Blimey, Spurs only beat us 5-1 and we're rubbish.
Wigan Athletic must therefore be proper rubbish.
Wigan Athletic must therefore be proper rubbish.
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2009-10 Football Thread
- Thread starter Jaffa Cake
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Blimey, Spurs only beat us 5-1 and we're rubbish.
Wigan Athletic must therefore be proper rubbish.
They've still got 4 points more than Wolves.
Indeed, Man U 9, Ipswich 0 in March 1995
Blimey, Spurs only beat us 5-1 and we're rubbish.
Wigan Athletic must therefore be proper rubbish.
Also, Hull beat Wigan, thus confirming your theory.
What kit is your Jaffatar currently sporting? Looks like Middlesbrough or Chicago?
Heh, no – Turkey, as it happens.It does look like Chicago! For shame!
You know, I was really pleased that I bought Bullard for my MRFL team this week and installed him as captain – but Defoe's gone and put him to shame.
For what it's worth, only one of our MRFL managers – CarlisleUnited – has Defoe selected, and luckily for the rest of us he hasn't given the Spurs striker the armband.
Well, that's the MLS season finished. Real Salt Lake our the MLS Cup winners for 2009, beating LA Galaxy on penalties after a dull 1-1 result after extra time. And before you ask - yes, yes, Becks scored his penalty...
I can't say I'm happy with the result. The league was won by a team that had a losing record over the course of the season (finishing 8th out of 15 teams), failed to get into their (Western) conference's playoffs and sneaked through the Eastern conference by playing two arguably much better teams who were exhausted after playing in two or even three competitions while RSL had only one to worry about. Basically, Salt Lake have demonstrated that, under the current rules, if you can finish in the top half of the table you can win the league as long as you go on a good run of form for your last five matches. Finishing position between 1st and 8th means very little - in fact finishing higher could be worse because you'll have fixture congestion with the Champions League and a tired squad for the playoffs, as my boys in Columbus did. Credit to RSL, they went out there and got the wins they needed and held their nerve in two penalty shootouts - but they were not the best team this season, not by a long shot.
As for the final, the match itself was pretty dull after the first half. The 30 minutes of overtime were painful to watch - few of the players were actually running for the last 15 minutes, any players off the ball were walking. LA was too slow to deal with RSL's speedy counterattack and survived to penalties due to some good goalkeeping and a bit of luck. Donovan's missed penalty pretty much decided it.
As an advertisement for the league, very much a mixed bag...on the upside the crowd in Seattle was very good, and I thought the ref had a good match. But as a contest....even the announcers admitted during the match that the league's best teams were not present at the final....hmmmm.
Sort it out MLS. Anyway, I'd like to welcome Real Salt Lake to the Champions' League next season. I will enjoy watching you get thrashed by the Mexicans.
I can't say I'm happy with the result. The league was won by a team that had a losing record over the course of the season (finishing 8th out of 15 teams), failed to get into their (Western) conference's playoffs and sneaked through the Eastern conference by playing two arguably much better teams who were exhausted after playing in two or even three competitions while RSL had only one to worry about. Basically, Salt Lake have demonstrated that, under the current rules, if you can finish in the top half of the table you can win the league as long as you go on a good run of form for your last five matches. Finishing position between 1st and 8th means very little - in fact finishing higher could be worse because you'll have fixture congestion with the Champions League and a tired squad for the playoffs, as my boys in Columbus did. Credit to RSL, they went out there and got the wins they needed and held their nerve in two penalty shootouts - but they were not the best team this season, not by a long shot.
As for the final, the match itself was pretty dull after the first half. The 30 minutes of overtime were painful to watch - few of the players were actually running for the last 15 minutes, any players off the ball were walking. LA was too slow to deal with RSL's speedy counterattack and survived to penalties due to some good goalkeeping and a bit of luck. Donovan's missed penalty pretty much decided it.
As an advertisement for the league, very much a mixed bag...on the upside the crowd in Seattle was very good, and I thought the ref had a good match. But as a contest....even the announcers admitted during the match that the league's best teams were not present at the final....hmmmm.
Sort it out MLS. Anyway, I'd like to welcome Real Salt Lake to the Champions' League next season. I will enjoy watching you get thrashed by the Mexicans.
I didn't think it was dull. I'm completely natural to these teams and still found it to be a decent match. It was very end to end, though barely any shots on target which was disappointing.
Contrats to Real Salt Lake. Some great subplots with their players. Also, I can't believe What's-his-face missed during the penalty shots.
Contrats to Real Salt Lake. Some great subplots with their players. Also, I can't believe What's-his-face missed during the penalty shots.
i didn't think it was that dull either. sloppy, yes. they did settle down from time to time and the pk's may make it exciting for some(not me). Donavan missing his pk did seem to be the death knell for LA... congrats to RSL.
and Blackadder is right the play off system is ridiculous.
and Blackadder is right the play off system is ridiculous.
