Soccer Thread 2016-17

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Critch

Real Madrid v Barcelona lived up to the hype this afternoon. What a game.

Agree, one of the best "el clasico" that I have watched in years.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Hoffenheim qualifies for Europe at least, but would much prefer Champions League, so hope the stretch treats them well.

They're nine up with four to play, it'd take some doing to not at least finish fourth. And they're only one point back of Dortmund for the guaranteed group stage spot.

[MIJB#19]

The Amsterdam Arena will be renamed in the near future, to be named after Johan Cruijff.

[sovereignstar v2]

Joey Joey Joey.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[Easy Mac]

With all the anger issues, gambling, boozing and drugs, how did Barton even function as a professional athlete, let alone find time to attend games.

[miami_fan]

Betting Charges: My Statement | Joey Barton

[CrescentMoonie]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

With all the anger issues, gambling, boozing and drugs, how did Barton even function as a professional athlete, let alone find time to attend games.

Seems like a phenomenal example of the trope "million dollar body, ten cent brain."

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by CrescentMoonie

Seems like a phenomenal example of the trope "million dollar body, ten cent brain."

Not really defending the guy, but Barton hardly has a ten cent brain. It seems a bit more complicated than that. If that piece is to be believed, he may make really bad decisions, but is curiously savvy on some things. Strange, complicated character...

[sovereignstar v2]

Big shout out to Sony for adding a scores feature to Playstation Vue. After recording the much anticipated derby I was able to browse to the recording and see the fucking score and 'Final' right underneath it. What ad wizard came up with that fucking shit?

[miami_fan]

I have never seen that infraction in a match that involved adults. Two kick penalty kick.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

You're missing a HUGE story here - bear in mind that "RB Leipzig" are a hugely controversial club, they've dodged around several restrictions in the German rules in order to get to where they are, they're sponsored by Red Bull hence "RB" - using a sponsor in a club name isn't allowed so they used a technicality to imply the Red Bull rather than stating it, they've also circumvented the democratic aspect of ownership/steering of German clubs by pricing normal fans out of the voting system for such things.

As such while it'd be a huge achievement, they're not the 'minnows' that your original statement implies ... its more akin to Chelsea when they were taken over and instantly catapulted to contenders.

PS - Finally its still early in the season and their fixtures in December look tough to me on paper (esp. away against Bayern (2nd) and home against Hertha (3rd) then Frankfurt (4th) ... all back to back matches), if they're still in the top slot come January then I'll be looking at them more seriously as true contenders ..

Salzburg seal Austrian title to put RB Leipzig's Champions League place in doubt - ESPN FC

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Salzburg seal Austrian title to put RB Leipzig's Champions League place in doubt - ESPN FC

Or maybe Red Bull has the final say in this matter and prefers to drop RB Salzburg instead? Step-kid Leipzig will generate a dozen times more income in the group stage alone than first-born Salzburg will if they miraculously manage to survive a couple of rounds.

The whole sponsor name in team name thing is complete nonsense, everybody knows RB stands for Red Bull. Heck, it's much more obvious than the P of PSV (or PSV Eindhoven as they call it abroad) standing for Philips. But I guess they don't bother there because PSV is 41 years older than the UEFA itself.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I have never seen that infraction in a match that involved adults. Two kick penalty kick.

Also not sure I've ever seen a penalty given for the GK tripping a forward with his head like Guzan did for Middlesbrough against Southampton 😂😂😂

[whomario]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Or maybe Red Bull has the final say in this matter and prefers to drop RB Salzburg instead? Step-kid Leipzig will generate a dozen times more income in the group stage alone than first-born Salzburg will if they miraculously manage to survive a couple of rounds.

The whole sponsor name in team name thing is complete nonsense, everybody knows RB stands for Red Bull. Heck, it's much more obvious than the P of PSV (or PSV Eindhoven as they call it abroad) standing for Philips. But I guess they don't bother there because PSV is 41 years older than the UEFA itself.

I think there is actually a rule basically saying that Red Bull does not have the choice but if UEFA sees it as a violation, Salzburg will be in due to being higher placed in their league campaign.

