Roiling football blather

[baboon2004]

In the papers today they are saying the goal celebrations were over the top - they'd just turned defeat into victory against all the odds in the ninety-third minute of the Champions League Semi-Final, what are they going to do?

Well, absolutely.

"Undignified goal celebration"; "Guardiola, meanwhile, might care to learn how to celebrate a goal without inciting an already volatile home crowd" (both Guardian) - do fuck off.

The celebration put a smile on my face - especially that moment when Guardiola was "is it? is it?...YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" That was beautiful. For all that Barcelona are overhyped and largely nullified last night, the way he wants to play the game is refreshing. And they kept going with ten men, no mean feat vs Chelsea. Peach of a goal, too. Chelsea played with fire in trying to edge it, and they got burned by a sublime moment. i think Chelsea should feel far more aggrieved over last year's CL final, when they bossed United in the second half by playing attacking footabll, and were outrageously unlucky not to win.

As to the final...I think Ferguson has the edge in getting his team to play effectively against all-comers. United do ruthless like few other teams in living memory. Mind you, I'll be in barca the day after the final, which would be special were they to win.

 

[crackerjack]

Thsi appears to be last night's money shot, featuring in The Graun, Indie and Torygraph.

Though The Times have now swtiched to this. Ballack is audtioning for the starring role in a Jaws remake.

 

[tom lea]

"Undignified goal celebration"; "Guardiola, meanwhile, might care to learn how to celebrate a goal without inciting an already volatile home crowd" (both Guardian) - do fuck off.

one of them barged hiddink over on his way to the pitch, apparently. classy, but then that's the spanish way with footie.

The desperate attempts by Chelsea to demand something, anything off the ref shone the spotlight on their weird sense of entitlement.

fuck me rich, any chance to take a dig. "weird sense of entitlement" - or just players naturally upset that they've had two stone wall penalties denied in the biggest game of the season and caught up in the moment? drogba looked like a tit but he always does - ballack had every right to shout down that pig-faced cunt of a ref; he didn't earn respect from either team at any point last night, so why should he be granted it. that's the only weird sense of entitlement at work here.

suppose it's easy to be on yr high horse when you can barely remember an age where you didn't sweep up every other season.

 

[routes]

I'll be in barca the day after the final, which would be special were they to win.

a few years ago i was in barca when they won a league match against real madrid and walking around the city centre that night and the following day the atmosphere was incredible...if they were to win this you could probably multiply that by un millyon.

 

[baboon2004]

one of them barged hiddink over on his way to the pitch, apparently. classy, but then that's the spanish way with footie.

fuck me rich, any chance to take a dig. "weird sense of entitlement" - or just players naturally upset that they've had two stone wall penalties denied in the biggest game of the season and caught up in the moment? drogba looked like a tit but he always does - ballack had every right to shout down that pig-faced cunt of a ref; he didn't earn respect from either team at any point last night, so why should he be granted it. that's the only weird sense of entitlement at work here.

Didn't see the barge on Hiddink - definitely not in favour of that. But that wasn't Guardiola, was it? He was just overjoyed, and it was very dramatic.

Chelsea have been very unlucky in the CL, undeniably, over the past few seasons. But that's comedy for you.

@ Routes - well excited about that now. Even if they don't win, there's always Primavera festival as compensation!

 

[tom lea]

Didn't see the barge on Hiddink - definitely not in favour of that. But that wasn't Guardiola, was it? He was just overjoyed, and it was very dramatic.

yeah no bother with the guardiola thing - it's no worse than stuff mourinho's done. he said we should've had both penos after the game apparently, which i dunno if jose ever would've said.

 

[IdleRich]

"fuck me rich, any chance to take a dig. "weird sense of entitlement" - or just players naturally upset that they've had two stone wall penalties denied in the biggest game of the season and caught up in the moment? drogba looked like a tit but he always does - ballack had every right to shout down that pig-faced cunt of a ref; he didn't earn respect from either team at any point last night, so why should he be granted it. that's the only weird sense of entitlement at work here."

