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2011-12 Football/Soccer Thread

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I must admit, when it went to penalties, it was a foregone conclusion. We all know how good the krauts are at penalties. Did get a good chuckle out of Ramos though. Was suprised it was an interesting shootout as well.

I'm behind Bayern for the final though. I watch a fair bit of Bundesliga on the side, and really like the football they play, I just think they deserve it overall. Either way, I just hope for a decent final, that gives the spectators something good be it someone supprting a team in the final, or just a neutral. I'm sick of shoddy finals they just meander on to a conclusion.
 
Lee said:
Remind me how far Man Utd got by the way?

lol Basel
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The humiliation doesn't stop there,they even got eliminated from the Europa league by Bilbao!
We must win this,especially for the likes of Lampard,Drogba and Terry who might never have this opportunity again.And maybe coz we might not qualify for CL otherwise.
 
I think the schedule is gonna catch up to Chelsea, chasing 4th, an fa cup final and now a small selection of defenders to use.

The games in the league are not exactly easy, Newcastle who are chasing a top 4 finish, two liverpool games in three days, and both QPR and Blackburn in games that could realistically stop those teams getting relegated.

Bayern have only 2 games left in a league already won by Dortmund where Bayern have already secured 2nd place, the german cup is the only game worth anything for them till the final.
 
Well, they can play Terry and Ivanovic in the league games and FA Cup Final (assuming Ivanovic's ban is over?), to be honest I think they are still Chelsea's best central defenders. While Luiz and Cahill will probably be wrapped in cotton wool until the Champions League final, with perhaps a couple of sub appearances. I'm sure Bertrand will play a lot of the reaming games as well to keep Ashley Cole fresh, while Ferreira will probably take a few games at Right Back so Bosingwa doesn't have to play too much, then Chelsea can at least field a somewhat fresh back four (five) of:

Cech
Bosingwa Luiz Cahill Cole​

For the Champions League Final. With Meireles also out of the Champions League game, he'll probably play every League game and the FA Cup Final. Part of me thinks Ramires has played his way into the side for the Champions League, but I'm not sure if he'd stay on the right side with Mata on the left, or if he'd be in the middle with Lampard and Mikel. It depends if Essien gets into some form, as I can see Chelsea starting like this against Bayern:

Cech
Bosingwa Luiz Cahill Cole
Essien Mikel
Ramires Lampard Mata
Drogba​

Ramires could play where Essien is and they could start Sturridge, but I'm not sure if he'd be starting a Champions League final just yet. But with potential substitutions like Torres, Sturridge, Kalou, Malouda, they have quite a strong bench. I'd expect to see Ferreira on the bench too, and perhaps Romeu or Bertrand as the other sub.

So, Chelsea can still field a good team with good subs IMO. However, I wouldn't want to go into a Champions League Final with David Luiz at centreback 9.9 I think that could be what costs Chelsea in this game, which is why I'd play two holding midfielders in Mikel and Essien.
 
Ramires is suspended for CL final too. That really sucks for Chelsea.

I'm now having second thoughts about supporting Chelsea for the final. If Chelsea do win then Arsenal will have to get 3rd. And I don't know about that what with Newcastle 3 points behind with a game in hand. Sneaky Newcastle might just sneak ahead of us into 3rd place if we're not careful. The sneaky rats.
 
Wow, Ramires as well? I only heard of Terry, Ivanovic, and Meireles. With Luiz and Cahill currently injured but with lots of time to recover of course.

I guess Sturridge would have to start then, or Essien could be asked to play on that right side as Ribery would probably cause too many problems. Meaning Remeu in the hold position with Mikel.

If Newcastle finish fourth, then part of me will want Chelsea to lose the Champions League final. I do want the teams I feel are the best from England in there, but if Newcastle want to stay strong they might need Champions League football to keep a lot of their players. I honestly think about half of their first team are good enough to make the squads of the biggest European teams. If those players had offers and felt they could make the leap, I'm sure they'd go for it, which would be sad for Newcastle.

However, I'd hate for them to take up the final slot and then lose in the qualifying rounds like Everton. Either way, I fancy Newcastle having to get 9-10/12 points from four tough games (and avoid defeat to Chelsea) if they want a shot at Champions League. Spurs and Chelsea will have to win all four remaining games to do it via league position, though. It's going to be a 70+ point target for top four.

Chelsea will go at Newcastle full pelt if they beat QPR first. But if they don't beat Newcastle, I think they'll go fully focused on the cup games. As they still have to go to Anfield in the league and that has draw written all over it.
 
The yellow card rule needs to go - two yellow cards over the course of the entire knockout phase causes you to miss a game? That's six emotionally-charged games, half of which could potentially go to 120 minutes. You're not encouraging fair play - you're forcing players to play sheepishly lest they miss the biggest game of their lives over something as minor as a mistimed challenge. It's especially harsh on the defenders who, by their very job description, are expected to put in the odd hard tackle. Unfortunately UEFA won't reconsider until a Messi or a Ronaldo misses the final through this ridiculous rule.
 
