Consider the following some leftover/half-baked ideas in the wake of Bob Bradley copping Sunil Gulati's four-year re-up.
* * *
The Revolutionary War began in 1776. This much we know.
Over time, the British influence grew less-and-less pronounced over the "Colonies."
Yet one area the crown still seems to whole a decent amount of sway is in how Americans digest and consume soccer news. Rightly or wrongly, the English influence hovers over how things go down in the States. (*)
(*) Paying attention to the EPL vs. MLS is a tired debate for another day.
A lot of it's a language issue. It's easy to read stuff coming from England and get wrapped up in it.
If, say, my knowledge of the German language extended beyond knowing how to ask where to get a blood transfusion, perhaps this little ol' blog would have a Bundgesliga recap every Monday instead of the English/Barclay's Premier League.
Moving on.
Next week, if you catch any of England's Euro 2012 qualifiers -- recommended for the trainwreck/making fun of Fabio Capello elements -- notice the banners draping around the arenas bearing the Cross of St. George. Note how they'll be adorned mostly by names of smaller, non-Premier League clubs like, for instance, Crewe Alexandra or Stockport County.
That's not to say the only people in England that care about the Three Lions are lower-league supporters. Think about it this way, if you support a club like Manchester United, that eats up most of your time. You fortunate enough to watch talents Wayne Rooney on a weekly basis. If you're stuck in a lower/non-league club your best chances of experiencing soccer at the highest level comes from the England Team ... a dire, bitter, cynical existence no doubt.
How this translates across the Atlantic is that it's pretty easy to tell from this past summer's World Cup, Americans don't exactly hate soccer as we've been lead to believe seemingly since Bethlehem Steel disbanded. Most reasonable sports fans, take Deadspin founder Will Leitch who I traded a few emails with during the Cup, can see the value of the 32-team all-or-nothing tournament every four years. Maybe some of this has to do with the fact it's fun to root for American when it's the underdog in a sport.
Either way, the scorn of the Mariotti's and Romes of the world is fading toward irrelevance.
Thanks to the heroics of Landon Donovan and the gritty, gutty U.S. team -- granted a team that won just one game in South Africa and needed 93 minutes to do so -- found some baseline connection with a width swath of people, something soccer in the States had been waiting for ever since, probably, the ball deflecting off Joe Gaetjens ear in Belo Horizonte at the 1950 World Cup.
What this created, in a roundabout way, is people who's only concrete interest in soccer -- one where they have a connection on the emotional level -- is the exploits of the U.S. National Team. For these folks, the U.S. represents their de facto club team.
Naturally there's absolutely nothing wrong with people caring only about the U.S.(*), the bandwagon has plenty more spots. Look, Tuesday afternoon on "Sportscenter" the pathetic home attendance of the Tampa Bay Rays in a pennant race draws more time than Bradley's new contract. This is still America, after all.
(*) If you're in this boat, give club soccer a chance, whether it be MLS, EPL, La Liga, the League of Taiwan, whatever. The day-in, day-out life of following a club is sometimes more rewarding than the "all the eggs in one basket" international soccer sometimes devolves into occasionally.
Yet the problem as it relates to a large segment of people being 1) angry 2) saddened 3) disillusioned by another four years of Bradley is that people want to watch every U.S. match and be entertained by some kind of semi-mythical soccer, think a cross between Brazil 1970 and Spain 2008 with a dash of Lionel Messi's XBox doppelganger.
International soccer isn't so much about beauty, though, is it? In theory, the results should speak for themselves.
It's a rehash of the old debate, is soccer supposed to be art or science?
Once again the trap the U.S. falls into, is that since 1990 the time, money and resources pumped into the program has pushed the team head-and-shoulders above everybody in CONCACAF aside from Mexico. As a result it's hard for even the most ardent U.S. fans to get all that excited by playing Guatemala or El Salvador. Call it a snobby or haughty attitude, but it exists.
Throw in the news today that CONCACAF is probbaly going to axe the "Hex" round of qualifying and chances are the U.S. won't even play Mexico in a 2014 qualifier, making the road to Brazil perhaps a little more fraught with peril -- only two of four qualify as opposed to three/four of six -- but surely a lot less exciting from a matchup, tactical standpoint.
At the same time, there is no logistical way for the U.S. to play teams like England, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, etc. in meaningful settings aside from the World Cup, tangentially making next summer's Gold Cup all the more important since it holds the "Golden Ticket" to the 2013 Confederations Cup -- a.k.a. a rare non-World Cup chance for the U.S. to prove its mettle in a meaningful tournament.
So regardless of it Gulati re-hired Bradley, went for Jurgen Klinsmann or another coach with a foreign pedigree or even a Steve Niccol-type, the man on the sidelines won't spice up what is, unfortunately a sort of soccer limbo the U.S. remains stuck in.
* * *
Maybe the best consensus around all the voices on the U.S. soccer Inter-nets can draw in the wake of the Bradley re-hire is this: what do people realistically expect from the U.S. heading into 2014?
Is the U.S. ready to pose a legitimate challenge to win the World Cup?
Is the U.S. what it is, a 95-percent lock to qualify, who is making up the 32-team numbers?
Should U.S. fans be happy that the squad has gone in 20 years from total irrelevance/laughingstock status, to a legitimate Top 20 team in the world?
Or better yet, is the U.S. still at the point where the draw in December 2013 plays perhaps the most meaningful role in what happens at the next World Cup?
There are two schools at thought working here and there's tough to sort out.
On the one hand the U.S. is sort of at the point of, to crib from Dennis Green, "who we think it is." For many that's acceptable. The U.S. will qualify, put out a competent team, struggle in key areas with technical skill, make up for it with heart and hustle ... then go home sort of happy.
It's not a bad approach, yet the way the U.S. went out to Ghana in June, with the World Cup draw breaking as fortunately as it ever will sullies the sunny optimism some might have. You know, if not here, when? What changes in four years, with the most important U.S. players moving toward the wrong side of 30, aside from Michael Bradley.
The flip side of this is new expectation is that the U.S. should compete for, at least, the quarterfinals of every World Cup. Again, is a tricky line of action lest we forget but three Americans (Oguchi Onyewu, Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones) are on European clubs currently playing in the Champions League. True, the U.S. might have more options than every before, at least at certain positions, but not exactly the elite, cultured players who make the difference at the highest levels.
Yet if the people believe U.S. Soccer don't dream big, what exactly are we doing here? Should it be taken seriously that the stated U.S. goal is to win a World Cup, or is this going to end up an eternal pipe dream? Does it just make for a good quote to put up and keep the carrot in front of people's noses?
The best thing to come out of the U.S. under Bradley is that the team believes it can play with anybody ... even if that believe includes conceding goals in the first five minutes and making the work all that much harder.
In America look at some of the things we've seen in sports recently. The aforementioned Rays played in a World Series. Tiny Butler reached the NCAA Tournament finals. Kurt Warner -- a former grocery clerk -- led a team to multiple Super Bowls.
Hell, what's the enduring sports memory of the 20th century for Americans? I'd bet a lot of folks would answer, the so-called "Miracle on Ice"?
Granted, this stuff sort of plays out better in the pages of a Disney sports movie script, than it does on the field vs. the Brazil and Spains of the world. At that point, thing like, you know, tactical nous play a bigger role than any "sports montage" ever could.
Your personal verdict on the Bradley re-hire likely depends if you're happy with the slowly building status quo, or if you harbor bigger hopes for what the U.S. can grow into and become.
* * *
So ... if we look at it objectively, is the U.S. National Team head coaching job desirable?
Pro -- Outside of us loser soccer Internet trolls(*) as U.S. coach you have next to no media pressure outside of the occasional rant by Alexi Lalas, depending how much Red Bull he's had in a given day.
(*) Michael Bradley's thoughts, not mine.
Con -- If nobody really cares, how excited can you get for the job if you're in the Klinsmann/international mold?
Pro -- Unless your name is Sven-Goran Eriksson, qualifying out of CONCACAF is about as sure a bet outside the host country.
Con -- Outside of the matches with Mexico and occasional high-profile friendly, the majority of U.S. matches you're expected to win (with ease) including trips in-and-around the inhospitable jungles of Central American. Not fun.
Pro -- The U.S. possesses a deep sporting culture and plenty of great athletes ...
Con -- ... where the best aren't exactly farmed toward soccer and those that do aren't raised in the most rigorous technical club systems like Europe or South America.
Pro -- Overall, you're mostly judged on your World Cup matches by the general public.
Con -- Overall, you're mostly judged on your World Cup matches by the general public.
Pro -- With MLS here to stay and players getting ample chances in Europe, the U.S. theoretically possesses a deep talent pool.
Con -- You might be forced to play somebody like Robbie Findley in an important World Cup match.
Pro -- If you have the right set of grand ideas, you can implement leave your stamp on the team that seems eager to take steps toward becoming just-below elite level.
Con -- The U.S. is used to doing things its own unique way. If you don't have an innate knowledge of how U.S. soccer operates you're probably not being considered for the job in the first place.
If you want to weigh it, the U.S. job probably falls somewhere in the middle. You don't have the daily pressures of a Brazil or England, yet you're not working with the elite caliber players those nations possess.
The job, you'd think, would be attractive to a football wanderer like a Guus Hiddink, but the biggest turnoff to most foreign-style coaches is that the U.S. infrastructure is so unique right down to the core level. Most non-Americans are going to scoff at how American players are grown and probably want wholesale changes.
Probably most coaches wouldn't want the job because -- forget the salary -- they want to coach. Bradley basically said as much and was actively seeking the day-to-day duties afforded to a club boss.
An international coach, most of the time is spent scouting players. In the U.S.'s case that means watching a lot of grainy footage on your laptop of the Danish league. Sure some coaches wouldn't mind this relatively pressure-free life style, but the best ones want to be challenged. Throw in the fact your best prospects are playing either in MLS or scattered across European backwaters and cobbling together a working 30-man squad isn't as cut-and-dried as it seems.
In that regard you kind of feel bad for Bradley, that nobody in Europe is willing to take a flier on him. Aside from the National Team camp in January and the couple FIFA dates sprinkled on the calendar, how many days a year does he actually get to go out onto the field and coach? Who knows, maybe he learns from his mistakes of the last four years and figures out a way to stop the terrible early starts and find a way to close out matches.
For the U.S. to probably take that next step -- perhaps the hardest in the world, in breaking into the upper tier of soccer nations -- it needs a dreamer with vision. As the USSF is currently constituted, that's simply not going to happen. Beyond that, turning the average youth player from a good athlete who wins trophies to a mini one-touch version of Xavi takes years, time and money.
The bare minimum a U.S. coaches needs to achieve is qualify for the World Cup. At this stage, off the buzz of 2010 Gulati couldn't afford to even consider risking this not happening in 2014, hence Bradley became the safe (if not only) choice for the job.
* * *
Today's closing thought:
What was the name of that old Fatboy Slim album? "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars"?
That's sort of how I personally feel about how all this went down and what the U.S. is going to do going forward. We all, as fans, want the U.S. to shoot for the best, but we're stuck settling for what we are. It's not a great feeling, but it could be a whole lot worse. Look at nations like Scotland, who may never reach a World Cup in our lifetimes again.
More than anything Bradley's return reminds me of an episode of "Louie" from a few weeks ago, when Louis CK was on a date in a coffee shop and gets browbeaten by a young high school tough. His date is appalled how Louie shriveled into a wimp when challenged by the football player from Staten Island.
Intellectually, she says, she understands why Louie didn't do anything to the kid, but emotionally at a primal level she was massively turned off by his massive cowardice.
My brain can rationalize and accept why Bradley returning to the helm of the USMNT for the next four years isn't the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of professional sports. Emotionally, though, it leaves me a little empty, as in, we've seen this story before and its hard to envision the sequel being a whole lot more interesting. A fresh set of eyes and ideas after four years isn't all that much to ask, is it?
Here's to hoping, like most of my non-Andy Carroll preseason EPL predictions, I'm wrong.
Club v. Country, American style:
The Revolutionary War began in 1776. This much we know.
Over time, the British influence grew less-and-less pronounced over the "Colonies."
Yet one area the crown still seems to whole a decent amount of sway is in how Americans digest and consume soccer news. Rightly or wrongly, the English influence hovers over how things go down in the States. (*)
(*) Paying attention to the EPL vs. MLS is a tired debate for another day.
A lot of it's a language issue. It's easy to read stuff coming from England and get wrapped up in it.
If, say, my knowledge of the German language extended beyond knowing how to ask where to get a blood transfusion, perhaps this little ol' blog would have a Bundgesliga recap every Monday instead of the English/Barclay's Premier League.
Moving on.
Next week, if you catch any of England's Euro 2012 qualifiers -- recommended for the trainwreck/making fun of Fabio Capello elements -- notice the banners draping around the arenas bearing the Cross of St. George. Note how they'll be adorned mostly by names of smaller, non-Premier League clubs like, for instance, Crewe Alexandra or Stockport County.
That's not to say the only people in England that care about the Three Lions are lower-league supporters. Think about it this way, if you support a club like Manchester United, that eats up most of your time. You fortunate enough to watch talents Wayne Rooney on a weekly basis. If you're stuck in a lower/non-league club your best chances of experiencing soccer at the highest level comes from the England Team ... a dire, bitter, cynical existence no doubt.
How this translates across the Atlantic is that it's pretty easy to tell from this past summer's World Cup, Americans don't exactly hate soccer as we've been lead to believe seemingly since Bethlehem Steel disbanded. Most reasonable sports fans, take Deadspin founder Will Leitch who I traded a few emails with during the Cup, can see the value of the 32-team all-or-nothing tournament every four years. Maybe some of this has to do with the fact it's fun to root for American when it's the underdog in a sport.
Either way, the scorn of the Mariotti's and Romes of the world is fading toward irrelevance.
Thanks to the heroics of Landon Donovan and the gritty, gutty U.S. team -- granted a team that won just one game in South Africa and needed 93 minutes to do so -- found some baseline connection with a width swath of people, something soccer in the States had been waiting for ever since, probably, the ball deflecting off Joe Gaetjens ear in Belo Horizonte at the 1950 World Cup.
What this created, in a roundabout way, is people who's only concrete interest in soccer -- one where they have a connection on the emotional level -- is the exploits of the U.S. National Team. For these folks, the U.S. represents their de facto club team.
Naturally there's absolutely nothing wrong with people caring only about the U.S.(*), the bandwagon has plenty more spots. Look, Tuesday afternoon on "Sportscenter" the pathetic home attendance of the Tampa Bay Rays in a pennant race draws more time than Bradley's new contract. This is still America, after all.
(*) If you're in this boat, give club soccer a chance, whether it be MLS, EPL, La Liga, the League of Taiwan, whatever. The day-in, day-out life of following a club is sometimes more rewarding than the "all the eggs in one basket" international soccer sometimes devolves into occasionally.
Yet the problem as it relates to a large segment of people being 1) angry 2) saddened 3) disillusioned by another four years of Bradley is that people want to watch every U.S. match and be entertained by some kind of semi-mythical soccer, think a cross between Brazil 1970 and Spain 2008 with a dash of Lionel Messi's XBox doppelganger.
International soccer isn't so much about beauty, though, is it? In theory, the results should speak for themselves.
It's a rehash of the old debate, is soccer supposed to be art or science?
Once again the trap the U.S. falls into, is that since 1990 the time, money and resources pumped into the program has pushed the team head-and-shoulders above everybody in CONCACAF aside from Mexico. As a result it's hard for even the most ardent U.S. fans to get all that excited by playing Guatemala or El Salvador. Call it a snobby or haughty attitude, but it exists.
Throw in the news today that CONCACAF is probbaly going to axe the "Hex" round of qualifying and chances are the U.S. won't even play Mexico in a 2014 qualifier, making the road to Brazil perhaps a little more fraught with peril -- only two of four qualify as opposed to three/four of six -- but surely a lot less exciting from a matchup, tactical standpoint.
At the same time, there is no logistical way for the U.S. to play teams like England, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, etc. in meaningful settings aside from the World Cup, tangentially making next summer's Gold Cup all the more important since it holds the "Golden Ticket" to the 2013 Confederations Cup -- a.k.a. a rare non-World Cup chance for the U.S. to prove its mettle in a meaningful tournament.
So regardless of it Gulati re-hired Bradley, went for Jurgen Klinsmann or another coach with a foreign pedigree or even a Steve Niccol-type, the man on the sidelines won't spice up what is, unfortunately a sort of soccer limbo the U.S. remains stuck in.
Self Awareness:
Maybe the best consensus around all the voices on the U.S. soccer Inter-nets can draw in the wake of the Bradley re-hire is this: what do people realistically expect from the U.S. heading into 2014?
Is the U.S. ready to pose a legitimate challenge to win the World Cup?
Is the U.S. what it is, a 95-percent lock to qualify, who is making up the 32-team numbers?
Should U.S. fans be happy that the squad has gone in 20 years from total irrelevance/laughingstock status, to a legitimate Top 20 team in the world?
Or better yet, is the U.S. still at the point where the draw in December 2013 plays perhaps the most meaningful role in what happens at the next World Cup?
There are two schools at thought working here and there's tough to sort out.
On the one hand the U.S. is sort of at the point of, to crib from Dennis Green, "who we think it is." For many that's acceptable. The U.S. will qualify, put out a competent team, struggle in key areas with technical skill, make up for it with heart and hustle ... then go home sort of happy.
It's not a bad approach, yet the way the U.S. went out to Ghana in June, with the World Cup draw breaking as fortunately as it ever will sullies the sunny optimism some might have. You know, if not here, when? What changes in four years, with the most important U.S. players moving toward the wrong side of 30, aside from Michael Bradley.
The flip side of this is new expectation is that the U.S. should compete for, at least, the quarterfinals of every World Cup. Again, is a tricky line of action lest we forget but three Americans (Oguchi Onyewu, Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones) are on European clubs currently playing in the Champions League. True, the U.S. might have more options than every before, at least at certain positions, but not exactly the elite, cultured players who make the difference at the highest levels.
Yet if the people believe U.S. Soccer don't dream big, what exactly are we doing here? Should it be taken seriously that the stated U.S. goal is to win a World Cup, or is this going to end up an eternal pipe dream? Does it just make for a good quote to put up and keep the carrot in front of people's noses?
The best thing to come out of the U.S. under Bradley is that the team believes it can play with anybody ... even if that believe includes conceding goals in the first five minutes and making the work all that much harder.
In America look at some of the things we've seen in sports recently. The aforementioned Rays played in a World Series. Tiny Butler reached the NCAA Tournament finals. Kurt Warner -- a former grocery clerk -- led a team to multiple Super Bowls.
Hell, what's the enduring sports memory of the 20th century for Americans? I'd bet a lot of folks would answer, the so-called "Miracle on Ice"?
Granted, this stuff sort of plays out better in the pages of a Disney sports movie script, than it does on the field vs. the Brazil and Spains of the world. At that point, thing like, you know, tactical nous play a bigger role than any "sports montage" ever could.
Your personal verdict on the Bradley re-hire likely depends if you're happy with the slowly building status quo, or if you harbor bigger hopes for what the U.S. can grow into and become.
Best, Worst Job:
So ... if we look at it objectively, is the U.S. National Team head coaching job desirable?
Pro -- Outside of us loser soccer Internet trolls(*) as U.S. coach you have next to no media pressure outside of the occasional rant by Alexi Lalas, depending how much Red Bull he's had in a given day.
(*) Michael Bradley's thoughts, not mine.
Con -- If nobody really cares, how excited can you get for the job if you're in the Klinsmann/international mold?
Pro -- Unless your name is Sven-Goran Eriksson, qualifying out of CONCACAF is about as sure a bet outside the host country.
Con -- Outside of the matches with Mexico and occasional high-profile friendly, the majority of U.S. matches you're expected to win (with ease) including trips in-and-around the inhospitable jungles of Central American. Not fun.
Pro -- The U.S. possesses a deep sporting culture and plenty of great athletes ...
Con -- ... where the best aren't exactly farmed toward soccer and those that do aren't raised in the most rigorous technical club systems like Europe or South America.
