2011-12 Football/Soccer Thread

[Nilf]

wouldn't valencia make the world XI then?

Ha. Have you heard of Arjen Robben?

Or Ronaldo, Sanchez and Silva?

Or Hazard, Gotze, Kagawa, Hulk and Pedro.

Ok you could probably argue he's better than a few of these but one of them would definitely make it ahead of him.

 

[sharkz]

it's pretty much proven over the last few years that Fergie is the best at getting the most out of what he has. Probably shouldnt be surprised anymore.

But I subscribe to the view that the Premier league top clubs are all in rebuild mode, hence the reason for the poor European performances. The Champions League rookies like Jones, Young, etc have all notably struggled in Europe, but have been solid in league play because its a league they already know. Add to the experience already in the squad, and Fergie's managerial aptitude, and really there's no reason why they shouldn't perform well at least domestically.

Speaking of which, Wenger has been building a team from the ground up since the early 2000s... Wilshere and co are the first graduates of those first seeds... Just a few more years to go then till the trophies start flowing :D

tbh hasn't this line been thrown around every year since 2007?

 

[phalanx]

dont most of those play left wing? ;)
too many of uniteds squad havn't played in europe. i dont think injuries helped in that regard though.
and will the title race be over in all but the maths on sunday?
meaning 7+ points gap is game over.

 

[latinoheat]

The Messi hype is over the top but the first penalty was stonewall, the 2nd was a poor mistake for someone as good as Nesta,they also got two penalties denied that were a lot more obvious in the first leg. Much better team over the two legs, the Robinho handball was a bullshit call though.

Not that one of Madrid or Barcelona won't end up getting ref bias if the other makes it through to the final. El Classico is what UEFA wanted from the start.

Arjen Robben is the best right winger in the world, shame he can barely stay fit.

 

[Dubby]

and will the title race be over in all but the maths on sunday?
meaning 7+ points gap is game over.

I thought we were just assuming that the race was already over..

 

[HBK]

Yes i agree we haven't improved in recent seasons.If anything we have go poorer than we were whne weon the league twice and before as is evident by our league position.But as of now we seem to be back to our best or atleast on the way to it,too bad it's coming this late in the season.Sure we made some signings and sold some players to reduce the average age of the squad bur we still need to sell more and buy more(Selling Alex was the right thing to do but Malouda should've been sold over Anelka imo look at him now he's just a poor man's Arshavin while Anelka is still decent).Torres was always going to need to time to adjust to our style of play which was so different from Liverpool but now that Di Matteo has diverted from the traditional 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1,a formation he is used to playing in since his Liverpool days,he seems to be rediscovering his form.I'm very pleased with the way Mata has adjusted tho and if it weren't for him we'd be fighting for 6th or 7th place.Cahill seems to bought to replace Terry and seems to be headed in the right direction while Luiz has stepped up his game.Ivanovic has always been good so no surprise there.And while Ramires may not walk into the world XI he is better than most of United's midfield except maybe Carrick and he is very useful on the counter attack with his pace.Kalou looked like another decent player who was going to be wasted by AVB but he has begun to prove his worth now that he has been given a few starts.Contrary to what everyone thinks i believe we can keep Lampard and Terry like Ferguson did Giggs and Ferdinand;they still have a lot to offer and their influence on the team's performance is notable,especially Terry's.All in all,we're moving in the right direction and if we keep this up we should challenging for third spot next year,if not the title.Players we MUST sell:Malouda,Ferreira,Bosingwa,Drogba and Essien.

 

[No Luck Involved]

tbh hasn't this line been thrown around every year since 2007?

Yeah but Fabregas wasn't meant to leave T___T

@HBK: I don't believe Drogba, Essien or Malouda have dropped off at all. Drogba's game has always been about power and he's still got that in abundance, only now he has even more experience. Essien is recovering from his injury, before which he was still regarded as the best defensive mid in the world so he needs to come back to that (and no he is not old). Malouda's loss of form is particularly inexplicable. He was unplayable the first half of last season and then Chelsea imploded and then he stopped getting playing time... Honestly I think a lot of Chelsea's stars are just sulking at the fact Ancellotti got fired and they have no reason to cos they're there to do a job and get paid obscene wages to do it. If they pulled their socks up and actually got on with it then Chelsea should be challenging for the PL title and would probably win it if they all did what they're supposed to.

 

[Nosferalto]

And nos, Doni played one game in pre-season where he dislocated his finger. He's probably pretty decent but no-ones seen him play so how can you judge?

