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[Shanks D Zoro]

Sometimes it feels like Balotelli is more interested in drawing fouls than actually getting past a player. He routinely puts himself in situations where he's surrounded by 3 players as well. That isn't helped by the fact that our other players are so far away from him, they can afford to take a spare player out of position to mark Balotelli, knowing that any pass he makes will be of such a distance, and of such a low chance to succeed, that the players will have time to get back into position if he releases it.

Might just start watching our equivalent games from last season. Crystal Palace at home next. Suarez has been in great form since his return, and Holloway is in trouble. Should be a routine win.

That is why he was at his best with Inter. There were others who would do the central striker role and Balo would play out wide of the forward three. He was free to express himself and worked hard to put in crosses and would exploit the space that Eto'o and Milito created.

I didn't watch him too much at Man City, but when it was at Milan he was asked to play as the central striker and it just did not suit him. He would hold the ball up and either look for a foul or shoot. Same for Italy, apart from the Germany semi, he never really looked like he could or wanted to lead the line by himself.

Balo needs to be playing off Sturidge if Liverpool want to get the best out of him.

 

[qindarka]

Very kind of you, are you making a killing? I actually have 3 good teams now which are 81 overall so im doing ok, got a good transfer policy so that every hour or so I can buy a pack with the shit i sell and im not losing anything.

There is a catch though.

I'm bored and I want something to do so how about we play and I give you 60k if you win, you lose nothing if you lose.

And I am completely awful so it's basically free coins.

 

[Godan]

Can't say I've ever noticed a lack of work rate from him. Nothing that is negligent anyway.

But he is a very inconsistent player. If he doesn't start overcoming that soon he probably never will.

I think his work rate is good.


I don't reall think he is all that inconsistent. Think he has like 5 goals in 12 games or something with 4 assists which i think is a great start for him.


Only issue I do have with him is he holds the ball maybe just a bit too long at times.

 

[Mr Cola]

There is a catch though.

I'm bored and I want something to do so how about we play and I give you 60k if you win, you lose nothing if you lose.

And I am completely awful so it's basically free coins.

Did you do a quiche and pack Messi?

I am about to go out and play football but later ill play you sure, we dont even have to put coins on it

 

[qindarka]

Did you do a quiche and pack Messi?

I am about to go out and play football but later ill play you sure, we dont even have to put coins on it

Alright. I'll be up for maybe 3 more hours. Contact me on Origin when you're ready or tomorrow if I have to go to bed by then.

 

[Zabojnik]

Is Gotham any good?

 

[Vivalaraza]

I think his work rate is good.


I don't reall think he is all that inconsistent. Think he has like 5 goals in 12 games or something with 4 assists which i think is a great start for him.


Only issue I do have with him is he holds the ball maybe just a bit too long at times.

His output statistically has always been good. He scored 20 goals for Barca last season. But didn't play well on plenty of occasions - most of their fans seemed happy enough for him to go.

He's obviously a fantastic player - but he can have quiet games out of nowhere.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

all those assists

I know he works hard for the team, but the narrative is that Messi is the main man.

The selfishness and desire to be the main man has made him one of the greatest ever. Without it you can't reach true greatness.

 

[OriginalThinking]

Really? I could believe it. Everything Messi has done has shown he is a selfish player who cares only about himself.

Indeed, like always pointing to the player who assisted his goal and celebrating with him. Like pointing to the sky to dedicate his goals to his grandma. Like being the assist leader in La Liga for the last few seasons. Like dedicating his Ballon D'ors to his teammates. Like constantly saying that whilst individual accolades are nice, it's the team winning that is always more important.

What a selfish git.

 

[Vivalaraza]

Indeed, like always pointing to the player who assisted his goal and celebrating with him. Like pointing to the sky to dedicate his goals to his grandma. Like being the assist leader in La Liga for the last few seasons. Like dedicating his Ballon D'ors to his teammates. Like constantly saying that whilst individual accolades are nice, it's the team winning that is always more important.

What a selfish git.

Why did you include this? :lol

 

[LFMartins86]

Is Gotham any good?

