OT: Futbol chit chat

[Yoshi]

Space - you're right. Brain fart there on my part. Don't know why I thought that the away goal would help! I agree, the draw away to Dortmund is huge though a win would have been so much better, especially given the struggles Arsenal have had lately. If nothing else, it would have been a tremendous confidence boost that they could have taken back to the EPL. Surely they should be able to handle Olympiakos and Marseille!

The grouping this year has been absolute shit! ManU and Inter should be able to snooze their way through to the Round of 16 and the group of death that you mentioned above has gotta suck for some of those teams! I'm going to cheer on Napoli (the only Italian side I don't dislike in this year's CL!).

BTW - did you see Perisic's goal for Dortmund? My Goodness!! What a beauty!

That was a terrific goal. Fair result for Arsenal - however, their loss to Blackburn this weekend leaves much to be desired. At this point, I'm not sure if Wenger coming back next year is a sure thing - it's a known fact that Wenger's strategy on defense is severely lacking. He was lucky he had the back line of Adams, Seaman, etc when he arrived at North London, but now he is being exposed.

Napoli looks like an interesting side as well as Dortmund with all of those young players on their squad. Wouldn't be surprised to see Dortmund make it to the quarters with that team they have.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Bayern Munich - better than people think.......beat City today 2 - 0. I am a big fan of both German national team and Bayern - which are basically the same thing, injuries aside Bayern starts 6 or 7 guys that start on German team - and both are hugely up-and-coming with young players who are already great. Throw in Robben and Ribery, and you're talking about a team that can compete with any team on any day.

 

[Yoshi]

For anyone here who is exempting Arsene Wenger for any blame whatsoever, just remember that he's the one who's the main man in scouting and bringing players into the organization. Man Utd had a younger team than Arsenal in the shellacking at Old Trafford weeks ago, and his incapabilities in scheming defensively has and always be a problem.

 

[Yoshi]

Watching parts of the replay today of the North London derby just shows how lacking Arsenal is when it comes to creativity. Although Ramsey scored a goal today (albeit 95% of the work was done by Song), Ramsey is just not doing it for me. There was a lot of hype surrounding the Welshman but I'm not seeing it to be frank. He is no Fabregas, and Arsenal is now really weak at central midfield despite the Arteta signing.

Sczesny made some spectacular saves but really blew it on Tottenham's 2nd goal. In reality, Totts was more deserving of winning this game. Arsenal is currently in 15th place and there are no more excuses. As I mentioned earlier, the board may give a reduced amount in transfer funds, but Arsene Wenger is not providing the fans with that eye for young talent the way he used to. He has bombed on Walcott thus far and Ramsey looks lost. Also, his signings of Rosicky, Almunia, and Arshavin look to be wasted and Wenger also has a problem picking players who are often injury proned (Vermaelen comes to mind). Sagna has a broken leg so Jenkinson will be taking over. However, Jenkinson looks slow footed playing that RB position - having Jenkinson and Gibbs playing the fullback positions (both of whom are under 20 years of age) is really scary. The lack of cover on this team is deplorable at best and Arsenal have really fallen under harsh times.

It'll be a miracle if this team makes it to the UEFA CL competition for 2012-2013.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Bayern Munich - better than people think.......beat City today 2 - 0. I am a big fan of both German national team and Bayern - which are basically the same thing, injuries aside Bayern starts 6 or 7 guys that start on German team - and both are hugely up-and-coming with young players who are already great. Throw in Robben and Ribery, and you're talking about a team that can compete with any team on any day.

I love me some Schweinsteiger.

 

[trancemeister]

It'll be a miracle if this team makes it to the UEFA CL competition for 2012-2013.

It really is depressing to see how far this team has fallen in one season! I agree with you on all points, Yosh! Arsene has done a miserable job at scheming a defense in all years here. He was just blessed with some good players in the past but now when it comes down to the scheme more than the players, he is falling flat.

Another player with the injury that comes to mind is RVP! Even though its still early in the season, I think this is the healthiest he has been in ages!

Forget the UEFA CL ... I think it'll be a miracle if they even make it to the Europa league!

