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droidman123

tomaussie wrote: »

Looked more solid today than recently but the attack lacked edge because of it. They never really threatened in 90 minutes.

I thinks it's imperative that 'we' take the lead against Germany. I wouldn't fancy going 1 down to them.

In fact I'd take penalties right now.

Yeah I would take penos,og, anything! I was thinking of laying off my bet too,but I,m going to let it ride.hopefully di maria is fit by Sunday, those amazing runs of his makes more space for messi.roll on Sunday!!

byronbay2

Disaster for the tournament that Argentina won last night. Good defensive side, excellent pressing and hard working but ultra-cagey and didn't commit more than 3 players to any attack in the first 90 minutes. Obviously, since it was successful, they will do the same in the final and hope to nab a goal somehow and sit on it. Like tomaussie, I reckon they would be delighted to go straight to penalties now and take their chances in that lottery.

The match reminds me very much of the 1990 final between the same teams, where Argentina had 1 genius and 10 grinders and tried to choke the life out of a technically superior German team. That was the worst WC final I have seen but the right team won in the end and hopefully the same will happen on Sunday.

In terms of a bet, under 2.5 goals is only a best-priced 4/7 at the moment but looks like an absolute banker! Otherwise, no goalscorer @ 13/2 appeals.

droidman123

yes the 1990 final was dire, but if you remember 2 argies got sent off unfairly. I also think its unfair to brand the argies as negative, apart from last nights game, they have been fairly attack minded.dont forget they were without arguably their best attacking player in di maria, hopefully he will be back for the final. apart from my bet, I will be screaming my head off for them, been a huge fan since the 1978 world cup, so excuse my sometimes blinkered views:o

Nulty

Last night's match could have with some sendings off.

BumperD

For me its anyone but Germany all year long. Couldn't live with them winning, they already control Europe

Nulty

Unfortunate that people don't understand the rules of the game before posting articles on newspaper websites:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/ron-vlaar-penalty-did-the-dutchman-actually-come-within-inches-of-scoring-9600224.html

The penalty becomes invalid as soon as the ball stops moving forward.

EDIT
Turns out this is wrong...my life long value structure is nothing but a charade...

BumperD

Jim, do you fancy the agries at 13\5? Read a quote from sweinsteger saying they are looking forward to the final and feel no pressure. That suggests they are scared

jimjamcos

BumperD wrote: »

Jim, do you fancy the agries at 13\5? Read a quote from sweinsteger saying they are looking forward to the final and feel no pressure. That suggests they are scared

I'd love to see the Argies win it and Messi guarantee his greatness but I'm very strong on Germany. They've the best all round team now Lahm's back RB and Hummels is fit and they've also much better options on the bench with the likes of Schurrle. I've them in a multiple with Slade Power and Holland and have also had a nice bet on Muller to be Player of the Tournament @ 3/1 with Lads. I know that looks fairly short but the way I look at it is that it's odds on to go to the winning team and I don't think Messi's done enough to be 11/8 in that market atm when his team are outsiders. Also, the likes of Kroos, Lahm and Hummels, while exceptional, have to do something pretty special to top Muller's performances so far. James Rodriguez should have a good chance of getting it but would be shocked if he did. Can't see past Muller tbh.

BumperD

Slightly better than my simple analysis.! I put a quarter of my Holland stake on the argies. Germany are worthy favs and I guess are confident after that demolition on Brazil but Im going to side with the local support to pull off an upset. Price has tempted me. I do fear if Germany get an early lead, the south Americans could get frustrated and the cards will get flashed. Let's hope its a good spectical.

droidman123

I can't wait to see the mighty argies lift the world cup, I will genuinely have a tear in my eye.

jimjamcos

droidman123 wrote: »

I can't wait to see the mighty argies lift the world cup, I will genuinely have a tear in my eye.

Will be the wrong kind of tears Droidy!!

droidman123

jimjamcos wrote: »

Will be the wrong kind of tears Droidy!!

lol no jim....definitely tears of joy and emotion, its been too long since they last lifted the trophy, and when they did in 1986 I unashamedly cried:) hope di maria is fit to at least play some part tonight.

hucklebuck

Germany 7/5 looks like taking candy from a baby

Harry Angstrom

Dunphy doesn't fancy Argentina. That's good news for those of us who backed them :pac:

jimjamcos

Cannot see the Germans beaten. Expecting them to score in first 20mins and control things comfortably from there.

Harry Angstrom

jimjamcos wrote: »

Cannot see the Germans beaten. Expecting them to score in first 20mins and control things comfortably from there.

