football: the beautiful game

[polishmike]

haha i heard that already but i didn't want to put down their fans anymore. fucking internationals...

[Harry Sledge]

International weekend...again? jeezuz!

[fatchino]

support your local team guys ...

[Leumas]

5-1 against K-stan and 3-1 against Belurus wins are good, but I think we are getting to excited over these wins. Its good for the morale of the England team after missing the Euro's and good for the fans to see us winning but against team like K-Stan and Belurus 3-1 scorelines should be standard wins. I think the wins are given too much of a big deal.

[cJajce]

so who do you'll think is gonna take the ucl this year? predictions anyone even though matchday three is next week. im super bumin about Torres' injury, he's prolly gonna miss his homecomin game in madrid. and even worse, might not be fit for when they head over to stamford bridge. as much as i want them to do well this year since they got shafted by Risse last time around, i still feel like they didn't do enough in the off season and Keane isn't going to cut it. so ucl winners when all is said and done, Inter.

therealcas: please don't bother putting chelsea because all that money ain't gonna by them a fluke own goal this year

[polishmike]

I think Torres will be fit for Chelsea and the Atletico match won't be played in Madrid anyway so no big loss there.

I think Barca will win the Champions league or maybe Liverpool. Inter will play Chelsea at some point and will get eliminated.

[panicnation]

imho there isn't enough depth in liverpool's squad, especially up front.

A bad stretch of injuries, especially later in the season, could really dent their chances of winning the epl or ucl. Torres and babels' injuries right now are proving just that.

Still kinda undecided about keane - he's a proven goalscorer but he can't seem to find his scoring touch for 'pool yet, and i' not sure why.

[Harry Sledge]

Manchester United to become the first team to retain the Champions League & first European Cup retainers since AC Milan '89 & '90.

[beast]

so who do you'll think is gonna take the ucl this year? predictions anyone even though matchday three is next week. im super bumin about Torres' injury, he's prolly gonna miss his homecomin game in madrid. and even worse, might not be fit for when they head over to stamford bridge. as much as i want them to do well this year since they got shafted by Risse last time around, i still feel like they didn't do enough in the off season and Keane isn't going to cut it. so ucl winners when all is said and done, Inter.

therealcas: please don't bother putting chelsea because all that money ain't gonna by them a fluke own goal this year

Inter? Even Jose knows there is a problem with his squad. It will take some time to mould it into what he wants. Remember he made an immediate impact in Chelsea but not in Inter.

[beast]

Torres and babels' injuries right now are proving just that.

How can you say that when they just got injured and Pool havent played a single game with them missing? Anyway Babel is an impact sub.

The key to Pool in terms of goals is Stevie G and Torres. But Marscherano is damn important to them in his defensive midfielder role.

As for Keano, probably playing out of position compared to his Spurs days.

[polishmike]

Liverpool beat Man Utd without Torres...

[readytoignite]

obviously torres is an impact player and i'm curious to see if he'll be able to stay fit while playing every important match as opposed to being regularly rotated like last season.

keano is pants for liverpool because of the hex i put on him while burning my 04-05 #10 replica. trust me, you don't ever want to smell a burning kappa kit.

[polishmike]

obviously torres is an impact player and i'm curious to see if he'll be able to stay fit while playing every important match as opposed to being regularly rotated like last season.

he was never rotated last season. some people just believe every word from the papers the only time he didn't play was when he was injured and once when he was late from internationals.

[readytoignite]

i think it's a fair statement that he was rotated more last season. of the 59 matches liverpool played last season, he was named for 50, starting only 41. in all but 1 of those 9 non-starting matches he was obviously being rotated / rested. by comparison, in the 12 matches this season he was only rested for non-injury reasons once.

also i should point out that he played in a major tournament over the summer so those matches can be added in as well.

btw bolton are offering free pints to the first 1000 supporters at the reebok this weekend. when was the last time a sports team in the top tier of a professional league had to bribe their supporters with free beer?

[polishmike]

these stats are very confusing right now, i'll review them when i sober up on sunday. which game was he rested in this season? not a league or cl game?

[LaiShin]

Chelsea missing quite a few of their 1st team players and still raping the shit out of Boro. the fuck?

[readytoignite]

these stats are very confusing right now, i'll review them when i sober up on sunday. which game was he rested in this season? not a league or cl game?

league cup, he came in as a sub. he'll probably be rested for most domestic cup matches but rafa will ride him until he's broken as long as they're in the title race, i am not following things too closely but assume he would get the sack this summer if he can't at least close the gap on 2nd place?

