[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Panko

I agree. Yes. is the only option when someone has nothing better to offer.

Also, I have following observations regarding this thread:
- This thread is full of Man Utd fans.
- Whenever Man Utd performs badly, there is always some external factor involved. It could be the- absence of players due to injury, players lacking rest due to international duties (since, other clubs do not field any internationals), Retirement of key players, etc. Otherwise, how could the only 'best' team on earth could have a bad day on field.
- Whenever other top teams perform well against, it's just because of few referee-blunders or unfair play.
- SAF is God. He could never go wrong. However, Pep, Jose, King, AVB are just lucky to be blessed with world-class players.
- Whenever someone criticizes United or praises other clubs/players, he gets bashed. (I am waiting....)

In my opinion:
- There is no excuse for bad performance in professional football.
- One poor performance does not make a club/player bad overnight.
- Every club has highs and lows.
- Everyone should take the criticism positively and be ready to admit if the team is not playing well.
- Respect everyone. Respect entire football fraternity.

Hahahahaahaha - man, you had me rolling on the floor!! IF there are real Man-U fans, I really appreciate you guys for supporting the team. No questions asked. But I am so tired of posers everywhere - when you ask them questions about Football, they puke out ManU. I guess thats what pisses us off! And yeah, it is this naive support that I don't like to see. ManU didn't play well, or lost cause of the referee or the rain or sunshine. Accept that it was a bad day and move on. I don't like the way they play, their style of game and hate SIR Alex Ferguson. But appreciate the fact that they never give up and will go to any lengths to win - no offense.

No, don't agree to the fact that you should respect the entire football fraternity - will never respect ManU anyday!

Oh and I forgot - "Arsenal!!"

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by figo_united

Actually its the other way. Rest of the world against MU



Really? Just to name a couple : Manchester derby 4-3, newcastle 4-4 arsenal, so many more!

Yes maybe you are right (MU Vs MC was a great match. have not seen the other). Or maybe I am morose because my favorite league, La Liga is not the best at the moment. But then the most interesting match for me was watching live when Kerala thrashed Orissa 5-0 in the Santhosh Trophy quarters some time in the early 90s

[Panko]

Originally Posted by figo_united

You deserve it this time

May be I do!

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

And so thats why there is hardly any footballing culture in Foul premier league...oops, English premier league compared to say, La Liga or Seria A - there is hardly any passion but has brilliant marketing. Lot of efficiency, but less brilliance and creativity in the mid field.

Sorry. I beg to differ with you on this. There is a great deal of passion involved in EPL. Even look at the attendance at the stadiums. The average attendance is amazing even for the lesser games.
There's subtle difference between passionate and intimidating fans. And I accept that English fans are less intimidating compared to South American, Turkish, Greek, Spanish or Italian counterparts. But when it comes to passion, they are lagging nowhere.

Originally Posted by figo_united

Really? Just to name a couple : Manchester derby 4-3, newcastle 4-4 arsenal, so many more!

[saildrive]

i agree with navin roy - i too dont like manu, but they are so damn successful over the years. you look around and you find everyone wearing a manu tee or a sling bag.

it shows how big the club grown - not only in europe but around the globe including asia and america. larger than life players like ronaldo, giggs, keane, cantona, beckham.... are icons in footballing history and the current crop of rooney, hernandez, vidic, rafael, park, evra, henderson... these are just the famous ones and there are a lot more coming up the system. ruthless and no nonsense attitude through and through. SAF hitting DB with a shoe imagine any other manager doing that to any of his players; look at tevez and mancini saga. but with SAF you cant give crap to that man. period!

here's a report on 10 men that made the club what it is today (non players) - Arsenal FC, the only club that i love and has made - henry, viera, wright, adams, cesc and bergkamp and now you dont see anyone who can fit the bill - just maybe rvp!

Arsenal FC: 10 Men Who Made the Club What It Is Today | Bleacher Report

but never - can any club come as close to MANU; i for one didnt like them at all but over the period i think the rivalry has come to teams which has taken players that we had or those that we were keen to sign on - ManC, Chelsea, Spurs, Barca, etc.

BTW navinroy - Oh and I forgot - "Arsenal!!" (what did you exactly mean here?)

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Panko

May be I do!

Sorry. I beg to differ with you on this. There is a great deal of passion involved in EPL. Even look at the attendance at the stadiums. The average attendance is amazing even for the lesser games.
There's subtle difference between passionate and intimidating fans. And I accept that English fans are less intimidating compared to South American, Turkish, Greek, Spanish or Italian counterparts. But when it comes to passion, they are lagging nowhere.