Also, i kinda doubt Phillips has the same influence in affairs as Red Bull has ...

[Young Drachma]

Swans hang out to live another day. Hoffenheim win in rousing fashion and are now level with BVB for 3rd on points.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by whomario

I think there is actually a rule basically saying that Red Bull does not have the choice but if UEFA sees it as a violation, Salzburg will be in due to being higher placed in their league campaign.

Then it's tough luck for RB Leipzig, because everybody knows that it's in violation of UEFA rules.

Originally Posted by whomario

Also, i kinda doubt Phillips has the same influence in affairs as Red Bull has ...

My point is that sponsor names in team names are not unique. I find it silly that they made an exception specifically for Red Bull. Of course, the UEFA does keep on maligning PSV's stadium name for the same reasons they dislike calling RB as it is.

[ISiddiqui]

HOORAY FA!!

Diving bans: Football Association approves retrospective action - BBC Sport

Players who dive in English football will face bans from next season under new Football Association regulations.

Under the new rules, passed by the governing body at its annual general meeting on Thursday, a panel will review footage each Monday looking for cases of simulation.

Any player unanimously found guilty of diving would be given a suspension.

[sovereignstar v2]

Think I saw more cards given out for situations where the player did not dive and this won't help that.

[Critch]

Moyes resigned from Sunderland
Allardyce resigns from Crystal Palace
Marco Silva leaving Hull (looks like he's going to Porto)
Mazzarri out from Watford.

That's 20% of last week's EPL managers gone in a week.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Critch

Moyes resigned from Sunderland
Allardyce resigns from Crystal Palace
Marco Silva leaving Hull (looks like he's going to Porto)
Mazzarri out from Watford.

That's 20% of last week's EPL managers gone in a week.

Big Sam back to Sunderland?

[Chief Rum]

And Boro sacked Karanka in March, not that it did any good.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Critch

Moyes resigned from Sunderland
Allardyce resigns from Crystal Palace
Marco Silva leaving Hull (looks like he's going to Porto)
Mazzarri out from Watford.

That's 20% of last week's EPL managers gone in a week.

Apparently Sam wanted to give Defoe 6 million signing bonus and 135k a week wages. Not sure Palace could afford that. Oh well, another manager quitting in the off season. Such is life

[Critch]

Defoe is off to Bournemouth instead. I thought 65k a week and a 3 year contract was crazy enough for a 34 year old (35 in October) striker.

I'm hoping Big Sam is going to Arsenal, just to shake everything up a bit. Maybe China?

[sovereignstar v2]

Forgot to congratulate MUFC last night.

[sovereignstar v2]

Confirmed City have signed Bernardo Silva from Monaco. :boner:

Can't wait to watch him at the Confederations Cup!

[Critch]

SKA-Khabarovsk promoted to the Russian Premier Division for the first time ever today. Khabarovsk is in the far east of Russia, just about as far east as you can go in Russia, nearly 4000 miles from Moscow.

The shortest journey for them next year will be FC Ural Yekaterinburg, nearly 3000 miles and 5 time zones away. Fingers crossed they dont qualify for Europe any time soon.

[Critch]

Two more years for Wenger. I'm not an Arsenal fan, but I'm glad he's staying. And not in a "Agent Wenger can really destroy them now" kind of style, just that he's earned it.

Tuchel out at Dortmund. Finishing third in a two-horse race doesnt cut it, I guess.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Critch

Tuchel out at Dortmund. Finishing third in a two-horse race doesnt cut it, I guess.

nothing (well, little) to do with that. Everybody knew it'd be a tad rocky after loosing 3 of their top 5 players (and another starting out injured in Reus). Apparently there have been major clashes behind the scenes throughout his time here, with the scouting team, management and later on the old guard in the squad.

[AlexB]

One of the best half hours of football I've seen for a long time. Very encouraging start to the Champions League final

[MrBug708]

That second yellow on cuadrado was why people hate soccer.

[miami_fan]

Two match retroactive ban for Ramos, right?

[sovereignstar v2]

Ramos is right up there at the top of the list of most disgusting footballers.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

That second yellow on cuadrado was why people hate soccer.

