Renasko Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 We've already seen which way Mourinho is going.Yeah, and what's going on with his summer transfers? So far, it seems a bit unimpressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horus Ex Machina Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Well it's clear that Spain/Barca-style football is far from being figured out this time around. 70% of the match was just a masterful display of control that few have seen against United. Moreso than last time around even. The match was hardly in doubt even before the scoring began. Congrats to Barca fans although I'm not as enthused about it as I was last time around that they won. Some of that was Eto'o but I'm also just hoping that the rest of Europe starts to catch up or else things might start to get a bit stale. Barca is just too crazy good right now.*sigh* Now the summer months are here with no major tournament to fill the gap. Transfer speculation ad nauseum before a ball is kicked in anger.I'm interested to see what Juventus does with thier stadium opening soon. I hope they can become competitive again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 With a better referee, I'd imagine Valencia would have set the yellow card world record tonight. I counted 15, at least. :stunned:Not sure what match you were watching, then, because the entire Man U team only committed that number of fouls in total, including offsides.While Valencia should have been booked for persistent fouling somewhat earlier than he was, he committed no more than two offences that might have been considered for a caution in their own right, even to the fussiest of refs. I doubt he committed more than six fouls total, and not every foul is a caution.Overall, it was a pretty good-tempered match handled extremely well by the referee. He deserves much praise.ETA - I stand corrected: UEFA have Valencia as committing seven fouls from sixteen Man U fouls total. Must've missed one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Yeah, I got that sense. ;) But the criticism of the referee was unwarranted. He did a great job, and the stats show that. It was a free-flowing game. (The only criticism I have of the ref is that he booked Valdes for time-wasting after approximately a millisecond of dithering, then immediately prevented him from getting the ball back into play while he spoke to a couple of other players. That was a bit daft.)Further thoughts on the game: Man U appeared to succeed for most of the first half of the game in pushing back the Barca full-backs, but this led them into the classic bind against Barca - if you occupy the full-backs, you get overwhelmed in midfield. But if you don't, you get cut open down the flanks (which happened in the second half, when Dani Alves started to get free). I felt sorry for Carrick - he was frequently trying to mark Iniesta and Messi at the same time, and he's really not a defensive midfielder. He needed more help, but then, the first goal was caused by Evra coming inside to help out. Pedro ran into the space created and bang, you're a goal down. There was another moment almost identical, where three United players ran to close Messi down, leaving Xavi in space on the edge of the box. These are the hazards of losing your shape.But against Barca, it's hard not to lose your shape. That's partly down to their tactics but mostly due to their incredible wealth of attacking options. Truly a fantastic side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 With hindsight, I think Utd would have been much better off leaving Hernandez on the bench for that one and playing with an extra midfielder. It may have sucked the life out of the game a bit, but Hernandez did little except get caught offside for most of the game.That's what I was thinking even before the match. Last night and in 2009 I think they missed Darren Fletcher who can be a very good destructive midfielder (he was Man of the Match against Man City in that role a few seasons ago) and he'd have surely been more effective than Carrick and Giggs at disrupting Barcelona's dominance. I suppose that Fergie didn't think he was fit enough to start a match yet.Can everyone from England stop saying that the Premier League is the strongest in the world now? Last night and 2009 are evidence to the contrary.Now all that remains for Lionel Messi to do is win a World Cup all by himself and he has two left in which he'll still be young enough. I'd love to see him do it in Brazil in 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Sorry, double post. It wasn't my fault! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 The European cup doesn't automatically make the winning club's nation the best league. The Premier League has more teams involved in the title hunt, for example. Barca and Real are completely far and away the best two teams in La Liga, similar to Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. Makes for a poor league, in some ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 The European cup doesn't automatically make the winning club's nation the best league. The Premier League has more teams involved in the title hunt, for example. Barca and Real are completely far and away the best two teams in La Liga, similar to Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. Makes for a poor league, in some ways.Agree.League containing the best teams? Hell no. Best league overall? Maybe. It's very