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Offline jai john

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La Liga Thread
« on: July 01, 2013, 07:56:09 PM »
Villarreal back in La liga

El Submarino Amarillo president has expressed his delight after seeing his club return to Spain's top tier, bouncing back only a year after suffering relegation
Fernando Roig says he is optmistic for Villarreal's future after they secured promotion back to La Liga at the first attempt.

Jonathan Pereira's strike was enough to earn a 1-0 win over rivals Almeria on the final day of the season to ensure a runners-up spot behind champions Elche.

Roig could not hide his delight after the 'Yellow Submarine' made sure of a return to Spain's top flight after a year in the footballing wilderness.

"This will be good for our future," the club head was quoted by AS.

"We've restructured a lot of things. It hasn't been easy, but we're in the Primera Division again.

"The fans have been tremendous," he added

The Villarreal president also confirmed that Marcelino Garcia will remain as coach at El Madrigal into next season.

"It had been planned in advance and Marcelino will continue," he added, giving backing to the current trainer.

Marcos Senna, who was part of Villarreal side that reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2006, also spoke of his genuine happiness at being part of the promotion-winning side.

"This is huge," the 36-year-old former Spain international enthused.

"There’s so much joy. We've achieved our target."

« Last Edit: September 21, 2017, 03:20:02 PM by Flex »

Offline jai john

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Re: Villarreal back in La liga
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2013, 08:03:24 PM »
Ok so we had a sabbatical but we are back where we belong ...the world's biggest small side .

 One of a few teams, of any size , that can boast of matching the dynamic duo of Spain.

It seems like  football success is now determined by the size of the wallet but little teams like Villarreal keep giving hope to the hopeless ...... Yes we can .... like Sea biscuit ...the working class horse that beat the mighty War Admiral ..the money entry.

So i am ready to back the underdog ...go submarine !! los submarinos amarillos


Offline jai john

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2013, 07:10:31 PM »
Well look who is top of la Primera today !! yup...3 from 3 folks ...it may last a day ...but it is so today . We will face Real madrid next week ...
the yellow submarine ....The world's biggest small side.

Offline Peong

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2013, 08:29:27 PM »
Nice start in trute.  I'll watch that next game for sure.

Offline fari

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2013, 11:28:54 PM »
Well look who is top of la Primera today !! yup...3 from 3 folks ...it may last a day ...but it is so today . We will face Real madrid next week ...
the yellow submarine ....The world's biggest small side.

alyuh had osasuna in tears today.  jai i have to give u credit...u backing ur side consistently for donkey years now.  in spain i backing anybody who playing attractive ball and/or could give the big two a run for they money. los colchoneros are on an upward tangent and i like their grit (u could see simeone's influence)...but i backing real sociedad this year....that team will give real pressure!   had a good season last year (the race for the 4th spot was very intriguing) and now they are going to show the world their flavor...mark my words they will give manu all they could handle, i hope gollum...err...moyes is ready!

Offline Peong

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2013, 02:56:47 PM »
Real good game just done, Valencia go down at home 2-3 to Barca.
The keepers saw plenty action.
Messi at his best.

Edit: Actually he wasn't at his best.  Despite 3 goals he had some uncharacteristic misses late on.

BTW Bale to Madrid for around 100mil Euros.
He worth less than half that imo
« Last Edit: September 01, 2013, 03:18:13 PM by Peong »

Offline Bourbon

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2013, 04:21:59 PM »


BTW Bale to Madrid for around 100mil Euros.
He worth less than half that imo

If somebody willing to pay it...I taking it. Spurs do the right thing. Hold out as long as dey could for as much as they could.
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus ;with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Offline jai john

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #8 on: September 01, 2013, 04:42:05 PM »
crazy numbers in football today ....I am still trying to see the sense in paying so much for a player who will probably never feature in a world Cup and is injury prone. Bale is a good player ..fantastic even ...but at that price ?? more than twice the cost of Villarreal's entire team ?? Not for me sah ...
Well the madrid jefe has gambled again ..... beckham ...Ronaldo ...now Bale ..will be be 3rd time lucky ??? only time will tell

