Football, football, football 34

[Slick Mongoose]

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me7wm73j3s1qb8tsao1_500.gif

:rofl:

[polishgenius]

no? no messi?

any single team on the planet be it a pub side to a squad playing in the champions league would be happier than a man with an endless bag of blowjobs to have messi available to them.

i think you may well by insane.

I assume there that what Renasko was saying was that I'd rather have Messi than Ronaldo in my team if it was a choice.

[Alex.]

That .gif is so, so good.

[MercenaryChef]

I assume there that what Renasko was saying was that I'd rather have Messi than Ronaldo in my team if it was a choice.

that complicates things. choosing between them is hard. they bring different things to a team.

regardless i think it is best to question your sanity.

[Renasko]

I assume there that what Renasko was saying was that I'd rather have Messi than Ronaldo in my team if it was a choice.

I sense a little United biasedness sneaking into play here. Messi, not only being a superior player, technically, is also a better team player, as well. And that's that, sir!

Any manager would pick him over Ronaldo, hence the number of awards he collects, annually.

[polishgenius]

I sense a little United biasedness sneaking into play here. Messi, not only being a superior player, technically, is also a better team player,

He's superior technically. He loses out physically and in intelligence (particularly his movement as I said).

And I am adamant that he's not a better team player. There's a reason why strikers who join Barcelona suddenly find their goal tallies cut in half while Madrid's strikers score plenty and therefore Madrid have outscored Barca in each of their last three seasons.

It's always worth it questioning my sanity, mind you.

[Renasko]

I think that's more to do with Barca's general style of play, than Messi's influence alone.

[polishgenius]

I think that's more to do with Barca's general style of play, than Messi's influence alone.

Yeah, but I'm arguing that Barca's style of play is hugely influenced by Messi being at least as big a gloryhog as Ronaldo.

[White Walker Texas Ranger]

If my side doesn't have Xavi, Iniesta, and Biscuits, I'd rather have Ronaldo.

I think Messi gloryhounding is a valid criticism. It seems that a lot of Barcelona's difficulties against defensive teams is that nobody other than Messi, Iniesta or Xavi seems willing (or allowed to) risk losing possession.

Of course Madrid look like they may have even more trouble against teams that stay compact in front of goal than Barca does.

[Winterfell is Burning]

Apparently UEFA is considering scrapping the Europa League and doubling the size of the Champion's League instead

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otball/20523405

Yeah, that would be awesome...NOT.

What do you think of Jonathan Wilson's critique of CRonaldo that doesn't mention Messi once?

I think that any team that has a fullback run past him is taking a pretty big gamble.

Wilson is great, but sometimes he's too focused on tactical stuff to see the big picture; yes, sometimes fullbacks create opportunities and occasional goals by going forward without Ronaldo tracking back.

However, he guarantees you a goal per game. And the objective of a football team is to score more goals than it's opponent, not to dominate the midfield or to not allow space in one of the wings. Sometimes JW forgets that.

[BLU-RAY]

Fun piece on Grantland about the perceived job of the Chelsea manager (win trophies) vs the actual job of the Chelsea manager (make Abramovich look like a savvy personnel guy). Depressing, but... kind of accurate.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/43560/rafa-benitez-chelsea-roman

Twelve managers in fourteen years! For a team that has won, what, three League titles and the CL once, as well as a couple of lesser trophies? Kind of sickening to watch, honestly. I miss Mourinho.

[Padraig]

I think Messi gloryhounding is a valid criticism. It seems that a lot of Barcelona's difficulties against defensive teams is that nobody other than Messi, Iniesta or Xavi seems willing (or allowed to) risk losing possession.

Of course Madrid look like they may have even more trouble against teams that stay compact in front of goal than Barca does.

Every team has trouble in front of decent defensive teams. That's why teams are defensive!

Yeah, but I'm arguing that Barca's style of play is hugely influenced by Messi being at least as big a gloryhog as Ronaldo.

There is a huge difference between playing to a style that suits Messi and Messi been a gloryhog.

[baxus]

Messi is a more disciplined player, to be fair. Much more of a team player...

to be honest, i'm not sure how well messi would do in any team other than barca.

cronaldo did play great at both england and spain, winning titles with man utd and real.

Stewart Downing just looks like a lost child.

for someone playing a left back he sure did turn to his right foot way too much.

i guess the only real left-footer in liverpool side is jose enrique and rodgers seems to prefer him a bit more offensive.

dempsey's dive prior to tottenham's second goal was a disgrace.

falling like that after that much contact? my mates would never let me hear the end of it :)

He's superior technically. He loses out physically and in intelligence (particularly his movement as I said).

many players come before messi when it comes to physical aspects of the game. hell, i'm sure quite a few boarders do too.

that doesn't mean he's not great, it just means he plays a different style than he'd play if he were a 20cm taller and 25kg heavier.

when it comes to intelligence, i'd rate messi over ronaldo, no doubt about it.

he scores goals, passes well, has a great overview of the game. he set up 30-40 goals last season alone!

ronaldo, on the other hand, occasionally suffers from tunnel-vision when he gets all "I must be the one scoring this goal or it won't count". best example of that was the last euro - he was so selfish in the games he played it was painful to watch him. also, all the frustration he so often and so clearly shows when he doesn't get the ball is more than enough to disqualify him from "best team player" competition.

