Official Football Thread

national acrobat

national acrobat

Ancient Mariner
I think we have sufficient footie fans to get some discussions going here. Feel free to talk about whichever club you support in whatever country you live.

It's also almost a World Cup year (wahey!), so come on and rate your own country's chances and comment on others.

For me, I think England have a decent chance of progressing far, if all their key players stay fit. My heart says we can win the tournament, but my mind says Brazil are somewhat better equiped to take the trophy home again. England are definitely in a better position to beat Brazil now than we were four years ago, so who knows?

C'mon England!
 
About time a thread like this was started!

Lucky Arsenal scraped through against Doncaster, the bastards! (in a Tottenham fan by the way [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )

As far as the world cup goes I really doubt we'd win it. We need a better manager, but we have some good players there who could probably take us there.
 
Now it's my turn. I support Manchester United although I cannot see a way forward for the club under the current management and squad. We can all see Chelsea romping away in every front because they have spent serious amounts of money, United have tried this in the past but have wasted a lot of money on crap players. Fergie must go and Martin O'Neill must be brought in if United have any hope of a recovery to their mantle of best team in England, or Europe.

As for the World Cup, I think Brazils defence will let them down. Compare them with England or Italy and it is obvious where the weaknesses lie. My tip for the competition is England. (I know I should never say this being an Irishman). Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Owen and Beckham are among the best players in the world. My second favourites are Holland because they have underachieved in the past but their new manager looks like he can handle the problems of the past.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-dogigniter+Dec 22 2005, 04:30 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(dogigniter @ Dec 22 2005, 04:30 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Lucky Arsenal scraped through against Doncaster, the bastards! (in a Tottenham fan by the way [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )
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I heard yesterday that Doncaster have beaten more Premiership teams than Sunderland this season! [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]


[!--QuoteBegin-Conor+Dec 22 2005, 04:50 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Dec 22 2005, 04:50 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Now it's my turn.  I support Manchester United although I cannot see a way forward for the club under the current management and squad.  We can all see Chelsea romping away in every front because they have spent serious amounts of money, United have tried this in the past but have wasted a lot of money on crap players.  Fergie must go and Martin O'Neill must be brought in if United have any hope of a recovery to their mantle of best team in England, or Europe.
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It looks to me like Fergie's had enough of it all, and I can see him packing it in at the end of the season. O'Neill would be the perfect manager in that case, and I get the feeling he'd quite like the job.

As for Chelsea, don't get me started. Even though I'm a QPR fan, I quite liked the pre-Abramovich Chelsea under Ranieri. But how is it fair that Chelsea have spent £200 million or god-knows-what on players, when QPR haven't spent a penny in five years? Not that I'm complaining: we have Ian Holloway as manager! Beat that.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-national acrobat+Dec 22 2005, 04:31 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(national acrobat @ Dec 22 2005, 04:31 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]we have Ian Holloway as manager! Beat that.
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I love that man's silly quotes. Being a 442 subscriber I have read many gems from him in the past few years.
[!--QuoteBegin--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]There are a lot of people who doubt me.  I invite them to me house so they can fight me[/quote]
[!--emo&:lmao:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/lol.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'lol.gif\' /][!--endemo--] Something to that effect.
Anyway, looking at the current state of football the whole scene really disgusts me. Players in the Premiership earning £100,000 a week, 4 times as much as the average fan. The lower leagues are getting barely any attention and soon they are bound to collapse due to lack of interest. Society is becoming more secular and the little guys at the bottom are getting a miniscule slice of the pie.
 
My favorite club team would be the Chivas Rayadas from Guadalajara, Mexico. They are one of the elite teams in the mexican league, but would probably get owned by a European team ( I believe they lost 3-0 to Manchester United when they played a friendly match in Chicago). My favorite club team from the USA would have to be the Los Angeles Galaxy. For the world cup, I will root for Mexico and the US, even though as of late the US has been the better team, which is ironic, because soccer is like a religion in Mexico, and most people in the US could care less about soccer. Football (NFL), baseball, basketball, and hockey are a lot more popular than soccer by a large margin here in the US.

Baseball is actually my favorite sport. I'm a diehard Dodger fan.
 
I'm just happy that my country (Trinidad and Tobago) made it to the WC! It's the first time that we have ever made it to the WC and we are the smallest country to ever make it...a hell of an achievement.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Mario88+Dec 22 2005, 10:20 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Mario88 @ Dec 22 2005, 10:20 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]My favorite club team would be the Chivas Rayadas from Guadalajara, Mexico. They are one of the elite teams in the mexican league, but would probably get owned by a European team ( I believe they lost 3-0 to Manchester United when they played a friendly match in Chicago). My favorite club team from the USA would have to be the Los Angeles Galaxy. For the world cup, I will root for Mexico and the US, even though as of late the US has been the better team, which is ironic, because soccer is like a religion in Mexico, and most people in the US could care less about soccer. Football (NFL), baseball, basketball, and hockey are a lot more popular than soccer by a large margin here in the US.