Offline D.H.W

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #9 on: September 01, 2013, 04:53:38 PM »
Madrid dumb
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Offline jai john

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Re: 2012-13 La liga Thread.
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2013, 07:35:50 PM »
Seems like Villarreal will get a bigger next game than planned as, with the international break, the game vs Madrid will be in two weeks rather than next week. We may very well  see the debut of the world's most expensive ever player Gareth Bale, vs Villarreal . Who would have thought it possible that the submarine would have been thrown in to the limelight so quickly after last season in the segunda division ?
Well it is a challenge and one which my team  cant complain about after all .......we are the world's biggest small side !

The European leagues are more balanced this season I tell you .. seems all have managed to introduce quality. the English are complaining though ......no english stars on the horizon and the young english player is being forced to bench .... that statement though has ominous signs for players from T&T and elsewhere who fancy playing in england. Not a nice thought folks ...responsive action to the same sentiments  killed the west indies players in cricket ....we still have not recovered !
Oh and a note to the management ..... If you must rename the thread - this is the 2013 -2014 la liga thread ... we played the 2012-2013 last season.

Offline Toppa

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2013, 09:53:48 AM »
Complete crap that Madrid sold Ozil.

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.
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Offline Peong

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2013, 11:45:49 AM »
I read somewhere that Ozil has the most assists in the top leagues over the last couple years.
Isco is a boss though.

Offline sinned

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2013, 12:17:16 PM »
Complete crap that Madrid sold Ozil.

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.
Yep. I think Ozil > Bale straight up. Perez doing crap again. Barca men like me smiling.

Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2013, 12:54:06 PM »
Complete crap that Madrid sold Ozil.

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.
Yep. I think Ozil > Bale straight up. Perez doing crap again. Barca men like me smiling.

Other issues at the Nou Camp, like badly needing at least one legit CB
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Offline Toppa

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #15 on: September 03, 2013, 12:57:53 PM »
Oh - does anyone know which station will be braodcasting La Liga this season in the US?
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Offline Tallman

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #16 on: September 03, 2013, 01:01:59 PM »
Oh - does anyone know which station will be braodcasting La Liga this season in the US?

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Offline Toppa

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #17 on: September 03, 2013, 01:20:14 PM »
Oh - does anyone know which station will be braodcasting La Liga this season in the US?

beIN Sport

Thank you....COX hasn't picked it up yet. steups
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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #18 on: September 03, 2013, 01:45:21 PM »
...

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.

Player valuation is an intricately layered thing. It's not just about the "external" value of the player.

Offline sinned

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #19 on: September 03, 2013, 01:56:43 PM »
Other issues at the Nou Camp, like badly needing at least one legit CB
I count 3 legit CB in Pique, Puyol and Mascherano (yes Mascherano!). They need depth especially if Puyol continues to be oft-injured but I'm not too concerned in general.

Offline Toppa

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #20 on: September 03, 2013, 01:58:58 PM »
...

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.

Player valuation is an intricately layered thing. It's not just about the "external" value of the player.

What do you mean by 'external' value?

Ah mean, with Ronaldo you had an excellent player as well as someone with huge Marketing appeal. I'm not sure Bale has the latter. He's not even cute.
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Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #21 on: September 03, 2013, 03:01:48 PM »
Other issues at the Nou Camp, like badly needing at least one legit CB
I count 3 legit CB in Pique, Puyol and Mascherano (yes Mascherano!). They need depth especially if Puyol continues to be oft-injured but I'm not too concerned in general.

I know you saw how both of them (PP twins) got left out not only vs Bayern but many other clubs last season, they both just don't have the same speed to keep up with speedy attackers anymore (and I am a big Puyol fan).  I rate Macherano as well, but as a CB his judgement is off quite a few times, as a DM very solid.  If you don't think the defense is porous no biggie, I tend to think it is and PP's best days are behind them...
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Offline sinned

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2013, 03:55:14 PM »
Other issues at the Nou Camp, like badly needing at least one legit CB
I count 3 legit CB in Pique, Puyol and Mascherano (yes Mascherano!). They need depth especially if Puyol continues to be oft-injured but I'm not too concerned in general.

