Well....time for yours truly to eat his words.
Most Mondays, if you stop by, you probably leave with the impression I hate Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea since I savage them at the slightest indiscretion. While cooing like a doe-eyed school girl at whatever Sir Alex Ferguson coaxes out of Manchester United.
For what it's worth, I don't have an agenda. I'm on record as anti-Chelsea, which is about it.
All that said, Manchester United during it's dreadful 2-0 loss at Fulham Saturday might have been the biggest stinkbomb performance I've seen from a supposedly good team in quite some time. All that was really missing from the Red Devils showing was Wayne Rooney finally losing it completely by dropping trow at center field and leaving an English stinker on the Craven Cottage pitch.
Well, Rooney Tunes did fling the ball like a Jai Alai player after a whistle, thus earning his second yellow card of the day. That's a lot more sanity form of losing it, I suppose.
Watching that game I can't think of a single thing United did right, aside from putting on their uniforms.
A listless attack, which allowed Fulham to dominate possession? Check.
A clueless defense with Nemanja Vidic suspended? Check.
Missed chances on the goal mouth? Check.
Cristiano Ronaldo flipping and flopping and acting like the total ass-bag we thought he'd grown away from? Check.
Two mindless red cards, including Paul Scholes channeling his inner volleyball player on the goal line? Check.
In short, Peeeeeeee-yuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
It's amazing that in the span of seven days United allowed six goals and completely lost the plot. All I can compare it to is the actual Titanic ship, which was cruising along until that iceberg apparently materialized out of nowhere.
Were we blind to avoid the United cracks? Are there even cracks or is this a blip?
Either way, United has to wait two weeks to play again due to the Internationl break, and will likely play its next matches without Rooney, Vidic, Scholes and maybe Dmitar Berbatov.
Psychologically, will United handle a one-point lead for 14 or so days, (even with a game in hand) thanks to Liverpool, which is charging like John Henry the steel-driving man. Or better yet, this team is coming on like 1986 Mike Tyson.
Again, I slayed Liverpool early and often this year, but the last two weeks what the hell has gotten into this team? Check them for B12 shots!
The latest team to get derailed by Liverpool was Aston Villa Sunday at Anfield. Aston Villa (flatling for the Champions League) didn't play all that bad, but couldn't withstand the Red wave.
For all his easy to nitpick faults, Rafa Benitez seems to finally have found a lineup to win with -- Torres, Gerrard, Riera and Kuyt in the attack. Riera, wow, where did this come from all of a sudden? Luis Garcia who?
Mark down these days, April 21 and 22. First, on a weird Tuesday night affair, Arsenal goes to Anfield and then 24 hours later, Manchester United plays it's game-in-hand against Portsmouth at Old Trafford. By the end of those days, we'll know if May will matter.
But for now, we have a race.
Giddy up.
Mea culpa, part dos -- Well...maybe Arsenal is better than I thought. Then again, the Gunners did destruct Newcastle this weekend, which isn't the hardest thing to do. It's safe to say that Arsenal is a bully team, when they're rolling, they're rolling. But when you force them to work, they can get flustered and frustrated.
Arsenal will make the Champions League...again. But does it has the juice to leap past the rest of the 'Big Four'?
Bubble burst -- Maybe it was because Tottenham was flat-out awesome, but Chelsea picked the wrong time to stop sniffing glue, so to speak, on Saturday with its 1-0 loss at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea slept walked through the first half -- which is hard to believe since the match was delayed and the Blues must have known Man United was behind. As usual, the Blues didn't turn it on until the final 10 minutes of the match. If Chelsea could condense those last minutes for the full 90, they'd be unbeatable.
The Blues got the break they needed to get back in the race, but couldn't seal the deal.
One other thing in terms of redemption. Gomes has turned out to be a fairly competent goalkeeper. Talk about upsets.
Relegation Checkup
With eight matches remaining, we still can target nine teams for a possibility of dropping down to the championship. Fascinating stuff, it's a pity MLS can't even grasp this concept. Yes, I know it's a logistic impossibility at the moment -- especially as the league continues to swell like a early 2000s Bay Area ballplayer. But wouldn't the promotion/relegation drama be something that might actually generate mainstream interest in America due to the novelty of it? Let's tuck that away and reexamine in 10 years.
