(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

Discussion in 'Sports and Fitness' started by Jax, Apr 1, 2008.

  1. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    I don't know if Arsené will ever put his money where his mouth is on one of these English central midfielders he likes, but Noble would be welcome at the Emirates.
    Well, apparently, Tomalak did. :)

    Bellamy is a clueless moron, plain and simple. Johannson scored plenty of Premier League goals while he was with Charlton, so scoring against Wales is a step down for him.
     
  2. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    Shearer taking charge of Newcastle...feels like an April Fool but the story does seem to be everywhere...
     
  3. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I will laugh all summer long if Big Al takes them down.

    Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer and Ian Dowie. A managerial dream team.
     
  4. dragunzng

    dragunzng Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Freaking international breaks. They leave for two weeks and half of our players come back in bandages.

    Hopefully Van Persie and Bendtner will be able to shake it off for the Man City game. Diaby... well he'll just get broken again anyway.
     
  5. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    Southampton are set to go into adminstration, which will surley send them down along with Charlton giving FOREST a huge boost and now we can focus on the last place instead of worrying about Southampton...Despite this Ihate the 10 point rule, its leaves clubs worse off so they fall even further down into debt.

    ENG tonight and am going for 2-1 win.
     
  6. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

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    IF!? It's a question of when. The only saving grace for them is that Iain Dowie can't dip into the transfer market this time!

    I'm not convinced I'd like to see Newcastle go down... but they're making it far too tempting to wish for this. Absolute joke.
     
  7. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

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    Well ENG was a game of two halves with a decent enough 1st half peformance but my god did we lose the plot in the 2nd half. Too many sloppy passes, uneeded fouls (yes you Barry) and no tempo or pace what to speak off after Lennon went off.

    My Ratings

    James (6) - Has done nothing to convince anyone he should be number 1 and despite not needing too do much he still found time to make his one mistake by misjudging a shot and only just getting away with it.

    Johnson (6.5) - Tried to make forwards runs but with little impact and ruined a decent 1st half display with a shaky last 45 minutes with included needless fouls and a stupid yellow card.

    Terry (7.5) - Didn't have much to do but along with Ferdinand, should of done better to organise the defence for Ukraine's goal. However set up a goal and scored other one to lead by example.

    Ferdinand (7) - Same really as Terry minus any goal support of course but his back is becoming a major worry, England cannot afford anymore cropped players

    A.Cole (6.5) - Pretty much same as Johnson and after a decent display in 1st half, erratic passing and lapses in concentration didn't help him push his cause with the fans. Best defender going forward but had little impact mainly due to no one trying to link up with him forcing him to punt the ball forward

    Lennon (7) - Didn't get much of the ball but when he did, he looked a real threat and apart from one bad ball his crossing was much much better. However needs to be more vocal and demand the ball more.

    Barry (5.5) - Unimpressive and gave away too many needless fouls by holding players but failed to learn from his mistakes and got booked. His passing wasn't there and failed to help England pick up a faster tempo in the middle

    Lampard (6) - Clearly doesn't like being on a tight leash for home games and while he produced a tidy display didn't look like the player he is for Chelsea.

    Gerrard (6) - Started well but as the match wore on he looked tired and dissapered from the match. When it comes to playing the top 15 teams in the world he cannot get away with being on the left flank and Capello needs to put him in the middle.

    Rooney (8) - Our best player by a mile though dipped in the last 20 minutes but still was involved in most of the play and unlucky maybe not too sneak a goal in the 1st half. Struggled to play with Crouch however and still lacks that yard of pace he had before the 2006 World Cup.

    Crouch (6.5) - Tried hard and did well with the goal but his lack of strength makes his height almost useless. Clearly not the man to partner Rooney up front but is still worth the squad place.

    SUBS...

    Beckham (6) - Never got into the game and with Crouch starting, I felt he should of began the game. Didn't get many chances to put those crosses in but still was involved in the goal with a trademark pass.

    SWP & JAG - N/A
     
  8. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    You have to give Shearer his due for picking probably the best moment to take the job on. Keeps em up he's even more of a hero than before, they go down...well he only had 8 games and they were in the shit anyway.

