That's On Point: The Web Site

Before delving into a couple odds-and-ends, let me first issue a major apology.

If anyone out there in Inter-nets Land actually takes my Premier League picks to heart and bets them, well, last weekend I'm massively sorry. Going 2-and-8 is frankly, unacceptable. If this were a reality television program, I'd have been asked to take my laptop and go.

Everyone is due a clunker, but batting .200 for a weekend? That's just a bad job outta me.

That said, here's a few things pinging around my brain lately.

* The Premier League and or Richard Scudamore ought to have an annuity payment scheduled to whomever cooked up the idea of naming this league, "The Premier League." Yes, many people still call it the English Premier League or EPL, but more often than not, if somebody says "Premier League" they're not thinking about the ones in Saudi Arabia or Ukraine.

The name says it all, "Premier League." It's a statement and a raison d'etre all rolled into one..

Think of some of the alternatives that could have been used when the clubs broke away from the Football Leaue in the early 1990s. You could have had the "Super League" or "Master League" or something else along those lines.

Yet, Premier League, it just sounds right and has undoubtedly helped its marketing potential around the globe.

* Isn't it amazing that a guy that was once on the level of Kobe Bryant -- Ronaldinho -- is now a massive afterthought on the world stage?

It's easy to pick on Ronaldinho and his silly head wrap, now that he's the shell of his former shelf. Let's not forget, this guy practically invented YouTube. (Search "Ronaldinho" in YouTube are there are three pages of videos with over one million views available.)

Anyway, did Ronaldinho do anything wrong, by fading away into the periphery at AC Milan?

What more did he have to accomplish? He won a World Cup, a Champions League and plenty of other trophies to go with his individual awards.

Unlike our American sports, it's hard to quantify and compare soccer players across different leagues and eras. We know that Bill Russell won 11 NBA Championships or that Joe Montana quarterbacked the 49ers to four Super Bowl wins. When you're only dealing with one league, it's easy to translate the overall greatness of a player through the raw numbers and titles.

But what about soccer?

How does winning a Bundesliga compare with winning the Coupe de France?

Does Celtic's 42 Scottish League crowns rate on par with Juventus' 27 Scudettos?

Anyway, back to Ronaldinho. The guy is "only" 29, but his best days are behind him. What else does he need to accomplish? Not matter what he does between now and the time he requires -- up-to-and-including a scandal with transsexual prostitutes like his pseudo-namesake Ronaldo -- we'll still remember him as an all-time legend.

Not sure why this intrigued me this week.

* Not to play armchair psychiatrist, but what possess people to select teams like Manchester United or Chelsea or Real Madrid exclusively in "FIFA 10." Wouldn't you rather have the challenge of playing with a lesser team? Isn't it too easy? Is it fun to let the A.I. do all the work.

* Note, with the English time change coming a week earlier than ours across the Atlantic, the times are an hour later.

Saturday:

* Arsenal v. Tottenham (Live, ESPN2, 8:30 a.m.) -- Both teams come in rattled for this high-stakes affair. Talent-wise there shouldn't be too much of a game between these teams -- Spurs aren't slouches. It's simplistic, but whichever team plays better here and shows a little more resolve is going to win. Wish I had more to say about it, but this year the North London Derby is about as evenly matched as its ever been in recent times. Let's hope it doesn't come down to a goal-keeping gaffe. ... Arsenal 2, Spurs 1

* Bolton v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) -- I think I trust Chelsea here. I think. ... Bolton 0, Chelsea 3

* Burnley v. Hull City -- Credit Hull, at least they realize it's not working. With every player looking out the door and Phil Brown looking for a possible axe-man in the stands, Burnley ought to be able to recover its home form here. ... Burnley 3, Hull City 1

* Everton v. Aston Villa -- The Toffees? It's just not going to happen for them this year. If Aston Villa wants to be taken seriously, figure out a way to win this, not sure that they can, though. ... Everton 1, Aston Villa 1

* Fulham v. Liverpool -- (Live, Setanta, 11 a.m.) So, will the other shoe drop for Liverpool? Fulham could be a foil for the Reds, since they're a simple, smart team that plays within itself, although counting on Bobby Zamora to carry the water up top isn't a strategy I'd employ were I in charge at Craven Cottage. ... Fulham 1, Liverpool 1

* Portsmouth v. Wigan Athletic -- Portsmouth is bad. Wigan, isn't that bad. There is a difference. ... Portsmouth 1, Wigan 2

* Stoke City v. Wolves -- Sorry, but the Potters should be stoked after that win last week. ... Stoke City 1, Wolves 0

* Sunderland v. West Ham -- Steve Bruce, to his credit, is instilling a sense of identity at Sunderland. West Ham, meanwhile, it's quite and odd collection of players, isn't it. From my rough guess, defender Danny Gibbidon and midfielder Mark Noble might be the only guys still around that played a role in the club's promotion back to the top flight a couple years ago. Perhaps that explains a languished position in the table, though drawing Arsenal could be a rallying point. ... Sunderland 1, West Ham 0

* Manchester United v. Blackburn Rovers -- (Live, FSC, 1:30 p.m.) If Manchester United can't beat Rovers like a red-headed stepchild, it might be time to really worry. One thing to consider, after than 5-0 shit-stomping last week at the hands of Chelsea, perhaps Rovers personal pride steps in and they at least show up for a half. ... Manchester United 2, Rovers 0

Sunday:

* Birmingham City v. Manchester City -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Side note that applies to nothing, the Ecuador national team has quickly become my favorite International pick in "FIFA 10". Part of it is because of Christian Benetiz, aka Chucho. Felt like sharing. ... Birmingham City 1, Manchester City 1

Last week: 2-8
Season: 51-45

Labels: English Premier League, Prem Picks, Soccer

For better or worse, I am a gamer.

There I said it. In fact, video games will probably outgrow me -- maybe a cerebral implant -- before I outgrow them.

The following is going to be my thoughts on the latest EA soccer release, "FIFA 10." Maybe you don't game, but I'll go out on a limb and say that "FIFA" has been as important as spreading soccer and ingraining it into Americans sports fans brains as anything else. Before we had access to seemingly every game in every league each and every weekend, there was "FIFA."

To this day, my buddy Suppe still loathes Borussia Dortmund due to Jan Koller and the dreaded "Dubra FIFA" experience.

Anyways, before delving into "FIFA 10" (on XBox 360) let me give this post a bit of context.

Like millions and millions of gamers, I was among the people that would follow the flock and purchase "Madden NFL Football" each and every year. Didn't matter if the changes from the previous edition weren't all that much more than changing rosters and adding a gimmick here or there. I'd but it...until last year, when I said thanks but no thanks.

So when numerous friends raved about this year's "Madden" I was a little leery. My complaints -- the same plays work/don't work year-to-year, the boring A.I., etc. -- were going to be hard to change.

Then I watched Suppe play one game on a big screen t.v. and I immediately went out and rented it...and kept it until about this week when "FIFA" came out and paid a personal record late fee. (Note kids, believe it or not at one point in the history of mankind people actually rented actual physical tapes, cartridges, etc. from stores and would have to pay fines if they were late. In fact, late fees were a good sitcom trope for much of the 1990s, in fact. )

"Madden 10" blew me away with its presentation. It felt like the NFL. Gone were the generic blank stares of the players, replaced actual graphical representations of stars like Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. The collision detail was amazing. The controls were crisp, tight and benefited from the analogue sticks.

For a guy that played "Madden" all the way back in 1992 when the ambulance would run over players on the field, "Madden 10" felt like perfection, even if the namesake of the game himself wasn't around to say that a guy, "got up looking out his earhole."

With that in mind, here's my biggest issue/concern/conclusion on "FIFA 10." It is an amazing fun game to play, at least against another human being, but is lacking a little bit of soul.

I'll address this all in the 'Pros & Cons' list I've amassed, but here's the gist of it. Obviously "FIFA" is a huge seller around the globe. Huge. The company obviously wants to sell as many copies as possible, hence the inclusion of leagues from the Czech Republic, Poland, South Korea, etc. that 99 percent of gamers will never, ever use.

In this day and age, with the Xbox 360 and PS3, these extra leagues ought to be offered as downloadable content. Yes, this might piss off a few Poles, but it would also give the game developers more space on the disc to create a slightly more detailed and nuanced presentation.

Granted the differences between the NFL, with 30 teams and "FIFA" with literally thousands across the globe are two different animals. A match experience in England isn't the same as Australia or Spain or Italy or wherever.

Now, "FIFA" doesn't need to go the "PES" route in terms of teams available, but compare the "FIFA" list to the "PES" list. Assuming EA kept all the Premier League teams licensed, you could probably get away with it, though. Would you lose the business of diehard fans of of Clermont Foot, Germinal Beerschot, Bohemians 1905 AND Bohemians Praha? Probably, but even then many of these fans would still buy the game.

Basically in summation, EA has created an amazingly fun game to play that is both challenging and rewarding if you practice, yes, practice. It's just a shame that to appeal to the most possible consumers it looks very generic about 90 percent of the time.

Keep in mind, I'm the kind of borderline obsessive, who gets upset when he sees Roman Pavlychenko wearing the captain's armband at Spurs in the game.

Pros

* Ronaldinho is finally not featured on the box, or the in-game art.

* This year you have the option in an online match to a) play extra time only b) extra time & penalties c) end as a draw. This is a huge addition since penalty kicks suck even in video games. The online games also conclude with a detailed account of how many points you've earned or lost, which is a good touch, too.

* This year the keepers don't have magnets on their hands, and will not catch every cross/high ball in their direction. They will punch it away -- sometimes with the force of a 1987 Mike Tyson right hook. Unfortunately, a field player will never win a header if the goalie is near him.

* Options. "FIFA 10" has almost an overwhelming amount of options on the disc. Exhibitions, Manager Mode, Online 1 v. 1 games, Be A Pro (which I haven't played yet), Club Team matches, Live Season, etc. You can find a mode you like.

* Here's the biggest pro working in "FIFA's" favor, it plays amazing against another person online. The subtle touches in gameplay, including free range dribbling make it almost a whole-new game. Last night I played an insanely entertaining game where I was Ecuador and won 4-3 in overtime against a guy using the USMNT. Jay DeMerit even got sent off with a red card, so there's a dash of realism.

Cons

(There might seem like a lot, but this are minor complaints I personally have.)

* I'd like to see the details turned up, like the right kind of captain's armband for Premier League teams. A few more actual faces, instead of the generic ones. Little things. How about actual goalkeeper shirts, instead of something that looks like a paintball player would wear.

