Author Topic: The Official Football (Soccer) Thread (v. It's starting again!)  (Read 202454 times)

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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #700 on: August 21, 2013, 09:31:12 AM »
I think Arsenal will have big big big problems to get a CL-spot this season. Not only is the squad paper thin, but Wenger seems more delusional than ever, and pretty much all big available top players have gone to other teams. Wenger feels so out of the loop at this point, it seems to me like he is stuck in the 90's, where "a player isn't worth more than 15m £", but this is 2013, and you have to pay if you want a good player.

Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #701 on: August 21, 2013, 10:34:01 AM »
Arsenal is an interesting case, I usually think giving a coach a long run will end up being beneficial to the team as he will have time to build something that will last but in this case I think his time expired, about 2 seasons ago. It's evident that Arsenal is not at the same level as the Manchesters and Chelsea, or even Tottenham. The Arsenal board needs to thank Wenger for all he has done for them and get a new coach soon.
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Offline chknptpie

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #702 on: December 04, 2013, 06:35:13 AM »
Big bump here! How does one buy tickets to an international football game? Headed to Barcelona in the future and no idea how to buy a ticket to go see a game!

Offline cyberdrummer

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #703 on: December 04, 2013, 10:03:51 AM »
Often they're sold on the relevant Football Association's website. Otherwise, try contacting the stadium itself?

Offline chknptpie

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #704 on: December 04, 2013, 06:59:03 PM »
Just looked and it doesn't look like there is a game in Barca when we were planning on going. Darn it! They play in Madrid though... wonder if a day trip might be in order... hmm

Offline ariich

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #705 on: December 05, 2013, 12:43:12 AM »
I think Arsenal will have big big big problems to get a CL-spot this season. Not only is the squad paper thin, but Wenger seems more delusional than ever, and pretty much all big available top players have gone to other teams. Wenger feels so out of the loop at this point, it seems to me like he is stuck in the 90's, where "a player isn't worth more than 15m £", but this is 2013, and you have to pay if you want a good player.
Just quoting this for hilarity. :biggrin:

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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #706 on: December 05, 2013, 02:13:29 AM »
To be honest, I think the Özil and Flamini transfers were enough to change that. They got a star-player and they got a leader. I'd say Arsenal will win PL this season without a doubt in my mind.

If I had to guess right now, I would say top4 will be: Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and maybe Liverpool or Everton for the 4th spot.

Offline ariich

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #707 on: December 05, 2013, 02:26:04 AM »
To be honest, I think the Özil and Flamini transfers were enough to change that. They got a star-player and they got a leader.
The Özil transfer especially has given us a new energy and confidence, but so has the way that Ramsey has suddenly become a god. Those two things combined have really led our strength this season.

Quote
I'd say Arsenal will win PL this season without a doubt in my mind.
It's still early days, so I'm not sure about that. We still have our run of difficult games against the other top teams coming up. It's possible though. For some reason, almost every pundit on Match of the Day says that there's no way Arsenal can keep it up. Harsh.

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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #708 on: December 05, 2013, 02:59:02 AM »
Oh yeah, Ramsey and Giroud being so good is also a plus of course. I think a transfer like Özil is impressive on many levels, not only do you get one of the best players in the world (for me he would be top3), but you also boost the morale and confidence of the whole team, and the message it sends to everybody when you land a player like that is huge. Arsenal really seems to be enjoying their football right now. Earlier seasons they would almost look like they were in pain, to try and live up to these huge expectations of winning trophies, but now they play with more confidence and the defense is more solid than ever.

It's a joy watching them right now, I wish I could say the same for Man United.  :\

Offline RoeDent

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #709 on: December 05, 2013, 02:03:20 PM »
It's remarkable how something as simple as a few losses in a row can send you tumbling down the table. On the first Saturday after the last international break, Southampton were third, and with an (admittedly unlikely but still perfectly possible) set of results, they could've gone to the top. Now, with 3 losses, they're down in 8th.

Exciting season though. Good win for my Swans last night.

Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #710 on: December 05, 2013, 04:39:49 PM »
Giroud being so good

Yeah no, I don't think so. They need to get a stronger scorer if you ask me, they've been doing really well involving all the team and having such a wide variety of ways to score but there are some games where the other team plays a tight defense and lock you up and in those moments you need a guy that make a difference by his own and score and Giroud is not that guy. I don't feel his the guy that can have only one chance throughout the whole game and being able to score under pressure.

