The [Horribly Unpopular] Soccer Thread

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Arsenal made Theo Walcott their highest paid player?

Only thing I have to admit, they screwed up big time letting RvP go.

Arsenal were in a tough spot with Theo. Had Giroud or Podolski worked out a little better, they probably could have sold Theo and been ok. But as it is, they need striker depth, and while I still feel that he is better as a winger, he fills some of the needed depth at striker.

In regards to RvP, they didn't exactly "let him go". His contract was about to be up. He wanted out. If they had forced him to play out his contract, his effort would have been suspect and his attitude could have been a plague on the rest of the team. They made the decision to make good money off him while they could. For that, I can't blame them.
 
The issue with RvP is that they could have signed him earlier. I also heard that Wenger lowballed him not sure if that's true or just rumor mill fodder but that he didn't offer him the compensation one of the best strikers in the world should be getting. I think it's just another example of Wenger thinking he's smarter than he actually is. Van Persie should have been one of the highest paid strikers in the world and Arsenal should have paid that price. He's worth every penny. Look at what he's been able to do going into a brand new Manchester United squad, and leads the premier league in scoring. Guy is the best striker in the world right now. If you dont' count Messi as a striker of course.
 
The issue with RvP is that they could have signed him earlier. I also heard that Wenger lowballed him not sure if that's true or just rumor mill fodder but that he didn't offer him the compensation one of the best strikers in the world should be getting. I think it's just another example of Wenger thinking he's smarter than he actually is. Van Persie should have been one of the highest paid strikers in the world and Arsenal should have paid that price. He's worth every penny. Look at what he's been able to do going into a brand new Manchester United squad, and leads the premier league in scoring. Guy is the best striker in the world right now. If you dont' count Messi as a striker of course.

I'm not trying to defend everything Wenger does, but before last season, Van Persie couldn't string together 5 games without an injury, and was more or less considered a marginal striker. He was given the captains armband because he was the longest tenured squad member. When he started having the breakout year, with Arsenal, they attempted to re-sign early in the season, and he held out. When the time came, he declined and said he wanted to move, no matter the money that was offered. It was widely reported that the base salary offered to him was more than what he is being paid by Utd.

In my opinion, Radamel Falcao is the best striker in the world.
 
Falcoa is great. I would say that he, RvP and Ibrahimovich are all pretty close to each other and just have different skills. My personal favorite striker (for say FIFA purposes) is Edinson Cavani.
 
I won't tell you what this video is about. You will be rewarded when you figure it out. :)


watch
 
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Montero's deal with the columbian team is just a loan deal. Still under contract with Seattle.
Its actually a smart business move. They've signed him to a lengthy extension, then loaned him out, in hopes that it will get him a spot on the national team, some exposure to Europe, and subsequently a big pay day to the sounders so they can sign some DPs.

I've heard they want to sign 1 or 2 DPs this spring.
 
Montero's deal with the columbian team is just a loan deal. Still under contract with Seattle.
Its actually a smart business move. They've signed him to a lengthy extension, then loaned him out, in hopes that it will get him a spot on the national team, some exposure to Europe, and subsequently a big pay day to the sounders so they can sign some DPs.

I've heard they want to sign 1 or 2 DPs this spring.

This all over
 
FlyDoctor, I do agree 100% on the Brek Shea rumors.
If he does go to Stoke, seems like he will struggle for playing time....doesn't he normally play left wing??
Matthew Etherington, Stoke's left mid/wing, will be hard to displace for a starting role.

Then again, this one could just be a rumor, as the official release just said he was invited to train with them (& his buddy Geoff Cameron).
 
I don't want Shea going to Stoke because I hate their style of Football. I should probably like them more because they have more Americans than any Premier league squad, I would much rather him go to Everton or Fulham since they play football in a more respectable manner.
 
Jeez, is Stoke becoming Americans' home away from home? Pretty soon they'll be to EPL what Chivas USA is to MLS :D
 
Geoff Cameron is the only US player currently on the squad...as far as I know.
Maurice Edu moved to Turkey or some place like that, due to lack of playing time.

I hate Stoke with a passion ever since their fans booed Aaron Ramsey when he came on the field after recovering from the leg break.
Most absurd thing I have ever witnessed by sporting fans.
 
Hmm... yeah that's pretty messed up. When Steve Zakuani came back this season the entire league celebrated his recovery from a pretty gnarly leg break.
 
