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2009-10 Football Thread – The Second Half

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Jaffa Cake said:
Chivu should receive a red card and a lengthy ban for his choice of headwear, never mind the tackle...
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See picture.



capoeirista - quote: From a centre back? Blimey...

Picked it up in England.

NathanCH - quote: Oh well, at least Barcelona still have their dignity.

The sprinklers? Also, any truth to the fireworks near the Inter Milan hotel and the attempted arrest of an Inter player?


Over the two legs, the best team won.

Cheers,
OW
 

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XIII said:
Mourinho was very efficient, and huge credit to him - he did exactly what he Having a man sent off almost worked in Inter's favour, they just sat back even further, with all 10 behind the ball.
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I thought the same thing myself. Had Inter not lost a man so early, they would have counterattacked more often, and thus stretched themselves more. It sounds counterintuitive on the surface of it, but perhaps losing a man actually helped Inter more than it hurth them.
 
Ok, here we go!

Rafa chooses to drop a dedicated center back (Kyrgiakos) and put Mascherano back there next to Carragher on the right instead. In a game where we must defend strongly that's hardly a ringing endorsement for our Greek defender.

Kuyt is fit and starting, that's a boost, but Athletico have both Aguero and Forlan available...which makes me very nervous.

Zamora starting for Fulham, interesting to see if he lasts the match or if he gets pulled off. Perhaps Hodgson is hoping to score early and then defend?
 
takao said:
the game is exciting but i suppose that is because neither team has any defense worth mentioning
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Well, it's probably more fun to watch than yesterday's match. ;)

Athletico are going to score, they just look like it. If they do, I think we are sunk.

Fulham on the back foot now too, is this the end of England's European adventure for the season?
 
Lord Blackadder said:
Well, it's probably more fun to watch than yesterday's match. ;)

Athletico are going to score, they just look like it. If they do, I think we are sunk.

Fulham on the back foot now too, is this the end of England's European adventure for the season?
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in the case of Fulham i sure hope so since the final is at home on HSV own turf

oh and what are the chances:
Fulham vs Hamburg
Fulham vs Hamburg
 
takao said:
oh and what are the chances:
Fulham vs Hamburg
Fulham vs Hamburg
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Schockingly, I've not noticed that before! :D

Quite funny.

On paper, both Liverpool and Athletico are weak at the back, but Athletico has two fit first-choice strikers available, so we should lose this one unfortunately. Hope we don't though.
 
Alberto Aquilani just scored! Make note, you won't be seeing that too much. :D

Unfortunately, this doesn't really change things for Liverpool. The next goal is going to be just as important.

EDIT: 2-1 Fulham now, they are set to make a great comeback win...

SIGH That's the sound of extremely faint hopes passing. What a miserable season for Liverpool, the single highlight was beating Man United in the league. In the end Athletico's poor defense didn't matter because, unlike Liverpool, they have strikers. I really don't know where to go from here though. Pretty much everything is broken at the club...

But what a day for Fulham!! It's a result for the purists, and you can bet I'll be cheering them on to pimp-slap Athletico in the final. They have been amazing in Europe this season.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
SIGH That's the sound of extremely faint hopes passing. What a miserable season for Liverpool, the single highlight was beating Man United in the league. In the end Athletico's poor defense didn't matter because, unlike Liverpool, they have strikers. I really don't know where to go from here though. Pretty much everything is broken at the club...
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We can still look forward to watching Chelsea beat Liverpool at home... right? :(
 
daneoni said:
So close yet so far. Its been a very strange season to say the least.
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Liverpool's season has gone down the drain, yes... but, TBO, they did come close.
We, OTOH, never really came close against Barca. Yes, we will finish 3rd in the Premiership, and get a CL spot next year, but I would love us to win something... it has been too long :(
IMHO, with Man City's financial situation I only think it will get harder for us, but also Liverpool, to really make a stiff challenge for the ultimate prizes (CL, PL, FA Cup) in the near future.
I'll follow Arsenal till I drop dead, but the chances of winning a major trophy seem to diminish by the year.... by overseas cash. I have followed Arsenal since Liam Brady's day when I went to Highbury as a small kid sitting on my dad's shoulders, and back in those says it looked more of an open league, with many teams having a chance (heck, even Nottingham Forrest :eek:).

