Sports - Football/Soccer #116: The Season's Over... The Worrying Has Just Begun - Page 14

goodnightboy · 08-26-2008, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avatar (View Post)

One of the big four at home next, please?

Congratulations to the two of you though!

Ooh that is a cup upset Dan, it definitely is. So yay! And Vicky, I don't know either. I know I rate him higher than most people do but even so. Well, I guess I can't say anything much else as it'll just be pointless, but here's hoping he does well in Serie A. It seems more suited to him anyway.

T · 08-27-2008, 09:56 PM

all

Hee, the cold I may have gotten because of monday's match was more than worth it

. For once I got to actually see that last minute 90+something goal go to the right team and by seeing it, I mean seeing it live

. And to make it even better, it was against the league leader, so HJK managed to cut their lead to just few points!

And though it might have been a bit cold out, it was quite the beautiful night. Too damn bad I (for once) didn't have my camera with me, so I couldn't snap a pic photos of the sky because it was really something. Did stop after the match to see what my mobile's cam could do, but that's not much

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodnightboy (View Post)

I feel kind of bad so I'm going to skip what you said T (sorry!)

Quite alrigth - most of it wasn't exactly on topic anyway

Dan - Always lovely to hear that kind of results!

Especially what with Bristol's previous match!

Vicky - So Owen is doing well there? I always felt a bit bad for him while he was at Real because I didn't mind him at all (and he did score a fair bit considering the time he was on if my ailing memory serves me correctly) , but there was always that who'd you bench to put him on thing.. .

Brucas4life · 08-28-2008, 04:17 AM

Yeah Owen is doing well (when he's fit that is) I mean thats two games already for us where he has scored the winner so he's doing good. We just need to stop him from getting injured because we have been without him for so long. He's meant to start against Arsenal on Saturday so hopefully he will make it 3/3. Not bad considering he didn't take part in any pre season and missed the first game of the season.

And I felt really bad for him at Real Madrid too, like you say, when he did come on he did really well and came up with the goals, but he simply didn't play enough. Owen was always my favourite, after Shearer of course

But I never imagined that one day he would actually play for us, amazing how it has turned out really, and I got to see my two favourite players play upfront together in Shearer's last season which I loved even if injuries meant that they were both hardly fit at the same time. Owen has had some long long offs but he seems to be fit and healthy atm which is a good sign. Fingers crossed he can stay injury free because he had a 4 year contract and out of those 4 years I would say so far he has probably missed about 2 seasons worth is football if you add up all his injuries.

I'll be more than happy if we get a point against Arsenal on Saturday. If we manage that then we will have got points of both Man U and Arsenal away from home in the first few games of the season. Which imo would be amazing, especially considering we usually have a bad start to the season and where Man U are concerned we are used to getting thrashed

Just wondering, do you think Arsenal will bring in anyone new upfront? I think you might struggle with what you have there atm tbh, I know you were interested in Martins but he wants to stay with us so do you know if you have been linked with any other strikers?

goodnightboy · 08-28-2008, 07:42 AM

Congratulations T

Ooh, nice picture too. I see what you mean by the sky looking pretty.

Yeah I personally never understood why the Madrid bosses refused to play Owen, kind of like how Benitez refused to play Crouch even though both had a more than decent goal return. Still, I'm glad you got to see two of your favourite players in action together for at least one season Vicky

I can't say I've followed Owen's career much but I've always thought of him as a true professional, someone who didn't bother with the media and whatnot and just focused on the football - which is more than you can ask for these days!

Well that'd be nice but we need the points too so I won't be wishing you luck

And why upfront? Trust me, we have bigger - much bigger - problems in other areas of the squad, like central defense and especially central midfield. And even the wings could do with an addition or two if only to provide competition to the likes of Nasri, the always-injured Rosicky, the striker Walcott and the right back Eboue. Honestly, striker is an area we're still OK with - we have Adebayor, van Persie (ridiculously off form though), Bendtner, Eduardo (when he comes back), Vela, Walcott (although Arsene seems to think of him as a right winger more though). Why do you ask about strikers? And we get linked with half the universe's players (

) so I've kind of tuned out to the gossip... sorry! Should be easy to find though, if you really want to know.

