news and gossip

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

Liverpool striker Fabio Borini sent off against Arsenal for exposing Santi Cazorla’s nipple with high challenge

WTF was Borini thinking? Eighteen minutes in, red card

Fabio Borini and Santi Cazorla have combined to do their own version of that Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson performance after the Italian striker was sent off for revealing the Arsenal player’s nipple with a high challenge.

Borini, who was brought on as a substitute in the 74th minute, received a second yellow card just 17 minutes later for his challenge on Cazorla which left the Spaniard slightly exposed for the remainder of the match. I just... welp


Chatter from the Sidelines

• Jim Murphy backs alcohol at football stadiums in Scotland but the police are against it


• Barry Hearn on 'undersold, self-pitying' Scottish football The SPL hasn't had a sponsor since 2013


• Interview with Xabi Hernandez - he wants to coach but this interview has a different slant than the others


• TIL Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez's Dads Played Together in Colombia


• Bojan Krkic's father hits out at Guardiola Bojan is now at Stoke


• Bundesliga table standings


• Colombia's Independiente Santa Fe grabs national championship title VAMOS LEONES


• Sergio Ramos 4th top goal scorer in La Liga this season article does what it says on the tin


• Cristiano Ronaldo gets statue erected (ha!) in his hometownread more here


• Welsh Rugby player went in BLACKFACE - not racist was doing it in 'honour' of Swansea's Wilfried Bony (footballer for the Swans) ahh, Europe
  costume in question. Said that Bony okayed it. Hmmm


• Arsenal in the hunt for Kramer first Wenger used to sign nowt but French players, and now, he's all up in Germany

Pictures

Newcastle vs Sunderland. This Derby is the most intense in all the land. Longest running rivalry (over 100 years). Sunderland has always come out on top.

From the throwback machine. Guardiola and Xavi

Steven Taylor for Newcastle gets clattered into the post trying to defend a goal

Revenge is a dish best served with a goal. Adam Johnson. Former ball boy of Newcastle, let go from their youth teams, drifted to Sunderland and rwar

Someone got so het up in past rivalries, they punched a horse. Then they had tributes to the downed horse. The Toon army!

Yep. It's that deep. As a neutral, it's the derby I enjoy the most!


Go black cats, go

The Sunderland bench celebrate the win. It's not all aggro between the two teams though, when two Newcastle supporters died in that Malaysian plane which got shot down over Ukraine, the Sunderland supporters stepped up to raise monies for the affected families this was the gofundme account that started it all


Skertle got a boot on top of his head

Giroud was on form yesterday. I was like, wasn't he supposed to be laid up until January?

Let me say this loud enough so that you can hear: your haircut is not the business, garçon

Coutinho, Lallana. Liverpool has been playing much improved lately. Creating chances, etc. We have no striker, our goalie(s) are terrible, and our defence tissue paper frail. No big!

Brendan Rodgers has a believer. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's though. We need wins

La Liga

Greizmann scored a hattrick against Athletic (Bilbao). Sorry I missed this match

Greizmann and Turan with the ball. It's so weird, I always expect to see Greizmann in a Real Sociedad jersey

Atletico got 4 goals, Athletic 1

This kit reminds me of industrial wrap

This would make an excellent painting. Atletico celebrates

OP: sorry for the truncated post, mates. My internet is down and my phone tethering is shoddy. Will be offline until tomorrow. Hopefully with some scandalous Chelsea match. I'll have to listen to the match on 5 live instead of watching it with you all ;_;

Comments

[eva]

Kramer doesn't seem likely to happen - he just signed an extension till 2019 in Leverkusen, and will return there at the end of the season when the loan to Gladbach ends.

Ouch, that headwound. Looked very scary. And Cazorla... I'm certain I saw red stripes on his chest from the studs.

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

I just read that too. I hope he develops further and becomes a key player for Leverkusen, tbh. I think that he would have more chances in Leverkusen too.
Although Arsenal are in desperate need for better defensive midfielders. The hole that they had in the middle of the pitch was massive. I think that Wenger would buy someone like Kroos in his dreams but alas that's not happening right now for Arsenal.

contracts arent neccesarily binding

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

It just means that you can't leave the club for free. It protects both club and player from doing a Boseman, iirc

[raubsaurier.livejournal.com]

I have my doubts about him actually ever playing in a Leverkusen shirt (he'd be a good matchup with Bender in the midfield with Rolfes leaving though!), but I did appreciate his 2000 word essay on Instagram explaining his decision.

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

Antoine's hair is an even bigger disgrace than Giroud's hair. Also the BBC was reporting that this was the first hattrick scored by a French player in La Liga since Henry in 2007. Benz doesn't do hattricks or what?

Some nasty challenges in the Liverpool-Arsenal match but Arsenal were really terrible, don't know how they got something out of that match.
Borini was just stupid, you can't get into the good graces of fans if you do that.

It would be interesting to see how Xavi would fare as a coach. Coaching is not for everyone but you'll only know when you try.

[medeacaesura.livejournal.com]

Griezmann's hair is truly tragic! France is my favorite NT and this WC all of them had terrible, laughable hair.

I'm also interested in what Xavi will do after he hangs up his boots.. I am skeptical of his ability to balance different personalities. He seems very stubborn to me. Maybe he will find something else to do with his formidable grasp of the game.

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Lol, French strikers are not very lucky, are they? Benz is permanently off-side or has to share with Crispy and Mistress Headband, and Giroud keeps getting subbed every time he scores a brace.

[medeacaesura.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for this post OP. Always appreciate how much work you put into them!

