Football Thread No. 9

I think the EPL top 5 are weaker than previous years. United are clearly weaker, especially with Vidic out. Chelsea are a bunch of basketcases at the moment, and don't compare to the team they were a few years ago. On a good day, Arsenal are still a marvellous team, but they are weakened by having lost both Nasri and Fabregas; and on their bad days, they are just as fragile as before.

City are stronger than previously, but are still seeking the cohesion usually needed for success in Europe. Spurs are a bit stronger, and lovely to watch, but they wouldn't have fot to 3rd in the EPL of four years ago.
 
EDIT: In any case, for me there are 2 things pretty clear:
1) it was not a gimme, it may be a referee's mistake, we can discuss about it, but not a gimme
2) We did not received much more than justice. Based on what was seen on the pitch, it was a fair result.

Well, how can I argue with the firepower of two unattributed, anonymous La Liga referees? :lol:

I'm happy that the better team on the night won, and have said so before. If you don't realise that it's more than justice to get two goals that you shouldn't have, well, you're in for a lot of matches when you will think you've been treated unfairly.
 
Well, how can I argue with the firepower of two unattributed, anonymous La Liga referees? :lol:

I'm happy that the better team on the night won, and have said so before. If you don't realise that it's more than justice to get two goals that you shouldn't have, well, you're in for a lot of matches when you will think you've been treated unfairly.

I am not sure on how to manage this, the better team won but there was more than justice. Geogre Bool would be pride about this statement
 
Heh, we are already fighting on Page One.

On another note, Independiente again ended one of Boca Juniors' unbeating runs.
15 matches until November '92 (1-0 away)
40 matches 1998-99 (4-0 at home)
18 matches 2000 (3-0 at home)
36 matches 2011-12 (5-4 away)
 
Thats a possibility, but consider this, we had what 4 teams in the Cl over the past few years and we have done well to reach the latter stages, I think the likelyhood that it was all down to luck rather slim!
Arsenal will be sick next season as long as VP stays. Imagine, VP, Podolski, Oxlade-chamberlain, Ramsey, Arteta its a mouthwatering prospect imo :D Wenger just needs to sign Klose and I think I will switch allergiance to arsenal :D
 
"Allergiance". You are allergic to Arsenal? :p
 
Bayern - Basel 7-0

Marseille eliminate Inter :egypt:
 
Makes a change. Finally got your 5th win at home this season, yay. Maybe now your 2012 form isn't in relegation territory (bottom 3 before today on 2012 results).
 
Liverpool prove the batch of old Argentine adages about derby macthes being completely different and unrelated to the rest of the campaign.

Is it true that Liverpool haven't ever scored more than three goals in the same match this season? :twitch:

I watched the Internazionale-Olympique Marseille game. Inter were dismal, they wouldn't even have won the second leg if it wasn't for that last-gasp penalty.
 
I watched the Internazionale-Olympique Marseille game. Inter were dismal, they wouldn't even have won the second leg if it wasn't for that last-gasp penalty.

I watched both legs. Marseille weren't any better*. It's going to be a memorable year if we get Barça-Madrid and Apoel-Marseille in the QFs. :lol:

* Inter, being a recent champion and all, obviously has a bigger responsibility though. It was slightly less dramatic today but in the 1st leg they had 9/11 players over 30. Talk about needing to rebuild...


My very late take on Evra's bootgate: maybe the referee considered that after going through a couple of Man Utd players, when the ball came back to Evra he wasn't playing the ball immediately to having accidentally lost the boot anymore. :dunno: I don't remember any similar occurrence but have a feeling this might have been an obscure exam question at referee school...
That said, the sequence of events between the free kick being given and the goal was as follows: free kick deep in Athletic territory; long ball to Man Utd's half; 2 Man Utd centre backs jump at the same ball in a place still nowhere near the box; they miss the clearance, head the ball the wrong way and get themselves out of the play; an Athletic player (de Marcos?) outruns a Man Utd player (Anderson?) to the loose ball despite the latter being initially closer to it; just at the edge of the box said Athletic player shoots and De Gea makes a save; Rafael fails to notice that he has a 10/15 meters head start over Muniain and doesn't make any attempt to clear the loose ball; Muniain comes out of nowhere, rushes past the static Rafael and scores.
IMO, it's such a ridiculous comedy of defensive errors following such a banal free kick (in terms of position in the field) it makes it a bit of a stretch to say the ref gifted this goal to Athletic (even assuming he had been wrong in awarding the bizarre/unusual free kick in the first place).

Anyway, Athletic were a joy to watch in that game so belated congrats Josu.
 
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Teixeira has resigned from his post as head of the CBF over allegations of corruption!

On other news, a ridiculous system for a new tournament has again been dumped. It had first a single-round-robin phase after whiche the top ten teams of the first division would go on to fight for the title while the top ten of each other division would fight it out for relegation/promotion with the lower half of the next division. Lolwut?

Argentina should just return to the system in place until 1990: double round-robin, 20 teams. as it used to be. :wallbash:
 
"a World Cup without England, Germany, the Dutch, Danes and Scandinavians – it's unthinkable."
The teams will be allowed to smuggle in their own alcohol, he should shut the **** up.
 
Anyway, Athletic were a joy to watch in that game so belated congrats Josu.

Agreed. I don't disagree with your description of the comedy of defensive errors that preceded the 3rd Athletic goal, it would also be fair to point out that half of the United team were bemused about the free-kick, and, thinking it was the equivalent of a drop-ball for injury or such like, were expecting Athletic to give the ball back to them. Their expectation was wrong, but it was as a direct consequence of the bizarre (oh, wait I can't say that, can I?) extremely odd free-kick decision.

Such is life. If it was the CL or the EPL, I'd feel more bothered about it.

Good comeback by Chelski tonight. Drogba is shameless, of course, and his behaviour is an embarrassment given how talented he is, but Chelsea did well nonetheless.
 
Shameless? You mean the diving and then playing peekaboo to see whether he should get up or not? High-def cameras are his worst enemy.

I don't understand Napoli's tactical setup, they just appeared to want to be boxed in.

Of course we all expectred Real Mandril to win today.

I wish thhat one day we could see Ronaldo and Messi playing for the same team -that is, assuming the universe doesn't implode.
 
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