The Official European Football (Soccer) Thread

[RUPERTKBD]

18 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

After all these years and I still don't completely understand the offside rule.  

 

Right.

 

Right.

 

Right.

 

This is what I don't understand.  How can his own teammate put him onside?  Wouldn't one of the opposition players have to do that by moving back between him and the goalie?  Which didn't seem to happen.

100%. I have seen similar plays over the years and it's obvious to me that there are aspects of the offside rule that I will never fully grasp....

 

BTW, off topic and apropos of nothing, I had a friend that I played hockey with (actually quite a good player) who told me that when he was young, he didn't understand the offside rule in hockey....all he knew is that it had something to do with the blue line...

 

On one close play at the line, he decided to jump over it and was pleased to see that offside was not called. It must have something to do with touching the line....

 

I have to imagine that his coach was rather confused to see him jumping over the blue line every time he had to cross it...

[thedestroyerofworlds]

The clubs in claret and blue defeated the clubs in blue today.  Villa beat up Everton and the Hammers beat Chelsea today.  I guess Chelsea will need to get 1, 2, 14 more players.

[Mj2345]

Crystal Palace/Arsenal 12pm Monday

[UnkNuk]

1 hour ago, thedestroyerofworlds said:

The clubs in claret and blue defeated the clubs in blue today.  Villa beat up Everton and the Hammers beat Chelsea today.  I guess Chelsea will need to get 1, 2, 14 more players.

If only they were willing to spend some money.

 

So of the Big 6, Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham all won, Man United and Chelsea lost.   Arsenal TBD.

[UnkNuk]

Whew!

 

Arsenal control play in the first half but can't score.

 

They continue to control play in the second half and score on a penalty.

 

Then Tomiyasu is sent off on the softest double yellow expulsion you're gonna see and Arsenal defended desperately for the remaining twenty or so minutes.

 

But defend they did and came away with a 1-0 victory.

 

[Ilunga]

On 8/21/2023 at 6:08 AM, UnkNuk said:

If only they were willing to spend some money.

 

So of the Big 6, Man City, Liverpool and Tottenham all won, Man United and Chelsea lost.   Arsenal TBD.

Big six ? 

 

 

 

I know we had a bad start however the Villans are coming.

 

I never thought I would be cheering against Ange however those top 4 spots are precious things.

 

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

14 hours ago, UnkNuk said:

Whew!

 

Arsenal control play in the first half but can't score.

 

They continue to control play in the second half and score on a penalty.

 

Then Tomiyasu is sent off on the softest double yellow expulsion you're gonna see and Arsenal defended desperately for the remaining twenty or so minutes.

 

But defend they did and came away with a 1-0 victory.

 

Mac Allister & Tomiyasu - the tribe has spoken

 

Tune in next week on spin the bottle

[UnkNuk]

18 hours ago, Ilunga said:

Big six ? 

Yep.  (Although I erred - I included Tottenham rather than Newcastle.)  The oddsmakers have spoken.

 

[Ilunga]

1 hour ago, UnkNuk said:

Yep.  (Although I erred - I included Tottenham rather than Newcastle.)  The oddsmakers have spoken.

 

I despise betting institutions.

Gambling is for idiots. 

 

We will see at the end of the season.

We just missed out on a top six spot last year, 7th, after a terrible start.

A full season of Emery, our new signings.

I don't expect to win, however a top six spot is not an unreasonable expectation.

[UnkNuk]

4 hours ago, Ilunga said:

Gambling is for idiots.

As someone who has, from time to time, wagered on sporting events and horse races, all I can say is: there have been days when I would agree with you.

[Ilunga]

23 minutes ago, UnkNuk said:

As someone who has, from time to time, wagered on sporting events and horse races, all I can say is: there have been days when I would agree with you.

I didn't mean to make it personal about you however I have an intense dislike of gambling.

It is a disease and used to be recognised as such in my home state of Victoria.

No casino, no pokies when I was growing up.

Now we have corrupt casinos, money laundering, pokies everywhere. 

I don't drink alcohol however you are better off pissing your money against the wall.

[Mj2345]

Chelsea/Luton Town 12pm Friday

[UnkNuk]

3 hours ago, Mj2345 said:

Chelsea/Luton Town 12pm Friday

And I hear people ask:  "Where is Luton Town and why are they in the Premier League?".

 

Or at least that's what I asked.

 

And here's what I learned:

 

"Luton Town Football Club (/ˈluːtən/) is a professional football club based in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1885, they are nicknamed The Hatters due to the historical association of the town with the hat making trade and have played home matches at Kenilworth Road since 1905."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luton_Town_F.C.

