2013/14 Soccer Thread

I meant if the teams had been reversed in that situation. If you believe that a referee would have given that penalty, for a player not even attempting to handle the ball deliberately, to the away team, then might I also interest you in buying this bridge ?

jowner - hate me if you must, but now that Spurs have signed Soldado, I'm going to have to predict that they will finish 4th.

davet010 wrote:

If you believe that a referee would have given that penalty, for a player not even attempting to handle the ball deliberately, to the away team

Yes.

Amazingly, I think I'm still the only person who has United as contenders. However, I'm not going to try to convince you how wrong you all are, so I can savour my "told you so" moment come May

Well, I suppose you have to do something to keep yourself interested in trophies - following United is a bit extreme though.

Haha, thought someone might react like that Yeah, it doesn't really please me to admit that they're a good team, but league tables don't lie.

Watched the pre-Emirates cup press conference earlier..

Wenger seems to be putting a lot of faith in Sanogo. He brought him up a few times then got fairly irritated and reminded the room about Sanogo when a reporter asked if he was worried about not making any significant signings. He was then asked to explain what kind of player he is and his response was "top quality striker". Apparently he'll feature on Sunday so I guess we'll see.. (I remain skeptical).

He also claims to be confident of more signings before August 31st. Time will tell.

Badferret wrote:

Looks like Dempsey to the Sounders. Hmm, wonder if there wasn't much interest from a top light European side?

The transfer fee is apparently $9 million which is (I think) high by MLS standards. I thought you could only use allocation money on transfer fees and I wouldn't think a team would have that much allocation.

Of course MLS plays fast and loose with the allocation rules as it sees fit. And I don't know anything about MLS.

Edit: A friend of mine who follows the league closer and blogs about it says it's his understanding that the transfer fee is just treated as part of the salary against the cap, so for DPs it doesn't matter. so I guess that makes sense.

Bloody complicated MLS financial structure. I guess if you're going to be a "single-entity" cartel you may as well make things as obtuse as possible.

Looks like Dempsey to the Sounders. Hmm, wonder if there wasn't much interest from a top flight European side?

It shows how transfer fees are very often just hype and no substance. And managers are stupid. Based on his last two seasons, Dempsey would easily strenghten any PL team outside top four, yet no one was in for him?

I'm not sure that he would, based on last season at Spurs. He never really seemed to fit into their system, and made just inconsequential sub appearances a lot of the time. I'm also guessing that the age and the mileage is starting to be a bit of a problem as well.

Let's be honest, if you followed a team with realistic European pretensions, and your mate rang you up and said 'We've just signed Clint Dempsey', would you be jumping up and down thinking that those ambitions had been given a little more strength ?

davet010 wrote:

I'm not sure that he would, based on last season at Spurs. He never really seemed to fit into their system, and made just inconsequential sub appearances a lot of the time. I'm also guessing that the age and the mileage is starting to be a bit of a problem as well.

Well, it's hardly his fault that they had too many attacking midfielders. When he came on (in few games that I've seen, admittedly) he looked good. And that's why I'm saying it's all hype - he had one season where no one was bigging him up and all of a sudden no one wants him anymore.

I doubt anyone in Europe were willing to match the $8 million USD/year he's apparently getting from Seattle. He's a good player but I don't think he's a £100,000/week player.

Wait, they actually pay him that? Okay, I take it all back.

Leeds won in the dying moments, it truly is a new season for us, last year goals in the last 10 mins or so killed us. Still, our squad is average at best and who the hell knows what is going on with our owners.

Look on the bright side mate - you've gotten rid of Ken Bates. And aren't your owners looking to buy the ground back ?

Gervinho is in Roma apparently for his medical.

addition by subtraction IMO.

He might come good, like Samaras.

Oh wait, he's going to a professional league.

Chamakh going to Crystal Palace apparently, quite a step down.

Looking at the team who played today and the subs bench there really aren't many players left, definitely no depth. (Bendtner doesn't count).
Also nice to see Drogba hasn't forgotten how to dive.

I enjoyed this.

"Where is he from? Is he from England?"
"Wales"
"Wales? Is that another country?"
"Yes and no."

Well made.

Aww... it seems GWJ isn't very into MLS. My friend got me playing FIFA earlier this year and I have been having trouble getting into EPL, but MLS is just so much fun. I hope more Americans get into it.

On another note, apparently I'm to support Liverpool. My friends all support em and I know better than to pick Chelsea or Man U. I think that means I am enemies with a handful of you. Can't be sure who though. Exciting times.

MLS has a lot of things preventing me from really getting into it, the biggest being the nearest team is a 13-hour drive away which means I'm about as likely to attend a match in England as I am an MLS match. If I lived in Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto I'd probably have season tickets (Well, with Toronto I would have stopped buying them in disgust) but I just can't find any reason to get emotionally invested.

Having the North American franchise structure isn't something I like either and the salary and roster rules are nothing short of Byzantine.

