f13.net

Nothing like starting a thread with Arsenal getting the ever loving shit kicked out of them.  Just horrible...awful. I fucking loved it enough to forget the 5-1 beatdown Spurs got from City.

It was beautiful. They should have sent a poet. No words.

I watched a bit of both games this morning. The Spurs/City game was fantastic for the first 35-40 minutes but Spurs just fell apart. Fucking Dzeko and Aguero with service from Silva and Nasri just seems like an unstoppable combination. The difference between City against Swansea w/o Aguero and City after Aguero comes on is just night and day. They were insipid, static and boring against Swansea before Kun came on, and electric afterwards. Spurs - man between their injuries and lack of form of guys like Lennon, this team is going to struggle to maintain a European place, much less challenge for top 4. They need to buy, not sell. Losing Modric would be a disaster.

Arsenal is just a goddamn disgrace right now. Yes, Arsene, we realize you lost two of the best playmakers in the Premier League. You also got like 50 million for them, it's time you go buy some fucking players. Specifically a centre back with some steel, a creative midfielder and a striker. The worst part is I think they could probably do without a Fabregas/Nasri playmaker if they just had someone with Van Persie up front. He is not a lone striker type of guy, not without someone behind him. Wenger obviously doesn't trust Chamakh (which makes no sense to me) and Bendtner is a joke but surely there's some striker out there you can team up with van Persie. Or, you know, play up front once Van Persie goes down like he always does. Tossing all those young kids out there to get dickstomped by the likes of Liverpool and United is just cruel. If I had to guess that any team would fall out of the top 4 this season, it's Arsenal. I'm sure they'll right the ship at some point, but it better be quick because they are sinking fast. 1 point from 9 is not a good start.

Liverpool look a side that can make the top 4. They haven't clicked on all cylinders yet this season. The draw to Sunderland shouldn't have happened, based on how they played the first half. Against Arsenal they were pretty impotent until they got the man advantage and Suarez came on. I really hope they don't end up relying on him so much once Gerrard is back. I've seen how this team does when it's a 1-man show. No thanks. But with Arsenal stumbling early, and the state of Spurs, I think Liverpool could easily sneak in the top 4.

Wolves to Europe!  :awesome_for_real:

My two fav teams won by a combined score of 14-4 this weekend. Not too bad.

Heh, yeah, that ain't happening. That game against Villa this weekend was BORING. Sure, a point on the road is good for them, but they've played much better in both prior games than they showed against Villa. And I expect Villa to struggle for relegation all season. Neither side had any real bite to them, no guile, sloppy passing. It was terrible.

Oh my god. First half Barca 2-0 Villareal. These guys don't know how to slow down. It's been a while since I've watched fast paced match like this. Literally ended the half on 45th minute since not much time wasted.

Watching Barca spoils you for just about anyone else in the world. Those guys play on such an insane level that's it's really unfair on their opponents. Every one of them can pick a pass, and you can never tell what position anyone is supposed to be playing because the formation is so fluid and every player buys into the system completely. I'm amazed they lose at all. Adding Fabregas was really completely unnecessary. I mean, they already won their league and the Champion's League last year. Barring injuries, there's just no one in the world that plays on that level. Not Real Madrid with all their spending, not Man. U. No one.

I've stopped watching Barca because it's just going to piss me off. 

I"m just glad MLS will not be on Fox Soccer for the Next three years at least.  ESPN/VERSUS/NBC

God, NBC is going to do soccer.  The only thing that would make my head spin more is CBS doing it.

Hell, NBC is even doing the Rugby World Cup. What the hell is going on over there?

