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Author Topic: Futbol Talk  (Read 788381 times)

GGGG

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1425 on: May 26, 2015, 01:26:04 PM »
He largely built his reputation on what he did at Swansea right?  Is the fact that they are chugging along just fine without him show that maybe it was management more than him?

brewcity77

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1426 on: May 26, 2015, 01:41:59 PM »
He largely built his reputation on what he did at Swansea right?  Is the fact that they are chugging along just fine without him show that maybe it was management more than him?

Swansea and Watford before that. Here's Rodgers' illustrious career:
.
  • Took over Watford midseason in 2008, sank them to the relegation zone, then escaped and finished 13th in the Championship. Left in 2009.
  • Took over Reading to start 2009, had a miserable run that had Reading second-bottom in the Championship when he was fired just before Christmas. Brian McDermott took over and guided RFC to a 9th place finish with the same players Rodgers had in 23rd.
  • Took over Swansea to start 2010, led them to third in the Championship and were promoted to the Premier League through the playoffs. Swansea finished 11th in the only year Rodgers managed them in the EPL. Since he left, Swansea has finished higher than that 2 of 3 years.
  • Took over Liverpool to start 2012. Has managed them to 6th, 2nd (inexplicably puking away the PL title in 2014), and 7th.
.
Rodgers got the Watford chance because he was the hot Chelsea assistant, then completely botched the job before escaping relegation late. No idea why Reading hired him, but he botched that and was fired before the New Year. He did nothing at his first two stops to earn a third chance in the Championship, but he got it and made the most, earning promotion in the play-off final, and managed to avoid relegation in his first year.

And that's it. That's his career leading up to Liverpool. His greatest accomplishment, finishing 11th. The guy is an idiot who has simply done enough to keep getting chances. He doesn't deserve his current job, he didn't deserve Swansea or Reading before that. He's probably best suited for League One or League Two, but somehow convinced Liverpool he was worthy, so he'll probably never manage below the Championship again.

My real hope is that he takes over England. That would be hilarious.
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jesmu84

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1427 on: May 27, 2015, 11:35:02 AM »
Whoa. Swiss and US authorities really getting after it. FBI/IRS involved. Also sounds like CONCACAF officials involved as offices raided.

I'll be interested to see if those execs arrested plea down in exchange for testifying against sepp

WellsstreetWanderer

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1428 on: May 27, 2015, 03:34:17 PM »
 World Cup Soccer in 130 degree temps !     Nothin' wrong with that!   had to be some 'splainin' because people knew something wasn't kosher.

mu03eng

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1429 on: May 27, 2015, 04:28:56 PM »
Whoa. Swiss and US authorities really getting after it. FBI/IRS involved. Also sounds like CONCACAF officials involved as offices raided.

I'll be interested to see if those execs arrested plea down in exchange for testifying against sepp

Not the death blow but I think it's the first in a line of critical domino's.  It's all NA and LA execs within FIFA that were tagged, but the question is do any of them have enough on the larger fish like Sepp to cut a deal.  FBI doesn't really care about today's fish, but when fish can be landed in the future.
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brewcity77

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1430 on: May 30, 2015, 11:03:45 AM »
As expected, Sepp won re-election fairly easily. I would love to see someone roll on Blatter, but really think he's just a Teflon godfather that will end up getting away with everything. FIFA was always going to re-elect him, I'm sure it was just a matter of rechecking bank balances.

I applaud Gulati trying to clean things up. Unfortunately, unless someone rolls over, it will be four more years of the same. The key is to make sure Blatter's successor doesn't offer more of the same. If the USA has any hope of hosting again before 2042, they need new leadership.
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GGGG

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1431 on: June 02, 2015, 12:00:26 PM »
Wow....just a few days later and Sepp is going to resign.

FBI must have been closing in.  It really is the only reason that I can think he chose this course. 

Henry Sugar

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1432 on: June 02, 2015, 12:11:55 PM »
Wow....just a few days later and Sepp is going to resign.

FBI must have been closing in.  It really is the only reason that I can think he chose this course. 

It's big, but there are a lot of changes that still need to be made.

Having said that...

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reinko

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1433 on: June 02, 2015, 12:39:19 PM »

jesmu84

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1434 on: June 02, 2015, 01:17:07 PM »
There are I think, 3 reasons this happened:

1. Sponsors threatened to pull out unless he left.
2. He heard/knew investigations or an arrest was in his near future.
3. He was planning on doing this as soon as the others were arrested, but he didn't want Hussein to win the election. So he gets reelected, resigns, and opens up the possibility of someone of his ilk winning in a special election.

GGGG

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1435 on: June 02, 2015, 01:19:35 PM »
I never thought of #3.  That does make some sense.

