Slow weekend, at least in England.
Of course we were hardly devoid of soccer, should you have wanted it. A couple nice matches from Serie A, Barcelona live in HD on ESPN and, of course, the African Cup of Nations. (The empty seats at Italian grounds have a distinct MLS-feel to them, don't they? How did Italy host the World Cup in 1990 and in 20 years watch all the stadium's in the country go to pot?)
With a light schedule in the Premier League -- two games to be exact -- it made me remember something I'd scribbled on one of my many yellow legal pads I have lying around my condo to capture my golden brain nuggets. Admittedly, my handwriting isn't very easy to read so many times I spend a couple minutes trying to recall what I'd written.
This wasn't one of those times.
"Arsene Wenger is the easiest man on the planet for an American dude to make fun of."
Between his French accent that is so heavy you half expect him to cough up foie gras to his absolutely hideous 1980s tracksuit collection and his overall put-upon demeanor, Wenger is one step away from wearing a "Kick Me" sign.
Hell, I've had plenty of laughs at Wenger's expense. It's cheap and easy fun.
Yet as time goes on, Wenger sometimes seems like the only sane man in England.
This weekend, when seven of the 10 Premier League fixtures were cancelled because of snow and sub-zero temperatures, Wenger questioned why this was happening. Basically saying that the clubs were worried about the conditions around the stadium, not the grass and pitch and the things that mattered.
As an American, I say amen to that.
A couple weeks ago we saw a crippling snowstorm bury Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Thanks to volunteers and a couple scheduling tweaks, the games went on as scheduled.
Maybe this is an England/U.S. thing. In America we relish games in the snow, whereas England it seems to send them running for the hills. Perhaps they don't have plows or de-icer? I don't know.
I do know that the majority of the stadium's in the Premier League had heating systems for the field. Perhaps the the league wanted to watch out for the dreaded "prawn sandwich" brigade. Who knows? Denying fans the fun of watching a match in the snow is their loss.
Watching Arsenal's fun 2-2 draw with Everton in Landon Donovan's EPL debut at the snowy Emirates was nothing short of memorable. (For my full thoughts, here's my FanHouse write-up.)
Anyway, back to Wenger.
No need to go crazy praising a man who's gone a couple seasons without winning anything. It's just amazing that in the entire world of soccer he's one of the very few, sane, logical voices.
Training techiniques and proper nutruition? Blasphemy until he came over the England. Statistical analysis? The stuff of nerd and bean counters.
Everything we read about the sport seems very kneejerk and prone to hyperbole. Is this a product of the British media or its lack of any real access to the players themselves? Do people simply fear change?
As the book "Soccernomics" more than adequately points out, there are very few thinkers in the game. Instead it's more the case of watch, react, regurgitate. (I know I fall into that trap, too.)
Wenger is like a lone voice of sanity at times, even if he's the easist punchline since Mili Vanilli. (I'd like to write more, but honestly my hand is cramping up big time. Not a good thing, at all.)
* Arsenal/Everton leftovers -- Is it possible, even though he's from California, that Donovan was the most comfortable player with the cold Saturday? He's certainly played some chilly ones in Columbus. ... The biggest question, was Donovan that good or was Armand Traore that bad? ... Does Arsenal have any height on its team besides Abou Diaby?
* Birmingham City/Manchester United nuggets -- This is not your father's Manchester United. ... On Friday late night, I was playing from "FIFA 10" with my pal Jared, who's a big soccer guy. I asked him about this match, who he'd favor. He called it a pick 'em, but both agreed if it was a video game you'd go United every time, because despite all the good work by Alex McLeish's team, they'd not exactly all that dynamic. But hey, if Cameron Jerome keeps it up, you never know. Of course it's hard to trust a guy with two first names. ... Therein lies the trouble for Birmingham. They're at a level that's beyond what the club probably expects, but do they know how to move to the next echelon? They do have some money withDr. Zaius Carson Yeung, right? How do you bring in that "next" level talent, while not sacrificing what got you to where you haven't lost since October? Stoke City is linked to Ruud van Nistelrooy, if I'm McLeish, I'm making a call to Madrid. ... Manchester United? It's like when Rooney isn't runnin' wild they're just another team. ... Stephen Carr and Lee Carsley might not win any awards, so I'll create one for them. The two Premier League players that look the most like your average, English Premier League fan.
