Soccer thread 08/09 (will have spoilers!)

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:16 am

Bayern shows that they are ready for Barca by losing 5-1 to Wolfsburg. 3 points separate the top 4 in Germany

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:14 pm

Not sure how many of you saw the CL match between ManU and Porto. It was a crazy match, and a real heartbreaker for Porto. Porto had several masterful plays, but Rooney delivered one of the best passes I have ever seen in a big match. The second leg should be very interesting since it is on Porto's home ground.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:23 pm

toonarmy wrote:Not sure how many of you saw the CL match between ManU and Porto. It was a crazy match, and a real heartbreaker for Porto. Porto had several masterful plays, but Rooney delivered one of the best passes I have ever seen in a big match. The second leg should be very interesting since it is on Porto's home ground.

Yeah a fun crazy match. I thought ManU had the game in hand and Porto ties it late in the final minutes. A total ManU defensive breakdown on Porto's final goal.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:41 pm

Fair play Chelsea, they stuffed us. Could be worse....we could be Bayern...

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:51 pm

First half of Barca v Bayern was men against boys (or thugs, in Van Bommel's case). Second half showed a bit more fight, and Barca took the foot off the gas a bit and tried to overelaborate. If Ze Roberto had scored, I think the second leg would have been interesting, but as it is, Barca will go through.

Nice to see the Grievers get a good hiding as well.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 6:11 pm

Macca00 wrote:Fair play Chelsea, they stuffed us. Could be worse....we could be Bayern...

Agree with the first assertion not so much the second. Can't get worse than being done twice by lousy f---in' Serb reserve. Dreadful!

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:13 pm

My afternoon just cleared up next Tuesday.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 11:20 pm

My indoor team lost 3-1 as well tonight in the semi-finals against a team we spanked 4-0 earlier in the league season. Oh what a wonderful day of football.....motherfu(*(*#$!

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 3:49 am

fsquid wrote:My afternoon just cleared up next Tuesday.

To be fair, Bayern showed a bit more second half, and there were a lot of players missing. Few thoughts..

Van Bommel is still a dirty tw*t

Altintop is not fit

Schweinsteiger...blimey, has he ever faded away

That no 30 (Lell ?) - I felt sorry for him after 10 minutes

Butt looked like an outfield player in goals, though his second half save from Messi was good.

City at Hamburg tonite....I got a bad feeling about this, no Kompany, Ireland, De Jong or Bridge.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:03 am

don't know if Butt could have stopped any of those to begin with. Never thought I'd miss Lucio.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:43 pm

looks like the Klinnsman experience is over.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:21 pm

Isn't Hoeness supposed to be off at the end of the year as well ? One of the Sky commentators on Wednesday was Alan McInally, who I think still knows a few people at BM from his time there.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:30 pm

davet010 wrote:Isn't Hoeness supposed to be off at the end of the year as well ? One of the Sky commentators on Wednesday was Alan McInally, who I think still knows a few people at BM from his time there.

rumored.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:44 am

It appears Chelsea gives a new meaning to the term "it's in the bag". Up 4-0 against Bolton in the second half, they are hanging now 4-3. Good stuff, that !

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:46 pm

Tonight was the first time in a couple of months that I'd had a chance to watch Newcastle United play live. If that's how they play every week, they're in a million kinds of trouble. Have the members of the defence ever been introduced either to each other or to the concept of marking a man?

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:32 am

GB_Simo wrote:Tonight was the first time in a couple of months that I'd had a chance to watch Newcastle United play live. If that's how they play every week, they're in a million kinds of trouble. Have the members of the defence ever been introduced either to each other or to the concept of marking a man?

Millions kind of trouble is a bit harsh. Really in football if you are eleven kinds of trouble that pretty much seals your fate. If you wanted to add in manager and front office staff, that brings it up to 13 kinds of trouble.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:38 am

JRod wrote:Millions kind of trouble is a bit harsh. Really in football if you are eleven kinds of trouble that pretty much seals your fate. If you wanted to add in manager and front office staff, that brings it up to 13 kinds of trouble.

