The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

watka · Post by **watka** » 25 Nov 2013, 23:11

I think FIFA and UEFA may have different rules, for example I think Gibraltar can play in the Euros but not the World Cup.

Post by **tommykl** » 26 Nov 2013, 16:53

watka wrote:I think FIFA and UEFA may have different rules, for example I think Gibraltar can play in the Euros but not the World Cup.

It's simply a case of whether or not FIFA and UEFA feels like accepting them or not. Also, I think that Gibraltar wouldn't become a member of FIFA simply by becoming a member of UEFA (rather similar to Tuvalu, which is an OFC member but not a FIFA member), but would have to apply separately to each association.

Post by **Londoner** » 01 Dec 2013, 15:57

Strong words from Hull's owner. :roll:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 01 Dec 2013, 16:34

East Londoner wrote:Strong words from Hull's owner.

Assem Allam wrote:"They can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football."

I'm sure the majority of fans are protesters.

watka · Post by **watka** » 03 Dec 2013, 00:11

I loved the Hull City fans response:

"We'll die when we want,
we'll die when we waaaaannnnnt,
we are Hull City,
we'll die when we want!"

Post by **Londoner** » 06 Dec 2013, 20:03

So, shall we start taking bets on how badly the England and Australia football teams get beaten next summer? :lol:

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 06 Dec 2013, 22:49

Defenitely Groups B, D and G look exciting. Things aren't looking too good for England, poor guys °gives you people a hug° is the reject of the tournament already known?

Well, Belgiums group looks decent, with Russia, South-Korea and Algeria. Kind of reminds us of the world cup in 2002 where we faced Russia, Japan and Tunesia, it's the same style of teams. We made it there, only to got eleminated in the second round by Brazil, the eventual winners, so thats theoretical evidence that the eventual winner will come from Group G

watka · Post by **watka** » 07 Dec 2013, 00:32

England will be out of the tournament before they even get to play Costa Rica. Yes, I'm really looking forward to England kicking off their tournament against Italy at 1am GMT...

I reckon that the final will be Germany vs Argentina with Germany winning. Germany will beat Brazil in one semi and Argentina will beat Spain in the other. I also predict that the Netherlands will fail to make it past the group stages.

the Masked Lapwing · Post by **the Masked Lapwing** » 07 Dec 2013, 00:56

Welp, the Socceroos are bathplugged. If we get lucky, we might be able keep Chile to single digits...

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 07 Dec 2013, 07:22

Poll done yesterday said 51% of England fans don't think we will make it out of the group. I'm in the 51.

But I'm half-German, so I'll just switch my support once the group stage is over :lol:

WaffleCat · Post by **WaffleCat** » 07 Dec 2013, 09:53

AdrianSutil wrote:Poll done yesterday said 51% of England fans don't think we will make it out of the group. I'm in the 51.

But I'm half-German, so I'll just switch my support once the group stage is over

>inb4 United States and Portugal progress,leaving Germany out.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 07 Dec 2013, 10:28

WaffleCat wrote:But I'm half-German, so I'll just switch my support once the group stage is over

>inb4 United States and Portugal progress,leaving Germany out.

[/quote]

Oh god, yes, please, for the love of god. Let that happen, HWNSNBM! Let it happen!

watka · Post by **watka** » 08 Dec 2013, 23:51

I reckon in fact that Germany and Ghana will get out of that group.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 09 Dec 2013, 11:27

watka wrote:I reckon in fact that Germany and Ghana will get out of that group.