    Be interesting to see if he gets the job full time if he keeps them up...
     
  9. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Let’s see … Newcastle are on 29 points, two points from Blackburn, and have this run in:

    April 4: home against Chelsea
    April 11: at Stoke.
    April 19: at Spurs.
    April 27: home against Portsmouth.
    May 2: at Liverpool.
    May 9: home against Boro.
    May 16: home against Fulham.
    May 24: at Villa.

    Tough. Chelsea and Pool, with three teams in that 8 fighting for survival, and Villa (however unlikely) potentially still in it for 4th. Blackburn's run in strikes me as a touch easier. My money’s on Michael Owen being the Championship's best paid footballer.
     
  10. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I really hope Newcastle do stay up. Okay, seeing them relegated will be amusing for a few months, but they will provide lasting entertainment if their soap opera is allowed to continue in the top flight.

    Assuming West Brom and Boro are down, I'd rather see Blackburn join them. Fat Sam's at the wheel, and he's managed to make Mark Hughes' collection of despicable cheats even worse with the mere addition of El Hadji Diouf. Failing that, Stoke can fuck off. As much as Tony Pulis' baseball caps amuse me, they add nothing.
     
  11. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

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    ^ I've been saying that about Stoke all season but dammit they're just too good at home. West Brom are good as gone already so the other team I'd like to see go would be either Blackburn, for the same reasons you put, and Boro - but only if someone takes their place as 'the little team who beat a top 4 side once a season and make them look stupid'.
     
  12. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    Personally, I just base who I want to see go down on how they behaved against us in our games against them.

    Stoke - Time wasting dirty thugs who can only score goals by taking throw ins as if they were corners. I really would like to know why they are allowed to take so long to take a throw in.

    Blackburn - El Hadji Diouf's "tackle" on Manuel Almunia and Morten Gamst Pedersen's hideous penalty area dive = bye bye for me.

    Bolton - Does anyone other than Kevin Davies even score for them anymore ?

    West Brom - Played good attacking football against us in both games and gave us a run for our money. Barely any bookings either. This may be unrealistic, but I hope they stay up or, at least, they don't sack Tony Mobray if they go down.

    Middlesbrough - I know Gareth Southgate used to be a center half but seriously, come out of your box occasionally Boro!

    Newcastle - Sentimentality will get you nowhere in this game and eventually, defensive thuggery catches up with you. Bye.

    Portsmouth - You can see that they're trying to play football properly. Hopefully they'll stay up.

    Sunderland - I'm not sure how much longer the team of Championship players Roy Keane has strung together and Ricky Spragia has inherited can hold out.

    And finally, my favourites - Hull. Fuck off back to the Championship you dirty, time wasting, cheating, moaning, lying miserable bunch of fuckers.
     
  13. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's funny how in the fall - despite the loss to them - I was praising Hull for coming up and not being afraid to actually play some football. But that was then, this is now. I've had about enough of that Orange Bastard Phil Brown. Current Exhibit A in how not to act when under pressure. I want them to stick around to beat up on one more season, see the Orange Bastard get sacked, then send them down.
     
  14. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    And in other news: Sven-Goran Eriksson's Mexican holiday has come to an end after leading Mexico to another loss.
     
  15. Iasius

    Iasius Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I just love this goal (Wolfsburg vs Bayern): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUvzatmuEyw

    :lol:

    I can't stop replaying this one.:guffaw:


    Edit: The video has been removed. It was the goal by grafite that made it 5-1 in the 77nd minute.
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2009
  16. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

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    And that defence will be facing Barcelona on Wednesday - oh dear... Cracking goal I like that one a lot.

    Macheda's goal today was excellent as well. Fascinating weekend of Premier League at both ends... unless you're from the north-east that is. Boro look doomed now, while Blackburn and Stoke are probably safe.
     
  17. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    here's a working link

    but the 5:1 is funny only as long as you don't realise that Wolfsburg could actually win this championship... :confused:
     
  18. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    When you put it like that, they can all go down as far as I care. Except Portsmouth - after the way 'Arry fucked them off to join Spurs, leaving them their fate under the renowned intellectual heavyweight Tony Adams, they deserve to stay up.

