Football Season 2012-2013

[163]

Great game today think Utd deserved to win.Will be hard to pull back 6 points on Utd although we come back from 8 last season.Some morons spoiled what was a great day and brilliant atmosphere in the ground

[The_Munchmaster]

Slightly off topic but,

 

Lionel Messi of Barcelona sets new goal-scoring record

 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi has set the record for most goals in a calendar year by scoring his 86th goal of 2012.

 

The 25-year-old Argentine overhauled Gerd Mueller's tally of 85 - set in 1972 - to create a new benchmark which includes goals for club and country.

 

Messi broke the record with two goals in a 2-1 win over Real Betis on Sunday.

 

He fired in an angled shot after 16 minutes to equal the record before adding a second with a low drive in the 25th minute to reach the new mark.

 

Three-time World Player of the Year Messi's attempt to break German Mueller's record looked set to falter after he was carried off on a stretcher during Barcelona's Champions League group game draw with Benfica on Wednesday.

 

The forward feared he had seen the "last ball I'd touch for a long time because of the pain" but the injury to his left knee was not as bad as he thought and he started against Betis.

 

Messi's path to the record has included 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina in 66 games.

 

He still has two league matches and one King's Cup tie to add to his tally before the end of the year.

 

Mueller scored 72 for Bayern Munich and 13 for West Germany when he set the previous benchmark in 1972 and was 27 at the time.

[Mekong]

Not sure of the actual stats but it has taken Messi 3-4 more games more to equal / beat Muller's 40 year old record.40 years ago defenders could get away with a lot more back then than allowed nowadays but conversely Messi has 29 assists in this 12 month period where as mulller was just an out and out goal scorer with only a couple of assists.Different era's and to be honest a different game so it is difficult to compare the recordsWhat about Pele's feat of 110 Goals in 74 appearances in 1961, OK that included friendlies and Internationals but both Muller and Messi include international goals, maybe his 62 goals in 38 official appearances 33 League and 5 cup games is a better goals / game ratio, during the same period may be better comparison we could all argue about statistics till we went blue in the face but I have to admit that in todays modern era that Leo is without peer.Back to Sundays game, I was there with my Father, Uncle and Cousin, me and my Dad are Red till Dead and the relatives are full of Blue moon. We were sat amongst the City fans and never felt any animosity towards us either from the Staff or the fans we were amongst we were all there for the same reason to see a game.As for the two contentious decisions I felt that the officials got it right in real time, for the disallowed goal I was probably in line with the linesman (OK Assistant Referee) and even I did not notice that Zabaleta out at right back was playing Young onside when RVP took his shot that came back off the upright, even with red tinted glasses it seemed the right call at the time even though subsequent slow mo replays showed Young to be onside in real time he appeared to be offside. Same with the Evra Penalty call, in real time from my angle which was close to the Refs and Assistants viewpoint it appeared that Toure got the ball, only the 19th replay from an obscure angle showed that Evra was actually fouled, again no complaints from me since seeing it live I did not have the privilege to see multi angled replays of the incident.All in all an interesting game, SAF played a starting line up that we have been praying for all season, if you have Carrick as Holding midfield it has to be either Cleverley / Anderson or Kagawa alongside him, Giggs and Scholes are well past it now for a full 90 minutes. First half I thought United played the classic "away in europe" style of game, hold, contain and hit on the counter which they did to perfection.Kompany going off was a big loss to city but hells bells United have been playing without our Kompany (Vidic) for 18 months now and continue regardless. Manchini realised his mistake in the 52 minute by bringing on Tevez for Ballotelli, even thought in my eyes Tevez is a mercenary cunt he is still an excellent footballer at times.City fought well to bring it back to 2-2 (even thought replays show it should have been 0-3) and I was worried that United would loose the game from that point on but what did Fergie do he substituted a midfielder with a striker, now that is some balls. As soon as Tevez fouled Rafael I turned to my dad and said "RVP Territory' he laughed at me and said dream on son I replied "You don't know RVP you old fart"Many people have made knee jerk reactions on certain forums about the incidents after the goal, FFS Etihad holds over 47,500 people of which 43,000 were Citizens. Play games behind closed doors, Points deduction, all a load of bollox MCFC came straight out after the game and apologised for the actions of a few idiots who grew up on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCqi6QCnT8After the match my father and I went to a "City Bar" with my Uncle and Cousin and even as United fans my Father and I were shown nothing but respect, those people were the true blue supporters not the minority of idiots which each club has gets highlighted in the media. Also due respect for Joe Hart, he did not save the fan but saved Rio from a potential charge if the fan had have got close to him.Yet again another tiring round trip from Thailand to UK to see United, I may not live in Salford anymore but am still a mad cunt who flies back a few times a season to see a game and I am sure glad I didn't miss this one.

