AdrianBelmonte_ wrote:I mean a GOOD foreign manager
Fabio Capello has by far the highest percentage of wins compared to any previous England manager; England won 66.7% of the games they played under his management. Fine, he only coached the team for 42 matches; far fewer games than the next man down (Sir Alf Ramsey) but what's interesting to note that Roy Hodgson has currently won 56.8% of his 37 games in charge.
To stand there and say Capello isn't a good manager is stupid; go and look at the results he's managed over his career. The way the British media and the FA treated him is ridiculous.
Capello is judged on one game only; Germany 4 England 1
As a Sunderland fan, losing 0-4 at home to Aston Villa is like being kicked by a horse in the gut. Especially now that Burnley just defeated Manchester City giving many more shites than any Sunderland player bar Defoe and Wickham. At this point, with Villa playing like a top 10 side, and Burnley showing they're not giving up without one hell of a fight, Sunderland looks like going down. Defoe has hit the goals twice, which is not good enough. Poyet is making more headlines off the pitch than on with his stupid comments. The defense is so shite. Any service that Wickham, Defoe, or Fletcher receive is either A) complete shite B) good, but not good enough or C) great, but the forward completely bathplugs up. At this point, Sunderland is going back to the Championship where for so much of this season, all we've shown is Championship quality. We may as well belong there. I just want a derby win over the Toon before we bow out, because I see relegation coming.
Since that historical 4-0 in the Derbi Madrileño, we only earned 1 win (3-0 against Almería), now we played 4 away matches without scoring, and in the last 4 matches we only scored ONE goal (Koke vs Valencia), and that is a VERY BAD thing...
go_Rubens wrote:As a Sunderland fan, losing 0-4 at home to Aston Villa is like being kicked by a horse in the gut. Especially now that Burnley just defeated Manchester City giving many more shites than any Sunderland player bar Defoe and Wickham. At this point, with Villa playing like a top 10 side, and Burnley showing they're not giving up without one hell of a fight, Sunderland looks like going down. Defoe has hit the goals twice, which is not good enough. Poyet is making more headlines off the pitch than on with his stupid comments. The defense is so shite. Any service that Wickham, Defoe, or Fletcher receive is either A) complete shite B) good, but not good enough or C) great, but the forward completely bathplugs up. At this point, Sunderland is going back to the Championship where for so much of this season, all we've shown is Championship quality. We may as well belong there. I just want a derby win over the Toon before we bow out, because I see relegation coming.
Annoyingly if we had played more like that earlier in the season we would be top 10. Were you guys managed by Paul Lambert today? How you are feeling now is how we felt a month ago after the Hull lost, I think 36/37 points will be enough to stay up. I think the current 3 will go but that win for Burnley puts the pressure on you, us and Hull. Here is hoping for an Everton loss so it brings them in. A few games ago we were prime for th ROTY for football for our abysmal scoring record, we are now only a few off Derby's from 2007/2008 which I think is the record. I dread to think how far we would be adrift if we had lost this game and the West Brom game the other week.
go_Rubens wrote:As a Sunderland fan, losing 0-4 at home to Aston Villa is like being kicked by a horse in the gut. Especially now that Burnley just defeated Manchester City giving many more shites than any Sunderland player bar Defoe and Wickham. At this point, with Villa playing like a top 10 side, and Burnley showing they're not giving up without one hell of a fight, Sunderland looks like going down. Defoe has hit the goals twice, which is not good enough. Poyet is making more headlines off the pitch than on with his stupid comments. The defense is so shite. Any service that Wickham, Defoe, or Fletcher receive is either A) complete shite B) good, but not good enough or C) great, but the forward completely bathplugs up. At this point, Sunderland is going back to the Championship where for so much of this season, all we've shown is Championship quality. We may as well belong there. I just want a derby win over the Toon before we bow out, because I see relegation coming.
Annoyingly if we had played more like that earlier in the season we would be top 10. Were you guys managed by Paul Lambert today? How you are feeling now is how we felt a month ago after the Hull lost, I think 36/37 points will be enough to stay up. I think the current 3 will go but that win for Burnley puts the pressure on you, us and Hull. Here is hoping for an Everton loss so it brings them in. A few games ago we were prime for th ROTY for football for our abysmal scoring record, we are now only a few off Derby's from 2007/2008 which I think is the record. I dread to think how far we would be adrift if we had lost this game and the West Brom game the other week.
