHING when you are speaking of the current situation. By your (extremely flawed) logic Juventus should be the best team in Serie A right now and Real Madrid should be the best team in Europe and Spain. Nobody is discussing which team is the best all time because then you'd have to consider all of Europe and your beloved team lags (far) behind Juventus and Real Madrid.

Player for player Manchester City DOES have a better squad. The thrashing they received in their first EPL meeting this season should be indicative of that.

The winning formula has always been lots of money to buy top players and a top coach/manager with tactical genius who can assemble the right set of players. Man U's brand value and marketing rakes in the money while SAF supplies the latter. If next season Jose Mourinho goes to City (Mancini cannot go toe to toe with SAF with similar squads), United wouldn't have a hope in hell of winning the league if the squads stay virtually the same. The Manchester clubs are doing well simply the following challengers are lacking:

Arsenal: Wenger is a terrible tactician. He plays the same way and cannot alter his game plan when losing. Plus they've stocked up on players who are not Champions League material or table toppers.
Chelsea: Abramovich is making all the purchasing decisions, not a guile coach like Mourinho. The exact same problem Inter is having. Their key players are a lot older and AVB cannot mold the team to his liking unless he has the same powers as Mou does at RM
Tottenham: Don't spend enough money to consolidate a squad.

With financial restrictions looming teams with top academies, balanced books and first class managers will be leading Europe and respective domestic sides. Man U's books are far from balanced, SAF will retire soon and its academy...I'll throw you a bone with this one since you've got Danny Welbeck.

Tornado F2

Feb 17th, 2012, 01:01 AM

A record of trophies means absolutely NOTHING when you are speaking of the current situation. By your (extremely flawed) logic Juventus should be the best team in Serie A right now and Real Madrid should be the best team in Europe and Spain. Nobody is discussing which team is the best all time because then you'd have to consider all of Europe and your beloved team lags (far) behind Juventus and Real Madrid.

Player for player Manchester City DOES have a better squad. The thrashing they received in their first EPL meeting this season should be indicative of that.

The winning formula has always been lots of money to buy top players and a top coach/manager with tactical genius who can assemble the right set of players. Man U's brand value and marketing rakes in the money while SAF supplies the latter. If next season Jose Mourinho goes to City (Mancini cannot go toe to toe with SAF with similar squads), United wouldn't have a hope in hell of winning the league if the squads stay virtually the same. The Manchester clubs are doing well simply the following challengers are lacking:

Arsenal: Wenger is a terrible tactician. He plays the same way and cannot alter his game plan when losing. Plus they've stocked up on players who are not Champions League material or table toppers.
Chelsea: Abramovich is making all the purchasing decisions, not a guile coach like Mourinho. The exact same problem Inter is having. Their key players are a lot older and AVB cannot mold the team to his liking unless he has the same powers as Mou does at RM
Tottenham: Don't spend enough money to consolidate a squad.

With financial restrictions looming teams with top academies, balanced books and first class managers will be leading Europe and respective domestic sides. Man U's books are far from balanced, SAF will retire soon and its academy...I'll throw you a bone with this one since you've got Danny Welbeck.

Once again you need to read posts more carefully. As I said, (pretty much) "the current United squad won last year's EPL title". That's LAST season. Ending just last May. You'll have to wait until THIS May to get any more recent than that. :D The fact that we've been winning for decades doesn't diminish the fact that the current squad is made up of winners too. What do your idols at City have to compete with that? How many have won the EPL? Or ANY English silverware, other than last season's FA Cup? The entire City squad combined probably can't compete with Rooney's collection, let alone that of Giggs and Scholes. And you should see the size of SAF's collection. :lol:

As for the derby earlier this season, that was a one-off, with the final scoreline greatly distorting reality. While both teams still had 11 men on the pitch the game was extremely close. But if you're happy with that one result to show at the end of the season, so be it. United will carry on collecting the things (i.e. titles and trophies) that really count. :D

Do you REALLY want Mourinho at Citeh next season? You really should be more careful what you wish for. You just might get him. :lol:

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 17th, 2012, 12:16 PM

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPW3zCKWGIo/Tz4DXbNux2I/AAAAAAAAFI0/gODJqnfHwcg/s400/4%2BBayern%2BProfit%2BLeague.jpg

lol @ man city

Tornado F2

Feb 17th, 2012, 12:21 PM

with financial restrictions looming teams with top academies, balanced books and first class managers will be leading europe and respective domestic sides. Man u's books are far from balanced, saf will retire soon and its academy...i'll throw you a bone with this one since you've got danny welbeck.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rpw3zckwgio/tz4dxbnux2i/aaaaaaaafi0/godjqnfhwcg/s400/4%2bbayern%2bprofit%2bleague.jpg

lol @ man city

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPW3zCKWGIo/Tz4DXbNux2I/AAAAAAAAFI0/gODJqnfHwcg/s400/4%2BBayern%2BProfit%2BLeague.jpg

Balanced books, huh?

:lol:

blzn

Feb 17th, 2012, 12:52 PM

Man City has the best squad on paper in the EPL, there is no way around that.

Profit for the year doesn't show much debt that is currently owed :facepalm: What Man City is doing isn't exactly stupid, spend as much as possible before FFP comes into place.

Not to mention Pele is known for being a fool as a 'analyst' he was a fantastic player (for never playing in Europe) no doubt but he continually makes stupid comments.

Chelsea has done well recently to get into good shape for Financial Fair Play and I'm glad of the work going on behind the scenes to bring in talented youngsters not to mention some homegrown players that are coming along. I think Roman might be giving AVB the reins to try and make Chelsea his own, him still being here after a terrible season is indicator of that. He has brought in Mata and gotten the best out of Sturridge, where we would be without those two I wouldn't want to know.

Tornado F2

Feb 17th, 2012, 04:26 PM

Man City has the best squad on paper in the EPL, there is no way around that.

Tally up all the worthwhile silverware that each EPL squad's players have won and look again. Even Chelsea should be ahead of City, at least until the >30-year-olds retire.

xlash

Feb 17th, 2012, 08:32 PM

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPW3zCKWGIo/Tz4DXbNux2I/AAAAAAAAFI0/gODJqnfHwcg/s400/4%2BBayern%2BProfit%2BLeague.jpg

Balanced books, huh?

:lol:

Do you even KNOW what balanced books mean? United's squad is funded by debt. The club has borrowed money. Actually Malcolm Glazer borrowed money to buy the club and the club has had to borrow more money to fund their player purchases. That money HAS to be paid back otherwise the funding institutions CAN foreclose on the debt.

City has used ownership investment to fund their purchases and wages. If the club loses money, the owners lose money.

Here's a clue - look up the difference between debt and equity. Remember I told you that you know NOTHING about the business of the sport. I just proved it....again. Except this time I proved that you know NOTHING about BUSINESS either.

Tally up all the worthwhile silverware that each EPL squad's players have won and look again. Even Chelsea should be ahead of City, at least until the >30-year-olds retire.

Past silverware means NOTHING. I don't know why you keep bringing that up like a broken tape recorder.

harpoon

Feb 17th, 2012, 11:09 PM

Fimo

Feb 17th, 2012, 11:54 PM

I promise you, you CAN'T win with this, logic isn't your friend.

+1 what he said. Can't wait for Tornado F3.

blzn

Feb 18th, 2012, 09:24 AM

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 11:50 AM

Do you even KNOW what balanced books mean? United's squad is funded by debt. The club has borrowed money. Actually Malcolm Glazer borrowed money to buy the club and the club has had to borrow more money to fund their player purchases. That money HAS to be paid back otherwise the funding institutions CAN foreclose on the debt.

City has used ownership investment to fund their purchases and wages. If the club loses money, the owners lose money.

Here's a clue - look up the difference between debt and equity. Remember I told you that you know NOTHING about the business of the sport. I just proved it....again. Except this time I proved that you know NOTHING about BUSINESS either.

Yes, I know what "balanced books" means. Do you? When Citeh have to keep sucking such extreme amounts of money out of their owner's pockets, can you seriously claim they are balanced? Especially when there is such a huge amount of wastage involved: Robinho, Tevez, Adebayor, Bellamy, SWP, Bridge, etc, etc. The club's assets - the players - drop in value at rates seen nowhere else, and are so overpaid that they can't get rid of them. If your counter to that is to claim that the sheikh somehow belongs to Citeh - think again. :facepalm:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPW3zCKWGIo/Tz4DXbNux2I/AAAAAAAAFI0/gODJqnfHwcg/s400/4%2BBayern%2BProfit%2BLeague.jpg

It's funny how you supporters of lesser teams go on about United's finances. Yet United are still right there at the top, as always. Playing to a packed stadium of 75,000 fans every home game, and with millions more watching all around the world. Yes, United are really struggling. You wish... :D

Past silverware means NOTHING. I don't know why you keep bringing that up like a broken tape recorder.

You keep on telling yourself that. Maybe you actually even believe it. When your club has little or no past success to look back on, I suppose you need thoughts like that to let you sleep at night. It must be really rough going through decades-long trophy droughts... :lol:

As a realistic City-supporting friend told me a decade ago, the logo on their shirts at the time - EIDOS - stood for "Eleven Idiots Dreaming Of Success". Things really haven't changed all that much, even with all the money the sheikh's letting the club squander. How quickly they'll collapse when he stops blindly signing cheques, or walks away completely.

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 12:01 PM

Hello xlash....I see, without reading into it, that you're sparring with Tornado. This happens every couple months with new posters. They either go away or just give up bickering.

If you click on the profile, there's an option there to block, it helps out a lot rather than the endless back and forth, making scrolling through the pages a lot quicker.

I promise you, you CAN'T win with this, logic isn't your friend.

Not when it's such obviously flawed "logic". :D

It's funny how much you resemble your club, sticking your head in the ground, ignoring the realities around you, dreaming of long-past glories. It would be sad if it wasn't so downright funny. Harpy and his one-man ostrich brigade. :lol:

I really hope xlax follows your advice. Sadly for him, the closest Citeh got to real glory was back in his grandad's time. And his grandad didn't even know what football was. At least LFC do have some past silverware to look back on - even if it does "mean nothing". :rolleyes:

Citeh's club museum is undeniably short on silverware, but at least they have lots - and LOTS - of past managers to look back on... :lol:

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 12:15 PM

+1 have to agree lol.

Btw best squad on paper does not mean how many trophies won.. I literally mean best squad in the EPL. Not squad with the most trophies.

I'm not sure why you think City's squad is so strong. It's not that much different from last season's. They may have claimed their first silverware in 25 years - the FA Cup - but even there they had to get by a Rooney-less, and ultimately reduced to 10 men, United in the semis. We knocked them out this year - at their own grounds. :D

xlash

Feb 18th, 2012, 02:03 PM

Yes, I know what "balanced books" means. Do you? When Citeh have to keep sucking such extreme amounts of money out of their owner's pockets, can you seriously claim they are balanced? Especially when there is such a huge amount of wastage involved: Robinho, Tevez, Adebayor, Bellamy, SWP, Bridge, etc, etc. The club's assets - the players - drop in value at rates seen nowhere else, and are so overpaid that they can't get rid of them. If your counter to that is to claim that the sheikh somehow belongs to Citeh - think again. :facepalm:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rPW3zCKWGIo/Tz4DXbNux2I/AAAAAAAAFI0/gODJqnfHwcg/s400/4%2BBayern%2BProfit%2BLeague.jpg

It's funny how you supporters of lesser teams go on about United's finances. Yet United are still right there at the top, as always. Playing to a packed stadium of 75,000 fans every home game, and with millions more watching all around the world. Yes, United are really struggling. You wish... :D

You keep on telling yourself that. Maybe you actually even believe it. When your club has little or no past success to look back on, I suppose you need thoughts like that to let you sleep at night. It must be really rough going through decades-long trophy droughts... :lol:

As a realistic City-supporting friend told me a decade ago, the logo on their shirts at the time - EIDOS - stood for "Eleven Idiots Dreaming Of Success". Things really haven't changed all that much, even with all the money the sheikh's letting the club squander. How quickly they'll collapse when he stops blindly signing cheques, or walks away completely.

You looked up my posts from other threads but failed to see that I have a business degree? Go look again. The club I ardently support has hammered yours twice in the CL finals. They've won more league titles, the fans pack the biggest stadium in Europe and their commercial engine is running just as smoothly as United. The current team is arguably the best team of all time. Even dementia plagued Pele is having a hard time arguing against that. The players you worship on the United squad have also repeated that my team and its players are the best in the world. Yet you'll be hard pressed to hear me EVER say that my team is the best because of their success since 2008. It's all about what they do THIS season.

Anyway it's not about the Blaugrana, especially since this is an EPL thread. United's great at making money. Their marketing machine is a success but the debts are enormous. It's not a knock on the club, the players or the fans but the ownership and their business strategy. If markets crashed in the very near future United would be facing foreclosure. It's nothing to be proud of but they'd be in the same boat as Real Madrid.

I don't need my team winning titles to sleep. You on the other hand don't sleep very well at all. Maybe if you did you wouldn't be losing brain cells at such an alarming rate.

xlash

Feb 18th, 2012, 02:07 PM

Not when it's such obviously flawed "logic". :D

It's funny how much you resemble your club, sticking your head in the ground, ignoring the realities around you, dreaming of long-past glories. It would be sad if it wasn't so downright funny. Harpy and his one-man ostrich brigade. :lol:

I really hope xlax follows your advice. Sadly for him, the closest Citeh got to real glory was back in his grandad's time. And his grandad didn't even know what football was. At least LFC do have some past silverware to look back on - even if it does "mean nothing". :rolleyes:

Citeh's club museum is undeniably short on silverware, but at least they have lots - and LOTS - of past managers to look back on... :lol:

I'm not sure why you think City's squad is so strong. It's not that much different from last season's. They may have claimed their first silverware in 25 years - the FA Cup - but even there they had to get by a Rooney-less, and ultimately reduced to 10 men, United in the semis. We knocked them out this year - at their own grounds. :D

I am sure you've irritated them before on this forum with your mindless jabbering. At this point you should have figured out that they don't care about past glories. They like their clubs regardless of whether they win trophies or not, just as you do yours. There's a good chance United won't win any silverware this season, does that mean you'd switch allegiances?

Get over yourself.

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 02:27 PM

You looked up my posts from other threads but failed to see that I have a business degree? Go look again. The club I ardently support has hammered yours twice in the CL finals. They've won more league titles, the fans pack the biggest stadium in Europe and their commercial engine is running just as smoothly as United. The current team is arguably the best team of all time. Even dementia plagued Pele is having a hard time arguing against that. The players you worship on the United squad have also repeated that my team and its players are the best in the world. Yet you'll be hard pressed to hear me EVER say that my team is the best because of their success since 2008. It's all about what they do THIS season.

I don't need my team winning titles to sleep. You on the other hand don't sleep very well at all. Maybe if you did you wouldn't be losing brain cells at such an alarming rate.

Paul Bernardo was a bookkeeper too. He's still insane.

As my U of T Engineering economics professor pointed out, economists rarely agree on anything. All those numbers to play with, but they find it difficult to settle on one firm answer to anything. You fit the profile.

It only took one quick glance at your post history to come up with that little gem about your impeccable footballing skills. If you'd taken the time to look at my past posts in this thread you'd see that Barca are my favourite Spanish team - since long before my visit there in 1999. Great city to visit BTW. You should actually go there sometime. :razz:

Barca may have come out winners, but they hardly "hammered" United. And while United players show respect to Barca, it is reciprocated. As Pep said before last season's final, United could put out several different squads to face his. United have greater depth and variety. That's why we've beaten Barca in the past on 2-legged ties, where we had the opportunity to change things up the 2nd time round. The current Barca squad doesn't have that same flexibility.

As for your pathetic little attempt at a personal attack, I sleep very soundly indeed, thanks very much. And my brain cells are obviously holding up fine too. Better than yours, to be sure.

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 02:41 PM

I am sure you've irritated them before on this forum with your mindless jabbering. At this point you should have figured out that they don't care about past glories. They like their clubs regardless of whether they win trophies or not, just as you do yours. There's a good chance United won't win any silverware this season, does that mean you'd switch allegiances?

Get over yourself.

As a Mancunian I've been United since birth. I'd support United even if they weren't successful. But that's never been an issue, has it? Not in a LONG time. :lol: It's a shame if others' petty jealousy clouds their judgement of me. It's not my fault their clubs are having problems. Instead of moaning about United, they should be happy that United's continued success, especially in Europe, keeps the EPL on top and popular worldwide - and that keeps EPL games on their TVs.

As for silverware, I'd say United still have every chance of winning a significant title this year. We have practically as good a chance as City of taking the EPL title again this season - our 20th - and we are certainly in the running for the Europa trophy - one of the few that Fergie has yet to add to his collection. However things ultimately turn out, as always we'll be there in the running right up to the end.

If that's enough to upset you, too bad. :D

blzn

Feb 18th, 2012, 03:23 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 18th, 2012, 04:48 PM

http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2012/0218/cristianoronaldoheader20120129_275x155.jpg

4-0 win, cr7 has scored more goals at madrid than man utd, next up tricky cl match in Russia where it is very cold atm

http://i.minus.com/iwzgU2fkoCoM4.gif

arsenal knocked out of fa cup ... arsenal must find a way to finish 4th to hold onto key players

Suhayb217

Feb 18th, 2012, 04:51 PM

arsenal knocked out of fa cup ... arsenal must find a way to finish 4th to hold onto key players

FA cup is Tottenham's for the taking now:)

xlash

Feb 18th, 2012, 05:08 PM

Paul Bernardo was a bookkeeper too. He's still insane.

As my U of T Engineering economics professor pointed out, economists rarely agree on anything. All those numbers to play with, but they find it difficult to settle on one firm answer to anything. You fit the profile.

So you went to the same school/program I did :facepalm:. I don't know if it's Uof T's fault letting you slip through the cracks or mine for thinking UofT has a great engineering program.

It only took one quick glance at your post history to come up with that little gem about your impeccable footballing skills. If you'd taken the time to look at my past posts in this thread you'd see that Barca are my favourite Spanish team - since long before my visit there in 1999. Great city to visit BTW. You should actually go there sometime. :razz:

I never said my footballing skills were impeccable but I can certainly hold my own. I've been to Barcelona too in 1999!

Barca may have come out winners, but they hardly "hammered" United. And while United players show respect to Barca, it is reciprocated. As Pep said before last season's final, United could put out several different squads to face his. United have greater depth and variety. That's why we've beaten Barca in the past on 2-legged ties, where we had the opportunity to change things up the 2nd time round. The current Barca squad doesn't have that same flexibility.

Barca DID come out winners. They ran ring around United's midfield both times. The first time they had Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez and played a total of 10min before fizzling out. It was a pathetic display, even the United players agreed. They were slightly better last year but not by much. ANY squad that Barca puts out can beat United. That's depth buddy, not how many multi-faceted squads United has.

As for your pathetic little attempt at a personal attack, I sleep very soundly indeed, thanks very much. And my brain cells are obviously holding up fine too. Better than yours, to be sure.

That wasn't an attack. I was just pointing out facts.

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 05:38 PM

Looks like this ain't stopping any time soon so I'll add my 2p..

Chelsea still sucks, and balanced books is not based on profit. Again being financed through equity (city/Chelsea) is much better than being financed through debt (MU). I don't think you understand the situation MU is in.

Debt is only a problem if you can't afford to pay up when the claims come in. Almost everybody lives with some sort of debt these days, the most obvious being mortgages and car loans. As much as I dislike the way the Glazers have gone about it, (and been allowed by the authorities to go about it), it shouldn't become a problem if United keep on performing and generating revenues the way they do now. I'm sure even a minor slide will be manageable. Though if that happens, hopefully new, better owners will step in. United are a cash machine, with huge global reach, and I'm sure the Glazers aren't the only ones who've seen that.

Anyway, how about switching to a new, hopefully less-partisan, topic? Since it's debatable if any EPL teams are significantly better than last season, (including United and City), perhaps it would be more useful to look the other direction: which ones are significantly worse? And what can be done about it? Plenty of clear candidates there, huh? Overall the EPL teams this year have slipped (as seen in the big teams' European results). But how much compared with the rest of the continent? Who are the teams on the rise, which ones are in clear decline? :?:

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 05:48 PM

So you went to the same school/program I did :facepalm:. I don't know if it's Uof T's fault letting you slip through the cracks or mine for thinking UofT has a great engineering program.

I never said my footballing skills were impeccable but I can certainly hold my own. I've been to Barcelona too in 1999!

That wasn't an attack. I was just pointing out facts.

Some "facts". How do you know my sleep habits and the health of my brain? :rolleyes:

Watch out folks, same education, same travel history, I think xlax must be some alter-ego that I slip into when my brain cells fart. :lol:

Anyway, enough already. If we actually do have so much in common, why create a problem? We might actually have been best buddies in real life. :D

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 18th, 2012, 09:31 PM

Mourinho: "I love Chelsea & Inter but I'd prefer them to support their own coaches. I'm the past, a very good past, but I'm not there anymore."

gotta love the special one :D

xlash

Feb 18th, 2012, 10:36 PM

Wayne Rooney mocking the Toure brothers for losing to Zambiain the finals. This guy has pudding for brains. I can't imagine Wazza playing in the finals of an Int'l tournament.

harpoon

Feb 18th, 2012, 11:04 PM

It looks like it's that time of month where the bickering is over Man U's problems, and/or lack of problems depending on who you ask. How about some facts?

If you want a killer read, a read that's pretty LONG and analytical, I can't recommend the Swiss Ramble highly enough. Here's their 3 big (BIG) columns on Man U. What it's basically saying is that if there's a stutter in say, making top 4 or any financial hit that things could fall apart but things are pretty rosy for profits. Truckloads of money are being made there but moving forward is very difficult in their current climate. In a society that won't read an FA document but call Suarez names anyway, I'm not sure if reading these gigantic articles are for the average bear but here it is anyway.

http://swissramble.blogspot.com/search/label/Manchester%20United

Impressive articles on Liverpool, City, Madrid etc as well. I wish you could save an ebook file as they're so long they don't lend to desktop/laptop reading very well, but you pretty much can't argue with the research and simple raw facts presented.

The LFC article written last May was pretty optimistic, analysing the business models being adopted and the plans FSG have set into place.

rooney11

Feb 18th, 2012, 11:43 PM

Wayne Rooney mocking the Toure brothers for losing to Zambiain the finals. This guy has pudding for brains. I can't imagine Wazza playing in the finals of an Int'l tournament.

Don't you find it funny that they left for about a month and a half when their team really needed them, to lose to a underdog team on penalties.

And competing in the African Cup of Nations isnt even comparable to the Euros or World Cup.

Tornado F2

Feb 18th, 2012, 11:46 PM

Wayne Rooney mocking the Toure brothers for losing to Zambiain the finals. This guy has pudding for brains. I can't imagine Wazza playing in the finals of an Int'l tournament.

Can anybody? He plays for England. PKs at the end of the QF and that's it, unless it's a WC being held in England. It's carved into the 3rd tablet of Commandments that Moses had to leave behind. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 19th, 2012, 12:09 AM

Don't you find it funny that they left for about a month and a half when their team really needed them, to lose to a underdog team on penalties.

And competing in the African Cup of Nations isnt even comparable to the Euros or World Cup.

They'd have still come back raring to go if they'd won. Good for United that they didn't. Hopefully they can spread disappointment while Tevez spreads discontent. :D

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 19th, 2012, 01:29 AM

blzn

Feb 19th, 2012, 02:50 AM

xlash

Feb 19th, 2012, 10:00 AM

Don't you find it funny that they left for about a month and a half when their team really needed them, to lose to a underdog team on penalties.

And competing in the African Cup of Nations isnt even comparable to the Euros or World Cup.

No, I don't find it funny at all. You'd have to be as think-skinned as Kevin Boateng to ignore the vitriol spewed by your countryman to decline Int'l duty, and that too at a top continental tournament. City is paying them big BIG bucks but Ivorians see it another way. They see the Toure brothers making a LOT of money and Yaya really does make an enormous amount of money. So when City obliged (I think they almost had to) they went.

For players from African countries, it doesn't get bigger than this. At the world cup Ghana had a magical run but Cameroon was awful. Cote d'Ivore got unlucky being with the Lusophones.

If they want to have a realistic shot at winning a major international title this is it. And if you analyze the teams, Ivory actually had a very good shot at winning. Geez they lost in the penalties in the 10th round or something to Zambia. How many of the Zambian players play in a top European or South American club/league?

They'd have still come back raring to go if they'd won. Good for United that they didn't. Hopefully they can spread disappointment while Tevez spreads discontent. :D

Yaya Toure is a consummate professional. He brings 100% on the pitch, does what the coaches want him to do and rarely complains. He is worth every penny. Chelsea would be a different team if they had forked out 50 million for a player like him instead of Fernando Torres.

Tevez's problems are always with coaches and management and it's because he wants to play the full 90 min which clashes with the coach's tactics. He rarely has spites with team mates. When was the last time you saw Tevez get into a media brawl with a team mate? All players want to play the full 90 min, 3 times a week. I've only seen one player do that over the last couple of years and deliver prolific results. Maybe that's why he's won the Balon d'Or multiple times...

blzn

Feb 19th, 2012, 10:04 AM

Yaya Toure is a punk, still fuming that he got away with a kick/slap on Mata.

Outside of personality he is a class player, I only got to see his attacking capabilities after he left Barca.

xlash

Feb 19th, 2012, 10:14 AM

Yaya Toure is a punk, still fuming that he got away with a kick/slap on Mata.

Outside of personality he is a class player, I only got to see his attacking capabilities after he left Barca.

LOL yeah that he is. At Barca you got to see bits and pieces of his talents. Under Pep it was even less because Pep doesn't want a box-to-box midfielder. Pep wants a ball winner (Busquets/Keita), passer/creator (Hernandez/Fabregas) and attacker (Andres Iniesta/Alcantara/Cuenca) in midfield. Yaya didn't fit into his midfield at all.

Tornado F2

Feb 19th, 2012, 11:43 AM

FA cup is Tottenham's for the taking now:)

Stevenage 0 - 0 Tottenham

:lol:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58588000/jpg/_58588059_58588058.jpg

(Parker touched Saha's goalbound shot on the line). :)

Tornado F2

Feb 19th, 2012, 12:11 PM

Yaya Toure is a consummate professional. He brings 100% on the pitch, does what the coaches want him to do and rarely complains. He is worth every penny. Chelsea would be a different team if they had forked out 50 million for a player like him instead of Fernando Torres.

Tevez's problems are always with coaches and management and it's because he wants to play the full 90 min which clashes with the coach's tactics. He rarely has spites with team mates. When was the last time you saw Tevez get into a media brawl with a team mate? All players want to play the full 90 min, 3 times a week. I've only seen one player do that over the last couple of years and deliver prolific results. Maybe that's why he's won the Balon d'Or multiple times...

Chelsea could have done ANYTHING with that fortune blown on Torres - even put it in the bank earning 1% - and they'd have been better off. He was subbed off again yesterday for remaining anonymous. Where other players have end-of-the-year goal compilation DVDs, Torres has subbed off compilations. :lol: Hard to believe he was ever good. Seems like a lot of players appear much better while playing in the Spanish league.

As for everpresent players, look no further than Evra. :D Most impressive record of all though has to be that of Brad Friedel. Even a red card couldn't keep him from playing the following match against United. (The red was rescinded on appeal). He's played every single league game for years now, through at least 3 clubs. Wonder how the league would look today if United had brought him in as short-term replacement for VDS? He played for nearby Blackburn for years, so a move back to the north-west might well have appealed to him. Especially since it would have been at United. Him and Parker, both on frees, that would have been some good business. As it has been for 'Arry.

Edit: Hard to believe, but Friedel went bankrupt last year after his football academy folded. Maybe he HAS to keep working?

Tornado F2

Feb 19th, 2012, 12:21 PM

Huh? Brighton have scored FOUR TIMES today at Anfield. :-0 Sadly three are in their own net. :facepalm:

On the brighter side, Suarez has blown a penalty attempt. :D His high miss-to-goal ratio continues. :)

hyperion

Feb 19th, 2012, 12:56 PM

Also had a streaker in extra time who ran up and hugged Carragher. Interesting game, haha.

Tornado F2

Feb 19th, 2012, 01:05 PM

Also had a streaker in extra time who ran up and hugged Carragher. Interesting game, haha.

Male or female? If the latter, gi4c needs to post hi-res pics. :D

1820: The end of the match is delayed as a male streaker gets on the pitch. He has time to give a reluctant Jamie Carragher a hug before being ushered off.

Oops... Okay, just one of the hug will do. So long as it shows Carragher's face. :lol:

The streaker wasn't Suarez was it? Making one more vain self-publicity stunt. :razz:

Nope, it looks like it could be Brad Friedel. Or a relative of the steward. So many white skinheads at Anfield these days... :razz:

Looks like Carragher's enjoying the attention. :lol:

(DELETED SCOUSE BUM)

Good job LFC win so rarely at home!

rooney11

Feb 19th, 2012, 06:52 PM

No, I don't find it funny at all. You'd have to be as think-skinned as Kevin Boateng to ignore the vitriol spewed by your countryman to decline Int'l duty, and that too at a top continental tournament. City is paying them big BIG bucks but Ivorians see it another way. They see the Toure brothers making a LOT of money and Yaya really does make an enormous amount of money. So when City obliged (I think they almost had to) they went.

For players from African countries, it doesn't get bigger than this. At the world cup Ghana had a magical run but Cameroon was awful. Cote d'Ivore got unlucky being with the Lusophones.

If they want to have a realistic shot at winning a major international title this is it. And if you analyze the teams, Ivory actually had a very good shot at winning. Geez they lost in the penalties in the 10th round or something to Zambia. How many of the Zambian players play in a top European or South American club/league?

That's why I found it funny, you got a bunch or players that dont play in any of the top leagues holding a Ivorian team that is loaded by players from the top flight (tourex2, gervinho, drogba, kalou, tiote, and even eboue) for two halves, plus extra-time, and eventually the pks.

xlash

Feb 19th, 2012, 07:52 PM

That's why I found it funny, you got a bunch or players that dont play in any of the top leagues holding a Ivorian team that is loaded by players from the top flight (tourex2, gervinho, drogba, kalou, tiote, and even eboue) for two halves, plus extra-time, and eventually the pks.

You have a good point but players i.e. their talent and reputation aren't the only factors that contribute towards a win. I didn't see the match. I just saw highlights and I read the post game comments. It sounds like the Zambia players have played with each other on a regular basis on an international level. That's a huge advantage. This is why e.g. Uruguay, as a team is better than say Argentina. Argentina's firepower is unparalleled in the world and yet they sputtered in Copa America. In the same way despite the big names on Ivory they still lost. I also saw that Yaya Toure got subbed off! Why the hell would you sub your best player in the finals with the match tied? There was no mention of injury. Methinks Yaya was unable to dominate. Lots of running but he kept getting shutdown because Zambia had 6 -8 deep defenders cutting off his passes and runs. And then they counter attacked and took the ball high up the pitch only for Toure to repeat what he did. No matter how good a player he is, at City he's got Gareth Barry/De Jong to serve the ball to him and he's got finishers like Tevez, Aguero and playmakers like Nasri, Silva. He didn't get the same service in his national team.

That being said my original post still stands. These players thought they had a good crack at winning. They got close, very close but ultimately they were beaten by a side who got their tactics right.

xlash

Feb 19th, 2012, 08:23 PM

Chelsea could have done ANYTHING with that fortune blown on Torres - even put it in the bank earning 1% - and they'd have been better off. He was subbed off again yesterday for remaining anonymous. Where other players have end-of-the-year goal compilation DVDs, Torres has subbed off compilations. :lol: Hard to believe he was ever good. Seems like a lot of players appear much better while playing in the Spanish league.

As for everpresent players, look no further than Evra. :D Most impressive record of all though has to be that of Brad Friedel. Even a red card couldn't keep him from playing the following match against United. (The red was rescinded on appeal). He's played every single league game for years now, through at least 3 clubs. Wonder how the league would look today if United had brought him in as short-term replacement for VDS? He played for nearby Blackburn for years, so a move back to the north-west might well have appealed to him. Especially since it would have been at United. Him and Parker, both on frees, that would have been some good business. As it has been for 'Arry.

Edit: Hard to believe, but Friedel went bankrupt last year after his football academy folded. Maybe he HAS to keep working?

To suggest that managers, owners of football clubs is stupid is very naive. Abramovich didn't become a billionaire by making faulty purchasing decisions. AVB didn't win the UEFA cup and Primeira Liga by fluke. I am sure Torres and/or his agent contemplated and convinced Chelsea that his poor run of form was LFC's fault. Whether they were right or not nobody knows. But when you are the root cause of the biggest intra-England transfer that weighs you down. Abramovic also knew that he would be cashing in on gate receipts and merchanise sales with such a high profile player like Torres so that cut his losses to a certain extent.

People always say that each league has their own way of playing. I think we've moved away from that because of globalization. Not completely but substantially. La Liga is a high scoring platform ONLY for Real Madrid and Barcelona because of their superior squads and top tacticians and by extension because of the corrupt broadcasting revenue distribution. The best league to compare La Liga to is Serie A. Why? The seasons start and end around the same time. They are involved in the same number of competitions (no equivalent of League Cup so England and France are unfair comparisons). And lastly, there are 20 teams (rules out Bundesliga and Primeira Liga).

Ignore Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now if you compare goals scored and conceded over the last couple of seasons for the rest of the teams you'll notice that there isn't that much of a difference.

jcon

Feb 19th, 2012, 10:09 PM

Abramovich didn't become a billionaire by making faulty purchasing decisions.

There are two blatant falsehoods in that statement.

1 - Sure he did. Do you think that every decision Uncle Roman made turned to gold? Absolutely not. He made lots of errors on his way up but he kept going.

2 - Knowing how to leverage the Russian politics and oil has nothing to do with football. Just because someone is good at one thing, that does not make him equally successful at another.

Chelski's books look clean now because Unlce Roman wrote-off hundreds of millions of pounds of debt that Chelski owed him. Chelski is his hobby, his toy.

harpoon

Feb 19th, 2012, 11:22 PM

To suggest that managers, owners of football clubs is stupid is very naive. Abramovich didn't become a billionaire by making faulty purchasing decisions. AVB didn't win the UEFA cup and Primeira Liga by fluke. I am sure Torres and/or his agent contemplated and convinced Chelsea that his poor run of form was LFC's fault. Whether they were right or not nobody knows. But when you are the root cause of the biggest intra-England transfer that weighs you down. Abramovic also knew that he would be cashing in on gate receipts and merchanise sales with such a high profile player like Torres so that cut his losses to a certain extent.

People always say that each league has their own way of playing. I think we've moved away from that because of globalization. Not completely but substantially. La Liga is a high scoring platform ONLY for Real Madrid and Barcelona because of their superior squads and top tacticians and by extension because of the corrupt broadcasting revenue distribution. The best league to compare La Liga to is Serie A. Why? The seasons start and end around the same time. They are involved in the same number of competitions (no equivalent of League Cup so England and France are unfair comparisons). And lastly, there are 20 teams (rules out Bundesliga and Primeira Liga).

Ignore Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now if you compare goals scored and conceded over the last couple of seasons for the rest of the teams you'll notice that there isn't that much of a difference.

I think in terms of Torres, he wasn't quite as prolific at Atletico exactly...the team was poorer so Torres was dropping deep and making runs from deeper positions as well. When Rafa bought him, he had him playing up top off the shoulders of the last defender, spinning off and using his pace. Playing him up top in a 4-2-3-1 was the key, and having the 3 pressing defenders and defensive midfielders into making mistakes, and stealing the ball. Stevie G is really good at that when played up high, and he and Torres caused havoc when on song...particularly that 4-0 over Madrid, the 1-4 hilarity over Man U, 5-0 over Villa...that period.

Torres also needs an early cross or through ball to really be effective at latching on, or at least making a clever run. He's simply not as much when you run past him and cross back...funny enough, Carroll is for instance, as Downing's assist in the 6-1 illustrates. But at Chelsea he's not utilized in the same way. He's making runs for others to burst through and he's playing more with his back to goal. Plus Mata, Sturridge etc just aren't pressing like Gerrard/Kuyt/Benayoun were.

As for the leagues, I feel there's still a stylistic difference on average at least. England is more about pace and power, Spain is more passing and flair with time on the ball, Italy is about tactics and a slower game.

Tornado F2

Feb 20th, 2012, 10:49 AM

To suggest that managers, owners of football clubs is stupid is very naive. Abramovich didn't become a billionaire by making faulty purchasing decisions. AVB didn't win the UEFA cup and Primeira Liga by fluke. I am sure Torres and/or his agent contemplated and convinced Chelsea that his poor run of form was LFC's fault. Whether they were right or not nobody knows. But when you are the root cause of the biggest intra-England transfer that weighs you down. Abramovic also knew that he would be cashing in on gate receipts and merchanise sales with such a high profile player like Torres so that cut his losses to a certain extent.

People always say that each league has their own way of playing. I think we've moved away from that because of globalization. Not completely but substantially. La Liga is a high scoring platform ONLY for Real Madrid and Barcelona because of their superior squads and top tacticians and by extension because of the corrupt broadcasting revenue distribution. The best league to compare La Liga to is Serie A. Why? The seasons start and end around the same time. They are involved in the same number of competitions (no equivalent of League Cup so England and France are unfair comparisons). And lastly, there are 20 teams (rules out Bundesliga and Primeira Liga).

Ignore Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now if you compare goals scored and conceded over the last couple of seasons for the rest of the teams you'll notice that there isn't that much of a difference.

I didn't say that anybody was stupid, just that Torres has proven to be a major waste of money.

As for Abramovich, I remember reading a few years ago about how he got his money. Basically he was fortunate enough to team up with an older guy who knew how to take advantage of the crumbling post-Soviet system, and in effect rode his coattails. I assume that's the guy he recently was in court over, though I've not looked into any of those recent details.

I'd say the Spanish league's most direct comparison is Scotland, with its regular two horse race. High-scorers up there often disappoint when they move south too. Italy's league, especially with the top clubs, is a lot closer to the EPL than Spain is. I've seen some good, fast, high-scoring Italian games over the last few seasons.

blzn

Feb 20th, 2012, 01:30 PM

Tough to defend Torres now, I thought it was make or break for him when Drogba went away as he was automatic striker. Sadly didn't seize the opportunity.

Difficult, that money could of been used on 2-3 promising young players. What can you do now except hope for PSG/Anzhi to make a 35m+ bid :D

I think AVB will go for Droba to start against a hot Napoli team who easily beat Fiorentina away this weekend. Sad if not one English team progressed to the last 8.

Tornado F2

Feb 20th, 2012, 01:41 PM

That's why I found it funny, you got a bunch or players that dont play in any of the top leagues holding a Ivorian team that is loaded by players from the top flight (tourex2, gervinho, drogba, kalou, tiote, and even eboue) for two halves, plus extra-time, and eventually the pks.

Maybe Zambia just have a great goalie and/or a large, organised defence who "parked the bus" really well to deny more skilled opponents chances. That kind of setup, with a bit of luck thrown in, can progress well beyond their real abilities in knockout cup tournaments. That's one of the reasons why lower league sides sometimes reach the finals of English tournaments, despite their overall inferiority. They can't play their opponents off the pitch, so they pinch an opportune goal and defend it, or hold out for PKs. When they dare to come out and try to play, like Blackpool did last season, it's entertaining viewing for fans (especially neutrals), but it ultimately all ends in tears. I personally prefer to watch attacking play, but that's probably because United have a squad capable of that. But if winning silverware is crucial, a strong defence (and great goalie) is key.

If England ever want to win a major tournament, they first need a solid goalie; a solid defence; a creative, fast-moving midfield; and a single fast striker up front. If necessary, to meet squad size requirements, I'd leave Crouch/Carroll-type tall center-forwards home, along with wingers who only send in crosses, rarely shooting. Instead I'd stick to using tall center-backs (or tall midfielders) for corner and free kick opportunities. For the upcoming Euros, the following would be in my squad: Hart, Ferdinand, Cole, King, Johnson, Jones, Carrick, Scholes, Parker, Gerrard, Lampard (possibly), Milner, Young, Rooney, Defoe. Welbeck, Chamberlain, Sturridge, Dawson, Richards, would probably be along too, though I'm not sure about Walcott, as he's apparently "Chamberlain without brains". :D I might find space for Richardson and Bardsley (always seems to be there on the line making clearances) too, depending on how Sunderland close out the season, and Wolves' Matt Jarvis. Remaining spaces will go to backup defenders and a backup goalie or two.

Tornado F2

Feb 20th, 2012, 01:44 PM

xlash

Feb 20th, 2012, 07:41 PM

There are two blatant falsehoods in that statement.

1 - Sure he did. Do you think that every decision Uncle Roman made turned to gold? Absolutely not. He made lots of errors on his way up but he kept going.

2 - Knowing how to leverage the Russian politics and oil has nothing to do with football. Just because someone is good at one thing, that does not make him equally successful at another.

Chelski's books look clean now because Unlce Roman wrote-off hundreds of millions of pounds of debt that Chelski owed him. Chelski is his hobby, his toy.

A lot of people keep going but they don't accumulate billions in net assets without having sound business judgement. I know a girl who wanted to start up her own business 10 years ago. She kept going no matter how many times she failed. She's soooo deep in debt now it's a horror show. Somebody above pointed out that he road the coattails of an older guy and got rich. So that was a smart decision, right?

Of course politics/business don't translate to football knowledge therefore he's got a ton of advisers telling him what to do. I agree with you but at the same time purchasing Torres was a business decision. He is (was?) a highly marketable player. E.g. attracting male fans to football is easy but female fans is tougher. Luis Suarez has scored more league goals than Torres yet I'd bet my bottom dollar the latter is more popular with females.

Also, just as an aside, Chelsea's sort of in a transition stage. The older players are slowly being replaced by younger players. David Luiz, Torres, Juan Mata, Sturridge. Someday Lukaku will be in the mix too. Josh McEchran is returning from loan. On the flip side Didier might end up in China, Lampard's future is very uncertain.

xlash

Feb 20th, 2012, 08:14 PM

I think in terms of Torres, he wasn't quite as prolific at Atletico exactly...the team was poorer so Torres was dropping deep and making runs from deeper positions as well. When Rafa bought him, he had him playing up top off the shoulders of the last defender, spinning off and using his pace. Playing him up top in a 4-2-3-1 was the key, and having the 3 pressing defenders and defensive midfielders into making mistakes, and stealing the ball. Stevie G is really good at that when played up high, and he and Torres caused havoc when on song...particularly that 4-0 over Madrid, the 1-4 hilarity over Man U, 5-0 over Villa...that period.

Torres also needs an early cross or through ball to really be effective at latching on, or at least making a clever run. He's simply not as much when you run past him and cross back...funny enough, Carroll is for instance, as Downing's assist in the 6-1 illustrates. But at Chelsea he's not utilized in the same way. He's making runs for others to burst through and he's playing more with his back to goal. Plus Mata, Sturridge etc just aren't pressing like Gerrard/Kuyt/Benayoun were.

As for the leagues, I feel there's still a stylistic difference on average at least. England is more about pace and power, Spain is more passing and flair with time on the ball, Italy is about tactics and a slower game.

I haven't seen a ton of Chelsea games (will be watching them tomorrow against Napoli) but in the few I saw I noticed that Torres is going wide a lot. I hardly ever saw him do that at Liverpool.

On average it maybe argued that EPL teams use pace and power. But more teams are steering away from brute force. Arsenal were the frontrunners and with Juan Mata being the brains of Chelsea that's changing too. City has big defenders, targetmen and tough tackling deep midfielders but their best player David Silva is known for his vision and trickery.

Spain? Passing? You must be thinking of Barcelona and the NT. A lot of teams from Liga counter attack or press high up the pitch (pace and power). Did you watch the Valencia vs. Barcelona match? And by flair I suppose you meant dribbling through opponents. Dribblers are all over the map - Neymar, Aguero, Messi, Robinho, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robben etc. With the exception of Messi, all have played in leagues other than La Liga at some point.

A lot of people say that Serie A is slower. I think they are biased because these people have been watching the 2 Milan clubs, the 2 Rome clubs and THE Turin club and base their decision around that. There are 15 other clubs. All of the top 5 have a penchant for getting or holding onto top players in the twilight of their careers. I watch Udinese often and I can never describe their games as slow. If Totti, Del Piero, Inzaghi and Zanetti had established their reputation in La Liga or even the EPL they wouldn't be playing there today.

And tactics? Every top team has a good tactician. It's not just an Italian thing. IMHO the best tactical team in the world is Barcelona. If they weren't they'd be a lot more like Arsenal.

xlash

Feb 20th, 2012, 08:24 PM

I didn't say that anybody was stupid, just that Torres has proven to be a major waste of money.

As for Abramovich, I remember reading a few years ago about how he got his money. Basically he was fortunate enough to team up with an older guy who knew how to take advantage of the crumbling post-Soviet system, and in effect rode his coattails. I assume that's the guy he recently was in court over, though I've not looked into any of those recent details.

I'd say the Spanish league's most direct comparison is Scotland, with its regular two horse race. High-scorers up there often disappoint when they move south too. Italy's league, especially with the top clubs, is a lot closer to the EPL than Spain is. I've seen some good, fast, high-scoring Italian games over the last few seasons.

Exactly my point. If you watch some of the non-contenders they play a fast transitional game. Fiorentina, Udinese etc.

I have an awful feeling that Chelsea will offload Torres and replace him with Soldado. I hope Soldado doesn't go anywhere. I don't know what the hell is going on with Valencia's finances but they manage to field a competitive team year after year. If TV rights were fairly distributed in Spain and they could finish the Nou Mestalla they would have been able to hold onto Mata, Silva and Villa. With one of the best coaches in Unai Emery they'd have a crack at La Liga. But inspite of all that they have come 3rd the last 2 seasons and are looking to achieve that again. Let's put it this way. With Abramovich type money Valencia would be a legit contender for the Champions League.

xlash

Feb 20th, 2012, 08:28 PM

I think we'll all be with you on this one. There won't be a lot of reason to tune in if no English teams are left.

It's still going to be a cracker after quarterfinals. Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Napoli, Milan are most likely to go through. Maybe even Inter. Hell Serie A might regain its 4th champions league spot! Nah won't happen because those mid table teams don't give a rat's rear about the Europa League.

jcon

Feb 20th, 2012, 11:02 PM

A lot of people keep going but they don't accumulate billions in net assets without having sound business judgement. I know a girl who wanted to start up her own business 10 years ago. She kept going no matter how many times she failed. She's soooo deep in debt now it's a horror show. Somebody above pointed out that he road the coattails of an older guy and got rich. So that was a smart decision, right?

Of course politics/business don't translate to football knowledge therefore he's got a ton of advisers telling him what to do. I agree with you but at the same time purchasing Torres was a business decision. He is (was?) a highly marketable player. E.g. attracting male fans to football is easy but female fans is tougher. Luis Suarez has scored more league goals than Torres yet I'd bet my bottom dollar the latter is more popular with females.

Also, just as an aside, Chelsea's sort of in a transition stage. The older players are slowly being replaced by younger players. David Luiz, Torres, Juan Mata, Sturridge. Someday Lukaku will be in the mix too. Josh McEchran is returning from loan. On the flip side Didier might end up in China, Lampard's future is very uncertain.

Okay... Of course Uncle Roman is an astute businessman, you don't get that rich without serious ability. That does not mean that he did not make mistakes, expensive mistakes, in the past. If you don't understand this, you should do some reading.

No way Torres has made back his initial investment. They overpaid, it was a terrible purchase for the price, and if he was relying on an advisor (not that it matters in your argument - because you stated he became a billionaire by not making bad purchases) then he should seek new council. Of course he didn't because Uncle Roman makes emotional decisions with his toy - not like his real business, the oil business.

You know what generates revenue? Winning.

Chelski's transition stage has been going on since Roman got there. He's always brought in youth and paid top dollar for them. That happens at all the top clubs. I don't understand your point?

harpoon

Feb 20th, 2012, 11:29 PM

I haven't seen a ton of Chelsea games (will be watching them tomorrow against Napoli) but in the few I saw I noticed that Torres is going wide a lot. I hardly ever saw him do that at Liverpool.

On average it maybe argued that EPL teams use pace and power. But more teams are steering away from brute force. Arsenal were the frontrunners and with Juan Mata being the brains of Chelsea that's changing too. City has big defenders, targetmen and tough tackling deep midfielders but their best player David Silva is known for his vision and trickery.

Spain? Passing? You must be thinking of Barcelona and the NT. A lot of teams from Liga counter attack or press high up the pitch (pace and power). Did you watch the Valencia vs. Barcelona match? And by flair I suppose you meant dribbling through opponents. Dribblers are all over the map - Neymar, Aguero, Messi, Robinho, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robben etc. With the exception of Messi, all have played in leagues other than La Liga at some point.

A lot of people say that Serie A is slower. I think they are biased because these people have been watching the 2 Milan clubs, the 2 Rome clubs and THE Turin club and base their decision around that. There are 15 other clubs. All of the top 5 have a penchant for getting or holding onto top players in the twilight of their careers. I watch Udinese often and I can never describe their games as slow. If Totti, Del Piero, Inzaghi and Zanetti had established their reputation in La Liga or even the EPL they wouldn't be playing there today.

And tactics? Every top team has a good tactician. It's not just an Italian thing. IMHO the best tactical team in the world is Barcelona. If they weren't they'd be a lot more like Arsenal.

In terms of Torres, it's also about the high pressing not being there in the team as well. In the LFC team he really benefitted, and pressed as well. Benitez's style is reliant on pressing high up the pitch, part of why he didn't work at Inter as Mourinho doesn't do that as much.

I agree that dribblers are all over the map but in Serie A teams set up differently for Barca/Madrid. In games against each other (like Rayo Vallecano v say, Atletico or Malaga) they'll get the ball, have a bit of time, pass, etc. There are more dribblers on average than England to my eyes as the English game is more about pace out wide, and at times the long ball.

I think Serie A is evolving from when it was quite slow, very 1-0 kind of stuff in the mid-90s in particular. I've seen most of the clubs and I do think there's more of a 'chess' kind of thing going on and you see tactics shifting within games, teams going to 3 at the back etc...

I agree on what you're saying overall, I do still think there's differences. For instance, African teams tend to have more physicality and technique, you'll see players going for ridiculous 30-yard screamers when players are open around them all the time which must drive coaches nuts out there! The whole global culture thing is really narrowing the gap, since the early to mid 90s it's been noticeable with all the big money coming into football (I'm 38 but watched a lot of footy as a kid so my memory is a bit skewed, I freely admit).

Stereotypes are tricky things, one could watch Stoke and cringe thinking that's a typical meat-and-potatoes English team. There's a lot more variety as things like tactics, physical conditioning and many other things evolve as one but I do wonder if a cultural identity will ever go completely away. Will Italy ever play like Brazillians through coaching? How much is nature and how much is nurture? Interesting to think about.

thanks for the reply xlash.

hyperion

Feb 20th, 2012, 11:41 PM

Nice article on Carroll I found:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/20/andy-carroll-liverpool-goals-form

If he hits his form, combined with the usual from Suarez, Liverpool will finally start scoring more goals. Looking forward to seeing the duo up front in the League Cup Final.

xlash

Feb 21st, 2012, 12:31 AM

Okay... Of course Uncle Roman is an astute businessman, you don't get that rich without serious ability. That does not mean that he did not make mistakes, expensive mistakes, in the past. If you don't understand this, you should do some reading.

No way Torres has made back his initial investment. They overpaid, it was a terrible purchase for the price, and if he was relying on an advisor (not that it matters in your argument - because you stated he became a billionaire by not making bad purchases) then he should seek new council. Of course he didn't because Uncle Roman makes emotional decisions with his toy - not like his real business, the oil business.

You know what generates revenue? Winning.

Chelski's transition stage has been going on since Roman got there. He's always brought in youth and paid top dollar for them. That happens at all the top clubs. I don't understand your point?

Yeah of course he's made expensive mistakes. We see quotes all the time about how you need to make mistakes to learn and then be successful. And of course Torres hasn't returned on the investment. I'm not disagreeing with that. I was just trying to explain why Roman bought him in the first place. If Fernando had torn the league up and was giving Van Persie a run for his money we wouldn't be discussing this.

Winning plays a big role but it alone doesn't generate revenue. Real Madrid hasn't won much in the last few years but their revenue is sky high. It's winning plus establishing your brand value and marketing. In fact look at Juve. They spent time in Serie B, their players left and yet their brand value took a minimal hit and according to Deloitte they're looking to top Serie A in the very near future not just on the pitch but off as well. They were able to fund a new top notch stadium. They're going to be a force in Italian football and maybe even Europe....maybe....again.

blzn

Feb 21st, 2012, 02:24 AM

Chelski's transition stage has been going on since Roman got there. He's always brought in youth and paid top dollar for them. That happens at all the top clubs. I don't understand your point?

Just got to disagree here, previous years the focus was on purchasing players pretty much already in their prime age 25~. Although that's still young, since last year a lot more of Chelsea's purchases have been on young players with an average age of 19 or so (Bruyne, Lukaku, Piazon, Courtouis that's just the top of my head) It's not the same purchasing pattern as his first few years in charge.

I'll happily take a draw away to Napoli. Just hope it isn't worse than that.

jcon

Feb 21st, 2012, 09:10 AM

blzn

Feb 21st, 2012, 09:55 AM

I stand corrected in regards to the ages, however I mean you can still tell. Most of those players were over 20, most purchases now have been players under 20. There has definitely been more focus on development with FFP looming, something Chelsea hasn't been greatly known for (aside from JT) unlike the other top clubs in England.

Drogba looks to spearhead the attack tonight, no John Terry or Ashley Cole. :cry:

jcon

Feb 21st, 2012, 10:02 AM

I stand corrected in regards to the ages, however I mean you can still tell. Most of those players were over 20, most purchases now have been players under 20. There has definitely been more focus on development with FFP looming, something Chelsea hasn't been greatly known for (aside from JT) unlike the other top clubs in England.

I'm just being argumentative.

Chelski's plan all along was to establish a healthy, productive academy. Unfortunately, their own efforts helped devalue the academies. With the changes that will take place, the academies should once again play a vital role.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 10:35 AM

A lot of people keep going but they don't accumulate billions in net assets without having sound business judgement. I know a girl who wanted to start up her own business 10 years ago. She kept going no matter how many times she failed. She's soooo deep in debt now it's a horror show. Somebody above pointed out that he road the coattails of an older guy and got rich. So that was a smart decision, right?

Russian oligarchs didn't come by their new wealth by old-fashioned hard work, or by making wise business decisions. Rather it was a case of behind-the-scenes bribery, corruption, and croneyism. Formerly state-owned operations found their way into the hands of today's oligarchs at tiny percentages of their true value. Old "Great Patriotic War" (WW2) veterans and elderly babushkas starved and froze in run-down old buildings; coal miners, medical workers, teachers and soldiers went unpaid for months; while the state's wealth that had been accrued over decades of their sacrifice and hard work was divvied up by younger, greedier, opportunists, like Abramovich. Former KGB-types like Putin made their own moves to accumulate both wealth and political power. It was all very unsavoury really. Yesterday's Communist overlords transformed themselves into today's filthy-rich oligarchs, while the struggling masses continued to struggle, or died. We really shouldn't be giving Abramovich and his ilk the rock star celebrity treatment they're getting, but our political and business leaders don't care because they're gradually doing the same thing to us, as are leaders in other major countries, most obviously "Communist" China. Welcome back to the pre-Marx 19th Century. Except now the rulers have gone global/multinational.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 10:39 AM

It's still going to be a cracker after quarterfinals. Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Napoli, Milan are most likely to go through. Maybe even Inter.

Maybe, but it still won't feel right, with all the players we're used to watching week in, week out, missing, especially after the EPL dominance (Barca excluded, the past two) in recent seasons.

xlash

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:20 AM

Maybe, but it still won't feel right, with all the players we're used to watching week in, week out, missing, especially after the EPL dominance (Barca excluded, the past two) in recent seasons.

That's the problem with the EPL, at least from a person who watches Serie A and La Liga more often. The marketing and broadcasting gives viewers a perception that the EPL is by far the best league in the world when it's not.

And what do you mean by EPL dominance the past 2 seasons? Let's look at last season first to factually back up your statement. The Spanish clubs dominated last season. There were 2 Spanish clubs in the final 4, 1 English club.

In the season before that there were 0 English clubs in the final 4, 2 French clubs and 1 Spanish club.

Perhaps you mean before the past 2 seasons. That would make more sense.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 12:17 PM

That's the problem with the EPL, at least from a person who watches Serie A and La Liga more often. The marketing and broadcasting gives viewers a perception that the EPL is by far the best league in the world when it's not.

And what do you mean by EPL dominance the past 2 seasons? Let's look at last season first to factually back up your statement. The Spanish clubs dominated last season. There were 2 Spanish clubs in the final 4, 1 English club.

In the season before that there were 0 English clubs in the final 4, 2 French clubs and 1 Spanish club.

Perhaps you mean before the past 2 seasons. That would make more sense.

Well, I could refer to the last several seasons, but that's obviously thanks to my "Man Utd coloured" glasses. I've got used to us reaching the Final. :D (The exception being down to Rooney's injury and the game-changing early red card vs Bayern).

As for the EPL, I don't believe my (or anybody else here's) perception is distorted when we regard it as the best league in the world, because it is. Billions of people around the globe follow the EPL, rather than other leagues, and that's not through it being in any way inferior. You prefer the Mediterranean leagues, but that's because you're used to watching that form of football, and that has become YOUR preference. It could be argued that YOUR perception is the distorted one. But to each their own, I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise. Just bear in mind that this is the "EPL Gossip Thread", not La Liga or Serie A, so we'll all seem misdirected in your eyes. :lol:

2 Spanish clubs may have made the final 4, but of course they're the predictable two. What are the odds of THREE Spanish clubs ever making the final 4? I think the odds of 3 EPL clubs managing that is much higher. And just think how dominant the top EPL clubs could become if revenues were unfairly distorted in England the way they are in Spain. Share Madrid and Barca's percentage of league revenues between the top 2 or 3 EPL clubs and watch the complete EPL dominance of Europe ensue. But the flipside would be a weaker, less-balanced EPL, and I don't think any EPL fan would want to see that. Even those supporting the top teams who would be the benficiaries of the added wealth.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 12:35 PM

Just got to disagree here, previous years the focus was on purchasing players pretty much already in their prime age 25~. Although that's still young, since last year a lot more of Chelsea's purchases have been on young players with an average age of 19 or so (Bruyne, Lukaku, Piazon, Courtouis that's just the top of my head) It's not the same purchasing pattern as his first few years in charge.

There are several possible reasons for the change. 1. Roman no longer has as much money to spare, especially since his divorce. 2. Roman feels he's blown enough already, and doesn't want to keep spending so much. 3. A much larger percentage of salaries have gone to paying off managers, leaving much less available for actual players. 4. Chel$ki are no longer the biggest spenders. Other clubs, especially City, are willing to pay even more over the odds to get their man, inflating prices beyond even Chel$ki's means.

Chel$ki are now in a similar position to that which United found themselves in when Abramovich first arrived, seeing their first-choice players go elsewhere, for higher fees than expected. United had to adjust their approach, going back to more in-club development of talented youngsters, rather than buying players at their peak. It worked in the mid-90s, and it's worked in the mid-00s too. United's ongoing dominance of the EPL, and consistent high ChLg performance, has kept us attractive to talented youngsters worldwide. I wonder how once-successful clubs without that ChLg spot will fare though? City had to pay sky high salaries to bring in their squad of self-centred mercenaries, pre-ChLg qualification. How will Chel$ki and/or Arsenal fare if they fail to secure 4th? It should be interesting to see.

xlash

Feb 21st, 2012, 04:51 PM

Well, I could refer to the last several seasons, but that's obviously thanks to my "Man Utd coloured" glasses. I've got used to us reaching the Final. :D (The exception being down to Rooney's injury and the game-changing early red card vs Bayern).

I have more reason to say that given I support Barcelona and yet I am tight lipped.

As for the EPL, I don't believe my (or anybody else here's) perception is distorted when we regard it as the best league in the world, because it is. Billions of people around the globe follow the EPL, rather than other leagues, and that's not through it being in any way inferior. You prefer the Mediterranean leagues, but that's because you're used to watching that form of football, and that has become YOUR preference. It could be argued that YOUR perception is the distorted one. But to each their own, I'm not going to try to persuade you otherwise. Just bear in mind that this is the "EPL Gossip Thread", not La Liga or Serie A, so we'll all seem misdirected in your eyes. :lol:

That depends on what you define is the best league and you need to make up your mind. Initially we were discussing performance in the champion's league. For someone who throws out past performances in the UCL era (just to keep things simple) Spanish clubs have won it 6 times, Italians 5, English 3. Clearly English clubs aren't going to win this time around so it's going to be 7 for Spain or 6 for Italy or maybe 3 for Germany if Bayern can pull off a win. If it's about which league is the most competitive then you just need to eyeball results and the EPL is not the best. However, when it comes to global reception, brand and marketing then you've got a point. But how much does that have to do with football compared to competitiveness and performance?

Yes I do watch La Liga and Serie A more but with player transfers, manager movements and European competition I can't consider teams from other countries a threat let alone ignore other leagues. It's that mentality which has put the English clubs in decline.

2 Spanish clubs may have made the final 4, but of course they're the predictable two. What are the odds of THREE Spanish clubs ever making the final 4? I think the odds of 3 EPL clubs managing that is much higher. And just think how dominant the top EPL clubs could become if revenues were unfairly distorted in England the way they are in Spain. Share Madrid and Barca's percentage of league revenues between the top 2 or 3 EPL clubs and watch the complete EPL dominance of Europe ensue. But the flipside would be a weaker, less-balanced EPL, and I don't think any EPL fan would want to see that. Even those supporting the top teams who would be the benficiaries of the added wealth.

Predictable or not those Spanish clubs are dominant, more so than English clubs. The odds of 3 Spanish clubs making the final 4 is not that far off. If a rich Arab investor (tons of them around these days) were to buy one of the Valencian clubs, brought in talented decision makers and were able to retain their players they would be a force in European football.

As for the TV revenue - here's a link http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2012/01/27/2868528/revealed-bundesliga-is-more-competitive-than-la-liga-serie-a. Someone crunched the numbers to demonstrate that of the top 5 leagues the least competitive is EPL with La Liga just above them. Your argument has been nullified.

xlash

Feb 21st, 2012, 04:59 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 21st, 2012, 05:20 PM

i knew cska was gonna score after madrid didn't really try to go for the kill after going 1-0 up, hopefully this is a wake up call for the 2nd leg

chelsea score first and then let 3 goals in ..... i'd say napoli is the slight fav to go through

http://i.minus.com/iToSb6ddW4fc1.gif

cole to the rescue

http://i.minus.com/iOeM8N2HTJAdw.gif

hyperion

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:16 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:21 PM

That depends on what you define is the best league and you need to make up your mind. Initially we were discussing performance in the champion's league.

Given that a league is the full set of teams, not just one or two, the EPL, and Serie A too, is better than La Liga. In the EPL, even the little teams are capable of great upsets, on the day, over the much stronger teams that compete in Europe. Very few EPL games can be safely predicted to be walkovers before kickoff, but the same can't be said for Spanish games. Just look at those huge lopsided Barca scorelines I linked to a few pages back.

Yes I do watch La Liga and Serie A more but with player transfers, manager movements and European competition I can't consider teams from other countries a threat let alone ignore other leagues. It's that mentality which has put the English clubs in decline.

It's a bit early to write off EPL clubs. Some, like Arsenal and Chelsea, are having comparatively poor years, while others, like Spurs and City, are doing well. Teams lower in the league are also having their ups and downs. That's just the way the EPL is. It's that comparative unpredictability that keeps the EPL interesting and watchable, unlike some others.

Predictable or not those Spanish clubs are dominant, more so than English clubs. The odds of 3 Spanish clubs making the final 4 is not that far off. If a rich Arab investor (tons of them around these days) were to buy one of the Valencian clubs, brought in talented decision makers and were able to retain their players they would be a force in European football.

The EPL has already been at or near to that 3 of 4 point in recent seasons, but Spain hasn't. You're counting on a rich foreign investor raising a 3rd Spanish club up to the upper tier, but there's no guarantee of that happening any time soon. Two factors potentially working against that happening: the Spanish economy is currently in a mess, heading in the same direction as Greece's; and Arabs and Spaniards don't exactly have good history, since the Spaniards expelled all the Iberian Moors. They might have a better chance with Russian investors - but then there was that nasty Spanish Civil War, in which both Germany and Russia played active, destructive roles.

As for the TV revenue - here's a link http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2012/01/27/2868528/revealed-bundesliga-is-more-competitive-than-la-liga-serie-a. Someone crunched the numbers to demonstrate that of the top 5 leagues the least competitive is EPL with La Liga just above them. Your argument has been nullified.

Looking at the link (no time to read it tonight) I see the Bundesliga is most competitive of all. Does that make Germany's league the best? How many countries carry German league matches anyway?

I hear Germany may have the best (i.e. lowest) average gate prices at matches though. That's definitely a positive. Pricing fans out of live matches is a sure-fire way to sink a league. I see lots of empty seats at smaller EPL and Serie A grounds, and that should definitely be a concern.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:28 PM

3-1!! After the match Sky sports analysts were still confident that Chelsea can beat Napoli at Stamford Bridge, after all 2-0 is all they need. Chelsea may score 2 goals but there's no way they can stop Napoli from scoring. Their counter attacking and ability to pounce on mistakes is too good.

Yeah, terrible defending for both sides today. Based on that, neither team will win the ChLg this year. Which means AVB is as good as gone. Poor attacking too, with clear chances missed. And what was Cavani thinking practically asking for a 2nd yellow when he scored? A sending off then would have likely handed Chelsea the match, especially since he created Napoli's 3rd. Chelsea of old could have possibly come back in the home leg, but I'm not sure the current squad can. I guess we'll see. Like Arsenal though, don't count on too much home support, especially if the visitors score first. It could all get very Blackburn-like.

xlash

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:32 PM

Should be a good match!

Cavani is a beast. I hope he joins his international striking partner this summer. :D

He plays alongside Diego Forlan too you know. But Liverpool won't be able to afford him anyway.

Tornado F2

Feb 21st, 2012, 11:35 PM

cole to the rescue

http://i.minus.com/iOeM8N2HTJAdw.gif

He may be another despicable person (must be something in the Chelsea water) but he certainly picked a good time to return. The scoreline would have been even worse without him.

Should be a good match!

Cavani is a beast. I hope he joins his international striking partner this summer. :D

Forlan? Yeah, that could be good. Ship that idiot Suarez there too. (Though he'll likely jump first, claiming he was "never given a chance" in England. His agent is already making his excuses).

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:19 AM

Should be a good match!

Cavani is a beast. I hope he joins his international striking partner this summer. :D

cavani is going to man city or psg, two clubs willing to pay huge transfer fee

don't see him joining a club not in cl next season

http://i.minus.com/ijacqD94dVUNu.gif

harpoon

Feb 22nd, 2012, 09:42 AM

cavani is going to man city or psg, two clubs willing to pay huge transfer fee

don't see him joining a club not in cl next season

http://i.minus.com/ijacqD94dVUNu.gif

Hilarious how that little kid just gets hauled to the floor there.

Cavani isn't coming to England and isn't as easy to shake free from Napoli as you'd think. Am surprised Hamsik wasn't snatched up earlier though his form's dipped lately.

LFC are going to see if they can pip fourth or not, if they do expect a huge push for Eden Hazard as that's (from what I hear) their big #1 target. But CL is needed first of course. We'll see.

hyperion

Feb 22nd, 2012, 09:50 AM

Eden Hazard has been my favorite transfer target for Liverpool for a while now. I'd be in dream land if we managed to snag him. Cavani can be a backup choice. :P

hyperion

Feb 22nd, 2012, 09:58 AM

Tornado F2

Feb 22nd, 2012, 12:06 PM

And I obviously wasn't talking about Suarez joining Folan. Forlan is past his prime, and Suarez is going nowhere. Cavani + Suarez at LFC would probably be the most feared striking partnership in the EPL, but even I admit that's highly unlikely, and Andy Carroll is starting to blossom, so Cavani won't be needed. I'd like to see Carroll bag at least 10 EPL goals this season, and build on that next season.

If Forlan is past his prime, what a prime it was. :D He led Uruguay to a great WC run (after barely qualifying), to a Copa win, and in between won the Europa League. Not bad at all. Most players can only dream of such a year.

Cavani and Suarez would be feared mostly as a danger to physical health, if Cavani were somehow even half as reckless/violent as Suarez. I don't think I've seen him play dirty though. He just celebrates stupid.

So Carroll's "blossoming" at last? What's going to happen now that Suarez is back and Kuyt has finally convinced Dalglish to give him a chance? With his preference for extra defenders, how many chances can LFC strikers possibly get?

hyperion

Feb 22nd, 2012, 01:45 PM

Let's see how Forlan does today in Marseille vs Inter. Should be a fun game to watch even though Inter seems to be pulling a Chelsea lately.

xlash

Feb 22nd, 2012, 01:55 PM

If Forlan is past his prime, what a prime it was. :D He led Uruguay to a great WC run (after barely qualifying), to a Copa win, and in between won the Europa League. Not bad at all. Most players can only dream of such a year.

Cavani and Suarez would be feared mostly as a danger to physical health, if Cavani were somehow even half as reckless/violent as Suarez. I don't think I've seen him play dirty though. He just celebrates stupid.

So Carroll's "blossoming" at last? What's going to happen now that Suarez is back and Kuyt has finally convinced Dalglish to give him a chance? With his preference for extra defenders, how many chances can LFC strikers possibly get?

Forlan's playing at Inter that's why he looks so past his prime. Neymar could go to Inter and he'd look like he's past his prime as well. Arsenal's situation is terrific compared to Inter's. Both are going to hell in a handbasket but one actually has hope of coming back with FFP in the horizon. How Inter topped their group is a miracle. Cavani's not going anywhere. Laurentiis is going to do everything in his power to keep him, Lavezzi and Hamsik. This year they had to sacrifice pole position in Serie A to make the big bucks of Champions League football so they can hold onto that trio and increase their bargaining power to build a deeper squad. What a bold (and logical) move that was. Catching Udinese will be tough especially with only 3 champions league spots available.

Carroll should have blossomed with the Magpies. Buying Carroll was a big mistake. They should have taken the Arsenal approach and waited for the right player. They lost an under performer in Torres who didn't even want to be at LFC.

blzn

Feb 22nd, 2012, 02:04 PM

xlash

Feb 22nd, 2012, 02:23 PM

Another woeful performance, cut apart with ease by the Napoli attack.

In regards to 'best league' my definition would be the league that is most competitive. I think La Liga has the 2 best teams in the world but in terms of competition I would say EPL because before a season kicks off you can have 4 teams who have a legitimate chance at winning the title. I would say German league is second.

