papereyes The two times England have reached a final it was on home turf.
What was the second final? The Umbro Cup?
by Silver Fox » 28 May 2009 12:24
papereyes The two times England have reached a final it was on home turf.
by papereyes » 28 May 2009 12:32
Silver Foxpapereyes The two times England have reached a final it was on home turf.
What was the second final? The Umbro Cup?
by 6ft Kerplunk » 28 May 2009 12:37
papereyeswhat the hell was puyol playing at with those ridiculous dives when his side were comfortably winning 2 - 0? he didnt need to start throwing himself on the floor just because someone touched him.
Was that the one where Ronaldo got booked for basically blocking him ahead of going for the ball?
Or was that the one where Ronaldo brought him down on the edge of United's box?
(Although, admittedly he did get up, realise that he couldn't chase Ronaldo quick enough and went back down )
by AF1 » 28 May 2009 13:01
Terry Venables yesterday Ronaldo also scores goals with his head, which Messi couldn’t do even if they put a top hat on him.
by Row Z Royal » 28 May 2009 13:05
AF1Terry Venables yesterday Ronaldo also scores goals with his head, which Messi couldn’t do even if they put a top hat on him.
by Archie's penalty » 28 May 2009 13:13
AF1 Nigerian Man Utd fan kills 4 Barca fans with busBuzz up!
Digg it
Reuters, Thursday May 28 2009
PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, May 28 (Reuters) - A Manchester United fan in Nigeria killed four people when he drove his minibus into a crowd of Barcelona supporters after his team lost the Champions League final, police said on Thursday.
The crowd in the town of Ogbo were celebrating Barcelona's victory after Wednesday night's match when the bus drove into them. A police spokeswoman said 10 people were injured and the driver was arrested.
"The driver had passed the crowd then made a U-turn and ran into them," she said.
Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in what was hailed as a "dream final" between two of Europe's best clubs. Both teams have large fan bases in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. (Reporting by Austin Ekeinde; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Randy Fabi and Farah Master)
by Hoop Blah » 28 May 2009 13:21
papereyes I just think that at the heart of it, the moment England play a team that keeps hold of the ball and can play in the usual heat of a major tournament, they'll get beaten. They don't have the disclipline to accept alternative styles of play or accept that they're not the best player in the team anymore. I guess that's why they look better when someone like Barry or Hargreaves is in the midfield ahead of the 'ard axis - there's someone in there playing the simpler stuff, playing a more selfless game. They don't have the mentality to keep the ball if nothing's going, taking a short sideways pass to try and engineer another angle.
I do accept that a very good manager could break this mentality and Capello looks more likely than his three predecessors.
You cite Germany but I think they have as good a first XI as England, they just tend not to play in England so get underrated.
You cite Greece, but they had the discipline to accept a game plan and stick to it. I cannot see English players doing that, at this time.
The two times England have reached a final it was on home turf.
by papereyes » 28 May 2009 13:23
Perhaps where we differ is that I think we can get to the point where we have a functioning team as opposed to a set of celebrity players.
by papereyes » 28 May 2009 13:36
Thomas L'HeureuxpapereyesTBM Barca are basically the team Arsenal CAN be.....
Both teams are very similar in style of play but Barca just have that extra something, the final touch to take it further!
A proper striker at the front rather than Adebayor or Bendtner? Include van Persie who only plays ~ 50 % of a season and its pretty clear where the problem lies, imo.
I believe that, had Eduardo not been so cruelly injured two seasons ago, Arsenal wouldn't have surrendered their position at the top of the table as easily as they did.
If you think the only difference between Barcelona and Arsenal is the striker at the spearhead of the two attacks, then I must be watching two completely different teams to yourself.
Spain and Barcelona are leading the way in world football and now they have the trophies to show for it, but Wenger will tell himself that he has players with some of the same qualities. Pretty passing in midfield is not enough by itself, however, as we saw when Arsenal went out of the European and FA Cups this season. To overcome United, Guardiola had two finishers capable of seizing the opportunities that broke their opponents' hearts at crucial moments in the game. Wenger may be telling himself that, in Andrey Arshavin, he already has a Messi. What he needs now, apart from time, is a main striker capable of the kind of lethal opportunism with which Samuel Eto'o poured cold water on United's early enthusiasm in the Stadio Olimpico.
by Hoop Blah » 28 May 2009 13:48
papereyesPerhaps where we differ is that I think we can get to the point where we have a functioning team as opposed to a set of celebrity players.
Yeah, I think it would take a massive change in both the playing style and team management to really do as well as you think they could do.
Its possible but these are players that come from a league where short passing is almost frowned upon.
by papereyes » 28 May 2009 13:52
Maybe that's where we differ as well then. I don't think you have to play constant short passes to be effective or efficient at international level, even in the heat of a summer tournament.
by Hoop Blah » 28 May 2009 14:05
by Silver Fox » 28 May 2009 14:36
Hoop Blah Obviously you need to know when to keep the ball and take the sting out of the game.
by TBM » 28 May 2009 14:42
Silver FoxHoop Blah Obviously you need to know when to keep the ball and take the sting out of the game.
Basically you've got to hold and give but do it at the right time yeah?
by Victor Meldrew » 28 May 2009 20:40
by Victor Meldrew » 28 May 2009 20:48
by rabidbee » 29 May 2009 00:18
TBMSilver FoxHoop Blah Obviously you need to know when to keep the ball and take the sting out of the game.
Basically you've got to hold and give but do it at the right time yeah?
Yeah but you can be slow or fast but you must get to the line
by rabidbee » 29 May 2009 00:23
by papereyes » 29 May 2009 08:46
rabidbee The differences in approaches to football go down to the way kids learn football in this country. What I've read about kids' football suggests that the emphasis is put on results over technique at too early an age (I think in the Ajax system, kids don't even play proper matches til their 14), and we put too much emphasis on physique rather than skill. Consequently, kids learn to kick and rush rather than to play with the ball. Sadly, the FA always ducks out of seriously reforming our youth system, thanks to the oxf*rd albatross that is Wembley.
EDIT: Thinking on this some more, wasn't there an FA technical director of the late 70s/80s, who argued that the majority of goals scored came from moves of four passes or fewer (nods to Dirkers)? Hence, the mad dash to long ball.
by Hoop Blah » 29 May 2009 09:28
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