The Beautiful Game Thread 10/11

[Jimmydeicide]

Come back Rafa i was kidding honest.
At least watching Liverpool on a crappy internet stream instead of the tele is quite fitting right about now, it sure makes losing fsc plus a little easier to take.

Lets hope the turn around is swift so we dont have to listen to much more of Daves shCity reports.

[GB_Simo]

Liverpool win champions league 2005 - Wednesday win Play off final 2005
Liverpool taken over today - Wednesday taken over soon?

I didn't think I'd live to see the day when you were actively hoping for the return of Tubby Turner, mate.

[fsquid]

Liverpool win champions league 2005 - Wednesday win Play off final 2005
Liverpool taken over today - Wednesday taken over soon?

I didn't think I'd live to see the day when you were actively hoping for the return of Tubby Turner, mate.

If it comes with money, I'm ok with that. Funny that Turner's business is what sent us down this path.

[10spro]

Haa, haa Van deer Saar West Brom fans thank you.

[davet010]

What's this ? Arsenal's Jack Wilshere given a red for an over the top challenge ? Shurely some mistake ?

I shall await the media witch hunt that will cer.....oh. He plays for Arsenal. So that's the end of that then. Still, it'll save him from being torn in half and scattered to the four winds by Nigel next week.

Wenger looked pissed off as he stalked off the pitch. That'll probably prevent the 'reminder' he was going to give the ref before next week's game to look out for dangerous challenges - he wouldn't really want the retort 'yeah, I studied your game from last week'.

[miget33]

I would say something about Chamakh's Eduardo like dive, but VDS made was the bigger ass on the day, with a Jackie Smith like drop.

[fsquid]

What's this ? Arsenal's Jack Wilshere given a red for an over the top challenge ? Shurely some mistake ?

I shall await the media witch hunt that will cer.....oh. He plays for Arsenal. So that's the end of that then. Still, it'll save him from being torn in half and scattered to the four winds by Nigel next week.

Wenger looked pissed off as he stalked off the pitch. That'll probably prevent the 'reminder' he was going to give the ref before next week's game to look out for dangerous challenges - he wouldn't really want the retort 'yeah, I studied your game from last week'.

do you ever have fun watching the matches? Just curious. Wednesday in 4th.

[davet010]

Fun ? Football ??

Welcome, oh visitor from another planet.

[fsquid]

Fun ? Football ??

Welcome, oh visitor from another planet.

nah, just someone having to watch it from across the pond.

[Macca00]

Where's the 'Rafa-out' brigade now? Pissed off at the loss but cant say I'm surprised.

Anyway, H&G gone, Purslow and the board need to go next - they were the ones that chased Rafa out and replaced him with Mr. Magoo who is quickly supplanting Souness as the worst Liverpool manager since the war.

[Macca00]

Also, not to give the players a free pass. Joe Cole has to be one of the worst signings of the season so far. And Lucas....well...he was Lucas. That ones on Rafa AND Roy.

[RobVarak]

I was saying all week it would be a thrashing, and I'm not surprised. This is what happens when you try to field a football club with no midfield and a shaky defense. Gerrard and Torres may as well be playing on another planet, as often as they get the ball in a legitimately dangerous position.

Lucas is in a class by himself. I don't know of another midfielder in top flight football in all of Europe who gives the ball away more than he successfully completes a pass. But hey, he's Brazilian!!

[RobVarak]

Where's the 'Rafa-out' brigade now? Pissed off at the loss but cant say I'm surprised.

Anyway, H&G gone, Purslow and the board need to go next - they were the ones that chased Rafa out and replaced him with Mr. Magoo who is quickly supplanting Souness as the worst Liverpool manager since the war.

It's ok, Macca. Roy says that the side played well.

That should immediately end any debate about whether he belongs in this job. Give the man a pack of peppermints and send his ass to an early-bird dinner where he belongs.

[RobVarak]

This is beyond delusional.

'I don't feel it to be a crisis because the way we have played today I don't think anyone would believe that is the type of football of a team in the bottom three. I think we can consider ourselves unlucky."

"Unlucky?" Liverpool were fortunate it wasn't 3 or 4!!

Now I just feel bad for the poor old bastard.

[davet010]

Do not, for one moment, assume that the current squad is too good to go down. Torres, Gerrard and Reina aside, that is simply not the case.

And believe me, I know all about relegation

[fsquid]

would be fun to see the scoucers with their cute song from carousel in the Championship.

