Let's start today in a semi-strange place -- the corner flag at The Emirates.
That's where, as it turned out, a camera was hurled in the direction of Frank Lampard, which is weird because a) why would you throw a digital camera away and b) why was the match official so concerned that he had to run over, pick it up and ferry it over to the fourth official?
Allow this to be my roundabout way of saying the big Arsenal/Chelsea match ended up fizzling, unless you're flying the Blue Flag.
In the wake of Chelsea's ho-hum 3-0 win, it now sits five points clear of second-place Manchester United and a whopping 11 ahead of Arsenal. You don't need me to decode that math, because barring some unforeseen malady, Chelsea should be able to run away and hide with the league.
No need, either, to talk too much about Chelsea, which played like it does about 95 percent of the time. The Blues absorbed the early pressure from the Gunners then snatched a typical Didier Drobga goal just before the half. And when Thomas Vermaelen made an awkward touch for an own-goal right before the half, it was over.
Thank you, come again.
And what to say of Arsenal?
Even with all the first half possession, Arsenal just didn't seem "right" on Sunday. Andrey Arshavin had plenty of chances, but either he or a teammate couldn't get the final touch to trouble Petr Cech.
The easy thing to say about Arsenal's struggles is the loss of Robin van Persie and to a much lesser extent Nicklas Bendtner. In their wake, Arsene Wenger is forced to play Arshavin in a much more advanced role and move Eduardo and Carlos Vela into prominent roles. Nothing wrong with those two players, but they're primarily goal-scorers, while van Persie -- now out until May -- was a truly dynamic player around the entire 18-yard box, including set pieces.
Is an injury to one player the reason a once promising season has run off the rails for Arsenal? Obviously not, but it's not helping. Still, the Gunners can lean on this injury excuse the rest of the way. They do have enough players, though Wenger might be forced to change his gameplan, since Eduardo and Vela seem more suited playing in a 4-4-2 as opposed to as entire a target or wide player in a 4-3-3.
The most striking image from Sunday, camera tossing aside, was that Chelsea looked so much bigger and stronger in comparsion to Arsenal. Guys like Denilson, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott looked downright puny compared to the guys in Blue.
More than anything Sunday confirmed pretty much what we already knew. Chelsea are the clear No. 1 team in the league while Arsenal, yet again, remains a work in progress.
Here, you take it:
The race for positions No. 3 and No. 4 in the Premier League might give us something to pay attention to, assuming Chelsea manages to keep Manchester United at arms length for the title.
Throw Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City in a hat and pull two names. That's what might happen by the middle of May.
Commenter Lokibeat made this point on Friday and its a brilliant one. None of these five teams has shown any hint of consistency.
In August Manchester City looked like one of the best teams in the world, now they're coughing up 1-0 late leads at home to Hull City -- en route to a record-setting seven-straight draw. (I'd love to read how statistically improbable this is.)
Spurs hit for nine goals in one game, they need a late Mathew Dawson equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw with fellow "contenders" Aston Villa.
As for Villa? I don't want to call them vultures, but Martin O'Neill's men figure to linger around the top six of the table all season and could be there to pounce if the other teams all falter.
Arsenal? Again, the Gunners can demolish Wolves 4-0, then go scoreless in its next two league matches, with seemingly all their mojo and juice sucked out by RvP's ankle injury.
Should I even write Liverpool? Is beating rival Everton 2-0 another reason for Reds' fans to get sucked into believing this is still a good team? Astonishingly, Liverpool has five losses, yet is only two points off a Champions League spot. (Full disclosure, I didn't get to bed until super late Saturday night and bagged the 8:30 a.m. Merseyside Derby kickoff. No way I'd be able keep my eyelids open through it. Every account labeled it "lucky". Any care to offer anything new?)
To use a horse-racing analogy, these teams figure to remained bunched up together, so whichever two get hot and hit a nice vein of form in April/May might gallop off with the coveted Champions League spots. All it might take is six good weeks to do it.
Let's just recalibrate our expectations. These teams are all going to drop points, so it when Liverpool draws a match at home to Birmingham City, it's not a big deal. It's par for the course in 2009-10.
The Wolf:
You really have to hate sports to not like Jimmy Bullard.
That goal celebration Saturday vs. Manchester City, where he replicated manager Phil Brown's halftime on-field dressing down of his team last season? Inspired brilliance.
And pretty damn ballsy.
For all the talk of the axe falling on Brown's head, the players must have some affection for him. You don't mock a coach that overtly if you don't like him. Either that, or Brown's got the best sense of humor in the world.
Lost in the theatrics is that Bullard is doing his best to pull the Tigers up by his scruff and keep them from the relegation trap door all by himself. He pulled this act a couple years ago at Fulham.
So for all this smiles and jokes, Bullard is forging himself as the ultimate relegation-fixer in the Premier League. That's no laughing matter.
Rooney, Rooney, Rooney
We have a Wayne Rooney sighting. Three goals at Fratton Park -- albeit two from the penalty spot.
Strange game, that United 4-1 win. Three penalties, including a harsh decision against Nemanja Vidic for shirt-pulling.
United still has a couple issues to sort out -- the defense is still shaky and they seem lost at times with Ryan Giggs making plays.
Consider this, here's the Red Devil's league schedule for the next two months: at West Ham; v. Aston Villa; v. Wolves; at Fulham; at Hull City; at Birmingham; v. Burnley; v. Hull City; at Arsenal.
If United are going to chase Chelsea, it's going to be when it fattens up for the winter on the Premier League also-rans and minnows. Hope Sir Alex has some baggy sweatpants for his engorged waistline.
Other stuff:
I didn't know England had hurricanes. Every match this weekend looked like it was being played while Noah was building an ark. ... The way Aston Villa/Spurs started, how did it only end up 1-1? ... The old saying in baseball is that "momentum is only the next day's starting pitcher." Then how about Wigan bouncing back from that 9-1 shellacking last weekend to beat Sunderland 1-0? ... Not to be a doomsayer, but Everton ought to tread carefully. ... Fulham back to 5-4-5 on the season and 10th in the table. Sounds about right, right? ... Should we be concerned that Hull City seems to be scoring all their goals without Jozy Altidore on the field, and or contributing on the scoresheet? ... Andy Johnson will be a out a long spell for Fulham. Does that open the door for Eddie Johnson? ... Brad Freidel still has it. That is all. ... West Ham's goal-difference is only -2, but they're just two points clear of the drop zone. Strange, as Burnley, Blackburn, Wigan and Hull are all in dougle-digits negative but are ahead of West Ham. Then again, the Irons have give up six goals in the last two weeks to Hull and Burnley.
Fantasy Team O' the week:
Tom Bache's Valdez Oilers take top honors, narrowly, with 64 points thanks to Rooney, Giggs and Emiliano Insua.
That's where, as it turned out, a camera was hurled in the direction of Frank Lampard, which is weird because a) why would you throw a digital camera away and b) why was the match official so concerned that he had to run over, pick it up and ferry it over to the fourth official?
Allow this to be my roundabout way of saying the big Arsenal/Chelsea match ended up fizzling, unless you're flying the Blue Flag.
In the wake of Chelsea's ho-hum 3-0 win, it now sits five points clear of second-place Manchester United and a whopping 11 ahead of Arsenal. You don't need me to decode that math, because barring some unforeseen malady, Chelsea should be able to run away and hide with the league.
No need, either, to talk too much about Chelsea, which played like it does about 95 percent of the time. The Blues absorbed the early pressure from the Gunners then snatched a typical Didier Drobga goal just before the half. And when Thomas Vermaelen made an awkward touch for an own-goal right before the half, it was over.
Thank you, come again.
And what to say of Arsenal?
Even with all the first half possession, Arsenal just didn't seem "right" on Sunday. Andrey Arshavin had plenty of chances, but either he or a teammate couldn't get the final touch to trouble Petr Cech.
The easy thing to say about Arsenal's struggles is the loss of Robin van Persie and to a much lesser extent Nicklas Bendtner. In their wake, Arsene Wenger is forced to play Arshavin in a much more advanced role and move Eduardo and Carlos Vela into prominent roles. Nothing wrong with those two players, but they're primarily goal-scorers, while van Persie -- now out until May -- was a truly dynamic player around the entire 18-yard box, including set pieces.
Is an injury to one player the reason a once promising season has run off the rails for Arsenal? Obviously not, but it's not helping. Still, the Gunners can lean on this injury excuse the rest of the way. They do have enough players, though Wenger might be forced to change his gameplan, since Eduardo and Vela seem more suited playing in a 4-4-2 as opposed to as entire a target or wide player in a 4-3-3.
The most striking image from Sunday, camera tossing aside, was that Chelsea looked so much bigger and stronger in comparsion to Arsenal. Guys like Denilson, Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott looked downright puny compared to the guys in Blue.
More than anything Sunday confirmed pretty much what we already knew. Chelsea are the clear No. 1 team in the league while Arsenal, yet again, remains a work in progress.
Here, you take it:
The race for positions No. 3 and No. 4 in the Premier League might give us something to pay attention to, assuming Chelsea manages to keep Manchester United at arms length for the title.
Throw Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City in a hat and pull two names. That's what might happen by the middle of May.
Commenter Lokibeat made this point on Friday and its a brilliant one. None of these five teams has shown any hint of consistency.
In August Manchester City looked like one of the best teams in the world, now they're coughing up 1-0 late leads at home to Hull City -- en route to a record-setting seven-straight draw. (I'd love to read how statistically improbable this is.)
Spurs hit for nine goals in one game, they need a late Mathew Dawson equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw with fellow "contenders" Aston Villa.
As for Villa? I don't want to call them vultures, but Martin O'Neill's men figure to linger around the top six of the table all season and could be there to pounce if the other teams all falter.
Arsenal? Again, the Gunners can demolish Wolves 4-0, then go scoreless in its next two league matches, with seemingly all their mojo and juice sucked out by RvP's ankle injury.
Should I even write Liverpool? Is beating rival Everton 2-0 another reason for Reds' fans to get sucked into believing this is still a good team? Astonishingly, Liverpool has five losses, yet is only two points off a Champions League spot. (Full disclosure, I didn't get to bed until super late Saturday night and bagged the 8:30 a.m. Merseyside Derby kickoff. No way I'd be able keep my eyelids open through it. Every account labeled it "lucky". Any care to offer anything new?)
To use a horse-racing analogy, these teams figure to remained bunched up together, so whichever two get hot and hit a nice vein of form in April/May might gallop off with the coveted Champions League spots. All it might take is six good weeks to do it.
Let's just recalibrate our expectations. These teams are all going to drop points, so it when Liverpool draws a match at home to Birmingham City, it's not a big deal. It's par for the course in 2009-10.
The Wolf:
You really have to hate sports to not like Jimmy Bullard.
That goal celebration Saturday vs. Manchester City, where he replicated manager Phil Brown's halftime on-field dressing down of his team last season? Inspired brilliance.
And pretty damn ballsy.
For all the talk of the axe falling on Brown's head, the players must have some affection for him. You don't mock a coach that overtly if you don't like him. Either that, or Brown's got the best sense of humor in the world.
Lost in the theatrics is that Bullard is doing his best to pull the Tigers up by his scruff and keep them from the relegation trap door all by himself. He pulled this act a couple years ago at Fulham.
So for all this smiles and jokes, Bullard is forging himself as the ultimate relegation-fixer in the Premier League. That's no laughing matter.
Rooney, Rooney, Rooney
We have a Wayne Rooney sighting. Three goals at Fratton Park -- albeit two from the penalty spot.
Strange game, that United 4-1 win. Three penalties, including a harsh decision against Nemanja Vidic for shirt-pulling.
United still has a couple issues to sort out -- the defense is still shaky and they seem lost at times with Ryan Giggs making plays.
Consider this, here's the Red Devil's league schedule for the next two months: at West Ham; v. Aston Villa; v. Wolves; at Fulham; at Hull City; at Birmingham; v. Burnley; v. Hull City; at Arsenal.
If United are going to chase Chelsea, it's going to be when it fattens up for the winter on the Premier League also-rans and minnows. Hope Sir Alex has some baggy sweatpants for his engorged waistline.
Other stuff:
I didn't know England had hurricanes. Every match this weekend looked like it was being played while Noah was building an ark. ... The way Aston Villa/Spurs started, how did it only end up 1-1? ... The old saying in baseball is that "momentum is only the next day's starting pitcher." Then how about Wigan bouncing back from that 9-1 shellacking last weekend to beat Sunderland 1-0? ... Not to be a doomsayer, but Everton ought to tread carefully. ... Fulham back to 5-4-5 on the season and 10th in the table. Sounds about right, right? ... Should we be concerned that Hull City seems to be scoring all their goals without Jozy Altidore on the field, and or contributing on the scoresheet? ... Andy Johnson will be a out a long spell for Fulham. Does that open the door for Eddie Johnson? ... Brad Freidel still has it. That is all. ... West Ham's goal-difference is only -2, but they're just two points clear of the drop zone. Strange, as Burnley, Blackburn, Wigan and Hull are all in dougle-digits negative but are ahead of West Ham. Then again, the Irons have give up six goals in the last two weeks to Hull and Burnley.
Fantasy Team O' the week:
Tom Bache's Valdez Oilers take top honors, narrowly, with 64 points thanks to Rooney, Giggs and Emiliano Insua.
Labels: Arsenal, Chelsea, Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer
Happy Thanksgiving.
As a somewhat patriotic American I feel fairly bad for everyone across Europe that doesn't get to experience the ultimate holiday on the calendar.
That said, it's probably a good thing England doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving even if the participants at the first Thanksgiving had trekked from Merry Old to Plymouth Rock, well, not counting Squanto. (Classic historical second-guess, maybe, just maybe Squanto might have wanted to think twice about teaching the Pilgrims the miracles of maize and pumpkins. Then again, who can fault him for being seduced by pale-faced Englishmen with silly hats? Those buckles do funny things to a man's mind.)
Oh right, who could conceivably play soccer a day or two after gorging on turkey and gravy?
With that in mind, a couple quick-hitters today to help the hangover. Next week when I have a little more time I'll write up some scenarios/thoughts on the up-coming World Cup draw.
* What can really be said about Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League? Is it a deceptively good thing, since now Rafa's men can focus on the Premier League? It would have been if Liverpool wasn't already 13 points in the rear view of Chelsea with five teams in between.
If this were an American pro league -- think the NBA -- Liverpool would be forgiven for punting the season by resting Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, especially in light of the fact their summer breaks will be shorter due to the World Cup in June. Yet, it's not America, so Liverpool needs to continue to push for a top four spot. Would missing the Champions League be the end of the world for the club? It almost happened in 2005, until UEFA made a new rule that defending champions have to be included in the tournament. (Dubious, no?)
As you know, my opinion is that Liverpool might need to bottom out completely if it's ever going to reestablish itself. Unfortunately the weight of expectations from the sustained success the club experienced in the 1970s and 80s, continue to be an anvil weighing down the club.
In short, Liverpool fans might need a program to recognize who's on the field when it parachutes into the UEFA League.
* At least Liverpool's knockout ensures that the Final Four of the Champions League won't be solely an English affair, which is a good thing in my book.
* For all the Manchester United haters, the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford to Besiktas was bad, but United are still on track to advance as long as they get a result vs. Wolfsburg on Dec. 8. Even with a loss to the Germans and if CSKA beats the Turks, it would finish in a three-way tie with all the clubs with 10 points. CSKA would have to beat Besiktas by at least two goals to overcome United's goal-difference. Tricky scenario, but it could happen.
* Didn't realize this until Wednesday, but the UEFA Champions League mix on DirecTV is beyond amazing.
* Landon Donovan missed a PK in the MLS final? Hope that doesn't further his move out the door to Europe this winter. (More thoughts on this next week.)
* Paul Hart fired. Avram Grant to the rescue? Did you ever think you'd read that sentence?
* Honestly, with my current pain in my right hand, I think I need a human placenta, or at least horse placenta treatment.
Saturday:
* Blackburn v. Stoke City -- Honestly, could you pick apart these two teams? If they traded uniforms, would there be much difference? ... Blackburn 1, Stoke City 1
* Fulham v. Bolton -- Another one. Swap the white jerseys and how to tell the difference? Neither team is exactly lighting the world on fire this season. (Clint Dempsey did score vs. Blackburn on Wednesday.) ... Fulham 2, Bolton 1
* Manchester City v. Hull City -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) Wow. Apparently Hull City players must really love Phil Brown, because they are finally showing some signs of life after his firing seemed eminent. Having said that, Manchester City is due for a win. At home they get it. As it stands, the Sky Blues are the league's biggest underachievers at the moment. Doubt they're very proud of it either. ... Manchester City 2, Hull City 0
* Portsmouth v. Manchester United -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) Sticking with the Thanksgiving theme, Manchester United knows how to feast on the bottom feeders. Having said that, Portsmouth has given United trouble the past couple seasons. Still, can't see Sir Alex allowing his team to drop points here. Wayne Rooney seems due for a big weekend, doesn't he? ... Portsmouth 1, Manchester United 3
* West Ham United v. Burnley -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) These teams could conceivably trade jerseys and few would notice, what with the similar colors and all. West Ham has to figure out a way to win this game. At least last weekend at Hull they figured out a way to score without Carlton Cole. ... West Ham United 1, Burnley 1
* Wigan Athletic v. Sunderland -- Look, I want a refund after watching Wigan. It will be fascinating if that 9-1 shot-stomping at the hands of Spurs galvanizes Wigan, at least for one week. Steve Bruce won't have any sympathy for his former club. His current club, though, is in a clear lull. ... Wigan 1, Sunderland 1
* Aston Villa v. Tottenham -- Second most important match of the weekend. Will Spurs stay hot? Can Jermain Defoe continue his blazing form? Not sure how much an all-time performance carries over from week-to-week. Spurs certainly won't catch Aston Villa off guard. One thing to consider for this two clubs, currently fourth and fifth in the table. Aston Villa, we've seen, is a competent club that is decidedly above average. With performances like last weekend, Spurs might possibly be able to be very good. Villa is usually more consistent with Spurs being a rollercoaster week-to-week. Wonder which wins out in the long run. I'd give the nod to Spurs since Harry Redknapp seems to know what he's doing. ... Aston Villa 1, Spurs 2
Sunday:
* Wolves v. Birmingham City -- After the last couple weeks, Wolves are currently the worst team in the league. Birmingham is the perfect recipe to get back on track, but the Brum are decidedly not that terrible and have gotten better in recent weeks. ... Wolves 1, Birmingham City 1
* Everton v. Liverpool -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Wonder what goes down smoother for Liverpool fans? A Champions League knockout or a loss to Everton? Having said that, Everton...we keep waiting for the Toffees to hit their stride. I have a stinking suspicion that they'll finish closer to the drop zone than the top four when its said and done. Sometimes seasons just never come together and its looking that way for Everton. In this match, Liverpool's love for the dramatic probably helps. They'll find a way to pull Rafa's feet a few inches away from the fire. ... Everton 0, Liverpool 1
* Arsenal v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) This isn't hyperbole. This is the most important match going forward in the league. It's not unrealistic to think if Arsenal are to be taken seriously, it has to win this match, especially since its at the Emirates. If the Gunners don't slow down Chelsea, the Blues might be able to run away and hide with the league. (Arsenal is eight points behind, with a game-in-hand.)