Just got done watching as much of the Spurs/Liverpool game as I could stomach. Terrible from start to finish. Skrtel at right back was just a goddamn mistake from the get go. It was a mistake last week against Stoke and it was a worse mistake against Spurs who actually have pace on the flanks. At best, he's a big, slow centre back with height and almost no passing ability. Why put him at right back? I know that Kelly and Glenn Johnson are hurt, but Flanagan and Jack Robinson were fit. Either would have been better suited to the role. Hell, Carragher would have been better suited. They started out really slow and sloppy, pretty much exactly like they played against Stoke. The ref was a fucking joke. He handed out yellow cards like candy to Liverpool, some deserved, some really Mickey Mouse calls. Both of Adam's yellow cards could easily have not been bookings. Skrtel's second yellow was unavoidable because he'd been at sea all day... eventually he was going to make a really bad choice. When Agger went off injured, Skrtel should have been moved into the center and either Coates or Robinson put at right back. Just a horrible, horrible set of choices. There was bad reffing, but really, it only impacted how bad the score got, not whether Liverpool would lose. Spurs played better, were set up better tactically and made the most of their chances.

Watched Wovles vs. QPR and it was pretty much the same story for Wolves. Their team selection was TERRIBLE against a QPR side known for their quick passing and their pace. Richard Stearman is never a right back at this level. He's slow and makes bad tackles. He has no passing or crossing ability. Stephen Ward is a better left back than forward, and he's better than Elokobi to start, who had a horrible game. Matt Jarvis had a bad game period. Michael Kightly is not a Premier League level right winger, but Adam Hammil could be. Karl Henry is better with two creative midfielders in front of him, like Ohara and Milijas. It's a wonder they didn't lose to QPR worse.

As a Liverpool fan while I accept what you say as true I thought it was just an overall poor performance. EPL is all about denial, shutting people down fast. Tottenham passed through us at walking pace sometimes. We weren't close enough, we weren't chasing. Even Lucas who's normally fabulous at doing just that seemed half-hearted.

As for the sendings off, well I thought those were all bookable fouls. Skrtel couldn't cope with a good winger, he's slow and he doesn't know where to stand. But like many top defenders he instinctively takes the man in situations where he can't get the ball.

And yeah it was painful seeing Flanagan on the bench while Skrtel was making such a mess of things on the pitch, out of position.

All in all, bad day at the office, pick ourselves up and move on. Nice easy match on Weds, inshallah.

Wife' company had some extra seats in their suite for Sounders v DC United Saturday night, so we got to go and bring my brother and nephew. Not a bad way to see a game, I must say.  :grin:

Can I just say that watching Fernando Torres dance all over his own genitals every time the ball gets near him for Chelsea  just makes me sublimely happy?

You and me both. I'm just glad I don't have to watch him do it in Red anymore.

 :awesome_for_real: Heartbreaking stuff for him, but the hilarity in the world more than make up for it.
He's coming close to his good form though. One assist, an open goal miss....that's very, very close. At 3-0 down, he's pretty much the only spark for chelsea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT5xNOUzcJk&feature=player_embedded

I know, twas glorious

ROFL that is awesome. That was precisely the play I was thinking off when I wrote my post. That is a surprisingly faithful recreation.

Oh, the times I've seen almost that exact same play in Red. Good times.  :oh_i_see:

(http://i.imgur.com/TW7bF.jpg)

Tevezzzz is a dick!

This should not be news to anyone.

Also, I giggle every time I see another headline about Frank Lampard throwing a hissy fit over playing time at Chelsea.

I honestly think that he just isn't very bright, and acts like a manchild because of it.

Anyone watch the Liverpool/Everton derby this morning? I'm happy as hell that Liverpool won, even though they didn't look that great most of the game. The red card that Rodwell got was complete bullshit, though and it definitely caused Liverpool to win. Even if it looked like a foul in real time motion, it still didn't look hard enough to warrant a yellow, much less a red that early in the game. The ref totally blew that call and it cost Everton the game.

I watched it, yes. The red card seemed pretty...ah...harsh. :why_so_serious: Though from one of the replays they only showed once, from a specific angle, it did seem like there was some contact and as if some pressure was applied to the foot Suarez was standing on (remember thinking "ouch that could've gone worse" when I saw it at the time), but it was long after Rodwell hit the ball cleanly and they never showed it from that angle again so I'm not sure what I saw anymore. :P

Anyway, happy for the victory - I'll take those in any way, form or shape - but I wasn't entirely convinced by Liverpool's performance in general.

