Soccer Fans?

[Johnny lea]

Season at an end and sadly the mighty Leeds are stuck in the English championship for another season. We were so close to the play offs but lacked that experience that would have seen us through. We can say however we did the double over QPR the champions so all in all not bad considering we just came back up as well.

In regards to the Champions Leauge I can only see Barca winning that one, whilst Man United wrapped up the leauge today I still think it's the poorest side they've had for many a year. Abromovich's meddiling at Chelsea and Aresenal self imploding have helped a lot.

 

[pfromptown]

Can't believe I've missed the football thread! I'm a Bolton Wanderers fan born and bread, which means I have to hate United, City, Blackburn, Wigan, Burnley and Preston. Sorry Johnny lea, but I personally don't like Leeds, they've always been a nasty side even when they were champions (Just ask Brian Clough!!!). Since I've been at Uni and had a couple of Leeds supporting mates I've softened a bit and I think it will only be a matter of time before you're back up because you've got such a talented side, Howson and Johnson are a solid midfield pair, Snodgrass is probably one the best players outside the Prem and Becchio is a beast, you're just lacking a convincing back line. You need to sniff around for Prem cast offs a la QPR.

To the Bulgarian dude who doesn't think Berbatov is lazy: I was at Old Trafford about six weeks ago and he sure looked bone idle to me! I think he used to run in the national team, but when he's being paid £90 000 a week he thinks 'why bother'? There's a rumour around town that he smokes 30 a day as well which, when you watch him in the flesh, doesn't seem too far off the mark.

The MLS is an up and coming league on the world scene, soccer is apparently the most played sport in America at youth level, and it's only a matter of time before the media over there are forced to cover it more as the next generation's demand for it goes up.

I think Barcelona will win the CL, I'm bored stiff of watching them now and think the president and upstairs staff are a bunch of arrogant twats, but they're still far and away the best in Europe. I think Utd have been lucky to make it this far, they haven't had any serious challenges en route, even the game at Stamford Bridge, which is usually a tight one, seemed straightforward. I think their season has been made by teams around them failing to perform, rather than them performing better than anyone else.

 

[me4o]

Yeah well, OK, forget about Berba. Tell me what you think of Martin Petrov? He used to be very good, but with all those injuries and him getting older, I think he's declining steadily. But I'd like to know your opinion as a true Bolton fan 🙂

 

[CommBoy]

In case everyone else has not heard (which I am sure you haven't unless you closely follow the MLS as the US media does not seem to care) the first rematch between Seattle and Portland is Saturday at 8:00PST.

I know that the start time alone is reason for no one to watch besides the west coast, but if you are in to soccer, check this out, at least the highlights if nothing else as this is the one true derby that the USA has to offer and I do not think it will dissappoint.

Make sure to get a look at what the future of USA soccer could be.

 

[pfromptown]

Yeah well, OK, forget about Berba. Tell me what you think of Martin Petrov? He used to be very good, but with all those injuries and him getting older, I think he's declining steadily. But I'd like to know your opinion as a true Bolton fan 🙂

In his German and Spanish days he was a fantastic talent (especially at Wolfsburg) but since he's come here he's been a bit of a let down to be honest, I saw him play a couple of times for City against us and wasn't too impressed and since he's joined us... well I really hate to say this to a Bulgarian, about a genuine legend of the Bulgarian game, but he's been terrible!!! You're absolutely right, he is declining steadily, some of it is definitely injury related but also he doesn't seem to have the right attitude and thinks because he's joined a smaller club he should be in the team every week. At the home game against Liverpool he was subbed off with 20 minutes to go and had an argument with Owen Coyle (our manager) on the side of the pitch because he'd taken him off! We have another left winger, Matt Taylor, who hasn't got his quality but never stops running throughout the game and I think our manager responds to that and picks him ahead of Petrov for that reason, and I think that pisses Petrov off.

On a seperate note, what do you think about the match fixing scandal involving Bulgaria? Do you think your team might have been involved?

 

[me4o]

Owen Coyle is a great manager, I like his work. He is right to pick Matt instead of Martin, though I am a fan of Petrov, I have to say that except the game against Manchester United he's been pretty bad, yes.

As far as the game between Bulgaria and Estonia, it was a pretty strange match, that's for sure. I hate to say it, but I won't be surprised if there was some pretty intense betting in Asia, as that is where most of the illegal gambling goes on. It has been a problem here for some time, and that is one of the reasons our football is becoming worse and worse. The national team hasn't done anything since 1994, our club teams are one of the weakest in European competitions, our U-21's are crappy... Something needs to be done, otherwise even San Marino will become better than us. It's not just the match fixing(I'm sure that happens all over the world), the whole process is fucked up, but hopefully things will become better. Hiring Lothar Matheus as the national team manager was a good move, the government is planning on building a bunch of new stadiums, the chief of the FA even said that we will bid to host EURO 2020 with Romania... but there is a lot more work to be done 🙂

 

[Dave Pavet]

Never really caught on in the United States. I have tried to become a soccer fan over the years but I find it impossible to watch. Many NBA and NHL teams play to near capacity and nealy all NFL teams do. Yet Soccer has gained popularity in the US in recent years. One of the reasons is because they have kept ticket prices down compared to the other sports.

