2010/11 Football (soccer)

[WayAbvPar]

Community (Charity) Shield this weekend, so it is almost EPL time! New thread, new season. Anyone organizing a fantasy league? I just picked my team here.

[HaemishM]

I'm am so jonesing for the EPL, La Liga and Bundesliga season. ESPN will have more games I think (so more HD games) and GolTV is now in HD as well!

I'll try to remember to set up a fantasy league this weekend.

[WayAbvPar]

I really really hope Comcast starts offering the FSC HD channel; I am not sure how much more I can take of their terrible SD broadcasts. The CCL games seriously look like they are being shot with a fucking iPhone. If you name your channel after the sport, it would be nice to, you know, throw some money into production values. I am assuming they blew their load on the HD side. If not, 

[HaemishM]

Yeah, the standard def on both Fox Soccer's (the Plus too) is subpar. Directv needs to get on the stick and add the HD feed - it's been a long time coming.

[HaemishM]

That was actually one helluva Community Shield. I expected a boring, Carling Cup final style game, but they both went after it today. Chicarito looked pretty damn good - I'd like to see how he pairs up with Rooney.

[WayAbvPar]

I am really happy with how Berbatov has looked during the preseason too. He looks interested, which is a nice change. Hope SAF can find some replacements for Scholes and Giggs soon, though. They aren't going to last forever.

[naum]

GOLTV in HD now.

[HaemishM]

Yeah, I watched the German Supercup on the GolTV in HD this weekend. It was a damn fine picture. Though it looks like some of the games aren't being broadcast in widescreen, such as the Colombian leagues.

[HaemishM]

Good news is in the wind. Directv is supposed to add Fox Soccer in HD on Wednesday, Aug. 11th. We'll see if that holds true, but EPL Talk has been pretty good about this stuff.

[Mr_PeaCH]

Cox has said they will be adding FSC in HD but I haven't seen it yet.

(Is there going to be an EPL FF League or can someone pass along the info?)

In Spurs news we haven't made the sort of noise in the transfer market that I was hoping for.  Harry says that Dos Santos has looked very impressive and I've got hopes for him esp. after a nice WC.  Here's hoping we don't bomb out of the CL altogether anyway.

[HaemishM]

Just set the league up. It's named Bat Country, and the code to join the league is: 1215943-252986

This is a renewal of last year's league, so if you were in last year, you may already be in it.

[HaemishM]

Turned on Fox Soccer Channel last night to check if the HD had come to DirecTv and YES! It has. I get to see Liverpool lose to Arsenal in glorious HD this weekend!

[HaemishM]

Watched a buttload of games this weekend.

The Liverpool/Arsenal game was the big one, and it did not disappoint. I liked Hodgson's approach to play, very balanced. I question his choice of Agger at left back, but it didn't seem to hurt them. Even in the first half when they were outplayed a bit, Liverpool still played with more fucking heart and belief than I've seen in that team since early 2009. Ngog is starting to make a believer out of me, though I hesitate to say he's anything more than a 10-goal a season man. Arsenal got severely outworked in the second half, and looked clueless for much of it. If not for a fluky goal, Liverpool gets 3 points. The Cole sending off I thought was a bit harsh - I can see how it was given, but I don't think it was malicious enough to warrant a straight red.

Spurs and Man City was an even better game, despite it ending 0-0. Joe Hart has just made Shay Given expendable, which is a shame because Given could start most places in the league. Hart was just on fire, though, absolutely standing on his head. City looked like a team who hadn't played together for more than a few weeks, very little chemistry. Spurs defense probably contributed to Hart having to make so many saves, though. Both sides' backlines were suspect. Gareth Bale is a star in the making like I always thought he would be.

OMG Wigan. I wish I could have seen this game, because I like Blackpool. They better savor this moment, because it's probably not going to get better than this. Same goes for West Brom, who I think will be right back down this season. Wolves looked much better against Stoke City, adding Fletcher seems to have done them wonders. Once Stephen Hunt comes back from injury, they'll be that much better.

Fox Soccer's HD feed looked pretty good on the EPL games, but the MLS game with Red Bulls/Galaxy looked like shit.

[WayAbvPar]

That Spurs/City game was insane. I wonder if Arsenal can pry Given away now that Hart has revealed the giant S on his chest?

[EWSpider]

Anyone know if the Barcelona vs AC Milan game is going to be on TV anywhere on Wed.?

[Abagadro]

ESPN3.com will be streaming it.

