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[Ryck]

This is largely true. He fits better into a 4-5-1 than a straight 4-4-2. Although a 4-4-1-1 with him right behind Henry works too. I like him because he isn't afraid to let them fly from distance and he's damn good at it (see the Hamburg goal or the one against the US in the WC). Wenger likes him on the wing but I think he's better suited inside.

btw your ref sucks. There was nothing in Carrick's early challenge but Scholes' was awful, yet both received yellows.

Yeah 4-4-1-1 because really he and Cesc play the same position. Luckily Rosicky can play as a deep foward.

And yeah this ref has been all over the place. Rooney needs to be subbed out already...

ole ole ole ole...

ole...

ole...


[edit] Looks like Fletch and Alan (yay) coming on.

 

[brooklyngooner]

Well, Cesc is more of a Pirlo-ish deep-lying ball distributor and Rosicky is definitely an attacking mid.

Also in the long run Theo is the better forward for us to play because any of Cesc, Rosicky or Hleb will be able to release his fearsome pace. My man's got burn.

 

[Cornballer]

Walcott's on for Hleb.

 

[Ryck]

Argggggg Damn it Fletch that shoulda been a goal.

 

[Cornballer]

Gallas limps off and immediately has his hamstring wrapped. Song comes on for him. Not good.

 

[Ryck]

It's over, 6 points and top of the group, couldn't ask for much more ( well we coulda beat Reading )

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I'm dying here! Way too funny!

**** YOU, FAKE RONALDO!!!

 

[Cornballer]

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

I'm dying here! Way too funny!

**** YOU, FAKE RONALDO!!!

:lol

 

[Great King Bowser]

THE IRONY, IT HURTS

 

[MrPing1000]

Actually I haven't seen Ronaldo blatently dive this season. I swear it. He's gotten to the stage where he really doesn't have to because getting fouled is a trivial activity.

 

[RaoulDuke]

I think that Ronaldos been great this year. It seemed like every one was jumping on him during the world cup just to get on the bandwagon. He was not even close to the worst during the world cup and i havent noticed him falling much in the EPL this year at all.

 

[BatiGOOOOOOL]

I think that Ronaldos been great this year. It seemed like every one was jumping on him during the world cup just to get on the bandwagon. He was not even close to the worst during the world cup and i havent noticed him falling much in the EPL this year at all.

Um, who was worse than him during the WC? I wish I still had all the gifs from the WC. Absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Shinobi]

Actually I haven't seen Ronaldo blatently dive this season. I swear it. He's gotten to the stage where he really doesn't have to because getting fouled is a trivial activity.

Agreed...he's actually stayed on his feet with United this season, which is to his credit.

That said he performed arguably the worst, funniest drive in the history of football in the third place game...one where he took off like Superman, then turned to the ref who was ten feet away just to see if he'd call it. :lol Think there was a gif in the World Cup thread. It's just embarassing.

Great win for the Gunners...hopefully the injuries aren't too serious. Henry with his 50th European goal, and it's hilarious that he got it with his head. If they can bag a win at Charlton Saturday they'll have won five on the trot going into the Euro qualifying break, which would be a nice little run.

 

[kaizoku]

Agreed...he's actually stayed on his feet with United this season, which is to his credit.

That said he performed arguably the worst, funniest drive in the history of football in the third place game...one where he took off like Superman, then turned to the ref who was ten feet away just to see if he'd call it. :lol Think there was a gif in the World Cup thread. It's just embarassing.

