OT: Association Football

[Suitman]

Go Matilda's.

 

[Gronk]

You were trying to quote me facts last week. lol.
Well, I quoted facts today. Shit membership facts.
And you came back with "sarcasm".
Come on Gronk. Stop defending the indefensible.
Your Eastern City team is a f**king joke with the head start they've had. The west has won.
The same west you support in Rugby League.
It's just like you are supporting the Roosters.

What's the go with you lately mate ? You seem to be looking for arguments.

 

[phantom eel]

Stop defending the indefensible.

:lol: This from the person who defended flares as an innocent part of the #atmosphere on here, for about a year until you came to your senses (or until the majority of WSW forum users changed their mind, and it was safe for you to do so too...)?

The west has won.
The same west you support in Rugby League.
It's just like you are supporting the Roosters.

Reading this made me feel like I was back in the school playground again... "I'm not, because you are", "girl germs" etc etc .

You're doing a great job Suity, please continue... :roll:

 

[phantom eel]

Dunno. Neither have I.
I'll let the true fans decide that.

As long as you've got your WSW membership, that's the main thing for an Eels fan Suity :thumn.

Go Matilda's.

Agree, they're going amazingly.

What's the go with you lately mate ? You seem to be looking for arguments.

:lol: True that.

 

[Suitman]

Finally a journalist calls out whinging Arnie. Well done Simon Hill.
Laughably, ESFC have only beaten 3 teams this season, and two of them are coming last and 2nd last. The third is the Wanderers. They haven't beaten anyone else. Big club my arse. The Man U of Australia Arnie called them. lol 13000 members. Hahahahaha.

Sydney FC must win next two games to back up talk of being ‘big club’, writes Simon Hill

11 hours agoby SIMON HILLSource: FOX SPORTS

“I believe I’m at the biggest and best club” - the words of Graham Arnold when taking over Sydney FC in May 2014.

Arnold wasn’t the first to invoke that hyperbole at one of the A-League’s so-called glamour clubs, and he surely won’t be the last.

But if Sydney FC truly are a “big” club, then they must expect and accept the attention - good, and bad - that goes with that label.

As things stand, the Sky Blues are 7th in the Hyundai A-League table. True, it’s the first time under Arnold’s reign that they have slipped out of the finals spots, and it was only last May they came within one game of being champions.

But that was then, this is now - and a win over Guangzhou Evergrande, as thrilling as that was, won’t be enough to paper over the cracks of an increasingly brittle domestic campaign, if results don’t improve.

Arnold doesn’t like the scrutiny his team is under at the moment. He won’t like this article. That’s unfortunate - but it can’t be helped. He feels it’s unfair to magnify Sydney’s failings when - for example - his old club, Central Coast Mariners, are enduring a woeful season, with just three wins all season.


Arnold believes there is a campaign to drive him out of Sydney FC. There isn’t. I haven’t heard one call for his dismissal from any fan, or facet of the media - perhaps for the simple reason that last year (and his previous triumphs) have bought him some time. Generally, Arnold is well-liked, respected, and has enough credit in his coaching bank to have earned him the right to try and correct the current malaise.

“Sack Arnie” agendas? Laughable. The truth is, Arnold has more friends in the Australian media than most. That’s not a slight against the Sydney FC coach - it’s a smart move on his behalf to have made allies down the years. Terry Venables and Harry Redknapp cultivated similar relationships in England. Relationships which - in the end - every coach needs when the inevitable sticky patch arrives. Just ask Holger Osieck.


Graham Arnold.Source: Getty Images
But not every journalist can be expected to toe the party line. The fans who pay their money every week want answers, and the media is duty bound to critique a self-styled big club, when it is underperforming.

There are mitigating factors to Sydney’s slide this season. The departure of Marc Janko and Bernie Ibini stand out - as does the mid-season flight of Alex Gersbach, plus the injury to the influential Alex Brosque. Filip Holosko hasn’t quite worked out as hoped as marquee, while Milos Dimitrijevic has been a shadow of the player who cleaned up at the clubs annual awards last season.

