All threads are temporary. This one's about soccer.

[Scottie]

Sounds ok, those must be the rules going in.

Blackmail?

Blackmail FC.

[Brontoburglar]

What game should I watch today?

Of course, I guess I could go downstairs and watch both, but then there's a chance my productivity could decrease.

[degenerasian]

I mean are these the pre-determined rules? you must go to this game in order to go to this game? and if you don't those tickets will be opened up?

So for all the people who haven't payed for the 2nd leg, they get this automated message reminding them to pay.

Bronto: I'd watch Chelsea.. I think Madrid kills off the other game quickly.

[wlu_lax6]

So with all the talk about Sam in the NFL, I found this article very intersting. Did not know about Justin Fashanu, his time in the US, very intersting...and check out the goal in the great goal thread.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer ... shanu/#all" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[wlu_lax6]

Holden's knee again. Got 23 minutes with the Bolton reserves and is now heading back to the US for a scan.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/03/sho ... ravel.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The Sybian]

Holden's knee again. Got 23 minutes with the Bolton reserves and is now heading back to the US for a scan.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/03/sho ... ravel.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fuck. Stu is cursed. such a shame, as he is such a hard worker and seems like a great guy. The Guardian or one of the British papers that ranks player performances every game had him as the highest ranked player in the EPL in his last season of regular playing time. Could have been a big part of the US team in Brazil, not to mention a strong player in the EPL.

What ever happened to Charlie Davis? Last I heard, he was on loan to the MLS. Was he able to get back into playing shape, or did his injuries undo his career? Another huge shame, but brought on by his own bad decisions. Not judging, as I have done the same, but still bad judgment.

[wlu_lax6]

So Kosovo is supposed to be playing Haiti in their first FIFA recognized match. Guess the Swiss have a few players who would have been eligible. Adnan Januzaj (Man U) turned down a chance to play. He could be tied to Belgium, England, Albania or Kosovo.

Similarly Gibraltar played its first match as a UEFA member (was up 1-0 but lost 4-1 to Faroe Islands). They have Germany in their Euro qualification group. Ouch

[Pruitt]

So Kosovo is supposed to be playing Haiti in their first FIFA recognized match. Guess the Swiss have a few players who would have been eligible. Adnan Januzaj (Man U) turned down a chance to play. He could be tied to Belgium, England, Albania or Kosovo.

Similarly Gibraltar played its first match as a UEFA member (was up 1-0 but lost 4-1 to Faroe Islands). They have Germany in their Euro qualification group. Ouch

Just what UEFA needs - more teams in the qualifying rounds.

I know all four of the reasons against the idea ($$$$), but at some point, reasonable minds will have to step in and say that the "minnows" of Europe (Kosovo, Faeroe Islands, Liechtenstein etc.) will have to play a knockout round to qualify for the qualification marathon.

[wlu_lax6]

So Kosovo is supposed to be playing Haiti in their first FIFA recognized match. Guess the Swiss have a few players who would have been eligible. Adnan Januzaj (Man U) turned down a chance to play. He could be tied to Belgium, England, Albania or Kosovo.

Similarly Gibraltar played its first match as a UEFA member (was up 1-0 but lost 4-1 to Faroe Islands). They have Germany in their Euro qualification group. Ouch

Just what UEFA needs - more teams in the qualifying rounds.

I know all four of the reasons against the idea ($$$$), but at some point, reasonable minds will have to step in and say that the "minnows" of Europe (Kosovo, Faeroe Islands, Liechtenstein etc.) will have to play a knockout round to qualify for the qualification marathon.

Yes they should take the same approach as CONCACAF, but having a FIFA recognized team is a big deal for some of these places. For Gibraltar that was a huge fight with Spain. The Basque people who want independence and put a "regional"/national team out there (beat Peru in December).

[A_B]

I thought the Basques were far north, near the French.

[The Sybian]

Fat Ronaldo has really let himself go. Barely recognizable.

[wlu_lax6]

Guess Werder Bremen take the FIFA Fair Play thing to heart.
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-hu ... erg-2014-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The Sybian]

Guess Werder Bremen take the FIFA Fair Play thing to heart.
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-hu ... erg-2014-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was impressive. I've seen it happen a couple of times where the player awarded a penalty waved it off to the ref, but both times the refs refused to reverse the call. I've also seen a couple instances where a player waved the ref off before making a decision. I could see being embarrassed about taking the penalty when you weren't touched. Now that I think about it, I once saw a player intentionally shoot wide after being given a cheap penalty.