As for the 2008-09 Premier League, amazingly nine teams still have to sweat it out. With their wins this weekend, Tottenham and Man City (sadly) are safe, well, safe in the sense that they're like the passengers of the Titanic in the lifeboats. Alive, but not in the best shape. Meanwhile the rest of the table is clinging onto floating detritus, hoping an icy grip saves them to the swirling black abyss below.
Yes, I realize just referenced 'Titanic'...again.
* Bolton (34 points, -12 goal difference -- The preseason money-favorites to take the fall, will likely hang around like a Jim Belusi sitcom for another season. The Trotters only have Chelsea among the big clubs and host Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sunderland at the Reebok, which ought to determine their fate. Diagnosis: Healthy, but perhaps time to switch to a heart smart diet.
* Hull City (33 points, -13) -- The early season darlings are in a complete tailspin, so manager Phil Brown has to channel his inner Frank Lapidus and pull the club out. The biggest problem for the Tigers is two of the their final four home matches are against Liverpool and Manchester United. Also, where exactly does the on-field leadership come from? Hull has been used to winning promotions as of late, not saving off the drop. Diagnosis: Time to stop smoking cigarettes, pronto.
* Sunderland (32 points, -10) -- In a lot of ways you have to feel bad for Sunerland. The club had that terrible season a few years back, but battled back under Roy Keane and returned to the top flight. Unfortunately, Sunderland isn't exactly an international hot spot for players, so it's sort of stuck in an identity crisis. More depressing, is that a season like this is about as good as the Black Cats can expect. Diagnosis: A B12 shot to shake off its malaise and get the brain synapses firing.
* Portsmouth (32 points, -14, one game in hand vs. Man Utd.) -- Pompey is another example of how important a manager still is. With Harry Redknapp Portsmouth went from relegation escape artists, to European neophytes and finally FA Cup champs. Throw in a cash crunch and it's back to square one. Pompey got a huge result this weekend beating Everton, yet lingering doubts remain. David James even called out his teammates, who are already eyeing the exit door. Portsmouth will determine its own fate with matches against: Hull, West Brom, Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and Sunderland. Diagnosis: Take two of these and see me in a month.
* Stoke City (32 points, -18) -- Is there a player in the league more valuable to his team than Rory Delap? And how are teams unable to to prepare for his long throw-ins? Maybe the most underrated story of the season. The Potters, unlike everyone else down here, have some life. Where did this Shawcross dude come from? Amazingly, Stoke has allowed 34 goals on the road, so it has to get something from its four away games to stick around. Diagnosis: Back from the dead, but not out of the woods just yet.
* Blackburn (31 points, -16) -- Another team with some life, thanks to Sam Allardyce. Rovers were 2-2-1 in March, which was good. What's bad is the schedule is brutal. Games with Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City and even Wigan won't be easy. Of all the clubs, Blackburn probably has the most to lose if its relegated. Diagnosis: Eat your Wheaties.
* Newcastle United (29 points, -13) -- What to even say? It would be bad for the Premier League for the Magpies to go down, but maybe not the worst thing for the club itself. Perhaps a year or two in the Championship would equate to a massive enema, where Newcastle can figure out what it wants to be and what direction it should take. Other big clubs have gone down, and as long as 60,000+ show up at St. James, attracting players might not be a problem. Still, staring at the abyss is a scary proposition. The schedule is tough (Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa) and I don't know where the leadership will come from. Diagnosis: Keep a set of defibrillators handy.
* Middlesbrough (27 points, -21) -- Of all the clubs down here, 'Boro don't seem to care. They didn't fire Gareth Southgate or bring in some reinforcements in January. Part of me even thinks the club would be happy to go down, since it vested its future to the club Academy. It's not like fans are knocking down the turnstiles at the Riverside stadium anyway. Of all the teams, the drop probably wouldn't hurt Middlesbrough, which could be poised to make a quick return anyway. At the very leat, the club can finally sell Stewart Downing. Diagnosis: We'll up the morphine drip to make it quick and painless.
* West Brom (24 points, -29) -- The Baggies banked on a Reading-like move to the Premiership, keeping the bulk of it's high flying attacking Championship side intact. It didn't work. The club didn't even bother for a shirt sponsor. Diagnosis: Dead on arrival.