I think Burnley is the most realistic bet to stay up at this point out of the current bottom 3, especially when they're showing so much intent every second of every match. Only problem for them is rarely are the players rotated at all. They probably have now gotten over their little hiccup of the past 10 matches or so, but look at what happened to Chelsea against Spurs at WHL. Chelsea were beat and tired before that match began. If fatigue catches up to the main team, they're done in the PL. If not, Sunderland and Hull could be in big trouble. Aston Villa still have a job to do, but 3-4 more wins will do the trick, and at the moment, that looks to be something achievable.
The only thing that could save Sunderland at this point is A) confidence booster in a Derby win B) Poyet sacked C) Adam Johnson return rejuvenating the squad and D) Defoe and Wickham find the back of the net more. At this point, only B seems likely. I became a Sunderland fan through the fighting spirit expressed to save themselves from relegation last season. Now, this group of lads can't seem to be bothered to jog worth a f***ing damn. Defoe would be useful if the service provided was actually decent but no, everything the team did today and previous weeks has been completely shite. Look at your Villa. Good service plus a confidence boost means Benteke and Agbonlahor are actually useful again. The midfield has quality. The defense is about the same, but the opposing net is being found. If only Poyet was sacked earlier, we could have Sherwood! Alas, that was not to be.
In other news, Yeovil are primed for two relegations on the trot. Skivo's not been able to arrest the slide, we've got tons of injuries and the squad's jam-packed with loanees.
We need a completely new change of tack; I have to be thankful for all of the terrific years of services Mr. Skiverton's given us, but need to use the chance to start again. It's really hard to attract players to what is essentially the middle-of-nowhere, but Yeovil must start thinking long-term and where we want to be in five years, rather than living a hand-to-mouth existance of short-term loans and contracts.
Mitch Hedberg wrote:I want to be a race car passenger: just a guy who bugs the driver. Say man, can I turn on the radio? You should slow down. Why do we gotta keep going in circles? Man, you really like Tide...
go_Rubens wrote:As a Sunderland fan, losing 0-4 at home to Aston Villa is like being kicked by a horse in the gut. Especially now that Burnley just defeated Manchester City giving many more shites than any Sunderland player bar Defoe and Wickham. At this point, with Villa playing like a top 10 side, and Burnley showing they're not giving up without one hell of a fight, Sunderland looks like going down. Defoe has hit the goals twice, which is not good enough. Poyet is making more headlines off the pitch than on with his stupid comments. The defense is so shite. Any service that Wickham, Defoe, or Fletcher receive is either A) complete shite B) good, but not good enough or C) great, but the forward completely bathplugs up. At this point, Sunderland is going back to the Championship where for so much of this season, all we've shown is Championship quality. We may as well belong there. I just want a derby win over the Toon before we bow out, because I see relegation coming.
Annoyingly if we had played more like that earlier in the season we would be top 10. Were you guys managed by Paul Lambert today? How you are feeling now is how we felt a month ago after the Hull lost, I think 36/37 points will be enough to stay up. I think the current 3 will go but that win for Burnley puts the pressure on you, us and Hull. Here is hoping for an Everton loss so it brings them in. A few games ago we were prime for th ROTY for football for our abysmal scoring record, we are now only a few off Derby's from 2007/2008 which I think is the record. I dread to think how far we would be adrift if we had lost this game and the West Brom game the other week.
I think Burnley is the most realistic bet to stay up at this point out of the current bottom 3, especially when they're showing so much intent every second of every match. Only problem for them is rarely are the players rotated at all. They probably have now gotten over their little hiccup of the past 10 matches or so, but look at what happened to Chelsea against Spurs at WHL. Chelsea were beat and tired before that match began. If fatigue catches up to the main team, they're done in the PL. If not, Sunderland and Hull could be in big trouble. Aston Villa still have a job to do, but 3-4 more wins will do the trick, and at the moment, that looks to be something achievable.