Pro -- Overall, you're mostly judged on your World Cup matches by the general public.
Con -- Overall, you're mostly judged on your World Cup matches by the general public.
Pro -- With MLS here to stay and players getting ample chances in Europe, the U.S. theoretically possesses a deep talent pool.
Con -- You might be forced to play somebody like Robbie Findley in an important World Cup match.
Pro -- If you have the right set of grand ideas, you can implement leave your stamp on the team that seems eager to take steps toward becoming just-below elite level.
If you want to weigh it, the U.S. job probably falls somewhere in the middle. You don't have the daily pressures of a Brazil or England, yet you're not working with the elite caliber players those nations possess.
The job, you'd think, would be attractive to a football wanderer like a Guus Hiddink, but the biggest turnoff to most foreign-style coaches is that the U.S. infrastructure is so unique right down to the core level. Most non-Americans are going to scoff at how American players are grown and probably want wholesale changes.
Probably most coaches wouldn't want the job because -- forget the salary -- they want to coach. Bradley basically said as much and was actively seeking the day-to-day duties afforded to a club boss.
An international coach, most of the time is spent scouting players. In the U.S.'s case that means watching a lot of grainy footage on your laptop of the Danish league. Sure some coaches wouldn't mind this relatively pressure-free life style, but the best ones want to be challenged. Throw in the fact your best prospects are playing either in MLS or scattered across European backwaters and cobbling together a working 30-man squad isn't as cut-and-dried as it seems.
In that regard you kind of feel bad for Bradley, that nobody in Europe is willing to take a flier on him. Aside from the National Team camp in January and the couple FIFA dates sprinkled on the calendar, how many days a year does he actually get to go out onto the field and coach? Who knows, maybe he learns from his mistakes of the last four years and figures out a way to stop the terrible early starts and find a way to close out matches.
For the U.S. to probably take that next step -- perhaps the hardest in the world, in breaking into the upper tier of soccer nations -- it needs a dreamer with vision. As the USSF is currently constituted, that's simply not going to happen. Beyond that, turning the average youth player from a good athlete who wins trophies to a mini one-touch version of Xavi takes years, time and money.
The bare minimum a U.S. coaches needs to achieve is qualify for the World Cup. At this stage, off the buzz of 2010 Gulati couldn't afford to even consider risking this not happening in 2014, hence Bradley became the safe (if not only) choice for the job.
What was the name of that old Fatboy Slim album? "Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars"?
That's sort of how I personally feel about how all this went down and what the U.S. is going to do going forward. We all, as fans, want the U.S. to shoot for the best, but we're stuck settling for what we are. It's not a great feeling, but it could be a whole lot worse. Look at nations like Scotland, who may never reach a World Cup in our lifetimes again.
More than anything Bradley's return reminds me of an episode of "Louie" from a few weeks ago, when Louis CK was on a date in a coffee shop and gets browbeaten by a young high school tough. His date is appalled how Louie shriveled into a wimp when challenged by the football player from Staten Island.
Intellectually, she says, she understands why Louie didn't do anything to the kid, but emotionally at a primal level she was massively turned off by his massive cowardice.
My brain can rationalize and accept why Bradley returning to the helm of the USMNT for the next four years isn't the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of professional sports. Emotionally, though, it leaves me a little empty, as in, we've seen this story before and its hard to envision the sequel being a whole lot more interesting. A fresh set of eyes and ideas after four years isn't all that much to ask, is it?
Here's to hoping, like most of my non-Andy Carroll preseason EPL predictions, I'm wrong.
Labels: bob bradley, jurgen klinsmann, Soccer, sunil gulati, USMNT
"They say our love won't pay the rent
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
I guess that's so, we don't have a pot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got
Babe
I got you babe I got you babe." -- Sonny & Cher, "I Got You Babe."
Okay, one more pertinent quote before we dive head first into all this, though the imagine of Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley singing this treachly love song to each other is something more horrific than most M. Night Shyamalan flicks.
"Don't drive angry, don't ever drive angry." -- Phil Connors, "Groundhog Day."
As a general rule, don't blog angry either.
The news that broke a little while ago on Monday that Bradley will get another four years in charge of the U.S. National Team didn't exactly conjure anger, more just sad resignation than anything else.
Bill Murray in Harold Ramis' "Groundhog Day" on the international soccer fields, as it were.
As apt as the "Groundhog Day" comparision might be, in the fact that it's back to the same drawing board for another four years, I've been marinating on an analogy for the last few weeks I was hoping I'd never have to make, but here goes anyway.
Gulati and the USSF bringing back Bradley is tantamount to what "The Office" has been the last three or so seasons, in essence spinning it's wheels, recycling the same plot lines and gags. Are the antics of Michael Scott and the rest of the crew at Dunder Mifflin still funny? Sure, most of the time.
Yet it's hard to say the show hasn't stagnated. It's hard to stay fresh(*) for seven seasons on a network sitcom.
(*) Losing Michael Schur and Greg Daniels to the superior "Parks and Rec" doesn't help. A story for another day.
Look at some of the chances "The Office" had to change in its recent seasons:
Michael leaves Dunder Mifflin due to Stringer Bell's management tactics ... but he's back to his old job within four episodes.
Michael and Jim become co-managers of the office, Michael is back to his own role within the course of the episode.
It's the old principle of television, if it ain't broke, don't fix it ... and milk it until the rating go completely sour.
At least with "The Office" star Steve Carrell is officially leaving after the seventh season when his contract expires. Rumored replacements include Rhys Darby (Murray from "Flight of the Conchords") and Danny McBride (if you don't know who he is, well, you're probably reading the wrong blog. Sorry.)
So Dunder Mifflin's Scranton Branch might get its version of Kenny Powers to mix things up.
The U.S., through the 2014 World Cup cycle, sadly will not. It's not that Bradley did a bad job, decisions vs. Ghana notwithstanding. It's just, are we sure we're on board with another eight years of Bradley? Wouldn't a fresh set of eyes make a little more sense?
That said, is Bradley "Satan in Sweats" as some might have you believe? No.
Is he the world's greatest tactical mind? Of course not.
Did Bradley help to building an ethos/personality -- think hard work/belief it's never over/fighting spirit(*) -- of how the U.S. plays? To his credit, yes.
(*) Does this rah-rah/college approach get you over the hump against the world elite? Or is it the best approach? For now, unfortunately, unless we find a way to naturalize a Andres Iniesta or Wesley Sneijder type, yes.
Are the statistics the USSF wants to push on people a little misleading about Bradley? You bet.
Does the average U.S. fan love his lineup selections, style of play and general aloofness? No.
Does the U.S. need a wildman coach like Diego Maradona making headlines by snorting coke off a stripper's buttocks? Well, that's not the kind of attention the folks in Chicago want.
Would Jurgen Klinsmann -- the only real viable candidate anyone's better able to produce -- have led the U.S. to World Cup glory? Impossible to say.
One thing you can deduce is that Klinsmann never really wanted the job in the first place. Not in 2006 and again not in 2010.
If the German legend actually wanted to coach the U.S., wouldn't he have taken it four years ago, when players like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, etc. were still in their primes? And if you're Klinsmann and you objectively look at the U.S. from top-to-bottom, what do you see? An aging core and not a whole lot of givens the pipeline, though the 2014 cycle is in its infancy.
Throw in the fact Gulati probably wouldn't be able to break the bank on Klinsmann or any other coach of any merit and we're back to the boring, safe, tight-lipped world of Bob Bradley.
The hard reality here, too, is that the U.S. job simply isn't all that an attractive of a position and the USSF doesn't have the financial cout to entice candidates to think otherwise. Nobody else wanted it, nobody across the Atlantic wanted Bradley at their club, so here we stand back where we were four years ago.
All-and-all, is Bradley coming back for another four years the worst thing in the world? No. There's a fair enough chance that Klinsmann wouldn't have panned out.(*)
(*) Maybe we need to redefine success for the USMNT. Are all the eggs in the World Cup basket? Is it four years or bust? Is it just the unfortunate reality of being one of two big fishes in the small pond of CONCACAF?
Let's face it, barring a total calamity the U.S. is going to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Along the way there's the suddenly important 2011 Gold Cup -- trying to figure out a way to slow down Mexico's re-ascendancy in CONCACAF, too. There is the long, mostly tedious process of qualification and sorting out a fractured player pool spread across MLS and most of Europe. (Admittedly, identifying the best U.S. talent and where to play it isn't the easiest thing in the world.)
And once Brazil 2014 rolls around, we're back to where we were on June 26, when the U.S. had it all set up for them on a platter against Ghana in the Round of 16. Bradley whiffed that day, playing Ricardo Clark then second-guessing himself by substituting the ex-Dynamo midfielder in the first half. The U.S. is never going to have it as laid out for them on a silver platter as this summer in South Africa. When Bradley stepped up to the plate, he whiffed, plain-and-simple.
We know Bradley is smart enough to get the U.S. into major tournaments, and as we saw at the Confederations Cup, given the right situation he's not a bad game-planner. Yet the same problems -- leaking early goals, first and foremost -- continued to plague the squad. If he goes back to the same hands that got him there this summer, we're looking at a repeat of the 2006 Bruce Arena flame out in Germany where he thought the 2002 crew still had what it took at the top level.
Wherein the problem lies, I'd gather from most fans, is that four more years of Bradley rocking his stern looks and sweatpants on the sidelines simply isn't exciting. Should a coach's A-1 priority be to jazz up the fanbase or say crazy things, like say Ozzie Guillen? Obviously not.
Beyond that level of "blah-ness" Bradley exudes, there's this perceived notion of "Bob's Guys." His reliance on the same players (cough, cough Jon Bornstein ... who wasn't a disaster in South Africa in fairness) and stale tactics leave many fans wanting more.
The results (2007 Gold Cup, runner up 2009 Confederations Cup) and resume of Bradley speak for themselves. Maybe the bigger question is to why the good bulk of U.S. fans seemingly wanted anyone not named Bob Bradley heading into 2011?
Perhaps Monday's announcement all boils down to this simple fact: should excitement level be the determine factor in hiring an international soccer coach?
Time will tell ... however it'll be hard to watch a U.S. game for the next four years without the sound of Sonny & Cher's serenading each other playing in the back of your head.
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
I guess that's so, we don't have a pot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got
Babe
I got you babe I got you babe." -- Sonny & Cher, "I Got You Babe."
Okay, one more pertinent quote before we dive head first into all this, though the imagine of Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley singing this treachly love song to each other is something more horrific than most M. Night Shyamalan flicks.
"Don't drive angry, don't ever drive angry." -- Phil Connors, "Groundhog Day."
As a general rule, don't blog angry either.
The news that broke a little while ago on Monday that Bradley will get another four years in charge of the U.S. National Team didn't exactly conjure anger, more just sad resignation than anything else.
Bill Murray in Harold Ramis' "Groundhog Day" on the international soccer fields, as it were.
As apt as the "Groundhog Day" comparision might be, in the fact that it's back to the same drawing board for another four years, I've been marinating on an analogy for the last few weeks I was hoping I'd never have to make, but here goes anyway.
Gulati and the USSF bringing back Bradley is tantamount to what "The Office" has been the last three or so seasons, in essence spinning it's wheels, recycling the same plot lines and gags. Are the antics of Michael Scott and the rest of the crew at Dunder Mifflin still funny? Sure, most of the time.
Yet it's hard to say the show hasn't stagnated. It's hard to stay fresh(*) for seven seasons on a network sitcom.
(*) Losing Michael Schur and Greg Daniels to the superior "Parks and Rec" doesn't help. A story for another day.
Look at some of the chances "The Office" had to change in its recent seasons:
Michael leaves Dunder Mifflin due to Stringer Bell's management tactics ... but he's back to his old job within four episodes.
Michael and Jim become co-managers of the office, Michael is back to his own role within the course of the episode.
It's the old principle of television, if it ain't broke, don't fix it ... and milk it until the rating go completely sour.
At least with "The Office" star Steve Carrell is officially leaving after the seventh season when his contract expires. Rumored replacements include Rhys Darby (Murray from "Flight of the Conchords") and Danny McBride (if you don't know who he is, well, you're probably reading the wrong blog. Sorry.)
So Dunder Mifflin's Scranton Branch might get its version of Kenny Powers to mix things up.
The U.S., through the 2014 World Cup cycle, sadly will not. It's not that Bradley did a bad job, decisions vs. Ghana notwithstanding. It's just, are we sure we're on board with another eight years of Bradley? Wouldn't a fresh set of eyes make a little more sense?
That said, is Bradley "Satan in Sweats" as some might have you believe? No.
Is he the world's greatest tactical mind? Of course not.
Did Bradley help to building an ethos/personality -- think hard work/belief it's never over/fighting spirit(*) -- of how the U.S. plays? To his credit, yes.
(*) Does this rah-rah/college approach get you over the hump against the world elite? Or is it the best approach? For now, unfortunately, unless we find a way to naturalize a Andres Iniesta or Wesley Sneijder type, yes.
Are the statistics the USSF wants to push on people a little misleading about Bradley? You bet.
Does the average U.S. fan love his lineup selections, style of play and general aloofness? No.
Does the U.S. need a wildman coach like Diego Maradona making headlines by snorting coke off a stripper's buttocks? Well, that's not the kind of attention the folks in Chicago want.
Would Jurgen Klinsmann -- the only real viable candidate anyone's better able to produce -- have led the U.S. to World Cup glory? Impossible to say.
One thing you can deduce is that Klinsmann never really wanted the job in the first place. Not in 2006 and again not in 2010.
If the German legend actually wanted to coach the U.S., wouldn't he have taken it four years ago, when players like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, etc. were still in their primes? And if you're Klinsmann and you objectively look at the U.S. from top-to-bottom, what do you see? An aging core and not a whole lot of givens the pipeline, though the 2014 cycle is in its infancy.
Throw in the fact Gulati probably wouldn't be able to break the bank on Klinsmann or any other coach of any merit and we're back to the boring, safe, tight-lipped world of Bob Bradley.
The hard reality here, too, is that the U.S. job simply isn't all that an attractive of a position and the USSF doesn't have the financial cout to entice candidates to think otherwise. Nobody else wanted it, nobody across the Atlantic wanted Bradley at their club, so here we stand back where we were four years ago.
All-and-all, is Bradley coming back for another four years the worst thing in the world? No. There's a fair enough chance that Klinsmann wouldn't have panned out.(*)
(*) Maybe we need to redefine success for the USMNT. Are all the eggs in the World Cup basket? Is it four years or bust? Is it just the unfortunate reality of being one of two big fishes in the small pond of CONCACAF?
Let's face it, barring a total calamity the U.S. is going to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Along the way there's the suddenly important 2011 Gold Cup -- trying to figure out a way to slow down Mexico's re-ascendancy in CONCACAF, too. There is the long, mostly tedious process of qualification and sorting out a fractured player pool spread across MLS and most of Europe. (Admittedly, identifying the best U.S. talent and where to play it isn't the easiest thing in the world.)
And once Brazil 2014 rolls around, we're back to where we were on June 26, when the U.S. had it all set up for them on a platter against Ghana in the Round of 16. Bradley whiffed that day, playing Ricardo Clark then second-guessing himself by substituting the ex-Dynamo midfielder in the first half. The U.S. is never going to have it as laid out for them on a silver platter as this summer in South Africa. When Bradley stepped up to the plate, he whiffed, plain-and-simple.
We know Bradley is smart enough to get the U.S. into major tournaments, and as we saw at the Confederations Cup, given the right situation he's not a bad game-planner. Yet the same problems -- leaking early goals, first and foremost -- continued to plague the squad. If he goes back to the same hands that got him there this summer, we're looking at a repeat of the 2006 Bruce Arena flame out in Germany where he thought the 2002 crew still had what it took at the top level.
Wherein the problem lies, I'd gather from most fans, is that four more years of Bradley rocking his stern looks and sweatpants on the sidelines simply isn't exciting. Should a coach's A-1 priority be to jazz up the fanbase or say crazy things, like say Ozzie Guillen? Obviously not.
Beyond that level of "blah-ness" Bradley exudes, there's this perceived notion of "Bob's Guys." His reliance on the same players (cough, cough Jon Bornstein ... who wasn't a disaster in South Africa in fairness) and stale tactics leave many fans wanting more.
The results (2007 Gold Cup, runner up 2009 Confederations Cup) and resume of Bradley speak for themselves. Maybe the bigger question is to why the good bulk of U.S. fans seemingly wanted anyone not named Bob Bradley heading into 2011?
Perhaps Monday's announcement all boils down to this simple fact: should excitement level be the determine factor in hiring an international soccer coach?
Time will tell ... however it'll be hard to watch a U.S. game for the next four years without the sound of Sonny & Cher's serenading each other playing in the back of your head.
Labels: bob bradley, jurgen klinsmann, Soccer, sunil gulati, USMNT
In an English Premier League weekend lacking a marquee, gold star, look-at-me, fixture it still turned out to be a fairly entertaining weekend, even if we were denied another 6-0 thrashing.
If anything it was a return to normalcy, wherein things aren't as predictable as they seem on paper.
To wit:
a) Tottenham lose at home to seemingly hapless Wigan 1-0.
b) Blackpool overturn a 1-0 deficit at home and end up drawing Fulham 2-2.
c) Chelsea score just two -- yes two -- goals in a win over Stoke at Stamford Bridge.
d) Bolton, down to 10 men after Jussi Jaaskelainen's slap attack, fight back from down 2-0 to draw Birmingham 2-2.
e) Everton earn 18 corners, yet fail to slip one past Brad Friedel at Villa Park.
f) Carlos Tevez misses a wide-open goal, and Sunderland stun Manchester City with a 94th minute penalty by Darren Bent -- where Joe Hart guessed the right way only to see it sizzle under his ankles.
Granted, for all those unexpected events, the top of the table still reads: Chelsea (9), Arsenal (7) and Manchester United (7).
And if you're truly a fan of the status quo, Robin van Persie limped off injured yet again.
Some things never change.
This Week's Topics:
* About that Blackburn/Arsenal match.
* Roberto's Martinez's revenge.
* City can't buy everything.
* Tangerine (Not the Led Zeppelin song.)
* Welcome back Kotters.
No Blackeye for Gunners:
Considering how the Premier League started, how many people waking up Saturday morning expected Arsenal to run riot over Sam Allardyce's Blackburn side at Ewood Park.
Don't be shy. (I can see your hands anyway.)
Turns out, this match isn't going to be sent to the MoMA, yet it was engaging nonetheless, if only for the contrast of styles with Arsenal opting for its would-be champagne football, and Blackburn playing a more direct, aerial/set piece game.
The ironies here were than Blackburn's equalizer, after Theo Walcott broke the deadlock running onto a perfectly weighted pass from van Persie (before his ankle turned into bone dust), was it came via a nice passing movement from El Hadj Diouf, poked in by Mame Diouf.
TheSpitting Flying Diouf Brothers(*) Traveling Circus, as it were.
(*) No, they aren't related. Though it's a shame Blackburn can't wrangle Pape Diouf into the mix before the transfer window closes. Think the "Three Bears" puns English headline writers could use!
Better than that, for all the talk of Arsenal assembling a team that "plays the right way," "keeps it on the ground" and all that rapturous stuff, the winner from Andrey Arshavin came off a deflection and the little Russian playmaker being in the right place at the right time. Nothing graceful or wondrous, it.
Not to once again get into this soccer/art debates, but it's a results oriented business. So is it easy or fun to begrudge a team like Blackburn for playing a tough brand of physical ball, lacking the grace-like qualities of Arsenal? Sure. What's a team in this position supposed to do though, lie down and take a beating, getting passed to death in the process? When you have a physical presence like Christopher Samba are you supposed to turn him loose on set pieces in the box, or tell him to sit in the corner so he doesn't hurt Arsene Wenger's feelings?
One takeaway, Blackburn, despite the most galling lack of flair since Jennifer Aniston's character in "Office Space" isn't such a bad unit.
As down as I've been on Wenger and Arsenal, this indeed was a terrific result early in the season. Sure the defense was ripped apart at times and Manuel Almunia exudes about as much confidence as a broken umbrella in a category five hurricane.
