European Football, aka "The Beautiful Game"

[Moleman]

Just when I think I can't hate chelski any more than I already do......

[Dr.Strangelove]

Rep Ireland Versus France on Saturday in Croke Pk.
World Cup playoff.....................................Discuss?

[Chicboy]

Aiden McGeady to miss a penalty in the final ten mins that would of taken you through

[omlow]

rugby is better. then american football. THEN soccer. truth.

[Moleman]

Would love to see France choking again when the going gets tough! How their manager has survived this long i'll never know!!

Good luck to Trap and the boys

moleman

[Dr.Strangelove]

It'll be a tough two games and with the last Game in Paris I dont feel to confident. In saying that if they dont score in Dublin and if we're only losing by a goal in the last 30 mins in Paris I think we can steal it.

I'm not impressed with FIFA deciding to announce seedings for the playoffs when they didnt have this formula in place at the start of qualifing.
I mean how far do they have to go before people realise its cheating. France and their stars & Portugal with Ronaldo is revenue for the coffers, and a small country like Ireland will never stand a chance with these shinnanigans.

[Moleman]

No matter how bad your team is doing spare a thought for the poor tourtered souls that are Grimsby fans, just read the following letter sent to their fans forum. Its a long read but worth it!

'Dear Players of Grimsby Town FC

'I am writing with regard to my absolute astonishment and disbelief as to the sheer magnitude of your complete lack of talent and failure to carry out the job for which you are paid to do. I am not aware of any swear word or other derogatory phrase in my current vocabulary which comes close to a description of your 'performance' (and I use that term loosely) this afternoon, but let me just say that you have collectively reached a level of inadequacy and ineptitude that neither I nor modern science had previously considered possible.

'In fact I recall a time, in my youth, when I decided to call in sick at work and instead spent the entire day in my one bedroom flat wearing nothing but my underpants, eating toast and w***ing furiously over second-rate Scandinavian porn. Yet somehow, I still managed to contribute more to my employer in that one Andrex-filled day than you complete bunch of toss-baskets have contributed to this club in your entire time here.

'I would genuinely like to know how you pathetic little p***flaps sleep at night, knowing full well that you have taken my money and that of several thousand others and delivered precisely f**k all in return. I run a business myself, and I believe I could take any 4,000 of my customers at random; burn down their houses, impregnate their wives and then dismember their children before systematically sending them back in the post, limb-by-limb, and still ensure a level of customer satisfaction which exceeds that which I have experienced at Blundell Park at any time so far this season.

'You are a total disgrace, not only to your profession, not only to the human race, but to nature itself. This may sound like an exaggeration, but believe me when I say that I have passed kidney stones which have brought me a greater level of pleasure and entertainment than watching each of you worthless excuses for professional footballers attempt to play a game you are clearly incapable of playing, week-in, week-out.

'I considered, for a second, that I was perhaps being a little too harsh. But then I recalled that I have blindly given you all the benefit of the doubt for too long now. Yes, for too long you have failed to earn the air you've been breathing by offering any kind of tangible quality either as footballers or as people in general. As such, I feel it's only fair that your supply runs out forthwith.

'I trust, at this precise moment in time, that Mr Fenty is in his office tapping away on the Easyjet web site booking you all one-way flights to Zurich, complete with an overnight stay with our cheese eating friends at Dignitas. Don't bother packing your toothbrush - you won't need it.

'In the event that our beloved chairman can't afford the expense (understandable given that he's soon going to have to assemble a new squad from scratch), then I am prepared to sell my family (including my unborn child) to a dubious consortium of Middle Eastern businessmen in order to pay for the flights. Christ, I'll drive you there myself, one-by one, without sleep, if I have to.

'Failing that, understanding that most dubious Middle Eastern businessmen are tied-up purchasing Premier League football clubs, I ask you to please take matters into your hands. Use your imagination, guys - strangle yourselves or cover yourself in tinfoil and take a fork to a nearby plug socket, or something. Just put yourselves and us fans out of our collective misery.

'So, in summary, you pack of repugnant, sputum-filled, invertebrate b***ards; leave this club now and don't you f**king dare look back. You've consistently demonstrated less passion and desire than can commonly be found within the contents of a sloth's scrótum, so frankly you can just all f**k off - don't pass go, don't collect your wages, don't ever come back to this town again.

'I look forward to you serving me at my local McDonald's drive-thru in the near future.

