(Abbreviated Monday Premier League post thingamajig today. Missed most of the Saturday action, aside from the highlights.)
So yeah, Saturday morning Carp Energy conceived for an abbreviated spring training softball scenario in wonderfully chilly 38-degree weather. It was glorious, nonetheless.
In between turns at bat I snuck a couple peeks on my phone to keep up with the Premier League scores. When I left my house I knew Chelsea was up 1-0 on Aston Villa and when I arrived at the field it was 1-1.
Every time I went back to check, the Chelsea score kept snowballing and snowballing until Frosty himself would have to be pretty damned impressed.
A 7-1 victory at Stamford Bridge against a very solid Villa team is a salvo across the bow toward Manchester United if I've ever seen one. (Most importantly, even with Manchester United's rather ho-hum 4-0 win at Bolton, Chelsea are still a point back of United, but now are two goals ahead in the possibly all-important goal differential.)
Considering what a big fan I am of knee-jerk reactions, Chelsea's recent outburst is pretty enjoyable, especially since nearly all the pundits had them left for dead after its Champions League ouster a couple weeks ago.
As long as Frank Lampard is still breathing, the Blues in their current incantation are hard to write off. Is the core getting older? Sure. Are they still capable of bludgeoning most Premier League opponents to a pulp? You bet.
Since I previously mentioned knee-jerk reactions, it makes sense not to go overboard over four days worth of matches, where Cheslea beat Portsmouth and Aston Villa by a combined 11-1 margin. There are still some cracks in the foundation, no doubt. I'm always on the mind to throw out games that finish in the 7-1 range as huge outliers. In fact, while most would say it gives Chelsea a huge edge psychologically heading into next weekend's showdown, to me, the Blues would have been a lot more dangerous off a hard-fought 1-0 game or even a draw. Sir Alex Ferguson shouldn't have trouble rousing the troops when all he has to do is plop down the numbers, "7-1".
You'd have to think, though, that the players must have taken it upon their shoulders to shape up. They definitely heard the rumors of who'd be coming to Stamford Bridge in the summer. And even if you've made more money than you know what to do with, no professional wants to lose his job.
It also helps for Chelsea that Flourent Malouda has decided to kick his game up a notch, or three, giving the Blues another dangerous attack-minded player to complement Didier Drogba -- who amazingly didn't even start vs. Villa. (No Rooney this weekend, either, and the clubs combine for 11 goals. Go figure.)
Of course all this does is set up the biggest game of the season, early Saturday morning when Chelsea goes to Old Trafford.
We'll have plenty of time to discuss this match on Friday. It should provide us with everything we could want as fans.
Oh, and Arsene Wenger hoping like hell for a draw.
What's the French word for pacifier?
To one end Wenger's conviction is admirable. In his mind, Arsenal should never lose a game, and when they do its either a combination of: a) mother nature b) a shoddy pitch c) negative tactics d) the officials e) the same secret cabal behind the Kennedy assassination.
Just once, that's all I'm asking for, is when the Gunners drop points, Wenger tips his cap to the opponent or just keeps his mouth shut.
Granted, it's hard to know what kind of context these post-game comments were made -- heaven knows if it was a few minutes after the match when the blood is still boiling -- but still, even if the reporter was trying to goad him, these words are a bit out of line:
Having not seen the match from start to finish, it's hard to get a gauge on Arsenal Saturday vs. Birmingham. Were the Gunners good? Did they deserve all three points?
When you don't score until the 80+ minute, I have a hard time buying that.
And when your keeper -- Manuel Alumnia -- decides to stop a shot from Kevin Phillips as if he were trying to set up a teammate for a volleyball spike, then your arguments ring a little hollow. (Too bad, it canceled out a great little run-and-strike from Samir Nasri.)
Even four points back of United, Arsenal aren't done. The manager knows this, too.
A word on Manchester United:
As much as I've ragged on the Red Devils for being just so-so aside from Wayne Rooney, that might be a little off base.
Dmitar Berbatov has stepped up massively lately. Luis Valencia has been good as season, same with Ryan Giggs as long as he's healthy.
And the once impenetrable defense of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are starting to channel their 2008 form. (Look, don't mess with Vidic. This is what happens. My quick top three guys you wouldn't want to fight in the Prem: 1. Vidic, 2. Abdoulaye Faye 3. Lee Cattermole.)
Plus, it doesn't hurt that United's second-leading league scorer is "Own Goal."
(Remember a few weeks ago I posed if there were any "bad" players in the Prem? How could I have forgotten Jlloyd Samuel. Horrendous own-goal.)
A word on Liverpool:
So are Los Reds fans happy now, that the ship seems righted? Is finishing fourth place the key to retaining Fernando Torres? Is the team actually good right now? Is it too little too late?
