How many Penalties is enough?

In what can only be described as crazy mid week action this week - the hot topic still on everyone's lips was the great penalty debate which saw Real Madrid penalised more than any club in the history of professional EA Sports Football.

The total count was lost in the end, which is a true testament to how many there actually were in the space of only 4 games. The turkey which takes the prize is the 3 penalties awarded to Juventus in the Champions League group stage game - where Real Madrid were judged to have handled the ball in the penalty box 3 times. Justice prevailed as only one penalty was actually converted by Juve striker Carlos Tevez.

JM is almost thrown out of the game after his temper exploded in the recent La Liga match

After blowing up deluxe during their most recent La Liga game which saw his Madrid team suffer another heartbreaking last minute draw as a result of - yep you guessed it - another penalty - JM made no apologies the following day with the fire in his belly still burning.
Full transcript of his press conference is available below;

“Let’s talk about the real turning point. Let’s talk about all the penalties.”JM said.
“Unless I’m blind, I can see the ball going past my players with no touch - so what was the decision?
“Can someone answer me that? Someone?
“C’mon. C’mon, that’s ridiculous."
"They said Bale pushed him over and thats the penalty and all of sudden its 1-1! I mean C’mon.
C’mon, that’s ridiculous."“There’s got to be an investigation into this."
“Someone has to be accountable for this. And they have got to be accountable for the penalty count!.”
"We can't be that bad, seriously!! Is this the best referees we've got? I don't know what to say."

Losing his mind against Juventus

No word yet if JM will be officially punished for his behaviour both during the match and his post match comment. Nor has JM yet apologised formally for his embarassing fit during the recent 1-1 draw with Real Socidad.

His Madrid team now sit in the uncomfortable position of 6th, 11 points off the pace of league leaders and cross town rivals Athletico Madrid.

Barca claim first blood in La Liga

After a somehwhat torrid pre-season and shaky beginning to FIFA 14, Barcelona have claimed bragging rights on their fast start to the new La Liga campaign in Spain.

Despite starting the year off in almost unbeatable fashion, Real Madrid find themselves slightly off the pace in the league, largely due to their only losses this year, and both against their main rivals, Barcelona and Athleico Madrid.

JM would be considerably disappointed with their current place on the ladder, after looking "invincible" for 14 games since the arrival of FIFA 14.

"I am not happy with the two losses. We had opportunities to beat Barcelona, and perhaps a draw would have been a fair result - but we were not good enough on the day." JM spoke to press yesterday.
"And Athletico took their one chance against us and we didn't take ours - thats football."

"But I cannot complain - 14 matches of this quality and to not lose is remarkable at this level - so I suppose the losses were inevitable in some ways."

Fans of Real Madrid cannot help but feel angry by the decision of EA and La Liga to restart the league after technology updates recently - with Real Madrid sitting top of the table at the time - and rivals Barceloan languishing in 7th place.

"This was a decision we all agreed to at the end of the day - so we cannot complain." JM said of the decision.
"Obviously it has worked out to Barcelona's advantage - I'm sure everyone would like a restart when seasons do not go well from the start - so it has worked out very well for them."
"Its a long season and it will level out and we know that."

JM not entirely happy with the new season start

Champions League action continues tonight when both Barcelona and Real Madrid have the chance to cement their places on top of their groups after both with unbeaten starts to the tournament. 

Real win dramatic Super Cup

It was the first official meeting between Spain's biggest rivals for season Fifa14, with neither side capitalising on a number of chances after 120 minutes of football before the match would finally be decided by the dreaded penalty shoot out.

Barcelona had several opportunities to seal the shootout however with each failed attempt - looked ever so nervous. The drama filled penalties included every player on the field having a shot - even keepers Casillas and Valdes having a go.

However today was again Real Madrid's day - claiming bragging rights for a promising new season.

"I am pleased with the final result." JM said after the game.
"But I am not pleased that we let them control most of the match for maybe 70 - 80 minutes. This was disappointing."

Barcelona looked in complete control for much of both halves without success. It wasn't until the a tired looking midfield of Iniesta and Xavi were replaced did Madrid begin to look threatening. Enough so to even having their own chances to steal the match in the 90 minutes.

SB was clearly disappointed with the loss however would be more than pleased with the effort of his team today.

