"Wait that is cheating if you drop the ball to yourself"
Check the official rule book section 2.4, "Spinning the ball shall be allowed in order to influence the serve.."
"That goal didn't count because it only hit one man"
Check the official rule book section 2.3 and 2.4. The ball is in play after it hits the playing surface.
"But how are you supposed to hit the ball if you can't spin the rods?"
"Well since you just spun the rods and hit the ball I get the drop and I will show you."
"Oh no! That is a skunk two games in a row which makes it 10-0. Does that mean that I have to ..."
"Fortunately for beginners there is nothing in the official rules about what you have to do when you get skunked. However, you might want to check and see if there are any special house rules before you step up to the table 
"
Please share any misconceptions you had when you were learning to play foosball. Hopefully we can save future beginners from embarrassing themselves.