Guardiola is the A student complaining about getting a B+. He simply can't stand the success no more! (N.B. I am not prejudiced towards A students)

Arsenal in advanced talks to sign M'Vila. This is the type of shit we Arsenal fans get every summer. Another big name to get our hopes up along with Podolski. Then Wenger ends up signing some unknown 16 year old and banking the rest of the transfer cash. I really really hope Wenger sign him because he is doing very well and is already an important part of the France national team. He is the type of player that Wenger likes to sign so here's hoping, cos we're not ever going to get Sneijder or Robben or Kaka and the like.

Get Vertonghen while you're at it please Wenger, and another right back too. Starting to get hopes up now!
 
I swear to god I predicted Guardiola doing something like this if Barcelona lost. I feel the team took 2 big losses in what 1 week? Must be pretty hard on the dude. I guess he's the perfect example of not settling for nothing other than excellence.
 
No Luck Involved said:
Guardiola is the A student complaining about getting a B+. He simply can't stand the success no more! (N.B. I am not prejudiced towards A students)

Arsenal in advanced talks to sign M'Vila. This is the type of shit we Arsenal fans get every summer. Another big name to get our hopes up along with Podolski. Then Wenger ends up signing some unknown 16 year old and banking the rest of the transfer cash. I really really hope Wenger sign him because he is doing very well and is already an important part of the France national team. He is the type of player that Wenger likes to sign so here's hoping, cos we're not ever going to get Sneijder or Robben or Kaka and the like.

Get Vertonghen while you're at it please Wenger, and another right back too. Starting to get hopes up now!
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I agree, but I also think Wenger should focus on keeping Van Persie at the club..I know he is dedicated and hopefully does not have the same mentality as Nasri, but you always have to worry. If we really do get M'Vila, Podolski, and Vertonghen, that would be big for the club. I'm not totally sure if another RB is completely necessary, we do have Jenkinson after all to score amazing goals!
 
His credentials as a manager might take a hit from this. In one sense you can say he's done everything anyway so wants new goals, but on the other hand, at the first sign or Barcelona cracking in recent years, he's gotten the hell out of there. It'll be interesting to see what he does in the future.

We'll have to see if he can adapt his tactics, as all he did at Barca was play them the same way and had the players to play like that. Will he work for any other team? I'm sure Chelsea would have a pop at him now even if they win the Champions League. Maybe he will take an extended break as he said, though.
 
Dubby said:
we do have Jenkinson after all to score amazing goals!
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Amazing own goals lol! Honestly I think Jenkinson should be going out on loan before he's good enough for the PL. He's still young and he was playing non-league just 2 years ago! I know Wenger has an eye for potential good players but that is not the type of player I feel safe with backing up Sagna, especially if Arsenal have ambitions of competing for the title.

Wilshere, Song, Arteta, Rosicky, M'Vila (please), Ramsey, + Coquelin, Frimpong all fighting for 3 midfield places - that's the kind of competition we should have for every position.
 
Now that Guardiola wants to leave it'll be easier for Abramovich to lure him here in the summer.I expect Malouda,Kalou,Ferriera and maybe Drogba to leave in the summer clear out and the subsequent arrival of some big names like Hulk,Falcao,Willian andsome good RB(they were looking at Marsielle's Spanish right back Azpilicueta recently).If all goes according to plan we should be challenging for title next season.
 
I reckon you'll need to have a stable manager for a few seasons before you can even think about overthrowing the dominance of the Manchester clubs - they're on a whole 'nother level to anybody else in the league right now. Also, Pep's playstyle is not one that can be quickly implemented - it would take years of fostering and patience and we all know what happened when AVB attempted a long-term overhaul of the playstyle.
 
Pep's playstyle starts with Cruyff and takes 20 years to foster and implement. I wouldn't be surprised if Guardiola takes a one year break and then returns to Barcelona lol! He's Barcelona through and through and his style cannot be done anywhere else.

Also how are Chelsea (and Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool for that matter) going to meet the fair play regulations? I actually really wonder what will happen when it comes to crunch time, will eufa really kick big teams out of european competition?
 
I don't think City and United are out of our league.You could've probably said that a earlier in the season but not now.There's a feeling of confidence and belief in the squad following our successful CL run and we're pretty much on the same level as them.And what part of 'summer clearout' do you not understand Nos?
 
He is leaving to take a break from management, he won't be going anywhere. Don't think he would be successful at anywhere but Barcelona and by extension the spanish national team, he isn't close to as good a manager as Mourinho and obviously Ferguson imo.
 
Btw, how about Di Matteo? He's pretty good for a temporary coach IMO, I think he has a lot of potential, he could be the next star coach
 
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