Football Season 2013/2014

[-Dem0-]

I've been thinking how the English media will treat him in the run up to the World Cup.

 

[Jonnas]

Group G is very exciting, I'm also following Germany in this tournament.

 

 

Thoughts:

 

-*sigh* We just had to get Germany, didn't we? Might be a good opportunity to make our team wake up early, though, like at the Euro.

 

-Poor Chile, getting a group of death.

 

-Stupid France, getting a manageable group

 

-Yay for Ivory Coast, finally a group they can qualify from!

 

-I had already picked Iran as the underdog to root for, so good to see them getting something manageable

 

-Poor, poor USA and Australia, getting the difficult groups.

[Mokong]

Wow, my

 

I got 2 groupings half right and and 1 grouping I got 3 out of 4 teams now that is unexpectidly AWESOME in my book :awesome:

 

In my mock draw I had Portugal and USA in the same group (group A in my mock draw)

And had Spain and Chile in the same group (Group G in my mock draw)

 

Most impressive I the Real Group E I drew 3 out of 4 of the same teams for my Group C, I had Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras all in the same group and they actual ended up in the same group, the difference being I drew out Russia to be with them but France ended up with them in teh real draw

 

I'm pretty frakking cuffed with that, I'd call that a result, though at best I'd get one grouping half right but to get 2 half right grouping and 1 75% correct is way more than I expected.

 

 

Anyway as for the real draw. I wasn't able to watch it live, does anyone know which European team was drawn out of Pot 4 and placed in Pot 2 at the start?

 

 

The groups also look pretty hard to call, last World Cup I succesfully called 14 of the 16 teams to get out of the Groups (had an accumulator bet on all 16, so bloody close to winning like 250,000....gggrrrr) Will wait till closer the time and see what kind of form the teams are in when they start making their final preps.

 

But going by Groups

 

A

Brazil should be one of the two but the other 3 are all very capable of making it too, that'll be a hard one for all involved and Brazil probably won't find it easy. Mexico I feel though could be teh weakest of teh 4.

 

B

Man I feel sorry for Australia, I'd really like to see them do well but this is a tough ask, Spain and Netherlands will prolly be favourites but I wouldn't discount Chile either. Would love to see the Socceroos pull off an upset though.

 

C

Possibly the most open group. Think all 4 teams have a good chance if they bring their A game. Columbia as seeds will prolly be favs to progress but I could see Japan and Ivory Coast possibly upsetting things, Greece is also a good chance of another dark horse tournament.

 

D

Could be a tough one for England I think. Italy underperformed at last World Cup (and were one of the 2 teams that cost me 250,000, bastards!) hard to imagine they would do the same two World Cups ina row and after having a great Euros two years ago they'll prolly be well up for this one. Uruguay should be the strongest but Costa Rica another potential dark horse, all first games will be crucial and could see Costa Rica pulling off a surprise draw vs Uruguay in their opening game.

 

E

Interesting group, Swiss are probably the seeded team everyone wanted and don't look the strongest in their group. On paper would seem France should get through but same happened in South Africa, I'm hoping same happens again

 

F

Argentina should should be one of the progessing teams, Bosnia&Herz will have a hard time, Nigeria on paper should be the 2nd team through but I'd like to Iran for some reason sqeeze in there.

 

G

This'll prolly be another tough one for all involved. Germany might seem the strongest but I wouldn't count out any of the other 3. Such a shame two of these four teams won't make the 2nd round

 

H

I would ike to see Korea and Algeria do well but at best I'd say only one of them will have a good chance of going through with one of the Europeans but Belgium and Russia might just be the two through.

 

 

Looking forward to next summer

[Jonnas]

Anyway as for the real draw. I wasn't able to watch it live, does anyone know which European team was drawn out of Pot 4 and placed in Pot 2 at the start?

 

Italy. And then they ended in England's group.

 

Grrr... Shoulda been France

 

B

Man I feel sorry for Australia, I'd really like to see them do well but this is a tough ask, Spain and Netherlands will prolly be favourites but I wouldn't discount Chile either. Would love to see the Socceroos pull off an upset though.

 

On one hand, it'll be interesting to continue the Dutch-Spanish rivalry from the last World Cup, but on the other, I really want Chile to succeed. I'll be rooting for them like a madman

 

D

Could be a tough one for England I think. Italy underperformed at last World Cup (and were one of the 2 teams that cost me 250,000, bastards!) hard to imagine they would do the same two World Cups ina row and after having a great Euros two years ago they'll prolly be well up for this one. Uruguay should be the strongest but Costa Rica another potential dark horse, all first games will be crucial and could see Costa Rica pulling off a surprise draw vs Uruguay in their opening game.

 

I think this might be the most predictable group: Uruguay and Italy (I think Italy might bring their Euro 2012 mojo back). For England, it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "by how much"

 

I'll leave the rest of my predictions for the summer.

[Fierce_LiNk]

At least you still support them! Yeah you've been shit, I still have no idea why fergie refused to strengthen your midfield over the years. Feel for Moyes, top manager but he's been dealt one shit hand.

 

I'll never stop supporting them, no matter how badly we do.

