Ongoing Soccer Thread

[LennyPigeon]

If there's one thing that annoys me more than taking a bad beat in poker, it's when my team loses a match.

Liverpool simply weren't good enough today, we made a suprisingly average city look good (although they do need time to gel, individually were quite impressive). Torres didn't look fit. Kuyt and Jova offered little in the wide areas. Agger struggled vs A.Johnson out of position. Johnson had a poor game. Ngog was Ngog. Lucas + Gerrard matched up against DeJong/Y.Toure/Barry seemed a no contest...

Realistically I'm not sure whether we will be able to regain our position in the top 4 this year.. not until the ownership of the club is resolved anyway..

Next weeks game vs WestBrom, which I am attending, feels like a 'must win' for us already. I believe it is a game we will win, and hopefully we can take confidence from that game and move on from there.

YNWA

 

[Dorkus Malorkus]

I'm not sure whether it was Liverpool being awful or Man City being good.

Most likely a bit of both. The substitutions coming far too late to have any effect was very Rafa-esque.

 

[Gesshoo]

I saw the Spurs-City game last week and Spurs should have been 5 up in the first half, but after half-time they settled down and it was very even.

City are an OK team, with lots of great players. Liverpool are not yet a team, with a few great players. To me, City's goals were all pretty soft and caused by a few weak areas. Agger is not a left back, Skrtel is only an average central defender.

In this position, it has to be a season-long tactic of defence first. Everyone tackling back, working hard for each other. With players like Torres and Gerrard you always have a chance of grabbing a goal. But we are unlikely to grab 3 or 4, so have to keep it tight at the back.

Not pretty, but it is what it is. We do not have the firepower of Chelsea, City, ManU. Glad it stopped at 3 tbh.

 

[S93]

Dont really want to slag on Hodgson since If liked what he has done so far(getting Torres and Gerrard to stay,signing Cole, actually using words besides good effort and fact in interviews) but im I the only one that didnt really like the fact he picked yesterdays game to switch to 442?

He could have done it against a below average Transorpoyourn side last week but opted to use the 451 with 2holding midfielders.
Not sure it best to switch formation against a strong team and go with one attacking midfielder and one that is neither attacking nor defensive(Lucas).
Lucas never had a shot against Yaya,Barry and Jong since Gerrard just left so much space by constantly being out of position.

Johnson though was probably the weakest link last night imo.
Didn't look comfortable against Milner and was rubbish in attack, always went with the worse option.

City deserved the win no doubt, but im not sure the deserved to win by 3.
If Hart hadn't been on fire and Liverpool wouldn't have given away soft goals it would have been a tighter affair.

But it isn't all gloom and doom. Just looking at the fixtures list it was apparent that the first few rounds where gonna be hard on Liverpool but now the team really needs to step up and not fail into the same slump as last year.

oh and btw, Macherano is a ****...

 

[beardyian]

and again when i see him i wonder - why wasn't Andy Johnson taken to the World Cup? :stupido2:

 

[Tonky666]

chelsea looking good hoping they'll win this year again :') would be awsum...

 

[onemorechance]

Kinda easy to look good against Wigan and West Brom

 

[blacksun]

and again when i see him i wonder - why wasn't Andy Johnson taken to the World Cup? :stupido2:

Cos hes a shit striker that cant even get a game these days. If you mean Adam Johnson tho I completely agree and said that taking SWP instead of him was a mistake before the WC.

As for Liverpool V City, as S93 says changing to a 4-4-2 against City was insane and I can only think that it was forced upon Roy by Masch's refusal to play and Poulsen not ready to play another 90 mins so soon. The reality is tho that city have spent 350m in the last few years whilst Liverpool have made a profit of about 20m in transfers in the same time, based on that we are ever gonna be on their level. Gerrard should not be playing CM hes not disciplined enough as Rafa always said (or at least implied by his picking Gerrard at RM or AM) and Torres is still not right.

 

[Worak]

I wonder why Mascherano really refused to play.

Demichelis did the same last weekend at Bayern and will probably be booted.

Then the two can found an all Argentine Kindergarden Club.

 

[onemorechance]

I wonder why Mascherano really refused to play.

Cos he wants out. Dunno why, not gonna get that much game time at Barca

 

[S93]

Cos he wants out. Dunno why, not gonna get that much game time at Barca

Rumors I keep hearing is because his wife doesn't like the weather and shopping in Liverpool...

 

[blacksun]

Rumors I keep hearing is because his wife doesn't like the weather and shopping in Liverpool...

