Arq

Soft penalty to Brazil. Neymar should have seen a red for the elbow. Equaliser denied to Croatia. It was good to see Oscar play that well. Did he really admit that he was saving himself for the World Cup? I've been reading rumours that the refs are, as a whole, scared to make critical decisions against Brazil for fear of their lives, riots, etc. Probably a load of crap, but does make one think a bit after that performance...

I agree with you with respect to Loew holding us back. The unfortunate situation for him is that the expectations from the DFB are still sky high even with the injuries. If we do not make the semis, at least, my feeling is that he will be out. The extension was just so that it would not be a talking point during the WC. We shall see.

I'm going to need to get this. I'll probably pick it up while I'm on home leave.

Yeah... Well... Looks like I can add him to the injured list.

Reus looks out, 8 weeks is what I'm reading. f**k...

Welcome!

The closer the WC gets, the more I have this feeling Germany may go out earlier than expected (and that expectation seems to be Final or bust). Our back four is unset. Our injuries have piled up. Loew is most likely going to go with the false 9. We have just one striker on the squad, an aging Klose. Loew confirmed that he sticks with the 4-2-3-1 and refuses to go to a different formation if need be. Ack! It just screams of failure. Talent, we have it. We have boatloads of it. However, we are unbalanced, have less synergy right now, and it may come back to bite us. If Joachim does fail to deliver, I believe he will be out. Klopp seems to be us fans' favourite if he is ousted. I can certainly live with that. Player to watch: Reus. This could be his breakout tournament.

Probably in the minority, but as a Germany fan, I'll agree with you.

Thank you Gem for this. Fantastic as always. Frank will certainly be missed, but never forgotten.

This right here ^ is just well said and sums it up perfectly. Well done Scott. It's a day that I think many expected to come, and it's a very sad day indeed. Super Frankie Lampard is a legend, and it's tough to see him walk away. Best wishes to Frank, where ever he may land. I do hope he comes back to us in the future as a coach/mentor. One of my favourite players, and I feel honoured to have been able to watch him play and put his heart out for this club.

Klinsmann put it all on the line. It'll either go well for him, or it'll backfire and he will probably not recover in the eyes of the USMNT fans. I believe the US will be out after their 3 matches. The group is just too strong.

But I'd have to change my avatar!

First and foremost, congratulations to Atletico and good luck against RM. I expect the final to be a tight affair, but I'm hoping Atletico pull off the win. They are a collective unit, not a bunch of individuals, and it's good to see that unity do so well. They were the better team for the 90 minutes. I've listen to Jose's interview, and while I don't disagree with most points, he is right in saying that those one minute turnarounds can change the outcome of the game. After going down 1-2, we were chasing the game and just weren't going to get the breakthrough that we needed. That doesn't detract from Atletico's performance at all. They deserve to go through. I know the season is not quite over, but I want to say that I'm proud of all of our players. Throughout this season, they truly have put their heart and soul into it and it's been an amazing run. To be in the hunt for the Prem and make it to the CL semis with a team that Jose is still clearly molding is a good season. Us fans are always hungry for titles, but this is not a failure of a season and we should be thankful that we get to watch some of the best players in the World play on at least a weekly basis. And I have to admit, even though I haven't read all 60 pages, that you lot have been commendable in the reactions to the match and our season as a whole. Someone mentioned us being a "class above" other fans and I believe that we do represent a more level-headed and open-minded collective than the fans of some teams. We're emotional, yes, but that just shows our love for this club. Like our squad on the pitch, we also are a collective unit and our support helps drive the lads to be the best they can be. To those at SB tonight, thank you for your support and thank you for acting as the "voice" for those of us that could not be there. And finally, anyone that slags off JT for showing emotion after this loss (or any really) can kindly f**k off. JT is our leader, and a club legend. Say what you will, but I'm damn proud he's leading our team. Two more matches left, I'm sure the lads will put it all on the line and close out the season strong. KTBFFH! Proud to bleed Blue.

Fantastic, simply fantastic! Our "B" team, they said. It... Doesn't... Matter... 2-0. I think I lost my voice screaming after both goals. Our defence, Mou's plan, execution, it was just all brilliant. If we cannot win the title, I hope City do. Stevie "Me" Gerrard, Chelsea assist machine. I'm going back to smiling uncontrollably and laughing at more Twitter posts. KTBFFH! Wednesday is next.

Losing is what allows us to appreciate the winning. Losing is when the team needs the fans backing them the most. The pain and agony of Moscow, 2008 helped me appreciate how special Munich, 2012 truly is. We may not like it, but losing will happen. We need stay behind the team, win or lose, and realise how special of a club this is. We have it good, don't take it for granted. It may not always be this way.