Fergie did make numerous attempts over the years to change things. We brought in the likes of Veron, Anderson, Hargreaves, Kagawa, etc over the years, all of who looked very, very good for their clubs. Tom Cleverley looked like the real deal about two seasons ago, but for the past 18 months he hasn't turned it on. For some reason or another, midfielders have found it hard to come in and cement their place. We set the bar very high with the likes of Keane and Scholes and nobody (except Carrick) has been able to come anywhere near those heights. Hargreaves looked very, very good until the injurues. Veron looked great in Europe, but not in the league. Anderson started off well then looked shit after his injuries.

 

I don't feel awfully sorry for Moyes because despite our shitness in midfield, he's still got the likes of Cleverley, Carrick, Anderson, Kagawa there to do something with. Jones has looked decent in midfield, too. He had the opportunity to sort it out in the summer, was given plenty of time, and he fluffed his lines. There are some great players at the club who aren't playing well, and it's up to them to take responsibility and Moyes' job is to motivate them.

 

Central midfield is woeful, the absence of Carrick compounds the weaknesses we already have there. The Fellaini / Cleverley partnership simply doesn't cut the mustard, it's like there's a giant chasm in the middle of the park when they play. Fellaini especially seems uninterested or unmotivated, he lacks that United might, the drive to change the game and win. It's like he's just doing a simple job in that deep position, there's no urgency in his play. He said he wanted to be the next Roy Keane, to which I call 'bollocks'.

 

Had we snatched up Fabregas and kept Van Persie fit, we'd certainly be much more competitive right now. I think a signing or two could change our fortunes, although that seems to be one of Moyes' weaknesses.

 

The Fellaini situation annoys me because he looks incredible for Belgium and looked very good for Everton. What worries me is that Fellaini and Cleverley are playing in an almost identical way. Side passes, both staying back, no serious attempt at playing the ball forward or making a rampaging run. It just screams of shit tactics to me. A bit of that and low confidence for both.

 

Fellaini was never going to be enough, though. He needed to be one of about 2 or 3 signings. It's our fault for making him look worse than he actually is. He's a good player. It should have been Fellaini and Herrera, or Fellaini and Ozil before Arsenal got there. Had we signed Ozil, we'd be looking much better than we currently are.

 

As for England's group: We can't seriously go there and win it with the team that we have. So, why not go there and try something different? Take the likes of Barkley and try to build the team/squad for the next competition. We need youngsters who want to impress and who are energetic and will play for the shirt. I'd rather take these guys in place of Ashley Young, who is never, ever going to make it for England.

[dazzybee]

I'm all for banning everyone 30 and over off and taking young players for the future!!

 

As for Man U, still along way to go, but this is the most predictable turn of events, I said (including here) as soon as fergie announced his retirement (and then even more obvious when they got the average moyes) they would struggle. Man U's squad is beyond average with 2 world class strikers; Fergie was that good. Unless they buy in January they'll struggle for a europa spot.

[ipaul]

 

GET IN MY SON!!

[-Dem0-]

This is by far the worst Man Utd team I have ever seen. SAF was somehow able to make the most out of this squad.

 

Was only able to watch the last 10 minutes, but I heard that Utd were bad yet again, how well did Newcastle play?

[Goron_3]

Newcastle were great and deserved the goal imo. They were spot on tactically and I was surprised they went so defensive so early on. Good result for them though.

 

United were terrible and need to invest in January, but it's always risky investing then. The players just aren't good enough but they've been average for years; the Fergie factor gave each of the players just a little bit more and they were capable of grinding out wins..it's not happening this year. That said, if Fergie was there I doubt they would be much better off with this team now. Last year, Arsenal had a shocking start, Chelsea had fans that were against the team, Liverpool had no depth and City were clueless. All those teams have invested heavily over the past few months, whereas United went through the biggest period of change in their most recent history. It was never going to be a good year for them.

 

Also, absolutely disgusting to hear fans boo the team at the final whistle. Welcome to being a football fan you idiots, you don't always win titles every year. Yeah, you were poor, but success comes in cycles and they are clearly in a rebuilding period atm.

 

Anyhow. Anyone see these rumours today about RVP wanting to leave the club? I put a £1 bet on him (500/1) back in the summer that he'd be an Arsenal player by the end of the season....Maybe I'll get that PS4 that I've been eyeing up

[dazzybee]

Good post. Though it's laughable you think they'll sell RVP back to Arsenal. Never ever going to happen!

[Mr-Paul]

I wouldn't want him back at Arsenal, either. If it's true that he's handed in a transfer request, just shows what a fickle man he is.

 

Also, we keep hearing this "rebuilding period" stuff, where really this is the same team that won the league last season. Was it really all down to Fergie? I do think their side is quite average, but surely they must have a degree of quality? When Chelsea and Man City have changed managers they've stayed up at the top. So what's different in this case? Is it that Moyes is useless, or did Fergie really get title winning performance out of mediocrity?

 

Arsenal went through a "rebuilding period" after the move to the Emirates. Let's see if United can match us and qualify for the Champions League every year while rebuilding!