* The player models are ugly. Sorry. As I read on another site, Luka Modric looks like the "Scream" mask.

* For a game with so many licenses, to not have major clubs like Napoli and Palermo, to name a few, is hard to swallow.

* Sometimes the keepers are just too good, that or the goal itself seems too small.

* The defenders are a little too fast. Put it this way, I know Rio Ferdinand is good, but he's not catching up with Jermain Defoe on a full sprint, even with his burly strength.

* With all the leagues and teams in the game, online play is 90 percent of the time going to come down to your opponent picking: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona, Chelsea or Inter. It gets a little old, really fast. Luckily you can tweak the search for "three/four star teams."

* The free kick system remains a guessing game. Either you know how to do it, or you don't. In an older "FIFA" iteration you saw the ball on the screen and could apply curve/english on the ball before kicking it. Now it's just a lot of trial and error. That said, I played a game online and a dude scored from about 50 yards out on a dead ball from Steven Gerrard. It was incredible.

* A lack of actual stadiums, meaning basically nothing new since it moved to the next gen is annoying.

* The "Rest of the World" teams are lacking. EA must want to either impress Sepp Blatter or make a killing in Switzerland, because why are teams like Servette FC and FC Lugano included, while clubs teams from Romania, for example, are completely missing?

* The Manager Mode still can't figure itself out.

* Here's the biggest issue. One-player mode vs. the computer absolutely blows. It's boring and repetitive. You could be playing Real Madrid or Grimsby, it'll essentially be the same match over and over and over again. It seems the only tactic that the A.I. can figure out is crossing the ball. This almost would kill the game, if online wasn't so much better and fun.

* Oh yeah, Sacha Kljestan is prominently featured in the menus. Maybe EA would like a do-over.

In the end, for all my complaints, "FIFA 10" is a whole lot of fun. Maybe a lot of its generic aspects can be attributed to the fact its developed in the soccer hotbed of Vancouver, British Columbia.

If you stick solely to the top-tier teams, you'll get a somewhat unique experience with different stadiums, personalized faces, etc. But outside of those teams, you might as well be playing with the same clubs, albeit with different colored shirts.

It plays amazingly, too bad it feels mostly soulless and doesn't capture the spirit and passion of soccer, despite what the marketing blitz might try to portray.

Labels: fifa 10, Soccer, video games

Rafa Benitez.

Even if you follow the Premier League with the most passing of interests, chances are you have an opinion on the goatee-d Spanish coach of Liverpool, who has seemingly been at the hot seat at Anfield since before the world knew who Hannah Montana was.

Just the other night I was chatting with a friend over XBox Live during a game of "FIFA 10" (shameless plug, review/thoughts coming Tuesday) and Benitez's name came up and even without prompting he mentioned how he can't stand him.

Maybe the heat is off Benitez a little bit following Sunday's 2-0 Liverpool win at home over Manchester United. Now the Red are "only" six points off the pace of first-place Chelsea, as opposed to seven or eight.

Yet the goodwill toward Benitez -- mainly thanks to, depending how you want to look at it a) a moment of brilliance from a less-than-100 percent Fernando Torres or b) Rio Ferdinand's continued slide into the "Bramble Zone" -- probably only lasts a couple of days, depending how much stock you put in Wednesday's Carling Cup match against the Arsenal pseudo-reserves. If it lasts that long it probably won't extend past next week's match at Craven Cottage or the following week's trip to central France for a Champions League match with Lyon.

I'd be shocked if in a week or two, we're right back to where we were prior to Sunday's game. Excuse me if I don't get all warm and fuzzy about Liverpool, because frankly we've seen this charade time and time again. To Benitez and the squad's credit, they usually tend to rise to the occasion against the bigger teams and in the big moments, yet in the end there are simply too many dropped points against the midtable teams and also-rans.

Admittedly, I've been wrong before -- looooooads of times. Perhaps this is the year that Liverpool finally breaks through its two-decade league hoodoo. It could happen.

One thing I will say positive toward the Reds, any reports of their demise in the Champions League is premature. Sure they're in third place, but only three points behind Fiorentina for second-pace with three matches to go. Not all that dire.

To me, though, Sunday's result by the Reds is a temporary reprieve. It's like playing Tetris toward a higher level. The pieces are flying in, you're doing your best to clear them, even though you realize eventually its going to catch up with you. Sunday was Liverpool clearing away a few lines and letting off the immediate pressure on Rafa. But just watch, as I said before, it'll creep back, probably sooner as opposed to later.

All that said, the underlying issue continues to puzzle me -- why do people tend to hate Rafa Benitez?

He doesn't openly mock or taunt the opponent like Mourinho in his heyday.

He doesn't exactly engage in Sir Alex Ferguson mindgames.

He, to my knowledge, has never killed anyone or done anything else untoward like that.

To my best guess, he just looks so damn smug on the touchline, that he consistently thinks he's the smartest man in the ground at all times. It's his way or the highway, which isn't a brand new style of management, but infuriating when you don't win the trophy all the fans want -- the league.

You can point to his extreme hit-or-miss record in the transfer market, which overall is not as terrible as it might seem. Yes, the revolving door second-striker scenario, highlighted by Robbie Keane was bad, but overall plucking the likes of Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Yossi Benayoung, Xabi Alonso, Daniel Agger, etc. probably outweigh the bad, if only because Rafa has made so many damned transfers.

No matter what, outside of his failure to finish atop the Premier League and stop Liverpool's two-decade long drought, there isn't a concrete, tangible reason to loathe Benitez.

For some Liverpool supporters, Benitez will get a lifetime pass for the Miracle in Istanbul, whether he actually is worthy of the credit for the win in the 2005 Champions League Final or if he's simply lived off Steven Gerrard's coattails is open to debate.

It is remarkable, for a guy who's jobs been in "question" for the better part of two years -- or at least since the American ownership took over -- that he's stuck around. Club football manager rates in just above elephant wrangler in terms of job safety.

Maybe Sunday kickstarts a special run for Liverpool, maybe it's another false start.

However it plays out, with Liverpool's ownership in a state of flux, the black clouds will never be too far out of range for Rafa.

In the end, that just might be the normalcy we've been searching for a quarter-way through the season -- no matter what, at the slightest wobble Benitez's head inches closer to the axe blade, even if it never ends up falling.

That, and that Liverpool will inevitably fall short once again in May.

A thought on Manchester United:

Not trying to break any new ground. If you read this every week you know I don't think the Red Devils are all that special this season.

Losing to Liverpool only highlights this. In fact, Manchester United were spotty vs. the 'Big Four' last season, and I don't see its record improving this year. This will only spell trouble as the season progresses.

Last season in six matches vs. Liverpool, Cheslea and Arsenal, Manchester United went 1-2-3, the only with vs. Chelsea in January. Yes, Manchester United did beat Arsenal already this year. Again, last year, Manchester United made its bread vs. the chafe of the league, with the squad not as good, they could struggle to keep up.

Manchester United does get a some nice rebound bounce-back "action" with Blackburn next weekend, before going to the Bridge on Nov. 8.

The fact, down a goal and 25-odd minutes still to play, the best United could muster was Luis Valencia hitting the post from a sheer angle is pretty sad.

Expecting Rooney to pull the wonder-goal out of his back pocket every match isn't the soundest strategy, well, unless you're playing "FIFA 10" online.

And, the Ferdinand/Nemanja Vidic pairing went from being 1980s Hall & Oates, to 1990s Hall & Oates seemingly overnight.

Twitter-gate

Maybe you heard about this, maybe you didn't.

Here's the Cliffs Notes version, Jozy Altidore was out of the Hull City lineup. At first he twittered an apology for being late. Then, mysteriously, the apology was deleted.

Later, Hull manager Phil Brown responsded and he's not chalking it up to a 19-year-old being a 19-year-old. "It's going to cost him a lot of money, unfortunately. That for me is information that stays in house. The reason he wasn't on the bench was our business."

Ouch.

To say Jozy is in the doghouse might be an understatement. How about the outhouse?

As it currently stands, this Jozy thing isn't looking good. He was already in a fight for a place in the starting lineup, and that was before Hull's season to a left turn at the crapper. Now, he'll be lucky to find some time in Cup duty.

Not to sound crankier than usual, but perhaps Altidore ought to put down the Twitter and focus on playing. It'd be a shame to waste so much god-given talent.

And if Altidore doesn't care that a legion of, quite frankly, possibly insane people like myself are pinning a mountain of unrealistic expectations on him come June 2010, so be it, he can chose how he wants to live his life.

On the other hand, there is the outside chance this incident serves as the proverbial wake up call and forces Altidore to work even harder. It's cliched, but nobody is going to give him a place in the starting XI. He has to earn it and show he's worthy of a start. Put up, or shut up. Pass. Fail.

That's the way she goes.

The only upside, at least if you're a U.S. fan, is that Jozy looked pretty good in spots at June's Confederations Cup, coming off a season of sporadic play and injuries in Spain. So maybe, even with spotty playing time, Altidore can make something happen in 2010. At this point, the U.S. doesn't have any other options. Just because he comes off a sporadic season at Hull doesn't 100 percent equal a poor World Cup.

The hits just keep a'coming for American players. Ugh.

At least Clint Dempsey scored the equalizer for Fulham in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

Hammer into Anvil

Sam Allardyce called Blackburn's second half performance in a 5-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge "pathetic." Thanks for the honesty, Big Sam, because nobody is going to argue with you.

As I said last week, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates are the two home grounds right now where the opponents legs turn into pudding, for Rovers I think it was fig. If there was ever a match where the option to throw in the towel was allowed, this was it.

At least we did get to see a trademarked rocket from Michael Essien that not even a robot with Lev Yashin's brain implanted inside of it could have stopped.

The collective lack of any fire by Blackburn almost made the effort by the Tennesse Titans in their 59 shellacking by the New England Patriots seem inspired by comparison.

Is there any surprise that was pretty much the only game I picked correct on Friday? (2-and-8 weekend? Ew, bogey.)

Double surprise of the weekend:

After the Liverpool/Manchester United match I needed to hit Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee. It was going to be a long day and I had to work in the office that night.

I left my house just as the Arsenal/West Ham game started. I got back with 16 minutes transpired. I was floored it was still 0-0, of course seconds later Robert Green makes a mistake and Robin van Persie taps in to open the floodgates...or so it appeared.

I then made the decision to flip over to Vikings/Packers and start writing. Think I was safe to do so.

Then I click on a site to see the score and it's 2-1. And then I finally decide to tune back in and its 2-2.

