The Ultimate Football Thread 2013-2014 Vol. 4 EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc

[tomdiginson]

You're the one who has doubted Arsenal this entire year, you know nothing.

I have ?

I feel bad for Norwich.Hopefully they manage to stay in the prem league. Not gonna lie, Arsenal looks dangerous :x .

I think you're the one who knows nothing

 

[Kimchi Papi]

So Chelsea was the club adidas wanted Messi to go to this past summer huh?

@ the thought of Messi with Jose...

 

[hoosiergunner]

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Excellent rebuttal!

Van Persie was good last year for 15 more goals than his direct replacement Olivier Giroud. Even if let's say he only got 10 more than Giroud had he stayed with Arsenal that would have given them the best goal differential in the league and thus been the expected winners of the league. Doesn't mean they would have won it, but for you to think they had no chance is just ignorance. Not to mention it surely would have cost United some goals depending on who their alternate targets would have been.

 

[champcruthik]

Tuning into Barca/Milan at the office. We don't get FS2 or Plus unfortunately.

 

[tomdiginson]

Excellent rebuttal!

Van Persie was good last year for 15 more goals than his direct replacement Olivier Giroud. Even if let's say he only got 10 more than Giroud had he stayed with Arsenal that would have given them the best goal differential in the league and thus been the expected winners of the league. Doesn't mean they would have won it, but for you to think they had no chance is just ignorance. Not to mention it surely would have cost United some goals depending on who their alternate targets would have been.

Nothing but pure speculation in your post. In that case, if he had went to Reading or QPR and they would have won the league as well then right ? Players don't always perform as well as they would on one team vs if they were on another. Its like saying Dempsey would've scored the same amount of goals if he were on tottenham instead of full ham during the 2011/12 season. Based off RVP stats he could possibly put out the same numbers, but dont you think it would have taken away from other players on the team in terms of goal scoring as well ? For example, Liverpool's win percentage and goals per game were better when Suarez wasn't playing compared to when he was playing during the 2012-13 season. Yeah he may have had games where he would score a good amount of goals, but it doesn't necessarily say that the team itself would improve.

 

[quik1987]

I will pop bottles if Man U misses champions league next year.

 

[hoosiergunner]

Nothing but pure speculation in your post. In that case, if he had went to Reading or QPR and they would have won the league as well then right ? Players don't always perform as well as they would on one team vs if they were on another. Its like saying Dempsey would've scored the same amount of goals if he were on tottenham instead of full ham during the 2011/12 season. Based off RVP stats he could possibly put out the same numbers, but dont you think it would have taken away from other players on the team in terms of goal scoring as well ? For example, Liverpool's win percentage and goals per game were better when Suarez wasn't playing compared to when he was playing during the 2012-13 season. Yeah he may have had games where he would score a good amount of goals, but it doesn't necessarily say that the team itself would improve.

Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. If he had went to Reading or QPR they would have won the league.

The Dempsey comparison is stupid. He went from being the focal point of the Fulham attack to a squad player with Spurs.

Suarez comparison is skewed by the fact that the majority of the games he has missed were after they had signed Coutinho and Sturridge in January. Also there was a struggle at the start of the season due to the managerial transition.

Van Persie went from the focal point of one attack to another. If getting a good player just takes away goals from others what is the point in signing a class player? Your argument makes no sense. Obviously my post is speculation, but for you to dismiss it is stupid. Do you honestly think that Arsenal wouldn't have been a better side last season with the leading scorer in the league leading the line? The numbers I just quickly used would have equated 22 goals for Van Persie in an Arsenal shirt, 10 more than the man playing his position. I think that is very conservative.

United were very lucky to win the league by the margin that they did. Their expected margin of victory was around 4.5 points (a little more than 5 over Arsenal) in the league based on past correlations between goal differential and points.

What I am saying is that if Van Persie hadn't been transferred that goal differential gap would have been gone. Now, United likely would have went out and signed a different striker, though I highly doubt they could have purchased anyone better than Van Persie. If you really think that he wasn't good for approximately 5-6 goals for Arsenal over Giroud and earned United 5-6 goals over who they would have played in that position you are daft.

 

[quik1987]

Man U fans will swear up and down that if they hadn't signed RVP Welbeck and Hernandez would have made up for the difference

 

[miketysonthekiller]

the leaked cameroon jersey is kinda tight. I feel like Mexico had that dark green at some point. Feeling the design though, would not rock/10

edit-this right here man
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View media item 643316

 

[imasoleman18]

just pointing this out, if van persie didnt sign for united last year NONE of us in this thread or anyone else in the would would have known what would have happend

 

[cs02132]

That Chicha miss we were talkin about earlier...

