2010/2011 Season Soccer Thread (incl. ECL and Europa League)

... and England beat Bulgaria 3-0. Of course, the Bulgarians used racist chants against Ashley Young - not the first time they've been racially abusive to Black players (see: Heskey). I reckon they'll get fined for it but it'll continue anyway. It must be sad for them seeing Black players whip their team's ass.

In other news, Bafana Bafana are useless and will probably lose to Niger.

 

I should be a goddamn prophet. Banana Banana (since they fall over all the time) lost 3-1. Useless shitheads.

Anywho, some interesting games been going on this weekend. I watched Bolton getting fucked with no lube by Manchester United - Rooney was excellent, as was Phil Jones, Hernandez had a few good touches and Anderson also had a good game. Bolton's defense seemed unable to do anything - both Cahill and Knight were left on their asses multiple times and Jaaskelainen flapped at more than a few crosses, though he did make a spectacular save from a free kick halfway into the second half.

Nice to see Arsenal managed to score 1 whole goal against Swansea. At home. Jesus. 10th place finish coming up.

 

Not much to talk about for this week in the EPL as nothing really changed too much. MU & MC continued to make a mockery of the rest of the league and the weaker teams, which I have to admit, looks to include Fulham, continued to suck wind. While the EPL is going to be entertaining this year, I would have to think (barring a rash of injuries) that either City or United will win the title, so that will be an interesting race.

What I'm looking forward to is the race for third (and the last automatic UCL spot), you've got Chelsea, Liverpool, Stoke (with their new players), and a handful of other teams in the running for that. I just have a feeling that nobody wants to finish 5th, because although you get some decent money for playing in the Europa League, it can really fuck your team in the EPL, as it's doing for Fulham right now.

 

BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHA. That's like saying the Buffalo Bills will run away with the Superbowl. Completely ridiculous.

Remember, one of Stoke's new signings is this tit. One goal at Liverpool does NOT make your career, and Peter Crouch couldn't buy goals last season at Spurs, despite Palacios and Modric there to feed him and not having much competition for places in that team upfront. Stoke are still an ugly team to watch (bloody lump-and-chase merchants, just like Bolton and Blackburn, hence why Stoke signed Jerome and Crouch - and look how Bolton got ass-kicked by Manchester United on Saturday) and I hope they do not finish higher than 8th. Despite this, I hope Woodgate comes right for them - that poor guy has had more injuries than I can count.

I wouldn't discount Spurs yet - but you can count on Modric running away in January if ANYONE makes a decent offer. Villa might also be an outside bet for top 10 - they're still a decent side with at least one excellent forward (Agbonlahor).

I think the relegation scrap will be much more interesting - I think Swansea, Wolves, Blackburn, Everton, Wigan and Norwich will fighting hard.

 

By no means do I think Stoke is going to finish 3rd, I'm just going off what has happened thus far. If I had to bet all my possessions on it, I'd go with Chelsea, just because Liverpool hasn't done all that much in regards to scoring goals. Spurs will probably finish somewhere between 5-7th, you can probably pencil in Defoe for 2,000 shots on goal and zero assists though.

I agree with you though that the relegation battle will be more interesting than the title chase, but do you really think that Everton will be at the bottom? I've always felt that Everton, while they will never challenge for a top five spot, they do have enough talent so that they don't have to worry about a bottom three spot.

Edit: Ryan Fitzpatrik 208yds/ 4TDs, go Bills.

 

Now Chelsea for 3rd I can agree with. Sadly, that will mean Villas-Boas will get fired and the managerial merry-go-round at Chelsea will be back in full-swing in the next off-season. Liverpool should get 4th, simply because they have a stronger squad than Arsenal. Arsenal *might* get 5th, but only if there are no more catastrophes in defense and Spurs get some more unfortunate results. I think the best Stoke can hope for is 7th...

But yes, I do think Everton are in serious trouble - they are unable to make any signings due to serious financial issues and will probably be haemorrhaging players come January. All the money from Arteta went straight to the creditors, according to Moyes - that generally means the club is in deep shit. I think Everton would be deeply fortunate to finish 17th, since they are pretty average everywhere, apart from Tim Howard, Fellaini, the youngster Rodwell, Jagielka and the occasionally brilliant Tim Cahill - they're also a team that has terrible luck with injuries and they have virtually no strikers.

