The Official Football Thread 2005/2006 (4 Viewers)

[Constip8edSkunk]

If you were a world class player, would you abandon Australia for another nation for glory/money/whatever? Thats why I defend Harry Kewell every time someone says he does not care for the Australian national team. He was asked to play for England, but declined so he could represent Australia. I dont know the full circumstances behind Vieira's decision, perhaps none of us here do, and I dont think Keane did either.
.

Thats why i think giggs is class. wales got robbed last euro....

i don't think senegal being a third world country should be that important a factor, the players makes most of their money at club level anyway. they choose france because of the prestige of the team, not really because of the economy. they dont even live their most of the time .... comparing sengal and australia in terms of football - its pretty similar, at least they made the WC in reecnt years (fingers crossed for the 16th). ...man can you imagine what surinam would be like if all them players didnt choose to play for dutch

one thing, viera was pretty smart jumping off the sinking ship that is arsenal.

 

[Jimmy_B]

one thing, viera was pretty smart jumping off the sinking ship that is arsenal.

this coming from a manyoo fan. oh the irony..........

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

We really shouldn't read too much into the Forlan injury...Dario Silva, anyone?

Dario Silva pops up and is dangerous around the edge of the 18 yard box, but I'm glad we dont have to see Forlan.

yes, yes i would. career progression all the time, especially in an industry as cuthroat as the footballers industry.

blind nationalism/patriotism doesn't come into it for me, and it certainly doesnt make me love australia any less.

Yeah, but its not showing that you do have passion for Australia. I would rather peel oranges and warm the bench for the Socceroos than play first XI for any other nation, whether France, England or Brazil.

in saying that comparing a country like australia to a third world country like senegal is folly. circumstances are so different.

No its not.

i don't think senegal being a third world country should be that important a factor, the players makes most of their money at club level anyway. they choose france because of the prestige of the team, not really because of the economy. they dont even live their most of the time .... comparing sengal and australia in terms of football - its pretty similar, at least they made the WC in reecnt years (fingers crossed for the 16th). ...man can you imagine what surinam would be like if all them players didnt choose to play for dutch

I think you got it spot on. In terms of football, Australia (while getting better) is considered a joke in world football. Jimmy, I think you are underestimating Senegal a little. Just because half the country lives in squalor doesnt mean their top quality footballers would, they would have the same luxury of an Australian world class footballer.

and i dont see anywhere where i said vieira was/should have been upset. it's you who's just dickriding red roy about being such a great patriotic irishman.

I know that you didnt say Vieira was upset. I was continuing from the previous arguement. And yeah, I like Keano but its a healthy obsession. I swear it is...

either way, keano and vieira are both fucken cunts so i couldnt care less if they hacked each other to death if juve every play united/celtic in the near future. in fact i hope they do so

And I cant stoop to your level to bag out players that you like, considering that Tottenham havent been good enough to have players good enough to hate.

one thing, viera was pretty smart jumping off the sinking ship that is arsenal.

I think half the reason that it is sinking is coz its captain left. I must admit I like Vieira a lot more now that hes at Juve

 

[Jimmy_B]

-Yeah, but its not showing that you do have passion for Australia.

-No its not.

-And I cant stoop to your level to bag out players that you like, considering that Tottenham havent been good enough to have players good enough to hate.

-making a career orientated move doesn't disprove a feel of passion for my country. i'm sure the same goes for any african player who's playing for a european country.

-well if thats gonna be the depth of your arguments, then all i can say is : "yes it does. there are differences"

-well i guess i could say the same thing about celtic. that is who you support right?

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

making a career orientated move doesn't disprove a feel of passion for my country. i'm sure the same goes for any african player who's playing for a european country.

That maybe so. But if I were on a $100000 weekly salary, I would turn down a million dollars just to get the chance to represent my nation. I suppose greed wins out in some peoples eyes, but I consider international football above moneyspinning. (in terms of who a man plays for)

And I offered an arguement:

in saying that comparing a country like australia to a third world country like senegal is folly. circumstances are so different.

That was the depth of your statement. Its hard to argue against that if you dont explain what your arguement is, unless I write a 1000 word essay (and Im trying to save those for Wednesday. But I quoted Constip8edSkunk and explained myself somewhat, go back and read it.

well i guess i could say the same thing about celtic. that is who you support right?

No, I go for Mansfield Town. I'm jumping on the bandwagon now before they win the EPL in 2043.

