Soccer Thread 2012-13

[DaddyTorgo]

Holden's Long Road Back - NYTimes.com

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

why wasn't there more interest in berbatov? 6 mil (to fulham of all places) seems nuts. attitude?

Age more than attitude I think - he's always been a fairly professional player, but he's not a spring chicken any more (he's what 31 now) and was only a bit player the last season or so with Utd (admittedly one scoring 1 in 2 games ) so was seen largely as a 'risk' because no one knew whether he still 'had it' or could handle the pace of a full season still ... oh and his rumoured 60k/week pay packet probably had some say in it also

[AlexB]

Very rarely do I see something on a football field that makes me say "No way" in wonder and awe, but check out Zlatan Ibrahmovic's 4th goal against England tonight. Unbelievable goal.

[Grover]

Best goal I have ever, ever, ever seen.

There are no words.

[JetsIn06]

[ISiddiqui]

[whomario]

awesome Guy has his flaws, but surely one the most uniquely talented players ever.

another vid with swedish commentary, love the giddy anticipation when it becomes aparent what he´ll try and then the explosion of joy :



Sweden kind of riding high, first the 4:4 (after being down 0:4 on the road) against Germany, now this.

[bhlloy]

That's the best goal ever. The only thing that comes close for me is Roberto Carlos, but that was a dead ball. Absolutely insane.

[sovereignstar v2]

Would the poster that says Zlatan is overrated please stand up?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Very rarely do I see something on a football field that makes me say "No way" in wonder and awe, but check out Zlatan Ibrahmovic's 4th goal against England tonight. Unbelievable goal.

I'm required to forever hold a grudge against him for abandoning Juve like a pussy little bitch when the going got rough.

But yes - even I can admit that was a crazy goal.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm required to forever hold a grudge against him for abandoning Juve like a pussy little bitch when the going got rough.

Match fixing + Serie B = GTFO

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Match fixing + Serie B = GTFO

Overblown match fixing conviction (Inter did the same shit and didn't get hit nearly as hard and actually benefited from it - WTF is that) + 49 game unbeaten streak + 30 sui campo = I can't hear you

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

That's the best goal ever. The only thing that comes close for me is Roberto Carlos, but that was a dead ball. Absolutely insane.

Fantastic stuff ...

(also good experience for Englands young players tonight - nice to see some fresh faces on the pitch )

[miami_fan]

God I feel sorry for the kid that tries that shot this weekend in the youth leagues

[whomario]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

God I feel sorry for the kid that tries that shot this weekend in the youth leagues

My cousin coaches a U16 team and is pondering to install a "no bycicle kick" rule where every bycicle kick results in a series of Friday Night Lights style wind sprint up a hill behind the pitch

[AlexB]

Edgar Davids (Dutch legend, played for Ajax, Milan, Inter, Barca, Spurs) was sent off for fouling substitute James Beattie (total transfer fees £14.5 million) tonight

Which giants were playing each other for this to happen? Barnet v. Accrington Stanley!

[bulletsponge]

was that league 2 or blue square?

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

was that league 2 or blue square?

League 2

[Big Fo]

Adebayor's stupid tackle ruined what could have been a fun derby this morning.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Adebayor's stupid tackle ruined what could have been a fun derby this morning.

Depends on your perspective. A truly despicable person and human being was sent off and our arch rivals went up again and still lost 5-2. I think it was pretty good.

My only regret would have been if it were a questionable call. There was no question that was a straight red.

So, to summarize, scumbag scores and taunts, scumbag acts like the scumbag he is and gets sent off, and Arsenal get a much needed win and thrash 10 man Spurs because scumbag acted like a scumbag.

I'm good.

[Big Fo]

It was a rare occasion where I could watch an EPL game between two good teams and be mostly neutral so the early red card was disappointing. But as you say, Adebayor had to go for that "tackle," it was ridiculous.

[Critch]

Spurs next 4 games are two London derbies (West Ham and Fulham), Liverpool and Everton. Wonder what odds you can get on AVB not making it to Xmas.

Looks like Mark Hughes will beat him in the race to be first EPL manager sacked though.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Edgar Davids (Dutch legend, played for Ajax, Milan, Inter, Barca, Spurs) was sent off for fouling substitute James Beattie (total transfer fees £14.5 million) tonight

Which giants were playing each other for this to happen? Barnet v. Accrington Stanley!

He also played (and won 3 Scudetto) for Juventus.

[SirFozzie]

West Brom for the Champions League!

(yes, I know its still early in the season, but after a 2-1 win over Chelsea, WBA are fourth in the EPL!)

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Depends on your perspective. A truly despicable person and human being was sent off and our arch rivals went up again and still lost 5-2. I think it was pretty good.

My only regret would have been if it were a questionable call. There was no question that was a straight red.

So, to summarize, scumbag scores and taunts, scumbag acts like the scumbag he is and gets sent off, and Arsenal get a much needed win and thrash 10 man Spurs because scumbag acted like a scumbag.

I'm good.

[BillyNYC]

Strange time to be a Chelsea fan...

Last year, the team was boring, sorely lacking in creativity, defensive-minded to a fault, decidedly opportunistic (or lucky, if you wish)...and won 2 big trophies.

Now, they're able to possess the ball, have a plethora of creative midfielders, take more chances on defense, are thoroughly more fun to watch...and are struggling.

[Katon]

Actually, we're doing better in the league than last year - we're pretty clearly the third-best team in the league, whereas last year we finished sixth, and would have finished fourth at absolute best even if we hadn't punted the league once we reached the CL semis.

