Football Thread 12

[Fireball07]

So you all realise that Darren Bent is a legend for Sunderland already. If we win this one.....oh god it'll be fantastic. WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!

[Black Wizard]

William Gallas is a goal machine. Wenger should invest in a new centre back and play Gallas up front.

[DJDonegal]

He's got the number already. Makes sense to me.

ETA: Ballack equalises for Chelsea. Sorry, Fireball. I really would like to see you get a good result here.

[Mme Erzulie]

And Fat Fucker Frank Lampard scores on a penalty. I still hate Chelsea.

[Fireball07]

Fuck it

would be an accurate summing up of my feelings about the game. Fuck it anyway.

3-1, great goal by Deco, maybe we can pull one back?

[DJDonegal]

In better news, 2-0 away for the Goon is a solid result... If it stays like that.

[BLU-RAY]

Very nice second half from Chelsea, except for the bit where Shevchenko was on the field. Completely dominant in possession and attack. It will be interesting to see if Ancelotti ever settles on a consistent midfield, especially when Joe Cole comes back. You pretty much always have to have either Mikel or Essien in the team, and Lampard is a constant, which leaves two slots for Mikel/Essien, Zhirkov, Deco, Ballack, Joe Cole, Malouda, and Ferreira (assuming they loan out Matic).

Personally, I think the best combination is Mikel/Essien/Ballack/Lampard, but Ballack is old now, so Zhirkov might be better. Not entirely sure, though; I just know I don't really trust Deco. For each magnificent play he makes, he fucks up two possessions.

Also, it would be nice to stop conceding the first goal.

[Alcibiades]

YEEES. Excellent showing second half from the Blues.

DVD: I think Chelsea's best midfield diamond right now is: Essian; Zhirkov, Ballack; Lampard. But you're right, there is an awful lot of room for rotation this season. I think that this can only be a good thing, as players will be hungry for playing time. It will also make us pretty immune to injury concerns, as there will always be someone ready to step into a vacant role.

Also, Lampard has to be ready to change his position up. In the first half vs Man United in the community shield, Fletcher and Carrick had his number. He did better second half. But being behind those strikers isn't Lampard's historic role in the team.

Great showing from Chelsea. Getting it done, like the Pros they are.

[polishgenius]

Good result for Arsenal. Slightly fortunate for the goals but the scoreline was about right, although for large parts most of the attack (Fabregas aside) looked tepid. Vermaelen looks a solid buy.

[Fireball07]

Vermaelen was class today. So was Deco...

[Alcibiades]

I hate having so many teams miss fixtures this early in the season. It means the table is going to be screwed up for a long time.

And re Deco: Looks like he's actually trying to play his way into this side. Most Chelsea fans I know had written him off.

Sunderland are class under Steve Bruce. Cattermole was the last piece of the jigsaw they really needed.

[Renasko]

Bitterly disappointed we lost against Arsenal tonight 2-0. Those two goals were hard to take, the first one being the hardest. It really knocked the wind out of our lads, and we came out for the second half in a bit of a daze. First 10 mins were hard to watch, but I'm glad we pulled ourselves back together a bit. Arsenal had the control of the possession in the first half, but I was pleased to see us get control of the game in the second half. I believe the last 'possession' thing that showed up on the tv had us with 52% overall, but that was shown before the last 10 mins of the game, and it might've altered somewhat, since we threw in the towel properly round about that time.

Looking forward to the game at the Emirates. It'll be incredibly difficult for us to salvage the tie, but in all seriousness, despite our good showing tonight, I think we'd stand a better chance of winning something if we play in the Europa league, this season.

[Fireball07]

I hate having so many teams miss fixtures this early in the season. It means the table is going to be screwed up for a long time.

And re Deco: Looks like he's actually trying to play his way into this side. Most Chelsea fans I know had written him off.

Sunderland are class under Steve Bruce. Cattermole was the last piece of the jigsaw they really needed.

We still need another right winger because Malbranque has terrible fitness problems. And another RB would be nice too. But yeah, we certainly have more strength in depth now.

But Leadbitter is still getting on as a sub which is a bit weird, seeing as Tainio, Cana and Cattermole are all about three times as good as him.

[Calibandar]

Renasko

Arsenal had the control of the possession in the first half, but I was pleased to see us get control of the game in the second half.

This I find a very strange comment. I watched Celtic vs Arsenal last night and at no time were Celtic in control. Let alone that they were in control of an entire half. They were thoroughly outplayed by a far superior Arsenal and the return game has become a formality. The difference in technical ability between Arsenal and Celtic was enormous and something the commentators kept coming back to as well.

Heck, even if somehow they did have slightly more possession in the 2nd half, which I'll take your word for, that is hardly the same as being in control of a match. Believe me, I'm Dutch and I have seen our national side lose critical matches at end stages of tournaments where they had over 60% of possession.

[Isis]

I think this demonstrates that Robbie is still a legend. :)

Fowler takes revenge

[polishgenius]

Heck, even if somehow they did have slightly more possession in the 2nd half, which I'll take your word for, that is hardly the same as being in control of a match. Believe me, I'm Dutch and I have seen our national side lose critical matches at end stages of tournaments where they had over 60% of possession.

I'll have to agree with that- I was watching and there was one point about 10-15 minutes into the second half where Celtic had had something like 64% of the possession of the half so far, yet at that point Arsenal were absolutely battering them, with a scoring chance almost every time they got the ball. Celtic were probably the better team once the two subs came on, but I wouldn't call it dominance.

[Black Wizard]

He's got the number already. Makes sense to me.

It would be odd to have wee Cesc Fabregas as a centre-back though.

Celtic were very unlucky last night. They could have been torn apart on the counter-attack because of the way Mowbray plays but it came down to two moments of outrageous luck in Arsenal's favour. That kind of luck hasn't gone Arsenal's way in the last couple of years. After winning the way they did and with that atmosphere, last night could have been a big kick up the arse for Arsenal.

[Renasko]

This I find a very strange comment. I watched Celtic vs Arsenal last night and at no time were Celtic in control.

Sorry, poor choice of words. My original thought was to say how they got 'more of a control', considering how the game was going away from them at that stage, and Arsenal's intention (no matter who they play) is to pass the opposition to death. The score could've been a lot worse last night. Instead, we still have a fighting chance in the second leg. An unlikely chance, but one nonetheless.

[DJDonegal]

Is he going, going, gone? Lescott has been dropped for tomorrow's game, although Moyes cites his attitude as the reason.

Cue news of him leaving early next week, I think. Tuesday.

[Alcibiades]

No Skrtel, but Benayoun gets the start. Should be interesting!

TEAMS Liverpool v Stoke

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Ayala, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun, Torres. Subs: Cavalieri, Voronin, Riera, Babel, Ngog, Kelly, Dossena.

Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Delap, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Beattie, Cresswell. Subs: Simonsen, Griffin, Cort, Lawrence, Fuller, Kitson, Pugh.