[FOOTBALL] Weekend Football 18-21 December (AE Special - Arsenal vs Man City)

[Magic]

1 up OG Preston down to 10. 5 points off play offs. :)

[John Arne]

This is going to be 8-2.

5-2. Should be six if Ronaldo could pass.

[John Arne]

5-2. Should be six if Ronaldo could pass.

6-2. 35 mins to go.

[John Arne]

Rayo don't give a shit. 9 men and they are still pushing two up top :D

[Sam]

4-1 loss and gerbil face is still in a job, would make my Christmas to see him get the axe, it won't happen, we will wait till February to pull the trigger and get rid of the clown.

[John Arne]

Ronaldo to Bale. 7-2

[Boom-Boom]

How come BBC are listing Ronaldo as 'dos Santos Aveiro'.

I think Sky Sports are doing it aswell. I know it's part of his name but I don't recall them using it before, I had no idea who it was until I put it into google.

[John Arne]

Bale with his 4th. 8-2.

[John Arne]

Ronaldo seething.

[John]

You'll do Trancemeister out of a job.

[niko_cee]

How come BBC are listing Ronaldo as 'dos Santos Aveiro'.

I think Sky Sports are doing it aswell. I know it's part of his name but I don't recall them using it before, I had no idea who it was until I put it into google.

Was just wondering this as well.

[John Arne]

9 (Nine).

[igor_balis]

The BBC website has always been bollocks for that kind of thing. Pretty sure for the entirety of his time at West Brom, Chris Wood was listed as Chris Woods, and clicking on him would bring up the career record of the retired goalkeeper in his 50s.

[Magic]

It is Chris Woods m8.

[igor_balis]

No it isn't.

[simon]

What is the fucking point in La Liga?

[John Arne]

La decima. 10-2.

[John Arne]

What is the fucking point in La Liga?

For once, the shit team hasn't just rolled over and died... fair play to Rayo.. they are still attacking, which is why they keep conceding :D

[simon]

They've conceded 10. That's a disgrace, no matter which way you look at it.

[John]

Rayo, under their current boss at least, always do that. Barcelona fucked them last season and they were still just leaving one man back for corners at about 7-1 down with minutes to go.

[Waffdon]

They've conceded 10. That's a disgrace, no matter which way you look at it.

They've got nine fkn men.

[simon]

They've got nine fkn men.

Nah, I'm not having that. They're actually having a laugh with their defending. They're not even remotely arsed.

If you're down to 9 men at the Bernabeu with an hour to go, you shut up shop and pray for something on the break. You don't pull the kind of shit that they've done there.

[Gray Fox]

Goal difference doesn't matter all too much in Spain so they're probably just looking for something to tell the kids about/goal bonuses.

[Pleb]

Leicester and Watford in the Champions League next season sounds filthy.

[Giggles]

Would be great for Serie A at least.

[Vim]

If Lazio hang on to the lead, we'll be 3 points behind the leaders going into the winter break. Not bad considering we were in the bottom half in October.

[Reg]

If Lazio hang on to the lead, we'll be 3 points behind the leaders going into the winter break. Not bad considering we were in the bottom half in October.
Just seen that you played Barzagli-Bonucci-Chiellini today. How long can those three can on for?

[John]

Barzagli is the only one anywhere near his use by date, I'd imagine, and even he probably has a good few years left in him in that league. Bonucci is what, late twenties?

[Reg]

Wiki says 34-28-31, so yeah those latter two have a while. Just seem like they've been around forever.

This is a good year for title races so far. Italy's top six or so are extremely tight, Barca and Atletico level on points, and the Premier League is anyone's.

[Vim]

Barzagli is the best one of the three, though. He is getting on, but Allegri has started giving Rugani some minutes ... he is meant to become one of the best defenders on the planet.

Bonucci was the best defender last season, but today he was an absolute catastrophe ... he wasn't in the match with this head today and even scored an own goal at the end which could have cost us the win. The break will help him for sure, if he's back in top mental condition after the break then he can be one of the best centre-backs in Europe.

