General Football/Soccer Talk

[SoF'nAwesome]

Nice list, Phil.

M10 & CR7 have been the most consistent players for the last 3-4 years. Ibra only started playing at that level after going to PSG. Van Persie is out of form this season. Suarez goals number shocked me, I was thinking more given that he scored 44 on this year only. Costa only rose this season. Interesting to see Bale there. I'm assuming Neymar is below him?

[Phil89]

I actually forgot about Neymar. But he only just moved to Europe anyway so it's hard to compare him to those guys using his numbers from the Brazilian league.

It's funny how when Suarez came over from Ajax no one thought he could continue his goal scoring pace (111 goals in 159 game, (0.69), but after a slow start he is almost scoring at the same rate for Liverpool (71 goals in 112 games, (0.63).

Speaking of Suarez, he is 7 goals ahead of Aguero for the top scorer in the Premier League and Aguero is out injured. If Luis doesn't get injured or suspended I can't see anyone catching him. The record is 34 goals for a season. Can he do it?

[SoF'nAwesome]

If he keeps playing like this, 34 should be no challenge.

Given that there are 18 games remaining, he might even cross the 40 mark(play on that M10 & CR7 level). But what I want to know is when will Moyes be fired?

[Phil89]

I hope he stays until the end of the season at least.

Apparently they won't be buying anyone in January which is surprising. If they miss out on the top 4 this season it would be a big failure by Moyes because they have never finished worse than 3rd in the Premier League era. I wonder what would happen to them if they went a season or two without champions league football with the huge amount of debt they have (£389m). It nearly killed Liverpool before our new owners came in and wiped most of it out.

[stereoxide]

Well if Manchester United didn't finish for a Champions League spot their only chance is to win the whole thing.

[SoF'nAwesome]

To be honest, I don't see how MU will make it to Champions League next year. I mean which team would you count out? Liverpool, ManC or Chelsea? Those are just the big ones, teams like Everton & Tottenham are also providing a challenge this year.

[Phil89]

Really important win at Stoke after all our rivals picked up points. Suarez added another couple of goals and Sturridge returned and scored.

Transfer market has been pretty boring so far. Biggest deals that I can think of are Jermaine Defoe and Michael Bradley going to Toronto.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Damn. I didn't know about Defoe. Don't expect to know about any transfers before Feb 1st.

Other news, CR7 will win the Ballon d'Or today. Messi will be like, "I'm gonna win that WC!".

Phil, seems Liverpool and Suarez cooled down a bit? What's up with that?

But what about MU. They are gonna let Moyes go & things are not changing. So, really interested to see what's gonna happen there.

[Phil89]

Cooled down? Not really. We just lost two tough away games in a row against Man City and Chelsea and dropped from 1st to 5th. Shows how close the league is this season and how you have to take every point you can get.

We've won our last 2 games since then though and Suarez has scored 3 goals in those two games. Back on track

Suarez goals this season:

2 @ Sunderland (3-1 win)
1 vs Crystal Palace (3-1 win)
0 @ Newcastle (2-2 draw)
3 vs West Brom (4-1 win)
0 @ Arsenal (2-0 loss)
2 vs Fulham (4-0 win)
1 @ Everton (3-3 draw)
0 @ Hull (3-1 loss)
4 vs Norwich (5-1 win)
2 vs West Ham (3-1 win)
2 @ Tottenham (5-0 win)
2 vs Cardiff (3-1 win)
0 @ Man City (2-1 loss)
0 @ Chelsea (2-1 loss)
1 vs Hull (2-0 win)
2 @ Stoke (5-3 win)

Seems that he has struggled with the 3 away games against the top 3 teams. And he also failed to score in a draw at Newcastle and a loss at Hull. But we seem to nearly always win if he scores.



This is cool:

[stereoxide]

Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea getting precious 3 points this week while Liverpool drew with Villa. Man United however sank deeper into the standings. Good luck to them on making the UCL or even the Europa League.

[Phil89]

Dropping points at home against relegation threatened Aston Villa is annoying and puts us further from the title race. An optimist would say that Villa beat Arsenal at Emirates earlier in the season, but it's still an unacceptable result for a team chasing top 4.

Looks like there are two races at the top of the league now. Arsenal, City and Chelsea for the title and Liverpool, Spurs and Everton for the last champions league spot. Utd and Newcastle outsiders but could come back into it if they get into form.




The most boring transfer window ever continues as well

[SoF'nAwesome]

Liverpool should have lost. I think even Phil will say that wasn't a penalty

[Phil89]

Goalkeepers knee contacts with Suarez's ankle. Sure he made the most of it, but that's what players do these days. I would accept it if an identical decision was given to the opposition.