[dazzybee]

The squad is shockingly average with two world class players who will drag them through a bit. Personally i think Fergie really was that good. But I also think Moyes is an extremely bad manager for Man U, always have thought that, he's an average manager that'll do well at an average team (no disrespect to Everton, but that is his level, but actually, even then Martinez has shown their fans football they haven't seen in years). He's simply not good enough, to get that dodgy squad to do well, which basically involves having Rooney and RVP to do it for them, they need a much better manager. Pretty much like Arsenal relying on RVP two seasons ago.

[Blade]

 

Also, absolutely disgusting to hear fans boo the team at the final whistle. Welcome to being a football fan you idiots, you don't always win titles every year. Yeah, you were poor, but success comes in cycles and they are clearly in a rebuilding period atm.

 

I couldn't agree more. Absolutely shocking!! Some of them clearly dont have a clue what it is like being a football fan.

[-Dem0-]

City dropped two points away from home and Chelsea lost to Stoke.

 

Oh, and Suarez is still a beast.

[MadDog]

I honestly find it baffling how people think there's a better player in the league than Suárez.

[pratty]

I honestly find it baffling how people think there's a better player in the league than Suárez.

 

To be fair Ramsey has had a cracking season, I make him second behind Suarez on current form, and Aguero has been good too.

 

But when you figure in Suarez's goals per games ratio and the spectacular nature of some of them, he's the best.

 

I think Messi and Ronaldo are clearly 1 and 2 best in the world, but after that? Could Suarez be 3rd? Who else is there? Ibra? Bale? I think there's a strong argument for Suarez.

 

Great results for us today so far, well played Assaidi! Come on Sunderland!

[Ramar]

Good post. Though it's laughable you think they'll sell RVP back to Arsenal. Never ever going to happen!

 

Don't see it happening at all either. Wouldn't say no though, Giroud needs cover.

[Goron_3]

Tbf, I never said he would go back...it was just worth a punt at those odds lol.

 

Great weekend for Liverpool and Arsenal so far!

[Ramar]

Tbf, I never said he would go back...it was just worth a punt at those odds lol.

 

Great weekend for Liverpool and Arsenal so far!

 

500/1 worth a cheeky quid. And you never know.

 

Before todays game I knew tomorrow was vital. Need to win it, Man City away then Chelsea afterwards and although they slipped up today both will raise their games against us. Beat Everton and try and get 4 points from the other two and I'll be well chuffed.

[Jon]

It's apple and oranges trying to say who the best player in the league is. I'd go for Ramsey because i'm biased but then Suarez has been phenomenal as well. Suarez will always get the votes though because he's a flesh eating maniac and Rambo is just a quiet guy from the valleys.

[MadDog]

It's apple and oranges trying to say who the best player in the league is. I'd go for Ramsey because i'm biased but then Suarez has been phenomenal as well. Suarez will always get the votes though because he's a flesh eating maniac and Rambo is just a quiet guy from the valleys.

 

Ramsey has played at this level for a couple of months, Suárez has for well over a year.

 

After a season or two, I reckon you will be able to throw Ozil into the best player discussion, but he hasn't played here long enough to be considered imo.

[Jon]

Ramsey has played at this level for a couple of months, Suárez has for well over a year.

 

After a season or two, I reckon you will be able to throw Ozil into the best player discussion, but he hasn't played here long enough to be considered imo.

 

My one issue with Suarez is his big game temperament. He has a tendency to be anonymous in big games. I barely noticed him during the 2-0 game at the Emirates. Doesn't really matter how long Ramsey has sustained his level for, we're purely talking this season. You can't really compare the two though anyway, Ramsey is a midfielder who does everything, Suarez a striker with the ability to regularly score sensational goals.

 

I do't really care what anyone says, there isn't a player in the league this year who has been better than Ramsey. I'm not saying there hasn't been players of similar pedigree but no one has sustained his level of play, he literally hasn't had a bad game, whether in the League or Europe.

[bob]

An Everton win would make the top of the table very interesting indeed...

[Fierce_LiNk]

It's not really the losses that is the most worrying thing, it's the manner at which we are losing which is terrible. We seem to be playing the same way in every single game, regardless of which players are playing. This just screams of "bad tactics", get the ball out wide and let the wingers do their work. Once defenders know that the threat is coming from out wide, they just block off the wings and we can't create. We haven't scored in two games. We haven't won the last four.

 

For the sake of Cleverley, the team, the league, the season, he shouldn't be playing. I was expecting big things of him and thought the injury to Carrick would give him a chance of a run in the team. But, he's looking really poor and our only option at the moment seems to be to play him through his bad form and hope that he gets better. I'd at least try and give Anderson a run now because at least we go forward with him. We can't score when the ball is going sidewards. Even then, if I had the choice, neither should be starting games week in week out.

 

I managed to meet up with our own @jayseven yesterday. I had noticeably cooled-down by that point. But fuck, we are dire. Only positive I can take is that Januzaj looked great (again) and Zaha played a game (!).

[MadDog]

Moyes at United is like Hodgson at Liverpool. Their mentalities just don't match the clubs, and they're tactics just don't work at the level they need/needed to play at.