European Leagues Thread 2012/2013

[Winston Smith]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/oct/03/iceland-invincibles-showdown-final-game

[sandman]

Cristiano Ronaldo is so good he can even score with his elbow.

[genome]

Ronaldo has 13 goals in six league games...

And three hattricks in the last two weeks

[Mr Angry]

I was in Rotterdam over the weekend and took the chance to watch Feyenoord (they played Groningen); they haven't had a home League win all season and were very nervous at the start with a lot of misplaced passes but luckily for them, Groningen's only tactic was to try and catch Feyenoord on the break.

Feyenoord went 1 up through Colin Kazim Richards (who has put on a bit of timber) and when a Gronigen player got a 2nd yellow early in the 2nd half that was that; Feyenoord just went down the right wing at will and put in cross after cross and ended up winning 4-0. The MotM was Al Ahamady, who was rarely used in a struggling Villa side last season - and that rather summed up the quality of the game to be honest. Both teams would be potential Championship Play Off teams IMHO.

As for the experience - wow; it was look football back in the 80's! Terrible plastic seats (like you get in a church hall) on concrete with no leg room, no restrictions on smoking or drinking at all, and the (200 or so) away fans penned in a tiny area and made to stay there for 30 mins after the game finished! The Feyenoord fans only began to make some noise after they went 2 up, but pretty entertaining all in all.

[Uke]

I was in Rotterdam over the weekend and took the chance to watch Feyenoord (they played Groningen); they haven't had a home League win all season and were very nervous at the start with a lot of misplaced passes but luckily for them, Groningen's only tactic was to try and catch Feyenoord on the break.

Feyenoord went 1 up through Colin Kazim Richards (who has put on a bit of timber) and when a Gronigen player got a 2nd yellow early in the 2nd half that was that; Feyenoord just went down the right wing at will and put in cross after cross and ended up winning 4-0. The MotM was Al Ahamady, who was rarely used in a struggling Villa side last season - and that rather summed up the quality of the game to be honest. Both teams would be potential Championship Play Off teams IMHO.

As for the experience - wow; it was look football back in the 80's! Terrible plastic seats (like you get in a church hall) on concrete with no leg room, no restrictions on smoking or drinking at all, and the (200 or so) away fans penned in a tiny area and made to stay there for 30 mins after the game finished! The Feyenoord fans only began to make some noise after they went 2 up, but pretty entertaining all in all.

Have you been to Liverpool or Rome?

How do they compare?

[Mr Angry]

Not been to Rome.

Comparing it to Anfield is an interesting one; personally I feel that Anfield is more atmospheric, not least because there were so few away fans in the Feyenoord stadium that had a negative effect. However, the chanting across the pitch and from one end to another between the Feyenoord fans (the chant was "Are you from Rotterdam?" "Yes we are" " Are you Feyenoord?" "Yes we are" - similar to a "we are the right side/left side of the Bank chant" but as a chant rather than as a song) was very very impressive.

Well worth a visit as it is a different football experience (pricing similar to West Stand at the Mad) and Rotterdam is a really nice City to visit, 30 mins or so from Amsterdam (I stayed in the swanky new hotel by the stunning Erasmus bridge a little way out of the City Centre) but I'm sure Tulip or any other of our Dutch contingency can give a full description of the place.

Definitely on the "places to return to" list.

[Ouroboros]

Doesn't really scan, Mr Angry.

[Uke]

Doesn't really scan, Mr Angry.

Beautiful! :lol:

[Mr Angry]

As I said, it's a to and fro chant rather than having a tune, but hey - it doesn't matter.

[handbags_harris]

You need to go for a big game MA, a big standard match against Groningen is very much like watching Liverpool play Reading. Floyde and I went for the PSV game in March 2009, a 1-0 home win thanks to a Leroy Fer goal, the atmosphere is electric. I actually turned down tickets for De Klassieker last season in early February, gut wrenchingly, as I had surgery a few days previously and couldn't travel.

Fred Rutten is just starting to get it together at Feyenoord, they actually lost three of their first four home games against FC Utrecht, Willem II and Ajax, but if they had taken their chances they would have won all three handsomely. The other game was a 1-1 draw against Heerenveen, again they should have won. The Ajax game was an extraordinary watch, Feyenoord hit the bar twice in the first two minutes (and on 13 minutes) and then were hit by a sucker punch, Ricardo van Rijn bulleted in a 30 yard free kick. Despite being completely outplayed, that won the game for Ajax. Since that match though they have won each league game comfortably which bodes well for the future. Lex Immers and Kazim-Richards are starting to really get an understanding and if they can stay fit they'll be a force to be reckoned with. Finally Feyenoord have a front pairing that looks like it can do the business. Over the last few years they've been heavily reliant on a sole striker, Graziano Pelle and John Guidetti being two recent names. Their midfield looks more than half decent with El-Ahmady and the appropriately named Clasie in there.

Just a quick word on the quality, sadly the Eredivisie will always have the problem of being somewhat inferior to the major European leagues but with a bit more money the standard would certainly improve. There is a heavy financial slant towards Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord (although the latter have been in financial and political turmoil for most of the last decade) and of course these three clubs will have their periods of total dominance (much like in Scotland), but having said that AZ and FC Twente have both won the division in the last 10 years so it is possible for another club to have a period of success in Holland. The vast majority of good players end up at one of the big three however, and then move on to a higher standard league if they're good enough. But you only have to look at the sheer number of Dutch players around Europe to get a feel of how good these players are, it's just a shame they don't stay in their country and raise the standard of their domestic league. Money talks though...

[Winston Smith]

Messi refused to be subbed off yesterday. Was told he was coming off and he kept waving his hand at the manager as if to say 'go away'. So he stayed on.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Lol. Would have been better if he'd stuck his fingers in his ears "not listening, la, la, la". I wonder if he'll get dropped for the classico as punishment.

[Stranded]

Dortmund lose again. 1-0 at home to Hannover. Sixth defeat from nine games and they are fourth from bottom.

Crazy game at Frankfurt, where Eintracht fight back from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 with ten mins to go only to lose 5-4 at home to Stuttgart.

[sandman]

No mention of that ludicrous display last night? The problem with Barcelona is that they always try to walk it in.

[Sanguine]

No mention of that ludicrous display last night? The problem with Barcelona is that they always try to walk it in.

Still top, good 'problem' to have I guess.

[Winston Smith]

Olympiakos win the Athens derby, though Luke Steele did save a pen for Panathinaikos

[Winston Smith]

Borussia Dortmund drop to the bottom of the Bundesliga

[Pepe the Horseman]

Off the bottom thanks to a hilarious own goal.

[Four Of Clubs]

Off the bottom thanks to a hilarious own goal.

... and if the Beeb is to be believed BMG down the other end had precisely ONE Shot - off target - whereas they managed to concede an og from nearly 50yds?

... might not be on there for long - copyright etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XziR5qM2xVg

[Winston Smith]