I'm confused, and I'm definitely not a Liverpool fan.
All I know is that I'd take Torres in the first few picks in an actual fantasy soccer draft. The only guy who there that might rival his genius for scoring goals is Leo Messi. The ball Torres hit inside of five minutes vs. Sunderland was nothing short of sublime.
Strikes like that do re-confirm the thought that Liverpool are contenders with a healthy Torres for 32+ games per season. (Only place you could really see Torres going is Chelsea, if Roman Abramovich made Liverpool a debt-clearing $200+ million dollar offer. As good as Torres is, that cash would be hard for the Hicks gang to turn down. Of course, the cost of rebuilding Anfield after fans riot in the streets and burn it to the ground is likely a little bit more.)
Other stuff:
Anyone hanging onto the thought of Aston Villa finishing fourth is deluding themselves. ... Another three points in the bank for Spurs. As long as Harry Redkanpp keeps them away from pregame lasagna, fourth place is theirs to lose. ... West Ham United? Ugh. Survive the drop or, not there will be massive housecleaning at Upton Park this summer. I'd say every single player on the roster is available. Guess it turns out the owner calling out the players and manager wasn't the soundest strategy of all time. Who knew? ... How does Ricardo Fuller only have two goals this season? That was snaky-good quality vs. West Ham. ... Good to see Jozy Altidore back on the field for Hull City, which continues to linger. ... Does Arsenal have the most traveling away support in the league? Always seems that way. ... Owen Coyle's short-shorts and high socks wasn't a good look. ... Gianfranco Zola? You're lost, friend. At this point it's looking like it might take an act of god to keep West Ham for dropping when the pilot is closing his eyes and jumping out of the plane with or without a parachute. Disaster.
Fantasy team o' the week:
D. Mahon's "gerrardia" put up 90 points this week with 56 from Lamps and 13 from Torres. At the top the game is three points. Great battle between Kevin Bagley and Ian Podraza.
Coming soon:
Visited Red Bull Arena Saturday night. A full recap forthcoming.
And I'm be on the Twitter on Tuesday and Wednesday yapping about the Champions League. Be sure to check it out.
(Next week I'll try to snap out of this West Ham-like snide of recent so-so quality recaps. At least this weekend I had an excuse.)
So yeah, Saturday morning Carp Energy conceived for an abbreviated spring training softball scenario in wonderfully chilly 38-degree weather. It was glorious, nonetheless.
In between turns at bat I snuck a couple peeks on my phone to keep up with the Premier League scores. When I left my house I knew Chelsea was up 1-0 on Aston Villa and when I arrived at the field it was 1-1.
Every time I went back to check, the Chelsea score kept snowballing and snowballing until Frosty himself would have to be pretty damned impressed.
A 7-1 victory at Stamford Bridge against a very solid Villa team is a salvo across the bow toward Manchester United if I've ever seen one. (Most importantly, even with Manchester United's rather ho-hum 4-0 win at Bolton, Chelsea are still a point back of United, but now are two goals ahead in the possibly all-important goal differential.)
Considering what a big fan I am of knee-jerk reactions, Chelsea's recent outburst is pretty enjoyable, especially since nearly all the pundits had them left for dead after its Champions League ouster a couple weeks ago.
As long as Frank Lampard is still breathing, the Blues in their current incantation are hard to write off. Is the core getting older? Sure. Are they still capable of bludgeoning most Premier League opponents to a pulp? You bet.
Since I previously mentioned knee-jerk reactions, it makes sense not to go overboard over four days worth of matches, where Cheslea beat Portsmouth and Aston Villa by a combined 11-1 margin. There are still some cracks in the foundation, no doubt. I'm always on the mind to throw out games that finish in the 7-1 range as huge outliers. In fact, while most would say it gives Chelsea a huge edge psychologically heading into next weekend's showdown, to me, the Blues would have been a lot more dangerous off a hard-fought 1-0 game or even a draw. Sir Alex Ferguson shouldn't have trouble rousing the troops when all he has to do is plop down the numbers, "7-1".
You'd have to think, though, that the players must have taken it upon their shoulders to shape up. They definitely heard the rumors of who'd be coming to Stamford Bridge in the summer. And even if you've made more money than you know what to do with, no professional wants to lose his job.
It also helps for Chelsea that Flourent Malouda has decided to kick his game up a notch, or three, giving the Blues another dangerous attack-minded player to complement Didier Drogba -- who amazingly didn't even start vs. Villa. (No Rooney this weekend, either, and the clubs combine for 11 goals. Go figure.)
Of course all this does is set up the biggest game of the season, early Saturday morning when Chelsea goes to Old Trafford.
We'll have plenty of time to discuss this match on Friday. It should provide us with everything we could want as fans.
Oh, and Arsene Wenger hoping like hell for a draw.
