The Ultimate Soccer Thread 2012-2013 Vol. 3 Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga etc

[imasoleman18]

swag http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...500-crystal-Nike-boots.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

[trunks206]

Am I the only one who feels that Alex Song is so out of place on this team? He was given a more natural CDM position today and still looked completely lost

Give him time. Most of those Barce players have been playing together since they were kids.

There's a reason why they bought him.

Alex is a good player and I like him ( I feel many Arsenal fans underrated his contribution in midfield for us) but in the handful of Barca games Ive watched the man undoubtedly looks out of place at the Nou Camp. Not to knock him because he's never been the silkiest player on the eyes and even Cesc looked out of place initially in that midfield but come on now he (Song) is squad player at best at Barca in midfield. From my understanding a large reason Barca picked up Song was because their defense was thin (they were linked with many CBs over the summer) and like Mascherano, Song can also play CB.

While I was watching him I almost felt bad for him because he just looks so limited in his role there...almost like he's not trying to express himself and play the game he can play out of fear of ******g up. Any other Barca supporters what to chime in on how Alex Song looks?

and he's not a f*cking brazilian, how the f*ck does he get away with calling himself Gervinho, Mr Gervais Lombe Yao Kouassi? Drogba didnt call himself Drogbinho, Yaya didnt call himself Grand Tourinho, how does a man with zero skill get away with dubbing himself a brazilian moniker, the only brazilian he got was when he shaved ...... cause he aint got no balls.

Yo, you A-M member too?

 

[abovelegit1]

First of all.. I never said anything remotely close to Messi being a poacher.
If I thought Messi was a poacher.. I would have said those exact words.
I never claimed Messi was a choker either.. I just pointed out he failed to score.
You're wasting your time arguing about things I never claimed.. Yet I'm the foolish one?
Ok.

Who cares what Maradona did in 1990.. He was at the end..
Messi was in his prime. Germans locked him down.. Barely even a threat.
Why is it so hard to see that Messi isn't as effective when hes not playin with Barca?
There is a reason why Spain won the WC and Messi flopped. Did you see how many shots he took?

How is my assessment of Barca moronic..?
They keep the ball until a chance is created for the attackers.. Usually its Messi..
And he usually converts those chances. No other team in the world has Barcas style.

You may not have said it, but you implied it.

Until they create an easy chance for Messi to get a inside foot finish in the box..

What is that, but the description of a poacher? A poacher is just a penalty box predator who gets on the end of chances. Which is basically what you wrote.
True, Messi didn't score. But that doesn't mean he was abjectly poor. Not scoring does not mean choking, especially when you're playing as a playmaker/AM.

I like how you skipped over the fact that you were blatantly wrong about Maradona by saying who cares. He was "at the end?" Okay, now I know you're talking out your @%$. He was 29, and they got to the final that year, where they lost to West Germany. Earlier that year he won the Serie A title with Napoli. But he was done at that point, right? LOL.
Messi was not in his prime. He was 23, and the prime age range for top level footballers is mid to late 20s. Of course Messi is at his very best at Barca because he has innate understanding with the players. But that doesn't mean he wouldn't be effective elsewhere, or that he wouldn't be the best in the world anywhere else. Let's not pretend that if he was in the EPL he wouldn't have more goals than Michu, while at the same time drastically improving any club's midfield/creativity/playmaking.

You're assessment of Barca is moronic because it is wrong, and is just another thinly veiled attempt to minimize and denigrate Messi's game. There are crosses, they're just low crosses and cutbacks. There are long shots, and there are free kicks. Volleys are a rare event in any game, but there are some too. They don't just create easy chances. There is a patient build up, and Messi is almost always heavily involved. And many of the chances are not easy.

And no, Barca are not the only side to employ a possession system based on quick passing and movement. Off the top of my head, there's Bayern, Arsenal, Liverpool, Swansea, Athletic, Florentina, Lyon, United when in a diamond, etc. Barca are simply best known for it, and have a distinct variant of the style with a catchy name (tiki taka).

