The European football thread

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Raderick

Could someone explain to me UEFA or even England's drug policy and punishments?

I'll take both. The second part is quite easy - the drug policy is to follow WADA's two year ban, but make adjustments to it depending on circumstances around the case.
In other words, they guess at an appropriate punishment.


As for UEFA. Well that stands for the Union of European Football Associations, and is made up of currently 52 member nations, but soon to grow by at least one more (Montenegro), and maybe more in the near future (Gibraltar et al).
They run continental competitions for both club (Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup), and for nations (European Championships).

Ask me if you want any further info on something else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA

[Raderick]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I'll take both. The second part is quite easy - the drug policy is to follow WADA's two year ban, but make adjustments to it depending on circumstances around the case.
In other words, they guess at an appropriate punishment.


As for UEFA. Well that stands for the Union of European Football Associations, and is made up of currently 52 member nations, but soon to grow by at least one more (Montenegro), and maybe more in the near future (Gibraltar et al).
They run continental competitions for both club (Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup), and for nations (European Championships).

Ask me if you want any further info on something else.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA

I know what UEFA is, I'm wondering about their drug policy.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Raderick

I know what UEFA is, I'm wondering about their drug policy.

Oh, sorry, I didn't read it right then.

They follow the WADA rules, as is dictated to them by being an Olympic sport.
The only example I can think of of UEFA doing it themselves though, is on Abel Xavier who was banned for 18 months after testing positive in a UEFA Cup game for dianabol.

[Raderick]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

Oh, sorry, I didn't read it right then.

They follow the WADA rules, as is dictated to them by being an Olympic sport.
The only example I can think of of UEFA doing it themselves though, is on Abel Xavier who was banned for 18 months after testing positive in a UEFA Cup game for dianabol.

Are players tested year-round or at the start of their domestic or European seasons?

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by Raderick

Are players tested year-round or at the start of their domestic or European seasons?

I believe the FA rules are only in-season testing (including pre-season).


The UEFA rules are different as they don't have control over the players all the time, but according to this article it is up to eight days before a UEFA-sanctioned game.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/4240940.stm

[bababui]

Originally Posted by The Funk

Generally because they're usually technically inferior.

There are a few reasons:

1) - The English game is very fast, that is to say players close the opposition down quickly and don't give them much time on the ball. As a result it's harder to play possesion football and you end up with more long balls. British football is more of a territorial game than a possesion game, as opposed to most other countries. Against top technical teams who are very good at keeping the ball, even under pressure, this can be exposed, hence England's relative lack of success in international competition.

2) - The attitude of the players. British players generally are physically strong and have great determination. High workrate is demanded and technical players who don't like to muck in are often criticised. It's been said by one top manager [I forget who] that British players play football as a game, whereas most 'foreigners' play it as a job. Jose Mourinho, Portuguese Chelsea manager, has a great many foreign players, but he's said that he likes having a couple of English players (eg John Terry and Frank Lampard) in the middle of the team to act as its heart, to drive the others on and provide that never-say-die attitude.

3) Coaching - Britain has got left behind in this respect, probably due to this attitude of playing as a game rather than a job. It's also affected the coaching side. Many of the new ideas - scientific diets, specific coaches for technical training etc. are generally adopted later in England than in other top countries. As such we get left behind on the coaching front, which means young players are not as well trained.

The old 'get stuck in' adage still pervades British football. There is a huge sense of teamwork in the English game, but it also means that individual flair and ability is often de-emphasised at a young age, so kids aren't encouraged to play as an individual and practice their skills. Teamwork is a great attitude, but it can be learnt later and it often comes at the cost of hampering individual skill sets.


There are obviously many very technically gifted British players - Gerrard, Rooney etc. but the general standard is certainly lower than many nations nations such as Holland, Spain or Italy.

A HoF post. Please dont keep any more like this from us please.

[Raderick]

Wayne Rooney is back on track!

[Raderick]

Happy 21st birthday Wayne Rooney!

[zoraster]

Did I say tough draw? T’was a piece of piss Bromley are in the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in a decade, and we’ve got a decent draw away to the only league team in Kent as our reward. Only downside today, another couple of injuries, and Grays have stitched us up with the official attendance. They’ve put forward 800 odd, when even their crowd reckon there was at least 50% more than that, so we’ve been diddled out of a fair wedge of gate money... still the £10k prize money for the win does help me stomach that

Our current confidence carried us through today. Grays came out and blitzed us in the first half, but we stood firm and didn’t really give them much sight of goal. Last year ago we would have folded under the weight of pressure, but today we just kept our shape, soaked it up and hit them on the break. Most impressive of all when they equalised on the half hour we didn’t take a confidence hit, instead we got the ball back and started playing again and rapidly restored our lead.