Perception and reality are rarely congruent in football. I understand you guys only watch the EPL but just look at other leagues too before judging. Despite the fact that 4 teams having a legitimate chance only 2 teams have actually won the title since 2005. Ligue 1 which was criticized for being a 1 team league has had twice as many champions during that time period. Even the Bundesliga has had 4 different teams win the title during that very same time period.

Only this year City has a shot at the title with United the only competition so far. Ligue 1 is somewhat open. The Bundesliga, not that race is wide open.

jcon

Feb 22nd, 2012, 02:36 PM

I understand you guys only watch the EPL but just look at other leagues too before judging.

There it is, you don't agree with others opinions so you assume that it is uninformed. Most pundits argue the EPL is the best league and it is because the competition is constantly driving it upwards. Lots of other leagues have closed the gap in the past few seasons but the EPL has been the top LEAGUE for many years now.

blzn

Feb 22nd, 2012, 03:12 PM

Perception and reality are rarely congruent in football. I understand you guys only watch the EPL but just look at other leagues too before judging. Despite the fact that 4 teams having a legitimate chance only 2 teams have actually won the title since 2005. Ligue 1 which was criticized for being a 1 team league has had twice as many champions during that time period. Even the Bundesliga has had 4 different teams win the title during that very same time period.

Only this year City has a shot at the title with United the only competition so far. Ligue 1 is somewhat open. The Bundesliga, not that race is wide open.

I actually watch Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga, and obv EPL.

Lyon won 7 (or 8) years in a row at one point, pretty sure the one team league accusation stems from that. Not saying it is any more but 4/5 or so years ago it was. Like I said the Bundesliga is very competitive but every season going in Bayern should be favourites every year.

Obviously perception =/ reality in football but what I'm saying is, there are more teams that have a good shot at the title in the EPL than most other league. For an example, the odds on Arsenal winning the EPL this year were much better than Valencia winning La Liga.

Maybe the Chelsea first team can take notes from the youth team who turned around a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in the FA Youth Cup quarter finals. They'll take on the winners of MU and Charlton.

Edit: Marseille and Basel both win their home leg 1-0, Basel victory comes as a bit of a surprise to me.

xlash

Feb 22nd, 2012, 04:31 PM

There it is, you don't agree with others opinions so you assume that it is uninformed. Most pundits argue the EPL is the best league and it is because the competition is constantly driving it upwards. Lots of other leagues have closed the gap in the past few seasons but the EPL has been the top LEAGUE for many years now.

Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one. - Clint Eastwood.

This is the EPL thread after all hence the assumption on my part...Anyway I see where you're coming from. The reason why pundits argue is because there are other pundits offering counter arguments. There's no doubt that the EPL is one of the best leagues in the world but I'm giving you proof that when you view it through different metrics other leagues are right up there. Because we live in Canada, an English speaking country, the EPL takes precedence.

Basel just pulled off another massive upset against FCB. With Dortmund out, Bayer struggling against Barca I wonder what the repercussions would be if Bayern are out too. Especially if Inter miraculously go past OM.

blzn

Feb 22nd, 2012, 04:52 PM

Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one. - Clint Eastwood.

This is the EPL thread after all hence the assumption on my part...Anyway I see where you're coming from. The reason why pundits argue is because there are other pundits offering counter arguments. There's no doubt that the EPL is one of the best leagues in the world but I'm giving you proof that when you view it through different metrics other leagues are right up there. Because we live in Canada, an English speaking country, the EPL takes precedence.

Basel just pulled off another massive upset against FCB. With Dortmund out, Bayer struggling against Barca I wonder what the repercussions would be if Bayern are out too. Especially if Inter miraculously go past OM.

Since you mentioned it I looked up the coefficient table as you brought up a valid point because that would be a big blow to German Football in Europe, if they lost the 4th CL spot. Germany are ahead by a approx 12 points and I think that it would take yet another season for Italy to do well in Europe and Germany not so well to take back 4 CL spots.

Tornado F2

Feb 22nd, 2012, 09:25 PM

Obviously perception =/ reality in football but what I'm saying is, there are more teams that have a good shot at the title in the EPL than most other league. For an example, the odds on Arsenal winning the EPL this year were much better than Valencia winning La Liga.

Edit: Marseille and Basel both win their home leg 1-0, Basel victory comes as a bit of a surprise to me.

It's high time the knockers gave Basel the respect they're obviously due. They won't run rings around the top teams, but with a solid defence and goalie they're proving my point the other day and collecting scalps. They're unlikely to get past Munich, but who expected them to get this far? They might just do a Porto and win the ChLg if things somehow fall their way.

Basel just pulled off another massive upset against FCB. With Dortmund out, Bayer struggling against Barca I wonder what the repercussions would be if Bayern are out too. Especially if Inter miraculously go past OM.

Sounds like Basel had a really good day today, beating both Bayern and Barca. :razz:

BTW blzn, I doubt the odds on Arsenal winning the league this season can have been good, given the imminent defections of Fabregas and Nasri, and the strength of the two Manchester teams, especially given United's regularity in taking the title. I think Valencia would have been the better bet of the two this year.

This is the EPL thread after all hence the assumption on my part...Anyway I see where you're coming from. The reason why pundits argue is because there are other pundits offering counter arguments. There's no doubt that the EPL is one of the best leagues in the world but I'm giving you proof that when you view it through different metrics other leagues are right up there. Because we live in Canada, an English speaking country, the EPL takes precedence.

Not only English-speaking countries follow the EPL. You only need to look at the language options on the big clubs' websites to see that. The United website supports English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese, iirc. And many countries, such as Norway and Holland, have broadcast live EPL games for years.

How is it that you're so entranced by the Spanish league anyway? You appear to have no ties to Spain itself, given your lack of the right (as posted elsewhere) to seek work in Barcelona. European citizens, and holders of European passports, have that right.

xlash

Feb 22nd, 2012, 10:21 PM

It's high time the knockers gave Basel the respect they're obviously due. They won't run rings around the top teams, but with a solid defence and goalie they're proving my point the other day and collecting scalps. They're unlikely to get past Munich, but who expected them to get this far? They might just do a Porto and win the ChLg if things somehow fall their way.

They beat United so I am sure that if they put in the same effort then with some luck they'll get past Munich. United's been more consistent this season than Bayern in the league matches. Gomez, Robben and Ribery were highly ineffective. Maybe Muller will be the difference. Rafinha was AWFUL. Bayern's defence just wasn't on par with Basel's.

Sounds like Basel had a really good day today, beating both Bayern and Barca. :razz:

FCB is short for Fussball Club Bayern Munich.

BTW blzn, I doubt the odds on Arsenal winning the league this season can have been good, given the imminent defections of Fabregas and Nasri, and the strength of the two Manchester teams, especially given United's regularity in taking the title. I think Valencia would have been the better bet of the two this year.

I agree with Valencia having a better shot because they have a much better coach in Unai Emery. He's a lot better at winning with players who won't necessarily make the squads of Barca, Madrid, United etc. Plus that squad has bought into Valencia's philosophy and understand what's required of them. They didn't exactly pull an Arsenal when Villa, Mata and Silva left. They did the best they could with what they had. But most importantly the fans don't have a heightened expectation from their team. Hardcore Arsenal fans are completely deluded about the boardroom's goals.

Not only English-speaking countries follow the EPL. You only need to look at the language options on the big clubs' websites to see that. The United website supports English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese, iirc. And many countries, such as Norway and Holland, have broadcast live EPL games for years.

We were talking about the entire league. I know United, Arsenal and Chelsea cater to far eastern languages and City's got an Arabic version (would be blasphemy if they didn't) but LFC, Newcastle and Spurs don't have language options. In La Liga Malaga, Atletico, the Valencian clubs all have multiple language options (and I don't just mean local provincial languages like Catalan and Euskara, I mean Japanese and Mandarin). You'd have to all the way down to say Rayo Vallecano to see the lack of language options.

How is it that you're so entranced by the Spanish league anyway? You appear to have no ties to Spain itself, given your lack of the right (as posted elsewhere) to seek work in Barcelona. European citizens, and holders of European passports, have that right.

You perceive the EPL to be more interesting and I think it's La Liga - different strokes for different folks. Prior to the Malaga purchase Spain had always been reticent about foreign owners. So much so that even though owners can't pay their players they still won't entertain the thought of putting said clubs on sale to foreign investors; that scenario is almost unheard of in the EPL. When the economy nosedived the owners didn't have much of a choice. But most importantly, the problems facing La Liga can be dealt with relatively easily (relative being the key word here). If the clubs go for a fair distribution of TV rights that will even the playing field substantially. If the teams get more competitive by attracting better players they'll gain more commercial revenue. It's a snowball effect if you will. A lot of the clubs have terrible finances because their executives flat out suck. Replacing them with smarter decision makers will make the clubs more competitive would be the next step. Finally, an improved economy. All these factors will either reduce the power of the big 2 or keep them where they are but it'll benefit the rest of the league. As it is the tax rates are low and the clubs have a laissez faire attitude towards players milking endorsement deals. Wasn't this one of the reasons why Ronaldo left United for Real? Also unlike Italy, the clubs own their own stadiums. That's a huge problem in Italy and explains why they can't compete with EPL and Liga for top players (why else would Silvio be unable to buy Carlos Tevez?). Their overhead costs are too high lowers their net profit.

Being a Barca fan definitely helps; but as I said before - to each their own despite whatever counter argument is thrown.

harpoon

Feb 22nd, 2012, 11:25 PM

Carroll should have blossomed with the Magpies. Buying Carroll was a big mistake. They should have taken the Arsenal approach and waited for the right player. They lost an under performer in Torres who didn't even want to be at LFC.

Getting rid of Torres and pocketing 15m while getting Carroll sounds ok to me. There were rumours around Liverpool all that autumn that Torres' injuries robbed him of some pace and power, who knows as the city is a haven for rumours though. Either way, the greedy !@#$%^ is gone and I'm happier with Carroll. Bigger players can sometimes blossom later (Crouch, Aldo, etc etc) but we'll see if it was a mistake after all. He has all the tools, just like Henderson, it's just a matter of utilizing them.

And I obviously wasn't talking about Suarez joining Folan. Forlan is past his prime, and Suarez is going nowhere. Cavani + Suarez at LFC would probably be the most feared striking partnership in the EPL, but even I admit that's highly unlikely, and Andy Carroll is starting to blossom, so Cavani won't be needed. I'd like to see Carroll bag at least 10 EPL goals this season, and build on that next season.

I think we need a striker, even at youth level we're not finding the net despite pass-and-moving in pretty triangles all over the place. If we signed Eden Hazard I'd pee my pants a little with joy. He's my #1 dream signing (that's semi-realistic). But yeah, there's 3-4 positions that need an upgrade though if we played to our abilities we should be in the top 4 already. Hot damn, is our defence impressive though. I hated Skrtel last year and I'm eating my words, he and Kompany are the league's 2 best centre halves.

Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody's got one. - Clint Eastwood.

This is the EPL thread after all hence the assumption on my part...Anyway I see where you're coming from. The reason why pundits argue is because there are other pundits offering counter arguments. There's no doubt that the EPL is one of the best leagues in the world but I'm giving you proof that when you view it through different metrics other leagues are right up there. Because we live in Canada, an English speaking country, the EPL takes precedence.

Basel just pulled off another massive upset against FCB. With Dortmund out, Bayer struggling against Barca I wonder what the repercussions would be if Bayern are out too. Especially if Inter miraculously go past OM.

I think football is like Baskin Robbins in that there's a flavour of ice cream for different people, and some like more than one flavour. I like the pace and power of the EPL but the refs and the FA are a joke. Serie A is great to watch as well as Serie A, and the Bundesliga can really be value for time as well with some of those crazy matches but when you get a stinker in Germany, it's like paint drying. There's less variety as we're all global citizens like I said, but it's still there.

At the end of the day, who cares, footy is footy and we're lucky to have such choice!

Tornado F2

Feb 22nd, 2012, 11:44 PM

FCB is short for Fussball Club Bayern Munich.

I agree with Valencia having a better shot because they have a much better coach in Unai Emery. He's a lot better at winning with players who won't necessarily make the squads of Barca, Madrid, United etc. Plus that squad has bought into Valencia's philosophy and understand what's required of them. They didn't exactly pull an Arsenal when Villa, Mata and Silva left. They did the best they could with what they had. But most importantly the fans don't have a heightened expectation from their team. Hardcore Arsenal fans are completely deluded about the boardroom's goals.

We were talking about the entire league. I know United, Arsenal and Chelsea cater to far eastern languages and City's got an Arabic version (would be blasphemy if they didn't) but LFC, Newcastle and Spurs don't have language options. In La Liga Malaga, Atletico, the Valencian clubs all have multiple language options (and I don't just mean local provincial languages like Catalan and Euskara, I mean Japanese and Mandarin). You'd have to all the way down to say Rayo Vallecano to see the lack of language options.

You perceive the EPL to be more interesting and I think it's La Liga - different strokes for different folks. Prior to the Malaga purchase Spain had always been reticent about foreign owners. So much so that even though owners can't pay their players they still won't entertain the thought of putting said clubs on sale to foreign investors; that scenario is almost unheard of in the EPL. When the economy nosedived the owners didn't have much of a choice. But most importantly, the problems facing La Liga can be dealt with relatively easily (relative being the key word here). If the clubs go for a fair distribution of TV rights that will even the playing field substantially. If the teams get more competitive by attracting better players they'll gain more commercial revenue. It's a snowball effect if you will. A lot of the clubs have terrible finances because their executives flat out suck. Replacing them with smarter decision makers will make the clubs more competitive would be the next step. Finally, an improved economy. All these factors will either reduce the power of the big 2 or keep them where they are but it'll benefit the rest of the league. As it is the tax rates are low and the clubs have a laissez faire attitude towards players milking endorsement deals. Wasn't this one of the reasons why Ronaldo left United for Real? Also unlike Italy, the clubs own their own stadiums. That's a huge problem in Italy and explains why they can't compete with EPL and Liga for top players (why else would Silvio be unable to buy Carlos Tevez?). Their overhead costs are too high lowers their net profit.

Being a Barca fan definitely helps; but as I said before - to each their own despite whatever counter argument is thrown.

"FCB" can be used for many teams, including, ironically enough, Basel themselves. But I think most football fans will agree that Barca are the club that first comes to mind. After all, it's right there in the middle of the team crest:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/FCB.svg/220px-FCB.svg.png

As a declared Barca fan, I'm surprised you'd allocate the club's abbreviation to a rival.

As for Arsenal and Valencia, I wasn't saying that the latter had a decent shot this year, just that Arsenal, at the start of this season, were at their lowest ebb in ages, and extremely unlikely to win the EPL. The fact that they're still chasing 4th is a minor miracle in itself, largely attributable to RVP's goals.

Wrt language options, that's really just marketing. The fact that teams like Newcastle don't place much emphasis on marketing to the Far East doesn't necessarily make them unknown out there. I'm confident that the typical Asian football fan will be more likely to recognise the name of Newcastle, Spurs, or even West Ham than that of Valencia, Atletico, or Espanyol. That said, the situation might be reversed in S. America. Everybody knows United, but City seem to be a new discovery to the Spanish/Portuguese-speaking world. Just look at Robinho when he said he was happy to sign "for Manchester". He likely didn't realise he'd signed for the less-known "noisy neighbours" until he showed up for first practice. That likely explains his prompt departure. Hope his agent signed him with the right "Milan" side. :lol: (But who can blame him? City had spent the first half of his life in the near-anonymous lower divisions). :)

As for CRonaldo, he moved to Madrid because it was his mommy's "dream". :D Plus he was scared by all the buxom English lasses hanging around outside his Cheshire mansion. ;) He's apparently more at ease with trailer park American waitresses. :razz:

Finally, Milan probably could have signed Tevez, but why would they? He's overpriced, overpaid, and too temperamental. They already took Robinho off City's hands, only to find him to be the same lazy self-centred prat he was at City. Why would they make that mistake again? It's not like there's much of a demand for Tevez shirts these days (other than for burning). :lol: (Apparently that was a major part of Madrid's rationale when they signed CRon).

Tornado F2

Feb 22nd, 2012, 11:49 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 22nd, 2012, 11:54 PM

I'd pee my pants a little with joy.

Now there's an image. :lol:

Serie A is great to watch as well as Serie A,

It's hard to tell one from another sometimes. :razz:

hyperion

Feb 23rd, 2012, 12:59 AM

Getting rid of Torres and pocketing 15m while getting Carroll sounds ok to me. There were rumours around Liverpool all that autumn that Torres' injuries robbed him of some pace and power, who knows as the city is a haven for rumours though. Either way, the greedy !@#$%^ is gone and I'm happier with Carroll. Bigger players can sometimes blossom later (Crouch, Aldo, etc etc) but we'll see if it was a mistake after all. He has all the tools, just like Henderson, it's just a matter of utilizing them.

I think we need a striker, even at youth level we're not finding the net despite pass-and-moving in pretty triangles all over the place. If we signed Eden Hazard I'd pee my pants a little with joy. He's my #1 dream signing (that's semi-realistic). But yeah, there's 3-4 positions that need an upgrade though if we played to our abilities we should be in the top 4 already. Hot damn, is our defence impressive though. I hated Skrtel last year and I'm eating my words, he and Kompany are the league's 2 best centre halves.

I think football is like Baskin Robbins in that there's a flavour of ice cream for different people, and some like more than one flavour. I like the pace and power of the EPL but the refs and the FA are a joke. Serie A is great to watch as well as Serie A, and the Bundesliga can really be value for time as well with some of those crazy matches but when you get a stinker in Germany, it's like paint drying. There's less variety as we're all global citizens like I said, but it's still there.

At the end of the day, who cares, footy is footy and we're lucky to have such choice!

Agree with you on Torres and Carroll, and Skrtel surprised me too. I thought he wasn't anything special up to this season, and now he's keeping Carragher out of a starting spot.

xlash

Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:21 AM

At the end of the day, who cares, footy is footy and we're lucky to have such choice!

That's the best thing about football. There's so much choice that it's mind boggling.

xlash

Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:46 AM

"FCB" can be used for many teams, including, ironically enough, Basel themselves. But I think most football fans will agree that Barca are the club that first comes to mind. After all, it's right there in the middle of the team crest:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/FCB.svg/220px-FCB.svg.png

As a declared Barca fan, I'm surprised you'd allocate the club's abbreviation to a rival.

As for Arsenal and Valencia, I wasn't saying that the latter had a decent shot this year, just that Arsenal, at the start of this season, were at their lowest ebb in ages, and extremely unlikely to win the EPL. The fact that they're still chasing 4th is a minor miracle in itself, largely attributable to RVP's goals.

Wrt language options, that's really just marketing. The fact that teams like Newcastle don't place much emphasis on marketing to the Far East doesn't necessarily make them unknown out there. I'm confident that the typical Asian football fan will be more likely to recognise the name of Newcastle, Spurs, or even West Ham than that of Valencia, Atletico, or Espanyol. That said, the situation might be reversed in S. America. Everybody knows United, but City seem to be a new discovery to the Spanish/Portuguese-speaking world. Just look at Robinho when he said he was happy to sign "for Manchester". He likely didn't realise he'd signed for the less-known "noisy neighbours" until he showed up for first practice. That likely explains his prompt departure. Hope his agent signed him with the right "Milan" side. :lol: (But who can blame him? City had spent the first half of his life in the near-anonymous lower divisions). :)

As for CRonaldo, he moved to Madrid because it was his mommy's "dream". :D Plus he was scared by all the buxom English lasses hanging around outside his Cheshire mansion. ;) He's apparently more at ease with trailer park American waitresses. :razz:

Finally, Milan probably could have signed Tevez, but why would they? He's overpriced, overpaid, and too temperamental. They already took Robinho off City's hands, only to find him to be the same lazy self-centred prat he was at City. Why would they make that mistake again? It's not like there's much of a demand for Tevez shirts these days (other than for burning). :lol: (Apparently that was a major part of Madrid's rationale when they signed CRon).

LOL Basel has FCB on their crest too. It's just an acronym anyway. It could be worse - say Valencia and Villareal. Their fans hate each other and they are both VCF.

That Robinho mistake was Chelsea not Manchester United. For the gazillions he makes I am sure he knew exactly where he was going but he's a footballer. All that last minute stress and details must have got to him. He's definitely lazy and self-centered. And a huge problem with football and why it appears to be declining is that clubs actually pay enormous amounts to guys like him, Tevez and Ronaldinho.

Milan wanted to sign Tevez for 2 reasons. Because Silvio wanted him and to fill the gap left by Cassano. When another outspoken and self-centered person like Ibra speaks about missing Cassano the club listens and wants to cater to that. Of course tactically that makes no sense. Milan's position is very interesting. They know that this season is the perfect chance for them to claim the Serie A title again and contend for the CL because they are wary of Juventus' rise. Juventus doesn't play CL this season but they have a new stadium which means their matchday revenue is going to soar amongst everybody else in Serie A. Next year they are definitely playing in the CL and their TV income and commercial revenue is going to skyrocket as well. And top players would love to play for Juventus only helping them bolster their depth. If Antonio Conte improves even more as a coach we're looking at a dynasty in the making. I can see why Milan would consider signing Tevez.

If Udinese could have beaten Arsenal during the CL playoffs, the next season we would be seeing Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Udinese, Lazio and Roma all competing for the title; who knows Udinese might still be competitive. Inter won't be competing for anything more than mid-table spots for a long time. Their dominance is 6 feet under.

LOL Ronaldo is anything but stupid. He's professional, driven and smart. Almost everything he does revolves around either making more money or winning trophies. He's making a lot more money not just from salaries but also endorsements. The lower tax in Spain definitely helps.

xlash

Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:57 AM

Looks like Zlatan won't be featuring against Juve this weekend because his appeal got thrown out. Slapping and punching opponents on a regular basis shows this guy has no class. Serves him right. I hope Juve wins. I am sick of hearing Milan's excuse that Juve doesn't play in 2 competitions.

Also it looks like Ronaldo wants to return to the EPL, specifically to United. He misses SAF. Hahahaha. So with him returning and Mourinho most likely gone Madrid's La Liga dominance isn't going to last very long. Guardiola would be wise to stay put.

I personally don't think United can afford Ronaldo but if he pulls a Fabregas then Madrid won't have a lot of choice.

hyperion

Feb 23rd, 2012, 12:30 PM

I personally don't think United can afford Ronaldo but if he pulls a Fabregas then Madrid won't have a lot of choice.

Hey, what's a little more debt?

Fimo

Feb 23rd, 2012, 06:04 PM

I think we need a striker, even at youth level we're not finding the net despite pass-and-moving in pretty triangles all over the place. If we signed Eden Hazard I'd pee my pants a little with joy. He's my #1 dream signing (that's semi-realistic). But yeah, there's 3-4 positions that need an upgrade though if we played to our abilities we should be in the top 4 already. Hot damn, is our defence impressive though. I hated Skrtel last year and I'm eating my words, he and Kompany are the league's 2 best centre halves.

I'd love to have EH at LFC as well, its not going to happen I don't think. Another interesting attacking player would be Ribery, his stock has gone down a bit in the last few years, but he is a younger (28?) Bellamy type player with a bit more skill and pace. He came off in a huff against Basel and didn't seem happy with Jupp Heynckes, perhaps we can convince FC Bayern München to part with him in the summer? Not sure if we can afford his salary though, close to 180,000 pounds a week!

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:32 PM

Hey, what's a little more debt?

zing! :D

next move for cr7 will probably be to milan after he hits 30 :razz:

Tornado F2

Feb 23rd, 2012, 10:53 PM

Hey, what's a little more debt?

No debt needed. We'll just promise to erect him a statue like Henry's got at the Emirates. Only twice the size. :D

Fimo

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:07 PM

zing! :D

next move for cr7 will probably be to milan after he hits 30 :razz:

CR7's next move is to MLS so he and child can be closer to his baby mama & perhaps a future career in Hollywood; he has given a few Oscar worthy performances in his relatively short career thus far.

Tornado F2

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:26 PM

LOL Basel has FCB on their crest too. It's just an acronym anyway. It could be worse - say Valencia and Villareal. Their fans hate each other and they are both VCF.

That Robinho mistake was Chelsea not Manchester United. For the gazillions he makes I am sure he knew exactly where he was going but he's a footballer. All that last minute stress and details must have got to him. He's definitely lazy and self-centered. And a huge problem with football and why it appears to be declining is that clubs actually pay enormous amounts to guys like him, Tevez and Ronaldinho.

Milan wanted to sign Tevez for 2 reasons. Because Silvio wanted him and to fill the gap left by Cassano. When another outspoken and self-centered person like Ibra speaks about missing Cassano the club listens and wants to cater to that. Of course tactically that makes no sense. Milan's position is very interesting. They know that this season is the perfect chance for them to claim the Serie A title again and contend for the CL because they are wary of Juventus' rise. Juventus doesn't play CL this season but they have a new stadium which means their matchday revenue is going to soar amongst everybody else in Serie A. Next year they are definitely playing in the CL and their TV income and commercial revenue is going to skyrocket as well. And top players would love to play for Juventus only helping them bolster their depth. If Antonio Conte improves even more as a coach we're looking at a dynasty in the making. I can see why Milan would consider signing Tevez.

LOL Ronaldo is anything but stupid. He's professional, driven and smart. Almost everything he does revolves around either making more money or winning trophies. He's making a lot more money not just from salaries but also endorsements. The lower tax in Spain definitely helps.

It may be meant as FCB, but the Basel crest looks more like "CFB". ;)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/FC_Basel.png/150px-FC_Basel.png

"FCB" may be applied to several clubs, but as I said before, Barca are the club that comes to mind for most football fans. Bayern Munich are more often referred to as "Bayern", or simply "Munich", while few outside the immediate vicinity will have even heard of FC Basel before this season.

I know Robinho seemed to think he was Chelsea-bound, but he then spoke of "Manchester". I'm not sure if he was aware at that point that there was a "Manchester" club that wasn't United. Reportedly he took several bus rides when he first got there. He was probably trying to find out where the real "Manchester" team was. When he realised his mistake, off he went. :D Being pelted with snow by Adebayor likely didn't help either. :lol:

I don't think Tevez would be much of an asset to AC Milan with his more recent attitude, but who knows, after his extended exile he MIGHT come back a better man and player. It will be a brave (or foolish) club that will gamble the big bucks to find out though.

As for CRon, I was just joking. We like to joke from time to time in this thread, especially about players like him. He is an excellent footballer, (so long as he doesn't get too frustrated), but just like others, especially fellow Latins, his antics (especially his obvious tantrums) are often good for a laugh. Torres has been the best for a couple of years now though. His falls/dives every time he enters the penalty box, (especially at LFC and in his brief appearances at the WC), his pointless sideline warmups (rarely actually being sent on), his ridiculous misses, and his embarrassing substitutions, are footballing comedy gold. :D I actually feel sorry for the fella, but that doesn't make his appearances any less funny. At least he's well paid for the entertainment he provides.

Tornado F2

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:29 PM

CR7's next move is to MLS so he and child can be closer to his baby mama & perhaps a future career in Hollywood; he has given a few Oscar worthy performances in his relatively short career thus far.

Over his momma's dead body. She paid the Yank good money (CRon's) for that kid. ;)

Tornado F2

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:33 PM

I'd love to have EH at LFC as well, its not going to happen I don't think. Another interesting attacking player would be Ribery, his stock has gone down a bit in the last few years, but he is a younger (28?) Bellamy type player with a bit more skill and pace. He came off in a huff against Basel and didn't seem happy with Jupp Heynckes, perhaps we can convince FC Bayern München to part with him in the summer? Not sure if we can afford his salary though, close to 180,000 pounds a week!

I'm not sure that Ribery would move to a country where his off-field activities could get him locked up for rape. But then this is Liverpool that you're talking about. Sounds like pretty much anything goes there. This season things are getting extra-wacky. Especially around Anfield. :razz:

hyperion

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:42 PM

You're just jealous that we have Anfield Cat (http://www.freshfieldsrescue.org.uk/index.php/news/article/anfield_cat_makes_a_bid_for_freedom) and streakers.

Tornado F2

Feb 23rd, 2012, 11:51 PM

You're just jealous that we have Anfield Cat (http://www.freshfieldsrescue.org.uk/index.php/news/article/anfield_cat_makes_a_bid_for_freedom) and streakers.

The cat was great. Especially the way the stewards all seemed afraid of him. :D Of course one of the London clubs (Arsenal?) had a fox, iirc.

The Guardian had a funny cat-related bit: "There's a cat on the pitch. Does he think it's all over? It is meow!" :lol:

Didn't you guys have the clown who handcuffed himself to the goalpost? (Edit: Nope, that was the neighbours, Everton. Still Liverpool though).

http://nbcoutofbounds.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/fanhandcuffs.jpg?w=320

I deleted the naked scouse bum a few days back though. I didn't want to give him any more exposure in this thread. (puns intended). ;)

Edit: What's this about sores and bites on the cat's neck? Couldn't they keep Suarez away from it? That was the same day the rabid racist lunatic assaulted Parker.

xlash

Feb 24th, 2012, 01:55 PM

As for CRon, I was just joking. We like to joke from time to time in this thread, especially about players like him. He is an excellent footballer, (so long as he doesn't get too frustrated), but just like others, especially fellow Latins, his antics (especially his obvious tantrums) are often good for a laugh. Torres has been the best for a couple of years now though. His falls/dives every time he enters the penalty box, (especially at LFC and in his brief appearances at the WC), his pointless sideline warmups (rarely actually being sent on), his ridiculous misses, and his embarrassing substitutions, are footballing comedy gold. :D I actually feel sorry for the fella, but that doesn't make his appearances any less funny. At least he's well paid for the entertainment he provides.

I am not easily amused. When I saw Torres miss that open goal against Man U I wasn't moved. But I will say that I sometimes I do wish he'd score a few more goals, get his confidence back and set the league on fire. But there are times when I want him to never score another goal in the top leagues again. The latter usually happens when I think of how much he's getting paid. Oh another one was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMx7zgi9JyM (this video). I was surprised that Bieber can juggle a ball but he doesn't know where his "heroes" Frankie and FT are from?!?!?

Tornado F2

Feb 24th, 2012, 04:33 PM

I am not easily amused. When I saw Torres miss that open goal against Man U I wasn't moved. But I will say that I sometimes I do wish he'd score a few more goals, get his confidence back and set the league on fire. But there are times when I want him to never score another goal in the top leagues again. The latter usually happens when I think of how much he's getting paid. Oh another one was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMx7zgi9JyM (this video). I was surprised that Bieber can juggle a ball but he doesn't know where his "heroes" Frankie and FT are from?!?!?

http://rlv.zcache.com/queen_victoria_we_are_not_amused_postcard-p239198190287123292z74oh_210.jpg

:D

I don't understand the Bieber fuss either. Granted, I've only heard a 30 second or so snippet of one of his songs, but it was repetitive drivel. Shows how brainwashed kids are these days. Your link doesn't seem to work, but others have posted links before to his visits to both Barca and Chel$ki, both of which were apparently his "favourite" teams, at least when it suited him (or he was told it did by his agent).

Tornado F2

Feb 24th, 2012, 04:51 PM

Blackburn have apparently capitulated, accepted relegation, and sold off one of their remaining decent assets - Chris Samba - to Anzhi Makhachkala. Probably for a lot less than they could have got in January. Bet the Blackburn fans wish they had Anzhi's owner, and not those idiot chicken magnates that are ruining their once-respected club. What happened to that "proper" test for owners that the FA keep talking about? There idiots came in AFTER Portsmouth's series of owners sunk them, but were allowed in anyway. No wonder the fans there are mad.

VorteC

Feb 25th, 2012, 12:00 PM

Please, Chelsea. Just beat Bolton...

blzn

Feb 25th, 2012, 12:22 PM

Shocking.. a victory made to look easy. Something we haven't seen in a while.

I think the Luiz/Cahill partnership has potential they're both excellent with the ball for CBs. Big day tomorrow starting with the North London Derby then hopefully watching an entertaining cup final.

Tornado F2

Feb 25th, 2012, 12:29 PM

Another big EPL scoreline for Woy's West Brom. How much higher in the table LFC might have been this season if they'd given him a proper chance. Wins instead of draws = ChLg next season.

Fimo

Feb 25th, 2012, 03:34 PM

Big day tomorrow starting with the North London Derby then hopefully watching an entertaining cup final. +1 hoping for two good games.

Another big EPL scoreline for Woy's West Brom. How much higher in the table LFC might have been this season if they'd given him a proper chance. Wins instead of draws = ChLg next season.

LOL! I've had sooooo many Man Yoo fans tell me that Woy wasn't given a "proper chance". FFS, he had us in the relegation zone for the first time in 50 plus years, alienated the fans by brown nosing Fergie, had sh1t tactics amongst other things. My response is if he is so great and can get you into the Champions League, Man Yoo should give him that "proper chance" he seems to deserve once Fergie retires, in fact I will fly over to England and personally volunteer to drive him to Manchester. :facepalm:

hyperion

Feb 25th, 2012, 04:50 PM

+1 hoping for two good games.

LOL! I've had sooooo many Man Yoo fans tell me that Woy wasn't given a "proper chance". FFS, he had us in the relegation zone for the first time in 50 plus years, alienated the fans by brown nosing Fergie, had sh1t tactics amongst other things. My response is if he is so great and can get you into the Champions League, Man Yoo should give him that "proper chance" he seems to deserve once Fergie retires, in fact I will fly over to England and personally volunteer to drive him to Manchester. :facepalm:

Considering most ManU fans want to see Liverpool relegated, it makes sense for them to prop up Roy. :D

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

xlash

Feb 25th, 2012, 04:55 PM

Another big EPL scoreline for Woy's West Brom. How much higher in the table LFC might have been this season if they'd given him a proper chance. Wins instead of draws = ChLg next season.

I watched a few of those matches last year with Roy at the helm. The team was awful. Match after match they found a way to give up the 3 points. It's like he had absolutely zero man-management skills. I did expect them to do better this season with Kenny but on paper that squad is equivalent to a Napoli which would need a coach like Mou's calibre to challenge the Manchester clubs. I'll be rooting for them tomorrow at Wembley. They deserve silverware more than say Arsenal or Chelsea.

Juventus vs. AC Milan was strife with controversy. The linesmen were awful.

xlash

Feb 25th, 2012, 05:11 PM

Considering most ManU fans want to see Liverpool relegated, it makes sense for them to prop up Roy. :D

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

I'd be very surprised if they lose tomorrow.

harpoon

Feb 25th, 2012, 11:12 PM

Considering most ManU fans want to see Liverpool relegated, it makes sense for them to prop up Roy. :D

Looking forward to tomorrow!!

The Hodge was easily the worst LFC manager ever. He had no clue. West Brom/Fulham is his level, and like you said, I'd drive him to Manchester myself if he wants to succeed his buddy Ferguson. He was a terrible human being as well, refusing to take any criticism and saying all kinds of bad stuff about his own players (false stuff), other journos (like his comments at Scandanavians after his "great performance" in the derby in October)...he was a blemish on a great club. Classless. I hope he gets relegated.

I'm super psyched for tomorrow. If we win we'll have more major cups than any English team this century. It'll be a big step for the mentality of the players if we win, league cups lead to bigger things in the seasons ahead for a lot of clubs (Chelesa 2005, Spurs a couple seasons ago, etc).

We're on the march with Kenny's army!

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 26th, 2012, 11:24 AM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-20jtjbp.gif

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-21icux2.gif

10 point lead maintained! cr7 to the rescue!

suarez claming handball??!! really? dat suarez is full of class :lol:

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-29a6bh8.gif

looks like gerrard has learned a thing or two from suarez

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:06 PM

Looks like Stevie G picked that elbow up from Wayne Rooney

elty

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:34 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-40fgjmr.gif

Oh yes 2-2!

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:48 PM

I feel terrible for the Cardiff players. They fought right till the end. But Congrats to Liverpool. Finally a trophy. They have a shot at the FA cup too.

hyperion

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:48 PM

You wanted drama, you got it. What a game.

blzn

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:50 PM

Wow.. heartbreak for Cardiff they were in control of the PK. How unlucky to hit 2 in a row straight onto the post.

Oh well, grats to LFC it took them to beat Cardiff in penalties for their first trophy in 6 years. What's wrong with Suarez though, seem's to be a bit 'off'.

Cheeky goal by Ronaldo, for that to be the match winner too.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:50 PM

good: epic pk misses

bad: everything else

ugly: pool is light years away from contending for epl title, looks like gerrard will retire without ever winning it

blzn

Feb 26th, 2012, 12:55 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 26th, 2012, 01:00 PM

Light years is harsh, they could possibly be competing next season with +new players +more confidence from winning a trophy -drama.

Don't think they'll win it though, agree that Gerrard will retire without having an EPL trophy imo. He wasn't very good today either.

all of kenny's transfer buys have been mediocre to horrible (only good one is suarez but he's full of controversy, bad image for the club)

without a top 4 finish (no cl), it will be hard to attract top players

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 01:02 PM

good: epic pk misses

bad: everything else

ugly: pool is light years away from contending for epl title

Their defending is top notch. Attack wins games, defence wins championships. But they are not clinical in front of goal and they simply lack the ability to grind out a win - the exact reason why Madrid have a 10 point lead while Juventus are allowing Milan to contend. It's like a Jose Mourinho brand. Wherever he goes he can grind out wins.

Overall, the game wasn't spectacular by any stretch. Then again Liverpool has never played a spectacular brand of football.

hyperion

Feb 26th, 2012, 03:28 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddfg8a2XLtE

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m00o54Yvl91qawzzgo1_400.gif

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 03:56 PM

Wow.. heartbreak for Cardiff they were in control of the PK. How unlucky to hit 2 in a row straight onto the post.

Their defending is top notch. Attack wins games, defence wins championships. But they are not clinical in front of goal and they simply lack the ability to grind out a win - the exact reason why Madrid have a 10 point lead while Juventus are allowing Milan to contend. It's like a Jose Mourinho brand. Wherever he goes he can grind out wins.

Overall, the game wasn't spectacular by any stretch. Then again Liverpool has never played a spectacular brand of football.

I didn't get to see the game, but it sounds like Cardiff's defence was more than a match for Liverpool's. A real shame for them to have to miss out after getting that far. Maybe a replay would be the fairer way to resolve things? Figures that Kuyt - clearly not a Dalglish favourite - has to save them yet again. But the real question at the end of the day has to be - WHO does Anthony Gerrard (Stevie's cousin) support? And why was he entrusted with a vital PK? (Especially considering how his better-known cousin handed Chelsea the winning goal - and the EPL title - 2 seasons ago). Did he hit the post? Maybe he was subconsciously unable to score against his favourite team? Or at least his extended family's. He should be feeling like complete crap right now. Dalglish should go sign him up.

ugly: pool is light years away from contending for epl title, looks like gerrard will retire without ever winning it

He could always jump ship. ;) Chelsea wanted him apparently - but that boat's long sailed, along with their chances. City? Not much chance of that? United? No way. Arsenal? Doesn't speak (any of) the lingo(s). Spurs? Nope, too late again after they rediscovered their old form again today. They used to dominate one half, lose the 2nd. Now they only lead for the first 1/3rd. :D (Nice recovery by Arsenal BTW. Shame they don't have the ChLg home tie this week to carry that form over into. They'll need it).

Forget the EPL Stevie. For you it's a lost cause. Time to jump to the MLS. Just don't join a Canadian team. :razz:

Still, let's not forget, Stevie DID win the ChLg, practically single-handed, 7 years ago. So not all's lost.

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 03:57 PM

Overall, the game wasn't spectacular by any stretch. Then again Liverpool has never played a spectacular brand of football.

Certainly not in our lifetime's. :lol:

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 04:05 PM

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m00o54Yvl91qawzzgo1_400.gif

"Woo hoo! We just beat a team we've never even seen before. Barely. Because they're even worse at PKs than we are." :D

Seriously OTT celebrations.

Very, very lucky. (And very, very unlucky for Cardiff).

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 04:18 PM

I watched a few of those matches last year with Roy at the helm. The team was awful. Match after match they found a way to give up the 3 points. It's like he had absolutely zero man-management skills. I did expect them to do better this season with Kenny but on paper that squad is equivalent to a Napoli which would need a coach like Mou's calibre to challenge the Manchester clubs. I'll be rooting for them tomorrow at Wembley. They deserve silverware more than say Arsenal or Chelsea.

Juventus vs. AC Milan was strife with controversy. The linesmen were awful.

It was a pretty good game though. The two erroneously disallowed goals cancelled each other out at least - and in the same match, not over the entire season.

As for LFC, at least Dalglish only gives up 2 points per game. :razz:

Woy's LFC stunk, but so did Rafa's just before him. The players on the pitch were what they both had in common. Dalglish got to spend/waste far more money than Woy ever did. Woy's generally successful record elsewhere speaks for itself. He generally gets results out of mediocre squads. He should have been perfect at LFC, given a proper chance. But of course this was "head in the sand" LFC, and therefore not the team for him.

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 04:21 PM

I'm super psyched for tomorrow. If we win we'll have more major cups than any English team this century.

Really? You need to go recheck the record books again. Or at least check when this century actually started. :lol:

blzn

Feb 26th, 2012, 04:24 PM

Lol this century :P

Liverpool fan's need more practice celebrating LOL :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0VO5C59ddG4

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 04:33 PM

Lol this century :P

Liverpool fan's need more practice celebrating LOL :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0VO5C59ddG4

Maybe I should start celebrating how United are the most winning English club this millennium. :D

But Harpy's post does raise an interesting question: Which English team did win the most major domestic trophies in the 20th Century? Anybody have the figures, ideally broken down into relevant trophies? I know who I'd put my money on if it was 1909-2009. :D

BTW, "20th Century" = January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000. So that would be trophies awarded from the 1900-01 season to the 1999-2000 season.

BTW, poor Kuyt Jr there. But at least he kept smiling, not swearing like older LFC fans doing the same thing did. :lol:

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 05:45 PM

It was a pretty good game though. The two erroneously disallowed goals cancelled each other out at least - and in the same match, not over the entire season.

As for LFC, at least Dalglish only gives up 2 points per game. :razz:

Woy's LFC stunk, but so did Rafa's just before him. The players on the pitch were what they both had in common. Dalglish got to spend/waste far more money than Woy ever did. Woy's generally successful record elsewhere speaks for itself. He generally gets results out of mediocre squads. He should have been perfect at LFC, given a proper chance. But of course this was "head in the sand" LFC, and therefore not the team for him.

When that goal by Sulley Ali Muntari got rejected I swore that Calciopoli was back. How the hell could the assistant miss it from where he was standing? If that goal had been awarded Milan's chance of winning would have gone up significantly. Juve are good at shoring up their defence but they cannot go down 2-0 and come back. They've done it once I think this season against Napoli. I wonder if Milan would have been so wary in the 2nd half with a 2 goal lead. Conte should have started Matri & Pepe. Only in Serie A can you still contend for the Scudetto if you buy a terrible striker like Boriello in winter to boost your attack. He makes Fernando Torres look like a balon d'or candidate.

Fimo

Feb 26th, 2012, 05:50 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 06:06 PM

When that goal by Sulley Ali Muntari got rejected I swore that Calciopoli was back. How the hell could the assistant miss it from where he was standing? If that goal had been awarded Milan's chance of winning would have gone up significantly. Juve are good at shoring up their defence but they cannot go down 2-0 and come back. They've done it once I think this season against Napoli. I wonder if Milan would have been so wary in the 2nd half with a 2 goal lead. Conte should have started Matri & Pepe. Only in Serie A can you still contend for the Scudetto if you buy a terrible striker like Boriello in winter to boost your attack. He makes Fernando Torres look like a balon d'or candidate.

A 2 goal lead would certainly have put Milan in a better position. But their age got to them and they were pretty much dead on their feet for the last 20 minutes, leaving Juve very much on the ascendancy. I think a draw was a fair outcome. At least it was an attacking one.

I'm not familiar with Boriello, but I seriously doubt that ANYBODY could be THAT much worse than Torres. (To make him look "like a balon d'or candidate"). ;)

hyperion

Feb 26th, 2012, 06:15 PM

Cardiff played with a lot of heart today. McNaughton (who looks like he's 50 with that grey hair), Andrew Taylor, Kenny Miller, and Aron Gunnarsson were very good. For Liverpool, Downing had one of his best games yet, Carroll played well, Johnson and Skrtel were probably best. Check out these stats:

11(7) Shots (on Goal) 39(19)
11 Fouls 14
3 Corner Kicks 19
1 Offsides 5
47% Time of Possession 53%
2 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
12 Saves 8

Even though it sucks to see the underdog like Cardiff lose, Liverpool clearly deserved the win more. A win is a win, and I hope Liverpool pick up some momentum from it. FA Cup is our next target. Can the two cups sort of multiply each other so that if hypothetically you win two Euro Cup berths = 1 Champions League qualification? Haha. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 06:17 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 06:24 PM

Cardiff played with a lot of heart today. McNaughton (who looks like he's 50 with that grey hair), Andrew Taylor, Kenny Miller, and Aron Gunnarsson were very good. For Liverpool, Downing had one of his best games yet, Carroll played well, Johnson and Skrtel were probably best.

Yeah, Downing sounded good. But Carroll? He was subbed off so Kuyt could come on and show him, yet again, how it's done. Surprised to see that Kenny Miller missed his PK. But then so did both Gerrards. :facepalm: Was Adam's as good a miss as Beckhams? Or Terry's? :)

BTW, that clip posted earlier of Cardiff's 2nd goal, I noticed at least 2 players took their shirts off - obviously happy to get the late equaliser - but I think only the actual goalscorer was booked for it. Odd. And harsh too, considering the circumstance.

Fimo

Feb 26th, 2012, 06:51 PM

Cardiff played with a lot of heart today.

Can the two cups sort of multiply each other so that if hypothetically you win two Euro Cup berths = 1 Champions League qualification? Haha. :D

+1 Cardiff scored against the run of play and then sat back to defend, which they did really well. Once we went 2 - 1 up it should have been game over, as much as it pains me to admit, we still can't finish teams off, unlike Man Yoo or Man City, thats the difference between them and the also rans which we are part of at the moment.

I wish UEFA would make the Europa League more interesting for all involved by allowing the winners to play in the First Qualifying round of the next seasons Champions League, that would make all teams involved take it a bit ore seriously.

He's not United-quality. But LFC are his. Which is why he is still there? :facepalm::razz:

I do read a lot, but I obviously don't have the time to read everything - especially not things that don't directly interest or concern me. Yet you find the time to comment on the same things? LOL!:facepalm::razz:

I obviously would have preferred to see Cardiff win - who but LFC fans wouldn't? But throwing in United's elimination is like comparing apples to oranges - United, like other top teams, field youngsters and reserves in the Carling Cup. LFC fielded their entire first squad. Completely different situation. Congrats on your first silverware in a while, but don't get too excited. You may not even place high enough in the league at the end of the season to pass along the Europa spot to Cardiff - which is the least their performance deserves.

Here is Man Yoo's First XI against Crystal Palace:

Ben Amos, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Rafael, Fabio, Darron Gibson, Antonio Valencia, Park Ji-Sung, Dimitar Berbatov, Mame Biram Diouf, Federico Macheda, some reserves in there but not many youngsters.

Remember we played Man City as well on the way.

Don't worry not getting ahead of ourselves, just happy to win a trophy we entered to win, same as the FA Cup. We are by no means World Beaters at the moment. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 07:19 PM

Even though it sucks to see the underdog like Cardiff lose, Liverpool clearly deserved the win more. A win is a win, and I hope Liverpool pick up some momentum from it. FA Cup is our next target. Can the two cups sort of multiply each other so that if hypothetically you win two Euro Cup berths = 1 Champions League qualification? Haha. :D

How many times do UEFA need to rewrite the rules to keep LFC happy? They already gave you a special pass in 2005, remember? ;)

LFC wouldn't make it through the pre-season qualification rounds anyway. Take your Europa spot and be grateful. :D (And don't forget you owe Cardiff a spot too).

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 07:39 PM

I wish UEFA would make the Europa League more interesting for all involved by allowing the winners to play in the First Qualifying round of the next seasons Champions League, that would make all teams involved take it a bit ore seriously.

Which is why he is still there? :facepalm::razz:

Yet you find the time to comment on the same things? LOL!:facepalm::razz:

Here is Man Yoo's First XI against Crystal Palace:

Ben Amos, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans, Rafael, Fabio, Darron Gibson, Antonio Valencia, Park Ji-Sung, Dimitar Berbatov, Mame Biram Diouf, Federico Macheda, some reserves in there but not many youngsters.

Remember we played Man City as well on the way.

Don't worry not getting ahead of ourselves, just happy to win a trophy we entered to win, same as the FA Cup. We are by no means World Beaters at the moment. :D

- This season's winners will likely have already qualified for next season's ChLg.

- The scouse scum had their way. Reportedly the owners would have stuck with Woy if not for Dalglish's noisy (deludedly nostalgic) supporters.

- I don't need to research everything in depth to have an opinion. Obviously nobody here researches everything before posting. It's not like this is an academic conference or something. Which is good, because we've seen some real doozies posted here. ;)

- What do you define as "youngsters"? Most of those United players are U-23 eligible. Are any of today's LFC squad?

- I cheered LFC on against City. I'd love to see them end the season empty-handed, like usual. :D

Fimo

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:01 PM

This season's winners will likely have already qualified for next season's ChLg. lol, so its a foregone conclusion that Man Yoo will win the Europa League?:razz: Speaking of teams no one has heard of before, you guys didn't exactly thrash Otelul Galati now did you?:facepalm:

- The scouse scum had their way. Reportedly the owners would have stuck with Woy if not for Dalglish's noisy (deludedly nostalgic) supporters. Was this one of your made up reports? :razz:

I'd have a manager with a record like this over Woy any day of the week:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/424025_357730780925604_2115679226_n.jpg

- What do you define as "youngsters"? Most of those United players are U-23 eligible. Are any of today's LFC squad? Henderson, Spearing, Kelly,Carroll. :razz:

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:06 PM

Forget the EPL Stevie. For you it's a lost cause. Time to jump to the MLS. Just don't join a Canadian team. :razz:

Still, let's not forget, Stevie DID win the ChLg, practically single-handed, 7 years ago. So not all's lost.

Tactically speaking Milan LOST the CL in 2005. Liverpool don't play a brand of football that allows them to dominate teams.

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:14 PM

A 2 goal lead would certainly have put Milan in a better position. But their age got to them and they were pretty much dead on their feet for the last 20 minutes, leaving Juve very much on the ascendancy. I think a draw was a fair outcome. At least it was an attacking one.

I'm not familiar with Boriello, but I seriously doubt that ANYBODY could be THAT much worse than Torres. (To make him look "like a balon d'or candidate"). ;)

Age got to them? They had only 2 players over 30 and one of them came on as a sub (Massimo Ambrosini) deep into the 2nd half. The other guy i.e. MVB had a pretty good game.

got_it_4_cheap

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:20 PM

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:24 PM

Tactically speaking Milan LOST the CL in 2005. Liverpool don't play a brand of football that allows them to dominate teams.

True, but Gerrard carried LFC through the previous rounds.

Age got to them? They had only 2 players over 30 and one of them came on as a sub (Massimo Ambrosini) deep into the 2nd half. The other guy i.e. MVB had a pretty good game.

I'm used to them having older players. No longer the case? They were definitely looking tired out well before the end.

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:28 PM

wait, so who has more cups now (overall)? pool or man utd? :-0

after that miraculous/lucky save by dudek on shevchenko in extra time, i knew pool was gonna in 2005

however, milan did get revenge in 2007

Dudek's reward for winning the PK shootout? - frozen out and forgotten.

As for the cups question, I nominate Fimo to do the research. ;)

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 08:45 PM

How many times do UEFA need to rewrite the rules to keep LFC happy? They already gave you a special pass in 2005, remember? ;)

LFC wouldn't make it through the pre-season qualification rounds anyway. Take your Europa spot and be grateful. :D (And don't forget you owe Cardiff a spot too).

What in the blue hell are you talking about? LFC didn't make it into the top 4 that season but it was the FA, not UEFA that allowed LFC to compete in the CL in the next season. This was a ruling initiated by the RFEF when in 2001 it was Real Madrid who took the 4th CL spot eliminating. If anything it was the constant jockeying of Arsenal and Chelsea in the standings and Arsenal's run to the finals in 2006 that prompted UEFA to rewrite its rule book.

xlash

Feb 26th, 2012, 09:09 PM

wait, so who has more cups now (overall)? pool or man utd? :-0

after that miraculous/lucky save by dudek on shevchenko in extra time, i knew pool was gonna in 2005

however, milan did get revenge in 2007

Barely...Inzaghi's goal was very lucky and can be attributed to world class (at that time) player like Kaka. Carlo got his tactics right this time around. Funny how we are discussing that match now. Liverpool play the same formation as Milan did that year.

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 09:32 PM

What in the blue hell are you talking about? LFC didn't make it into the top 4 that season but it was the FA, not UEFA that allowed LFC to compete in the CL in the next season. This was a ruling initiated by the RFEF when in 2001 it was Real Madrid who took the 4th CL spot eliminating. If anything it was the constant jockeying of Arsenal and Chelsea in the standings and Arsenal's run to the finals in 2006 that prompted UEFA to rewrite its rule book.

How would that work? The FA don't have jurisdiction over the ChLg. Iirc Everton took the usual ChLg entry based on their 4th place standing, while LFC were awarded a special qualification round entry, clearly at some other (smaller) club's expense. I'm not sure why, as winning a trophy one season doesn't usually guarantee qualification the next.

Edit: Yep, as I expected, UEFA let LFC in, then amended the rules for future seasons. From 2006 on, ChLg winners automatically requalify, with the holder of the usual last qualifying spot getting bumped to the Europa League instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._2005%E2%80%9306_UEFA_Champions_Leag ue_qualification

Interesting to read how the European ban caused by LFC fans at Heysel cost Everton three seasons of lucrative European football.

Tornado F2

Feb 26th, 2012, 10:13 PM

Good to see that Stevie got his priorities right:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/26/article-2106796-11EC90C7000005DC-841_634x401.jpg

Family comes first.

harpoon

Feb 26th, 2012, 11:33 PM

LOL! A bunch of sour grapes and haters on here tonight, all apparently for a 'mickey mouse' trophy. If LFC hadn't won you'd be on our case for not winning it. Its no secret all Man Yoo fans were hoping for us to lose. Man Yoo were dumped out by Crystal Palace at OT in this very same competition who went on to lose to Cardiff, lol enough said.

Hilarious, isn't it? I've had people teasing me about winning a cup! How idiotic. I know it's not a sixth European Cup, but the damn thing was there to be won and we did it. All our games were away from home, we won it a record 8 times, we have won 7 cups this millenium. Yes, a few clubs have done better in the world but is that the point? There's always someone better and despite having some real idiots running things behind the scenes before, we kept on winning.

LFC is in a rebuild clearly. We're coming back and this win is a step. I have faith in our setup and am very aware of the behind-the-scenes things over the nineties and 00's that have gone wrong for LFC but it's the past now. We fell hard from the previous regime particularly but we're clawing back up. Our major transfers of the last year of the Rafa era were from monies owing (Riise to Roma = Aquilani, and Crouch to Pompey = Johnson), that's how skint we were.

We've beaten most of the big teams already under Kenny and looked the part at times but consistency is the mark of champions and a tricky thing to get. I have faith we'll get there.

As the cliche goes, Liverpool exists to win trophies and that's what we do. I thought we were out of that Cardiff game, am still in shock about it. The experience will do the likes of Carroll and Henderson a world of good.

Cardiff played with a lot of heart today. McNaughton (who looks like he's 50 with that grey hair), Andrew Taylor, Kenny Miller, and Aron Gunnarsson were very good. For Liverpool, Downing had one of his best games yet, Carroll played well, Johnson and Skrtel were probably best. Check out these stats:

11(7) Shots (on Goal) 39(19)
11 Fouls 14
3 Corner Kicks 19
1 Offsides 5
47% Time of Possession 53%
2 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
12 Saves 8

Even though it sucks to see the underdog like Cardiff lose, Liverpool clearly deserved the win more. A win is a win, and I hope Liverpool pick up some momentum from it. FA Cup is our next target. Can the two cups sort of multiply each other so that if hypothetically you win two Euro Cup berths = 1 Champions League qualification? Haha. :D

Skrtel is insanely good, he's better than Agger and I never thought I'd say that. Johnson played well for a good hour as did Downing (before reverting to type). We still haven't solved the puzzle of our midfield without Lucas. I'm not an Adam fan, and Henderson has to play central to have a hope. The running up top has to improve, and the chances are being snatched at. One thing I miss about mister "I see Chelsea winning trophies at Wembley before Liverpool" Torres is the way he'd pass the ball in the net so coolly. Oh, for the Fowler of 20 years ago...

Anyway, we have a distant shot at fourth and I'm all for trying for it, though I have doubts of course.

wait, so who has more cups now (overall)? pool or man utd? :-0

after that miraculous/lucky save by dudek on shevchenko in extra time, i knew pool was gonna in 2005

however, milan did get revenge in 2007

I'm pretty sure Liverpool have more cups. It's 5-3 in European cups, we have more UEFA Cups, we have more stuff like Super League etc cups. The league is 19-18 for Man U, and if you add up Carling and FA Cups we're tied at 15 each. Very close.

That said, I don't care about the counting game overall, let's leave it at "LFC and Man U are the two most decorated clubs in England" as it gets pedantic about what is worth more etc etc.

I'm grateful to support such a prestigious club and 99.9% of teams aren't lucky enough to win a major trophy. I'm a fan of respecting all the cups, and trying to win all we can possibly win. I never liked Houllier, Rafa and that assclown Woy sending out weakened teams.

Besides: between Istanbul, Cardiff in 2006, Alaves in 2001, and this recent final...who would miss watching LFC play in a final? We always do it the hard way. The ridiculous way. And yes, the lucky and scrappy way but we still are fortunate enough to win more than we lose. I meet a lot of 'new' LFC supporters who support the club after seeing Istanbul's miraculous win.

hyperion

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:18 AM

The TV commentator said something about Wembley being the fullest it has been since 1988 I think. That's Liverpool's pulling power for you.

Next up we have Arsenal at Anfield. Arsenal seem to have turned their form around, and will be coming off their 5-2 humbling of their rivals. It's going to be a cracker. I don't see the game finishing with less than 3 goals scored.

Agger has a broken rib from the Cardiff game. Not sure if he'll be able to play by then, but I hope so.

blzn

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:24 AM

If MU and Chelsea beat Tottenham (and Chelsea some how win against West brom) that would put Chelsea 1 point behind Tottenham for third. Here's to hoping Spurs have some sort of end-of-season-crash.

If they potentially slip out of top 4 I hope Chelsea and LFC fill out the remaining spots for CL.

hyperion

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:28 AM

harpoon

Feb 27th, 2012, 01:20 AM

Just take it one game at a time and see what happens at this point. Arsenal are a hot/cold side this season, depends on which Arsenal show up, and if the Liverpool playing them brings their damn shooting boots!

One of the funniest pics I've seen of the night. Dirk's first trophy and he looks like a little kid who just got an iPhone:

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/140003739.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF8789215AB089EE596C658821ACB0AAC344292A B1261785F547D35F959C4EED90DA2609

xlash

Feb 27th, 2012, 09:14 AM

I thought the same way, but it's looking less and less likely. The Spurs are for real. Darn Spurs. What amazing transfers Parker and Adebayor turned out to be for them. That combined the the emergence of Modric and Bale, plus a healthy backline has catapulted them to where they sit now. I wonder what happens to them if Arry leaves for the England job.

Yes they are for real. They went all the way to the 1/4 finals in the CL last year and save for 1 poor game against RM they had a legitimate shot at Barca in the semis. Their only problem is squad depth which is why they are #3 in the EPL with no CL matches to worry about. Some good teams just don't have the finances to fund a team through multiple competitions.

Arsenal have 1 good game in a stretch of 5 games and of course they think they can overturn a 4-0 deficit and surpass Spurs for 3rd spot. I hope the Gunners tank. With RVP gone next year they will not have a team that competes for ANYTHING. That 115million euros Arsene Wenger has in his kitty is a load of BS. That's just PR to appease the Gooners. If they really had the cash they should have contrived to keep Nasri, replace Fabregas (who didn't want to stay) with another deep lying playmaker of similar calibre like Andrea Pirlo or Nuri Sahin (not only were they cheap but they'd have been a good stop gap until JW returned) and then gotten rid of Alex Song for a more disciplined and consistent DM. Mersacker was a fantastic defender at Bremen and the NT but he's made to look ordinary at Arsenal. And where's Clichy's replacement? Every year they have problems with player health. Except for their business strategy everything else is royally screwed up.

And on that note I hope Roman's team tanks too. Everybody in that club is on a different page. LFC deserve the 4th CL spot.

hyperion

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:06 PM

I agree with you on pretty much all of that, and thanks for the well-wishes for LFC. It'll be tough to get that 4th spot, but as long as there's a chance..

Tornado F2

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:08 PM

Hilarious, isn't it? I've had people teasing me about winning a cup! How idiotic.

As the cliche goes, Liverpool exists to win trophies and that's what we do. I thought we were out of that Cardiff game, am still in shock about it. The experience will do the likes of Carroll and Henderson a world of good.

I'm pretty sure Liverpool have more cups. It's 5-3 in European cups, we have more UEFA Cups, we have more stuff like Super League etc cups. The league is 19-18 for Man U, and if you add up Carling and FA Cups we're tied at 15 each. Very close.

That said, I don't care about the counting game overall, let's leave it at "LFC and Man U are the two most decorated clubs in England" as it gets pedantic about what is worth more etc etc.

- It's not the winning, it's the completely OTT celebration at the end. But then it has been a while since the last trophy.

- Kuyt would question that one. But at least he finally has an English trophy now.

- Don't forget that the Heysel ban prevented other English teams from pursuing European silverware. That could have made a difference. And forget your "Super League", whatever that was - United won the World Club Cup. Woo hoo! :lol:

-Well, at least you can stick with that line for a while yet, even as United continue to pull away. It will take the likes of City and Chelsea a long time to catch up. To think we were actually once the trailing team. What a difference Fergie/Premier League has made. :D

The TV commentator said something about Wembley being the fullest it has been since 1988 I think. That's Liverpool's pulling power for you.

Well it would be. It's a very special occasion when you've not been there in 17 years. :razz: Cardiff fans might have preferred the Millennium though.

One of the funniest pics I've seen of the night. Dirk's first trophy and he looks like a little kid who just got an iPhone:

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/140003739.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF8789215AB089EE596C658821ACB0AAC344292A B1261785F547D35F959C4EED90DA2609

I'm happy for him. He's always given 100% when given the chance.

Yes they are for real. They went all the way to the 1/4 finals in the CL last year and save for 1 poor game against RM they had a legitimate shot at Barca in the semis. Their only problem is squad depth which is why they are #3 in the EPL with no CL matches to worry about. Some good teams just don't have the finances to fund a team through multiple competitions.

The odd thing about Spurs' lack of squad depth is that 'Arry always seems to be buying, and it's rare that you hear of anybody being sold. He must literally have a lot of skeletons in his closet. :D

Tornado F2

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:24 PM

I'm pretty sure Liverpool have more cups. It's 5-3 in European cups, we have more UEFA Cups, we have more stuff like Super League etc cups. The league is 19-18 for Man U, and if you add up Carling and FA Cups we're tied at 15 each. Very close.

I just looked up "Super League". Seems it's the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. Somehow I doubt that LFC ever won that. :razz:

Further investigation came up with the one-off Super Cup, a failed attempt by the FA to compensate English clubs for their European ban after Heysel (thanks a lot Liverpool). That competition was apparently held in contempt:

- As some indication of how the clubs felt about the ignominy of the situation, Howard Kendall recalls that, prior to his Everton side's group match at Norwich City, he sent his team out with the following team-talk: "What a waste of time this is – out you go."

- Legend has it that after the Liverpool players had been presented with the Super Cup trophy and were leaving the field at Goodison Park, Reds striker Ian Rush threw the trophy to an Everton ball boy, and suggested that he keep it and put it in his bedroom. Some sources state that there were in fact two trophies presented, with one being the Football League Super Cup and the other being sponsor Screen Sport's own additional trophy, and that Rush only gave one of these, the Screen Sport trophy, to the ball boy, although accounts differ. Regardless, the incident is perhaps fairly indicative of how the players involved felt about the Super Cup competition and its level of prestige.

(Wonder if that kid could have been little Mikey Owen, or even Carragher?) :lol:

- The Super Cup was not seen as a success, as it was felt to be a very poor substitute for games against the best sides in Europe in prestigious UEFA competitions, with attendances at the matches generally being poor and with the clubs taking part apparently regarding the tournament as a little more than a pointless addition to the match calendar and a source of fixture congestion. Consequently the Super Cup was abolished after only one season and it has not been held since. The competition is now largely forgotten, even on Merseyside, and to the extent to which it is remembered at all, it is usually as a misguided, if well intentioned attempt by the Football League to offer some consolation to the English clubs deprived of European football after the Heysel tragedy, at a very difficult time for English football.

More here for anybody interested in this wonderful trinket:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Cup_(English_football)

Tornado F2

Feb 27th, 2012, 12:33 PM

I agree with you on pretty much all of that, and thanks for the well-wishes for LFC. It'll be tough to get that 4th spot, but as long as there's a chance..

You go for it. It seems to be there for the taking this season. Even the recently-promoted geordies have a chance of getting into the ChLg this year.

hyperion

Feb 27th, 2012, 01:37 PM

- It's not the winning, it's the completely OTT celebration at the end. But then it has been a while since the last trophy.

Oh, you mean like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqIjFDB0vcE

Tornado F2

Feb 27th, 2012, 01:48 PM

Oh, you mean like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqIjFDB0vcE

Perhaps LFC should practice what they preach? :razz: They moaned about Evra's celebration.

I don't blame Evra one bit. Suarez chose to not only not apologise to him, but also to not shake hands. Suarez kept the issue going, so Evra made sure he saw who got the final laugh. :D And as I said before, why was Suarez still on the pitch? Evra had been celebrating with United fans for a minute or two by that point. Suarez rushed off the pitch at the end of his previous match, where he assaulted Parker.

LFC's fans need to do as instructed by the owners - drop the matter. The longer you keep reminding everybody, the more it sticks.

Tornado F2

Feb 27th, 2012, 07:13 PM

xlash

Feb 27th, 2012, 08:45 PM

The odd thing about Spurs' lack of squad depth is that 'Arry always seems to be buying, and it's rare that you hear of anybody being sold. He must literally have a lot of skeletons in his closet. :D

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Spurs financial policy is to buy and hold on to their players. But yes they do sell - Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and a month ago Pavlyuchenko.

xlash

Feb 27th, 2012, 08:52 PM

Oh, you mean like this?

Andres Iniesta was more reserved in his celebration when he scored against Netherlands in 2010. Actually forget Iniesta, he's a classy guy. Marco Materazzi was more reserved when he scored against France in 2006.

xlash

Feb 27th, 2012, 09:32 PM

Just came across this at the end of a BBC article on LFC's cup win. Seems there actually are some LFC fans who see things as they truly are, without the nostalgic delusions, and who for the most part agree with what I've been saying here. Though he does strangely presume that Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal will all end the season trophyless. It's a bit early for that, especially in the case of United. Europe is still on, and as I said some time back, a United win at City might just be the result that clinches us our 20th title. There's still plenty of footballing to be done yet. Which is good, as it helps keep things interesting. :)

4. At 10:50 27th Feb 2012, Redfootball wrote:

I think this is a fair blog. Cant believe any of us Liverpool fans are getting carried away with this one piece of silverware, great tho it is to win one. Ask Man utd, Chelsea or Arsenal however how theyre going to feel at the end of the season without anything? (though Chelsea are still in FAC-just).

I also dont think any of us believe this is the finished article for LFC or a team good enough to challenge for a top 4 place-we're not and to be honest Id be surprised if we made 5th or 6th. This team and squad is a work in progress but to be picking up trophies with it is not bad, not bad at all. Yes it wasnt a great performance and to be honest we were lucky they were worse from 12 yrds than we were but on the balance of play we deserved it-hardly a stunning acolade against a championship side!

We need to step up to the next level next season now with some quality buys in the summer-there is no way that the likes of Downing, Henderson, Carroll and Adam are top 4 place players-there is no team in the top 4 who would have them in their first team. We desperately need a striker and some creativity in MF-since his comeback from injury Gerrard has once again looked a different class from his team mates incl Suarez. There is no doubt Suarez has been an exciting buy but he def isnt a goalscorer, or, if he was he left his scoring boots in Holland. The racism case was a massive blow for this club both for what it represented and how the club handled it. He may go in the summer.

We need the sort of players we had here 3 years ago-Mascherano, Alonso and Torres-all at their peak but you cut yr cloth as they say and with no champions Lge we just arent going to attract those sort of players. Id love us to get 4th spot but I believe it would need a miracle and a capitulation by Chelsea/Arsenal on a graphic scale. It could happen but then the other side of the equation needs us to be beating teams and scoring. Can it happen? The odds are against us.

The other comments are well worth reading too. Some valid points:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/chrisbevan/2012/02/liverpool_cup_win_also_persona.html

Luis Suarez is a secondary striker at best. Liverpool is a club on the ascendancy...provided it maintains its trajectory into next season. But I was quite shocked when they sold Alonso and Mascherano - what the hell were they thinking? I don't know what led to those sales though. Given their formation what the hell were they thinking selling one of the best registas in the game today. He's compared to the best in the world on a regular basis i.e. Xavi and Pirlo. And Mascherano is no world beater but he provided the stability they needed. He's been saving Barce's backline ever since he joined.

Here's what I think LFC should do tactically. Get rid of those 4 players mentioned in the article. They aren't who you field in your first XI in a team competing for CL. Now they'll keep Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique, both of whom like to charge forward. So they need 2 slightly wider midfielders, both of whom are box-to-box players and hold the midfield in front of Agger and Skrtel. Young players of this trait aren't expensive. Play Steven Gerrard as an attacking midfielder. He's getting old use him as a trequartista and get a central regista to complement him. Play Luis Suarez as a 2nd striker and get a pure goal scorer up front. Therefore the regista and targetman are going to be expensive.

