On August 15 2011 06:39 AngryLlama wrote: LOL im pretty sure i just saw Victor valdes trip ronaldo with his arm! woooowwww shoulda been a penalty imo update: pedro should of had a penalty against marcelo, i guess now they're even :o
Yeah I kinda think letting Marcelo's slide in the box go was a make up call. Such a cagey match at the end!
On August 15 2011 06:57 Salteador Neo wrote: Sad to see madrid still playing so dirty even when they actually can play good football. Still, good game, see you in Camp Nou :D
On August 15 2011 06:57 Salteador Neo wrote: Sad to see madrid still playing so dirty even when they actually can play good football. Still, good game, see you in Camp Nou :D
lol. I watched this as a completely neutral observer (as I did the last 5 classicos, i think) and both teams play dirty its not restricted to just one. This time it was a lot better mainly because the ref denied that shit from the start ( and went a bit overboard with it , too)
On August 15 2011 06:57 Salteador Neo wrote: Sad to see madrid still playing so dirty even when they actually can play good football. Still, good game, see you in Camp Nou :D
they have no choice, that style is Mourinho through and through as far as defending is concerned, but yeah they looked much better on the night,
without pique and busquets to pass it out xavi and iniesta it was always going to be difficult,
Equally dirty ? give me a break .. Real pretty much doubled the foul count of Barcas (and on checking that about) and thats just the stats not including all the shirt pulling and kicking they do, Carvalho's been pathological that way ever since Porto's first win in the CL, hes just really good at doing it and fair game to him if he can get away with it..
I wasnt surprised with the second goal coming. Id rate Real higher on that performance, they were sharper and the movement upfront was really good. Fortunately Ronaldo was a cunt whenever he got space or things couldve been worse..
Hope Barca step it up though.. theyre lucky to be level..
Aside from the howler, De Gea looked shaky every time he came out to punch or claim the ball. First impressions can be deceiving though as Tim Howard started out great in his first season but then made some really awful errors down the stretch, the worst of which knocked United out of the CL quarterfinal. Ashley Young's dribbling, delivery and two footedness is like having another Nani on the opposite wing, well deserved man of the match. Hopefully Vidic and Ferdinand won't be out for too long but unlike last season there's enough cover either way. All of the youngsters looked good except for Welbeck who was nonexistent. Berbatov is far more talented but doesn't play well as a substitute. When Fletcher and Chicharito return the squad will be extremely solid with enough depth everywhere. De Gea seemed surprised he got roughed up every time he went up for the ball, will be interesting to see how long Ferguson sticks with him until Lindegaard is given a chance.
On August 15 2011 07:06 zulu_nation8 wrote: De Gea seemed surprised he got roughed up every time he went up for the ball, will be interesting to see how long Ferguson sticks with him until Lindegaard is given a chance.
Until it costs them a game (maybe 2 depending on how the tables looking), I think Welbeck played pretty well. Hes no Chico but he was definately not anonymous..
New season, same United. Away from home, play unconvincingly, but win in the end. With Vidic and Rio injured the defence is going to be really young and inexperienced. It could be a problem but we'll have to wait and see.
RM vs Barce, nice to see they've overcome their difference and are friends again Not a great game but some nice moves. RM deserved to win really.
Oh my gosh I'm watching U-20 France vs Nigeria and cannot really tell whether they actually got injured, but it really seems like they are diving the crap out of each other. One can tell that both teams are sort of terrible though, no offense to them. :/
On August 15 2011 07:06 zulu_nation8 wrote: Aside from the howler, De Gea looked shaky every time he came out to punch or claim the ball. First impressions can be deceiving though as Tim Howard started out great in his first season but then made some really awful errors down the stretch, the worst of which knocked United out of the CL quarterfinal. Ashley Young's dribbling, delivery and two footedness is like having another Nani on the opposite wing, well deserved man of the match. Hopefully Vidic and Ferdinand won't be out for too long but unlike last season there's enough cover either way. All of the youngsters looked good except for Welbeck who was nonexistent. Berbatov is far more talented but doesn't play well as a substitute. When Fletcher and Chicharito return the squad will be extremely solid with enough depth everywhere. De Gea seemed surprised he got roughed up every time he went up for the ball, will be interesting to see how long Ferguson sticks with him until Lindegaard is given a chance.
