(UEFA) Football Thread - Football not Soccer

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

  1. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2001
    Location:
    Behind Enemy Lines
    Ah I dunno, I always feel for Forest how Austin Powers feels about Dr Evil, snake to our mongoose, it'd be less fun without them. Leicester on the other hand...

    Well a lot of buisness done yesterday, though none of it by us! You do have to wonder how much longer Moyes can continue to keep Everton going. Surprised Arteta didn't go ages ago. I guess getting Beckford for free then selling him for £4 million is good business, but it also shows you selling players to lower league teams spending money you can't spend yourself.

    So, Arsenal, good signings of panic buys? And will Crouch do well at Stoke given he isn't that great in the air, he's just tall?
     
  2. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2001
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Yeah, the Forest quip was more in jest. Leeds wasn't though...... :lol:

    We were only ever going to be back in the market yesterday if someone had come in and taken Leacock, Bywater and Pearson off our hands. As it is, no one did, so we'll wait for the loan market to open up again.

    Arsenal - solid signings, but not really signings to put them back at the top-4 table IMO. Suspect Liverpool will join the likes of United, City and Chelsea this year.

    Stoke - will be fine. Doesn't matter how good Crouch is in the air, they'll just have Delap bounce balls off of his head and into the net. Crouch probably won't even know much about it as it's happening! :lol:
     
  3. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2008
    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales
    At least it would give Coventry and Doncaster someone to beat.

    Arsenal's signings are more desperate than solid. Arteta hasn't been much good for two years now, let alone a good Fabregas replacement.

    Everton themselves are surely staring down the barrel of a long season now, having sold him and their entire fit strikeforce!
     
  4. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2004
    Location:
    Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
    Forest are a bit of a shambles, holding talks with McLaren about his future already!

    England game tonight, I haven't been too fussed about England since the World Cup. I can't bring myself to get invested in them much anymore. I'll probably still watch it though. Apparently Smalling is in line to make his debut.
     
  5. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2001
    Location:
    Behind Enemy Lines
    I don't know what to make of it. Either McClaren was lied to about the situation, or else he knew exactly what he was walking into?

    Say what you like about Nigel, but christ what whiny bitches have Forest had as managers of late!
     
  6. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2001
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Hey - lay off, Agent Schteve. He's doing a superb job down at the City Ground......! :lol:
     
  7. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2004
    Location:
    Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
    Decent result for England, pretty boring game, especially the second half.

    But this - Netherlands Eleven San Marino Zero. 11-0 !!-0 might be more apt :lol:

    What is the point of having these minnows in qualifying. Once in a while they'll get a shock result but they never threaten to break into the qualification places. Gotta feel sorry for them really.

    Maybe the lower ranked teams should have a separate tournament or something, at the moment these games are just a waste of time.
     
  8. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2001
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    It's a bit of a double-edged sword isn't it - The minnow nations need to play against better teams to get the experience, but then if they get tanked it's just counter-productive.

    I'm not really sure what the answer is to be honest.

    Wales doing well, 2-1 up with minutes to go. Very handy result for England there. Can't see Montenegro beating Switzerland either, so a result against Wales in midweek and we'll probably be able to go to Montenegro, lose, and still top the group.
     
  9. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2004
    I'm sure it's a lot of fun for the guys playing, and also the football fans in the stadium to be able to play against/watch those world class football players live.

    Of course they don't have a chance, but that's not the point. Winning isn't always the most important thing.

    You could just as well ask "what's QPR and Swansea doing in the Premier League? Why even bother when they'll just get kicked in the ass anyway?".
     
  10. HappyDayRiot

    HappyDayRiot Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2008
    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales
    Mark your calendars - Wales have won a game of international football! One that matters!
     
  11. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2004
    Location:
    Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
    Yep looks like we're all but qualified.

    I know, and obviously they get revenue etc which helps their national game. But it can't be good for them, and how long has this been going on for? I don't see any signs of improvement.

    I just think it would be better if they had their own tournament, so they could play teams who they actually have a chance of beating, and maybe the winners get a place at the Euro Championships or something (although then there would be a danger of diluting the competition, but hopefully if they had some momentum of winning they might have more confidence, and if they get one of their rare shock results it could give them a decent showing).

    Ideally you'd hope for a scenario like in cricket, where Ireland in particular have played well in international tournaments.
     
  12. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2004
    And where's the cutoff? Austria hasn't qualified for a World Cup or Euro tournament since 1998 and the last time before that in 1990 and it's starting to look pretty bleak for the next 10 or so years at least too, but we'd still beat the shit out of all the Liechtensteins and Andorras. Same with countries like Ireland, Belarus, Finland, etc. - there are a lot of those middlish football nations.
     
  13. trekkiebaggio

    trekkiebaggio Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2004
    Location:
    Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
    I'd say work it out on the rankings, but they're not exactly accurate.

    I don't know, maybe examine aggregate scores? Countries that haven't qualified for major tournaments in over x amount of years (15, 20?) ?
     
  14. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2003
    Location:
    The Universe.
    If Montenegro beat the Swiss it will go down to the final game because UEFA are using head to head instead of goal difference for teams on same points :rolleyes:. Still nice for Wales to do us a favour and Bulgaria were fucking POOR. England looked better in the 2nd half when we scored no goals but overall ENG never had to step out of 3rd gear to win the game.
     
  15. { Emilia }

    { Emilia } Cute but deadly Moderator

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Location:
    Kauaʻi
    Austria showed some Arsenal-qualities yesterday. 2-6 loss against Germany. Good fun... :)
     
  16. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2004
    Heh, I enjoyed it actually. Germany really has an awesome team at the moment, love the way they play, no shame in losing against them. And Löw, despite having coached two of the most despicable, abominable clubs in the world is not a bad guy either. I just wished, that if Germany wins, they win really big; I'm not sure 6:2 is enough to get rid of the moron who's coaching the Austrian team.
     
  17. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2005
    Location:
    European Union
    Still, I felt sorry for the Austrian goalie, especially in the first half when it looked really bleak for the Austrians. Thankfully, our defense then decided to take a few naps so the Austrians could get a little bit more into the game.

    It's a bit sad. They were pretty good in the first match in Austria. I think they have some good players and probably could do better.
     
  18. Jax

    Jax Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2003
    Location:
    The Universe.
    Germany are favourites to win Euro 2012 followed by Spain, France and Holland.
     
  19. Steve67

    Steve67 Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2005
    Location:
    'The Transformed Man' Recording Sessions
    Speaking of France, I just started reading:

    [​IMG]


    Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France
    by Laurent Dubois

    From the blurb:

    "When France both hosted and won the World Cup in 1998, the face of its star player, Zinedine Zidane, the son of Algerian immigrants, was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe. During the 2006 World Cup finals, Zidane stunned the country by ending his spectacular career with an assault on an Italian player. In Soccer Empire, Laurent Dubois illuminates the connections between empire and sport by tracing the story of World Cup soccer, from the Cup's French origins in the 1930s to Africa and the Caribbean and back again. As he vividly recounts the lives of two of soccer's most electrifying players, Zidane and his outspoken teammate, Lilian Thuram, Dubois deepens our understanding of the legacies of empire that persist in Europe and brilliantly captures the power of soccer to change the nation and the world."
     
  20. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2001
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I don't think Montenegro will beat Switzerland. Montenegro have faltered in their last couple of games whilst Switzerland have finally woken up.

    To be honest, it really wouldn't surprise me now if Switzerland overtake Montenegro to finish second in the group.

    I wish Fifa and Uefa would have the balls to sort out simulation - the penalty that the Czech's got today was a fooking joke.