hard to tell what would happen if you made Sevilla, Mallorca and Athletico Madrid play in the EPL and make Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa* play in La Liga. *all teams picked at random Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Can everyone from England stop saying that the Premier League is the strongest in the world now? Last night and 2009 are evidence to the contrary.i'm not from england, but i am still certain the premier league is the strongest in europe, which probably makes it strongest in the world.this season in premiership, man utd won the title with 2 games left to play, but chelsea were very much in the run for it and arsenal as well until a month or so ago. and let's not forget man city's late good run which was too little too late to put them in the title race, but was good enough to secure their third place. and all of those teams lost points to liverpool (won vs man utd, man city and chelsea - tied twice with arsenal) who didn't even get a slot in european competitions for next season. hell, blackpool defeated liverpool and man utd and were relegated! sunderland thrashed chelsea 3:0 at stamford bridge when chelsea played at the peek of their form. in the last 15 minutes of the last gameweek 4 teams switched places fo 2 relegation slots. stoke played in the f.a. cup final, while birmingham (who were relegated) won the third english trophy - the league cup.having that many clubs who can actually compete with the best in the country is what makes the league best league in europe.on the other hand, barca IS the best team in europe (that's obvious now even for those who denied it so far), but they have only one serious rival in the league with all the others being 20+ points behind.one may prefer the style of game which is dominant in spain to one favoured by english sides or vice versa, but it is a fact that there are more competitive teams in england then in spain and that it makes the competition more entertaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Well said, Baxus. And hurrah, Ireland just defeated Scotland to win the prestigious nation's cup! :cool4: First trophy in 25 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 It's a Mickey Mouse trophy. <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 It's a Mickey Mouse trophy. <_<Yeah, but the only Scotland have a shot at. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mormont Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Four more years!Blatter wins again, it seems. The question, though, is whether this one might turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renasko Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Reading have pulled a goal back in the play-off final! 3-1, now, at the start of the second half.ETA: WOW. Two goals in a small amount of time from Reading, coming back from 3-0 down at half-time. What a turn-around! Come on, one more!ETA II: Nearly 3-3. Reading hit the post. Swansea are capitulating.ETA III: Scott Sinclair scores from the spot for Swansea to (almost certainly) secure their place in the Premier League. :thumbsdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lessthanluke Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Reading have pulled a goal back in the play-off final! 3-1, now, at the start of the second half.ETA: WOW. Two goals in a small amount of time from Reading, coming back from 3-0 down at half-time. What a turn-around! Come on, one more!ETA II: Nearly 3-3. Reading hit the post. Swansea are capitulating.ETA III: Scott Sinclair scores from the spot for Swansea to (almost certainly) secure their place in the Premier League. :thumbsdown:BOOM! Swansea in the Premier League! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Mongoose Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Was a good game. Swansea look like a fun team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman of the North Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 BOOM! in the Premier League!Was a good game. look like a fun team.I seem to be missing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 And people thought Blackpool were harum-scarum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Wizard Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 The Championship play-off final was a very entertaining match. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 Excuse my ignorance, but how much do pro footie players value the World Cup title versus the title from a few days ago? Let's say I'm a really good pro player but I've never one a UEFA title or a WC title. Which one do I covet more? Does one bring more prestige than the other? Just to compare it to the NBA, I think the average great NBA player values an NBA title more than a Gold medal. Not a perfect comparison, I know, but I wondered how it is w/ football.Everyone pretends it's the World Cup. Nowadays the Champions League is, within the UEFA teams, probably the more coveted. Bear in mind the CL brings clubs lots of money whereas international trophies can leave them out of pocket (if a player gets injured and the country won't pick up the tab): also you can go for the CL every year, so if you're playing for Barca or another top team you have four times the realistic shots at that compared to the World Cup.Don't get me wrong, winning the World Cup is still massive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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