And Celtic plays in Scotland, where our players put up with Kilmarnock's finest week in week out. Our players are the best in the league. Can you say that? Tottenham considers itself a big club in a big league, yet produce mid table performances year in year out.

*Footnote: I dont mind Tottenham. I have mates that go for them, and considering my hate for Arsenal, they are on my good list. I just know their limitations

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

this coming from a manyoo fan. oh the irony..........

yes but its so much more fun laughing at arsenal...

 

[Jimmy_B]

I suppose greed wins out in some peoples eyes, but I consider international football above moneyspinning. (in terms of who a man plays for)

naive? idealistic? or maybe i'm just a cynic.

That was the depth of your statement. Its hard to argue against that if you dont explain what your arguement is, unless I write a 1000 word essay (and Im trying to save those for Wednesday. But I quoted Constip8edSkunk and explained myself somewhat, go back and read it.

yes, but i was trolling. best to ignore that type of bait.

And Celtic plays in Scotland, where our players put up with Kilmarnock's finest week in week out. Our players are the best in the league. Can you say that? Tottenham considers itself a big club in a big league, yet produce mid table performances year in year out.

oh, good. for a second there i thought you were a manc supporter

On your other points, historically and in the present spurs actually have a massive supporter base in london and internationally. you cant really argue that we arent a big club based on that. performances indicate the level of the squad assembled and the skill of the managment and players. i don't see that as a particualrly effective measure of a clubs size. if performance was an indicator, i'm sure you'd be happy to admit that chelsea are a bigger club than celtic?

oh, and good luck for your essays on wednesday! i'm happily finished up now, so i'm smoking weed with a few mates and watching the mighty ducks trilogy it's amazing how much better it is when you're baked

yes but its so much more fun laughing at arsenal...

brings up an interesting debate i had with my brother this morning. which club's decline is more terminal; arsenal or man utd?

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

On your other points, historically and in the present spurs actually have a massive supporter base in london and internationally. you cant really argue that we arent a big club based on that. performances indicate the level of the squad assembled and the skill of the managment and players. i don't see that as a particualrly effective measure of a clubs size. if performance was an indicator, i'm sure you'd be happy to admit that chelsea are a bigger club than celtic?

True, club size has many factors. But then again I was just trollin'.

Chelsea bigger than Celtic? Never. We have more fans and more European Trophies Same applies to Arsenal.

And thanks for well wishes. I want 95+ for this one. Probably should get off the net, flick the football off, but fuckit. Business is piss easy anyway. Never smoked weed but my mates say its the only way to watch a Serie A match.

 

[Crazy Horse]

It wasnt hypocrisy. The decisions made by Messrs Viera and Keane were made in two very different circumstances. Keane was questioning Viera's patriotism- something Keane is proud of having. Keano is proud of being Irish, and the notion that a man would turn his back to go to another country disgusts him. If Viera quit the SENEGAL national team in protest (if he chose to play for them), I am sure Keano would have not criticised that decision, and I'm equally sure that if Keano was facing off against Deco in another grudge match, he would give it to him too. I'm not saying Keane is accurate in that comment, but what he said was perfectly acceptably in the situation he was in.

Misinformed? Maybe. Hypocrisy? No.

You males are so good at bloody complicating every little fucking thing. Listen to the simple and effective words of a woman:

Hypocrisy:
The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Keane chooses not to play for Ireland.
Viera chooses not to play for Senegal.

Keane tells Pat off. Keane = hypocritical.

I hope you didnt spell totalitarian like that in the exam, coz by the look of it you nailed the rest of it. I spent way too much time on this thread to study properly, and I ignored totalitarianism. Just throw in words like volksgemeinschaft and gleischaltung and you should be right, right? Thank God for Leni

No, business on Wednesday, but you're finished, right?

I can't remember. I don't care anymore – its done. No point going over it now – nothing more I can do.

Finished but its not all its cracked up to be. I need cold, hard, delightful cash and so started working again the day after - everyday 9-6:30 (with the exception of Sundays cause the accountant in charge is really religious). Besides, all of my friends (with the exception of one) finish next week with art. It's bloody exhausting standing on your feet all day running back and forth. Do I even make sense?

yes, yes i would. career progression all the time, especially in an industry as cuthroat as the footballers industry.

blind nationalism/patriotism doesn't come into it for me, and it certainly doesnt make me love australia any less.

Making the national team of a country that is "up there" is fantastic but that doesn't mean those who play for countries who aren't superstarish do not get noticed by big clubs. It is harder to make it BIG but doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The country you play for does not represent or indicate the chances of career prospects for you. Believing that in itself it pure folly.

