Soccer Thread - Premier League/MLS/La Liga/Serie A...etc

[Night Rider]

This is a general football (soccer) thread for anyone interested in the 'beautiful game'. It will probably go down like a led balloon here but it's worth a try!

Feel free to talk shit about whatever country/league/club that ur interested in...


http://www.worldcupcorner.com/img/2006/sexy_soccer_team_2.jpg[/b]

[blckhaze]

well since you asked. the Itialian FA needs to shut that whole scene till they can get foriegn ownership of EVERY LAST DAMN CLUB. twice in a year, rioting by the "ultras" have killed a police officer and a 25 yr old dj, which im sure there are more of. The stories being told by middle to upper securty members are ridiculous. These radical groups need to be weeded out, else more will die, and God forbid Italy get a world cup, its will be nuts.

[Night Rider]

The Italians are mad, there's no taming them. It will take decades to sort out their mess. Their football is run by Ultra gangsters who have connections with Italy's corrupt police. They had their latest bid for a World Cup turned down only for the reason that their football is in chaos. I just can't see the Ultras being weeded out, at least for a good while.

[Night Rider]

How confident are you English and Scottish supporters of qualifying for Euro2008?

N. Ireland are basically out so I want at least one of you to qualify for a bit of interest..

At the minute Scotland look the more likely..

[blckhaze]

How confident are you English and Scottish supporters of qualifying for Euro2008?

N. Ireland are basically out so I want at least one of you to qualify for a bit of interest..

At the minute Scotland look the more likely..


england are a laugher. the liverpool englishmen were totally pissed when beayoun said he wasnt playing.

England wont make it cause too many things are against them, mostly themselves. If the Scottish make it, it wil at least make great britian happy, but the english shoul dbe a shamed after thiese perfomaces in the group they drew.

[Night Rider]

Yea, it's unlikely England will qualify. They need other results to go their way as well as beating Croatia in their last game. They've got some of the best players in the world but they can't play as a team.

Scotland however will qualify if they beat Italy in Edinburgh. The way they're playing at the minute they're more than capable.

[blckhaze]

1-0 isreal over russia 10th min. england goes nuts

[Night Rider]

I think it finished 1-1 which is good for England. If they beat Croatia they're through.

Italy scored in injury time to beat Scotland 2-1, so they're out.

[blckhaze]

I think it finished 1-1 which is good for England. If they beat Croatia they're through.

Italy scored in injury time to beat Scotland 2-1, so they're out.

yeah its sucks that the scots lost. they were a good squad, but i guess ther lack of exp cost em.

2-1 isreal scored in extra time to get the win, so i think england only need a draw to advance. russia sure did make them hold theirs breath a few times though.

[Night Rider]

Yea, it's a shit one for the Scots.

Looks like England will scrape through (jammy bastards lol) but i'm glad for a bit of interest.

N. Ireland are playing at the minute against Denmark..0-0 at the minute. We need to win this game and beat Spain away, which is very unlikely.

[Night Rider]

N. Ireland beat Denmark 2-1, but we still have to beat Spain and hope other results go our way.

Even so, a couple of years ago we broke the record for most games without scoring a goal, and now we're a game away from qualifying for Euro2008!

What the fuck's that about

[Night Rider]

Tomorrow night...

England V Croatia (England need a point to qualify)

Spain V N. Ireland (we need to win and hope Latvia beat Sweden to qualify)

[blckhaze]

Tomorrow night...

England V Croatia (England need a point to qualify)

Spain V N. Ireland (we need to win and hope Latvia beat Sweden to qualify)

the pressure is off england, even missing their top two strikers. Personally, i think this helps England tactically because if they play the 4-5-1 with lampard, gerrad in the middle, beckham on the right(?) joe cole on the left, and bale playing the holding role, they can set the tempo, and if becks is becks, crouch will have his way in the air. they don have tery which could be problematic, but bale can help cover.

prediction: 1-0 England (in lanpard and gerrard let becks take the FKs :P)

[bob85]

never was a soccer fan growing up
being in the US we dont have much coverage of any soccer, only the World Cup and Champions League, but i must admit that after the 2006 Champions League final between Barcelona and I think it was Arsenal, i was hooked on soccer

i try to stay up with everything online, but it just sucks not being able to watch the games, only seeing the highlights online
but i guess i can give my favorite teams
Serie A Inter Milan
Bundesliga Bayern Munich
English Premiership Chelsea
Espana Primera Valencia

International teams I like are Germany, Spain, and Italy

[Night Rider]

My predictions:


England 2-1 Croatia

Spain 0-1 N. Ireland :fc

k/o in 2 1/2 hours

[Night Rider]

England 2-3 Croatia

Spain 1-0 N. Ireland

Both teams fail to qualify..