 

[tomdiginson]

Yep, that's exactly what I'm saying. If he had went to Reading or QPR they would have won the league.

Hey, I have to question it with some of the things said in this thread

Suarez comparison is skewed by the fact that the majority of the games he has missed were after they had signed Coutinho and Sturridge in January. Also there was a struggle at the start of the season due to the managerial transition.

You said the stats are skewed because it was after they signed players. Maybe its cause Im tired, but I belive what you are insinuating is its because Suarez barely had anytime to play with the Coutinho and Sturridge . If so, thats false and is nothing but pure foolishness. Its not like Suarez missed every one of the games since they signed said players. He played a good portion of the games along side with said players and their win percentage did not rise. They are comparing wins with and without Suarez. At the end of the day they still have a higher win percentage without Suarez. Im not gonna go through all the stats, but there were still games where the team struggled even with SAS and Coutinho playing. During the 2012-13 season , in total Couhtino played about 14 games with pool for the 2012/13 season . 9 of them with Suarez and Sturridge. Out of the 9 played with Suarez they only won 4 and lost or drew the other 5. Thats a 44% win percentage. Without Suarez for said season, they won 3 of 4 of their games which is 75%. If you combine the games from the previous season and the current without suarez playing, then it would be 7 wins of 9 games without Suarez. Which would be a 77%-78% win percentage.Individual player stats also increased without him playing. If you were to combine the games from last season with the addition of Sturridge and or Coutinho that Suarez played in, with the ones he played for the current season (15 games) then it would be 7 wins and 8 losses or draws.Which equates to a 46% win percentage. Either way you put it, the the win percentages are still significantly different.

Man U fans will swear up and down that if they hadn't signed RVP Welbeck and Hernandez would have made up for the difference

I'm not a Man U fan. However, I do believe if given enough playing time and being at the right club, Chicharito can bag some goals.

just pointing this out, if van persie didnt sign for united last year NONE of us in this thread or anyone else in the would would have known what would have happend

I agree, but some of us want to pass off our opinions as fact. We each are entitled to our opinion so I dont see what the big deal is. Hell, Arsenal could've retained his services and he could've had a terrible injury or could've flubbed for the entire season.

 

[Beans]

Gawd some of you are so petty.. The whole logic, " if (insert name) didnt sign for (insert name), you wouldn't have won anything" argument is so stupid and makes no actual point. In fact that argument can be used for any team EVER. I don't know if it's some sort of plot to impose the idea that the gaining team owes the old team something or what, but it's completely dumb. In case of this current arsenal/rvp/united logic, I'll remind you that arsenal had rvp when he had arguably his best season and didnt win a single trophy. United however lost out due to a goal difference (not points). Yes rvp has made a huge difference at united but some of you act like he is the reason we have all 20 premier lg trophies. Arsenal fans I do understand you want to gloat after all these recent years of being the punchline.. But for the love of god win a trophy before you start with all of this mess (really mean no shots)

 

[Coupé It]

You guys are some entertaining dudes. Lol

Arsenal and Man U game this weekend is going to cause a riot in here.

If this thread was even monitored I'd bet on a suspension lol

 

[Sinner]

Watching highlights of Bale's goal... so quick... so much pace with barely any backlift... impressive.

Orange kits are just so odd.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[champcruthik]

Dortmund and United away. Challenging week to Arsenal's mettle.

 

[Beans]

I love the orange kit. Wish they would release in long sleeve

 

[JJ Goon]

As much as i hate Real I do like their Blue and Orange kits they have this season,

My brother has the Blue jersey with Bale, Nice

 

[blackmomo]

Jada i have to say, according to your logics all Arsenal players are crap n Arsenal is a not that big fo a club. You havent won anything in about 9yrs, so your squad must be full of bum players. All of the few decent players all leave for bigger clubs. Also, if RVP thought Arsenal could have won the league last yr he would have stayed. He had no faith that the club will contend for the title so he bounced. RVP did help ManU win the title but i still think they would have done well without him. RVP. One last thing, RVP scored 30 goals last season and United won, the season before he scored 37 and Arsenal couldnt win a single trophy, must be full of bums.

 

[eiddyfouw]

Man U fans will swear up and down that if they hadn't signed RVP Welbeck and Hernandez would have made up for the difference

Actually, it probably would have been the combo of Kagawa in the 10, Rooney in the 9 and SAF on the sidelines that would have done it.

But when a 9 like RVP becomes available esp for 24-odd million pounds, plans change.