'Yours sincerely
A very disillusioned Mariner'

In case you were also wondering, Grimsby are currently second-bottom of the Football League having won just one of their eight home matches this season.

moleman

[Dr.Strangelove]

Lmao, maybe he shouldnt beat around the bush and just say whats on his mind. lol, thats was funny as fcuk

[Catfish]

Yes, for too long you have failed to earn the air you've been breathing by offering any kind of tangible quality either as footballers or as people in general. As such, I feel it's only fair that your supply runs out forthwith.

lmao...

[Dr.Strangelove]

Ireland 0-1 France (after first leg)

Them bloody onion eaters

I guess we got our work cut out for Wednesday.....who am I kidding. Thats it for another 4 yrs.

[Chicboy]

Ireland 0-1 France (after first leg)
Them bloody onion eaters
I guess we got our work cut out for Wednesday.....who am I kidding. Thats it for another 4 yrs.

Welcome to the glorious failure club

[LordSturm]

i wish U.S news / espn channels would cover more of the world cup. I think soccer is one of the more enjoyable sports to watch.

[MING]

Ireland 0-1 France (after first leg)
Them bloody onion eaters
I guess we got our work cut out for Wednesday.....who am I kidding. Thats it for another 4 yrs.

Welcome to the glorious failure club

Chicboy, it says your from Scotland. I just heard Burley's been sacked.

Whos the next Scotland manager gona be?

[Moleman]

Ireland 0-1 France (after first leg)
Them bloody onion eaters
I guess we got our work cut out for Wednesday.....who am I kidding. Thats it for another 4 yrs.

Welcome to the glorious failure club

Chicboy, it says your from Scotland. I just heard Burley's been sacked.

Whos the next Scotland manager gona be?

Does it matter??! I doubt even a generic hybrid of Brian Clough, Siralex and Bill Shankley could do anything with that lot!!

[Chicboy]

Ireland 0-1 France (after first leg)
Them bloody onion eaters
I guess we got our work cut out for Wednesday.....who am I kidding. Thats it for another 4 yrs.

Welcome to the glorious failure club

Chicboy, it says your from Scotland. I just heard Burley's been sacked.

Whos the next Scotland manager gona be?

Four months before our next friendly so its too early to say. Fingers crossed its Sir Alex
(aye moleman, its depressing atm)

[Dr.Strangelove]

I play Football Manager 2009 and they must have heard of me in Scotland. I just got off the phone with the Scottish FA. they offerd me the position of caretaker-manager for their next fixture. I asked "What times kick-off"? I was told "What time can you get here for"?

[Suave]

Damn I watched the 2nd leg ... you Irish guys got cheated out of a place in the world cup..

Its like Henry was groping after some girl's arse but it was a ball instead xD

[Dr.Strangelove]

Damn I watched the 2nd leg ... you Irish guys got cheated out of a place in the world cup..

Its like Henry was groping after some girl's arse but it was a ball instead xD

Cheers Suave. I'm gutted right now. We we're by far the better team over two legs and every discission seemed to go against us. How the linesman didnt see the handball(s) is beyond me. Ffs, now I gotta adopt another team for the summer.

[MING]

They should replay the game, but they wont because UAFA / FIFA got the team they wanted in the world cop-out. If it had been Ireland that did the hand ball, would the French get a replay from Mr Plattini (who’s French) or Mr Blatter?

Robbed.

But 'They' say it will set a precedent to replay games if there’s cheating or wrong decisions. If they replayed this game, then almost every premiership season since the early 90's should be replayed when Man United won by all the dodgy decisions they got given their way!!!

What message does HANDBALL HENRY send out to kids? If your gona cheat, don’t get caught, and don’t own up to it when it matters.

[MING]

Ffs, now I gotta adopt another team for the summer.

... Probably who ever England are playing!

[Chicboy]

Ffs, now I gotta adopt another team for the summer.

... Probably who ever England are playing!

Its tradition

[Suave]

Well Ming, you gotta realize though, the referees are human thus they will be making mistakes but the handled ball in that match was woah.. I SAW that handled ball from my television while the ball was in play so it couldn't have been hard for the linesman to see it when he was on the field.

[MING]

Bring on the debate - VIDEO Referey's

They have them in Tennis, Rugby, and Cricket. The only reason they dont have them in football is because Man Unt. would go out of business when they cant win anything on poor refs (thats poor as in the way they ref the match, not poor in money, as they are paid well from the back-handers from Fergi to fix the match!)