:cry

[Coroner]

England 2-3 Croatia

Spain 1-0 N. Ireland

Both teams fail to qualify..

:cry

I am an Austrian of Croatian ancestry and I tell you: PWNED!

Croatia´s game was incredible and I finally got to see a championship without England in 2008. Tonight you´ve seen what real soccer is.

[Night Rider]

I'm not too bothered about England although my grandad is English. They didn't deserve to win if I'm being honest. Croatia outplayed them and could have been 3 or 4-0 up at one stage. Croatia look a good team and they'll do well at Euro 2008. It's hard to pick a favourite because France, Italy, Holland, Portugal etc have all been playing average football. Germany look the best at this stage but there's a long way to go.

[Coroner]

I'm not too bothered about England although my grandad is English. They didn't deserve to win if I'm being honest. Croatia outplayed them and could have been 3 or 4-0 up at one stage. Croatia look a good team and they'll do well at Euro 2008. It's hard to pick a favourite because France, Italy, Holland, Portugal etc have all been playing average football. Germany look the best at this stage but there's a long way to go.

I was surprised by Northern Ireland during this qualifying run. They became a good team and had good chances to make it to the EURO 2008 but time wasn´t on their side.

[Night Rider]

Yeah I was shocked too.We beat Spain, Sweden, Denmark but lost twice to Iceland and once to Latvia. We had it in our hands with 4 games to go and we blew it.

[Coroner]

Well, good luck next time. I was at the Austria-NI match here in Vienna and saw lots of Irish folks in the streets. You might remember, we were in the same group during the quali for the world championship.

[Night Rider]

Yeah I remember. I was at the game at Windsor Park when it finished 2-2 or 3-3 (can't remember that well)

Good luck in the Euros.

[blckhaze]

man, england need a damn Goalie. im mean both Carson and robinson have been inconsistent both international and domestically. damn shame as they have quality consistent player everywhere else. lets hope they get a decent coach and Ben foster :P

[Night Rider]

Yeah the goalie's fucked up big time over the qualifiers. If Ben Foster was fit England would've qualified. It's only a matter of time before Steve McClaren gets sacked.

[lust4ts]

Yeah the goalie's fucked up big time over the qualifiers. If Ben Foster was fit England would've qualified. It's only a matter of time before Steve McClaren gets sacked.

The only reason Steve McClaren was picked in the first place is that he is a personal family friend of that fat fuck, jabba looking stupid smerking faced Brian Barwick.

Bring in O'Neill or Mourinho , anyone else is just not going to be good enough, I don't want Hiddink he fucking hates us!

The English FA have allot to answer to, I could make better decisions than them with a fucking blind fold on :evil:

Another thing, why risk Owen who is so injury prone at the moment in the Austria friendly, it was so fucking stupid :roll:

[Night Rider]

I would have gave the job to Curbishly before McClaren. I think it was stupid them picking an English manager just to please the press, especially after they tried to get Phil Scolari. I think Mourinho would do a good job for England and he already knows the majority of the players from managing in the Premier League.

[Night Rider]

McClaren - SACKED!!

Who do you think will replace him?

[blckhaze]

McClaren - SACKED!!

Who do you think will replace him?


his replacement wil be way more qualified, at least domestically. mourhino is a good choice as he know many of the english players and is way more creative tactically. Hopefully whoever it is wil have the balls to bench Owen, cause he's too inconsistent and injury prone for me. Rooney is as well, but hes young so hes has a greater upside longterm for england. Crouch needs more time as does defoe and Bent.

