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

[blackmomo]

He acts like he's never been in position to win the league before. Oh wait....


Celebrating and crying like they got the title won already.

SMH Ibs, as i stated before, he could have been crying since the match was the 25th anniversar of the death of his cousin. Let the man breathe

 

[chiva1908]

Looks like injury has caused another player to miss the WC.

Fernando Gago injured his knee yesterday in Boca's 0-0 draw. Will missed the remainder of the Argentine season, and will most likely miss the WC...

 

[AZwildcats]

Im probably late, but looks like Chelsea and Athletico have agreed to a $50m deal for Diego Costa.

Hope it turns out better than our other $50m striker

 

[Kimchi Papi]

Barca's youth program got a boost with the Juvenil A squad winning UEFA's first youth league beating Benfica 0-3. This is basically the U19 Champions League.



Take that fifa...

 

[fear the ibis]

He acts like he's never been in position to win the league before. Oh wait....


Celebrating and crying like they got the title won already.

SMH Ibs, as i stated before, he could have been crying since the match was the 25th anniversar of the death of his cousin. Let the man breathe

I'm aware of the significance. What does that have to due with celebrating like he did though? Getting emotional over the anniversary is one thing, celebrating after like Arsenal celebrating a 4th place trophy is another.

No excuse for the other players either.


Besides...no sympathy for Liverpool. Their fans are known scumbags and got English clubs banned from Europe for 5 years.

 

[blackmomo]

I'm aware of the significance. What does that have to due with celebrating like he did though? Getting emotional over the anniversary is one thing, celebrating after like Arsenal celebrating a 4th place trophy is another.

No excuse for the other players either.


Besides...no sympathy for Liverpool. Their fans are known scumbags and got English clubs banned from Europe for 5 years.

No sympanthy??? dude wtf is wrong with you. What the hell did those 96 fans do to deserve death?

 

[fear the ibis]

what did all those Juventus fans killed by Liverool's fans do to deserve death?

 

[Beans]

No sympanthy??? dude wtf is wrong with you. What the hell did those 96 fans do to deserve death?

you seriously keep trying to connect everything back to the 96.. even when he clearly was referring to gerrard/others celebrating like they won the league

first time in my life i have agreed/repped IBIS... I pray chelsea/mou can pull the upset off

 

[chiva1908]

Surprised no one has mentioned this Rode dude that Bayern Munich just bought...

 

[abovelegit1]

Exactly! I see Roberto more likely to come but the way he's been doing with Everton he deserves to stay. Klopp wouldn't take s#%* from Zubi and those bums at the front office. Unfortunately Barcelona are stubborn and politics and suits run the club instead of the coach... [emoji]128532[/emoji]

That's how it's always been. Even Pep, who won more trophies than anyone and who's basically the club's prodigal son, wasn't given the control he wanted. Pep wanted Thiago Silva or Javi Martinez and got neither. Tito wanted Silva and got Song. Martino wanted a 9 and a CB and got neither. The board is a joke and needs to be given the vote of no confidence this summer.

That Sport cover isn't a surprise. The club will use it's control of the media to paint Martino as the fall guy and shift the blame from themselves. They must think we're fools, considering there is all of one healthy, natural centreback on the squad and he's inexperienced. There isn't a single striker, and no orchestrating midfielder aside from 34 year old Xavi. They sold that CM to Munich.

That said, Martino hasn't exactly been great, himself. His rotation policy is too rigid and has cost the team points, his subs are often late, and his tactics were a failure against Atleti. I'm still not sure why he played 4 mids and prioritized possession against a team that doesn't want possession. I haven't been optimistic about the team this season, and it is indeed looking like 2008. Unfortunately, there isn't a visionary like Laporta to lead a reboot like he did 6 years ago.

 

[fear the ibis]

http://espnfc.com/ultimatexi?cc=5901

My XI.

Had to leave Messi out because he isn't a winger.

 

[abovelegit1]

I'm aware of the significance. What does that have to due with celebrating like he did though? Getting emotional over the anniversary is one thing, celebrating after like Arsenal celebrating a 4th place trophy is another.

No excuse for the other players either.


Besides...no sympathy for Liverpool. Their fans are known scumbags and got English clubs banned from Europe for 5 years.

Way to generalize an entire fan base. Shall we label all Chelsea fans fascists because a portion of them rampaged through Paris hailing Hitler?




Good for Gerard. His side won a massive, emotional match on an emotional day, and it must have been overwhelming at that moment. Nothing to do with celebrating anything. Anyway, he pulled himself together within seconds and focused his team on the task at hand. He's always been a great captain. I'd love to see him lift the title at Anfield.

'Pool winning it would be a massive accomplishment considering they were something like 40/1 before the season. I think they may miss Henderson, though. His industry and intelligent runs from midfield have been vital to their play this season.

 

[fear the ibis]

I don't really care what you label Chelsea fans. Everybody hates us already anyway.

