Soccer/Footy 2015-2016

Brando

Asshat Brando

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Also I think the thought that he doesn't have the players to make his system work is way overblown, Klopp himself is already saying he does have the players. Usually a new manager comes in and blames the current players for the issues the club is in and says he needs new ones. Here's a non-LFC fans look at the possibilities, that certainly doesn't look like a shit team sans maybe the inclusion of Lovren.

Why Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp can be a surprisingly exciting combination | Michael Cox | Football | The Guardian
 
faille

faille

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Sweet. Two season ending injuries in a week. And to two of our more in form players to boot.
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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Our season was never going to hinge on Gomez or Ings anyway, granted Ings has been in good form and looks a good fit but with the rest of the injured people only short term injuries I don't see it as that huge of a deal. Klopp is pretty funny to listen to, we've owned Spuds lately so we'll see.
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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When I said the above I didn't expect Sturridge to be our as well, we were pretty toothless up front because of that so I'll take the draw.
 
Springbok

Springbok

Karen
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Heh, I'll be enjoying that one for oh roughly 2 weeks. Reckon we'll get tossed in Munich but right now I couldn't give a shit. That run by Bellerin at the end to set up Ozil was basically the story of the game. For all that possession and all the passing their end product was pretty meh. Great team though, Douglas Costa is a terrific player
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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I just watched the Arse/Bayern game after being in meetings all day, definition of a smash and grab if there ever was one. Munich should have been up 2 or 3 to nil in the first half, that's football for you though.
 
Brando

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I'll agree to disagree, Bayern were very incisive in that first half. They fell somewhat flat in the 2nd but yet still controlled the game. In the end all that matters though is the score so well done to the Arse.
 
Quineloe

Quineloe

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Springbok_sl said:
Heh, I'll be enjoying that one for oh roughly 2 weeks. Reckon we'll get tossed in Munich but right now I couldn't give a shit. That run by Bellerin at the end to set up Ozil was basically the story of the game. For all that possession and all the passing their end product was pretty meh. Great team though, Douglas Costa is a terrific player
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I think the whole tracking of possession is stupid anyways. The only thing they should track is the possession of the ball while in the opponent's half.

Very poor strategy by Guardiola once again. Mourinho was right, he's only good at beating weaker clubs. Arsenal absolutely had to play to win this one, there was no reason to be this aggressive. With Costa and Lewandowski you have the perfect counter attack players, too. But PG apparently only knows one strategy.

Being incisive works in the league, but not against a team that can actually defend perfectly for the first half.
 
D

Div

Silver Knight of the Realm
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Fuck yeah what a game and what a win. I'm hoping for a draw in Munich. Too bad Olympiacos had to score, a 0:0 draw would have been preferred.
 
Springbok

Springbok

Karen
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Quineloe_sl said:
I think the whole tracking of possession is stupid anyways. The only thing they should track is the possession of the ball while in the opponent's half.

Very poor strategy by Guardiola once again. Mourinho was right, he's only good at beating weaker clubs. Arsenal absolutely had to play to win this one, there was no reason to be this aggressive. With Costa and Lewandowski you have the perfect counter attack players, too. But PG apparently only knows one strategy.

Being incisive works in the league, but not against a team that can actually defend perfectly for the first half.
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Man, I hopped on the Bayern English message boards last night and it seems like a majority (vast majority) are ready for Pep to call it a day. For teams like Bayern, Barca, Madrid that bar is so high that any little blip is met with over the top criticism (though his record away in CL isn't great I'll grant you). I think he got the tactics wrong yesterday, but in my mind I struggle to think of a better manager. Whoever gets him next (United/City by the looks of it) are going to be quite lucky. Anyway, I fully expect Arsenal to finish 3rd in the group and can't see us getting a point in Munich but hopefully the win gives the boys confidence.

Tricky game at the weekend against Everton, who'll be pretty eager to set things right after last weekends abortion against LVG.
 
P

PKS

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Great game yesterday by the way.

