There was contact on Gervinho but not to the point that would make him go down in the way he did. He was trying to win a penalty after it was clear he wasn't going to score.

And yes, yanking a guy up by the jersey is a yellow, not a red. Had Barton been sent off you wouldn't see me arguing against it, but what he did doesn't deserve a straight red.

Reputation shouldn't play into a ref's decisions and I'm glad that Barton wasn't judged by the ref based on his reputation today.

8/13/2011 6:31:25 PM

yeah I didnt think it was a dive

8/13/2011 7:26:43 PM

Not a dive, I think he legitimately went down from an incidental clip. Don't think it was intentional by the Tiote either. Doesn't matter, send him off but send Barton off too. He was being a prick, he had no intention of doing what he did other than the stir the pot and cause conflict.

That said, it should have never gotten to that point because Gervinho had a wide open shot about 2 touches before the alleged dive. Same ol' Arsenal crap, afraid to shoot and want to pass it in all the time.

8/13/2011 10:33:18 PM

You think it wasn't a dive, I think he felt some contact and chose to go down to win a penalty. Agree to disagree there, that's cool. Gervinho just isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt from me after his blatant dive in the first half.

8/13/2011 11:29:27 PM

it was a dive. Gervinho is a pussy.

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[Edited on August 13, 2011 at 11:50 PM. Reason : jt$ agrees it was a dive and a half]

8/13/2011 11:47:54 PM

Lol, epic drunk post last night.

And Chelsea drew too, what a great first weekend so far.

8/14/2011 10:25:17 AM

So I did the free preview of foxsoccer.tv and I'm really contemplating buying it. I know I can always find streams but this is reliable, near-HD quality and always in English. Plus it has EPL, Championship, France Ligue 1, Champions League, etc, etc.

Plus it has an iPhone app so I can throw games on at work in the background with no problem, which is good for the Champions League and odd big weekday game in the EPL.

Anyway, both City and United have to be happy so far. Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all dropping points right at the start though two of the three were away.

8/14/2011 10:29:03 AM

I love watching Stoke. They don't play the prettiest passes but they are tough and the home crowd is intense. Too bad they couldn't put one in on Chelsea...

8/14/2011 10:32:31 AM

links please?

8/14/2011 10:47:59 AM

Stoke game is over, ended 0-0

I usually go to http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/ to find streams. You have to install SopCast to view most of the good ones.

I'm considering foxsoccer.tv too. I can usually find streams but since most of them are Peer-to-Peer you are at the mercy of whoever is broadcasting. I've been watching a game before and had the host change the channel mid-game. It's about 50/50 if you are going to get an English feed and the quality is never all that great. My only hesitation is that it seems like they don't give you enough live games, most of them are "on demand" (aka replays) later in the evening or the next day.

8/14/2011 10:56:17 AM

de Gea is shaky... Probably should have saved that.

^ well they have every game not on FSC or ESPN (the FSC+ games are on live), so if you have access to those you get every game you want. I also am a West Ham fan and they have a lot of Championship games on most weeks...

[Edited on August 14, 2011 at 11:39 AM. Reason : x]

8/14/2011 11:38:14 AM

David LOL Gea

8/14/2011 11:42:52 AM

ManU look really good going forward, however Ashley Young has been too predictable. Pleased with Cleverley so far.

De Gea just needs time to settle I think. Right now he's reminding more of Massimo Taibi than VDS though.

8/14/2011 12:09:45 PM

yep I agree, Cleverley has been good

8/14/2011 12:34:06 PM

8/14/2011 12:39:30 PM

Quote :

"they have every game not on FSC or ESPN (the FSC+ games are on live), so if you have access to those you get every game you want."

That's the thing, I don't have cable. I do get ESPN3 which has usually a Saturday game and the Monday game, sometimes a Sunday game depending on what else is on. You don't have a choice though, just the 1 game offered.

Feed died after the Ashley Young deflected goal...guess I'm done watching for the day...

8/14/2011 12:44:49 PM

lucky assholes

8/14/2011 12:52:55 PM

De Gea looks shaky, but that front of Welbeck/Rooney/Young/Nani/Valencia/Cleverly/Berbatov/Chicharito/Park/Macheda/Diouf is going to shit goals all over the PL.

