It doesn't matter how buddy-buddy you are with the press though, if you're England manager they'll turn on you in the end.
It doesn't matter how buddy-buddy you are with the press though, if you're England manager they'll turn on you in the end.
There are whispers about Brendan Rodgers taking being poached by Spurs should Redknapp get the England job. Even though he just signed a new contract, I feel that this could be game over for the Swans if it happens :cry:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/...28_306x423.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Old Manus
There's going to be a lot of managerial horse-trading this summer it seems.
Luis Suarez you smurfing idiot why didn't you shake the man's hand. I think Luis has to go in the Summer. We can't carry on like this.
Still, this was pretty genius. Knowing Evra is going to try to kill him he shoves Rio Ferdinand in the way instead and it is one of the funniest things I have seen in football:
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ess/s4064h.gif
Rio would've fit in well with Kuyt, Spearing, Adam, Suarez etc. in our team of ugly smurfers before he took that faceplant. He could be our star player now!
edit: boooo! we were trout and deserved to lose so :monster: fair play to evra for that comedy trolling at the end too, I think he won the troll war.
Just proves that Suarez is bad news. All it would have taken is a simple handshake and everything could have just been forgotten. I don't think he'll be leaving Anfield any time soon though. As much as he is a cock, just like Craig Bellamy, they're both fantastic footballers.
I think we definitely deserved it today. Just hope Villa can do us a favour tomorrow afternoon.
Enjoy your evening, Patrice!
The backdrop was always going to lead to a tricky event or two in the game but I'm happy with the game itself. We played well and were unlucky to concede a goal, and could have scored more.
Naaawww. Suarez is a cock for sure, but I feel it's unfair to lump Craig in with him. Yeah he gives it a bit of mouth on the pitch but have a read http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...ll-school.html he's not a bad guy deep down imho. (Yes I know, Daily Mail!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubbaforever
^ Aside from the odd harmless spat, Bellamy has been nothing but a great example to any young footballer.
Can't believe what happened in that game. Fergie said in the post match interview that Evra had said to him before the game that he would shake Suarez hand, kinda like a truce. To say that Suarez was the one in the wrong and still neglects to shake Evra's hand labels him as an absolute disgrace to football. He could have easily started a riot between the fans.
I am not being biased here when I say there was little wrong with Evra celebrating in the end. It was a massive game they won and he was celebrating with the home fans, there is nothing bad about that. It wasn't as if he ran down to the Liverpool end and started dancing.
As for Kenny Daglish? A very blinded man. He says he never seen the non-handshake. He also backs Suarez still. :confused: Also, has he ever directly answer a question given to him? A firm no.
I agree 100% with everything you said there Donal. Nothing wrong with what Evra did even if I did not enjoy seeing it!
I thought Kenny was being sarcastic about not seeing the handshake debacle though. I think he just hates answering questions about drama and prefers to talk about the actual football. I could be wrong though.
Yeah your probably right. I'm sure he is sick to the teeth of hearing about Suarez and all the drama that has gone on with it. One thing is for certain though, Suarez has done no favours for his manager throughout all of this.
I agree, Psy, that Bellamy is not in the same league as Suarez... but he's still a cock. My best friend met him in Glasgow when he was on loan at Celtic and 'cock' is the perfect description for him.
I don't dispute some of the work he's done around the world. I think that is absolutely fantastic. The amount of money that footballers make there should be a lot more of his generosity. That still doesn't mean he's particularly pleasant face-to-face.
"Odd harmless Spat" eh, Rocket Edge? I'm sorry, but I don't think that attacking girls in nightclubs, throwing chairs at assistant managers and attacking a team mate with a golf club can be described as a harmless spat.
I agree with you about King Kenny though... looks like he's got blinders on to the world.
To be fair, it was John Arne Riise he battered with a golfclub. How many of us can honestly say we'd never do the same after seeing him belt another 40 yard shot into Row Z?
Oh my God how many chances should we have buried to level it in those last two minutes.
Norwich deserved the win though, our defence was leakier than me that time I had chlamydia. I can't understand how they do it. Looking at their players, they just seem so average, yet do everything right. They even beat us with posession in the first half.
i think the handshake at the start between players should have been cancelled. none of this would have happened. in saying that suarez really is a disgusting excuse for a human. Liverpool FC have been greatly damaged by the circus surrounding him.
PS: Bellamy's annoying, but that's it. Great attitude on the grass (as long as its not a golf course).
Bellamy is at least honest about what he does. Suarez is a bit... slimier, you know what I mean?
I disagree with cancelling handshakes. If you are going to play against another player for millions per year, you should be able to shake their hand at the start of the match in an agreement to playing against each other fairly (as that is what the pre-match handshakes are about). If you can't respect each other on that basic a level, then you shouldn't be playing against each other. Whoever declines the handshake should just not play.
Just plain stupid. That best describes what Suarez did. I love though how now there is a conspiracy theory being circulated that Evra actually faked-out Suarez by pulling his hand away at the last moment to MAKE Suarez miss him. Even if that's the case, it was a disgrace.
I really think that if they get a good offer for him in the summer, say from Real Madrid, they should take it. He has had a history of problems on the field and this latest episode only highlights it. Sell him, however, for a legit football reason as well: He doesn't score enough. He is wonderfully tricky on the ball and has loads of talent but he has missed so many chances this season. Liverpool all season have been really poor in the final third and he has been chief among the culprits.
Also, please stop playing Downing for a while. With each game he shows less and less ability. It is clear he has hit some sort of wall of confidence and literally did nothing all game save for give the ball away time and time again.
Finally, can someone please remind "Sir" Alex that unless he wants to go through all the sordid history HIS players have been through, from Keane to Rooney to Giggs, he should probably refrain from passing judgment on anyone else's.
At this point, I think Liverpool should really focus in and try to win the double with the FA and Carling Cup. Top 4 really looks a pipe dream unless they get things together. Though, to be honest, Chelsea have looked awful, Arsenal are up and down and I don't really believe in Newcastle, so maybe we still have an outside chance, but I'm more looking for some Cup wins over Champions league as the most realistic goals at this point. Also, you know, actual goals, might be a good thing to get a few more of too.
Take care all.
Yeah Downing has been an extreme disappointment. For someone with all that Premiership and England experience and who is meant to be in the prime of his career he has not performed anywhere near to the standards that he should be.
As for Fergie, he knows what he's doing. He likely does not give the slightest of smurfs about what happened out there. He's a master of the media and he's using gamesmanship to unsettle the team he always acknowledges as his club's biggest rival. I salute the man because it has worked. But when you look at it objectively, failing to shake a man's hand is hardly on a level with, say, running up to someone in the crowd and kicking them in the head, and you didn't see him getting rid of Cantona.
Yeah Downing has been an extreme disappointment. For someone with all that Premiership and England experience and who is meant to be in the prime of his career he has not performed anywhere near to the standards that he should be.
As for Fergie, he knows what he's doing. He likely does not give the slightest of smurfs about what happened out there. He's a master of the media and he's using gamesmanship to unsettle the team he always acknowledges as his club's biggest rival. I salute the man because it has worked. But when you look at it objectively, failing to shake a man's hand is hardly on a level with, say, running up to someone in the crowd and kicking them in the head, and you didn't see him getting rid of Cantona.
I met him before too in Cardiff, and even accidently spilled water on him, and he was alright with me, just joking around...that said he was with his family.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubbaforever
As for the whole Suarez thing, it's all well and good saying "there should have been no handshake" but the fact is that there was, and he should have took it. If he had this would all be over now. Also Kenny's awful handling of it at the end didn't help much either.
But with regards to the game, I enjoyed it. I thought Utd played well with even Ferdinand putting in a great performance (that knock on the face obviously helped), a well won game.
Well I know all that but his heart is in the right place if you get me. :monster:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubbaforever
I agree. Cancelling handshakes is a way of saying to everyone that we have failed when it came to fair play. Just because the likes of JT and his mishaps we shouldn't neglect the thousands of handshakes that have gone on before the game. Besides, it's an extra bit of drama to a game, nothing wrong with that!Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Rooney and Giggs have turned out to be not the greatest of role models yes, but their controversies happened outside of football. It's harsh putting blame on Fergie when he hasn't had to deal with these things directly. As for Keane, the man was a bit of a lunatic, but he's a good man at the end of the day ala Craig Bellamy. He hasn't done anything apart from a bad tackle or mental moment to warrant him a bad person.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Captain
Speaking of, I love watching Roy Keane if he's on telly with Adrian Chiles. He gives Chiles these dark looks like he wants to break every bone in his face, and you get the feeling Chiles notices it and feels really uncomfortable.