I know you saw how both of them (PP twins) got left out not only vs Bayern but many other clubs last season, they both just don't have the same speed to keep up with speedy attackers anymore (and I am a big Puyol fan).  I rate Macherano as well, but as a CB his judgement is off quite a few times, as a DM very solid.  If you don't think the defense is porous no biggie, I tend to think it is and PP's best days are behind them...
Defense being porous is more than about the CBs IMO. It's more about lack of covering from the midfielders when Alba and Alves go bombing forward - Xavi, Sergio, Iniesta not recovering as they needed. Also, I think they didn't do as good a good squeezing the opponent without the ball as previous years. Not saying PP is the best duo in the world but I think certainly servicable.

Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #23 on: September 03, 2013, 04:38:23 PM »
Other issues at the Nou Camp, like badly needing at least one legit CB
I count 3 legit CB in Pique, Puyol and Mascherano (yes Mascherano!). They need depth especially if Puyol continues to be oft-injured but I'm not too concerned in general.

I know you saw how both of them (PP twins) got left out not only vs Bayern but many other clubs last season, they both just don't have the same speed to keep up with speedy attackers anymore (and I am a big Puyol fan).  I rate Macherano as well, but as a CB his judgement is off quite a few times, as a DM very solid.  If you don't think the defense is porous no biggie, I tend to think it is and PP's best days are behind them...
Defense being porous is more than about the CBs IMO. It's more about lack of covering from the midfielders when Alba and Alves go bombing forward - Xavi, Sergio, Iniesta not recovering as they needed. Also, I think they didn't do as good a good squeezing the opponent without the ball as previous years. Not saying PP is the best duo in the world but I think certainly servicable.

I agree with this point wholeheartedly, Martin agrees too, remember him saying this when he took over (ie we don't press like we used to), will see how it plays itself out once that is corrected.   :beermug:
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Offline Tallman

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Thomson tips Bale to succeed in Madrid
« Reply #24 on: September 04, 2013, 05:41:49 AM »
Thomson tips Bale to succeed in Madrid
By Joel Holt (Salisbury Journal)


SALISBURY City midfielder Jake Thomson reckons former teammate Gareth Bale will fit into life alongside the Galàcticos after completing a record £85.3 million deal.

Thomson, who became friends with the world’s most expensive player while they were at Saints academy, thinks the Welshman will achieve big things in Spain.

“I’m sure he will be himself and enjoy life out there,” Thomson told talkSPORT on Monday.

“He’s such a joker and enjoys everything he does.

“His family are very close to him and that will make it easier. It was always his dream to play for Real Madrid and he idolises Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s his favourite player in the world.”


L-R: Jake Thomson, Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale
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Offline D.H.W

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #25 on: September 04, 2013, 06:09:20 AM »
2 team league.
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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #26 on: September 07, 2013, 11:40:55 PM »
...

And 100 million for Bale???! You've got to be kidding.

Player valuation is an intricately layered thing. It's not just about the "external" value of the player.

What do you mean by 'external' value?

Ah mean, with Ronaldo you had an excellent player as well as someone with huge Marketing appeal. I'm not sure Bale has the latter. He's not even cute.



Quote
After applying a basic bargaining approach, we find that individual player performance and innate ability are prominent determinants of transfer fees. This result is obviously unsurprising, but what is significant to notice is that indirect measures of performance and/or innate ability appear to be more adequate in approaching these determinants. Furthermore, we find reason to believe that buying clubs may be the victim of their own success, as their size brings transfer fees up to levels unexplained by measures of performance or ability. This lends credence to the use of a bargaining framework, although limitedly so. Obviously, many prominent variables influencing transfer prices are not available in our research. However, there is reason to believe that transfer decisions themselves are greatly imperfect. One may spot an ironic paradox here: we are drawn to the football transfer market for empirical research, expecting to find a clear set of human capital valuations coupled with various objective measures to evaluate the performance of individuals. What we find is a market described by insiders as inefficient and arbitrary, with vastly flawed performance measures.