8/14/2011 2:45:05 PM

Found this article today, kind of interesting behind the scenes type stuff

http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/07/behind-scenes-everton-kit-manager-jimmy-martin

8/14/2011 3:17:21 PM

Arsenal officially announce Fabregas to Barcelona

8/14/2011 5:19:07 PM

Robbie Keane to the Galaxy

8/14/2011 5:40:30 PM

So when is Tottenham gonna play Everton!?

8/15/2011 10:57:38 AM

Quote :

"De Gea looks shaky, but that front of Welbeck/Rooney/Young/Nani/Valencia/Cleverly/Berbatov/Chicharito/Park/Macheda/Diouf is going to shit goals all over the PL."

Opta tells me they had 1 shot on target against WBA. EXPLOSIVE!



nah I agree, that's a pretty scary lineup. I'm just hoping with Vidic/Rio's injuries, De Gea's early shakiness, and the tough games front loaded on the schedule will be enough for them to drop a good deal of points.

8/15/2011 11:18:02 AM

Keane at the Galaxy should be a win/win. He's beyond his best club years in Europe but only 31 years old so he still has plenty of life left in him for MLS. Henry and Beckham couldn't get on a starting 11 on a top flight team in Europe but they are superstars once again in the US. McBride is another good example, left Fulham and comes to the MLS 5 years older than Keane. Puts in a few good years at Chicago and was still able to score plenty of goals.

Keane will lead the league in goals assuming he doesn't get injured, especially with Beckham and Donovan feeding him laser beam crosses.

I like this model of older European stars coming to the US. It helps the sport here and actually gets me a little bit interested in MLS (just a little bit).

8/15/2011 12:46:14 PM

I don't. Sure the occasional Beckham, Henry, and Keane will pique interest, but what about the washed up, mediocre South Americans that are taking spots from what should be young developing players. It's not benefiting us as a footballing nation, and that's the big problem.

8/15/2011 1:37:06 PM

your mom's a big problem

8/15/2011 1:54:58 PM

Man City are so damn boring.

8/15/2011 3:21:23 PM

How are they not ripping this team to shreds?

8/15/2011 3:41:31 PM

Silva's had two great strikes. One off the post and one saved. One of the few City players I enjoy watching.

8/15/2011 3:43:57 PM

how the hell did dzeko not score? good god that was awful

8/15/2011 3:48:38 PM

iron unkind

[Edited on August 15, 2011 at 3:50 PM. Reason : barry]

8/15/2011 3:49:33 PM

Aguero is going to be huge.

8/15/2011 4:26:41 PM

Wow. Aguero to Silva.

8/15/2011 4:29:16 PM

That was a sick assist

Aguero is going on the fantasy team asap

8/15/2011 4:29:57 PM

good gracious Kun is nasty

8/15/2011 4:31:25 PM

^^
He ain't cheap. He better start getting 90 minutes...

8/15/2011 4:31:53 PM

Things that make you go hmmmm...

Aguero and Andy Carroll both cost ~35M

8/15/2011 4:41:18 PM

Good God this guy is unreal

8/15/2011 4:49:38 PM

And again.....damn.

8/15/2011 4:49:42 PM

I am fucking scared of this guy

god damn

[Edited on August 15, 2011 at 4:52 PM. Reason : heelfan shows up in the next 24]

8/15/2011 4:49:52 PM

damn I missed it

8/15/2011 4:53:02 PM

City already have better ROI on Aguero after 1/2 a game than Chelsea does on Torres after 1/2 a season. Assuming Nasri joins up, they are going to be a tough team to beat. Really deep squad so they will stay competitive in both EPL and Europe.

8/15/2011 4:55:39 PM

He and Silva playing off each other are going to be so tough to deal with

8/15/2011 4:56:55 PM

guys....


Swansea City

8/15/2011 4:57:17 PM

point taken

but you could see a potentially unstoppable force the way their attack changed when he entered the game

8/15/2011 4:58:27 PM

^^
Thanks, we were not aware.

8/15/2011 4:59:06 PM

I want to have babies with Aguero.

8/15/2011 4:59:23 PM

Man City are dangerous but they're a team of mercenaries with a suspect defense. Right now I'm paying attention but not yet worried about them.

8/15/2011 6:06:56 PM

Quote :

"Right now I'm paying attention but not yet worried about them"

You can't be serious. Not worried? That's a lie.

8/15/2011 10:01:39 PM

Quote :

"they're a team of mercenaries good players"

8/15/2011 10:14:51 PM