Football

[Joe > Average]

I just saw the end of the commercial with the fans only the first time .

[eNe]

Cesc will get it one day... if people stop watching Ronaldo

You mean never?

I'd rate Ramos as a better RB than CB just because good as he may be, CB is a much more difficult position to play and you don't have to watch too many games of Ramos at CB to see him getting caught out.

In general, maybe, but Ramos is a player who is good (actually, really good) in the air balls which is one of the main tasks of CBs. Plus WBs shall not lose their way in defense, and completely concentrate in offense, which is a common thing when it comes to Ramos.

As for Ronaldo, would he be able to score if he weren't running from deep? Actually he'd probably have a lot more penalties :|

Well, he is actuaaly really good at making the last touches in the box, as can be seen at his goals that came from Corner Kicks. And I can easily bet that Ronaldo as CF = 15 penalties per season. :|

I didn't watch any Inter games in the Serie A last year except the Milan derbies, so I can't say much about Maicon. But from what I have seen I don't like him. He wasn't even tested in the 'Pool games last season either. We played Babel from the start of the first leg and brilliant as he is, he fucks up when he starts. And I believe he played against Kuyt in the 2nd leg. Looking defensively unstable against Kuyt says it all really :rofl: but I guess attacking against Aurelio can be a daunting task

Hey, I like Kuyt!

But yeah, his games against 'pool weren't any sort of impressive.

However how you liked him against C.Ronaldo on Wednsday? He was quite good both ends of the field. Plus he scored an amazing goal, which got outshined by Elano's latter goal.

Plus Kaka' got the best of Ronaldo in another of the direct meetings.

And Fat Frank deserves a shout too. He's been consistently magnificent for Chelsea.

You. . . Lampard . . . Fat. . . Frank . . . :shock:

. . . OMG, you giving a shout to Lampard. My eyes are burning.

Cech? this year?

Oops, may bad. For a sec I forgot that we were talking about Golden Ball, and I just mentioned which keepers I like the most.

But no, definitely not this year.

Ronaldo must be outscoring him by now right? Ronaldo would probably edge it based on assists or something... something like hype :anger:

Well, after this week, probably yeah. However how much a goal is worth shall depend in lots of criterias. Sure the more you score the better, but if you are leading 4-0 against Stoke City, making it 5-0 in Loss Time. . . is that really something that shall effect the POTY awards?

[eNe]

I would probably be inclined to agree if this were 1982, but the value of the World Cup has decreased since then. Not too long ago you had great teams competing for one cup and it would've been hard to pick favourites. Now, you have France and Italy, who struggle through qualification and some how stumble onto form during the tournament. I mean seriously, when Domenech and his mysterious tea leaves can "coach" a team to the final, you know something is wrong

Well, IMO there are still quite candidates when it comes to winning WC. Before the WC06, rarely someone was picking France over Brasil, or England, and even though I was one of them, France was only my 4th pick. I'm sure that there'll be 7-8 teams in WC2010 as well, that may be counted as favourites, when the time comes.

And I won't exactly call Italy a team who struggles in qualification rounds. Last year they struggled, only because they failed to defeat France (which is normal), and France lost twice to Scotland. At the end, they took care of that, by defeating Scotland twice. Actually Brasil may be the team to compare with France for struggling in the groups. Maybe Netherlands as well. But France has a clear lead in this departament, and Domenech is the only one to blame. That being said, France's success on WC06 depends only on their great roster. IMO, even w/out the legends like Zidane, Thuram, or Vieira, France still has the best players to make a complete team, which'll make them a threat in every tournament they'll participate.

I feel you when you say that there is something wrong with Domenech "coaching" a team to the WC final, but can't we say the same for Avram Grant "coaching" a team to CL final. IMO Domenech is a coaching joke, but I'd still take him over Grant, any day.

And even names like Rijkaard (who is better than Domenech), A.Ferguson (who is better than Rijkaard), or C.Anchelotti (better than Ferguson) are not great coaches in my book, even though they have hardwareful coaching careers.

The domestic title is hard to get because it requires consistency over a season (which is what these awards are supposedly based on anyway or 2 halves of 2 seasons...whatever ). You could probably make a case for the Champions League being around the same quality as the World Cup, if not better. That is a cup competition that is extended over a season as well against teams of the highest quality. When you win the biggest double over a season of long hard work, surely it beats turning up and playing well over 3 weeks... well not according to the voters

If the point is the performances in domestic, and champions versus the performances in World Cup, than I definitely agree with you. However what I tried to say was that if two players from two different teams, and different nationalities play nearly about the same during the course of the season/year/whatever, and one of them ends up winning Domestic Tilte, and CL, and the other wins the WC, I'd rate the second player higher than the first.

And I enjoy watching Champions League a lot, too, maybe it's the most fun out of them all, but in my honest opinion, Luck is much more of an indicator in UCL, than it is in WC, or especially in domestic leagues. In Champions League you have no luxury of avoiding the booking of key players, to save them for the latter games (unlike in Domestic Leagues), and injuries have much more impact than in the World Cup, cause it's played in a shorter period, or in domestic League where you won't end up out of the copetition the next day.