Hence, if there is one inference to be drawn from our research regarding the valuation of human capital in general it is this: it is by and large imperfect. As such, there is much to be gained in both empirical research and practice itself. However, the field remains a fascinating topic of research for the practical economist. Although it is a labor and product market like any other, its public position creates dynamics and incentives that never cease to amaze undersigned. Hence, as football statistics and other data become more elaborate, commonly used and available, we expect an interesting evolution of empirical research, results that we await with great curiosity.

Erik van den Berg, “The Valuation of Human Capital in the Football Player Transfer Market: An investigation on transfer fees paid and received in the English Premier League”, M.Sc. Thesis, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, July 2011.

 

Quote
I was doing a search for something in preparation for my Advisory Board meeting and came across what is actually a fascinating thesis on one of the more nebulous and controversial elements of modern football business: the transfer market. Erik van den Berg was a M.Sc. student in the School of Economics at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam in the Netherlands who received his degree last summer. I don’t know if he decided to continue at the University for a Ph.D. or left to pursue employment — I couldn’t find information about him online — but his thesis presents an excellent exposition of transfer payments in a specialized and differentiated market in which values are determined by either asset characteristics, the context of the transaction, or both. He finds the perfect laboratory for his study in the English Premier League. In the case of the Premier League, asset characteristics are player performance metrics, and transaction contexts are the behaviors of buying and selling clubs.

There are two major parts of the thesis: a discussion of the transfer market in football, and an analysis of player valuations in the English Premier League. van den Berg presents the factors in which a transfer market operates: competition balance, the traditional business model oriented around spectator attendance, regulatory structures, and the player acquisition and selling process which includes the role of agents and compensation schemes. This part of the thesis is background for the second half of the publication, so I’m not going to focus too much on it, but it contains a literature search on sport finance that is worth reading.

I do wish to focus on the two schools of thought between Rottenberg and Sloane, two economists in the 1950s and 60s who were the first to study the economic behaviors of sports teams (baseball and soccer, respectively). Rottenberg claimed that a roughly equal distribution of talent was essential to ensuring unpredictability of sporting outcomes, and that team owners were motivated to maximize profits; the idea of an owner buying a team just for the thrill of owning a sports team made no sense to him. Sloane countered that, to the contrary, sports team owners could and often did assume ownership for the pleasure and ego, and sought to maximize wins or utility (success on the field and at the gate) even if it meant that the team assumed large quantities of debt. The implications of that claim are that football clubs are not run efficiently from a financial point of view, and if that’s the case then player transfers are probably inefficient as well.

The second part of the paper is an analysis of transfer payments made in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 English Premier League seasons. There are two objectives in this phase of the research: assess the viability of models that describe buying/selling behavior, and investigate the significance of performance and contextual variables on the transfer payment. The first model considered is a bargaining approach, in which the value of the player is estimated from the perspective of buyer and seller, a game theory algorithm is applied, and the model tested by a regression analysis. The second model is a non-bargaining approach that considers the value of all players, not just those who have been transferred, and considers the following inputs: innate talent, training/development, and additional revenue streams. The investigation of the significant variables was the most interesting and challenging part of the paper. It is clear that van den Berg is working with a limited data set, as are all researcher who don’t have access to the finely grained data from companies such as Opta or Prozone/Amisco. I believe there were about 20 variables that van den Berg considered in his regression model (age was used twice to model a parabolic relationship), and only four or five of them exhibited significant coefficients. The major result was that the following variables were the largest factors in transfer value:

    Games played previous season
    Goals scored
    Age (up to a peak year, usually later 20s)
    Domestic transfer
    Size of buying club, modeled as stadium size
    Participation of buying club in continental club competitions

van den Berg claims that the influence of buying club size in transfer payments explains why larger clubs who participate in the Champions League pay a premium for players. He explains the behavior as an expression of clubs being risk-averse, which I think means the aversion of clubs to pass up on the chance to buy said player lest he go to a rival. (I could be wrong with his interpretation, I need to convince myself of that again.) The bottom line is that player valuation, in case you weren’t already convinced, is very very messy and inefficient. That’s not a finding that people didn’t know, but it is useful that the numbers point that out. The next step is to find the inefficiencies in the market, which aren’t so obvious.

