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Official Football Thread 2007/2008 (Soccer)

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QVT said:
yeah hoppy you're not westside me and kara are


We might fight among each other, but I promise you this
We'll burn this bitch down, get us pissed
To live and die in LA

HAH! you're from Orange County! :lol
 
Late reply to the Liverpool-Arsenal game, but it was hard to watch as an Arsenal fan.

If it had finished 1-2, Liverpool would have deserved it, as they were creating the chances and had a hold of the game after they scored the equaliser. But unfortunately, Walcott had to go set up a fantastic goal which restored all faith for a brief period of time, and then, with a massive sense of irony, Liverpool are awarded a penalty.

Ah well, nevermind. I'm ready for Arsene to build this squad for next season, and I'm very glad my Liverpool fan flatmate was in the Kop rather than sitting next to me in the pub watching it!

Disappointment aside though, it was a stunning game.
 
this was me responding to you cornballer <4 don't worry about your late reply

I have no idea why people only show up for champions league games. What kinda fan is that? I mean Mama doesn't watch a lot of world football but I'd bet at better than 60% that he'd show up for completely meaningless Blackburn pre-season tournaments. And all the MLS guys here were watching teams just from their own league against clubs from Chile in some bastardized southern american Intertoto cup. But Liverpool (and Arsenal for that matter) fans just appear for the final stages of the champions league. Just support United if you're going to show up at the end of the season, it'll be them winning shit.


Also I was born in Los Angeles hoppy. Sure, got the hell out but still.
 
Great game between Liverpool and Arsenal.

Even though I don't support either, I'm glad Liverpool made it through, I'd much rather have a footballing giant represent England in the Champions League than a minnow like Arsenal. Lets hope they do the footballing world a favour and knock that dreadful Chelsea team out again in the semi-finals.
 
That was a pretty poor attempt. *yawn*

QVT - it's just the nature of the internet, unfortunately. Anonymity, no accountability, blah blah blah.

Sounds like Toronto are getting close to signing Guevara. With him and Robert, they could suddenly be better than the Quakes. This aggression will not stand.
 
Cornballer said:
Sounds like Toronto are getting close to signing Guevara. With him and Robert, they could suddenly be better than the Quakes. This aggression will not stand.

Fortunately for us, they play on a "plastic pitch". If I'm not mistaken it was the plastic pitch in Moscow that singlehandedly destroyed England's hopes last year, right? ;P
 
Why not put a team in Montreal where it would SELL OUT instead of splitting the New York fanbase?
 
Cornballer said:
Ah yes, the turf. Are you going to the game on Saturday, bean breath? I'm dragging twelve of my friends along with me.

No I'm not, is it on tv? I'm in full playoff hockey mode at the moment. I can't juggle multiple sports and give each one tender love and Kare like Karakand Kan.

I mean he's keeping tabs on Kevin Love, J.S. Jaguar, Nery Castillo, Sven Goatram Eriksson, Arsenio Hall Wenger (hoo hoo hoo) Vladimir Guerrero, Lamar Odom, Kimmi Raikonen, Lorena Ochoa, Lisa Leslie, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Garcia, David Beckham, I mean come on! When does the guy sleep?!

Maybe I'll go to the TFC game. That one seems like the most entertaining match up.
 
bean breath said:
No I'm not, is it on tv? I'm in full playoff hockey mode at the moment.
It's on FSC. You should definitely go to one sooner or later - let me know and we can meet up for a beer.

Karakand is a freak. I always wake up and check the thread before I drive to work and there are a bunch of Karakand posts at 2 or 3am. Weirdo. Get some sleep.
 
I guess Barca and ManU are going to join the semi-final.

The good thing:

- This time we have 4 good teams

The bad thing:

- 3 of them are British :P
- There is no Bayern Munich

Just wait till we arrive at the Champions League next season!!!!
 
Cornballer said:
Props to the Liverpool regulars and others for not twisting the knife after the game.

Arsenal is the only other top team I respect.

