The Ultimate Soccer Thread 2011-2012. VOL 2 (EPL,LFP, SERIE A, BUND, ETC.)

i know Owen's out but is Berbatov injured?

in any case,United's passing were poor in the first half and honestly lacked that killer instinct throughout the game...

and here's the thing...i admire and truly respect Sir Alex but he's too proud sometimes...rarely takes risks too when it comes to substitutions...
Macheda on for Evra,less than 3mins left in normal time...REALLY?
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Utd have a much better chance sticking Ashley Young upfront(like he played at Villa) and bring on Valencia or Park to cover the flanks right after Gutierrez was sent off...
 
Chelsea played a crap team, they still have a lot of problems at that club

united were unlucky to come out without 3 points today (great for spurs that game ended tied)

Spurs with 9 wins in 10 games. Even with VdV and Luka out they got the 3 points. Just shows spurs have taken a couple steps forward since last season
 
Originally Posted by Keepie Uppie

i know Owen's out but is Berbatov injured?

in any case,United's passing were poor in the first half and honestly lacked that killer instinct throughout the game...

and here's the thing...i admire and truly respect Sir Alex but he's too proud sometimes...rarely takes risks too when it comes to substitutions...
Macheda on for Evra,less than 3mins left in normal time...REALLY?
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Utd have a much better chance sticking Ashley Young upfront(like he played at Villa) and bring on Valencia or Park to cover the flanks right after Gutierrez was sent off...
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Yeah, that had me scratching my head too... 
Oh well...

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Rio rockin some Fed-gear.

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At the recent CL game
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Newcastle defended extremely well today, ManU really got unlucky but I aint even mad though
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at that linesmans decision, clearly the ball went the other direction on that tackle, how did he not see that?

couldnt help but think how rare it is we actually see united at full strength though, i think thats their best xi save for maybe fletcher swapped with giggs
 
Tackles flying in left and right at the Madrid derby... 4 bookings for Atletico already!?
EDIT ~ Check that... there's a red already!?
 
Juve-Lazio game is crazy! Could easily be 5-5 at the half.
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Lazio has a really solid and disciplined squad this year. Klose was a wonderful signing.
 
Barca is incredibly hard to watch these days. I'm sure I'm spoiled from the last few years, but lately Barca has just been SLOPPY, even when they win. It could've been a tie today ( offsides got called incorrectly, it was the defender who kicked the ball towards his own goal) but still. Our defenders have been horrendous; every time the opposition gets the ball for a counter attack, I can feel a goal coming. Props to Getafe, they looked like they wanted this win much more. 
 
Champions League Hangover SMH

Man I'm hurt by this Barca defeat. I can't front being 6 points back of RM is a lot at this point, 13 matches in.

The bogus offsides call and Messi hitting the post in stoppage time were two missed opportunities. Can't knock Messi though... the guy gives it his all and no one is perfect.

Hard to criticize Pep but bringing on Keita for Thiago does not make sense to me.

The team definateley lacked the creativity that Cesc or Andres provide.

Ideally Barca would buy Thiago Silva to pair with Pique and also bring in Bale at LB after the season.
 
Obviously they should have had enough to win the game on the road, but after Milan they were bound to be a bit lacking. Even the odds were skewed to reflect that, as they definitely weren't as long for Getafe as they would normally have been. Nonetheless, I'm obviously disappointed because Getafe played 6 at the back most of the game, and Barca couldn't finish the few chances they got when they did penetrate. Set pieces have been their biggest weakness, so to defend as Getafe did, and then beat Barca on the corner was well done by them.

Definitely missing Andres right now. Onus fell on Messi to create everything in the final third, because Xavi was pulling the strings centrally and Thiago was having an off night. Villa needs to get his confidence back, but if he needs to play as a target man to do it he can take a seat next to Pep. Madrid is definitely in the driver's seat for the league, but 6 points is nowhere near insurmountable.

^Do not want to pursue Silva, much rather have Hummels of BvB; younger and better on the ball. Plus it's easier to negotiate with BvB than Milan.
And yeah, Barca fans have been spoiled the past few years. Some of the clown fans at Nevada Smiths' in NYC today were 
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. They were never going to go unbeaten in the league. 
 
abovelegit1 wrote:Villa needs to get his confidence back, but if he needs to play as a target man to do it he can take a seat next to Pep.