There have been plus points too. Especially the emergence of Brandon O’Neill, the improvement in Matt Jurman, and the gradual increase in output of Milos Ninkovic.

Still, the fact remains that Sydney are winless in seven, and have beaten only three clubs this season - Newcastle Jets (three times), Central Coast Mariners (twice), and Western Sydney Wanderers (twice). Four of those wins came by virtue of goals in the 82nd minute or later, and the team hasn’t won outside New South Wales all season.

But Sydney FC isn’t having any of it - insisting they are the victims of an insidious campaign.

The persecution complex started in earnest in late January, when they bristled at criticism of their defensive display in the Big Blue loss to Melbourne Victory. The club circulated an email the following week, containing statistics that proved (in their opinion), that the Sky Blues had actually played an attacking game - by courtesy of having made more entries into the final third, more penalty area incursions, and a similar number of total passes (to Victory) in the opposition half.

Personally, I didn’t buy it - but whatever. Defensive tactics are a perfectly legitimate part of the game, so long as it achieves the desired result - and therein lies the problem.

Sydney are not achieving results, even though they have tempered their approach of late. They will point out that, in their last seven games, they have played Victory (twice), Brisbane, City, Perth, Adelaide and Wanderers - all of the clubs now currently above them in the top six. They have lost only two of those games by more than one goal, and they should have beaten the Wanderers a third time. Fine margins and all that.

But that’s the measure of a big club - you have to win. Sydney FC hasn’t won a title in six years.


Imagine the coach of Manchester United or Real Madrid (some of the clubs that Sydney FC have been compared to - in an Australian context - down the years), being let off lightly with a similar record? No chance.

Constructing conspiracy theories simply doesn’t wash - the media doesn’t put rosters together, select the team, or pick the tactics.

That job belongs to Graham Arnold. At the Mariners, where the spotlight is less intense, a bad run doesn’t draw the same attention. At Sydney FC, they must live with that pressure.

The next two games - against Wellington and Central Coast Mariners - shape as season-defining, and with Roar, Adelaide and Perth to come after that, they must win both.

Because when the heat is on, that’s what big clubs do.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...l/news-story/c8c3fb17ca48cb62355dc59be5cad09f

 

[phantom eel]

Finally a journalist calls out whinging Arnie. Well done Simon Hill.

Who the f**k is Simon Hill? :lol: Real big news...

Laughably, ESFC have only beaten 3 teams this season, and two of them are coming last and 2nd last. The third is the Wanderers.

That's the bit you've got to remember there in bold Suity... the Wanderers are Sydney FC's bitch. Better hope that "small club" doesn't come up against the Wanderers in the finals - I don't think the RBB could stay out of jail when the Wanderers are knocked out and Sydney turns sky blue...

 

[Eelementary]

You believe everything the media tells you, phantom?

You must, because you're insistent on using the same line of thought (ie: "RBB are all criminals") every time the Wanderers are brought up.

I'd say it's jealousy of younger brother - arguably a much more powerful club in the A-League than the Sky Blues now -, but I'm not even sure you even follow football.

So I ask you - are you OK, mate? Because you seem extremely irritable over something you claim means nothing to you, and when something gets you so worked up, it has power over you - and it's not healthy.

But regardless of that, the Wanderers' fans - and there areore if them than followers of any other club - are largely well-behaved.

Hell, I've seen worse behaviour at Eels games - I was witness to two Eels fans trying to verbally, and eventually, physically, abuse a wheelchair-boybd Doggies fan; I watched two racist, drunken bigots wearing Eels jumpers get ejected from Pirtek for intimidating young boys wearing Warriors jerseys; and I watched one bloke, a friend of a friend of a friend, wearing his Eels colours proudly after having beaten his wife about because she dared to celebrate her team beating ours.

Likely, I've attended countless matches in the past where Sky Blues fans have been ejected.

You say that the atmosphere the RBB creates us thuggish and intimidating, but since you're obviously not a football fan, why do you care so much?

