Gonna end up missing the Barca game guttingly, but I'm ready for the Liverpool game. Gonna be a heated on I think.

Predictions?

I'm saying Fellaini hat-trick.

I wouldn't wanna call it. I can see goals for both teams but if I'm pushed I reckon Man U will just edge it. 2-1, decided by a Rooney pen.

QPR's gonna be a big one for you today. They'll be well up for it at home and you've gotta hope there's no post Europa hangover.

Dreading it. Everton won 4-1 (I think) last time so here's hoping they can do similar again.

The thing is, last weekend against Newcastle they played bang on and this was with players you wouldn't expect (Gibson and Osman being the main examples) and if they do that then they should be rewarded with another game. Will he? Probably not. His obsession with keeping Gareth Barry in is doing my tree in.

In theory all the games now are winnable, save for maybe City, and Everton should be able to finish top half. I say should...

I think you'll be fine by the end of the season but the Barry thing is a mystery to me, too. I understand managers boosting their own players but saying stuff about him being the best in his position in the league just makes him look silly. Has he not seen Matic or even Schneiderlin this season? And even if he's not just as good as them, times I've seen him this season he's been your weak link. I'd start Besic ahead of him now.

Yup. He's not even the best in the team sitting behind Besic in the ranks.

they sold pepe reina to the bayern bench. did balotelli finally grow up? how are sterling & sturridge doing? what about ex-bayern emre can?


i see.

oh shit they're playing right now lol

So far Man U all over them. Joe Allen having a nightmare. Wouldn't be surprised if Gerrard comes on at half time.

i caught like 5' of a stream before it got shut down (or i got disconnected)

i'm settling for this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...h-happens.html

a)Yeah he did. But he's done bugger all since being there.

b)Sterling in this game has been shocking. For the most part he's been good this season. Doesn't deserve the money he's asking, mind.

c)Sturridge has been injured for a massive part of the season.

Anyway, United have been all over Liverpool. Mata has been the best player so far, for me.

Fantastic. What a dick move by Gerrard.

mainz 1 wolfsburg 0 at halftime-- mainz attack relentlessly and have wolfsburg against the ropes! could have been more but wolfsburg lucky twice (goalpost, offside). wolfsburg doesn't have a good counter.

read about gerrard redcarded after 40" ha ha ha. oy!

--

eta: perisic (ex-dortmund) came in for vierinha and gave wolfsburg a much-needed forward thrust. as a resut the game became a constant back and forth in the 2nd half. insane! superfun! luiz gustavo scored from a de bruyne corner but then it was ultra-contested-- many close chances for both teams and could have gone either way.

bayern/monchengladbach is next! pep announced a 4 3 3. favre a 4-2-2

All is well in the world, till next week that is. Oh, and till Madrid lose later.

you're missing a great upset-- gladbach 2 bayern 0 with 10' to go. fantastisch! lol.

==

2-0 final score! classic possession vs. counterattack (68/32%). monchengladback FAST & effective-- only 4 shots on target, 2 of them goals--right under neuer's legs. ouch! meanwhile, bayern had 16 shots but no cigar. pep the baroque's schemes fell like a toad from the 4th floor. splat!

If/when Chelsea win this title they'll be one of the least convincing champions I can remember. No wonder English teams are fucking up in Europe. It really is as though we've decided to abandon defending altogether.

ha ha-- the internets are fast

failed to catch a stream for the clásico. o well. i'm sure there will be highlights everywhere.

Good game. Tight in the first half but Real faded after Suarez scored. Loving how he's clicking with Iniesta and his little private war with Pepe. He seems to have fitted into the team far better than Neymar, who keeps on disappointing me every time I see him. And I had to check during the 2nd half if Bale was still on the pitch.

ah, neymar... he'll get his day in court once he grows up fully.

suárez is a seasoned veteran-- he's been through everything-- and he's tough as nails.

Imagine poor old Pepe if Barcelona decided to sell Neymar and replace him with Diego Costa.

