When I sit down to write these weekly, weekend Premier League thingamajigs, it's usually over the course of a couple days. A thought here, a thought there. Come Monday morning I'll read it over in a futile attempt to correct typos, misplaced words and overall kindergarten-level syntax.
This particular Monday, in the wake of my New York Jets losing in the AFC Championship game I simply don't have the tolerance to look at sports, even soccer, so apologies up front if this is more incoherent than usual.
You also won't hear anything about the big, hot-button issue of Sky Sports in England suspending Andy Gray and Richard Key for their sexist comments against the female linesman, Sian Massey, during the Wolves/Liverpool game. For one, it's an indefensible point in the year 2011 with out-and-out stupidity on their behalf, secondly, this blog is written from an American perspective so the blatherings of two middle-aged dimwits in England isn't much of my concern.
Now that was a snappy introduction. Let's dig in.
van the Man:
As far as easy targets go, Robin van Persie is right up there with mocking some soulless, dead-eyed woman who stars as a " Real Housewive" on basic cable. The fish meets the barrel syndrome.
The Dutchman's almost legendary frailty and inability to stay on the field was bordering on Jay Leno-monologue hackery -- See Robin. See Robin get hurt. Hilarity ensues. Repeat six to 10 months later.
Lost in all the glass bones jokes is that when van Persie is actually healthy, he's a damn good player. An elite finisher with a streak of creativity and an elite left foot.
Arsenal kept up in the title chase -- moving into second place, two back of Manchester United -- with Maroune Chamakh doing his best battering ram impression. Suffice to say, the big Moroccan has never scored a goal like van Persie's classy volley in the second half Sunday vs. Wigan. Okay, I'm sure he has in his life, but let's not hold our breath waiting for him to do it.
Van Persie gives Arsenal a different type of edge in the final third of the field. Sometimes the Gunners can get too cutesy, trying for those sweeping, "pass the ball into the net" moments. Plain and simple, van Persie is a finisher, a guy that makes something out of nothing, especially on dead ball situations.
His goal record at Arsenal is very impressive. The problem, after a breakout 2006-07 -- where he posted 11 goals and seven assists in 22 matches -- in the next three seasons he only played in 59 of a possible 114 matches for the Gunners.
It's not a glamorous attribute, but durability is an often underrated quality for a player to possess.
Will van Persie fire Arsenal past Manchester United? Who knows, but it will be fun to watch him try. That's no joke, either.
Bent Over:
Good, quality win by Aston Villa defeating Manchester City 1-0 Saturday.
Darren Bent scored, he didn't do much else, but he tapped in a rebound given up by Joe Hart and sent Villa to just their sixth win of the season. That's probably selling Bent short. For the first time I can remember this season, Villa played with a little bit of inspiration, enough to create some buzz inside Villa Park for a change.
Ashley Young played with a much greater verve, playing off Bent. Even Gerard Houiller fielded a much more dynamic lineup, with a midfield of Marc Albrighton, Stylian Petrov, Steward Downing (inside, no less) and Gabby Agbonlahor.
Admittedly, I was skeptical of the Bent move, simply since it was a departure from what Villa had been doing in the last couple years. It was a big financial gamble from a club which had been cautious, as it turns out, to a fault. It's one game, but it seems to be the signal of intent to spark the club out of the doldrums, too bad even with Bent in the fold the best this team could maybe dream of finishing was fifth.
As for City? The work in progress continues. A couple quick bullet points:
* City have now scored one or zero goals in 14 games.
* David Silva had his first poor, non-impact match in a couple weeks, with his giveaway leading to the Villa goal.
* The team remains a little too individualistic when times get tough.
* Yaya Toure ends up clogging up too much space playing in an attacking role against a packed-in defense. The dude is just ginormous.
* Going by my eye test, City seem to play so much better when Adam Johnson comes on. His crosses, meshing with Edin Dzeko could become a truly lethal weapon.
* City did hit the post a couple times, so there's that.
* As noted by the match commentators, in that spot, teams like Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal find a way to at least grind out a point. City doesn't yet have that joint refusal to lose, yet. That has to come internally from the players. You still have to question the team's hunger, when all these players are so-highly paid and the club itself doesn't have that longstanding commitment to winning.
Land of the Free, Home of the Brave:
U-S-A! U-S-A!
Take that every other country. Now it's doubtful Ron Swanson has much use for soccer on his Pyramid of Greatness, but he'd have to appreciate the efforts of Americans Jonathan Spector and Clint Dempsey Saturday for West Ham and Fulham respectively.
