Author Topic: football anyone? as in soccer... (Read 464617 times)

chockfullofthat · « **Reply #2820 on:** August 28, 2013, 02:10:58 PM »

I disagree. This at least makes things fair and gives the smaller teams a chance to advance in the competition. It gives clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool a reason to advance far in the Europa League as well. FIFA does that power ranking bull shit in the UEFA World Cup Qualifying playoff round and I think that is total bullshit. Why complain about an exciting group anyway? The group stage would be a total bore without one.

Mchizzle · « **Reply #2821 on:** August 29, 2013, 03:19:08 AM »

Just joined the pals league, beware of that Belgian rawness coming at you guys!

Smell Good · « **Reply #2822 on:** August 29, 2013, 07:14:15 AM »

FLAMINIIIIIII

TAKE THAT YOU SMUG SPUD SUPPORTERS

Quadruple is on now. Watch out world

ALT · « **Reply #2823 on:** August 29, 2013, 09:58:05 AM »

Group A: Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad

Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, Copenhagen

Group C: Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiakos, Anderlecht

Group D: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Viktoria Plzen

Group E: Chelsea, Schalke, Basel, Steaua Bucharest

Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli

Group G: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Austria Vienna

Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax, Celtic

Some good match-ups. Seems pretty clear who's going to progress out of most of the groups.

weedpop · « **Reply #2824 on:** August 29, 2013, 10:07:06 AM »

I agree. The good teams are very evenly distributed throughout the groups, except for maybe group F. There's always at least one major surprise though. I'm a bit worried for Arsenal considering all the players Napoli have signed this off-season, but that should be a very entertaining group.

Smell Good · « **Reply #2825 on:** August 29, 2013, 10:18:10 AM »

Now that I think about it, Flamini looks vaguely like Mike Carroll

Tough fucking group for Arsenal although there doesn't seem to be a distinct group of death, very much evenly distributed. Every group seems to have about 2 blockbuster clubs and two middling ones.

LET'S DO THIS

ALT · « **Reply #2826 on:** August 29, 2013, 10:26:40 AM »

I think F will be the most interesting group. The way things are looking at the moment I would say Dortmund and Napoli will go through, but I'm hoping Arsenal do well. And Marseille are top of the french league and looking good, so they shouldn't make things easy for the other clubs.

chockfullofthat · « **Reply #2827 on:** August 29, 2013, 02:09:36 PM »

It will be interesting to see if Napoli can step up to this challenge. They've been almost as busy as Tottenham in the transfer market with Cavanni $. Some of their signings: Albiol, Callejon, Higuain from Real Madrid as well as Pepe Reina. Arsenal will need to really play well at the Emirates because those are all difficult stadiums with fantastic atmospheres for European nights.

matureoftheocean · « **Reply #2828 on:** August 29, 2013, 03:00:51 PM »

Quote from: ALT on August 29, 2013, 09:58:05 AM

Group A: Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Sociedad

Group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray, Copenhagen

Group C: Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiakos, Anderlecht

Group D: Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, Manchester City, Viktoria Plzen

Group E: Chelsea, Schalke, Basel, Steaua Bucharest

Group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli

Group G: Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Austria Vienna

Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, Ajax, Celtic

Some good match-ups. Seems pretty clear who's going to progress out of most of the groups.

McDuff · « **Reply #2829 on:** September 01, 2013, 07:45:14 AM »

Smell Good · « **Reply #2830 on:** September 01, 2013, 10:27:53 AM »

3 points in the bag.

Shit got gritty near the end. tottenham's ?110 million group of individuals still aren't a team yet so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and won't gloat too much

Let's see what 'ol Arsene's got up his sleeve for the transfer window deadline

weedpop · « **Reply #2831 on:** September 01, 2013, 03:18:55 PM »

You should also not gloat too much because Levy could still fuck you guys by nixing the deal for Gareth Bale, thus scuppering the potential Di Maria/Oezil transfers (I doubt this will happen tho). Funny how Arsenal have just been killing it so far this season except for that one game with Villa that got all the gooners up in arms. Such a love/hate relationship going on between the fans and Wenger right now.

Edit: Woops, nevermind. Bale to Madrid seems to be confirmed. Looks like Levy was just trying to keep the price down on Erik Lamela by leaving it till the last minute.

Smell Good · « **Reply #2832 on:** September 01, 2013, 03:23:39 PM »

Real Madrid already announced Bale on their website along with AVB during his press conference. Finished.

Now it's just Wenger seeing out the window with style.