What you've done there, you see, is counted having Iain Dowie on the coaching staff as only one kind of trouble. And having Shola Ameobi up front. Just as well Wise has gone, otherwise I'd have run out of numbers

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:36 pm

Lets see, if you thought Titas Bramble was bad lets transfer him to Wigan and replace him with Coloccini. If hes not the worst defender ever to play in a top league then i need to find another sport to follow.

Newcastle should just file bankruptcy get rid of everyone and start again as Tineside black and white and sign Espimas and ximelez.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 5:24 pm

Feanor wrote:I love the promotion/relegation in football, and I didn't like that they removed it from NZ rugby a few years ago. But I'm very glad the NHL doesn't have it cause my team (the Flyers) were last place in the league by a long way in 2006/07.

More I learn about the Euro leagues, the less I see the benefit of this system.

Realistically, there's a huge gulf between the top 2, 3 or 4 teams and the rest of the field in the big leagues. The Champions League just seems to consolidate the advantage of the best teams, because it's speculated that just making the field is worth tens of millions in additional revenues.

The CL provides a little of what the national leagues don't, namely some semblance of revenue sharing and a more level playing field.

I'm not saying there should be parity but the leagues are a fiction when less than a handful of teams has any chance of winning the titles.

It's one thing if a club like Tottenham gets promoted back after a bad year in the EPL. At least they have the economic base to climb up the standings. But a small-town club would seem more likely to have a year or two before going down again because they just can't generate the revenues to fill their rosters with enough good players to survive the battle of attrition over a long season.

I guess it may be a thrill for some small market team to be up in the EPL and get to see superstar players on the top teams visit. But beyond that, are they ever going to be anything more than temporary Washington Generals?

I would imagine money is also a big differentiator for the academies and the signing of the best teen players as well. No draft so of course the best clubs are going to attract the most promising teens.

It might be more interesting if these leagues consisted just of the ten biggest markets -- interesting as in more than 3 or 4 clubs which can potentially win the league in a given year, as opposed to the current situation where it seems 2/3 of the league are just fighting to avoid relegation.

Of course, if the goal of these leagues is to build up 2 or 3 powerhouse clubs capable of winning the CL in any given year, then the status quo is probably for the best.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:38 pm

[quote="Jimmydeicide"
Newcastle should just file bankruptcy get rid of everyone and start again as Tineside black and white and sign Espimas and ximelez.[/quote]

ROFL!!!

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 11:46 am

In england there is a "gulf" between the top 4, but in other leagues that gulf is quite small and gets lept many times. Germany, Italy, Holland, and Spain have different teams qualify for Euope each year.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:20 pm

If there is such a gulf why dont you put money on the top 4 every week you cant lose right.

I disagree when Everton can beat Liverpool, or Fulham beat Man U .

Still the best tv theatre for me no matter who's playing who.

There is a gap maybe but its no different than the NHL anyone can beat anyone .

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:24 pm

Well Liverpool or Man U., or for that matter Barcelona or Real Madrid or Inter or AC Milan can be beaten in a given match.

But these clubs are far more likely to win their leagues than the far less-known teams which may beat them once in awhile.

These second-tier clubs may also break into the CL in a given year. But they're not threats to win it all.

Look at Inter, it sounds like their aim is to win the CL, because being at the top of the Serie A is almost a given for them.

It's not as if it's only Americans who are saying the Euro leagues could use more competitive balance.[/i]

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 9:30 am

wco81 wrote:Well Liverpool or Man U., or for that matter Barcelona or Real Madrid or Inter or AC Milan can be beaten in a given match.

But these clubs are far more likely to win their leagues than the far less-known teams which may beat them once in awhile.

These second-tier clubs may also break into the CL in a given year. But they're not threats to win it all.

Look at Inter, it sounds like their aim is to win the CL, because being at the top of the Serie A is almost a given for them.

It's not as if it's only Americans who are saying the Euro leagues could use more competitive balance.[/i]

Oddly enough, before the match fixing Inter hadn't won the title in 20 years or so. Liverpool have never won the Premiership either.

I'd much rather have promotion and relegation than any sort of tedious franchise system and the cultivation of standardised mediocrity.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 10:04 am

Today is the day that we see a miracle in Munchen.