Official Football Thread

Eddies Wingman said:
....and United seemed satisfied with neutralizing them...
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Isn't that how Man U have got the better of Arsenal in recent years? ;)
 
You may have a point there. Starting with only one striker and Park as the left winger is a tactic Ferguson most often uses for Euro aways. It's obvious that he respected the attacking power of ARsenal - but in retrospect, he maybe didn't need to. Arsenal were anemic. Not just because they were denied space, they lacked precision and tempo. Only twice did they force the United defense to work hard at all. Tottenham looked more threatening at Old Trafford.
 
A few good draws in the next round of the Champions Cup:

Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich (last year's finalists - although both teams are struggling this season)
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea
 
Europa League Draws :

P.S. : (my prediction)

SSC Napoli v Villarreal CF (Napoli)
Rangers FC v Sporting Clube (Sporting)
AC Sparta Praha v Liverpool FC (Liverpool)
RSC Anderlecht v AFC Ajax (Ajax)
KKS Lech Poznan v SC Braga (Lech Poznan)
Beşiktaş JK v FC Dynamo Kyiv (Beşiktaş)
FC Basel 1893 v FC Spartak Moskva (Spartak)
BSC Young Boys v FC Zenit (Zenit)
Aris Thessaloniki v Manchester City FC (Man City)
PAOK FC v CSKA Moskva FC (CSKA)
Sevilla FC v FC Porto (Porto)
FC Rubin Kazan v FC Twente (Rubin)
LOSC Lille Metropolé v PSV Eindhoven (Lille)
SL Benfica v VfB Stuttgart (Benfica)
BATE Borisov v Paris Saint Germain FC (PSG)
Metalist Kharkiv v Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Leverkusen)

Next round :

Benfica / Stuttgart v BATE / PSG (Benfica)
Beşiktaş / D. Kyiv v Aris / Man City (Manchester City)
Rubin / Twente v Y. Boys / Zenit (Zenit St. Petersburg)
PAOK / CSKA v Sevilla / Porto (Porto)
Lille / PSV v Rangers / Sporting (Lille)
Metalist / Leverkusen v Napoli / Villarreal (Leverkusen)
Anderlecht / Ajax v Basel / Spartak (Ajax)
Sparta / Liverpool v Lech / Braga (Liverpool)
 
national acrobat said:
A few good draws in the next round of the Champions Cup:

Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich (last year's finalists - although both teams are struggling this season)
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea
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I hate to say it and as much as I can't stand the Gunners, I think they may actually win that tie.

And it looks like the Gods of the Euro draw were smiling on Chelsea.
 
I think Arsenal will get taken apart. Barcelona are more susceptable at the back to physical attackers, so might struggle against Chelsea/Man U, not fancy dans like Arsenal - who let's face it also have a pathetic couple of centre-backs.
 
I'll wait and see how the different teams do in January/February before I start trying to predict anything. But I can say one thing: FC Copenhagen in late February is a walk-over for Chelsea. They are out of season and are just as fucked as any Norwegian team would be. (I won't even mention the results Norwegian clubs have had in Europe in Feb/March).

By the way, why does all transport and communication in the UK collapse for a few inches of snow? 7 out of 9 Premiership matches this weekend postponed, due to safety considerations ...? Seriously, had it been the fivefold, I could understand it. Don't the trains and tube go as usual either?
 
Eddies Wingman said:
I'll wait and see how the different teams do in January/February before I start trying to predict anything. But I can say one thing: FC Copenhagen in late February is a walk-over for Chelsea. They are out of season and are just as fucked as any Norwegian team would be. (I won't even mention the results Norwegian clubs have had in Europe in Feb/March).

By the way, why does all transport and communication in the UK collapse for a few inches of snow? 7 out of 9 Premiership matches this weekend postponed, due to safety considerations ...? Seriously, had it been the fivefold, I could understand it. Don't the trains and tube go as usual either?
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I'm a bit divided on this. On one hand I think if the pitch is OK, then it's up to fans if they want to make their way to the ground - calling it off for security reasons is the "ol' health n safety gone mad". However my house is surrounded by about 6 inches of snow and it's near impossible to drive anywhere. On Friday after it started snowing it took me 45 minutes to drive 1 mile home. There's an embarassing lack of infrastructure to deal with snow in this country - not enough snow ploughs and gritters, which is inexcusable considering the same thing happened last year. The tube tends to be OK I think, but lots of regional train services are badly affected, and you get stories of people having to spend the night in trains which get stuck. And I was hearing of Stoke City supports who'd arrived at Arsenal at midday yesterday, told the match was off, and - travelling by car - 12 hours later were still not even half way home.
 
How often does these things happen nowadays? If road traffic (and trains) is seriously hampered several times every winter, wouldn't it be an idea to invest in more snow ploughs and other equipment for keeping the main roads clear of snow?

I mean, I could understand it for the Sunny Coast of Spain, or Sicily, but you are fuckin' Britain. Your climate isn't that different from southwest Norway.

By the way, do anyone have winter tires on their car in the UK? If not, I can sort of understand that even a little snow can create problems. At first snowfall, typically in October, many in Norway are caught by surprise - every year - because they've been to late changing to winter tires.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
How often does these things happen nowadays? If road traffic (and trains) is seriously hampered several times every winter, wouldn't it be an idea to invest in more snow ploughs and other equipment for keeping the main roads clear of snow?