* A rant on Premier League fantasy -- The official game still a work in progress. Yes this weekend is a fluke with all the cancellations, but the powers that be need to figure out a better system, namely with their knockout cup. Which games count for it this week? Me? I'm still alive and shouldn't complain. The Aussie owner I was paired off with ended up with negative points because of all the transfers he made, so be it. Still, the game needs some tweaks to get it on par with the major, American fantasy sports options.
* One other thing -- In light of the Togo incident, I couldn't be less interested by the African Cup of Nations, and as you know I'm a big ACN fan. Of course, I couldn't help but check out the end of the Angola/Mali 4-4 draw Sunday. Guess I'll be parachuting in-and-out of the thing after all.
Enjoy Manchester City/Blackburn, weather permitting Monday. I'll prolly be tweeting during the match, assuming I get home in time from a doctor's appointment.
Of course we were hardly devoid of soccer, should you have wanted it. A couple nice matches from Serie A, Barcelona live in HD on ESPN and, of course, the African Cup of Nations. (The empty seats at Italian grounds have a distinct MLS-feel to them, don't they? How did Italy host the World Cup in 1990 and in 20 years watch all the stadium's in the country go to pot?)
With a light schedule in the Premier League -- two games to be exact -- it made me remember something I'd scribbled on one of my many yellow legal pads I have lying around my condo to capture my golden brain nuggets. Admittedly, my handwriting isn't very easy to read so many times I spend a couple minutes trying to recall what I'd written.
This wasn't one of those times.
"Arsene Wenger is the easiest man on the planet for an American dude to make fun of."
Between his French accent that is so heavy you half expect him to cough up foie gras to his absolutely hideous 1980s tracksuit collection and his overall put-upon demeanor, Wenger is one step away from wearing a "Kick Me" sign.
Hell, I've had plenty of laughs at Wenger's expense. It's cheap and easy fun.
Yet as time goes on, Wenger sometimes seems like the only sane man in England.
This weekend, when seven of the 10 Premier League fixtures were cancelled because of snow and sub-zero temperatures, Wenger questioned why this was happening. Basically saying that the clubs were worried about the conditions around the stadium, not the grass and pitch and the things that mattered.
As an American, I say amen to that.
A couple weeks ago we saw a crippling snowstorm bury Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Thanks to volunteers and a couple scheduling tweaks, the games went on as scheduled.
Maybe this is an England/U.S. thing. In America we relish games in the snow, whereas England it seems to send them running for the hills. Perhaps they don't have plows or de-icer? I don't know.
I do know that the majority of the stadium's in the Premier League had heating systems for the field. Perhaps the the league wanted to watch out for the dreaded "prawn sandwich" brigade. Who knows? Denying fans the fun of watching a match in the snow is their loss.
Watching Arsenal's fun 2-2 draw with Everton in Landon Donovan's EPL debut at the snowy Emirates was nothing short of memorable. (For my full thoughts, here's my FanHouse write-up.)
Anyway, back to Wenger.
No need to go crazy praising a man who's gone a couple seasons without winning anything. It's just amazing that in the entire world of soccer he's one of the very few, sane, logical voices.
Training techiniques and proper nutruition? Blasphemy until he came over the England. Statistical analysis? The stuff of nerd and bean counters.
Everything we read about the sport seems very kneejerk and prone to hyperbole. Is this a product of the British media or its lack of any real access to the players themselves? Do people simply fear change?
As the book "Soccernomics" more than adequately points out, there are very few thinkers in the game. Instead it's more the case of watch, react, regurgitate. (I know I fall into that trap, too.)