Great win for the Gunners...hopefully the injuries aren't too serious. Henry with his 50th European goal, and it's hilarious that he got it with his head. If they can bag a win at Charlton Saturday they'll have won five on the trot going into the Euro qualifying break, which would be a nice little run.

sorry but this is just outrageous - coming from an arsenal fan (assuming by your avatar, if not, still very uninformed). I will bet you all the money in the world you will never find Ronaldo dive in the same dirty way arsenal players dive. I will also bet that you cant find a single clip of ronaldo rolling around in "agony" before getting up after 2 seconds with no problem. in fact you will struggle to find a single clip of him rolling around in agony at all.

ronaldo's "diving" is more like going down easy/being too dramatic - there is usually contact and he often tries to stay up even if he gets fouled. I've watched his every kick for years, his bad rep is so exaggerated by the anti-man utd press. he is without doubt one of the top 3 bravest, hungriest players in England, he gets fouled way more than anyone else and always comes off the pitch with the dirtiest kit, but he always always picks himself up for more. by the end of the game the ref just lets half the fouls go because he feels bad giving so many free kicks to one player. thankfully this doesnt happen in europe or international games where ronaldo can shine due to more protection from refs.

as for arsenal divers, they run past the player and as they run past they place their own leg onto their opponent, initiating contact before falling down clutching their face. vieira, pires, reyes, ashley cole all did this on a regular basis. worst divers in the league. gerrard, robben, drogba etc all do it too. seems Utd are the only top team left with a shred of decency in this regard.

 

[heidern]

Well, Cesc is more of a Pirlo-ish deep-lying ball distributor and Rosicky is definitely an attacking mid.

Rosicky is awesome and he should definitely play in the centre. He's pretty much a complete midfielder since he can tackle, link up the play and has the pace to get forward. Like all Czech players though he is underrated. Personally, I think Arsenal should play Persie on the right rather than up front. He did well there for Holland. So then it would be more a 4-3-3 if you have Freddie on the left.

 

[MrPing1000]

Agreed...he's actually stayed on his feet with United this season, which is to his credit.

That said he performed arguably the worst, funniest drive in the history of football in the third place game...one where he took off like Superman, then turned to the ref who was ten feet away just to see if he'd call it. :lol Think there was a gif in the World Cup thread. It's just embarassing..

Umm Pires dive anyone?

 

[kaizoku]

some nice arsenal dives
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zp7bZf-wNQk
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2uyOoPu2CDs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9wNm0K2N_eQ


Ronaldo dive in WC
http://youtube.com/watch?v=82ochcQ56Es

dramatic yes, but he had to jump to avoid a challenge and this results in loss of balance, its not so horrible to go down here (and it actually helps prevent injury in this case, trying to regain balance is what causes most injuries in football).

He DOES dive like here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tP_niH1MXos

But its not half as bad or as often as people make out. Some people say this is diving!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=khxgCpU7dvw

He is being taken out at the waist in those ffs.

He is nowhere near as bad as drogba or robben or any arsenal player.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9wNm0K2N_eQ <---- drogba galore. lehman also a wimp. van persie. arsenal and chelsea are the worst cheats in england.

 

[Shinobi]

sorry but this is just outrageous - coming from an arsenal fan (assuming by your avatar, if not, still very uninformed). I will bet you all the money in the world you will never find Ronaldo dive in the same dirty way arsenal players dive. I will also bet that you cant find a single clip of ronaldo rolling around in "agony" before getting up after 2 seconds with no problem. in fact you will struggle to find a single clip of him rolling around in agony at all.

ronaldo's "diving" is more like going down easy/being too dramatic - there is usually contact and he often tries to stay up even if he gets fouled. I've watched his every kick for years, his bad rep is so exaggerated by the anti-man utd press. he is without doubt one of the top 3 bravest, hungriest players in England, he gets fouled way more than anyone else and always comes off the pitch with the dirtiest kit, but he always always picks himself up for more. by the end of the game the ref just lets half the fouls go because he feels bad giving so many free kicks to one player. thankfully this doesnt happen in europe or international games where ronaldo can shine due to more protection from refs.

as for arsenal divers, they run past the player and as they run past they place their own leg onto their opponent, initiating contact before falling down clutching their face. vieira, pires, reyes, ashley cole all did this on a regular basis. worst divers in the league. gerrard, robben, drogba etc all do it too. seems Utd are the only top team left with a shred of decency in this regard.

:lol :lol :lol You're completely and utterly full of shit.

For starters, when did I say he feigns injuries? That's a different category whatsoever. I simply said he dives, and if you're too ****ing blind to see that fact then you need to get some laser eye surgery.