That said I feel sorry for Arsenal because you've had 2 victories in the last 12 games (the commentator mentioned it), our win felt as satisfying as killing a dead horse to me. :|
 
Call me out on being xenophobic, but I think that is one difference between English youngsters and foreign youngsters. I think some of the young foreigners in the core of Arsenal got shook at Anfield yesterday due to the atmosphere and they weren't used to the English crowd (in that European heat), it's happened to Ronaldo too. I don't think them dudes were used to it and you could see their heads went into the sand when Hypia scored. Fabregas was a goner again and didn't influence the game enough to warrant his "elite" status, Toure just isn't the same. I actually think Toure is at the end of his Arsenal career and he is to blame as much as Shitderos. Seriously, Senderous is probably one of the worst defenders I have seen in the Premiership. With all of that added together you have a team with weakened strength against larger teams. It's ok being 2-0 down at Bolton and then winning, but Arsenal need to know how to take pressure when leading or drawing and manage to kill the game as they are going potless this season and will continue to

The other thing is Alan Hansen was right, you can't win anything with kids. If you look at the united team with the youngsters we had experience scattered throughout from Schmeichel, Cantona, Cole, Pallister, etc. Wenger has got to buy big in the summer, one big defender and a solid striker as I feel the team just has no direction to it. It feels like he won't buy big so he can constaly rely on the "they are kids" statement whenever things go wrong and it's annoying to hear Arsenal fans (not on here specifically) keep on saying we are building, we are this.

But anyway, I am not an Arsenal fan, but hug your local one as I know they need it :(
 
QVT said:
Why not put a team in Montreal where it would SELL OUT instead of splitting the New York fanbase?

Because the New York MLS team isn't actually a New York team, they play and practice in Jersey. What many in New York want is a team that actually plays in the boroughs.

The question becomes though that there are only two slots left in the current expansion cycle, and the likely candidates are St. Louis, Montreal, and New York. One's going to get left out.

But your right, if push came to shove I would rather MLS put teams in new markets like St. Louis and Montreal, than a true NY team.
 
Why not move the Red Bull to the boroughs then? I dunno, it just seems like getting to see the team closer isn't really warranting a team as much as 25k at every game would.

This is based primarily on the stupidity of having two LA teams. San Diego motherfuckers! I'm totally with Ryck on that, no reason for us to be in LA.
 
QVT said:
Why not move the Red Bull to the boroughs then? I dunno, it just seems like getting to see the team closer isn't really warranting a team as much as 25k at every game would.

This is based primarily on the stupidity of having two LA teams. San Diego motherfuckers! I'm totally with Ryck on that, no reason for us to be in LA.

Because their new stadium and facilities are already under construction in Jersey (Red Bull Park). They're locked in Jersey.

I agree, I would rather see a team in Montreal (as St. Louis is virtually guaranteed #17) since the yorkers could just drive across the river.

Something is going to have to be done out in Cali. Chivas USA sharing LA's stadium just isnt working, hell they have a grand total of 800 season tickets. Seattle has 14,000 and hasn't signed a single player. But Chivas does market directly to Hispanics so it should stay. The Earthquakes though... does Cali really need 3 MLS teams? I'm starting to think SJ's slot should have been used for NY, sorry earthquake fans.

Edit: Given that Montreal already has a stadium in place I'm guessing they are going to be #18, and NY will just have to wait for the next expansion.
 
800 season tickets but they still get 15,000 people to games. it doesn't look as full because those people can't afford the most expensive tickets to sit closer. if you look at ticketmaster the 100 dollar 3 rows back seats aren't sold out but the cheaper ones are. it's an unfortunate reality which has a lot to do with the socio-economic status of our fans.

if i was locked in jersey i'd buy a lock pick
 
QVT said:
800 season tickets but they still get 15,000 people to games. it doesn't look as full because those people can't afford the most expensive tickets to sit closer. if you look at ticketmaster the 100 dollar 3 rows back seats aren't sold out but the cheaper ones are. it's an unfortunate reality which has a lot to do with the socio-economic status of our fans.

if i was locked in jersey i'd buy a lock pick

Good point.

And yeah, why the fuck are you playing in LA instead of San Jose? Would have thought that would be the perfect situation. Why split LA and have a third in SJ.

Are there any plans for a separate stadium?
 
