Soccer, footie, football, futbol

[Lavabe]

This thread is for everything CL, EPL, MLS, World Cup, Spanish League, Serie A, national team, and much more... Everything related to the beautiful game, other than Duke Soccer (which should go up outside of Our House), let's put in this thread.

Funny, but when I stopped posting elsewhere, Liverpool decided to fall apart versus Chelsea in CL action. Egads! Hopefully this new board will change the mojo, and the Reds will resurface, either taking the Premiership or the CL (nearly impossible after the last game).

Where are the Arsenal, Chelsea, and ManU fans? ;)
Cheers,
Lavabe

[colchar]

As a Scot, I should love fitba' but, no matter how hard I try, I just cannot get into the sport. I played as a kid and have tried countless times to watch along with my Dad but just cannot get over how much the sport bores me to tears. Toronto F.C. has an amazing atmosphere at games but, even with that, I still couldn't bring myself to go to a game.

[herb]

This thread is for everything CL, EPL, MLS, World Cup, Spanish League, Serie A, national team, and much more... Everything related to the beautiful game, other than Duke Soccer (which should go up outside of Our House), let's put in this thread.

Funny, but when I stopped posting elsewhere, Liverpool decided to fall apart versus Chelsea in CL action. Egads! Hopefully this new board will change the mojo, and the Reds will resurface, either taking the Premiership or the CL (nearly impossible after the last game).

Where are the Arsenal, Chelsea, and ManU fans? ;)
Cheers,
Lavabe

Gunners and Juve here!

[BlueDevilJay]

At the request (and reminder from) of Herb (fka Duke74), I also figured we needed to get our real football thread up and running in the new digs. ;)

So just to start things off here, how about those Gunners completely pulling a Duke today (Jeckyl & Hyde as I often referred to them this year) and being beaten like a drum in the 1st half, losing our 2nd CB to injury in as many weeks (now down to 3rd string CB Silvestre :shock: ), then around the 55th minute, flipping the switch and dominating the remaining 35 minutes of play to win 4-1 @ Wigan. Arsenal were VERY lucky to not have been down 2 or 3 to nil at the half. FK from about 27 yds out in the 45th minute had Fabianski beaten (oh yeah, Almunia is out 3 weeks) but luckily only smacked the inside of the right post and carroming back out into play for a clearance.

Then in the first few minutes of the 2nd half (around 50th) a long bouncing ball was sent into the box down the middle, Fabianski came out for it, only to be beaten to it by Wigan's forward who outjumped him :roll: and headed the ball over him, and it was heading towards the net, only to be cleared literally off the line by Silvestre. So still only down 1-0 and counting their blessings, something happened and the free flowing football Arsenal are so famous for took over, scoring 4 goals in the last 35 minutes of the match. :o A Villa loss or draw tomorrow puts us at the least, 8 pts clear in 4th place

Now, quick CL note, did any of you see the goal Adebayor scored against Villareal last Tuesday??? Holy crap I think that's one of the most amazing goals I've ever seen (possibly only behind RvP's strike on the volley vs Sunderland 2 years ago). If you haven't seen it, you need to. The YT link of it is below, but to quickly describe it, Ade with his back to goal standing just inside the 18, with 3 defenders within 4/5 yds of him, takes a lobbed pass off his chest (from SuperCesc nonetheless) perfectly, and before the ball has a chance to EVER touch the ground, launches a bicycle kick that easily beats the Villareal keeper....I was in awe. Up the Arsenal, and long live the football thread



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYsr84AfTIY (Be sure to watch all the replays as Setanta nearly missed it while showing a meaningless replay during live action, when the goal occured.)

[BlueDevilJay]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! My thread, my beautiful thread! Just kiddin. :lol: Can't believe you merged this Tilly, you overbearing mod you! Okay okay, I'll stop with the 'overmodded' jokes Again, I'm kidding.

I searched through the threads and didn't see one started yet, my fault there Lavabe. Hope yall have had a chance to watch that Adebayor goal already.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I played as a kid and have tried countless times to watch along with my Dad but just cannot get over how much the sport bores me to tears.

It's fun as hell to play, especially as a kid, but to watch, meh. I don't care how loud and long you holler "gooooooallll", it's still a sleeper in the bleachers.

[Lavabe]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! My thread, my beautiful thread! Just kiddin. :lol: Can't believe you merged this Tilly, you overbearing mod you! Okay okay, I'll stop with the 'overmodded' jokes Again, I'm kidding.

I searched through the threads and didn't see one started yet, my fault there Lavabe. Hope yall have had a chance to watch that Adebayor goal already.

I couldn't tell if you had found the board, much less the thread, so I started it, hoping that word would have gotten to you, BDJ. I'm just glad you're here, and that we can talk about the game we love.

What a goal!