Just when you thought it was safe to trust Arsenal. I don't get it, this result floored me. Those could end up being two huge dropped points for the Gunners, who failed to keep the pace with Chelsea, still having a game in hand.

Credit to West Ham, which could have rolled over down two goals at the half, but fought back, but this is more of a stunner for Arsenal, because now all the old doubts creep back into the picture. Unreal.

Duds of the week:

Just when we thought there were close to eight legit teams in the league, all this happens:

* Aston Villa concedes a late penalty and draws Wolves 1-1.
* Spurs get stunned by a nice shot by Glen Whelan and Stoke 1-0 at White Hart Lane.
* Sunderland gets picked off 2-1 away to Birmingham.
* Manchester City plays to a 2-2 draw at home to Fulham.

So yeah, maybe this means these teams aren't ready to make the leap forward, or it means there is less separation than I thought. Or, another theory, the only real "stinkers" right now are Portsmouth, Hull, West Ham and possibly Blackburn.

Other stuff:

Time for another hat tip to part-time ESPN studio pundit Roberto Martinez and Wigan. The Latics ended Burnley's perfect home record with a 3-1 win Saturday, behind a brace from Hugo Rolledgea. To think, Steve Bruce plucked this guy out of the Mexican league. I used this metaphor a while back, but it's true. Wigan really are George Costanza at Play Now Sports, like "weed in Hitler's bunker." ... Jonathan Woodgate got hurt again for Spurs. Yeah, I'm stunned too. ... Weird situation when Aaron Lennon pulled himself out of the game, as Spurs ended with 10. He was still the Setanta commentator's man-of-the-match. Go figure. ... Birmingham City probably won't lead the league in anything, except highest amount of tattoos per player. ... Underrated player of the weekend, Stoke backup keeper Steve Simonsen, who made numerous fine saves to deny Spurs. ... How about that weather during Birmingham/Sunderland. Sunny and torrential rain at the same time? What's next? Dogs and Cats living together? ... Just saw an ad for the Champions League during a FOX NFL game. Never saw that kind of synergy with ESPN.

Fantasy Team O' the Week:

Top spot this week with 77 point its Michael Goldenberg's Черноморец pulling a Rubin Kazan-like performance thanks to Frank Lampard's 28 points and nine apiece from Abdoulaye Faye and Carlton cole.

One Other Thing:

Take my recommendations for what they're worth, but I can't say enough good things about FX's 'Sons of Anarchy.' I can't believe I slept on this show and just starting catching up with Season 1 through Blu Ray on Netflix, if you have such a player, you're doing a disservice not watching because it looks incredible if you have a nice set up. On top of that, the show is downright awesome, especially if you liked "The Shield", which creator Kurt Stutter was a major writer for during its seven-year run. (At some point I may have to write about 'The Shield', because it's largely ignored in the conversation of great shows, and the trials and tribulations of Vic Mackey was most certainly great television.)

Anyway, my highest compliment to "Sons" is that I never once thought Katey Sagal = Peg Bundy.

Up next:

Quiet week, unless you're a Carling Cup guy. Next week, North London Derby.

Labels: English Premier League, fernando torres, Liverpool, manchester United, Premier League, rafa benitez, Soccer

Believe it or not, after this weekend we'll be past the quarter post in the 2009-10 Premier League season. With that in mind, I figured it would be time to assess where the 20 clubs stand. While at first glance it might look like a giant glob, there are some mild strains of separation.

Again, I'm knowingly cribbing a Bill Simmons popularized trope, so deal with it.

Enjoy.

* * *

As a little preamble, in 2009-10 the Premier League can be boiled down to one thing -- goals. The stats don't really trend out to back me up as only one team (Bolton) has yet to keep a cleansheet, meanwhile eight teams have failed to score in at least three games. (Birmingham, Blackburn, Fulham, Stoke, Wigan, Wolves and Pompey with a league-high five.)

It just seems to me, teams are signing goal-scoring type players with a little more regularity, so there are a lot more "plus" attackers compared to defenders. Good defenders, in turn, really are worth their weight in gold, especially if they can avoid the injury bug and stay on the field.

To me, watching games, it seems like even the lowest rung teams can at least find a way to score, with or without the aid of foreign objects on the field. (The more I think about it, the Bent-Balloon-Brouhaha was straight from an 1987 WWF script.)

So in turn, goals equate in my mind to the mythical "juice" scale. (More in a sec, on that.) Teams are starting to realize in the end, draws and one point really get you nowhere when a win is worth three, so they are playing a little more open. Maybe this turns when the weather gets worse, we'll see.

Anyway, about "juice."

In any sporting event, or even any competition either you have the juice or you don't. As seasons progress, some teams develop juice, or lose juice or evade it entirely.

A quarter-way into the Premier League season we're starting to get a clearer picture who has the juice, and who doesn't.

The Alain Perrin Division

20. Portsmouth -- The good news, the players are getting paid again, I think. The bad? Although there are a few players with some spark, overall this a team without any direction on a field as witnessed by a league-low five goals. Maybe the biggest problem with Portsmouth is that aside from David James in net, there's not a ton of Premier League experience on the field. Counting on Paul Hart (best career winning percent is 34 percent at Chesterfield) to ply the likes of Frédéric Piquionne, Nadir Belhadj, Kevin-Prince Boateng, etc. into winners seems like a task above his pay grade and perhaps above anyone's save the unholy DNA mix of Brian Clough, Alf Ramsey and Jose Mourinho.

Maybe all you need to know about Pompey is Aaron Mokoena is the team captain.

Unless the oil-money brings in a couple legit stars, or three or four proven Premier League players, this ends with Pompey Super Fan John 'Portsmouth Football Club' Westwood crying in his bugle.

Gareth Southgate Division

(Ironically enough, the battle axe finally smote the trollish-one this week.)

19. Hull City -- You can't take away the fact that Hull's Cinderella rise through the decade under Phi Brown was an amazing tale that supporters will never forget. Selling its best defender -- Michael Tuner -- results in a league-worst 22-goals allowed and a trip back down to the lower leagues. This team, if not for a hot start last season, would already be in the Championship. The Tigers struggled are a bane for U.S. fans, since it likely means they won't risky pinning their hopes on Jozy Altidore unless they miraculously pull ahead of the drop zone.

18. Wolverhampton Wanderers -- Admittedly haven't seen a ton of this team, but it's bringing very little to the table aside from Austrian forward Stefan Maierhofer, who stands 6-foot-7 1/2 inches making him the tallest in the Premier League. So that's something.

The Franck Queudrue Division

17. West Ham United -- The Hammers have a decent roster, but need somebody to step up because it's sorely lacking any type of identity at the moment.

16. Blackburn Rovers -- With so many goals being averaged per game this season, and team's being defined by strikers, Rovers are about as meek a team as you can find. Jason Roberts, Franco Di Santo and Benni McCarthy? Pass.

15. Birmingham City -- Ah, Queudrue's current employer. Brum is pretty competent defensively, but would have the proverbial tough time scoring at a monkey whorehouse with a pocket full of bananas.

New owner Carson Yeung maybe throws a wildcard into the team, as I read today Alex McLeish was trying to pry Grafite and Edin Dzenko away from Wolfsburg. Too bad Birmingham isn't exactly a hot spot for transfer targets. Sadly, the birthplace of Black Sabbath probably doesn't hold too much sway in the minds of today's players.

The Kevin McAllister Division

14. Burnley -- Old friend of T.O.P. Androvich used to have a pair of "home defense dice." Not sure where the name came from. He used them habitually in the game "Risk", until one day we came to the realization that there were only four numbers on them, and as you know in Risk, you need the number six.

Long story short, Burnley boss Owen Coyle better make sure that the dice at Turf Moor have all six sides, otherwise the clock will strike midnight.

Smoke, mirrors and home form...it is a recipe that's worked before.

(Note, that is a 'Home Alone' reference.)

The Blow Hot, Blow Cold Zone

13. Stoke City -- I'm probably overrating this team, because its overall quality isn't that amazing. But the Potters are good at home, and seem to have a solid squad of role-players.


12. Wigan Athletic -- Wigan finally beat one of the 'Big Four' (Chelsea) and drew Manchester City, so perhaps Roberto Martinez is figuring out this oddly constructed roster Steve Bruce left in his wake. Wigan seem like a team nobody relishes playing against.

11. Bolton -- Kevin Davies embodies Bolton. Not bad, but not really all that good either.

10. Fulham -- Let's wait-and-see on this team. How much the Europa League takes out of them will be the story of the season. Not sure how long Roy Hodgson can make chicken salad out of some of the Premier League retreads (Danny Murphy, Damien Duff, Bobby Zamora, etc.) on the roster.

Oh Have Mersey

9. Everton -- The Toffees are pretty much stuck in a rut. Selling off Jolean Lescott wasn't a total disaster, but David Moyes has way too many "B+" players (Yakubu, Louis Saha, Jo, etc.) and not nearly enough "A" players, and the one he has -- Mikel Arteta -- is almost always hurt. This team seems far to bland to do anything other than a boring, top 10 finish.

8. Liverpool -- Really, I've run out of things to say here. I'd say they have to fire Rafa, but who is the replacement in the middle of the season? Anyone? Bueller?

We have seen the last couple weeks the the team is competent without Torres and Gerrard, but will inevitably fall short.

This situation feels eerily similar to the dissatisfaction swirling around the Washington Redskins in the NFL.

Surprisingly Crafty

7. Sunderland -- This year's Fulham, however the loss of Lee Cattermole in the middle of the field is a tough player to replace. Hand it to Steve Bruce, he seems to know what he's doing. A little more depth in January and improved form at the Stadium of Light and the Black Cats are on their way.

Good, not Great

6. Manchester City -- Teams are treating City like they're a "Big" team week-to-week, but do the City players consider themselves that? Strange developments that both Robinho and Stephen Ireland have both fallen out of favor.

So long as Emmanuel Adebayor decides to keep his head on straight, City is a threat. The biggest fear here, is they fall into the "away rut" against the lesser teams.

Does City, at this point, have an Alpha Dog? And does it need one? And can a team counting on Adebayor and Craig Bellamy make it though a season without combusting?

5. Aston Villa -- Losing Gareth Barry and replacing him with Richard Dunne (not positionally) sort of turns the jilted lover dynamic on its head. If Gabriel Agbonlahor can keep producing until May, Villa will stick around, but probably fall short of the Top Four.

4. Tottenham -- Liverpool's woes are giving Spurs a major opening to get some space toward making the Champions League for the first time. Of course, Spurs' mental fortitude has never been a strength, though if Jermain Defoe keeps playing like man possessed they'll be tough.

