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Football Thread |OT20| What's that smell?

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Suen

Member
My mum loves travel and always wanted me to go away on my own. She was pretty alright with meeting up with a stranger and all that :lol. My Dad was against the idea of me going but said I am old enough to make my own decision.
Watch out for his Mafia connections, the defeat yesterday didn't make things any better.
 

Timurid

Member
Watch out for his Mafia connections, the defeat yesterday didn't make things any better.

fb0.jpg
 

Lightning

Banned
What a day today has been but now I'm sad because their will be no more footy. Gonna be a long summer of rumours and bullshit. Great...
 

MPW

Member
W6iQyww.jpg


They set themselves up for it every year and we always come out on top, you'd think they'd have learned to just keep quiet by now.

7 points up ... spurs bottled it

13258_10151443462478173_132301791_n.jpg


One of the stories to have emerged from that period was that the French club had struck an accord with Real's current coach Jose Mourinho to take over at the end of the season. Al-Khelaifi now looks set to pay for that flirtation, with the best man for the job intent on leaving the club and his proposed alternative having struck a similar deal with former side Chelsea, and now looking more likely to return to England. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/parissaint-germain/id/1114?cc=5901

Mou screwed psg!
 
One of the stories to have emerged from that period was that the French club had struck an accord with Real's current coach Jose Mourinho to take over at the end of the season. Al-Khelaifi now looks set to pay for that flirtation, with the best man for the job intent on leaving the club and his proposed alternative having struck a similar deal with former side Chelsea, and now looking more likely to return to England. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/parissaint-germain/id/1114?cc=5901

Mou screwed psg!

Lol, Timerda.
 

Lightning

Banned
7 points up ... spurs bottled it

13258_10151443462478173_132301791_n.jpg


One of the stories to have emerged from that period was that the French club had struck an accord with Real's current coach Jose Mourinho to take over at the end of the season. Al-Khelaifi now looks set to pay for that flirtation, with the best man for the job intent on leaving the club and his proposed alternative having struck a similar deal with former side Chelsea, and now looking more likely to return to England. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/parissaint-germain/id/1114?cc=5901

Mou screwed psg!
Spurs bottled it but Arsenal did go on an amazing run picking up 26 points from 30 and winning 5 away games in a row for the first time since 2004.

And lol at Timu. Mou just screwed them!
 

qindarka

Banned
Spurs bottled it but Arsenal did go on an amazing run picking up 26 points from 30 and winning 5 away games in a row for the first time since 2004.

And lol at Timu. Mou just screwed them!

It is really impressive how Arsenal have managed to grind out these results and overhauled a significant lead for the second season in a row. Perhaps the squad doesn't get enough credit for their mental strength.
 
Fuck's sake Morsel, had to pay 30p to send that money to Japan :p

Congrats guys, you cunts. Planned to make a celebratory picture, but I really can't be arsed.

If someone wants to organise another one next season I'd enter, but balls to doing it myself again :p
 
During the entire season, only midfielders and strikers scored in Serie A: we had to wait until the last minute of the last match to see a goal from a defender. Mexes <3

--

Before the first derby of this year, around October, Inter supporters showed this on their standings. "Our best wishes for your 2012/2013 season", joking on the fact that we lost a lot of our players during the summer.
Yesterday night, Milan got to the Champions Leage playoffs, Inter to the Coppa Italia preliminaries.
"Seeing you in May got back to be an illusion."

--

Abbiati has signed a 1 year extension to his contract, so he'll probably end his career with us next year.
 

GorillaJu

Member
Fuck's sake Morsel, had to pay 30p to send that money to Japan :p

Congrats guys, you cunts. Planned to make a celebratory picture, but I really can't be arsed.

If someone wants to organise another one next season I'd enter, but balls to doing it myself again :p
Just take the 30p out of Viva's total.

Congrats viva. It was a good fantasy season and well deserved to the winner. The betting league was a good idea. I'd be down for another go if others are willing.
 

Salazar

Member
In hindsight, with their financial situation, could QPR have made a worse appointment than Redknapp?

Well, they didn't spend 35 million on a single, mind-crushingly one-dimensional player.

But fair enough.