The thing is if these guys immigrated to France when they were young, i dont see any problem with them choosin to play for Les Bleus instead of their original countries...

Then again the players who cant get into the French national team often choose to play for their original countries neways...Djimi Traore comes to mind, born in France but represents Mali.

WELL IN

Did you boys read the above comments by AC?

naive? idealistic? or maybe i'm just a cynic.

Take your pic from one of the words in your av – I'm sure it'll be close enough

Never smoked weed but my mates say its the only way to watch a Serie A match.

Neither.

Enough of the Serie A slagging.

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

Perhaps you females are so ignorant.

Keane chooses not to play for Ireland- to protest, for the eventual betterment of his country
Viera chooses not to play for Senegal- to be a "traitor".

Differences in circumstances? Check.

Finished but its not all its cracked up to be. I need cold, hard, delightful cash and so started working again the day after - everyday 9-6:30 (with the exception of Sundays cause the accountant in charge is really religious). Besides, all of my friends (with the exception of one) finish next week with art. It's bloody exhausting standing on your feet all day running back and forth. Do I even make sense?

Go out and get drunk. At least you would make me jealous

Making the national team of a country that is "up there" is fantastic but that doesn't mean those who play for countries who aren't superstarish do not get noticed by big clubs. It is harder to make it BIG but doesn't mean it doesn't happen. The country you play for does not represent or indicate the chances of career prospects for you. Believing that in itself it pure folly.

Yes, but playing for England/France= $$$$$. Do you think Becks would make so much if he was Australian?

Did you boys read the above comments by AC?

Yes I did and I think I said this in similar terms. But it doesnt matter in terms of my Keane/Vieira arguement. Lets get things simpler:

Keane was right in saying what he did.
He may not have been correct in his statement.
But under the circumstances, it was fine.
Keano's Irish decision and Vieira's French/Senegalese decision are not related.

Can you hurry up and admit I am right?

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

Hehe, Miller has been loaned out to Leeds. It seems Keano gets his wish.

I thought Miller was a player of promise when he wore Hoops. Perhaps the championship might see that form back

 

[LMF^^]

Miller iz a consistent performer in the Reservez fo Man U, so hez up there wit the best.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

brings up an interesting debate i had with my brother this morning. which club's decline is more terminal; arsenal or man utd?

neither, dont think either is terminal, a down trod of a few years maybe... but dont expect a repeat of leeds or nott. forests... alot depend on who succeeds sir and arsene though (i,.e. i dont thinkeither will challenge chelsea anytime soon)

Chelsea bigger than Celtic? Never. We have more fans and more European Trophies Same applies to Arsenal.

GOLD.

Never smoked weed but my mates say its the only way to watch a Serie A match.

sif.

You males are so good at bloody complicating every little fucking thing. Listen to the simple and effective words of a woman:

Hypocrisy:
The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Keane chooses not to play for Ireland.
Viera chooses not to play for Senegal.

Keane tells Pat off. Keane = hypocritical.

bhoy pretty much said what i wanted to say. When keane quit he did not play for another team/country. He was still behind the irish cause.

Charlton getting hammered by rovers, have their momentunm stalled?

 

[Paragon]

9 points from 11 outings now, my surrogate Villa aren't even living up to their mid-table mediocrity tag. 0-2 in a typical Midlands performance, things are not good, even by prior standards. Two fine saves from Cisse and Stevie G. by Sorensen though, doubt he'll be hanging around after the next European summer.

Fulham saw off Man City 2-1, a brace for Malbranque. Calamity James went to the opposition penalty box for the last hurrah leaving his goalmouth virtually empty; then lost possession with a wayward pass; counter attack by Fulham - four on one; Pembridge (or possibly a non-Pembridge) put in a soft effort which was cleared off by the solitary defender Sun Jihai. Close one David.

Fergie is looking to get his season back on track by wheeling and dealing in the January transfer window, reigniting links with Ballack, who is expected to finally conclude his longstanding deliberations and announce his future plans. Plus, Neville and Saha to resume training in about a week's time, Fortune by month-end, and good old Ole to be back in training by December end, how long he manages to stay injury-free, we shall wait and see.

 

[flyin']

Besides the two horse race , the top half of the table is separated by 3 points (if you ignore the differences in games played). Wigan are going strong and have the best defence so far!

 

[Benny_]

God I hate having games in hand, it makes the table position look so much uglier and puts more pressure on the team to perform. Hurry up and let us play them already.

