2010-2011 Football Thread

[oscillatewildly]

You almost never see such pranks in the US...hard to say why exactly, now that I think about it.

Shot down by Homeland Security?

Well the Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspurs game was a shooting masterclass. What is the point of Lennon? Even when he beats someone he'll look to pass back. Mind, the tit who does the bonuses thinks he's worth one point, but then they did give Milner three.

Edit - as I said, Mancini will put out the second string and go for the draw. Embarrassment thingy here.

Cheers,
OW

 

[daneoni]

At this point I wouldn't bank on any results involving Arsenal...they are so bipolar at the moment that they are capable of winning or losing any match, regardless of the opponent's level of skill.

I know. I'm banking on the combination of the fact that we'll be playing at home and that they know City is breathing down their neck.

So hopefully they won't be foolish/complacent.

 

[Fizzoid]

Oh? B52 wants a move to Barca at the end of the season.

...i don't see it but i admire his ambition.

On another note i hope Tottenham do us a favour tonight by beating City.

I think that might just be a case of sloppy journalism. He wants a move away if he can't get a regular place, sure, but he doesn't say he's expecting a move to Barca, only that

his desired move would be to Barcelona

Well, to be fair, who's wouldn't?

 

[Fuzzy14]

Oh well, I could have done worse, like Phil Brown's threat to shoot down low flying aircraft.

It was one of my favourite moments ever in a UK general election when one of the looney right wing parties tried to do a similar stunt and crashed the plane.

I'm not currently getting a game for Arsenal. Can I get a transfer to Barca?

Celtic facing a rather difficult Hearts tonight who need a point to secure a European place. This game been featured in the papers with both managers and Vlad the Hearts owner having a bit of a verbal ding-dong about 'not trying'. If Celtic drop any points tonight it's over.

 

[takao]

http://www.spiegel.de/sport/fussball/0,1518,761923,00.html

german link but worthy regardless:
Magath from Wolfsburg anounced that the club will be taking the "2. league option" with all the players, who have such clause in their contract, should the club get regelated

so no dice for rats who want to leave the sinking ship

 

[daneoni]

I think that might just be a case of sloppy journalism. He wants a move away if he can't get a regular place, sure, but he doesn't say he's expecting a move to Barca, only that

Well, to be fair, who's wouldn't?

Fair point. In other transfer rumors, Kaka and the family are heading to London next summer according to his mum. Since Wenger would never pay for him combined with the fact that we aren't really lacking in midfield, the only other culprit would be Chelsea. I like him as a player and a person in general but i'm always tempted to use the word has-been. He just hasn't sparked since his Milan days but maybe it's just down to his injuries.

Also Mancini has stated his interest in Fabregas as well as Ibrahimovic as a possible replacement for Tevez. Silva, Yaya and Fabregas in the same midfield would be quite a prospect.

 

[oscillatewildly]

takao,

From the Google translation:

"The players who gave us the soup brewed, these should now spoon, too," said Magath.

Does the program need more work?

daneoni,

Kaka to London; don't forget Queens Park Rangers.

Cheers,
OW

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Speaking of transfer rumors, Liverpool are still being linked with Ashley Young, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing. I have to admit I'm somewhat underwhelmed, though I think they could be decent squad players (Europa League, domestic cup, subs). We need more depth, and those players might fit the bill for that - if they are willing to warm the bench much of the time. Maybe we can trade in Paul Konchesky for one of them...

Magath from Wolfsburg anounced that the club will be taking the "2. league option" with all the players, who have such clause in their contract, should the club get regelated

Interesting. I wonder how many of those players actually even gave any thought to that clause before signing their contracts... will Wolfsburg have an entire squad that doesn't want to be there next season? Sounds like a recipe for a motivation problem/mutiny.

I like him as a player and a person in general but i'm always tempted to use the word has-been. He just hasn't sparked since his Milan days but maybe it's just down to his injuries.

He hasn't been performing at Real Madrid, but Kaka is a world-class player, and at the right club would return to his best in my opinion.

 

[takao]

takao,

From the Google translation:

"The players who gave us the soup brewed, these should now spoon, too," said Magath.

