(05-15-2017 06:57 PM)Rossi Wrote:  

(05-13-2017 10:29 AM)britchard Wrote:  You think that I, a British citizen, have less knowledge and experience of Scotland than a Turk?

Football is almost identical in England and Scotland. Also Dalglish spent the vast majority of his playing and managing career in England, so that hardly supports your point.

And I have been to Scotland, for the record.

That's not the point. You're keep dodging the question. Let me ask you again.

My question is: Did any English manager ever win English title in past 25 years?

Don't pull Scottish names like Ferguson or Dalglish. Don't say Scotland and England have same style of football excuses.

Question is simple. It's called English Premier League. Did any English-born manager ever win title in past 25 years?

(For the record, Glasgow isn't in England.)

Neville got fired from Valencia. Tony Adams is at Granada. Guess what? Granada is 20th place in La Liga and already relegated. Thats what happens when you get English manager You stay in last place.

So what? By that logic the Romanian league is the best of all time because only Romanian managers won it in the past 25 years.
The Premier League attracts some of the best coaches and players from all over the world. Just this season you have Guardiola, Klopp, Wenger, Mourinho, Pochettino, Conte. No other league is as competitive.

(05-14-2017 03:26 AM)britchard Wrote:  Looking back I don't think Neville's spell at Valencia was that bad. They are still absolute dogshit this season, just like they were when he was there.

I agree that Gary Neville should be given a second chance. Maybe start at a Championship club. Conte started in Serie B. He was an assistant and came up from there; throwing someone into top division football at a club in trouble in a foreign country isn't the best introduction to football.

Celtic has a great support and it is possible that with EPL money they could do well in it, but it would take a few years. Losing 7-0 to Barcelona shows a soft underbelly and losing 1-0 to Gibraltar's Lincoln Red Imps (IIRC) is also pretty bad. They lost to Gladbach as well, a couple draws other than that with Man City which is not bad.

In other news, RM are starting to have an advantage for the UCL Final. Juventus just lost 3-1 to Roma, a game where most regular starters were rested, so the gap is only 4 points, now tomorrow they have to play Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, where surely they will have to risk their first choice squad. And again to beat Crotone a few days later, in order to win the title. Crotone are on a rampage recently, they will not be easy to beat, they are playing for their lives. Juventus getting big, demanding games at the wrong time. Their squad also has less depth than RM so when they play 2nd choices, results are sacrificed, as shown against Roma, where it was clear no one wanted to be there. They really need to get into the UCL Final with no injuries and with a fresh squad. If they don't, RM have a bigger advantage. First teams both fresh Juventus is better, but tired even with one or two injuries, RM would exploit the weaknesses.

(05-15-2017 07:25 PM)Innuendo Wrote:  So what? By that logic the Romanian league is the best of all time because only Romanian managers won it in the past 25 years.
The Premier League attracts some of the best coaches and players from all over the world. Just this season you have Guardiola, Klopp, Wenger, Mourinho, Pochettino, Conte. No other league is as competitive.

We're talking about Top leagues, man. Not Romanian league. Does Steaua spend €200 millions in summer and still suck in Champions League like English teams?

Let's talk about Romania. Hagi founded a team in 2009, I believe. They just won the Romanian league last week. I think they promoted 2 leagues and they won. Can he do that any other league?

Same Hagi made Galatasaray, who are most successful club, 8th in Turkey which was their worst finish in like past 40 years.

Viitorul just won the league and Becali still thinks Steaua won the league and they're going to CAS to appeal. I mean, we're talking about Romanian league. Probably most corrupted league in the world. Many of the owners got arrested. It's called Becali's league. Don't get me started how Popescu and bunch of others got arrested.

I think your best coach was Lucescu in his prime and he was only able to coach Brescia when Pirlo was there and also relegated with Pisa. Thats how good he was. He got relegated. Hagi was there too. Then, Inter got Lucescu but lasted 10 weeks or so. Taribo West got corner flag and he was chasing Lucescu on the sideline to beat him up. Now, he's at Zenit who are the richest team in Russia and finishing 3rd.

In the end, Romania national team have appointed Daum, cocaine addict who got kicked out from Germany and Turkey. So, that means Romania National team couldn't even find good Romanian coach.

I'm sorry to give you all the truth but here it is.

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)Rossi Wrote:  We're talking about Top leagues, man. Not Romanian league.

Top leagues are currently Premier League and La Liga Espanola.

Serie A has fell behind Bundesliga and could be put in the same category as French league.

