***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (13 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

Russian oil tycoon transformed mediocre team, buying all the players around and transformed them into essentially the Yankees overnight.

 

[Sammy3469]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

They're run by a Russian oligarch. What more do you need?

Meh. Every big club has an owner of some kind and I don't like any of them. The American owners are more likely to infect PL with the crappy systems we use here than any Russki mobster.

Yes, but they're our crappy owners.

 

[roadkill1292]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

They're run by a Russian oligarch. What more do you need?

Meh. Every big club has an owner of some kind and I don't like any of them. The American owners are more likely to infect PL with the crappy systems we use here than any Russki mobster.

Yes, but they're our crappy owners.

I watch Euro footy in part because I really like the systems they use for their leagues (the other part being that I really like watching the game). I don't trust the American guys; their mindset is to close the doors to PL and guarantee the profits for themselves, regardless of performance on the field. An open system certainly has its own problems but one of the things it creates and maintains is a nationwide pyramid where pretty much every neighborhood can have its own club, a club with an opportunity to go as far as it can go. Even if only 10,000 fans can pack into Rochdale's little stadium and the club will probably never get out of League 1, those people in Rochdale have a team of their own with hopes of their own and enemies of their own. We'll never have that here and it's mostly because of the people who own our teams.

Sorry to get on my soapbox this early in the morning.

 

[El Floppo]

It's not who the owner is, it's that they spent their way to elite status.

I have no problem with that, and no problem routing against it either. But they're not a yankees in the way United is with a lengthy history of success and cash. It was just *poof* Chelsea.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

It's not who the owner is, it's that they spent their way to elite status.

I have no problem with that, and no problem routing against it either. But they're not a yankees in the way United is with a lengthy history of success and cash. It was just *poof* Chelsea.

Not only that but people that couldn't even spell Chelsea were suddenly wearing the kits. Their bandwagon is quite full.

Anytime there is a big bandwagon following there will naturally be a large contingent of hate. Just like the Yankees, Lakers, Dallas Cowboys, etc.

 

[Sammy3469]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

They're run by a Russian oligarch. What more do you need?

Meh. Every big club has an owner of some kind and I don't like any of them. The American owners are more likely to infect PL with the crappy systems we use here than any Russki mobster.

Yes, but they're our crappy owners.

I watch Euro footy in part because I really like the systems they use for their leagues (the other part being that I really like watching the game). I don't trust the American guys; their mindset is to close the doors to PL and guarantee the profits for themselves, regardless of performance on the field. An open system certainly has its own problems but one of the things it creates and maintains is a nationwide pyramid where pretty much every neighborhood can have its own club, a club with an opportunity to go as far as it can go. Even if only 10,000 fans can pack into Rochdale's little stadium and the club will probably never get out of League 1, those people in Rochdale have a team of their own with hopes of their own and enemies of their own. We'll never have that here and it's mostly because of the people who own our teams.

Sorry to get on my soapbox this early in the morning.

FWIW, I do think the "romance" of the lower leagues is a more than a little overstated. Yes people support the local club, but most are also supporting one of the bigger more stable clubs in the EPL (or other major league).

 

[NewlyRetired]

It's not who the owner is, it's that they spent their way to elite status.

I have no problem with that, and no problem routing against it either. But they're not a yankees in the way United is with a lengthy history of success and cash. It was just *poof* Chelsea.

From afar though it does feel like they get more hate for the "poof", than say Man City, who did the same thing.

 

[JMon348]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

 

[GoFishTN]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Somewhere Eva is smiling.

 

[Jaysus]

Dear Swans, please hire The Special One. TIA.

 

[blend]

haha..

https://twitter.com/DeludedBrendan/status/677503759346491392

 

[Native]

Well #### me.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I heard Benitez might be looking around soon...

 

[The Gator]

Ho-zay out, Rodgers in?

 

[Sebowski]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Somewhere Eva is smiling.

Yeah she is.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Madness! Looks like another half year with Guuuuus. I expect Roman is still pining for Pep.

 

[roadkill1292]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Madness! Looks like another half year with Guuuuus. I expect Roman is still pining for Pep.

Who is being kinda coy about his future. Bundesliga and La Liga may be the better leagues (or at least have the better clubs at the top) but PL remains the biggest stage.

 

[Native]

I need a new avatar.

 

[Sinn Fein]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Somewhere Eva is smiling.

Smile

 

[CGRdrJoe]

I need a new avatar.

plent of room left on team eva

 

[Slapdash]

Mourinho sacked!!!!!

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy

 

[NewlyRetired]

lol at Dax kicking the guy while he is down

Dax McCarty ✔ @DaxMcCarty11

Jose shouldn't have underestimated those #RBNY youngsters...