I probably don't have 2500 words, but there is a match I will never forget, even if I didn't get to see it... I've been watching Germany since 1994. The country of my heritage, and the national team closest to my heart. I watch them every time I can, even as many friendlies as I can. The 2006 German Die Nationalmannschaft, a team with always high expectations, was a team with questions. Klinsmann had taken over as manager in 2004, and just as importantly, Lehmann took over for Oliver Kahn. Kahn, truly a legend as a German goalkeeper and one of the best in history, was finally surpassed by Lehmann in Klinsmann's team. How far could the Germans go on their home soil in 2006? Was it the right decision for Kahn to be the #2? After missing the final in 2002, could Ballack lead the Germans to glory? I was as nervous for this WC as I was for our CL finals match against Bayern. We did a bit better than expected in the group stage. It's hard to say that, but there were a lot of concerns about this German team even though we were 2002 finalists. We made it through the group stages unscathed, and I believe most analysts predicted us to get a draw at some point. I remember a very tight and close match with Poland that we won 1-0 which concerned me a bit. Finishing first meant that we would meet Sweden in the round of 16. We won 2-0. Unfortunately, our "gift" for making it to the quarters was a date with Argentina. Argentina was arguably the best team of the tournament. They had players like Maxi Rodriguez and Cambiasso. I remember them being tipped as one of the WC favorites, and we got them in the quarters. Nervous? Absolutely. During the match, I was driving with my family from Pennsylvania to Disney World and was able to listen to it on the radio. My family knew I was tense, and I listened as intently as I could without endangering my family on the road. It was such a tense first half. After HT, Argentina took the lead around the 50th minute. I was devastated. Could we come back from this? Is Klinsmann able to adjust his tactics to counter the Argentina attack and generate some attack of our own? As the minutes ticked away, my hands gripped tighter and tighter on the steering wheel. My heart pounded as if I was running a marathon. And then... Klose with the equaliser!! I remember yelling as if we had just won the WC. Now I just wanted Germany to hold on to make it to ET. They held. FT and ET ended with no further scoring. On to penalties. To date, both Argentina and Germany were undefeated in penalty shootouts in the WC. That was obviously going to change. I could not drive any longer. I pulled us over at a rest area so I could listen to the penalty shootout without concentrating on driving. I'm sketchy on the order of shooting from Argentina. I do remember the Germany order. We started with Neuville, followed by Ballack, then Podolski, and Borowski. We didn't need more than four... That last miss. Cambiasso... Lehmann saved it! Argentina missed two. Wow... We just beat Argentina... It was like it didn't register for a split second. And then... WE JUST BEAT ARGENTINA!!! I hopped out of the vehicle and screamed at the top of my lungs. I have a deep voice and from my military training years ago, I've learned how to project it. I must of had a good dozen or so people at this rest area look at me as if I had lost my mind after that scream. I did. Then my wife, still listening, yells to me about a scuffle on the pitch. Trying to calm down and listen, I unfortunately heard Frings name called quite a few times. Turns out he would be suspended for the semifinal and we would lose to Italy 2-0. He was arguably our best player against Argentina, and I believe if he played against Italy, someone different may have been holding the WC trophy that year. Maybe a team on their home soil... Moments like these are why I love football, the WC, the PL, the CL, the German DFB, and last but certainly not least... Chelsea.

An interesting thread, and a good read. I'll do my best to act as a neutral and be honest. There was very little chance, at the beginning of the season, that I thought we would be the Prem title winners. Out of the league title run early last season and clearly a team in transition. Expectations of securing a top 4 spot, preferably top 3, were realistic. After sending Lukaku on loan, there were more doubts because the realisation of potential striker issues were coming full force. Would Eto'o find some of his form from the past? Would Torres improve enough to be "the man" leading our strikers? Would we be able to use Ba enough and could he step up when asked? These issues could come back to haunt the team. It has, to an extent. Lukaku is young and still developing. I think we all know that. He would not have developed in the same way if he stayed. That development, and whether it was best for him to stay or go on loan, is just something that cannot be measured. He will be good for us, or he will be moved on, but I think he is better for his time on loan. I'm confident that Jose will get the striker situation sorted next season and that may or may not include Lukaku. His development will help us by either increasing his sale value, or directly with the team. Here we are, mid-to-late April, and we are in the title race. Slim, but with a glimmer. How can you be disappointed with that? Everyone wants to win the title and being SO CLOSE to it, it hurts. I get that. Take a step back and look at the overall body of work. It's a remarkable job that Jose has done in getting this far. The future is bright, no doubt. The CL? The semis folks. Last season, there were no semis. The team didn't make the knockout stages. And here the club sits in the semis with a good shout to get to the final. Again, how can one be disappointed with that? Ok, we could lose. Losing will hurt. It will sting. I understand and will share that pain. Just think about it, the improvement with what we knew could be issues is remarkable. I feel most would have taken CL semis at the beginning of the season if given that option. And yet here we are. I want to win the Prem. I want to win the CL. I want Norwich to get the 3 points today. I don't want to wait until next season. There are a lot of things that I want. We are not out of contention yet. I didn't expect to win the Prem or the CL but we still can. The CL is in our hands, and we need a bit of help for the Prem. I want to see their best, and I'm satisfied with that no matter the outcome. It may not be what I want, but I can live with it. I say this season has been a success and I'm proud of the team. Finish it strong and we shall see what happens. Win or lose, up the Blues.