I'm surprised you're saying that. Neymar had a very good last season and also the beginning of this one - his understanding with Messi was outstanding and he did play for the team and no too selfish instead.
He's been off the form for the last couple of months though, that's more than true. But all in all he's a very valuable attack player for Barca and I'm more than sure that Barca don't regret his purchase at all. Anyway, he's still so young, he's got space to grow more mature.

I nearly turned the game because the fucking bullshit fucking diving going. Honestly, it ruined the game for me.

As for Neymar, what I wouldn't give for a large sock with manure in it. Then I'd smash it across his rat face. Cunt. Him and Suarez are scum. The irony of Barca fans booing Ronaldo when they have them two on their team is just too good.

Yes I'm aware Kroos did some shocking dive and the like.

HAHAHAHAHA no he isn't. Pepe stood behind him, grabbed his shoulders then Suarez went down on the floor holding his ankle. Fucking prick.

class!

what did i tell you? seasoned veteran.

he'll do what it takes

that man can play anywhere


it's la liga. what did you expect? somersaults are de rigueur. 4 flips at least or it's not a foul.

you should watch the bundesliga-- very little theatrics.

sunday when robben fell (was tripped) he had to actually exit the game injured. he'll be out for weeks.

Fair enough, I've only really been watching him during the last few CL games which would be during the dip in form you're talking about.


But it is tactical. Pepe does it too, just like pretty much every other player in La Liga.




Maybe in this case but I'm not sure Robben's the best player to use as an example of the Bundesliga's relative spirit of fair play.

no, that's exactly my point-- anywhere else, robben flies like an eagle. here, he actually breaks his spine.






in fact he got up, continued to play for a few minutes, and then asked for a change.

i was surprised his pelvis didn't actually detach when it happened. it whiplashed the ground. in slow motion you could see it bounce.

bastard who fouled him (kramer + the other guy) only got a yellow. these germans are pretty rugged in their style of play. and very little bitching about it.

You've seen Bayern a lot more times than I have but I've watched him dive plenty of times for them in the CL. 90% of his games for Bayern in the actual Bundesliga will be easy enough that he probably doesn't feel like he needs to dive to get an edge. Which equally makes it a bit unfair to judge La Liga on what happens in the Classicos or when the big Spanish teams play in the CL. It's a whole different set of pressure that inevitably brings out the most hyper competitive side in the top players. Look at what happened with Gerrard yesterday against Man U. Massive game, massive rivalry. As stupid as he was for doing it (and he was really stupid for doing it) I just don't believe he'd have done it against say Sunderland. I don't watch them but I'll bet the average Milan derby has an unrepresentative level of foul play compared with most other Serie A matches.

i get that pressure is one factor that invites craziness but i try to watch regularly other domestic leagues and 2 of them stand out for spectacular somerstaults and opera-quality squeals:

#1 la liga
#2 serie a

i haven't really seen much of ligue 1 to have an opinion but those two above crack me up every time. i'm not going to protest against it because when in rome, etc., and that's their local flavor, and i enjoy it, esp. italian teams; but i can see the differences vs. say the prem or bundesliga in the level of dramatic displays. unless i'm dreaming, but i think i'm not.

eta: only tangentially related but i found this funny read!
https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs...101059495.html
(don't know enough to support or reject the contents of that piece, but it was amusing)

I don't disagree overall. La Liga is a dirty league full stop. You either accept it or switch off. I like the toughness but the play acting does get irritating really quick. So I'm always torn when it comes to players like Suarez. I love his hyper competitiveness and he's obviously an incredible player but I do cringe whenever I see him rolling around at the merest touch, even though I understand why he's doing it.

he's a professional!

panem et circens

yes, by tough i wasn't talking about his body but his iron will. he does his job through all opposition.

he even has the teeth of a rat and we know who's going to survive the nuclear apocalypse. and yes he sometimes loses his temper and bites someone-- he's not perfect.

messi is also tough tough tough-- and mentally tougher than suarez because when does he ever lose control? it's so rare.

by comparison (the context of my original remark), neymar is hugely talented, tremendously gifted, but--





i get the impression that his attention is elsewhere

like i said, he'll need to grow up, preferrably by getting a broken nose or a visible scar, and he'll reach the next level. the problem with his world cup injury is that it wasn't in the face-- that would have been a boon from the gods.

ha ha, i haven't slept in 2 days and i had a laphroaig and i'm reading this universe as if it was the illiad.

