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I dunno- Portland had plenty of space to move, and that Alhassan cat used his pace to find even more space (yeah, sorry Ted- down that Left Philly Flank).I just think Philly made that field a lot smaller than it was by not committing to getting numbers around the ball and losing all shape in the MF.Ted- what was that about? Was it a formation thing, where they lined up with the wrong numbers against Portland? Or were guys just not getting done what they'd normally do?
I may be wrong, but I think this is how songs/chants are usually created, via the hard core supporter groups and then they spread in the stadium. The chanting in English games mostly came from supporter groups copying and adapting popular songs.In the end though who cares
. Ten years ago a game in the pouring rain on a Monday night during the school year would draw barely 6k in some cities. You and I will both take the alternative, whether it be forced or not 
Yah, they were at each other the entire game. It's the one thing remaining in Van Persie that I don't care for. I'm willing to overlook it though!'Tibetan Sherpa said:They were going at it before the last goal.'jonessed said:Pretty weak for Van Persie to take a few verbal potshots at the goalkeeper after they score the winning goal.And then Webb is forced to tag along and ask him to stop taunting other players after the game.
In the first half, I thought Pajon held up play well, and I thought Adu looked good when he actually had the ball at his feet. But Philly wasn't looking to find Adu and couldn't seem to match his speed of thought when they did get the ball to him (and on more than one occassion, they played a ball to him with absolutely no pace that gave him no opportunity to turn and run at his man). But I also can't absolve Freddy of responsibility, because he still doesn't seem to match the workrate that Portland's flank players were putting in. I think Adu is wasted on the flank. Nowak seems to give him some license to roam, but I think he needs to be in the center of the field. His best quality is the ability to make decisions quickly and I think they could accentuate that by allowing him to spray the ball in both directions.Overall the difference between the sides was pretty stark. Portland were a bit raw, but they were full of ideas in the final third, even when a lot of them didn't pan out. Philly looked very, very stagnant to me. Boyd is going to score a lot of goals if he stays healthy. Not a lot of clever number 9's who can make great runs while staying in the 18 yard box like him in MLS. And Portland doesn't need him to find the ball in midfield.'Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
Wow. But Marseille loses Mandanda for the quarters on a PK at the end.
Dumb, dumb play on his part.
They are.It doesn't happen often because if officials card a guy for diving and he's actually hurt, they look really bad.
They are.If you want to know why why more cards aren't handed out... real diving is really tough to separate from guys riding tackles. It has to be a completely clear-cut case of a guy not being touched and going down, and not a guy taking even a little contact and going down in a way that looks light. Sometimes a guy goes down without even taking contact, but IMO, isn't diving- he's avoiding a tackle that risks his health, and bails out.
He just gets away with it because he's such a great actor.
Yeah, that had to bite the big one.
it's just really tough to judge. If you are running at top speed and have someone just clip your heel, you are going to go flying and there's not much you can do about it. It doesn't take much to lose your balance in those situations and judging whether a player truly dove, was fouled (or getting out of the way to avoid contact), or just lost his balance can be damn near impossible at times. But most fans share your sentiment, especially when they watch someone like Suarez play.
I used to like him more but I really think he's turned into a real prima donna diver since he did the batman series.
He goes a little too Floppo for my tastes sometimes, but he's no Bale. IIRC, Bale leads the league in yellows for simulation (3)
Also- a guy with the ball is rarely going to be planted in such a way as to have maximum stability. As you say, they're going at speed with the ball on one of their feet- so when contact comes, it happens when only one foot is on the ground (other on the ball). Easy to get knocked off balance, and as Bale mentioned, easy to get hurt if you don't ride the challenge.I know he dives, but guys like Suarez and C Ronaldo play in a style that invites a ton of contact- IMO, they're both going down a lot and not diving as much as they're given #### for. But Suarez embellishes like a mo-fo- and I hate him for that (among other things).
lol. #### me.
I agree with all of this. I think most fans would agree to take this out of the refs hands and handle it on replay after the game with stiff fines to player, very stiff fines to team, and suspension to player. It would not remove diving entirely but would clean it up tremendously. Sadly Fifa is much more concerned about being the most corrupt organization in sports rather than adding this simple change into the game.
I didn't see it- was he untouched? Or did he just go into histrionics after a light challenge?
it looked like it was straight out of a christian bale school of acting
Seriously, he made a meal out of very little contact with Distin who took great offense to it and was begging the ref to hand out a card. I think everyone knew it was a dive but it was one of those situations where actual contact happened and well, you can't be sure. But I can tell you, if Christo was defending him, Suarez would have known the displeasure. Distin is too nice, especially for a derby. I'd have laid him out and I'm a Suarez fan 
I was hoping no one caught that, but assumed I was going to be way, way late.
It's about the only misidentification I would've caught onto quickly.
I would carry Martin Kelly's baby
Also,Steven Gerrard GerrardHe'll pass the ball 40 yardsHe's big and he's F**kin hardSteve Gerrard Gerrard.What about the first 27 weeks of the season?I would carry Martin Kelly's baby
The EPL is the top level. England has leagues going all the way down to YMCA or bar league level. I'm not sure how many, at least 10, although only the top 4 are part of "The Football League." And it's the top 3 that move down from the EPL.Messi plays for Barcelona in Spain's La Liga. His Spanish league games are hard to find without fancy soccer channels, although I have seen them on ESPN2 before. Your best chance is to see him in the Champions League, which is on Fox Sports sometimes.Messi is the consensus best player in the world right now and some consider the current Barcelona team to be the best team of all-time.
The EPL is the top flight of English league football. Below the EPL is the The Football League, which is broken into three leagues--The Championship, One & Two. Each year three teams switch places between the EPL and Championship and the Championship and One, four teams switch places between One and Two and two teams are relegated from Two to non-league play and replaced by two non-league teams.Messi plays in Spain, La Liga. It's safe to say he's the best this century. People are starting to claim (prematurely, imo) that he's the best ever. The only player who comes close right now is CRonaldo.
They were definitely on today.Robben, Müller, Gomez, Gomez, Gomez, Gomez and Robben again.
Once again I stamp how little I know about this sport on my forehead.The 20th player added was a forward, Tony Taylor, who plays in Portugal.Porter all but came out and admitted he wanted Williams, Chandler and Jozy to be on the team but that their teams would not release them (the teams are not required to release for Olympic qualifying). Luckily the MLS teams were more willing else he might not have had a team to qualify with.
Love to know what those two were jawing about. I have to say, though, it is a joy to watch Van Persie play these days. I haven't seen a striker with such finishing talent since Bergkamp.Yah, they were at each other the entire game. It's the one thing remaining in Van Persie that I don't care for. I'm willing to overlook it though!They were going at it before the last goal.Pretty weak for Van Persie to take a few verbal potshots at the goalkeeper after they score the winning goal.And then Webb is forced to tag along and ask him to stop taunting other players after the game
