Football

Baseball, Basketball, Footbal, Soccer, Curling, Poker, ect...

Moderators: Lord Mhoram, StevieG, hierachy

User avatar
Cleburne
Bloodguard
Posts: 991
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:56 pm
Location: City of Verulanium, England

Post by Cleburne »

Sounds like it was a good game. What division is that in :?:
A lie well told and told often enough,I'm damned if the truth will ever catch up with it!
User avatar
stonemaybe
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 4836
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:37 am
Location: Wallowing in the Zider Zee

Post by stonemaybe »

Cleburne wrote:Sounds like it was a good game. What division is that in :?:
Coca-cola League One. THE standard of excellence :lol:
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11

(:/>
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

4 wins out of 4 for Capello's England and 12 points on the board. They were all large victories but the score line no where near reflects the poor performances of the England players... well not in Croatia game and beyond 70mins for the others.
Nonetheless, wins are wins and they mean points.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
stonemaybe
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 4836
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:37 am
Location: Wallowing in the Zider Zee

Post by stonemaybe »

Going to another Cheltenham game this afternoon - they're playing Scunthorpe, who're top of League One. Cheltenham's new manager seems to be getting them playing well, and has brought in a few good loan signings (a Leicester defender this week, to add to 2 good forwards, Fleetwood and Hayles - yup, Barry! - ) so judging by their scorelines over the last few games, I'm predicting (and backing at 74-1!) a 3-3 draw!

Edit: what a bummer! Cheltenham were by far the superior team for most of the game, which was great. Unfortunately Scunthorpe scored on the break in first half, and though Cheltenham equalised in 2nd, they got the winner, again on the break, on 89 minutes. Atmosphere was ..on the edge... as linesmen and referee had a shocker, and though there were three serious injuries in 2nd half (one on goallie), they only added 3 minutes on, half of which was used up by a scunthorpe substitution. Still, cheltenham played very well, the support was turned up from it's usual '4' to about '7', as I think fans are now expecting to get something out of every match. An afternoon well spent!
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11

(:/>
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

Something strange has happened where Tottenham have sacked Juande Ramos... that is not the strange part. The strange part is that they have replaced him with Harry Redknapp, who has left Portsmouth. Why would Harry Redknapp leave Portsmouth for Tottenham? The only reason I can think of is that Tottenham have more money to offer Redknapp than Portmouth.

The other surprise is that Hull are on 20 points. This may not seem strange but it is because Chelsea and Liverpool(both unbeaten) are also on 20 points. Hull are part of a three way tie at the top. Will this last? No. Hull have Chelsea next week and then Man U to follow. Beating Arsenal was impressive but Arsenal have a young experimental side, Tottenham and Newcastle were teams in crises, while Fulham and West Brom are not that good anyway. Chelsea and Man U have big experienced squads which will match Hull plus Wigan had this kind of start a few years back, Hull will not sustain this.

If Hull beat Chelsea and Man U or get anything out the two games... I will eat my hat... or do something else
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
stonemaybe
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 4836
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:37 am
Location: Wallowing in the Zider Zee

Post by stonemaybe »

:D I'm expecting you to eat your hat later, Quee! I suspect Hull will kick ManU's arse!
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11

(:/>
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

I'm eating no hat because Hull got beaten by Chelsea and Man U which is good but Arsenal lost to Stoke and drew Spurs meaning that Arsenal really need some experience rather than kids in the team.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
Unfettered One
<i>Elohim</i>
Posts: 113
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:36 pm
Location: Plano, TX

Post by Unfettered One »

Had to post, to change the number of replies...
Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience. - Albert Einstein

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain
User avatar
stonemaybe
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 4836
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:37 am
Location: Wallowing in the Zider Zee

Post by stonemaybe »

Unfettered One wrote:Had to post, to change the number of replies...
:D

I read a good comment in the paper this week... Didier Drogba got a three match ban after a coin was thrown from the crowd at him, and he picked it up and threw it back. The comment was along the lines of - it would only happen in the Premiership. In the lower leagues the player would've picked up the coin and put it in his pocket!
Aglithophile and conniptionist and spectacular moonbow beholder 16Jul11

(:/>
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

I remember one time when a fan threw their mobile phone at a player, i would definitely take that and sell it(if it was any good) :P

Been ages since had any football news, whats to tell...