The media will report on the Wanderers and the RBB because it gets tongues wagging - Sky Blues fans wish their club could generate as much discussion.

We will always be privvy to more Wanderers-related news items simply because there are tonnes of us, and we get people talking.

Hell, the only way to generate discussion when it comes to Sydney FC is to listen to their clueless coach dribble on and on about the game he purportedly loves.

You can say it's in good fun and you're fishing - in fact, I expect nothing less -, but your obssession with Suity and my Wanderers is bewildering to say the least. If it doesn't bother you, it has no power over you - and yet, you're falling over yourself to sink the boot in at every opportunity, so...what gives?

 

[phantom eel]

You believe everything the media tells you, phantom?

No, my post above is actually indicating the opposite - "who is whatever-his-name-was"?

I'm not even sure you even follow football.

I enjoy watching good quality footbal - key match-ups in quality leagues, internationals.

So I ask you - are you OK, mate?

Fine thanks Eele. I think you might be missing the emoticions in my posts, if you think I'm getting worked up...

But regardless of that, the Wanderers' fans - and there areore if them than followers of any other club - are largely well-behaved.

But the RBB are still dickheads though... or do you disagree?

You say that the atmosphere the RBB creates us thuggish and intimidating, but since you're obviously not a football fan, why do you care so much?

Because I feel the RBB is doing Western Sydney (the place we're from - not the team) a disservice, via their continued behaviours that attract attention and scrutiny. (And because saying as much clearly upsets Suity ;-))

You can say it's in good fun and you're fishing - in fact, I expect nothing less -, but your obssession with Suity and my Wanderers is bewildering to say the least. If it doesn't bother you, it has no power over you - and yet, you're falling over yourself to sink the boot in at every opportunity, so...what gives?

Not obsessed, no power over me etc... but I do have an opinion the RBB's behaviour is not a good thing for (admittedly media-driven stereotyped perceptions of) Western Sydney. I do care about how my hometown area is portrayed - and people who contribute negatively to that (e.g. the RBB). I respect yours or anyone else's right to hold and express a different opinion .

See to me, this is just like any other thread on here - if people have an opinion, they should post it. For example, I personally think the WSW club, the WSW fans and the A-League should do more to distance themselves from the RBB and their repeated behaviours. There we go.

If other people then have a problem with my opinion, it's up to them how they choose to handle it / respond / ignore - and that bit doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I'm not sure if the ignore link is showing in my signature, but if people can't handle any particular poster, they just need to head to http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/profile.php?do=ignorelist and type in the person's forum name.

All the best Eele, beyond the opinion re the RBB stated above, any anti-Wanderers comments I make here are just banter .

 

[Poupou Escobar]

Sydney FC will be fine. They have their sights on another crack at the grand final. They will scrape into the semis and run amok from there.

 

[Suitman]

Sydney FC will be fine. They have their sights on another crack at the grand final. They will scrape into the semis and run amok from there.

I hope they do, but it's fun watching Arnie squirm.
I can't believe he has any more excuses up his sleeve, but he'll find them, regardless.

Last week he said that no other team in the country could have beaten Guangzhou as they did, yet he forgets that the Wanderers knocked them out of the quarter final stage and went on to win the ACL. The same year the Wanderers went on to make the Grand Final.
Arnie is getting desperate. Very, very desperate. His excuses are getting worse than Ricky's.

Suity

 

[Poupou Escobar]

He's just taking pressure off his players. Coaches/managers do it all the time.

 

[Suitman]

He's just taking pressure off his players. Coaches/managers do it all the time.

No, he's taking pressure off himself. He knows he's on the slippery slide.

Suity

 

[phantom eel]

Won't be too slippery once they knock their WSW biatches out of the finals...!

 

[Suitman]

Can't say I'm particularly happy with a 10/3 spread next season, but........so be it.

 

[Eelementary]

No, my post above is actually indicating the opposite - "who is whatever-his-name-was"?


I enjoy watching good quality footbal - key match-ups in quality leagues, internationals.