The real problem is that we're halfway through a major squad overhaul. We signed a ton of new attacking midfielders this summer, and they're looking good, but we have no depth at CM and up front we've been giving Torres a chance to work with the new midfield which he's almost completely not taken. With better finishing, we'd have buried Liverpool and probably West Brom too. (We'd also have beaten Liverpool if the ref called Suarez for an obvious shove on Ramires, but we missed far too many sitters for that to be a valid excuse)

[sovereignstar v2]

Boom! Great performance by Norwich.

[whomario]

Messi just scored his 78th goal of 2012 (competitive matches only). Just insane numbers he´s putting up the last couple seasons.

[law90026]

Great result for Arsenal and so pleased that Adebayor was a douche as always.

[DaddyTorgo]

Juventus: 3
Last Year's European Champions: 0

edit: duh silly me and my dvr. This was the leg in Turin. I started watching the wrong one and got my mind mixed up.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Juventus: 3
Last Year's European Champions: 0

from Stamford Bridge

Might want to watch that match again. It was in Italy.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Might want to watch that match again. It was in Italy.

Duh whoops - silly me. I knew that. I was looking at the old match on my DVR and mixed up which one I had started watching and didn't connect the dots for a couple minutes. Heh.

[miami_fan]

Man he did not even get a chance to try to win the Club World Cup.

Chelsea confirm Roberto Di Matteo departure - ESPN FC

[Big Fo]

Read these two on another board, rather impressive imo:

Chelsea are about to have the same amount of managers in 10 years that Man Utd have had since 1937

Chelsea have spent £84m since 2004 on compensation for managers, more than Everton's net spend since the Premier League began

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Man he did not even get a chance to try to win the Club World Cup.

Chelsea confirm Roberto Di Matteo departure - ESPN FC

Crazy. Guess this way he didn't even have to board the plane back to London and could just stay in Italy though hmm?

Nice that my boys were the immediate cause. Maybe this causes more chaos in the ranks and they end up drawing Nordsjland (spelling) and it helps ease our passage into the Knockout stages.

[miami_fan]

Chelsea canned AVB to bring in Di Matteo, then canned him to bring in.......Rafa Benitez?

[whomario]

Dortmund up 3:0 in Amsterdam


anybody seen the disgraceful scenes at the Shakhtar game yesterday ? Basically Shakhtar played the ball to the Nordsjaelland goalie for fair play from a "referees ball", only Adriano had different ideas, intercepted the ball and then scored ... And then they first seem to let Nordjaeland score one back, only to then tackle the player.

What a shameful display ...

[Big Fo]

Milan's Philippe Mexes must have been inspired by Zlatan.

UNBELIEVABLE! Philippe Mexes' out-of-this-world overhead-kick (AC Milan) v Anderlecht | Football goal videos, highlights & clips - 101GG

[Crapshoot]

Aha, joyous to see City out.

[SirFozzie]

And Man City are out of the Champions League and will need a result against Borussia Dortmund to avoid crashing out of Europe entirely.

[Big Fo]

Some group winner is in for a rough draw with Real Madrid being one of the second place finishers.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Chelsea canned AVB to bring in Di Matteo, then canned him to bring in.......Rafa Benitez?

No idea what they're thinking. This slump has been about 60% down to dubious pre-season squad construction (no CM depth, Torres as undisputed #1 striker), 20% poor refereeing decisions, and maybe 20% genuinely poor tactics. I'll be surprised if Benitez gets significantly more out of the current squad.

[SirFozzie]

Looks like Chelsea are also in deep doodoo as the FA has already cleared Clattenberg out of the racial slur charge, and charged Jon Obi Mikel of Chelsea.

I wouldn't expect any 50/50 calls for the next bit as the refs are demanding Chelsea apologize and make up for the pay that Clattenberg missed as a result of the charge by Chelsea

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20454854

[Katon]

The FA report also says that Chelsea were acting in good faith and completely correct to ask for an investigation, so I'm not sure how much trouble the club's really in. We haven't gotten many 50-50 calls the last couple of weeks anyway, and Mikel's behavior after the match would resulted in a charge even if Clattenberg had used the language Mikel thought he had. The FA has to crack down on that sort of behavior towards referees, no matter what the provocation.

Hope Mikel isn't suspended for too long, though - if Benitez can get our central midfield to look functional without him or Lampard, I'll take back half the grumpy remarks I've made about the managerial change.

[AlexB]

The report should also say that Chelsea shouldhave informed the FA privately rather than publicly via the media. That's why they should compensate Clattenberg: the damage that might have already been done to his reputation could have been avoided, or least not propogated, by Chelsea

Despicable attitude at that club: they deserve everything negative they get

[Katon]

Yes, it would have been better if the club had been able to keep this completely quiet until the accusation had been thoroughly investigated. But was that a realistic option? Chelsea aren't exactly the most leak-proof club on the planet, and Mikel's temper tantrum after the match was probably impossible to hide, which means a lot of people would be wondering what pissed him off so badly. Better to have a short statement saying "there's an investigation, we won't comment further til it's done" than to have things come out piecemeal and distorted - especially after the criticism the club had suffered for not publicizing the details of John Terry's internal punishment.

Do you think Man U were behaving despicably in the Suarez/Evra incident by letting that become public knowledge before Suarez had been found guilty?

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Katon

Mikel's temper tantrum after the match was probably impossible to hide, which means a lot of people would be wondering what pissed him off so badly.

Given the timing and location of Mikel's tantrum, there must have been journalists around who witnessed something, and once that happens it is inevitable that the story is going public.

[miami_fan]

QPR has decided that Mark Hughes does not match their ambition.

[whomario]

And Brazil fired Menezes, aparently it´s that time of the year ...