De Gea needs to improve on his footwork and his ability to "read" the match a lot to prevent putting himself in uncomfortable position when he's required to make saves. Personally I think De Gea has not been playing "smart" goalkeeping. Take Van Der Sar for example, you don't see him making a lot of fancy saves, why? Because he always anticipated the movements of the finishers and whenever a strike was made, he would usually be ready at the perfect position to make that save. De Gea, and most young goalies. in contrast, tend to rely on their ability to react and stretch to make saves.
Also, De Gea needs to work on his physique imo, he's a bit fragile when it comes to collision.
On August 15 2011 07:06 zulu_nation8 wrote: Aside from the howler, De Gea looked shaky every time he came out to punch or claim the ball. First impressions can be deceiving though as Tim Howard started out great in his first season but then made some really awful errors down the stretch, the worst of which knocked United out of the CL quarterfinal. Ashley Young's dribbling, delivery and two footedness is like having another Nani on the opposite wing, well deserved man of the match. Hopefully Vidic and Ferdinand won't be out for too long but unlike last season there's enough cover either way. All of the youngsters looked good except for Welbeck who was nonexistent. Berbatov is far more talented but doesn't play well as a substitute. When Fletcher and Chicharito return the squad will be extremely solid with enough depth everywhere. De Gea seemed surprised he got roughed up every time he went up for the ball, will be interesting to see how long Ferguson sticks with him until Lindegaard is given a chance.
De Gea needs to improve on his footwork and his ability to "read" the match a lot to prevent putting himself in uncomfortable position when he's required to make saves. Personally I think De Gea has not been playing "smart" goalkeeping. Take Van Der Sar for example, you don't see him making a lot of fancy saves, why? Because he always anticipated the movements of the finishers and whenever a strike was made, he would usually be ready at the perfect position to make that save. De Gea, and most young goalies. in contrast, tend to rely on their ability to react and stretch to make saves.
Also, De Gea needs to work on his physique imo, he's a bit fragile when it comes to collision.
hell fill in that comes with age.. and frankly the van der sar case just comes with experience..that having been said if you have the frame van der sar did you rarely need to make fancy saves even if your wrong footed..
On August 14 2011 08:00 zulu_nation8 wrote: Should've been Barton red, Gervinho yellow, suspension for Song. The FA will review and correct the terrible calls and non-calls hopefully. Gervinho too naive. Arsenal had some nice link ups but VPS took his chances badly. Not sure why Walcott didn't start but he's really improved over the past season and is much more likely to make something happen than any of the other wingers.
Wrong, i'm a qualified referee.
Barton's yellow was correct - acting in an aggressive or intimidatory manner.
Gervinho's red was correct - striking an opponent/teammate.
Song will get a red card for stamping on Barton when the FA review the evidence.
On August 14 2011 23:32 Sanctimonius wrote: They played decently and looked solid - don't expect them to struggle this year. But Lamps should have had a penalty
Was at the game, Lampard was throwing himself to the ground before the challenge and made contact himself with the opponent rather than the other way around. Good refereeing by Halsey.
Barton's yellow was correct - acting in an aggressive or intimidatory manner.
Gervinho's red was correct - striking an opponent/teammate.
Song will get a red card for stamping on Barton when the FA review the evidence.
We'll see about Song, but Gervinho's striking is debatable, as well as Barton's acting in an aggressive or intimidatory manner. It's all arbitrary really.
Sad day for RM tonight, their play was just epic. They outplayed Barcelona playing their game and denying them of possession, got unlucky though (don't complain about Barca line up, they always play the same anyways). Caljehon seems not quite a level for Real though.
But in more important news - Barca manages to hold Real, despite playing without Pique, Puyol, Xavi and Busquets for the entire first half. Sanchez looks promising, although it kills me to root for a Chilean (and I really want to see more of Afellay) and Thiago looked understandably nervous.
The official wasn't the best and made some bad calls for both sides, probably the biggest of which was missing Valdes' foul on C. Ronaldo. Carvalho's foul on Messi probably should have been a yellow (although I'm no ref), and Pepe was as clumsy and aggressive as ever.
I'm sad I'm going to miss City's first game of the season (I really want to see how Swansea do in the premiership as well) because of a dentist's appointment.
Oh well, anyway visca Barca, visca Cataluña!! Sempre blaugrana :D
EPT
