Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
Caves of Narshe Forums > General Topics > Football '11-'12


Posted by: Rangers51 25th July 2011 14:10
I can't think of a better way to start the year's thread about football than by mocking Mario Balotelli and the insanity that is Manchester City. Did you guys see the friendly last night against Los Angeles? Two things to point out here: one, we're talking about a game that went to kicks, despite one team being "worth" well over a hundred million pounds and the other being, well, face it, an American franchise; two, this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8HKSXSU148

I haven't had much love for Citeh since they (wisely) dropped DaMarcus Beasley, but come on. I get that this is a friendly, and I get that the English teams come in here and have no real reason to respect anything related to American football, but Balotelli got everything he deserved with this. He looked like a moron and got benched, and were I Mancini, it would be a while before he was even dressing again.

In other news, my home team, Sporting Kansas City, picked up the Brazilian Jeferson on loan from Vasco De Gama for the rest of the summer. If he can play in every match like he did against Toronto last Saturday night, we should make it into the MLS Cup playoffs, for sure. As much as I hate to admit that an uncapped Brazilian is good enough to make a difference in MLS, he just brutalized Toronto the other night, assisting two of KC's four goals and just looking dangerous every time he was on the ball.

Posted by: sweetdude 25th July 2011 16:44
To be fair to City they all looked exasperated with him. I still think that clip is one of the funniest things I've seen this summer. I must admit I like Balotelli now after a season of success in online Fifa with Man City, the team where 5 defenders cannot be outmuscled or outran. I didn't get the impression that City were purposefully insulting the Americans, they just weren't giving it everything because it was a friendly, most of the time they don't want to get too tired or pick up an injury. Villareal played Aberdeen here in Scotland, beat them 1-0 and hardly played much and just wanted to pass the ball. I don't mind it that's just what happens in friendly games. It's like a holiday kickabout. Mancini definitely did the right thing though, Balotelli was just taking the piss with that.

Which reminds me, I don't suppose anyone saw the story about how Balotelli confronted a fan's school bullies? Here's the link. That fan will wake up one morning and say to his wife: "ahh! I just had that dream again... it was me, my old bullies, the headmaster, and Mario Balotelli... all sitting in a room talking about stuff."

Posted by: Rangers51 25th July 2011 17:03
Yeah, I didn't mean to give the impression that they were intentionally being insulting, it was just Balotelli. But it's clear that in some of these friendlies, you don't want to listen to the fans. I mean, United supporters certainly did a lot of mouthing off when they thrashed Seattle last week - maybe those were just American "fans" that I saw, but still. It's tacky. I've seen City supporters on ESPN's forums in the States defending Balotelli on this, too, and it's just obnoxious.

I had heard about that bully story, and thought it was pretty cool at the time, but on balance, Balotelli is still a massive wanker. smile.gif

Posted by: Stiltzkin 25th July 2011 19:19
Quote (Rangers51 @ 25th July 2011 18:03)
Balotelli is still a massive wanker. smile.gif

Sums my opinion up pretty accurately.

Balotelli's behaviour was appalling - I was glad to see Mancini bench him. The boy really needs to grow up - his record on and off the pitch last season just screamed "immature".

That said, I'm afraid I'm one of those English football fans who has never really considered MLS as anything other than the elephant's graveyard of football.

I fully admit that that is a pretty ignorant position to hold. So I'll keep reading this thread and try to enlighten myself!

Posted by: sweetdude 25th July 2011 20:13
Quote (Stiltzkin @ 25th July 2011 20:19)
That said, I'm afraid I'm one of those English football fans who has never really considered MLS as anything other than the elephant's graveyard of football.

I fully admit that that is a pretty ignorant position to hold. So I'll keep reading this thread and try to enlighten myself!

Don't worry, you wouldn't be English/British if you didn't look down on absolutely everything, including yourself. smile.gif

The thing about Balotelli is he must be totally in his own little world. His actions follow no set pattern, and there's no way of predicting what's going to happen next. It makes for some spectacular entertainment if anything. Watching any Man City game could result in the next Mario Balotelli incident. And then when you think he's failed, he's a bad transfer, he scores a hat-trick in the next game. It's unbelievable. I just feel sorry for Mancini more than anything. Every day must be a guessing exercise in which Balotelli is going to turn up.

Posted by: Rangers51 26th July 2011 13:52
Quote (Stiltzkin @ 25th July 2011 14:19)
That said, I'm afraid I'm one of those English football fans who has never really considered MLS as anything other than the elephant's graveyard of football.

I fully admit that that is a pretty ignorant position to hold. So I'll keep reading this thread and try to enlighten myself!

Honestly, I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong. Soccer's still fighting an uphill battle here for relevancy, though, I did hear recently that attendance at MLS games is now higher than that of NHL games in terms of attendance to stadium capacity ratio. Not sure how accurate that is, but it seems theoretically reasonable - NHL had its most recent heyday here in the US around the time that MLS was getting started.

There are three reasons that MLS doesn't get much respect, in my opinion.

1) Foreign fans look down on a league that has been around only fifteen years. For that reason, many American "fans" of foreign teams do the same.
2) Soccer remains smaller here, largely because even when a big international event happens, the national teams usually let the fans down and that curtails the building of a larger fan base. The men's national team is constantly guilty of this, though the WNT didn't help by collapsing in the WWC final a couple weeks back.
3) The biggest players in the league remain either aging foreign stars like Beckham or Henry, or are middle-tier players in their home countries before coming here. My home team has internationals on the roster, for instance, but they're from countries like Honduras and Sierra Leone, not Germany or England.

The league is in a Catch-22. We need bigger players to make the league more viable, but if we keep homegrown players here, the national team will suffer from the lack of top-notch competition for those players at club level. We can't bring in more top-notch players from overseas because the league can't afford it, either, without forcing teams to be either wealthy, large-market haves or destitute have-nots, and that will also hamper long term growth in the league.

They're finally starting to go the right way, though. Teams are required now to either play in soccer-specific stadiums, or file for an exemption. About a third of the teams now have legitimate youth academies. The league collapsed a couple of the lower performing teams and gave franchise rights to some cities that have booming soccer fanbases instead, like Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver. The league is also continuing to expand, with Portland and Vancouver having joined this year, and Montreal coming in next.