I'm so happy for Atletico. We're still in this! And I've been a Griezmann fan since this WC so I'm so happy to see him flourishing in my favorite club.

WTF @ Bayern's 11 point lead?! Sad.....

Ramos really has a habit of showing up for the big games!

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

Well Bayern's lead is quite impressive if you realise that there is only a 13 point difference between last place and third place. Which means that the race for the CL places (and relegation) is still wide open.

[mrsvixen.livejournal.com]

Greizmann's hair manages to be at the same level of ugliness of all of Neymar's ridiculous hairstyles from his Santos days combined. No, kid. Just NO.

Aaaahhhh Skrtel. I could almost feel the pain in my head as well, bb. ;____;

About Cristiano's statue... Great pun, OP!

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Yesterday's match was a thriller. It had everything: goals, attempts, fifty million yellow cards (mostly for Arsenal), terrible haircuts, players getting sent off, Skrtel and that terrifying headband...that said, Liverpool deserved to win. They were fabulous and Arsenal played terribly. Maybe Grandpère is following the Man Utd style? :P

Oh, those rumors about The Unconscious One never end. I'd love it if he came to us, but like lied_ohne_worte said, he's signed an extension with Neverkusen and I don't think Voller is just gonna shunt him off after all that trouble with Gladbach. Maybe Khedira, maybe Illarramendi, who knows?

I see that Griezmann is trying to outdo Giroud and Debuchy with that ridiculous hairstyle. Good on him for that hat trick!

Xavi as coach will be interesting. I'd think that maybe his ego will work against him but there have been bigger surprises (like Simeone). I just hope he doesn't try to revive the ridiculousness that is tiki-taka.

E: Also, I just read a very irritating article in the Telegraph about Arsenal, Chelsea and United wanting Biscuit. Please, we don't that menace anywhere near us.

barca players don't leave by choice

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

As long as Enrique wants him to play, he will stay. Xavi as a manager, interesting. Can't speak much, on my phone. :(

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I think that Barcelona's tiki taka was brilliant when they were at their best somewhere between 2009 and 2012. It was definitely a lot more exciting than Del Bosque's version of tiki taka. And after Guardiola left the tiki take became a meaning in itself instead or a meaning to an end and it became boring at Barcelona too.

No idea if that makes any sense but I agree with you that it shouldn't come back.

[peiro.livejournal.com]

After Ramos saying Real Madrid was God's team, Juanfran said (http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/12/22/primera/1419248349_546284.html): If Madrid is God's team, then Atleti is the team of the humble, hardworking people. lmao, I love him.

I echo the opinions on Anto's hair. Yesterday, we were brilliant in the second half and I think we deserved our victory. I think we do really, really need to bring in a striker in January because we looked a little thin up top with Mandzu out.

damn @ the Bundesliga table. I need to try and watch Bayer play some games so I know what we are getting ourselves in for!

[annoyanni.livejournal.com]

Lmao what kind of delusions from Ramos.

[jazzypom.livejournal.com]

El Cholo against Guardiola in terms of game play and tactics will be fascinating.

[mrsvixen.livejournal.com]

Great response from Juanfran. Ramos' quote sounded so pretentious. Maybe I'm biased because I don't like him. Maybe not.

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Leverkusen are devastating when they are at their best. Their attack is great, Calhanoglu's free kicks rival those of Pirlo's and Bernd Leno is currently shaping up to be one of the three replacements for Neuer in the German NT (ter Stegen is another). But my bets are on Atletico for this fixture.

still fucking angry

[koyuki]

I knew as soon as I saw 9 minutes of stoppage we were going to concede. Fuck that. ugh.

in other news....

JUST KISS:



is the Olivier-Santi bromance new? Or have they just all up in each other's business since they both scored braces on Santi's birthday.

focus on positive things.

Giroud, please make out with everyone on the team. You are my last hope. Give me a Christmas/birthday present to be proud of.

RE: still fucking angry

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Nah, these two idiots have been going at it for a while. But Dumb Baguette and Debuchy are ~special.

My favorite of Giroud's 150 bromances:

RE: still fucking angry

[ms-geekette.livejournal.com]

Does Danny think Santi has a bobble-head in that first gif? XD

I haven't looked to see if Giroud's head holding from afar and Per's head hugs have joined to form an unholy union.

For all of Giroud's faults/issues, he does know how to deliver on-field ~sensuality, haha. But I don't know what he was doing with his goal celebration yesterday. The French chicken? I guess he was trying to march in place, but it looked like he was getting ready to do a round of the chicken dance.

[mrscrapbag.livejournal.com]

antoine really has tragic hair. why are you doing this to yourself boo?

he should've kept this hairstyle

News! News!

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Look at Prince Arne as one of the coaches for the German U-18 squad! For those who don't know him, he is the second man on the left in the second row.

row!

Two more pictures

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

[meliadoul.livejournal.com]

British media favoured the word 'erected' in the headlines when reporting on that Ronaldo statue. Even the BBC!

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

Wow isn't that a bit daring!
Hilarious though, I saw someone saying that the statue looks a bit like Joe Hart. Which could be true too.
I do wonder if the artist didn't notice the bulge or of he did it to highlight manly features.
Either way I once read that in the time of Michelangelo a statue like David was made with a rather small appendage as to no draw all attention to it. Sounds sensible....

[marsyke.livejournal.com]

Although it's winter now, there is a small appetizer for the World Cup tonight.
La Supercoppa Italiana is between Juventus and Napoli starts in 25 minutes and it's in Doha, Qatar!

[the4thjuliek.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I shall add it to the post!