[Suave]

Got proof of match fixing? I'm a Man Utd. fan as you all know but I'll seen some major mistakes that have went against the team too, so um yeah.

As for video referees, I agree to have them 110% ! would make the game alot fairer and help the on field refs!

[Dr.Strangelove]

F.I.F.A. is Ruining Football.

The international governing body of football, FIFA, have become hypocrites, happily rolling in the cesspit of corruption they have organized throughout the game. On the surface all seems honourable and righteous, with their efforts of hooligan eradication and the promotion of the FIFA Fair Play Code, but underneath lies a labyrinth of mistruths and deceitfulness. They are guilty of treason against all fans of football. In fact the Fair Play Code is laughable when players, on a extensive scale, know only too well that the rewards for cheating far outweigh the castigation of their actions. The first rule of the Fair Play Code is as follows.

1. Play fair
Winning is without value if victory has been achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure. Playing fair requires courage and character. It is also more satisfying. Fair play always has its reward, even when the game is lost. Playing fair earns respect, while cheating only brings shame. Remember: it is only a game. And games are pointless unless played fairly.

Unfortunately these are just words written on paper. 24 hours after Thierry Henry cheated and twice handballed in the World Cup Playoff’s game between France & Rep. Ireland I found no condemnation of his actions on the FIFA website. Not only that but I found no reference to it in any way whatsoever. Is it possible they weren’t aware of it happening? This is unacceptable that they vigorously promote, that they theoretically promote so called fair play, when in fact they not only wont discipline the offender(s) or at least officially disapprove of their actions. Instead they do nothing. I think their silence speaks volumes though. This is an official endorsement to cheat. France now progressed to the Finals.
On the 29th September 2009, with qualification almost over, FIFA decided to introduce a new rule into the current ongoing qualification campaign. After previously indicating that the playoffs would be an open draw, they did a u-turn and stated that the eight teams to qualify 2nd in their groups will be seeded based on their FIFA rank on October 16th 2009. Note that France, Germany, Portugal & Russia were in danger of not automatically qualifying and therefore would most likely have to go through the playoffs. By seeding them, FIFA guaranteed that they would not be drawn against each other and increase the chances of the big name players playing in the World Cup. This was done for a purely commercial reason. Not only that but it stood against everything football stands for. The football dream is to overcome your opponents through guile and determination. By amending the rules midstream FIFA were saying to the smaller countries, “Didn’t you do well, but fcuk off now”.
Once upon a time when there world had order, men knew what the offside rule was and women didn’t. I don’t mean to be chauvinistic, its just an analogy I’m using to explain that since FIFA changed the offside rule, nobody knows the rule now. We may think we do but there is so much grey area now. In their efforts to make the game more “exciting for an American audience” they have created so much confusion that qualified referee’s have admitted to not knowing if players are offside anymore. If William Gallas wasn’t interfering with play when the ball was passed to Henry how did he manage to score then? Scoring a goal is probably the biggest example of interfering with play. Not only this but one could argue that this rule now helps FIFA/UEFA get the result they want from games. This rule and the appointment of mediocre referees on big games is at best soliciting with controversy and condemnation, and at worst a blatant attempt to interfere with the natural course of a game to obtain a desired result.
I always considered myself a traditionalist in football, but after watching so many clubs and countries robbed of important results, coupled with the effects of confusing rule changes, I now find myself firmly in the camp of “Video Tech”. In American football a coach can, on 2 occasions during the match, ask the referee to review the play. This means he is in disagreement with the officials about the last decision made by the ref. at this point the ref will go to a TV and watch a replay of the previous play. If he is still right the play is upheld and the coach loses a timeout. If the coach is right, the play is overturned. If the coach has no more appeals left and sees something to appeal, then that’s his tough luck for using them. I think this is a good place for football to start from. Instead of losing a timeout though, the coach/manager will lose a substitution.

[Dr.Strangelove]

RTE Radio 1's Joe Duffy Liveline show, day after the Henry goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8qLFq5u ... r_embedded

[Dr.Strangelove]

Anyone who is a facebook member and cares about the integrity of football, plz join these groups.

