Football (real)

[mpNYRB]

This is where I hopefully don't get torched...MLS PLAYOFFS START THIS WEEK

[JoshyBoy]

It's football... you're fine. What's your team?

[TheSaxlad]

This is where I hopefully don't get torched...MLS PLAYOFFS START THIS WEEK

American Football?

bah.

English Football

Man Utd ftw

[cena-rules]

It's football... you're fine. What's your team?

Bet you a tenner its New York Red Bulls

[GreecePwns]

It's football... you're fine. What's your team?

His team is my team. New York Red Bulls. We better fucking win it this year. It's still a disgrace that the biggest city New York has had to put up with such a disappointing team year after year. Finally we have some hope with a near complete roster change (only 4 players from last season) and a competent manager. Oh, and those other guys Angel, Henry and Marquez.

EDIT: Here's the schedule. Thankfully the league website made this super easy.

Quarterfinals (2 legs, no away goals rule, Game times in GMT -5)
Thursday 28 Oct 9 PM - Colorado Rapids vs Columbus Crew on ESPN2
Saturday 30 Oct 5 PM - FC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake on Fox Soccer Channel
Saturday 30 Oct 10PM - San Jose Earthquakes vs New York Red Bulls on TeleFutura
Sunday 31 Oct 8PM - Seattle Sounders FC vs Los Angeles Galaxy on ESPN2

Thursday 4 Nov 8PM - New York Red Bulls vs San Jose Earthquakes on ESPN2
Saturday 6 Nov 4PM - Columbus Crew vs Colorado Rapids on TeleFutura
Saturday 6 Nov 10PM - Real Salt Lake vs FC Dallas on Fox Soccer Channel
Sunday 7 Nov 9PM - Los Angeles Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders FC on ESPN

Semifinals (1 leg, better point total determines home field and teams listed in point total order, dates and TV stations TBD)

November 11 or 14 - New York Red Bulls/Columbus Crew/Colorado Rapids/San Jose Earthquakes
November 11 or 14 - Los Angeles Galaxy/Real Salt Lake/FC Dallas/Seattle Sounders FC

Final (1 leg at Toronto's BMO Field)
Sunday November 21 8:30 PM on ESPN and Telefutura

[DAZMCFC]

It's football... you're fine. What's your team?

Bet you a tenner its New York Red Bulls

I'll bet you a tenner it's POAK aswell.




it was the funeral of "Big Mal"(Malcolm Allison) yesterday. he was coach/manager of City in the late 60's until the late 70's. as a coach under Joe Mercer he was way ahead of his time with the coaching methods he introduced.


R I P Big Mal.

[GreecePwns]

I have yet to get the opinion of non-American fans on this issue. This is a what-if scenario for all to answer.

New York Cosmos Gear Up for MLS Expansion

Basically, a lot of people rip on MLS for not having relegation to a second division. There is a separately-run 2nd division, but clubs come and go every year due to finance problems - a craptastic failure rate of 75% - and this lack of stability means there's no reason for MLS to get in business with these clubs other than to buy up their stars. USSF hadn't got involved until this year when certain team owners tried to form a breakaway league. They set minimum financial requirements for whatever 2nd division league wanted sanctioning. But their requirements have been seen as way too strict, and both the old league and the new league have no chance of being sanctioned. All the second division teams will likely move down to the third division. The only chance there will be a second division in this country is if MLS makes one.

MLS doesn't have its own second division because it hasn't filled its first division yet. MLS started with 10 clubs, but its now at 16 and continues to add new clubs every year, taking up the big clubs of the lower divisions and starting up new ones in big cities where there are no clubs. So it will be at 18 teams next season and 19 the year after that. And it will keep growing until the league reaches its target of 24 first division clubs (which makes sense only for this country because of how massive it is).

So New York has the Red Bulls that have been around since the beginning of MLS playing on the west half of the city. But it seems more and more likely every day that a totally new club, a revival of the New York Cosmos, will be the 20th MLS club. So a lot of fans in New York (mostly the east half and Long Island from my discussions with fans) will have to make a tough choice on who to support by the time the Cosmos start playing in 2013.

