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2011-12 Football/Soccer Thread
- Thread starter The_Chaser
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It seems that the referees have decided they don't want Norwich in the Premier League.
Be glad I didn't put that bet on :p haha
I don't know what Arsenal fans are celebrating a dodgey win over Swansea, they'd have to be retarded to be celebrating. However there were positives and a win is always welcome of course.
I think the consensus is that Mertesacker looked calm which is reassuring while his positioning and tackling was excellent, but he's not quite fast enough and it will be a concern when he comes up against teams with real pace up front (Man U and City anyone?).
Arteta looked very good in the first half and if he can perform at that level all the time then we can be optimistic. Szecezny is a beast still, shipping 8 goals doesn't seem to have affected his confidence or ability at all which is amazing. Oh and Arshavin put in immense effort for the first time in a year and a half and looked like the player he was when he arrived - this is something to be happy about too.
There were plenty of negatives of course: no movement up front especially Van Persie (very annoying!), plenty of build up and no finish as always, Walcott still being wasted on the wing, Frimpong was nowhere near the standard he has been showing recently and Koscielny is still not a defender you can trust.
Based on that performance, there was nothing to suggest that Arsenal will finish any higher than midtable this season. But there is still room for quite optimism when (if?) Wilshere and Vermaelen come back as that would tighten up the midfield and defence a lot while Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta would be a very strong midfield to feed Van Persie, Walcott and Gervinho.
The worst thing is that Liverpool are looking strong especially with Gerrard coming back and Tottenham seem to have got their act together. Still hoping we can finish 4th though :naughty: but we'll need Wilshere and Tommy V back ASAP
I think the consensus is that Mertesacker looked calm which is reassuring while his positioning and tackling was excellent, but he's not quite fast enough and it will be a concern when he comes up against teams with real pace up front (Man U and City anyone?).
Arteta looked very good in the first half and if he can perform at that level all the time then we can be optimistic. Szecezny is a beast still, shipping 8 goals doesn't seem to have affected his confidence or ability at all which is amazing. Oh and Arshavin put in immense effort for the first time in a year and a half and looked like the player he was when he arrived - this is something to be happy about too.
There were plenty of negatives of course: no movement up front especially Van Persie (very annoying!), plenty of build up and no finish as always, Walcott still being wasted on the wing, Frimpong was nowhere near the standard he has been showing recently and Koscielny is still not a defender you can trust.
Based on that performance, there was nothing to suggest that Arsenal will finish any higher than midtable this season. But there is still room for quite optimism when (if?) Wilshere and Vermaelen come back as that would tighten up the midfield and defence a lot while Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta would be a very strong midfield to feed Van Persie, Walcott and Gervinho.
The worst thing is that Liverpool are looking strong especially with Gerrard coming back and Tottenham seem to have got their act together. Still hoping we can finish 4th though :naughty: but we'll need Wilshere and Tommy V back ASAP
You better be happy that Liverpool didn't win against Stoke because of extremely bad luck. I guess luck balances its self out after Ramsey's own goal.
Both of Liverpool's goals against Arsenal initially came from offside positions, and Frimpong's first yellow card was inexplicable. But of course everyone finds referee decisions that have gone against their team.
If Gerrard had been available, I would imagine Liverpool would've won against Stoke. I still think Henderson is absolutely pants and shouldn't be anywhere near the first team. What do Liverpool fans think of him?
If Gerrard had been available, I would imagine Liverpool would've won against Stoke. I still think Henderson is absolutely pants and shouldn't be anywhere near the first team. What do Liverpool fans think of him?
Every Stoke result has been from opponents having bad luck. And I hope luck evens itself out we'd be due a lot of it
Henderson is likely a more long term project for Liverpool, I think he'll probably be the first to be replaced when Gerrard returns.
Seems that with all these new midfielders, everybody's forgotten about Jonjo Shelvey. Was always interested in what people thought about this kid, since he seemed to be thought of as Gerrard v2.
Seems that with all these new midfielders, everybody's forgotten about Jonjo Shelvey. Was always interested in what people thought about this kid, since he seemed to be thought of as Gerrard v2.
I don't think Shelvey has much of a shot at getting into the Liverpool set-up, but since he's only about 19 he has at least two years left to prove something to Kenny and the Liverpool fans. I think development of young players needs time and the public generally don't expect to have to wait for it. The likes of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Jack Wilshere etc are exceptions to taking time to develop. A lot of people probably thought Tom Cleverley had no chance of making it at Man Utd because he's already 22. But he took that couple of years longer to reach the desired level and now he's there. It's probably fair in comparison to someone like Theo Walcott as well. He's only 22 now and has had glimpses in the past of being a top talent, but he's one of those that has taken longer and still isn't exactly there yet.
I think if you asked most people about Shelvey now they'd say he's not good enough, or ask who the hell he is. I've only seen him in a few Liverpool games last season and he never looked anything more than a squad player while Liverpool's numbers were obviously thin. But then again, I thought he was older than what he was.
