The Ali Dia Football/Soccer Thread

watka · Post by **watka** » 23 Jan 2015, 01:10

Given he's recently been chasing the bucks in India at the grand age of 36, its not a total surprise.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 23 Jan 2015, 01:45

watka wrote:Given he's recently been chasing the bucks in India at the grand age of 36, its not a total surprise.

Yeah, there you said it, bucks. That's exactly what a team like Lierse can not offer.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 24 Jan 2015, 17:10

Well, it's nice to see that most of the top of the premier league are showing signs or simply are already out of the FA Cup! :lol:

On a normal day, Chelsea 2-4 The Bantams just doesn't happen!

Hopefully, it's an FA Cup for underdogs, and it's certainly looking like it.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 24 Jan 2015, 17:20

go_Rubens wrote:Well, it's nice to see that most of the top of the premier league are showing signs or simply are already out of the FA Cup! On a normal day, Chelsea 2-4 The Bantams just doesn't happen! Hopefully, it's an FA Cup for underdogs, and it's certainly looking like it.

Especially now with City out as well, United having to replay Cambridge and Spurs loosing 2-1 to Leicester.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 24 Jan 2015, 17:25

Meanwhile, in Spain...

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 26 Jan 2015, 11:58

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:Meanwhile, in Spain...

[img]animated%20gif[/img]

You have to give it to Ronaldo. Besides his goal scoring skills he also seems to be improving his right hook skills. Anyway, I won't judge him because unfortunately I don't know how I would react to a relationship breakup with a Russian supermodel.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 28 Jan 2015, 16:02

My little country used to have an almost invincible 11... 60 years ago.
Now we have this.
Paks is a team I regularly used to watch, as they represent the county I hail from.

For more rejectdom, just look around that channel. It will hurt after a while.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Jan 2015, 20:07

Rabbi Gordon wrote:My little country used to have an almost invincible 11... 60 years ago.
Now we have this.
Paks is a team I regularly used to watch, as they represent the county I hail from.

For more rejectdom, just look around that channel. It will hurt after a while.

No Bajner, no party.

HawkAussie · Post by **HawkAussie** » 31 Jan 2015, 21:17

Australia are the AFC Asian Cup winner after defeating South Korea in extra time.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 31 Jan 2015, 21:45

Yes!

For once, the kid should get more playing time, for one of my favorite teams as well. Hopefully, more howlers into the back of the net, but I don't care which Milan you sign for, both have major problems. Good luck Mattia.

Man, that result for Wolfsburg against Bayern Munich. Perhaps a Bayern title isn't as predictable as we once thought?

Oh dear, Dortmund. In the CL last 16, 18th in the Bundesliga...

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 31 Jan 2015, 22:07

Daniel Sturridge does more in 12 minutes than Ballotelli does in 780. Another nail in Mario's coffin

For the first time since we were 5th after 8 games I'm starting to believe we can get into the champions league. Our players are starting to come together. In Studgers we have a striker to get goals and the decision to stick by BR when we struggled has born fruit. We look a completely different team to the one which was inept against Newcastle in November when we looked liked Hodgson had come back.

So go_Rubens have we cleared up our mess or what?

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 31 Jan 2015, 23:21

Well, it seems like Spurs are on a bit of good form right now, yet another 3 points in the bag. I agree with Freeze-O-Kimi on Sturridge, we need him back ready for the national team.

As for Bourssia Dortmund… they need a miracle at this rate to stay up.

watka · Post by **watka** » 01 Feb 2015, 01:45

roblomas52 wrote:Well, it seems like Spurs are on a bit of good form right now, yet another 3 points in the bag. I agree with Freeze-O-Kimi on Sturridge, we need him back ready for the national team.

As for Bourssia Dortmund… they need a miracle at this rate to stay up.

Still thinking that Dortmund will finish comfortably mid table. They are 3 points away from 12th place and have a pretty decent goal difference for a team in last place (only -8). They just need to start scoring; they miss Lewandowski bad.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 01 Feb 2015, 05:17

Daniel Sturridge only needed his first 9 minutes back to make his presence known. For me, the goal was a just reward. I thnk Balotelli's last chance comes with Sturridge's return. If Brendan Rodgers can get Mario to work together with Daniel, perhaps Liverpool will be much more of a threat up front. It's been a while since Mario has had decent scoring boots, and this may be the one thing he needs to get himself back into form.

