Late-winners.
Controversial red cards.
Terrible misses.
Cracking wonderstrikes from 35-year-old Welshmen.
And Manchester United alone in first place.
In other words, just another weekend in the Barclay's Premier League.
Where to begin in the aftermath of another seminal weekend in the competition? There are other candidates, but let's start with maelstrom that is Liverpool Football Club.
There probably won't be a more bizarre match than Liverpool's 3-2 win at Fratton Park over Portsmouth Saturday afternoon. The first half was borderline unwatchable and I in an active email back-and-forth if Rafa Benitez was purposely trying to get fired?
Of course, after the full 90, instead of two weeks (FA Cup break) of stories about Raffer's imminent demise after Hermann Hreidarsson's free header made it 2-1 Portsmouth late-on, the Reds were alone in first place, albeit for less than 24 hours via a 3-2 win.
What when through the portly Spaniard's mind decided to start David Ngog and Ryan Babel ahead of Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel we'll never know. I'm sure he had his reasons and as of yet he's yet to pull a Raymond Domenech in consulting the astrological tables, at least.
For a novice like myself, it seemed pretty simple. You're two points behind first place, shouldn't you play your best players and try to win a game against a sinking Portsmouth team? (Note, was Tony Adams trying to make a statement about the hangman's noose with that audacious technicolor scarf we sported on the touchline?)
Again, Raffer gets the last laugh since a) Peter Crouch screwed up a back-pass, giving Liverpool an indirect kick in the box, which Niko Kranjcar decided at the last minute to vacant guarding the near post and b) David James reaction times are down to that of the tin man without oil.
Whatever, though, Fernando Torres is a legend and probably has caused more conflicted thoughts amongst English men since Boy George. Let's enjoy this Liverpool roller coaster until it finally crashes off the tracks.
The next story that emerged is the new battle for fourth place between Cheslea and Arsenal. Even as the Blues have sputtered, I've always feared them and figured they'd get enough points at home against teams like Hull City they'd mount a decent challenge for Manchester United. After a 0-0 draw to the Tigers, I don't know.
It may be simplistic to say, but it's probably not Chelsea's year when John Terry misses a wide open goal off a free kick.
And furthermore, it's hard to pick who's been more disappointing this season, Michael Ballack or Deco. Oh, let's throw disinterested Didier Drogba in the mix, too.
It might be worth finding an off-shore site and wagering a little cash that Phil Scolari walks out this week and retires to Mooseport. He might be a good coach with a great rep, but whatever his tactics are at Chelsea, they're not working.
The refuse to die spirit instilled by Jose Mourinho is all but gone. (Another prop bet, drop some money that the Special One is coaching either Liverpool or Chelsea again come August.)
As for Arsenal? The Gunners still haven't lost a match in the league since Nov. 22, but haven't taken the full 3-points in three, so there you go. Adding to the crisis, Emmanuel Adebayor is out at least three weeks with a hamstring injury. Fun.
Arsenal did show some grit, going down to ten men 30 minutes into Sunday's 0-0 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane after Emmanuel Eboue decided to fail at Luka Modric for his second yellow. (Man, has Eboue fallen off since his great run in the 2006 Champions Leauge.) In fact, Arsenal probably should have won if the immortal Alexandre Song didn't miss a pair of open chances in front of goal in the second half.
Still, at this point, five points adrift of Chelsea for fourth and 12 off the lead all that might be left for Andrei Arshavin is to eject some much needed entertainment value into the Gunners.
Finally, Manchester United again showed why it'll end up winning the league for its third straight season. Injuries have messed up the lineup all over the field, but the team continues to find a way, this time when Giggs faked two West Ham players out of their jocks and fired a worm burner past Robert Green.
About the only intrigue left with United might be if they fail to beat Fulham at Old Trafford Feb. 18 for it's final game in hand. (FYI, Fulham is 0-6-6 on the road, scoring just three goals away from Craven Cottage.)
Other stuff
Honduran Hercules-- After Sunday, let's just say I'm pretty pumped to see what Wilson Palacios can do against the U.S. in World Cup qualifying when Honduras plays the Yanks on June 6. The dude was all over the field against Arsenal, making tackle after tackle. Just a heads up to Landon & Co., eat your Wheaties that morning.
Best managerial tactic, ever -- 'Major League 2' might be one of the biggest disappointments in my movie-going life. There is one good scene though, where crusty manager Lou Brown rails against his under performing team, finally dropping on the clubhouse floor with a heart attack. It's extremely unlikely Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has seen a movie about baseball, but who knows. It worked for Brown in the flick and for Kinnear Saturday, as the Magpies won at West Brom 3-2.
Løvenkrands and Gilderstern are dead -- Sorry, couldn't resist after the Dane scored for Newcastle Saturday.