(05-16-2017 12:31 AM)Skank_Hunt Wrote:  In other news, RM are starting to have an advantage for the UCL Final. Juventus just lost 3-1 to Roma, a game where most regular starters were rested, so the gap is only 4 points, now tomorrow they have to play Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, where surely they will have to risk their first choice squad. And again to beat Crotone a few days later, in order to win the title. Crotone are on a rampage recently, they will not be easy to beat, they are playing for their lives. Juventus getting big, demanding games at the wrong time. Their squad also has less depth than RM so when they play 2nd choices, results are sacrificed, as shown against Roma, where it was clear no one wanted to be there. They really need to get into the UCL Final with no injuries and with a fresh squad. If they don't, RM have a bigger advantage. First teams both fresh Juventus is better, but tired even with one or two injuries, RM would exploit the weaknesses.

Madrid have a huge match on Wednesday also, they need a win vs a very good Celta Vigo team to stay one game ahead of Barca. And Madrid play Sunday afternoon also in their final game vs Malaga, another must win. At the very least Madrid can't lose either of the games, they need at least a win and a draw to stay a point ahead of Barca for the title, since a tie on points would give Barca the title. So they aren't going to be able to really rest anyone either...

The biggest advantage is that La Liga wraps up this weekend, and Serie A has to wait til next weekend for their final game, giving Madrid an extra week of rest before the CL Final.

But as long as Juve wins one more game and beats Crotone (or Bologna in the final week), they will win the Serie A. If they just win vs Crotone they can rest everyone for the last week of the season as well.

Mandzukic was the main injury concern i've seen on Juve, he's had a bad back and went down with a back injury in the last game. He probably needs to be rested until the final. Not sure about Khedira's status either, he went down in the last CL game and needs some rest also, but may be ready by the final.

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)Rossi Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 07:25 PM)Innuendo Wrote:  So what? By that logic the Romanian league is the best of all time because only Romanian managers won it in the past 25 years.
The Premier League attracts some of the best coaches and players from all over the world. Just this season you have Guardiola, Klopp, Wenger, Mourinho, Pochettino, Conte. No other league is as competitive.

We're talking about Top leagues, man. Not Romanian league. Does Steaua spend €200 millions in summer and still suck in Champions League like English teams?

Let's talk about Romania. Hagi founded a team in 2009, I believe. They just won the Romanian league last week. I think they promoted 2 leagues and they won. Can he do that any other league?

Same Hagi made Galatasaray, who are most successful club, 8th in Turkey which was their worst finish in like past 40 years.

Viitorul just won the league and Becali still thinks Steaua won the league and they're going to CAS to appeal. I mean, we're talking about Romanian league. Probably most corrupted league in the world. Many of the owners got arrested. It's called Becali's league. Don't get me started how Popescu and bunch of others got arrested.

I think your best coach was Lucescu in his prime and he was only able to coach Brescia when Pirlo was there and also relegated with Pisa. Thats how good he was. He got relegated. Hagi was there too. Then, Inter got Lucescu but lasted 10 weeks or so. Taribo West got corner flag and he was chasing Lucescu on the sideline to beat him up. Now, he's at Zenit who are the richest team in Russia and finishing 3rd.

In the end, Romania national team have appointed Daum, cocaine addict who got kicked out from Germany and Turkey. So, that means Romania National team couldn't even find good Romanian coach.

I'm sorry to give you all the truth but here it is.

Which league is the best?

(05-16-2017 05:14 PM)Chowder Head Wrote:  Which league is the best?

La Liga for sure. Then, I'd say Bundesliga.

Agreed Conquerer7, Celtic being the the wee diddy team fae the wee diddy country, competed well against the giants of the Spanish, English & German leagues.

Even the Barca result (Celtic could have equalised at 1-0 but missed a penalty) came only a couple of days after Celtic pumped Rangers, on their return to the top flight, 5-1 in the first old firm league match in 5 years. There may have been a shandy or two consumed.

Ronny Deila won the SPL with Celtic last season, winning the league by 15 points. Brendan Rodgers took over a couple of days before the Hibs v Rangers cup final, (as is the way of the Old Firm trying to steal the limelight from each other) he inherited a good squad who were being badly managed. Rodgers added to the squad and promised to install in the team 'The Celtic Way'. 

They have gone through the domestic season (so far) unbeaten and are currently sitting on 100 points with 99 goals scored from 36 games. So yes, Rodgers has won the league by 30 points this season and I would expect a few new signings before August, then a fresh assault on the CL next season.

Sinclair has played well throughout the season as has Toure, Dembele has been a sensation, £500,000, Ha.








The crowd and the atmosphere in Parkhead when it's full on a big match night is something you can't describe, you have to experience it.

