2006-07 Soccer Thread

[cthomer5000]

Champions League Draw

Porto v Chelsea
Celtic v Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal
Lille v Manchester United
Roma v Lyon
Barcelona v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
Internazionale v Valencia


Pretty "meh" draw for me personally. Liverpool got hit with the wammy, and I guess the Mourinho @ Porto storyline is pretty big... but outside of that none of those matchups grab me.

[3ric]

Real vs Bayern is pretty big, two previous winners and the 17th time those two will meet in European cup competitions.

[cthomer5000]

Out of the UEFA matchups, Werder Breman/Ajax looks to be the headliner.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Out of the UEFA matchups, Werder Breman/Ajax looks to be the headliner.

Yeah. Bremen is doing really well this season in Germany, while Ajax is the biggest name in this competition. AEK Athena - Paris SG and Feyenoord - Tottenham are pretty interesting too. For the round of 16, Braga/Parma vs. Feyenoord/Tottenham, AEK/PSG vs. Benfica/Dinamo Bucuresti and Spartak Moscow/Celta vs. Werder/Ajax look interesting. But really, aside from Zulte-Waregem and the two Israeli sides, the UEFA Cup is loaded with good to very good teams.

[VPI97]

Wow. Fantastic effort from West Ham as they take down Man U. Great game.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by VPI97

Wow. Fantastic effort from West Ham as they take down Man U. Great game.

Hrm. Impressive. Conflicting thoughts from me, an Arse fan:

1. Yes! I'm no big fan of West Ham but, y'know, any humility offered to SAF is a GoodThing[tm].
2. Fuck! These are the extraordinarily RARE days when I WANT ManU to win (just a little). Just to have Mourinho STFU.
3. Damn, this definitely kills any remote possibility of Reo-Coker moving to us in January. I wouldn't classify him as a big "need" and I'm not even sure how, where or IF he would even fit in. But, by all account, he's a classy player with great character and, well, I just wouldn't mind that at Ashburton Grove (AKA Emirates Stadium).

All in all, good job by that team.

[SirFozzie]

Sounds like some one needs anger management classes for Christmas..

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2...y9089220t0.asp

Got the Red Card shown to him THREE times in one game.

#1- Double Yellow
#2- Striking an opposing player on his way out
#3- Constant abuse of the referee on his way out

The club has told him he has two options, pretty much. Retire, or be fired. He's looking at an 8 game suspension at least.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Sounds like some one needs anger management classes for Christmas..

He can pop in while he's in for his drug and alcohol addiction meetings, Andy McLaren has a long history of not being what you'd call a model professional. He's been fired by clubs before, bit of a waste of his talent.

The game was at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld (my home town), it's got a gap at one end where the stand is still to be built, there are no trees around it, so the wind whistles through it. It's a miserable place to watch soccer in the winter, McLaren probably wanted to get sent off to get into the warmth.

[cthomer5000]

So the Liverpool-Arsenal Carling Cup game got postponed due to fog... now it looks like it will be the same matchup on January 6th and then 9th/10th... FA Cup/Carling Cup back-to-back... should be interesting.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by 3ric

Real vs Bayern is pretty big, two previous winners and the 17th time those two will meet in European cup competitions.

In all likelihood, this will be the most boring ov the 8 matchups. Can't forsee many goals here.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

So the Liverpool-Arsenal Carling Cup game got postponed due to fog

Managed to avoid the score all afternoon, got home and settled down on the recliner in front of the tv ready for the game, kicked off the TiVo and got the rolling message about the game being postponed. Bugger.

[3ric]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Sounds like some one needs anger management classes for Christmas..

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2...y9089220t0.asp

Got the Red Card shown to him THREE times in one game.

#1- Double Yellow
#2- Striking an opposing player on his way out
#3- Constant abuse of the referee on his way out

The club has told him he has two options, pretty much. Retire, or be fired. He's looking at an 8 game suspension at least.

That's almost an achievement on par with Dean Windass' infamous sending-off!
Probably been posted before, but here goes:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/news/...623070,00.html

[SirFozzie]

This is the kind of thing you'd never see in the States. Sky Sports interviewed the ref about his decision to call off the game.. the Liverpool players saw this happening, and tried to lodge a protest...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC-H2-C8rxk

Can you imagine this happening in the states?

[Critch]

Originally Posted by 3ric

That's almost an achievement on par with Dean Windass' infamous sending-off!

Windass might be old and fat now, but he's still an animal. This is from a couple of weeks ago:

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbKVDsZtaHs

[Dunleavy]

Arsenal 6 Liverpool 3 byaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

[SirFozzie]

....


6-3?

The FUCK?

They decide to play indoor soccer or something?

[Dunleavy]

eh'em They Do score in this game you know

[SirFozzie]

yeah, but SIX TO THREE?

[Katon]

Liverpool fans don't need to worry, though. Benitez has carefully analyzed everything that happened and figured out what went wrong:

Originally Posted by Rafa Benitez

The problem was conceding four goals in the first half.