Fighting Talk - Episode 12
Like Henning Wehn's take on the Henry apology.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvs
Cheers,
OW
Like Henning Wehn's take on the Henry apology.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvs
Cheers,
OW
It was the biggest upset in MLS Cup finals history!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20.../realsaltlake.galaxy/index.html#ixzz0Xgvy2m4X
I thought this was an excellent soccer game and a unbelievable win by the underdog Real Salt Lake over heralded Galaxy in our MLS final...excellent showing by head keeper Rimando: the man of the match/MVP!
Finally we can give worthless Beckham the boot since he does absolutely nothing on the pitch-he was MLS's biggest disappointment this year! In MLS game Galaxy's first half goal was answered by RSL in second half and teams went into overtime evenly matched. Galaxy lost their keeper and RSL lost their striker so game was even all through. Kyle Beckerman was tremendous in center, cutting off runs by Donovan and short-circuiting Beckham... Clint Mathis also played a great role on side... Match came down to shootouts and RSL's Nicky Rimando came up huge for win. Surprise was Galaxy's Donovan blowing a shot over the bar in shootouts! Bravo to Coach Jason Kreis and Captain Kyle Beckerman!
Biggest disappointment in game was pregame over-the-top rhetoric of how Galaxy with their "glorious premier league Beckham" was going to walk away with this game... buildup was disgusting! With the exception of one goal, Galaxy couldn't manage any offense and a bunch of relative unknowns from Utah kicked Galaxy's butt...
http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/new...23&content_id=7703634&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/t121/
Real Salt Lake are real champions! Congrats! Game of the Year!
I thought the first half was pretty good, but in the second half neither team seemed able to string passes together apart from a couple decently orchestrated attacks from RSL. Salt Lake had the Lion's share of possession, but those numbers were deceiving because LA gave the ball away so much.
I also thought Donavan, Beckham and Magee were pretty quiet in the second half and in extra time. Without those three LA's attack was crippled. Buddle held the ball up well and Klein offered some deft touches around the area (but oh my goodness he is SLOW). Beckerman bossed the center for a good portion and Findlay terrorized the back four for most of the night. Not a bad game, but for long stretches pretty dull IMO.
Saunders had a good shift as a substitute keeper and had Donovan not missed his penalty he would have been match MVP. Both keepers had good performances, so I'm not complaining about Rimando winning the MVP, he came up huge in the shootout.
Blimey, Spurs only beat us 5-1 and we're rubbish.
Wigan Athletic must therefore be proper rubbish.
That was a ridiculous game. Spurs scored five times in less than 20 minutes, and Defoe scored three straight in less than ten. I know Wigan aren't that bad, but it was like they were a grade school team out there. If not for the fact that it was great for their goal differential, I would be embarrassed for them running up the score. Actually, I'm still a little embarrassed.
I hate seeing championships decided by PKs, even more than I hate seeing my hometown team lose the title game. Kind of a so-so game and real let-down.
Interestingly, Donovan was on Bill Simmons' podcast this past week. When asked if the Galaxy were the favorite, Donovan replied that he guessed so, but it's just a crapshoot. He also was asked about how good he is at converting penalty kicks. Donovan praised Rimando as one of the best keepers in MLS and seemed to think he would be tougher in a shootout than most. He mentioned that he often tries to see if the keeper will commit to one side early, and if so, he often sends it high to the center. The only danger being that you might go too high and over the crossbar. Which is exactly what he did. Simmons' next podcast will surely mention that he was jinxed.
I know you're excited about winning the game, and you should be. But that's a ridiculous statement. Beckham played quite well this season, far better than anyone on RLS.
That's a crazy coincidence. I'm still shocked that Donovan, the man with the best strike on the squad, would miss like that. He had the keeper beat, just couldn't keep the shot down.
I am NOT a big Beckham fan by any stretch, and am tired of the league's hype over Golden Balls. BUT I think he's played a key part in LA's success this year. He and Donovan are arguably the most dangerous attacking pair in the league - provided they can get support from the rest of the squad, which doesn't always happen. LA's biggest weakness IMO is lack of pace, and Beckham doesn't help that situation - but he DOES provide excellent passes and link-up play. Donovan is the perfect player to get on the end of his through-balls and on top of that Becks and Donovan draw defenders towards them leaving players like Magee and Buddle with space.
Beckham has been a mixed bag over the last three seasons but this season I think he delivered the goods for the Galaxy. They still have holes to fill in the squad though, and Beckham will miss most of next season, so Bruce Arena has his work cut out for him.
Apparently he converted on 19 of 21 PK attempts during the regular season and was two for two during the playoffs. His two misses were both saves by the keeper. It's safe to say he hasn't airmailed a penalty kick in quite a while. If the whole world had been watching and cared, Donovan would be considered our Roberto Baggio.
I'm a Galaxy fan and saw a pretty obvious difference after Beckham rejoined the team during the summer. And as you said, there's not really any mystery to what he does. He's still consistently the best at set pieces and puts the ball where teammates can get scoring chances. That kind of touch and vision is one of the things that's lacking in MLS. Very few players here have played against top-level competition and know how to place a ball in the right spot. U.S. players have the physicality, pace, and speed, but not the experience and finesse. Those are the things that Beckham has in excess.