Ryck said:
Maybe not right now but it wasn't long ago Owen, Beckham and Woodgate were there.


Yeah, I remember Real Madrid were rumoured to be signing Patrick Vieira, and I was "Why would he want to go there? He'd have to learn English then!"
 
Mecha_Infantry said:
Call me out on being xenophobic, but I think that is one difference between English youngsters and foreign youngsters. I think some of the young foreigners in the core of Arsenal got shook at Anfield yesterday due to the atmosphere and they weren't used to the English crowd (in that European heat), it's happened to Ronaldo too. I don't think them dudes were used to it and you could see their heads went into the sand when Hypia scored. Fabregas was a goner again and didn't influence the game enough to warrant his "elite" status, Toure just isn't the same. I actually think Toure is at the end of his Arsenal career and he is to blame as much as Shitderos. Seriously, Senderous is probably one of the worst defenders I have seen in the Premiership. With all of that added together you have a team with weakened strength against larger teams. It's ok being 2-0 down at Bolton and then winning, but Arsenal need to know how to take pressure when leading or drawing and manage to kill the game as they are going potless this season and will continue to

The other thing is Alan Hansen was right, you can't win anything with kids. If you look at the united team with the youngsters we had experience scattered throughout from Schmeichel, Cantona, Cole, Pallister, etc. Wenger has got to buy big in the summer, one big defender and a solid striker as I feel the team just has no direction to it. It feels like he won't buy big so he can constaly rely on the "they are kids" statement whenever things go wrong and it's annoying to hear Arsenal fans (not on here specifically) keep on saying we are building, we are this.

But anyway, I am not an Arsenal fan, but hug your local one as I know they need it :(

I think, in the end, that fatigue had a large part to play in Arsenal's loss. The team lacks relative depth which pushes the more essential players to the limit. Fabregas especially has no-one who can really replace him on the field, which is quite disastrous as their tactics are centrally structured around their passing game.

That fatigue was really evident when Babel completely outran Fabregas, even with the huge lead Fabregas had on him, to score that goal. Then again, not everyone can pull a Solskjaer and take a red card to stop a goal. :D

Anyway, can't wait for the Man Utd game. A 7-1 repeat at Old Trafford doesn't sound that impossible at the moment!
 
Seems like the Police were cracking skulls in yesterday's Sheffield Derby:

156973d3bf.jpg

f574489478.jpg


When was the last time when police were battering the fans in the English game? The mid-eighties? :lol
 
Wow at the match last night, great for the neutral I guess, but I nearly had a heart attack. Interesting to see so many Arsenal and Liverpool fans pop up here last night, and their reactions to the game. I'm not going to comment on the match aside from one thing, over the 2 legs I do feel that we just deserved it. Its a shame we've got another Liverpool vs Chelsea semi-final though, they aren't good matches for the neutral or for the fans.

BTW anyone know where/if I could get tickets to the Stamford Bridge leg, being a London-based Liverpool fan its tough to get tickets to see any matches. I tried getting tickets to the Emirates but there was no chance of getting tickets there, but Chelsea have a smaller fanbase so I'm hoping to get some tickets.

I'm not sure whether I'd rather have Barca or Man U facing (hopefully) us in the final. Both teams have match winners across the pitch and if I'm being totally honest I do think that the winner of Man U vs Barca will win the Champions League.

Rumours:

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is planning an £18m raid for Argentine striker Mauro Zarate. The 21-year-old is currently on loan at Birmingham from Al-Sadd in Qatar. (The Sun)

Newcastle are keeping tabs on £10m-rated Germany defender Christoph Metzelder. The 6ft 4in centre back has made just 11 appearances for Real Madrid this season. (Daily Star)

Chelsea's £4m-rated teenage striker Scott Sinclair will be at the centre of a transfer tug-of-war this summer between FA Cup finalists Portsmouth and Roy Keane's Sunderland. (Daily Mirror)

Wigan manager Steve Bruce has warned Manchester City it will take a lot more than £5m to land winger Antonio Valencia. "When I heard about this supposed £5m interest in Valencia, I laughed," he said. (The Sun)

Burnley are ready to launch a fresh bid for out-of-favour Celtic forward Derek Riordan. (The Sun)

