Is diving the cancer of the game?

[O Fenomeno]

Greece is the biggest example that lightening does not strike twice

[Guest M12]

Greece is the biggest example that lightening does not strike twice

you're being so narrow minded its stupid. Barcelona are a poor example because they have some of the best players in the world in every position, who are well drilled and confident they are the best. Greece have NEVER had the personnel to play football to the level a team like barca does, are you trying to tell me that Greece should turn up every week and try play one twos and one touch ball against teams that are clearly better than them, all for th love of preserving the beautiful game? Of course not. You play to your strengths, if greece tried to outball everyone in the euros they won they would not have won that tournament. Its the same in every sport/walk of life. Everyone cant be Floyd Mayweather. There are always going to be teams/people who have to win ugly.

[O Fenomeno]

All I have been saying in this conversation is the fact

Beauty always overcome Beast

The Beast will have it's day

While Beauty will have many days

I will always prefer teams who play beautiful football.

Put it this way teams who play football have enjoyed success more than teams who play sh*t on stick

Forget Barca

The most succesful teams play football but there will be a time as proven where Anti Football wins

Dortmund for an example (totally outplayed City on their own ground)

are not Barca but they play football and are very successful

I don't even know there is a debate about this

I didn't say Greece had to play like Barca but I said teams who play negative football they normally get nothing 99 times out of 100 while teams who play football to win have a much higher percentage chance to win trophies

[TF S4DK]

I rather lose playing beautiful football than win playing sh*t on stick football.

What if it lasted for 7 years tho, without a trophy?

TBH your backin up Porchy argument as we won our last trophy 7 years ago playing probably our most negative cup final display. Karma is telling Wenger to never do that again, along with playing kids against the then best team in the country.

[LS]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq65vw_gary-neville-tells-it-like-it-is-on-diving_sport

[O Fenomeno]

In the season 02-03

The all Italian final where Milan beat Juve on penalties at Old Trafford in the worse UCL final ever.

Juventus were the better team going into that game because they had Europe's best footballer at the time(Nedved) but he was suspended for the final

Juve played the best football in Europe that season and they totally outplayed Real home and away

Anyways after Milan won the UCL they were going to sack Ancelotti because of the manner how Milan won the Champions League

Ancelotti got warned and told from now on to play with a front two

03-04

Deportivo went to the San Siro in the quarters both teams had a go

Milan scored four and Pandini managed to get a crucial away goal

Then the 2nd leg at the Riazor

Milan set back and Depor played football(created chances and put four past Milan without reply)

When Valencia won La Liga in 02/04 they won it by playing the best football not by sitting back and hoping the opposition are wasteful in front of goal.

/

Here is a question

For the next two seasons the Fa Cup Final is between Wigan and Stoke

Wigan dominated both finals but lose on penalties to Stoke on both occassions.

Sir Alex retires

And the shortlist is down to Martinez and Pulis who would you hire?

/

Milan went out

04-05

Milan dominated Liverpool in the 1st half were three up then Rafa changed the formation and the rest is history

06-07

Ancelotti could of easily been negative against Liverpool after what happended in Istanbul but he decided to stick to his principles.

[O Fenomeno]

Some clown tried to say Chelsea had no choice but to play like Greece

Chelsea have always had ballers

All I am saying is if Chelsea try and deploy them tactics again the bus is going to get smashed into pieces because I refuse to believe high quality players will be wasteful again in front of goal.

[Guest M12]

Some clown tried to say Chelsea had no choice but to play like Greece

Chelsea have always had ballers

All I am saying is if Chelsea try and deploy them tactics again the bus is going to get smashed into pieces because I refuse to believe high quality players will be wasteful again in front of goal.

How you feel about your boys real madrid? They are much better than chelsea but have been known to "park the bus" against madrid in recent years

[O Fenomeno]

I was waiting for this

Under Capello when we won the title on head to head

I didn't celebrate it as much even though we beat Barca in the 1st game but it's the brand of football is what deaded me

Under Schuster we won it by a margin and we played sexy football that title win I celebrated it

/

Look at this difference

Under Pellegrini when we went to the Camp Nou we lost 1-0(Ibra's winner) but we had a go and missed three one on ones

When we went to the Camp Nou for the 1st time under Mourinho we parked the bus and played stick on sh*t

We got raped 5-0

Since then on the last two league visits we have a had a go and got a 2-1 win and a 2-2 draw

Making things happen>>>Relying on things to happen

[Flojo]

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq65vw_gary-neville-tells-it-like-it-is-on-diving_sport

Pains me to say it but Neville is the best premier league pundit by a country mile

[O Fenomeno]

That's a bad thing

Neville has become bad since he took that coaching role

He was non-biased/refreshing but now he is very biased/salty

[Kompressor]

its all politics now init,

He can't offend his underlings now can he,

its a shame really,

[Greens]

Still a million times better than the nonsense people like Jamie Redknapp and Andy Townsend come out with.

