Soccer thread 08/09 (will have spoilers!)

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:17 am

Jared wrote:For those that have Gol TV, they're getting back the Brazilian Championship this year. They're starting with the Paulista in the spring (including Ronaldo w/Corinthians), and then going with the National Championship for the rest of the year. Should be fun viewing.

Feck, I wish GolTV and DISH had worked things out.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:50 am

wco81 wrote:It sounds like City can't just spend themselves to the top, at least not in 1 year. Robinho is reportedly unhappy?

Meanwhile, Villa is solidly up in the table, aren't they?

Villa have been spending for 3 years....from memory, only 1 of their first XI is home grown. They're doing well at the moment, but I'm not sure that their squad has depth to cover injuries during the title run in.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:06 am

macsomjrr wrote:
davet010 wrote:Bit of a long one this, but totally sums up how City fans feel at the moment.

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The funny thing about all this is if Man City finally manages to break into and crush the top four it'll be accomplished in exactly the same way that City fans have been moaning about for years and years in respect to ManU and the rest of them. Personally I love seeing underdogs break though and beat the big guys but with City the constant self-victimization makes them a bit hard to root for. Must have something to do with sharing a city with you know who.

The reality is that no one is going to breakthrough with a mixture of home growns and £1m pickups any more. While City fans have always been able to laugh at themselves, this has always been a way of dealing with the disasters and bad luck that has been our lot for years.

Which was fine for the media....loveable City, loyal as anything despite the impact of disaster upon disaster. The British press adore loveable losers and plucky second places, which is the usual fate of all British sportsmen and women. But now City have decided to take the shilling and to reinvent the club as winners...not in one year, as the owners have consistently said that this will take time. but as a project which will take a shift in the attitude of everyone. This includes the transfer policy, media relations and everything. If that means pissing off a few people (like the media) who care nothing for the club and make a living off it, then that's all to the good as far as I am concerned.

I've had 32 years of the 'nice guy/shambolic indie label' approach, which has brought semi-sarcastic plaudits for loyalty in the face of incompetence and nothing else. There comes a point where you just decide that if signing with a major label and taking the filthy lucre means you elbow your way onto the top table, then so be it.

As for fans...the nature of supporters is such that 1 Sept 2008 marked an invisible break point. If you were there before that, if like me you went to games when you'd almost rather have been wandering round a shopping mall with your other half looking at shoes, then you are a City fan. If you came on board after that, then unless you are 10 and under, you've just hitched yourself to the supposed rising star, and will probably decouple just as quickly.

There isn't another board or another set of fans in the land who would not behave the same way. All arguments to the contrary, for example from Arsene 'my academy policy is robbing the academies of other clubs' Wenger, are null and void in my book.

So bring on the titles...football doesn't have a soul left to sell anyway. so it isn't like I'll miss mine.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:28 am

Time to sell Mr. Beckham back to Europe. Failed experiment.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:12 pm

fsquid wrote:Time to sell Mr. Beckham back to Europe. Failed experiment.

As expected. No matter what he says, his heart is in Europe and Berlusconi wants him to stay there for good as well.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:57 pm

Becks would be stupid to stay with the Galaxy. Not only are they a crap team in an irrelevant league, but he contributes nothing to his legacy by playing there. I'm sure he now realizes this.

On another note, my brethren are sitting on pins and needles now that it looks like Given may go to Man City. Given is the only reason the Magpies are barely out of relegation at the moment. The rumor mill in Newcastle already has him gone. At least Harper re-signed with the team. I cannot be objective on the matter, but Given is hands-down the best keeper in the EPL right now. Hard to compete with the money Man City are willing to dole out, so it's all understandable and I will hold nothing against Shay if he leaves. I swear I would like to get my hands around the flabby throat of that c*** Mike Ashley for just a few minutes.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:11 pm

toonarmy wrote:Becks would be stupid to stay with the Galaxy. Not only are they a crap team in an irrelevant league, but he contributes nothing to his legacy by playing there. I'm sure he now realizes this.

Oh I am sure he knew it the minute he even signed for LA. We all know he was there for marketing reasons, Victoria's shopping and Hollywood.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:51 pm

I heard his main motivation is to play for the England team and set the record for caps, which doesn't sit well with some English fans because the record he'd be breaking belong to players who are regarded more highly.

But his contract is owned by the MLS, not the Galaxy.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:15 pm

toonarmy wrote:Becks would be stupid to stay with the Galaxy. Not only are they a crap team in an irrelevant league, but he contributes nothing to his legacy by playing there. I'm sure he now realizes this.

On another note, my brethren are sitting on pins and needles now that it looks like Given may go to Man City. Given is the only reason the Magpies are barely out of relegation at the moment. The rumor mill in Newcastle already has him gone. At least Harper re-signed with the team. I cannot be objective on the matter, but Given is hands-down the best keeper in the EPL right now. Hard to compete with the money Man City are willing to dole out, so it's all understandable and I will hold nothing against Shay if he leaves. I swear I would like to get my hands around the flabby throat of that c*** Mike Ashley for just a few minutes.

Very well said. Harper is a solid backup, but he's no Shay Given.

