The Soccer Thread

[davie]

LOL at Arsenal and Lol Campbell. I guess Fabianski is why they settle for 'tier 100' goalkeeping.

Fiorentina got harsh decisions against them. Klose [who shouldn't have been on the pitch] was offside, Van Bommel should have been sent off. No complaints about the Gobbi red card since the elbow was used.

[1ke]

Yesterday...Milan were much better in the first half and have to pissed at themselves for not scoring when they should have thanks to Jonny Evans thinking it was still christmas season.

I feel like this about it....Pato ate Evra alive, Ronaldinho(sp) ate the entire midfield and defense alive. Pirlo and Ambrosini had a excellent first half, but kinda got lost in the 2nd. Huntlaar at least looked like he was playig in the first, but with Milan not having the ball much in the second, he disappeared even more.

For Utd....Evans needs didnt llok ready, Rio played better as the game went on, (yes Davie he fouled him), Evra get getting skinned by Pato, then kept fouling him - repeat all game -. Rafael played decent. Nani was Nani of 2009, Fletcher didnt hack as many people as I thought he would, Scholes worked hard and got lucky. Park to me was awesome playing the CF role, which he plays for South Korea. And then there's Rooney. Playing alone, and without the ball much in the first half, I didnt think he had many chances to do much. That obvioulsy changed in the second, and he just kept working Silva and Nesta. Great result, I was skeptical they could do int in the San Siro.

The rest....Real Madrid looked very very average against OL. LOL at Arsenal....Fiorentina got absolutely screwed by the refs in Germany. Poor poor Viola.....

[calgaryballer]

Sounds like there were four very nice goals scored at Goodison today. Berbatov got one for Man U, only for Bilyatednov, Gosling and Rodwell to score great goals in reply

[calgaryballer]

Newcastle is in a position to six points clear again. Peter Lovenkrands has been playing great of late

[BigHouseUSA]

Berbatov's was just a tap-in, and Rodwell's was a nice run. The other two were pretty nice long shots though.

[calgaryballer]

Berbatov's was just a tap-in, and Rodwell's was a nice run. The other two were pretty nice long shots though.

That was the most violent tap in ever then

I thought it was nice control of Valencia's cross too

[1ke]

lol....Yea Berba had more of a tap Id say. Rodwell had a nice shot, Gosling's goal was fortunate, but after what Scholes did on Teusday, I cant bitch too much.

The Russian's goal though was spectacular. United got killed today.

[davie]

Berbatov's was just a tap-in, and Rodwell's was a nice run. The other two were pretty nice long shots though.

Gosling's was a tap in.

Bilyaletdinov (sp?) scored the best goal.

[Bigpapa42]

So Wayne Bridge said no to England call-up as he doesn't think being in the same dressing room as John Terry would be a good idea.

[davie]

With Capello's negativity he'll probably just put a centre back there, or someone athletic (Micah Richards?) if he doesn't use Warnock or Baines.

[Bigpapa42]

Fuck Ryan Shawcross. Fuck the EPL for doing nothing to stop that shit.

[wr50l]

Oh piss off Arsene, Cesc and BigPapa - the tackle was a legitimate 50-50 ball which was timed badly. Studs weren't showing, foot wasn't planted onto Ramsey's ankle. Quit being bitch-made Arsenal, the world isn't conspiring against you.

[Archer]

Lol @ Cesc asking for more protection

They sent him off ... what more do they want? They want the ref to step in the way of the tackle? It was clumsy and badly timed and nothing more

[Bigpapa42]

Oh piss off Arsene, Cesc and BigPapa - the tackle was a legitimate 50-50 ball which was timed badly. Studs weren't showing, foot wasn't planted onto Ramsey's ankle. Quit being bitch-made Arsenal, the world isn't conspiring against you.

It wasn't a horror tackle. It was a poor decision and a "wild lunge" which had a terrible result. My issue with such things is that the consequences to the offending player don't change at all based on the outcome of that poor decision. That simply doesn't make sense to me. In other sports, the consequences depend on the result. In hockey, a high stick or cross check is going to be penalized based on the result. If you just knock the player down, you get 2 minutes. If you manage to severely but unintentionally injure the player and put them out of the sport for a year, the consequences will be more severe. That is simply understood - the league is going to hand out a suspension for it. It is the combination of the poor decision, reckless play, and outcome that determine the consequences. But not in soccer.

[Prodigal Son]

The EPL will suspend people if they feel they purposely tried to hurt someone or depending on how reckless the challenge was that caused an injury. The same can be said about the NHL. Scott Stevens nearly killed half the NHL, yet if my memory serves me right, he never served a long suspension.