[Guest M12]

tactics truck was sick though

[O Fenomeno]

Now this guy here has to the biggest bellend there is after Adrian Chiles

I first noticed this in 2006

During the coverage of UCL final between Arsenal/Barca in Paris

They asked him about his predictions

He said Barca had no chance despite them containing a starting eleven with Xavi/Deco/Giuly/Eto'o/Dinho that had Larsson and Iniesta in reserve

He said with The Henrys and The Fabregas and The Pires's of this world they will have way too much in the tank for this average Barcelona side.

/

The guy gave Gerrard a MOTM award because he kept on going and running

Then he awards Lampard the MOTM against Ukraine because he showed courage to step up and take the pen

[Guest M12]

I think townsend is worse than chiles. Chiles kinda knows hes a tv personality, he will say the odd controversial/stupid statement and then step back and leave the pundits to debate. Its only really Roy Keane who calls him out on how stupid he is. Andy Townsend genuinely believes he knows what hes talking about. Thats pain.

[O Fenomeno]

I would never get hired by these guys then if that's the case

[The Infamous]

townsend,chiles,pleat and andy gray are clueless to me

they dont actually know anything about football apart from the same cliche says which they have rehearsed

gray is atleast interesting with his clueless opinions i simply dont rate the rest

[Kompressor]

Wow, thought I was the only person who hated Andy Gray and the dumb love-in that surrounded him,

As if people (not on here) were saying sh*t like it was a sad day for FOOTBALL when he and Sly parted company, it was the biggest blessing in disguise ever, I don't even watch that crap more time but each time I did I didn't see anything great from Gray apart from his ability to work that big computer thing,

Now he's on talksport he has confirmed my beliefs,

[Thizz]

Andy Grey had the voice for it unlike half the guys on there now.

[Flojo]

townsend,chiles,pleat and andy gray are clueless to me

they dont actually know anything about football apart from the same cliche says which they have rehearsed

gray is atleast interesting with his clueless opinions i simply dont rate the rest

Steady on, Pleat's a g you can tell he really cares about the game.

Greets everybody watching at home, gives every player a nickname (personal favourite is Benyanoon for Yossi) and likes to tell you a grandpa-esque story at least once a game.

Top commentator is Pleat.

[O Fenomeno]

Pleat is sick

Too many quoteables

“There we see the little man trying to scratch the big man”

“Daniel Anderson's a little ferret of a midfield player”

“Sergio Ramos was an expensive addition to Spain”

“These wingers are showing great intervention in invention”

“Little wide outside right” (meaning ‘right wing’)

“Of course! Deco has got eyes in the back of his head...I forgot about that!”

“Moutinho using his weight there - all 5’ 7” of it”

“Republic of Czechoslovakia”

"The Dutch will be wary of the big lad pulling off at the back post"

"He's got the world at his dancing feet" (on Christian Ronaldo)

"He is a good defender, a fish and chips man"

"Brian McBride is pound for pound as good as any of the top strikers in the Premiership"

"This will be the first time we will be two thirds of the way through the match"

"Ronaldo was coming in behind Ashley Cole there" (on Giggs; Ronaldo had supplied the cross)

"Great save by Michael Carrick" (on Cech saving from Carrick)

"And here we have a real movie star menace in that of Didier Drogba"

"What a swivel and a shot from Redknapp" (On Frank Lampard nearly scoring)

"I'm not too sure how much you get for winning the Champion's League, but it's definatly 10 million euro"

"If United get through, they'll play Chelsea or Liverpool, in an all-Premiership tie, which is also an all-English tie, and also an all-British tie"

"Here we see Tevez's little curly one"

"There he goes again, doing doggies"

"The ball is tied to his feet, but where's the string?"

"Giuly's only 5'6 he's not very tall for a winger"

"I don't know if that was a good bad one or a bad good one"

"Manchester should brush past Roma tonight but it won't be easy"

"The Romans are now disappearing, on the bus, trains or where ever they live"

"There's Jermaine Defoe, checking the weather on his phone no doubt...he's a lovely boy"

Clive Tyldesly: "Well, we have a Spanish referee for this all English encounter"

Pleat: "Yes, well it is hot"

"Who's coming off? It might be King, he certainly knows who's coming off, but only Ledley knows for sure, so we can't tell you"

"Carrick will be the deepest of the threesome"

"Statistics are damn lies"

"He had to cut back inside onto his left foot, because he literally hasn't got a right foot"

"Martin kick-your-legs as we used to call him when he was playing for West Brom in the 80s. He went home, ate a few pies, and now he's back and Spurs are grateful for all he's done"

"He wasn't really trying to score with that shot"

"Preki quite literally only has the one foot"

Clive Tyldesley: "This wont be United's biggest win in Europe. They actually won a game 10-1"

Pleat: "I remember that as a young man, against Anderlecht, wasn't it?"

