The SOCCER Thread 2013/2014

[Guest Len B'stard]

I don't think it was at all, i would agree with you if Barca were actually applying any kind of serious pressure that was troubling them but as i say the majority of it was around the perimeter, it weren't penetrative attacking at all and furthermore when it was Citys turn to attack they were getting the better chances and believe you me, if it weren't for that peno and sending off i firmly City would've scored first and the way the game was going is testament to that, scroll back in this very thread, everyone watching it was going City are getting the better chances pre-peno. That to me is the mirror opposite of tactically naive, thats called having them sussed out.

Even after the peno they got into some good positions but there was so much pressure on Dzeko by that point in the second half.

Barcelona usually does that though. They have at least 70% possession, they keep passing it around 25 meters from the goal and they look for openings at which point they accelerate towards it. They don't need to get the ball inside the box 10 times, they just need to do it twice. It's incredibly boring to watch but it's been working out for them.

They aren't lacking in penetrative play and pushing in the final third though and they were with City and thats my point here. They don't just knock it about an entire half and don't move towards the box like they were doing with City...and the reason that they were doing that against City is cuz they were being handled. If Barca played regularly like what you've described up there they wouldn't be Barca.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sugaraylen

[Tater Totts]

Arsenal on the other hand were very unlucky, they dominated the opening exchanges and could have been 3-0 up before they even had the penalty, 4-0 if they had scored it. At times I will admit it is suspicious how UEFA work with their decisions but if the game was fixed surely Arsenal would never have been awarded a penalty and Ozil booked for diving?

Hell no! They seemed better in the first 20 minutes or so because they had the opening rush that home teams usually have at the beginning of a game and Bayern throughout most of the first half seemed strangely unmotivated when it came to attacking. But Bayern were clearly the better the team. They're just simply on a higher level at this point in time.

I don't think anyone is denying that over the full 90 Bayern were superior. HOWEVER, if Arsenal had taken their chances in the opening 20 AND scored the penalty then the game would have been completely different with Bayern being 3-0 down. The sending off undoubtedly helped Bayern as they passed circles around the Arsenal players and tired them out as you would expect but if Arsenal had taken the chances they had they would have been 3-0 up and down to 10 men which would have completely changed the game.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Hell no! They seemed better in the first 20 minutes or so because they had the opening rush that home teams usually have at the beginning of a game and Bayern throughout most of the first half seemed strangely unmotivated when it came to attacking.

Honestly, fuckin' biased re-telling or what? How about it was a fuckin' competitive game and was being played as such until the red card. Don't get me wrong, even if we'd've stayed 11 men i do believe the siege thing would've come to pass towards the end but not like it did, it just got ridiculous.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sugaraylen

[Tater Totts]

Agreed, Bayern were coming into the game more but it wasn't like they were dominating. It went from being an opening 20 minutes with Arsenal the better side, to a more balanced game and after the sending off Bayern started to dominate.

[GivenToFly]

Arsenal on the other hand were very unlucky, they dominated the opening exchanges and could have been 3-0 up before they even had the penalty, 4-0 if they had scored it. At times I will admit it is suspicious how UEFA work with their decisions but if the game was fixed surely Arsenal would never have been awarded a penalty and Ozil booked for diving?

Hell no! They seemed better in the first 20 minutes or so because they had the opening rush that home teams usually have at the beginning of a game and Bayern throughout most of the first half seemed strangely unmotivated when it came to attacking. But Bayern were clearly the better the team. They're just simply on a higher level at this point in time.

I don't think anyone is denying that over the full 90 Bayern were superior. HOWEVER, if Arsenal had taken their chances in the opening 20 AND scored the penalty then the game would have been completely different with Bayern being 3-0 down. The sending off undoubtedly helped Bayern as they passed circles around the Arsenal players and tired them out as you would expect but if Arsenal had taken the chances they had they would have been 3-0 up and down to 10 men which would have completely changed the game.

Nobody ever scores on 100% of their chances though, so that's a meaningless argument, especially when you've got Manuel Neuer in front of you, you need at least 6 or 7 shots on goal to even hope you might get one in.

Hell no! They seemed better in the first 20 minutes or so because they had the opening rush that home teams usually have at the beginning of a game and Bayern throughout most of the first half seemed strangely unmotivated when it came to attacking.

Honestly, fuckin' biased re-telling or what? How about it was a fuckin' competitive game and was being played as such until the red card. Don't get me wrong, even if we'd've stayed 11 men i do believe the siege thing would've come to pass towards the end but not like it did, it just got ridiculous.

What bias? I'm not a Bayern fan, I was a neutral viewer, maybe slightly on Arsenal's side.

