Soccer Thread 2015-16

[Katon]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

What "red-card-worthy" things was Gabriel doing? The kick was stupid, and I don't think anyone has really tried to defend him. I don't understand why the rest of the team let them even be near each other right after that. I think the point instead was that there shouldn't have even been the opportunity for that to happen, because Costa should have already been sent off at that point.

And I would definitely not say that he was lucky not to concede a penalty to Hazard. That was solid defending, and they both had their arms around each other - unless I'm forgetting a different occurrence.

Well, the FA just tried to defend the kick, although admittedly most posters here are brighter than the FA .

Using the plural on "red-card-worthy things" was a bit sloppy of me. He'd been niggling back enough to deserve the yellow he picked up immediately before the kick, and then had to go for that kick. I was mostly just boggling about the fact that the FA explicitly overruled Dean on the one person he actually managed to card proportionately.

As a Chelsea fan I am naturally obliged to disagree with you on the penalty shout, but I think it's mostly relevant as evidence that Dean's performance was incompetence rather than match-fixing - if Dean was intentionally trying to screw over Arsenal, that was a plausible enough call to be practically a freebie.

[The Jackal]

Oh, match-fixing claims are dumb if they are being tossed around for that game. Definitely just incompetence/lack of control.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by whomario

Make that 5 goals in 9 minutes, all by Lewandowski.

Robert Lewandowski Loses His Motherfucking Mind, Scores 5 Times In 9 Minutes

With videos.
Insane, purely insane.
Clearly this game is broken.

[MizzouCowboy]

That was simply amazing. Oh how I wish I could have seen that happen live.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Katon

And why is it erroneous enough to get overturned? I don't remember a loophole in the laws of the game saying it's OK to kick opponents as long as they're being so annoying any competent referee would have sent them off ages ago.

I've been staying out of this conversation because I have zero desire to defend Costa from his deserved ban, but Gabriel was doing red-card-worthy things back and was lucky not to concede a penalty to Hazard half an hour in. Of all the Arsenal players involved in Dean's disaster of a match, he was by far the least hard done by.

Because Arsenal found a video from a Brazilian broadcasting company. In it, you can see Costa kick at Gabrial's foot before Gabriel simply kicks his leg back. It simply was not red card worthy from the start.

There is no loophole in the laws of the game allowing a player to kick someone, but evidently there are PLENTY of loopholes in the game to allow pieces of garbage like Costa to continue to get away with this. It clearly had an impact on the game.

To compare Gabriel's red card worthy things to what Costa did is a joke of epic proportions. What exactly were they anyway? He defended a teammate, got raked across the neck with a massive scratch. Got shoved multiple times and then kicked in the foot before giving less than 5% back and getting sent off while his tormentor was laughing his ass off on the field.

Seriously, give me a break.

[Katon]

I didn't intend to compare Gabriel's red-worthy offence (singular) to Costa's performance, and if anything I wrote read that way then I almost certainly misphrased it. Could I ask which part of my post gave you that impression?

Costa set himself up for enough potential cards to start his own poker tournament, got away with a single yellow on the day, and now has a thoroughly deserved three-match ban. Gabriel earned a red once, got it, and then had it inexplicably overturned. Costa being massively worse, while completely true, isn't an argument for Gabriel getting away free.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Katon

I didn't intend to compare Gabriel's red-worthy offence (singular) to Costa's performance, and if anything I wrote read that way then I almost certainly misphrased it. Could I ask which part of my post gave you that impression?

Costa set himself up for enough potential cards to start his own poker tournament, got away with a single yellow on the day, and now has a thoroughly deserved three-match ban. Gabriel earned a red once, got it, and then had it inexplicably overturned. Costa being massively worse, while completely true, isn't an argument for Gabriel getting away free.

The quote I quoted above states Gabriel was doing "red card worthy things" plural, not singular. And the red card worth thing Gabriel did was kick his leg back after having his foot stepped on.

Look, I think the FA had 2 choices here. They could either concede that Costa was the sole instigator or this and penalize him three games for cheating his ass off OR they could have kept the Gabriel red and suspended Costa 10 games for MULTIPLE violent conduct infractions in the same game.

