Another Drive4show 'Anything goes' thread

by oldshanker Sun 3 Feb - 19:56

I agree Digs - what I was commenting on was not their lack of invention, but their lack of cohesion. They did not get the basics right, the least a back has to do is commit his opposite number, which becomes more important against the 'drift' defence, and then follow up and support. This was not happening yesterday, apart from Chris ashton on occasions.

I have not seen Goode play in his club matches, but on a number of occasions, he caught the ball deep, began to run, hesitated and then was caught without any support. I can't remember ever seeing Ben Foden caught like that. It is yet another sign of a lack of cohesion in the backs.

Of course, this probably is all due to the fact they are a relatively new squad and should come together the more they play together. But on the face of it, I think yesterday was a fair showing against a team that in my opinion is still there to be taken and will possibly only get one win in this series.

by Diggers Sun 3 Feb - 23:16

Yep all fair points shanks, there was done poor play, it was either good or bad. But the backs have something about them I think and obviously the forwards have been told to give them the ball quicker which is great for us spectators.
A solid 7.5 out of 10 Id say.

by Diggers Mon 4 Feb - 5:28

France are one strange rugby side.

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 5:39

what a game though diggs!!

Can you remember a better opening weekend!!

by Diggers Mon 4 Feb - 6:15

Nope, it's been a cracker... especially Wales losing..again. I think the 6 nations has really come on in the past few years , really enjoyable now.

by **navyblueshorts** Mon 4 Feb - 7:38

Diggers wrote:Nope, it's been a cracker... especially Wales losing..again. I think the 6 nations has really come on in the past few years , really enjoyable now.

Yeah, have to say I'm with you there.

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 19:51

I was wondering why you lads dont chat on the rugby boards....

"Nope, it's been a cracker... especially Wales losing..again"

Now i know..

alot of welsh over there Very Happy

by **navyblueshorts** Mon 4 Feb - 20:11

Yeah. I essentially gave up on the rugby boards. Actually quite like the way Wales try to play rugby but I'm thoroughly fed up with the attitude of many Welsh fans. In the 70s their fans were often insufferable and many as bad or even worse now - at least in the 70s they actually did have a World class side.

by McLaren Mon 4 Feb - 21:20

mysti

Do you post on the rugby boards?

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 22:16

I am suprised you ask ...

I thought you checked threw my history at periodic intervals..

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 22:21

Anyway not sure on your motive of asking me but yes i am pretty regular on rugby, cricket, film and footy boards, as well as golf...(just look at my post count!!)

Rugby is a decent board..(we have a Wales v England bickering thread when people want to have a pop)

Overall a very good board..

by McLaren Mon 4 Feb - 22:38

Mysti

Not to reignite the recent debate but I think I was proved to be correct in establishing that you claimed to work in risk for a major investment bank (I think you will agree this has certain connotations) where in fact you automated a few tasks using Vba.

Anyway, what are the film boards like? I have on occasion checked into the f1 boards but there never seems to be much going on.

Is the guy who did the flick against wales the messi of rugby? It seems it is about time someone introduced some new skills to the game.

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 22:47

I go on the F1 boards during the races sometimes..

The film boards are good but not very busy... But these days i just post on the Last watched film thread..Its a good thread.

Flick against wales... Actually I cant think of who you mean.. But I wouldnt call anyone in the Irish team a messi of rugby!

Two of the most skillfull players I can think of in rugby are robinson(english dual code player) and Campese of Australia!

These days our Rugby players are getting bigger and bigger. Which could be seen as the reverse for footy..

Its all about fitness and strength with great basic skills(but to be confused with boring rugby)

The way NZ play(and even England have played in the last 3 halves) is very expansive and very exciting!

by McLaren Mon 4 Feb - 22:50

This guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm9formdoFc

Zebo.

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 22:52

I must have missed that .. But great skills. Yes Zebo is rated highly!

by McLaren Mon 4 Feb - 23:18

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21319807

Anyone have any idea what english champions league match was fixed?