Dortmund have one of the best midfields in the whole Bundesliga. But when it comes to sorting things out in front of both goals, they've been absolutely terrible. I firmly believe they'll finish above relegation, and perhaps comfortably so. Dortmund's first problem was when Ciro Immobile couldn't find his boots from when he won the Capocannoniere at Torino. Perhaps it's because Ciro hasn't had a solid partner all season long. Aubameyang and Ramos really haven't been great, while at Torino he had the services of Alessio Cerci every other goal. Again, Dortmund let Bayern sign another one of their star players away from them. Unfortunately, unlike when Mario Götze left them, Lewandowski's departure has had a massive effect on performance.

My biggest problem with German football is Bayern Munich themselves, because they have so much money they can sign any of the best talent across the Bundesliga from other teams. Mario Götze and Robert Lewandowski are the best examples of this, when they both left Dortmund for Bayern. At least Wolfsburg have been able to keep Kevin de Bruyne and Maximiliano Arnold...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 02 Feb 2015, 13:06

Inter made a good deal with Xherdan Shaqiri, but now it's just getting ridiculous. Some of the deals on the table at the moment...we're sweeping up leftovers from other clubs for pennies. Santon is back on loan and we're pursuing Christian Ledesma...why? Cassano is also heavily linked, but at least he makes sense in the context of a replacement for Osvaldo, who we definitely need to get rid of. 29 years old and he still behaves like a petulant child. He'll never learn.

But, yeah, we've got nothing but mediocrity in the fullback department - Jonathan, Nagatomo, Dodo, D'Ambrosio, Donkor (who got himself sent off against Sassuolo, the idiot) and now Santon. Greaaaaaaaat.

Not that AC are doing any better though. With Luca Antonelli and Gabriel Paletta as their deadline day signings, they're lining themselves up nicely to guarantee 8th in the league!

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 02 Feb 2015, 13:26

I'd say Shaqiri is the player of highest profile brought into Serie A this season. Santon isn't too bad but he's nothing special. Perhaps a tiny improvement on the left, but tiny at most. It's almost as if one big signing is good enough for Mancini. Besides Shaqiri, everyone else on the table is mediocre.

AC at least got Mattia Destro on loan from Roma. But AC's bigger problems are elsewhere. The defense is still leaky. Rami is the only prominent figure in the defensive system. Everyone else I would say aren't good enough. De Sciglio will at least develop over the next couple of years in right back, so I'm not concerned about him. However, AC really need a new left back and center if they want to advance up the table. A more solid defense should help provide service up front as well, which Destro needs to use whatever service he gets. Arguably, AC's midfield could use a touch up as well, but it doesn't seem too bad.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 02 Feb 2015, 14:46

go_Rubens wrote:However, AC really need a new left back and center if they want to advance up the table. A more solid defense should help provide service up front as well, which Destro needs to use whatever service he gets.

Well, this is what Antonelli and Paletta are for. I think these purchases are a tad knee-jerk to their dismal situation, neither are of the quality required of a team with Champions League ambitions. Don't know why you think a bolstered defense will start the goals flowing though, we're not talking about attacking fullbacks alongside a back three here.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 02 Feb 2015, 18:12

Biscione wrote:
go_Rubens wrote:However, AC really need a new left back and center if they want to advance up the table. A more solid defense should help provide service up front as well, which Destro needs to use whatever service he gets.

Well, this is what Antonelli and Paletta are for. I think these purchases are a tad knee-jerk to their dismal situation, neither are of the quality required of a team with Champions League ambitions. Don't know why you think a bolstered defense will start the goals flowing though, we're not talking about attacking fullbacks alongside a back three here.

You do have a good point. I just thought that if the defense was more solid, they'd be able to provide better service to the midfielders and the forwards to help create opportunities upon winning the ball. In other words, letting in goals is a result of failing to close down space and win the ball away from the opposing side. More opportunities usually mean more goals, unless you have a team that's incredibly wasteful of scoring opportunities. Just look at Sunderland.

Antonelli and Paletta for me would be a waste of money. They're decent defenders, but I don't feel they're the improvement AC really needs. I think Paletta is better than Mexès, but not a vast improvement. I struggle to see how Antonelli is an improvement either over Armero. Oh well, we'll see how all of this breaks down. But I'd be amazed if all of a sudden Milan become a great defensive force. The quality isn't there.

