Football Thread

[TRF_Cymro]

Post all Football / Soccer related discussion in this thread.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Liverpool put up for sale by American owners

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have confirmed their intention to sell the debt-ridden Premier League club by appointing a new chairman.

British Airways boss Martin Broughton will oversee the sale of the Anfield club, which is £237m in debt.

"They've recognised a complete sale is the right thing to do at this stage in time," Broughton told BBC Sport

.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8624597.stm​

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Paul Ince resigns as MK Dons manager

Paul Ince has resigned as MK Dons manager and will stand down from the role at the end of the season.

Ince said a reduction in funds for next season was the reason behind his decision to leave.

He told the club website: "I don't feel it will be possible to take the team forward as I would have liked due to the budget cutbacks."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/milton_keynes_dons/8624903.stm
​

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Liverpool's Fernando Torres out for rest of season

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.

The 26-year-old, who saw a specialist in Spain on Sunday, has been troubled by the problem for a number of weeks.

A Liverpool spokesman said: "It was decided that he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee.

"This will be carried out later on Sunday and, as a guide, the usual rehabilitation period for this type of procedure is around six weeks."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8628770.stm​

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Lens reject Pompey plea to play Dindane in FA Cup final

Lens insist Pompey are liable for a £3.5m payment if the 29-year-old on-loan striker plays against Chelsea.

"The Lens chairman has dug his heels in," Pompey's administrator Andrew Andronikou told BBC Radio 5 live.

"I've asked the player and his agent to go and see Lens and I hope something positive will happen from a meeting."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/8628604.stm
​

 

[Saints1]

If Torres wasn't so injury prone he'd go down as one of Liverpool's best ever.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Bold statement that Dan ... in front of the likes of Rush / Roger Hunt / Fowler / Dalglish / Billy Liddell and Gordon Hodgson

 

[Saints1]

He'd be amongst those names certainly. The lad's class, he's just always injured. No doubt Spain will rush him back for the World Cup and we'll be back to square one next season.

 

[mohamed_ali12]

Huge rumour going around London and the interweb today:

• Steven Gerrard gets 16 year old pregnant
• tries to pay her to get it aborted
• wife off shagging Kris Commons (Derby player)
• Stevie living in a hotel in Southport
• Gerrard to Spain in the summer

Just wow. I'm a Liverpool fan and this year is just getting absurd if this is true.

 

[SelimNiai]

Burnley will play Championship football next season after relegation was confirmed after getting tonked 4-0 by Liverpool. Inevitable really even with beating Manchester United and Everton at the beginning of the year.

 

[Teh Mite]

Looks like tomorrows headlines will be about a dead referee found in Barcalona... If he makes it out of Spain alive after disallowing that goal I'll be amazed.

 

[hermanshire]

Hereford United beat Stockport 3-0 at Edgar Street

 

[sened]

Gutted for Cardiff City but well done Liverpool! Cardiff need to go for promotion now!

 

[psychic duck]

This is Loulou Nicollin the owner of Montpellier Football team

And here are some quotes from him.

"MAXWELL, ISN'T THAT A COFFEE?"

Aiming a blow to PSG ahead of the weekend's clash, Nicollin has mocked the calibre of signings that the capital club have made. Linked with Carlos Tevez, Alexandre Pato and many other top stars, they instead aquired the likes of Alex and Maxwell, and the director was quick to poke fun at Sunday's opponents. The left-back now has a point to prove.

"JEAN-CLAUDE DASSIER, HE IS ADORABLE, BUT HE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE A BULL P***** FROM."

At times Nicollin can be easily irritated, and former Olympique de Marseille president Dassier managed to provoke this gem of a quote following a disagreement between the two. Frustrated by a relative newcomer to the Ligue 1 presidential club, the Montpellier president launched this comment towards his erstwhile colleague at Stade Velodrome.

"I'D RATHER MY SONS GOT INVOLVED IN SPORT THAN CLASSICAL MUSIC. THAT BORES ME SENSELESS. I'VE GOT NOTHING AGAINST IT, BUT I'D RATHER WATCH CURLING THAN LISTEN TO MOZART."

Involved in Montpellier for nearly 40 years, Nicollin is clearly a man passionate about his club and his sport, and these words of fatherly advice have been taken on board by his sons. Laurent Nicollin now manages much of the day-to-day running of La Paillade, while Olivier is also following his father's footsteps by enjoying a close relationship with the club.

"I PREFER [ROLLAND] COURBIS TO [CARLO] ANCELOTTI ... GREAT COACHES ARE THE ONES THAT WIN ***LES WITH HALF-GOOD PLAYERS. WITH COURBIS, HE WON PROMOTION TO LIGUE 1 WITH A HALF-MONGOLOID TEAM."