Arsenal are going through up/down phase, beating Man United but losing to Aston Villa, they are 9 points behind so a long way to catch up. At least the future looks bright because the Arsenal youngsters are really showing their worth in the League Cup, beating a near full-strength Wigan. Now their is a question of whether Gallas is a good captain.

Man United are returning to form but Ronaldo stills needs to.

Chelsea lead the way with their good form(despite losing in Rome and against Liverpool) but Liverpool are also on good form, being on equal points with Chelsea. Chelsea obviously lost to Burnely where the Drogba situation occurred.

Tottenham have returned to form under Redknapp, beating Liverpool and drawing against Arsenal(the best game of the season in terms of actions and play).

Despite Man City's billions, Man City are sliding down the table and are just waiting to reach Transfer window... will Hughes be there around that time though?

England team beat Germany Wednesday and did it in good fashion, the team looked really good and played really well. Only bad point was the Carson/Terry situation leading to Germany's goal. Scotland lost to Argentina which was Maradonna's first game in charge.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

Do you know what, The Premier League is the best league in the World for several reasons, one being the great joy and excitement generated from the battle to stay top of the league.

While the two other top league(La Liga and Serie A) have an almost outcome, with both leaders(Inter Milan and Barcelona) having a large gap between them and their nearest opponents, the Premier League still remains open with three teams still in the run for the lucrative title. 2 weeks ago it seemed certain that Manchester United would pick up their tenth Premier League title, equaling Liverpool's 18 domestic league titles but a thrashing by Liverpool at Old Trafford and a shock defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage has now got Manchester United fans worried that a possible repeat of the 1997-98 season where United let a 11 point lead slip to let Arsenal take the title. Ferguson will be reminding his star-filled squad of this and though they have let their 11 point lead slip to just a point, United still have a game in hand but chasing a unprecedented 5 trophies might not look so likely as did a month ago.

Nonetheless, Liverpool will now be full of confidence going into their final ten games and why shouldn't they? Everything has gone right for Liverpool, beating the world's richest and most famous clubs(Man U and Real Madrid) by at least a 4 goal margin, into the Champions League last 8, cut Man U's lead at the top to a point and all this convinced the American owners that Rafa Benitez deserves his long awaited Liverpool contract, which has put players and fans minds at rest and it has come at the right time because it now gives the players belief. The only thing which has gone wrong is that there is an international break, with Liverpool surely wanting to continue their good run of form.
One club that would have welcomed the break would be Chelsea. The not so rich club have had ensured the revolving doors are still in order but sacking Big Phil Scolari and replaced him with the man Abramovich always wanted at Chelsea, Guus Hiddink, and who could blame Abramovich, Guus Hiddink has turned Chelsea into a club which look like they could win something. Under Big Phil, the club were faltering and the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United was an embarrassment and Big Phil, a man who won the World Cup, looked clueless as he watched his Chelsea team collapse to the then invincibles. Hiddink, though, is the opposite, he has come to Chelsea with a plan and not only are Chelsea winning games but they are winning them with style. Hiddink has suffered only one defeat, one which he describes as almost ending Cheslea's title ambitions. This said, Chelsea are a point behind Man U and are also into the last 8 of the Champions League and FA Cup Semi Final. The only sad thing is that Hiddink might not be Chelsea manager next year since he has only come in as temporary boss(currently combined both Chelsea and Russia job together).

One club with no hope for the title, despite what their manager says, is Arsenal. Arsenal have been somewhat inconsistent with their results, while they can conquer the might of United and Chelsea, they cannot beat lesser opposition in the form of Stoke and Hull. People were foolish enough to say that Arsenal's seasons was over but they had a right to, lying 5th place with 6 points behind Aston Villa, and 10 points behind Liverpool, would be minor miracle for Arsenal to catch the leaders but if you have Arsene Wenger managing your team, who has caught a 12 point before, believing that you are still in the title race then it looks more possible. Arsenal now have reclaimed 4 spot and are into the FA Cup Semi Final and last 8 of Champions League.

