The European football thread

[ukhotstove]

Well I'm out as well my eyes are drooping oh programme on it's way could be with you by the weekend keep a look out for a brown envelope

[bababui]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Well I'm out as well my eyes are drooping oh programme on it's way could be with you by the weekend keep a look out for a brown envelope

Night UKHS and thank you again

[zoraster]

Just got back from Bromley’s first home game of the year Staines, and boy did we make it hard work. We played well enough but seemed determined to blow the win. We took the lead midway in the first half with McDonnell’s first of the year, and were well in control by the break. Of course this meant it was inevitable Staines would come straight out and equalise Around the hour the second penalty in as many Bromley games was awarded, only this time it was in our favour. Step up our goal machine Nic McDonnell to sky it over the bar. It was beginning to feel like one of those nights.

You may recall after Saturdays draw I bemoaned Goldberg’s lack of substitutions when our forwards were running out of ideas. Well my hopes that he’d learn from mistakes have been answered. With twenty minutes left on the clock he pulled off both Boot and McDonnell for Stone and Tiesse. The change paid dividends as the new strike-force gave the tired defence fresh problems, and Stone restored our lead with a nice strike ten minutes from time.

Hard work, but four points from the opening two games is just what we wanted, and the performances are looking very promising indeed. Early days yet, but there are grounds for optimism around Hayes Lane.

[zoraster]

Originally Posted by bababui

I had heard of that sad incident. It was grossly unfair to penalize an entire nation for the actions of a few.

If it was just that one incident you’d be right, but we’d been rampaging across the continent for a decade. This is something that really gets my goat when English folk point to isolated incidents today and say we would be thrown out for the same.

The complete ban was very much a last resort. For example eight years before Manchester United had been forced to play in Plymouth rather than Manchester after the self styled red army had gone on the rampage in France. Speaking from personal experience in those days an Euro away that went off without substantial trouble was an extreme rarity.

To put it in perspective UEFA’s act was very nearly incredibly mild compared to domestic action. A few weeks before Heysel English hooliganism had reached its domestic nadir at the Luton v Millwall FA Cup quarterfinal. In the aftermath following consultation between police and government we came within a hairs breadth of having the plug pulled on the domestic game altogether for a year while the problem was addressed.

Perhaps it wouldnt be unfair to say that had Everton been able to make more CL money in those years the history of the ERL might be very different?

The money wasn’t an issue. Even winning the competition didn’t really make much difference back then. What really killed Everton was ambition. They had tasted success winning the ECWC in 85, had won the league, had been to loads of domestic cup finals... they needed fresh challenges, and once the manager jumped ship to Spain the team began to disintegrate. It is hard to judge how much difference it would have made though. The team was great, but by the 87 championship key men were aging and the likes of Heath and Bracewell were succumbing to their injury problems. Kendall was never able to build another team, so arguably Everton’s success would have been fairly short-lived anyway.

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by bababui

And have a month break every two seasons?? I do think outdoor sport should be played in the summer though. There is nothing more beautiful than a warm summer evening.

Depends on the sport. If you play Rugby during the summer they'll be an awful lot of ****ed up knees pretty quickly. I can see the point with football, but I do love games where the players have to battle the elements. Plus it's good to have plenty of footy to get you through those damp, dark, dreary months. Besides what happens after X-mas? It's always a bit of a damp squib. No more presents to open. How do you follow up X-mas day? BOXING DAY FOOTY!!!!!!!!!!

Also it does free up the summer for the major football events (every 2 years in Europe.

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

If club forum had warnings there'd be nobody on them by now, I used to go on the Latics one but stopped as it's like a caveman meeting.

Yeah, there's one Toon one I look at but I don't post. Too many idiots. It's good for getting news, rumours and opinions but there is always an awful lot of squabbling.

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

I like Webster, Mike Carlson is a legend in my eyes, he used to do a MLB preview on A4 paper and send it out pretty much charging just for the paper and postage, also years ago sent him a letter asking if he knew how to get hold of scorecards as I like keeping score of games I watch on TV, instead of just giving me some links he sent me some, how many presenters would take time out to do that, great bloke.

Webster's quite good, I'm not a huge fan of his. Personally I actually like Johnny Gould quite a lot. I really like baseball, but I also find it extremely boring (if that makes any sense), but I love his enthusiasm and energy and it helps keep me in the game and stop falling asleep.

Mike Carlson is brilliant. A superb analyst and clearly a top bloke. I love the 5 football show; they play the whole game (usually live) with perhaps one or two advert breaks. At other breaks they just go back to the studio for his analysis, and he always does a really good job of explaining things. If there's any justice in the world, many women will have had his babies.

[The Funk]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

I annoy everyone.

Your self-deprecation's beginning to piss me off.