Switching topics ... and on a brighter note, Juve has had an amazing start to this season! Tied for the lead with a victory against Milan under their belts! Hell yeah!!

 

[Yoshi]

It really is depressing to see how far this team has fallen in one season! I agree with you on all points, Yosh! Arsene has done a miserable job at scheming a defense in all years here. He was just blessed with some good players in the past but now when it comes down to the scheme more than the players, he is falling flat.

Another player with the injury that comes to mind is RVP! Even though its still early in the season, I think this is the healthiest he has been in ages!

Forget the UEFA CL ... I think it'll be a miracle if they even make it to the Europa league!

Switching topics ... and on a brighter note, Juve has had an amazing start to this season! Tied for the lead with a victory against Milan under their belts! Hell yeah!!

Trance, thanks for giving me the 411 on Juve. I've actually been watching a bit of Serie A recently because of you and Space and now I think I finally found my replacement for the void left by Ajax. There's now a bigger void with Arsenal playing like crap as of late so it would be good practice to watch a winning team for once besides Barca.

No more Nedved, and no more Davids, but I"m getting used to some of these faces on Juve. Never been a fan of AC Milan but Juve could be that team, and let's not forget Patrick Vieira played there.

 

[trancemeister]

Trance, thanks for giving me the 411 on Juve. I've actually been watching a bit of Serie A recently because of you and Space and now I think I finally found my replacement for the void left by Ajax. There's now a bigger void with Arsenal playing like crap as of late so it would be good practice to watch a winning team for once besides Barca.

No more Nedved, and no more Davids, but I"m getting used to some of these faces on Juve. Never been a fan of AC Milan but Juve could be that team, and let's not forget Patrick Vieira played there.

Well ... I only feel it right for me to give you a fair warning before you jump ship to following Juve. This start to the season has been quite unexpected as we are STILL recovering from the farce that Calciopoli was. I did not in the least bit expect them to be in contention this season so I am pleasantly surprised with their play. However, it's still too early to make a call on how they will end up in the latter half. They were hanging with the leaders last year as well up until the winter break and in the second half, it all fell apart and we ended up finishing in seventh place!

Most of the old guard is now gone, with only Del Piero and Buffon still around from the glory days. As much as I like the two of them and appreciate what they have done for the club, I wish they'd hang it up already. At this point, and at the wage they command, they are holding the club back rather than helping us. I am pretty sure this will be Delpi's last season at Juve though. I think the only reason he stuck on is to be with the club as they opened their new stadium. He will probably come to the US, make some money and then in due course join the front office back at Juve.

We have signed some good players this season though (Vucinic, Vidal, Estigarribia and Elia) who seem to have settled in pretty well. And we got our old capitano Conte back as the manager now. The only negative I have to say about him so far is that he hasn't gotten a good formation down yet. He has tinkered with a 4-2-4, 4-3-1-2, 4-1-3-1 and still hasn't found one that the club has settled into.

The other problem with Serie A is that players have too much of an influence on the management. Del Piero at Juve, Zanetti at Inter, Totti at Roma etc... and it results in too much of a clique mentality. Coaches get hired/fired, players get benched/sold based on these prima donnas' wishes. I really wish that would change, and quick!

Alright enough of the doom and gloom! Just wanted to give you a fair warning of what you were getting into

Coming back to ex-Juve players who had an Arsenal connection, don't forget Thierry Henry roamed the grounds of the Delle Alpi before going on to Arsenal. Another Arsenal player who played at Juve, albeit for only a one season loan was Armand Traore.

Lastly, who can forget the immortal Zizou?!

 

[trancemeister]

WTF?! Will people quit wanting to jump ship from Arsenal to Barca?!

Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny tempted by Barcelona - ESPN Soccernet

 

[CalamityX11]

I hope Barca falls! lol

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

Its crazy how these stories get started.......some reporter asks Chesney (saw them spell it that way on another board, it helps) if he'd ever leave Arsenal, he mentions he'd only leave for a club like Barca.....and suddenly there are stories about how he wants to leave.

