Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

Moyes problem at United was that he never got the full support of the Board with the funds needed to rebuild the team. Giggs being there also did not help you can tell he is just waiting ithere to take the managers job from the person he is meant to be assisting. United knew what they were getting with Van Gaal he has had the same style of play with his previous teams.

In my opinion Moyes inherited an ageing team that was already on the way down - cracks had certainly appeared in Ferguson's last season. It was no secret that he needed a big overhaul of the squad to maintain the success that Ferguson had delivered and was always going to struggle trying to follow him. I think 99.9% of managers would have struggled trying to follow that 'era' with the team they inherited.

Hindsight also plays a part in peoples minds. Seeing how certain players that have left and their success, compared to the performances of those that stayed. Van Gaal isn't Ferguson and has his own ideas and way of playing. It may not be the Utd way - certainly not the way Ferguson expects, but it is his way. Its not much different from his other teams. He was brought in because of his 'stats' as a manager, not because of the way he plays. I do believe that managers are more suited to certain clubs because of their philosophy and style of play. This style of play is usually established though during their most successful era and its not easy to have the same 'style' with different players, managers etc and of course the way football has changed over the years.

Don't think you can put all the blame on Van Gaal. Fact is, United currently has way too many average players or not performing to their best and if it wasn't for De Gea they'd probably be mid table or worst.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi: Let's face it, quality or not, players nowadays are just overpriced. Sure he hasn't bought well, but at the end of the day players still gotta perform when they hit the pitch.

Rooney was terrible during the first half of the season and he's the a captain for both club and country getting paid 200k a week.

@Bad-MuthaAdebisi: I don't agree with that, I think they would prefer Martial over players like Welbeck or Bony. With Martial, you just gotta give him more time. Don't forget players like De Gea, Ronaldo, Vidic or Evra didn't start well either. Chicarito is tough one, I felt he didn't get a fair chance, every time he didn't score he would get benched during the next game whereas Rooney always starts regardless.

Whatever happens next season, they definitely need to offload players like Fellaini, Carrick, Valencia and probably Rooney as well just to name a few. Schneiderlin has been average whereas Depay has been really disappointing but I'm hoping they can turn the corner next season. It's a shame Shaw got that terrible injury, I've been impressed with his performance earlier in the season.

A lot of the "disappointment" focus seems to be on Man Utd/Chelsea/Newcastle, but no one seems to have noticed how poorly Crystal Palace are doing now. This image shows a lot:

They've gone 12 games without a win, losing 8 in their last 10, and the last time they won was in December. Obviously it's a bit of an overreaction to say they'll be relegated, but they're 3 places off of the drop zone and in awful form. Could they go down?

Palace are not scoring goals so they are potentially in trouble right now. Once you get that losing mentality its hard to shake it. You have got to think Newcastle will start picking up some more points as well. For me it will be Villa, Norwich and one other probably Sunderland

Palace won't go down. They're in a slump, but they're much better than the teams beneath them and will come good.

Looks like Pato is out the door for Chelsea. Its a shame because the guy had so much promise in his early career. Also Falcao before he got his leg injury a few years ago he was such an amazing player. Its tough to see such great players just become shadows of there former selves.

Barcelona were class again last night. No shame for Arsenal losing to them no side maybe apart from Bayern Munich are at there level. Even Bayern are not at the same level as they were last season.

@dryrain: Has Pato played since transferring to Chelsea? So many players have become 'shadows' of their former self - its called ageing. I never thought Pato would cut it in the EPL - same with Falcao too. He was struggling a bit at Monaco after his injury. Players that rely heavily on Pace though are more greatly affected by ageing and injury - that half a yard makes a lot of difference. Its why Strikers tend to be at their 'prime' earlier than defenders and why Goalkeepers can play at the top level for longer. I know some can play beyond the 'average' prime age at a high level but often these are players that have more than just pace and adapt. Ibrahimovic (for example) doesn't run as much as he used to (he is more static in general, doesn't make unnecessary runs), cover as much of the field (conserves energy) and relies more on his strength and experience than pace.

Barcelona are a class outfit. I have been watching them for years on Sky Sports - I remember Messi making his debut and have probably watched 95% of his goals 'live'. The front 3 are certainly a force but are well supported and supplied from midfield with Iniesta and Rakatic (not quite Xavi). Messi often drops deep too to help out - maybe not so much with the defensive side but by giving them an option to pass to and help link the play. He also has the vision and ability to see and execute a pass that many others can't.

Bayern are certainly not the team they were but they are also without a lot of the 'quality' players they had because of injuries. Some of those quality players are at the 'tail-end' of their careers too - Ribery, Alonso, Robben, Lahm are all 30+

No Pato has not played for Chelsea. I kind of want to see Ibrahimovic in the premiere league he is such a character always coming out with something to say. He has done well to adapt his game. I agree with what you say about players relying on pace.

I did a stadium tour of the Barcelona football ground. On TV it does look big but when you are up in the stands at the highest point you truly realise how massive it is. I would love to see a game there one day. I think Barcelona are playing better now than they did under Pep. Which must wind up Real Madrid fans even more.

Barcelona have the Best 2 strikers in the world in Messi and Suarez, the best midfielder in the world in Iniesta and world class players in Mascherano (how Liverpool let this guy go is a complete mystery), Alves, Busquets and Alaba.

The Premier League has Aguero, De Gea, Kompany, Ozil and at a huge push Coutinho who could try to get in their starting 11. Only Kompany and De Gea would get in. Aguero and Ozil would make the bench. Its insane this Barca team.

Since Giggs has been assistant manager at Old Trafford united have been woeful. Fact.

I do not know why I thought Everton would be any different today. The home form has been awful and was compounded by the fact even Aston Villa have conceded less goals at home this season than us. I like Martinez as a person but he does not seem to be tactically aware enough and at the end of the season think we should be looking for a new manager. The squad we have now is the best in years yet we are performing the worst we have in such a long time. With a better manager we should be pushing for European football.

@dryrain: Agreed - but he will probably win us the FA Cup. Then drag us into a relegation scrap next year.

Liverpools season is almost over after the loss to Southampton - you have to win the UEFA Cup.

Any one see Liverpool v Dortmund ? Amazing game, some american "soccer" fan locked my original thread.

@Bazza78: Yes I am an American soccer fan and it was locked because we have this ongoing thread here to discuss soccer or football or whatever you want to call it. We don't need duplicate threads to discuss the same thing.

Thanks for understanding.

Oh for god's sake , let me post without you interrupting. Did you see Liverpool v Dortmund? Tasuki? The reason i started a new thread is because nobody had posted in this thread for 3 weeks. I'ts hardly a hive of activity is it?

@Bazza78: Sports tend to have times of inactivity or off seasons so of course there won't be any activity during that time.

I apologize for interuppting but from your comment you seemed a bit confused as to why your thread was locked, so I was just clearing things up. And no I didn't see the match as soccer isn't the easiest thing to follow here in the States unless it's the World Cup or the Olympics. There are some cable/satellite channels that will broadcast soccer but I don't have a cable/satellite subscription. I am glad you enjoyed it though.

@Tasuki: the premier league has been active, as well as england internationals. And still no posts in 3 weeks. I apologize i Didn't notice the topic it was that far down the forum list.