Other than that, Arsenal are the strongest candidate right now to win the PL but if they advance in the Champions they might start having issues with the rotation since they don't seem to have many strong players on the bench the way Chelsea or Manchester City do.
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Offline chknptpie

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #711 on: December 05, 2013, 05:21:45 PM »
Often they're sold on the relevant Football Association's website. Otherwise, try contacting the stadium itself?

hmm well I was able to go through the club's website but can't seem to find 2 seats together. My guess is the el classico is pretty close to sold out! Is there an international version of stubhub? lol

Offline cyberdrummer

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #712 on: December 05, 2013, 05:38:16 PM »
Oh right, when you said international football game, I thought you meant a match between two countries. I imagine El Clasico is sold out, yeah.

Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #713 on: December 06, 2013, 10:26:36 AM »
OK, Argentina got the best draw available  :laugh:

Sorry for you brits, seems you are quite complicated
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Offline rumborak

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #714 on: December 06, 2013, 11:27:09 AM »
Germany and USA in the same group? Gnah.
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Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #715 on: December 06, 2013, 12:00:54 PM »
Germany and USA in the same group? Gnah.

That will be an interesting day at the office for you  :lol
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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #716 on: December 09, 2013, 04:56:28 AM »
So did anyone else catch the World Cup draw? God, what a douchebag this Blatter is. Calling a minute silence for the passing of Mandela and then after about 12 seconds cutting it short....shameful.  :tdwn

Also, the female presenter was wayy distracting. Netherlands drew Spain, Chile and Australia in their group....gonna be tough, I think.
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Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #717 on: December 10, 2013, 05:34:00 AM »
So did anyone else catch the World Cup draw? God, what a douchebag this Blatter is. Calling a minute silence for the passing of Mandela and then after about 12 seconds cutting it short....shameful.  :tdwn

Also, the female presenter was wayy distracting. Netherlands drew Spain, Chile and Australia in their group....gonna be tough, I think.

Yep, that group and also the one with Uruguay, England, Italy and Costa Rica will be really interesting to watch.
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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #718 on: December 10, 2013, 11:19:28 AM »
Giroud being so good

Yeah no, I don't think so. They need to get a stronger scorer if you ask me, they've been doing really well involving all the team and having such a wide variety of ways to score but there are some games where the other team plays a tight defense and lock you up and in those moments you need a guy that make a difference by his own and score and Giroud is not that guy. I don't feel his the guy that can have only one chance throughout the whole game and being able to score under pressure.

Other than that, Arsenal are the strongest candidate right now to win the PL but if they advance in the Champions they might start having issues with the rotation since they don't seem to have many strong players on the bench the way Chelsea or Manchester City do.

I gotta say, I've watched most (if not all) of Arsenal's games this season, and Giroud has been incredible. He has really improved since last season, and he does pretty much everything right on the field. He needs to score a few more goals to be up there with the biggest goal-poachers of the league, but in terms of quality he is good enough. He's also the kind of striker that does things right, and gives his teammates better chances to do something. He gives players like Özil and Ramsey a bit more freedom, since the defenders have to keep an eye on him all the time, and that could also be one reason why their midfield has scored more this year.

When it comes down to it, having a well functioning team is the most important part in winning. Arsenal had RvP for several seasons, but a good goalscorer wasn't enough to win titles. Now they have a much better team overall, and while Giroud could score more goals, he is good enough to start for Arsenal, and it would be a huge shame if they replaced him or sent him to the bench. The main problem is depth though. If Giroud would get injured now, they are stuck with Bendtner, or having to play Walcott center, which isn't his usual position. Once Podolski comes back, that will give them a nice option.

I would say Giroud is better than any of the attackers in Chelsea and Tottenham, I would say he is on par with many of the strikers in the other big teams of the league. Right now this season, I would only hold Aguero, Suarez, Sturridge and maybe Lukaku as better strikers at the moment. I wanna say Rooney too, because even though he hasn't scored a lot, I do love him.

Also, Arsenal has City on Sunday I believe, then Chelsea the day before Christmas Eve. Two interesting games to say the least.