[WayAbvPar]

UEFA Champions League draw results-

Group A: Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, FC Twente
Group B: Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C: Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor
Group D: Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan
Group E: Bayern Munich, Roma, Basle, Cluj
Group F: Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina
Group G: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre
Group H: Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Braga, Partizan Belgrade

Ajax and Auexerre got proper fucked. Group A should be interesting...hoping to see Spurs do well. Don't know much about Bursaspor, but I think ManU can handle the other two. Would love to be in Manchester when the hordes of drunken Scots (redundant) come pouring into town.

[HaemishM]

Group A is going to be a weird one. Inter should romp everyone in that group. Bremen's defense has been SHITTY SHIT SHIT SHIT in the last 3 games, but then Spurs ain't known for their defense either. Gomes is going to get hammered by Inter and Bremen. Twente could probably surprise anyone in that group besides Inter.

Group C is going to be Man U.'s to win. I think Valencia even without Silva and Villa will easily beat a depleted Rangers side and whoever Bursaspor is. Turkish team?

Group B is Lyon's, with Benfica or Schalke coming 2nd.

Group D is an easy one. Barca and Panathinaikos. Same with Group E - Bayen and Roma. Group F could be interesting. Chelsea will win and the other 3 could make for a good battle for 2nd. Don't see much question in Group H either - Arsenal and Shaktar.

Yeah Group G is the group of death, no question. I look forward to Madrid folding under the pressure like last year. :)

[HaemishM]

Liverpool has looked incredibly insipid and flaccid the last two games. Against Man City, I understand. Against West Brom, no. West Brom is not as good of a team as they looked yesterday. Liverpool couldn't even boss possession. The Torres' strike that sealed the game was fantastic, but they had done much of nothing most of the game. I think they miss Joe Cole already. And they sure as shit missed Mascherano. Lucas is a horrible replacement. Poulsen did ok, but didn't really distinguish himself much. Hodgson appears to want two defensive mids and I don't think I blame him. Agger is not a good left back, and the Skrtel/Carragher pairing should be renamed Old, Slow and Lumbering. The ref for that game ought to be flayed. He called almost nothing the whole game, and when he finally reached for his pocket, it was a red at almost full time.

Also, ROOFLES at Man City for losing. I still haven't seen the Tevez miss, but it sounds like a Zamora-level howler. Double ROOFLES on Spurs for losing to fucking WIGAN. HAH! 

[lamaros]

Yeah Group G is the group of death, no question. I look forward to Madrid folding under the pressure like last year. :)

Eh, Inter is more likely to fold than Real. Coaches are under-rated.

[HaemishM]

Will No One Rid Me of This Turbulent Priest Owner?

Goddamnit, can Liverpool just not get the fuck rid of this shitbag Tom Hicks? The Scots can tell me if I'm crazy or not, but I prefer Royal Bank of Scotland to get control of Liverpool over continuing Hicks' ownership without even the counterbalance of Gillette holding his douchiness in check. How sad is that?

Also, kudos to Spurs for snatching a draw from the jaws of victory and letting Werder Bremen get back in that game. Hell, Bremen didn't even have their #1 striker Pizarro playing, but Marin was eating people up. Gareth Bale is looking like the superstar in waiting I knew he'd be. Of course, neither team really knows how to defend well, but neither side had their top-line defenders in the lineup. Good game, though.

Liverpool/Man U. this Sunday! I look forward to it with unease. I don't think Liverpool can win, but Man. U. missing Valencia will be helpful and the Reds will have Joe Cole back.

[WayAbvPar]

Battle of the douchebag American owners!

Man U is really starting slow this year. They always seem to, but this season it seems even worse. Really wish my cable system would pick up whatever channel(s) I need to see more of their games though- ESPN and FSC have been skimping 

[HaemishM]

Fox Soccer Plus is the channel you need. It's the Fox version of Setanta Sports, though it is missing the Scottish Premier League games Setanta had. And it's got RUGBY! But yeah, not all the cable outlets provide it.

[WayAbvPar]

I can't even get FSC's HD feed yet, ffs.

[Bokonon]

Fulham is just chug-chugging along. Undefeated thus far (but only a home victory). I have to say though, that I had gotten so used to Roy's hyper-disciplined play that Hughes' more aggressive style makes me a bit nervous at times. I want to tell them all to keep their shape!

[Abagadro]

A heads up that ESPN2 has the Barca game tomorrow if you are into the Spanish League. I didn't realize they were starting to broadcast that league.

