La Liga is guilty of some pretty bad dives. When Dani Alves moved to Barca he dived a few times during the beginning of the season but must have had a scolding because he stopped after.
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2009-10 Football Thread
- Thread starter Jaffa Cake
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However, let it not be said that we don't do that sort of thing over here English players aren't averse to taking a tumble either.
As case in point... when we played Villa at the KC last New Year as the game wore on and it looked like they weren't going to get the result they wanted Mssrs Young and Agbonlahor in particular started to have a little trouble staying on their feet. A treacherous frost must have started forming on the pitch or something.
Italy and Spain seem to have long since picked up the hooligan image that England used to have. English fans still have a bad reputation on the continent (continentals seem to associated it with an "English drinking culture"), but Spain still seems to have major racism issues, while Italian Ultras are associated with far-right and far-left political groups...so every nation has their own unique problems
I see plenty of diving in the Premiership, but it seems less common in the English game than most other leagues (the Bundesliga also seems to be a stay-on-your-feet league). In my opinion, South and Central American leagues are just as bad as Serie A when it comes to the diving problem. MLS has a lot of Central and South Americans playing in it, and our southern neighbors are past-masters when it comes to theatrics...
Saw the second half of the Chelsea-Milan match in the World Football Classic this evening - the blue/gold Chelsea kit looks a little better in action than when I first saw it.
Gerrard self-defence - if he had an escape route, then to me he is guilty. If he was cornered, it is not so clear, but why did he throw punches rather than just hold? Lucky for him it is the Jury that counts.
Fine goal by Drogba.
Cheers,
OW
Fine goal by Drogba.
Cheers,
OW
I like Sammy, so I'm sorry to see the Welsh horseman go.
His form was a bit patchy last season as he adapted to the Premier League, but he did okay. His key strength is that he's good going forward, although this can sometimes leave him exposed defensively. Pair him with a right midfielder with a good defensive awareness who isn't afraid to pitch in and I reckon he'll do alright.
The concern is that we're also going to have to get in a good rightback to replace him - our only two options in that position are Nathan Doyle, who is a bit inexperienced and needs to work on his positioning, and Bernard Mendy who's a nutter. Of course, there is a third option at the club - Phil Brown used to play as a right back so maybe he could fill in there?
On the subject of centre backs, Liverpool are one of the clubs reckoned to be sniffing around Michael Turner. You're not having him, Rafa!Skrtel has strained his hamstring in Thailand.
Liverpool have enough depth issues as it is...
I've also heard rumors that Peter Crouch is being considered for a return to Liverpool after the failure of the bid for David Villa - funny hearing those two in the same sentence. Looks like he's more likely to go to Spurs, he wants to play for England and he won't do that if he rides the bench at Liverpool.
USA "C" team got hammered 5-0 yesterday by the Mexicans in the Gold Cup final, all the goals coming in the second half. First loss for the US on home soil against Mexico since 1999.
We play them in Mexico on Aug 12th for a WC qualifier....we've never beat them there, but if we bring our A squad and they are motivated, I think we can. Revenge!
I've also heard rumors that Peter Crouch is being considered for a return to Liverpool after the failure of the bid for David Villa - funny hearing those two in the same sentence. Looks like he's more likely to go to Spurs, he wants to play for England and he won't do that if he rides the bench at Liverpool.
USA "C" team got hammered 5-0 yesterday by the Mexicans in the Gold Cup final, all the goals coming in the second half. First loss for the US on home soil against Mexico since 1999.
Yeah, what happened? Most of our "A" team to busy with their respective pro teams..?
At a guess, I'd say that the European-based ones will be touring the world with their club sides for all those lucrative friendlies.
On that note, the City squad is now in China ready for the Asia Cup. It's being shown live on the telly here, although as it's taking place in the afternoon Englandshire time our plan is to Sky+ it and watch it in the evening. We're going to get a Chinese takeaway so we're properly authentic and everything.
Sky Sports News are currently reporting that the lanky frontman has indeed completed his switch to White Hart Lane, apparently for the princely sum of £9million. It looks like Liverpool will have to look elsewhere for new recruits, though obviously not at Michael Turner.
