Football, Fútbol, Futebol, Soccer

[Ben63]

I wonder if Grant could be considered to have sealed the deal not having brought Scheva on, in Russia, and the attacking player he did bring on missed the crucial PK.

Anelka was the better choice to bring in because he came in long before the shootout and is much better for extended periods of time. The player Grant brought in for the shootout was Juliano Belletti, and he made his kick, so good managing there. Anelka was #6 on the list out of 9 essentially, with only 10 men and Petr Cech. So not much can be placed on Grant for Anelka, he brought him in early and he wasn't in Grant's top 5, and he was brought on before Drogba was sent off, so he was planned at #7, so I don't see what was wrong with what Grant did.

Though considering Abramovich is the one with power, and considering he's Russian...

Didn't realize how Terry saved the day b/c I hadn't seen the match, I just watched the replay though. Overall, it was a good season, ending the way it started, losing to ManU in PK's. Should have won the Carling Cup, oh well.

[Lavabe]

Anelka was the better choice to bring in because he came in long before the shootout and is much better for extended periods of time. The player Grant brought in for the shootout was Juliano Belletti, and he made his kick, so good managing there. Anelka was #6 on the list out of 9 essentially, with only 10 men and Petr Cech. So not much can be placed on Grant for Anelka, he brought him in early and he wasn't in Grant's top 5, and he was brought on before Drogba was sent off, so he was planned at #7, so I don't see what was wrong with what Grant did.

Though considering Abramovich is the one with power, and considering he's Russian...

Didn't realize how Terry saved the day b/c I hadn't seen the match, I just watched the replay though. Overall, it was a good season, ending the way it started, losing to ManU in PK's. Should have won the Carling Cup, oh well.

I feel for you, Ben63. I agree that Grant shouldn't go, but a crazy owner can affect people. Grant's a world better than the guy they had before. The fact is, it's hard to second guess Grant on anything he did in this game.

I was a little annoyed at Sir Alex for how he was riding the officiating crew as they came off for the start of the second half.

I still dislike Christian Ronaldo.
Cheers,
Lavabe

[Deslok]

Anelka was the better choice to bring in because he came in long before the shootout and is much better for extended periods of time. The player Grant brought in for the shootout was Juliano Belletti, and he made his kick, so good managing there. Anelka was #6 on the list out of 9 essentially, with only 10 men and Petr Cech. So not much can be placed on Grant for Anelka, he brought him in early and he wasn't in Grant's top 5, and he was brought on before Drogba was sent off, so he was planned at #7, so I don't see what was wrong with what Grant did.

Though considering Abramovich is the one with power, and considering he's Russian...

Didn't realize how Terry saved the day b/c I hadn't seen the match, I just watched the replay though. Overall, it was a good season, ending the way it started, losing to ManU in PK's. Should have won the Carling Cup, oh well.

I actually meant the whole Russian owner/game in Moscow thing with the Shevchenko comment, not that I expect to see him based on merit or anything.

And Anelka was actually #7 on the PK takers, Kalou successfully converted the 6th PK for Chelsea after Anderson made United's. And I do have to say, for a striker, with fresh legs, to be your 7th best PK taker is pretty weak IMO. Basically, Chelsea needed more Germans, since they never miss.

[HK Dukie]

Chelsea owned ManU since halftime. Two hit posts is tough.

Terry reminds me of Baggio from the worldcup (Italy vs Brazil) a ways back. Great player, unfortunate ending (and he shouldn't be taking that PK...he is not a good enough shooter, all his goals are headers, dumb coaching move - captain or no captain)

As you can probably tell, I am a Chelsea fan. They were my first sports team and it's how I learned to love the Blue and White. Probably why I became a Duke fan at age 7 because of the colors.

[Lavabe]

Terry reminds me of Baggio from the worldcup (Italy vs Brazil) a ways back. Great player, unfortunate ending (and he shouldn't be taking that PK...he is not a good enough shooter, all his goals are headers, dumb coaching move - captain or no captain)

In the respect that Terry and Baggio (1994 World Cup) missed their PK's on a big stage, yes, I agree. On the other hand, Baggio: 1) wasn't captain; 2) wasn't the ultimate defensive player, but was rather an offensive player; 3) two other Italians missed their PK's in the 1994 shootout; and 4) later scored his PK in the 1998 World Cup against France (but Italy wound up losing to France). Without Baggio in 1994, Italy doesn't score in the final minutes to beat Nigeria and Spain, and Italy doesn't beat Bulgaria. Also, Baggio's miss was not in horrible conditions.