God i feel so sorry for defoe. on any other team and in other country hed be a #2 or #3 striker. His talent is wasted on the bench.

[Red Suede]

I'm not as much an international footie fan as I am a fan of MLS, but I gotta say that the World Cup was a blast in 2002. Hung around in Japan with plenty of international friends. Nice dynamic that is, having competitive juices flowing amongst the friends.

Going to the MLS Cup in DC two weekends ago was still pretty damned cool. RFK Stadium has just the right about of resistance in their stands, so jumping and chanting for the home team was doubly good when the seats bounced back.

Too bad the local eleven couldn't beat the Dynamo. One of these days I'll watch something more than a draw.

[Night Rider]

his replacement wil be way more qualified, at least domestically. mourhino is a good choice as he know many of the english players and is way more creative tactically.

Yeah, whoever it is, it's going to be a step up from McClaren. He was about as shit as they come. I'd say it will be either Jose Mourinho or Harry Redknapp. Mourinho is world class and he's worked with a lot of the current players in the team. Rednapp has done a brilliant job at any team he's managed with hardly any money to spend. He took Portsmouth from the relegation zone in the Championship to top 7 in the Premiership.


I'm not as much an international footie fan as I am a fan of MLS.


The MLS is on the rise at the minute and it's quality is improving every year. A few years ago, nobody would have dreamed that Beckham would come at the age he is. There's a weekly MLS soccer show on in the UK and I try and watch it when I can.

[Night Rider]

m
The Bolton 'Fucking' Wanderers? WTF? I understand Ronaldo played 2 Euro games this week, but he couldn't sub?

Gunners 3 points clear!

Bolton 'Fucking' Wanderers beat you last season and the season before!

Ronaldo needed to be rested and we have enough quality to beat Bolton without him so it's no excuse. We gifted them the goal when Pique completely missed the ball and Anelka was unmarked in the box.


fucking anelka. man i wished he'd sign with us :P
but fergie is not happy with the refs this year. bot three points are easy to make up for the devils. we'll be scoring and with Neville back, the defense will be deeper. hopefully we get wingback in the window to make sure we got a littlle more depth and UTD for the the repeat and hopefully a couple cups.

Anelka could sign for us in the January transfer window because Fergie has dropped a few hints. If not January then probably in the summer. Arsenal were lucky to beat Wigan, it was 0-0 with 6mins to go. They've scored so many goals in the last 5-10 mins this year, but their luck will run out. As soon as they lose a game they will crumble, because lets remember, they're a very young, inexperienced team. I'm confident we'll win the league this year and possibly the Champions League too.

[Night Rider]

Shit, I've neglected this thread...

Tonight's the final group match games for the Champion's League...


19:45 Arsenal vs Steaua Bucuresti
19:45 Barcelona vs VfB Stuttgart
19:45 PSV vs Inter Milan
19:45 Rangers vs Lyon
19:45 Roma vs Man Utd
19:45 Slavia Prague vs Sevilla
19:45 Sporting vs Dynamo Kiev
19:45 Fenerbahce vs CSKA Moscow

[blckhaze]

rooting for rangers. and hoping arsenal finish second so they get a shitty draw LOL

[Night Rider]

rooting for rangers. and hoping arsenal finish second so they get a shitty draw LOL

lol me too

Rangers are hard to beat at Ibrox so it should be all good. A draw takes them through to the knock out stages.

Liverpool finished 2nd in their group so they're garaunteed a tough match in the last 16.

[blckhaze]

lyon up 1-0 :( and just missed a golden chance.

arsenal up 2-0 CMON SEVILLA

[blckhaze]

2-0 lyon :(

[Night Rider]

lyon up 1-0 :( and just missed a golden chance.

arsenal up 2-0 CMON SEVILLA

rangers just went 2-0 behind :x

sevilla are winning 2-0 so looks like arsenal are gonna finish 2nd

:D

[blckhaze]

3-0 lyon damn that was a majicial shot.
that rangers miss from lik 3 feet out was the trning point. my granny could have scored that lol

[Night Rider]

3-0 lyon damn that was a majicial shot.
that rangers miss from lik 3 feet out was the trning point. my granny could have scored that lol

lol, I missed that. I was flicking from game to game.