On a related note, I never thought I would find myself saying this, but Gary Neville is a brilliant pundit, possibly the best in English football right now. When he got hired I was like "Oh here we go :roll2" expecting him to basically fellate Ferguson every week while accusing Liverpool of all the lovely things Man Utd fans love to accuse Liverpool of being, but he has been objective and his comments and analysis have been very incisive and enlightening.
Yeah myself and my brother were having the same discussion yesterday, I completely agree. He's a very comfortable talker (listening Jamie Redknapp?) who isn't afraid to speak his mind, something that is missing from English punditry. Double 0 Souness is another example of someone who isn't afraid to be honest. It's different over here, just listen to this, but the circumstances are obviously different because we are a smaller nation and we are the spectators at the end of the day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17019634
Between John Terry, Luis Suarez and now the return of Carlos 'how do i PR' Tevez, I DON'T KNOW WHO TO HATE ANYMORE!
Also, from the article:
Holy hell.Quote:
Total loss of earnings: about £9.3m
Terry is by miles the worst out of those three.
Giggsy!!!!
City still look favourites but we aren't giving up without a fight. Just need a nice defeat for the scousers and it's the perfect day!
It is amazing to say two players who are near 40 years of age gave us the victory today. Giggs scores on his 900th league appearance, kudos :up:
Oof, smurf me. Why do Liverpool never win finals the easy way? I think that's the fifth I've seen go to extra time now, and smurf knows how many where we've come from behind. People may say "Oh it was only Cardiff" (which would be a big disservice to them) but we beat Stoke, Chelsea and Man City on the way here, all three in away games, so it was well smurfing earned.
Stewart Downing MOTM. And he deserved it. I... I... wha? :confused: how on earth did he manage that.
Also Skrtel shoving Charlie Adam out of the way when he ran away to celebrate is one of the funniest things I have seen.
Also also I enjoyed seeing Stevie G, Andy Carroll, and Stewart Downing all say "smurf off" on national TV. :)
I agree. Downing didn't put a foot wrong all match. The people who belittle Cardiff are haters, they were there for a reason. I felt sorry for them in the end I must say being so close. Also, why on earth isn't Bellamy starting? Seriously he is probably Liverpool's best player. Apart from a few Liverpool players (oh, you know) who I dislike, players who have been there for years deserved some silverware.
WOW!
All credit to Cardiff who were brave, tough and wouldn't die. When Dirk put that goal in, I thought they had sealed it but Cardiff continued to fight and scored a crazy goal to set up that finish.
As for the PK's, it was clear half the players were out of gas, especially one Charlie Adam, and I was surprised that Bellamy didn't take one of the kicks, but boy, what a way to end, with a Gerrard winning it for Liverpool.
Congrats King Kenny, congrats Liverpool, let's hope this is the start to a big spring and summer.
Take care all.
I couldn't agree more. Dirk Kuyt has been an incredible servant to the club, has always put in a hell of a shift and scored in a Champions League final which we lost. There are few who deserve a medal more than that man. Honourable mentions to Skrtel and Agger too in that regard.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Edge
Being a Utd and Swansea fan (despite living in Barry) I was unsure of which way I wanted this to go, and was just watching it for a good game. When Kuyt scored though I realised I was probably leaning towards Cardiff slightly, but either way it was a great game.
I would say Liverpool deserved the win despite a fantastic performance from Cardiff who never let it end for them.
Between that, the Arsenal v Spurs game AND the last gasp winner from Giggs that cheered me up to no end it was an excellent day of football.
In the battle of Tom Heaton vs. Liverpool & The Kitchen Sink, there was only one side I was going to support and there was only one side I knew would inevitably win, but with 39 shots at goal and 19 of them on target, I think he can come away feeling that he did what he could. I tuned in just before Kuyt was subbed on and immediately thought "trout, Kuyt with fresh legs will swamp a bunch of severely tired Cardiff defenders" and sadly I was not wrong, but I was delighted when they got one back. Both Gerrards fluff their penalties but I'd say that the scuff from one of the previous players where the ball just bobbled slowly towards goal was the worst of them. And Kenny Miller, even if you are overrated, you should still be able to slot a penalty in. All my mates constantly go on about how Rangers and Celtic get so many penalties, so he must have had a buttload of practice by now!
......
.....
Anybody wanna play handegg?
Okay, here's a post-game analysis from a pseudo-'Johnny Foreigner' who sat watching that game (Eng Holland that is, maximum respect to Gary Speed but I'd rather watch pub football than Costa smurfing Rica) with a perplexed look on his face as he listened to ITV complimenting England's performance when they were 2-0 down and being outplayed:
I said before the game that the best thing for England would be for them to get absolutely murdered by Holland at home so everybody gets real and realises that England aren't very good because they have rubbish players and not because of a manager who can't speak English or because John Terry is captain. The worst thing that could have happened was what almost happened, where England came from absolutely nowhere to save the game and return home as ~PROUD LIONS~ who held the previous World Cup finalists in a battling display of british spirit. No, that performance was just tit and 2-3 was flattering.
I know what they were trying to do. Stuart Pearce was shouting it from the touchline - work the ball up the field and "don't go long". What actually happened was they would work the ball up as far as just inside their half, knock it to Scott Parker, who turns around, gets closed down and just passes it back. Nobody was coming short to collect it, and they'd knock it around for a while before one of them (usually Gareth Barry) would get bored and hoof it upfield in the general direction of Danny Welbeck where it would either meet with a dutch head or go straight out for a throw.
They reminded me of Swansea at the start of the season when we were struggling to score. They didn't want to play long ball but the link up play was poor because the players just weren't used to playing together and hadn't built up the huge amount of trust it takes in your team to play the short passing game. They constantly ran out of ideas and just got rid of the ball quickly before they could end up cocking it up themselves.
That's not to say it was the only reason why it didn't work. England's passing to night was smurfing woeful. Elephant passes bumping off shins, passing it into touch, overhitting through balls, I don't think they strung more than four passes together the whole match. They just couldn't do it, they lack the technique and ball control (I actually laughed out loud when Parker tripped over his own feet and set Robben through on goal late on).
Holland didn't play very well either. Robben and Kuyt won that game almost single-handedly and their passing in general was almost as bad as England's, but they at least went forward with some kind of conviction and idea of what to do with the ball.
But ignore everything I said, I'm just narked that no-hopers like Gareth Barry and Adam Johnson who I don't think has played a full game all season (and has a number of appearances I could count on my hands) are permanent callups while Nathan Dyer isn't even considered. Frazier smurfing Campbell?
Verdict: England are not going to win anything anytime soon and will not get out of the groups in E2012 if they play like that
Player Ratings:
Hart: 7/10 Didn't have much to do, not at fault for either goal
Richards: 6/10 Robben styled all over him in the first half, fairly solid otherwise
Baines: 6/10 Made a few zippy runs that went a few strides before he lost the ball
Cahill: 7/10 Offside for the goal, one of the more encouraging displays
Smalling: 5/10 Not good enough for this level
Johnson A: 6/10 No penetration with his runs, wishful crosses
Sturridge: 6/10 Didn't do much, no idea how he got 'man of the match', should have scored
Barry: 5/10 Why is this guy in the team?
Milner: 4/10 Woeful. Lost the ball every time he recieved it, would have got red carded for a studs-up tackle had it been EPL
Young: 7/10 Only player that looked like scoring
Parker: 7/10 Made some last ditch blocks, fell over his own legs
Welbeck: 6/10 Offered little, was alone up front to 'hold up the ball', but couldn't do it
What, have you never watched any England game ever?Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Manus
I got so tired of watching the football that I ended up just having it on in the background while I played Yahtzee. Ever since seeing the stick Capello got, and seeing him forced out....sorry 'mutually left' I've gone off watching England play somewhat.