Basically Tottenham is a rollercoaster each week, and to be successful in the league you need some level of consistency, which might not be achieved with this bunch unless the defense stoutens up.

The Contenders

3. Manchester United -- See how if, no matter what, the likes of Meryl Streep or Cate Blanchett make a movie they're also thrust into the 'Best Actress' nomination at the Oscars by rote? That's this Manchester United team. It's really not all that good or impressive, though the recent emergence of Luis Valencia might disprove this theory. Top-to-bottom, this team is rip for the taking, even more than it was last year when it needed miracle goals from guys like Frederico Macheda to fend off Chelsea -- and this is when Cristiano Ronlado was still wearing the No. 7 shirt.

The defense is shaky and the offensive isn't all that sharp if Rooney is off his game. Regardless of these facts, with the vintage troika of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes this team will stick around near the top, because that's all the Red Devils know how to do.

2. Chelsea -- I thought Chelsea was going to run away with it, they still might but the last two weekends they've opened the doors. My biggest worry right now if I supported Chelsea, oddly enough, might be Petr Cech in goal.

1. Arsenal -- It's taken some time, but when the Gunners step on the field, they expect to win -- most of the time in style.

Right now, most teams might think they can hang with Chelsea/Manchester United/Liverpool if they play smart, but if Arsenal is clicking there's no stopping them, the Gunners will simply run the other team off the field.

So long as Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie can stay on the field, there is no reason to think Arsenal can't keep pushing the top of the table all the way until May, unless the goalkeeping situation further deteriorates.

After three years of false springs from Arsenal, this might finally be the year to believe what Arsene Wenger has been cooking.

Boil it down like this, here's a list of guys that can score with some regularity for Arsenal:

Andrey/Andrei Arshavin (make up your mind on the spelling.)
Nic Bendtner
Cesc Fabregas
Tomas Rosicky (Assuming his bones don't turn to dust.)
Eduardo
Robin van Persie
Hell, even Carlos Vela can get on the scoresheet if he plays. Same with Samir Nasri.

That's a nice big ol' slice of attack.

Defense might win championships in a general, old-sports movie coach cliche, but this year in the Premier League, not sure I agree with that logic.



Saturday:

* Wolves v. Aston Villa -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:45 a.m.) Quirk alert! Three-straight matches for Villa on ESPN2. Is Randy Lerner pulling some strings? ... Wolves 0, Aston Villa 1

* Birmingham City v. Sunderland -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Let's see if I'm not putting the jinx on Sunderland. ... Birmingham City 0, Sunderland 2

* Burnley v. Wigan Athletic -- Can Burnley make it a perfect 5-for-5 at Turf Moor? ... Burnley 1, Wigan 1

* Hull City v. Portsmouth -- A battle for 20th! Should be a goal-fest, with the teams combining for 37 allowed so far. Jozy, pay attention. ... Hull City 2, Portsmouth 2

* Tottenham v. Stoke City -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) This should be a relatively easy day for Spurs, but, the scirpt never gets written that way now does it? ... Spurs 2, Stoke 1

* Chelsea v. Blackburn -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Maybe Franco Di Santo will play like a man possessed, otherwise this figures to be a Chelsea romp. (Err...strike that. He can't play against the team he's loaned from, so Rovers are pwned.) Teams still wilt once they set foot on the grass at Stamford Bridge. ... Chelsea 4, Blackburn 0

Sunday:

* Bolton v. Everton -- (Live, Setanta, 9:30 a.m.) The Reebok might be the worst homefield in the league since the home fans scorn Gary Megson like Michael Scott does to Toby from HR. ... Bolton 1, Everton 1

* Liverpool v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 9:55 a.m.) Don't tell me that Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn't absolutely love to be the man to trigger the guillotine on his pal Rafa. Get your beach ball police ready, Anfield. And right there, that might be the only thing that can save Liverpool on Sunday -- the Kop -- assuming the home fans actually want the Reds to win. You'd have to think some cynical fans might want them to lose so the inevitable firing of Rafa happens now, as opposed to later. Oh yeah, that Gerrard fellow might be able to conjure something, too, even at 50 percent. Yet I don't see it happening. ... Liverpool 1, Manchester United 2

* Manchester City v. Fulham -- One thing we've learned about City, they like to play from downhill. If they score early, it's probably over. Wonder how long Fulham can play smart and disciplined on the counter? ... City 1, Fulham 0

* West Ham United v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 12:15 p.m.) I don't see how West Ham can keep up with Arsenal on the scoreboard. ... West Ham 1, Arsenal 3

Last week: 6-4
Season: 49-37

(For any gamers out there, I'm cobbling together my thoughts on 'FIFA 10', so I'll share those next week after I get enough game-hours under my belt.)

Labels: English Premier League, Prem Picks, Premier League, Soccer

Nothing better than when someone, or in this case, a monolith hell-bent on global sports supremacy, learns from it's mistakes.

Monday Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch is reporting ESPN has hired Martin Tyler to announce next summer's World Cup for the network.

Well, nothing more to say than halle-freaking-llujah.

I'd even go as far as to say, it makes tolerating Tommy Symth seem more reasonable.

In four scant years we went from the worst announcer in the history of the game -- Dave O'Brien -- to one of the best. This is like trading in your 1991 Subaru Legacy for a 2009 Benz.

Does this mean Andy Gray is far behind?

(Guess this offsets the retirement of Dean Windass today.)

Labels: ESPN, Soccer, world cup 2010

So yeah, after this weekend slate of action from the Premier League over in England, maybe it's best to stop making bold declarations of any sort.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

When the one fundamental truth -- Chelsea is a shade better than everybody -- gets shattered, what are we left with?

In fact, gun to my head, the only thing we might be able to count on week-to-week is that Arsenal isn't dropping points at the Emirates.

Really, what a strange series of games this weekend, saying nothing of the premier of "The Red Balloon 2: Operation Anfield" in the fourth minute from the Stadium of Light. (If anything was rife for the Photoshop treatment, it's this. Guardian, the ball is in your court.)

Look at it this way, Manchester United had Bolton dead and buried at Old Trafford, up 2-0 after about half an hour, but then had to hang on for dead life for the three points that place them atop the table -- for the time being. And player-for-player, Bolton isn't that far off from what Manchester United is lining up in its starting XI. Maybe the only difference is that Manchester United has that intangible knack for winning, while Bolton sort of meanders around without much juice. While juice they are lacking, these teams can pop up for the occasional goal against the run of play, as evidenced by Matty Taylor's header.

Bolton grabs a guy like Croatian international Ivan Klasnic, and it's hardly even a big deal. And at the same time we've seen Sunderland slowly consolidate, while Everton tries to get its sea legs back. Manchester City, with all its recruits, is a genuine treat and Villa is still worth something.

With so many decent-to-good teams, it tends to create a better performance, too, from the also-rans. In prior years, Manchester City would come to town and it would be the likes of Danny Mills, Darius Vassell, etc. Not exactly stirring your professional juices, now when its Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor, the other team is much more "up" for the game.

The midtier chaff of the league is slowly starting to realize it makes more sense in the long term to have balls and actually play soccer against the big clubs, instead of bunkering down and awaiting a slow death, or at best scratch out a measly point. Is this going to work very often at Stamford Bridge? Of course not, but we've seen right now there aren't very many good defenses across the Premier League, even the assumed best -- Manchester United and Chelsea -- have leaked goals. You might as well go down fighting, right?

There isn't a law that says you have to kiss the ring.

Yes, sometimes teams are going to be supremely mismatched. If Arsenal has its day, they are tough to stop. But if teams decide they actually want to play to their ability, fight for the badge on their shirts and the fans in the stands, there is no reason most teams under the circumstances can't at least give a respectable effort.

Then again, to rouse the fighting spirit of some of the players in this league, every coach would have to channel his inner Tony D'Amato before each and every match and that's not going to happen, sadly too much incompetence and apathy in the dressing rooms.

Basically, the talent gap isn't all that huge, except some teams (Manchester United, Chelsea) have the winning mentality, while others don't.

If you read this site, week-to-week, then you know that I've railed hard against the gap between the haves and have-nots. This weekend, though, swung open the door and left six teams within striking distance of first place -- Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and for now, Aston Villa. (Arsenal and Villa each have a game in hand.)

Even the promoted team everyone expected to be a 3-point ATM -- Burnley -- has been a thorn in everyone's side, at least in at Turf Moor.

Portsmouth, really, seems like the only team without much of a clue right now. The talent on the roster is simply too mismatched and inexperienced to do any damage against a good team.

It's astounding that three weeks ago this looked like the most cut-and-dried season ever, with Chelsea poised to run away with it. It looked way to predictable.

Now? It's anybody's game.

Liverpool gets Bent:

It's a nightmare every Liverpool fan has grappled with -- life without Fernando Torres AND Steven Gerrard.

Oddly enough, Liverpool wasn't an outright horror show in its 1-0 loss at Sunderland. Of course, the circumstances of the loss were ripped straight out of a "Friday the 13th" movie, however.

If you had Darren Bent, off the beach ball, well, you win.

What can you even say? That has to be the strangest, flukiest goal of the decade. Call it the Jose Cancesco home run, where the ball bounced off his head and over the fence. (How is that clip not on YouTubes?)

The most crushing aspect of this surreal scenario is that Glenn Johnson had a realistic chance to knock away Bents shots before it deflected off the beach ball.

Two mitigating factors, after watching and re-watching the replay a couple times:

1) A Liverpool fan threw it on the field. Not nearly even in the same remote stratosphere of stakes, but Steve Bartman was technically a Cubs fan.

2) The ball is clearly either in the net or just behind it, well before Bent's goal. The action had gone to the other end of the field, including a Liverpool freekick, so somebody should have told Pepe Reina, or he should have seen the ball himself and moved it.

Like it or not, Liverpool is fairly adrift in the table -- seven. And with the looming sale of George Gillett's stake to some Saudi billionaire, changes could be in the cards at Anfield. The statue of limitations from the 'Miracle in Istanbul' might be running out for Rafa.

I don't see how he survives Balloon-Gate.

We've seen this in every sport at every level. Liverpool has been probably looking for a break for a number of seasons, and a crazy, beyond belief freak occurrence like this turns into the proverbial straw to break the camel's back.

One-goal fun

How about this scenario Saturday morning?

On my television I've got the Liverpool/Sunderland match on, with Spurs/Portsmouth in the picture-in-picture. On my laptop it was Manchester United/Bolton. (I was also following Arsenal/Birmingham City which stayed close until the final 10 minutes.)