I won't say that the MLS will ever be a league on par with Serie A or the BPL, though anything's possible. I would say that it's no longer more than five years away from being able to send a club to the Club World Cup or having a CONCACAF Champion's League winner, though, and that's not bad for being a league that wouldn't even be old enough to legally drive in its own country.

Posted by: Rangers51 1st August 2011 18:05
If anyone out there is a kit fan like I am, I found a blog post that is collecting photos of all of this year's new BPL kits:

http://maofootball.wordpress.com/201112-premier-league-kits/

My favorites from cruising through are Liverpool's away (of course), Newcastle's away, and Spurs' third. The worst are Everton's 'keeper shirt, Man United's away, and Man City's away, if you ask me.

Posted by: sweetdude 1st August 2011 18:30
I'm quite liking that Man City away shirt actually. I've always liked AC Milan's so there you go. Not sure how much their fans will like wearing red. Man U away looks horrible. Best badge goes to Swansea. It looks like a thirteenth Zodiac or something. And I noticed Wigan don't have any players left to wear the shirt.

Posted by: Stiltzkin 1st August 2011 18:55
The new Arsenal logo is godawful, imo.

I think Fulham is simple yet effective and I also have a soft spot for the Norwich shirt.

I gotta say, the Liverpool away shirt is awesome. Not so bothered about the first strip though!

Man City does look pretty plain and boring, and I agree the United away is poor, but the new home shirt I really like. Bit of a classic retro look to it.

And I can't decide whtether chelsea away is awesomely cool, or just a bit naff!

Posted by: Cefca 13th August 2011 18:15
The are some dickheads in Football, but Joey barton has got to be the worst scum I've ever seen in the game. He shouldn't be allowed to play, he has about as much class as the rioters all over England.

Posted by: Rangers51 13th August 2011 19:12
Quote (Cefca @ 13th August 2011 13:15)
The are some dickheads in Football, but Joey barton has got to be the worst scum I've ever seen in the game. He shouldn't be allowed to play, he has about as much class as the rioters all over England.

I only caught the very end of that game, as I was watching my DVR'd video of the second half of Liverpool's continued poor defensive abilities (baby didn't want to watch the second half live, so we napped instead). I heard the commentators talk about Barton deserving a sending off, but I have yet to see it. Will try to catch a replay tonight.

Agreed with the overall tone of your post, though, even with no knowledge of this particular incident.

Posted by: sweetdude 13th August 2011 21:15
Joey Barton's weird. He's a thug, a great player, a criminal, a fighter, has half a brain on him, and is probably one of the more hated and loved players out there. He'll punch someone in one game then be absolutely mortified afterwards. He's either got a serious anger problem or he's a good liar. His Twitter's an interesting place to go: best quotes here.

Posted by: Harlequin 14th August 2011 23:15
Quote (Rangers51 @ 26th July 2011 13:52)
Honestly, I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong. Soccer's still fighting an uphill battle here for relevancy, though, I did hear recently that attendance at MLS games is now higher than that of NHL games in terms of attendance to stadium capacity ratio. Not sure how accurate that is, but it seems theoretically reasonable - NHL had its most recent heyday here in the US around the time that MLS was getting started.

There are three reasons that MLS doesn't get much respect, in my opinion.

1) Foreign fans look down on a league that has been around only fifteen years. For that reason, many American "fans" of foreign teams do the same.
2) Soccer remains smaller here, largely because even when a big international event happens, the national teams usually let the fans down and that curtails the building of a larger fan base. The men's national team is constantly guilty of this, though the WNT didn't help by collapsing in the WWC final a couple weeks back.
3) The biggest players in the league remain either aging foreign stars like Beckham or Henry, or are middle-tier players in their home countries before coming here. My home team has internationals on the roster, for instance, but they're from countries like Honduras and Sierra Leone, not Germany or England.

I don't claim to know a lot about soccer, but i do know this from being in the Philly area (which recently added the Philadelphia Union 2-3 years ago): the MLS has a growing fanbase here. It won't ever be comparable to American Football or Baseball for Americans since most people think they don't score enough points, not as exciting, just not used to it, etc. Or it's just not as apple pie as the aforementioned sports.

However, I am aware of a core group of fans in my school who are apart of the "Sons of Ben", the hardcore season ticket holders. And they're not the only ones in there! It's really cool to see soccer fans finally having their day in Philadelphia. Also, I tried to go to the Red Bulls game last night, and it was sold out! The surprising thing was, it was against the Chicago Fire, a team with no big foreign players like Henri or Beckham.

In fairness to the Women's National team, they did have a World Cup run that managed to get people excited. That was a positive thing, even though the loss against Japan is still a sensitive subject for me sad.gif Also, they won the gold at the last Olympics, and won the World cup in '99 and I think the very first cup. They will always be a force; it's the men's team that needs to get its act together.

The recruitment of foreign players will only hurt the development of a national team. There of plenty of foreign players in the MLB and the NHL, what's the big deal?

(I just want to point out that hockey has an 80-something game season that has intense games. The reason why it may not sell as well as other sports is that it isn't as short a season as a crazy sport like football, and while it is a longer season like baseball, it isn't as relaxed or family-oriented. Or it doesn't take place in the summer, like the MLS league.)

Posted by: Del S 18th August 2011 20:53
Owch.

Well, there's the lesson. Europa qualifiers in the EPL slaughter teams that present themselves as the third team in Scotland. Of course, Hearts are possibly the worst example of Scottish football there is right now (Apart from Rangers it seems) given their owner is batpoop insane and sacked the manager a few games in, and that honestly they fell apart and really should not have qualified for Europe last season.

But seriously, what a pasting.

Posted by: Cefca 18th August 2011 22:13
I remember a few seasons ago when Hearts were actually fighting for the title. Oh how they have fallen, mostly due to their (like you said) batcrap insane owner.

Posted by: sweetdude 2nd November 2011 15:11
Anyone else really enjoying this season? I think all the top clubs apart from City have been battered already.

I've come to realise I'll support anyone in England (or abroad) who looks like they might have a chance of beating Barcelona, so I've been very impressed with City and wish them all the best. It really is nothing but what happens when you put the money cheats on a football management game. I'd probably have quit after beating Man U 6-1 and started again.