Brucas4life · 08-28-2008, 08:41 AM

I was just wondering really. I mean personally I don't rate Adebayor, he needs too many chances before he actually manages to get the ball in the net, Bendtner imo is terrible, okay so maybe he has a few good moments, but then he goes and does something ridiculous that makes you wonder why he is even on the pitch. I think Walcott is getting better every game, his pace is frightening and I can't remember which game it was, I think it was where you went out last season in the Champions League where he literally just ran and skipped past the oppositions defense but that goal was incredible. Definitely a future star for Arsenal. I don't know about Van Persie, sometimes I think he's good and other times I don't even notice he is out there. I know Arsenal have never been one to just rely on the strikers to score the goals, I mean just looking at how many goals Pires used to score for you in a season is evidence of that, I'm just slightly concerned that compared to Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool, Arsenal may struggle, particularly if you get a few injuries. But I guess scoring wasn't a problem for you last night

The way I see it, on Saturday if we lose to you then it's not the end of the world, we usually get at least a point from you at home and we've already managed to get points off Man U away so we would be helping you, I mean I don't want to see the title just between Man U and Chelsea again. But of course I want us to get something, for me a draw would be more than enough.

And as for Owen it's kinda weird how he and Shearer are so alike. They are both extremely private people, they like to let their football do the talking. You don't see either of them falling out of clubs or getting done for assault. Off the pitch and on the pitch they are brilliant role models. They don't fling themselves to the ground at the slightest challenge looking for a free kick, they don't roll over multiple times and exaggerate how bad the challenge was. I really have a problem with players who dive and exaggerate when they go down. The name Ronaldo comes to mind

goodnightboy · 08-29-2008, 08:42 AM

Adebayor - yeah people harp on that a lot. And sometimes you want to tear your hair out in frustration over the kinds of chances he misses. But I do think that he's a difficult player for defenders to play against in that he also creates a lot and is deceptively skillful. It's hard to say though, and with his summer shenanigans it's a bit difficult to back him 100%. But he's an Arsenal player so if he bangs in the goals then job done I suppose.

Bendtner - has potential, but needs a lot more games. I love how high he jumps - he literally hangs in the air for a few seconds, it gives us such a better aerial threat - but sometimes his decision making and first touch lets him down. Very immature but at his age it's not so surprising.

Walcott - ooh that was the Liverpool second leg. It was an amazing goal, his run was incredible and then the pass was pitch-perfect as well. Unfortunately we conceded a goal one minute after that so that was rather horrible

he's got talent but he's just not suited for the right wing, so it's annoying to see him there when it's such a waste. But then consider that our alternative is Eboue and that's just even worse. Christ.

van Persie - omg where do I start. I love how he was a bit more individualistic and is just ridiculously talented, to the point that he can conjure up a bit of magic and turn a game on its head. Unfortunately he's made of glass and when he's back, like now, you can see he's changed his game somewhat. He's becoming a bit more like Bergkamp II - the link-up between the midfield and the strikers - the visionary player spraying passes about. Only that his passing range isn't that good and by dropping so deep he's wasting himself basically. We were all hoping that a player like him would break our pass-and-pass game at Arsenal but it looks like the playing style has broken him instead, which I blame Wenger for. I'm probably exaggerating but he looks like a shadow of his former self, and it makes me want to cry. The worst part is that when he plays for Holland, away from the Arsenal style, he's absolutely lethal; but in the red-and-white he's just so anxious for a goal that he's trying too hard. Things aren't coming off for him, either, so it's just a bit depressing to see.

Nah it's been changed since then. Pires and Ljungberg used to score like mad but ever since they left no one's been able to score as much as they did. It's the pass-and-pass thing, really. And yeah we've always had a thin squad but this season's squad is ridiculous. It's so thin we're one injury away from a catastrophe

PS. Sorry if I'm just being so depressing and pessimistic all the time - it's just a difficult time to support Wenger right now - and usually this place is a bit of an area for me to vent. Also, sorry if all the focus is on Arsenal, I can't say I follow Newcastle all that much but if you like you could talk about them as well and I'll try to give some input the best that I can!