In other news, Man Utd are awesome right now. I think United and City will be quite a distance ahead of the rest by the start of next year, with Chelsea in touching distance (although if they pull something out of the hat against United next weekend it could be very different).
I think if you asked most people about Shelvey now they'd say he's not good enough, or ask who the hell he is. I've only seen him in a few Liverpool games last season and he never looked anything more than a squad player while Liverpool's numbers were obviously thin. But then again, I thought he was older than what he was.
In other news, Man Utd are awesome right now. I think United and City will be quite a distance ahead of the rest by the start of next year, with Chelsea in touching distance (although if they pull something out of the hat against United next weekend it could be very different).
I wouldn't rule anyone out of the title race just yet. Remember this time last year everyone was watching Chelsea crush everyone 6-0 and assumed they'd run away with it, and that Utd's squad wasn't good enough to challenge (year of transition, too much mediocraty etc etc).
I was thinking the same thing actually, although I think its far less likely this time around. Chelsea last year obviously overachieved, one look at the squad tells us that. Their slump started because their first team got demolished by injuries(Drogba, Alex, Lampard, etc), and because the squad was so thin they had to do things like play Paulo Ferreira and Jeffrey Bruma at CB. United and City have far deeper squads than that, it's already showing with guys like Jones, Evans, Smalling, etc filling in for Vidic and Ferdinand.
city have gone from being the most boring team in the league to one of the most enjoyable to watch. they've got as good a chance as anyone other than Man Utd right now but the real test is gonna be how they fare against the other big clubs and i suspect they may just revert to their old italian playstyle when they do come up against top class opposition and that's just a waste of their offensive potential.
nobody outside of manchester looks good enough right now
nobody outside of manchester looks good enough right now
I'm starting to be quite unsure about that now, Lee.
I think Manchester City can easily play a front four from Aguero, Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, and Tevez depending on the opposition. They change positions so much that it doesn't really matter if there's a bit of unbalance. Yaya Toure should now be played deeper because there's no point using him as the most forward central midfield player when you can stick Silva or Nasri there, or Tevez / Aguero off Dzeko.
Toure and De Jong will probably be the first choice midfield two behind that front four. Barry and Milner will get in from time to time but I don't rate them as highly as De Jong and Toure for solid midfield two that just allows the attacking players to go out and express themselves.
I'd be surprised now if Mancini decides to drop one of those players for the likes of Barry.
I think Manchester City can easily play a front four from Aguero, Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, and Tevez depending on the opposition. They change positions so much that it doesn't really matter if there's a bit of unbalance. Yaya Toure should now be played deeper because there's no point using him as the most forward central midfield player when you can stick Silva or Nasri there, or Tevez / Aguero off Dzeko.
Toure and De Jong will probably be the first choice midfield two behind that front four. Barry and Milner will get in from time to time but I don't rate them as highly as De Jong and Toure for solid midfield two that just allows the attacking players to go out and express themselves.
I'd be surprised now if Mancini decides to drop one of those players for the likes of Barry.
Hm I agree we don't look so good enough to challange for the title atm but as mentioned earlier last season everyone thought the Blues would successfully defend their title but we all know what happened after december.TBH I don't think we can count anyone out except Liverpool and Arsenal for the title due to the unpredictability of the PL.We might look too old to win the title to some even after all these signings but our only old players that play the entire match our are back four apart from maybe Lampard.But srsly come on two of our defenders are in the english squad and luckily for us they're quite sturdy too.Our defense is strong and doesn't get injured easily.Bosingwa and Cole might look like their injury prone but they are surprisingly strong.Our defense can get forward and cause problems for the other team too.We all know what an attacking threat Cole is,Terry often comes up to midfield and scored a goal again the Black Cats and countless others,anyone who saw our match on saturday will recall Ivanovic's long run into Sunderland's half where he had to be brought down to stop him.But yeah he's not that offensive.And who can forget Bosingwa's amazing goal against Norwich?we have David Luiz and Alex if we're struck by injuries although due to the aforementioned reasons this is highly unlikely.
We have plenty of young talent to substitute for the experienced elder players in midfield and strike so that's not a problem at all.We have Ramires,Mata,Meireles(not so young),Mikel(28 as well),Mceachran and Oriol Romeu.In strike we have Torres,Sturridge(Loved the backheel goal),Lukaku,Mata(left forward) and Kalou.
We might have to purchase some new defenders next transfer window but as of now everything is looking good.Can't wait for the Champion-Former Champion clash.Hoping we pull off a win and City lose their next fixture.That'll be the ideal outcome for us.As AVB said we're not worried about the Manchester clubs blistering start to the season coz we can and will catch up with them and overtake them as well.
Sadly for Arsenal fans they have to except the bitter truth that the Gunners will finish midtable atleast if their performance against Swansea was anything to go by.As for Liverpool they'd be dumb to squander this chance to qualify for CL.They better not underperform against lower clubs if they seek European football.
