***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Slapdash]

"Everyone does it"

I don't think anyone's really got the moral high ground when it comes to this stuff.

If your point is that every group of thousands of fans has drunken idiots who spew hateful stuff, I agree with you. (Equally, there are wonderful fans with every club as well.)

If your point, however, is that every club's fan culture is the same overall and equally tolerates or supports this stuff, I reject that. This is more than a few fans on a subway with Chelsea.

Yeah, claiming Chelsea has just another fan base is like claiming Millwall has just another fan base.

I'm beginning to see this story in mainstream news sources. It's definitely getting around.

Good, it should.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

"Everyone does it"

I don't think anyone's really got the moral high ground when it comes to this stuff.

If your point is that every group of thousands of fans has drunken idiots who spew hateful stuff, I agree with you. (Equally, there are wonderful fans with every club as well.)

If your point, however, is that every club's fan culture is the same overall and equally tolerates or supports this stuff, I reject that. This is more than a few fans on a subway with Chelsea.

Yeah, claiming Chelsea has just another fan base is like claiming Millwall has just another fan base.

Chelsea had some well known violence issues back 30-40 years ago. The past 15 years the club has regularly featured African and other black player whose names we all know including four of the most prominent Africans ever in Weah, Drogba, Essien and Etoo. There are songs and banners for Drogba, Essien, Cole, maka, Kalou, Mikel just to name a few. The club featured I believe one of the first ever foreign managers in English football, the first ever all-foreign lineup in England in the late 90s and I believe one of the first black managers in England. It has a very prominent Jewish owner, a superstar west African president, a long line of foreign managers and is run by a woman. Does that describe Millwall or ony other club in England today?

 

[CletiusMaximus]

"Everyone does it"

I don't think anyone's really got the moral high ground when it comes to this stuff.

If your point is that every group of thousands of fans has drunken idiots who spew hateful stuff, I agree with you. (Equally, there are wonderful fans with every club as well.)

If your point, however, is that every club's fan culture is the same overall and equally tolerates or supports this stuff, I reject that. This is more than a few fans on a subway with Chelsea.

Yeah, claiming Chelsea has just another fan base is like claiming Millwall has just another fan base.

I'm beginning to see this story in mainstream news sources. It's definitely getting around.

Good, it should.

For me it's not much of a story as there are similar incidents every week. The far more significant story this week is Sacchi's comments, which come from one of the most prominent Italian managers in our generation and are indicative of a real problem in Italian football. The press is covering that issue, but with much less self-righteous faux indignation.

 

[Sammy3469]

I'm pretty amazed that the European leagues will put up with this. I think most accept that FIFA is horribly corrupt, but this is on a whole new level.

We'll have to see how it plays out, but I wouldn't be shocked if they were more vocal now. They've played nice, but have now proven to be powerless in the face of Blatter's corruption, so what do they really have to lose. The EPL has more to lose with their TV contract now (you don't think those X-mas games are worth a fortune to them) than they did a week ago. I'm not going to be shocked if the FA plays some serious hardball.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

Two sites so twice as many over-budget stadiums. The current format is perfect and they seem hell-bent on screwing it up.

-QG

 

[Sammy3469]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

Two sites so twice as many over-budget stadiums. The current format is perfect and they seem hell-bent on screwing it up.

-QG

You're not nearly cycnical enough. This Grantland piece has a pretty good theory on what Platini is actually doing. Put forth 3 "others" all with different platforms and see if any stick:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/fifa-elections-blatter-platini/

 

[Norman Paperman]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

That's true as far it goes, but that's looking at it from the perspective of European teams that have already qualified. Even with nearly half the slots, Europe is the region where the most good teams get shut out of the World Cup. Obviously, more European slots would also be added, but it would still make UEFA, by far, the most difficult confederation to qualify from, IMO. This probably doesn't hurt Germany or Italy, IMO, but it hurts Belgium, Sweden, Ukraine and sides like that which are demonstrably better most years than Senegal, who would have an easier path.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Chelsea had some well known violence issues back 30-40 years ago. The past 15 years the club has regularly featured African and other black player whose names we all know including four of the most prominent Africans ever in Weah, Drogba, Essien and Etoo. There are songs and banners for Drogba, Essien, Cole, maka, Kalou, Mikel just to name a few. The club featured I believe one of the first ever foreign managers in English football, the first ever all-foreign lineup in England in the late 90s and I believe one of the first black managers in England. It has a very prominent Jewish owner, a superstar west African president, a long line of foreign managers and is run by a woman. Does that describe Millwall or ony other club in England today?