Thanks Old Manus I am glad I didn't have to watch that game now. So basically, England: Still worthless? Rightio. Brave Scotty Parker, True Lion of England was a funny choice for captain. Yes, alright Daniel, the media have been jizzing all over him the past 12 months and that of course makes him A World Class Player. I've never disliked Scotty P, don't get me wrong, but captain? Media pandering. You need someone with more international and European experience to lead the team. He's played what, 10 international games and 17 in Europe? Eh. And no not Stevie G either, I want him to retire from international football.
Wait for it...
ASHLEY COLE. :greenie:
Utter sackfuls of experience. Made a bunch of Arsenal fans cry. Is the only player in the GOLDEN GENERATION to actually not play like a bag of balls in an England shirt.
Just give it to Joe Hart and move on. Frankly, I don't see at all what the big deal is over this. Would giving one player the Captaincy over another actually make the team better? No, it wouldn't.
In other news, USA, USA USA! Great win for us over a team that we have struggled to beat. Dempsey has proven himself to be a world class player, not just for America but for any country. Frankly, I would love for Liverpool to take a run at him as I think he could be a huge boost to our attack and it would be great to root for a Yank, especially since the team is owned by the Red Sox.
Take care all.
Newcastle vs Sunderland this weekend, I can feel the malice in the air coming to a boil already or someone forgot to pick up after their dogs... common thing in this neck of the woods, then someone steps in it and spreads it all over the pavement, grass and someone else trails it into the house, carpets and- oh dear getting sidetracked... derp...
Yeah I'd be looking forward to the game if I weren't at band practice during the day but I'll be getting someone to give me updates. Hoping Newcastle can pull off all 3 points but can see it going either way or most likely a draw.
Can't believe that trout. No Champions League for LFC and there won't be until we put these games where we dominate to bed. It's the same old story. City, United, Norwich...doesn't matter who it is, it's the same. van Persie :argh: The man had like two touches of the ball in the entire game and both went in. If we had a player who could score like that...
Sign Soldado from Valencia. Offer him £300,000 per week; that should do it. Sell Charlie Adam for haggis meat if you have to in order to fund this.
Liverpool's biggest problem is their mentality. They are so defensive it's unpleasant to watch. Aside from that they simply do not have enough flair to create chances. Players like Adam, Downing, & Henderson, all good players but they don't have any cutting edge. They don't have anyone in the team who will make a killer pass. They are good at holding onto the ball, can cross, shoot, but are a little too one-dimensional. But I think this is due to the way the academies are set up out there where they promote this style of play that they think is best. There's a massive lack of playmakers in England. It's also why I don't understand why Bellamy doesn't start all the time. He's one of the only players who can beat someone and makes things happen.
I just think they should go for broke a little more. Go 4-3-3 like Arsenal do against the lesser teams. Put Suarez as a winger with Bellamy on the opposite side & Carroll in the middle, with the wing backs bombing forward. You might concede more but your more than likely going to create more chances. My 2 cents anyway. Deserves to be mentioned that Van Persie is the best striker in the world at the moment.
I disagree strongly with that, Donal. Liverpool are an extremely attacking side under Dalglish. Certainly the most attacking I've known us to be in the past 15ish years, since Roy Evans left. We're definitely making chances - I think we had 40+ (no exaggeration) in the Cup final. We just can't score - that is the problem! Also, Craig Bellamy can't start every game - he has a knee problem. He is sort of like Ledley King.
I agree with the 4-3-3 suggestion though, I think that would be an ideal formation for LFC. Kuyt/Maxi can deputise for Bellamy when he has knee knack.
Oh God, I just saw the Liverpool game on MotD. You're right, there is some kind of aura at Anfield that compels opposition goalkeepers to play absolute stormers.
Liverpool do create chances and play positive football. The problem is, they DO NOT FINISH. They have been a bit unlucky, as I think they've hit the posts the most times in the league but frankly this game illuminates their problem: They retained the majority of possession, had more chances, but Van Persie gets two touches and converts both.
I stand by what I said a few weeks ago, sell Suarez for as much as you can get. Real Madrid have apparently been interested and buy more clinical poachers up front. We need someone who will convert chances, in the vein of what Klose seems to do for Germany. Even if they only get a few touches, they will convert more often then not. For all of Suarez's pace and trickery, he just doesn't convert enough for Liverpool.
I would like to see the 4-3-3 setup as well. If/when Gerrard stays healthy, he should play through the middle of the midfield with Suarez and Bellamy/Kuyt on the flanks and Carroll up front. Henderson should deputize for Gerrard while Downing and Spearing also play in the midfield.
I have been supremely disappointed with Charlie Adam. What happened to his superb set-piece ability? He failed to beat the first man on free kicks and corners all day and that has been the norm for him. I think he needs to sit and work on the training ground for a few games.
Realistically, Liverpool should focus on the FA Cup now. We are ten points out of 4th and unless we dramatically pick up our play, we are not getting CL football next year. It's a tough call but winning a second trophy would make this season a modest success.
Also, what's this that I hear our old friend Rafa might be coming to Chelsea?
Take care all.
Van Persie league goals this season - 25
Liverpool league goals this season - 30 (6th lowest in the Premiership I think)
And that's pretty much their problem in a nutshell.
In the meantime can Chelsea carry on being rubbish for another month at least?
EDIT: Blast, they got rid of Villas-Boas.
That match was rough but a draw's a draw, 4 points in 6 gained from the "unwashed" this season. But that was the filthiest game of football I've seen for a while. Lee Cattermole has always been a brutish, brash and sometimes dirty player but he should've seen red within the first minute, well he did get sent off after the whistle for calling the ref something profane.
Cheick Tiote's drama dive after Sessegnon backhanded him was uncalled for but it got him sent off and set the pace for the rest of the match where the rest of the Sunderland team were confined to their box. I just cannot believe Ba missed a penalty and Shola Ameobi scores, I guess his title of Mackem Slayer isn't just a running joke after all.
Post derby tensions haven't been too bad but the odd drunken brawl in the town centre here in South Shields, just a bit away from Newcastle. I managed to miss that by minutes as I was passing through to get home from band practice.
I've heard that the Sunderland fans at the game were spreading their own poo all over the walls of the away end toilets and were urinating down the steps. I know its a derby, tensions are high but football is football, not an excuse to be a complete sod. Black And White or Red And White.
lol chelsea what will you do next
Now there's the Man City I know and love. Where have you been hiding all this time, baby. :heart:
I'll pre-emptively ban Old Manus.
Also hi-five. This is like the Roy Hodgson days. Hell, this is like the Graeme Souness days! Nostalgia! :love: I still want my beautiful baby Rafa back on the coaching staff to team up with Kenny. Hands off him Chelski. :(
SWANSEA YOU BUNCH OF LEGENDS! Was gutted when Sinclair missed the peno but they still managed the result in the end, massive respect.
Apologies for the delayed reply on the Liverpool debate. They really do have a problem at scoring goals. I also hold onto the thought that they are too defensive. They sit so deep. I can't help but think of the likes of Blackpool last season or Norwich now and seeing them score a bunch of goals yet Liverpool struggle yet they have better players. I'm aware that the lesser teams do set up shop at Anfield but still. If they had a poacher on their team I think they could nick a goal here and there though.
I've been on some family do in the middle of nowhere near Welshpool for the weekend. Never have I felt so justified in my determination to crouch outside over my phone in the one square metre of countryside that had 3G signal and refresh the BBC live text over and over. I hope that somewhere, someone heard a cry of delight echo through the rolling fields at 3:45 this afternoon.
EDIT: That's the 3 points from Man City and Arsenal at home, we SHOULD have also got the 3 points from Chelsea were it not for that last minute deflection for a draw, and we got 1-1 against Spurs. Man Utd scraped 1-0 from a defensive howler. I can't wait for Liverpool.
Just settling down to watch Match of the Day 2.
Come on the Swans! Get in!
EDIT: As a Man Utd fan I have to say we got lucky with the penalty decisions. Theirs was, ours wasn't. Simple as that. I'm not gonna read too much into the arguments in the City ranks. Bad day at the office but they still look strong.
Have to say though, De Gea has been looking a class act in the last 6-8 weeks. Good to see Johnny Evans coming back to form as well.
Quite proud to be the only championship chasing team to beat the Swans on their own turf... only just mind!
Now, that's more like it. Granted, Everton barely showed up, but Liverpool finally put together a consistent 90 minutes at home and actually SCORED!
