Beautiful Game 12/13 Thread (Major EPL slant)

[fsquid]

Hilarious, Suarez cheats and Jon Champion is reprimanded by ESPN UK for calling him a cheat on TV.

How many times do you see a ball hit a defender's hand in the penalty box and he stops play, walks over to the ref and says "Sorry, ref, but the ball hit my hand so it's a penalty"? Zero times. So by Jon Champion's logic all those defenders are cheats as well.

How many times do you see players calling for an offside when there isn't one? Cheats! What about calling for throw-ins when the ball last went off them? Cheats! How many times have you seen a player pull another player's shirt and then walk up to the ref to confess their sin? Zero - yup, all of those guys are cheaters!

I could go on.

If Suarez is a cheater for what happened yesterday then pretty much every player is a cheat and the only reason that tit Champion made a big deal about it is because it's the pantomime villain Suarez.

Suarez's past plays a role here. Much like if Ronaldo goes down in the box from the snipers.

[Macca00]

Suarez's past plays a role here. Much like if Ronaldo goes down in the box from the snipers.

Like when he handled the ball on the line in a World Cup quarter final - got sent off and conceded a penalty. That's not cheating. He violated a rule and got punished for it. It's not his fault Gyan couldn't score a penalty. Yet he's brandished a cheat.

Remember this;



Ole Gunnar deliberately fouls Lee to stop him from scoring - he is applauded by the crowd, his teammates and he was never brandished a cheater, United go on to win the title. How is that any different than what Suarez did? It's not. People pick and choose and the media writes their narratives. Just like every time Scholes kicks a player and gets yellow card it's because he's a poor tackler and everyone laughs yet if someone else does the same over a 15 year career I suspect they'd be labeled a bit of a dirty player.

[10spro]

And for the 4th consecutive time, the 'Ballon d'Or' goes to the great Lionel Messi. Not even close.

[fsquid]

Suarez's past plays a role here. Much like if Ronaldo goes down in the box from the snipers.

Like when he handled the ball on the line in a World Cup quarter final - got sent off and conceded a penalty. That's not cheating. He violated a rule and got punished for it. It's not his fault Gyan couldn't score a penalty. Yet he's brandished a cheat.

Remember this;



Ole Gunnar deliberately fouls Lee to stop him from scoring - he is applauded by the crowd, his teammates and he was never brandished a cheater, United go on to win the title. How is that any different than what Suarez did? It's not. People pick and choose and the media writes their narratives. Just like every time Scholes kicks a player and gets yellow card it's because he's a poor tackler and everyone laughs yet if someone else does the same over a 15 year career I suspect they'd be labeled a bit of a dirty player.

It is what it is.

[pk500]

And for the 4th consecutive time, the 'Ballon d'Or' goes to the great Lionel Messi. Not even close.

Messi must be bored with the ceremony. That's the only possible explanation for the HIDEOUS polka-dot tux he wore to the festivities.

Ronaldo must be bored and depressed seeing Messi walk away again with the trophy. Ronaldo didn't even pout this time.

[fsquid]

Fun thing is that the Real people who voted left Messi off their ballots (including Ronaldo) and the Barcelona players left off Ronaldo's name (including Messi). Good to know those guys really don't like each other.

[RobVarak]

This made me chuckle this morning. From Grantland:

Barcelona center forward Lionel Messi won his fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or, further solidifying his status as the top soccer player in the world. Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished second in the voting, also finished second in the Ballon d'Ro voting, a 15-year-old award given by Cristiano Ronaldo to the player who most embodies being Cristiano Ronaldo. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic narrowly took first place.

[Feanor]

Suarez's past plays a role here. Much like if Ronaldo goes down in the box from the snipers.

Or Bale getting booked for diving when the Sunderland defender made clear knee-on-knee contact, and at worse the ref should have just let them play on.

Still pissed about how that affected my FPL team.

[fsquid]

Hey, I love the Bayern, but if you want to call Robben Ribery c*** for their antics, I'll agree with you. It makes me cringe. Of course we all forget that when Robben cuts to that left foot and puts baby in a corner.

[RobVarak]

African Cup of Nations is going to be broadcast on ESPN3 this year. That is most excellent news.

[10spro]

Who's a better candidate for an Oscar here? The coach or Ronaldo who despite scoring a hat trick needs to play like this...Mourinho's reaction was after the ref apparently missed that call.

