Soccer Thread 2011-2012

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

I want you to say that Wayne Rooney is a fucking criminal of course.

Matthew 7:5

(Foz, who believes this is the first time he can literally say he went biblical on someone's arse)

[sovereignstar v2]

So if he permanently blinded McCarthy it wouldn't be that big of a deal, right?

[Big Fo]

No. Typically, the severity of the effects from the harm one does to someone will affect how it is judged and punished. Same as in a bar fight, car accident, etc. So if McCarthy were blinded, I am sure there would have been more of an outcry and Rooney would have been more likely to get a ban or even be sued (depending on how the British do civil court cases, I have no idea).

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Nice quip by the international feed announcer "And Mario Balotelli stamps his name on the morning headlines..."

One thing for sure, nobody changes the channel when Balotelli is on the pitch.

[Critch]

If Piers Morgan doesnt make you want Arsenal to lose, nothing will.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Critch

If Piers Morgan doesnt make you want Arsenal to lose, nothing will.

Arsene Wenger makes me want Arsenal to lose.

[SirFozzie]

Can't say that hasn't been coming for most of the first half.

[sovereignstar v2]

Football on FOX without 90 minutes of commercials. So strange.

[Big Fo]

I was as surprised as the crowd and RVP seemed to be when Arshavin came on for the impressive Oxlade-Chamberlain. But happier than they were with the decision.

Somebody at the club really should teach Lindegaard how to make a clearance. de Gea might be a long-sighted flapper but at least he can kick.

I got a nice reply from the program coordinator at the local Fox affiliate, it seems like a few other people must have complained since she said she will make sure all future games air live. Hopefully this happens, Chelsea and Man Utd are scheduled to appear on Fox early on Super Bowl Sunday.

[Easy Mac]

I found it odd that Theo Walcott was knocked out cold, then grabbed his head 2-3 times in pain, then maybe a minute later was back in the game. I even saw him with 1 or 2 headers. It appears concussion awareness hasn't made it to that side of the pond.

[SirFozzie]

This just in: Mario Balotelli's agent is as much of a fuckhead as Balotelli is: A transcript of comments today

“I can’t talk about Redknapp, I don’t want to get angry. It’s not normal what they do in England, where there’s a referee who’s a coward. He’s a coward because he saw what happened from a close range and then he says he didn’t see anything after receiving pressure from the press and Redknapp. He’s a coward. If he saw what happened, there would no TV evidence. Mario didn’t do it on purpose, I can guarantee it 100%. I am really angry with the FA. This ref should be sent to an optician as he can’t see from 1-metre distance. This is not good. If the FA doesn’t protect Mario, perhaps it’s time to change route and leave England. It’s a moralism I don’t like”

02:31-03:08

“He may come back to Italy. At the moment there are not talks in place because our plan was to stay in England, but we don’t like this. The guy is quite annoyed because he’s been unfairly attacked and he’s going to miss 4 more games. You can see no Tottenham player complains because they saw he didn’t do it on purpose. Redknapp is angry because Mario didn’t want to go Tottenham, he’s because he has to go to court do defend himself for his fiscal problems, we understand it but he cannot take it out on Mario”

3:27-03:56

“This time it’s me who’s fed up. I understand why someone can have enough of it. Unfortunately Man City cannot do anything because with the English system he risks even more sanctions. It’s not worth it. It’s almost an incentive not to look for justice. In England if you look for justice you can expect more sanctions. I’m really fed up

if you realllllly want to leave, Mario, there's the door. Be careful that it doesn't hit your posterior during your egress.

[bhlloy]

Fuck yeah Cardiff at Wembley for the third time in five years. Rare occasion where the team that deserves to win the game actually wins on PK's. This time I don't think anyone will expect us to beat City or Liverpool so we can just enjoy the experience

[Big Fo]

My complaining to the local affiliate did some good, the Chelsea - Man Utd game on Super Bowl Sunday will be shown live. Out of curiosity I asked how many other complaints there were between calls and e-mails and I was told there were about ten or so. It seems like a low number for it to have made a difference but at least it worked.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

I found it odd that Theo Walcott was knocked out cold, then grabbed his head 2-3 times in pain, then maybe a minute later was back in the game. I even saw him with 1 or 2 headers. It appears concussion awareness hasn't made it to that side of the pond.

