The Soccer Thread (Newcastle takeover. For real, this time.)

Commadore sponsoring Chelsea moments before going under. :( As a Newcastle fan I miss the days of us being sponsored by the breweries. This raises a smile, though. Genoa. Bringing a touch of class to the Serie A.

They'll have Jaffa Cakes for currency in a couple of years.

Seb Blatter: Qatar Hero?

Ah, the ongoing saga of the Qatari World Cup. From the corruption-soaked bidding process (that everyone was kind of at so I guess it doesn't matter) to the current saga of when to actually host it. Initially the Qatari hosts were proposing to have super stadiums with monster air conditioning built by the best (i.e. cheapest and most disposable) Indian labour money could buy but it seems that's not enough for some players to embrace 90 minutes under 40 degree Celsius.

The alternative of a winter world cup has been floating around for a while but this is the first time FIFA has actually recommended it. It's probably the best way to deal with it but it does put the British game into a quandary. Unlike 99% of the rest of the playing nations, England has a festive fixture list whereas several other nations prefer to use December - February as a winter break. So, if a winter World Cup comes to fruition, a decision has to be made.

The FA wish to protect their fixture list because, a) they don't like change - especially in a one-off scenario like this - and b) it'll probably mean they lose a lot of TV money for the bumper Christmas fixtures. So, if the FA is unwilling to uproot the fixture list (I don't necessarily blame them as those fixtures would need to played sometime and congestion's already an issue as it currently stands) and a winter World Cup does go ahead, that means a good ol' fashioned club vs country debate will go on regarding who goes to the World Cup and who stays. Clubs always have a similar issue with regards to African players being selected for African Cup of Nations duty but this one would be larger in scale and its a lot harder to dissuade a player to stay with their club when the opportunity of a World Cup appearance arises.

Personally, it might be the thing that makes the 2022 tournament interesting.

The whole thing is interesting but at the same time the landscape of the game will be so different by then. We'll see how Russia goes before immediately caring about Qatar on a competitive level. At this point it is about logistics, politics, and sadly the workers being awfully abused. It sucks because having the World Cup in every region in the world is something you can't help but want, as is the nature of it being a worldwide event, but sadly not when it is at the cost of peoples' well being.

And oh yes another World Cup that England will suffer through. Not sure the affect it will have on American/MLS players though.

Yeah, Russia's equally concerning for its own reasons. Having the World Cup in the Middle East should be great and, to be honest, Qatar is arguably one of the more stable places they could host it. Its a shame they don't have any real pedigree in the sport as, from a home perspective, the hosts will be just making up the numbers. However many numbers that'll be in 2022.

With Russia the issue is all political. Their truce with Ukraine is holding but the Putin's major opponent has just been murdered which rings definite alarm bells.

Also today there's the small matter of the English League Cup being decided. Chelsea vs Spurs in the final. Chelsea winning would free up another European spot for the league although Spurs might qualify for the Europa League on merit as well so it's almost guaranteed.

MLS strike averted. Good news.

@shindig: How do you feel about the appointment of John Carver? I know he hasn't had long in charge, but the football has seemed to have got even more dire since he has taken over from Pardew. His substitutions even more baffling than Pardew's at times.

He's no firefighter like Glenn Roeder. He's sneaked some wins but won't take us forward in any way. I'm hopeful there's a decent manager waiting in the wings.

I'm so happy MLS will start this weekend. I really hope Sporting can forget last season and show people that they'll be fine in the west. Everyone is like "oh welcome to the Western Conference Sporting, you're not gonna do anything," but they forget that since our rebrand we have a winning record against Western Conference teams.

Can't wait for MLS to start in two days! I really hope the Timbers can put last season behind them. Also I hope they can stop getting HURT! >_< Already lost one player in a preseason game. T_T

Apparently there's 60,000 due for that Kansas game. Mega. And the FA Cup reaches the Quarter Final stage so here's a write up of the final eight playing for a *sigh* trip to Wembley.