There is NO WAY IN HELL that the players were equally deserving of punishment. To suspend Gabriel and Costa the same amount for their actions in the game would have been disgusting by any standard. . . I don't care who you are a fan of. Beyond that, Arsenal and Gabriel were already punished pretty severely. The wrong guy got sent off and 3 points went into the Chelsea bank and were kept out of the Arsenal bank. (who knows what would have happened had Costa been sent off, but I sure as hell would have loved to have found out.)

Look, I'm not happy about how this ended up. I feel Costa should have got a 7 to 10 match ban. I also feel like Mike Dean and his crew were deserving of suspensions for their part in this. Incompetence should never be rewarded. I never, ever, ever, ever want to see him ref a match in ANY EPL game ever again. If I'm watching Chelsea vs. Manchester United, I don't want either team to be screwed by his idiocy.

[Glengoyne]

I was more surprised at the rescinding of Gabriel's red than assigning one to Costa. I was hoping for the Costa decision. I think a fairer decision would have been to reduce Gabriel's red to a yellow. That way he is still penalized. During the game I would have been satisfied with reds for both of them.

The ref did very little to inspire any confidence during the match, let alone the last few minutes in the first half.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by TroyF

The quote I quoted above states Gabriel was doing "red card worthy things" plural, not singular. And the red card worth thing Gabriel did was kick his leg back after having his foot stepped on.

Oh, right, the same dumb wording The Jackal called me on. That was poorly written on my part, and the main reason I was confused by your post was that I'd already backed down from it when replying to him. Mea culpa.

Your point about the relative ban lengths is a sensible one. I'm unhappy with the precedent that players can get away with kicks as long as they're the less malevolent party in the overall fight, but Costa did have to be suspended for longer than Gabriel and from a selfish perspective Chelsea and Arsenal are both better off with the shorter bans.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Katon

Oh, right, the same dumb wording The Jackal called me on. That was poorly written on my part, and the main reason I was confused by your post was that I'd already backed down from it when replying to him. Mea culpa.

Your point about the relative ban lengths is a sensible one. I'm unhappy with the precedent that players can get away with kicks as long as they're the less malevolent party in the overall fight, but Costa did have to be suspended for longer than Gabriel and from a selfish perspective Chelsea and Arsenal are both better off with the shorter bans.

Don't worry too much about me. I'm a VERY bitter Arsenal fan when it comes to Mike Dean. I also have very little tolerance for players like Costa. I hate them when they are on other teams and hate it when they are on my team.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Big Fella Going Down!!!

http://www.law360.com/competition/ar...gn=competition

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said Friday it has kicked off a criminal proceeding against FIFA President Joseph "Sepp" Blatter amid a growing international probe into alleged corruption in international soccer.

Blatter, the controversial FIFA head, is suspected of signing and implementing a 2005 contract with the Caribbean Football Union that was adverse to FIFA’s interests, the Swiss authorities said. He is also suspected of making “a disloyal payment” to the president of the Union of European Football Associations at FIFA’s expense.

[MIJB#19]

I shake my head in disbelief. I said it before, and will say it again: the FIFA heads should be brought to justice in an international court.

[Grover]

Worried about the Hammers slipping up against Norwich this weekend. We've shown that we struggle with lesser competition at home (Bournemouth, can't consider Leicester as lesser right now, they've been outstanding). The loss in the Capital One Cup was dubious at best, should have had a penalty or two, Danny Simpson should have been sent off, etc. Anyway, here's hoping we look better against Norwich than Liverpool did.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I shake my head in disbelief. I said it before, and will say it again: the FIFA heads should be brought to justice in an international court.

And it should be televised

[Grover]

LOLCity.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by Grover

LOLCity.

Race looks pretty wide open, eh?

Alexis finally scored a goal, yay!

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

Race looks pretty wide open, eh?

Alexis finally scored a goal, yay!

It's amazing listening to commentators talk about Ozil.

I'm watching a game where he made a brilliant pass to set up the second goal (hockey assist) and another great pass to set up the third goal. Then the commentator "Ozil hasn't been all that active in this match, but he's picked it up a little bit in the second half"

Really? You forget the first half pass? He did make a couple of horrible passes, but overall, he was not at all bad in the first half and he's played very well for the overall game.

[kingfc22]

The physio who let Callum Wilson continue will be looking for a new career path tomorrow.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by kingfc22

The physio who let Callum Wilson continue will be looking for a new career path tomorrow.

That looked rough.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by TroyF

It's amazing listening to commentators talk about Ozil.

