WORLD CUP 2010

[93henfan]

Simply amazing. What a comeback.

[Ivytalk]

2-1 with 10 minutes left? You could fit all of Slovenia's peeps into the city of Houston, according to ESPN Radio. The Mouse That Roared. SMFH.

[93henfan]

2-1 with 10 minutes left? You could fit all of Slovenia's peeps into the city of Houston, according to ESPN Radio. The Mouse That Roared. SMFH.

Look again. 2-2.

[93henfan]

Doh! We were robbed of goal #3.

[Grizalltheway]

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? FUCK THAT EMACIATED MOTHERFUCKER!!!

[GannonFan]

Like I said, I'll criticize this side but they certainly put an effort in, no doubt about that. Unlike some earlier versions ('98, '06) this team actually works their butt off and entertains. Probably the best game of the entire World Cup so far. A 3-2 win would be even better.

AAARRRRGRHHHH - US ruled for offsides on what would've been the go ahead goal and wrongly called for offsides. No idea if the linesman name is Stickel or not.

[Hansel]

ARE YOU **** KIDDING ME??? **** THAT EMACIATED MOTHERFUCKER!!!

starvin Marvin had a rough game

[93henfan]

AAARRRRGRHHHH - US ruled for offsides on what would've been the go ahead goal and wrongly called for offsides. No idea if the linesman name is Stickel or not.

And I saw at least two of our guys getting mugged, one completely being bear hugged. WTF?

[AZGrizFan]

Those fucking horns have GOT to go....it's a little difficult to watch this thing on MUTE.

[AZGrizFan]

Fuckin' ties....

[GannonFan]

AAARRRRGRHHHH - US ruled for offsides on what would've been the go ahead goal and wrongly called for offsides. No idea if the linesman name is Stickel or not.

And I saw at least two of our guys getting mugged, one completely being bear hugged. WTF?

Yup, guys on the BBC were besides themselves on how that could be disallowed, and they saw the same thing you saw with the two separate Slovenian fouls as well. Just a terrible day for refeering at the World Cup - first the disastrous send-off of maybe the best scorer in the whole tournament in Klose for Germany, and now the disallowed goal.

On the bright side, this means that if the US can beat Algeria they are very likely through.

[Ivytalk]

There's still dancing in the streets of Ljubjana tonight.

Will Playboy now publish a spread on "Women of Slovenia"?

[GannonFan]

There's still dancing in the streets of Ljubjana tonight.

Will Playboy now publish a spread on "Women of Slovenia"?

Eh, I'm not sure they're giddy - blow a 2-0 lead in the second half and be lucky to come away with the tie? And now they may actually have to beat England to go through (depending on the England game today). To be 45 minutes away from booking their ticket to the next round and now potentially needing a result against England isn't really cause for excessive celebration.

[bandl]

That was a goal. No offsides. And if anything, there could have been TWO penalties called on Slovenia on that play.

That ref really changed the game from beginning to end.

This feels like a loss...

[GannonFan]

So from a tie-breaker standpoint, it's the goal difference first, then goals scored - what comes after that? Say that England beats Algeria 1-0 today, we beat Algeria 1-0 next week, and Slovenia and England play to a 2-2 tie - who goes through then?

[bandl]

So from a tie-breaker standpoint, it's the goal difference first, then goals scored - what comes after that? Say that England beats Algeria 1-0 today, we beat Algeria 1-0 next week, and Slovenia and England play to a 2-2 tie - who goes through then?

a) greatest number of points obtained in all group matches;
b) goal difference in all group matches;
c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.

If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings will be determined as follows:
d) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
e) goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned;
f) greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned;
g) drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

[GannonFan]

That was a goal. No offsides. And if anything, there could have been TWO penalties called on Slovenia on that play.

That ref really changed the game from beginning to end.

This feels like a loss...

Well, at least we got the tie - imagine how Germany feels - the ref screws them over with the terrible two yellows on maybe the best striker playing right now and they have to play 10 men for most of the game today plus they don't have him for the next game either.

I said it before and I'll say it again, maybe the #1 problem with soccer, IMO, is the tremendous ability that the referee has to virtually determine the outcome of the game. No sport comes anywhere close to soccer in this regard.

[bandl]

That was a goal. No offsides. And if anything, there could have been TWO penalties called on Slovenia on that play.

That ref really changed the game from beginning to end.