The only thing that could save Sunderland at this point is A) confidence booster in a Derby win B) Poyet sacked C) Adam Johnson return rejuvenating the squad and D) Defoe and Wickham find the back of the net more. At this point, only B seems likely. I became a Sunderland fan through the fighting spirit expressed to save themselves from relegation last season. Now, this group of lads can't seem to be bothered to jog worth a f***ing damn. Defoe would be useful if the service provided was actually decent but no, everything the team did today and previous weeks has been completely shite. Look at your Villa. Good service plus a confidence boost means Benteke and Agbonlahor are actually useful again. The midfield has quality. The defense is about the same, but the opposing net is being found. If only Poyet was sacked earlier, we could have Sherwood! Alas, that was not to be.
Our remaining games are Swansea (H), Man Utd (A), Tottenham (A), Man City (A), Everton (H), West Ham (H), Southampton (A) and Burnley (H) with QPR (H) to be given a new date due to the semi final v Liverpool/Blackburn. I think as long as we beat QPR and Burnley (would put us on 34 pts regardless of other results) then 3 - 5 draws will be enough I feel. As then Burnley and QPR would need 12 - 15 pts (including wins against us) to overtake us or stop us from moving out of danger. Overall 9 - 11 points needed from those games left will do it. What is nice is we are now putting a run together so it may even by enough following a fluke run in those away games, but the home games should get us there.
Serie A was nothing but upsets today. For once, all sides of Verona had reason to celebrate; usually Chievo couldn't score with a blank cheque in a brothel, yet it seems before this match they'd finally brushed up on Attacking 101 - Paloschi scoring twice to bury the on-form Genoa. Meanwhile Hellas simply walked all over Napoli (goodbye CL place?), holding on to a 2-0 despite losing a player to a red card. Speaking of capitulating league positions for European entry - Inter, they've been fantastic at this all year! Fumbling their way to recovering a point against Cesena at the San Siro, clearly the ref could sense the fans were on the brink of snapping when opting not to send Ranocchia off and hand Cesena a deserved late penalty.
More misery for Parma, Sassuolo brushed them aside thanks mostly to the efforts of former Ducali player Nicola Sansone. Two goals and winning a penalty is a great day's contribution by anyone's standards. And then of course, it wouldn't be a Serie A weekend without at least one match being a straight bust - Atalanta grinding out a much needed (albeit goal-less) draw against Udinese.
Tomorrow's fixture list is certainly an interesting one; Roma have their regional rivals Lazio snapping at their heels, and their run-in form to this game is alarming for a team that was supposed to be going head-to-head with Juventus for the title; no wins at home since November, and eight draws in their last nine games. Sampdoria definitely have the quality to capitalise on yet another sluggish Roma start. Lazio themselves are Serie A's form team and will be looking to walk all over Torino and finally nick second in the table off their local enemy. The last game of the round is a heavyweight clash; AC Milan lining up against Fiorentina. La Viola have just come off the back of their heaviest defeat all year, 4-0 at home to Lazio. Despite this, they're still a quality side, and have the edge on the consistently faltering Milan.
Novitopoli wrote:Everytime someone orders at Pizza Hut, an Italian dies.
Well, Sunderland has just sacked Gus Poyet. Well, it was obvious he and the players were by no means at their best. Hopefully we'll finally get a solid manager who doesn't just save us from relegation, but actually provides us a half decent season. O'Niel, di Canio, and now Poyet have given Sunderland relegation escapes and then crappy seasons to back them up. However, that trend looks to be ending as it appears we're replacing Poyet with Dick Advocaat. Are you f***ing kidding me Ellis Short?! Does anyone in that Sunderland boardroom have a f***ing brain or balls? Seriously, if you guys chased after bloody Sam Allardyce, who is unlikely to be renewing his West Ham contract, who would be miles better than a lazy guy who would bring no energy to a set of players already lacking both energy and motivation?! It's like we're being set up with failure... I'm fully prepared to be a supporter of the new laughing stock of the Premier League. I'll still be a Mackem for life whatever happens.
Meanwhile in Serie A, Roma have well and truly pissed the title challenge away with a 0-2 loss at home to Sampdoria. And Torino's unbeaten run is over.
At this late stage in the season, you either have to stick with the manager you've got or go with a manager that will galvanise the players (e.g. a hometown hero) because its too late to make any effective tactical changes. Advocaat is not the answer. Compare him to Sherwood; Advocaat is clearly far more experienced and tactically minded but Sherwood is simply doing well because he's very passionate and can fire his team up.
go_Rubens wrote:.. Seriously, if you guys chased after bloody Sam Allardyce, who is unlikely to be renewing his West Ham contract, who would be miles better than a lazy guy who would bring no energy to a set of players already lacking both energy and motivation?!.....