[163]

Not sure of the actual stats but it has taken Messi 3-4 more games more to equal / beat Muller's 40 year old record.40 years ago defenders could get away with a lot more back then than allowed nowadays but conversely Messi has 29 assists in this 12 month period where as mulller was just an out and out goal scorer with only a couple of assists.Different era's and to be honest a different game so it is difficult to compare the recordsWhat about Pele's feat of 110 Goals in 74 appearances in 1961, OK that included friendlies and Internationals but both Muller and Messi include international goals, maybe his 62 goals in 38 official appearances 33 League and 5 cup games is a better goals / game ratio, during the same period may be better comparison we could all argue about statistics till we went blue in the face but I have to admit that in todays modern era that Leo is without peer.Back to Sundays game, I was there with my Father, Uncle and Cousin, me and my Dad are Red till Dead and the relatives are full of Blue moon. We were sat amongst the City fans and never felt any animosity towards us either from the Staff or the fans we were amongst we were all there for the same reason to see a game.As for the two contentious decisions I felt that the officials got it right in real time, for the disallowed goal I was probably in line with the linesman (OK Assistant Referee) and even I did not notice that Zabaleta out at right back was playing Young onside when RVP took his shot that came back off the upright, even with red tinted glasses it seemed the right call at the time even though subsequent slow mo replays showed Young to be onside in real time he appeared to be offside. Same with the Evra Penalty call, in real time from my angle which was close to the Refs and Assistants viewpoint it appeared that Toure got the ball, only the 19th replay from an obscure angle showed that Evra was actually fouled, again no complaints from me since seeing it live I did not have the privilege to see multi angled replays of the incident.All in all an interesting game, SAF played a starting line up that we have been praying for all season, if you have Carrick as Holding midfield it has to be either Cleverley / Anderson or Kagawa alongside him, Giggs and Scholes are well past it now for a full 90 minutes. First half I thought United played the classic "away in europe" style of game, hold, contain and hit on the counter which they did to perfection.Kompany going off was a big loss to city but hells bells United have been playing without our Kompany (Vidic) for 18 months now and continue regardless. Manchini realised his mistake in the 52 minute by bringing on Tevez for Ballotelli, even thought in my eyes Tevez is a mercenary cunt he is still an excellent footballer at times.City fought well to bring it back to 2-2 (even thought replays show it should have been 0-3) and I was worried that United would loose the game from that point on but what did Fergie do he substituted a midfielder with a striker, now that is some balls. As soon as Tevez fouled Rafael I turned to my dad and said "RVP Territory' he laughed at me and said dream on son I replied "You don't know RVP you old fart"Many people have made knee jerk reactions on certain forums about the incidents after the goal, FFS Etihad holds over 47,500 people of which 43,000 were Citizens. Play games behind closed doors, Points deduction, all a load of bollox MCFC came straight out after the game and apologised for the actions of a few idiots who grew up on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCqi6QCnT8After the match my father and I went to a "City Bar" with my Uncle and Cousin and even as United fans my Father and I were shown nothing but respect, those people were the true blue supporters not the minority of idiots which each club has gets highlighted in the media. Also due respect for Joe Hart, he did not save the fan but saved Rio from a potential charge if the fan had have got close to him.Yet again another tiring round trip from Thailand to UK to see United, I may not live in Salford anymore but am still a mad cunt who flies back a few times a season to see a game and I am sure glad I didn't miss this one.

Good post Mekong.

More balanced report than some of the tabloid press.

[Mekong]

Good post Mekong.

More balanced report than some of the tabloid press.

