Soccer Thread 2015-16

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I was just typing up a post saying the BPL has to figure out what sort of play they want to have in the penalty box. If it is a physical contact sport that hard men play, fine. But you can't have those three calls in the box, and be consistent.

Penalty kick reform is the cure-all! Make common fouls in the penalty box either a DFK with defenders allowed in the box, allowed to make a wall, etc., or move the kick to the top of the circle outside the box. Carded fouls in the box can remain as PKs.

[bhlloy]

And then you just move the controversy to whether a foul was worth a card and give referees a way out of awarding a game changing PK. Sorry, that's making things worse not better IMO

[whomario]

Remember when MLS did it Hockey style ? Good times (was just after a tie game though i think)

[Critch]

I'm going to make a bold prediction: Spurs are going to win the league.

[bhlloy]

I think it's a 50/50 shot. Vardy will likely be suspended 2 of the remaining games too

[flere-imsaho]

Leicester have a 5 point lead over Spurs and their remaining games are Swansea (H), Man Utd (A), Everton (H), Chelsea (A).

All very, very winnable, even without Vardy.

Spurs have West Brom (H), Chelsea (A), Southampton (H), Newcastle (A). All also very winnable.

It should be tight, exciting run-in, and on recent form I don't think either are going to falter.

[AlexB]

I wish i was as confident that we are not going to slip up as you are

I see four, maybe five points, and that won't be enough

[flere-imsaho]

Let's say 2 points from Swansea & Man Utd because you can't score without Vardy (which is needlessly pessimistic, but there you go) but neither can Swansea or Man Utd. But then 3 points at home vs. Everton because they're not having a great year and won't have much to play for and then 3 points from Chelsea because they'll all already be on holiday and/or trying to get their agents to get them out before Conte arrives.

8 points easy! Which makes it impossible for Spurs to catch you even if they win all 4!

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by whomario

Remember when MLS did it Hockey style ? Good times (was just after a tie game though i think)

I always thought that was a better way for PKs. Even though it's tainted with breaking ties, I think moving to that way of PK would be a far better way to do it than to take it from the spot.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Let's say 2 points from Swansea & Man Utd because you can't score without Vardy (which is needlessly pessimistic, but there you go) but neither can Swansea or Man Utd. But then 3 points at home vs. Everton because they're not having a great year and won't have much to play for and then 3 points from Chelsea because they'll all already be on holiday and/or trying to get their agents to get them out before Conte arrives.

8 points easy! Which makes it impossible for Spurs to catch you even if they win all 4!

I'm going a win and a draw in the two home games, a draw and a loss in the two away games for a grand total of 5 points. So Spurs can still catch, if they can win at Chelsea.

It's just nice to be at the end of the season with two teams I'd like to see as champions, instead of the usual bunch of evil big teams and billionaire's-toys.

[flere-imsaho]

Apropos of nothing in particular, I'm kind of surprised that Roberto Martinez has struggled so much at Everton.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Apropos of nothing in particular, I'm kind of surprised that Roberto Martinez has struggled so much at Everton.

This is something which makes me roll my eyes a little tbh - I've friends who are Everton fans and they're crying for his sack at the moment which fully ignores the fact that:

1. There are a LOT of competitive teams in the Premiership this year (heck even the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United aren't guaranteed European football yet).
2. They're actually in a safe mid-table position which is a decent achievement.
3. He's assembled a very decent squad on a relatively modest budget and even in a season where they're under-performing they're safe.
4. They're 4th in the Premiership 'injury table' so hardly having the 'easiest' of seasons in that regard (another testament to the depth of squad he has assembled).

PS - Yes the loss to Liverpool was embarrassing, but its a single result ..

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Leicester have a 5 point lead over Spurs and their remaining games are Swansea (H), Man Utd (A), Everton (H), Chelsea (A).

All very, very winnable, even without Vardy.

Spurs have West Brom (H), Chelsea (A), Southampton (H), Newcastle (A). All also very winnable.

It should be tight, exciting run-in, and on recent form I don't think either are going to falter.

