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

[eiddyfouw]

Looks like driving over the to club worked this time...
View media item 771173
Adam King...18 year old central midfielder

 

[eiddyfouw]

I wonder if kenwyne jones plays for cardiff today as well

Cardiff City FC
@CardiffCityFC
Jones will be available for selection for the first time this Saturday in our @PremierLeague tie v @NorwichCityFC . #WelcomeKenwyne

 

[eiddyfouw]

I've never seen this in my life...

A ref who says "no more yellow cards" and gives the yellow card to the 4th official...

 

[ValarMorghulis]

seems like a wild game, dude had enough


...hope he had an escort out of the stadium

 

[jking0821]

both fouls shown were red card worthy too. Good for him...you foul you are gone

 

[fear the ibis]

Only Zlatan could make a Volvo look cool.




@ Jose giving out champagne to all the press at his conference


Janusz Michallik [emoji]10004[/emoji] @JanuszESPN
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Mou with champagne for the media. Don't drink fellas. He has most of you in his pocket while sober.
7:43 AM - 28 Jan 2014

 

[dlo13]

Report of a Spain/Canada friendly in DC on 6/2.
Why the **** would you play Canada?

 

[Thierry Henry]

Raheem Sterling is the ultimate scumbag, Has lots of kids floating round with different women and apparently pays nothing to support them,
Makes D Wade look good

3 kids from 2 baby momma's I think. and he's like 20 right? Boy better not fail this footy ride he's got going
exact opposite of Januzaj seeing what goes down in Manchester compared to Liverpool. I've traveled to England many times and thought 'Pool was bad

He just turned 19 in December I think. Didn't know he was a scumbag like that

He doesn't even remember his kid's birthday, his baby momma was furious

I remember posting a screenshot from his Twitter in this thread.

The puma kit Henry is wearing and that was posted psk is dope. Going back to the hooped socks was a nice touch. Puma kits looks great if your fit.. Jada gonna be running around looking preg tho

Wait a sec, so you actually know what Jada looks like in real life? So he's just a fat average joe behind that s/n?

Report of a Spain/Canada friendly in DC on 6/2.
Why the **** would you play Canada?

Charity maybe? I asked myself that question when they came to play Haiti over the summer

 

[lucho]

When Sergi came in, I thought he slotted in very nicely. I didn't realize he played that little but he was passing the ball with amazing accuracy & working the ball around very effectively. He shows remarking poise. I think if given a chance, he could make himself into a solid midfielder. Even Xavi has said so several times.

Rafinha? He's shown flashes of great promise, however I have to wonder why he went on loan & Sergi hasn't? Rafinha is on loan to Celta Vigo right? I haven't paid much attention to them this campaign but will try & catch more games to see where he's at developmentally.

Deulofeu is an enigma. Very talented but has the reputation of having trouble getting his head through doorways with his large ego & sometimes petulant attitude. I haven't heard anything really concrete from the Everton stating this has changed. Prior to his injury, he looked good on the pitch for the Toffees.

Tello? With the arrival of Neymar to occupy the left side, Tello doesn't seem to fit in the grand scheme of things but I thought he was making great runs on the left side against Malaga, he just didn't get to see the ball much. Overall, there has been a lot of change since Pep's departure & I think it's negatively effected what Barca is doing with it's young players.

Zubi & company really need to sit down & review what they have & orchestrate what they plan to do. There's a bunch of 16-17 year olds that coming down the pike from La Masia that will factor into wanting playing time sooner than later...

Sergi is a bit difficult to place in the midfield i think. He has the ball/dribbling ability that Iniesta has in tight spaces, but has the mentality of Xavi in wanting to get everyone involved. IMO, he would fit best in Iniesta's role rather than Xavi's. But so far this season, when given the opportunity, he has mostly taken advantage of it and has shown some promising signs.

Rafinha is doing great at Celta. He couldn't have gone to a better coach (Luis Enrique) in order to develop this season, and i think that is the reason that he is on loan along with getting more playing time. He started off a bit slow with Celta, but is starting to find his role in the team. I could see Rafinha come back and replace Xavi more than i can Roberto. However, there is a certain Sergi Samper that is coming up the ranks. 

I agree with you on Deulofeu (or "Pepe le Pew" as Fox Deportes calls him haha). He does have a big ego and that makes it difficult for him. I haven't been following him much at Everton this season. 