Miscellany -- FYI to Adel Taarabt, next time you find yourself in a 2-on-3 in the final minute of a game, perhaps passing to Robbie Keane up the left side would be a good idea. But that's just me. ... Unofficially, Arsenal leads the league in something -- players leaving the field in a bloody mess after Gael Clichy trotted off from White Hart Lane with a gushing gash on the back of his head. ... Giovanni took one of the worst free kicks I've seen in a while Saturday against Chelsea. Get it on frame. Hull might have won the match if Craig Fagan could aim his shots a little better. ... Maybe I should say more about Aston Villa and Everton, but they're rolling so why jinx it? ... One thing, can I please have some of the Goodison dressing room drinking water, how else to explain Jo?
Fantasy team o' the week -- Rob Candrian's 'John Terry's PK' takes top honors again, this week with 69. Only 17 points separate first and second between the would-be Manchester United of the league, Corey Shambaugh (Joey Barton Hit Me) and Kent Darcy (La Academia.) Shambaugh, I'm pretty sure, won last year too. Maybe he ought to start playing for money.
____________________
The USSF finally released its roster for Wednesday's qualifier against Mexico. Not a lot of surprises aside from the inclusion of Jozy Altidore and omissions of both Freddy Adu and Maurice Edu. Oh, and the 99.9 percent chance we'll see Ricardo Clark in the midfield.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Tim Howard.
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne.
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers, Jose Francisco Torres.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Brian Ching, Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan.
A full Mexico/US preview-rama sometime on Tuesday. If people are interested I may host some kind of a live chat during the match if there is enough interest.
Controversial red cards.
Terrible misses.
Cracking wonderstrikes from 35-year-old Welshmen.
And Manchester United alone in first place.
In other words, just another weekend in the Barclay's Premier League.
Where to begin in the aftermath of another seminal weekend in the competition? There are other candidates, but let's start with maelstrom that is Liverpool Football Club.
There probably won't be a more bizarre match than Liverpool's 3-2 win at Fratton Park over Portsmouth Saturday afternoon. The first half was borderline unwatchable and I in an active email back-and-forth if Rafa Benitez was purposely trying to get fired?
Of course, after the full 90, instead of two weeks (FA Cup break) of stories about Raffer's imminent demise after Hermann Hreidarsson's free header made it 2-1 Portsmouth late-on, the Reds were alone in first place, albeit for less than 24 hours via a 3-2 win.
What when through the portly Spaniard's mind decided to start David Ngog and Ryan Babel ahead of Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel we'll never know. I'm sure he had his reasons and as of yet he's yet to pull a Raymond Domenech in consulting the astrological tables, at least.
For a novice like myself, it seemed pretty simple. You're two points behind first place, shouldn't you play your best players and try to win a game against a sinking Portsmouth team? (Note, was Tony Adams trying to make a statement about the hangman's noose with that audacious technicolor scarf we sported on the touchline?)
Again, Raffer gets the last laugh since a) Peter Crouch screwed up a back-pass, giving Liverpool an indirect kick in the box, which Niko Kranjcar decided at the last minute to vacant guarding the near post and b) David James reaction times are down to that of the tin man without oil.
Whatever, though, Fernando Torres is a legend and probably has caused more conflicted thoughts amongst English men since Boy George. Let's enjoy this Liverpool roller coaster until it finally crashes off the tracks.
The next story that emerged is the new battle for fourth place between Cheslea and Arsenal. Even as the Blues have sputtered, I've always feared them and figured they'd get enough points at home against teams like Hull City they'd mount a decent challenge for Manchester United. After a 0-0 draw to the Tigers, I don't know.
It may be simplistic to say, but it's probably not Chelsea's year when John Terry misses a wide open goal off a free kick.
And furthermore, it's hard to pick who's been more disappointing this season, Michael Ballack or Deco. Oh, let's throw disinterested Didier Drogba in the mix, too.
It might be worth finding an off-shore site and wagering a little cash that Phil Scolari walks out this week and retires to Mooseport. He might be a good coach with a great rep, but whatever his tactics are at Chelsea, they're not working.
The refuse to die spirit instilled by Jose Mourinho is all but gone. (Another prop bet, drop some money that the Special One is coaching either Liverpool or Chelsea again come August.)
As for Arsenal? The Gunners still haven't lost a match in the league since Nov. 22, but haven't taken the full 3-points in three, so there you go. Adding to the crisis, Emmanuel Adebayor is out at least three weeks with a hamstring injury. Fun.
Arsenal did show some grit, going down to ten men 30 minutes into Sunday's 0-0 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane after Emmanuel Eboue decided to fail at Luka Modric for his second yellow. (Man, has Eboue fallen off since his great run in the 2006 Champions Leauge.) In fact, Arsenal probably should have won if the immortal Alexandre Song didn't miss a pair of open chances in front of goal in the second half.