 

[chiva1908]

Start of the second half, Chelsea 2-0...

 

[abovelegit1]

^Not one of Song's best games. He was okay in possession and distribution, but his defensive awareness and positioning weren't great. He has tried to keep it simple this season, but then again he doesn't have the free license to get forward like he did at Arsenal, as there is already plenty of attacking impetus in the side. He got significant time at CB when the starters were out, but didn't look great in terms of his reads on when to come out and play the ball and when to fall back. For the most part this season, he has looked pretty good in his natural position.

Fairly certain he knew he was coming in to replace Keita as a squad player. He's good cover for Busquets, but was never going to displace him.

 

[trunks206]

^Not one of Song's best games. He was okay in possession and distribution, but his defensive awareness and positioning weren't great. He has tried to keep it simple this season, but then again he doesn't have the free license to get forward like he did at Arsenal, as there is already plenty of attacking impetus in the side. He got significant time at CB when the starters were out, but didn't look great in terms of his reads on when to come out and play the ball and when to fall back. For the most part this season, he has looked pretty good in his natural position.

Fairly certain he knew he was coming in to replace Keita as a squad player. He's good cover for Busquets, but was never going to displace him.

Thanks for the insight man. Now that he plays for Barca I was hoping he'd get to express his playmaking/creative ability (we saw it in flashes last season) a bit more as I felt with lots of Arsenal fans despite what he showed he could offer going forward many fans still felt because he was big and strong (and black ) he should just play as a destroyer type DM and that was/is a waste. Again in the limited games Ive watched he looked to have regressed in that aspect as he just recycled possession to the other midfielders and generally keep it very simple but it seems you have similar observations.


Oh yeah, I look forward to undoubtedly facing you guys in the round of 16 again.

 

[mastamind89]

and he's not a f*cking brazilian, how the f*ck does he get away with calling himself Gervinho, Mr Gervais Lombe Yao Kouassi? Drogba didnt call himself Drogbinho, Yaya didnt call himself Grand Tourinho, how does a man with zero skill get away with dubbing himself a brazilian moniker, the only brazilian he got was when he shaved ...... cause he aint got no balls.

Yo, you A-M member too?

Nope. I got if from BB. I'm guessing you are

Wilshere and Ramsey have been given new deals. Gibbs is next. Guessing those in charge decided to be more proactive given the drama of contracts in recent time

 

[Sinner]

Seriously? 

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/s...s-action-over-serbia-england-violence?cc=4716

"Four Serbian players have been hit with bans ranging from two games to four for their part in their bust-up, while Tottenham defender Steven Caulker will be suspended for two games and Blackpool winger Tom Ince for one."

Weren't they the ones being abused? 

 

[Moderngz]

Drogba to juve would be nice I wana see him play. I don't think he would be able to play though on champions league since he would be new isn't there a rule about that or am I wrong?

 

[dlo13]

Arsenal about to get long-term deals done with Wilshere, AOC and...Aaron Ramsey,

Two steps forward, one step back, I guess.

 

[j apostrophe]