I admit it, I thought Arsenal had turned the corner this season. I thought that the seeds planted by Arsene Wenger had finally borne fruit. It'll be fun to watch if the free-flowing one-touch football, that can marvel at times, can work against a powerful, discipline and downright talented Chelsea squad.
For Arsenal to have a chance, it needs Cesc Fabregas to be at his box-to-box best. Problem is, Chelsea doesn't need one guy to step up. The Blues have plenty of players that can carry the water.
One thing we still haven't seen is if William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen can marshall the Arsenal defense against a good team. They'll be under pressure all day from the Chelsea attack, which one way or another is going to get a goal.
There's a slight chance Arsenal has one of those days where everything is clicking and they run the doors off Chelsea, but with the critical injuries (RVP, Bendtner, etc.) I don't see how this happens. Even without Frank Lampard, Chelsea has enough depth in reserve to counter whatever action Arsenal brings to it.
Barring a miracle placenta cure for the Dutchman, it's hard to see a way Arsenal gets a result here. ... Arsenal 1, Chelsea 2
Last week: 8-4
Season: 69-59
As a somewhat patriotic American I feel fairly bad for everyone across Europe that doesn't get to experience the ultimate holiday on the calendar.
That said, it's probably a good thing England doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving even if the participants at the first Thanksgiving had trekked from Merry Old to Plymouth Rock, well, not counting Squanto. (Classic historical second-guess, maybe, just maybe Squanto might have wanted to think twice about teaching the Pilgrims the miracles of maize and pumpkins. Then again, who can fault him for being seduced by pale-faced Englishmen with silly hats? Those buckles do funny things to a man's mind.)
Oh right, who could conceivably play soccer a day or two after gorging on turkey and gravy?
With that in mind, a couple quick-hitters today to help the hangover. Next week when I have a little more time I'll write up some scenarios/thoughts on the up-coming World Cup draw.
* What can really be said about Liverpool crashing out of the Champions League? Is it a deceptively good thing, since now Rafa's men can focus on the Premier League? It would have been if Liverpool wasn't already 13 points in the rear view of Chelsea with five teams in between.
If this were an American pro league -- think the NBA -- Liverpool would be forgiven for punting the season by resting Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, especially in light of the fact their summer breaks will be shorter due to the World Cup in June. Yet, it's not America, so Liverpool needs to continue to push for a top four spot. Would missing the Champions League be the end of the world for the club? It almost happened in 2005, until UEFA made a new rule that defending champions have to be included in the tournament. (Dubious, no?)
As you know, my opinion is that Liverpool might need to bottom out completely if it's ever going to reestablish itself. Unfortunately the weight of expectations from the sustained success the club experienced in the 1970s and 80s, continue to be an anvil weighing down the club.
In short, Liverpool fans might need a program to recognize who's on the field when it parachutes into the UEFA League.
* At least Liverpool's knockout ensures that the Final Four of the Champions League won't be solely an English affair, which is a good thing in my book.
* For all the Manchester United haters, the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford to Besiktas was bad, but United are still on track to advance as long as they get a result vs. Wolfsburg on Dec. 8. Even with a loss to the Germans and if CSKA beats the Turks, it would finish in a three-way tie with all the clubs with 10 points. CSKA would have to beat Besiktas by at least two goals to overcome United's goal-difference. Tricky scenario, but it could happen.
* Didn't realize this until Wednesday, but the UEFA Champions League mix on DirecTV is beyond amazing.
* Landon Donovan missed a PK in the MLS final? Hope that doesn't further his move out the door to Europe this winter. (More thoughts on this next week.)
* Paul Hart fired. Avram Grant to the rescue? Did you ever think you'd read that sentence?
* Honestly, with my current pain in my right hand, I think I need a human placenta, or at least horse placenta treatment.
Saturday:
* Blackburn v. Stoke City -- Honestly, could you pick apart these two teams? If they traded uniforms, would there be much difference? ... Blackburn 1, Stoke City 1
* Fulham v. Bolton -- Another one. Swap the white jerseys and how to tell the difference? Neither team is exactly lighting the world on fire this season. (Clint Dempsey did score vs. Blackburn on Wednesday.) ... Fulham 2, Bolton 1
* Manchester City v. Hull City -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) Wow. Apparently Hull City players must really love Phil Brown, because they are finally showing some signs of life after his firing seemed eminent. Having said that, Manchester City is due for a win. At home they get it. As it stands, the Sky Blues are the league's biggest underachievers at the moment. Doubt they're very proud of it either. ... Manchester City 2, Hull City 0
* Portsmouth v. Manchester United -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) Sticking with the Thanksgiving theme, Manchester United knows how to feast on the bottom feeders. Having said that, Portsmouth has given United trouble the past couple seasons. Still, can't see Sir Alex allowing his team to drop points here. Wayne Rooney seems due for a big weekend, doesn't he? ... Portsmouth 1, Manchester United 3
* West Ham United v. Burnley -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) These teams could conceivably trade jerseys and few would notice, what with the similar colors and all. West Ham has to figure out a way to win this game. At least last weekend at Hull they figured out a way to score without Carlton Cole. ... West Ham United 1, Burnley 1
* Wigan Athletic v. Sunderland -- Look, I want a refund after watching Wigan. It will be fascinating if that 9-1 shot-stomping at the hands of Spurs galvanizes Wigan, at least for one week. Steve Bruce won't have any sympathy for his former club. His current club, though, is in a clear lull. ... Wigan 1, Sunderland 1
* Aston Villa v. Tottenham -- Second most important match of the weekend. Will Spurs stay hot? Can Jermain Defoe continue his blazing form? Not sure how much an all-time performance carries over from week-to-week. Spurs certainly won't catch Aston Villa off guard. One thing to consider for this two clubs, currently fourth and fifth in the table. Aston Villa, we've seen, is a competent club that is decidedly above average. With performances like last weekend, Spurs might possibly be able to be very good. Villa is usually more consistent with Spurs being a rollercoaster week-to-week. Wonder which wins out in the long run. I'd give the nod to Spurs since Harry Redknapp seems to know what he's doing. ... Aston Villa 1, Spurs 2
Sunday:
* Wolves v. Birmingham City -- After the last couple weeks, Wolves are currently the worst team in the league. Birmingham is the perfect recipe to get back on track, but the Brum are decidedly not that terrible and have gotten better in recent weeks. ... Wolves 1, Birmingham City 1
* Everton v. Liverpool -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Wonder what goes down smoother for Liverpool fans? A Champions League knockout or a loss to Everton? Having said that, Everton...we keep waiting for the Toffees to hit their stride. I have a stinking suspicion that they'll finish closer to the drop zone than the top four when its said and done. Sometimes seasons just never come together and its looking that way for Everton. In this match, Liverpool's love for the dramatic probably helps. They'll find a way to pull Rafa's feet a few inches away from the fire. ... Everton 0, Liverpool 1
* Arsenal v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) This isn't hyperbole. This is the most important match going forward in the league. It's not unrealistic to think if Arsenal are to be taken seriously, it has to win this match, especially since its at the Emirates. If the Gunners don't slow down Chelsea, the Blues might be able to run away and hide with the league. (Arsenal is eight points behind, with a game-in-hand.)
I admit it, I thought Arsenal had turned the corner this season. I thought that the seeds planted by Arsene Wenger had finally borne fruit. It'll be fun to watch if the free-flowing one-touch football, that can marvel at times, can work against a powerful, discipline and downright talented Chelsea squad.
For Arsenal to have a chance, it needs Cesc Fabregas to be at his box-to-box best. Problem is, Chelsea doesn't need one guy to step up. The Blues have plenty of players that can carry the water.
One thing we still haven't seen is if William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen can marshall the Arsenal defense against a good team. They'll be under pressure all day from the Chelsea attack, which one way or another is going to get a goal.
There's a slight chance Arsenal has one of those days where everything is clicking and they run the doors off Chelsea, but with the critical injuries (RVP, Bendtner, etc.) I don't see how this happens. Even without Frank Lampard, Chelsea has enough depth in reserve to counter whatever action Arsenal brings to it.
Barring a miracle placenta cure for the Dutchman, it's hard to see a way Arsenal gets a result here. ... Arsenal 1, Chelsea 2
Last week: 8-4
Season: 69-59
Labels: English Premier League, Prem Picks, Soccer
If you live on the West Coast of the U.S., is it even possible to tune in for those early a.m. Premier League kickoffs? Do people actually set their alarms for times like 4:30 in the morning (yes, it exists) to watch 22 men in some far off land kick the ball around?
It's hard enough for yours truly to simply rise for games that kick off prior to 10 a.m., yet every weekend I try to do it.
This, as you'd imagine, leads to a lot of times where I'm half asleep wondering if something actually happened or if I just dreamed it.
Tottenham 9, Wigan Athletic 1 is one of those scores that makes you do a double-take and wonder if you're in the land of wind and ghosts, or amongst the living -- and this game kicked off at around 10 a.m. local time.
You don't need me to tell you that this was borderline insanity transpiring at White Hart Lane -- saying nothing of Paul Sharner's half-blond dye job.
Admittedly, I was doing some other things at the time, but in the second half every time I looked up, Spurs were scoring. All that was missing was a gameshow buzzer to notify it. Ding, ding, ding.
Nine goals in a competitive match? Was this Australia playing the Soloman Islands in a pre-2010 Oceania World Cup qualifier?
Five goals goals in the match -- including a seven-minute hat trick -- Jermain Defoe channeled his best Adrian Peterson performance with a monster, all-time fantasy performance. (25 points if you're scoring at home.)
Did Wigan simply lay down? Can they recover from such a shit-stomping?
Can Tottenham build on this game? Or was it like seeing a unicorn riding a unicycle -- a true rarity?
All I know, is I wasn't sleeping for this one.
Kissing your sister:
Two games, two ends of the table, two unsatisfactory results.
Amazingly, Manchester City notched its sixth-straight league draw with its 2-2 result against Liverpool at Anfield.
A little later Saturday, bottom feeding Hull City and West Ham drew 3-3.
Suffice to say, all four teams might look back and rue these results come May.
Let's start with the rotting corpses of Hull and West Ham first. Not sure which team suffered a bigger stomach punch? West Ham was up 2-0, on the road in the first half only for Hull to go ahead 3-2 and then cough up a sloppy goal from a corner kick to split the spoils.
You have to figure both teams felt like they let two massive points slip through their fingers. With no teams -- even Portsmouth -- truly abysmal, two or three points will likely divide safety and relegation, so both these teams shot themselves in the foot.
Earlier, Liverpool and Manchester City each had chances to kickstart their top-four ambitions, but couldn't hold their nerves in the second half.
With Spurs showing they just might stick around and Aston Villa lingering, Liverpool's top-four birthright looks as in jeopardy as ever. At least Rafa's placenta-inspired treatments in Serbia helped Yossi Benayoun get on the field.
And City? Something isn't clicking inside the team. How Robinho and Steven Ireland -- even with his goal (which was offside anyway) on Saturday -- have become non-factors is bizarre. Good thing they bought Roque Santa Cruz.
Misfiring:
Turns out Arsenal missed Robin van Persie more than I thought. That's not the only reason the Gunners lost 1-0 at Sunderland Saturday, but it was a factor.
Obviously guys like Eduardo and Carlos Vela are good players, but not nearly as versatile or dangerous as the injured Dutchman.
Watching this one, Arsenal never founhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3997513d much of a flow, as for once Cesc Fabregas looked somewhat sluggish.
To be fair, Steve Bruce deserves some credit for a strong gameplan that bottled up the Arsenal attack, especially with a central defensive pairing of John Mensah and Paulo da Silva. Plus Sunderland was fortunate that ball fell right on Darren Bent's foot for the winning goal. This club could use a break lately.
Another "duh" statement coming, but this result takes a lot of the starch out of Sunday's Chelsea/Arsenal match. The Gunners are eight points behind the first-place Blues and probably need a result to at least make it interesting.
Other stuff:
Manchester United, zzzz, chugs along and takes care of Everton 3-0. Some things never change. Nice goal by Darren Fletcher, though. ... Chelsea/Wolves was about as lopsided a match as we'll ever find. That one should have finished 9-0. ... Stoke City 1, Portsmouth 0 was one of the worst Premier League games in a while. Dull as dish water, aside from Ricardo Fuller's game-winner. The most noteworthy aspect was the color analyst, who kept repeating how terrible the game was, at times just laughing at the sloppy play. Considering the announcers are usually major suck-ups, this was a welcome change. ... Good job by Blackburn, without Sam Allardyce, to win 2-0 at Bolton and charge up to 11th in the table. Meanwhile Bolton falls in the relegation zone. ... Apparently Carlos Tevez does not speak a word of English. Go figure. ... I'll say it one more time, can the ref's have the discretion to stop the clock on major injuries? It wouldn't kill anyone. Do we need the clock to run while Danny Agger is basically knocked unconscious and being strapped unto a backboard and carried off after taking an elbow to the head? ... Hell of a penalty kick by Kevin Prince-Boateng.
Fantasy team o' the week:
Colin Sebastian's Ctrl Alt Da Laet takes top honors with 69 points thanks to a well-rounded effort and sneaky nine points from Brum defender Roger Johnson.
Midweek picks:
Two games in the midweek, not sure if they're live. Probably not since they're up against the Champions League.
* Hull City 1, Everton 2
* Fulham 1, Blackburn 0
It's hard enough for yours truly to simply rise for games that kick off prior to 10 a.m., yet every weekend I try to do it.
This, as you'd imagine, leads to a lot of times where I'm half asleep wondering if something actually happened or if I just dreamed it.
Tottenham 9, Wigan Athletic 1 is one of those scores that makes you do a double-take and wonder if you're in the land of wind and ghosts, or amongst the living -- and this game kicked off at around 10 a.m. local time.
You don't need me to tell you that this was borderline insanity transpiring at White Hart Lane -- saying nothing of Paul Sharner's half-blond dye job.
Admittedly, I was doing some other things at the time, but in the second half every time I looked up, Spurs were scoring. All that was missing was a gameshow buzzer to notify it. Ding, ding, ding.
Nine goals in a competitive match? Was this Australia playing the Soloman Islands in a pre-2010 Oceania World Cup qualifier?
Five goals goals in the match -- including a seven-minute hat trick -- Jermain Defoe channeled his best Adrian Peterson performance with a monster, all-time fantasy performance. (25 points if you're scoring at home.)
Did Wigan simply lay down? Can they recover from such a shit-stomping?
Can Tottenham build on this game? Or was it like seeing a unicorn riding a unicycle -- a true rarity?
All I know, is I wasn't sleeping for this one.
Kissing your sister:
Two games, two ends of the table, two unsatisfactory results.
Amazingly, Manchester City notched its sixth-straight league draw with its 2-2 result against Liverpool at Anfield.
A little later Saturday, bottom feeding Hull City and West Ham drew 3-3.
Suffice to say, all four teams might look back and rue these results come May.
Let's start with the rotting corpses of Hull and West Ham first. Not sure which team suffered a bigger stomach punch? West Ham was up 2-0, on the road in the first half only for Hull to go ahead 3-2 and then cough up a sloppy goal from a corner kick to split the spoils.
You have to figure both teams felt like they let two massive points slip through their fingers. With no teams -- even Portsmouth -- truly abysmal, two or three points will likely divide safety and relegation, so both these teams shot themselves in the foot.
Earlier, Liverpool and Manchester City each had chances to kickstart their top-four ambitions, but couldn't hold their nerves in the second half.
With Spurs showing they just might stick around and Aston Villa lingering, Liverpool's top-four birthright looks as in jeopardy as ever. At least Rafa's placenta-inspired treatments in Serbia helped Yossi Benayoun get on the field.
And City? Something isn't clicking inside the team. How Robinho and Steven Ireland -- even with his goal (which was offside anyway) on Saturday -- have become non-factors is bizarre. Good thing they bought Roque Santa Cruz.
Misfiring:
Turns out Arsenal missed Robin van Persie more than I thought. That's not the only reason the Gunners lost 1-0 at Sunderland Saturday, but it was a factor.
Obviously guys like Eduardo and Carlos Vela are good players, but not nearly as versatile or dangerous as the injured Dutchman.
Watching this one, Arsenal never founhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3997513d much of a flow, as for once Cesc Fabregas looked somewhat sluggish.
To be fair, Steve Bruce deserves some credit for a strong gameplan that bottled up the Arsenal attack, especially with a central defensive pairing of John Mensah and Paulo da Silva. Plus Sunderland was fortunate that ball fell right on Darren Bent's foot for the winning goal. This club could use a break lately.
Another "duh" statement coming, but this result takes a lot of the starch out of Sunday's Chelsea/Arsenal match. The Gunners are eight points behind the first-place Blues and probably need a result to at least make it interesting.
Other stuff:
Manchester United, zzzz, chugs along and takes care of Everton 3-0. Some things never change. Nice goal by Darren Fletcher, though. ... Chelsea/Wolves was about as lopsided a match as we'll ever find. That one should have finished 9-0. ... Stoke City 1, Portsmouth 0 was one of the worst Premier League games in a while. Dull as dish water, aside from Ricardo Fuller's game-winner. The most noteworthy aspect was the color analyst, who kept repeating how terrible the game was, at times just laughing at the sloppy play. Considering the announcers are usually major suck-ups, this was a welcome change. ... Good job by Blackburn, without Sam Allardyce, to win 2-0 at Bolton and charge up to 11th in the table. Meanwhile Bolton falls in the relegation zone. ... Apparently Carlos Tevez does not speak a word of English. Go figure. ... I'll say it one more time, can the ref's have the discretion to stop the clock on major injuries? It wouldn't kill anyone. Do we need the clock to run while Danny Agger is basically knocked unconscious and being strapped unto a backboard and carried off after taking an elbow to the head? ... Hell of a penalty kick by Kevin Prince-Boateng.