 

[rhiannon]

I think the main reason why soccer is not popular in the states is that there is only one possibility to have commercials during the game! 🙂 Not enough sponsors!!

 

[Johnny lea]

Can't believe I've missed the football thread! I'm a Bolton Wanderers fan born and bread, which means I have to hate United, City, Blackburn, Wigan, Burnley and Preston. Sorry Johnny lea, but I personally don't like Leeds, they've always been a nasty side even when they were champions (Just ask Brian Clough!!!). Since I've been at Uni and had a couple of Leeds supporting mates I've softened a bit and I think it will only be a matter of time before you're back up because you've got such a talented side, Howson and Johnson are a solid midfield pair, Snodgrass is probably one the best players outside the Prem and Becchio is a beast, you're just lacking a convincing back line. You need to sniff around for Prem cast offs a la QPR.

Not to worry pfromptown, I've a 27 year old veteran to this, you come to get used to Leeds repuatation with other fans 😀 Just yesterday a Manchester United friend of mine was telling me a "we all hate Leeds scum" started at the match with Blackburn fans joining in. Beautiful! 😀

I do like Bolton though, Owen Coyle has an interesting future and I like the football you play. Our shared dislike of United is a bonus as well.

Out of interest is it Burnley or Preston who get referred to as "The Dingles" by other local fans? I think that's class and it's always made me chuckle.

 

[pfromptown]

me4o - I hadn't realised you'd hired Matthaus as your coach, that's certainly a good move. His experience will prove vital if you are to build a new team once the current crop retires, I know Berbatov already has and Stilyan Petrov will probably follow suit sooner or later, he's had lots of injuries recently. That part of Europe once produced the best players in the world so there is hope for you, you have the talent but I don't think your league will ever take off without money. That's the only reason the Russian and Ukrainian leagues have become so impressive over the last 15-20 years, Bulgaria could be up there too with the right investment but I'd wonder where that's going to come from...

Johnny lea - Never heard the Dingles insult before to be honest. We call Utd Munich like most other Northern teams and Blackburn The Pig Farmers, maybe you could come up with songs including those names if you ever get promoted!

Chuckle - Just doing my duty!


By the way does anybody fancy forming a TMF fantasy football league on the Premier League website? We don't have to play for money, it's free to join and would be a good laugh. I'm shitting my pants over Sunday, I'm on equal points with a guy from my Dad's office going into the final game of the season, and the winning prize is £150 which is a lot when you're unemployed! I have two free transfers, but if I make any more than that I get a four point deduction, anyone got any thoughts on who I should buy?

 

[me4o]

Yeah, money is a problem, I don't know where we are going to get it from. Some foreign investors are the only chance, I think. Our two biggest teams, Levski and CSKA, have sponsorship deals with the biggest mobile companies here, one of which is Austrian, the other-Greek. But it sure isn't enough...

As far as your fantasy team, tell us who is in there already, so we can tell you who to remove and who to get. If I had a fantasy team, it would like like this:
GK Joe Hart
RB Glen Johnson
LB Ashley Cole
CB Nemanja Vidic
CB Rio Ferdinand
DMC Cesc Fabregas
RM Aaron Lennon
LM Ryan Giggs
AMC Frank Lampard
ST Javier Hernandez
ST Carlos Tevez

But that would be a team that I'd choose at the start of the season, half of these guys won't play in the last round, I'm sure about that. Sir Alex will rest most of his players agains Blackpool. But at least Berba will probably get the chance to play, it's been some time since he's been in the starting eleven. There is even a joke here that goes like this: A friend calls Berba to get him to go to hang out somewhere. Berba says: "I can't, United are playing". His friend answers: "Great, so you are free" 😀

 

[pfromptown]

I WON MY FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE TODAY!!!! In the end I made three transfers and lost four points putting Berbatov in because I knew he'd start and have a hatful of chances, making him extremely likely to score. One crucial thing I forgot is that he's shit, which unfortunately proved the deciding factor in his points return as he squandered chance after chance. However it didn't make a difference in the end as I walked away with the cash, and am made up.

My team for today has been

GK: Hart
DF: El Mohamady
DF: Hangeland
DF: Coleman
DF: Baines
MF: Nani
MF: Cleverly
MF: Yaya Toure
ST: Van Persie
ST: Tevez (c)
ST: Berbatov


Commboy, you must have been delighted with the Europa League final? Do you think Hulk will move on now?

me4o, that joke made me laugh my arse off!!!!!

