Football 2011-2012

[Ed209]

FIFA's stance towards racism has been clear for some time

[pink_triangle]

http://www.fifa.com/ballondor/puskasaward/index.html

All good goals but too many individual (made for televisions) goals and not enough team goals for my liking. After seeing the goals I was torn betwwen de cuellar and Neymar. However I think of the 10 goals there was probably less element of luck about the Neymar one so thats the one I would choose.

[kaosmark2]

http://www.fifa.com/...ward/index.html

All good goals but too many individual (made for televisions) goals and not enough team goals for my liking. After seeing the goals I was torn betwwen de cuellar and Neymar. However I think of the 10 goals there was probably less element of luck about the Neymar one so thats the one I would choose.

[Steve P]

RVP how i love you :-)

[The Nal]

RVP how i love you :-)

[thetime]

http://www.fifa.com/...ward/index.html

All good goals but too many individual (made for televisions) goals and not enough team goals for my liking. After seeing the goals I was torn betwwen de cuellar and Neymar. However I think of the 10 goals there was probably less element of luck about the Neymar one so thats the one I would choose.

[Steve P]

Let's hope he stays injury free for you Steve. You're in trouble without him. Cracking player.

[kaosmark2]

totally with you on this triangle!

I much prefer to see a great passing move involving most of the team, than a blockbusting strike.

some of the goals cole/yorke linking play for utd in the late 90s and early 00s were better than rooneys strike.

another clean sheet for utd today, this was the way to go after the amount of goals and shots we were leaking. a bit defensive in our play but it also makes de gea look far more secure.

mates all laugh when I say united will be top by christmas.......

[pink_triangle]

I would never pick a one touch goal to win a best goal competition, to me the fact that you take controlling the ball and beating a player out of the equation, you are significantly reducing the difficulty. I believe there are players in the lower leagues who could score goals such as the one rooney scored or the one from the halfway line, no lower league player could score neymars.

Also the advantage a passing goal has to me is that you often end up with a great chance to score and don't have to rely on luck.

Rooneys goal was overrated at the time with some pundits comparing it to the best of all time. In reality I would say it was more of a spectacular goal than a great one.

[kaosmark2]

I would never pick a one touch goal to win a best goal competition, to me the fact that you take controlling the ball and beating a player out of the equation, you are significantly reducing the difficulty. I believe there are players in the lower leagues who could score goals such as the one rooney scored or the one from the halfway line, no lower league player could score neymars.

Also the advantage a passing goal has to me is that you often end up with a great chance to score and don't have to rely on luck.

Rooneys goal was overrated at the time with some pundits comparing it to the best of all time. In reality I would say it was more of a spectacular goal than a great one.

[The Nal]

I agree on both counts. How he hasn't been nominated for player of the year is bizarre, his record in 2011 is astonishing

[kaosmark2]

Very impressed with Adam today. Mikel proved again just how crap he is. 4-way battle for 2 Champs lge spots, and Chelski certainly look the weakest atm, although I expect them to buy in January. I just hope they don't take Tiote.

[ralph250]

Very impressed with Adam today. Mikel proved again just how crap he is. 4-way battle for 2 Champs lge spots, and Chelski certainly look the weakest atm, although I expect them to buy in January. I just hope they don't take Tiote.

[ralph250]

I would never pick a one touch goal to win a best goal competition,

[pink_triangle]

I would be wary about reading too much into the chelsea v Liverpool game, could have gone either way easily. I think both sides have significant flaws but then again so do any champions league rivals. I hope avb gets time at chelsea because that is a squad full of people past their best which needs to be ripped apart, changing the manager won't hide that fact. Looking at their squad they have a combination of young players and those on the downward spiral but not enough at their peak . I suspect they will be ok as I think they will invest in January. Liverpool don't excite me but in terms of performance they seem to be at a similar level every game and if you are hard to beat you give yourself a chance of winning most games.

[thetime]

quite engrossing todays game, chelsea obviously on the way down and liverpool tring to get in the top 4 again. like triangle says liverpool dont excite me, but saying that man utd dont either at the minute. would take watching spurs over those 2 any day of the week(damn monday night football, as I will be working).

obviously it will be city/utd in the top 2 and then 4 for 2 places, and it will depend on injuries and if suarez is found guilty and gets a big ban.

but if I had to choose 2 it would be spurs and arsenal(if van persie stops fit)

[ralph250]

I hope avb gets time at chelsea because that is a squad full of people past their best which needs to be ripped apart, changing the manager won't hide that fact.

