Arena "The Beautiful Game" - The Official JCC Football (Soccer) Thread.

For those who missed the Dortmund match (which I assume is all of you, and pretty much everyone outside of Germany, Ukraine and certain parts of Poland), Mario Götze's lovely little flick to make it 2-0 last night

 

Sorry fo rthe quadruple post, but where the hell are you people?!!!

I completely disagree, and I'm pretty sure Omega would, too -- Real hadn't a clue, and barely a scoring chance, until Nani was sent off.

The biggest impact was that it led to ManU moving Welbeck so that he was no longer pressing Alonso. Which he had done brilliantly up to that point,, in stark contrast to Rooney's performances vs Barca and Italy. But, just like against Bayern in 2010, ManU went completely passive, not only puling back, but also giving Real far to much space in the ManU third of the pitch. Watch the first goal, no one even thinks of challenging Modric.

 

i'm still depressed, hence my lack of posting.

maybe i should start laying into Liverpool to try and get Diggy to start posting.

LOL @ LIVERPOOL

£20M FOR DOWNING?????? £35M FOR CARROLLLLLL HAHAHAHAHAHA

and so on!

 

Agreed yankee, statistics would tell you that Real Madrid had more shots on goal in the first half but ManU had by far the better chances. In fact all the good chances Real had were after the red card (two goals, Kaka hitting the post and Rafael's handball from the line). Also it says enough Lopez was Real Madrid's best player.

Anyway I don't think Real Madrid will win 'la decima' unless they develop a Plan B (what's up with Spanish team and their lack of Plan Bs?) to break down defensive teams. With Ozil, Alonso and Modric they certainly have the footballing quality to do so.
Bayern are currently my favourites to win this year's Champions League.

 

yeah, i'd say Bayern are faves, especially if Barca can't pull off their comeback.

if i had to choose it'd be Dortmund, tho.

 

also: all this media bull**** about Rooney on his way out etc is ridiculous. SAF makes a tactical decision, one that was clearly working until the ref interjected, and suddenly Rooney isn't necessary anymore. what a load. the last game he played he had 2 assists and a "wonder" goal. he's not going anywhere.

i can understand the tabloids coming up with this crap, but it really frustrates me when the broadsheets get involved, too. they should know better.

 

After the Euro, my fear/dread of Italian teams has returned, making Juve a solid dark horse for me, even if I don't really think they're that good. But Bayern definitely have to be considered odds-on favorites this time around. There was quite alot of reminiscing over the RM-MU tie 10 years ago, I found the biggest parallel that they're both pretenders this year, just as they were then.

On the Rooney talk, given the rumors about ManU wanting Lewandowski, they would certainly need to unload someone to make room for him, shocking as it may seem, Rooney is becoming the natural choice. No idea if that's true or not. What doesn't make sense to me is that ManU are still focussing on offensive talent when they really need to solidify the back, Rio and Vidic seem pretty clearly past their prime and they've desperately needed something approaching world class at the holding positions for years.

 

not too concerned at the back; Vidic still has a few years left in him, and we have Evans, Smalling and Jones in depth, although the latter two have had their injury problems of late.

agreed, obviously, with the holding position. been a problem for awhile. Celtic's Wanyama and PSG's Strootman have both been mentioned, and either would help.

 

A German team is winning the UCL this year.

 

I agree with epic about the media stuff on Rooney - As if he's going to leave or is no longer wanted at United just because he didn't start a major game he was not considered tactically suitable for (it's clear Ferguson made the right call given how well United played).

And yes, United do need more strength at the back end of the team. Mainly a right-back and defensive midfielder (preferrably Vidal).
Decent cover defenders for Rio & Vidic in Smalling, Evans & Jones who will only get better. Buttner seems decent enough to stand-in for Evra sometimes and Fabio is having a tough learning experience at QPR. The only defender there is not true cover for right now is Rafael.

 

First time posting here.... I'm a United fan. This bickering about Wazza's a bunch of bull. He's going nowhere.

I feel like our greatest weakness is our midfield. Other than Carrick and Fletcher, we don't have a natural DM who can link up with the back 4 and provide cover (I've seen Rooney huffing and puffing from rightback to center forward way too many times these past few seasons). Strootman and Vidal come to mind.

I wonder what SAF will do when Fabio comes back.... I think he's more defensively capable than buttie but we'll see I guess.

I agree. Take a look at this gif: http://i.minus.com/inccH4N75WM5C.gif
Evra shouldn't have pulled a Nasri. Vidic would have lunged himself at the ball... It's completely reachable.

 

I think there's probably something to the Rooney talk, the problem is that there aren't many teams that can afford his wages, especially with FFP about to kick in. PSG would be about the ony side that you could see dropping that kind of money, assuming City are no longer interested.

From the ManU side, it would certainly fit with SAF's history. But I'd expect more evidence than just one match before a media frenzy treating his departure as a foregone conclusion.

 

Why would united get rid of someone who is the Best Player in the World in his position? Ronaldo wanted to go and Madrid offered crazy money for him, I can't see Rooney wanting to leave the biggest club in the country just because he didn't start a game for tactical reasons.
I can't see Rooney going abroad and having to learn another language, he barely speaks English as it is

He'll probably start on Sunday and play well, there is no issue.

 

Maybe City will try to pick him up on loan to fill in for Tevez while the latter is sitting out his jail sentence.

 

LOL @ Tevez

But United would never let that happen, and I can't see Rooney wanting to go to a club where he might not win as much.

 

SAF just confirmed today that he'll stay put. United would never let the most talented English player to leave...
I'm more worried for Nani. With Zaha coming this summer, who knows what'll happen to him.

 

He can always put his feet up

 

If Nani stays, he needs to be more than a 50/50 quality player.

 

Jack Wilshire doesn't play for MU.

 

He hardly plays for Arsenal these days either

 

I'm not a Three Lons fan, but from the few games I've seen the past two or so years, Wayne's irreplaceable. There's no striker with a better work rate than him. I'd say Wilshire's got a capable back-up in Tom Cleverley.

 

Wilshere and Cleverley seemed to have a very good understanding in the last England game.

A holding midfielder just behind them and the midfield is set.

 

Carrick or Rodwell?

 

Rodwell is currently an injury prone mess but if it's sorted is certainly one for the future.

I have no issue with Carrick but many do, I certainly think he could do a job but it's a toss up between him an Gerrard for me

 

Carrick is more of an anchorman with great passing play than a real DM, he's not physical enough for that.