I'm mixed about Guardiola to United to be honest. LvG was at Bayern and completely changed the way they played, so it doesn't bode well that later on Guardiola is struggling to get the best out of them given LvG has started something similar at United.

On the other hand, is the criticism even legit? He only lost to Messi - I mean Barcelona last CL. There's not much anyone could do against that team other than park the bus and pray.
 
Springbok

Springbok

Karen
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Pks_sl said:
Great game yesterday by the way.

I'm mixed about Guardiola to United to be honest. LvG was at Bayern and completely changed the way they played, so it doesn't bode well that later on Guardiola is struggling to get the best out of them given LvG has started something similar at United.

On the other hand, is the criticism even legit? He only lost to Messi - I mean Barcelona last CL. There's not much anyone could do against that team other than park the bus and pray.
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Ya that's a good question. He does have this possession for possession's sake style sort of similar to LVG (just watched CSKA/Manc), but think he puts it into practice better. Like yesterday for example, 70% possession against one of, if not the best passing teams in England and if Lewy buries his chance minutes before Giroud handballs a goal I think Bayern not only win but win big w/ Arsenal desperately chasing a goal. I imagine for Bayern that is often the case, especially in big matches. What happened yesterday though was a mix of several things, decent defending for Arse, good goalkeeping, and Bayern wasteful in the final third. It happens, even to clubs at that level. I will say without reservation though that I still reckon he's the best manager in football and I'd love him at Arsenal.

I actually think he's nailed on for United. He seems to be a guy with an appreciation for history, etc (a bit like Klopp) and with the resources United have right now he can bring in (within reason) anyone he wants/needs to implement his system.
 
Brando

Asshat Brando

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You guys are talking crazy. LvG bombed out of Bayern and Heynkes changed the team from the way LvG had it set up. Pep has been compared to Heynckes last team that won the CL which was a reaction to Dortmund in that they were hyper physical and counter attacking whereas Pep is more about control. People that don't watch Bayern that often don't realize though that he isn't trying to recreate Barca but move beyond it. His tactics with Lahm and Alaba where they are FB's but actually move in as midfielders when Bayern has the ball or for Alaba he'll actually get into #10 positions is pretty crazy. He'll play with basically 1 CB or no true CB's at all and yet the Bundesliga is a cake walk for him now. You can respond to that by saying Bayern can buy the best players but that's always been the case for the German league and there are plenty of failed coaches in the past or years where nothing was won.

As far as the CL, towards the later stages it's a bit of crap shoot. You can't say that Pep's Barca teams should have ever lost to Inter or Bayern to that terrible Chelsea side that finished 6th. If the match-ups fall just right and you get some bit of luck then you never know.
 
R

Running Dog_sl

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This will cause a storm if it's true

A potential corruption storm has rocked Spanish football following reports that a linesman complained to anti-corruption authorities that he had been told to favour Real Madrid in next month's El Clasico... by the matchday referee.

The match officials for one of the most famous fixtures in world football have not yet been confirmed but it is understood one of the pre-designated linesmen for the fixture was contacted by the pre-designated referee who told him that the league's refereeing committee was putting pressure on the officials to favour Los Blancos.

...It is alleged the referee in question then contacted the assistant ref to request he make the more difficult decisions in the match as 'the referee's performance is subject to more scrutiny by the media'.

In a further twist, the linesman alleges he also received a phone call from a senior member of the referees' committee advising him it would be "intelligent" to follow the instructions for the progression of his career once it was made clear that the assistant match official in question was not interested in following the alleged request.
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El Clasico corruption storm as linesman told to 'favour Real Madrid' by referee in La Liga clash with Barcelona - Telegraph
 
Szlia

Szlia

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Running Dog_sl said:
This will cause a storm if it's true


El Clasico corruption storm as linesman told to 'favour Real Madrid' by referee in La Liga clash with Barcelona - Telegraph
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On this subject, I recommend you check the romanian film The Second Game by Corneliu Porumboiu. It consists of the director chatting with his father Adrian over the footage of a 1988 Bucarest derby between the Dinamo and the Steaua for which the father was the referee. Check the trailer to understand the problem:

 
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