The Ultimate Football Thread 2013-2014 Vol. 4 EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc

[fear the ibis]

Lmao here comes the Pep apologist.



Because Pep losing with the best team in the world a year ago is equivalent to Jose losing with Chelsea to a better all-around team. Just stop it.

you read my whole comment and thats what you took from it...

again don't know how i became this pep "apologist", just acknowledging the hypocrisy in this thread.[/quote]
There is no hypocrisy.

Chelsea over-acheived by even making it this far in the CL with no striker and a weak midfield. 

There is no disappointment really. Anybody wanting to kill Jose for this is an idiot. This squad has whole. Atletico are easily a better all-around and more complete team. Just because Chelsea lost to a team that was better than them doesn't mean Jose got "out-managed". So get off your Pep shinebox trying to find some hypocrisy that doesn't exist. 

 

[eiddyfouw]

 

Welp.


It was a nice run while it lasted fellas.


Go get us a striker, fix our midfield and lets try again next year...


Oh and bring back Courtois.

Please elaborate.


I thought Chelsea's mid was fine.

Luiz and Ramires are not world class caliber mids at all.


They are good complimentary mids because they have their strenths but also some glaring weaknesses. They need to be paired with someone like Matic who is a great all-around mid. The two of them playing together is a no no. Against a team with a good midfield like Atletico will make them look foolish, like they did today.

Squawka Football ‏@Squawka 8m
Ramires won just 22.2% of his tackles tonight. pic.twitter.com/gayYdhqhJl

 

[mr marcus]

 

Lmao here comes the Pep apologist.



Because Pep losing with the best team in the world a year ago is equivalent to Jose losing with Chelsea to a better all-around team. Just stop it.

you read my whole comment and thats what you took from it...

again don't know how i became this pep "apologist", just acknowledging the hypocrisy in this thread.

There is no hypocrisy.

Chelsea over-acheived by even making it this far in the CL with no striker and a weak midfield. 

There is no disappointment really. Anybody wanting to kill Jose for this is an idiot. This squad has whole. Atletico are easily a better all-around and more complete team. Just because Chelsea lost to a team that was better than them doesn't mean Jose got "out-managed". So get off your Pep shinebox trying to find some hypocrisy that doesn't exist. 
[/quote]
cookie for the moral victory?

 

[fear the ibis]

No moral victories. That's for Arsenal fans. 

I'm just not all that devastated about losing to a better team in the CL Semi-final when our squad has glaring weaknesses. 

 

[mr marcus]

You're not lying about Arsenal fans 

 

[noskey]

You aren't tho

 

[venom lyrix]

man I got bombarded at work right after halftime...go back and see it's 3-1...smh

poor defense...

next season...

 

[truth-serum]

LMAO that's what I've been saying all these years

On another note, I think Wayne Bridge laughs hysterically whenever he sees terry cry on the TV. 2008 CL final he balled his eyes out after missing the last PK and trying to be a hero. Chelsea might have lost in 2012 if he played

John Terry has not at any point in his career given one single damn about that hideous haircut of his.

 

[Trey Bantz]

So who could've predicted this final?

 

[AZwildcats]

I've gotten damn near 25 texts from the fans of various teams I've heckled over the season. Even Arsenal fans trying to piss on my parade

 

[tomdiginson]

Imagine if Athletico wins both La Liga and the champions league :x (and I mean that in a good way)

 

[truth-serum]

athleti will hand the CL to real on a plater

Imagine if Athletico wins both La Liga and the champions league :x (and I mean that in a good way)

 

[Kimchi Papi]

La Liga Football!!!!

Rooting for Atletico!!! It's funny, they won almost all of the critical games people were expecting them to lose since January.

Given their financial state & the rate at which they've had to sell key players over the years (Fernando Torres, Aguero, Falcao, & now maybe Costa), it's astounding that Cholo has got them playing better & better each year he's been there. He does Jose's game plan/tactics better than Jose with far less money.

Having said that, I'd be happy for Ronnie though even though I don't want La Decima for RM... Winning the CL at home in Portugal would be a nice cap to the year he's had.

 

[tomdiginson]

athleti will hand the CL to real on a plater

 

[tego calderon el abayarde]

Jose's system lives and dies on absorbing pressure and scoring on counters. A system like that cannot afford to make mistakes especially when the teams strikers aren't delivering consistently. The defense was uncharacteristically tuurrble and the team didn't press like they were down. Also Jose went away from his strategy way too early. Ultimately its on him for letting the public influence his philosophy. If he gets the players on his shopping list, he has no excuse next year if Chelsea ends up without trophies.