Speaking of Barcelona I've just finished watching their most recent highlights. They're looking even better this season. They can rest 5 first-team players and still put out a team any club in the world would envy. I'm thinking if anyone's going to beat them in Europe it'll be Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Man U over two legs.

Top four in the EPL by the looks of things will once again be Arsenal, Man U, City and Chelsea. I'd like Newcastle (never ever going to happen this season), Liverpool or Spurs to get in ahead of someone just to shake things up and give Arsenal or Chelsea a chance to recuperate over a season in the same way Liverpool did. Again I'm just thinking who the hell can beat Barcelona here, and how are they going to do it.

Posted by: Rangers51 2nd November 2011 17:32
I don't think I can go so far as to say "anyone over Barca." I don't want to see City win the CL. I don't want to see Chelsea win it. I definitely don't want to see United win it. I'd be okay with Arsenal, I've never had anything against them. Now, if a Munich could do it? Great. Hey, why not APOEL? biggrin.gif

I, too, would like to see a top four different than what you are presuming, though I think that Arsenal might still have trouble coming out ahead of Spurs. I agree that Newcastle, brilliant as they've been so far, probably can't sustain their current form, but who knows? They could play in the Europa League if a few things go their way.

I think it's amusing that you would consider anything that Liverpool have done to be recuperation. Sure, the second half of last season was revelatory, but from what I've seen in the first few months of this year, they aren't likely to finish any higher in the table than they did last. They are almost utterly incapable of scoring, and it shouldn't be up to the back line to improve to compensate for Andy Carroll being shockingly useless. I think maybe giving Bellamy more time up front, weirdly, might be a better solution for them.

Posted by: sweetdude 2nd November 2011 20:12
Quote (Rangers51 @ 2nd November 2011 18:32)
I think it's amusing that you would consider anything that Liverpool have done to be recuperation.

I think they're playing a lot better this season after all their signings. They can attack much better than last year. It seems to be their defence that's now a little shaky. Once Suarez stops missing and Carroll comes into his own form they'll win more and draw less. In the Stoke game Carroll played a fair bit better, and Suarez scored an absolute peach. We'll see what happens I guess.

I'm surprised you aren't more happy with their form. I think I would be if I was a fan. But, well, I'm not, so I can't really say assume anything. Top four is an achievable target unlike last year.

Posted by: Rangers51 2nd November 2011 22:49
Yeah, I sound pretty bitter for a fan, I realize. That's a function not of poor performance, but of expecting better than average.

Neither of the losses the team has so far are particularly shocking, though the one to Spurs was embarrassing to say the least. For me, it's really the draws that chafe - against United, I saw that goal coming from the minute Gerrard scored, and against Norwich? Ugh. The team's form is acceptable, but not CL material, which is where it should be with the team that's there.

The thing is, about the defense, I knew they'd be bad. Carra's getting slower, and the rest of the defense aside from Skrtel is either ludicrously young or are defenders who are actually better at going forward than defending (I must say, though, that I love that Dalglish signed Enrique, who I think is a great left back). Knowing that the defense is bad, though, means that the team needs to score buckets of goals, and so far it's being left to Suarez. Brilliant as he is, everyone should have learned from Torres that putting a fantastic individual talent at the top of a 4-5-1 or 4-4-1-1 is not enough. That's why I say Carroll needs to be stepping up right now, and he's just not doing it yet.

Posted by: l)arkShadow 12th November 2011 09:47
I think defending in general this season in the EPL has become poorer and poorer among the top teams. So many goals have been conceded in games, and it's kind of ridiculous.

Man City and Newcastle are the only team that seems to have a sound defense, but Newcastle has yet to face the top 4 teams, so we'll see the next few weeks whether or not they can maintain their undefeated status. They play Man City, Man U, and Chelsea in upcoming weeks, so it's hard to see them retaining their top place.
Still, it's only November and theres still 30 more games to be played.. so we'll see what happens.

Posted by: Rangers51 2nd December 2011 18:06
Just watched the draw for Euro 2012 (for which we'll probably have a game like we did for Euro 2008 and WC2010, of course).

That group B is epic. Group D could be quite interesting, too. I feel bad for Ireland, who got a bit of a shaft and have virtually no chance to make it to the quarters.

Full draw: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/euro2012/draw

Too soon to call a winner? I think it might well come from Group B if they don't beat each other up too badly. I am not too keen on Spain's chances of winning three major tournaments in a row, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

Posted by: Del S 2nd December 2011 18:13
Group B is going to be awesome. It's almost a shame that four strong teams are in there because it's left other groups a little lacklustre and predictable, but this is a major tournament so we can't rule out an upset.

Ireland managing to make it out of their group would be nothing short of awesome, but I doubt that's the upset we'll see. sad.gif

Posted by: sweetdude 3rd December 2011 03:25
Ireland might not be completely without a hope. From what I've seen and heard Italy haven't really made a great improvement on their world cup performance. They're still not the team they once were. (France on the other hand have bounced right back up). I would think Ireland could hold Italy to a draw and beat Croatia, or the other way round. Both of those games would be legendary and it's a huge ask, but it's not impossible. Don't get me wrong I'm well aware that Croatia are a solid team. I don't think it's really as bad as it seems. They could be in Group B instead of Denmark.

I agree that Group B is a bit of a shame. Germany, Portugal and Holland seem to be the teams with a chance of beating Spain, and I generally like teams that have a chance of beating Spain. Having said that the first few games will be very good and I'm always happy for an underdog to have a better run without playing those three. I watched the draw live and one of the pundits said that Spain were the new Brazil, which made me think that France would be the standard team to knock them out.

I've got a feeling that Poland could make it through their group. The Czechs and Russia are nothing like the old days. Ukraine have a much harder job. I can't see them making it.

Quote (I)arkShadow)
Man City and Newcastle are the only team that seems to have a sound defense, but Newcastle has yet to face the top 4 teams, so we'll see the next few weeks whether or not they can maintain their undefeated status. They play Man City, Man U, and Chelsea in upcoming weeks, so it's hard to see them retaining their top place.

