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

[eiddyfouw]

 

[jking0821]

Fun games yesterday. I enjoyed the Bayern vs Man U game. I don't blame Welbeck honestly. Yeah hind sight is 20/20 but Keeper goes to ground its an easy goal...i give Neuer a lot of credit here.

Diego's goal was insane. Iniesta's pass was gorgious. But for all the Welbeck hate, Neymar was very composed to open up the body and finish that ball with a defender closing him down.

Gus Johnson and Eric Winalda could be the absolute WORST commentators in any sport to ever call a game. I honestly can't stand either of them. Gus has no clue whats going on and just the little things are annoying. "United leads here nil to 1" "What a goal by schweinsteigaaaaaaaaaa" "He puts it in the top of the net"

Winalda is just 24-7 bitter. "This is my problem with Rio he just doesn't ever close down fast enough" after Arjen robben blitzes arcoss the box and just misses a shot wide. Lets me honest if he closed out on Robben quickly...robben goes right by him and draws a PK or scores. He is playing within his limitations.

/rant

 

[wings90]

Fun games yesterday. I enjoyed the Bayern vs Man U game. I don't blame Welbeck honestly. Yeah hind sight is 20/20 but Keeper goes to ground its an easy goal...i give Neuer a lot of credit here.

Diego's goal was insane. Iniesta's pass was gorgious. But for all the Welbeck hate, Neymar was very composed to open up the body and finish that ball with a defender closing him down.

Gus Johnson and Eric Winalda could be the absolute WORST commentators in any sport to ever call a game. I honestly can't stand either of them. Gus has no clue whats going on and just the little things are annoying. "United leads here nil to 1" "What a goal by schweinsteigaaaaaaaaaa" "He puts it in the top of the net"

Winalda is just 24-7 bitter. "This is my problem with Rio he just doesn't ever close down fast enough" after Arjen robben blitzes arcoss the box and just misses a shot wide. Lets me honest if he closed out on Robben quickly...robben goes right by him and draws a PK or scores. He is playing within his limitations.

/rant

 This had me dying.

Thomas Müllaaa.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

The FIFA ban doesn't surprise me. Barca made a ton of inroads into youth players at the tail end the Laporta & in the Rosell era. Lots of shady business was at hand not just with youth players.

Serves the club right. I've said this before, but with Rosell rightfully stepping down, Socios should use this opportunity to clean house & hold a new vote for a new President & new board.

For face value, it looks like Barca did violate the FIFA laws. It looks like they might've thought they deserved some sort of dispensation but operated without getting such from FIFA.

No transfers this summer & next January would probably mean Ter Stegen won't be coming to Camp Nou. Maybe this means the club can get VV to stay?

I don't think this club was in need of a massive overhaul anyway. So it is what it is...

Also in terms of Gus Johnson, this post says it all. He was absolutely TERRIBLE. There was nothing remotely good about any portion of his broadcast. It was cringe worthy awful to the point where I hit rewind to hear the mistakes just to make sure I heard correctly.

[COLOR=#red]The Dumbing Down Of Soccer Announcing By Gus Johnson and FOX Sports[/COLOR]
Posted on April 1, 2014 by Christopher Harris

Last season, it was the Gus Johnson Experiment, with FOX Soccer throwing basketball announcer Gus Johnson into the deep end to announce several high-profile European soccer games for US television. The “car crash” was filled with numerous mistakes, with Johnson learning on the job as he fumbled his way through until the summer, where he raised his game for the commentary of Gold Cup games.

After an 8-month sabbatical away from soccer commentating, Johnson was dropped in to Old Trafford on Tuesday to commentate the UEFA Champions League quarter-final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Standing alongside Johnson in the gantry was FOX Sports analyst Eric Wynalda.

So how did Johnson do in his 2014 soccer debut?

Overall, he was tolerable, which by Gus Johnson’s standards is an improvement. There were fewer glaring mistakes than last year, but at the same time, he’s still a poor option compared to more experienced and listenable American announcers such as Phil Schoen and John Strong. Schoen and Strong may not have the “Gus Johnson Effect,” but both Schoen and Strong are better for it. Soccer commentary, after all, is an art form, not a bucket of catchphrases and shouting.

Still, there were mistakes. Johnson pronouncing David Moyes name as “Moyce,” referring to Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez as “Martinez,” describing a throw-in as a “sideline throw,” and so on.

But the main complaint I have with Gus Johnson is that he doesn’t use a soccer vernacular. His turn of phrase is incredibly awkward especially when he has to think on his feet when something spontaneous happens in a game. When he talks about ”Man U with the nil-one lead,” as he did in the game today, he’s talking another language to soccer fans. He’s trying too hard to win credit with anglophiles by using a British expression for no goals (i.e. nil), which I don’t think he should even do, but then he gets stuck by saying that United are the away team.