This leaves Aston Villa lying in the 5th position, though they were leading the Champions League position for most of the winter. Villa's young exciting and English team were getting people wondering whether this would be the team to gatecrash the top 4 while others were worried about whether they had peaked too soon. These fears were soon realised when a run of poor results and a 5-0 hammering by the hands of Liverpool, letting Arsenal sneak back into that spot. Aston Villa now live on hope that Arsenal will show their inconstancy to allow them back into the Champions League spot.

One team who hopes to be gatecrashing the top four next year are the World's riches club Manchester City. The club have been more inconsistent than Arsenal, while there home form is excellent, their away from is very poor which reflects in their league position. They are way of the pace for 4th and are facing stiff competition for the other Euro Spots from Everton, Wigan, Tottenham, West Ham and Fulham. the alternative route into Europe is the UEFA Cup, where they remain the last English team and favourites to lift what will be the last UEFA Cup and to be honest Man City need to lift this trophy if they wish to be seen as a potential European heavyweight.

From the battle of the Premier League to the fight to stay in the Premier League. Clubs as far up as 11th are still threatened with relegation, with only 4 points separating 11th to 18th. At one point, it was only a point separating 11th to 20th. West Brom are also certain to go down, unless they can pull off another great escape which is looking unlikely. The t-side clubs(Newcastle and Middlesbrough) occupy the other two spots, which truly shows the plight of Newcastle United, once a team challenging for the Premiership, now fighting to stay in the Premiership. Blackburn looked certain to go down but the experience of Sam Allardyce has helped them lift out of the relegation zone while Stoke likely to stay in the division because of the somewhat easy run of games they have. Tottenham were bottom at one point but the addition of Harry Redknapp has taken Spurs closer to Europe rather than the Championship. Tottenham's rise and led to Portsmouth demise, who look nothing like they were last year. All the hard work was undone through the selling of their stars and loss of manager, though it is unlikely they will go down, they will have problems next season to whether they can hold on to their more established players.

From the fight to stay in the Premiership to the fight to get into the Premiership. Wolves have held the top spot since the beginning of the season and look set for the big time despite their recent dip in form. This has been helped by all the clubs around them also experiencing similar dips, none more so than Reading who were flying high and challenging Wolves but a large run of shock defeats has let Birmingham take full advantage and cement their spot in Second. Reading might now have to settle with the lottery of the Play-offs along with Sheff United, Burnley and Cardiff though Preston, Swansea and Bristol City would be looking to upset this.

From The Championship to the biggest prize in Europe, the Champions League and it is no surprise that English teams have dominated this years competition again with all the big four booking their place in the last 8 along with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Porto and Villarreal. The last round was dominated by the English-Angelo battle with three English Teams taking one three Italian teams. The English and European Champions faced the Italian Champions, Inter Milan, managed by Man U nemesis and former Chelsea Manager Jose Mourinho, who had faced Man U at this stage in 2004 with Porto where they knocked out United with a last minute goal and went on to lift the trophy. Ferguson ensured that a repeat would not happen and dominated Inter Milan over both legs, eventually winning at Old Trafford by two goals. Mourinho conceded that the 'best team' had won. Chelsea faced a titanic battle against the might of Juventus, a club which was relegated two years through match fixing but regained their status and rebuilding their squad through another former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. Chelsea led by one goal going into the second leg at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino where Juventus gave Chelsea the biggest scare by scoring early on but Chelsea eased their fears when they scored giving them the away goal. This meant the Old Lady needed two goals and they came close by scoring one through a penalty. They battered Chelsea but had a man sent off which meant they were light at the back while they were piling men forward which meant the inevitable happened and Chelsea scored to book their place in last eight. This game really showed where the balance of power now lies in Europe.
Arsenal had the last Italian tie facing Roma and this match could have been closer. Arsenal led 1-0 taking their young squad to Stadio Olimpico, needing to hold on but Roma took a 1-0 lead in the first ten minutes. It stayed like this for 90 minutes taking the game to penalties where Arsenal were triumphant despite missing their first penalty and looking like Roma were going to romp it, Roma missed there's and after 9 penalties between them Roma missed there's to hand the game to Arsenal.
Liverpool were the only team not to face Italian opposition, instead facing off against the 9-time Champions League winners Real Madrid but the 5-time winners made Real Madrid look like school boys, forcing them into untold errors in defense and making their attack look shoddy. Liverpool beat both at Bernabeu and Anfield, with the latter being through a 4-0 margin. Real Madrid are a shadow of their former selves and their failed pursuit of Ronaldo is now showing its fruits in this disjointed team.
Bayern Munich through on a record score line, beating Sporting Lisbon 12-4 over two legs, while Barcelona booked their place by thrashing Lyon over two legs.
Manchester United now face the team which knocked them out in 2004, Porto. Arsenal face a repeat of the 2006 Semi Final against Villarreal. The most interesting tie is the all English, with Chelsea facing Liverpool again, these two teams have met reach other every year since Liverpool lifted the trophy in 2005. Barcelona face Bayern Munich, a game containing the two highest scores would surely breed a game full of goals and action. Manchester United remain favourites to lift the trophy though Barcelona remain a close rival as they bid to lift this trophy since they won it in 2006.

