Kevin's Watch

Hey, wait a minute... this ain't no damn FOOTBALL thread... you jokers are talkin' 'bout SOCCER.

j/k

A bit quiet in here lately, so I will ask a simple question.


Glasgow Rangers?


Discuss.

Anyone watch the Champions League on the weekend?

I thought the first half was pretty crap, Bayern dominated but couldn't score. Second half came to life with a goal and then a brilliant reply from Drogba.

I saw the game. Bayern were all over them in the first half but didn't seem to be able to get Gomez into the game. Robbyn and Ribery were good (it's a pity that Ribery is such a poor striker of the ball in front of goal ). They weren't able to take advantage of all the corners they got, 17 or 18 in normal time and not one real chance and then Chelsea get one and score!

Both teams ran out of steam in extra time and penalties were on from a long way out. You've got to admire the coolness of Drogba's final penalty but did you see Ashley Cole's? Brilliant but risky. Into the side netting, that's only a foot from going wide! Schweinsteiger tried to get Cech to commit and when he didn't he couldn't get a full strike on the ball and tried to place it beyond the goalie's reach. Personally I thought it was a time for solid percentage strike a-la-Lampard. If you strike a penalty hard enough it is difficult for even the best keeper to stop.

Not a classic by any means. A Barca v Real final would definitely have been more stylish but how many Classicos does anybody need in one season

u.

I thought Robben and a few other Bayern players under performed a bit. And Robben didn't participate in the penalty shoot out which was interesting.

Gomez was woefull really considering his recent form. I thought Drogba was very good the whole game - he gives me the shits with his theatrics normally, but didn't seem to do it this game. He's extremely strong on the ball. That header goal was spectacular!

Not a classic, but still very interesting. Barcelona sometimes suffer from over playing and not scoring. They are far and away the greatest team around, but sometimes they just can't score! Barca v Real would have been a blood bath - lots of rolling around on the ground. Not sure I would have relished that one.

Drogba has always been a powerful player, one capable of controlling a game as a striker because of his ability to hold up the ball. He's near the end of his career now, but in his day he was capable of terrifying defences on his own.

Robben was never going to take another penalty after his miss, too much pressure. I wouldn't have had Olic take one, he doesn't strike me as solid enough. I'd have put my house on Schweinsteiger scoring.

Barca are great to watch but (a bit like Spain) when you've watched Xavi and Iniesta totally dominate possession for 90 minutes nine or ten times you get to wishing that some more direct team would stick it up them and beat them in an ugly 2-1. Both of the winning goals coming from set pieces. Or an Italian team beating Spain with a counter attack goal after 15 mins and then shutting up shop 'cattenacio'-style

That's what we hope to do against Spain in the upcoming Euros led by Cattenacio Trappatoni

u.

[Double post]

I watched the Irish team playing Hungary last night. It was a bit of a nightmare. We could easily have lost 4-0. The only good thing might be that Trappatoni will learn from the experience.

He has a huge problem though. He likes to play 4-4-2 with Robbie Keane up front playing off a big full-forward like Kevin Doyle or Jon Walters. The big problem with this (clearly demonstrated last night) is that it leaves his midfield desperately exposed for much of the game. He likes this system because it gives his best goalscorer (Keane) a reasonable opportunity to get onto the end of stuff, but it will have been obvious to the Croatian manager last night that by simply placing someone (like Modric) forward and in between the two central midfielders (Whelan and Andrews) he can unlock the Irish defence at will. (If Robbie Keane had been playing for Hungary last night he'd have scored a hat-trick!)

Trappatoni has a couple of options: one is to go with a third defensive midfielder at the expense of either Duff or McGeady. I've never thought I'd say this but Trap's team is too attack-orientated. He has four out-and-out attackers when you include McGeady and Duff. Bringing in a holding player in the pocket just in behind Andrews and Whelan would allow them to push on a bit more as well (even though neither is very creative *shrug* ).