I'm still buzzing. As fans, I feel that we want to see a performance full of heart and soul. Last night, that's exactly what they gave us. Every single player on the pitch did their part and the result was well deserved. I was screaming at the TV (and Twitter posting like a nut) as if this were the final. Simply unbelievable. How do you single out performances? Luiz was all over the place. Cech doing what he does best. Andre with a superb performance as a sub. Our defence rock solid. Willian was fantastic again. Everyone did an amazing job. And how lucky are we to have simply the best manager in football? Name me another manager that would have done what Jose did with the subs that he made. Risky? You better believe it. That's what it is about. After Ba equalised, he was running down the pitch line celebrating as much as we were. And he also took that opportunity to get new instructions to the lads. He knew exactly what he was doing. The Special One, indeed! And he's ours. The only negative on the night was Hazard picking up a knock. I hope it's not too serious. Believe? We've done it before...

And people change their minds. Who knows what could happen in the next year or two especially with Dortmund possibly losing more players.

At some point, I can see them wanting Reus. It might not be this summer, or maybe even next, but I feel he might end up at Bayern.

I just used Ubuntu and XBMC for one of my boxes. Works brilliantly. Fortunately for me, I have enough hardware around to be able to just allocate one as a streaming machine and that's that. Funny enough, I have a second one running Windows and XBMC. It's not bad, but Windows is nearly not lightweight enough for the hardware that it's on.

Extremely sad news. A very funny man and one that helped inspire the latest generation of comedians. I agree with you Loz, Stripes was one of his best. Fantastic movie and somewhat underrated at the time. I might have to watch it again tonight after I get home from work. Funny no one has mentioned Caddyshack. No, not Caddyshack 2, the disaster that was. The original Caddyshack was a fantastic movie and it still an extremely enjoyable watch. Another one of Ramis' gems. RIP Harold Ramis.

Let me just say that I'm a fan of Özil as a player and believe that he is an extraordinary talent. However, as a Germany fan, this right here ^ is what has concerned me with Özil for a little while now. He is a confidence player. I get all players need to have confidence to do well on the pitch, etc. However, Özil is clearly more effected by his confidence level than some others. When he is short on that confidence, in himself and/or the team, it shows on the pitch. Therefore, you get what you saw last night. He loses focus, does not track back, etc. It is a weakness for him, and one that I believe he needs to work on. He is still young, so he has time. Löw may have a very interesting dilemma with the strong group that we have been placed in. On most days, Özil is the one to lead Germany in that #10 role. Otherwise, if we see some of what happened last night, it might shift to Götze. It will be interesting for me to see how it could play out. Someone made a comment about making a Mourinho side... He made it because there is no denying his talent. He has it. When his confidence and belief in the team direction is at a high, he can be an amazing player. Of course he needs surrounding players like any other good player on a team but Özil can be a difference maker. I do believe though that Jose saw that weakness as well and that is why Özil fell out of favour during Mou's last days at RM. I think with time, Özil will improve on being able to control that confidence level or be able to contain it a bit more. He is still young, and probably just needs to mature a bit more. Yes, he is a professional and he should be better about it. I cannot argue that. Some footballers are better than others when it comes to this type of thing. Unfortunately for him, it is not going to help being on Arsenal with their clockwork-style meltdown every year... Of course, this is all my humble opinion. I do not claim to be an expert otherwise I would apply for one of those analyst jobs and try to make a difference rather than listen to some of the dribble they spew.

Hexacore chip, very nice. LGA 2011? My guess would be the 4930k chip if so. I've got LGA 2011 but I'm only running a quad core... For now. Which 760 did you get? I'm going to upgrade my 580 here soon and was wondering who were the most reliable. It was EVGA, not sure if they still are or not.

I have a solid team of 4 (assuming we can play as a 4-team) ready to go against the monster. Some of my mates from my MMO days. I am very excited to see how good this game is. Looks stunning.