Topic: The Football Topic

Yes, soccer to some, but 'footy' or even 'futba' to the rest of us. big_smile

With a nice, general topic title like this, we can discuss all possible football interests here.

I hope that Real fall flat on their faces next season when the pressure to win everything will become fatal. They're not done spending yet either. Perez, the new (old) chairman, apparently has access to 300m euros for transfers alone!!! David Villa is still expected, Ribery is still expected and they'll simply have to buy a couple of defenders too. On the other hand, there will be five, if not six, Dutch players looking for new clubs in the coming months.

Tonight's latest major transfer rumor is Eto'o plus 10m for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. roll

By the way, West Ham was sold last week.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

Ronaldo £80 million pound, and Newcastle on the market for £100 million.

The sport has gone mad.

I still watch the game on TV, but I now go to rugby matches. Easily affordable,
you can enjoy a drink in the stands, and there is none of that elitism with the
players as there is with football.

The working class game has gone.

To Live's To Fly

Re: The Football Topic

Juan Sebastian Veron plays "futbol" in Estudiantes De La Plata

4 (edited by Icon 2009-06-12 11:21:51)

Re: The Football Topic

Tripod wrote:

Juan Sebastian Veron plays "futbol" in Estudiantes De La Plata

But didn't Veron copy all his skills from Gary Moore????????????? wink

And I hear a pair of Veron's boots went missing recently............ lol lol lol lol

Please be in no doubt that this is the REAL ME! Beware imposters........................

Re: The Football Topic

Real aren't done yet. David Villa is signing for around 40m euros. roll

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pecking order, West Ham fans have been assured by the new chairman that there are funds available for players this summer and that it isn't true that we have to sell before we can buy. I'm already happy with that. wink

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

Brack wrote:

Who owns whu now ?

CB Holdings. roll

This is a construction dreamed up by Icelandic regulatory authorities to ensure that WHUFC, which is a going concern, is separated from the previous chairman and owner's other interests and debts, and can be sold on as a going, largely self-financing concern. None of us will be surprised if the club is not sold again before the end of the year. The new chairman is an English banker who knows nothing about football.

Meanwhile, team USA has sadly been beaten twice at the Confederations Cup in South Africa. The anticipated final between Brazil and Spain should be worth watching.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

What a major, MAJOR surprise this evening, as team USA beat Spain 2-0 to reach the final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Those of you who are not up on this sport, need to know that Spain is the #1 ranked team in the world and was on a 35 game unbeaten streak going back to November 06!!!

A great big hats off to the American team, who won deservedly!! cool

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

Thanks for that, George!  My kids didn't know either.  I just asked them.  One said  "Spain is No 1...are you s****ing me?"

"Puffs out chest, somehow struts sitting down."

BJJ - trophy winning Kid's soccer coach.  Thats futbol to you, mate, mi asocio.

Rock On & Keep the FAITH
             It is
Blues From the Bottoms

Re: The Football Topic

USA - Brazil about to start.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

lol cool 2-0 USA at halftime!!!!!!

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

11

Re: The Football Topic

How big is soccer in the US these days?
You guys got it together?
Seems so if you can get to the final and stick 2 past Brazil.

Re: The Football Topic

Ges wrote:

How big is soccer in the US these days? NOT BIG ENOUGH
You guys got it together? TRYING
Seems so if you can get to the final and stick 2 past Brazil.

Rock On & Keep the FAITH
             It is
Blues From the Bottoms

13 (edited by crossroads 2009-07-15 01:39:10)

Re: The Football Topic

The sad fact is that England have the most demanding league in the world and our players have far too long a season - all driven by the Premiership's demand for money.The Football Association cannot do anything to resolve the problem because the big clubs have enough sway to set up their own league, if they had to.

So our players get to play far too little football , together as a team.

I'll evidence this by the fact that Greece cut their season right back in the league one year and put their international team on a long tour of South America before the European tournament, which they won. I couldn't name any of their players.

We had a very good side in 1966 when we last won a major trophy,The World Cup, but the home advantage is always a factor. Club football is bigger than International football and all the big European club teams would destroy ANY International side, in my opinion.

Even in 1966, when England won the World Cup, we didn't play really well until the semi final and final. (Before anyone reminds us all that the ball may never have crossed the goal line - the final score was 4-2, not 3-2, a fact often forgotten in the mists of time, but not by those that watched it live, like me., (old person)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE-wKAooU20

No Ordinary Joe

Re: The Football Topic

It ain't all fun and games. sad

Hartson condition still critical

Former Wales footballer John Hartson remains in a critical but stable condition after emergency surgery on his brain following a cancer diagnosis.

Last weekend the 34-year-old ex-Arsenal and Celtic player was told he had testicular cancer.

The disease spread to his brain and on Wednesday, doctors confirmed it was also present in his lungs.

Meanwhile, there are reports cycling legend Lance Armstrong has sent Hartson a get well message via Twitter.

Father-of-three Hartson underwent surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea on Tuesday.

He was transferred from Singleton Hospital in the city to the larger Morriston hospital on Tuesday evening when his condition worsened.

A spokesman for the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University NHS Trust said on Thursday: "John Hartson remains in a critical but stable condition at Morriston hospital. Further updates will be provided should this change."

Dr Gianfilippo Bertelli, a consultant medical oncologist, said earlier this week that a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy would be started as soon as possible and that he could foresee many months of treatment.

Meanwhile, it is understood 37-year-old American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years, has sent a message to Hartson.

Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular, lung and brain cancer in the mid-1990s.

He made a shock return to the Tour this year after retiring from cycling.