This describes perfectly every game they've had this year, even the wins. They seem to play great for a good 10-20 minutes and coast the rest of the time. They have yet to put two great halves together this season. I blame it on the fact that most of them haven't been playing together very long. The most consistent pieces since January have been Carragher, Reina and Lucas. Everyone else probably have less than 15 games in the side.

(http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2011/10/04/2016406157.jpg)



 :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:

Congrats, Sounders. I thought about watching the game because they were playing the Fire, but the Fire have been so painful to watch this season I figured I'd save myself the trouble and watched New Zealand DESTROY Canada in the Rugby World Cup.

It was entertaining as hell. Up and down, tons of chances. Sounders put two or three off the woodwork, and Johnson made 4 or 5 big saves. Then I logged on to FIFA and scored my first hat trick of the year  :grin:

If you didn't get a chance to see the Liverpool/Swansea game today, you will have missed one of the best goalless draws I've ever seen. Both teams played some damn good football, and the Swansea keeper was standing on his head. I really hope Swansea can stay up, because they play some lovely football.

Meanwhile My Dynamo  are MLS Cup bound baby!

With Brad Davis tearing a quad on that shitty KC Pitch. Fuck.

Sepp Blatter may be the dumbest motherfucker (http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/7245716/fifa-sepp-blatter-facing-pressure-comments-racism-soccer) to walk the face of the earth. 


I mean seriously, this dude is a walking catastrophe. 

So Beckham wins an MLS championship trophy.

That was a painful game to watch. Just brutal

That's why I watched Liverpool beat Chelsea instead!  :why_so_serious:  :grin:

Heard the news about Garry Speed in the car this morning. What the fuck.

Found it really upsetting.

Yeah, I couldn't figure that one out either. /sadf

I like this idea to get spectators more involved in football:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HuKva8GUwBk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HuKva8GUwBk)
(Might want to turn on subtitles if you're not from Norway :P)

Would be an especially nice tool with which to punish divers/cheaters.

I am crying that got me laughing so hard.

It's a great spectacle, Bob.

Well worth the watch.

Sorry about the game yesterday, Haem, but Fulham were due some luck eventually.

Liverpool was due to lose one they absolutely should have won. The team is better than last season, but they still haven't quite gelled it together yet.

ROOFLES!

Wow.  Dutch league keeper kicks an Ajax fan (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077408/Esteban-Alvarado-Alkmaar-goalkeeper-attacks-fan-ran-pitch.html) that runs onto the field and appears to be trying to attack him.  This is awesome.

You know what? I totally agree with the player and manager. There's no call for fans to run out and start attacking fuckers on the pitch. ON THE PITCH. Keeper was defending himself and maybe he shouldn't have kicked the asshole when said asshole was on the ground, but I don't fault him for that one bit. Don't be a shithead and you won't get your ass kicked. Giving the guy a straight red for that just doesn't jibe with what happened, and the coach pulling the players off was a good move, as much for their safety as to highlight that the security at the stadium was shit and that their team shouldn't suffer because the home team's fans can't control themselves.

Helluva ass kicking too.

Hell yeah he should be able to protect himself.  That was a fucking amazing response. 

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/22/article-0-0F3FB82C00000578-600_634x445.jpg)

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/22/article-0-0F3FBA7A00000578-363_634x452.jpg)

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/22/article-0-0F3FBBC800000578-970_634x656.jpg)

Let these images stand in tribute to a goalie who was 100% in the right to commence kicking the shit out of that guy. No wonder the coach pulled his team off.

The domestic competition in Australia is called the A-League.

We had a hilarious match last night - a defender called Byun Sung-Hwan (South Korean import for Newcastle Jets) scored two goals and brilliantly set up a third ... but his team lost 2-1. Because both his goals were own goals :)

Match report. (http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/byun-sung-hwan-scores-two-own-goals-as-melbourne-victory-beat-newcastle-jets-at-aami-park/story-e6frf4gl-1226238984789)