Wenger is like a lone voice of sanity at times, even if he's the easist punchline since Mili Vanilli. (I'd like to write more, but honestly my hand is cramping up big time. Not a good thing, at all.)
* Arsenal/Everton leftovers -- Is it possible, even though he's from California, that Donovan was the most comfortable player with the cold Saturday? He's certainly played some chilly ones in Columbus. ... The biggest question, was Donovan that good or was Armand Traore that bad? ... Does Arsenal have any height on its team besides Abou Diaby?
* Birmingham City/Manchester United nuggets -- This is not your father's Manchester United. ... On Friday late night, I was playing from "FIFA 10" with my pal Jared, who's a big soccer guy. I asked him about this match, who he'd favor. He called it a pick 'em, but both agreed if it was a video game you'd go United every time, because despite all the good work by Alex McLeish's team, they'd not exactly all that dynamic. But hey, if Cameron Jerome keeps it up, you never know. Of course it's hard to trust a guy with two first names. ... Therein lies the trouble for Birmingham. They're at a level that's beyond what the club probably expects, but do they know how to move to the next echelon? They do have some money with
* A rant on Premier League fantasy -- The official game still a work in progress. Yes this weekend is a fluke with all the cancellations, but the powers that be need to figure out a better system, namely with their knockout cup. Which games count for it this week? Me? I'm still alive and shouldn't complain. The Aussie owner I was paired off with ended up with negative points because of all the transfers he made, so be it. Still, the game needs some tweaks to get it on par with the major, American fantasy sports options.
* One other thing -- In light of the Togo incident, I couldn't be less interested by the African Cup of Nations, and as you know I'm a big ACN fan. Of course, I couldn't help but check out the end of the Angola/Mali 4-4 draw Sunday. Guess I'll be parachuting in-and-out of the thing after all.
Enjoy Manchester City/Blackburn, weather permitting Monday. I'll prolly be tweeting during the match, assuming I get home in time from a doctor's appointment.
Labels: Arsenal, English Premier League, everton, Landon Donovan, Premier League, Soccer
I am with you on Wenger - he is fascinating to me. Sure he complains a lot, but more that Ferguson? I don't think so. Arsene's complaints seem to come across more as wimpy whines while Fergie is the imperious land-owner who cannot believe the peasants (Wigan, the referees, the FA) have had the temerity to get in the way of his carriage.
Your opinion of Landito's performance is kinder than mine. He did okay, and perhaps better than expected for his first ever game in that country/league. But he made way too many square or backwards passes rather than moving the ball forward - I would assume because he didn't want to turn the ball over. I'm sure Landito will get more aggressive in games to come, and the snow certainly couldn't have made any player more confident in their footing. Solid but not spectacular in my book.
On the Guardian podcast (highly recommended, BTW) they were suggesting that the game cancellations are largely law-suit avoidance. The cities or the home teams themselves can cancel a game if the walkways and stairs around their grounds are considered 'unsafe'. Once one city cancels a match because of the slippery steps between the train station and the stadium, other cities joined in like falling dominoes. No team or city wants a lawsuit over a broken wrist when some boozy fan slips on the ice, especially when the fact that *other* games were canceled becomes evidence against the teams that DID put their matches on. Not sure if that is the real reason, but it makes some sense.
I think Italy doesn't allow travelling fans after all the murders. Some teams may even have to play behind closed doors. Or, maybe it's just that they realize the football is shit there.
Is there someplace to watch the ACN matches?
I'll give you that Wenger is a thinking man's man. But his idea about eliminating throw ins is a diabolical idea which if anything would ruin the game. One of the Guardian writers went to town on him for this idea essentially concluding that spot kicks in place of throw in's would make the game like Rugby with tall lumbering players only around for their height and displacement in the frequent set piece opportunities that would result of any ball out of touch along the side. That idea aside, yes, you can tell the guy thinks about the game in ways most of us can't even begin to fathom.