What do you make of Newcastle now? I'm very surprised with their results against Man Utd and Spurs. I think Chelsea will tip them for the win this weekend (ehhh in 7 hours!) but they could still claw their way back into the top four. You're right though their defence has really set the standard. After January I think we'll be able to say it's Alan Pardew and not Chris Hughton's team that's doing so well.

PS SO happy to see O'Neill is getting back into the EPL. I've missed that guy.

Posted by: Gigantuar 3rd December 2011 11:51
I'm looking forward to Spain-Italy, Italy actually managed to beat Spain in a friendly some time ago. But they generally don't do very well in the euro tournaments, so who knows... Sweden looks like they are in really big trouble, being between one of the hosts, England and France.

Posted by: l)arkShadow 4th December 2011 13:14
Quote (sweetdude @ 2nd December 2011 22:25)

What do you make of Newcastle now? I'm very surprised with their results against Man Utd and Spurs. I think Chelsea will tip them for the win this weekend (ehhh in 7 hours!) but they could still claw their way back into the top four. You're right though their defence has really set the standard. After January I think we'll be able to say it's Alan Pardew and not Chris Hughton's team that's doing so well.

Sure enough, Newcastle hasn't picked up a win in 3 games. Chelsea swept them aside this weekend, and Newcastle's tied in fourth place with Arsenal. Hopefully they can pick up a win against Norwich next weekend.

And sucks to be in group B. I think Netherlands and Germany will go through, but it's hard to put off Portugal given all their immense talent and ability.

Posted by: Cefca 7th December 2011 21:41
Possible spoilers: highlight to view
Wow. Just wow.

I expected City to go out (albeit, not after beating Bayern 2-0 but United going out courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Basle? Mental. Happy and not at the same time - happy because it's United and City but not because I'm hoping it doesn't mess up our UEFA coefficient too much.

Posted by: sweetdude 10th December 2011 20:37
Lol Man U what on Earth were they doing. Sometimes they play like superstars and other times like play like an amateur dads team.

This El Clasico is perhaps the game I've been looking forward to the most. I still expect Barca to walk all over them. General opinion seems to give Real a solid chance of winning, which is ridiculous. The only reason Real are top of the league is because Barca have shuffled their squad a little too frequently over the season, their first team is still miles ahead of Real (and every other team in the world). If Real win this it'll be some kind of 1-0 or 2-1 but I expect it to be 0-3 to Barca.

25 minutes to go, can't wait! 500 million viewers across the world apparently.

Posted by: Cefca 21st December 2011 14:58
What a mad 24 hours. First Luis Suarez is found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra and banned for 8 games (he was also fined �40,000 but that's nothing). Now John Terry is being prosecuted (so it's not even the FA doing it but actual courts) for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.

I do agree with the Suarez punishment if he had been racist towards Evra but I'm still not sure what actual evidence there was against him. It can't just have been Evra's word, surely? Although the fine part of the punishment was pointless.

I'm not sure what to think of an actual court dealing with Terry, think it should have been dealt with within the game. And I'm unsure about the evidence again. I know there was that TV footage where someone (Cole I think) walked in front of the camera at an inconvinient time.

I agree that there's no place for racism anywhere in the world, nevermind just football, but at least with Suarez, they seem to have just gone on someone's word but maybe I'm wrong.

Posted by: Rangers51 21st December 2011 15:42
Quote (Cefca @ 21st December 2011 09:58)
I do agree with the Suarez punishment if he had been racist towards Evra but I'm still not sure what actual evidence there was against him. It can't just have been Evra's word, surely? Although the fine part of the punishment was pointless.

I'm actively trying not to talk too much about this, because it's hard to separate my fandom from the actual issue at hand, but it does seem like the FA are trying to make an example of Suarez despite not having conclusive evidence. He's a bit of an easy target, made more easy by his douchebaggery at Craven Cottage a couple weeks back, so this is an easy shot for the FA to take.

I feel that the only way this could really be resolved would be a public display of the evidence that led the FA to come to its judgement, but I also know that this too would be a bad precedent. For my part, though, I am thinking that the endgame of all of this is that the FA made the call to institute an eight-game ban knowing that Liverpool will appeal, and that this will allow the FA to back down to a three- or four-game ban. This will allow the FA to continue to say that they take a strong stand against racist epithets while not actually having to back up that their punishment was based on conclusive evidence.

That thinking obviously leads me to believe that the FA had a kangaroo court running here, but again, I can't back that up any more than either side involved can back up their claims conclusively. Just a gut feeling.

Getting the Metropolitan Police involved in the Terry allegation, though - wow. That's pretty hardcore. I hadn't had a chance to read about it yet, though I saw the headline on my Facebook feed earlier. I'll have to get around to that soon.

Edit
OK, and now the FA is saying if Suarez appeals, they could extend his ban, which means, if he appeals, they WILL extend his ban, if you ask me. I'm hoping that it no longer requires being a Liverpool fan to realize that he is being utterly railroaded, here, maybe?

Posted by: sweetdude 11th January 2012 11:21
Loving the fact that Suarez will almost surely be returning against Man Utd at Anfield. What a game that will be.

I'm a bit perplexed that Neil Warnock's been sacked. I think that's hugely unfair. Even if the owner has big ambitions for QPR they need to steady themselves in the league and Warnock would've been right for that. I understand the sense in bringing someone in for January so they can start to build their own team in the transfer window, but still I think Warnock could've edged them up the table with some new players. I really like the guy from his interviews and his column in the Independent, so it's a bit annoying for me that he's not in the league anymore.

On the flip side I'd trade 1000 Neil Warnocks for the return of Martin O'Neill. I have no idea what magic pixie fairy dust that man sprinkles but whatever he's doing is something incredible. Sunderland are nothing like the team they were two weeks before he joined. The next Newcastle v Sunderland derby should be really good to watch. I hope he gets them ahead of Villa before the end of the season. Lerner really screwed up when he lost him.

Who do we all think should replace Fabio Capello as England manager? At first the suggestion of Wenger was a bit silly, but I'm really warming to the idea. The whole England team plays in England and they'll all have universal respect for him, most of whom probably grew up with respect for him as kids. England have a lot of strength in their attack these days and will continue to do so with the likes of Jones, Wilshere, Carroll, Albrighton, Oxlade-Chamberlain and so on likely to be the future team. I think out of all the potential candidates Wenger is the right coach to get them playing the right kind of football. Whether he'd want to or not is a whole different story.