Offline chknptpie

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #719 on: December 10, 2013, 11:25:31 AM »
How is viagogo for purchasing tickets? Anyone here used it before?

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #720 on: January 26, 2014, 07:39:28 AM »


Best moment so far this season. So happy with this transfer, but on the other hand I'm also skeptical, because even though we have strengthened our offensive side, the midfield and defense is highly questionable at the moment. We really need strengthening there too. I would say a 4th spot is doable, and I hope bringing Mata in will energize the team to complete that. We still aren't nearly as good as Arsenal, Chelsea or City, but Liverpool and Tottenham have both shown weaknesses, and so the battle for 4th is on.

Offline orcus116

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #721 on: January 26, 2014, 08:49:43 AM »
Enjoy Mata, I'm gonna miss'em.

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #722 on: January 26, 2014, 09:00:55 AM »
As a follower of Chelsea I was disappointed with that, but Willian had been getting all the starts recently so it didn't surprised me much. Hopefully this helps Man U enough to at least tie Arsenal and City in the games they have left and help Chelsea.
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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #723 on: April 14, 2014, 03:39:31 AM »
Bumping this as I reckon after the last couple of weeks results (particularly this past weekend) some folks may be up for discussing the end of season run in.

Liverpool aren't nailed on to win yet. I'd love to see them win it but I think it'll go to the wire. Chelsea will have a huge say obviously but I wouldn't discount City at all.

Arsenal have just given up and may not even get a CL spot. Still, they've got the FA cup to look forward to.

What of Man U? They look like they're finding some league form (too little too late) but are struggling against bigger teams. Should Moyes be given another season? And for that matter, should Wenger?

If LFC don't win it this year, I think the chance may gone for some time. They'll find it much harder next season.
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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #724 on: April 14, 2014, 03:52:08 AM »
I really hope with all my heart that Liverpool wins the league. It might sound odd coming from a Man United fan, and while there is rivalry between the clubs, I feel like Liverpool is the club that deserves the PL title the most this season. They've played the best football in the whole league, they have some incredible players, and a legend like Steven Gerrard. He is one of those few players who truly deserves a title, for everything he has done for his club. I really don't like Oil-City (for obvious reasons I guess), and while I like Mourinho as a manager, Chelsea has been pretty darn boring this season. I really hope Liverpool takes it, because they would benefit the most from winning the title. It would be a boost to the club, but clubs like City and Chelsea will invest good money no matter where they finish.

As for Arsenal, I guess we could all agree that history repeats itself. A lot of fans got incredibly excited after the first half of the season, but as soon as the big games started to arrive, results started to decline. I think the best action at this point would be to win the FA-Cup and get the 4th spot, Wenger SHOULD leave after this season, and maybe he will end his run with a title. Wenger has once again proven that he is not the right man for Arsenal anymore. He has a few good qualities, but he has a hard time motivating his team and getting them to play good football, and against the top teams, Arsenal usually have no chance at all. Several games this season (against Pool and Chelsea for example), the game has been over after 10-15 minutes. Good preparations there, Wenger. Right now I think Everton is favorites to take the 4th spot. Arsenal has a much easier schedule, but Everton has a really strong form. I think Arsenal will get it in the end though, and Everton shouldn't feel ashamed if they miss it. I think Martinez has done a brilliant job at Everton, and I would even love to see him at Man United.

As for Man United, I really don't even want to talk about it. The season has been bad, but the situation overall doesn't give any glimpses of hope. At this point I would gladly replace Moyes with just about anyone else from PL. For me it's not just about results, but Moyes just hasn't gotten anything to work. If you take Liverpool last year, at least they were playing really good football. You could tell they had something exciting going on, and that their "project" had a bright future. With Man United, the games have mostly been very boring to watch. I don't think someone like Klopp would leave Dortmund to come, but I'd even be thrilled over a manager like Martinez from Everton, or Pochettino from Southampton. Both those clubs play positive football, and they have done wonders with what they have.

Overall though, I would say that Tony Pulis deserves the "manager of the year" award this year IMO. When he took over Crystal Palace, they were dead last, with a pretty thin squad, and most people said "it's an impossible job". Now they are pretty much safe from going out, and they wouldn't have done it without Pulis as the manager. He may play a "simple" football, but what a good job he has done.  :tup

Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #725 on: April 14, 2014, 11:18:09 AM »
I really hope with all my heart that Liverpool wins the league.