Another thought is that there was some consensus building among the UEFA powers about removing themselves from FIFA, although every indication was that wasn't happening.

mu03eng

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1436 on: June 02, 2015, 01:23:16 PM »
I never thought of #3.  That does make some sense.

Another thought is that there was some consensus building among the UEFA powers about removing themselves from FIFA, although every indication was that wasn't happening.

I think that's the move they are going to try.  This is a good step, but in no way should we convince ourselves that the reformers have one.

I'd also predict as further "cover", Qatar will lose the 2022 WC....PR move to say "see, we changed"
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Golden Avalanche

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1437 on: June 02, 2015, 02:12:00 PM »
I think that's the move they are going to try.  This is a good step, but in no way should we convince ourselves that the reformers have one.

I'd also predict as further "cover", Qatar will lose the 2022 WC....PR move to say "see, we changed"

It'd be more than just a PR move. It would be a humanitarian move considering the plague of death that the Qatar committee has imposed upon countless Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, etc. slave laborers. Truly horrific events have taken place.


JWags85

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1438 on: June 02, 2015, 02:50:30 PM »
Literally the only thing that could happen to improve this is the US getting 2022.  Not because it would be cool, but because Blatter took arrogant, gleeful shots at England and the US being bitter at him cause they didn't get 2018 and 2022.

jesmu84

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1439 on: June 02, 2015, 03:40:46 PM »
Here's the cynic in me:

If the US had originally received the 2022 WC, no way this whole investigation and arrests happen. Don't get me wrong, there still would have been gross corruption and bribes, but the US would have not been the one to lose out because of it, so we turn a blind eye (if not partake)
« Last Edit: June 02, 2015, 03:44:02 PM by jesmu84 »

JoeSmith1721

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1440 on: June 02, 2015, 03:42:15 PM »
It'd be more than just a PR move. It would be a humanitarian move considering the plague of death that the Qatar committee has imposed upon countless Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, etc. slave laborers. Truly horrific events have taken place.



Always a disturbing image:


mu03eng

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1441 on: June 02, 2015, 09:37:57 PM »
It'd be more than just a PR move. It would be a humanitarian move considering the plague of death that the Qatar committee has imposed upon countless Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, etc. slave laborers. Truly horrific events have taken place.



I'm not saying it's just a PR move, it should be done because of the reasons we know here......I'm saying FIFA will view it through the prism of PR so they can say they've reformed but still remaining at the controls of a corruption machine.
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brewcity77

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1442 on: June 03, 2015, 05:59:52 AM »
I totally missed this yesterday while working on home projects. Went out last night and ran into a friend that shocked me with the news. Sounds like Platini and Prince Ali are the favorites to replace him. Really hope it's Ali, because that probably gives us the best shot at 2026. It will be very interesting to see what happens with Qatar.
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JWags85

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1443 on: June 03, 2015, 09:43:07 AM »
In non-FIFA news, Rodgers is staying at Anfield.  As a Liverpool supporter, my reaction is  :-\.  But given Benitez is heading to Real and Klopp confirmed he is taking a sabbatical, the replacements may not have been there.  Maybe Liverpool starts slow, Rodgers gets the boot at Christmas, and after 6 months, Klopp is ready to take over for a second half push back to CL!

GGGG

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1444 on: June 03, 2015, 09:45:38 AM »
2016 Copa America in the US is now in doubt.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/fifa-scandal-may-jeopardize-copa-centenario-tournament-1433282104

"Asked during a radio interview in Buenos Aires whether the tournament would occur, Jose Luis Meiszner, the secretary-general of Conmebol, South America’s soccer confederation, said, “Right now, the president of one of the confederations has been arrested; right now the companies that hold the rights have their bank accounts frozen.” He added that “No one can seriously suggest that the future is going to play out as we thought.”

On Monday, two top soccer officials in the U.S. said doubts about the tournament were mounting and the chances were no better than 50-50 that it would occur."

brewcity77

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1445 on: June 05, 2015, 03:36:07 PM »
So...did anyone else watch that? USA went into halftime level 1-1 with Holland. Controlled much of the first half, though the level scoreline was fair. Then the second half started, within 15 minutes the Dutch put two in the net and led 3-1.

Then...wow. USA gets a counter attack goal when John Brooks runs box-to-box, loses his marker, and pokes one in to make it 3-2. Then in the 89th minute, Reading FC midfielder Danny Williams blasts in his first international goal to make it 3-3. I barely got done celebrating when the Dutch came right back down and blasted a ball off the post. It was quickly turned around and Michael Bradley made an amazing, absolutely amazing, world-class run. Dribbled by guys, dribbled over a guy (literally slid the ball under the defender and hurdled him simultaneously), dribbled past more guys, made a quick cut to free up Yedlin, who took the ball, crossed, and found Bobby Wood in the 90th minute who scored the winner as the USA escaped Amsterdam with a 4-3 victory over the Dutch.