Chiellini hasn't been that great for the past couple of years. His drive and determination are incredible, of course, but he is just not good enough on the ball. I know he's just a centre-back, but he's just soooo bad with his feet that it helps the opposition quite a few times. I really don't understand why foreign sources always put him in their top-x lists of defenders, or even football players. He's undoubtedly the worst of our three defenders, with Barzagli being the best but also the least mentioned.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Absolutely no way Atletico are getting near Barcelona over the season. They might outlast Real Madrid for second just from a lesser propensity to shit the bed in easy games, unless Real sack Benitez and get someone decent in.

The race for 4th in Spain is where it's at, Valencia look absolutely shite, Sevilla are hot and cold, Celta are sexy as hell but ship goals, and Deportivo have come from nowhere but surely won't keep it going. Villarreal currently favourites I would say.

[Lee]

Juventus will win Serie A from here, unfortunately. Barcelona will win in Spain, Arsenal I think will win the Premier League whilst Germany and France are already done. I think Ancelotti being appointed at Bayern will give the other German sides hope. I really like him but he doesn't do dominating leagues.

[Davgooner]

:lol:

[Lee]

I think it's the best chance you'll get. All the other big clubs are a shambles and we'll drop away.

[Jimmy Floyd]

As if on cue a useless Atletico have conceded a scrappy shit goal to go 1-0 down late on at Malaga. Our old friend Torres had previously bunted two point blank chances straight at Kameni.

[John]

Juventus will win Serie A from here, unfortunately. Barcelona will win in Spain, Arsenal I think will win the Premier League whilst Germany and France are already done. I think Ancelotti being appointed at Bayern will give the other German sides hope. I really like him but he doesn't do dominating leagues.

It would be an achievement not to dominate the German league with that squad. Their squad was a mess when Wolfsburg won it and a bigger mess under Van Gaal when Dortmund had their day in the sun.

[Davgooner]

I think it's the best chance you'll get. All the other big clubs are a shambles and we'll drop away.

Agree with the first bit, but the team we're chucking out at the minute isn't good enough and is due to be found out pretty spectacularly.

[Reg]

I think Inter are nasty and boring enough to win it. It'll definitely be closer I think than last year, when Roma dropped off so dramatically. There's no consensus for England when everybody last year knew Chelsea would win it after their start. You're probably right about Barcelona but at least Atletico are giving it a damn good go after having to rebuild (again). True about Germany and France but we didn't expect anything more.

[Lee]

It would be an achievement not to dominate the German league with that squad. Their squad was a mess when Wolfsburg won it and a bigger mess under Van Gaal when Dortmund had their day in the sun.

They'll definitely be favourites (they almost always are anyway though) but I think other teams see a Guardiola-led team at the minute and just give up. Like what happened when teams faces United under Ferguson. I think the league will beocme more competitive.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They have 70% of the ball in every game. They don't actually score that many for a team with that amount of dominance (Dortmund have scored one more this year), they just never concede because the opposition never get the ball. Won't be enough against Barcelona or another really well drilled counter-attacking side in Europe though.

Ancelotti doesn't even have a set style I don't think, he just lets the players get on with it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Robben/Ribery resurgence under him, if they're still there by then.

[John]

They fucked the league to death under Heynckes too, to an even greater extent than they have under 'Pep'. Short of a disastrous managerial appointment, which Ancelotti isn't, or a plane crash or something they'll boff the league every year for a good while. They're just so far ahead of everyone else in every way that it's difficult to see where a challenger will come from at the moment.

[Lee]

They fucked the league to death under Heynckes too, to an even greater extent than they have under 'Pep'. Short of a disastrous managerial appointment, which Ancelotti isn't, or a plane crash or something they'll boff the league every year for a good while. They're just so far ahead of everyone else in every way that it's difficult to see where a challenger will come from at the moment.