Meanwhile, Liverpool put a thumping on Blackburn today. I just don't think next week's Chelsea CL game is going to be any good for the Reds, so I guess I'm left to hope for ManU to falter in the EPL season race.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[Ben63]

As you all know there is now a Chelsea fan in the house. They certainly pummeled Liverpool on Wednesday and should have no trouble advancing to the next round (but you never know). Idk if anybody watched Chelsea go up 4-0 by the hour mark against Bolton today only to give up 3 goals in 11 minutes. They did hang on to win 4-3 but it was not pretty.

Glad we finally got a new thing going here. Not sure if Blazindw will make his way here but even still we have 3 of the 4 big footie people on this ship. Looking forward to great discussion of the beautiful game.

[BlueDevilJay]

I played as a kid and have tried countless times to watch along with my Dad but just cannot get over how much the sport bores me to tears.

It's fun as hell to play, especially as a kid, but to watch, meh. I don't care how loud and long you holler "gooooooallll", it's still a sleeper in the bleachers.

I guess it's just a matter of what you like to watch as to whether or not its a sleeper in the bleachers, because for me, having played since I was 4, and still playing today at 31, I found myself loving to watch the sport anytime I could because I know the techniques, strategies, formations, just overall I enjoy watching how the goals are setup before being scored. I'm not saying you know nothing about soccer, I just think I probably wouldn't give a rip about the sport either (watching it especially) if I wasn't aware of alot that goes on, on the field that a casual observer doesn't pick up on.

Anyhoo, don't know why I felt the need to chime in on that, I know soccer isn't for everyone but for some reason I always assume (by habit) that anyone who calls it boring just doesn't know the game or hasn't given it a fair chance. I know that's not always the case.

Now back to the beautiful game....Arsenal have another weekend of perfect results to guarantee at LEAST 4th place, with Aston Villa drawing with Everton 3-3 today, and the Gunners now move to an 8 pt lead over them AND Everton who has now caught them as well. Now we can set our sights on at least 3rd, which if we achieve with all the injuries to key players we've had this year, I'd consider it a success.

[herb]

And Juve, 2-3 v. Genoa....when we could have made up some ground on Inter. Arghhh.

Also, Adbayor ro Milan to replace Kaka?

Buffon to Bayern in exchange for Ribery? Better to sell to Man City for Petrobucks and BUY Ribery! If at all.

[BlueDevilJay]

I doubt you'll be seeing Ade going anywhere for a while at least. Every single season, the Italian (and to a lesser degree Spanish) clubs have someone running for club president who promises to deliver every good Premier League player in order to get themselves (re)elected. Fabregas has been "guaranteed to move to Barcelona" every year for the past 5 years or so. It gets really tiring honestly, to the point that I don't even pay attention to transfer rumors anymore until the player's arrival (or departure)is announced on Arsenal.com. I drove myself crazy back when the Italian clubs were basically tapping up Vieira and Henry every single off season, finally figuring out I just needed to not even bother worrying with it. That's not to say Adebayor won't go as a huge factor is always a player's 'morals' and club loyalty. I'm pretty convinced that Cesc is truly committed to Arsenal, and will move to Barca toward the end of his career. Ade is more likely to leave at some point, but I don't see him going anywhere this offseason.

[BlueDevilJay]

I'm shocked this thread hasn't gotten bumped already today after the amazing CL match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Next up for Chelski, Barca.....With the winner of Arsenal/Villareal meeting the winner of Porto/ManUre....hopefully Arsenal v Porto

[Lavabe]

I'm shocked this thread hasn't gotten bumped already today after the amazing CL match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Next up for Chelski, Barca.....With the winner of Arsenal/Villareal meeting the winner of Porto/ManUre....hopefully Arsenal v Porto

I didn't post because of Liverpool's nearly perfect record at the Bridge.
Sorry, BDJ, but next match vs. Arsenal. I think there's the Reds are going to be a little take out all frustrations on Arsenal.

[BlueDevilJay]

I'm shocked this thread hasn't gotten bumped already today after the amazing CL match between Chelsea and Liverpool. Next up for Chelski, Barca.....With the winner of Arsenal/Villareal meeting the winner of Porto/ManUre....hopefully Arsenal v Porto

I didn't post because of Liverpool's nearly perfect record at the Bridge.
Sorry, BDJ, but next match vs. Arsenal. I think there's the Reds are going to be a little take out all frustrations on Arsenal.

Well, we actually have the small matter of Chelski in the FA Cup semi's @ Wembley to attend to before meeting up with the angry Reds. I didn't think we'd beat them at the Bridge earlier in the season, and was surprised. Our form the last three months (20+ unbeaten in all comps) has me optimistic, but our ridiculously injury riddled back 4 has me doubting our chances against them on Saturday. The ONLY starter we have remaining is Toure, and in some spots we are down to our 3rd string choice. Our normal back 4, Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy. This Saturday will most likely be Eboue, Silvestre, Toure, Song. Right now Gallas, Clichy, Gibbs (2nd stringer) and Sagna are all out. Oh and our starting GK is also out, with Fabianski filling in.