It's not all Harry's fault, but his recruitment was shit, his interviews were shit, his motivation was ineffectual, and if the players were largely performing to his instructions, then his tactics were basically shit.
 

Lightning

Banned
In hindsight, with their financial situation, could QPR have made a worse appointment than Redknapp?
QPR get no sympathy. They let Hughes buy over priced crap players on high wages, they then let Redknapp do the same in January afrer firing Hughes, when relegation was a very real threat and they allowed Harry to bring in Samba on 100k wages. WTF, that's more than Kos or Mertesacker earn at Arsenal.

They had Rob Green, why bring in Ceasr on 70k a week for? So many bad decisions made by that club hard to feel sympathy for them. Harry will send the club into receivership if he has his way.
 

Carbonox

Member
Anyone else not feeling the hype for The Last of Us? I was interested when it was first announced but now I just don't seem to be impressed by any of it. Considering cancelling my preorder. However, the lack of hype might do me a favour and result in being pleasantly surprised by it.
 
QPR get no sympathy. They let Hughes buy over priced crap players on high wages, they then let Redknapp do the same in January afrer firing Hughes, when relegation was a very real threat and they allowed Harry to bring in Samba on 100k wages. WTF, that's more than Kos or Mertesacker earn at Arsenal.

They had Rob Green, why bring in Ceasr on 70k a week for? So many bad decisions made by that club hard to feel sympathy for them. Harry will send the club into receivership if he has his way.

To be fair, Green is dogshite :p

Samba's reputation has always outweighed his qualiy imo, although I don't think anyone could have anticipated just how poor he's been for QPR.



If we paid, would Chelsea loan Courtois to us? Carry on with the trusted Cech, get some money, get Courtois adapted to the league without having the adaptation period effect their own team and results.



edit: And now I'm glad Carbo was banned :p
 

Lightning

Banned
Anyone else not feeling the hype for The Last of Us? I was interested when it was first announced but now I just don't seem to be impressed by any of it. Considering cancelling my preorder. However, the lack of hype might do me a favour and result in being pleasantly surprised by it.
I am mega hyped for it. Day 1


To be fair, Green is dogshite :p

Samba's reputation has always outweighed his qualiy imo, although I don't think anyone could have anticipated just how poor he's been for QPR.



If we paid, would Chelsea loan Courtois to us? Carry on with the trusted Cech, get some money, get Courtois adapted to the league without having the adaptation period effect their own team and results.



edit: And now I'm glad Carbo was banned :p
Cesar is not any better, well maybe slightly but very slightly. Hope he goes back to Italy.

Samba was never the answer for QPR and especially not on that money in that situation. And I hear Harry wants to keep him in the Championship. 100k defender in the Championship? On my goodness Harry.


Why would Courtois want to play for Liverpool with no European football when Atletico are in the CL? Even if Chelsea said yes it is almost impossible the player liking that idea at all.
 
To be fair, Green is dogshite :p

Samba's reputation has always outweighed his qualiy imo, although I don't think anyone could have anticipated just how poor he's been for QPR.



If we paid, would Chelsea loan Courtois to us? Carry on with the trusted Cech, get some money, get Courtois adapted to the league without having the adaptation period effect their own team and results.



edit: And now I'm glad Carbo was banned :p

Af long as he didn't play against Chelsea sure. :p

But do you really want a season only solution?
 
Lindegaard to Liverpool pls

Reina>Lindegaard>Jones


Unless he's somehow worse than you guys seem to think :p

@Wooden, might be the best choice if we lose Reina and the potential replacements are either overpriced (Mignolet & Begovic) or go elsewhere/stay (Ter Stegen, Handanovic)
 

Lightning

Banned
Reina>Lindegaard>Jones


Unless he's somehow worse than you guys seem to think :p

@Wooden, might be the best choice if we lose Reina and the potential replacements are either overpriced (Mignolet & Begovic) or go elsewhere/stay (Ter Stegen, Handanovic)
You can have Fabianski since we're generous and he is now out of contract.
 
I am mega hyped for it. Day 1



Cesar is not any better, well maybe slightly but very slightly. Hope he goes back to Italy.

Samba was never the answer for QPR and especially not on that money in that situation. And I hear Harry wants to keep him in the Championship. 100k defender in the Championship? On my goodness Harry.