Now let me justify my suggestion. None of the top teams in the EPL play a diamond midfield. They typically play with 2 banks of 4 i.e. 4-4-2 and 4-4-1-1 and in a few cases 4-3-3. When in possession from deep the regista can distribute the ball to Enrique/Johnson or hoof the ball up field to an energetic 2nd striker like Suarez or a targetman. But most importantly he'll help keep possession of the ball and spray accurate passes, something the EPL hasn't seen since Alonso and Fabregas left. Ok that's not quite true. Modric is excellent in this role too. Higher up the pitch Gerrard can either set himself up for long range shots or create chances for the 2 strikers. Without possession, in the case of a counter-attack the 2 b2b midfielders will track back and with the help of the full backs double up against the wingers in a 4-3-3 or against the 2 wide midfielders in a 4-4-2. The regista can then drop deep to shut down the striker(s). At first glance this looks like LFC always conceding possession or losing midfield battles. I'm suggesting that LFC keep possession by taking the battle elsewhere.

harpoon

Feb 27th, 2012, 11:31 PM

Luis Suarez is a secondary striker at best. Liverpool is a club on the ascendancy...provided it maintains its trajectory into next season. But I was quite shocked when they sold Alonso and Mascherano - what the hell were they thinking? I don't know what led to those sales though. Given their formation what the hell were they thinking selling one of the best registas in the game today. He's compared to the best in the world on a regular basis i.e. Xavi and Pirlo. And Mascherano is no world beater but he provided the stability they needed. He's been saving Barce's backline ever since he joined.

Here's what I think LFC should do tactically. Get rid of those 4 players mentioned in the article. They aren't who you field in your first XI in a team competing for CL. Now they'll keep Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique, both of whom like to charge forward. So they need 2 slightly wider midfielders, both of whom are box-to-box players and hold the midfield in front of Agger and Skrtel. Young players of this trait aren't expensive. Play Steven Gerrard as an attacking midfielder. He's getting old use him as a trequartista and get a central regista to complement him. Play Luis Suarez as a 2nd striker and get a pure goal scorer up front. Therefore the regista and targetman are going to be expensive.

Now let me justify my suggestion. None of the top teams in the EPL play a diamond midfield. They typically play with 2 banks of 4 i.e. 4-4-2 and 4-4-1-1 and in a few cases 4-3-3. When in possession from deep the regista can distribute the ball to Enrique/Johnson or hoof the ball up field to an energetic 2nd striker like Suarez or a targetman. But most importantly he'll help keep possession of the ball and spray accurate passes, something the EPL hasn't seen since Alonso and Fabregas left. Ok that's not quite true. Modric is excellent in this role too. Higher up the pitch Gerrard can either set himself up for long range shots or create chances for the 2 strikers. Without possession, in the case of a counter-attack the 2 b2b midfielders will track back and with the help of the full backs double up against the wingers in a 4-3-3 or against the 2 wide midfielders in a 4-4-2. The regista can then drop deep to shut down the striker(s). At first glance this looks like LFC always conceding possession or losing midfield battles. I'm suggesting that LFC keep possession by taking the battle elsewhere.

Alonso's sale was complicated. Masch, and a bunch of our good players who left, were sold or left because we were a sinking ship under the previous owners. We were hours from administration and not much further off from being wiped from existence. Good shout for Modric, probably my favourite player in the league to watch.

I agree with your suggestions on how to upgrade things. Some of what you're suggesting is coming up in our youth/academy systems which have had a massive overhaul and have Messi/Iniesta's coach, Rodolfo Borrell, running things excellently. This is the way forward in the future.

When Lucas comes back the midfield will look much better. I think we need pace out wide and a striker.

We've adapted our playing style back to the pass-and-move style LFC were always known for from the U8's right up to the senior team. There's surely a joke there on Carroll and moving which I'll leave open! But that's the philosophy and idea of LFC dating to Shankly, Paisley, Dalglish. We had some absolutely brilliant tactical displays from Benitez, and were well organized and steely under Houllier but just like in Barca's, Real's and Milan's history there's a style associated with LFC. That's likely to be the bedrock of the teams in the future.

With the pass-and-move our formations can resemble a 4-2-4 with fullbacks bombing forward and the front 4 interchanging positions a lot and in defence a 4-5-1. The problem with pass-and-move is it requires intelligent runs to really make it sing and if not the middle gets really clogged up or it leaves spaces for a counter if the covering runs aren't sufficient. It's part of why LFC can be so inconsistent, the system's tricky to get down.

Suarez plays wide for Uruguay with Lavezzi in the middle. Suarez was bought with the idea that he'd play in the spaces behind Torres along with Stevie G. We've barely had Stevie fit and Carroll is finally starting to turn up so we'll see what happens. I'm happy with Dirk or Bellamy in there too but I agree that Suarez is best a bit deeper where he can run at players. He had defences in knots last spring and at the Copa America but he's been out of form since before the ban (he picked up a back injury for Uruguay in October that he didn't shake off).

We're never gonna jump to the top of the league after the turmoil we've been through but we're progressing. As we progress we'll draw more top players in. We're healthy behind the scenes at long last and a lot of us are quietly optimistic about the next few years.

Tornado F2

Feb 28th, 2012, 01:05 PM

Liverpool is a club on the ascendancy...provided it maintains its trajectory into next season.

The new owners have stabilised the club and turned it around - at serious expense - so they are definitely a lot better off than they were under Benitez's final season. At least they are now pointed in the right direction. But now they need to find a way through congested traffic to get to 4th. I think it's reasonable to expect the top 2 places to be contested between the two Manchester clubs for the foreseeable future. That leaves Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and possibly one or two more, like Newcastle and Villa (if they ever get their act together) to compete for the remaining two ChLg spots. If a club can consistently achieve top 4 finishes, it will remain competitive and a potential long-shot challenger for the title. But those teams that slip out of the top 4 on a regular basis will inevitably slide further toward mid-table mediocrity. It's up to the owners then whether they are willing or able to do anything to boost their clubs - i.e. invest yet more millions. Abramovich will likely do that, albeit reluctantly, but other clubs, at least under current owners, will struggle to do so. It may soon be time for one of Arsenal's billionaire owners (the Yank or the Russian) to step forward and take sole control of the club. That could definitely shake things up a bit, provided they (and whoever they have as manager) are prepared to spend. It might also result in the other billionaire taking his support to one of Arsenal's rivals. Whether they're actually interested in spending on anything other than shares though remains to be seen.

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Spurs financial policy is to buy and hold on to their players. But yes they do sell - Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and a month ago Pavlyuchenko.

Obviously Spurs do sell, but we don't seem to hear much about it. Certainly not as much as we hear about their spending. It's probably because of the way 'Arry seems to conduct much of his business on the transfer deadline day, so his sales likely slip under the radar. Outgoing players often seem to go in packages of 2 or 3 too, and they've often become forgotten fringe players by the time they go. 'Arry's always being linked with potential buys though, which no doubt exaggerates the impression of him being a frequent buyer. An odd thing about Spurs is that we don't seem to see many players rising from their youth squad. Certainly not as many as came through West Ham's academy while he was managing there.

BTW, speaking of WHam, I don't think it's been posted here, but they apparently tried taking both Torres and Tevez on loan in January. Possibly not the wisest of moves, but they certainly would have garnered a lot of publicity. And let's not forget, WHam are the club that brought both Tevez and Mascherano to England after bigger clubs had turned them down. Wisely, in retrospect, as WHam were later fined for using them (Tevez anyway). I never did like the idea of players being effectively owned by their "agent". Seems like Tevez at least is still firmly under the control of that Kia guy, despite their relationship supposedly being corrected.

Tornado F2

Feb 29th, 2012, 05:27 PM

Reina now:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17215880

xlash

Feb 29th, 2012, 05:38 PM

The new owners have stabilised the club and turned it around - at serious expense - so they are definitely a lot better off than they were under Benitez's final season. At least they are now pointed in the right direction. But now they need to find a way through congested traffic to get to 4th. I think it's reasonable to expect the top 2 places to be contested between the two Manchester clubs for the foreseeable future. That leaves Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, and possibly one or two more, like Newcastle and Villa (if they ever get their act together) to compete for the remaining two ChLg spots. If a club can consistently achieve top 4 finishes, it will remain competitive and a potential long-shot challenger for the title. But those teams that slip out of the top 4 on a regular basis will inevitably slide further toward mid-table mediocrity. It's up to the owners then whether they are willing or able to do anything to boost their clubs - i.e. invest yet more millions. Abramovich will likely do that, albeit reluctantly, but other clubs, at least under current owners, will struggle to do so. It may soon be time for one of Arsenal's billionaire owners (the Yank or the Russian) to step forward and take sole control of the club. That could definitely shake things up a bit, provided they (and whoever they have as manager) are prepared to spend. It might also result in the other billionaire taking his support to one of Arsenal's rivals. Whether they're actually interested in spending on anything other than shares though remains to be seen.

Using time as a platform for comparison is a flawed approach. Liverpool 2012 doesn't compete with Liverpool 2009, it competes with 19 other clubs in the EPL in 2012. Alonso didn't want to leave. Neither did Mascherano. Now I am not disagreeing with you because you did say it was a horror show in the last year. If you look at their squad in 2009, all the key players are still doing great at their clubs with the exception of Torres; hell I think if Torres had stayed he'd still be his prolific self. The ONLY change the owners should have made was to get rid of Rafa. He may have delivered a CL cup but he's a slightly better version of Raymond Domenech. When players win a CL against all odds their personality changes. They become more confident, arrogant and prima-donna like. Rafa isn't capable of handling that personality. Man-management isn't his forte. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that he would flop miserably at Inter. If Rafa had been replaced by someone like Kenny Dalglish right away they'd have at the very least come 2nd the following year.

It's the 3rd spot that's absolutely crucial. I'll tell you why contenders are not content with the 4th spot. Failing to get past the play-offs means losing out on everything and that's what poor poor Udinese suffered against Arsenal in the summer. The amount of money teams make by playing in the CL is unfathomably high. There's the prize money for showing up in the group state + 7 million for each group stage match + half a million for a win/400K for draw + approx. a million for each successive knockout round's 2 legged win and let's not forget the motherload of 10 million for a win. This money UEFA dishes out from the sponsorship income they get. Then....yes there's a then....each of the teams get more money from the broadcast revenue but this is based on the market pool (i.e. more viewers and reach = more money) but it's substantial. How substantial? On aggregate this amount equals to what teams make through the aforementioned prize money....i.e. doubles what teams make through the first source. And..... I'm not done.....there are gate receipts. Tickets cost more for CL than a top derby league/cup match because the demand is higher. Forget Arsenal and Chelsea, even teams like Spurs and Roma gets another 1/3 of their CL income through CL gate receipts. Just as an indication: Manchester United made more money (~10 million more) by losing the CL last year than by winning the EPL. They played 12 matches in the CL and 38 in the EPL. No wonder Napoli are trying to get as far as possible in the CL than the Serie A.

Now let's go back to 2005. Liverpool made it past by some unknown team by ONE goal...ONE EXTRA GOAL they scored at home IIRC. They ended up winning the damn trophy. That one goal enabled them to get a shot at making almost 50 million euros that year....and they did. Sadly, they screwed it all up and last year were threatened by relegation.

harpoon

Feb 29th, 2012, 11:34 PM

Using time as a platform for comparison is a flawed approach. Liverpool 2012 doesn't compete with Liverpool 2009, it competes with 19 other clubs in the EPL in 2012. Alonso didn't want to leave. Neither did Mascherano. Now I am not disagreeing with you because you did say it was a horror show in the last year. If you look at their squad in 2009, all the key players are still doing great at their clubs with the exception of Torres; hell I think if Torres had stayed he'd still be his prolific self. The ONLY change the owners should have made was to get rid of Rafa. He may have delivered a CL cup but he's a slightly better version of Raymond Domenech. When players win a CL against all odds their personality changes. They become more confident, arrogant and prima-donna like. Rafa isn't capable of handling that personality. Man-management isn't his forte. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that he would flop miserably at Inter. If Rafa had been replaced by someone like Kenny Dalglish right away they'd have at the very least come 2nd the following year.

It's the 3rd spot that's absolutely crucial. I'll tell you why contenders are not content with the 4th spot. Failing to get past the play-offs means losing out on everything and that's what poor poor Udinese suffered against Arsenal in the summer. The amount of money teams make by playing in the CL is unfathomably high. There's the prize money for showing up in the group state + 7 million for each group stage match + half a million for a win/400K for draw + approx. a million for each successive knockout round's 2 legged win and let's not forget the motherload of 10 million for a win. This money UEFA dishes out from the sponsorship income they get. Then....yes there's a then....each of the teams get more money from the broadcast revenue but this is based on the market pool (i.e. more viewers and reach = more money) but it's substantial. How substantial? On aggregate this amount equals to what teams make through the aforementioned prize money....i.e. doubles what teams make through the first source. And..... I'm not done.....there are gate receipts. Tickets cost more for CL than a top derby league/cup match because the demand is higher. Forget Arsenal and Chelsea, even teams like Spurs and Roma gets another 1/3 of their CL income through CL gate receipts. Just as an indication: Manchester United made more money (~10 million more) by losing the CL last year than by winning the EPL. They played 12 matches in the CL and 38 in the EPL. No wonder Napoli are trying to get as far as possible in the CL than the Serie A.

Now let's go back to 2005. Liverpool made it past by some unknown team by ONE goal...ONE EXTRA GOAL they scored at home IIRC. They ended up winning the damn trophy. That one goal enabled them to get a shot at making almost 50 million euros that year....and they did. Sadly, they screwed it all up and last year were threatened by relegation.

Alonso and Masch DID want to leave. Things went bad under Rafa for Alonso...he had 2 bad seasons for LFC after 2 good seasons and was proving to be injury prone. I disagree, but Rafa wanted to put some pace in the midfield and change up the game for shorter passes thinking it'd add to the attack. Turns out Alonso played amazing that season but decided to leave anyway after the snub. Was a shame, he was a joy to watch when on form.

Masch decided to go after Rafa left (and seeing the tactical ineptitude of Hodgson). The club was clearly crumbling then, and the money was just absorbed by the owners, we were supremely buried in debt at that point to the point of looking at an October 'cease to exist' threat.

I gotta completely disagree on Rafa. I think he's one of the best managers of the last decade and he proved it with Valencia as well as LFC. He took a bad team to the CL in 2005 (yes, there was luck but there was some tactical masterwork with some limited players as well, that is indisputable if you see how we set up for some of those games). Things were on track up to early 2008 when things started to fall apart and the money ran dry from the owners...Rafa fell in love with the club and got involved in the fans vs owners squabbles. I could go into it but it'd be a 1000 word essay...if you ever are inclined, there's a great book by Brian Reade on the whole crazy time with a tonne of detail.

Rafa didn't flop at Inter at first, he was crushing teams by 4, 5, 6 goals for the first couple months. Injuries really piled up, the Inter owners didn't spend a penny on new players as they promised Rafa they would when they hired him, and he was stuck with a team designed to play Mourinho's way which is a LOT different than Rafa. High pressing wasn't there in Inter, and doing things like Eto'o out wide might not have worked out as well. I think it's a bit of Rafa not fitting in and being burnt out from the whole episode at LFC; he was crushed to go obviously.

A lot of players (Hamann, Masch, Hyypia, Pellegrino, Ayala) have called Rafa the best manager, a genius etc...yeah, his man management isn't like Kenny's but he knows his football. I hope he comes back to LFC and finishes what he started one day now that the behind-the-scenes stuff has settled.

Interesting points on 3rd and 4th place, and it's phenomenal how much money the CL spits out. It's such a massive payday it demeans the cup wins over top 4 finishes...you don't want to party from finishing 2nd - 4th like you do when you win a cup, but financially you probably should! It just feels stupid to celebrate not quite winning something.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 1st, 2012, 09:31 AM

hyperion

Mar 1st, 2012, 10:24 AM

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzso13qMrV1qm209so6_250.gif

lol jose being jose :D

lol wtf, what is that, his clint eastwood impression?

Tornado F2

Mar 1st, 2012, 12:59 PM

Using time as a platform for comparison is a flawed approach. Liverpool 2012 doesn't compete with Liverpool 2009, it competes with 19 other clubs in the EPL in 2012. Alonso didn't want to leave. Neither did Mascherano.

It's the 3rd spot that's absolutely crucial.

.....there are gate receipts. Tickets cost more for CL than a top derby league/cup match because the demand is higher. Forget Arsenal and Chelsea, even teams like Spurs and Roma gets another 1/3 of their CL income through CL gate receipts. Just as an indication: Manchester United made more money (~10 million more) by losing the CL last year than by winning the EPL. They played 12 matches in the CL and 38 in the EPL. No wonder Napoli are trying to get as far as possible in the CL than the Serie A.

Now let's go back to 2005. Liverpool made it past by some unknown team by ONE goal...ONE EXTRA GOAL they scored at home IIRC. They ended up winning the damn trophy. That one goal enabled them to get a shot at making almost 50 million euros that year....and they did. Sadly, they screwed it all up and last year were threatened by relegation.

- Was your first paragraph in reply to my post or another's? I wasn't comparing various LFC teams. I was saying that whichever teams keep missing out on the ChLg regularly will slide further from the top. As you say, ChLg revenues are huge. United bring in enough each year to keep re-investing in our squad. If it wasn't for those extra revenues, clubs like Chel$ki and City, with mega-rich owners, could have quickly gained control. As it is, United keep fending them off. But any top club - even United - missing out regularly on the ChLg is soon going to find itself in irreversible decline. Obviously at least a couple of the clubs currently sitting in the top 7 or 8 spots in the EPL are going to end up that way, in the relatively near future.

As for Alonso and Mascherano, they wanted to leave LFC. LFC had tried to sell Alonso the previous season, so despite having a good following season Alonso jumped when he got the chance. Mascherano, presumably under the guidance of the same "agent/owner" as Tevez, jumped ship to Chel$ki, and then Barca, in both cases no doubt seeking better chances of silverware and better pay.

- WRT gate receipts, Bilbao are trying to milk their upcoming tie with United. Despite it being Europa League, they are intending to charge a minimum of 77 quid/ticket, for all fans wanting to attend. United have appealed.

- Iirc, LFC squeaked through several rounds on their way to the 2005 ChLg final, usually carried through by a late Gerrard goal. The Final itself, of course, they came back to draw, then won on PKs.

And it wasn't relegation that LFC were threatened with so much as bankruptcy. The squabbling between the previous owners and Rafa cost them big. All three of them came out of it badly, especially in terms of their own finances.

Tornado F2

Mar 1st, 2012, 01:13 PM

Rafa didn't flop at Inter at first, he was crushing teams by 4, 5, 6 goals for the first couple months.

I hope he comes back to LFC and finishes what he started one day now that the behind-the-scenes stuff has settled.

you don't want to party from finishing 2nd - 4th like you do when you win a cup, but financially you probably should! It just feels stupid to celebrate not quite winning something.

Didn't Inter give Rafa the boot just a couple of months into the season? It seemed as short as that.

KRAP - Keep Rafa At Pool - United's fans' wish, back when LFC could still be remotely be considered a threat. We'd like to see him return too. :D

Clubs don't celebrate finishing 2nd to 4th - at least not unless they're used to finishing lower. But they do gladly take their places in the next season's ChLg. As discussed, missing out is huge. And it's not only financial. It also makes a huge difference when trying to recruit top players. City's failure to claim 4th the other year meant they had to pay over-the-odds wages to the mercenaries who did join them. And they're still having to pay them ridiculous wages, even though most are now surplus to requirements. (They obviously weren't the players they really wanted - just the ones who were willing to come, taking the money over the ChLg). They can't even give most of them away now, they're so content cashing their cheques. It's an ongoing drain. Good job the owner doesn't seem to mind seeing his fortune squandered.

xlash

Mar 1st, 2012, 02:40 PM

I stand corrected then. You see when Alonso went to Madrid he stated that'd always be a Liverpool fan and wanted his son to be raised as a Reds fan and how he attends Liverpool games when he can and even considered retiring in Liverpool if they'd allow him. So from my perspective I thought he didn't want to leave. I recall getting into an argument with an EPL fan who says Spanish players always want to leave England. Obviously, amplified by Cesc Fabregas. But Arteta, Torres, Silva, Mata etc. are still in the EPL. If anything English players, other than David Beckham would do English football a world of good by plying their trade in Spain and Italy.

I didn't say that Rafa is a bad technician. It'd be stupid to suggest that of a coach who takes a team from the group stages to the victory podium and then guides a team to 2nd place in the EPL. But since then he hasn't done much. A coach doesn't have a poor run of form. He has flaws and they come to the forefront when the team's on a poor run of form and the plan unravels.

LOL - can't blame Bilbao. They do a lot in trying to blood home-grown players.

xlash

Mar 1st, 2012, 05:09 PM

Free market always balances itself out. Whether it is in football, society, gov't or an industry. Some clubs may suffer now but no club can maintain dominance forever, even in a monopoly like the Bundesliga, Bayern's dominance falters. You see most competitors like challenges so winning all the time isn't a challenge. Also neutral fans love underdogs more than the favourites. Here's hoping that they reinvest their CL earnings into the club and get ready to battle on 2 fronts next year. In the case of EPL, neutral fans may prefer City over United because they are sick and tired of seeing United win so many titles in the last few years. This translates to more operating income as opposed to Sheikh money. More operating income means less restrictions by FFP.

I think the case between Napoli and Dortmund is quite fascinating. Napoli rested their players and were cautious of injuries ahead of their CL fixtures while Dortmund did the same ahead of their Bundesliga matches. In some cases you'll have to see the substitutions made by the managers because their squads are pretty small as is. I also think managers spent more time preparing for the matches in the competition they wanted to succeed in. So what does all this entail?

Napoli's done fantastically in the CL. Because it's a cup competition the margin of error is smaller and they've edged out City and will probably do the same against Chelsea. I would like nothing better than to see them face Madrid and beat them decisively at the Bernabeu. The first 2 spots in Serie A belong to Juventus and AC Milan. Udinese and Lazio (deservedly) will end up with the 3rd spot. Mazzari and de Laurentiis are very intelligent. They probably want to go as far in the CL as possible, make more money than the Serie A winners and TRY to hold on to Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik or get like for like replacements. So even if they don't get CL football next season they'll compete for the Serie A title. My guess is there's more of an emphasis on rebuilding the brand value of the Napoli club globally. It hasn't been the same since that lunatic Maradona left.

Dortmund are doing great in the Bundesliga. They got a big chunk of dough in the CL group stages despite tanking miserably but focused on the Bundesliga so they can compete in the CL again next season. I am not sure holding on to their star players is as important as it is to develop a long-term strategy focused on consistent top 3 or 4 finishes each season. Their scouting and academy are top notch. Also I think they want to be a force in German football where commercial revenue is the highest of all the leagues.

Speaking of leagues I pity the Argentine league. Every club, the league and the AFA is corrupt to the bone and a big chunk of club revenues go straight into the hands of the mafioso. The fans are rabid but do absolutely nothing to proactively tackle the problem. There's no doubt that this country can churn out talent. No country boasts a forward rank like Argentina. If attacking talent is born, defending talent is bred. There's no such breeding in Argentina. The first (theoretical) XI in the NT are all based in Europe. The last good defender was Walter Samuel. But him, Zanetti and Cambiasso are run ragged at Inter and they are getting old. Here's hoping Fernandez and Coloccini are the heart of the defence in 2014.

Tornado F2

Mar 1st, 2012, 06:51 PM

Speaking of leagues I pity the Argentine league. Every club, the league and the AFA is corrupt to the bone and a big chunk of club revenues go straight into the hands of the mafioso. The fans are rabid but do absolutely nothing to proactively tackle the problem. There's no doubt that this country can churn out talent. No country boasts a forward rank like Argentina. If attacking talent is born, defending talent is bred. There's no such breeding in Argentina. The first (theoretical) XI in the NT are all based in Europe. The last good defender was Walter Samuel. But him, Zanetti and Cambiasso are run ragged at Inter and they are getting old. Here's hoping Fernandez and Coloccini are the heart of the defence in 2014.

Who cares about Argentina? Don't cry for them. :lol: Though "mafioso" is probably a good descriptor of that Kia bloke, buying up poor Argentine kids and using those that succeed to rake in a fortune.

Speaking of aging forward lines though, check out Blackpool's. Kevin Philips, 38, (top scorer in the 1999–2000 EPL season, and only English winner of the European Golden Boot), Brett Ormerod, 35, (scored for the club in all 4 divisions), and now LFC's "God", Robbie Fowler, 36, (fourth highest scorer in Premier League history). It's like a living football museum. Another seaside attraction for the Promenade. :D

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58810000/jpg/_58810587_77681868.jpg

LFC should sign one or more of them for next season. Can't do much worse than the current lot. What was it against Cardiff? 42 attempts to score 2 goals? (Over 2 hours of play). :lol:

blzn

Mar 1st, 2012, 09:14 PM

Wasn't the final straw for Alonso being offered to Villa so that Liverpool could try to sign Gareth Barry? Always thought that was one of the worst decisions by Rafa.

Another big weekend in the EPL, for the first time this season I'll be rooting for MU to win :D

hyperion

Mar 1st, 2012, 10:59 PM

Speaking of Rafa.. TF2 dream might come true. Rafa is being rumored with the Chelsea job if AVB gets axed.

xlash

Mar 1st, 2012, 11:04 PM

Who cares about Argentina? Don't cry for them. :lol: Though "mafioso" is probably a good descriptor of that Kia bloke, buying up poor Argentine kids and using those that succeed to rake in a fortune.

Speaking of aging forward lines though, check out Blackpool's. Kevin Philips, 38, (top scorer in the 1999–2000 EPL season, and only English winner of the European Golden Boot), Brett Ormerod, 35, (scored for the club in all 4 divisions), and now LFC's "God", Robbie Fowler, 36, (fourth highest scorer in Premier League history). It's like a living football museum. Another seaside attraction for the Promenade. :D

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58810000/jpg/_58810587_77681868.jpg

LFC should sign one or more of them for next season. Can't do much worse than the current lot. What was it against Cardiff? 42 attempts to score 2 goals? (Over 2 hours of play). :lol:

Most of the top Argentine players in Europe had their youth careers start in the primera division. There`s a reason why River Plate vs. Boca Jrs is called super clasico and not just clasico. Most importantly an attack featuring Aguero, Tevez, Higuain and Lavezzi is the most potent in the world (Messi only played in the youth team before departing for Spain). Speaking of Tevez didn`t he help United win their most recent CL trophy?

If a player can deliver at the highest level, let him play. AC Milan allowed Pirlo to leave and look where he's got Juve this term. I bet you if Chelsea had signed Filippo Inzaghi and gave him as many starts /regular football to keep his legs going he'd have scored more than Torres by now.

Tornado F2

Mar 1st, 2012, 11:46 PM

Most of the top Argentine players in Europe had their youth careers start in the primera division. There`s a reason why River Plate vs. Boca Jrs is called super clasico and not just clasico. Most importantly an attack featuring Aguero, Tevez, Higuain and Lavezzi is the most potent in the world (Messi only played in the youth team before departing for Spain). Speaking of Tevez didn`t he help United win their most recent CL trophy?

If a player can deliver at the highest level, let him play. AC Milan allowed Pirlo to leave and look where he's got Juve this term. I bet you if Chelsea had signed Filippo Inzaghi and gave him as many starts /regular football to keep his legs going he'd have scored more than Torres by now.

Anybody else figured out xlash's true allegiance yet? ;)

Funny how "the most potent in the world" can't win the WC or even the Copa. Far smaller Uruguay, with Forlan, Cavani, and boo, hiss, pantomime villain Suarez beat them. As Pele pointed out, Messi is far less effective with them than he is at Barca.

Got it yet? :lol:

BTW, the "super clasicos" are over. River Plate were relegated. They went down like the Graf Spee 72 years ago. :D

harpoon

Mar 1st, 2012, 11:52 PM

yeah alonso is world class

if u look at all the players madrid bought that summer (kaka, ronaldo, alonso, benzema), the club that suffered the most is liverpool after alonso's departure

Undoubtedly on Xabi going, Aquilani was a kitten when it came to a 50/50 challenge and needed to play as a second striker to get anything out of him (he had a fantastic first touch but was no Xabi). I'd say that Xabi leaving was the making of Lucas, who's now LFC's best player and one of the world's best in his position. We're not so hot without him.

I stand corrected then. You see when Alonso went to Madrid he stated that'd always be a Liverpool fan and wanted his son to be raised as a Reds fan and how he attends Liverpool games when he can and even considered retiring in Liverpool if they'd allow him. So from my perspective I thought he didn't want to leave. I recall getting into an argument with an EPL fan who says Spanish players always want to leave England. Obviously, amplified by Cesc Fabregas. But Arteta, Torres, Silva, Mata etc. are still in the EPL. If anything English players, other than David Beckham would do English football a world of good by plying their trade in Spain and Italy.

I didn't say that Rafa is a bad technician. It'd be stupid to suggest that of a coach who takes a team from the group stages to the victory podium and then guides a team to 2nd place in the EPL. But since then he hasn't done much. A coach doesn't have a poor run of form. He has flaws and they come to the forefront when the team's on a poor run of form and the plan unravels.

LOL - can't blame Bilbao. They do a lot in trying to blood home-grown players.

Alonso felt forced out. It was a mistake by Rafa and the whole thing with the ownership really grinded him down into some bad decisions. After the 2nd place finish he was sucking wind and needed a break. I think he'll come back looking the brilliant tactician he is, and stepping back sounds like it helped him see some of his errors too, like his policy on free transfers and maybe buying quantity over quality (as evidenced on his website he writes on, rafabenitez.com).

Sorry if I misread you on the 'bad tactician' read. I'm not sure I agree that a coach doesn't have a run of bad form though, but I do agree that flaws come to the fore when things aren't working out, like an injury crisis or behind-the-scenes squabbles.

I feel bad for the Argentine league too, as well as other leagues littered by scandal and lack of finance. I remember in the 90s seeing more of a diversity of jerseys out and about, now I mainly see either English league jerseys (usually Liverpool or Arsenal and the odd Chelsea and Man U one) or Barca gear. I'm in Vancouver so it's different than Toronto, where there's more of a European flavour and here it's more bandwagon-y. But still, I can't recall seeing an Italian or even German kit around. The English league has taken over the public consciousness and the airwaves...there's no interest in viewership for the other leagues anymore.

Wasn't the final straw for Alonso being offered to Villa so that Liverpool could try to sign Gareth Barry? Always thought that was one of the worst decisions by Rafa.

He was never offered to Villa. Arsenal came in the year before with a 15m pound bid that was turned down late in the 2008 window, if they bumped it to 20m they'd have had a world class anchor in their midfield. Whoops. Barry is always < Alonso, the LFC fans were upset by that one but to be fair, Alonso hadn't played well in a couple seasons. I think the thing should've been handled better for sure.

Speaking of Rafa.. TF2 dream might come true. Rafa is being rumored with the Chelsea job if AVB gets axed.

Rafa got offered the Chel$ki job early this week and turned it down. Doesn't want any part of Abramovich, I'm guessing. If Redknapp or Wenger are gone this summer I could see Rafa going to London but that's just a guess.

Sounds like if AVB can pick things up and nobody else better turns up he's still got a job.

Tornado F2

Mar 1st, 2012, 11:56 PM

Speaking of Rafa.. TF2 dream might come true. Rafa is being rumored with the Chelsea job if AVB gets axed.

I heard speculation along those lines too. That really would be a dream, considering how Chel$ki could yet return as challengers, given a major rebuild. It would be great seeing Rafa bring them down. I wouldn't bet on it happening though (the Rafa move). He's supposedly attached to the Liverpool area, not London. And I'm sure Abramovich remembers how boring the Chel$ki-LFC matches were during Rafa's time. Why would he want to bring Rafa in when there are so many better options? Ian Holloway would probably be a better bet. Or even Woy. :D

hyperion

Mar 2nd, 2012, 12:13 AM

Bellamy is breaking records at age 32. Very nice article I found:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9116926/Liverpool-striker-Craig-Bellamy-is-the-Premier-Leagues-sprint-king-at-the-age-of-32.html

Tornado F2

Mar 2nd, 2012, 12:13 AM

Rafa got offered the Chel$ki job early this week and turned it down. Doesn't want any part of Abramovich, I'm guessing. If Redknapp or Wenger are gone this summer I could see Rafa going to London but that's just a guess.

Haha, it's not April 1st yet, just March 1st (your time). :lol:

Spurs might be a good match for Rafa. They regularly sink themselves just as things start looking up. All those matches blown after they took the early lead. (Most famously against United, but last week against Arsenal too). The end of season food poisoning that cost them 4th place. Peter Crouch's own goal at the end of last season that handed Spurs' ChLg spot to City. It goes on and on... :D

blzn

Mar 2nd, 2012, 10:49 AM

Rafa got offered the Chel$ki job early this week and turned it down. Doesn't want any part of Abramovich, I'm guessing. If Redknapp or Wenger are gone this summer I could see Rafa going to London but that's just a guess.

Sounds like if AVB can pick things up and nobody else better turns up he's still got a job.

Please :facepalm: these were just rumours. The rumours said he turned it down because he wanted a long term contract. I think Rafa would jump at the chance to manage a big side in order to restore something to his recently damaged reputation due to Inter.

It's been a tough season for AVB (worst win % of all managers since RA) but he's also daring to do what no other manager post Mourinho tried to do. Most simply continued playing 'Mourinho's team' and to good effect don't get me wrong but we can't use these same players for years. I hope AVB get's another summer to bring in more of the type of players he wants and see where it goes next season.

hyperion

Mar 2nd, 2012, 11:29 AM

Looks like Charlie Adam's penalty has returned to Earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL5lnJVuVXE

Looked like a poor ManU fan to me.

Fimo

Mar 2nd, 2012, 03:13 PM

I hope AVB get's another summer to bring in more of the type of players he wants and see where it goes next season.

He wants to "Porto-fy" Chelsea, its not going to work. AVB is a Dead Man Walking.

xlash

Mar 2nd, 2012, 08:40 PM

Anybody else figured out xlash's true allegiance yet? ;)

Funny how "the most potent in the world" can't win the WC or even the Copa. Far smaller Uruguay, with Forlan, Cavani, and boo, hiss, pantomime villain Suarez beat them. As Pele pointed out, Messi is far less effective with them than he is at Barca.

Got it yet? :lol:

BTW, the "super clasicos" are over. River Plate were relegated. They went down like the Graf Spee 72 years ago. :D

I've stated this before and I'll do it again. Maybe you'll get it this time. Attack wins games, defence wins championships. Attack is primarily about creation, defence is primarily about control. Control isn't just achieved through Barcelona-esque possession it's also achieved by Napoli with its counter attack, AC Milan with its link-up play and Real Madrid with its consistent high pressure and shutdown defence. Perhaps this is why your beloved Manchester United didn't get past the group stage. But to be fair this has afflicted all the top EPL clubs this season with all those lopsided wins and high scoring games. The excessive emphasis on scoring goals in the EPL has affected all the teams competing for the top 4 spots. Why else would United succumb to Basel, City look so impotent against Bayern and Napoli, and Arsenal get hammered by Milan to say nothing of Chelsea? Despite the diversity in money and talent, a bottom dweller like Basel still has professional players in peak health who understand football directions from their coach as well as the United players. On the national level, is Argentina and England really all that different in comparison to these club sides? Uruguay controlled the match against Argentina superbly, something Germany did against England in 2010.

Maybe its because EPL clubs and their managers think they can steam roll over everyone with their blistering attack. Guys like Michael Carrick and Gareth Barry are relatively unheralded in the EPL. I mean when their teams win its because of Hernandez, Rooney, Aguero and Balotelly. But when they lose, Barry and Carrick lost the midfield battles. Liverpool wants to compete for the top 4 spots and it barely had any consistent control whatsoever against Cardiff. No wonder they squeaked through for the win. A team like the Potters playing the quintessential English style football may be perennial mid-table teams but they showed what control is all about. They beat Swansea 2-0 with 26% possession. Now that's control.

How many superclasicos have you seen? I don't mean on youtube, I mean a full match. People who have attended that derby as well as other derbies such as Roma, Manchester, Milan, Italy, North London, and even Clasico will attest that superclasico takes the cake. River will return. It's inevitable.

You don't need a Pele to tell the world that Messi is ineffective in the Albiceleste colours. He's played his whole life with La Masia grads. Switching to another system is very difficult. He has NEVER played with ANY of his attack partners or midfield creators (Mascherano is NOT a creator) at club level and yet he's chosen to be the figurehead of his team. I can say the same thing about Ronaldo and even he's played with Nani. Their clubs play in different leagues, under different kinds of tacticians who employ completely different training regimens and strategies. Quite a stark contrast to the squads of Spain and Germany where the players are mostly home grown and play with each other. Uruguay's is an exception. No prima donnas, just a team full of energetic and driven players with a fantastic coach staff.

It's very easy to regurgitate news feeds that you read on the web. Anybody can do that. But it's a lot harder to actually watch games and analyze them yourself. You should try it sometimes.

xlash

Mar 2nd, 2012, 09:10 PM

He wants to "Porto-fy" Chelsea, its not going to work. AVB is a Dead Man Walking.

Be more specific. He's trying to re-implement 4-3-3 which was established by Mourinho except his is more fluid where when in possession the wingers drive into the box to create space for the full-backs to push up the field for crosses. The reason why it worked at Porto is because he had a central striker in Falcao who could trouble the center halves which allowed him to dominate the midfield and create chances. That won't work at Chelsea because Drogba is older and slower, other than Ashley Cole who hasn't had a great season is the only full-back who can do what AVB wants him to do and Lampard works best as the creator or trailing striker in a 4-1-2-1-2 midfield diamond or 4-2-3-1, not as a deep-lying ball player. Also who is the energetic box2box player now that Essien's form has dipped? By the way he learned this strategy from Bobby Robson. Technically he Barca-fied Porto before trying to Porto-fy Chelsea.

xlash

Mar 2nd, 2012, 09:18 PM

PSG wants to table an 80 million offer for Xavi. Of all the players in the world, I can't imagine Xavi in anything other than Barcelona colours.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 2nd, 2012, 09:18 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 2nd, 2012, 09:56 PM

I've stated this before and I'll do it again.

It's very easy to regurgitate news feeds that you read on the web. Anybody can do that. But it's a lot harder to actually watch games and analyze them yourself. You should try it sometimes.

You hear that everybody? Be sure to research like you're writing a PhD dissertation before making any more posts here or you'll upset xlash. And Lord knows, we don't need yet another sulky Argentine. :lol:

You really need to lighten up xlash. We come here to discuss our favourite sport and hopefully have some fun. If you're looking for in-depth businesslike football analysis all the time you really should be looking elsewhere.

BTW, I stated earlier that strong defences help win tournaments, and goal-scoring attackers win season-long leagues, so I don't know why you're lecturing to me telling me what I've already said, especially posting it the way you do. Is that the Argentine way of doing things? No wonder Tevez is the way he is.

Tornado F2

Mar 2nd, 2012, 10:00 PM

barca should take the money and run, fab can take his spot

unlike cr7 who was sold in his mid 20s, xavi is over 30 and not worth 80m

Depends on the currency. It might be Zimbabwean dollars. 80m might be just enough to buy a small used car or something. :D

xlash

Mar 2nd, 2012, 10:25 PM

madrid wants to get kun and in return man city gets higuain

hmmm, i don't know about this, even though i rate kun better than higuain, i like higuain more, he came at an early age, developed and scored crucial goals, he actually cares about madrid

then again, kun would add another dimension to madrid's attack and used to give barca a lot of trouble whenever barca faced atletico

barca should take the money and run, fab can take his spot

unlike cr7 who was sold in his mid 20s, xavi is over 30 and not worth 80m

Aguero is a dribbler, drops deep to pick up the ball....very creative against structured defences. City would be stupid to get rid of Aguero because he fits perfectly in their 4-2-3-1 system. When Madrid play a 4-3-3 i.e. with the trivote where would Aguero fit in? Competing with Di Maria on the right? Stupid to replace a natural winger with a #10 ... on the wing.

Higuain is a poacher, clinical finisher, a classic # 9. Madrid would be stupid to get rid of him. Very very stupid. Last year they wanted to get rid of Benzema because his form was lower than Higuain. This year Benzema's form is better so they want to get rid of Higuain. If Benz gets injured they don't have a bonafide pure striker. They can bring Ronaldo in the middle but against intelligent teams like Barcelona and Napoli they won't stand a chance of scoring. Even if they face Milan Thiago Silva will shut down Ronaldo by using Mexes/Nesta as a sweeper. At City Higuain would be competing with Dzeko and if Balotelli's suspended (happens quite often) then who is going to play the central attacking midfield between Nasri and David Silva. Tevez is leaving in the summer. No question about that.

Each club should keep their respective Argentine.

When assessing Xavi, clubs should pay what they think he's really worth to their team. PSG think they've got a Busquets in Motta, an Iniesta in Pastore and the next player they need is a Xavi. With all that moolah might as well get the real deal. Except Motta is not Busquets and Pastore is not Iniesta and they haven't played with Xavi since they were kids. Xavi is worth 80 million to Barcelona but he's not even worth half that much to PSG.

Fabregas is more dynamic than Xavi but not as consistent. Xavi's also better at free kicks. It's in Barca's best interests that they hold on to their La Masia graduates and negotiate for lower wage packets especially since they are so keen on staying.

xlash

Mar 2nd, 2012, 10:34 PM

You hear that everybody? Be sure to research like you're writing a PhD dissertation before making any more posts here or you'll upset xlash. And Lord knows, we don't need yet another sulky Argentine. :lol:

You really need to lighten up xlash. We come here to discuss our favourite sport and hopefully have some fun. If you're looking for in-depth businesslike football analysis all the time you really should be looking elsewhere.

BTW, I stated earlier that strong defences help win tournaments, and goal-scoring attackers win season-long leagues, so I don't know why you're lecturing to me telling me what I've already said, especially posting it the way you do. Is that the Argentine way of doing things? No wonder Tevez is the way he is.

I'm having fun too. Just because it looks "business-like" to you doesn't mean it isn't fun for me. When you make sweeping statements like "the superclasicos are over" then I am going to call you on it.

I disagree that "goal-scoring attackers win season-long leagues". I'll save myself from writing another dissertation but you can have fun finding out why.

Tornado F2

Mar 2nd, 2012, 10:56 PM

I'm having fun too. Just because it looks "business-like" to you doesn't mean it isn't fun for me. When you make sweeping statements like "the superclasicos are over" then I am going to call you on it.

I disagree that "goal-scoring attackers win season-long leagues". I'll save myself from writing another dissertation but you can have fun finding out why.

They are over - for now anyway.

Really? Change all LFC's sngle-point draws into 3-point wins and see what a difference a few goal-scoring attackers (rather than chance-wasting bad boys) would have made. Nobody's ever got far in the EPL without them.

Maybe Argentina's different with their odd half-season setup.

Tornado F2

Mar 2nd, 2012, 11:01 PM

Each club should keep their respective Argentine.

Better yet, ship them all back to La Plata, pronto. Far, far too much unneeded baggage.

hyperion

Mar 2nd, 2012, 11:07 PM

Better yet, ship them all back to La Plata, pronto. Far, far too much unneeded baggage.

Just because your club had a bad experience with one doesn't mean they are all like that. :P

harpoon

Mar 2nd, 2012, 11:27 PM

Please :facepalm: these were just rumours. The rumours said he turned it down because he wanted a long term contract. I think Rafa would jump at the chance to manage a big side in order to restore something to his recently damaged reputation due to Inter.

It's been a tough season for AVB (worst win % of all managers since RA) but he's also daring to do what no other manager post Mourinho tried to do. Most simply continued playing 'Mourinho's team' and to good effect don't get me wrong but we can't use these same players for years. I hope AVB get's another summer to bring in more of the type of players he wants and see where it goes next season.

One of the main writers at the Guardian was talking about it in their last Football Weekly podcast, and he said it matter of fact, they hardly ever pull stuff like that out unless it's substantial. But who knows for sure, a lot of journos just want a story, even the good ones have moments.

Rafa's waiting more for control and building up a project than to just jump at a big team from what I'm hearing, somewhere with a clear support system. But we'll see.

I hope AVB stays too as I think he's a good manager as well. I think he'll be doing really well in a couple years but he needs time.

madrid wants to get kun and in return man city gets higuain

hmmm, i don't know about this, even though i rate kun better than higuain, i like higuain more, he came at an early age, developed and scored crucial goals, he actually cares about madrid

then again, kun would add another dimension to madrid's attack and used to give barca a lot of trouble whenever barca faced atletico

barca should take the money and run, fab can take his spot

unlike cr7 who was sold in his mid 20s, xavi is over 30 and not worth 80m

Xavi is one of my fave players to watch but I'd take the money and run too for a player at that age. He's starting to creak too, he's had a lot of niggling injuries over the years. I think from 2006-2010 he's been the best midfielder in the world.

I rate Higuain more than Aguero even though they're different players. I think Aguero runs hot and cold sometimes and Higuain is more of a consistent, reliable goal machine. What I would do to have him in an LFC shirt, he's exactly what the team needs. Phenomenal player, a real killer. He's not quite Batigol but his brains and movement are stellar.

Just because your club had a bad experience with one doesn't mean they are all like that. :P

We're all 'scouse scum'...that was what had me reach for the block button. That was crossing the line, generalizing is a weak thing to do.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 12:16 AM

Rafa's waiting more for control and building up a project than to just jump at a big team from what I'm hearing, somewhere with a clear support system. But we'll see.

I hope AVB stays too as I think he's a good manager as well. I think he'll be doing really well in a couple years but he needs time.

We're all 'scouse scum'...that was what had me reach for the block button. That was crossing the line, generalizing is a weak thing to do.

- Rafa for Accrington Stanley. :razz:

- KAVBAC. :D

- Speak for yourself. It's pretty obvious that the other LFC fans here aren't scousers. If you're implying that I used that term for other posters here, I'm sure you're wrong. I may refer to LFC fans in Liverpool as "scousers", but that's what everybody calls them, because that's a popular meal there (presumably named by the scousers themselves). The only people that I've ever called "scum" are those that deserve it - lowlife's like Suarez. It's not a regular part of my vocabulary. It's very possible that I referred to YOU as a "deluded, nostalgic old scouser in denial" though, or something to that effect, since that's clearly just what you are. You've been ignoring my posts since Rafa's time, when I forewarned you (correctly) of the way things were headed for LFC. You didn't want to hear it then, and I really don't care if you're still ignoring my posts now - that's your problem, and your loss, not mine. You carry on dreaming about your long-gone youth, when Dalglish and Keegan were still known as footballers, not crap managers who sulk off as soon as things get difficult. I'll carry on happily enjoying the present and looking forward to the future. :D

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 12:26 AM

Just because your club had a bad experience with one doesn't mean they are all like that. :P

We didn't really. We let Stitch go, just in time, so he could annoy the "noisy neighbours" instead. :D

FWIW, I still like Heinze, on the rare occasions that I see him, though Evra's been a better LB. And I liked Veron as a person too, even if he wasn't the footballer we'd hoped for. Seems he's been doing well since his return to his hometown club in Argentina though. As I said, they should all go back. They might even be happy then. :razz:

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:12 AM

They are over - for now anyway.

Really? Change all LFC's sngle-point draws into 3-point wins and see what a difference a few goal-scoring attackers (rather than chance-wasting bad boys) would have made. Nobody's ever got far in the EPL without them.

Maybe Argentina's different with their odd half-season setup.

You take the fun away from discussions when you suggest something elementary like a few goal-scoring attackers make the difference. Where's your proof? Even those who HAVE scored aren't always clinical. Looks like your brain couldn't absorb a word of my post on control

Better yet, ship them all back to La Plata, pronto. Far, far too much unneeded baggage.

Rooney, Giggs, Nani, Evra all have baggage. Ship them off to their respective origins too. Let's see your team compete for a mid-table spot.

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:16 AM

We didn't really. We let Stitch go, just in time, so he could annoy the "noisy neighbours" instead. :D

FWIW, I still like Heinze, on the rare occasions that I see him, though Evra's been a better LB. And I liked Veron as a person too, even if he wasn't the footballer we'd hoped for. Seems he's been doing well since his return to his hometown club in Argentina though. As I said, they should all go back. They might even be happy then. :razz:

Ronaldinho and Adriano are doing better in Brazil. Maybe all the Brazilians should go back too. Fabregas and Alonso went back and are happy. Send the Spaniards back too. Soon the French will want to go back as Ligue 1's being infused with cash and is getting very competitive. How would the EPL survive without global superstars?? I don't see any happy campers there.

hyperion

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:19 AM

Wow, that's a pretty hard result to take. Liverpool dominated the midfield, hit the bar twice, missed a pk, had countless linesman decisions go against us...:facepalm:.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:31 AM

Wow, that's a pretty hard result to take. Liverpool dominated the midfield, hit the bar twice, missed a pk, had countless linesman decisions go against us...:facepalm:.

Sounds like LFC and Arsenal's seasons in a nutshell. Tons of missed chances by LFC, yet another Arsenal defensive error giving an own goal, and RVP saving Arsenal's day. ;)

Well, xlash did say he wanted proof that goal-scoring attackers make the difference. There it is. Didn't take long, did it? :razz:

Enjoy your little tappa-tappa hombre. I'll take EPL-style attacking football anyday. :D (And I'm sure I'm not the only one. There's good reason for having an EPL thread rather than a S. American one. But you're welcome to start your own and see if anybody else is interested enough to join you. Give it a shot. Or at least a tappa).

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:33 AM

Ronaldinho and Adriano are doing better in Brazil. Maybe all the Brazilians should go back too. Fabregas and Alonso went back and are happy. Send the Spaniards back too. Soon the French will want to go back as Ligue 1's being infused with cash and is getting very competitive. How would the EPL survive without global superstars?? I don't see any happy campers there.

Funnily enough, the moaners all seem to be Argentine. ;)

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:38 AM

One of the main writers at the Guardian was talking about it in their last Football Weekly podcast, and he said it matter of fact, they hardly ever pull stuff like that out unless it's substantial. But who knows for sure, a lot of journos just want a story, even the good ones have moments.

Rafa's waiting more for control and building up a project than to just jump at a big team from what I'm hearing, somewhere with a clear support system. But we'll see.

I hope AVB stays too as I think he's a good manager as well. I think he'll be doing really well in a couple years but he needs time.

I agree - all coaches should get a couple of years to atleast mould their team. Guys like Abramovich have no patience. It'll be the downfall of Chelsea just like it's been for Inter.

Xavi is one of my fave players to watch but I'd take the money and run too for a player at that age. He's starting to creak too, he's had a lot of niggling injuries over the years. I think from 2006-2010 he's been the best midfielder in the world.

Mine too. 80 million for him is a lot and Barcelona's financial people are probably phoning him to consider the offer. But no matter what PSG offers Xavi he's not going to take it. He's got 2 years left on his contract. La Masia graduates are all momma's boys. They live at home even in their 30's, eating mommy's cooking. Making double digit millions of course helps them get a mansion where they can have some privacy with females and drive around in cars worth 6 digits but they are all momma's boys down to the core. Xavi's mom is going to tell him "no" even if PSG offers 3 times of what Barca's giving him.

We're all 'scouse scum'...that was what had me reach for the block button. That was crossing the line, generalizing is a weak thing to do.

Don't take what he says seriously. Maturity is a luxury that not everybody has.

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:43 AM

Sounds like LFC and Arsenal's seasons in a nutshell. Tons of missed chances by LFC, yet another Arsenal defensive error giving an own goal, and RVP saving Arsenal's day. ;)

Well, xlash did say he wanted proof that goal-scoring attackers make the difference. There it is. Didn't take long, did it? :razz:

Enjoy your little tappa-tappa hombre. I'll take EPL-style attacking football anyday. :D (And I'm sure I'm not the only one. There's good reason for having an EPL thread rather than a S. American one. But you're welcome to start your own and see if anybody else is interested enough to join you. Give it a shot. Or at least a tappa).

Using the top goal scorer in the EPL as your argument?? That's the best you got? Put down the weak sauce. LFC had an own goal that made the scoreline look decent.

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:45 AM

Wow, that's a pretty hard result to take. Liverpool dominated the midfield, hit the bar twice, missed a pk, had countless linesman decisions go against us...:facepalm:.

They just weren't clinical enough. Arsenal's backline played so high up the pitch. If only they had someone who was half as good as Xavi/Fabregas and as clinical as RVP.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:04 AM

Using the top goal scorer in the EPL as your argument?? That's the best you got? Put down the weak sauce. LFC had an own goal that made the scoreline look decent.

Check my post time. Only a single game had been played at that point. RVP happened to be the only good striker on show there. And his team took the 3 points.

I mentioned the Arsenal own goal already.

Where's the button to block perma-moaners from reading MY posts?

hyperion

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:01 AM

So is AVB gone or not?

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:10 AM

Who beat Chel$ki? Woy did! Woy did! :D

Maybe Woy should get the Chel$ki job? He has a good record of turning failing teams around, deluded scousers excepted.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:18 AM

So is AVB gone or not?

Ranieri's already declared him "dead man walking", and he should know. Unless he can somehow keep Chel$ki in the ChLg he has to be gone. Too many good experienced managers have been axed at Chel$ki for AVB to be allowed to stay. If he's somehow still in charge come summer, his first step should be to offload the older Mourinho players who obviously don't want to be part of his "project". A complete rebuild is his only chance. Blowing 80 million quid on Hulk wouldn't be a smart move though, unless he's planning to use that money after returning to Porto. I can't see Abramovich approving that deal.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:23 AM

Wow, that's a pretty hard result to take. Liverpool dominated the midfield, hit the bar twice, missed a pk, had countless linesman decisions go against us...:facepalm:.

Not so much missed as double-saved. How many chances do LFC forwards need? Reina shouldn't have been beaten on his near post, but he was. Is it now official LFC policy to blame assistants, since managers get fined for blaming refs? It sure looks that way.

Change the manager, get some decent (and moral) strikers, and you'll have better luck next season.

blzn

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:23 AM

Sos :(

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 11:38 AM

Sos :(

Woy can save you.

Go with Rafa instead. :D

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 12:36 PM

Wow, just watched QPR's Buzsaky hit both posts and almost the crossbar too, all within the same 10 seconds of the same play. How rare can something like that be? Pretty amazing stuff.

Earlier, a squirrel somehow got into the centre circle, and the fans started chanting its name. :D Pretty entertaining stuff, even though I already know the final score.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 3rd, 2012, 02:12 PM

http://i.minus.com/iXALNK4ByNGFR.gif

reina should have done better

arsenal - 2 shots, 2 goals :D

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 03:12 PM

http://i.minus.com/iXALNK4ByNGFR.gif

reina should have done better

arsenal - 2 shots, 2 goals :D

The difference a good attacker makes. :D (Along with a good goalie).

I just watched the match. LFC definitely had "control", as xlash puts it, but Arsenal deservedly won. The LFC players were obviously swearing at the officials (so much class in that squad) and letting the pressure get to them. Arsenal's players kept calm, especially "Chesney" and RVP, and took home all 3 points. Dalglish failed to use his substitutes until it was already far too late. Enjoy your Carling squeaker guys, you have practically no chance of making 4th, and next season's ChLg, now. Be sure to thank your "King". And watch your rear view mirror for clubs approaching from behind. :)

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 05:27 PM

The difference a good attacker makes. :D (Along with a good goalie).

I just watched the match. LFC definitely had "control", as xlash puts it, but Arsenal deservedly won. The LFC players were obviously swearing at the officials (so much class in that squad) and letting the pressure get to them. Arsenal's players kept calm, especially "Chesney" and RVP, and took home all 3 points. Dalglish failed to use his substitutes until it was already far too late. Enjoy your Carling squeaker guys, you have practically no chance of making 4th, and next season's ChLg, now. Be sure to thank your "King". And watch your rear view mirror for clubs approaching from behind. :)

No offence to RVP, he's having a stellar season but his difference gets Arsenal where? 3 points clear of Chelsea for 4th spot. THAT IS ALL. They beat Liverpool by 1 goal and that too it was in stoppage time where Song caught Liverpool sleeping. Compare this against 2 weeks ago when this very same team lost 4-0 to Milan, decidedly. Milan controlled the match all through 90 min. Where was the good attacker making the difference? Your argument is elementary at best. I take it you didn't see any of the other matches today.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 3rd, 2012, 06:53 PM

Fimo

Mar 3rd, 2012, 06:57 PM

They just weren't clinical enough. Arsenal's backline played so high up the pitch. If only they had someone who was half as good as Xavi/Fabregas and as clinical as RVP. We need someone like RvP, ASAP.

Not so much missed as double-saved. How many chances do LFC forwards need? Reina shouldn't have been beaten on his near post, but he was. Is it now official LFC policy to blame assistants, since managers get fined for blaming refs? It sure looks that way.

Change the manager, get some decent (and moral) strikers, and you'll have better luck next season.
Our forwards have some poor chance conversions I'll agree with you there, and Reina being beaten at the near post is a fail. As far as getting some more "moral" players, like Rooney perhaps, who shagged a number of prostitutes whilst married AND his wife was pregnant with child? OR Ryan Giggs who bedded his BROTHER's wife for over 8 years and Imogen Thomas whilst married? :facepalm: British players have some of the lowest moral standards, stop being xenophobic, the old British Empire Syndrome as I like to call it.

I just watched the match. LFC definitely had "control", as xlash puts it, but Arsenal deservedly won.
:facepalm: lol spoken like a true Man Yoo fan.

"To his credit, Kenny Dalglish did not attempt to claim an injustice had taken place or that Liverpool were only beaten by a wonder strike. "The scoreline didn't reflect the game, but that was our own fault," the Liverpool manager said. "We played well and did enough to have won, but we were beaten because we didn't score enough goals when we were dominating the game. The result was the only disappointing thing. The next lesson we need to learn might be how to be ugly and win."

"We were getting killed in the first half," Szczesny said. "We enjoyed the second half a lot more." Van Persie was even more self-deprecating. "I don't think we deserved it to be honest," he said. "Liverpool played better than we did but we nicked it at the end."

hyperion

Mar 3rd, 2012, 07:52 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiqqpbT_6os

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:25 PM

Maradona: Aguero should play for Real :-0

But Maradona, whose daughter is married to Aguero, believes that his son-in-law should go back to La Liga with Real and thinks "he made a mistake" by choosing to sign for City ahead of this season.

"Kun has to play for Real Madrid. If he signed for them, it would be his big break," Maradona told Radio La Red."Even though he is flying at City, the best thing would have been to sign for Madrid. He made a mistake."

Aguero is City's top scorer this season with 16 goals and it is seems unlikely the club would entertain any bids for him, but Al Wasl coach Maradona believes Real president Florentino Perez would be able to convince the current Premier League leaders to sell.

"Now, as he is doing so well, it will be difficult to get him from City. They will want to keep him because [Roberto] Mancini has him very much in his plans," Maradona said.

"However, if Madrid want someone, they get them. Florentino has no limits. It's a question of convincing City, but not with money because they have plenty of that.

"If Kun was playing for Madrid they would close in further on Barcelona. We would be talking about Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 60 and more goals, because Kun would move the entire defence."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1030524/diego-maradona:-sergio-aguero-should-play-for-real-madrid-?cc=5901

man city can have kaka and albiol in exchange :D

Growing up Diego Maradona was my favourite player. But he was a deplorable role model. He's gotten worse over the years. Anything he says should be tuned out. Whatever intelligence he had was dissolved into all that coke he snorted in Napoli. He makes a ton of money from Al Wasl and gets a private jet to fly to wherever he wants but during press conferences he's concerned about Europe. Everybody who posts in this thread regularly is a better manager than Maradona, except obviously for Tornado F2.

Arsenal should have picked up Albiol. With all the injuries afflicting their full-backs he would have fit in well. The only place Kaka can go for first team duty is PSG. They have the cash and Ancelotti would remodel the formation to accommodate his former trequartista. For all the religious crap that Kaka likes to portray, he worships money the most.

xlash

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:27 PM

Our forwards have some poor chance conversions I'll agree with you there, and Reina being beaten at the near post is a fail. As far as getting some more "moral" players, like Rooney perhaps, who shagged a number of prostitutes whilst married AND his wife was pregnant with child? OR Ryan Giggs who bedded his BROTHER's wife for over 8 years and Imogen Thomas whilst married? :facepalm: British players have some of the lowest moral standards, stop being xenophobic, the old British Empire Syndrome as I like to call it.

:facepalm: lol spoken like a true Man Yoo fan.

PWND!! Sadly not all Manchester United fans are like him. My best friend is one and I've never ever heard him spew the kind of garbage that TF2 posts here on a daily basis.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:54 PM

Maradona: Aguero should play for Real :-0

But Maradona, whose daughter is married to Aguero, believes that his son-in-law should go back to La Liga with Real and thinks "he made a mistake" by choosing to sign for City ahead of this season.

"Kun has to play for Real Madrid. If he signed for them, it would be his big break," Maradona told Radio La Red."Even though he is flying at City, the best thing would have been to sign for Madrid. He made a mistake."

Aguero is City's top scorer this season with 16 goals and it is seems unlikely the club would entertain any bids for him, but Al Wasl coach Maradona believes Real president Florentino Perez would be able to convince the current Premier League leaders to sell.

"Now, as he is doing so well, it will be difficult to get him from City. They will want to keep him because [Roberto] Mancini has him very much in his plans," Maradona said.

"However, if Madrid want someone, they get them. Florentino has no limits. It's a question of convincing City, but not with money because they have plenty of that.

"If Kun was playing for Madrid they would close in further on Barcelona. We would be talking about Cristiano Ronaldo scoring 60 and more goals, because Kun would move the entire defence."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1030524/diego-maradona:-sergio-aguero-should-play-for-real-madrid-?cc=5901

man city can have kaka and albiol in exchange :D

Fancy that, Maradonna lecturing OTHERS about making mistakes. His entire life has been a huge mistake. Probably starting right at conception.

Anyway, cue the Argie sulk from Aguero now if he's stupid enough to heed his father-in-law's advice. It might be just enough to kill City's title challenge. :D

Where does Maradonna's daughter live, btw? Did she follow her husband to England, or stay in Argentina like Mrs Tevez? That would tell us a lot.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 3rd, 2012, 09:55 PM

albiol + cash for rvp :D kaka to psg :D gotze or hazard to madrid :D

http://www.abload.de/img/terrifying-shirtless-gvaag.gif

a little too excited, no? :razz:

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:14 PM

We need someone like RvP, ASAP.

Our forwards have some poor chance conversions I'll agree with you there, and Reina being beaten at the near post is a fail. As far as getting some more "moral" players, like Rooney perhaps, who shagged a number of prostitutes whilst married AND his wife was pregnant with child? OR Ryan Giggs who bedded his BROTHER's wife for over 8 years and Imogen Thomas whilst married? :facepalm: British players have some of the lowest moral standards, stop being xenophobic, the old British Empire Syndrome as I like to call it.

:facepalm: lol spoken like a true Man Yoo fan.

"To his credit, Kenny Dalglish did not attempt to claim an injustice had taken place or that Liverpool were only beaten by a wonder strike. "The scoreline didn't reflect the game, but that was our own fault," the Liverpool manager said. "We played well and did enough to have won, but we were beaten because we didn't score enough goals when we were dominating the game. The result was the only disappointing thing. The next lesson we need to learn might be how to be ugly and win."

"We were getting killed in the first half," Szczesny said. "We enjoyed the second half a lot more." Van Persie was even more self-deprecating. "I don't think we deserved it to be honest," he said. "Liverpool played better than we did but we nicked it at the end."

- Exactly. Good strikers win ChLg spots, mediocre ones don't.

- I have no control over anybody else's morals, especially footballers on the other side of the Atlantic, but I'd happily see the United squad's morality compared with that of LFC's. It would be interesting to see what criminal record's they've got to go with their lowlife tattoos. There may be some cases of weakness among certain United players, but they're few and far between. Fergie keeps true scumbags from joining, and infecting, the squad. He remembers what he had to eradicate from the squad during his early years in charge. The rumours about Rooney may or be not be true, who among us truly knows, but that may just be a scouser thing. And as we all know, scouse = Liverpool. Your lot are exposed to Liverpool "culture" far more than ours are.

- I gave you credit for "controlling" the game, as you did. But Dalglish and his players failed to complete the job. Even Dalglish said as much. Arsenal, with much less opportunity, did. So that's why they deserved to win.

Funny how Dalglish mentioned playing ugly. They've got that part down pat, in so many ways. They're just not sure what's the difference between a "draw" and a "win". The big answer, as they'll realise at the end of the season, is 2 points a game. Points that could have earned them a ChLg spot. And the millions of pounds in extra revenue that would have come with it. :D

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:21 PM

albiol + cash for rvp :D kaka to psg :D gotze or hazard to madrid :D

http://www.abload.de/img/terrifying-shirtless-gvaag.gif

a little too excited, no? :razz:

Can you really blame the fat little piggies? Their team started the season like crap, with big losses and potentially even bigger defections. And now they're starting to look comfortably in 4th place, 12 points ahead of LFC and now 3 ahead of Chel$ki. If they can keep it up they can possibly bring in some quality come summer. Fail to do so, and their club will join LFC among the also-rans. RVP's goals this season may well be literally worth his weight in gold.

Tornado F2

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:27 PM

I'm having trouble deciding exactly which type of pathetic Argentine troll xlax is.

This?

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2009/1/13/1231863372471/Carlos-Tevez-001.jpg

Or this?

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2012/1/26/1327598650846/carlos-tevez-007.jpg

Or perhaps this?

http://thirdkit.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/carlostevezbaby-e12928817663641.jpg

It's about time he stopped his pathetic cry-baby whinging.

Bet you he has a Maradonna gut too. :lol:

hyperion

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:39 PM

albiol + cash for rvp :D kaka to psg :D gotze or hazard to madrid :D

http://www.abload.de/img/terrifying-shirtless-gvaag.gif

a little too excited, no? :razz:

Would it be even be fun/interesting anymore when your team would be so stacked that winning the league and probably the champion's league would be a foregone conclusion before the season even started?

Oh and hands off Hazard, he's ours! :P

hyperion

Mar 3rd, 2012, 10:44 PM

harpoon

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:03 AM

http://i.minus.com/iXALNK4ByNGFR.gif

reina should have done better

arsenal - 2 shots, 2 goals :D

totally agree. Reina's been one of the best keepers in the league for years, he's not on form this season.

Don't take what he says seriously. Maturity is a luxury that not everybody has.

just typed "scouse scum" in search, post 11250 has a quote from Fimo quoting the Tornado's words. Just the blind hatred and tribal senselessless, this isn't the place for that. He's probably a nice enough fella in person or whatever but I don't want to read the raging and bile, particularly about a city and people I care about a great deal. I raged about Michael Owen joining the Mancs back when it happened but apologized and reined it in since. Internet forums bring the idiots out in some perfectly nice people. I can't remember exactly what the slur was but cultural stereotyping (as well as stereotyping like "cheating mancs" or whatever) seems over the top to me.

The bickering's really overruling the talk about the football, it's mind numbing.

They just weren't clinical enough. Arsenal's backline played so high up the pitch. If only they had someone who was half as good as Xavi/Fabregas and as clinical as RVP.

The maddening thing to me is that things that aren't working (Henderson wide right, Adam in a midfield 2 playing deep...Adam after an hour when he's gassed, Stewart Downing in general) we aren't changing it up and trying another option. It's infuriating and frustrating, but at least we're going in the right direction.

Reading talk from some in-the-know Liverpudlians that Moyes might be to Spurs if Redknapp goes. Interesting.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:43 AM

Would it be even be fun/interesting anymore when your team would be so stacked that winning the league and probably the champion's league would be a foregone conclusion before the season even started?

Oh and hands off Hazard, he's ours! :P

i think u r severely underestimating barca

expect barca to buy some players so madrid has to upgrade their squad as well

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 09:49 AM

TF2, here's a little lighter fluid for your fire. :P

Tevez's first match back, in which I heard he wasn't very good, and the it's pretty evident in the video too. We'll see in a month from now though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXc3cks0shs

Yeah, I read they were thrashed by Preston or something. :lol: Reserve team, but still, City's reserves should, on paper, be able to beat most international squads. Definitely Canada's. (Beaten by tiny Armenia :facepalm:). They've come a long way since me and my buddies went to see them play at an empty Maine Road when we were kids. (Just the once, mind. We sat in one side stand the first half, then went to the opposite side and watched from the high priced execs' area. Nobody bothered, it was that empty). As for troll Tevez, (or is it xlax?), if he actually does make another City appearance, my bet would be the Manchester derby. Once United take the lead, and with it pole position, heading in for our 20th title, and the City players' heads start to drop, Mancini will turn to Tevez on his subs' recaro, ready to send him on as one potentially match-turning wildcard. He'll call off Dzecko, arguing in Serbo-Croat or whatever, then look around over his shoulder and see:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2012/1/26/1327598650846/carlos-tevez-007.jpg

"You never said I could have a real pony!" :razz:

Tevez will again refuse to come on, United will claim our 20th, and a big red Farewell Tevez poster will be erected in downtown Manchester. :D

We might even erect a statue of him - with a dummy in his ugly mouth, of course! :lol:

It's the only way he can leave Manchester with his head held high and fans chanting his name. Otherwise he'll just be quickly forgotten, like the ignorant, ugly, illiterate, little Argie prick that he(and most of his countrymen, it seems) is.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 09:54 AM

i think u r severely underestimating barca

expect barca to buy some players so madrid has to upgrade their squad as well

Barca are skint. So is the Spanish goverment. Expect Madrid to soon follow suit. Especially if one of their key players does a Gaudi and gets hit by a tram/bus.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 10:05 AM

Speaking of near-bankrupt Spaniards, check out Torres' contribution to yesterday's Chel$ki loss to Woy's WBA:

78:50 Booking Booking
The referee shows Keith Andrews a yellow card.
78:45 Fernando Torres fouled by Keith Andrews, the ref awards a free kick.
77:29 The ball is sent over by Juan Mata, clearance by Gareth McAuley.
75:31 Substitution Substitution
Fernando Torres joins the action as a substitute, replacing Michael Essien.

That appears to be it. He got fouled 3 minutes in, the player got booked, and Torres turned invisible again. He was present to see WBA's winning goal though:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58860000/jpg/_58860603_58859292.jpg

He's Stamford Bridge's new Dead Man Walking, since AVB, not at all surprisingly, finally got the sack.

He obviously needs some company, so SEND IN RAFA, SEND IN RAFA. :D They can both depart together, anonymously, in the summer.

blzn

Mar 4th, 2012, 10:27 AM

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 10:38 AM

just typed "scouse scum" in search, post 11250 has a quote from Fimo quoting the Tornado's words. Just the blind hatred and tribal senselessless, this isn't the place for that. He's probably a nice enough fella in person or whatever but I don't want to read the raging and bile, particularly about a city and people I care about a great deal. I raged about Michael Owen joining the Mancs back when it happened but apologized and reined it in since. Internet forums bring the idiots out in some perfectly nice people. I can't remember exactly what the slur was but cultural stereotyping (as well as stereotyping like "cheating mancs" or whatever) seems over the top to me.

The bickering's really overruling the talk about the football, it's mind numbing.