Liberal poofters.

 

[Eephus]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

That's true as far it goes, but that's looking at it from the perspective of European teams that have already qualified. Even with nearly half the slots, Europe is the region where the most good teams get shut out of the World Cup. Obviously, more European slots would also be added, but it would still make UEFA, by far, the most difficult confederation to qualify from, IMO. This probably doesn't hurt Germany or Italy, IMO, but it hurts Belgium, Sweden, Ukraine and sides like that which are demonstrably better most years than Senegal, who would have an easier path.

I think you're underestimating the difficulty of qualifying from Africa. CAF has around the same number of member nations as UEFA but only had 5 slots in Brazil vs 13 for Europe. While it's fair to say the overall quality of the teams isn't as high as in Europe, only 9% of African sides qualify vs. 24% in Europe.

As Bob Bradley discovered, the CAF qualification procedures are also extremely unpredictable. The Pharaohs went unbeaten in groups but were undone by a poor half in the home and home knockouts.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

That's true as far it goes, but that's looking at it from the perspective of European teams that have already qualified. Even with nearly half the slots, Europe is the region where the most good teams get shut out of the World Cup. Obviously, more European slots would also be added, but it would still make UEFA, by far, the most difficult confederation to qualify from, IMO. This probably doesn't hurt Germany or Italy, IMO, but it hurts Belgium, Sweden, Ukraine and sides like that which are demonstrably better most years than Senegal, who would have an easier path.

I think you're underestimating the difficulty of qualifying from Africa. CAF has around the same number of member nations as UEFA but only had 5 slots in Brazil vs 13 for Europe. While it's fair to say the overall quality of the teams isn't as high as in Europe, only 9% of African sides qualify vs. 24% in Europe.

As Bob Bradley discovered, the CAF qualification procedures are also extremely unpredictable. The Pharaohs went unbeaten in groups but were undone by a poor half in the home and home knockouts.

I know its unpredictable, and I know its arbitrary, but I still contend that UEFA qualifying still excludes more deserving teams. It comes down to whether I would pick Egypt over Serbia or Sweden at a neutral site. I wouldn't.

 

[El Floppo]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

That's true as far it goes, but that's looking at it from the perspective of European teams that have already qualified. Even with nearly half the slots, Europe is the region where the most good teams get shut out of the World Cup. Obviously, more European slots would also be added, but it would still make UEFA, by far, the most difficult confederation to qualify from, IMO. This probably doesn't hurt Germany or Italy, IMO, but it hurts Belgium, Sweden, Ukraine and sides like that which are demonstrably better most years than Senegal, who would have an easier path.

I think you're underestimating the difficulty of qualifying from Africa. CAF has around the same number of member nations as UEFA but only had 5 slots in Brazil vs 13 for Europe. While it's fair to say the overall quality of the teams isn't as high as in Europe, only 9% of African sides qualify vs. 24% in Europe.

As Bob Bradley discovered, the CAF qualification procedures are also extremely unpredictable. The Pharaohs went unbeaten in groups but were undone by a poor half in the home and home knockouts.

I know its unpredictable, and I know its arbitrary, but I still contend that UEFA qualifying still excludes more deserving teams. It comes down to whether I would pick Egypt over Serbia or Sweden at a neutral site. I wouldn't.

racist.

 

[Eephus]

The World Cup is the world cup. I realize talk about expanding the number of non-European team is a cheap bribe thrown in the general direction of Blatter's third world power base, but I think it's a good step toward growing the game globally. Let's face it, none of the next 16 have a realistic chance at winning the tournament. I don't think it's essential that they necessarily be the best 16 teams.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

The World Cup is the world cup. I realize talk about expanding the number of non-European team is a cheap bribe thrown in the general direction of Blatter's third world power base, but I think it's a good step toward growing the game globally. Let's face it, none of the next 16 have a realistic chance at winning the tournament. I don't think it's essential that they necessarily be the best 16 teams.

I don't really disagree, I was just speaking to whether European teams would welcome the move or not.

