Football (Soccer) Thread

[Sheilbh]

Went to the pub with an Argentine friend to watch the Merseyside derby. Not the best one 

Pub, friend or match ?

Match. Superclasico it was not

[Josephus]

Went to the pub with an Argentine friend to watch the Merseyside derby. Not the best one 

Pub, friend or match ?

Match. Superclasico it was not

End of season malaise setting in. The Man u. v. Chelsea game was also pretty slow.

[Ed Anger]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

[mongers]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

Still can't get over Yanks commentating/following English football clubs/matches, it's almost like you guys enjoy it.   

[Josephus]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

Still can't get over Yanks commentating/following English football clubs/matches, it's almost like you guys enjoy it.   

WEll, the Premiership is just a tad better than MLS.

[crazy canuck]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

Still can't get over Yanks commentating/following English football clubs/matches, it's almost like you guys enjoy it.   

Yanks have by and large rejected hockey and like basketball.  We can infer, therefore, that yanks have good taste in sport and so will also like soccer.  Even though they tend to cheat when playing the sport.

[Barrister]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

Still can't get over Yanks commentating/following English football clubs/matches, it's almost like you guys enjoy it.   

It is wierd - EPL games are getting more and more coverage over here.  It used to be you had to go to really obscure ethnic bars if you wanted a soccer fix, but now they're being covered on the major cable sports channels.

[mongers]

Gerrard did have a constant angry face going in the derby. Sorta amusing.

Still can't get over Yanks commentating/following English football clubs/matches, it's almost like you guys enjoy it.   

It is wierd - EPL games are getting more and more coverage over here.  It used to be you had to go to really obscure ethnic bars if you wanted a soccer fix, but now they're being covered on the major cable sports channels.

No doubt someone like JR could tell us more.  I get the impression with the influx of 'foreign' money into the game, there's and effort to market the clubs as global franchises. Plus the American money into MU/the Glassier et al, might means those guys are promoting their clubs in North America sports market ?

[FunkMonk]

A lot Americans who played soccer as kids (like me) are grown up now and have jobs and degrees and families and want to spend money on trivial things like watching soccer so it's been receiving greater and greater coverage over the past several years, culminating in NBC taking over the English Premier League TV rights next season. If ten years ago you had told me that NBC would show English soccer on their main network I would have laughed all day long.

Now it is reality 

[Ed Anger]

It's something to watch on Saturday and Sundays in the off season for me. Plus I'm hoping to see a bloody riot break out.

[Josephus]

It's something to watch on Saturday and Sundays in the off season for me. Plus I'm hoping to see a bloody riot break out.

It's no longer the 80s. British football has become, by and large, fairly safe and riot free. you need to start watching East Euro football for good old fashioned hooliganism.

[The Larch]

It's something to watch on Saturday and Sundays in the off season for me. Plus I'm hoping to see a bloody riot break out.

It's no longer the 80s. British football has become, by and large, fairly safe and riot free. you need to start watching East Euro football for good old fashioned hooliganism.

Or the Turkish league, or lower leagues. The Premier became quite family friendly since the 90s.

[Ed Anger]

I got a police horse punched at least.

[FunkMonk]

European soccer is hilarious.

[katmai]

No more Sir Alex to kick around!

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is retiring at the end of the season, bringing an end to more than 26 trophy-filled years at the club.

''The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly,'' Ferguson said in a statement on Wednesday. ''It is the right time.''

The club did not immediately announce a successor.

Since taking charge at Old Trafford in 1986, Ferguson has established himself as the most successful manager in British soccer history, having reversed a previous plan to retire at the end of the 2001-02 season.

After the Scotsman secured a 13th Premier League title two weeks ago - extending the club's record English championship haul to 20 - he declared that he had no retirement thoughts.

But now he has just two more matches left in charge of the club he has turned into one of the world's biggest sports teams.

''It was important to me to leave an organization in the strongest possible shape and I believe I have done so,'' Ferguson said. ''The quality of this league winning squad, and the balance of ages within it, bodes well for continued success at the highest level whilst the structure of the youth setup will ensure that the long-term future of the club remains a bright one.''

Ferguson will stay at the club as a director and an ambassador.

''With these activities, along with my many other interests, I am looking forward to the future,'' Ferguson said. ''I must pay tribute to my family, their love and support has been essential.''