Football (soccer) Discussion

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Nimmy

saying that didnt wenger blow his top this weekend and try to start a fight because his team lost?

chelsea are the worlds classless team, i thought barcelona were bad but damn chelsea take the biscuit.

lol, ye that between wenger and pardew was hilarious. was hoping one of them would kick off. just handbags though. chelsea might have little class but im happy that their helping to prove that the premiership is stronger than it has been for a long time, and that it is now the greatest league in europe. (thats what i believe anyway) and i seriously see chelsea, united, arsenal and liverpool dominating this champions league this time. surely an english club to win it, but well see..

[Snow Patrol]

Yes what Wenger did was out of character but the difference is that was more of a one off incident compared to Mourinho's constant drama.

I would really like to see Toure as captain. Also, Gilberto is a good midfield anchor but he is getting tired. Would like to see:

-------------Lehmann------------
Eboue---Senderos---Gallas---Clichy
Hleb---Fabregas---Toure---Rosicky
-------Henry-----Van Persie------

Toure taking Gilberto's role as anchorman and put Baptista in for Fabregas as Fabregas gets fatigued with the long season. Also, if Senderos or Gallas is injured, Djourou is always available.

[Snow Patrol]

This weekend's EPL notes:

- Man U still top of the table with another win
- Drogba scores a hat trick as Chelsea beat Watford 4-0
- Flamini, Toure and Gallas give Arsenal a 3-0 win over Liverpool ( )

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Snow Patrol

This weekend's EPL notes:

- Man U still top of the table with another win
- Drogba scores a hat trick as Chelsea beat Watford 4-0
- Flamini, Toure and Gallas give Arsenal a 3-0 win over Liverpool ( )

ye, arsenal liverpool was a good game. thought arsenal were gonna have a tough time because of the first half hour but a comfortable win. Blackburn were lucky to only concede 1 against us, Giggs is a legend!

[Snow Patrol]

Yeah, Giggs is good. Some of my fav players from other EPL teams are:

Man U: Giggs and Saha
Chelsea: Drogba, Joe Cole and Lampard
Liverpool: Gerrard
Charlton: Darrent Bent
Everton: Cahill, Andrew Johnson
Aston Villa: Gareth Barry
Watford: Ashley Young
West Ham: Nigel Reo Coker
Portsmouth: Campbell, Kanu

[Nimmy]

well celtic crushed st mirren this week, thomas gravesen scoring a fantastic hat trick. in ur face real madrid

[Gooner]

I'll enter this thread with 10 thoughts on Arsenal-Liverpool...











1. YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. That's two must-win games this season(ManU, Pool), both won. Now, let's start beating the sucky teams too. Like Spurs next month.
3. RvP's little Hand of God-attempt early on, was well cheeky.
4. LOVE our back four. Clichy-Gallas-Toure-Eboue. Best in the league. They're all so damn quick and comfortable with the ball. Who needs Cashley?
5. LOVE the lil guys in midfield wreaking havoc, when they're ON. Hleb & Cesc...nicely done to set up Flams.
6. Where did Kolo come from to score the second? It's called Total Football, ladies & gentlemen.
7. Great time to get the opening goal. I knew we'd get more once Pool opened up.
8. Was Gerrard on the pitch? I know he was in the starting line-up, but I didn't really see him.
9. Pennant, I know it must suck to "play" for a **** team now, but that tackle was stupid.
10. I thought we sucked at set pieces. How could Gallas have all that space only a few meters from goal? Actually, it looked like Gerrard ****ed up. I did see him arguing with Riise later on. So #8 was a bit of an exaggeration.


Snow Patrol, that list looks good, but I can't stand Giggs or Drogba. Also, I think Lampard is hugely overrated. Ballack is better. I can't believe the number of deflected goals Lampard gets. He just shoots ALL THE TIME. Of course he's bound to score, but I think he's also been a big reason why Chelski's forwards haven't scored that many goals in the past few seasons.
Ballack is just as good at scoring goals as Lampard (if not better), but he's WAY better at distributing imo.

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Gooner

I'll enter this thread with 10 thoughts on Arsenal-Liverpool...











1. YEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. That's two must-win games this season(ManU, Pool), both won. Now, let's start beating the sucky teams too. Like Spurs next month.
3. RvP's little Hand of God-attempt early on, was well cheeky.
4. LOVE our back four. Clichy-Gallas-Toure-Eboue. Best in the league. They're all so damn quick and comfortable with the ball. Who needs Cashley?
5. LOVE the lil guys in midfield wreaking havoc, when they're ON. Hleb & Cesc...nicely done to set up Flams.
6. Where did Kolo come from to score the second? It's called Total Football, ladies & gentlemen.
7. Great time to get the opening goal. I knew we'd get more once Pool opened up.
8. Was Gerrard on the pitch? I know he was in the starting line-up, but I didn't really see him.
9. Pennant, I know it must suck to "play" for a **** team now, but that tackle was stupid.
10. I thought we sucked at set pieces. How could Gallas have all that space only a few meters from goal? Actually, it looked like Gerrard ****ed up. I did see him arguing with Riise later on. So #8 was a bit of an exaggeration.


Snow Patrol, that list looks good, but I can't stand Giggs or Drogba. Also, I think Lampard is hugely overrated. Ballack is better. I can't believe the number of deflected goals Lampard gets. He just shoots ALL THE TIME. Of course he's bound to score, but I think he's also been a big reason why Chelski's forwards haven't scored that many goals in the past few seasons.
Ballack is just as good at scoring goals as Lampard (if not better), but he's WAY better at distributing imo.

ok, firstly you can't stand giggs, i cant think what has he ever done than help make the premiership what it is today and generally brighten up the english game? and your point number 9, am i right in thinking that your comment is that liverpool are a **** team?! im sorry but you do realise liverpool have finished higher in the prem last season and won the champions league the season before last and the fa cup last? the last thing i seem to remember arsenal winning was the fa cup when they stole it from us in 2005 in PENALTIES! but i agree with you that lampard is overrated, however ballack has barely proved his worth since signing.

[Snow Patrol]

While we are talking about Lampard, did you guys see his wonder goal against Barcelona recently in the Champions League? He was at a tight angle to goal, turned and chipped the keeper. I thought it was deliberate but some thought it was an attempted cross.

[Gooner]

Originally Posted by the_natural

ok, firstly you can't stand giggs, i cant think what has he ever done than help make the premiership what it is today and generally brighten up the english game? and your point number 9, am i right in thinking that your comment is that liverpool are a **** team?! im sorry but you do realise liverpool have finished higher in the prem last season and won the champions league the season before last and the fa cup last? the last thing i seem to remember arsenal winning was the fa cup when they stole it from us in 2005 in PENALTIES! but i agree with you that lampard is overrated, however ballack has barely proved his worth since signing.

So, banter is not OK, I suppose?

Oh, they finished higher? 3rd or 4th (or even 2nd really), makes absolutely no difference to anyone. Last season was a transitional season for us, and making it to the CL-final made the league-season even harder.
And the last thing I remember ManU winning... erm... I'll have to think a bit harder for that one.
--------------------

I'm sure that goal by Lampard was intentional, and it was a beaut.
But it's such a rarity from him, and imo it was further proof of his selfishness. His team-mates in front of the goal would have been pissed, if he had missed it.

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Gooner

So, banter is not OK, I suppose?

Oh, they finished higher? 3rd or 4th (or even 2nd really), makes absolutely no difference to anyone. Last season was a transitional season for us, and making it to the CL-final made the league-season even harder.
And the last thing I remember ManU winning... erm... I'll have to think a bit harder for that one.
--------------------

I'm sure that goal by Lampard was intentional, and it was a beaut.
But it's such a rarity from him, and imo it was further proof of his selfishness. His team-mates in front of the goal would have been pissed, if he had missed it.

3rd actually....it was only last season. and well it does make a difference when you just made the comment that liverpool are ****, lol. and usuallybeing in the champions league at late stages can give teams the boost they need to finish strong. arsenal were lucky to even get in the champions league this time. and i don't know why you are bringing up united, you called liverpool **** so i was saying why they aren't. take a look at the table and our form this season and you must realise that united hasnt been this strong since they won the treble, but we'll see how it goes...

[Gooner]

Originally Posted by the_natural

3rd actually....it was only last season. and well it does make a difference when you just made the comment that liverpool are ****, lol. and usuallybeing in the champions league at late stages can give teams the boost they need to finish strong. arsenal were lucky to even get in the champions league this time. and i don't know why you are bringing up united, you called liverpool **** so i was saying why they aren't. take a look at the table and our form this season and you must realise that united hasnt been this strong since they won the treble, but we'll see how it goes...

Yeah, I didn't know that.
My point was,if you don't win the league no-one really gives a crap whether you're 2nd, 3rd or fourth. The only difference with being second is the automatic spot in CL.

Yeah, we were lucky.

I was bringing up MU, obviously because you seem to support them.
Obviously I don't think Liverpool are ****. But they are worse than Arsenal. And I was taking a shot at that mong, Pennant.