[Jimmydeicide]

Yea how do you wait to make a change to that crap 'till the 70th minute.
Torres is crap right now but Roys tactic of every other player play as far away from him as possible doesnt help him any.

Put any center forward up on his own to be marked by 2 center halfs its gonna be a long day and how can they not exploit Hibbert when hes on the field, Babble should have been fed the ball every time to take him on but what he touched the ball twice was it.
Now i have to listen to the Evertonians all week.
Clearly Hodgeson is out of his depth. Why was he smiling at the end of the game? that will endear him to the scousers for sure.

And if the team thinks its too good to go down well its going to take more than thinking they may have to put a bit of effort in... oh and f*** Lucas off does he even make a forward pass that connects or are they just the ones backwards same with Rodriguez.

The Rafa out brigade already screamed his name earlier in the thread Macca thats as close to an apology as your gonna get.

[davet010]

Put any center forward up on his own to be marked by 2 center halfs its gonna be a long day

Carlos Tevez 2010/11 - Appearances 8 Goals 7

Nuff said.

Yes, I know City played 4-4-2 yesterday, but considering Adebayor's contribution, that's 4-4-1.05

[rhymes450]

Knowing that Dave would be too discreet to post anything that might smack of Man City triumphalism, I take it on myself to post the link to the neat little goal scored by Silva yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZiEuCrJNE

(I'll learn to embed these videos...some day)

Having probably scored many similar goals in his day (though I can't actually seem to remember any of them), it seems highly appropriate that Andy Gray (don't tell me that's not Andy Gray) should take us through the replay in the 1st person.

[davet010]

Yes, I believe that it was Andy Gray - and I remember seeing him play, and that wasn't really in his repetoire.

Was very reminiscent of Kinkladze's goal against Soton back in 96 though. God, I wish we had him now, rather than with the assortment of cloggers and cast offs that Alan Ball assembled round him. It was almost heartbreaking to see him make a run into space or put through a clever ball past a defender, only to see that absolutely no one else was capable of dealing with it. I'd say that it was even worse when City were getting relegated from the Championship, but he was a perfect example throughout his career of a great player in completely the wrong side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6y3Cf8sBA

[rhymes450]

Yes, I believe that it was Andy Gray - and I remember seeing him play, and that wasn't really in his repetoire.

Nah, I was being a bit sarcastic and in fairness I think he does a great job there in bringing the goal to life and from what I've heard of him, his commentary work is very enthusiastic. He doesn't give the impression of somebody who's thinking only of picking up the few shillings on the way out of the studio. He was more of a traditional, robust , good-in-the-air type of centre forward and a pretty good one too as far as I can remember.

The Kinkladze video is absolutely stunning. I'd only heard the name but never seen him play. What a beautiful, beautiful player! The balance, those body swerves and changes of pace...just reminds me how much I like players who dribble without necessarily doing anything that's got a name (no elasticos, flip flaps, drag backs, bachman turner overdrives etc....just plain organic dribbling...you go that way...I go the other way). Not to mention the quality of the passing and shooting. Did he do that on a regular basis or was he inclined to go AWOL? What became of him? Did he not receive offers from more successful clubs (at the time, I mean. Obviously City today are in a different situation)?

[davet010]

City bought Kinkladze in 1995 based on a video that the then-chairman, Francis Lee, had been shown by his agent. City were then in the Prem, but the disastrous appointment of Alan Ball as manager put them on the slide, as Ball proceeded to get rid of any characters in the dressing room who might oppose him (Niall Quinn, Tony Coton, Keith Curle). Unfortunately, these were the only players that were fit to wear the shirt, and the club went into a three year tailspin that ended in relegation to League One in 1998.

He was then sold to Ajax for £5m, but his career went in fits and starts and he never really managed to hold a place down anywhere else. He was loved by City fans (and still is), but managers who are more in favour of a direct style wouldn't really appreciate him..probably would only see him at his best in a good side, not a struggling one. Also he was a little prone to knocks, but that might be because he was City's only good player at the time, and other teams would make sure to shut him down by whatever means necessary.

[fsquid]

I would buy Kinkaldze in my Football Manager games back in the day.

[pk500]

Richard Williams' opinions on John Henry and the current state of Liverpool Football Club:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... hn-w-henry

Williams also chimes in on Manchester United and the questionable future of Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010 ... ed-leaving

[10spro]

Sitting on the bench won't help Rooney much and while rumors have him possibly moving somewhere in Spain, I would doubt that. If anything happens between red nose Fergie and the spoiled one it would be in the summer time.