The Offside

Back to where it all began...

Samir — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 04:28:09 -0600

After the tragedy on the game being corrupted, I started it again. With the expectation of qualifying to Europe, I still got 7mil of budget. I did mostly the same I had done in the corrupted save, if you don't count my debut game, when I won 3-0, two great Rossi goals and Llorente got his mark in the game ...

Spurs are just better.

Stephen — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 03:52:13 -0600

It's becoming a very disturbing thing to see the Black Cats losing. I know that this isn't the Arsenal team that went wire to wire undefeated, but I'd like to end this losing streak fast. It's like Liverpool cursed us with that stupid beach ball. If the club had known at that point, I'm sure they'd have taken the beach ...

The week's roundup, West Ham and Bolton (5-1!)

Ryan — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:48:47 -0600

A bit of a roller coaster ride it has been this week, after a couple of draws we saw ourselves dropping three more points at West Ham, I was bitterly disappointed to say the least, so much so I failed to write this blog at the time. But it's all about bouncing back, and I *think* its safe to say ...

The appeal of hating a great footballer

Rob — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:27:37 -0600

Albert Camus, the philosopher, author and football fanatic, was once asked that if he had to choose between football and the theatre, which he would choose. He replied "Football, without hesitation" And its little surprise, football has everything theatre has, and more. It has a story, but is unwritten. It has all the characters, the protagonists, and antagonists. It has the ...

No Smooth Sailing Here

Matt — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:20:33 -0600

Hull City in Turmoil Well it's never easy now, is it. The Tigers have endured a tumultous few weeks, with USA wunderkind being sent home and suspended over a Twitter flap, Phil Brown coming under immense pressure about his job security, auditors claiming we could go broke if relegated, and finally, chairman Paul Duffen leaving the club, to be replaced by ...

Ligue 1: Matchday 13

Sarah — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 02:08:41 -0600

It's been a busy week with the European games, but matchday 13 is already here! It's already November and the Ligue 1 table has already begun to take shape. Bordeaux sits on top of the table with a two point lead-- but Lyon is snapping at their heels in second place. Monaco and Montpellier are a surprising third and fourth ...

CL Wrap-Up and Udinese Preview

Ted — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:46:01 -0600

As with my last post, this one will be really brief. As I’ve explained, I’m going through a real busy patch at work and Timmy is on vacation, so this is largely just to give us all a place to post thoughts, etc. --------------------------------------- First off are some much-delayed, and not very ground-shaking, thoughts about where we stand in the Champions ...

Wolves Thread

Martin — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:18:40 -0600

Lineups are in: Arsenal: Starters: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Ramsey, Diaby, Arshavin, Fabregas, Eduardo, van Persie. Subs: Mannone, Senderos, Rosicky, Nasri, Song, Silvestre, Eboue Wolves: Starters: Hennessey, Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Stearman, Edwards, Henry, Castillo, Milijas, Doyle, Ebanks-Blake. Subs: Hahnemann, Kightly, Keogh, Halford, Jarvis, Mancienne, Maierhofer Interesting that Song starts on the bench in favor of Ramsey. Ramsey is more skilled than Song, ...

The worst thing that could ever happen just happened..

Samir — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:16:41 -0600

My game save was corrupted when I passed from Windows XP to Windows 7...I will start the game again...Fortunately, the career was just started. Will update as soon as I can.. ...

Hanging Our Heads In Shame

cathal — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:04:57 -0600

What have we all done to deserve this? Lazio succumbed to a killer 4-1 defeat at the hands of Villarreal in a game that quickly became excruciating to watch and got progressively more painful. It was my intention to bring you a LiveBlog but having been delayed and returning home to a 3-0 deficit, I could not muster the courage. ...

The Offside 100 2000-09 THE RESULTS!

