Official Football Discussion Thread 2011/12

[Troy]

That was incredible, couldn't have scripted a better return for him. It was a great pass in to him and he finished it nicely.

 

[Troy]

Apparently QPR are interested in signing Tim Cahill. Would be a huge signing if it happens but Cahill still has two and a half years left on his Everton deal and I can't see him leaving.

 

[Keith]

QPR are getting a very desprate club, have to say Troy. There is very little thought going into their attempted signings, it is just a case of flashing money about at players who have a certain profile, rather than getting good value for players who will actually fit what they need. Cahill would only leave Everton for a top six club in my view.

 

[Troy]

It is looking pretty desperate at the moment but I haven't given up hope yet.

Paul Scholes followed Henry's lead on the weekend by scoring on his return to the PL, he has come out of retirement to help an injury depleted side and he had the perfect start.

 

[Troy]

3-1 for QPR overnight pushes them out of the relegation zone for the time being. Really needed the three points and it always helps to close that goal difference by a couple of goals.

Another big upset on the weekend with Bolton beating Liverpool 3-1 to take themselves out of the relegation zone. Chelsea also struggled against Norwich with the match ending 0-0.

Tim Cahill finally scored for Everton after a very long drought but Everton could still only manage a draw.

 

[Aniking]

I watched the Chelsea/Norwich match and it was the usual performance that I've seen from Chelsea for a little while now. They're really lacking that cutting edge and are in desperate need for an attacking midfielder in the middle of the pitch. Unfortunately for Torres he had an off game, unlike last week where I thought he was fantastic. Mata and Sturridge were both quite off their game (especially Sturridge) where the rest were alright I guess. Surprised Cahill wasn't even listed as a sub, and AVB's reasoning was he was allowing Cahill more time to integrate into the club. Seems reasonable to me.

I also watched the Fulham/Newcastle match and that should be classed as an upset too, especially after the first half. Newcastle were leading 1-0 at half-time after dominating, and Fulham were just so bad and never looked like scoring. The moment the second half started, Fulham kicked into gear and scored 4 goals in 17 minutes to completely kill off the contest. Andy Johnson was the clear catalyst, albeit he didn't get on the scoresheet himself, but he was pivotal in Dempsey becoming the first American to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. Awesome comeback to win 5-2 over a Newcastle side that had apparently kept 3 clean sheets in their past 4 games.

The Tottenham/Man City match starts in udner 25 mins and I am VERY keen to watch it. I may be an Arsenal fan, but I'm not English, so I couldn't give two shits about the whole rivalry between us and Spurs, because as far as I'm concerned our rivals are the Top 6 (excluding us). Where I'm going with this is I'd rather a draw, but if I was to pick a winner then I'd want Tottenham to win. My fingers are crossed that we can beat Man Utd for a second home game in a row (as we beat them in May 1-0) to catch Chelsea and move further above Liverpool and Newcastle.

 

[Troy]

Man City - 57
Man United - 55
Tottenham - 50
Chelsea - 43
Newcastle - 42
Arsenal - 40
Liverpool - 39

Tottenham are flying at the moment clear in third place and Newcastle have surprised me that they are still so high up at this stage of the season. I really like how there are more teams challenging for the top four places these days rather than the usual four that used to always get it.

 

[Dod Draper]

As a Liverpool fan, all our home draws this season have been all the more frustrating due to how bad Chelsea/Arsenal have been. If we'd won a few home games and not drawn them all, we'd be in the top four right now.

 

[Aniking]

As a Liverpool fan, all our home draws this season have been all the more frustrating due to how bad Chelsea/Arsenal have been. If we'd won a few home games and not drawn them all, we'd be in the top four right now.

This really has hurt Liverpool, especially when you consider the fact we sit one point above you but have lost three more games.

Liverpool have eight draws at home, and if only three of them were turned into victories then they'd be sitting in fourth spot, two points above Chelsea. If all those draws were turned into victories, Liverpool would be a tie for second place alongside Man Utd. Although draws are obviously better than losses as they carry with them a point, piling up too many is detrimental.

I was stoked last weekend when we beat Blackburn 7-1. I get Blackburn are struggling and had a player sent-off, but we were comfortably ahead at 3-1 when the sending off occurred, so I have no doubt we still would've won convincingly. Any result like this between any Premier League teams is a rarity, so I loved seeing my team dominate from the beginning, especially considering we'd taken just one point from our past four games. Not very good when we're trying to compete for that fourth spot.

 

[Sexton_Hardcastle]

Major game this weekend against arry and the spurs. Win, and we can mainain our push for European football. Lose, and well, idk.

 

[The Cork]

We'll lose to Sunderland.

Just hope the tax dodger joins England so Spurs flop, tis our only hope of Europe.

 

[Keith]

I have no doubt Spurs will finish third, it is then just a case of who finishes fourth and for me it will be either Chelsea or Arsenal and it really is too close to call.

 

[Troy]

Man United beat Liverpool last night 2-1. Drama before the start when Suarez didn't go to shake Evra's hand and Evra grabbed him hard, thankfully the Man United keeper was smart enough to remove Evra's arm otherwise that could have been ugly. No idea why Evra is so surprised that Suarez didn't want to shake hands, it was his evidence that got him banned and I still think that Suarez was unfairly punished with the 8 game ban. Especially since John Terry is still playing even though there is clear video evidence of him calling Anton Ferdinand some bad things.

 

[Andrew]

I missed that handshake bit but caught bits n pieces of the game while I was at the pub.

I reckon Saurez is a prick. He is the biggest douche in sport today, shake hands with the player even if you despise them. While I played Indoor Soccer (FUTSAL) for the Australian Deaf Games, this guy refused to shake my hand and was suspended from playing that very game. We went on to win 4-3 to book a spot into the finals where we came 2nd.

 

[Aniking]

LOL somebody suspended for not shaking someone's hand? That's a bit of a joke.

You wanna know what else is a joke? Suarez. I don't really like Patrica Evra, but for all we know the guy was racially abused, so I'm not gonna pretend like I know more than anyone else like everybody seems to do, because the fact is the only people that know exactly what happened were Evra and Suarez.

Evra was the one that was racially abused yet he was man enough to put it aside to shake Suarez's hand, but Suarez snubbed him. I've got no respect for Suarez and give Evra credit for wanting to put this all behind them.