Fine thanks Eele. I think you might be missing the emoticions in my posts, if you think I'm getting worked up...


But the RBB are still dickheads though... or do you disagree?


Because I feel the RBB is doing Western Sydney (the place we're from - not the team) a disservice, via their continued behaviours that attract attention and scrutiny. (And because saying as much clearly upsets Suity ;-))


Not obsessed, no power over me etc... but I do have an opinion the RBB's behaviour is not a good thing for (admittedly media-driven stereotyped perceptions of) Western Sydney. I do care about how my hometown area is portrayed - and people who contribute negatively to that (e.g. the RBB). I respect yours or anyone else's right to hold and express a different opinion .

See to me, this is just like any other thread on here - if people have an opinion, they should post it. For example, I personally think the WSW club, the WSW fans and the A-League should do more to distance themselves from the RBB and their repeated behaviours. There we go.

If other people then have a problem with my opinion, it's up to them how they choose to handle it / respond / ignore - and that bit doesn't bother me in the slightest.

I'm not sure if the ignore link is showing in my signature, but if people can't handle any particular poster, they just need to head to http://forums.leagueunlimited.com/profile.php?do=ignorelist and type in the person's forum name.

All the best Eele, beyond the opinion re the RBB stated above, any anti-Wanderers comments I make here are just banter .

The A-League is just in its infancy stages - it's going to be a while before it becomes a truly quality league.

However, I'd say that the league is actually improving every year - it's certainly producing more Socceroo-standard players now than ever before.

I wasn't being facetious, by the way - I think you're a good guy, but you do seem really all too happy to fish and stir some shit, and I wonder whether others find it as alarming as I do.

I mean, emoticons or not, your phrasing often comes off as personal (some might even say vindictive) in tone.

I think a lot of the RBB - particularly the ones that are in the media all the time - are fools.

But there are also a lot of good, honest, hard-working denizens who belong to the Bloc, and they are truer Wanderers fans than blokes content to act like English thugs.

A great example is an elderly gentleman I know of 70+ years, who has been a passionate football fanatic since he moved to Blacktown from Athens decades ago. He was one of the first people in line to purchase a membetship to the Wanderers, and is all too happy to participate in the Poznan.

But I ask you - should he be considered a dickhead, because he classifies himself as a proud member of the Bloc?

Careful consideration - not blanket statements designed to inflame and offend - should be the recourse of a person who describes themself as enjoying a discussion.

I have no wish to ignore you, phantom, because I genuinely enjoy having discussions with you - but as you yourself said, you make some statements just to upset Suity. How, then, can we expect a balanced debate, when you're ruled by emotion?

I don't think the RBB is doing anything to negatively impact the people's perception of Western Sydney that meth addicts and criminals aren't already themselves doing.

The Bulldogs themselves - Coffs Harbour, salary cap dramas, coaching issues - have probably done more damage than the RBB, but the outrage is mute.

Flares should not be allowed into games imo, because they're illegal - not to mention that they can affect the game day experience for players and fans alike.

But taking a small sample of a population and casting aspersions, and making snide remarks about the entire population, is not the way a balanced debater should operate.

And so the logical conclusion to be made is that you stir people up because you enjoy it, and you enjoy it because you're angry - I'm afraid no amount of emotions can erase that.

But I know you're a rational person. I know it. And I think you should show it more.

 

[strider]

ffs eele, you were meant to pull the quoted post apart and addressit paragraph by paragraph ... such a rokie mistake

 

[Twizzle]

Eela is no rockie

 

[Suitman]

Eela is no rockie

That's for sure.
He's a good person. With a big heart.

 

[I bleed blue & gold]

Eela seems like a genuine human being. I'd like to meet ya one day mate and have a beer.

 

[Eelementary]

ffs eele, you were meant to pull the quoted post apart and addressit paragraph by paragraph ... such a rokie mistake

Eela is no rockie

That's for sure.
He's a good person. With a big heart.

Eela seems like a genuine human being. I'd like to meet ya one day mate and have a beer.

I love youse all.

And I promise to dissect it better next time!