The Soccer thread

[H_T 3,043]

On 12/18/2015 at 0:54 PM, Grapeviney said:

And it's goodbye to Jose Mourinho, with Guus Hiddink set to step in as caretaker.

Given the increasingly fractured relationship between coach and players in recent weeks, and their abysmal record (Champions League aside), it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it would still be hard to pull the trigger on a coach with a record like Mourinho's.

There were reports that he was in tears after being told, but if anyone in the sporting universe is likely to land on their feet following a sacking, then Jose's the man. 

Will be interesting to see where he goes next.

Edit: some important fixtures this weekend, with Liverpool away at Watford and Arsenal hosting City. 

 

Might have a few on Chelsea with Hiddink in charge. Just for the ride.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

9 hours ago, H_T said:

 

Might have a few on Chelsea with Hiddink in charge. Just for the ride.

It would take a comeback of epic proportions HT but a top-four finish is not out of the question by any stretch of the imagination. 

Was hard not to feel sorry for the Liverpool goalie last night - dropped an absolute sitter in the opening minutes on debut, and looked all at sea thereafter. Watford were probably lucky with the opening goal (which appeared to have been kicked out of the keeper's hands), but they definitely played the better football throughout the course of the game. 

And if Van Gaal was feeling the heat after United's loss on Saturday, it just got hotter with Pep Guardiola yesterday confirming he'll be leaving Bayern at the end of the season.  

Elsewhere, Barca won their 257th tournament for the year, hardly breaking into a sweat as they beat River Plate 3-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup Final in Japan. 

Edit: Just checking the scores from other leagues; Real Madrid were 2-1 down after 12 minutes at home to Rayo Vallecano, and came back to win 10-2 !

[Grapeviney 9,712]

Big news breaking in Europe with Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini both hit with 8-year bans by the FIFA Ethics Committee in the wake of the bribery scandal.

Both are expected to appeal to CAS but Blatter's already indicated he's retiring and Platini's hopes of succeeding him are all but over. 

[H_T 3,043]

14 hours ago, Grapeviney said:

Big news breaking in Europe with Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini both hit with 8-year bans by the FIFA Ethics Committee in the wake of the bribery scandal.

Both are expected to appeal to CAS but Blatter's already indicated he's retiring and Platini's hopes of succeeding him are all but over. 

Is there an AFL Ethics Committee?? One which can hand out 8 year bans?

[Cards13 9,117]

another amazing night in an amazing season. Gunners smashed, MU chit the bed again(LVG saying he can quit and doesn't need to be sacked), Liverpool bearing a tired L City, Chelski drawing. Massive next few games coming up. 

[Grapeviney 9,712]

10 hours ago, Cards13 said:

another amazing night in an amazing season. Gunners smashed, MU chit the bed again(LVG saying he can quit and doesn't need to be sacked), Liverpool bearing a tired L City

All of which made it a great weekend for Tottenham. 

Come on you Spurs!

[Macca 16,922]

Hammers defeat Liverpool (again) ... getting a few players back (including Payet) and our schedule isn't all that tough. Bilić is doing a fine job but without Sakho fit and firing a top 4 finish will probably be out of reach - but who knows?

The other 3 big guns all recorded wins last night whilst Leicester slipped up - Spurs need to win at Everton tonight if they're to be a real threat for the title.

[Cards13 9,117]

On 27 December 2015 at 9:23 PM, Grapeviney said:

All of which made it a great weekend for Tottenham. 

Come on you Spurs!

FFS..... Old bum grabber Jurgs said he wouldn't be a buyer in Jan, looks like he needs to dig deep in the transfer window. 

Defenders and a striker or 2 of note along with another quality passing mid.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

On 3 January 2016 at 3:06 PM, Macca said:

Spurs need to win at Everton tonight if they're to be a real threat for the title.

Had to settle for a point, Macca, despite dominating much of the game and twice hitting the woodwork in the first half. 

Need to add some firepower up front during the transfer period if we're going to keep pace with City and Arsenal and be a genuine contender. 

[H_T 3,043]

Marked improvement in performance under Hiddink at Chelsea over Crystal Palace away - 3-0 up. Here they come...