I don't like blaming one player for offensive struggles but the lack of contribution from Villa is a huge reason why Barca looks stagnant on offense sometimes. There's only so much Messi can do by himself. Where the hell is the Villa that would easily run through defenses and either score or get the assist? On the rare occasion he does get past the defense, he shoots straight to the GK or misses by a ridiculous margin
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It's just disappointing because you know what he's capable of and how much he helped Barca win last year

And our defensive problem is the reason I really didn't want to get Alexis Sanchez. We have zero depth on defense. When Pique or Puyol are out
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Mascherano is a DM that can performs well in the back but we need more. It's hard to admit this but we just cant rely on Puyol anymore, despite Barca hardly ever losing a game with him in the lineup,  since he's always injured
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milan showed that barca can be beat, i think their confidence took a hit after that game even though they won because milan played them well

every team struggles for form at sometime in the season, with that said pep will figure it out
 
Barca is still a fantastic squad and deserve to be favorites in almost any match, but they're clearly not the invincible squad they seemed to be at times in the last couple of years.

You can attribute today's results to fatigue or letdown or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that they are 2-3-1 on the road this season. Not very Barca like.

He won't get much of the blame but I think Pep is often outclassed by his opposite number. With this astonishing level of talent at his disposal his team shouldn't have a +1 goal differential in 6 road games on the season.

Clasico continues to become more and more interesting. Madrid is absolutely demolishing people right now. Their attack is firing on all cylinders and several of their players have tremendous chemistry between them.
 
So Pep is often outclassed now, and your proof of such a stupid statement is a 6 game sample size? Especially when considering he holds the Liga record for away wins in a season, and consecutive away wins. How many of those 6 games did you actually watch before you suggested a coach in the midst of unprecedented club success is often outclassed? Because they controlled all but one of those games, and the one they didn't completely control  was against Valencia. The only thing the score tells you is the final result of the game; coaches will tell you that team evaluation comes down to chances created because finishing can be fickle, and mitigating factors often influence the scoreline. (a flooded pitch in Bilbao, for instance)

And in the last three games I've seen Madrid play Valencia even, and today get bossed for 20 minutes while both teams had 11 men. So not exactly absolute demolition, but they've done well to get the results. Barca will need a fit squad and a whale of an effort to get a result at the Bernabeu, as a loss would be devastating to their chances at 4 consecutive titles. I'm optimistic, but nervous. 
 
Originally Posted by abovelegit1

So Pep is often outclassed now, and your proof of such a stupid statement is a 6 game sample size? How many of those games did you actually watch before you suggested a coach in the midst of unprecedented club success is often outclassed? Because they controlled all but one of those games, and the one they didn't completely control  was against Valencia. The only thing the score tells you is the final result of the game; coaches will tell you that team evaluation comes down to chances created because finishing can be fickle, and mitigating factors often influence the scoreline. (a flooded pitch in Bilbao, for instance)

And in the last three games I've seen Madrid play Valencia even, and today get bossed for 20 minutes while both teams had 11 men. So not exactly absolute demolition, but they've done well to get the results. Barca will need a fit squad and a whale of an effort to get a result at the Bernabeu, as a loss would be devastating to their chances at 4 consecutive titles. I'm optimistic, but nervous.
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Dude you're a troll when it comes to Barca talk. In other areas I enjoy talking soccer with you but whenever Barca is involved you're like a Justin Bieber fan and you just start throwing out stuff like "how many games have you watched" when you have no idea how many games I have or haven't watched. I like how you assume my opinion about a coach is based on... nothing and that I haven't seen any of Barca's games, but you clearly have seen every game Barca and Madrid teams play. 
And coaching isn't just about tactics and figuring out how to create chances (which Pep has not done as well as he should given his firepower, often), it's also about keeping a team motivated and "winning after you've won" as writers have put it. Controlling a game is a given for this Barca squad, and it is also a given that teams will park the bus against them. But when you have 73% possession against a team like Getafe and lose without really threatening too often, questions should be asked. This is becoming a somewhat common occurrence for this team. 