I agree but for completely different reasons. I really hate Man City and Chelsea because the reason they are on top of the league is because they have wealthy owners that can buy any player they like. Liverpool doesn't have that option, they have to work with what they have and Brendan Rodgers has been able to make this team work perfectly and maybe if Liverpool win the league it will show this big teams that you don't necessarily need lots of stars but maybe you need players that are able to perform a specific function to boost other players.

Regarding Moyes, I will say that they should leave him where he is for at least 2 more seasons. Remember that it took Alex Fergusson 7 years to win his first Premier League with United and after that it was all success. United right now is going through a renovation in players and in coach, it's a bit unrealistic to expect Moyes to deliver a great season so early.
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Offline puppyonacid

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #726 on: April 14, 2014, 12:31:18 PM »
That's a fair point regarding moyes but I think there's a huge difference between the situations between his appointment and fergie came in. When fergie came in United needed a change top to bottom in philosophy. They aren't at that point at the moment. I reckon moyes will be facing a lot of behind the scenes resistance because people are still rooted in the way fergie did things. This is probably why rogers is doing so well at LFC. They were ready for whole sale changes throughout the entire set up and he has a solid vision and strong philosophy.

Having said that moyes was a strange appointment as he's not a very attack minded, progressive manager.

My dads a scouser so I'm a merseyside red. I want LFC to win but there is something sad about doing it in a season when United have been so poor. Not sad for Liverpool as such but it'd have been more exciting had united been up there as well.
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Offline Nekov

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #727 on: April 14, 2014, 01:28:20 PM »
Moyes ended in the 6th place last season with Everton which I think is pretty good considering they don't have great names in the team so it's fair to assume that he could do even better with a good roster. Give him a chance, next season things should be different.
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Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #728 on: April 14, 2014, 03:17:13 PM »
I think patience is something a manager has to earn. Right now I have very little patience with Moyes because not only has the season been bad, the performances have been bad as well. Things can start to turn around ofc, but not even when Moyes was in Everton, did they play the kind of football I would love to see the club play. To be honest, I've lost a lot of my interest in the club. And it feels awful to say, because I still root for the club, but whenever they play a game at the same time as another team like Liverpool or Arsenal, I always watch the other game, because I would rather see optimistic attacking football, than being lulled to sleep.

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #729 on: April 19, 2014, 10:56:09 AM »
What an exciting race for the title! Would love Liverpool to win it, just for the fact it's 24 years since their last title, and 25 years since Hillsborough. The big teams seem to drop points against teams they should steamroll over. Sunderland drawing with Man City last week, for example. Possibly fatally damaged their title bid. Even if City win their game in hand, they still can't catch up to Chelsea and Liverpool.

As I write, Sunderland are at it again, equalising 1-1 vs Chelsea. More dropped points on the cards?

Offline Zantera

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #730 on: April 19, 2014, 11:35:28 AM »
Lets hope Sunderland takes a point and Liverpool wins tomorrow.

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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #731 on: April 19, 2014, 11:36:26 AM »
Supporting Liverpool for the title. It's just fitting this year for them to do it.

My team, Tottenham, thankfully won today. Always nerveracking watching a spurs game.
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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #732 on: April 19, 2014, 12:59:48 PM »
Lol Chelsea
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Re: The Official Football (soccer) Thread [merged]
« Reply #733 on: April 19, 2014, 05:30:01 PM »
Hello there, Fenerbahçe fan here. Many people here might remember us from some occasions like making ManU taste defeat after years and years of undefeated European campaigns until we won there ^^

Or Chelsea's loss in Turkey in 2008, we almost got through that quarter final at CL. Was a big blowing moment for me :(

Or last year's great Europa League semi finals, as we got knocked out by Benfica who lost to Chelsea at the final.

Now my team is shaken and hurt a lot by the so called "match-fixing" scandal. It is a scandal indeed, but only at the law mechanism. The specially authorized courts aren't suitable to any European court, yet UEFA banned us for 2 years. Very sad and unfair, but life goes on! One more year and we'll be back to where we belong!

And we're almost crowned the champions this season, hurray! ;D

Here's something little from that Chelsea match:

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