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I'm sad to see Jose go. At least with Brendan, we got an even more fun personality as a replacement. Lucky Guus or Ancelloti or even Pep just won't be the same. If I'm running Man U or Chelsea or even Real, I think I'd let the other big clubs kill themselves for Pep and just get Pelligrini when City cuts him lose this summer.

You get an excellent manager with less burden of expectations.

 

[Native]

Truth be told, the wheels started coming off the Chelsea "Bus" with three months left in the 2014-15 season. They built up such a huge lead in the EPL during the first part of the season that a late season decline didnt impact their title chances. But everyone saw it. There attack became increasingly predictable, yet Jose did little to change either tactics or personnel. So in many ways its not surprising that Chelsea struggled out of the gate this year. With the excepton of Zouma (and maybe Pedro), he essentially fielded the same team again this year which faltered down the stretch last season.

What IS surprising is just how deep and total their decline has been. Had they been floundering at mid table with inconsistent but sometimes promising performances, I believe the board would have let him stay on and try to right the ship. But the season truly has been an unmitigated disaster to the point where its impossible to look the other way. And in such tumultuous conditions, you cant blame the players. It HAS to be the coach. The results, tacics and psychology of the squad has never been this bad and it falls squarely on Mou's shoulders.

In addition to keeping the squad the same, Mou struggled in many other areas. Marrying himself to Costa has proven disasterous, not only because hes a tool but because his form has been dismal without good service from the flanks. The team's defensive mettle, which has always been Mourinho's hallmark, has been disappointing with Ivanovic and Terry well past their prime and responsible for far too many errors. And his offensive tactics have been bland. He never wavered from the 4-2-3-1 formation despite the screaming need for a second striker to take pressure off Hazard on the wing.

As for his legacy, well he is and will always be a tool first and foremost. Being obnoxious has been his calling card from the day he prolcaimed himself the Special One down to his latest meltdown last week. It's been entetaining (and disppointing) to watch him act as a caricature of himself and say things other people would never dream of stating out loud. That said, Chelsea fans will never stop supporting him. He remains the symbol of the club's success over the last 15 years and the fans will never forget his role in raising the club's staure domestically and in Europe. Good luck you obnoxious, self-centered *******!

Here's hoping that Guus Hiddink takes over and stays at the club for 3-4 years to turn the ship around.

 

[GoFishTN]

I'm sad to see Jose go. At least with Brendan, we got an even more fun personality as a replacement. Lucky Guus or Ancelloti or even Pep just won't be the same. If I'm running Man U or Chelsea or even Real, I think I'd let the other big clubs kill themselves for Pep and just get Pelligrini when City cuts him lose this summer.

You get an excellent manager with less burden of expectations.

Are you still talking about Rodgers here?

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Hooligans aside...

Abramovic

Mourinho

John Terry

Drogba's incessant diving

Nouveau Posh

Putting all XI behind the ball in big matches

But with the exception of the last one (they're crappy to watch a lot of the time), it's mostly pantomime villain stuff.

Which reminds me that I left Diego Costa off the list above.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Yikes -- didn't see JM got the boot when I posted that. Sorry to see him go, despite not liking him or his teams much. The guy is great theater.

 

[shader]

Yeah, I think being a Bayern fan almost invariably makes you follow the Champions League more than the Bundesliga. At least as long at there's not a team that looks like an insurgent likely to stay (as Dortmund appeared to be). I don't think Bayern are going to measure themselves against Wolfsburg. They're going to measure themselves against Barcelona and Madrid.

What exactly is Bayern's advantage over the other Bundesliga clubs? More supporters? Or is there really nothing specific and they are just out-managing everybody else?

Success breeds economic resources that are extremely difficult to overcome.

But it's also my understanding that the Bundesliga's financial model pretty much precludes teams from accruing debt because the "50+1" model eliminates the possibility of takeovers by private investors (who generally raise the money for takeovers by leveraging a lot of debt the way the Glazers have). The Bundesliga has also required teams to submit budget reports similar to those required by Financial Fair Play for many years. Just as many of us in this thread have pointed out that Financial Fair Play protects the "haves" vs. the "have-nots" the Bundesliga's rules really protect Bayern. They have a huge revenue lead on Dortmund and Schalke and those clubs have no way to grow through debt. And Bayern, of course never has to face debt payments coming home to roost.

So they've built up the biggest supporter base over the years which means the biggest revenue base, and winning means more supporters keep coming on board.

You know, I don't know if I trust people who latch onto one of the big clubs right out of the gate. That's a sign of character weakness..............................shader.

UNFAIR

 

[shader]

I think a new philosophy and an attacking style of play and Chelsea will immediately start winning. Won't finish top four, that's practically impossible. But they can get to a respectable position and compete, though not win, in the CL.