Saturday 7th March

Bradford City vs Reading (12:45 GMT, live on BT Sport)

Aston Villa vs West Brom (17:30 GMT, live on BBC)

BT arguably get the better match as serial upsetters Bradford City look to revisit Wembley after their humbling at the hands of Swansea City a few years back. They've conquered Premier League leaders and League Cup winners Chelsea and strugglers Sunderland in convincing fashion in the last two rounds whilst Reading have been knocking out Championship opposition to get this far. Its a tough one to call.

Meanwhile Villa Park plays host to a West Midlands derby of some significance as the home side take on their city rivals for the second time in a week. A late penalty giving new manager Tim Sherwood a lucky win to potentially kickstart their ailing campaign. A club notoriously struggling to find the net lately, they come up against a West Brom side that's the competition's highest scorers. I could see West Brom taking it. I saw Villa at Newcastle the other week and they looked done for.

Sunday 8th March

Liverpool vs Blackburn Rovers (16:00 GMT, live on BT Sport)

It'll be an expectant Anfield on Sunday as the hosts aim to bring some silverware to the club after so narrowly missing out on the Premiership last season. They've struggled and battled their way past lower league opposition but now have some league form to show for it. Blackburn's run has been more convincing, dispatching of Premiership opposition in the last two rounds with convincing wins over Swansea City and Stoke City.

Monday 9th March

Manchester United vs Arsenal (GMT 19:45, live on BBC)

The heavyweight tie of the round scheduled for a Monday evening because the FA have no soul left to shame. Louis van Gaal's side have limped, and I mean limped, through this competition against lowly opposition. After needing a replay to settle things with Cambridge United, things have been better but Yeovil and Preston are hardly genuine tests for a side that, despite an impressive attacking line, has to rely on gifts to take wins lately. In the other corner you have Arsenal who have had an easier time of things through this competition after dispatching Hull in a rematch of last's final and Middlesbrough in the last round. Brighton and Hove Albion issuing Arsene Wenger's only scare in the compeition. If it wasn't for their horrid form against the likes of Man Utd, I'd have no problem backing them. As it is, though ... Oh, and a sidenote, United's Johnny Evans is still waiting to hear from the FA about the spitting charge levelled at him. He denies spitting at Newcastle's Papiss Cisse but it's on camera, lad. I expect both players to face suspensions as Cisse has apologised for his part.

Is there any way to watch MLS games? I know they put up replay highlights on the official MLS youtube page but I'm not sure what options there are for someone in the UK. I know Sky Sports recently announced they are going to air matches but I'm not going to pay Sky's expensive prices as we've had a nightmare with them in the past. I was curious to know what options are available as I'm looking to get into the league this year.

Disagree with you about the Villa vs Baggies game, Villa more than deserve to win in midweek.

@machofantastico: I belive there on espn3 but I dont know if that works outside of the US

Edit: There is also a live streaming service from MLS apparently thats like 75$ a season

@machofantastico: BT Sport have the rights to the MLS until the Sky deal starts.

And honestly, it's not worth it. It's of a standard similar to the Scottish Premier League and it's not like you've any interest in watching that, is it?

Talking of that, massive day in the SPFL Premeirship today. 2 of the bottom 3 (who are all tied on 21 points right now) are in action, Ross County at home to 9th place Partick Thistle and Motherwell have 8th place Kilmarnock coming to town. If County and Killie can win then that's County on 24 points, Thistle on 28, Motherwell and St Mirren on 21, and things look so much cosier than they were a month ago.

@machofantastico: I'll confess I didn't see the game but a last minute penalty always strikes me as lucking out. They're getting forward more under Sherwood but still lack something clinical in front of goal.

And the spitting bans are in: 6 games for Johnny Evans and 7 for Papiss Cisse. The latter getting a game more due to previous misdemeanors.