I would read this publication not just for the analysis, but also for the references therein. There are references to major papers on sport finance in general, and the soccer transfer market in particular. van den Berg progressed very far in his research with imperfect and sparse data. As in-match performance data becomes more widely used at clubs and other end-users, we could start to see more research on the behavior of buyers and sellers in the transfer market and how these actions can be exploited to make smarter choices.

http://www.soccermetrics.net/paper-discussions/what-determines-transfer-values-in-football


 

Offline jai john

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #27 on: September 14, 2013, 03:57:05 PM »
World's biggest small side just came from behind to draw with the great RM 2-2 . All yuh have to see that game if you missed it. Now more folks will take us seriously / I just saw more than 20million euros on de bench watching the final minutes of the game ..I cant write anymore for now ...have to call my RM frieds and gloat now !!

Offline Peong

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #28 on: September 14, 2013, 04:48:24 PM »
Villa is a big side!  Very good result.

Offline jai john

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Re: 2013-14 La liga Thread.
« Reply #29 on: September 14, 2013, 06:38:14 PM »
Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid: Bale & Ronaldo goals cancelled out by Submarine strikes
The Welshman equalised following Cani's opener and, though the Blancos' No.7 gave the visitors the side, Giovani dos Santos saved the day for the hosts

   
Gareth Bale's debut was ruined by an admirable Villarreal performance as the newly promoted hosts held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw.

The Welshman made his first competitive start for the club since his world-record move from Tottenham and he began repaying his huge fee by cancelling out Cani's opener at El Madrigal just before half-time.

Cristiano Ronaldo refused to be overshadowed as he put Madrid ahead with a breakaway goal after 64 minutes, but their lead was short-lived as Giovani dos Santos equalised just nine minutes later.

Carlo Ancelotti opted to start Bale on the right, with Isco in the centre and Ronaldo on the left behind lone striker Karim Benzema as midfielder Asier Illarramendi also made his first start for the Blancos.

Villarreal made just one change to the side that beat Osasuna 3-0 in their last La Liga fixture, with Dos Santos replacing Jeremy Perbet.

Despite the wealth of talent in Real's ranks, it was the home side who made the more positive opening and twice in the opening 15 minutes Jonathan Pereira was denied at the near post by Diego Lopez, but they got the breakthrough deservedly in the 21st minute.

Real failed to clear their lines with Pereira and Bruno Soriano both looking to pounce, but the ball spilled kindly to Cani, who smashed home into the bottom corner.

It could have been even worse just short of the half-hour mark when the influential Pereira played a sublime backheel to Javier Aquino, whose initial shot was saved by Lopez before the goalkeeper stopped the rebound.

Real were reeling but they should have been level on 34 minutes when Sergio Ramos chipped a superb pass over the top for Ronaldo, but he uncharacteristically steered his header wide.

Against the run of play, Real did get the equaliser, when Bale opened his account for his new club. Daniel Carvajal broke down the right before putting in a teasing low cross and the Welshman nipped in ahead of Mario and slid to poke home with his right foot from close range.

Villarreal had shouts for a penalty shortly after the restart when a Dos Santos effort struck Bale on the arm before Bale nearly irked the home fans further when his 25-yard drive went narrowly over the crossbar.

And the home side should have been back in front in the 54th minute. Dos Santos backheeled smartly to Pereira and his centre found Jaume Costa unmarked, but from eight yards he somehow side-footed wide.

Bale soon departed, withdrawn by Ancelotti, but that was the signal for Ronaldo to take over as he punished the hosts in the 64th minute.