 

Cheers 163,

 

I do try and be objective and unbiased when talking about Football, first and foremost I am a Fan of Football secondly I support the team from the area I was born and grew up which just so happens to be United. When I was a kid most of us from Talbort Road / warwick road area down to Sevenways grew up as red, even Stretford, Urmston, Flixton, Eccles and Worsley was predominately the "Red Half" of the city where as Moss Side, Burnage, Levenshulme, Stockport and Wythanshaw were the "Blue Half".

 

This is Manchester / Salford that I grew up in and remember with fond memories, the late 60's when United and City last battled it out for supremacy, 68 city won the league but United stole their thunder by winning the European Cup and now over 40 years later the rivalry is back on again. The post-busby era for any united fan was painful, Wilf McGuiness, Tommy Doc, Dave Sexton (RIP) and Roy Atkinson whilst looking west up the East Lancs and seeing Liverpool clear up both domestically and in Europe was hard to take so I for one am definitely not a glory hunter.

[sayjann]

Slightly off topic but,

 

Lionel Messi of Barcelona sets new goal-scoring record

 

Barcelona's Lionel Messi has set the record for most goals in a calendar year by scoring his 86th goal of 2012.

 

The 25-year-old Argentine overhauled Gerd Mueller's tally of 85 - set in 1972 - to create a new benchmark which includes goals for club and country.

 

Messi broke the record with two goals in a 2-1 win over Real Betis on Sunday.

 

He fired in an angled shot after 16 minutes to equal the record before adding a second with a low drive in the 25th minute to reach the new mark.

 

Three-time World Player of the Year Messi's attempt to break German Mueller's record looked set to falter after he was carried off on a stretcher during Barcelona's Champions League group game draw with Benfica on Wednesday.

 

The forward feared he had seen the "last ball I'd touch for a long time because of the pain" but the injury to his left knee was not as bad as he thought and he started against Betis.

 

Messi's path to the record has included 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina in 66 games.

 

He still has two league matches and one King's Cup tie to add to his tally before the end of the year.

 

Mueller scored 72 for Bayern Munich and 13 for West Germany when he set the previous benchmark in 1972 and was 27 at the time.

some dispute over this 'record'

it seems there was an African player in the 70's i think who scored 107 goals in a calender year.

official records are not clear and so far Messi's record is on hold by FIFA and UEFA.

[Steve]

Haven't been on in a while. I wanted Man Utd to win the derby because I have this baseless paranoia about our unbeaten record, that said I am cheering (reluctantly) for City to win the title. Its long established on here how much I hate Man Utd. Its more than that. Its Robbing your Pursie. F*ck him and I want him to win NOTHING at Man Utd (do I sound bitter? haha). I know he'll win something in all likelihood but I can hope can't I? So, it has to be City for me. I also want Chelscum to win nothing. I want them to go a couple years at least with no trophies. My reason (and all my reasons are of the petty/bitter variety as most fans are) is that on one of my Arsenal forums its been said they have more fans globally than we do.

I want them to go a couple years with nothing and see the post Roman glory hunters leave in droves. I also want them out of the top 4. I'm even hoping Tottenham finishes above them even if it means a CL place (as long as we are in there too). Yeah, all unlikely and I need a shower for even wanting City and the scum to do anything but that's what fan support is about isn't it? Irrationality.

I really thought we had a great squad this season that would do things. We do on paper but we have no team belief. I wanted us to go hard for the league cup and to be fair we fielded a side that would beat most PL sides but we are so weak mentally we couldn't beat Bradford.

Both Jose and Fergie used the league cup to restart things. It was the first english trophy Jose won and when Fergie finished 3rd after us and Chelsea he used that cup to give the squad belief. We needed to do the same. The FA cup usually is much more difficult and we'd have to sacrafice the top 4 perhaps to do so which isn't good. If we get lucky and the big sides go out and we get kind draws, then we should go for it. Won't happen.

 

As for as the CL the RM-Man Utd tie is obviously the darling of the lot. We were going to be underdogs pretty much no matter who we got save one maybe two sides. I think we can beat Bayern even though they seem to have a resurgence. Skill wise we can. We are much better suited for Europe than the EPL.