[pink_triangle]

What has really stood out for me with chelsea is how Ashley Cole has lost some pace over the last year and doesnt look the same player to me. My suspicion is chelsea will be fine, I see them as a side who will probably be pretty consistent towards the end of the season. I still see them finishing 3rd.

[ralph250]

Agreed with Zonal Marking's last night on twitter too. Hansen's criticism of Swansea "don't play it out from the back, against the best teams, hoof it".

Know there is times where that is the best action, but the goal just came from more of a slack mistake that we punished ruthlessly.

As ZM said, Swansea have the second most clean sheets in the league (5) (United on 6). Before yesterday had the best possession stats of any team in prem at home (now 3rd), and have the lowest aerial duals won in the league, so lets punt it long and constantly relinquish possession against the best teams as opposed to building from the back and try to keep the ball away from the opposition which has served us so well so far. Yes, they might get caught out a couple times a season doing so, but probably concede far less than just hoofing it up the pitch, and I'd envisage far more helpful in terms of moving the ball forward to create chances too.

Going back to the passing back to the GK. It's not always a complete negative, fair dos if just results in the keeper punting long, but see little problem with using the keeper as a pivot between the centrebacks.

[ralph250]

dont excite me, but saying that man utd dont either at the minute.

[kaosmark2]

As you said before, back to basics after the City game to rebuild confidence. 5 games since, 5 wins, 5 clean sheets. Was what we needed and its all about keeping in touch at the moment. If played open, get caught on a counter and went 8 pts behind, its not disastrous at this stage of the season but would put a lot of pressure on us.

Might not be particularly pretty compared to the swashbuckling open game we were playing earlier in the season, but could tell then that Fergie was concerned. Were great then going forward but balance wasn't right and we were conceding a fair amount of chances even if not resulting in goals. Remember Fergie post one of the games saying how whilst its good to watch, it's not going to win titles unless tighten up.

Get the defence in order, hopefully close the gap a bit, and then can be a bit more adventurous. Tbf, very few of our players are in any sort of form either; only really De Gea & Jones. Once Rooney and Nani kick in again, should hopefully have a decent chance.

Read a fair amount of criticism about our play yesterday, but actually thought it was a decent professional performance and pretty damn comfortable. Sinclair should've scored the chance in the first half, but other than that, there wasn't a lot to trouble us. Can understand frustrations that we're not blowing teams apart, but post international break it was just good to get the result. Think others might be concerned that we're 5 points behind, but its actually been a really good start to the season. 9 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat, through in the cups and top of our Champions League group. The draws were Stoke away and Liverpool away, which are still good results, and our away form at least has been a fair amount more encouraging that last season; 14 points from 18 so far.

Just overshadowed so far by City's domestic form and credit to them. Not sure that we'll be top at Christmas, but we'll have a chance if can stay within touching distance.

[thetime]

I still think you're weak in central midfield. Phil Jones shouldn't have to be called upon for defensive midfield duties considering that you're not exactly swamped with injuries. Cleverley shouldn't have been missed as much as he has been. Rooney shouldn't have had to be pulled back. The tactics and players put into that position are a sign that Fergie knows that. Anderson was playing really well in the latter half of last season, but he hasn't shown that much this season, Giggs has been pretty anonymous so far. Fletcher's not been as impressive as usual, and he's never been a top player. Plenty to offer on the wings, plenty up front, plenty in the centre of defense, but central midfield and full-back positions look vulnerable. I wouldn't be surprised if investment comes in January. I think in terms of squad balance, you need it more than Arsenal.

[pink_triangle]

Is Pogba any good?? His brother plays for us, sometimes a bit clumsy and inconsistent but 2 goals at the weekend so cant complain!

[thetime]

Is Pogba any good?? His brother plays for us, sometimes a bit clumsy and inconsistent but 2 goals at the weekend so cant complain!

[eFestivals]

Is Pogba any good?? His brother plays for us, sometimes a bit clumsy and inconsistent but 2 goals at the weekend so cant complain!

From how he played at Aldershot, he's defo not top-end-of-Prem quality, but perhaps mid-table.