[theasfl]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

In 1985 Liverpool played Juventus in the European Cup Final in Brussels at the Heysel Stadium, before the kick off Liverpool fans rioted and pushed the Juventus fans to one side of the ground were a wall collapsed and 39 people died all Juventus fans.

Because of this English teams were banned from playing in Europe for 5 years, the team that won the league that year was Everton but because of the ban they couldn't play in the European Cup the following year, because of this Juventus and alot of Everton fans have an hatred towards Liverpool.

didnt realize I should hate Liverpool, though Ive known about the incident for awhile.

[magnet]

Originally Posted by theasfl

didnt realize I should hate Liverpool, though Ive known about the incident for awhile.

If there's hate in your heart let it out.

[bababui]

You guys rock. I feel like a sponge that is extreemly lucky to soak up so much of the history, tradition and lore of this sport. Barely a day goes by that i dont learn something new.

If I were in the UK I would be very possed that my teams matches arent shown on live TV. With the hundreds of channels available these days it can be made to happen. There might well be rioting in the streets over here if we were forced to watch the NFL on tape delay.

[ukhotstove]

Originally Posted by The Funk

Yeah, there's one Toon one I look at but I don't post. Too many idiots. It's good for getting news, rumours and opinions but there is always an awful lot of squabbling.

You should go on the Cockney Latic one, used to be ok but I stopped posting ages ago. Have to see if it means anything but last year it was full of West Brom fans ripping into Wigan about our support and stuff well turns out they got relegated so a bad omen for them, this season so far it's been Portsmouth and Newcastle fans coming on ripping into Wigan wonder if it will be a bad omen for them.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

You should go on the Cockney Latic one, used to be ok but I stopped posting ages ago. Have to see if it means anything but last year it was full of West Brom fans ripping into Wigan about our support and stuff well turns out they got relegated so a bad omen for them, this season so far it's been Portsmouth and Newcastle fans coming on ripping into Wigan wonder if it will be a bad omen for them.

if there is any karmic justice they will be. Or at least their insane supporters.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by magnet

If there's hate in your heart let it out.

They could get awfuly messy for the next of kin

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by The Funk

Depends on the sport. If you play Rugby during the summer they'll be an awful lot of ****ed up knees pretty quickly. I can see the point with football, but I do love games where the players have to battle the elements.

The point I'm making is that games aren't played when the weather is bad, because they are always being called off. Either get on with it under whatever weather, or play in the summer.

Originally Posted by The Funk

Your self-deprecation's beginning to piss me off.

Sorry, man...

[bababui]

Originally Posted by Sdpm100

The point I'm making is that games aren't played when the weather is bad, because they are always being called off. Either get on with it under whatever weather, or play in the summer.

I dont understand what he means when he says there will be lots of messed up knees playing in the summer. Seems to me that the warm weather makes it easier to get and stay loose.

[ukhotstove]

Yeah like zoraster says it just wasn't Heysel that got the ban although we'll never know what would have happened if that had been the only account of violence, but Heysel was the cherry on the cake.

There still is violence at football matches just isn't as high profiled and as much as before, worst team's I've seen visit Wigan specially last season were Man City, Everton and Man Utd. Newcastle were just verbal but for my nephew being there the red mist of years gone by nearly descended over my eyes, reason being a mini bus full of Newcastle fans were giving it the mouth at the Latic fans walking past (they were stuck in traffic) if they'd done that years ago I'd have headbutted the one nearest the door

Those years are long gone for me though, I stopped doing the hooligan part when they started to fight more and more with knives.

[ukhotstove]

They play rugby in the summer though, rugby league was actually played in winter but moved to summer to avoid bad pitches and football and try to bring families to games under the better weather.

[Sdpm100]

Originally Posted by bababui

I dont understand what he means when he says there will be lots of messed up knees playing in the summer. Seems to me that the warm weather makes it easier to get and stay loose.

The ground will be hard so the collisions between knees and grass, in theory, are more violent.

[bababui]

Originally Posted by ukhotstove

Yeah like zoraster says it just wasn't Heysel that got the ban although we'll never know what would have happened if that had been the only account of violence, but Heysel was the cherry on the cake.

There still is violence at football matches just isn't as high profiled and as much as before, worst team's I've seen visit Wigan specially last season were Man City, Everton and Man Utd. Newcastle were just verbal but for my nephew being there the red mist of years gone by nearly descended over my eyes, reason being a mini bus full of Newcastle fans were giving it the mouth at the Latic fans walking past (they were stuck in traffic) if they'd done that years ago I'd have headbutted the one nearest the door

Those years are long gone for me though, I stopped doing the hooligan part when they started to fight more and more with knives.

UKHS, this really points out how different are the sport cultures in our countries. Violence is almost unheard of here except for a very few isolated gangbangers. That said, I wish we had the passion that the UK footie fans show.

Also, remind me never to piss you off.