2011/12 Soccer Thread - Because Vacations Are For Cowards

Bayern and Spurs to lose in the qualifier double!

Blackpool 1 West Ham 2 in the Championship playoff final. Blackpool certainly had their chances early in the second half, and it is a shame when that fat oozing fraud Allardyce gets back to the Premiership. Still, the Liverpool and Chelsea jobs may still come calling...in his dreams at least.

1-0 up at home, 2 minutes to go, European Champs League final...

Bayern Munich - BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH

Arjen Robben - HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH

Tottenham - HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH

I hope you are choking on that, Hoeness and Rumenigge.

Oh, and Jerome Boateng - F**k you buddy, in a big way. Why not give Vince Kompany a ring, ask him what medals look like, you gutless swine.

EDIT - Mate of mine has just reminded me of the Bayern fans at the Emirates laughing at us while we were beating them 2-0 because Napoli's result vs Villareal put us out.

GUESS WHO'S LAUGHING NOW ?

EDIT2 - And who lost Drogba on the corner ? Jerome Boateng, take a bow. Then f**k off.

EDIT3 - Unfortunately, UEFA allow banned players to get involved in the celebrations, so TOM could get his hands on the trophy. Gutted. But not too much.

Bayern really should have won the match. I don't think they generated a tonne of clear-cut chances but they had enough decent ones to have won without much of a problem. If it wasn't for Terry I think I would be pretty happy to see Chelsea win.

The colour commentator on the feed we got in Canada was dismal. The guy didn't know that Tymoschuk's natural position was in midfield, thought Muller had a great game and should have never been subbed (I thought he was poor except for his goal), and predicting great hits on set piece for no reason whatsoever other than "he's done poorly all game".

Spurs will have an interesting summer ahead. If Tottenham do sell Modric, Bale, and van der Vaart it will be interesting to see how Harry spends what cash is made available to him.

A Belgian newspaper headlined "The Day Football Died A Little". Sounds about right. And now these London f*ckers get to play the Champions Leauge, while Anderlecht (the CHAMPION of Belgium) has to play two qualifiers.

Blame UEFA and their coefficients. Given that Platini hates England, just imagine what the true coefficient would be for the only country to have 5 different winners of the European Cup and at least 5 different other clubs who have won another European club trophy.

I just wish the Russian moneylaunderer had gone up to collect the trophy and slapped Platini in the face with a stack of roubles. Hard.

For a small league like the Belgian one the repercussions of not getting into the CL are big. Not only do you miss the 5 million Euro starters fee which is about 20% of Anderlecht's yearly budget, it's also a very convincing argument in contract negotiations. Belgium's Jupiler League is known for being a good step-up league, so a lot of young non-European talents play here before moving up to a more lucrative league. Being able to tell a potential transfer that he'll get to show off in at least 6 CL matches is a huge boon during negotiations. It could also convince our current talents Mbokani and Mattias Suarez to stay another year. Anderlecht loses those perks until August, in the best case.

So yeah, it feels very sour to lose that place to a team bought by a Russian white collar criminal. Especially seeing their pathetic display throughout the season. We're already at a disadvantage due to scale when it comes to attendance fees and tv money, so it would be nice if at least the UEFA would p(l)ay fair.

To end on a positive note, here's a goal by Suarez/Mbokani you probably haven't seen but should (at 4:00 in the vid):

Nice one. Not as nice as last two Falcao goals though. Look them up.

Oh I've seen them. And I agree

Is it just me, or does this Hazard chap come across as a massively needy cockhead ?

"Oooo, I might be going to Manchester. I might be playing in blue. Chelsea are interesting now they are in the CL."

Wants the best part of 200k/wk, club wants 30m. Amazing what people think they are worth when they score in a second-rate league. Maybe he should go off to PSG. Maybe he should STFU.

Talking of other utter gobsh*tes with a vast chasm between their self-image and reality, another on Liverpool's shopping list (and more towards the 'believable' end) is Frank de Boer. I'd give him, ooo, a week before totally pissing someone off. Would be amusing though.