Dempsey, first, bagged two goals in the Cottagers 2-0 win over Stoke City. Neither goal were anything memorable, the first he bungled over the line from an Andrew Johnson cross. The second was a penalty. Still, Dempsey is Dempsey and it's good to see him making those deep-lying, darting runs into the penalty area. His now-famous goal against Liverpool back in 2007 saved the club from relegation, his eight this season is giving the team a little more distance from the Championship trap door.
As for Spector? Not really sure what to say?
He's been playing professionally in England since Manchester United signed him in 2003 and it took him until Jan. 22, 2011 to notch his first Premier League goal. A goal, (watch here) that put West Ham ahead 1-0 in the first half.
A credit to perseverance, I suppose.
It's not like anyone saw this coming, since at the start of the season he couldn't get a game. Wonder what Avram Grant saw in training to deploy the Illinois native in the central midfield? It's changed Spector 180 degrees.
His contract is up at the end of the year. Where his future lies is anyone's guess. His play over the last month will at least give him some options. You wonder though, is he on the verge of a professional breakthrough or a guy playing better in a contract year, like an NBA player looking to boost his stats?
Fox's Foibles:
Not exactly a banner morning on Saturday for the Fox Soccer empire.
For starters, the Manchester United/Birmingham City game was for all intents and purposes over within two minutes of kickoff. Sure, there are people out there that love to watch Dimitar Berbatov(*) & Co. tool on a hapless, rudderless team for 90 minutes. I'm not one of them. Might as well run the test pattern for the next two hours, assuming the company's graphics department doesn't screw it up like every other graphic package it produces.
(*) League-leading 17 goals, now, for the Bulgarian ... all seemingly in about three matches.
More annoying was the fact that the FoxSoccer.tv package which many people pay around $15 per month for didn't work all day. It appears Fox was trying a new video provider, whatever it was it didn't work. If it's a one-time issue, it can slide.
Also, weird, FSC brought in Jamie Trecker for some halftime analysis. Trecker looked like he'd just arrived from the First Continental Congress with his best Ben Franklin hair and glasses. Anything, though, to break-up the cliche-spewing Warren Barton is appreciated. He's less TV-ready than my old favorite Pat Dolan on Setanta, but another voice isn't a bad thing. Overall,, Trecker added to the table.
Fox, to their credit, seems to have heard the complaints from American viewers and at least teased some goals from the matches airing later in the weekend on delay from Saturday morning. Baby steps.
Around the League:
Admittedly, slept through most of Liverpool's 3-0 win at Wolves. The Raul Meireles golazo is the natural talking point. What a sweet hit. Liverpool fans can take heed in Fernando Torres recent re-percolation. Maybe we underrate, sometimes, how significant a loss it is for the club when Torres' from dips from arguably Top 15 in the world, to also-ran, pouty status. ... Quality production by ESPN, too, not simply because it was nice to have Ian Darke back in our lives. Good job to get the sideline reporter to get some thoughts from U.S. keeper Marcus Hahneman, as well as a non-grumbling interview from Kenny Dalglish. Fox, take some notes. ... Spurs rallied for a late 1-1 draw at Newcastle United, avoiding the humiliation of losing on a Fab Coloccini half-volley, which was actually quite nicely taken. The winner came from Aaron Lennon, who ended the game on the left after a series of events that included Gareth Bale limping off after about 15 minutes with a back injury. The game also featured the quiet Spurs debut of Steven Pienaar and the re-emergence of Niko Krancjar. Newcastle got an excellent 90 minutes on the flank from Jonas Gutierrez. ... Everton were fortunate to pull out a 2-2 draw against West Ham at Goodison Park, with late goals from Diniyar Bilyaletdinovand Maroune Feliaini saving the day. Match was a back-and-forth, fun affair featuring Frédéric Piquionne with the apparent game-winner, only to be sent off for celebrating for his second yellow card. ... In a pinch, Steve Bruce played Kieran Richardson slightly behind Asamoah Gyan and the former England international responded with two goals in Sunderland's 2-1 win at Blackpool. Do like the addition of Ricardo Fuller from Stoke for Sunderland. ... Not much to say about Blackburn's 2-0 win over West Brom. Jermaine Jones does love him a lunging, long-legged tackle, doesn't he? He should have given away a penalty in the second half, yet still earned Man of the Match honors. Go figure. Also, right before I hit "publish" noticed Blackburn is up to seventh in the table. Thought the table didn't lie. ... Not sure why Liverpool is so hell-bent on Charlie Adam. Where is he going to play in the squad? Then again, remember the Red Sox actively pursued the immortal Marco Scutaro to play shortstop last baseball offseason, so NESV can be prone to head-scratchers.