Take him. Please, do take him! You'll probably be safe, but don't expect any good football whatsoever. Do expect all of his ex-Bolton guys to follow him there, even Nolan - still first on the team sheet despite being dreadful.
go_Rubens wrote:Well, Sunderland has just sacked Gus Poyet. Well, it was obvious he and the players were by no means at their best. Hopefully we'll finally get a solid manager who doesn't just save us from relegation, but actually provides us a half decent season. O'Niel, di Canio, and now Poyet have given Sunderland relegation escapes and then crappy seasons to back them up. However, that trend looks to be ending as it appears we're replacing Poyet with Dick Advocaat. Are you f***ing kidding me Ellis Short?! Does anyone in that Sunderland boardroom have a f***ing brain or balls? Seriously, if you guys chased after bloody Sam Allardyce, who is unlikely to be renewing his West Ham contract, who would be miles better than a lazy guy who would bring no energy to a set of players already lacking both energy and motivation?! It's like we're being set up with failure... I'm fully prepared to be a supporter of the new laughing stock of the Premier League. I'll still be a Mackem for life whatever happens.
Let's be honest, Sunderland have really been riding their luck. Since they were re-promoted in 2007, they've finished 10th once and the other seasons have be en relegation battles. The drop's inevitable sooner rather than later. The squad's jampacked full of Championship players and both Brown and O'Shea are over the hill.
Mitch Hedberg wrote:I want to be a race car passenger: just a guy who bugs the driver. Say man, can I turn on the radio? You should slow down. Why do we gotta keep going in circles? Man, you really like Tide...
go_Rubens wrote:Well, Sunderland has just sacked Gus Poyet. Well, it was obvious he and the players were by no means at their best. Hopefully we'll finally get a solid manager who doesn't just save us from relegation, but actually provides us a half decent season. O'Niel, di Canio, and now Poyet have given Sunderland relegation escapes and then crappy seasons to back them up. However, that trend looks to be ending as it appears we're replacing Poyet with Dick Advocaat. Are you f***ing kidding me Ellis Short?! Does anyone in that Sunderland boardroom have a f***ing brain or balls? Seriously, if you guys chased after bloody Sam Allardyce, who is unlikely to be renewing his West Ham contract, who would be miles better than a lazy guy who would bring no energy to a set of players already lacking both energy and motivation?! It's like we're being set up with failure... I'm fully prepared to be a supporter of the new laughing stock of the Premier League. I'll still be a Mackem for life whatever happens.
Let's be honest, Sunderland have really been riding their luck. Since they were re-promoted in 2007, they've finished 10th once and the other seasons have be en relegation battles. The drop's inevitable sooner rather than later. The squad's jampacked full of Championship players and both Brown and O'Shea are over the hill.
I can't believe they've been there that long. The only reason I know that is because we were promoted with them in 2007, and IIRC, we missed out on winning the league because we lost to Preston, and the fact that they went on a superb run of form when Roy Keane took over.
Well, with Manchester City's loss to Barcelona, the Premier League noow looks like a hilarious joke.
Man City - Fold their hand against Barça with less than convincing football Liverpool - Exit CL in Basel's hands and lose to Besiktas in EL Chelsea - "World Class" Mourinho loses to 10 men PSG Arsenal - Shockingly bad in first leg that the second leg didn't mean much Everton - Still in EL, still in bottom half of PL Tottenham - Sorry, typical Spurs
This is the second time in 3 years that England has had no representatives in the Champions League quarterfinals. Yet England still has a 4 Champions League / 2 Europa League coefficient?! Well, the teams have all this momey to spend and they're still shite in Europe.
go_Rubens wrote:This is the second time in 3 years that England has had no representatives in the Champions League quarterfinals. Yet England still has a 4 Champions League / 2 Europa League coefficient?! Well, the teams have all this momey to spend and they're still shite in Europe.
But the TV companies won't pay big bucks for Volgograd United vs Wroclaw 2nds
Juventus / AS Monaco - Monaco might have an upset in them but realistically we have the team that smashes the whole Italian league and would probably smash the PL "if they were in it" in Juventus. So, I'd say Juve have the edge and a semifinal slot.