You may not have said it, but you implied it.
What is that, but the description of a poacher? A poacher is just a penalty box predator who gets on the end of chances. Which is basically what you wrote.
True, Messi didn't score. But that doesn't mean he was abjectly poor. Not scoring does not mean choking, especially when you're playing as a playmaker/AM.
I like how you skipped over the fact that you were blatantly wrong about Maradona by saying who cares. He was "at the end?" Okay, now I know you're talking out your @%$. He was 29, and they got to the final that year, where they lost to West Germany. Earlier that year he won the Serie A title with Napoli. But he was done at that point, right? LOL.
Messi was not in his prime. He was 23, and the prime age range for top level footballers is mid to late 20s. Of course Messi is at his very best at Barca because he has innate understanding with the players. But that doesn't mean he wouldn't be effective elsewhere, or that he wouldn't be the best in the world anywhere else. Let's not pretend that if he was in the EPL he wouldn't have more goals than Michu, while at the same time drastically improving any club's midfield/creativity/playmaking.
You're assessment of Barca is moronic because it is wrong, and is just another thinly veiled attempt to minimize and denigrate Messi's game. There are crosses, they're just low crosses and cutbacks. There are long shots, and there are free kicks. Volleys are a rare event in any game, but there are some too. They don't just create easy chances. There is a patient build up, and Messi is almost always heavily involved. And many of the chances are not easy.
And no, Barca are not the only side to employ a possession system based on quick passing and movement. Off the top of my head, there's Bayern, Arsenal, Liverpool, Swansea, Athletic, Florentina, Lyon, United when in a diamond, etc. Barca are simply best known for it, and have a distinct variant of the style with a catchy name (tiki taka).

This guy. 

Maradona was at the end. There were plenty of players better than him at the point.

Maradona was in his prime in the early 80s. Didn't even finish in the top 3 of South American footballers in 1990.

Messi on the other hand.. Had been playing on one of the best clubs since 2005.. 

Won World Footballer of the Year 2009-2010.. Yet he wasn't in his prime for WC 2010? 

Just because a player isn't 25+ he cant be in his prime? Who made these guidelines? 

If anybody is talking out of their bum.. Its you.

 

[Thierry Henry]

^


Anybody watched the club world cup game? Chelsea beat Monterrey 3-1.

Chelsea will play Corinthians for the championship. I predict Chelsea will win 2-1

 

[trunks206]

and he's not a f*cking brazilian, how the f*ck does he get away with calling himself Gervinho, Mr Gervais Lombe Yao Kouassi? Drogba didnt call himself Drogbinho, Yaya didnt call himself Grand Tourinho, how does a man with zero skill get away with dubbing himself a brazilian moniker, the only brazilian he got was when he shaved ...... cause he aint got no balls.

Yo, you A-M member too?

Nope. I got if from BB. I'm guessing you are

Yeah I am, I spend a massive amount of time on there. I couldn't even stay mad after the Bradford loss because some on the rants were pretty funny.

Wilshere and Ramsey have been given new deals. Gibbs is next. Guessing those in charge decided to be more proactive given the drama of contracts in recent time

 

[mastamind89]

Lol I feel for Ramsey though, that injury set him back. Wouldn't surprised if Speed's death took a major toll on him, stripped on captaincy, etc. Last couple of years have been rather ****** for him tbh I would give him a loan, plenty of teams would take him and actually play him in position and start him. He needs to step him game up and offering him a new contract doesn't exactly enforce that

As much as people may not like Usmanov, he makes a good point. I rather him have a seat on the board as opposed to other members who don't care as much. I also thought Henry should be given some sort of management with Arsenal. Also whenever AW departs from his position, he should still stay on and oversee development.

Arsène Wenger needs Thierry Henry in support, says Alisher Usmanov
• Arsenal's second largest shareholder calls for key Henry role
• Wenger expected to re-sign Red Bulls player on loan deal

Alisher Usmanov has told Thierry Henry not to return to Arsenal for a second loan spell next month. The club's second largest shareholder would prefer Arsenal to appoint him to a permanent post that could support the manager Arsène Wenger.

Usmanov feels that club ought to have plans for Henry in a non-playing capacity and he does not want them to allow him to slip through their fingers on retirement, as another Arsenal legend, Patrick Vieira, has done. Vieira works at Manchester City as the club's development executive.

Usmanov, who has been refused a seat on the Arsenal board due to his ideological differences with the majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, is a supporter of Wenger but he believes that the manager needs more football people around him. It is unclear whether Wenger, to whom delegation is not a strong suit, would agree with the notion.