Real Madrid celebrate winning the Super Cup

New Season is Upon Us

With the highly anticipated new instalment of the EA Sports FIFA franchise, comes the promise of a new and exciting season for our friendly foes - SB and JM.

WIth both in control of two of the world's biggest clubs, the expectation will once again be extremely high for success. In what seems a transition year in terms of Playstation Systems and EA Sports biggest game - we may only see one season in this current platform. So what exactly can we expect to see from SB and JM this time around?

SB has been widely criticised in recent seasons for his teams lack of success. Since his treble winning season with Barcelona - no trophies have ever come his way. So will this year be any different?
As ususal, when asked to comment on expectations on the upcoming season SB declined to comment. 
Whether he remains tight lipped about the season ahead because he'd prefer to keep the pressure off his star studded team - or he just continues to show a complete lack of respect for the worlds media - jury is still out on that one.

Expectation for SB and his Barcelona are high as reported in Newspapers around the world this morning

Real Madid man in charge JM enjoys a friendly relationship with the worlds press and speaking today to a press conference he arranged he said he now feels his side is perfectly primed to seriously challenge for total Spanish and European dominance.

" I think last year was good for us. We showed despite being number 1 for much of the year - you must be able to win those big games at the end when it all counts." JM spoke to friends in the media.

"I think we are stronger this time as a team. Big new additions like Bale and Isco have given the side a massive boost. For me personally, I feel I have grown as a manager - both tactically and mentally.
Also I feel the new style of football in Fifa14 suits us. It is slower when it needs to be and we have players who can speed up the play when we need it. In the air it is important to be strong - and we have the players who fill this role. We are expecting nothing but success this season."

JM speaks his mind to a packed press conference this morning

As usual, Barcelona and Real Madrid will get the opportunity to size each other up in the Spanish Super Cup. This will give both teams and managers one final chance to see where they stand before the official season kickoff to La Liga.

Good luck to both Barcelona and Real Madrid on their campaigns ahead.

  

Real Madrid Champs of FIFA 13

The stage was set. Eight of the best teams in the world. One blockbuster event to give FIFA 13 the official send off it deserved.

We saw the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester Utd, Juventus, Dortmund and Chelsea battle it out for the Cab Merlot Cup. Sure, this title didn't exactly have the same pedigree as the Champions League, however it would certainly put on a show for fans worldwide, and more importantly give rivals SB and JM one final chance to face off and take bragging rights into a new era with FIFA 14.

And what did we learn from this cup? Well, that Real Madrid and JM are serious contenders. And had a little luck been on their side throughout the year they might have even won a title or two.
Disposing of Cup favourites Bayern Munich in the group stages, and Juventus in style before them, PSG in the semi final, and then taking care of Chelsea with ease in the Final, JM and his team looked every bit the real deal! Bring on FIFA 14.

What else did we learn? We learnt alittle more about the mentality of SB than we knew before. We already knew he is not quite the player he once was and with every new editon of EA Sports FIFA he drops a peg or two, but now we also see his nerves tested. An outburst such as what was witnessed when rival JM and Real Madrid won the title has not been seen by SB before.
Is this a case of one off frustration? Or a new side of SB which we should be prepared to see more of?

On the field, Barca showed fight against a determined Chelsea, but couldn't hold on despite coming back from a 2 goal deficit from game 1 of the tie. Chelsea's front man Eto'o proved the difference over the two legs and Barca were left with only their little tails between their legs as they were knocked out against opponets they were expected the beat.

In a year when neither player was able to lift a significant trophy, this comes as a special victory. Well done JM. We hope SB can find improvement in himself and his team before a new campaign begins.

Today is also a special time for FIFA fans everywhere. We welcome a new edition to the fifa family and prepare for a new and exciting journey.

Good luck to both SB and JM on behalf of all at FPA and we look forward to plenty of action and controversy in the months to come.

Here's how we stand after several years of EA Sports FIFA. 
SB and his special treble still lead over JM who is yet to win a Champions League. Will 2013/2014 be the year?

FIFA 13 in Review - Who is King?

Well as another year of EA Sports FIFA is now behind us, we wait anxiously for the arrival of FIFA 14. But as we wait, and as we do every year in September, we officially review the season that was and make an informed decision, based on statistics, on who was the more dominate player for the 2012/13 year.