Even the most experienced players in the world have been caught out with the atmosphere. Most talk about it after the game.

Celtics CL record at home is impressive.

From an article after the 3-3 draw with Man City, one of the best games of the group stages this year:

Quote:But we shouldn’t have been surprised because in 25 Champions League group stage games at Celtic Park, the Hoops have lost only three, winning 16 and drawing six.

Manchester United have never won at Celtic Park, while Barca, Juventus, AC Milan and Benfica have all been dispatched. Only the Rossoneri have inflicted any kind of humbling of the Hoops at home.

Also, Celtic only lost once in the East End of Glasgow during their first seven group-stage campaigns.

Yes, their history includes that European Cup win, over the mighty Inter, won with a team consisting of players , 9 of the 11 whom were reared through the clubs youth system, all of them coming from within a 30 miles radius of Parkhead.

Quote:Internazionale scored after seven minutes, when Sandro Mazzola converted a penalty. Celtic equalised through Tommy Gemmell after he scored on 63 minutes. Stevie Chalmers then put Celtic in the lead after 84 minutes. The match finished 2–1 to Celtic. It was said to be a victory for football because Celtic's attacking football overcame Internazionale's defensive-style "catenaccio" which was considered to be a less attractive way to play the game. Celtic's manager Jock Stein and the team received acclaim after the match and were given the nickname the Lisbon Lions; considered to be the greatest side in the club's history.

Big 50th anniversary this month for that unique achievement.

10,000-20,000 Celtic fans are expected to make the pilgrimage to Lisbon next week.











As of the EPL, sure Celtic (& Rangers, when they get their shit together again) could easily survive & probably would comfortably finish top ten. After a couple years they would be challenging for top four.

There have been numerous discussions on both Celtic & Rangers joining the English leagues, by all accounts the top English clubs are in favour, they see the revenue from TV and advertising. But the clubs who are more usually bottom half of the EPL aren't too keen on the idea.

Talking of average attendances, a table of the British top 20:

  1. Manchester United (75,263), 
  2. Arsenal (59,950), 
  3. Celtic (55,590), 
  4. Manchester City (54,316), 
  5. West Ham United (53,598),
  6. Liverpool (53,027), 
  7. Newcastle United (50,087), 
  8. Rangers (48,554), 
  9. Sunderland (41,791), 
10. Chelsea (41,374), 
11. Everton (38,963), 
12. Tottenham Hotspur (33,692),
13. Aston Villa (31,860), 
14. Leicester City (31,816), 
15. Middlesbrough (30,540), 
16. Southampton (30,276), 
17. Derby County (28,859), 
18. Stoke City (27,285), 
19. Sheffield Wednesday (26,557)
20. Norwich City (26,211)

(05-17-2017 08:33 AM)Rossi Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 05:14 PM)Chowder Head Wrote:  Which league is the best?

La Liga for sure. Then, I'd say Bundesliga.

You crazy?

The EPL is by far the most competitive. Watching Bayern/Barca/Madrid smash people 5 nil is entertaining, but having 6 teams who could potentially be champions, not to mention wildcards like Leicester, surely makes the Prem the superior of the three.

^I agree.

Watching Real smash Sevilla or Real Betis etc is boring.

Watching Juventus beat Chievo or Empoli is dull.

Chelsea got lucky this year, let us see how great Conte is next season.

Rumour has it that Hazard might leave for Real Madrid.

(05-17-2017 02:02 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  ^I agree.

Watching Real smash Sevilla or Real Betis etc is boring.

Watching Juventus beat Chievo or Empoli is dull.

Chelsea got lucky this year, let us see how great Conte is next season.

Rumour has it that Hazard might leave for Real Madrid.

Nah, Italian managers have all been one hit wonders.

(05-17-2017 01:36 PM)Teedub Wrote:  You crazy?

The EPL is by far the most competitive. Watching Bayern/Barca/Madrid smash people 5 nil is entertaining, but having 6 teams who could potentially be champions, not to mention wildcards like Leicester, surely makes the Prem the superior of the three.

I agree, La Liga have a better elite than the EPL but if we compare the whole leagues EPL is number one.
Bundesliga has improved a lot and it would be number 3.

Even though Chelsea won this year, the rest of the top teams were close. You couldn't quite tell who was going to clinch those champions league spots

Even seeing who will finish in the top 10 is hard to predict.

Overall the EPL is far more competitive than any other league.

Everyone I watch Barca or Real play another team in their league, I know who is going to win - yes even against Athletico Madrid.