Terry's miss was a flat out slip in horrible conditions. Without Terry, Chelsea doesn't get into PK's. His block of Giggs' shot saved the game for Chelsea. Not unlike Riise at Liverpool, Terry will be forgiven.

I don't blame Grant for putting in Terry. He would NOT put in Essien (with good reason). Drogba was red-carded (I DO blame Drogba). And as much as Anelka has taken his fair share of spot kicks, he has missed a few too.

SO, here was the team list going into the 5th PK:
Ballack (Made 1st shot)
Belletti (Made 2nd shot)
Lampard (Made 3rd shot)
A Cole (Made 4th shot)
Terry (Took the 5th shot)
Carvalho (Defender)
Kalou (Made 6th shot)
Anelka (Missed the 7th shot)
Essien (NO way)
Drogba (Sent off)
Cech (Keeper)

The only legitimate question is whether to put in Terry vs. Kalou vs. Anelka vs. Carvalho. At that point, hindsight says Kalou should take it, but at the time, I'd be very pressed to go with anyone but Terry. It was a 50-50 choice between Terry and Kalou.

Blame Drogba. Chelsea had one less choice to kick. He would have been their designated 5th shooter, and he wasn't there. THAT hurt.

FWIW, CRonaldo's PK attempt (can you call it that) was SO lame.
Cheers,
Lavabe

[Deslok]

I find it a bit ironic that you mention that Terry will be forgiven, like Riise right after talking about his flick away header to prevent the goal. Because that moment, I was thinking of Giggs in the role of Riise. As in... learn to use your other foot idjit! Keeper out of the way, one defender reasonably in line and another near the far post, and he uses his left(favored) foot to try and flick the ball in. If he uses his right he can pound it in and unless he kicks it directly at Terry the ball is in the back of the net. Instead, its a light touch, and Terry has just enough time to get a head on it to save the day. Of course, Giggs has also done just a few more positive things than Riise ever did, but both are too dependent on their lefts.

And yeah, the other amusing note is that the one truly bad PK was by Ronaldo. Terry slipped, which was unfortunate but understandable and had happened to a lot of players in the course of play. Anelka's wasn't a bad PK, goalie had to guess the right side and still make the play(which wasn't that easy, as van der Saar had nearly gotten 2 others, but at least 1 of those just slid off his hands instead of being batted to the side). Ronaldo's was just bad. Either guessing that way or staying stationary would have allowed Cech to get a piece of it. It wasn't hard hit(Anelka's was) so it really wasn't too tough to handle.

[BlueDevilJay]

Im thinking 1-1 and going to penalties tonight. I finally came to the conclusion that I am rooting for Chelsea to win for a host of reasons.

And tonight's winning lottery numbers will be...

Can't believe I FINALLY got one right Im also pretty pissed that Chelsea blew it when Ronaldo would have been the goat...that was too perfect of a setup, and I honestly knew Terry was going to blow his chance. Drogba still screwed his team even though Man U didn't score before the end. He would have been taking a penalty, moving Terry out of it, and you can debate as to if he would have converted, but if you had a choice, Terry or Drogba to take a penalty, I think we all know who we would choose.

Either way it was a great match to watch as a neutral, in a bar with 25 ManU fans, and a close friend of mine, who is a Chelsea fan. He was seriously almost crying after it was over, and I felt so bad for him. Brought back the rush of memories of 2006 for me. I nearly came to tears 3 times that day, once when Lehmann was sent off, in jubilation when Campbell scored to take the lead (albeit on a free kick from a blatent Eboue dive), and again when I realized that Almunia wasn't half the keeper Lehmann was and let two goals in that had no business finding the net.

Now bring on the Euros! But first up, US vs Engerland on the 28th. I have to find a bar in KY to watch the match as Ill be in Lexington from Friday through June 2nd.

[budwom]

Amazing game. To make a baseball analogy, it was kind of like the Yankees taking a one run lead in the top of the 13th inning in the seventh game of the ALCS, on a dropped popup by David Ortiz. But in the bottom of the inning, with two outs, Derek Jeter lets an easy ground ball (wet field) go through his legs to tie the score.