Fantasy team o' the week:
Colin Sebastian's Ctrl Alt Da Laet takes top honors with 69 points thanks to a well-rounded effort and sneaky nine points from Brum defender Roger Johnson.
Midweek picks:
Two games in the midweek, not sure if they're live. Probably not since they're up against the Champions League.
* Hull City 1, Everton 2
* Fulham 1, Blackburn 0
Labels: English Premier League, Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer
Holy Zombie Jesus, did a lot go down since the last time the Premier League kicked off a fortnight ago.
First and foremost, my assumed title chase between Chelsea and Arsenal got thrown a wicked Barry Zito circa-2002 curveball. (Ok, for Brits, a wicked Googly.)
Chelsea is going to have to play at least a couple matches -- and almost certainly the Nov. 29 match with the Gooners -- without midfield fulcrum Frank Lampard. Chelsea without Frank the Tank? That's like trying to pull off a Seinfeld reunion without Jerry. Sure other guys (Drogba, Anelka, Essien, etc.) provide highlights, but like a quality rug, Lampard ties the Chelsea machine together.
Like Jerry, Lampard had the perfect sense of timing/being in the right place at the right time. Other guys might set it up, but those two knock them down. Throw in a bad haircut scenario, too.
It doesn't help matters than the already width-deprived Blues are also without Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa. (Factor in the African Cup of Nations and Chelsea is suddenly teetering.)
The lack of Lampard is a bigger loss than Arsenal missing Robin van Persie. Sure RVP had been playing out of his gourd this year, but it's almost expected that the Dutch ace is going to miss some time in a given year. The guys bones are made out of glass.
Don't weep for Arsene Wenger just yet, though. It's not like he doesn't have Andrey Arshavin and Eduardo in reserve to step in and replace van Persie and Nic Bendtner.
I'll probably write about this one of these Fridays, but what is it about soccer that soooooooooooooo (see, emphasis) guys end up getting hurt during the course of a season? Do they have physical therapy in Europe? It just seems like if a guy nicks his foot he's out a standard six-to-eight weeks, minimum.
Anyway, here are a couple other Twitter-y type bullet thoughts to chew on before picking the games....
* What is it with French players lately? Thierry Henry's already infamous handball certainly took the focus away from David Ngog's "shameful" dive against Birmingham last Monday. Basically everyone hates the French, is what it seems to boil down to. I'm not saying I agree with it, it's just the perception.
Just watch this incident galvanize the notoriously disparate French team. Maybe they'll rally around the fact they nearly the entire globe will raise a cocked eyebrow about the fact they're in the World Cup finals.
* By the same token, Ireland, you lost. Sure it sucks, but you lost. The game is over. Yes, Henry admitted he used his hands, but it happened. Stamping your feet like an upset kid and demanding a replay of the match isn't going to happen. Crappy decisions by the officials is, unfortunately, part of sports. It's the human element. Do we really want robots and sensors and what-have-you deciding the games we care about? Think about it before answering.
* Don Garber probably has an answer, but the cranky Mike Francesa part of my personality wonders why on earth MLS would schedule its championship game for an 8:30 p.m. start on a Sunday night? Perhaps it was the only time it could get clearance on ESPN during its non-stop, incessant college basketball games. Then again, is it worse than going up with a midday NFL game?
* Wondering if showering Landon Donovan will the MLS MVP award will deter him from dipping his toes into Europe in 2010? As a U.S. fan, this might be the worst thing for him at this point, which seems crazy, but do we need Donovan to cram in four, five months in Europe right before a World Cup. He's made a leap from the 2006 version of himself already. Let's just keep him happy and healthy ahead of South Africa. Trying to crack a lineup with a new club in Europe? Does he or the U.S. team need that headache in a World Cup season?
* The Guus Hiddink watch is officially on. I'll leave it at that.
* Should I feel bad that I played an online match in "FIFA 10" and my opponent chose the USMNT, so I picked Mexico and won in overtime thanks to a hat trick by Guille Franco. I'm very conflicted. Oh well.
* My goodness, imagine if Yugoslavia never broke apart in the wake of the fall of communism and Marshall Tito?
Imagine what kind of a national team you'd have with Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia lumped together?
Who wouldn't want this possible starting XI, which I threw together based on form, injuries, etic as of Nov. 19, 2009, so no Luka Modric:
GK -- Handanovič (SLV)
DEF -- Ivanovic (SRB) -- Vidic (SRB) -- Corluka (CRO) -- Pranjcic(CRO)
MID -- Kranjčar (CRO) -- Misimović (BOS) -- Stankovic (SRB) -- Srna (CRO)
FOR -- Džeko (BOS) -- Novakovič (SLV)
That's a pretty nice offensive little team right there. Guess it would be impossible to factor in if they could get along. Maybe we could get Hiddink to coach it.
* After those two miserable friendlies, the USMNT better find a way to bribe Sepp Blatter (what, this doesn't happen?) and land in a World Cup group with New Zealand, North Korea or South Africa.
With the final 32-nation field complete, the one trend to notice is the overall strength of the African countries, sans the host. If there's a weaker group, it might be Asia. I don't put too much stock in Japan and or Australia. The U.S. would fare a lot better getting lumped in with an Asian team as opposed to African.
We'll obviously discuss this a lot more in the next two weeks.
Let's see if David Stern is available to pull the U.S. ball, at least.
Saturday:
* Liverpool v. Manchester City -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.) No Torres or Yossi. A questionable strength Gerrard? No, it doesn't look good for Liverpool. That said, City has fallen into a similar malaise, so this is a huge game in the race for fourth place. Liverpool -- at Anfield -- is simply due a strong performance, especially with what figures to be a tired City team with players returning from internationals. ... Liverpool 2, City 1
* Birmingham City v. Fulham -- Brum will have a lot of matches like these, needing three points at home to gain some breathing room. Maybe Carson Yeung's amazing fur coat will serve as something of a good-luck charm. David Putty would have been proud. Dr. Zaius indeed. Viva Chucho! ... Brum 1, Fulham 0
* Burnley v. Aston Villa -- Remember when "movie star" Dwayne Johnson was the wrestler known as "The Rock"? Yeah, it happened.Now he's starring in Disney comedies. Crazy world. Well, ol' Burnley would gain the Rock's (and by proxy the N.O.D.'s) approval since they "know their role." From the Aston Villa perspective, they haven't beaten Burnley in the league since 1966. Now you can sleep easy tonight. That's the same year "Light My Fire" was released by The Doors. ... Burnley 1, Aston Villa 1
* Chelsea v. Wolves -- (Live, Setana 10 a.m.) Last time, Wolves vs. Arsenal was one of the most non-competitive matches in the Premier League not featuring Derby County I've ever seen. ... And that was at home. Chelsea doesn't know the word mercy, even without Lamps. ... Chelsea 3, Wolves 0
* Hull City v. West Ham United -- Maybe Hull City is pointed in the right direction. The Tigers haven't allowed more than two goals in a match since Sept. 26. West Ham? Though Gianfranco Zola's team was pointed in the right direction. Maybe Katy Perry's Irons inspired brassiere. That ought to at least make some kind of "point." Hi-oh!(Sorry for the gutter humor, couldn't resist.) ... Hull City 1, West Ham 1
* Sunderland v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) I do know this, I'm adding Arshavin to my fantasy team. ... Sunderland 1, Arsenal 2
* Manchester United v. Everton -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Hey, whaddya know? Perhaps all the problems swirling around Chelsea and Arsenal open the door back up for boring ol' United? I do know that Wayne Rooney is apparently very popular in both Egypt and Slovenia, at least in television ads. Guess looks -- or brains -- aren't everything. Two pertinent facts on this one -- United haven't dropped points from a winning position this season and more importantly, the Toffees have only one win vs. United in their last 26 league meetings. ... United 2, Everton 0
Sunday:
* Bolton v. Blackburn -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Pass. ... Bolton 1, Blackburn 0
* Tottenham v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, Fox Sports en Espanol, 10 a.m.) Spurs need the three points, but Wigan isn't going to roll over and give it to them. Maybe a pissed off Robbie Keane shows up and makes the difference. ... Spurs 2, Wigan 1
* Stoke City v. Portsmouth -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Kind of funny when you look at it, Stoke City has only two more wins (4) than last-place Portsmouth, which despite nine losses is only four points away from the safety zone. Portsmouth has looked frisky in recent weeks, but on the road against a good defensive team like Stoke isn't a good recipe for them, that is unless Thomas Sorensam decides to give away a goal like he did for Denmark vs. the U.S. on Wednesday. ... Stoke City 1, Portsmouth 0
Last time: 4-6
Season: 61-55
First and foremost, my assumed title chase between Chelsea and Arsenal got thrown a wicked Barry Zito circa-2002 curveball. (Ok, for Brits, a wicked Googly.)
Chelsea is going to have to play at least a couple matches -- and almost certainly the Nov. 29 match with the Gooners -- without midfield fulcrum Frank Lampard. Chelsea without Frank the Tank? That's like trying to pull off a Seinfeld reunion without Jerry. Sure other guys (Drogba, Anelka, Essien, etc.) provide highlights, but like a quality rug, Lampard ties the Chelsea machine together.
Like Jerry, Lampard had the perfect sense of timing/being in the right place at the right time. Other guys might set it up, but those two knock them down. Throw in a bad haircut scenario, too.
It doesn't help matters than the already width-deprived Blues are also without Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa. (Factor in the African Cup of Nations and Chelsea is suddenly teetering.)
The lack of Lampard is a bigger loss than Arsenal missing Robin van Persie. Sure RVP had been playing out of his gourd this year, but it's almost expected that the Dutch ace is going to miss some time in a given year. The guys bones are made out of glass.
Don't weep for Arsene Wenger just yet, though. It's not like he doesn't have Andrey Arshavin and Eduardo in reserve to step in and replace van Persie and Nic Bendtner.
I'll probably write about this one of these Fridays, but what is it about soccer that soooooooooooooo (see, emphasis) guys end up getting hurt during the course of a season? Do they have physical therapy in Europe? It just seems like if a guy nicks his foot he's out a standard six-to-eight weeks, minimum.
Anyway, here are a couple other Twitter-y type bullet thoughts to chew on before picking the games....
* What is it with French players lately? Thierry Henry's already infamous handball certainly took the focus away from David Ngog's "shameful" dive against Birmingham last Monday. Basically everyone hates the French, is what it seems to boil down to. I'm not saying I agree with it, it's just the perception.
Just watch this incident galvanize the notoriously disparate French team. Maybe they'll rally around the fact they nearly the entire globe will raise a cocked eyebrow about the fact they're in the World Cup finals.
* By the same token, Ireland, you lost. Sure it sucks, but you lost. The game is over. Yes, Henry admitted he used his hands, but it happened. Stamping your feet like an upset kid and demanding a replay of the match isn't going to happen. Crappy decisions by the officials is, unfortunately, part of sports. It's the human element. Do we really want robots and sensors and what-have-you deciding the games we care about? Think about it before answering.
* Don Garber probably has an answer, but the cranky Mike Francesa part of my personality wonders why on earth MLS would schedule its championship game for an 8:30 p.m. start on a Sunday night? Perhaps it was the only time it could get clearance on ESPN during its non-stop, incessant college basketball games. Then again, is it worse than going up with a midday NFL game?
* Wondering if showering Landon Donovan will the MLS MVP award will deter him from dipping his toes into Europe in 2010? As a U.S. fan, this might be the worst thing for him at this point, which seems crazy, but do we need Donovan to cram in four, five months in Europe right before a World Cup. He's made a leap from the 2006 version of himself already. Let's just keep him happy and healthy ahead of South Africa. Trying to crack a lineup with a new club in Europe? Does he or the U.S. team need that headache in a World Cup season?
* The Guus Hiddink watch is officially on. I'll leave it at that.
* Should I feel bad that I played an online match in "FIFA 10" and my opponent chose the USMNT, so I picked Mexico and won in overtime thanks to a hat trick by Guille Franco. I'm very conflicted. Oh well.
* My goodness, imagine if Yugoslavia never broke apart in the wake of the fall of communism and Marshall Tito?
Imagine what kind of a national team you'd have with Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia lumped together?
Who wouldn't want this possible starting XI, which I threw together based on form, injuries, etic as of Nov. 19, 2009, so no Luka Modric:
GK -- Handanovič (SLV)
DEF -- Ivanovic (SRB) -- Vidic (SRB) -- Corluka (CRO) -- Pranjcic(CRO)
MID -- Kranjčar (CRO) -- Misimović (BOS) -- Stankovic (SRB) -- Srna (CRO)
FOR -- Džeko (BOS) -- Novakovič (SLV)
That's a pretty nice offensive little team right there. Guess it would be impossible to factor in if they could get along. Maybe we could get Hiddink to coach it.
* After those two miserable friendlies, the USMNT better find a way to bribe Sepp Blatter (what, this doesn't happen?) and land in a World Cup group with New Zealand, North Korea or South Africa.
With the final 32-nation field complete, the one trend to notice is the overall strength of the African countries, sans the host. If there's a weaker group, it might be Asia. I don't put too much stock in Japan and or Australia. The U.S. would fare a lot better getting lumped in with an Asian team as opposed to African.
We'll obviously discuss this a lot more in the next two weeks.
Let's see if David Stern is available to pull the U.S. ball, at least.
Saturday:
* Liverpool v. Manchester City -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:30 a.m.) No Torres or Yossi. A questionable strength Gerrard? No, it doesn't look good for Liverpool. That said, City has fallen into a similar malaise, so this is a huge game in the race for fourth place. Liverpool -- at Anfield -- is simply due a strong performance, especially with what figures to be a tired City team with players returning from internationals. ... Liverpool 2, City 1
* Birmingham City v. Fulham -- Brum will have a lot of matches like these, needing three points at home to gain some breathing room. Maybe Carson Yeung's amazing fur coat will serve as something of a good-luck charm. David Putty would have been proud. Dr. Zaius indeed. Viva Chucho! ... Brum 1, Fulham 0
* Burnley v. Aston Villa -- Remember when "movie star" Dwayne Johnson was the wrestler known as "The Rock"? Yeah, it happened.Now he's starring in Disney comedies. Crazy world. Well, ol' Burnley would gain the Rock's (and by proxy the N.O.D.'s) approval since they "know their role." From the Aston Villa perspective, they haven't beaten Burnley in the league since 1966. Now you can sleep easy tonight. That's the same year "Light My Fire" was released by The Doors. ... Burnley 1, Aston Villa 1
* Chelsea v. Wolves -- (Live, Setana 10 a.m.) Last time, Wolves vs. Arsenal was one of the most non-competitive matches in the Premier League not featuring Derby County I've ever seen. ... And that was at home. Chelsea doesn't know the word mercy, even without Lamps. ... Chelsea 3, Wolves 0
* Hull City v. West Ham United -- Maybe Hull City is pointed in the right direction. The Tigers haven't allowed more than two goals in a match since Sept. 26. West Ham? Though Gianfranco Zola's team was pointed in the right direction. Maybe Katy Perry's Irons inspired brassiere. That ought to at least make some kind of "point." Hi-oh!(Sorry for the gutter humor, couldn't resist.) ... Hull City 1, West Ham 1
* Sunderland v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) I do know this, I'm adding Arshavin to my fantasy team. ... Sunderland 1, Arsenal 2
* Manchester United v. Everton -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Hey, whaddya know? Perhaps all the problems swirling around Chelsea and Arsenal open the door back up for boring ol' United? I do know that Wayne Rooney is apparently very popular in both Egypt and Slovenia, at least in television ads. Guess looks -- or brains -- aren't everything. Two pertinent facts on this one -- United haven't dropped points from a winning position this season and more importantly, the Toffees have only one win vs. United in their last 26 league meetings. ... United 2, Everton 0
Sunday:
* Bolton v. Blackburn -- (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Pass. ... Bolton 1, Blackburn 0
* Tottenham v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, Fox Sports en Espanol, 10 a.m.) Spurs need the three points, but Wigan isn't going to roll over and give it to them. Maybe a pissed off Robbie Keane shows up and makes the difference. ... Spurs 2, Wigan 1
* Stoke City v. Portsmouth -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Kind of funny when you look at it, Stoke City has only two more wins (4) than last-place Portsmouth, which despite nine losses is only four points away from the safety zone. Portsmouth has looked frisky in recent weeks, but on the road against a good defensive team like Stoke isn't a good recipe for them, that is unless Thomas Sorensam decides to give away a goal like he did for Denmark vs. the U.S. on Wednesday. ... Stoke City 1, Portsmouth 0
Last time: 4-6
Season: 61-55
Labels: English Premier League, odds and ends, Prem League, Soccer, USMNT
I don't usually agree with Tommy Smyth ...
4 Comments Published by Cardillo on November 18, 2009 at 5:33 PM.
... But Ireland got absolutely robbed in that game against France today.
Thierry Henry with the "main d'un dieu" to set up William Gallas's winning goal. Oh, and both players were offside to start the play, too.
In all honesty, not to pull a Sir Alex Ferguson, but that was arguably the worst non-call I've ever seen.
Even the French broadcast dug into the Angophile dictionary to use the word, "disgrace."
Wish I could say more, but I have to run out to cover a high school playoff game.
Expect this goal to become a YouTube hit. Mark it down.
I thought the Irish were supposed to be lucky? (Hope it's not comeuppance for running guns to SAMCRO all these years.)
(Of course if Robbie Keane buries that 1-v-1 with Lloris...)
Thierry Henry with the "main d'un dieu" to set up William Gallas's winning goal. Oh, and both players were offside to start the play, too.
In all honesty, not to pull a Sir Alex Ferguson, but that was arguably the worst non-call I've ever seen.
Even the French broadcast dug into the Angophile dictionary to use the word, "disgrace."
Wish I could say more, but I have to run out to cover a high school playoff game.
Expect this goal to become a YouTube hit. Mark it down.
I thought the Irish were supposed to be lucky? (Hope it's not comeuppance for running guns to SAMCRO all these years.)
(Of course if Robbie Keane buries that 1-v-1 with Lloris...)
Labels: another reason to hate france, Soccer, world cup qualifying
No ramblings.
No preamble.
No time.
Have to run out for work, so not too much time to marinate on the USMNT/Denmark game. You're getting bullet points. Enjoy.
* Danish Tex Mex? Who would have figured? I'm sure salted cod and salsa make an excellent burrito combo.
* Missed the first 15-odd minutes watching the ends of the Algeria/Egypt hate-cast and the Ukraine/Greece snooze-fest.