Second of all for all the talk about Rooney being some bulldog who plays the right way, he's done plenty of dives in his career, including a certain game that ended our run at 49. So spare me your "BU-BUT ARSENAL!!" spiel, cause it ain't washing shit.

And why mention Pires? He's not even a Gunner anymore. Maybe I should mention your ex-gunner Ruud boy, who's another ****ing fraud.

Obviously it's frustrating for you guys knowing that your midfield's got more holes then a block of swiss cheese that Arsenal had no problem running circles through, but there's no need to be bitter about it at my expense. Just worry about your own shit.

 

[Ryck]

Second of all for all the talk about Rooney being some bulldog who plays the right way, he's done plenty of dives in his career, including a certain game that ended our run at 49. So spare me your "BU-BUT ARSENAL!!" spiel, cause it ain't washing shit.

.

As I recall you guys lost by 2 in that game.

 

[hadareud]

finally some action here :lol

Anyway, that Van Persie penalty was not a dive.

Watch some more videos and you'll see that the goalkeeper held his foot back. He fell easily. But it wasn't a ****ING DIVE.

edit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=82ochcQ56Es

so much for you'll not find a dirty ronaldo dive.
first match in youtube :lol

and the next one
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tP_niH1MXos

 

[Great King Bowser]

Come on Ryck, you can't really fairly use that argument. If I recall we threw all our players forward in trying to find an equaliser when we conceded a second. Something that wouldn't have happened if that penalty wasn't given.

 

[kaizoku]

:lol :lol :lol You're completely and utterly full of shit.

For starters, when did I say he feigns injuries? That's a different category whatsoever. I simply said he dives, and if you're too ****ing blind to see that fact then you need to get some laser eye surgery.

Second of all for all the talk about Rooney being some bulldog who plays the right way, he's done plenty of dives in his career, including a certain game that ended our run at 49. So spare me your "BU-BUT ARSENAL!!" spiel, cause it ain't washing shit.

And why mention Pires? He's not even a Gunner anymore. Maybe I should mention your ex-gunner Ruud boy, who's another ****ing fraud.

Obviously it's frustrating for you guys knowing that your midfield's got more holes then a block of swiss cheese that Arsenal had no problem running circles through, but there's no need to be bitter about it at my expense. Just worry about your own shit.

you spoke as if ronaldo was the worst diver in the world. i pointed out with evidence that he is not. the only reason he has this rep is because misinformed people like you keep repeating it. repeat a lie enough times and it becomes "fact". im trying to stem that torrent of lies.

im not saying he is an angel who never dives, but he seriously doesnt dive that often, it simply isnt tolerated at utd. for an arsenal fan to say that was just the stupidest thing i've heard that didnt come from ashley coles mouth.

ruud dived, beckham dived, rooney had a few, scholes too. ruud was an embarassment and he was booted out. becks wasnt as bad as ruud, but you still cringe to see it happen. our other players arent exactly serial divers, they just try to gain an advantage when they can. we dont accept it at utd and we make sure our players know this.

as for rooney penalty, campbell shouldnt have stuck his leg out like that. its not only a foul when theres contact you know. it was a dive, but it was also a debateable foul, rooney was obstructed by the leg.

 

[Shinobi]

As I recall you guys lost by 2 in that game.

Yeah, because you went up 1 and could sit back while we had to come forward, and you got us on the counter. You do understand the game of soccer right? Or are you one of those frontrunning Man U phonies that jumped on board after they won the treble?

 

[Ryck]

Come on Ryck, you can't really fairly use that argument. If I recall we threw all our players forward in trying to find an equaliser when we conceded a second. Something that wouldn't have happened if that penalty wasn't given.

Yeah I know I was mostly joking ... Im trying to find a vid of it... I mean it wasn't a dive he really had no where to go. Yeah there was no contact but he had no choice but to fall.

And hadareud that was already mentioned.