Doni has been first choice for Roma for most of his career, has plenty of big match experience and has 10 caps for Brazil. I've watched him a lot (i'm a big roma fan too) and he is a great shot-stopper. I was actually very surprised when he accepted to play second fiddle to Reina.

I'm happy for him. He's been very patient and Reina's form has been poor.

 

[Havak]

Miracles in the league? Hardly. Uniteds squad have been getting poorer and poorer, but they're winning the league because the rest of the premiership is getting poorer aswell. A few years ago an all english CL semi wouldn't be a surprise, now one team getting in is. United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpools squads are all far worse (and/or older!) than a few years ago. Only spurs and city have got better - but until they win anything spurs and city mean fuck all. The premier league may be the most entertaining (and IMO the best) but it's weaker than La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A now.

I don't buy the 'miracles in the league' line. The fact still is, Manchester United are still just better than everyone else in the Premier League. You can try to break it down however you like, say we're weaker than before, say other teams could/should be stronger, but it's all mute. A poor showing in Europe was somewhat unexpected, but injuries to Vidic and Fletcher certainly did not help that cause. In past seasons I would argue that those two have been our best defensive players in the Champions League and we lost both all season, consequently shipping more goals. They had to be replaced with players who were either vastly less experienced or even more injury prone. Sure, that might state that our squad s weaker than previous years, but when certain players have been with us longer I expect that to change.

I still don't buy that the Premier League is weaker than the leagues you mentioned, but it's definitely not as strong as it once was, for sure. Man Utd's squad may look weaker, but I'm not that sure it is. Obviously we've lost players such as Ronaldo and Tevez, but other than those two leaving, how has it gotten weaker exactly?

VDS left and we've got a young goalkeeper. That's weaker for now, but I don't think it'll be that noticeable in a few years. We also have a stronger no.2 keeper than ever, basically.

O'Shea and Brown leaving? Evans has emerged, we have the Da Silva twins, and two very promising young defenders in Smalling and Jones. I don't fancy that as weaker really despite Ferdinand's injury record. When he plays, he's still top drawer and anyone who denies that hasn't been watching Man Utd... 9.9

The midfield is obviously the most telling area. However, Scholes and Giggs keep proving people wrong. If they were too old by now, people would have noticed. Carrick has performed very well for a long time now. I do agree that Anderson's injury record probably means he's not going to make it, and he's been very indifferent. Only in a few games since he joined has he showed why we bought him. Cleverley is another young talent, I was so impressed with him when he came back from Wigan, but his injury has stopped him progressing. Hopefully it's sorted and he can break back into the side more. Fletcher might still have a lot to offer if he can come back and Pogba has been making the bench lately so perhaps he really isn't all hype, we'll see. We'll definitely need to strengthen this area in the next few seasons.

As for attacking players (I'll start with the wide playres).. Right now I wouldn't trade Valencia for any other winger and I mean that. He is the perfect Manchester United player and I do think he would get into most sides. Even before his two injuries he was shit-hot, but since he came back recently he's been untouchable. We also have Young and Nani, which in regards to pure 'wingers' I feel is probably the best selection in Europe, along with Park to play in a more defensive team if needed.

Rooney, Hernandez, and Welbeck are all very good and work hard. I think Hernandez has found it tougher this season but some of his goals have been very important. Welbeck has come back from his loan move a much better player. I'm happy with our striking options, I even like Berbatov. But I can see Berbatov, Owen, and probably Macheda all leaving, so we could well need another, or an attacking midfield who plays behind the striker and chips in more goals than our other non-strikers. We'll see.

Isn't that exactly what De Gea did? And nos, Doni played one game in pre-season where he dislocated his finger. He's probably pretty decent but no-ones seen him play so how can you judge?

That was under completely different circumstances though. Kuszczak was never going to be first choice and van der Sar had retired. Now that de Gea has a season under his belt and Lindegaard has proved himself over a stretch of games, and even with Amos' potential as a good young English goalkeeper, I don't think a goalkeeper like Doni will be 'walking into' Manchester United's side. Obviously, a lot comes down to profile and potential, but de Gea surely has both of those over someone like Doni at the moment? If not, why would Manchester Untied decide it was worth spending £18m~ on de Gea. After a shaky start, I don't think many people can say right now that de Gea isn't performing well enough. There are not that many goalkeepers who would just stroll in and kick all three of our keepers out of the side.

 

[Bartman101]

Owen Coyle's manager of the month for March and deservedly so, we have the best form in the league, jointly with Man U and Newcastle. 3 successive wins for the first time since '06. This coupled with Muamba's cardiac arrest too, surely makes it even better.

Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson got player of the month. Haven't seen him play so I can't say much about him, but apparently he's pretty good and has a great eye for goal.

 

[Triangles]

Yeah - Sigurdsson's looked like a really class act since he joined Swansea in January. 6 goals in 12 games and not one of them was a tap-in.

 

[Zoro]

extremely poor performance from chelsea

 

[HBK]

Lackluster display from chelsea against 10 men,just like the game vs Stoke.Getting the job done is all that matters but if this is how they plan to play vs Barca then it's already over.

 

[phalanx]

well chelsea are facing 12 men when they face barca

 

[Django]

Very disappointed with Chelsea but hey they're through. Loved Meireles goal.

 

[Lee]

expecting chelsea to have a good run at Barcelona...they'll still be hurting from the infamous screwjob a few years back and will be looking to avenge it. chelsea don't often show too much passion in the league, but in Europe they want it as much as anybody and if they can channel that and get a bit of luck, then who knows?

edit: i don't mean luck from the referees because that obv isn't going to happen. i mean like messi stands on a bit of lego or something the night before

 

[latinoheat]

Yea don't think Chelsea win but at least they are credible and should once again give Barca a difficult task, unlike Apoel tonights game was embarrassing like shooting practice for Madrid and another small team for Ronaldo to pad his stats against.

Looking forward to seeing what Bayern can do anything but another Classico for the final.

 

[Dubby]

Damn, there goes my final prediction of Bayern vs Milan.

well chelsea are facing 12 men when they face barca

I found this quite funny since it is very true.

 

[Venom]

Call me a Barcelona hater or whatever, I don't give a fuck, but AC Milan was beating them since the first game. All of a sudden the referee wants to pull out cards at shit footballers do in every single game and don't get shit for it.

With that being said, Bayern takes the crown.

 

[No Luck Involved]

My bad dreams are surfacing again, oh god...

http://www.soccerclips.net/videos/barcelona-v-arsenal-van-persie-red-card

 

[Lee]

imagine how HBK feels...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENQDQ52SOY

i remember watching that game and just giving up because it was obvious Chelsea simply weren't allowed to win.

 

[No Luck Involved]

Sometimes you think it was fate, but sometimes you think what if football really is just rigged. And FIFA don't want any sort of video technology because that would take the biased referee out of the game and they'd have no control anymore. Must suppress bad dreams...

 

[HBK]

Partiality in refereeing is bad no matter which way you look at it;It spoils the game for fans of either side and even neutral fans.Of course the fans of the favored side might feel happy but they can't help but feel a little guilty and sorry for the losing side.There's no better feeling than winning the game fairly and by playing better football.I hope referee(s) in charge of both legs will realize this.

 

[Triangles]

This year looks like its gonna be an El Clasico Champions League final if the semi results are what is expected (Bayern might actually give Real Madrid a run for their money, but Chelsea's quarter-final was unconvincing and they look too weak to stand up to Barca) - will be a great game but Barca will probably win. If you look at the league record between the two teams - Barca have won 6 of the last 7 times they played against Madrid in La Liga. There's another league game between the two of them coming up soon, and that could kinda be seen as a dry run for the final.

 

[Havak]

I do think Barcelona get favoured more than any other side, but I also don't want to be the bitter Spanish team hater when it is quite clear they are better than everyone else. I just feel that sometimes when a team is very disciplined defensively and they don't get the break they need, rather than the frustration getting to the fans and players, they just manage to get a decision or two to go their way and turn the game on its head. I'm not denying that the two penalties in the AC Milan game weren't warranted, or that Milan deserved to win by any stretch. But the fact is for all Barcelona's possession and ability, they needed two penalties and a deflected pass to fall for them in order to break down Milan. Where as Milan were clinical on their break and scored a nice goal. If they would have done the same in the first leg, maybe they'd have knocked out Barca?

The Chelsea game of old was obviously ridiculous, I couldn't believe my eyes watching it. It was amazing to see how favoured one team can be away from home when they still only need a goal to go through, and they got it with their one shot on target.

You can probably make cases like this for every big team, but to me (and many others) it seems like the 'higher ups' involved in running these tournaments want to see Barcelona always win. Even if there is no 'favouring' going on, I still they're secretly supporting Barca because of how they play football. It is fair enough because they can put on the best show 9/10 times, but if there is any favouring of Barcelona or any other team going on, intentional or not, it really needs to stop.

Still fancying Madrid to win it, but maybe it's destined for Bayern to win it in Germany? Wouldn't even surprise me to see Bayern beat Chelsea in the final.