Not withstanding me being Portuguese, I reckon it is quite an open group. Germany look a shoo-in for first place but in the Euro 2012 they weren't that superior to Portugal. Sure Portugal went some horrid games in qualifying, but they seem to raise their game whenever a final stage comes around. It is an attitude problem and the reason I wanted them to fail qualification. As for Ghana and the US, I find it curious. The British media seem to underrate the US in favour of Ghana while the Portuguese media is the other way around. That clearly shows how strong that group is. As for the other so called groups of death, they have always one clearly weaker team. Costa Rica in Group D and Australia (sorry folks) in Group B. Not forgetting that the WC takes place in South America, here goes my early predictions:

Group A - Brazil to clearly win this. It is at home and they have been on top form ever since Scolari. Their frighting 3-0 win over Spain in the confederations cup always comes to my mind when thinking about Brazil prospects. As for the second place, I will say Mexico to come good right in front of Croatia. The latter don't seem to have a special team and European second string teams tend to perform poorly in World Cups. Cameroon to have another winless World Cup.

Group B - Spain is still Spain and win the group comfortably. For the second place, I reckon Chile to oust an ageing Netherlands squad. They are strong, have a great football and will play in an environment more suited to them. This can be the South American teams World Cup, I think.

Group C - This group has Colombia written all over it. Their young guns, helped by a on-fire Falcao will win then the group. Colombia has an even stronger team than Chile, I think. As for who takes the second place, Japan will be my personal bet. Greece always seem to play a negative football in these early stages. While that might come good against bigger teams, it will not work against similar teams in quality like Japan.

Group D - This is a tough one. Despite all the quality upfront, I don't think Uruguay to have the required team strength overall to eliminate one of Italy or England even playing in South America. Both European teams to come through, Italy edging England once again.

Group E - I still think that Equador only managed qualification thanks to the altitude advantage they have at home. In fact, they have not won a single away match in the South American qualifying stages. As for Honduras, if they win a match, it will be a great world cup for them. Once again, European teams to come through with France ahead.

Group F - This looks certain to be an Argentina affair as none of the other teams will have enough quality to test obvious Argentinian defensive shortcomings. For the second place, I will go with Africa and Nigeria finishing ahead of Bosnia and Europe.

Group G - Despite Ghana and US great teams, anything other than Germany in first and Portugal in second will be a major surprise.

Group H - Many things have been spoken about Belgium being a dark horse, but there is still some question marks about how youth the team still is and their ability to cope with pressure and expectation. Still, I think they will respond well in this group stage and top the Group. In second, I think South Korea will beat a struggling with heat Russian team.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 15 Dec 2013, 18:26

Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 15 Dec 2013, 19:04

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

Post by **Londoner** » 15 Dec 2013, 19:13

Not a good weekend for London clubs, Arsenal humiliated by Man City at home yesterday. Bloody Northerners, coming down here and beating us Londoners time and again (even though I don't support any teams). :evil:

Yup, I'd much rather a London team won the league.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 15 Dec 2013, 19:20

Awesome for Merseyside though. 5-0 and 4-1 wins and 2nd and 5th overall. Manchester were great too.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 15 Dec 2013, 21:53

And my local team, Hades, is now offically leader of division 4C, well done!

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 15 Dec 2013, 22:20

Meanwhile, Stoke drew in an enthralling 0-0 draw with Hull, in what has been christened The Greatest Football Match of All Time, Ever. Tactical genii were aplenty in the dugouts, with managerial legends Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce locking horns. The match was an instant classic, with at least two efforts on target in a scintillating match. The quality of the passing was top-notch as well, both keepers finding the opposition centre halves almost every time with accuracy that simply had to be seen to be believed. Elsewhere, some team beat another team 6-3 in a fairly drab encounter, Spurs lost a boring match against Liverpool 5-0 and Manchester United played out a 3-0 snoozefest against Villa.

God, I love supporting Stoke.

shinji · Post by **shinji** » 15 Dec 2013, 23:06

roblomas52 wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

Passionate Spurs fan roblomas52 finds out their scores from BBC evening news.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 15 Dec 2013, 23:11

shinji wrote:
roblomas52 wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

Passionate Spurs fan roblomas52 finds out their scores from BBC evening news.

It is because my family don't have sky sports or B.T Sport.