I love it/hate it. There are a lot of positive things about it, the style they are going for is great but some of dialogue is terrible and somethings like Bruce Wayne listening to Heavy Metal are just hilarious. It's got potential though, there was a promo video with scenes from further down the season that looked promising.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Messi is boss and I won't have a bad word said against him. Aside from the tax evasion. That's pwopah nawty.


Tomorrow's match first one not to be on TV this season

 

[OriginalThinking]

Why did you include this? :lol

I dunno, I just thought it was relevant to the narrative that Messi often thinks about others before himself and other folks may have not known what that celebration was about. He's not necessarily thanking God but looking to his grandmother in heaven. It's not common knowledge.

 

[Zabojnik]

I love it/hate it. There are a lot of positive things about it, the style they are going for is great but some of dialogue is terrible and somethings like Bruce Wayne listening to Heavy Metal are just hilarious. It's got potential though, there was a promo video with scenes from further down the season that looked promising.

Would you rather have him listen to some emo or indie shit? LFM pls.

Hm, might give it a watch in the near future. Thanks.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Indeed, like always pointing to the player who assisted his goal and celebrating with him. Like pointing to the sky to dedicate his goals to his grandma. Like being the assist leader in La Liga for the last few seasons. Like dedicating his Ballon D'ors to his teammates. Like constantly saying that whilst individual accolades are nice, it's the team winning that is always more important.

What a selfish git.

So?

Totti is my favourite player of all time and he does all the exact same things. But the guy is a selfish player. He has to be the star of the show, he has clashed with coaches and other players.

 

[Vivalaraza]

Manchester United @ManUtd · 5m 5 minutes ago
Paddy McNair will play vs Everton. Van Gaal: "He's the only one who can play in the right-sided defensive position. He played very well."

Manchester United @ManUtd · 4m 4 minutes ago
More: "You can be fit but not match fit. Herrera is fit but can't play because of his rib pressure. Fellaini's not yet fit to play 90 mins."

 

[D4Danger]

Messi is boss and I won't have a bad word said against him. Aside from the tax evasion. That's pwopah nawty.


Tomorrow's match first one not to be on TV this season

I think you have to be in the top half to get games on TV

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Would you rather have him listen to some emo or indie shit? LFM pls.

Hm, might give it a watch in the near future. Thanks.

Don't do it. You just said on the last page that you were trying to cut back on shows and now are starting up a new one.

I am staying away from this one. Arrow and Flash have me covered.

 

[Godan]

His output statistically has always been good. He scored 20 goals for Barca last season. But didn't play well on plenty of occasions - most of their fans seemed happy enough for him to go.

He's obviously a fantastic player - but he can have quiet games out of nowhere.

Yeah any player can get that though but I know what you mean.


Hope we see a better side to him now as he in not in a team where everything has to go through the one player.

 

[LabouredSubterfuge]

Manchester United @ManUtd · 5m 5 minutes ago
Paddy McNair will play vs Everton. Van Gaal: "He's the only one who can play in the right-sided defensive position. He played very well."

Manchester United @ManUtd · 4m 4 minutes ago
More: "You can be fit but not match fit. Herrera is fit but can't play because of his rib pressure. Fellaini's not yet fit to play 90 mins."

Lukaku v McNair ;_;

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Jose Mourinho: No racism in football, says Chelsea boss

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29478599

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Lukaku v McNair ;_;

Lukaku's been pretty underwhelming this season from what I've seen

All about Naismith, with his cuboid cranium

 

[Vivalaraza]

Lukaku v McNair ;_;

Yeah I think instead of floating on the left side like he did against Liverpool he's going to spend most of his time in between Rafael and Paddy :lol

Oh well. I wouldn't feel too confident with Jones or Smalling there either.

We just have to go and score 3 or 4 goals. I am more worried about the absence of Herrera tbh. In that diamond formation he and Di Maria are pretty much the only players we have who can fulfil those two roles. Januzaj might be asked to play there...which could work. I have zero faith in anyone else in the squad managing it. Pereira is the only other option who I might feel optimistic about just cos he's a kid.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Lukaku's been pretty underwhelming this season from what I've seen

All about Naismith, with his cuboid cranium

Which means it is perfect time for him to discover his form against the United defense

 

[Godan]

Lukaku v McNair ;_;

McNair got him in his back pocket Kappa.

 

[OriginalThinking]

So?

