Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Crud. Just hit me I'm gona' miss this opening game in Poland tomorrow as it clashes with the Djokovic/ Federer semi in Paris. Darn it. Why do I have to be a Fed fan? Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jly0784 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 I think a case could easily be made for:Phil Jagielka - Everton Micah Richards - Manchester City Adam Johnson - Manchester City Paul Scholes - Manchester United Michael Carrick - Manchester United Maybe Ryan and Steven Taylor of Newcastle, though maybe a stretch. I think there were some guys in the lower half who could've made the squad and probably deserved it, most notably Grant Holt of Norwich. danny simpson of newcastle united was the highest rated right back in the premier league this season... hes not very good at crossing, but there are few if any right back in the prem that are as solid defensively as he is.... damn shame he was left off the england squad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 (edited) EURO 2012 Schedule: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012_schedule Eat your heart out, soccer fans!! And new thread just for the tourney: http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?366098-Official-EURO-2012-Thread Annnnd, a CONCACAF thread: http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?366101-CONCACAF-2014-World-Cup-Qualification-USA-vs-Antigua-amp-Barbuda-7pm-on-ESPN Edited June 8, 2012 by renaissance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) From earlier today in NY. To wrap up an out of this World, 63 game, EIGHTY goal season. THAT'S why he's the best player on the planet bar NONE! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ3aSc5USTs&feature=related Seriously running out of superlatives to describe the little genius. And what totally tops him off is there's no ego there. In every interview it's all about the team and praising his teammates. As modest and humble as they come. And he turns 25 in two weeks. Unbelievable to think what's still to come, after all he's achieved already. Hail. Edited June 10, 2012 by Gibbs Hog Heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 He wasn't even looking at the goal on that third shot. Unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 He wasn't even looking at the goal on that third shot. Unbelievable. I know right? Seriously, the dudes absolutely un-freaking-real. If he takes over and dominates a WC ala Maradona in '86 there can be no question he's the GOAT. Brazil 2014 would be the perfect place for an Argentinian to do just that. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodriggo Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 If he takes over and dominates a WC ala Maradona in '86 there can be no question he's the GOAT. Brazil 2014 would be the perfect place for an Argentinian to do just that. Meaningless friendlies aside, he'll never dominate the WC like Maradona b/c for one, he's not as good, and for two his heart doesn't bleed the national colors. He moved to Barcelona at 11 or 12, that's his true passion and it shows. Plus, on the international level he's too small. He can play well against certain teams but he'll NEVER outclass an elite defense in a meaningful WC match. Maradona took a C+ class team to two WC finals, neither at home, and managed to win one. He and Pele are on another level. Messi would have to win one and get to another to even begin to be mentioned in the same class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Talent wise, he's the equal of either of them if not better for me. Your saying he'll 'never outclass an elite defense in a meaningful WC match', but this is a guy who's scored a staggering 51 goals in 62 Champions League games, winning it twice. All by the age of 24. And the overall quality of the Champions League dwarfs any WC finals. But he still needs that great WC on his CV to be ranked up and above his great Argentinian boyhood idol. And from a man that turned down Spain to play for his homeland, and represents most every game, I don't know how anyone can say he's not fully committed to his Country. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Watching a classic (1998) DC United game. Holy **** if you want to see how much American soccer has improved watch an early MLS game and watch a recent game. It's like night and day. I realize we started from basically nothing, but it's very encouraging to see how much the on-field product has improved in the last 10-15 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodriggo Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Talent wise, he's the equal of either of them if not better for me. Your saying he'll 'never outclass an elite defense in a meaningful WC match', but this is a guy who's scored a staggering 51 goals in 62 Champions League games, winning it twice. All by the age of 24. And the overall quality of the Champions League dwarfs any WC finals. But he still needs that great WC on his CV to be ranked up and above his great Argentinian boyhood idol. And from a man that turned down Spain to play for his homeland, and represents most every game, I don't know how anyone can say he's not fully committed to his Country. Hail. Champions League is not as important as the World Cup, never will be no matter how great the perceived level of play is. It's the European Club championship, that's all it'll ever will be. Take out the South Americans and it's completely worthless. International WC football is a different animal than Champions League or La Liga, it just is. He's great, I'm not arguing that, he's just not Maradona or Pele great and he doesn't represent most every game. He's there by proxy, he doesn't talk to the press, doesn't wear his passion on his sleeve, he's a little robot that works great in Europe but in Barranquilla? Caracas? Santiago? Asuncion? Montevideo? where the crowd is on the edge of a riot and the refs are bordeline retarded and the pitch is an overgrown lawn he doesn't play like he does at Barcelona, just doesn't. Didn't show up in the Copa America in his own country last year either. If Pele had gone to Europe to play in his prime, honest to god this would not even be a debate. 17 years old he's scoring two goals in a WC final!!! Messi will never be that good. Jesus, there's like four dozen Brazilian/Argentine/Uruguayan players from the past 100 years that NOBODY even knows about that were just as good if not better. So much talent, Messi is just a continuation. Who cares who is THE BEST? Should I get on my soapbox about Luis Suarez? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) Champions League is not as important as the World Cup, never will be no matter how great the perceived level of play is. It's the European Club championship, that's all it'll ever will be. Take out the South Americans and it's completely worthless.International WC football is a different animal than Champions League or La Liga, it just is. Completely and utterly disagree. There's NO higher standard of competition than the UEFA Champions League. And with the vast majority of the top South Americans plying their trade in Europe, it is the ultimate International competition. The overall depth of quality is unrivaled in any other competition. Top level club football dwarfs International football any day of the week. You have the best players from a Country in a National side. You have the best players from all over the World in top club sides. All the best managers want to manage in the Champions league ahead of a National job. And the players are often far more committed to their clubs in wanting to showcase their talents on the highest stage than they ever are for their Country. One thing I most certainly don't miss out in having little to no interest in the English