The problem is that Chelsea is going to have to attract talent, and they won't have CL to offer. Not sure how important that is, but when you look at the 40M they spend to get rid of Mourinho, and the 30M they will lose next year without CL, that has to put a dent in the finances. Especially for a team that has gotten older and has a lot of holes.

I haven't followed soccer long enough to know much about available coaches, but I think Rodgers would be a strange choice, unless it's an interim/audition type of thing. But he stunk in Europe and that's practically the only thing Chelsea has to play for the rest of the year.

Maybe Rodgers will go there and buy Benteke for 28M in a few weeks, as that purchase by Rodgers over the summer seems like a square peg in a round hole for Klopp's playing style.

 

[roadkill1292]

Yeah, I think being a Bayern fan almost invariably makes you follow the Champions League more than the Bundesliga. At least as long at there's not a team that looks like an insurgent likely to stay (as Dortmund appeared to be). I don't think Bayern are going to measure themselves against Wolfsburg. They're going to measure themselves against Barcelona and Madrid.

What exactly is Bayern's advantage over the other Bundesliga clubs? More supporters? Or is there really nothing specific and they are just out-managing everybody else?

Success breeds economic resources that are extremely difficult to overcome.

But it's also my understanding that the Bundesliga's financial model pretty much precludes teams from accruing debt because the "50+1" model eliminates the possibility of takeovers by private investors (who generally raise the money for takeovers by leveraging a lot of debt the way the Glazers have). The Bundesliga has also required teams to submit budget reports similar to those required by Financial Fair Play for many years. Just as many of us in this thread have pointed out that Financial Fair Play protects the "haves" vs. the "have-nots" the Bundesliga's rules really protect Bayern. They have a huge revenue lead on Dortmund and Schalke and those clubs have no way to grow through debt. And Bayern, of course never has to face debt payments coming home to roost.

So they've built up the biggest supporter base over the years which means the biggest revenue base, and winning means more supporters keep coming on board.

You know, I don't know if I trust people who latch onto one of the big clubs right out of the gate. That's a sign of character weakness..............................shader.

UNFAIR

You're actually an ok guy for a frontrunning bandwagoner.

 

[roadkill1292]

When Chelsea get the inevitable new manager bump in performance, that's just gonna put Soton one more team closer to the bad zone.

 

[shader]

Yeah, I think being a Bayern fan almost invariably makes you follow the Champions League more than the Bundesliga. At least as long at there's not a team that looks like an insurgent likely to stay (as Dortmund appeared to be). I don't think Bayern are going to measure themselves against Wolfsburg. They're going to measure themselves against Barcelona and Madrid.

What exactly is Bayern's advantage over the other Bundesliga clubs? More supporters? Or is there really nothing specific and they are just out-managing everybody else?

Success breeds economic resources that are extremely difficult to overcome.

But it's also my understanding that the Bundesliga's financial model pretty much precludes teams from accruing debt because the "50+1" model eliminates the possibility of takeovers by private investors (who generally raise the money for takeovers by leveraging a lot of debt the way the Glazers have). The Bundesliga has also required teams to submit budget reports similar to those required by Financial Fair Play for many years. Just as many of us in this thread have pointed out that Financial Fair Play protects the "haves" vs. the "have-nots" the Bundesliga's rules really protect Bayern. They have a huge revenue lead on Dortmund and Schalke and those clubs have no way to grow through debt. And Bayern, of course never has to face debt payments coming home to roost.

So they've built up the biggest supporter base over the years which means the biggest revenue base, and winning means more supporters keep coming on board.

You know, I don't know if I trust people who latch onto one of the big clubs right out of the gate. That's a sign of character weakness..............................shader.

UNFAIR

You're actually an ok guy for a frontrunning bandwagoner.

Liverpool hasn't won the league in years. I don't know how that's choosing a front-running team!

 

[Sammy3469]

So the Meadowlands gets the final, but what looks like a relative pu-pu platter of crap with no US/Mexico/Argentina/Brazil first round matches. Taking the little one to Bolivia-Jamaica doesn't seem that interesting at this point.

 

[Native]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Bitterness and jealousy. Manchester United, Manchester City and even Liverpool net spent more than Chelsea this season.

 

[The Gator]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because most of their fans are like- "why haven't we gone after that Leicester City manager before, he's seems to know what he's doing"

 

[Native]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because most of their fans are like- "why haven't we gone after that Leicester City manager before, he's seems to know what he's doing"

Oh jeez

 

[Jaysus]

lol @ gator

 

[CGRdrJoe]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because most of their fans are like- "why haven't we gone after that Leicester City manager before, he's seems to know what he's doing"

 

[AAABatteries]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because most of their fans are like- "why haven't we gone after that Leicester City manager before, he's seems to know what he's doing"

Oh jeez

 

[AAABatteries]

Wait, Liverpool fans are frontrunners? Is it 1990 again?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

OMG we got a Team USA game!