    You're only saying that because they play kamikaze football. Wenger's been moaning for years about physical teams not playing fair and letting his teams play them off the park, but the fact is that he still hasn't got a clue how to handle Hull or Stoke. It's no surprise to see him complimenting Mowbray all the time. I don't like the Bolton-style teams either, but you have to learn to deal with them in football.

    In a way, I have less respect for Mowbray than for the likes of Allardyce, Brown, Megson and Pulis. If you don't have the skill, you haven't got a chance in the premier league playing the way West Brom do. It was obvious from day one (okay, day two) that Mowbray's "principles" were going to get them relegated, and I felt that was disrespectful to the fans. At least make an effort at giving the team a bit of bite and strength. They are lightweight throughout the team, which means they get rolled over every week because they are outplayed by the better sides, and outfought by the dross.

    It's perhaps more shocking that they can't even defend their box anymore. They started the season as a decent, but unlucky team. They were obviously lacking goals, but were still well set-up, and had a good defence. Now they are just abysmal, and Southgate's shown no signs of turning it around.

    It's incredible what Keane did to that club. The sheer number of signings he made who were utterly incapable of making an impact was staggering. I can't believe Quinn gave him so much support, given that he outspent most other clubs, but still left them relegation candidates. No wonder he's now taking a long, hard look at himself away from football.


    Just how awesome is the Bundesliga? We're all excited because Liverpool are essentially four points behind Manchester United, which means we have a "title race". There are five or six teams that can still claim the crown in Germany.
     
  19. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    Hiding in your own box and never trying to win is much more disrespectful. Asking people to pay £40 or more to watch their team "defend valiantly" is disrespectful, and is why you see so many empty seats at Premier League games.

    It's funny you should mention "day one", because on day one West Brom came to us and gave us a good game. We only won 1-0 and they had plenty of chances to equalise.

    I don't mind seeing teams playing a tough and physically game. Even Arsenal do that sometimes - Adebayor, Bendtner, Diaby and co aren't afraid to get stuck in - even Walcott's putting in tackles these days. How Blackburn, Hull and Stoke have played against us however crosses a line. There is a line between tough tackles and blatant thuggery. We lost three players in our away game against Stoke - and then there's El Hadji Diouf's "tackle" on Almunia.

    If they're not fouling they're finding other ways to cheat. Stoke's throw-ins that the referee inexplicably allows them to take minutes to set up and eventually take. Hull's time wasting (and then the blatant lies, false accusations and outright slander that comes when you question it) and Blackburn's diving around like idiots - yes, I'm talking about you, Mr. Pedersen.

    It's not just those three, I sat and watched Newcastle's Steven Taylor throwing his elbow at Andrei Arshavin and get away with it. We did get a bit of karma out of that, though - he got injured trying another one of his hacked challenges and had to leave the pitch. We exploited the gap and scored.
     
  20. Tomalak

    Tomalak Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Yet West Brom fans are asked to pay £40 to watch their team capitulate meekly every week. Ultimately Hull and Stoke look likely to survive, so I doubt their fans will care much how they achieved it. Wimbledon long-balled their way to the FA Cup, and Bolton were top six finishers in more recent years.

    That's why I said, "okay, day two". ;)

    I agree, blatant cheating and fouling should be punished. Referees are inconsistent, and they allow a lot of this to go on. The infamous "Delap throw" is a very successful tactic for Stoke, it seems to be allowed, so why shouldn't they use it? If it's illegal, referees need to stop it.

    I'm very wary when it comes to rules dictating how teams should be allowed to play football. This thing Wenger's come out with about rewarding goal difference with more points is a case in point. For these teams, survival is the most important thing. Mowbray decided it wasn't, and West Brom are likely to remain the eternal yo-yo club.

    I'm not going to complain when teams don't play into our hands. We dropped four points against Stoke because we couldn't get past them. They didn't do anything untoward, we weren't good enough, and those two points they might not have expected to get against Liverpool could prove crucial. It's the same with Hull - we're still to play them at the KC, but we could only draw at Anfield. West Brom on the other hand, came to Anfield with a high defence, no strength in midfield, and were comfortably trashed. Robbie Keane of all people scored two.