All things soccer 2012-13

[Insidious Von]

Real Madrid had similar poor form in La Liga in 1998, they made up for it by winning the CL.

The EPL is decaying from within, there will be no English clubs in the quarterfinals.

 

[Amarcord]

So Milan after the loss to Rome 4-2 is also losing Robinho and Pato , doesn't look good.

 

[Pitts]

That's going to be a huge problem!

By the way, who is buying Pato?

 

[Insidious Von]

Brazil is learning from past mistakes how to manage their diverse economy more efficiently. Ranching is being curtailed in the Amazon basin. Unlike England and Southern Ontario, the topsoil is very thin and lost to rainfall runoff once the land is razed. They learned how to tap into the Amazon's riches without destroying it. With sustainable production, Brazil will overtake Indonesia as the world's No.1 producer of rubber by the summer of 2014. Also, the subsidies it gets from multinational pharmaceuticals helps the government balance its books.

Milan need to be sold in the summer. Robinho and Pato are interchangeable, however if El Shaaraway is sold to Chelsea they will assuredly get relegated. Still, can you imagine the magic that SES and Hazard could create if they were a partnership!

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1437109-stephan-el-shaarawys-top-ac-milan-goals-so-far

 

[Carling]

ManUtd 4 Newcastle 3

Alex Ferguson called it a "championship performance." And I say not even close. De Gea should have caught and held on to the ball instead of parrying a weak shot on the ground to allow Newcastle to slot for their first goal. Johnny Evans, under absolutely no pressure, kicks the ball in the net for Newcastle's second goal. Which showed Evans belongs with a Reading not ManUtd. Newcastle's third goal was the result of atrocious marking.

The "never-give-up" attitude Ferguson has infused in the team rode to the rescue again. But the plodding Paul Scholes and a lethargic Ryan Giggs did not contribute to a so-called "championship performance."

The man who blodded young guns Beckham, Giggs, Scholes and Butt into a dynamic midfield quaterbacked by the indefatigable Roy Keane is floundering. Shame. Because with the firepower at his disposable, a decent midfield could turn this Utd team into an European force. Shame.

maybe Fellaini will be of help...he's rumoured to be goin to the red devs

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words:

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...3x403/200025_503258719705536_1623954040_n.jpg

 

[Carling]

Wow! That will be on the same scale as RVP...So why did he sign another forward in Shinji Kagawa when the need was somewhere else? Replacement for JS Park in the Asian commercial market?

i believe so...ManU's popularity in Asia was probably what motivated SAF to go with Kagawa ... but probably found out he doesn't have the defensive mentality that three lung Ji Sung had....plus Rooney was doing great in that role...now that he's injured , SAF may be looking at Moyes with some fancy trade for Fellaini

 

[Don Draper]

Young Mr. Messi wins his fourth FIFA Ballon d’Or after polling 41.60% of the votes, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo on 23.68% and Andrés Iniesta on 10.91%.

Even more interesting: FIFPro, the world players’ union, invited 50,000 professional players from all over the world to select their best team of 2012, the FIFA FIFPro World XI. The honours went to the following all-star squad: Iker Casillas (Spain) in goal; Dani Alves (Brazil), Marcelo (Brazil), Gerard Piqué (Spain) and Sergio Ramos (Spain) in defence; Xabi Alonso (Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain) and Xavi Hernández (Spain) in midfield; and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Radamel Falcao (Colombia) and Lionel Messi (Argentina) up front.

Great era for Spain. Great era for futbol!

 

[Insidious Von]

That list is a bit of a joke, Vincent Kompany and Andrea Pirlo had better years than some of the players listed.

Juventus lost to Sampdoria on Sunday - they look very ordinary without their ogre (Chiellini) in defense. He'll be out of action till April - there's hope for Celtic Fans.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Dont get me wrong, Messi is the greatest player ever. But him and Barca have become boring to watch. Basically they'll win every game 5-0 with Messi scoring a couple of goals.

Also Liga has already been decided with a 16 point gap. Boring!!

 

[Big Michael]

That list is a bit of a joke,

+1 Ramos and Pique are so overrated, Alves and Alonso also don't belong on that team. Hey Don, what ever happened to Bojan Krkic?

 

[Carling]

no Chiellini?....really?

 

[Don Draper]

Dont get me wrong, Messi is the greatest player ever. But him and Barca have become boring to watch. Basically they'll win every game 5-0 with Messi scoring a couple of goals.

Also Liga has already been decided with a 16 point gap. Boring!!

I can see how if you're not a Cul'e (Barca fan) you might think that of watching them play. You have no emotional involvement with the team. To me, it's the equivalent of being married to Shu Qi and not only is she horny every night for me but she also cooks up a feast that tastes better every day than the one before! It gets better as it becomes more creative and familiar.

Hey Don, what ever happened to Bojan Krkic?

Luis Enrique took Bojan with him to AS Roma (possibly much to Von's chagrin) where it didn't work out for either and now Bojan is at AC Milan where he returns to Camp Nou in the next UCL round

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

I can see how if you're not a Cul'e (Barca fan) you might think that of watching them play. You have no emotional involvement with the team. To me, it's the equivalent of being married to Shu Qi and not only is she horny every night for me but she also cooks up a feast that tastes better every day than the one before! It gets better as it becomes more creative and familiar.

Heh...point well made

But for me to completely see where you're coming from I'd have to switch Shu Qi with Angelina Jolie

 

[Insidious Von]

Napoli 4 Roma 1

Not at all, Enrique was a Roma player so I didn't have a problem with him coming back to coach the club. Bojan doesn't have the physical strength to deal with Serie A defending, he hasn't been able to crack the starting line up at Milan either.

 

[scouser1]

anyone catch the FIFA Dream 11 side announced yesterday? do they realize that there are players outside of La Liga and 2 clubs, With the exception of Falcao (Atletico Madrid) the entire selection is ALL Real Madrid and Barcelona.

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/news/newsid=1981505/index.html

 

[Don Draper]

Also Liga has already been decided with a 16 point gap. Boring!!

Also, before I forget: It not so much about how my Barca goes up, it's more fun to watch how far down Mou and RM can sink.

At this point, losing their UCL spot is not out of the realm of possibility.

It would bring me an incalculable amount of joy a re-affirm my faith in humankind.

 

[Don Draper]

anyone catch the FIFA Dream 11 side announced yesterday? do they realize that there are players outside of La Liga and 2 clubs, With the exception of Falcao (Atletico Madrid) the entire selection is ALL Real Madrid and Barcelona.

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/news/newsid=1981505/index.html

Scouser, scroll back to post #167.

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

Also, before I forget: It not so much about how my Barca goes up, it's more fun to watch how far down Mou and RM can sink.

At this point, losing their UCL spot is not out of the realm of possibility.

It would bring me an incalculable amount of joy a re-affirm my faith in humankind

Real Madrid have a great history, but the one thing I dont like is the fact they go through so many coaches (almost one new coach every year), and they try to buy the latest flavor of the month players, who right away get dumped if they go through a minor slump (see Sneijder)

 

[Insidious Von]

I hope the persistent rumour of Frank Lampard joining Lazio becomes a reality. At this point in his career there is nothing more he can give Chelsea, but he can burnish his reputation by helping The Eagles secure a CL place and make a serious drive for the scudetto.

Lazio are a perfect example of what great defending can do for a club. They are a blue collar club anchored by a world class defender Michael Ciani. Since securing his place at the middle of Lazio's defense he's played like Godzilla and the club has thrived. If he can do for France what he's done for Lazio, Les Blu will be tough to beat @ Brazil14.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4lMDmRtZqo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Wtj4-oTwI