Heynckes won the league in his second season but not his first (of his most recent spell). I'm not expecting some United-esque collapse, just that other sides will fancy their chances more against an Ancelotti managed Bayern than a Guardiola managed one.

[Kikó]

United have the ball for 70% of the time and don't have any issues conceding.

[Ian]

And you don't catch us scoring goals either. :cool:

[Palmer]

That Felipe Melo challenge :serious:

[Reg]

I did wonder the other day if he'd taken the job primarily to notch up some relatively easy league titles. It's the best shot he's got at it by far in any top tier league (already been at PSG).

For someone who's done so well in the Champions League, his domestic CV looks a little odd.

[Lee]

Some people are just better in tournament situations.

On the subject of brilliant Italian managers, apparently Lippi turned down the Chelsea interim jb. Favourite for Roma though. He'd be a great appointment. Lippi is definitely one of the best managers in my lifetime. Maybe second after Ferguson. Should have won more European Cups though.

[Max Power]

Ancelotti is a perfect fit for Bayern really. Can manage a massive squad full of stars as well as the political nonsense that goes on at these mega clubs. Will certainly will the European Cup at least once with them.

[Reg]

It's not really a criticism, I'd happily be the guy to have won the most Champion Leagues.

[Jimmy Floyd]

His title win with us was a proper stonker. 100 goals and all that. That team was fairly turgid either side of him as well.

[Lee]

It's not really a criticism, I'd happily be the guy to have won the most Champion Leagues.

Oh absolutely. I was looking at this the other day and was surprised at the number of European Cup winning managers who have won it while I've been watching football who have done so multiple times. I guess as a kid I never paid attention to who the managers of foreign clubs were. Look at this lot:

Alex Ferguson
Ottmar Hitzfeld
Vicente del Bosque
Carlo Ancelotti
Jose Mourinho
Pep Guardiola
Jupp Heynckes

That lot account for 15 of the 22 European Cup winning teams I've seen.

[Max Power]

If he does want to come back to England at some point I guess he could follow Ranieri when he retires. I only want cool old Italian men managing my football team from now on.

[ItalAussie]

Juventus will win Serie A from here, unfortunately. Barcelona will win in Spain, Arsenal I think will win the Premier League whilst Germany and France are already done. I think Ancelotti being appointed at Bayern will give the other German sides hope. I really like him but he doesn't do dominating leagues.I'll be a little bit surprised if we catch Inter, to be honest.

As long as we get CL football next year, it's something to build on.

[Reg]

I'd have thought there'd be more than that too, Lee. 4 of those 7 will have been Bayern managers once Ancelotti gets there.

[Lee]

I'll be a little bit surprised if we catch Inter, to be honest.

As long as we get CL football next year, it's something to build on.

It's only a three point gap now. This Juve side just knows how to win titles. I hope they don't do it, for variety's sake.

[ItalAussie]

It's only a three point gap now. This Juve side just knows how to win titles. I hope they don't do it, for variety's sake.

3 points plus a game in hand. Variety can go jump, mind.

Still, assuming we can't get past Bayern in the CL, then we'll be able to concentrate on the back half of the season without distraction.

[Vim]

Inter doesn't have a game in hand. We're just 3 points behind. They are still looking good for the title, but we're right there.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They lost 2-1 at home to Lazio last night. Is that looking good? Juve by 8+ points.

[Shindig]

Get well soon, Pav. :(

http://i1.chroniclelive.co.uk/incoming/article1946108.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Pavel-Srnicek.jpg

And Damien Duff retired. Awww.

[Weaver]

Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey; Walcott, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud.

Hart; Sagna, Otamendi, Mangala, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Toure, Delph; Silva, De Bruyne, Aguero.

[Boom-Boom]

Thierry Henry doesn't half ramble at times. He spent about 10 minutes earlier comparing Van Gaal and Guardiola and never really got his point across.

Do not rate him as a pundit. Lampard has probably been the best so far (since Neville left).