Derek Riordan faces showdown talks with Celtic manager Gordon Strachan today over an unpaid club fine and the player's comments in the media. (Daily Record)

Chile striker Mauricio Pinilla is poised to quit Hearts to care for his two-year-old daughter to his homeland. (daily Express)

Jean-Claude Darcheville would prefer a new contract with Rangers despite interest from English, French and Spanish clubs. (Various)

Austria's Red Bull Salzburg are planning a summer swoop for Wolves skipper Karl Henry - and hope to lure him with the prospect of European football. (Daily Mirror)

Steven Pienaar wants a firm contract offer from Everton - or he'll leave. The winger, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, is available for £2.4m. (The Sun)

Liverpool reject Florent Sinama-Pongolle - now with Recreativo de Huelva - is a £7.2m target for Valencia and Atletico Madrid. (Daily Mirror)

Sunderland are believed to be interested in £2.5m-rated Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard, especially so if the west London club are to lose their battle to avoid relegation. (Daily Express)

Aston Villa are interested in Bayern Munich's £1.5m-rated right-back Willy Sagnol. (Daily Mail)

OTHER GOSSIP

Angry Bolton fans are organising a petition and protests to get rid of manager Gary Megson and chairman Phil Gartside. (Daily Mirror)

Fulham have denied that manager Roy Hodgson was going to be replaced by former midfielder John Collins. (Daily Telegraph)

Bolton, meanwhile, have refuted suggestions that Nigeria Under-23 coach Samson Siasia is being lined up to replace Gary Megson. (Daily Telegraph)

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech could be playing in two weeks after having 50 stitches in a face wound courtesy of an accidental collision with team-mate Tal Ben Haim... And he's likely to be donning a face guard to go with the scrumcap he already wears. (The Independent)

American billionaire George Soros could complete his takeover of Roma by the end of the week, according to reports in Italy. (Daily Telegraph)

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan has assured winger Damien Duff that he still has a future at St James' Park. (The Independent)

AND FINALLY

Roma boss Luciano Spalletti has admitted his players were wrong to accuse Cristiano Ronaldo of showboating. "Sometimes we may say things that we normally would not and that is what happened," he said. (Daily Star)

QPR manager Luigi Di Canio was left bruised and shaken after being mugged just hours before his side's Championship clash with Preston. The Italian was believed to have been robbed in west London after going out for a meal and was up until 3am reporting the incident at a police station. (Daily Mirror)

David Beckham has again topped football's rich list with France Football magazine estimating his annual fortune at a staggering £24.7m, a figure which helps LA Galaxy's Englishman reclaim top spot from Ronaldinho.(Various)

I don't understand why Chelsea would want to sell Scott Sinclair. He's been Crystal Palace's best player since signing on loan with them and he's progressing well IMO.
 
I think Arsenal is spent, specially Fabregas, they started strong and when Liverpool scored the equalizer they kinda dissapeared from the game. There is a lot to be said against Benitez rotations, but it looked to me like some of the Arsenal players just don't have a lot left in the tank.

The match was great to watch, as opposed to the dissapointment that was chelsea, scored 1 goal and sit back and play defense, it almost cost them too.
 
United are linked with Ezequiel Garay today. He's an Argentinian centre back, 21, plays for Santander. Barcelona were supposedly favourites for him, now it's being reported that they've pulled out of any move, making United the new favourites. He has a reputation as a goalscoring centre back. Would cost quite a lot, perhaps as much as £15m.

Ferdinand and Vidic are only 29 and 26, and in their position that probably gives them another 5-9 years left, but perhaps Fergie would rotate Garay in as he has with Nani and Anderson, despite the experienced players in their positions.

United fans were complaining about central defensive cover, perhaps this is the solution. United don't have to pay for Tevez until summer 2009, so I guess they're free to pay big for a few players this year. Garay, Bosingwa and a striker? Sell the likes of Saha (new striker + Manucho maybe getting his work permit + keeping Frazier Campbell if needed = not needed), Evans or Pique, Dong and Eagles to cover some of the costs.