[Ryan95]

I said I would never have Demicheles starting against barcelona and was pissed off and very concerned when the team sheet was announced an hour before kick off. Think I said in this thread worried about Demicheles starting. If this game leads to us realising he is simply not good enough at our level then that will be one good thing at least.

[Guest Len B'stard]

What bias? I'm not a Bayern fan, I was a neutral viewer, maybe slightly on Arsenal's side.

Biased, slanted, whatever you wanna call it, it's just not an accurate reflection of what happened.

[The Sandman]

Chelsea have got Galatasaray. It's true though innit, every time it's a fuckin' English team people just get carded to fuck. Chelsea had to go the distance on 10 men and all, it's really a travesty, on the one hand you have the supposed best teams in the world, they cop a load of heat on the pitch and then it's cards flying all over the gaff and they get to have a go at shooting fish in a fuckin' barrel. Cuz we play a dirty game over here, yeah, bollocks.

I've been told English referees are far more lenient when it comes to tough physical collisions than those in the rest of Europe, especially in Southern Europe, so I'm guessing players are used to Premier League football but with referees from outside England they get called out on fouls and carded far more often.

It is renowned. It shouldn't really be that way though.

[Guest Len B'stard]

It's a load of fuckin' bollocks that basically means English teams have to play against the referee as well as everything else. What gets me is, with the Barcas and Bayerns of this world, you're the fuckin' dogs bollocks right, the marauders, the big boys, well fair enough, if you are, prove it head to head in a fuckin' competitive game and show us your fuckin' worth, instead of just rolling around like fuckin' tarts at every little fuckin' knock.

Quite frankly, to my mind, i don't fuckin' rate none of these wankers no more. The mighty Barca, yeah, we saw how fuckin' mighty they were playing City, had to fuckin' cripple em just to make a go of it, the mighty Bayern that took a 3-2 off of City, the Barca they Chelsea fuckin' handled.

One thing I'll rate forever about Chelsea is how they went down in numbers but they still had this 'fuckin' come on then!' mentality to the game, fuck em, i reckon when these lot play on English soil they should chop the bastards, if they're gonna call us dirty for being competitive and sharp then fuck em, show em what dirty really is and send em home in fuckin' pieces, why not, they're just gonna get dive and get fuckin' cards flashed and play us for fuckin' idiots anyway.

I don't even fuckin' rate these lot like i used to, like they're some kinda footballing deities, i mean they're sharp as fuck players and the talent is undeniable but they are fundamentally spineless in their approach and they don't like things to be competitive and the minute they are they react like fuckin' tarts instead of stepping up in gear and proving themselves worthy of all this praise heaped on em. Fuck em.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sugaraylen

[The Sandman]

Len, have a Snickers.

[Ryan95]

I have always admired and respected Barcelona but after watching them against us I have lost a lot of respect for them and some of their players. Suppose the ref was most to blame though, 5 fouls it took for the vastly overrated alves to get booked, negredo? 1 foul. Was is sanago yesterday that got a yellow on neuer closing the kick down even though he never touched him and neuer went down like he had been shot?

Edited February 20, 2014 by Ryan95

[Guest Len B'stard]

Len, have a Snickers.

Sorry! I'm sure you can see how it might get on my tits a tad tho!

I fuckin' love Sanogo, i think he's got serious potential.

[Tater Totts]

There was contact in the Neuer v Sanogo foul but nowhere near enough to react like Neuer did.

Sanogo is raw but has the potential, needs to pack on a bit more muscle and get more game time and he will be a very good player for you guys.

[GivenToFly]

It's a load of fuckin' bollocks that basically means English teams have to play against the referee as well as everything else. What gets me is, with the Barcas and Bayerns of this world, you're the fuckin' dogs bollocks right, the marauders, the big boys, well fair enough, if you are, prove it head to head in a fuckin' competitive game and show us your fuckin' worth, instead of just rolling around like fuckin' tarts at every little fuckin' knock.

Quite frankly, to my mind, i don't fuckin' rate none of these wankers no more. The mighty Barca, yeah, we saw how fuckin' mighty they were playing City, had to fuckin' cripple em just to make a go of it, the mighty Bayern that took a 3-2 off of City, the Barca they Chelsea fuckin' handled.

One thing I'll rate forever about Chelsea is how they went down in numbers but they still had this 'fuckin' come on then!' mentality to the game, fuck em, i reckon when these lot play on English soil they should chop the bastards, if they're gonna call us dirty for being competitive and sharp then fuck em, show em what dirty really is and send em home in fuckin' pieces, why not, they're just gonna get dive and get fuckin' cards flashed and play us for fuckin' idiots anyway.

I don't even fuckin' rate these lot like i used to, like they're some kinda footballing deities, i mean they're sharp as fuck players and the talent is undeniable but they are fundamentally spineless in their approach and they don't like things to be competitive and the minute they are they react like fuckin' tarts instead of stepping up in gear and proving themselves worthy of all this praise heaped on em. Fuck em.

