Team-BHP - The Football Thread

EPL - After two weekends:
Arsenal - well, sorely missing RVP :Frustrati. Defense is doing OK (but should see how they fare against Liverpool). Good to see Santi playing well and could see Podolski getting adapted fast but no one can replace RVP.
RVP can create a goal out-of-nowhere. Just seeing his first goal in United colours could make anyone realise what Gunners will be missing huge this season. Sahin to Liverpool is another blow. He could have made a brilliant partnership with Arteta and could have filled the void left by Song somehow. With this form, its going to be a struggle this week against Liverpool.

Chelsea - I could see them being a force this year. Clearly, in-form Torres and quickly adapted Hazard makes them a very dangerous outfit. With new signings Moses, Oscar & Marko Marin - they are a team to watch for.

United - They were lethargic against Everton and paid the price. Did well against Fulham and overcame a late Dembele scare. Dembele is now being tracked by United & Spurs.
RVP scored his first goal against Fulham and what a goal it was. Kagawa is also playing well. But I could see them struggling not to concede.
They need a very good midfielder ASAP. Injured Rooney is another cause for concern but they are not short of firepower.

City - Started off well but struggled against Liverpool. They are lucky to get away with a point at Anfield, if not for a horrible backpass. But with quality of stars at their disposal and Tevez nearly back to his best - any sane man could bet their money on City. Have to see how they perform in Champions League.

Liverpool - after losing out horribly against WestBrom they did quite well against City. They did well to hold their reputation of playing good against top teams and the quite opposite to lower ranked teams. Excellent game for Allen, their new signing from Swansea. With Sahin coming in, they should do fairly better than the last season.

Tottenham - Struggling start to say the least but now with some high profile signings expected from Modric's sale (like Lloris, Damio, Moutinho etc) they may claw their way back after sometime but could struggle for next few weeks.

Swansea, Everton had a great start. Westbrom did quite well in both the matches - beating liverpool in first game and holding out Spurs for a draw.
Interesting to see how they build on it.

My take on the matches today:

Arsenal – Liverpool.

Liverpool was the better team IMO. I do not understand what is wrong with this Liverpool team. They have decent players, they also create good enough chances but just the finishing isn’t there. Arsenal were dominated in the 1st half even though they were a goal up. I was happy to see a more clinical Arsenal side – a goal on counter attack was a good surprise. Podolski and Cazorla played well today. Giroud looks like a left-footed Chamakh to me.

Manutd – Southampton.

For the first time I have not angry when ManUtd won the match in extra-time. Blame it on Van Persie being a former Gunner. In fact I was happy to see him score all three goals. Southampton looks a promising side who play with great unity and determination. I still think this ManUtd side is not a title challenging side. They looked pretty average to me. I know it is still early to comment on trends but for me City/Chelsea will the stronger teams.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saanil (Post 2890600)

Arsenal – Liverpool.
Liverpool was the better team IMO. I do not understand what is wrong with this Liverpool team. They have decent players, they also create good enough chances but just the finishing isn’t there. Arsenal were dominated in the 1st half even though they were a goal up. I was happy to see a more clinical Arsenal side – a goal on counter attack was a good surprise. Podolski and Cazorla played well today. Giroud looks like a left-footed Chamakh to me.

Definitely. Liverpool was indeed quite wasteful. The first Arsenal corner came only in the last 10 minute of the game. We really need someone better than Borini to pair up with Suarez. New signing Sahin had an uneventful debut, and the old guards Gerrard and Reina looked a bit out of sorts.

For Arsenal I was not very impressed with Giroud, but Cazorla looks like the season’s find for them. And Diaby was excellent in the midfield

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saanil

For the first time I have not angry when ManUtd won the match in extra-time. Blame it on Van Persie being a former Gunner. In fact I was happy to see him score all three goals. Southampton looks a promising side who play with great unity and determination. I still think this ManUtd side is not a title challenging side. They looked pretty average to me. I know it is still early to comment on trends but for me City/Chelsea will the stronger teams.