[simon]

His point was that they're very similar in how they want their teams to play in the first two-thirds of the pitch. The big difference between the two is in the final third.

He got his point across absolutely fine in my eyes. Though he's obviously no Neville or Carragher.

[niko_cee]

As Ozil made that pass I thought to my self (mockingly) that that would be another assist for him. On a plate.

:cab:

[Boom-Boom]

As Ozil made that pass I thought to my self (mockingly) that that would be another assist for him. On a plate.

:cab:

When does an assist not become an assist?

ie. If Ozil passes to Walcott inside his own half, who then runs past 4 players and scores a goal. Does that still count as an assist?

Or is it simply always a case of the last person to touch the ball before a goal is scored (other than the goal scorer).

[niko_cee]

Yeah. The guy that passed the ball to Maradona for that goal would have got one.

[simon]

Carragher mentioned the term 'pre-assist' earlier. There's one for Jimmy.

[Lewis]

Somebody should assist 'KBD' off a bridge for that miss.

[Kikó]

[Img]http://redissueforum.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=1053&stc=1&d=1450729063[\img]

[simon]

City are so poor defensively.

[Boom-Boom]

Another assist for Ozil. Fuck me.

[Waffdon]

Man City not winning this league by 10+ points really is amazing. What an awful manager

[Kikó]

http://i68.tinypic.com/14ya4vd.jpg

[Boom-Boom]

http://i68.tinypic.com/14ya4vd.jpg

:D

Why would you think that's a good idea?

[Mazuuurk]

That Giroud goal was bizzare. Looked like Giroud basically just ran past Otamendi (in slow motion).

[Smiffy]

.....

[Boom-Boom]

Man City don't look like a team at all, Arsenal have given them a lesson so far here.

[hfswjyr]

This has been absolutely dominant from Arsenal so far. Not sure if they're playing great or City have been poor.

[Lewis]

Watching City waiting for Aguero/Silva/Toure to bail them out with something special puts £250 MILLION UNITED in perspective. They've spent a third of that on their bollocks centre-backs.

[Boom-Boom]

Toure has offered absolutely nothing in the games I've seen him play this season. If I was a Man City fan I'd want him gone.

[Lewis]

Money well spent.

[Lee]

One more then, City.

[Mazuuurk]

So typical Arsenal to put on a stellar display like this then fuck it up in the last 10 minutes.

[simon]

Somebody needs to sit Nicolas Otamendi down and have a serious chat with him about that barnet.

Also Ramsey has had a proper shocker for that Toure goal.

[CJay]

I'd be quite happy to see Arsenal (or Leicester) win the league. First non-Chelsea / Manchester side in 11 years, would it be? I wonder will they sign anyone in January.

[Davgooner]

Onwards. We'll fuck this up later on. :cool:

[simon]

Jamie Carragher is hitting the nail on the head regarding Yaya Toure currently.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I assume he's calling him a lazy, greedy fuck who only tries for 10 minutes per game then.

[Davgooner]

He looked absolutely shagged by about 70 minutes and then suddenly started bossing it.

[simon]

Pretty much.

He must be infuriating to play alongside.

[Jeet]

Now is Sanchez out until mid-Jan.

Always like to see more of Theo on the left, OK you won't get the most out of his pace from there, but he does get a few Thierry type goals. Maybe he could swap with Sanchez at times as he does seem to always cut inside 90/100 times.

Oh and IT'S ON! Don't wait until the end of Jan to bring players in. 1st week get'em done.

[Boom-Boom]

Now is Sanchez out until mid-Jan.

Always like to see more of Theo on the left, OK you won't get the most out of his pace from there, but he does get a few Thierry type goals. Maybe he could swap with Sanchez at times as he does seem to always cut inside 90/100 times.

Oh and IT'S ON! Don't wait until the end of Jan to bring players in. 1st week get'em done.

It's easy to say go and get players in but who exactly can they expect to bring in during January?