 

[The Gator]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

 

[El Floppo]

The World Cup is the world cup. I realize talk about expanding the number of non-European team is a cheap bribe thrown in the general direction of Blatter's third world power base, but I think it's a good step toward growing the game globally. Let's face it, none of the next 16 have a realistic chance at winning the tournament. I don't think it's essential that they necessarily be the best 16 teams.

roughly the same thought... looking at FIFA rankings, 1-16 are usually TIER 1 powers. 16-40+ are pretty interchangeable. There are more good teams out there who don't make it in... not like opening up numbers will diffuse the quality, IMO. yeah- might cheapen inclusion a bit, but I don't see too many terrible teams being included.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

Yeah, I had no idea Sinn was such a habitual line-stepper.

I haven't gotten a warning point in like four years, and I'm pretty sure I'm no less an ####### than I used to be.

 

[El Floppo]

we get so many occasional visitors, I just assumed Norm was his own man.

 

[Eephus]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

Yeah, I had no idea Sinn was such a habitual line-stepper.

I haven't gotten a warning point in like four years, and I'm pretty sure I'm no less an ####### than I used to be.

That Scooby guy was a ####

 

[QuizGuy66]

I'm thinking a 48-team World Cup would be allotted something like this:

Hosts - 2 presumably based Platini's plan outline. Though who knows, maybe the make-good at the end of this is a USA mega-cup in 2026. I mean we know that the USA could handle having 18 host cities and doing the whole 48-team shabang here.

Anyway where was I...

Hosts 2

UEFA 16

CAF 9

AFC 9

CONMEBOL 6

CONCACAF 5

OFC 1 (congratulations New Zealand for qualifying for every World Cup until the end of time.

(I suppose it's possible that UEFA gets 17 and CONCACAF 6 and CAF and AFC both get 8 but if this thing actually passed I doubt that.)

Presumably you'd have 12 groups of 4 (though I guess it's not unthinkable that they go with 16 groups of 3).

Perhaps they have 24 teams advance with byes, but I think it's more likely that they'd go with 32 teams in the knock out round. They'd probably have each half of the draw have one round of the knockouts before bringing the final 16 all to the same country.

But will see if the impracticality of this set-up dawns on the voters. Two sub-tournaments going on two different continents would put one of the groups at an extreme disadvantage when it's time to bring them all together. Again, a format that doubles the number of needed stadiums seems crazy given the problems Brazil had and that even a bigger nation like Russia seems to be having.

So....what would a World Cup outlined as above look like (taking most of the best teams in each region and a couple lower lights on the bottom)?

Hosts (2): Kazakhstan and Canadastan

UEFA (16): Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, England, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Ukraine, Bosnia, Russia

CAF (9): Algeria, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Mali

AFC (9): Iran, South Korea, Japan, Australia, UAE, Uzbekibekistan, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain

CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela

CONCACAF (5): Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Panama, Honduras

OFC (1): New Zealand

-QG

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

Yeah, I had no idea Sinn was such a habitual line-stepper.

I haven't gotten a warning point in like four years, and I'm pretty sure I'm no less an ####### than I used to be.

Let's just say Joe's a "Chelsea fan", if you know what I mean.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

Yeah, I had no idea Sinn was such a habitual line-stepper.

I haven't gotten a warning point in like four years, and I'm pretty sure I'm no less an ####### than I used to be.

Let's just say Joe's a "Chelsea fan", if you know what I mean.

His "black friend" is Drogba.

 

[Eephus]

#1 Fan of Uzbekibekistan football

 

[Eephus]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

Yeah, I had no idea Sinn was such a habitual line-stepper.

I haven't gotten a warning point in like four years, and I'm pretty sure I'm no less an ####### than I used to be.

Let's just say Joe's a "Chelsea fan", if you know what I mean.

His "black friend" is Drogba.

At least that's better than if his black friend was Ryan Giggs

 

[The Gator]

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanTaylor26/status/568431468944474112/video/1

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I actually did a (very) little bit of legal work for Giggsy during the whole sister-in-law scandal. Fun times. Amazing that a global law firm apparently didn't know that Twitter existed.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm thinking a 48-team World Cup would be allotted something like this:

Hosts - 2 presumably based Platini's plan outline. Though who knows, maybe the make-good at the end of this is a USA mega-cup in 2026. I mean we know that the USA could handle having 18 host cities and doing the whole 48-team shabang here.

Anyway where was I...

Hosts 2

UEFA 16

CAF 9

AFC 9

CONMEBOL 6

CONCACAF 5

OFC 1 (congratulations New Zealand for qualifying for every World Cup until the end of time.

(I suppose it's possible that UEFA gets 17 and CONCACAF 6 and CAF and AFC both get 8 but if this thing actually passed I doubt that.)