Why would Courtois want to play for Liverpool with no European football when Atletico are in the CL? Even if Chelsea said yes it is almost impossible the player liking that idea at all.

Cesar isn't inconsistent. Green is shite :p

Re: Courtois, it obviously won't happen and I'm only talking in hypotheticals, but there are ways it makes sense for all parties. If he wants to succeed at Chelsea, a loan move to a PL team would be a good choice.


Suarez attempted nearly twice as many dribbles as 2nd place Taarabt, 290-something to 159 :O
 

sohois

Member
I think you're overestimating the difficulty of acquiring a new keeper, Hitcher. Look at the keeper signings made by premier league teams over the past 5 years, loads of great keepers and pretty much the only 2 over £10million were De Gea and Lloris. In fact the only 2 failures I can really think of were Shay Given and Rob Green (disregarding second choice keepers). If Liverpool had been able to keep Cavalieri then they'd already have a top quality replacement for Reina even.
 

DBT85

Member
The full transcipt of the Di Canio interview. Which I thought was excellent.

You wanted a good performance from the side?
“You are very generous. No, in terms of discipline, desire, commitment, nothing to say. I really think you know that they gave everything.
“I told them, obviously, Bale once again, unfortunately made the difference but you can appreciate the goal he scored. It’s obvious that they should score even before.
“They deserved to stay 1-0 up early but in terms of commitment, desire to only say thanks to the players but that should be normal.
“It’s obvious my frustration is because, we didn’t cause more problem to the opponent but in general today, yes. I’m happy. Very happy. Because, after what’s happened during the week, it wasn’t easy.
“Coming here with 11 adults, six, seven adults, some young on the field starting 11 and six kids on the bench wasn’t easy. Until the end we were nearly able to pick a point. That is one of the only good things that happened today.”


What’s happened with Phil Bardsley?
“You know more than me. I saw the picture on a website, the moment later, of the night that they spent out so what do I have to tell you? He’s out of my squad. It’s obvious.
“How I can play a player that probably is blurry for three, four days after what’s happened. More important, I want to deliver a very clear message I wanted to deliver since the beginning that there is no excuse to behave like he did.
“Because Wigan lost the game, now we stay up, otherwise every time we are going to beat Man United what are we going to do? Or after every Newcastle game? What are we going to do, spend two nights out because we are happy?
“I can understand if we win a Champions League or maybe an FA Cup. Even can have two glass of red wine I can understand because I know it is a different culture. It can happen also to me.
“Celebrate a UEFA Cup with Juventus, more in the night, more drink but I can imagine because I don’t want to change the culture of the people. But I told them, from the day before, from now I will be more strict because I will judge you more carefully because now we have to improve our professionalism.
“We have to respect the dignity of the club, the fans because they still follow us in 3,000 people and the rules of the sport because, like we were happy when Swansea won against Wigan, we have to make sure we give everything to make difficulty Tottenham because Arsenal, obviously for ourselves, but also for the others.
“The most important is for us but also for the sport in general. They have to care what is going on around us. But, if you don’t respect yourself, how can you respect the others?”

How does it affect Phil Bardsley’s future at the club?
“I will think really carefully. Always I give a second chance to the people. We are talking about 31 years of age, not a kid, with a family at home.
“I’m not here to be a priest, to convince the people to be different but to talk about my club and my team.
“We have a fantastic academy. We have young that they have the changing room next to the adult. If we don’t punish this kind of behaviour, what are we talking about, a fantastic academy? They’re going to sprint down, get the boots and ‘good morning’ to everybody?
“They’re very educated people, but if we don’t punish this kind of behaviour, how do they grow up? Thinking they can laugh about what they saw on the website picture?
“Maybe they think it’s fantastic, to be like a gangster. But what mentality are we going to deliver?
“Sometimes I discovered here at Sunderland — and at many other places, unfortunately — there is always a fantastic Christmas box. Then inside...oh, nothing. There is a piece of chocolate that’s open already.
“We have to put something in this box, otherwise we’re always talking and we close our eyes ad we’re never going to change. In the future I will be very clear with the players.”

