[jon boy]

really disappointing day if your a leeds fan, lost three players one of which is our best and replaced them with nobody. well done masterbates.

[_slavo_]

Slovakia-Armenia 0:4

embarrassment of the year.

[demonrail666]

I really expected Slovakia to finish 2nd in their group.

Felt sorry for Wales against England. It should've been a draw. England don't look any more convincing now than they did in the World Cup. That they're currently 4th in the world rankings is absurd. They're probably not the 4th best team in europe, never mind the world.

Current Fifa top ten:

1 Netherlands
2 Spain
3 Germany
4 England
5 Uruguay
6 Brazil
7 Italy
8 Portugal
9 Argentina
10 Croatia

I'd definitely say Argentina, Portugal, Brazil and Uruguay are all far better than England right now.

[_slavo_]

I expected us to comfortably win the group, given that we beaten Russia last spring in Moscow. But our coach is specific by the fact that he quickly tends to get complacent having had a couple of good matches and he needs a slap in the face like this one to have a proper motivation. Cause he's a bit of a genius when he wants to.

[SonicBebs]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I really expected Slovakia to finish 2nd in their group.

Felt sorry for Wales against England. It should've been a draw. England don't look any more convincing now than they did in the World Cup. That they're currently 4th in the world rankings is absurd. They're probably not the 4th best team in europe, never mind the world.

Current Fifa top ten:

1 Netherlands
2 Spain
3 Germany
4 England
5 Uruguay
6 Brazil
7 Italy
8 Portugal
9 Argentina
10 Croatia

I'd definitely say Argentina, Portugal, Brazil and Uruguay are all far better than England right now.

any idea how they come up with the placings?
surely Spain are number 1? World Champions, European Champions. shit they'd win the coppa america if they could enter

i dont think england should be a top 10 team

[demonrail666]

I don't know how they come up with it. Guess, by the looks of things. I'd probably put them in the top ten, but definitely below Brazil, Uruguay and Portugal, I just think there's a massive gulf between the top say 5 or 6 and the rest. I'd probably put England on a par with Italy or Croatia but miles behind Spain, Holland or Germany.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I don't know how they come up with it. Guess, by the looks of things. I'd probably put them in the top ten, but definitely below Brazil, Uruguay and Portugal, I just think there's a massive gulf between the top say 5 or 6 and the rest. I'd probably put England on a par with Italy or Croatia but miles behind Spain, Holland or Germany.

last time i saw brazil it was a piece of shit team undeserving of any glory. okay, it was missing a bunch of players. but argentina wasn't! it got kicked in the balls right at home. still, haven't seen brazil play well since... oh shit, it was the fog of time.

[demonrail666]

I totally agree that Brazil now aren't a shadow of what they were in the 70s and 80s. But they're still a formidable force in World football and in a match over two legs would still probably beat 90% of national teams out there. I'm as bored with hearing the whole 'samba football' name being used in reference to them now as you are, considering they haven't played that style for nearly 30 years, but I can't think of any team right now except Spain and maybe Holland who I'd back to beat them in a major tournament. Since their golden age, they've won the World Cup twice and, had Ronaldo not been unfit to play in the final against France in 1998, would've almost certainly won that one, too. I agree with your point but you have to admit that, for a team that's been living off former glories for more than a quarter of a century, that's pretty impressive.

[jon boy]

finally some decent signings for leeds. hopefully they will work out but i have thought that so many times and been disappointed.

as for the premiership, i think its gonna be man city then man ure as i cant see anybody not conceding against the strike force man city have. alright they only drew today but they probably took it easy as its only the early stages of the champions league and they have been told not to risk any injuries.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

I totally agree that Brazil now aren't a shadow of what they were in the 70s and 80s. But they're still a formidable force in World football and in a match over two legs would still probably beat 90% of national teams out there. I'm as bored with hearing the whole 'samba football' name being used in reference to them now as you are, considering they haven't played that style for nearly 30 years, but I can't think of any team right now except Spain and maybe Holland who I'd back to beat them in a major tournament. Since their golden age, they've won the World Cup twice and, had Ronaldo not been unfit to play in the final against France in 1998, would've almost certainly won that one, too. I agree with your point but you have to admit that, for a team that's been living off former glories for more than a quarter of a century, that's pretty impressive.