I mean, I could understand it for the Sunny Coast of Spain, or Sicily, but you are fuckin' Britain. Your climate isn't that different from southwest Norway.
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We don't really get the snow falls as often as other countries do. We can go several years without any snow - then we get hit. We have had around three or four winters on the trot with snow disruption but prior to that, we hardly had any for a decade or so. That is why we are so unprepared. If snow was guaranteed year after year and lasted more than a few days, then investment will be needed.

Of all the games that were cancelled, like NA said - the pitches were probably playable (a lot have under soil heating, etc.) but getting to the games was the issue (whether I think it the right decision to call of a game for that reason is not the issue - I don't, by the way). However, one game that did go ahead that should of been abandoned was the Leicester/Ipswich game as it was played in the middle of a blizzard. The snow was coming down so thick and fast that the lines could not bee seen (despite attempts to clear it at half time). How can a ref determine if the ball is in play, or over the line for a goal, or a penalty for a foul?

Eddies Wingman said:
By the way, do anyone have winter tires on their car in the UK? If not, I can sort of understand that even a little snow can create problems. At first snowfall, typically in October, many in Norway are caught by surprise - every year - because they've been to late changing to winter tires.
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Short answer - no. It is neither a legal requirement or advisable from the Government. Some people do have them, but I don't. Personally, I'm won't be spending upwards of £500 on four snow tyres to get me through around 10-14 days of driving in the winter. But I do have ABS which works pretty good.
 
Albie said:
We don't really get the snow falls as often as other countries do. We can go several years without any snow - then we get hit. We have had around three or four winters on the trot with snow disruption but prior to that, we hardly had any for a decade or so. That is why we are so unprepared. If snow was guaranteed year after year and lasted more than a few days, then investment will be needed.
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I get the drawing. Of course it would be expensive to have loads of equipment parked for years, unused ...



Albie said:
Of all the games that were cancelled, like NA said - the pitches were probably playable (a lot have under soil heating, etc.) but getting to the games was the issue (whether I think it the right decision to call of a game for that reason is not the issue - I don't, by the way). However, one game that did go ahead that should of been abandoned was the Leicester/Ipswich game as it was played in the middle of a blizzard. The snow was coming down so thick and fast that the lines could not bee seen (despite attempts to clear it at half time). How can a ref determine if the ball is in play, or over the line for a goal, or a penalty for a foul?
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Well, even in Norway we call off a game if it's snowing a lot during the match ... but not always: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyQNKTJDVs4

Albie said:
Short answer - no. It is neither a legal requirement or advisable from the Government. Some people do have them, but I don't. Personally, I'm won't be spending upwards of £500 on four snow tyres to get me through around 10-14 days of driving in the winter. But I do have ABS which works pretty good.
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I wouldn't trust the ABS brakes alone. I'd rather take the bus if there was a snowfall before I had put on the winter tyres. And of course I understand that people won't spend a full week's pay on something they might not use for two years. It's a different deal when one has to use them from late October to early April  :innocent:
 
Beşiktaş signed with Simao Sabrosa today. They paid just 900k euros for the transfer. They signed with Ricardo Quaresma and Guti Hernandez at the beginning of the season and Manuel Fernandes five days ago. They were a disappointment in the first half of the league but they have good players now. Ricardo Quaresma, Guti Hernandez, Simao Sabrosa, Manuel Fernandes, Fabian Ernst, Roberto Hilbert etc. They're in talks with Hugo Almeida now.
 
maidenhead1996 said:
Beşiktaş signed with Simao Sabrosa today. They paid just 900k euros for the transfer. They signed with Ricardo Quaresma and Guti Hernandez at the beginning of the season and Manuel Fernandes five days ago. They were a disappointment in the first half of the league but they have good players now. Ricardo Quaresma, Guti Hernandez, Simao Sabrosa, Manuel Fernandes, Fabian Ernst, Roberto Hilbert etc. They're in talks with Hugo Almeida now.
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They signed with Hugo Almeida today.
 
Not sure if anyone heard the news but Coen Moulijn, former Feyenoord footballer, was struck by a cerebral infarction on New Year Day and died three days later, on the age of 73.

His nickname was "Mr. Feyenoord". He was the most important player in the club's history and one of the best left wingers ever to have walked the fields.

coen-moulijn-celtic-300x300.jpg


Moulijn played for Feyenoord FC from the 1955 to 1972. 487 matches and 84 goals. The legendary left-winger was capped for the Netherlands 38 times. In 1970, he won the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup with the Rotterdam club. It was the first time a Dutch club had won either competition.

The legendary Feyenoord selection for the season 1969-1970:
1969-elftalfoto.jpg

Standing: Piet Romeijn, Eddy Treijtel, Eddy Pieters Graafland, Cor Veldhoen, Wim Jansen,
Rinus Israël, Guus Haak en Theo Laseroms.
Sitting: Franz Hasil, Henk Wery, Theo van Duivenbode, Wim van Hanegem, Ove Kindvall, Ruud Geels en Coen Moulijn.

The Celtic selection of the same season:
1970-celtic.jpg


Coen Moulijn holding the European Cup:
1970-coen-moulijn-europacup.jpg


Compared by some to Stanley Matthews, Moulijn was considered one of the most talented leftwingers in Dutch football history.

Johan Cruyff added him to his alltime favorite Dutch national team, stating that "Coen mastered one movement better than anyone: threatening to pass his opponent through the center, and then speeding past him on the other side. He was an exceptionally talented football player. A typical product of the Dutch school."
 
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