Totti is my favourite player of all time and he does all the exact same things. But the guy is a selfish player. He has to be the star of the show, he has clashed with coaches and other players.

Totti is not Messi, or vice versa. I see no proven rule that says you have to be a selfish asshole to be a great player. Everyone's different. You certainly have to have enormous self belief and a dedication to constantly look to improve. That doesn't equate to being a dick. I never viewed Baggio as a dick, nor original fat Ronaldo, nor Bergkamp. Some great players are selfish, some not. It's not a given.

 

[Billy Big Bollocks]

Jose Mourinho: No racism in football, says Chelsea boss

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29478599

First thing he has said that I completely disagree with.

 

[Rikkun]

Please stop contradicting me with perfectly reasonable posts, thank you.

I'm your doppelganger, you're my Laura Palmer, Zabo walk with me.

 

[Vivalaraza]

First thing he has said that I completely disagree with.

It's worth clarifying for those who don't click the link that he didn't say there is no racism in football whatsoever, I don't think.

It sounds like he was asked whether he thinks BME candidates are overlooked for managerial posts and he doesn't think that is the case.

The two are different things.

Edit - Not to say I agree with him or not. Tbh I'm not quite sure on the managerial side of things whether there is institutional racism there or not.

 

[Zabojnik]

Don't do it. You just said on the last page that you were trying to cut back on shows and now are starting up a new one.

I am staying away from this one. Arrow and Flash have me covered.

I'm cutting back on some shows, Arrow included, because they are shit to average, not because I have an actual need to. I'm always up for checking out new shows.

I'm your doppelganger, you're my Laura Palmer, Zabo walk with me.

Ti amo, Ricky. Teneramente, profondamente, intensamente.

 

[Tc91]

Fifa is really strange

Some tackles are blatant fouls and dont count and some players are so strong that you cant tackle them.

Me and a friend are in the top 10 in the world in 2v2 seasons when this kind of shit happens it makes me rage so bad.

Lewandowski is already on a yellow and somehow this is a foul by him after I took on Ramos, he got sent off for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNgQXB73J0

 

[Broder Salsa]

Jose Mourinho: No racism in football, says Chelsea boss

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29478599

That headline is not what he said at all (he was answering a question about hiring a minority for manager position, not football as a whole). But it's also pretty easy to disagree with what he actually said.

Edit : Oh Viva already said it.

 

[generaldane]

Jose Mourinho: No racism in football, says Chelsea boss

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29478599

Lol @ the headline..though I don't particularly agree with his stance on this matter either

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Totti is not Messi, or vice versa. I see no proven rule that says you have to be a selfish asshole to be a great player. Everyone's different. You certainly have to have enormous self belief and a dedication to constantly look to improve. That doesn't equate to being a dick. I never viewed Baggio as a dick, nor original fat Ronaldo, nor Bergkamp. Some great players are selfish, some not. It's not a given.

Baggio and Ronaldo were selfish IMO. Both played in World Cup finals when they were not physically fit. They were stars and wanted to prove they were stars.

Messi has shown plenty of times he wants to be the star and gets upset when other players fuck up.

 

[Billy Big Bollocks]

It's worth clarifying for those who don't click the link that he didn't say there is no racism in football whatsoever, I don't think.

It sounds like he was asked whether he thinks BME candidates are overlooked for managerial posts and he doesn't think that is the case.

The two are different things.

Edit - Not to say I agree with him or not. Tbh I'm not quite sure on the managerial side of things whether there is institutional racism there or not.

My view is that there is still institutional racism in the UK when it comes to appointing people into positions of authority. This isn't limited to sport but sport can help lead the way in tackling this kind of racism.
It's a boring topic to talk about though

 

[Vivalaraza]

My view is that there is still institutional racism in the UK when it comes to appointing people into positions of authority. This isn't limited to sport but sport can help lead the way in tackling this kind of racism.
It's a boring topic to talk about though

Yeah that's true I agree with that.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Jose Mourinho: No racism in football, says Chelsea boss

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29478599

It would be interesting to see how many black candidates are trying to get their coaching license.

If the number is around the same as the 25% of players then the Rooney rule should be implemented because clearly there is a problem.

