NBA starts in a week an all this Euro football shit can be long since forgotten by dunks, pick and rolls, defensive box outs, and of course, ridiculously unmatched outfits and thick-framed glasses without lenses ad infinitum.

Looks like Pulis.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...s-ian-holloway

I'm sure UEFA's shitting itself

It should be, our flops are better than their flops ;)

I used to quite like the NBA but it feels far too personality driven now. I know that's true of most big sports at the moment (not least football) but it increasingly seems like that's almost all the NBA has left to trade on. And it's not just on the court: the last game I saw on tv, the cameraman seemed more interested in seeking out celebrity spectators than following what's actually going on in the game. That's not an attack on the sport itself but the whole way the NBA now markets itself.

wtf this thread

It just goes from bad to worse for FIFA

http://www1.skysports.com/football/n...-cup-in-russia

DAMMIT MOYES, I WASN'T DONE MOCKING YOU!

Well Everton were rough for the most part. However, Tim Howard was just brilliant. *kisses Lukaku's forehead* MmmmmmmWAH. Now if Liverpool can just hurry up and trip up I'll be a happy man.

Anyone watching the gazillionth (and that's in just the last two years) El Classico tonight?

Neymar's looking like the real deal. He was getting hammered by Pepe and Ramos and definitely didn't crumble as some predicted.

I only remembered Bale was there when he got subbed. People are saying he needs time but I don't think he works in a team that already has Ronaldo. Either Real sells Ronaldo or they've just bought the worlds most expensive supersub.

that's great to know. maybe the medical team has embedded his bones with adamantium, ha ha ha.

damn, i'm missing out a lot.

Well the one thing with the El Classico is there's always another one a month or so later.

Barcelona deserved the win but you can tell both teams are in transition. Neymar was probably the only stand out on either side. Bale was absolutely anonymous.

This is interesting (and another palace post, sorry)

Motd showed palace had 13% possession against arsenal.
A mate who watched it on sky said they quoted 39%.
Motd singled out Chamaq as being poor, yet a neutral stated he won everything in the air and played well

Its said that palace fans have been critical online of motd coverage and punditary and so motd are deliberately miss representing palaces games

A lot of punditary is subjective but to get a stat so wrong makes you wonder...

Visca Barca!

Hmm be interesting to see what the BBC would say if pressed about that.

With the Chamaq thing. There's been so any times where one person has said such-and-such a player was terrible, then another has said said player was actually pretty good.

It kinda brings that quote "nobody really knows anything" to mind.

Exactly. I can accept opinions about performances and title contenders (they never accept arsenal as being contenders despite form and current position) because everyones view will be different.
But stats are stats. The guardian had them at 39% too
Im sure motd would apologise and blame a work experience kid!

Didn't see MotD but watched the game on Sky. Chamakh was excellent and, while Arsenal were clearly the better team, Palace defended really well overall (the only team in the Prem so far to contain Ozil) and even had some good chances on the counterattack. Jedinak looked class. They just couldn't hold on in the later stages.

There was a stat early in the game that Palace had just 10 passes to Arsenal's 110 but a team in Palace's position against the in form team in the league had to park the bus, which they did ... very well. Celtic beat Barcelona with the same strategy and 13% possession. Chelsea won the CL on not much higher.

The whole mania for possession stats (which vary massively depending on how they're judged) is one of the most irrelevant in football. I don't think people were even aware of them before Barcelona arrived, and stuff like Championship Manager.

You know what, I think the whole 13% thing might have been about the 1st 10 minutes actually

In my defence there was a fair bit of wine last night

/Embarrassing

Haha brilliant.

ha ha ha ha

best post of the whole thread

brilliant!