Baseball is actually my favorite sport. I'm a diehard Dodger fan.
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YEAH!!! Arriba las Chivas!!! [!--emo&:rock:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/headbang.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'headbang.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Nephellim+Dec 23 2005, 03:32 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Nephellim @ Dec 23 2005, 03:32 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]I'm just happy that my country (Trinidad and Tobago) made it to the WC! It's the first time that we have ever made it to the WC and we are the smallest country to ever make it...a hell of an achievement.
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It's just a pity everybody in your group is going to thrash you [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] In reality I think it's unfair that T&T got to the World Cup when a far better team like Rep. of Ireland couldn't get in because Europe has the best teams. If Ireland was in any other continent they would have qualified. I suppose I can't change that so I should stop moanin'.
 
I follow Shamrock Rovers FC, the biggest and most successful club in Ireland with 15 Leagues and 24 Cups. However, we've been muck for the last 20 years after a previous chairman sold our stadium to build houses and we've had no home ever since. Last season we were relegated for the first time ever in our history.

It's not all bad though, our fans have taken over the club last season and from now on we will be a members club like Barcelona or Madrid, and hopefully towards the end of next season we will move into a new stadium that the council have built for us.
 
Just wondering what you all think about Paulo Di Canio and his raised-arm salute (this is about the third time he's done this year). He's defended himself saying that he's a fascist not a racist. Lazio (Mussolini's team) don't have any black players, and in a match against Roma last year they had banners saying 'Roma - team of blacks and Jews' and the like. Some official (can't remember who) has called for Di Canio to be banned for life, but I think this is pretty harsh.

Any comments?
 
Come on Northampton Town! Up to fourth in League 2! [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
Eng ger land eng ger land Eng ger Land

Man Utd supporter so Wayne Rooney to kick arse and kick England to World Cup Glory.

Brazeil - overated they will come unstuck on euro soil

sorry for thry spelling i'm pretty pissed
 
[!--QuoteBegin-national acrobat+Dec 26 2005, 09:01 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(national acrobat @ Dec 26 2005, 09:01 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Any comments?
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The comments and "salutes" that Di Cannio has come out with recently are nothing short of disgraceful. As Fifa is trying to "Kick racism out of football", extreme fans like those of Lazio and the Ultra Sur from Real Madrid are spoiling the reputation of football. It is a small minority of these so called fans that spoil the game for the rest of us. I don't think we shoul;d focus on just one aging donkey like Di Cannio, we should look at football as a whole and see where the real problems lie. (pardon the pun). The fan power from the racists is enough to give whole clubs, countries and federations bad names.
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Conor+Dec 22 2005, 05:37 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Dec 22 2005, 05:37 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]I love that man's silly quotes.  Being a 442 subscriber I have read many gems from him in the past few years.
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Ian Holloway comments this week after successive QPR victories:

"I couldn't be more chuffed if I were a B*DGER at the start of the mating season."

"I'm sick and tired of every Tom, Dick and Harry getting linked with my job every day.
Well ding, dang, doo. It's my job, I own it and it's up to anyone else to take it off me."


PS why can't I say B*DGER? [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] [!--emo&:angry:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/mad.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'mad.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
This topic has gone a bit stale but if anybody watched the Premiership matches on the 02/02/06 they will know what i'm talking about. Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand should not get on the England squad never mind the starting team.
They are overpaid, overrated, over hyped and their primadonna status gets on my nerves. Why should they get to play for England if they kick up a fuss playing for their clubs? Ledley King, Jamie Carragher, John Terry and even Matthew Upson are ranked higher IMO. What do the rest of you think?
 
John Terry is definitely no.1 centre-back for England now. I think it'll be Rio who lines up alongside him in the World Cup, despite his indifferent season. Sol Campbell appears to be totally past it.

As for the others, Jamie Carragher is very consistent, and Ledley King has always done well for England, but I don't think Matthew Upson is of international quality. How about Jonathan Woodgate, if he can keep himself from being injured (and getting sent off every game he plays! [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )?

By the way, what a great night of football yesterday was! Chelsea and Liverpool both drew, Man U and Arsenal lost!
 
I think Woodgate would be a dead cert for the centre back position if he were getting regular first team play in the Premiership. Sitting on the bench at Madrid will do nothing for his international career. It was indeed a good night for football seing as the big teams didn't do well (and I even support Manchester United!) but it seems that when Chelsea slip up, the other teams can't take advantage of the oppertunity.

Another point of interest may be the appointment of Stan as RoI manager. I personally think this was a terrible decision made by the heart, not by the head. RoI will not qualify for a major tournament in the next 10 years, especially with so little talent coming through and lack of professionalism in the whole set up.