Does the program need more work?

i'm afraid it's one of those german proverbs ... to describe it's meaning it's perhaps similair to saying "You broke it, you fix it"

Interesting. I wonder how many of those players actually even gave any thought to that clause before signing their contracts... will Wolfsburg have an entire squad that doesn't want to be there next season? Sounds like a recipe for a motivation problem/mutiny.

obviously not many ... in the last years Wolfsburg always was fighting for the CL/EL spots so i suspect it wasn't on top of their lists.. in the article they state that only a single player (one of the backup players actually) could leave.
for Diego it sure would be a disaster: from Juventus to 2nd. german league within half a year.


the real funny side story: Lakic from 1. FC Kaiserslautern, having a great first half Season (13 or 14 goals), signed to join Wolfsburg in the summer. After which he also happened to lose his goal scoring ability for 2 months ... which promptly made him most hated player in Kaiserslautern

Only to score the late winning goal in the direct Wolfsburg - Kaiserslautern game, meaning he actually contributed to his 'new' club very likely getting regelated.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

i'm afraid it's one of those german proverbs ... to describe it's meaning it's perhaps similair to saying "You broke it, you fix it"

Or perhaps the English saying: "you made your bed, now you must sleep in it".

Only to score the late winning goal in the direct Wolfsburg - Kaiserslautern game, meaning he actually contributed to his 'new' club very likely getting regelated.

Hmm, maybe he should reconsider his move to Wolfsburg.

 

[takao]

Or perhaps the English saying: "you made your bed, now you must sleep in it".

more fitting thx

Hmm, maybe he should reconsider his move to Wolfsburg.

well i doub't he thought about them getting regelated

i think it's just a typical last ditch comment to get the squad motivated for the last games ... if it were a different, smaller club, the players would simply think "yeah right you wouldn't be able to afford me playing in the second league" .. but since the VFL Wolfsburg is a 100% daughter company of VW, a lack of money isn't coming to the rescue

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Speaking of relegation, Man Utd are resting players ahead of their CL final loss to Barcelona, and are likely to send out a reserve side against relegation-threatened Blackpool...

Will the FA have the balls to fine them? Of course a £25,000 fine (such as Blackpool recieved earlier for a similar "offense") would be laughably small for Fergie, but if it doesn't happen it will be just one more piece of evidence demonstrating a double standard from the FA when it comes to the big clubs. I think the rule is stupid as currently interpreted, but it should at least be consistently applied.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Will the FA have the balls to fine them?

More to the point, would the FA have any interest in fining them? I'd think not...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

More to the point, would the FA have any interest in fining them? I'd think not...

I think it's a ridiculous rule, and the FA make themselves look doubly ridiculous by applying it inconsistently. I've heard some Man Utd supporters saying that their "reserve" squad is still premier league quality so it doesn't count as fielding a weakened team - but that's not fair on smaller clubs who might have a very thin squad. There's no magical threshold a team crosses whereby the side is so deep and strong that any combination of bench or reserve players still counts as "full strength". The fact is, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen are 3rd and 4th choice strikers (for example), and if Fergie plays them rather than Rooney and/or Chicharito it is a "weakened" strikeforce by any measure. If he makes similar changes across the squad it's a "weakened" team.

It's a very subjective rule, I don't like it, but it's totally unfair for Blackpool to be singled out. Either fine every club that breaks it, or clarifiy it so it somehow makes sense, or (preferably) do away with the rule altogether.

 

[OllyW]

...or clarifiy it so it somehow makes sense...

Steady on, don't forget you're talking about the FA.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Steady on, don't forget you're talking about the FA.

Very true...the FA is both corrupt and ineffective. They'd have to work pretty hard to be more useless than they currently are.

By the way, I'm not trying to single out Man Utd, and I think clubs should be allowed to rest players when they want to without repercussion. The weakened squad rule is idiotic and should go away.

 

[OllyW]

Blimey.

Someone has jumped out of the Hearts crowd and tried to attack Celtic manager Neil Lennon, though it seems the Police grabbed hold of the idiot pretty quickly.

This hate campaign against Lennon is getting stupid, I wonder if he'll stay in Scotland for much longer?

There got to be a point when it's no longer worth the hassle.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Crazy scenes ...it does seem that Scottish football is currently on a trajectory that will end with some sort of major incident/tragedy. It may be time for some drastic measures such as matches behind closed doors.