Post by **Londoner** » 03 Feb 2015, 15:17

'Arry resigns as QPR manager, citing a knee injury which requires imminent surgery. Very odd set of affairs indeed, the day after the transfer deadline...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 03 Feb 2015, 16:42

East Londoner wrote:'Arry resigns as QPR manager, citing a knee injury which requires imminent surgery. Very odd set of affairs indeed, the day after the transfer deadline...

Fernandes told him he couldn't sign Adebayor, 'Arry 'ad a hissy fit and left.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 03 Feb 2015, 17:11

Meanwhile, West Ham face punishment from FIFA for playing Diafra Sakho in the team's FA Cup tie against Bristol City when he was supposed to be with the Senegal national team, which the team exited the Africa Cup of Nations 48 hours after the Bristol City match.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31103752

If FIFA find West Ham guilty of breaching the rule that a player must play for their country before the club, they could face expulsion from the FA Cup and Bristol City may be paid £250,000 compensation. Sounds ugly.

East Londoner wrote:'Arry resigns as QPR manager, citing a knee injury which requires imminent surgery. Very odd set of affairs indeed, the day after the transfer deadline...

I don't wish to sound like an arsehole, but I have a feeling that 'Arry left QPR for more than just knee surgery. While I believe that he will have knee surgery, QPR are in such a perilous situation that he may have just left before being sacked just to save his reputation. If QPR are relegated, they still face the risk of being sent all the way to the Conference Premier if they are found guilty of spending way too much money. At the moment, I struggle to see QPR stayin up.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 03 Feb 2015, 21:52

go_Rubens wrote:Meanwhile, West Ham face punishment from FIFA for playing Diafra Sakho in the team's FA Cup tie against Bristol City when he was supposed to be with the Senegal national team, which the team exited the Africa Cup of Nations 48 hours after the Bristol City match.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31103752

If FIFA find West Ham guilty of breaching the rule that a player must play for their country before the club, they could face expulsion from the FA Cup and Bristol City may be paid £250,000 compensation. Sounds ugly.

Yes, and what's most frustrating about this is that my club never learns. But then, when you're dealing with people of the intelligence of Allardyce, who still thinks that Kevin Nolan is a world-beater, what can you expect.

On the one hand, it is a bit rich for an organisation as corrupt as FIFA to point the finger at us when players do occasionally recover from injury quicker than expected, but all the stuff about not being able to fly and having to drive him to Bristol in a limo is bound to sound dodgy even if it's true.

Also, did no-one think about who the Senegal manager is? Alain Giresse, who once played in the French side with Michel Platini. Who is head of UEFA and therefore thick as thieves with Blatter. Not hard to piece together this set of connections and come up with the eventual outcome but seemingly beyond the 'brains' running my club.

watka · Post by **watka** » 04 Feb 2015, 00:55

East Londoner wrote:'Arry resigns as QPR manager, citing a knee injury which requires imminent surgery. Very odd set of affairs indeed, the day after the transfer deadline...

Yep, he doesn't like it when he's not allowed to spend his way out of trouble. Not a fan of Redknapp AT ALL.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 07 Feb 2015, 15:46

For once, Tottenham have a positive identity to them as a team. The whole team played fantastic. Sorry Arsenal, but today, parking the bus just didn't work.

Real Madrid :lol:

Leading the top of the table by a decent few points over Atlético, amd still they can't find a way to beat 'em at the moment :lol:

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 07 Feb 2015, 16:07

go_Rubens wrote:For once, Tottenham have a positive identity to them as a team. The whole team played fantastic. Sorry Arsenal, but today, parking the bus just didn't work.

Real Madrid Leading the top of the table by a decent few points over Atlético, amd still they can't find a way to beat 'em at the moment

I am inevitably pleased with Spurs beating Arsenal.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 07 Feb 2015, 16:54

Atlético Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 08 Feb 2015, 01:04

go_Rubens wrote::lol:

Atlético Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

I'm still celebrating it

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 08 Feb 2015, 06:13

AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:
go_Rubens wrote::lol:

Atlético Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

I'm still celebrating it

Everyone on this planet should be. Barça and Real are so spoiled in Spain. Last season probably brought massive joy to Spain and the world. Hell, some American said that SD Eibar is worth more to Spanish football, being the tiniest of minnows, than Real or Barça. I'd have to bloody agree. Besides that, Real were complete shite today. WTF was going on amongst the players? Ronaldo's back, but he made no bloody difference. Sure, the likes of James are injured, but I'd expect Real's squad to register an on-target much earlier than the 81st minute. The defense was so piss poor. Fantastic job at letting your crosstown rivals close back in really close to the fun.