Manchester City to be made to pay a high price for spending spree under Uefa Financial Fair Play rules
Title challengers may face heavy fine or transfer embargo for breaking Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules
Uefa to make Manchester City pay the price for spending spree
Big signing: The purchase of Samir Nasri (right) contributed to losses of £149million that meant Manchester City were bound to be under heavy scrutiny Photo: AFP/GETTY
By Ben Rumsby11:00PM BST 14 Apr 2014 Comments5 Comments
Manchester City were facing a huge Financial Fair Play sanction on Monday night as Uefa prepared to rule that the spending spree that transformed them into a superpower of the game breached its much-vaunted cost-control regulations.
Telegraph Sport has learnt that City, whose billionaire owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, has bankrolled the most successful period in the club’s history, will this week be found guilty of failing to comply with FFP rules – barring an improbable 11th-hour reprieve.
Paris St-Germain are also poised to be punished by Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body, which was created to police “greed, reckless spending and financial insanity” in European football and will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to make its first decisions on which clubs will be prosecuted.
City and PSG are understood to be among fewer than 20 teams under threat of a sanction and, unless dramatic new evidence emerges in the next 48 hours to support their claims they have played by the rules, they are on course to be hit hardest of all.
The nature and degree of any punishment will be determined in the coming days but it is understood neither team will be faced with expulsion from the Champions League.
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The sanction is far more likely to be either a heavy fine or transfer embargo to prevent their mega-rich owners adding to two of the most expensive squads in history.
Such a punishment could hardly come at a worse time for City, who remain at the centre of one of the most thrilling three-horse title races English football has seen and will be desperate to avoid any distractions in their final six games of the season.
They declined to comment on Monday night on the status of the CFCB’s probe into their finances, PSG did not respond to requests for comment, while Uefa refused to comment on the identities of any team in danger of being punished.
Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all confirmed they were not under investigation from European football’s governing body, having complied with its rule forbidding clubs making losses in excess of €45 million (£37.2  million) during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons after certain exceptions are taken into account.
Having posted losses of £149 million over that period after buying the likes of Sergio Agüero, Samir Nasri, Gaël Clichy, Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic, City were always likely to be under heavy scrutiny.
It is their attempts to balance their books which have been most closely examined, particularly their 10-year, £350 million sponsorship deal with Etihad, the official airline of Abu Dhabi.
FFP rules prohibit transactions with companies which have ties to a club or its owners being used in this way unless they can be shown to represent fair market value. Designed to prevent wealthy owners artificially inflating the value of such deals, their validity is judged on three criteria.
If it is shown to be a related-party transaction, Uefa’s auditors calculate how much equivalent media exposure would have cost through the company advertising in other ways, how the tie-up compares with those struck by similar clubs, and what independent marketing experts think of the agreement.
City have always insisted the deal is no more unfair when measured on a like-for-like basis against those struck by its closest rivals, including United.
PSG have also argued that their much larger €200 million-a-year (£167 million) commercial arrangement with the Qatar Tourism Authority is above board but it emerged last month that Uefa had serious doubts over its validity and the French champions’ attitude to scrutiny of it.
Tuesday and Wednesday’s meeting of the eight-strong CFCB investigatory chamber, which includes former Celtic chairman Brian Quinn, could consider new data before making a final decision on each club’s innocence or guilt.
Those prosecuted will then either be offered the opportunity to settle the case by accepting a predetermined sanction, or the matter could be referred straight to the CFCB’s five-strong adjudicatory chamber.
Uefa introduced the ‘settlement’ option into its FFP regulations in an effort to avoid lengthy disciplinary hearings and the clubs involved will have 10 days to respond to the investigatory chamber’s approach.
If they reject settlement, the adjudicatory chamber will determine their case, which could result in a more severe, as well as more lenient, sanction.
Clubs guilty of FFP breaches will not be named and shamed until around May 5, after which there is a further right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
PSG are understood to have threatened already that they will fight any attempt to punish them.
Also woven into FFP rules is the opportunity for rival clubs directly affected by any sanction to contest it on the basis it is too lenient.
Were City found guilty and still allowed to enter next season’s Champions League, Everton or Arsenal could challenge their punishment.
Uefa revealed six weeks ago that it was investigating 76 teams involved in its club competitions this season for possible FFP breaches, with more than 50 subsequently cleared.
It said in a statement on Monday: “Uefa will only communicate once decisions have been taken by the CFCB investigatory chamber, which we anticipate will happen at the beginning of May.”

 

[atransta]

http://espnfc.com/ultimatexi?cc=5901

My XI.

Had to leave Messi out because he isn't a winger.

embed fail FML

 

[abovelegit1]

I don't really care what you label Chelsea fans. Everybody hates us already anyway.

And no doubt Liverpool fans don't care what you label them as either, but that wasn't the point. Generalizing is idiotic regardless of the context.

 

[fear the ibis]

I Will generalize a rival fanbase if i damn well please. Not sure how long youve been following sports but thats what rival fanbases tend to do buddy....we talk **** about each other.