Here's the thing, we'll probably point to the same weaknesses displayed by Arsenal all season. Something tells me, though, this year in spite of all that this team might be able to mount a sustained challenge at the title, even if they end up falling short, likely due to the shortcoming rearing their ugly heads vs. the other top five clubs.
Wigan Remains Play Now Sports:
Wigan 1, Spurs 0 at White Hart Lane. Yep, it happened.
In retrospect, this one shouldn't have been all that hard to see coming.
Spurs, no matter what Harry Redknapp could say, were going to be due a letdown after qualifying for the Champions League proper with a win over Young Boys on Wednesday.
And on the flip side, there was probably no way, after being outscored 10-0 at home Wigan could be as bad as they were the first two weeks.
Throw in the lingering embarrassment of losing 9-1 at the same ground last season, and if Wigan were ever going to show they have a pulse, it would be this match.
Having said all that, nobody expected Tottenham to show up flatter than Kiera Knightley's Oscar gowns, now did they?
Spurs never were in this match, or at least looked like they'd win it. Maybe if Younes Kaboul puts a little more accuracy on his late header and it ends 1-1 to pretty up the proverbial pig, but Tottenham never deserved three points from this one.
Credit Wigan for pushing the game, capitalizing on the absence of Gomes(*) in net and making Spurs work for everything instead of rolling over and playing dead. Wigan are going to struggle all season, yet at least unlike Stoke and West Ham they'll see a "3" next to their names instead of a "0" for the next two weeks.
(*) Yep, Gomes is officially past laughingstock status.
And Ali al-Habsi, who knew? Couple great reaction saves to keep it even. Must've seen him listed on the Bolton squad for about five years without ever seeing him play. Looks like Chris Kirkland and his baseball cap might have a date with left bench for the time being.
As for Tottenham? The big issue at the front of attack remains. The team has plenty of "red chip" players, but a glaring lack of "blue chippers." Gareth Bale might be moving toward that position, but right now he's stuck a "purple chip status" as evidenced by his lack of influence Saturday.
What Spurs need is a guy who you can count on for 15+ goals per season. Jermain Defoe is a good player, but ultimately very streaky and can be neutralized. Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane aren't bad players, but not consistent week-in, week-out players in the Prem. (Luis Fabiano re-signed with Sevilla for another two years. Cross him off the list.)
Tottenham still must exert too hard to put the ball in the net on a consistent basis.
And if you're a Spurs fan, I'd be a little worried about Redknapp's juggling of Europe/Premier League. Michael Dawson had nothing in the tank on Saturday. Wouldn't have that match been a perfect place to slowly debut/integrate William Gallas into the side?
Enjoy the San Siro.
Money Can't Buy You Wins:
Well, unless you play in Italy, right?
Joking aside, Sunderland's 1-0 victory over Manchester City Sunday at the Stadium of Light once again showed that City can spend more than every other team in Europe combined, but all those untold millions can't:
1) Offset Carlos Tevez whiffing on a completely wide-open goal mouth.
2) Stop Micah Richard's from rugby tackling Darren Bent in the box in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Tactically, it's hard to fault Roberto Mancini for playing 4-3-2-1 on the road at the Stadium of Light, one of the tougher away grounds in the league. As the game progressed Yaya Toure did drift a little more up the field, leaving Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry in the holding spots. That said, leaving Tevez all alone to track all over the field -- one time he even kicked a ball out in the City box for a throw -- might not work the best. Sure it was effective at times for Manchester United, but as of now James Milner and Adam Johnson/et al aren't quite Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, along side him.
Mancini eventually brought on Emmanuel Adebayor and David Silva. Adebayor nearly back-heeled a ball out of the air, but Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet turned it away.
If City are going to seriously mount a challenge at the top, games like those are ones they win, not lose at the death. How many times do you see teams like Arsenal or Manchester United finally wear down the opponent and snatch a late winner?
Sunderland, though, aren't pushovers. Despite losing Frazier Campbell to a torn up knee on a non-contact challenge with Richards and Michael Turner to a crocked ankle from a challenge by Jolean Lescott, Steve Bruce's team slowly but surely took it to City as the game wore on.
The addition of Egyptian Ahmed Al-Muhammadi gives Sunderland some needed width, balancing out nicely with Steed Malbranque on the left. Jordan Henderson and Lee Cattermole do their "Ax & Smash" impressions in the middle, so the basic shape of the squad is there.
Fortunately Sir Alex Ferguson saw out of the goodness of his heart to loan out Danny Welbeck to Steve Bruce's team.
Astute readers will remember I tipped Sunderland as my unofficial team of the season. Sunday's win probably cemented it.
Tangerine Dreaming (Cont.):
So what if the camera at Bloomfield Road was tighter than a size medium shirt on a fat guy. It was party time for Blackpool, again.
The Tangerines fought back from Bobby Zamora's first half goal to take a 2-0 lead, only to cough it up late on Dickson Etuhu's late equalizer.
Despite everyone thinking Blackpool would be a 3-point ATM, they've got four points from three and, I'll say it, are actually dangerous.
Ian Holloway is playing an attack-first game and will catch teams on the counter-attack, sort of like Burnley did for a while last year with Owen Coyle in charge.
Throw in the fact teams are expecting to win against Blackpool, and they might get frustrated if they're not up 2-0 within 10 minutes.
Will it last? Probably not, nor on the road. Eventually the small squad is going to tire and injuries will certainly hit. For now, Blackpool is playing with passion and a purpose, which is nice to see.
As for Fulham. Of note, new signing Moussa Dembele set up both goals, including an excellent pass from his own half that Etuhu ran onto and finished. Looks like he may be keeping Clint Dempsey on the bench for a while under Mark Hughes.
Welcome Back, dudes:
Wayne Rooney scored.
Fernando Torres scored.
All is seemingly well with the cosmos.
Okay, Rooney scored from the spot on a penalty resulting from poor Jonathan Spector's clumsy challenge on Ryan Giggs. In essence, that's all we need to know about Manchester United's 3-0 win against free-falling West Ham, which might have the worst defense in the league.(*)
(*) Fabio Capello, you're really recalling Mathew Upson for England? The guy is shot. No joke, Titus Bramble would be a better option at this point. Serious.
As for Senor Torres? His game (and hair cut) remain a work in progress, but he at least saved Liverpool some embarrassment at Anfield vs. West Brom.
Maybe I'll have to take it back. The Raul Merieles, Lucas and Christian Poulsen poo-poo platter stepping in for Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso is a definite downgrade on par with the "X-Files" replacing David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson with Mimi Rodgers and T-1000 late in the series run.
Around the League:
Considering Chelsea has been screwed over by the African Cup of Nations in recent years, the Blues are due a break -- the international break as it were -- with John Terry and Frank Lampard each getting injured Saturday. The lack of games next weekend help Chelsea, if not England. ... Glad to see ESPN using Steve McManaman in the studio this weekend. Too bad the host next to him (Kevin Connors) had some inept telepromter writers, including "Roy Hogd-a-son" and "Manny Diouf." ... Jermain Defoe and El Hadj Diouf certainly share the same barber, or should we say, stylist. ... Fun fact, Wigan actually has away fans. More than one fan, too. ... If there was an award for "Biggest Ginger in Hungary," Bolton backup keeper Ádam Bogdán wins first, second and third prizes. ... Joking aside, nice fight back from Bolton, including a doozy of a free kick from ex-Burnley striker Robbie Blake. ... Easiest the oddest signage board of the weekend was the Stadium of Light touting www.visittanzania.go.tz ... Anyone else notice how late in the Arsenal/Blackburn game, Morten Gamst Pederson became Morten Gamst Peterson. ... How'd you like to be Maxi Rodriguez? You leave Atletico Madrid to join the quagmire that is Liverpool. In your absence Atleti wins the Europa League and now the manager who recruited you -- Rafa Benitez -- is in Italy and you're coming off the bench for Roy Hodgson? ... Not worth writing a ton about it, but Wolves/Newcastle was a truly feisty affair with no love lost from either side. In his second year in the top flight Sylvan Ebanks-Blake looks like he's figuring it out. If he can score in the double-digit range Wolves might not find themselves in the relegation maelstrom. ... Fabio Capello attended games at: Blackburn, Blackpool and Manchester United Saturday. Reader Erik Kriebel suggested he used a helicopter. I'd like to think he simply clapped his hands and summoned a magic carpet. ... Didn't watch Aston Villa/Everton all that intently, yet every time I looked up Tim Howard or Brad Friedel were making saves. Is it possible Everton bought into a little bit of its own hype? Sunday perhaps the Toffees were merely unlucky to be beaten by Luke Young's cracker. ... Aston Villa allowed six goals in a loss last week, but now have six total points.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Jason Frank's H.B. Cube FC put up 73 points, with 20 from captain Flourent Malouda. Nani and Rooney were his other big guns.
Shame He Never Played NCAA Soccer Player of the Week:
Andy Carroll. The Beast Man.
The growing Geordie legend scored again Saturday vs. Wolves. Could you imagine the damage he'd have done playing in the States as a kid? Oh wait, he'd probably have been too rough and been called for "dangerous plays" every game, so he'd likely have quit soccer for another sport. Shame.
Carroll's overall burliness found him face-to-face and chest-to-chest with American keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who took issue with an aerial challenge from Carroll. In fairness, Hahnemann might have just been a little cranky or had some bad coffee that morning. Not a lot in it, as the Brits say.
Either way, ff the "Moss Mask" exists, I want someone in England to start manufacturing the "Carroll Samurai Wig." Is that too much to ask?
Lookalikes:
Not that I watch "Top Chef" or anything and maybe it was the early Saturday morning sloop-overs, but if you squint, does Cesc Fabregas look like Angelo from this season?
Quick word on, yes, MLS:
Absolutely gorgeous weekend in the Tri-State area. Pops Cardillo wanted to go back to Red Bull Arena, and as a dutiful son, I obliged. Didn't hurt that my old pal Hirshey hooked me up with his season tickets at midfield. A more perfect view of the field you couldn't find.
A lot at Red Bull Arena changed since my first visit in March, mostly with the club culture. There's a lot more actual soccer fans in the stands, not curiosity seekers.
Probably has something to do with that guy named Henry wearing the No. 14 shirt.
Lucky for us, we were in the building for Henry's first MLS goal, mostly set up by Dane Richards, who scored a nice little individual effort himself just before halftime. Or, as Hirshey texted me, Henry has found his new Robert Pires. (I countered that if you squint, Joel Lindpere looks like an Estonian Freddie Ljungberg. Sorry, you'll have to take my word for it. I don't have the Calvin Klein ads to back me up.)
Long story short, Henry even at 33 years old still has a touch that 97 percent of players in MLS can only dream about, or utilize in "FIFA." Every time he touches it, there is magic in his boots, no lie.
Two other takeaways. Bobby Convey is playing left back for San Jose. He got toasted by Richards. Hope Jurgen Klinsmann(*) at least gives him a look in the next World Cup cycle.
(*) Oops. Thought I was dreaming, still. Viva Jon Bornstein!!!
And Geovanni came on late for the Earthquakes. Not much to say there. Not sure where he's going to play, seems like he was dropped back in a 4-4-1-1. Don't want to say the words, "Denilson" here, but hard to see a ton of upside for the ex-Hull City player as a DP.
One Other Thing:
What's the longest any readers have kept a disc from Netflix? I'd been holding onto "Where the Wild Things Are" since May. Blame the World Cup for that one.
Finally got around to watching it this weekend and, well, I'd offer you an opinion but I dozed off twice and wasn't all that interesting in reaching for the remote and rewinding it. So, if you want a movie recommendation, hmmm ... how about "Book of Eli." Thoroughly enjoyed it. The Hughes Bros. need to lay off the weed and get a little more productive, although other than Heather Grahamn's 1890s loose-fitting prostitute-wear, there's not much to look at in "From Hell," which has wormed its way into regular HBO rotation.(An excellent Alan Moore graphic novel, naturally.)
And since Ron Swanson wasn't nominated for an Emmy, I refrained from watching celebrities fete each other with silly hunks of metal, like "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter.
Looking Ahead:
International break. Enjoy it.
Next time we're back, crossing over with NFL Sundays. Football overload.
If anything it was a return to normalcy, wherein things aren't as predictable as they seem on paper.
To wit:
a) Tottenham lose at home to seemingly hapless Wigan 1-0.
b) Blackpool overturn a 1-0 deficit at home and end up drawing Fulham 2-2.
c) Chelsea score just two -- yes two -- goals in a win over Stoke at Stamford Bridge.
d) Bolton, down to 10 men after Jussi Jaaskelainen's slap attack, fight back from down 2-0 to draw Birmingham 2-2.
e) Everton earn 18 corners, yet fail to slip one past Brad Friedel at Villa Park.
f) Carlos Tevez misses a wide-open goal, and Sunderland stun Manchester City with a 94th minute penalty by Darren Bent -- where Joe Hart guessed the right way only to see it sizzle under his ankles.
Granted, for all those unexpected events, the top of the table still reads: Chelsea (9), Arsenal (7) and Manchester United (7).
And if you're truly a fan of the status quo, Robin van Persie limped off injured yet again.
Some things never change.
This Week's Topics:
* About that Blackburn/Arsenal match.
* Roberto's Martinez's revenge.
* City can't buy everything.
* Tangerine (Not the Led Zeppelin song.)
* Welcome back Kotters.
No Blackeye for Gunners:
Considering how the Premier League started, how many people waking up Saturday morning expected Arsenal to run riot over Sam Allardyce's Blackburn side at Ewood Park.
Don't be shy. (I can see your hands anyway.)
Turns out, this match isn't going to be sent to the MoMA, yet it was engaging nonetheless, if only for the contrast of styles with Arsenal opting for its would-be champagne football, and Blackburn playing a more direct, aerial/set piece game.
The ironies here were than Blackburn's equalizer, after Theo Walcott broke the deadlock running onto a perfectly weighted pass from van Persie (before his ankle turned into bone dust), was it came via a nice passing movement from El Hadj Diouf, poked in by Mame Diouf.
The
(*) No, they aren't related. Though it's a shame Blackburn can't wrangle Pape Diouf into the mix before the transfer window closes. Think the "Three Bears" puns English headline writers could use!
Better than that, for all the talk of Arsenal assembling a team that "plays the right way," "keeps it on the ground" and all that rapturous stuff, the winner from Andrey Arshavin came off a deflection and the little Russian playmaker being in the right place at the right time. Nothing graceful or wondrous, it.
Not to once again get into this soccer/art debates, but it's a results oriented business. So is it easy or fun to begrudge a team like Blackburn for playing a tough brand of physical ball, lacking the grace-like qualities of Arsenal? Sure. What's a team in this position supposed to do though, lie down and take a beating, getting passed to death in the process? When you have a physical presence like Christopher Samba are you supposed to turn him loose on set pieces in the box, or tell him to sit in the corner so he doesn't hurt Arsene Wenger's feelings?
One takeaway, Blackburn, despite the most galling lack of flair since Jennifer Aniston's character in "Office Space" isn't such a bad unit.
As down as I've been on Wenger and Arsenal, this indeed was a terrific result early in the season. Sure the defense was ripped apart at times and Manuel Almunia exudes about as much confidence as a broken umbrella in a category five hurricane.
Here's the thing, we'll probably point to the same weaknesses displayed by Arsenal all season. Something tells me, though, this year in spite of all that this team might be able to mount a sustained challenge at the title, even if they end up falling short, likely due to the shortcoming rearing their ugly heads vs. the other top five clubs.
Wigan Remains Play Now Sports:
Wigan 1, Spurs 0 at White Hart Lane. Yep, it happened.
In retrospect, this one shouldn't have been all that hard to see coming.
Spurs, no matter what Harry Redknapp could say, were going to be due a letdown after qualifying for the Champions League proper with a win over Young Boys on Wednesday.
And on the flip side, there was probably no way, after being outscored 10-0 at home Wigan could be as bad as they were the first two weeks.
Throw in the lingering embarrassment of losing 9-1 at the same ground last season, and if Wigan were ever going to show they have a pulse, it would be this match.
Having said all that, nobody expected Tottenham to show up flatter than Kiera Knightley's Oscar gowns, now did they?
Spurs never were in this match, or at least looked like they'd win it. Maybe if Younes Kaboul puts a little more accuracy on his late header and it ends 1-1 to pretty up the proverbial pig, but Tottenham never deserved three points from this one.
Credit Wigan for pushing the game, capitalizing on the absence of Gomes(*) in net and making Spurs work for everything instead of rolling over and playing dead. Wigan are going to struggle all season, yet at least unlike Stoke and West Ham they'll see a "3" next to their names instead of a "0" for the next two weeks.
(*) Yep, Gomes is officially past laughingstock status.
And Ali al-Habsi, who knew? Couple great reaction saves to keep it even. Must've seen him listed on the Bolton squad for about five years without ever seeing him play. Looks like Chris Kirkland and his baseball cap might have a date with left bench for the time being.
As for Tottenham? The big issue at the front of attack remains. The team has plenty of "red chip" players, but a glaring lack of "blue chippers." Gareth Bale might be moving toward that position, but right now he's stuck a "purple chip status" as evidenced by his lack of influence Saturday.
What Spurs need is a guy who you can count on for 15+ goals per season. Jermain Defoe is a good player, but ultimately very streaky and can be neutralized. Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane aren't bad players, but not consistent week-in, week-out players in the Prem. (Luis Fabiano re-signed with Sevilla for another two years. Cross him off the list.)
Tottenham still must exert too hard to put the ball in the net on a consistent basis.
And if you're a Spurs fan, I'd be a little worried about Redknapp's juggling of Europe/Premier League. Michael Dawson had nothing in the tank on Saturday. Wouldn't have that match been a perfect place to slowly debut/integrate William Gallas into the side?
Enjoy the San Siro.
Money Can't Buy You Wins:
Well, unless you play in Italy, right?
Joking aside, Sunderland's 1-0 victory over Manchester City Sunday at the Stadium of Light once again showed that City can spend more than every other team in Europe combined, but all those untold millions can't:
1) Offset Carlos Tevez whiffing on a completely wide-open goal mouth.
2) Stop Micah Richard's from rugby tackling Darren Bent in the box in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Tactically, it's hard to fault Roberto Mancini for playing 4-3-2-1 on the road at the Stadium of Light, one of the tougher away grounds in the league. As the game progressed Yaya Toure did drift a little more up the field, leaving Nigel de Jong and Gareth Barry in the holding spots. That said, leaving Tevez all alone to track all over the field -- one time he even kicked a ball out in the City box for a throw -- might not work the best. Sure it was effective at times for Manchester United, but as of now James Milner and Adam Johnson/et al aren't quite Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, along side him.
Mancini eventually brought on Emmanuel Adebayor and David Silva. Adebayor nearly back-heeled a ball out of the air, but Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet turned it away.
If City are going to seriously mount a challenge at the top, games like those are ones they win, not lose at the death. How many times do you see teams like Arsenal or Manchester United finally wear down the opponent and snatch a late winner?
Sunderland, though, aren't pushovers. Despite losing Frazier Campbell to a torn up knee on a non-contact challenge with Richards and Michael Turner to a crocked ankle from a challenge by Jolean Lescott, Steve Bruce's team slowly but surely took it to City as the game wore on.
The addition of Egyptian Ahmed Al-Muhammadi gives Sunderland some needed width, balancing out nicely with Steed Malbranque on the left. Jordan Henderson and Lee Cattermole do their "Ax & Smash" impressions in the middle, so the basic shape of the squad is there.
Fortunately Sir Alex Ferguson saw out of the goodness of his heart to loan out Danny Welbeck to Steve Bruce's team.
Astute readers will remember I tipped Sunderland as my unofficial team of the season. Sunday's win probably cemented it.
Tangerine Dreaming (Cont.):
So what if the camera at Bloomfield Road was tighter than a size medium shirt on a fat guy. It was party time for Blackpool, again.
The Tangerines fought back from Bobby Zamora's first half goal to take a 2-0 lead, only to cough it up late on Dickson Etuhu's late equalizer.