If you mean are people wrapped in cotton wool and weak medieval helmets to protect them during sports matches .... no soccer is a contact sport and shit does indeed happen, if they were worried about concussion I'm sure they'd have kept him out - but chances are it was just a knock of heads and a big bruise and headache ....

Trust me with these players being paid multi-millions per season they won't be taking huge chances with them and they have very well paid doctors/physio's on hand to assess them and ensure that they're in a good state to play ... the days of goalkeepers with broken necks playing is long gone*.

*I kid you not - if you've never read it I'd recommend reading about Bert Trautmann, he was an awesome keeper and quite an impressive individual as well (he was one of the first Germans to play actively in England after the second world war).

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Critch

If Piers Morgan doesnt make you want Arsenal to lose, nothing will.

Piers Morgan does my head in - they truly couldn't have found a more soccer illiterate Englishman to commentate on matches imho ....

Then again I still have a soft spot for Arsenal because a lot of my friends back home are supporters, they'll end up in a Champions League place come the end of the season I reckon.

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

If you mean are people wrapped in cotton wool and weak medieval helmets to protect them during sports matches .... no soccer is a contact sport and shit does indeed happen, if they were worried about concussion I'm sure they'd have kept him out - but chances are it was just a knock of heads and a big bruise and headache ....

Trust me with these players being paid multi-millions per season they won't be taking huge chances with them and they have very well paid doctors/physio's on hand to assess them and ensure that they're in a good state to play ... the days of goalkeepers with broken necks playing is long gone*.

*I kid you not - if you've never read it I'd recommend reading about Bert Trautmann, he was an awesome keeper and quite an impressive individual as well (he was one of the first Germans to play actively in England after the second world war).

The thing is, it was apparent Walcott lost consciousness for a good 10-20 seconds. Any loss of consciousness is a concussion. At that point, there is no reason to go back in a game.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

This just in: Mario Balotelli's agent is as much of a fuckhead as Balotelli is: A transcript of comments today

“I can’t talk about Redknapp, I don’t want to get angry. It’s not normal what they do in England, where there’s a referee who’s a coward. He’s a coward because he saw what happened from a close range and then he says he didn’t see anything after receiving pressure from the press and Redknapp. He’s a coward. If he saw what happened, there would no TV evidence. Mario didn’t do it on purpose, I can guarantee it 100%. I am really angry with the FA. This ref should be sent to an optician as he can’t see from 1-metre distance. This is not good. If the FA doesn’t protect Mario, perhaps it’s time to change route and leave England. It’s a moralism I don’t like”

02:31-03:08

“He may come back to Italy. At the moment there are not talks in place because our plan was to stay in England, but we don’t like this. The guy is quite annoyed because he’s been unfairly attacked and he’s going to miss 4 more games. You can see no Tottenham player complains because they saw he didn’t do it on purpose. Redknapp is angry because Mario didn’t want to go Tottenham, he’s because he has to go to court do defend himself for his fiscal problems, we understand it but he cannot take it out on Mario”

3:27-03:56

“This time it’s me who’s fed up. I understand why someone can have enough of it. Unfortunately Man City cannot do anything because with the English system he risks even more sanctions. It’s not worth it. It’s almost an incentive not to look for justice. In England if you look for justice you can expect more sanctions. I’m really fed up

if you realllllly want to leave, Mario, there's the door. Be careful that it doesn't hit your posterior during your egress.

Not to defend Balotelli or his agent, but Howard Webb was looking right at it and he didn't do shit about it. There's never any consistency. You should always be able to go back and act retrospectively, but many times the refs will say they saw the incident and that's the end of it.