I can't think of many players out there who are available and who would slot straight into the Arsenal team. Any signings they do make would likely be back up options.

[simon]

They should just bin the January transfer window. It's shite.

[Jimmy Floyd]

They should sign six world class players in the first week. Got to improve the team or everyone else will overtake you with their own six world class signings. The current team is shite and not good enough.

[mugbull]

They should just bin the January transfer window. It's shite.

I agree, but i think it would even cooler if they condensed it into a single day, like January 16th or something. Make it like the stock exchange, ring a bell at 9 am and everybody starts hawking their players

[simon]

I agree, but i think it would even cooler if they condensed it into a single day, like January 16th or something. Make it like the stock exchange, ring a bell at 9 am and everybody starts hawking their players

You can tell you live in America.

[Boom-Boom]

His point was that they're very similar in how they want their teams to play in the first two-thirds of the pitch. The big difference between the two is in the final third.

He got his point across absolutely fine in my eyes. Though he's obviously no Neville or Carragher.

Yea, watching it back and it makes perfect sense. I initially missed the part where he discussed being given freedom in the final third, so when he started talking about Messi wondering around in different areas I thought he was contradicting himself.

Interesting watch. Pep is a fascinating coach.

[Mazuuurk]

Arsenal should probably go for that dude Carvalho. Although given that he's still at Sporting or what it is after all this time, I wonder if the hype isn't justified.

[Shindig]

I agree, but i think it would even cooler if they condensed it into a single day, like January 16th or something. Make it like the stock exchange, ring a bell at 9 am and everybody starts hawking their players

Transfers can't be done that quick.

[Mazuuurk]

Are clubs "forbidden" from doing negotiations before the windows?

I never understood why clubs that know they need players in January don't start the dealings already in December.

[Giggles]

That'd be 'tapping up' wouldn't it?

[Toby]

No, tapping up is when the club speaks to player without the owner club's permission (i.e. before a transfer offer has been accepted). There's no reason teams can't begin negotations before the window opens as it's only a window for registration of transfers. I'm sure some transfers are agreed ahead of the window opening.

[phonics]

Carles Gil is being chucked out the club apparently. Their only decent player but okay?

[Giggles]

Oh yeah, that would be ongoing all year anyway.

[niko_cee]

Deals can be agreed before the window opens. It happens reasonably regularly, doesn't it?

[Kikó]

Of course players and teams talk to each other before the window.

[Jimmy Floyd]

It seems to me as if everyone just delays it as long as possible in an attempt to make the other party take a lesser deal. If you tried to 'get players in' with three weeks to go in the window, you'll normally be mugging yourself off because the selling club doesn't need/want to sell until the last minute. Most fans are too thick to understand this though and think clubs just sit around mopping up the last of the turkey leftovers until 31 January when they suddenly panic.

[Josh]

4 wins in a row for Watford now. I think we will probably win the league.

[Waffdon]

Carles Gil is being chucked out the club apparently. Their only decent player but okay?

Do you know him personally or something?

[phonics]

No I just like Villa as a club due to family allegiances and it makes no sense. They've only got about 3 decent players these days and one of them gets dropped for 3 months every time they lose a game.

[Giggles]

That new Man City club crest looks like one of the old fake PES ones. All it's missing is saying 'Man Blue' on it.

[Giggles]

http://c.files.bbci.co.uk/EDAF/production/_87374806_city_composite.jpg

[SvN]

It really bothers me that the "City" is perfectly straight and not curved.

[Boydy]

That is shit. Why'd they change anyway? The old one was good.

[Samadini]

So that New York City and they are complete clones now.

http://i4.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/incoming/article8106521.ece/ALTERNATES/s1227b/nycfc.jpg

[Kikó]

It's closer to their original badge and has the Manchester coat of arms feel to it

[Giggles]

Did they deliberately leave off the 'Football Club' as another little dig at Utd about claiming the whole city? If so, it's as small time as those Tevez billboards were.