Fantasy Team(s) O' the Week:
Here's a first, two different teams posted a whooping 100 points this week. First, Emma Graham's Think Pink United, with an all-around massive day from Dempsey, Berbatov, van Persie and Nani. Next, Scelso Emiliano's Emi Team also got to triple digits with a similar lineup, benefiting from the 34 points of captaining the Bulgarian hat-trick machine.
Bonus (Mid-week) Picks:
* Blackpool v. Manchester United -- (Tuesday, FSC, 2:30 p.m.) Ah, the elusive "game in hand" coming home to roost for United. Maybe the probable open-ness of this match allows Wayne Rooney to breakout. ... Blackpool 1, Manchester United 3
* Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa -- (Tuesday) Let's see how much of a "Bent Bounce" Villa gets. It's one thing to be fired up at home against Manchester City, another going on the road to play Wigan. ... Wigan 1, Villa 1
* Liverpool v. Fulham -- (Wednesday, FSC, 3 p.m.) The logic, you have to figure, around Liverpool's pursuit of Luis Saurez is that the seventh time will finally be the charm in finding a strike partner for Fernando Torres. Then again, as of Monday, the two sides seem far apart on the money. Will fiscal prudence win out? Ajax obviously needs the cash. ... Liverpool 2, Fulham 0
One Other Thing:
On a lighter note, do check out the Science Channel's "An Idiot Abroad" featuring idiot-savant Karl Plikington sent off around the globe by friends and tormentors Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Amazing the funniest man on television, non-Pawnee division, is a round-headed Englishman. Legitimately funny stuff here.
Here's a taste, no pun intended.
This particular Monday, in the wake of my New York Jets losing in the AFC Championship game I simply don't have the tolerance to look at sports, even soccer, so apologies up front if this is more incoherent than usual.
You also won't hear anything about the big, hot-button issue of Sky Sports in England suspending Andy Gray and Richard Key for their sexist comments against the female linesman, Sian Massey, during the Wolves/Liverpool game. For one, it's an indefensible point in the year 2011 with out-and-out stupidity on their behalf, secondly, this blog is written from an American perspective so the blatherings of two middle-aged dimwits in England isn't much of my concern.
Now that was a snappy introduction. Let's dig in.
van the Man:
As far as easy targets go, Robin van Persie is right up there with mocking some soulless, dead-eyed woman who stars as a " Real Housewive" on basic cable. The fish meets the barrel syndrome.
The Dutchman's almost legendary frailty and inability to stay on the field was bordering on Jay Leno-monologue hackery -- See Robin. See Robin get hurt. Hilarity ensues. Repeat six to 10 months later.
Lost in all the glass bones jokes is that when van Persie is actually healthy, he's a damn good player. An elite finisher with a streak of creativity and an elite left foot.
Arsenal kept up in the title chase -- moving into second place, two back of Manchester United -- with Maroune Chamakh doing his best battering ram impression. Suffice to say, the big Moroccan has never scored a goal like van Persie's classy volley in the second half Sunday vs. Wigan. Okay, I'm sure he has in his life, but let's not hold our breath waiting for him to do it.
Van Persie gives Arsenal a different type of edge in the final third of the field. Sometimes the Gunners can get too cutesy, trying for those sweeping, "pass the ball into the net" moments. Plain and simple, van Persie is a finisher, a guy that makes something out of nothing, especially on dead ball situations.
His goal record at Arsenal is very impressive. The problem, after a breakout 2006-07 -- where he posted 11 goals and seven assists in 22 matches -- in the next three seasons he only played in 59 of a possible 114 matches for the Gunners.
It's not a glamorous attribute, but durability is an often underrated quality for a player to possess.
Will van Persie fire Arsenal past Manchester United? Who knows, but it will be fun to watch him try. That's no joke, either.
Bent Over:
Good, quality win by Aston Villa defeating Manchester City 1-0 Saturday.
Darren Bent scored, he didn't do much else, but he tapped in a rebound given up by Joe Hart and sent Villa to just their sixth win of the season. That's probably selling Bent short. For the first time I can remember this season, Villa played with a little bit of inspiration, enough to create some buzz inside Villa Park for a change.