Pretty hypocritical coming from someone who used to post the way you did back when Rafa was trying his best to sink your ship. I remember plenty of nasty ignorant posts coming from you regarding United and Fergie. You're the one who exhibited "blind hatred and tribal senselessless". That's not applicable to me at all. I don't hate anybody in football. Why would I? My team are at or near the top every season. It's your lot who consistently fail to perform, and can't come anywhere close to repeating their long-ago glory years. Try looking in the mirror pal. ;)

As for that post you referred to, I see it was a week or so ago when Woy's West Brom won. Fimo was for some reason trying to make Woy United manager, since I suggested that LFC might have been winning games (not just drawing) if they'd stood by him. The sentence was actually:

- The scouse scum had their way. Reportedly the owners would have stuck with Woy if not for Dalglish's noisy (deludedly nostalgic) supporters.

Okay, I could have used a different term to describe the mindless, hateful, perma-nostalgic "supporters" who attacked Woy's every move, simply because he wasn't the LFC Messiah that they mistakenly believed Dalglish to be. Given the options available, I think the term chosen was fair enough. Scouse, because they are. Scum, because well, as Fimo keeps pointing out, Liverpudlians are hardly the most moral people on Earth, are they. They definitely never gave Woy a fair chance, because as they constantly reminded him, he wasn't one of them. (He was far too dignified to stoop to their level, unlike Dalglish). The dictionary definition "A greenish water vegetation (such as algae), usually found floating on the surface of ponds" seems appropriate though, for a bunch of jealous yobs in a stagnant pond, still dreaming of long-past glories. I suspect that's the definition that really brought the word to mind.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 10:53 AM

It's Torres not Tevez, he actually played decent/ran his socks off when he came off. Stop watching games through live commentary.

AVB getting the sack, I please pray this doesn't mean Rafa.. it would alienate every single CFC fan against Roman.

The manager's revolving door continues to spin at Chelsea, however I find it hard to argue with any of the recent sackings.

AVB - Danger of missing out on top 4 and serious dressing room problems

Carlo - Loved him but both of his years at Chelsea we got no where in the CL (I don't mean we should of won but we made early exits both years)

Scolari - See AVB

Grant - Enough exp to cover for a few months but not lead the club into a new season

It seem's that Di Matteo has been placed as interim manager until the end of the season. I wonder if that means the board will wait until the summer to name a manager.

Another forgettable season :facepalm:

Mourinho return? Pep G leaves Barca?

Ah yes. I did write Torres correctly later on, but my mind must have still been on the previous post when I typed the first sentence. I'll say one thing for Tevez, he's rarely invisible like Torres is.

I feel sorry for AVB, just as I feel sorry for all the Chel$ki managers, with the sole exception of Mourinho, who made sure to look after himself first. AVB may yet become a decent manager, but he should never have been put in charge of a major EPL club at this early stage of his development. Abramovich may as well have put Steve Clarke in charge when Mourinho left, it would have likely had better results. (At least the players would have stood by him). Interesting seeing Di Matteo put in charge. I felt sorry for him when WBA let him go, because it wasn't really his fault that his squad was underperforming. But Woy came in and turned them around. Maybe it is a sign that Woy will be next for the Chel$ki hotseat? They could certainly do worse. Like Rafa. :razz:

Mourinho and Pep are extremely unlikely to take the job. Few top managers would be willing to take the gamble. It's become a poisoned chalice. Even if you meet the stated goals, Abramovich comes up with another excuse to give you the boot. The only managers who should be interested are older, unemployed ones, looking for one final big paycheque to set them up for retirement. Maybe Scolari's due for a return, if Abramovich offers him more than he's currently on? He can continue the move toward Iberian players, if that's what Abramovich currently has his mind set on.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 4th, 2012, 11:43 AM

hyperion

Mar 4th, 2012, 11:58 AM

blzn

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:04 PM

should have kept carlo

why would mourinho return? owner is still a control freak, only way Pep leaves barca is that owner gives him full control and makes him the highest paid manager by a mile

boy, spurs just love losing to man utd, don't they? every freakin year

Carlo did well domestically first year, but faltered in Europe. The next season they didn't do well in Europe OR in England. Decision may have been rash but it was a decision that needed to be made.

If Roman is such a 'control freak' how did Mourinho survive his years there? Surely someone like Mourinho would be unable to work in such an environment :facepalm: . Roman and Mourinho are actually on good terms, Roman had a really expensive car ordered for Mourinho while he was at Chelsea and when the vehicle came in he was already at Inter but he continued to have the vehicle delivered to Milan. Their relationship has been patched up since his departure from Chelsea.

He's leaving Madrid whether you like it not, maybe not this year but next year will most likely be his last. He loves England and the Premier League, he will return.

I thought you would have a better understanding of Pep being a Madrid fan but do you really think Pep is about the money? His decision to not extend his contract as of yet leads to speculation of course but to me it seem's he would like to ply his trade in another country. He has consistently said he would not be in the Barca hot seat for 'long'.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:15 PM

Maradona for Chelsea!! Now that would be a spectacle.. Can you imagine Maradona and Abramovich in the same room together?

Saw the Tottenham - ManU game. Tottenham was all bark, no bite. Their long record of padding ManU's points total continues.

Brilliant idea. Even better than Rafa. :D Maradona and his lecturing about mistakes, he'd be perfect. He'd probably be so full of himself he wouldn't even notice when he inevitably gets sacked. He could blow even more of Abramovich's money on Tevez and Aguero, both in full sulk mode to get out of City. Both of them for less than Hulk's 80m quid release fee, as reportedly considered by AVB, could actually be a decent deal, and just what Chel$ki need to shake things up. It won't happen though.

harpoon

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:29 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:35 PM

Carlo did well domestically first year, but faltered in Europe. The next season they didn't do well in Europe OR in England. Decision may have been rash but it was a decision that needed to be made.

He's leaving Madrid whether you like it not, maybe not this year but next year will most likely be his last. He loves England and the Premier League, he will return.

You are a Chelsea fan, aren't you? They did well enough in the EPL last season. I'm sure they'd have gladly taken a repeat of last over this season.

Manchester United (C)
80
Chelsea
71
Manchester City
71
Arsenal
68
Tottenham Hotspur
62

(Even LFC ended up 6th. How about this season under Dalglish?) :razz:

If Ancelotti wasn't considered good enough, despite winning Europe and Italy in the past, and then the EPL too (thanks to Gerrard), then who is? How much is Abramovich willing to offer Fergie for his final retirement paycheque? :D Not that Fergie would leave anyway. Whoever gets the Chelsea job is taking on a real headache. Unless they're given huge funding, and complete freedom to really shake things up, which top manager in their right mind would take it? Given that opportunity though, I can think of one manager who might fit the bill nicely, so long as Abramovich doesn't insist on a proven winner. Sorry England, 'Arry's no longer available. He's off to go wheelin-and-dealin with Abramovich's money. :lol: It would be 'Arry's perfect final job. (Though the England post will likely be free again in 2 years anyway).

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:38 PM

AVB = right man, wrong club, wrong time.

AVB for LFC perhaps? That might work out. Gives him time to get used to the EPL before possibly moving on to a top club.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:39 PM

It won't be Rafa. You're right in that there's loads of love lost there from the Rafa/Mourinho wars of years past.

If it's Di Matteo till season's end, surely Abramovich has someone in mind who's currently working somewhere. I'd love to see Bielsa or someone innovative like that but he's kind of insane. He'd be great to see in England.

Outside guess is the guy at Dortmund, that guy is bloody fantastic, and great with kids.

AVB = right man, wrong club, wrong time.

haha dude is crazy and funny

every week there is a segment in revista de la liga where Guillem Balague bring up a crazy story on him, dude is insane lol :D

oh and i know mou will leave, it is inevitable, i just don't think he'll return to chelsea, it will be man city

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 12:48 PM

haha dude is crazy and funny

every week there is a segment in revista de la liga where Guillem Balague bring up a crazy story on him, dude is insane lol :D

Speaking of funny, I'm guessing another "Chelse" staffer got fired last month:

http://www.boxofficefootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CHELSEA-FAIL.jpg

Hope the hot female doctor isn't leaving now. She was likely the cause for all their feigned "injuries" this season. :D

http://www.boxofficefootball.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/chelsea-team-dr1.jpg

blzn

Mar 4th, 2012, 01:07 PM

You are a Chelsea fan, aren't you? They did well enough in the EPL last season. I'm sure they'd have gladly taken a repeat of last over this season.

Manchester United (C)
80
Chelsea
71
Manchester City
71
Arsenal
68
Tottenham Hotspur
62

Sigh, did you not pay attention to us last season? We were awful from November - Feb a 'bad moment' if you will and at one point 10+ behind from MU. It was only a slight hiccup on MU's part and a short resurgence from Chelsea which allowed us to close the gap. After a loss at OT we slid again falling further off the pace. Obviously finishing second was well compared to this season but we weren't good at all for the most part of the season. That combined with another early exit in the Champions League.

I wasn't calling for his head I wished he had stayed but I understand the decision.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 01:20 PM

Here's an idea: Mick McCarthy for Chel$ki. :idea:

http://www.wolves-stats.co.uk/images/Mick%20McCarthy0001.jpg

He'll tell the current squad plainly and simply to get off their backsides - especially Torres. And he won't be afraid to speak back to Abramovich when needed either. He could be just what's needed to shake them up. They'll need a director of football to oversee signings though, as he's not used to signing top players.

Alternatively, he might be just what England need this summer. Whichever, life is rarely boring and predictable when Mick's around. Possibly worth the gamble.

Similarly, Big Sam Allardyce could be a good fit, if he could be drawn away from promotion-bound WHam. Though rough-looking, he likes to make good use of modern resources behind the scenes, and foreign players obviously like playing for him. Given Chel$ki's resources he might be worth a shot.

BTW, speaking of McCarthy, imagine if his old nemesis Roy Keane would have replaced him as Wolves manager... :D Probably would have worked out better than today's 5-0 thrashing by Fulham though. Proof that Wolves' problems weren't necessarily McCarthy's fault. I thought he was just unlucky. His players, despite limited ability, fought for him. Apparently they failed to fight for his successor today.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 01:23 PM

I wasn't calling for his head I wished he had stayed but I understand the decision.

Well maybe - IF they had somebody better than Ancelotti lined up. Obviously they didn't.

BTW, you were still 9 points behind United at the end. But at least you claimed 2nd. Far better than this season's hoped for 4th. And far, far better than where you may ultimately end up this year.

I hope Di Matteo does okay for you though. I liked him at WBA.

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 01:44 PM

Battle between Torres and Di Matteo perhaps?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuLwiNcn1xo&feature=player_detailpage

Di Matteo always reminds me of "The Hood". :D

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 01:50 PM

Di Matteo's first squad talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_3y7W4JsF4A

(Apologies for the language).

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 02:15 PM

Return of the Hood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZYFi2GJY5Gg#t=92s

The Hood (Di Matteo): "I now have the chance to destroy International Rescue (Chelsea) completely!" :D

xlash

Mar 4th, 2012, 03:23 PM

What an eventful weekend. Roman is impatient, the older players are inept, the fans don't know what's going on and the media desperately wants the team to fail. In the end AVB loses his job.

Everybody says Roman wants to win the CL. No, he wants to build a dynasty like Barcelona. So does City, AC Milan, Inter, Real Madrid etc. but money didn't build Barca's dynasty. Roman, of all people, should know because he asked the head of Barca's youth setup how long it takes. The response was 10 years and it starts with infrastructure for youth development, not throwing money at expensive and established stars. The core of Barca - Puyol, Pique, Fabregas, Hernandez, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets, Pedro. Even the coach, Pep, was developed at Barca. Money was spent to keep these players in Barca and supplement this squad with Alvez, Villa and Sanchez and the repurchases. Why is it that folks who don't make a cent off the football business are able to get this simple philosophy but the wealthy folk well-grafted in the football business don't? It looks SAF 7 years to deliver the League at Manchester United. Asking AVB to do that when his own soldiers resented him is asking for the impossible. Mourinho is not the answer. The formula is very simply:

- Get a coach who likes to develop players (of the Arsene Wenger mould)
- Give him 1-2 years to get rid of Lampard, Terry, Cole, Drogba, Essien and flops like Torres. They are a virus to the team. They are the reason why Chelsea is languishing in 5th. Yes I know Lampard has 10 goals. Where was he against WBA?
- Replace the aforementioned with younger, promising players who are hungry for success, not control who will fit into a fluid, free-flowing and attacking style that Roman wants
- Strive for the FA Cup and League cup to assess and develop the players.

It doesn't have to be 10 years but it's a lot longer than 7-8 months.

AVB will be successful wherever he gets a chance to develop his own system. He's been trained by Bobby Robson and knows how Jose Mourinho was successful. He just needs owner(s) who will give him the resource and patience to do so.

Pep wants to leave behind a legacy. He knows money follows legacy, not the other way round. Plus he's been drained during his time at Barca. The pressure is immense. Forget Chelsea and Inter where owners call all the shots or Arsenal where the business plan won't let him buy the minimum of what he wants. He may stay at Barca another year, take a year off to relax and then he'll replace a retiring SAF. MU have owners who just want to make money and will help the coach do what it takes to win trophies and they'll give him the funds to succeed on the pitch. If he can't implement his philosophy and long-term plan he won't take the job.

I don't want to see him go. If Barca want to maintain their dynasty they need him more than ever to stay at least 1 more year to deliver La Liga and the CL. Any other coach, even if he's from the Barca mould would be a gamble. Pep was a gamble and he paid off but not everybody does.

xlash

Mar 4th, 2012, 04:05 PM

United vs. Spurs

All sorts of key decisions go United's way. I've seen this happen one too many times. Atkinson had a fairly easy job as the referee but he made some questionable decisions. Adebayor got hauled down twice by Rio in the box and not even 1 was called.

The Spurs, though, didn't give themselves a shot either. They've shipped 8 goals in the last 2 matches. This was a classic 4-4-1-1 (MU) vs 4-2-2 (TH) formation battle except Spurs don't know how to defend with 2 banks of 4 and these resulted in both of Young's goals. Kyle Walker was invisible. Young slipped inbetween these 2 banks of 4 and the Spurs simply didn't know how to close that zone out. If they'd been able to do that they'd have 59 points as we speak, AVB might still having a job and City looking quite comfortable at the top having widened the gap with United.

Then there's set-pieces. Rooney scored while Assou-Ekoto didn't. It was quite evident that the latter was filling in for Bale but he simply cannot. He's a good left-back but he doesn't have the attacking skills of Bale, nor the pace or the ability to read a counter-attack.

Lastly, RVDV was missed. When Modric was about to leave for Chelsea last summer a lot of fans said 'screw him we got RVDV'. But their roles are very different as creators. Modric is a deep lying playmaker whereas RVDV is an attacking playmaker. The former creates space, the latter creates opportunities.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 4th, 2012, 07:45 PM

blzn

Mar 4th, 2012, 08:19 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 4th, 2012, 11:13 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs-J1U9Ee7E

khedira scored! :-0:cheesygri

ozil with another assist :)

10 point lead maintained!

looks like battle between arsenal and chelsea for the 4th spot, as long as rvp is healthy, i'll put my money on arsenal

Hope you haven't just jinxed the guy, fragile as he usually is. ;)

As for Madrid, who'd want to be a defender or even goalie there? A half dozen or so competitive league matches per season, complete monotonous boredom the rest. Seems things get so boring there that The Score actually reported today that CRon had a new haircut, though I didn't notice a difference.

harpoon

Mar 4th, 2012, 11:24 PM

khedira scored! :-0:cheesygri

ozil with another assist :)

10 point lead maintained!

looks like battle between arsenal and chelsea for the 4th spot, as long as rvp is healthy, i'll put my money on arsenal

Agree on Arsenal.

Kaka looks excellent lately too, particularly (what I saw of) today's game. Ozil is really underrated, what intelligence he has.

What an eventful weekend. Roman is impatient, the older players are inept, the fans don't know what's going on and the media desperately wants the team to fail. In the end AVB loses his job.

Everybody says Roman wants to win the CL. No, he wants to build a dynasty like Barcelona. So does City, AC Milan, Inter, Real Madrid etc. but money didn't build Barca's dynasty. Roman, of all people, should know because he asked the head of Barca's youth setup how long it takes. The response was 10 years and it starts with infrastructure for youth development, not throwing money at expensive and established stars. The core of Barca - Puyol, Pique, Fabregas, Hernandez, Iniesta, Messi, Busquets, Pedro. Even the coach, Pep, was developed at Barca. Money was spent to keep these players in Barca and supplement this squad with Alvez, Villa and Sanchez and the repurchases. Why is it that folks who don't make a cent off the football business are able to get this simple philosophy but the wealthy folk well-grafted in the football business don't? It looks SAF 7 years to deliver the League at Manchester United. Asking AVB to do that when his own soldiers resented him is asking for the impossible. Mourinho is not the answer. The formula is very simply:

- Get a coach who likes to develop players (of the Arsene Wenger mould)
- Give him 1-2 years to get rid of Lampard, Terry, Cole, Drogba, Essien and flops like Torres. They are a virus to the team. They are the reason why Chelsea is languishing in 5th. Yes I know Lampard has 10 goals. Where was he against WBA?
- Replace the aforementioned with younger, promising players who are hungry for success, not control who will fit into a fluid, free-flowing and attacking style that Roman wants
- Strive for the FA Cup and League cup to assess and develop the players.

It doesn't have to be 10 years but it's a lot longer than 7-8 months.

AVB will be successful wherever he gets a chance to develop his own system. He's been trained by Bobby Robson and knows how Jose Mourinho was successful. He just needs owner(s) who will give him the resource and patience to do so.

Pep wants to leave behind a legacy. He knows money follows legacy, not the other way round. Plus he's been drained during his time at Barca. The pressure is immense. Forget Chelsea and Inter where owners call all the shots or Arsenal where the business plan won't let him buy the minimum of what he wants. He may stay at Barca another year, take a year off to relax and then he'll replace a retiring SAF. MU have owners who just want to make money and will help the coach do what it takes to win trophies and they'll give him the funds to succeed on the pitch. If he can't implement his philosophy and long-term plan he won't take the job.

I don't want to see him go. If Barca want to maintain their dynasty they need him more than ever to stay at least 1 more year to deliver La Liga and the CL. Any other coach, even if he's from the Barca mould would be a gamble. Pep was a gamble and he paid off but not everybody does.

I agree. In fact, this is what Liverpool's system currently is, there's a 5-10 year plan going on. Almost all the crappy players on huge wages were shipped out and yeah, some crappy ones came in but some fantastic talent came in as well.

One point I'd add to yours is that I think the football needs to be the same style and philosophy from top to bottom so the players are brought up to play in that system, in that style. Barca, Ajax and others have that and Chelsea would need that too if they wanted to go that route IMO...if it changes with management there's a real lack of identity in the whole system which is why Josh MacEachern and others suffer a bit.

VorteC

Mar 5th, 2012, 01:17 AM

blzn

Mar 5th, 2012, 01:39 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 5th, 2012, 03:02 AM

xlash

Mar 5th, 2012, 11:09 AM

Some good points but you really think that Roman is so dumb to think such 'Dynasty' can be achieved in less than a year?

The focus was to be on young and upcoming talent and slowly releasing the old guard but in that process I'm sure he expected Chelsea to still be somewhat competitive. Not the miserable shape they're in now.

No, I never said he wants to build a dynasty in 1 year. That's illogical because a dynasty spans 3 years at the very least in any sport. But look at the case of Real Madrid and refer that to what I said that needs to be done:

- Get a coach who likes to develop players (of the Arsene Wenger mould) Jose Mourinho
- Give him 1-2 years to get rid of Lampard, Terry, Cole, Drogba, Essien and flops like Torres. They are a virus to the team. They are the reason why Chelsea is languishing in 5th. Yes I know Lampard has 10 goals. Where was he against WBA? Got rid of Raul, Guti, Diarra, Dudek, RVDV, Metzelder, Gago
- Replace the aforementioned with younger, promising players who are hungry for success, not control who will fit into a fluid, free-flowing and attacking style that Roman wants Coentrao, Varane, Sahin, Di Maria, Ozil, Khedira, Canales have all contributed to Madrid's fluid, high pressing and rapid counter attacking style
- Strive for the FA Cup and League cup to assess and develop the players.Won the Copa del Rey last year, will win the La Liga this year

You can draw a parallel with the two clubs and see how each have fared. Florentino Perez not only stayed away from the pitch but he even facilitated Mourinho's wishes by getting rid of Valdano. After than 5-0 thrashing in Nov '11 he could have fired Mou or after than 2-0 CL debacle where Messi showed the world why is the best player. I mean Barca always thrashes Madrid right at the Bernabeu. And yet Mou was kept at the helm and look at the club now. They are on a steady incline.

I'll give you another example - Barcelona. They got rid of Zambrotta, Eto'o, Deco and Ronaldinho and Pep's ruled with an iron hand since. Older players who thought they'd be automatic selections and thought they had the power were given the boot. Ibra (Sandro Rosell admitted was a mistake) was benched and then tossed.

AVB's problem was his age....lack of maturity. He should have told Roman just before signing the millionaire ticket "Look I need time and I need to do it my way and you keep your head out of the team. Unless I do something disastrous off the pitch you cannot fire me in the next 2 years and in return I'll get you at the very least a double".

Player power is becoming a major problem. AVB should have proceeded to get rid of Lampard and company right after signing the contract. Until those guys go, Chelsea will NEVER WIN ANYTHING AGAIN. It is them and not Roman who are at the core of these coaching changes. Somebody said the Chelsea job is a poisoned chalice. I call that incompetency and impotency. If you go to work by Go train and they have strikes and problems all the time are going to keep that routine? No, you'll fear a sacking and you'll drive to work instead. Pretty simple logic. David Gill wanted Lampard in January and everybody had some excuse or the other to keep him. Paul Scholes jumped at the chance.

English clubs need to grow spines. Last year United bent over (no not backward, forward) for Wayne Rooney. If he wants to go, let him go. Yeah I'm sure he's repaid them in goals but he's paved the way for other players to make unrealistic demands that has inflated the wage and transfer cost. What'll happen with Nani, Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck? Then there was Cesc Fabregas. Arsenal got a paltry sum for him because they couldn't sell him in the open market. Barcelona will learn eventually that what goes around comes around. Against Sporting Gijon on Saturday he was the top flop. Then this year there was the Tevez saga. I mean WTH Mancini? You said he would never play for City again and now you've brought him back? The Sheikhs and upper management have spent so much money buying players and yet they can't consider Tevez a sunk cost and get rid of him? Let him ruin his career, what's it to you? Maybe Tevez will play like he has and go back to his usual self but player power has reached an all time high and sadly managers are the ones paying the price. Carlo Ancelotti has won TWO champions league titles. At Chelsea he delivered the club's first double, something the beloved Mourinho couldn't with a much younger squad and yet he was fired while Lampard, Terry, Drogba and Cole are still comfortable milling around?!?!? Don't you see something disastrous in this picture?

Tornado F2

Mar 5th, 2012, 12:16 PM

Agreed. As much as I hate seeing Chelsea suck so bad, I wanted AVB to have more time. It was always going to be a uphill battle for AVB... he was essentially charged with the task of getting rid of Chelsea's aging players - aka the backbone of Chelsea - who are obviously going to resent him. When you've got an environment like that within a team, it's never going to perform well.

I'm not quite sure what's the point of sacking AVB immediately though with no legitimate replacement... why not let him stay until the end of the season?

I assume it was about damage limitation and thinking that Di Matteo could do a better job of steering the ship for the rest of the season.

Presumably AVB and his lawyers weren't as smart as previous Chel$ki managers when negotiating his contract. A huge buyout clause might have gained him more time. Or is he receiving another huge chunk of Abramovich's money too? All the money being wasted on short-term managers could have been used to buy another player - like Carroll. :D If AVB's job was to clear out the old guard though, he should have done it quickly, before they had chance to bring down the rest of the team. He should have shipped Terry, Lumpy, and even Drogba, off to Spurs in January at 'Arry-friendly prices. Others, like Essien, Malouda (is that French for "bad odour"?), etc, could have been shipped off to France or Italy. (Not Spain, because Spanish clubs evidently don't like Africans). Of course he'd then need to buy replacements, but if Abramovich really wanted AVB to clear out the old then that should have been a given. Ideally though, this all should have been done last summer. As Fergie's pointed out before, January's not a great time to bring new players in. Those that he has signed in the past usually don't make an influence in the squad until the following season. AVB's obviously not going to be here next season anyway. (Unless another EPL club picks him up, presumably impressed by his squatting skills. Wonder if one of his impossible job requirements was to lay golden eggs? :D).

xlash

Mar 5th, 2012, 12:31 PM

Presumably AVB and his lawyers weren't as smart as previous Chel$ki managers when negotiating his contract. A huge buyout clause might have gained him more time. Or is he receiving another huge chunk of Abramovich's money too? All the money being wasted on short-term managers could have been used to buy another player - like Carroll. :D If AVB's job was to clear out the old guard though, he should have done it quickly, before they had chance to bring down the rest of the team. He should have shipped Terry, Lumpy, and even Drogba, off to Spurs in January at 'Arry-friendly prices. Others, like Essien, Malouda (is that French for "bad odour"?), etc, could have been shipped off to France or Italy. (Not Spain, because Spanish clubs evidently don't like Africans). Of course he'd then need to buy replacements, but if Abramovich really wanted AVB to clear out the old then that should have been a given. Ideally though, this all should have been done last summer. As Fergie's pointed out before, January's not a great time to bring new players in. Those that he has signed in the past usually don't make an influence in the squad until the following season. AVB's obviously not going to be here next season anyway. (Unless another EPL club picks him up, presumably impressed by his squatting skills. Wonder if one of his impossible job requirements was to lay golden eggs? :D).

What happened with Juan at the Roma derby was despicable. Spain isn't the only country with blatant racism problems.

Tornado F2

Mar 5th, 2012, 12:32 PM

'Jose will not return to Blues'

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho will not be the answer to Chelsea's growing problems at Stamford Bridge, according to former Madrid star Michael Laudrup.

"They are in a moment of transition and they will have to change some of the older players," Laudrup told Sky Sports.

"And some of those older players were some of the key players when Mourinho was last at Chelsea.

"So you have your key players, you leave, and then you come back and tell your ex-key players: 'I'm sorry, now you have to leave. I have to build a new team.'

"I don't believe that [he can do that]."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1031229/jose-mourinho-will-not-return-to-chelsea---michael-laudrup?cc=5901

hmmm, he does raise a good point, if mancini screws up and man utd wins epl, i think mourinho will go to man city

There are multiple good reasons why Mourinho won't go back to Chel$ki, especially not right now. There's little chance of an EPL or ChLg title there over the next couple of years. So long as Madrid keep paying him decent money he can afford to wait. Obviously he'd jump at the chance to run one of the Manchester clubs in their current form - all top managers would - but prospective candidates will have to be patient. Fergie's made it clear that he has no immediate plans to leave - he's still enjoying the job. And City would be foolish to boot Mancini just for coming in second. Whether by luck or by design, City have stumbled into probably the club's best form ever, and it's kept their noses ever so slightly ahead of United's for most of the season. They'd have to be as dumb as Abramovich to consider this season in any way a failure, even if they ultimately come out of it empty-handed. I don't believe the sheikh is in any way close to being as impatient as Abramovich. He'll accept what his advisors tell him, and that will almost certainly be to stick with Mancini. I doubt that Mancini's in any rush to leave either. If City don't win the league this season, (I still believe it will come down to the derby result at their grounds), their time will come soon enough. They've taken over Chel$ki's role as United's dance partners at the top table. That'll be what's really driving Abramovich insane with envy. :D All that time and money spent, and his club are already headed the wrong direction.

Tornado F2

Mar 5th, 2012, 12:51 PM

- Brazilian Scolari was then removed after only 36 games in charge, with Chelsea lying fourth in the Premier League.

At the time of his departure, there were suggestions some players were not happy with his management style - problems Villas-Boas has also reportedly encountered.

"Some things are known, like the relations with the owner, who has the relationship with some players before the coach," added Scolari.

"Villas-Boas was a champion and he will continue to be. He needed to replace at least seven or eight players, even since I was there, but he failed."

There it is in a nutshell. Managers are expected to refresh the team, but without touching any of the owner's favourites, who may or may not be pointed out to him. Perhaps he wasn't allowed to touch the old guard after all, even though that's what needed to be done. We saw a similar situation under Mourinho, where he had to find a role for Shevchenko, who happened to be the owner (or the owner's wife)'s favourite. Perhaps that explains Torres' continued presence too. Maybe he's required to show up at Abramovich's social functions or something and mingle with the crowd, like some favourite decoration or jewellery on display, despite being of near zero value to the football club itself? As Scolari said, the next manager (assuming another falls into the trap) will find life hell under Abramovich. It's now Chel$ki's turn to do like City did a couple of seasons back and bring in the obvious money-grabbing mercenaries, both players and managers. But is Abramovich prepared to pay out? If not, will he just sell up and leave? Worrying times for CFC.

xlash

Mar 5th, 2012, 08:05 PM

So there's a possibility that Luis Enrique will quit AS Roma to replace Pep Guardiola. Most likely AVB will take up the vacant Roma post. If Pep leaves I'm going to be extremely disappointed. Finding a coach like Pep for a team like Barca is very rare - Arrigo Sacchi for Milan and Rinus Michels for Ajax. IMHO there's only 1 coach who can fill the Barcelona role like Pep and I hope in hell he does after the Euros. Vincent del Bosque is the only coach other than Pep who can implement the possession-based, high pressure tiki taka football.

harpoon

Mar 5th, 2012, 10:08 PM

hyperion

Mar 5th, 2012, 11:07 PM

So there's a possibility that Luis Enrique will quit AS Roma to replace Pep Guardiola. Most likely AVB will take up the vacant Roma post.

None of that makes any sense to me. Why would Pep leave? Why would this Luis Enrique replace him, a relative unknown. I see he played at Barcelona, and did manage the B team, but still, he'd be a huge step down for Barcelona. He's very inexperienced and not exactly tearing it up at AS Roma. AVB I;m guessing will probably take a break for a half a year, and if he goes anywhere it will be back to Portugal for a few years.

Tornado F2

Mar 6th, 2012, 11:49 AM

xlash

Mar 6th, 2012, 12:01 PM

None of that makes any sense to me. Why would Pep leave? Why would this Luis Enrique replace him, a relative unknown. I see he played at Barcelona, and did manage the B team, but still, he'd be a huge step down for Barcelona. He's very inexperienced and not exactly tearing it up at AS Roma. AVB I;m guessing will probably take a break for a half a year, and if he goes anywhere it will be back to Portugal for a few years.

It makes some sense. Pep wants to leave because the pressure to win at Barca is immense. His hair turned grey and fell off. He'll get a chance to relax and then compete where there's less stress. Besides he sees a guy like Mourinho who has proven himself in a relatively smaller club like Porto and in multiple national leagues (Primeira Liga, EPL, Serie A) with very different teams. If Pep doesn't do something similar there will always be doubters who'll say that he can only succeed in an established club like Barcelona housing the best team in the world. He wants to be recognized amongst the best coaches in the world.

The Luis Enrique thing doesn't make much sense to me at all. But he is well in tune with the Barca philosophy. In fact he's tried to implement it at AS Roma with limited success. Then again Pep was inexperienced too but he'd led Barca B as far as it would go.

AVB is heading to Inter next year. Massimo Moratti is just as flawed in his football thinking as Roman. Even though he got the CL that Roman didn't, with the way Serie A teams operate financially, his beloved Nerazzuri is worse off.

Tornado F2

Mar 6th, 2012, 12:15 PM

Hmm, strange. Is nsx deleting all posts made here relating to Spurs? I just did a search for "'Arry" and then "Arry", but the search function came up with nothing. Odd. :confused:

I'm pretty sure I posted the other day that the current Chel$ki job would be perfect for wheelin-dealin 'Arry. The chance to buy loads of players, work with his old WHam boys, and ultimately leave with a nice big paycheque. Possibly in time to take the next England manager opening.

Anyway, today he confirmed it would be a "dream job" - if not for his loyalty to Spurs. (Not that loyalty stopped him bouncing between Portsmouth and Southampton).

- Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has ruled himself out of the vacant manager's job at Chelsea.

Redknapp, who has also been strongly tipped as the next England manager after Fabio Capello quit in February, said: "It's a dream job for somebody.

"It's a club you can win a championship at because the owner spares no expense. If you do well, the sky's the limit.

"[But] it would be difficult. I wouldn't be able to come back to north London so I'll pass on that one."

Despite some high-profile names having been dismissed by Chelsea in recent seasons, Redknapp said the role remained an attractive one.

"It's a dream job for somebody to go there and make a success of it," he said.

"So many people would love that job and a chance to work at a great club with the backing that the manager gets there - but you've got to make a success of it. If you do well, the sky's the limit."

Redknapp also supported Blues owner Roman Abramovich's right to hire and fire managers.

"He puts his money into that club," he said. "He pays the wages, he pays the money. If he's not happy and if he doesn't get the success that he wants then he's not going to sit back and do nothing.

"You know when you go there that you have got to be successful. If not, you are not going to last."

Sounds like he's buttering up Abramovich to keep his options open. He may yet go for it, if offered the chance.

Tornado F2

Mar 6th, 2012, 01:48 PM

Bah, just learned that SN are airing the Benfica v Zenit game live on their main channels - then the same match again in the evening. How about using one of the slots to show a different game, morons? I would have preferred to watch Arsenal, however their game turns out. They HAVE to go for it today.

RVP for a double-hat trick! :lol:

elty

Mar 6th, 2012, 02:41 PM

Wow 3-0 already. Would be funny if Arsenal win by 5-1.

xlash

Mar 6th, 2012, 02:44 PM

Wow 3-0 already. Would be funny if Arsenal win by 5-1.

LOL technically Arsenal would lose by 5-1 but it would be funny. Everybody couldn't shut up about Ibracadabra after the first leg. Maybe he's going to show up in the 2nd half.

VorteC

Mar 6th, 2012, 03:16 PM

Wow epic come back by the Gunners?

Canada_7

Mar 6th, 2012, 03:39 PM

So close yet nothing. 3-0 wasn't enough...no Oxlande-Chamberlain and Walcott, there goes all our speed down the flanks.

VorteC

Mar 6th, 2012, 03:48 PM

Arsenal 3-4 AC Milan AGG.

Almost an epic come back but no cigar. Can't wait to see the highlights!

rooney11

Mar 6th, 2012, 04:27 PM

Arsenal didnt push enough in the last 10-20 minutes, walcott and Ox both got injured which affected Arsenal the most, plus Rvp missed one that he should have buried into the net.

Tornado F2

Mar 6th, 2012, 04:30 PM

2035: At St Andrew's Fernando Torres turns Curtis Davies to get into a great shooting position, but drags his left-footed shot hopelessly wide. :lol:

Even in text form 'nando makes me laugh. :D I can easily picture his flush embarrassed face.

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/match-centre/article801423.ece/ALTERNATES/gallery-large/Chelsea-Fernando-Torres+cropped

17 million quid/goal. 1.5 goals/manager.

Anyway, shame for Arsenal today. Sounds like they gave it their all, though Arsene looks like he showed his ugly poor sport side again at the end. I thought they just might do it at HT. As somebody pointed out, first goal a header, 2nd a Czech midfielder, 3rd a PK, Polish goalie in net... it was going to script as a repeat of LFC's comeback against Milan in 2005. Sadly they failed to mention how the 4th goal was to come. I'm guessing Arsenal didn't know either. Too bad SN dropped the ball and gave us a largely goalless match (2 goals, each at the end of their half). Had we all been able to cheer on Arsenal, who knows...

As for Chel$ki, Di Matteo dedicated their win over Birmingham to AVB. I'm sure AVB was so happy to hear that...

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 6th, 2012, 04:49 PM

http://i.imgur.com/w5og8.jpg

:lol:

xlash

Mar 6th, 2012, 04:53 PM

After half-time the Arsenal players looked like they had already made the comeback. There was barely any effort in the final third. Milan started getting control of the midfield and Arsenal kept trying to counter rapidly and then lost the ball. The effort and game plan just wasn't there in the 2nd half. When a keeper has let in 3 goals you keep shooting at him no matter how bad the angle is. Arsenal barely had ANY shots from outside the box. That one chance each that RVP and Gervinho missed in the same play is going to haunt them for awhile. 3 goals in ~35 min and then barely a chance in another 45+ min should remind folks that this team just wasn't built to compete for every match and for 90 min.

Milan were very much a static team throughout the contest. They defended with 2 banks of 4 in the 2nd half with Robinho and Urby taking turns completing the flat 4 midfield. They knew they had to defend that 1 goal and they did a pretty good job.

Looking forward to the Camp Nou tomorrow.

harpoon

Mar 6th, 2012, 10:43 PM

blzn

Mar 6th, 2012, 10:51 PM

Need to lay off on your Torres man crush, every time he plays your there with a picture of him. :lol: He earned us a penalty (which Mata missed like he did in the 1st leg).

Good effort by Arsenal, have yet to watch highlights as I was watching the Chelsea game. Finally played with some drive and determination, happy to see.

NO RAFA banners already up at the game lol.

hyperion

Mar 6th, 2012, 11:21 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 01:44 AM

They were never gonna come back from 4-0 (nobody ever has in Europe from what I could find) but the 3-0 is still huge for morale. They're coming into shape at the right time for that push for fourth place.

Dammit.

It really shouldn't bother you any. 4th is effectively beyond LFC now.

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 01:54 AM

Need to lay off on your Torres man crush, every time he plays your there with a picture of him. :lol:

Good effort by Arsenal, have yet to watch highlights as I was watching the Chelsea game. Finally played with some drive and determination, happy to see.

NO RAFA banners already up at the game lol.

Shows how rare his appearances are. :lol:

Anyway, seeing as you want man crushes:

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+FC+v+KRC+Genk+UEFA+Champions+League+1plZUZ vd_88l.jpg

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+FC+v+KRC+Genk+UEFA+Champions+League+Y03tSo IJ4EVl.jpg

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+FC+v+KRC+Genk+UEFA+Champions+League+pOMPRR 3PUTPl.jpg

http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+FC+v+KRC+Genk+UEFA+Champions+League+2MF3Bp e6ER0l.jpg

http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+FC+v+KRC+Genk+UEFA+Champions+League+Ofvrpl jTDcPl.jpg

(All from the same match!)

(Bi-racial) Love is obviously very much in the air at Chel$ki. Except for the poor managers. And Torres. :razz:

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 02:02 AM

NO RAFA banners already up at the game lol.

Seen today outside Stamford Bridge:

http://www.empireofthekop.com/anfield/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/qpgdbm.png

(Looks like they were all written by the same person. That must be what Rafa's doing with all his spare time).

:razz:

xlash

Mar 7th, 2012, 08:34 AM

Shows how rare his appearances are. :lol:

Anyway, seeing as you want man crushes:

(All from the same match!)

(Bi-racial) Love is obviously very much in the air at Chel$ki. Except for the poor managers. And Torres. :razz:

You actually took the time of the day to find and post those pictures?!?:facepalm:

xlash

Mar 7th, 2012, 10:06 AM

VorteC

Mar 7th, 2012, 11:18 AM

It's interesting to see how players wear their shin pads. Some lower (RVP), some higher (Ronaldo). Then I've seen guys like John Terry and Angel di Maria whose barely cover half their shin bones. Most don't even wear ankle protectors. On the flip side Ricardo Carvalho's guards are too thick. Carbon fibre guards are extremely thin and very very light. I'm sure these players can afford 30 euro carbon fibre guards, costs less than an Audi R8 fill-up most of them are driving around in.

Lol it's not a matter of cost, it's a matter of preference. Some players prefer protection, others prefer mobility and a better control surface in case they need to use their shins to control/shoot the ball. I've tried many different types of shin guards and I prefer smaller ones that cover my lower shin at most.

xlash

Mar 7th, 2012, 11:32 AM

Lol it's not a matter of cost, it's a matter of preference. Some players prefer protection, others prefer mobility and a better control surface in case they need to use their shins to control/shoot the ball. I've tried many different types of shin guards and I prefer smaller ones that cover my lower shin at most.

I'd rather play the entire season than risk injury. I've had my plastic Reeboks with ankle protectors for 2 years. They gotta go at some point but I'm not getting rid of ankle protectors. Even though in my league no sliding tackle is allowed there will be someone who'll make a desperate attempt anyway. But these guys have million dollar contracts to think about too. Especially in England where sliding tackles are harder to control because of the extremely wet surfaces.

xlash

Mar 7th, 2012, 04:18 PM

What a hammering by Barcelona. Leverkusen's full-backs allowed Tello and Alves to do virtually whatever they wanted. The only thing that could be better than this is to see Madrid lose next week.

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 06:07 PM

http://therepublikofmancunia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/TevezPoster_Stockport.jpg

http://therepublikofmancunia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/TevezPoster_fu**-off.jpg

(http://therepublikofmancunia.com/pictures-alternative-tevez-posters-2/)

And the EPL too.

EPL = ENGLISH Premier League.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 7th, 2012, 08:37 PM

http://i.minus.com/iU2B6ufTnTPOT.gif

looks like neymar will win another goal of the year award

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 09:08 PM

http://i.minus.com/iU2B6ufTnTPOT.gif

looks like neymar will win another goal of the year award

Internacional certainly won't win a defence of the year award. Terrible.

hyperion

Mar 7th, 2012, 11:26 PM

http://i.minus.com/iU2B6ufTnTPOT.gif

looks like neymar will win another goal of the year award

dat neymar

Tornado F2

Mar 7th, 2012, 11:32 PM

xlash

Mar 8th, 2012, 09:47 AM

Congrats to the "TFC fan" who threw a beer can at Beckham tonight, prompting him to whip in a late corner that led to the equalising goal. You probably just got TFC eliminated from the next round.

Congrats to tiny Cypriot side Apoel, and especially their goalie, for their PK shootout win over Lyon. We have an underdog David to cheer on in the next round of the ChLg.

Congrats to Messi on his 5 goals today. Shame they weren't against a more challenging opponent. The German and French leagues looked poor today, thanks to their weak representatives.

Is the United-Bilbao match airing at all tomorrow, on any channel? Or just City? Hope both Manchester clubs play well and move on to the next round.

Leverkusen aren't a bad side. They've got a 5-2-0 record in their last 7 games in the league and the only losses during that period have come against Barcelona. It was more about Barca being simply spectacular than Bayer being poor. I think Robin Dutt wanted to clog up the midfield to choke the Barca midfield. But he was outcoached by Pep as Barca used the wings to race past their defence. Plus Leo had one of those games when he was simply unstoppable.

Lyon played like a typical away side in cup competition. But they have been poor this season. Very much a mid-table team in Ligue 1.

hyperion

Mar 8th, 2012, 10:42 AM

Tornado F2

Mar 8th, 2012, 10:59 AM

Looks like your match will be shown on EuroWorldSport.

http://footballtvcanada.blogspot.com/

Thanks, I had a feeling it might be on that channel. I just checked the Cogeco Niagara site though and that channel isn't even listed as being available to us. :( Ah well, I have a relative attending the match at OT so he can cheer on the lads for me.

Odd that the City game is played 2 hours earlier, despite Portugal being in the same time zone as the UK. It must be to maximise live match coverage on TV where it's available.

blzn

Mar 8th, 2012, 12:56 PM

If you think men hugging in celebration is man crush-esque what would you call this

http://www.footbetting.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Gary_1180454w.jpg

:D:lol::D:lol:

http://www.livesoccertv.com/ For all your listing needs.

Tornado F2

Mar 8th, 2012, 01:11 PM

If you think men hugging in celebration is man crush-esque what would you call this

I have no idea what Neville was thinking there. Scholes is a great guy and all, but that was uncalled for. It's probably one of the reasons for Scholesy's early retirement, the trauma of something like that. :lol:

As for those earlier posted photos, I just did a google search for an embarrassed Torres and a page full of those photos for some reason came up on one of the links. It was actually a good day for Chel$ki, a 5-something win over a smaller club. I'm not sure why Kalou was so popular that day though. He must have had some Love Potion Number Nine, or at least Axe. :D Strangely enough, I don't think Torres was actually involved, so I don't know why google led me there.

xlash

Mar 8th, 2012, 01:47 PM

Subscribing to channels to watch CL, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga makes for one hellava expensive cable/satellite bill.

Tornado F2

Mar 8th, 2012, 03:55 PM

Wow, sounds like there's a national team that could kick Spain's squad off the pitch - the Basque. Just how good are these guys? I need to see them play next week, no matter how things turn out. Can they really be as good as they sound today? I'm amazed that we've not heard more from them before.

Edit: Ah, correction, Barca are Catalans, not Basque. A combination of Catalans and Basques would thrash the rest of Spain though. Now we know what Franco was really afraid of.

blzn

Mar 8th, 2012, 04:25 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 8th, 2012, 04:47 PM

Great performance from Bilbao, they continue to have an excellent season. I think those who follow La Liga were aware of their capabilities, after a rough start they've been great this season.

Really interesting read on their coach:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/mar/07/marcelo-bielsa-athletic-bilbao-manchester-united

A warning BEFORE the game would have been nice. :-0

Interesting reading the wiki on the club. It turns out that the club, like many others in Europe and elsewhere, was originally founded by British workers. A guy visiting Britain was given the job of buying 25 shirts in the club's then colours. He couldn't find enough shirts, and was in Southampton ready to return home empty-handed. He then remembered that Bilbao's town colours were red and white and bought 50 Southampton shirts instead. 25 were then used for Bilbao, who quickly adopted the new colours, and the other 25 were sent to their sister club Athletic Club Madrid (now Atletico). It reminds me of the story of how Juventus adopted Notts County's colours.

Anyway, today we learned that Chel$ki mistakenly signed the wrong Fernando. It should have been Torres' imminent replacement in the Spain squad, Fernando Llorente. Sounds like he'd have been a MUCH better buy. Of course, how could he not be?

Wonder how much of the Bilbao setup Abramovich is now going to buy? They sounded very impressive. United can do better though, and will have to in the away leg.

Odd winning goal for Bilbao though. Evra's boot came off in their half, and Bilbao were awarded a free kick that led to the goal. At least Rooney, and especially De Gea, have kept us in it. Lots of work still to be done though.

xlash

Mar 8th, 2012, 04:54 PM

Oh noes some random team from Basque country beat the big marketing machine. 3 away goals too!

They gave Barcelona a hard time and I'm hoping like hell they beat Madrid in the reverse fixture. Would be nice to see Marcelo Bielsa replace Pep Guardiola but I'm not sure their philosophies coincide.

xlash

Mar 8th, 2012, 05:05 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 8th, 2012, 08:39 PM

scoreline flattered man utd

bilbao should have won by at least 3 goals, man utd got a life line with that pk goal at the end

so #5 team in la liga beats #2 team in epl @ home

but but la liga only has two good teams!!!! :lol:

http://img01.mundodeportivo.com/2012/03/08/Aficionados-del-Athletic-inund_54266070304_54115221152_960_640.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNFO310COtg

harpoon

Mar 8th, 2012, 11:35 PM

Subscribing to channels to watch CL, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga makes for one hellava expensive cable/satellite bill.

On Bell, last I checked before I cancelled and went to all streaming, it was $41 a month for all the leagues. Ridiculous.

"A few weeks ago, Bielsa was stopped by a group of kids who asked him to sign their sticker album. He said no, he had a better idea. He took the album off them and told them to meet him the following day, same place, same time. When he turned up 24 hours later, the entire team had signed the album. Not just any team: El Loco's team, the most exciting Athletic have had in three decades."

Very fascinating. Good find.

Bielsa is awesome, he had Argentina playing some good stuff. He's mental, really entertaining.

Muniain was fantastic, really wanted him for Liverpool last year and I still harbour hope that we'll get him. His stock has gone up this season at Bilbao and Llorente is a fantastic, fantastic player. Has been great for a few years at least, astonished a 'big team' haven't picked him up as he's got the whole package other than searing pace but his movement and touch is killer.

I haven't dug up the link, but the Guardian's Sid Lowe wrote up a great profile on Bilbao and Bielsa this season. Anyone calling Spain a 2 team league is really missing out on several good sides like Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid (with one of Europe's top forwards in Falcao, Arda Turan, and others) are a real treat to watch as well.

hyperion

Mar 8th, 2012, 11:36 PM

Highly impressive stuff from Athletic. I caught the beginning of the game and really liked their style. I wish I could have stayed home and watched the rest.

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 12:27 AM

scoreline flattered man utd

bilbao should have won by at least 3 goals, man utd got a life line with that pk goal at the end

so #5 team in la liga beats #2 team in epl @ home

but but la liga only has two good teams!!!! :lol:

I said this before too. This season EPL teams are throwing bodies forward to push for goals. I am not sure why but I think it has to do with the rise of Manchester City and the imminent revival of Liverpool (regardless of where it stands right now) and perhaps also the establishment of Tottenham. There is no longer a top 3 or 4 but rather a top 6 therefore Arsenal, Chelsea and United are no longer comfortably competing for the title but rather a top 4 spot. Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are all playing with a dangerously high back line which explains why they've been involved in lopsided scoring games. In that 6-1 thrashing against City, United kept attacking despite being a man down. Defensively, EPL teams look lost. In that 3-3 match between Chelsea and United, the former looked completely lost when it went up 3-0. As if it didn't know what to do with the lead.

By contrast the rest of Europe plays a well-rounded tactical game. Smart positioning and intelligently breaking down defences will, on aggregate, triumph over a team loaded with expensive stars that are told to attack. Since Bielsa took over he's changed the team quite a bit. I'd liken them to the Napoli of Spain. Against Barca the entire team man-marked!! If they can hold on to Javi Martinez they'll be making some noise in the CL next year. Spain has got to move to a shared revenue model for TV rights. Bilbao should get all the credit for developing home-grown players and they should have enough funds to be able to keep them.

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 12:33 AM

On Bell, last I checked before I cancelled and went to all streaming, it was $41 a month for all the leagues. Ridiculous.

Bielsa is awesome, he had Argentina playing some good stuff. He's mental, really entertaining.

Muniain was fantastic, really wanted him for Liverpool last year and I still harbour hope that we'll get him. His stock has gone up this season at Bilbao and Llorente is a fantastic, fantastic player. Has been great for a few years at least, astonished a 'big team' haven't picked him up as he's got the whole package other than searing pace but his movement and touch is killer.

I haven't dug up the link, but the Guardian's Sid Lowe wrote up a great profile on Bilbao and Bielsa this season. Anyone calling Spain a 2 team league is really missing out on several good sides like Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid (with one of Europe's top forwards in Falcao, Arda Turan, and others) are a real treat to watch as well.

Streaming's the way to go. Sopcast FTW! I was with Shaw and paying $17 for Setanta at one point, $5 for GolTV. And they weren't even HD!?!? WTF!!!!

Bielsa's a total workaholic. Sort of an idiot savant. He squeezes out the best from his players. I don't think he's ever been fired.

Tornado F2

Mar 9th, 2012, 08:05 AM

:facepalm:

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/matchday/league-table.html

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2012/1/26/1327598650846/carlos-tevez-007.jpg

Not sure if serious.

11 points clear of 3rd.

Looks comfortable enough to me.

Tornado F2

Mar 9th, 2012, 08:27 AM

David Moyes obviously doesn't want the Chel$ki job, even with the money on offer:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58975000/jpg/_58975506_us38.jpg

- Everton boss David Moyes says a "new breed" of owner has made it difficult for managers to assert their authority at a club.

And he believes candidates should check they have full control by interviewing their chairmen before taking charge.

Moyes, who celebrates 10 years at Everton on Wednesday, said: "We need to find out how this guy giving us a job is going to react to defeats.

"How is he going to react to wins, or when you are having to change things?"

Moyes added: "Is he going to be completely supportive in your decisions at the club, whether it be moving on senior players, whether it be introducing young players?

"You need to know whether you are going to get that backing. You also need to know you've got a sense of control. You look at [Manchester United manager] Alex Ferguson and [Arsenal boss] Arsene Wenger, they've got great control of their football clubs.

"They don't do every single thing but they know the most important thing is the manager.

"[Chairman] Bill Kenwright has allowed me to do that at Everton. The new breed of chairmen and owners coming into the game now is making it more difficult for that situation to happen."

Moyes was manager at Preston before being appointed Everton boss in 2002 and, although he has been linked with other posts and has ambitions to win silverware, he maintains his current focus is firmly on his job at Everton.

He said: "I'd never be disrespectful to Everton. They have done a great job for me.

"They gave me that chance when I was young. I don't really want to hear any talk about any other clubs because I'm Everton manager.

"I hope there's a lot more to come from me and I hope there's a chance I might win some trophies along the line.

"I'm ambitious and I'm still young enough where there's time to try to do great things. I hope that's with Everton but l'm sure I will sit down at the end of the season with the chairman and see what we are doing."

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 08:31 AM

One more notch of shame for Fifa
http://www.goal.com/en/news/596/exclusive/2012/03/09/2954865/women-should-be-allowed-to-play-in-mens-teams-and-soccer-will-be-

Tornado F2

Mar 9th, 2012, 08:38 AM

Everton boss David Moyes has called for "everyone" in the Premier League to take a 20% pay cut and make football more affordable for supporters.

Moyes, who celebrates 10 years in charge at Goodison Park this month, joined the Toffees on 15 March 2002.

He told the Sunday Express: "Perhaps the suggestion would cause some mayhem.

"People might say it'd be harder to attract players but we have to take responsibility for the long-term health of football."

The 48-year-old added: "Everyone in the Premier League should take a 20% pay cut to put football finances back on an even keel and allow a significant reduction in ticket prices to make football more affordable for the ordinary fan.

"We should be filling all the grounds all the time.

"Clubs have to control their money properly and only pay what they can actually afford. People have to be held responsible when things go wrong.

"Every family in the country at the moment has to finance correctly. They can't overspend. Why is football different?

"Football's been around for 150 years and it has come a long way, but we have to make sure we don't take it away from its roots. We must not get too far away from people."

Moyes, whose team are 11th in the league, also said he is also worried about the growing power of players' agents in the game.

"That's a change for the worse," he said.

"It was a better situation 10 years ago. Back then, I looked at the way agents abroad had control of the players, and in some cases the clubs, and thought that couldn't happen in Britain.

"You thought the chairmen wouldn't be daft enough for agents to be doing the deals or telling them what deals they should be doing.

"That seems to be happening now in some cases, and it seems the players are more easily controlled by agents instead of doing what's right for their own game."

Amen.

hyperion

Mar 9th, 2012, 12:47 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqr-CfbPcJI

:D :D

Tornado F2

Mar 9th, 2012, 01:42 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqr-CfbPcJI

:D :D

SAF will have a new right-hand man by the weekend. :D

One who has a stronger left hand.

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 02:39 PM

Why the hell was the substitute display board being given to one of the team's bench?

blzn

Mar 9th, 2012, 04:56 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 9th, 2012, 05:06 PM

Why the hell was the substitute display board being given to one of the team's bench?

man utd @ home = fergie time! :razz:

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 06:40 PM

Wondering the same thing LOL, the guy on the left looked like he was about to program in a sub or something. I thought the 4th referee would do that.

Napoli goes off for 6 today, hopefully they got all the scoring out of their system for a week.

Yeah the assistant referee informs the 4th official and (s)he programs it. Then again this is the Europa league and not everybody speaks the same language.

Hamsik is rounding into form and Lavezzi ran Cagliari ragged. Cavani was on the bench and subbed in for Lavezzi. They'll have ample time to recuperate by mid-week. I think it was the Bayer president who said Napoli are the only team who can stop Barcelona in the CL. Let's see how Madrid performs against the Moscow. Would like nothing better than to see Madrid lose on home soil. But if they win by big margin everybody is going to be singing their praise.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 9th, 2012, 07:19 PM

http://i.minus.com/ibiy8WY9XiQH1N.gif

man, all my fav players i grew up watching as a kid have retired :(

Yeah the assistant referee informs the 4th official and (s)he programs it. Then again this is the Europa league and not everybody speaks the same language.

Hamsik is rounding into form and Lavezzi ran Cagliari ragged. Cavani was on the bench and subbed in for Lavezzi. They'll have ample time to recuperate by mid-week. I think it was the Bayer president who said Napoli are the only team who can stop Barcelona in the CL. Let's see how Madrid performs against the Moscow. Would like nothing better than to see Madrid lose on home soil. But if they win by big margin everybody is going to be singing their praise.

whats with the madrid hate lol?

xlash

Mar 9th, 2012, 07:19 PM

What a lovely video of how Barca plays (15min long but if you're a fan of how Barca plays you'll love it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I6A_K8oWqfk

Tornado F2

Mar 9th, 2012, 11:54 PM

So... is this an EPL thread or what?

I see only ONE post on this page related to the EPL. And tomorrow morning is a busy EPL day.

VorteC

Mar 10th, 2012, 02:27 AM

http://i.minus.com/ibiy8WY9XiQH1N.gif

man, all my fav players i grew up watching as a kid have retired :(

whats with the madrid hate lol?

Roberto Carlos is one of my all time favorite players, so awesome.

xlash

Mar 10th, 2012, 09:07 AM

man, all my fav players i grew up watching as a kid have retired :(

whats with the madrid hate lol?

Even David Beckham can't bend the ball like him. He's a true legend.

As a Barca fan and being 10 points behind I can't be expect to show neutrality.

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 10:10 AM

So Fowler failed to sufficietly impress and won't be joining Blackpool after all.

- The 36-year-old had trained with the Tangerines and was thought to have been offered £100 per week with an extra £5,000 for every first-team appearance.

Maybe things would have turned out differently if the club had thrown in free donkey rides. :D

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00494/SNN26DONK-280_494039a.jpg

The money would have likely been better spent on the lass and her donkey anyway. :lol:

Never mind Robbie, there's always LFC when you get truly desperate.

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 10:23 AM

Bender's having trouble hitting the ball today (what's new?) but he just scored from 4 yards out. Assist from Reina. Sunderland 1-0 LFC.

And the beachball (introduced by an LFC fan remember) has yet to make an appearance! :razz:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/10/17/1255793644380/Darren-Bent-scores-for-Su-002.jpg

BTW, the ball also raised money for Liverpool Children's Hospital.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sunderland+beach+ball&view=detail&id=26689452A148A0FD309E1FB0F066BFCA898F1EA8&first=0&qpvt=sunderland+beach+ball&FORM=IDFRIR

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 10:38 AM

Yet more proof that Manchester's movin' on up:

Intercontinental Tower

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/IntercontinentalManchester.jpg

Piccadilly Tower

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Inacity_Manchester.jpg

Beetham Tower

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Beatham_tower_Manchester_UK.jpg/307px-Beatham_tower_Manchester_UK.jpg

Owen Street Tower

http://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/assets/_files/cached/img/402x353.28705882353/jan_08/pnw__1200592993_Owen_Street_West_Properties.jpg

:D

(You can thank the boring LFC game for this post). :)

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 10th, 2012, 11:44 AM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-10chake.gif

looks like pool will have to settle for europa league

blzn

Mar 10th, 2012, 12:12 PM

Finally.. a win.

1-0 against 10 man Stoke but it's 3 points in the end. Could Everton hand Tottenham yet another loss.. nice goal by their new striker Jelavic.

xlash

Mar 10th, 2012, 04:14 PM

So much for the EPL marketing and competitiveness. Stoke vs. Chelsea put me to sleep. Betis vs. Madrid is waking me up. I hope Betis can at least get a draw. A win would be awesome.

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 04:18 PM

Finally.. a win.

1-0 against 10 man Stoke but it's 3 points in the end. Could Everton hand Tottenham yet another loss.. nice goal by their new striker Jelavic.

A very good game between rapidly revitalising Everton and struggling Spurs.

So Everton have beaten City, Chel$ki, and now Spurs consecutively, with LFC up next. A win there would put Everton a point ahead of LFC, and going by recent performances, especially today, you'd bet on them staying on top. LFC are extremely lucky that Cardiff were worse at PKs than they are otherwise they could well have missed out on Europe again next season.

Shame the derby's being played at Anfield. Along with the terror that LFC must now fear of losing that match, it practically guarantees a bore draw. I'm sure Everton will try their best to pevent that though since a win could mean so much for them.

How much did Everton's squad cost again? :D

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 04:22 PM

As for Chel$ki, check this out:

£2billion – shock cost of Rom’s Chelsea reign

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4184308/Sun-probe-Roman-Abramovich-spent-2billion-on-Chelsea.html

Wonder how much City's first 8 seasons under the sheikh will cost?

BTW, speaking of cost, that Intercontinental Tower at the top of the page apparently cost £80 million to build. About the same amount Madrid paid United for CRon! :-0 So lucky he didn't get hit by a bus.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/IntercontinentalManchester.jpg

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 10th, 2012, 05:01 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-7jdznf.gif

dat finish

madrid wins 3-2 away :)

blzn

Mar 10th, 2012, 05:07 PM

Not a special finish tbh, happy they won though.

So what if Roman wanted to spend his own money on a soccer team lol.

What a great article from a fabulous source to try and imply Chelsea are in the same position as they were before Roman.. forgets to mention the trophies we won in between.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 10th, 2012, 05:12 PM

oops wrong gif, i was talking about this finish by higuain

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-3g8f37.gif

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 05:44 PM

So what if Roman wanted to spend his own money on a soccer team lol.

What a great article from a fabulous source to try and imply Chelsea are in the same position as they were before Roman.. forgets to mention the trophies we won in between.

2 billion quid is a huge amount of money however you cut it. Sounds like it's enough to build 25 signature skyscrapers. Or possibly to buy and pay a team of CRons. :lol:

It's not all Abramovich's money though. The fans have paid an increasingly large share.

Wonder who he would have bought if it hadn't been for Gronkjaer's goal? (Against LFC, funnily enough).

City were on the verge of early elimination from the Europa League vs Faeroe Islands part-timers when their tycoon stepped in too. Close margins that almost had huge financial consequences.

Wonder why nobody stepped in to save Rangers?

Tornado F2

Mar 10th, 2012, 07:07 PM

Rafa's talking up the ChLg in hopes of getting the Chel$ki job:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17325852

But what if Chel$ki fail to reach next season's ChLg? What can he promise then?

He should stick with his greatest undeniable achievement, coming as close as anybody, even Fergie, to destroying LFC. :D

(He needs to get rid of that stupid goatee too).

xlash

Mar 10th, 2012, 08:53 PM

2 blatant handballs missed by the referee???!!!?!??! This is becoming a recurring theme for Real Madrid. Had Betis converted those Madrid would have lost the match. If it had been the other way round the scum bag Mourinho and the rest of the whining contingent would have been crying foul for the next few days. At this point these calls going Madrid's way is becoming too much of a coincidence. At least Calciopoli was targeted at a few clubs (or in some quarters it was Juve vs. Inter and the rest of the clubs were collateral damage). What Real Madrid is doing is harming the whole of Spanish football.

xlash

Mar 11th, 2012, 09:29 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMorXREgCUg (Higuain handball against Valencia) would have tied the game in the last minute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X20Nn_1ospM (Sergio Ramos handball against Betis)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a5D1A2YnyE (Blatant Xabi Alonso handball in the same match against Betis)
Let's not forget that Kaka deserved a second yellow in that same match against Betis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxCyBXbDKg (Sergio Ramos elbows Diego Costa against Rayo Vallecano)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-O4odlk3OQ (Unbelievable offside call against Mallorca)

Why the other 19 teams put up with this beyond me. Before this season I used to think that Madrid's got all the TV rights. Turns out they own La Liga too. How else would such a huge marketing machine conjure up such a mammoth amount of debt.

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 11:09 AM

United are back in control of the EPL again, after patiently waiting for City to slip up. Two more goals from Rooney and a goal by Swansea puts us back on top. We needed to win the game at Eastlands before, but now a mere draw might be enough. Although by then we might be well in front, if Mancini's mercs self-destruct. How will they react to losing pole position? Could be some fun weeks coming up. :D

Moving up 1 Man Utd 28 41 67
Moving down 2 Man City 28 49 66
No Movement 3 Tottenham 28 18 53
No Movement 4 Arsenal 27 17 49
No Movement 5 Chelsea 28 16 49
No Movement 6 Newcastle 27 0 44

Movin' on up indeed! :lol:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59003000/jpg/_59003839_rooney.jpg

xlash

Mar 11th, 2012, 11:15 AM

Clearly City need Tevez or anybody who can slam goals past a up and coming Swansea side. Very poor display by the blue Mancunians.

blzn

Mar 11th, 2012, 12:24 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 12:39 PM

The top 28 EPL goalscorers this season:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/stats/scorers/_/league/eng.1/barclays-premier-league?cc=5901

RVP at the top of course with 25. Rooney's 2nd place score needs updating to 20 after today's match. Note how there's not a single LFC player in those top 28. Yet even Berbatov's made the list, on a handful of appearances. :lol: Speaks volumes.

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 12:47 PM

Happy MU moving first on the basis it makes for a more exciting finish to the season.

There'll be excitement in the battle for 3rd now thanks to Spurs' slip. Maybe they won't be top London club after all. I all depends on who gets their act together. Arsenal seem to have the momentum at the moment.

The City/United contest isn't over by a long shot, but United no longer have to wait for City to slip up. Now it's their turn. Will they be able to handle the pressure? Apparently not going off today's reports of dissent.

As for the La Liga chat, let the latins form their own separate thread. If La Liga's so popular, they should attract traffic there. This thread should be predominantly EPL, as the title so clearly states.

blzn

Mar 11th, 2012, 01:03 PM

I don't think fans of other leagues need their own thread lol, I think it's fine in here. Need more people with good soccer knowledge to discuss with, aside from the weekly "dat goal" post LOL.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 11th, 2012, 01:45 PM

and there you have it, mancini and co handing the title to man utd, doubt man utd slips up from here

10th consecutive road win for Real Madrid, a league record.

woah :-0 i thought for sure barca won 10 straight away in the last few seasons, guess not

What's more, Mourinho's Real is on pace to once again put up numbers that rival or surpass the Galacticos era when Zinedine Zidane was with the club from 2001-02 to 2005-06. The highest points tally for Zidane's Real was 80 in 2004-05; and the most goals were 86 in 2002-03 -- numbers that Mourinho & Co. already have left in the dust.

dat mourinho effect, like him or not, he gets the job done

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-16kruiy.gif

pk for that? lol

time for barca players to come out and complain, ref was too easy, that shouldn't be a pk, fab dived .... oh wait :D

still up 10 points, that's all the matters

Sorry but it's amusing to me to find Barca fans complaining about Madrid getting calls.

qft

xlash

Mar 11th, 2012, 02:31 PM

Sorry but it's amusing to me to find Barca fans complaining about Madrid getting calls. Neither handball was deliberate imo it was clearly ball to hand in the first situation. Alonso tried handling it and it popped up and hit his hand. I vaguely remember the other being called a 'good call' by the commentator because it wasn't a deliberate hand ball. Maybe one wasn't okay but they both were not definitely clear hand balls.

I'm still mad about that night at the Bridge with the 'Norwegian' referee. Hiddink > Pep.

Happy MU moving first on the basis it makes for a more exciting finish to the season.

Don't be sorry. Nothing to be sorry about when you're supporting your team with a legitimate debate. Alonso's handball was deliberate (he even intimated so after the match). You can clearly see that in the video. Even more so was Higuain's against Valencia's. Ramos was arguable but knowing him as a player I will not put it past him.

Barcelona has been getting calls against them this season:
Failed offside call against Getafe. Not only was the Barca player not offside, it hit the Getafe defender. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-qBWUs808
Penalties not awarded against Valencia....TWO of them and another one against Espanyol
And that Sanchez goal was CLEARLY NOT offside http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xttDC22Etg
To make matters worse the 3rd Osasuna goal came from an offside.

I don't know if you actually like Real Madrid and/or Chelsea or simply despise Barcelona. But there were some calls that went against Barcelona in that game too.

I've noticed that most of the people who scream at the referee when Di Maria, Ramos and Pepe get sent off against Barcelona and call them cheats are from people who have probably never played football in their lives. Even if it is just a pick up game the strategy for a team that is unanimously weaker is pretty simple - kick the opponents. I played football throughout my school, university and even now when we face a superior opponent we kick and foul. Madrid players do exactly that and Mourinho not only condones that he incorporates that into his tactics. So getting sent off shouldn't be that surprising. Blame it on your coach and players not the opponents or the referee. Those unfair tactics haven't worked, right? So why keep doing it?

On the flip side I agree that Busquets is a slimeball and Alves dived infamously. But that's the flip side. When you play football and you know you are playing a weaker opponent with something at stake you don't just expect them to roll over. I would be stupid to not expect underhanded tactics and find ways to protect myself and a potential win. So you respond by diving and getting protection from referees. Which is precisely what the Barcelona players did.

But the way the calls have been going against Barcelona and for Madrid it's pretty obvious that something scandalous is looming. We aren't talking about a one off here. This is a recurring theme that has played out throughout the season.

xlash

Mar 11th, 2012, 02:38 PM

I don't think fans of other leagues need their own thread lol, I think it's fine in here. Need more people with good soccer knowledge to discuss with, aside from the weekly "dat goal" post LOL.

It's not just that. EPL is a tournament by itself. We discuss other teams in England as well since League and FA cups are discussed as well. Furthermore, how can you consider EPL by itself when there are European competitions, player transfers and globalization on a regular basis? TF2 would be spending a lot more time talking about skyscrapers and googling male canoodling if we didn't incorporate other leagues and competitions across the globe.

xlash

Mar 11th, 2012, 02:40 PM

:!:
and there you have it, mancini and co handing the title to man utd, doubt man utd slips up from here

10th consecutive road win for Real Madrid, a league record.

woah :-0 i thought for sure barca won 10 straight away in the last few seasons, guess not

What's more, Mourinho's Real is on pace to once again put up numbers that rival or surpass the Galacticos era when Zinedine Zidane was with the club from 2001-02 to 2005-06. The highest points tally for Zidane's Real was 80 in 2004-05; and the most goals were 86 in 2002-03 -- numbers that Mourinho & Co. already have left in the dust.

dat mourinho effect, like him or not, he gets the job done

pk for that? lol

time for barca players to come out and complain, ref was too easy, that shouldn't be a pk, fab dived .... oh wait :D

still up 10 points, that's all the matters

qft

Sure makes it a lot easier if you have the referee playing for your club.

As for the Fabregas foul/dive. Maybe he did dive, maybe he didn't; he's not a big guy, smaller than the average defender in fact. But it's very difficult to say that it affected the points distribution in the match. Barcelona dominated Racing and were already up 1-0.

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 02:55 PM

I was just googling some old players and came across this interesting lineup. Ally's Tartan Army, the Scotland team for the 1978 WC. They weren't successful in that tourney, but look how many of them went on to become managers and coaches. A few are still to be seen on the benches of the EPL today.

http://www.oldschoolpanini.com/2010/11/les-produits-peu-miraculeux-des.html

(Interesting story if you can read French too).

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 11th, 2012, 03:04 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/kkkultv1k20td1rp.gif

heh :D

in fairness to kenny, he did win pool's first trophy in half a decade

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 03:06 PM

and there you have it, mancini and co handing the title to man utd, doubt man utd slips up from here

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-16kruiy.gif

pk for that? lol

time for barca players to come out and complain, ref was too easy, that shouldn't be a pk, fab dived .... oh wait :D

That's a disease that needs to be eradicated from Spanish/Portuguese/S. American football if they really want to claim to be the "best". Basically it's just a chess game, waiting for an opponent to make a mistake. And if they don't, it's cheat-the-ref time. Pathetic, especially when otherwise quality players are resorting to it.