Real happy for Stevie to mark his 400 league appearance with a Hat Trick though credit goes to Suarez who was lively all night and believe it or not, Andy Carroll who did a wonderful job tracking back all game, holding up the ball and winning headers. There may be hope for him yet.
I still think we need a more clinical poacher, but this result will do ahead of the FA Cup match on Sunday. I'd like to see this same side, with just Kuyt in for Henderson, play Stoke and have Bellamy and Maxi waiting for a second half sub-in if we need a burst of speed and energy.
Finally, a game I watched without pulling my hair out.
Take care all.
I damned well believe it. This "Andy Carroll is tit" nonsense is the same as the "Emile Heskey is tit" nonsense. Never seen anyone whose opinion I respect say Carroll is a bad player. He had a bit of a shaky start to his Anfield career although I'll chalk that up to his lingering injury, and I still don't think he was worth the £35m fee, but he's someone I'm always happy to see in a Liverpool shirt. But then blah blah a striker's job is to score goals and...
Personally I put this win down to a distinct lack of Charlie Adam and hope to see this trend continuing.
I don't know many people who think Andy Carroll is trout, just people who think that he's not the same without his pal Joey Barton giving him supply, people who think that Newcastle are just better than Liverpool at supplying a striker a goal-scoring opportunity, people who think that Liverpool are trout in general and people who think that Andy Carroll never wanted to go to Liverpool, doesn't like it and doesn't want to stay there... and that this is all affecting his head. :p
For me? It's sort of like Torres at Chelsea. Good striker, good club, but sometimes things just don't work out as well for you as they did in the past.
For the love of all things holy, please change that god damn word filter. Change it back to skulls, change it to four giant :wasim:s, I don't care anymore.
Let's change it to Lee Trundle and watch all the Americans flip their Lee Trundle.
Cracking game last night. Well played Chelsea. I can't see them getting past the likes of Real, Bayern or Barca but it would be quite funny if they went on to win it with Di Matteo. 8 managers in the last 9 years then their caretaker manager leads them to European glory. That would be amazing.
Well they were a goalpost away from doing it with Avram Grant. Anyway I hope Barcelona or Real get them and crush them, but I suspect they'll get Apoel or Marseille in the next round instead.
Ahh... memories... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by charliepanayi
They'll get Marseille. Chelsea are quite lucky with cup draws.
Reports in that the Spurs/Bolton game been called off because Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch and stopped breathing, and is now on his way to hospital. Absolutely horrible situation, I hope it doesn't turn out to be another Marc Vivien-Foe, only 23 years old. Nothing on his condition yet, but god damn I hope he is alright.
Yeah that trout is rough, I had Sky Sports News on for an hour after it happened and was rapidly losing faith in any good news before they said he's stable but in a very bad way in hospital. Even if he recovers it looks like his career may be over. Puts our performance at Craven Cottage (which was phenomenal by the way, watch MoTD plz) in perspective.
Great to see Muamba doing so well. It's really heart-warming to see fans, players and coaches all over the world offering their support as well. Brilliant stuff. One game, one family.
I know this is an EPL thread but someone has to mention Messi. Another hat trick last night. His eighteenth as a Barcelona player! He has now become the top goalscorer (254 goals) in the club's entire history... He's 24. Ridiculous. 45 games this season... 54 goals. Ridiculous.
Finally, good luck to a resurgent Chelsea tonight at the Etihad. Someone's got to take points off them there this season. Let's hope it's tonight!
Oh and I agree OM, I watched Match of the Day on Saturday and the Swans were awesome.
I wouldn't say Chelsea were resurgent just yet, have they even played an away game since Vilas-Boas left? They've had some soft home fixtures in the league and FA Cup, and put in a good performance against Napoli (though Napoli bottled it somewhat).
That said, if they can beat Spurs this weekend, I wouldn't mind.
Fair enough, maybe not a resurgent Chelsea, but certainly a bouyed Chelsea. If I'm honest I would say City have the edge, especially as John Terry isn't playing. Though there could be quite a few goals in it though if Kompany isn't fit.
You can talk about whatever league you want to be honest with you bubba. We just put "English football" because we'd have the American population of the forum rehashing the "IT IS CALLED SOCCAR !!!!" argument again and again.
Well, we'll just ignore yesterday at Loftus Road and spare the tears from a certain Liverpool fan and the shifty glances as people realise the Swans are only three points behind them, and pretend that the only thing that occurred during the game was this:
http://www.abload.de/img/animation3ju5h7.gif
Thanks Jim. :aimkiss: Was truly one smurfing hammer of a goal.
Also you just wait. Plucky underdogs Liverpool are going to come to the Liberty and grind out a point and I will gloat if we manage to pull it off.
http://images.supersport.com/Kenny-D...inez-R-300.jpg
"Hey Kenny, have you seen my impersonation of a Luis Suarez goal?"
Sorry to the Liverpool fans on this thread but your league form really is turd. They need a serious squad overhaul before they can think about breaking back into the top four.
Here's hoping the mighty Man Utd can open up a three point gap tonight and further close that goal difference gap. I think it's unrealistic to hope for a four-goal cushion tonight but two or three would be most welcome.
what are you people talking about?
next year is surely our year! :greenie:
And thus, for a second year in a row, Liverpool have decided to end their EPL campaign early.
Frankly, all I can ask for now is this: Let's win the FA Cup, bring up a bunch of our kids and then have Kenny retire for good at season's end. It's the best possible outcome for what has been a really putrid season on many fronts.
It has become clear that this team, as constituted and sadly, as managed will not be able to compete for the Top 4, to say nothing of the title. We are too slow, too direct, too lacking in imagination and are missing the most basic of football (SOCCER!) skills: hitting the net.
In my wildest fever dreams, we would be able to bring in someone like Joachim Löw who could craft this team back toward an actual squad, capable of passing and scoring as opposed to what we have now. Alas, I doubt he would leave Germany and especially not for this mess.
The whole squad needs to be retooled and that will not be easy. I want Suarez sold, I can't root for him anymore. I am tired of his antics and whatever ability he does have, and it is considerable, is negated by his terrible goal-line skills. Andy Carroll is clearly a project, but one that I'm not sure Liverpool can continue to work on. He has some skill but is just lazy, frankly. He has the body of a central forward but not the brain and I'm not sure you can teach that.
The midfield is a mess, especially on the wings. I think Sterling really deserves a run of games now. He showed more in 6 minutes then Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson have all year. Stewart Downing has gotten better but the bar was set so low, that says nothing. I, like so many others, love Dirk but I think he leaves in the summer and I can't blame him. I'll happily welcome Lucas back but Spearing hasn't been awful and holding midfield isn't our problem. As for Gerrard, it is terrible that he remains our engine and the only player who is capable of putting in a full shift because he cannot be counted on to stay healthy. Realistically, he can still give us a lot of great performances but he will not play a full season and when he is missing, we are truly lost in the middle.
Defensively, what seemed like a strength has turned very limp. Coates may be good but he still needs seasoning. I want Martin Kelly to get some central time as I think that's where his true talents are. I love Carra, but he's past his prime and also cannot be counted on for a length of time anymore. Enrique needs to go back to the basics, and rediscover his early season form which was wonderful. Glen Johnson has been good but is oft-injured as well. Noticing a trend here?
So, for this off-season, 4 things need to happen:
1. New Manager, someone with tactical prowess who will force Liverpool to do the basics well again.
2. Sell Suarez and bring in a true goal-scorer, someone who will take chances when given them and also, is a much more upstanding person. I'm not asking for a saint by any means, but Suarez already had a ton of red flags from his past and this season has shown that he cannot be trusted to keep his problems to himself.
3. Give the youth a chance, especially on the wings. I'd love to see Martin Kelly and Sterling play a bunch in what I think are their best positions. Maybe even give Coady a shout.
4. This is the hardest and also most obvious: Rediscover a killer instinct. Liverpool have LOST, not even tied, to teams that frankly aren't as good on paper as them and it's because they haven't wanted it as much as their opponents. There have been so many games where the win was there for the taking but they let it slip away or their opponent wanted it more. This ties in to the new manager as well.
Take care all.
1. Sell Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Dirk Kuyt to Anzi Machakachicken for £80m combined or whatever ridiculous money they want to throw at us. They'd be paying for the reputation of these players rather than what fading ability their old frames still have.
