The World of Football/Soccer.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Risk to life is risk to life, I feel no safer driving in the kind of weather conditions we have had these past few days than I did when the IRA set of two bombs within 20 minutes of were I live.

Well I mean winter driving can be made safer; proper tires, road maintenance, etc...if it was random as a terrorist attack this country would shut down for six months of the year. I agree it's not as safe for life and limb as say playing in a 70F day, but dressing accordingly minimizes to negates the risk.

[ukhotstove]

Poor, poor Liverpool team.

[ukhotstove]

Done and dusted ?

If it's true then I can easily see Liverpool not even getting into Europe next season nevermind the Champions League, also all this blame put at the feet of the owners is well bs. I looked over the last 3 seasons and Benitez as spent nearly £11m more than he has brought into the club whilst Man Utd have brought in over £53m and Arsenal have brought in over £12m, in fact the only other one of the so called big four Chelsea who have spent more than they have brought in and they've spent over £36m and that's really down to them changing manager every season.

I'll say it again, Liverpool will never win the title with Benitez no matter who the owners are. Be honest I can't see them winning anything with him, worst thing that happened to Liverpool was them winning the Champions League under him because he has that messiah hold over the fans and owners. And lets be honest if he hadn't won the Champions League they'd have fired him by now.

[ry1220]

BBC Sport - Football - Manager Rafael Benitez apologises to Liverpool fans

Benitez, reading from a sheet of paper, said: "We are not playing well and everyone here feels sorry for our fans.
"But things can change in football and we have confidence that we can improve, starting with Stoke on Saturday."

As well he should. But can they really turn things around w/o Torres for 6 weeks, Gerrard for 2? I think-y not. Opinions?

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by ry1220

BBC Sport - Football - Manager Rafael Benitez apologises to Liverpool fans



As well he should. But can they really turn things around w/o Torres for 6 weeks, Gerrard for 2? I think-y not. Opinions?

Personally no matter who is fit they wont change it around while Benitez is their manager.

[ry1220]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Personally no matter who is fit they wont change it around while Benitez is their manager.

So, if not Benitez, who? Mourinho said he wouldn't sign on without a full takeover, and I can't disagree with him. That's what the team needs. The problems start with the owners. I don't think a financially struggling team can compete with the likes of Chelsea and City.... Plus, the last thing we need is to spend money we don't have on a new stadium, IMO.

Moreover, the team has no depth.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by ry1220

So, if not Benitez, who? Mourinho said he wouldn't sign on without a full takeover, and I can't disagree with him. That's what the team needs. The problems start with the owners. I don't think a financially struggling team can compete with the likes of Chelsea and City.... Plus, the last thing we need is to spend money we don't have on a new stadium, IMO.

Moreover, the team has no depth.

Mourinho is after the United job when Fergie retires so IF (I doubt) he went to Liverpool be short term but if he is after the Man U job the Old Trafford would hardly welcome an ex Liverpool manager would they, there was a piece in todays papers which was interesting reading.

The names they put forward were, Jose Mourinho, Kenny Dalglish, Guus Hiddink, Martin O'Neill, Roy Hodgson, Laurent Blanc, Michael Laudrup, Jurgen Klinsmann, Alex McLeish and Ronnie Whelan.

Out of those I'd be looking at Roy Hodgson although he's a bit old, Laurent Blanc but he could be ear marked for Old Trafford if rumours are true which could open up Mourinho but he'd want money which they don't have. I don't really know much of what Laurdup is like as a manager, at the moment I'd be looking at McLeish and don't forget it was a Scot who built them so maybe it could be a Scot who rebuilds them.

[ukhotstove]

Sibierski

Met him a few times while he played at Wigan, not the greatest player but a decent man, thoughts are with him.

[gbmoore121]

I remember there being posts (thought in this thread) around the merits of rooting for certain teams (history, underdogs, fan base). Can anyone point me in the direction of that discussion?

Tried searching, but didn't have any luck. Thanks!

[bababui]

Originally Posted by gbmoore121

I remember there being posts (thought in this thread) around the merits of rooting for certain teams (history, underdogs, fan base). Can anyone point me in the direction of that discussion?

Tried searching, but didn't have any luck. Thanks!

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-i-follow.html

[rudel.dietrich]

Why is this thread showing it is locked?

[bababui]

Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich

Why is this thread showing it is locked?

It isnt showing that on my computer.

[gbmoore121]

Originally Posted by bababui

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-i-follow.html

Fair enough.

So more specifically.....soccer (unless I missed it in that thread).

I remember some really good discussion about the teams and their histories (similar to the thread you linked around baseball).

Just hoping someone remembers the discussion and can point me towards it.

[mlyons]

Originally Posted by gbmoore121

Fair enough.

So more specifically.....soccer (unless I missed it in that thread).

I remember some really good discussion about the teams and their histories (similar to the thread you linked around baseball).

Just hoping someone remembers the discussion and can point me towards it.

A lot of it depends on what you're looking for in a club. Are you looking for a club with a long tradition of success? One that was successful once, fell on hard times, and now is trying to claw its way back to the top? A scrappy underdog? Rich? Poor? Strong local traditions? Cosmopolitan flair? Attacking with style? Hard-nosed defense?

[Cooleyvol]

A little dated, but here's an article about the subject:

ESPN.com: Page 2 : Choosing my EPL team

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by bababui

It isnt showing that on my computer.

My forum has been displaying incorrectly for about a week. Icons are not right and buttons are not working. I have yet to find the cause either.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by gbmoore121

I remember there being posts (thought in this thread) around the merits of rooting for certain teams (history, underdogs, fan base). Can anyone point me in the direction of that discussion?

Tried searching, but didn't have any luck. Thanks!

There was some talk in OT about it on the FM thread but I'm sure if you are after supporting a team just post what your looking for in a team and be a few people on here able to point you in the right direction.

[gbmoore121]

Thanks for that article Cooley!

Thanks for the offer to help everyone. I have been watching more soccer over the last year thanks to the increased coverage on Direct TV.

The world is just so large that I would like to narrow down and really root for a team. I guess I would like the following in a team:

-Someone I can watch on a somewhat regular basis.
-A team that is not a total bandwagon choice.
-A team that *could* challenge for the top.
-A team without a long (if any) history of Championships.

Thanks again for any help!

[bababui]

The only problem with 'a team to watch on a regular basis', at least in England, is their goofy media contract. They dont televise every teams games. Its a potpourri of games from the best teams to the worst. FSC Italy contract means that almost all their games will have one of the Big 3; Inter, AC Milan or Juventus. That doesnt pass the obvious choice test.

Maybe the best choice would be to watch some matches from the various leagues that are televised and let your instincts/emotions take over. Just about all the mojor leagues in the world are available now if you get FSC, GOL TV, ESPN Deportes, ESPN 1 and 2, and some local Mexican channels (Univision and Telemundo).

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by gbmoore121

Thanks for that article Cooley!

Thanks for the offer to help everyone. I have been watching more soccer over the last year thanks to the increased coverage on Direct TV.

The world is just so large that I would like to narrow down and really root for a team. I guess I would like the following in a team:

-Someone I can watch on a somewhat regular basis.
-A team that is not a total bandwagon choice.
-A team that *could* challenge for the top.
-A team without a long (if any) history of Championships.

Thanks again for any help!

I'll think about it more but one that springs to mind is Aston Villa, probably for the next few years your main league winners will be Chelsea and Man Utd but their massive bandwagon jumping teams. Come to think of it you'd probably be looking at Aston Villa, Man City and Spurs but Villa and Spurs being the main ones as Man City have become a bandwagon team of late.