On a side-note, if anyone hasn't seen Paul Pogba playing yet you might want to look up some videos of him on YouTube. He's getting a lot of press recently and I can totally see why. He's like a cross between Yaya Toure and Christiano Ronaldo. Can't wait to see him in a first team somewhere. Man Utd would do very well to hold onto him.

Posted by: Rangers51 11th January 2012 13:25
I agree with just about everything you said in the first four paragraphs, to be honest.

Given his goal drought, I'd love to see Suarez come back and score a brace against United, but it probably won't happen. Really, though, I'm more worried about today. Liverpool aren't going anywhere in the league, so they could really use a good result against a City team that's even more depleted than Liverpool are to make the second leg a little less harrowing.

I, too, was surprised by the Warnock sacking. He already built half of a new team, and that new team wasn't doing half bad. Maybe he was being punished for signing Joey Barton, as most managers should be.

I hadn't really heard the Wenger for England talk as yet, but I kinda like it too. Arsenal have been pretty stagnant for a long time, despite having such ridiculous youth quality, but I don't know if moving to England would give him more or less pressure in his job. At Arsenal, people kind of write off trophyless seasons with a glib remark, but English fans feel that they're way overdue for something, anything. Not sure he'd really last.

I just saw in the news that there are reports that Liverpool might be interested in taking a �25MM loss on Carroll by selling him back to Newcastle in the window. I can't decide who would be more insane in that deal, frankly.

Finally, that was some match on Sunday, wasn't it? I didn't get to see it until Monday due to DVR problems, but wow. Granted, I have no love for United, but it sure seems like they really didn't come out of that match with anything to be proud of other than a win. They looked ridiculous in defense, even against ten men, and were frankly quite lucky to avoid a replay, in my opinion. Of course, now Mancini needs to spend in the transfer window to keep up, apparently. Could he be some elaborate Italian troll, looking to get the oil barons a Pyrrhic Premier League trophy?

Posted by: Rangers51 22nd January 2012 16:17
I saw all the goals in the Spurs/City match today, but didn't see the Balotelli controversy (aside from the practice of stutterstepping a PK, which, for my money should always be a yellow card. It's a disgrace). Until I get to see it myself at some point, can anyone tell me if he's likely to get a ban after review? City played Aguero the full 90, and Dzeko for like 70, and Silva for the whole 90, so if Balotelli can't play Wednesday I kind of feel like maybe Liverpool won't be embarrassed and might still have a chance to salvage just some part of their season.

And that's all I'll say about Liverpool. What an embarrassing team to support this year. sad.gif

Posted by: Stiltzkin 22nd January 2012 18:52
The Spurs/City match was a really good game to watch - proper end to end excitement.

As for the controversies - there were two. Balotelli and Lescott. I noticed the Balotelli one live - a collision of bodies, with both players losing balance and Balotelli accidentally catching Parker (who had fallen over) whilst off balance. So far, so accidental.

But, Balotelli then kicked out behind him in an almost-stamp and appeared to hit Parker in the head. It was a definite deliberate move rather than an accident. I can believe that Webb genuinely missed it, but there should certainly be a suspension on its way. It was a clear red, as bad as Karl Henry's from Yesterday.

As for Lescott, I missed this in-game, but the post-match review showed him deliberately chinning one of the Tottenham players whilst going up for a header.

City should have finished with 9 men, and Spurs genuinely deserved a result.

So you never know, Liverpool could be in with a shout (and as a United fan, I'll be swallowing pride and cheering them on!)

Posted by: sweetdude 22nd January 2012 22:18
That's exactly what I saw too. Great game but heartbreaking for Spurs. 9 man City sounds fair. Also Defoe was alright in his goal but really should've scored that second. Altogether I think a striker was all that was missing from Spurs' game, and maybe Van Der Vaart playing a little better. I liked Lescott saying he's getting goal of the month (sarcastically) after scoring by holding the ball between his legs and falling over the line.

Liverpool were always made for the big games. Even at their worst last season and the season before you could rely on them getting a draw. Especially with Gerrard back on penalties and free kicks. I'll go with 1-1.

Posted by: Rangers51 22nd January 2012 23:01
I still haven't seen the Lescott incident, but having now seen Balotelli's, that seems clear as day. Spurs really got the shaft today, and it really seems like City might have a very tired front line for Wednesday.

That said, I can't pick a winner for that match. I see it going to kicks after a 1-0 regular time to City, and after that, it's a crapshoot. I think I have to give the edge to City in a penalty shootout given a) Liverpool's woeful performance from the spot this year and b) Joe Hart's youth and extra reach.

Posted by: Cefca 23rd January 2012 20:48
Well Balotelli's been charged with violent conduct:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16693521.stm

He faces a minimum 4 game ban. Nothing will happen with Lescott apparently (I knew this would be the case) even thought his elbow/forearm smash was pretty blatant.


What I'm annoyed about though, is the Arsenal - United match. For once Arsenal put up a half decent fight but clearly Wenger doesn't like putting up a fight. I mean, sometimes he's a genius, but other times he just leaves me shaking my head in frustration. Taking off one of the only players actually troubling United's defenders (Oxlade-Chamberlain) and bringing on someone who has been inconsistent all season (Arshavin - and that's putting it lightly). Even van Persie questioned the decision and I think Wenger deserved the boos he got. Boos which were pretty much justified when Arshavin didn't even put up a fight and just let Valencia cut inside and create the winning goal (although the schoolboy defending didn't help).

Posted by: Stiltzkin 23rd January 2012 22:02
Yup, I saw that earlier too. Though, if he appeals he'll be able to play against Liverpool mid-week.

That was a daft move by Wenger. I won't complain, mind, but United were lucky to get a win.

Posted by: Cefca 23rd January 2012 22:33
Quote (Stiltzkin @ 23rd January 2012 22:02)
Yup, I saw that earlier too. Though, if he appeals he'll be able to play against Liverpool mid-week.

But then he could have a longer ban if the appeal is deemed frivilous, which IMO, it should be.

Quote
That was a daft move by Wenger. I won't complain, mind, but United were lucky to get a win.