Mooley · « **Reply #2833 on:** September 01, 2013, 06:53:49 PM »

Very satisfying to watch RVP get called on his shit.

Smell Good · « **Reply #2834 on:** September 02, 2013, 02:48:26 PM »

I AM GOING TO SCREAM INTO MY PILLOW AND PUNCH SOME HOLES IN MY WALL OUT OF SHEER JOY

thepman · « **Reply #2835 on:** September 02, 2013, 03:53:08 PM »

Quote from: Smell Good on September 02, 2013, 02:48:26 PM

I AM GOING TO SCREAM INTO MY PILLOW AND PUNCH SOME HOLES IN MY WALL OUT OF SHEER JOY

Can't believe it, Ozil! Good for Arsenal. While fucking United end up with Fellanshit, just hope we buy well in January. Ridiculous from Ed Woodward, not blaming Moyes here.

weedpop · « **Reply #2836 on:** September 03, 2013, 12:18:25 AM »

Fellaini is a good player who is built for the premier league. He's not exactly what United should be looking for but any new additions to the midfield would be welcomed by me if I were a United fan. It'll be interesting to see if Moyes tries to fit him, Kagawa, Rooney and Van Persie into the same team; seems like a bit of a clash of styles to me but it could work.

Ozil is a great pickup for Arsenal. Seems like a classic example of a great player who was badly underutilized and underappreciated at Real Madrid. His transfer fee and wage demands seem a bit crazy though: 42.5 million pounds up front and then almost 200,000 pounds a week in wages is well beyond the pale for Arsenal. I wonder if Cazorla might be feeling just a mite jealous?

Smell Good, are you satisfied with this summer's transfer window after this one? I would have thought that only one major signing (even one this expensive) might be considered a bit of a disappointment by some Arsenal fans.

Smell Good · « **Reply #2837 on:** September 03, 2013, 04:29:31 AM »

Fact of the matter is, we're still looking light in the striker department and maybe a defender. Regarding Ozil, I don't know how long Wenger/the board were planning this, but when the opportunity presents itself to purchase one of the best players in the world right now, you don't really look away and say no.

Wenger actually alluded to putting Bendtner back into commission but that's some worst case scenario shit.

ALT · « **Reply #2838 on:** September 03, 2013, 06:29:36 AM »

Ozil is awesome. Looking forward to seeing him play.

Not that happy about Lukaku going back out on loan though. I'm not convinced with Eto?o.

AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice · « **Reply #2839 on:** September 03, 2013, 09:40:42 AM »

Quote from: weedpop on September 03, 2013, 12:18:25 AM

Ozil is a great pickup for Arsenal. Seems like a classic example of a great player who was badly underutilized and underappreciated at Real Madrid. His transfer fee and wage demands seem a bit crazy though: 42.5 million pounds up front and then almost 200,000 pounds a week in wages is well beyond the pale for Arsenal. I wonder if Cazorla might be feeling just a mite jealous?

I'm pretty sure Oezil will be worth every penny. I've witnessed his steady progression from the day he signed for my favourite club (Werder Bremen). To me he's one of the most underrated players in the world. At Real the whole system seemed to be focusing on Ronaldo. When playing for the German team, Oezil plays even better. Don't get me wrong, Cazorla is an amazing player but just not quite up to par with Oezil. At Madrid, the whole club, coach and management excluded, is pretty bummed about him leaving. Ramos' reaction says it all.

Wenger powermove!

Alan · « **Reply #2840 on:** September 03, 2013, 09:46:09 AM »

El-oh-el

https://twitter.com/MUFCBulletin/status/374556114433880064/photo/1

chockfullofthat · « **Reply #2841 on:** September 03, 2013, 11:22:52 AM »

Anyone else thinking that United could finish outside the top 4?

I'd also like to point out I'm now officially wrong about Bale staying 1 more year, even though it's looked obvious for awhile.

weedpop · « **Reply #2842 on:** September 03, 2013, 07:45:23 PM »

Quote from: chockfullofthat on September 03, 2013, 11:22:52 AM

I'd also like to point out I'm now officially wrong about Bale staying 1 more year, even though it's looked obvious for awhile.

It's OK. I was convinced he'd stay another year too but I guess no-one can turn down 84 million pounds for a player.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I think Ozil is absolutely brilliant. He's probably one of the top 3 playmakers in the world with Iniesta and Messi, and has probably been Real's 2nd best player over the last 3 years . I have no doubt that he will make Arsenal better, I was just complaining about the transfer fee, which was quite obviously inflated because of Real's need to get some money back after the Bale transfer. I may have just been infected with some of Wenger's conservatism; if he lives up to his potential and finds a good role in the team he will definitely be worth every penny.