Had a feeling I was in for a bollocking there when I saw you had posted... but that was the way it looked to me. It just seemed to cross a line, the way that at the end they were shouting for penalties, for more time, for the ref to just change the score and let them play in the final. Maybe it was just natural frustration at losing to a team who hadn't created half a chance in ninety minutes but the disbelief just seemed as though it stemmed from something more than that.
Apparently Pique said that it maybe should have been a penalty when it hit his arm. I actually didn't see that one, my Dad phoned and I had to step out the pub - kind of annoying 'cause he was obviously watching it at home yet he was quite happy to drag me away from it.

 

[tom lea]

for more time

i don't know anyone was shouting for that really. might be wrong. eto'o was the one screaming at the ref when he let us punt that free kick up the pitch at the end. 97 mins was minimum anyway; barca's celebrations took up 2 mins, then they had 2 subs in extra time.

Apparently Pique said that it maybe should have been a penalty when it hit his arm. I actually didn't see that one, my Dad phoned and I had to step out the pub - kind of annoying 'cause he was obviously watching it at home yet he was quite happy to drag me away from it.

that and the malouda one were stone wall - pique's got his arm stuck all the way out and blocked the ball with it. the ballack one at the end probably wasn't.

 

[crackerjack]

that and the malouda one were stone wall - pique's got his arm stuck all the way out and blocked the ball with it.

He did, but it was there before Anelka hit the ball. He had no chance to move it out of the way, though you could certainly ask what it was doing there in the first place.

The Ballack one was just silly, and what riled me so much about last night's panel. It hit him about two inches below the shoulder while he was jumping and turning his back. Was he supposed to amputate himself until he left the penalty box?

 

[routes]

drogba and ballack went too far. again. those two players do seem to equate yelling at people with pashun for tha shuurt. not cool.

 

[baboon2004]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/08/petr-cech-chelsea-video-technology

Can't argue with this. It's done wonders for rugby.

 

[hucks]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/08/petr-cech-chelsea-video-technology

Can't argue with this. It's done wonders for rugby.

It hasn't for cricket, though. The experiment in the West Indies v England series was a joke. Maybe things are a bit more clear cut in football, but, if you take Wednesday for an example, how many of those penalty shouts were definites? One? Four?

I am in favour of video evidence for goal line stuff, though, which requires no interpretation.

 

[baboon2004]

It hasn't for cricket, though. The experiment in the West Indies v England series was a joke. Maybe things are a bit more clear cut in football, but, if you take Wednesday for an example, how many of those penalty shouts were definites? One? Four?

I am in favour of video evidence for goal line stuff, though, which requires no interpretation.

Yeah, true that it works for rugby most with disputed tries. But I think most can agree that Chelsea had at least one cast-iron penalty, and I doubt a video ref would/could have denied it.

Plus it would shut a few people up. "See- it wasn't a penalty. OK?"

 

[crackerjack]

I favour vid technology for goalline stuff, which is almost cut and dried - apart from that, forget it. Football needs to be fast flowing and replays usually don't solve much - slo-mo shots of fouls, in palrticular, emphasise the slightest contact, rather than physical impact, and usually make 'fouls' look much worse than they are.

Use it retrosepctively for outrageous tackles missed by the ref, and especially use it to ban people who feign injury to get another player sent off - this is still slightly subjective, but it's usually pretty fucking obvious. Infamous past incidents (Bilic, Rivaldo, Makalele) should be met with three match bans, and Ronaldo would miss half the season.

 

[IdleRich]

"I am in favour of video evidence for goal line stuff, though, which requires no interpretation."

Goal line stuff and offsides I reckon. Offsides are sometimes demonstrably impossible for the human eye to judge (past a certain angle nobody can see the ball at the time it is kicked and the position of the striker at the same time) and they can often decide a match.

 

[scottdisco]

what a load of fucking shit.

Kompany arguing the toss.

fucking shite.

 

[crackerjack]

What happens next is open to debate. The current model (the winner takes all forever and ever while everybody else hangs around in a short skirt, stockings and crotchless panties, trying to catch the eye of a passing billionaire) is unsustainable, culturally damaging, boring, futile and, in the long term, entirely poisonous

Swells in fine form

 

[IdleRich]

This is quite a claim

"Football is integral to European culture. Easily as important as food or art."

 

[crackerjack]

This is quite a claim

He's never knowingly been understated.

 

[IdleRich]

"He's never knowingly been understated."

I guess that's a small part of what makes him such a bell-end.