I'm watching a game where he made a brilliant pass to set up the second goal (hockey assist) and another great pass to set up the third goal. Then the commentator "Ozil hasn't been all that active in this match, but he's picked it up a little bit in the second half"

Really? You forget the first half pass? He did make a couple of horrible passes, but overall, he was not at all bad in the first half and he's played very well for the overall game.

Ozil's body language just seems to turn people off, and there's a stigma that follows him because of it. But when he's on, he plays such superb balls so effortlessly.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

Ozil's body language just seems to turn people off, and there's a stigma that follows him because of it. But when he's on, he plays such superb balls so effortlessly.

There was a fantastic player called "Matthew Le Tissier" who played his entire career for Southampton, commentators spend entire matches haranguing him because his body language always looked uninterested ... then he'd do something amazing to score and they're be in love with him ...

Bear in mind he played with Southampton in the Premiership alongside otherwise average players and shone like a star, the first goal in the clips below is against Manchester United ...

Matt Le Tissier â—� Magical Goals - YouTube

[britrock88]

Finally, a win for Stoke!

[britrock88]

Arnautovic was a man in control today.

[bulletsponge]

go go Gordie power 2-0 up on chelski

[Easy Mac]

Maybe Chelsea really is just this bad.

I am ready for a thousand, what's wrong with City think pieces.

man U, back where they belong.

[bulletsponge]

go go choking power now tied 2-2

[miami_fan]

Messi is out two months with a knee injury.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I turn on the Bayern Munich-Wolfsburg game to see Wolfsburg was up 1-0 with around the 47 minute mark. Ten minutes later, Bayern Munich is up 4-1 with Robert Lewandowski scoring 4 goals. Wow.

I think Lewandowski may want to pay me watch these games. Just switched over the the Bayern game against Mainz. Two minutes in...Bang...goal for Lewandowski.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I think Lewandowski may want to pay me watch these games. Just switched over the the Bayern game against Mainz. Two minutes in...Bang...goal for Lewandowski.

Oops just realized it is a replay

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

There was a fantastic player called "Matthew Le Tissier" who played his entire career for Southampton, commentators spend entire matches haranguing him because his body language always looked uninterested ... then he'd do something amazing to score and they're be in love with him ...

Bear in mind he played with Southampton in the Premiership alongside otherwise average players and shone like a star, the first goal in the clips below is against Manchester United ...

Matt Le Tissier â—� Magical Goals - YouTube

See also: Zlatan, Berbatov, et al.

[dacman]

Did Ospina apply for English citizenship or something?

[miami_fan]

Wenger is just following Slaven Bilic's plan of playing a weakened side in Europe in order to concentrate on his team's league form.

Don't get mad at me, Grover. The plan is working so far

[whomario]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I think Lewandowski may want to pay me watch these games. Just switched over the the Bayern game against Mainz. Two minutes in...Bang...goal for Lewandowski.

Guy is on a tear. Easily a Top5 Striker in terms of versatility paired with goal scoring. He has been terribly underused by Guardiolas style of play last season ...

Douglas Costa is like a cheat code and i have no idea what Juventus was thinking loaning Coman out not only with a reasonable buyout in todays market but also for 2 years.

Big time win for one of my old time FM favorites, BATE Borisov Their stadium is really pretty as well.

[MrBug708]

It was WBA (coached by Pulis tho), but Palace looked great as Zaha was the best player on the pitch

[SirFozzie]

Newcastle score the first, and looked to be taking a 1-0 lead in to halftime.

Then Sergio Aguero happened

Aguero 42' 1-1
Aguero 49' 2-1 Manchester City
Aguero 50' 3-1
(De Bruyne 53) 4-1
Aguero 59' 5-1
Aguero 60' 6-1

So, five goals in 18 minutes. Impressive. Not quite a full Lewandowski, but I think a .9 Lewandowski.

[The Jackal]

I went down to switch my laundry to the dryer at 1-1, come up and see aguero scoring to make it 5-1. Ridiculous.

[miami_fan]

Umm, can I say that Chelsea got screwed with that yellow card to Falcao

[kingfc22]

Can't wait to hear Mourinho talk about how they dominated this game.