Still, at this point, five points adrift of Chelsea for fourth and 12 off the lead all that might be left for Andrei Arshavin is to eject some much needed entertainment value into the Gunners.
Finally, Manchester United again showed why it'll end up winning the league for its third straight season. Injuries have messed up the lineup all over the field, but the team continues to find a way, this time when Giggs faked two West Ham players out of their jocks and fired a worm burner past Robert Green.
About the only intrigue left with United might be if they fail to beat Fulham at Old Trafford Feb. 18 for it's final game in hand. (FYI, Fulham is 0-6-6 on the road, scoring just three goals away from Craven Cottage.)
Other stuff
Honduran Hercules-- After Sunday, let's just say I'm pretty pumped to see what Wilson Palacios can do against the U.S. in World Cup qualifying when Honduras plays the Yanks on June 6. The dude was all over the field against Arsenal, making tackle after tackle. Just a heads up to Landon & Co., eat your Wheaties that morning.
Best managerial tactic, ever -- 'Major League 2' might be one of the biggest disappointments in my movie-going life. There is one good scene though, where crusty manager Lou Brown rails against his under performing team, finally dropping on the clubhouse floor with a heart attack. It's extremely unlikely Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has seen a movie about baseball, but who knows. It worked for Brown in the flick and for Kinnear Saturday, as the Magpies won at West Brom 3-2.
Løvenkrands and Gilderstern are dead -- Sorry, couldn't resist after the Dane scored for Newcastle Saturday.
Miscellany -- FYI to Adel Taarabt, next time you find yourself in a 2-on-3 in the final minute of a game, perhaps passing to Robbie Keane up the left side would be a good idea. But that's just me. ... Unofficially, Arsenal leads the league in something -- players leaving the field in a bloody mess after Gael Clichy trotted off from White Hart Lane with a gushing gash on the back of his head. ... Giovanni took one of the worst free kicks I've seen in a while Saturday against Chelsea. Get it on frame. Hull might have won the match if Craig Fagan could aim his shots a little better. ... Maybe I should say more about Aston Villa and Everton, but they're rolling so why jinx it? ... One thing, can I please have some of the Goodison dressing room drinking water, how else to explain Jo?
Fantasy team o' the week -- Rob Candrian's 'John Terry's PK' takes top honors again, this week with 69. Only 17 points separate first and second between the would-be Manchester United of the league, Corey Shambaugh (Joey Barton Hit Me) and Kent Darcy (La Academia.) Shambaugh, I'm pretty sure, won last year too. Maybe he ought to start playing for money.
The USSF finally released its roster for Wednesday's qualifier against Mexico. Not a lot of surprises aside from the inclusion of Jozy Altidore and omissions of both Freddy Adu and Maurice Edu. Oh, and the 99.9 percent chance we'll see Ricardo Clark in the midfield.
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Tim Howard.
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Frankie Hejduk, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne.
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers, Jose Francisco Torres.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Brian Ching, Charlie Davies, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan.
A full Mexico/US preview-rama sometime on Tuesday. If people are interested I may host some kind of a live chat during the match if there is enough interest.
Labels: Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer, USMNT
Cardillo -
I hope you follow your own advice. Could have made some money right there with your prescient prediction.
KK
Liverpool won, and Torres was FINALLY on to do the job but, dayumm - Benitez is surely tryna get fired. His moves made so little sense I half expected him to through on Hyypia at striker or Keane's empty jersey to replace Babel at the end.
Chelsea's galacitcos era sure looks to be winding down. Bringing in aging stars can obviously work IF the team keeps on replacing them with NEW aging stars as their brief window of age-induced effectiveness (Ballack) ends or their motivation inevitably fades (Deco, DrogPod). Since Roman has slowed down the buying of new players, the old guys going 'stale' has really started to show.
I know that Jimmy Bullard frustrated Hodgson with his freelancing and lack of commitment to the Fulham formation - but without Rocky Dennis on the pitch, the Cottagers seem unable to come up with anything creative or dangerous - despite their formidable D. Is Deuce the man to bring that spark? Probably not at Middle-Aged Trafford.
No offense to the Fantasy table leaders (and not that I'm catching them) but the 'week' is not over yet. According to the Barclays site Portsmouth-Citeh and the MUFC-Fulham game eleven days from now (?!?) are all part of this current week, gameweek 25. Woo-hoo extra Van der Sar points as he notches another shutout.
Tony Adams gets the boot at Pompey. Is 'Arry Redknapp available? Or will 'Arry be moving across town to Chelsea and bringing his crop of usual suspects with him? Isn't it about time for Gordon Strachan to move south to Chelsea? Roman has more money to spend than do the Celtic shareholders and Villa' success with one of Stachan's predecessors seems to be a hint that Celtic managers can get the job done in the big show.
Peter Lovenkrands!
Peter Lovenkrands!
Signed on a free from Germany,
Peter Lovenkrands!