Yeah, because you went up 1 and could sit back while we had to come forward, and you got us on the counter. You do understand the game of soccer right? Or are you one of those frontrunning Man U phonies that jumped on board after they won the treble?

Yeesh someone's sensitive (and oblivious to sarcasm)... don't you live in Canada?

 

[kaizoku]

finally some action here :lol

Anyway, that Van Persie penalty was not a dive.

Watch some more videos and you'll see that the goalkeeper held his foot back. He fell easily. But it wasn't a ****ING DIVE.

edit:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=82ochcQ56Es

so much for you'll not find a dirty ronaldo dive.
first match in youtube :lol

and the next one
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tP_niH1MXos

he does dive. especiall for portugal. but as said previously, those are not the same as sticking your leg out to get a penalty or rushing up to someone and then pretending he slapped you in the face and falling over. first one he had to jump to avoid a tackle, if he didnt jump he could have easily got a foul, but maybe also an injury.

2nd one is a dive no question. thankfully he does not do this in a utd shirt - utd fans did recognise his bad behaviour at the WC believe you me. portugal seem to instruct their players to dive, plus all the real madrid stuff. i'm not deluded here.

i'd just like people to approach this with a bit of logic ffs. not like you find loads of ronaldo dives on youtube, theres barely a handful of actual dives. people like robben and drogba and arsenal have a whole gallery of crazy dives,

 

[Luna104]

nm

 

[Shinobi]

you spoke as if ronaldo was the worst diver in the world. i pointed out with evidence that he is not. the only reason he has this rep is because misinformed people like you keep repeating it. repeat a lie enough times and it becomes "fact". im trying to stem that torrent of lies.

im not saying he is an angel who never dives, but he seriously doesnt dive that often, it simply isnt tolerated at utd. for an arsenal fan to say that was just the stupidest thing i've heard that didnt come from ashley coles mouth.

ruud dived, beckham dived, rooney had a few, scholes too. ruud was an embarassment and he was booted out. becks wasnt as bad as ruud, but you still cringe to see it happen. our other players arent exactly serial divers, they just try to gain an advantage when they can. we dont accept it at utd and we make sure our players know this.

as for rooney penalty, campbell shouldnt have stuck his leg out like that. its not only a foul when theres contact you know. it was a dive, but it was also a debateable foul, rooney was obstructed by the leg.

I said Ronaldo made the worst dive in the world, not that he's the worst. Read much? Anyway, if you ever see it you'll laugh out loud. I won't even get into the four or five dives he made against France in the semi-final.

The funny thing is that you took my post as some great bash against United. Ronaldo was wearing a ****ing Portugal uniform when he made the dive I was referring to. It's got shit all to do with United. I didn't say jack shit about United. Furthermore I said that Ronaldo has stayed on his feet with United this season to his credit, yet you're still giving me shit...it's just incredible.

If I wanted to give United shit, I would've laughed out loud about you guys needing a Ronaldo wonder strike just to get a point from ****ing Reading. And I would've certainly talked two or three pages worth of shit after we went to your own stomping grounds and played you off your own park (hell we missed a penalty and still got three points). But I didn't, because frankly it's early days yet and one off games don't mean shit. Besides, no one gave us Gunner fans shit for the Man City loss, so I'm fine with keeping the good spirits. But if you wanna turn this thread into a free for all then that's fine with me.

 

[kaizoku]

I said Ronaldo made the worst dive in the world, not that he's the worst. Read much? Anyway, if you ever see it you'll laugh out loud. I won't even get into the four or five dives he made against France in the semi-final.

The funny thing is that you took my post as some great bash against United. Ronaldo was wearing a ****ing Portugal uniform when he made the dive I was referring to. It's got shit all to do with United. I didn't say jack shit about United. Furthermore I said that Ronaldo has stayed on his feet with United this season to his credit, yet you're still giving me shit...it's just incredible.

