2014/15 Association Football (Soccer) thread

[HBK]

Our most important game of the season so far, a must win and win it we did. Schürrle was probably disapppinted to have not started based on his recent performances and it's never nice to see Mikel start. And Costa really should've scored but fuck Fantasy, I'm just glad that we bagged all three points. It was great to go ahead in the early moments and Fabregas' goal was a great finish even if he didn't mean it.

 

[phalanx]

forgot Chelsea were playing on a cold night in stoke

 

[Soul Fly]

Emile Heskey has scored on his Bolton debut, with the assist coming from Gudjohnson.

 

[X5Dragon]

We were amazing today! Our defense didn't suck for a change! Rooney didn't almost cause another meaningless red card! WOOHOO

 

[HBK]

Missed the game due to familial commitments but it's good to know that we got the job done. It's a great feeling, to be winning games and sitting at the top this time of the year. I can't remember when or even why I captained Rooney and not Costa but it all worked out :D

 

[phalanx]

Sanchez undoes some of the damage he did by scoring... only needs to score 2 more to help my works fantasy :(

 

[Imanalt]

I wonder when kane/eriksen combo stops playing out of their minds how we'll still win games. I missed the game today but highlights + what people are saying seems to strongly imply we shoudl have probably given up more than the 1, and struggled on offense aside from kane/eriksen. This is fucking leicester city. Kane has been absolutely spectacular, but when a 21 year old striker with half a seaosn of premiership experience is expected to carry the team thats not exactly a healthy position to be in...

 

[phalanx]

as long as they do nothing tomorrow i'm not bothered

 

[No Luck Involved]

Milan, why sign Torres only to loan him out immediately? Do you see his value increasing in the next couple of years?? I don't understand this deal at all.

 

[ModestGarchomp]

Milan, why sign Torres only to loan him out immediately? Do you see his value increasing in the next couple of years?? I don't understand this deal at all.

Milan are trying to(not sure) get Cerci from Madrid for torres. Atletico believe they could get Torres out of his 'slump'. I mean they were chanting during Manzukic presentation to sign torres.
It's better for all involed...Torres is going to be where he is loved Milan (again not sure) gets Cerci and Chelsea don't have to pay any of his wages

Haven't watch any of the boxing day matches but heard we absolutely dominated west ham with Cesc still performing at an incredible level!
Really looking forward to the next match against Southampton.
____________________
Also read that Enrique wants to loan out Adama Traore and Sergi Samper... LOL.
If you haven't seen these two players then definitely look out for them. If Barcelona had a competent manager then they should be with the 1st team for next season. These two guys would be pushing for a starting position in a lot of other teams.

I really feel that Barca going a second season without a trophy is the only way for them to get their shit together.
Starting with an election with Laporta running and should win.

 

[destinyunknown]

Milan, why sign Torres only to loan him out immediately? Do you see his value increasing in the next couple of years?? I don't understand this deal at all.

Torres is loaned out to Atletico, and Milan gets Cerci on loan in return. Not sure why it was necessary for Milan to sign Torres but most likely Chelsea just wanted to get rid of Torres and forced them to sign him.

Makes no sense for Atletico to swap Cerci for Torres but whatever floats their boat lol


PS: ModestGarchomp please no Laporta. He might have lead Barcelona to success but he's a cancer for Spain (and I'm totally serious)

 

[latinoheat]

Cerci hasn't exactly set the world on fire since moving to Atletico either (not that he has had much chance) and they have much better depth on the wings and midfield then up front. I will give Simeone the benefit of the doubt.

Could end up working out as a nice backup ala David Villa.

 

[HBK]

I'd imagine that he'd have to take a pay cut to join Atlético. Don't really care where he goes as long as he's gone for good. Not sure if Costa will start against the Saints, Mourinho might decide to give him a rest along with, maybe, Willian. Rémy deserves to start if Costa's to be rested, Drogba could come on later as a sub, not the other way around.

 

[destinyunknown]

Cerci hasn't exactly set the world on fire since moving to Atletico either (not that he has had much chance) and they have much better depth on the wings and midfield then up front. I will give Simeone the benefit of the doubt.

Could end up working out as a nice backup ala David Villa.

Cerci has played 153 minutes in all competitions this season and started 0 games... And was still able to score a goal. Cerci can play as a forward too and he's faster than Torres nowadays (and surely is better at finishing). The only thing Torres might be better at is his work ethic and discipline, but if there's anything Atletico has in abundance it's that.

I guess it will be fine if Simeone trusts him though, Simeone is a great manager but he's awful at making rotations (he just doesn't do any) and the squad gets tired toward the end of the season. So if Torres gets minutes regularly (unlike all the other subs like Rodriguez or Cerci) it will be for the better, at least to give the other players some rest.

 

[HBK]

United were quite blunt today and their defence was in tatters but fortunately for them, Spurs' finishing was equally awful. Really disappointed in José for making dumb decisions like starting Mikel in a must win game such as this, compounding that mistake by making Willian replace Schürrle instead of Mikel, bringing Drogba on instead of Rémy..........there's no guarantee that we'd have won if he had been smarter but it couldn't hurt our chances. Lee Colback's quite the steal isn't he? I can't imagine why Sunderland could ever let him go.