[wlu_lax6]

Nike looking at a $1Billion over year "kit" deal with Man U

[degenerasian]

Guess Werder Bremen take the FIFA Fair Play thing to heart.
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-hu ... erg-2014-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was impressive. I've seen it happen a couple of times where the player awarded a penalty waved it off to the ref, but both times the refs refused to reverse the call. I've also seen a couple instances where a player waved the ref off before making a decision. I could see being embarrassed about taking the penalty when you weren't touched. Now that I think about it, I once saw a player intentionally shoot wide after being given a cheap penalty.

When you watch that clips do you feel it's bad refereeing or is refereeing in soccer an impossible job?
I think it's the latter, you have only three men presiding over a field bigger than NFL which has 7 officials and of those 3 men, two are stuck on the sideline only.

[P.D.X.]

Guess Werder Bremen take the FIFA Fair Play thing to heart.
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-hu ... erg-2014-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was impressive. I've seen it happen a couple of times where the player awarded a penalty waved it off to the ref, but both times the refs refused to reverse the call. I've also seen a couple instances where a player waved the ref off before making a decision. I could see being embarrassed about taking the penalty when you weren't touched. Now that I think about it, I once saw a player intentionally shoot wide after being given a cheap penalty.

This has been making the FB rounds and giving everyone the warm fuzzies, but I have to nitpick. WB is basically dominating the match, and there's only 15 minutes left. Is this cat going to do the same thing if they're down 0-1? What about in a critical CL or WC game? He gets some kudos, but I'm not sure he's deserving of the sportsmanship handy that everyone seems to be giving him.

[The Sybian]

Guess Werder Bremen take the FIFA Fair Play thing to heart.
http://www.businessinsider.com/aaron-hu ... erg-2014-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That was impressive. I've seen it happen a couple of times where the player awarded a penalty waved it off to the ref, but both times the refs refused to reverse the call. I've also seen a couple instances where a player waved the ref off before making a decision. I could see being embarrassed about taking the penalty when you weren't touched. Now that I think about it, I once saw a player intentionally shoot wide after being given a cheap penalty.

This has been making the FB rounds and giving everyone the warm fuzzies, but I have to nitpick. WB is basically dominating the match, and there's only 15 minutes left. Is this cat going to do the same thing if they're down 0-1? What about in a critical CL or WC game? He gets some kudos, but I'm not sure he's deserving of the sportsmanship handy that everyone seems to be giving him.

I thought about that. I also think he wouldn't want to be seen as a diver. It's not uncommon for players to intentionally kick their heel to make for a realistic fall. Not to mention the possibility of a suspension for intentionally taking a dive, if that is how it was seen. But I don't think that much thought could go into it while in the heat of battle.

[Sabo]

Stuart Holden out six to nine months after ligament surgery on his right knee.

He also announced his engagement today.

[Brontoburglar]

Stuart Holden out six to nine months after ligament surgery on his right knee.

He also announced his engagement today.

He's done about the opposite of his knee issues in that department.

[Brontoburglar]

That was impressive. I've seen it happen a couple of times where the player awarded a penalty waved it off to the ref, but both times the refs refused to reverse the call. I've also seen a couple instances where a player waved the ref off before making a decision. I could see being embarrassed about taking the penalty when you weren't touched. Now that I think about it, I once saw a player intentionally shoot wide after being given a cheap penalty.

This has been making the FB rounds and giving everyone the warm fuzzies, but I have to nitpick. WB is basically dominating the match, and there's only 15 minutes left. Is this cat going to do the same thing if they're down 0-1? What about in a critical CL or WC game? He gets some kudos, but I'm not sure he's deserving of the sportsmanship handy that everyone seems to be giving him.

I thought about that. I also think he wouldn't want to be seen as a diver. It's not uncommon for players to intentionally kick their heel to make for a realistic fall. Not to mention the possibility of a suspension for intentionally taking a dive, if that is how it was seen. But I don't think that much thought could go into it while in the heat of battle.

Watching Arjen Robben's dives today were hilarious. Dude, give it a rest and go down immediately or stay up. Don't run another step or two and flail.

[Brontoburglar]

And for a third straight post, I'm very excited for the SKC Champions League game tomorrow against Cruz Azul. And to spend way too much money on Sporting's new (awesome) jersey!

[The Sybian]

Watching Arjen Robben's dives today were hilarious. Dude, give it a rest and go down immediately or stay up. Don't run another step or two and flail.

Drove me nuts. If I was Koscielny, I would have punched him in the face. Would have been worth the suspension.Total reminder of why he was my most hated player when he was with Chelsea. That, and he is an incredible player. As soon as he got the ball in the box in the 88th minute, I said he was guaranteed to go down. Sure enough, another flop. I couldn't believe the ref called it. when I heard the whistle, I cheered, thinking he was finally going to book him for the dive. It really didn't matter at that point, but Fabianski's save was awesome. The way the ball spun on the line and that he was able to swat it away was fantastic.