 

and

 

Since the Premier League's inception in 1992, Luton have never been involved.

 

The Hatters were relegated from the old First Division in the 1991/92 campaign, meaning they missed out on the inaugural campaign by a matter of months.

 

And since that year, they have never been close to playing in England's top flight.

They were relegated to what is now League One in 1996, where they remained until 2001 before dropping into League Two.

 

The Hatters then enjoyed a resurgence as they made it back up to the Championship in 2005 and finished tenth in the 2005/06 campaign.

 

However, that was as good as it got for Luton, and they suffered three straight relegations to end up in the National League in 2009.

There they remained until 2014, when Luton finally won the league, with a young Andre Gray leading the line.

 

The first two seasons in League Two saw the Hatters finish in the top half before Nathan Jones arrived.

 

The Welshman propelled Luton into League One before departing and returning once they were in the Championship, and they have been in the second tier of English football ever since.

This means it is 31 years since the Hatters last played in the top flight of English football.

 

They made the play-offs last season, only miss out on a trip to Wembley by losing to Huddersfield.

 

But under Rob Edwards, things have been very different, and they will play in the Premier League for the first time.

 

Speaking after the win over Coventry, Elijah Adebayo said: "This group is special. Commiserations to Coventry, it was a hell of a battle and they pushed us all the way.

"We've said it since the gaffer has come in, he said we were going to do it but we had to believe it.

 

"If you look at Luton, every year they seem to improve their position in the league. I just wanted to come here and do my best and aim for days like this.

 

"The fans who have been here since Luton were relegated to the conference, this is for them."

 

After a tumultuous time since Luton were last relegated from the top flight, they are back and will bring Premier League football to Kenilworth Road for the first time.

 

https://talksport.com/football/1428726/have-luton-town-ever-played-premier-league-football/#:~:text=Since the Premier League's inception,by a matter of months.

 

Go Hatters!

 

[UnkNuk]

4 hours ago, Mj2345 said:

Chelsea/Luton Town 12pm Friday

Putting aside my Arsenal flag for a moment, I'd have to say the notable game of the weekend is Newcastle/Liverpool on Sunday at 8:30am.

[UnkNuk]

On 8/24/2023 at 5:19 PM, Mj2345 said:

Chelsea/Luton Town 12pm Friday

And Luton Town becomes Raheem Sterling's new favourite team.  To play against.  Scores two and sets up a third in a 3-0 Chelsea victory.

[UnkNuk]

Arsenal 2 Fulham 2

 

And that's how you lose the League Title.  By pissing away two points here and there.   

 

And I have to agree with the commentators:  when you have the opposition on their back foot with attacking soccer why change things and go into a defensive shell when you get the lead?  Just keep attacking.

 

(Nice game by Vieira, though.)

[nuckin_futz]

1 minute ago, UnkNuk said:

Arsenal 2 Fulham 2

 

And that's how you lose the League Title.  By pissing away two points here and there.   

 

And I have to agree with the commentators:  when you have the opposition on their back foot with attacking soccer why change things and go into a defensive shell when you get the lead?  Just keep attacking.

 

(Nice game by Vieira, though.)

It's also how you lose $100. lol I had Arsenal to win. &(@^%

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/champions-league-draw-bayern-grouped-with-man-united-psg-in-group-of-death/

Champions League Draw: Bayern grouped with Man United, PSG in group of death

 

MONACO — Draw made Thursday for the UEFA Champions League group stage:

Group A: Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester United (England), Copenhagen (Denmark), Galatasaray (Turkey).

Group B: Sevilla (Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lens (France).

Group C: Napoli (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Braga (Portugal), Union Berlin (Germany).

Group D: Benfica (Portugal), Inter Milan (Italy), Salzburg (Austria), Real Sociedad (Spain).

Group E: Feyenoord (Netherlands), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Lazio (Italy), Celtic (Scotland)

Group F: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle (England).

Group G: Manchester City (England), Leipzig (Germany), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Young Boys (Switzerland).

Group H: Barcelona (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Royal Antwerp (Belgium).

[UnkNuk]

3 hours ago, thedestroyerofworlds said:

Group B: Sevilla (Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lens (France).

Ahhhhhh.

 

3 hours ago, thedestroyerofworlds said:

Group F: Paris Saint-Germain (France), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle (England).

Ouch!!!

[UnkNuk]

Arsenal v Manchester United.   Sunday, September 3, 8:30am PDT.  Going to be broadcast on NBC.

 

Major game for both teams.  It's these games between the Big Six teams that will go a long way in determining who finishes first in the league this season.