Bad for Brad -- My main man Brad Friedel got a bogus red card against Liverpool when it was already 4-0 to the Reds. At least Anfield crowd saluted him. It gave Brad Guzan his first crack at the Premier League, which is good since he may have to play in the USMNT game against El Salvador next week.
One weird observation, Friedel, Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann all have shaved heads. Kasey Keller was balding, and apparently so is Guzan.
What does that say about the sate of US keeping? Maybe that's why Joe Cannon or Kevin Hartman never made it, and why Matt Reis remains of the ultra-fringe of Bob Bradley's squad.
Enjoy the international break.
Most Mondays, if you stop by, you probably leave with the impression I hate Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea since I savage them at the slightest indiscretion. While cooing like a doe-eyed school girl at whatever Sir Alex Ferguson coaxes out of Manchester United.
For what it's worth, I don't have an agenda. I'm on record as anti-Chelsea, which is about it.
All that said, Manchester United during it's dreadful 2-0 loss at Fulham Saturday might have been the biggest stinkbomb performance I've seen from a supposedly good team in quite some time. All that was really missing from the Red Devils showing was Wayne Rooney finally losing it completely by dropping trow at center field and leaving an English stinker on the Craven Cottage pitch.
Well, Rooney Tunes did fling the ball like a Jai Alai player after a whistle, thus earning his second yellow card of the day. That's a lot more sanity form of losing it, I suppose.
Watching that game I can't think of a single thing United did right, aside from putting on their uniforms.
A listless attack, which allowed Fulham to dominate possession? Check.
A clueless defense with Nemanja Vidic suspended? Check.
Missed chances on the goal mouth? Check.
Cristiano Ronaldo flipping and flopping and acting like the total ass-bag we thought he'd grown away from? Check.
Two mindless red cards, including Paul Scholes channeling his inner volleyball player on the goal line? Check.
In short, Peeeeeeee-yuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
It's amazing that in the span of seven days United allowed six goals and completely lost the plot. All I can compare it to is the actual Titanic ship, which was cruising along until that iceberg apparently materialized out of nowhere.
Were we blind to avoid the United cracks? Are there even cracks or is this a blip?
Either way, United has to wait two weeks to play again due to the Internationl break, and will likely play its next matches without Rooney, Vidic, Scholes and maybe Dmitar Berbatov.
Psychologically, will United handle a one-point lead for 14 or so days, (even with a game in hand) thanks to Liverpool, which is charging like John Henry the steel-driving man. Or better yet, this team is coming on like 1986 Mike Tyson.
Again, I slayed Liverpool early and often this year, but the last two weeks what the hell has gotten into this team? Check them for B12 shots!
The latest team to get derailed by Liverpool was Aston Villa Sunday at Anfield. Aston Villa (flatling for the Champions League) didn't play all that bad, but couldn't withstand the Red wave.
For all his easy to nitpick faults, Rafa Benitez seems to finally have found a lineup to win with -- Torres, Gerrard, Riera and Kuyt in the attack. Riera, wow, where did this come from all of a sudden? Luis Garcia who?
Mark down these days, April 21 and 22. First, on a weird Tuesday night affair, Arsenal goes to Anfield and then 24 hours later, Manchester United plays it's game-in-hand against Portsmouth at Old Trafford. By the end of those days, we'll know if May will matter.
But for now, we have a race.
Giddy up.
Mea culpa, part dos -- Well...maybe Arsenal is better than I thought. Then again, the Gunners did destruct Newcastle this weekend, which isn't the hardest thing to do. It's safe to say that Arsenal is a bully team, when they're rolling, they're rolling. But when you force them to work, they can get flustered and frustrated.
Arsenal will make the Champions League...again. But does it has the juice to leap past the rest of the 'Big Four'?
Bubble burst -- Maybe it was because Tottenham was flat-out awesome, but Chelsea picked the wrong time to stop sniffing glue, so to speak, on Saturday with its 1-0 loss at White Hart Lane.
Chelsea slept walked through the first half -- which is hard to believe since the match was delayed and the Blues must have known Man United was behind. As usual, the Blues didn't turn it on until the final 10 minutes of the match. If Chelsea could condense those last minutes for the full 90, they'd be unbeatable.