True enough. Well we'll just have to see how.

And hee hee I liked your point about getting done for assault! I mean, most footballers should be utterly ashamed with themselves - stories about roasting, falling out of clubs stone drunk, getting, as you say, "done in for assault"... seriously. And Joey Barton the worst of them. What do you think of him, incidentally (did I ask you this before)?

Oh god the playacting. Eboue's playacting last season is the reason why I hate him so much and am embarrassed to have him at the club (also because he's not a right winger or central midfielder or wherever Wenger wants to chuck him into). Ronaldo is terrible though. I hate Ronaldo. Did you know that? Tons of people think he's really good looking. I don't see why. I look at him and I get this huge desire to walk up to him and punch him in the face. He's got such a punchable face.

Brucas4life · 08-29-2008, 04:59 PM

I can't say I am a fan of Joey Barton. What he has done in the past in inexcusable. Obviously he has a drink problem though, and he has admitted it and is trying to do something about it. So although I don't like some of the things he has done I also don't believe you can hold it against him for the rest of his career. For example I think it is totally disgraceful that over a year after an incident occurs the FA decide to turn around and charge him. I'm sorry but they saw the incident when it happened, had plenty of time to look at the footage and the clearly decided no action needed to be taken. Then with him being sent to jail and some of the public outraged that Newcastle are sticking by him they decide to go back a year and charge him. I just really disagree with the past being held over people's heads and fans not showing any forgiveness. If a player is trying to turn over a new leaf don't try and make it even tougher for them and add even more problems to the existing pile.

When Rio Ferdinand had that drugs ban he was allowed to move on with his career. Not only did he return to the Man U first team but recently he was even considered for the captaincy of the England side. So for me people should not condemn some players, and basically say their careers are over and yet say others who are imo just as bad should be allowed to pick up straight where they left of.

I'm not a fan of his but I'm glad Newcastle stuck by him. Yes he has made some serious mistakes but he is payed to play football and people can say what they like but he does have talent and he he is trying to get help. So the way I see it is that people should give him a chance.

I can't stand Ronaldo. And you're right he's not god looking at all. That picture of him in the silver hotpants and pink T-Shirt had me laughing so badly

I can't stand most of the Man U team. I don't know if you ever saw it but there used to be a really good advert where there was a training session and when the coach blew the whistle they all fell to the ground and pretended to be hurt. It always struck me as something Man U may do in their training sessions

I wonder if I can find it on youtube. There is only one player who I actually kinda like at Man U and that's Giggs. Strange seeing as he is so incredibly loyal to a club I can't stand, but he's always struck me as different to the others. And I guess I just don't think he's as nasty and a cheat like some of the others.

I really do have a problem with players who go down easily. I love our new players, they are seriously good, but in last Saturday's game one of them rolled and rolled and rolled. And I was just like get up and stop rolling around. Like there was no need for it. If you're hurt then stay still, don't roll 4 or 5 times over. I just hope it was a one off as otherwise I'm going to find it really hard supporting him.

goodnightboy · 08-29-2008, 07:58 PM

Ordinarily I'd agree with you - especially as a fan of a club who's had players like Tony Adams and Paul Merson! - but Joey Barton seems to be quite incorrigible

I mean, it's bad enough being picked up for assault once, twice is disgusting - but he's just had a long history of violent behaviour. Whenever clubs give him a chance he just squanders it - I've got no time for him anymore. Of course if it were Cesc Fabregas (ie someone who's vital for Arsenal) instead of Joey Barton (someone not in my team) then I'm sure my position would change, let's be honest here. But I don't know.

No offense (if any).

Anyway. What pink t shirt and hotpants? Actually, don't tell me. I don't want the image in my head

No, I didn't see that advert! It sounds like what they'd do in Carrington though

Giggs is quality, yes - I kind of don't mind Scholes as well for just for being such a model professional. And of course in their prime they were class as well. But I'll stop here as that's all the praising of anything United-related I can do in one day!