He broke from his own half and laid the ball into the path of Benzema, whose initial shot was parried back to Ronaldo to fire a deflected effort that put Real ahead.

However, the lead lasted less than 10 minutes before Lopez parried Cani's shot into the path of Dos Santos, who drilled home the equaliser.

Villarreal pushed forward for a winner in the closing stages and Cani was denied a second when Lopez produced an outstanding save to stop his rasping drive.

At the other end, Ronaldo almost got the winner for Real in the 87th minute, but his fierce 20-yard effort was parried to safety by Sergio Asenjo.

Comments ...


   

   
   Villareal produced a top class performance... Any top team would struggle away from home against such a quality collective performance....

It's the type of performance that forces top teams to be at their best if they want to win the game with a margin... in any other case it's hoping the individual surplus grinds out a win

Nick Parker31 minutes ago
Lopez saved the day, what an awful defense line at Real Madrid, none of them is trusted enough to carry the weight of managing the defense and the nature of the center players who lean more towards attacking than defending did not help. RM needs to rework it's defense strategy or it will take a beating after the other. Glad Gareth Bale managed to score on his debut, it'll give him confidence to score more. VillaReal were the better team, they deserved to win.

Madrid still has the problems from last season. People try to blame ronaldo always, but he, alonso, and sometimes oezil were the only ones that performed consistently last season. Ronaldo can't dig them out of a hole offensively and be expected to defend the whole game as well, no player can do that. Lopez was great, the midfield and defense had more holes in it than swiss cheese. Mostly the midfield was awful, and it is the midfielders fault. They need khedira, or another defensive mid, you can't play modric, illiarmendi, and isco unless you are playing a team with no offense, none of those three can defend or know how to fill the holes the others leave, they are always trying to get the ball and make a pass down field.
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ariian4556 minutes ago
1. Now that Ozil is gone, Ronaldo needs to step up and offer more defensively or at least be more dangerous in attack. Every time he gets on the ball he starts to walk towards a defender, tries to get past them, and then falls. He expects everyone to be watching him when he's on the ball but it only gives the opposition time to get back and organize.
2. Modric's work rate is excellent, but Ancelotti made a tactical mistake by playing two central midfield playmakers with no defensive midfielder, especially since Villareal have Gio dos Santos in attacking midfield and he could easily be crushed by Casemiro or Khedira, had they started and been ordered to tackle him hard.
3. Nacho is sooooo not good for left-back. It's obvious. First problem: he's right-footed. Second problem: he can't support in attack. Third problem: he lacks the experience and speed to deal with deadly attacks. Sorry but Ancelotti is trying to make it seem as if he's a late bloomer, but really he's just as bad as Bartra.
4. Benzema needs to realize when he's not doing good. When you haven't been doing anything all game, it's time to change the way you play. That's what the best players do. He should at least swap positions with Bale and/or CR7 when he sees that he can't be effective.
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1 reply
+8

   
Racist49 minutes ago
Very good comment and analysis
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Daniel Barton57 minutes ago
This is our first strong opponent so far in the league. With all due respect to the other teams we've faced, this was the first true test. And boy did we fail it miserably. We had seen glimpses of our failures from the previous games where we barely managed to win, but today we were exposed completely. Neither defense, midfield or attack is working. We dont have a strategy at all, the players are running around like headless chickens. Getting in each others way, sometimes leaving others to do the pressing, resulting in nobody doing it. Our defensive efforts are laughable, as evident by the fact that Cani could just jog straight through our midfield and fire a lethal shot which eventually led to their second goal.

With so many parts of our team failing it makes no sense to _only_ blame individual players. We have better players than Villareal, but what we dont have is better tactics. Or any tactics at all. Ancelotti has been promising offensive football for three months but we havent seen any of that. What we have seen however is a defensive meltdown.

Ofc, underperforming players is also key, but these are the players our coach wanted and selected to play..
Four games and counting, No plan still. Lets hope it changes soon.
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