2. Spend every penny of it on hiring Jose Mourinho.
3. THIS IS OUR YEAR.
What are you talking about? He's a master!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Captain
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...36_468x313.jpg
http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/201...x371-45941.jpg
Yes I will keep posting that image.
Still no idea why people made a fuss over his World Cup handball - the one on the weekend was just hilariously daft and sums up Liverpool's fortune lately.
His World Cup handball was one of the best things I've ever seen. Watching the BBC who were utterly bumloving Ghana having to eat trout was hilarious.
He is a goofy twat and should be shot
He is a handsome stud and should be given a medal :colbert:
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
If by medal you mean asbo
He got his Carling Cup medal, so we don't need him around anymore. He doesn't deserve much else outside of a good slapping.
Luis is my favourite troll and the hysteria every time he so much as sneezes only makes me love his wacky handball antics more :aimkiss:
Suarez should realise you're only allowed to be extremely unpleasant and engage in gamesmanship if you're an England regular.
With all the insane jargon going on in the forums I'd like to post in a place where I know everything makes sense (y'know, apart from Psychotics ramblings that Liverpool are still a force), I didn't get to see any of the games from today, although I'm happy with most of the results: Arsenal losing and City drawing at home - so was it a pen at City, I didn't get to take a look but I hear from others that it wasn't?
Eitherway I hope Utd can capitalise on this, and also that Swansea can win tomorrow!
To be fair, I can't remember the last time he claimed Liverpool were a force.
There's an obvious wordplay here somewhere though
Looking back I'm sorry to say you're probably right, which is really upsetting since he isn't behaving like a typical Liverpool fan, what else do us Utd fans have except exclaming that we're the Champ19ns?Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Manus
when have I said liverpool aren't a bag of bollocks for the past three years? Apart from that brief period last year, I guess. Have you actually read the football thread? Like, ever? :colbert:
Liverpool are a midtable team and the amount of attention we receive from fans of other clubs - like your good self - and the media is disproportionate to how relevant we are to English football right now.
You're being too reasonable and making too much sense for my liking.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
what i meant to say was jordan henderson is world class and next year we'll win the league, you'll see.
There's more chance of Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra climbing into a hot, soapy bath together and playing 'Spot the Submarine'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
What if nukes wiped out both Manchester and London? :smug:
...and Newcastle.
...and "Everton", wherever that is...
I have decided I am only going to actively watch Liverpool in the FA Cup for the rest of this season. Otherwise, I end up being depressed all day long.
Also, what is going on at Man City? Strange injuries abound and they look like they WANT United to win the league. It's almost as if they realized that they are Man City and have no business being on top.
Take care all.
If Liverpool agree to start playing matches on New York City time then I will be happy to continue watching our downward spiral. However, having spent countless weekend mornings, often after arriving home from an overnight on set or at a job, watching the team be listless and miss glorious chances or not even play inspired, I'd rather sleep.
That said, if I ever AM in Liverpool, I will totally go to a match with you.
Take care all.
Question to Liverpool fan's - do you think Kenny Dalglish deserves to get the sack after today's performance? I watched the Newcastle game today and I thought they didn't do too badly in the first half, but in the second they fell through. They really lack belief.
Nope. This kneejerk bulltrout doesn't get anyone anywhere - look at Chelsea. Rome wasn't built in a day. But I would like him to take a long hard smurfing look at his methods and squad. (Hodgson was different because of his general attitude towards things, before anyone says it! :p)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocket Edge
But Roy Ho-- oh, right.
Looking at the table, I think what's happened here is that Newcastle are overachieving somewhat this season and (SPOILER)Everton are only above Liverpool by virtue of two quick wins over West Brom and the Swans, and that'll soon equal itself out. Then above that, you've got Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Man City/Utd. The fact is, those five teams are just better teams than Liverpool at the moment.
If you ignore Newcastle and (SPOILER)Everton for now, the next team up is Chelsea and you just have to compare their squads. Chelsea have proven scorers in Drogba, Sturridge et al (we'll forget Torres), as well as a top class midfield with Mata, Essien, Meireles and so on. Put that side by side with Liverpool's grossly unintimidating lineup of Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson and I can't really place Liverpool above them in the table. They have two players who are truly world class in Suarez and Kuyt, but other than that it's just a merry-go-round of average players with the exception of pensioner Steven Gerrard.
From this we can deduce that they are probably on paper the sixth best team in the league, and are two places away from it because of bad form, good form from the two teams above them, and I'm sure Suarez's eight game ban didn't help much. (SPOILER)Actually this one is just a joke. Carry on. You guys just need to step back and reassess your goals before any tribal chief killing.
Dear Barcelona
Please thrash Chelsea in the semi-finals. Or just beat them anyway.
Thanks
Charlie
I dunno, I've never liked Chelsea but at least they aren't running smug anymore, so it allows me to ignore them. Barcelona, on the other hand, are all kinds of smug. Most of the people I know would like them to lose, if only because it's more fun to have about eight teams who are all just as good as each other at the top of the CL than one team who is miles better than the rest. So everyone at work is hoping for Bayern to win the Champion's League, but will settle for Real Madrid. Nobody wants Chelsea or Barca to win, but they would take Chelsea over Barca if only so it's not another predictable year.
These people are mad. My order of preference is:
Bayern
Barcelona
Real Madrid
Abandoning the tournament this year
Chelsea
I don't care about predictable (and it's not so predictable, no team has won back to back European Cups in over twenty years), I do care about the prospect of John Terry lifting the European Cup. That said if Chelsea want to make the final and lose agonisingly again, I'm all for that.
YOU. I might've known!Quote:
Originally Posted by charliepanayi
You fat mothersmurfer, get the smurf out of my midfield and back to Blackpool. :colbert: £10m for your corners? I'll give you a god damn freddo for you to never take another corner again. Can't even beat the first man you tubby pile of incompetence you. :doublecolbert:
Also your list of winners is almost correct, just swap Barca for Real. Xabi Alonso > Javier Mascherano. :shobon:
I agree with BoB. I have always disliked Barca for that very reason, smugness! They are the very team to go and complain about something that happened to them & say nothing when they did the same thing they are talking about. :/ They are also the most boring team to watch when they play at home. Unless your a supporter I don't understand how a match that is one way traffic & 80% possession makes for an entertaining game. No amount of slick passing or a moment or two from Messi can make up for that in my book. Give me a competitive PL game any day. I personally would love for Chelsea to batter them. Highly unlikely but you can always hope.
The thoughts of Terry lifting the European Cup (although horrible) shouldn't evade the fact that there are members of the Chelsea squad who deserve a CL medal. I would prefer Bayern to win it, but yeah, anyone apart from Barcelona.
People who don't like Barcelona - you're not obliged to like Barcelona, yes they engage in gamesmanship etc (who doesn't?), but frankly I'm mystified that people can actively dislike them. I can imagine if this were the 70s you'd be complaining about Total Football being overrated or too 'smug'.
Maybe I'm just grateful to a team who have spared me having to watch Man Utd win two more European Cups. Plus why should we be the only team to get stuffed by them repeatedly anyway. Everyone else should suffer!
Why can't you understand people disliking Barcelona? Can you understand people disliking any other team? What about Manchester United? Chelsea? Real Madrid? Can you understand people disliking any of them? Why?Quote:
Originally Posted by charliepanayi
It's simple. You dislike any team that Cristiano Ronaldo has played or will play in.
And a word on yesterday: Toothless.
Gutted at the Liverpool win, not because of Liverpool, but because I want Blackburn to stay up, especially over Bolton. Hopefully they can get those points they need.
Also, oh Kenny, what will you do next? More Liverpool games on Sky, please. And let Andy Burton do the post-match interviews all the time.
why is it that Liverpool Do A Thing provokes more replies to this thread than any other event in football? :lol:
Anyway yeah BIG ANDY. :kiss: I am also very pleased for Brad Jones after the sad events surrounding his son.
Because nobody else is doing anything amusing. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Mario Balotelli.
The Spurs Implosion.
Fernando Torres.
Wolves!
Liverpool beat Blackburn 3-2 is hardly prime footballe comedie.