Plus MLS is too arbitrary. You have the league office doing stuff like blocking Toronto from signing Olof Mellberg as a Designtated Player because they don't want to have defenders being DPs but about a year later Omar Gonzalez is apparently going to become a Designated Player for LA. The league office meddles way too much with what individual teams are doing in the name of "doing what's best for the US Soccer/MLS as a whole"

As for Liverpool, I'm just not a fan of the club's "outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing" ethos. I think the club's back on track after the Daglish disaster (buying English from the Premier League is always a terrible idea) but I don't think of them in a positive light.

In any case, welcome aboard. We tend not to bite and we don't seem to have one team that's overwhelmingly supported around here. It will also be 2 years before I start moaning about the terrible state of the Canadian Men's National Team again so you should be able to avoid that unless Junior Hoilett ends up playing for Jamaica in the meantime.

Roke wrote:

As for Liverpool, I'm just not a fan of the club's "outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing" ethos.

I wouldn't read too much into that - it takes that attitude from the city in which it is based.

But why follow Liverpool just because your friends do ? If you have no connection with Liverpool the place, then pick anyone you like (in your situation I'd pick Everton, but that's just me and I wouldn't want to condemn anyone to that), or you could use that NBC team picker thingy.

Just don't follow Man United. Seriously. Just don't.

davet010 wrote:
Roke wrote:

As for Liverpool, I'm just not a fan of the club's "outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing" ethos.

I wouldn't read too much into that - it takes that attitude from the city in which it is based.

But why follow Liverpool just because your friends do ? If you have no connection with Liverpool the place, then pick anyone you like (in your situation I'd pick Everton, but that's just me and I wouldn't want to condemn anyone to that), or you could use that NBC team picker thingy.

Just don't follow Man United. Seriously. Just don't.

Wait, what NBC team picker?

Edit: Wah, found it!

Edit: Lol, it tried to give me Man U. No thanks, homie.

Edit: And now it's giving me Crystal Palace. No.

I'm sticking with Liverpool. Camaraderie with mates is enough of a reason for me. I'll still bleed Blue and Gold for MLS, but for EPL I'll at least people able to answer the question "Who do you support?"

Don't support anyone, just watch the game.

Anyone who can manage that trick for more than 5 minutes needs to find something else to do.

davet010 wrote:

Anyone who can manage that trick for more than 5 minutes needs to find something else to do.

I did, for the first 3-4years I got into the game. I didn't settle on Fulham until they signed Brian McBride. It's possible to enjoy a sport's drama dispassionately at the outset. Rooting interests develop naturally in their own time. We can't all be "CITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEH[color=blue][size=30]CITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEH[/size][/color]CITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEHCITEH" 24 hours a day.

Just think, in the time you spent doing that, you could actually have done something worthwhile. Like sorting out your Fantasy League team, perhaps.

As for watching sport dispassionately, that can only be done by someone who doesn't watch the game live. Surely you start to root for one team or another, as the commentators should inform you of the subplots around the teams ? Are they local rivals ? Is one team struggling to survive ? Is the other team the evil rich kids ? Which one is the plucky underdogs ?

If sport ends up being between two shades of beige neither of which excites any interest at all in you, then that's a bit of a shame. It's not like going to watch an Ibsen play - it's a contest, in which the on-field action of an inflated bladder being booted about is only the momentary enaction of a much larger picture.

At the risk of being told I'm doing it wrong by davet010 (;)), let me say that I've been following English football for 15 years and still don't have a sole team that I support.

I do agree that it's impossible to follow the sport dispassionately, however, as you get caught up in all the stories and subplots that davet010 mentioned. In fact, as someone in the US without a deep understanding of the natural rivalries and characters of the different clubs, I've developed affection and dislike for clubs, players and managers in England that I imagine would seem completely irrational to anyone there.

For example, I don't particularly care for Arsenal, but I find Arsene Wenger hilarious. I have a soft spot for Chelsea ever since I watched the 1997 FA Cup Final in a pub in Edinburgh. I pull for Blackburn, despite it being a mess of a club, because it was the first team I managed in Championship Manager. Alan Shearer was in his prime when I started following English football, so I root for Newcastle, but I don't despise Sunderland as I know members of the Toon Army should. Not a Liverpool fan, but always liked Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen. Disliked Alex Ferguson and Manchester United from the get go -- it seemed to come naturally. I also will tend to root for West Ham, Southampton, and QPR (although Joey Barton can go you-know-where).

I know, I'm all over the map. But, I end up with a rooting interest in most matches, either out of some long-term affinity for club, player or manager, or the circumstances of the season. Regardless, that's my long way of saying that I agree that you don't necessarily need to pick one club to enjoy following the game.

Grubber788 wrote:

On another note, apparently I'm to support Liverpool. My friends all support em and I know better than to pick Chelsea or Man U. I think that means I am enemies with a handful of you. Can't be sure who though. Exciting times.

Me. I am your enemy.

I don't really have a favorite, but I love watching the Premier League. The high-octane combination of physical football with some of the technically most skilled players in the world is amazing, and it seems even more amazing since MotD starts right after the summaries of Belgian first league are finished.

I used to support whichever team had a Belgian in it, but that system has become unsustainable I cannot not be a huge fan of Vincent Kompany though, and thus by proxy Man City, even though I loathe the spoiled-brat-buys-club-as-playtoy bullcrap.