Apr.21 at 5:33 am

James76ers says:
Messi’s goal = superb

Apr.21 at 5:56 am

stephen says:
ronaldinho is still the greatest. i have to disagree with you. He has a million dofferent tricks up his sleeve sum he invented himself altho ronaldo is great he’s too flashy and his repertoire seems to consist only of stepovers.

Apr.21 at 1:25 pm

Waters1981 says:
So much love for JT and N*Sync. Next time hows about a heads up to mute, at least on the first video.

Apr.21 at 1:35 pm

oliver says:
yeah i know- sorry- the only reason i didn’t was because the first video was so well edited into the song- seemed a shame to waste it-
No matter how cool Timberlake thinks he is he’ll always be the little sissy in NSYNC for me

Apr.21 at 1:58 pm

oliver says:
And as far as Ronaldinho- One year ago i may have agreed with you about him being the best- but this year? Nah- hes been dogged by fitness issues, has dissapeared during games (i have watched enough of them to tell you that) and just doesn’t seem as happy- All of the reports in the Spanish papers about his problems aren’t due to anything but his lack of form- if he was stil playing great no on eowuld be mentioning his weight or anything else for that matter- sadly he hasn’t been as good as often this year as he was last year- and my point is that Ronaldo has been….all year…..really, really good- and hes only 22-scary

Apr.22 at 10:58 am

Waters1981 says:
one other thing on Ronaldo, he is such a bastard - he HAS to work hard and get better. He can’t talk as much as he does and not back it up, and so far he has backed it up. One thing I can say about Ronaldo though, I hate Man U, and he gets me to watch/download as many games as I can, not other figure in any other sport can do that. Oh and Oliver, www.rojadirecta.com - torrents from there download blazing fast, worth the sign up.

Apr.22 at 11:18 am

Oliver says:
Waters has absolutely knocked it on the head there- that is the ‘essence’ of Ronaldo- Perhaps the Kobe Bryant of the footballig world - hated by most (i still see this as true) but universally respected as the best in his game who can do things no one else can…

Apr.22 at 3:43 pm

oliver says:
Oh and im stumped by how the heck to wrk rojadirect- help me out!

Apr.22 at 3:51 pm

oliver says:
oh one other thing- anybody think Pele is anything other than an idiot? i thought americans would be up in arms about this…you guys love Pele..dont you?

Apr.22 at 4:47 pm

Waters1981 says:
Gotta sign up Oliver. Then you go to the forums and start downloading away, or on the right hand side there are a bunch of new games that are always posted (sort of a quick forum)

Apr.22 at 4:48 pm

Waters1981 says:
Pele was in a soccer move with Sly Stallone, that did it for me. Stallone being in a soccer movie is like Pat Patterson being on a split second decision making panel.

Apr.22 at 7:26 pm

oliver says:
dude that sounds great ill make sure i get involved with that

Apr.23 at 9:51 am

Ryan Jones says:
Pele and Beckham are the only “soccer” players a lot of Americans know, Oliver, and even those of us who do pay attention were raised on that “Pele is God” sh*t. As a country, we sort of think of him as soccer’s dream combination of Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan or something. And again, generally speaking, as a nation, we don’t pay enough attention to all the dumb opinions he shares now (usually after prodding from dumb media types, in fairness) to let that affect our collective opinion.

Apr.24 at 8:05 am

mike says:
What’s up guys? Great stuff as usual. For what its worth i’ll add my two pence. 1. Don’t think it’s linked here but check youtube for Leo Messi’s goal v Getafe. Almost a carbon copy of Maradona’s legit goal in WC1986. Messi is up there with the dribblers, Oliver mentioned. 2. To the great dribbers list you can add Garrincha - that guy was probably the best of the bunch - he was also an alcoholic and had rickets(sp). There are some awesome/awful stories about his hellraising too. 3. Pele is sadly a rent a quote merchant. But i dont think he’s an idiot. 4. Selecting a ‘best player’ thing is so subjective it’s not really worth bothering with. However it is a lot of fun. I don’t see enough of non-anglo football to make an informed decision. So I’ll say Momo Sissoko. 5. Why does the best player in the world have to be an attacking player? 6. Tonights Camps Lge game looks like it could be a cracker, Man Utd with 2 fit defenders versus Kaka, Maldini versus Ronaldo, Dida possibly out, cant wait! Thats my lot, any thoughts?