I love the PL, really I do. But every year I get just a little more frustrated that any team outside of the Man Utd and Chelsea duo have such a small chance.... and it seems to be getting harder and harder by the year... enter Man City.
Big overseas cash, and in 2012 they will win a major trophy, trust me.

I understand the professionalism, the need for money, etc, it just seems that the PL has become a money-game between unearthly rich people coming from countries where it still is possible to be so rich that you can buy this kind of property.

So, do I want Arsenal to be the next club to be bought buy some incredibly rich nouveau riche idiot from a country where they don't give a cr@p about the game, but they love the investment...?
You know, £ 200 mln to spend in two years, and get a big chance to buy Messi, etc?
Nope.
TBO, I hate our stadium being called "the Emirates".. ugghh.

/rant.
 
The only way to win anything in England is to spend unsustainably. Because that's what the clubs that are winning trophies are doing. With the exception of Fulham in the Europa League, but I doubt anyone would argue that they are going to become a perennial trophy winner like Man Utd or Chelsea.

The problem with foreign ownership is that every foreign ownership model in the top five is totally unsustainable. Man U: huge debt. Chelsea: dependent on a private fortune. Man City: ditto. Liverpool: huge debt, infighting co-owners. Only Arsenal seem to be keeping the books in order - but they've won nothing for years (but remain contenders and in good financial shape, which is worth mentioning).

I have only supported Liverpool for a few years, and they've won nothing since I started watching them, but I didn't pick them because I thought I'd be supporting a winner. It doesn't look like things will change soon either. ;):rolleyes:

I'm not going to call for anyone's heads over this apart from Hicks and Gillette, who can go to hell, but it's clear now that much is going to have to be changed at the club to get things back on track. That may include a big squad shakeup and/or looking at a new manager. I don't think we require a total rebuilding - although if Rafa goes that's probably going to happen because some of our best players are sure to go as well.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
The only way to win anything in England is to spend unsustainably. Because that's what the clubs that are winning trophies are doing. With the exception of Fulham in the Europa League, but I doubt anyone would argue that they are going to become a perennial trophy winner like Man Utd or Chelsea.

The problem with foreign ownership is that every foreign ownership model in the top five is totally unsustainable. Man U: huge debt. Chelsea: dependent on a private fortune. Man City: ditto. Liverpool: huge debt, infighting co-owners. Only Arsenal seem to be keeping the books in order - but they've won nothing for years (but remain contenders and in good financial shape, which is worth mentioning).

I have only supported Liverpool for a few years, and they've won nothing since I started watching them, but I didn't pick them because I thought I'd be supporting a winner. It doesn't look like things will change soon either. ;):rolleyes:

I'm not going to call for anyone's heads over this apart from Hicks and Gillette, who can go to hell, but it's clear now that much is going to have to be changed at the club to get things back on track. That may include a big squad shakeup and/or looking at a new manager. I don't think we require a total rebuilding - although if Rafa goes that's probably going to happen because some of our best players are sure to go as well.
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Thing with Man U is they were perfectly fine before the Glazers turned up and borrowed against the clubs value, AND were winning trophies year on year

Still, if Rafa guarantees Liverpool will be ok, there'll be nothing to worry about, right? ;)
 
The Fulham result yesterday showed that smaller teams can dare to dream. They are the story of the season, if you ask me.

Liverpool on the other hand are a joke. When they dropped out of the CL and into the EL, their fans were shaking their heads saying that they were far too good to be in this tournament.... well they couldn't even get to the final. And the amount of money Benitez has spent is obscene - third after City and Chelsea. And he's got the nerve to say that the owners are to blame because they won't spend money and rebuild. What an offence to the Pool fans. I sincerely hope he goes and does so willingly so that the Reds don't have to pay out his contract.
 
numbersyx said:
The Fulham result yesterday showed that smaller teams can dare to dream. They are the story of the season, if you ask me.

