The 2013-2014 Football Thread

[takao]

i also was surprised to see Demichelis at ManCity anyway... sure he still has good positioning, and huge amount of expierence but he still makes his mistakes likes in the past
and he isn't getting faster as well

5 years ago he was the better defender compared to van Buyten (faster and better passing) but while van Buyten improved his positioning game to compensate for his glacial speed, Demichelis didn't


Leverkusen never fails to deliver a dissapointment: they are playing CL since years and play consistent league seasons over and over, and as soon they are past the group phase ? ... BLAM ... they transfor into chickens and suddenly have 2 left feet ...

 

[twietee]

Nooooo!


Yessss!

 

[daneoni]

Really starting to despise European refs. Use some common sense will you please

Yellow more than enough. Its not like he broke Robben's foot. And Robben buys it as well, after realising he missed his chance. Conned the ref.

Also Arsene, please don't let Özil take another pen until he finds his confidence.

 

[takao]

Really starting to despise European refs. Use some common sense will you please :roll eyes:

Yellow more than enough. Its not like he broke Robben's foot. And Robben buying it as well after realising he missed his chance. Conned the ref.

wat ...

Szesny threw himself into Robbens single foot on the ground without any chance for the ball

he only hit Robbens "standing leg" without even bothering to go for the ball, outside of the 5m keeper box, with no other player close to prevent clear goal chance
obvious red


both penalties well deserved, and good performance for the ref so far IMHO (mandzukiv yellow also well deserved at the end)

 

[daneoni]

Szcz goes for the ball but realises he won't get to it and tries to withdraw but its too late. Its not a malicious or professional foul and its in the box. He's entitled to go for it.

For my money, Yellow + pen enough. But hey, maybe i'm just biased.

 

[takao]

Szcz goes for the ball but realises he won't get to it and tries to withdraw but its too late. Its not a malicious or professional foul and its in the box. He's entitled to go for it.

For my money, Yellow + pen enough. But hey, maybe i'm just biased.

would he have bumped into the player after withdrawing his legs and were a defender 1-2 steps away perhaps he would have got away with yellow ... but the next defender was way off and he rather roughly hit robbens standing leg so it's fair card
Szcesny had a split second and he even made the right choice ("go for the ball") but he simply couldn't get to it

it was a risky/bold move for both sides: had Szesny had gotten to the ball first and robben hits him with the high left leg ? nobody could have complained about a red card for such a foul against a keeper ... i think both are professional enough to know that it was high risk situation

 

[twietee]

Nah, yellow + pen would have been the right choice imho. Even Beckenbauer said it himself

Hope it stays that close, although Bayern does get more and more threatening.

 

[takao]

Nah, yellow + pen would have been the right choice imho. Even Beckenbauer said it himself

Hope it stays that close, although Bayern does get more and more threatening.

of course: he was a defender caught in such situations quite a bit

looks like Pep made the right decision to bench Kroos for 2 games straight upfront to this game ... he obviously needed to fill up the energy level again, playing excellent today

 

[daneoni]

Bad luck. Oh well...

 

[twietee]

Yep, cracking game by Kroos. Loved the booing against Robben every single time he touched the ball . (mind I for one always really liked Robben despite his flaws)

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Arsenal were slightly unlucky, but Bayern were definitely the better team. Tie over. The gunners shouldn't be too disappointed, Most teams would have fared worse.

Robben: a huge prick as far as I'm concerned. Wonderfully skilled though.

 

[takao]

Arsenal were slightly unlucky, but Bayern were definitely the better team. Tie over. The gunners shouldn't be too disappointed, Most teams would have fared worse.

the first 15 minutes arsenal defiantly was better out of the gate then bayern came better into the game and then with the red card arsenal simply had to play a damage control/park the bus game ...

considering the last 15 minutes (Kroos hitting metal, Götze shot, Götze flying header, Müller getting fouled in the box) i think the 0:2 result is ok since they still can turn it around if they can repeat last years game in munich

 

[daneoni]

Think Ozil needs to be benched for maybe a game or two. Put Cazorla in the hole and Ox and Gnabry on the wings. Wilshere alongside Flamini/Arteta and Sanogo upfront. Ozil and Giroud simply showing signs of wear and tear.

We talked about Kroos being rested earlier and then came to deliver a MOTM performance today. Me thinks thats worth a look.

Also Wenger, you need to buy 2 wingers and a striker in the summer if you want to utilise Ozil properly. 2 or 3 full backs also needed.

 

[Kariya]

Might be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal. Focus on the FA Cup and EPL now. With that team UCL is very little more than a distraction.

Also agree on Ozil, he's wilting.

 

[olup]

Might be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal. Focus on the FA Cup and EPL now. With that team UCL is very little more than a distraction.

Also agree on Ozil, he's wilting.