Just my thoughts

Having said that though, even the CL isn't quite what it was a few years ago. It probably sounds weird coming from an English fan, but I have no interest in seeing four English teams in the semi finals of the CL every year. The Champions League is becoming the Premier League and that's boring - these are the games we see every week. The whole point of the CL is that it's a competition between the best leagues and the top clubs from around Europe. I'd much prefer to see four teams from four different countries in the semis. It takes away some of the appeal and the sense of excitement to see what are basically domestic games.

Last year it was so, and I don't think it was that bad. We had Valencia - Real M., and Juventus - Milan finals in the past and it was Premier League's turn. If I'd see another ManU - Chelsea final maybe it would become boring than, but an Arsenal - Liverpool final is welcome to me.

And I won't agree with you about CL becoming the Premier League (or any league for that matter), until I'll see like three straight titles from teams of the same country, which is really hard to believe considering lately no league has took back2back titles of UCL.

[red_ed]

You mean never?

Possibly

In general, maybe, but Ramos is a player who is good (actually, really good) in the air balls which is one of the main tasks of CBs. Plus WBs shall not lose their way in defense, and completely concentrate in offense, which is a common thing when it comes to Ramos.

True, Ramos has the attributes to become a very very good CB. Maldini predicted he would be one of the best (but then he got switched to RB). He's not shabby at RB though but I agree that his attack is better than his defending there. Strange because defending at RB is a lot easier than defending as CB

Hey, I like Kuyt!

But yeah, his games against 'pool weren't any sort of impressive.

However how you liked him against C.Ronaldo on Wednsday? He was quite good both ends of the field. Plus he scored an amazing goal, which got outshined by Elano's latter goal.

Plus Kaka' got the best of Ronaldo in another of the direct meetings.

I like him too, but his attacking is crap I think the reason some defenders get fooled by him is because he's so crap he puts them offguard

BTW didn't notice Maicon that much to be honest except the goal.

Don't think Kaka had a very good game either but he held the ball up well. Felt like he lost a lot of possession with his passes and ran into a lot of dead ends. That being said, compared to Ronaldo he was magnificent

You. . . Lampard . . . Fat. . . Frank . . . :shock:

. . . OMG, you giving a shout to Lampard. My eyes are burning.

I know, I hate him but I have to give credit where its due

Oops, may bad. For a sec I forgot that we were talking about Golden Ball, and I just mentioned which keepers I like the most.

But no, definitely not this year.

I like Cech too. Overall, it's Buffon, Cech and then Casillas for me.

Well, after this week, probably yeah. However how much a goal is worth shall depend in lots of criterias. Sure the more you score the better, but if you are leading 4-0 against Stoke City, making it 5-0 in Loss Time. . . is that really something that shall effect the POTY awards?

You'd think not, but the sad reality is no one remembers all the goals, they only see the number

[John Bull]

eNe, what do you think about Gallas? Captain material?

Also, sorry to be little dense, but who is the 25 year-old "troublemaker" in the Arsenal dressing room?

[Michael*]

Also, sorry to be little dense, but who is the 25 year-old "troublemaker" in the Arsenal dressing room?

My money's on Eboue

[John Bull]

Also, sorry to be little dense, but who is the 25 year-old "troublemaker" in the Arsenal dressing room?

My money's on Eboue

Good shout. . . . I was erring more towards van Persie personally. I find him rather irritating but I'm not sure if that's because he is a truly annoying character or because I'm a Tottenham fan. :|

Gallas is gone as Arsenal captain. Comedy timing on Nigel Winterburn's part; assuring everyone that Gallas will be staying as captain only just before the story broke that he has lost the captaincy.

Who will be his successor do you reckon? . . . I think that choosing Cesc would be a huge error. He is already under a huge amount of pressure and the captaincy would just further burden him, I reckon. I heard that Almunia's in the equation. :|

[red_ed]

Thank goodness Gallas has lost the captaincy. I couldn't take his incessant ranting anymore. His behaviour is completely unbecoming of a captain and if you didn't know the Arsenal squad very well, you'd probably mistake Gallas as the youngest of the lot judging by how immature he acts.

And I was thinking RvP too. He can be a bit explosive and being Dutch doesn't help either Eboue seems to far removed from the first squad to be causing too much trouble.

[Michael*]

I think they're both quite abrasive characters, but Van Persie seems more of an insular, arrogant type. Eboue's immature streak on the pitch makes me think he'd be quite the whinger in the dressing room.

As for the new captain, it seems like Almunia's got the job by default. He's the only experienced senior player who's in the team regularly (apart from Silvestre, who's only been there five minutes) so Wenger's stuck with him for the time being. I agree that there's already too much responsibility being placed on Fabregas, so the captaincy wouldn't do him much good either. In the long run, I think Toure is the favourite - he's usually reliable, plays with spirit and seems level headed enough to pull it off.

