The Beautiful Game Thread, 11/12

[toonarmy]

Your point about Fat Mike is what I worry most about. The players are clicking together and putting forth good effort. The coach is doing much better than I thought he would do. But lurking in the background is a complete dumbass that knows how to cock things up like no other. I'm hoping that just maybe he has learned from his mistakes and is now in a winning spirit, and wants to see wins as much as money. Probably a pipedream on my part.

This might be heresy, but has Fat Mike f*cked up that badly? He seems to have weeded out a lot of expensive dead weight and wood -- Nolan, Barton, CARROLL for 35 million -- and let Pardew and the club's scouts bring in some really good players for lower transfer fees and wages.

I work in professional sport, so maybe I see the stadium naming rights' flap differently. But it's every owner's right to monetize his assets. The idea of a stadium name being sacred is foolish in this era of sport. It's the ground and the game played on that pitch that matters, not the name. Plus the fans and media still will call it St. James' Park for a long, long time.

Ashley also was smart to apply the name of his company to the ground now. He will catch the most sh*t of anyone for being the first party to change the name of St. James' Park. Future companies that pay for naming rights won't face the same wrath, since Fat Mike already has enacted the first corporate name change.

Fat Mike was foolish to say the $10 million naming rights fee would be used in the transfer window. No one believes him, because the club did little to nothing with the riches from the Carroll deal. But Newcastle is unbeaten in the Premiership, so who's complaining now? The club was awash in red ink, so maybe it was smart to sock away some of those Carroll profits and pay down the debt instead of splashing mindless cash at some marquee signing who achieves little Tyneside.

I'm not ready to convert Fat Mike into St. Mike, but I think there is a method behind his madness. Hell, Newcastle is third in the table -- he must be doing something right, yeah?

That's why I have said I hope he has learned from his mistakes. The team is obviously doing well this season, but hanging in the back of my mind are the previous seasons with Fat Mike as owner. We got relegated for goodness sakes under Fat Mike after he ran this team into the ground. So far he has more hits than misses in my mind. Certainly as a fan I want him to succeed as opposed to failing, however I am not going to go gaga over 1/4 of a season of success when this team has been relatively crap for the bulk of his reign as owner. Cautiously optimistic is the best I can do at this point.

[miget33]

I'm interested in a few things;

1) What proof the FA have --> when Evra last said someone made racist comments about him, the FA charged the Chelsea groundsman then withdrew the charge when they found out Evra was telling porkies.

2) If Suarez is guilty (with adequate proof) then he should get the book thrown at him - but I'm wondering what will happen to good old John Terry....

Hmmmm.

Just to clear that up, Evra never said the Chelsea groundsman made those comments, it was the assistant Phelan and other coaches who made the accusations


Also, FIFA try to clear up Blatter's comments by releasing a statement accompanied by picture of him hugging a black man

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisat ... eofthesite

[Macca00]

Also, FIFA try to clear up Blatter's comments by releasing a statement accompanied by picture of him hugging a black man

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisat ... eofthesite

ROFL Spat out my coffee on that one.

Thanks for clearing up the Evra/Chelsea one.

[pk500]

Also, FIFA try to clear up Blatter's comments by releasing a statement accompanied by picture of him hugging a black man

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisat ... eofthesite

ROFL Spat out my coffee on that one.

Thanks for clearing up the Evra/Chelsea one.

Is Blatter hugging Jack Warner in that shot? That would be even funnier!

[10spro]

Someone had to lose and my $$$ wasn't on Newcastle today which will face a much tougher schedule from now on.

Another good day for Van Persie.

[toonarmy]

Newcastle came back down to earth today against a clearly superior squad. City is the best team in the BPL this year, so I expected a loss. Hopefully we can do better next time and make it closer.

[F308GTB]

How good is the play in the Dutch league? Going to Amsterdam for a short vacation next week and noticed Ajax is playing at home. Don't know if tix are available. FYI, I only watch EPL, Serie A, and Champions League. I try to watch MLS, but lord is the play subpar compared to the cream of the crop leagues.

[pk500]

How good is the play in the Dutch league? Going to Amsterdam for a short vacation next week and noticed Ajax is playing at home. Don't know if tix are available. FYI, I only watch EPL, Serie A, and Champions League. I try to watch MLS, but lord is the play subpar compared to the cream of the crop leagues.

More experienced followers of the continental game probably can chime in with more authority, but I would put the Eredevisie (Dutch League) on about a C level in Europe.

Grade A leagues: England, Italy, Spain
Grade B leagues: Germany, France (?)
Grade C leagues: Netherlands, France (?)

The winner of tonight's MLS Cup still couldn't win either the Eredivisie or Ligue 1 (France), not even close. Plus Ajax is a traditional Dutch League powerhouse, so you should see some good football if you attend a match.

[pk500]

Newcastle came back down to earth today against a clearly superior squad. City is the best team in the BPL this year, so I expected a loss. Hopefully we can do better next time and make it closer.

Well said. The skill gap in yesterday's match was large.

[Naples39]

I suspect the average dutch team is probably not all that different from the best of MLS, though Ajax is definitely a better team than any MLS squad. Of course attending a match in the Netherlands will probably be a more lively affair than MLS too.

[toonarmy]

I wish a couple MLS teams could compete in the Champions League just to see how they would do. I think the MLS has been steadily improving in recent years and is better than it gets credit for. Eredivision has several strong clubs and I would definitely try to take in a match if I were over there. In addition the football on the pitch the scenery in the stands is worth the price of admission.

[F308GTB]

I wish a couple MLS teams could compete in the Champions League just to see how they would do. I think the MLS has been steadily improving in recent years and is better than it gets credit for. Eredivision has several strong clubs and I would definitely try to take in a match if I were over there. In addition the football on the pitch the scenery in the stands is worth the price of admission.