FIFA is a Joke
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2 ... 168&ref=mf

Petition to force FIFA to force France into a rematch against Ireland
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=1 ... 772&ref=mf

Petition to have IRELAND Vs FRANCE REPLAYED!!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petition- ... 795?ref=mf

Thierry Henry (Cheat)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Irish- ... 576?ref=mf

[LordSturm]

i know absolutely nothing about fifa or any of the teams, and only know the most basic of soccers rules.

i saw that replay and was just shocked, absolutely shocked that the referee called the way he did. Ireland definately got the short end of the stick on that call.

the player who made that hand ball clearly was cheating and he should get punished or fined or something!

[Moleman]

I hate international week, back to the premership this week!

Ireland were robbed but the reaction afterwards was a bit OTT in my opinion, henry cheated, ref missed it, happens every week in every league all over the world (though I appreciate the stakes where very high for this game)... a replay was NEVER going to happen.

moleman

[Dr.Strangelove]

Were Ireland in on the plot?

Fri Nov 20 09:07AM

Cheatgate, day two, and the sheer scale of the plot to deny Ireland a place at the World Cup becomes ever more apparent.

There are so many guilty parties, a millipede would struggle to point the finger at all of them.

Blame Thierry Henry for handling the ball then refusing to fess up (but didn't he show lovely technique to kill the ball dead with his first touch, then caress it onto his right foot with his second?).

Blame William Gallas for not 'doing a Paolo Di Canio' when the ball came across to him (no, not a fascist salute, that thing where he caught the ball and stopped play).

Blame the referee for not spotting the infringement, blame his linesman for not flagging offside and blame the fourth official for not having a quiet word in the ref's ear.

Blame FIFA for refusing to sanction a replay, for seeding the draw in France's favour, for failing to introduce video technology and for Sepp Blatter's smug, bloated face.

Blame Michel Platini for... well, for being French. Robbie Keane said Platini and Blatter would have been sending each other congratulatory texts. Nonsense. They have flunkies to do that sort of thing for them.

Blame World Cup sponsors Adidas, whose teams - according to Damien Duff - FIFA are desperate to have at the big party.

Early Doors would also suggest blaming the Irish defence for not heading away what looked an innocuous free-kick. Without their uncertainty, Henry could never have executed the dastardly plan.

Which begs the question: were the Irish in on the whole thing?

Did the game take place at all, or was it filmed in a studio in Area 51? Who was driving the white Fiat Uno that played Henry onside, and why was there a grassy knoll obscuring the referee's view of the handball?

There is so much anger, what was essentially just some foul play and a refereeing mistake has turned into a giant, sprawling conspiracy.

But if football's powermongers had the ability to fix the World Cup, how do you explain the existence of a fixture guaranteeing either Greece or Ukraine qualified?

And if Wednesday's game in Paris was stage-managed, wouldn't a routine 1-0 win to the French have been easier to pull off, rather than the forces of evil waiting until the 109th minute before exerting their malign influence? Or couldn't they have just awarded France a penalty for Shay Given's borderline challenge on Nicolas Anelka?

The FA of Ireland demanded a replay, making a rather transparent attempt to persuade FIFA the soul of football was at stake, not merely their chances of going to the World Cup.

Almost at the same instant, Giovanni Trapattoni injected an element of sanity, admitting a replay was "impossible" and focusing instead on the tangential issue of whether they should have been playing extra time at all.

Henry's subdued celebrations at the end of the game did not stem from guilt, but from a certain knowledge that he would be slaughtered.

We all love a public hanging, and ex-players, managers, pundits and white van men duly lined up to condemn him.

Even Arsene Wenger, the man who made Henry great, and who recently headed a vociferous and perplexingly successful defence of Eduardo da Silva, said he should have owned up.

Henry is a man who spent years taking flak for trying to score the perfect goal, and valuing style over substance, who finally signed up to the win-at-all-costs creed, who kicked the beautiful game square in the breadbasket and who tarnished his years of brilliance with a moment of subterfuge.

It's almost like something out of a Greek tragedy, and with a similar setting - you could probably mistake St Denis for Hades.

Henry is described in today's papers as 'repulsive', 'le cheat', 'sickening', 'seedy', 'a pariah', 'a figure of hatred and ridicule', and - thanks to the Daily Star for this one - 'a twit'.

Irish fury is completely understandable, but the feeding frenzy of moral outrage in the British press could not be less dignified if it necked 20 Bacardi Breezers and staggered through the streets of Cardiff with its knickers round its ankles.