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Football thread 15


kuroishi

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Rooney has matured in the last few months? Only today he had to apologise for mouthing "12 men" at the camera last week after losing to Chelsea. Matured, no. Followed his manager's example, yes.

Yeah is the umpteenth time I've heard 'Rooney has matured/calmed down/etc look! here's a game where he didn't go psycho!'. I can't wait for the next run of niggling fouls, reckless challenge, afters, handbags, shopping trolley rage...

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It's halftime at Galaxy vs. Dynamo. Fun game so far. Great distribution from Beckham, and movement from all players. Stu Holden looking good. Lack of quality in finishing, as is typical of MLS. 0:0

The lights at the stadium went off for about 20 minutes. Looks like a raucous crowd at Home Depot center.

ETA: Also, wtf?

Gahahaha. Didn't he leave Man United because he wasn't getting played enough? And he's spent a lot of time injured at Man City.

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Your main forward, Landon Donavon, having a poor season?

You might say that. I don't actually watch Galaxy much. But Donovan only has 10 goals this season, down from 20 last season (he won the golden boot last season). He was immense at the confederations cup though. He's had a quiet game tonight.

Looks like galaxy are going to win it, they just went up 1:0 in extra time. Scrappy goal from a corner.

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Mental fragility and some defensive frailty. They're probably the only team who can come close to Spain for attacking skill, but their defence is highly suspect, particularly on the counter, which they're vulnerable to because of the way they play. Plus, this is a big tournament and these are the Dutch.

But you didn't just compare Holland with Germany previously. You compared them with England. :P Holland have at least as good if not a better record than England in major tournaments.

Besides, Spain's win in 2008 should be a good example of how a country will win eventually if it keeps on playing well and knocking on that door.

I think its good that Spain lost a game. You don't really want to be carrying those sort of diverting statistics into the WC. They'll probably learn from it also. That defeat wasn't a great display.

I find it very amusing that Beckham has turned things around for him in LA. He wasn't very popular earlier in the year. But he is used to fighting against unpopularity I suppose. :)

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I find it very amusing that Beckham has turned things around for him in LA. He wasn't very popular earlier in the year. But he is used to fighting against unpopularity I suppose. :)

Yeah. He and Donovan made a big show out of celebrating together after Donovan scored a penalty yesterday. It's very possible he could leave MLS on a high note, having just won MLS cup (which is essentially our equivalent of the league title in the European leagues).

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Wow, 'Land of Our Fathers' is pretty impressive even in a small, half-full stadium. Shame Scotland's anthem is a complete dirge.

Scotland are playing Wales in Cardiff today. Hopefully it'll be a good match even with both teams having a few injury problems.

Kenny Miller once again showed his ability to get in great positions, and his inability to finish.

EDIT: Ugh, fuck this, I'm watching the Rugby instead. At least Scotland are able to beat Fiji in that.

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Couple of things.

Polish:

Plus, this is a big tournament and these are the Dutch.

As Pod notes, it is strange that you would apply this fallible logic to the Dutch and then rank England higher. They have a similar rep, deserved or not, and when you look at the performance of Holland and England on the EC and WC tournaments in the last 20 years, the Dutch have simply performed better. Both teams have had an impressive qualifying campaign as well.

Given the tiny size of our country I think it is still remarkable that we are in the top 5 teams of the world and can go toe to toe with sides like Brazil, Germany and Argentina.

Finally, the last time a Dutch team during a major tournament actually fell apart due to poor group dynamics ( quarrels between black and white players) was at the EC 1996. That's quite a while ago man, you can't drag that up every time you start assessing a team. In 1994 they were beaten in the quarter finals by BRazil. In 1998 there was a semi final at WC, with a loss after penalties against Brazil, starring a magnificent Ronaldo and Rivaldo in their prime. In 2000 there was a semi final against Italy, again lost after penalties, and having missed no less than 2 penalties even during regular play. In 2004 they played very well but were ultimately beaten by the then superb Czech rep. In 2006 there was a second round defeat against Portugal in a tough as nails match. And then last year a stunning performance capped with a totally surprising and depressing quarter final defeat against Russia. A tournament England even failed to qualify for IIRC.

But I agree with your point to an extent; The Dutch often play very nice but fail to take the ultimate win. No one would be surprised to see that happen again next year.

Re; Spain

I do think they are the best in the world. Not only in terms of stupendous play, but also in terms of results. They are very very good. If there is a weakness it is defensively IMO, that doesn't look too good. I don't know when or even if Senna comes back to the side but I don't think it's needed, Spain has got a stunning array of midfielders available to them to fill that gap, and I think Alonso is quite capable. And still, Senna might come back anyway. And upfront you're looking at Torres and Villa, often partnered as a couple, which is one hell of a tandem.

They're certainly far more spectacular than the current Brazil side, and less clearly, they are a better side as well. Brazil is much more result oriented now, lacking the stars of earlier tournaments. On the other hand with Robinho doing as poorly as he does and Ronaldinho finding his form again, plus the rise of AC Milan's Pato and the return of Adriano, they certainly could include more star players if Dunga wanted to. He seems very keen on keeping everything somber though, hopefully not too much.

Renasko

If you level that complaint against Man U's players you should realistically level it at Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool as well. All big teams have off days in which their players give less than they should, and it certainly doesn't look as if Man United exhibits this trait more frequently.

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Jesus Christ that was horrible.

Darren Fletcher captains the team and plays another stinker. He gave away possession which lead to the third goal and once again failed to show anything of his club form. Week in, week out he is one of Manchester United's most important players but has never put in the same effort for Scotland. He should consider his future in international football.

What the hell Burley thought he was doing by playing a back four comprised of three players who conceded three goals together last week I do not know.

The Scotland squad is a fucking shambles and it's not just the manager's fault; the players have got to get there act together as well.

To make up for it though Brazil have just gone ahead against England. :)

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Jesus Christ that was horrible.

Darren Fletcher captains the team and plays another stinker. He gave away possession which lead to the third goal and once again failed to show anything of his club form. Week in, week out he is one of Manchester United's most important players but has never put in the same effort for Scotland. He should consider his future in international football.

Bollocks. Fletcher has had many good games for Scotland: in fact, Man U fans used to complain that he never showed the same form for his club as he did for his country.

He has had a few bad games for Scotland recently, but effort is not the problem. 90% of the time, 'lack of effort' is (ironically) a lazy way of criticising an outfield player who for whatever reason played badly.

The Scotland squad is a fucking shambles and it's not just the manager's fault; the players have got to get there act together as well.

I was a huge advocate of Burley getting this job, and a big fan. But let's get real. His record is awful, he has been a disaster and he should already have been fired. It is the manager's fault.

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