For the final 20 minutes, they were all 1-goal nailbiters, highlighted by Tottenham doing everything but give the equalizer to Pompey at Fratton Park after Jermain Defoe decided to stamp on Aaron Mokeona. If you missed it, Portsmouth had over a half dozen corners and freekicks in the final 20-odd minutes but couldn't do anything to trouble Gomes.

Even United looked very shaky trying to hold on against Bolton at Old Trafford, thankfully for them Edwin van der Sar was back in goal otherwise it could have gotten dicey.

Club vs. Country:

Not really a Premier League issue, but where do you stand on AC Milan possibly exploring a rout to financial remuneration from the USSF for Oguchi Onyewu's knee injury?

It's doubtful FIFA takes any action on the issue, until an injury on International duty befalls a mega-player from a super-club, although Torres, Gerrard and Wayne Rooney were all out this weekend.

International matches certainly have a nice, romantic and patriotic aspect, but they don't much help the clubs that pay the salaries, do they?

Clubs fighting with federations? Not something fans should really take issue with, unless a club takes the drastic step and withholds a player from international duty sometime in the future.

Stay tuned.

Crunch:

Sight of the weekend -- the trainer popping Chris Kirkland's black-and-blue pinky back into its socket. It was a scene straight out of Edvard Munch's "Scream" painting.

Not too get too revolting, but his bashed finger looked like a blood sausage.

Best Development of the Weekend:

Not sure how long this has been going on, or how long it will last, but Fox Sports en Espanol airing the Pompey/Spurs match live was fantastic. Not sure if Fox only had the rights to show it live since it didn't have a 12:30 match on FSC, but it was good to have another alternative.

Methinks it might last longer, since Ch. 9 out of New York locally aired a Spanish language version of the Yankees/Angels ALCS game Saturday night, and I caught a promo for Fox Sports en Espanol, and it was all soccer -- even Wayne Rooney.

If it ends up that you can watch, live, up to seven live matches a week that's not a bad thing.

Other stuff:

Ryan Giggs must be like Homer Simpson. Even he shaves, two minutes later his five-o'clock shadow fills right back in. ... The Portsmouth/Spurs game got really chippy, even on top of Defoe's stamp. Late in the match Michael Brown gave a full body slam to Benoit Assou-Ekotto, resulting in his second yellow card of the day. ... Sunderland/Liverpool got heated, too, since it seems every single opposing manager and team hates Benitez. ... It's remarkable that Manchester United is getting contributions, still, from Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. As it stands Sir Alex Ferguson is pulling an all-time Houdini act with the Red Devils, who are amazingly in first place. ... If Robin van Persie stays healthy, Arsenal is going to mount a serious run at the title. ... How is Aston Villa consistently scoring from set pieces? Richard Dunne is playing like a man possessed. Never doubt a player scorned. ... West Ham might be a defibrillator kit. Gianfranco Zola's team is flat-lining before our eyes. ... I was too tired to wake up for it, but all reports said Blackburn's 3-2 win over Burnley lived up to the derby hype. ... Wigan showed a lot of scrap against Manchester City in a 1-1 draw. ... Those golden Liverpool away jerseys. They were off-putting, sort of in an 'Any Given Sunday' type vibe, as pointed out by part time contributor Ace Cowboy.

Look-a-like of the week:

Apologies if this had been made in other places on the Inter-nets. My bad. But Gary Megson and Toby from "The Office." (U.S. version) were separated at birth. They honestly might be clones, with Megson being about 20 years older. Again, I am probably the last person on Earth to draw up this connection.

Fantasy Team O' the week:

Kevin Bagley's MVee FC gets the nod with 59 points to move into first place. The key man here was the nine savvy points from Blackburn David Dunn, otherwise his team is very similar to mine, which I don't like as I sit in second place.

One other thing:

After an out-and-out stinkbomb by the New York Jets on Sunday, I'm back to hating sports. Sorry.

At least a beach ball didn't ruin my season, though.

Looking ahead:

Champions League in the midweek and Liverpool hosting Manchester United next Sunday. Not bad. This afternoon its Fulham and Hull City live on ESPN2 from Craven Cottage.

Labels: Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer

Not going to waste anybody's time on a preamble, as we ease back toward club season.

Crazy day Thursday left me with little time to write. Let me just say, it would be nice for the Premier League to have some consistency in its scheduling. For example, why no noon-ish game on Saturday? Doesn't make sense. If you want to emulate the NFL, at least be consistent with the games each week, no?

Saturday

* Aston Villa v. Chelsea -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.) Villa have been a bit of a bogey team for Chelsea. Villa, however, might share the same "juice" pot as Randy Lerner's other team, the hapless Cleveland Browns. Perhaps they can work on some sort of cross-sport trade, with Derek Anderson moving to the Midlands and unhappy striker Emile Heseky going to northeast Ohio. Hell, crazier things have happened. Something to note with Chelsea, its quietly resigning core players, which should be key since it can't bring in any new transfers. ... Villa 1, Chelsea 3

* Arsenal v. Birmingham City -- Let's just put it this way, Birmingham has five goals on the season. Arsenal has two six-goal games and two-four goal games. Let's hope Eduardo doesn't have some kind of strange, Vietnam-vet like flashback if he sees the field. ... Arsenal 3, Birmingham 0

* Everton v. Wolves -- The Toffees are back into the middle of the table, which makes sense. If you've seen those new "FIFA 10" ads, try to spot the quick Tim Cahill cameo. ... Everton 1, Wolves 0

* Manchester United v. Bolton -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) What goes through Sir Alex Ferguson's mind when he sees Nani score and play well on Portugal duty. Does he quietly fume? Usually this is a match United rolls, but last time we saw them, the stench from Old Trafford could be smelled across the Pond. Bolton? Eh? Not outright terrible, but don't seem to have any consistent mojo from week-to-week. ... Manchester United 2, Bolton 1

* Portsmouth v. Tottenham -- (Live, possibly, Fox Sports en Espanol, 10 a.m.) Little known factoid, Portsmouth players won't wear their usual numbers for this match, instead price tags to hopefully woo and distract old Harry Redknapp. Wonder what kind of reception he gets at Fratton Park? Can you blame him for leaving? ... Portsmouth 1, Tottenham 2

* Stoke City v. West Ham United -- A loss here, and the whispers around Upton Park continue to grow. ... Stoke City 2, West Ham United 0

* Sunderland v. Liverpool -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Very interesting game, since Sunderland has shown whiffs of friskiness, simply from its Darren Bent/Kenwyne Jones combo up top. For comparison's sake, Bent has seven goals and Jones has five. Fernando Torres leads the Premier League with eight, but the next highest on Liverpool are Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun with three, and Yossi's all came in one match. Does this mean much? We'll see. Sunderland 1, Liverpool 1

Sunday

* Blackburn v. Burnley -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Worth getting up early for due to the hatred both teams, well, small industrial towns have toward each other. Definitely one of the best "More Than A Game" features from an old 'FourFourTwo' magazine. Winning this match might be able to kickstart Blackburn's otherwise flat-lining season. ... Blackburn 2, Burnley 1

* Wigan Athletic v. Manchester City -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Man, we sure have gotten a healthy dose of Wigan this year, haven't we? ... Wigan 1, City 3

Monday

* Fulham v. Hull City -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) Doubtful we'll see Clint Dempsey, maybe we'll get Jozy. Really, Phil Brown, why not play the young American striker? The game is on in the States. You'll win some fans in the process. He wants to score for Charlie Davies. Come on. Do it. If that doesn't do anything, watch the wry smile on Roy Hodgson's face when he looks over to see an injured Jimmy Bullard on the Hull bench. The check has probably already cleared on that one. ... Fulham 1, Hull City 0

Last week: 3-7
Season: 43-33

Labels: English Premier League, Prem Picks, Premier League, Soccer

Well, Costa Rica, you just got owned by Jonathan Bornstein.

Marinate on that for the next four years.

Maybe that's karmic readjustment for playing your home games at Saprissa on artificial turf.

Either way, that is about as sour a result as you could possibly have in the final minute of an intentional soccer game.

The sight of the dazed Tico trainer who had to take over in the final minutes and looked like he soiled his underwear after Uncle Leo, err, Renê Simões was bizarrely sent off, is the image I'll take away from this one.

If you're Costa Rica, all you have to do is defend one measly corner kick, and you let the whipping boy of U.S. soccer score his second international goal via header to send you into a massively tricky two-leg playoff with a pissed off Uruguay team, which probably has no intention of losing its second-straight playoff qualifier.

Tico keeper Keylor Navas was all over the place, making great saves and punching everything else away. And he's undone by the last touch of the game.

Oh, and the U.S. really had nothing left to play for at that point either. No, I'm not putting any stock in placing ahead of Mexico in the final CONCACAF table and getting seeded at the World Cup draw in December. (As outlined by Grant Wahl, it ain't happening unless something fluky happens in the UEFA playoffs.)

At least we got that wild ending, because otherwise this game was really an exercise in "meh-ness" from a U.S. perspective. In fact, the biggest long-term development will be the impending medical evaluation of Oguchi Onyewu, who was stretchered off the field late in the match after an awkward fall. (Again, word up to Wahl, who twittered, that Onyewu has a torn patellar tendon tendon and will be out three to four months. Bummer. Makes this match more toward the loss column. [I added that quality insight])

Other than that?

Maybe the game takes a different turn if Conor Casey composes himself a little better in the 10th minute and buries a gift-wrapped chance.

From there, Bryan Ruiz put on a nice little clinic, burning by Onyewu for a nice goal, and then making the entire U.S. defense look lost with a brilliant strike shortly thereafter to make it 2-0. Really, fault all the U.S. players, but that was a peach of a strike. (This Ruiz guy, not so bad, even with Steve McClaren's tutelage at FC Twente.)

Hand it to the U.S. for giving a nice effort in the second half, when they had every reason (Charlie Davies car accident) to mail it in.

The second-half substitution of Jose Torres seemed to bring a little life to the U.S. attack. The U.S. also became a lot more dangerous when Michael Bradley began to lurk forward, eventually cashing in on Landon Donovan's rebound to trigger the comeback.

If anything, this match once again displayed that the U.S. isn't a team that's going to roll over if they fall down a couple goals. That's a pretty positive trait to have at a World Cup.

Yes, it's not exactly the best gameplan in the world to fall behind early, but there's something to be said for the U.S.'s consistent ability to bounce-back when they fall behind. Not the best comparison, but the U.S. is sort of like a zombie, it'll keep coming at you until you put a bullet in its brain, and or the full time whistle sounds.

