The TT Football Club

[NickC]

Originally Posted by latinking

It still amazing to me how overated Messi is and how underated his teamates are ( Inesta, Xavi, Pedro etc ). Of course Messi is a great player no doubt!! BUT he is overated , he is SOOOO greedy and gets a pass on the many terrible desicons he makes all the time. Count the number of times he loses possesion of the ball due to his greed when he has WIDE open players to pass to for instance. Or how many bad shots he takes in a match to get his 1 goal. It makes me wonder how much people actually watch the matches, or just the highlights. Watch Barca when Messi doesnt play, they are still a great team. Watch Barca when either Xavi or Inesta is not playing and they are no where as good. Messi is a Great player on a great team. World cup was a great example of how without the right system and certain players around him he is not so amazing.

Having said this he wil probabley win the award!!! HAHA

Hope this makes sense I am half alseep!!! LOL

The general consensus among people that actually follow football closely is that Xavi is the best player on the planet. And Initesta underrated? Yeah, that's why he's probably going to win the Ballon d'Or.....

[Feña14]

Iniesta certainly used to be underrated, he's getting alot more recognition these days though which is nice. I personally prefer him to Xavi, they've very similar players in that they have amazing vision and can pick out a pass. The thing that separates them for me is the pace of Iniesta and the fact he can go past players.

Having said that, the Ballon d'Or is Sneijders! Would be great to have it back in Serie A.

[Cesc Fabregas]

The best prospect in England signed a new 5 year deal today.

[Cesc Fabregas]

Horrible night of football. People can wank over Bale as much as they want but he hasn't destroyed a premiership side like he has destroyed Inter, they were **** scared of him for some reason. Sneijder is the most overrated player on the planet.

[PED]

Nice work by Bale and Van der Vaart.

Given the way the perception of EPL quality has dropped in the last year or so, I'm glad to see an EPL side kick the snotout of a top Euro side ....even if it was Spurs

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by PED

Nice work by Bale and Van der Vaart.

Given the way the perception of EPL quality has dropped in the last year or so, I'm glad to see an EPL side kick the snotout of a top Euro side ....even if it was Spurs

It's a strange one with people saying the quality of the Premier League has dropped. Chelsea are playing the best football they ever have, they're quite possibly the greatest side in Europe right now. Arsenal are probably the strongest they have been in 5 years, sure Man Utd and Liverpool aren't as good as they were, but Man Utd are still one of the best teams around. Then you have the likes of Man City and Tottenham especially are a quality side. The result they got last night against Inter Milan is no major shock at all, they would of been disappointed if they didn't get a result against Inter. Then you have the rest who have raised their game this year, teams like West Brom, Newcastle and Blackpool have come up and have made the league even more competetive, often through high quality football. The teams at the bottom like Wolves have quality in Doyle and Jarvis, they were brilliant against Chelsea a few weeks ago and they would of caused anyone problems with the way they played against Man City. When you have a team with the quality they have expected to go down, it shows the strength of the league.

I think the perceived dip in the Premier League came when Chelsea and Man Utd got knocked out of the Champions League early last season. Everyone thought that was the end of the English dominance, but the ties could of gone either way against Bayern Munich and the first leg of Chelsea v Inter (where Chelsea were the better team in the San Siro, they only lost through a deflected goal and penalty at the end of the first half that would of changed the tie). They say Spanish football has taken over but lets not forget, only Barcelona made it past the round of 16 and even they didn't get to the final.

[Peters]

I think it's fair to say Premiership football is less 'pretty' than it used to be, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's weaker now. It's certainly a lot 'tougher' than it used to be, and I think there are fewer god-awful teams these days (teams that would finish the season on less than 18 points for example).

Look at the current 3 teams in the relegation zone - they could give any of the top 5 teams a run for their money at home. So in that sense, you could argue the league is better due to the increased competitiveness. Not only that, teams coming up from the Championship are proving to be very strong.

In Spain, you get two teams who run rings round everyone else - their football may be very attractive, but very little competition.

[PED]

^^^Hence the use of the word "perceived" in my comments

The best players in the world no longer want to come to England. Most likely that is because of the tax issue.

Yes, Chelsea is fantastic this year and I agree, they're likely the best side in Europe.

I think you are correct, Liverpool is a big side and their complete lack of form def is not good but they'll sort it out and be back strong. Having said that, remember how good Leeds used to be back in 00,01 and 02

I love english football and think it's the most entertaining in the world.

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by PED

...I love english football and think it's the most entertaining in the world.

the video coverage is better than most as well...IMO.

[bad_call]

whoa...Chelsea kicked Spartak tonite...or was that pre-recorded? does Ana Ivanovic have a brother who plays for Chelsea?

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by bad_call

whoa...Chelsea kicked Spartak tonite...or was that pre-recorded? does Ana Ivanovic have a brother who plays for Chelsea?

It was tonight yeah, Chelsea were in 2nd gear throughout really. There was no Bosingwa, Terry, Malouda, Lampard, Essien and Drogba and Anelka were took off early, saving them all for Liverpool on Sunday no doubt.

