A Beautiful Thread for the Beautiful Game

2nd appeal, he's already lost the first. Hartlepool have seen sense and ruled out signing him. Clearly trying to shut the stable door just before the horse bolts. They've probably done enough, though had they waited longer or it been a bigger club I'd have not said the same.

In Scottish news, Dundee United have beaten Celtic 2-1, so leapfrog Aberdeen into second again, both teams being four points behind Celtic. Not such a good weekend for them, though of course in reality they have the league won and Aberdeen and Dundee United are both after second.

edited 21st Dec '14 9:00:30 AM by CaissasDeathAngel

Ally McCoist has finally left Rangers; Kenny McDowell will replace him. Put on gardening leave.

Liverpool snatched a point about 6 minutes into extra time. Fair result, to be honest, though apparently I must be biased to think that as Arsenal had less possession and had more shots at them than ever since 2003. It honestly didn't look that bad but stats are stats and according to them it was all Liverpool.

I had predicted a 3-0 defeat so obviously I'm happy that the Gunners got at least a point. Nobody was suspended or injured, as far as I know.

edited 21st Dec '14 6:29:25 PM by BestOf

I feel pretty much the same about the result. Wish I could've seen the game though, mostly because - Markovic and Henderson as wingbacks? What did that look like? Anyway, top ten again, yay!

I've heard Mc Coist was put on gardening leave partly because of fears he'd use the AGM to blast the board. Not sure how accurate that is though the board are in for a rough time anyway given what they've done to the Club.

Henderson was about as good as he usually is - average or a bit above average for the Premier League. He looked like a midfieler, though - not a winger.

Markovic was very good. He played like an advanced playmaker/winger - a similar role to what Iniesta used to do in the left for Barcelona. He was able to beat Chambers almost every time, but the centre-backs usually made sure his crosses wouldn't result in goals.

Sterling looked a lot like Walcott - loads of pace, working hard, good passing.

Nobody played poorly for liverpool - well, except Borini, who got two yellows in the 15 minutes or so that he was on.

edited 28th Dec '14 1:52:19 AM by BestOf

So, Boxing Day (why boxing day?), every single Premier League team plays. Manchester United face Newcastle United at Old Trafford, while Tottenham Hotspur face Leicester City at the King Power stadium.

edited 24th Dec '14 5:22:33 AM by arcanephoenix

Nobody knows!

I read that "Nobody knows!" in that QI voice.

edited 24th Dec '14 6:45:58 AM by Quag15

Oh. Okay.

Merry Christmas, fellow football fans and tropers around the world! May your wishes for this year and the next come true!

edited 24th Dec '14 8:30:25 AM by arcanephoenix

Thank you, and Merry Festivities as well.

How India’s ISL became world football’s fourth biggest league.

Manchester United 3-1 Newcastle United

Leicester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

A good day. Good day for Best Of, too, as Arsenal won their game. Most established teams won, I think.

Also, Best Of, any truth in this? You said Arsenal didn't need another striker.

edited 27th Dec '14 2:26:21 AM by arcanephoenix

Leicester 1 - Spurs 2

I owe Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen a debt after watching yesterday's game on Match of the Day. I felt that our games against the bottom two were not perfect and our defense could use some tidying up. We were lucky that Ulloa didn't tie things up near the end of the first half and it would seem that we could use some practice on taking advantage of possession. Still, our offense has once again come through and, while we should've taken more chances, I'm still satisfied with the result. Let's hope we can keep the ball rolling against Manchester United tomorrow (a belated holiday treat for Arcane, I bet). Happy Holidays!

edited 27th Dec '14 8:54:44 AM by sanfranman91

I've actually read internet jokes saying that the White Hart Dane, the White Hart Kane and that awesome Frenchman are together about 75% of Tottenham Hotspur, with everyone else being 25%.

Jokes apart, yes, it'd be awesome to see Spurs against Man United, even though United are missing di Maria (again). Spurs, though, have had near-misses at points, getting three points where they could've had one or even none, so I dunno what'll happen. I'd predict a win for Manchester United, to be brutally honest, but I hope I can see the game.

I thought the Boxing Day games were the last games of the year, though. The schedule is quite close together, between BD and today.

I don't believe the rumours about Cavani. Signing him would improve Arsenal's attack but there are too many versatile forwards on the bench already and Arsenal can't waste money on luxury now - they need a defencive midfielder and a centre-back ASAP.

I didn't see the QPR game (well, I've seen the highlights) and it seems it was a nerve-wrecking game that probably would've left me frustrated and relieved in equal measure. Great to have Rosicky back, but Giroud's stupidity will cost Arsenal as he's now suspended for 3 games, starting today against West Ham.

Koscielny and Walcott will probably be fit enough for the bench but maybe not enough to start. Arsenal haven't had their best back-4 available at all this season (or maybe they did for a game or two at the start but not after that) so it'd be fantastic if the best defenders were all playing together for a change.

Walcott might get a start on the right. There's not much hope of having Oxlade-Chamberlain available to fill out the midfield so Cazorla and Rosicky should start in front of Flamini. Podolski deserves a game but I'm not sure if Wenger can afford to rest Alexis today. Maybe he can't afford not to rest him...

For probably the first time this season Arsenal don't have a theoretical injured/suspended XI that would on paper beat the available first-team. All 3 goalkeepers are fit, and so are all first-team defenders (though Koscielny is a doubt). Giroud is suspended. Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain are possibly out but might be in. Ramsey and Wilshere are out. Gnabry is out. Arteta and Özil are out. Still, this is the best that Arsenal's injury status has been all season so hopefully Arsenal can beat West Ham without getting more players injured.

