The 2011-2012 Football Thread

[Silencio]

Oh, yeah - Big Derby. I didn't see the match so I can only comment on the result - whatever Fergie's reasoning for rotating the squad, it contributed to the draw, but I doubt Fergie played for one. Hernandez continues to be unstoppable. Good to see a goal from Gerrard. I'll take the point.

Sorry, it looked clear to me from that starting XI that SAF was playing for a draw. Very, very conservative, stuff. Usually those kinds of decisions backfire on United, and it almost did again at Anfield until he made some attacking substitutions which led to the equalizer.

As for Gerrard's goal, he really must send a thank you card to Ryan Giggs for stepping out of the wall and letting his shot go through, leaving De Gea no chance. I think Giggs was more concerned with maintaining his playboy lifestyle rather than defending United's goal.

Thank goodness for De Gea, he made some remarkable saves. Now maybe the British press will lay off him for a while.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Yep, at most Ferguson had an eye on pinching it late - would have worked if it hadn't been for that meddling Giggs.

Evra and Suarez need to get a room - and Evra was captain

Rooney; two match ban would be fair and tough - number of games in qualifying and the finals. Re taking him; for the first three games, he'll be just as effective as much of the England team.

Cheers,
OW

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Sorry, it looked clear to me from that starting XI that SAF was playing for a draw. Very, very conservative, stuff.

Yep, at most Ferguson had an eye on pinching it late - would have worked if it hadn't been for that meddling Giggs.

Obviously he rotated the squad, but playing for a draw? I don't think so. Fergie hasn't won titles by playing for draws. I don't think he ever plays for draws in league matches. As oscillatewildly said, I think he put out a team that he thought could win. But United were not going to score without an injection of class from the bench. Fortunately for Fergie he had the tools available.

De Gea - good match by all accounts, Liverpool knocked on the door a few times.

 

[Fizzoid]

^A good come-from-behind performance, pachyderm.

I'll take the point.

Me too! I don't care if we did drop out of second spot, I'm just glad we came away with the point! I'm sure there's a lot of annoyed piggies out there, especially as they claim it was a foul for the second goal

 

[pachyderm]

Me too! I don't care if we did drop out of second spot, I'm just glad we came away with the point! I'm sure there's a lot of annoyed piggies out there, especially as they claim it was a foul for the second goal

agreed. the Owls showed great character by not quitting. i'll always take a point.

lost 3-0 to the revs, poor crew.

spurs match was fun to watch but maddening. spurs always seem able to snatch a draw from the jaws of victory...

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I've said this before, but the weekend's derby result only serves to prove the point – Sheffield Wednesday = the acceptable face of South Yorkshire football.

Because it sure as hell isn't this charming lady...



Meanwhile, is that a ladder? Best pull it up quick then...

 

[Fizzoid]

Nan, you should be ashamed of yourself!


Maybe we should introduce another rule where Premiership clubs can't loose against lower league clubs in cup games. Infact, why not simply scrap the lower leagues, and that way we can all go watch the top 4

 

[oscillatewildly]

Two burgers love, chuck 'em straight in.

I'm sure the London Wednesday Owls franchise will receive a warm welcome. They can get rid of draws whilst they are at it.

 

[Peterkro]

Because fat, vociferous,finger waving,older men are never seen at football matches?

 

[OllyW]

Remember back in August when Wolves made a cracking start and the Match of the Day pundits said we had already reached the same number of points as we had got by the end of October last season?

Well, it's almost the end of October again and we've still got the same number of points.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Because fat, vociferous,finger waving,older men are never seen at football matches?

Indeed they are, but he was in the away end.



I must say, Fizzoid has really let himself go since he got married.

 

[oscillatewildly]

It's the skinny, Black, Jewish, lesbians you need to watch out for; once they kick off...

 

[Lord Blackadder]

lost 3-0 to the revs, poor crew.

Fortunately, it waqs the other way 'round - Columbus put on a solid performance and won the match. This was one of those rare matches where Columbus had both of their best strikers (Mendoza and Renteria) fit and available, and it makes me wonder where we'd be now if that had been the case all season...

Meanwhile, is that a ladder? Best pull it up quick then...