As for City, they didn't hand United the title. They never had it to begin with. And even if they somehow had, they obviously don't know how to hold onto it. Swansea got revenge today for their Cardiff neighbours. :D Good to see that they should still be around next season. As might two of the struggling Lancashire clubs after this weekend's wins.

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 03:10 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/kkkultv1k20td1rp.gif

heh :D

in fairness to kenny, he did win pool's first trophy in half a decade

Dalglish was part of Ally's Tartan Army too. :D

http://www.rampantscotland.com/graphics/mcleod_ally1211a.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcE86JmIN3E&feature=player_detailpage

Sad to learn that McLeod suffered from Alzheimers and passed away several years ago. :(

blzn

Mar 11th, 2012, 03:56 PM

blzn

Mar 11th, 2012, 07:57 PM

Suarez repaying the club and fans that stood by him during the Evra fiasco:

Moving to PSG is a possibility

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/7588134/Suarez-PSG-a-possibility

VorteC

Mar 11th, 2012, 09:02 PM

As good as Barca is, I just can't like them. Their cheating and diving ways really irritate me.

Anyone remember this game? I just thought of it earlier and watching it just pisses me off... although in this case maybe it's just the referee being a complete tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvwGT5yZje0&feature=related

Tornado F2

Mar 11th, 2012, 09:16 PM

Suarez repaying the club and fans that stood by him during the Evra fiasco:

Moving to PSG is a possibility

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/7588134/Suarez-PSG-a-possibility

Suarez will just LOVE the French league. Something like 80% "negra" players. I'm sure they've not heard anything about his abuse of Evra either. :lol:

I doubt that PSG would want a forward who can't even make the top 30 in the EPL though. He's better suited to AS Nancy Lorraine. Yeah, they'd be a perfect match. :D

http://www.ligue1.com/images/photos/clubs/equipe/2011_2012_500302.jpg

xlash

Mar 12th, 2012, 12:30 AM

I do prefer Madrid currently over Barca (since Mou) but I don't despise Barcelona as a club.

Think it's kind of weak to suggest match fixing when Madrid had to bring in the best coach in the world to win La Liga, +10 points ahead can't be just down to favourable calls.

I totally agree on having to use 'other' tactics when going against a superior team, I think Man United was easily outplayed in last years CL final because they tried to beat Barca at Barca's game. The same reason why Mourinho has brought it into his tactics against Barca, as you mentioned. Also Hiddink employed similar defensive/physical tactic when Chelsea went against Barcelona a few years in the CL semi's, we should of gone through.. Iniesta and the ref broke my heart. However we were the only team to stop Barca from scoring at their home that season if I recall correctly and it was an excellent tie overall.

How is my suggestion weak? I gave you video evidence to show their lead IS based on favourable calls that have recurred throughout the season.

As good as Barca is, I just can't like them. Their cheating and diving ways really irritate me.

Anyone remember this game? I just thought of it earlier and watching it just pisses me off... although in this case maybe it's just the referee being a complete tool.

That match was all about Ovrebo making one too many mistakes but let's break it down:
1) Didier Drogba is a notorious diver. He's right up there with Cristiano Ronaldo. For such a powerful athlete he'd fall if you replaced Abidal with a 6 year old bulimic girl.
2) When Toure tackled him just outside the box he actually made contact with the ball first which was the right call.
3) Abidal got a red card because Anelka either dived or tripped himself. Referee mistake.
4) The handball's a tough call. Last summer I had that exact same call go against me. It wasn't a big deal since I played in a co-ed league. So this chic had her arms flailing around and was facing the ball when she made contact in the box. The referee determined it be unintentional!! We lost 1-0. Now Alonso and Higuain on the other hand...

In the first leg, Eto'o got yanked and clutched a lot and not once did he dive. Henry got hauled down in the box and referee didn't call either. I do agree that there are a couple of players who do dive in Barcelona (Busquets and Alves) but Madrid and Chelsea have their own in Ronaldo, Di Maria and Drogba, Torres respectively. On the flip side each of these teams have a player who don't dive at all Messi, Terry and Alonso. If you gotta hate a team because their players cheat and dive at least be fair in your assessment and hate other teams equally.

Mourinho did once claim that if a striker doesn't go down, the referee very VERY rarely gives a penalty. So it is hard to blame strikers too because otherwise defenders will be taking liberties with strikers in the box all the time.

xlash

Mar 12th, 2012, 12:43 AM

Quaresma's career keeps hitting new lows. He's got raw talent. What a waste.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2885/europe/2012/03/11/2959677/quaresma-suspended-indefinitely-by-besiktas-report

VorteC

Mar 12th, 2012, 01:11 AM

How is my suggestion weak? I gave you video evidence to show their lead IS based on favourable calls that have recurred throughout the season.

That match was all about Ovrebo making one too many mistakes but let's break it down:
1) Didier Drogba is a notorious diver. He's right up there with Cristiano Ronaldo. For such a powerful athlete he'd fall if you replaced Abidal with a 6 year old bulimic girl.
2) When Toure tackled him just outside the box he actually made contact with the ball first which was the right call.
3) Abidal got a red card because Anelka either dived or tripped himself. Referee mistake.
4) The handball's a tough call. Last summer I had that exact same call go against me. It wasn't a big deal since I played in a co-ed league. So this chic had her arms flailing around and was facing the ball when she made contact in the box. The referee determined it be unintentional!! We lost 1-0. Now Alonso and Higuain on the other hand...

In the first leg, Eto'o got yanked and clutched a lot and not once did he dive. Henry got hauled down in the box and referee didn't call either. I do agree that there are a couple of players who do dive in Barcelona (Busquets and Alves) but Madrid and Chelsea have their own in Ronaldo, Di Maria and Drogba, Torres respectively. On the flip side each of these teams have a player who don't dive at all Messi, Terry and Alonso. If you gotta hate a team because their players cheat and dive at least be fair in your assessment and hate other teams equally.

Mourinho did once claim that if a striker doesn't go down, the referee very VERY rarely gives a penalty. So it is hard to blame strikers too because otherwise defenders will be taking liberties with strikers in the box all the time.

He did dive a few times, but I wouldn't put him up there with Ronaldo lol. Haven't seen him dive lately at all.

There were two handballs. Even if its not intentional, your hands/arms can't be flailing around like that. Both of them should have been penalties. If their hands/arms were tucked in, then fair game but definitely penalties in those cases. I don't see the point of comparing it to your co-ed league but okay lol.

There are a couple players in Chelsea who have dived, but you're seriously going to compare Chelsea's diving antics to Barca's? LOL. Players on every team exaggerate every once in a while but not to the level of Barca. Drogba doesn't really dive anymore, Torres barely plays and when he does he's never a threat in the box LOL. Busquets and Alves are in a whole 'nother class when it comes to diving. I'd say the Alves in Madrid is Pepe.

However, Messi, he is class. Small guy, constantly getting bombarded with tackles, yet tries his hardest to stay on his feet all the time. I love the way he plays, if only the rest of his team were equally respectable.

VorteC

Mar 12th, 2012, 01:13 AM

Quaresma's career keeps hitting new lows. He's got raw talent. What a waste.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2885/europe/2012/03/11/2959677/quaresma-suspended-indefinitely-by-besiktas-report

Agreed. Sad to see his talent go to waste.

blzn

Mar 12th, 2012, 01:22 AM

How is my suggestion weak? I gave you video evidence to show their lead IS based on favourable calls that have recurred throughout the season.

That match was all about Ovrebo making one too many mistakes but let's break it down:
1) Didier Drogba is a notorious diver. He's right up there with Cristiano Ronaldo. For such a powerful athlete he'd fall if you replaced Abidal with a 6 year old bulimic girl.
2) When Toure tackled him just outside the box he actually made contact with the ball first which was the right call.
3) Abidal got a red card because Anelka either dived or tripped himself. Referee mistake.
4) The handball's a tough call. Last summer I had that exact same call go against me. It wasn't a big deal since I played in a co-ed league. So this chic had her arms flailing around and was facing the ball when she made contact in the box. The referee determined it be unintentional!! We lost 1-0. Now Alonso and Higuain on the other hand...

In the first leg, Eto'o got yanked and clutched a lot and not once did he dive. Henry got hauled down in the box and referee didn't call either. I do agree that there are a couple of players who do dive in Barcelona (Busquets and Alves) but Madrid and Chelsea have their own in Ronaldo, Di Maria and Drogba, Torres respectively. On the flip side each of these teams have a player who don't dive at all Messi, Terry and Alonso. If you gotta hate a team because their players cheat and dive at least be fair in your assessment and hate other teams equally.

Mourinho did once claim that if a striker doesn't go down, the referee very VERY rarely gives a penalty. So it is hard to blame strikers too because otherwise defenders will be taking liberties with strikers in the box all the time.

You posted 5 videos of calls that were questionable.. anyone can go back to seasons Barcelona won and pick out 5 videos with questionable calls. Real Madrid has been the most consistent team this season.

Drogba was as bad as Ronaldo when he FIRST came to Chelsea, he's never been the diver he was years ago. Not saying he doesn't go down easy at all but he was much worse.

There were 3 shouts for handball in the box, you would think the standard of referee's would be of a higher than your coed league. Alves fouled Malouda inside the box but they call a free kick outside. We can argue about the game but no point tbh there were bad calls both ways and a bad day for referees.

I've seen Torres make 2 dives since he arrived perhaps and Drogba I can't even recall a dive as bad as the ones Alves and Busquets provide on a monthly basis. Some teams have divers who dive a lot more consistently.

Quaresma's career keeps hitting new lows. He's got raw talent. What a waste.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2885/europe/2012/03/11/2959677/quaresma-suspended-indefinitely-by-besiktas-report

Sad, he was a very talented individual.

xlash

Mar 12th, 2012, 09:45 AM

Most house leagues and above in Ontario implement FIFA rules. And frankly these referees do it for the love of the game, not for a pay cheque and don't have to deal with the Michael Ballacks of the world. Many would agree with me when I say that a lot of these UEFA referees have poorer decision making skills than house league referees, something we've seen week in - week out. Take Howard Webb for example. Probably the top referee in the world. According to Liverpool and Chelsea fans he's won more Manchester United player of the seasons than Scholes and Giggs combined. IMO, as a relatively neutral observer with respect to the EPL, he and those of his ilk make far too many mistakes for officiating the most important matches where millions of dollars and player careers are on the line.

Yes you could go back and look up videos to substantiate your claim that Barca get calls their way. But since I did my due diligence can you do the same to justify that:
1) Barca had calls go their way in the same season that Madrid had calls against them with such consistent recurrence?
2) These calls were in tight matches where it would have affected the outcome of the match and league positions?
3) Were they as controversial as they have been this season?

Perhaps Drogba doesn't dive as much anymore because Terry's been giving him pep talks over the years. I wish Messi and Puyol would do the same for Alves and Busquets. Last weekend I watched the Blues play Stoke and yet there were a few moments when Drogba tried to feign a trip in or near the box. I never said Barca players dive more than Chelsea players because as fans we are predisposed to thinking our teams dive less compared to the opponent and we'd resort to a classic case of "somebody is wrong on the internet". But in big games (in which they meet for obvious reasons) Chelsea under Mourinho and Ancelotti have resorted to excessive physical tactics to slow down the Barca players. And no matter what level, my aforementioned argument on strategy of dealing with superior/inferior teams still stands.

blzn

Mar 12th, 2012, 09:38 PM

harpoon

Mar 12th, 2012, 11:14 PM

Everyone has dives and cheats in their team, at least shirt pulls or exaggerating being tackled. Everyone tries to play the ref in their favour by pointing out what the opposition is doing. Everyone is aware of the referee's ability or inability and plays to that.

It's part of the game now, for better or worse.

VorteC

Mar 13th, 2012, 02:05 PM

I feel like watching the Chelsea vs Napoli game at a bar tomorrow. Who's down :P

xlash

Mar 13th, 2012, 03:45 PM

I'm not going to try and find evidence to justify anything, if you think Real is only winning La Liga because they paid off referees then okay and I think that's the end of that discussion.

Still expect Champion League referee's to be better than your house league.

I agree with your strategy for beating superior teams, that's why Chelsea almost won our tie against you because we had to resort to the only tactic available to us (btw Ancelotti did not go up against Barcelona as Chelsea boss, it was Hiddink's strategy).

Merseyside derby tomorrow, big CL games, and the big game for Chelsea on Wednesday. Good week for fans. Reminder that the CL games start at 3:45 this week, don't make the mistake I did a few years ago :D .
I expect the same but as we've been privy to on many occasions that's not always the case. Howard Webb started out a police offer and his career even in the minors have documented errors. Yeah you're right I meant to say Hiddink. Wonder why I was thinking Ancelotti....

Everyone has dives and cheats in their team, at least shirt pulls or exaggerating being tackled. Everyone tries to play the ref in their favour by pointing out what the opposition is doing. Everyone is aware of the referee's ability or inability and plays to that.

It's part of the game now, for better or worse.

Touche

I feel like watching the Chelsea vs Napoli game at a bar tomorrow. Who's down :P

I would if I were in the GTA. HD via Sopcast is a fantastic compromise though.

VorteC

Mar 13th, 2012, 04:17 PM

I would if I were in the GTA. HD via Sopcast is a fantastic compromise though.

It's been a long long time since I used Sopcast. Are HD channels free? Can you post the channel url when the game starts? I think 20:45 CET is 2:45pm here?

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 13th, 2012, 04:36 PM

http://i.minus.com/i4VwN12waD41N.gif

suarez :D

xlash

Mar 13th, 2012, 04:46 PM

Inter's toast. No CL next season and they are out on away goals now. The exodus should start with Sneijder.

xlash

Mar 13th, 2012, 04:50 PM

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/editorial/2012/03/13/2964748/extra-time-top-five-liverpool-everton-wags

Nakuruin

Mar 13th, 2012, 07:08 PM

inter's toast. No cl next season and they are out on away goals now. The exodus should start with sneijder.

:d

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 13th, 2012, 07:40 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-5l4upn.gif

gerrard to the rescue for the 2358th time for pool :razz:

xlash

Mar 13th, 2012, 08:01 PM

:d

LOL. If you think about it realistically (i.e. neutrally) OM got through because they faced a worse team than themselves. In 2010 the best word to describe Inter would have been "clinical". Now they've forgotten what it means. Did you see the match?

For OM tougher competition awaits in the next round (Barca, ACM, Benfica, Bayern and most likely Madrid and Napoli). They better hope they face Apoel but with that defence you'll be lucky if you can put 2 goals past them like you did Inter with their creaky back line. If you concede one at home you're toast.

blzn

Mar 14th, 2012, 01:57 AM

LOL. If you think about it realistically (i.e. neutrally) OM got through because they faced a worse team than themselves. In 2010 the best word to describe Inter would have been "clinical". Now they've forgotten what it means. Did you see the match?

For OM tougher competition awaits in the next round (Barca, ACM, Benfica, Bayern and most likely Madrid and Napoli). They better hope they face Apoel but with that defence you'll be lucky if you can put 2 goals past them like you did Inter with their creaky back line. If you concede one at home you're toast.

Bit of a party pooper eh :lol: :razz: Regardless of current situations, for OM to progress against Inter is an achievement they can be proud of imo.

Hopefully Chelsea can really give it a go tomorrow.

Nakuruin

Mar 14th, 2012, 12:54 PM

It's the first time since 1993 (when we won the European cup) that we advanced to the quarter finals. Hopefully that's a good sign :lol:

LOL. If you think about it realistically (i.e. neutrally) OM got through because they faced a worse team than themselves. In 2010 the best word to describe Inter would have been "clinical". Now they've forgotten what it means. Did you see the match?

For OM tougher competition awaits in the next round (Barca, ACM, Benfica, Bayern and most likely Madrid and Napoli). They better hope they face Apoel but with that defence you'll be lucky if you can put 2 goals past them like you did Inter with their creaky back line. If you concede one at home you're toast.

Not sure what the "LOL" is for? "OM got through because they faced a worse team than themselves"... can't you say that about every team that wins? Because the "better" team always wins :lol:

yes i did watch the match. The poor defending from our backline was to blame for Milito's goal and we didn't concede at home to Inter, or man utd last year at the velodrome. If you've seen our group stage match against Borussia dortmund then you'll know what we're capable of. I"m not saying we'll win but a lot of people write off OM before it has even began.

Did you watch APOEL v Lyon? Lyon were absolute **** and APOEL couldn't put one past them in Cyprus. Of course i'll hope for a draw against APOEL but i'll still fancy our chance against benfica or AC Milan (who we faced a few years ago and drew). Actually we have never lost a European tie in Milan so i hope we draw AC Milan ;)

blzn

Mar 14th, 2012, 05:31 PM

**** YES CHELSEA.

Performance of the season, everyone played fantastic. Great committment from all the players, superb display. What a great game by the Blues.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1005232/love.gif

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 14th, 2012, 05:33 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-2p0f6j.gif

madrid to the next round, 4-1 win :)

http://i.minus.com/ibqBYWpm4oKWct.gif

nice setup by drogba and cool finish

VorteC

Mar 14th, 2012, 06:12 PM

OMG CHELSEAAA. Epic come back!

blzn

Mar 14th, 2012, 06:20 PM

Draw for quarter and semi finals are this Friday.

8 Teams left:

Madrid
Barcelona
Apoel
Chelsea
Marseille
Benfica
AC Milan
Bayern Munich

There is going to be AT LEAST one amazing match up, hopefully we get someone a bit easier than Napoli :D .

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 14th, 2012, 06:26 PM

time for another chelsea/barca matchup!:cheesygri

http://londontomk.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/drogba.gif

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 07:18 PM

It's the first time since 1993 (when we won the European cup) that we advanced to the quarter finals. Hopefully that's a good sign :lol:

Not sure what the "LOL" is for? "OM got through because they faced a worse team than themselves"... can't you say that about every team that wins? Because the "better" team always wins :lol:

yes i did watch the match. The poor defending from our backline was to blame for Milito's goal and we didn't concede at home to Inter, or man utd last year at the velodrome. If you've seen our group stage match against Borussia dortmund then you'll know what we're capable of. I"m not saying we'll win but a lot of people write off OM before it has even began.

Did you watch APOEL v Lyon? Lyon were absolute **** and APOEL couldn't put one past them in Cyprus. Of course i'll hope for a draw against APOEL but i'll still fancy our chance against benfica or AC Milan (who we faced a few years ago and drew). Actually we have never lost a European tie in Milan so i hope we draw AC Milan ;)

You must have heard/read about how the better team loses. Football isn't black and white, a team can play very well but 'luck', unfortunate bounces and shoddy/excellent performances for one or two key players can make a huge difference. Of the 4-5 teams that were expected to compete for the Ligue 1 title Marseille is at the bottom. Winning the league or the CL requires the ability to grind out wins synonymous with a tough defence, rapid counter attacking, midfield dominance etc. unless the team is Barcelona. I did watch Lyon and they were awful. No creativity, no drive whatsoever.

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 07:19 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-2p0f6j.gif

madrid to the next round, 4-1 win :)

http://i.minus.com/ibqBYWpm4oKWct.gif

nice setup by drogba and cool finish

Wasn't that first goal offside?

blzn

Mar 14th, 2012, 07:27 PM

You must have heard/read about how the better team loses. Football isn't black and white, a team can play very well but 'luck', unfortunate bounces and shoddy/excellent performances for one or two key players can make a huge difference. Of the 4-5 teams that were expected to compete for the Ligue 1 title Marseille is at the bottom. Winning the league or the CL requires the ability to grind out wins synonymous with a tough defence, rapid counter attacking, midfield dominance etc. unless the team is Barcelona. I did watch Lyon and they were awful. No creativity, no drive whatsoever.

I don't think anyone realistically thinks Marseille is going to win the CL.. it's just a good result to beat Inter and get into the quarter finals, regardless of Inter's current form. I don't know why your trying to **** on their parade.

Wasn't that first goal offside?

....you really think that's offside? Sublime pass, perfectly onside.

Oh yeah, so much Napoli being a shoo in for the quarter finals eh?

Nakuruin

Mar 14th, 2012, 07:38 PM

^ Regarding that goal, I don't believe it's offside because the players that are actually offside didn't receive the ball and when they did receive the pass to score, they were behind their teammate with the ball so it was onside.

A similar example would be Franck Ribery's goal against Spain in WC 2006 when Thierry Henry stood in an offside position but it was Ribery that received the pass and ran down the field to score.

You must have heard/read about how the better team loses. Football isn't black and white, a team can play very well but 'luck', unfortunate bounces and shoddy/excellent performances for one or two key players can make a huge difference. Of the 4-5 teams that were expected to compete for the Ligue 1 title Marseille is at the bottom. Winning the league or the CL requires the ability to grind out wins synonymous with a tough defence, rapid counter attacking, midfield dominance etc. unless the team is Barcelona. I did watch Lyon and they were awful. No creativity, no drive whatsoever.

Yes but to suggest that we only won because we "faced a worse team" is a bit derisive. We faced them over 2 legs, it wasn't a one off. Inter aren't the team that they were but they still have a lot of quality players.

I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that Marseille were the least expected to compete for Ligue 1 at the beginning of the season. We finished behind lille last season and won the title the year before that. We were rightly considered a top contender ahead the likes of Lyon and Montpellier (who collapsed midway last season to fall out of the top 3 despite actually leading the table before) and bordeaux are a shadow of the team that blanc led. PSG have money but no one was certain that kombuaure would be able to lead them to the title. It's a matter of opinion of course but the general consensus was that Lille and OM were tipped for the title.

I'll accept that unfortunate bounces can cause a dominant team to lose but not poor performances. At this level, there are no excuses.

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 08:01 PM

Solid display by Chelsea. I like how the goals came from the 'old guard', players who warmed the bench with AVB. Torres provided the LOLs as usual. RDM should convert him to a winger.

I hate to see Napoli out but their forward trident was completely out of gas. Playing a 3 man defence can be extremely taxing on the 3 defenders if the wide midfielders don't help out. No wonder they were ineffective on the wing and from set pieces where all 4 goals came from. Mazzari is a fantastic coach. He should have parked the bus but hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm not sure why anybody would want to face Barcelona. Except for Villa and Afellay the entire squad will be available for selection at the 1/4 finals. With La Liga all but gone, Pep will want to round the season off with the CL. Though I hope Fabregas becomes a vital cog in the Barca machine like he was at Arsenal. I hate seeing such a talented bunch of individuals so dependent on Leo.

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 08:44 PM

I don't think anyone realistically thinks Marseille is going to win the CL.. it's just a good result to beat Inter and get into the quarter finals, regardless of Inter's current form. I don't know why your trying to **** on their parade.

....you really think that's offside? Sublime pass, perfectly onside.

Oh yeah, so much Napoli being a shoo in for the quarter finals eh?

My intention was never to $hit on their parade, just call a spade a spade. If they had beaten a better team I would have said that they had beaten a better team. Over the last couple of years we've all seen Inter age and decline and outside of Pazzo not a single quality player was brought in. They aren't even a shadow of their former selves. Last season they ended up 2nd in Serie A because of a fantastic Eto'o, decent Sneijder and unheralded Motta. This season 2 of them are gone and the 3rd can't wait for the transfer window to open while the rest of the squad are too old even for the MLS. They aren't even worthy of 7th place in Serie A. They qualified for the knockouts with just 10 points. This is the team that OM beat. Just called a spade a spade. Ultimately, what matters is OM are through to the 1/4 finals.

^ Regarding that goal, I don't believe it's offside because the players that are actually offside didn't receive the ball and when they did receive the pass to score, they were behind their teammate with the ball so it was onside.

A similar example would be Franck Ribery's goal against Spain in WC 2006 when Thierry Henry stood in an offside position but it was Ribery that received the pass and ran down the field to score.

Yes but to suggest that we only won because we "faced a worse team" is a bit derisive. We faced them over 2 legs, it wasn't a one off. Inter aren't the team that they were but they still have a lot of quality players.

I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that Marseille were the least expected to compete for Ligue 1 at the beginning of the season. We finished behind lille last season and won the title the year before that. We were rightly considered a top contender ahead the likes of Lyon and Montpellier (who collapsed midway last season to fall out of the top 3 despite actually leading the table before) and bordeaux are a shadow of the team that blanc led. PSG have money but no one was certain that kombuaure would be able to lead them to the title. It's a matter of opinion of course but the general consensus was that Lille and OM were tipped for the title.

I'll accept that unfortunate bounces can cause a dominant team to lose but not poor performances. At this level, there are no excuses.

Being derisive is not my intention. I am being honest but I can't control how you feel over an internet forum.

You've clearly misunderstood my post. I said Marseille were one of the teams expected to compete for Ligue 1 at the beginning of the season, in other words I concur with your statement. But as we speak they are behind all the teams you've mentioned so far, aren't they? Okay they are above Bordeaux on goal difference.

Inter are no longer a dominant team. Far from it. Maybe in 2010 when they won the treble but that was widely acclaimed to be because of Jose Mourinho, the after effects of Calciopoli and .....Barcelona had to endure a 24 hour bus ride to play the next day in Milan (I hope this comment doesn't open up a huge can of worms). Let me ask you this. Would you be absolutely overjoyed to have any of those Inter players in the OM squad right now? You tell me which one and I'll tell you why he'd be a killjoy.

P.S. thanks for pointing out that piece on off-side rule. On one hand it make sense to not slow down the game but on the other it's one more decision the linesman has to make that's left to her/his discretion.

Nakuruin

Mar 14th, 2012, 09:07 PM

Being derisive is not my intention. I am being honest but I can't control how you feel over an internet forum.

You've clearly misunderstood my post. I said Marseille were one of the teams expected to compete for Ligue 1 at the beginning of the season, in other words I concur with your statement. But as we speak they are behind all the teams you've mentioned so far, aren't they? Okay they are above Bordeaux on goal difference.

Inter are no longer a dominant team. Far from it. Maybe in 2010 when they won the treble but that was widely acclaimed to be because of Jose Mourinho, the after effects of Calciopoli and .....Barcelona had to endure a 24 hour bus ride to play the next day in Milan (I hope this comment doesn't open up a huge can of worms). Let me ask you this. Would you be absolutely overjoyed to have any of those Inter players in the OM squad right now? You tell me which one and I'll tell you why he'd be a killjoy.

P.S. thanks for pointing out that piece on off-side rule. On one hand it make sense to not slow down the game but on the other it's one more decision the linesman has to make that's left to her/his discretion.

I guess i misunderstood the tone of your post which made it seem like we were lucky that inter were ****.

Well, Ligue 1 has proven itself to be quite unpredictable once again so most of us were probably wrong about the title race but i meant we were definitely one of the stronger teams even if that didn't play out on paper. We probably won't make the CL next year because we've hit a spell of absolute crap form after going nearly two months unbeaten.

I wouldn't mind Zanetti or Forlan. I'd take Forlan over Brandao and employ Zanetti as a fullback. Forlan may not be as good as he once was but you could still see the quality and technique of the player. Zanetti was giving Morel a torrid time on the wing last night but Morel is a terrible defender so I'm not sure how he does against more quality opposition now.

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 09:45 PM

I guess i misunderstood the tone of your post which made it seem like we were lucky that inter were ****.

Well, Ligue 1 has proven itself to be quite unpredictable once again so most of us were probably wrong about the title race but i meant we were definitely one of the stronger teams even if that didn't play out on paper. We probably won't make the CL next year because we've hit a spell of absolute crap form after going nearly two months unbeaten.

I wouldn't mind Zanetti or Forlan. I'd take Forlan over Brandao and employ Zanetti as a fullback. Forlan may not be as good as he once was but you could still see the quality and technique of the player. Zanetti was giving Morel a torrid time on the wing last night but Morel is a terrible defender so I'm not sure how he does against more quality opposition now.

That's bold of you to pick Forlan as a replacement for Brandao. The latter got you through to the 1/4 finals. Forlan has 2 goals in all competitions. That's somebody who was brought in to replace Samuel Eto'o who had 37 last season. You may not agree with my opinion but ESPN rated him below average across both legs and goal.com deemed him the flop of the match. Neither were too impressed with his touch/quality/technique. IMHO he was uninvolved in the second leg.

It's hard to find Zanetti at fault. Even when the whole team sucks he's always their best player. But he slows down a lot faster nowadays as a match progresses especially if he's doing what Maicon or Nagatomo i.e. a full-back ought be doing.

VorteC

Mar 14th, 2012, 10:25 PM

Anyone know where I can DL full games? Torrents, DDs, etc. I missed the Chelsea vs Napoli game today because my appointment ran late and would love to see the full game. I heard it was epic.

hyperion

Mar 14th, 2012, 11:10 PM

It'll probably be posted on this site under "FULL MATCH GAME" tomorrow:

http://www.matchhighlight.com/

In the meantime you can watch the highlights.

xlash

Mar 14th, 2012, 11:22 PM

Anyone know where I can DL full games? Torrents, DDs, etc. I missed the Chelsea vs Napoli game today because my appointment ran late and would love to see the full game. I heard it was epic.

Unless it's a world cup final or CL final you won't get it from torrents and even then they are hard to find. The best highlights are usually on footytube.com. Also you could try looking for a stream of a channel that showed the game live. E.g. Sportsnet replays all its CL games.

Nakuruin

Mar 15th, 2012, 09:43 AM

That's bold of you to pick Forlan as a replacement for Brandao. The latter got you through to the 1/4 finals. Forlan has 2 goals in all competitions. That's somebody who was brought in to replace Samuel Eto'o who had 37 last season. You may not agree with my opinion but ESPN rated him below average across both legs and goal.com deemed him the flop of the match. Neither were too impressed with his touch/quality/technique. IMHO he was uninvolved in the second leg.

It's hard to find Zanetti at fault. Even when the whole team sucks he's always their best player. But he slows down a lot faster nowadays as a match progresses especially if he's doing what Maicon or Nagatomo i.e. a full-back ought be doing.

Regardless of his form, i think most people will agree he's still a good player. I mean obviously i wouldn't have traded that brandao goal for anything ;) but week in week out, brandao is absolute crap. He works hard but he's so ineffective - for such a physical player he's terrible at winning challenges. Any striker is better than Brandao...

Forlan was below average over the two legs but i think the team as a whole was terrible so can't really point the finger at only forlan. It's like Torres, you know he's a quality player with the ability to score goals but he's in absolute crap form. No one doubts that he has the technical ability to score, but he's obviously facing some psychological problem right now. It's just a manner of bringing out the true potential of the player on the pitch. Although apparently Torres wasn't too bad yesterday.

Anyone know where I can DL full games? Torrents, DDs, etc. I missed the Chelsea vs Napoli game today because my appointment ran late and would love to see the full game. I heard it was epic.

fullmatches.net

I never used the site but i know a number of people that do.

elty

Mar 15th, 2012, 08:11 PM

http://h9.abload.de/img/untitled-204vbtw.gif

Tornado F2

Mar 15th, 2012, 09:07 PM

http://h9.abload.de/img/untitled-204vbtw.gif

Oooh, tough.

Sounds like they really messed up in the 1st half though. And Stupid Mario failed to contribute today.

There's going to be a real battle for the league title now.

Hopefully Athletic Club and Chel$ki can go on to win their respective cups. Based on their play against United I'd say Athletic have a great chance. Who knows if Chel$ki can get their act together again, but I really enjoyed watching them yesterday. Even Torres put in a shift once he came on, though he still can't find the back of the net. Wonder if he got injured by di Matteo's celebration at the end? It looked like he caught Torres completely by surprise. :lol:

blzn

Mar 15th, 2012, 10:04 PM

Oooh, tough.

Sounds like they really messed up in the 1st half though. And Stupid Mario failed to contribute today.

There's going to be a real battle for the league title now.

Hopefully Athletic Club and Chel$ki can go on to win their respective cups. Based on their play against United I'd say Athletic have a great chance. Who knows if Chel$ki can get their act together again, but I really enjoyed watching them yesterday. Even Torres put in a shift once he came on, though he still can't find the back of the net. Wonder if he got injured by di Matteo's celebration at the end? It looked like he caught Torres completely by surprise. :lol:

That was hilarious, Torres never saw it coming.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1005236/love2.gif

Tornado F2

Mar 15th, 2012, 10:30 PM

That was hilarious, Torres never saw it coming.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1005236/love2.gif

It's the first time in years that he's been involved in a true spontaneous celebration. The over-celebration in response to his puddle-assisted first goal last season seemed pre-planned, but this one clearly wasn't. Di Matteo's humping of Drogba hopefully wasn't pre-planned either. :lol:

I'm happy for Di Matteo too. I thought at the time that it was a bit harsh of WBA to fire him just because the club was on a bad run, but I realise sometimes clubs have to do drastic things like that to try and stave off relegation. (It doesn't seem to be working for Wolves though). He's fallen into a pretty enviable position now, so long as the old guard keep performing. Wonder if he'll fare better than Grant at the end of the season? (Grant only took the team to the ChLg Final! :lol:)

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 15th, 2012, 11:00 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-493a67.gif

#7 in la liga beats #1 in epl in both legs :-0

bilbao vs barca copa del rey final should go a good one

hyperion

Mar 15th, 2012, 11:04 PM

So both Manchesters are out of Europe. So much for the so called center of the football galaxy. :P

jcon

Mar 15th, 2012, 11:06 PM

#7 in la liga > #1 in epl :-0

bilbao vs barca copa del rey final should go a good one

It's cup play and there are always cup-sets. Some years, teams like Greece can beat the best teams in Europe.

La Liga is still a two team league.

Tornado F2

Mar 15th, 2012, 11:24 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-493a67.gif

#7 in la liga beats #1 in epl in both legs :-0

bilbao vs barca copa del rey final should go a good one

So both Manchesters are out of Europe. So much for the so called center of the football galaxy. :P

Injuries and illness, and officials' decisions, played a part in both legs. But I readily accept Athletic Club's progress to the next round. They beat us by playing the type of attacking football that I like, not the boring possession-based game played by some clubs. I wonder how different the outcome would have been had Vidic been available, and if United would have used our wingers to whip in crosses to a tall centre-forward like Chelsea did so well last night? I think that may be the best tactic to use against physically short teams like AC and Barca. (I thought CRon should have played that role in the ChLg Final vs Barca, though he obviously preferred to play further out). Of course that requires a strong, tall CF or two, and that's not the way United currently play. In fact there are reports that Berb may be moving on in the summer in search of regular starts. We could use a Drogba-type to replace him. Wonder if Bebe will ever mature into that player, or perhaps Welbeck?

BTW, well-taken goal there. Even better than Napoli's one against Chelsea, which the commentator then described as a similar play. Fergie, sign him up! :)

hyperion

Mar 16th, 2012, 12:11 AM

Athletic do play great football. I hope they win the Europa League or at least the Copa del Rey. Their current position in La Liga doesn't do them justice.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 16th, 2012, 12:18 AM

blzn

Mar 16th, 2012, 06:05 AM

Up early to watch the draw and because I can't sleep:

Marseille v Bayern Munich

Winner plays winner of

Real V APOEL

The other side of the bracket is

Chelsea v Benfica

Winner plays winner of

AC Milan v Barcelona

Can't complain I suppose.. avoided a giant but have to play the winner of Barca/AC which should be a rocking tie.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:01 AM

looks like i'll have to wait till the semis for barca vs chelsea

europa league draw

AZ Alkmar x Valencia
Schalke x Bilbao
Spoting x Metalist
Atletico x Hannover

lol watch schalke take out bilbao :razz:

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-8407ean.gif

heh

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:39 AM

How the hell did all 4 favourites manage to get 2nd leg at home??

Marseille v Bayern Munich

A healthy and united Bayern should get to the semis easily unless DD pulls off a miracle. If Barca defeats Bayern on home soil in the finals, it'll cement them as the greatest team of all time....if they haven't already.

Real V APOEL

First they buy La Liga now they face the easiest team in the 1/4s.

Chelsea v Benfica

It'll be terrific to see Chelsea face off against a team that defends a lot better than Napoli.

AC Milan v Barcelona

Can't have the exhibition like matches from the group stages. Defensively KPB (if healthy) and Zlatan have got to be kept in the check. In the 2nd half against Arsenal they neutralized the Arsenal midfield. Against Barcelona that's impossible. The San Siro pitch has improved so I hope Barcelona win there. At Camp Nou, against big teams in the knock-outs Barcelona focuses too much on possession and less on scoring. Sort of makes sense given the away goals rule

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:41 AM

looks like i'll have to wait till the semis for barca vs chelsea

europa league draw

AZ Alkmar x Valencia
Schalke x Bilbao
Spoting x Metalist
Atletico x Hannover

heh

I wouldn't be surprised to see an all-Iberian semi finals.

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:46 AM

bilbao is fine in the financial department (most of the players are developed there, not bought) so they don't really need to cash in atm so any club wanting their star players (llorente, muniain etc) will have to pay alot of $$$

if malaga ends up with the 4th spot in la liga, look out, expect them to spend big money in the summer

'Fine' is ambiguous. They aren't in financial trouble like Valencia etc. but thanks to unequal TV revenue they don't have the financial strength to hold on to Javi Martinez who is under constant transfer scrutiny this season just as Llorente has been in the seasons past. They also need to start focusing more on commercial revenue. Hard to do that when the entire team is made up players barely even known in Spain last season. Imagine if they got Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso back?!?

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:49 AM

Athletic do play great football. I hope they win the Europa League or at least the Copa del Rey. Their current position in La Liga doesn't do them justice.

I agree. But with La Liga all but gone Pep will field the best Barca side to capture CDR. Every association and team will want Bielsa if they win Europa League.

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 09:58 AM

It's cup play and there are always cup-sets. Some years, teams like Greece can beat the best teams in Europe.

La Liga is still a two team league.

Calling it a cup set is a lame excuse. Athletic beat United decisively in both legs, scoring 3 at Old Trafford and all while playing an attacking brand of football. This doesn't compare to Greece who played defensively and applied different tactics overall. SAF met an equal match in Bielsa at least in work ethic. The United players, especially in midfield were just not upto scratch in Europe. 2 draws against Benfica and a loss to Basel who got hammered 7-0 to Bayern! Especially since MU are supposedly a legendary club, the most popular in the world.

La Liga maybe a 2 team league but the rest of the teams (except Villareal) can compete with the best EPL has to offer. This has been duly demonstrated this season.

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 10:00 AM

That was hilarious, Torres never saw it coming.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1005236/love2.gif

LOL!! Reminds me of that Abba song "there was something in the air that night.....the stars were bright...Fernando"

blzn

Mar 16th, 2012, 10:02 AM

Calling it a cup set is a lame excuse. Athletic beat United decisively in both legs, scoring 3 at Old Trafford and all while playing an attacking brand of football. This doesn't compare to Greece who played defensively and applied different tactics overall. SAF met an equal match in Bielsa at least in work ethic. The United players, especially in midfield were just not upto scratch in Europe. 2 draws against Benfica and a loss to Basel who got hammered 7-0 to Bayern! Especially since MU are supposedly a legendary club, the most popular in the world.

La Liga maybe a 2 team league but the rest of the teams (except Villareal) can compete with the best EPL has to offer. This has been duly demonstrated this season.

Heh, looking to brew a flame war by saying something like this. One bad season in the CL for England in terms of representation and suddenly everyone in La Liga can compete with the top teams in England? There's a reason we lead the coefficient table and not Spain.

I thought T2 was bad with 2-3 posts in a row, you do 6 LOL :D

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 10:44 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 16th, 2012, 10:46 AM

Real V APOEL

First they buy La Liga now they face the easiest team in the 1/4s.

http://troll.me/images/vidal/oh-look-he-mad.jpg

i hope madrid doesn't underestimate apoel like everyone else been doing so far in cl, scoring goals vs apoel is not easy

xlash

Mar 16th, 2012, 11:12 AM

http://troll.me/images/vidal/oh-look-he-mad.jpg

i hope madrid doesn't underestimate apoel like everyone else been doing so far in cl, scoring goals vs apoel is not easy

Lol nice. I do wish we got APoel, everybody does. But Mou will never underestimate any team. Of all the sullen guys playing for Juve, Arturo Vidal always has a ready smile.

hyperion

Mar 16th, 2012, 11:17 AM

Calling it a cup set is a lame excuse. Athletic beat United decisively in both legs, scoring 3 at Old Trafford and all while playing an attacking brand of football. This doesn't compare to Greece who played defensively and applied different tactics overall. SAF met an equal match in Bielsa at least in work ethic. The United players, especially in midfield were just not upto scratch in Europe. 2 draws against Benfica and a loss to Basel who got hammered 7-0 to Bayern! Especially since MU are supposedly a legendary club, the most popular in the world.

La Liga maybe a 2 team league but the rest of the teams (except Villareal) can compete with the best EPL has to offer. This has been duly demonstrated this season.

Agreed to pretty much everything you said. You can't call it an upset. If anything, MU got lucky with the two late goals from Rooney in each leg, without which it could have looked even worse. Athletic was the better team away and at home, and won by a clear margin. That's not luck.

Enjoy MU's swan song as long as it lasts TF2. :)

Tornado F2

Mar 16th, 2012, 02:32 PM

Heh, looking to brew a flame war by saying something like this. One bad season in the CL for England in terms of representation and suddenly everyone in La Liga can compete with the top teams in England? There's a reason we lead the coefficient table and not Spain.

I thought T2 was bad with 2-3 posts in a row, you do 6 LOL :D

As I mentioned a while back, he posts like he's my insane Argie-loving alter ego. He even claims to have the same university education as me. But a few posts later it was clear that he and I are really nothing alike, despite the superficial resemblance. I'd rather talk to myself than exchange posts with him again - it would be more productive, and slightly less insane. :lol:

But claiming that a few one-off cup wins is proof of anything is obviously seriously flawed. Sometimes we see lower league clubs in England (and even non-league) taking successive scalps of the likes of Chelsea and LFC in the FA and League Cups. That in no way proves that the smaller clubs, and their divisions, are better than their EPL rivals. All teams and players can have good/bad days, injuries and illness play a role, as do the decisions of the officials. Top clubs also have added distractions and priorities as a result of competing on several fronts at the same time. Smaller clubs and their players can usually afford themselves the luxury of concentrating on a single game, knowing that a degree of fame and fortune can come their way if they manage to win. Over the longer run, especially a full season, the top clubs inevitably rise to the top. But over one or two matches, nobody is guaranteed to be invincible. Just watch if Chelsea and Barca meet in this season's ChLg SFs. Chelsea will have revenge in their hearts, and the desperation of a squad knowing that this will likely be their last chance at glory. They may well have the extra drive, especially over 2 legs, to get themselves past the generally-superior, and younger, Barca, especially if it's their only way to grasp success from this otherwise disappointing season. I know I'll be rooting for them if that time comes. :) But even if they were successful, it obviously wouldn't make them better than Barca, except on that particular night/s. Not this season anyway.

Tornado F2

Mar 16th, 2012, 02:47 PM

http://troll.me/images/vidal/oh-look-he-mad.jpg

i hope madrid doesn't underestimate apoel like everyone else been doing so far in cl, scoring goals vs apoel is not easy

Yep, I'd give him an appropriate Spanish nickname, but he'd likely take it as a compliment. Instead I propose we call him "el gayo azul" - the blue jay - because his posts are like the annoying, repetitive, attention-seeking calls that blue jays make - and it's also appropriate for Argie blue.

Or we could just ignore him...

Tornado F2

Mar 16th, 2012, 03:07 PM

Agreed to pretty much everything you said. You can't call it an upset. If anything, MU got lucky with the two late goals from Rooney in each leg, without which it could have looked even worse. Athletic was the better team away and at home, and won by a clear margin. That's not luck.

Enjoy MU's swan song as long as it lasts TF2. :)

I am enjoying it, can't you tell? Long may that swan sing. :D

As for the games, I can't really comment on the first game, since it wasn't aired here, but from the highlights shown, and comments made at the time, it seems their 2nd goal may have involved an element of offside, and the 3rd goal may have been the result of a miscall by the ref when he awarded them a free kick when our player's boot came off (apparently United should have been allowed to continue pressing their own attack, with the boot-less player leaving the field at the next break in play). Regardless, my man-at-the-match confirmed that Athletic Club were worthy winners. And we saw that again yesterday, where United failed to rise to the occasion. I suspect they went into the game realising they had a big task ahead, and when they went further behind the decision seems to have been made to just use it as an occasion to give the youngsters Euro experience. Instead of throwing on Scholes, Hernie, and Berb, and attacking, Smalling, Pogba, and Welbeck were introduced. Clearly the EPL title was already the priority, even before the 2nd half had really begun. Makes some sense really. A 20th EPL title is more important to United than a Europa League trophy, even if that trophy is missing from Fergie's collection. City seem to have been thinking along similar lines, at least until late on when it presumably dawned on them that the Europa trophy might be theirs for the taking (AC permitting, of course), but they left it too late. Now both Manchester clubs have an all-or-nothing fight for the EPL title to look forward to. I'm still confident United will win out.

Tornado F2

Mar 16th, 2012, 04:48 PM

Wonder what Scholesy thinks of this? The son of his favourite player is on City's payroll - and is now playing for his favourite team. ;)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17405874

Oldham Athletic have signed Manchester City striker Harry Bunn on loan until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old is the son of former Latics striker Frankie Bunn, who spent three years at Boundary Park between 1987 and 1990, scoring 35 goals.

hyperion

Mar 16th, 2012, 11:36 PM

I am enjoying it, can't you tell? Long may that swan sing. :D
I suspect they went into the game realising they had a big task ahead, and when they went further behind the decision seems to have been made to just use it as an occasion to give the youngsters Euro experience. Instead of throwing on Scholes, Hernie, and Berb, and attacking, Smalling, Pogba, and Welbeck were introduced.

I am afraid that it's called a swan song for a reason.

Tornado F2

Mar 17th, 2012, 12:24 AM

I am afraid that it's called a swan song for a reason.

What's wrong with swans? They're big powerful birds. Over twice the size of Canada geese iirc. Probably a lot bigger than liverbirds too. :D

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5264/5655214842_453a79b556_z.jpg

So... no football on TSN tomorrow apparently. It's probably as well that the Europa League is finished, so far as the EPL is concerned, as it was pushing the Manchester matches back to Sunday, where they go unaired here on the popular channels. Hopefully future Saturdays will have a more interesting lineup than this week's. Lower teams will make a change though, I suppose, if I somehow choose not to go out tomorrow morning.

blzn

Mar 17th, 2012, 12:43 PM

For those interested in the youth set up.. FA Youth Cup Semi Final, MU v Chelsea first leg highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G7EzCwBJqGU

Tornado F2

Mar 17th, 2012, 04:21 PM

Prayers for Fabrice Muamba who collapsed during the Spurs-Bolton FA Cup tie. :(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17417973

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59147000/jpg/_59147389_109858767.jpg

Hope they can save him.

Edit: Reports are that he's "stable" in hospital.

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2012/03/17/muamba-stable-after-pitch-collapse/

Edit: "critically ill" now. :(

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17417973

jcon

Mar 17th, 2012, 06:21 PM

Enjoy MU's swan song as long as it lasts TF2. :)

This and "watch out for Liverpool" are two things that everyone's been saying for 10+ years.

Still waiting. Still enjoying the high life.

hyperion

Mar 17th, 2012, 07:35 PM

Poor Fabrice Muamba. How does this still happen, especially in the highest leagues where teams have the best medical staff available?? Don't they screen for heart defects?

elty

Mar 17th, 2012, 09:40 PM

I don't think those can be really screened. Many people have hidden problems that they don't know.

Tornado F2

Mar 17th, 2012, 09:49 PM

He may even have just been hit in the chest by a well-hit ball and that could have thrown his heart rhythm off or something. There'd be no way to check on that during play. I'm not familiar with him as a player, but I really do hope he makes a full recovery. He's only 23. He sounds really popular among his fellow players, going off the messages being posted.

blzn

Mar 18th, 2012, 11:12 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 18th, 2012, 04:17 PM

http://i.imgur.com/dqtAP.jpg

nice gesture from madrid

Tornado F2

Mar 18th, 2012, 05:14 PM

Torres show at the bridge, 2 goals 2 assists and won the corner that led to the first goal. Against a championship side but still :D .

Tbh he should start over Sturridge against Man City, Sturridge is a great player but he's so selfish sometimes I just want to kill him.

Shame for Torres that it will be at least another 5 months before CFC play Championship (or lower) opposition again. :razz:

A loan to Wolves next season might be perfect for him. :)

xlash

Mar 18th, 2012, 05:28 PM

Madrid finally stopped winning. Another couple of ties or losses would be very welcome for the Blaugrana.

VorteC

Mar 18th, 2012, 06:39 PM

Great to see Chelsea turning around their season. 4 wins in 4 matches! Hope they keep up the momentum and destroy Manshity.

Also awesome to see Torres finally on the scoreboard, it's been too long.

hyperion

Mar 18th, 2012, 06:43 PM

http://i.imgur.com/dqtAP.jpg

nice gesture from madrid

For some reason the image you linked only shows up if you open it separately:
http://i.imgur.com/dqtAP.jpg

Are those warmup shirts? It is a nice gesture, especially the Abidal one.

elty

Mar 18th, 2012, 10:56 PM

This?

http://i.discuss.com.hk/d/attachments/day_120319/20120319_bb2f2a57a1a0b38f6da6NIzlODfdRJMr.jpg

Tornado F2

Mar 19th, 2012, 01:39 AM

Other football heart attacks:

O'Donnell:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/motherwell/7164150.stm

Foe:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/3024360.stm

Groves (not during play):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Groves

Clarke (survived):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17423393

Potential cause - "long QT syndrome":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/3025550.stm

Also, Scottish player's father after cup final win on Sunday:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17423952

Looks like defibrillators are helping to save lives in the recent cases. Hopefully Muamba can pull through.

Lots of respect being shown:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17421658

Edit: Interesting. Another Bolton player suffered heart failure facing Spurs:

"Fabrice Muamba was not the first Bolton player to collapse on the pitch. Khalilou Fadiga was struck down before Bolton's Carling Cup tie against Tottenham at the Reebok Stadium in 2004.

The Sengalese player had to be fitted with a pacemaker following his ordeal but managed to make a return to the game in 2005".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2116903/Fabrice-Muamba-news-Bolton-consider-pulling-FA-Cup-fiancee-Shauna-leading-prayers.html#ixzz1pceE14uB

xlash

Mar 19th, 2012, 04:33 PM

For some reason the image you linked only shows up if you open it separately:
http://i.imgur.com/dqtAP.jpg

Are those warmup shirts? It is a nice gesture, especially the Abidal one.

Touché. I certainly hope that el clasico turns out to be an on-pitch affair after this season. The off pitch mud slInging and media brawls are getting annoying.

Tornado F2

Mar 19th, 2012, 09:18 PM

This?

http://i.discuss.com.hk/d/attachments/day_120319/20120319_bb2f2a57a1a0b38f6da6NIzlODfdRJMr.jpg

Nice of Pirlo to dedicate Juve's 5-0 win to Muamba too. I'm not sure what's the connection, but it shows that even on the Continent his situation is being recognised.

BTW, sounds like he's making some progress. :)

Edit: Sadly up in Scotland Liam Kelly's dad has died:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17423952

It really should have been a great day too. Condolences to the Kelly family on their loss.

Tornado F2

Mar 19th, 2012, 09:22 PM

Oh, Suarez seems to have finally noticed the ethnic makeup of the French league:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17436415

:lol:

Tornado F2

Mar 19th, 2012, 09:59 PM

BTW, better pic of Madrid:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59162000/jpg/_59162924_real_madrid_muamba_getty2.jpg

Gary Cahill:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59162000/jpg/_59162205_gary_cahill_muamba_pa.jpg

United:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/18/article-2116668-1239DFAC000005DC-548_634x391.jpg

xlash

Mar 20th, 2012, 08:14 AM

Torres might move to Juventus. First Boriello and now Torres?? Looks like Juve loves strikers that flops. Helps with those 0-0 and 1-1 ties.

blzn

Mar 20th, 2012, 04:15 PM

Torres might move to Juventus. First Boriello and now Torres?? Looks like Juve loves strikers that flops. Helps with those 0-0 and 1-1 ties.

If he was to move on this summer (which I highly doubt, not yet anyways) it wouldn't be on loan imo which is what a couple of papers are reporting.

xlash

Mar 20th, 2012, 09:25 PM

If he was to move on this summer (which I highly doubt, not yet anyways) it wouldn't be on loan imo which is what a couple of papers are reporting.

Maybe they will. He is a top earner at Chelsea and eventually the fans will tire of him if he has another abysmal year. Italian teams love paying in installments and avoiding risks, especially with big money moves. Look back at the Zlatan deal with Barcelona. Then with the Tevez speculations. And it's not just a Milan trait. If Chelsea want to offload Torres they may not have a lot of choice.

hyperion

Mar 20th, 2012, 11:17 PM

They can sell him back to Liverpool for pennies on the dollar. We'll get him firing again.

Tornado F2

Mar 21st, 2012, 03:54 PM

Hey, just a heads-up that City v Chelsea is on right now on TSN2. I just got home and checked and sure enough, there they are.

Tornado F2

Mar 21st, 2012, 04:48 PM

D'oh Chelsea, you should have left Torres on. When he came off, for whatever reason, the game turned. Essien had come on and ended up conceding the PK that put City back on course.

Meanwhile, sounds like LFC were two goals ahead of QPR, but QPR have come back. And Spurs have got a late equaliser against Stoke.

Tornado F2

Mar 21st, 2012, 04:59 PM

Straight from the BBC. Speaks for itself:

Ade on text: "Another shambolic result for Liverpool. Cup runs or not, would roy hodgson have had any worse a league campaign? Simply not good enough."

2152: Incredible finish at Loftus Road. So we had goals in the last few minutes of three of the four games tonight, all decisive as well. Not a good night for journalists working to deadlines, but a gem for fans. QPR were 2-0 down with 13 minutes left and have won. Just how important could those three points prove?

FULL-TIME - QPR 3-2 Liverpool

Meanwhile City's win gives them an EPL record of 20 straight home wins. If only Chelsea could have finished better...

Oh well, United are still top. We have to wait until Monday for our next game though, so City have the chance to pinch pole position temporarily on the weekend.

xlash

Mar 21st, 2012, 05:53 PM

Another 1-1 draw for Real Madrid. This time against relegation threatened Villareal. League lead cut to 6 points. If only they lose another match on top of the El Clasico.

elty

Mar 21st, 2012, 06:49 PM

Haha at Liverpool....

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 21st, 2012, 06:54 PM

Another 1-1 draw for Real Madrid. This time against relegation threatened Villareal. League lead cut to 6 points. If only they lose another match on top of the El Clasico.

but but madrid bought the league! :lol:

f'n horrible ref, think all that bitching and moaning by barca players has effected them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Qk6DachBM

http://i.imgur.com/e3JV4.png

2 yellows does not equal red? >:(

Tornado F2

Mar 21st, 2012, 07:31 PM

but but madrid bought the league! :lol:

f'n horrible ref, think all that bitching and moaning by barca players has effected them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Qk6DachBM

http://i.imgur.com/e3JV4.png

2 yellows does not equal red? >:(

Do Barca players become lawyers or politicians or reality TV contestants when they retire? :razz:

xlash

Mar 21st, 2012, 09:11 PM

but but madrid bought the league! :lol:

f'n horrible ref, think all that bitching and moaning by barca players has effected them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Qk6DachBM

http://i.imgur.com/e3JV4.png

2 yellows does not equal red? >:(

Slow down mate. Madrid is still ahead by 6 points. But poor officiating, very very poor officiating and it hurt both teams, more so villareal as they should have been awarded a penalty but a red card to villareal would have hurt them more. In the last two Barca matches there was no blatant poor officiating and in fact Dani Alves got sent off in one. So your complaints against Barca are not quite justifiable.

xlash

Mar 21st, 2012, 10:33 PM

First game back and Tevez picks out Nasri who slots in the winner.

Pokal final pits Bayern against Dortmund. What a cracker of a final.

Tornado F2

Mar 21st, 2012, 10:53 PM

Somebody obviously didn't see the City-Chelsea game. :lol:

xlash

Mar 22nd, 2012, 08:21 PM

Somebody obviously didn't see the City-Chelsea game. :lol:

I did see the highlights.:facepalm:

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 22nd, 2012, 10:34 PM

Real Madrid Resort Island -- a holiday resort on an artificial island in the United Arab Emirates scheduled to open in January 2015.

http://i.imgur.com/DCq19.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100310020033/uncyclopedia/images/9/9e/697.gif

Haha at Liverpool....

first pool goal was class http://www.abload.de/img/animation3ju5h7.gif

xlash

Mar 22nd, 2012, 10:39 PM

Real Madrid Resort Island -- a holiday resort on an artificial island in the United Arab Emirates scheduled to open in January 2015.

http://i.imgur.com/DCq19.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100310020033/uncyclopedia/images/9/9e/697.gif

I read about it. Not a chance. That place is going to be extinct soon. Plus the investment is 1 billion. Where is RM going to get the funds when their debts are massive?

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 23rd, 2012, 09:08 AM

xlash

Mar 23rd, 2012, 10:49 AM

madrid's debts are massive? have you looked at barca's debt? :lol: why do u think barca got that f'n horrible Qatar sponsor logo nowadays? not cause they felt like ruining their shirt, cause they need the $$$

someone here posted a link to see which clubs will be ok when fair play kicked in, madrid is one of them.

i doubt madrid is spending the $$$, gotta be dat arab money

http://static.fjcdn.com/gifs/I_15c972_2612263.gif

I didnt mean to attack Madrid's financial situation. Nor did I compare Barcelona. Despite topping revenue figures globally in the footballl business every year RM still has massive debts. With the economy in Spain banks would be extra prudent in doing their due diligence to lend and that too to the tune of 1 billion. Maybe it is Arab money and all RM are doing is lending their brand name. In that case is it good business sense to continue when United, the biggest brand in football haven't done anything similar?

Furthermore, tourism in the middle east is declining. A one off event is great but a big hotels are suffering.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 24th, 2012, 11:27 AM

http://h11.abload.de/img/untitled-13w7jqc.gif

can't say i'm surprised ...

elty

Mar 24th, 2012, 12:29 PM

Even handball can't save them this time.

xlash

Mar 24th, 2012, 02:33 PM

I didn't see the whole match but from what I saw he was their best player. He's got enough talent to create chances for himself, I don't know why he indulges into these sort of antics. Liverpool's been terrible. Players like Henderson, Downing and Enrique are simply not top caliber players. Liverpool needs to swap out their entire first team midfield to compete for top 4 next year.

hyperion

Mar 24th, 2012, 04:03 PM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 24th, 2012, 07:54 PM

http://imgon.net/di-16KH.gif

goal of the weekend

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-1549j4x.gif

u mad bro? :D

hyperion

Mar 24th, 2012, 08:41 PM

Possibly goal of the EPL season.

xlash

Mar 24th, 2012, 08:45 PM

Lumping Enrique in with Downing and Henderson is not fair. I don't think you watched him enough, he is usually very solid defensively and an very decent offensive FB. Henderson is still young and has shown flashes of his potential, and Downing has been improving. Suarez is class but he needs another striker up front because he can't do it all himself and just gets frustrated and starts acting up. I'd say the reason for Liverpool's dreadful EPL record this season is Lucas. He was an indispensable part of the midfield and with him gone, Spearing is the only other natural DM and he's way wayyyy off Lucas' quality. I am not a fan of Spearing at all. I am also not a fan of the current system of play which seems very uncreative and dull most of the time. I'd like to see a higher tempo and more creativity in passing. A creative pacy right winger would be just what the doctor ordered for Liverpool this summer.

No I haven't seen Enrique much this season but the few times I have, it wasn't impressive. And usually I'll watch the big games and that's where he needs to shine. Yeah Lucas is definitely needed. The only other player who I think does better in his role is Busquets but the latter has a much better team surrounding him. Next season Kenny should invest in a striker; whether he opts for creativity from the flanks or the middle is up to him. But most importantly he should brush up on his tactics. He plays Gerrard and Charlie Adam side by side in central midfield a lot!!! You don't have to be a tactical genius to know that having 2 creators in deep won't work. IMO in the last 2 matches it was Kenny who was outplayed by Hughes and Martinez. Liverpool dominates matches, creates chances aplenty and yet ends up losing.

hyperion

Mar 24th, 2012, 08:48 PM

I am excited to see how this kid develops:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zB9-8Civ8Q

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 24th, 2012, 10:39 PM

Team Canada pulled off a shocking upset of Team U.S.A. in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/03/24/attakora_nana640_640.jpg

a draw vs cuba should be enough for Canada to make it to the semi finals

blzn

Mar 25th, 2012, 10:28 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 25th, 2012, 11:48 AM

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the fastest player to reach 100 goals in Spanish league history.

The Portuguese scored twice as Real bounced back from consecutive draws with a 5-1 thrashing of Real Sociedad.

In reaching 101 goals in 92 games, Ronaldo surpassed Real legend Ferenc Puskas, who scored 100 in 105 games.

Ronaldo's 35th league goal of the season took him level with Lionel Messi, who scored in Barcelona's 2-0 win at Mallorca.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17502825

cr7 vs messi for top scorer ... lets see who wins this season :-0

xlash

Mar 25th, 2012, 01:04 PM

Have to agree Enrique can't be pooled with Henderson and Downing, he's performed relatively better than the other two. Although Henderson seems to be played as a winger so I think that's unfair to him aswell.

So much for the 'Daglish Effect' he spent approx +100m on Enrique, Henderson, Downing, Charlie Adam while City brought in Balotelli, Aguero, and Toure for that amount. So called King Kenny should resign for next season imo.

Somebody who is familiar with Liverpool, has followed them for years, know how they function internally should weigh in on this. What exactly is the Dalglish factor? Hodgson wasn't allowed to make the purchases he wanted but Dalglish is??!? Also Liverpool primarily bough British players. So much so that they restricted the available talent pool. We also cannot ignore that Dalglish has been awful with his tactics.

What Liverpool need is a player in the calibre of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has figuratively dragged Milan to the top and is almost single-handedly keeping him there. If UEFA has an MVP award it should go to Ibra. No Pato, no Robinho, no Boateng, no Cassano, no problem. Zlatan still scores the key goals.

hyperion

Mar 25th, 2012, 03:13 PM

xlash

Mar 25th, 2012, 04:52 PM

Certainly doesn't hurt him that he has 3-4 other world-class forwards to play with, day in day out. I wish Pato wasn't injured so much of the time though.

He's been doing so well despite missing those forwards. Cassano is done for this season. Pato is constantly injured and his form's affected. Maxi Lopex isn't world-class, not even close, neither is El Sharaawy. Boateng gets hurt more often in bed than on the field (literally). Robinho is the only one who has appeared somewhat consistently. I'm no fan of Ibra but he's been great.

jcon

Mar 25th, 2012, 10:11 PM

kennyhohoho

Mar 26th, 2012, 08:48 AM

What Liverpool need is a player in the calibre of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has figuratively dragged Milan to the top and is almost single-handedly keeping him there. If UEFA has an MVP award it should go to Ibra. No Pato, no Robinho, no Boateng, no Cassano, no problem. Zlatan still scores the key goals.

Serie A =/= EPL.

If he were to make the switch over to the EPL, I'd imagine him replicating Torres current form for Chelsea.

harpoon

Mar 26th, 2012, 09:21 AM

Somebody who is familiar with Liverpool, has followed them for years, know how they function internally should weigh in on this. What exactly is the Dalglish factor? Hodgson wasn't allowed to make the purchases he wanted but Dalglish is??!? Also Liverpool primarily bough British players. So much so that they restricted the available talent pool. We also cannot ignore that Dalglish has been awful with his tactics.

What Liverpool need is a player in the calibre of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He has figuratively dragged Milan to the top and is almost single-handedly keeping him there. If UEFA has an MVP award it should go to Ibra. No Pato, no Robinho, no Boateng, no Cassano, no problem. Zlatan still scores the key goals.

This "Dalglish factor" thing is media fiction. After the raping of the club by Gillette and Hicks it's fair to say that Dalglish brought the heart, soul, principles on which the club prospered back and that was much needed after the utter chaos those two cowboys brought to LFC behind the scenes as well as with the staff.

A look at who Woy wanted to bring in that January brought a shudder to many people. He wanted a big fella up top to lump it to a la Bobby Zamora, and the others were staggeringly awful. Konchesky and Poulsen were classic Woy signings, what a complete mismatch he was. Tactically, he had no clue what to do with LFC's players. Nothing was worse than that football under Woy, even Kenny's worst games.

I'll disagree that Dalglish's tactics are awful. They're very inconsistent, he showed a lot of intelligence in a number of matches (the Chelsea games this fall, Arsenal away, etc etc) but this calendar year things have been wretched, there's no arguing that. Losing Lucas was a hammer blow, a lot of Reds knew fourth was gone with that injury. Currently losing Agger is hurting the back 4 pretty bad as well. Playing Skrtel on the left side of the back 4 strangely has him making stupid errors, on the right he looks much better...I never noticed how one-footed he was until he shifted to the right to accomodate Agger. Devil's in the details.

The mentality is frail out there and certain players aren't playing to any sort of consistent form. You'll see them play well for 10-15 minutes then suck for a half hour or so. There's some good players there, particularly defensively, but more pace and intelligence is needed and a system that gets more out of some.

I think LFC need a striker, winger and defensive midfielder of high quality but it's never gonna happen in one summer. We brought down the wage bill considerably and made 77 million pounds shipping out deadweight and players like Babel, Degen, Jovanovic etc. We've spent less than 30m net and more spending will surely happen this summer as we have some sponsorships and no debt anymore.

Also while we're speaking of transfers, the Torres/Carroll deal was with Chelsea...LFC told Chelsea that for Torres we wanted Carroll and 15m. Chelsea bid 25m for Carroll, then panic bumped it to 35m as time was slipping by on that transfer window...that's why on deadline day Torres was waiting for Carroll to go through before he went to Chelsea. Damien Comolli said so much in numerous interviews and I have no idea why that isn't reported.

I'm not going to say I'm delighted with the summer's work coming in (HAH!) but I'm glad we trimmed down the ridiculous wage bill and that we cleaned the slate of a lot of average players sitting around impeding the development of our considerable young talent.

xlash

Mar 26th, 2012, 09:52 AM

Not many players more overrated than Ibrahimovic. Guy plays for the name on the back of the shirt and cares little about those around him. Pads his stats when it doesn't matter and goes missing when it does.

He's overrated and selfish, extremely selfish and plays for himself. This season however, it looks like he's carrying AC Milan.

Serie A =/= EPL.

If he were to make the switch over to the EPL, I'd imagine him replicating Torres current form for Chelsea.

And this is based on what? Let's look at facts. The EPL player he can be compared to this season is RVP. Why?

1. Plays the same position (striker - target man)
2. Role is very similar i.e. drop slightly deep or move out wide to get access to key passes and get scoring opportunities.
3. Top scorer and MVP for their respective teams AND leagues
4. Arsenal's season has been up and down and Milan hasn't been spectacular yet both have been responsible for where their teams are now.
5. League wise both have only 1 team in the quarters of the UCL each.
6. Finally, when they did meet over 2 legs both played great at home but Ibra came out on top because RVP missed that chip over Abbiati. Over 2 legs it could have gone either way because the aggregate was separated by 1 goal so I won't use Milan's win in my argument.

Whether you like it or not the closest thing that comes to Fernando Torres in the Serie A is Marco Borreillo. Juventus' transfer and loan policies have been stupid this season but Serie A teams don't have money to throw around.

Arctan

Mar 26th, 2012, 10:55 AM

can someone tell me why every single soccer story of any league/country is located within a single thread called 'EPL Gossip'?

It would be ncie to have one for EPL, one for non-EPL + Champions League

elty

Mar 26th, 2012, 11:09 AM

dbnagm

Mar 26th, 2012, 12:20 PM

I don't know if this fits the "EPL Gossip Thread" - but, in a roundabout way, I hope that TFC can make it to the FIFA Club World Cup or at least get by Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League where hypothetically they can still meet and play Chelsea FC. Now how's that for "EPL Gossip" :D

hyperion

Mar 26th, 2012, 12:28 PM

"Football Talk" is a more fitting title for what this thread has become.

hyperion

Mar 26th, 2012, 12:29 PM

xlash

Mar 26th, 2012, 12:59 PM

I don't think there would be enough traffic and that thread would be just dead.

+1 also football across the globe is interlinked with so many transfers, manager movements, international fixtures and perhaps most importantly fan interest. Continentally, this is even more so. The biggest transfers occur from one league to another which is quite logical. Plus the top players don't play in a single league but rather multiple leagues. Discussing just the EPL gets boring pretty fast. IMO I like talking to people who are fans of different clubs spread across different leagues.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 26th, 2012, 04:34 PM

Manchester United are three points clear of Manchester City after a sole Wayne Rooney goal won the match. United were slack, and Fulham were denied a probable late penalty http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=318234&cc=5901

hmm, didn't watch the match, was man utd playing at home?

edit: yep, not surprised on no pk call for fulham

xlash

Mar 26th, 2012, 11:24 PM

Claudio Ranieri sacked by Inter. It's almost painful watching that club rot like that. After 15 coaches Moratti should realize he is the problem. How he became a magnate is a mystery. Saras has got to be one of the shadiest companies in the world.

kennyhohoho

Mar 27th, 2012, 09:12 AM

He's overrated and selfish, extremely selfish and plays for himself. This season however, it looks like he's carrying AC Milan.

And this is based on what? Let's look at facts. The EPL player he can be compared to this season is RVP. Why?

1. Plays the same position (striker - target man)
2. Role is very similar i.e. drop slightly deep or move out wide to get access to key passes and get scoring opportunities.
3. Top scorer and MVP for their respective teams AND leagues
4. Arsenal's season has been up and down and Milan hasn't been spectacular yet both have been responsible for where their teams are now.
5. League wise both have only 1 team in the quarters of the UCL each.
6. Finally, when they did meet over 2 legs both played great at home but Ibra came out on top because RVP missed that chip over Abbiati. Over 2 legs it could have gone either way because the aggregate was separated by 1 goal so I won't use Milan's win in my argument.

Whether you like it or not the closest thing that comes to Fernando Torres in the Serie A is Marco Borreillo. Juventus' transfer and loan policies have been stupid this season but Serie A teams don't have money to throw around.

Yes, on paper, you can compare him to RVP, but I just don't think he has the mental toughness to be successful for an entire season in the EPL.

Liverpool already have enough problems with a selfish player in Suarez, I don't see how adding Ibra to the mix would help them at all.

What would happen during those dry spells of 5-6 games in a row of draws and losses? The guy is too much of a diva and Pool would have their own version of Tevez to contend with. What Pool need right now is a stabilizing figure and some cohesion in their dressing room. Who that player will be, I honestly have no idea, but it's definitely not Ibra.