She isnt even in Liverpool anymore according to people ITK she never came back and Masch has to leave to be reunited with his family. As for Barca, he will get plenty of time there

 

[ThunderPT]

The Premier League is nice and all, but has anyone realized there's football being played outside of England?

Yesterday, Braga made history eliminating Sevilla (4-3 win in Andalucia!) and qualifying for the Champions League groups stage for the first time!
Partizan eliminated Anderlecht on penalties, another surprise. Werder Bremen, Basel and Hapoel Tel Aviv also qualified.

 

[blacksun]

The Premier League is nice and all, but has anyone realized there's football being played outside of England?

Yesterday, Braga made history eliminating Sevilla (4-3 win in Andalucia!) and qualifying for the Champions League groups stage for the first time!
Partizan eliminated Anderlecht on penalties, another surprise. Werder Bremen, Basel and Hapoel Tel Aviv also qualified.

When at home I watch French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish football amongst others but as I'm in the States at the moment I don't have the access to most of those games. Also as most of the people who post in this thread follow English teams it is going to be predominently about that league.

Braga did well on the back of a great season last year but Sevilla contributed much to their own downfall, Bremen played well over the two legs but again were somewhat fortunate to get through didn't see the other games.

 

[Tonky666]

Kinda easy to look good against Wigan and West Brom

well easy to win both ur 1st games 6-0?
hahahaha then how come no team but arsenal who has done it only once can do it? we will see when we play man utd,i think that the only reason they won that other cup...so small i forgot what it is is because they both played 2 diffrent teams each half...

 

[onemorechance]

well easy to win both ur 1st games 6-0?
hahahaha then how come no team but arsenal who has done it only once can do it? we will see when we play man utd,i think that the only reason they won that other cup...so small i forgot what it is is because they both played 2 diffrent teams each half...

Says no

 

[S93]

The Premier League is nice and all, but has anyone realized there's football being played outside of England?

Yesterday, Braga made history eliminating Sevilla (4-3 win in Andalucia!) and qualifying for the Champions League groups stage for the first time!
Partizan eliminated Anderlecht on penalties, another surprise. Werder Bremen, Basel and Hapoel Tel Aviv also qualified.

I watch the English,Spanish,Danish,Norwegian,Swedish and Icelandic leagues + all the continental and international competitions.
But I only talk about the English and Spanish here because no one else follows the other leagues here.

If u want to post about Portuguese football, do so, but complaining about no one else posting about it wont to any good .

And on that subject, FCK just eliminated Rosenborg and are in the CL group stage on away goals .

 

[DennisC98]

REAL MADRID. Big fan lol

 

[ThunderPT]

I watch the English,Spanish,Danish,Norwegian,Swedish and Icelandic leagues + all the continental and international competitions.
But I only talk about the English and Spanish here because no one else follows the other leagues here.

If u want to post about Portuguese football, do so, but complaining about no one else posting about it wont to any good .

And on that subject, FCK just eliminated Rosenborg and are in the CL group stage on away goals .

Portuguese football? It's the Champions League! I'm talking European stage here.

 

[S93]

I know but since I always assumed u where Portuguese and refereed to Braga, a Portuguese side I thought that was your complain...

 

[Gesshoo]

As for Liverpool V City, as S93 says changing to a 4-4-2 against City was insane and I can only think that it was forced upon Roy by Masch's refusal to play and Poulsen not ready to play another 90 mins so soon.

Spot on apparently. According to the sporting life LFC has refused Barca's offer and given them until Sunday to make a deal or forget it.

Also, apparently, the senior players have turned on Mascherano as he refused to play, wrecking the planned formation v City. He is training alone. Hodgson has said he will have a lonely time if the move doesn't happen.

but as I'm in the States at the moment I don't have the access to most of those games.

Where in the States?

The Premier League is nice and all, but has anyone realized there's football being played outside of England?

Yep - if it is football it is ALL GOOD! Bring it on - CL or other leagues - all good. Personally I like to watch all the main European leagues and some MLS in the US. I also have an interest in Danish football as I used to work for a company that operated out of Aarhus.

 

[S93]

Joe did u live in Århus?
Its a great city imo, I got some family there and wouldn't mind visiting there again some time in the future.

 

[beardyian]

if its football, i'll watch it - any standard, any league, any country

 

[Worak]

I throw in a Bundesliga comment every now and then, too.:withstupi

I watch the English, Spanish and Italian leagues - not too much of the other leagues though.

CL and EL definately.

 

[the lab man]

When at home I watch French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish football amongst others but as I'm in the States at the moment I don't have the access to most of those games. .

Where in the States?



.

My guess is somewhere in Southern Calif. Having fun Black?