Despite everyone thinking Blackpool would be a 3-point ATM, they've got four points from three and, I'll say it, are actually dangerous.
Ian Holloway is playing an attack-first game and will catch teams on the counter-attack, sort of like Burnley did for a while last year with Owen Coyle in charge.
Throw in the fact teams are expecting to win against Blackpool, and they might get frustrated if they're not up 2-0 within 10 minutes.
Will it last? Probably not, nor on the road. Eventually the small squad is going to tire and injuries will certainly hit. For now, Blackpool is playing with passion and a purpose, which is nice to see.
As for Fulham. Of note, new signing Moussa Dembele set up both goals, including an excellent pass from his own half that Etuhu ran onto and finished. Looks like he may be keeping Clint Dempsey on the bench for a while under Mark Hughes.
Welcome Back, dudes:
Wayne Rooney scored.
Fernando Torres scored.
All is seemingly well with the cosmos.
Okay, Rooney scored from the spot on a penalty resulting from poor Jonathan Spector's clumsy challenge on Ryan Giggs. In essence, that's all we need to know about Manchester United's 3-0 win against free-falling West Ham, which might have the worst defense in the league.(*)
(*) Fabio Capello, you're really recalling Mathew Upson for England? The guy is shot. No joke, Titus Bramble would be a better option at this point. Serious.
As for Senor Torres? His game (and hair cut) remain a work in progress, but he at least saved Liverpool some embarrassment at Anfield vs. West Brom.
Maybe I'll have to take it back. The Raul Merieles, Lucas and Christian Poulsen poo-poo platter stepping in for Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso is a definite downgrade on par with the "X-Files" replacing David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson with Mimi Rodgers and T-1000 late in the series run.
Around the League:
Considering Chelsea has been screwed over by the African Cup of Nations in recent years, the Blues are due a break -- the international break as it were -- with John Terry and Frank Lampard each getting injured Saturday. The lack of games next weekend help Chelsea, if not England. ... Glad to see ESPN using Steve McManaman in the studio this weekend. Too bad the host next to him (Kevin Connors) had some inept telepromter writers, including "Roy Hogd-a-son" and "Manny Diouf." ... Jermain Defoe and El Hadj Diouf certainly share the same barber, or should we say, stylist. ... Fun fact, Wigan actually has away fans. More than one fan, too. ... If there was an award for "Biggest Ginger in Hungary," Bolton backup keeper Ádam Bogdán wins first, second and third prizes. ... Joking aside, nice fight back from Bolton, including a doozy of a free kick from ex-Burnley striker Robbie Blake. ... Easiest the oddest signage board of the weekend was the Stadium of Light touting www.visittanzania.go.tz ... Anyone else notice how late in the Arsenal/Blackburn game, Morten Gamst Pederson became Morten Gamst Peterson. ... How'd you like to be Maxi Rodriguez? You leave Atletico Madrid to join the quagmire that is Liverpool. In your absence Atleti wins the Europa League and now the manager who recruited you -- Rafa Benitez -- is in Italy and you're coming off the bench for Roy Hodgson? ... Not worth writing a ton about it, but Wolves/Newcastle was a truly feisty affair with no love lost from either side. In his second year in the top flight Sylvan Ebanks-Blake looks like he's figuring it out. If he can score in the double-digit range Wolves might not find themselves in the relegation maelstrom. ... Fabio Capello attended games at: Blackburn, Blackpool and Manchester United Saturday. Reader Erik Kriebel suggested he used a helicopter. I'd like to think he simply clapped his hands and summoned a magic carpet. ... Didn't watch Aston Villa/Everton all that intently, yet every time I looked up Tim Howard or Brad Friedel were making saves. Is it possible Everton bought into a little bit of its own hype? Sunday perhaps the Toffees were merely unlucky to be beaten by Luke Young's cracker. ... Aston Villa allowed six goals in a loss last week, but now have six total points.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Jason Frank's H.B. Cube FC put up 73 points, with 20 from captain Flourent Malouda. Nani and Rooney were his other big guns.
Shame He Never Played NCAA Soccer Player of the Week:
Andy Carroll. The Beast Man.
The growing Geordie legend scored again Saturday vs. Wolves. Could you imagine the damage he'd have done playing in the States as a kid? Oh wait, he'd probably have been too rough and been called for "dangerous plays" every game, so he'd likely have quit soccer for another sport. Shame.
Carroll's overall burliness found him face-to-face and chest-to-chest with American keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who took issue with an aerial challenge from Carroll. In fairness, Hahnemann might have just been a little cranky or had some bad coffee that morning. Not a lot in it, as the Brits say.
Either way, ff the "Moss Mask" exists, I want someone in England to start manufacturing the "Carroll Samurai Wig." Is that too much to ask?
Lookalikes:
Not that I watch "Top Chef" or anything and maybe it was the early Saturday morning sloop-overs, but if you squint, does Cesc Fabregas look like Angelo from this season?
Quick word on, yes, MLS:
Absolutely gorgeous weekend in the Tri-State area. Pops Cardillo wanted to go back to Red Bull Arena, and as a dutiful son, I obliged. Didn't hurt that my old pal Hirshey hooked me up with his season tickets at midfield. A more perfect view of the field you couldn't find.
A lot at Red Bull Arena changed since my first visit in March, mostly with the club culture. There's a lot more actual soccer fans in the stands, not curiosity seekers.
Probably has something to do with that guy named Henry wearing the No. 14 shirt.
Lucky for us, we were in the building for Henry's first MLS goal, mostly set up by Dane Richards, who scored a nice little individual effort himself just before halftime. Or, as Hirshey texted me, Henry has found his new Robert Pires. (I countered that if you squint, Joel Lindpere looks like an Estonian Freddie Ljungberg. Sorry, you'll have to take my word for it. I don't have the Calvin Klein ads to back me up.)
Long story short, Henry even at 33 years old still has a touch that 97 percent of players in MLS can only dream about, or utilize in "FIFA." Every time he touches it, there is magic in his boots, no lie.
Two other takeaways. Bobby Convey is playing left back for San Jose. He got toasted by Richards. Hope Jurgen Klinsmann(*) at least gives him a look in the next World Cup cycle.
(*) Oops. Thought I was dreaming, still. Viva Jon Bornstein!!!
And Geovanni came on late for the Earthquakes. Not much to say there. Not sure where he's going to play, seems like he was dropped back in a 4-4-1-1. Don't want to say the words, "Denilson" here, but hard to see a ton of upside for the ex-Hull City player as a DP.
One Other Thing:
What's the longest any readers have kept a disc from Netflix? I'd been holding onto "Where the Wild Things Are" since May. Blame the World Cup for that one.
Finally got around to watching it this weekend and, well, I'd offer you an opinion but I dozed off twice and wasn't all that interesting in reaching for the remote and rewinding it. So, if you want a movie recommendation, hmmm ... how about "Book of Eli." Thoroughly enjoyed it. The Hughes Bros. need to lay off the weed and get a little more productive, although other than Heather Grahamn's 1890s loose-fitting prostitute-wear, there's not much to look at in "From Hell," which has wormed its way into regular HBO rotation.(An excellent Alan Moore graphic novel, naturally.)
And since Ron Swanson wasn't nominated for an Emmy, I refrained from watching celebrities fete each other with silly hunks of metal, like "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter.
Looking Ahead:
International break. Enjoy it.
Next time we're back, crossing over with NFL Sundays. Football overload.
Labels: English Premier League, EPL, fernando torres, manchester city, Monday recaps, Premier League, Soccer, tottenham hotspur, Wayne Rooney
Mathematically, a mere five percent of the 2010-11 Premier League season is in the books. The transfer window is still active, though closing rapidly.
Better yet, the calendar still reads August.
Can we all say we've learned anything since the European club season got into full swing earlier this month? Probably nothing declarative, yet there might be a couple trends or early-season discoveries worth tucking away. There not quite issues or trends or even storylines, but things to keep an eye out for.
Without any further ado ...
10 Early Premier Leagues "Issue-lines":
1. Tottenham: Got it Done -- Quick, redder, more jowl-y face, Harry Redknapp or Larry the Cable Guy?
Though it's not directly Premier League related, Spurs did the business Wednesday in the final Champions League playoff with Young Boys at wet, rainy White Hart Lane. Spurs avoided the same pitfall as Everton, the last non-"Big Four" qualifier for the competition, as the Toffees were knocked out by what proved to be a very good Villareal side five years ago in the final playoff round.
It's hard to see Tottenham being able to mount a sustained challenge on the top four of the Premier League, whilst playing six matches vs. Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and FC Twente from September through December. That said, the mega-millions lottery ticket the Champions League represents, certainly will help even if it is a drop in the bucket toward closing the gap between Manchester City.
The question is, will Redknapp revert to his wheeling-and-dealing ways in the next four days, or will he pocket the cash and bide his time? Spurs certainly need a warm body at forward, with Jermain Defoe possibly out for a couple months (Friday reports said he canceled his groin surgery), and after Wednesday Redknapp certainly can't afford to sell Peter Crouch, personal problems notwithstanding.
Redknapp did make a smart buy, bringing in William Gallas for nothing, as the Frenchman should give him some flexibility across the back four. The rumored move for Lass Diarra would make sense, too, since he's a certain upgrade over Wilson Palacios in the middle, especially with guys like Estenban Cambiasso and Torsten Frings awaiting Spurs in Europe.
As for a forward, Spurs need a dynamic, week-in, week-out goal-scorer -- something Crouch can't do by himself for a sustained amount of time, although he hasn't been given that chance in recent years. A move for Luis Fabiano (Cup-tied by Sevilla), or someone of that ilk would make sense, but trying to integrate him in the middle of the season might not work.
Spurs, at least, have a season to give their fans.
Had they choked against Young Boys, they'd be back in the Europa League and fighting for fourth or fifth in the League. In other words, 10 months of hard work down the proverbial drain.
2. Chelsea are the Boston Celtics -- Perhaps this is the fact Kevin Garnett is admitted Blues fan, but the comparison is apt. The Celtics of recent vintage won behind their "Big Three" of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Chelsea has won with it's own three-headed monster of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
More than that, the Celtics were able to bring along young players like Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, as Chelsea did with Flourent Malouda and Jon Obi Mikel, along with other younger squad players and galvanize them with a refuse-to-win/winning edge.
Chelsea and the Celtics each expect to win and have the knowledge of what it takes to win in the back of their heads. Sure they might be aging, but when it counts would you bet against them when the money is on the line?
3. Will the real Wayne Rooney please stand up -- Fair question to throw out there, as Manchester United is currently constructed: where best does Wayne Rooney fit in? Lone striker? Playing behind Dimitar Berbatov? Drifting wide or deep? Free roaming?
Since limping off vs. Bayern Munich last spring, Rooney hasn't been the same. No, he's not eating canned beans in a trailer park, but he's not the best player in England at the moment, either.
United still possess as much quality central and wide midfield talent as any team in the League, yet without Rooney's goal-scoring and conjuring ability, the team isn't nearly as frightening to opponents.
Not sure, without Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez at Old Trafford anymore if Sir Alex Ferguson can afford to allow Rooney to float around the field and instinctively make play. Rooney needs to shake off whatever has taken him out of his game, shave the proverbial beard and get back to being Rooney Tunes.
Suppose a dude that's been tearing up the Premier League since he was 16 is due a slump. Every athlete is human, even those of the "Playstation Man" ilk, right?
Still, 13 games without a goal from Rooney is hard to fathom.
4. Eddie Johnson: Proof is in the Pudding -- Credit Eddie Johnson for speaking up earlier this week to a Fulham in-house magazine about his perceived stigma clubs have against American players plying their trades in England.
At the same time, coming from the one-time, "Grown Ass Man," it's a fairly ludicrous point of view.
Let's break it down:
a) Above all Premier League managers would play an albino Martian if he helped them on the field.
b) Remember, Johnson arrived at Fulham in January 2008, right after Roy Hodgson took over for Lawrie Sanchez. Now with Mark Hughes in charge, he's got another manager who isn't beholden to play him. The people that would have scouted him aren't there. He's got nobody there left in his corner. (Also, Fulham's pro-American player policy seemed to be the brainchild of Cookie Coleman, who's been gone from Craven Cottage for a couple years now.)
c) Johnson: 30 matches on loan at Cardiff City ... two goals.
d) Stuart Holden came to Bolton last winter and stepped right into the Trotters' starting lineup, after a slight delay thanks to that jerk, Nigel de Jong. Does Holden not count for the argument since he was born in Scotland?
e) Overall, American players aren't the value buy they were around the turn-of-the-century. MLS certainly wants more money in transfers for established players, plus there are work permit issues for youngster ones. Throw in the new EPL "home grown" limitations and Americans aren't exactly as much an asset for club's with modest cash reserves as they were five years ago.
So yeah, it's a nice way to draw some attention when you claim a bias against Americans, but in this case, sorry Eddie, it seems like a smokescreen to cover up your failure to impress in two years and two managers at Craven Cottage.
5. Roy Hodgson won't be a miracle-worker at Anfield -- Until the Liverpool ownership dilemma is sorted out, the club will remain stuck in flux, thought not totally crippled on the field. It's hard to believe the Kop's loathing toward the two American idiots running the club trickles down to the players themselves. Of course, like Walter Sobchek said, you can't bring this negativity into the tournament, so maybe the players are slightly affected by burning effigies of Tom Hicks. Maybe.
On the field, it's going to take some time for Hodgson to meld his own lineup from the amalgamation Rafa Benitez left him. Converting from the Spaniard's 4-2-3-1 to Hodgson's preferred 4-4-2 isn't as simple as it seems. When you don't have the personnel, a manager has to amend, right? More than that, the easiest way to attack Benitez post Istanbul-2005 was his rotational squad policy, meanwhile at Fulham Hodgson had one of the most static starting XIs in the Prem.
At issue, seemingly always, is where exactly to best play Steven Gerrard and how long it'll be until Fernando Torres can play for 90 minutes in back-to-back matches. On top of that, is Torres best utilized in a two-striker system, or does he need to be alone up top? And is the much-maligned David N'Gog that player?
On the plus side, at least Liverpool found a way to win at Trabzonspor on Thursday giving them some addition Europa League revenues to offset their Mount Everest-sized debt.
If Liverpool realizes it can't pass Chelsea or Manchester United this season, sets its sights on fourth place, it might be okay long-term -- debt/ownership issues aside. You'd have to think with the job he did with journeymen at Fulham, Hodgson will find players who can think and react in his preferred system. Or at least if you're a Liverpool fan that's what you have to talk yourself into.
And if Hodgson does indeed bite the bullet and sell Javier Mascherano for the benefit of team unity, so be it. Xabi Alonso isn't coming back, so it might be time to try a new midfield that you can win with going forward, anyway. It's time for Liverpool to pull off the remaining Rafa band aids.
The scars left by the increasingly clueless Spainard, will take some time for Doc Hodgson toheal laser blast off.
6. Newcastle United: Team Fun -- It's not going to be all 6-0 results at sunny St. James Park, but through two rounds we're all better off with the Magpies back in our lives.
Put it this way, when was the last time you saw players growing and shaving mustaches become this big of an issue(*), or at least one that actually was picked up by the press and became a talking point? More than that, led by Joey Barton, the players had fun with it.
Who knows where Newcastle ends up. At least, unlike most of their bottom-half of the table brethren, the Magpies ooze with personality.
(*) On a semi-related note, caught the final season "Seinfeld" premiere, which kicks off with George and Jerry with 'in take mustaches? Post-Larry David episodes are, eh, too wacky all these years later.
7. Arsenal is, well, Arsenal -- Groundhog day comes early at the Emirates. Promising August, palpable Champions League draw, young players excelling, Theo Walcott teasing us with his potential.
Haven't we all heard this before?
Until Arsenal shows what it can do against Manchester United, Chelsea and maybe Man City and Spurs, the Gunners remain in the "Unsolved Mysteries" file.
And once that England weather takes a turn ...
8. Manchester City: Men at Work(*) -- Maybe Roberto Mancini's master plan comes to fruition by the end of September and City make an immediate assault at the top spot.
More likely we'll see plenty of listless weekends like we saw at Spurs and blinding displays like we saw Monday vs. Liverpool.
You can't just plop half a dozen new, high-profile players on the field and expect them to click immediately, can you?
In a perfect world, City would be given time to gel and work on its ideal XI.
In the year 2010, that isn't allowed in the instantaneous society we live in. Nor when the club outlays transfer fees approaching the billion dollar range. That makes it less likely for us fans to give them a pass.
Barring Mancini catching lightning in a bottle, City's best case scenario is a top three finish, building toward a true title challenge in 2011-12. There are definite pieces coming into place at Eastlands.
Also, anyone else find it bizarre that Sheik Mansour, the "man behind the curtain" at Eastland had never attended a match until Monday?
(*) I didn't force a strained "Who Can it Be Now?" joke here. Progress.
9. Roberto Martinez, con man? -- Just about everyone in American loved the Wigan Athletic coach's understated work on ESPN during the World Cup. Is it possible he should have stayed in Northwest England to work on his team?
Wigan are taking their lumps now and club chairmen David Whelan says Martinez is safe. Maybe that's simply because Martinez is biting his lip on Whelan's profitable transfer policy.
Yet, was it wise to let veterans Mario Melchiot, Paul Scharner, Titus Bramble (yes, really) and Jason Koumas all leave in the same offseason? And Charles N'Zogbia, one of his few remaining proven players is rapidly forcing an exit for the DW to Birmingham City.
Pinning your hopes on unproven players at the Premier League level is a fast ticket to relegation. Wigan play at Tottenham Saturday. There's the international break next week. The Latics may be looking at a zero next to their name for a long time. Not good for morale.
Maybe he can sign Alexi Lalas.
10. Fox Soccer.tv is great ... when it works -- Okay, for $14.99 a month you expect flawless performance. Hiccups aside, the streaming product this year is a major upgrade from last season, especially since you can stream every game on Saturday morning not being shown on FSC or ESPN2.
Champions League Draw Quickee:
Weird thought surfaced the other day. When we're rooting for teams , in this case, Tottenham to reach the Champions League, what exactly are we cheering for? No disrespect, but the odds have to be around 75-to-1 for Spurs to win the competition, maybe lower. So, in essence, we're rooting for a club to add that sweet UEFA money cake revenue stream.
Not to sound too cynical, but the Champions League until we get to the knockout stages is not that much different than a UEFA endorsed cash cow. Yeah, you have a situation this year where Ajax had to get the extra money or face financial ruin, but most of the time it's just the rich getting richer.
Should we be so blindly happy with this?
Okay, some less cynical thoughts:
* Amending my Twitter draw chatter, Manchester United might have the easiest cakewalk, compared to Arsenal and Chelsea. Valencia sold David Villa, David Silva. Rangers is Rangers and Sir Alex isn't about to lose a "Border War." Bursaspor might be a tough trick, but the Turkish champs are lightweights.
Arsenal didn't get a "power" club in its group, but on second thought games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga (at least away from the Emirates) won't be as easy as they looked on first glance. Gunners still should qualify with relative ease.
* Don't forget, we're good for maybe one or two at most upsets into the knockout rounds. By the same token, I'd probably be willing to risk my life, condo, car and collection of Panini stickers that Barcelona advances out of a group of Panathinakos, Rubin Kazan and Copenhagen.
* Milan (aka Meeeeelan) might be the only No. 1 seed in jeopardy of failing to qualify. Adding Zlatan Ibrahimovic won't help dissuade me from this line of thinking.
* Bayern Munich ends up with a soft group and could make another run to the final, though the Bavarians haven't improved the team all too much from last season, especially in the defense. Oh, and any chance Arjen Robben survives the knockout rounds healthy this time around?
* Does anyone care all that much about Schalke 04 since Jermaine Jones and his qasi-American status is in the mix?
* Over-under Champions League minutes for Oguchi Onyewu for Milan is 45.
* As always with the Champions League, the drama swirls around "The Special One." Wonder if the soccer gods are lining up knockout round matches for Real Madrid against Chelsea and Inter Milan?