Totally frightening. It could hardly be more obvious that ultra-wealthy owners came at a heavy cost to the game as fans know it. However, the notion that only Johhny Foreigner can be behind this kind of thinking is dangerously off the mark. The culture of business is such that massive wealth is achieved through ruthlessness - and Englishmen are not exempt from this. If the best way for a Premier League team to increase revenue is to follow a more global business model, then you can bet everyone, Englishmen included, will be in on it.

 

[aloofman]

However, the notion that only Johhny Foreigner can be behind this kind of thinking is dangerously off the mark. The culture of business is such that massive wealth is achieved through ruthlessness - and Englishmen are not exempt from this. If the best way for a Premier League team to increase revenue is to follow a more global business model, then you can bet everyone, Englishmen included, will be in on it.

Completely agree. I wouldn't be surprised if the bigger clubs got together and had the foreign owners bring it up just to keep up appearances.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Completely agree. I wouldn't be surprised if the bigger clubs got together and had the foreign owners bring it up just to keep up appearances.

That's precisely why Ian Ayre's comments are so scary - he is undisputably English. It's not just the Middle Eastern potentates and Russian tycoons...

It seems that, in a world increasingly regulated by the checks and balances of laws, the Premier League is seen as a place where people with enough money can indulge in the unbridled capitalism of a previous epoch. The sky's the limit.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

One of the things that I like about our system is that — in theory at least — any team can get into the Premier League. There are paths from the lowest levels of non-League all the way to the very top, and that's rather brilliant really. That's why this suggestion — and at present that's all it seems to be — must never be allowed to happen.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I think that promotion and relegation is a great system. I also think that there are other viable alternatives - but not in the case of the English football pyramid. The system is not broken, therefore there is no need to 'fix' it. I can accept the fact that MLS (for example) will probably never have promotion and relegation - there are ways to make it work without it - but in England (or Europe for that matter) I can't see a good reason to change it.

Furthermore, the English league system exists to serve all of the fans, players, and clubs. Not a certain few clubs, or a few players. And certainly not a few speculative owners.

It is wrong to argue that, because two or three clubs can be multibillion pound businesses, the entire league system should evolve to serve them best. And yet that is precisely what some people are arguing. In fact, it goes without saying that the league system has already evolved some considerable way in that direction. Far from the big clubs being able to do their own TV rights deals, I think the finances should move in the opposite direction - the Premier league should share TV revenue across the entire league system.

 

[pachyderm]

Athletic Bilbao 3 - 1 Osasuna
Muniaín (30') Javad Nekounam (pen 90')
Igor Gabilondo (38')
Javi Martínez (45')



...


GOALS
3 Llorente
2 Gabilondo
1 Iturraspe
1 Oscar
1 David Lopez
1 Muniaín
1 Martínez

ASSISTS
2 Iraola
1 Muniaín
1 Herrera
1 Amorebieta
1 Oscar
1 Llorente

11th: 2-2-3
1O/23/2O11 @

 

[pachyderm]

Fortunately, it waqs the other way 'round - Columbus put on a solid performance and won the match. This was one of those rare matches where Columbus had both of their best strikers (Mendoza and Renteria) fit and available, and it makes me wonder where we'd be now if that had been the case all season...

oops! i misread your post earlier.. phew... =)

New England O - 3 Columbus
Andrés Mendoza (31')
Dilly Duka (59')
Andrés Mendoza (63')

 

[NutsNGum]

Every time I see the Columbus Crew badge I am reminded how absolutely crap it is.

 

[pachyderm]

Every time I see the Columbus Crew badge I am reminded how absolutely crap it is.

me too.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I'm not a big fan of it myself, it's too cartoonish. But it follows American sports logo tradition. Then again, most clubs in the UK sport badges that look like they belong on a prep-school jacket. It's local tradition. Except for MK Dons and Wolves.

I prefer the prep-school look myself, but most people here are happy with a more contemporary look...I've always wondered what it would look like if the Crew used a version of Columbus' seal.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

It's the hardest working crest in the League.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

It's the hardest working crest in the League.

You're damned right.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

If we're talking crests, I've always liked Nottingham Forest's...

​

Nice and simple, combining tree and Trent beautifully. A real favourite of mine.

I also really like Spurs' freshening up of their crest from a few seasons back...

​

It manages to look modern and retro at the same time – simple and elegant. I've long thought that Liverpool should do something similar with the Liver bird – drop the cumbersome crest and accoutrements and just have said bird standing bold and proud on the red shirt. It'd look unquestionably ace.