Sports The Football Discussion Thread!

Ivysaur said:
Villa was a sale from Barcelona (€2M), he's pretty old already to be honest, and everything he did for us last year is more than we could have ever expected from him. I can only thank him a million times and wish him a good time in his retirement in NY.
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Ah, so it's more like the David Beckham signing that the Los Angeles Galaxy did several years back.
 
Thought it was just paper talk but Norwich have actually gone and signed Lewis Grabban from Bournemouth. Pacey, versatile, hard working forward that got 22 goals last season. Considering the fact I was expecting a plethora of bosmans and loans this summer this certainly shows promise. Now, unless Hoolahan has shown a change in attitude I do hope to see a true number 10 through the doors next, not a massive fan of putting the likes of E.Bennett or Redmond through the middle.
 
That one resolved pretty quickly then, hopefully that one turns out to be a good move for your lot.

I haven't had much to say about Boro recently, but our kits for next season have been announced so I can show those off.

Spoiler:


Very different to usual, but they're both quite nice in my opinion.
 
Like the away kit a lot.

Still haven't released ours but it will be soon. Were probably waiting for the mood around the club to change, which has pretty much happened now.
 
Maybe they're expecting Mr. Grabban to be the kit model along with some other signings. I think I'd rather advertise a kit with positive new players than a bunch that recently got relegated personally.
 
Clearly saving the goals for the real games.

Sheffield Wednesday takeover complete. If he's looking to spend it would seem a tough Championship season just got tougher.
 
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Sorry I haven't posted much lately, my laptop is broke and I hate using my phone for PC. But anyway it all kicks off today and I'm pretty excited.

Who do you guys think will win?
And who would you want to win when your home nation goes out? (asssuming you live in a doomed nation like England or the US)

I'll say Brazil and Portugal respectively. I ordered a Portugal shirt to wear throughout the tournament and it came today (great timing) so my buzz is even higher for the tournament. Plus it just happens to coincide with the end of my exams so I can sit back and enjoy it.

Also get out of our game Mr. Blatter you've never done anything right as far as I can remember and now you've gone too far.
 
Nuke said:
Who do you guys think will win?
And who would you want to win when your home nation goes out? (asssuming you live in a doomed nation like England or the US)
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I don't usually pick winners right off the bat, but I know who I may try and support should my native Australians fail in the group stage (which I'm assuming will be highly likely given we got pitted with major powerhouses i.e. Spain and Netherlands) and I think I could lean towards the Brazilians for a change given it's their home ground and they do play really good.

And currently the match between Brazil and Croatia is underway, it's currently 1-1 for the score right now. I could see Brazil winning this one, but the one I know I want to try and watch is Australia's first group game against Chile. Here in Australia, SBS is broadcasting the event, in fact they have so many World Cup coverage they plan to show every single match live and also replay it for those who missed seeing their nation in action.

They've pretty much been Australia's go-to network for World Cup TV broadcasts so yeah gonna try and watch the really well anticipated matches that's for sure. I'm sure that this thread will be getting some huge activity for the duration of the event.
 
Not a bad opening match, nearly over now. Somewhat debatable penalty I suppose for Brazil's second, but the defender shouldn't have put his arms on him like that. Not well taken either tbh. Croatia are pushing now for the equaliser.

Dang what a shot just now, well saved. And now I edit again because Brazil just got their third, quite the eventful minute!

Looking forward to Australia's first match, although I don't think our chances are at all good. Chile, Spain and the Netherlands? =/ Still, at least we got there.
 
I hope Australia get pummelled after you gave us a pummelling in the ashes.
 
That penalty was completely ridiculous. Only in Brazil. Oh well. #RoboACroacia

I'm really scared for our opening match against the Netherlands :\
 
Hikamaru said:
They've pretty much been Australia's go-to network for World Cup TV broadcasts so yeah gonna try and watch the really well anticipated matches that's for sure. I'm sure that this thread will be getting some huge activity for the duration of the event.
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I'm certainly planning to watch all possible games and hopefully you're right about the activity.

bobandbill said:
Not a bad opening match, nearly over now. Somewhat debatable penalty I suppose for Brazil's second, but the defender shouldn't have put his arms on him like that. Not well taken either tbh. Croatia are pushing now for the equaliser.