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 23:21

Oh my days...

Chelsea v Barca was one of the most dodgy games i have ever witnessed(but if that was fixed i would have to say it was from the officals!)

by mystiroakey Mon 4 Feb - 23:29

erm and that game was played in 2009- which is 3 and a half years ago!!

they state it happend 3 or 4 years ago!! why that specific time line!! it seems to add up!

by JAS Tue 5 Feb - 0:33

Where there's obscene amounts of money and officialdom like what both Uefa and Fifa have, is it really a surprise to anyone that there is corruption in the game and that habitual match fixing takes place??? Seriously???

by McLaren Tue 5 Feb - 0:38

mysti

I assumed a lesser team (or a group of players from such a team) who had no hope of getting through the group stages ensured that the English team won the match in question. In this scenario the English team would not have to know anything of the match fixing being implemented by the team they were playing.

I am maybe being optimistic here, but surely no player playing for a top 4 club in England would get involved with such a risky plan for a mere £80000?

by JAS Tue 5 Feb - 1:06

I'm sure all the foreign owners in the Premiership, you know, the Russian Oligarchs, Middle East, Far East and American tycoons are clearly all invested in the game because they are all fans and always have been and their "investment" has nothing whatsoever to do with organised crime, money laundering and the like. :-/

by hend085 Tue 5 Feb - 1:09

Mac you are assuming a certain level of intelect there....

by Hibbz Tue 5 Feb - 1:09

I know it's only a flippant remark JAS but that's pretty offensive. Why would the fact they're "foreign" make them more likely to be involved in criminal activities?

by McLaren Tue 5 Feb - 1:10

hend085 wrote:Mac you are assuming a certain level of intelect there....

I fear my initial reaction will prove to be greatly naive.

by mystiroakey Tue 5 Feb - 1:11

It does say that they are investigating officals as well...

Players may not have been targetted in this case..

And would there be enough market to bet on the smaller games(well maybe i suppose- but there will surely be much more of a market in a massive fixture(less chance of massive bets being flagged up as potentially dodgy!)- even if the odds on a barca qualification to the next round might not have been viewed as a good enough risk to take!)

But then I cant think of many games in england that would have offered massive value..

And can one player have a massive affect.. I cant see loads of CL quality players getting involved in this for money(fear would be a more viable reason i would have thought)

I may be getting paranoid- but i think this game is gonna come down to the offiicals being bribed!

by **navyblueshorts** Tue 5 Feb - 1:36

McLaren wrote:...the messi of rugby?...

BOD, although to be fair he's coming to the end of his playing days now. Pity he wasn't born English!

by McLaren Tue 5 Feb - 1:38

navyblueshorts wrote:
McLaren wrote:...the messi of rugby?...
BOD, although to be fair he's coming to the end of his playing days now. Pity he wasn't born English!

Navy that post makes no sense to me.

by mystiroakey Tue 5 Feb - 1:42

Brian O'Driscal Is Irelands LOVE- one of the best players out there.. Allthough not a messi in terms of skill. Possibly Irelands best ever player and irelands messi in that respect...

by JAS Tue 5 Feb - 1:47

Hibbz wrote:I know it's only a flippant remark JAS but that's pretty offensive. Why would the fact they're "foreign" make them more likely to be involved in criminal activities?

Ah now careful not to take out of context Hibbz, I never actually said that ONLY foreign owners would be guilty and home grown owners not. Indeed did I actually state that anyone was guilty of anything at all? It is FACT though that foreign owners have appeared and came into the game as a result of the financial explosion of the last 10 years or so. Do you honestly think their interest is solely and purely football?? Where's the offensiveness btw??