Even when Bayern Munich scored their equalizer, Johnson’s awkward turn of phrase with “Schweinsteiger as he goes up high” doesn’t sound like anything a soccer announcer would say. He still seems to be stuck in basketball terminology, throwing in the occasional “dumps it inside” phrase, too.

Overall, Johnson handicaps games by dumbing down the commentary for mainstream America to better understand. He relies on the co-commentator, in this case Wynalda, to bail Johnson (and presumably the thinking goes, the mainstream American sports fan) out by taking the lead at times and explaining what’s happening — such as telling Johnson that the Welbeck goal was disallowed even though Johnson didn’t hear the referee’s whistle before the shot was taken, or explaining what Bayern Munich are trying to do while keeping possession and passing the ball around, waiting for United to make a mistake, etc.

Johnson’s MO to dumb down the overall broadcast may fit into FOX Sports’ philosophy, but as both ESPN and NBC Sports have shown, finding the perfect balance between speaking intelligently to its soccer viewers without talking down to the hardcore base is not only attainable, but also results in record TV ratings. By dumbing down its coverage of soccer to the US audience, FOX Sports not only infuriates sports fans but it also hurts the bottom line as viewers turn to alternative means of watching games, which ultimately hurts TV ratings and delivers weaker numbers to advertisers.

 

[mr marcus]

Gus is terrible

Fox need to go back to one of the regulars

 

[Sinner]

I still have no idea who this Gus is, but I'm glad we don't get him. 

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Whatever happened to Gael Kakuta anyway? Is he still with Chelsea?

 

[dlo13]

Whatever happened to Gael Kakuta anyway? Is he still with Chelsea?

On loan somewhere.

 

[8pm at msg]

Whatever happened to Gael Kakuta anyway? Is he still with Chelsea?

On loan somewhere.

Lazio to be exact.

 

[eiddyfouw]

I still have no idea who this Gus is, but I'm glad we don't get him. 

After I youtubed a few....I can say thank God, I don't have to hear him either. I would honestly stream games...




:x

 

[eiddyfouw]

"left side of the center circle"

"left side of the box uptop"

"Chavez, trying to .... manoeuvre"

:x

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Apparently FIFA has been asking Barca for details of whatever players involved (like Lee Seung Woo perhaps) & Rosell & Co were stonewalling citing "player confidentiality". Not sure how true this is but it wouldn't be surprising.

Saw these Tweets related to Ter Stegen's deal.

View media item 893842View media item 893843

If the bans do get upheld, Zubi & co will be forced to look at Barca's youth ranks to promote which is something they should've been doing anyway as part of their efforts to bolster the squad.

Maybe Deulofeu & Rafa return ASAP too. As far as young defenders/CBs the club has in it's youth ranks, maybe someone like Edgar Ie on Barca B gets promoted. He's played well in spurts from what I've seen.

Then there's the likes of Frank Bagnack. I've lost track of Rodrigo Tarin. Not sure where he's at in terms of development. I think he's U18 or U19..

 

[JJ Goon]

I think Barca will open the bank to keep Valdes now, That is if the Ter Stegen deal fails,

Be very interesting to see how they will cope in Defence now,

Great news as an Atletico fan

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I wonder if Prem (like Arsenal) teams will stop poaching Barca for it's players now... JK...

 

[Coupé It]

Well damn...

Guess Pinto is going to be the keeper for a long time

 

[Sinner]

^ Dude's 38?!

 

[b fresco]

I wonder if Prem (like Arsenal) teams will stop poaching Barca for it's players now... JK...

You mean like Barca has been doing to us for years?

OVermars, Hleb, Petit, Van Bronckhorst, Henry, Cesc, Song, etc...

Insert Cam'ron Stone face. gif

And I'm an Arselona fan....

 

[Coupé It]

I remember when "FC Barcelona" actually meant something special. No sponsors, no dirty behind the scene tactics, no whining, etc...

That didn't last long, Barca just became like all these other clubs but even worse :x

 

[flyeed]

I wonder if Prem (like Arsenal) teams will stop poaching Barca for it's players now... JK...

You mean like Barca has been doing to us for years?

OVermars, Hleb, Petit, Van Bronckhorst, Henry, Cesc, Song, etc...

Insert Cam'ron Stone face. gif

And I'm an Arselona fan....

What psk is talking about has nothing to do with paying transfer fees for senior players

 

[AZwildcats]

Yesterday's warmup was entertaining, but today the real meat of the sandwich takes place. If there ever was a chance for Torres to put in work, this is it.

 

[cs02132]

i dont get it

 

[mytsharp]

The guy was visually impaired and he was offering the side ref his stick. Pause.

My-T.

 

[eiddyfouw]

i dont get it

The guy in the stands is partially blind. But the linesman got an offiside call horribly wrong, as the saying goes "even a blind man could see...". So the partially blind fan is giving his stick showing the linesman is clearly blind.

 

[8pm at msg]

 

[tego calderon el abayarde]

Not everything that shines is gold