EDIT: And apparently BT Sport are showing the Bradford v Reading cup tie is free from their website: www.btsport.com/facup

LIVERPOOOL

I wish Dan was sort of a soccer fan but just a Kansas City fan, it would be so funny.

So I was just wondering, what is the non american perspective on MLS? Do you just see it as the place where that guy that used to be good went?

Pretty much and who could blame them, it's a pretty good earner for these players who would no longer command a starting place at their clubs.

I caught the Orlando - NYC game last night and it was actually not bad, two poor looking defences, but plenty of effort from both.

I dunno. It could be argued they're getting talent that's still good. Henry returning to Arsenal for that spell proved it and Lampard's been good this season. I also feel like Liverpool fans would've held on to Gerrard til his corpse went cold. Jermain Defoe's the only glimmer of hope Sunderland have left. Actually, Beckham didn't exactly dip in form when he went to PSG.

Things like this only really become an issue if one club monopolises the big names and the league is now structured to avoid a 70s-style bust. They've got their heads screwed on. Anyway, the FA Cup now has a final four... six.

Arsenal vs Bradford / Reading

Aston Villa vs Liverpool / Blackburn

Yep. Twas a fairly bland weekend where the biggest game of the weekend got missed by me due to work. Danny Welbeck scoring against his former club (did he move permanently or was it a £16m loan deal?) whilst Di Maria saw red. Aston Villa beat their city rivals in a poor game which was only livened up by some awful key decisions by the referee and some good ol' fashioned, idiotic pitch invasions. Its only a semi-final, lads. Calm it.

Liverpool underwhelmed although Skrtl's injury early on took any wind they had out of their sails and a well organised Blackburn side contained a Balotelli who never really gives anything near 50%. Bradford still hold hopes of a Wembley visit after a more traditional cup tie of two cagey sides on a pitch that looked completely cut to ribbons.

Small potatoes, man.

I thought that game was terrible but I pretty much expected that with two expansion teams making their debuts. The crowd on the other hand was phenomenal.

The KC/NY and Sea/NE games afterwards were both a prime example of how important team chemistry is. Seattle's Oba/Clint combo in particuliar was a joy to watch again.

Also confident Jozy is my favorite Jozy and I look forward to seeing him and Giovinco put in work.

Through interesting circumstances I actually was able to make it to the Citrus Bowl to see the OCSC v NYCFC match live and in-person. If only Rivas would have stopped running offside all the time and the players stopped getting carded (can't remember the last time a ref carded 3 players for "embellishment" in a single game) then Orlando could have taken 3 points, but ah well.

At least DCU managed to win despite having over a third of their Starting XI either injured or suspended.

Well, its that magical time of the European season where leagues are reaching their climax so here's a State of Play for the major European leagues:

Barclays Premiership

At the top Manchester City continue to wane with Chelsea looking to run away with the title to add to their League Cup success. 5 points clear of City with a game in hand. However, Arsenal may stage a late push. They've hit form but have the likes of Chelsea to face in a run-in which still could make the title race interesting.

At the bottom, Sunderland hit an incredible low losing 4-0 to Aston Villa after a gutless first half which saw them part company with manager Gus Poyet. Dick Advocaat takes temporary charge to halt the slide. Queen's Park Rangers look done for, as do Leicester but there's still life in Burnley yet after a 1-0 win over champions Manchester City. Aston Villa look to heading towards safety after successive wins under Tim Sherwood's stewardship.

Ligue 1

I'm happy to see oil-rich Paris Saint Germain aren't having it all their own way with Lyon leading an interesting 3-horse race for the title. Four points cover the top three with Monaco five adrift of that. Should be an exciting finish between the have's and have not's.

At the bottom, Metz are well adrift of safety so should start planning for Ligue 2 football. Lens aren't much better but Toulouse have some hope with Evian just 3 points ahead.