 

UCL was interesting this week, but before I get to any of that shit, Ronaldo had this to say about why he is fouled so often, "I think it's because I'm rich, handsome and a great player. They envy me - there's no other explanation." Yeah it could be that, or it could be the fact that you step over the ball so fucking often that it's only a matter of fucking time until someone clips your foot and you go down like you were shot. Also, Real Madrid bitching about how the game is being played is a fucking joke.

While the overall play from the games I saw was pretty good, I was surprised at some of the final results. Both teams from Manchester earning a draw wasn't anything that I would have expected given their dominance in the EPL. Arsenal were kind of lucky as their German counterparts looked more comfortable on the ball for much of the game, but I suppose they did deserve the tie in the end because the goal they gave up was really a fucking amazing shot that happens only a couple times a year.

Lastly, and I might just be a hater here, but I was happy to see Barca have to settle for a point. I know that they are a great team, hell, if Barca went to the World Cup they'd be heavy favorites over the rest of the world, but they're a bit like the Yankees. They can get nearly every player they want, and more often than not they put forth a fantastic display, but it is nice to see a team stand up to them.

In terms of the EPL this week, there are a few intriguing games this week. AV vs Newcastle/Swansea vs WBA/Hotspur vs Liverpool/MU vs Chelsea. The only reason I'm interested in Swansea/WBA is because I think both teams will face relegation this year but Swansea is supposed to be beastly at home, so I'll go with them. I'll pick Aston Villa for the simple reason that betting on Newcastle will make anyone broke. The Hotspur/LP match is hard for me to pick, Hotspur needs a win to jump up in the table and Liverpool hasn't been too impressive this season. I'll go 2-1 in favor of Hotspur just because they are at home. As far as MU/Chelsea goes, I guess 3-2 MU, De Gea hasn't shown enough to make me think he can throw up a clean sheet against a team like Chelsea, but when you compare the strikers you have to assumed MU will do more damage.

 

I'll openly hate against Barca. Fuck them.

United rested a few players, and their backs were again without Vidic and Ferndinand. With that still in mind, Ferguson still played Jones off the bench too. A scored away draw is a pretty good result with them.

In regards to City, you have to remember it's there first Champions League appearance ever, so they might start off a bit slow. Despite their roster, for this reason alone it'd be a fantastic achievement for them to win it.

Torres had his best game of the season too I thought. Along with Chelsea in general, he looked far more threatening.

 

I agree with in regards to MC, they'll get better but their group is fucking rough. Bayern Munich, Napoli, Villareal, none of those teams are going to just bend over and get fucked. If I were betting I'd assume that MC will advance, but who really knows, on any given day one of those three teams could beat them, so we'll see.

As to your point about United, I'm getting to the point where I'm questioning how valuable Ferdinand really is. He's not ancient, but he is 32 years old so his best years are behind him, and if I had to pick four defenders to play for MU, I'm not sure that he'd be on that list. We can go ahead and pencil in Evra and Vidic, for the two remaining spots I'd probably go with either Smalling, Jones or Evans before Rio. It's not that Ferdinand is awful, he's still a great defender but he's kind of a less mobile Vidic, so unless Alex is dead set on keeping two people back at all times, why not play defenders that are comfortable moving the ball up field?

 

Blackburn 4 Arsenal 3. Congratulations, Gunners, you've hit a new fucking low. Conceding 4 (including 2 fucking own goals) against what is one of the worst teams in the league is simply unforgivable and leaves us in a perilous position. It's time for Wenger to go, since he is obviously no longer able to motivate the players and coordinate the defense.

 

Well the upcoming slate of games for the EPL is kind of weak. Had MC not drawn against Fulham last week I would have had more hope for Everton, but I fully expect MC to come out with guns blazing to make up for their display against Fulham and Napoli, they'll probably win 3-1 or something close to that. Wolves v. Liverpool will be kind of interesting because LP has to deal with the fact that two of their starters are going to be banned due to prior red cards but they should have Gerrard back after six months, I'd guess that LP will win a close one.