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 15 Dec 2013, 23:29

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

Went into that thinking "Okay, draw's good enough here. They don't score many, but Spurs' midfield very strong, they don't concede many, and we could have trouble getting support to Suarez."

But Lucas, Allen and especially Henderson destroyed Paulinho, Sandro and Dembele. It wasn't quite at the same level as Barcelona humiliating Michael Carrick & Co in the 09 CL, but it wasn't far off. I don't think we have enough to beat Man City at the Etihad, they're just too good at home. But I think we can take 3 points away from Stamford Bridge playing like that.

As for Spurs, it's hard to imagine those players not getting it together at some stage. They definitely have quality. Chadli managed to look good despite being starved of possession for large periods of the game and Paulinho, chest kick aside, is a good player too.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 16 Dec 2013, 01:05

shinji wrote:
roblomas52 wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

Passionate Spurs fan roblomas52 finds out their scores from BBC evening news.

Exactly. Much more passionate than being a season ticket holder.

Ferrarist · Post by **Ferrarist** » 16 Dec 2013, 12:03

Oh no, not Arsenal again! We've already had Arsenal in last season's 1/8 final. Schalke and Leverkusen are also pretty much boned, even though Schalke has a higher chance of making the quarter finals than Leverkusen. I mean, Real seems to be prone to a meltdown now and then

Meanwhile, Dortmund had "a little bit lucky" (C) Lothar Matthäus. But seriously, I don't think Zenit will be that much of a challenge to Dortmund.

watka · Post by **watka** » 16 Dec 2013, 17:07

roblomas52 wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

You called it!: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25397167

Was actually originally coming to this thread to say that I seem to have found the long lost Colombian brother of the Japanese F1 commentators: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDXdbrosAkE

Post by **Londoner** » 16 Dec 2013, 17:08

The Premier League is a joke nowadays. What happened to giving managers time? :roll:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 16 Dec 2013, 17:16

East Londoner wrote:The Premier League is a joke nowadays. What happened to giving managers time?

Gone the way of the dodo my friend. Last time we actually sacked a manager was Barry Fry in 1996.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 16 Dec 2013, 21:21

East Londoner wrote:The Premier League is a joke nowadays. What happened to giving managers time?

Our current manager's had more than enough. If AVB's not good enough for Chelsea or Spurs, I don't care - we'll have him! (NB This will never happen)

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 16 Dec 2013, 22:21

watka wrote:
roblomas52 wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Hey Rob did you enjoy seeing LFC beat Spurs?

I am just expecting the headlines "AVB SACKED" on the back of the papers tomorrow!
Personally, I hated it when I found out the score on the BBC evening news.

You called it!: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25397167

Thank God for that

I hope the Southampton boss replace AVB (or AVP45 as the sun called him today) but I reckon the replacement will be Roberto Di Matteo.

Post by **Ataxia** » 27 Dec 2013, 14:45

So, how do you feel about Tim Sherwood?

In other news, after much to-ing and fro-ing from Mr. Tan, Malky Mackay's been given the shove by Cardiff City. The way he's been treated is pretty disgraceful, to be honest, and I hope that he finds a decent club who appreciates him.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 27 Dec 2013, 15:53

Ataxia wrote:So, how do you feel about Tim Sherwood?

In other news, after much to-ing and fro-ing from Mr. Tan, Malky Mackay's been given the shove by Cardiff City. The way he's been treated is pretty disgraceful, to be honest, and I hope that he finds a decent club who appreciates him.

I wouldn't be too surprised if West Brom go for Mackay to be honest.

Anyway, Vincent Tan's an idiot who knows absolute sod all about football. Apparently last season, he was angry at goalkeeper David Marshall, because he wasn't scoring any goals.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 27 Dec 2013, 15:58

FullMetalJack wrote:
Ataxia wrote:So, how do you feel about Tim Sherwood?