The Blues got the break they needed to get back in the race, but couldn't seal the deal.
One other thing in terms of redemption. Gomes has turned out to be a fairly competent goalkeeper. Talk about upsets.
Relegation Checkup
With eight matches remaining, we still can target nine teams for a possibility of dropping down to the championship. Fascinating stuff, it's a pity MLS can't even grasp this concept. Yes, I know it's a logistic impossibility at the moment -- especially as the league continues to swell like a early 2000s Bay Area ballplayer. But wouldn't the promotion/relegation drama be something that might actually generate mainstream interest in America due to the novelty of it? Let's tuck that away and reexamine in 10 years.
As for the 2008-09 Premier League, amazingly nine teams still have to sweat it out. With their wins this weekend, Tottenham and Man City (sadly) are safe, well, safe in the sense that they're like the passengers of the Titanic in the lifeboats. Alive, but not in the best shape. Meanwhile the rest of the table is clinging onto floating detritus, hoping an icy grip saves them to the swirling black abyss below.
Yes, I realize just referenced 'Titanic'...again.
* Bolton (34 points, -12 goal difference -- The preseason money-favorites to take the fall, will likely hang around like a Jim Belusi sitcom for another season. The Trotters only have Chelsea among the big clubs and host Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sunderland at the Reebok, which ought to determine their fate. Diagnosis: Healthy, but perhaps time to switch to a heart smart diet.
* Hull City (33 points, -13) -- The early season darlings are in a complete tailspin, so manager Phil Brown has to channel his inner Frank Lapidus and pull the club out. The biggest problem for the Tigers is two of the their final four home matches are against Liverpool and Manchester United. Also, where exactly does the on-field leadership come from? Hull has been used to winning promotions as of late, not saving off the drop. Diagnosis: Time to stop smoking cigarettes, pronto.
* Sunderland (32 points, -10) -- In a lot of ways you have to feel bad for Sunerland. The club had that terrible season a few years back, but battled back under Roy Keane and returned to the top flight. Unfortunately, Sunderland isn't exactly an international hot spot for players, so it's sort of stuck in an identity crisis. More depressing, is that a season like this is about as good as the Black Cats can expect. Diagnosis: A B12 shot to shake off its malaise and get the brain synapses firing.
* Portsmouth (32 points, -14, one game in hand vs. Man Utd.) -- Pompey is another example of how important a manager still is. With Harry Redknapp Portsmouth went from relegation escape artists, to European neophytes and finally FA Cup champs. Throw in a cash crunch and it's back to square one. Pompey got a huge result this weekend beating Everton, yet lingering doubts remain. David James even called out his teammates, who are already eyeing the exit door. Portsmouth will determine its own fate with matches against: Hull, West Brom, Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and Sunderland. Diagnosis: Take two of these and see me in a month.
* Stoke City (32 points, -18) -- Is there a player in the league more valuable to his team than Rory Delap? And how are teams unable to to prepare for his long throw-ins? Maybe the most underrated story of the season. The Potters, unlike everyone else down here, have some life. Where did this Shawcross dude come from? Amazingly, Stoke has allowed 34 goals on the road, so it has to get something from its four away games to stick around. Diagnosis: Back from the dead, but not out of the woods just yet.
* Blackburn (31 points, -16) -- Another team with some life, thanks to Sam Allardyce. Rovers were 2-2-1 in March, which was good. What's bad is the schedule is brutal. Games with Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City and even Wigan won't be easy. Of all the clubs, Blackburn probably has the most to lose if its relegated. Diagnosis: Eat your Wheaties.
* Newcastle United (29 points, -13) -- What to even say? It would be bad for the Premier League for the Magpies to go down, but maybe not the worst thing for the club itself. Perhaps a year or two in the Championship would equate to a massive enema, where Newcastle can figure out what it wants to be and what direction it should take. Other big clubs have gone down, and as long as 60,000+ show up at St. James, attracting players might not be a problem. Still, staring at the abyss is a scary proposition. The schedule is tough (Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa) and I don't know where the leadership will come from. Diagnosis: Keep a set of defibrillators handy.