[sovereignstar v2]

Man City fine Carlos Tevez £9.3m, Khaldoon Al Mubarak fumes - ESPN Soccernet

ESPN Soccernet is as bad as it gets for soccer news, but they ran a story saying that Carlos Tevez has been fined a total of 9.7 million pounds this season. Fucking insane. I'll never understand what is going on in that dude's head. The mean streets of Buenos Aires did that man no good.

Then there is chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak's slam on Milan:

Inter Milan and Paris St Germain approached discussions with us in good faith and it is always a positive experience to deal with people with a professional approach. As things stand AC Milan isn't an option for Carlos Tevez.

Mr. Galliani and his advisors have developed a misplaced sense of confidence from their premature discussions with Carlos and his advisors. If they want to be a consideration in this transfer window they would do better to stop congratulating one another and begin to look at how they would meet our terms.

[law90026]

Problem with Tevez imo is that:

a) he seems to be a relatively difficult personality to manage/handle in terms of what he wants (money, time with children, living location); and

b) perhaps more importantly, his douche agent.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

The thing is, it was apparent Walcott lost consciousness for a good 10-20 seconds. Any loss of consciousness is a concussion. At that point, there is no reason to go back in a game.

Are you absolutely certain of that and that he wasn't play acting .... or indeed considering Walcott in some matches, playing normally

(I'd be shocked if they'd leave him on the pitch if there was considered any serious risk at all to his health)

PS - Haven't seen the incident personally, will try and rummage up footage later

[Ryan S]

It must be so depressing playing Barca. Real should have been at least 3 up, but they are going to go into half time 2-0 down thanks to two goals in the last five minutes.

[Ryan S]

Now this is going to be an interesting last 20 minutes...

[Ryan S]

That was never a booking (Ramos).

[Critch]

I've never been very keen on Real Madrid or Barcelona, but Mourinho's style in games v Barcelona along with players like Pepe and Sergio Ramos have got me wanting a Barcelona win.

[Ryan S]

Real Madrid really should have won that game easily, but I have to give them credit for coming back in the second half.

[Big Fo]

Who is operating this camera in the Panama - USA friendly? It is so jerky that I think I might be getting seasick.

[bulletsponge]

we start with 2 strikers, and what do you know we score 8 min in

Beckerman btw

[bulletsponge]

or maybe Zusi, whomeve that is

[Big Fo]

Geoff Cameron's gotta have his head on a swizzle.

[sovereignstar v2]

I've seen different things about whether Cabaye has been charged for this or not. Dirty, dirty player he is.



Last month

[Grover]

From ESPN...

LIVERPOOL, England -- A fan interrupted Everton's home match against Manchester City for several minutes Tuesday night when he handcuffed himself to a goal post.

The supporter invaded the Goodison Park field about five minutes before halftime and handcuffed himself to City goalkeeper Joe Hart's left post. Police officers took about three minutes to uncut him from the post before the Premier League match could resume with the score still at 0-0.

[sovereignstar v2]

Blatant dive in the first half, then this. How this asshole managed to stay on is amazing.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Grover

From ESPN...

I was genuinely concerned that my recording was going to run short. Nice job by the police though as there was only 5 minutes extra in the first half.

[I. J. Reilly]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Blatant dive in the first half, then this. How this asshole managed to stay on is amazing.

But Wayne Rooney's done worse, so it's not that big of a deal. Live by the sword of relativity, die by it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Question for the English soccer folks. Watching the game at Arsenel this morning. Looks like the entire middle deck is empty during halftime. Is there a bar or club that those people go to in the back of the stands during the break?

[Ryan S]

The middle tier at the Emirates is the Club level with the most expensive tickets you can buy at the stadium, and they have access to private bars on that level.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

The middle tier at the Emirates is the Club level with the most expensive tickets you can buy at the stadium, and they have access to private bars on that level.

That would explain it. It was pretty cold at the game. Needed a little extra fuel at halftime.