Frankly I think they did really well, given the circumstances. The problem with Özil is that he tends to hide/disappear in important games for whatever reason and for that it seems that he's not cut out to be the next superstar that people try to make of him. He's had that when he was still with Werder Bremen; he completely choked when he was supposed to replace the playmaker Diego in the UEFA cup final 2009 and in important games for Real Madrid as well.
He needs someone at his side to really shine/keep his back free and the current roster of Arsenal doesn't appear to do that. What it boils down to is, that it seems that he just can't handle all that responsibility.

As far as the match goes, I think Bayern are starting to become a bit too complacent, but tonight's match showed that they aren't unbeatable.

 

[Happybunny]

Arsenal have always been the weakest team of the big four of the EPL, last night that was shown up again.

As to Arjen Robben and a penalty given, I have never liked Robben as a player since his days at PSV, (see previous posts about Robben) but I have to say on this occasion the penalty was correct, the standing leg was taken away in the 16 meter room.

 

[takao]

Arsenal have always been the weakest team of the big four of the EPL, last night that was shown up again.

what i find surprising how after the red card many Arsenal Players seemed to have surrenderd mentally (exceptions: Sangola(sp?), Koscielny and Flamini)... like it's impossible to score a goal with one man down

on more than one occasion a 10 man team played furiously and etched out a draw or even a close win,
after the 1st goal it felt like some were already waiving a white flag,hanging shoulders etc.

Rosicky was also a bewildering Wenger-sub... he isn't a faster energetic counter attacker, nor a great defensive worker. Ox was tired but a great counter attack threat (Alaba had quite some problems with him)
Without ball-possesion Rosicky can't play his strenghts.

Was Podolski injured ? his long shot, pace and spirit would have been a good choice IMHO


Happybunny: your bet for the Ajax vs Salzburg game ?
Salzburg is currently on a roll in the league and played a geat preperation after the winter break (3:0 victory in the friendly agaisnt bayern) and their pressing game can be quite intense combined with their great dribblers (Kampl, Alan)
how does Ajax cope against cosntant pressing teams in the league ? or do they mostly face defensive squads ?

 

[Fizzoid]

Arsenal's mentality is questioned yet again it seems

 

[Happybunny]

Was Podolski injured ? his long shot, pace and spirit would have been a good choice IMHO


Happybunny: your bet for the Ajax vs Salzburg game ?
Salzburg is currently on a roll in the league and played a geat preperation after the winter break (3:0 victory in the friendly agaisnt bayern) and their pressing game can be quite intense combined with their great dribblers (Kampl, Alan)
how does Ajax cope against cosntant pressing teams in the league ? or do they mostly face defensive squads ?

I also was very surprised by the omission of Podolski.

As to predictions about the match tonight, I think it will depend on who scores first. If Ajax score first I think Salzburg will shut the door, and game over, but if Salzburg score first Ajax will have to make a real game of it. Away goal rules.
Ajax have trouble finishing off games, too often this season they have conceded late on.

 

[twietee]

what i find surprising how after the red card many Arsenal Players seemed to have surrenderd mentally (exceptions: Sangola(sp?), Koscielny and Flamini)... like it's impossible to score a goal with one man down

on more than one occasion a 10 man team played furiously and etched out a draw or even a close win,
after the 1st goal it felt like some were already waiving a white flag,hanging shoulders etc.

Rosicky was also a bewildering Wenger-sub... he isn't a faster energetic counter attacker, nor a great defensive worker. Ox was tired but a great counter attack threat (Alaba had quite some problems with him)
Without ball-possesion Rosicky can't play his strenghts.

Was Podolski injured ? his long shot, pace and spirit would have been a good choice IMHO

Was surprised about Sanogo too. He was actually better than expected - quite agressive but seriously lacked technically as well as overall goal threat.

Rosicky can hold the ball and could theoretically help not loosing midfield completely- I guess Wenger wanted to keep the 0:1, which wouldn't be that bad of a result given the circumstances. I think it was reasonable - especially when you always have the odd chance to score from a corner/free-kick with Kosc and Mert.

 

[olup]

why Poldi was left out of the starting eleven, is a bit beyond me. He would have made a good addition to the team, when they weren't down to ten for the aforementioned reasons. Don't think they're betting on winning the 2nd leg, Bayern won't be that foolish to give away that advantage

 

[Lord Blackadder]

The latest from Allam sounds ominous, Jaffa. Doubling season ticket prices? Might that make a boycott that much easier, since it will price people out of the market anyway? And then there's this:

Assem and Ehab Allam, Hull's owners are understood to have lined up at least two potential major sponsorship deals with global companies for next season but they are contingent on the word "Tigers" becoming part of Hull's name.

Emphasis mine. Really though? They found big sponsors that insist on the name change? Sounds pretty fishy to me.

what i find surprising how after the red card many Arsenal Players seemed to have surrenderd mentally (exceptions: Sangola(sp?), Koscielny and Flamini)... like it's impossible to score a goal with one man down

on more than one occasion a 10 man team played furiously and etched out a draw or even a close win,
after the 1st goal it felt like some were already waiving a white flag,hanging shoulders etc.

To be fair, how many teams out there have any chance of beating Bayern after losing a man to a red card? Even Barcelona or Real Madrid would struggle mightily to get back in the game. Chelsea, with their ultra-negative/reactionary tactics might have the best shot, but even they would probably lose nine times out of ten.

Giroud's absence (and absence of form) was a big loss - Sanogo was impressive in terms of work rate, physicality and positioning but he lacked a finishing touch. Bayern will expose any weaknesses in an opponent and Arsnenal's biggest weakness was a lack of a dangerous forward. Arsenal badly need an Ibra, a Suarez, a Kun Aguero...an RVP.

 

[Tilpots]

Schedule, dates and locations out for the 2nd International Champions Cup in the US. I can't make the DC game on the 29th, but may try to get to Charlotte on the 2nd for AC Milan v Liverpool. Anybody else planning on catching one?

Full schedule:
July 24: AC Milan vs. Olympiakos at Citi Field in New York (Group B)
July 26: Manchester United vs. Roma at Sports Authority Field in Denver (Group A)
July 26: Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (Group A)
July 27: AC Milan vs. Manchester City at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh (Group B)
July 27: Liverpool vs. Olympiakos at Soldier Field in Chicago (Group B)
July 29: Manchester United vs. Inter Milan at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. (Group A)
July 29: Real Madrid vs. Roma at Cotton Bowl in Dallas (Group A)
July 30: Manchester City vs. Liverpool at Yankee Stadium in New York (Group B)
Aug. 2: Manchester City vs. Olympiakos TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (Group B)
Aug. 2: AC Milan vs. Liverpool at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (Group B)
Aug. 2: Inter Milan vs. Roma at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (Group A)
Aug. 2: Real Madrid vs. Manchester United at venue to be determined (Group A)
The tournament will conclude with the Aug. 4 final between the group winners at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.
Fox channels will carry all 13 matches.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

The latest from Allam sounds ominous, Jaffa.

It sounds more to me like the desperate flailings of a man finally realising he's not going to get his own way. Hopefully.

The quote you picked out is interesting, your Lordship. It's Allam's first public admission that a sponsor is (apparently) driving this. This is significant because it gives the FA a precedent to fall back on. In the 1980s, Coventry City applied to change their name to Coventry Talbot - at the time they were sponsored by Talbot, a car manufacturer. The FA turned down the application on the grounds that club names shouldn't feature the names of companies or sponsors - so if a sponsor is wanting to change our name for similar purposes there are firm grounds to refuse it.

But that's if there is any truth in what he's saying - personally I'm doubtful that there is a sponsor at all, let alone two big money deals lined up that are dependent on the name change. And let's be honest, the Allam's aren't really painting a picture of being folk that you'd want to do business with at the moment.

I think part of their plan here is to try and scare supporters, following on from the claim a few weeks back that they'll walk if their application is refused (on that note, does this mean they now intend to stay either way? Hmm ). But instead it seems to be having the opposite effect, and even those who previously were shrugging and saying 'It's his club and he can do what he wants' now seem to be turning against Allam's wishes. It seems that that last quote was missing the proviso '...as long he's not making me pay more for my ticket'.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Schedule, dates and locations out for the 2nd International Champions Cup in the US. I can't make the DC game on the 29th, but may try to get to Charlotte on the 2nd for AC Milan v Liverpool. Anybody else planning on catching one?

I'm tempted, but I also don't really like the idea of these summer money-tours. To be honest, I'd rather save up some money and go see Liverpool at Anfield in a meaningful game than watch a bunch of half-fit squad players against another bunch of half-fit squad players here in the states...

The quote you picked out is interesting, your Lordship. It's Allam's first public admission that a sponsor is (apparently) driving this. This is significant because it gives the FA a precedent to fall back on. In the 1980s, Coventry City applied to change their name to Coventry Talbot - at the time they were sponsored by Talbot, a car manufacturer. The FA turned down the application on the grounds that club names shouldn't feature the names of companies or sponsors - so if a sponsor is wanting to change our name for similar purposes there are firm grounds to refuse it.

There is a Vauxhall motors F.C. in the Conference though (I think I saw them in some FA Cup results list a while back)...but they are owned by Vauxhall. Maybe it would be easier to change Hull's name to Allam FC...

The tide does appear to be turning a bit, and for once the press seem to paint Hull in a sympathetic light, in contrast to the Phil Brown years. I suppose Steve Bruce has a lot more cred with the London press mob than poor Brownie.

If the threat of raising ticket prices was intended to get more people behind the name change, I suspect it's going to backfire spectacularly.