Geoff Cameron is the only US player currently on the squad...as far as I know.
Maurice Edu moved to Turkey or some place like that, due to lack of playing time.

I hate Stoke with a passion ever since their fans booed Aaron Ramsey when he came on the field after recovering from the leg break.
Most absurd thing I have ever witnessed by sporting fans.

Edu is on loan, he's not sold.

Actually Aston Villa has 2 as well, Guzan is really solid (well certainly compared to Given) and Lichaj gets some playing time but isn't a starter. I wish Lichaj would get more time under Klinsmann I'm really impressed with his ability to attack, I think he could be a long term replacement for Cherundolo, or at least provide some depth. Also will be fun to see Bradley move to the premier league, that seems to be where he's destined to go based on his style. He's doing great in Roma, but his style of play fits the BPL or Bundesliga much more. They're much more industrial leagues while Serie A is more of pass and show league. Also hope that Jozy leaves AZ, not that he's doing poorly or I dislike the opportunity he's getting but I hate what they've done to his national team chances.
 
Edu is on loan, he's not sold.

Actually Aston Villa has 2 as well, Guzan is really solid (well certainly compared to Given) and Lichaj gets some playing time but isn't a starter. I wish Lichaj would get more time under Klinsmann I'm really impressed with his ability to attack, I think he could be a long term replacement for Cherundolo, or at least provide some depth. Also will be fun to see Bradley move to the premier league, that seems to be where he's destined to go based on his style. He's doing great in Roma, but his style of play fits the BPL or Bundesliga much more. They're much more industrial leagues while Serie A is more of pass and show league. Also hope that Jozy leaves AZ, not that he's doing poorly or I dislike the opportunity he's getting but I hate what they've done to his national team chances.

Read an interesting article on espn today about how the Michael Bradley style of industrial midfielder has become more prominent in serie a.
 
Read that same article, what I got from it was basically saying that Real Madrid and Barca Adopting a more Italian Style of play has hurt a lot and some English squads as well (like Man City)
 
Eden Hazard gets sent off for kicking a ball boy... stay classy Chelsea!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/F7BucRKw5qo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Oh it was apparent he was wasting time. However kicking him in the ribs to get the ball back probably wasn't the best way to solve it.
 
One of them is an adult, the other is a child. Kid was running after the ball Hazard pressed him.

The kid got in his way and refuse to give him the ball. Then laid on top of it so Hazard couldn't get it.

Oh it was apparent he was wasting time. However kicking him in the ribs to get the ball back probably wasn't the best way to solve it.

The video shows that he kicked the ball and it wasn't even that hard. The kid just did his favorite soccer impression and pretended that it hurt. He obviously wanted the attention and from his pre-game tweet, he was prepared to be a little **** to get it.
 
I couldn't see the video super clearly, but from what I saw he was going after the ball when Hazard came up on him maybe Hazard hit him which lead to that. I think he went on top of purposely but if Hazard wasn't there, he likely wouldn't have done that. Again, one is a kid one is an adult. Even if he kicked the ball, his follow through may have hit the kid in the ribs. You flat out don't know what 100% happened, but again, Hazard is an adult, the kid is a kid.
 
The video shows that he kicked the ball and it wasn't even that hard. The kid just did his favorite soccer impression and pretended that it hurt. He obviously wanted the attention and from his pre-game tweet, he was prepared to be a little **** to get it.

From the video I posted it don't think you can definitively say that the only thing he kicked was the ball. I highly doubt he didn't get a bit of ball boy along the way.

Both parties in this behaved like twats. However, one of those parties is a teenage ball boy. The other is a professional footballer who is paid millions per year. Guess who the onus and expectation is on to make the right decision?
 
On another note... How about Arsenal? That was pretty exciting...

Heck yes. It looked like the Arsenal of old. Quick decisive play. Sharp passing that picked apart the Hammers defense. Sadly I'm not optimistic that this will catch on again.
 
Should have just stepped on his hands. Ballboy was a jerk, that was purposeful. Should have been behind the boards anyway. Ballboy knew what he was doing, was his last game cause he's too old to do that stuff. Reminds me of HS games where both teams are bad and the seniors want to be thrown out for fighting in their last game. Happens a lot, cause for some there is nothing left to play for.
 