I see it as:

Leicester:
Swansea (H) - 3pts
Man Utd (A) - 0pts
Everton (H) - 1pt
Chelsea (A) - 3pts

5 point lead + 7 points = 12 points

Sputs:
West Brom (H) - 3pts
Chelsea (A) - 3pts
Southampton (H) - 3pts
Newcastle (A) - 1pt (presuming Newcastle aren't safe at that point)

10 points

So I reckon Leicester to pip it by a very narrow margin - although tbh its utterly up in the air and if Spurs falter at all in the initial part of the run in then I think Leicester have it in the bag, similarly if Leciester don't beat Swansea without Vardy then that will knock their confidence considerably and could cost them the title ...

Regardless of the outcomes its been one of the best seasons I can recall in a LONG time

[Easy Mac]

Christian Pulisic scored again for Dortmund.

[MrBug708]

This ref is atrocious in the Palace game

[MrBug708]

Finally some a break with Dann not getting his second. Palace leads 2-1

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Critch

I'm going to make a bold prediction: Spurs are going to win the league.

I'm going to make a not very bold prediction: My first bold prediction was wrong.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

Christian Pulisic scored again for Dortmund.

played really well, too. Misplaces passes and needs to slow down a little, but there´s no denying he has "special" written all over him. Not really shocking that he breaks out (anybody who saw him play in person at youth level was amazed) but sooner than expected. There will be some adjustment next season going the distance of the calendar with the pros and the situation right now is a dream for a young talent (little to no pressure in the games he plays, still paired with top-class players against so-so competition), but hes going to be a hell of a player. Terrific kid as well from all accounts.

Hope Dortmund gives him a looooong term deal as soon as he turns 18.

[whomario]

Can´t believe that a team with Robert Huth, Okazaki and Fuchs is about to win the PL.

Personally i´d be also very happy for Kasper Schmeichel. Always thought he was in a pretty thankless position with his old man´s shadow looking over him and then having to basically grind it out in the lower leagues (i´m gonna count the championship here ) for all these years. Could not always have been easy.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Critch

I'm going to make a not very bold prediction: My first bold prediction was wrong.

If Spurs pick up 3 points tomorrow I wouldn't rule out your first prediction just yet. I think we'll need the 5 points to win it tbh.

[AlexB]

Dola - good day today though: first guaranteed to get straight into the CL group stages, then 4-0 and guaranteed top 2 finish, and Riyadh Mahrez wins Player of the Year.

We've won 4-0 before, the others are all new to me as a Leicester fan

Happy to celebrate what we've done, but not what we've still to do.

[flere-imsaho]

I'm totally (and undeservedly, since I'm a Man Utd supporter) on the Leicester bandwagon. Go Leicester!

[ISiddiqui]

To be honest, I'm quite on the fence. I like what Leicester has done. Going from nothing to the top is great, but I'm not a huge fan of watching their style of play (defensive, with some cynical fouling, and then over the top counterattacking). I think Tottenham plays far more attractive soccer. Oh well.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

To be honest, I'm quite on the fence. I like what Leicester has done. Going from nothing to the top is great, but I'm not a huge fan of watching their style of play (defensive, with some cynical fouling, and then over the top counterattacking). I think Tottenham plays far more attractive soccer. Oh well.

Spurs are definitely the better footballing side, but we were better to watch before we started tightening up and the opposition started sitting back on us. I agree most of the last 6-7 matches have not been easy watches

[Grover]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

To be honest, I'm quite on the fence. I like what Leicester has done. Going from nothing to the top is great, but I'm not a huge fan of watching their style of play (defensive, with some cynical fouling, and then over the top counterattacking). I think Tottenham plays far more attractive soccer. Oh well.

Spurs play attractive football, yes, but they have committed the 5th most fouls in the league. They are very intelligent about how they go about it as well. With their high pressing game, they literally spread the yellow cards around so nobody accrues them too quickly.

Look what happens when teams sit back and Leicester attack them.. Leicester cannot break down a parked bus. They need other teams to attack them to be successful.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Grover

Look what happens when teams sit back and Leicester attack them.. Leicester cannot break down a parked bus. They need other teams to attack them to be successful.

ummmm.....

Norwich were the start of teams parking the bus against us regularly: a couple had done so before (Man U, Bournemouth, Man City all at the KP, all draws), but the wave of teams sitting back started with Norwich.

Since then:
Played 9, Won 7, Drawn 2, Lost 0. Points 23, Points per game - just more than 2.5.

If you add in the other three matches referenced above: 26 points from 12 games. Still 2.16 PPG.

Multiply games by 2.16 and see how many points clear this would be over the season - 38 games = 82/83 points. Spurs are currently exactly 2.00 PPG, although I expect them to get another 12 points from their remaining fixtures, but can only get a maximum of 80.