:laugh:

You're hilarious sometimes!

[moreblack]

Exactly, they was just knocking the ball around the perimeter, there weren't no serious penetrative play going on, they couldn't fuckin' do it.

That pass to Messi on the penalty play was pretty penetrative I'd say. If anything they were starting to find holes. 11v11 they probably would've found more as the game went on. With 10 men, City got more defensive so it took a while, but even with the disallowed goal, they got behind City's defense in the blink of an eye.

[wasted]

Barca never look all that but they have possession and eventually the oppo crumbles and they score 6. Keeping the ball in the oppo half for long periods really pays dividends. I hope Chelsea take them to extra time and penos and Messi misses and Moron knee slides with the cup.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Well i mean every word, the fact is, for all their hype, when these wankers show up there's always some bullshit surrounding it, some fuckin' dodgy red card or some silly desicion giving them a ridiculous advantage. Like this instance with us, like with City, like with Chelsea when they won, like with us lot when Robin Van Persie gets fuckin' sent for following through on a shot when the whistle had blown, with exactly a second between his kicking the ball and the whistle blowing, i mean am i making this shit up or what?

You see it at every Classico and big game these lot have, the ref is stopping it every two seconds cuz some wanker is pirouhetting through the air then 50 of his mates getting in the refs face. They're just a bunch of divers and tarts.

[moreblack]

I hope Chelsea take them to extra time and penos and Messi misses and Moron knee slides with the cup.

That would be fun, but I think what Moron really wants is to have a go at Real at some point.

Edited February 20, 2014 by moreblack

[Guest Len B'stard]

Exactly, they was just knocking the ball around the perimeter, there weren't no serious penetrative play going on, they couldn't fuckin' do it.

That pass to Messi on the penalty play was pretty penetrative I'd say. If anything they were starting to find holes. 11v11 they probably would've found more as the game went on. With 10 men, City got more defensive so it took a while, but even with the disallowed goal, they got behind City's defense in the blink of an eye.

Right the one to Messi but that was the one pass, wasn't it, thats the point I was making, up until then they weren't getting in the box. In fact if you scroll back it was you who posted on here that City were getting the better chances and thats the crux of what I was saying, that up until that red card City were fuckin' handling them. They would've definitely found more, even i think that but up until that point they weren't, they were getting handled and, in your own words, City were getting the better chances, it wasn't this thing that everyones appears to be pushing that City were just on the brink or something, thats bollocks.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sugaraylen

[Tater Totts]

But that's the Barca way isn't it? They pass teams to death for the entire game and as they tire in the final half hour they create more and more chances as more gaps appear.

[wasted]

You need to get in Barcas face. City sat back. That just let's them play their game. You need to kick them, pressure higher up, get them riled up. Cripple Messi for start. Sacrifice one player just do him. City didn't get enough yellow cards. They hardly put in a tackle the whole game.

[moreblack]

That's the thing, Real always presses them into coughing up the ball and try to counter at the fastest speed possible. Bayern snuffed their tiki taka last year with superior positioning and discipline.

BUT

For most other teams, Barca have the ball all match until they find an opening(it's never just one), and then they either score or are stopped illegally.

And if Messi and Iniesta don't get you, the ever improving Neymar/Dani Alves combo on the right will.

Edited February 20, 2014 by moreblack

[Guest Len B'stard]

. Bayern snuffed their tiki taka last year with superior positioning and discipline.

THATS the way its done to my mind I think Citys tactics were fine, allow them the ball but in idle places, never in the final third, keep it tight and when you counter, counter like a motherfucker...and it was working, people do a similar thing to Arsenal in the prem and handle them, just let them pass all they fuckin' want outside of that final third, now Arsenal are not Barca but the principle is still applicable and whether it would've worked the whole way is debateable but it was certainly working up until that red.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sugaraylen

[GivenToFly]

That's why we British never win in sports: everybody else cheats!

- Ian Duncan, Community

[Guest Len B'stard]

The reason England never win at football is because our game, on a grassroots level, hasn't changed in the last 50 years, there's no emphasis on short passes, on flair, it's all about strength, it's all about punts, crosses, long balls, hammering it, it's all about get up that end of the field. Every countrys game evolves except ours, look at the Brazilians, the reason they are the dogs bollocks at football is that their game preempts changes in the game on a global scale...and if it doesn't it certainly catches up, like in 82 when they were 'the best team to ever lose the world cup', that team was on a par with their 60s squad, their 1970 squad, y'know, the most rated fuckin' squads of their history...but they were fuckin' devoid of defence. So they lose that, they go back to the drawing board and then look at them defensively from 94 onwards, thats the way you do shit, you fix it up. England don't do that, we just make our bed and lay in it.