 

[roadkill1292]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

 

[AAABatteries]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

 

[B Maverick]

Sorry, I forgot shader was a Liverpool guy. I remember him tinkering with the idea of supporting ManU when he first arrived on the scene. That made me blind with anger and apparently affected my memory.

Yep, United fans are the worst. Like Hitler and OBL had a litter of babies.

Yeah eff those fans!

And those noisy neighbor City come lately fans.

And the Arsenal just happy to be top 4 fans.

and the Liverpool we once were great fans

 

[CletiusMaximus]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Because most of their fans are like- "why haven't we gone after that Leicester City manager before, he's seems to know what he's doing"

Yeah, its the Liverpool fans who are the ancient history buffs ...

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

So being a n00b trying to learn the ropes (all of these damn leagues are overwhelming).

What's with the apparent Chelsea hate in here?

Bitterness and jealousy. Manchester United, Manchester City and even Liverpool net spent more than Chelsea this season.

Chelsea is likely going to have to take a bath to refresh the team though. Last summer they could have sold Hazard and Costa for over 150,000,000 pounds, I reckon. That could have pretty much funded the needed refresh with a net spend of zero. This season has seriously depleted their value. I'm sure they'd fetch decent asking prices, but not astronomical ones like 6 months ago.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Truth be told, the wheels started coming off the Chelsea "Bus" with three months left in the 2014-15 season. They built up such a huge lead in the EPL during the first part of the season that a late season decline didnt impact their title chances. But everyone saw it. There attack became increasingly predictable, yet Jose did little to change either tactics or personnel. So in many ways its not surprising that Chelsea struggled out of the gate this year. With the excepton of Zouma (and maybe Pedro), he essentially fielded the same team again this year which faltered down the stretch last season.

This is certainly true, but Chelsea still ground out results. They had a blip over the holidays when City drew close, but City fell off while Chelsea rode Hazard and the defense to a bunch of 1-0 wins.

I do think that the game got much less easy for Chelsea once teams decided to deny Cesc space when on the ball no matter what. It forced Hazard to beat them. Last year he could do it. This year, not so much.

 

[NewlyRetired]

So the Meadowlands gets the final, but what looks like a relative pu-pu platter of crap with no US/Mexico/Argentina/Brazil first round matches. Taking the little one to Bolivia-Jamaica doesn't seem that interesting at this point.

you could easily get a US Brazil quarter final game there though. That would be pretty sweet.

 

[Eephus]

I think a new philosophy and an attacking style of play and Chelsea will immediately start winning. Won't finish top four, that's practically impossible. But they can get to a respectable position and compete, though not win, in the CL.

The problem is that Chelsea is going to have to attract talent, and they won't have CL to offer. Not sure how important that is, but when you look at the 40M they spend to get rid of Mourinho, and the 30M they will lose next year without CL, that has to put a dent in the finances. Especially for a team that has gotten older and has a lot of holes.

I haven't followed soccer long enough to know much about available coaches, but I think Rodgers would be a strange choice, unless it's an interim/audition type of thing. But he stunk in Europe and that's practically the only thing Chelsea has to play for the rest of the year.

Maybe Rodgers will go there and buy Benteke for 28M in a few weeks, as that purchase by Rodgers over the summer seems like a square peg in a round hole for Klopp's playing style.

I have nussing to say

 

[Native]

Truth be told, the wheels started coming off the Chelsea "Bus" with three months left in the 2014-15 season. They built up such a huge lead in the EPL during the first part of the season that a late season decline didnt impact their title chances. But everyone saw it. There attack became increasingly predictable, yet Jose did little to change either tactics or personnel. So in many ways its not surprising that Chelsea struggled out of the gate this year. With the excepton of Zouma (and maybe Pedro), he essentially fielded the same team again this year which faltered down the stretch last season.

This is certainly true, but Chelsea still ground out results. They had a blip over the holidays when City drew close, but City fell off while Chelsea rode Hazard and the defense to a bunch of 1-0 wins.

I do think that the game got much less easy for Chelsea once teams decided to deny Cesc space when on the ball no matter what. It forced Hazard to beat them. Last year he could do it. This year, not so much.

Agree about Costa, but not Hazard. Hes still just 24 and can attract top dollar if a club by Real or Bayern come knocking. But I dont believe he's going anywhere.

FWIW, I can trace a direct correlation between the club selling Andre Schurlle and the team sinking into downward spiral. Never should have let that kid go.