Are we as pleasing to the eye when teams park the bus? No (is anyone?). But we are more successful when teams park the bus according to the results.

[AlexB]

First time now I do believe that we are going to win the thing. Wow.

Oh my God, oh my God - Stewie - YouTube

[Grover]

I should have said they struggled a bit more with a parked bus, but even then, I'd still be incorrect

Regardless, I want Leicester to win it at this point. Why? Because I despise Arsenal and Spurs, and even though Jamie Vardy might be pretty intolerable, he's better than the other two. Plus it upsets the apple cart and hierarchy for at least one season. Gives us something new to see in the Champions League and is maybe the greatest underdog story of all time.

[miami_fan]

Hillsborough jury finds fans were unlawfully killed | Daily Mail Online

Not sure what the next step in this saga will be, but I hope that this verdict gives the families a bit of peace.

[Alf]

Juventus just won Serie A in Italy over the weekend. Want an impressive stat ?

They won 24 of their latest 25 Serie A games (with only one draw in the middle of this series).

[Alf]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

To be honest, I'm quite on the fence. I like what Leicester has done. Going from nothing to the top is great, but I'm not a huge fan of watching their style of play (defensive, with some cynical fouling, and then over the top counterattacking).

That really looks like Mourinho (the so called "The only one") tactics. Boring.

[flere-imsaho]

Great article here about the importance of the holding midfielder in the modern game: Casemiro: from ‘chubby’ sub to the rock on whom Real Madrid now depend | Sid Lowe | Football | The Guardian

[whomario]

And Casemiro in all honesty isn´t even a great one. He adds sth to that team simply by not being an attacking midfielder, knowing how to make a tackle and by keeping things simple (call it the Coquelin-effect).

But yeah, that role is the most underrated in the sport. If you ever get a chance to see one of the great ones like Busquets in the stadium, the little things they do is insane. On TV you should already be impressed with the touches, passing but what leads to those is the insane amount of forward thinking they do in always being available to their teammates, always knowing where the 3,4 next closest defenders and teammates are (and their momentum) and positioning themselves so that they can move play along immediately or slow it down.

Having played in that role myself, watching guys like Busquets (or Weigl for Dortmund this season) is just awesome. They are the Tim Duncans of Soccer.

EDIT: On Busquets :

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/...H6S5sUjLiu58MA
http://outsideoftheboot.com/2015/08/...hletic-bilbao/



he can also do things offensively of course:

This is even better in slo-mo. Busquets disguises the pass with his body shape. Gamez is so sure its going to Alves. pic.twitter.com/hYkwCkXIx9

— WM Formation (@TheWMformation) January 31, 2016

little whiner at times, but other than that ...

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Alf

That really looks like Mourinho (the so called "The only one") tactics. Boring.

I'd also say we don't cynically foul. Huth and Morgan are physical and do give away free kicks through robust challenges, but we don't hack down people who are clear through, pull shirts to stop people running through, deliberately handball, those two tackle hard but generally fair.

No red cards for professional fouls, not a huge amount of penalties against us: can think of the West Ham one, debatable handball against Spurs in the cup, probably has been more but can't remember any of them.

The last few games have been tight and generally tough to watch: unsurprising really given where we find ourselves. The first 25-30 matches however we were great to watch, and we're most definitely not anti-football, even recently.

Edit to add - we also genuinely the best ball winning midfielder I have ever seen based on this one season in N'golo Kante: brilliant tackler and interceptor, rarely fouls, pretty quick, mobile, good passer. We don't need to cynically foul with him in the team!

Kante more than any other player is the one I fear losing: I don't think Vardy will go, Mahrez does 3-4 class things per game but can be very quiet, Kante and to a slightly lesser extent Drinkwater are the key components to the side for me.

[ISiddiqui]

It's quite interesting how the MLS brings rivals together. The owner of the Detroit Pistons and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers are joining up to form an investor group to attempt to win an MLS expansion side to downtown Detroit.

MLS expansion: Detroit team bid led by Cavaliers, Pistons owners

It seems like an MLS franchise is a hot ticket for would-be owners.

[whomario]

Athletico is truly impressive, what a cohesive team. Plus, Saul channeled his inner Messi on a terrific goal getting past and around 4 Bayern defenders and capping it off with a stepover and a finesse shot into the box.