The ref letting Podolski play and score when Lahm flopped was great, too. His shot was sick, but those tight angle blasts into the roof seem routine for him. I'd love to see Podolaki get more games because he is an absolute sniper, but he doesn't fit well in the scheme. I think he is best as a second forward. They tried him up top alone, and he does not work there. In the end, I'm kind of glad Arsenal bowed out of the CL. Let them focus on winning the FA Cup and the 4th place trophy.

[The Sybian]

Can't take credit, but loved these jokes:

Robben will go down in history, with little to no contact.

Competing with Ashley Young(Man U) for the F'allon D'Floor award!

[degenerasian]

What are you going to do, soccer refs are stupid and players get away with it.

Speaking of Koscielny he's seen it all. In the World Cup playoffs in Kiev and the Ukrainians were diving all over the place and Koscielny finally had enough and just placed his hand on the guys face. No punch, no slap, nothing. Instant red card as the Ukrainian of course dove like he was shot.

Stupid refs make games unwatchable. World Cup will be a disaster since they'll take less experienced refs from different regions.

[Sabo]

Stupid refs make games unwatchable. World Cup will be a disaster since they'll take less experienced refs from different regions.

USMNT fans are more than aware of this.

[The Sybian]

What are you going to do, soccer refs are stupid and players get away with it.

Speaking of Koscielny he's seen it all. In the World Cup playoffs in Kiev and the Ukrainians were diving all over the place and Koscielny finally had enough and just placed his hand on the guys face. No punch, no slap, nothing. Instant red card as the Ukrainian of course dove like he was shot.

Stupid refs make games unwatchable. World Cup will be a disaster since they'll take less experienced refs from different regions.

It's really hard to blame the refs. the speed of the game and the distance from the infraction, it is impossible to tell at times whether a player took a dive. Like someone else said, the NFL has 7 officials on a smaller field. The only solution is to allow federations and FIFA fine or suspend players after the fact with the benefit of video replay.

[A_B]

In the end, I'm kind of glad Arsenal bowed out of the CL. Let them focus on winning the FA Cup and the 4th place trophy.

The good guys are coming for you!

[The Sybian]

UEFA looking into disciplinary action for this anti-Ozil banner. The Germans really seem to hate Mesut, huh? Love the drawing of the eyes.

[wlu_lax6]

http://www.footballmishmash.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

saw this on http://www.theguardian.com/football/gal ... f-football" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[degenerasian]

What are you going to do, soccer refs are stupid and players get away with it.

Speaking of Koscielny he's seen it all. In the World Cup playoffs in Kiev and the Ukrainians were diving all over the place and Koscielny finally had enough and just placed his hand on the guys face. No punch, no slap, nothing. Instant red card as the Ukrainian of course dove like he was shot.

Stupid refs make games unwatchable. World Cup will be a disaster since they'll take less experienced refs from different regions.

It's really hard to blame the refs. the speed of the game and the distance from the infraction, it is impossible to tell at times whether a player took a dive. Like someone else said, the NFL has 7 officials on a smaller field. The only solution is to allow federations and FIFA fine or suspend players after the fact with the benefit of video replay.

Speaking to this and the Coulibably example above. I've noticed a trend of refs calling almost any foul in the offensive zone. This is what happened to Beasley. Next time you watch a game, take notice of how often a forward takes the ball away from a defender. It is almost impossible because the defender just has to fall over and he'll get the foul. Ever see a defender booked for diving? Never because it's a safe and easy call to make. It results in a free kick in the defensive zone.. a nothing play. But it takes away so many goal-scoring opportunities because refs referee scared now. They would rather blow a play dead then find out later that their mistake led to a goal. The same goes for offside, so many good play called offside because it's the safe play. No one really knows what would have happened.

[wlu_lax6]

This is pretty interesting. Which leads to my next question. You are in a WC knockout round game. I can't imagine saving one of your 3 substitutions to slip a PK specialist goalie into the mix (especially after 120 minutes of field players running), but makes you wonder.

Rimando's anticipation has allowed him to hold opponents to a remarkably low 37.5 percent conversion rate (3 for 8) on regular-season penalty kicks from 2012-14, while the conversion rate against all other MLS goalkeepers over the same time period is 80.7 percent (121 for 150). Rimando acknowledged he has his own strategy for facing spot kicks but was predictably low-key about this particular stop.

[degenerasian]

This is pretty interesting. Which leads to my next question. You are in a WC knockout round game. I can't imagine saving one of your 3 substitutions to slip a PK specialist goalie into the mix (especially after 120 minutes of field players running), but makes you wonder.