 

[me4o]

Congrats on winning the cash 🙂 Yeah, Berba was pretty poor yesterday again, I'm thinking it might have been his last match in a United shirt... It was a pretty crazy day yesterday, but I've gotta tell you- I really felt sorry for Birmingham 🙁 What a dramatic way to get relegated, and they didn't deserve it. Still, it will be interesting to see them in the Europa League next season, hope they do well, they are a likeable team 🙂

 

[me4o]

Euro 2012 qualifying matches yesterday and today. Of course, I'm mostly looking forward to Montenegro-Bulgaria and England-Switzerland. A win for us and a draw in London will get us back in the game. It's not very likely, but it could happen 🙂

 

[pfromptown]

What does everyone think of the transfer window activity so far? It wouldn't surprise me to see either Hulk or Falcao join up with Villas Boas at Chelsea, and I'm expecting Man Utd to add a couple more to their ranks. Biggest shock so far has surely been Jeremy Toulalan moving to Malaga? Never saw that one coming, and if they keep adding players of his caliber I would expect them to trouble the top four next season.

 

[me4o]

Villas Boas will surely take at least 2-3 of his former players in Chelsea now, I'd bet one of them to be Moutinho, Freddy Guarin possibly, and may be one of the strikers. Manchester United need to press on getting a few new players, Phil Jones is far from enough. Ashley Young would be a good choice, and a keeper is very much needed- Maarten Stekelnburg would be my pick. Also- Berbatov going to: PSG, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Juventus, Milan, Tottenham...? I dunno, we'll see about that, but the best for him will be to leave. I am looking forward to seeing what players Barcelona will buy/sell. Bojan has already joined Lius Enrique in Roma, but who will put on the blue-red shirt? Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez, Guiseppe Rossi? I am not sure they need another striker, but I would love to see Cesc as a Barcelona player. Interesting weeks ahead, that's for sure 🙂

 

[T.O. Guy]

Hi all.. thought I'd chime in...

I'm a MASSIVE Arsenal supporter. I pay $45 a month to make sure I don't miss any of their matches(I'm in Canada, so I hafta pay for Setanta, Gol, and SKY)....

I'm currently pretty frustrated with football in general. I believe Arsenal do it the right way buy obtaining players young and developing them. Yes they poach, but everyone does. At least they poach when the players are young and it's just potential. They DEVELOP them into stars. Development matters sooooo much more to a footballer than potential. I believe Wayne Bridge would have been one of the best defenders in the world had he been with a developmental side rather than Chelsea, who's strategy is just to buy players in their prime and then hope it works(it's better when it doesn't *cough* Shevy *cough* Torres).... I also believe Chelsea stalted the growth of Ca$hley Cole.... He had the talent to possibly the best left back I've ever seen.... but in that system only Drogba and Lamps seemed to reach their potential....

Once the financial restrictions come more into play(as they say will happen within a few years time) I believe teams like Chelsea and Man City will disappear.... They don't really develop anyone, and just buy players without any focus on creating a team image... United, Liverpool, Arsenal and *shudder* Spurs will remain as the "Big Four" of the future.... They all have a legacy which will allow them to attract players and have shown that they can develop their own talent. City will soon realize that buying Arsenal cast-offs doesn't work(Adebayor and Toure have already been massive headaches, and now they take Clichy?? good luck!!) and Chelsea will go ANOTHER season without a trophy as the only players they've developed(Lamps, Terry, Drogs) continue to decline and they are left with zero leadership, and zero identity.

Basically I hate EPL right now and am waiting until it stops being so much about spending and comes back to running a club properly. Then maybe Arsenal can take some silverware again(it's getting painful)....

And don't even get me started on the mess that is my local MLS team.... TFC are an embarassment.... Best fan support in the league and CANNOT get their heads out of their arses long enough to field a competitive squad.... Just saddening....

 

[T.O. Guy]

and me4o... don't worry... Cesc will play for Barca next year.... Nasri was 200X better than him last year... he was average and uninspired.... he's little use to Arsenal... hopefully Wenger will use that 35mil and the 20 for Clichy and buy a central defender and a more defensive minded midfielder.... two GLARING holes they suffered this past year..

 

[me4o]

I absolutely agree with your opinion, City and Chelsea don't have a good policy about their young players, they need to change that quickly, if they want to remain on the top. Although I support United, I have to say that they need to work more on their reserve and youth players. The only ones that have made some inpact over the last 2-3 years are Hernandez, Macheda, Welbeck, Rafael and Fabio. And Danny is the only one actually trained in United throughout. But I'd sure like to see players like Ravel Morrison, Tom Cleverly and Oliver Gill get their chance. But, as the cliche goes, football is more business than a sport these days...