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

[NewlyRetired]

====================

Speaking of his experience at Inter, Shaq revealed an anecdote: "One time I was injured and I needed to be ready for a game. They told me that there was a miraculous healer who lived in the mountains. I drove for half an hour in a car to have been manipulated by an old man, but he did not help me at all. This is also why Stoke City was the best choice: here there are seven physiotherapists, who will examine me everyday: hips, feet, legs. Everything in a professional manner".

 

[NewlyRetired]

Landon Donovan and Warren Barton have purchased an NPSL team based in San Diego.

They have pulled the team out of the NPSL and will be applying to move the team up to the USL as an expansion side.

This is a very shrewd move IMO. San Diego could easily be a fertile MLS market in the future and Landon might be positioning the team to make the leap some day should they find the money men.

 

[Tom Hagen]

How do you NOT fire LvG at this point? Its like he's telling them NOT to attack. And every sub he makes is weird.

I know he's had plenty of success in the past, but when I watched the Dutch at the WC, it kinda seemed like their only strategy was just hoofing it down into space and letting Robben run it down and do magic.

Who would you get to run the team if you do fire LVG? Giggs is not ready (and should go coach elsewhere before taking over). As bad as LVG is, he is still in the FA Cup (barely), still in the hunt for the top 4 (barely) and still in view of the title (remotely). Despite RM making a change while still in contention for the CL and La Liga, I am not sure you can fire LVG without a top manager ready to go.

And his subbing is ridiculous. Has been all season.

Top managers are hard to find but I feel like there must be a special one available.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Unbelievable how far we've come.

@worldsoccertalk

NBCSN will feature Spurs U21 v Chelsea U21 Monday at 2:30pm ET. Its the 1st-ever U21 EPL match on US TV #CFC #THFC

Carter-Vickers should play for the Spurs, for those that want to watch a possible young stud for the USMNT.

Chelsea also houses a talented young US international by the name of Kyle Scot.

He is one of those cats that has eligibility for a ton of countries but for now he has represented the US.

I do not know how much he plays, if at all, for the U21's but he broke into the Chelsea U18's as a 15 year old.

Scott is not in the team today, unfortunately. Just from his pictures, he's a weird looking dude, but has gotten a fair bit of play the past 12 months or so with the U21's and has reported done very well.

For Chelsea fans, the most exciting prospects playing today are Colkett, Musonda and Abraham.

Carter-Vickers is in the first XI for Spurs. Hopefully he'll get stuck in with Chelsea's CB Jake Clarke-Salter, for an all-hypenated dust-up.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

very boring suit worn by Messi today - no polka dots, sequins, or gaudy stripes. Plain black tux by the looks of it.

 

[B Maverick]

How do you NOT fire LvG at this point? Its like he's telling them NOT to attack. And every sub he makes is weird.

I know he's had plenty of success in the past, but when I watched the Dutch at the WC, it kinda seemed like their only strategy was just hoofing it down into space and letting Robben run it down and do magic.

Who would you get to run the team if you do fire LVG? Giggs is not ready (and should go coach elsewhere before taking over). As bad as LVG is, he is still in the FA Cup (barely), still in the hunt for the top 4 (barely) and still in view of the title (remotely). Despite RM making a change while still in contention for the CL and La Liga, I am not sure you can fire LVG without a top manager ready to go.

And his subbing is ridiculous. Has been all season.

Top managers are hard to find but I feel like there must be a special one available.

And I disagree in him being a good choice to fix a team. If you want to take a good team and make it great and dont care that they will be destroyed two years later? Want to see all the youth loaned out? Sure get him.

Im not sure United is a good team.

 

[Sebowski]

Landon Donovan and Warren Barton have purchased an NPSL team based in San Diego.

They have pulled the team out of the NPSL and will be applying to move the team up to the USL as an expansion side.

This is a very shrewd move IMO. San Diego could easily be a fertile MLS market in the future and Landon might be positioning the team to make the leap some day should they find the money men.

 

[El Floppo]

BS non-PK call for S####horpe

P.S. they call them the s####s, right?

COME ON YOU S####S

 

[Sebowski]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

 

[B Maverick]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

 

[Sebowski]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

 

[B Maverick]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

Marc Wilmots had Neuer #1 (then DeBruyne, Hazard).

 

[Slapdash]

Neuer probably should have won in 14 IMO

 

[El Floppo]

BS non-PK call for S####horpe

P.S. they call them the s####s, right?

COME ON YOU S####S

link

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Carter-Vickers just had a nice assist, to Cothirst for his second goal today

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

We just happen to have some of the greatest goal scorers of all time right now. Kaka was an all-around midfielder when he won. Cannavaro won two years earlier. But Messi and Ronaldo (and I'd say Neymar and Suarez) are now putting up absurd types of stats. Maybe someone like Ozil could make the shortlist if he finishes with 25+ league assists, or maybe if Atletico end up winning La Liga by giving up less than .5 goals a game (and have another great Champions League run) someone like Godin or Oblak could get a shout next year.