[beast]

Chelsea missing quite a few of their 1st team players and still raping the shit out of Boro. the fuck?

You expect Man U, Arsenal and Pool to win comfortably at home. And the latter 2 looked bad at half time but you never expect Chelsea reserves to hammer Boro senseless. Boro capitulated after the 2nd or 3rd goal.

I remember not too long ago, McClaren scalped all the big 4 at the Riverside and was the only club to do so at Riverside. If this doesnt' send chills down the other big 3, I dont know what will.

Anyway, next Sunday will be interesting: Scolari v Rafa at the Bridge. I predict a draw or even Pool to win against a Chelsea probably still missing at least 3 to 5 of their first team. Rafa and Pool knows too well how Chelsea plays and Pool are now the comeback kings in BPL big time.

[beast]

league cup, he came in as a sub. he'll probably be rested for most domestic cup matches but rafa will ride him until he's broken as long as they're in the title race, i am not following things too closely but assume he would get the sack this summer if he can't at least close the gap on 2nd place?

Rafa already said he is not here to win the League or even FA Cup. Most of the first team are rested for League Cup anyway and even FA Cup. Torres wont be ridden till he's broken. He is much too important for Pool and he will be rested for minor BPL matches as long as they are cruising.

As for Rafa, if not for the vitroil and hatred against the Yanks, he would have gotten the sack long time ago. As it is, he aint rotating like he used to and now Pool is looking damn good in the BPL so he wont get the sack unless he wants to join Barca or Real, Anyway Chelsea is looking good too. If Man U doesnt catch up, I bet those 2 will be top 2 and Man U and Arsenal will be third and fourth.

[Harry Sledge]

What sort of gap do you think Liverpool need at the top to hold off the other three? Or do you think everyone will rotate that no.1 spot all season?

[polishmike]

league cup, he came in as a sub.

that's not really rotating. most bigger teams give young players a chance in the early games of the league cup. same thing happens in group stages of the champions league when the team already knows they will go to the the next round.

i'm not sure if he will rotate torres at all this season. maybe next month when we have 7 games, he will be on the bench once but i don't think he will ever be left out of the squad if he's healthy. he's just too important. just cause kuyt is scoring winners now doesn't mean torres can be rested. liverpool was getting pretty lucky in the last two games and now the chelsea match will be very important. if we beat chelsea i can see a real possibility this season but tbh i would take the draw with a smile.

[plongin]

ALL THESE POINTS AREN'T IMPORTANT. take a break from this shall we.

what the fuck is going on with spurs? seriously?

[fatchino]

Fair to say Liverpool still need to up their game to be there at the end? keane still looks like he's trying too hard and no way you can rely on Kuyt for goals. Wouldn't be unfair to say that Wigan deserved to be ahead in that match.

Zaki what a player ... the guys come outta nowhere; perfect for the premiership ... ie built like a beast and works his ass off every game. Rafa's and citeh are interested apparently.

So much for 'magic juande'; anyone remember that? In the words of the Stoke City faithful 'you're getting sacked in the morning, sacked in the morrrrning ...

[readytoignite]

that's not really rotating. most bigger teams give young players a chance in the early games of the league cup. same thing happens in group stages of the champions league when the team already knows they will go to the the next round.

thanks for agreeing with me that torres was rotated more last season than this

Rafa already said he is not here to win the League or even FA Cup. Most of the first team are rested for League Cup anyway and even FA Cup. Torres wont be ridden till he's broken. He is much too important for Pool and he will be rested for minor BPL matches as long as they are cruising

thank you for agreeing with me that rafa doesn't care about the domestic cups and will not be using torres as heavily for those competitions (perhaps the later rounds in the fa cup if they make it that far). in the post-abramovich premiership, there is no such thing as a minor league match (which, to his credit, polish is also smart enough to agree with me on this).

chelsea will beat liverpool. liverpool have been as lucky to win as many as they have, as spurs have been unlucky to lose as many.

re: spurs, the players are starting to believe the media that they're going down (which they won't unless they self-inflict further damage as to make it fatal, i.e. by sacking ramos)

[polishmike]

thanks for agreeing with me that torres was rotated more last season than this

You said that he was being rotated regularly and I said that's not true. I agree that he was rotated more last season than the present one but we're just at the start of the season so that statement is irrelevant.