Hazard is a young chap and has been surrounded by groupies and yes-men since he was 16. He's been elected MVP of France twice in a row now at age 21. So yes he needs a reality check, but no he does not seem like a massively needy cockhead either.

We know what he's like in Belgium too. After Georges Leekens substituted him in the all-important qualifier at home against Turkey, he went out during the game to grab a burger. And was caught on camera while taking a bite. His popularity dropped a bit after that incident

sounds like a potential Yoann Gourcuff to me.

why I respect Wengers transfer policy of not splashing 30m around.

He's going to end up at MU. He's obviously already well trained in running his mouth off for no reason. No doubt he thinks he's being clever by saying 'they play in blue', knowing full well that United's away shirt next year is a blue gingham atrocity.

And I'm sorry, but yapping every day about which club you are going to, thinking that you might have the fans on tenterhooks - and then giving a deadline when you will announce your decision, all points to one thing - needy cockhead.

Every time davet010 posts, I can count on seeing the latest updates to "Manchester City is awesome and are the only ones who can play football".

Dimmerswitch wrote:

Every time davet010 posts, I can count on seeing the latest updates to "Manchester City is awesome and are the only ones who can play football". :)

Cant wait for City to sign him so Dave has to do a 180 on his feelings

Dimmerswitch wrote:

Every time davet010 posts, I can count on seeing the latest updates to "Manchester City is awesome and are the only ones who can play football". :)

I am merely a conduit through which the truth is made known to you all, even those of you who were taken in by Darth Fergie's laughable 'Mind Games'.

I would prefer City's transfer business to look something like this.

OUT
- Crocky, Adebayor, Tevez (to Italy or Spain ONLY), Johnson (he's going to lose his England place soon, and Bert doesn't play with wingers), Weiss, Boyata, De Jong, Lescott

IN - Guidetti (done great on loan in Holland), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (unlikely) or Llorente (Athletic), HARD AS NAILS centre half, Daniele de Rossi.

davet010 wrote:

He's going to end up at MU. He's obviously already well trained in running his mouth off for no reason. No doubt he thinks he's being clever by saying 'they play in blue', knowing full well that United's away shirt next year is a blue gingham atrocity.

And I'm sorry, but yapping every day about which club you are going to, thinking that you might have the fans on tenterhooks - and then giving a deadline when you will announce your decision, all points to one thing - needy cockhead.

ha!

given his wage demands and all this rubbish talk about 'amibitions', I have had him pegged for City or Chelsea. ;p

o/ Pikey.

United were the team most strongly linked with him in the press over here. I'd be surprised if Chelsea sprung so much for him, as they have even less chance of making FFP than City, and it sounds as though they will have to be replacing Drogba as well with no incoming cash for him. Could have done without Chelsea picking up Marko Marin though.

Papers here also seem to be having United going for Kagawa and Lewandoski - I guess the financial rules in the Bundesliga mean that Dortmund couldn't match any massive offer that MU choose to make. Kagawa is also got only one year left on his contract, so Dortmund may choose to cash in. I guess they'll be hoping that he has more suitors than MU.

Almunia released and Fabianski vocal about leaving. Maybe Eboue can be Arsenal's backup goal keeper in order to stay healthy?

davet010 wrote:

o/ Pikey.

United were the team most strongly linked with him in the press over here. I'd be surprised if Chelsea sprung so much for him, as they have even less chance of making FFP than City, and it sounds as though they will have to be replacing Drogba as well with no incoming cash for him. Could have done without Chelsea picking up Marko Marin though.

Papers here also seem to be having United going for Kagawa and Lewandoski - I guess the financial rules in the Bundesliga mean that Dortmund couldn't match any massive offer that MU choose to make. Kagawa is also got only one year left on his contract, so Dortmund may choose to cash in. I guess they'll be hoping that he has more suitors than MU.