Round Three (EPL) Picks:
Saturday:
* Blackburn Rovers v. Arsenal -- (Live, 7:45 a.m., ESPN2) A game like this all depends on if Blackburn shows up for the first 15 minutes and can frustrate Arsenal, who probably expect a stroll. Blackburn seem to have settled on 4-1-4-1, which could clog up Arsenal's passing lanes, plus Steven N'Zonzi has the size and physicality to match the Gunners midfield. Unfortunately for Sam Allardyce, if he plays ancient Miguel Salgado, Andrey Arshavin and or Theo Walcott might have a field day on the flanks. Blackburn, which has played well through two matches, is actually a tougher test for Arsenal that it looks, again, they just can't give up a early goal or the floodgates will open. Wonder if the Arsenal goalkeeping wobbles show up here? ... Blackburn 1, Arsenal 2
* Wolves v. Newcastle United -- Wolves aren't half bad ... now let's see how the league adjusts. Mick McCarthy, to his credit, has established an ethos of hard work and determination at the club, who seem to thrive in underdog roles. Will it be classic Newcastle? Post a 6-0 win then fail to show up the next week? Certainly opposing defenses are Andy Carroll high alert. ... Wolves 1, Newcastle United 0
* Chelsea v. Stoke City -- (Live, 10 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus) Stoke aren't a bad team, but are getting hit by the injury bug at striker (Jones, Sidiby). After back-to-back tight 2-1 losses, the last team Tony Pulis needs to see is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Rightly or wrongly, the press might seize on Pulis and artificially place him on the hotseat. Can Chelsea run riot at home once again? ... Chelsea 4, Stoke City 0
* Blackpool v. Fulham -- This match will actually give us a pretty fair assessment of where Blackpool is going to be this season. Fulham are a good team, not exactly world beaters but quality, proven Premier League players. If the Cottagers stroll up to Bloomfield Road and mush the Tangerines, the goodwill of that Wigan upset might go out the window. ... Blackpool 1, Fulham 3
* Tottenham v. Wigan -- (Live, 10 a.m. Fox Soccer) This one ended 9-1 last year. Probably not in the cards this week. And wouldn't it be typical Tottenham shenanigans to blow this match? Couldn't happen, could it? Spurs do have injury concerns with Gomes limping off at halftime in the midweek. Does Wigan has any fight left in them, or if they'll mail in the final 36 matches? Perhaps playing on the road is a good thing in the Latics case. ... Spurs 2, Wigan 0
* Manchester United v. West Ham United -- (Live, 12:30 p.m., Fox Soccer) Unlike Stoke City, which probably drops to 0-0-3, West Ham is likely looking at the same record and has major issues, as Avram Grant tries to piece it all together, seemingly linked to half the players in Europe. At the moment what would West Ham's assets be? Scott Parker (a soup kitchen Frank Lampard/Steven Gerrard), Carlton Cole, Robert Green? You look at the roster and it should be better, but the performance doesn't show up on the weekend. Rudderless is the best way to put it. Grant needs to make it so every 90 minutes isn't a life-and-death struggle. Guessing it doesn't happen at Old Trafford. ... Manchester United 5, West Ham United 1
Sunday:
* Bolton v. Birmingham City -- (Live, 8:30 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus) Big opportunity for Bolton here. A win at the Reebok and it's seven points from three games to open the year. Could the Europa League await? When you factor in Birmingham City's workman-like, fighting spirit this could be a fun match since the mid-season doldrums have yet to set in. This might be a match for set pieces ... and one waking up early for on Sunday if you like glamor-free, gritty English teams. ... Bolton 2, Birmingham City 1
* Sunderland v. Manchester City -- Remember last season? City needed that uber-crafty Adam Johnson curling goal to salvage a draw? Sunderland are decent at home, but have only played one quality half so far this season. City are flying high after making Liverpool question its faith on Monday. At halftime, we should get all the players to line up around the center circle and allow Lee Cattermole and de Jong to an ultimate fight to the finish. Everything is legal except biting. ... Sunderland 1, City 1
* Liverpool v. West Brom -- On paper, Liverpool can exhale here, yet they're certainly in no position to take West Brom lightly. If anything, this is a match where Torres could announce his re-arrival to the Prem. ... Liverpool 2, West Brom 0
* Aston Villa v. Everton -- (Live, 11 a.m., FSC) We're all penciling in Everton and Aston Villa as "good" teams, or at least sides that could challenge for the top six. Right now, though, the evidence isn't there. Aston Villa don't have a manager and don't even have the Europa League any more. Everton have looked toothless the first two weeks. One of these two can allay some of those doubts at Villa Park. ... Aston Villa 1, Everton 1.
Last round: 5-5
Season: 7-13
Better yet, the calendar still reads August.
Can we all say we've learned anything since the European club season got into full swing earlier this month? Probably nothing declarative, yet there might be a couple trends or early-season discoveries worth tucking away. There not quite issues or trends or even storylines, but things to keep an eye out for.
Without any further ado ...
1. Tottenham: Got it Done -- Quick, redder, more jowl-y face, Harry Redknapp or Larry the Cable Guy?
Though it's not directly Premier League related, Spurs did the business Wednesday in the final Champions League playoff with Young Boys at wet, rainy White Hart Lane. Spurs avoided the same pitfall as Everton, the last non-"Big Four" qualifier for the competition, as the Toffees were knocked out by what proved to be a very good Villareal side five years ago in the final playoff round.
It's hard to see Tottenham being able to mount a sustained challenge on the top four of the Premier League, whilst playing six matches vs. Inter Milan, Werder Bremen and FC Twente from September through December. That said, the mega-millions lottery ticket the Champions League represents, certainly will help even if it is a drop in the bucket toward closing the gap between Manchester City.
The question is, will Redknapp revert to his wheeling-and-dealing ways in the next four days, or will he pocket the cash and bide his time? Spurs certainly need a warm body at forward, with Jermain Defoe possibly out for a couple months (Friday reports said he canceled his groin surgery), and after Wednesday Redknapp certainly can't afford to sell Peter Crouch, personal problems notwithstanding.
Redknapp did make a smart buy, bringing in William Gallas for nothing, as the Frenchman should give him some flexibility across the back four. The rumored move for Lass Diarra would make sense, too, since he's a certain upgrade over Wilson Palacios in the middle, especially with guys like Estenban Cambiasso and Torsten Frings awaiting Spurs in Europe.
As for a forward, Spurs need a dynamic, week-in, week-out goal-scorer -- something Crouch can't do by himself for a sustained amount of time, although he hasn't been given that chance in recent years. A move for Luis Fabiano (Cup-tied by Sevilla), or someone of that ilk would make sense, but trying to integrate him in the middle of the season might not work.
Spurs, at least, have a season to give their fans.
Had they choked against Young Boys, they'd be back in the Europa League and fighting for fourth or fifth in the League. In other words, 10 months of hard work down the proverbial drain.
2. Chelsea are the Boston Celtics -- Perhaps this is the fact Kevin Garnett is admitted Blues fan, but the comparison is apt. The Celtics of recent vintage won behind their "Big Three" of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Chelsea has won with it's own three-headed monster of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.
More than that, the Celtics were able to bring along young players like Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, as Chelsea did with Flourent Malouda and Jon Obi Mikel, along with other younger squad players and galvanize them with a refuse-to-win/winning edge.
Chelsea and the Celtics each expect to win and have the knowledge of what it takes to win in the back of their heads. Sure they might be aging, but when it counts would you bet against them when the money is on the line?
3. Will the real Wayne Rooney please stand up -- Fair question to throw out there, as Manchester United is currently constructed: where best does Wayne Rooney fit in? Lone striker? Playing behind Dimitar Berbatov? Drifting wide or deep? Free roaming?
Since limping off vs. Bayern Munich last spring, Rooney hasn't been the same. No, he's not eating canned beans in a trailer park, but he's not the best player in England at the moment, either.
United still possess as much quality central and wide midfield talent as any team in the League, yet without Rooney's goal-scoring and conjuring ability, the team isn't nearly as frightening to opponents.
Not sure, without Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez at Old Trafford anymore if Sir Alex Ferguson can afford to allow Rooney to float around the field and instinctively make play. Rooney needs to shake off whatever has taken him out of his game, shave the proverbial beard and get back to being Rooney Tunes.
Suppose a dude that's been tearing up the Premier League since he was 16 is due a slump. Every athlete is human, even those of the "Playstation Man" ilk, right?
Still, 13 games without a goal from Rooney is hard to fathom.
4. Eddie Johnson: Proof is in the Pudding -- Credit Eddie Johnson for speaking up earlier this week to a Fulham in-house magazine about his perceived stigma clubs have against American players plying their trades in England.
At the same time, coming from the one-time, "Grown Ass Man," it's a fairly ludicrous point of view.
Let's break it down:
a) Above all Premier League managers would play an albino Martian if he helped them on the field.
b) Remember, Johnson arrived at Fulham in January 2008, right after Roy Hodgson took over for Lawrie Sanchez. Now with Mark Hughes in charge, he's got another manager who isn't beholden to play him. The people that would have scouted him aren't there. He's got nobody there left in his corner. (Also, Fulham's pro-American player policy seemed to be the brainchild of Cookie Coleman, who's been gone from Craven Cottage for a couple years now.)
c) Johnson: 30 matches on loan at Cardiff City ... two goals.
d) Stuart Holden came to Bolton last winter and stepped right into the Trotters' starting lineup, after a slight delay thanks to that jerk, Nigel de Jong. Does Holden not count for the argument since he was born in Scotland?
e) Overall, American players aren't the value buy they were around the turn-of-the-century. MLS certainly wants more money in transfers for established players, plus there are work permit issues for youngster ones. Throw in the new EPL "home grown" limitations and Americans aren't exactly as much an asset for club's with modest cash reserves as they were five years ago.
So yeah, it's a nice way to draw some attention when you claim a bias against Americans, but in this case, sorry Eddie, it seems like a smokescreen to cover up your failure to impress in two years and two managers at Craven Cottage.
5. Roy Hodgson won't be a miracle-worker at Anfield -- Until the Liverpool ownership dilemma is sorted out, the club will remain stuck in flux, thought not totally crippled on the field. It's hard to believe the Kop's loathing toward the two American idiots running the club trickles down to the players themselves. Of course, like Walter Sobchek said, you can't bring this negativity into the tournament, so maybe the players are slightly affected by burning effigies of Tom Hicks. Maybe.
On the field, it's going to take some time for Hodgson to meld his own lineup from the amalgamation Rafa Benitez left him. Converting from the Spaniard's 4-2-3-1 to Hodgson's preferred 4-4-2 isn't as simple as it seems. When you don't have the personnel, a manager has to amend, right? More than that, the easiest way to attack Benitez post Istanbul-2005 was his rotational squad policy, meanwhile at Fulham Hodgson had one of the most static starting XIs in the Prem.
At issue, seemingly always, is where exactly to best play Steven Gerrard and how long it'll be until Fernando Torres can play for 90 minutes in back-to-back matches. On top of that, is Torres best utilized in a two-striker system, or does he need to be alone up top? And is the much-maligned David N'Gog that player?
On the plus side, at least Liverpool found a way to win at Trabzonspor on Thursday giving them some addition Europa League revenues to offset their Mount Everest-sized debt.
If Liverpool realizes it can't pass Chelsea or Manchester United this season, sets its sights on fourth place, it might be okay long-term -- debt/ownership issues aside. You'd have to think with the job he did with journeymen at Fulham, Hodgson will find players who can think and react in his preferred system. Or at least if you're a Liverpool fan that's what you have to talk yourself into.
And if Hodgson does indeed bite the bullet and sell Javier Mascherano for the benefit of team unity, so be it. Xabi Alonso isn't coming back, so it might be time to try a new midfield that you can win with going forward, anyway. It's time for Liverpool to pull off the remaining Rafa band aids.
The scars left by the increasingly clueless Spainard, will take some time for Doc Hodgson to
6. Newcastle United: Team Fun -- It's not going to be all 6-0 results at sunny St. James Park, but through two rounds we're all better off with the Magpies back in our lives.
Put it this way, when was the last time you saw players growing and shaving mustaches become this big of an issue(*), or at least one that actually was picked up by the press and became a talking point? More than that, led by Joey Barton, the players had fun with it.
Who knows where Newcastle ends up. At least, unlike most of their bottom-half of the table brethren, the Magpies ooze with personality.
(*) On a semi-related note, caught the final season "Seinfeld" premiere, which kicks off with George and Jerry with 'in take mustaches? Post-Larry David episodes are, eh, too wacky all these years later.
7. Arsenal is, well, Arsenal -- Groundhog day comes early at the Emirates. Promising August, palpable Champions League draw, young players excelling, Theo Walcott teasing us with his potential.
Haven't we all heard this before?
Until Arsenal shows what it can do against Manchester United, Chelsea and maybe Man City and Spurs, the Gunners remain in the "Unsolved Mysteries" file.
And once that England weather takes a turn ...
8. Manchester City: Men at Work(*) -- Maybe Roberto Mancini's master plan comes to fruition by the end of September and City make an immediate assault at the top spot.
More likely we'll see plenty of listless weekends like we saw at Spurs and blinding displays like we saw Monday vs. Liverpool.
You can't just plop half a dozen new, high-profile players on the field and expect them to click immediately, can you?
In a perfect world, City would be given time to gel and work on its ideal XI.
In the year 2010, that isn't allowed in the instantaneous society we live in. Nor when the club outlays transfer fees approaching the billion dollar range. That makes it less likely for us fans to give them a pass.
Barring Mancini catching lightning in a bottle, City's best case scenario is a top three finish, building toward a true title challenge in 2011-12. There are definite pieces coming into place at Eastlands.
Also, anyone else find it bizarre that Sheik Mansour, the "man behind the curtain" at Eastland had never attended a match until Monday?
(*) I didn't force a strained "Who Can it Be Now?" joke here. Progress.
9. Roberto Martinez, con man? -- Just about everyone in American loved the Wigan Athletic coach's understated work on ESPN during the World Cup. Is it possible he should have stayed in Northwest England to work on his team?
Wigan are taking their lumps now and club chairmen David Whelan says Martinez is safe. Maybe that's simply because Martinez is biting his lip on Whelan's profitable transfer policy.
Yet, was it wise to let veterans Mario Melchiot, Paul Scharner, Titus Bramble (yes, really) and Jason Koumas all leave in the same offseason? And Charles N'Zogbia, one of his few remaining proven players is rapidly forcing an exit for the DW to Birmingham City.
Pinning your hopes on unproven players at the Premier League level is a fast ticket to relegation. Wigan play at Tottenham Saturday. There's the international break next week. The Latics may be looking at a zero next to their name for a long time. Not good for morale.
Maybe he can sign Alexi Lalas.
10. Fox Soccer.tv is great ... when it works -- Okay, for $14.99 a month you expect flawless performance. Hiccups aside, the streaming product this year is a major upgrade from last season, especially since you can stream every game on Saturday morning not being shown on FSC or ESPN2.
Weird thought surfaced the other day. When we're rooting for teams , in this case, Tottenham to reach the Champions League, what exactly are we cheering for? No disrespect, but the odds have to be around 75-to-1 for Spurs to win the competition, maybe lower. So, in essence, we're rooting for a club to add that sweet UEFA money cake revenue stream.
Not to sound too cynical, but the Champions League until we get to the knockout stages is not that much different than a UEFA endorsed cash cow. Yeah, you have a situation this year where Ajax had to get the extra money or face financial ruin, but most of the time it's just the rich getting richer.
Should we be so blindly happy with this?
Okay, some less cynical thoughts:
* Amending my Twitter draw chatter, Manchester United might have the easiest cakewalk, compared to Arsenal and Chelsea. Valencia sold David Villa, David Silva. Rangers is Rangers and Sir Alex isn't about to lose a "Border War." Bursaspor might be a tough trick, but the Turkish champs are lightweights.
Arsenal didn't get a "power" club in its group, but on second thought games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga (at least away from the Emirates) won't be as easy as they looked on first glance. Gunners still should qualify with relative ease.
* Don't forget, we're good for maybe one or two at most upsets into the knockout rounds. By the same token, I'd probably be willing to risk my life, condo, car and collection of Panini stickers that Barcelona advances out of a group of Panathinakos, Rubin Kazan and Copenhagen.
* Milan (aka Meeeeelan) might be the only No. 1 seed in jeopardy of failing to qualify. Adding Zlatan Ibrahimovic won't help dissuade me from this line of thinking.
* Bayern Munich ends up with a soft group and could make another run to the final, though the Bavarians haven't improved the team all too much from last season, especially in the defense. Oh, and any chance Arjen Robben survives the knockout rounds healthy this time around?
* Does anyone care all that much about Schalke 04 since Jermaine Jones and his qasi-American status is in the mix?
* Over-under Champions League minutes for Oguchi Onyewu for Milan is 45.
* As always with the Champions League, the drama swirls around "The Special One." Wonder if the soccer gods are lining up knockout round matches for Real Madrid against Chelsea and Inter Milan?
Round Three (EPL) Picks:
Saturday:
* Blackburn Rovers v. Arsenal -- (Live, 7:45 a.m., ESPN2) A game like this all depends on if Blackburn shows up for the first 15 minutes and can frustrate Arsenal, who probably expect a stroll. Blackburn seem to have settled on 4-1-4-1, which could clog up Arsenal's passing lanes, plus Steven N'Zonzi has the size and physicality to match the Gunners midfield. Unfortunately for Sam Allardyce, if he plays ancient Miguel Salgado, Andrey Arshavin and or Theo Walcott might have a field day on the flanks. Blackburn, which has played well through two matches, is actually a tougher test for Arsenal that it looks, again, they just can't give up a early goal or the floodgates will open. Wonder if the Arsenal goalkeeping wobbles show up here? ... Blackburn 1, Arsenal 2
* Wolves v. Newcastle United -- Wolves aren't half bad ... now let's see how the league adjusts. Mick McCarthy, to his credit, has established an ethos of hard work and determination at the club, who seem to thrive in underdog roles. Will it be classic Newcastle? Post a 6-0 win then fail to show up the next week? Certainly opposing defenses are Andy Carroll high alert. ... Wolves 1, Newcastle United 0
* Chelsea v. Stoke City -- (Live, 10 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus) Stoke aren't a bad team, but are getting hit by the injury bug at striker (Jones, Sidiby). After back-to-back tight 2-1 losses, the last team Tony Pulis needs to see is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Rightly or wrongly, the press might seize on Pulis and artificially place him on the hotseat. Can Chelsea run riot at home once again? ... Chelsea 4, Stoke City 0
* Blackpool v. Fulham -- This match will actually give us a pretty fair assessment of where Blackpool is going to be this season. Fulham are a good team, not exactly world beaters but quality, proven Premier League players. If the Cottagers stroll up to Bloomfield Road and mush the Tangerines, the goodwill of that Wigan upset might go out the window. ... Blackpool 1, Fulham 3
* Tottenham v. Wigan -- (Live, 10 a.m. Fox Soccer) This one ended 9-1 last year. Probably not in the cards this week. And wouldn't it be typical Tottenham shenanigans to blow this match? Couldn't happen, could it? Spurs do have injury concerns with Gomes limping off at halftime in the midweek. Does Wigan has any fight left in them, or if they'll mail in the final 36 matches? Perhaps playing on the road is a good thing in the Latics case. ... Spurs 2, Wigan 0
* Manchester United v. West Ham United -- (Live, 12:30 p.m., Fox Soccer) Unlike Stoke City, which probably drops to 0-0-3, West Ham is likely looking at the same record and has major issues, as Avram Grant tries to piece it all together, seemingly linked to half the players in Europe. At the moment what would West Ham's assets be? Scott Parker (a soup kitchen Frank Lampard/Steven Gerrard), Carlton Cole, Robert Green? You look at the roster and it should be better, but the performance doesn't show up on the weekend. Rudderless is the best way to put it. Grant needs to make it so every 90 minutes isn't a life-and-death struggle. Guessing it doesn't happen at Old Trafford. ... Manchester United 5, West Ham United 1
Sunday:
* Bolton v. Birmingham City -- (Live, 8:30 a.m., Fox Soccer Plus) Big opportunity for Bolton here. A win at the Reebok and it's seven points from three games to open the year. Could the Europa League await? When you factor in Birmingham City's workman-like, fighting spirit this could be a fun match since the mid-season doldrums have yet to set in. This might be a match for set pieces ... and one waking up early for on Sunday if you like glamor-free, gritty English teams. ... Bolton 2, Birmingham City 1
* Sunderland v. Manchester City -- Remember last season? City needed that uber-crafty Adam Johnson curling goal to salvage a draw? Sunderland are decent at home, but have only played one quality half so far this season. City are flying high after making Liverpool question its faith on Monday. At halftime, we should get all the players to line up around the center circle and allow Lee Cattermole and de Jong to an ultimate fight to the finish. Everything is legal except biting. ... Sunderland 1, City 1
* Liverpool v. West Brom -- On paper, Liverpool can exhale here, yet they're certainly in no position to take West Brom lightly. If anything, this is a match where Torres could announce his re-arrival to the Prem. ... Liverpool 2, West Brom 0
* Aston Villa v. Everton -- (Live, 11 a.m., FSC) We're all penciling in Everton and Aston Villa as "good" teams, or at least sides that could challenge for the top six. Right now, though, the evidence isn't there. Aston Villa don't have a manager and don't even have the Europa League any more. Everton have looked toothless the first two weeks. One of these two can allay some of those doubts at Villa Park. ... Aston Villa 1, Everton 1.
