Official Football Thread

Eddies Wingman said:
So, Foro - Twente and PSV are in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, but out of the eight remaining teams, I think Villarreal are the strongest. I would put my money on them.
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Big chance, but I think PSV should be able to deal with Benfica.
 
An interesting draw in the Champions League, the Spurs-Real Madrid tie looks like it should be the most entertaining.

Eddies Wingman said:
Also, Mario Balotelli has once again shown that he has no brain.
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He's a certified nutcase.

I watched Liverpool last night, which was pretty dire. 90 minutes of long balls to Andy Caroll: nothing wrong with that if he's in the box, but there was nothing going on around him. I was expecting someone to dive for a penalty in front of the Kop (which is how they usually get through tough European games) but then I remembered Gerrard wasn't playing. ;)
 
I watched that game too. It was not the most entertaining football match I have seen.

national acrobat said:
I was expecting someone to dive for a penalty in front of the Kop (which is how they usually get through tough European games) but then I remembered Gerrard wasn't playing. ;)
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They were playing a Portuguese side, so I was expecting to see one of them dive for a penalty. Liverpool? Well, as you said, Gerrard wasn't playing  :D
 
I believe Shakhtar is a tougher opponent for Barcelona than most people seem to think. In particular, they haven't lost at home since the October Revolution or so, and could very well defeat the Spaniards there. I'm not at all convinced they're an easier opponent for Barcelona than Tottenham is for Real.

Internazionale will dispose of Schalke in an efficient but unspectacular manner.

United versus Chelsea is anyone's game, really. Last time I looked at the Premiership table (a while ago, admittedly), Chelsea seemed to be pretty much out of the running, which might be an advantage here what with United having to fight on two fronts.
 
Shadow said:
United versus Chelsea is anyone's game, really. Last time I looked at the Premiership table (a while ago, admittedly), Chelsea seemed to be pretty much out of the running, which might be an advantage here what with United having to fight on two fronts.
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Three  B)
 
And having to play Arsenal twice, Chelsea three times and Man City twice to get there.
 
Okay, the Euro 2012 qualifiers are on again this weekend! A few matches have already been played tonight, and I'm quite certain Forostar is pleased with his Holland beating Hungary 4-0. Away. Playing them again, at home, on Tuesday.

Myself, I'm obviously looking forward to another "Battle of Scandinavia" tomorrow. Should Norway win, we would have one foot in the tournament already, but I'm sure it will be a tough game. Going to watch it in a pub with a couple of friends, this is the kind of game no one wants to watch alone.

But right now, I'm enjoying Friday night, Spain vs Czech Republic (0-1 at half time!) and some brandy  :D
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Myself, I'm obviously looking forward to another "Battle of Scandinavia" tomorrow. Should Norway win, we would have one foot in the tournament already, but I'm sure it will be a tough game. Going to watch it in a pub with a couple of friends, this is the kind of game no one wants to watch alone.
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I'll be doing the same for Wales - England later. Look out for a pitch invasion by inflatable sheep! :D
 
Later? Isn't your match earlier than ours?

Ah, the inflatable sheep. Remember someone said before we were playing Wales once; "ah, the sheep-shaggers vs the reindeer shaggers ..."
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Okay, the Euro 2012 qualifiers are on again this weekend! A few matches have already been played tonight, and I'm quite certain Forostar is pleased with his Holland beating Hungary 4-0. Away. Playing them again, at home, on Tuesday.
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Certainly. A very dominant match, almost playing with the opponent. I believe this was the 13th won qualification match in a row.

I am also very glad for Belgium, they are doing very well, fighting for the 2nd place. I guess it has been years to see such spirit.

Goodluck to Norway!
 
Thanks :)

By the way, I guess our dear neighbours from Sweden are also pleased with you hammering Hungary, because that increases their chance to reclaim second place in the group. I can't help thinking how great it would be if Norway win the group ahead of Denmark, and then Denmark and Sweden face each other in the playoff  :D Could be epic.
 
I'm disappointed that Gareth Bale has been ruled out of the Wales/England match as with him, the Welsh thought they would sneak a win. And I would rather England beat the Welsh with him playing.

But making 20 year old Aaron Ramsey captain? What is Gary Speed thinking? He's only just back from a 10 month lay off after a nasty injury and has barely played much football of late. Talk about throwing in him at the deep end.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Later? Isn't your match earlier than ours?
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I just meant later than the present (i.e. the past). :ninja:

England made short work of Wales, 2-0 up within 15 minutes and it was just a case of seeing the match out ofter that. Wales were so bad they made England look good!
 
national acrobat said:
I just meant later than the present (i.e. the past). :ninja:

England made short work of Wales, 2-0 up within 15 minutes and it was just a case of seeing the match out ofter that. Wales were so bad they made England look good!
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I thought so.

1-1 against Denmark is acceptable, but our performance wasn't. The few times we could stitch more than three-four passes together, it seemed to be more out of luck than skill. We were OK in defense, the Danes didn't really create much either, but they looked more like winning than we did. I'm gutted by the performance from some of our players, and I can really understand why Fulham decided to send Bjørn Helge Riise on loan to Sheff Utd. His best part of the match was when he was put in the right back position when we changed to 4-4-2 in pursuit of the equalizer ...

Now I'd say the group is fully open, to win the group we probably need to get something either in Lisbon or Copenhagen. Had we won tonight, we could have won the group even with zero points from those two matches.

Next up - Portugal away in June.
 
Did Vaagan Moen play? I'll guess not, because he's done little at QPR since arriving other than sit on the bench, although the fans seem to have taken to him quite a bit. Maybe he's not performing in training, becuase he's always looked decent when appearing as a sub.
 
No, he wasn't in the squad either. Surprised me a little, since he would be a natural 2nd choice in left wing if Morten Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn) couldn't play. Maybe Drillo considered Erik Huseklepp (former teammate of Vaagan Moen in Brann, now playing for Bari) sufficient backup? He played as a striker yesterday (and scored the equalizer).
 
Well Vaagan Moen will be a Premier League sub next season so maybe he'll get more recognition. ;)

Eddies Wingman said:
Now I'd say the group is fully open, to win the group we probably need to get something either in Lisbon or Copenhagen. Had we won tonight, we could have won the group even with zero points from those two matches.
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Just looked at your table, it looks pretty good for Norway though. I guess the biggest problem may be taking the games against Iceland and Cyprus too lightly and not getting maximum points from them, making a point against the other two useless.
 
Oh, I doubt we'll do that as long as Drillo is managing the team. He's good at keeping players on their toes for the lesser matches as well. But it is of course not impossible.

If we do win those two, I think one point against Denmark will be sufficient to win the group or at least finish equal with Denmark or Portugal (and ahead of the other). I also have high hopes that we can get something in Portugal, because our domestic players are usually in good form in the summer (three months into the Norwegian league season). I hope Nani will be tired for that match, after a glorious May for United  :D
 
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