Wenger is expected to re-sign Henry from the New York Red Bulls on a short-term contract for the second successive January, as he seeks to stabilise after enduring the worst start to a Premier League season of his 16-year tenure, which was compounded by the Capital One Cup elimination at League Two Bradford City on Tuesday. Usmanov, though, offered a fresh take on the old maxim about never going back.

"The presence of a champion can radically change the soul of a team, that's what Thierry Henry showed last year when he came back to Arsenal. But I think that comebacks only succeed once," Usmanov said. "That's why I think the decision to come back belongs only to Thierry."

"I don't have any powers in terms of decisions at the club but there are a few players with whom I am in contact," Usmanov told the French newspaper L'Equipe. "My favourite is probably Thierry. He should be involved at the club but not as a player. He has another role to play, a more important role. Take the example of Patrick Vieira at Manchester City. He is also a symbol of Arsenal but he is helping another club. We have to avoid that with Thierry."

Henry has known Usmanov for several years and he sometimes socialises with him, which could lead to raised eyebrows, given Usmanov's status as the bitter rival of Kroenke, the chief executive Ivan Gazidis and the club's other directors. But Henry has a connection to Usmanov through his agent Darren Dein, who is the son of David, the former Arsenal vice-chairman.

Dein Sr sold his shares in Arsenal to Usmanov in August 2007, making £75m, four months after he had left the club, citing "irreconcilable differences" between himself and the rest of the board. He favoured Usmanov taking over the club and funding it with his personal fortune.

Meanwhile, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, the former Arsenal director and the club's honorary vice-president, has criticised Kroenke via her Twitter account, accusing him of caring "very little" about Arsenal.

"Why he wanted to be part of AFC I do not know," she wrote. "If making money was the motivating factor, surely there are better ways. Football is a business of passion and SK [Kroenke] has no passion for AFC."

 

[jada2001retro]

Of all the people on the team, RAMSEY gets a new contract?

That **** needs to ****, I would give a new damn deal to Almunia before Ramsey.

 

[abovelegit1]

Thanks for the insight man. Now that he plays for Barca I was hoping he'd get to express his playmaking/creative ability (we saw it in flashes last season) a bit more as I felt with lots of Arsenal fans despite what he showed he could offer going forward many fans still felt because he was big and strong (and black ) he should just play as a destroyer type DM and that was/is a waste. Again in the limited games Ive watched he looked to have regressed in that aspect as he just recycled possession to the other midfielders and generally keep it very simple but it seems you have similar observations.
Oh yeah, I look forward to undoubtedly facing you guys in the round of 16 again.

I think we'll see more from him as he gets more comfortable in the side, since he's clearly not as of yet as we and many others agree. No doubt he has plenty in his locker as we saw last year. That bit of skill and the pass for an RvP goal stands out to me as one of the highlights of last season.
At the thought of another AFC/Barca tie. What do you think of Pep taking the reigns if Arsene decides to step down? Between Chelsea, City, and Milan, I think I'd much prefer too see him end up in north London.

This guy. 
Maradona was at the end. There were plenty of players better than him at the point.
Maradona was in his prime in the early 80s. Didn't even finish in the top 3 of South American footballers in 1990.
Messi on the other hand.. Had been playing on one of the best clubs since 2005.. 
Won World Footballer of the Year 2009-2010.. Yet he wasn't in his prime for WC 2010? 
Just because a player isn't 25+ he cant be in his prime? Who made these guidelines? 
If anybody is talking out of their bum.. Its you.

Please explain to me just how a player "at the end" leads Napoli to the Scudetto when Serie A was the best league in the world. He wasn't in his prime in the early 80s. Just about everyone agrees he reaches his peak in '86 when he won the World Cup and began winning with Napoli in the late 80s. How old are you that you're talking about him as if you actually know what you're talking about, when it's clear you don't? I'm 28, and I only remember the very end of his career, and I know what I've seen of the many recorded matches/videos I've seen, and what my Dad and others have told me about him.
And no, Messi was not in his prime. He may have been better than everyone else at that age, but he wasn't near the best he'd ever be. He has gotten better every year since then so clearly it's not true he was in his prime. The peak age group is generally agreed upon by many sources, and it's true for other sports. ~25-28 is the range when the physical side of it is in line with the mental side.

