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The 2012-2013 Football Thread

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daneoni said:
On another note, good win for Liverpool. May end up overtaking Everton if they keep this up. Conversely, bad day at the office for Laudrup and his crew but there was always the risk given that he didn't field his arguably two best players; Ashley Williams and Michu.

He'll argue he was resting them for the Capitol One but is that really viable these days. Ronaldo and Messi play week in week out yet they never seem to 'tire', 'fatigue' or 'burnout'.
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A good result for Liverpool against a team ranked next to them in the table. Liverpool have still failed to beat a team in the top few places in the league this season, but our performances against Man Utd, Arsenal and Man City were pretty good overall so I'm not too worried. I expect Zenit to dump us out of Europe though.

It was a tough call for Laudrup to rest players but I think it he was right to do so. A cup final requires maximum effort in a one-off game; if it goes into extra time Laudrup will be glad he has fresh legs.

Happybunny said:
Just a question for the English posters.
The English football competition is the most congested in Europe, with EP League, FA cup, League Cup and European matches, how are replays fitted in and who decides this?
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I think it's done with a computer program.

EDIT: and the FA cup marches towards another boring all-Premeir League final. Given Chelski's recent form United have to be the strong favorites. Wake me when it's over.
 
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Loved the Pool game..some really good actions (combination when finally Enrique scored after Sturridge pass was especially cool, IIRC).

Happybunny, the incident you brought up here is showing results here in Germany; yesterday a 26yo received a lifelong ban after cursing, hitting and finally kicking (!) a ref into the back. I have no English article about it but think they even mentionend the incident in the Netherlands as one factor for the hard-line.
 
Bayern look very very good, I can see them making the final...from that perspective, Arsenal shouldn't be too upset about losing to a better team. But obviously it closes the door on the last chance for a trophy this season, which is going to make the natives restless. The you-know-what will really hit the fan if they fail to finish fourth this season.

Arsenal still look like a team that can score against anyone, even without RVP. But they need to shore up their defense/defensive midfield positions this summer.
 
well the defensive midfield position sure looks like a disaster .. Arteta and Wilshire can hardly cope with Kroos alone .. every time Ribery or Müller cut inside or Schweinsteiger/Martinez move up the field it seems they are out of their league

Wilshire is excellent for fast up and down the pitch offense vs. defense games but against midfield focused teams he simply can't do it

on the other side van Buyten made a lot of guys on the Arsenal forums eat their words ... over the years he has become even slower but his positioning has become way better

as for Arsenal attacking:
* a blocked shot from Mertesacker after a corner
* 3 Sagna crosses

dissapointing to be honest with the current line up ... Wenger needs to move Podolski into the central striker position ASAP
 
Heh, and as soon as I criticize Arsenal's defense, Bayern go ahead and concede a ridiculously soft goal. ;)

EDIT: 3-1 to Bayern, and I'm afraid I can't see the gunners coming back from that in the second leg. Boos ring out at the final whistle.
 
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Didn't bother watching much of the match because the pre-determined result was already there for anyone with common sense to see. At least with the Barca game 2 yrs ago we had a decent midfield and strike force despite the ever weak defence, so i knew we at least had a chance.

Today we don't even have those anymore, we're significantly weaker across the board and lo and behold it showed. This will also likely be the last Champions League game at the Emirates for a while.

All thats left now is for Wilshere to be poached in the summer by Barca..or similar and the story will be complete.

"In Arsene and The Board We Trust"
 
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I am pretty certain Bayern won't win it this year. Peaked too early. None will fancy playing them next, but I suspect someone will knock them out this year. Sadly it won't be Arsenal though...
 
It's too early to predict a CL winner, form can change and injuries can take their toll between now and the summer. But Bayern would certainly be in my top 3 picks. The favorites have to be Barca I think. I know they didn't even make the final last season, but they are still the best team in the world as far as I'm concerned.

Jaffa Cake said:
Well, we turned over Blackburn in fine style this evening after their big win over Arsenal. Let us know if you want us to have a go at Bayern as well, Arsene. :p
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2nd in the league, and the Egyptian contingent once again racking up some goals. You may be playing Arsenal sooner than you think...

Cardiff beaten by Brighton too. Are they going to choke?
 
twietee said:
Loved the Pool game..some really good actions (combination when finally Enrique scored after Sturridge pass was especially cool, IIRC).