The press 'over there' is available all over online here too. What do you think I read? ESPN online? pfft. Any press outside of England and the respective country of the transfer targets involved are usually at least two to three days behind.

Anyways, as far as I can see, there's been a constant pendulum shift between United and City because how non-commital Hazard has been. He's a classic case of 'the agent inciting the tug of war' between prospects. I don't really believe Hazard gives two flying f*cks about where he winds up, as long as he sees top-tier football, which leaves him with City, United, and possibly Chelsea without much personal bias for any of them. United is United, City is a growing force that just got crowned Champions, and Chelsea just had a fairy tale campaign on the Europe's biggest stage.

Ferguson will very most likely pass on Hazard with the whole he's 'not a good value' bs just like he did Sneijder, regardless of how much we needed them. The Glazers bullsh*t situation + Ferguson's absolute stubbornness to do everything 'his way' (and his loyalty to Glazers if there are any left) will most likely see us miss out on Hazard unfortunately.

Mancini has all the money available to him in the world still. Granted he has the FFP rules to start worrying about now, but if he decides Hazard is needed, there's not much stopping him financially and City will most likely land him. City has a few dead-weights that are massive money sinks that it can do without, and once those dead-weights are cleaned out over the summer, I am sure there's room to fit Hazard in yet. Also, I don't think penalties for FFP kicks in until the year after this anyway, don't they? Should Mancini decided they want him, City will gain yet again another 150+ a week player that no other clubs could dream of matching just cause City decided they wanted him and will throw money at him. That said based on the hype, Hazard just might be worth that level of Salary, just like some of City's more recent acquisitions, which is personally just unsettling. Not to mention, City actually won something worth a damn now, so the whole 'lol look at those rich losers' stigma really isn't in the way of City anymore either.

Chelsea, I don't know if Abromovich is gonna drop the club like a cheap hooker or keep pouring money into the club now that he's finally realized his 'dream', but if the money pouring into Chelsea is to continue, Hazard is verrry much a prospect. That said Chelsea needs to finalize its manager situation first before dropping big loads on any players just yet.

At the end of the day, I can easily see this 'transfer saga' getting dragged out well past the Euros. The agent is probably keen on dragging this fair out as long as possible to get a full handle on all of Hazard's options, and as far as I can see Hazard probably has enough hubris to believe that his performance (lol France's performance*) at the Euros will give him more exposure and inflate his value. I do think Hazard is not as much of a prick as you seem to think he is, but chances are his ego probably is currently out of control him being the king of the pond and his young age. If he ends up in the Premier League, he'll get his due reality check whichever club he winds up at.

Either way, as far as top talents are concerned, European football is now a place of ridiculous games of auctioneering more so than ever. "Only god knows" what can happen with Hazard.

Pikey26 wrote:

stuff

so.... he will go to the club who offer the largest transfer fee + signing bonus + wages? caveat the club not being located in Siberia. That was much easier. Also notice how Arsenal are right out of the rumors?

not sure what you mean by espn... Soccernet is usually pretty good and up to date. They also have a good habit of sorting out the complete utter nonsense.

edit: My prediction is that he ends up at the club that actually wants him. Problem for United is Chelsea/City are rich enough to just bid them up out of spite. Have fun with that.

bigred wrote:

Almunia released and Fabianski vocal about leaving. Maybe Eboue can be Arsenal's backup goal keeper in order to stay healthy?

are you a United or Arsenal fan. I cant tell from your previous posts.

There's not much chance Hazard will get exposure at the Euros, as he's a Belgian and we didn't qualify.