Seems pretty par for the course for all sports. Nobody wins an NFL, or AL, or NBA MVP award for defense (OK, Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor won the NFL MVP).

 

[El Floppo]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

We just happen to have some of the greatest goal scorers of all time right now. Kaka was an all-around midfielder when he won. Cannavaro won two years earlier. But Messi and Ronaldo (and I'd say Neymar and Suarez) are now putting up absurd types of stats. Maybe someone like Ozil could make the shortlist if he finishes with 25+ league assists, or maybe if Atletico end up winning La Liga by giving up less than .5 goals a game (and have another great Champions League run) someone like Godin or Oblak could get a shout next year.

Seems pretty par for the course for all sports. Nobody wins an NFL, or AL, or NBA MVP award for defense (OK, Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor won the NFL MVP).

and Messi/CRo are arguably in the GOAT tiers...so them winning every year is not exactly a thing worthy of complaint, IMO. and I thought Xavi was capable of wining one of those years, if not for the insanity being done in front of him.

zidane's won this a couple of times. mattheus, kaka, figo... and cannavaro.

not sure who's supposed to win this if not these guys.

 

[El Floppo]

just looked at google... ollie kahn, roberto carlos, maldini... all were top 3.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

just looked at google... ollie kahn, roberto carlos, maldini... all were top 3.

When Cannavaro won, Buffon was 2nd. The rare defensive exacta. Of course, that was year Italy won the World Cup without giving up a goal in open play.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Carter-Vickers just had a nice assist, to Cothirst for his second goal today

This was pretty fun, back and forth. Andros Townsend scored 2 for Spurs in the span of about 90 seconds to draw it even at 4-4 late in the second half, before Clarke-Salter scored the winner in stoppage time for the Chels U21s. Some great young loan candidates out there for the Chelsea youth today.

 

[Slapdash]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

We just happen to have some of the greatest goal scorers of all time right now. Kaka was an all-around midfielder when he won. Cannavaro won two years earlier. But Messi and Ronaldo (and I'd say Neymar and Suarez) are now putting up absurd types of stats. Maybe someone like Ozil could make the shortlist if he finishes with 25+ league assists, or maybe if Atletico end up winning La Liga by giving up less than .5 goals a game (and have another great Champions League run) someone like Godin or Oblak could get a shout next year.

Seems pretty par for the course for all sports. Nobody wins an NFL, or AL, or NBA MVP award for defense (OK, Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor won the NFL MVP).

and Messi/CRo are arguably in the GOAT tiers...so them winning every year is not exactly a thing worthy of complaint, IMO. and I thought Xavi was capable of wining one of those years, if not for the insanity being done in front of him.

zidane's won this a couple of times. mattheus, kaka, figo... and cannavaro.

not sure who's supposed to win this if not these guys.

Sneijder in 2010 is another one I thought made a strong case

 

[B Maverick]

Of course its an off year to complain, messi and ronaldo both deserve. But when a forward has won it all but like 3 times, something is not right. Well not equal. And you guys are right, its like complaining when Jordan won all those MVPs...

 

[Jaysus]

Which Of These Are Real Soccer Teams That Played In The FA Cup This Weekend?P.S. 17/20

 

[El Floppo]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

We just happen to have some of the greatest goal scorers of all time right now. Kaka was an all-around midfielder when he won. Cannavaro won two years earlier. But Messi and Ronaldo (and I'd say Neymar and Suarez) are now putting up absurd types of stats. Maybe someone like Ozil could make the shortlist if he finishes with 25+ league assists, or maybe if Atletico end up winning La Liga by giving up less than .5 goals a game (and have another great Champions League run) someone like Godin or Oblak could get a shout next year.

Seems pretty par for the course for all sports. Nobody wins an NFL, or AL, or NBA MVP award for defense (OK, Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor won the NFL MVP).

and Messi/CRo are arguably in the GOAT tiers...so them winning every year is not exactly a thing worthy of complaint, IMO. and I thought Xavi was capable of wining one of those years, if not for the insanity being done in front of him.

zidane's won this a couple of times. mattheus, kaka, figo... and cannavaro.

not sure who's supposed to win this if not these guys.

Sneijder in 2010 is another one I thought made a strong case

he was awesome and a huge factor for my Inter's magical year. but that was a year, IIRC, where Xavi was killing it too. and Iniesta. and especially Messi.

I remember making the claim in here that year that he was the top #10 in the world... but rightly got chopped down by having forgotten Xavi.