* Thank you Thomas Sorensen. Jeff Cunningham may never get an easier chance in his life. Hard to really evaluate Cunningham. For a guy like he him it all boils down to the near mythical, "form" scenario.
* Four concurrent games at once might be the limit of my "Computer-Brain" powers, especially with three (Slovenia/Russia; Portugal/Bosnia; France/Ireland) on my computer streams. You try to watch three matches and end up watching nothing.
* So ESPN invented "Soccer Power Index", eh? Guess we have to applaud them for trying, right?
* Ugh...the U.S. defense got toasted in the second half. Suffice to say, the Jonathan Spector center back experiment took a hit today. Three goals in the first nine minutes of the second half? Spin it how you like, but that was abysmal. Doesn't seem to matter who is playing defense for the U.S., as ball watching is a uniform trait. Hate to use such a lame, overwrought cliche, but the Danes carved through the U.S. defense like a hot knife through butter.
* Another ineffectual match by Michael Bradley before being subbed out in the 60th minute. Consider this just another of the laundry list of concerns for the U.S.
* We finally get Edgar Castillo, and he plays in the left midfield. Some things I'll never figure out, like Bob Bradley's undying loyalty to Jonathan Bornstein, which is shaping up like Francis Ford Coppola using his daughter Sophia in 'Godfather III'. At the same time, didn't notice too much from Castillo.
* Absolutely no spark whatsoever by the U.S. Particularly anemic showing by Jozy Altidore and the rest of the forwards. Why even bother putting on the boots? Blame the jet lag, or whatever, doesn't excuse a limp performance.
* They're red, they're white, they're Danish Dynamite! Credit to the Danes, they looked good -- at least for 10 minutes.
* On paper, yeah, it sounded like a good idea to play a pair of matches against European World Cup qualifiers. As it turned out, the U.S. got next to nothing from the two matches.
No preamble.
No time.
Have to run out for work, so not too much time to marinate on the USMNT/Denmark game. You're getting bullet points. Enjoy.
* Danish Tex Mex? Who would have figured? I'm sure salted cod and salsa make an excellent burrito combo.
* Missed the first 15-odd minutes watching the ends of the Algeria/Egypt hate-cast and the Ukraine/Greece snooze-fest.
* Thank you Thomas Sorensen. Jeff Cunningham may never get an easier chance in his life. Hard to really evaluate Cunningham. For a guy like he him it all boils down to the near mythical, "form" scenario.
* Four concurrent games at once might be the limit of my "Computer-Brain" powers, especially with three (Slovenia/Russia; Portugal/Bosnia; France/Ireland) on my computer streams. You try to watch three matches and end up watching nothing.
* So ESPN invented "Soccer Power Index", eh? Guess we have to applaud them for trying, right?
* Ugh...the U.S. defense got toasted in the second half. Suffice to say, the Jonathan Spector center back experiment took a hit today. Three goals in the first nine minutes of the second half? Spin it how you like, but that was abysmal. Doesn't seem to matter who is playing defense for the U.S., as ball watching is a uniform trait. Hate to use such a lame, overwrought cliche, but the Danes carved through the U.S. defense like a hot knife through butter.
* Another ineffectual match by Michael Bradley before being subbed out in the 60th minute. Consider this just another of the laundry list of concerns for the U.S.
* We finally get Edgar Castillo, and he plays in the left midfield. Some things I'll never figure out, like Bob Bradley's undying loyalty to Jonathan Bornstein, which is shaping up like Francis Ford Coppola using his daughter Sophia in 'Godfather III'. At the same time, didn't notice too much from Castillo.
* Absolutely no spark whatsoever by the U.S. Particularly anemic showing by Jozy Altidore and the rest of the forwards. Why even bother putting on the boots? Blame the jet lag, or whatever, doesn't excuse a limp performance.
* They're red, they're white, they're Danish Dynamite! Credit to the Danes, they looked good -- at least for 10 minutes.
* On paper, yeah, it sounded like a good idea to play a pair of matches against European World Cup qualifiers. As it turned out, the U.S. got next to nothing from the two matches.
Labels: bob bradley, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
How about those Danish Van Houtens?
What, you're telling me you didn't stick with 'The Simpsons' through season 19?
Guess I'd have to call that a cromulent decision.
If you read those last three seconds and your brain didn't turn into a puddle of chocolate pudding, you were probably able to deduce that I don't have a whole lot to offer for Wednesday's USMNT friendly against Denmark in Aarhus. (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.)
First, from a Danish perspective what exactly does Martin Olsen have to gain from this match? If anything he'll be keeping his fingers crossed that nobody gets hurt, especially with Niclas Bendtner already on the shelf for a couple weeks.
The Danish lineup, too, figures to be a mix of the old (Christian Poulsen, Martin Jørgensen) with the new (13 players with 10 or less caps).
And considering the usual placid and chipper demeanor of Danish fans, Olsen figures to play this is as a textbook friendly match.
Meanwhile, for the U.S.? There are a couple things to consider for Bob Bradley's team.
1) Will Edgar Castillo get his debut? Why call him in if he's not going to play? Whether you're a Jonathan Bornstein hater or apologist, we can agree we've seen enough of the Chivas USA player that Castillo and Heath Pearce deserve the minutes Wednesday.
2) Will Bradley continue to experiment with Jonathan Spector in the center of the defense? I actually like this move, since even as he gets older Steve Cherundolo is functional at right back. Not sure if Spector has the size or strength to fit the mold of a typical U.S. center-back, but he could provide a little more ball distribution. Considering the other options (Marshall, Goodson, etc.) trying Spector here isn't the worst idea in the world.
3) The forwards? Does anybody want to step up?
4) Stuart Holden is back in the mix. Watching the MLS Western Conference final, he seemed to play a lot more of a central role for Houston. Will that matter? And by the same token, Brad Davis looked both frisky and tricksy on the left for the Dynamo. Shouldn't he be given a token look? This lets you move Landon Donovan to more of a pure forward and alleviate the loss of Charlie Davies at the top of the U.S. attack.
5) Michael Bradley v. Poulsen. Odds on one of the midfield gladiators receiving a red card? 50/50? Lower since its a friendly?
Lineup Guess:
Admittedly, I might as well try the Cash 5....
GK -- Guzan (for at least a half)
DEF -- Spector -- Marshall -- Bocanegra -- Castillo
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Clark --DempseyRogers
FOR -- Alitdore -- Johnson
Final thought:
Even if this game means next to nothing, it is at least a game. The next scheduled U.S. match isn't until March against the Netherlands, so we might as well relish it for what it is even if it won't answer any of our questions leading up to June 2010.
What, you're telling me you didn't stick with 'The Simpsons' through season 19?
Guess I'd have to call that a cromulent decision.
If you read those last three seconds and your brain didn't turn into a puddle of chocolate pudding, you were probably able to deduce that I don't have a whole lot to offer for Wednesday's USMNT friendly against Denmark in Aarhus. (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m.)
First, from a Danish perspective what exactly does Martin Olsen have to gain from this match? If anything he'll be keeping his fingers crossed that nobody gets hurt, especially with Niclas Bendtner already on the shelf for a couple weeks.
The Danish lineup, too, figures to be a mix of the old (Christian Poulsen, Martin Jørgensen) with the new (13 players with 10 or less caps).
And considering the usual placid and chipper demeanor of Danish fans, Olsen figures to play this is as a textbook friendly match.
Meanwhile, for the U.S.? There are a couple things to consider for Bob Bradley's team.
1) Will Edgar Castillo get his debut? Why call him in if he's not going to play? Whether you're a Jonathan Bornstein hater or apologist, we can agree we've seen enough of the Chivas USA player that Castillo and Heath Pearce deserve the minutes Wednesday.
2) Will Bradley continue to experiment with Jonathan Spector in the center of the defense? I actually like this move, since even as he gets older Steve Cherundolo is functional at right back. Not sure if Spector has the size or strength to fit the mold of a typical U.S. center-back, but he could provide a little more ball distribution. Considering the other options (Marshall, Goodson, etc.) trying Spector here isn't the worst idea in the world.
3) The forwards? Does anybody want to step up?
4) Stuart Holden is back in the mix. Watching the MLS Western Conference final, he seemed to play a lot more of a central role for Houston. Will that matter? And by the same token, Brad Davis looked both frisky and tricksy on the left for the Dynamo. Shouldn't he be given a token look? This lets you move Landon Donovan to more of a pure forward and alleviate the loss of Charlie Davies at the top of the U.S. attack.
5) Michael Bradley v. Poulsen. Odds on one of the midfield gladiators receiving a red card? 50/50? Lower since its a friendly?
Lineup Guess:
Admittedly, I might as well try the Cash 5....
GK -- Guzan (for at least a half)
DEF -- Spector -- Marshall -- Bocanegra -- Castillo
MID -- Holden -- Bradley -- Clark --
FOR -- Alitdore -- Johnson
Final thought:
Even if this game means next to nothing, it is at least a game. The next scheduled U.S. match isn't until March against the Netherlands, so we might as well relish it for what it is even if it won't answer any of our questions leading up to June 2010.
Labels: bob bradley, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
Well, turns out Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey & Co. have about as much drawing power in Eastern Europe as Anvil.
For whatever the reason Friday night I decided to stay up through multiple power outages for the MLS Western Conference Final between the Galaxy and Dynamo. During the match the thought drifted into my head about Saturday's USMNT/Slovakia friendly -- why wouldn't Bob Bradley simply roll the dice, play his best XI and let the system and player evaluations be damned? Isn't that what the World Cup boils down to anyway? Finding a way to win a match, with nothing else mattering? With nothing at stake, Bradley could have toyed with an experimental lineup. How much was he really going to gather from this match against Slovakia anyway?
As it turned out, Bradley did let his hair down -- by his standards -- dropping Jonathan Spector into the center of the defense along with Carlos Bocanegra.
Other than that, this match was eminently forgettable.
Jonathan Bornstein conceded a debatable penalty, albeit on a very clumsy challenge ... and that was that.
The two best players on the field were U.S. keeper Brad Guzan and his Slovak counterpart Jan Mucha. Each made a couple fine stops on the few and far between quality chances created by each team.
If you want to take away anything from the U.S. performance, it was a total lack of creativity anywhere on the field. The only real chance the U.S. created was an excellently hit freekick by Clint Dempsey in the latter stages of the first half that Mucha punched away for a corner.
Other than that? Forwards Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson and finally Jeff Cunningham didn't do much of anything, either creating chances by runs or taking shots on goal.
The influence of Landon Donovan was sorely missing, as few players ever looked capable of linking up and moving the ball around in a threatening manner.
By the same token, it's not like Slovakia flashed much brilliance either and whatever Vladmir Weiss' charges attempted, the U.S. defense was able to snuff out.
In other words, this probably should have ended 0-0 and faded away into the ether of time.
Long term, this match reiterated stuff we pretty much already knew. Bob Bradley, to his credit, has created a competent, solid, generally smart team. The U.S. can work a system and when it stays within it, it usually plays well. We've seen the strengths of the U.S. -- physicality, set pieces and the counter attack (at least when Donovan is around). For all the positives that Bradley values, creativity seems to be very low on the list.
Yet against an equally astute team like Slovakia with comparable size in the back, they end running into a brick wall. Saturday's match reminded me of those dreadful games against Guatemala a couple years ago, where they would drop all 10 guys behind the ball and the U.S. had no clue how to break it down. Slovakia didn't even play all that defensively, but it was tactically smart.
So many times, especially in International matches, the difference comes down to a moment of individual brilliance. Obviously you don't draw up a game plan -- "Hey guys, go out there, knock it around and eventually Joey over here will make an amazing play and we'll win 1-0."
Maybe I'm just jealous, as I'm typing this I have one eye on Guus Hiddink's Russia gaining some steam in its UEFA Playoff with Slovenia. (You wonder, if Andrey Arshavin were American, would Bradley play him?)
In the big picture, this is a problem endemic to U.S. soccer from the lowest levels on up. For whatever the reasons, there doesn't seem to be a collective vision, or spark in the majority of American players.
Maybe it's because I've been covering too many high school games for my day job. It seems to me the typical kid will only shoot if its on a silver platter. If I see two or three passes strung together, it feels like that Argentina goal vs. Serbia at the last World Cup.
Plenty of words and column inches have been devoted how nations across the world have a soccer identity. Slowly but surely, the U.S. has developed its team ethos. Maybe it's just hard for me to come to terms that the identity the U.S. have forged is that of a Dodge Caravan -- sturdy, reliable, (roomy), functional and not all that flashy.
Guess we can't all have a finely tuned Ferrari like Brazil.
Other stuff:
* Martin Hamsik must be a huge NBA fan. How else to explain that jarring neck tat?
* Add another tic in the loss column for the U.S. on European soil. That might be the headline, but let's not forget the next important match the U.S. will play in the Old Country comes in 2018, at the earliest.
* Another thought from the Galaxy/Dynamo game. It wouldn't be the craziest thought in the world for Bradley to pluck a relative unknown from MLS and plug him into the mix fro 2010, sort of like how Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley came out of nowhere at the 2002 World Cup.
Just as an example, take a guy like Sean Franklin. Suppose he were able to hack it in the U.S. pre-Cup camp. If you threw him out there, dollars-to-donuts the opposition would have no clue who is was, forcing subsequent opponents to scramble to find tape on him. There are very few surprises left in world soccer, but the majority of "power" nations probably still scoff at MLS, so maybe the U.S. ought to try to throw their haughty attitudes back in their face.
Players are players. All they need to do is have three (or more) good games.
Don't believe me? Look at the reverse. How many players have been signed off good World Cups and gone on to do nothing at clubs?
For this to work, naturally, a player with copious amounts of upside needs to be in MLS. Either way, call this the "Who the eff was that factor?"
* Benny Feilhaber did his best to add to Liverpool's misery, ripping a shot that knocked down Martin Skrtel and left him in pain.
* All things being equal, Dempsey was pretty good today since he played within the system -- mainly on the left midfield spot vacated by Donovan. He didn't do a lot, but he didn't taken anything away, either.
* Hey Brad Guzan, Ben Roethlisberger called -- he wants his neck beard back.
* Steve Cherundolo limped off in the final minute of stoppage time. Hope he didn't get hurt.
* What is it about Bornstein that he's never too far away from some kind of incident? Was it a clear penalty? Probably not, but it was sloppy enough for the ref to blow the whistle.
* Congrats to New Zealand for outlasting Bahrain in FIFA's version of the 65/64 play-in game. With the All Whites and host South Africa there are now two extremely weak teams in the mix. Suffice to say, the U.S. will not end up in either group.
Final thought:
With everything I've written, it would be foolish to put more than a little -- if any -- stock in this match. The U.S. was fine defensively and fairly meek offensively.
Maybe we ought to consider sending Donovan to a "Bubble Boy" scenario for the next seven months. If he picks up a knock between now and June, the U.S. could be in some serious trouble.
Hell, I'll even volunteer to play Trivial Pursuit with him.
For whatever the reason Friday night I decided to stay up through multiple power outages for the MLS Western Conference Final between the Galaxy and Dynamo. During the match the thought drifted into my head about Saturday's USMNT/Slovakia friendly -- why wouldn't Bob Bradley simply roll the dice, play his best XI and let the system and player evaluations be damned? Isn't that what the World Cup boils down to anyway? Finding a way to win a match, with nothing else mattering? With nothing at stake, Bradley could have toyed with an experimental lineup. How much was he really going to gather from this match against Slovakia anyway?
As it turned out, Bradley did let his hair down -- by his standards -- dropping Jonathan Spector into the center of the defense along with Carlos Bocanegra.
Other than that, this match was eminently forgettable.
Jonathan Bornstein conceded a debatable penalty, albeit on a very clumsy challenge ... and that was that.
The two best players on the field were U.S. keeper Brad Guzan and his Slovak counterpart Jan Mucha. Each made a couple fine stops on the few and far between quality chances created by each team.
If you want to take away anything from the U.S. performance, it was a total lack of creativity anywhere on the field. The only real chance the U.S. created was an excellently hit freekick by Clint Dempsey in the latter stages of the first half that Mucha punched away for a corner.
Other than that? Forwards Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson and finally Jeff Cunningham didn't do much of anything, either creating chances by runs or taking shots on goal.
The influence of Landon Donovan was sorely missing, as few players ever looked capable of linking up and moving the ball around in a threatening manner.
By the same token, it's not like Slovakia flashed much brilliance either and whatever Vladmir Weiss' charges attempted, the U.S. defense was able to snuff out.
In other words, this probably should have ended 0-0 and faded away into the ether of time.
Long term, this match reiterated stuff we pretty much already knew. Bob Bradley, to his credit, has created a competent, solid, generally smart team. The U.S. can work a system and when it stays within it, it usually plays well. We've seen the strengths of the U.S. -- physicality, set pieces and the counter attack (at least when Donovan is around). For all the positives that Bradley values, creativity seems to be very low on the list.
Yet against an equally astute team like Slovakia with comparable size in the back, they end running into a brick wall. Saturday's match reminded me of those dreadful games against Guatemala a couple years ago, where they would drop all 10 guys behind the ball and the U.S. had no clue how to break it down. Slovakia didn't even play all that defensively, but it was tactically smart.
So many times, especially in International matches, the difference comes down to a moment of individual brilliance. Obviously you don't draw up a game plan -- "Hey guys, go out there, knock it around and eventually Joey over here will make an amazing play and we'll win 1-0."
Maybe I'm just jealous, as I'm typing this I have one eye on Guus Hiddink's Russia gaining some steam in its UEFA Playoff with Slovenia. (You wonder, if Andrey Arshavin were American, would Bradley play him?)
In the big picture, this is a problem endemic to U.S. soccer from the lowest levels on up. For whatever the reasons, there doesn't seem to be a collective vision, or spark in the majority of American players.
Maybe it's because I've been covering too many high school games for my day job. It seems to me the typical kid will only shoot if its on a silver platter. If I see two or three passes strung together, it feels like that Argentina goal vs. Serbia at the last World Cup.
Plenty of words and column inches have been devoted how nations across the world have a soccer identity. Slowly but surely, the U.S. has developed its team ethos. Maybe it's just hard for me to come to terms that the identity the U.S. have forged is that of a Dodge Caravan -- sturdy, reliable, (roomy), functional and not all that flashy.
Guess we can't all have a finely tuned Ferrari like Brazil.
Other stuff:
* Martin Hamsik must be a huge NBA fan. How else to explain that jarring neck tat?
* Add another tic in the loss column for the U.S. on European soil. That might be the headline, but let's not forget the next important match the U.S. will play in the Old Country comes in 2018, at the earliest.