As I wrote ten posts above:

We know what he's like in Belgium too. After Georges Leekens substituted him in the all-important qualifier at home against Turkey, he went out during the game to grab a burger. And was caught on camera while taking a bite. His popularity dropped a bit after that incident

I'm surprised nobody noticed :-O

I'm hoping he's going to Anzhi Prokhorovka, or whatever they are called.

jowner wrote:
Pikey26 wrote:

stuff

so.... he will go to the club who offer the largest transfer fee + signing bonus + wages? caveat the club not being located in Siberia. That was much easier. Also notice how Arsenal are right out of the rumors?

not sure what you mean by espn... Soccernet is usually pretty good and up to date. They also have a good habit of sorting out the complete utter nonsense.

edit: My prediction is that he ends up at the club that actually wants him. Problem for United is Chelsea/City are rich enough to just bid them up out of spite. Have fun with that.

+ champions league football. I was just breaking down the current three prospects, City, United, and apparently Chelsea.

Never really looked at Soccernet til you mentioned it. I just assumed it was one of those generic sites that just re-print whatever on-site news source report on into four different articles like Goal.com. I guess I'd have to check it out.

My prediction is money will talk more than what anyone 'really wants.' That isn't to mention, I think Chelsea/City would be bidding on Hazard because they'd genuinely want him, and less to just deny him to a rival (as often happens in other leagues, aka RM/Barca). City needs more width, Chelsea needs everything, and United could most certainly use him as well. Also, even if Chelsea/City bid up out of spite and to screw with United's tight wallet, Ferguson just doesn't play the bidding game at all these days. The moment a different club comes in about a TOP player we're also looking at, United has quite often pussied out these days. And really the problem is that it's not out of 'choice' like Ferguson tends to pretend... we don't really seem to have a choice but surrender when that game gets played... and then we go off and buy players like Ashley Young for what players like Sneijder should have been priced at in the first place.

jowner wrote:
bigred wrote:

Almunia released and Fabianski vocal about leaving. Maybe Eboue can be Arsenal's backup goal keeper in order to stay healthy?

are you a United or Arsenal fan. I cant tell from your previous posts.

United? Ew

I was just rooting for them because seeing Nasri hold up the trophy is disgusting, especially with the "awesome" form he's had this season.

Last minute winner against Chelsea, he'll do for me.

Not quite sure why "City need more width" - in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the fullbacks are meant to do that, and with Kolarov/Clichy on the left and PabZab/Richards on the right, I think we got that covered. In any event, width is more of a tactic where you have target strikers in the middle, like Dzeko. Bert's attitude to width would seem to be indicated by Johnson's splinter count.

12 game ban for Mr J.Barton esq. 4 for the initial elbow on Tevez, then 8 for kicking Aguero and attempting to butt Kompany.

Apparently Danny Mills (one of the few City players I hated while he was at the club for reasons other than football competence or the lack thereof) believes 12 games to be overly harsh, and prompted by Barton's 'previous'. Seems consistent with other in-game assault charges to me (di Canio got 11 for pushing the ref over, for example).

Does make it a bit difficult for Hughes to get rid of a player who's due to miss a third of a season, however.

davet010 wrote:

12 game ban for Mr J.Barton esq. 4 for the initial elbow on Tevez, then 8 for kicking Aguero and attempting to butt Kompany.

Apparently Danny Mills (one of the few City players I hated while he was at the club for reasons other than football competence or the lack thereof) believes 12 games to be overly harsh, and prompted by Barton's 'previous'. Seems consistent with other in-game assault charges to me (di Canio got 11 for pushing the ref over, for example).

Does make it a bit difficult for Hughes to get rid of a player who's due to miss a third of a season, however.

its not 1/3 if hes playing in the Championship

I usually don't like to dwell overtly on negativity of other clubs but I can't help but ask... is this guy f*cking serious?

Chelsea Chief, Ron Gourlay[/url] ]"When you take into account how many managers have been sacked or not, when you look at the success we have had on the field it has been there," he said. "We have demonstrated, whether you like our model or not, and we have delivered."

You'd have to have your head pretty damn far up your ass to mutter those kinds of words with a straight face if you were in his shoes.

ps. Kudos to getting me to look at soccernet (I had no idea ESPN owned them), it seems most major english news outlets left out that piece of the ridiculous ramble.