[MIJB#19]

Reportedly, Ronald Waterreus signed with the NY Red Bulls. People may remember him from a USA-Netherlands friendly right before the 2002 World Cup: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soc...s_netherlands/ (freaky, of the dutch lineup listed, only 2 players are retired by now, yet oly 2 of the rest are still part of the national team)

Granted, Waterreus may seem a bit old at 36 years old, but he's a goalkeeper and the experts over here claim he's still a good one. Although his lack of action the last year and a half, plus the number of goals he conced in his one month at AZ are a bit discouraging. It is interesting that he desperately wanted to play in the USA, turning down a three to four times higher salary bid to stay with AZ...

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

This is the kind of thing you'd never see in the States. Sky Sports interviewed the ref about his decision to call off the game.. the Liverpool players saw this happening, and tried to lodge a protest...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC-H2-C8rxk

Can you imagine this happening in the states?

Thought it was quite amusing to be honest - that sort of thing is relatively 'standard practice' over here ... nothing malicious about it, but amusing that their shots weren't particularly accurate ....

(possibly because of the poor visibility? )

[AlexB]

I'm sure it's been posted before, but this is one my favourite football clips, and along similar lines...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRZTna7tRHk

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Katon

Liverpool fans don't need to worry, though. Benitez has carefully analyzed everything that happened and figured out what went wrong:

Shouldn't your team be off spending 30 million pounds on a backup striker again?

[condors]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Shouldn't your team be off spending 30 million pounds on a backup striker again?

and

if the team wins....change the lineup...and play Gerrad out of postion

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Shouldn't your team be off spending 30 million pounds on a backup striker again?

Hey, we need another striker right about now . . .

Why Jose decided to start the season with two out-and-out strikers, three wingers, three central defenders, and 572 central midfielders I have no idea. Can you say unbalanced squad?

[Marc Vaughan]

Why Jose decided to start the season with two out-and-out strikers, three wingers, three central defenders, and 572 central midfielders I have no idea. Can you say unbalanced squad?

Would you be so kind as to release SWP on loan somewhere so that England can actually have a decent replacement for Beckham at some point in the future (he was a fantastic little player before he decided to decamp and become a professional seat warmer for Chelsea).

[ISiddiqui]

I thought Aaron Lennon was supposed to be Beckham's replacement for the future.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Would you be so kind as to release SWP on loan somewhere so that England can actually have a decent replacement for Beckham at some point in the future (he was a fantastic little player before he decided to decamp and become a professional seat warmer for Chelsea).

I doubt he'll be headed out this month, given the squad balance problems I mentioned earlier (which are even worse than the raw numbers would suggest, since Cole's missing for the rest of the year and Robben's the most fragile footballer this side of Jonathan Woodgate). I'd be a bit surprised if he was here next year, though. He needs a change of scenery.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Katon

Robben's the most fragile footballer this side of Jonathan Woodgate

Yeah, his list of injuries is growing fast, I'm forseeing a similar career end as Marc Overmars, all the gas out of the tank, unable to play more than 45 minutes by the age of 30...

[cthomer5000]

Spurs get two more games against Arsenal.... im not sure how I feel about this.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

I'm sure it's been posted before, but this is one my favourite football clips, and along similar lines...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRZTna7tRHk

I can't believe I've never seen that one before. That was hillarious.

[cthomer5000]

Spurs apparently looked good today (4-0 win @ Fulham in the FA Cup) . I wont see for myself until it's run on FSC on Wednesday.

I guess Martin Jol's job is safe at least a couple more weeks.

[Easy Mac]

So it seems Craig Bellamy attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club... a normal reaction for refusing to sing karaoke.

http://www.itv-football.co.uk/Story/...925984,00.html

[cthomer5000]

That is an amazing story. Kind of lends some credibility to the charges Bellamy faced a while back about hitting a few women in Wales.

[Easy Mac]

i was wondering why the name Craig Bellamy seemed so familiar to me... and why I wasn't surprised at all about the story.

[bhlloy]

Used to go out in Cardiff all the time and occasionally when he was back in town Bellamy would go out and invariably get into fights with bouncers. Guy has classic little man syndrome. Complete lunatic.

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

So it seems Craig Bellamy attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club... a normal reaction for refusing to sing karaoke.

http://www.itv-football.co.uk/Story/...925984,00.html

id take a few hits from a golf club to before singing at a Karaoke bar

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Used to go out in Cardiff all the time and occasionally when he was back in town Bellamy would go out and invariably get into fights with bouncers. Guy has classic little man syndrome. Complete lunatic.

how little is he? or is it the other "little" thats hes so pissed about?

[SirFozzie]

Just watched the A-League Grand Final (the Aussie MLS). 6-0 thrashing. Ye Gods.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

how little is he? or is it the other "little" thats hes so pissed about?

5 foot 9... no idea about the other size though

[Mac Howard]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Just watched the A-League Grand Final (the Aussie MLS). 6-0 thrashing. Ye Gods.

Disappointing game for neutrals and Adelaide fans. I never like to see a final reduced to 10 v 11 like this but Aloisi deserved to go off. A pity Adelaide will be the team representing the A-League in the Asian Champions League.