If the number is much lower then it needs to be looked into why are minorities not trying to get coaching licenses. If one of the reasons is that they believe they won't get a chance at a top job, then again the Rooney rule should be implemented.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Maidenhead United have a black manager

Catch up, world.

 

[Vivalaraza]

It would be interesting to see how many black candidates are trying to get their coaching license.

If the number is around the same as the 25% of players then the Rooney rule should be implemented because clearly there is a problem.

If the number is much lower then it needs to be looked into why are minorities not trying to get coaching licenses. If one of the reasons is that they believe they won't get a chance at a top job, then again the Rooney rule should be implemented.

I don't know how much by but apparently the % going for their licence is way lower.

Paul Ince was talking about it on Football Focus this past week.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

What I find nuts is given how large the Indian and Asian population is in the UK that there haven't been anymore professional player breakthrough on that front.

 

[Jarnet87]

Lukaku v McNair ;_;

The game was meaningless but in the 5-5 draw with West Brom Lukaku dominated Jones and Evans. My as well give McNair a shot.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

I don't know how much by but apparently the % going for their licence is way lower.

Paul Ince was talking about it on Football Focus this past week.

Then they really need to look at why. Is it a lack of desire, lack of information given to players about coaching, or lack of faith in getting a job.

The problem isn't just a European one. Even in Africa and Asia whenever I watch a world cup many teams seem to hire western European coaches.

What I find nuts is given how large the Indian and Asian population is in the UK that there haven't been anymore professional player breakthrough on that front.

Always blown my mind.

 

[L1NETT]

What I find nuts is given how large the Indian and Asian population is in the UK that there haven't been anymore professional player breakthrough on that front.

Chopra innit

In all seriousness yeah ethnic representation in footballer has got to get better. We have had players with Pakistani origins play for us (Zesh Rehman for instance) but even considering the sizeable muslim and hindu population it is far from representative

And for me personally I'd far prefer national english football than better represents what it means to be an english person in 2014. Not the Jack Wilshere english for the english UKIPian horse twaddle.

 

[Zabojnik]

How large is the Indian population in the UK, exactly? I still remember being surprised at the number of Indians in London when I first went there.

 

[faridmon]

Bought the tickets for Aston Villa vs Man City match tomorrow. Can't wait!

I hear Benteke is back so hopefully, he plays and score to boot!

 

[Wilbur]

Chopra innit

In all seriousness yeah ethnic representation in footballer has got to get better. We have had players with Pakistani origins play for us (Zesh Rehman for instance) but even considering the sizeable muslim and hindu population it is far from representative

And for me personally I'd far prefer national english football than better represents what it means to be an english person in 2014. Not the Jack Wilshere english for the english UKIPian horse twaddle.

Wasn't that more a case of not having Mikel Arteta or Adnan Januzaj play for England, which I absolutely agree with?

I can't remember exactly, but I seem to recall thinking that Wilshere's comments were taken a tad out of context.

 

[L1NETT]

How large is the Indian population in the UK, exactly? I still remember being surprised at the number of Indians in London when I first went there.

Not accurate in the slighest, but I'd garner at around 8% of the population is asian or asian british. Roughly 1.4 mil of Indian descent and slightly less Pakistani. Obviously varies from place to place how big a section of society they are.

 

[faridmon]

In Birmingham, there is large Asian population, and yes, I do agree that its certainly weird that there aren't that many Pro Footballers.

But again, Cricket is big here and I'd wager that most of them enjoy that sport more than football!

 

[Vivalaraza]

Not accurate in the slighest, but I'd garner at around 8% of the population is asian or asian british. Roughly 1.4 mil of Indian descent and slightly less Pakistani. Obviously varies from place to place how big a section of society they are.

The current estimates are approx. 4%-5% Muslim population and somewhere between 1%-2% Hindu population.

That covers off most of the sub-continent and North African/Arabian demographic.

That's about 4m people.

 

[Zabojnik]

Not accurate in the slighest, but I'd garner at around 8% of the population is asian or asian british. Roughly 1.4 mil of Indian descent and slightly less Pakistani. Obviously varies from place to place how big a section of society they are.

The current estimates are approx. 4%-5% Muslim population and somewhere between 1%-2% Hindu population.

That covers off most of the sub-continent and North African/Arabian demographic.

That's about 4m people.

Thx m8s.