The other point I tried to make (also rather flippantly) is that the governing bodies aren't really capable of taking a firm stand against bribery and corruption in football. Maybe they are and I'm just cynical, I mean I suppose the decision to award the 2222 World Cup to that immense football nation Qatar was all open and above board and involved no dodgy dealing whatsoever.

by Hibbz Tue 5 Feb - 2:20

Nope you're dead right JAS there really was nothing in what you wrote that would ever make me think you were suggesting that the foreign owners would be more likely to be corrupt than their English counterparts like the wonderful Stan Flashman.

by kwinigolfer Tue 5 Feb - 2:26

The only Champo League games that I can think of that look dodgy were the Arsenal game where Van Persie was sent off (in the first half wasn't it?) for kicking the ball towards goal after the whistle.
And, something similar, the Spurs game when Crouch was dismissed in the first half.
Can't remember who either was against but two very dodgy decisions that could certainly have been predicted to affect the game traumatically.

Plus, of course, all Man Utd's games last season.

Hibbz, JAS, For dispensing with any stereotypes look no further than my beloved PFC where decades of incompetent British owners have given way to a United Nations of dodgy ownership, aided and abetted by self-serving English executives (including you 'Arry).

by mystiroakey Tue 5 Feb - 2:30

Kwini what about 4 blatant pens not awarded to chelsea!!

Wasnt that arsernal game v Barca as well!!(however it was at barca)

And the totenham game was at real wasnt it!

by kwinigolfer Tue 5 Feb - 2:36

mysti,
Chelsea? For some reason I don't take much notice of injustices alleged from Stamford Bridge . . . .

Arsenal away? Possibly.

Spurs away? Possibly.
But actually thought both (especially Crouchy's) were at home, though certainly haven't bothered to check.

by mystiroakey Tue 5 Feb - 2:38

They were away- just checked. Yeah this story is particulaly about a match held in England..

But I wouldnt be suprised if the other two wernt dodgy..

by kwinigolfer Tue 5 Feb - 2:57

mysti

Must be Man U home games in 2011 vs Basel and Benfica then!!!!

by **navyblueshorts** Tue 5 Feb - 8:32

mystiroakey wrote:Brian O'Driscal Is Irelands LOVE- one of the best players out there.. Allthough not a messi in terms of skill. Possibly Irelands best ever player and irelands messi in that respect...

I'd disagree that he's not Messi-like. He does almost everything on a rugby field and he does (or did) it way better than most of his peers. Actually, thinking about it, I'd have him better than Messi. Great in attack, both for himself, and his team mates while still being an absolute beast in defense.

by GunsGerms Tue 5 Feb - 9:47

"He is the greatest player of our generation by far"
-Martin Williams, Wales legend on Brian O'Driscoll after the Wales v Ireland game on Saturday.

by McLaren Tue 5 Feb - 11:21

kwinigolfer wrote:Must be Man U home games in 2011 vs Basel and Benfica then!!!!

I have to say a slight feeling of anxiety befell me in the time between reading the headline and reading the story. Fortunately I think we were just rubbish in the CL last season.

by kwinigolfer Tue 5 Feb - 12:21

Sounds like it was a Liverpool game vs a Hungarian outfit - the goalie was supposed to concede three goals but Liverpool only managed one!

by **navyblueshorts** Wed 6 Feb - 0:15

kwinigolfer wrote:Sounds like it was a Liverpool game vs a Hungarian outfit - the goalie was supposed to concede three goals but Liverpool only managed one!

by McLaren Wed 6 Feb - 20:49

I see England's favorite player will gain his 100th cap this evening. I am never sure why he is so unpopular (or at least more so than any other player) but he will be missed when england no longer have the best left back in the world.

Do some of you have issues with him because there is some ambiguity over his sexuality?

by puligny Wed 6 Feb - 21:29

Mc, in the days when footballers were judged by what they do on the pitch he would be regarded as one of the best ever. Can only think of Roger Byrne and Tony Dunne (Irish) to put him in the shade. I think Cole is judged primarily on one stupid comment when Arsenal were offering him a new deal, and his falling out with England's then Mother Theresa (Cheryl). Great player in my view.

by mystiroakey Wed 6 Feb - 21:37

Almost everyone i know rates cole as a player.