[Macca00]

I never bought that the Toon were/are actually in any risk of relegation but now that Colo wants out things could get dicey. Still don't think they'll go down but they actually might get involved in the scrap. That said, they did just buy a quality right back in Debuchy.

And for the 4th consecutive time, the 'Ballon d'Or' goes to the great Lionel Messi. Not even close.

I hardly comment on Messi because.....what is there to say? The guy is on another planet. I still cannot get over the fact he scored 91 goals last year - if a CPU player did that in a videogame I'd say the stats/AI were broken.

[wco81]

How much does Messi owe to Xavi and Iniesta?

How many of those 91 goals were with Barca vs. with Argentina (does he even live in Argentina)?

[Zeppo]

(does he even live in Argentina)?

I just have to ask: why would he live in Argentina?

[XXXIV]

(does he even live in Argentina)?

I just have to ask: why would he live in Argentina?

After years of trying to decipher anonymous internet trolls, best I can do is ...A) If he doesnt live in Argentina his greatness doesnt count? or B) he is a bad person.

[Feanor]

How much does Messi owe to Xavi and Iniesta?

How many of those 91 goals were with Barca vs. with Argentina (does he even live in Argentina)?

I think he lives in Spain cause he plays soccer games there about 9 months of the year.

[wco81]

I figured.

But he can afford some second homes.

Plus he has to be there for the national team duties, though since he's spent a lot of time in Spain since he was a teen, why does he play for Argentina? Guess he can't say no even if he wanted to.

[10spro]

I figured.

But he can afford some second homes.

Plus he has to be there for the national team duties, though since he's spent a lot of time in Spain since he was a teen, why does he play for Argentina? Guess he can't say no even if he wanted to.

Why? Dude is a 100% Argentinian, born and raised in Rosario, Santa Fe where he learned to play soccer at the tender age of 5. At 11, he was clearly a cut above all his other mates where he played for the Newell's old boys club but he had a growth hormone deficiency. Unable to pay for the expensive and complicated treatments in Argentina, his parents then decided to move to Barcelona where the scouts were well aware of his talents and offered his parents to look after the prodigy including the medical costs.

The rest is history, he played his first pro game when he was 17 and excelled right away. But the fact that he played most of his career in Spain doesn't mean that he'll forget his roots, and where he came from. In fact his second home is still in Rosario and his heart will always bleed 'Albiceleste' colors.

[wco81]

I'm not saying he isn't patriotic. But it wouldn't be shocking if he felt more loyalty to his adopted country either, since that is where he's thriving and has become the player he is.

After all, look at the various immigrants on other national teams. In a lot of cases, those players are moving from a developing country to an industrialized one, where they've become wealthy.

[Jimmydeicide]

I'm not saying he isn't patriotic. But it wouldn't be shocking if he felt more loyalty to his adopted country either, since that is where he's thriving and has become the player he is.

After all, look at the various immigrants on other national teams. In a lot of cases, those players are moving from a developing country to an industrialized one, where they've become wealthy.

I know Huh i cant believe Adebeyor and Essien dont play for England by now, i mean arent the rest of there national teamates still Zulus? Adebeyor comes from that tribe with all those rings round their necks ... I think.

[Macca00]

[pk500]

I'm not saying he isn't patriotic. But it wouldn't be shocking if he felt more loyalty to his adopted country either, since that is where he's thriving and has become the player he is.

After all, look at the various immigrants on other national teams. In a lot of cases, those players are moving from a developing country to an industrialized one, where they've become wealthy.

I know Huh i cant believe Adebeyor and Essien dont play for England by now, i mean arent the rest of there national teamates still Zulus? Adebeyor comes from that tribe with all those rings round their necks ... I think.

DEMBA BA FOR ENGLAND!

THIERRY HENRY FOR SAM'S ARMY!

CRISTIANO RONALDO FOR SPAIN!

[Macca00]

For those who, like me, cannot f@cking stand the AFC East's Stoke City, what is currently going on at the Britannia Stadium is a thing of Beauty.

EDIT: Oh, and if you're not watching make sure you watch the highlites to see Jon Walters score one of the best own-goals I've seen in some time. He scored another own goal later on.

[Macca00]

Waiting for the uproar regarding Jay Rodriguez' ridiculous dive in the Southhampton-Villa match that led to the winning (only) goal......



.......waiting.......

[EZSnappin]

I'm pissed about it, but it's only sorry old Villa. Can't expect non-supporters to do much but point and laugh these days.