Arsenal fans are already pretty much on the fence with Wenger, this certainly won't help matters.

Posted by: sweetdude 24th January 2012 17:57
Quote (Cefca @ 23rd January 2012 23:33)
Quote
That was a daft move by Wenger. I won't complain, mind, but United were lucky to get a win.


Arsenal fans are already pretty much on the fence with Wenger, this certainly won't help matters.

I think Man U were pretty good for their win. They were lucky because Arsenal missed their chances but still Utd could've put the game away on a few occasions, so for me it kind of balanced out. The first half was more or less one-sided.

I really like Arsenal and the way they play. Last season they were so close to winning the title. I think if I were a fan I'd be really frustrated that either Wenger or the board isn't replacing Fabregas or Nasri. There are a few top players around that could fit the bill and are up for potential transfers like Kaka, Gourcuff, Gotze or Hamsik. All the same I can't imagine who could replace Wenger. Arsenal are a club like any other so another manager could overhaul the team their way, e.g. AVB at Chelsea. I can't think of another manager that would be another Wenger.

Immediately, however, I don't know why he subbed off Ox. He says he doesn't need to explain his decision but still it was visible how much weaker Arsenal were afterwards, so yeah he doesn't need to but it would be a nice thing to do to give the fans some explanation. After all they're paying to see the games and buying the merchandise. As long as their isn't a fan outrage like Keen at Blackburn and the fans continue to support the team it's fine to be critical.

Coming back to Liverpool I can't believe some fans want rid of Dalgleish already. It's just stupid sometimes. Same goes for AVB at Chelsea. No teams have a right to top four or titles and of course it's good to get them but things change and teams have to go on what they have right now, not what they used to have or should have in the future. I think both of those managers have done alright. They're changing their teams to fit their style of football and once there's some consistency (might take 18 months) the rewards will start to come.

Unless you're Martin O'Neill in which case you can start winning everything right away because he's completely absurd.

Posted by: Cefca 30th January 2012 18:10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-1676092...-wales-16760925

So the inquest into Gary Speed's death has said that it might have been accidental. Excuse my bluntless, but how does that work? Did he trip and fall into a noose?

Posted by: Rangers51 30th January 2012 18:21
I was just about to say something about that in chat, but I didn't know if you were at your keyboard, heh.

I mean, there ARE ways that an accidental asphyxiation by hanging could happen, but yeah, it seems very odd indeed. You never can tell with a person who's not in their full faculties, of course, but it's still quite sad regardless.

In other news, here's my most recent Facebook status, from Saturday morning: "Does the City of Manchester have any more teams that they want to send to Anfield this week?"

Posted by: Cefca 30th January 2012 19:13
Quote (Rangers51 @ 30th January 2012 18:21)
I was just about to say something about that in chat, but I didn't know if you were at your keyboard, heh.

I mean, there ARE ways that an accidental asphyxiation by hanging could happen, but yeah, it seems very odd indeed. You never can tell with a person who's not in their full faculties, of course, but it's still quite sad regardless.

In other news, here's my most recent Facebook status, from Saturday morning: "Does the City of Manchester have any more teams that they want to send to Anfield this week?"

Hah, I'm probably not half the time. tongue.gif

I can only see it accidentally happening via autoerotic asphyxiation but I doubt that was the case. He must have had some intention to do it.


Posted by: Cefca 31st January 2012 20:44
Some nutjob has run onto the pitch and handcuffed himself to the goalposts in the Everton - Man City match...

Posted by: sweetdude 9th February 2012 13:00
Aye and there was a cat on the pitch in the Liverpool Spurs game. It's bananas out there.

Capello's resigned now finally. Bad situation for Redknapp but I reckon he'll take the job. He'd probably have taken it after the summer with Spurs back in the Champion's League, and right now I don't think they can finish the season below fourth place with any manager so it's not really an issue. He's got some good CL experience but I reckon that Spurs could get a really experienced CL manager in for next season which may be a bit of a blessing and favour them in the long run. So in some ways it's probably best all round; England will do better in the Euros and Spurs will maybe do better in the CL.

As for captaincy I don't think there's anyone other than Gerrard that could take it. Ferdinand is getting old and I wouldn't even have him in the first 11 ahead of Dawson, Jones, Upson, or dare I say it Terry. Gerrard was far and away England's best player in the World Cup. The only other name I've heard mentioned was Scott Parker which isn't a bad idea but doesn't have Gerrard's experience nor his respect from the team (I don't think). "He's scouse and he's f***ing hard."

Posted by: Rangers51 18th February 2012 19:22
Who's going to the unemployment office first: Wenger or Villas-Boas?

Posted by: Cefca 18th February 2012 20:14
Quote (Rangers51 @ 18th February 2012 19:22)
Who's going to the unemployment office first: Wenger or Villas-Boas?

It sure as hell won't be Wenger, he saves Arsenal's owners too much money whether he wins anything or not.

He won't go anytime soon unless he leaves of his own accord.

Posted by: Cefca 26th February 2012 22:23
Something that I've noticed quite often and just seen in again in the Arsenal - Spurs match (great game - can't remember the last low scoring Arsenal - Spurs derby) is that there often seems to be a connection between skill and diving.

You'd think it would be players making up for a lack of skill by diving but, more often than not, it's actually the opposite. A fair few of the worst divers also seem to be some of the best players in the world. Bale, Drogba (although not so much now, admittedly), C. Ronaldo, Gerrard, Nani. Even Messi, the best player in the world is guilty of it at times.

These players could get past almost any player with ease, why do they still feel the need to cheat?

Posted by: Rangers51 3rd March 2012 17:52
You know what I like about Liverpool being a completely anemic and useless offense?

Chelsea being worse.

Posted by: Cefca 3rd March 2012 21:03
Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd March 2012 17:52)
You know what I like about Liverpool being a completely anemic and useless offense?

I wouldn't say they're completely useless offensively...they're pretty good at conning penalties out of refs.

Posted by: Rangers51 3rd March 2012 21:35
Quote (Cefca @ 3rd March 2012 16:03)
Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd March 2012 17:52)
You know what I like about Liverpool being a completely anemic and useless offense?

I wouldn't say they're completely useless offensively...they're pretty good at conning penalties out of refs.