yeah i understand that, but when is *the last time* you actually saw them play WELL? i know on paper they look awesome, but in the copa américa they finished 8th, right behind:

1. uruguay
2. paraguay
3. peru
4. venezuela
5. chile
6. colombia
7. argentina

yes, they did not lose a single game until paraguay took them out on penalties in quarterfinals, but the only game they won was against ecuador, 4-2. ecuador! they placed 10th-- (9th was costa rica, a sub-21 age team.) last were bolivia @11 and mexico @12 (mexico was also nerfed with a juvenile team). brazil tied with venezuela and paraguay on the first round.

haven't seen them play since then. they have great players and i want them to be great but i think as a team they've been sucking balls.

then again, they are playing a friendly with argentina in a little while, and maybe they've turned a corner this past couple of months (i doubt it, but eh).

[demonrail666]

I agree. Spain are currently doing a far better impression of 'Brazil' than Brazil are. But I think part of their mystique is the way they continue to confound expectations. In the last two world cups they reached the quarter and semi finals with really quite dodgy teams. They barely even qualified for the one they got to the quarters in. They have a way of grinding out results when they have to (or more likely feel motivated enough to). They're also notorious for dips in form when not playing in the world cup. In that sense, while I've seen plenty of terrible German, Spanish, English, Italian and French teams in recent world cups, I've seen plenty of average Brazil teams but never a terrible one. They may not always be pretty (they rarely are these days) but it's a brave man who writes them off, especially when it comes to the world cup.

But I would like to ban the term 'samba football' from any pundit talking about Brazil. (Just as I think it's about time they dropped the patronising 'efficient' when describing Germany.)

Edit: the biggest concern I see right now is that I can't remember a time when their players haven't at least challenged as the world's best, but I can't think of a single Brazilian player right now to compare with say Messi, Xavi, iniesta, Ronaldo, Rooney, Sneijder or Eto'o.

[!@#$%!]

ronaldinho and kaká are past their prime, and neymar who is supposed to be the new star is a big fucking pussy. pato is in italy so i don't get to see him play much but in copa américa he didn't do much (nobody did). still maybe he'll be alright but he's no sneijder.

aaand the game was fucking boring. ronaldinho is back playing for his national team and the argentinians made a point of fouling him at every occasion. a couple of missed opportunities on each side and it ended 0-0. yawn. oh, and did i say neymar is a pussy? he's a big fucking pussy. maybe he's got brittle bones.

[demonrail666]

Just watching Spurs v Liverpool and as much as I love Suarez he really needs to sort out his diving.

[jon boy]

i hope we stuff manure tomorrow. i have the feeling it will be a bit of a white wash but if they put out a youth team then even with some of the experienced people they have we could just do it, or at least get a replay.

[demonrail666]

According to Mancini, Tevez refused to come on as sub for Man City tonight. Says he'll never play for him again.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...rn-Munich.html

Worth taking note if you were thinking of replacing an injured Rooney for him in Fantasy Football

[the ikara cult]

i was in the pub watching City V Munich expecting it to be a good game. Turns out it was dull as tits and the Man U game was great. Arse.

[blunderbuss]

RIP Gary Speed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15909277

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by blunderbuss

RIP Gary Speed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15909277

I'm neither a Welshman, or a Leeds/Bolton/Newcastle/Sheffield Utd fan, but I did find the news quite heartbreaking. A great footballer and by all accounts a great man. The minutes applause at the beginning of the Swansea v Villa game put a real lump in my throat. I listened to Robbie Savage on the radio afterwards and he was in bits. A very sad day.

RIP

[SonicBebs]

huge result for Palace the other day, typically our league form has plummeted since

nice to see utd go out of europe so early! ITV4 here we come!

[SonicBebs]

i heard there was accusations against Lyon but what happened with Marseille?