No, but if a manager first attempts to walk away half way through an interview and then threatens to bar a reporter from a future press conference to his face on live TV, it's always a little funny. :)
We don't have José anymore and not many managers these days are having a Keegan, so we have to make do with what we have! :D
And last time I checked, we have talked a lot about Balotelli and Torres. Wolves and Spurs struggling doesn't really amuse me much, but if we're talking serious football, I think Spurs have possibly the easiest run-in out of all the clubs in the league. Their CL spot is pretty safe as far as I'm concerned so I don't think they're going to lose out all that much from their recent form.
Wolves? Eh, going down. That's all there is to say about them at the moment, it's not rocket science. If I had to pick three teams to go down right now, I'd take Bolton, Wigan and Wolves. Just not Blackburn, if only for my mate's sake. And pleeeeeeeeease, Blackpool, win the playoffs again and come up. I want me some Ian Holloway.
Wolves are funny because they fired their manager, then said it was not a job for a novice, and then, welp.
Urgh, have to say Wigan are deserving their lead at the moment. The disallowed goal was the right call early on, but they've been slamming us. Since the goal we've improved by leaps and bounds, but Wigan are so much better than I've ever seen them in this game. There was that time that they had that guy (Zaki?) who came in, scored a few amazing goals and then never kept his form, but beyond that... this is leagues ahead of what I've seen from them before now.
Still hoping we can at least get a point out of this, if not three. C'mon, guys. :(
TITLE RACE OV- Wait a second . . .
Trust Wigan to start playing really well against the top bunch of teams when we play them on Monday!
I've watched every Swans game this season, and sat through all 90 minutes of each of them. But smurf me, today I had to stop watching and do something else at 65 minutes, such was our complete lack of anything resembling a formidable attacking move.
The first ten minutes were the best we had in the game. Scott Sinclair proved to us all that his very indifferent season (even though the media keep talking about him as our best player - very lazy journalism, he has been far from it this season, he's just one of the only players anyone can name) could take a further dip as he moved up a level from missing open goals from six yards (3 times this season so far) to the dizzy heights of failing to even connect with the ball in front of an empty net at half a yard. Excusable as he was in the middle of a bit of a fracas with defending players, but for smurf's sake.
Secondly, if recent performances are anything to go by, we may as well not play with a striker at all, stick Kemy Agustien in midfield and be done with it. At the moment we're pretty much playing with ten men, as our play between midfield and attack is nonexistent. It's only showing now, but Sigurdsson's amazing last few months scoring goals from midfield covered over the fact that attacking-wise, we're completely toothless. I've been wary of this all season. We had 80% of the posession in the first half against Newcastle but didn't look anywhere near scoring a goal because we just can't get the final ball in, just pass it around in midfield until a hopeful through ball goes nowhere. Danny Graham is a carthorse and I never rated him, he can't shoot without falling over.
Defensively...actually, no, it's not even worth it. I may think our attacking options are troute, but our defence is horrifically weak. I don't even care that QPR's second goal was offside, they just schooled us the whole game on how to play effective attacking football. I'll be back tomorrow once I've calmed down.
Wigan played fantastic tonight. Well deserving of their win. Really hope they stay up.
Unfortunately for City fans, this brings them false hope. Five games to go. 5 points clear. Yes, I know we have a trip to the Etihad, but City still have to play Newcastle away... and us... Good luck, lads.
Liverpool's Director of Football, Damien Comolli, has been sacked. I guess that means that it was indeed him and not Kenny responsible for transfers. I did think it was weird that new signings or players that had signed new contracts would be photographed shaking his hand and not Kenny's. And given that Dalglish was a caretaker last season and had been in the job a month, well, you don't let your caretaker manager have £35m to spend on one player, do you?
That's not to say "HEY GUYS IT'S NOT KENNY'S FAULT WE'RE tit", mind you. Team selection and player motivation are two honking great parts of his role and they haven't been up to scratch. I just find the dynamics of power at Anfield under FSG very interesting. Apparently they're looking for a new director of football... I wonder if Rafa fancies the job...? :greenie: As long as he buys Alonsos and Mascheranos instead of Josemis and Pellegrinos, he'll be alright in my book.
They said Kenny was responsible for all transfers, but then Mancini is also saying that the title race is over, so make what you will of those kind of statements. xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Who? :confused:Quote:
Josemis and Pellegrinos
I'm still sure we'll win the league, but dropping points at Fulham at all places? Ugh.
Looking forward to the FA cup matches this weekend. Predictions? I'm thinking it'll be an Everton and Chelsea final personally. Catch me later when I'm utterly wrong and it's Liverpool Spurs.
What a waste of money that Andy Carroll is. Would pay £35m for that goal every day of the week mate. :greenie: The relief is incredible. Anyway why don't we play like this in the smurfing league! Although I tell you, you never ever get used to your team going down in a massive match like that, even if they do smurfing love comebacks. Carroll and Suarez were monstrosities in that second half.
I think David Moyes was right. The whole country probably were behind Everton. Well, the whole country can just lick my balls right now. :cool:
I'd rather play Chelsea than Spurs as we have a great record against the blues, and a dire one against Spurs. But I would spend a lot of time praying that Torres is injured for the final.
e: newcastle fans were on our side though apparently. haway the barcodes :aimkiss: (it is because us winning p. much guarantees them Yuropeen football)
I was definitely in the Everton camp but would like to politely decline the opportunity to lick Psychotic's balls. I've always liked Andy Carroll. My mates said I was insane to keep him in my fantasy team and to be fair... they were absolutely damn right. He was class in the second half though and Liverpool definitely deserved the win in the end.
Pretty emphatic statement from City as well. Laughing at all the City fans felating Carlos Tevez even though they are still covered in pooh from when he shat all over them.
Well, you said something nice about Big Andy so I'll let you off. He's like Emile Heskey. He's got lots of haters, has lots of pressure on him and doesn't score a lot of goals. But you just feel so sorry for him and want him to do really well and it's all "d'aww :)" when he does. Love me some Big Andy.
Also, yeah, Tevez was a tit to the City fans who loved him. But, counterpoint, Wayne Rooney. I'll say one thing for Tevez, there is no player in the league I would rather have in the run-in after what he did at West Ham. I guess he may have done A Thing at Man Utd too but I didn't pay attention. :colbert:
Also, Suarez + Tevez = BESTEST STRIKEFORCE EVER! they would only manage to play 3 games per season together but those 3 games would be like nothing this Earth will ever witness again.
The credit for that goal actually went to Carroll's Ponytail.
Also, Gylfi Sigurdsson. I can't explain how amazing this guy is at the game of association football.
I think Andy Carroll needs to just embrace his destiny as our next Sami Hyypia.
Overall, was a tale of two halves to be sure. Liverpool looked lost in the first half and dominant in the second. The Distin error really took the wind out of Everton and they never really recovered.
As I keep saying, let's go out, win the FA Cup and have Kenny retire with the double and move forward with a progressive manager who can build a real new program and PLEASE, NOT JOHAN CRUYFF!
Also, what a player Aguero is. Tevez and Mario are too insane and selfish to really be counted on but Aguero is Suarez minus the baggage with a better touch around goal. I really want United to lose or tie this weekend so the Manchester Derby is for all the marbles, though I am rooting for City to win the league in the end.
Take care all.
Regardless of how much of a prick Tevez has been he is still world class. Him and Aguero today looked outstanding. It makes you think where City would be if he'd been there all season. They'd have probably walked it.
Liverpool to lose in the FA Cup Final to Chelsea.
Just imagine! Imagine if you could also get the best player in the world to play with them, too! I mean, that team couldn't lose to anyone, right? ...right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Best player in the world? Is that a not-so-subtle way of saying "Let's have a Ronaldo v Messi debate"? Or was it just some bizarre Loony BoB joke that nobody will get?
although he is a giant and complete and utter tit, Ronaldo for me.
I remember one time in the football thread I said Drogba was better than Ronaldo and Cuchulainn flipped out at me. I also remember saying Messi wasn't very good because debuting out-of-position Alvaro Arbeloa (now at Real Madrid!) marked him out of the game and charliepanayi flipped out at me. And that's my view of the Messi v Ronaldo debate. I judge everything by who gets angry at me in the football thread. :shobon:
Messi. If nobody gets the joke, I'm stunned.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
EDIT: Oh, Suarez. I read it as Aguero. How the hell could Suarez be involved in an unstoppable force?
