The Soccer Thread

[calgaryballer]

Big el Classico today. Madrid can really pile the pressure on. Game starts at noon MST (2 est)

 

[calgaryballer]

Madrid up 1-0 early on a nice Higuan goal

 

[calgaryballer]

Barca up 2-1! I closed it for like 5 minutes and the game has been turned on its head

 

[calgaryballer]

3-1! Barca have pretty much ended it

 

[calgaryballer]

Barca have all but won the title after that 6-2 destruction

 

[Bigpapa42]

Man, I ended up running errands this afternoon and completely forgotten about the Classico. Dammit.

 

[calgaryballer]

Newcastle smashed again 3 games left.

At this point, I almost want to go down. Joey Barton again proved he's a useless thug, getting sent off for a terrible challenge against Xabi Alonso. Maybe we can sell some dead weight and find a decent manager in the Championship

 

[Bigpapa42]

You don't think they'll stick with Shearer if/when they drop?

 

[calgaryballer]

You don't think they'll stick with Shearer if/when they drop?

I hope not. I wasn't a fan when they hired him, but hoped maybe he'd be inspirational or something. He knows nothing about tactics or management.

 

[Bigpapa42]

I hope not. I wasn't a fan when they hired him, but hoped maybe he'd be inspirational or something. He knows nothing about tactics or management.

It would be a risk, but a season (or two) in the Championship could be a good place for him to learn...

 

[wr50l]

I'm pretty sure Shearer has absolutely no aspirations to continue with Newcastle next year and never has. He is quite happy with his spot on the BBC and I think only took the job as a desperate attempt to try and save the club he loves.

 

[calgaryballer]

United have officially laid the groundwork for Christiano to leave with a 63 million pound offer for RIbery

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/...franck-ribery-bayern-munich-cristiano-ronaldo

 

[Senser81]

Arsenal's defense has been questionable all year. They are still a solid team, but I think they lost too many guys at relatively the same time (Henry, Hleb, Rosicky to yet another injury) and they haven't really been able to reload. Van Persie gets injured too much, Adebayor is a head case, and IMO Nasri and Fabergas are too content to let the game come to them. I don't think they have a leader in the offensive end.

 

[Bmore]

I need some help Fifa fans!!!

http://www.virtualsportsnetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?p=356590#post356590

 

[calgaryballer]

Essiens goal was incredible today. Iniesta's wasn't half bad either

 

[ATL Jones Bro]

Can't wait for Barcelona and Machester United game! May 27th. Ronaldo and Messi in the same game, it should be good.

 

[Bigpapa42]

Well, its no real consolation for Arsenal failing to make the final, but really glad to see Barcelona in there over Manchester United. Now please please please Barcelona, don't let United repeat!

 

[wr50l]

Chelsea got absolutely screwed by the referee, a victory for football I suppose but I know I wouldn't be happy if I was a Chelsea fan/player/official.

Didier Drogba looked right into the camera at the end of the game and said "it's a disgrace, it's a disgrace, it's a fucking disgrace" the last bit obviously wasn't widely heard because Sky Sports then decided to show his antics again ten minutes later with a very sudden cutoff and apology. Funny stuff.

 

[Senser81]

Chelsea got absolutely screwed by the referee, a victory for football I suppose but I know I wouldn't be happy if I was a Chelsea fan/player/official.

Didier Drogba looked right into the camera at the end of the game and said "it's a disgrace, it's a disgrace, it's a fucking disgrace" the last bit obviously wasn't widely heard because Sky Sports then decided to show his antics again ten minutes later with a very sudden cutoff and apology. Funny stuff.

LOL at Drogba's antics after the game. It was also funny seeing the ref standing on the field, surrounding by security guards, and showing yellow card after yellow card to complaining Chelsea players.

Chelsea is a disgrace to soccer. Just the way they play the game is disgusting, dependent on diving and winning set pieces. Their behavior was so pathetic it was comical. Michael Ballack running after the ref at the end of the game...that was more than Ballack has run all season. I chalk it up to "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"...players like Drogba dive so much that its hard to distinguish actual foul from flop. Here are my thoughts on the talking points:

*I thought the 1st game was incredibly ugly. Chelsea did nothing but foul. Barcelona thought the refs were too stringent in giving out cards. Oh well.

*One point I'd like to make is that Barcelona was denied a corner kick at the end of the first half. The ref blew his whistle after Barca had won the corner, which I found to be very odd. I thought it was funny that Chelsea was able to take their corner 7 minutes into '3-minute extra time'. It was this corner that ended up with Ballack blasting the ball off Etoo's arm...so I can only image the outrage in Barcelona had Chelsea been given a penalty (and basically the match) so incredibly late into extra time.

*Part way thru the 1st half, Malouda went down on the edge of the box. I thought it was ok that the ref gave Chelsea a free kick and not a penalty because the foul was questionable and Malouda's dramatics were pathetic. Come on...falling over backward?

*Drogba had the best chance to put the game away early in the 2nd half. I thought he did well and got an open shot, but he might have taken too much time. Either way, Valdes had to make a desperate save.

*Moments later, Drogba went down in the box by a Toure tackle. I thought Toure got the ball, but it seemed that all game Barca defenders would get into bad 1-on-1 situations and they would clutch and grab Drogba and Anelka outside the box.

*The red card given to Abidal was an awful call, because he was too far away from Anelka to have made contact with him. I understand the ref's decision, because Barcelona was playing with fire all match by getting caught in bad position and jostling with the Chelsea strikers. But I think its ironic that Chelsea is bitching and moaning, because IMO the worst call all night went against Barcelona, and gave Chelsea a man advantage with a one-goal lead. Everything was in Chelsea's favor at this point.

*In the 79th minute, Anelka went down in the box with Toure running alongside him. I thought a penalty would have been fair, because Toure's hands were all over Anelka. But it was 50/50, since there really wasn't any reason for Anelka to fall down.

*I think Pique's handball was the biggest injustice to Chelsea. Should have been called, but perhaps the ref was gun-shy after botching the Abidal red card?

*The Ballack blast into Eto'o wasn't a handball IMO. Eto'o turned his back and shielded his face with his arm, and the ball hit off his armpit. I don't think the ref wanted the match decided by something so chintzy.

 

[FirstTimer]

Can't wait for May 27th!

Man U FTW