Ibra is great if the team is doing well and winning. But success in Liga and Serie A doesn't necessarily translate to success in the EPL. Look at what happened to Robinho. What does he do at the first sign of trouble? He bolts. I think Ibra shares that similar trait.

xlash

Mar 27th, 2012, 09:49 AM

Yes, on paper, you can compare him to RVP, but I just don't think he has the mental toughness to be successful for an entire season in the EPL.

Liverpool already have enough problems with a selfish player in Suarez, I don't see how adding Ibra to the mix would help them at all.

What would happen during those dry spells of 5-6 games in a row of draws and losses? The guy is too much of a diva and Pool would have their own version of Tevez to contend with. What Pool need right now is a stabilizing figure and some cohesion in their dressing room. Who that player will be, I honestly have no idea, but it's definitely not Ibra.

Ibra is great if the team is doing well and winning. But success in Liga and Serie A doesn't necessarily translate to success in the EPL. Look at what happened to Robinho. What does he do at the first sign of trouble? He bolts. I think Ibra shares that similar trait.

None of my points compare them on paper. They were all based on facts and all involve THIS season. You can see the 2 legs for yourself on 'full matches' to see them play against each other. I agreed and stated myself that Ibra is a very selfish and egotistical player. We can argue that stylistically Serie A and EPL are different by statistically they are very similar. Milan did go through a rough patch, losing to Inter 1-0 and yet Ibra was back and was the driving force behind their march towards #1 in the league; geez just look at the squad, the injuries and even by the process of elimination you'll end up with Ibra. If you want to compare them on paper RVP isn't that dissimilar either. How has RVP fared in cup ties, particularly CL? Not that great. Took a selfish penalty in the Camp Nou last year and then got unfortunate when the referee seemingly started playing for Barcelona. Injuries haven't helped either. Even with Nasri and Fabregas they were just contenders every season but never champs. If Arsenal doesn't deviate from its financial policy and invest in players and pay him City like salary RVP will leave in a heartbeat. I am absolutely certain that RVP will leave if Podolski is the only big signing for them this summer.

I never intimated that he go to Liverpool. I didn't even mention them in the same sentence or post. If your Torres comparison holds water, Chelsea would be #1 in the EPL right if not 2nd.

VorteC

Mar 27th, 2012, 01:21 PM

Anyone watching the Benefica vs. Chelsea game today?

xlash

Mar 27th, 2012, 02:06 PM

Anyone watching the Benefica vs. Chelsea game today?

Hellz yeah

VorteC

Mar 27th, 2012, 03:21 PM

Awww yeah Chelsea up 1-0

VorteC

Mar 27th, 2012, 03:39 PM

Full-time: Chelsea 1-0 Benfica

Great defending by Chelsea, particularly David Luiz. We got our away goal, thoroughly satisfied with the result.

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 27th, 2012, 03:43 PM

chelsea wins 1-0 away

madrid wins 3-0 away

chelsea vs madrid final? :-0

http://h9.abload.de/img/untitled-368z64.gif

xlash

Mar 27th, 2012, 06:08 PM

Tornado F2

Mar 27th, 2012, 06:23 PM

chelsea wins 1-0 away

madrid wins 3-0 away

chelsea vs madrid final? :-0

Fat chance of that. 2 away goals for Benfica and CFC will need another miracle.

So many look-alikes in that Benfica team. :lol: Tevez, CRon, Di Matteo, even Meireles. Possibly others too.

Tornado F2

Mar 27th, 2012, 06:46 PM

Dalglish moaning about LFC's busy schedule and "tired" players playing too many games. Doesn't he realise that's a key part of his job? Just take a look at Everton's schedule for comparison. At least as busy, smaller squad, yet they beat Sunderland 2-0 away today in the cup replay. They lost the derby against LFC, but Moyes obviously determined that the FA Cup was a bigger priority for Everton rather than a position or two higher at the end of the season and fielded a weakened squad. Of the 3 EPL teams around Merseyside - LFC, Everton, and Wigan - LFC have the worst manager. They'd be better off if they had Moyes or Martinez at the helm, but of course the rabid fans wouldn't want either of them. Worth noting that if the season had started on Jan 1st, LFC would now be sitting right at the bottom of the league table. Enjoy your tin cup guys.

As for the charge the other day that Woy wanted a big guy up front, specifically Zamora, isn't that what Dalglish did with Carroll? - getting less bang for a lot higher price. :lol: I hope England take Crouch to the Euros, certainly in preference to Carroll. Excellent goal on Saturday BTW. Definitely GOTY stuff. How much did he cost again? :D

What's this about Chelsea bidding up Carroll's price? They bought him for LFC? :confused: Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense for LFC to deal with NUFC directly, pleading poverty, and keep the price down where it should have been? BTW, check out NUFC's interim replacement for Carroll, Shefki Kuqi. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shefki_Kuqi He's in a lower division again now, but he certainly knows where the goals are. Carroll should go join him at his own true level.

http://www.1000goals.com/wallpapers3/Shefki-Kuqi-285x184.jpg

Amazing he doesn't seriously injure himself.

VorteC

Mar 27th, 2012, 08:38 PM

What a turn around for Chelsea since AVB. If this team were up 3-0 against United the latter would have never come back. Clearly RDM knows the players a lot better than AVB ever did. Chelsea controlled this match remarkably well.

Benfica's performance was very shoddy. Emerson was awful. Luisao and Aimar were nowhere to be seen.

I wouldn't say Chelsea's recent success is because RDM knows the players a lot better, it's probably just because he gets along with them... in the sense that he isn't AVB, someone who was trying to get rid of the old guard. Clearly the backbone of Chelsea resented AVB, so they lacked spirit and commitment, and it showed on the pitch. They don't feel resentment towards RDM, so they are going to be more committed for better performance.

As much as I've enjoyed Chelsea's success under RDM, I still think he won't cut it for the long term and we do need a proper manager to do an overhaul this summer.

blzn

Mar 27th, 2012, 11:51 PM

I wouldn't say Chelsea's recent success is because RDM knows the players a lot better, it's probably just because he gets along with them... in the sense that he isn't AVB, someone who was trying to get rid of the old guard. Clearly the backbone of Chelsea resented AVB, so they lacked spirit and commitment, and it showed on the pitch. They don't feel resentment towards RDM, so they are going to be more committed for better performance.

As much as I've enjoyed Chelsea's success under RDM, I still think he won't cut it for the long term and we do need a proper manager to do an overhaul this summer.

Agreed, I'm just curious who's going to be manager..really hope it isn't Van Haal.

Great display today, thought Chelsea was excellent defensively and strong on the counter. Funny this is exactly the type of line up AVB would be hugely criticised for fielding but it paid off for RDM. Let's not get carried away with talk about making finals :lol: I'd be content if Chelsea got to the semi's and give it their best.

Anyone know why Benfica's stadium wasn't really close to capacity, weird for a huge Champions League quarter final.

xlash

Mar 27th, 2012, 11:59 PM

I wouldn't say Chelsea's recent success is because RDM knows the players a lot better, it's probably just because he gets along with them... in the sense that he isn't AVB, someone who was trying to get rid of the old guard. Clearly the backbone of Chelsea resented AVB, so they lacked spirit and commitment, and it showed on the pitch. They don't feel resentment towards RDM, so they are going to be more committed for better performance.

As much as I've enjoyed Chelsea's success under RDM, I still think he won't cut it for the long term and we do need a proper manager to do an overhaul this summer.

I should have been more articulate but I concur with that you're saying. He's definitely closer to the players than AVB. Plus the spirit and commitment is there.

If the players like him maybe it'll be worth it for Roman to keep him around to phase out the old guard, at least for another season. It's boiled down to the three London clubs for the last 2 CL spots and unless Spurs continue their free fall I think Chelsea will lose out and that'll be the end of RDM.

Great performance by Torres. He's having a torrid time finding the back of the net but he contributed in practically every other way.

Tornado F2

Mar 28th, 2012, 12:17 AM

No respect here for NUFC? They have spent practically nothing, but they're well clear of LFC and their trailing pack, and they have the exact same 50 points as CFC, just behind Spurs and Arsenal. And take another look at that trailing pack. There could still be a lot of movement among those top-half teams trailing the two Manchester giants. I'm sure Everton will love to place above LFC for example, and to take the FA Cup too. Still lots to play for, even for the clubs outside of a realistic chance of ChLg next year. Not that some would welcome the added workload, and expenses, that come with it anyway. But for those clubs that still claim to be major, failure to qualify (again) could be a disaster.

hyperion

Mar 28th, 2012, 09:11 AM

This might work for getting Torres to score:

http://i43.tinypic.com/a0cs5v.jpg

Tornado F2

Mar 28th, 2012, 10:22 AM

This might work for getting Torres to score:

http://i43.tinypic.com/a0cs5v.jpg

Where's that? :?: Some sort of community make-work scheme?

As for Torres, something weird has happened round my place. We're no longer laughing at his act, we're now cheering him on now that he's making an effort. He's like a new man. The old LFC programming of "run into the box, then fall as you cross the white line", still so evident at the last World Cup, (and still seen in other past/present LFC players) seems to be gone. He still can't find the goal at EPL level, but at least he's working for his teammates now. Imagine if Suarez were to make a similar metamorphosis? Who would be left to laugh at then? Luckily Suarez won't change, not while Dalglish is still in charge, so the hilarity can continue. :D

hyperion

Mar 28th, 2012, 11:58 AM

Haha, you must not watch a lot of Liverpool games because Suarez's work-rate is way above most strikers, including Torres. Most of the time he's playing with 3 defenders on him too. Not bad.

Tornado F2

Mar 28th, 2012, 12:23 PM

Haha, you must not watch a lot of Liverpool games because Suarez's work-rate is way above most strikers, including Torres. Most of the time he's playing with 3 defenders on him too. Not bad.

I'm not saying Suarez doesn't put in a lot of effort. That's part of what makes him so amusing. If he could redirect all his negative energies, especially his acting and endless tantrums, like CRon has, he might someday make a decent player. But the way he's playing at LFC he's just the court jester, with little end product to show for all his efforts, other than a great gag reel collection (somebody needs to put all the highlights on one disc). Maybe at the end of the season reality will finally sink in. From comments I'm reading elsewhere, I think maybe it's already started. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting back enjoying the show. :D

Google instantly provided a full page dedicated to him and his antics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VH0XUra09Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7VH0XUra09Y#t=115s

:)

xlash

Mar 28th, 2012, 12:41 PM

It's pathetic how some people have a tendency to label players and that label sticks no matter what the player does or how their actions deviate to the opposite end of a spectrum. Or worse they'll judge one player but not another even though their actions are the same but because the latter plays for a more endearing club.

VorteC

Mar 28th, 2012, 03:39 PM

Full-time:

Marseille 0 - 2 Bayern

AC Milan 0 - 0 Barcelona

Great game by Bayern.
Surprised that Barcelona weren't able to score against AC Milan.

Tornado F2

Mar 28th, 2012, 03:45 PM

A bit odd that. AC Milan, despite being at home, played in white, leaving Barca to wear their regular strip. Special treatment or what?

Anyway, it ended 0-0, so Barca are potentially vulnerable. Milan just need a score draw in Barcelona. Do-able? Maybe. So long as Milan's strikers show up.

As I said last season, Barca are beatable over 2 legs, given quality competition. It's meeting them in a Final one-off that's more difficult. Especially since Finals are usually played on a large, flawless pitch. If they had to play on Stoke's narrow pitch it would likely be a very different proposition. ;)

Nakuruin

Mar 28th, 2012, 05:35 PM

I think AC Milan have a really good record in white but i don't know if any of them were superstitious enough to let it influence their kit choice.

Full-time:

Marseille 0 - 2 Bayern

AC Milan 0 - 0 Barcelona

Great game by Bayern.
Surprised that Barcelona weren't able to score against AC Milan.\

Wouldn't say "great". They hardly dominated us at all and had very few clear cut opportunities for a team that has been very prolific the past few games. Bayern also looked vulnerable from set pieces, they couldn't make any first time clearances and almost always let the ball bounce in their penalty area.

It would have been a very different game if Lahm was rightfully sent off for his handball but instead the ref let the play continue and they scored on us. :facepalm: It might've helped if we had mandanda to save a shot that was never supposed to have been allowed (we had our third string keeper in net because mandanda was given a 2nd yellow for a penalty in the game against inter and bracigliano looked really nervy against quevilly in a cup tie so Deschamps decided to put andrade in net).

I don't expect us to get a result in bayern but i guess it's nice to reach the QF.

xlash

Mar 28th, 2012, 10:21 PM

I think AC Milan have a really good record in white but i don't know if any of them were superstitious enough to let it influence their kit choice.

\

Wouldn't say "great". They hardly dominated us at all and had very few clear cut opportunities for a team that has been very prolific the past few games. Bayern also looked vulnerable from set pieces, they couldn't make any first time clearances and almost always let the ball bounce in their penalty area.

It would have been a very different game if Lahm was rightfully sent off for his handball but instead the ref let the play continue and they scored on us. :facepalm: It might've helped if we had mandanda to save a shot that was never supposed to have been allowed (we had our third string keeper in net because mandanda was given a 2nd yellow for a penalty in the game against inter and bracigliano looked really nervy against quevilly in a cup tie so Deschamps decided to put andrade in net).

I don't expect us to get a result in bayern but i guess it's nice to reach the QF.

Silvio Berlusconi is superstitious. He won't allow the Rossoneri to play in black ever again after that horror show at the Emirates a few weeks ago. After drawing against Barca I'm sure he's going to have his team sport the white kit again.

4-3-1-2 is tough to play against especially when counter-attacking. Milan also managed to stifle the Barcelona build up play in the final third. Andres Iniesta was especially choked out. Their defensive display was fantastic considering they didn't have Thiago Silva. On the other end Gerard Pique did a fine job against Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Since Robinho was so ineffective and KPB kept drifting wide to pick up the ball Carles Puyol often tucked in to help out the center backs. Barcelona is an almost impossible team to beat over 2 legs since 2008-09. The key is of course Pep Guardiola. He will analyze this match to bits, factor in the missing Milan players and carve out a strategy for the 2nd leg. Too bad the 2nd leg won't be at the Santiago Bernabeu. :)

Based on highlights - Lahm should have been sent off. However, I still think Bayern would have got an away goal. Gomez was clinical and Robben was fantastic.

hyperion

Mar 29th, 2012, 10:18 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMT97KxmH3Y

xlash

Mar 29th, 2012, 03:18 PM

WTH!! Barcelona has launched an official complaint to UEFA regarding the San Siro pitch. Stupid move for a club that's considered to be amongst the elite and for a team considered to be the best (arguably) of all time. If the pitch is a problem both Arsenal and Barcelona should have complained about at least 24 hours in advance, not after an undesirable result. Not every pitch is going to be perfect like Camp Nou.

hyperion

Mar 29th, 2012, 10:59 PM

xlash

Mar 29th, 2012, 11:21 PM

Haha, what a stupid complaint. I doubt they'll get anything out of it.

Complete snafu on the part of Barcelona. Their own officials gave the green light for the pitch. Plus they trained on it 24 hours before. The pitch clearly wasn't great. Players were slipping and sliding quite a bit but to suggest that the pitch was unplayable reflects very poorly on the club. Immediate possession and territory stats for Barcelona are nothing out of the ordinary. Plus Milan played on the same pitch. Barcelona should just shut up and set up a clinic next week at the Camp Nou where THEY have control over the pitch.

Madchester

Mar 30th, 2012, 05:34 PM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/549790_365343126843096_101566839887394_1148065_335 960064_n.jpg

Tornado F2

Mar 30th, 2012, 06:11 PM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/549790_365343126843096_101566839887394_1148065_335 960064_n.jpg

Never thought of Petrov as a Stan before, but that is bad news. Hope he does okay. At least he should have access to some of the best care out there. It's likely the end of his playing career though.

blzn

Mar 31st, 2012, 11:16 AM

Tornado F2

Mar 31st, 2012, 11:28 AM

Never heard him referred to as 'Stan' either, hope he manages to get better.

What a game for Chelsea.. boring and cruising until Villa scores twice in a couple minutes then only for Ivanovic to score another crucial goal. Torres assisting and scoring the last two goals, he should of had more goals but I just hope he keeps progressing and doesn't take a step backward.

City fight back to make it 3-3 didn't see 2nd half highlights but imo it's 2 more points dropped for City.

QPR wins against Arsenal :D.

Torres only scored the goal at the very end actually. Around the time that Villa possibly became a Championship side. :razz:

Great game by Sunderland today. They have a decent squad and manager and could easily be competing for a Europa spot with the likes of LFC next season. City didn't so much fight back as Sunderland switched off. Possibly they were tiring at the end. City shouldn't have had the PK in the first half, and the other 2 goals came during a 1 minute lapse.

Decent battling scores at the bottom today. Good to see Bolton and Wigan grab all 3 points. Wolves look to be gone. QPR and Blackburn should hopefully go down with them, as they should have the finances to bounce back. If the stupid Blackburn owners still don't want to spend, it will be a good time to force them out. They've done the club absolutely no good at all.

Tornado F2

Mar 31st, 2012, 11:37 AM

"We're going to Wembley" playing pre-game at Goodison park. Some odd scouse version. ;)

Special as a Wembley trip is, it's a shame the semis aren't played a bit closer, especially when opposing teams are both from the north of the country. I know United always liked playing at Villa Park. They knew the big Final at Wembley was waiting. :)

Officials checking the players' shorts in the tunnel for some odd reason. :confused:

BTW, Everton now ahead of LFC, with Sunderland just behind (shame about those 2 points dropped), and LFC have to go to Newcastle... :D

blzn

Mar 31st, 2012, 12:36 PM

Torres only scored the goal at the very end actually.

I said assisted and scored the last 2 goals.. :lol: Which is what your saying.

Tornado F2

Mar 31st, 2012, 01:50 PM

I said assisted and scored the last 2 goals.. :lol: Which is what your saying.

He assisted AND scored both goals? Your grammar there is on the level of today's tabloid writers. i.e. Not clear at all. :razz: I'm being very clear - he only scored one, right at the end.

I read yesterday about Maradona climbing into the stands at an away game to "protect" his wife from hostile fans, but the same article also used the name of his team's home stadium. Does nobody proofread what they've written anymore? You'd think that's the least somebody being paid to write would do. And where was the editor? I believe it was a UK newspaper's website.

blzn

Mar 31st, 2012, 02:13 PM

He assisted AND scored both goals? Your grammar there is on the level of today's tabloid writers. i.e. Not clear at all. :razz: I'm being very clear - he only scored one, right at the end.

I read yesterday about Maradona climbing into the stands at an away game to "protect" his wife from hostile fans, but the same article also used the name of his team's home stadium. Does nobody proofread what they've written anymore? You'd think that's the least somebody being paid to write would do. And where was the editor? I believe it was a UK newspaper's website.

How can someone who assisted a goal score the same goal? :P Bit unclear I'll admit but not that bad :D

It was their home stadium.. they were getting owned and certain sections of the home supporters were mad.

elty

Mar 31st, 2012, 03:57 PM

So Torres finally score as many league goal as Tim Howard in 2012!

got_it_4_cheap

Mar 31st, 2012, 05:40 PM

man city :facepalm:

http://i.minus.com/iUms6OujZZNWw.gif

dat cross + finish! :cheesygri

Tornado F2

Mar 31st, 2012, 08:13 PM

Canada v Mexico's just kicked off. Olympic qualifying on the line. Let's hope our youngsters can win it.

hyperion

Apr 1st, 2012, 12:28 AM

man city :facepalm:

http://i.minus.com/iUms6OujZZNWw.gif

dat cross + finish! :cheesygri

That is pretty nice.

blzn

Apr 1st, 2012, 11:59 AM

LOL

"Miss of the match: Andy Carroll wasted a great chance to score on his return to Newcastle when he went round Tim Krul only to dive in a bid to win a penalty and was then booked for diving."

Tornado F2

Apr 1st, 2012, 12:41 PM

Sounds like NUFC failed to put in a shot on Enrique while he was in net for the last 10 minutes or so. Why the heck not? GD could yet play a big part for them.

Carroll's dive after rounding the keeper really sounded dumb. Guess he wanted to show off to the fans the one skill he's been taught at LFC. I'm sure they appreciated the display. :D

LFC played a mostly full strength team, including several former NUFC players presumably with a point to prove, against a depleted NUFC team with 4th-choice CBs and still lost 2-0. And I for one am not surprised to see them lose. KKALF - Keep Kenny At Liverpool Forever. Those LFC players of the 70s may have been good in their day, but they've mostly been crap managers. Dalglish, Souness, Keegan. Hardly popular with their past clubs. Do those last two ever visit LFC, or are they unwanted there too?

As I said the other day though, NUFC deserve a lot of credit for the season they're having. It will be harsh on them if they miss out on a European spot next season, though they'd need to expand their squad to cope with the extra matches. Spurs' win puts them back on course for a ChLg spot next season. Can Chelsea or NUFC catch them or Arsenal? Should be a good contest, though somebody's going to end up disappointed. Gives Arsenal a huge incentive to beat City next week. It will be great if United end up winning this season's EPL trophy at the stadium named after us - City's. :D

Tornado F2

Apr 1st, 2012, 02:31 PM

- LFC "have now lost six of their last seven Premier League games".

Fans are now getting nostalgic for the time when they had guaranteed 1-pointer home draws.

- "Reina, who had played 183 consecutive league matches for the Reds, will now miss the next three games, including the FA Cup semi-final against Everton on 14 April".

Oops.

At least things can't get any worse. Can they?

Let's see if they can end the season below Woy's WBA - currently 6 points behind and just barely outside the relegation battle. Big match on April 22.

Or can Dalglish outdo Rafa and secure relegation this season for LFC? It would require a relegation zone team to make up 14 points over the remaining 7 games. Doable? At LFC's current rate, 4 points from the last 8 games, who knows? All those earlier home draws might just keep them up. Stay tuned!

Dalglish (and quite a few of his players) are well on their way to becoming legends - at other clubs. :D

Still, Shearer reckon's "Dalglish is the right man for Liverpool". http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17554694 Praise or what? I'd like to know what Gerrard thinks.

http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2012/04/01/256261.jpg

Tornado F2

Apr 1st, 2012, 02:41 PM

On the plus side, here's a surprisingly scenic view of the Liver Birds - taken from Everton.

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolecho/jan2010/3/9/image-6-test-225350707.jpg

I believe that's the Lake District in the background.

Amazing the results a photographer can get with a good telephoto lens.

elty

Apr 1st, 2012, 09:09 PM

Whats going on with pool, are they happy with a League Cup?

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-1duyw9.gif

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-7vszl3.gif

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 2nd, 2012, 10:22 AM

Tornado F2

Apr 2nd, 2012, 11:41 AM

Whats going on with pool, are they happy with a League Cup?

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-1duyw9.gif

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-7vszl3.gif

Why not? They only got that because Cardiff were even worse at PKs than they were.

Come the end of the season, LFC fans will trying their best to have everybody forget it. Fat chance of that though, especially while Suarez is still around, even if he does jump ship to the Continent.

Wonder how much transfer money the owner will be willing to make available this summer? Likely not nearly enough considering how last summer's was wasted. He's probably wishing he'd bought NUFC instead. Better stadium, better team (at a fraction of the cost), better manager.

Tornado F2

Apr 2nd, 2012, 11:54 AM

Bale admits lure of La Liga

Spurs star Gareth Bale has admitted a move to Spanish giants Barcelona or Real Madrid would be hard to resist.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11827/7643607/Bale-admits-lure-of-La-Liga

where would he play though, he won't be an automatic starter @ madrid or barca

If a decent bid comes in, Spurs should grab the cash. "Chance of a lifetime" as he said. They could buy several more useful players to replace him. He has standout MVP games once in a blue moon, but even Robben has them more often than him.

If it's a ploy to force United's hand, sorry, Giggs and the rest of the lads are doing fine without you. No rush. In fact I'm not sure United would have a lot of use for him, despite him in the past seeming a logical replacement for Giggs. He had his "once in a lifetime" a few years back (apparently United and Arsenal were interested) and chose Spurs. Live with it.

At least he can move to LA at the end of his career - so long as they're still making Planet of the Apes movies. :razz:

Tornado F2

Apr 2nd, 2012, 12:21 PM

- "Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will not quit - Mark Lawrenson"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17583592

Shame. I was hoping he'd accept the City job for next season. :D

- Lawrenson pointed to the lack of impact made by Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, big-money signings brought in by Dalglish for a combined total of almost £85m.

"The biggest problem is Adam, Downing, Carroll and Henderson between them have contributed six league goals," said Lawrenson. "You should be looking at 25-30 goals between them.

"Adam hasn't done it but the four of them haven't. Andy Carroll hasn't been the same player - it's the old 'take the boy out of Newcastle'. He's not been the same."

Speaking on Match of the Day 3, Lawrenson added: "We all thought in the summer that they had added more quality.

"At the moment, they are not defending particularly well. But they are absolutely desperate for a goalscorer."

They've got no goalie either now. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 2nd, 2012, 04:14 PM

Leave the trophy in the trophy room guys. :D

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1126/560812569_010468a0a8.jpg

Decent defensive display by Blackburn today, but United's pressure eventually broke through. 2 nice goals by Valencia (best right winger in the league?) and Young. Hope Mancini has to pay up on his "draw" bet. :lol:

"City's cracking up". :D

Tornado F2

Apr 2nd, 2012, 04:36 PM

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2123858/Mario-Balotelli-Yaya-Toure-pulled-apart-half-time-bust-Sunderland.html

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/04/02/article-2123858-126AA634000005DC-647_468x314.jpg

:D

xlash

Apr 2nd, 2012, 11:50 PM

Bale admits lure of La Liga

Spurs star Gareth Bale has admitted a move to Spanish giants Barcelona or Real Madrid would be hard to resist.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11827/7643607/Bale-admits-lure-of-La-Liga

where would he play though, he won't be an automatic starter @ madrid or barca

I concur with you on Real. Madrid would be stupid to splurge on a 3rd left back and Bale is well-aware that he'll be competing with Marcelo and Coentrao for a starting spot. Besides Madrid deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation where the full-backs usually stay deeper in their zone.

But why wouldn't he be an automatic starter for Barcelona? He's a natural wingback and does for the Spurs precisely what he'd do for Barcelona. Abidal's football career is done. Bale will compliment Dani Alves perfectly on the opposite flank for Barcelona. Barcelona would do well acquiring him and another center-back. Muniesa and Bartra just won't cut it as replacements for Puyol. Milan will put up a massive fight to keep Thiago Silva.

What does throw a wrench into this is Sandro Rosell's desire to get Neymar. Great business initiative but could be very dangerous for squad morale. Money can buy players but not legacy.

xlash

Apr 2nd, 2012, 11:52 PM

So every week City lines up a new player it wants to offload. This week it's Mario. Would be interesting to see him being replaced with Ronaldo. Hmmm Ronaldo in the Manchester blue....making 500,000 a week!!! I don't even make that in a year. LOL.

blzn

Apr 3rd, 2012, 12:35 AM

I concur with you on Real. Madrid would be stupid to splurge on a 3rd left back and Bale is well-aware that he'll be competing with Marcelo and Coentrao for a starting spot. Besides Madrid deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation where the full-backs usually stay deeper in their zone.

But why wouldn't he be an automatic starter for Barcelona? He's a natural wingback and does for the Spurs precisely what he'd do for Barcelona. Abidal's football career is done. Bale will compliment Dani Alves perfectly on the opposite flank for Barcelona. Barcelona would do well acquiring him and another center-back. Muniesa and Bartra just won't cut it as replacements for Puyol. Milan will put up a massive fight to keep Thiago Silva.

What does throw a wrench into this is Sandro Rosell's desire to get Neymar. Great business initiative but could be very dangerous for squad morale. Money can buy players but not legacy.

Watch Bale much? When was the last time he was used as a left back.. he's much better in a more advanced position. I would see him competing with Villa/Pedro/Sanchez for those kind of roles if he was in the Barcelona squad.

xlash

Apr 3rd, 2012, 08:12 AM

Watch Bale much? When was the last time he was used as a left back.. he's much better in a more advanced position. I would see him competing with Villa/Pedro/Sanchez for those kind of roles if he was in the Barcelona squad.

I never said he'd be used as a left back, a wing back rather. Did you watch Arsenal much up until 2011? Cesc was used as a deep lying playmaker. Now he's played as a striker, winger, trequartista. Guardiola plays players not just to their strengths but what works tactically as well. So who is the best young wing back, a left sided Dani Alves in the world today??

blzn

Apr 3rd, 2012, 08:34 AM

xlash

Apr 3rd, 2012, 12:22 PM

Again have you seen Bale defend? He would not be a wing back, not for one of the best teams in the world.

Also Fabregas deep? Were you watching Arsenal? He almost always played the most advanced out of the midfield players. What pep did with him is nothing special, anyone who watched him knew he was a very capable player going forward.

I don't watch Arsenal as frequently as the average EPL fan but when I did see him he played as a deep-lying playmaker who would frequently move forward with the play, similar to what Xavi does. Nasri played a more advanced role than Fabregas.

At Barcelona Fabregas wasn't going forward....he WAS the forward i.e. number 9. I may not watch the EPL much but I do watch La Liga and especially Barcelona.

Bale would make a fantastic wing-back. He's not the best defender, but neither is Dani Alves, and Bale offers the same skill-set that Alves offers. He's a good ball player, has immense pace, positionally sound, a good crosser and a fabulously versatile player - exactly what Barcelona want. Furthermore, he's a team-player. He'd be the perfect wing-back for the best team in the world. Under the tutelage of Pep and a new coaching staff his defensive shortcomings can be overcome since he's still young.

There maybe better full-backs in the mould of Micah Richards, Ashley Cole, Bacary Sagna, Patrice Evra etc. but none of them fit the needs of Barcelona quite like Bale.

blzn

Apr 3rd, 2012, 01:46 PM

I don't watch Arsenal as frequently as the average EPL fan but when I did see him he played as a deep-lying playmaker who would frequently move forward with the play, similar to what Xavi does. Nasri played a more advanced role than Fabregas.

At Barcelona Fabregas wasn't going forward....he WAS the forward i.e. number 9. I may not watch the EPL much but I do watch La Liga and especially Barcelona.

Bale would make a fantastic wing-back. He's not the best defender, but neither is Dani Alves, and Bale offers the same skill-set that Alves offers. He's a good ball player, has immense pace, positionally sound, a good crosser and a fabulously versatile player - exactly what Barcelona want. Furthermore, he's a team-player. He'd be the perfect wing-back for the best team in the world. Under the tutelage of Pep and a new coaching staff his defensive shortcomings can be overcome since he's still young.

There maybe better full-backs in the mould of Micah Richards, Ashley Cole, Bacary Sagna, Patrice Evra etc. but none of them fit the needs of Barcelona quite like Bale.

Nasri played mostly a wide position at Arsenal, rarely was he playing the attacking central role. You admit to not watching them much but then insist you know what position he played most of the time.

I think Alves is a much better defender than Bale, and Alves isn't the best definitely. IMO Bale shouldn't be playing a defensive position again. A slightly younger Lahm would be an excellent fit.

blzn

Apr 3rd, 2012, 02:38 PM

Weird second penalty call for Barcelona.. definitely a foul but those fouls happen on literally every corner of every game. First time I've personally seen a PK called for it.

forzaroma

Apr 3rd, 2012, 02:42 PM

Weird second penalty call for Barcelona.. definitely a foul but those fouls happen on literally every corner of every game. First time I've personally seen a PK called for it.

It's called match fixing. Uefa wants a Barca/Real final so badly that its pathetic what they'll do to ensure it happens.

xlash

Apr 3rd, 2012, 04:06 PM

It's called match fixing. Uefa wants a Barca/Real final so badly that its pathetic what they'll do to ensure it happens.

Of all Milan players, Nesta should know better than to hold on to Busquet's shirt in the penalty box. Let's say your presumption is correct and the match was fixed Nesta did a wonderful job of selling the foul. So it's not just UEFA who want an El Clasico final it's AC Milan too.

Over all pretty tepid display from Milan. They should have attacked at Camp Nou just like they had at San Siro. Tough to do that when your top attacking player has no desire to succeed in the CL.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 3rd, 2012, 06:27 PM

Weird second penalty call for Barcelona.. definitely a foul but those fouls happen on literally every corner of every game. First time I've personally seen a PK called for it.

not really, barca has been getting favors from refs in cl for awhile now

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s320x320/531366_3618562186549_966858255_n.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ubOSQ.gif

this was in the supercup, no pk given of course, barca get away with whatever they want

Ibra hits out at Barca 'favouritism'

After the game Ibrahimovic told Viasat Fotboll: "We got back to 1-1 and then we saw a penalty decision given against us that I cannot understand. The ball was not in play, but he whistled. It was an odd decision, a strange decision. It ruined the game.

"They don't need to be given favours. We're talking about the best team in the world. I'm starting to understand Mourinho's reaction every time he comes here. I've been through it myself now. I understand more and more."

Ibrahimovic also felt he might have been given a penalty when he was brought down in the area in the second half under a challenge from Javier Mascherano.

He added: "Also, I wasn't given a penalty. The referee was blowing for fouls every time you touched them. It was a shame. Had the referee given out decisions equally to both teams we'd have had a better chance. They did well, though - we shouldn't just complain about the referee."

Nesta, meanwhile, accepted that he had pulled Busquets' shirt but claimed he was fouled by Carles Puyol at the same time.

"I pulled Busquets a bit, but I was being blocked from behind by Puyol," Nesta told Sky Sport Italia. "It was a foul on me as well. At least from what I saw on the pitch, the referee awarded the foul before the ball was in play.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1044454/milan%27s-zlatan-ibrahimovic-hits-out-at-favouritism-to-barcelona?cc=5901

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/526420_365327113506308_112951102077245_1023391_120 7427062_n.jpg

elty

Apr 3rd, 2012, 09:35 PM

Of all Milan players, Nesta should know better than to hold on to Busquet's shirt in the penalty box. Let's say your presumption is correct and the match was fixed Nesta did a wonderful job of selling the foul.

Nice, blame the victim....

xlash

Apr 3rd, 2012, 11:25 PM

Nice, blame the victim....

LOL everybody defends their team when attacked. Quite a natural reaction. Through a neutral lens I agree that the penalty was dubious. But the corner kick was already taken when Busquets went down.

At that time the match was 1-1 with Milan having the upper hand on the scoresheet but it was Barcelona that controlled the match. 60%+ possession 5 shots on target and another 5 off while Milan had had just 1.

Also this is getting tiring. Every time Barcelona wins it's the referees and match fixing though many top opposition players have come forward and stated that to stop Barcelona you have to foul them. But if Barcelona loses and I say it's the referees/match fixing with a series of evidence it's not taken seriously.

blzn

Apr 4th, 2012, 01:13 AM

LOL everybody defends their team when attacked. Quite a natural reaction. Through a neutral lens I agree that the penalty was dubious. But the corner kick was already taken when Busquets went down.

At that time the match was 1-1 with Milan having the upper hand on the scoresheet but it was Barcelona that controlled the match. 60%+ possession 5 shots on target and another 5 off while Milan had had just 1.

Also this is getting tiring. Every time Barcelona wins it's the referees and match fixing though many top opposition players have come forward and stated that to stop Barcelona you have to foul them. But if Barcelona loses and I say it's the referees/match fixing with a series of evidence it's not taken seriously.

Every time they win? Bit of an exaggeration. Admitting to taking a physical approach doesn't mean referee's should give preferential treatment to Barcelona. That's the general feeling with most supporters of other top European clubs.

I hope Chelsea don't underestimate the task at hand and seal passage into the semi-finals. I'd be content making it to the semi finals.

xlash

Apr 4th, 2012, 10:50 AM

Every time they win? Bit of an exaggeration. Admitting to taking a physical approach doesn't mean referee's should give preferential treatment to Barcelona. That's the general feeling with most supporters of other top European clubs.

I hope Chelsea don't underestimate the task at hand and seal passage into the semi-finals. I'd be content making it to the semi finals.

Seems like it. Maybe not against the likes of Zaragoza or Levante but as it gets to the closing stages of the CL or El Clasico it does. Statistically, fouling is advantageous to the team that commits the foul.

The general feeling with most supporters of other European clubs is that of envy because Barcelona is virtually unbeatable. The general feeling amongst most players and coaches of other European clubs is that to at least have a chance of beating Barcelona is to deploy negative tactics and a very physical approach. Besides Allegri and the rest of the Milan players agreed that controversy aside Barcelona deserved to win; 21 vs 2 shots is a damning statistic against Milan. Maybe UEFA wants to cash in on the El Clasico, if that's the case then other teams should come up with a better strategy to beat Barcelona.

kennyhohoho

Apr 4th, 2012, 11:11 AM

Oh UEFA... You guys aren't even trying to hide the match fixing anymore, are you?

xlash

Apr 4th, 2012, 11:26 AM

kennyhohoho

Apr 4th, 2012, 11:51 AM

Go look up the FIFA rule book. Both the penalty decisions were correct. Milan resembled Arsenal from last year's round of 16 in the 2nd leg. Stop blaming UEFA for Allegri's failed tactics. Even Allegri himself has deemed Barcelona the superior team.

If games were played based strictly on the FIFA rule book, we would have penalties given for every single corner taken.

And isn't that how every team plays Barca? Absorb the pressure and hit them on the counter. The number of shots comparison doesn't tell me anything other than Barca has a terrible shots/goals ratio. Over 20 shots and only 1 goal from open play?

And what is Allegri supposed to say? lol...

Tornado F2

Apr 4th, 2012, 11:52 AM

VorteC

Apr 4th, 2012, 02:07 PM

Chelsea 1 - 0 Benfica (2-0 AGG)

Penalty on A. Cole converted by Lamps.

EDIT: 27 min into the game.

VorteC

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:29 PM

Chelsea 1 - 1 Benfica (2-1 AGG)

Free header and bad goalkeeping by Cech, Chelsea are getting sloppy.

One more for Benfica and they are through.

VorteC

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:36 PM

Chelsea 2 - 1 Benfica (3-1 AGG)

Great run and strike by R. Mereiles

Chelsea appear to be through, although I don't think they've got the ability to trump Barcelona next round.

Tornado F2

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:46 PM

Chelsea 2 - 1 Benfica (3-1 AGG)

Great run and strike by R. Mereiles

Chelsea appear to be through, although I don't think they've got the ability to trump Barcelona next round.

Have to say they were VERY lucky there. I could see a late Porto-style goal getting Benfica through. Tough luck on Benfica, considering how long they played a man down. Great fans though. Only a small section of the ground, but they kept the Chelsea fans drowned out (did the Chelsea fans cheer on their team at all?) until after the final whistle, when they finally got to wave their freebie flags. Chelsea will need to do a LOT better when they meet Barca. Drogba needs to start for sure, not come on for the final few minutes. May as well have just left Torres out there, or brought on an extra midfielder/defender at that point.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:48 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-15walmp.gif

good to see di maria healthy and scoring!

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-10m1k9e.gif

dat fk!

http://i.minus.com/ipBa9xDdybTgu.gif

Finesse shot, fifa 12 anyone? :D

chelsea vs barca!

http://londontomk.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/drogba.gif

Tornado F2

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:50 PM

2 goals for Apoel at Madrid. Well done to them, even though they lost. Shame for the guy who lost his tooth though. Just pulled it out and threw it. Imagine if that had happened to a Madrid player. ;)

Tornado F2

Apr 4th, 2012, 03:55 PM

Speaking of teeth, they must have a good dental plan at Old Trafford. They worked miracles on Stitch Tevez, and even CRon saw obvious cosmetic improvements:

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16600000/Cristiano-Ronaldo-had-a-gaps-between-teeth-2-cristiano-ronaldo-16690534-1190-768.jpg

blzn

Apr 4th, 2012, 04:50 PM

Haha such a Fifa 12 finesse shot, if you play on xbox add me Cheap blznhaze.

Ugly win by Chelsea but all we had to do was defend and hit them on the counter. Should be interesting against Barcelona, tbh have no expectations I'm content with making it to the semi-finals.

Chelsea will be playing Tottenham, Barca, Arsenal, Barca in a row. Stupid how the FA schedules Chelsea playing Sunday night knowing we have a midweek CL game. Other countries help their teams in Europe where possible in terms of match scheduling but not the FA.

Ramires coming oh so close :lol:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1043022/failgoal.gif

Tornado F2

Apr 4th, 2012, 05:09 PM

Ramires coming oh so close :lol:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1043022/failgoal.gif

Even Torres was probably laughing at him after that one. :D

xlash

Apr 4th, 2012, 11:37 PM

If games were played based strictly on the FIFA rule book, we would have penalties given for every single corner taken.

And isn't that how every team plays Barca? Absorb the pressure and hit them on the counter. The number of shots comparison doesn't tell me anything other than Barca has a terrible shots/goals ratio. Over 20 shots and only 1 goal from open play?

And what is Allegri supposed to say? lol...

Not every player pulls a shirt during a corner but it does happen and referees should call it.

No, every team doesn't absorb pressure and then counter. Most of the top teams have deployed a variety of different tactics to beat Barcelona. In the first Liga meeting Madrid pressured high up the pitch, in both meetings Bilbao man marked every Barca player, in the CL final United tried to play their standard tactics and so did Arsenal over both legs in the round of 16 last year. Milan stuck to their game plan until the second penalty.

In the last couple of years very few teams have beaten a full strength Barca: Arsenal in the first leg, Hercules and Sevilla and none of those are known for playing pure counter attacking football. Not that counter attacking teams haven't because you have Inter and Rubin Kazan.

As for the shots statistic, it also tells you that Milan hung Abbiati out to dry. Most of those shots were diffult ones from the wing and the full backs got very little support. Even if that penalty wasn't given Milan were thoroughly dominated. After that 3rd goal Barca simply tried to hold onto the ball. With just a 1 goal lead they would have kept attacking.

Well Allegri could have been snide and taken the mourinho route blaming everyone but himself. However, Allegri's got a lot of class. Even when jousting with Juve he maintains his composure and professionalism. Not even once this season has he said anything bad about Inter. Besides those Serie A natives know that they need to support their clubs if they want to get that 4th CL spot back.

blzn

Apr 5th, 2012, 09:50 AM

Not every player pulls a shirt during a corner but it does happen and referees should call it.

No, every team doesn't absorb pressure and then counter. Most of the top teams have deployed a variety of different tactics to beat Barcelona. In the first Liga meeting Madrid pressured high up the pitch, in both meetings Bilbao man marked every Barca player, in the CL final United tried to play their standard tactics and so did Arsenal over both legs in the round of 16 last year. Milan stuck to their game plan until the second penalty.

In the last couple of years very few teams have beaten a full strength Barca: Arsenal in the first leg, Hercules and Sevilla and none of those are known for playing pure counter attacking football. Not that counter attacking teams haven't because you have Inter and Rubin Kazan.

As for the shots statistic, it also tells you that Milan hung Abbiati out to dry. Most of those shots were diffult ones from the wing and the full backs got very little support. Even if that penalty wasn't given Milan were thoroughly dominated. After that 3rd goal Barca simply tried to hold onto the ball. With just a 1 goal lead they would have kept attacking.

Well Allegri could have been snide and taken the mourinho route blaming everyone but himself. However, Allegri's got a lot of class. Even when jousting with Juve he maintains his composure and professionalism. Not even once this season has he said anything bad about Inter. Besides those Serie A natives know that they need to support their clubs if they want to get that 4th CL spot back.

He said shirt pulling happens on every corner, not every PLAYER does it.

How did those teams that tried to play good football fare against Barcelona? MU and Arsenal easily outclassed sadly.

The two teams who have relative success in the past few years against Barcelona was Mourinho's Inter and Hiddink's Chelsea. Both deployed very defensive tactics and it paid off (for the most part). Chelsea was the only team to hold Barcelona goalless at the Nou Camp the season they met in the semi-finals and only lost on away goals. Inter of course progressed to win the CL.

The only team who has the talent to potential properly play against Barca and maybe get a positive result is Madrid.

You can't beat them at their own game, IMO.

xlash

Apr 5th, 2012, 01:18 PM

He said shirt pulling happens on every corner, not every PLAYER does it.

How did those teams that tried to play good football fare against Barcelona? MU and Arsenal easily outclassed sadly.

The two teams who have relative success in the past few years against Barcelona was Mourinho's Inter and Hiddink's Chelsea. Both deployed very defensive tactics and it paid off (for the most part). Chelsea was the only team to hold Barcelona goalless at the Nou Camp the season they met in the semi-finals and only lost on away goals. Inter of course progressed to win the CL.

The only team who has the talent to potential properly play against Barca and maybe get a positive result is Madrid.

You can't beat them at their own game, IMO.

That's fine but shirt pulling does not happen at every corner. Obstruction yes but blatant shirt-pulling - no. So how come none of you guys cried foul when Alexis Sanchez was tripped by Abbiati in the box in the first leg? It would have been hard to argue a penalty on that one. If that penalty had been awarded instead of the one against Nesta it works out even more in Barca's favour because it would have been an away goal.

With strict defensive tactics you're just preventing Barca from scoring, not necessarily creating chances for yourself. Chelsea fans will, year after year, harp about Overbo playing for Barcelona and not awarding the penalties. What's forgotten, rather conveniently, is that Abidal got sent off because Anelka tripped over his own foot. And then Chelsea had a good 30 mins to put the match away and they failed.

Mourinho does a great job riling up the fans with the scandal of Stamford Bridge. Not only is the Abidal red card not brought up, Chelsea's abject performance is ignored too. A year later having finished a 24 hour coach ride Barca put in a dominant display against Inter. Effectively with 10 men because Ibra took a walk. Only to have Diego Milito score an off-side goal. Nobody remembers all that. If not for that goal, Barca could potentially have won the CL that year.

You can't beat Barca at their own game and an astounding majority of teams can't beat them at their own game either. Perhaps it'll help the non-Barca fans to look at refereeing decisions against Barca and most importantly their own team's performance against Barca before screaming conspiracy theory.

Anyway moving on. I think the Real-Bayern tie will be more interesting to watch than Barcelona-Chelsea. Hopefully I can watch both.

blzn

Apr 6th, 2012, 03:53 AM

That's fine but shirt pulling does not happen at every corner. Obstruction yes but blatant shirt-pulling - no. So how come none of you guys cried foul when Alexis Sanchez was tripped by Abbiati in the box in the first leg? It would have been hard to argue a penalty on that one. If that penalty had been awarded instead of the one against Nesta it works out even more in Barca's favour because it would have been an away goal.

With strict defensive tactics you're just preventing Barca from scoring, not necessarily creating chances for yourself. Chelsea fans will, year after year, harp about Overbo playing for Barcelona and not awarding the penalties. What's forgotten, rather conveniently, is that Abidal got sent off because Anelka tripped over his own foot. And then Chelsea had a good 30 mins to put the match away and they failed.

Mourinho does a great job riling up the fans with the scandal of Stamford Bridge. Not only is the Abidal red card not brought up, Chelsea's abject performance is ignored too. A year later having finished a 24 hour coach ride Barca put in a dominant display against Inter. Effectively with 10 men because Ibra took a walk. Only to have Diego Milito score an off-side goal. Nobody remembers all that. If not for that goal, Barca could potentially have won the CL that year.

You can't beat Barca at their own game and an astounding majority of teams can't beat them at their own game either. Perhaps it'll help the non-Barca fans to look at refereeing decisions against Barca and most importantly their own team's performance against Barca before screaming conspiracy theory.

Anyway moving on. I think the Real-Bayern tie will be more interesting to watch than Barcelona-Chelsea. Hopefully I can watch both.

No need to state the obvious, by focusing on a defensive game plan don't you think it's obvious your restricting your goal scoring opportunities..

Chelsea's abject performance? That was a brilliant display from Chelsea over two legs against Barcelona, they knew what they had to do and executed the game plan excellently. Don't get too carried away, you didn't beat us in either leg. 4 Penalties > Red Card, you act like it's suddenly easy to put the match away against a Barcelona team who had demolished all they had come up against that season. I don't call it a conspiracy, I feel that it was just a terrible job by the referee that night at the Bridge.

Explain how it's 'astounding' that teams can't beat Barcelona.. they only have one of the best line ups in world football spearheaded by potentially the best player ever.

Wouldn't mind moving on either, and we're all going to have slightly biased views on topics due to our loyalty to the clubs we support.

xlash

Apr 6th, 2012, 01:19 PM

No need to state the obvious, by focusing on a defensive game plan don't you think it's obvious your restricting your goal scoring opportunities..

Chelsea's abject performance? That was a brilliant display from Chelsea over two legs against Barcelona, they knew what they had to do and executed the game plan excellently. Don't get too carried away, you didn't beat us in either leg. 4 Penalties > Red Card, you act like it's suddenly easy to put the match away against a Barcelona team who had demolished all they had come up against that season. I don't call it a conspiracy, I feel that it was just a terrible job by the referee that night at the Bridge.

Explain how it's 'astounding' that teams can't beat Barcelona.. they only have one of the best line ups in world football spearheaded by potentially the best player ever.

Wouldn't mind moving on either, and we're all going to have slightly biased views on topics due to our loyalty to the clubs we support.

3 of those penalties can be argued against. Eto'o handball was inadvertent since he had turned away from the ball. Toure's trip on Drogba cannot be adjudged a foul because he swiped the ball first before touching Drogba's feet. And Malouda looked like he just dropped when he was obstructed by Alves. Only the Pique one is tough to defend against. He didn't have any reason to handle the ball but he didn't move his arm away either.

Overbo screwed it all up rather badly. Every time the referee makes a controversial call he has to explain it to the team and Overbo barely communicated to the Chelsea players. He acknowledges his mistakes here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/apr/05/referee-chelsea-2009-barcelona

If UEFA pays officials to sway the match in a certain club's favour it would be understandable at a domestic level. But an the continental level that would be very difficult to hide. When Chelsea played Barcelona it wasn't just Londoners and Barcelonans watching, football fans from all over the world did. It would take a huge amount of money to pull off what Overbo did. It's not just the money there's the official's family, reputation, career, all on the line.

Tornado F2

Apr 7th, 2012, 10:13 AM

blzn

Apr 7th, 2012, 11:21 AM

Tornado F2

Apr 7th, 2012, 02:38 PM

xlash

Apr 7th, 2012, 07:21 PM

Typical LFC match so far. Lots of running, missing, and diving, but they're still trailing. :D

A far more entertaining match that this morning's goalless early start though. I should have slept in.

Anybody know why all last Saturday's matches were played at exactly the same time, with no staggering for the broadcasters? :?: It makes sense on the final day, but not now.

It's dictated by broadcasters. They have past cumulative data for each matchup and if the individual matches don't generate substantial revenue or if their advertisers don't see the benefit in doing so then matches aren't staggered. Also there could be another sport with high viewership e.g. the Masters is going on right now (golf) and maybe cricket too i.e. England vs. Sri Lanka.

SAF has talked about this many times, especially when it works against his team's recovery from fatigue. Only in Italy do the stadiums have some say because they are predominantly owned by the cities.

xlash

Apr 7th, 2012, 07:28 PM

blzn

Apr 7th, 2012, 07:58 PM

Nice to see Juve back on the Serie A summit. Juve's fantastic while Milan has just 1 point from the last 2 matches.

Roberto Mancini says City are a player or two away from winning multiple titles a year. Methinks they are a good man manager away from 2 titles a year. All indicators are indicating with strong indications that Jose Mourinho will be at City next year.

Lot of indicating going on lol :P

Think Chelsea fans are going to have to get used to Mourinho being manager for another top English club pretty soon.

hyperion

Apr 7th, 2012, 08:33 PM

Lot of indicating going on lol :P

Think Chelsea fans are going to have to get used to Mourinho being manager for another top English club pretty soon.

Haven't been reading up lately. What indications??

blzn

Apr 7th, 2012, 09:35 PM

Nice to see Juve back on the Serie A summit. Juve's fantastic while Milan has just 1 point from the last 2 matches.

Roberto Mancini says City are a player or two away from winning multiple titles a year. Methinks they are a good man manager away from 2 titles a year. All indicators are indicating with strong indications that Jose Mourinho will be at City next year.

Was just messing with xlash for using indicate 3 times in one sentence lol.

Wish Mourinho would return, guess it's as likely as him coming boss of Tottenham, City, or Pool.

Tornado F2

Apr 7th, 2012, 11:46 PM

It's dictated by broadcasters. They have past cumulative data for each matchup and if the individual matches don't generate substantial revenue or if their advertisers don't see the benefit in doing so then matches aren't staggered. Also there could be another sport with high viewership e.g. the Masters is going on right now (golf) and maybe cricket too i.e. England vs. Sri Lanka.

SAF has talked about this many times, especially when it works against his team's recovery from fatigue. Only in Italy do the stadiums have some say because they are predominantly owned by the cities.

Possibly. I know it seemed odd last week, because we already knew how the Everton match (aired around noon) was going to turn out. All the games were scheduled together, while this week they're all over the place again. Funny how the holidays for everybody else are the busiest times for EPL players, but it just goes to show how important matchday game receipts still are to clubs.

I have a feeling a big horse race may have been what influenced last week's schedule. The Grand National perhaps? (Edit: No, that's next week).

Tornado F2

Apr 8th, 2012, 12:00 AM

Was just messing with xlash for using indicate 3 times in one sentence lol.

Wish Mourinho would return, guess it's as likely as him coming boss of Tottenham, City, or Pool.

Lots of lights are flashing rapidly on the display console in front of him. Alert! Alert! Alert! Jose's about to jump ship! Alert!... :lol:

I'm not following Madrid closely, but I don't think Mourinho's ready to jump just yet. Not when he's finally achieving something against his old pals Barca. But if somebody puts a nice fat contract in front of him... (That counts out Spurs and LFC). If City do make a move for him though, they'd better be prepared to cough up for some of his key players like CRon too. It could get really expensive, really quick. I'm not sure the City fans would appreciate a return to last-season-like low scoring games though, but the way this season's petering out for them (and the owners) they might be ready for a change. If that does happen, I'll be a little disappointed for Mancini. He seems a likeable enough guy. But the pressure of running the City asylum is really starting to get to him, so he might be glad of a change. Viera's feeble attempts at mind games aren't helping either.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 09:20 AM

Possibly. I know it seemed odd last week, because we already knew how the Everton match (aired around noon) was going to turn out. All the games were scheduled together, while this week they're all over the place again. Funny how the holidays for everybody else are the busiest times for EPL players, but it just goes to show how important matchday game receipts still are to clubs.

I have a feeling a big horse race may have been what influenced last week's schedule. The Grand National perhaps? (Edit: No, that's next week).

Actually broadcast revenue is more important. Except for Arsenal, all top 6 clubs make more via broadcast than matchday receipts. Qualitatively, matchday revenue is also very sensitive because this is the most direct source of revenue and requires direct engagement with fans. So how sensitive? Well as soon as Arsenal and Chelsea were afraid of missing the CL next season they froze (and in some cases reduced) next season's ticket prices. This will hit Arsenal the most because their commercial source isn't very strong. One of those 2 clubs may play in CL next season, maybe even both but ticket prices will remain frozen.

Tornado F2

Apr 8th, 2012, 09:46 AM

Actually broadcast revenue is more important. Except for Arsenal, all top 6 clubs make more via broadcast than matchday receipts. Qualitatively, matchday revenue is also very sensitive because this is the most direct source of revenue and requires direct engagement with fans. So how sensitive? Well as soon as Arsenal and Chelsea were afraid of missing the CL next season they froze (and in some cases reduced) next season's ticket prices. This will hit Arsenal the most because their commercial source isn't very strong. One of those 2 clubs may play in CL next season, maybe even both but ticket prices will remain frozen.

I know that broadcast revenue is more important, I was just saying that gate receipts are still important too, especially for smaller clubs without the extra European revenue coming in. Supporter attendance is also key for the survival of the game, especially that of youngsters, since even in the UK there are rival sports and activities that would love to draw in current football fans if they could. Clubs are working hard to prevent that though, especially in the lower leagues. Some are selling blocks of tickets - say 4 games for the price of 1 - for games that they otherwise expect a low attendance for, while others are even going as far as throwing in free inter-city bus rides. It's obviously a serious financial gamble for the little clubs, but they're trying their best. Holiday match attendances are the big money earners (they hope) for them.

Tornado F2

Apr 8th, 2012, 10:11 AM

Another win this morning for United, 2-0, taking us 8 points clear of City prior to their kick off at Arsenal. Goals for Rooney and Scholes. Now players start looking for new motivators. Prior to the match Rooney needed 4 more goals to tie George Best and Dennis Viollet's third-place total of 179 United goals, behind Denis Law and all-time-leader Bobby Charlton. He now needs just 3 more to catch them. He has the chance to make his own personal history in the season's remaining 6 games. Meanwhile Scholes' tally keeps inching higher. He's obviously delighted to be back playing for another title. No wonder Viera's so jealous. :D

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59553000/jpg/_59553276_wayne-getty.jpg

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 10:44 AM

Lots of lights are flashing rapidly on the display console in front of him. Alert! Alert! Alert! Jose's about to jump ship! Alert!... :lol:

I'm not following Madrid closely, but I don't think Mourinho's ready to jump just yet. Not when he's finally achieving something against his old pals Barca. But if somebody puts a nice fat contract in front of him... (That counts out Spurs and LFC). If City do make a move for him though, they'd better be prepared to cough up for some of his key players like CRon too. It could get really expensive, really quick. I'm not sure the City fans would appreciate a return to last-season-like low scoring games though, but the way this season's petering out for them (and the owners) they might be ready for a change. If that does happen, I'll be a little disappointed for Mancini. He seems a likeable enough guy. But the pressure of running the City asylum is really starting to get to him, so he might be glad of a change. Viera's feeble attempts at mind games aren't helping either.

Mourinho's Madrid stay isn't going very well. He's conflicted with almost everybody in the Spanish contingent, especially Casillas and Ramos. Alonso is constantly having to dispell that there are problems with management. Besides Mourinho doesn't get along with the press like he did in England. Also the Madrid hierarchy have seen the damage he's done to the reputation of the club. Maybe he'll stay another season but there is a strong possibility that he will go.

City are very attractive to him. They already have the fundamental squad so it's all about bringing in talent to replace the problematic ones. Because of their equity financing model they slip through the FFP crack very easily so Mourinho can demand a player and he will be granted. He has all the tools over there to be successful.

Now Mancini's screwed up a lot. And it all stems from his handling of Balotelli. See I told you Tevez wouldn't be a problem if he came back. The guy just wants to play, he wants to be a starter. He's got the work ethic, his team-mates like him and he's very driven. His off-pitch problems only involve his discomfort with his family situation and problems with management stem from that. Balotelli on the other hand is always doing things that would aggravate just about anybody. Strip clubs, accidents, the Inter press conference, partying, breaking curfew and the worst transgression of all, having bust-ups with team-mates. And Mancini wants to punch him and kick his @$$ while simultaneously supporting him. We haven't heard a peep from Tevez since he got back but he's been vibrant in all the matches he has appeared in. Mancini has spent more time discussing Balotelli than all his other players combined.

Now Mancini is failing as a tactician. With Silva fatigued, he's run out of ideas so he says City needs reinforcements! Unbelievable!! Swap the City defence with Arsenal's and Wenger would be giving SAF's squad a tough time in the standings and all Wenger has up front is RVP vs. Tevez, Dzeko, Aguero and Balotelli for Mancini. I am sure advisors are pointing this out for the City sheikhs.

hyperion

Apr 8th, 2012, 10:53 AM

Hahah, nice save my Vermaelen on Van Persie.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 11:06 AM

LOL Balotelli deserved a yellow for that deliberate handball. At the end of the first half he goes down feigning injury and only 1 player actually came to check on him.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 8th, 2012, 11:56 AM

LOL Balotelli deserved a yellow for that deliberate yellow. At the end of the first half he goes down feigning injury and only 1 player actually came to check on him.

barca should buy him! he'll fit right in :D

and there u have it, man utd epl champs

arsenal helping out man utd

mancini lol

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 12:05 PM

barca should buy him! he'll fit right in :D

and there u have it, man utd epl champs

arsenal helping out man utd

mancini lol

LOL If Barcelona even fielded an offer for Balotelli I'll burn my blaugrana jersey.

Folks can blame Tevez all they want but Mancini is the reason why the title slipped out of City's hand. Such an important game and he gives Balotelli a start while Tevez is on the bench only to see Balotelli take needless fouls and get sent off.

Now if only Real would collapse like City.....

Los Che need to win....badly.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 12:26 PM

Juventus signed a 35 million 3 year sponsorship deal with Jeep for their home and alternate jerseys. I wonder how much they'll get for the away jersey. Juve's got its business down pat. With a good team and coach they'll be competing for the CL title within a couple of years.

hyperion

Apr 8th, 2012, 01:13 PM

Nice goal by Arteta. Did you guys see that scene in the 75th minute when there were 3 huge misses by Arsenal in succession?

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 8th, 2012, 01:54 PM

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/547469_399505630074625_203063893052134_1490334_456 142050_n.jpg :D

showboat - best part of soccer am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0N6cl9gdUk&feature=player_embedded

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-39sbi4.gif

blzn

Apr 8th, 2012, 04:35 PM

Nice goal by Arteta. Did you guys see that scene in the 75th minute when there were 3 huge misses by Arsenal in succession?

Yeah that was pretty nuts, Arsenal deserved to win. Just sucks that they did lol.

Damn Madrid coming so close to getting the win but now the lead is 4.. looks like the title is settled in England before even Spain.

Those with interest in Bundesliga, top of the table clash on the 11th. Dortmund at home to Bayern Munich.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 04:47 PM

Yeah that was pretty nuts, Arsenal deserved to win. Just sucks that they did lol.

Damn Madrid coming so close to getting the win but now the lead is 4.. looks like the title is settled in England before even Spain.

Those with interest in Bundesliga, top of the table clash on the 11th. Dortmund at home to Bayern Munich.

Wow that was a nervy match. Great performance by Los Che. If Dortmund wins the title again, they might actually get past the group stages in the CL next year. I was just looking at their business performance. They have a great fan following and play in the largest stadium in Germany. Commercial revenue is increasing perennially for Bundesliga teams. Broadcast should be going up as well because of another prospective title win. The CL should be icing on the cake. If Kagawa leaves they should get a worthy replacement.

4 points!!!!! If Madrid loses the city derby against Atletico then Barcelona should have no excuses winning La Liga.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 06:08 PM

Guaita (Valencia goalkeeper) was spectacular....simply spectacular.

blzn

Apr 8th, 2012, 07:28 PM

Just saw Ashley Young's dive earlier today, sad to see.

Valencia's keeper was immense, saw the last 35 minutes live and he pulled a string of fine saves.

xlash

Apr 8th, 2012, 08:25 PM

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/547469_399505630074625_203063893052134_1490334_456 142050_n.jpg :D

Hahahahahahahah I can't stop laughing.

Canada_7

Apr 8th, 2012, 09:05 PM

Mourinho's Madrid stay isn't going very well. He's conflicted with almost everybody in the Spanish contingent, especially Casillas and Ramos. Alonso is constantly having to dispell that there are problems with management. Besides Mourinho doesn't get along with the press like he did in England. Also the Madrid hierarchy have seen the damage he's done to the reputation of the club. Maybe he'll stay another season but there is a strong possibility that he will go.

I haven't kept up with Mourinho's issues at Real. Can someone explain them to me?

Also, didn't get to see the game but going by stats and what I've been reading, great to see Arsenal owning Manchester City today. Saw some highlights, Van Persie coming close multiple times. He hasn't scored in 4 games but still a major threat. Arteta with a beauty of a shot to win the game.

Tornado F2

Apr 8th, 2012, 09:29 PM

I haven't kept up with Mourinho's issues at Real. Can someone explain them to me?

Also, didn't get to see the game but going by stats and what I've been reading, great to see Arsenal owning Manchester City today. Saw some highlights, Van Persie coming close multiple times. He hasn't scored in 4 games but still a major threat. Arteta with a beauty of a shot to win the game.

I did say City were there for the taking didn't I? :D

It will be interesting to see just how far they self-destruct now. All that money spent, and even LFC will have more tin to show at the end of the season, despite performing worse in the 2nd half of the season than every other team out there. :lol:

rooney11

Apr 8th, 2012, 10:19 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiuyuWECvxk&sns=em

xlash

Apr 9th, 2012, 01:01 AM

Thanks for that vid. Next time Madrid fans call Barca divers I'll be waving that with glee.

That and the Ronaldo dive as soon as he approached the penalty area.

Tornado F2

Apr 9th, 2012, 02:13 PM

Hardly deserved to beat Wigan but 3 points none the less. Torres with another delicious-volley-off-the-post-tap-in-for-another :razz:

We have to play better, Tottenham dropped points and hopefully Man City can beat Arsenal. Wouldn't mind Chelsea and NUFC leapfrogging Arsenal and Tottenham :D

McManaman and his commentator partner just said that BOTH Chelsea goals against Wigan were offside. Considering how that loss likely will condemn Wigan to relegation the poor officiating was beyond harsh. Improvements really can't come soon enough.

Young was offside too, but I don't think that call affected the end result. United would have likely won by the same score anyway - a winning goal plus one for insurance.

blzn

Apr 9th, 2012, 04:47 PM

elty

Apr 9th, 2012, 05:35 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 9th, 2012, 05:41 PM

1st goal was clearly offside, the second was a very difficult decision to make.

I don't think you can say it wouldn't of mattered in MU's case considering the first goal is extremely important.

Chelsea don't even deserve CL football next season, no creativity without Mata. We played poorly against Wigan and got lucky but not this time. 4th spot was there to grab but alas Chelsea disappoints yet again.

Playing Tottenham, Barca, Arsenal, Barca then closing out the season with games against Liverpool, Newcastle and Blackburn. No chance with anything the way we're playing.

I'm sure United would have beaten QPR anyway. Take away the first goal and Scholes' would have won it. Take away that and United would have just raised their game a notch to secure the win. We're definitely in league-winning form now, and without any other distractions I really can't see any chance of us losing it, even if City somehow did pull off a miracle and get their act together. And I really don't see that happening. They may be ending the season just as poorly, and ultimately empty-handed, as Spurs.

I wonder if any England fans still want Redknapp as England boss after the way Spurs have collapsed? Spurs fans must be cursing the day that Capello quit. And let's not forget what triggered that: the racism charges against Terry after the QPR match. That incident likely didn't help Chelsea's season, but it's Spurs who have strangely enough been impacted most. After today's home loss to Norwich, Spurs have now joined the battle to avoid 6th, and a potential loss of all European competition next season. Who'd have foreseen that in February?

BTW, impressive 4-0 scoreline for Everton over Sunderland. Hope they've saved some goals for the Liverpool match at Wembley. They have a score to settle.

Tornado F2

Apr 9th, 2012, 05:44 PM

Chelsea form is no worse than Tottemham, so you still have a chance.

Sadly for the London teams, Newcastle really seem to be on form. What a turnaround, relegation to ChLg in no time, and at practically no expense - and Ashley still hasn't managed to sell them. Wonder what the geordie fans think of him now? And what the owners of City/LFC/CFC must think when they look at their own crazy spending?

xlash

Apr 9th, 2012, 06:12 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 9th, 2012, 07:07 PM

So let's take a look at this: Serie A is a battle between Juve and Milan, Lazio is 10 points behind so it's a 2 horse race now. Bundesliga is a 2 horse race too unless Shalke starts winning while Dortmund and Bayern stumble. Ligue 1 is also a 2 horse race. La Liga...nuff said but it's a 2 horse race too.

But in England the title's been decided and it's not because of lack of competition per say. United's been great down the stretch but the other clubs have all collapsed spectacularly at different points in the season and in most cases it's the manager's fault. Either they are tactically inept (AVB/Mancini/Kenny), very poor man-managers (Mancini/AVB/Kenny) or are awful at securing good talent through the transfer market (Wenger/Kenny/Harry).

Here's what can change that landscape next season. If a) Arsenal spend more, b) RDM is for real, c) Mourinho or maybe even Ancelotti returns. Liverpool don't have a hope in hell of getting anywhere near the title with Kenny at the top. He should either go or reinvent himself.

Dalglish has been stuck in the 70s/80s so long that it's impossible for him to change. Ironically enough, that's what endears/endeared him to the scousers because they're still stuck there too.

Arsenal definitely need to spen this summer if they want to retain top 4 status. Their recovery this season has been impressive, but mostly due to their neighbours' failings. Chelsea and Spurs will also need to spend, as will Newcastle if they want to advance in European competition (assuming they qualify). City will no doubt spend too. Their biggest challenge will be unloading the prima donnas in their current squad. There will be some shuffling at United, such as the seemingly inevitable exit of Berb (sad really), and hopefully some strengthening in the midfield, but happily there's no desperate need for change. The key thing will be keeping an eye on activity at City, and upgrading our own squad quality to counter it. The improvement after Scholes' return demonstrated the need to find a high quality CM to replace him. But who? Iniesta? :lol:

BTW, RDM??? I'm drawing a blank there. Ah, no, you mean Di Matteo. Chelsea have definitely improved since AVB's departure, but it's hard to say if Di Matteo is really responsible for that. WBA did well under him for a while, but then went into a nosedive and he was sacked and replaced with Woy. As much as I like the guy, I'm not convinced he's the guy to take CFC to the next level. Time for the return of Ranieri perhaps? Build a new squad, just like he did before, then bring in Mourinho again to claim the glory. Wonder if either would go for that again? Abramovich must be looking into the mirror thinking how much he's aged, and how much he's spent, and here he is back at square one again. :facepalm:

blzn

Apr 9th, 2012, 07:14 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 9th, 2012, 07:43 PM

RDM - Roberto Di Matteo

He will not be in charge next season. Just want to get some consistency going on the managerial front rather than the revolving door currently going on. Bit harsh to say Roman is back at sq1 considering we've won the league 3 times under his ownership with some FA/Carling cup trophies to boot. As well as appearing in 5 (give or take) champion league semi finals.

The thing with Arsenal is that they don't actually spend, the only thing that has kept them in good shape this season is the blistering form of RVP.

LFC need to get rid of KK imo.

Yeah, I figured it out right as I hit enter and went straight back to correct it.

In terms of square one, I was meaning squad-wise. Time for another major rebuild. Chelsea have definitely had a good run, restricted only by United's ability to transform to meet new challenges. Which is fine with me, as I've been enjoying watching Chelsea since back in the Zola days. Things are getting far more crowded and competitive at the top now, and this summer's transfers are no doubt goint to be extremely expensive. It will be interesting to see how much the various clubs will be prepared to spend to try and secure continued competitiveness.

Yes, RVP's injury-free season has been just as impressive as his scoring. Wenger can't expect him to carry the team next season too. If he does, I'm sure RVP will move on to one of many potential suitors this summer.