Ashley Young played with a much greater verve, playing off Bent. Even Gerard Houiller fielded a much more dynamic lineup, with a midfield of Marc Albrighton, Stylian Petrov, Steward Downing (inside, no less) and Gabby Agbonlahor.
Admittedly, I was skeptical of the Bent move, simply since it was a departure from what Villa had been doing in the last couple years. It was a big financial gamble from a club which had been cautious, as it turns out, to a fault. It's one game, but it seems to be the signal of intent to spark the club out of the doldrums, too bad even with Bent in the fold the best this team could maybe dream of finishing was fifth.
As for City? The work in progress continues. A couple quick bullet points:
* City have now scored one or zero goals in 14 games.
* David Silva had his first poor, non-impact match in a couple weeks, with his giveaway leading to the Villa goal.
* The team remains a little too individualistic when times get tough.
* Yaya Toure ends up clogging up too much space playing in an attacking role against a packed-in defense. The dude is just ginormous.
* Going by my eye test, City seem to play so much better when Adam Johnson comes on. His crosses, meshing with Edin Dzeko could become a truly lethal weapon.
* City did hit the post a couple times, so there's that.
* As noted by the match commentators, in that spot, teams like Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal find a way to at least grind out a point. City doesn't yet have that joint refusal to lose, yet. That has to come internally from the players. You still have to question the team's hunger, when all these players are so-highly paid and the club itself doesn't have that longstanding commitment to winning.
Land of the Free, Home of the Brave:
U-S-A! U-S-A!
Take that every other country. Now it's doubtful Ron Swanson has much use for soccer on his Pyramid of Greatness, but he'd have to appreciate the efforts of Americans Jonathan Spector and Clint Dempsey Saturday for West Ham and Fulham respectively.
Dempsey, first, bagged two goals in the Cottagers 2-0 win over Stoke City. Neither goal were anything memorable, the first he bungled over the line from an Andrew Johnson cross. The second was a penalty. Still, Dempsey is Dempsey and it's good to see him making those deep-lying, darting runs into the penalty area. His now-famous goal against Liverpool back in 2007 saved the club from relegation, his eight this season is giving the team a little more distance from the Championship trap door.
As for Spector? Not really sure what to say?
He's been playing professionally in England since Manchester United signed him in 2003 and it took him until Jan. 22, 2011 to notch his first Premier League goal. A goal, (watch here) that put West Ham ahead 1-0 in the first half.
A credit to perseverance, I suppose.
It's not like anyone saw this coming, since at the start of the season he couldn't get a game. Wonder what Avram Grant saw in training to deploy the Illinois native in the central midfield? It's changed Spector 180 degrees.
His contract is up at the end of the year. Where his future lies is anyone's guess. His play over the last month will at least give him some options. You wonder though, is he on the verge of a professional breakthrough or a guy playing better in a contract year, like an NBA player looking to boost his stats?
Fox's Foibles:
Not exactly a banner morning on Saturday for the Fox Soccer empire.
For starters, the Manchester United/Birmingham City game was for all intents and purposes over within two minutes of kickoff. Sure, there are people out there that love to watch Dimitar Berbatov(*) & Co. tool on a hapless, rudderless team for 90 minutes. I'm not one of them. Might as well run the test pattern for the next two hours, assuming the company's graphics department doesn't screw it up like every other graphic package it produces.
(*) League-leading 17 goals, now, for the Bulgarian ... all seemingly in about three matches.
More annoying was the fact that the FoxSoccer.tv package which many people pay around $15 per month for didn't work all day. It appears Fox was trying a new video provider, whatever it was it didn't work. If it's a one-time issue, it can slide.
Also, weird, FSC brought in Jamie Trecker for some halftime analysis. Trecker looked like he'd just arrived from the First Continental Congress with his best Ben Franklin hair and glasses. Anything, though, to break-up the cliche-spewing Warren Barton is appreciated. He's less TV-ready than my old favorite Pat Dolan on Setanta, but another voice isn't a bad thing. Overall,, Trecker added to the table.
Fox, to their credit, seems to have heard the complaints from American viewers and at least teased some goals from the matches airing later in the weekend on delay from Saturday morning. Baby steps.