[blazindw]

Now bring on the Euros! But first up, US vs Engerland on the 28th. I have to find a bar in KY to watch the match as Ill be in Lexington from Friday through June 2nd.

There's a huge slate of US friendlies coming up before Euros start on June 7th. First, US-England in Wembley on May 28th. Then, US-Spain in Santander on June 4th. Finally, US-Argentina at Giants Stadium on June 8th (technically the day after Euros start).

My friend (a Chelsea fan who needs a pick-me-up after yesterday) and I are heading to the US-Argentina game. Anyone else planning on going?

[greybeard]

I think that the miss was caused by MU's goalie. Perry was planted to kick to the left corner, after the first four kicks went right. MU's goalie went left a tad early. Perry saw it and tried to go right. The play was to go center. But the MU goalie deserves the credit. Great gamble. Same play he made on the last kick.

What is it with these soccer stars, head butting and face slapping on the biggest stages imaginable? Roid rage, gotta be. Come on, Z's head seemed oh so much larger at the end of his career than at the beginning? And, D, he used to be so lean and wiry; now he's a beast. Good thing that they ain't in the US, where we know how to hunt witches.

[BlueDevilJay]

Not to be nitpicky but it was Terry, not Perry but that's alright. Either way his name in London is now spelled "GOAT", as although I was disappointed in MU winning the title, I can revel in the misery of a few obnoxious Chelsea fans that I have to deal with on a daily basis. For those like Ben on here (and my friend I play soccer with) I do feel bad for. Upstanding fans who respect the opposition deserve the titles their team wins. As for the others, they will be hearing from me on a pretty consistant basis about the famous goalposts in Moscow.

[BlueDevilJay]

There's a huge slate of US friendlies coming up before Euros start on June 7th. First, US-England in Wembley on May 28th. Then, US-Spain in Santander on June 4th. Finally, US-Argentina at Giants Stadium on June 8th (technically the day after Euros start).

My friend (a Chelsea fan who needs a pick-me-up after yesterday) and I are heading to the US-Argentina game. Anyone else planning on going?

Yeah I think I mentioned those other friendlies in an earlier reply, but I fully intend on watching them all, and would LOVE to go to one but I can't see it happening for me at least. Hopefully there is a bar in KY that will televise the England match so I can catch it live and not have to rely on my TiVo when I get back in town.

[blazindw]

Yeah I think I mentioned those other friendlies in an earlier reply, but I fully intend on watching them all, and would LOVE to go to one but I can't see it happening for me at least. Hopefully there is a bar in KY that will televise the England match so I can catch it live and not have to rely on my TiVo when I get back in town.

The England game's on ESPN Classic. Any bar that has DirecTV (which most of them do now) will be able to show the game.

[BlueDevilJay]

The England game's on ESPN Classic. Any bar that has DirecTV (which most of them do now) will be able to show the game.

Yeah I know they will be able to show it, I just wonder how much grief I'm going to get from the locals when I ask to turn it to the Sakker game. Most of Kentucky's (as well as North Carolina's) stereotypes are well earned, so I feel justified in saying that Hopefully I can find a small place locally to watch, but I'll probably have to drive to Lexington to do so, which is about 20 min drive from where I'll be (Waddy)

[Ben63]

It was inevitable, but still wrong, Grant should be Chelsea's manager.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...538628&cc=5901

[Lavabe]

It was inevitable, but still wrong, Grant should be Chelsea's manager.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...538628&cc=5901

You're right. It's just plain wrong.

Good luck with Sven.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[blazindw]

That is kinda harsh. Is he still staying as director of football operations (the position he was in before Mourinho left) or is he completely gone?

[Ben63]

Good luck with Sven.

Hey thanks. I sure as hell hope not. Don't know who is out there but there is no way Sven is any better than Grant was and for that matter still is. As long as its not Steve McClaren.

[Lavabe]

Hey thanks. I sure as hell hope not. Don't know who is out there but there is no way Sven is any better than Grant was and for that matter still is. As long as its not Steve McClaren.

Looks like Sven is off to Mexico!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ap/index.html

Cheers,
Lavabe

[Lavabe]

England 2, USA 0 in a very wet Wembley:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=238507&cc=5901

Gee, a Terry header, and a lovely run and shoot from Gerrard. It should have been a bigger win.

No Landon Donovan (injury). LOADS of substitutes.

Kind of weird not having this match help England prep for Euro.

Cheers,
Lavabe