 

[AcStyle*]

Chimbonda had a great game for Wigan...goal + assist + a clean sheet.

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

Fergie is looking to get his season back on track by wheeling and dealing in the January transfer window, reigniting links with Ballack, who is expected to finally conclude his longstanding deliberations and announce his future plans.

I think Fergie will get Ballack and Munich will replace him with Podolski.

Question:

brings up an interesting debate i had with my brother this morning. which club's decline is more terminal; arsenal or man utd?

Answer: Rangers. Scoreless home draw to Aberdeen. 12 points behind the lead. Can they be the first Old Firm team to finish outside the top three in two decades?

Charlton getting hammered by rovers, have their momentunm stalled?

Maybe, but Rovers are on the rise. Emmo and Neill are looking good (who was writing them off?) They just better stay in form for next week.

 

[Paragon]

Emerton has been impressive in the first half against Charlton. Full of running, lots of energy, and a powerful drive to get on the scoresheet (missed an open goal with a headed attempt though). Neill has looked very composed at the rearguard.

Boro-Everton coming up, hopefully Duks can continue from his European feats, especially after that classy piledriver. With any luck, Cahill should really pull off a good outing to remind Guus he's still in the picture.

 

[Jimmy_B]

vieira lays into nistlecunt

Nistlerooy is a cheat, coward, and son of a bitch. I can't stand him'

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY is a cheat and a coward who is sneaky in the way he goes about fouling other players.

Everyone thinks he is a nice guy but, in fact, he's a son of a bitch. He has a history of incidents that all too often have gone unnoticed.

He has punched Freddie Ljungberg and elbowed Lauren. At Arsenal, we hated him and had real reason to do so.

I can't stand the sight of Van Nistelrooy. He's a great player and has proved himself time and time again — but everything about him annoys me. He's always complaining and whingeing.

There are some players I respect, despite the fact they'll stick the boot in, because I can sense there is no malice.

They are not hiding what they are doing. Paul Scholes gives as good as he gets, won't complain, won't moan and roll around on the ground. He gives, he takes.

Van Nistelrooy, on the other hand, is deceitful as well as being a nasty piece of work.

In September 2003, I was sent off at Old Trafford after a second yellow card as a result of an incident with him.

I got shafted. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.

Blame

He tried to stamp on me and then he made more of the challenge than he should have done. I am not blaming the referee. He got shafted, too.

I never intended to touch Van Nistelrooy and did not deserve a red card. The way he laid it on annoyed me even more.

After the game, I was standing with a friend in the tunnel when Van Nistelrooy walked past. We looked at each other. He tried to talk to me and I told him that it was finished and I had nothing more to say.

But he persisted. So I asked if I had touched him. He simply replied: "You have no class." That was the icing on the cake. He was trying to convince himself that he had not cheated, which just showed he did not have a clear conscience.

I said: "Watch it, or I'm going to land one on you."

We were on the verge of fisticuffs but Mikael Silvestre, Fabien Barthez and Robert Pires got there just in time and intervened. This altercation confirmed my view that not only is Van Nistelrooy a cheat, he lacks courage.

The Dutchman missed a penalty in that match and Ray Parlour, Lauren and Martin Keown jumped on him. Arsenal were criticised for this and it is true that it does not make pretty viewing.

Injustice was a feeling we experienced all too often when we faced them. Even the last two matches I had against United give rise to bad memories. There was a notorious game in November 2004 — we were unbeaten in 49 matches and were well and truly robbed of the 50th.

I still find it hard to believe. If we had conducted ourselves like United we would have been down to eight men.

Jose Antonio Reyes was once again the target of intimidation.

Rio Ferdinand fouled Freddie and should have been sent off, but did not even receive a yellow card. Wayne Rooney dived and cheated blatantly to win their penalty. I had not forgotten any of this when the return match came round in February.

Every time we played United, Gary Neville acted tough. We were always on the receiving end and his behaviour towards Jose in October had been unacceptable.

Intimidation

So that night I said to him: "Every time you foul the guys, I'm going to be watching you. If you do it, I'm going to sort you out.'

Yes, it was intimidation — but I hadn't planned to say it. Roy Keane got involved, which did not surprise me. He is their captain, so his job is to defend their players.

He told me to leave Neville alone and that if I had a problem, I should talk to him. I didn't have a problem with him. Keane was the toughest midfielder I did battle with in England.

When you compare his courage and behaviour on the pitch with Van Nistelrooy and Neville, it's like night and day.


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gawd, that was funny