We have seen them linked with Ben Arfa too though, so those positions (CB, RB, FW) aren't set. I can't believe even United have the money to buy across 4 expensive positions though.
 
FabCam said:
Yes please!


West Ham fan? Or Al-Sadd fan?




Doubt we'll be spending £18 mill on anyone this summer, and I wont be at all surprised if all our signings are obscure Italians (not necessarily a bad thing).
 
QVT said:
if i was locked in jersey i'd buy a lock pick
Harrison really isn't that bad, it's in the Northeastern part of Jersey that can be confused for Queens or The Bronx. Unfortunately, New Yorkers really have no respect for Jersey but I do understand their want for a team in the boroughs. However, the best solution would be to put a team in Queens. Thus, the Red Bulls can get their market from suburban soccer towns, Newark, Hudson County, Midtown, and Downtown. The other team would draw from Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Uptown Manhattan, Long Island, and the Southwestern Connecticut. That makes sense to me and I'd be all for it.
 
Yesterday result still hurts and it will do for a long time, probably until next season.

Apart from the penalty decision we also have to admit that we just haven't performed well defensively lately. People blame Senderos (and he was at fault for 1 1/2 goals yesterday) but Toure and Gallas have been just as much to blame for our recent results as him. Actually moreso, especially Gallas has really not had the best of form lately and we conceded quite a few goals due to his mistakes (Chelsea x 2, Bolton x 1, Middlesbrough x 1, Liverpool in the league x 1 etc.). So it's something that needs sorting out, the quality is obviously there - the concentration obviously not. Let's see how Arsene addresses that.

Everyone has had their say about the penalty and to me it's clear that it wasn't one having looked at it about 20 times now. You could argue that Cesc maybe made a little foul, but if he did it was outside the box. Toure did not foul Babel, he didn't touch him (Babel touched him, trying to make it appear as if Toure fouled him).

Either way, let's have a look at some of the referee decisions that have gone against us or not for us since our dip in form:

Birmingham (d) - Disgraceful penalty given against us in the 93rd minute. Would have been a W
Aston Villa (d) - Offside goal. We clearly outplayed Villa until the goal and I am convinced it would have been a W
Milan h (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given. Hleb shown yellow for diving instead
Middlesbrough (d) - Adebayor goal not allowed for offside, which it clearly wasn't. Would have gone on to be an easy W
Chelsea (l) - Chelsea's equalizer was clearly offside. I don't know how the game would have ended, surely wouldn't have lost it though.
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Fabregas not given. Would have been a W
Liverpool (l) - Dodgy penalty gifted to Liverpool.

9 points lost in the league, out of the Champions League.

Referee decisions usually even themselves out, that's clearly impossible to happen for Arsenal in this season, and it is unacceptable. It's hard to believe that what happened is possible.
 
hadareud said:
Yesterday result still hurts and it will do for a long time, probably until next season.

Apart from the penalty decision we also have to admit that we just haven't performed well defensively lately. People blame Senderos (and he was at fault for 1 1/2 goals yesterday) but Toure and Gallas have been just as much to blame for our recent results as him. Actually moreso, especially Gallas has really not had the best of form lately and we conceded quite a few goals due to his mistakes (Chelsea x 2, Bolton x 1, Middlesbrough x 1, Liverpool in the league x 1 etc.). So it's something that needs sorting out, the quality is obviously there - the concentration obviously not. Let's see how Arsene addresses that.

Everyone has had their say about the penalty and to me it's clear that it wasn't one having looked at it about 20 times now. You could argue that Cesc maybe made a little foul, but if he did it was outside the box. Toure did not foul Babel, he didn't touch him (Babel touched him, trying to make it appear as if Toure fouled him).

Either way, let's have a look at some of the referee decisions that have gone against us or not for us since our dip in form:

Birmingham (d) - Disgraceful penalty given against us in the 93rd minute. Would have been a W
Aston Villa (d) - Offside goal. We clearly outplayed Villa until the goal and I am convinced it would have been a W
Milan h (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given. Hleb shown yellow for diving instead
Middlesbrough (d) - Adebayor goal not allowed for offside, which it clearly wasn't. Would have gone on to be an easy W
Chelsea (l) - Chelsea's equalizer was clearly offside. I don't know how the game would have ended, surely wouldn't have lost it though.
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Fabregas not given. Would have been a W
Liverpool (l) - Dodgy penalty gifted to Liverpool.