Ian Darke said after that happened, "any striker in the league that says they wouldn't have done the same dive is lying," and I think he's right. That said, unless Suarez starts converting chances, the distraction he forces upon the team will soon outweigh his considerable potential upside.

Posted by: Cefca 3rd March 2012 21:54
Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd March 2012 21:35)
Quote (Cefca @ 3rd March 2012 16:03)
Quote (Rangers51 @ 3rd March 2012 17:52)
You know what I like about Liverpool being a completely anemic and useless offense?

I wouldn't say they're completely useless offensively...they're pretty good at conning penalties out of refs.

Ian Darke said after that happened, "any striker in the league that says they wouldn't have done the same dive is lying," and I think he's right. That said, unless Suarez starts converting chances, the distraction he forces upon the team will soon outweigh his considerable potential upside.

Like my mum used to say (probably): if everyone went and jumped off a bridge, would you?

Just because any striker would have done it, doesn't make it any less of a dive. A dive is a dive is a dive.

(And, to be honest, I don't think any striker would have done it, just the more unscrupulous ones).

Posted by: sweetdude 3rd March 2012 21:57
Barring some kind of injury I have no idea why Bellamy wasn't playing that one til late on. He's exactly what they were missing, a bit of extra pace and a finisher. I understand that Dalgleish wants to improve his younger players but the balance wasn't right in that game.

Suarez' dive wasn't nearly the worst I've seen, actually it was one of the fairer dives if there is such a thing, but if I was an Arsenal fan I'd be a bit frustrated after Bale's dive the other week. Still, two huge wins is a lot to be chuffed about.

I am seriously contemplating a bet for an Arsenal win in the tie with AC Milan. They definitely can do it but whether they will or not I'm not sure. Wenger said they have a 2-5% chance I think it was. Lol. C'mon Arsenal! Cefca do you think it's possible? You'll know them a lot more than I do.

Posted by: Cefca 4th March 2012 00:17
Quote (sweetdude @ 3rd March 2012 21:57)
I am seriously contemplating a bet for an Arsenal win in the tie with AC Milan. They definitely can do it but whether they will or not I'm not sure. Wenger said they have a 2-5% chance I think it was. Lol. C'mon Arsenal! Cefca do you think it's possible? You'll know them a lot more than I do.

It's possible but I can't see it happening. Even if they managed to score at least 4 goals, I can't see Arsenal keeping a clean sheet. If they had scored an away goal in the first leg then I'd be giving them a much better chance.

I'm predicting a 2-1 win for Arsenal.

Posted by: Cefca 6th March 2012 21:41
Well I take my hat off to Arsenal. This is the best run of form I've seen from them in ages and a fantastic performance tonight. I'm proud of them and am glad they went out with such a fight.

Couldn't have asked for more from them tonight, just leaves you thinking what they could have done had they played like that in the first leg.

I just hope we can keep up with this run of form and take 3rd spot in the league off spurs.

Posted by: sweetdude 15th March 2012 00:47
Great game from Arsenal against Milan it was definitely one to watch. Really, really close to taking it to extra time. Well done all round I think. Probably would go through if they hadn't utterly screwed up the first leg. Speaking of which...

Chelsea, mate, what a game. That was probably the best game I've seen this season. It was so close in every aspect (except possession). Napoli looked like they could score when they wanted to for a lot of the game; 4-1 was not down to their attack or midfield it was a poor defence and Chelsea pressurising it as much as possible. The thing that I liked the most was seeing the Chelsea I'm familiar with. They played mostly high balls and were aggressive in attack and defence. Under AVB they were playing it along the ground and trying to score 'nice' goals. Here they were showing why they used to be able to beat a lot of the best teams in Europe, and Napoli certainly are one of the best right now. Chelsea were totally dominant in the air which gave them both an attacking option on the cross or high ball but also a really clear path from defence to attack. Very, very hard to play against. That's what they used to do.

I'm really looking forward to the draw for the quarter-final. Real v Barca would obviously be an unreal tie to watch and it was give a chance for other teams to get further. I'm really interested in how far Milan can go as well so a Bayern v Milan draw would also be excellent. Chelsea are familiar to me again and I really like Di Matteo so I'm hoping for them to keep going. I doubt they can get further than the semis but a draw against APOEL, Benfica or Marseille in the quarters would probably be alright to see them through barring some kind of mass screw up or injury epidemic. Don't get me wrong though I think if Chelsea do beat any of those three it'll be close.

As usual, anyone but Barca to win.

Posted by: Rangers51 15th March 2012 01:17
I stopped watching the Chelsea match today at halftime, as I was off supporting my local club at an autograph session ( http://t.co/GGKvsK5Q ). I have every intention of seeing it whenever I can on replay tomorrow as long as I can watch it alongside CoNCAA games.

What a crazy turnaround.

Also, in other news, Liverpool can score against a half-strength Everton! Wooooooow.

Posted by: Cefca 17th March 2012 19:13
Horrible day for football. Fabrice Muamba collapsed during the Bolton - Spurs FA Cup game. Paramedics were performing CPR and using a defibrilator on the pitch for 5 or 10 minutes before they stretchered him off, still performing CPR on him.

He's been rushed to hospital but it's not looking good at all - they were still trying to revive him on the way.

I really hope he pulls through.

Posted by: sweetdude 17th March 2012 19:34
Quote (Cefca @ 17th March 2012 20:13)
Horrible day for football. Fabrice Muamba collapsed during the Bolton - Spurs FA Cup game. Paramedics were performing CPR and using a defibrilator on the pitch for 5 or 10 minutes before they stretchered him off, still performing CPR on him.

He's been rushed to hospital but it's not looking good at all - they were still trying to revive him on the way.

I really hope he pulls through.

I saw it as it happened. Really distressing. It looked like he was trying to breathe and get up and then collapsed. Fuck. I'm still a bit shaken to be honest. Credit to Howard Webb and the fans for not making it any worse. When they were chanting his name it was pretty moving.

Seriously hope he makes it. He's the same age as I am.

Posted by: Rangers51 19th March 2012 19:18
My family's in town, so while I watched the early FA Cup match on Saturday, I left to go out before the Spurs/Bolton match started. Having read all about it repeatedly since, I'm quite glad I wasn't around to see it. Seems very likely that he will never play football again, which breaks my heart, but it also seems like maybe he just might pull through, which is wonderful news.

