Geoff Peterson

Now that we have made the default skin active with the new board software, I'm sure you'll find some bugs we have missed. Please report them here, and we'll fix them.

For now, we're leaving the IPB default blue skin available for all users. This will allow you to check the functionality as it was intended by the software developer and compare it to the custom skin that may have a bug.  Eventually, the blue skin will also become a supporter level perk like the Retro SP and Classic TT (Green) skins.

Thanks for your help in finding and fixing the bugs!

Thoughts?

VS

An all La Liga final for this year's edition of the UEFA Europa League Final in Bucharest. The new Europa League format seems to like matching up teams from the same league, as last year's edition saw Porto besting Braga.

Athletic (that's the one from Bilbao) have knocked out big clubs with big names like Manchester United, Schalke 04 and Sporting Lisbon on their way to the final, and will not be intimidated by their La Liga cousins. This will in fact only be the first of two tournament finals that Bielsa's men have qualified for, with the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona still to come. With Llorente and Muniain leading the way, Bilbao will look to attack and press from the front line. A solid midfield that includes the Spanish international Javi Martinez will attempt to boss the game both with and without the ball. Don't be surprised if a bald and rather old looking gentlemen comes on as a substitute to score the winning goal int his one... his name: Toquero. His experience and work rate may prove to be the difference maker in this tie.

Atletico (that's the one from Madrid) won this competition just two seasons ago (09/10 season) by beating Fulham. The team has changed significantly in those two seasons. De Gea is now at Manchester United, Aguero is at Manchester City, Forlan is at Inter, Sabrosa is in Turkey. In fact, of the 11 starters for Atletico that season, only 4 are still technically with the club. If Atletico life the cup again, it will be with new players, very good players, doing the heavy lifting. Top of the list will be Falcao. He cost a lot of money, but he's proven to be worth every penny as he continues to score goals in his debut campaign with the club. Adrian has proven to be a star in the making, captivating audiences that tune in to watch the best team in Madrid play football. Diego, Koke and Juanfran have proven very useful during the season and will surely make their mark on the final. The defensive unit, decent enough, is backed up by an amazing young keeper by the name of Thibaut Courtois.

These two teams have played twice in the league play already, each with a victory. Both teams are comfortable attacking, and so this should be an open and exciting match for the neutrals who tune in. My personal prediction? I suspect that Bielsa's men will get the job done in an open high scoring affair: 2-3 for Athletic (that's the one from Bilbao).

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Let me be the first to congratulate the Real Madrid fans here on Tiki-Taka for a great season form your La Liga Champions of the 2011/2012 season. Your team was the most consistent, and have smashed the goal scoring record that stood for several decades. While my comments during the season may not have been along these lines: you've been the deserved winners this season, as proven by your 1-2 win at Camp Nou recently. In the end, the bad calls evened out between the two clubs for the most part, and it would be wrong to attribute the title to anything other than Real Madrid being the better team in the league this year overall. You guys got the results you needed, so again, congratulations!

Looking forward to another battle next seasons.

Messi is on 65 goals and 29 assits.

Can he reach Muller's 67 goals in a single season today?

Can he get closer to 100 goals + assists?

Aside form that, there should be a great game of football being played between two of the best teams in the league. Pellegrini has Malaga climbing the table, currently tied for 3rd with Valencia on 55 points. They still have some pressure behind them with Levante on 52 points, so Malaga will be playing to get any points possible out of this match and the two remaining after this one is over. Champions league qualification will give them the recruiting leverage they need to make their new found money more effective in this summer's transfer market. Watching Manchester City fight it out at the top of the EPL will also give Malaga some leverage in the transfer market as proof that the old guard can be challenged with a decent project that is well funded.

Today's match, however, may prove difficult for Malaga, as they have found it very difficult to score enough goals to win away from home. They have only managed 4 wins away from home this season, with a goal differential of 9 in the wrong direction (17 for, 26 against). Malaga may have an easier time scoring in Camp Nou that one would have previously expected due to FC Barcelona's season being all but over in La Liga. With no hope of catching Real Madrid, and no threat from below having such a comfortable gap between themselves and the chasing pack, Pep Guardiola may chose to continue playing younger players and backup players. Pinto is likely to continue in goal as he gears up for the Copa del Rey final (and Valdes watches with his 5th Zamora trophy well secured), and we may see Montoya again in defense at either LB or RB. Pique is out, Xavi is out, and Alexis is out. All three nursing injuries, par for the course this season. Abidal and Villa of course are out of action long term, as is youngster Fontas. With these players missing, Malaga will see a somewhat decaffeinated FC Barcelona on the pitch.

The fans will be out in full force despite the early mid week start time, the league being over and so many stars missing from action. Why? Simply put, this will be the first of 2 home matches in which the home fans will be able to give Pep Guardiola the well deserved send off that the fans are eager to give him. They will want to thank him for the 4 wonderful years, golden era years, that Pep Guardiola has brought to the club. Pep Guardiola has not only changed the play on the pitch for the better, he has changed the attitude of the fans. Not so long ago an exit to Chelsea in the champions league on our own pitch only 3 days after losing La Liga to Real Madrid on our own pitch would have been received with pessimism and fear from the Camp Nou faithful. That was not the case this season. Pep Guardiola really has transformed the fan base of FC Barcelona into one of respect, optimism and confidence. Hearing 98,000 fans spontaneously break into song in support of our club as the final minutes slipped past us after Torres' goal that sealed our fate this season was the crowning moment of Pep Guardiola's era as the manager of FC Barcelona.

As a long time fan who used to complain of the poor attitude of our fans when things went wrong on the pitch, I can tell you that this moment, after going down in the CL to Chelsea, as I said 3 days after going down to Real Madrid in La Liga, was probably the most proud moment of the last 4 seasons under Pep Guardiola. This is what our rivals should fear most. A moment in which our fan base should have been utterly destroyed emotionally actually lifted our fans to break into song spontaneously in support of their club and players. This was more important to the club in the long term than the 2-6 win at the Bobby Brown. It was bigger than Iniesta's goal at the Bridge. It was more important than Abidal lifting the cup on his return from his original battle with illness last season. These next two home games, starting today with Malaga, will be a continuation of this moment. The fans will be there in full force, and the team will feel that this project has not reached an end or a 'fin de ciclo' as many outsiders suspect watching Pep Guardiola step down and Real Madrid win the league later today, or later this week. This project is just getting started, and this golden era of Pep Guardiola will continue under Tito Villanova, and today's match against Malaga is the next step (The first step was teh 0-7 thrashing of Rayo).

FORCA BARCA

and

GRACIAS PEP!!!!