In bottom of the table matches, Bolton v. Arsenal is something I want to watch. I refuse to believe either team is as bad as their record indicates, plus Holden is back for Bolton, I kind of think this match will end in a draw, but I hope that Holden plays well and his team picks up a win. With WBA v. Fulham, if Fulham can't beat WBA then I don't even know what to say, I have to think Fulham will win after earning a draw against MC and bringing Chelsea to PK's in the stupid Carling Cup.

 

I too hope Bolton wins, but only because the Arsenal board might then be forced to put Wenger out to pasture as a youth co-ordinator and *maybe* they can find a coach with some tactical variations who doesn't try to be a father to his players. Wilshere (the team's best midfielder now) is now out until Christmas, and I do not envisage Arsenal winning more than 6 matches between now and then, due to the continuing brainfarts in defence. They're proper fucked.

 

For the weekend coming up there are a couple decent games in the EPL, Wanderers v. Newcastle, Hotspur v. Arsenal, and Fulham v. QPR. In order, I really don't think Newcastle is a top four team and while the wanderers aren't great, I wouldn't expect NU to beat WW by more than 1, if it doesn't end in a draw. In terms of Arsenal v. Hotspur, both teams are playing well in Europe and the EPL over the past couple weeks, but Arsenal is doing it in the UCL, not the Europa league, that being said, it's a home game for Hotspur so I have to give it to them. Lastly, Fulham v. QPR. Is there a bigger cunt than Barton? I hope he tries that shit with Dempsey, god knows he won't fall down like a Brazilian woman, dude will crack Barton. While my hopes are buoyed by Fulham playing at home, QPR isn't as shitty as I would have thought.

With regards to U.S players, Holden is out for another six months. I'm sure he had done plenty of work to get ready for his first start after six months away, but the team played him for 90 minutes in the Carling Cup (honestly who the fuck counts the CC as a trophy?) and he gets his knee fucked again. Super.

On a positive note, Oguchi Onyewu is back on the U.S roster, and he's actually starting for a legit team in Portugal (Sporting Lisbon). This guy has been fucked over by injuries for years, if he can make a return to form the U.S defense might actually be one of the best.

 

I think the Toon should beat Bolton - Cabaye has been playing very well for them since signing, and Leon Best has netted a few times this season for them. Overall, I think their group of players and their manager are superior to that of Bolton - especially in the goalkeeping department; Krul is definitely > Jaaskelainen for this season. Also, Obertan has looked menacing for NUFC. I do not think Owen Coyle will last beyond November as manager of Bolton, since Bolton have been thrashed by a few teams already this season and those sort of losses are not in their character. They've had too many brainfarts in midfield and defence - even Gary Cahill hasn't looked impressive. I think Stuart Holden will have moved away from them by the end of the season - the same can certainly be said for Cahill, and possibly also Martin Petrov (their best attacking threat over the last few games imho). Bolton are also offering very little threat upfront apart from Petrov and the perenially airborne Davies.

Onyewu and Holden are both decent players. Sporting Clube do Portugal are a good side, but don't have the overall quality of Benfica or Porto (who were outstanding last season under AVB) and I think Holden will move to another club at the end of this season if Bolton go down and I strongly predict them to do so - particularly if they keep playing poorly as they have been recently.

 

Yeah I know that he's not playing for Porto or Benfica, those are both legit great teams, perhaps a bit less great now than a few years ago, but still very formidable. My point in regards to Onyewu is that it's a good thing that A) he's actually playing and B) it's for a good team in a good league. Two years ago I would have considered this to be a given, but the way things have gone for him since he joined AC Milan, I'm glad to see him back on an upward track.

In other news, Rodwell's red card was total bullshit. Tom Brady has been hit harder without getting a flag thrown, Howards PK save was nice though.