Take care,
PK

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 5:31 pm

Landycakes learned the wrath of Lens Lehman first hand today. It was funny seeing Klose grab the boy and lead him away.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 6:10 pm

fsquid wrote:Landycakes learned the wrath of Lens Lehman first hand today. It was funny seeing Klose grab the boy and lead him away.

If I was on a team with that a-hole I'd carry around a tampon to shove in his mouth whenver he started up with his act. Only proper tool for the job. LOL

Post by **Jared** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:36 pm

Though I hadn't heard this before, Soccernet says there's a clause in Beckham's contract where he can leave on a free in October if he wants. So basically, MLS has to choose whether to take the $7 million or so now or see Beckham go free to Milan in October. I'm not sure what Beckham brings in re: endorsements, but it might be smart to let him go and get some cash versus losing him for nothing after the MLS season.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:30 pm

RobVarak wrote:
fsquid wrote:Landycakes learned the wrath of Lens Lehman first hand today. It was funny seeing Klose grab the boy and lead him away.
If I was on a team with that a-hole I'd carry around a tampon to shove in his mouth whenver he started up with his act. Only proper tool for the job. LOL

I agree, him being the #1 at WC2006 was a fecking travesty.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:44 pm

Ronaldo finally came good, but I captained Lampard this week.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:26 am

What's the deal with Donovan? He's unlikeable or to be scorned because he's about the best the US has been able to produce?

So I'm hearing that the family issues that Robinho cited for leaving the UK a couple of weeks ago had to do with an alleged sexual assault at some Manchester venue.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:21 am

wco81 wrote: So I'm hearing that the family issues that Robinho cited for leaving the UK a couple of weeks ago had to do with an alleged sexual assault at some Manchester venue.

Of course alleged accusations at this point which the Brazilian denies, but you have to wonder why he made that trip back home to be with family and friends.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:52 am

wco81 wrote:What's the deal with Donovan? He's unlikeable or to be scorned because he's about the best the US has been able to produce?

So I'm hearing that the family issues that Robinho cited for leaving the UK a couple of weeks ago had to do with an alleged sexual assault at some Manchester venue.

My scorn, if I wasn't clear, was for Lehman. He's a complete jerk.

That's not to say that Landycakes isn't widely unpopular he is. Much of it stems from the way he handled his first tour of Germany. He played very poorly, pouted, came back with his tail between his legs and a fist full of quotes about what's wrong with European soccer. He appeared to be a wash out and cowardly to boot.

He's clearly the best player we've produed in the modern era and I think some of the unfair backlash stems from the fact that he's just a crusty bastard. His attempts to be more media and fan friendly just seem stilted and insincere, which doesn't help.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:36 am

10spro wrote:
wco81 wrote: So I'm hearing that the family issues that Robinho cited for leaving the UK a couple of weeks ago had to do with an alleged sexual assault at some Manchester venue.
Of course alleged accusations at this point which the Brazilian denies, but you have to wonder why he made that trip back home to be with family and friends.

1. If the police thought that there was any substance in the allegations that denoted serious assault, he'd have been arrested straight away.

2. If the police even half-thought something had happened, he would not have been allowed to leave the country.

Answer - some pissed up Yorkshire troll has seen a chance to make some money, knowing full well that her identity cannot be released. We'll all know who she is pretty soon anyway, as she'll have her tits out in the Sunday papers within 3 weeks.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:02 am

some pissed up Yorkshire troll

probably a united fan

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:12 am

I've been reading about the new structure of the Champions League and Europa League for next year and I believe they've made it the most confusing fecking thing ever. Good grief.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:25 am

fsquid wrote:
some pissed up Yorkshire troll
probably a united fan

Leeds United, maybe.

Still, happens to players from all teams.

Macca00 · Post by **Macca00** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:40 pm

It's all going rather pear shaped isn't it. I love him to bits but I think Rafa is losing the plot.

Robbie Keane is still sh!t.

fsquid · Post by **fsquid** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:51 pm

Liverpool is just s*** unless we are ranking rioting supporters.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:25 pm

fsquid wrote:Liverpool is just s*** unless we are ranking rioting supporters.

Be a quiet riot then - never seen Liverpool fans go off anywhere, other than that incident which we won't discuss here. Probably because they were winning all the time during the heyday of soccer hoolies in the 70s and 80s.

Just watched the pundits on Sky - their take seems to be that 'Liverpool are more scared of losing than they want to win'.

Phil Thompson just sat there looking like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle.

Always knew Craig Bellamy was a hero. Just hope someone's told Robinho not to ask Craig about golf...

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:43 pm

Macca00 wrote:It's all going rather pear shaped isn't it. I love him to bits but I think Rafa is losing the plot.

Robbie Keane is still sh!t.

I think Rafa's biggest mistake was made months ago. People are quick to point to his SAF attack or the Robbie Keane mess, but I think his admission early on that he didn't think LFC had the talent to win the title was a huge mistake.

Mind you, I think he was correct and being honest. But if you're going to get a professional sports team to punch above its weight for an entire season, you need to have their self-confidence at unreasonably high levels. I think he might have placed his own interest in his battle with the owners and Perry ahead of his team's interest at that moment.

They are a nightmare to watch these days, and have been since the holidays. It's the same game over and over and over. Create 5-6 chances, take one hit the woodwork once and give up a late equalizer to drop 2 points.