The Football/Soccer Thread

CesareRomiti said:
Very sad, would have made things more interesting. Also sad for the people if italy, who are after all totally in love with football
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It makes you think whether the Euros were an aberration or it's going to take another generation to make them competitive again. Also doubts on the quality of Serie A where the vast majority of the national players ply their trade.
 
Payback for getting Zidane sent off in the final. There is fouling in a robust but honest way and there is snide liberty taking. Though the Germans usually go in for the first method, France also have a big grievance with a German goalkeeper.

I have never been a fan of catenaccio.
 
Kingstonian said:
Payback for getting Zidane sent off in the final. There is fouling in a robust but honest way and there is snide liberty taking. Though the Germans usually go in for the first method, France also have a big grievance with a German goalkeeper.

I have never been a fan of catenaccio.
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And then there's John Terry's statement on England, "Diving is something the England lads don't do."
 
Italy is in a golden generation - of coaches.

Players - not so much. But still they really should be winning their playoff easily
 
Why did Australia leave Oceania for World Cup qualifying? To better improve their squad so they aren't beating on minnows all the time?

Now that they are gone, New Zealand always has a chance to make it. Of course this playoff situation where you're flying people from the Americas half way across the world doesn't make it any better. What was FIFA thinking?
 
Fwiffo said:
Why did Australia leave Oceania for World Cup qualifying? To better improve their squad so they aren't beating on minnows all the time?

Now that they are gone, New Zealand always has a chance to make it. Of course this playoff situation where you're flying people from the Americas half way across the world doesn't make it any better. What was FIFA thinking?
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Peru already won that draw and qualified for the Russia 2018. What were you thinking?
 
viaattovannucci said:
Peru already won that draw and qualified for the Russia 2018. What were you thinking?
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Yes I know that. A Peruvian work mate came to tell me about how boring the game was. Does it make sense for Peru to fly to New Zealand for a playoff? Does it make sense for New Zealand to always win Oceania? If my memory serves me correct, New Zealand has never scored in the World Cup.
 
Fwiffo said:
Yes I know that. A Peruvian work mate came to tell me about how boring the game was. Does it make sense for Peru to fly to New Zealand for a playoff? Does it make sense for New Zealand to always win Oceania? If my memory serves me correct, New Zealand has never scored in the World Cup.
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Well, in that case, what FIFA is thinking is actually pretty transparent. Playing against the fifth-best team in South America radically diminishes the Oceania winner’s chance to qualify for the World Cup. This makes all the more sense when that winner is likely to be NZ.

As for Australia, not only do they now have a more straightforward path to qualification (even if it is never quite in the bag), they also get to play more challenging games over the course of the campaign. A win-win for them.
 
Kingstonian said:
Payback for getting Zidane sent off in the final. There is fouling in a robust but honest way and there is snide liberty taking. Though the Germans usually go in for the first method, France also have a big grievance with a German goalkeeper.

I have never been a fan of catenaccio.
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That was one of the worst fouls I've ever seen committed on a football field. The result, a West German goal kick!
 
viaattovannucci said:
Well, in that case, what FIFA is thinking is actually pretty transparent. Playing against the fifth-best team in South America radically diminishes the Oceania winner’s chance to qualify for the World Cup. This makes all the more sense when that winner is likely to be NZ.

As for Australia, not only do they now have a more straightforward path to qualification (even if it is never quite in the bag), they also get to play more challenging games over the course of the campaign. A win-win for them.
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Doesn't Australia then have a tougher qualification? I assume the Asian region (save the perennial favourites) would be a tougher series of fixtures to get through than a one off playoff as an automatic representative of Oceania. I can see they want to improve themselves.

May I flip your viewpoint? Didn't Australia then take some poor Asian country's spot? Some middling one that never quite gets past Japan and South Korea. Maybe FIFA should just group all the minnows together and call it the group that never sends a representative to the World Cup.
 
Fwiffo said:
Doesn't Australia then have a tougher qualification? I assume the Asian region (save the perennial favourites) would be a tougher series of fixtures to get through than a one off playoff as an automatic representative of Oceania. I can see they want to improve themselves.

May I flip your viewpoint? Didn't Australia then take some poor Asian country's spot? Some middling one that never quite gets past Japan and South Korea. Maybe FIFA should just group all the minnows together and call it the group that never sends a representative to the World Cup.
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Asia gets four outright qualification spots plus one through an intercontinental playoff. I think that is more than fair, considering the general quality of the teams in that confederation.

This means that you don’t need to get past Japan and South Korea at all. For 2018, they have Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Saudi Arabia who are representing them. Australia, having finished third in their group, had to jostle with Honduras in an intercontinental playoff. Imagine: they finished third behind Japan and SA in their group, yet they still gained another chance for a WC-playoff against a second-tier Central American team.

How is this not easier than Oceania? There you might still end up against a South American giant who didn’t do particularly well in that campaign (no matter how well you do until that point)?
 
Chris Coleman with Sunderland - bottom of Championship. He really wants a challenge.
 
Fwiffo said:
Chris Coleman with Sunderland - bottom of Championship. He really wants a challenge.
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I saw Brentford play Sunderland a month or so ago. They are big units. John O'Shea is still there. Coleman did a good job at Fulham and might be able to lift them. It is a big club with history. Sunderland itself is a dump though I like most other places on the North East metro system - even South Shields.
 