Not to add insult to injury Durbanite, but I really hope that the RVP to MC rumors are just that. It's getting to the point where Manchester City are going beyond where the New York Yankees ever imagined, their current list of strikers include: Agüero (who has been fucking great), Mario Balotelli (acts like a six year old but is legit), Edin Dzeko (in form), Carlos Tévez. If they plan on getting rid of Tévez, ok, but that shit seems shortsighted.

Edit: Does anyone know a good internet feed to watch La Liga/EPL games?

 

Oh no, I have no doubt the rumours about RVP to Manchester City will be proven correct at the start of next season. A player of the quality of RVP will NOT stick around at a club that has no chance of winning anything for at least 5 years (by then maybe Wenger will have retired or been sacked). Like that quote in The Borgias, when the French King is at the Roman gates, Cesare Borgia says something (I'm paraphrasing here) about Rome lying back like an old whore, waiting for her ravishment - the same can be said of Arsenal's board, particularly when it comes to City (Clichy, Na$ri, Tour€, etc.). They are all whores who throw themselves at the highest bidder. RVP to Man City for 45 million pounds at the start of next season - you heard it here first.

I'm also certain Arsenal will take it up the proverbial with no lube against Tottenham Hotspur. Fuck. The days of Arsenal travelling to Three Point Lane (a.k.a. White Hart Lane) are over with, that's for sure. Chelsea are also currently 4-0 up against Bolton at the Reebok and it's still only the first half! HAHAHAHA. At least Arsenal won't be the only team getting bent over today then...

A lucky win for Newcastle yesterday though... and Cabaye really is a fantastic player.

 

So apparently Fulham decided to become fucking awesome all of a sudden, 6-0 against QPR, fucking really? QPR entered the day with 8 points as opposed to Fulham's 4, so I would have thought it would have been a close game, but SIX FUCKING GOALS? Where the fuck has this been? I don't think that this is a sign of things to come, but getting a +6 GD is fucking huge, as I have a sinking feeling that Fulham might be in the bottom 4-5 teams and GD really come into play.

On another note, why didn't De Gea start this last game? It can't be because he shoplifted a fucking pastry, but I've checked espn and football365 and I haven't seen anything about it.

 

Well shit, City went out and wrecked MU. I can accept that MC is better than MU on any given day, but 6-1? No fucking way. Anyhow fuck those teams, watching Swansea and Norwich play has been much more enjoyable than pretty much any other team in the EPL. Sure they don't have Messi or Villa or any of those huge stars, but those teams control the ball and are really creative.

 

Beyond the dominance of MU/MC and the surprises of the Gunners and Newcastle I'd say the biggest thing that happened in Soccer is that ESPN wont get the WC after 2014. When ESPN covered it the games were really done well. Yeah, going to Mandela's prison isn't a soccer story, but if you are in South Africa for a month, you might as well do the story.

FOX has had the UCL for the past couple years and they make the extra effort to shit the bed as hard as they possibly can. Last year you had Manchester United vs. Barca, plenty of great on the field stories to pick from, Fox wants to do a feature on some Barca player dating Shakira. Fuck that shit. Fox has generally picked the low hanging fruit but if they ruin the world cup I'll be disappointed.

 

Just watched the France v. USA friendly that was on earlier today, and jesus. It's the same shit over and over again for this team. The defense is great, Tim Howard makes saves that should be impossible, the speed on D and the overall play is really impressive, but when they have to defend for like 70% of the game, it's almost inevitable that the other team will eventually score.

The only positive thing I can take from this game is that Altidore and Dempsey were both really good. Whenever Clint got the ball he had two or three people racing to shut him down but he was still able to control the ball fairly well, and Altidore (playing alone up front for the first 75 minutes or so) really did a good job of trying to control the random outlets that were (sort of) sent his way.

The only way I can see this team really getting off the shitter is if we go to a 4-4-2. We're basically wasting Jozy as it stands, and he's actually in really good form right now, he's got 8 goals for his club and they look to be a pretty solid bet for winning their league and a UCL spot next year. I'd just put Donovan in the midfield and pair Dempsey with Jozy. Maybe I'm overlooking something, but Dempsey seems to control the ball better than Donovan does, which is pretty key for a striker.