 

[eiddyfouw]

Speaking of Shinji....

Interesting stat from last night...

Michael Cox @Zonal_Marking
United's most frequent passing combos have been Evra->Kagawa (12) and then Kagawa-> Evra (. They've combined rather nicely.


I hope Moyes see's his value and puts him to work for 90 every damn game. Especially after the work he put in for the assist that Chicha blundered.

 

[Sinner]

Effective on the left wing, but (IIRC) also created a few chances when he moved behind RVP after Rooney was subbed. 

 

[jking0821]

Aguero

And i agree the madrid orange is strange looking...but i do like the blue.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Mexico won 3-0

On to the final. Either vs Sweden (already beat them this tournament) or vs Nigeria (lost 1-6 in the opener :x)

I got to watch some extended footage of this game & wow, Mexico manhandled Argentina. :x

It's amazing to see the younger El Tri side play excitedly, with passion, & confidence which is something in stark contrast from the NT. I think the FMF needs to take a long hard look at itself & simply the organizational structure so there isn't too many chefs in the kitchen.

I long suspected that was the case & a recent post on ESPN FC on Sven-Goran Eriksson talking about his autobiography confirmed it... Very telling comments & it's only gotten worse since then (as evidence of the mass coaching firings in this WC qualifying cycle).

:x @ Chica for missing yet another goal like that...

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/futbolmexico/id/2434?cc=5901

Nov 05 @ 11:08AM EST
Eriksson slams “absurd” El Tri setup in new book
Posted by Tom Marshall

Sven-Goran Eriksson has lifted the lid on his time with Mexico's national team in his new autobiography "Sven: My Story," criticizing the way El Tri is run.

Eriksson writes of his disbelief that he was made to report regularly on national team matters to Mexican first division club owners, indicating it would be "unthinkable" for the same to have happened in England.

"It was absurd," he writes. "I could not report to several different people who all had different interests. I'd always been clear that I wanted to report to one person ... but that's not how it works in Mexico.

"There it was important to make allies with the people high up in the football establishment, as if that would help the national team win games."

The book -- out on Tuesday -- comes at a time when the role of club owners in the national team has once again come to the fore, after Mexico's disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign and with El Tri facing a playoff against New Zealand to reach Brazil 2014.

And with Mexican federation president Justino Compean also under fire for another World Cup cycle that has seen four different coaches at the helm, Eriksson reveals that Compean told him in their first meeting that Javier Aguirre was the preferred choice for the job in 2008, but that the Mexican was unavailable due to his role as Atletico Madrid coach.

"I had always been first choice in my previous jobs," writes Eriksson.

The Swede adds that his annual salary was almost two million euros per year (not including bonuses) and that the stated aim was to reach the World Cup quarterfinal.

But, complains Eriksson, "I had enemies in Mexican football from the first day to the last."

The former Lazio boss clearly enjoyed living in Mexico in his vast apartment in the upmarket Polanco neighborhood in Mexico City and was impressed by the level of soccer the country had to offer.

"The quality of football was at a higher level than expected and interest in the game was enormous," he states. "Around the clock people talked about football."

But the thing Eriksson returns to repeatedly is his incredulity that owners had such power to meddle in his job.

"It was more or less the club owners that decided how the national team should be run, at least that's how things ran before I got there," he writes.

Eriksson reserves particular ire for Chivas owner Jorge Vergara, whom he had to meet to explain the Feb. 11, 2009, loss to the United States in Columbus, Ohio.

Eriksson says, "It was almost like I was answering accusations at some kind of tribunal," and adds that Vergara demanded to know why the goalkeeping coach hadn't been fired and why the team stayed in a certain hotel.

"Each question was dumber than the next," opines the current manager of Chinese club Guangzhou.

In other CONCACAF tidbits, Eriksson reveals his frustration at U.S. Soccer playing that World Cup qualifier in a freezing Columbus, Ohio, but adds that Mexico also carried out such "dirty tricks," such as playing Canada in intense Chiapas heat in September 2008.

"That's how things were done in CONCACAF," says Eriksson.

The 65-year-old also claims that current U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati tried to recruit him as that country's national team coach ahead of the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., before Bora Milutinovic was hired.

Bringing it back south of the border, Eriksson was left with a positive impression of Mexico and Mexicans as a whole and was still confident after he was fired that he could've turned qualifying for the 2010 World Cup around.

"[Mexicans] were very polite, which is something that stood in stark contrast to the negative image of Mexico that is generally broadcast around the world," writes Eriksson.

 

[quik1987]

Arsenal vs Dortmund today.

3 way tie in group with 6 pts