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The 2015-2016 Football Thread

Columbus finally picked their first win this weekend, six games into the season. We have virtually the same squad that took us to the championship game last season, yet results have been abysmal. MLS parity strikes again.

Vardy better hope the ref is lenient in his match report, or Leicester are going to lose him for three matches instead of one.

[doublepost=1460927735][/doublepost]Arsenal are in grave danger of dropping out of the top four. Can it get any worse for the Gunners? (yes it can - if Spurs win the league)

sartrekid said:
As a whole, I feel that German football is still not getting the attention it deserves. And it's not only Bayern.
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The problem is that German football is Bayern, as far as the outside world is concerned. What the league needs if it wants to raise its profile is for teams like Dortmund and Wolfsburg to mount tougher challenges to Bayern, and turn it into a top three instead of Bayern winning all the time. Sometimes they have managed to do this, and the more they do it the better.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
The problem is that German football is Bayern, as far as the outside world is concerned. What the league needs if it wants to raise its profile is for teams like Dortmund and Wolfsburg to mount tougher challenges to Bayern, and turn it into a top three instead of Bayern winning all the time. Sometimes they have managed to do this, and the more they do it the better.
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To me this transition is already happening right now, albeit more on the pitch as opposed to in people's heads outside Germany. I think the very near future will have a much more varied list of CL/EL winners than we have currently.
 
sartrekid said:
To me this transition is already happening right now, albeit more on the pitch as opposed to in people's heads outside Germany. I think the very near future will have a much more varied list of CL/EL winners than we have currently.
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Bayer Leverkusen made a championleague final 13 years ago, nothing about german football looks much different to me its like everyone elses, it rises, it falls, rinse repeat
 
Ironduke said:
Bayer Leverkusen made a championleague final 13 years ago, nothing about german football looks much different to me its like everyone elses, it rises, it falls, rinse repeat
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If they are like everyone else, then why are they less popular than, say, Italy, Spain, England?

The annual ranking (points) show a very different thing than what you're suggesting. They clearly show that the Bundesliga, as a whole has become a lot more competitive. Teams get further in tournaments in recent years and it's nothing like over a decade ago. In fact, we come in second place, just after Spain. It's never been that way, as far as I know. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
The problem is that German football is Bayern, as far as the outside world is concerned. What the league needs if it wants to raise its profile is for teams like Dortmund and Wolfsburg to mount tougher challenges to Bayern, and turn it into a top three instead of Bayern winning all the time. Sometimes they have managed to do this, and the more they do it the better.
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That's the thing. Bayern winning the league again and doing so well in the CL just reaffirms peoples belief that the Bundesliga is a one horse race. I don't think anyone's expecting another Leicester, but Bayern need a tougher challenge


Scepticalscribe said:
They are a big club; and while they may have delusions of grandeur concerning where the club ought to be, it cannot be denied that Newcastle is a genuine city.
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Most of the Newcastle fans I know, or from what I've seen, they'd be happy with mid-table mediocrity and some sort of stability from which to build on, rather than the laughing stock they have become
 
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Fizzoid said:
Most of the Newcastle fans I know, or from what I've seen, they'd be happy with mid-table mediocrity and some sort of stability from which to build on, rather than the laughing stock they have become
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Agreed: Mid table mediocrity would be accepted with delirious delight at this stage, rather than put the fans through the wringer, (yet again).

That's the thing, though: Stability has become a treasured and yearned for prize, in the north east, where the more usual pattern is toying with suicide and then attempting a cardiac arrest inducing escape at the very last minute.
 
It looks like Vardy is almost certainly going to be banned for two games. Massive luck for Man Utd. Will Vardy's outburst and ban cost them the title, with the Mancunians playing the role of spoilers of the biggest story in the league in decades?
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
It looks like Vardy is almost certainly going to be banned for two games. Massive luck for Man Utd. Will Vardy's outburst and ban cost them the title, with the Mancunians playing the role of spoilers of the biggest story in the league in decades?
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Yes, I have been reading about this, too.

Normally, I do not subscribe to the 'attack the ref' school of footballing debate, but I do think an argument can be made that Mr Moss had a poor game.

Having said that, I will be interested in seeing Leicester's response to this.

Needless to say, I hope Leicester manage to retain their composure - and above all, their leading position in the table.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I don't expect Stoke to do anything against Spurs - they didn't prove to be much of an obstacle to a Liverpool B squad.
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Well, it would be nice if they ddi - but at present, they are 1-0 down, approaching half time.

Elsewhere, in the Midlands, Aston Villa's disastrous season is belatedly causing ripples.

(But not, needless to say, among the disgraceful team, with their attitudes of bottomless entitlement, most of whom could not be even persuaded to accord their their own fans the basic respect of a salute after their dreadful performance against Manchester United which sealed their relegation.)

Tonight, two members of the board tendered their resignations with immediate effect, David Bernstein and Lord Mervyn King (who was once upon a more distant time, Governor of the Bank of England and a life long Villa supporter). Both had joined the board relatively recently - this year - and Mr Bernstein has said that his position had become 'untenable' as the restructuring of the club he may have had in mind to implement "has proved impossible to implement".
 
So, Spurs destroy Stoke with a 4-0 slaughter. (Mind you, I'd have hoped that Stoke might have put up a better fight than that).

Well, the year's end of season - at both the bottom and the top of the table - is going to be extremely interesting.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
No reason why they should.