Apr.24 at 11:44 am

oliver says:
interesting stuff Mike- momo sissoko is a very underrated player and at 21? (i think) is going to be very, very good- but i dont know about best in the league- Garrincha was an awesome dribbler- he looks almost drunk the way he sways and steps sometimes (maybe he was)- ill see if i can put up a link to a vid nxt week so everyone can see- I wasn’t really callin Pele an ‘idiot’ just that he has idiotic ideas and as you say is a rent a quote machine-
Tonights game will be great- i got up early and worked hard on my dissertation (and finished) just so i can get home and watch it- i cant wait to see what Ronadlo and Kaka do!
the messi goal is linked somewhere at the top btw-

Apr.24 at 12:21 pm

mike says:
Thankfully my days of dissertation are behind me. Never have so many words said so little! The Momo thing was a little sarcastic, hence the ‘informed decision’ bit. I do rate him very highly and with experience/ball skills he’ll be a very good player. The drunk looking dribbling came from Garrincha’s legs both bowing in the same direction. That and the alcohol. Certainly, an amazimg player. Football Fact of the Day - Brazil never lost when Pele and Garrincha played in the same side.

Apr.24 at 2:10 pm

oliver says:
yeah i heard that about garincha - pretty incredible- he was awesome from waht i have seen of him- and the Brazilians all rate him higher than Pele- so i suppose that says it all!
About to settle in and watch the Man u game - good luck to the English clubs

Apr.25 at 7:36 am

mike_01 says:
Since there are a coupe of mike’s commenting on here, im gonna add a _01 to mine to avoid confusion. like anybody gives a sh*t! that was some game last night. Decent comeback, tho ITV didnt seem to pick up on the fact that Gattuso leaving the game handed the advantage to United. I sometimes wonder how these morons get jobs. Ronaldo did pretty much F all, and until he does against big teams then he isn’t the worlds best. Its easy to look good playing against Wigan but when a team has a system in place to stop him he struggles. Dida, woeful, how some rate this guy as one of the best in the world is beyond me. He’s a Liverpool era David James Rooney took both goals excellently, in some games he would have lost his head by the 70 minute but credit to him. Second leg should be just as good now Milan have to score. As for tonights game, im only gonna predict that it will not be one for the neutrals.

Apr.25 at 9:17 am

Ryan Jones says:
Great goals last night (which I just saw on YouTube) barring the first, of course. Both of Kaka’s were just odd, though impressive, but the set up and finish on Rooney’s (ESPECIALLY the second) were terrific. How many players would’ve even thought to one-time that ball?

Apr.25 at 9:46 am

mike_01 says:
Very few players have the confidence to hit that shot ‘first time’ fewer still the ability to score.
It’s the scally in him (kinda like Gilbert’s swag or Sheed’s gangsta but with a scouse accent) that can provide moments like that, yet also provide the stamping on Carvalho at the world cup. That paragraph may mean nothing to people outside Liverpool - those who know, know. Scholes’ pass was sublime for the equaliser, real moment of magic. And Ryan, Alan Stubbs has been calling United out in the Post today. “We expect to win every home game” - just once, this weekend only, I hope they do.

Apr.25 at 10:26 am

oliver says:
Intersting point about ronaldo not ‘doin it’ agaisnt the top teams Mike(01)- I dont buy it yet- hes played fine against most of the big guns this year in the prem (altho gael clichy and Eboue shut his ass down in the 1-0 win at old trafford) however….did u see him agaisnt Brazil for portugal- he was awesome- ill watch his performances against the big guns over the comin weeks and see how your theory stands up-
and dont forget he scored last night…and the mancs won- Oh and good point about gattuso- hes a fantastic player- and married to a scot!