English fans and less intimidating? well thats news to me. One of the most notorious fans ever known.

But I was talking more about the type of football played. The beautiful game was never played in England

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by saildrive

BTW navinroy - Oh and I forgot - "Arsenal!!" (what did you exactly mean here?)

Na, I had to edit that post to add that - that I am an Arsenal fan!

[Panko]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

English fans and less intimidating? well thats news to me. One of the most notorious fans ever known.

Again, notorious and intimidating in stadium are different terms. The following link may be useful.
Midfield Dynamo Football Site

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

But I was talking more about the type of football played. The beautiful game was never played in England

So, does that mean Arsenal never played in EPL? You said that La Liga & Serie A are better....but then how could defense minded, boring Serie-A teams (I am also a AC Milano fan) be better than EPL counterparts as long as the beautiful game is concerned?

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Panko

Again, notorious and intimidating in stadium are different terms. The following link may be useful.
Midfield Dynamo Football Site

I agree. But I was not talking about either of the above

So, does that mean Arsenal never played in EPL? You said that La Liga & Serie A are better....but then how could defense minded, boring Serie-A teams (I am also a AC Milano fan) be better than EPL counterparts as long as the beautiful game is concerned?

I didnt say Serie A was a beautiful league - i was talking about passion in that context.(Though I would not say teams in Italy play boring football. Your own team AC Milan plays more of Barca type game) Football in English League means ruthless efficiency - and that is inevitable with more money and more corporate interference. The post above by saildrive is a case in point - he says he admires Man U for the ruthless efficiency. But, for me, efficiency is boring

Anyway - Peace : I cant stand up and argue more, since less time means less football watching these days

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Once you are a title contender, there will be lot of haters. Thats nature. People are jealous of success more than appreciative of it. We know it the best are we are the most hated club in the world! Liverpool once were, in their haydays. I know that success wont last forever, but why not enjoy it till it lasts!

Well that position is now being occupied by Barcelona as one of the most hated team at the moment, though Man u and Real Madrid are not far behind. And you said it right, success attracts haters in droves as it does glory hunters.

The only exception to this I feel is Brazil national team which has more fans than haters.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

The only exception to this I feel is Brazil national team which has more fans than haters.

Oh comeon, Brazil is boring. As in, their football!

[Saanil]

Frustrating weekend for Liverpool fans! Liverpool denied a home win by Norwich City. All along Liverpool were the better side but the final score does not reflect that. Anways the talking point this weekend is the Manchester Derby! My prediction : Utd 1 - 2 City

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Frustrating weekend for Liverpool fans! Liverpool denied a home win by Norwich City. All along Liverpool were the better side but the final score does not reflect that. Anways the talking point this weekend is the Manchester Derby! My prediction : Utd 1 - 2 City

Very frustrating indeed. But the way Norwich came back, they do deserve a point.

Newcastle is the one who is surprising me in this season. Level on points with Chelsea now!

[vb-saan]

Unbelievable game at Old Trafford! Almost similar to the mauling Arsenal received from United.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by Saanil

My prediction : Utd 1 - 2 City

Ok - So my prediction was way off the mark - Not the result but the scoreline. One cannot refuse the fact that the Blue moon is indeed rising. Ofcourse one would say that given the kind of resources City has they should be playing like that. City completely outclassed Man Utd. I have been saying since the beginning of the season that Man Utd are an ordinary side compared to what they have been years ago. Yes they defeated Arsenal 8-2 but for the past 4-5 games they have been playing pretty poorly. Man city were definately the better team.

I just cannot say anything about Balotelli - He is crazy, weird, erratic and what not. But he is a cool finisher. Silva and Toure were brilliant in the mid field. For Manutd Rooney was the best player - HE was palying everywhere on the field. Hats off to his energy levels. I am just wondering what kind of battering Evans is going to get from SAF - absolutely lazy defending. Man Utd should just forget this day and move on.

Arsenal managed to win at home against stoke. Van Persie again saving Arsenal. The goal scored by crouch was an absolute shocker piece of defending from Arsenal. Gervinhio and Mertasacker were the culprits for me. Mertasacker is good but he needs to be a little fast. Chamakh also gets into some good positions but his finishing needs to get better. Walcott as usual - had the pace but just runs into defenders. Gervinho - Keep on playing like that mate!!!

[naveenroy]

More than Arsenal winning superbly against Stoke, I am damn happy about the scoreline of the ManU-ManC match. Awesome, awesome scoreline. Wonder what excuses will crop up now!