But for some odd reason people allways say- but i hate him!!

I dont get that thought process tbh!! I dont know him. he can do what he wants as long as it doesnt affect his performance- which it clearly doesnt!!!

But i think the hate is more to do with how he treated cheryl cole(as Puligny mentions above) rather than possibly being gay.

by GunsGerms Wed 6 Feb - 21:42

Are any of the England players popular? It seems they have all done remarkably stupid things and are fairly odious people. Cole IMO is one of the more likable characters. Some examples:

Rooney: Shags pros, swears on camera a lot.
Terry: Shags friends girlfriends, makes racist comments, fairly odious character.
Gerard: Beat up ManU fan. Could almost forgive him for that under circumstances mind you.
Rio: Skips drugs tests, very irritating individual.

by kwinigolfer Wed 6 Feb - 23:28

Always thought Ray Wilson was the best England left-back I ever saw. Cole has been better these past couple of years, but he's had some seasons where he's seemed as disengaged as you can possibly be on a football field.

Fitting that puligny should mention Roger Byrne, the 55th anniversary of his death I should think. One of the more unsung post-war England greats.

Remember those days almost as if they were yesterday, especially how we (seemingly anyway) breathlessly awaited news of Duncan Edwards as he fought for his life, couldn't believe it when he lost the battle.

by kwinigolfer Thu 7 Feb - 1:23

Apropos:

Harry Gregg was a hero that night. Astonishing interview:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18074583

Incredible to think that he and Bill Foulkes played less than two weeks later.

by puligny Thu 7 Feb - 2:35

Quite right Kwini. Black arm bands in this house today, though I have been on Glazer strike for a number of years. I can still hear my dad talking about Byrne and Edwards, and though I can't remember it he always told me I had seen them play shortly before the crash. "The thing with Roger Byrne is, he's good, very good, and he's a gentleman". I grew up idolising Bobby Charlton, still the best I've ever seen, but was always told Duncan Edwards was special. "There'll never be another like him, so don't talk to me about Georgie Best and Denis Law. He was special"

by kwinigolfer Thu 7 Feb - 3:29

Never saw that generation of Man Utd players, first saw them in the 58/59 season.
But a good friend of mine kept goal against Duncan Edwards in an FA Youth Cup match - reckon he'd never seen or felt the ball travel so fast. (And he later played in the same Army team as Dave Mackay!)
Love the piece about Duncan Edwards in Arthur Hopcraft's "The Football Man", as wonderful a reminiscence of a sportsman you're ever likely to find. But hadn't realised until he died a few months ago that Dennis Stevens was Big Dunc's cousin!

by Doon the Water Sun 10 Feb - 20:57

I worked with Roger Byrnes son [Roger] for about ten years. Good guy. He was born after his father's death.
United really looked after the families involved in that sad day.
Thirty years after the disaster Roger only had to ring up for tickets for any game and a couple of freebies were in the next post. He was a popular guy!!

by super_realist Sun 10 Feb - 21:32

McLaren wrote:I see England's favorite player will gain his 100th cap this evening. I am never sure why he is so unpopular (or at least more so than any other player) but he will be missed when england no longer have the best left back in the world.

Do some of you have issues with him because there is some ambiguity over his sexuality?

Mac, I don't believe anyone genuinely cares if he happens to be a bufty (strong rumours regarding john Terry and Joe hart in that respect too) it's more that in a sport with so many ghastly people in the premier league he is seen as one of the worst in terms of unpleasantness, vulgarity and being a grade a naughty naughty boy.

I've a dislike for him and Terry in equal regard and I don't like the non foreheaded Gerrard either and despite rumours of his wife having drug issues he's not regarded as being gay so you don't have to look at what gender someone prefers to dislike them.

I've no idea why you need to look for a non sensical reason to dislike Cole. wummery I imagine and guardianista. There are plenty of legitimate reason to dislike him. Surprised you didn't suggest because he's multi racial too.

by Sponsored content