Looking forward to Australia's first match, although I don't think our chances are at all good. Chile, Spain and the Netherlands? =/ Still, at least we got there.
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Definitely not a penalty, but I'm glad it happened because it saved my bet.

Hopefully Australia put in some respectable performances for you Socceroos even if they are unlikely to progress.

Hamj said:
I hope Australia get pummelled after you gave us a pummelling in the ashes.
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Meh it's only cricket they can have the ashes as long as they want.

Ivysaur said:
I'm really scared for our opening match against the Netherlands :\
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You'll be fine, I have a sneaky feeling Chile will get through at the Netherlands' expense.

Roll on day two!
 
Hamj said:
I hope Australia get pummelled after you gave us a pummelling in the ashes.
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But this time we'd be expected to be beaten. =p
Hopefully Australia put in some respectable performances for you Socceroos even if they are unlikely to progress.
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Same here, haha. I can accept losing, especially with the team we had (had to get rid of a lot of the old guard late due to a late change of coach - previous was terrible for us... and we've had a bunch of injuries too), but I hope we don't get smashed considering our group. And a draw would be nice.

Watch for our keeper Ryan, he's got quite some potential. Used to play for my local club and doing pretty decently for himself at Brugge. In fact, three players from my club (Central Coast) may very well start, at least two will (the other is the captain, Jedinak of Crystal Palace).
 
ESPN reporter Jorge Ramos is saying that FIFA have reached out to the US and has told them to get an organization committee ready should the increasing likelihood of Qatar's World Cup being stripped becomes a reality. The final decision is to be made in September or October.

(though as of now, the Tweet this was initially mentioned in has been deleted)

Ivysaur said:
That penalty was completely ridiculous. Only in Brazil. Oh well. #RoboACroacia

I'm really scared for our opening match against the Netherlands :\
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As long as you don't play against Brazil, you'll be totally fine.
 
Guess I'll be supporting Holland from that group as they're the only squad with a Norwich player. Not sure if I want Fer to have an amazing tournament to increase his value or an awful one so nobody wants him.
 
Ryoutarou said:
ESPN reporter Jorge Ramos is saying that FIFA have reached out to the US and has told them to get an organization committee ready should the increasing likelihood of Qatar's World Cup being stripped becomes a reality. The final decision is to be made in September or October.
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Yeah I'm hoping the 2022 World Cup hosting rights ballot can be recontested because I don't think Qatar even deserved it. The country itself is so scorching hot in climate which means they can only hold the event during the winter, and I felt like the ballot was rigged. Australia like put so much effort into it only to get out with a measly one vote.

But still, I think that should the ballot be redone I hope that a better country can claim the hosting rights. Qatar is basically a country that I don't think is capable of hosting such an event as the World Cup.

Ryoutarou said:
As long as you don't play against Brazil, you'll be totally fine.
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I know how my Australian cohorts will be fearing Brazil should we finish second in our group and they finish first in theirs. No-one loves facing those football-mad Brazilians.

Oh, and I watched a bit of the match between Brazil and Croatia. It was Brazil taking the victory in the end, winning 3-1. I gotta try and tune into SBS tomorrow for when Australia has its first game against Chile, which I think is likely the only I even think we have a chance to scrape through.

That's the nightmare that comes when your nation gets drawn in a group with two major European powerhouses, the two that happened to be the 2010 World Cup finalists nonetheless. When I heard about getting pitted with the Netherlands and Spain I said to myself "face it my Socceroos are gonna exit in the group stage".
 
If there is going to be a re-vote it'll probably go to United States. Australia sounds nice, but timezone difference is a severe hindrance. It's only going to be 20 years since us and Japan have hosted the World Cup, so we won't get it, either.

Bar an upset, Australia are going to end up with 0 points. They really are in a group of death, though that means they are under no pressure. I wouldn't underestimate any South American teams that make it through their qualifiers.
 
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