Last round: 5-5
Season: 7-13
Labels: Arsenal, Chelsea, EPL, EPL picks, manchester United, Soccer, tottenham hotspur
It's hard to convey to you how out-and-out giddy I was when I saw the Premier League schedule for this week and there wasn't a 7:45 a.m. match. Not that, on the East Coast at least, it's all that early or difficult to get up and lay on the couch and watch a soccer match.
That said, I tend to work most Friday nights (yay!) and it's hard to get to bet before 3 a.m. sometimes, my brain just won't allow it. The quick turnaround eventually catches up on me. But that's my problem.
In short, the 10 a.m. kickoff is ideal.
Granted, on Sunday, for the early 8:30 a.m. kickoff for Newcastle United/Aston Villa I made the executive decision, in the wake of an all-afternoon into night Fantasy Football draft on Saturday, that St. James Park would have to wait. Never in my wildest Samurai Andy Carroll fever dreams would I think that match would end 6-0. The Magpies stunning display of muscles and mustaches was more unexpected than the child actress playing Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) emerging as a go-to part of season four of "Mad Men."
Arsenal vs. Blackpool at the Emirates on Saturday?
Slightly more predictable.
Sure Blackpool beat Wigan 4-0 in it's Premier League debut a week earlier, and yeah, Arsenal didn't look like the footballing version of "Shrimp & White Wine" at Anfield, but unless this was the first soccer match you've ever seen in your life, the eventual 6-0(*) scoreline wasn't unexpected.
(*) Three 6-0 scorelines in one weekend? 35 overall goals in nine matches? Soccer is boring everybody! ... Oh, and not one of those 35 goals was on my fantasy team. Mehthinks I deserve some kind of an award for that level of out-and-out awfulness. Classic over-thinking, since my initial squad had Gareth Barry, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll in it. As always, I'm a moron.
Did we actually learn anything about Arsenal against Blackpool? Don't answer that, because it's a question that couldn't be answered. Once Theo Walcott brought the deadlock inside of 15 minutes, a match like that is over. Blackpool simply aren't constructed to cope with the speed and precision passing of Arsenal.
The only way a match like that ever piques the interest is if a) Blackpool/heavy underdog scores early against the run of play; b) Arsenal/favorite miss a ton of chances or c) the goalie stands on his proverbial head.
If there are any major takeaways from the Arsenal standpoint it's that Tomas Rosicky and his Czech-y milkbones is a talented player when he actually makes it onto the field. Walcott? We'll get to him later on.
Oddly enough, judging by the U.S.-based Twitter chatter during the match, even as crept up toward 4-0 and 5-0, folks kept watching. Not all that unreasonable. Arsenal have a lot of fans in the States, plus the goals were flowing faster than anyone in Major League Baseball trying to disassociate themselves from Roger Clemens.
Yet, at the same time, on a slightly fuzzier channel higher up on the dial, Everton were taking on Wolves in a highly combative match at Goodison Park punctuated by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov fluffing chance after chance. Everton and Wolves, granted, aren't marquee teams and since most viewers in American don't yet have Fox Soccer Channel in High-Definition, the choice to stick with Arsenal's orange-colored bloodbath was entirely justifiable.
To me, though lacking in the glitz and glamor, this was a balanced game, with Wolves snatching a nice goal on a counter triggered by a hard tackle from Algerian midfielder Adlene Guedioura tapped in by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake after Tim Cahill had fought for a headed goal from close range off a Mikel Arteta deflected free kick.
On the other hand, later in the day, when Wigan hosted Chelsea and there wasn't another Premier League Match readily available, why would you stick around for the entire 6-0 result? Flip over to the Bundesliga game on GolTV? I think they're recycling the tapes from Borat's original UK telecasts its so grainy. If you lived in the right place I assume you could've checked out Red Bulls/Toronto FC, too.
Even the most devout Chelsea fans probably had a tough time sticking around for 90 minutes in a game that actually started competitively and ended like almost all recent Chelsea league matches, in a romp. Look at the Blues next three: vs. Stoke; at West Ham; vs. Blackpool. Those might end a combined 15-1, without any exaggeration. At least Chelsea plays at Manchester City and home to Arsenal on back-to-back weeks starting Sept. 25.
Goals are fun, but games this lopsided get boring pretty fast. There's just no drama to hold your attention.
Carlo Ancelotti even dropped the "Playstation" line to describe the Blues. Early into the Chelsea game vs. Wigan, once Flourent Malouda scored the first, it was time for me to fire up the ol' XBox.
It was easy to tell which way this one was going.
Topics this week:
* About that Spurs/Stoke match.
* About that Fulham/Manchester United match.
* Bradley-Villa, the rumor that won't die.
* Around the League.
Compelling Stuff at Britannia:
Just as we concluded on Sunday morning during Fulham's fun 2-2 draw with Manchester United that Ian Darke needs to call every important soccer game for the next few season, let's try to mount a campaign for Gus Johnson to sit behind the mic for every Tottenham match.
Engrossing match, Spurs 2-1 win at Stoke was.
Apparently there were technical issues with Foxsoccer.tv on Saturday morning barring folks from signing in. Luckily I was able to log into this match and stuck with the whole way. (Great picture quality, too.)
For one, it's hard not to have a full one man-boner for Gareth Bale. His style of play just oozes talent and excitement. Really, the there is something about the marauding left-footed player, isn't it?
What's enjoyable about Bale, is watching a kid who was nearly a laughingstock, who carried around that awful tag of never featuring in a Spurs win for about his seemingly first three years at the club.
Now Bale is putting it together and emerging as a Premier League Best XI lock.
Sure he got lucky in his first goal, pulling a Chicharito and scoring off his face. The second? Top drawer. Top class? Top Chef? Umm. Wait. However you want to describe it, awesome stuff. A standing left-footed scissoring, one-touch volley? Most players wouldn't even attempt it, nor could physically pull it off. Credit, too, Aaron Lennon for teeing it up in a play that was certainly drawn up on the training ground.
Of note, Spurs played a 4-5-1 the whole way, with Jermaine "Rhymes With"(*) Jenas playing functionally alongside Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacios, along with Peter Crouch isolate up top. Usual Spurs whipping boy Younes Kaboul was even a rock at the back. Not sure he and William Gallas can co-exist in the same team, but still, the petulant Frenchman is a necessity buy for Harry Redknapp.
(*) Sorry for the Berman. Been taking a lot of "Canadian Aspirin" lately.
What actually made this match fun is that Stoke is a pretty good team, or at least a team that's on the same page and has had it's important players (Shawcross, Whelan, Faye, Etherington, Delap) together in the same roles for a while. World-beaters they are not, but Tony Pulis has assembled a representative squad which is solid, if not spectacular at home.
Soccer is at its best when two teams push each other. It's the ebbs and flows.
Stoke fought back when Ricardo Fuller caught Gomes out of position.
They probably should have equalized late when a ball hit Peter Crouch on the goal line, possibly going over. Logic would dictate, eventually, soccer comes around to some kind of replay on goals. Then again, we all saw the England/Germany World Cup match.
Have to love what Pulis was quoted as saying, "How long would it take (to use video technology)? A minute? But we are just Stoke City. I'm just Tony Pulis, I can't change it"
Quick thought on Spurs vs. Young Boys Wednesday. It's a cliche, but for Spurs its about manning up and getting a result by hook or by crook. No excuses. If you can't beat Young Boys 1-0 or 2-1 at home, you don't deserve to play in the Champions League proper.
Burning Down the Cottage:
Is there a better way to wake up on a Sunday morning than with the dulcet tones of Ian Darke?
Coffee, brilliant? The toast is burnt, but Cardillo eats it anyway. Would you believe it?
Oops got a little carried away for a moment.The return of Darke's esoteric stories mid-match (Breda Hangeland riding the train to practice and talking with fans? ... "Good for him.")
Not that Fulham's 2-2 fight-back vs. Manchester United Sunday needed any artificial hype. It stood on its own legs, with frantic final 15 minutes punctuated by Hangeland's own-goal and eventual redemption on the other end, all set up by Nani's missed penalty.(*)
(*) Owen, Scholes, Giggs and Berbatov on the field and you go to Nani for the spot? Interesting.
Lot to dissect here. From the United standpoint, the team is composed on the ball, quality in the midfield and all, but without a rampaging Wayne Rooney they simply don't scare you on every possession inside the opposing half. Guys like Dimitar Berbatov create goals, sure, but they aren't instantly lethal. Perhaps Chicharito evolves into that type of player, but in his first EPL start, the young Mexican was mostly anonymous.
At least United still have Paul Favre, err, Scholes, who just keeps doing his midfield thing. Scholes will end his career with more medals and trophies than most British families have combined cavity-free teeth(*), but he'll always have the pang of regret for quitting England too early. Think his midfield composure might have suited Fabio Capello's team better than James Milner?
(*) I kid.
Up front, United are good enough to compete, or at least try, to hang with Chelsea.
In the back? Jonny Evans looks like another savvy Sir Alex Ferguson move one minute, totally lost the next. And it was the continued encounters with Fernando Torres, but Nemanja Vidic doesn't seem quite as fearsome any more. Judging by Rio Ferdinand's health, United's defense will remain patchwork all year.
As for Fulham? Nice fighting spirit, even if "Uncle Roy" shipped up to Anfield.
Professional pride isn't a "sexy" attribute, but it counts for something every weekend. Fulham have that spirit, something you'd think a guy like Mark Hughes would continue to cultivate.
Plus, young David Stockdale doesn't look afraid as a keeper, and as I said last year, Bobby Zamora is a late bloomer, otherwise he'd never be playing for a club like Fulham. What that means, before I get blasted, is that he's a really borderline great player, who took time to develop, so Fulham was lucky to take a flier on him in 2008 before he'd figured out his true potential.
Oh, his middle name is Lester, too.
What About Bob, Again?
So ... Bob Bradley is at least admitting he might be interested in Aston Villa. This is nearly on par with getting the CIA to spill any intelligence on the Kennedy Assassination or Area 51.
Judging by the 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle Sunday (again one I didn't watch live) he might have more of a chance, since the bloom is quickly off the Kevin MacDonald rose.
Would Bradley be suited for England club team management? Would he relate to young English talents like Gabby Agbonlahor and Ashley Young? Would his methods have players prepared mentally and physically week-in, week-out? Would he be able to figure out the transfer market, now that Manchester City has cornered the market on defensive midfielders? Would he make a late offer to Tigres to take You-Know-Who on loan to play left back?
Bradley would, in today's parlance, probably be who we think he is. Emile Heskey would certainly find his way into the starting lineup more often than not, wouldn't he?
It still would be tough for Bradley, without any experience or knowledge banks in England, to parachute in mid-season and take over the team and expect anything until next year at the earliest. Bradley could probably build a decent, competitive squad, but Villa would still be caught in the same problem it was under Martin O'Neill, trying to break past Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and maybe Everton in the League.
This is a pleasant development, if anything else, as their were growing whisphers that Sunil Gulati would extend his contract past December. Again, nothing against Bradley but another four, long boring years under Bradley would be the USSF spinning its wheels, like a sitcom, say "The Office" running out of idea and trotting out the same recycled gags and plot-beats.
To my knowledge, the Elder has never been seen on a beet farm, though.
Around the League:
Chelsea are your only team to go 2-for-2 in wins. ... Stoke, West Ham and Wigan are 0-for-2. ... Might be panic time at West Ham, with Matt Upson knocking in an own-goal and then getting knocked out in Saturday's loss to Bolton. ... If Oguchi Onyewu isn't going to get playing time at Milan, West Ham would be a spot where he might be able to get ample playing time. ... Stuart Holden looks a natural in the Premier League. ... Four penalties were saved or missed this weekend. ... Adios, or should we say, auf wiedersehen to Joey Barton's mustache. It was funny, well, until he might have celebrated Sunday in a mock Hitler salute. What's the next stage beyond "Loose Canon" in the crazy person flow cart? ... Keep an eye out for Craig Gardner on Birmingham City. He'll be around the League for a long time. ... Andy Carroll is a beast. I'll keep repeating that since it's about the only thing, through two weeks, I seemed to accurately predict. The play he made on to complete his hat trick, a 40-yard diagonal pass, then running to the goal box to slot it home, dominant. ... When was the last time Brad Friedel conceded six goals? ... On the flip side of Carroll, I kind of poo-poo'd Peter Odemwingie and he scores in his West Brom debut.
Shame he never played NCAA Soccer Player of the Week:
Theo Walcott, 21, Arsenal. Maybe in the last four years you've heard of him. Other than Rooney, John Terry and that Beckham fellow has any English player generated as many column inches in England?
Nice hat trick Sunday vs. Blackpool in a more direct role in front of goal.
Now, as an observer from afar on the Prem, should I overreact?
Beats me?
All we know is that he's a speedy guy who's downright lethal when he's cutting at an angle toward goal.
Wonder if he were born in the U.S. which sport other than soccer he'd be farmed out to. You'd think on the soccer field he'd have trouble finding adequate competition in the States, since he'd probably run by every other kid, forget to develop ball or shooting skills, pump in five or six goals a game and take home a bunch of trophies and ribbons.
My thought, he'd be a speedy, jitterbug-type point guard like Earl Boykins.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Paul McCabe's McCabes Pride racked up 99 points, with an absolutely huge weekend with Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Didier Droba, and Gareth Bale putting up double-digits numbers.
Mea Culpa
Friday night a reader Vince pointed out the continual grammar/syntax mistakes and overall destruction of the English language this here blog exhibits at times. For that, I truly apologize to every person who takes a second away from their day to read what's posted here. Admittedly, I'm not very good at proofreading, my own stuff especially. Sometimes my eyes feel like they're about to melt out of my skull by looking across into the screen of my laptop, though that's no excuse for the sloppiness, though it might be fun to play the informal game of "Find the Typo."
Back in college, somebody working at the school newspaper with me complimented me, I think, that I write how people talk. Or maybe specifically how I talk. Sometimes my brain just works faster than my fingers and I'll screw up a word or two and when I re-read it, my mind glances over it.
Bear with me. Thanks for your patience.
One Other Thing:
A couple friends and I have been playing the "FIFA" World Cup game a ton lately. Here's the wrinkle, we all play on the same team and go online and take on a single person. It's harder than it sounds, especially when everyone still playing the game picks Spain, who are in fact, playing like "Playstations." Thank you, Arsene.
This isn't to say folks need to pick Antigua or Bhutan, but a little creativity, please. You're not winning, the computer 1s and 0s are doing all the work.
On Deck:
Today it's Manchester CDM's vs. Liverpool on ESPN2.
Tuesday and Wednesday Champions League second-leg qualifiers.
Nothing outstanding next weekend in the Prem. Saturday's best might be Wolves hosting Newcastle United. Four Sunday games, with Sunderland v. Manchester City and Aston Villa v. Everton probably leading the way.
That said, I tend to work most Friday nights (yay!) and it's hard to get to bet before 3 a.m. sometimes, my brain just won't allow it. The quick turnaround eventually catches up on me. But that's my problem.
In short, the 10 a.m. kickoff is ideal.
Granted, on Sunday, for the early 8:30 a.m. kickoff for Newcastle United/Aston Villa I made the executive decision, in the wake of an all-afternoon into night Fantasy Football draft on Saturday, that St. James Park would have to wait. Never in my wildest Samurai Andy Carroll fever dreams would I think that match would end 6-0. The Magpies stunning display of muscles and mustaches was more unexpected than the child actress playing Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) emerging as a go-to part of season four of "Mad Men."
Arsenal vs. Blackpool at the Emirates on Saturday?
Slightly more predictable.
Sure Blackpool beat Wigan 4-0 in it's Premier League debut a week earlier, and yeah, Arsenal didn't look like the footballing version of "Shrimp & White Wine" at Anfield, but unless this was the first soccer match you've ever seen in your life, the eventual 6-0(*) scoreline wasn't unexpected.
(*) Three 6-0 scorelines in one weekend? 35 overall goals in nine matches? Soccer is boring everybody! ... Oh, and not one of those 35 goals was on my fantasy team. Mehthinks I deserve some kind of an award for that level of out-and-out awfulness. Classic over-thinking, since my initial squad had Gareth Barry, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll in it. As always, I'm a moron.
Did we actually learn anything about Arsenal against Blackpool? Don't answer that, because it's a question that couldn't be answered. Once Theo Walcott brought the deadlock inside of 15 minutes, a match like that is over. Blackpool simply aren't constructed to cope with the speed and precision passing of Arsenal.
The only way a match like that ever piques the interest is if a) Blackpool/heavy underdog scores early against the run of play; b) Arsenal/favorite miss a ton of chances or c) the goalie stands on his proverbial head.
If there are any major takeaways from the Arsenal standpoint it's that Tomas Rosicky and his Czech-y milkbones is a talented player when he actually makes it onto the field. Walcott? We'll get to him later on.
Oddly enough, judging by the U.S.-based Twitter chatter during the match, even as crept up toward 4-0 and 5-0, folks kept watching. Not all that unreasonable. Arsenal have a lot of fans in the States, plus the goals were flowing faster than anyone in Major League Baseball trying to disassociate themselves from Roger Clemens.
Yet, at the same time, on a slightly fuzzier channel higher up on the dial, Everton were taking on Wolves in a highly combative match at Goodison Park punctuated by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov fluffing chance after chance. Everton and Wolves, granted, aren't marquee teams and since most viewers in American don't yet have Fox Soccer Channel in High-Definition, the choice to stick with Arsenal's orange-colored bloodbath was entirely justifiable.
To me, though lacking in the glitz and glamor, this was a balanced game, with Wolves snatching a nice goal on a counter triggered by a hard tackle from Algerian midfielder Adlene Guedioura tapped in by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake after Tim Cahill had fought for a headed goal from close range off a Mikel Arteta deflected free kick.
On the other hand, later in the day, when Wigan hosted Chelsea and there wasn't another Premier League Match readily available, why would you stick around for the entire 6-0 result? Flip over to the Bundesliga game on GolTV? I think they're recycling the tapes from Borat's original UK telecasts its so grainy. If you lived in the right place I assume you could've checked out Red Bulls/Toronto FC, too.
Even the most devout Chelsea fans probably had a tough time sticking around for 90 minutes in a game that actually started competitively and ended like almost all recent Chelsea league matches, in a romp. Look at the Blues next three: vs. Stoke; at West Ham; vs. Blackpool. Those might end a combined 15-1, without any exaggeration. At least Chelsea plays at Manchester City and home to Arsenal on back-to-back weeks starting Sept. 25.
Goals are fun, but games this lopsided get boring pretty fast. There's just no drama to hold your attention.