I like Tello, but there isn't much room for him now. He is a good replacement for Pedro, but even he is sitting behind Alexis and Neymar (when everyone is healthy). Plus with Martino hinting at keeping Afellay, it seems it's getting very crowded in the attacking third. It's good to have depth and that might help in the later stages of the season.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I think people aren't high on Sergi because he doesn't have the flair or the scoring mentality of the Alcantara brothers. Another thing that stands out about Sergi is his willingness to playing defense. He's proven to be a menace out on the pitch. Always harassing opponents with the ball & being physical which is something I'm not used to seeing in the midfield. He's also kinda got a solid build.

Perhaps I was drinking the Barca kool aid by saying he's Xavi's understudy but I think he has a chance to be a great player, something different than Barca has had the last 10-15 years.

 

[lucho]

I think people aren't high on Sergi because he doesn't have the flair or the scoring mentality of the Alcantara brothers. Another thing that stands out about Sergi is his willingness to playing defense. He's proven to be a menace out on the pitch. Always harassing opponents with the ball & being physical which is something I'm not used to seeing in the midfield. He's kinda got a solid build.

Perhaps I was drinking the Barca kool aid by saying he's Xavi's understudy but I think he has a chance to be a great player, something different than Barca has had the last 10-15 years.

You should watch Rafinha play a bit more. If you think Sergi is solid build, you'll think Rafinhs is the hulk haha.

If anyone was Xavi's understudy, it was Thiago, which no one will ever replace. I think the closest is Rafinha, which even Thiago said was better than he was. 

Please come back Thiago!!

 

[Beans]

He just turned 19 in December I think. Didn't know he was a scumbag like that

He doesn't even remember his kid's birthday, his baby momma was furious

I remember posting a screenshot from his Twitter in this thread.
Wait a sec, so you actually know what Jada looks like in real life? So he's just a fat average joe behind that s/n?
Charity maybe? I asked myself that question when they came to play Haiti over the summer

yeah we are pretty good friends.. ironically his name is joe

 

[Beans]

Deulofeu is gonna be a problem but his decision making hasn't been the greatest either, but you come to expect that with strikers.. rather take it on themselves then pass, though don't know how that fits into Barca's philosophy\

Isn't Cesc Xavi's direct replacement?

 

[Kimchi Papi]

You should watch Rafinha play a bit more. If you think Sergi is solid build, you'll think Rafinhs is the hulk haha.
If anyone was Xavi's understudy, it was Thiago, which no one will ever replace. I think the closest is Rafinha, which even Thiago said was better than he was. 

Please come back Thiago!!

Until abovelegit reminded me, I actually forgot Rafinha was loaned out & Luis Enrique was coaching Celta. I guess it's appropriate since Enrique coached him on Barca B.

The more I think about it, the more I realize Thiago was always going to leave Camp Nou & I believe Rosell & Zubi knew that. It's going to be interesting to see how this side will be shaped in the next several years.

Unlike other clubs in Europe, Barca has an abundance of really good & promising footballers in it's youth ranks. I just hope someone at Camp Nou manages the talent effectively.

 

[quik1987]

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Isn't Cesc Xavi's direct replacement?

Who knows.

In the 20 or so appearances Cesc has made, he's played in the false 9 half of the time & the center mid the other half. As a false 9 he has 3 goals & 2 assists. As a center mid, he's racked up 5 goals & 8 assists.

 

[Thierry Henry]

Alcantara brothers Love Thiago, that's my N

yeah we are pretty good friends.. ironically his name is joe

why are you posting this? Get this kid the entire **** out of here.

 

[Beans]

Who knows.

In the 20 or so appearances Cesc has made, he's played in the false 9 half of the time & the center mid the other half. As a false 9 he has 3 goals & 2 assists. As a center mid, he's racked up 5 goals & 8 assists.

Yeah but xavi didn't truly come into his own till he was much older, so there is still time for him.. I think they are playing cesc everywhere because he can play anywhere .

 

[lucho]

Until abovelegit reminded me, I actually forgot Rafinha was loaned out & Luis Enrique was coaching Celta. I guess it's appropriate since Enrique coached him on Barca B.