Still, a sellout crowd - the Socceroos success at the World Cup is still having its effect.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I guess Martin Jol's job is safe at least a couple more weeks.

I hope they let him have a few seasons to prove his worthiness (or lack of) before they go ahead and make a managerial move. It looks like he's trying to build something long term (with a lot of youth signings) rather than attempting to go all out NOW (a la Leeds). It was before my time but, to my understanding, Ferguson and Wenger were not immediate success either. But they had time to build their team.

No, I'm not being facetious and trying to mock the Spuds. I don't watch their game and don't know how good (or bad) he is. I just wish some managers would get a chance to succeed (or fail) before rash decisions are made. Especially when they are trying to build long term like this.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I hope they let him have a few seasons to prove his worthiness (or lack of) before they go ahead and make a managerial move. It looks like he's trying to build something long term (with a lot of youth signings) rather than attempting to go all out NOW (a la Leeds). It was before my time but, to my understanding, Ferguson and Wenger were not immediate success either. But they had time to build their team.

No, I'm not being facetious and trying to mock the Spuds. I don't watch their game and don't know how good (or bad) he is. I just wish some managers would get a chance to succeed (or fail) before rash decisions are made. Especially when they are trying to build long term like this.

I'm not pushing him out the door myself either, I'm just saying this seems to be the belief (that he's on thin ice).

My big issue with the team is the DRAMATIC difference in quality of play when on the road. They are absolutely dreadful on the road this year. They're 1-5-6 on the road in the premiership and they have looked like SHIT the entire season away from White Hart Lane. However they've looked fantastic in the UEFA cup, so he's got that going for him.

I think one of his issues personally is the fact that im still not sure he knows who his starting 11 is, 26 games into the season.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I think one of his issues personally is the fact that im still not sure he knows who his starting 11 is, 26 games into the season.

That has a tendency to happen when you bring in a lot of new players. Add in their busy season and the need to get the whole squad involved and you get a big mess. The situation with their strikers is the particularly fccked.

Also, Davids may have been crappy last year, but they miss him on the road. Zokora or whoever they bought to replace him isn't nearly as good at running around and kicking people. The whole team seems soft and that might have something to do with dropping all those points on the road.

What's funny is you can say almost exactly the same things about West Ham. Spurs have done well to avoid being that awful and haven't made the tragic mistake of firing their manager. Sustaining a top league position is very, very difficult. See Villa, Charlton, Ipswich and Birmingham for recent examples.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

Also, Davids may have been crappy last year, but they miss him on the road. Zokora or whoever they bought to replace him isn't nearly as good at running around and kicking people. The whole team seems soft and that might have something to do with dropping all those points on the road.

I agree the team is soft this year. They do miss that sort of "enforcer" role Davids brought. Mido gives you a slight element of that, but he also just seems to make horrible decisions out there, and he's a forward so obviously he can't settle things in the middle. Chimbonda has kind of been a thug at the back at times, but again... both those guys tend more towards simply making bad decisions than actually just hacking on people sometimes to slow them down a bit.

I dunno, there are so many issues I don't know where to start. Really, like maybe 4-5 positions have a clear cut "best player" and the rest is just whatever Jol feels like sending out there on a given day.

[cthomer5000]

Pretty sweet couple of days of football... Wednesday is just bonkers.

Tuesday
3 of the 4 Champions League games are on...
Lille/Man U
Real Madrid/Bayern Munich
PSV Eindhoven/Arsenal


Wednesday
EPL: Watford v. Wigan = huge game in the relegation battle. A Wigan win all but dooms the bottom 3 (West Ham, Charlton, Watford), a Watford win makes it a "3 of these 4 are going down" type situation, and a draw maintains the status quo.

EPL: Everton v. Tottenham = my team is playing (Spurs), so obviously I'm up for this one. I'm praying they can sneak back into the UEFA cup (through the Intertoto even, if necessary), so i'm going to need them to actually starting winning games again.

3 of 4 Champions League matches again:
Barcelona/Liverpool (the best of this round, imho)
Inter Milan/Valencia
Porto/Chelsea

and on top of all that the CONCACAF Champions' Cup starts Wednesday with two MLS teams playing (Houston and DC against teams from Costa Rica and Honduras).
Looking forward to really putting in some great ass-on-couch time.

[SirFozzie]

My Tivo is whimpering already

[Critch]

Talking about whimpering Tivo, the Brazilian soccer channel PFC has apparently been added to both Dish and DirecTV now. 300 live games per year.

Unfortunately it's $20 a month and I don't think it comes with any English language alternative audio, so I'm still undecided on whether to splash out for it or not.

[SirFozzie]

GolTV, FSC, and Setanta are enough for me, especially since the local spanish language channel has more mexican games..

Come Summertime, I might, since it's mostly MLS and the odd South American Summer League.

[GoldenEagle]

I am probably looking the most forward to the CONCACAF Champions Cup games, although I do not really expect a strong showing from Houston or DC United.