Real Madrid CF / Atlético Madrid - Once again, the Madrid heavyweights are at it again. In the league, with both matches 6-1 aggregate to Altético, I have to lean towards them. Even with their midfield fit, Real lost 2-1 in their first meeting this season. Atlético and Real are in rough patches, but Modric alone can't rejuvenate this Real Madrid midfield to get service to the forwards. Plus, with Altético, they're the masters at forcing shots from distance from the opposition, and for me are better defensively atm, so I find it hard to not see them go through. The only bad thing for Atlético at the moment in their recent lack of goals, which could come to haunt them.
FC Bayern München / FC Porto - Here we have the best team in the world and a good solid side. Bayern shouldn't have too hard a time at disposing Porto. Porto were great against Basel at home, but away they were held to a 1-1 draw by Basel's only shot of the game, with their goal being a slip up by a Basel defender leading to a penalty. Something needs to be worked on away from home, but the big problem is it's Bayern they face. Tough luck.
FC Barcelona / PSG - In the group stage, we had a 3-2 result to PSG and a 3-1 result to Barça. Fairly evenly matched on the pitch in the group stage, but at the moment, Barcelona should go through. PSG have had a bad result in the league since the defeat of Chelsea on away goals with a loss to Bordeaux. Barcelona are insanely inform and should have beat Man City 5-0 at least if it wasn't for Joe Hart putting in his greatest ever performance. Barça should win the tie.
Think this sums up my general state of emotion this season. Yes, we have sucked since our brief period of being the best team on the planet came to an end in 2010, but this season takes the biscuit. We have played without any passion or belief. There is nothing to be passionate about anymore - there is no Capitano, all the players are dejected on the field, you can see it. Nobody believes anymore. It's hard to stay positive as a fan when you've seen the players have given up on the cause as well. This team doesn't have a leader. Ranocchia, captain, are you kidding me? He might be the tallest figure on the field in a literal sense, but certainly not in a metaphorical one... And then there's talk of Handanovic and Kovacic both leaving. The two last world class players we have on our team.
I can't take this anymore...
Novitopoli wrote:Everytime someone orders at Pizza Hut, an Italian dies.
Watching Liverpool play like Diego Costa was a crying shame. Although without a man and without Gerrard they looked okay... Skrtel can receive an FA ban as well for stamping on De Gea.
Shame upon all of us, as nobody noticed that our all time favourite football team Bhutan has progressed to the second round of the world cup 2018 qualifying after beating Sri Lanka twice! Also, Timor-Leste progessed to the second round after soundly beating Mongolia.
It's only after finding out what the actual anthem was that it truly becomes an epic fail
Before looking it up I would have guessed Honduras, how the heck did they pick out Kazakhstan? Still not as bad as the time the Kazakhstan national anthem got mixed up with the Borat version...
It's only after finding out what the actual anthem was that it truly becomes an epic fail
Before looking it up I would have guessed Honduras, how the heck did they pick out Kazakhstan? Still not as bad as the time the Kazakhstan national anthem got mixed up with the Borat version...
Now you cocked up! It was the Manx national anthem (before today I didn't even know they had one!)
Novitopoli wrote:Everytime someone orders at Pizza Hut, an Italian dies.
I don't usually get to see my beloved Viola as I don't have BT Sport (if only Sky would show an interest in Serie A) but tonight was an opportunity given that the Coppa semi IS on Sky.
I might have known what would happen. FFS. Just given up bothering. 2 very unhappy people tonight as my wife's a Villa fan.
Barbazza wrote:I don't usually get to see my beloved Viola as I don't have BT Sport (if only Sky would show an interest in Serie A) but tonight was an opportunity given that the Coppa semi IS on Sky.
I might have known what would happen. FFS. Just given up bothering. 2 very unhappy people tonight as my wife's a Villa fan.
Regarding Villa 3 - 3 after being 2-1 up and dominating in the first half is annoying but had we lost that would have been very bad. Nice for another Benteke Hattrick but damn our defending tonight. We now have to get some results elsewhere when a win tonight would have taken the pressure off. I think this is going to the last game of the season now.
Barbazza wrote:I don't usually get to see my beloved Viola as I don't have BT Sport (if only Sky would show an interest in Serie A) but tonight was an opportunity given that the Coppa semi IS on Sky.
