I've never posted on the soccer board before, and admittedly don't really follow anything other than the US National team, but I thought this was worth posting. http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/12/18/1695791/official-everton-complete-landon-donovans-two-and-a-half I like Tim Howard and Donovan, so I guess that makes me an Everton fan now? Is that good or bad?
Glad to have you post. TNE is a US national team guru and updates us on their young talent as well as whats going on with the team. With the WC around the corner you should read his threads now and then if you wanna see whats going on with the team. For Donovan it's a big thing as long as he gets playing time which he probably will there. Whenever someone as asked for a team to follow Everton is always a name that gets mentioned because of US players and they are not one of the big teams but not in thread of regulation (ask jhawker about regulation )
isn't it relegation? Not trying to be a dick in my first few minutes on the soccer board, that's just what I'm pretty sure it's called.
Ignore ManCity he is all happy that his team did not draw their last game and was typing too fast. And yes it is relegation.
nothing sucks more than getting owned by the noob. But in all honesty, I really enjoy watching and playing soccer, but I just don't really understand it all that well. I played competitively (not YMCA ball) up until I was like 10 or 11, but that never got up to full 11v11. I just don't fully understand the strategy that goes into it I suppose. Like when you're watching a game, what types of things do you look for? It's hard for me to always fully grasp what I'm seeing.
Soccer is one of the simplest sports out there. The only purpose of the game is to put the ball inside the opponent's goal. Teams are divided into three main lines: defenders, midfielders and forwards. Pretty self-explanatory. Formations vary according to what you want to accomplish. Most teams deploy a back line of 4 defenders with 2 central defenders and another defender on each side. After that it varies in the amount of mids and forwards they put out there. When watching soccer i always look for the incredible amount of skill that the players possess, having played all my life I know first hand how hard some of the things they pull off are. What complicates most people is the different competitions and leagues across the world.
I understand the concept of the game, I just don't really understand the strategy that goes into achieving the goal. Like what are different strengths of the different formations? Why does team X run a 4-3-3 while team Y prefers a 4-4-2? I don't understand why you'd choose one over the other. Also I'm pretty hazy on the responsibilities of the positions. I feel like midfielders just pretty much go anywhere they want and try to set up goals, kind of like a point guard, while Forwards are mostly just for finishing, but I'm not sure if that's right.
With a 4-4-2 formation you have more midfielders, so teams that use this are usually teams that prefer to have lots of possession and set up goals by passing a lot and creating runs that way. A 4-3-3 formation is more forward oriented but usually 2 of the forwards are wingers (play close to the lines) and you have one centre forward. The 2 wingers are usually fast and very agile (see Ronaldo, Ashley Young, etc) and create mismatches in the open space on the wing and then cross the ball to the centre forward or try to cut inside and shoot. Midfielders are also divided into sub-categories. You have defensive mids that help out the defenders and are the first wave of oppossition against the attack and they usually play around the circle. A perfect example of a defensive mid is Michael Essien from Chelsea or Javier Mascherano of liverpool. Attacking mids are creators, they find the gaps in the defense and feed the strikers. Players like Xavi, Iniesta, Kaka, etc. Hope that helps but keep asking if you want to know more. Actually playing FIFA also helps people understand the game a lot more.
generally stick with the 4-4-2 and use our athleticism to counter attack when teams push into our half, against the top 10 teams that will generally dominate possession the US will lay back and defend with everyone before using basically a fast break to attack
this is great. i haven't been on the board in a week and my first thread to read is one in which mancity10 is the soccer board equivalent of Tiger Woods
you guys are hating on mc10 and its not fair its just not fair hes my shares-the-same-allegiance-fellow-mainboarder
If you can, get Fox Soccer Channel with your tv package. It carries EPL, Serie A, and the Champions League. Most national leagues play on weekends and the Champion's League plays on Tuesdays and Wednesdays every other week while in session.
I live in the dorms. Don't really get to choose my TV package, unfortunately. So this: will have to do for now.
come to the soccer board on a saturday morning and Chile will have a stream for any game you wanna watch
FSN has champions league games on Tuesdays when they're playing. Its usually Man U or Chelsea but its better than nothing.
To much shit to quote here I'm just gonna say what all I got right now 1. That was my last post before leaving from work which I was already staying later than due to the effer thread on TMB (time will prove such) so fuck all ya all, my irish shows when it comes to book smarts 2. Thanks taxes (I think) 3. I can't see the first page but whoever played regulaters 4. JH- 5. half this thread would have dissapeared if I wasn't a team player 6. I am drunk so again fuck you all 7. chile you were correct, I am happy to avoid a draw, never been so happy to lose in my life 8. For my stupididy I offer you NSFW
hey thats not funny I broke my clavicle in the 5th grade playing soccer dribbled the goalie and he took out my feet and i flailed like a wounded lamp before landing hard on the shoulder true shit