Wouldn't even be a discussion if it hadn't been Suarez. Just the media beating the same old "Suarez is a diver" drum.

phpBB [video]

But then you see this:

phpBB [video]

But nothing was made of it. English players don't dive apparently

[shadowgrin]

You're comparing Baines dive to Suarez?
Reputation aside Suarez has a bigger stature than Baines as a player of course Suarez will get more attention and flak.
Now add reputation of what Suarez did/does? on the pitch...

Show me an active player who's equal or greater than stature in Suarez who has the same reputation of diving but gets less criticism than Suarez then maybe your argument has some merit.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Neymar.

[stereoxide]

I think Neymar also gets as much criticism for his diving antics. Bale maybe?

[SoF'nAwesome]

Firstly, everybody dives. But Bale isn't that same caliber as Neymar, Suarez or Oscar.

[Phil89]

You're comparing Baines dive to Suarez?
Reputation aside Suarez has a bigger stature than Baines as a player of course Suarez will get more attention and flak.
Now add reputation of what Suarez did/does? on the pitch...

Firstly, Baines isn't exactly a nobody. He is the England international left back playing for one of the top clubs in the most popular league in the world.

Secondly, I'm comparing the media talk about the two incidents. Baines was a clear dive and nothing was said about it at all. Suarez had contact and went down to earn a penalty. He gets crucified by the media again because he is an easy target. He didn't dive looking for a penalty, he felt contact and went down. But for the next day or two afterwards every football show pundit accuses him of diving. Was he supposed to jumped over the goalkeeper who slid in recklessly and miss a possible goalscoring chance? Or leave his legs there and possibly get injured? I don't get what people are complaining about. He did what anyone would do and I guarantee you that if Aaron Ramsey or Wayne Rooney had done it there wouldn't even be an issue.

I've seen every game he's played this season and he has really taken that aspect out of his game. Hell, against Tottenham he was tripped outside the box but got up immediately to take a shot and didn't complain at all. Some other players would have stopped and thrown their hands in the air and asked the ref for a freekick. Suarez himself probably would have done that a couple of years ago. Plus the amount of bad tackles he receives in every game that go unpunished is ridiculous. Apparently it's ok to elbow him in the head, lunge in to tackle him with two feet or kick him in the stomach because "he isn't really hurt, it's just Suarez faking again". Those are just examples from the Villa and Hull games.

Another example: In the Villa game he gets a knee to the thigh when the ball isn't even within reach of the defender. Was it just a clumsy defender who didn't see him or was it intentional? I'm not sure. That finger wave after it happened is indicative of the treatment Suarez gets. Fouled but dismissed as faking and gets no freekick. The ref waved play on btw.

Show me an active player who's equal or greater than stature in Suarez who has the same reputation of diving but gets less criticism than Suarez then maybe your argument has some merit.

Players who get less criticism for diving than Suarez? How about Gareth Bale or Ashley Young. Eden Hazard, Ramires and Oscar from Chelsea. I don't even know what your point is because there are only two players greater in stature than Suarez at the moment and they have both removed any diving antics from their games before becoming the two standout players in the world, aka Messi and Ronaldo.

I also noticed how a big deal was made about Suarez, but nothing was said about Leandro Bacuna trying to get Sturridge sent off by rolling on the ground holding his face like he had just been dealt a massive blow from Mike Tyson. All Sturridge did was push his arm. That is more cheating than what Suarez did but it was ignored by the referee and the media.

I get that Suarez has this reputation and that it's probably not going to go away any time soon (especially if he remains in England), but I just hate how every past indiscretion is brought up whenever he is involved in a contentious decision. I remember reading an article about him signing a new contract and whatever website it was made sure to mention the Evra and Ivanovic incidents in the first few paragraphs, before talking about his amazing form this season which earned him the contract extension and was actually relevant to the article.

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Personally I'd rather focus on the exciting title race this season than talk about the ugly side of the game. Apparently Chelsea have made Juan Mata available for £40million and Man Utd have are going to make a bid. I think he could be like Ozil for them if they sign him, but he shouldn't be their top priority as they have bigger problems in their team.

[stereoxide]

Chelsea selling Mata to Man United will be one of their many big transfer mistakes. I can see Mata haunting them everytime Chelsea and Man United meet.

[shadowgrin]

Italics mine.

You're comparing Baines dive to Suarez?
Reputation aside Suarez has a bigger stature than Baines as a player of course Suarez will get more attention and flak.
Now add reputation of what Suarez did/does? on the pitch...

Firstly, Baines isn't exactly a nobody. He is the England international left back playing for one of the top clubs in the most popular league in the world. - Sure, cool for Baines accomplishments but comparing him to Suarez who you consider as among the top three players jn the world? That's still one hell of a discrepancy in stature.