* Another thought from the Galaxy/Dynamo game. It wouldn't be the craziest thought in the world for Bradley to pluck a relative unknown from MLS and plug him into the mix fro 2010, sort of like how Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley came out of nowhere at the 2002 World Cup.
Just as an example, take a guy like Sean Franklin. Suppose he were able to hack it in the U.S. pre-Cup camp. If you threw him out there, dollars-to-donuts the opposition would have no clue who is was, forcing subsequent opponents to scramble to find tape on him. There are very few surprises left in world soccer, but the majority of "power" nations probably still scoff at MLS, so maybe the U.S. ought to try to throw their haughty attitudes back in their face.
Players are players. All they need to do is have three (or more) good games.
Don't believe me? Look at the reverse. How many players have been signed off good World Cups and gone on to do nothing at clubs?
For this to work, naturally, a player with copious amounts of upside needs to be in MLS. Either way, call this the "Who the eff was that factor?"
* Benny Feilhaber did his best to add to Liverpool's misery, ripping a shot that knocked down Martin Skrtel and left him in pain.
* All things being equal, Dempsey was pretty good today since he played within the system -- mainly on the left midfield spot vacated by Donovan. He didn't do a lot, but he didn't taken anything away, either.
* Hey Brad Guzan, Ben Roethlisberger called -- he wants his neck beard back.
* Steve Cherundolo limped off in the final minute of stoppage time. Hope he didn't get hurt.
* What is it about Bornstein that he's never too far away from some kind of incident? Was it a clear penalty? Probably not, but it was sloppy enough for the ref to blow the whistle.
* Congrats to New Zealand for outlasting Bahrain in FIFA's version of the 65/64 play-in game. With the All Whites and host South Africa there are now two extremely weak teams in the mix. Suffice to say, the U.S. will not end up in either group.
Final thought:
With everything I've written, it would be foolish to put more than a little -- if any -- stock in this match. The U.S. was fine defensively and fairly meek offensively.
Maybe we ought to consider sending Donovan to a "Bubble Boy" scenario for the next seven months. If he picks up a knock between now and June, the U.S. could be in some serious trouble.
Hell, I'll even volunteer to play Trivial Pursuit with him.
Labels: bob bradley, clint dempsey, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
For whatever the reason, the term "friendly" can be lumped together with diving (i.e. David Ngog) and the quantum physics intricacies of the offside rule as primary reasons why mainstream media types prefer to mock soccer, as opposed to caring about it.
What exactly is a "friendly" anyway? Why not call it an exhibition? Does it matter? Are we just splitting hairs?
By the same token, can we put any stock in Saturday's U.S. national team game against fellow 2010 World Cup participants Slovakia? Can we learn anything from the match (10 a.m., FSC) in Bratislava? Can a one-off match with a strange roster, missing four key starters (Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies) against a fairly competent team on European soil provide Bob Bradley any addition clues toward June 2010?
In the grand scheme of things, Saturday match, coupled with Wednesday's match in Denmark won't provide too many answers, instead likely raise more questions. Simply because "Player A" has a strong game in the grand scheme of things that's mean all that much.
However, this match isn't a total throwaway.
Taking into consideration who isn't there, this provides a major opportunity for a couple key players to "step up." Not the most scientific term, but you get the point.
Specifically, with Donovan left back in the states for the MLS Playoffs, can the enigmatic Clint Dempsey assume an "alpha dog" status within the frame of the U.S. team. And if the Fulham-man can't, how about Michael Bradley, as the match against the hard-charging Slovaks seems tailor-made to his unique skill set.
We've all seen this team take its cues from Donovan, so at the very least it would be nice to see somebody assume the leadership reigns, or be a guy the fringe players can lean.
There's no need to rehash the ups-and-downs of Dempsey in a U.S. shirt. We've seen him lope through matches, only to spring up with a key goal. We've seen him performance as a key cog week-in, week-out at Fulham, yet we've seen him drift into the periphery with the U.S.
So with Stuart Holden on MLS duty, too, the right midfield position will once again Dempsey's to either make his own, or put into question. In that spot, Dempsey remains a contradiction. On the one hand, the preferred 4-4-2 adopted by Bob Bradley needs to remain fairly rigid, yet for the team to succeed, Bradley needs his players to be at the tops of their games. Dempsey, at his best, is a one-on-one soloist, which gets the team in trouble when he drifts away from his spot on the right. Yet, again, we've seen Dempsey thrive in the role at Fulham.
It doesn't make sense.
Ideally, the best we've seen from Dempsey is as a forward, or dropping right behind one.
As fate would have it, with Davies' status for 2010 unlikely, for this particular match Bob Bradley has brought in guys like Eddie Johnson and Jeff Cunningham, who need to see the field to figure out if they're worth considering for the next seven months, meaning Dempsey likely can't play in that position vs. Slovakia.
Is it a Catch-22? Or better yet, a Catch-Double Deuce?
Other stuff:
* From a strategy standpoint, does Bradley the Elder stick with his usual 4-4-2 formation and plug in replacements for the guys who aren't there, or does he tailor the lineup to the players?
Since the game doesn't mean too much
* Not too long ago it seemed like the U.S. had plenty of defensive depth. Then Onyewu and Jay DeMerit got hurt, meaning Carlos Bocanegra has to shift back into the middle.
Against Slovakia, it serves the best interests of the team that Chad Marshall, Clarence Goodson and maybe even Jimmy Conrad get at least a half of action. At least one of these guys needs to distinguish himself as a viable option should either Onyewu, or less likely, DeMerit can't play in South Africa, or isn't up to match speed.
* Kind of confused why Bradley called in Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Jonathan Spector, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein. Even if you split the halves like an AYSO game, there's an odd-man out. It would be good to see if Spector could be effective on the left, but Bradley seems adverse to trying it.
* Can Jozy Altidore once again step into a U.S. shirt after sporadic European playing time and provide a solid effort? We'll at least see if Jozy has gotten any stronger while at Hull City if he has to clash against Martin Skrtel.
* Bradley didn't give himself too many options in the midfield. You The Younger starts in one of the slot, but then who? 90 minutes from Benny Feilhaber? If not, are Sacha Kljestan and or Dax McCarthy capable of standing in and not embarrassing themselves?
* Let's hope Brad Guzan doesn't yell at the defense like Tim Howard. There's a chance he could see plenty of shots.
* I'm curious to see Slovakia in action. Obviously they don't have too many "name" players. How much stock do we place in finishing atop a group featuring Slovenia (second place), the Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland and San Marino? Basically, if Slovakia good, or did the Czechs and Poles both backslide following each nation qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and 2008 Euro.
Is the job done by coach Vladimír Weiss something that the U.S. should try to emulate? Obviously he instilled a sense of identity in the Slovaks and made the best out of a team that's not over-flowing withe elite talent.
* By the same token, Slovakia qualifying for the World Cup dispels the notion that you need players collecting checks from the top clubs in Europe. Aside from Skrtel at Liverpool, none of the clubs the Slovak players play on leap off the page. Current leading scorer Robert Vittek, for example, is now at middling Ligue 1 club Lille after a spell at Nuremberg.
Slovakia, it would seem, proves that a disciplined team can rise above individual talent. And Saturday, from a straight talent standpoint, the U.S. and Slovakia are on fairly equal terms.
Lineup guess:
Nearly impossible to guess, either way expect Bradley to make the most of his subs. I'll think he goes conventional in the first half, at least.
GK -- Guzan
DEF -- Cherundolo -- Marshall -- Bocenegra -- Bornstein
MID -- Dempsey -- Feilhaber -- Bradley -- Rogers
FOR -- Alitore -- Cunningham
Closing thoughts:
Whatever happens, this isn't a game to make bold declarations after. If anything, it'll be worth observing the individual players and see if anyone jumps out and demands to be accounted for.
Win, lose or draw, it should be fun to watch a U.S. game without any pressure on it.
Who knows, maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.
What exactly is a "friendly" anyway? Why not call it an exhibition? Does it matter? Are we just splitting hairs?
By the same token, can we put any stock in Saturday's U.S. national team game against fellow 2010 World Cup participants Slovakia? Can we learn anything from the match (10 a.m., FSC) in Bratislava? Can a one-off match with a strange roster, missing four key starters (Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies) against a fairly competent team on European soil provide Bob Bradley any addition clues toward June 2010?
In the grand scheme of things, Saturday match, coupled with Wednesday's match in Denmark won't provide too many answers, instead likely raise more questions. Simply because "Player A" has a strong game in the grand scheme of things that's mean all that much.
However, this match isn't a total throwaway.
Taking into consideration who isn't there, this provides a major opportunity for a couple key players to "step up." Not the most scientific term, but you get the point.
Specifically, with Donovan left back in the states for the MLS Playoffs, can the enigmatic Clint Dempsey assume an "alpha dog" status within the frame of the U.S. team. And if the Fulham-man can't, how about Michael Bradley, as the match against the hard-charging Slovaks seems tailor-made to his unique skill set.
We've all seen this team take its cues from Donovan, so at the very least it would be nice to see somebody assume the leadership reigns, or be a guy the fringe players can lean.
There's no need to rehash the ups-and-downs of Dempsey in a U.S. shirt. We've seen him lope through matches, only to spring up with a key goal. We've seen him performance as a key cog week-in, week-out at Fulham, yet we've seen him drift into the periphery with the U.S.
So with Stuart Holden on MLS duty, too, the right midfield position will once again Dempsey's to either make his own, or put into question. In that spot, Dempsey remains a contradiction. On the one hand, the preferred 4-4-2 adopted by Bob Bradley needs to remain fairly rigid, yet for the team to succeed, Bradley needs his players to be at the tops of their games. Dempsey, at his best, is a one-on-one soloist, which gets the team in trouble when he drifts away from his spot on the right. Yet, again, we've seen Dempsey thrive in the role at Fulham.
It doesn't make sense.
Ideally, the best we've seen from Dempsey is as a forward, or dropping right behind one.
As fate would have it, with Davies' status for 2010 unlikely, for this particular match Bob Bradley has brought in guys like Eddie Johnson and Jeff Cunningham, who need to see the field to figure out if they're worth considering for the next seven months, meaning Dempsey likely can't play in that position vs. Slovakia.
Is it a Catch-22? Or better yet, a Catch-Double Deuce?
Other stuff:
* From a strategy standpoint, does Bradley the Elder stick with his usual 4-4-2 formation and plug in replacements for the guys who aren't there, or does he tailor the lineup to the players?
Since the game doesn't mean too much
* Not too long ago it seemed like the U.S. had plenty of defensive depth. Then Onyewu and Jay DeMerit got hurt, meaning Carlos Bocanegra has to shift back into the middle.
Against Slovakia, it serves the best interests of the team that Chad Marshall, Clarence Goodson and maybe even Jimmy Conrad get at least a half of action. At least one of these guys needs to distinguish himself as a viable option should either Onyewu, or less likely, DeMerit can't play in South Africa, or isn't up to match speed.
* Kind of confused why Bradley called in Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Jonathan Spector, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Bornstein. Even if you split the halves like an AYSO game, there's an odd-man out. It would be good to see if Spector could be effective on the left, but Bradley seems adverse to trying it.
* Can Jozy Altidore once again step into a U.S. shirt after sporadic European playing time and provide a solid effort? We'll at least see if Jozy has gotten any stronger while at Hull City if he has to clash against Martin Skrtel.
* Bradley didn't give himself too many options in the midfield. You The Younger starts in one of the slot, but then who? 90 minutes from Benny Feilhaber? If not, are Sacha Kljestan and or Dax McCarthy capable of standing in and not embarrassing themselves?
* Let's hope Brad Guzan doesn't yell at the defense like Tim Howard. There's a chance he could see plenty of shots.
* I'm curious to see Slovakia in action. Obviously they don't have too many "name" players. How much stock do we place in finishing atop a group featuring Slovenia (second place), the Czech Republic, Poland, Northern Ireland and San Marino? Basically, if Slovakia good, or did the Czechs and Poles both backslide following each nation qualifying for the 2006 World Cup and 2008 Euro.
Is the job done by coach Vladimír Weiss something that the U.S. should try to emulate? Obviously he instilled a sense of identity in the Slovaks and made the best out of a team that's not over-flowing withe elite talent.
* By the same token, Slovakia qualifying for the World Cup dispels the notion that you need players collecting checks from the top clubs in Europe. Aside from Skrtel at Liverpool, none of the clubs the Slovak players play on leap off the page. Current leading scorer Robert Vittek, for example, is now at middling Ligue 1 club Lille after a spell at Nuremberg.
Slovakia, it would seem, proves that a disciplined team can rise above individual talent. And Saturday, from a straight talent standpoint, the U.S. and Slovakia are on fairly equal terms.
Lineup guess:
Nearly impossible to guess, either way expect Bradley to make the most of his subs. I'll think he goes conventional in the first half, at least.
GK -- Guzan
DEF -- Cherundolo -- Marshall -- Bocenegra -- Bornstein
MID -- Dempsey -- Feilhaber -- Bradley -- Rogers
FOR -- Alitore -- Cunningham
Closing thoughts:
Whatever happens, this isn't a game to make bold declarations after. If anything, it'll be worth observing the individual players and see if anyone jumps out and demands to be accounted for.
Win, lose or draw, it should be fun to watch a U.S. game without any pressure on it.
Who knows, maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Labels: bob bradley, clint dempsey, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
This morning when I woke up and checked my email, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets (think the 1:06 mark of this classic clip) when I read the U.S. Soccer Federation missive about the roster for the upcoming USMNT friendly against Slovakia. (Saturday, 10 a.m., FSC)
As the old saying goes, don't blog angry, so I took a little time to collect myself and my shock that Edgar Castillo, et al, weren't included in the 22-man list.
After some thought, and quick research, U.S. coach Bob Bradley was fairly hamstrung -- to a degree -- selecting the roster. Captain Landon Donovan (the U.S.'s only real difference maker), along with guys like Brian Ching and Stuart Holden were bound to the MLS playoffs. Same thing for Castillo and Jose Torres, as the Mexican Primera plays this weekend.
Throw in the long-standing injuries to Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit and assembling the roster was like putting together a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle without the cover on the box to aid you.
Before getting into what I liked and didn't, a quick thought on Castillo.
Is he the savior at left back, a position the U.S. has never really had a standout at? Impossible to say.
Is he David Regis Mach II (or, dos, if you will)? Again, impossible to say.
At this point, all Castillo represents is another option that isn't named Jonathan Bornstein, who, for many apparently, all has been forgiven since his extra-time equalizing header vs. Costa Rica.
In short, Castillo represents the unknown and for many speculating over the potential of what he could represent is more valuable than what he actually is. Does it trouble anyone that he basically had to switch to the U.S. since he wasn't getting a sniff with the Mexican team?
Looks like we'll have to wait until 2010, or perhaps next week against Denmark to see what exactly the New Mexico native can bring to the table.
The Good:
* Very happy to see Tim Howard get a rest and let Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins and personal favorite Marcus Hahneman duke it out for the other two goalkeeping spots.
* Maybe, with all the defensive injuries, Jonathan Spector gets a fair shake to start.
* Apparently a lack of consistent playing time didn't hurt Jozy Altidore's chances. Then again, what other options does the U.S. have at this point?
The Bad:
* The FC Dallas trio of Dax McCarty, Heath Pearce and Jeff Cunningham does nothing to excite me. To his credit Cunningham is a goal-scorer and seems to be a darkhorse candidate for the 2010 roster at this point. I won't hold my breath.
* I'm all for second chances, but was Sacha Kljestan a pity pick? Guess there were no other options. (Out of curiosity, will Maurice Edu ever play again? In June it was reported his knee injury would keep him out three months. Just curios.)
The Ugly:
* I don't know how else to put this, the inclusion of Eddie Johnson simply brings too many bad memories of 2006. I see what Bradley is trying to do and see if the one-time "GAM" has anything in the tank and his viability as a Davies replacement.
That said, since his return to Fulham Johnson has made one start (Carling Cup) and come on as a sub three times. Nothing spectacular. Meanwhile, Kenny Cooper is getting semi-regular use at 1860 Munich, though like Johnson his only start since Oct. 4 was in the DFB Pokal but he is seeing regular action as a sub.
* Freddy Adu? I'll just leave it at that. It's beyond obvious that he and Bradley may never see eye-to-eye.
Obviously by Friday I'll have a little more to say about this match, which is shaping up to be, well, an experiment. Hope Clint Dempsey thinks he's wearing the white of Fulham.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)
As the old saying goes, don't blog angry, so I took a little time to collect myself and my shock that Edgar Castillo, et al, weren't included in the 22-man list.
After some thought, and quick research, U.S. coach Bob Bradley was fairly hamstrung -- to a degree -- selecting the roster. Captain Landon Donovan (the U.S.'s only real difference maker), along with guys like Brian Ching and Stuart Holden were bound to the MLS playoffs. Same thing for Castillo and Jose Torres, as the Mexican Primera plays this weekend.
Throw in the long-standing injuries to Charlie Davies, Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit and assembling the roster was like putting together a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle without the cover on the box to aid you.
Before getting into what I liked and didn't, a quick thought on Castillo.
Is he the savior at left back, a position the U.S. has never really had a standout at? Impossible to say.
Is he David Regis Mach II (or, dos, if you will)? Again, impossible to say.
At this point, all Castillo represents is another option that isn't named Jonathan Bornstein, who, for many apparently, all has been forgiven since his extra-time equalizing header vs. Costa Rica.
In short, Castillo represents the unknown and for many speculating over the potential of what he could represent is more valuable than what he actually is. Does it trouble anyone that he basically had to switch to the U.S. since he wasn't getting a sniff with the Mexican team?
Looks like we'll have to wait until 2010, or perhaps next week against Denmark to see what exactly the New Mexico native can bring to the table.
The Good:
* Very happy to see Tim Howard get a rest and let Brad Guzan, Troy Perkins and personal favorite Marcus Hahneman duke it out for the other two goalkeeping spots.
* Maybe, with all the defensive injuries, Jonathan Spector gets a fair shake to start.
* Apparently a lack of consistent playing time didn't hurt Jozy Altidore's chances. Then again, what other options does the U.S. have at this point?
The Bad:
* The FC Dallas trio of Dax McCarty, Heath Pearce and Jeff Cunningham does nothing to excite me. To his credit Cunningham is a goal-scorer and seems to be a darkhorse candidate for the 2010 roster at this point. I won't hold my breath.
* I'm all for second chances, but was Sacha Kljestan a pity pick? Guess there were no other options. (Out of curiosity, will Maurice Edu ever play again? In June it was reported his knee injury would keep him out three months. Just curios.)