What's the French word for pacifier?
To one end Wenger's conviction is admirable. In his mind, Arsenal should never lose a game, and when they do its either a combination of: a) mother nature b) a shoddy pitch c) negative tactics d) the officials e) the same secret cabal behind the Kennedy assassination.
Just once, that's all I'm asking for, is when the Gunners drop points, Wenger tips his cap to the opponent or just keeps his mouth shut.
Granted, it's hard to know what kind of context these post-game comments were made -- heaven knows if it was a few minutes after the match when the blood is still boiling -- but still, even if the reporter was trying to goad him, these words are a bit out of line:
"How is Fabregas? I don't know. But it was a bad tackle, one more. He got tackled at the knee, kicked just under the knee. We tried to take him off but he said he was all right. Am I suggesting there were a lot of bad tackles? Leave me alone with that, for f***'s sake. The pitch was difficult to play on but in the second half we were on top but then got caught at the end. Their goal was offside but in football you are never finished when two teams fight to the end and we had enough chances to have scored a second goal."
Having not seen the match from start to finish, it's hard to get a gauge on Arsenal Saturday vs. Birmingham. Were the Gunners good? Did they deserve all three points?
When you don't score until the 80+ minute, I have a hard time buying that.
And when your keeper -- Manuel Alumnia -- decides to stop a shot from Kevin Phillips as if he were trying to set up a teammate for a volleyball spike, then your arguments ring a little hollow. (Too bad, it canceled out a great little run-and-strike from Samir Nasri.)
Even four points back of United, Arsenal aren't done. The manager knows this, too.
A word on Manchester United:
As much as I've ragged on the Red Devils for being just so-so aside from Wayne Rooney, that might be a little off base.
Dmitar Berbatov has stepped up massively lately. Luis Valencia has been good as season, same with Ryan Giggs as long as he's healthy.
And the once impenetrable defense of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are starting to channel their 2008 form. (Look, don't mess with Vidic. This is what happens. My quick top three guys you wouldn't want to fight in the Prem: 1. Vidic, 2. Abdoulaye Faye 3. Lee Cattermole.)
Plus, it doesn't hurt that United's second-leading league scorer is "Own Goal."
(Remember a few weeks ago I posed if there were any "bad" players in the Prem? How could I have forgotten Jlloyd Samuel. Horrendous own-goal.)
A word on Liverpool:
So are Los Reds fans happy now, that the ship seems righted? Is finishing fourth place the key to retaining Fernando Torres? Is the team actually good right now? Is it too little too late?
I'm confused, and I'm definitely not a Liverpool fan.
All I know is that I'd take Torres in the first few picks in an actual fantasy soccer draft. The only guy who there that might rival his genius for scoring goals is Leo Messi. The ball Torres hit inside of five minutes vs. Sunderland was nothing short of sublime.
Strikes like that do re-confirm the thought that Liverpool are contenders with a healthy Torres for 32+ games per season. (Only place you could really see Torres going is Chelsea, if Roman Abramovich made Liverpool a debt-clearing $200+ million dollar offer. As good as Torres is, that cash would be hard for the Hicks gang to turn down. Of course, the cost of rebuilding Anfield after fans riot in the streets and burn it to the ground is likely a little bit more.)
Other stuff:
Anyone hanging onto the thought of Aston Villa finishing fourth is deluding themselves. ... Another three points in the bank for Spurs. As long as Harry Redkanpp keeps them away from pregame lasagna, fourth place is theirs to lose. ... West Ham United? Ugh. Survive the drop or, not there will be massive housecleaning at Upton Park this summer. I'd say every single player on the roster is available. Guess it turns out the owner calling out the players and manager wasn't the soundest strategy of all time. Who knew? ... How does Ricardo Fuller only have two goals this season? That was snaky-good quality vs. West Ham. ... Good to see Jozy Altidore back on the field for Hull City, which continues to linger. ... Does Arsenal have the most traveling away support in the league? Always seems that way. ... Owen Coyle's short-shorts and high socks wasn't a good look. ... Gianfranco Zola? You're lost, friend. At this point it's looking like it might take an act of god to keep West Ham for dropping when the pilot is closing his eyes and jumping out of the plane with or without a parachute. Disaster.
Fantasy team o' the week:
D. Mahon's "gerrardia" put up 90 points this week with 56 from Lamps and 13 from Torres. At the top the game is three points. Great battle between Kevin Bagley and Ian Podraza.
Coming soon:
Visited Red Bull Arena Saturday night. A full recap forthcoming.
And I'm be on the Twitter on Tuesday and Wednesday yapping about the Champions League. Be sure to check it out.
(Next week I'll try to snap out of this West Ham-like snide of recent so-so quality recaps. At least this weekend I had an excuse.)
Labels: English Premier League, Premier League, Soccer
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