Oh yes. I hate cheats. If it's a player in the opposition team there's really nothing worse, but if it's a player in your team then it just makes things awkward, it's difficult to support someone who cheats so blatantly although he's in your team. Frankly, anyone who cheats is an embarrassment. It's a shame that it's rewarding though, so people do it.

Brucas4life · 08-30-2008, 07:25 AM

Well for me this big difference is that now he has actually admitting he has a drink problem and seems to be seeking help. If it wasn't for that then I probably wouldn't be as ok with Newcastle sticking by him as I am right now. What he has done in the past is inexcusable I'm not denying that, but I do think if he's trying to change then people should support him. But if he does screw up again then for me he has had his chance and should be shown the door. I'm hoping though that it won't came to that and that he has turned the corner but I guess time will tell.

I don't think you will ever have to worry about Fabregas getting into any trouble. He's so sweet I just don't believe he would be capable of doing anything bad. Ok so I admit I do have a soft spot for him but it's just so hard not to like him. You really need to hang on to him.

My problem with Scholes is that he always seems to score against us

I know it's a lame reason but yeah it's annoying when his name keeps getting on the score sheet against us. I will admit that he is a good player though.

And yeah it really is embarrassing when one of your players cheats. Sure I would love to see Newcastle actually win something one day but I just pray that when that day does come there won't be any cheating involved. Like I couldn't bare the thought of Newcastle winning a cup because of a penalty that our player had dived for. That would seriously bother me. Luckily though I think for the most part Newcastle are an honest team, apart from our new Argentinian rolling all over the place last weekend I haven't seen anything to be embarrassed about. It usually is the foreign players that join the league that are guilty of it, but I am hoping that he will adapt and learn that he shouldn't be doing that. I guess some players never learn though. *cough* Ronaldo and Drogba *cough*

What did you make of the Carling Cup draw. There are some interesting matches. We haven't got it easy against Tottenham but at least we are at home, and I know we can beat them. The Man U and Chelsea ones certainly aren't easy so I'm rather pleased with that. At least you are at home too, I don't think you should struggle too much against Sheffield United.

goodnightboy · 08-30-2008, 11:45 AM

I understand your reason for not liking Scholes then! And no I don't think Cesc will get into any sort of trouble either - he seems that most rare of creatures, a footballer who's grounded and very mature as well, not to mention ridiculously good - but I was just using him as an example!

I know! I hope that doesn't happen either. I mean, winning a trophy would be great but if we got it through cheating, that makes it a bit more hollow. Well hopefully neither of our clubs will go there. Argentinian - Coloccini and Gutirrez?

I haven't seen the draw yet myself but Sheffield United? That'll be OK, which is good. You're playing against Spurs? GO NEWCASTLE

goodnightboy · 08-30-2008, 11:59 AM

And match thoughts in a separate post to make it easier to read, I hope -

Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle

First off, I don't think I've ever been quite as pleased to be proven wrong! I definitely remember whinging here about Arsenal so today's game was pretty much the perfect response

I'm sorry your team lost Vicky as you're a very nice person and I like you a lot but to be honest Arsenal outclassed Newcastle! I'm very pleased at the way the players have responded to the criticism from the Fulham match.

Arsenal's performance here reminded me of large stretches of last season, when we were dominating and playing beautiful football as well - I'm pleased to have it back (understatement!). And I know I've criticised van Persie in a previous post so I'm really happy at him scoring and generally showing his class. Not so good about the little knock though (what's new) but I think his substitition was more of a precaution than anything else. I hope so. Great game from the players, even Eboue (

) - hopefully we can keep this up!

And a note about Given - the usual heroics against us, if not the score would have been a lot worse. Seriously every time Newcastle play against us I wish we could have Given on our team, if he wasn't so injury prone he'd be virtually unstoppable. Coloccini was impressive as well. Last bit about Barton (notice how I didn't mention him in my previous post!) - I'm sorry, I'm never going to like him. Ever. Good on him for admitting to having a problem but I don't think anyone could have been amused at the way he tackled Nasri and then smiled that sarcastic smile afterwards - twit. I have to say I very much enjoyed Nasri getting back at hiim with the heel clipping, even if it resulted in a yellow card; and Clichy probably responded best by pretending Barton didn't exist and proceeding to thread the ball between his legs. Yes, I'm small enough to enjoy that.