Roma 1-1 Man Utd, we were 1-0 up until about 15mins to go. But the result doesn't matter anyway. Bring on the pool on sunday :D

[Night Rider]

The day has come blckhaze...Grandslam Sunday!!!! The biggest day of the season so far!!!!!!

The United match is 1.30pm UK time by the way.


Liverpool V Man Utd

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/graphics/2007/12/11/livman.jpg

http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_2909108,00.html

Arsenal V Chelsea

http://www.arsenalcorinthians.com/ATIDimages/chelsea-arsenal.jpg

http://www.skysports.com/football/match_preview/0,19764,11065_2909109,00.html

[blckhaze]

1-0 arsenal and man utd. HAHAHAHAHA
still we'll be a good race for the title, but chelsea dont have anything without drogba. they need to do the doggy paddle till he comes back, and rafa benitez is a europen manager, ot a league manager so *shrugs*. they should still be aroundif torres stays healthy (MAN im pissed he spurned Man U. hed have been PERFECT with rooney imo. tevez is doing better than expected, but torres plays the same way, and hes taller, and man is he gifted with his feet in traffic and younger. FUCK!!! but i digress) Cmon UNITED.

[Night Rider]

Yeah man, Torres would've slotted in nicely in our team but I'm liking Tevez at the minute. The thought of Torres and Rooney up front would be amazing! Tevez says he wants to return to Argentina when he's in his prime (27/28) so we definitely should've went for Torres.

The good thing is Arsenal and Chelsea have a few players playing in the African cup of Nations so they'll be short of players around that time.

It's all falling into place nicely for us.

[blckhaze]

very nicely. we've got players coming back into form from injuries as well. with neville, carrick, and hargreaves coming back at a time when fixtures will back up, our depth will be greate. all we nned is one more striker to back up saha the injury man, and maybe, MAYBE another central defender to spell our two big guys in the long run, but other than that UNITED TO REPEAT!!

[Night Rider]

Agreed. We need another front man and Wes Brown refused to sign a new contract so another defender would be good too. If it wasn't for Petr Chech's fuck up we'd be sitting top of the league as we speak. 1 point behind's not bad though considering our shit start to the season!!!!!

[Night Rider]

Ties to be played on 19th/20th February and 4th/5th March.


Champions League second round draw in full:


Celtic v Barcelona


Lyon v Manchester United


Schalke v Porto


Liverpool v Internazionale


Roma v Real Madrid


Arsenal v Milan


Olympiakos v Chelsea


Fenerbahce v Sevilla

[blckhaze]

Ties to be played on 19th/20th February and 4th/5th March.


Champions League second round draw in full:


Celtic v Barcelona


Lyon v Manchester United


Schalke v Porto


Liverpool v Internazionale


Roma v Real Madrid


Arsenal v Milan


Olympiakos v Chelsea


Fenerbahce v Sevilla

nice. got some good ones here. this is always the best round in the competition. GLORY MAN UTD

[Night Rider]

Yeah, I'm happy enough that we got Lyon.

Arsenal V AC Milan will be interesting....thank God ones going out already!!!!

[Oli]

Gunners 2 - Spurs 1

Can Man U keep pace tomorrow against Everton?

[Night Rider]

half time 1-1

:x

[Night Rider]

full time 2-1

:D

closed the gap to 1 point!!!!!

[Oli]

As it should be, neck and neck.

LOL at the new avatar.

:lol: :lol:

[Night Rider]

Yeah, it'll be a close race between Utd and Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool will fade.

ps the avatar does fit well :mrgreen:

[Night Rider]

Boxing Day Fixtures

19:45 Portsmouth vs Arsenal
13:00 Chelsea vs Aston Villa
15:00 Birmingham vs Middlesbrough
15:00 Everton vs Bolton
15:00 Derby vs Liverpool
13:00 Tottenham vs Fulham
15:00 Sunderland vs Man Utd
15:00 Wigan vs Newcastle
13:00 West Ham vs Reading

I think Portsmouth will draw with Arsenal tomorrow and Utd will go top...

Sorry Oli but I've got a feeling....watch this space!