They have led the table since November of last year - that is, five months of leading from the front. Over the entire season, they have lost only three games. And they have a terrific team spirit.
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Well Big team like Arsenal chocked the title to Man united over a decade ago, and Newcastle did the same. Barca is currently doing the same.
 
Two games without Vardy really blunts their biggest strength of counterattacking football. But they still have Mahrez and Okazaki. The last 3 games will prove decisive. And Chelsea might have a big say although I'm not holding my breath.
 
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617aircav said:
Well Big team like Arsenal chocked the title to Man united over a decade ago, and Newcastle did the same. Barca is currently doing the same.
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So?

There is no reason for Leicester to 'choke'. Their team spirit, and resilience are impressive and their hunger and ambition are considerable - if they claim the championship (and I, for one, sincerely hope that they do) they will become a legend forever in Leicester.

Moreover, as Sunday demonstrated, they are very good at coming back from behind. They have lost a mere three matches all season, a very impressive total, and won more matches - even after tonight - than anyone else in the table this season. They have led from the front since November - the hard way to win. They are deserved leaders.

However, this match on Sunday - with Jamie Vardy's suspension, likely to run over two games, and not one, may cost them attacking chances. This is a challenge I think the team will meet, because they have mastered some of the old fashioned basic skills of football, and they have had a point or two to prove this season.

I don't see them losing a match before the end of the season - their team spirit and pride is too good. Nevertheless, if Vardy is ruled out for two games, winning these next two games could well prove a greater challenge than they may have anticipated.

Yet, I still have faith in them.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
It looks like Vardy is almost certainly going to be banned for two games. Massive luck for Man Utd. Will Vardy's outburst and ban cost them the title, with the Mancunians playing the role of spoilers of the biggest story in the league in decades?
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My Man U fans can breath a sigh of relief, Vardy has been play good football this year.
 
I've finally got around to watching the Leicester / West Ham highlights. The amount of wrestling in the penalty area was unbelievable, and I think the problem is that the referee have no sanction against a defender other than to award a penalty (and card). If it were possible to issue yellow cards, sans penalty, I suspect the practice would quickly die out. That said, Jon Moss picked a peculiar time to start penalising holding, given that the ball had barely reached the penalty area at the point at which he blew up. And I've no idea why he didn't award a penalty when Huth was held down, instead of waiting for Carroll to innocuously nudge Schlupp.

Equally, Vardey's card for diving was harsh in my opinion. There was certainly exaggeration, but contact was definitely there and from one angle – actually the ref's angle – I wouldn't have been surprised to see it called as a penalty. Vardey's been diving all season but it seems the wrong time of the season to start pulling players up for it. I haven't followed the Premier League closely but has any other player picked up a second yellow and hence been sent off for diving this season? I'd have given Vardey the benefit of the doubt, personally.

It wasn't Moss's finest ninety minutes, but the criticism he's received from the likes of Keith Hackett and Graham Poll is absolutely disgusting. Who'd be a referee, eh?
 
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mojolicious said:
I've finally got around to watching the Leicester / West Ham highlights. The amount of wrestling in the penalty area was unbelievable, and I think the problem is that the referee have no sanction against a defender other than to award a penalty (and card). If it were possible to issue yellow cards, sans penalty, I suspect the practice would quickly die out. That said, Jon Moss picked a peculiar time to start penalising holding, given that the ball had barely reached the penalty area at the point at which he blew up. And I've no idea why he didn't award a penalty when Huth was held down, instead of waiting for Carroll to innocuously nudge Schlupp.

Equally, Vardey's card for diving was harsh in my opinion. There was certainly exaggeration, but contact was definitely there and from one angle – actually the ref's angle – I wouldn't have been surprised to see it called as a penalty. Vardey's been diving all season but it seems the wrong time of the season to start pulling players up for it. I haven't followed the Premier League closely but has any other player picked up a second yellow and hence been sent off for diving this season? I'd have given Vardey the benefit of the doubt, personally.

It wasn't Moss's finest ninety minutes, but the criticism he's received from the likes of Keith Hackett and Graham Poll is absolutely disgusting. Who'd be a referee, eh?
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Excellent post and fair comment.
 
It's not game over for Leicester without Vardy. He missed what, 2-3 games before when he had an operation, and I'm pretty sure Leicester didn't drop too many points during those games, if any...
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea hands over a win to Leicester. Think about it: no direct opponent gets the title (check), they don't enter the EL (check), they don't care about sportsmanship (check), they don't care about the possible bonus payment in case they could be placed higher up the table (check). Why be the bad guy when you can get the sympathies of many plus all the bonuses too?!
 
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twietee said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea hands over a win to Leicester. Think about it: no direct opponent gets the title (check), they don't enter the EL (check), they don't care about sportsmanship (check), they don't care about the possible bonus payment in case they could be placed higher up the table (check). Why be the bad guy when you can get the sympathies of many plus all the bonuses too?!
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Perhaps a somewhat cynical interpretation of what might be Chelsea's motivation, (or lack) and one I hadn't considered.

However, given their recent history, and allied to their complete lack of a footballing moral compass, I suppose that I wouldn't put it past them.
 
Well, I haven't been following the PL this year other than via papers so haven't seen but only one game of Leicester (vs. Arsenal). But I should add that of course they are most probably fully capable of winning against a mid table team like Chelsea themselves and without benevolent doings by the other team.. ;)
 
I suppose if Leicester don't win it, then I don't mind Spurs winning it. At least it's someone different to 'the usual suspects' and they have been playing some great football
 
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