To make things more complicated, another new club, FCNY, will be playing in the already swelling third division next year, just a 20 minute drive from the Cosmos' future ground. And another New York group is looking to start up a potential 3rd MLS New York club sometime in the future.

I'm know there will be plenty of "support your local club 'till you die" comments, especially from the European supporters. But the Cosmos were the local club of many of the current Red Bulls fans. The Cosmos were a club of the 70s and 80s that bought up plenty of aging legends like Chinaglia, Pele, Beckenbauer etc. and got national - international? I wasn't alive then - attention. You have to also consider that New York is a very big city and could easily support two or even more clubs, which is why MLS is letting the Cosmos in in the first place.

All of the ultras, supporters, etc. including me have pledged to stay, but there have even been fans who've left the team already and joining the Cosmos' supporters clubs (yes they exist) before the team even plays a game let alone breaks ground on a stadium.

This is a scenario every casual fan goes through whenever a new club is added near them.

So, imagine you live in Queens or Long Island, somewhere on the east half of the city and have been a casual supporter of the Red Bulls for six or seven years because you've just gotten into the sport. What do you do? What can the ultras and supporters do to keep casual fans from leaving the club?

[DAZMCFC]

Greece I wouldn't worry too much, maybe older fans will go back to supporting NY Cosmos, while the younger generation will stick to the Red Bulls. there are shit load of Man Ure fans whose dads were City fans, but because they were glory hunters defected to the red side of Manchester.

a big City like NY could support 2 or 3 teams easily if there are enough people to fill the stadia. Glasgow has 5 teams, Rangers & sellick in the SPL, then there is Partick Thistle, Clyde and Queens Park. London has at least 9 teams I know of(could be a couple more), 5 of them are in the Premiership.

[GreecePwns]

It's not that I'm worried about people leaving, it's that a lot of people here have no clue what to do.

[Gypsys Kiss]

It's not that I'm worried about people leaving, it's that a lot of people here have no clue what to do.

In most cases, for true football fans, the heart will win out. As Daz says, the ones who supported Cosmos back in the day, will probably go back, while the younger ones will stay with the Red Bulls. And then there are the glory hunters who will go where the success is.

As for me, I support a lower league team that nearly went bust a couple of years ago, even though I haven't lived in Stockport for 25 years. If they had I really don't know what I would have done. One thing I know for sure is that I would not have switched allegiance to Man Utd or Man City (I feel faint just thinking about it)

[DAZMCFC]

Wolves 2 Man City 1


Adebayor(pen).


same story, battered them for the 1st 30 mins. got to finish teams off like this and not let them get a foot hold and get the home support behind them.


Rangers 1 Invernes Caledonian Thistle 1

Edu.


shit 1st points dropped. in the lead after 11 mins and couldn't finish them off.

[pmchugh]

Rangers 1 Invernes Caledonian Thistle 1

Edu.


shit 1st points dropped. in the lead after 11 mins and couldn't finish them off.

Finally safe to come back on here I heard you guys were awful and didn't even look like winning, I certainly never seen that coming.

[GreecePwns]

San Jose 0 New York 1

The Quakes once again show they are a two-man team. Shut down Wondolowski and shut down Geovanni (the one from Hull) and all is good. Now to skewer them in the home leg.

Colorado 1-0 Columbus. Fixture congestion gets to Columbus, as they still have Champions League work to do. Colorado's 3 headed attack was just too much for their aging defense.
Dallas 2-1 RSL. Dallas still hasn't lost in 22 matches. RSL also looked heavy-legged because of their CL semifinal tie with Columbus.
Seattle 0-1 LA Galaxy. Too many missed chances for Seattle. Edson Buddle's gem gives Supporters Shield winners LA the early lead. See the goal here.

Highlights for all of four matches here

[Lord and Master]

Just a quick footnote to say: Daz, I saw the extended highlights of Valencia/Rangers match and you were bloody unlucky. When I saw the score first I just figured "oh well, Scots teams are rubbish in Europe, no biggy" but after watching it had, unusually for me, lot of sympathy for your lot, thems the breaks I guess...

[Gypsys Kiss]

Just a quick footnote to say: Daz, I saw the extended highlights of Valencia/Rangers match and you were bloody unlucky. When I saw the score first I just figured "oh well, Scots teams are rubbish in Europe, no biggy" but after watching it had, unusually for me, lot of sympathy for your lot, thems the breaks I guess...

Yeah....I feel the same way about Stockports last 2 games

[Lord and Master]

LoL
Fabulous, now lowly Bedlington Terriers, with an average home crowd of 120 are suddenly now basically the richest footy team on the planet!
Madness of a warm and fuzzy kind

[ga7]

Just a quick footnote to say: Daz, I saw the extended highlights of Valencia/Rangers match and you were bloody unlucky. When I saw the score first I just figured "oh well, Scots teams are rubbish in Europe, no biggy" but after watching it had, unusually for me, lot of sympathy for your lot, thems the breaks I guess...

Weird, when I saw the highlights I thought they would have taken at least two more without a McGregor on fire.
On another note I wonder if Bale will still be a Spur after winter

[DAZMCFC]

Valencia 3 Rangers 0


oh well looks like we have to win at home to Man Ure and away to Bursaspor. looks like it's the Europa League then.


Lech Poznan 3 Man City 1

Adebayor.


started of great and then lost our way. when we got the equaliser I thought we could easily go on and win. then Mancini brings on Kompany(not a bad thing if you take of Vieira) and takes off Milner. too negative at times Mancini.

[pmchugh]

Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen.

I would just like to say I love football, its amazing how 90 mins can change your mood completely

[DAZMCFC]

St. Mirren 1 Rangers 3

OG, Naismith, Miller.


back to the top of the league.


West Bromwich Albion 0 Man City 2


Balotelli 2.


needed this win to set us up for Wednesday's derby. Balotelli got sent off so he'll miss the derby, but we're going to appeal so we'll see.

[Royal Panda]

Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen.

I would just like to say I love football, its amazing how 90 mins can change your mood completely

Not wanting to put a downer on such a good week for Celtic on the pitch (and a good week for people like me who love to see Mark McGhee fail at everything he does) but what are your thoughts on the "poppy banner" displayed against Aberdeen?

Personally I think it's a shame that a few morons have to try this sort of thing every year and I hope they get all that's coming to them!

[DAZMCFC]

Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen.

I would just like to say I love football, its amazing how 90 mins can change your mood completely

Not wanting to put a downer on such a good week for Celtic on the pitch (and a good week for people like me who love to see Mark McGhee fail at everything he does) but what are your thoughts on the "poppy banner" displayed against Aberdeen?

Personally I think it's a shame that a few morons have to try this sort of thing every year and I hope they get all that's coming to them!

here here, they say they'll ban them, but I doubt that'll EVER happen.

[nietzsche]

Man Utd. !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Royal Panda]

here here, they say they'll ban them, but I doubt that'll EVER happen.

It shouldn't be too hard to find the instigators... even if they only ban one or two people, the cameras in the ground should show who bought in the banners!

[pmchugh]

Celtic 9-0 Aberdeen.

I would just like to say I love football, its amazing how 90 mins can change your mood completely

Not wanting to put a downer on such a good week for Celtic on the pitch (and a good week for people like me who love to see Mark McGhee fail at everything he does) but what are your thoughts on the "poppy banner" displayed against Aberdeen?

Personally I think it's a shame that a few morons have to try this sort of thing every year and I hope they get all that's coming to them!

Pretty horrible stuff tbh, nothing exactly new though. I wasn't sitting too far away from the banners and I couldn't even read them, bloody neds could at least make good banners if they are going to get us in shit lol. Its just another cringe moment, although it is being blowed out of proportion a little.