Bundesliga

Bayern are 11 points clear of Wolfsburg and heading for their 24th title. Third-place looks interesting with four teams covered by six points. Monchengladbach leading a pack of Leverkusen, Schalke and little Augsburg. I'd like to see them in Europe.

At the bottom, the biggest potential casualty is Hamburg who hover dangerously close to the relegation zone. With 16 goals all season, its easy to see where their issues lie. Nothing's really settled at the bottom although Stuttgart need results quickly to avoid the drop. 5 points are needed to make up ground on those ahead. Dortmund and Werder Bremen now lie safely in mid-table but they're some way shy of the European places.

Serie A

Juventus have an equally daft 14 point cushion to their nearest rivals Roma who face a four-team barrage containing city-rivals Lazio, Napoli, Fiorentina and Sampdoria. All covered by 5 points with 11 games left. Juventus seem to be having an easier time than they did when they actually fixed matches.

Parma sit on a lowly 9 points with a 14 point gap to make up to 17th place. They have two games in hand and about 300 players on their books but they look destined for Serie B. Calgiari, Cesena and Atalanta squabble to avoid the last two remaining relegation spots. Milan and Inter are battling it out in mid-table to see who's capable of more mediocrity.

Eredivisie

PSV, like Bayern and Juventus are running away with it. 11 points clear of Ajax who themselves have a decent cushion to Feyenoord in 3rd. AZ could threaten that podium spot so at least that's not a done thing.

At the foot of the table, Dordrecht look set to go straight back down with any of the remaining bottom five trying to avoid a relegation play-off.

Primiera Liga

Benfica hold a four point advantage over Porto with Sporting a distant and safe third. Braga and Guimaraes looking relatively decent in their quest for a European place.

At the bottom, nothing's sorted. Penafiel have a four point gap to make up to Arouca and safety whilst Gil Vicente are right on their tail. Of the names around that relegation battle, Boavista seem the biggest who will have to mindful should their six point advantage over the bottom two subside.

La Liga

Barca took the lead of the top flight for what seems like the first time all season as Messi starts to step into gear. Real Madrid lie just a point behind. If goal difference becomes a factor, Barca hold the advantage with that too. Valencia, Atletico Madrid and and Sevilla scrap for third spot.

The bottom remains tight with the bottom seven clubs hoping to remain safe. Cordoba looking the only side sure of the drop. Deportivo la Coruna, Almeria and Levante all tied on points meaning someone may go down on goal difference. David Moyes' Real Sociedad lie 10th. Meh.

And now the draws for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League quarter finals have taken place. A free and fair draw without seedings or country complications unless you happen to be a Russian or Ukrainian club.

Champions' League Quarter Final Draw

• Paris Saint Germain (FRA) - FC Barcelona (ESP)
• Athetlco Madrid (ESP) -Real Madrid (ESP)
• FC Porto (POR) - Bayern Munich (DEU)
• Monaco (FRA) - Juventus (ITA)

A repeat of last year's final and two more meetings of the Madrid clubs to add to the... four (?) they've already had this season. Monaco vs Juve could be tight but I suspect Barca will have enough to take out PSG and Bayern should have no worries from Porto.

Europa League Quarter Final Draw

• Sevilla (ESP) - FC Zenit (RUS)
• Dnipro (UKR) - Club Brugge (BEL)
• Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) - Fiorentina (ITA)
• VfL Wolfsburg (DEU) - Napoli (ITA)

A draw that's really interesting should the three clubs from Eastern Europe make it through. I can see Dnipro squeezing past Brugge but I'm not sure about Zenit's chances and I feel Kyiv were gifted the victory last night against Everton.

Just asking.... why soccer in the us and footbal in uK? -_v

@pe4chy_96: There's a lot of discussion over the etymology of "football" and "soccer." The wikipedia page on the word "Football" has a decent discussion on it. The word soccer was pretty common in the UK for a long time in the 60s and 70s, and looking through any old newspaper from that time you can see plenty of usage of soccer. However, it was during this time also that people began to think that soccer was an Americanism. Soccer is a slang form of Association Football, but nowadays we think of soccer as an American term. It's just the way English has evolved.