This feels like a loss...

Well, at least we got the tie - imagine how Germany feels - the ref screws them over with the terrible two yellows on maybe the best striker playing right now and they have to play 10 men for most of the game today plus they don't have him for the next game either.

I said it before and I'll say it again, maybe the #1 problem with soccer, IMO, is the tremendous ability that the referee has to virtually determine the outcome of the game. No sport comes anywhere close to soccer in this regard.

Agreed totally, again. That ref didn't do his job properly, plain and simple. It feels like a loss because we won, that was a goal at the end.
But on the flip side...don't allow yourselves to go down 2-0 in the first place and you don't have this problem.

And maybe don't put Torres in the starting lineup at all. Ever. And maybe wait about 20 minutes before putting DeMerit in...that guy is pretty damn good once the game gets going. But repeatedly now it takes him about 15 minutes or so to wake up.

IF the US advances, it's plain as day to see that their defensive wings are just going to get shredded on the attacking sidelines.

[DukeJack]

The whole second half all I could think about was this guy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Moreno

But if we had a midfield who could stay with their marks the first 15 minutes of every game and a defense who knew how to close down on an attacker he never would have had the chance to change the outcome of the game.

He wasn't calling anything a normal ref would consider a foul so the Slovenians took full advantage of it in the second half until dumbass decided to start handing out yellow cards.

And if Donovan stretches out his left foot and not his right in the 40', it's a whole different ballgame.

[bandl]

I don't like Findley starting though because his speed is not as effective against a fresh defense. I like him in there in the latter part of the game so he can blow by a tired defender. He doesn't have the technical skills to get past even an OK defense. He's only going to be effective with a solid midfield and outside backs who can provide some crisp passes on the sidelines or on a counter attack up the middle. Let's hope Bradley/Donovan/Dempsey,etc. are a little more accurate on their passing game than they were against England...

If you can't finish speed at this level doesn't mean much for a forward- see Eddie Johnson. Davies is really missed. I would rather see Buddle or Dempsey at forward (he is a world-class finisher, but I really don't like him on the ball in midfield) with Holden at midfield

Agree 100%, which is why I said I don't think he has the technical skills. I envision using him late in the game on a counter attack where he beats the defense on a good pass from the middies in an all-out sprint and dribbles/chases the ball down the field. That's it. He showed today that he can't handle more than 2 or 3 technical touches.

[DukeJack]

Well, at least we got the tie - imagine how Germany feels - the ref screws them over with the terrible two yellows on maybe the best striker playing right now and they have to play 10 men for most of the game today plus they don't have him for the next game either.

I said it before and I'll say it again, maybe the #1 problem with soccer, IMO, is the tremendous ability that the referee has to virtually determine the outcome of the game. No sport comes anywhere close to soccer in this regard.

Agreed totally, again. That ref didn't do his job properly, plain and simple. It feels like a loss because we won, that was a goal at the end.
But on the flip side...don't allow yourselves to go down 2-0 in the first place and you don't have this problem.

And maybe don't put Torres in the starting lineup at all. Ever. And maybe wait about 20 minutes before putting DeMerit in...that guy is pretty damn good once the game gets going. But repeatedly now it takes him about 15 minutes or so to wake up.

IF the US advances, it's plain as day to see that their defensive wings are just going to get shredded on the attacking sidelines.

I can't find it, but Torres specifically said after the Holland friendly in March that he was not up to the speed of international play - something that directly goes back to him playing in the Mexican Primera. Defenders are not as athletic or quick and generally give the attackers a good deal of space on the ball, compared to leagues like MLS or the EPL.

It's why starting him against England would have been a bad idea, and why playing him today was a bad idea - little 5'4" Torres cannot handle the physicality that comes against European sides.

[Ivytalk]

That was a goal. No offsides. And if anything, there could have been TWO penalties called on Slovenia on that play.

That ref really changed the game from beginning to end.

This feels like a loss...

Where was today's ref from?

[93henfan]

That was a goal. No offsides. And if anything, there could have been TWO penalties called on Slovenia on that play.

That ref really changed the game from beginning to end.

This feels like a loss...

Where was today's ref from?

[CitadelGrad]

Malawi.

[89Hen]

Where was today's ref from?

mali

My first reaction when they said he was from Mali was "you've got to be kidding me". This would be like putting MEAC refs in the National Championship game. Oh wait.