[Kikó]

Doubt it. United dropped the words FC years ago.

I'm sure there was a well paid marketing team who decided FC wasn't marketable in Asia

[Shindig]

I like the fake Newcastle one we get in PES, even though it's a palette swap of the current Sunderland one. I still miss Gateshead's old one.

https://thebeautifulhistory.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/gatesheadthennow.jpg

[phonics]

That is shit. Why'd they change anyway? The old one was good.

You can't trademark crests with Latin on them.

[Boydy]

You can't trademark crests with Latin on them.

Really?

[Giggles]

Really?

I remember hearing the same when Tottenham changed theirs. Though they never explained the basketball.


http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/000/886/506/tottenhambadge_crop_exact.jpg?w=650&h=433&q=85

[Lewis]

The 'old' (current) City badge is an absolute small-time shocker, so the new one is a MASSIVE improvement.

[Giggles]

Halfway through a season is a bit of a cash in job though. Smart really.

[ScousePig]

The hipsters love anything old fashioned, so it'll be a massive success.

[Giggles]

The hipsters love anything old fashioned, so it'll be a massive success.

Aren't most Premier League fans Asian now? Though I suppose a lot of them could be hipsters too.

[ScousePig]

I meant hipsters in the most general sense.

[Spoonsky]

The current one is very good.

[Lee]

The new badge is much better, much closer to the original than the current shambles.

[Reg]

I missed the Henry chat about Guardiola but have just watched it, and think he did really well. I'd like him to take over from Gary if he keeps that up. Here's the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svh5lMUfotc) for anyone who feels like watching.

Ah, here's the full one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDAkmRkbVNI) with annoying text but including the van Gaal stuff.

[Giggles]

I never seen so much made of anything than that video. 3 minutes of the obvious and people think he's some genius in the desperate need to fanboy someone other than Gary Neville.

[Reg]

Huh? It's just good analysis. I assume by 'fuss' you mean from somewhere else other than here?

[Giggles]

Huh? It's just good analysis. I assume by 'fuss' you mean from somewhere else other than here?

Yeah not here, I've been seeing about his 'genius' on sites all day. It's very basic but it's just desperation really. If Alan Shearer made the same observation on Match of the Day it'd be ignored at best and ridiculed at worst. But MotD isn't LAD BIBLE LA LIGA MATE LAD popular these days.

[Jeet]

I still don't like the Arsenal badge and the weird 2 shades of red

[Boydy]

He just keeps saying 'freedom'.

[Yevrah]

It's shit analysis.

He spends about 10 minutes droning on explaining something that could have been summed up by "LVG doesn't like his wide forwards cutting inside, while Guardiola (WHEN I WAS AT BARCA and now) does".

[Jeet]

Panic is over lads.

Arsenal have agreed a fee to sign FC Basel’s defensive midfielder Mohamed Elneny. [Swiss outlet Aargauer Zeitung]

[phonics]

It's shit analysis.

He spends about 10 minutes droning on explaining something that could have been summed up by "LVG doesn't like his wide forwards cutting inside, while Guardiola (WHEN I WAS AT BARCA and now) does".

That's not what he said.

[Giggles]

That's not what he said.

It really was MATE.

[Reg]

It had a lot of interesting bits for me. The idea of splitting the pitch in half in training, the rule of having to stick to your position in the first two thirds, Pep's quote about the final third being their job were things I hadn't heard before.

How often do you hear a football pundit saying something you hadn't heard before?

[Kikó]

I thought that it was interesting but limited. The trusting of team mates only works to a point and it's based on you have amazing team mates. Also it helps the be free part when you have some of the most technically gifted players in the sport. He's massively down played the individual ability to get them to the final third, as if Wayne Rooney standing in the flank is suddenly going to make fellaini not a shitehawk.

[Lewis]

'Pep' turned the likes of Xavi into household names. I'm sure he could do likewise with Fellaini.