If I wanted to give United shit, I would've laughed out loud about you guys needing a Ronaldo wonder strike just to get a point from ****ing Reading. And I would've certainly talked two or three pages worth of shit after we went to your own stomping grounds and played you off your own park (hell we missed a penalty and still got three points). But I didn't, because frankly it's early days yet and one off games don't mean shit. Besides, no one gave us Gunner fans shit for the Man City loss, so I'm fine with keeping the good spirits. But if you wanna turn this thread into a free for all then that's fine with me.

you made it sound like he was the worst in the world. you made it sound like he only stopped diving this season i.e. past 5 games. this is wrong, it just so happens the media has slowly started to acknowledge what I have been seeing for the past 2 years - and you conveniently chime in in agreement. i simply set you straight

dunno why you're getting tiffy, this is what a football debate is all about. me crushing your opinions with stone cold fact

 

[enishi]

Everyone may admit that diving is part of football. Every footballer has tried, except GK
Just stop the silly arguments and look back to our teams

Ok, we won a match finally but still played like s**t... It seems that SAF tried to sort out the problem of playing both Carrick and Scholes. But I don't think it is meaningful when we don't have a proper defensive midfield at all.

btw, welcome back, Smith.

 

[Ryck]

Everyone may admit that diving is part of football. Every footballer has tried, except GK
Just stop the silly arguments and look back to our teams

Ok, we won a match finally but still played like s**t... It seems that SAF tried to sort out the problem of playing both Carrick and Scholes. But I don't think it is meaningful when we don't have a proper defensive midfield at all.

btw, welcome back, Smith.

It was nice to see Smith back playing in his proper position.

 

[kaizoku]

Everyone may admit that diving is part of football. Every footballer has tried, except GK
Just stop the silly arguments and look back to our teams

Ok, we won a match finally but still played like s**t... It seems that SAF tried to sort out the problem of playing both Carrick and Scholes. But I don't think it is meaningful when we don't have a proper defensive midfield at all.

btw, welcome back, Smith.

yeah o'shea is not reliable enough. our problem in first half was we were pushed back so far we couldnt get forward without being outnumbered. rooney was horrendous for some reason, wtf has happened to him!

I'm glad richardson didnt get a look in (and hope he doesnt again for a long time) and nice to see Smith back and Ronaldo light up another game and create the winning goal.

 

[Shinobi]

you made it sound like he was the worst in the world. you made it sound like he only stopped diving this season i.e. past 5 games. this is wrong, it just so happens the media has slowly started to acknowledge what I have been seeing for the past 2 years - and you conveniently chime in in agreement. i simply set you straight

dunno why you're getting tiffy, this is what a football debate is all about. me crushing your opinions with stone cold fact

Sorry, you're an idiot...Ronaldo was a diving, whiney, miserable little **** in the World Cup. Deal with it.

Was he that way with United last year? Honestly I don't recall, though I'm sure he made more then his fair share. But it's pretty clear that players go into pussy mode when they put that Portugese jersey on.

 

[Ryck]

But it's pretty clear that players go into pussy mode when they put that Portugese jersey on.

I think it has alot to do with Scolari *remembers WC 2002*

 

[enishi]

yeah o'shea is not reliable enough. our problem in first half was we were pushed back so far we couldnt get forward without being outnumbered. rooney was horrendous for some reason, wtf has happened to him!

Neither does anyone in the team, although Fletcher seems a little bit better than others right now. His improvement as a center midfield this season should be appreciated but still not good enough to take this DM role.

I may say it is the worst performance (not for single match, but a period of time) for Rooney since he joined us... This is the problem I worry about.

I'm glad richardson didnt get a look in (and hope he doesnt again for a long time) and nice to see Smith back and Ronaldo light up another game and create the winning goal.

We are going to play without Giggs for 2 more weeks...

 

[kaizoku]

Sorry, you're an idiot...Ronaldo was a diving, whiney, miserable little **** in the World Cup. Deal with it.