Tyldesley: "It was in 1903, David"

"Robbie Keane does not miss. I can tell you now, Robbie Keane does not miss." Following Robbie Keane's subsequently missed penalty: "He usually puts it the other way"

"Marseille needed to score first, and that never looked likely once Liverpool had taken the lead"

"The pitch looks a bit like custard"

"I always thought Justin Hoyte was right footed but it seems like he has improved his left foot too. He's played well at left back for Arsenal today" (commenting on the match where Armand Traore was playing left back and Justin Hoyte was on the bench)

"Dennis Bergkamp has been a wondrerful player for Arsenal down the years and I'm sure he'll be a valuable member of the squad for years to come" (on Bergkamp's career after his testimonial match at the emirates)

"No pain without gain"

"I would take advantage of this and make the wall stand the full 10 metres back"

"It looks like he's pulled a rabbit out of the bag"

"To be offside there must be daylight between the players and there was a little daylight there so the ref has got it right" (on Joe Cole's goal that was NOT dissallowed against West Ham)

''Ive just noticed something interesting, the left and right backs have both got long sleeve shirts on"

"Liverpool have got 9 games in the next 29 games"

"Of course, Steven Gerrard is one of only a few Liverpool players who never get left out by Rafa. And even he doesn't always get picked"

"Giggs is enjoying himself in the middle of the threesome"

"Liverpool are sending a message to the Liverpools and Chelseas"

Clive Tyldesley: "David, whats your prediction for the match?"

David Pleat: "Good evening everyone, a lovely night for football"

Clive Tydsley: "If Babel had scored it would have been the quickest hatrick in champions league history"

David Pleat: "Was that in the uefa cup?"

"The sight is in end"

''Carrick has got all the ingredients in his recipe''

"Ronaldo draws a lot of comparisons with George Best, the incomparable George Best"

"Jonathan Woodgate is telling the bench that he can't deal with the pace of Henry and wants to come off"

"The Greek commentators are going mad, and they're standing in front of us. Sit down!"

"I feel like a drunken man who doesn't have a drink. I've never known a Groundhog Day like this and I'll have to go and see the film to find out what it's all about"

"He's a water carrier, a hard worker, a bit of a dog... a ferret"

"Bordeaux's champagne country, isn't it?"

"I think they'll have to throw the kitchen sink at them now a bit. Maybe not the whole sink, with all the plumbing - maybe just the taps for now"

"He's a local favourite, born and bred in Salford" (On Cardiff-born Ryan Giggs)

"They’ll be happy with that, but they'd be more happy if it went in"

"Zola's got two feet"

"We are now in the middle of the centre of the first half"

"We just ran out of legs"

"At this moment there is not a problem at this moment"

"I was inbred into the game by my father"

"There's a little bit of a South American touch, if that's not Irish, about this European side, Portugal"

"That would have put the icing on his start"

"Pires has got something about him, he can go both ways depending on who's facing him"

"He's got a brain under his hair"

"And the steam has gone completely out of the Spanish sails"

"I've seen some players with very big feet, and some with very small feet"

"This is a real cat and carrot situation"

"Winning isn't the end of the world"

"The man we want has to fit a certain profile. Is he a top coach? Would the players respect him? Is he a nutcase?"

"He hits it into the corner of the net as straight as a nut"

"Had we not got that second goal, I think the score might have been different. I’m not sure"

"Eighty per cent of teams who score first in matches go on to win them. But they may draw some. Or occasionally lose....."

"A game is not won until it is lost"

"Stoichkov is pointing at the bench with his eyes"

"For such a small man Maradona gets great elevation on his balls"

"Our central defenders, Doherty and Anthony Gardner, were fantastic and I told them that when they go to bed tonight they should think of each other"

"There's Thierry Henry, exploding like the French train that he is"

"If there are any managers out there with a bottomless pit, I'm sure that they would be interested in these two Russians"

[TF S4DK]

Everybody is replaceable.

Problem with Sky is they haven't replaced Gray, Neville is good in the studio, but not as a co-commentator and don't get me started on Niall Quinn, Alan Smith, etc...