Well that's probably more than anyone needed to know about a match so I'll shut up here - hopefully I haven't been too annoying in my happiness about the win (and the manner of it)! ETA: Forgot to mention the shot of Vieira watching the game. I love how he's back to watch Arsenal as well - awesome. Did people notice him in the stadium Vicky? And on the topic of being in the stadium - what's it like??? I've never been there and probably won't in the near future, so I'll just have to live vicariously hee hee.

Avatar · 08-30-2008, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucas4life (View Post)

What did you make of the Carling Cup draw. There are some interesting matches. We haven't got it easy against Tottenham but at least we are at home, and I know we can beat them. The Man U and Chelsea ones certainly aren't easy so I'm rather pleased with that. At least you are at home too, I don't think you should struggle too much against Sheffield United.

Crewe at Liverpool. Oh joy, oh bliss.

And Hereford 2, Crewe 0.

Brucas4life · 08-30-2008, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avatar (View Post)

Crewe at Liverpool. Oh joy, oh bliss.

And Hereford 2, Crewe 0.

I'll definitely be cheering you on against Liverpool. Here's hoping you can cause an upset and knock them out.

As for the Newcastle game obviously Arsenal were by far the better team. I wish I could say we deserved something from the game but the simple fact is that we didn't. I'm not one for excuses but I do feel we were missing an awful lot key players, Martins, Geremi and Duff to name a few, where was I though that was practically your main team but then again I'm not an expert on your team so I'm not sure i other than Rosicky you are missing anyone. All I know is that when Ameobi plays the opposition should be happy. He is useless. Lovely guy but he simply doesn't belong in the the Premiership, and the worst thing is we can't even get his medical at Ipswich. He's so lazy and clumsy, Owen wants the ball played in front of him so he can put it in the net and he goes and plays is behind him. I wish I could say it's just one mistake, but if I'm honest it's just one mistake after another with him, it's endless.

I'm not too bothered though. I knew it might be tough for us with the squad we had to get a result, and we already have 4 points so it's not the end of the world. Well done though, I see you're now 2nd in the table.

And as for Given, he is just amazing, I can't praise him highly enough. For me he is the best goalkeeper in the Premiership, but I am biased. He just makes so many world class saves. I don't know what we would do without him, tbh we probably wouldn't still be in the Premiership if it wasn't for him. Last season was a bad one for him because of the injuries, but now he has healed and it looks like he is back and better than ever. Lucky for us he plans on staying with Newcastle until he retires. I'm sure he could easily join you, I know he has been linked with you quite a few times, but I think it says a lot about him that he wants to stay with us rather than join any of the big four.

goodnightboy · 08-30-2008, 09:13 PM

Aww Dan

Oh, Liverpool? I'll be cheering Crewe on extra hard. I used to not mind them but lately I've started to hate them as much as I hate United or Chelsea...

Well we're short of a central midfielder (not in the squad though sadly) and Rosicky's out, maybe you could consider Eduardo as well but yeah! That's basically our first team. Wow, look at that. I didn't realise it

Sorry to hear about Ameobi! You should be pleased at the way that Newcastle, despite being dominated for large parts of the game, still managed to carve out a few really good chances - Owen's strike, Butt's header - usually Arsenal would've faffed about and not done anything much in that kind of situation!

We are? Wow, that's a huge jump. I think we were 14th before that

Cool! And yeah I know. We've been linked with Given a lot and every time my heart jumps but then he stays at Newcastle so that's always a disappointment! Still, it says a lot about his loyalty, which is great.

**Shining Light** · 08-31-2008, 04:06 AM

I only ever seemed to come here to moan before, so I thought it was time to come here and be happy.

Played 4, won 3, drawn 1, lost 0, 0 goals conceded, 10 points to the good and top of the league.

So to all the pundits who tipped us for relegation this season - IN YOUR FACE.