Still curious about what this will mean for Cazorla though. In the last year he's basically been playing in a free role, controlling most if not all of Arsenal's transitions out of the midfield and providing 99% of their creativity. It's difficult to say how much this will change with the arrival of Oezil, but he's definitely going to have to change his style a little bit.

Smell Good · « **Reply #2843 on:** September 04, 2013, 07:37:58 AM »

Thing is, since Rosicky's been fit around last season, he's been deployed in the hole behind the striker with Cazorla out left but when you watch the game, they're constantly swapping positions and are very free to move about. Cazorla will pop up on the right on occasion too.

I don't think Ozil's transfer will be detrimental to the balance of the midfield or anything, Rosicky's in his 30s now and Ozil will take over in a similar position.

MostlyLurkin' · « **Reply #2844 on:** September 04, 2013, 05:52:55 PM »

I really wonder what the fuck the partnership Spurs is supposed to have with Real Madrid is all about. So far, Real have "stolen" Modric and Bale from us, and sold a world class player to our biggest rival. Such fucking bullshit. Fuck Real Madrid.

Mr.Gear · « **Reply #2845 on:** September 04, 2013, 09:47:21 PM »

Quote from: MostlyLurkin' on September 04, 2013, 05:52:55 PM

I really wonder what the fuck the partnership Spurs is supposed to have with Real Madrid is all about. So far, Real have "stolen" Modric and Bale from us, and sold a world class player to our biggest rival. Such fucking bullshit. Fuck Real Madrid.

Yeah, you can say that again.

Apparently Spurs were told Ozil wasnt available in part of the Bale deal, yet his sale to their closest rivals funds a majority of it. No coentrao either, for purchase or loan. Still owe money for Modric etc etc. I was an impartial observer of la liga... I now support whoever is playing RM. And sincerely hope Barca continue to fuck 'em for the next few seasons.

I was already really pumped with the signings spurs made before friday, and was on top of the world when Lamela, Eriksen and Chiriches were announced. However, the last day was a dampener on what was, otherwise, an unbelievable transfer window. Bah humbug.

Anyway, moving on. 3 weeks and then an international break, feels like a tease. Cant wait till the season is in full swing.

chockfullofthat · « **Reply #2846 on:** September 05, 2013, 08:55:14 AM »

Levy played games with Madrid the entire summer and got 85 million for a player worth AT MOST 65 (based on Falcao, Cavanni, and Neymar's fees). I enjoyed the gigantic middle finger given to Spurs by Madrid by selling Ozil, and I tend to lead more towards Spurs in the North London rivalry.

Why would anyone root for Barca over Madrid in Spain? They are both part of the problem that has made that league so anti-competitive.

Alan · « **Reply #2847 on:** September 05, 2013, 09:20:39 AM »

Quote from: chockfullofthat on September 05, 2013, 08:55:14 AM

Why would anyone root for Barca over Madrid in Spain? They are both part of the problem that has made that league so anti-competitive.

Tradition, usually. Especially in Catalonia.

chockfullofthat · « **Reply #2848 on:** September 05, 2013, 09:40:32 AM »

Quote from: Alan on September 05, 2013, 09:20:39 AM

Quote from: chockfullofthat on September 05, 2013, 08:55:14 AM
Expand Quote
Why would anyone root for Barca over Madrid in Spain?? They are both part of the problem that has made that league so anti-competitive.
[close]

Tradition, usually. Especially in Catalonia.

Only two major clubs play in Catalonia and the other hates Barcelona.

-Edit I guess it's sort of true, even though the chart is old.

MostlyLurkin' · « **Reply #2849 on:** September 05, 2013, 12:17:28 PM »

Quote from: chockfullofthat on September 05, 2013, 08:55:14 AM

Levy played games with Madrid the entire summer and got 85 million for a player worth AT MOST 65 (based on Falcao, Cavanni, and Neymar's fees). I enjoyed the gigantic middle finger given to Spurs by Madrid by selling Ozil, and I tend to lead more towards Spurs in the North London rivalry.

Why would anyone root for Barca over Madrid in Spain? They are both part of the problem that has made that league so anti-competitive.

Well, what do you expect? Bale was by far the most important player for Spurs, and maybe the best player in the entire premiership, and Spurs really didnt want to sell him.
Anyways, Levy should have signed the paperworks right when the transferwindow was about to close