Chelsea will win the league most likely, not ManU. Your midfield is simply not good enough. I'm fairly confident we'll finish above MU too.



Also, lighten up.

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Gooner

Yeah, I didn't know that.
My point was,if you don't win the league no-one really gives a crap whether you're 2nd, 3rd or fourth. The only difference with being second is the automatic spot in CL.

Yeah, we were lucky.

I was bringing up MU, obviously because you seem to support them.
Obviously I don't think Liverpool are ****. But they are worse than Arsenal. And I was taking a shot at that mong, Pennant.

Chelsea will win the league most likely, not ManU. Your midfield is simply not good enough. I'm fairly confident we'll finish above MU too.



Also, lighten up.

i'm cool, just pointing out what i don't agree with. don't take exception, i generally don't agree with arsenal fans, lol. if by your comment about the midfield your saying that we dont have depth in the squad your right. but as this season shows, when we play our best mid - scholes, giggs, christiano ronaldo (the best player in the prem) and carrick, we are the best team. just hoping injury wise we stay sound. and not trying to stir an arguement but you have to admit you were pretty lucky to make it in2 the CL this time, with the last game of tyhe season relying on tottenham losing for arsenal to slip in because of your win. tottenham really deserved it.

[Gooner]

Originally Posted by the_natural

i'm cool, just pointing out what i don't agree with. don't take exception, i generally don't agree with arsenal fans, lol.

Yeh, that's how it's supposed to be. I don't agree with you guys either.

if by your comment about the midfield your saying that we dont have depth in the squad your right. but as this season shows, when we play our best mid - scholes, giggs, christiano ronaldo (the best player in the prem) and carrick, we are the best team. just hoping injury wise we stay sound.

Actually, I meant your midfield both depth-wise and starting line-up wise. That midfield is good no doubt (Cronaldo is not the best player though), but it's not on par with Arsenal's and Chelski's imo.
Scholes and Giggs aren't the Scholes and Giggs from 99 anymore, and I think you guys paid WAY too much for Carrick. Not to mention, that Fletcher and O'Shea seem to get a lot of time in your midfield too.

and not trying to stir an arguement but you have to admit you were pretty lucky to make it in2 the CL this time, with the last game of tyhe season relying on tottenham losing for arsenal to slip in because of your win. tottenham really deserved it.

Actually, Spurs only had to draw against West Ham, when we won our match. And they lost.
And when you take into account...
-it being our transitional season (due to Vieira leaving and us not getting a replacement -> the youngsters got more responsibility and experience),
-us making it to the CL-final,
-our extensive injuries (I mean, Flamini was playing at left-back etc.), and
-the somewhat dodgy opening goal Spurs scored against us in the last derby at Highbury, to earn a draw...
I'd say, WE deserved to qualify for the CL.


Btw, here's a small clip of the last match-day of last season...
That has to be one of my favourite birthdays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc5vMFd2WFE

[the_natural]

ok...im gonna agree to disagree with you on our midfield, its the best, and one of the reasons that it is is that giggs and scholes are actually playing like they are in their prime! just look at giggs this season, he is amazing. ye we paid too much for carrick but hes necessary. just watch hargreaves join us in january, then you will see the PERFECT midfield. gonna stand by my statement that 'cronaldo' is the best in the premiership. spurs only having to draw made it even luckier for arsenal. and you must stop going on about transitional season, we lost our ****ing captain at the worst possible time and still came 2nd.

[Gooner]

Originally Posted by the_natural

ok...im gonna agree to disagree with you on our midfield, its the best, and one of the reasons that it is is that giggs and scholes are actually playing like they are in their prime! just look at giggs this season, he is amazing. ye we paid too much for carrick but hes necessary. just watch hargreaves join us in january, then you will see the PERFECT midfield. gonna stand by my statement that 'cronaldo' is the best in the premiership. spurs only having to draw made it even luckier for arsenal. and you must stop going on about transitional season, we lost our ****ing captain at the worst possible time and still came 2nd.

Damn, I messed up that one. You said we were relying on Spurs to lose, and I was supposed to say, that Spurs actually should have WON that match, because we won ours.

I think our midfield is actually close to perfect. There are so many skilled, quick players we have, that can play in different positions.
I think Gilberto-Cesc-Rosicky-Hleb-Freddie can make up a wicked 4-man or 5-man midfield easily. Then there's Diaby coming back, Lauren and Walcott both can play in midfield etc.
I don't think Hargreaves would significantly improve your midfield, except depth-wise. A left winger is what you should be looking for imo. I'm not saying Giggs sucks, but he's not gonna be around forever.