Madrid going to Valencia and taking 3 points isn't impressive because Valencia "played them even", but Barca dropping 3 points at Getafe is impressive because they "controlled the game". Right. I'm sure Barca will control the game on December 11 as well. 
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If you remove your blinders and see what's going on with this Barca squad (and with Madrid) you'll be a lot less shocked and inevitably butthurt when the empire crumbles. 
 
Dude, no. You're the one saying idiotic and ridiculous things like Pep is often outclassed based on 6 games when he has a bunch of away records in La Liga. And now you want to assume he isn't motivating when all quotes coming from the players suggest otherwise.

Questions should be asked when not threatening too often? Again, I don't think you watched the same game. They had plenty of clear opportunities to score, and looking at the stats they had 21 shots with 7 on target. No doubt you felt that Madrid "absolutely demolished" 9 man Athletic when they in fact had less shots and the same number on target as Barca had today.



LOL @ me being hurt when the 'empire' crumbles. I'm well aware that you can't win them all, but thanks for your concern. For the record, you're the one who sounds 'butthurt' with your incredibly lame insults though supposedly you don't have a horse in this race. And a troll is just someone saying outlandish things to get a reaction. Not one of my posts have been outrageous or unsubstantiated. Which is now more than I can say for you.
 
Originally Posted by abovelegit1

Dude, no. You're the one saying idiotic and ridiculous things like Pep is often outclassed based on 6 games when he has a bunch of away records in La Liga. And now you want to assume he isn't motivating when all quotes coming from the players suggest otherwise.

Questions should be asked when not threatening too often? Again, I don't think you watched the same game. They had plenty of clear opportunities to score, and looking at the stats they had 21 shots with 7 on target. No doubt you felt that Madrid "absolutely demolished" 9 man Athletic when they in fact had less shots and the same number on target as Barca had today.



LOL @ me being hurt when the 'empire' crumbles. I'm well aware that you can't win them all, but thanks for your concern. For the record, you're the one who sounds 'butthurt' with your incredibly lame insults though supposedly you don't have a horse in this race. And a troll is just someone saying outlandish things to get a reaction. Not one of my posts have been outrageous or unsubstantiated. Which is now more than I can say for you.
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Nah I'm not trying to get a reaction I honestly think Pep is doing a poor job. Perhaps the often outclassed statement was imprecise, it's more about what Pep isn't doing than what other coaches are doing. But the bottom line is that Barca isn't creating like they should be, even with seemingly impressive 21/7 statlines, and they're on the verge of being 9 points back fairly early in the season. 
And I didn't really intend to insult you, it just seems that you get really riled up and take things personally and become this fiery Barca advocate when I'm just putting observations out there. I indeed have no horse in this race, and enjoy the objectivity that you lack, preventing you from partaking in constructive conversations when Barca is involved. 

I guess it's to be expected with "stans" though, which you clearly are, again don't mean to offend. The difference between a stan and a supporter is that the former is irrational in rooting for a team, while the latter is not. You are irrational in your views on Madrid and Barca.

I'm done here tho bro, no hard feelings at all, just soccer talk to me. 
 
I wasn't riled up - just being my normal caustic self, and I don't see how I'm irrational when I legitimately support and substantiate everything I say, but w/e. I've said in this thread I wouldn't be shocked if Madrid were to beat out Barca in a competition this season, and you said yourself my arguments were solid when arguing about the two sides so obviously I can't be that out of touch. Trust me, I'm well aware of FCB's flaws: they can overpass, occasionally lack that cutting edge, tend to take their foot off the gas, etc. But if I see a post I don't agree with, I'm going to argue. That's why I'm on this forum.

FTR, I'm 1/4 Catalan, and my uncles are all socis so there's that. Grandfather came to the US to escape General Franco so you're right, Barca is somewhat personal for me. Sort of a link to the past or cultural connection, as you may have yourself with Persia/Iran. And I do believe I'm one of the more reasonable Barca fans out there; like I said, NSmiths' in NYC was packed with Cule stupidity today.
It's all good from my end though, you've every right to believe Pep is getting outclassed week in and out. Just can't expect me to agree or not argue the point. 
 
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