[sigil]

Since last year. and thanks

[Abagadro]

Really? Wow, I really must have been spacing it since I usually actively look for Barca games.   Do you know if they are showing it a lot or is it a sporadic sort of thing?

[sigil]

Usually once a week, but it's a mixed bag of games - hardly any advertising either.

[HaemishM]

A lot of times it's hard as hell to find out what La Liga game they are showing until the day of - it sometimes doesn't even appear on my guide until the day of if at all.

Just wanted to say Good On You, Sunderland.  Watched the Wolves/Spurs game today and Wolves collapsed because they spent most of the second half defending and not trying to add a second goal. Really irritating.

[EWSpider]

I've been liking this website:

http://www.socceramerica.com/publications/soccer-on-tv/edition/

I signed up for the Newsletter and I get an email just about every day listing all the upcoming games for the week.  As someone that's had trouble in the past finding games on TV, this has been a huge help.

[Abagadro]

Cool. Thanks.

[HaemishM]

Yeah, that's an awesome link. Subscribed.

SOOOOO, how about that Liverpool/Man U game?  The first half was pretty horrid, and not just because Liverpool looked to have all the fight of a wet fucking noodle. I think I'm finally out of the Maxi Rodriguez supporters club. He did nothing and I can't see what he's going to give the team other than a warm body. He's not fast enough to give any real width and he doesn't seem all that interested in attacking these days. Or defending. Of course, natural width seems to be a real problem for Liverpool still. Everything comes through the middle and the fullbacks are the only ones providing any width. Poulsen doesn't seem that much better than Lucas though it's early days for him. Raul Meireles does seem a good signing but he appears to be the same type of player Aquilani was with a bit more bite. I think leaving Torres on his own up top didn't work because 1) Gerrard is too far back in the formation and 2) none of the midfield has the kind of passing ability Xabi Alonso had to spread the ball around and open up the defense from the center line. Once Ngog got in there though, their game opened up a lot. It's going to be a long fucking season.

Johnny Evans should have gotten a goddamn red for that challenge on Torres. Nani appears to be vying for Christiano Ronaldo's old place on the team as Diving Bitch. He needs to pick up his hand bag and get the fuck back down the field when someone shoulder barges him instead of rolling on the ground like he's been shot. And Berbatov? Yeah, that's the kind of performance you should expect out of him. He may not be 30 million pounds worth, but he's better than Liverpool's second options.

[HaemishM]

Liverpool still can't put 90 minutes of good football together. Blackpool pretty much ran roughshod over them for at least half of the game this weekend. Bad enough to lose to Blackpool but to do it AT HOME? Seriously, I can't figure out what the fuck to do with the team. Torres is probably set for another stop start season after hurting his groin. Ngog and Kuyt are the second striker option - not pretty. There is no natural width in the side whatsoever. Poulsen looks no better than Lucas in midfield. Gerrard is playing so far away from Torres, he hasn't been able to really have a lot of impact in open play. Merieles is good but the team lacks someone in midfield to string together possession from front to back. They are getting beaten off the ball in midfield for long stretches of the game by guys like Charlie Adam - a good player, but not the level of quality you expect to dominate Liverpool's midfield. Glenn Johnson's defensive flaws keep getting exposed, not having a natural left back when Konciesky is out is really hurting both our defense and offense. The club's on-field state is about as shitty as it's financial situation.

[Bokonon]

Liverpool still can't put 90 minutes of good football together. Blackpool pretty much ran roughshod over them for at least half of the game this weekend. Bad enough to lose to Blackpool but to do it AT HOME? Seriously, I can't figure out what the fuck to do with the team. Torres is probably set for another stop start season after hurting his groin. Ngog and Kuyt are the second striker option - not pretty. There is no natural width in the side whatsoever. Poulsen looks no better than Lucas in midfield. Gerrard is playing so far away from Torres, he hasn't been able to really have a lot of impact in open play. Merieles is good but the team lacks someone in midfield to string together possession from front to back. They are getting beaten off the ball in midfield for long stretches of the game by guys like Charlie Adam - a good player, but not the level of quality you expect to dominate Liverpool's midfield. Glenn Johnson's defensive flaws keep getting exposed, not having a natural left back when Konciesky is out is really hurting both our defense and offense. The club's on-field state is about as shitty as it's financial situation.

So are you in the "Roy Hodgson must go!" contingent of the fandom? Seems to be the basic refrain at this point.