We have plenty of young talent to substitute for the experienced elder players in midfield and strike so that's not a problem at all.We have Ramires,Mata,Meireles(not so young),Mikel(28 as well),Mceachran and Oriol Romeu.In strike we have Torres,Sturridge(Loved the backheel goal),Lukaku,Mata(left forward) and Kalou.
We might have to purchase some new defenders next transfer window but as of now everything is looking good.Can't wait for the Champion-Former Champion clash.Hoping we pull off a win and City lose their next fixture.That'll be the ideal outcome for us.As AVB said we're not worried about the Manchester clubs blistering start to the season coz we can and will catch up with them and overtake them as well.
Sadly for Arsenal fans they have to except the bitter truth that the Gunners will finish midtable atleast if their performance against Swansea was anything to go by.As for Liverpool they'd be dumb to squander this chance to qualify for CL.They better not underperform against lower clubs if they seek European football.
??? Mikel is 24, not 28, so he's still the same age as (or is slightly younger than) Ramires.
To be honest I'm pretty happy with AVB so far, ok so chelsea haven't played any big teams yet but they've done enough to not lose yet, which is fine by me! It's early days yet, hopefully they'll get better as the year goes on.
Also Gareth Barry has actually been OK this season, though I'd still put him below Touré and De Jong when he gets back from injury.
To be honest I'm pretty happy with AVB so far, ok so chelsea haven't played any big teams yet but they've done enough to not lose yet, which is fine by me! It's early days yet, hopefully they'll get better as the year goes on.
Also Gareth Barry has actually been OK this season, though I'd still put him below Touré and De Jong when he gets back from injury.
This. As for what Liverpool supporters think of Henderson, there are mixed opinions. The experienced fans will tell you that he's still very young and that he's one for the future while the younger ones, looking for instant success (read: glory...) make him their scapegoat mainly because of his price-tag. In my case, I'm not fully convinced by this purchase in the first place but I believe that he just needs some confidence because he's still very young.
And yes I agree. Jonjo Shelvey is basically the closest thing to Gerrard we currently have. Unlike Henderson, he's got unbreakable confidence from what I've seen (he wants to take all set-pieces for Liverpool when he's on the field :P) and he has monstrous long-range shooting. The only thing that's missing from him right now to play in the first team is that turn of pace IMO.
As for the future captain, that's Connor Coady. He's a defensive midfielder so nothing like Stevie but he's a true leader. He's captained England at all youth set-ups except the U21s and the Liverpool youth teams and reserves. Still 17 IIRC.
^ Howay the lads xP Enjoy it while you're up there.
Also, Barca vs. AC Milan tonight. Gonna be interesting how Milan cope without Ibrahimovic. Basically, I spoke to an Italian friend of mine who happens to be an AC Milan supporter. Anyway, he told me how Milan play better football when Ibra is missing because the players tend to lump it forward to him instead of going for the more simple yet effective pass that retains possession.
It seems like a similar situation to the whole ''Liverpool play better football without Andy Carroll''. Does having a big man up front on a team really affect the team's ability to play attractive fluid football?
Also, Barca vs. AC Milan tonight. Gonna be interesting how Milan cope without Ibrahimovic. Basically, I spoke to an Italian friend of mine who happens to be an AC Milan supporter. Anyway, he told me how Milan play better football when Ibra is missing because the players tend to lump it forward to him instead of going for the more simple yet effective pass that retains possession.
It seems like a similar situation to the whole ''Liverpool play better football without Andy Carroll''. Does having a big man up front on a team really affect the team's ability to play attractive fluid football?
Man how the fuck did we not win that. Some goal from Perisic.
At least we seem to have found a solid enough midfield. Benayoun and Arteta battled away through the match. Love Benayoun's work rate, far better than having a training cone wearing a Denilson shirt. Song made some great tackles too.
At least we seem to have found a solid enough midfield. Benayoun and Arteta battled away through the match. Love Benayoun's work rate, far better than having a training cone wearing a Denilson shirt. Song made some great tackles too.
Saw a lot of backbone in Arsenal last night, Mertesacker may be slow, but his positioning is fantastic and I thought he had a great game. They tried to exploit him early on with little dink balls over the top, but soon wised up and dropped a little bit deeper. Good gritty performance though, a draw away from home to the German champions is a great result, considering their start in the prem.
They were If I were Pat Rice though, I would have brought off Benayoun for Frimpong and left Walcott on as an outlet to release the pressure from the defence. Actually probably would have started Frimpong and brought on Yossi lol...
They were If I were Pat Rice though, I would have brought off Benayoun for Frimpong and left Walcott on as an outlet to release the pressure from the defence. Actually probably would have started Frimpong and brought on Yossi lol...
CL is absolutely terrible without the kings of Europe: Liverpool. It's our playground.
That is all.
That is all.
Terrible for you :D
So pleased that I didn't put a bet on my predictions, all but one were wrong!
napoli tied with city, good enough result
GO NAPOLI
GO NAPOLI
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