Carlo Ancelotti even dropped the "Playstation" line to describe the Blues. Early into the Chelsea game vs. Wigan, once Flourent Malouda scored the first, it was time for me to fire up the ol' XBox.
It was easy to tell which way this one was going.
Topics this week:
* About that Spurs/Stoke match.
* About that Fulham/Manchester United match.
* Bradley-Villa, the rumor that won't die.
* Around the League.
Compelling Stuff at Britannia:
Just as we concluded on Sunday morning during Fulham's fun 2-2 draw with Manchester United that Ian Darke needs to call every important soccer game for the next few season, let's try to mount a campaign for Gus Johnson to sit behind the mic for every Tottenham match.
Engrossing match, Spurs 2-1 win at Stoke was.
Apparently there were technical issues with Foxsoccer.tv on Saturday morning barring folks from signing in. Luckily I was able to log into this match and stuck with the whole way. (Great picture quality, too.)
For one, it's hard not to have a full one man-boner for Gareth Bale. His style of play just oozes talent and excitement. Really, the there is something about the marauding left-footed player, isn't it?
What's enjoyable about Bale, is watching a kid who was nearly a laughingstock, who carried around that awful tag of never featuring in a Spurs win for about his seemingly first three years at the club.
Now Bale is putting it together and emerging as a Premier League Best XI lock.
Sure he got lucky in his first goal, pulling a Chicharito and scoring off his face. The second? Top drawer. Top class? Top Chef? Umm. Wait. However you want to describe it, awesome stuff. A standing left-footed scissoring, one-touch volley? Most players wouldn't even attempt it, nor could physically pull it off. Credit, too, Aaron Lennon for teeing it up in a play that was certainly drawn up on the training ground.
Of note, Spurs played a 4-5-1 the whole way, with Jermaine "Rhymes With"(*) Jenas playing functionally alongside Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacios, along with Peter Crouch isolate up top. Usual Spurs whipping boy Younes Kaboul was even a rock at the back. Not sure he and William Gallas can co-exist in the same team, but still, the petulant Frenchman is a necessity buy for Harry Redknapp.
(*) Sorry for the Berman. Been taking a lot of "Canadian Aspirin" lately.
What actually made this match fun is that Stoke is a pretty good team, or at least a team that's on the same page and has had it's important players (Shawcross, Whelan, Faye, Etherington, Delap) together in the same roles for a while. World-beaters they are not, but Tony Pulis has assembled a representative squad which is solid, if not spectacular at home.
Soccer is at its best when two teams push each other. It's the ebbs and flows.
Stoke fought back when Ricardo Fuller caught Gomes out of position.
They probably should have equalized late when a ball hit Peter Crouch on the goal line, possibly going over. Logic would dictate, eventually, soccer comes around to some kind of replay on goals. Then again, we all saw the England/Germany World Cup match.
Have to love what Pulis was quoted as saying, "How long would it take (to use video technology)? A minute? But we are just Stoke City. I'm just Tony Pulis, I can't change it"
Quick thought on Spurs vs. Young Boys Wednesday. It's a cliche, but for Spurs its about manning up and getting a result by hook or by crook. No excuses. If you can't beat Young Boys 1-0 or 2-1 at home, you don't deserve to play in the Champions League proper.
Burning Down the Cottage:
Is there a better way to wake up on a Sunday morning than with the dulcet tones of Ian Darke?
Coffee, brilliant? The toast is burnt, but Cardillo eats it anyway. Would you believe it?
Oops got a little carried away for a moment.The return of Darke's esoteric stories mid-match (Breda Hangeland riding the train to practice and talking with fans? ... "Good for him.")
Not that Fulham's 2-2 fight-back vs. Manchester United Sunday needed any artificial hype. It stood on its own legs, with frantic final 15 minutes punctuated by Hangeland's own-goal and eventual redemption on the other end, all set up by Nani's missed penalty.(*)
(*) Owen, Scholes, Giggs and Berbatov on the field and you go to Nani for the spot? Interesting.
Lot to dissect here. From the United standpoint, the team is composed on the ball, quality in the midfield and all, but without a rampaging Wayne Rooney they simply don't scare you on every possession inside the opposing half. Guys like Dimitar Berbatov create goals, sure, but they aren't instantly lethal. Perhaps Chicharito evolves into that type of player, but in his first EPL start, the young Mexican was mostly anonymous.
At least United still have Paul Favre, err, Scholes, who just keeps doing his midfield thing. Scholes will end his career with more medals and trophies than most British families have combined cavity-free teeth(*), but he'll always have the pang of regret for quitting England too early. Think his midfield composure might have suited Fabio Capello's team better than James Milner?
(*) I kid.
Up front, United are good enough to compete, or at least try, to hang with Chelsea.
In the back? Jonny Evans looks like another savvy Sir Alex Ferguson move one minute, totally lost the next. And it was the continued encounters with Fernando Torres, but Nemanja Vidic doesn't seem quite as fearsome any more. Judging by Rio Ferdinand's health, United's defense will remain patchwork all year.
As for Fulham? Nice fighting spirit, even if "Uncle Roy" shipped up to Anfield.
Professional pride isn't a "sexy" attribute, but it counts for something every weekend. Fulham have that spirit, something you'd think a guy like Mark Hughes would continue to cultivate.
Plus, young David Stockdale doesn't look afraid as a keeper, and as I said last year, Bobby Zamora is a late bloomer, otherwise he'd never be playing for a club like Fulham. What that means, before I get blasted, is that he's a really borderline great player, who took time to develop, so Fulham was lucky to take a flier on him in 2008 before he'd figured out his true potential.
Oh, his middle name is Lester, too.
What About Bob, Again?
So ... Bob Bradley is at least admitting he might be interested in Aston Villa. This is nearly on par with getting the CIA to spill any intelligence on the Kennedy Assassination or Area 51.
Judging by the 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle Sunday (again one I didn't watch live) he might have more of a chance, since the bloom is quickly off the Kevin MacDonald rose.
Would Bradley be suited for England club team management? Would he relate to young English talents like Gabby Agbonlahor and Ashley Young? Would his methods have players prepared mentally and physically week-in, week-out? Would he be able to figure out the transfer market, now that Manchester City has cornered the market on defensive midfielders? Would he make a late offer to Tigres to take You-Know-Who on loan to play left back?
Bradley would, in today's parlance, probably be who we think he is. Emile Heskey would certainly find his way into the starting lineup more often than not, wouldn't he?
It still would be tough for Bradley, without any experience or knowledge banks in England, to parachute in mid-season and take over the team and expect anything until next year at the earliest. Bradley could probably build a decent, competitive squad, but Villa would still be caught in the same problem it was under Martin O'Neill, trying to break past Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and maybe Everton in the League.
This is a pleasant development, if anything else, as their were growing whisphers that Sunil Gulati would extend his contract past December. Again, nothing against Bradley but another four, long boring years under Bradley would be the USSF spinning its wheels, like a sitcom, say "The Office" running out of idea and trotting out the same recycled gags and plot-beats.
To my knowledge, the Elder has never been seen on a beet farm, though.
Around the League:
Chelsea are your only team to go 2-for-2 in wins. ... Stoke, West Ham and Wigan are 0-for-2. ... Might be panic time at West Ham, with Matt Upson knocking in an own-goal and then getting knocked out in Saturday's loss to Bolton. ... If Oguchi Onyewu isn't going to get playing time at Milan, West Ham would be a spot where he might be able to get ample playing time. ... Stuart Holden looks a natural in the Premier League. ... Four penalties were saved or missed this weekend. ... Adios, or should we say, auf wiedersehen to Joey Barton's mustache. It was funny, well, until he might have celebrated Sunday in a mock Hitler salute. What's the next stage beyond "Loose Canon" in the crazy person flow cart? ... Keep an eye out for Craig Gardner on Birmingham City. He'll be around the League for a long time. ... Andy Carroll is a beast. I'll keep repeating that since it's about the only thing, through two weeks, I seemed to accurately predict. The play he made on to complete his hat trick, a 40-yard diagonal pass, then running to the goal box to slot it home, dominant. ... When was the last time Brad Friedel conceded six goals? ... On the flip side of Carroll, I kind of poo-poo'd Peter Odemwingie and he scores in his West Brom debut.
Shame he never played NCAA Soccer Player of the Week:
Theo Walcott, 21, Arsenal. Maybe in the last four years you've heard of him. Other than Rooney, John Terry and that Beckham fellow has any English player generated as many column inches in England?
Nice hat trick Sunday vs. Blackpool in a more direct role in front of goal.
Now, as an observer from afar on the Prem, should I overreact?
Beats me?
All we know is that he's a speedy guy who's downright lethal when he's cutting at an angle toward goal.
Wonder if he were born in the U.S. which sport other than soccer he'd be farmed out to. You'd think on the soccer field he'd have trouble finding adequate competition in the States, since he'd probably run by every other kid, forget to develop ball or shooting skills, pump in five or six goals a game and take home a bunch of trophies and ribbons.
My thought, he'd be a speedy, jitterbug-type point guard like Earl Boykins.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Paul McCabe's McCabes Pride racked up 99 points, with an absolutely huge weekend with Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Didier Droba, and Gareth Bale putting up double-digits numbers.
Mea Culpa
Friday night a reader Vince pointed out the continual grammar/syntax mistakes and overall destruction of the English language this here blog exhibits at times. For that, I truly apologize to every person who takes a second away from their day to read what's posted here. Admittedly, I'm not very good at proofreading, my own stuff especially. Sometimes my eyes feel like they're about to melt out of my skull by looking across into the screen of my laptop, though that's no excuse for the sloppiness, though it might be fun to play the informal game of "Find the Typo."
Back in college, somebody working at the school newspaper with me complimented me, I think, that I write how people talk. Or maybe specifically how I talk. Sometimes my brain just works faster than my fingers and I'll screw up a word or two and when I re-read it, my mind glances over it.
Bear with me. Thanks for your patience.
One Other Thing:
A couple friends and I have been playing the "FIFA" World Cup game a ton lately. Here's the wrinkle, we all play on the same team and go online and take on a single person. It's harder than it sounds, especially when everyone still playing the game picks Spain, who are in fact, playing like "Playstations." Thank you, Arsene.
This isn't to say folks need to pick Antigua or Bhutan, but a little creativity, please. You're not winning, the computer 1s and 0s are doing all the work.
On Deck:
Today it's Manchester CDM's vs. Liverpool on ESPN2.
Tuesday and Wednesday Champions League second-leg qualifiers.
Nothing outstanding next weekend in the Prem. Saturday's best might be Wolves hosting Newcastle United. Four Sunday games, with Sunderland v. Manchester City and Aston Villa v. Everton probably leading the way.
Labels: Arsenal, aston villa, bob bradley, Chelsea, English Premier League, EPL, everton, Fulham, manchester United, Monday recaps, newcastle united, Soccer
Let's face it, in the year 2010 there are few things humanity across the board can agree upon other than the fact the new movie -- if we can even call it that --"Vampires Suck" is a steaming pile of elephant turds and subsequently another reason to loathe Hollywood.
On a far chirpier, though equally tween-y, note, another consensus we can form is that there are few words more fun to say than "Chicharito." Actually, the only thing that's more fun is superimposing Senor Hernandez's face over a plate of peas.(*)
(*) Also a cheap laugh, the camera at Old Trafford panning to pale-faced Englishmen wearing oversized novelty sombreros. What's next? Inflatable Speedy Gonzalez balloons?
The young -- well 22 isn't young in world soccer but his baby face makes him look like he's classmates with that interminable Canadian teenie bopper (you know his name) -- Mexican striker basically took the North American/English speaking soccer world by storm over the summer with a nice, multi-goal World Cup and subsequent standout role for Manchester United on the Red Devils summer tour. Sure it was the summer, but there wasn't a hotter soccer property than the Mexican for a few weeks.
So it seems like a cromulent time to talk about Mexican players in England.
However, Javier Hernandez isn't one of them, though I'll concede he is certainly more than a replica shirt selling, debt reliving, novelty act, much like Korean Park Ji-Sung wasn't a few years earlier at Old Trafford. [Friday EPL Picks follow.]
No, let's explore the other two high-profile Mexican budding would-be stars in the Premier League -- Arsenal's Carlos Vela and Tottenham's Giovani dos Santos.
I'll try to be on my best behavior and avoid bemoaning the fact that El Tri -- even as it searches for a new full time coach to replace Javier Aguirre -- is poised to possibly overtake the USMNT in CONCACAF supremacy, perhaps as early as the 2011 Gold Cup. In short, at least in the form of Chicharito Mexico has reason for hope, or at least to smile when thinking about the team, whilst U.S. supporters have ... well ... like I said I'm trying to stay positive.
Actually, in a way the Mexican duo of Vela and dos Santos -- amazingly each 21, a year younger that the Little Pea -- underline, possibly, new dynamic across major club soccer, especially England's Premier League.
Let's look at Vela first who's been on the books at Arsenal since 2005. Although he was loaned out for much of his early time by Arsene Wenger due to work permit issues, since coming back to the club in 2008 full time, he's made but 25 appearances. Don't forget last season the club saw Robin van Persie and Eduardo each spend plenty of time on the injured list.
Regardless of that slightly inconvenient truth, Vela is still sharing box cover space on "FIFA 11" with El Landito -- Landon Donovan -- and Kaka, who himself might prove to be the world's most expensive substitute this season at Real Madrid.
Of all the players in the world does Vela deserve a place on that box? Wait, don't answer that. Sacha Kljestan graced the North American cover of "FIFA 10." You can see EA's logic, Mexican player at a big English club = $. Either way, if EA had their druthers, you'd suspect they'd prefer to put Chicharito on that box, not that as a lifelong gamer I think the cover athlete is going to sell more games. "FIFA 11" would sell with Jonathan Bornstein slapped on there.
The point is, Vela despite little on his resume to suggest otherwise, is treated as a "star" player. Whether it was because he got touched by Wenger's magical eye for scouting talent, or since he was one of the first young Mexicans to be tapped by an English club -- global icons Arsenal no less -- he operates on a higher plane than most other professionals.
We see it hear in the States all the time, mainly through the hype-machine that is ESPN, mainly in the NBA and NFL. Think how long Tracy McGrady was revered as an elite level, NBA all-star while his stats and play would say otherwise. Or think of the countless number of NFL veterans who've coasted off one or two good seasons years ago, but still have "name" recognition and solid ratings in the yearly "Madden NFL" video game. Even baseball players can ride the wave of a few good seasons for over a decade if they have a solid agent, though the bevvy of sabremetricians taking over front offices is weeding out these type of players.
World soccer might be the guiltiest of all.
The rollercoaster of hype blows so hot and so cold, that the landscape is littered with guys who've never panned out think the (hate to say it) Freddy Adus of the world. In a way Lionel Messi is the exception to the rule. The jury is still out on Neymar, as an example.
It's the nature of the beast in soccer. We're always awaiting the next big thing and tend to rush to judgment. Couple in the fact soccer players start playing at such a young age, before full maturity and the sight of supposedly, "can't miss talents" who never actually pan out is about as deep as flamed out, failed child acting stars.
What happens with Vela? Will he ever break into an every-week starter at Arsenal? A lesser EPL team? Somewhere, probably Spain? A trip back to Mexico?
In his sporadic appearances for Arsenal he's never really stood out as anything spectacular. Yes, he's certainly been a fine performer in an El Tri shirt (nine goals, 31 matches), but that's not really going to give him time at the Emirates, where he's down on the pecking order behind Maroune Chamahk, Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and maybe even Theo Walcott if we're to read anything into Wenger's tactics the first weekend at Anfield.
Aside from the fact he's been at the club for so long, Vela might not even be a safe bet to be included in the Gunner's final 25-man Premier League squad list. So it might be another season of Carling Cup showcase for the Mexican. There are even rumors that he might be offered back to Fulham so Arsenal can finally capture it's summer-long transfer target, Mark Schwarzer.(*)
(*) A 37-year-old solidly above-average keeper is the answer Arsene? Really?
Perhaps the only factor working for Vela is that he didn't cost Wenger all that much when he signed him for Guadalajara five years ago.
Chances are, in a few years you'll be scuffling through the $5 used games at the local GameStop and see Vela's face gracing the cover of "FIFA 11" and shake your head and wonder, "Yep, that really happened."
Meanwhile, while Vela's move to Arsenal in 2005 hardly made a ripple, dos Santos has always had a higher profile, risking through the ranks of the Barcelona system and even drawing comparisons to Ronaldinho -- back when that was still cool. Maybe that ended up being a detriment, when the Catalans decided to reshape the team and move away from the Ronaldinho/Deco core.
In 2008, the same year Vela returned to Arsenal from Osasuna, dos Santos made a still-shocking transfer from the Catalan giants to Tottenham for in the range of $8 million. Huh? It was a move that continues to raise eyebrows, as then-Spurs boss Juande Ramos was trying to do ... something?
Small, sleight and Mexican-born with Brazilian roots, i.e. the anti-Harry Redknapp player, dos Santos was loaned out first to Ipswich Town, then last season to Galatasaray, where he re-united with Frank Rijkaard and apparently got his career back on track.
Now dos Santos is back at White Hart Lane and Redknapp is playing him, almost out of necessity. With less money to play with in the 2010 world economy, Spurs can't simply write-off the money its invested in dos Santos. Few teams aside from Manchester City or Real Madrid and it's magical accountants are able to bleed this much red ink on the transfer ledger.
Better yet, maybe it dawned on Redknapp that he's got a player with a nice pedigree and a natural skill set. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to, you know, include him in the squad. Considering, too, that Aaron Lennon seems to have contracted Ledley King's crippling case of "bone-itis" Spurs could use some cover on the right, especially if they overturn the 3-2 deficit to Young Boys and reach the Champions League proper, where dos Santos' skill are more traditionally accepted as "continental."
Will dos Santos ever make a major impact at White Hart Lane? Maybe. The bigger point is that he's now, out of necessity, going to be given some chances instead of being written off and shipped off to the European hinterlands previously occupied by another young Mexican talent, Nery Castillo.
The reality is, teams like Tottenham aren't in the position to absorb the financial losses they could have written off even a year ago. The tighter UEFA restrictions in terms of debt, coupled with the imposed rules by the Premiership on squads, mean teams are more likely to give guys previously considered deadweight another chance.
Also gone, probably, are the days of teams dropping major money on young, unproven teenagers. The smart move would be to take the money ear-marked for those transfers and invest it into the youth team. Then again, nobody ever said the folks running soccer clubs were descendents of Albert Einstein.
Speaking of that Einstein fellow, funny how Sir Alex Ferguson is being hailed as a genius for the Chicharito signing. The Little Pea already seems further along that his countrymen in a month across the Atlantic, though the hype machine does have funny effects on even the best players.