Secondly, I'm comparing the media talk about the two incidents. Baines was a clear dive and nothing was said about it at all. Suarez had contact and went down to earn a penalty. He gets crucified by the media again because he is an easy target. He didn't dive looking for a penalty, he felt contact and went down. But for the next day or two afterwards every football show pundit accuses him of diving. Was he supposed to jumped over the goalkeeper who slid in recklessly and miss a possible goalscoring chance? Or leave his legs there and possibly get injured? I don't get what people are complaining about. He did what anyone would do and I guarantee you that if Aaron Ramsey or Wayne Rooney had done it there wouldn't even be an issue. - You do know what reputation does right?

I've seen every game he's played this season and he has really taken that aspect out of his game. Hell, against Tottenham he was tripped outside the box but got up immediately to take a shot and didn't complain at all. Some other players would have stopped and thrown their hands in the air and asked the ref for a freekick. Suarez himself probably would have done that a couple of years ago. Plus the amount of bad tackles he receives in every game that go unpunished is ridiculous. Apparently it's ok to elbow him in the head, lunge in to tackle him with two feet or kick him in the stomach because "he isn't really hurt, it's just Suarez faking again". Those are just examples from the Villa and Hull games. - See my comment in paragraph above

Another example: In the Villa game he gets a knee to the thigh when the ball isn't even within reach of the defender. Was it just a clumsy defender who didn't see him or was it intentional? I'm not sure. That finger wave after it happened is indicative of the treatment Suarez gets. Fouled but dismissed as faking and gets no freekick. The ref waved play on btw.

Show me an active player who's equal or greater than stature in Suarez who has the same reputation of diving but gets less criticism than Suarez then maybe your argument has some merit.

Players who get less criticism for diving than Suarez? How about Gareth Bale or Ashley Young. Eden Hazard, Ramires and Oscar from Chelsea. I don't even know what your point is because there are only two players greater in stature than Suarez at the moment and they have both removed any diving antics from their games before becoming the two standout players in the world, aka Messi and Ronaldo. - Well that answers it and you you expect people's perception to change in a very short time just because Suarez stopped doing it for this season like you mentioned?

I also noticed how a big deal was made about Suarez, but nothing was said about Leandro Bacuna trying to get Sturridge sent off by rolling on the ground holding his face like he had just been dealt a massive blow from Mike Tyson. All Sturridge did was push his arm. That is more cheating than what Suarez did but it was ignored by the referee and the media. - Suarez, top three player in the world compared to them, who would you think people are more interested in talking about? Take notes from Skip Bayless, he didn't go after some bum like Carmelo Anthony or Dwight Howard he went straight for LeBron. Not saying LeBron is comparable to Suarez, maybe the flopping/diving part.

I get that Suarez has this reputation and that it's probably not going to go away any time soon (especially if he remains in England), but I just hate how every past indiscretion is brought up whenever he is involved in a contentious decision. I remember reading an article about him signing a new contract and whatever website it was made sure to mention the Evra and Ivanovic incidents in the first few paragraphs, before talking about his amazing form this season which earned him the contract extension and was actually relevant to the article. - See my comment in 2nd paragraph.

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Personally I'd rather focus on the exciting title race this season than talk about the ugly side of the game. Apparently Chelsea have made Juan Mata available for £40million and Man Utd have are going to make a bid. I think he could be like Ozil for them if they sign him, but he shouldn't be their top priority as they have bigger problems in their team.

I'd rather have Liverpool in place of Chelsea in the standings. Chelsea can suck a bag of dic s.

[SoF'nAwesome]

Wenger says Mata transfer was "unfair"

[stereoxide]

Wenger says Mata transfer was "unfair"

Yeah, like what he did to Manchester City. Selling his fine players there. Not to mention RvP to Man United.

[SoF'nAwesome]

I always find sympathy for Wenger in those situations.

Arsenal has never gotten to keep their rising talents which Wenger trained so dearly. If they were able to do that, they would be in the same level as Barcelona today. I assume the same will happen to Walcott in the future.

Think of Arsenal like a Tottenham, only in the place of Bale, Arsenal has produced tons of good players like Henry, Fabregas, Ashley Cole, Flamini, Viera, Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Nasri etc

[stereoxide]

Well, United have Mata now. I guess he will feature in all their league games because he is cup-tied in the UCL.

[SoF'nAwesome]

It only keeps getting worse for MU.

But seriously, this season(both EPL & La Liga) has been highly dramatic and competitive. Something we don't see every year. Serie A, Bundesliga & Ligue 1 are pretty much fixed. But it's still a "who will it be?" for EPL & La Liga. Champions League will most likely go to Bayern as well, mainly because they are just on a huge roll and basically unstoppable(unless both Robben & Ribery get injured).

And who almost died laughing watching the CR7 cat scratch last night? That was highly feminine of him. Especially when he tried to do it the 2nd time.