As for Dalglish, shhhh.... don't want to upset the LFC fans here. They got really worked up trying to defend Rafa. I used to wish they'd keep Rafa, but now I'm hoping they keep Dalglish as he's even worse. :) No, just kidding. I wouldn't inflict Dalglish/Souness/Keegan/Lee as a manager on any club. Except perhaps City. :D But there's no way that could ever happen.

WRT managers though, how the heck have Curbishley and Newcastle got within smelling distance of a ChLg spot? Truly amazing. And impressive too.

Curbishley for England perhaps? :-0

blzn

Apr 9th, 2012, 08:00 PM

The English Hacker

Apr 9th, 2012, 08:02 PM

The thing with Arsenal is that they don't actually spend, the only thing that has kept them in good shape this season is the blistering form of RVP.

Compared to Chelsea and Man City they don't spend a lot but why would they need to? A decent youth system, stable management and sustainable spending are way better qualities IMO. Injuries to some of their better players could not have been foreseen. Arteta and Mertesacker have been great buys.

The English Hacker

Apr 9th, 2012, 08:07 PM

I'm sure United would have beaten QPR anyway.

Why bother playing if it's a given that Utd are going to win? No wonder the refs are bottling it.

blzn

Apr 9th, 2012, 08:23 PM

Compared to Chelsea and Man City they don't spend a lot but why would they need to? A decent youth system, stable management and sustainable spending are way better qualities IMO. Injuries to some of their better players could not have been foreseen. Arteta and Mertesacker have been great buys.

Not sure if trolling..

They don't need to? Maybe if they did they wouldn't be without a trophy ever since they moved into the Emirates. Arteta has been a decent buy and Mertesacker can hardly be claimed as a 'great' buy. I know a few Arsenal fans and none of them feel the aforementioned were good buys. Those 'better' qualities have failed to deliver any silverware.

The English Hacker

Apr 9th, 2012, 08:39 PM

blzn

Apr 9th, 2012, 09:04 PM

I can understand that in the grand scheme of things. Arteta has been quite a bit better opposed to his first few months at Arsenal. However, from my understanding there has been funds available to Wenger but he chooses to make as financially sound deals as possible. Not saying he's had the funds available to him like City, Chelsea, and more recently Liverpool have had but sometimes you have to pay a bit extra. Cahill would of been a solid purchase for Arsenal but Wenger opted against it and he's been solid for Chelsea so far.

xlash

Apr 9th, 2012, 11:11 PM

Not sure if trolling..

They don't need to? Maybe if they did they wouldn't be without a trophy ever since they moved into the Emirates. Arteta has been a decent buy and Mertesacker can hardly be claimed as a 'great' buy. I know a few Arsenal fans and none of them feel the aforementioned were good buys. Those 'better' qualities have failed to deliver any silverware.

This goes to back to my last post where I said that Wenger's performance in the transfer market has been poor. Fabregas wanted to go back to Barcelona, while Nasri wanted to move to City and Clichy wanted a different environment. Instead of getting turnover out of these assets which is their lifeblood they tried to negotiate with them and even the dumbest fan knew they'd fail. It would be fine if the other clubs were using the same model but they don't so if they want to compete they cannot make any mistakes at all. Here's what they need to do to rectify that:

1) Fix their sponsorship revenue screw-up where they are getting skinned by Emirates. They need to learn from Juventus and fix this next year when the shirt deal is up for renewal. They won't catch United in this aspect but they'll get close. This will get them at least 15 million pounds.

2) Negotiate intelligently with their partners. Last year their revenue from partners increased by ~2 million pounds. The next increase should offset the wage increase and more.

3) RVP most likely wants to go. Let him go and make as much as possible. Hint: Carroll = 35 million, Torres = 50 million. Podolski should be part of the strike force, not THE strike force.

4) Unload the likes of Rosicky, Ramsey, Walcott and Gervinho. How many of us can pictures these guys leading Arsenal to the semi-finals of a CL or winning the league with 5 games to spare? I'd rather have Pedro Rodriguez. Break the bank and get a Hulk.

5) Get a real defensive midfielder or a real play-maker. Alex Song can't excel at both. In fact I don't remember him excelling at anything. There's a reason why Mikel Arteta has never played for the senior La Furia Roja while the guy he replaced i.e. Fabregas is one of the best midfielders Arsenal's ever had.

6) Arsene Wenger needs to focus less on possession and more on scoring goals.

kennyhohoho

Apr 10th, 2012, 11:16 AM

No, not trolling. Arsenal fan for over 30 years.

Mertesacker was definitely a good buy and Arteta has been great (especially lately) in the absence of Jack. Since moving into the Emirates the goalposts have changed with regard to how much players are sold for and what they're paid. Arsenal cannot afford to do that. Most fans can appreciate that it's just not possible to compete financially with City and Chelsea. I'd like to see some silverware but I can be patient knowing that it's a pleasure to watch my team every week be entertaining and competitive. We don't want to be the next Leeds United.

Arsenal fan here. I agree with you on Arteta. He's had his ups and downs but considering how much we got him for, I'd say he's been a good buy. Mertesacker on the other hand, has been terrible. I know Wenger got him for his size but he's just way too slow for the English game. The quicker forwards and wingers absolutely have their way with him and his size has done very little to improve the Gunners awful defense on set pieces.

I wouldn't completely overhaul this team either though. I don't really care too much about silverware either because Arsenal are still one of the most entertaining sides to watch, win or lose. That being said though, if RVP wasn't having the kind of year he's having, this team would probably be around 6th to 10th on the table.

RVP is singlehandedly keeping them in Champion's League contention. Not that I care too much about CL though, after the fixed results last week *cough* Barca *cough*. CL has become a chore to watch.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 10th, 2012, 12:40 PM

Arsenal fan here. I agree with you on Arteta. He's had his ups and downs but considering how much we got him for, I'd say he's been a good buy. Mertesacker on the other hand, has been terrible. I know Wenger got him for his size but he's just way too slow for the English game. The quicker forwards and wingers absolutely have their way with him and his size has done very little to improve the Gunners awful defense on set pieces.

I wouldn't completely overhaul this team either though. I don't really care too much about silverware either because Arsenal are still one of the most entertaining sides to watch, win or lose. That being said though, if RVP wasn't having the kind of year he's having, this team would probably be around 6th to 10th on the table.

RVP is singlehandedly keeping them in Champion's League contention. Not that I care too much about CL though, after the fixed results last week *cough* Barca *cough*. CL has become a chore to watch.

http://www.totalbarca.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mundodeportivo_75015.jpg

oh noes! :-0:razz:

kennyhohoho

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:17 PM

oh noes! :-0:razz:

That's maddening if true, but I don't see him going there considering how much he hates Barca. But nothing is more powerful than the all might dollar I guess.

His departure wouldn't only be missed by the Gunners, but by the EPL as a whole.

He's still got a few good years left before he goes into retirement/La Liga mode. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:18 PM

Curbishley... ? I think you mean Pardew :P They share the same first name I think.

He's been impressive as a manager and made some excellent purchases, Ba ripped the first half of the season and then he get's Cisse to finish off the season.

I have to agree that the squad has to go back to square 1 in a sense but at least this time we have some good youth players on the rise which will limit the amount we have to really spend. Kakuta has done really well in the French league after a couple bad loans with Bolton/Fulham. Kevin de Bruyne is doing well in the Belgium league, Lukaku should get more time next year. There are also a few gems in the academy at the moment who look like they're capable of top level football in a year or two (Piazon, Bamford, Feruz, Chalobah).

A lot of players are going to have to go this summer.

Ah yes, Pardew it is. Newcastle's success this season has been so below-the-radar for some reason that I've seen more of pundit Curbishly than I have of manager Pardew. Hansen's (yet another Alan!) finally giving Newcastle some much-deserved recognition, and linking them with the CL too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17664400

As for Chelsea's youngsters, I'm not (yet) familiar with them. They'll still be looking to senior pros for leadership though. And if CFC are now looking to a squad of upcoming youngsters, doesn't that place them behind Arsenal in terms of development? Is Abramovich prepared to wait for another 5 or so years for the youngsters to develop? That would be a huge strain on the club if they missed out on CL qualification for several seasons while waiting. He's still going to have to spend big if he wants to maintain/restore the club's competitiveness.

Tornado F2

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:20 PM

That's maddening if true, but I don't see him going there considering how much he hates Barca. But nothing is more powerful than the all might dollar I guess.

His departure wouldn't only be missed by the Gunners, but by the EPL as a whole.

He's still got a few good years left before he goes into retirement/La Liga mode. :lol:

Will there be any goals left for RVP after Messi has claimed his share? :lol: Seems an unlikely move to me, especially given Barca's finances.

Tornado F2

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:22 PM

http://www.totalbarca.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mundodeportivo_75015.jpg

oh noes! :-0:razz:

Are you referring to the impotence ad in the BR corner? :lol:

kennyhohoho

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:27 PM

Will there be any goals left for RVP after Messi has claimed his share? :lol: Seems an unlikely move to me, especially given Barca's finances.

Nothing Barca does surprises me anymore. They're already more in the red than any other team in Europe. Why not go for broke? Oh wait... they're already there. :D

Tornado F2

Apr 10th, 2012, 01:41 PM

"Owner Ashley was criticised for sacking Chris Hughton and replacing him with Pardew, selling Andy Carroll to Liverpool and latterly pulling down the famous St James' Park sign and replacing it with the Sports Direct Arena.

Pardew himself was not a popular appointment but the dissenting voices are quiet now as Newcastle are seeing the fruits of sensible financial management, excellent football management and a scouting structure and transfer policy that has seen four high-profile players leave and yet the team improve dramatically.

When Carroll, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton left, those remaining will have been wondering who was coming in. Bring in two or three duds and trouble lies ahead, but Newcastle - with chief scout Graham Carr a major influence - seem to have got almost every one spot on."

Compare Newcastle's season with LFC's. John Henry would be spinning in his grave (if he were dead :lol:). He probably feels like throttling his LFC-supporting advisor now.

Even these guys are on the verge of laughing:

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_01/083muppetsDM_468x314.jpg

Today's lineup:

Liverpool: Doni, Flanagan, Coates, Skrtel, Johnson, Henderson, Shelvey, Spearing, Maxi, Bellamy, Carroll. Subs: Jones, Jose Enrique, Agger, Aurelio, Suarez, Kuyt, Carragher.

They HAVE to be laughing now. :lol:

(Ironically enough it looks to be their strongest lineup of the season. 2-0 up in 16 minutes. Quick, get Suarez out there to give Blackburn a chance). :lol:

xlash

Apr 10th, 2012, 03:44 PM

Nothing Barca does surprises me anymore. They're already more in the red than any other team in Europe. Why not go for broke? Oh wait... they're already there. :D

United's debt is larger by almost 100 million euros. I highly doubt Barca have even considered looking at RVP. If they do need a CF in place of Messi they have Sanchez. Otherwise they'll play Fabregas out of position.

If Barca doesn't spend on a left wing back then I would be surprised. They don't have anybody in the academy who can mirror what Alves does on the right. Muniesa and Bartra will most likely be Puyol's understudy unless Silva forces a move from Milan. I also wouldn't be surprised if Bale forces a move to Barcelona.

harpoon

Apr 10th, 2012, 10:47 PM

United's debt is larger by almost 100 million euros. I highly doubt Barca have even considered looking at RVP. If they do need a CF in place of Messi they have Sanchez. Otherwise they'll play Fabregas out of position.

If Barca doesn't spend on a left wing back then I would be surprised. They don't have anybody in the academy who can mirror what Alves does on the right. Muniesa and Bartra will most likely be Puyol's understudy unless Silva forces a move from Milan. I also wouldn't be surprised if Bale forces a move to Barcelona.

Hearing T Silva's good as done to Barca, it's an open secret in Italy.

Hearing of Adam Johnson and Adebayor to LFC too.

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 08:36 AM

Hearing T Silva's good as done to Barca, it's an open secret in Italy.

Hearing of Adam Johnson and Adebayor to LFC too.

I've been hearing that since last year. I know Silva wants to move but Milan doesn't want to sell...at any price.

Walcott's refusing a 97k/week wage!! He doesn't even deserve that much. Arsenal should stick to their guns.

Samir Nasri is unbelievable. City will never win a title with narcissists like him. Who City unloads will be more important than who they acquire next season.

kennyhohoho

Apr 11th, 2012, 10:41 AM

I've been hearing that since last year. I know Silva wants to move but Milan doesn't want to sell...at any price.

Walcott's refusing a 97k/week wage!! He doesn't even deserve that much. Arsenal should stick to their guns.

Samir Nasri is unbelievable. City will never win a title with narcissists like him. Who City unloads will be more important than who they acquire next season.

Doesn't he fit right in with the rest of their squad? :D

And I agree on Walcott. He's done little to deserve that kind of salary. He's had small flashes of brilliance, but it's been disappointing season after disappointing season for him. We've seen the best of him as a player already.

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 01:16 PM

Doesn't he fit right in with the rest of their squad? :D

And I agree on Walcott. He's done little to deserve that kind of salary. He's had small flashes of brilliance, but it's been disappointing season after disappointing season for him. We've seen the best of him as a player already.

Oh yeah of course he fits in. He misses the fact that a) he's got natural talent which will fade over time or even a single season plagued with injury and then he'll be unceremoniously dumped by MC, and 2) if football wasn't such a marketable sport he wouldn't have had the fan base he currently enjoys and milks to pay for his Porsche.

kennyhohoho

Apr 11th, 2012, 01:21 PM

Oh yeah of course he fits in. He misses the fact that a) he's got natural talent which will fade over time or even a single season plagued with injury and then he'll be unceremoniously dumped by MC, and 2) if football wasn't such a marketable sport he wouldn't have had the fan base he currently enjoys and milks to pay for his Porsche.

If I were Man $hitty, the first player I would dump is Balotelli. I'm sure someone is willing to pay a lot for him and it gets rid of a huge headache off their squad.

That guy is always a red card and a suspension waiting to happen. Not sure how any coach could put him on knowing that he could be sent off with a straight red at any given moment. He should've been sent off 3 or 4 times on Sunday.

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 01:51 PM

When the Munich-Madrid semi-finals commence it'll be as much a diving contest between Ronaldo and Robben as it will be a football match.

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 03:03 PM

Wow what a match! BVB go 6 points up on Bayern. Weidenfeller saved Robben's penalty....amazing. Even if they go equal on points, BVB still wins having beaten Bayern both times in the league. Fabulous performance from Klopp's crew. With some more depth this team can make some noise in the CL next year.

Del Piero wins it for Juventus!! Amazing!

Fimo

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:02 PM

Congrats to Wigan, despite having a legit goal disallowed and 9+ mins of added aka Fergie time they hang on to win. Title race back on?

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:06 PM

Congrats to Wigan, despite having a legit goal disallowed and 9+ mins of added aka Fergie time they hang on to win. Title race back on?

No, unless they lose another outside of the Manchester derby. I don't follow EPL transfers but is this true?

http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2012/04/11/3029357/manchester-united-fans-demand-drop-in-season-ticket-prices

blzn

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:08 PM

When the Munich-Madrid semi-finals commence it'll be as much a diving contest between Ronaldo and Robben as it will be a football match.

Lol too funny, both players equal their football skills with diving ability.

Wigan deserved a positive result after being so unlucky in previous games, didn't see any highlights as of yet. Had to miss the Dortmund game due to an exam hopefully it was a good contest.

City get's a lifting victory, I hate Nasri like I hate Ronaldo (in terms of attitude and body language) but the kid's got talent.

Tornado F2

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:11 PM

Congrats to Wigan, despite having a legit goal disallowed and 9+ mins of added aka Fergie time they hang on to win. Title race back on?

As I read it, De Gea was shoved into the net. And in the 2nd half we should have had a PK. But I don't begrudge Wigan getting 3 points. They should have received them from Chelsea in the last match though, (the chief ref phoned to apologise), not from United. Anyway, that's our charitable neighbourly match out of the way. Hopefully we'll be well and truly back to business for the Villa match. If a local team is to be saved from the drop, we need to damage Villa and/or QPR and see them down instead.

Tornado F2

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:23 PM

No, unless they lose another outside of the Manchester derby. I don't follow EPL transfers but is this true?

http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2012/04/11/3029357/manchester-united-fans-demand-drop-in-season-ticket-prices

"Meanwhile the club has actually spent less in net transfer fees than not only our main rivals in Europe and the Premier League [Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham] but also had a lower net spend since 2006 than Aston Villa, Sunderland and Stoke.

"It's worse than that, though - in the last three years United's net transfer spend has been less than Hull, Blackpool and Burnley."

Amazing if true. Especially that last line. Let's hope it forces the owners to spend and improve the squad (midfield) for next season. The return of Scholes appears to have been the magic saving grace that will bring us the trophy this season. Look what happens when, like today, he's not in the side. Obviously something is missing, and it needs to be corrected, otherwise next season the trophy likely will end up with "the neighbours". We should let 3 or 4 average players, like Anderson, go, and bring in one or two world class midfielders to take their place. Or perhaps even one of the Wigan lads, seeing as how well Valencia's turning out. They seem to have a good scout or two there.

blzn

Apr 11th, 2012, 04:38 PM

MU can draw a team outside the derby and the race is back on.

I think the article is typical goal.com reporting, net spend sure looks good when you have a 80m sale.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 11th, 2012, 05:01 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-22r2ljo.gif

cr7 hat trick and assist, 4-1 FT, much needed away win for r. madrid

la liga top scorer race:

cr7 - 40 goals
messi - 39 goals

xlash

Apr 11th, 2012, 06:40 PM

MU can draw a team outside the derby and the race is back on.

I think the article is typical goal.com reporting, net spend sure looks good when you have a 80m sale.

Touche, and if they lose in the derby then all of a sudden City wins the league despite same no. of points and better goal differential.

Ronaldo was on fire against Atletico. That free-kick goal was fabulous. Just one more draw from them is all Barcelona needs. Here's hoping Marcelo Bielsa does Pep a favour.

Tornado F2

Apr 12th, 2012, 10:35 PM

Dalglish must think his dreams are coming true. "Chairman Tom Werner says the Liverpool board has "great confidence" in manager Kenny Dalglish.". That's usually a sure sign that a manager's head is about to roll, and then he can take a huge payout and retire in luxury. Sadly for Dogleash they fired Comolli and the medical boss instead, despite his best efforts to assign the blame to himself: "Dalglish said: "Comolli has been really helpful in every transfer target that we've gone for. Everyone who has come into the club since Damien has been here was of my choice. Once I made the choice who I wanted, Damien went away and did a fantastic job of bringing them in."" My guess is that the owners couldn't understand what he was saying through his Glaswegian accent and self-admitted limited vocabulary.

Comolli, for his part, summed it up best: "I am happy to move on from the club and go back to France". Smart move.

Interestingly Steve Clarke seems to be flying under the radar so far.

hyperion

Apr 12th, 2012, 11:13 PM

How about that Wigan? :D

Tornado F2

Apr 12th, 2012, 11:35 PM

How about that Wigan? :D

Aren't they amazing? They can beat anybody on their day. How come they always wait until the end of the season to start performing?

I hope the 3 relegation-battling Lancashire teams can aboid the drop, but if anybody has to go it should be Blackburn, simply because their owners are so crap. They should have never been allowed to own an EPL club in the first place.

BTW, I wanted to win a Wigan shirt years ago when Jason De Vos played for them (possibly my favourite Canadian player). I'd never even heard of their football club (only rugby, the local favourite) before Sportsnet did a series on clubs with Canadian players. I was impressed by their stadium at the time. Dave Whelan is a fine example of how a football club owner should be.

http://pictures.footymad.net/upload/558/35449-1.jpg

hyperion

Apr 13th, 2012, 12:08 AM

Wow, I hope this is true: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17698239

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 13th, 2012, 11:19 AM

xlash

Apr 13th, 2012, 04:54 PM

Nice story. Hard to believe Ronaldo actually did that for Albert. Now if Madrid would just lose another couple of matches that would be great.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 13th, 2012, 10:56 PM

Henry and Werner skip Liverpool's Cup tie for Red Sox

lets see if levante (la liga's surprise team of the season) can make barca drop points this weekend

hyperion

Apr 13th, 2012, 11:18 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 14th, 2012, 12:50 AM

Henry and Werner skip Liverpool's Cup tie for Red Sox

lets see if levante (la liga's surprise team of the season) can make barca drop points this weekend

"Given Comolli’s failure to find value in the transfer market, with Newcastle United and Aston Villa extracting £55 million for two second-tier England internationals in Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing, the onus will be on the new man to source untapped talents and drive a hard bargain.

It is understood that FSG are prepared to stay at the helm for another year in a bid to jump on to the gravy train that is the Champions League."

Another year... And then what? :?: FSG planning their exit strategy already?

Tornado F2

Apr 14th, 2012, 12:57 AM

A Story of Cristiano Ronaldo .. It's worth a read "I have to thank my old friend Albert Fantrau for my succes.We played together for the same team in the U-18 championship.When Sporting Lisbon's manager came to see us he said that : "Who score's more goals will come in our academy". "We won that match 3-0.I scored the first goal then Albert scored the second with a great header.But the third goal was impressive for all of us.Albert was 1 on 1 against the goalkeeper , he skilled the goalkeeper and i was running in front of him.All he has to do was to score but he passed to me and i scored the third goal , so i went to the Sporting Lisbon academy.After the match i met him and i said to him Why ? .. he said that "You are better than me" .. "Many journalists went to Albert's house and asked him if it was a true story.He said yes.He also said that his career as a player after the match ended and now is unemployed."But how did you build this house so great, you have a car? You seem like a rich man. You also keep your family .. From where did this come from? 'Albert more proudly replied: "It is by Ronaldo!

good stuff, look after people who helped you out

hopefully madrid doesn't come out relaxed and not drop points on saturday

Nice, if true. But really it's the least he could do. I don't understand how SL would drop a young player who beat the goalie and laid CRon's goal on a plate for him though. Surely their career shouldn't hang on one goal. They should have created an academy space for him too, informing both players that the one making best progress over the first year would proceed toward the full team. How much would one year in the academy have cost the club? And how much could this other player have achieved/brought in for the club in return, even if they sold him just a year or two later? Silly shortsightedness by the club, and the end to a presumably talented youngster's football dream. Sad really.

Tornado F2

Apr 14th, 2012, 10:00 AM

Wow, I hope this is true: www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17698239

Don't forget his son Jordi was a United player, so he may have split loyalties. ;)

Possibly your best option:

"Louis van Gaal, who has been out of work since being sacked as coach of Bayern Munich in April last year, has indicated he would consider the position were he to be approached."

Van Gaal can replace both Comolli and Dalglish and likely do a far better job than the two of them. Assuming he's not first offered the manager's job at a bigger club of course. That might be why the owners are acting early rather than waiting until the summer.

Tornado F2

Apr 14th, 2012, 10:09 AM

LOL at Tevez today. When City end the season trophyless they'll be able to look back and think what if? What if they'd brought Tevez back a fortnight earlier and replaced Balotelli with him a fortnight sooner? Looks like they'd have been a lot better off.

As it is, if Tevez finishes the season strongly, his value will go back up for a summer sale. But at the same time Balotelli's value will plummet. And City will likely want to unload both of them, at least if Mancini remains in charge. They've given him far too many unnecessary headaches this season.

Now the pressure's been handed back to United. Hopefully we can get a high-scoring win over Villa tomorrow to hand the pressure back. We can potentially help our three neighbours in the relegation battle too if we throw Villa into the mix. Let's see Villa, QPR, and Wolves relegated. They've all got the financial resources to bounce back. Can't say the same for Wigan, Bolton, and even Blackburn under the current owners. Relegation for them could be permanent.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 14th, 2012, 02:46 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-850xhb.gif

#41

xlash

Apr 14th, 2012, 06:45 PM

Henry and Werner skip Liverpool's Cup tie for Red Sox

lets see if levante (la liga's surprise team of the season) can make barca drop points this weekend

As long as a clutch player like Leo plays for Barcelona there's always hope them. That 2-1 win was as narrow as it gets.

The Barcelona penalty was rather controversial but then again Madrid have had a lot more controversial calls go their way.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 14th, 2012, 09:41 PM

lol @ pk call which won the match for barca, lol @ iniesta taking a dive trying to get another pk

barca and refs, That's 5 pens in 5 games now

http://www.sinnacle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/barca4333.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFHPVGJrxWo&feature=player_embedded

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 06:38 AM

lol @ pk call which won the match for barca, lol @ iniesta taking a dive trying to get another pk]

you didnt watch the match did you? Cuenca was shoved off the ball.

Busquets handball wasn't intentional. But that's fine. What's not fine is Pedro Lopez getting away with the same. In fact while Busquets hands were drawn in lopez was flailing.

Don't cherry pick moments in the match to facilitate your motive to incriminate Barcelona.

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 09:31 AM

Does anybody else other than me think that the Barcelona-Chelsea tie will be just as close as Madrid-Munich?

Against each other Barca and Chelsea have 2 wins each along with 4 draws. Barca has scored 15 but conceded 16. Chelsea isn't as strong as it was but Barcelona's ties are wrapped around el Clasico. Barca has a thin squad, players returning from injury so it'll be very tough. Chelsea is just fighting for 4th spot. They'll field their strongest players over both legs. Valencia, Napoli and Benfica all underestimated Chelsea.

LOL at Tevez today. When City end the season trophyless they'll be able to look back and think what if? What if they'd brought Tevez back a fortnight earlier and replaced Balotelli with him a fortnight sooner? Looks like they'd have been a lot better off.

As it is, if Tevez finishes the season strongly, his value will go back up for a summer sale. But at the same time Balotelli's value will plummet. And City will likely want to unload both of them, at least if Mancini remains in charge. They've given him far too many unnecessary headaches this season.

Now the pressure's been handed back to United. Hopefully we can get a high-scoring win over Villa tomorrow to hand the pressure back. We can potentially help our three neighbours in the relegation battle too if we throw Villa into the mix. Let's see Villa, QPR, and Wolves relegated. They've all got the financial resources to bounce back. Can't say the same for Wigan, Bolton, and even Blackburn under the current owners. Relegation for them could be permanent.

You mean 'if' City end the season trophyless? You said Tevez would be a virus in the dressing room and he has been anything but. He played a full 90min for the first time since he returned and nobody has heard a peep from him since. His team-mates are happy to have him back and he's been phenomenal. If United so much as draw another match before the derby they are in deep trouble.

From a neutral POV City should win the title because of their squad and first half performance but on the other hand it's the sheer will-power of Ferguson, Rooney and Scholes that is dragging United to the top and could win them the title again. If City don't win the title this season they'll be the front-runner next season provided the squads don't get completely overhauled.

blzn

Apr 15th, 2012, 01:02 PM

blzn

Apr 15th, 2012, 01:58 PM

Great display by Chelsea today, Drogba's goal was brilliant so was Lampard's free kick.

Ashley Young with another great dive.

http://i41.tinypic.com/157oj15.jpg

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 15th, 2012, 02:00 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-2436kmc.gif

ever since harry got linked with england job, spurs have gone downhill

ashley young would be a great fit for barca :D

jcon

Apr 15th, 2012, 02:43 PM

Efin' Ashley Young! Stay on your feet you little...

Yeah, he would fit in fine at Barca or Real.

Fimo

Apr 15th, 2012, 02:52 PM

Ashley Young with another great dive.

http://i41.tinypic.com/157oj15.jpg

Lol don't you love it when Lord Fergie and his Man Yoo disciples feverishly wank off everytime Suarez "dives" or is "theatrical" and now you've got Ashley Young giving a master class in diving.

In October Ferguson offered a view of a player going down to easily. "The boy Suárez dives all over the place," he said of the Liverpool striker.

@briankettle: Ferguson on Young: "'He played for it. It was a dramatic fall, but it was a penalty." Good: any doubt that you're a hypocrite is now gone.

As Rio would say #stayonyourfeet

@briankettle: Triffic management by Harry Redknapp: a Moyesian zero trophies in his four years at Spurs to add to his one in his first 25 years as a boss.

#harryforengland

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 03:14 PM

I completely disagree.

"Just fighting for 4th spot" we play Tottenham in a FA semi-final Sunday night, Barcelona on Wednesday, another London derby next weekend where we absolutely have to win then Barcelona again. I think we did well in the past 2 semi final meetings with Barcelona because we had two of the best managers in world football at the helm (Mourinho, Hiddink).

You have the best player in world football. Iniesta, Pique, and Alves weren't required to start the game.. thin squad indeed.

Granted I know the result but were you taking Spurs seriously? It'll be a miracle if Spurs cling onto 4th spot. Their recent performance is worse than Liverpool. So yes you just have to fight for 4th spot.

Xavi was almost a non-factor throughout the Levante game meaning he's fatigued. There's no natural left-back at Barcelona. Pep has put together a 3 man defence with Adriano dropping to deep nullify opposition along that channel. Iniesta was rested while Pique and Alves are returning from injury. Maybe they'll be fit on Wednesday but it's the CL semi-final, good reason to be nervous.

I'm saying Chelsea's got a crack at winning the first leg. It's reassuring to know that you disagree.

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 03:25 PM

Lol don't you live it when Lord Fergie and his Man Yoo disciples feveriahly wank off everytime Suarez "dives" or is "theatrical" and now you've got Ashley Young giving a master class in diving.

In October Ferguson offered a view of a player going down to easily. "The boy Suárez dives all over the place," he said of the Liverpool striker.

@briankettle: Ferguson on Young: "'He played for it. It was a dramatic fall, but it was a penalty." Good: any doubt that you're a hypocrite is now gone.

As Rio would say #stayonyourfeet

@briankettle: Triffic management by Harry Redknapp: a Moyesian zero trophies in his four years at Spurs to add to his one in his first 25 years as a boss.

#harryforengland

Great post. Fergie's a tool. He's got Nani and Evra on his squad. Developed the greatest diver in Ronaldo. Then he has the gall to attack another player for diving.

LOL finally somebody puts the whole Harry for England in place. But the fact of the matter is he's the best manager England's got at the moment.

blzn

Apr 15th, 2012, 03:47 PM

Granted I know the result but were you taking Spurs seriously? It'll be a miracle if Spurs cling onto 4th spot. Their recent performance is worse than Liverpool. So yes you just have to fight for 4th spot.

Xavi was almost a non-factor throughout the Levante game meaning he's fatigued. There's no natural left-back at Barcelona. Pep has put together a 3 man defence with Adriano dropping to deep nullify opposition along that channel. Iniesta was rested while Pique and Alves are returning from injury. Maybe they'll be fit on Wednesday but it's the CL semi-final, good reason to be nervous.

I'm saying Chelsea's got a crack at winning the first leg. It's reassuring to know that you disagree.

Sorry it's just dumb to not take ANY team seriously in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Let alone a team with the amount of talent Tottenham has. + Miracle? Have you seen their fixtures remaining. They are heavy favourites to finish in top4.

I wasn't saying you were wrong to say we're fighting for 4th you said we're "just" as in Barcelona has more important games to play. How is Chelsea's fight to make top 4 any different from Barcelona's attempt to overthrow Real in the league? They both face must win games against tough teams.

I know there is a chance Chelsea can beat Barcelona but I really think they are just too good to be beat over two legs. For that to happen we would have to have a wonderful tactician in charge, no offence to RDM.

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 04:23 PM

Sorry it's just dumb to not take ANY team seriously in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley. Let alone a team with the amount of talent Tottenham has.

How is Chelsea's fight to make top 4 any different from Barcelona's attempt to overthrow Real in the league? They both face must win games against tough teams.

I know there is a chance Chelsea can beat Barcelona but I really think they are just too good to be beat over two legs. For that to happen we would have to have a wonderful tactician in charge, no offence to RDM.

No need to apologize. We're having a discussion. It's all fair.

You're right, at the semi-final stage, the matches are at Wembley so it's important but this is the Spurs. They've won 2 or 3 matches since they last beat NU 5-0 back in Feb. They've been free-falling ever since - probably over 12 matches. Chelsea could have fielded a weaker team and still beaten them. Wouldn't you agree? Unless, of course, you know something about Chelsea that I don't.

Ah the top 4 finish for Chelsea is a lot more important for Barcelona winning La Liga.

For Barcelona winning La Liga is another piece of the totem pole atop which is Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Even if they do lose it'll be close and they'll be back next year to dethrone Madrid and they can be successful. Thiago, Cuenca, Tello, Muniesa, Montoya would have all matured and there could be a Bale or Silva etc. in the fold too. Would be virtually impossible for Madrid to beat Barcelona next year. There's no prize money for winning La Liga. It's all about bragging rights.

For Chelsea it'll be a massive disaster. And obviously it all stems from no CL football next year. All their big rivals will be there i.e. Arsenal, MU and even MC. And you know how much that title means to Abramovich. The squad is ageing and pushing Lampard, Cole, Terry and maybe even Drogba for another year is risky. They won't be able to attract sufficient talent without CL football i.e. forget Cavani etc, not happening. Off the pitch, no sponsorship money (which translates to appearance and progress prize and even the partners will tighten their purse strings), no market pool (which translates to broadcast revenue) and of course no gate receipts (those CL tickets cost more than the average EPL matches). That's a LOT of money. A LOT. Chelsea will drop at least 10 spots in the money league if this happens. Therefore, with a quiet front in the transfer market this effect will be amplified. With FFP looming and UEFA already under the gun for implementing stricter clauses and stronger governance means Roman will have a tough time injecting money to attract even the greediest of players from the talent pool (Nasri's already taken).

I don't think Barcelona will lose but it'll be very entertaining. If it does come down to another win by away goals rule it wouldn't surprise me. One thing I'm sure is that the referees will be under a more powerful microscope than the players.

blzn

Apr 15th, 2012, 04:37 PM

Did you even watch the game at all? The game was extremely even up until the last 15 minutes when Chelsea pulled away.

Exactly for some of the reasons you listed is why I don't think Chelsea are going into this match up with any sort of advantage at all like you were implying with your "just" 4th place.

Missing out on CL won't hamper our signing potential too much, we can still offer super huge wages which seem to be incentive enough for some people. Bayern signed Luca Toni, Altintop, Klose, Ribery when they missed the CL and when AC missed out they went and got Flamini, Ronaldhino, Zambrotta. Granted we aren't as big of a club as Bayern and AC, but I think we should still be able in a position to sign top talent.

VorteC

Apr 15th, 2012, 07:57 PM

Great display by Chelsea today, Drogba's goal was brilliant so was Lampard's free kick.

OMG the Drogba goal and Lampard goal were absolutely sublime.

Lampard's FK looks like something out of Ronaldo.

Today's Chelsea was quality. Hope they can repeat the same vision and quality with Barca, although I doubt it.

xlash

Apr 15th, 2012, 08:36 PM

Did you even watch the game at all? The game was extremely even up until the last 15 minutes when Chelsea pulled away.

...and then Spurs collapsed like a sack of potatoes, right? Not the mark of a strong top 4 team. Blamed it on Mata's non-goal even though they scored after it.

Exactly for some of the reasons you listed is why I don't think Chelsea are going into this match up with any sort of advantage at all like you were implying with your "just" 4th place.

Missing out on CL won't hamper our signing potential too much, we can still offer super huge wages which seem to be incentive enough for some people. Bayern signed Luca Toni, Altintop, Klose, Ribery when they missed the CL and when AC missed out they went and got Flamini, Ronaldhino, Zambrotta. Granted we aren't as big of a club as Bayern and AC, but I think we should still be able in a position to sign top talent.

They do have the incentive to deliver against Barcelona. There's 2009 quite fresh in the old guard's memory. They are a formidable team; no light-weight gets to the semi-finals without being a threat to the others. As a Barcelona fan I certainly hope they aren't taken lightly.

I see what you're saying. The Bayern argument makes sense as they paid a lot of money for those players and have been adding roughly 1 superstar/year. On the other hand Flamini, a paunchy Ronaldinho and an underperforming Zambrotta, both Barca rejects don't suggest that Milan were attracting cream or the crop talent.

You don't think Chelsea is bigger than AC Milan? I had to look this up cuz I don't know. Lots of conflicting information. This one says Chelsea is the 4th most supported club after MU, FCB & RM. http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/big-picture/2011-10-13/worlds-most-popular-football-club-revealed-man-united-liverpool-arsenal-barca-real-or-chelsea?p=9

On the other hand a great indicator is commercial revenue. Last year Milan made 92 million euros in commercial revenue while Chelsea made 63. That's a significant gap. I suppose you could also point to the 7 CL titles for ACM vs. 0 for CFC. If we're counting that then ACM should have more fans than FCB and MU.

Anyway it's tough to put a dollar figure on something as intangible as brand value of football clubs.

hyperion

Apr 15th, 2012, 09:59 PM

I think Bayern has a chance against RM if they catch them on a bad day or if RM players underestimate Bayern. Barcelona beating Chelsea is pretty much a done deal in my head though. Sorry to the Chelsea fans here, but that's my humble opinion. Top-of-their-form Chelsea that used to beat opponents by at least 3-4 goals consistently would be a good match for current Barcelona, but this Chelsea is nowhere near that form and is a lot more inconsistent.

The more exciting games of the two will be the two Bayern vs. RM matches, just because they could swing either way.

blzn

Apr 15th, 2012, 10:34 PM

They do have the incentive to deliver against Barcelona. There's 2009 quite fresh in the old guard's memory. They are a formidable team; no light-weight gets to the semi-finals without being a threat to the others. As a Barcelona fan I certainly hope they aren't taken lightly.

I see what you're saying. The Bayern argument makes sense as they paid a lot of money for those players and have been adding roughly 1 superstar/year. On the other hand Flamini, a paunchy Ronaldinho and an underperforming Zambrotta, both Barca rejects don't suggest that Milan were attracting cream or the crop talent.

You don't think Chelsea is bigger than AC Milan? I had to look this up cuz I don't know. Lots of conflicting information. This one says Chelsea is the 4th most supported club after MU, FCB & RM. http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/big-picture/2011-10-13/worlds-most-popular-football-club-revealed-man-united-liverpool-arsenal-barca-real-or-chelsea?p=9

On the other hand a great indicator is commercial revenue. Last year Milan made 92 million euros in commercial revenue while Chelsea made 63. That's a significant gap. I suppose you could also point to the 7 CL titles for ACM vs. 0 for CFC. If we're counting that then ACM should have more fans than FCB and MU.

Anyway it's tough to put a dollar figure on something as intangible as brand value of football clubs.

Not arguing that there is a lack of motivation to take on Barcelona because there certainly is.

By bigger club I mean a European giant for a longer period of time, surprised you think Chelsea is bigger than AC tbh not that I'm complaining :P .

All in all, hope we have a 2 good semi finals that aren't destroyed by referee mistakes.

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 12:44 AM

Lol don't you love it when Lord Fergie and his Man Yoo disciples feverishly wank off everytime Suarez "dives" or is "theatrical" and now you've got Ashley Young giving a master class in diving.

In October Ferguson offered a view of a player going down to easily. "The boy Suárez dives all over the place," he said of the Liverpool striker.

@briankettle: Ferguson on Young: "'He played for it. It was a dramatic fall, but it was a penalty." Good: any doubt that you're a hypocrite is now gone.

As Rio would say #stayonyourfeet

@briankettle: Triffic management by Harry Redknapp: a Moyesian zero trophies in his four years at Spurs to add to his one in his first 25 years as a boss.

#harryforengland

If there's one group that has no grounds to lecture others on dives in the penalty box it's Liverpool fans. It's so ingrained into their players that they seemingly forget how to get on with being the good players that they previously were, even when they're no longer playing at LFC. Just look at Torres at the last WC for a clear example. Any time he reached the outer white line he took a tumble. Makes for great comedy so long as the officials don't fall for it.

That said, Young shouldn't resort to theatrics like that. It's not like Villa were likely to get anything from the game anyway. Paul Scholes was 20, back in 1995, the last time Villa beat United in the league.

For the record, Suarez is now a well-recognised cheat. And Fergie is a proven winner. I know which one I'm happy to have. :D

As for Redknapp, he's already proven himself to be the typical achieve-nothing England boss. Let's consider his term over before it even begins and move on to the next candidate. Pardew perhaps? Or Woy? Whichever English manager is willing to do it practically for free, just for the honour of leading his country in a major tournament. We've tried the mercenaries, now for something different.

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 12:53 AM

I know there is a chance Chelsea can beat Barcelona but I really think they are just too good to be beat over two legs. For that to happen we would have to have a wonderful tactician in charge, no offence to RDM.

Chelsea just need to play like they did in the 2nd half today. Do that and they can make Barca uncomfortable - possibly even enough to beat them. They definitely need to win the home leg, then keep Barca from winning at the Nou Camp. Over 2 legs Barca can be beat. It's the one-offs where they're hard to break down, IF they get the opening goal. It would be great to see a team take a lead into the 2nd leg with them, needing only to retain ball possession for 90 minutes. Tappa-tappa, tappa-tappa, no mate you can't have the ball-tappa. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 12:58 AM

Seems there's at least one Scouser with class. Ironically one that LFC fans love to hate:

Wayne Rooney, who scored two goals for Manchester United against Aston Villa today, on Twitter: "My thoughts and prayers are with all the friends and families of the 96 who died at Hillsborough. #J4T96."

Way to go Roo.

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 01:16 AM

No need to apologize. We're having a discussion. It's all fair.

You're right, at the semi-final stage, the matches are at Wembley so it's important but this is the Spurs. They've won 2 or 3 matches since they last beat NU 5-0 back in Feb. They've been free-falling ever since - probably over 12 matches. Chelsea could have fielded a weaker team and still beaten them. Wouldn't you agree? Unless, of course, you know something about Chelsea that I don't.

Ah the top 4 finish for Chelsea is a lot more important for Barcelona winning La Liga.

For Barcelona winning La Liga is another piece of the totem pole atop which is Pep Guardiola's Barcelona. Even if they do lose it'll be close and they'll be back next year to dethrone Madrid and they can be successful. Thiago, Cuenca, Tello, Muniesa, Montoya would have all matured and there could be a Bale or Silva etc. in the fold too. Would be virtually impossible for Madrid to beat Barcelona next year. There's no prize money for winning La Liga. It's all about bragging rights.

For Chelsea it'll be a massive disaster. And obviously it all stems from no CL football next year. All their big rivals will be there i.e. Arsenal, MU and even MC. And you know how much that title means to Abramovich. The squad is ageing and pushing Lampard, Cole, Terry and maybe even Drogba for another year is risky. They won't be able to attract sufficient talent without CL football i.e. forget Cavani etc, not happening. Off the pitch, no sponsorship money (which translates to appearance and progress prize and even the partners will tighten their purse strings), no market pool (which translates to broadcast revenue) and of course no gate receipts (those CL tickets cost more than the average EPL matches). That's a LOT of money. A LOT. Chelsea will drop at least 10 spots in the money league if this happens. Therefore, with a quiet front in the transfer market this effect will be amplified. With FFP looming and UEFA already under the gun for implementing stricter clauses and stronger governance means Roman will have a tough time injecting money to attract even the greediest of players from the talent pool (Nasri's already taken).

I don't think Barcelona will lose but it'll be very entertaining. If it does come down to another win by away goals rule it wouldn't surprise me. One thing I'm sure is that the referees will be under a more powerful microscope than the players.

You know what, my gut's telling me that Chelsea's oldies are going to do them selves proud and get past Barca over the 2 legs, especially if what you're saying about squad injuries is true. And in a final against Bayern or Madrid, who'll already have a ChLg spot secured, they could well take it. They've experienced a final before, and this time they'll make sure they don't slip up. :lol: Then I believe they'll have ChLg football next year after all, even if it does require an early start to the season.

They could qualify via the league, but that requires both Spurs AND Newcastle to lose ground. I suspect they'll come up just short there. As a consolation, if there's nothing else to play for, they'll decimate LFC at Wembley. It won't even be close, like it was in the Mourinho-Rafa days.

As for Spain, barring major changes, Madrid are in the driver's seat for next season. They seem to have a much deeper squad, better able to cope with injury to key players. Take away CRon and Messi for a large chunk of the season and I think Madrid will fare far better. But only if both players are missing. If just one goes, the other team will have a serious advantage, they're both that important.

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 01:24 AM

On the other hand a great indicator is commercial revenue. Last year Milan made 92 million euros in commercial revenue while Chelsea made 63. That's a significant gap. I suppose you could also point to the 7 CL titles for ACM vs. 0 for CFC. If we're counting that then ACM should have more fans than FCB and MU.

Anyway it's tough to put a dollar figure on something as intangible as brand value of football clubs.

By bigger club I mean a European giant for a longer period of time, surprised you think Chelsea is bigger than AC tbh not that I'm complaining :P .

All in all, hope we have a 2 good semi finals that aren't destroyed by referee mistakes.

When comparing teams you should really only go off recent performance, over the past decade (or less). Anything before that is history. Especially when management has changed significantly, as it has at most clubs.

xlash

Apr 16th, 2012, 06:49 AM

Chelsea just need to play like they did in the 2nd half today. Do that and they can make Barca uncomfortable - possibly even enough to beat them. They definitely need to win the home leg, then keep Barca from winning at the Nou Camp. Over 2 legs Barca can be beat. It's the one-offs where they're hard to break down, IF they get the opening goal. It would be great to see a team take a lead into the 2nd leg with them, needing only to retain ball possession for 90 minutes. Tappa-tappa, tappa-tappa, no mate you can't have the ball-tappa. :lol:

No, Barca are tougher, much tougher to beat over two legs. Look at their battles with AC Milan this year and Madrid these past two. Two leg ties are where top coaches earn their money and that's why Pep Guardiola is one of the best. The best example would be against Arsenal last year. They lost the first match and Arsenal had the upper hand. Red card or not they didn't allow Arsenal to complete more than 2 passes in a row!! This is the team that tops posession stats in the EPL regularly.

Tactically, Chelsea players should know what to do with their experience, especially against a familiar Barcelona; they should learn from Milan, Madrid, Arsenal, Inter.

- play the counter (obviously) but when in possession the wide players should charge forward with the full backs taking up the outside midfielders spots. Countering this will be tough for Barcelona whose wingers could get isolated.
- play midfield diamond with the creative nous of mata at the top and lampard at the bottom. This setup will be the source of the attack. In essence emulating Sneijder' role at Inter and Alonso's role at Madrid respectively.
- playing Torres or Sturridge would work as the 2nd striker where rather than playing alongside Drogba he should drift out wide for diagonal balls. Remember Barcelona play a 3 man defence.
- opportunistic fouling. Nests, Pepe, Carvalho, Cambiasso have all done it. It's the only way to stop Messi because he doesnt dive. It kills momentum but most importantly it's the only way any team can ever frustrate Barcelona. The downside to this is of course a load of yellows which means either take a red and keep a fresh attacker in the tail end or play with all 11. Mou prefers the former.

I do want Barca to win it all but they are still humans and if Chelsea deploy the right strategy they can win on Wed.

blzn

Apr 16th, 2012, 07:08 PM

Wigan with their first win at Emirates allows Chelsea to control their own destiny of a top 4 finish. Beating Arsenal next weekend will be absolutely vital.

Tornado F2

Apr 16th, 2012, 07:49 PM

Wigan with their first win at Emirates allows Chelsea to control their own destiny of a top 4 finish. Beating Arsenal next weekend will be absolutely vital.

Wigan seem to be collecting some "firsts", while they're still in the EPL. They may not get the chance again if they're relegated. I'm hoping they can avoid the drop. You have to wonder why they've allowed themselves to be in trouble for so long though when they seem to have the ability now. What changed? Other than desperation finally kicking in.

Fimo

Apr 16th, 2012, 11:49 PM

http://p.twimg.com/AqoFW_CCEAEJaaN.jpg:large

VorteC

Apr 16th, 2012, 11:56 PM

http://p.twimg.com/AqoFW_CCEAEJaaN.jpg:large

rofl.

hyperion

Apr 17th, 2012, 10:35 AM

Hahaha. :D

blzn

Apr 17th, 2012, 10:38 AM

Can replace that with Carroll too :razz:

Funny pic though, damn exams can't watch todays CL game.

VorteC

Apr 17th, 2012, 02:23 PM

Bayern 1 - 0 Real Madrid

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 17th, 2012, 04:34 PM

2-1 bayern ft

would've preferred 1-1 but not the worst result

3-1 win @ the bernabeu would see us through, or 1-0 (but i can't see madrid keeping a clean sheet), 2-1 in return leg and we got extra time

now that ramos plays CB, madrid needs to buy rb and lb in the summer

arbeloa, coentrao and marcelo are good but not world class

harpoon

Apr 17th, 2012, 10:46 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 18th, 2012, 01:35 AM

Coentrao will be, he's young but has all the tools.

Marcelo IS a tool. :razz:

blzn

Apr 18th, 2012, 01:35 PM

A quick stat for you - Chelsea are the only team that Pep Guardiola's Barcelona have played but never beaten.

Come on Chelsea!

kennyhohoho

Apr 18th, 2012, 02:11 PM

The text play by play is hilarious. Can't watch since I'm at work, but following the play by play.

4′ - Drogba and Busquets tangle. The Barca man looks to have had his toe stamped on, and unsurprisingly, spends some time on the turf holding his boot and looking appealingly at the referee. He'll be OK.

16′ - After all that falling about, a rare outbreak of football occurs at Stamford Bridge. Barca are still knocking it about, but aren't managing to penetrate too deeply into Chelsea territory. Yet.

25′ Penalty appeal! Well almost, and seeing as it's Chelsea v Barcelona it wouldn't be right not to have one don't you think? Iniesta is the man who falls to the ground in the box, a faint push by Lampard seems to be the reason behind it. The Chelsea fans roar their disapproval and on we go. Nobody appears too disgruntled with the decision.

VorteC

Apr 18th, 2012, 02:35 PM

Chelsea 1-0 Barca

omg. go blues.

blzn

Apr 18th, 2012, 02:35 PM

Cannot concede in the second half..

Fimo

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:31 PM

kennyhohoho

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:33 PM

lol, facking hell, Chelsea's formation right now is 10-0-0, can't say I blame them, next weeks return leg should be good, if Chelsea hold one to their lead.

My prediction is a red card to one of Chelski's key players in the next leg and at least 1 Barca penalty. :D

skyblue12

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:38 PM

what an end.. off the post :(

blzn

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:40 PM

Great result, rode our luck a bit but you have to get a bit lucky at this stage. Regardless of what happens next week thrilled with the performance of Chelsea.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:45 PM

My prediction is a red card to one of Chelski's key players in the next leg and at least 1 Barca penalty. :D

yep

if chelsea won 2-0 i would give them a 50% chance of advancing

nou camp = all 50/50 calls will go barca's way and someone from chelsea will get sent off

remember rvp red card vs barca last year?

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-15uzxaw.gif

cech was superb tonight

blzn

Apr 18th, 2012, 03:47 PM

Probably Drogba, think he's been sent off in our last CL game every season for a while.

VorteC

Apr 18th, 2012, 04:53 PM

Probably Drogba, think he's been sent off in our last CL game every season for a while.

ITS A ****ING DISGRACE. lol.

VorteC

Apr 18th, 2012, 04:56 PM

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-15uzxaw.gif

cech was superb tonight

dat save

Tornado F2

Apr 18th, 2012, 06:42 PM

lol, facking hell, Chelsea's formation right now is 10-0-0, can't say I blame them, next weeks return leg should be good, if Chelsea hold on to their lead, which they did, congrats, Barca almost equalised right there at the end.

If Barca win El Clasico on Saturday, they will be really pumped for the return leg, lose and Chelsea may have a chance.

Question is can they prevent Barca from scoring at the Camp Nou and score themselves?

Can't wait for the return leg.

This is going to be a rare stressful week for Barca's players and fans. You could see the realisation on their faces in the 2nd half: they ARE beatable after all. :D Even Messi is mortal. Can Madrid and Chel$ki capitalise?

As for the 2nd leg, Chel$ki don't need to score. They just need to keep Barca from scoring, like they did today. Or keep Barca from outscoring them by more than one. Looks doable, doesn't it? :D Told you Barca can be beaten over 2 legs. We'll have to wait and see which teams show up next Tuesday though. The old guard have left it late, but this just might be their year, if their luck holds up. Imagine if they win it with Mourinho managing the opposition. Even Abramovich will be doing somersaults on the pitch then. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 18th, 2012, 06:50 PM

Great result, rode our luck a bit but you have to get a bit lucky at this stage. Regardless of what happens next week thrilled with the performance of Chelsea.

It wasn't much of a performance - 23% possession or whatever, one shot on goal - but it really got to the Barca players and fans in the 2nd half. Especially all the theatrics by Drogba. But it got Chel$ki the result they needed. It's proof that you shouldn't try playing Barca too much at their own game. But maybe next week, when goals will really count, the footballing will really explode, especially if Barca do manage to score first. It promises to be a very watchable match. Though it may be another demonstration of bus parking. We'll see.

Congrats today though Chelsea. There's a dose of revenge there for last time. Especially for Drog.

Tornado F2

Apr 18th, 2012, 06:56 PM

yep

if chelsea won 2-0 i would give them a 50% chance of advancing

nou camp = all 50/50 calls will go barca's way and someone from chelsea will get sent off

remember rvp red card vs barca last year?

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-15uzxaw.gif

cech was superb tonight

And Lehmann's early sending off for Arsenal in the final several years back.

I'm sure a lot of us will be cheering on Chel$ki, no matter what tricks they get up to, next Tuesday. It will be interesting to see what officials are appointed to the match: Northern Europeans (who's left if you take away English and German officials?) and Barca may lose their favoured status. Maybe it could be a Spain-free final after all. Though Madrid's away goal is a definite (though slight) advantage for them.

blzn

Apr 18th, 2012, 08:53 PM

It wasn't much of a performance - 23% possession or whatever, one shot on goal - but it really got to the Barca players and fans in the 2nd half. Especially all the theatrics by Drogba. But it got Chel$ki the result they needed. It's proof that you shouldn't try playing Barca too much at their own game. But maybe next week, when goals will really count, the footballing will really explode, especially if Barca do manage to score first. It promises to be a very watchable match. Though it may be another demonstration of bus parking. We'll see.

Congrats today though Chelsea. There's a dose of revenge there for last time. Especially for Drog.

It was a fantastic performance, we know how Barcelona dominate possession regardless so we set our selves up strongly defensively. With some luck and a clinical counter attack we go to the Nou Camp knowing we actually have a chance at making it to the finals. It'll be extremely difficult but there is a chance.

Pep Guardiola has faced 55 different opponents as Barça coach, beaten all of them at least once, the exception is still Chelsea.

xlash

Apr 19th, 2012, 12:16 AM

Very frustrating match; so many chances for Barca and yet Drogba buries the one he gets. Leo dropped too deep to pick up the ball, Xavi was ineffective and the fact that Iniesta isnt a natural winger is exposed when teams park the bus.

Guardiola should start next week with a 3-3-4. 2 natural wingers like Pedro Rodriguez and Cuenca to spread the defence so Messi and Fabregas in the center create gaps and alternately drop deep; and Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets stay in the middle. Chelsea WILL park the bus next week. Every team has parked the bus at Camp Nou. That initial high pressure tactic Madrid, Milan and United deploy against Barca simply doesn't work.

Chelsea's defensive effort was fantastic. RDM should be signed on as head coach. He deserved it when Napoli was knocked out.

Finally somebody should tell Leo to have some faith in his midfielders and stay high. He'll get the ball. This isn't his Argentina team mates he's playing with.

With that said I am positive Barca is going to get past Chelsea.

Tornado F2

Apr 19th, 2012, 12:50 AM

It was a fantastic performance, we know how Barcelona dominate possession regardless so we set our selves up strongly defensively. With some luck and a clinical counter attack we go to the Nou Camp knowing we actually have a chance at making it to the finals. It'll be extremely difficult but there is a chance.

It was a well-taken goal, with a strong defensive effort, along with more than a bit of luck. It wasn't anywhere close to the 2nd half performance against Spurs, but it got Chelsea the result they needed. I'm happy for them. Two more well-played/lucky games and they may have a route into next season's ChLg, along with this season's trophy. Not a bad way to end an otherwise disappointing season.

kennyhohoho

Apr 19th, 2012, 07:47 AM

This is going to be a rare stressful week for Barca's players and fans. You could see the realisation on their faces in the 2nd half: they ARE beatable after all. :D Even Messi is mortal. Can Madrid and Chel$ki capitalise?

As for the 2nd leg, Chel$ki don't need to score. They just need to keep Barca from scoring, like they did today. Or keep Barca from outscoring them by more than one. Looks doable, doesn't it? :D Told you Barca can be beaten over 2 legs. We'll have to wait and see which teams show up next Tuesday though. The old guard have left it late, but this just might be their year, if their luck holds up. Imagine if they win it with Mourinho managing the opposition. Even Abramovich will be doing somersaults on the pitch then. :lol:

We said the same thing last year, right before they played Arsenal in the second leg. Barca will always get the extra "help" they need when they're down. ;)

I honestly don't know how anyone (other than glory chasers) can watch this team every week and be a legitimate fan. They're the skid mark on the tighty whities of football.

xlash

Apr 19th, 2012, 08:07 AM

yep

if chelsea won 2-0 i would give them a 50% chance of advancing

nou camp = all 50/50 calls will go barca's way and someone from chelsea will get sent off

remember rvp red card vs barca last year?

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-15uzxaw.gif

cech was superb tonight

Barca were extremely wasteful. Sanchez and Fabregas missed so many chances.

Last year Arsenal barely had the ball, didn't do anything with it when they got it. They were overrun in midfield and gave away needless penalty. Granted the second yellow was undeserved but he didn't do himself any favors when he took he first one.

I'm surprised Drogba wasn't sent off. Busquets and Iniesta are being called for diving but Drogba spent over 6min rolling around. 6min!!!

blzn

Apr 19th, 2012, 08:41 AM

Drogba was showing how it's really done :D He did take a couple of nasty knocks/falls but not as many as he made look.

Didn't Fabregas 'miss' one chance.. the rebound? Sanchez 2, the post and shot wide? I think overall the team had plenty of chances but I don't think any one player had a multitude of misses.

Looks like Drogba will be rested against Arsenal after his big game heroics against Spurs and Barca, hopefully the likes of Torres/Sturridge can do some damage.

I'm done my exams on Friday, going out to celebrate then up at 7:30 AM to watch the game on Saturday. Life of a dedicated EPL fan :lol:

kennyhohoho

Apr 19th, 2012, 08:59 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 19th, 2012, 06:51 PM

VorteC

Apr 19th, 2012, 07:15 PM

i finished today :cheesygri

saturday:

chelsea vs arsenal 7:45 am

barca vs real 2 pm

:cool:

FML my last exam is on Saturday night, ****ing Waterloo.

hyperion

Apr 20th, 2012, 12:01 AM

So how long until a top tier club grabs Falcao?

xt21

Apr 20th, 2012, 05:25 PM

Does anyone know of any good pubs to go and watch the Chelsea vs Barca game next week? BTW I'm a Chelsea fan so no recommendations for places where I will get stabbed by Barca fans :D.

Fimo

Apr 20th, 2012, 05:30 PM

Does anyone know of any good pubs to go and watch the Chelsea vs Barca game next week? BTW I'm a Chelsea fan so no recommendations for places where I will get stabbed by Barca fans :D.

Not sure about Chelsea specific pubs, but you could try Scallywags, Yonge + St Clair, its home to LFC Toronto, just don't go there for the FA Cup Final, lol!

Somehow I missed this from a couple days ago, not confirmed yet though:

TFC vs LFC, Rogers Centre July 21 2012 (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/article/1163671--liverpool-to-face-toronto-fc-at-rogers-centre)

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 20th, 2012, 08:01 PM

So how long until a top tier club grabs Falcao?

what a great buy that was by atletico

good use of kun transfer money

he cost 40 million euros so I expect falcao to go for at least 50 million in the summer (if he goes)

Tornado F2

Apr 20th, 2012, 08:54 PM

Somehow I missed this from a couple days ago, not confirmed yet though:

TFC vs LFC, Rogers Centre July 21 2012 (http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/article/1163671--liverpool-to-face-toronto-fc-at-rogers-centre)

Sounds like a good match.

As in two teams of comparable level. :razz:

Should end up a 1-1 draw. (LFC PK after a blatant dive).

Fimo

Apr 20th, 2012, 09:00 PM

Should end up a 1-1 draw. (LFC PK after a blatant dive).

I didn't know we had signed Ashley Young? When did the transfer market open? I though it was July 1?

Tornado F2

Apr 20th, 2012, 11:04 PM

I didn't know we had signed Ashley Young? When did the transfer market open? I though it was July 1?

Wow, ONE player (whose record was previously blemish-free). Your lot have an entire SQUAD full. And numerous alumni too. Interesting to see how much Torres' performances have improved since he finally broke free of the LFC programming. But of course your lot are desperate for goals - any goals - aren't they? :lol:

Carroll's dive against Newcastle actually cost you a near-certain goal. :lol:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59689000/jpg/_59689877_59687978.jpg

xlash

Apr 21st, 2012, 03:36 AM

Wow, ONE player (whose record was previously blemish-free). Your lot have an entire SQUAD full. And numerous alumni too. Interesting to see how much Torres' performances have improved since he finally broke free of the LFC programming. But of course your lot are desperate for goals - any goals - aren't they? :lol:

Carroll's dive against Newcastle actually cost you a near-certain goal. :lol:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59689000/jpg/_59689877_59687978.jpg

Blemish free??? Clearly you don't know what you are talking about.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/04/21/3048861/from-diving-force-to-driving-force-ashley-young-must-follow

You're better off praising him like that kennyho guy does Drogba. Young, after all, has won you the league this season. SAF shouldnt complain about Suarez since 'it all evens itself out' according to him.

EPL fans regularly vote for Howard Webb as MU player of the season. Having that man advantage sure makes winning those titles easy.

Tornado F2

Apr 21st, 2012, 05:41 AM

EPL fans regularly vote for Howard Webb as MU player of the season. Having that man advantage sure makes winning those titles easy.

Clearly you don't know what you are talking about. We were winning the league long before Webb came along. And he makes decisions that work against us, so the accusation is bunk anyway.

VorteC

Apr 21st, 2012, 09:50 AM

Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal

Lame.

Tornado F2

Apr 21st, 2012, 11:52 AM

Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal

Lame.

I couldn't get TSN2 for some reason (it was there last weekend) so I missed it. >:( Going off the SN highlights Chelsea got very lucky. Anyway, Barcelona should be the priority now. Win those remaining 2 ChLg games and CFC can get back into the ChLg, even if they fail in the EPL.

Fimo

Apr 21st, 2012, 12:37 PM

Your lot have an entire SQUAD full. And numerous alumni too.

http://www.asiaplate.com/photo/berbatov_dive.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/12/13/article-1235599-0795983C000005DC-363_468x286.jpg

Some Alumni:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/11/10/article-1084404-0252F2D5000005DC-297_468x425.jpg

Who can forget the famous Ruud van Diverboy?

http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/001/410/605/nist_display_image.jpg?1318523195

But of course your lot are desperate for goals - any goals - aren't they? :lol: We figured if its working for you guys we might as well give it a go, lol.

Tornado F2

Apr 21st, 2012, 12:46 PM

We figured if its working for you guys we might as well give it a go, lol.

Oh really? So how's it working out for you? Still crap by the look of things. :lol:

Fimo

Apr 21st, 2012, 01:35 PM

Wowza, Spurs lose yet again, I wonder if England fans will still be clamouring for him? They are certainly giving us competition for worst performance over the last 8 weeks.

Oh really? So how's it working out for you? Still crap by the look of things. :lol:

LOL! We don't have the many years of experience unfortunately.

Tornado F2

Apr 21st, 2012, 01:54 PM

Whatever happened to that Spurs fan? :?: Permabanned by nsx when Arsenal were trailing perhaps? :lol:

blzn

Apr 21st, 2012, 03:37 PM

Ashley Young was a diver at Villa too. Chelsea :facepalm:

Tottenham lose to QPR, who are quite good at home. 3rd-6th is really close should make for a great finish to the season.

MADRID! La Liga should be theirs for the taking. Is it better to take on Barcelona because they just lost or is it worse because now they'll be even more motivated to win the CL after losing their La Liga title. Sucks to play em either way :D

elty

Apr 21st, 2012, 03:41 PM

So Real actually beat Barca in regular time for once. I guess that gives Real a much needed boost towards the next CL home game.

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/398098_o.gif

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 21st, 2012, 03:43 PM

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/7099750195_31f7dff13c_o.gif

nice celebration! :D

2-1 ft win for madrid @ camp nou :-0:)

Tornado F2

Apr 21st, 2012, 04:31 PM

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/7099750195_31f7dff13c_o.gif

nice celebration! :D

2-1 ft win for madrid @ camp nou :-0:)

Is he actually trying to look like Scott Parker? :lol:

2 consecutive losses. How did the Barca players look at the end? Dejected? Maybe their bubble has finally burst? :D

Oh, SAF, we really should have stayed in the ChLg after all... :razz:

hyperion

Apr 21st, 2012, 05:14 PM

Haven't seen any highlights yet, but wanted to say congrats to Real Madrid.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 21st, 2012, 07:27 PM

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2ulsrZamW1qefinp.gif

dat reaction

:lol:

madrid needs to win 2 out of the 4 games left to win la liga

Florentino was seen dining with Lucas Moura's parents and his agent, Wagner Riberio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2owA2hbnEY&feature=related

hyperion

Apr 21st, 2012, 07:48 PM

LMAO. Mourinho doing his imaginary bike and Pep looks like he got shot in the face.

xlash

Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:38 AM

Awful week for Barcelona. The first team players are exhausted which explains no penetration and creativity in the final third. Teams are figuring out how to beat Guardiola's 3-man defence and Pep's strategy is getting run over. If he does the same thing against Chelsea and Bilbao Barca will end the season with 0 trophies.

And he needs a proper defence. When's he going to learn that playing Alves as a winger, Puyol as a right back and Mascherano as a centerback while Pique is on the bench will leave his porous defence playing like a sieve.

Watching Barcelona play nowadays reminds me of watching Argentina play. Lots of possession in the center and in their own zone but a hellava lot of dependence on Messi in the attacking zone but offering him no support.

blzn

Apr 22nd, 2012, 11:02 AM

If Man City win today the derby next week is going to be amazing.

Edit: So much for the race being over, City control their own destiny once again. Looking forward to the game. Liverpool losing at home again, haven't seen any highlights though.

Only England and Italy have undetermined league champions as of yet.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:16 PM

man utd letting man city back into the title race :facepalm:

here is your chance mancini, beat man utd @ home and win the title

http://i.eurosport.com/2011/03/01/695512-9614107-640-360.jpg

Fimo

Apr 22nd, 2012, 12:37 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 22nd, 2012, 02:29 PM

Can't believe we lost that game, lol but then again the way our seasons gone I shouldn't be surprised, 20+ shots on goal and we can't get the ball in the back of the net. Perhaps Murphy's Law will be kinder to us next season!

Hmmm.... what was all that about diving? :lol:

Straight from the scousers on RAWK:

"Re: Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion April 22, 2012
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2012, 04:21:11 PM »

20' More movement, this time down left, Luis picks Maxi, Maxi took a dive instead of taking a shot. Poor from him."

(Just like Carroll).

Karma 1,000,000, LFC 0. :D

Good for Woy. WBA's first win at Anfield since 1967. Was Dalglish there too? Nope, that was even before his time. :lol:

http://i.eurosport.com/2011/03/01/695512-9614107-640-360.jpg

Tornado F2

Apr 22nd, 2012, 06:29 PM

http://static.sport360.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/main_image/SOCCER-Liverpool-183008_5538-crop.jpg

Too busy swearing and trying to intimidate refs to, like, you know, do his job - score goals. :lol: (My typing is turning scouse! :-0. Must be because I just stumbled across the play-by-play on RAWK).

kennyhohoho

Apr 23rd, 2012, 07:52 AM

Blemish free??? Clearly you don't know what you are talking about.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/04/21/3048861/from-diving-force-to-driving-force-ashley-young-must-follow

You're better off praising him like that kennyho guy does Drogba. Young, after all, has won you the league this season. SAF shouldnt complain about Suarez since 'it all evens itself out' according to him.

EPL fans regularly vote for Howard Webb as MU player of the season. Having that man advantage sure makes winning those titles easy.

I never praised Drogba. Not even a Chelski fan. Just hate Barca :lol:

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 23rd, 2012, 11:33 AM

• Arda Turan. Woof! He scored two golazos as Atlético beat Espanyol 3-1. Both they and Athletic Bilbao are up to 48 points – just one off Levante and three off Málaga and in with a genuine chance of the final Champions League slot.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqawso_atletico-madrid-3-1-espanyol-highlights_sport

surprised epl clubs passed on him (pool could have used a player like him) he was cheap too, 13m euros iirc, another great buy by atletico in the summer

elty

Apr 23rd, 2012, 12:16 PM

man utd letting man city back into the title race :facepalm:

here is your chance mancini, beat man utd @ home and win the title

Not really when the ref is going to be Howard Webb.

Tornado F2

Apr 23rd, 2012, 01:37 PM

Not really when the ref is going to be Howard Webb.

:facepalm:

Did you even think before posting?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17817688

blzn

Apr 23rd, 2012, 02:54 PM

Lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g9m7m8_2t4Y

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 24th, 2012, 09:30 AM

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s320x320/525804_10150702516177285_64755542284_9430412_63357 8156_n.jpg

kennyhohoho

Apr 24th, 2012, 02:29 PM

LOL. Surprise, surprise, a red card to Terry. You wouldn't think UEFA would allow Barca to finish without a trophy this year, would you?

Tornado F2

Apr 24th, 2012, 02:44 PM

LOL. Surprise, surprise, a red card to Terry. You wouldn't think UEFA would allow Barca to finish without a trophy this year, would you?

They still might. Away goals give Chel$ki an advantage and Ramires just scored a nice one. Pressure back on Barcelona.

Moronic move by Terry, especially with Cahill already lost injury. What to do now? Unless they can somehow restore the defence the obvious choice for Chelsea is to attack in the 2nd half. Torres to finally be the hero? Let's hope so. Either score or create, Chelsea now need to score because their defence probably isn't good enough to keep Barcelona out. Cahill's absence was an obvious factor in the 1st goal, and Terry's now left them with a huge hole there. Even Cech can't keep out Barcelona alone. Attack, attack, and hope for a Barcelona player to get himself sent off to level things.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s320x320/525804_10150702516177285_64755542284_9430412_63357 8156_n.jpg

That bus is now a compact car. Let it roll! Let's make this a goal-filled classic.

kennyhohoho

Apr 24th, 2012, 02:46 PM

They still might. Away goals give Chel$ki an advantage and Ramires just scored a nice one. Pressure back on Barcelona.

Moronic move by Terry, especially with Cahill already lost injury. What to do now? Unless they can somehow restore the defence the obvious choice for Chelsea is to attack in the 2nd half. Torres to finally be the hero? Let's hope so. Either score or create, Chelsea now need to score because their defence probably isn't good enough to keep Barcelona out. Cahill's absence was an obvious factor in the 1st goal, and Terry's now left them with a huge hole there. Even Cech can't keep out Barcelona alone. Attack, attack, and hope for a Barcelona player to get himself sent off to level things.