I know...only a friendly, but the USA had never beat the Dutch in 4 previous tries and had scored only 1 goal in those 4 games combined. The team looked legitimately dangerous throughout much of the first half, and while there were some defending miscues, they kept attacking and kept after the Dutch. Guzan made some nice saves (though Huntelaar largely abused our CBs) and all in all it was a very well played game.

The second half, especially the last 20 minutes, was incredible fun as a USA fan, going from thinking we were beaten, to getting a sliver of hope, to thinking we'd actually come away with a draw, to HOLY CRAP WE'RE GONNA WIN! And all that against the Dutch A team and us without Jozy, Clint, Bedoya, or Howard in the lineup.
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jesmu84

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1446 on: June 05, 2015, 04:02:06 PM »
So...did anyone else watch that? USA went into halftime level 1-1 with Holland. Controlled much of the first half, though the level scoreline was fair. Then the second half started, within 15 minutes the Dutch put two in the net and led 3-1.

Then...wow. USA gets a counter attack goal when John Brooks runs box-to-box, loses his marker, and pokes one in to make it 3-2. Then in the 89th minute, Reading FC midfielder Danny Williams blasts in his first international goal to make it 3-3. I barely got done celebrating when the Dutch came right back down and blasted a ball off the post. It was quickly turned around and Michael Bradley made an amazing, absolutely amazing, world-class run. Dribbled by guys, dribbled over a guy (literally slid the ball under the defender and hurdled him simultaneously), dribbled past more guys, made a quick cut to free up Yedlin, who took the ball, crossed, and found Bobby Wood in the 90th minute who scored the winner as the USA escaped Amsterdam with a 4-3 victory over the Dutch.

I know...only a friendly, but the USA had never beat the Dutch in 4 previous tries and had scored only 1 goal in those 4 games combined. The team looked legitimately dangerous throughout much of the first half, and while there were some defending miscues, they kept attacking and kept after the Dutch. Guzan made some nice saves (though Huntelaar largely abused our CBs) and all in all it was a very well played game.

The second half, especially the last 20 minutes, was incredible fun as a USA fan, going from thinking we were beaten, to getting a sliver of hope, to thinking we'd actually come away with a draw, to HOLY CRAP WE'RE GONNA WIN! And all that against the Dutch A team and us without Jozy, Clint, Bedoya, or Howard in the lineup.

Here's my critique (and many other high-level analysts have noticed this trend too..): under Klinsy, the US typically plays well in first halves, then comes out in the second and struggles after adjustments made by opponents. Today, US played very well first half. In the second half, while the starters were still in, it was obvious the Dutch had made adjustments and were dominating the game. It was also pretty obvious the Dutch quit on the game once up and the subs started to come in. So, while there were positives, and yes, the final score said the US won, I still have many concerns about the US in second halves.

I will commend the youth/subs for not quitting and playing well/taking advantage of their time on the field.

And there shouldn't be any more needed evidence that the Dutch had given up than them subbing in Sneider.

Also, I'm totally okay with us moving forward as an organization without Howard and Dempsey. They won't be there in 2018, so might as well start now.
« Last Edit: June 05, 2015, 04:05:02 PM by jesmu84 »

brewcity77

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1447 on: June 05, 2015, 04:26:16 PM »
Here's my critique (and many other high-level analysts have noticed this trend too..): under Klinsy, the US typically plays well in first halves, then comes out in the second and struggles after adjustments made by opponents. Today, US played very well first half. In the second half, while the starters were still in, it was obvious the Dutch had made adjustments and were dominating the game. It was also pretty obvious the Dutch quit on the game once up and the subs started to come in. So, while there were positives, and yes, the final score said the US won, I still have many concerns about the US in second halves.

I will commend the youth/subs for not quitting and playing well/taking advantage of their time on the field.

And there shouldn't be any more needed evidence that the Dutch had given up than them subbing in Sneider.

Also, I'm totally okay with us moving forward as an organization without Howard and Dempsey. They won't be there in 2018, so might as well start now.

I'm totally on board with the second half issues, and believe I've mentioned that in this thread before. But while the Dutch did have some definite lax defending, the USA attack was pretty solid throughout the game, while the Dutch defense had numerous lapses throughout. I'm not saying the different tone by Holland didn't make a difference (it undoubtedly did) but it was still a fun and entertaining result.

The problem with Klinsmann, in my opinion, is that our talent pool is not well-suited to what he wants to do. Sadly, I'm not even convinced it will be in the next decade or so. Klinsmann wants to be an attacking team with aggressive wings and overlapping fullbacks.