A joke in an Irish newspaper last week:
Steve Staunton: "The problem with Ireland is the overpaid primadonnas from the Premiership"
Sir Bobby Robson: "What's the problem with them?"
SS: "We don't have enough of them" [!--emo&:P--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Conor+Dec 22 2005, 04:37 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Conor @ Dec 22 2005, 04:37 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]
Anyway, looking at the current state of football  the whole scene really disgusts me.  Players in the Premiership earning £100,000 a week, 4 times as much as the average fan.  The lower leagues are getting barely any attention and soon they are bound to collapse due to lack of interest.  Society is becoming more secular and the little guys at the bottom are getting a miniscule slice of the pie.
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That is capitalism for you, thank Wal-mart for that, they are setting the pace for the "new" way of doing business and it is changing the entire world (Europe is getting hit hard with countries like Germany and France no longer guaranteeing lifetime employment and the like).

as for the astronomical wages, that can easily be explained with Adam Smith's five methods of calculating wages. 1. how easy or hard a task is to perform 2. how hard or easy is it to learn 3. how clean or dirty the job is (the dirtier the job the higher the pay...ideally) 4. the agreeableness or disagreeableness of the job itself and 5. the consistency or inconsistency of employment.

Now while most people say "I can do that" it is more than likely that no they can't. Not everybody has the strengh, stamina and endurance to play a full game of football (or any sport at the profesional level) so it is not "easy" that takes care of one. 2. it takes years to learn the fancy footwork and to keep it up it takes training, not just playing in the field with your buddies, so it is "hard" to learn, 3. I'd say it is a "clean" job, but the physical strain is still there. 4. While many people dream of "playing" a sport for a living, they forget to these people it's a job and a paycheck and some might do it because of that (poor blacks in the U.S go into basketball and football for that reason and poor Canadian families go into debt so their children "make it" in the NHL) So how agreeable or disagreeable depends on who you ask. and 5. most people work from the time they are 25 until they are 60 or 65 (ideally and given they had a college education, many start younger) Pro-Athelets of most sports (very common in football and hockey) start at 17 but for the most part lets say 20 and 8, 10 or up to 15 (if they're lucky) years later that's it, they are done playing, they are 35-40 years old and they are "old" for their profession but they still have to live. Most go back to the sport as trainers, coaches, owners or whatever, but some don't....
 
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]Now while most people say "I can do that" it is more than likely that no they can't. Not everybody has the strengh, stamina and endurance to play a full game of football (or any sport at the profesional level) so it is not "easy" that takes care of one.
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Not everybody can be an accountant, or a doctor, or even an IT techinician. i think players are grossly overpaid because the only thing that is driving their wages is the media. Sponsership deals and glamorous TV appearances allow footballers to earn more than many people in very skilled trades. If being a dentist was seen as "sexy" or as a role-model to children I suppose then these people would earn more money.
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]2. it takes years to learn the fancy footwork and to keep it up it takes training, not just playing in the field with your buddies, so it is "hard" to learn,
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Most players actually are born with natural football talent. it's mainly the co-ordination between the brain and the feet. I agree that years of practise will make you become a greater player but this is nothing compared with the daily struggles that many of the fans go through.
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]3. I'd say it is a "clean" job, but the physical strain is still there.
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Footballing is a relatively clean job and there is a lot of physical strain but the other side is that the players only have to train for 5 days a week and then play a match. An average player will "work" for 20 hours a week, compared again with the average fan that is miniscule.
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]4. While many people dream of "playing" a sport for a living, they forget to these people it's a job and a paycheck and some might do it because of that
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Football is just a career like any other and for that reason there is always motivation to escape from a poor background and rise to the top. it's the speed at which one becomes wealthy and deluded that sickens me. Take wayne Rooney for example. at the age of 20 he is completely above his need for money. He is so rich and so young all the money goes to his head and he can't seem to control himself in the rage of media around him.
[!--QuoteBegin-Onhell+Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Onhell @ Feb 3 2006, 12:12 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]5. most people work from the time they are 25 until they are 60  or 65 (ideally and given they had a college education, many start younger) Pro-Athelets of most sports (very common in football and hockey) start at 17 but for the most part lets say 20 and 8, 10 or up to 15 (if they're lucky) years later that's it, they are done playing, they are 35-40 years old and they are "old" for their profession but they still have to live. Most go back to the sport as trainers, coaches, owners or whatever, but some don't....
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Footballers in the Premiership or other top leagues could retire by the age of thirty if they wanted and never have to work again. Despite having 15 years of relative strenuous physical activity, they can then look forward to 50 years of lazy retirement, rolling around on their mountains of cash. The only reason why they earned this money was by having a natural talent they were lucky to acquire.
 
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