Happybunny, the incident you brought up here is showing results here in Germany; yesterday a 26yo received a lifelong ban after cursing, hitting and finally kicking (!) a ref into the back. I have no English article about it but think they even mentionend the incident in the Netherlands as one factor for the hard-line.
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Here all the goodwill has gone and the clubs are starting to openly question referee's decisions again, the KNVB has again called for meetings.
The amateur game has how ever got slightly better, the number of major incidents has dropped by 48% since the winter stop.

Saw the match last night Arsenal looked very weak at the back, and Bayern took full advantage of this. Bayern on the night were pure class, the number of passes which Bayern made was the major difference. Arsenal struggled to string more than one pass together.

I saw this on the BBC web site.

Could the Premier League learn from the Germans?

The party is over, it's time to grow up.
January's announcement that English football must become more prudent by introducing reforms within a year or face government intervention, followed by Thursday's warning from the Premier League on spending, signalled what could be an end to the era of extravagance.
The government is essentially looking for clubs to balance the books and for those books to be regularly checked by the Football Association.
The Premier League has stated it has regulations in place and is working towards what has been asked of them.

Across the continent in Germany, the Bundesliga is flourishing because of a licensing system that has been in place since the league's inception in 1963.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21167381
 
^Learning from the Bundesliga? I dunno. And for the competition here: we have Munich which is far above every other club, and then 2-3 competitors who can have a good run or two but will almost never work on one level with Bayern. Has been like that since I can remember. Pretty boring if you ask me.
 
Happybunny said:
I saw this on the BBC web site.

Could the Premier League learn from the Germans?

The party is over, it's time to grow up.
January's announcement that English football must become more prudent by introducing reforms within a year or face government intervention, followed by Thursday's warning from the Premier League on spending, signalled what could be an end to the era of extravagance.
The government is essentially looking for clubs to balance the books and for those books to be regularly checked by the Football Association.
The Premier League has stated it has regulations in place and is working towards what has been asked of them.

Across the continent in Germany, the Bundesliga is flourishing because of a licensing system that has been in place since the league's inception in 1963.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21167381
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Nothing to worry about. Arsenal have been balancing the books for a while now, and they did fine against the Ger...Oh!:rolleyes:
 
Confuzzzed said:
I am pretty certain Bayern won't win it this year. Peaked too early.
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That's an interesting notion imho. Especially considering that they will win the League uber-early.

peaked too early *noted

Lord Blackadder said:
It's too early to predict a CL winner, form can change and injuries can take their toll between now and the summer. But Bayern would certainly be in my top 3 picks. The favorites have to be Barca I think. I know they didn't even make the final last season, but they are still the best team in the world as far as I'm concerned.
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Barca, Real and Utd. + Bayern (Dortmund have some rare outsider odds though). I see Utd as the former Bayern this year. Not overly convincing, but they're winning non the less. Having some really weak spots, but make up for it with depth of bench and some super-human strikers + the right spirit.

I'd really fancy seeing Barca, Utd. and/or Dortmund playing Bayern.
 
I learnt a lesson last night: If the odds on Arsenal winning are 4 to 1 and all polls tilt heavily towards a buoyant German side, don't make the bet. It ain't worth it :p
 
twietee said:
That's an interesting notion imho. Especially considering that they will win the League uber-early.

peaked too early *noted
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It is an interesting notion. Will Bayern start resting their top players for the CL, as presumably, barring any disaster, they will walk away with the league title.
 
Jaffa Cake said:
You'd like to think that Cardiff are setting up for their traditional post-Christmas slump. They've left it a little later than usual this season but we'll see. :p
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mmm 5 points clear and a game in hand doesn't seem like very much all of a sudden.:eek:
 
Jaffa Cake said:
You'd like to think that Cardiff are setting up for their traditional post-Christmas slump. They've left it a little later than usual this season but we'll see. :p
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7-2-1 in their last 10. i think yer gonna have to keep waiting...


it's bad enough that it is cardiff but what really sucks is that they are winning with their new ownership and **** badge and colors. :mad:


#WHATHAPPENEDTOFOOTBALLTRADITION!?!?
 
oscillatewildly said:
Fancy Dan boots. :mad:
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Dem?? :confused: :D

image_39063_0.jpg
 
Prob dose?

They won't make you any better, son. Great sig too.


Edit: just to be honest here: I improved my limited soccer skills vastly by wearing a nice pair of soccer shoes. minimum 100%. giving great confidence and adding a bit of flair onto the pitch too. :D
i have a little thingy goin' on with my shoes though.
 
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