All the "A" team players had just finished the Confederations Cup, and were returned to their clubs so they could be called back for the USA-Mexico qualifier August 12th. A lot of the "B" players also had to return to their clubs (either before or halfway through the Gold Cup), leaving what was essentially an MLS-based squad of young internationals. The scoreline is humiliating, but considering that it was a "C" squad, and the Mexicans were under a lot of pressure to win, I'm not too upset (but I AM upset, still.
). Columbus players Chad Marshall and Robbie Rogers acquitted themselves well during the tournament, and I'm hoping they get more call-ups and play themselves into the 2010 WC squad.Wow, 9 million pounds sounds like a lot, especially when MLS is asking just 10 million dollars for clubs interested in the services Landon Donovan, a proven goalscorer for the USA, and still in the prime of his career. I liked Crouchy though, but Liverpool need to aim higher than that if they want to win the league.
Michael Turner, eh? I'll have to ring Rafa and remind him about the lad.
The thing is though, Crouch is English and English players tend to go for higher prices than their continental counterparts, meaning...
...Rafa would probably be better served going after a nice foreign boy. Maybe a Croatian or something?
Don't worry, Rafa only buys Spaniards. And since Real Madrid's Galacticos Mk II seems to be headed towards a 0-5-5 formation, there should be a number of quality defenders waiting by the phone.
Phew! It looks like we've only got Everton, Spurs and Manchester City to ward off now.
And maybe Fulham.
On a more serious note, many pundits have made much of the fact that Hull City, like Sunderland and Newcastle, will lose many potential signings due to their location. How much of a factor do you you think that really is when it comes to making transfers?
I can understand location being an issue if you were trying to sign Robinho or David Villa - but Hull City is going after English players for the most part.
I can understand location being an issue if you were trying to sign Robinho or David Villa - but Hull City is going after English players for the most part.
Actually your Lordship, you've hit on a key problem we have encouraging players to come to Hull City the fact that the club is in Hull.
The problem is two-fold there's the location issue we share with an extent with Sunderland and Newcastle, although our geography does leave us a little more out on a limb than those other two cities. Hull's hinterland is largely rural, you have to travel an hour or so westwards before you come to any other large towns, travel the other way and the next big settlement you'll come to will be Rotterdam, via the ferry.
But there's also our reputation so far as the rest of the country is concerned. Hull's a place that always seems to get bad press often unfairly but sometimes warranted. Part of this is lazy journalism, we're a place folk don't know about because they've never been, but the name is great for headline writers with hilarious 'Hell' and 'Dull' puns aplenty.
Our reputation isn't helped by the fact that we never do well when it comes to crime and education figures, although in fairness we're not helped by the way the boundaries of the city are drawn up. Like many cities, we have some dodgy estates but some very nice and affluent suburbs with good schooling and what have you. The problem is, Hull's boundaries are very tightly drawn and these suburbs actually fall under the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, rather than Hull City Council so when crime and education figures are being calculated we lose out on the better figures enjoyed by our suburbs and are weighed down by the poorer figures from our dodgier areas. Other cities may score higher and look better as a result, but would they really fare better if just their inner city areas were used to calculate their figures? I'd say not.
With this in mind, we often have a real job selling the club and area to potential signings hurdles other cities don't always have to overcome. Strangely enough, I actually think it's easier to get foreign players to come rather than British ones as the foreigners generally don't have preconceived ideas and prejudices that we have to deal with. It's often said that southern-based players don't like moving north, and this does seem to be the case the bigger cities like Manchester and Liverpool can overcome this, due in part to footballing tradition but also due to the fact that they're bigger cities with better facilities, but we have a real fight on our hands, especially with the younger players who don't see Hull as a particularly glamourous place.
When we're in the lower leagues and our rival clubs are also based in smaller towns, encouraging their calibre of player to come here is generally easier. If you've spent your career moving between Doncaster, Mansfield and Hartlepool then Hull isn't exactly outside of your comfort zone and isn't a huge leap into the unknown. However, if you've flitted between London-based Premier League clubs then we're not exactly the sort of place you want to up sticks to. Hull's in the north, it's cold and smells a bit, doesn't it?*
All in all, I think these are more telling reasons why we've had trouble attracting players rather than the fact that our manager told his players off for playing poorly six months ago.