 

[mastamind89]

Pepe gon Pepe

​

 

[eiddyfouw]

Seriously? 
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/s...s-action-over-serbia-england-violence?cc=4716

"Four Serbian players have been hit with bans ranging from two games to four for their part in their bust-up, while Tottenham defender Steven Caulker will be suspended for two games and Blackpool winger Tom Ince for one."

Weren't they the ones being abused? 

UEFA is as corrupt as it gets.

100k fine to Bendtner for the underwear incident.
80k fine to Serbia for racism.





Anyway, the usual transfer speculation has begun, and the who's who is on the list.

I see there's still talk of Ozil to United after a fall out with Mourinho.

I think Ozil is fantastic, but doesn't he play where Rooney and Kagawa play? If Ozil is mad at not getting full 90's at Madrid, why would he be happy going to a club where he most likely won't get full 90's in his natural position.

Maybe it's just media hype..

 

[mastamind89]

Too add to the media hype, apparently Pep and SAF have met up this week or going

 

[JJ Goon]

Too add to the media hype, apparently Pep and SAF have met up this week or going

They have already met a few weeks ago, Due to meet up again, It seems that Sir Alex has been given the task of choosing the man to replace him and he is sounding out whether that will be Pep or his good friend Jose - I would prefer Jose

 

[eiddyfouw]

I know 20+ years at a club is unheard of anymore...and even Alan Pardews 8 year deal at Newcastle is seen as insane. But United needs someone for the long haul. My issue with Jose is that, will he be happy actually sticking around for the long haul.

 

[demps]

The Timbers are preparing a move to sign U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Mix Diskerud, sources told SBI on Thursday.

 

[mastamind89]

 

[ajiiiplatinum]

Seriously? Maradona was still a great player in 1990. Did you watch that world cup? Maradona was awesome.


Off topic: Looking back at WCs

Italy '90 was the first world cup I watched.
Argentina ofcourse was my team but I also liked Cameroon (loved their unis) and Colombia (Higuita and El Pibe).
Matter of fact I guess thats when my hate for England started cuz they beat Cameroon with bad ref calls and good luck. I also hated Germany after that cuz they kept us from #3.

US '94 was awesome. No England and Maradona comes back...for a bit. Amazing goal vs Greece and the introduction of Batistuta. Didnt hate on Romania and Bulgaria for beating us cuz unlike England they played beautiful soccer. This was Hagi and Stoichkov's world cup.

France '98 was awesome. Argentina got to shatter England's hopes and dreams lol. Ortega was the man. He made Le Saux and Ince look like bums. I rooted for Paraguay too cuz of Chilavert (best GK I ever saw). Nigeria was fun to watch to. JJ Okocha is the most tech gifted african player to play in a WC imo. Holand vs Brazil should have been the final since that was the last game Brazil really played.


South Korea/Japan 2002 was not a good world cup. Maybe cuz Argentina sucked and we got beat by Bechham and his boys. Btw even Michael Owen said that wasnt a penalty. Score a penalty then park the bus. Typical English soccer. US vs Mexico was huge in LA.

Germany 2006
Great World Cup and another nemesis (Mexico) gets elimated by Argentina and Maxi's great goal. The final was terrible though. Good tourney but bad final.

S.Africa 2010
Maradona coaches Messi, Tevez, and Kun= A dream come true. Sad ending though. The germans were legit. Spain finally won a tourny. First world cup i really noticed teams would rather defend and not lose rather than go get the win. US vs Ghana was fun to watch. America started to get excited. It was a great run. My mex buddies were mad again after the 3 goals from Arg lol


Anyway...

 

[imasoleman18]

I didn't know Jupp Heynckes was leaving bayern at the end of the year