I might have known what would happen. FFS. Just given up bothering. 2 very unhappy people tonight as my wife's a Villa fan.
Regarding Villa 3 - 3 after being 2-1 up and dominating in the first half is annoying but had we lost that would have been very bad. Nice for another Benteke Hattrick but damn our defending tonight. We now have to get some results elsewhere when a win tonight would have taken the pressure off. I think this is going to the last game of the season now.
Villa always find a way to survive, them and Sunderland have basically replaced Wigan in that sense. You'll probably fluke a win against Manchester City or something, as they're awful at the moment.
Barbazza wrote:I don't usually get to see my beloved Viola as I don't have BT Sport (if only Sky would show an interest in Serie A) but tonight was an opportunity given that the Coppa semi IS on Sky.
I might have known what would happen. FFS. Just given up bothering. 2 very unhappy people tonight as my wife's a Villa fan.
Eh, at least you made it all the way to the semis to start with. Still not too far off a CL spot either, if La Viola can go on a good run to the end of the season.
Conversely, Inter are making me hate football right now. The players on the field are spineless, devoid of passion for the game and the team they are playing for, just turning in a shift seemingly without care for the end result. The last two results at the San Siro were draws to basement clubs Cesena and Parma. We should be absolutely hammering these teams, not scraping draws.
I can't stand to watch such insipid displays anymore. As a fan it's hard to support a team with passion when everyone involved appears to also have given up. In the past, there was always a source of strength, a rock solid presence with JZ4 in the dressing room. With him gone, everything is falling apart to a level that hasn't happened since the early-to-mid-nineties.
I think I'm just going to stick to watching Sassuolo for the rest of the year...at least with their 4-3-3, they're actually giving it the good old college try, even if it doesn't always work.
Novitopoli wrote:Everytime someone orders at Pizza Hut, an Italian dies.
Biscione wrote:Eh, at least you made it all the way to the semis to start with. Still not too far off a CL spot either, if La Viola can go on a good run to the end of the season.
Hopefully that Top 4 place will be ours. I was just hoping for a decent performance last night, having heard so much about the way we've been playing this season it was very poor all round. Even allowing for the usual refereeing favouritism for Juve (I had to chuckle at the mammoth 5 seconds of injury time played in the first half!)
I am glad I'm not a fan of Inter right now. Or Milan come to that.
The most anticipated moment for the Meanwhile In Belgium series is the moment when teams receive their license for professional football in the next season. There have been no problems in first division, as expected. And a graveyard in second division. Out of the 18 teams, 4 team got a license for first and second division, and 6 others got a license for second division only. That means a whopping 8 teams failed. Only 3 teams from third division managed to get a license, so as thing currently stand, there will be 5 teams less in second division. It is likely that 2 or 3 teams manage to get a license by going to court, but it's almost certain that there are going to be less teams. These are all teams who failed for financial or administrative reasons. The original plan was to sharpen the infrastructure rules too, but if that were the case, probably only 5 or 6 teams would have passed, so they decided to at least keep the financially healthy small teams. (the teams that failed are Antwerp, Aalst, Rc Mechelen, Woluwe-Zaventem, Mons, WS Brussels, Tubize and Seraing, and the third division teams to get promoted will be Coxyde, Deinze and 11 times national champion Union, the teams allowed to go for promotion to first division are Sint Truiden, Lommel, Eupen and Leuven, and the teams only having a license for second division are Virton, Patro Eisden, Dessel, Heist, Geel and Roeselare)
On the other reject front, as expected Lierse and Cercle Bruges are playing play-off 3, the winner will face teams from second division, the loser will get relegated directly. Neither of them is really worthy of staying in the top league, though.
Barbazza wrote:I don't usually get to see my beloved Viola as I don't have BT Sport (if only Sky would show an interest in Serie A) but tonight was an opportunity given that the Coppa semi IS on Sky.
I might have known what would happen. FFS. Just given up bothering. 2 very unhappy people tonight as my wife's a Villa fan.
Eh, at least you made it all the way to the semis to start with. Still not too far off a CL spot either, if La Viola can go on a good run to the end of the season.
Conversely, Inter are making me hate football right now. The players on the field are spineless, devoid of passion for the game and the team they are playing for, just turning in a shift seemingly without care for the end result. The last two results at the San Siro were draws to basement clubs Cesena and Parma. We should be absolutely hammering these teams, not scraping draws.