As the second half began the expected storm didn’t come and in truth it felt more like a league match as the Grays players seemed to be looking towards the next match rather than scrambling in desperation for an equaliser. It was only the last ten minutes when Grays seemed to wake up to their impending exit from the competition, and then we did have to face a bit of storm. Things were not helped by our being effectively down to ten men with our right back a passenger carrying an injury with all three subs used. Despite this we held out, and in truth we had by far the best of the second half. Far from deserving a draw I was hoping for it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t won.

We've now eliminated sides from the two levels above us, but Gillingham away is a massive ask. Four levels above us, and they will be almost as up for it as we are given this is their first Kent derby for ages. One thing we do have in our favour is the law of the ex with our current right back (assuming he recovers from todays injury) playing their for the Gills for half of last season.

[rudel.dietrich]

Taken as a whole I would have to say the Spanish first division is higher quality football on average than that of the EPL

[bababui]

Four levels above us, and they will be almost as up for it as we are given this is their first Kent derby for ages.

Are there enough local players in this day and age to make this important to them?

[ukhotstove]

Did you know that the start of football in the States was actually down to European teams, the first sanctioned league in the States the United Soccer Association who fielded teams like the Chicago Mustangs, Dallas Tornado, Los Angeles Wolves were actually European teams who had changed their names.

Western Division
Chicago Mustangs (Cagliari, Italy)
Dallas Tornado (Dundee United, Scotland)
Houston Stars (Bangu, Brazil)
Los Angeles Wolves (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England)
San Francisco Golden Gate Gales (ADO Den Haag, Netherlands)
Vancouver Royal Canadians (Sunderland, England)

Eastern Division
Boston Rovers (Shamrock Rovers, Ireland)
Cleveland Stokers (Stoke City, England)
Detroit Cougars (Glentoran, Northern Ireland)
New York Skyliners (Cerro, Uruguay)
Toronto City (Hibernian, Scotland)
Washington Whips (Aberdeen, Scotland

[ukhotstove]

A plea to the MLS please, please, please, please, please, take Beckham.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/6096072.stm

[Raderick]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

A plea to the MLS please, please, please, please, please, take Beckham.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/6096072.stm

He's also linked to a move back to Manchester United if his contract is not extended by Real Madrid. He expressed his displeasure about leaving Manchester and is willing to bury the hatchet with Sir Alex. Will the Glazers throw him the cash? I would think so.

But hey, I'm sure the MLS would take Beckham and throw him every penny he wants any day of the week if it means helping the league's popularity. His namesake is very well known with sports fans, his ads are everywhere, he wants to play in the United States, and Bend it Like Beckham had a pretty good gate here in the States. Throwing him with one of the media heavens like Los Angeles or Red Bulls will definitely help.

[ukhotstove]

Long as he doesn't go to Celtic I don't care where he goes, scond thought's would love him to go to Rangers just pity they can't afford him.

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by bababui

Are there enough local players in this day and age to make this important to them?

There are as many as there has ever been over the last few decades, but players origin has never had an impact on derby games down the years. Derby enthusiasm amongst fans does seem to be somewhat infectious... you only have to look at some of the Glasgow clashes over the last twenty years when Scots, let alone Glaswegians, have been increasingly rare.

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

you ask any football supporter around the World and they would say that the Liverpool teams of the 70/80's played the best football your likely to see.

Maybe most around the world, but that would only be because they never saw them play more than the odd game each year until the late eighties, at which point they did actually start to play some good football.

For most of that timeframe Liverpool were painful to watch. They played highly efficient football, not good football. They strangled games, and it is worth remembering that they were the oft-cited motivation when the back pass rule was first seriously being mooted. The endless triangles between keeper and centre halves were reaching epic proportions by the mid eighties. Liverpool played some great football under Shankly, and returned to some style under Dalglish but the Paisley/Fagan era was anything but a pleasure to watch.

I totally concur with your general point though. Anyone who thinks proper English style football was clogging is displaying ignorance in the extreme. In this respect it was no different to the various traditional continental systems. We got that reputation because of our approach without the ball; while most of the world backed off and challenged the opposition to play through them we pressed, and as a result players always felt under a lot more duress playing against British opposition. Of course today the whole world has adopted that policy so it is no longer a bone of contention.

[ukhotstove]

The English football season kicks off in a little under two weeks, yes I know officially it kicked of months ago but imo the season only starts when the FA Cup 1st round kicks off.

Should be some upsets, the tie I'd go to if any would be Newport County v Swansea.

[bababui]

Could someone please tell me if it makes any difference or requires any more skill to play left or right center back?

[rangers85]

Originally Posted by bababui

Could someone please tell me if it makes any difference or requires any more skill to play left or right center back?

Not all that much. You just channel to the outside the other way. As well, it helps a bit to be more left footed on the left side, right footed on the right. But on the whole, the mission is pretty much the same and doesn't really take more or less skill to play one side over the other.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by rangers85

Not all that much. You just channel to the outside the other way. As well, it helps a bit to be more left footed on the left side, right footed on the right. But on the whole, the mission is pretty much the same and doesn't really take more or less skill to play one side over the other.

Thank you