The problem with that is our best ever wing combination was Dempsey and Donovan, both of whom were better suited to play forward. Guys like Bedoya, Zusi, Shea, they just aren't world class. Yedlin is the first attacking fullback we've really produced (Johnson, Chandler were more German products). We are a team that is best suited to play through the middle of the pitch. Our traditional strengths are our central defenders, our holding mids, and our best strikers are the ones who've excelled in hold-up play. Staunch defense, scoring off set-pieces, that's what our players excel at.

But Jurgen doesn't want that. Experimenting with multiple attackers, players in different (usually more attacking) positions, sometimes as few as 3 defenders, it just doesn't match what we do. And while there are supposedly talents on the horizon, will Rubin, Green, Zelalem, Arriola, or any of the rest of these prospects be the game changing afterburner types that change us into what JK wants? And will they do it fast enough? I can't see Green or Rubin thriving without a strong hold-up player to run off of. Zelalem may be a talent, but watching him today, Ukraine isolated him on the wing and he struggled to make an impact. He's probably best as a play-making 10 in the middle of the pitch, but teams are already figuring that out at the U-20 level, no reason to think they won't address that by halftime once he's playing full internationals. And what makes Arriola or any of our young wings any different than past wings we've had that are serviceable but not stars?

Today was great fun to watch. Really enjoyed the comeback and seeing the fight in the team. Bradley's run was stunning. I don't care the circumstance, that was world class all the way. But is Klinsmann the long-term answer? I'm not convinced he's the short term answer. But he's Gulati's guy, so we're stuck with him for 3 more years. I hope that in the long-term, his tenure proves to be a positive, even if the results never quite reach what we hope for (WC quarterfinals or better).

For all the time he's been here, Jurgen still doesn't understand Americans. Maybe adopting more Europeans and attempting to retrain the Americans he has will help get our players on the same page as him. My fear is that while Jurgen wants to get the Americans to play like Europeans, we need a manager who understands that to win, we have to do it as Americans. JK simply doesn't seem to get that.
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tower912

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1448 on: June 06, 2015, 09:07:21 PM »
Canada did not look comfortable against China today in the Women's World Cup.   Controlled possession, but sloppy passing, poor decisions.... just painful to watch.   But, the home team got the win thanks to a PK from their star.   Not an artistic success, but I am sure they will take it.    China never sustained an attack.   A few decent runs, but never anything organized. 
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WarriorInNYC

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Re: Futbol Talk
« Reply #1449 on: June 07, 2015, 08:36:12 AM »
So...did anyone else watch that? USA went into halftime level 1-1 with Holland. Controlled much of the first half, though the level scoreline was fair. Then the second half started, within 15 minutes the Dutch put two in the net and led 3-1.

Then...wow. USA gets a counter attack goal when John Brooks runs box-to-box, loses his marker, and pokes one in to make it 3-2. Then in the 89th minute, Reading FC midfielder Danny Williams blasts in his first international goal to make it 3-3. I barely got done celebrating when the Dutch came right back down and blasted a ball off the post. It was quickly turned around and Michael Bradley made an amazing, absolutely amazing, world-class run. Dribbled by guys, dribbled over a guy (literally slid the ball under the defender and hurdled him simultaneously), dribbled past more guys, made a quick cut to free up Yedlin, who took the ball, crossed, and found Bobby Wood in the 90th minute who scored the winner as the USA escaped Amsterdam with a 4-3 victory over the Dutch.

I know...only a friendly, but the USA had never beat the Dutch in 4 previous tries and had scored only 1 goal in those 4 games combined. The team looked legitimately dangerous throughout much of the first half, and while there were some defending miscues, they kept attacking and kept after the Dutch. Guzan made some nice saves (though Huntelaar largely abused our CBs) and all in all it was a very well played game.

The second half, especially the last 20 minutes, was incredible fun as a USA fan, going from thinking we were beaten, to getting a sliver of hope, to thinking we'd actually come away with a draw, to HOLY CRAP WE'RE GONNA WIN! And all that against the Dutch A team and us without Jozy, Clint, Bedoya, or Howard in the lineup.

I was unfortunately unable to watch the game while at work, was tracking it online when I saw Brooks scored to bring us within one.  Things got crazy at work and then I completely forgot about the game until 7pm when I was catching my flight.  I was ecstatic.

I still haven't watched it yet, but hoping to catch the replay tonight.  I've seen the extended highlights and while the defense looks subject, Guzan stood on his head and this team was very attacking.  It looked like the Yanks had quite a lot of chances.

The best part about this is, this game was played with mostly a group of very young players...Yedlin, Brooks, Wood, Morris, Zardes, Williams, I'm sure there were more.

And another note Brew, not to nitpick...I believe Yedlin assisted on the cross to Brooks, it looked like it was Morris who had the cross to Wood.