The Official Soccer, Football, Futbol, and Footie Thread

[humanoid]

Wow, Del Piero is a force in Champions League matches.

I don't know how Arsenal didn't net. Takes effort to squander that many chances.

that's kinda Arsenal's specialty

[CuervoPH]

Nice to see Arsenal bounce back against Man U. Unfortunately the broadcast I was watching cut out right before Almunia got hurt, so I had to "watch" the rest of the match on a site that was giving text updates. That kind of takes some of the excitement out of it.

[humanoid]

Nice to see Arsenal bounce back against Man U. Unfortunately the broadcast I was watching cut out right before Almunia got hurt, so I had to "watch" the rest of the match on a site that was giving text updates. That kind of takes some of the excitement out of it.

I am actually still in shock! The good kind of shock, but shock nonetheless!

With several of the big guys out, I was having difficulty envisioning them beating United...but great game!

[boarderwoozel3]

Nice to see Arsenal bounce back against Man U. Unfortunately the broadcast I was watching cut out right before Almunia got hurt, so I had to "watch" the rest of the match on a site that was giving text updates. That kind of takes some of the excitement out of it.

I am actually still in shock! The good kind of shock, but shock nonetheless!

With several of the big guys out, I was having difficulty envisioning them beating United...but great game!

What a thrilling match! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. A little lucky at times but those three points kept the gunners in title contention, even if it is a long shot. The kids need to develop mental consistency more than anything. The skill is there but the focus needs to remain sharp while playing Man U or West Brom.

[downingthief]

Carling Cup play...Gunners just go up on Wigan, 2-0.

[downingthief]

Make that 3-0.

Vela with a brilliant chip goal over the keeper.

[humanoid]

I can't wait to see Vela get a shot with the first team, I really like everything I've seen from him so far...

much more than anything I've ever seen from Bendtner (excluding his first ever touch on the header goal)...besides that, he too often looks clumsy and has a habit of accidentally getting in the way of teammates passes (and Champions League goals)

On another note, I don't think we're ever going to see Rosicky again

[boarderwoozel3]

Nice

The Arsenal youngsters make me extremely excited for the next few seasons. While I don't think they can do better than a 4th or 3rd place finish this season, the raw talent and depth on that squad lead me to believe they'll be a force in the Prem. for years to come. Mind you they'll need to hold on to Cesc and the others. No doubt some will slip away for huge profit (Flamini), but Wenger has always been a savvy businessman and an even better developer of young talent. Impressive that this is a "rebuilding phase" after the Henry, Pires, Ljungberg era.

Speaking of Ljungberg, he's going to play on Seattle's new MLS team next season! I'm quite excited about that. So far we've got two players who were in the prem. last season! Nice.

[humanoid]

I saw that about Ljungberg playing in Seattle..very cool...it's exciting to have a few European footballers coming to the MLS to continue to improve the quality and raise the profile of football here in the US.

I am also very excited about the Gunners' future. Hopefully they do find a way to keep Cesc there for a while though. I love that guy, it's amazing to realize that he's still only 21, he plays like such a veteran. You're right, they're not likely going to finish higher than 3 or 4 this year, but it's tough to expect more than that considering how stacked Man Utd, Chelsea & Liverpool are. If they can keep several of these guys together plus the infusion of some of the even younger talent, in a couple years they could be a powerhouse

They still could use a tougher, holding type midfielder though, Flamini is missed greatly right now

[boarderwoozel3]

The one thing that has me worried about Arsenal is that Wenger indicated they'll focus on developing talent for the next number of year to pay off the new stadium. I seem to remember seeing a quote from him during the last transfer period along the lines of;

Arsenal won't be huge buyers for the next few years because we have to clear $15 million or so per season to pay for the stadium and that they might do so by selling the talented young players they develop for a king's ransom over what they acquired them for. Especially players like Flamini and Adebayor who aren't 100% necessary and are about to command huge contracts.

That sounds like business getting in the way of pleasure to me. Good thing they're one of the most profitable teams in football anyway. Wenger still is one of if not the best coach/businessmen for contending in all competitions while mostly sticking to his staunch pay structure, not blowing huge money on transfers.

[humanoid]

I remember the same quote about being fiscally conservative in order to pay off the new stadium. Just the other day, I heard something on Setanta(I think during the Arsnl/Utd game) that said they brought in something like 3 million pounds per home game. (vague recollection) I was a little giddy from Nasri's performance
Wenger is pretty impressive maintaining a high quality club without spending into the stratosphere to attain huge transfers. His reputation for player development is top notch, and hopefully once they get in a better position financially, they will be better able to supplement that with some well chosen transfers as well. It's fun to root for guys that come up through the squad, but to compete with teams owned by oil tycoons, sometimes we'll need a big transfer or 2.

I was just upset to see Flamini and Gilberto leave in the same offseason, not to mention Hleb as well. With someone like Nasir in the squad and now performing well, Hleb is not as missed, but the midfield could still use a tough defensive minded player.