You can't avoid the conversation now Pauly! Messi just about shades it for me. It deserves to be mentioned though that he is playing with the likes of Fabregas, Xavi, & Iniesta, who will assist you about 20 times during a game, where its hard to not look good at playing football. But he's still unique at what he does. I have great time for Ronny though. I will always love him!
Messi-in-the-Barca-team is a better player than Ronaldo, but in terms of who is the best unconditionally, I am leaning towards the Portugese winker. He did it in the Prem, he does it at Real, and I think he has been better for Portugal than Messi has been for Argentina.
Yeah, it takes the best of the best of Liverpool strikers to get past a back four of Rafael, Evra, Brown and Smalling. Lucky we didn't have our four first choice central defenders that day or we'd have really been in trouble! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
In fairness, though, Smalling and Rafael should have done better in that game. Brown... well, Brown. :)
EDIT: For me, Messi and Ronaldo are about on par with each other and have been for some time, but because Messi plays in the Barca team and has been winning and isn't viewed as an egotistical prick, people have always given him the nod ahead of his Real Madrid counterpart. Ronaldo edges Mess in some areas and vice versa, but overall it's too close to call it one way or another. Different styles due to different strengths which they both are more than happy to make use of.
Then how come Raul "is a very good player who liverpool will miss" Mereiles, for example, did not do the same thing to this terrible and awful yet championship-winning back four all day long? :greenie:
I dunno, but Mereiles has been missed by Liverpool as far as I'm concerned. He's one of the few quality players Chelsea have (well, I say "few", but that's in comparison to how many they used to have :p). He's not an amazing game-changer, but he's managed more assists than all but one of Liverpool's midfield this season.
Ronaldo is a much more devastating player than Messi. You can put Ronaldo in any side and he will have much more of an impact because he doesn't rely on other players to be effective. I still think Messi is 'technically' better though.
Neither of these players can touch Ashley Young for his diving ability though, good effort today, lad!
As a Utd fan though, I was really nervous today... there was a big guy at the bar who I thought was trying to steal my pint as we romped to a 4-0 win.
Was a real beaut. I was just looking at a gif of it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bubbaforever
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ss/157oj15.gif
I was hoping United would lose though, just to make the Etihad showdown mean something - regardless of which Manchester team eventually wins the title. It'd just be a nice dramatic game to watch. But, y'know, Aston Villa.
Also, welp, bet I am going to end up regretting making fun of Torres and Mereiles now. I swear you're going to get a slightly drunk post from me soon, about how they're like ex-girlfriends who broke my heart and I'm just lashing out because it hurts, and they were great really. :( Still, Liverpool v Chelsea! That's original! 85 minutes of some of the most dire football ever played, 5 minutes of insane drama. Hurrah.
~REDKNAPP~
~*~4~*~
~ENGLAND~
No idea why Ashley Young was diving today, not like you need to dive to beat this Aston Villa side.
Best case scenario is Spurs' recent bad form convinces the FA not to hire him, and so Brendan Rodgers stays at Swansea and all will be well with football.
Also, Ashley Young is Man Utd's new Ronaldo. For all the wrong reasons.
not exactly difficult when liverpool's strikers have scored about 10 goals between them all seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Also, don't know if anyone else just saw this pearler
http://i.imgur.com/XwkXW.gif
SAVED YOUR LIFE JOHN
I did think about this when making that post, but then I remembered that Chelsea are playing with Torres, and I think that speaks for itself.Quote:
Originally Posted by DKnot exactly difficult when liverpool's strikers have scored about 10 goals between them all seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by Loony BoB
Re: Ashley Young - hard to feel sorry for Villa when he's been doing such things for them for many a year. :p But would rather he stopped it. Sounds like SAF will be having a word considering he conceded he makes a meal of such things.
Nominees for PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2011-12 are: Sergio Aguero (Man City), Joe Hart (Man City), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), David Silva (Man City).
Nominees for Young Player of the Year award are: Sergio Aguero (Man City), Gareth Bale (Tottenham), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd).
Van Persie must be a shoe-in for player of the year, with Dave Silva being my vote for second. Out of the list of young players Sergio has been the best for mine, but I don;t think he's really all that young, not compared to someone like Oxlade-Chamberlain so who knows. I would just give it to Sergio because he is lovely <3
why wasn't andy carroll nominated for young player of the year what the smurf
Also yeah Manus I saw that gif and saved it. I smurfing love Luis. Just no point whatsoever to doing that xD
I smurfing love Wigan
Seriously. What is it about them and the last couple of months of a season? Every god damn year.
About a few months ago I wrote off Wigan completely, I will never do that again as I do it every year.
Great performance by Chelsea tonight. Barca wasted plenty of chances, can't see them not scoring at home. Please god let it be a Chelsea VS Bayern final!
Jesus christ man. If we don't do a City and smurf up against Wolves today (which I am not ruling out in the slightest), the derby is going to be the worst game to watch in the history of my footballing life.
Seriously. :( At least one of us will be happy by the end of it.
>Man Utd
http://www.chokeanddie.com/IMAGES/choking.jpg
Even with 5 minutes of Fergie Time
Horrible the way we let Everton back in again and again. To be fair they had their finishing boots on. Wolves ain't playing too badly at the moment. Eh... City just scored a second, game over. Sets the derby up nicely though.
I'm glad the Manchester Derby is for All The Marbles. I'll actually be watching it now! :D
Also smurf me. 65% possession. 28 shots, 12 on target. 15 corners. Woodwork hit twice. How the smurf does this keep happening? No, seriously. Again and again and again this has happened. Every now and then you get games like this but every single one? You can say "they're tit" but that's too easy, and in all things but scoring, they're really not. Just look at the stats, they really do not lie. They're dominating teams for 85 minutes, raining down utter destruction on them. Luis Suarez pulls teams apart single handedly. But when it comes to scoring, not a single one of them is capable of doing it. What the smurf is going on? Did we get a gypsy curse put on us? :confused:
wake me up when it's the fa cup final, this league season is a horrendous abortion that needs to end. New goal: Try to finish in the top half!
So, am I released from my sentence of having to watch the rest of the Liverpool league games this year? I will watch the FA Cup but man, I can't take anymore of these games. My only hope is that the extraordinary bad luck of this year will result in amazing good luck next season with crazy goals going in that we have not had this campaign. Still, changes need to be made. How has a defense gone from such a strength to looking so suspect at times this year?
What's the lowest a team finished in the league and still won a double? We may challenge that record.
Call me crazy but I kind of think Man City may just pull this out. I never would have thought Tevez would be such a vital player for them this year or frankly ever again but he may just be the X factor. Unless Super Mario kills him in the build up to the game, which is always possible.
I also can't wait for the smug off on the sidelines between Mancini and Ferguson. I kind of don't want either team to win.
Also, I have to give serious props to Newcastle. Talk about sustaining a run from out of nowhere. I really think they and Arsenal end up being the other two Champions League teams and WHOA, who saw that coming earlier this year?
Take care all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Captain
Quote:
Originally Posted by in other words
we're gonna sign that icelandic bloke by offering him a shed full of money and then you'll be sorry :colbert:
I say shed but I sort of envisage it being like the finale of the Crystal Maze. Replace Richard O'Brien with Pepe Reina, I guess.
Arsenal finished 10th in the league in 1993 and won both the FA Cup and League Cup that season. The only other teams to win both domestic cups in one year are Liverpool in 2001 (part of their treble) and Chelsea in 2007.
We may definitely give that "record" a run for the money.Quote:
Originally Posted by charliepanayi
Take care all.
**** you Barcelona. I'm off to be sick somewhere.
Holy sweet lord what a game.
lol john terry
just
smurfing lol
Torres goal was hands down one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
Barcelona, just a trout Swansea F.C.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Topped off by Gary Neville becoming the first commentator in history to have an orgasm on air...
Nah, I'm sure Martin Tyler had one when Sunderland scored their winner against Man City back in January (JHEE!!!), as well as when Arsenal scored their second goal in the 2002 FA Cup final.
You're forgetting Jack Van Gelder on Denis Berkgamp's goal against Argentina in 1998.
Bayern obviously are going to win with all seven of those players they have on yellows getting another yellow, along with a central defender who is not on a yellow being given a straight red.