The Ugly:
* I don't know how else to put this, the inclusion of Eddie Johnson simply brings too many bad memories of 2006. I see what Bradley is trying to do and see if the one-time "GAM" has anything in the tank and his viability as a Davies replacement.
That said, since his return to Fulham Johnson has made one start (Carling Cup) and come on as a sub three times. Nothing spectacular. Meanwhile, Kenny Cooper is getting semi-regular use at 1860 Munich, though like Johnson his only start since Oct. 4 was in the DFB Pokal but he is seeing regular action as a sub.
* Freddy Adu? I'll just leave it at that. It's beyond obvious that he and Bradley may never see eye-to-eye.
Obviously by Friday I'll have a little more to say about this match, which is shaping up to be, well, an experiment. Hope Clint Dempsey thinks he's wearing the white of Fulham.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)
Labels: bob bradley, Freddy Adu, Friendlies, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Soccer, USMNT
It's weird, isn't it, that the same player could be hailed as both "Lionheart" and the "Bionic Woman" in the same breath?
Maybe it's not so strange if that player is John Terry. On the one hand, if you're English -- particularly in the media -- you have to love Terry's grit and even if you hate Chelsea, he is sorta the captain of the National Team, after all. At the same time, you'd probably get turned off by Terry with his constant -- ahem -- lionizing by the very same press and broadcasters.
Anyway, when I first started really getting into the Premier League, Terry was one the players that impressed me the most.
During Chelsea's first title run under Jose Mourinho in 2004, he was literally in the mix every game. At the time I couldn't believe a central defender could stamp his imprint on a game with so much regularity and authority. Back in those days you simply weren't getting through the brickwall formed by Terry and or Ricardo Carvalho/William Gallas. And when Chelsea needed a goal, Terry had that Favre-like knack for rising to the occasion and getting his Supercuts-styled head onto a ball.
The thing is, the last couple years Terry hasn't played with that same dynamic edge. That's not saying he's been poor -- far from it. It'd probably be impossible to play at that high standard for nearly a decade. He's just not what he was.
So that's my roundabout way of saying that Terry dialed it back to 2004 as Chelsea got a huge 1-0 win over Manchester United Sunday at Stamford Bridge brought to you by Generic British telecom company/bank.
Or consider it the only thing that I could think about after what proved to be a really nondescript affair between the top two teams in the table.
Other than Jonny Evans' kung fu kick into Didier Drogba's solar-plexus, there wasn't too much in this. Leave it to Drogba to start convulsing on the field AND end up with the yellow card.
Yeah, we had some almost standard Sir Alex Ferguson complaining about a possible foul on Wes Brown in the box on Terry's goal, but that was about it.
Chelsea went about its business, sort of like the 2004-05 version. It was a little surprising that Drogba and Nic Anelka couldn't do very much against Evans and Brown. In fact, that's the biggest stunner from this one.
Manchester United certainly didn't do itself any favors by isolating Wayne Rooney all by himself up top. If I had a dollar for every time I saw Anderson standing around on the field, well, I'd have quite the feast at McDonald's. Ryan Giggs, as always, showed up, but overall once against the United attack was Rooney-or-nothing.
If Sunday's match didn't reiterate the fact that United doesn't have the "juice" to hang with Chelsea, than maybe nothing will. Chasing five points in early November doesn't seem like an insurmountable lead, but barring some wheeling-and-dealing in January, how will United get any better than Chelsea?
At the very least, this match didn't devolve into the theater of the absurd, though it came close in the final 20 minutes, including a swarm of angry players circling the ref at midfield.
Maybe it really is Sir Alex's fault, because to quote Dr. Robert Doback, "where does he get that sense of entitlement?" Whenever something goes against United the hackles go up and they feel they can bully the refs into changing the call. It's starting to wear on me. Sir Alex, you lose. Deal with it. Nobody likes a grumpy old man grumbling incessantly about the refs.
Ever since "Stoppage Time-Gate" against Manchester City, it's hard to think any refs are going to go out of their way to "help" United.
And this year United could use any "help" it can get to keep the pace.
Not fair:
Anyone else remember that old Nick show, "Kid's Court?" If you do, they ended every show with essentially a bitch-fest from the audience where a kid aired a beef (think parents making him do homework) and the audience would decide, "Fair" or "Unfair." Only once did I hear the crowd call it fair.
Whatever.
Arsenal's 4-1 demolition of Wolves at Molineaux was unfair.
It was so unfair it probably left Wolves honorary vice president Robert Plant dazed and confused. Two own goals by the Wolves defense? Talk about communication breakdown. When Mick McCarthy slapped away the camera while walking toward the locker room at halftime, you felt like he was hanging from the gallows pole.
Ok. I'll stop.
What can I say? Arsenal's performance deserves a whole lotta love.
The Gunners host Chelsea on Nov. 29, followed by a trip to Manchester City. Don't forget Arsenal still has a game in hand, too.
A sign of restraint:
Look, I'm not going to make fun of baby Kai Rooney. It's too easy.
The Guardian had the best take anyway. How can you top the Yoruba word for "gravy" anyway? You can't.
Schitzo-City:
When you're Manchester City, you're Manchester City for a reason.
Apparently all the oil bucks and flashy new players in the world can't pay the hoodoo hanging over Eastlands to go away.
I watched a lot of City's 3-3 draw at home to Burnley. This was setting up to be a really nice win for City, rallying from a 2-0 deficit and end its sudden run of draws. It was impressive to watch City calmy take care of business with goals by Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kolo Toure (he's the club captain?) and Craig Bellamy.
Yet this ends up being a disastrous dropped two points. The City defense got caught and Wayne Bridge's shanked clearance went right to Steven Fletcher who flicked it over to Kevin McDonald, who clinically finished it. (The second nice finish by Burnley on the day following Fletcher's nice first-half tally.)
Despite all the talent it brought in, it's same old City.
On the bright side, the team is still in fifth place. Yet it still seems to be lacking a clear identity or leader. Maybe Mark Hughes is a manager that's better suited to do more with less, because right now he's doing less with more.
And speaking of that, salute Owen Coyle's job at Burnley. The Clarets are surprisingly competent without any household names. The biggest asset for Burnley is that know who they are. They play, proverbially, within themselves. They'll take their lumps, but they're also sound enough, barring a major tailspin, to pull a Hull City and defy the odds and stick around another season.
Other stuff:
Add Harry Redknapp to the list of sports people that weren't made for HD. ... Gomes? Suddenly a decent keeper. ... Darren Bent? You want a retry on that penalty kick? ... Nice job by the Bolton defense. You don't have to stand and watch John Carew score, you know. ... Blackburn might have posted the most important win of the year, coming back from down a goal to beat Portsmouth. ... Then again, Hull City's late win at home vs. Stoke probably saved Phil Brown's job for another week. ... Guess it's pretty impressive that Clint Dempsey took the penalty kick for Fulham in a 1-1 draw with Wigan. Or does it simply point to the lack of options at Craven Cottage? ... Jozy Altidore started for Hull, logging 83 minutes, but here's what one match report had to say about the newly turned 20-year-old, "Jozy Altidore does not look like a player capable of firing Hull out of trouble and his shooting boots were sadly awry after he had worked space for himself on the edge of the box." Ouch.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Kevin Bagley's MVee FC takes top honors for the second week straight with 71 points, thanks to a balanced effort with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, Graham Alexander, Robin van Persie and Ardrey Arshavin. Well done.
One other thing:
Easy recommendation this week. Go out and watch, "Anvil: The Story of Anvil." The real-life "This is Spinal Tap" except with Canadians with bad hair. That should be enough.
Looking ahead:
Today it's Liverpool looking to get back in the win column with a match against Birmingham City, then a break for international matches.
Maybe it's not so strange if that player is John Terry. On the one hand, if you're English -- particularly in the media -- you have to love Terry's grit and even if you hate Chelsea, he is sorta the captain of the National Team, after all. At the same time, you'd probably get turned off by Terry with his constant -- ahem -- lionizing by the very same press and broadcasters.
Anyway, when I first started really getting into the Premier League, Terry was one the players that impressed me the most.
During Chelsea's first title run under Jose Mourinho in 2004, he was literally in the mix every game. At the time I couldn't believe a central defender could stamp his imprint on a game with so much regularity and authority. Back in those days you simply weren't getting through the brickwall formed by Terry and or Ricardo Carvalho/William Gallas. And when Chelsea needed a goal, Terry had that Favre-like knack for rising to the occasion and getting his Supercuts-styled head onto a ball.
The thing is, the last couple years Terry hasn't played with that same dynamic edge. That's not saying he's been poor -- far from it. It'd probably be impossible to play at that high standard for nearly a decade. He's just not what he was.
So that's my roundabout way of saying that Terry dialed it back to 2004 as Chelsea got a huge 1-0 win over Manchester United Sunday at Stamford Bridge brought to you by Generic British telecom company/bank.
Or consider it the only thing that I could think about after what proved to be a really nondescript affair between the top two teams in the table.
Other than Jonny Evans' kung fu kick into Didier Drogba's solar-plexus, there wasn't too much in this. Leave it to Drogba to start convulsing on the field AND end up with the yellow card.
Yeah, we had some almost standard Sir Alex Ferguson complaining about a possible foul on Wes Brown in the box on Terry's goal, but that was about it.
Chelsea went about its business, sort of like the 2004-05 version. It was a little surprising that Drogba and Nic Anelka couldn't do very much against Evans and Brown. In fact, that's the biggest stunner from this one.
Manchester United certainly didn't do itself any favors by isolating Wayne Rooney all by himself up top. If I had a dollar for every time I saw Anderson standing around on the field, well, I'd have quite the feast at McDonald's. Ryan Giggs, as always, showed up, but overall once against the United attack was Rooney-or-nothing.
If Sunday's match didn't reiterate the fact that United doesn't have the "juice" to hang with Chelsea, than maybe nothing will. Chasing five points in early November doesn't seem like an insurmountable lead, but barring some wheeling-and-dealing in January, how will United get any better than Chelsea?
At the very least, this match didn't devolve into the theater of the absurd, though it came close in the final 20 minutes, including a swarm of angry players circling the ref at midfield.
Maybe it really is Sir Alex's fault, because to quote Dr. Robert Doback, "where does he get that sense of entitlement?" Whenever something goes against United the hackles go up and they feel they can bully the refs into changing the call. It's starting to wear on me. Sir Alex, you lose. Deal with it. Nobody likes a grumpy old man grumbling incessantly about the refs.
Ever since "Stoppage Time-Gate" against Manchester City, it's hard to think any refs are going to go out of their way to "help" United.
And this year United could use any "help" it can get to keep the pace.
Not fair:
Anyone else remember that old Nick show, "Kid's Court?" If you do, they ended every show with essentially a bitch-fest from the audience where a kid aired a beef (think parents making him do homework) and the audience would decide, "Fair" or "Unfair." Only once did I hear the crowd call it fair.
Whatever.
Arsenal's 4-1 demolition of Wolves at Molineaux was unfair.
It was so unfair it probably left Wolves honorary vice president Robert Plant dazed and confused. Two own goals by the Wolves defense? Talk about communication breakdown. When Mick McCarthy slapped away the camera while walking toward the locker room at halftime, you felt like he was hanging from the gallows pole.
Ok. I'll stop.
What can I say? Arsenal's performance deserves a whole lotta love.
The Gunners host Chelsea on Nov. 29, followed by a trip to Manchester City. Don't forget Arsenal still has a game in hand, too.
A sign of restraint:
Look, I'm not going to make fun of baby Kai Rooney. It's too easy.
The Guardian had the best take anyway. How can you top the Yoruba word for "gravy" anyway? You can't.
Schitzo-City:
When you're Manchester City, you're Manchester City for a reason.
Apparently all the oil bucks and flashy new players in the world can't pay the hoodoo hanging over Eastlands to go away.
I watched a lot of City's 3-3 draw at home to Burnley. This was setting up to be a really nice win for City, rallying from a 2-0 deficit and end its sudden run of draws. It was impressive to watch City calmy take care of business with goals by Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kolo Toure (he's the club captain?) and Craig Bellamy.
Yet this ends up being a disastrous dropped two points. The City defense got caught and Wayne Bridge's shanked clearance went right to Steven Fletcher who flicked it over to Kevin McDonald, who clinically finished it. (The second nice finish by Burnley on the day following Fletcher's nice first-half tally.)
Despite all the talent it brought in, it's same old City.
On the bright side, the team is still in fifth place. Yet it still seems to be lacking a clear identity or leader. Maybe Mark Hughes is a manager that's better suited to do more with less, because right now he's doing less with more.
And speaking of that, salute Owen Coyle's job at Burnley. The Clarets are surprisingly competent without any household names. The biggest asset for Burnley is that know who they are. They play, proverbially, within themselves. They'll take their lumps, but they're also sound enough, barring a major tailspin, to pull a Hull City and defy the odds and stick around another season.
Other stuff:
Add Harry Redknapp to the list of sports people that weren't made for HD. ... Gomes? Suddenly a decent keeper. ... Darren Bent? You want a retry on that penalty kick? ... Nice job by the Bolton defense. You don't have to stand and watch John Carew score, you know. ... Blackburn might have posted the most important win of the year, coming back from down a goal to beat Portsmouth. ... Then again, Hull City's late win at home vs. Stoke probably saved Phil Brown's job for another week. ... Guess it's pretty impressive that Clint Dempsey took the penalty kick for Fulham in a 1-1 draw with Wigan. Or does it simply point to the lack of options at Craven Cottage? ... Jozy Altidore started for Hull, logging 83 minutes, but here's what one match report had to say about the newly turned 20-year-old, "Jozy Altidore does not look like a player capable of firing Hull out of trouble and his shooting boots were sadly awry after he had worked space for himself on the edge of the box." Ouch.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Kevin Bagley's MVee FC takes top honors for the second week straight with 71 points, thanks to a balanced effort with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, Graham Alexander, Robin van Persie and Ardrey Arshavin. Well done.
One other thing:
Easy recommendation this week. Go out and watch, "Anvil: The Story of Anvil." The real-life "This is Spinal Tap" except with Canadians with bad hair. That should be enough.
Looking ahead:
Today it's Liverpool looking to get back in the win column with a match against Birmingham City, then a break for international matches.
Labels: Chelsea, English Premier League, manchester United, Premier League, Soccer
We could probably spend a day listing all the difference between our traditional North American sports leagues (MLB, NFL and NBA) with the way European soccer clubs are run, or in fact almost all leagues around the world are run, aside from MLS.
For me, one of the key differences is roster construction.
Let's not get into the issue of salary caps for the time being.
As it stands, a MLB active roster can only have 25 players. For the NFL its 53 and the NBA can officially roster 15, though few teams are doing that this season due to the economy and much to the dismay of the Rick Brunsons of the world.
In soccer leagues, or specifically in this case, the Premier League you could conceivably have 100 guys on your roster, assuming they didn't mind sitting the bench.
There are reasons for this. Money jumps to the top of the list. So too does the quality of the team and how many concurrent competitions its playing in. Bigger clubs, too, can afford to bring in a slew of young players and stash them away on the bench or reserves.
Don't ask me why I did this, but I went through the rosters listed on Wikipedia for the 20 Premier League clubs and counted up the first teams. (Granted, this isn't wholly scientific since Burnley had about six players tacked on with numbers in the 30s and 40s that didn't even have pages.)
Before I did this, I thought there would be a huge variance in the teams, but the average roster size is a hair over 30.
The largest squads belonged to Manchester United, Wolves and Hull City with 35 each.
The smallest, surprisingly, was Manchester City at 24.
So it doesn't seem like there's a scientifically proven "right" number a team should have.
All this thinking started when I selected Tottenham in a game of "FIFA 10" online. When I went to set my lineup, it took me a while. I wanted to get Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Tom Huddlestone, Wilson Palacios, Jermiane Jenas, David Bentley and even Roman Pavlychenko all on the field at once. Obviously, since I needed a defense this can't happen, which lead to the question -- can you have too much talent on a team. (Look at Inter Milan's roster. It's more stacked than Christina Hendricks.)
So since there isn't a perfect number for a squad, I went to a different approach and tried to classify player types that a good squad should have and in which proper balance.
For lack of better terms here's basically what a soccer roster boils down to, regardless of positions:
1) Transcendent talents -- Fairly self explanatory. These are the guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, etc. who are either technically or physically or both, head-and-shoulers better than the average player. There are only a handful of these guys and are fairly irreplaceable. Your favorite club is likely going to have to have the words "Real" and or "Madrid" following it, to have a chance at these talents.
2) Difference makers -- Basically the next step down from the elites. Basically the line that divides them is that the top-tier players, when in form, are unstoppable. Me, I'd rather have 3-4 difference makers than just one elite player. Right now, at his current age, Ryan Giggs is a difference maker when he plays.
2a) Hero Men -- Sort of the uber-difference maker. A guy that can inspire his team to victory by sheer force of will. The most obvious example is Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, though even in lower divisions clubs can have its own hero man.
2b) Temperamental talents -- Maybe you put a lot of stock in the mythical term "form." For the bulk of players, their performance chart is usually a straight line graph, but others its fluctuates. Didier Drogba can be the best striker in the world, or he can spend an entire match bitching at the refs and or pouting, you just never know. For a team to succeed, you can probably only have one or two of these guys on the field at once. It's just too risky.
3) One dimensional assets -- Maybe all a guy can do is score? Or maybe he has a long throw. This type of player has flaws, but also brings something to the game that makes him useful under the right circumstances, if the manager can design ways to utilize his assets.
3a) No-dimensional assets -- Yes, there is something to be said for the jack-of-all-trades type players, guys like Dirk Kuyt or Gareth Barry. These guys might not have one "plus" in their game, but they are versatile, know how to play and will give an honest account almost each game. If you're a high-level team, you need guys like this, especially if you're in a European competition.
4) VORPers -- If you're a baseball stat guy, you know V.O.R.P. -- value over replacement player. In soccer, I'd say these are players that aren't all that great, but they're not bad either. If you line them up in a league match the manager can expect them not to take anything off the table for 90 minutes. Every good squad needs a strong collection of VORPers to get through the long campaign, especially with injuries so prevalent in modern-day soccer. Look at Manchester United's run the last couple of years. Could the Red Devils have won three-straight Premier Leagues without guys like John O'Shea, Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher? However, at the same time, this lineup of players wouldn't function -- or get results -- without a transcendent talent or group of difference makers.
4a) Sub-VORPers -- In short, these are competent enough, but won't really make too much of an imprint on a match. Normally found on poor teams. In fact, you could say the bulk of the current Portsmouth team is sub-VORP level.