It's also a little scary as I think about going back out on the pitch again myself in a few weeks at the ripe old age of 32.

In happier news, my wife treated me to tickets to the Sporting Kansas City home opener, two rows up behind one of the corner flags. We were even on TV during one of the goal celebrations, at least in our local market and probably back in Boston too (as we were playing against the New England team). It was great to watch the team come out and dominate and have a perfect six points early in the season.

Posted by: Cefca 19th March 2012 22:42
Quote (Rangers51 @ 19th March 2012 19:18)
My family's in town, so while I watched the early FA Cup match on Saturday, I left to go out before the Spurs/Bolton match started. Having read all about it repeatedly since, I'm quite glad I wasn't around to see it. Seems very likely that he will never play football again, which breaks my heart, but it also seems like maybe he just might pull through, which is wonderful news.

It's looking good at the moment, apparently he's breathing by himself now and he's been awake and said some words in French and English. It's a good sign and I hope he hopefully recovers.

Posted by: sweetdude 25th March 2012 21:59
Watched the Old Firm today. 3-2 with 3 red cards, standard. Rangers were really good for their win and I reckon they've made a lot of fans happy. I'm still not sure why Stokes doesn't play v Rangers. He started the game but was subbed off after the first red card (20-odd minutes in). I get why Lennon plays Samaras, he's good defending in the air on set pieces. Hooper was injured but Stokes really should've been on for longer. Play Stokes up alone, bring Samaras onto the midfield wing and sub off Wanyama for a defender. (Wanyama's good but needs experience of these games). It was good seeing McCulloch and Wallace playing well. Not all the best Scottish players are in England. smile.gif

Posted by: Rangers51 9th April 2012 14:17
There are Scottish players in England? Are they in prison?

I kid, I kid. smile.gif

I've been watching more American soccer lately than usual, and I have to admit part of that is because my club is on their best start ever, 100% through five games, without allowing so much as a SOG in the last 245 minutes of play (including Saturday against Los Angeles, who sport Robbie Keane and US national Edson Buddle up top, as well as Landon Donovan and currently injured Beckham in the midfield). Also, for my birthday my wife got me tickets to five games, starting this coming weekend.

In terms of the BPL, it's over. I was never going to be happy with the outcome of this season from day one, and indeed I won't be, but it's absolutely shocking just how poor City have become. I want to say that part of that started when Liverpool knocked them out of the Carling Cup - clearly the Reds broke their spirit, right? smile.gif At this point, I'll just be watching games in the hopes that Newcastle or Arsenal can leave Chelsea out of the UCL, starting with the one that's on as I type this.

I'm catching up on Liverpool's last two league matches on my DVR. I watched most of last weekend's Villa match live and just had to watch the last bit today, and it remains absolutely shocking just how unlucky and unclinical they are in front of goal. There is no reason that they should not still be fighting for a CL spot; there are so many games in which they've been genuinely dominant and just can't put the ball in the net. I've only seen the first twenty minutes of the ridiculous Newcastle match from the week before, but from what I've seen so far, Carroll seems to maybe finally be waking up just a touch (aside from his ridiculous dive in the box).

Even the UCL is bland. The only interesting thing that could happen is that Bayern might yet make the final.

Posted by: l)arkShadow 3rd May 2012 16:15
I feel like a Bayern-Chelsea final is going to be alot more exciting than if it were El Clasico. I've seen over 5 El Clasico's in the past year, and it gets a little tiring after awhile. Anyway, it's gonna be an interesting final, seeing how both teams' back fours are for the most part, injured or suspended. Hopefully it'll be a huge goalfest!

And it looks like Torres is finally getting his confidence back. Only took a year and a half... Let's see him get back to his old self.

P.S. goal of the season? demba cisse tearing it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fij90mrItMg&feature=related

Posted by: Rangers51 16th May 2012 14:21
Last Sunday was Mother's Day here in the States, and as such my wife and I traveled to where we grew up and our families live to celebrate her first Mother's Day. Because of that, I not only had a baby to contend with during the last matchday in the BPL, but I also had my parents buzzing about and I was unfamiliar with where each channel was on the TV, so I needed to settle mainly on just one game to watch.

Unwisely, I chose to watch Liverpool until Swansea scored, keeping tabs on the other games only on the browser on my phone. If you're paying attention, you'll know that stopping my viewing after Swansea's goal meant that I missed any connection to the craziest few minutes of soccer since, possibly, ever.

Just yesterday I finally got to watch the City/Rangers match, and, wow. It's really pretty much impossible to explain just how crazy that was to anyone who doesn't understand how European soccer works, and that's a shame - the last half hour of that match puts to shame any do-or-die moment I've ever seen in American sport. Lescott's awful pass to Cisse, Barton's typical-yet-atypical freakout, the massive pressure put on by City leading to first Dzeko's, then Aguero's goals, and let's not forget the side-by-side views from the Etihad and the Stadium of Light as first one Manchester team, then the other, then back to the first had their fingers around the cup.

I'm actually a little breathless just typing about it right now.

All I can hope for now to end this club season is that Munich destroy Chelsea on Saturday. I don't care about Munich one way or another. But I don't want Chelsea in the UCL next year, and I don't want to see Torres or Miereles' hands around that cup, to say nothing of the rest of them.

Posted by: Rangers51 19th May 2012 21:33
And just when I thought that the club football season couldn't get any more disappointing, it went and did so. I just had to turn off the television, I can't bear to see Chelsea getting winners' medals.

Is it September yet? Maybe at least Sporting Kansas City can turn their recent poor form around later this evening.

Posted by: Stiltzkin 26th May 2012 22:42
Quote (Rangers51 @ 19th May 2012 22:33)
And just when I thought that the club football season couldn't get any more disappointing, it went and did so. I just had to turn off the television, I can't bear to see Chelsea getting winners' medals.

Is it September yet? Maybe at least Sporting Kansas City can turn their recent poor form around later this evening.

If it was possible to like this post, by God I would. I was also hoping that Blackpool would beat West Ham for promotion (because I love seeing Ian Holloway give interviews), so that Saturday was even more disappointing for me.

Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)