Rob — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:03:35 -0600

Last week, I asked you to vote for you favourite 20 players of the decade, here in this very post, are the Top 100 players of the last 10 years, voted for by you, the readers and bloggers of the offside. First thing I want to say is thank you, everyone for the absolutely amazing response to this. Its been absolutely ...

Matchday: Lens-Sochaux (Stade Auguste Bonal)

Xavier — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:02:53 -0600

Today Lens travels to Montbéliard in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, where the famous Peugeot automobile plant resides and where a slick European voiture is produced every 30 seconds. The global recession has hit this commune very hard and the local economy has witnessed sharp declines. However the same cannot be said about its venerable football club founded in ...

Atalanta - Juventus: "I'll trade you my Conte for your Ciro, maybe..."

roberto — Sat, 7 Nov 2009 00:47:56 -0600

Antonio Conte was so close to taking the Juventus job over the summer and now he comes face to face with his old teammate Ciro Ferrara. When Conte took Bari to promotion from Serie B, he announced he would only be willing to leave if it meant sitting on the Bianconeri bench. Many reports suggested it was a done deal, but ...

Matchday Twelve: Tearful Reunion

Scott — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 18:07:34 -0600

The last time we saw Michael Skibbe at BayArena, he was there to clean out his desk- the 07/08 season razed on its final matchday, two-and-half years of service to the Werkself scrubbed away. His final memories were of angry supporters building pitchside bonfires of Leverkusen jerseys and a stolen mobile phone packed with pics of the fallen coach finding ...

No Margin For Error As Boca Begin Copa Mission...

Brett — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 14:23:56 -0600

Los Xenienes are back at The Chocolate Box this Sunday afternoon in the first of our seven game mission to secure qualification into Copa Libertadores 2010. No longer handed an automatic spot simply because we are awesome - we've claimed 4 of the last 10 Copa's, 6 overall, and are joint owners of the most final appearances with 9 - we ...

A League Round 14 Preview

Kieran — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 13:19:55 -0600

Well round 14 is here, and while it won't be nearly as exciting as last round (where I got to use my press pass to watch the game in Canberra), there are still some interesting clashes. Adelaide United v Brisbane Roar 0-2 Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners, Saturday, 7pm Melbourne are looking good, and find themselves in second, one point behind Sydney. ...

Offside Rewind: Let's Be Friends

Daryl — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 10:00:38 -0600

Seven stories from The Offside and World Cup Blog this week: Nominate your player/manager football ubermen Gigi's Buffon's incredible Champions League save Ballon d'Or or FIFA World Player of the Year: Which is shinier? Norwegian homage to Brazilian airport ad The return of Johan Cruyff. To Catalonia. Stephen Appiah: No longer just an international footballer Hatem Ben Arfa is an impostor! Did I mention our Facebook ...

Jennifer — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:59:23 -0600

After the exciting win (again) at Bayern with both Gourcuff AND Chamakh scoring (<--love), I think it's time we take a good break and relax with some pretty calendar photos. Martha (once of the Nice blog) managed to dig up some lovely photos of the new calendar which I am now bent on having. I mean paying 30 bucks for ...

When, Against Your Better Judgment, You Open an Email Entitled "Orange Speedo," You Deserve What You Get. (OR: More Pat Onstad Photoshop Fun)

Laurie — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:03:41 -0600

(Oh, what? Stop whining. Like the post title didn't warn you?) Email exchange. Topic line "Orange Speedo. " Same anonymous friend/Sounders fan I talked about in the previous post. We are both thinking about the upcoming game with "Forever Orange" Houston. Him to me: [Link to the following photo.] (laurie's aside: Given that ...

Match preview: Borussia Monchengladbach v. VfB Stuttgart

Pete — Fri, 6 Nov 2009 08:01:28 -0600

Lots to talk about after a frenzied CL midweek and now back to domestic action. The biggest squad news going into the weekend is the injury blow to Serdar Tasci. He picked up the same foot injury that Khedira has and is expected to be out the rest of the calendar year; ouch. In a defense that ...