Speaking of the walking undead, there figures to be plenty of people resembling the shuffling masses around the streets of San Jose the next couple days.

Costa Rica, that is a bad job outta you. Enjoy Montevideo.

Other stuff:

* Nice to see ESPN has embedded Bob Ley into its World Cup coverage. His stature alone brings something to the table.

* On a similar note, the more Adrien Healy, the better.

* Any idea why there were faded football lines at RFK?

* Stuart Holden didn't do much to impress tonight. Robbie Rogers, his replacement, seemed to be in the thick of it when the U.S. worked itself back into the match.

* Kind of surprising that the Davies accident didn't dominate the telecast. Probably a good thing that ESPN showed some restraint in that regard, I personally got enough grim news all day on Tuesday.

* Good job by the RFK crowd to salute Davies, especially the really cool artistically rendered banner, which Jozy Altidore scooped up after the match. Say what you will about U.S. fans, they are creative.

* As for Altidore the player? Pretty much what we've come to expect -- the possibility of brilliance, but overall inconsistency. Without Davies -- at least for the next six months -- Altidore has to step up his game. If the game mattered, we'd all be slaughtering him for missing that open chance midway through the first half.

* Conor Casey? It's only Oct. 14, but did he already turn back into to a pumpkin? Not to pick on Casey. He is who he is. Hard-worker, nose for goal, but overall just not that skilled on the international stage. Still, Casey can score, which does set him apart from Brian Ching.

* Bit surprising that Steve Cherundolo got the nod over Jonathan Spector. As it stands, the clearest 1-v-1 position battle heading into 2010.

* Funny how life works. Carlos Pavon would have been the all-time goat for his penalty miss on Saturday, then on Wednesday he nets the winner for Honduras Wednesday against El Salvador. Credit Honduras, from what we've seen they're a good team that might be able to do some damage if it's at full strength at the Cup.

Closing thought:

Nice job by the U.S. Good to lift the spirits and defend home turf, especially in the light of the Davies accident less than 48 hours prior.

Again, the U.S. could have sleepwalked through the final 45 minutes, instead it rallied for the draw and got a modicum of revenge for Costa Rica stealing their lunch money at Saprissa in June. So thinking of that, it's hard to feel all that sorry for the Ticos.

And in parting, better LD right now? Landon Donovan or Larry David?

Labels: concacaf, costa rica, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying

As soon as the final whistle sounds Wednesday night at RFK Stadium, everyone associated with the U.S. national team ought to let out a sigh of relief.

There's one way to look at the whole qualifying process.

An ordeal.

No, it's not as technically from a soccer standpoint as difficult as UEFA, but which other Federation is?

Look at it this way.

If you're part of the U.S. team, nobody in your home country cares. And the few people that do are unrealistic on par with Conrad Hilton wanting the "moon" from Don Draper on Sunday's latest episode of "Mad Men", all the while calling for the coach's head.

Plus as a player you have to go to all these, hot, humid and hostile environments and are expected to come away with three points, playing like the 1988 Dutch National Team in the process.

Finally, when you put together the best performance of the cycle -- Saturday's 3-2 win in Honduras -- almost nobody in the United States can watch it due to a byzantine rights structure, making people resort to going to select bars or other "means."

To top it off, when you finally qualify and put everyone's worries at ease, the day before what should be a celebration of a job well done, the biggest breakout young star of the whole year gets into a fatal car crash and that results in a 22-year-old woman dead and Davies in hours of surgery to fix a myriad of problems including a torn bladder, broken femur and tibia.

No, the U.S. team isn't overtly looking for sympathy or anything like that, but hell, they deserve more than our scoffing and cynicism.

Maybe the fans like us that do care, ought to put a little more stock into how crazy and hectic this whole thing works out to be.

As for tonight's game against Costa Rica?

In light of the Davies situation I scrapped the whole thing I'd previously written. What's the point trying to break down a game under these circumstances. Let's hope the U.S. never has to play another game under this sort of a pall. How can you accurately assess or judge any of the players, especially since they've already qualified?

Perhaps some professionalism will seep through, though. The U.S. players that Bob Bradley selects, since they "owe" it to Honduras to play hard against the Ticos.

Yet for long-term projecting toward next June? Probably not.

And what can you say about what happened to Davies? The details are still hazy, but it doesn't look promising. All we can really do as fans is send him are best wishes and be grateful he's alive after the accident took the life of a 22-year-old woman.

It is simply an awful situation, with absolutely nothing positive which can result from it.

For one night, yes, the U.S. can probably be forgiven for dwelling on the Davies tragedy. They're only human. (Who knows, it could inspire them to play great? Yet the immediacy of the accident will be so fresh in their heads, it might not be enough time to galvanize them.)

After the match? It's back to the drawing board. There is still plenty of time to chart a new course.

In the end, there isn't any sentimentality in the cruel, jet-setting world of international soccer.

When the balls are draw on Dec. 4 in Cape Town for the Cup draw, it's not going to matter than one of the U.S.'s promising young players got into a car wreck and smashed up his leg. (Injuries are a part of the game, although the horrific nature of this crash makes it stand out.)

To plan for a World Cup 2010 that includes Davies, right now, seems like an extreme long shot.

Jozy, I know Charlie is your boy, but the spotlight clearly falls on you now, like it or not. Hear that Phil Brown? Hull City is getting relegated, why not play Altidore and win some U.S. fans over as the ship sinks?

And maybe those plans to coax Brian McBride out of retirement and hoping he can turn back the clock to 2002 for two weeks, isn't too unrealistic.

Like it or not, the spot for a starting forward role in South Africa is once again as wide open as it's ever been. It'll be interesting to see if anybody steps open (Kenny Cooper?) now that there is a clear opportunity. In the short term, it would seem logically to slot Clint Dempsey back toward the forward line, assuming Stuart Holden can hack it on the right.

Of course, there's always the odd chance that Conor Casey wasn't a one-hit-wonder.

Hell, Radiohead burst back a couple years later after "Creep" to become one of the transcendent bands of the last 20-odd years.

In the end, it's really a shame what happened to Davies. Not to discount the bigger picture, but he sure brought a element of danger to the U.S. attack. Davies had swagger and the kind of speed to make opponents actively game plan for him.

At this point there is nothing else to do but hope he can recover, first as a person and second as a player.

Labels: charlie davies, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying

":( :( :( :( :( :( :(" -- Jozy Altidore's Twitter account.

Guess in today's day and age, that says it all.

In case you hadn't heard, U.S. forward Charlie Davies was involved in a fatal car crash early Tuesday morning, which left one person dead. This is probably the accident. Judging by the photo of the cut-in-half car, Davies is lucky to be in what the USSF deemed "stable condition" during Tuesday afternoon surgery.

First and foremost, there is sympathy for the victim 22-year-old Ashley Roberts.

And then there is worry. Worry that Davies will be okay long term, first as a person then as a player. And double-worry that he wasn't the driver or under the influence. (Let's just keep our fingers crossed on both counts.)

Through all the matches, the ups-and-downs and everything else, Charlie Davies was who we'll look at as the breakout player for the U.S. in 2009. And now? All we might remember is the sight of that car chopped in half, instead of his quirky goal vs. Egypt that started the resurrection at the Confederations Cup or his screamer at Azteca vs. Mexico.

I had written a full preview of tomorrow's US/Costa Rica match, but might have to throw it out. What was supposed to be a nice celebration of a job well done, now has a pall cast over it.

In case you missed it over the weekend, the Cincinnati Bengals played and defeated the Baltimore Ravens only a couple days after their defensive co-ordinator's wife died unexpectedly on Thursday.

I can't even imagine what it will be like for the U.S. players when they step onto the RFK field Wednesday night with a friend and teammate in the hospital and another person dead from the same accident.

From a sporting standpoint, it sure makes you awful thankful for Conor Casey and his two-goal brace and Carlos Pavon missing a penalty kick on Saturday night. If the U.S. didn't wrap up a spot on Saturday, who knows what would have happened Wednesday.

And by the same token, had Wednesday's game meant something for the U.S., would Davies have been out at 3:15 a.m. less than 48 hours before a qualifier?

At this point, though, there's no point in speculating what happened. (Believe me, this kind of stuff doesn't do you much good in the long term. Why do I say this? Two words and two numbers: Miguel Cabrera, .26.)

All we know is that, once again, the U.S. catches another bad break. Instead of a nice fun night, we're thrown a pretty morbid curve ball.

For now, let's just all pray for the best.

UPDATE -- via the U.S. communications staff: "Davies suffered a lacerated bladder and fractures to the tibia and femur bones in his right leg. He also suffered facial fractures and a left elbow fracture."

Oh god, really, nothing to say. Let's hope Davies pulls through this. To even think of his career at this point is foolish. U.S. Soccer physician Dr. Dan Kalbac did put in a little optimism, though saying the injuries could take six to 12 months to rehabilitate.

”Due to Charlie’s fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved.”

Obviously I'm not a doctor, but it doesn't sound good when a player known for his speed need titanium rods inserted into his legs. Let's hope that Davies is the exception to the rule.

Man oh man. What can you really say in this situation?

Labels: charlie davies, Soccer, USMNT

So I woke up Sunday morning after this weird dream. Something about the U.S. national team beating Honduras 3-2 mixed with me being chased by Carlo Costly and Carlos Pavon in something straight out of the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' video.

Odd.

So odd I decided it was worth breaking my 10-month old self-imposed ban from Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

There was also something about guys named "Jonathan Bornst" and "Casey Conor" playing for the U.S. while somebody named "Palakios" lining up for Honduras.

But it wasn't a dream. Apparently it actually happened, with the U.S. officially stamping it's passport for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Though you may or may not have seen it, yes, the U.S. played one of its most impressive games of 2009, rallying from an early 1-0 deficit then holding on 3-2 in a wild match from San Pedro Sula. (Non 8-bit caliber highlights don't exactly do the game justice.)

Hopefully you found a way to view this game, whether by by attending one of the closed circuit locations scattered throughout the U.S. or by "other" means. (In the year 2009, it's not too hard to read between the lines. Let's just say, there's a lot still to be written about Internet law particularly in Sweden.)

So if you saw the match or "saw" the match, you witnessed something about as rare as a unicorn playing the piano -- Conor Casey (a.k.a. Casey Conor) scoring two goals.

On the first with the U.S. trailing 1-0, Casey somehow got a body part to a looping high ball in the box and avoided contact with the Honduran keeper and bungled it into the net. It was stunning and at full speed it looked like it was clearly going to be called a foul. It was almost as if there was a full second of silent pause while the collective air of 45,000 ready-to-celebrate Hondurans had the wind sucked out of them before the ball dribbled over the line.