With or without RVP, it was so typical of ManU. They somehow have the knack to grind results, even without a title challenging side. Actually I feel they are much stronger than last year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saanil (Post 2890600)

Manutd – Southampton.

For the first time I have not angry when ManUtd won the match in extra-time. Blame it on Van Persie being a former Gunner. In fact I was happy to see him score all three goals. Southampton looks a promising side who play with great unity and determination. I still think this ManUtd side is not a title challenging side. They looked pretty average to me. I know it is still early to comment on trends but for me City/Chelsea will the stronger teams.

United are always really slow starters. Things start happening only around Otober and traditionally it is the december time and beyond when we are the strongest. If united are still winning games now then it bodes really well for them.

In this game RVP had enough good chances to score at least 6 goals! S'ton didnt create very much but united defence is all over the place right now so conceded 2 unnecessary goals. But this will go away in time. Important is to still win games by outscoring the opposition. I'm, for one, loving it. Better to win 3-2 than a boring 1-0.

I think the league title will still be between Man United and Man City. Both Chelsea and Arsenal will fade away as they do not have the same pedigree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx (Post 2890748)

Yes it boils down to that.

Chelsea are one injury away from losing their only striker (Torres). Do they have a good enough and dependable replacement?

Same for l'Arse. Who will score goals from them?

United and City do not have the same problem. League will be won by team scoring most goals that is for sure. Lets see.

Wrong choice of word my friend. :)

It is Depth, not Pedigree. I am quite sure Arsenal has the latter in abundance. And don't discount Chelski just like that. I think they are strong.

But its just too early to call the season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 2890759)

Agree that title race could be between two Manchester clubs, and I will add Chelsea also into the mix. But pedigree and Man. City?? :)

well its pedigree of the players and the manager.

Mancini is a seasoned campaigner with plenty of experience of winning leagues (he's won now in both Italy and England). And although its painful to say they have plentiful of great players and proven winners in the squad like Silva, Aguero, tevez, toure, Kompany etc. Their only problem is the GK, if Hart's broken then it can fall out for them.

with Arsenal even Arsene seems to have lost that pedigree. And I do not think they have any players left who can really make a difference. Sorry Arsenal fans.

Chelsea are trying to ride their luck with only 1 striker and no backup but yes, they can buy anyone in January if Abrahomich happens to wake up on the right side of the bed for them at that time. But he is too moody. Remember how he didnt allow Carlo Ancelloti to buy anyone!!!

Interesting rumour here: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sp...-16205819.html
There is news going around that Drogba will soon become a free agent due to the power struggle happening at the Chinese club’s board room. I hope Liverpool get one more backup striker this week.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx (Post 2890788)

well its pedigree of the players and the manager.

That way yes, but it’s more of capability/squad strength than pedigree.
When it comes to pedigree, I will rate the likes of Man U, Liverpool, and Arsenal above others :)

rohanjf, do you guys still play here...i would like to join in since i stay nearby....

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohanjf (Post 2831656)

Who would like to play football on Saturday mornings?

A few of us play at the Bethel Academy school ground, which is near Mullur village (about 2 km from Decathlon, Sarjapur Road). We play between 7 and 9 am.
Since this is a private property, we spoke to the person who runs the school, and we donated goal posts to the school. So we got permission to play on weekends, when the school is off.

Since the ground is big, and we are only 7-8 people, we need more people. No monetary contributions are expected.

For directions, enter these coordinates in the search field of Google Maps:
12.905259,77.728904

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roh

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinu_h (Post 2961416)

Hard to believe that someone as skilled can still find it difficult to make ends meet in our country. Really saddens me.

Fifa certified referee drives an autorickshaw for a living

Its nothing to be sad about really. A lot of international and league refrees do all sorts of jobs for a living. Refreeing is not a full time/professional job really.

Its the same with other sports too. Even cricket umpires in India.