The only match in Spain I cared about was Deportivo La Coruña vs SD Eibar. Unfortunately for me, Eibar lost 2-0. I'm not concerned though. Eibar have themselves nicely in the top 10, causing most Spanish sides problems. Atlético can't even keep a clean sheet against them. They're fine. 10 more points and they're pretty much safe. I'd be much more concerned for Alméria, Getafe, Granada, Levante, Elche, and Córdoba. For me, any one of those 3 will be relegated. Of course, you could say anyone Sociedad and below at this stage has a shot at being sent down the ranks.

Post by **Ataxia** » 08 Feb 2015, 23:27

go_Rubens wrote:
AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:
go_Rubens wrote::lol:

Atlético Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

I'm still celebrating it

Everyone on this planet should be. Barça and Real are so spoiled in Spain. Last season probably brought massive joy to Spain and the world. Hell, some American said that SD Eibar is worth more to Spanish football, being the tiniest of minnows, than Real or Barça. I'd have to bloody agree.

Sorry, how on earth did you come to that conclusion? Yes, it's nice to support the underdog, but without Real Madrid or Barcelona, the Spanish league would be significantly poorer. We've got Ronaldo in one team, Lionel Messi in the other. They provided the majority of players to Spain's World Cup and Euro triumphs, where they redefined how football was played on the international stage. Without them both, the emphasis on fluid, attacking football would be gone. It's nice to see Atletico join them at the forefront, but to say the top clubs are worthless to the league is basically...well, I'd ask what you're on and where you can get it.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 09 Feb 2015, 01:33

Actually, i believe that without Barcelona and Real, the spanish competition would not be much worse off. Actually, it's just a measureable fact that the level of a competition is decided by the strenght of the smaller teams, and especially the midfield teams. The midfield in Spain is large, and all these teams can stand their ground in European competitions, so you could say that the level is very high, and that a dissapearance of the two bigger teams would not be a major issue. Of course, you would say games against the big 2 sell a lot more tickets than the rest, so i wouldn't say they're unmissable. But its effect is largely overestimated. However, the impact on the local economy of Madrid and Barcelona is huge, because of their insane merchandasing value, and that's something Eibar could never be able to do. (altough it must be said there are more Spanish teams with a big local influence than those 2)
It's important to notice that the strongest competitions, are also the competitions with the most teams in their league. Decreasing the amount of teams in a competition has never raised the level of a competition. Scotland and the Alps countries are a good example that a small competition does not work, not even for small countries. Portugal is the proof of the opposite. Yes of course, the most teams in the Portuguese leage are really rejectful and don't attract lots of crowd, but Portugal keeps on rising in the European ranking, even on the verge of surpassing France for the 5th place. So you could say that the 'big 3' over there do benefit a lot from having these small teams. More importantly, Portugal is going against the popular trend of decreasing, having raised the amount of teams from 16 to 18 this year. and for that reason alone, this competition should be interesting to watch. It is true that Swiss and Austrian teams make a lot more money than Portuguese teams do, but that doesn't raise the level of the competition, does it?
One important problem is: when the chance of getting relegated in a competition is too high, teams will make crazy financial risks to just stay in first league, or get promoted back, creating a very unhealthy situation. Instead of investing in the long term (like youth), often it is seen these teams make dozens of rejectful transfers, ultimately paying the price for it, that is financial trouble. Teams who play safe, just get relegated, to be never seen again. In a bigger competition, midfield teams can afford to have a lesser season, so this doesn't endanger their long-term investments. The other possible way to solve this is by paying a lot of tv-rights for the second division, and so raising the level of the second division, but this rarely happens.

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 09 Feb 2015, 04:20

The original person who made that bold statement was under the impression that money is too influential in football and that La Liga is boring enough that such a small club as Eibar giantkilling could be a good thing for Spanish football.

Sports leagues thrive on competition, and there really hasn’t been that much of it in Spain’s top soccer ranks for some time. For a decade, the championship was passed between Barcelona and Real Madrid (until Atlético de Madrid broke through last year). Fancy footwork and cool hair aside, the league has become, well, kind of boring and predictable, which is bad for business. From that perspective, a bold run by a scrappy underdog like Eibar is, at the moment, arguably more valuable to La Liga than Real Madrid.