*Contrary to popular belief, Hull doesn't smell of fish. In fact, it's more likely to smell of cocoa.
The problem is two-fold there's the location issue we share with an extent with Sunderland and Newcastle, although our geography does leave us a little more out on a limb than those other two cities. Hull's hinterland is largely rural, you have to travel an hour or so westwards before you come to any other large towns, travel the other way and the next big settlement you'll come to will be Rotterdam, via the ferry.
But there's also our reputation so far as the rest of the country is concerned. Hull's a place that always seems to get bad press often unfairly but sometimes warranted. Part of this is lazy journalism, we're a place folk don't know about because they've never been, but the name is great for headline writers with hilarious 'Hell' and 'Dull' puns aplenty.
Our reputation isn't helped by the fact that we never do well when it comes to crime and education figures, although in fairness we're not helped by the way the boundaries of the city are drawn up. Like many cities, we have some dodgy estates but some very nice and affluent suburbs with good schooling and what have you. The problem is, Hull's boundaries are very tightly drawn and these suburbs actually fall under the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, rather than Hull City Council so when crime and education figures are being calculated we lose out on the better figures enjoyed by our suburbs and are weighed down by the poorer figures from our dodgier areas. Other cities may score higher and look better as a result, but would they really fare better if just their inner city areas were used to calculate their figures? I'd say not.
With this in mind, we often have a real job selling the club and area to potential signings hurdles other cities don't always have to overcome. Strangely enough, I actually think it's easier to get foreign players to come rather than British ones as the foreigners generally don't have preconceived ideas and prejudices that we have to deal with. It's often said that southern-based players don't like moving north, and this does seem to be the case the bigger cities like Manchester and Liverpool can overcome this, due in part to footballing tradition but also due to the fact that they're bigger cities with better facilities, but we have a real fight on our hands, especially with the younger players who don't see Hull as a particularly glamourous place.
When we're in the lower leagues and our rival clubs are also based in smaller towns, encouraging their calibre of player to come here is generally easier. If you've spent your career moving between Doncaster, Mansfield and Hartlepool then Hull isn't exactly outside of your comfort zone and isn't a huge leap into the unknown. However, if you've flitted between London-based Premier League clubs then we're not exactly the sort of place you want to up sticks to. Hull's in the north, it's cold and smells a bit, doesn't it?*
All in all, I think these are more telling reasons why we've had trouble attracting players rather than the fact that our manager told his players off for playing poorly six months ago.
*Contrary to popular belief, Hull doesn't smell of fish. In fact, it's more likely to smell of cocoa.
Indeed, not sure which is worse either
Sorry to say this Jaffa, but I think another reason you're struggling to sign players is because you're one of the favourites to go down. Of course, it's a bit of a Catch 22 situation. Sign the players you want and you've got a better chance of staying up, but the players you want don't want to come.
Of course, that's another key reason why players may think twice. Our end of season form wasn't the best advertisement for us, and naturally we're once again expected to 'do a Derby' by many so that's not in our favour either.
What we need to do – given that we're sharing a Beijing hotel with Spurs and West Ham – is trick some of their better players into getting onto our plane home. Instant new squad for the price of a few plane tickets, we can even save on this by leaving Caleb Folan and Dean Marney out there and letting Robbie Keane and Matthew Upson take their seats instead. Give them a contract to sign and tell them that they're visa documents, and they'll be ours. They're footballers and therefore not too bright, they'll fall for that. Ace.
I should be a Manager or something.
What we need to do – given that we're sharing a Beijing hotel with Spurs and West Ham – is trick some of their better players into getting onto our plane home. Instant new squad for the price of a few plane tickets, we can even save on this by leaving Caleb Folan and Dean Marney out there and letting Robbie Keane and Matthew Upson take their seats instead. Give them a contract to sign and tell them that they're visa documents, and they'll be ours. They're footballers and therefore not too bright, they'll fall for that. Ace.
I should be a Manager or something.