I hope they can get the defensive issues worked out as well. Wenger for some reason doesn't like the Toure Gallas partnership, but I love Toure and in my eyes is much more reliable than Gallas or Silvestre. Silvestre is a good backup, but to see him starting consistently over Toure baffles me. Gallas is very good, but he makes some strange mistakes that worry me. I love Sagna, I think he will be great. Clichy is very good also, and fast as hell, but he plays around in the back every once in a while and loses focus, occasionally leading to huge opportunities for opposing teams.

[downingthief]

More matches today. Spurs up 4-2 over Liverpool currently.

Going to see a friendly match tonight. Mexico and Ecuador. Should be a good time.

[boarderwoozel3]

After Almunia stooped the early penalty I thought Arsenal would win. I was wrong.

Bendtner drives me absolutely crazy! I can't figure out what Wenger sees in him. And he's got a horrible hair style.

[humanoid]

After Almunia stooped the early penalty I thought Arsenal would win. I was wrong.

Bendtner drives me absolutely crazy! I can't figure out what Wenger sees in him. And he's got a horrible hair style.

Bendtner is a black hole when he's on the field. knowing he is playing is knowing that a bunch of passes his direction are going to go to him, and nothing positive is going to come of it..drives me nuts too

for someone who is lauded as being good in the air, he NEVER wins any headers either, I don't get it

[LunaVC]

England V Germany this Wednesday. It's only a friendly but you Yanks better support England. We take this shit very seriously.

If you want to insert any WW2 jokes to get the banter going, that's fine

[downingthief]

No worries there from me. I always support England. I do like a lot of the German players, though.

[stuporfly]

Huge win for Villa over Arsenal this weekend. Might help erase the sting of one or two poor results earlier in the season.

[downingthief]

Villa is a tough team to figure out this season. They look unbeatable one week, and then lose to my Newcastle boys the next. I hope they keep it up. Would be nice to see someone crack the top four.

[LunaVC]

Arsenal haven't been the same since they moved into the Emirates. I reckon it's because the pitch is bigger than at Highbury the Library and they couldn't play their passing game with as much ease on a larger pitch.

Oh and because Henry hasn't been properly replaced.

Discuss

[downingthief]

Arsenal haven't been the same since they moved into the Emirates. I reckon it's because the pitch is bigger than at Highbury the Library and they couldn't play their passing game with as much ease on a larger pitch.

Oh and because Henry hasn't been properly replaced.

Discuss

Eh, I can't put the blame on a bigger pitch. I say it has more to do with the overall youth of the team. Arsenal has some of the best (if not the best) young talent in the EPL. With that, you get lapses in judgement, and mistakes in critical situations. I never really felt that Arsenal's run would come this year. They still will be in the thick of things, but I look to next season as to when they will really make a run for the top spot.

I do think they could use one more solid striker (that can stay healthy). Gallas needs to stay healthy in the back, too. Their midfield is crazy good; such amazing talent there.

[LunaVC]

EPL? just call it the Prem like everyone else....

Major League Premiership LOL

thing with Arse tho, they've had about 3-4 'transitional' seasons. At some point they're going to have to win something.

[downingthief]

I'm American. We love our Acronyms. You know, USA and all.

Plus, I have some friends who follow other leagues (Serie A, La Liga, etc), so I'm used to saying EPL.

I think Arsenal has enough core talent to really put together something special. One striker away, in my opinion. Will be curious to see if they go after anyone during the next transfer window.

[boarderwoozel3]

Of course Arsenal haven't replaced Henry. It's not as though you can snap your fingers and come up with one of the best strikers to lace up a pair of boots.

I always thought Arsenal needed more help in defense than than anything else. Once Eduardo returns the rotation of Ade, VP and Eduardo is solid. Vela is looking good in limited play too. What they need to do asap is get Bendtner out of there. Let someone else have a chance if nothing else, I see no upside with him.

[boarderwoozel3]

Leave it to the Italians...
http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

Apparently Catania scored a goal from a free kick when three of their players dropped their shorts down around their knees so the keeper couldn't see the ball as it was being struck. Thats pretty tacky in my opinion.

[downingthief]

Yeah, read about that yesterday. Very tacky. Not really much a ref can do about it, though.

[faxman75]

The Italians are creative. Stop the racism.

[downingthief]

You would never see that from a an AC Milan team, or Inter.

[LunaVC]

You would never see that from a an AC Milan team, or Inter.

what like Henry and Pires's pisstake of a penalty they did once, think it was....Everton? The little 1,2 and Pires fucked it up.

to answer your previous question, Wenger is tighter than a duck's arse so don't expect any big signings in January.

Apart from Man City of course.

[downingthief]

Hopefully, the Ronaldo rumor doesn't happen with Man City (latest I read is he is insisting they are interested, they are insisting they are not). Don't get me wrong, he was great in his prime. He would be terrible playing in England at this stage of his career.

[humanoid]

/\ I agree that Ronaldo should stay out of England at this point, I think he would get eaten alive by many defenders who are just too quick for him. Plus he has played so little in recent years, I can't imagine him being anywhere near top form....MLS though, I wouldn't mind seeing him give that a shot