Kingstonian said:
I saw Brentford play Sunderland a month or so ago. They are big units. John O'Shea is still there. Coleman did a good job at Fulham and might be able to lift them. It is a big club with history. Sunderland itself is a dump though I like most other places on the North East metro system - even South Shields.
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What is it like to manage Sunderland?

Former Black Cats manager Simon Grayson on BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek

"I don't think the club is unmanageable but it is a big proposition for anybody because of the name, where it's been, the fanbase etc. What we found more difficult than I realised was trying to transfer the positivity from the training ground to the Stadium of Light, where there has been a lot of negativity and poor results over the years.

I met him [owner Ellis Short] when I was interviewed for the job and at the first game of the season and that was the last I heard or saw of him. He moved to America. In his defence, he has put £250m into that club and is still funding it now. "

250M quid? Sure doesn't look like it. I was surprised John O'Shea is still there. Thought he would have packed it up like Defoe for a Premiership club. I still remember him coming out here with United to play a friendly against Celtic. He was one of the rising stars.
 
I'm going to the MLS Cup final!!! Now I just have to get my mate's girlfriend in.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42204669

"England won't win World Cup but draw gives us chance to improve - Alan Shearer"

Yes lads, let's start setting that bar low. Reckon Iceland and Saudi Arabia may be entering the tournament with more ambition.
 
Brentford 3 Fulham 1.

Bees come out on top in the second West London Derby in a few days.

Entertaining game. Both sides are good to watch but both can be fragile and lacking steel.
 
"England manager Gareth Southgate has been told his job is safe even if his side lose every game at next year's World Cup in Russia."

Where do I get a job like that? Guaranteed employment and I don't even have to produce results. The bar is set very low - actually, it doesn't even exist for English national football. All one has to do should they win this job is get dressed every morning looking like the gaffer.
 
Five English clubs from the Premiership in the knockout rounds for Champions League. A first. Let's hope they don't all notch Arsenal-like results.
 
I'm going to the MLS Cup final... mate's girl wanted to go so I ceded my ticket to her. We both grabbed them during the seasons' purchase lottery window. $220 plus fees for two. Finding a third ticket for myself was madness. Finally woke up at 5am and bought a $340 single ticket (fees and taxes included). Hopefully he reimburses the other two in cash so it's only a $300 day for me.
 
We win the treble! I actually sat next to a very subdued Seattle Sounders away supporter.

And I'm broke again after spending it all on booze.
 
Manchester United not spending enough

Mourinho:
"I know what a big club is. One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team. They are two different things. When you speak about responsibilities to win the Premier League, Tottenham doesn't have that responsibility because they are not a club with the same history as us. Arsenal don't have the responsibility to win it. Chelsea don't have the responsibility to win it. When you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club."

The rest of us are in it to get top 4 or top 6 and call it a day? I wonder what his views are on Leicester.
 
Fwiffo said:
Manchester United not spending enough

Mourinho:
"I know what a big club is. One thing is a big club and another thing is a big football team. They are two different things. When you speak about responsibilities to win the Premier League, Tottenham doesn't have that responsibility because they are not a club with the same history as us. Arsenal don't have the responsibility to win it. Chelsea don't have the responsibility to win it. When you speak about big football clubs, you are speaking about the history of the club."

The rest of us are in it to get top 4 or top 6 and call it a day? I wonder what his views are on Leicester.
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He never disappoints.
 
Becoming a fan of Liverpool, love watching Salah, Coutinho, and Mane.

Still waiting for Dembele to recover for Barca.
 
LelandJ said:
Becoming a fan of Liverpool, love watching Salah, Coutinho, and Mane.

Still waiting for Dembele to recover for Barca.
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They play good football and score many golazos between the three of them and Firmino. It is all very unfortunate, since I detest Liverpool. My only hope is for Barcelona to snag Coutinho in the next couple of weeks!
 
viaattovannucci said:
They play good football and score many golazos between the three of them and Firmino. It is all very unfortunate, since I detest Liverpool. My only hope is for Barcelona to snag Coutinho in the next couple of weeks!
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Midfield of Coutinho, Iniesta, and Busquets would be too good.
 
Brentford beat Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Then Magpie and Crown until after midnight. There were no trains on Boxing Day, but we had the fastest bus trip ever on the 65 to Kingston at 1.30 in the morning. No stopping - a straight run through.

Then Brentford beat Sheffield Wednesday 2 nil last Saturday.

The good run may come to an end this evening, away to top of the table Wolves.
 
Kingstonian said:
Brentford beat Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Then Magpie and Crown until after midnight. There were no trains on Boxing Day, but we had the fastest bus trip ever on the 65 to Kingston at 1.30 in the morning. No stopping - a straight run through.

Then Brentford beat Sheffield Wednesday 2 nil last Saturday.

The good run may come to an end this evening, away to top of the table Wolves.
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That's the second time Brentford has knocked off Villa in the past 50 years or something, isn't it. Great run at the moment.

Some Bees fans turned up to my local game last weekend after attending the Test in Melbourne.
 
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