Armstrong is reported as saying on the social networking site Twitter: "My thoughts go out to John Hartson.

"Livestrong, John! We're pulling for you! Folks, hold him in your thoughts and prayers please."
Story from BBC NEWS:

Big Fat Johnny Hartson was also a West Ham player.

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

Re: The Football Topic

Yes, it is very worrying about John, or BBJ as he is known by the Celtic fans. I do hope he can pull through and indeed Lance Armstrong is evidence of that there is hope.


Amsterhammer wrote:

It ain't all fun and games. sad

Hartson condition still critical

Former Wales footballer John Hartson remains in a critical but stable condition after emergency surgery on his brain following a cancer diagnosis.

Last weekend the 34-year-old ex-Arsenal and Celtic player was told he had testicular cancer.

The disease spread to his brain and on Wednesday, doctors confirmed it was also present in his lungs.

Meanwhile, there are reports cycling legend Lance Armstrong has sent Hartson a get well message via Twitter.

Father-of-three Hartson underwent surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea on Tuesday.

He was transferred from Singleton Hospital in the city to the larger Morriston hospital on Tuesday evening when his condition worsened.

A spokesman for the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (ABM) University NHS Trust said on Thursday: "John Hartson remains in a critical but stable condition at Morriston hospital. Further updates will be provided should this change."

Dr Gianfilippo Bertelli, a consultant medical oncologist, said earlier this week that a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy would be started as soon as possible and that he could foresee many months of treatment.

Meanwhile, it is understood 37-year-old American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record-breaking seven consecutive years, has sent a message to Hartson.

Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular, lung and brain cancer in the mid-1990s.

He made a shock return to the Tour this year after retiring from cycling.

Armstrong is reported as saying on the social networking site Twitter: "My thoughts go out to John Hartson.

"Livestrong, John! We're pulling for you! Folks, hold him in your thoughts and prayers please."
Story from BBC NEWS:

Big Fat Johnny Hartson was also a West Ham player.

"The recently formed Edinburgh Blues Club has identified an appetite for the personal communication between musicians and audience that the blues long ago perfected." The Herald Newspaper (Scotland)
http://www.edinburgh-blues.uk

Re: The Football Topic

Johnny Hartson was taken to have radiotherapy today, then returned to intensive care. I assume that he's conscious, though I don't know for sure. If he is, today's news will cheer him up because the seemingly endless Tevez saga is finally over!

West Ham avoid new Tevez sanction
BBC.co.uk

West Ham have been cleared of any further wrongdoing after an investigation into outstanding issues from the Carlos Tevez affair.

Earlier this year, the Hammers agreed to pay Sheffield United compensation for the Blades' relegation in 2007. However, a further inquiry was launched jointly by the Premier League and the Football Association into the conduct of West Ham officials.

This latest statement should bring an end to the long-running
saga. After a long legal fight, Sheffield United had argued successfully that West Ham, who survived in the Premier League at their expense, should pay them damages after breaking third-party player ownership rules by fielding the influential Tevez.

This separate inquiry arose following comments made by Lord Griffiths when the independent arbitration panel he chaired ruled the Blades should be owed compensation.  Griffiths' tribunal inferred that West Ham had misled the Premier League in
the aftermath of receiving a record £5.5m fine over the matter in April 2007 by claiming they had terminated the offending third-party agreement with Tevez's owners. This allowed the Argentine to play in the vital closing matches of the season.

However, the inquiry has determined that there is insufficient evidence to support such a claim. A statement read: "The
inquiry has concluded that, on the basis of the evidence available to them, there is no prima facie case that West Ham United and/or its officials did commit any further breaches of Premier League or FA rules immediately after the independent disciplinary commission's decision."

RIP Iron Man

Rock On and keep the Faith

17 (edited by crossroads 2009-07-31 15:02:29)

Re: The Football Topic

Sir Bobby Robson, Ex- England Manager, finally succumbed to cancer today.I think he'd been fighting it, off and on , for donkeys years.
Easily the most successful England coach since 1966 and one of the last gentlemen of the game.How good was he ? Well, Joseph Mourinho was just an amateur coach and an interpreter when he came to work for Robson in an interpreter role in Portugal.I think Chelsea fans would agree that he learnt a bit from Robbo.

He won't be forgotten.

Meanwhile, Bristol City fans are wondering what sort of Season is ahead in the Championship, after losing a pre-season friendly with Yeovil Town, with a full City side out. Good grief. The old Season Ticket is looking a trifle overvalued, along with all the other suckers, I renewed mine on a special offer when we hit 5th in the Championship last season , for about a nano- second.

A triumph of hope over experience.

No Ordinary Joe

Re: The Football Topic

a real shame about Sir Bobby, - BBC have quite a lot of  info:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8177945.stm

To add to "Crossroads" earlier post about Football in England, - agree with what you say but would add the other MAJOR and in my view most serious problem we have here is the way we coach young kids, - or should I say the rules that we follow. Well done English FA!

Moving kids to 11 a side with large goals at under 11 is wrong. They play 6 and 7 a side until this age and then suddenly go into much larger pitch and goals and 60 minute games. Emphasis goes away from skillful passing onto long ball, shoot from anywhere mentality, defense gets filled with big shot blocking kids who spend most of their time on the negative, - catching the opposition off-side. We need to follow the likes of Croatia who move their kids gradually to 11 a-side. - I am a FA qualified coach with a team who are moving to 11 a-side next year....:/

My YouTube channel with plenty of my Joe's videos dating from 2009 inc his first Hammersmith Odeon ones:
http://www.youtube.com/ian916fun