If that goal was a right hook across the chops, a few minutes later Casey delivered a stomach punch when he latched onto Landon Donovan's pass and beat Noel Valladares on a classy finish worthy of the likes of Henry or Villa, let alone some stocky U.S. forward with a shaved head.

Two goals from Conor Casey? In the same game? The same guy that had about five steps on Maynor Figeroa earlier in the match, only to get run down by the Wigan defender in about two seconds?

Is this what it would it have been like if Dexy's Midnight Runner's had another hit after 'Come on Eileen'?

With a 2-1 lead, the U.S. as is its habit, continued to play better and took a 3-1 lead on Donovan's nice bending free kick. (Yeah, two goals from Casey and a Landon freekick in the same game. If there was ever a time to cash in on a life insurance policy.)

Then all hell broke lose, mainly because it was impossible to gauge how much time was left in the match.

Honduras pulled a goal back after the U.S. defense decided to ball-watch, forcing Tim Howard to come off his line and do the Charleston while the ball worked back to the middle and Julio Cesar De Leon poked it through the forest of defenders.

At 3-2 Honduras got a lifeline when Carlos Bocanegra (or was it Jonathan Spector) got called for a handball. Thankfully Carlos Pavon came closer to row H than the goal from the penalty spot.

A lot more happened, like Charlie Davies getting two gigantic bites at the cherry in the first half and missing both on the same sequence and Oguchi Onyewu blocking about four shots in the first half.

All that matters, if through all the consternation the U.S. is in the World Cup. Bob Bradley rolled the dice with a guy (Casey) all us idiots on the Internet have about as much goodwill toward as Ebeneezer Scrooge had toward street urchins prior to his visits from the Ghost of Christmas. (Sea urchin, street urchin? Any other type of urchin?)

Not to make Casey sound like too much of a leper, he is second in MLS with 16 goals, but if we placed odds on the fact the U.S. would qualify for the 2010 World Cup thanks to Casey scoring twice in the clinching match they'd likely check in toward the 500-to-1 range.

Then again, on a night nothing at all made sense for a sporting event in 2009, it was kind of fitting that the unlikeliest of players turned out to be the Hero of the Day.

And if you did see the match, it really was a microcosm of the entire 2009 junket rolled into one. The U.S. gave up the first goal and then rallied to take the lead. Then the team needed to hold on for dear life in the final 15 minutes when Honduras threw the kitchen sink at them.

While we all wanted to have qualification salted away a couple week ago, was it ever really in doubt? For the U.S. to down to Honduras, silence of a crowd and score with the most unlikeliest of candidates? That's a good job out of them.

Other stuff:

* Just a thought, but Media World or whatever that Brazilian company that usurped the rights is called, if this sort of issue ever arises again, you may want to offer a Pay-Per-View option. I'm just saying.

* Maybe I was hard on ESPN for screwing up some technical stuff on Saturday night around midnight. Still for all the warts, ESPN's production quality for a sporting event is light years ahead of anything else.

* Thankfully Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda decided not use David Suazo as a substitute, because the U.S. really couldn't defend him. Howard made his best save, throwing his arms up in the air to deflect his shot away.

* Apparently Popeyes is big in Honduras. Who knew?

* Very hard, due to the conditions, to give an accurate "he played well/he sucked" write-up. All that matters was the U.S. got the win on the road.

* That said, Michael Bradley showed some signs of life, including one of his patented long-range galloping shots, which sailed low and wide of the post.

* With everything in play last night, the injury to Clint Dempsey came off as a bit of a non-issue. (Again, hard for me to pass any judgment on Stuart Holden.)

* To quote a co-worker, "That's your problem", but what a letdown if you're Honduras Sunday morning. Even if Pavon makes the penalty and it ends 3-3, Honduras still had its work cut out for itself, needing to get a win at rival El Salvador and the U.S. doing something vs. Costa Rica. As it stands Los Catrachos are bound for that CONMEBOL Playoff game, unless the U.S. decides to send out its U-20 team Wednesday.

* We have a lot of time between now and Dec. 4 to discuss the importance of the draw for 2010. At this point, to think the U.S. would actually be seeded is a bit foolish. All the U.S. can really do is cross its fingers and hope it lucks into a group with either North Korea or the Bahrain/New Zealand winner and one of the African teams not named Ghana or Cote D'Ivoire. Then you could throw any UEFA or CONMEBOL team in there and the U.S. would have a reasonable chance to move on. Worst case scenario would be a team like Australia/South Korea, a Paraguay-type and a Euro power like Germany or Spain. Then we're back to 2006 all over again.

Oh, and I'd absolutely love, the U.S. lucking into a group with Switzerland.

* Not to be a hater, but Bradley proved to be a the right guy to guide the U.S. through qualification. I just still worry, in those three matches in South Africa he's the right guy to gameplan for those matches. As long as he realizes Casey might be able to catch lightning in a bottle vs. a team like Honduras, but perhaps not against a higher caliber opponent, we're okay.

So long as Donovan -- wherever he lands after the MLS season -- can carry his 2009 form into 2010, then the U.S. has a fighter's chance. For all the crap he's taken, Donovna has made the USMNT his team, and looks smart and assured inside its framework.

At this point, the U.S. team for 2010 seems pretty cut-and-dried. About the only things to pay attention to are if Edgar Castillo and or Jermaine Jones are worked into the team, as left back and central midfield seem like the only place with actual question marks.

Whether or not this a good thing or bad thing is open to debate. Would-be opponents certainly will have plenty of tape on the U.S, so they won't sneak up on anybody. All any opposing coach needs to do is dust off U.S. 2, Spain 0.

* Not to beat a dead horse, but the thing to watch between Oct. 11, 2009 and June 11, 2010 is the playing time for Jozy Altidore at Hull City. Last night we saw the U.S. get lucky with Casey scoring twice. For the U.S. to be an actual threat either Atidore, or hopefully Altidore and Charlie Davies both refine their game in Europe the next eight months and make the U.S. a team opponents will actually fear.

In the end:

For lack of a better word every single aspect from Saturday night was surreal, but in a bizarrely good way.

Only in U.S. soccer, folks.

Labels: 2010 world cup, bob bradley, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying

Well, final score:

Conor Casey 2, Inter-nets 0.

Seriously, how on earth is the one U.S. national team game that nobody could watch from the comforts of their living room turn out to be one of its best efforts, and most entertaining soccer games in a recent memory?

A more fully composed game break down Sunday morning, but really, wow. The U.S. fell down 1-0, rallied to win 3-2 and punched a ticket to the 2010 World Cup.

And Conor Casey scored not one, but two goals. Two goals from Conor Casey. Read that sentence. Think about it. Maybe read your favorite poem or Bible verse. Marinate a London Broil. Reflect. Accept.

Yep, Bob Bradley played a hunch and it worked.

Actually, from my best estimation the U.S. played one of its better games in recent memory on the road. Calm and composed they absorbed most of the Honduran pressure, but did give up two goals Julio Kings de Leon. (One via freekick on the edge of the penalty area, the other from a ill-fated foray off his line from Tim Howard.)

It would have ended 3-3 if not for a Carlos Pavon, yes the Carlos Pavon, missing an 86th minute penalty kick. Missed it? Wasn't even close. And then he missed an open header, too.

As much as Pavon is the goat in Honduras, keeper Noel Valladares played a hand in allowing all three U.S. goals. You got owned by Conor Casey. What more can be said? The Honduran team is quality, but even with a couple good stops, Valladares was shaky.(Valladares didn't even protest the first U.S. goal, so apparently Casey didn't pull a Lex Luger bionic elbow right in the face.)

Landon Donovan? Again the peerless leader for the U.S. Played a hand in both of Casey's goals and scored on a bending free kick. Maybe he's due for a major 2010.

After enduring this match, I wanted to take every bad thing I've ever said about ESPN back ...

Then I tuned into ESPNEWS as they broke away from "Tebow Watch 09" and a) saw Tommy Smyth b) read on the bottom line that the match was tied 0-0 at halftime and c) saw the "Gold Cup" graphic in the background.

John Skipper, your boys were asleep at the switch.

But ESPN redeemed itself a little by sending Bob Ley to Honduras and actually getting an interview on the field with Donovan. Well done.

Let's just say as my buddy Suppe said, "I don't think this closed circuit thing is going to be catching on any time soon."

(No undead little Japanese girl has clambered out of my television set, yet. So maybe I'm safe from actually watching this match. Check back with me in seven days.)

[Again more on the match, the fallout, the broadcast, why this posted is titled the way it is, and more Sunday morning at a more reasonable time of day. Perhaps every future game on the U.S. shouldn't be on cable television.]

Labels: conor casey, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying

If a soccer game falls down in the woods does it make a sound?

As outlined earlier in the week, when the U.S. travels to hostile Honduras Saturday night's for the penultimate 2010 CONCACAF World Cup qualifier it will have a nice 1982 vibe to it for the fact that it's only available in select closed circuit establishments. (And if it were 1982, a U.S. soccer match wouldn't be televised and the computer you're reading this on would be engaging the Russians in a game of nuclear chess.)

It's slightly insane that on the eve of the biggest, well, most important anyway U.S. national team game of 2009, that the major talking point is again the television aspect, or specifically a lack thereof. Remember in August and that whole mun2 snafu from Azteca? Yeah, I tried to expunge my mental records of that, too.

And to further add to the anonymity of the match, with a full slate of NCAA football (Tim Tebow watch!), coupled with the baseball playoffs and the NFL on Sunday, it's hard to imagine this game is even on the radar of anyone beyond the extreme soccer diehards.

So even though, by conservative margins, 95 percent of the people that want to see Saturday's qualifier won't be able to thanks to a greed of a Brazilian media company, it should serve as something as a final exam for Bob Bradley's men after a hectic, drama-filled 2009.

Through a marathon 19 matches this year we've seen the good U.S. (Spain, Confedrations Cup), the bad U.S. (Brazil, twice) and the inconsistent U.S. (pretty much every final round CONCACAF qualifier save the 2-0 win vs. Mexico that kicked it off way back in February).

And with that body of work, we're still essentially at square one for Bob Bradley's team. Is the U.S. any good? Are they a product of a weak, albeit improving CONCACAF region? Are they a so-so team with one or two gifted players? Are they slightly above average, but can become very good if they play well?

We really don't have any answers, so Saturday's match vs. Honduras -- the fourth vs. Los Catrachos this year -- serves as a end of the semester grade for a couple areas for the U.S.