[The Jackal]

Chelsea also was very lucky that Mane didn't get that penalty in the first half.. that yellow card for simulation was poor refereeing

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Umm, can I say that Chelsea got screwed with that yellow card to Falcao

You can. You would be accurate. You would also be accurate if you finished that with Falcao getting away with a yellow later in the game and Mane being carded for his "dive" as well. (he had two dives, one was a clear penalty, one was a clear free kick on the edge of the box)

kingfc,

You'll hear that. You'll hear more crying about the refs, because he always cries about the refs. you'll also hear Wenger being brought into this somehow.

[Katon]

Yeah, both sides had penalties not given which on replay should've been, and if there's any argument for the refereeing being asymmetric then Southampton's non-call was earlier and more obvious.

The actual scoresheet is a perfectly fair reflection of Chelsea being the better team for half an hour and then being a disorganized mess while Southampton tried this fancy "playing very well" tactic.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Katon

Yeah, both sides had penalties not given which on replay should've been, and if there's any argument for the refereeing being asymmetric then Southampton's non-call was earlier and more obvious.

The actual scoresheet is a perfectly fair reflection of Chelsea being the better team for half an hour and then being a disorganized mess while Southampton tried this fancy "playing very well" tactic.

He didn't disappoint:

"Look, I think you know me and I think you know I don't run away from responsibilities," he told Sky Sports. "Because we are in such a bad moment we shouldn't be afraid to be honest."The referees are afraid to give decisions to Chelsea. Once more we don't get the penalty at a crucial moment in the game."


Yeah, jack ass, why don't we be honest for a second: Your team was horrible and they lost. It was deserved. You SHOULD have had a penalty. So should the other side. The other side also should have had a free kick at the edge of the box for another scoring chance.



You want honesty? You and your entire group of players are pure, 100% scum. I sure wish Arsenal would have had one of those "scared" refs who never make a call for Chelsea. We got the blind morons who allowed you to go up a man (eventually 2) and win a game. And you stated the piece of human garbage who instigated it was the "player of the game"



You are one of the greatest managers of all time and I do respect that. "That" is singular, because I don't respect anything else about you.

[Katon]

Deflection mechanism - he was making more noise today than he was after the Porto loss, and that's the one match all month where Chelsea had a penalty shout not given without enough compensatory mistakes for the refereeing to be net pro-Chelsea. But losing away to Porto isn't nearly as bad as losing from ahead at home to Southampton, and the performance was less of a train wreck, so less need for a distraction.

[miami_fan]

U.S. 23-man roster for CONCACAF Cup

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Danny Williams (Reading), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland), Graham Zusi (Sporting KC)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)

[TroyF]

Jekyll, Hyde, Jekyll, Hyde, Jekyll, Hyde.

This describes my life as an Arsenal fan.

That was a magnificent half of football. Simply magnificent.

[cougarfreak]

And Liverpool fired fired Rodgers after today's draw.

[bulletsponge]

Pool has to be going after Klopp, anything else would be dissapointing


it will likely be an english retread though

[Ajaxab]

Are Liverpool going after Klopp before Chelsea get him?

[Katon]

That might be part of their thinking , to grab the best manager on the market before Chelsea make their mind up.

The thing is, Jose is a better manager than anyone else we could get in . . . until he wears through all his relationships at the club. So is this a toxic enough environment to be worth taking a hit in absolute managerial quality just to get a reset? I'm not sure from the outside, and I have no clue what the club thinks.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Katon

That might be part of their thinking , to grab the best manager on the market before Chelsea make their mind up.

The thing is, Jose is a better manager than anyone else we could get in . . . until he wears through all his relationships at the club. So is this a toxic enough environment to be worth taking a hit in absolute managerial quality just to get a reset? I'm not sure from the outside, and I have no clue what the club thinks.

That's the million dollar question, isn't it? All we can do is look from the outside. What I see:

1) It looks like the team has stopped listening to him. They aren't playing with any joy and they look horrible.

2) I simply can't see many allied left in the board room. (I know, the decision is going to come down to one man) He's embarrassed the club multiple times this year and the latest rant directly goes after the board. From the doctor who left, to his continued attack on the EPL refs, to his paranoid rants on everything from Wenger to his own board. . . An organization will deal with that when EPL titles are coming, it's not going to hold up when you're 16th in the table.


To me #1 is the real key here. If he's lost the locker room, what are you going to do? Are you going to hope he can recover for a CL spot and turn over 80 percent of the roster next year? I just can't see it. If he still has control of the locker room, he has a chance. From the outside looking in, it sure doesn't appear that way to me.