5) Ummmm, can you tie your shoes -- Fairly self explanatory. These are the players that you field and hope they don't embarrass you for 90 minutes. Currently there aren't too many out-and-out horror shows lining up each week in the Prem, though Ibrahim Sonko comes close.
Still, the leaves us back at square one. There isn't an exact formula of the five player types that equal success. This isn't "Ice Hockey" on the NES, where you could find the ideal combination of skinny guys, medium guys and fat guys.
In fact, there probably isn't a secret corollary. Teams simply need to find what works for them in a given situation and get the results.
That, as always, is easier said than done.
Saturday:
* Aston Villa v. Bolton -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Thanks Aston Villa. Just when I think I can trust you, tie Wolves and Everton then lose to West Ham. Basically back to where we started with this team. For what it's worth, Randy Lerner's other team -- the Cleveland Browns -- only has seven touchdowns on the season, two via Josh Cribbs returns. At least Aston Villa has scored 15 goals. Bolton? Oddly enough two of its three wins are away from the Reebok. ... Aston Villa 1, Bolton 0
* Blackburn Rovers v. Portsmouth -- Portsmouth rising from the ashes and smacking around Wigan left me more surprised than when somebody told me the lead singer of Silversun Pickups was a dude. I'm still not sure I believe them. Blackburn's loss at Old Trafford ... considerably less stunning. ... Blackburn 1, Portsmouth 1
* Manchester City v. Burnley -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) I'd love for Setanta to display a graphic during the match how combined Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor's wages dwarf the entire salaries of Burnley. That would be fun, like when the New York Mets play the Florida Marlins and Johan Santana makes more than all the Fish. Anyway, even with its recent run of draws, City still sits in fourth. I'm still not sure that the current team and Mark Hughes is a marriage built to last. Burnley is pesky, but City is due a solid performance like it was putting up in August and September. ... City 2, Burnley 0
* Tottenham v. Sunderland -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) As great as Spurs start was, they're only two points ahead of Sunderland right now. Ouch. Fourth place is going to be on the table, so matches like these are a must three points, though Spurs seem to have lost a lot of their early-season juice, too. Don't you think Darren Bent is going to be pissed off for this one? ... Spurs 2, Sunderland 1
* Wolves v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Even with that draw to West Ham a couple weeks ago, I think I trust Arsenal, even on the road against a team that figures to pack it in defensively. ... Wolves 0, Arsenal 2
Sunday:
* Hull City v. Stoke City (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Here's why Hull City is in an exceedingly dangerous spot. Yes, there is still a core of players than manager Phil Brown lifted through the lower leagues and into the Prem. Yet, there is also a lot of semi-high priced talent brought into consolidate things. Do these guys really care about the Hull cause, as long as the checks clear? Even if the Tigers are relegated they can try to find work elsewhere, right? ... Hull City 1, Stoke City 2
* West Ham United v. Everton -- West Ham won on Wednesday to move a little bit away from the garbage dump at the bottom. This isn't a bad team. Plenty of PL teams have bad runs where they don't get a win for a month and change. West Ham might be in good shape since they got their stinker month out of the way already. Everton? Mikel Arteta is still hurt, more seriously than thought. What else is new? ... West Ham 1, Everton 0
* Wigan Athletic v. Fulham -- Since I have nothing of interest to offer about this match, the other day I was covering a high school game and an assistant coach was wearing a Fulham sideline jacket with the Europa League insignia. Not sure why, but I felt like sharing. ... Wigan 1, Fulham 0
* Chelsea v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Oh boy. Superpowers colliding at Stamford Bridge. My one wish, please no controversy from the match officials overshadowing the game. Can both managers please talk to their teams and plead with them to keep cool heads? Please? Is it possible? Probably not.
This match is fairly straightforward. We can rationally assume what we're getting from Chelsea. You can expect strong week-in, week-out performances from Lampard, Anelka, Essien and even Ballack. If the Blues get anything from the likes of Malouda, Kalou, Joe Cole or the fullbacks, you're not going to be able to out-score them.
Manchester United? For the Red Devils to have a chance to walk away with some points, both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand will need to show they have something left in the tank, or if they're dragging themselves out there like a sad, 1970s rock band that still grinds away at state fairs. Kansas comes to mind, though outside of 'Carry on My Wayward Son', they weren't all that great. I digress.
Also, Dmitar Berbatov needs to show he can do something against the best, instead of feasting on the dregs of the league.
All that said, I don't think I've seen enough mental toughness and fortitude for United to either get the lead, or be able to hold it against Chelsea, who at home almost has a New York Yankees like ability to crack the other team's resolve and come back and win.
To me, the result here isn't too hard to figure. Which player gets the inevitable red card, is a little trickier. ... Chelsea 2, Manchester United 0
Monday:
* Liverpool v. Birmingham City -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) I've got to hand it to Anfield. The crowd rarely turns on the boys in Red, ever. Of course, they have the easy targets of Hicks and Gillett to spew at, when things get ugly. Without the slightest hint of exaggeration, this is a must-win for Liverpool, but I just worry about that defense. ... Liverpool 2, Birmingham City 1
Last week: 6-4
Season: 57-49
For me, one of the key differences is roster construction.
Let's not get into the issue of salary caps for the time being.
As it stands, a MLB active roster can only have 25 players. For the NFL its 53 and the NBA can officially roster 15, though few teams are doing that this season due to the economy and much to the dismay of the Rick Brunsons of the world.
In soccer leagues, or specifically in this case, the Premier League you could conceivably have 100 guys on your roster, assuming they didn't mind sitting the bench.
There are reasons for this. Money jumps to the top of the list. So too does the quality of the team and how many concurrent competitions its playing in. Bigger clubs, too, can afford to bring in a slew of young players and stash them away on the bench or reserves.
Don't ask me why I did this, but I went through the rosters listed on Wikipedia for the 20 Premier League clubs and counted up the first teams. (Granted, this isn't wholly scientific since Burnley had about six players tacked on with numbers in the 30s and 40s that didn't even have pages.)
Before I did this, I thought there would be a huge variance in the teams, but the average roster size is a hair over 30.
The largest squads belonged to Manchester United, Wolves and Hull City with 35 each.
The smallest, surprisingly, was Manchester City at 24.
So it doesn't seem like there's a scientifically proven "right" number a team should have.
All this thinking started when I selected Tottenham in a game of "FIFA 10" online. When I went to set my lineup, it took me a while. I wanted to get Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Tom Huddlestone, Wilson Palacios, Jermiane Jenas, David Bentley and even Roman Pavlychenko all on the field at once. Obviously, since I needed a defense this can't happen, which lead to the question -- can you have too much talent on a team. (Look at Inter Milan's roster. It's more stacked than Christina Hendricks.)
So since there isn't a perfect number for a squad, I went to a different approach and tried to classify player types that a good squad should have and in which proper balance.
For lack of better terms here's basically what a soccer roster boils down to, regardless of positions:
1) Transcendent talents -- Fairly self explanatory. These are the guys like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, etc. who are either technically or physically or both, head-and-shoulers better than the average player. There are only a handful of these guys and are fairly irreplaceable. Your favorite club is likely going to have to have the words "Real" and or "Madrid" following it, to have a chance at these talents.
2) Difference makers -- Basically the next step down from the elites. Basically the line that divides them is that the top-tier players, when in form, are unstoppable. Me, I'd rather have 3-4 difference makers than just one elite player. Right now, at his current age, Ryan Giggs is a difference maker when he plays.
2a) Hero Men -- Sort of the uber-difference maker. A guy that can inspire his team to victory by sheer force of will. The most obvious example is Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, though even in lower divisions clubs can have its own hero man.
2b) Temperamental talents -- Maybe you put a lot of stock in the mythical term "form." For the bulk of players, their performance chart is usually a straight line graph, but others its fluctuates. Didier Drogba can be the best striker in the world, or he can spend an entire match bitching at the refs and or pouting, you just never know. For a team to succeed, you can probably only have one or two of these guys on the field at once. It's just too risky.
3) One dimensional assets -- Maybe all a guy can do is score? Or maybe he has a long throw. This type of player has flaws, but also brings something to the game that makes him useful under the right circumstances, if the manager can design ways to utilize his assets.
3a) No-dimensional assets -- Yes, there is something to be said for the jack-of-all-trades type players, guys like Dirk Kuyt or Gareth Barry. These guys might not have one "plus" in their game, but they are versatile, know how to play and will give an honest account almost each game. If you're a high-level team, you need guys like this, especially if you're in a European competition.
4) VORPers -- If you're a baseball stat guy, you know V.O.R.P. -- value over replacement player. In soccer, I'd say these are players that aren't all that great, but they're not bad either. If you line them up in a league match the manager can expect them not to take anything off the table for 90 minutes. Every good squad needs a strong collection of VORPers to get through the long campaign, especially with injuries so prevalent in modern-day soccer. Look at Manchester United's run the last couple of years. Could the Red Devils have won three-straight Premier Leagues without guys like John O'Shea, Michael Carrick or Darren Fletcher? However, at the same time, this lineup of players wouldn't function -- or get results -- without a transcendent talent or group of difference makers.
4a) Sub-VORPers -- In short, these are competent enough, but won't really make too much of an imprint on a match. Normally found on poor teams. In fact, you could say the bulk of the current Portsmouth team is sub-VORP level.
5) Ummmm, can you tie your shoes -- Fairly self explanatory. These are the players that you field and hope they don't embarrass you for 90 minutes. Currently there aren't too many out-and-out horror shows lining up each week in the Prem, though Ibrahim Sonko comes close.
Still, the leaves us back at square one. There isn't an exact formula of the five player types that equal success. This isn't "Ice Hockey" on the NES, where you could find the ideal combination of skinny guys, medium guys and fat guys.
In fact, there probably isn't a secret corollary. Teams simply need to find what works for them in a given situation and get the results.
That, as always, is easier said than done.
Saturday:
* Aston Villa v. Bolton -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Thanks Aston Villa. Just when I think I can trust you, tie Wolves and Everton then lose to West Ham. Basically back to where we started with this team. For what it's worth, Randy Lerner's other team -- the Cleveland Browns -- only has seven touchdowns on the season, two via Josh Cribbs returns. At least Aston Villa has scored 15 goals. Bolton? Oddly enough two of its three wins are away from the Reebok. ... Aston Villa 1, Bolton 0
* Blackburn Rovers v. Portsmouth -- Portsmouth rising from the ashes and smacking around Wigan left me more surprised than when somebody told me the lead singer of Silversun Pickups was a dude. I'm still not sure I believe them. Blackburn's loss at Old Trafford ... considerably less stunning. ... Blackburn 1, Portsmouth 1
* Manchester City v. Burnley -- (Live, Setanta, 10 a.m.) I'd love for Setanta to display a graphic during the match how combined Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor's wages dwarf the entire salaries of Burnley. That would be fun, like when the New York Mets play the Florida Marlins and Johan Santana makes more than all the Fish. Anyway, even with its recent run of draws, City still sits in fourth. I'm still not sure that the current team and Mark Hughes is a marriage built to last. Burnley is pesky, but City is due a solid performance like it was putting up in August and September. ... City 2, Burnley 0
* Tottenham v. Sunderland -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) As great as Spurs start was, they're only two points ahead of Sunderland right now. Ouch. Fourth place is going to be on the table, so matches like these are a must three points, though Spurs seem to have lost a lot of their early-season juice, too. Don't you think Darren Bent is going to be pissed off for this one? ... Spurs 2, Sunderland 1
* Wolves v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Even with that draw to West Ham a couple weeks ago, I think I trust Arsenal, even on the road against a team that figures to pack it in defensively. ... Wolves 0, Arsenal 2
Sunday:
* Hull City v. Stoke City (Live, Setanta, 8:30 a.m.) Here's why Hull City is in an exceedingly dangerous spot. Yes, there is still a core of players than manager Phil Brown lifted through the lower leagues and into the Prem. Yet, there is also a lot of semi-high priced talent brought into consolidate things. Do these guys really care about the Hull cause, as long as the checks clear? Even if the Tigers are relegated they can try to find work elsewhere, right? ... Hull City 1, Stoke City 2
* West Ham United v. Everton -- West Ham won on Wednesday to move a little bit away from the garbage dump at the bottom. This isn't a bad team. Plenty of PL teams have bad runs where they don't get a win for a month and change. West Ham might be in good shape since they got their stinker month out of the way already. Everton? Mikel Arteta is still hurt, more seriously than thought. What else is new? ... West Ham 1, Everton 0
* Wigan Athletic v. Fulham -- Since I have nothing of interest to offer about this match, the other day I was covering a high school game and an assistant coach was wearing a Fulham sideline jacket with the Europa League insignia. Not sure why, but I felt like sharing. ... Wigan 1, Fulham 0
* Chelsea v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Oh boy. Superpowers colliding at Stamford Bridge. My one wish, please no controversy from the match officials overshadowing the game. Can both managers please talk to their teams and plead with them to keep cool heads? Please? Is it possible? Probably not.
This match is fairly straightforward. We can rationally assume what we're getting from Chelsea. You can expect strong week-in, week-out performances from Lampard, Anelka, Essien and even Ballack. If the Blues get anything from the likes of Malouda, Kalou, Joe Cole or the fullbacks, you're not going to be able to out-score them.
Manchester United? For the Red Devils to have a chance to walk away with some points, both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand will need to show they have something left in the tank, or if they're dragging themselves out there like a sad, 1970s rock band that still grinds away at state fairs. Kansas comes to mind, though outside of 'Carry on My Wayward Son', they weren't all that great. I digress.
Also, Dmitar Berbatov needs to show he can do something against the best, instead of feasting on the dregs of the league.
All that said, I don't think I've seen enough mental toughness and fortitude for United to either get the lead, or be able to hold it against Chelsea, who at home almost has a New York Yankees like ability to crack the other team's resolve and come back and win.
To me, the result here isn't too hard to figure. Which player gets the inevitable red card, is a little trickier. ... Chelsea 2, Manchester United 0
Monday:
* Liverpool v. Birmingham City -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) I've got to hand it to Anfield. The crowd rarely turns on the boys in Red, ever. Of course, they have the easy targets of Hicks and Gillett to spew at, when things get ugly. Without the slightest hint of exaggeration, this is a must-win for Liverpool, but I just worry about that defense. ... Liverpool 2, Birmingham City 1
Last week: 6-4
Season: 57-49
Labels: English Premier League, Prem Picks, Soccer
Sorry Merseysiders, the Red side at least.
As you know I'm not usually Senor Champions League, but today I was actually home for a change and watched the 1-1 drawn between Liverpool and Lyon in central France, a result that went down as a simultaneous stomach punch and kick to the groin region, for fans of Liverpool anyway.
Ouch.
Liverpool had the match all but won thanks to Ryan Babel, yes Ryan Babel (it happened), with his very nice strike from nowhere in the 83rd minute. Then, everything came crashing down much like, apparently, the entire world in the up-coming disaster flick "2012." (Lane Meyer 1, Apocalypse 0.)
Then, somehow, Lisandro Lopez got behind the Reds defense and beat an irate Pepe Reina, who had to resort to claiming for an offside call to save a little face.
So there it was, Lyon 1, Liverpool 1, which at face value is a fairly impressive result for Rafa's men considering a starting XI that featured Andriy Voronin, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and a less-than-100 percent Fernando Torres.
Yet, now the Group D table reads: Lyon 10, Fiorentina 9, Liverpool 4 and Debrecen.
In short, Liverpool is out if Fiorentina beats Lyon on Nov. 24 or if it fails to beat Debrecen.
Not that I put too much stock into these sort of things, but Liverpool probably used up whatever karma it might posses a couple years ago in Istanbul. So barring a second European miracle of the decade, Liverpool is likely out of the Champions League before Christmas and on life support in the Premier League title chase. (Before saying this is a good thing, since Rafa can then focus on the League, Liverpool will parachute in the vaunted and universally loved Europa League.)
For whatever the reason, I've spent too much time thinking about this, but here are a couple issues about Liverpool running through my head.
* Yes, he had a fork sticking out of him the size of an 18-wheeler, but why did Benitez allow Sammi Hyppia to flee to Bayer Leverkausen only to replace him with the legitimately terrible Kyrgiakos?
* And why is that it seems at all times either Daniel Agger or Martin Skrtel are sidelined with injuries?
* I realize this topic has been done to death, but really, letting Xabi Alonso go to Real Madrid and replacing him with Lucas, who every Premier League announcer seems on orders to defend during telecasts, seem like a sound decision?
* And what about Steven Gerrard. I know its sacrilege to say anything against the King of the Scousers, but what does the club do from here. He's only 29, but he's got a ton of mileage on this legs between the Premier League, Champions League and England duty. He's approaching the 600-game threshold on his odometer. I truly hate to say this, because at his best Gerrard is a pleasure to behold on the field, but injuries like his current ailment are only going to become more frequent.
To think Gerrard can continue as an elite, box-to-box midfielder, week-in, week-out for Liverpool is crazy. He's simply carried so much of the water, with a lesser cast the last few seasons that eventually he's going to break down.
It's an unconventional thought, but why not consider moving him to more a direct striker/forward role and away from the midfield? He's already playing behind Torres a lot as it is anyway. Liverpool doesn't have a direct replacement for Gerrard, but he's an irreplaceable player.
Basically, a question to fret about if you support the club is if the team caters to Gerrard as he gets older? Will they be forced to make compromises as he gets older.
It's a tricky spot, because Gerrard truly embodies the spirit of Liverpool.
This isn't hyperbole either, if he ever lined up in a different shirt, devoted, tattooed Liverpool fans might have heart attacks.
Of course, this is all assuming Gerrard can't get back to his elite level of play.
Me, right now I'm thinking about how it all came to a sudden halt for Larry Bird and the Celtics in the early 1990s. Unlike an aging Bird, at least Gerrard has Torres around as a running-mate.
His coach? Well, barring another miracle Benitez's stay of execution won't last all that much longer.
* * *
Every so often I get emails from readers that start off with, "I know you don't cover the Champions League ..."
Admittedly, it's tough. There is so much soccer on television these days it's hard to commit to back-to-back midweek matches and the subsequent highlights.
To me, the competition is pretty dull for the first round of games anyway although this year's Group F has been compelling since neither Barcelona or Inter have been able to separate from Rubin Kazan of Dynamo Kiev. Aside from that, the tables are playing out like you would expect, aside from the dysfunctionality of Bayern Munich (third Group A) and the aforementioned Liverpool. (And yes, Inter pulled one out of their asses in the final 10 minutes today.)