Projecter starting-XI:

Szczesny
Debuchy-Mertesacker-Chambers-Gibbs
Flamini
Walcott-Rosicky-Cazorla-Alexis
Welbeck

edited 28th Dec '14 1:54:16 AM by BestOf

I'm guessing you must have created a long list of players whom you think will be good fits for Arsenal. Sokratis could be one, Basel's Fabian Schär could be another, perhaps Nacho Fernandes could be a third. For CD Ms, I wish I could advise you to buy Sandesh Jhingan, who was solidly good for Kerala this year and is only 21 (he's actually literally ten days my junior), but scepticism would be understandable, plus, he needs time to adjust to both Premiership football as well as life in England/Europe which Arsenal may not have. Michael Bradley of the US could be an option, but I dunno if Americans allow transfers in January (I guess they do, given DeAndre Yedlin's arrival to WHL). There's also Schneiderlin, whom we discussed earlier, possibly Wanyama, and even perhaps Khedira, who'd be awesome.

Getting Cavani would be an unusual indulgence for Wenger, but I have a feeling he's raring to leave PSG,and may do so this or next season.

edited 28th Dec '14 7:31:39 AM by arcanephoenix

Double Post because update: Good, good result for the Gunners against West Ham, getting them above Spurs in the table for the first time in a long time, after Hugo the Hero kept Tottenham-United at 0-0.

Also, since there are only 2-3 days before the end of the year, what would you say have been your football highlights for 2014?

Impossible to pick one, it's been a fantastic year for football with the world cup and all. But I suppose I'll go for the local interest, and pick the 26th October 2014 - 1-0 down in injury time against our rivals, with the prospect of losing our unbeaten run well in sight, Hearts need a miracle. Alim Ozturk provideth:

EDIT: Surviving administration and starting the road to fan ownership was fantastic too.

edited 29th Dec '14 7:06:39 AM by Achaemenid

Football highlights:

Real Madrid's La Decima Champions League. Mostly because they hadn't won in more than a decade. Also, Ronaldo scoring 17(!) goals in that competition's edition.

From the World Cup:

Netherlands 5-1 Spain, Costa Rica being the wonderful underdog, Colombia's astounding pace and the revelation to the world of James Rodriguez^note we already knew him since his days in Porto, so, we the Portuguese already had a feeling he would do something great, France regaining some prestige and respect back, the Brazilian humiliation in 2 matches, and, in the end, the Germans winning.

Worldwide:

The increasing interest in football in the US and in India, which counterbalances the relative decline of it in East Asia.

That is one awesome shot and goal.

edited 29th Dec '14 6:30:57 AM by Quag15

Highlight: Ramsey's ascent, culminating in the FA Cup-deciding goal.

2-1 was a good result, indeed. Most of the top clubs dropped points so this victory was extra nice. Koscielny and Oxlade-Chamberlain were in the squad and played well. Welbeck scored after a number of dry games, hopefully restoring his confidence. I wish Alexis had been rested but I suppose he'll get a break later. Monreal started instead of Gibbs, so there was some rotation.

The biggest positive for me, though, was Coquelin. He played the whole game, and I think he was a bit better than Flamini. Who knows, maybe Wenger had a solid defending midfield rotation option in his pocket all along. I don't think he's good enough to be first-choice but he could be a good back-up for the player Wenger hopefully gets in January, and he could help Arsenal survive the eventual departures of the ageing Arteta and Flamini.

Currently there's talk of Carvalho and some French defending midfielders, including Schneiderlin, Gonalons, and Cabaye. I'd be happy with any of them, and I think these are the most plausible targets for Arsenal at the moment.

Cavani might want to join Arsenal but I don't think there's room for him (except if Arsenal sell Campbell and Poldi) and there's no need for him. If he's coming I hope Wenger will get the players he needs more first, rather than wasting money on a luxury.

Liverpool did something odd just now. Some thing called "winning a match". I'm not quite sure what it means, though. I dunno if I've seen it before.

I think I have, but I don't remember how to react to it.

Once upon a time, though...

Right now, I would give about anything for Shankly to come back from the dead and manage this mess team.

Szczesny is about as useful for Arsenal today as he was against Dortmund when he took a red card. He's conceded two ridiculous goals, one by running out of his area for no reason and the other by passing the ball to an approaching Southampton player. He would honestly not have embarrassed himself more if he had held the ball and walked into his own goal each time.

It really is a shame when a keeper ruins your game like that when everybody else is outplaying the opposition for almost the entire game until the keeper fucks up.

Forster has been extremely good once again. Wanyama, on the other hand, got a yellow card for his 3rd or 4th goal at about 20 minutes. Apparently he's got 4 yellow cards for his 40 fouls so far this season, proving that his main talent is his ability to commit loads of fouls without getting carded. I think Arsenal dodged a bullet in not buying him - he would surely have at least 10 yellow cards by now if he had committed 40 fouls in an Arsenal shirt.

As I was writing this Szczesny managed to give Southampton another clean shot at goal, but fortunately Debuchy, apparently Arsenal's primary shot-stopper for the day, was somehow able to clear it off the line. It's as if Szczesny has forgotten everything he learned about decision-making from his mistakes over the last 3 seasons or so.

Full-time, 2-0. Szczesny single-handedly gave away a win to Southampton. I hope Wenger drops him for a few games now - that's worked before. He desperately needs to know that if he doesn't deserve responsibility he won't get it.

A couple of rounds ago De Gea played probably the best game I've ever seen from a 'keeper and now I just might have seen the worst. I'm struggling to imagine ways Szczesny could've been worse.

edited 1st Jan '15 8:57:53 AM by BestOf