I'm deeply saddened that my team Atlético Nacional, current copa libertadores champions got eliminated in this years' edition. Will forget about Football/soccer for a few months if we not clinch the local title. On the other hand I hope Juventus wins the champions league this time, I don't hate Real Mandril, but 12 is way to many.

The season has been SHIT but at least we're FA Cup Champions!!!!

Feelsgoodman

(05-27-2017 01:42 PM)zigZag Wrote:  The season has been SHIT but at least we're FA Cup Champions!!!!

Feelsgoodman

Soon to be followed by Wenger signing a new 15 year contract.. haha!

Who cares about which league is the best, check this out:

Quote:Harry Redknapp wants to sign Benoit Assou-Ekotto — but defender is more interested in becoming a porn star

Harry Redknapp says he wants to sign former Tottenham Hotspur defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto for Birmingham City – but that the player has told him he is more interested in a career in pornography.

The Cameroon full-back signed a one-year contract with Metz at the start of the 2016/17 season, and previously played under Redknapp at both Spurs and Queens Park Rangers.

The 33-year-old is renowned for being something of a maverick and has previously spoken openly about how he doesn’t consider football to be a passion and how he instead treats his career as a professional player as “just a job”.

And now Redknapp has revealed that the defender, who represented Cameroon 24 times, has set his sights on an altogether different career.

When asked if there was a chance of Birmingham signing the veteran full-back, Redknapp told the Spurs Show podcast: “The only trouble is that he’s admitted he wants to be a pornstar."

“Maybe I can get another year out of him before he decides to do that."

Assou-Ekotto wouldn’t be the first footballer to express an interest in adult entertainment.

Last season, the Brazilian centre-back Anderson Conceicao made headlines when he revealed that former Real Mallorca manager Joaquin Caparros used pornography to try and motivate his players before a La Liga game against Athletic Bilbao.

“In the team talk ahead of the game Caparros showed us a video with images from a porn film. We were shocked, we didn't understand anything of what we were watching.

“He told us: ‘On the pitch, you need to play as hard as this guy’, and he pointed at the screen.”

Surely he's joking.

Atlanta United beats NYCFC, has the 4th largest soccer crowd in the world.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united...g7L0vtkQJ/

(05-29-2017 06:20 AM)Hypno Wrote:  Atlanta United beats NYCFC, has the 4th largest soccer crowd in the world last week.

fixed it for you.

and empty stands can still be seen in the pic

Still a great achievement for US soccer

(05-26-2017 11:53 AM)lonewolf1992 Wrote:  I'm deeply saddened that my team Atlético Nacional, current copa libertadores champions got eliminated in this years' edition. Will forget about Football/soccer for a few months if we not clinch the local title. On the other hand I hope Juventus wins the champions league this time, I don't hate Real Mandril, but 12 is way to many.

All exists in equilibrium. Last year's run was a fairytale... I'll never forget that game against Rosario.

(05-17-2017 08:33 AM)Rossi Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 05:14 PM)Chowder Head Wrote:  Which league is the best?

La Liga for sure. Then, I'd say Bundesliga.

Nah. Even if La Liga has the two best teams in Europe, EPL still takes the title. The standard is much higher.

On competitive factor alone though I'd wager the Brazilian League is at the top. In the last 10 seasons the league has seen 6 different champions. Sometimes, a champion is relegated the following season. Few if any world leagues have such a level of competitiveness and unpredictability.

Sadly the quality is declining with each passing year, as talents are leaving younger than ever before. For example, Neymar left when he was 21 or 22. Gabriel Jesus just left at 19. Also, players that are coming back after their prime are doing so later than before too.

Will the Chinese league ever amount to much?

Xabi Alonso, Lahm and Totti retiring. Any others so we could make the best 11 of players retiring this season ?

(05-29-2017 11:56 AM)Chris Brown Wrote:  Will the Chinese league ever amount to much?

As long as they have the rule allowing only 3 foreigners + 1 asian there will be a limit to how good they can get.

Meanwhile, a very gay Trudeau has been organizing a football game in Italy, between young (and surprisingly -relatively- cute) female players from the Fiorentina, and... a team made of male Sub-Saharan (illegal) migrants... Cool.

http://www.activeghana.com/canadian-pm-j...-the-pope/


"Canada's Prime Minister made a visit to the Olympic stadium in Rome on Monday, where he met with players ahead of a friendly game between a soccer club made up almost entirely of male migrants and refugees and a female team from Tuscany, as evident in photographs made available by epa.



Justin Trudeau was greeted by the ranks of Liberi Nantes and Fiorentina's female squad before the Open Goal friendly tie that sought to promote social integration"

http://www.efe.com/efe/english/sports/ca...334?resp=0


^gayest pic ever?