Political correctness is certainly not high on the agenda of the Montpellier president, who suggested that PSG were wasting their money on the Italian coach earlier this year. Lauded the world over, Nicollin believes that Ancelotti has benefitted from strong financial backing in the past and that the true test of a coach's mettle comes with taking a less able group to success.

"I COULDN'T CARE LESS, SO LONG AS HE GETS ME INTO THE TOP DIVISION. IF HE'D BEEN SELLING DRUGS OR RAPING YOUNG GIRLS, I WOULDN'T ACCEPT THAT. BUT I DON'T WORRY ABOUT SUCH SILLY THINGS."

Nicollin proves that he is a man of morals ... well, sort of. Questions were raised about coach Rolland Courbis at the end of the 2006-07 season, when Montpellier were nearly relegated from Ligue 2. There were suspicions that a key end-of-season match against Ajaccio was fixed by Courbis, but it was his transfer dealings while with Marseille that ultimately drew a stint in jail.

"WELL DONE BASTIA. THEY HAVE BIGGER BALLS THAN US. WE HAVE SHRIVELLED OLIVES."

After a disappointing defeat against the Corsican side, Nicollin questioned the manliness of his team, suggesting that they didn't possess the same commitment and bravery as their rivals. This is a recurring theme in his tirades, though the "shrivelled olives" comment makes this rant one particularly worth remembering.

"MONTPELLIER CHAMPIONS? IMPOSSIBLE. ALL I'M WORRIED ABOUT IS THAT WE MIGHT QUALIFY FOR THE EUROPA LEAGUE. THAT'D P*** ME OFF. WHAT A RUBBISH COMPETITION!"

It's the Champions League or nothing for Montpellier in Nicollin's view. Speaking frankly, the president effectively branded Europe's second-tier club competition as a joke, although if La Paillade were to meet Manchester City or United in the tournament, he would doubtless be a little more welcoming to the extra games.

"PEDRETTI RAN THAT GAME IN MIDFIELD. BUT THAT GUY, WHEN HE COMES TO MONTPELLIER, WE'LL LOOK AFTER HIM. HE'S A LITTLE F*****."

Unimpressed by the manner in which Benoit Pedretti - in Nicollin's view - dictated the refereeing decisions of a 2-1 loss against Auxerre, he drew widespread criticism for casually accusing the midfielder of homosexuality. An appology was quickly forthcoming, but it didn't hit the right note ...

"THEY LEAVE MORE BIRDS FOR THE REST OF US."

Nicollin may have said sorry, but his comments went down about as well as his initial statement. He said that he didn't have anything against homosexuals because "they leave more birds for the rest of us", but also managed a sexist statement, too, explaining why he made his initial remark: "We can speak freely, talk to each other. We're guys, not chicks."

"MONTPELLIER CHAMPIONS OF FRANCE? IF I WAS MARSEILLE, PARIS, LYON, LILLE OR RENNES, I'D STAB MYSELF IN THE A*** WITH A SAUSAGE! WHAT AN EMBARRASSMENT IT WOULD BE FOR THEM."

There can be little doubt that, going purely by their budget, Montpellier are grossly overachieving this season, and Nicollin has not been slow to let France's 'big clubs' know how demeaning it would be to them if MHSC held their form until the end of the season. Saucisson at the ready, should La Paillade win on Sunday night, then!

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1717/ed...myself-in-the-a-with-a-sausage-hes-a-little-f​

 

[psychic duck]

What are your thoughts on Paolo di Canio's rant against his young goalkeeper Wes Foderingham?

Good man management which will teach the player a lesson? or complete overreaction to ridicule the goalkeeper in public and has ruined the youngster's career?

 

[SelimNiai]

What are your thoughts on Paolo di Canio's rant against his young goalkeeper Wes Foderingham?

Good man management which will teach the player a lesson? or complete overreaction to ridicule the goalkeeper in public and has ruined the youngster's career?

Well that is Di Canio's managment style, it didnt work for Leon Clarke last season. It depends on the players temprament, is he going to be devastated by the comments or determined to prove Di Canio wrong.

 

[psychic duck]

Well that is Di Canio's managment style, it didnt work for Leon Clarke last season. It depends on the players temprament, is he going to be devastated by the comments or determined to prove Di Canio wrong.

Surely the best managers in the world, learn about their players and get to know them and adapt their management style accordingly to the player. I'm sure Ferguson doesn't give the hair-dryer treatment to every player, just the ones who feed off it.

Di Canio seems quite inflexible in his management style.

But at least he would be good entertainment for the press for a while if ever becomes a Premier League manager.

 

[john125]

Messi and Christiano ronaldo have such a big competetion in fan dragging. both have superb number of fans and they really add live to this game...

 

[psychic duck]

Some Tottenham fans squabbling over Brad Friedel's shirt he threw into the crowd.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20117987

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytKMEY2D5Ms

 

[psychic duck]

What's peoples thoughts on this ballboy incident?