The hazard v ball idiot reminds me of a story a college professor told me of his boyhood. In the backwoods of Knox county TN he and his friends would 'potato' cars as they pulled up to a stop sign from up on the top of a 6 or 10 foot bank right next to the road. 'Potato' here means throw 1-3 potatoes. One day they did this and the guy got out of his car cursing and screaming, proceeded to pull out a rifle and starts shooting, they all of course ran away. Once they were safely away and all laughing one of them said he was out of breath, then collapsed, he'd been shot through a lung, idiot kid lived. Never found out who did it. My reaction was both he asked for it, and it's really stupid to attempt to shoot someone over a dent in a car. Seems to apply here.
 
The kid is a punk. He admits to time wasting.
Hazard is a punk.....have we forgotten the overly hyped, prima donna esque transfer saga of Hazard this past summer?
Chelsea FC didn't do themselves any favors with their initial "official reaction", which they later decided to apologize for.
None of this suprises me. The club is basically like the Kardashian's in my mind.
They do something outrageous on a weekly basis just to get in the headlines.
That being said, I don't think Hazard deserves any further punishment.

Arseanl put on a good show, But they have a tough run of games coming up.
Sadly, these games are an enigma for Arsenal. You see these types of performances from them when they play teams who don't close down on the ball in midfield, as well as teams who are subject to gettting caught on the break by committing too many slow players forward.
Liverpool is hot right now, and we've done well if we get a point out of that game.
 
The kid is a punk. He admits to time wasting.
Hazard is a punk.....have we forgotten the overly hyped, prima donna esque transfer saga of Hazard this past summer?
Chelsea FC didn't do themselves any favors with their initial "official reaction", which they later decided to apologize for.
None of this suprises me. The club is basically like the Kardashian's in my mind.
They do something outrageous on a weekly basis just to get in the headlines.
That being said, I don't think Hazard deserves any further punishment.

Arseanl put on a good show, But they have a tough run of games coming up.
Sadly, these games are an enigma for Arsenal. You see these types of performances from them when they play teams who don't close down on the ball in midfield, as well as teams who are subject to gettting caught on the break by committing too many slow players forward.
Liverpool is hot right now, and we've done well if we get a point out of that game.

+1 to everything you've said.

Against a team who are effective at closing down players and keeping it tight in the midfield we struggle. Passing back and forth with almost zero penetration. Then we inevitably over-commit going forward only to have a pass go awry in midfield allowing the opposing team to break with maybe 1-2 of our defenders in position. The effective tactic to stymie us is park the bus and hope to pinch an errant pass and hit us on the break. Gone are the days when allowing us time on the ball was a death sentence because we could work out a killer pass to unlock a defense.
 
yes, yes, & yes aygov.

Have you ever noticed that when we get caught on the break, its always Per Mertesacker left alone against like 3 athletic speedsters?
I really wish we would buy a solid center back, and move Vermaelen into a defensive midfield role.
I actually cringe at the thought of our center back situation, especially when I think back on Tony Adams and the like.
 
yes, yes, & yes aygov.

Have you ever noticed that when we get caught on the break, its always Per Mertesacker left alone against like 3 athletic speedsters?
I really wish we would buy a solid center back, and move Vermaelen into a defensive midfield role.
I actually cringe at the thought of our center back situation, especially when I think back on Tony Adams and the like.

The reason Per is stuck back there is because he's about the only person in defense that offers precisely zero going forward. He's lumbering and slow and with our habit of sending Sagna, Gibbs, and Vermaelen up to help the attack he often times is greatly exposed. He's a decent CB, but he does not fit in with the way we play.

I understand Wenger's thinking behind buying him as we are a bit short at the back. Unfortunately we need someone with size AND speed, not size at the expense of speed.
 
Keeping up with the Chelseans.

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This is my all time favorite episode

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Actually the "kid" is the 17 year old son of the club director. HE is there because of his dad's job. It was his last game cause really he's too old. His twitter page has him and his buddy posing with their tins of beer and him boasting about what he was gonna do at the game tonight..... the player that toe poked him is 5 years older.

Both were wrong but it should be over for the player. For the club director, I think it's just getting started. I think this "kid" has put his dad's job in unfriendly waters. UK boards of directors for professional sports are very old school. This kid disrespected his dad and his dad's job. I also wonder if this kid was a bit drunk as well.
 
If hazard plead with the refs the kid and his dad would have been in a much bigger trouble.

This exactly.

Don't engage in ********* antics with some ********* ball boy that's looking to get his 10 seconds of fame.

How ridiculous would it have looked if Hazard had walked up to get the ball and the kid falls down and smothers it without Hazard doing anything? Perhaps the spastic ball boy would have been the headline then?
 

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