The return of SuperCesc has brought our scoring back out, so I figure this one is going to be a high scoring affair, and just hope we can outscore them. As for the match against Pool on Tuesday, I honestly think we will rest some players now that 4th place looks pretty secure, and we have a chance to win 2 major trophies (It may be only 1 by then), what do we really have to lose against Liverpool other than more starters to injury.

[BlueDevilJay]

Just going through and cleaning up some old file folders of mine, ran across this gem, thought I'd share it with the rest of the footie fans. I'd have to say, this is the greatest soccer team I've ever seen assembled, and I'd count myself extremely lucky to have ever gotten 'on the pitch' with any of them, muchless all of them at the same time.

[Ben63]

Just going through and cleaning up some old file folders of mine, ran across this gem, thought I'd share it with the rest of the footie fans. I'd have to say, this is the greatest soccer team I've ever seen assembled, and I'd count myself extremely lucky to have ever gotten 'on the pitch' with any of them, muchless all of them at the same time.

Well done BDJ. Thanks for sharing.

As for Chelsea-Arsenal this week, I think it will be a tough match, always is between these two, no matter who is on the pitch. Chelsea has been strong recently, I think that 4-4 with Liverpool had more to do with coasting because of a 2 goal lead already rather than not playing well. As always it will be hard fought, but I think Chelsea is finally getting healthy. Essien came back a few weeks ago and has played well and even without Jose Bosingwa, Ivanovic has filled in quite nicely. I like Chelsea in this one, but no doubt it will be a tough matchup, always is.

[BlueDevilJay]

I'm really disappointed in this thread not getting a bit more attention from you footie fans, after all the great matches lately, namely Arsenal v Liverpool yesterday (Lavabe I'm looking at you!)

First off, I avoided the score all day to watch it 'live' on Tivo when my girl went to bed last night. To my surprise (and anger) it was recorded but would not play properly, so I went to bed not knowing the score, determined to tivo it again today and watch this evening. Then this morning, watching SC getting ready for work, there he was, Arshavin as #5 on top 10 plays of the day, with FOUR goals vs Liverpool!!!! I felt like Nostradomus to a degree, as I just had the discussion with my best friend on Monday that AA was going to have an 'explode' type game once he got his accuracy back down from the move. That guy has hit the crossbar or post more times since January than I can remember. I didn't expect THAT though....wow!!! Shame for me to see that Pool drew level again in injury time I guess, AA's last goal made it 4-3 in the 90th min from what I saw on SC. Great match though! I'll take the point at Anfield.

This is for you Lavabe ;)

[Lavabe]

I'm really disappointed in this thread not getting a bit more attention from you footie fans, after all the great matches lately, namely Arsenal v Liverpool yesterday (Lavabe I'm looking at you!)

First off, I avoided the score all day to watch it 'live' on Tivo when my girl went to bed last night. To my surprise (and anger) it was recorded but would not play properly, so I went to bed not knowing the score, determined to tivo it again today and watch this evening. Then this morning, watching SC getting ready for work, there he was, Arshavin as #5 on top 10 plays of the day, with FOUR goals vs Liverpool!!!! I felt like Nostradomus to a degree, as I just had the discussion with my best friend on Monday that AA was going to have an 'explode' type game once he got his accuracy back down from the move. That guy has hit the crossbar or post more times since January than I can remember. I didn't expect THAT though....wow!!! Shame for me to see that Pool drew level again in injury time I guess, AA's last goal made it 4-3 in the 90th min from what I saw on SC. Great match though! I'll take the point at Anfield.

This is for you Lavabe ;)

Bwahahahahahahhahahahahahaa!!!

All I need now is for blazindw to bust my chops.

Seriously, I was getting my airline tickets to Madagascar this summer when I came home from my Tuesday lecturing day from Hades. I was planning on watching what I recorded on DVR sometime later today.

I look forward to seeing the Arshavin explosion. From what you're saying, it may very well be the single best offensive game performance within the EPL this year.

Seriously, Liverpool with Torres & Yossi are amazingly fun to watch, but three words explain what's going on at Merseyside:
Gerrard groin injury
Liverpool minus Stevie is not Liverpool. I can't recall the last time when Yossi, Torres, AND Stevie G were on the pitch together, injury-free. Ugh.

Tied at the top of the table with ManU, but ManU has TWO games at hand. Don't they play Chelski again?
Cheers,
Lavabe

[Lavabe]

The beautiful game, and its impact in at least one place in Atlanta:
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/s ... ab_newstab

[Lavabe]

Seems as thought 3-0 was the favored score of the weekend. Liverpool 3 v. Newcastle 0; ManU3 - 'borough 0.
I am wishing for a ManCity win over ManU.