2010/11 Soccer Thread - Hitting The Home Stretch

I've just realized that I forgot to reply to all that Arsenal talk: well, obviously we all realize that overall Arsenal is in very good position. Everyone (who has brain) is disappointed on *relative* scale. Even me, though I don't really care about silverware. It's just annoying because you see that this team is not reaching it's potential and maybe not even trying as hard to do that as everyone else.
It's like everyone involved (directors, Arsene, staff, players) realised the thing you said (that even finishing fourth is no calamity) and it keeps them from trying harder.
Usually all talk about lack of ambition is load of bollocks, but in this case it would do Arsenal a world of good to forget about their how well they already play.

I guess that explains some of fans' reaction. Some of them aren't actually angry-angry, they just want to motivate club to try harder because fear of stagnation is getting bigger with every season.

@Pred:
Sweet Jesus, they have a statue of... SAMOVAR:
IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Samovar_Lenkoran_Azerbaijan.JPG/784px-Samovar_Lenkoran_Azerbaijan.JPG)

Quick, let us book some tickets while they're still cheap.

You spend good part of the season in top two only to drop out of play-offs after this.

Having managed both Cardiff (funny enough, I remember I had a problem finding a decent keeper) and Swansea in recent FMs I was hoping for all-Welsh play-offs final.

I'm hoping at least one of the Welshies will make it through, although in honesty, i'm hoping more to see lil' Huddersfield Town make it back to the Championship.

P.S. - I'm totally going to have to take a month off sometime and do a Football tour of Europe, although my plan is to see games anywhere, not just pay through the nose for the top-level stuff. I actually would fancy seeing Reading, or even Notts Co.

/Obligatory St. Pauli visit

Prederick wrote:

P.S. - I'm totally going to have to take a month off sometime and do a Football tour of Europe, although my plan is to see games anywhere, not just pay through the nose for the top-level stuff. I actually would fancy seeing Reading, or even Notts Co.

/Obligatory St. Pauli visit

And don't forget about Lankaran!

I'm hoping to get in a visit to 1860 Munchen this autumn, already been to the Allianz for a look around but want to go and see them next season, good sized crowd for some 2.Bundesliga mediocrity. I've got an 1860 coffee mug at work, which usually prompts the question "why the hell have you got that ?" Of course my office next week will have my old Barcelona shirt hanging up in it, just to annoy fans of the vermin.

Wandering round the Allianz was hilarious. We found the Bayern club shop in about 3 minutes (size of a supermarket, full of overpriced tat), wandered round for 15 minutes looking for the 1860 one, eventually the fourth stadium employee we asked pointed us in the direction of a poky hovel the size of a small corner shop, inhabited by 3 bored assistants who looked slightly startled when we wandered in. I asked (via my cousin, as my German is all but non existent apart from inappropriate historical terms) for the new home shirt. The answer 'not done yet, club is finalising sponsors' was somewhat surprising, given that this was the last week of August. Symptomatic of the club, apparently.

Pred, if you go to the UK I can recommend the following

Huddersfield (v nice stadium for the division they are in)
Morecambe (well, it'd be an experience)
Partick Thistle (the 'third way' of Glasgow football, ie no sectarian bigotry nonsense)
Queens Park (seeing them play at Hampden Park is a surreal experience. I went last time I visited friends in Glasgow, and we were in a 52,000 seater stadium, in a crowd of....715. Only £11 in though !)

I've had a soft spot for Huddersfield ever since I discovered HTFC-World. I could only wish he updated more often.

Meanwhile, in "sh*t we made up during our lunch hour" news, City are rumored to be considering a bid for everyone's favorite petulant git of a goalscoring machine, Cristiano Ronaldo. I won't tell you what the numbers bandied around are, just know his buyout is at a billion, and then make up your own. Congratulations! Now you work for The Sun/Daily Mail!

In other news, Tevez = Out, Denilson = Out, United = Playing its first teamers, Defoe = Out.

Tevez is now saying that his interview on Argentine radio was spun by them for effect - ie "I want to come back and play in Argentina". There's no chance of that happening unless one of the clubs strikes oil, and lots of it, so he's stuck in Europe. The 'trophies/CL thing won't wash now', so if he angles for a move anywhere it will be more obvious than ever that it's just for money, so good luck with that. Most of it is the Daily Mirror just writing whatever sh*t comes into their skulls, ditto with the Ladyboy nonsense, though any talk about 'City fans won't accept him' could be cancelled out by pointing at Craig Bellamy.

Overseas viewers who are somewhat bemused tomorrow by songs about a certain Premiership player who isn't on either side are hereby informed that this will be about the player who has taken out what is known as a 'super-injunction' in an attempt to quash all mention of his affair with a reality show contestant (she's well tidy, but he is married). He's also attempting to sue Twitter, so everyone on there is chain repeating it.

Do I know who it is ? Oh yes indeed.

Here's a non-actionable clue - (4,5), once on City's books. Looks like something that lives on the side of Notre Dame.

In proper football news, AFC Wimbledon return to the Football League after beating Luton 4-3 on penalties. It was at Eastlands, and I was thinking of going in order to vent my hatred on Luton, but £45 was a bit steep for that. Still, can't wait til they end up in the same division as MK Franchise.

So it's 40 in 38 for Cristiano Ronaldo at Madrid. It's an astonishing feat, and yet, i'm beginning to wonder if it isn't as impressive anymore due to the nature with which RM/Barca have been tearing through the league. Credit to them, certainly, and you play the teams infront of you each week, so it's not your fault if you're very, very good. But some of those scores have been FM-like.

FM-like, if you were cheating, mind.

Scottish league with paella.

davet010 wrote:

Here's a non-actionable clue - (4,5), once on City's books. Looks like something that lives on the side of Notre Dame.