I think that in the long run, the dust-up between him and Donovan turned out to be a good thing. Someone had to publicly call Beckham out for not being fully committed to the team and show some leadership with the other LA players. Personally, I think his chances of returning to the Galaxy next summer are no better than 50-50. I think there's a good chance that AC Milan pay the Galaxy and keep him.
I agree, especially after watching a player with (IMO) equal vision in Guillermo Barros Schelotto. His ability to anticipate play and pick out an onrushing attacker is sublime. Compared with Beckham, I think he's every bit as good on the delivery. He's smaller, so he requires more protection than Beckham, but just as good in the same role. What the league needs most is playmakers like them.
I hope he stays. He's been a big circus and sometimes a distracting one, but he is growing the game here (perhaps not as much as many of us might have optimistically hoped, but growth is growth). IF he comes back for another one and a half or two seasons and then exercises his option to buy a franchise, the long-term impact will be positive. The big test will be to see if we can attract more ex-European players like Freddy Ljungberg and Juan Pablo Angel - a Thierry Henry wouldn't hurt either, if the rumors are true.
Young US internationals in the MLS like Robbie Rogers, Stuart Holden and others will benefit greatly by playing with and against the likes of Ljungberg, Beckham, Schelotto.
i think becks played fairly well this year too. i thought he played exceptionally well for an asthmatic with a bone bruise last night...
my only problem is the playoff system. and the all star game. and the two divsions...
my only problem is the playoff system. and the all star game. and the two divsions...
Wigan were very generous on Sunday when it came to the goalscoring opportunities they afforded Spurs, and it seems that their generosity isn't ending there. The players are personally refunding the tickets of their travelling support – a nice gesture, if you ask me. Which you didn't. But anyway.
And as for the boy Beckham... despite what some folk may have though, he was never going to single-handedly revolutionise football in the States – having him in the MLS was first and foremost going to raise the profile of the league domestically and internationally, and to some degree that's been successful.
Many of the sports shops here now feature MLS shirts – and not just LA Galaxy ones – as part of their collection of random foreign clobber, you can now catch MLS matches on the telly here, and today the front page of the BBC website was carrying the story of the MLS Cup Final (albeit focussing on Beckham's part in proceedings). All unthinkable just a couple of years ago.
Oh, and FIFA have announced they'll be meeting in December to discuss 'issues' with the recent World Cup play-offs. Which basically means they'll all enjoy a jolly nice lunch with a glass or two of a cheeky red, and actually do nothing about anything...
And as for the boy Beckham... despite what some folk may have though, he was never going to single-handedly revolutionise football in the States – having him in the MLS was first and foremost going to raise the profile of the league domestically and internationally, and to some degree that's been successful.
Many of the sports shops here now feature MLS shirts – and not just LA Galaxy ones – as part of their collection of random foreign clobber, you can now catch MLS matches on the telly here, and today the front page of the BBC website was carrying the story of the MLS Cup Final (albeit focussing on Beckham's part in proceedings). All unthinkable just a couple of years ago.
Oh, and FIFA have announced they'll be meeting in December to discuss 'issues' with the recent World Cup play-offs. Which basically means they'll all enjoy a jolly nice lunch with a glass or two of a cheeky red, and actually do nothing about anything...
Very true. I found the Guardian's picture gallery particularly funny - it managed to recap the entire game using only pictures containing Beckham - except for one shot of Landon Donovan shuffling away from the spot after blazing his penalty over. Unfortunately, this is just a temporary situation - once Becks stops being a Galaxy player the coverage will cease. We need to make the best of it now.
I think it will be a symposium on whether to have American Football-style cheerleaders at the World Cup, with special private demonstrations for Blatter and his cronies.
Well, that's that then - Liverpool now have a chance to win the Europa League.
The Lyon - Fiorentina match was not a classic. The Italians (shockingy) scored a penalty then parked the bus. The French uncharacteristically refused to capitulate, but could not finish.
EDIT: watched the first 20 minutes of Liverpool vs Debrecen and got bored so I went and did something else....Liverpool look like a midtable side right now.
The Lyon - Fiorentina match was not a classic. The Italians (shockingy) scored a penalty then parked the bus. The French uncharacteristically refused to capitulate
, but could not finish.EDIT: watched the first 20 minutes of Liverpool vs Debrecen and got bored so I went and did something else....Liverpool look like a midtable side right now.
That's Rangers crashed out big time, 0-2 against Stuttgart. Unirea Urziceni beat Seville so I think the Europa spot is now beyond our reach even if we beat Seville in the last game (which we won't).
It's just going to be one of those years, the club is for sale, manager out of contract, same squad for 3 years and no money to spend in the transfer window. But bizarrely rather than run away with the league, the financially viable Celtic appear to be squandering every opporchancity, which makes for interesting times if you are a Hibs or Dundee Utd supporter.
It's just going to be one of those years, the club is for sale, manager out of contract, same squad for 3 years and no money to spend in the transfer window. But bizarrely rather than run away with the league, the financially viable Celtic appear to be squandering every opporchancity, which makes for interesting times if you are a Hibs or Dundee Utd supporter.
Incidentally, Paul Hart has been sacked by Portmouth. Hopefully they won't now have one of those little surges of form teams with new managers often enjoy.
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