Apr.25 at 11:00 am

mike_01 says:
Dont get me wrong, im sure Ronaldo can do ‘it’ against top opposition, however it seems the media are happy to believe that you can be world class by showboating all over fulham or charlton - i just think that until he has had great games in the big games the praise is slightly unjustified. Also he was nothing against Liverpool in the 0-1 game which O’Shea scored the winner in. The upcoming 2 or 3 games against chelsea will be a better judge of his standing, he may be the player that wins the lot for United - if so, I salute him. Or the ‘team defense’ of chelsea may stiffle him. the ‘team’ part is key here i feel. May be on the last Las Liga’s post - but somewhere I was extolling the virtues of Gattuso. He knows exactly how to get it done, pushing the rules just far enough etc, crafty veteran. also what did people think of the PFA teams?

Apr.25 at 11:29 am

Ryan Jones says:
Having spent some time on Merseyside, I think I know what you mean, _01. The “track-suited hubcap thieves” stereotype is a bit much, but then, I’ve shared a lager or seven with some of those boys…
As for Stubbs, I’m just glad to see they’re confident. The club’s recent history of sh*tting themselves late in the season is one I’d love to see them get past, and with Manu and Chelski still to come, we could theoretically go from 5th to 9th in the next three weeks. Three points this weekend would be lovely, and between Manu’s injuries and their focus being somewhat diverted, I have to think we’ve got a shot.

Apr.25 at 11:49 am

mike_01 says:
still the same mike, _01 or not. just noticed a few commenters on other areas who had some pretty ‘interesting’ ideas that i dont share. they may feel like wise about some limey talking ’soccer’. if you’ve spent time in Liverpool you’ll be aware of the unofficial dress code the youths stick to… its been getting a little better recently but you’ll still see 10/12 scallies in the exact same trackie. like anywhere liverpool has its share of good and bad places but, like you say, there aren’t many better places to share a pint or 7 with the locals. everton do tend to go to ‘operation shutdown’ im sure we dont need to re-visit the arsenal game in ‘05. If you can keep it tight at the back you definitely have a shot at beating them, maybe a bit of Arteta magic before he leaves for Atleti? that seems to have stirred enough trouble between the arsenal, everton and atletico supporters, my work is done…

Apr.25 at 1:28 pm

Ryan Jones says:
Bite your tongue, man. If Mikky leaves for Atletico, Jake and I will have to fight. It will be the Darth and Luke of basketball journalism, and no one wants to see that.

Apr.25 at 3:19 pm

Ryan Jones says:
1-0 Chelski…

Apr.25 at 7:43 pm

Jake Appleman says:
No one wants to see that? People wanted to see Slam play Dime in basketball…

Apr.25 at 11:17 pm

Ryan Jones says:
People aren’t necessarily smart.

Apr.26 at 6:01 am

mike_01 says:
Well last night didn’t go entirely to plan for Liverpool did it? Poor, poor performance in every department. Only Reina had a decent game. The only positive is that we are still in the tie, it could have been all over but for a few good saves from Reina. We never looked like scoring all night (Gerrard shot apart), can’t have any complaints with the result. In 2005 Mourinho said he’d felt “the power of Anfield Road” - I hope the players performance matches that of the fans.

Apr.26 at 9:06 am

Ryan Jones says:
mike, was that in fact Reina’s first decent game of the season?

Apr.26 at 10:02 am

mike_01 says:
I think that Reina gets a bit of unfair stick to be honest. he does drop the odd cross and sometimes isnt entirely convincing defending set pieces. however this is really the only weakness in his game - he controls the backline well, sweeps behind the defence, good shot-stopper. And his distribution is ok. He is only 23, so will improve with time. The only shocker he’s had was in the first derby game this year. There is only Cech in the Premiership that I would rather have between the sticks. And im not sure he’s human. Even other top keepers like Van der Sar (palming shots to oncoming strikers/ bad positiong on free-kicks), Lehmann (insanity) and Robinson (fat/repeatedly beaten from distance) have had bad patches this season Co-incidentally two of the more underated keepers are Americans - Freidel (who was awful at Liverpool) and Howard, who had one blip at Man Utd then was shipped out, serious bargain for Everton. So the long answer is no, not, Reina’s only good game.