 

[Villa]

I heard that Schurrle had picked up a knock and that's why he got subbed off? Not quite sure though

 

[Lee]

Colback forced the move as he's a geordie and lifelong newcastle fan; being at Sunderland must have been torture for the lad.

 

[No Luck Involved]

19 games gone, it's halfway through the season now in the PL. Here's my predictions:

Table:
Chelsea - only thing that can stop Chelsea is a double injury to Matic and Fabregas.
Man City - they have the slightly stronger squad but slightly harder fixtures, and 3 pts less so...?
Arsenal - optimism! The first half of the season was so injury hit surely it can only get better?
Man Utd - they won't be as lucky in the second half of the season but injuries should ease now and see them through.

Liverpool - they will come back into the reckoning definitely, I don't know why Rodgers changed his team around so much because Lallana, Coutinho and Markovic are all quality and are finding form now.
Spurs - injuries have eased and now they have a settled defence. After a few lucky victories they seem more calm and composed too. I think they'll come close.
Southampton - they could finish higher but they don't have the mentality or motivation of a top club yet. They seem happy with a draw at home against Chelsea where others at the top would probably feel disappointed.
...
Relegation:
Hull - they don't have the quality up front, they massively overachieved last season.
QPR - Harry is too negative away, they still have too many subpar players on high wages, and they've played all the bottom half teams at home so their home form might dry up very soon too.
Leicester - they haven't got enough points so far; they'll need around 7 wins and a few draws out of the next 19 games and that's too much.

It might be interesting to compare this to the pre-season one!

 

[destinyunknown]

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Manchester City
4. Liverpool
5. Manchester United
6. Tottenham
7. Everton
8. Swansea
9. Newcastle
10. Southampton
11. Stoke City
12. Hull City
13. Sunderland
14. Leicester
15. Crystal Palace
16. Burnley
17. Aston Villa
18. West Bromwich
19. West Ham crap I got this so wrong lol
20. QPR

Rooting for Arsenal :)

Most people got Southampton and Swansea wrong and nobody expected West Ham to be this good (understandable). Liverpool and Everton underachieving (but they'll turn it around on the second half of the season).

Nobody predicted Leicester to be on the bottom 3 lol.

Prediction:

1. Chelsea: injuries and trying to win all competitions could hinder them, but as it stands, they are the best in the league
2. Manchester City: they have looked really strong lately, but I don't think it will be enough to beat Chelsea.
3. Arsenal: rough start and many injuries but the second half of the season should be better. Let's hope we sign a defensive midfielder...
4. Manchester United: their luck until now has just been unbelievable. Their schedule isn't particularly easy, but if they recover the injured players they should do just enough to claim a UCL spot.
5. Southampton: their schedule is easy-ish, and while their determination in big games still looks low, they have actually played decently against big sides (except against City). They might not qualify for Europe but can't see them lower than 7th.
6. Liverpool: they have been mediocre but seem to be picking up in their last games. Still don't look particularly convincing, but it's not like the rest do.
7. Tottenham: same as Liverpool really, as long as Kane and Eriksen's form goes on they should be fine.

Honestly it's hard to predict which teams will grab the last European spots, no single contender looks convincing, and streaks and injuries will play a large part...

Relegation:

West Brom: their attack look lackluster, aren't good at defending set pieces, don't look particularly strong at home and have only scored 5 goals away... Their only hope seems to be Berahino, but except for the amazing streak he had (in which WBA got 11 points) he hasn't done much. Also lol at the last 5 games of the season: Liverpool (H), M. Utd (A), Newcastle (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A).

QPR: their home schedule is hell and we all know what their away form has looked like. They have been okay lately though so if they step up against relegation rivals...

Leicester: they have been terrible, plain and simple. No convincing victories to back them up, but at least their schedule is easy.

 

[shade]

we've played 24 games and won 6

at least matches will be cheaper in league 1

 

[phalanx]

West brom are not going down

 

[Imanalt]

1. Chelsea
2. City
3. Arsenal
4. Southampton - When healthy probably third best team in the division this year, but no depth. Expect them to fade some but have been so much better than united so far a bit of fading will still have them ahead of united coming crashing down to earth.
5. Manchester United - Getting dominated and having great finishing + de gea bailing them out isnt sustainable at all, no matter how good your forwards and gk are.
6. Spurs
7. Liverpool - really like the new 3-4-3/3-6-1 formation, but expect it to fade a bit, shoudl be close for 6th but i don't think they will make it

Everton 10th or 11th, their defense has just been too holey this year

Hull, leicester, and burnley to be relegated

 

[SuperScizor]

haha fuck off lampard

come at me

 

[No Luck Involved]

Arsenal are legit shit

 

[HBK]

It's heartbreaking enough to watch Frank in a City shirt, just how many times is he going to save their ass?! And he's also having his loan deal extended! #KillMeNow

Why does every team turn into fucking Real Madrid vs us?