With a win Saturday in Honduras, the U.S. automatically punches its ticket to South Africa next June, rendering next Wednesday's match vs. Costa Rica a moot point. Anything else, and it become a lot more muddled, so muddled that in fact U.S. Soccer has set up a "Scenario Generator" for all the permutations.

1. Can the U.S. win on the road?

Not that it matters too much, since this is the final road qualifier, but to this point the U.S. has lost at Costa Rica and Mexico, drawn El Salvador and beaten Trinidad, for four points out of a possible 12.

As a couple counterpoints, the U.S. did fare relatively well during the Confederations Cup on the neutral ground of South Africa and it's not as if the U.S. ever has much of a homefield advantage on American soil, anyway.

This is probably the least pressing issue for the immediate future, because unless the U.S. gets paired up with South Africa, it's hard to figure the crowd will be a factor at next year's World Cup.

If it matters the U.S. is 2-1-1 all-time in Honduras, but only one of those matches have come in the last 15 years. Honduras, though, is 8-0-0 at home in the 2010 qualifying cycle.

All that said, you really don't want to leave it to chance next week vs. Costa Rica, even at RFK Stadium. A bad bounce of the ball and perhaps its a flight to either Quito, Montevideo, Buenos Aires or even Caracas for a playoff with the fifth-place South American team.

Nobody wants that scenario, even with the possibility of press conferences starring Diego Maradona.

2. Can the U.S. avoid leaking early goals?

If there's been a trend in qualifying, the U.S. can let the opponent exploit the defense early. El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras have all stunned the U.S. with goals inside the first 20 minutes. The Honduras goal was especially stunning, with Clint Dempsey losing the ball at midfield in the midst of trying a dribbling trick inside the first five minutes at Chicago's Solider Field.

Saturday, in what figures to be as hostile as crowd as possible, what with a military coup in the country and all, the U.S. can't afford to fall behind early. I'm never sure how much a crowd factors into a game, but it Honduras gets on the board early, it could snowball pretty quickly. And by contrast, the longer the score stays 0-0, the more the pressure shifts to the Hondurans as the home crowd gets restless.

Face it, with all the negatively that's swirling around inside Honduras, the crowd wants a chance to erupt in a positive fashion, instead of worrying if the disposed Prime Minister is safe inside the Brazilian embassy.

And he longer the U.S. can keep the police with those clear-plastic riot shields idle, the better.

In any event, if the U.S. comes out and forces the issue, it can't get caught out too much on defense. Honduras has guys -- Carlo Costly, David Sauzo (finally back from injury) -- who can pounce and make the U.S. pay for sloppy passes between the defense and midfield.

3. Can the U.S. hold a lead?

In two huge games -- the Confederations Cup final vs. Brazil and the August qualifier at Azteca vs. Mexico -- the U.S. got ahead quick, only to cough up the lead, slowly vs. Brazil, quickly vs. Mexico.

This has become a relatively new trend, since under Bradley the U.S. is 21-2-2 when leading at the half and 10-8-2 when tied at the half.

One of the huge differences between club and international soccer is the style of play here. While its generally frowned upon, hunkering down or at least playing smarter with the lead isn't such a bad idea on the international stage. That's not to say the U.S. ought to pull a page of Pat Buchanan's Big Book of Conservatism or something from the pages of 1991 Serie A, but knowing how to play from in front, i.e. when to absorb and when to attack is something the U.S. should with sufficient coaching be able to muster.

If there's one thing we haven't seen very much from the U.S. in 2009, it's playing smart. Far too often the U.S. seems stuck between gears deciding whether or not it should attack or defend. Indecision, it would seem, is the real killer.

Oh high-risk, low-reward slide tackles which lead to the referee digging into his pocket? Those don't help.

Miscellany:

* The biggest issue that can arise from this match (aside from, you know, qualifying) is the U.S. is forced into a Plan B due to Clint Dempsey's injured shoulder last week on Fulham duty at West Ham. A lot of fans have been calling for Deuce's benching, justifiably. Now we'll get to see what a Clint-less U.S. lineup looks like, whether it be Stuart Holden, Benny Feilhaber or even Jose Torres getting the starting nod.

For certain, it'll be a lot less creative, but much more structured, organized and balanced. Though we've all seen Dempsey loping along, dancing to his own tune -- he does have a knack for scoring. Without him in the lineup, where beside Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan or maybe Michael Bradley can the U.S. find a goal?

As I've said, Dempsey's best role is more a free-roaming spot as a forward or just behind the forwards. For whatever the reason, playing him on the right midfield is hammering a square peg into a round hole to the detriment of the greater collective. To make a comparison, like the free-style rapper he fancies himself, perhaps Dempsey is better popping up on guest tracks, then trying to fill out 16 solid songs for a full album himself, sort of like Cappadonna on a Wu Tang release.

Basically if the U.S. scores and or gets a result, it'll be a lot easier to justify challenging Dempsey's automatic starting spot.

If they falter and can't find the net, Bob Bradley will have cause to go back to the well, even if ends up burning him next year.

* Pressure? What pressure?

Not to go all Jose Mourinho on you all, but I don't think the U.S. needs to go into this game tight or on eggshells. Yes, they can qualify with a win, but the onus is squarely on Honduras, which definitely needs a win to harbor any thoughts of automatic qualification.

When you throw in the political turbulence and the chance to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1982, Honduras has a lot more hanging over their heads than the U.S., which has the built-in excuse of never playing well in Central America.

The Honduran crowd wants an excuse to celebrate and this likely is on the players' minds (not to mention the safety of their families). They'll likely come out flying, looking for a quick K.O.-- any goal scorer is an immediate national hero.

The U.S. needs to be ready to exploit this over-eagerness.

The longer the game stays 0-0, the more I think it favors the U.S.

* More on him further down, but with the Premier League duo of Wilson Palacios and Hendry Thomas likely starting in the middle for Honduras, Bradley the Younger is going to need to step up his game and certainly can't afford any rash slide/two-foot tackles. (Not that it means anything, but Honduras should have three week-to-week Premier League starters in its lineup: Palacios, Hendry and Maynor Figueroa compared to the U.S.'s one: keeper Tim Howard.)

* Charlie Davies is talking a big game -- telling Reuters the U.S. has the juice to win a World Cup. While the bravado is nice and atypical of U.S. national teamers, let's qualify first. No?

* Huge issue to watch, as it pertains to U.S. fitness. The weather report for San Pedro Sulas for Saturday is 93 degrees with scattered thunderstorms. The U.S. looked gassed in the second half at Mexico and it wasn't nearly as warm. One good thing, is that Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano is located roughly at sea level on the norther Honduran coast.

* Oguchi Onyweu was played, what, 20 minutes of first-team soccer for AC Milan since his summer transfer? Anyone that thinks they can predict how he'll fare in live-action Saturday is frankly smarter than me.

One thing I will say, if Onyewu gets beaten for a goal on defense it probably won't have to do with his inactivity in Italy. We've seen him get beat when he was regularly starting at Standard Liege, too.

What the U.S. needs to focus on is communication between the central defenders (Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra) and the midfield, because lately the opposition has been able to exploit a lot of gaps. And it wouldn't hurt if Tim Howard chilled out and stopped yelling at anyone within earshot.

* If I'm Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda and I see Jonathon Bornstein in the starting XI, I'm channeling my inner Lisa Simpson (From "Lisa On Ice") and yelling the Spanish equivalent of "Hack the bone, hack the bone!"

* One free tip to Bob Bradley -- set pieces, set pieces, set pieces.

* Altidore, Bocanegra, Conor Casey, Steve Cherundolo, Donovan, Benny Feilhaber and Frankie Hejduk all would miss the Costa Rica match with a yellow card on Sunday.

* It's hard to write this much about the U.S. without mentioning Landon Donovan specifically, but he's been so consistently brilliant lately he's probably the only given (assuming he doesn't contract another bout of H1N1) for the U.S.

* When you factor in the political situation, it's hard to figure the U.S. gets any help from the officials.

* Hey, Jack Warner, why not try to figure out something about ridiculous television rights scenarios instead of tweaking England's World Cup bid. Oh wait, you love holding people up for cash.

Lineup guess:

The Dempsey injury throws a wrinkle into the mix, but otherwise this should be a pretty straight-forward lineup.

GK -- Howard

DEF -- Cherundolo -- Onyewu -- Bocanegra -- Hejduk

MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Clark -- Donovan

FOR -- Davies -- Altidore

Again, this would have been a good match for Jose Torres to play in the center of the park and help revive the dormant U.S. possession game. Since his appearances have been so limited it's hard to imagine he'd earn a starting nod over the inconsistent Clark, who can at least throw his body around.

At the outside backs it's really a coin flip between Steve Cherundolo and Jonathon Spector at right and Frankie Hejduk and Jonathon Bornstein at left. Considering Stuart Holden likely starts on the right in place of Dempsey, Bradley probably goes with the veteran experience of Cherundolo, who's a little steadier two-ways than Spector, plus Holden is an adequate crosser of the ball, which seems to be Spector's best asset.

As far as any player goes, the onus is squarely on Michael Bradley, who hasn't played very well in the U.S. shirt as of late and is seeing sporadic playing time at Borussia Mönchengladbach due to a spat with the coach. Of course, we still don't really know what his function is in the current setup. A box-to-box player? An enforcer? A disruptor? He's certainly not an outlet to relieve pressure.

In some of the pre-World Cup friendlies, I'd love to see Bob Bradley adopt perhaps a more classic 'diamond' midfield and perhaps paring either Dempsey or Michael Bradley at the top of the diamond, with a guy like Torres, or even Maurice Edu or Jermaine Jones (we'll see) behind them. When you have an Onyewu anchoring the back line, you don't so much need a Makalele-type shielding the defense. Against a good team the U.S. needs some central midfielders that can control the ball and then make a smart pass.

Closing thought:

Trying to predict the U.S. team is about as useful as playing Lotto numbers. When you write them off, they respond. When you think they should cruise, they struggle to find a result.

With Saturday's game against Honduras at the very least the U.S. knows what's sitting at the other end of the 90 minutes -- a trip to South Africa next year or 90 minutes of monumental pressure next week against Costa Rica.

We'll see if the U.S. has smartened up and learned its lesson.

For whatever it's worth, since the a) 99 percent of Americans don't even know this match is taking place and b) 98 percent of U.S. fans won't be able to see it, the U.S. just might play to its atypical form and rise to the occasion.

Above all, the question is raised, if an American sporting event is played in 2009 and it's not readily available on television, does it still count in the digital age?

Labels: bob bradley, concacaf, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying