The 2014-2015 Football Thread

[twietee]

i
Squads like Gladbach,Mainz, Freiburg,Frankfurt can complain about their players getting bought by the big teams ...

Well, I'd argue that Dortmund would have left Immobile alone when Lewa would have stayed.

They needed Reus because Kagawa was bought away plus Götze unlikely to stay due his immense talent - etc pp.

Gündogan because Sahin left to Madrid.

etc pp

That's the cycle of professional sports and 99% of the clubs have to suffer.

And I for one wasn't complaining that Ramos went to Dortmund as he was too good for the squad. Same with Lewandowski to Bayern. But it is one part of the explanation why many of those clubs losing these players have problems afterwards - also manifesting the established upperclass 1%. Look how good a squad Bremen once had - gone. And highly unlikely to come back. Gladbach? They win the league or come far in CL? - half the squad's gone in two years at least. They bought Sommer because Ter Steegen left to Barca (where did Sommer come from? Nowhere?) - and what if they lose Sommer next year to BVB or any other club ranked higher, willing to pay top dollar? Can they pull off a third keeper that good repeatedly?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

i recommend looking at Dortmunds own buying policy

True! But Bayern is still a mile ahead of everyone else.

 

[JamesMike]

Some good matches in the Premier League tomorrow.

 

[Kariya]

Kane sinks Arsenal. Spurs played with intensity that Arsenal never got to grips with. Atkinson helped them a lot too...gave them pretty much every decision and allowed them get away with some nasty ones

Overall Spurs deserved winners and have taken 4 pts from Arsenal this season. But they still have to face the other big guns whilst Arsenal have 'easier' fixtures.

 

[twietee]

phew

Hertha 2:0
BvB 3:0

soul food

 

[Kariya]

Athleti 4-0 Real

City drew at home to Hull. Capitulating?

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Arsenal's result against Man City was big, but I think today's matches show that Spurs are perhaps a better team than Man City at the moment.

It's hard to care much about the title race when the two most plastic teams in the league are in involved, but I suppose this is a real setback for City, and for the moment they are the contender I dislike the least. Great result for Hull City though, and they need the points.

Just think how much more fun the league would be if Arsenal/Spurs or Liverpool/Everton were fighting for the league.

Simeone's Atleti beat Real again.

EDIT: 0-0 in the Merseyside Derby, both managers seemed willing to accept a draw. Lucas went off after 15 minutes so that's worrying. Sturridge played nearly all of the second half but most of that period was played after Coutinho and Sterling were subbed off. Everton could not afford to lose this match so I'm not surprised it was a draw.

 

[JamesMike]

I was surprised by Kane's late goals against Arsenal, it made his weekend. Hopefully Man U will do well tomorrow.

 

[olup]

i recommend looking at Dortmunds own buying policy

Reus: Gladbachs most important player when they bought him
Sokratis ? Werder Bremen's best defender
Immobile ? Seria A top goal scorer and the best of Torino by far.
Ramos ? more or less Herthas insurance policy last year and their best goal scorer... just look how they perform without him at the moment
Aubameyang: Number #2 goal scorer behind Imbrahimovic in the french league when they bought him
Mkhitaryan: set the all time goal record for the ukrainian league before getting bought by Dortmund
Kampl: absolute star player in the Salzburg squad who was key to their current success (109 games, 68 assists and 29 goals), voted player of the year in Austria 2014

Squads like Gladbach,Mainz, Freiburg,Frankfurt can complain about their players getting bought by the big teams ... but Dortmund, Leverkusen, Wolfsburg ? They better keep their mouth shut

(ironically i would rate Schalke youth academy output the best at the moment ... Bayern isn't too bad with providing many young players to the bundesliga top flight either)

They're going through the same phase that every sucessful club goes through, key players need to be replaced and sometimes the team doesn't end up being quite as harmonious as it used to be or people have a hard time to adjust. Lewandowski needed time to adjust in his first season and they still had Barrios. The big difference though is that Dortmund has tons of cash, through transfers, sponsors and they have a big reputation, which Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Ingolstadt and whoever else will pop up in the Bundesliga in the coming years, don't have.

Schalke's youth academy has been great for the last few years, but they have very little to show for it because they tend to go for the B-Level players that eventually got sorted out but still got a certain ring to their name , Prince Boateng, Bastos.

 

[pachyderm]

Arsenal's result against Man City was big, but I think today's matches show that Spurs are perhaps a better team than Man City at the moment.

It's hard to care much about the title race when the two most plastic teams in the league are in involved, but I suppose this is a real setback for City, and for the moment they are the contender I dislike the least. Great result for Hull City though, and they need the points.

Just think how much more fun the league would be if Arsenal/Spurs or Liverpool/Everton were fighting for the league.

Simeone's Atleti beat Real again.

EDIT: 0-0 in the Merseyside Derby, both managers seemed willing to accept a draw. Lucas went off after 15 minutes so that's worrying. Sturridge played nearly all of the second half but most of that period was played after Coutinho and Sterling were subbed off. Everton could not afford to lose this match so I'm not surprised it was a draw.

Spurs win was fantastic! score doesn't show how thoroughly they kicked ass!

and, i'm sure it was an innocent oversight on your part, but THE MASSIVE WEDNESDAY drew 1-1 vs CCFC

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Completely innocent, Pachy, I assure you.

Hopefully Man U will do well tomorrow.

Hopefully not , though I can't see them failing to turn West Ham over. Manchester United have rarely looked good this season, but they have ground out results and look set to finish in the CL positions.

 

[Cox Orange]

phew

Hertha 2:0
BvB 3:0

soul food

Autsch! But Mainz was so stupid, unconcentrated and unorganized... their own fault.
Also, in the current situation very ironical (or should I say typical re their luck) that Freiburg yet again looses, in such a situation.

 

[twietee]

The big difference though is that Dortmund has tons of cash, through transfers, sponsors and they have a big reputation, which Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Ingolstadt and whoever else will pop up in the Bundesliga in the coming years, don't have.

No idea about Ingolstadt and RedBull (TM) Leipzig, but it's clear that Wolfsburg (VW) is going a different route than Hoffenheim (SAP) and Leverkusen (Bayer). They got themselves Luis Gustavo then DeBruyne and just added Schürrle to their collection without any real life achievements so far. When they get into the CL I bet they splash even more cash. Leverkusen isn't doing that.

CoxOrange, hope Mainz loses next weekend just as well
after that, we can talk...

 

[Kariya]

United steal a point. Dat luck...

They've become too predictable. Keep it tight and you nullify their front 4. Then they bring Fellaini on and resort to route 1 football.

EDIT: Pearson reportedly canned by Leicester suits.

 

[JamesMike]

Man U got lucky to tie it up today.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Ivory Coast wins the African Cup of Nations!! For years they've had one of the most talented squads on the continent and they just always seems to choke. It went to penalties this time but they finally made it all the way this time.

EDIT: Pearson reportedly canned by Leicester suits.

Rumors swirling but as of this moment Leicester are officially denying it. Looks like he won't be around for much longer either way...

Man U got lucky to tie it up today.

Given the money spent on the squad int eh LvG era, they should be beating West Ham. Blind has played well since coming in, but the squad is still far less than the sum of its parts.

 

[Alphazoid]

Still waiting to see how LvG is better than Moyes outside of his CV.

If Arsenal, Liverpool, and Everton weren't having a mediocre season, and De Gea wasn't having a blinder, i don't think United would even be having a sniff.

But hey, maybe i'm just being myopic.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Still waiting to see how LvG is better than Moyes outside of his CV.

If Arsenal, Liverpool, and Everton weren't having a mediocre season, and De Gea wasn't having a blinder, i don't think United would even be having a sniff.

But hey, maybe i'm just being myopic.

United are massively underperforming given LvG's past reputation as well as the reputation of the big-name players they have bought at great expense.

We now have a situation where five English clubs have, not just Champions League ambitions, but Champions League expectations. So somebody is going to miss out each season. This time it will probably be Liverpool but Man Utd are still not convincing.

 

[Fizzoid]

EDIT: Pearson reportedly canned by Leicester suits.

He may need to work on his aftermatch debrief if not!

 

[Centaurr]

My favorite teams are::

Big Clubs: Real madrid, Chelsea and kind of a Man U fan. the reason why i said 'kind of a man u fan' is cuz i dont really like van gaal

International: Colombia, USA

MLS: NY red bulls, DC United

Small Clubs: America de Cali, Atletico National

 

[Centaurr]

^^^ its van gaal's fault we didnt win against west ham, the system he is using is bad, think its 3-5-2

 

[Kariya]

Reus has reportedly extended his Dortmund contract to 2019. Does that mean there weren't any takers (Barca banned, Real Bale, Bayern no) or is it an example of Gerrard-like loyalty

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Shoe on the Other Foot Alert:

van Gaal has shown up to a press conference with a dossier of "facts" proving that he didn't play long ball against West Ham. Loving it. You can collect all the stats you want, but if you play Fellaini up top I think the intent is pretty obvious.

If Big Sam publicly accuses you of long ball, you know you're in trouble!

 

[Fizzoid]

If Big Sam publicly accuses you of long ball, you know you're in trouble!

Let's face it, there aren't many managers better qualified to call you out on it!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Indeed, Big Sam certainly knows a long ball when he sees one. Guilty as charged, Louis. Only Burnley has lumped it long more often than Man Utd this season...

EDIT: Sky and BT Sport are paying a total of £5.136bn to retain their broadcast rights to the Premier League.

If anybody is looking for a reason why the transfer market is so badly inflated, why agents & TV stations have so much power in the game, and why the rich clubs are becoming increasing rich and entrenched in power at the summit of the game - look no further.