9 points lost in the league, out of the Champions League.

Referee decisions usually even themselves out, that's clearly impossible to happen for Arsenal in this season, and it is unacceptable. It's hard to believe that what happened is possible.

I thought the penalty was fair I did not watch the replay 20 times, and obviously refs don't have that luxury, but it looked like Babel was being grab by his arm and held back.
 
hadareud said:
Yesterday result still hurts and it will do for a long time, probably until next season.

Apart from the penalty decision we also have to admit that we just haven't performed well defensively lately. People blame Senderos (and he was at fault for 1 1/2 goals yesterday) but Toure and Gallas have been just as much to blame for our recent results as him. Actually moreso, especially Gallas has really not had the best of form lately and we conceded quite a few goals due to his mistakes (Chelsea x 2, Bolton x 1, Middlesbrough x 1, Liverpool in the league x 1 etc.). So it's something that needs sorting out, the quality is obviously there - the concentration obviously not. Let's see how Arsene addresses that.

Everyone has had their say about the penalty and to me it's clear that it wasn't one having looked at it about 20 times now. You could argue that Cesc maybe made a little foul, but if he did it was outside the box. Toure did not foul Babel, he didn't touch him (Babel touched him, trying to make it appear as if Toure fouled him).

Either way, let's have a look at some of the referee decisions that have gone against us or not for us since our dip in form:

Birmingham (d) - Disgraceful penalty given against us in the 93rd minute. Would have been a W
Aston Villa (d) - Offside goal. We clearly outplayed Villa until the goal and I am convinced it would have been a W
Milan h (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given. Hleb shown yellow for diving instead
Middlesbrough (d) - Adebayor goal not allowed for offside, which it clearly wasn't. Would have gone on to be an easy W
Chelsea (l) - Chelsea's equalizer was clearly offside. I don't know how the game would have ended, surely wouldn't have lost it though.
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Hleb not given
Liverpool (d) - Clear penalty on Fabregas not given. Would have been a W
Liverpool (l) - Dodgy penalty gifted to Liverpool.

9 points lost in the league, out of the Champions League.

Referee decisions usually even themselves out, that's clearly impossible to happen for Arsenal in this season, and it is unacceptable. It's hard to believe that what happened is possible.

You are welcome to your opinion, I may not agree with you on the last 2 though. I agree with everything else. You need better defenders.

Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Sagna are all good, but sadly Senderos is not up to it.
 
honestly, after seeing Theo's play last night I was very impressed.

I think Wenger should start with a formation that he had when he subbed RVP and Theo in from now on. But, of course Flamini in for Gilberto.

I still feel like shit over this loss ;/
 
h0pper said:
honestly, after seeing Theo's play last night I was very impressed.

I think Wenger should start with a formation that he had when he subbed RVP and Theo in from now on. But, of course Flamini in for Gilberto.

I still feel like shit over this loss ;/

I don't, imediately after Liverpool went ahead we steped the game up... I felt we were playing well and then when Theo and Van P came on the tempo droped again. I think that's largely because Van Persie was invisible. Diaby was also winning a lot of balls in midfield which vanished. I really think we should have only used Theo at that point.
 
well I think van Persie needs some more games to get back to his best. When he's at his best, he's easily our most dangerous player.

With Theo, he's taken alot of heat this year with people saying he's not developing fast enough, blah blah. Last night that run he made was incredible. Someone posted the video of Henry doing it at the Bernabeu. Well, tbh, it was almost the same thing except for the finish.
 
h0pper said:
well I think van Persie needs some more games to get back to his best. When he's at his best, he's easily our most dangerous player.

With Theo, he's taken alot of heat this year with people saying he's not developing fast enough, blah blah. Last night that run he made was incredible. Someone posted the video of Henry doing it at the Bernabeu. Well, tbh, it was almost the same thing except for the finish.

Obviously, Van Persie is amazing when he's not a cripple.... He shouldn't have been anywhere near the game last night though.
 
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