It will be an incredible final with no defenders.
Last night was one of the best games I ever seen in my life! Torres goal was amazing, I was jumping around the place. Delighted Barca are out. Now all i need is Bayern to go through (which I think they will), and it set's up the best possible final, with Terry not eligible to lift the cup!
Pfft. tonight's game is already miles better than last night's.
Chelsea will win the final anyway, I just know it :(
And lo, in years to come they will compare their future semi-finals with the drama and madness of 2012
Ronaldo missed his penalty and that's all that I wanted. Something about them Germans and spot-kicks.
(Mostly) cool heads and beastly goalkeepers, i think. Not really a bayern fan but happy for a german team to be in the final again, and at home. I think they were the better side over both legs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Manus
You really couldn't ask for better semi-finals of the CL. It been a while since I've been that absorbed in a game where I wasn't even a supporter of either club to begin with. Did everyone know before Cristiano stepped up to take that spot kick he was going to miss? I knew he would. Remnant's of the CL semi & final of 2008. I do have a tiny bit of sympathy for him in one way though. He already used his penalty card before doing it again under pressure.
Ramos' penalty was an absolute joke. I always thought if I were in their position at such a stage I'd just bury it down the middle. 95% chance of scoring give or take because the goalie will dive anyway and it'll be on target. I thought both keepers did well last night in the shootout though.
Looking forward to the final. It's a good final in the sense that both sets of players have felt heart-ache before at this stage recently and there will be a victor. I hope Chelsea do it, as they are the underdogs. I think Ramires & Ivanovic are big losses. Luiz & Cahill in defence don't exactly fill you with optimism as a great defensive partnership. Gotta love the end of the season, big game after big game. Now onto the derby!
I'll be gutted if Chelsea win it, if only because I really want to see Newcastle beat the odds and get the 4th CL position. Even Spurs, to be honest - basically I just want to see new teams in the CL outside of "the usuals".
So you want Man United to come 5th then :greenie: Also Spurs and Newcastle have both had pretty good CL runs in the past anyway :confused:
Hell, let me try and name every English team to qualify for the CL since it became the CL: United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, Blackburn (remember when they won the league? ...KING KENNY :love:) Newcastle, Leeds..... Everton..... oh wait they lost in the qualifiers! :jess:
How did I do charliepanayi? (you are our resident trivia master now) Did I get 'em all?
Obviously I want my team to win everything, I'm not stupid. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing how the likes of Newcastle and Spurs do in the CL. In the years I've watched football, it's been "the (old) big four" every year with the exception of City this season and Spurs the season before. I might have watched the last time Newcastle were playing in the CL, but I'm not sure. It was very early in my football-watching days and I likely didn't watch as much.
I believe that is all of them yes :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
well danielQuote:
Originally Posted by ThingsLoonyBoBSaysAboutFootball.txt
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...luissuarez.gif
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...ss/suarez2.gif
hope this answers your question.
ps: with the cup final coming next week, would you mind saying andy carroll is crap and couldn't possibly score 8 goals against chelsea in one game? cheers. :aimkiss:
I hope Norwich are that rubbish next weekend. A draw between Chelsea and Newcastle on Wednesday would be helpful too.
Southampton back in the Premiership! I'd like Blackpool to make it up through the playoffs, not crazy about the other three teams.
OK, fair play, that was a quality hat trick. The lob was perfection.
It really pains me to say this but... Suarez is an absolute twat.
Ooh, that wasn't painful at all!
Andy Carroll is crap and couldn't possibly score 8 goals against chelsea in one game. ;)
Agree regarding Blackpool. Reeeeeally hoping they go up.
Steve Kean must be the worst manager involved in professional sports. Setting up a team in danger of relegation to defend for 90mins. Absolutely shocking, I feel bad for Blackburn I really do.
Alex McLeish is worse. The likes of Steve Kean and Terry Connor are just out of their depth.
Weren't Blackburn after Kaka or something last season?
So . . . Hodgson huh.
This means after weeks of worrying it may just look like Sir Brendan will stay at Unemploymentville for at least another season. I know the FA would come through.
Seriously though, I think he's a good choice. He has bags of experience at a national level, european level and big team level, something Redknapp does not have (that, and he can read and write and knows how to fill in a tax return). The overwhelming public support for Arry though means he's doomed from the start. Lose to France in the Euros? SEE, GLORIOUS ENGLISH HARRY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MANAGER. HODGSON OUT.
With the endless press support for Redknapp, they'll have their knives out for Hodgson from the off. I feel sorry for the poor guy already.
Roy Hodgson is apparently the first person they have ever appointed that has prior international experience. He has proven himself at being capable of taking teams that have never been that good and moving them up to have their best ever rankings and qualifying for tournaments they had not qualified for in decades. Hey may do just that with England, taking them to the heights of semi-finals or something.
More than likely, he'll do rubbish for the same reason all the others do rubbish, and get blamed for everything because clearly no other person can ever be at fault but the manager.
Woah, now.Quote:
taking them to the heights of semi-finals or something
Actually yeah the more you think about it the more Woy makes sense, purely because he's at his best when he's taking a team of trout and making it do better than it should, and no matter how blind most England fans are the squad and pool of players to pick it from is atrocious compared to the other big nations in World football. Plus he will rub his face when England inevitably fail. I am looking forward to this!
Agree. I always rated RH as a good manager and I wish him the best. But I think no matter what will happen, to some degree the media will always compare him to Harry Redknapp.
The big match is only hours away. What are peoples scoreline prediction for the match? I think, 2-3 win to the away side. :smug: I think City will go for it from the off as they need the win. Can see Tevez giving us big problems.
'Uuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!'
This is the noise I'll be making throughout the entire game.
As I watch the game behind my pint, my hands and my aura of fear...
I think City will be too strong with them being at home. I'm going to say 2-1 to the home side.
Who wants my opinion on Roy Hodgson? :greenie:
Thought not. ;)
England are international Liverpool. Unrealistic pressure and expectations placed on them by their fans and the media, and generally can never meet the high standards set for them given the intense amount of pressure and scrutiny. Hodgson will not be able to take the heat imho.
He seems a nice enough bloke though, like a grandad or something. I felt bad that he didn't succeed at Anfield, as I really wanted him to. Rather him than Harry. But rather Capello than either one of them.
Also I couldn't possibly predict the outcome of the Manchester Derby. But like I suspect 99% of United fans were in the Merseyside semi-final the other week, I'll be supporting the blue team tonight. ;)
No, England are international Newcastle. Both convinced they're a big side despite winning nothing in decades.
smurf me, that last half an hour was horrible. Absolutely horrible. Still, yesssssssssssss.
Now all that's left is for us to have beaten United in this most important game ever, and to lose to Newcastle anyway. I BELIEVE (in city being city)
Ho hum. Game on. It will be a travesty of justice if United win the title now. City have beaten them home and away and are clearly the better team imho.
Mind you, we were the better team and twatted United home and away in '09 and look how that turned out. ROBBIE KEANE :argh:
A really scrappy game. Not one United player was allowed any room to perform tonight and that was down to City's good play & set-up. They made that second half become frustrating & hard to watch - completely slowing the game down. Yaya Toure was key for them, using his strength through-out. It's a pity from a United point of view that Vidic wasn't there for that goal. We have missed him all season. I thought Ferdinand was the best of an average bunch for us tonight.
I think the title should be over now. Cannot see even Newcastle away slowing down their momentum.
Best part of the game by far was Red Nose and Mancini giving each other the good news, that was hilarious.
I love how the coverage just passed over the Swans next week as a done deal and Gary Neville talking about Utd putting 8 past us. He's entirely right, of course, our defence is an absolute horrorshow.
Well so was theirs against Everton.
If there is one player who deserved to score the winner tonight then it's Vincent Kompany. A leader and a winner right there...
Its not over though. 38 games.
God damn right, I'd say he's easily been our best signing in the last 10 years, better than Dave or Sergio or any of them. Love him and his spooty misshapen head. :heart:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah, piss arse and bollocks.
http://h11.abload.de/img/untitled-8zjkh2.gif
Just...take a bow Papa Cisse.
Yeah Jesus Christ. Very possibly the best goal I've ever seen in my life, just for the sheer ridiculousness of it.
smurfing Newcastle, congrats on the title United. :colbert:
