Soccer Thread

[Rob S]

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by Rob S

I wake up at 7:30 on a Saturday and this is my reward....bleh. Bale is just absurdly good right now. And that twat Perch didn't jump. Thank God Mr. T is back.

If Spurs don't make CL this year, I'm terrified we will lose him. :(

Anyways off to bed. COYS!

[Rob S]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

Especially with Willian getting sold by Shaktar so Dortmund should be able to keep building their momentum through the round of 16. They've been as good as I've seen them since the winter break.

Originally Posted by Caddy

If Spurs don't make CL this year, I'm terrified we will lose him. :(

Anyways off to bed. COYS!

You will lose him regardless I think. If not this year, next.

[Brent]

Really, a stretcher for that? Goddamnit.

[Rob S]

Originally Posted by Brent

Really, a stretcher for that? Goddamnit.

Could be a break......looks like he is pretty damn messed up. He certainly isn't faking it.

[Rob S]

Ugh. I hate playing against Bale so much.

[Rosebud]

Spurs should manage to get into the CL this year. Bale's amazing, Dembele and Holtby give their midfield great drive and skill, the defense has been excellent, and you've got guys like Defoe and Lennon having career years.

[Rob S]

It was all Bale today. Everyone else looked terrible bar Lennon (but he had an easy time with Santon who was gassed after playing the full 90 with Italy). Bale is just so ridiculous atm.....top 5 in the world for sure.

[SuperPacker]

Bale 2-1 France

[Naga114]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

Spurs should manage to get into the CL this year. Bale's amazing, Dembele and Holtby give their midfield great drive and skill, the defense has been excellent, and you've got guys like Defoe and Lennon having career years.

I want this year to be Fellaini and Everton CL year, they managed a good first half and I hope they ancor themselves at the 4th place.


Marko Marin scored, I'm happy for him and Chelsea (followed him since his 'gladbach days)

[SuperMcGee]

Hell, they can all make CL. City looks terrible.

[Trogdor]

Originally Posted by SuperMcGee

Hell, they can all make CL. City looks terrible.

At least Gareth Barry scored?

[pierce2walker]

Bale has been absolutely killin it lately

[Wootylicous]

Southampton played great.

[Trogdor]

Blatter: Racism bigger issue than match-fixing

Sepp Blatter downplays match-fixing

I do believe I called that. Blatter will do anything to deflect focus away from discussion on investigating match-fixing. Popular topic recently is racism despite not even a month ago he berated Milan and Boateng for walking away due to racist chants during a friendly in Italy.

Blatter needs to get ousted in the worst way but the entire organization is so corrupt no one can challenge him (see: Hammam whom conveniently had been investigated for corruption and bribery right after declaring his intent to challenge Blatter).

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by Rob S

It was all Bale today. Everyone else looked terrible bar Lennon (but he had an easy time with Santon who was gassed after playing the full 90 with Italy). Bale is just so ridiculous atm.....top 5 in the world for sure.

Bale is responsible for 80% of our wins this year. 10% is Aaron Lennon and the other 10% goes to the team in general.

[Rosebud]

I'd give Defoe's goal scoring and Dembele's drive from midfield more than 10% each. Both have been more important than Lennon. But yes, Bale has been impeccable. Not a winger better than him other than Ronaldo and Ribery.

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by Rob S

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

I'd give Defoe's goal scoring and Dembele's drive from midfield more than 10% each. Both have been more important than Lennon. But yes, Bale has been impeccable. Not a winger better than him other than Ronaldo and Ribery.

Lennon has been really great and I'd say more important than Defoe and Dembele. He has been responsible for most of the goals that aren't set up by Bale. That isn't to discount Defoe (whose finishing has been top notch) and Dembele who controls the midfield so well with his passing, but Lennon is having the best season of his career. Full-backs must absolutely hate playing Tottenham at the moment.

Bale is just in a class of his own. I'd take him over almost every player in the world, I'd even rather have him than Ribery.

[Rosebud]

Eh, Lennon's having a great year and it's very close between he, Dembele and Defoe, but I think he's third in that group, Defoe's scored some wonderful goals out of nothing, and Dembele's maturing into one of the world's best and most unique box-to-box midfielders not named Yaya or Khedira.

As for Bale/Ribery, that's close, as they're my #2 and #3 wingers after CR7, but I have to give the nod to Ribery, he's playing absolutely astounding and has been for the past year and a half, he's the best player on a Bayern team that's dominating and probably the best team in the world after Barca, and just got done toying with the world's best FB, Phillip Lahm, in a friendly for France.

[pierce2walker]

Ribery's got him in the looks department too

[Rosebud]

How can you look at that face and not immediately want to...run and hide under your bed covering your butthole...

[Caddy]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

Eh, Lennon's having a great year and it's very close between he, Dembele and Defoe, but I think he's third in that group, Defoe's scored some wonderful goals out of nothing, and Dembele's maturing into one of the world's best and most unique box-to-box midfielders not named Yaya or Khedira.

As for Bale/Ribery, that's close, as they're my #2 and #3 wingers after CR7, but I have to give the nod to Ribery, he's playing absolutely astounding and has been for the past year and a half, he's the best player on a Bayern team that's dominating and probably the best team in the world after Barca, and just got done toying with the world's best FB, Phillip Lahm, in a friendly for France.

Dembele has been great, but he has also missed a number of games (nearly 50% of total league games). I can only judge based on what I view (which is basically every Spurs game), but Lennon is dominating games more than Dembele. Defoe has been more of a finisher than a creator, which is why I think Lennon is above him. I think you may be underestimating Lennon, because he has had a number of games this season where he has been absolutely untouchable. A lot of these have come at super important times to, like when Bale gets zoned out every odd game.

Bale/Ribery may as well be a wash. No point really trying to argue one is better than the other when it is incredibly obvious that both of them are amazing.

[Rosebud]

I'm willing to concede both points. I haven't watched Tottenham that every week, and Lennon may be more influential than i'm giving credit for, but to me his success has been in large part because of Bale and Dembele's impact leaving him free to take on LBs 1 on 1 with space a lot. He's still played great and confident with that freedom, but I think that those two are more important because they create that space. And Defoe's just been clinical out there, his performance is probably not significantly greater than lennon's for their positions, but Defoe being a striker on form makes his influence greater than a traditional winger like Lennon. But we're splitting hairs as I think all 3 have been having great years and share almost equal claim to the title of spurs' 2nd best player.

And Bale/Ribery may well be a wash, I rate Franck as a clear second to CR7, but both have been so excellent that it Bale certainly has his own claims. I just think Ribery's ability to have that huge an influence on a dominant team places him a little higher than Bale's greatness for a good team that relies more on him and gives him more freedom to screw up since the team relies on him whether he's playing well or not. Kinda like the somebody's gotta score for a ****** basketball team idea, Tottenham give Bale more of the ball and more freedom to do what he wants with it, while Ribery has to beat out plays like Kroos, Schweini and Robben/Mueller for the right to dictate play.

Eitherway Tottenham should be a really strong team next year. A midfield trio of Sandro, Dembele and Holtby could boss any team in the EPL in the center of the pitch other than Citeh when Yaya's free to just take over. With Bale and Lennon attacking off the wings, a strong defense, great goalkeeper and another striker to push Defoe and Adebayor, that's a CL team.

[Caddy]

How ever you look at it, it is a great time to be a Spurs fan :)

I truly believe we are a top notch striker away from being big contenders.