I can't stand to watch such insipid displays anymore. As a fan it's hard to support a team with passion when everyone involved appears to also have given up. In the past, there was always a source of strength, a rock solid presence with JZ4 in the dressing room. With him gone, everything is falling apart to a level that hasn't happened since the early-to-mid-nineties.
I think I'm just going to stick to watching Sassuolo for the rest of the year...at least with their 4-3-3, they're actually giving it the good old college try, even if it doesn't always work.
Inter needs someone like Simeone (Someone similar to Simeone, not Simeone himself ) that "resurrect" these "players" for the sake of Inter
This wrote:The most anticipated moment for the Meanwhile In Belgium series is the moment when teams receive their license for professional football in the next season. There have been no problems in first division, as expected. And a graveyard in second division. Out of the 18 teams, 4 team got a license for first and second division, and 6 others got a license for second division only. That means a whopping 8 teams failed. Only 3 teams from third division managed to get a license, so as thing currently stand, there will be 5 teams less in second division. It is likely that 2 or 3 teams manage to get a license by going to court, but it's almost certain that there are going to be less teams. These are all teams who failed for financial or administrative reasons. The original plan was to sharpen the infrastructure rules too, but if that were the case, probably only 5 or 6 teams would have passed, so they decided to at least keep the financially healthy small teams. (the teams that failed are Antwerp, Aalst, Rc Mechelen, Woluwe-Zaventem, Mons, WS Brussels, Tubize and Seraing, and the third division teams to get promoted will be Coxyde, Deinze and 11 times national champion Union, the teams allowed to go for promotion to first division are Sint Truiden, Lommel, Eupen and Leuven, and the teams only having a license for second division are Virton, Patro Eisden, Dessel, Heist, Geel and Roeselare)
On the other reject front, as expected Lierse and Cercle Bruges are playing play-off 3, the winner will face teams from second division, the loser will get relegated directly. Neither of them is really worthy of staying in the top league, though.
And the title fight? Who cares?
All this in a country that is supposedly 3rd in FIFA's world rankings...
This wrote:The most anticipated moment for the Meanwhile In Belgium series is the moment when teams receive their license for professional football in the next season. There have been no problems in first division, as expected. And a graveyard in second division. Out of the 18 teams, 4 team got a license for first and second division, and 6 others got a license for second division only. That means a whopping 8 teams failed. Only 3 teams from third division managed to get a license, so as thing currently stand, there will be 5 teams less in second division. It is likely that 2 or 3 teams manage to get a license by going to court, but it's almost certain that there are going to be less teams. These are all teams who failed for financial or administrative reasons. The original plan was to sharpen the infrastructure rules too, but if that were the case, probably only 5 or 6 teams would have passed, so they decided to at least keep the financially healthy small teams. (the teams that failed are Antwerp, Aalst, Rc Mechelen, Woluwe-Zaventem, Mons, WS Brussels, Tubize and Seraing, and the third division teams to get promoted will be Coxyde, Deinze and 11 times national champion Union, the teams allowed to go for promotion to first division are Sint Truiden, Lommel, Eupen and Leuven, and the teams only having a license for second division are Virton, Patro Eisden, Dessel, Heist, Geel and Roeselare)
On the other reject front, as expected Lierse and Cercle Bruges are playing play-off 3, the winner will face teams from second division, the loser will get relegated directly. Neither of them is really worthy of staying in the top league, though.
And the title fight? Who cares?
All this in a country that is supposedly 3rd in FIFA's world rankings...
You can count the players playing in the domectic league on one hand, though. Update: as expected, the majority of these teams are now trying to get their license trough the court. This is something that happens every year, except that this year it's a lot more teams that are in trouble. Stay tuned for more meanwhile in Belgium, and a season review when the season is over! On the non reject-front, Clubbruggewinslol in Europe, or should we say Michelpreudhommewinslol, because he does seem to have the extra touch that we seldom see in our league. Also reject gold: Club Brugge fans trying to pronounce Dnipro Dnipopetrovsk. (it's not that hard, though...)
Meanwhile in Belgium Cercle Brugge is protesting that Mouscron got a license. But that's not the big news. The big news is that one other party also protests it. The Pro League. Yes, that's right, the league organisation committee itself is protesting one of their teams getting a license This is gonna be good. Stay tuned!