Wigan Away Kit:
Wigan Athletic unveiled the 09/10 away kit made by Vandanel and if the Clubs future is as bright as the garment itself, supporters will have no complaints this season!
The kit is modelled on one of the best teams ever to grace a football pitch, the 1978 Dutch side who took the world by storm with their total football. 1978 is of course the year that the Latics claimed their place in the Football League and following a meteoric rise, look forward to a bright future in the Club's forthcoming Barclays Premier League season.
The retro kit manufactured by technical kit partner Vandanel, features Club Principal Sponsor 188BET and a unique sleeve design.
Mario Melchiot, Club Captain and Dutch international, welcomes the new kit as homage to the two great events in 1978, "It's a nice design and obviously players like Daniel (de Ridder) and myself will appreciate the reference it also holds to such a great team. The new manager we have certainly values the importance of keeping possession and working our way around teams so hopefully it'll have a positive influence on us."
Daniel De Ridder, Latics' Flying Dutchman agrees, "I can't wait to get going this season and I'm looking forward to wearing the kit. It's a great design and if it can inspire me to play like those great Dutch sides then I'm sure we'll have some happy memories in it."
The new away kit will be worn for the very first time in tonight's pre-season friendly versus Preston North End and will be available for purchase on Thursday 13th August, two days before the Latics kick off their season away to Aston Villa.
Paul Hunt Commercial Director comments, "It was an unenviable task to follow the new home kit but Vandanel have delivered the Club another quality kit. I am sure it will be a favourite with the fans and will certainly brighten up the new Club Shop!"
Wigan Athletic unveiled the 09/10 away kit made by Vandanel and if the Clubs future is as bright as the garment itself, supporters will have no complaints this season!
The kit is modelled on one of the best teams ever to grace a football pitch, the 1978 Dutch side who took the world by storm with their total football. 1978 is of course the year that the Latics claimed their place in the Football League and following a meteoric rise, look forward to a bright future in the Club's forthcoming Barclays Premier League season.
The retro kit manufactured by technical kit partner Vandanel, features Club Principal Sponsor 188BET and a unique sleeve design.
Mario Melchiot, Club Captain and Dutch international, welcomes the new kit as homage to the two great events in 1978, "It's a nice design and obviously players like Daniel (de Ridder) and myself will appreciate the reference it also holds to such a great team. The new manager we have certainly values the importance of keeping possession and working our way around teams so hopefully it'll have a positive influence on us."
Daniel De Ridder, Latics' Flying Dutchman agrees, "I can't wait to get going this season and I'm looking forward to wearing the kit. It's a great design and if it can inspire me to play like those great Dutch sides then I'm sure we'll have some happy memories in it."
The new away kit will be worn for the very first time in tonight's pre-season friendly versus Preston North End and will be available for purchase on Thursday 13th August, two days before the Latics kick off their season away to Aston Villa.
Paul Hunt Commercial Director comments, "It was an unenviable task to follow the new home kit but Vandanel have delivered the Club another quality kit. I am sure it will be a favourite with the fans and will certainly brighten up the new Club Shop!"
Actually your Lordship, you've hit on a key problem we have encouraging players to come to Hull City – the fact that the club is in Hull.
Fascinating rundown. I can understand the problem fully, since my hometown of Cleveland has a long sports tradition, yet has always struggled to attract top players. Once a massively important industrial center, the outsourcing of industry from the US ripped the economic heart out of the city, and the 70's and 80's saw a huge decline in prosperity.
Not to mention that in the late 60's, our river was so polluted it actually caught on fire. Cleveland became the butt of jokes about pollution, deindustrialization, crime, corrupt government, etc. Things have improved much over the last 20 years, but given equal wage opportunities many players choose to go to places like California, New York, the Pacific Northwest, Florida, and so on rather than Ohio.
Although, I still do chuckle when my friends from across the pond speak of long distances between cities. I just finished working in Nevada last Thursday and just made the 2,200 mile trip back home by car. And whenever I go to see Columbus play a match, I have to drive around 150 miles one way. It's a big country. I envy you gentlemen and your close proximity sometimes.
I actually like the design, but the colors make my eyes hurt.
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