Rimando's anticipation has allowed him to hold opponents to a remarkably low 37.5 percent conversion rate (3 for 8) on regular-season penalty kicks from 2012-14, while the conversion rate against all other MLS goalkeepers over the same time period is 80.7 percent (121 for 150). Rimando acknowledged he has his own strategy for facing spot kicks but was predictably low-key about this particular stop.

Is Rimando that much worse than Howard? I would imagine if his anticipation in PKs is good so would his anticipation of shots and crosses in regular play. So why not just start him from the beginning?

[degenerasian]

Reading up on stories like Cardiff and Charlton being run by crooked owners and feeling fortunate that that can't happen in the the 4 major leagues. Strong league leadership and owners prevent this. Imagine if an owner can just come in, fire the coach and sell off players back to his home country or if they changed the Red Wings colours to blue and called them the Blue Wings.

[P.D.X.]

This is pretty interesting. Which leads to my next question. You are in a WC knockout round game. I can't imagine saving one of your 3 substitutions to slip a PK specialist goalie into the mix (especially after 120 minutes of field players running), but makes you wonder.

Rimando's anticipation has allowed him to hold opponents to a remarkably low 37.5 percent conversion rate (3 for 8) on regular-season penalty kicks from 2012-14, while the conversion rate against all other MLS goalkeepers over the same time period is 80.7 percent (121 for 150). Rimando acknowledged he has his own strategy for facing spot kicks but was predictably low-key about this particular stop.

Is Rimando that much worse than Howard? I would imagine if his anticipation in PKs is good so would his anticipation of shots and crosses in regular play. So why not just start him from the beginning?

If all things were equal (which they're not – Howard is a better keeper), you still gotta go with the guy who's playing regular EPL ball over the guy playing MLS.

[DC47]

It's hard to compare field players to keepers. And hard to compare players between eras. But in my view Tim Howard is the best soccer player the USA has ever produced. I'd appreciate the views of those who know the game better than me on two things.

Am I over rating Tim Howard?

Why has Howard never moved to one of the top EPL teams? Has he never been as good as the guys that they have between the pipes? Or are there other factors at play?

[The Sybian]

It's hard to compare field players to keepers. And hard to compare players between eras. But in my view Tim Howard is the best soccer player the USA has ever produced. I'd appreciate the views of those who know the game better than me on two things.

Am I over rating Tim Howard?

Why has Howard never moved to one of the top EPL teams? Has he never been as good as the guys that they have between the pipes? Or are there other factors at play?

He actually entered the EPL with ManU. So I guess you are right, they are more of a mid-table team. Never mind.

IIRC, Howard was named the leagues best goalie his first year starting with ManU, after taking the starting spot from Fabian Barthez, who was the World Cup winning keeper for France in 1998. Then he fell of his game for some reason, and they sent him to Everton. Was that when ManU took Van der Sar from Fulham? I think Keller and Friedel in their prime were on par with Howard. Really hard to say who was better. I'd definitely put Howard in the top 10 EPL keepers, maybe top 5, but probably not much better than 5th. For a while last year, maybe 2 years ago, Guzan was actually playing better than Howard for most of the season.

[DC47]

Didn't know Howard started at ManU. Did he work his way up from the reserves?

Are there reasons other than quality as to why Howard (and Guzan) weren't with one of the big clubs in their prime? Did his failure with ManU permanently scare off other teams?

[degenerasian]

Newcastle's goalkeeper Krul should have gotten himself a last-second penalty as he went into the offensive box.
clear handball, ref again too afraid to make decisions.

commentator said "ref has no bottle"

[govmentchedda]

I'd rather walk alone.

[joeyclams]

Didn't know Howard started at ManU. Did he work his way up from the reserves?

Are there reasons other than quality as to why Howard (and Guzan) weren't with one of the big clubs in their prime? Did his failure with ManU permanently scare off other teams?

Howard played great his first season at United but then had a shocker against Porto in the UCL Quarters the next season and that was reason enough for SAF to move him on to Everton. SAF has stated more than once that Howard is a top, physical GK but he wasn't sure if he was up to playing at United in all the big games they played. Plus, he had his eye on VDS and the rest is history.

Howard went to United at 25. I think if he would have gone to United at 28 or 29, and having played for another EPL team, he would have been better off. Howard is better than Freidel and Keller IMO but it's close. Guzan is going to get a shot at a better EPL team in the near future. He's had a great season for Villa, even though he's given up a lot of goals. His save percentage is up there with the league leaders. He won't go to Citeh or any team like that because they can buy the best but he's easily as good as Minolet and I could see him signing on at Liverpool to challenge Minolet. I'd really like to see Guzan go to Southampton. Up and coming team with a decent defense that has been let down in some games by Boric. A better keeper and Southampton are challenging for a Euro spot, even more than they are now. If ManU isn't careful, Southampton could end up passing them at some point. Very impressed with their season.