Is this an English culture?
“It’s not an English culture, just a different culture. I don’t want to change the culture because I love England. When you decide to work in an environment there is positive and negative.
“I know this part. I was speaking with Andre (Villas-Boas) before and it’s normal, but not often and not at the wrong time. There is time and time.
“Tonight I can imagine, even after the Newcastle game, I can imagine. But not like we saw (on Tuesday night). That is something really wrong.
“It’s disgusting me even to see the image for the club. It’s not about going out with your friend and getting back at two o’clock or three o’clock, which is late.
“But you can close one eye. But not full of alcohol and walking like this. They have to behave well.
“It takes three or four days (to recover). I realised in the morning because I didn’t see the picture, to be honest, I told my assistant manager, ‘I don’t play Phil Sunday or today’.
“’Why?’ ‘Look. I speak to him and he look in the sky. He can’t listen what I’m going to tell him. He’s blurry. I don’t know what’s happened’.
“The day after I discovered what had happened and, obviously, I ring my player and I discovered it was a really, really bad situation.
“I discovered that out with him were other players, but the others left the two guys before, to get into the casino and stay there until early in the morning, which is completely different.
“Obviously, Tuesday night they went out together, had dinner and watched the game. They are allowed to do this. They had a drink, celebrated and they were happy.
“I can imagine. Ten o’clock, 11 o’clock, midnight ...but not exaggerate. What I saw is not acceptable for my club and for my squad. That is not acceptable.”
You’ve tried to change the mentality of the team but what else do you intend to change next season to improve the club?
“Talking about mentality it’s not only the manager. All my staff, we have to make sure that when we bring in players they are good professionals because they have to influence each other.
“The dressing room is their kingdom. I can’t put the strict rules to help them to understand we have to behave in a different way.
“We need to bring in six or seven players who know how to behave and have a professional ethic and then they can help each other. Otherwise, for me, it’s difficult.
“We need to bring in quality, particularly up front, because to win games you need to score. We don’t score many goals.
“At the beginning I thought it was difficult. Week by week, daily, I discover we have more problems than I expected.
“That’s why I said to everybody we made a miracle because what we discovered this week is only one aspect of the problems we’ve got. It doesn’t mean that everybody goes out every night and has a drink session — no.
“We are talking about profession or the job we want to deliver or rules. I go mad because, I’m telling you this.

What’s happened in the last three days?
“In a week I give in seven players hands, seven fines. Even for small things. Half an hour late… “And this morning, and this morning, once again, even if they didn’t care about what is happening at the Academy of Light, one player who could have been involved in my squad for different reasons today, they decide ‘I don’t train today’.
“They make the diagnosis themselves. One player didn’t go to the academy of light because he said ‘yesterday I had a food poisoning.’ Sorry ‘are you the doctor?’
“The doctor tried to contact him and three hours he switched off the telephone.This is the situation at Sunderland. This is why I tell you we made a miracle. We made a miracle.
“Previously, eight games, three points. With Di Canio seven games, eight points. That is the miracle we made. Without the strikers. Because before there was Fletcher available, Stephane available, Craig available. Three top strikers.
“That is the miracle we made. But we can’t make a miracle forever so we have to change lots of things. Or maybe I’m going to tell you this and tonight they are going to sack me.
“But if you want to change something you have to follow me otherwise it’s difficult to get better results than what they got in the last few games.
Have you spoken to the owner about these problems?
“He knows. I will get the chance when I meet him. We are going to sit at the table and go through but he knows many things.
“I spoke to him before by telephone and he told me we are going to change many things. This is what he told me before.
“He said, ‘Relax, don’t worry because we are going to change many things’. So it sounds like he supports me completely. We will see in the future.