Around the League:
Admittedly, slept through most of Liverpool's 3-0 win at Wolves. The Raul Meireles golazo is the natural talking point. What a sweet hit. Liverpool fans can take heed in Fernando Torres recent re-percolation. Maybe we underrate, sometimes, how significant a loss it is for the club when Torres' from dips from arguably Top 15 in the world, to also-ran, pouty status. ... Quality production by ESPN, too, not simply because it was nice to have Ian Darke back in our lives. Good job to get the sideline reporter to get some thoughts from U.S. keeper Marcus Hahneman, as well as a non-grumbling interview from Kenny Dalglish. Fox, take some notes. ... Spurs rallied for a late 1-1 draw at Newcastle United, avoiding the humiliation of losing on a Fab Coloccini half-volley, which was actually quite nicely taken. The winner came from Aaron Lennon, who ended the game on the left after a series of events that included Gareth Bale limping off after about 15 minutes with a back injury. The game also featured the quiet Spurs debut of Steven Pienaar and the re-emergence of Niko Krancjar. Newcastle got an excellent 90 minutes on the flank from Jonas Gutierrez. ... Everton were fortunate to pull out a 2-2 draw against West Ham at Goodison Park, with late goals from Diniyar Bilyaletdinovand Maroune Feliaini saving the day. Match was a back-and-forth, fun affair featuring Frédéric Piquionne with the apparent game-winner, only to be sent off for celebrating for his second yellow card. ... In a pinch, Steve Bruce played Kieran Richardson slightly behind Asamoah Gyan and the former England international responded with two goals in Sunderland's 2-1 win at Blackpool. Do like the addition of Ricardo Fuller from Stoke for Sunderland. ... Not much to say about Blackburn's 2-0 win over West Brom. Jermaine Jones does love him a lunging, long-legged tackle, doesn't he? He should have given away a penalty in the second half, yet still earned Man of the Match honors. Go figure. Also, right before I hit "publish" noticed Blackburn is up to seventh in the table. Thought the table didn't lie. ... Not sure why Liverpool is so hell-bent on Charlie Adam. Where is he going to play in the squad? Then again, remember the Red Sox actively pursued the immortal Marco Scutaro to play shortstop last baseball offseason, so NESV can be prone to head-scratchers.
Fantasy Team(s) O' the Week:
Here's a first, two different teams posted a whooping 100 points this week. First, Emma Graham's Think Pink United, with an all-around massive day from Dempsey, Berbatov, van Persie and Nani. Next, Scelso Emiliano's Emi Team also got to triple digits with a similar lineup, benefiting from the 34 points of captaining the Bulgarian hat-trick machine.
Bonus (Mid-week) Picks:
* Blackpool v. Manchester United -- (Tuesday, FSC, 2:30 p.m.) Ah, the elusive "game in hand" coming home to roost for United. Maybe the probable open-ness of this match allows Wayne Rooney to breakout. ... Blackpool 1, Manchester United 3
* Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa -- (Tuesday) Let's see how much of a "Bent Bounce" Villa gets. It's one thing to be fired up at home against Manchester City, another going on the road to play Wigan. ... Wigan 1, Villa 1
* Liverpool v. Fulham -- (Wednesday, FSC, 3 p.m.) The logic, you have to figure, around Liverpool's pursuit of Luis Saurez is that the seventh time will finally be the charm in finding a strike partner for Fernando Torres. Then again, as of Monday, the two sides seem far apart on the money. Will fiscal prudence win out? Ajax obviously needs the cash. ... Liverpool 2, Fulham 0
One Other Thing:
On a lighter note, do check out the Science Channel's "An Idiot Abroad" featuring idiot-savant Karl Plikington sent off around the globe by friends and tormentors Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Amazing the funniest man on television, non-Pawnee division, is a round-headed Englishman. Legitimately funny stuff here.
Here's a taste, no pun intended.
Labels: English Premier League, EPL, Monday recaps, Soccer
One of the reasons van Persie is different from most other, oft-injured players (see Torres or Rooney) is that when he DOES make it back on the field, it seems like he is back to full effectiveness almost immediately. Most players, no matter their ability, take some time to get back up to speed athletically and touch-wise. RvP is like the Microwave, Vinnie Johnson. If van persie truly is glass, maybe at least he us Pyrex.
Maybe you missed the excellent touch and turn that Dempsey made to get into position to draw the PK on his second goal. The penalty kick itself (like ALL PKs) was what it was, but the move Deuce made to control that ball and turn was stellar. The move is in this link at 2:19. That is Dempsey at his most skillful.