Really, was there even a point for Arsenal to have to play its Group H matches? There was about a 0.0000001 chance the Gunners don't get through against the likes of Olympiacos, AZ and Standard Liege. This was on par with a layup from the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals.
The thing we sometimes forget about the Champions League is that it's long. Like 'Godfather II' long.
It all starts in the middle of the summer, with the actual group stages finally kicking off in mid-September and running until early December. Hell, the knockout stages don't start until Feb. 16, 2010.
So basically that's my shill why I really haven't said too much about the competition until today, after Matchday 4.
As you know I'm not usually Senor Champions League, but today I was actually home for a change and watched the 1-1 drawn between Liverpool and Lyon in central France, a result that went down as a simultaneous stomach punch and kick to the groin region, for fans of Liverpool anyway.
Ouch.
Liverpool had the match all but won thanks to Ryan Babel, yes Ryan Babel (it happened), with his very nice strike from nowhere in the 83rd minute. Then, everything came crashing down much like, apparently, the entire world in the up-coming disaster flick "2012." (Lane Meyer 1, Apocalypse 0.)
Then, somehow, Lisandro Lopez got behind the Reds defense and beat an irate Pepe Reina, who had to resort to claiming for an offside call to save a little face.
So there it was, Lyon 1, Liverpool 1, which at face value is a fairly impressive result for Rafa's men considering a starting XI that featured Andriy Voronin, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and a less-than-100 percent Fernando Torres.
Yet, now the Group D table reads: Lyon 10, Fiorentina 9, Liverpool 4 and Debrecen.
In short, Liverpool is out if Fiorentina beats Lyon on Nov. 24 or if it fails to beat Debrecen.
Not that I put too much stock into these sort of things, but Liverpool probably used up whatever karma it might posses a couple years ago in Istanbul. So barring a second European miracle of the decade, Liverpool is likely out of the Champions League before Christmas and on life support in the Premier League title chase. (Before saying this is a good thing, since Rafa can then focus on the League, Liverpool will parachute in the vaunted and universally loved Europa League.)
For whatever the reason, I've spent too much time thinking about this, but here are a couple issues about Liverpool running through my head.
* Yes, he had a fork sticking out of him the size of an 18-wheeler, but why did Benitez allow Sammi Hyppia to flee to Bayer Leverkausen only to replace him with the legitimately terrible Kyrgiakos?
* And why is that it seems at all times either Daniel Agger or Martin Skrtel are sidelined with injuries?
* I realize this topic has been done to death, but really, letting Xabi Alonso go to Real Madrid and replacing him with Lucas, who every Premier League announcer seems on orders to defend during telecasts, seem like a sound decision?
* And what about Steven Gerrard. I know its sacrilege to say anything against the King of the Scousers, but what does the club do from here. He's only 29, but he's got a ton of mileage on this legs between the Premier League, Champions League and England duty. He's approaching the 600-game threshold on his odometer. I truly hate to say this, because at his best Gerrard is a pleasure to behold on the field, but injuries like his current ailment are only going to become more frequent.
To think Gerrard can continue as an elite, box-to-box midfielder, week-in, week-out for Liverpool is crazy. He's simply carried so much of the water, with a lesser cast the last few seasons that eventually he's going to break down.
It's an unconventional thought, but why not consider moving him to more a direct striker/forward role and away from the midfield? He's already playing behind Torres a lot as it is anyway. Liverpool doesn't have a direct replacement for Gerrard, but he's an irreplaceable player.
Basically, a question to fret about if you support the club is if the team caters to Gerrard as he gets older? Will they be forced to make compromises as he gets older.
It's a tricky spot, because Gerrard truly embodies the spirit of Liverpool.
This isn't hyperbole either, if he ever lined up in a different shirt, devoted, tattooed Liverpool fans might have heart attacks.
Of course, this is all assuming Gerrard can't get back to his elite level of play.
Me, right now I'm thinking about how it all came to a sudden halt for Larry Bird and the Celtics in the early 1990s. Unlike an aging Bird, at least Gerrard has Torres around as a running-mate.
His coach? Well, barring another miracle Benitez's stay of execution won't last all that much longer.
Every so often I get emails from readers that start off with, "I know you don't cover the Champions League ..."
Admittedly, it's tough. There is so much soccer on television these days it's hard to commit to back-to-back midweek matches and the subsequent highlights.
To me, the competition is pretty dull for the first round of games anyway although this year's Group F has been compelling since neither Barcelona or Inter have been able to separate from Rubin Kazan of Dynamo Kiev. Aside from that, the tables are playing out like you would expect, aside from the dysfunctionality of Bayern Munich (third Group A) and the aforementioned Liverpool. (And yes, Inter pulled one out of their asses in the final 10 minutes today.)
Really, was there even a point for Arsenal to have to play its Group H matches? There was about a 0.0000001 chance the Gunners don't get through against the likes of Olympiacos, AZ and Standard Liege. This was on par with a layup from the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals.
The thing we sometimes forget about the Champions League is that it's long. Like 'Godfather II' long.
It all starts in the middle of the summer, with the actual group stages finally kicking off in mid-September and running until early December. Hell, the knockout stages don't start until Feb. 16, 2010.
So basically that's my shill why I really haven't said too much about the competition until today, after Matchday 4.
Labels: champions league, fernando torres, fox soccer, Liverpool, rafa benitez
Not exactly the best weekend in the Premier League to be a coach with a goatee.
In fact, the noose is all but hanging around the neck of Phil Brown and all that we're waiting for is the Hull City directors to pull the lever and drop the floor out from under him.
Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez remains on death row, but due to some savvy law papers (or his past glory at the club), the Spaniard has a stay of execution. It's safe to say, though, after Saturday's 3-1 meltdown at Craven Cottage it's only a matter of time.
In both cases, the firing are probably on hold until the clubs can figure out replacements.
At Hull, axing Brown is basically saying, yeah we got lucky with hot start last season and basically can't compete at the top level of English football. We have no other idea how to break out of this basically year-and-a-half tailspin other than the tried-and-true method of firing the manager and hoping the replacement catches lightning in a bottle. We don't want to accept relegation, but we're not going to jeopardize the long-term financial viability of the club with a slew of January signings. People look at exhibit A is you disagree -- Jimmy Bullard.
In other words, Hull fans, you'll always have 2008-09.
Liverpool, is obviously trickier.
Benitez's track record is obviously fire-worthy. In fact the loss to Fulham encapsulated everything wrong with the club fairly neatly. And this time there wasn't even a beach ball as a mitigating factor.
1) An over reliance on the peerless Steven Gerrard
2) A lack depth at striker
3) An oddly constructed squad that continually has trouble against the middle of the pack clubs in the league.
Oh, and taking off Fernando Torres with about half an hour left to play, probably not the greatest idea. Yes, Torres isn't 100 percent fit and he could conceivably aggravate his injuries. All that said, he did pull one of his typically amazing goals out of pretty much nowhere with just one touch. So I'd rather have a 50 percent Torres than guys like Ryan Babbel or David Ngog.
But that's just me.
As much as the sharks continue to swirl around Benitez, it's hard to fathom that Liverpool -- even with its ownership mess -- actually fires him during the season. Unlike a team like Hull, Liverpool can't just give up on a season in November. Except the focus has to change. Considering Torres and Gerrard are the team and are constantly fighting injuries, the Reds aren't making up a nine-point gap for first place. Now, the only priority is fighting off Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City for fourth place, although perhaps missing out on the Champions League wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Liverpool, except for Hicks and Gillette's wallets.
Anyway, a midseason replacement at Liverpool would be the classic "caretaker" manager and wouldn't really help things much.
If I had to make an outrageous guess, Liverpool's next manager will be Jose Mourinho. It almost seems destined to happen. The Portgueezer probably tired of Serie A about a month into coaching Inter. Wouldn't he enjoy the close proximity to his rival Sir Alex? Or the chance to do for Liverpool like he did at Chelsea, ending a long drought in the league?
The only hold up is the uncertain ownership situation and the fact that Inter makes Mourinho the highest paid manager in the world. Those are issues.
In any event, I pray this is the last time I waste any time writing about Benitez. It's altogether too morbid, even on Halloween weekend.
I am the great gas head*
Did anyone else catch Alan Darke's on-air orgasm describing Cesc Fabregas's goal in Arsenal's tidy 3-0 win over Spurs at the Emirates early Saturday?
Of course, Arsenal had just scored so the cameras barely caught the act, so Darke's momentary spiritual possession by Gus Johnson can be forgiven. However, his subsequent praise of the young Spaniard, which stopped just short of speculating on how tight his shorts were, got a little tedious.
Oh well, it was a very nice goal -- stripping Spurs of the ball at midfield and then taking it himself all the way to goal. Looks like somebody might be playing a lot of "FIFA 10" besides myself.
This wasn't the weekend to go ga-ga over Arsenal, however. Saturday's game was more a reflection of Spurs playing without Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe, allowing old 'Arry a momentary lapse of reason by playing a pseudo 4-5-1 with Peter Crouch isolated alone up top for the first half and the dramatic reemergence of David 'English Haircut' Bentley. Not good.
Also not good, the third Arsenal goal where everybody just stopped and assumed it was a foul, but the ref called advantage and Barcary Sagna kept going and crossed it to a half-speed Robin van Persie who barely touched it to beat a stunned Gomes. Again, looks like somebody (in this case ref Mark Clattenburg) has been playing too much "FIFA 10". (The advantage rule is borderline obscene in the game.)
Arsenal still has a game in hand, so I'm sticking to my theory they'll mount the biggest challenge to Chelsea for first place.
(* That's a 'King of the Hill' reference folks. Maybe the most underrated show of the late 1990s/early 2000s.)
The other two:
Pretty much ho-hum wins for Chelsea and Manchester United.
Despite some one-man attempts by Tamir Cohen, Bolton never had a shot against Chelsea. One way or another the trio of Drogba-Anelka-Lampard are going to wear you down and get a goal. That much I do know and can say so with relative authority.
Meanwhile, Manchester United took a while but finally broke down Blackburn thanks to a beautiful, acrobatic twist and shoot by Dmitar Berbatov. Bravo.
If anything the match was noteworthy for the debut of ex-Bordeaux player Gabriel Obertan, who is about as unusual looking as you'll ever see from a player. Calling him wiry would be an insult to wires and even "The Wire." He's only 20, so we'll certainly be hearing his name in the future.
As luck would have it, Chelsea and Manchester United play Sunday at Stamford Bridge. All week we'll have to endure Rio Ferdinand is done stories. At this point, that might benefit United, since the fork sticking out his back is roughly the size of the Great Wall of China from outer space.
Other stuff:
Andriy Voronin? He's at the point its almost too cliche to make fun of him. ... Who would have thought that Alex McLeish deciding to play two strikes at once would make Birmingham City look fairly competent? Viva Chucho ... Maybe Portsmouth isn't dead. A 4-0 home thumping of Wigan is at least a signal of intent. ... My two "juice" teams -- Sunderland and Stoke City -- played out to disappointing home draws against West Ham and Wolves. That said they're still just one and two points, respectively, behind Liverpool in the table. ... Depending if West Ham can every get its act together, the relegation fight seems pretty clear -- Blackburn, Wolves, Hull and Portsmouth fighting for 17th place. ... Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, a goal and a red card for Everton. Not bad for the Rad Russian. ... Clint Dempsey with a goal and Jozy Altidore with a yellow card. Guess that counts for something. ... Nice job by Shay Given on a penalty kick save, which Brum might rue the rest of the season.
Fantasy Team O' the week:
Kevin Bagley's MVee FC takes weekly top honors with 83 points and moves into first place. He got 21 massive points from Burnley's Graham Alexander, which is downright incredible. That's on par with one-week fantasy NFL guys like Ryan Moats this weekend for the Texans.
One other thing:
If you own a television set, you've probably seen the trailers for either 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' or 'The Blind Side.'
I can say without hesitation, pass on the movies and read the books. Really, Sandra Bullock or George Clooney can't really do them justice.
In fact, the noose is all but hanging around the neck of Phil Brown and all that we're waiting for is the Hull City directors to pull the lever and drop the floor out from under him.
Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez remains on death row, but due to some savvy law papers (or his past glory at the club), the Spaniard has a stay of execution. It's safe to say, though, after Saturday's 3-1 meltdown at Craven Cottage it's only a matter of time.
In both cases, the firing are probably on hold until the clubs can figure out replacements.
At Hull, axing Brown is basically saying, yeah we got lucky with hot start last season and basically can't compete at the top level of English football. We have no other idea how to break out of this basically year-and-a-half tailspin other than the tried-and-true method of firing the manager and hoping the replacement catches lightning in a bottle. We don't want to accept relegation, but we're not going to jeopardize the long-term financial viability of the club with a slew of January signings. People look at exhibit A is you disagree -- Jimmy Bullard.
In other words, Hull fans, you'll always have 2008-09.
Liverpool, is obviously trickier.
Benitez's track record is obviously fire-worthy. In fact the loss to Fulham encapsulated everything wrong with the club fairly neatly. And this time there wasn't even a beach ball as a mitigating factor.
1) An over reliance on the peerless Steven Gerrard
2) A lack depth at striker
3) An oddly constructed squad that continually has trouble against the middle of the pack clubs in the league.
Oh, and taking off Fernando Torres with about half an hour left to play, probably not the greatest idea. Yes, Torres isn't 100 percent fit and he could conceivably aggravate his injuries. All that said, he did pull one of his typically amazing goals out of pretty much nowhere with just one touch. So I'd rather have a 50 percent Torres than guys like Ryan Babbel or David Ngog.
But that's just me.
As much as the sharks continue to swirl around Benitez, it's hard to fathom that Liverpool -- even with its ownership mess -- actually fires him during the season. Unlike a team like Hull, Liverpool can't just give up on a season in November. Except the focus has to change. Considering Torres and Gerrard are the team and are constantly fighting injuries, the Reds aren't making up a nine-point gap for first place. Now, the only priority is fighting off Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City for fourth place, although perhaps missing out on the Champions League wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Liverpool, except for Hicks and Gillette's wallets.
Anyway, a midseason replacement at Liverpool would be the classic "caretaker" manager and wouldn't really help things much.
If I had to make an outrageous guess, Liverpool's next manager will be Jose Mourinho. It almost seems destined to happen. The Portgueezer probably tired of Serie A about a month into coaching Inter. Wouldn't he enjoy the close proximity to his rival Sir Alex? Or the chance to do for Liverpool like he did at Chelsea, ending a long drought in the league?
The only hold up is the uncertain ownership situation and the fact that Inter makes Mourinho the highest paid manager in the world. Those are issues.
In any event, I pray this is the last time I waste any time writing about Benitez. It's altogether too morbid, even on Halloween weekend.
I am the great gas head*
Did anyone else catch Alan Darke's on-air orgasm describing Cesc Fabregas's goal in Arsenal's tidy 3-0 win over Spurs at the Emirates early Saturday?
Of course, Arsenal had just scored so the cameras barely caught the act, so Darke's momentary spiritual possession by Gus Johnson can be forgiven. However, his subsequent praise of the young Spaniard, which stopped just short of speculating on how tight his shorts were, got a little tedious.
Oh well, it was a very nice goal -- stripping Spurs of the ball at midfield and then taking it himself all the way to goal. Looks like somebody might be playing a lot of "FIFA 10" besides myself.
This wasn't the weekend to go ga-ga over Arsenal, however. Saturday's game was more a reflection of Spurs playing without Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe, allowing old 'Arry a momentary lapse of reason by playing a pseudo 4-5-1 with Peter Crouch isolated alone up top for the first half and the dramatic reemergence of David 'English Haircut' Bentley. Not good.
Also not good, the third Arsenal goal where everybody just stopped and assumed it was a foul, but the ref called advantage and Barcary Sagna kept going and crossed it to a half-speed Robin van Persie who barely touched it to beat a stunned Gomes. Again, looks like somebody (in this case ref Mark Clattenburg) has been playing too much "FIFA 10". (The advantage rule is borderline obscene in the game.)
Arsenal still has a game in hand, so I'm sticking to my theory they'll mount the biggest challenge to Chelsea for first place.
(* That's a 'King of the Hill' reference folks. Maybe the most underrated show of the late 1990s/early 2000s.)
The other two:
Pretty much ho-hum wins for Chelsea and Manchester United.
Despite some one-man attempts by Tamir Cohen, Bolton never had a shot against Chelsea. One way or another the trio of Drogba-Anelka-Lampard are going to wear you down and get a goal. That much I do know and can say so with relative authority.
Meanwhile, Manchester United took a while but finally broke down Blackburn thanks to a beautiful, acrobatic twist and shoot by Dmitar Berbatov. Bravo.
If anything the match was noteworthy for the debut of ex-Bordeaux player Gabriel Obertan, who is about as unusual looking as you'll ever see from a player. Calling him wiry would be an insult to wires and even "The Wire." He's only 20, so we'll certainly be hearing his name in the future.
As luck would have it, Chelsea and Manchester United play Sunday at Stamford Bridge. All week we'll have to endure Rio Ferdinand is done stories. At this point, that might benefit United, since the fork sticking out his back is roughly the size of the Great Wall of China from outer space.
Other stuff:
Andriy Voronin? He's at the point its almost too cliche to make fun of him. ... Who would have thought that Alex McLeish deciding to play two strikes at once would make Birmingham City look fairly competent? Viva Chucho ... Maybe Portsmouth isn't dead. A 4-0 home thumping of Wigan is at least a signal of intent. ... My two "juice" teams -- Sunderland and Stoke City -- played out to disappointing home draws against West Ham and Wolves. That said they're still just one and two points, respectively, behind Liverpool in the table. ... Depending if West Ham can every get its act together, the relegation fight seems pretty clear -- Blackburn, Wolves, Hull and Portsmouth fighting for 17th place. ... Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, a goal and a red card for Everton. Not bad for the Rad Russian. ... Clint Dempsey with a goal and Jozy Altidore with a yellow card. Guess that counts for something. ... Nice job by Shay Given on a penalty kick save, which Brum might rue the rest of the season.
Fantasy Team O' the week:
Kevin Bagley's MVee FC takes weekly top honors with 83 points and moves into first place. He got 21 massive points from Burnley's Graham Alexander, which is downright incredible. That's on par with one-week fantasy NFL guys like Ryan Moats this weekend for the Texans.
One other thing:
If you own a television set, you've probably seen the trailers for either 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' or 'The Blind Side.'
I can say without hesitation, pass on the movies and read the books. Really, Sandra Bullock or George Clooney can't really do them justice.
Labels: English Premier League, Liverpool, Monday recaps, Premier League, rafa benitez