 

[El Floppo]

Which Of These Are Real Soccer Teams That Played In The FA Cup This Weekend?

P.S. 17/20

18/20

there were a lot more fake ones than I expected. also guessed at a bunch that didn't sound quite right.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

18/20. I play too much FIFA. Once took Plymouth Argyle to the Treble.

 

[B Maverick]

Which Of These Are Real Soccer Teams That Played In The FA Cup This Weekend?

P.S. 17/20

damn i only got 13/20. Guess it was because I was bored to death by Manchester United vs Sheffield United and didnt pay attention to the rest.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

18/20

 

[The Gator]

17/20

PS. Caulker, eh?

 

[NewlyRetired]

17/20 but I thought I did better. Did they give an answer key? I figure the ones I got wrong were ones I said "fake" when they were real.

 

[B Maverick]

ready for another lackluster performance from United... The tree is starting

Rooney

Martial Herrera Lingard

Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

Damnit LVG! not only is he playing the most useless player but he is playing him out of position. He can't win a header and for every good pass he commits 2 fouls and a giveaway ball. He can chest trap like no other, but then cant pass to anyone after. and hes slow as hell.

So many better options!

Rooney

Martial Herrera Lingard

Carrick Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

Rooney

Martial Mata Lingard

Herrera Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

Martial

Memphis Rooney Lingard

Herrera Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

Martial

Memphis Herrera Lingard

Carrick Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

ETA you SELL Fellaini, you dont START him, or even play him!

 

[B Maverick]

maybe the next United coach will try something daring like:

Martial

Memphis Herrera Mata Lingard

Scheiderlin

Darmian Blind Smalling Young

De Gea

Wouldnt that be fun to see!

 

[Jaysus]

No, needs mo'

 

[B Maverick]

No, needs mo'

 

[Jaysus]

Who had Leeds with the 1st goal of the day? It only took them 11 seconds! #DUKE

 

[B Maverick]

Who had Leeds with the 1st goal of the day? It only took them 11 seconds! #DUKE

damn i had Newcastle at 6:38

 

[gianmarco]

Swans have fired Gary Monk. Brendan Rogers rumors are flying high.

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/swansea-city-part-company-with-garry-monk-2843467.aspx

I'm a big fan of continuity but it was time for him to go. He consistently trotted out the same formation and players and the results never changed. To be fair they never found an adequate replacement for Bony. Gomis is flat out horrible and lazy.

On the positive side, Monk's sacking frees him up to take the England job.

In retrospect, it's easy to say he lacked the experience for a top-flight job but he got good results for a while. I don't understand why they had a quiet summer. They needed to find a goalscorer to replace Bony and Eder wasn't it. The bottom half of the league is so competitive now that if a team isn't improving, it's falling behind.

And players get jaded. And as more new players are brought in, less and less of the team gives a crap that their manager was a club legend because they have no link to him. Montero looked absolutely electric in his first few games, but he's a guy who appears to quickly stop giving a crap when things get tough. Ayew, at least, has been pretty productive. When Jonjo Shelvey is, by far, your best CM, the league is going to catch up with you.

Not anymore.....Shelvey to Newcastle

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Some funny votes:

Togo coach voted for Kevin De Bruyne

Lewandowski voted gave a 2nd place vote to Aturo Vidal

Ronaldo voted for Benzema

Messi voted for Suarez

Fiji media vote went to Mascherano

Yaya, Lewandowski, Iniesta, and Sanchez all got multiple first place votes.

The Ballon d'Or is a meaningless award imo. Seems very much like the Heisman has become. If you arent a goal scorer (QB) you cant win. And as you can see the voting is sad.

Do you disagree with the results?

do i disagree with Messi winning? No, not particularly. Messi and Ronaldo are the best in the world, either one winning is fine. I disagree with the fact that it is an award for scorers only. Like the heisman basically being for QBs only.

We just happen to have some of the greatest goal scorers of all time right now. Kaka was an all-around midfielder when he won. Cannavaro won two years earlier. But Messi and Ronaldo (and I'd say Neymar and Suarez) are now putting up absurd types of stats. Maybe someone like Ozil could make the shortlist if he finishes with 25+ league assists, or maybe if Atletico end up winning La Liga by giving up less than .5 goals a game (and have another great Champions League run) someone like Godin or Oblak could get a shout next year.

Seems pretty par for the course for all sports. Nobody wins an NFL, or AL, or NBA MVP award for defense (OK, Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor won the NFL MVP).

and Messi/CRo are arguably in the GOAT tiers...so them winning every year is not exactly a thing worthy of complaint, IMO. and I thought Xavi was capable of wining one of those years, if not for the insanity being done in front of him.

zidane's won this a couple of times. mattheus, kaka, figo... and cannavaro.

not sure who's supposed to win this if not these guys.