The more I think about it, the more I realize Thiago was always going to leave Camp Nou & I believe Rosell & Zubi knew that. It's going to be interesting to see how this side will be shaped in the next several years.

Unlike other clubs in Europe, Barca has an abundance of really good & promising footballers in it's youth ranks. I just hope someone at Camp Nou manages the talent effectively.

I think the problem with Thiago leaving was Jordi Roura not being able to manage the team. He just seemed lost and didn't know what to do with the youngsters. Thiago's time fell off pretty quick if i remember correctly. It is what it is though. I think Barca will be fine. I just hope we get a legit CB soon.

 

[jada2001retro]

:x

Somebody has a man crush on me.

You won't after you see my gut in that new Puma kit though.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

I think the problem with Thiago leaving was Jordi Roura not being able to manage the team. He just seemed lost and didn't know what to do with the youngsters. Thiago's time fell off pretty quick if i remember correctly. It is what it is though. I think Barca will be fine. I just hope we get a legit CB soon.

I think Vilanova's absence definitely played a part but bless him. He managed a difficult situation like a company man should've & helped win the league title.

You know Barca has a promising CB in Rodrigo Tarin (aka Rodri) playing on the Juvenil B team. Not only is he the Juvenil B captian, but I believe he's also captain for the U17 Spain side.

One of the Spanish language channels shows Barca B games from time to time but there isn't a place to catch the Juvenil squads except some vids on youtube from time to time.

I haven't heard anything about this young CB in a bit.

 

[abovelegit1]

Well the least you'd expect of a La Masia grad is to be able to pass accurately and keep it circulating. Whether he can maintain possession and passing accuracy against a hard press or has the vision to play incisive passes against a deep block remains to be seen. I don't see it atm, but here's to hoping he flourishes.
Rafinha has been excellent. Probably one of the best players in La Liga this season outside the top 3 - along with Vela, Rakitic, Greizmann, Cani, and a few others.

You should watch Rafinha play a bit more. If you think Sergi is solid build, you'll think Rafinha is the hulk haha.
If anyone was Xavi's understudy, it was Thiago, which no one will ever replace. I think the closest is Rafinha, which even Thiago said was better than he was. 

Please come back Thiago!!

Thiago was a huge loss. I agree he was the one to take over the maestro role. I think he was mismanaged, iirc his PT fell off hard after he made a bad mistake in a cup game. Not sure if Rafinha has the profile for the role - I envisage him as box to box. His pace, power, and work rate will give the midfield something different.

Deulofeu is gonna be a problem but his decision making hasn't been the greatest either, but you come to expect that with strikers.. rather take it on themselves then pass, though don't know how that fits into Barca's philosophy\

Isn't Cesc Xavi's direct replacement?

Cesc can be, but he's not optimal. Barca lose match control when he's in the role, and it isn't the best use of his ability. He excels as the most advanced mid where he can play key passes and make late runs into the box.

Deulofeu indeed needs to work on his decision making and tactical discipline, which is why he was loaned. But he has three years on Tello which is massive in terms of development. And his talent is far superior.
PSK, he has had attitude issues but they're somewhat overstated. A lot of that stuff came out when he was around 16 and he'll continue to mature. Besides, a lot of top level athletes have that kind of self confidence bordering on arrogance. I think he'll be fine.

 

[abovelegit1]

I think Vilanova's absence definitely played a part but bless him. He managed a difficult situation like a company man should've & helped win the league title.

You know Barca has a promising CB in Rodrigo Tarin (aka Rodri) playing on the Juvenil B team. Not only is he the Juvenil B captian, but I believe he's also captain for the U17 Spain side.

One of the Spanish language channels shows Barca B games from time to time but there isn't a place to catch the Juvenil squads except some vids on youtube from time to time.

I haven't heard anything about this young CB in a bit.

You can watch most levels on the official youtube channel. They just streamed a Juvenil A match but unfortunately I couldn't watch. According to twitter, Lee was playing - one of the biggest talents at the academy.

 

[Kimchi Papi]

^ The best talents at the academy right now IMO are the Korean kid Lee (striker/MF), Carles Alena (MF), & finally the Morocco kid Ayoub Abou another MF... Barca really needs to do everything they can to keep these guys. Pere Guardiola reps either 2 or all 3 of them...

 

[Coupé It]

Lol @ ironically his name is Joe.