[Night Rider]

The day has started well for Utd and Arsenal...

Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa (3 men sent off and 2 penaltys)

[blckhaze]

lol what a great boxing day start /(w/e boxing day means lol)

[Night Rider]

Yeah, it's all good so far. Liverpool were a couple of minutes away from dropping 2 points but they're not really going to trouble us realistically.

Arsenal are about to play Portsmouth, they need to win otherwise we'll stay top...

:D

[Night Rider]

Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal

Man Utd are top and will be until the end of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blckhaze]

*does the stereotypical soccer cartwheel into a back flip* SCORE!!!!!!!

[macfan]

Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal

Man Utd are top and will be until the end of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portsmouth has to be one of the most boring teams ever, they lulled Arsenal to sleep to play like shite, As an Arsenal fan I am a little concerned we're not firing on all cylinders since Cesc, Hleb, Flamini are back. Falling behind United in the standings can be a real bad thing indeed. Just hope they can pull 3pts from Everton. Will be tough though. Manure United won on a late penalty at home against Everton last week.

[Night Rider]

Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal

Man Utd are top and will be until the end of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portsmouth has to be one of the most boring teams ever, they lulled Arsenal to sleep to play like shite, As an Arsenal fan I am a little concerned we're not firing on all cylinders since Cesc, Hleb, Flamini are back. Falling behind United in the standings can be a real bad thing indeed. Just hope they can pull 3pts from Everton. Will be tough though. Manure United won on a late penalty at home against Everton last week.

Yeah, Everton are a strong team at the min, we were lucky to get 3 points against them. I think Arsenal will get the win tomorrow but it'll be a tight game. We've also a tough game away to West Ham but the way we're playing we should win the game, although it will be close. Liverpool are out of the title challenge and Chelsea are too unless they get it together quick.

[blckhaze]

Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal

Man Utd are top and will be until the end of the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portsmouth has to be one of the most boring teams ever, they lulled Arsenal to sleep to play like shite, As an Arsenal fan I am a little concerned we're not firing on all cylinders since Cesc, Hleb, Flamini are back. Falling behind United in the standings can be a real bad thing indeed. Just hope they can pull 3pts from Everton. Will be tough though. Manure United won on a late penalty at home against Everton last week.

Yeah, Everton are a strong team at the min, we were lucky to get 3 points against them. I think Arsenal will get the win tomorrow but it'll be a tight game. We've also a tough game away to West Ham but the way we're playing we should win the game, although it will be close. Liverpool are out of the title challenge and Chelsea are too unless they get it together quick.

everton is a good squad. they always produce good youth and buy smart.
Liverpool are out as Rafa wants champions league trophy more. he'd rather win cups and europe then the prem. Chelsea need a miracle ie a good striker or shev being REALLY spectacular for them to survive the african nations period. Its a two horse race im my mind. arsenal and man u are just playing lights out. I give man u the egde this year, but in the future arsenal look really sick and will make Fergie sweat alot, and his staff will have to keep eyes out for good defensive talent, especially a replacement for Neville. Giggs and scholes are right behind him, but Nani and Anderson are looking like steals and it should be a good race now, and in the future. The Man U-Arsenal game at Old trafford will decide the title, and Man u will certainly take care of business.
MAN U to REPEAT.

[macfan]

Its a two horse race im my mind. arsenal and man u are just playing lights out. I give man u the egde this year, but in the future arsenal look really sick and will make Fergie sweat alot, and his staff will have to keep eyes out for good defensive talent, especially a replacement for Neville. Giggs and scholes are right behind him, but Nani and Anderson are looking like steals and it should be a good race now, and in the future. The Man U-Arsenal game at Old trafford will decide the title, and Man u will certainly take care of business.
MAN U to REPEAT.

Arsenal might do well to win the title as soon as possible. As an Arsenal fan I am tired of the constant rumors of Cesc to Read Madrid, Flamini to Inter, etc. these continental teams are like sharks around a carcass waiting to pluck the talent off of Arsenal. Eventually something will give ala Henry to Barca, granted that may have been for the better for Arsenal. I never hear these rumors surrounding ManU, Chelsea or Liverpool, yet the likes of Real Madrid and Barca act like Arsenal is their supermarket. Arsenal needs to act like a big club and quash any tabloid rumors about their young players as soon as it starts or it will persist until those Spanish teams get what they want, no matter what they have to do.