Was he that way with United last year? Honestly I don't recall, though I'm sure he made more then his fair share. But it's pretty clear that players go into pussy mode when they put that Portugese jersey on.

the point is you have no right to criticise anyone for diving or cheating as arsenal players are amongst the worst in the world for both club and country and arsenal as a club is just behind chelsea for cheating. i'm more than accustomed to the world accusing ronaldo of diving, but when it comes from an arsenal fan its just too much lol.

wtf is with all the name calling btw? it doesnt help you in anyway and doesnt seem light hearted. i stand by everything i've said because its true. i said in an earlier post that I acknowledge the things he did wrong, but "worst diver at WC" is just plain wrong. as for this mysterious super-disgraceful dive you mention, maybe you can find a clip of it, cos apparently no one else thought it worth upping on youtube.

maybe, just maybe, you've accidentally jumped on the media bandwagon and been caught up in the anti-ronaldo campaign. dont worry, happens to the best of us. do you really live in canada?

 

[kaizoku]

Neither does anyone in the team, although Fletcher seems a little bit better than others right now. His improvement as a center midfield this season should be appreciated but still not good enough to take this DM role.

I may say it is the worst performance (not for single match, but a period of time) for Rooney since he joined us... This is the problem I worry about.

We are going to play without Giggs for 2 more weeks...

I have always believed that Fletcher had ability to be a good central midfielder, followed him through the reserves etc and he has often won midfield battles against the likes of vieira and gerrard so he has something about him. he just needs to mature and step up, produce results etc. his improvement hasnt surprised me by any means, i fully expect him to develop into a very decent player. whether its for utd or not i dont know, his time may run out.

I would rather play Ole on the wings than richardson. he started against spurs and reading and both times he was the worst player on the pitch and kept messing up. we are definately missing giggs though.

 

[jamesinclair]

I dont get why you guys rag on divers.

Its the only time you see any offense in european soccer.

 

[kaizoku]

I dont get why you guys rag on divers.

Its the only time you see any offense in european soccer.

are you getting confused with american football? dives in "soccer" dont equal points!

 

[brooklyngooner]

Rosicky is awesome and he should definitely play in the centre. He's pretty much a complete midfielder since he can tackle, link up the play and has the pace to get forward. Like all Czech players though he is underrated. Personally, I think Arsenal should play Persie on the right rather than up front. He did well there for Holland. So then it would be more a 4-3-3 if you have Freddie on the left.

Agreed. And as I said, he's the one Arsenal player who isn't afraid to try to score from beyond two yards out.

Kaizoku: come on, champ. A team that's had Ruud and has Rooney shouldn't finger-point about diving and feigning injury. And even the Portuguese think Ronaldo play-acts too much. Just let it go, Hops.

 

[Ryck]

nm

 

[hadareud]

I'm still unconvinced by Perse in general. His skills are there but his form is maddeningly inconsistent, and he doesn't seem to mesh with Henry well.

I really like Persie, I think he can be a great player for us.

He really disappointed me second half yesterday though. He's now been at the club for 3 years and he still behaving like a baby. He needs to grow up already. You can't stop playing everytime something doesn't go your direction.

Far too often when it doesn't go his way he gets frustrated and either stops playing, starts moaning and makes stupid fouls. ****ing hell. I feel that if he doesn't sort himself out soon he won't have a future at the club, which would be a real shame.

When I watched Holland v Argentina at the world cup this summer it became evident to me that he really has a problem. He didn't do anything else than complain about his team all game long because he didn't get the ball as often as he would have liked to. Throwing arms up the air, moaning and walking around like a grumpy toddler. After that he started to make some dirty fouls and was very lucky to not receive a yellow card or two.

Luckily it's not as bad when he's playing for Arsenal, but I have a feeling that Wenger is growing a bit tired of his attitude as well.

So he has to decide quickly if he wants to be an average player playing for an average club or a big player playing for Arsenal. Sort it out Perse!