I've not seen enough of Neymar to really comment but believe Slavo when he says he's generally fitted in really well at Barca.

He was massively hyped and put under enormous pressure from the get-go. Add to that his move from pretty poor beginnings into the bracket of the super-rich (and all the temptations that has to bring) and from what I can tell he's dealt with it all pretty well. I dread to think how I'd have behaved in similar circumstances.

Look at how some young prodigies under similar pressures have turned out.

Paul Gascoigne.

From this ...







to this







And this poor fucker obviously needs no introduction



Safe to say Neymar's doing fine

(And if the Laphroaig doesn't send you into a pleasant sleep then I'm not sure anything will)

damn, yes, i slept HARD, thanks. more to due w/ yesterday's exercise but i got knocked out at last. still, laphroaig is an elixir of joy.

lol maradona the stuffed penguin.

so we're on the international break this week!

quel dull

Yeah. Hate the international breaks. Generally don't like internationals at all, unless they're in the big tournaments. European football will be dead this summer, what with no Euros or WC. Thank God for the Copa America in June.

waiting for suchfriends to mention "and the CONCACAF Gold Cup" ha ha

well there's Costa Rica now to make things interesting a little bit but it's no copa américa.

can't wait till they merge all the zones so it can be big like UEFA and the norteños get more of a challenge.

"i took panama"

big fucking deal

hm i might use the weekend to watch some CL recordings. haven't had a chance to get familiar w/ AS Monaco.

And this cracks me up every time

And this

And this

usa just gave up on the final few minutes of their friendly against Denmark in a match where they led twice!

I think the jurgen experiment is losing ground, US defense has regressed significantly over past 18 months, particularly in the 2nd half.. at least under Bradley USA were a good defensive team and kept themselves in games.. really US doesn't have an identity anymore.. from 2011-2013 looked like they were going in right direction but since they look lost.

Jozy looking good though.

i was at work all day so i didn't watch a thing. read a summary and looks like he's testing people who suck. ventura something. fine, that's what friendlies are for-- testing.

denmark is not an easy team to beat. yes, it's a tiny country, but they have great players at top professional levels-- bendtner plays in the bundesliga's #2 team and they just beat inter milan-- and everyone else is in holland or germany or england or some other reasonable place. so to be ahead of them most of the game is pretty great.

i don't know what kilnsmann has been doing tactically lately, but i'm happy he's trying to break from the dismal bradley method-- it was fucking terrible. bruce arena was more tactically sophisticated than poor bradley. i would say that bradley robbed the USMNT of their "identity" from the arena days.

tldr; coaches will make their own imprint and that's the way it goes, good riddance to coach bradley-- a nice man, a good man, but a primitive when it came to tactics.

Oh, total respect to the Danes and i actually like them..USA just haven't been passing the eye test the past several months and the stats support it

apparently it's just the 2nd halves that have sucked lol

Exactly outscored 12 to 1 in second half since the world cup, outscored opponents 11-4 in first halves.. but like i said, there is no sense of "style" or "identity"..bradley never established an offensive identity BUT they definitely had consistent defensive plays and sets which they just don't seem to have anymore.. in first few years there was an offensive identity forming but in world cup and after i just haven't seen one. True, jurgen is giving a bunch of nobodies a chance but there still should be an identity forming.. the only identity we seem to have is taking lead (which is nice) then letting it all fall apart in second half. I don't like this identity yo

ha ha ha ha

well nobody enjoys losing

im gonna see if i can record the game vs. switzerland next week & check it out

it's going to be tough-- off the top of my head 3 great ones: benaglio (wolfsburg keeper, he's fantastic), shaqiri (midfielder, inter milan, ex-bayern) , lichsteiner (defender supremo, juventus), plus there are a bunch of others who play the bundesliga like behrami (sucks a bit, plays for hamburg, most notable for his died hair and model wife).

most likely they'll kick our ass; anything above that (a 1- or 2-goal defeat, a tie, who knows what else!) should be cause for celebration.