In other news, after much to-ing and fro-ing from Mr. Tan, Malky Mackay's been given the shove by Cardiff City. The way he's been treated is pretty disgraceful, to be honest, and I hope that he finds a decent club who appreciates him.

I wouldn't be too surprised if West Brom go for Mackay to be honest.

Anyway, Vincent Tan's an idiot who knows absolute sod all about football. Apparently last season, he was angry at goalkeeper David Marshall, because he wasn't scoring any goals.

Brendan Rodgers would agree with you on that one. He said exactly the same thing in the papers a few weeks ago

Post by **Londoner** » 27 Dec 2013, 15:58

Reading Jake Humphrey's latest tweets, put this into perspective: Arsene Wenger has been manager of Arsenal longer than the other 19 Premiership managers COMBINED.

Also, over a quarter of the 92 managers in the football league have been sacked this season.

Football in this country will probably end up planting the seeds of its own destruction at this rate.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 27 Dec 2013, 17:12

East Londoner wrote:Reading Jake Humphrey's latest tweets, put this into perspective: Arsene Wenger has been manager of Arsenal longer than the other 19 Premiership managers COMBINED.

Also, over a quarter of the 92 managers in the football league have been sacked this season.

Football in this country will probably end up planting the seeds of its own destruction at this rate.

Too true, our manager Lee Clark is currently the fourth longest serving manager in the Championship, after being there for 18 months. Says it all really doesn't it.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 28 Dec 2013, 12:52

East Londoner wrote:Reading Jake Humphrey's latest tweets, put this into perspective: Arsene Wenger has been manager of Arsenal longer than the other 19 Premiership managers COMBINED.

It's a more impressive statistic now that The Hairdryer has been unplugged, but surely Professor Yaffle must be reaching retirement age himself soon...

Football in this country will probably end up planting the seeds of its own destruction at this rate.

Those seeds were planted in the mid-90s and have already grown into the Triffids. It'll take a reservoir full of Agent Orange to knock them back at this stage.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 28 Dec 2013, 18:07

Bad news for fans of Carl Zeiss Jena and Charlton Athletic: Standard-owner Roland Duchatelet is considering buying these clubs, and going to ruin them just like he did with Sint-Truiden, Tubize and Ujpest.
It's as sad thing when a man like that can just play around and buy that many clubs with nothing else in mind than financial profit.

andrew2209 · Post by **andrew2209** » 28 Dec 2013, 20:35

FullMetalJack wrote:
Ataxia wrote:So, how do you feel about Tim Sherwood?

In other news, after much to-ing and fro-ing from Mr. Tan, Malky Mackay's been given the shove by Cardiff City. The way he's been treated is pretty disgraceful, to be honest, and I hope that he finds a decent club who appreciates him.

I wouldn't be too surprised if West Brom go for Mackay to be honest.

Anyway, Vincent Tan's an idiot who knows absolute sod all about football. Apparently last season, he was angry at goalkeeper David Marshall, because he wasn't scoring any goals.

Everyone knows a decent goalkeeper should be going up for injury-time corners.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 28 Dec 2013, 21:27

andrew2209 wrote:
FullMetalJack wrote:
Ataxia wrote:So, how do you feel about Tim Sherwood?

In other news, after much to-ing and fro-ing from Mr. Tan, Malky Mackay's been given the shove by Cardiff City. The way he's been treated is pretty disgraceful, to be honest, and I hope that he finds a decent club who appreciates him.

I wouldn't be too surprised if West Brom go for Mackay to be honest.

Anyway, Vincent Tan's an idiot who knows absolute sod all about football. Apparently last season, he was angry at goalkeeper David Marshall, because he wasn't scoring any goals.

Everyone knows a decent goalkeeper should be going up for injury-time corners.

They certainly do when your Football League status depends on it

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 28 Dec 2013, 22:42

Who added the HYDEWINSLOL phrase?