The Argentina defence won't be as easy to breach as the Brazilians' though.

mailburner

think the germans have finally met their match

tomaussie

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. What a chance.

mailburner

anyone but higuain

lost track of the number of times ive backed that lad to
score and done something like that

one of about 3 players that screwed me everytime i had money on

jimjamcos

Oh my, Shat himself! Germany very lucky! Decent start by both teams.

mailburner

mailburner wrote: »

anyone but higuain

poor basterd

amazed I didnt back him

tomaussie

Why didn't I stay in bed.

BumperD

Jim you must have a brown stain on your shorts after that ....

jimjamcos

BumperD wrote: »

Jim you must have a brown stain on your shorts after that ....

Ah no, all part of the fun! :P

jimjamcos

What a fackin miss.

droidman123

I,m absolutely distraught, but congrats to the germans

jimjamcos

droidman123 wrote: »

I,m absolutely distraught, but congrats to the germans

Hard luck Droidman. Was rooting for the Argies in the end. Those missed chances were shocking!

jimjamcos

Messi getting POTT is a bit of a joke.

BumperD

May the fleas of a thousand camels descend upon the German team and Angela merkles celebrations this evening.

droidman123

jimjamcos wrote: »

Messi getting POTT is a bit of a joke.

Yeah, I would of given it to mascherano by a country mile.messi is still the best player I have ever seen in my 52 years of life.never thought I would see better than maradona.

tomaussie

That was hard to take. Very hard.

andyman

I would have given it to Neuer, personally. Especially if we're talking about the impact an individual had in his team.

Messi was class in the groups, but went missing in the knockouts really. Neuer saved Germany on numerous occasions, if not through his shot-stopping but his ability to adapt into the sweeper role and preventing a chance from occurring in the first place.

Jerome Boateng never got enough credit throughout the tournament either. He was fantastic.

hucklebuck

To be fair to Messi he was out on his feet before a ball was kicked. Mascherano was great all the way through.

Disgusting cheating by Germany last night, thought they had left that behind.

Bateman

I am not convinced Messi was knackered, he just wasn't good enough. He done the Germans for pace once or twice in the first half but finish/final ball was always lacking. I had a big bet on the Argies, but also did them +0.5 in 90 mins so not too bad, Germany worthy winners.

naughto

hucklebuck wrote: »

To be fair to Messi he was out on his feet before a ball was kicked. Mascherano was great all the way through.

Disgusting cheating by Germany last night, thought they had left that behind.

How where they cheating?

Bateman

The assault by the goalkeeper on Higuain was disgraceful, nearly took his head off. There were a couple of other challenges that the ref let go, but on both sides I thought.

naughto

Bateman wrote: »

The assault by the goalkeeper on Higuain was disgraceful, nearly took his head off. There were a couple of other challenges that the ref let go, but on both sides I thought.

He was going g for the ball your mans head just got in the way

Annie Oakes

messi player of the tournament just further illustrates how corrupt an organisation FIFA is #blatterout. The golden ball is sponsored by adidas, lo and behold who do they adjudge to have been the best player , none other than the poster boy of adidas football lionel messi. Sure hes the best player of his generation, but by no means was he the best player of the tournamnent , hell he wasent even argentinas best player of the tournament. A joke by all accounts and a shambles of an orginasation. People (including myself) had staked money on the awarding of this prize and to lose it like this is nothing short of a disgrace. Mats Hummells, Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, Thomas Muller, James Rodriguez , Arjen Robben, Javier Mascherano, Zabaleta, all had excellent campaigns to name a few.

byronbay2

byronbay2 wrote: »

Disaster for the tournament that Argentina won last night. Good defensive side, excellent pressing and hard working but ultra-cagey and didn't commit more than 3 players to any attack in the first 90 minutes. Obviously, since it was successful, they will do the same in the final and hope to nab a goal somehow and sit on it. Like tomaussie, I reckon they would be delighted to go straight to penalties now and take their chances in that lottery.

In terms of a bet, under 2.5 goals is only a best-priced 4/7 at the moment but looks like an absolute banker! Otherwise, no goalscorer @ 13/2 appeals.

Well, it was a much better match than I anticipated but I still lucked-out on the punting front! Argentina played a much more attacking game than against The Netherlands but did not take their chances and paid the price in the end. A great end to a great punting WC - only have to wait 4 years for the next one

Now to get stuck into The Open!!

andyman

Bateman wrote: »

The assault by the goalkeeper on Higuain was disgraceful, nearly took his head off. There were a couple of other challenges that the ref let go, but on both sides I thought.

