What a match

odyssey06 said:
Thought he had done enough to deserve another season to turn it around.
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I'm a Liverpool supporter. I thought it was the easiest job to follow after Klopp - same as last year please.

By Feb, when Liverpool were head and shoulders in the lead, Slot began tinkering with formation - it led to a wobbly period, but as they went on to win the league it didnt matter.

Slot's win ratio from Feb 25 to now is around 50%.

Nice man, always spoke well and highly knowledgeable about the game - I doubt we will see him near top-tier European football again though.
 
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Deiseblue said:
Delighted that the only team that came to play won .
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Yes in the delaying tactics, pretend injuries and fake fouls Oscars, Arsenal get the gold prize. Top tier soccer needs to look at the product they are presenting; I find it particularly unattractive and teaching children that cheating pays turns my stomach. It is now polluting the GAA too. Back to the real blood and guts of the 15 Acres or Ringsend Park of my youth maybe.
 
mathepac said:
Yes in the delaying tactics, pretend injuries and fake fouls
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There were at least 2 incidents, 1 on each side, where the defender very deliberately pulled back the player who had just got past him. This was not a case of going a bit OTT in a challenge which was not premeditatedly intended as a foul. The commentator observed that the defender had no choice and I think he actually praised it as good defence,
I think a pre-meditated foul to stop an advancing player should be punished with a penalty no matter where it is committed.
 
Either that or they should be forced to tog out for a hurling game. Then again there might not be enough hurling games to go around...
 
Mixed feelings about the upcoming World Cup, think will have a lot less interest than usual due to no Irish team, the bloated competition, many games on at awkward hours and as seems likely a lack of tournament atmosphere for many games due to the venue...

But I read some interesting articles over the weekend which has inspired these trivia questions.

There is one Irish born player going to the World Cup - from memory, can anyone name either player \ their club \ the country they will represent?

Can you name the smallest country competing in this World Cup?
25 out of 26 of its entire squad were born elsewhere and qualify via ancestry.
 
Deiseblue said:
Roberto Lopes , Shamrock Rovers & Cape Verde .
Curaçao - smallest
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Yes, correct on all counts.
As an aside Cape Verde are the 2nd smallest by area and 3rd smallest by population to qualify.

Curaçao seems to be the smallest both by population and land area - I think in the history of the World Cup, not just this one.
Curaçao has a population of 158,675 with an area of 444 km2 (171 sq mi).

It is a Dutch overseas territory in the Caribbean, was formerly part of the "Netherlands Antilles".
Most of the squad were born in the Netherlands and their manager is veteran Dutch manager Dick Advocaat (78).

And yes, the liqueur Curaçao comes from there. Must see if I still have some in drinks cabinet if I catch any of their games :)
 
A lot of people probably won't watch a many of the group games, as they are usually one - sided or boring or both. When it gets to the knockout stages it gets more interesting....
 
joer said:
A lot of people probably won't watch a many of the group games, as they are usually one - sided or boring or both. When it gets to the knockout stages it gets more interesting....
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For sure plus also there is a bunch of group games on in the wee hours, especially those involving American and Asian teams. Scotland have a 2am game versus Haiti, and their game v Brazil is a Wednesday night at 11pm.

As the knockout stages progress most of the games seem like they will be evening time here.
 
I was looking forward to the World Cup. Let's review what happens in the lead up to any televised important soccer fixture:-
1. Loads of rubbish banter between tv pundits.
2. Both teams line up in the tunnel along with some children and sometimes even the referree/linespeople have children alongside (some special needs kids).
No problem, so far.
3. Teams line up for respective anthems after entering the field of play. No doubt we'll see some players who don't even recognize what anthem is being played. Others lip-sync (thank God for that!).
4. Anthems over, each player shakes hands with each of the opposition team and officials. It gives the impression that the competition has started and let the best team win. But, no!
Kids disappear.
5. Match ball is placed in centre circle. Both teams form a separate huddle.
Emotion rises.
6. Match begins. Ten seconds later some tackled player takes a dive. This continues unabated. Some players will then decide to referee the game suggesting who should be "carded." As the game progresses the diving and acting as if they were involved in an aircrash continues.
7. TV commentator suggests along the way that the diving technique should have been perfected.
8. Goal chances are spurned inside the penalty area and strikers favour taking a dive for a penalty over a 40% goal scoring opportunity.

Thank God for Hurling and thanks to the former landlord and Dublin Bainisteoir, Mr Gavin for the rules changes in Gaelic Football. I think I'll give the World Cup a miss - I'd have difficulty in watching overpaid soccer ponces faking injury, taking dives, stupid refereeing etc.
 
By most ball playing sporting standards soccer is a low-scoring game so at times I can understand the euphoria that occurs when a goal in scored.

Maybe Ice-hockey is as low-scoring? And technically they don't even use a ball.

I cannot imagine the delays to re-starts if ice-hockey players were prone to taking off their gear in celebration of a goal.
 
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