[Grover]

Sam Allardyce believes Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone would be branded "boring" in the Premier League.

The Sunderland manager watched Simeone's side produce a superb defensive display in their 1-0 Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

"Seeing Atletico Madrid last night, how they played and how they then defended what they had against a side that is one of the favourites to win the Champions League and is well ahead in the German league," he said.

"Now, everybody can say, 'Well, that's not entertaining', but everybody is eulogising Simeone's tactics now. I wouldn't think they would do that in the Premier League so much. 'He's boring this guy, he defends too much' - that's what he'd get here."

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh Sam, you slay me.

[Grover]

Also, a statement from Dortmund on Mats Hummels.

"The player Mats Hummels informed Borussia Dortmund that he wishes to leave the club in order to join FC Bayern Munich with effect from the 2016/2017 season.

"Against this background the management of Borussia Dortmund has decided that the realization of such a transfer shall depend on the condition that Bayern Munich provides Borussia Dortmund with an extremely valuable offer which reflects the high importance of the player in soccer and other terms for Borussia Dortmund. At present no offer at all has been made by Bayern Munich yet.

"By a way of precaution Borussia Dortmund likes to emphasise that one has not agreed an "exit clause" with the player - also not with any other player of Borussia Dortmund at present - and the player is therefore bound by his employment contract with Borussia Dortmund until June 30, 2017 at latest."

[MrBug708]

If Man United gets a CL spot, does Palace get Europe by default?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

If Man United gets a CL spot, does Palace get Europe by default?

No, only the cup winners get invited for the Europe League. It has been changed mid 2014, going into effect starting with the 2014/2015 cup runners up not qualifying for the 2015/2016 season. If Manchester United somehow qualifies for the Champions League and also wins he FA Cup, the next highest non-qualified Premier League team will get the Europe League invitation.

[AlexB]

One half down. Man U were very good for 20 minutes, then we got back into it.

On first view thought Simpson might have been sent off and Mahrez didn't deserve the penalty. I was wrong both times on the replays.

Was trying to just watch the match, but half an hour in had to crack open a beer. Too stressful

[AlexB]

Take that. Was very worried after 20 minutes, thoughts of 4/5 nil were going through my head. Draw fair result, we had the middle of the game, they had the best of the start and end.

Drinkwater's red was a bit soft, but by the letter of the law it was two yellows, and the second probably was a penalty, but so was the challenge on Mahrez in the first half.

Rooney lucky not to be sent off too given he was on a yellow and pulled back Gray off the ball.

Now come on Chelsea!

[SirFozzie]

Chelsea fans are wondering "Is this the first time that EVERYONE is rooting for us?"

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Chelsea fans are wondering "Is this the first time that EVERYONE is rooting for us?"

Not me. I'd much rather LC beat the hell out of Everton on Saturday to win the title. Especially if they could put five past them in the first half. I would want to see the crowd exclusively in the second.

[Critch]

Not me either. I'll be cheering for Spurs because it's still Chelsea, and because I want Spurs to go to Newcastle Utd on the last day of the season still needing a win. And then I want them to win and relegate Newcastle.

[HomerSimpson98]

That LC-ManU game was amazing. Both teams really getting after it. Loved it.

[Young Drachma]

Spurs up 2-0 on Chelsea on the road. Tottenham wasn't won at Chelsea in over 20 years. They win and keep their faint hopes of a title alive (a win puts them down 5 points with 2 games to go.)

The drama more interesting this way and sets up Leicester to potentially win the whole thing at home next weekend.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

It's quite interesting how the MLS brings rivals together. The owner of the Detroit Pistons and the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers are joining up to form an investor group to attempt to win an MLS expansion side to downtown Detroit.

MLS expansion: Detroit team bid led by Cavaliers, Pistons owners

It seems like an MLS franchise is a hot ticket for would-be owners.

Relatively cheap investment, good ROI and player salaries are not even the cost of a NBA reserve outside of a DP. Too bad all this expansion doesn't help the on field product at all.

[ISiddiqui]

I don't think the recent expansion of Orlando and NYCFC has really caused all that many issues relating to the talent on the field, as it appears a lot more foreign players (not DPs necessarily) are entering the league.

And there may not be that great ROI yet - I think most teams in the league (if not all) are still losing money.

[EagleFan]

The shot heard round the Premier League...?