I would've gone with "very, very, very hairy."

Yes, as demonstrated on TV unfortunately.

davet010 wrote:

Scottish league with paella.

Not the best defending, yes.

Indeed - although it is fair to say that Almeria had already been relegated last week. Still, even by the second goal some of their defenders had clearly decided that actually tracking the runners was beneath them.

Nice to see Adebayor adding to his price.

Mmm, Survival Sunday. Time to settle down with some popcorn and enjoy the carnage.

Any two from Blackburn, Wigan and Birmingham, please.

Prederick wrote:
davet010 wrote:

Here's a non-actionable clue - (4,5), once on City's books. Looks like something that lives on the side of Notre Dame.

I would've gone with "very, very, very hairy."

Obviously the estimated £250k that this individual has spent on barristers has been totally worth it - here's today's Scottish Sunday Herald

IMAGE(http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/303973020.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306055709&Signature=dIogBiyWBUbJwuDI4z375oqxwNU%3D)

If he'd just 'fessed up, he'd just be dealing with his missus while everyone else would be looking for pictures of Imogen Thomas and thinking 'lucky bastard'. Instead he's £250k lighter in the wallet and a complete laughing-stock. It's fair to say though that he's not the brightest bulb in the box.

Good job lads - no nasty qualifying banana skins for us.

IMAGE(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52892000/jpg/_52892938_city.jpg)

Blackpool and Birmingham get the drop, at one point both were safe. Shame that Wigan stayed up, but you can't have everything.

Can't laugh at Birmingham fans though, been there myself 5 times.

davet010 wrote:

Obviously the estimated £250k that this individual has spent on barristers has been totally worth it - here's today's Scottish Sunday Herald

IMAGE(http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/303973020.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306055709&Signature=dIogBiyWBUbJwuDI4z375oqxwNU%3D)

If he'd just 'fessed up, he'd just be dealing with his missus while everyone else would be looking for pictures of Imogen Thomas and thinking 'lucky bastard'. Instead he's £250k lighter in the wallet and a complete laughing-stock. It's fair to say though that he's not the brightest bulb in the box.

OH MY GOODNESS NOT DION DUBLIN

Only if he lost a letter from his surname

Nice to see McCarthy stay up. Birmingham won't be missed (as any team with Lee Bowyer in it), very much unlike Blackpool.

And here's something from the least important game today:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodi...

And that turns out to have been Carlo's last game in charge. Get ready for the Russian money-launderer to bring Guus Hiddink back, unless he goes for an amusing choice and picks Ian Holloway.

I feel sorry for Ancelotti, he probably did well under circumstances. Hiddink seems to be obvious replacement, I wonder whether he can make it work (and how big will he be allowed to spend). Of all top 5-6 clubs Chelsea seems in most immediate need of sorting stuff out.

(edit: Unless Arsenal can't keep Fabregas.)

To be honest, I think that if Arsenal get a decent payoff for Fabregas, then his constant absences and 'will he won't he' speculation might mean that he's a diversion which you could do without if properly replaced.

I still don't see why Barcelona would buy him, though - or why he would go there just to warm his arse on the bench, a la Mascherano.

I'd say Fabreagas transfer would have more out- than on-pitch implications. Reputation of Arsenal as truly big, world-class club is hanging on few threads and we probably shouldn't underestimate role of big-club image in ability to succeed. If Arsene wants to keep other good players, keep spirits high among those who stay and be able to attract some new signings he probably should stick with Fabregas.
Or at least even if he goes, we have to pretend we are fighting very hard to keep him.

Leighton Baines played all 38 games *in whole*. Forget Bale, Adam, Parker, there's your player of the season. We often say that benchmark should be how consistently a player can perform, but probably forget that his absences should also count against him. Maybe van Persie is most prolific striker in Premier League, but it's still 18 goals in only 19 starts, which means that in half of the games we had to start with Chamakh/Bendtner and he takes part of their blame for their poor performances too.

I think the last sentence of your first paragraph would be the ideal scenario.

Baines ? Might play every game, but I can't say that he really makes me sit up when I see him.

My player of the season ? Big Vince - no question. Best CB in the Premiership by a mile.

IMAGE(http://content.mcfc.co.uk/~/media/Images/Home/News/Players/0910%20season%20first%20team/Kompany/vincent_kompany_v_fulham.ashx)

tangent: I was always surprised at how poor his stats in FM were because I had him for proper defender

davet010 wrote:

I think the last sentence of your first paragraph would be the ideal scenario.

Yes.

This, apparently, is next year's away kit. Not sure about sleeves, but looks pretty mint.

IMAGE(http://blog.umbro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/manchester_city_mennequin.jpg)

And according to the Daily Telegraph, Carlos Tevez had stormed off home to Argentina in a huff.

Sure doesn't look that way.

IMAGE(http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03qW63j2ow3pN/610x.jpg)

Fun as this season's been, there is something that I don't really enjoy, which is that looking at the table, everyone from 8th through 16th feels completely interchangeable. As in, if you swapped them around, it wouldn't seem any different or out of place. Sure, this is in part because there's only seven points separating top from bottom, but it's also that all of those teams seem inextricably locked into those positions, save for a rare foray into 6th, or relegation.

I know i'll be rooting for City to put up a serious title challenge next year, because change is always good, and this kind of set-in-stone stratification is always a bad thing. Thank god for the Bundesliga, at least.

Oh, and credit to the wonderful Brad Friedel, arguably at this point the best player America's ever produced. It's saying something when you're 40 and several top-half Premiership clubs are rumored to want your services (although why Liverpool are in the mix is beyond me as Pepe Reina is quite good).