Have you fined the players for similar offences to Phil Bardsley?
“No different reasons. They haven’t broken my rules but the rules you have in e very club. Because if you are injured and no that you have plans in the morning and have treatment in the afternoon you have to go in the pool.
“And you leave lunchtime and switch off the telephone and nobody can contact you for all day then you have to get fined. This is not Paolo Di Canio. When I gave the fine in his hand the day after he was surprised.
“Before he thought it was normal to leave the training ground, switch off the phone and I don’t go through the job I have to do. I don’t care to have argument with my players but they have to go through the rules.
“This is one and the others. If you think after Aston Villa we lost 6-1. We gave the (meeting) point at four o’clock in the afternoon. Someone arrived at 4.20. I didn’t get the appointment to them at seven o’clock in the morning.
“If I did I can understand. But at 4.20 and you don’t arrive, what sense of responsibility have they got? They live five minutes from the Academy of Light.
“Three, four players arrived by walking. If you are late I can imagine you are late, you are running, ‘I’m sorry’.
“This was the behaviour at a club in the Premier League. That spends millions and millions.
“It’s not acceptable. I thought that at Swindon, League Two, arrogant, ignorant footballers in some way so they don’t know exactly because they’ve not had many chances to stay at the top level.
“I have to tell you unfortunately I found a worse environment in terms of discipline in this club. This is what I’ve found in the last few weeks so we have to change completely.
“It will be very hard if I don’t receive the maximum support from the board because I know every time you know that the player will go to the PFA, the PFA will call then you have to let them speak and try to explain why.
“They excuse people that behave like Phil Bardsley. You can’t fine them but have to let them speak and explain why? Why do they need to speak? They get fined.
“They are under a private club. The PFA don’t pay them, it’s a private club that pays them. They have to now try and understand because for our player we already received a phone call. It was a clear misconduct.
“But the club pay them, not you. It happened to me at Swindon and many times. Now we have to be more sensible but it’s very difficult to change.”
The players that you have had problems with, will they still be at Sunderland next season if you can control that decision?
“No. Not under me.”

How will you react if you do not get the financial backing to make the changes?
“I know that there is a plan. The picture is clear before me. I have told about it already. I am head coach, the others have to handle the financial situation.
“I have said we need this player, this quality, in this position, show me the player we can go and I tell them, ‘yes this player is OK’.

Are you going to cut their holiday time?
“The next few days we will be in together because previously once again the people used to organise during the week, ‘we go from London to Hawaii, Miami’.
“They were thinking four or five days, ‘we will organise the bags, my wife, my girlfriend, my daughter, we go together’.
“Not possible. Today we fly back to Sunderland, our city, as a team. We stay tomorrow together with the kids sponsors which we have a job to do with this.
“Then players have international football. The others will stay together, we will enjoy two training sessions and then they can go on holiday.”

What are your thoughts on the two penalties Tottenham thought they should have?
“I saw only the challenge shoulder to shoulder. I didn’t see if there were crossed legs. I don’t know what happened. It’s difficult for me to focus.
“The Bale one can be a yellow card or a penalty, sometimes it’s 50-50. I saw that it was contact but it wasn’t clear. i don’t know about the other one.
“I am not sure if he opened his arms. If you do it’s a penalty but I don’t know. It was 70 yards away.
Can Tottenham compete with Arsenal?
“With this manager, with Andre, and with two or three top, top (signings) it will be easy. That bit, it takes a lot, you need a big, big quality, another top, top striker because Defoe and Adebayor they can guarantee goals but they need a top, top striker up front.
“This is my opinion, I’ve got my own problems. I’m curious. If they do get one they are in contention for the league because Man City and Chelsea are going to reinforce their team and Mourinho will probably come back but the job that they have done already this year is amazing.”
 

GorillaJu

Member
Anyone else not feeling the hype for The Last of Us? I was interested when it was first announced but now I just don't seem to be impressed by any of it. Considering cancelling my preorder. However, the lack of hype might do me a favour and result in being pleasantly surprised by it.

Cancel your preorder and maybe you'll enjoy it like you said.

I don't preorder shit anymore. Fuck that practice.
 
I think you're overestimating the difficulty of acquiring a new keeper, Hitcher. Look at the keeper signings made by premier league teams over the past 5 years, loads of great keepers and pretty much the only 2 over £10million were De Gea and Lloris. In fact the only 2 failures I can really think of were Shay Given and Rob Green (disregarding second choice keepers). If Liverpool had been able to keep Cavalieri then they'd already have a top quality replacement for Reina even.

I really want to keep Reina, but when first-choice goalkeeper appointments go wrong, they go badly wrong. 10 points-difference wrong.

I'd be resting easier if we had a competent backup who could see us through to either getting another new keeper or the point where they've adapted to the league and team ala De Gea (still hasn't fully adapted imo.)

But we have Jones.
 
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