 

[abovelegit1]

If by talking trash you mean generalizing Liverpool fans as murderers, Chelsea fans as fascists, Real Madrid fans in the same light as Ultra Sur, etc. then no, 'we' certainly don't, but maybe you do. The trash talk in this forum and irl usually involves clowning a team like the Lakers/Knicks and their fans for performance, or a team like the Pats for something like Spygate, or Duke for being Duke, Arsenal for their trophy drought, etc.

I think what you're doing is for those sports fans with limited intellectual capital and given to tribalism, but you do you.

 

[mastamind89]

Internazionale confirm interest in signing Fernando Torres from Chelsea
• £50m signing has fallen down Stamford Bridge pecking order
• Inter move could hinge on Europa League qualification
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Dominic Fifield
theguardian.com, Monday 14 April 2014 14.21 EDT
Hull City v Chelsea - Premier League
Fernando Torres was an unused substitute in Chelsea's win over Swansea on Sunday. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
The overhaul of Chelsea's strike-force this summer could yet include the departure of the club's record signing, Fernando Torres, to Internazionale after the Italians reiterated their interest in the Spain forward.

Torres, a £50m arrival from Liverpool a little over three years ago, has claimed a European Cup and Europa League while with Chelsea and could yet add a further Champions League to his haul of honours with a meeting with another of his former clubs, Atlético Madrid, awaiting in the semi-finals. Yet his impact at Stamford Bridge has been inconsistent, and arguably blighted by untimely injuries and suspensions this season, to leave him currently behind Samuel Eto'o and even, at present, Demba Ba in the pecking order.

José Mourinho suggested last week that the 30-year-old World Cup winner still had a role to play at the club, with two years still to run on his contract. But Chelsea intend to instigate a radical revamp of their forward line next term – the Atlético striker Diego Costa will be pursued, and could potentially be joined by another high-profile arrival – with Eto'o expected to depart under freedom of contract, Ba effectively made available and Inter's interest in Torres likely to be explored.

It remains to be seen whether the Serie A club would be willing to match Torres' hefty wage package of around £160,000-a-week, or indeed if the player would be keen on moving to San Siro, but Inter have confirmed the Spaniard is an option they may pursue. The club's general manager, Marco Fassone, was interviewed on Italian radio and asked specifically about Torres. "He is one of the names that interests us, and even [club] president [Erick] Thohir has not made a mystery of the fact that they interest us," said Fassone. "Who will be the right candidate in the end has yet to be defined."

Much may depend upon Inter's ability to qualify for the Europa League this season having missed out on European football altogether this term, with the Italians currently fifth in Serie A with five games to play. That position would merit a place in Uefa's secondary competition. "It's obvious that in the last few months, our club president has requested as an aim to return to Europe," added Fassone. "It would be problematic not to qualify for continental competition for a second straight year, not just for the work we are doing but also from a financial standpoint."

 

[imasoleman18]

Surprised no one has mentioned this Rode dude that Bayern Munich just bought...

nobody is shocked anymore when bayern sign promising German talent

 

[Coupé It]

If by talking trash you mean generalizing Liverpool fans as murderers, Chelsea fans as fascists, Real Madrid fans in the same light as Ultra Sur, etc. then no, 'we' certainly don't, but maybe you do. The trash talk in this forum and irl usually involves clowning a team like the Lakers/Knicks and their fans for performance, or a team like the Pats for something like Spygate, or Duke for being Duke, Arsenal for their trophy drought, etc.

I think what you're doing is for those sports fans with limited intellectual capital and given to tribalism, but you do you.

Yea Ibis, you're bugging for that. You know you are.

Moving on to Copa Del Ray, Ronaldo should not be playing but I got this weird feeling being the arrogant Portchop that he is - he's going to do so.

 

[8pm at msg]

So I'm just now realizing I've had Bein Sports for the past 3 weeks

Beautiful picture, now I can see what's happening outside the BPL for next season.

 

[Coupé It]

So I'm just now realizing I've had Bein Sports for the past 3 weeks

Beautiful picture, now I can see what's happening outside the BPL for next season.

Optimum and James Dolan picked it up huh?

Don't care, Still never going back to that bastard's cable company!!

 

[8pm at msg]

So I'm just now realizing I've had Bein Sports for the past 3 weeks

Beautiful picture, now I can see what's happening outside the BPL for next season.

Optimum and James Dolan picked it up huh?

Don't care, Still never going back to that bastard's cable company!!

I don't blame you for switching it up

 

[AZwildcats]

Tell Inter I'll send them $5 of my own money if they take Torres off of Chelsea. Tell them to take Mikel too

 

[mastamind89]

So I'm just now realizing I've had Bein Sports for the past 3 weeks

Beautiful picture, now I can see what's happening outside the BPL for next season.

Optimum and James Dolan picked it up huh?

Don't care, Still never going back to that bastard's cable company!!

I don't blame you for switching it up

I heard he stepped down....handing off the two vacant position to two directors/officers who are related to him