Official Football Thread

Meh, I was never too impressed by the Italians (in fact, haven't been too impressed by the quality of the soccer in this tournament at all) and will root for Spain. As deplorable as it is that a country might win 3 major tournaments in a row (I'd prefer for another country to win) I just don't like Italy :p.
 
Natalie said:
Meh, I was never too impressed by the Italians
Click to expand...

They toyed with England and dominated the German team I thought would win it all. I've been very impressed with the Italians. Buffon is a legend, and Pirlo is as cool as they come. Balotelli is an asswipe, but he's a talented asswipe. I have no rooting interest, other than not wanting another nil-nil match that gets decided in a PK shootout.
 
I think Pirlo has almost single-handedly gotten them this far. Buffon has been solid and Balotelli has delivered. Other than that, meh.
 
I agree with the overall quality of the games. And if i can understand the main reason behind the enlargement of teams for the Euro 2016, this means almost half (!) of all European countries will take part on the event. I believe this is a huge mistake.

The World Cups have decreased their game quality much because of the number of teams qualified. There are several with no attributes whatsoever.



EDIT: So the better team won. Hum... :dancinggeek:
 
:yey:

Although the game was won the minute Thiago Motta got that injury and from then on it was pretty sad and the game lost any kind of competitive nature it might have had.
 
Rotam said:
I agree with the overall quality of the games. And if i can understand the main reason behind the enlargement of teams for the Euro 2016, this means almost half (!) of all European countries will take part on the event. I believe this is a huge mistake.
Click to expand...

I understand the main reason to be money.

I also think it's a big mistake. The World Cup is a lot of fun, but the Euros are more prestigious because of the higher overall quality of teams. Adding those extra teams will be like saying "Sorry San Marino, Andorra and Faroe Islands, but everyone else ... you're invited."
 
I guess there is no need to express how impressed I am by how the Spanish team performed in the final - it would be stating the obvious.

Instead, I'll state that I agree that extending the Euros to 24 teams is not a good idea. Yes, it would mean Norway would no longer have valid excuses for failing to qualify, but I'd rather see us qualify through us getting back to the level we had between 1992 and 2000.

With 24 teams in Euro 2012, today's Norway team would probably have been part of it. I can honestly not see that we would add any more than Ireland to this tournament. Neither would teams like Scotland, Austria, Belgium or Serbia.

I hope they go back to 16 teams later.
 
So, debt v debt. And debt won. ;)

As for Euro 2016 having more teams, agree with EW & NA - this will lead to more teams doing an Ireland and as such, the tournament itself will loose a bit of that edge. 16 is about right. What is more stupid is the idea that Platini has to stage the tournament over God knows how many countries: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18657633. And this guy is in line to replace Blatter!
 
Glasgow Rangers relegated to third division :(

Robin Van Persie won't renew his Arsenal contract :( I hope he comes to AC Milan, not to scumbags Juventus as rumored.
 
Goal-line technology systems given green light

:applause:
Goal-line technology has been given the go-ahead by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) following a vote at Fifa headquarters in Zurich.
_61014726_balloverthelineterrystill.png


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18719396
 
I welcome that decision, but I see a potential paradox; The England v Ukraine situation provides a brilliant example. If the goal chance happened after a refereeing mistake, the use of video technology may lead to a goal being given, even though it should not have been. As a consequence, I think that if there is any such situation leading up to the goal, the referee should have the possibility to check replays to help him in the decision. The type of situations I think about are - like previously stated - those where there is no room for interpretation:
  • Offside or not
  • Ball out of play
Of course, one needs to draw a line regardin how far back the replay should be used. I would say it's natural to draw the line at the moment where the attacking team wins the ball, or (in the case of a free kick or throw-in) the moment when the attacking team sets the ball in play.

On a different note: Park Ji-Sung is on his way to Park Rangers-Queens. I guess National Acrobat is dancing with joy :D
 
I assume it will only be used on the line, and not to correct (correct meaning in this case change) a(nother) mistake by the referee.
 
Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
On a different note: Park Ji-Sung is on his way to Park Rangers-Queens. I guess National Acrobat is dancing with joy :D
Click to expand...
Exciting times with the signings we're making, I'd say we're a good centre-half away from having a really decent team (i.e. one that should finish mid-table).

There should also be news on Monday about moving to a new ground. Without going into the discussion about merits of new football stadia, a large part of me would prefer to see QPR be rubbish but stay at Loftus Road (with low ticket prices).
 
P.S. Just seen what you did there with the name of the link. Definite good song/chant potential with this signing: next signings will be Nile Ranger and the Queen.
 
national acrobat said:
There should also be news on Monday about moving to a new ground. Without going into the discussion about merits of new football stadia, a large part of me would prefer to see QPR be rubbish but stay at Loftus Road (with low ticket prices).
Click to expand...

About new stadia: At the time of return to top-flight football in 2004, Fredrikstad FK were playing here:
3566665017.jpg


The stands were built in the 1930s and there were two options to comply with the standards imposed by the Norwegian FA: A total overhaul, or a brand new stadium. The latter was chosen, and a new stadium built at the place where the ship-building facility FMV (Fredrikstad Mekaniske Verksted) had earlier resided. A lot nicer:

fredrikstad_newstadion1.jpg


The new 12,500 capacity stadium has been named the best in Norway in several categories, but it has come at a price. The moving-in in 2007 coincided with a peak in crowd sizes, but when the attendances started to decline again, it was clear that the cost of the new stadium was higher than the club could sustain while also affording to field a strong first team. So, after a surprising 2nd place in 2008, financial trouble and general decline has followed. To the extent that relegation this season could very well lead to bankruptcy in the club's PLC. And relegation is definitely a possibility. After 13 of 30 matches, we are third from the bottom.
 
Natalie said:
Meh, I was never too impressed by Italians. I just don't like Italy :p.
Click to expand...
Come on on Nat, this is an international forum. Just because we have no Italians posting regularly at the moment is no reason to get all tribal here.
(Context. Who needs it? :devil2:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top