 

[Fuzzy14]

* Holds head in hands *
I watched the game but unfortunately missed it as I was attending to the kids at the time.

Celtic played well, Hearts didn't turn up. It all goes down to Sunday.

I really am making no excuses for these idiots, but I do think that Lennon needs to learn when to walk away. Cupping hands over ears towards Rangers fans or as this photo shows standing over the nutter while the police take care of him will only provoke them further.

 

[daneoni]

He hasn't been performing at Real Madrid, but Kaka is a world-class player, and at the right club would return to his best in my opinion.

I hope and look forward to it. On another unsurprising note. Barca have retained their league title for the 3rd time in a row. Will now focus on facing Utd in 11 days.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Disgraceful scenes at Tynecastle.

Meanwhile, today marks the 26th anniversary of the Bradford Fire. 56 died and over 265 others were injured at Valley Parade, many with horrific burns.

RIP.

 

[Fuzzy14]

This hate campaign against Lennon is getting stupid, I wonder if he'll stay in Scotland for much longer?

There got to be a point when it's no longer worth the hassle.

I very much hope he stays. It will be a very sad day if he's forced out. Remember he had death threats in his own country as well.

Crazy scenes ...it does seem that Scottish football is currently on a trajectory that will end with some sort of major incident/tragedy. It may be time for some drastic measures such as matches behind closed doors.

We've had parcel bombs, and armed incident outside Celtic's training ground at the weekend and now this. Is that not major enough for you?

I posted a while back about a Lenny incident when he was still a coach. A couple of hours after an Old Firm game he went out for a drink. Now it is pretty sad that in this city you have to think twice about that, but he should know better. He bumped into two Ulster types, didn't back down in an argument and got the **** kicked out of him. I don't remember any other Old Firm manager, of either side, acting the way he does. He acts in a certain way that seems to attract the idiots, now maybe he is showing that nothing will change him but I think the most sensible thing to do would be to act like every other Old Firm manager before him.
(Apart from Souness.)

Meanwhile, today marks the 26th anniversary of the Bradford Fire. 56 died and over 265 others were injured at Valley Parade, many with horrific burns.

RIP.

Well said.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I really am making no excuses for these idiots, but I do think that Lennon needs to learn when to walk away. Cupping hands over ears towards Rangers fans or as this photo shows standing over the nutter while the police take care of him will only provoke them further.
Image

It's understandable for Lennon to be upset, but you are right - reacting with anger or aggression sends the wrong message and will only make things worse.

I hope and look forward to it. On another unsurprising note. Barca have retained their league title for the 3rd time in a row. Will now focus on facing Utd in 11 days.

A 1-1 draw with Levante sounds like a bad result untilone realizes that they only needed a point to take the league. On to Wembley...

Meanwhile, today marks the 26th anniversary of the Bradford Fire. 56 died and over 265 others were injured at Valley Parade, many with horrific burns.

I have seen the tv pictures several times before, and watched them again this morning. Truly terrifying, and a terrible tragedy. Some very brave people saved quite a few lives that day, braving the flames and falling debris.

We've had parcel bombs, and armed incident outside Celtic's training ground at the weekend and now this. Is that not major enough for you?

True, it has already gone much too far. But it also could get even worse, and that's what worries me. It seems, as you say, that Lennon does himself with no favors with his behavior.

 

[Fizzoid]

Speaking of transfer rumors, Liverpool are still being linked with Ashley Young, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing. I have to admit I'm somewhat underwhelmed, though I think they could be decent squad players (Europa League, domestic cup, subs). We need more depth, and those players might fit the bill for that - if they are willing to warm the bench much of the time. Maybe we can trade in Paul Konchesky for one of them...

I very much doubt the likes of Downing and Young will go anywhere where they'll be warming the bench, especially as both are looking to become regulars in the England squad so who knows...

I have seen the tv pictures several times before, and watched them again this morning. Truly terrifying, and a terrible tragedy. Some very brave people saved quite a few lives that day, braving the flames and falling debris.

I remember watching it live on TV, it certainly was shocking and such a sad day, but as you say, some very brave people!

 

[Jaffa Cake]

King Kenny reigns on.

A three year deal, by all accounts.