Another option is to switch to 4-5-1. This would be my preference. I have watched with dismay throughout the qualification campaign as our midfield has been overrun in game after game by poorer opposition. The disadvantage of this is that you would have to drop Robbie Keane because he just doesn't hold up the ball well enough. Doyle or Walters would be the obvious strikers to choose from. This would be a system designed to get results rather than win matches. We badly need a result against Croatia. A loss will probably guarantee our exit. With a point in the bag going into the games against Italy and Spain anything is possible. With a bit of luck we could nick a win against Italy and we'd be through.

There is some comfort to be taken from last night's game, our forwards looked lively and if he gets enough ball McGeady can always work a bit of magic. We'll also definitely be better in the game against Croatia. If there is one thing that this manager has shown it is that he knows how to prepare teams for crucial games, so higher energy levels may make up for some of the structural deficiencies, but still, it may be asking too much of the players if the defensive holes are too great.

I just had a look at our odds for the tournament, 80-1, same as Denmark, only Greece are given less chance than us at 100-1. Hmmm! Doesn't look like anyone is giving us any more hope than I am. That in itself is a cause for hope. Maybe we'll catch them out!

Just wanted to get that off my chest

u.

Anyone know how the World Cup Qualifiers work with regard to home and away games. Just watch Australia v Japan in Brisbane play a 1-1 draw.

Is it like the champions league? I suppose I could look it up but if any replies are forthcoming then that'd be even better

StevieG wrote:Anyone know how the World Cup Qualifiers work with regard to home and away games. Just watch Australia v Japan in Brisbane play a 1-1 draw.

Is it like the champions league? I suppose I could look it up but if any replies are forthcoming then that'd be even better

Not sure about your federation, but here in Europe you play all the teams in your group home and away. The top team goes through and the second-place teams go into a play off.

No comment on Ireland's displays in the Euros. Too poor to bear talking about

u.

No comment on Ireland's displays in the Euros. Too poor to bear talking about

Yeah, it wasn't great

They remind me a bit of Australia to a degree - can be good, but mostly disappointing.

Euro 2012. Spain 4 - Italy 0.

The first half was some of the best football I've seen from Spain. Just incredible!

StevieG wrote:Euro 2012. Spain 4 - Italy 0.

The first half was some of the best football I've seen from Spain. Just incredible!

The first goal was unbelievable. Fabregas delivered the ball onto Silva's head. How Silva kept it on target at that speed was just amazing.

The second goal was poor enough defending by Italy, but Alba's first touch was immaculate. Beautiful!

u.

I have a feeling that first ball wasn't meant for Silva! But it made for a spectacular goal! Their touch is just immaculate.

Ron Burgunihilo wrote:Hey, wait a minute... this ain't no damn FOOTBALL thread... you jokers are talkin' 'bout SOCCER.

j/k

That's how I felt when I first clicked on this thread.

On topic, I hear FIFA will be adopting goal line technology. Now I can take soccer seriously as a modern sport. Of course, there's much moaning and groaning by people, but to hell with them. Soccer is now a legit modern sport. Before you know it, baseball will follow suit.

A number of leagues start this weekend, including the English Premier league which seems to be televised more here than other non-local leagues.

Looking forward to it (rubs hands togeher)!

Enjoy, Mr. G!

I gave up on soccer a few years ago because of the distorting influence of money on the game. I find it hilarious that in socialist Europe we have destroyed our games by slavishly adhering to free market principles, while in the US, the home of Capitalism, they have wage caps, and have in the NFL a league that can throw up a different winner almost every season

u.

Bring it on I say! Corruption, bribery. But seriously, ahem, it won't stop me watching the greatest in the world. Qatar, he we come!! It's interesting that the salary cap is utilised here in Oz for AFL football. For a sport that Aussie's are familiar with, but almost no-one else. It works though!

I doubt that figure is accurate, Vraith. I'd say its a compilation of FB fans, Twitter followers, website visitors etc. Many of those would be multiples and many would be people interested in news about the club rather than being 'fans'. Sales of Real jerseys top the list, but the number is approx 1.4 million. I would say that that is a more accurate reflection of fan figures.

The rest is social media advertising and publicity.

u.

There's lots of sport to watch at the moment. French Open tennis just finished, and now the women's world cup is on! Australia just lost their opening game which sucks, but I've already seen a couple of great games!