Presumably you'd have 12 groups of 4 (though I guess it's not unthinkable that they go with 16 groups of 3).

Perhaps they have 24 teams advance with byes, but I think it's more likely that they'd go with 32 teams in the knock out round. They'd probably have each half of the draw have one round of the knockouts before bringing the final 16 all to the same country.

But will see if the impracticality of this set-up dawns on the voters. Two sub-tournaments going on two different continents would put one of the groups at an extreme disadvantage when it's time to bring them all together. Again, a format that doubles the number of needed stadiums seems crazy given the problems Brazil had and that even a bigger nation like Russia seems to be having.

So....what would a World Cup outlined as above look like (taking most of the best teams in each region and a couple lower lights on the bottom)?

Hosts (2): Kazakhstan and Canadastan

UEFA (16): Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, England, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Ukraine, Bosnia, Russia

CAF (9): Algeria, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Mali

AFC (9): Iran, South Korea, Japan, Australia, UAE, Uzbekibekistan, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain

CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela

CONCACAF (5): Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Panama, Honduras

OFC (1): New Zealand

-QG

I know Conmebol only has 10 countries but wow, that seems so harsh leaving out a team like Peru, or Paraguay over some of those minnow Asian countries. Those are massive gaps in the rankings.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

https://mobile.twitter.com/IanTaylor26/status/568431468944474112/video/1

Looks like Feyenoord fans are not exactly treating the Eternal City too well either.

http://screamer.deadspin.com/dutch-soccer-hooligans-running-wild-clashing-with-riot-1686778357?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

 

[QuizGuy66]

I'm thinking a 48-team World Cup would be allotted something like this:

Hosts - 2 presumably based Platini's plan outline. Though who knows, maybe the make-good at the end of this is a USA mega-cup in 2026. I mean we know that the USA could handle having 18 host cities and doing the whole 48-team shabang here.

Anyway where was I...

Hosts 2

UEFA 16

CAF 9

AFC 9

CONMEBOL 6

CONCACAF 5

OFC 1 (congratulations New Zealand for qualifying for every World Cup until the end of time.

(I suppose it's possible that UEFA gets 17 and CONCACAF 6 and CAF and AFC both get 8 but if this thing actually passed I doubt that.)

Presumably you'd have 12 groups of 4 (though I guess it's not unthinkable that they go with 16 groups of 3).

Perhaps they have 24 teams advance with byes, but I think it's more likely that they'd go with 32 teams in the knock out round. They'd probably have each half of the draw have one round of the knockouts before bringing the final 16 all to the same country.

But will see if the impracticality of this set-up dawns on the voters. Two sub-tournaments going on two different continents would put one of the groups at an extreme disadvantage when it's time to bring them all together. Again, a format that doubles the number of needed stadiums seems crazy given the problems Brazil had and that even a bigger nation like Russia seems to be having.

So....what would a World Cup outlined as above look like (taking most of the best teams in each region and a couple lower lights on the bottom)?

Hosts (2): Kazakhstan and Canadastan

UEFA (16): Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, England, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia, Austria, Ukraine, Bosnia, Russia

CAF (9): Algeria, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Tunisia, Cape Verde, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Mali

AFC (9): Iran, South Korea, Japan, Australia, UAE, Uzbekibekistan, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain

CONMEBOL (6): Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela

CONCACAF (5): Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Panama, Honduras

OFC (1): New Zealand

-QG

I know Conmebol only has 10 countries but wow, that seems so harsh leaving out a team like Peru, or Paraguay over some of those minnow Asian countries. Those are massive gaps in the rankings.

I have an e-friend in Venezuela, so I put them is as the wildcard 6th team in my example as opposed to Ecuador

Paraguay has been awful in recent years.

Hard to see an expanded World Cup going to 7 slots for CONMEBOL (and if they expand I think they get rid of all of the .5's).

Just remember CONEMBOL had just 10 out of 200+ votes. Upping from 4.5 slots to 6.0 would seem to be the limit of things.

-QG

 

[QuizGuy66]

Not sure if this has been noted earlier in the thread. Was listening to WFAN today and they mentioned that they will be airing NYCFC games this summer. Quite a coup for that team and MLS. I still wish we had a New Jeresy team .

Side note NYCFC is the least catchy name ever.