Sneijder in 2010 is another one I thought made a strong case

he was awesome and a huge factor for my Inter's magical year. but that was a year, IIRC, where Xavi was killing it too. and Iniesta. and especially Messi.

I remember making the claim in here that year that he was the top #10 in the world... but rightly got chopped down by having forgotten Xavi.

Xavi really wasn't a number 10, though. He was a great passer, never under 90% pass completion, with lots of key passes, but he didn't really post double-digit assists or anything.

The argument for Sneijder in 2010 is that he was the probably the best player in the 09/10 Champions League for Inter (3 goals, 7 assists in 11 apps) and the best player for the runners up at the World Cup (5 goals, 4 MoTM awards in 7 matches). But he probably wasn't his team's best player in either of the two halves of the two Serie A seasons. Milito had 20 goals in the 09/10 season (and 6 in the CL, including 2 in the final). Eto'o had 21 in the 10/11 season. Sneijder had 4 goals/8 assists in 09/10 and 4 and 6 in 10/11.

 

[B Maverick]

fellaini with a great assist for Newcastle

 

[El Floppo]

totally disagree about Xavi, regardless of his stats. that team flowed through him- which by my definition, is the #10. it could be made a little murkier because Iniesta and Messi et al were constantly buzzing around him and pretty equally involved, albeit further up the field or more towards the flanks.

and Sneijder, likewise, ran the show for Inter that year. no Sneijd, and no Milito and Eto'o scoring those goals or Inter winning.

I don't care about goal/assist stats- I care about what I saw on the field.

 

[Eephus]

Swans have fired Gary Monk. Brendan Rogers rumors are flying high.

http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/swansea-city-part-company-with-garry-monk-2843467.aspx

I'm a big fan of continuity but it was time for him to go. He consistently trotted out the same formation and players and the results never changed. To be fair they never found an adequate replacement for Bony. Gomis is flat out horrible and lazy.

On the positive side, Monk's sacking frees him up to take the England job.

In retrospect, it's easy to say he lacked the experience for a top-flight job but he got good results for a while. I don't understand why they had a quiet summer. They needed to find a goalscorer to replace Bony and Eder wasn't it. The bottom half of the league is so competitive now that if a team isn't improving, it's falling behind.

And players get jaded. And as more new players are brought in, less and less of the team gives a crap that their manager was a club legend because they have no link to him. Montero looked absolutely electric in his first few games, but he's a guy who appears to quickly stop giving a crap when things get tough. Ayew, at least, has been pretty productive. When Jonjo Shelvey is, by far, your best CM, the league is going to catch up with you.

Not anymore.....Shelvey to Newcastle

I'm not sure what Swansea is up to. Sacking Monk was probably the right thing to do based on form but they did it without an obvious plan B. Alan Curtis was a good choice for a caretaker although he's now been confirmed through the end of the season which seems extremely conservative. He has them playing nominally better though. The logical question is whether the inability to hire a bigger name from outside the organization was due to a lack of ambition and unwillingness to commit funds in the January window.

The team has some talent but not enough to distinguish them from the other bottom half clubs. The big need is for a goal scorer which is always easier said than done. Selling Shelvey should free up some money for a forward. Curtis seems to have favored Leon Britton over Shelvey since he arrived.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Is Pirlo a #10? The game flows through him, but he's rarely gets within 25 yards of his opponent's goal. I think of a #10 as a player who plays between the lines. Xavi never really did. Defenses generally had both banks of four set up in front of him.

 

[Eephus]

Is Pirlo a #10? The game flows through him, but he's rarely gets within 25 yards of his opponent's goal. I think of a #10 as a player who plays between the lines. Xavi never really did. Defenses generally had both banks of four set up in front of him.

He's a regista/deep-lying playmaker. The #10 role is generally more of a CAM.

 

[B Maverick]

united have lost all composure after another bs penalty call. Lingard missing a sitter looming large

eta both players grappling, Newcatle player as guily as smalling and refs never call that!

 

[B Maverick]

2 subs in a fellaini is still on the pitch?!!?!?

 

[Christo]

united have lost all composure after another bs penalty call. Lingard missing a sitter looming large

eta both players grappling, Newcatle player as guily as smalling and refs never call that!

 

[Christo]

Mitrovic didn't start "grappling" until Smalling had him nearly on the ground.

 

[B Maverick]

ROONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[B Maverick]

united have lost all composure after another bs penalty call. Lingard missing a sitter looming large

eta both players grappling, Newcatle player as guily as smalling and refs never call that!

Mitrovic didn't start "grappling" until Smalling had him nearly on the ground.

Mitrovic had Smalling by the head and the throat and threw him down as much as Smalling did.

And since when did refs start calling these?