Liverpool on the other hand are a joke. When they dropped out of the CL and into the EL, their fans were shaking their heads saying that they were far too good to be in this tournament.... well they couldn't even get to the final. And the amount of money Benitez has spent is obscene - third after City and Chelsea. And he's got the nerve to say that the owners are to blame because they won't spend money and rebuild. What an offence to the Pool fans. I sincerely hope he goes and does so willingly so that the Reds don't have to pay out his contract.
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Good point. Everyone else can see there's no real cover for Torres, yet why can't he? Alonso's replacement struggles to make the bench, just how many full games has he played this season I wonder? The list of failings goes on...
 
Some big games to end the season, both for the title and the race for 4th.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If UEFA really wanted to make the Europa cup popular among teams, why don't they grant the winner a place in the next year's Champions League?

Congrats to Fulham, some crazy games for them this season.
 
numbersyx said:
The Fulham result yesterday showed that smaller teams can dare to dream. They are the story of the season, if you ask me.

Liverpool on the other hand are a joke. When they dropped out of the CL and into the EL, their fans were shaking their heads saying that they were far too good to be in this tournament.... well they couldn't even get to the final. And the amount of money Benitez has spent is obscene - third after City and Chelsea. And he's got the nerve to say that the owners are to blame because they won't spend money and rebuild. What an offence to the Pool fans. I sincerely hope he goes and does so willingly so that the Reds don't have to pay out his contract.
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I dunno, I think a lot of Liverpool fans saw the Europa League as a chance for some silverware, but only the arrogant ones thought we were too good for it. Anyone with a brain can see that Liverpool's squad is no longer on par with the top four - on a good day we can play at the highest level, but our squad is far too thin to sustain that level of play over the course of a season.

Rafa has to take a sizeable share of the blame because he built the squad. The owners have to take the rest of it for not providing the club with a stable financial base. The problem with Benitez leaving is that Torres will surely go, and we'll have to completely rebuild the squad - which is going to cost a lot of money, BUT we are in debt and the owners are trying to bail.

The best scenario for Liverpool fans would be new wealthy owners coming in as soon as the season ends, and Benitez going to Serie A. But I'm not sure who our next manager would be.

Fizzoid said:
Good point. Everyone else can see there's no real cover for Torres, yet why can't he? Alonso's replacement struggles to make the bench, just how many full games has he played this season I wonder? The list of failings goes on...
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Alonso was not replaceable...Aquilani was intended to do some of Alonso's job but it would be unfair to expect him to slot in directly. Even allowing that though he's been a complete flop. Since I've started following the 'Pool the squad has continually gotten worse, and we've paid good money for a lot of average or below-average players. We have some excellent squad players like Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun, Mascherano is good when he's not getting himself carded, Johnson is a good addition and there are a few others (Maxi Rodriguez looks useful). But Lucas is questionable, Babel's time is rapidly running out, N'Gog is unproven, Skrtel is hurt too often, Riera is sulking and not that great anyway, and so on.

Our core of world-class players is small: Reina, Carragher, Gerrard, Torres. If any leave, it really cripples the team.

swiftaw said:
I've said it before and I'll say it again. If UEFA really wanted to make the Europa cup popular among teams, why don't they grant the winner a place in the next year's Champions League?

Congrats to Fulham, some crazy games for them this season.
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Agreed. As it stands, the Europa League is just a big glass ceiling. Assume for a second that Fulham wins the final and earns a place in the CL qualifying stages, or possibly even the group stage. Even if they go out, the money that generates for the club will give smaller clubs like Fulham (i.e. midtable clubs in top leagues) the incentive to actually try to win in Europe rather than just play reserve sides.
 
looks like bayern is going fully motivated into the CL final with the Bundesliga in the the bag ...thanks to a Müller hattrick and Schalke losing against Werder
 
Aston Villa let me down today. 2 goals in 1 and a 1/2 minutes?? What were you thinking Warnok? Sidwell? Absolute *****.
 
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