And nope, it's Branislav Ivanovic who's of no relation. Interestingly, Nemanja Vidic is married to an Ana Ivanovic, none of them are related to the tennis player

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by Feña14

It was tonight yeah, Chelsea were in 2nd gear throughout really. There was no Bosingwa, Terry, Malouda, Lampard, Essien and Drogba and Anelka were took off early, saving them all for Liverpool on Sunday no doubt.

And nope, it's Branislav Ivanovic who's of no relation. Interestingly, Nemanja Vidic is married to an Ana Ivanovic, none of them are related to the tennis player

do u think Liverpool will fare better against Chelsea? (apologies - haven't kept up with teams in a while)

[PED]

Originally Posted by bad_call

do u think Liverpool will fare better against Chelsea? (apologies - haven't kept up with teams in a while)

B, sorry to be blunt but the answer is no!!!

Milan looked good in the 2nd half against Real today, shame they couldn't hang on for the win.

Ronaldo's rolling around in the 1st half was disgraceful.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by bad_call

do u think Liverpool will fare better against Chelsea? (apologies - haven't kept up with teams in a while)

On paper, Chelsea shouldn't have too many problems. Liverpool are a fairly average side these days, they have 2 world class players in Reina and Torres, and a very good one in Gerrard. Unfortunately though Torres has been going downhill the last 18 months and Reina seems to be struggling too. Chelsea won there 2-0 last year to effectively seal the title.

Chelsea knew they had to fix the problems they had against tricky teams last year, so far they have done that against Wigan and Blackburn. The next box to tick is to win the games against the big 4 like they did last year. I'm sure they'll be bang up for this one and anything less than 3 points will be a big opportunity missed.

[NickC]

Originally Posted by Feña14

On paper, Chelsea shouldn't have too many problems. Liverpool are a fairly average side these days, they have 2 world class players in Reina and Torres, and a very good one in Gerrard. Unfortunately though Torres has been going downhill the last 18 months and Reina seems to be struggling too. Chelsea won there 2-0 last year to effectively seal the title.

Chelsea knew they had to fix the problems they had against tricky teams last year, so far they have done that against Wigan and Blackburn. The next box to tick is to win the games against the big 4 like they did last year. I'm sure they'll be bang up for this one and anything less than 3 points will be a big opportunity missed.

I've got a funny feeling that Liverpool could be a tricky encounter. Gerrard was great in his cameo against Napoli and I think he'll look to continue that run of form. John Henry is making a lot of good moves so far, and from what I can see, it's slowly starting to take an effect on the pitch. Liverpool are never an easy match-up, no matter who you are. They're probably looking to get a good result at Chelsea to kick-start their season and show everyone that they still are a big club that belongs in the top echelon of English football, so things could go either way tomorrow.

However, with that being said, and even though Lampard is out, I fully expect Chelsea to walk away with all three points, albeit not comfortably.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by NickC

I've got a funny feeling that Liverpool could be a tricky encounter. Gerrard was great in his cameo against Napoli and I think he'll look to continue that run of form. John Henry is making a lot of good moves so far, and from what I can see, it's slowly starting to take an effect on the pitch. Liverpool are never an easy match-up, no matter who you are. They're probably looking to get a good result at Chelsea to kick-start their season and show everyone that they still are a big club that belongs in the top echelon of English football, so things could go either way tomorrow.

However, with that being said, and even though Lampard is out, I fully expect Chelsea to walk away with all three points, albeit not comfortably.

I'm with you there, this is a very tricky time to play Liverpool. Reading how Maxi thinks Liverpool will win and Hodgson saying Chelsea are "vulnerable" should be enough incentive to ram it down their throats. Hodgson has made alot of enemies in the Liverpool media in such a short space of time, hopefully we can give them some more bullets to fire at him.

We won there 2-0 last year and absolutely battered them, the second half they hardly touched the ball and it was wave after wave. I think we need to press hard early on, get the fans quiet, and then dominate from there. If Chelsea are patient and remember they are individually better than their equivelant Liverpool player, it should go ok.

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by PED

B, sorry to be blunt but the answer is no!!!

Milan looked good in the 2nd half against Real today, shame they couldn't hang on for the win.

Ronaldo's rolling around in the 1st half was disgraceful.

looks like Liverpool didn't agree with you. HAHA!! Liverpool vs Chelsea == 2-0

[Cesc Fabregas]

The bad thing about football it ruins your weekend if you lose. We've lost 2 home games against promoted sides this season and if we had won like we should have we'd be top of the league. Story of the last 5 years, missed opportunitys.

[Feña14]

Originally Posted by Cesc Fabregas

The bad thing about football it ruins your weekend if you lose. We've lost 2 home games against promoted sides this season and if we had won like we should have we'd be top of the league. Story of the last 5 years, missed opportunitys.

Yep, it pretty much sets your mood for the next few days. Luckily today I was at a wedding in the Cotswolds, where they have no phone reception at all, so was unaware we lost. Not sure how the game went but looking at the stats, it seemed we dominated Liverpool so the result seems a bit strange to me at the moment.

[bad_call]

entertaining sport where the outcome can be shocking. watched Barcelona vs FC Copenhagen and watched a few post hits that didn't go in for Barcelona. score ended 1-1...credit to Copenhagen for their defense.