 

If we can't get the top 4 I'd love to see Everton do it. Moyes is a wonderful manager. Brom is doing well also and credit must be given to them.

 

Have an Arsenal Christmas everyone!!

[Mekong]

As for as the CL the RM-Man Utd tie is obviously the darling of the lot.

 

 

Even as a Die Hard United fan the FC Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund game is the tie of the round in my eyes, well looking forward to those games.

[The_Munchmaster]

Arsenal 7 v 3 Newcastle

 

What a fecking game!

 

Arsenal take the lead, Newcastle equalize. Arsenal take the lead again, Newcastle equalize again. Arsenal take the lead yet again, Newcastle equalize yet again and then Arsenal score four unanswered goals!

 

Great to see Arsenal scoring goals but still many question marks over their defence?

[Mekong]

What a fecking game is also applicable to Newcastle's previous outing at Old Trafford 3 days previously, when Wenger used the excuse of a tube strike to postpone the game at the Emirates and give Arsenal an unfair advantage. 0-1, 1-1. 1-2, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3 then 4-3 in the last minute of regulation time, that was some roller coaster of a game for a Man United fan to take.

 

I didn't think the final result reflected how tight the game was, even at 4-3 up Arsenal still looked susceptible to a sucker punch fro "The Wee Team from the North East" and only looked comfortable when Giroud fired home the fifth on the 84 Minute. Walcott impressed the whole game which was epitomised with his third goal, most players (looking at you Young, Bale, Suarez) would have stayed down looking for a penalty but quick as a flash Theo was back on his feet and firing into the roof of the net. If that performance has not convinced the club to offer him a new contract @ 100K / week I don't know what will, FFS you have Arshavin warming the bench most weeks on the same deal and when he comes on he doesn't actually do much.

I remember an incident last season when Oxdale-Chamberlain was playing a blinder and Wenger subbed him for Arshavin, even an amateur lip reader could see RvP mouthing "WTF is he doing?" I think that was when RvP decided to not renew his contract.

 

Which brings me back my my team, I, along many other Man United supporters were wondering WTF was SAF up to when he signed RvP, don't get me wrong I always rated him as a talent during his Arsenal days but I couldn't see where he would fit in, well he has answered that question hasn't he, just goes to show why SAF is the most successful manager in English Club football whilst i am a mere "Wondering Minstrel" Contractor.

 

I didn't realise how good he actually was, OK I admit the fact that I, the same as any other fan I assume, pays more attention to the performance, squad make up and overall balance of ones own club and watch other clubs games more as a source of entertainment rather than run a critical eye over them, but having seen him play week in week out for Man United both on TV (advantage of being in Thailand) and also at the Emptyhead stadium in the flesh I know recognise he brings a lot more to the overall team performance other than his phenomenal goal scoring, it's as if he has this sheer determination to win a medal this season and will kill anyone who tries to get in his way.

 

Vidic is back at last so hopefully we can start plugging some holes in the defence, amazing 20 games into the season and only Man United's fourth clean sheet in all competitions, I still have to pinch myself about conceding 28 goals in 20 games yet still 7 points clear and 3 goals to the good over the "Noisy Neighbours" unbelievable.

 

I hear it every year "This is the Weakest United Squad Ever", what do you expect with Jones, Smalling, Vidic, Rafael and Kagawa out at one time or another (and now Rooney) how many teams have the squad that could sustain such injuries and still be in the position Man United are at present?

 

Full credit to Steve Clarke and West Brom, they are not in a false position and I cannot see them doing a Hull City / Blackpool type of collapse in the second half of the season, they gave it a go at Old Trafford yesterday and were unlucky not to walk away with a point as were Newcastle on boxing day if I am being honest, depending on who wins the pots this season I wouldn't be surprised to see the Baggies in Europa Cup next season.

 

I am sure that Munchmaster, Chocolate Steve, Sajaan and myself will all be hoping Everton get a result over Chelsea at Goodison later today, but obviously for different reasons, not so sure about Steve though he is so ABU he may prefer Chelsea to play keep up with Man United rather than Arsenal going for third.

 

Happy new year to all my fellow football supporters on this thread.

 

Kong