Official Football Thread

national acrobat said:
I thought you might like to see this below, an opinion on Vaagen Moen from a QPR website which I read. I can't really comment much on him myself because I think I only ever saw him as a substitute once or twice. Before he signed I saw a video of his goals in Norway, and he looked like a very exciting signing, but maybe the difference in class between those two leagues was just too great. Or maybe he would have adapted given more of a chance.
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It seems the gap between the leagues has increased - in the 90s many players came directly to the PL from Norwegian clubs and did well. These days, the norm seems to be that players who dominate in the Norwegian league, are usually only substitute material in the PL. I guess the results in European tournaments speaks loudly about the decline in quality of the Norwegian league, relative to others. Last autumn, no Norwegian clubs qualified for the Europa League group stage ... still, I would have expected Vaagan Moen to do better in QPR or perhaps go to another Championship club when they were promoted. Instead, he is now back in Norway where he will play for Lillestrøm.
 
Roberto Mancini, or the perfect example of what is a bad manager. In today's standards, what kind of manager does not study the opponent ?
 
Truly disturbing when things like that happen. Last year a Norwegian player (SK Brann's Carl Erik Torp) had to retire after suffering cardiac arrest during a match between Brann and Sogndal. They managed to restart his heart on the way to hospital and implanted a pacemaker - which has reportedly saved his life once since then. I keep my fingers crossed for Muamba, but I doubt he will return to professional football. If his heart was not beating properly for two hours, there is definitely a risk of permanent damage, but let us hope for the best.
 
I was watching the England/Ireland game (rugby) when this happened but I sort of kept an eye on the FA cup through the BBC live football feed. The problem was, I was so engrossed in the second half, I missed a load of feed. Then I read it had been abandoned due to a serious injury - and read a bit of text saying Muamba was "fighting for his life". That was pretty damn shocking.

This guy was a good prospect (England U21 captain) but I am not sure he will play again. In fact, I'll be very, very surprised if he does.
 
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:applause:
 
Great two days for me as a football fan.

Yesterday, Fredrikstad FK played the first home game of the 2012 season, beating Stabæk by a comfortable 5-1! And today, Man Utd beat Blackburn 2-0 at Ewood Park and move five points clear of the Smurfs at the top of the Premier League table.

Plus I have Easter vacation. :cheers:
 
Now that I've calmed down a bit (I went for a walk to cool off) I'm able to articulate a few thoughts on the ManU - QPR match:

Bald, fat, useless ref, couldn't wait to give penalty, whistle was in his mouth as soon as ManU went near penalty area. You round headed pile of shit.
Linesman: inept, useless, blind, weak, worthless twat. Wave your flag, idiot.
Officials at Old Trafford in general: scared, meek, intimidated to give any decision against ManU in case they get the post-match treatment from Ferguson. Instead, they toe the Ferguson line, so they get a pat on the head from the red-nosed alcoholic after the match and maybe a "favour" from Giggs too.

Why was Rooney not sent off for his challenge? He plays for ManU, that's why. If it was a QPR player making that tackle, the red card would have been out before they'd hit the ground.

Ashely Young: persistent diving cheat, and has been for years. Utterly disgusting. How do players continue to play when they obviously have no respect for themselves, other players and their profession? He's a filthy piece of dirt.

Series of mistakes for first goal:
Cheat was offside
If he hadn't been offside, was it a foul? No, cheat dived.
If it had been a foul, should it have been a red card? No, cheat was not prevented a clear goal-scoring opportunity, as cheat did not have control of the ball.

Correct decision: freekick given for offside, cheat booked for diving
Actual decision: penalty and red card for defender (N.B. not offender)

If QPR got relegated this season, with the players having given 100% effort and no controversial (i.e. blatantly incorrect) decisions influencing key points in key matches, then I can accept that; in some ways I'd welcome it, the Premier League is inferior on lots of counts to the lower leagues. The first point there (the effort) has been lacking in parts this year, the second point across the whole season (if anyone's interested, I'll provide a list of examples).

"These decisions even themselves out over the course of the season."
No they don't. Definitely not at Old Trafford, and neither have they for QPR this season.

Eddie's Wingman: I'm ready to debate any of that. Please don't take it personally, but I really hate ManU.
 
I don't want to debate it, because the core I agree with: The linesman and the ref screwed up, and Young dived. Embarassing. I would be fuming if it happened against United.

But you can't really make this about refs being biased in favour of United. Over this very same weekend, we have seen the following:

Chelsea scoring 1-0 against Wigan with four people being off-side.
Mario Ballotelli not receiving a card for the ugliest challenge since Keane on Haaland.
Norwich denied a stonewall penalty at White Hart Lane.

And United have most definitely had really bad calls against them this season as well - also at Old Trafford. Most debated was probably the out-of-nothing penalty that let Newcastle equalize in the 1-1 affair in November.

But if I were in your shoes, I would probably be saying the same right now.
 
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I just read that the FA have rejected QPR's appeal on the red card, meaning Derry will have to serve a suspension. Ridiculous. Even when it is obvious that the referee has made a wrong decision, they will not overturn the red card. Have they made an exception from this rule for anyone except a certain Chelsea captain?
 
Perhaps the saddest thing for me is I'm not at all surprised. I could talk about it on end, but I'm not going to. The whole situation reinforces my opinion that it's much better to channel energy into playing amateur football than watching "professional" football.
But as my season is over, this Saturday I'll be at West Brom, no doubt getting angry at something else. Who's the mug eh?
 
Today the ref screwed up both ways and Wigan came out with the advantage. Their disallowed goal should have stood, their actual goal came after a corner which should not have been given, and United were denied a clear penalty. Now, I am not really angry at this, because United were shit today and did not deserve a point at all. Hats off to Wigan.

And NA, congrats on that win against Swansea!
 
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