[Cards13 9,117]

Another bananas round of matches. MU drawing with Newcastle, Liverpool Arsenal was crazy in the first half and at the end. Firmino 2nd goal was ridiculous.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

Liverpool will be spewing after that; played the better football, created more chances, and looked more likely to score throughout. 

LVG will be pleased to get the points but United were far from impressive. I missed last week's draw with Newcastle but they've been bog ordinary every other time I've seen them this season. Results elsewhere, however, mean they remain very much in the race if they can regain their mojo. 

[Grapeviney 9,712]

Barnstorming finish to a ripping game at Carrow Road, with Norwich levelling in the 92nd minute only to see Liverpool kick the winner in the 95th for a 5-4 victory.

Dele Alli scored one of the goals of the year in Spurs 3-1 win against Palace. 

 

 

 

[Macca 16,922]

The EPL title seems to be down to a race in 4 if we discount Man Utd and those behind the red devils (although, Champions League spots can't be ruled out for those outside of the current top 4)

So, here are the next 6 games for those in contention ...

Leicester (47) ... vs Liverpool, @ Man City, @ Arsenal, vs Norwich, vs West Brom, vs Watford

Man City (44) ... @ Sunderland, vs Leicester, vs Tottenham, @ Newcastle, @ Liverpool, vs Aston Villa

Arsenal (44) ... vs Southampton, @ Bournemouth, vs Leicester, @ Man Utd, vs Swansea, @ Tottenham

Tottenham (42) ... @ Norwich, vs Watford, @ Man City, vs Swansea, @ West Ham, vs Arsenal

Obviously all the games are vital but dropped points in the games I've highlighted can have the double effect of lending a helping hand to the teams that any of the 4 teams might give points to.

Leicester in particular have a tough 3 games coming up ... I reckon they'd take 5 points out of a possible 9 points (from those next 3 games) as being a decent enough result.

Also, Leicester don't have any FA Cup fixtures or Champions league fixtures to concern themselves with (Man City & Arsenal are still alive in both those competitions whilst Spurs are still alive in the FA Cup)

Here's the current table

Edited January 26, 2016 by Macca

[Grapeviney 9,712]

So Arsenal were the only real losers overnight, being held to a scoreless draw at home against Southampton.

The Foxes, Spurs and City all won as expected, with Jamie Vardy kicking an absolute gem to continue his and Leicester's fairytale season. 

[Macca 16,922]

Huge game coming up tonight (11.45pm) ... Man City vs Leicester. I reckon we'll see a number of goals as both teams should be going all out for the win ... 3-2 either way (how's that for sitting on the fence!)

Those without cable can listen to the game here

[Grapeviney 9,712]

The home side never really got going, Macca, enabling Leicester to consolidate top spot with another convincing (and entertaining) win, and relegating City to third place behind a Spurs side that continues to make every post a winner. 

Chelsea host ManU tonight in what should be a good game, but it's next week that offers a tantalising top-of-the-table double-header with Leicester at Arsenal and Spurs visiting City. 

[Macca 16,922]

7 hours ago, Grapeviney said:

The home side never really got going, Macca, enabling Leicester to consolidate top spot with another convincing (and entertaining) win, and relegating City to third place behind a Spurs side that continues to make every post a winner. 

Chelsea host ManU tonight in what should be a good game, but it's next week that offers a tantalising top-of-the-table double-header with Leicester at Arsenal and Spurs visiting City. 

Both games are on next Sunday night 'GV' with the Arsenal vs Leicester game on at the fan-friendly time of 11pm (at least for night owls like me!) First of all, Arsenal need to get past Bournemouth tonight - and that's not a sure thing either.

Watched Leicester and Man City last night and 'The Foxes' are not a team that wants or needs a lot of possession ... they are well coached and well drilled and their counter-attacking style is really dangerous. There's no reason they can't go on and win the whole thing (and wouldn't that be great for the EPL?)

They're almost assured of a champions league spot which is a colossal achievement in itself (unless they have a meltdown - which I can't see happening) If Chelsea win tonight Leicester will be 13 points clear of 5th spot.