And after collating the below data - its quite clear that neither player can claim a victory based on the year that was. In fact - both SB and JM would most definitely label this past 12 months as not only disappointing, but embarassing.

Both big time players in world FIFA managed a total of ZERO trophies in the past 12 months.

Both managed an FA Cup Final appearance. But both managed to lose the FA Cup Final. Woohoo

Best result in any league was JM and his Real Madrid team last season, finishing a very close 2nd to Valencia when play was suspended and Valencia were controversially handed the trophy.

We've said it before and we'll say it again - the game is crying out for a champion! Can someone please step up!

Based on recent Classico performances, JM would apear to be the current better player, but these things have a habit of levelling out. Time will tell.

You decide for yourself from the below digusting statistics. I can't read it anymore - makes me sick.

SB - FIFA 13 in review:

Season 1

Team: Chelsea -
English Premier League (DNF)
FA Cup (Round of 16)
Champions League (Group Stage)

Season 2

Team: Chelsea -
English Premier League (4th)
FA Cup (Runners-Up - Final)
Champions League (Round of 16)

 
Season 3,

Team: Barcelona - 
La Liga (3rd)
Copa Del Rey (QF)
Champions League (QF)



Such a disappointing year for SB



JM - FIFA 13 in review:

Season 1

Team: Manchester United - 
English Premier League (DNF)
FA Cup (Runners-Up - Final)
Champions League (Group Stage)

Season 2

Team: Manchester United - 
English Premier League (5th)
FA Cup (QF)
Champions League (Round of 16)

Season 3,

Team: Real Madrid-
La Liga (2nd)
Copa Del Rey (Runners-Up - Final)
Champions League (QF)

JM would not be happy with his results for the past 12 months - or this photo


  

Now is the Time for SB and JM

A new season always promises so much. Yet for some reason, season after season it has failed to deliver on that promise for our respective star players in this crazy game we like to call EA Sports FIFA.

But now, a new frontier is upon us. New technology dawns and it is finally now that we may see true greatness rise from the depths of failure and disappointment. I am talking about FIFA 14 and how we here at the FPA expect our rival players SB and JM to finally step up and grab a season by the balls!

For SB, its been a terribly dry spell. No one can deny he's done it all. A treble with Barcelona. World Cup victories with numerous nations. He has his name inked on that famous Adidas ball more times than JM and PM put together.

But...this was all in the past. For over 2 FIFA years we have not seen a trophy lifted. For all the talking there has been no delivery. Yeah sure, we have seen a final or two here and there - most famously a Champions League final when his Chelsea went up against AC Milan. We know how that ended.

We need to see something special from this man. Now is the time. Many will argue that his treble was won during a special time for Barcelona. A truly gifted team. At a time when EA Sports FIFA perhaps lacked tactical technology. If he could come close to replicating this again - then there would be no questioning the legacy.

 

A new look SB prepares his Barcelona team for training drill

JM is a different story. A tale of what could have been up until now. A La Liga Championship and Copa Del Rey title his only highlights to this point - and too many finals lost to remember.

You might say its been a difficult time for this aging star. The Treble success of SB was a particulary bleak time in his career. The unlosable Champions League final to Bayern Munich. And then there was the 'Black Friday' events of 2011. When JM led in all competitions and looked certain for Champions League glory (deep into the QF's stage) and an admin/system error saw the complete end of his campaign. Some said it was SB's attempt to sabotage and prevent a possible JM treble. But we will never know the truth.

But now in late 2013, we begin to see a new JM. He seems to have ridden himself of the demons of his past. Gone are the uncontrollable fits of rage and temper which has seen him placed on self imposed bans on so many occasions. Now we see a more controlled and relaxed personality. Perhaps fatherhood has something to do with it. Nonetheless, many are now tipping JM - with this ridiculously talented Real Madrid team to do what he has never been able to do - win everything possible.
Some are calling him the new King of FIFA - but lets put things into perspective. Even though he is clearly now one on one a better player than SB, he needs to win titles to prove his is the best there is.


The new JM (And his team of Assistants) see over Real Madrid training this week

This is the year for history to be made. Who will be the man to step up?

JM and SB are pals outside the playing arena