Arsenel just blasted Blackburn FWIW. Think the final score was 6-1. I was thinking about how mad I would have been as a coach in FM if I had to see that on the scoreboard.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That would explain it. It was pretty cold at the game. Needed a little extra fuel at halftime.

Arsenel just blasted Blackburn FWIW. Think the final score was 6-1. I was thinking about how mad I would have been as a coach in FM if I had to see that on the scoreboard.

7-1. Henry added one late into stoppage.

[BYU 14]

I hope the Super Bowl is half as good as the Man U / Chelsea match, what a comeback by Man U, Chelsea just trying to escape with a draw now.

[Big Fo]

Another visit to Stamford Bridge, another time when Man Utd get dicked over by the officials. It happens every year.

Cahill should have been sent off for that tackle on Welbeck in the 10th minute and it probably should have been a penalty as well. The whole game would have been very different.

Still, great fightback in the second half. Conceding three is never good but the first and third were somewhat unlucky. Evra got beaten badly by Sturridge but the ball could have bounced anywhere, it just happened to go in off two players. Then Luiz scored off Rio's shoulder. Mata's volley was pretty sick though.

Welbeck keeps impressing me week after week, he could be a star in a season or two.

[BYU 14]

Couple of huge saves by De Gea at the end as well. I know he has been shaky, but he came up big in stoppage time in this one.

[MizzouRah]

A comeback by ManU? I'm sorry, but penalty kick goals mean squat to me. Fouls, yes.. but penalty kicks.. weak...

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

A comeback by ManU? I'm sorry, but penalty kick goals mean squat to me. Fouls, yes.. but penalty kicks.. weak...

Well you do get penalties by creating chances and getting pressure in the box.

You wouldn't say a comeback in Football was weak because a team ran back 2 pick sixes would you? Same concept, you have to take care of the ball and Chelsea didn't do it and conceded the penalties.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Well you do get penalties by creating chances and getting pressure in the box.

You wouldn't say a comeback in Football was weak because a team ran back 2 pick sixes would you? Same concept, you have to take care of the ball and Chelsea didn't do it and conceded the penalties.

Let's be honest...the first PK was a joke. ManU really controlled the flow of play from the 60th on though and it was a blast of a game to watch.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Geoff Cameron's gotta have his head on a swizzle.

Twellman is terrible. The first of many struggles he will have with the english language on ESPN broadcasts.

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

Cahill should have been sent off for that tackle on Welbeck in the 10th minute and it probably should have been a penalty as well. The whole game would have been very different.

The Cahill foul was not a red card as the striker was moving away from the goal.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Well you do get penalties by creating chances and getting pressure in the box.

You wouldn't say a comeback in Football was weak because a team ran back 2 pick sixes would you? Same concept, you have to take care of the ball and Chelsea didn't do it and conceded the penalties.

Ran back 2 pick sixes is not even close to getting 2 free goals for contact in the box. I just don't think that if the player isn't shooting on goal or has a direct line to the keeper and is tripped up, they shouldn't get a penalty kick. Could you imagine if a player in hockey was knocked down in the crease and was awarded a penalty shot every time?

Like most sports, there are some rules in soccer that need to be reviewed and changed.

ManU earned nothing imo and I don't care about either team to be honest. I'm more upset at the calls than anything and I think the penalty kick in soccer is a joke.

The game overall was fun to watch..

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

The Cahill foul was not a red card as the striker was moving away from the goal.

He was moving diagonally, forward and to the side. With each step in that direction he wasn't moving any further from the goal, I think he was getting closer to it actually.

de Gea had a really nice save at the end to save a point, hopefully this can be a confidence builder for him.

[miami_fan]

"The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium. The discussions focused on the FA board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

[oykib]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

"The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium. The discussions focused on the FA board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview. In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

I've been having a lot of fun hammering my co-worker about the fact that he's about to lose his manager. He's a Spurs supporter.