* Middlesbrough (27 points, -21) -- Of all the clubs down here, 'Boro don't seem to care. They didn't fire Gareth Southgate or bring in some reinforcements in January. Part of me even thinks the club would be happy to go down, since it vested its future to the club Academy. It's not like fans are knocking down the turnstiles at the Riverside stadium anyway. Of all the teams, the drop probably wouldn't hurt Middlesbrough, which could be poised to make a quick return anyway. At the very leat, the club can finally sell Stewart Downing. Diagnosis: We'll up the morphine drip to make it quick and painless.
* West Brom (24 points, -29) -- The Baggies banked on a Reading-like move to the Premiership, keeping the bulk of it's high flying attacking Championship side intact. It didn't work. The club didn't even bother for a shirt sponsor. Diagnosis: Dead on arrival.
Bad for Brad -- My main man Brad Friedel got a bogus red card against Liverpool when it was already 4-0 to the Reds. At least Anfield crowd saluted him. It gave Brad Guzan his first crack at the Premier League, which is good since he may have to play in the USMNT game against El Salvador next week.
One weird observation, Friedel, Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann all have shaved heads. Kasey Keller was balding, and apparently so is Guzan.
What does that say about the sate of US keeping? Maybe that's why Joe Cannon or Kevin Hartman never made it, and why Matt Reis remains of the ultra-fringe of Bob Bradley's squad.
Enjoy the international break.
Labels: Liverpool, manchester United, Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer
Regarding relegation in the MLS. Here's the real reason why it can't work. In the EPL when you get relegated you end up in the championship, it's not great but it's still a league. In MLS if you were to get relegated, where would you go? The USL? The teams would fold.
Oh sure it would be exciting at the end of the season. Teams wouldn't be fighting for their MLS life, they'd be fighting against bankruptcy.
I am with kevin above. The idea of relegation is always thrown around by us died in the wool soccer types as a 'fix' for MLS - but I don't see it that way.
Relegation works great in England and Spain, but does that make relegation (or any other detail idea from across the pond) a good thing for the MLS? I say, not necessarily. A successful and thriving MLS needs to what will make the league better, and that might *not* be doing things more like the Premiership or Serie A.
For example, I believe that the MLS's summer-ish schedule that does not match up with the big Euro leagues is the right call for MLS. There are weather concerns, stadium issues, competitive sports and so on.
The MLS is still on the rise and slow progress will be best for the long term. Bringing in fading stars at bankruptcy inducing prices to garner bombastic but short-lived press or over-expanding in a down economy are much bigger problems for MLS than the fact the league doesn't have relegation.
I could see promotion/relegation in the US before before too long. I think there will still be 5 to 10cities with high demand to get into MLS after expansion has maxed out. It's easy to forget how young the league still is.
I'm not sure I would call United's attack "listless," at least not entirely. They were beating on the door in the 2nd half and definitely should have scored at least one.
But dead on with "ass-bag" to describe Ronaldo - anybody who can't understand why there are people who hate him need to watch that game.
Same goes for Ferguson with his comments post-game that Scholes shouldn't have seen red and that Rooney was only "trying to speed the game up."
Yes, C Ronaldo is a total ass-bag, but his behavior had little to do with United losing that game. The behavior of Scholes certainly DID have much to do with it and it seems like many are focusing on the Portugeezer and giving the Ginger Prince a free pass - despite one being aethestically unpleasant and the other was directly related to the loss of the game. I wonder why the two standards? Hmm.
SAF and his lame post game comments are certainly stoopid - but he also has to back his players. I think Ferguson's biggest mistake was the team he picked. Obviously the FA Cup dismantling of Fulham might have fooled him. O'Shea was awful (but as an Ingerlander safe from scorn?) and the second half made it clear that Tevez should have been playing all along.
The team selection was ok if utd had eleven men. Certainly not ideal but SAF has gotten away with this more than a few times this season. However, once utd went down to 10, utd was stuck with two strikers (Berbatov, Cron) who just don't have the work rate needed when you're down a man. At that point, we really needed to get Rooney and Tevez out there, asap.
I hardly get the sense that O'Shea is ever safe from scorn even from the most ardent Utd supporter. But who else is going to play that position? Fabio? O'Shea to his credit has improved this year. Perhaps because he has not been shifted around as much. And yes he's not ah good. But he's adequate and even been useful on occasion.