2012-2013 EPL Thread

[Tony Cloninger]

Does anyone know when BeIn will make 2 separate stations top carry La Liga and Serie A? They hit you over the head with Braca and Real...and Jeventus or AC Milan...meanwhile Napoli, Atletico Madrid ....Show that you can be the TB Rays of futbol and warrant attention. These are not boring teams, they are exciting teams led by strikers whom the EPL would love to have.

[Tony Cloninger]

They would rather show Handball games than soccer games?? I do not get this station at all.

[reds1869]

I really love watching Arsenal. There is never a dull moment no matter what level of competition they are facing. A guy that lives in my building is a Brigthon fan and I really feel for him after yesterday's FA Cup tie.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by reds1869

I think beIn faces an uphill battle due to their ownership. Time Warner has already proven there is at least one major provider who has no interest in Al-Jazeera.

My carrier is Time Warner and I've been told I can't get Direct TV in HD because of the trees in my yard. So I'm stuck. And even if I could get it, it sounds like everyone is adding it to their premium sports tier. There's no way I can convince my wife to add money to an already expensive bill just for one channel. So my soccer viewing is limited to EPL and MLS for the foreseeable future.

It's a shame really. The NFL has done the same with Sunday Ticket. By signing an exclusive contract with a carrier with limited availability, they've essentially cut out a sizeable portion of potential viewers. I've had Direct TV, and I loved it. But as much as I want it I can't get it now without clearcutting my backyard or putting a dish on a pole all the way out by the sidewalk in my front yard.

The powers that be in the EPL have to be loving it. The US is by most accounts becoming an increasingly lucrative market for international soccer and their primary competition has severely hampered itself by cutting the number of viewers it can reach.

[reds1869]

C'mon, Oldham!

[Yachtzee]

Watching Oldham take it to Liverpool in the FA cup. Liverpool fans can't be happy being down 3-1 with about 20 minutes left.

Further contemplating the demise of FSC, it sounds like Fox will have a national sports network to broadcast the Champions League and other soccer competitions it holds rights to. But I have a feeling they won't have the ancillary soccer programming available on FSC, which means when soccer games aren't on, they'll probably be showing professional poker tournaments instead of soccer news and shows like Being Liverpool. Oh well, having a dedicated soccer channel was nice while it lasted. Sounds like FSC was a victim of its own success, driving up the value of rights to games until it couldnt afford them.

[reds1869]

The FA Cup is still the most magical competition in all of sports. It is like a season long version of March Madness.

[Tony Cloninger]

Originally Posted by reds1869

C'mon, Oldham!

You really hate Liverpool don't you?

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Tony Cloninger

You really hate Liverpool don't you?

Nah, I just love seeing the underdog win. Well, OK, I might also dislike Liverpool just a bit.

[Tony Cloninger]

Originally Posted by reds1869

Nah, I just love seeing the underdog win. Well, OK, I might also dislike Liverpool just a bit.

I was excited for their fans too. I mean...i would have loved an FA Cup trophy but 4th place is what they are really trying to shoot for.
I am real disappointed in Coates, Copa America young player of 2011. He needs to find some Diego Lugano's heart and Pablo Montero's cajones.... two Uruguayan defenders....guys who would never allow someone to abuse them like that.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Brek Shea is on his way to Stoke from FC Dallas. He is one of my favorite MLS players and I hope he does well. Makes it nice that he joins a fellow American at Stoke with Geoff Cameron there.

[bucksfan2]

I figure this is about as good of a place to ask this question to the soccer fans.

I am watching an EPL game over this weekend and wondering to myself why England hasn't done much if anything on the national stage in years. Many consider the EPL to be the best league in the world, and granted they get a lot of stars from elsewhere, but the English National Team hasn't kept up with its neighbors.

I originally thought that it could be geography and demographics, kinda like recruiting edge the SEC has over the northern schools, but German and the Dutch have fielded competitive teams in similar climates. To compound that, who was the last great English soccer player? Beckham in his prime? It almost seems as if England is a maddeningly mediocre team, a la the US.

[WMR]

English soccer is sort of like American style soccer on steroids. They value work rate and hard-nosed players over tactical ability and ball skills. When England runs into a Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Holland etc. etc. they more often than not end up in world's of trouble.

The individual pieces are also often greater than the whole.

[OldRightHander]

The EPL isn't any different than the major leagues here that we would consider the top leagues in their respective sports. You could say the NHL and MLB are the top leagues in those sports but when it comes to international competition the U.S. isn't winning everything. A major part of the talent, especially these days, in any major sports league comes from several countries.

[M2]

Originally Posted by bucksfan2

I figure this is about as good of a place to ask this question to the soccer fans.

I am watching an EPL game over this weekend and wondering to myself why England hasn't done much if anything on the national stage in years. Many consider the EPL to be the best league in the world, and granted they get a lot of stars from elsewhere, but the English National Team hasn't kept up with its neighbors.

I originally thought that it could be geography and demographics, kinda like recruiting edge the SEC has over the northern schools, but German and the Dutch have fielded competitive teams in similar climates. To compound that, who was the last great English soccer player? Beckham in his prime? It almost seems as if England is a maddeningly mediocre team, a la the US.

Last great English player? I'll go with Gary Lineker. Gazza might have been great, but injuries and booze undid him. Beckham has a dangerous right foot and he's a marketing machine. However, he never deserved to be ranked among top tier players.

As for the English national team, very few of the best players in the EPL are English. And almost no English players go to other leagues and make any sort impact. Steve McManaman was probably the last guy to do that. Beckham largely was a disaster at Real Madrid.

England gets beaten in the midfield. It just doesn't move the ball as well as the international elite. On the bright side, the team looked pretty good against Brazil the other day. Whether that's a sign that England is playing a better possession game or Brazil is in serious trouble, I don't know.