+1

No need.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by AlexB

One of the best half hours of football I've seen for a long time. Very encouraging start to the Champions League final

Unfortunately the second half did not match the first in terms of competitiveness.

And Ramos...GTFOH...

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

That second yellow on cuadrado was why people hate soccer.

That's what people (normally casual American fans) like to point their finger at, but Americans don't like soccer because they don't understand it and think it's boring. It's really as simple as that. Nobody likes the shit that Ramos pulled and that includes fans from all over the world. Yet, they don't hate soccer.

[MrBug708]

Claiming it's boring is an excuse. Soccer is less boring than baseball yet people watch baseball way more in the United States. Today's game was exciting and most of them will just tune out because of plays like that where a guy cant even play in the game anynore because of what was pulled.

[sovereignstar v2]

Most Americans aren't tuning in and don't even know that sort of stuff happens. It turns off some casual fans that can't help from bashing the sport and it will happen on this board 12 months from now.

[sovereignstar v2]

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

That's what people (normally casual American fans) like to point their finger at, but Americans don't like soccer because they don't understand it and think it's boring. It's really as simple as that. Nobody likes the shit that Ramos pulled and that includes fans from all over the world. Yet, they don't hate soccer.

I'm a casual American fan. That kind of shit is part of the reason I don't watch it more. The other is the huge imbalance between the top teams and everyone else.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Claiming it's boring is an excuse. Soccer is less boring than baseball yet people watch baseball way more in the United States.

Umm, no.

Outdoor soccer -- generically speaking, pick a match at random from however many are available on TV in a given week -- is like that old line about police work. Brief moments of excitement surrounded by hours of tedium.

Top-tier matchups tend to be a little better than that at least.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Umm, no.

Outdoor soccer -- generically speaking, pick a match at random from however many are available on TV in a given week -- is like that old line about police work. Brief moments of excitement surrounded by hours of tedium.

Top-tier matchups tend to be a little better than that at least.

Soccer is like hockey for me, it translates much better live, even though I also enjoy it on TV. There is nothing like the in person atmosphere of being at a big match in any sport.

[PilotMan]

Tim Howard, just made 2 more insane stops. This last one was literal fingertips.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Umm, no.

Outdoor soccer -- generically speaking, pick a match at random from however many are available on TV in a given week -- is like that old line about police work. Brief moments of excitement surrounded by hours of tedium.

Top-tier matchups tend to be a little better than that at least.

Eh, some people love watching groundouts to second and fly balls to left. I enjoy both sports. The lack of rules in soccer make it easy to understand.

Tedious would be something like NASCAR, not soccer.

[MIJB#19]

What to me was wrong about this Champions League final is that Real Madrid vs Juventus is a matchup that stands for all that's wrong in soccer: one team has been guilty of making illegal transfers and the other for bribing their way to victory. Sergio Ramos' unsportsmanship was just the icing on the cake. But eventually I shrugged it away, that game was watchable every now or then, plus there was nothing else on tv.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Umm, no.

Outdoor soccer -- generically speaking, pick a match at random from however many are available on TV in a given week -- is like that old line about police work. Brief moments of excitement surrounded by hours of tedium.

Top-tier matchups tend to be a little better than that at least.

I believe you just described baseball there...

[Critch]

Former Newcastle United midfielder Check Tiote has died. He'd been playing in China since the start of this year and suffered a heart attack in training, only 30 years old.

[miami_fan]

A positive Millwall fighting story. And yes, take it with every condiment you feel is required. I like his version of events.


London attack: Football fan shouted 'F*** you, I’m Millwall' and took on knife-wielding terrorists with his bare fists | The Independent

[sovereignstar v2]

I don't like to post everyday rumors over here, but it's really starting to look like Alexis to City is on.

[RainMaker]

Saudi Arabia football team fail to line up for minute's silence in honour of London terror attack victimsÂ*

[ISiddiqui]

So part of me is like oh that's crappy, but part of me is also like... wait, did they do a minute of silence for the victims of the terror attack in Kabul and Tehran last week that killed far more people? I know that Muslim soccer players/fans in the past have been miffed because they feel that no one cares about the victims of terrorism who are Muslim.