Not having that. The goalkeeper is more than entitled to go for the ball there, and won it.

That incident was an unfortunate clash, not an "assault" as you put it.

Bateman

He's entitled to go for the ball but this manner goalkeepers have nowadays of jumping knee-first against an opposition player who is already at a disadvantage because he can't use his hands, needs to be addressed IMO.

hucklebuck

naughto wrote: »

How where they cheating?

They took more dives than Tom Daley and seemed more concerned with getting Argies booked than trying to win the game.

hucklebuck

andyman wrote: »

Not having that. The goalkeeper is more than entitled to go for the ball there, and won it.

That incident was an unfortunate clash, not an "assault" as you put it.

Completely disagree, you cant brush off a keeper without conceding a free kick. He could have won the ball easily without going for Higuains head with his hips and knees. He would have walked if I was reffing.

Whatever you think it should have been a free in and yellow card for handling outside the box.

andyman

Bateman wrote: »

He's entitled to go for the ball but this manner goalkeepers have nowadays of jumping knee-first against an opposition player who is already at a disadvantage because he can't use his hands, needs to be addressed IMO.

That's a natural jump with your knee in the air like that. I used to always do it when I played in goal and it wasn't intentionally done because Schmeichal et al used to do it, it was the way I jumped especially when running out to punch/catch a ball. It's been the same for decades.

Regardless, your claim that Neuer should have been sent off is nonsense. The challenge on Kramer in the first half was much worse. Neuer was doing what only the best in the world can do, stop a chance by preventing it from even happening in the first place.

hucklebuck

andyman wrote: »

That's a natural jump with your knee in the air like that. I used to always do it when I played in goal and it wasn't intentionally done because Schmeichal et al used to do it, it was the way I jumped especially when running out to punch/catch a ball. It's been the same for decades.

Regardless, your claim that Neuer should have been sent off is nonsense. The challenge on Kramer in the first half was much worse. Neuer was doing what only the best in the world can do, stop a chance by preventing it from even happening in the first place.

Its not natural in the slightest, to jump you bend your knees which straighten when you go on the air.

When I jumped and had a knee up or leg out it was to do someone.

It was Scumacher again except Neuer got the ball.

droidman123

he clearly went for the man first,ball second. it was a disgraceful challenge, he got away with it because he got his fist to the ball. that doesn't excuse him going in knee to head.

tomaussie

droidman123 wrote: »

he clearly went for the man first,ball second. it was a disgraceful challenge, he got away with it because he got his fist to the ball. that doesn't excuse him going in knee to head.

Nobody has mentioned the result of that challenge - a free kick to Germany. Disgraceful refereeing as it had been for a lot of the tournament.

It's not helped by the fact that nearly every player cheats (diving) and it completely ruins the game. FIFA don't care. UEFA don't care. Well I do. I won't be watching the next World Cup.

I will struggle watching the Champions League and will only watch games involving my team. It will still be tortuous to watch.

Soccer as a game is dying for me and cheating on the pitch is the cause of death.

Watch the State of Origin lads and then tell me you can watch a soccer game without being embarrassed for the players. Not to mention the cringe factor.

Also FIFA's lip service to stamping out racism and sexism is beyond a joke. It's actually quite insulting. Factor in the cost of lives to build the new stadia in Qatar and I'm out. Over 200 immigrant workers dead the last time I read about it. It's disgraceful the media are not covering the real story.

Nulty

Neuer went for the ball. He jumped in such a way that he would protect himself from what he know would be a collision with Higuain. He didn't knee him in the head, his thigh connected with Higuain. It was a bit wreckless but not as bad as others are trying to make out. Another ref could have given a penalty for it though. I was surprised to see the free kick go the other way, I expected an Argentine throw in to be honest

hucklebuck

Tom FIFA do care, have you not seen their fair play ads.

Football is dying, its run by people on the take who dont care about the game.

All the hullabaloo about Suarez but tons of off the ball incidents swept away, kids see players diving and making malicious tackles and getting away with it. It will be like gaa in 20 yrs :P

droidman123

Nulty wrote: »

Neuer went for the ball. He jumped in such a way that he would protect himself from what he know would be a collision with Higuain. He didn't knee him in the head, his thigh connected with Higuain. It was a bit wreckless but not as bad as others are trying to make out. Another ref could have given a penalty for it though. I was surprised to see the free kick go the other way, I expected an Argentine throw in to be honest

Yes he went for the ball,but he made sure he bursted higuain first.its beyond reason how the ref gave a free to Germany.