The new footy thread

[ChiSoxFan]

It's gonna take him some time to unseat Hummels and Boateng anyway.

Bayern's been much better lately after a kinda rocky start under Carlo. They probably should be looking for wingers to sign rather than CB's but that's just me.

Spot on. Badstuber is now on loan to Schalke, but with Boateng and Hummels, arguably among the world's top defenders, don't know what Sule's role will be.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Spot on. Badstuber is now on loan to Schalke, but with Boateng and Hummels, arguably among the world's top defenders, don't know what Sule's role will be.

Well, he sure couldn't find two better guys to learn from.

 

[ChiSoxFan]

Speaking of the possible historic Griezmann move to ManU, I couldn't help myself with the following, which is one of the best goals I have ever seen. UCL match 2016 against Atletico:

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Speaking of Bayern, Xabi Alonso announcing he's hanging up his boots at the end of the season. Lots of speculation that Philipp Lahm will be doing so as well.

Man, time flies.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Speaking of Bayern, Xabi Alonso announcing he's hanging up his boots at the end of the season. Lots of speculation that Philipp Lahm will be doing so as well.

Man, time flies.

Theres talk sami khedira is retiring* as well

*heading to mls

 

[dash]

Theres talk sami khedira is retiring* as well

*heading to mls

I thought Serie A was the retirement league

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I thought Serie A was the retirement league

its tied with the EPL in retirement league standings

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Juve losing this weekend was the best thing to happen to Serie A in years. They'll still win it but no league is in bigger need of a title race right now than Serie A.

AC keeping up would be nice, too.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

 

[jstewismybastardson]

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

/more France than US

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

/more France than US

I'm kinda confused though - Gignac is there because he plays in Mexico, the rest are there because they're from CONCACAF countries.

So the criteria is just whoever is associated with CONCACAF and yet Giovinco is missing in favour of Bryan Ruiz?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

I'm kinda confused though - Gignac is there because he plays in Mexico, the rest are there because they're from CONCACAF countries.

So the criteria is just whoever is associated with CONCACAF and yet Giovinco is missing in favour of Bryan Ruiz?

lol i had no clue what kind of criteria is being used either lol

/i double checked in case it was just something doctored up by someone as a joke but its legit on the concacaf website

 

[jstewismybastardson]

here was the criteria: ... no less goofy

Players, coaches and referees of any nationality were eligible to be nominated for the awards, as long as they meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Have played/coached/refereed in an official CONCACAF tournament at club or national team level OR
2. Have played/coached/refereed for a CONCACAF member national team in a FIFA-sanctioned international competition OR
3. Have played/coached/refereed in a domestic league within CONCACAF’s territory:

• A player/coach/referee from the CONCACAF region, who does not meet the above criteria (i.e. a player whose only performances in the past year came in a European or Asian league etc.), would not be eligible;
• Goal of the Year applies only to goals scored during CONCACAF or FIFA official competitions or a league game disputed within the CONCACAF region;
• Voters should base their judgments solely on performances in the above categorized competitions from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

So the criteria is just whoever is associated with CONCACAF and yet Giovinco is missing in favour of Bryan Ruiz?

He didnt even make the 2015 concacaf best XI

/Italian managers pick the team ?

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

here was the criteria: ... no less goofy

Players, coaches and referees of any nationality were eligible to be nominated for the awards, as long as they meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. Have played/coached/refereed in an official CONCACAF tournament at club or national team level OR
2. Have played/coached/refereed for a CONCACAF member national team in a FIFA-sanctioned international competition OR
3. Have played/coached/refereed in a domestic league within CONCACAF’s territory:

• A player/coach/referee from the CONCACAF region, who does not meet the above criteria (i.e. a player whose only performances in the past year came in a European or Asian league etc.), would not be eligible;
• Goal of the Year applies only to goals scored during CONCACAF or FIFA official competitions or a league game disputed within the CONCACAF region;
• Voters should base their judgments solely on performances in the above categorized competitions from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

This makes it even funnier than Gignac's there lol.

He didnt even make the 2015 concacaf best XI

/Italian managers pick the team ?

Even David Villa would be a better option - Bryan Ruiz is more known for his incredible misses than his goalscoring prowess.


Bryan Ruiz fluffs open goal header

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Van Basten a hockey fan?

FIFA's Marco van Basten has crazypants ideas (Running shootouts! Stop clock! Sin bin! No offside!) and we love them

More interesting still: van Basten is suggesting that hockey-style shootouts could replace traditional spot-kick penalties, wherein a player would get to run at the goalie from 25 meters with eight seconds to shoot. The old North American Soccer League famously did these.

And he suggested sin bins, like in hockey, instead of yellow cards to punish teams more severely for serious fouls. Big fan of this, too. It should make for a cleaner sport when the downside to a hard tackle is to be reduced to 10 men for five to 10 minutes.

 

[dash]

Van Basten a hockey fan?

FIFA's Marco van Basten has crazypants ideas (Running shootouts! Stop clock! Sin bin! No offside!) and we love them

More interesting still: van Basten is suggesting that hockey-style shootouts could replace traditional spot-kick penalties, wherein a player would get to run at the goalie from 25 meters with eight seconds to shoot. The old North American Soccer League famously did these.

And he suggested sin bins, like in hockey, instead of yellow cards to punish teams more severely for serious fouls. Big fan of this, too. It should make for a cleaner sport when the downside to a hard tackle is to be reduced to 10 men for five to 10 minutes.

How about unlimited substitutions? (changing on the fly)

/I've gone too far, haven't I?

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

How about unlimited substitutions? (changing on the fly)

/I've gone too far, haven't I?

Wasn't that one of his proposals?

 

[dash]

Wasn't that one of his proposals?

I have to confess I didn't read the article, but I've always wondered why soccer has stuck to this tradition of only allowing three substitutes. The game should be about beautiful, flowing plays and spectacular goals and sometimes I think it's more about a war of attrition (especially when the weather conditions are brutal).

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

I have to confess I didn't read the article, but I've always wondered why soccer has stuck to this tradition of only allowing three substitutes. The game should be about beautiful, flowing plays and spectacular goals and sometimes I think it's more about a war of attrition (especially when the weather conditions are brutal).

It may be time for a 4th sub, but if you allow unlimited subs and re-entries what's going to happen is the big clubs will legit have two top quality full-sized squads on their bench and dominate even more than they already do.

Plus, worth keeping in mind that guys are in better shape today than they've ever been. A top player runs 15 kms easy during a game. They can handle the 90 minutes usually.