 

[shannonscrooks]

Any good podcasts you guys recommend?

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Any good podcasts you guys recommend?

For general football & more Prem specific,check out Gab Marcotti's TheGame, Football Weekly with James Richardson, The Football Ramble, & Men In Blazers. If you're a La Liga fan like me Sky Sport's La LIga Weekly & The Spanish Football podcast with Sid Lowe are great.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Deigo Simeone's quote from the post game presser. Cholo is wild...

I want to congratulate the mothers of these players, because they gave them big cajones to play like this.

Funny tweet...

View media item 947535

 

[ROYGBiV]

My job is saying they don't know if I can get the 24th off  

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I'll call out!

 

[ajiiiplatinum]

Deigo Simeone's quote from the post game presser. Cholo is wild...
Funny tweet...

View media item 947535

Smh.
Thats the bus we couldnt score on 2 years ago

 

[Beans]

For general football & more Prem specific,check out Gab Marcotti's TheGame, Football Weekly with James Richardson, The Football Ramble, & Men In Blazers. If you're a La Liga fan like me Sky Sport's La LIga Weekly & The Spanish Football podcast with Sid Lowe are great.

don't forget world soccer talk... also there is a united/Liverpool one that's pretty entertaining and a redcast (united podcasT)


really looking forward to this final.. am gonna be in Portugal the week before and fly out on that Friday really wish it was easier to get tickets to the finals but that lottery thing Is a joke.

 

[flyeed]

Why don't I remember any Chelsea fans talking about how Athletico were the more talented side going into this tie? Or that it's an accomplishment to just get to this part of the tournament? And now it's, "Well we don't have a striker, Athletico have better players, they have our goalie." Like son look how much more money your team and coach costs

Your team's football is results oriented at the expense of being disgusting to watch and still couldn't get it done and got dismantled at home.

As a RM fan there are no consolations, we handled the defending champs and now it's La Decima or bust.

Oh and I saw this pic on Real's IG page and just had to do it...

Spoiler

View media item 947948

 

[AZwildcats]

Athletico are the better team, which is a slap in the face to whoever is in charge of player transfers at Chelsea. They put together a squad with a fraction of our budget, and no matter how its viewed it doesn't look good

 

[abovelegit1]

Why don't I remember any Chelsea fans talking about how Athletico were the more talented side going into this tie? Or that it's an accomplishment to just get to this part of the tournament? And now it's, "Well we don't have a striker, Athletico have better players, they have our goalie." Like son look how much more money your team and coach costs

Basically.

The whole 'no striker' thing is basically a built in excuse to be used by Mourinho in case they failed this season. If they won something, the narrative would revolve around how much of a genius Mou is for winning without one, and now it's that they didn't have one so it's all good - just wait for next season. In between the 10 or so attacking midfielders that donned blue this season, Mou couldn't target a decent striker to pick up? Isn't it his fault he couldn't see the value of Lukaku? And is it not his fault for not being adventurous enough in the first leg which left them vulnerable to away goals?

The way Mou is protected by the English media is laughable. In Spain, he certainly would have been called out on his faults.

 

[abovelegit1]

As for Pep, it's interesting that losing in the semis causes everyone to question his brand of football, but Mou probably going trophy-less for two straight season with unlimited resources isn't really causing anyone to question his bus parking. Can't say I'm surprised - people have been waiting to have a go at Pep for years.

And It's funny how everyone is using Jupp's Bayern side to criticize Pep, as if they weren't a possession based side last season too. The only side they ceded possession to was Barca. Yes, they were more direct last season, but then again they were almost beaten by Dortmund in the final because their build up play was predictable. Pep was the man to improve that, but unfortunately for him, Bayern lost form at the wrong time, and Madrid peaked at the right time. He obviously made some mistakes, but his players are also at fault - especially Ribery and Sweini who look like shells of themselves.

As for possession vs. counterattacking, neither approach is inherently advantageous. There are varying levels of aesthetic quality, but effectiveness depends on application and your players. That said, if you go through and look at the great teams in history - Pep's Barca, Spain of now, Milan in the 90s, Liverpool in the 80s, Ajax in the 70s, Pele's Brazil, etc., they're all possession-based sides.