[mormont]

Hope Mormont has his ears covered.

It's OK. I'm immune to losses this season, except against Hibs. We lost basically an entire team without replacing anyone, with all due respect to John McGlynn we traded down in the manager position quite significantly, the players have frequently gone unpaid and the club is a financial basket case that the owner seems determined to squeeze the last dregs out of before he sells up and buggers off. If we survive and avoid relegation, I'll be content, and if we're on the wrong end of the odd hounding on the way, that's only to be expected.

Wilson is great, but sometimes he's too focused on tactical stuff to see the big picture; yes, sometimes fullbacks create opportunities and occasional goals by going forward without Ronaldo tracking back.

However, he guarantees you a goal per game. And the objective of a football team is to score more goals than it's opponent, not to dominate the midfield or to not allow space in one of the wings. Sometimes JW forgets that.

No, I think he does remember it - the thrust of his piece (if you ignore the headline) is not that Cronaldo is shit, it's that his style of play is tactically poor for a winger and he would be better deployed as a centre-forward. I've often thought the same myself.

[Alex.]

Fun piece on Grantland about the perceived job of the Chelsea manager (win trophies) vs the actual job of the Chelsea manager (make Abramovich look like a savvy personnel guy). Depressing, but... kind of accurate.

http://www.grantland...z-chelsea-roman

Twelve managers in fourteen years! For a team that has won, what, three League titles and the CL once, as well as a couple of lesser trophies? Kind of sickening to watch, honestly. I miss Mourinho.

It's articles like that which help me see Sheikh Mansour and Big Khaldoon as the responsible, rock and roll owners they actually are. You can't buy a sense of long term perspective or a bit of humility in football.

[polishgenius]

Every team has trouble in front of decent defensive teams. That's why teams are defensive!

Well yeah, but Barca have more than a team of their all-round quality should. Guardiola tried to work on the problem by buying that 'internal pivot' player he always talked about in various forms, but that gives Messi less outright responsibility and it has always led very quickly to said player getting sidelined and Messi getting his way. There's already been rumours of tensions between Messi and Villa this season, including that unseemly spat where Messi threw a wobbly because Villa didn't make a pass that was never really on.

many players come before messi when it comes to physical aspects of the game. hell, i'm sure quite a few boarders do too.

that doesn't mean he's not great, it just means he plays a different style than he'd play if he were a 20cm taller and 25kg heavier.

Oh, I'm not suggesting that Messi's not a great player. I just get kind of annoyed when people make him out to be a little model of perfection, especially compared to that bad C. Ronaldo man.

If he was 20cm taller and 25kg heavier he'd be a lot like the real Ronaldo - shame his knees were made of merangue because I'd have loved to have seen a prime from him. :(

when it comes to intelligence, i'd rate messi over ronaldo, no doubt about it.

he scores goals, passes well, has a great overview of the game. he set up 30-40 goals last season alone!

And yet, despite all those goals and assists, Madrid scored more than Barca last year, which is kind of the crux to my argument. One could argue that it's because Madrid have a better attacking outfit, but I really don't think that's the case - if anything it's the opposite.

ronaldo, on the other hand, occasionally suffers from tunnel-vision when he gets all "I must be the one scoring this goal or it won't count". best example of that was the last euro - he was so selfish in the games he played it was painful to watch him. also, all the frustration he so often and so clearly shows when he doesn't get the ball is more than enough to disqualify him from "best team player" competition.

Agreed. Ronaldo's not perfect here, don't get me wrong; and I'd certainly not forward either of these two for "best team player". I can see why people rate Messi over C. Ronaldo although I don't myself, I just kind of get fed up when people who think Messi is better refuse to entertain the possibility that he might not be or even be flawed in any way. It does sometimes get quite ridiculous.

[baxus]

messi is not a perfect boy many try to make him out to be, but cronaldo is such a prima donna that i always makes me wonder how come no teammate has ever slapped him

EDIT:

if nothing else, the way he acted in the euros warranted a thorough bitchslapping

[Faraday]

to be honest, i'm not sure how well messi would do in any team other than barca.

Fantastic, in all likelyhood.

The difference when you get to Ronaldo/Messi level is pretty close, I'd take Messi over Ronaldo having said all that. Can't wait to watch Argentina at the next World Cup, either. That strikeforce.

[polishgenius]

It's all irrelevant in the long term anyway, neither are part of the Belgian master race so neither will be in the discussion in two years time. :P

[baxus]

Fantastic, in all likelyhood.

i'm certain he'd do rather well, but i don't think he'd be as good in a system other than the one he's been playing his whole life in.

at the very best - it would take him a while to adapt.