-QG

 

[Jaysus]

Anyone up for free Fantasy MLS just for kicks and giggles? http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/?autojoin-code=520-427

 

[Eephus]

I know Conmebol only has 10 countries but wow, that seems so harsh leaving out a team like Peru, or Paraguay over some of those minnow Asian countries. Those are massive gaps in the rankings.

FIFA is really trying to grow the game in China and India. They're not above stacking the deck to try to enable this.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

At least someone's excited about the Europa League...

 

[NewlyRetired]

Anyone up for free Fantasy MLS just for kicks and giggles? http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/?autojoin-code=520-427

I tend to use this game instead ( http://www.mfls.com/ ) just because it was around since the beginning but I will toss a team in the MLS site run game that you linked to.

I have to say, in what should have been a fantastic off-season for the league in getting fans interested in the start of the season is severely tarnished for me because of the CBA..

 

[QuizGuy66]

I know Conmebol only has 10 countries but wow, that seems so harsh leaving out a team like Peru, or Paraguay over some of those minnow Asian countries. Those are massive gaps in the rankings.

FIFA is really trying to grow the game in China and India. They're not above stacking the deck to try to enable this.

They'll need to go to 192 teams for India to qualify, though.

-QG

 

[NewlyRetired]

Not sure if this has been noted earlier in the thread. Was listening to WFAN today and they mentioned that they will be airing NYCFC games this summer. Quite a coup for that team and MLS.

It is part of the Yankees deal with WFAN. Was first rumored back in September of 2013

http://www.soccernewsday.com/usa/a/1197/has-nycfc-found-a-radio-deal-

 

[Eephus]

I know Conmebol only has 10 countries but wow, that seems so harsh leaving out a team like Peru, or Paraguay over some of those minnow Asian countries. Those are massive gaps in the rankings.

FIFA is really trying to grow the game in China and India. They're not above stacking the deck to try to enable this.

They'll need to go to 192 teams for India to qualify, though.

-QG

Don't bother them with details. Think of the possibilities for bribery.

 

[Norman Paperman]

Looks like Luis Figo is fighting Blatter with the clever/cynical ploy of pushing a 40 or 48 team World Cup in order to get more African teams in. I think that would be hurt the competitive balance of the tournament, but I also think the World Cup is kind of like the NCAA tournament. Its kind of impossible to screw up too bad.

I think adding African teams really helps European teams more than anything - if you assume that the European teams that qualify are all in the top half of the final draw. I think it gives those teams, and to a lesser extent the SA teams, a better chance at avoiding a group of death, and advancing to the knock-out stages. Obviously there are no sure things - but I would think most European squads would favor adding more "average" teams to the tourney.

The #### did you do now?

lol - nothing - just had a safari browser up, and apparently it is still logged in as Paperman (I have been using chrome primarily). I had not even paid attention.

 

[Sinn Fein]

48 team WC

8 groups of 6 - winners of each group advance to round of 16, 2nd and 3rd place finishers, play in a round of 32. This would add 2 weeks to the WC, with two extra group games, and an extra knockout round.

40 team WC

8 groups of 5, winners and 2nd place advance to knockout. Adds a half/week - really an extra week so the final still ends on the weekend.

 

[Sebowski]

Anyone up for free Fantasy MLS just for kicks and giggles? http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/?autojoin-code=520-427

As long as I can sign up and then forget it exists, yes, I am in.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Some MLS news

* More info came out on the DC stadium.

- 20-22k with set up expansion to 26-30k
- field will be at ground level due to Pepco wires beneath ground, the stadium will appear larger from the outside as a result
- March 2017 targeted opening

* RSL has expanded its season ticket base to 14,500 and the owner yesterday said the club is just 800 tickets away from selling out the entire season.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

2 team WC. Best of 9.

 

[El Floppo]

At least someone's excited about the Europa League...

lukaku rampant

 

[El Floppo]

Spurs v Fiorentina

Inter v Celtic

Liverpool v Buttsikas

where's Kafka? Roma in a tense one right now.

 

[Eephus]

At least someone's excited about the Europa League...

Ennui Can

 

[El Floppo]

At least someone's excited about the Europa League...

Ennui Can

sadly, wearily... I think you misspelled his name.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Not sure if this has been posted. Article on the FIFA election and Prince Ali's chances.

Humorous to think that a candidate for a more open and democratic FIFA is a prince.

http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/sport/2015/02/internal-affair-fifas-presidential-candidates-150219123242831.html

-QG

 

[The Gator]

Ibe skinning guys...get some of that, Buttsextas

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

The Europa League. Where Soldado happens.