 

[Shinobi]

the point is you have no right to criticise anyone for diving or cheating as arsenal players are amongst the worst in the world for both club and country and arsenal as a club is just behind chelsea for cheating. i'm more than accustomed to the world accusing ronaldo of diving, but when it comes from an arsenal fan its just too much lol.

wtf is with all the name calling btw? it doesnt help you in anyway and doesnt seem light hearted. i stand by everything i've said because its true. i said in an earlier post that I acknowledge the things he did wrong, but "worst diver at WC" is just plain wrong. as for this mysterious super-disgraceful dive you mention, maybe you can find a clip of it, cos apparently no one else thought it worth upping on youtube.

maybe, just maybe, you've accidentally jumped on the media bandwagon and been caught up in the anti-ronaldo campaign. dont worry, happens to the best of us. do you really live in canada?

Oh will you shut the **** up already? You've got baby face Ronaldo who the entire ****ing world was laughing at for his antics during the summer, so as a result you as a Man U fan has no right to criticize anyone for anything ever when it comes to diving until you admit that baby face is a ****ing twat, particularly when your team gets more penalties called in their favour (particularly at home) then the rest of the EPL combined. And much like Ronaldo you somehow don't realize how ****ing pathetic you sound...it's just sad really.

And you think I jumped on the anti-Ronaldo bandwagon? Dude, I've been driving that bandwagon for three years now...I've always hated his guts. Hell, there are Man U fans I talk to who hate his pretty ass for his antics. I guess they're full of shit too right? Idiot.

And yes, I live in Canada...what, you think I made that up because I'm an Arsenal fan? WTF kinda question is that?

I dont get why you guys rag on divers.

Its the only time you see any offense in european soccer.

:lol The IQ level has really dropped in this thread the last 12 hours or so...

I was hoping that Van Persie would be making a more solid contribution so far this year. So far he looks as inconsistent as he did last season. And with that soft ass Reyes gone (who incidently had a fantastic game for Madrid yesterday) Perse is probably our worst diver, which means I'm gonna be extra critical of him until he starts getting a few goals and putting some games together. Unlike Reyes I think Perse has what it takes to play in the EPL...he just needs to find the proper focus and deliver.

 

[brooklyngooner]

Van Persie seems to need play to go through him (or maybe it's simply he tantrums when he doesn't) to be effective, and he doesn't always run off the ball terribly well. Any foil of Henry's is going to get chances playing into the space created by Titi's runs. I would still like us to buy someone up front.

About the diving, let me clarify: either you hate the play-acting altogether, which has Ronaldo near the top of the list of principal offenders, or it's just reasons why your club is better than another.

 

[psycho_snake]

I watched the first half of the United game last night. God we were awful. We couldnt even pass at times. Our tactics were awful, we just passed the ball to van der sar who kicked it up to no one. Some players were crao. Carrick is beginning to look like a massive rip off. I wasnt expecting anything special from him, but he has been pretty poor. I dont know what rooney was doing, it looked like he was playing at left back. Luckily for us saha managed to score a brilliant goal which won the game.

The man of the match had to be ronaldo. He might have been a bastard at the world cup, but ronaldo has been incredible this season. He has been Uniteds best player and arguably the premierships best player. He seems to have learned his lessons. He's not been diving and he's stopped trying to make himself look and is focusing on helping the team. Ronaldo has been through a very tough year. His dad died, he was accused of raping someone and became the most hated player in the premiership, but he's managed to stop that from affecting him and is beginning to play the best football of his career so far. Unfortunately most people will remember him for what he did at the world cup and wont give him the credit he deserves for his fantastic performances this season.

 

[hadareud]

About the diving, let me clarify: either you hate the play-acting altogether, which has Ronaldo near the top of the list of principal offenders, or it's just reasons why your club is better than another.

exactly, I hate diving regardless of who is doing it. I was very critical of Reyes about it for instance, and I wasn't happy with Eboues dive in the CL final either.

I don't think there's much point in discussing how some people dived 3 years ago, but I didn't support it then either.

I think Wenger has had a few words with his players about this too, I can't remember an instance of diving at Arsenal this season. And the only dive from last season I remember (apart from Reyes in many instances) is the aforementioned Eboue one.

I think we have a very honest team now from that perspective. That's not to say that it will never happen again.

Henry was heavily criticised for his "dive" at the world cup and so was Van Persie for the penalty in Hamburg. I don't think either were dives or even play acting for that matter.