But past that, turns out this guy is pretty good, huh? I think the first match I ever watched him play was the champions league game 1 - 2 years ago where he let in two horrific goals, always figured he was terrible. He's like Arsenal's best player at this point.

Yoshi, I am definitely backing down on my Wenger defense. Obviously the guy is great at what he does, but it seems like he can't get his team to play anymore. Is there any team that makes more dumb mistakes?

 

[trancemeister]

Its crazy how these stories get started.......

Oh I posted that story with half facetious intentions He just recently signed a long term contract didn't he? I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to play on this Barca team! I cannot imagine any other team on which it would be a pure joy to play on.

I am curious to see what Pep does after this season. He has long been rumored to be wanting to leave at the height of things at Barca. I personally think he would be a fool to walk away from it, but then again I wonder sometimes what goes through uber-successful peoples' brains. Same with Jordan going away to play baseball for those two years!

 

[trancemeister]

Speaking of Szczesny ... some saves made by Arsenal's young keeper Wojciech Szczesny during his loan to Brentford FC.

 

[threelittleturds]

This is so crazy, a header from midfield for a goal.

 

[trancemeister]

This is so crazy, a header from midfield for a goal.

That is crazy!! What's funnier is that it seems like both the keeper as well as the goal scorer are in tears after the goal

 

[trancemeister]

And ... since you dug up this thread , all my fellow Gunner fans, how about the RVP performance this past weekend?! I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with the turnaround since the Manyoo massacre! Gives me hope for the rest of the season! Icing on the cake for the weekend was Juve beating Inter at the San Siro! Hell yeah bitches!!

 

[CalamityX11]

How is that possible? what size ball is that? is that new aero dynamic blah blah blah ball??? that bounce was insane..... I've played soccer my whole life til i started drinking(lol) and i've never seen that, maybe off a kick but a header, from that distance?

He on the roids!

 

[Yoshi]

And ... since you dug up this thread , all my fellow Gunner fans, how about the RVP performance this past weekend?! I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised with the turnaround since the Manyoo massacre! Gives me hope for the rest of the season! Icing on the cake for the weekend was Juve beating Inter at the San Siro! Hell yeah bitches!!

That Juve game was sick!

And Arsenal stuffing it down Chelski's throats was freakin' amazing! Well done by RVP and company although Arsenal's defense is quite frankly non existent. Maybe Song should just sit back instead of supporting the play since Mertesacker is having a real hard time covering. Hopefully Verms and Kos will start together esp since Sagna is out with that broken leg.

 

[Yoshi]

Had to bring up this thread back from the dead - Barca wins a fantastic match against AC Milan then to only lose to Getafe and fall 6 pts behind Madrid.

Arsenal closing in but not sure if they have enough to take a top 4 spot. They have to be very active in the January transfer window even if that means some of the players they'll look at are cup tied and won't be available for CL play. They need another scorer since Gervinho seems more of a playmaker than a legitimate finisher such as RVP.

 

[trancemeister]

Had to bring up this thread back from the dead - Barca wins a fantastic match against AC Milan then to only lose to Getafe and fall 6 pts behind Madrid.

Arsenal closing in but not sure if they have enough to take a top 4 spot. They have to be very active in the January transfer window even if that means some of the players they'll look at are cup tied and won't be available for CL play. They need another scorer since Gervinho seems more of a playmaker than a legitimate finisher such as RVP.

One problem I see with Barca is they are all but ignoring the right flanks these days. They have become overwhelmingly left-handed, and they ignore using the right flank. Cesc keeps coming from his right forward spot to the middle, bringing his defender with him, so unless there is a moment of magic, there ends up being a turnover and counterattack. Wash, rinse, repeat!

As far as Arsenal goes, I agree with you ... I think the early season hole might be too much to overcome, especially as the teams get tired during the latter half of the season. I am optimistic though that with the right pieces added, they can make a run for the #4 spot.

This football & futbol season has been a dream come true for me so far. Niners in the lead in the NFC West, and Juve in the lead in Serie A. MY two favorite teams, having been stuck in the cellar for so long now finally kicking some butt