Chelsea is too injured to do much over the course of this campaign and as you mentioned with Liverpool, Rafa may throw his hat into winning the Champions League again, they have dropped too many home points thus far. I am looking at United's schedule and just don't see where they can slip up. Outside of Arsenal at home, maybe Liverpool at home as well, that's about it. Arsenal would do well to keep winning.

[Night Rider]

Utd beat 2-1 by West Ham......WTF

Ronaldo missed a pen to put us 2-0 up

Arsenal still need to beat Everton to go top otherwise we'll be top on goal difference.

[macfan]

Utd beat 2-1 by West Ham......WTF

Ronaldo missed a pen to put us 2-0 up

Arsenal still need to beat Everton to go top otherwise we'll be top on goal difference.

4-1 to the Arsenal back to the top, woohoo. Terrific second half from Arsenal after falling behind 1-0 in a dodgy first half at Goodison Park. 2 pts clear now.

[blckhaze]

FUCK AND A HALF. damn west ham. all those middle table teams are gettin in stride. gonna be a good race

and WTBF happened in that chelsea game. I'm i the only one who thinks the assistant just got a nice christmas present from ibramovic? cause that second goal was...
GRADE AAA PRIME STEAHIMG HOT BULLSHIT

[macfan]

WTBF happened in that chelsea game. I'm i the only one who thinks the assistant just got a nice christmas present from ibramovic? cause that second goal was...
GRADE AAA PRIME STEAHIMG HOT BULLSHIT

Yeah that ref and/or his assistants should never work another game, that was a disgrace, it wasn't even a tight play, it was obvious to Stevie Wonder. I don't know what happened on that play, was a terrible non call.

[Night Rider]

Utd beat 2-1 by West Ham......WTF

Ronaldo missed a pen to put us 2-0 up

Arsenal still need to beat Everton to go top otherwise we'll be top on goal difference.

4-1 to the Arsenal back to the top, woohoo. Terrific second half from Arsenal after falling behind 1-0 in a dodgy first half at Goodison Park. 2 pts clear now.

Didn't see the game but the scoreline was impressive.

You'll need the points because when the ACON starts, you'll be in trouble, although I've heard Adebayor isn't going. Why's that?

[macfan]

You'll need the points because when the ACON starts, you'll be in trouble, although I've heard Adebayor isn't going. Why's that?

The nation that Adebayor is from Togo failed to qualify for the ACON, Koule Toure and Emanuel Eboue from the Ivory Coast will be gone. I'm not that worried, Toure leaving in the center of defence is a little bit of a concern, he has formed a good partnership with Gallas. It looks like when they leave for the tournament in Africa Robin Van Persie should be back and Johan Djoure, the Swiss defender will return from loan to take Toure's place. Arsenal should be able to weather the month or so. They have fewer games in January and February, wierd schedule.

[Night Rider]

You'll need the points because when the ACON starts, you'll be in trouble, although I've heard Adebayor isn't going. Why's that?

The nation that Adebayor is from Togo failed to qualify for the ACON, Koule Toure and Emanuel Eboue from the Ivory Coast will be gone. I'm not that worried, Toure leaving in the center of defence is a little bit of a concern, he has formed a good partnership with Gallas. It looks like when they leave for the tournament in Africa Robin Van Persie should be back and Johan Djoure, the Swiss defender will return from loan to take Toure's place. Arsenal should be able to weather the month or so. They have fewer games in January and February, wierd schedule.

Ah right.

Yeah, I agree that Toure leaving will be a concern, especially if you get injuries or suspensions. Eboue on the otherhand, will not be nearly as big a loss as there are versatile players like Song and even Rosicky has played Right Back before. Van Persie will be a massive boost to your title chances when he returns to full fitness.

[terry527]

Liverpool are out as Rafa wants champions league trophy more. he'd rather win cups and europe then the prem. - bullshit, you can't count Liverpool out at this point. With the exception of the Man City game Torres dosent miss!