Having said all this I think the worst offender is most certainly Robben, he doesn't seem to do much else than diving these days. Ronaldo is nowhere near as bad.

edit: This has to be on top of the agenda for FIFA, it is ruining the game. The world cup was a perfect example for this, people seemed to talk more about the blatant diving than about good games or goals. This is one of the reasons why this world cup was such a let down for me.

They have to find a way to get rid of it and the only thing I can think of is bans on basis of video evidence. No yellow cards, no fines. A ban for one game for the first offense and a ban for 3 for the next one. Players would definitely think twice about doing it and their managers would stop encouraging it.
It is of course always difficult to judge where to draw the line. The persie dive is a good example, I think it wasn't one and the majority thinks it was. Still, I think it's high time for doing something about this issue.

 

[psycho_snake]

They have to find a way to get rid of it and the only thing I can think of is bans on basis of video evidence. No yellow cards, no fines. A ban for one game for the first offense and a ban for 3 for the next one. Players would definitely think twice about doing it and their managers would stop encouraging it.
It is of course always difficult to judge where to draw the line. The persie dive is a good example, I think it wasn't one and the majority thinks it was. Still, I think it's high time for doing something about this issue.

It would be even better if video technology was introduced and the fourth official can decide wether someone dived or not. By doing this, the diving player can get punished on the pitch and the diving player wont be able to get a penalty that could allow his team to win.

It make sno sense for video technology not to be introduced. We can get instant replays within seconds. The fourth official cn watch the replay and tell the ref what the decision should be. Whoever is worried that it will waste time is worrying over nothing because it will hardly take any time and any time that is wasted can be added on in injury time.

 

[hadareud]

It would be even better if video technology was introduced and the fourth official can decide wether someone dived or not. By doing this, the diving player can get punished on the pitch and the diving player wont be able to get a penalty that could allow his team to win.

It make sno sense for video technology not to be introduced. We can get instant replays within seconds. The fourth official cn watch the replay and tell the ref what the decision should be. Whoever is worried that it will waste time is worrying over nothing because it will hardly take any time and any time that is wasted can be added on in injury time.

yeah, I think video technology should be introduced. But I think it will be very difficult for fouls and dives and so on, because different people just interpret some things differently.

I know it works perfectly well in the NHL - but they have been using it for many years. So I dunno, if they do it they better do it professionally and not as half arsed as most of the new things FIFA brings to the table.

 

[brooklyngooner]

I don't think there's much of a way to legislate against it, you'll just produce more card-happy refs which to me is more of a hindrance than diving. That Carrick yellow yesterday was just nonsense, and that happens regularly.

The way it will disappear is if fans vehemently reject it. It seems in the case of Drogba it's worked, he was getting a rather vociferous negative reaction from his non-plastic supporters (the ones who knew the EPL existed before 2003) and so far this season, he seems to stay on his feet. And lo and behold he is a better player for it (Shevawho?).

I agree that discussing past offences is a pointless exercise, it was just more in response to the ludicrous comment that United are the only team left with any class about it or whatever.

Also, Ronaldo waves for cards after he's fouled, just as Drogba does, and to me that's as bad as play-acting.

As for video technology, I'm kinda only for it to determine whether a ball crossed the line for a goal. I think anything else is a little much.

 

[Shinobi]

Pretty much every top league game has cameras there even if it's not on TV, so it shouldn't be too hard to have replay after the match to show if a dive was committed. And if a player is found to do so, he's gone for a game. Do it again, he's gone for two. The shit would be dealt with in a week. Easy solution, but for the dinosaurs who run UEFA and FIFA, they'd rather rely on a ref's eyesight from 30 yards out, then bitch 'em out when they get it wrong. As long as they're not gonna take it seriously players will continue to dive, and I can't say I blame 'em.

 

[brooklyngooner]

I'm not really prepared to let Sepp Blatter invent and implement any ideas about replay and cameras, unless you want the ref running around with some Al Franken-from-Weekend Update contraption on his head the whole game.