@shindig: I'm pretty excited that the Bundesliga will overtake Premier League in UEFA rankings next year. It's also pretty exciting that two Ligue 1 teams are in the Quarterfinals.

I hope Atlético can do better than they did in last year's finals. Torres is their good luck charm, I guess :)

It's cool that you keep this thread going duder. There's a pretty strong "soccer is dumb" sentiment on GB, which I feel couldn't be any more wrong.

Ugh I really hope Portland finally gets a win this weekend, we should've won last week but Alan Gordon sucks D:

DCU vs. NYRB! The team with its starting forwards out vs the team with its starting centerbacks injured and management in disarray! Should be a less-than-exciting matchup with DC hopefully coming out on top.

Pardew's fault.

I wouldn't say I'm delighted the English clubs are bottling European competition but this batch is getting their just rewards. Chelsea under Mourinho just doesn't get European football and, when they fail, Jose brings out a list of excuses. Arsenal have one rotten first leg in them and Man City - the team unit that's arguably been together the longest, haven't got the experience of being at the top of the European game. Then you've got United and Liverpool who are very much in transition.

The whole top-end of the Premiership is rough and the money being thrown at it only makes it worse. The Bundesliga might be a foregone conclusion as far as competition goes (i.e Bayern monopolises it year on year) but there's German talent at the heart of that side and there's pride in the national team. I miss the likes of Middlesbrough, Rangers and Fulham grinding their way to European finals. Now they all just pray for a top 10 finish whilst Spurs dread finishing in 5th because Thursday night football 'inconveniences' them.

@shindig: I think the biggest problem with city is that they barely look like they care. The only players who look like they give it their all is Kompany, who's been in bad form for a while, Milner, who's probably leaving (hopefully to Atletico, that'd be dope) and, like, Zabaleta. Also the team is way too old.

Much like my EPL team Everton, but at least Pellegrini is a halfway decent manager :/

@shindig: Being an avid supporter of the Cottagers, I don't even want to think about the difference between Fulham five years ago and now. It's been a long fall down. It feels really bad knowing that I can't even make fun of Portsmouth anymore :(

I'm not heavily invested in the PL after moving to the States a decade ago, so I'm more than happy to see the top English teams have some trouble. Maybe we'll one day see a time when English players aren't ridiculously overpaid and overvalued. But I don't think this year has been too terrible for English football. Bradford was entertaining to watch as they made their run, and Southampton has been playing phenomenally. Teams that throw money at the problem like QPR are falling apart. Things are in a transitional period for English football, and there are a number of young players that are becoming very interesting to watch.

It's kinda nostalgic seeing Monaco in the Champion's league - I still remember Morientes and Prso knocking out Chelsea in 2004, despite Abramovich spending his 100 million quid. It was sad that an English team wasn't going to be in the finals that year, but then again I hated Chelsea with every fiber of my body, and still do. Hey who knows, maybe well get another Porto Monaco final, weirder things have happened.

Milner plying his trade in Spain would blow my mind. Like Steve McManaman only somehow better. And I think Portsmouth have to be commended for the obvious witchcraft they've pulled to still function as a football club after all these years. Although seeing Rangers pull the same stunt north of the border tells you how that rolls.

@shindig: To add to your "State of Play", in Spain, goal difference isn't the first thing if they are equal on points:

• If the tie is between two clubs, then the tie is broken using the goal difference for the two matches those clubs have played against each other (without away goals rule)

So as of now, before tomorrows Clásico, Real has a big advantage in that department.

Ah, that's great. I'm so used to goals being the bigger factor and head-to-head being some kind of plan B if goal difference fails. I think in that league its appropriate.