Rotation is an interesting phenomenon. It's always connected with Rafa and Liverpool but never mentioned when whiskey nose "rotates" his players.

In early matches of Carling Cup it's pretty normal to let younger players out and leave some experience on the bench. All of the top 4 clubs do it and few other with good academies do it as well. Same with early stages of the FA cup. You often see the second goalie playing until at least quarter-finals. Wenger plays mostly youngsters in these games.

Similar "rotation" happens in the late matches of the Champions League group stages. When teams have secured the next round some players get rested because of the fixture congestion around that time.

These are not true examples of rotating per "Benitez or Liverpool way" called by the papers. When a player is fit and is available for a game but is being dropped for another player because of being inferior in certain formation or not being effective (or needed) against certain team, that we can call rotating. We can see Man Utd rotating Carrick and Hargreaves because sometimes they are not effective when both of them are on the pitch. In the same midfield Giggs, Scholes, Nani, and Anderson are also rotated depending on the opposition. Rafa rotates this season between Aurelio and Dossena on the left as well as Macherano and Alonso in the middle.

Following this, Torres was only rotated twice last season. At Portsmouth and at home to Birmingham. He was on the bench for both of these games and both scores were 0-0. He came as a sub against Fulham but he was injured the week earlier so it wasn't really rotation.

(we also see "rotation" late in the season when teams are still playing for cups and can't significantly improve their league position. last season it happened at Liverpool because of the CL and at Portsmouth cause of the FA cup.)

thank you for agreeing with me that rafa doesn't care about the domestic cups

I don't agree at all. Rafa, as well as other managers, often use reserve players early in these competitions. It doesn't mean that they don't care. We lost to Chelsea in the League cup where we both fielded a mix of first team and reserve players. It just looks a little different when reserves at Liverpool are Leiva and El Zhar, when at Chelsea it's Sheva and Kalou.

Do you think Scolari doesn't care about the League Cup because he played Ivanovic and Bridge?

in the post-abramovich premiership, there is no such thing as a minor league match (which, to his credit, polish is also smart enough to agree with me on this).

I feel so smart...

[readytoignite]

Rotation is an interesting phenomenon. It's always connected with Rafa and Liverpool but never mentioned when whiskey nose "rotates" his players.

to be fair, it's also now connected to ramos. the punters seem reluctant to adapt to the new global face of football hence resistance to foreign ownership, continental football structures and the concept of having a squad and using it (rotation) - the english papers pander to this and create these stereotypes. ferguson is always going to be exempt from a lot of this because he's the most successful manager of this era so it's tough to criticize the way he manages his team.

These are not true examples of rotating per "Benitez or Liverpool way" called by the papers. When a player is fit and is available for a game but is being dropped for another player because of being inferior in certain formation or not being effective (or needed) against certain team, that we can call rotating.

i don't really read the papers but wouldn't call this rotating, just managing. which may explain our difference in opinion regarding torres. my definition is when a fit player who would otherwise be first choice is rested on a regular basis due to anticipation of upcoming fixtures.

anyway, my predictions are: torres will play almost all premiership matches he is deemed fit for, and he will also miss more matches. i guess we could argue the semantics until we're bored to death but this is the upshot.

[polishmike]

i don't really read the papers but wouldn't call this rotating, just managing. which may explain our difference in opinion regarding torres.

it's not a difference in opinion. i just like proving people wrong

you said torres was regularly rotated and i proved that you were wrong.

my definition is when a fit player who would otherwise be first choice is rested on a regular basis due to anticipation of upcoming fixtures.

agree. following this logic, torres was rotated twice. (the whole team was rotated once at the end of the season when league position was secured and they were still playing champions league)

(you wanna go see Klimek, Ezekiel Honig, & Gilles Vonsattel tonight?)

[LaiShin]

A total of 36 goals in the 8 CL games played today :eek:

Attacking sides + leaky defence

[Magsåvningsreserven]

Beckham's joining Milan during MLS' break on a short term loan.

Good for him I say, he'll stay sharp and he's futhering his legacy albeit it is going to be a short stay. I actually like Beckham so I'll leave the cussing to you lot

[Harry Sledge]

There's probably an outside chance of it being made permanent as Beckham's contract is a fair few quid, I'm sure Galaxy would consider taking him off the wage bill if they could get it done quietly without media attention.

Milan sure do like 'em old.