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/20 ... ish-soccer

It's definately more of a business perspective and keeping interest from the general public there. To be honest, Eibar are the only reason why I care about La Liga this year. I wasn't trying to imply that Barça and Real were worthless; they are most definitely not.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 09 Feb 2015, 16:30

Ataxia wrote:
go_Rubens wrote:
Everyone on this planet should be. Barça and Real are so spoiled in Spain. Last season probably brought massive joy to Spain and the world. Hell, some American said that SD Eibar is worth more to Spanish football, being the tiniest of minnows, than Real or Barça. I'd have to bloody agree.

Sorry, how on earth did you come to that conclusion? Yes, it's nice to support the underdog, but without Real Madrid or Barcelona, the Spanish league would be significantly poorer. We've got Ronaldo in one team, Lionel Messi in the other. They provided the majority of players to Spain's World Cup and Euro triumphs, where they redefined how football was played on the international stage. Without them both, the emphasis on fluid, attacking football would be gone. It's nice to see Atletico join them at the forefront, but to say the top clubs are worthless to the league is basically...well, I'd ask what you're on and where you can get it.

I agree with this. We wouldn't have teams like Barcelona's 2011 side to reference for inspiration. As much as it pains for me to say it on an underdog supporting site the general populace in Spain aren't going to care for a team like Eibar until the relegation battle picks up pace. Why would they when you've got Messi and Ronaldo lighting the scene with a host of very good players around them fighting for the cup and good teams like Sevilla picking up the Europa League?

Post by **Londoner** » 10 Feb 2015, 20:44

Meanwhile, the Premier League bubble continues to expand.

Alextrax52 · Post by **Alextrax52** » 10 Feb 2015, 22:06

Sorry we had to beat you there Roblomas :twisted:

And Ballotelli scored the winner. World gone mad

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 10 Feb 2015, 22:07

Aston Villa will go down. 3 of their 5 wins were in the first 4 games of the season, and Lambert should have been by and far sacked by now. I'll be amazed if he lasts 3 more matches. Agbonlahor, Weimann, and Benteke are all useless without a proper service from the midfield, but they're all lacking confidence anyway. Carles Gil is showing promise, but he's not enough to make the difference. The defense is not showing any signs of improvement. Something needs to change drastically at this rate. Who wants to bet an avatar that they won't score 20 goals this year?

Mario Balotelli finally scores a PL goal for Liverpool. It's taken how long?

go_Rubens · Post by **go_Rubens** » 28 Feb 2015, 16:28

Wow, English refereeing has been a complete shambles this month. Never mind the whole season... Why doesn't the English FA have a video referee? Or any football league for that matter? Both Gordon Murray and Wes Brown should never have been sent to the showers early today.

Post by **Ataxia** » 28 Feb 2015, 16:37

go_Rubens wrote:Wow, English refereeing has been a complete shambles this month. Never mind the whole season... Why doesn't the English FA have a video referee? Or any football league for that matter? Both Gordon Murray and Wes Brown should never have been sent to the showers early today.

Or Glenn...

Haven't seen the incidents yet; from what I can see, Murray's was a second booking. As for Wes Brown...well, it'll be on MOTD. Let's see.

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 28 Feb 2015, 16:42

go_Rubens wrote:Wow, English refereeing has been a complete shambles this month. Never mind the whole season... Why doesn't the English FA have a video referee? Or any football league for that matter? Both Gordon Murray and Wes Brown should never have been sent to the showers early today.

If they keep up their consistency of screwing Chelsea over, Spurs stand a damn good chance in the cup tomorrow!

The Dutch Bear · Post by **The Dutch Bear** » 28 Feb 2015, 20:14

go_Rubens wrote:Wow, English refereeing has been a complete shambles this month. Never mind the whole season... Why doesn't the English FA have a video referee? Or any football league for that matter? Both Gordon Murray and Wes Brown should never have been sent to the showers early today.

The Dutch FA, KNVB, applied to do a pilot next year, but earlier today their proposal was turned by the IASB ( FIFA + English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh FA's) because the decision was so big that the FIFA and the Welsh FA needed more time to think it over. Apparently they have been living under a rock the past few years, because the rest of the world has been discussing this for years and have had more than enough time to make their minds up about this

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Feb 2015, 20:30

The Dutch Bear wrote:(post referencing KNVB)

Having noticed you're from Rotterdam...I hope for your dignity's sake that you aren't a Feyenoord fan. That was some of the worst fan behaviour in Europe I've seen in a fair while! Turning up in Roma and thoroughly trashing the city and rioting, then throwing stuff at players in the return leg. I'm glad Roma knocked them out, so they can't be a blight on another city for this season at least!!