Saturday:
* Arsenal v. Blackpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) All of a sudden this is a must-watch match, though we all know Blackpool's opening-day win was probably a fluke. Then again, remember Hull City in 2008 got a shock result at the Emirates thanks to new San Jose Earthquakes DP Geovanni. The talk of the Gunner's impending demise are premature, simply because of an easy early-season schedule. Granted, the fact Samir Nasri is on the injured shelf again doesn't bode well. Hopefully most Arsenal fans cling to some kind of religious believes, because at this point they're basically putting blind faith in Wenger. On the other hand, Blackpool fans are rapidly becoming Ian Holloway acolytes. Unfortunately, playing a high-energy, pressing game at the Emirates is a different animal than at Wigan. ... Arsenal 3, Blackpool 1
* Birmingham City v. Blackburn Rovers -- Absolutely love the Matt Derbyshire move for Birmingham. If he meshes with Cameron Jerome Alex McLeish can play a standard, boring 4-4-2, but a boring 4-4-2 that should ensure midtable safety. The talk of this Blackburn takeover by an Indian businessman is nice, but you're not turning Ewood Park into South Beach. Money is money, but even if Ahsan Ali Syed pumps $100+ million into Rovers, there still, at best, eighth in the Premiership pecking order. Basically it's hard to take him seriously when the first name he mentions is David Beckham. ... Birmingham City 2, Blackburn Rovers 0
* West Bromwich Albion v. Sunderland -- Peter Odemwingie, that about sums it up for West Brom in a positively Portsmouth-esque signing. Not a bad player, per say, just not exactly the type of signing worth tossing money at as you fight for you life at the bottom of the Premiership table. The Baggies aren't as bad as last weekend's 6-0 loss at Chelsea, but they're not necessarily good either. Steve Bruce is slowly building a nice team at Sunderland, but the squad needs to have a more glided edge and find a way to win games. Egyptian winger Ahmed El Mohamady is looking like the latest sneaky loan signing by Bruce. ... West Brom 1, Sunderland 1
* Stoke City v. Tottenham -- (Live, 10 a.m., FSC+) Herein lies the problem for Tottenham. Right now their focus must be on Young Boys in the second leg of their Champions League playoff Wednesday. Yet, if they screw up against Stoke, they're sitting on one point from two matches, putting even more pressure on the game Wednesday at White Hart Lane. Spurs probably aren't equipped to fight a war on two fronts anyway, but if they miss out on the Champions League proper, odds are they're not strong enough for another push for fourth place this season. It's a bad purgatory for the next week. At least there is real grass at the Britannia. ... Stoke City 1, Tottenham 2
* West Ham United v. Bolton -- Two teams still trying to figure out their identity for the season. West Ham probably need a good performance, already, if only to appease fans already about to jump off the nearest tall building in East London. Hard to believe how badly Robert Green has fallen off -- not simply because of the England/Dempsey gaffe. Two years ago he was arguably the best shot stopper in England. Now he's flapping around like he's trying to audition for the Birds of War wrestling tag team. Maybe Avram Grant had more work than he thought, as the Irons are still loaded with a ton of deadweight -- Kieron Dyer, Luis Boa Morte, etc. -- and the ramshackle team Gianfranco Zola assembled. Bolton could pounce. Maybe Stu Holden breaks through in the Prem. It's a chance. ... West Ham 1, Bolton 2
* Everton v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Everton, pardon the analogy, are a lot like the old "Ambiguously Gay Duo" cartoon titled, "Blow Hot, Blow Cold." Sometimes the Toffees look like worldbeaters, others totally clueless. At least David Moyes' team gets a chance to settle itself this weekend with a palatable game with a game, fighting Wolves side that, say this, puts forth effort every weekend. My one issue for Everton going forward, last season in the second half, sure they had Landon Donovan, but Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha each were on fire for extended stretches. Sure the Toffees have a ton of talented, "red chip" players, but they need some of them to play above level. Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta can't carry the load for 90 minutes every weekend. Not marquee teams, but this should be a high-energy match in front of the lively Goodison crowd. ... Everton 2, Wolves 1
* Wigan Athletic v. Chelsea -- (Live, 12:30 p.m., FSC) Yeah, Wigan beat Cheslea last season. And sure, the Latics were tough at the DW Stadium last season against top squads, taking nine points there. No way it happens again. The only question is whether we'll be finding something else to occupy our time under 10 minutes into the match or later. ... Wigan 0, Chelsea 3
Sunday:
* Newcastle United v. Aston Villa -- (Live, FSC+, 8:30 a.m.) Say what you will, it ended 3-0 but the Magpies didn't look all that terrible against Manchester United Monday. Andy Carroll had a great chance early with a header. If that goes in, maybe it's a different game. That said, Newcastle isn't a team built to play defense for 90 minutes against a quality team that can take it to them. By the same token, Aston Villa weren't as good as they were blitzing West Ham Saturday. Curious to see how the lineup formation shakes out, now that James Milner is gone and Stephen Ireland is back. Wonder if Ireland has the proverbial "Eff-You" season in him? It worked last year for Richard Dunne. They're both Irish. It could happen. Dunne, however, is more of a blood-and-guts player, while Ireland seems like a guy who's happy to have a paycheck regardless of the results. Also, was Villa's Marc Albrighton the English equivalent of the NFL backup tight end who scores two TDs in Week One and everyone rushes to pick him up in fantasy? ... Newcastle United 1, Aston Villa 1
* Fulham v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Like, don't love the Moussa Dembele signing. Here's another live body for Mark Hughes to play with, but he's not exactly a prolific striker (24 goals, 118 matches at AZ). At least David Stockdale didn't appear afflicted by the English goalkeeping disease. Fulham is another squad in transition. United were United Monday, picking apart Newcastle thanks to the assured presence of Paul Scholes in the middle of the field and not very much from Wayne Rooney. It's pretty clear winning the mojo of winning the MLS All Star game has carried over for United, who unlike most squads already look in midseason form. ... Fulham 0, Manchester United 2
Monday:
* Manchester City v. Liverpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) Like last week, a shame a match of this caliber happens so early. City catch two major breaks, getting Tottenham and Liverpool early. Even if they drop points, the squad should be improved by the time when they play weaker teams. Imagine if they got, say West Ham and Stoke, 1-2 and dropped points to them as Roberto Mancini tinkers with a lineup of 10 defensive midfielders. Not sure why or what Mancini is doing, at all. It's one thing to play a loaded midfield, but the continued drops down the field by Carlos Tevez don't seem to make sense. Oh, where does Milner play? Mancini is like a chess player trying to find a place for eight Knights, six bishops and no queens. Liverpool? Like what you saw Sunday vs. Arsenal. Even without Joe Cole, the Reds seem more settled and with Roy Hodgson resting Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in the midweek, they'll be fresh for a possible upset. Not sure I like this talk of Dirk Kuyt leaving Anfield, though. ... Manchester City 1, Liverpool 2
Last week: 2-8
Season: 2-8.
On a far chirpier, though equally tween-y, note, another consensus we can form is that there are few words more fun to say than "Chicharito." Actually, the only thing that's more fun is superimposing Senor Hernandez's face over a plate of peas.(*)
(*) Also a cheap laugh, the camera at Old Trafford panning to pale-faced Englishmen wearing oversized novelty sombreros. What's next? Inflatable Speedy Gonzalez balloons?
The young -- well 22 isn't young in world soccer but his baby face makes him look like he's classmates with that interminable Canadian teenie bopper (you know his name) -- Mexican striker basically took the North American/English speaking soccer world by storm over the summer with a nice, multi-goal World Cup and subsequent standout role for Manchester United on the Red Devils summer tour. Sure it was the summer, but there wasn't a hotter soccer property than the Mexican for a few weeks.
So it seems like a cromulent time to talk about Mexican players in England.
However, Javier Hernandez isn't one of them, though I'll concede he is certainly more than a replica shirt selling, debt reliving, novelty act, much like Korean Park Ji-Sung wasn't a few years earlier at Old Trafford. [Friday EPL Picks follow.]
No, let's explore the other two high-profile Mexican budding would-be stars in the Premier League -- Arsenal's Carlos Vela and Tottenham's Giovani dos Santos.
I'll try to be on my best behavior and avoid bemoaning the fact that El Tri -- even as it searches for a new full time coach to replace Javier Aguirre -- is poised to possibly overtake the USMNT in CONCACAF supremacy, perhaps as early as the 2011 Gold Cup. In short, at least in the form of Chicharito Mexico has reason for hope, or at least to smile when thinking about the team, whilst U.S. supporters have ... well ... like I said I'm trying to stay positive.
Actually, in a way the Mexican duo of Vela and dos Santos -- amazingly each 21, a year younger that the Little Pea -- underline, possibly, new dynamic across major club soccer, especially England's Premier League.
Let's look at Vela first who's been on the books at Arsenal since 2005. Although he was loaned out for much of his early time by Arsene Wenger due to work permit issues, since coming back to the club in 2008 full time, he's made but 25 appearances. Don't forget last season the club saw Robin van Persie and Eduardo each spend plenty of time on the injured list.
Regardless of that slightly inconvenient truth, Vela is still sharing box cover space on "FIFA 11" with El Landito -- Landon Donovan -- and Kaka, who himself might prove to be the world's most expensive substitute this season at Real Madrid.
Of all the players in the world does Vela deserve a place on that box? Wait, don't answer that. Sacha Kljestan graced the North American cover of "FIFA 10." You can see EA's logic, Mexican player at a big English club = $. Either way, if EA had their druthers, you'd suspect they'd prefer to put Chicharito on that box, not that as a lifelong gamer I think the cover athlete is going to sell more games. "FIFA 11" would sell with Jonathan Bornstein slapped on there.
The point is, Vela despite little on his resume to suggest otherwise, is treated as a "star" player. Whether it was because he got touched by Wenger's magical eye for scouting talent, or since he was one of the first young Mexicans to be tapped by an English club -- global icons Arsenal no less -- he operates on a higher plane than most other professionals.
We see it hear in the States all the time, mainly through the hype-machine that is ESPN, mainly in the NBA and NFL. Think how long Tracy McGrady was revered as an elite level, NBA all-star while his stats and play would say otherwise. Or think of the countless number of NFL veterans who've coasted off one or two good seasons years ago, but still have "name" recognition and solid ratings in the yearly "Madden NFL" video game. Even baseball players can ride the wave of a few good seasons for over a decade if they have a solid agent, though the bevvy of sabremetricians taking over front offices is weeding out these type of players.
World soccer might be the guiltiest of all.
The rollercoaster of hype blows so hot and so cold, that the landscape is littered with guys who've never panned out think the (hate to say it) Freddy Adus of the world. In a way Lionel Messi is the exception to the rule. The jury is still out on Neymar, as an example.
It's the nature of the beast in soccer. We're always awaiting the next big thing and tend to rush to judgment. Couple in the fact soccer players start playing at such a young age, before full maturity and the sight of supposedly, "can't miss talents" who never actually pan out is about as deep as flamed out, failed child acting stars.
What happens with Vela? Will he ever break into an every-week starter at Arsenal? A lesser EPL team? Somewhere, probably Spain? A trip back to Mexico?
In his sporadic appearances for Arsenal he's never really stood out as anything spectacular. Yes, he's certainly been a fine performer in an El Tri shirt (nine goals, 31 matches), but that's not really going to give him time at the Emirates, where he's down on the pecking order behind Maroune Chamahk, Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and maybe even Theo Walcott if we're to read anything into Wenger's tactics the first weekend at Anfield.
Aside from the fact he's been at the club for so long, Vela might not even be a safe bet to be included in the Gunner's final 25-man Premier League squad list. So it might be another season of Carling Cup showcase for the Mexican. There are even rumors that he might be offered back to Fulham so Arsenal can finally capture it's summer-long transfer target, Mark Schwarzer.(*)
(*) A 37-year-old solidly above-average keeper is the answer Arsene? Really?
Perhaps the only factor working for Vela is that he didn't cost Wenger all that much when he signed him for Guadalajara five years ago.
Chances are, in a few years you'll be scuffling through the $5 used games at the local GameStop and see Vela's face gracing the cover of "FIFA 11" and shake your head and wonder, "Yep, that really happened."
Meanwhile, while Vela's move to Arsenal in 2005 hardly made a ripple, dos Santos has always had a higher profile, risking through the ranks of the Barcelona system and even drawing comparisons to Ronaldinho -- back when that was still cool. Maybe that ended up being a detriment, when the Catalans decided to reshape the team and move away from the Ronaldinho/Deco core.
In 2008, the same year Vela returned to Arsenal from Osasuna, dos Santos made a still-shocking transfer from the Catalan giants to Tottenham for in the range of $8 million. Huh? It was a move that continues to raise eyebrows, as then-Spurs boss Juande Ramos was trying to do ... something?
Small, sleight and Mexican-born with Brazilian roots, i.e. the anti-Harry Redknapp player, dos Santos was loaned out first to Ipswich Town, then last season to Galatasaray, where he re-united with Frank Rijkaard and apparently got his career back on track.
Now dos Santos is back at White Hart Lane and Redknapp is playing him, almost out of necessity. With less money to play with in the 2010 world economy, Spurs can't simply write-off the money its invested in dos Santos. Few teams aside from Manchester City or Real Madrid and it's magical accountants are able to bleed this much red ink on the transfer ledger.
Better yet, maybe it dawned on Redknapp that he's got a player with a nice pedigree and a natural skill set. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to, you know, include him in the squad. Considering, too, that Aaron Lennon seems to have contracted Ledley King's crippling case of "bone-itis" Spurs could use some cover on the right, especially if they overturn the 3-2 deficit to Young Boys and reach the Champions League proper, where dos Santos' skill are more traditionally accepted as "continental."
Will dos Santos ever make a major impact at White Hart Lane? Maybe. The bigger point is that he's now, out of necessity, going to be given some chances instead of being written off and shipped off to the European hinterlands previously occupied by another young Mexican talent, Nery Castillo.
The reality is, teams like Tottenham aren't in the position to absorb the financial losses they could have written off even a year ago. The tighter UEFA restrictions in terms of debt, coupled with the imposed rules by the Premiership on squads, mean teams are more likely to give guys previously considered deadweight another chance.
Also gone, probably, are the days of teams dropping major money on young, unproven teenagers. The smart move would be to take the money ear-marked for those transfers and invest it into the youth team. Then again, nobody ever said the folks running soccer clubs were descendents of Albert Einstein.
Speaking of that Einstein fellow, funny how Sir Alex Ferguson is being hailed as a genius for the Chicharito signing. The Little Pea already seems further along that his countrymen in a month across the Atlantic, though the hype machine does have funny effects on even the best players.
Round Two EPL Picks
Saturday:
* Arsenal v. Blackpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) All of a sudden this is a must-watch match, though we all know Blackpool's opening-day win was probably a fluke. Then again, remember Hull City in 2008 got a shock result at the Emirates thanks to new San Jose Earthquakes DP Geovanni. The talk of the Gunner's impending demise are premature, simply because of an easy early-season schedule. Granted, the fact Samir Nasri is on the injured shelf again doesn't bode well. Hopefully most Arsenal fans cling to some kind of religious believes, because at this point they're basically putting blind faith in Wenger. On the other hand, Blackpool fans are rapidly becoming Ian Holloway acolytes. Unfortunately, playing a high-energy, pressing game at the Emirates is a different animal than at Wigan. ... Arsenal 3, Blackpool 1
* Birmingham City v. Blackburn Rovers -- Absolutely love the Matt Derbyshire move for Birmingham. If he meshes with Cameron Jerome Alex McLeish can play a standard, boring 4-4-2, but a boring 4-4-2 that should ensure midtable safety. The talk of this Blackburn takeover by an Indian businessman is nice, but you're not turning Ewood Park into South Beach. Money is money, but even if Ahsan Ali Syed pumps $100+ million into Rovers, there still, at best, eighth in the Premiership pecking order. Basically it's hard to take him seriously when the first name he mentions is David Beckham. ... Birmingham City 2, Blackburn Rovers 0
* West Bromwich Albion v. Sunderland -- Peter Odemwingie, that about sums it up for West Brom in a positively Portsmouth-esque signing. Not a bad player, per say, just not exactly the type of signing worth tossing money at as you fight for you life at the bottom of the Premiership table. The Baggies aren't as bad as last weekend's 6-0 loss at Chelsea, but they're not necessarily good either. Steve Bruce is slowly building a nice team at Sunderland, but the squad needs to have a more glided edge and find a way to win games. Egyptian winger Ahmed El Mohamady is looking like the latest sneaky loan signing by Bruce. ... West Brom 1, Sunderland 1
* Stoke City v. Tottenham -- (Live, 10 a.m., FSC+) Herein lies the problem for Tottenham. Right now their focus must be on Young Boys in the second leg of their Champions League playoff Wednesday. Yet, if they screw up against Stoke, they're sitting on one point from two matches, putting even more pressure on the game Wednesday at White Hart Lane. Spurs probably aren't equipped to fight a war on two fronts anyway, but if they miss out on the Champions League proper, odds are they're not strong enough for another push for fourth place this season. It's a bad purgatory for the next week. At least there is real grass at the Britannia. ... Stoke City 1, Tottenham 2
* West Ham United v. Bolton -- Two teams still trying to figure out their identity for the season. West Ham probably need a good performance, already, if only to appease fans already about to jump off the nearest tall building in East London. Hard to believe how badly Robert Green has fallen off -- not simply because of the England/Dempsey gaffe. Two years ago he was arguably the best shot stopper in England. Now he's flapping around like he's trying to audition for the Birds of War wrestling tag team. Maybe Avram Grant had more work than he thought, as the Irons are still loaded with a ton of deadweight -- Kieron Dyer, Luis Boa Morte, etc. -- and the ramshackle team Gianfranco Zola assembled. Bolton could pounce. Maybe Stu Holden breaks through in the Prem. It's a chance. ... West Ham 1, Bolton 2
* Everton v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Everton, pardon the analogy, are a lot like the old "Ambiguously Gay Duo" cartoon titled, "Blow Hot, Blow Cold." Sometimes the Toffees look like worldbeaters, others totally clueless. At least David Moyes' team gets a chance to settle itself this weekend with a palatable game with a game, fighting Wolves side that, say this, puts forth effort every weekend. My one issue for Everton going forward, last season in the second half, sure they had Landon Donovan, but Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha each were on fire for extended stretches. Sure the Toffees have a ton of talented, "red chip" players, but they need some of them to play above level. Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta can't carry the load for 90 minutes every weekend. Not marquee teams, but this should be a high-energy match in front of the lively Goodison crowd. ... Everton 2, Wolves 1
* Wigan Athletic v. Chelsea -- (Live, 12:30 p.m., FSC) Yeah, Wigan beat Cheslea last season. And sure, the Latics were tough at the DW Stadium last season against top squads, taking nine points there. No way it happens again. The only question is whether we'll be finding something else to occupy our time under 10 minutes into the match or later. ... Wigan 0, Chelsea 3
Sunday:
* Newcastle United v. Aston Villa -- (Live, FSC+, 8:30 a.m.) Say what you will, it ended 3-0 but the Magpies didn't look all that terrible against Manchester United Monday. Andy Carroll had a great chance early with a header. If that goes in, maybe it's a different game. That said, Newcastle isn't a team built to play defense for 90 minutes against a quality team that can take it to them. By the same token, Aston Villa weren't as good as they were blitzing West Ham Saturday. Curious to see how the lineup formation shakes out, now that James Milner is gone and Stephen Ireland is back. Wonder if Ireland has the proverbial "Eff-You" season in him? It worked last year for Richard Dunne. They're both Irish. It could happen. Dunne, however, is more of a blood-and-guts player, while Ireland seems like a guy who's happy to have a paycheck regardless of the results. Also, was Villa's Marc Albrighton the English equivalent of the NFL backup tight end who scores two TDs in Week One and everyone rushes to pick him up in fantasy? ... Newcastle United 1, Aston Villa 1
* Fulham v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) Like, don't love the Moussa Dembele signing. Here's another live body for Mark Hughes to play with, but he's not exactly a prolific striker (24 goals, 118 matches at AZ). At least David Stockdale didn't appear afflicted by the English goalkeeping disease. Fulham is another squad in transition. United were United Monday, picking apart Newcastle thanks to the assured presence of Paul Scholes in the middle of the field and not very much from Wayne Rooney. It's pretty clear winning the mojo of winning the MLS All Star game has carried over for United, who unlike most squads already look in midseason form. ... Fulham 0, Manchester United 2
Monday:
* Manchester City v. Liverpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) Like last week, a shame a match of this caliber happens so early. City catch two major breaks, getting Tottenham and Liverpool early. Even if they drop points, the squad should be improved by the time when they play weaker teams. Imagine if they got, say West Ham and Stoke, 1-2 and dropped points to them as Roberto Mancini tinkers with a lineup of 10 defensive midfielders. Not sure why or what Mancini is doing, at all. It's one thing to play a loaded midfield, but the continued drops down the field by Carlos Tevez don't seem to make sense. Oh, where does Milner play? Mancini is like a chess player trying to find a place for eight Knights, six bishops and no queens. Liverpool? Like what you saw Sunday vs. Arsenal. Even without Joe Cole, the Reds seem more settled and with Roy Hodgson resting Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres in the midweek, they'll be fresh for a possible upset. Not sure I like this talk of Dirk Kuyt leaving Anfield, though. ... Manchester City 1, Liverpool 2
Last week: 2-8
Season: 2-8.
Labels: chicharito, el tri, English Premier League, EPL, Soccer