And to be fair, when you lost Keane, he was nowhere near being a top player in the Prem. The replacement(s) weren't that much worse than him. Cesc had to step into some big boots, when Vieira left. He did brilliantly though, against Paddy too, in the CL.

------------------
Anyway, onto today. Unfortunately, it seems like neither Chelsea or ManU will be dropping points this weekend. Which means it's a must-win for us against Toon.

[Nimmy]

Originally Posted by the_natural

ok...im gonna agree to disagree with you on our midfield, its the best, and one of the reasons that it is is that giggs and scholes are actually playing like they are in their prime! just look at giggs this season, he is amazing. ye we paid too much for carrick but hes necessary. just watch hargreaves join us in january, then you will see the PERFECT midfield. gonna stand by my statement that 'cronaldo' is the best in the premiership. spurs only having to draw made it even luckier for arsenal. and you must stop going on about transitional season, we lost our ****ing captain at the worst possible time and still came 2nd.

to be honest i dont think man u have the best midfield, id say 6 years ago man united had the best midfield in the world. right now it lacks, the 2 wide players are world class. scholes is a hot or a miss as he is never that fit, and i really dont see what everyone thinks about Carrick.

since Keane left man united have sagged in the midfield this was shown by how Fletcher gets his game.

if united sign hargrieves then it will make it stronger but the guy in all fairness was the villan by england fans b4 his 3 good games which have glorified him into one of the worlds top midfielders by the english media.

seems to me like united havnt used there money wisely and have blew 18 million on carrick when they couldv brought in 2 players of equal quality to bolster the midfield.

to me it seems like sir alex is settling for compromises with these players.

[the_natural]

Originally Posted by Gooner

Damn, I messed up that one. You said we were relying on Spurs to lose, and I was supposed to say, that Spurs actually should have WON that match, because we won ours.

I think our midfield is actually close to perfect. There are so many skilled, quick players we have, that can play in different positions.
I think Gilberto-Cesc-Rosicky-Hleb-Freddie can make up a wicked 4-man or 5-man midfield easily. Then there's Diaby coming back, Lauren and Walcott both can play in midfield etc.
I don't think Hargreaves would significantly improve your midfield, except depth-wise. A left winger is what you should be looking for imo. I'm not saying Giggs sucks, but he's not gonna be around forever.

And to be fair, when you lost Keane, he was nowhere near being a top player in the Prem. The replacement(s) weren't that much worse than him. Cesc had to step into some big boots, when Vieira left. He did brilliantly though, against Paddy too, in the CL.

------------------
Anyway, onto today. Unfortunately, it seems like neither Chelsea or ManU will be dropping points this weekend. Which means it's a must-win for us against Toon.

when we lst keane it wasnt his contribution in terms of skill that we particularly missed, althoough he has had his momenmts of brilliance, it was he way he commanded the midfield and captained the whole team. his passion for the game was unbeatable. arsenal unnited games in the vieira keane era were real games! without him we struggled terribly (ie not even getting out of groups 4 CL. and i think hargreaves would make a considerable difference, in terms of winning the ball and maintaining consant pressure, plus hes got a wicked shot on him. as for this weekend you will anniahlate newcastle but we have got our hands full with sheff utd i believe, very ubderrated side.

Originally Posted by Nimmy

to be honest i dont think man u have the best midfield, id say 6 years ago man united had the best midfield in the world. right now it lacks, the 2 wide players are world class. scholes is a hot or a miss as he is never that fit, and i really dont see what everyone thinks about Carrick.

since Keane left man united have sagged in the midfield this was shown by how Fletcher gets his game.

if united sign hargrieves then it will make it stronger but the guy in all fairness was the villan by england fans b4 his 3 good games which have glorified him into one of the worlds top midfielders by the english media.

seems to me like united havnt used there money wisely and have blew 18 million on carrick when they couldv brought in 2 players of equal quality to bolster the midfield.

to me it seems like sir alex is settling for compromises with these players.

scholes has by no means been a hit or miss for us this season, and hes at the top of his fitness. theres no way unite are sagging in midfield, ye last seaqson definitely but not now. and carrick is an amazing player. look what he did for tottenham last season and look where they are now. hes still adjusting to the football played at united and will soon show his potential. we paid too much for him but hes definitely no compromise. and ive watched hargreaves play at bayern and was always a believer that he was awesome, and i wasnt one that jumped on the bandwagon after the world cup. the team would benefit greatly from him coming to us.