[Dr John Dee 1,057]

8 hours ago, Macca said:

Both games are on next Sunday night 'GV' with the Arsenal vs Leicester game on at the fan-friendly time of 11pm (at least for night owls like me!) First of all, Arsenal need to get past Bournemouth tonight - and that's not a sure thing either.

Watched Leicester and Man City last night and 'The Foxes' are not a team that wants or needs a lot of possession ... they are well coached and well drilled and their counter-attacking style is really dangerous. There's no reason they can't go on and win the whole thing (and wouldn't that be great for the EPL?)

They're almost assured of a champions league spot which is a colossal achievement in itself (unless they have a meltdown - which I can't see happening) If Chelsea win tonight Leicester will be 13 points clear of 5th spot.

They also showed some genuine class at times. Their defence can be a bit prone to panicking, but that's a reasonably common story in the EPL (the Arse are experts at it).

As an Arsenal supporter I won't mind too much if Leicester end up winning the league but I won't be too happy if they win next week. It's one thing to have that pub team from Hackney in front of us on goal difference but if they go clear I suspect we'll be looking at something close to the end of the world in Islington.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

On 7 February 2016 at 8:13 AM, Dr John Dee said:

 

As an Arsenal supporter I won't mind too much if Leicester end up winning the league but I won't be too happy if they win next week. It's one thing to have that pub team from Hackney in front of us on goal difference but if they go clear I suspect we'll be looking at something close to the end of the world in Islington.

Sorry Doc, we're too busy chasing the title to be distracted by some petty north London rivalry with your second-rate side. 

[Macca 16,922]

Leicester have got 13 games left with 2 fortnight breaks ... they stay healthy, they can win it.

Conversely, the Spurs, Gunners and City have up to 26 games ahead of them (counting Champions league, Europa league, FA cup and League cup commitments)

That is a significant advantage in terms of keeping players fresh (esp at the tail-end of the season) ... however, Leicester could ill-afford to lose Vardy, Kante or either of their 2 big centre-backs (Morgan & Huth)

It's going to be a fascinating run in.

[Dr John Dee 1,057]

15 hours ago, Grapeviney said:

Sorry Doc, we're too busy chasing the title to be distracted by some petty north London rivalry with your second-rate side. 

I suspect we do have a first-rate side, it's just that lots of them are in rehab and have never had the opportunity to play together. There are some Arsenal players who, when they fill in their travel cards, presumably just add 'injured' in the occupation section.

City are much the same, of course. I was assuming they still had enough class to peg Leicester back over the next few weeks but last weekend probably took care of that. Good luck to the Foxes, at least it'll break the big money stranglehold on the title (I suppose I could say that about Spurs as well, but I'd only do so in parentheses).

[Macca 16,922]

Such is the nature of soccer that it's altogether possible that Leicester could play really well at Arsenal next Sunday and lose the game ... their last 3 games of the season are tough too.

But the other 3 sides in contention have a fair bit on their plate too. However, Arsenal will do well to get past Barca in the Champions league and Spurs might decide that the Europa league is too much of a distraction. Man City will probably get past Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions league.

[Grapeviney 9,712]

11 hours ago, Macca said:

Such is the nature of soccer that it's altogether possible that Leicester could play really well at Arsenal next Sunday and lose the game ..

I've never understood why some supporters leave when they're down 1-0 with 5 minutes and stoppage time still to play. The game's not over! You can still score!

Sure, if you're down 4-0 then you might want to get ahead of traffic or catch the early train, but some fans even leave when their side is up, and I don't understand this either. Relative to AFL, there are so few goals - wouldn't you want to see, and celebrate, every one of them? 

I never leave the footy early. The English are weird. 

[Macca 16,922]

32 minutes ago, Grapeviney said:

I've never understood why some supporters leave when they're down 1-0 with 5 minutes and stoppage time still to play. The game's not over! You can still score!

Sure, if you're down 4-0 then you might want to get ahead of traffic or catch the early train, but some fans even leave when their side is up, and I don't understand this either. Relative to AFL, there are so few goals - wouldn't you want to see, and celebrate, every one of them? 

I never leave the footy early. The English are weird. 

The Americans are even worse ... some stadiums are virtually empty by the end of some games. 

I've also heard that a lot of NBA fans (at the games) are in the bars until half time.