Well, the hometown Dynamo are playing for the MLS championship tonight, and while it would be interesting to see how they'd do against the big boys of Europe, we had a glimpse of that this year when Bolton came to Houston. Houston lost 2-0 against a team that is currently in the relegation zone.

BTW, great Chelsea-Liverpool game today. I, like probably most folks watching on TV, thought Drogba just got it in on that first half free kick.

[toonarmy]

I wish a couple MLS teams could compete in the Champions League just to see how they would do. I think the MLS has been steadily improving in recent years and is better than it gets credit for. Eredivision has several strong clubs and I would definitely try to take in a match if I were over there. In addition the football on the pitch the scenery in the stands is worth the price of admission.

Well, the hometown Dynamo are playing for the MLS championship tonight, and while it would be interesting to see how they'd do against the big boys of Europe, we had a glimpse of that this year when Bolton came to Houston. Houston lost 2-0 against a team that is currently in the relegation zone.

BTW, great Chelsea-Liverpool game today. I, like probably most folks watching on TV, thought Drogba just got it in on that first half free kick.

To be fair MLS teams also won against BPL teams on tour in the US. I don't think you can put any weight on friendlies. But, yeah, BPL teams are going to consistently beat teams from other leagues around the world. The top three Leagues (Serie A, BPL, La Liga) are clearly better than every other league on the planet.

[Lancer]

Congrats LA Galaxy! MLS Champs!

[10spro]

Congrats LA Galaxy! MLS Champs!

Good for Becks. On his final contract with LA he finally gets to lift the Cup. Let the speculations begin...

[Naples39]

Congrats LA Galaxy! MLS Champs!

Good for Becks. On his final contract with LA he finally gets to lift the Cup. Let the speculations begin...

I saw a good chunk of the game. It was always LA's game, though it took a while for them to finally get a goal. Fitting that the goal came on a Beckham->Keane->Donovan sequence. Donovan was given MVP, but Beckham was the best player on the field with his distribution.

[10spro]

A strong D and lethal counterattacking game by Napoli led by E. Lavezzi and the finishing of E. Cavani were enough to stop City in CL play. Cavani's second goal was brilliant to watch.

Speaking about beautiful goals all 6 by Real were just highlight reel stuff vs DZ.

[F308GTB]

I booked a short trip to London from 12-17 January and was looking at the EPL schedule. It appears the only games in London that weekend are Chelsea and Tottenham, and I'm thinking Spurs will be the easier ticket to grab, right? And if tickets aren't available, how is the play/atmosphere in the lower divisions? Thinking teams like West Ham or Crystal Palace.

Also, any suggestions for day trips would be great. We did London about a decade+ ago for a week and a half and hit a lot of the spots (3 days at the British Museum!). Already planning a day out to Bath.

[fsquid]

Does Man City not want to compete in the Champions League? They are most likely done since they have to play the Bayern in the final match

[10spro]

Entertaining game going on between Barca and Milan.

[GB_Simo]

James, I'm at the wrong end of the country to be of much use for day trips in that region, but I might be able to help you with the football, at least a little.

I booked a short trip to London from 12-17 January and was looking at the EPL schedule. It appears the only games in London that weekend are Chelsea and Tottenham, and I'm thinking Spurs will be the easier ticket to grab, right? And if tickets aren't available, how is the play/atmosphere in the lower divisions? Thinking teams like West Ham or Crystal Palace.

West Ham are away that weekend, as are many of the London clubs, but if you're wanting to take in a Championship game, Watford and Crystal Palace are both at home. Watford is just outside London and represents more of a journey, for which you'll be rewarded with not all that much. Crystal Palace would be a better bet. Standard of play? Nothing that would worry a lower mid-table Premier League side, but reasonable enough. I've only been to Selhurst Park once, for a League Cup game in a half-empty stadium, so I'm not sure what the atmosphere's like down there.

There's Millwall too, actually, but...don't. If you do, at least make sure you say goodbye to everyone first.

Speaking as someone whose chosen team has never finished higher than 6th in League One over a history spanning 103 years, I wondered if you might consider looking lower. Brentford and Leyton Orient are at home in League One. Leyton are unbeaten in 10 just now, but Brentford's usually a very good day out so I'd probably go there (they also play at the only ground in the Football League to have a pub on each corner, with plenty of other places to feed and water yourself nearby, which might come in handy). Having spent most of the last decade watching League One matches, I'd suggest that the majority of teams in that division would hold their own in MLS.

One last alternative: if you fancy having a look at English football's league basement, you could drop down to League Two and watch Dagenham & Redbridge take on Hereford at Victoria Road. That ground is real, proper lower division stuff - terraced, close to the pitch, with a very good chance of someone launching a clearance straight over the top of one of the stands.

[Jimmydeicide]

At the Millwall comment. Make sure you buy the away teams scarf on the way in.

[Macca00]

James
- you should go watch a Carling Cup tie - hopefully one that ends on penalties.......sorry, just being a dick!

I would go watch a Championship match, saving that go to White Hart Lane - the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is meh, but they may give you some plastic flags to wave.

[EZSnappin]

Rest In Peace, Gary Speed.

Never heard a bad word or a bad story about the man. From what little I saw he was a good player and was doing fine things with the Welsh national team.

[pk500]

Speed must have battled some deeply buried demons. I've watched some video and read some stories and tweets today from his friends and associates, and everyone spoke about the warmth of his spirit, the quality of his person and the magic of his life with his beautiful family, friends and football.

Really hard to fathom why he killed himself.