From biggest Prize in European Football to its little brother, The UEFA Cup is in its final years as it will be changing its name and format, so it would fitting that newest biggest club in the World, Man City, were to lift this trophy and show that they are a force in Europe. Man City are the last English side in this competition and Man City need to show that they are a team capable of wining things if they wish to attract players to their cause.

The last trophy which Manchester United to win in order to keep their quintuple alive is the FA Cup. Manchester United face a rejuvenated Everton team while there is an all London clash between Chelsea and Arsenal.

The three battle for the Premier League, the scrap to stay in the division, the fight to get into the division and the continuing success in Europe shows that the Premier League is by far the most exciting and currently best league in Europe.

A tribute to Brian Clough, double Champions League and First Division winner, is in order. Great English manager than England never had.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
StevieG
Andelanian
Posts: 5814
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Post by StevieG »

FA Cup final in a few hours! Looking forward to an interesting game :)
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

which Chelsea won 2-1, they deserved it though.

Barcelona beat Manchester United in Final in the worst performance i have ever seen from United, should have won yet Barcelona shouldn't really be there because of the injustice at Chelsea.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
StevieG
Andelanian
Posts: 5814
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Post by StevieG »

It made for a good game with Everton scoring in the first 30 seconds! But yeah, Chelsea deserved it.
User avatar
StevieG
Andelanian
Posts: 5814
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Post by StevieG »

:biggrin: Australia are officially in the World Cup - two in a row which is great for us!
User avatar
Phantasm
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1720
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:52 pm
Location: Cumbernauld, Scotland

Post by Phantasm »

But you don't have to play any "real" teams to get there do you :roll:

Didn't they change the qualifying so you didn't have to play a European team in a play off to get there? :P

(puts on tin helmet and waits for incoming)
Quote - John Smeaton (Terrorists take note)

"This is Glasgow- we'll just set aboot ye"



Image
User avatar
StevieG
Andelanian
Posts: 5814
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Post by StevieG »

Phantasm wrote:But you don't have to play any "real" teams to get there do you :roll:

Didn't they change the qualifying so you didn't have to play a European team in a play off to get there? :P

(puts on tin helmet and waits for incoming)
:lol: 0-0 with Qatar is as good as it gets!

Yes I believe they did change the rules - and so they should... :P (also looking for a favourable draw... :cross: )

However, we almost knocked off the World Champions last time, thanks to Guus, so the 'minnows' are always a threat.
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

a win tonight should see England into World with Holland and the others.

Real Madrid are ruining football again by spending 60million on Kaka but they won't stop there till they have everyone above 85 on Fifa i.e. Ronaldo, Ribery, Villa, Fabregas, etc n they all going to be for 50million+ so there transfer spending will go past 300million or something stupid.
Platini said he would kick any English club which spent stupid money on players i.e. Man City bid for Kaka... guess its ok if any other club apart can do this but not a British club.
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
User avatar
StevieG
Andelanian
Posts: 5814
Joined: Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 14 times

Post by StevieG »

$60m?? That's just ridiculous.
Queeaqueg
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2508
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2004 8:21 pm
Location: Somewhere

Post by Queeaqueg »

now Real Madrid have bid 80million for Ronaldo which has been accepted and they are going to bid 40million for Villa and 60million for Ribery.

230million on four player... ruining football :evil:
DEATH IS A PREFERABLE ALTERNATIVE TO COMMUNISM!
Post Reply

Return to “Sports”