Barca player get sent off? Never. Look for a Red card to Drogba in the second half to really put things to bed. ;)

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 24th, 2012, 03:02 PM

red card to chelsea player

pk for barca

refs trying everything to make sure barca go through

kennyhohoho

Apr 24th, 2012, 03:04 PM

red card to chelsea player

pk for barca

refs trying everything to make sure barca go through

lol yeah. They aren't even trying to hide it anymore. :facepalm:

Other than kicking the ball into Chelsea's net themselves and taking their shirts off in celebration, I don't see what else the refs can do.

skyblue12

Apr 24th, 2012, 03:37 PM

Omg torres lol

Fimo

Apr 24th, 2012, 03:42 PM

Congrats Chelsea, 10 men for so long, well defended, it should be a good final whether they face Real or Bayern, I have a feeling its going to be Real, Mourinho vs RDM.

kennyhohoho

Apr 24th, 2012, 03:42 PM

Absolutely insane. Even with all the extra help Barca can't beat an undermanned Chelsea.

50 million pounds? Worth every penny. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 24th, 2012, 04:04 PM

Absolutely insane. Even with all the extra help Barca can't beat an undermanned Chelsea.

50 million pounds? Worth every penny. :lol:

Actually, the goal was unneeded. Turned out the bus with a hole in it, covered with patches, was still enough of a bus to keep Barca, and especially Messi, out. But well played by Torres anyway. And well played by all the Chelsea players, except Terry and possibly Kalou. They demonstrated what I've posted several times before - Barca can be beaten over two legs. It's the one match Final where a single mistake (player or official) is all it takes for them to punish you.

It's going to be a tough Final for Chelsea with some key players missing, but they don't need to worry about that now until the end of the season. Time for them to concentrate on trying to claim 4th. It will be difficult, but now they have 2 ways still open to them to qualify for next season's ChLg. If they fail to achieve 3rd/4th, the Final will be all-or-nothing for the old guard. I think they just might pull off a miracle and do it. Especially since that recurring embarrassment Terry is now eliminated. Give the captainship to somebody who deserves it. (Several worthy candidates there).

BTW, Barca were undermanned too - Messi, for the most part, failed to show up. Take away Messi's 60+ goals this season and what's left? An RVP-less Arsenal? Pretty much.

elty

Apr 24th, 2012, 04:14 PM

Not even red card and penalty can help them now.

Tornado F2

Apr 24th, 2012, 04:16 PM

Not even red card and penalty can help them now.

They're already dead Jim. ;)

Tornado F2

Apr 24th, 2012, 04:20 PM

They're already dead Jim. ;)

Here's one for Terry, after the Final:

http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/celebrity-pictures-nimoy-shatner-kelley-good-movie1.jpg

:lol:

(Keep him away from the trophy. He doesn't deserve the chance to lift it).

Nettles

Apr 24th, 2012, 04:53 PM

Tornado F2

Apr 24th, 2012, 05:07 PM

Important thing is that diving Barcelona lost (though they did dive to cause Meireles to get a yellow and miss the final). Hopefully Bayern win...Chelsea and Bayern would be a good final, don't like Real (for similar reasons as stated above).

I hate watching Barcelona or the Spanish ntnl team play, the whole game is just them passing it around and the other team having to sit back.

Speaking of the Spain team, wonder if Torres gave any thought today to the way they pulled a Barca shirt onto Fabregas after the WC final, but not him? It was like he wasn't invited to be one of them. He sure answered back today, even though his contribution didn't really affect things. It just made the last couple of minutes redundant.

Wonder what the Barca press' reaction will be now? This was an even greater loss (albeit a draw) than the weekend loss to Madrid, and apparently that set the press on the attack. Pep's best hope is that Madrid are knocked out tomorrow too.

blzn

Apr 24th, 2012, 05:34 PM

Wowowowowowwoww.

Tbh I thought the red and pk were justified the ref was excellent for the most part, what was JT thinking :facepalm:

Resolute defending once again, thrilled about going through to the finals. Thought we were done for after the red card and 2nd goal, but what a goal by Ramires. Seemed Barca were a bit out of ideas towards the end they just continuously knocked it around the box, they created better chances in the first leg.

WOowwwowow Chelsea :D

xlash

Apr 24th, 2012, 05:46 PM

Barca player get sent off? Never. Look for a Red card to Drogba in the second half to really put things to bed. ;)

Remember Abidal?

Abramovich should keep the 50 million and invest in the squad so they can compee with Manchester next uear. If their current salary isn't motivation enough they don't deserve to be on the squad.

When are they going to recognize RDM's ability as a coach?

I think it's time for Pep to go. And if he isn't physically fatigued Messi sure is mentally tired. Other than a Christmas break he's hardly got any rest. There's no point in buying Alexis Sanchez if he isn't going to be a direct goal threat like Messi and there's no point in buying Fabregas if he isn't going to be or or or orchestrating the play alongside Xavi.

I'm sure Barca is going to come back stronger next year. Either Pep will stay and come up with a brilliant strategy or another coach will do the same. Xavi will be given one more year because at some point Fabregas will take over from him.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 24th, 2012, 05:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pA-seoP6TII

neville having an orgrasm as torres scores :lol:

http://www.abload.de/img/untitled-8n6yjc.gif

^^ crucial moment, messi scores and barca goes through imo

blzn

Apr 24th, 2012, 06:04 PM

Remember Abidal?

Abramovich should keep the 50 million and invest in the squad so they can compee with Manchester next uear. If their current salary isn't motivation enough they don't deserve to be on the squad.

When are they going to recognize RDM's ability as a coach?

I think it's time for Pep to go. And if he isn't physically fatigued Messi sure is mentally tired. Other than a Christmas break he's hardly got any rest. There's no point in buying Alexis Sanchez if he isn't going to be a direct goal threat like Messi and there's no point in buying Fabregas if he isn't going to be or or or orchestrating the play alongside Xavi.

I'm sure Barca is going to come back stronger next year. Either Pep will stay and come up with a brilliant strategy or another coach will do the same. Xavi will be given one more year because at some point Fabregas will take over from him.

Don't think they'll be announcing RDM as head coach officially (if it happened) part way through the season. His results speak for them self and I'll be rather surprised if he isn't named manager on a permanent basis over the summer.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 24th, 2012, 06:30 PM

xlash

Apr 24th, 2012, 07:14 PM

Speaking of the Spain team, wonder if Torres gave any thought today to the way they pulled a Barca shirt onto Fabregas after the WC final, but not him? It was like he wasn't invited to be one of them. He sure answered back today, even though his contribution didn't really affect things. It just made the last couple of minutes redundant.

Wonder what the Barca press' reaction will be now? This was an even greater loss (albeit a draw) than the weekend loss to Madrid, and apparently that set the press on the attack. Pep's best hope is that Madrid are knocked out tomorrow too.

Fabregas is Catalan. He grew up with Piqué, Messi and co. Torres went through Atletico. He had as much of a chance of getting the Barca shirt over his head as Villa did and the latter ended up signing with Barca.

elty

Apr 24th, 2012, 11:29 PM

Torres is a terrible left back. He looked more tired than Drogba after 5 minutes. He was lucky that he scored an important goal (even though Ramires' goal should be the turning point). I wonder if his fortunate will change - probably not by much.

Whats up with that Chelsea away kit. I thought it was Tottenham at first glance.

hyperion

Apr 25th, 2012, 12:13 AM

Congrats to Chelsea. I couldn't believe it when I heard about what happened while I was at work.

Tornado F2

Apr 25th, 2012, 01:49 AM

Fabregas is Catalan. He grew up with Piqué, Messi and co. Torres went through Atletico. He had as much of a chance of getting the Barca shirt over his head as Villa did and the latter ended up signing with Barca.

Yeah, I knew his background was Madrid, not Barca, but he must have felt excluded by most of his "teammates" at the time, especially since he was so desperate to get out of his LFC hell. His poor performances at the WC didn't help his cause though.

As for Villa, talk about a vanishing act - though it turns out that's due to injury.

Tornado F2

Apr 25th, 2012, 02:09 AM

Ungracious Catalan press call Chelsea cowardly, vulgar, and unworthy of the competition :-0

http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/ungracious-catalan-press-call-chelsea-cowardly-vulgar-and-unworth

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SeMXZ0seL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.oldbridgerepublicans.com/storage/pee-wee-herman.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=131593017251 0

:lol:

VorteC

Apr 25th, 2012, 02:14 AM

Missed the game because I was at an interview at TMMC... (got a speeding ticket on the way there too)

but just saw the highlights and I'm proud to see Chelsea go through to the finals.

Not sure what JT was thinking but looks like a red card and a penalty weren't enough for Barca to win.

Anyone can do a .gif of Lampard basically mounting Fabregas and telling him to take a seat? :P

blzn

Apr 25th, 2012, 04:19 AM

F'n loved that tackle on Fabregas, they've had history since his days at Arsenal.

Ofc Torres is a terrible LB, I didn't think he was as bad as some people are saying. He played Alves offside well once and was criticised by Neville for it.

They probably should of put Ramires on this pic but still funny :D

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/427836_3357230683018_1036511615_32689882_528113532 _n.jpg

kennyhohoho

Apr 25th, 2012, 07:54 AM

Remember Abidal?

Yes I do. No red card there. :lol:

http://www.abc.es/Media/201103/08/0HWC4691--644x362.jpg

kennyhohoho

Apr 25th, 2012, 07:59 AM

Yeah, I knew his background was Madrid, not Barca, but he must have felt excluded by most of his "teammates" at the time, especially since he was so desperate to get out of his LFC hell. His poor performances at the WC didn't help his cause though.

As for Villa, talk about a vanishing act - though it turns out that's due to injury.

Torres was the black sheep of the Spanish squad. The only player who wasn't from Barcelona or Madrid (Yeah, I know Villa wasn't with Barca yet, and Silva, who saw very little playing time).

I know the goal was essentially meaningless, but you couldn't have wrote a better script. Scoring the insurance goal at the Camp Nou and breaking the hearts of 90,000+ fans. I love it :D

Not a Blues supporter by any means, but glad to see UEFAlona out of the competition.

Tornado F2

Apr 25th, 2012, 10:29 AM

Torres was the black sheep of the Spanish squad. The only player who wasn't from Barcelona or Madrid (Yeah, I know Villa wasn't with Barca yet, and Silva, who saw very little playing time).

I know the goal was essentially meaningless, but you couldn't have wrote a better script. Scoring the insurance goal at the Camp Nou and breaking the hearts of 90,000+ fans. I love it :D

Not a Blues supporter by any means, but glad to see UEFAlona out of the competition.

Actually I did write it - in my half time post! :D

Ramires is the true winner yesterday though. Mere moments after being denied the right to play in the Final himself he scored the away goal that turned the game upside down, stopped the Barca assault, and set his teammates on their way. I hope he receives the credit he deserves. I can't say I've noticed him that much before, but yesterday he earned his own spot in Chelsea's history book. I'd say Abramovich owes him a new car, at the very least. It was an extremely well-taken goal after a lengthy upfield run. Wonder if the Barca goalie is getting criticised for his blunders yesterday, both the goal and the injury to Pique? At least the Bayern net is now spared from a vandalous assault by Pique and his scissors. It would have been good to see Chelsea cut down the Barca net yesterday as partial retribution. Were the sprinklers activated to get Chelsea's players off the pitch, as Barca's sulkers usually do? :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 25th, 2012, 10:33 AM

The least Ramires deserves is a photo post here on RFD:

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/4/24/1335297248019/Ramires-scores-against-Ba-010.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0GyKiFUMRxI/T5frRaBxpkI/AAAAAAAAE_g/FRuEWgrh7Ys/s1600/ramires.jpg

http://www.pokerpurist.com/uploadedImages/bettingpro/NewsImages/1058_ramires_celebrates.jpg

I suspect a number of big clubs will be putting in bids for him this summer after that, if there's any chance of him being available.

Tornado F2

Apr 25th, 2012, 10:44 AM

Torres' beating of the goalie deserves a photo too:

http://www.sportsnstarz.com/data/images/full/2012/04/24/1539-chelseas-fernando-torres-top-shoots-to-score-past-barcelonas-goalkeepe.jpg

We used to laugh at his misadventures around my place, especially that clanger against United, and the way his substitutions were handled, but he's definitely getting back to form now. He could prove very effective for Chelsea next season. But if Drogba's really leaving he'll have to be.

kennyhohoho

Apr 25th, 2012, 10:55 AM

Ramires is the true winner yesterday though. Mere moments after being denied the right to play in the Final himself he scored the away goal that turned the game upside down, stopped the Barca assault, and set his teammates on their way. I hope he receives the credit he deserves. I can't say I've noticed him that much before, but yesterday he earned his own spot in Chelsea's history book. I'd say Abramovich owes him a new car, at the very least. It was an extremely well-taken goal after a lengthy upfield run. Wonder if the Barca goalie is getting criticised for his blunders yesterday, both the goal and the injury to Pique? At least the Bayern net is now spared from a vandalous assault by Pique and his scissors. It would have been good to see Chelsea cut down the Barca net yesterday as partial retribution. Were the sprinklers activated to get Chelsea's players off the pitch, as Barca's sulkers usually do? :lol:

Oh without a doubt. I didn't get a chance to watch the match live since I was at work. But I downloaded it from fullmatches and watched the entire match before heading to bed.

That Ramires chip was absolutely brilliant. That goal really came out of nowhere. Also, Valdes is absolute rubbish. 2 goals on 3 shots on target, and I believe a similar stat in the first game for Drogba's only goal too. You could put a child in net and it would probably be exactly the same.

Who needs a keeper when you have 70%+ possession anyways right? :razz:

elty

Apr 25th, 2012, 11:25 AM

F'n loved that tackle on Fabregas, they've had history since his days at Arsenal.

Ofc Torres is a terrible LB, I didn't think he was as bad as some people are saying. He played Alves offside well once and was criticised by Neville for it.

The thing is his looked like he simply didn't care about his job. When he lost the ball he just walked back to his assigned position. He was almost out of position every time. Any other Chelsea players ran back to his assigned position once they tried to dribble but lost the ball. You cannot rely on offside trap when you are playing 6 defenders, too hard to coordinate especially by those part time defenders.

He simply lacked spirit and probably was thinking "why do I need to play in left back as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining that's double insult". Of course, at the end he lucked out because he was out of position, didn't bother to run back and Barca simply forgot his existence.

By the way, did Xavi comment how they deserved to win because they have 70% possession yet?

blzn

Apr 25th, 2012, 11:38 AM

The thing is his looked like he simply didn't care about his job. When he lost the ball he just walked back to his assigned position. He was almost out of position every time. Any other Chelsea players ran back to his assigned position once they tried to dribble but lost the ball. You cannot rely on offside trap when you are playing 6 defenders, too hard to coordinate especially by those part time defenders.

He simply lacked spirit and probably was thinking "why do I need to play in left back as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining that's double insult". Of course, at the end he lucked out because he was out of position, didn't bother to run back and Barca simply forgot his existence.

By the way, did Xavi comment how they deserved to win because they have 70% possession yet?

I highly doubt he thought he was too good to be playing at LM/LB for the remainder of the game, not like there was any other more advanced position. He was not out of position even close to every time I've watched the game almost 3 times now. Dani Alves stood there and he stood right infront of him not allowing any simple pass to get through. For the most part he fared alright.

He moved forward after he lost the ball but he's "lucky" for recognizing the lack of (or none) defenders that would be able to stop him if there was a decent clearance. I think some fans just simply hate Torres regardless of what he does because he left Liverpool for "money" apparently. He left to play in the type of games he wouldn't be playing in if he was still in Liverpool (short term, LFC will be back there but just currently aren't).

On another note most English supporters seemed to be going for Chelsea which was nice to see. 7 or 8 of the last 9 finals had an English team.

Ramires has been amazing this season, his work rate is unrivalled. He's easily been our player of the year, good thing we signed him for a 5 year extension mid-season. He's been a fantastic player ever since his rough start.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 25th, 2012, 05:29 PM

xlash

Apr 25th, 2012, 06:27 PM

Madrid is out- awesome. That was close. So much for that clasico final. Hopefully FCB can knock off Chelsea.

I see a lot of people jumping on the Chelsea bandwagon. To each their own I suppose. Barca players looked fatigued and even though their strategy enables them to dominate possession being able to convert matters more and they failed miserably. For all his tactical know-how Pep failed to attune very least deploy Plan A in a different manner.

Fabregas plays like he assumes trophies will flow by being in the Barca squad. Then again he's being played out of position.

blzn

Apr 25th, 2012, 06:30 PM

Going out on penalties always sucks.

Bayern V Chelsea, looks like both teams will have a stitched up defence due to a dumb rule. Should follow FIFA and not suspend players for the finals due to accumulation of yellow cards. Players should miss it for getting a red though.

xlash

Apr 25th, 2012, 06:35 PM

lost in pks, tough luck

looks like another year of jose mourinho @ madrid :)

i think having the el clasico between the two legs in cl took too much out of madrid and barca while bayern and chelsea aren't fighting for a title

ronaldo wins league, messi wins copa (if they beat bilbao)

wonder who will get the ballon dor this time

Balon d'or should go to someone deemed most valuable to his team's success. It should be a toss up between RVP, Andrea Pirlo (my favourite) and Shinji Kagawa. Neither Ronaldo, nor Leo or any Madrid or Barca players deserve the award. Sadly the selectors are always looking at goal scorers and highly marketable players.

None of the aforementioned selctions played in the CL finals but nobody at Munich and Chelsea had a standout season either.

Fimo

Apr 25th, 2012, 06:52 PM

Looks like Granero has been watching some Masterclass in Diving videos by Ashley Young,however not one Ashley would be proud of though, 2.5 out of 10:

esteban-graneros-rubbish-dive-during-extra-time-of-real-madrid-bayern-munich (http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/esteban-graneros-rubbish-dive-during-extra-time-of-real-madrid-bayern-munich/)

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1083246/sergio.gif

http://i.imgur.com/8FAsS.jpg

I'll be a FC Bayern München fan for the Final, should be a good game.

Canada_7

Apr 25th, 2012, 07:16 PM

elty

Apr 25th, 2012, 08:09 PM

When you thought C Ronaldo finally stop choking at big game. Still, they should know that you don't want to get into PK with a German team.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 25th, 2012, 10:03 PM

yeah, when it goes to pk, always bet on german nt and german clubs to win it

at least ronaldo scored two goals to take madrid to extra time, messi couldn't even do that

compared to last year, madrid has improved so I want jose to stay

madrid needs to buy a rb and creative/attacking midfielder (kagawa? gotze? lucas moura? hazard?) and if rvp becomes available, buy him

sell kaka and lass

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 02:04 AM

Wow, I've been avoiding football news this afternoon onward, even though I was supporting neither team, and it's taken until now to see how it all turned out. After those 3 goals in the opening 30 minutes I was expecting a goalfest, but somehow nobody managed to score for another 90+ minutes. Then that crazy PK shootout... Kept me up late, but definitely worth watching. Sad to see any team go out on pens, but overall tonight Munich looked like they wanted it that bit more. Wonder how the Madrid fans will react to the loss? CRon on the next flight out to Manchester? :lol:

looks like another year of jose mourinho @ madrid :)

ronaldo wins league, messi wins copa (if they beat bilbao)

That's what I was thinking too. Mourinho will probably want another shot at the ChLg with Madrid before moving on. Though this summer could present some tempting openings in the EPL for him. It will be interesting to see what he does.

As for Messi @ co, come on Athletic. Barca and City ending the season trophyless... perfect. :D

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 02:11 AM

Surprising, the two "underdogs" in each of the semifinal matchups both made it through past the Spanish giants. Would have expected at least one of Real Madrid or Barcelona to go through. Well, congrats to both. It was nice to see both of the Spanish teams to get beat, with Chelsea taking out Barca, but I'm cheering for Bayern Munich so that Chelsea fans won't have anything to gloat about :razz:

That La Liga "superiority" didn't last long, did it? An EPL team in the Final yet again. Even if it is the "wrong" one. :D

Both sides in the Final are going to improvised patch-ups, but it could still be quite a match. Both will have a lot riding on the game, so it's hard to say who will want it more. Munich will be in their home ground, and won't have won this season's league title, but Chelsea may well need it to get back into the ChLg next season. I'd have to give Munich the edge, based on their attack, but at the end of the day it could come down to which goalie is on best form on the day. I'll be supporting Chelsea though, unless they do something to turn me against them in the meantime.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 02:24 AM

I see a lot of people jumping on the Chelsea bandwagon.

It's not a case of bandwagon jumping. Most of us are EPL fans first and foremost, and Chelsea are the only remaining EPL team. They've got a squad who have earned respect over the past few seasons but are now in their twilight, so we want to see them do as well as they can. And who can't be impressed by the way they've somehow turned their season around since poor AVB's departure? Whatever the reasoning, they're now in with a very good chance of winning silverware this season. Most likely the FA Cup, but that much-desired ChLg trophy is now just one match away... Will they make it? If they were American the writers would be busy working on the movie script already.

Balon d'or should go to someone deemed most valuable to his team's success. It should be a toss up between RVP, Andrea Pirlo (my favourite) and Shinji Kagawa. Neither Ronaldo, nor Leo or any Madrid or Barca players deserve the award. Sadly the selectors are always looking at goal scorers and highly marketable players.

Don't forget Rooney. He may not have had a great European season, and he may be in the EPL (somehow always neglected by the Balon folks - is he not in the running because of that perhaps?), but he's become a far more consistent player this season, and he's overtaken the great George Best in scoring. He'll probably do great once he gets into the Euros too, though that will be too late for this season's judging.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 02:46 AM

BTW, poor Mourinho just missing out on playing his old Chel$ki squad. Instead Robben's nostalgia/revenge tour goes on... ;)

kennyhohoho

Apr 26th, 2012, 07:56 AM

It's not a case of bandwagon jumping. Most of us are EPL fans first and foremost, and Chelsea are the only remaining EPL team. They've got a squad who have earned respect over the past few seasons but are now in their twilight, so we want to see them do as well as they can. And who can't be impressed by the way they've somehow turned their season around since poor AVB's departure? Whatever the reasoning, they're now in with a very good chance of winning silverware this season. Most likely the FA Cup, but that much-desired ChLg trophy is now just one match away... Will they make it? If they were American the writers would be busy working on the movie script already.

This. I'm a Gunners fan and even I'm rooting for Chelski to bring the trophy back to England. Not to mention the general distain most football fans have for Barcelona. Every year, I just think to myself, ANYBODY but Barca.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. :lol:

Don't forget Rooney. He may not have had a great European season, and he may be in the EPL (somehow always neglected by the Balon folks - is he not in the running because of that perhaps?), but he's become a far more consistent player this season, and he's overtaken the great George Best in scoring. He'll probably do great once he gets into the Euros too, though that will be too late for this season's judging.

EPL + Balon D'or? :lol:

The EPL doesn't exist as far as UEFA is concerned.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 26th, 2012, 10:22 AM

Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester City are United's rivals, not Liverpool

• Manager says United-City derbies are now more important

heh fergie sure loves taking shots at pool :lol:

Mourinho rules out Chelsea return

José Mourinho says he is 'absolutely' determined to remain at Real Madrid this summer

good, RDM deserves to become permanent coach after taking chelsea to cl final

The worst signings of the season

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/1054403/hubbard:-the-premier-league%27s-worst-signings-of-the-season?cc=5901

pool makes the list 3 times

elty

Apr 26th, 2012, 11:16 AM

This. I'm a Gunners fan and even I'm rooting for Chelski to bring the trophy back to England. Not to mention the general distain most football fans have for Barcelona. Every year, I just think to myself, ANYBODY but Barca.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. :lol:

EPL + Balon D'or? :lol:

The EPL doesn't exist as far as UEFA is concerned.

If Chelsea win the EPL lose the 4th CL spot I think? Still Arsenal is safer than the other.

lol

http://i.discuss.com.hk/d/attachments/day_120426/20120426_29f35893f92afea5be2clxBrl1ZwJ9Tw.jpg

kennyhohoho

Apr 26th, 2012, 11:31 AM

If Chelsea win the EPL lose the 4th CL spot I think? Still Arsenal is safer than the other.

I have no idea. Is that how it works?

When's the last time a team outside of the top 4 of their domestic league won the Champion's League?

flexwong

Apr 26th, 2012, 12:23 PM

I have no idea. Is that how it works?

When's the last time a team outside of the top 4 of their domestic league won the Champion's League?

Liverpool in 2005. Rules were changed after that to allow champions to defend their title.

Reports say that Pep Guardiola will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the year. Wonder where he will go. The FA is reportedly trying to get him lol. :facepalm:

hyperion

Apr 26th, 2012, 01:06 PM

If Chelsea win the EPL lose the 4th CL spot I think? Still Arsenal is safer than the other.

lol

http://i.discuss.com.hk/d/attachments/day_120426/20120426_29f35893f92afea5be2clxBrl1ZwJ9Tw.jpg

I think the EPL gets an "extra" EPL spot if that happens. Chelsea qualify through winning the CL, and the 4th EPL spot goes to the 5th club. But that's just my thought, I have no source.

http://i.imgur.com/2Un7F.gif

kennyhohoho

Apr 26th, 2012, 01:36 PM

I think the EPL gets an "extra" EPL spot if that happens. Chelsea qualify through winning the CL, and the 4th EPL spot goes to the 5th club. But that's just my thought, I have no source.

http://i.imgur.com/2Un7F.gif

Would be awesome if that was the case. Just take away one of the spots from one of the lesser leagues. Let's say.... oh... I dunno.... Spain? :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 01:36 PM

EPL + Balon D'or? :lol:

The EPL doesn't exist as far as UEFA is concerned.

Yeah, I noted that in my post. Though I don't think it's UEFA that are behind Balon.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Manchester City are United's rivals, not Liverpool

• Manager says United-City derbies are now more important

heh fergie sure loves taking shots at pool :lol:

Not at all. It's a fact that City are now both our geographic and our league rivals. They probably should have been all along, but they've been crap through most of SAF's reign. LFC are now just a rapidly vanishing spec in United's rearview mirror and should be grateful that SAF mentions them at all. They MAY come back, eventually, but I wouldn't bet on it happening any time soon.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 01:41 PM

I think the EPL gets an "extra" EPL spot if that happens. Chelsea qualify through winning the CL, and the 4th EPL spot goes to the 5th club. But that's just my thought, I have no source.

http://i.imgur.com/2Un7F.gif

It would only go to 5th if Chelsea make top 4. I think they'll just miss out on that. It will be an early, still summer, start to their season, but I'm sure they'll happily take that.

blzn

Apr 26th, 2012, 02:35 PM

What would happen is:

(Hypothetical scenario)

Top 4:

1- Manchester 2- Manchester 3- Arsenal 4- Newcastle 5- Chelsea

Then Chelsea wins the CL, Newcastle miss out on CL.

The English Hacker

Apr 26th, 2012, 03:51 PM

What would happen is:

(Hypothetical scenario)

Top 4:

1- Manchester 2- Manchester 3- Arsenal 4- Newcastle 5- Chelsea

Then Chelsea wins the CL, Newcastle miss out on CL.

Exactly. Therefore all Arsenal/Newcastle/Spuds fans should root for Bayern. It can't be that hard to want Chelsea to lose, can it? :D

Fimo

Apr 26th, 2012, 04:12 PM

@danroan: Premier League announce no pre-match handshake before the Chelsea v QPR game this weekend

Surprise surprise, smh.

24 hours later:
@Paul_Morrissey: All-Spanish Europa League final : Spanish football out of crisis.

xlash

Apr 26th, 2012, 06:08 PM

It's not a case of bandwagon jumping. Most of us are EPL fans first and foremost, and Chelsea are the only remaining EPL team. They've got a squad who have earned respect over the past few seasons but are now in their twilight, so we want to see them do as well as they can. And who can't be impressed by the way they've somehow turned their season around since poor AVB's departure? Whatever the reasoning, they're now in with a very good chance of winning silverware this season. Most likely the FA Cup, but that much-desired ChLg trophy is now just one match away... Will they make it? If they were American the writers would be busy working on the movie script already.

Don't forget Rooney. He may not have had a great European season, and he may be in the EPL (somehow always neglected by the Balon folks - is he not in the running because of that perhaps?), but he's become a far more consistent player this season, and he's overtaken the great George Best in scoring. He'll probably do great once he gets into the Euros too, though that will be too late for this season's judging.

I didn't forget him but he won't win. Maybe third. Before messi Ronaldo won the balon d or and played for united.

I watch La Liga and I'm glad Spanish teams did well in Europe. But it would be a cold day in hell for me to support Real Madrid. Anybody but Real can win the CL title, Liga and copa del Rey as far as I am concerned.

By supporting Chelsea you are indirectly going against United. Even if UnIted win the EPL Chelsea will make a LOT more money strengthening their financial position. When it comes to attracting top talent in the summer guess who holds the upper hand. Don't forget that Chelsea might also play in the the club world cup and uefA supercup. This is a team United will be playing at least twice next year and competing for the EPL.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 06:09 PM

What would happen is:

(Hypothetical scenario)

Top 4:

1- Manchester 2- Manchester 3- Arsenal 4- Newcastle 5- Chelsea

Then Chelsea wins the CL, Newcastle miss out on CL.

Seriously? That would really suck for Newcastle, given how well they're ending the season. Or whoever else ends up in 4th for that matter. Suddenly 3rd place takes on added importance.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 06:31 PM

I didn't forget him but he won't win. Maybe third. Before messi Ronaldo won the balon d or and played for united.

I watch La Liga and I'm glad Spanish teams did well in Europe. But it would be a cold day in hell for me to support Real Madrid. Anybody but Real can win the CL title, Liga and copa del Rey as far as I am concerned.

By supporting Chelsea you are indirectly going against United. Even if UnIted win the EPL Chelsea will make a LOT more money strengthening their financial position. When it comes to attracting top talent in the summer guess who holds the upper hand. Don't forget that Chelsea might also play in the the club world cup and uefA supercup. This is a team United will be playing at least twice next year and competing for the EPL.

You're forgetting our new rivals though - City. If Chel$ki have renewed financing, along with a ChLg spot, they can compete with City over new talent, thereby potentially weakening City, or at least forcing up prices in a bidding war. Very important in keeping United competitive without needing to spend silly amounts ourselves. Besides, while a United fan and supporter I've long been appreciative of Chelsea's squads and style of play too, especially during the Zola era. (What is it about that little guy?). I'll always be United first and foremost, but not to the total exclusion of everybody else. I even cheered on LFC in their ChLg Finals (prior to my exposure to some of the obnoxiously-jealous LFC followers that used to frequent here). I like to watch AC Milan and Juve in the Italian league, and Inter too on occasion. And though I dislike some of their current methods, I've been a Barca fan since at least 1999, when I was fortunate enough to spend some time in that interesting city. I also cheer on teams that have former-United players, or that are local to Manchester, or that have favourite players, depending on who their opponents are. In short, I support teams that have values that appeal to me. But my support for United will never cease to be first and foremost. For whatever reason I've always been United.

As for Rooney, I wouldn't want him to win the Balon yet. He's still improving as a player and the goals that remain to be achieved help to drive him on. That will be one of the reasons why he's been denied the captainship of United and England so far - it's something else for him to work for. If he keeps improving everything will eventually come, but it's best to keep it ahead of him, not behind. We don't want him becoming complacent and ultimately lazy, like some others out there.

Tornado F2

Apr 26th, 2012, 06:35 PM

BTW, congrats to the two Athletics from Spain on reaching the Europa Final, especially our new friends at Bilbao. They've really earned their place in the limelight. Great players, great manager, great fans. To think I'd barely heard of them a few weeks ago. Definitely a team to watch out for.

Hope we'll get to see the Final without needing EuroWorld or whatever. They're diluting football far too much with all these added-expense channels. Do they want football to catch on and grow in Canada or what?

I'm also hearing that this summer's Euro 2012 matches won't be available through OTA broadcast. That sucks if true. I was looking forward to watching matches in full HD, even when out on the road on projects. (Not while driving though, mind). I have my USB tuner ready and everything.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 26th, 2012, 08:36 PM

Guardiola to leave Barcelona - reports

mourinho wins again! :-0

i hope barca hire a horrible manager for next season :D

elty

Apr 26th, 2012, 09:06 PM

So 1 bad week and he quit?

hyperion

Apr 27th, 2012, 12:00 AM

What's there not to love about Athletic Bilbao? All home-grown, eccentric genius coach, mostly youngsters, play attractive and creative football. What a neat team.

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 12:15 AM

i hope barca hire a horrible manager for next season :D

Hopefully the dream team of Souness and Keegan. :lol:

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 12:21 AM

What's there not to love about Athletic Bilbao? All home-grown, eccentric genius coach, mostly youngsters, play attractive and creative football. What a neat team.

I don't know if I mentioned before or not, but apparently several years back a new manager took charge and requested that training sessions be kept completely private and secret. He was informed that it was impossible to do that as large numbers of fans regularly turn out to watch training sessions too. I don't know if that's a sign of high unemployment in the region perhaps, but the fans are obviously real football fanatics. The large numbers that travelled to Manchester for the United match were apparently very well behaved and friendly. A nice change from the thugs associated with other larger teams. Wish I'd got to see that match, regardless of the ultimate result.

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 12:26 AM

So 1 bad week and he quit?

I'm faxing them my resume in the morning. :D

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 07:54 AM

So 1 bad week and he quit?

Clearly you haven't been following Pep. He was sure about leaving before this season commenced. Training Barcelona is tough; if you have to submit a resume you are not even worthy of cleaning the players' football boots. It's extremely demanding, tedious and involved almost 24/7. He even looks tired and there's more grey hair.

The players are exhausted, need a break and a different perspective. Almost all the players (especially South Americans) have been playing football constantly since 2009. They are still human beings.

I'm getting tired of you EPL/Real Madrid fans blasting Barcelona out of nothing but sheer jealousy and hatred. None of your teams will ever achieve anything close to what Barcelona has achieved in the modern football era where globalization and wealthy individual ownership has leveled the playing field and will continue to do so.

kennyhohoho

Apr 27th, 2012, 07:57 AM

Clearly you haven't been following Pep. He was sure about leaving before this season commenced. Training Barcelona is tough; if you have to submit a resume you are not even worthy of cleaning the players' football boots. It's extremely demanding, tedious and involved almost 24/7. He even looks tired and there's more grey hair.

The players are exhausted, need a break and a different perspective. Almost all the players (especially South Americans) have been playing football constantly since 2009. They are still human beings.

I'm getting tired of you EPL/Real Madrid fans blasting Barcelona out of nothing but sheer jealousy and hatred. None of your teams will ever achieve anything close to what Barcelona has achieved in the modern football era where globalization and wealthy individual ownership has leveled the playing field and will continue to do so.

I don't think that's why everyone blasts Barca. :lol:

blzn

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:51 AM

I don't think that's why everyone blasts Barca. :lol:

Lol +1 nothing but sheer jealously and hatred..

Need to stop whining and making petty excuses. What management job for a top European club isn't extremely tough? Granted I understand that certain positions are put under a bit more pressure but generally they are all very stressful positions.

Tournament cycles have not changed recently not sure why exhaustion due to playing non stop is highlighted because of tournies, if anything it's because there's a lack of depth. They still get a winter break at least.

I think the way Barcelona has played is/was fantastic, Messi is still best player ATM for me and what they accomplished over the last few years was amazing. Hopefully now they drop off, they've had their time at the top :D

I still wake up with a grin on my face from beating Barcelona :lol:

flexwong

Apr 27th, 2012, 09:26 AM

Clearly you haven't been following Pep. He was sure about leaving before this season commenced. Training Barcelona is tough; if you have to submit a resume you are not even worthy of cleaning the players' football boots. It's extremely demanding, tedious and involved almost 24/7. He even looks tired and there's more grey hair.

The players are exhausted, need a break and a different perspective. Almost all the players (especially South Americans) have been playing football constantly since 2009. They are still human beings.

I'm getting tired of you EPL/Real Madrid fans blasting Barcelona out of nothing but sheer jealousy and hatred. None of your teams will ever achieve anything close to what Barcelona has achieved in the modern football era where globalization and wealthy individual ownership has leveled the playing field and will continue to do so.

How is that different from being the manager of any large European team? Madrid? United? Chelsea? Bayern? Milan? There is no difference, the job is equally demanding for every single team. You don't think Sir Alex is tired after over two decades of being at the reigns? You don't think it's more demanding being Chelsea's manager, having that Russian mob boss breath down your neck every second?

kennyhohoho

Apr 27th, 2012, 09:31 AM

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 27th, 2012, 09:41 AM

pep gone?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gisUqnzwnLs/S930-MqCSyI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/OgOACd8ScI8/s1600/mourinho.jpg

funny, if u asked most people in the beginning of the season, they would have said mourinho would leave not pep

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 10:26 AM

He's looking at his team through maroon and blue coloured glasses. Granted, he has to, since those are the ugliest kits in all of professional sports.

More like Argie blue if you consider all his posts. His dream is probably for Messi to join City.

pep gone?

funny, if u asked most people in the beginning of the season, they would have said mourinho would leave not pep

It appears to be so. There were indications of it months ago, talk of new challenges, etc, but the timing of this doesn't seem right. It looks like he's quitting the moment things start to get tough, rather than rising to the challenge. But he's still a young man, presumably with a young family, so I can understand if his priorities lie elsewhere. We've all seen how the combination of pressures ended in tragedy for Gary Speed and wouldn't wish for that to happen again to anybody, so if Pep feels the need to take a break then he should do so. He's served Barca admirably for a long time, now it's somebody else's turn. Maybe his assistant will prove as lucky as Di Matteo? Or maybe the illusion of Barca "invincibility" has finally been called. We shall see.

As for xlash's statement "None of your teams will ever achieve anything close to what Barcelona has achieved in the modern football era", he somehow seems to miss United's success under Fergie. Sure we could have done better at times, but overall, in terms of consistency, who has achieved more than United over the past quarter century? And while playing mostly attractive attacking football too. Pep's had his 4 years. So have Barca. What about the next 21?

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 05:29 PM

How is that different from being the manager of any large European team? Madrid? United? Chelsea? Bayern? Milan? There is no difference, the job is equally demanding for every single team. You don't think Sir Alex is tired after over two decades of being at the reigns? You don't think it's more demanding being Chelsea's manager, having that Russian mob boss breath down your neck every second?

Other teams haven't won as much as Barcelona in the last few years, not even close. When a team starts to win there is a precedent set whereby senior management and fan expectations go through the roof. Plus Pep was in Japan for the club world cup, touring the US before that. Yes of course the other jobs are tough but then every manager is different.

Then you have to consider the players too. I think the main reason why Chelsea and Madrid beat Barcelona this past week was because those players just wanted to win more than Barcelona. They had more will-power, determination and drive that was simply missing in the Barca players.

More like Argie blue if you consider all his posts. His dream is probably for Messi to join City.

It appears to be so. There were indications of it months ago, talk of new challenges, etc, but the timing of this doesn't seem right. It looks like he's quitting the moment things start to get tough, rather than rising to the challenge. But he's still a young man, presumably with a young family, so I can understand if his priorities lie elsewhere. We've all seen how the combination of pressures ended in tragedy for Gary Speed and wouldn't wish for that to happen again to anybody, so if Pep feels the need to take a break then he should do so. He's served Barca admirably for a long time, now it's somebody else's turn. Maybe his assistant will prove as lucky as Di Matteo? Or maybe the illusion of Barca "invincibility" has finally been called. We shall see.

As for xlash's statement "None of your teams will ever achieve anything close to what Barcelona has achieved in the modern football era", he somehow seems to miss United's success under Fergie. Sure we could have done better at times, but overall, in terms of consistency, who has achieved more than United over the past quarter century? And while playing mostly attractive attacking football too. Pep's had his 4 years. So have Barca. What about the next 21?

It's flattering that you go through all my posts with a magnifying glass. Therefore, I'd expect you to realize that I have no soft spot for City. Nor would I ever want Leo Messi to even contemplate leaving Barca.

The timing is perfectly right. He was under constant scrutiny about his contract status since he has always signed a 1 year extension. SAF is an exceptional and one-of-a-kind coach. Besides he's had the financial prowess over the years to maintain his team's elite status. There are also speculations that they get preferential treatment from referees. Who has achieved more in the past 1/4 century? Seriously? Perhaps you should spend more time looking at other clubs instead of my posts. Then again you don't watch anything other than the EPL. Go figure.

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 05:38 PM

Lol +1 nothing but sheer jealously and hatred..

Need to stop whining and making petty excuses. What management job for a top European club isn't extremely tough? Granted I understand that certain positions are put under a bit more pressure but generally they are all very stressful positions.

Tournament cycles have not changed recently not sure why exhaustion due to playing non stop is highlighted because of tournies, if anything it's because there's a lack of depth. They still get a winter break at least.

I think the way Barcelona has played is/was fantastic, Messi is still best player ATM for me and what they accomplished over the last few years was amazing. Hopefully now they drop off, they've had their time at the top :D

I still wake up with a grin on my face from beating Barcelona :lol:

Whining and petty excuses? LOL How often does top teams refrain from making excuses? Madrid did all of last year. Chelsea had it flowing during AVB's reign and last year when they lost the title to United. Teams hack and whack Barcelona players, get carded and then come up with petty excuses about referees and favouritism.

Saying a team has had their time at the top is ludicrous. If winning trophies is like musical chairs football wouldn't be even a fraction as popular. Enjoy the morning smiles. Barca will be back on top soon.

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 05:40 PM

Guardiola to leave Barcelona - reports

mourinho wins again! :-0

i hope barca hire a horrible manager for next season :D

As long as Madrid don't win anything I don't care who Barcelona hires.

blzn

Apr 27th, 2012, 05:45 PM

Whining and petty excuses? LOL How often does top teams refrain from making excuses? Madrid did all of last year. Chelsea had it flowing during AVB's reign and last year when they lost the title to United. Teams hack and whack Barcelona players, get carded and then come up with petty excuses about referees and favouritism.

Saying a team has had their time at the top is ludicrous. If winning trophies is like musical chairs football wouldn't be even a fraction as popular. Enjoy the morning smiles. Barca will be back on top soon.

Since when does the team make many excuses? I'm calling out the excuses you're making.

What excuses did Chelsea have flowing during AVB and last year? Only thing that comes to my mind is bad decision to employ him at the time and a bad 'moment' as Ancelotti liked to call it for the previous year.

So Barcelona don't have the biggest collection of divers on one team? Really it's ludicrous for a team to be the best for a period of time only to be over taken by another team who becomes the new best for another length of time?

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 06:29 PM

Since when does the team make many excuses? I'm calling out the excuses YOUR making.

What excuses did Chelsea have flowing during AVB and last year? Only thing that comes to my mind is bad decision to employ him at the time and a bad 'moment' as Ancelotti liked to call it for the previous year.

So Barcelona don't have the biggest collection of divers on one team? Really it's ludicrous for a team to be the best for a period of time only to be over taken by another team who becomes the new best for another length of time?

It's YOU'RE not your.

The players are fatigued, lacked motivation in winning a trophy they won last year and 2 years before that. And throughout the season they've suffered from poor form. The other teams saw their chance and capitalized. If that's an excuse then every team makes excuses.

Divers in one team? This coming from a Chelsea fan? Have you met Drogba, Anelka, Malouda?!?

blzn

Apr 27th, 2012, 06:58 PM

It's YOU'RE not your.

The players are fatigued, lacked motivation in winning a trophy they won last year and 2 years before that. And throughout the season they've suffered from poor form. The other teams saw their chance and capitalized. If that's an excuse then every team makes excuses.

Divers in one team? This coming from a Chelsea fan? Have you met Drogba, Anelka, Malouda?!?

I guess when you run out of counter arguments the next step is to point out grammatical mistakes. Thanks though.

Are those the excuses your making up on behalf of Chelsea? Lack of motivation to win a trophy is very new to me, poor form ALL season long lol?

Anelka and Malouda.. known as divers? Must be tough to swallow knowing you have the most divers on your team.

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 07:53 PM

I guess when you run out of counter arguments the next step is to point out grammatical mistakes. Thanks though.

Are those the excuses your making up on behalf of Chelsea? Lack of motivation to win a trophy is very new to me, poor form ALL season long lol?

Anelka and Malouda.. known as divers? Must be tough to swallow knowing you have the most divers on your team.

No I was talking about Barcelona.

This team is considered amongst the best of all time and your counter argument is diving?? Thats laughable. Well suit yourself because that diving accusation isn't tough to swallow at all since I can wash it down with the 3 CL trophies in the last 6 years. Can't say that about your beloved blues. Unless they beat Bayern the closest you've come is a JT slip from the spot.

Have fun luring Pep Guardiola to Chelsea.

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:02 PM

It's flattering that you go through all my posts with a magnifying glass. Therefore, I'd expect you to realize that I have no soft spot for City. Nor would I ever want Leo Messi to even contemplate leaving Barca.

The timing is perfectly right. He was under constant scrutiny about his contract status since he has always signed a 1 year extension. SAF is an exceptional and one-of-a-kind coach. Besides he's had the financial prowess over the years to maintain his team's elite status. There are also speculations that they get preferential treatment from referees. Who has achieved more in the past 1/4 century? Seriously? Perhaps you should spend more time looking at other clubs instead of my posts. Then again you don't watch anything other than the EPL. Go figure.

Don't flatter yourself. I read your posts once at most and move on, but there's a definite and obvious Argie trend there. It doesn't require a magnifying glass to spot it.

Obviously you haven't been reading my posts carefully enough though. Which is fine. Just don't make assumptions about things you have no knowledge of. I stated just yesterday that I follow several clubs in addition to United, including European ones. Apparently your memory doesn't retain information for that long. Fortunately mine does.

blzn

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:25 PM

No I was talking about Barcelona.

This team is considered amongst the best of all time and your counter argument is diving?? Thats laughable. Well suit yourself because that diving accusation isn't tough to swallow at all since I can wash it down with the 3 CL trophies in the last 6 years. Can't say that about your beloved blues. Unless they beat Bayern the closest you've come is a JT slip from the spot.

Have fun luring Pep Guardiola to Chelsea.

My counter argument to Barcelona being one of the best teams was diving? I'm not even arguing that point I have complete respect for what the team has achieved on the pitch and have said so countless times.

All I wanted to do is get you to admit the issue and you have done, opposed to acting like it doesn't exist in the Barca ranks. I'm sure washing it all down with those CL trophies does make it easier to swallow.

How many times have you beat Chelsea in those 6 years, my beloved blues indeed <3.

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:28 PM

Don't flatter yourself. I read your posts once at most and move on, but there's a definite and obvious Argie trend there. It doesn't require a magnifying glass to spot it.

Obviously you haven't been reading my posts carefully enough though. Which is fine. Just don't make assumptions about things you have no knowledge of. I stated just yesterday that I follow several clubs in addition to United, including European ones. Apparently your memory doesn't retain information for that long. Fortunately mine does.

I'm not flattering myself, you are flattering me. Maybe you SHOULD read my posts multiple times. Perhaps it'll stick.

Am I supposed to feel insulted if you calling me an Argie lover!?! LOL.

No you don't follow European football. If you did then you'd know that Barcelona have been way more successful than United. Don't let that big red marketing machine stop clog your brain from absorbing facts. Besides all anybody remembers is United players chasing after the ball in Rome in 2009 and again in 2011. I know that hurts but look on the bright side. At least it wasn't Liverpool.

xlash

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:40 PM

My counter argument to Barcelona being one of the best teams was diving? I'm not even arguing that point I have complete respect for what the team has achieved on the pitch and have said so countless times.

All I wanted to do is get you to admit the issue and you have done, opposed to acting like it doesn't exist in the Barca ranks. I'm sure washing it all down with those CL trophies does make it easier to swallow.

How many times have you beat Chelsea in those 6 years, my beloved blues indeed <3.

Hey don't you remember that it was I who said before the semis that Chelsea had a good shot against Barca? Even you rubbished me. Nobody wanted to say Chelsea will win. Feel free to go back a few pages for verification. I barely follow the EPL and I knew if Chelsea were determined enough now was their chance. Barca were running on fumes before the season began.

I'd take Bayern any day over Chelsea. But despite some of those players I detest like Cole, Terry and Anelka I was elated to see them win the EPL in 2010. Anybody but United.

Tornado F2

Apr 27th, 2012, 08:47 PM

I'm not flattering myself, you are flattering me. Maybe you SHOULD read my posts multiple times. Perhaps it'll stick.

Am I supposed to feel insulted if you calling me an Argie lover!?! LOL.

No you don't follow European football. If you did then you'd know that Barcelona have been way more successful than United. Don't let that big red marketing machine stop clog your brain from absorbing facts. Besides all anybody remembers is United players chasing after the ball in Rome in 2009 and again in 2011. I know that hurts but look on the bright side. At least it wasn't Liverpool.

YAWN.

Anybody else feeling bored right now?

Tornado F2

Apr 28th, 2012, 01:29 PM

Norwich made it too easy, but Suarez likely earned himself a summer transfer today. Chel$ki perhaps? Or are there too many "negras" there for him? It would be a gamble, but he and Torres could possibly give CFC the attack options they need next season, especially if Drogba does move on. Today's Beckham-like 3rd goal was a definite GotS contender.

Fimo

Apr 28th, 2012, 02:37 PM

Today's Alonsoesque 3rd goal was a definite GotS contender.

fixed for you and nice way to wrap up a hat trick, his first two goals were well taken, finally finding the back of the net.

http://cadfael.tv/image/src/1335637284207.gif

hyperion

Apr 28th, 2012, 04:04 PM

How about that Suarez? :D

Tornado F2

Apr 28th, 2012, 09:29 PM

fixed for you and nice way to wrap up a hat trick, his first two goals were well taken, finally finding the back of the net.

Not really. I don't recall a similar Alonso goal. EVERYBODY knows Beckham's. :D

blzn

Apr 28th, 2012, 09:48 PM

Alonso's goal was nice too, what a goal by Suarez.

Wigan rocking NUFC that badly was a surprise to me, I thought Wigan would win it but not in that kind of fashion.

Chelsea announce the signing of Marko Marin for £6.5 million, think this was a great bargain by Chelsea. He was really impressive in the CL couple years ago when I watched him and his assists/season tally for the last couple of years has been really good. Hopefully his diminutive size won't be too much of an issue in his adjustment to the EPL, Bundesliga is quite a physical league as well I think he will be fine. Now hopefully we don't have to rely on Mata as much to provide some sort of the creativity that we've been lacking.

Lol:

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/fan_shot_images/251543/569096756.png

'Thanks Chelsea' - Espanyol fans thank the Blues for knocking Barcelona out of Europe.

Via @ChelseaStats

xlash

Apr 28th, 2012, 10:41 PM

Raul played his last game for Shalke today, Del Piero will soon for Juve. I get a sense that the top players who were in their prime during the 90's and early 2000's were never overrated but oozed class. Zidane, Figo, Giggs, Scholes, Nesta, Maldini, Ronaldo etc. all fall into this category. I mean there are lots of players like these. Nowadays it's a Balotelli that hogs the limelight.

VorteC

Apr 29th, 2012, 10:04 AM

Chelsea 6 - 1 QPR

Torres hat trick lol

blzn

Apr 29th, 2012, 10:07 AM

"Fernando Torres he scores when he wants lalalal" :D

Another big week with NUFC midweek then LFC at Wembley!

Tornado F2

Apr 29th, 2012, 10:21 AM

Chelsea 6 - 1 QPR

Torres hat trick lol

Looks like Chel$ki didn't want to beat QPR - they wanted to RELEGATE them.

Which is fine by me, if the 3 Lancashire teams are to be saved.

Torres + Suarez - smaller clubs should be really afraid of that combo. I'm yet to be convinced that big clubs should though.

Suarez scores a HT trying to secure a transfer, Torres scores one to avoid it. :D

The battle for 3rd is really on now.

Tornado F2

Apr 29th, 2012, 10:29 AM

"Fernando Torres he scores when he wants lalalal" :D

Another big week with NUFC midweek then LFC at Wembley!

And yesterday it was "Let's all do the Wenger". He's complaining publicly about the "abuse" he received. He should know by now that complaining only encourages more of the same elsewhere. I do feel sorry for the guy, as he deserves respect for what he achieved with Arsenal in his earlier seasons, and to a lesser extent since, but it's amazing he's lasted so long in the EPL with such a thin skin.

What happened to NUFC's form yesterday? And LFC's? And what CFC squad will turn out for each game? On current form those matches are really unpredictable, though CFC's larger useful squad should give them the edge in both.

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 29th, 2012, 11:12 AM

http://www.abload.de/img/sgddfbv_eaf1eyj46.gif

dat header!

barca lose today and we win la liga

hyperion

Apr 29th, 2012, 11:13 AM

Really looking forward to playing Chelsea at Anfield South/Wembley. Should be a cracker!!!

Tornado F2

Apr 29th, 2012, 11:16 AM

What's with Sandro throwing up on the pitch? Have Spurs still not learned to eat sensibly (and safely) before late-season matches?

Tornado F2

Apr 29th, 2012, 11:18 AM

barca lose today and we win la liga

Has there really been much question this past month or so?

Barca this season are crap. :D

hyperion

Apr 29th, 2012, 02:48 PM

What's with Sandro throwing up on the pitch? Have Spurs still not learned to eat sensibly (and safely) before late-season matches?

Maybe he saw Gary Neville in the crowd. That would do it any day.

jr!

Apr 29th, 2012, 05:02 PM

So, the FA's pick to lead England to EURO2012 is... Roy Hodgson!
What a joke!
Actually, in all seriousness, he should do ok.

Tornado F2

Apr 29th, 2012, 06:59 PM

So, the FA's pick to lead England to EURO2012 is... Roy Hodgson!
What a joke!
Actually, in all seriousness, he should do ok.

In retrospect he probably should have been the choice 4 years ago. It would have saved millions, with no great difference in results.

They should have left Capello to his role in the Police Academy movies.

hyperion

Apr 29th, 2012, 09:47 PM

I don't see England winning anything with Roy as a manager. A stopgap solution at best.

xlash

Apr 29th, 2012, 10:32 PM

The fact that they picked Hodgson as a candidate shows how shallow England's pool of top notch managers is. Bobby Robson was as high as it got.

blzn

Apr 29th, 2012, 11:01 PM

I think Roy was the best option. Had a good record with Fulham/WBA and let's face it England is pretty much a Fulham/WBA level team on the international stage.

Tornado F2

Apr 30th, 2012, 12:26 AM

They should bring in McCarthy as Woy's pitbull enforcer. They can use the good cop/bad cop routine when necessary.

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 07:26 AM

Must really suck to be Harry Redknapp. He had packed his proverbial bag to go to the Poland and Ukraine. If Spurs miss out on CL football Harry's dream season will turn into a nightmare.

Looks like the Podolski deal is done. Won't be enough to keep RVP in Arsenal colours.

elty

Apr 30th, 2012, 11:31 AM

Thsi is funny:

Portuguese Premier League club Uniao Leiria took to the pitch with only eight players for their match against Feirense on Sunday after 16 squad members refused to play after they had not been paid.

Feirense went on to win the match 4-0. But the result, and even their depleted starting line-up, was almost a sideshow to the main event which saw Malian midfielder Keita stealing a suitcase of money from the club just before the game started.
...
...

http://www.worldsoccer.com/247/world-soccer-daily-10-stories-you-need-to-read-30th-april-2012

got_it_4_cheap

Apr 30th, 2012, 11:42 AM

Podolski to arsenal ... so rvp to barca? :-0

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 12:42 PM

If Inter make it to CL qualifying next year it'll be a miracle.

kennyhohoho

Apr 30th, 2012, 02:25 PM

Podolski to arsenal ... so rvp to barca? :-0

RVP in a Barca kit would be like a black man in a KKK hood.

The English Hacker

Apr 30th, 2012, 03:08 PM

Won't be enough to keep RVP in Arsenal colours.

He's not going anywhere.

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 03:13 PM

Has there really been much question this past month or so?

Barca this season are crap. :D

If Barca is crap this season how'd you define a team that got thrashed by their top rivals 6-1 and get knocked out by Basel in the group stages of CL?

The English Hacker

Apr 30th, 2012, 03:52 PM

If Barca is crap this season how'd you define a team that got thrashed by their top rivals 6-1 and get knocked out by Basel in the group stages of CL?

Whoosh!!!

Fimo

Apr 30th, 2012, 04:05 PM

.... let's face it England is pretty much a Fulham/WBA level team on the international stage. lol, so true. Most over rated team on the international stage.

If Barca is crap this season how'd you define a team that got thrashed by their top rivals 6-1 and get knocked out by Basel in the group stages of CL? Not to mention choking an 8 point lead to them as well! If City win on GD, their win at OT will certainly play a major role.

Fimo

Apr 30th, 2012, 05:23 PM

K-Dogg from Edinburgh on text: 'You can't win anything with kids' turned out to be wrong but I'm going to say you can't win anything with pensioners. To turn up for a game of this magnitude with 37-year-old Paul Scholes and 38-year-old Ryan Giggs in midfield is ridiculous. It will cost Man United this game and possibly even the championship."

K-Dogg's claim that playing Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs together is a mistake hasn't gone down well.

Michael Kent on text: "how can you say that playing Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in this game is ridiculous? Paul Scholes hasn't lost since coming out of retirement and Giggs has been nothing short of excellent in each of his 20 years at the club."

Tom Harries, Cardiff on text: "you must be forgetting the fact that 37 year old Paul Scholes has put Utd in the position of potentially winning the league"

Rich, North Yorks on text: "Those 'pensioners' are the reason United even have a chance this season! Scholes came back and has played like he never left the game! One word, Superb! Minutes between us and greatest game!"

http://s1-04.twitpicproxy.com/photos/full/570678083.gif?key=500350

blzn

Apr 30th, 2012, 05:43 PM

City!!

Good game, City were easily the better side. If they can navigate through the Newcastle fixture title should be theirs.

Tornado F2

Apr 30th, 2012, 07:50 PM

If Barca is crap this season how'd you define a team that got thrashed by their top rivals 6-1 and get knocked out by Basel in the group stages of CL?

Sheesh, do you have any idea what a joke is? :facepalm:

Why are all the Argentines so miserable? Did the juntas "disappear" everybody who showed the slightest inclination of having a sense of humour? Or were there no happy people to begin with?

Anyway, we were hardly "thrashed" by City. It was a very close and even game up to the midpoint when Evans was sent off. United tried to fight back and were punished for it at the end. Basel squeaked by on away goals. This hasn't been a classic United year by any stretch of the imagination, but we've still got a chance to win the league yet - a record-setting 20th - unlike Barca. It's going to be closer than I'd have liked, thanks to Kompany's goal today, but United still have a decent chance - so long as they get their act together for those final 2 games. A very un-United ending so far.

On the bright side, at least the Glasers can't claim the squad needs no new investment this summer. And my Vistaprint order came in today, and I'd resisted the temptation to create a custom "20th Title" shirt - so far. :D

Tornado F2

Apr 30th, 2012, 07:55 PM

Not to mention choking an 8 point lead to them as well!

United have dropped points this weekend, as did City earlier, but check out your lot. Only Blackburn, if anybody, have been worse since New Years. People who live in glass houses, etc.

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 08:03 PM

Sheesh, do you have any idea what a joke is? :facepalm:

Why are all the Argentines so miserable? Did the juntas "disappear" everybody who showed the slightest inclination of having a sense of humour? Or were there no happy people to begin with?

Anyway, we were hardly "thrashed" by City. It was a very close and even game up to the midpoint when Evans was sent off. United tried to fight back and were punished for it at the end. Basel squeaked by on away goals. This hasn't been a classic United year by any stretch of the imagination, but we've still got a chance to win the league yet - a record-setting 20th - unlike Barca. It's going to be closer than I'd have liked, thanks to Kompany's goal today, but United still have a decent chance - so long as they get their act together for those final 2 games. A very un-United ending so far.

On the bright side, at least the Glasers can't claim the squad needs no new investment this summer. And my Vistaprint order came in today, and I'd resisted the temptation to create a custom "20th Title" shirt - so far. :D

Err what?? 6-1 loss isn't a thrashing?? So I guess today when United had ZERO shots on target while conceding more than 60% possession while losing the match is a mental win for United.

I don't know you, never met you and when you assume that I am Argetine and berate the club I root for I am not going to take it as a joke. Maybe if you rambked about how Ashley Young didn't have enough time as a late sub to scam another dive or how he hasn't taught Rooney how to extricate a red instead of just a yellow I might be able to take that as a joke.

The only thing that is a joke is your ability to comprehend a match from a tactical perspective. Basel didn't squeak out a win, United were flat out awful.

Tornado F2

Apr 30th, 2012, 08:14 PM

Good game, City were easily the better side. If they can navigate through the Newcastle fixture title should be theirs.

No doubt United would have approached the game differently if we'd actually needed a win, but like Chelsea against Barca an unattractive defensive approach is sometimes justified. United didn't play a completely defensive game, but obviously the team selection was a conservative one intended to limit costly mistakes. It almost worked out. Possibly if Evans hadn't been injured just before the match, necessitating a defensive reshuffle, we might have kept a clean sheet. Or not. We'll never know. But it's not over until it's over. This truly is one of the closest season endings ever, at least where the top 2 are concerned. Everybody else is an also-ran this year. 14 of the EPL's 20 clubs, from 7th-placed Everton on down, are closer to the relegation zone than they are to United and City. Nobody is anywhere near the Manchester clubs, even the big title-challenging clubs of the recent past. The "neighbours", this season at least, truly are a class above the rest. What will next season bring us? More of the same hopefully, but with cup successes too. For either Manchester club to finish this season empty-handed, after such clear dominance, just seems wrong.

Tornado F2

Apr 30th, 2012, 08:17 PM

I do know one Argentine joke... He's right here. :lol:

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 08:30 PM

At least say that you didn't watch the match.

No doubt United would have approached the game differently if we'd actually needed a win,

United DID need a win. Since Tevez returned City has been on fire, causing problems for every defence they've faced. Not that you would know since you wrote off Tevez when he returned to Argentina. SAF, with all his experience should realize that City has the potential to win all of their remaining matches.

but like Chelsea against Barca an unattractive defensive approach is sometimes justified. United didn't play a completely defensive game, but obviously the team selection was a conservative one intended to limit costly mistakes.

No, United didn't play a complete game offensively, defensively or in midfield. They lost the midfield battle, Rooney's highlight was his dive against Kompany and Ferdinand and especially Evra got turned around a lot by Nasri and Zabaleta.

It almost worked out. Possibly if Evans hadn't been injured just before the match, necessitating a defensive reshuffle, we might have kept a clean sheet. Or not. We'll never know.

Just like we'd never know if Barca would have gone past Chelsea if Pep had picked Pique consistently last week. :facepalm:

But it's not over until it's over. This truly is one of the closest season endings ever, at least where the top 2 are concerned. Everybody else is an also-ran this year. 14 of the EPL's 20 clubs, from 7th-placed Everton on down, are closer to the relegation zone than they are to United and City. Nobody is anywhere near the Manchester clubs, even the big title-challenging clubs of the recent past. The "neighbours", this season at least, truly are a class above the rest. What will next season bring us? More of the same hopefully, but with cup successes too. For either Manchester club to finish this season empty-handed, after such clear dominance, just seems wrong.

YAWN

xlash

Apr 30th, 2012, 08:45 PM

I think Roy was the best option. Had a good record with Fulham/WBA and let's face it England is pretty much a Fulham/WBA level team on the international stage.

TSN disagrees. LOL. They think England's a powerhouse. Hahaha. Check out the poll towards the bottom. There's no Germany. Either Germany isn't a powerhouse or are the clear favourites to be in the finals. Knowing TSN it's probably the former. Those hockey analysts are so clueless about other sports, especially outside North America that it's mind-boggling.

http://tsn.ca/euro2012/

Fimo

Apr 30th, 2012, 10:54 PM

United have dropped points this weekend, as did City earlier, but check out your lot. Only Blackburn, if anybody, have been worse since New Years. People who live in glass houses, etc.

LOL, don't worry about us, you should be worrying that City who were 8 points behind you and down for the count which had all the pundits saying that Man Yoo had the title wrapped up.

The funny thing is, LFC, as bad as we have been, might end up with more silverware than both Manchester clubs combined, now go figure that one out! :razz:

VCR

Apr 30th, 2012, 11:14 PM

The funny thing is, LFC, as bad as we have been, might end up with more silverware than both Manchester clubs combined, now go figure that one out! :razz:

I'd always take quality over quantity. Qualifying for the Champions League for the next season is more important imo than an FA Cup or Carling Cup title.

In order of prestige:

Champions League Title > Premier League champions then a big drop off to > FA Cup > Carling Cup

Tornado F2

May 1st, 2012, 02:39 AM

I'd always take quality over quantity. Qualifying for the Champions League for the next season is more important imo than an FA Cup or Carling Cup title.

In order of prestige:

Champions League Title > Premier League champions then a big drop off to > FA Cup > Carling Cup

You have to remember that LFC fans had forgotten where Wembley was, it had been that long since their previous visit. In fact it's an entirely different stadium, the old historic one having been torn down long ago. They can barely believe their luck in achieving repeated visits, especially when you consider how poor they are in the league. But let them enjoy their scraps, they'll be very lucky to achieve a return visit next year. The top clubs, including the Manchester "neighbours", all had oddly inconsistent seasons this year, but that's unlikely to be repeated next season. Teams like United and City will mature, with just a few quality additions, while the London clubs will likely undergo expensive summer rebuilds. It will be interesting to see how the top clubs line up at the start of next season, and how overall quality can be improved. LFC will likely spend too, but with Dalglish at the helm they'll likely buy more of the same. They won't be able to attract top European talent with just a Carling Cup and a cobweb-filled museum to show. Look how short Meireles' visit was. LFC are now like West Ham was, prior to relegation - a brief stopping point at a declining old club where players hope to catch the attention of the big ChLg clubs while fans sing the old nostalgic songs of yesteryear. Or more like yesterdecade actually. ;)

Wonder if the fans will still be singing when they end the season below Everton?

Tornado F2

May 1st, 2012, 03:00 AM

BTW, what a pathetic attempt at self-promotion by that poser Liam Gallagher tonight. (While real Beatles music played on the loudspeakers). Noel was always the real talent in Oasis, and classily stayed in the background. What will the fake one do when the City bubble bursts next week? Probably fling a bunch of four-letter words in Mancini's direction, I don't doubt. :facepalm:

flexwong

May 1st, 2012, 06:57 AM

LOL, don't worry about us, you should be worrying that City who were 8 points behind you and down for the count which had all the pundits saying that Man Yoo had the title wrapped up.

The funny thing is, LFC, as bad as we have been, might end up with more silverware than both Manchester clubs combined, now go figure that one out! :razz:

So just further proof that LFC is nothing more than a cup team who don't know how to play a full season. Says a lot when you don't even finish top four in the league.

It will be an exciting two weeks. City have the momentum on their side right now, but games against Newcastle and QPR will be interesting. Newcastle are fighting for fourth and are in great form. QPR will be battling to stay up. Don't forget, anything can happen in the final day of football. The two remaining games for United are must wins.

Fimo

May 1st, 2012, 09:27 AM

LOL! Looks like the bitters are out in full force today, must have struck a nerve after yesterday's loss, calm down guys its not over yet. :D

I'd always take quality over quantity. Qualifying for the Champions League for the next season is more important imo than an FA Cup or Carling Cup title.

There may be some truth to that, however would you rather win an actual piece of silverware or qualify for the Champions League play like $hit and be kicked out in the group stages by a small team from the Swiss Axpo Super League?

You have to remember that LFC fans had forgotten where Wembley was, it had been that long since their previous visit. LOL! Probably one of the most dumbest comments ever made in this thread, speaking of selective memory, you must have forgotten how many times LFC went to the Millennium Stadium whilst Wembley was under construction, including a nice 2-0 win over your beloved club.

Wonder if the fans will still be singing when they end the season below Everton? If we have 2 Cups in the bag, of course we will be singing.

So just further proof that LFC is nothing more than a cup team who don't know how to play a full season. Says a lot when you don't even finish top four in the league.

We may be a cup team and definitely not top four based on our second half of the season but at least at the end of the season we can say, hey at least we won a thing or two and didn't choke an 8 point gap at the top of the league to our nearest rivals? #justsayin

Tornado F2

May 1st, 2012, 10:27 AM

There may be some truth to that, however would you rather win an actual piece of silverware or qualify for the Champions League play like $hit and be kicked out in the group stages by a small team from the Swiss Axpo Super League?

LOL! Probably one of the most dumbest comments ever made in this thread, speaking of selective memory, you must have forgotten how many times LFC went to the Millennium Stadium whilst Wembley was under construction, including a nice 2-0 win over your beloved club.

If we have 2 Cups in the bag, of course we will be singing.

We may be a cup team and definitely not top four based on our second half of the season but at least at the end of the season we can say, hey at least we won a thing or two and didn't choke an 8 point gap at the top of the league to our nearest rivals? #justsayin

- Some ChLg teams may be small, but they've all achieved something that LFC look unlikely to do again in a LONG time - qualify. :lol:

- Yes, YOUR POST is a definite candidate for "dumbest comment". I was talking about WEMBLEY, but your poor confused LFC mind got it mixed up with Cardiff. You just proved my point. :D

- TWO cups? I don't think so. Maybe if the FA and ChLg finals were close together CFC would have to prioritise, but I'm pretty sure they'll be decimating LFC. Neutralise Suarez, avoid the box divers' tricks, and it should be clear sailing.

- Nowhere near top 4. Or even top 6. Even top half of the league isn't guaranteed. And Everton look likely to sit above LFC at the end of the season - something that will really hurt the true LFC fans back in Merseyside. A full summer of taunting they'll have to endure, all thanks to Dalglish and his mob. Somehow I doubt he's still considered "King" over there. :lol:

But you just keep on trying to compare LFC to United. Binmen to Gods. I just love it. #justsayin :D

Tornado F2

May 1st, 2012, 10:39 AM

So just further proof that LFC is nothing more than a cup team who don't know how to play a full season. Says a lot when you don't even finish top four in the league.

It will be an exciting two weeks. City have the momentum on their side right now, but games against Newcastle and QPR will be interesting. Newcastle are fighting for fourth and are in great form. QPR will be battling to stay up. Don't forget, anything can happen in the final day of football. The two remaining games for United are must wins.

I'm just wondering what former-City players will show up for QPR? SWP and Barton may try "doing a Gerrard" for City, setting them up like he did 2 seasons back. Hopefully they will still be in the fight though, and Barton will play a cracker trying to keep himself in the EPL. Shame Macheda's not still there to secure the title for United. :D

United definitely need the two wins, or we'll have nobody but ourselves to blame. I can't see SAF accepting that.

As for LFC, even top half isn't guaranteed. Ironically enough, 2 wins for United over Swansea and Sunderland should secure that for them.