Good win by Barcelona last night, even when we are slightly off we still pull out a win in the derby. But both my brother, father and I were screaming at the TV for the last 10 minutes. Should have gone a little bit more for that third goal, Madrid looked exhausted and it would have put the title decider over to points and goal difference. But all in all a solid, if not slightly lackluster performance... also Pique was good, like really good. Worth noting that Neymars finishing has been a bit off lately, same in a few of the last game. Could have had nine or so goals in his last three, instead he has zero... But now they get to weeks to semi-relax (at least the South-Americans) and hopefully work a bit on their finishing and get their confidence up, cause the rest of the game is already there. Creating chances like there is no tomorrow, it's just the finishing.

1-0 Mathieu (Assist Messi)
1-1 Ronaldo (Assist Benzema)
2-1 Suarez (Assist Dani Alves)

And i hate these kind of situations. Please stop it...

Yeah, some of those dives are dumb. Its a shame refs don't take a stand and throw more bookings at them. After the international break its the Wear-Tyne derby again. There's some intrigue in this one. Newcastle top striker and captain are both suspended whilst arguably Sunderland's most gifted player is out on bail whilst he hears about a statutory rape charge. Meanwhile Steven Fletcher is in hot water with the mackems after a photo of him standing next to a £260k supercar is unveiled whilst the club struggles just one point ahead of the drop zone.

But in better news the FA are planning to introduce a non-EU player restriction like they had in the mid-90s. Hopefully it'll improve the homegrown talent pool in the long run but those players get paid too much, too young for so little.

It could, but there are other places they can improve. I read somewhere that the UK only has somewhere around 6,000 licensed youth coaches, while Spain has between 7 and 10 times that. The thing with restrictions like that is that your trying to luck your way into talent instead of making the investment at an earlier level and actually produce more talent.

@erik: Are you the erik I think you are?

Can someone explain why the last goal in the Portland vs Vancouver wasn't called offsides? To me he looked it, but I'm a noob when it comes to the rules.

@shindig: What are your predictions for Top 4 at this stage?

Chelsea, Arsenal, City, Man Utd. In that order.

@monkeyman04 Any footage? Usually, if it's not called for and it isn't a refereeing mistake, the offside individual isn't interfering with play. The definition of 'interfering with play' tends to vary but the general rule is if the offside player doesn't touch the ball, it stands. It is a stupid rule.

I'm sorry, I don't have any film of the last shot. I wish I did do prove what I've got to say. Maybe the replay shows it. MLS sucks when it comes to replays.

The English Championship is the most interesting league in the UK right now and I'm lucky enough to be a supporter of one of the top seven teams (Bournemouth) that are in with a shout of winning the league.

@monkeyman04: MLS posts highlights and more of every match on their Youtube-channel.
The last goal was not offside since the attacking player was level with the defending player, therefor no offside-call.

I feel bad for all the suckers who paid to see the Argentina vs. El Salvador friendly at FedEx Field. Having gone there with family to watch the Washington NFL team play years ago until my dad had enough of their bullshit, I could have told you it was going to be a shitshow. To recap what I've read in the Washington Post:

• $40, cash-only parking with no guarantee on vacant spaces because Dan Snyder hates you.
• Ice-cold winds blowing through the area, making everyone miserable.
• Someone mistaking the Isle of Man's national anthem for that of El Salvador
• People almost getting crushed to death in the stands next to the concrete pillars, including children
• Lack of competent security/staff, leading to the above.
• Messi not doing anything but sitting on the bench the whole game

Argentina won 2-0, so there's that I guess. But c'mon people, if the words "FedEx Field" didn't scare you off immediately, then hopefully this will serve as a lesson the next time anyone advertises an event being held there.

@billymaysrip: Wow, thanks for your reply! Much clear now :)

@dochaus: So they... didn't deliver?

Galatasaray launches inappropriate knife