National side is top quality International names. I've seen them all up close season in, season out in the highest level of Club football out there. The World Championships still has it's place (even if it has gotten WAY too big, leading to WAY too many poor, sterile games before the later stages); but it's been well and truly surpassed by the UEFA Champions League IMHO. And the views of top class players, managers and the attendances and TV figures would tend to agree. ---------- Post added June-10th-2012 at 06:54 PM ---------- Watching a classic (1998) DC United game. Holy **** if you want to see how much American soccer has improved watch an early MLS game and watch a recent game. It's like night and day. I realize we started from basically nothing, but it's very encouraging to see how much the on-field product has improved in the last 10-15 years. Without wishing to sound condescending, I've been pleasantly surprised by the standard of the MLS the games I've caught the past year. It really is encouraging and great to see the work being put into the whole game in the States. I don't know realistically if the sport can ever hope to rival football say in the US, but it can only continue to grow as the standard improves with each passing year. North America is the one last great Continent still to crack when it comes to the World game. And if you could, and did it right, it could be the biggest of the lot. Still a heck of a long way to go, but it's great to see the league flourishing after some pretty worrying times that we wouldn't get to this stage. Hail. Edited June 10, 2012 by Gibbs Hog Heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodriggo Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The World Championships still has it's place (even if it has gotten WAY too big, leading to WAY too many poor, sterile games before the later stages); Couldn't agree with you more on this point. It should be 16 teams, it's the perfect format (no weird 3rd place teams going through), the perfect time frame (a 1.5 week first round), the perfect size to allow more countries to host it, a 16 team WC now would be an amazing tournament. EVERY game would be a final. (Of course Uruguay would probably never qualify but still, it's what the WC should be.) The thing that bugs me about the Champions League is that it's the same big clubs every year. To me, it's just about who has the most cash. The QFs EVERY year is Real Madrid, AC Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United....to me, that's boring. I hate all-star teams, that's what top level European club football is, a collection of all-star teams. The euro exception, while great for south american players with passports, also ruined it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 On similar lines Rodriggo man, sadly, this will be the last 16 team European Championship. The next one, in France in 4 years, will be 24 teams. Platini just couldn't help meddling ala Blatter. The Euros are often a far higher quality than the World Cup, and far harder to win; down to the fact the best Nations are there and it's a small number who have to be at the top of their game. Now it will become as sanitized and sterile as the WC before we get to the knock-out stages. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewAgeSkins Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 whose getting added to the Euros? Any teams eligible for qualification OUTSIDE of Europe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 whose getting added to the Euros? Any teams eligible for qualification OUTSIDE of Europe? Qualifying for the 2012 championship started with 53 teams: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012_qualifying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 whose getting added to the Euros? Any teams eligible for qualification OUTSIDE of Europe? That will never happen. UEFA will never open up it's own Championship to any Country outside it's own federation. And rightly so. It's a 'European' Championship in the in-between World Championship years after all. They'll just expand the normal qualifying to make up the extra 8 teams. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Double post. Apologies. My bad. Hail. Edited June 11, 2012 by Gibbs Hog Heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boysetsfire Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Got an email from Barra saying there will be 500 DC supporters in Philly this Saturday when United takes on the Union. Ren, a couple of friends and I will be a part of that group. Should be a pretty sweet atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbs Hog Heaven Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Got an email from Barra saying there will be 500 DC supporters in Philly this Saturday when United takes on the Union. Ren, a couple of friends and I will be a part of that group. Should be a pretty sweet atmosphere. If the Union fans are anything like Eagles fans, it goes without saying watch your back man. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boysetsfire Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 If the Union fans are anything like Eagles fans, it goes without saying watch your back man. Hail. Haha thanks man. Don't worry, a whole lot of restrictions have been put for this road trip. We'll have our own tailgate area, be escorted into the stadium into our own section, can't leave anywhere in the stadium away from our section and when the game is over we'll be kept in the stadium 20 minutes after the game is over. That being said, we'll be sure to try and stay safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodriggo Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) On similar lines Rodriggo man, sadly, this will be the last 16 team European Championship. Oh, what?! Ugh. What a stomach punch. I mean, who's not playing now that needs to be there? Norway? Austria? Luxembourg? What a terrible, terrible idea....why even have a qualification for it? Edited June 12, 2012 by Rodriggo wanted to add more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissance Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 That being said, we'll be sure to try and stay safe. Speak for yourself. I'm ready to **** **** up!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostaskins Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 The ref better not destroy another game !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinz4Life12 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Got an email from Barra saying there will be 500 DC supporters in Philly this Saturday when United takes on the Union. Ren, a couple of friends and I will be a part of that group. Should be a pretty sweet atmosphere. Way to represent!! Have fun guys. I should be able to come to the next home game ---------- Post added June-12th-2012 at 10:11 AM ---------- Haha thanks man. Don't worry, a whole lot of restrictions have been put for this road trip. We'll have our own tailgate area, be escorted into the stadium into our own section, can't leave anywhere in the stadium away from our section and when the game is over we'll be kept in the stadium 20 minutes after the game is over. That being said, we'll be sure to try and stay safe. Where are all these restrictions coming from? Is it really going to be that hostile up there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boysetsfire Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Speak for yourself. I'm ready to **** **** up!!!!!!!!!!!! lol I'd pay to see this. ---------- Post added June-12th-2012 at 10:46 AM ---------- Where are all these restrictions coming from? Is it really going to be that hostile up there? From the league and the Philly front office. Happened somewhat when we went to NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now