And on a side note - I wonder, when was the last time that the so-called 'big four' all played on the same day with none of them winning and no goals scored?

[red_ed]

^ freaky

I bet ol' Fred would be pleased though

[SympathysSilhouette]

eNe I've got nothing but love for you and all that, but if you ever, ever mention Rijkaard and Domenech in the same breath again... :|

(we really need a "veins popping" smiley...)

[eNe]

True, Ramos has the attributes to become a very very good CB. Maldini predicted he would be one of the best (but then he got switched to RB). He's not shabby at RB though but I agree that his attack is better than his defending there. Strange because defending at RB is a lot easier than defending as CB

He seems usually like he doesn't know that wing backs are supposed to defend as well. If he can manage to be active on both ends, he may be a way better RB (but he'll never be among the elite of WBs).

Also in this weeks game against Bate, Cannavaro didn't play, so instead of switching him with another CB, Schuster moved Ramos to CB, and replaced him with another RB.

I Kuyt him too, but his attacking is crap I think the reason some defenders get fooled by him is because he's so crap he puts them offguard

True That!

BTW didn't notice Maicon that much to be honest except the goal.

I was just replying about "looking defensvely unstable" comment of yours. Overall he had a mediocre game.

Don't think Kaka had a very good game either but he held the ball up well. Felt like he lost a lot of possession with his passes and ran into a lot of dead ends. That being said, compared to Ronaldo he was magnificent

Yeah, thats what I meant as well. He just wasn't like his own self in this season, or maybe the whole year (with the exception of last years derbies.) I hope in 2009 he will be back 100%.

Well, after this week, probably yeah. However how much a goal is worth shall depend in lots of criterias. Sure the more you score the better, but if you are leading 4-0 against Stoke City, making it 5-0 in Loss Time. . . is that really something that shall effect the POTY awards?

You'd think not, but the sad reality is no one remembers all the goals, they only see the number

And then these clowns people are called "experts".

[eNe]

eNe, what do you think about Gallas? Captain material?

I actually think that Gallas is captain material. IMO the captains shall not be the good guys, but the ones that hate to lose, never give up, and even sometimes yell at each other when it's due. That being said, I think he shouldn't have been the captain of Arsenal in the first place. I'd say the main thing for a captain selection shall be to look at whether or not he has at least 3 season with the team, and the more the better. In other words, captains shall be sort of symbols of their team.

If it was up to me, I'd give it to Toure, with vPersie as 2nd, and Almunia as 3rd.

Also, sorry to be little dense, but who is the 25 year-old "troublemaker" in the Arsenal dressing room?

Down here I don't usually hear news about dressing room incidents, but my money would be on Eboue as well, simply because he is the player that had the biggest downfall in the team. In 06 he was a starter, and now he is becoming reserve of the reserve. I won't be surprised to hear that he is unhappy in the team.

My money's on Eboue

Good shout. . . . I was erring more towards van Persie personally. I find him rather irritating but I'm not sure if that's because he is a truly annoying character or because I'm a Tottenham fan. :|

I bet it's the latter one

Who will be his successor do you reckon? . . . I think that choosing Cesc would be a huge error. He is already under a huge amount of pressure and the captaincy would just further burden him, I reckon. I heard that Almunia's in the equation. :|

Well, now maybe I'm a little late, but here's exactly what I would've typed if I had replied to this a week ago:

Considering our capability of losing our captains in 05 (Vieira), and 07 (Henry), I guess they'll go with Cesc.

And on a side note - I wonder, when was the last time that the so-called 'big four' all played on the same day with none of them winning and no goals scored?

Last Saturday was horrible :yuckky: . Same thing happend my personal "big four" as well. (Juventus, Arsenal, Valencia, and local league team Liria). Neither of them scored, and only one of them was able to draw.

eNe I've got nothing but love for you and all that, but if you ever, ever mention Rijkaard and Domenech in the same breath again... :|

(we really need a "veins popping" smiley...)

All I said was Rijkaard is better than Domenech.

[red_ed]

you've just mention Rijkaard and that stupid French NT manager in the same breath again Prepare for the wrath of SS *cowers*

My poor Valencia

[SympathysSilhouette]

eNe I've got nothing but love for you and all that, but if you ever, ever mention Rijkaard and Domenech in the same breath again... :|

(we really need a "veins popping" smiley...)

All I said was Rijkaard is better than Domenech.

My navel fluff is better than Domenech. Rijkaard is a man who won the CL by playing some of the most exciting football of the past two decades. Raymond Domenech is a man who Forest-Gumped his way to a WC final. He was still messing around with the formation during the tournament! :|

[red_ed]

:dance: :hell yea!:

Another loss at the Bridge for Chelski

[Michael*]

I can't believe Terry stayed on the pitch yesterday. It reminds me of when Shearer used to get away with murder, just because he was the England captain. Not that I'm biased against Shearer or anything (ahem)