"Everyone's got a price ...
Everyone's gonna pay ...
'Cuz the Million Dollar Man ...
ALWAYS gets his way ...
nahahahahaha." -- Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Man" entry music circa 1988.
Everyone's gonna pay ...
'Cuz the Million Dollar Man ...
ALWAYS gets his way ...
nahahahahaha." -- Ted DiBiase's "Million Dollar Man" entry music circa 1988.
Some things that the $56 million dollars for Andy Carroll would also buy/pay for:
* The production budgets of "True Grit" and "Black Swan" combined.
* (Probably) the player salaries for every MLS franchise.
* Derek Jeter's latest contract with the New York Yankees.
* Roughly the amount the Boston Red Sox -- the new owners of Liverpool FC -- paid John Lackey, J.D. Drew, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Mike Cameron and Marco Scutaro in 2010.
* Johnny Depp's paycheck for the fourth "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.
* The amount the District of Columbia expected to save in May by putting low-income adults on medicare.
* A whole lot of pudding.
As we take a deep breath on one of the craziest days in Premier League history, ... a merry-go-round that saw Fernando Torres leave Liverpool for Chelsea and Carroll move from Newcastle United to replace him, it's worth noting these massive transfer figures certainly catch the eye and make headlines, but if in the instance of Liverpool, if Fenway Sports Group wants to shell out all that cash for Carroll that's their prerogative.
Crazy? Sure. What other reaction is there to seeing Carroll sandwiched betwixt Zinedine Zidane and David Villa on the all-time transfer fee records?
Did Liverpool overpay for Carroll being a British player despite a minimal pedigree? Probably.
That's the system though.
Don't forget, either, Liverpool did happen to snare about $80 million on Roman Abramovich's(*) money selling of Torres to Chelsea to finance the move, as well as for Luis Suarez from Ajax.
(*) Not even David Stern could rig it so Chelsea and Liverpool meet at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Without starting to scream like Don Draper at Peggy Olsen, but that's what the money is, indeed, for. The numbers get high insanely high, but those figures shouldn't be the be-all, end-all story for today. Though all those zeroes tend to distract us, shouldn't we be more concerned by the sporting aspects of this crazy transfer merry-go-round today?
Storyline No. 1, Torres is a Blue -- It's going to take some time getting used to Torres in a Chelsea blue shirt, a lot of time, though not as much time as my Internet amigo, Ace Cowboy, who had to change his Twitter icon away from the ex-Liverpool striker.
As a result of this move Chelsea probably vaults Real Madrid as the go-to team of 99.8 percent of people playing "FIFA 11" online, since the lure of playing with Torres next to Didier Drogba is too irresistible for most mouth-breathing, joystick jockeys who prefer the numbers, rather than their individual skill do the work for them. Alas.
Though the move might work seamlessly in a video game, on the actual turf of Stamford Bridge ... we will see.
When Carlo Ancelotti took over last season at Chelsea, he dabbled with a 4-3-1-2 system, pairing off Drogba and Nic Anelka, with Frank Lampard and or Flourent Malouda behind them. It worked well enough, but Chelsea didn't really find its groove until it switched to more of a 4-3-3 with Malouda and Anelka flanking Drogba on the forward line, though perhaps that groove should be attributed to Malouda playing out of his mind at the start of 2010.
Naturally good players make a good system, but it's hard to see Torres or Drogba drifting that far away from the front of goal. Nor does Chelsea dropping to a flat 4-4-2-ish system, since it doesn't have a ton of wide midfielders, aside from Malouda. Perhaps Ancelotti dusts off his old, preferred AC Milan "Christmas Tree" with a triangle of Drogba/Torres and Malouda, backed by Lampard, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel.
Bigger picture thinking, Chelsea is likely looking at the 26-year-old Torres as the immediate successor to the 32-year-old Drogba, locking him up through 2016. There's no rule both must play side-by-side every game, like the would-be video gamer will do 100 percent of the time online. Any way Chelsea can ease the burden on the big Ivorian, the better it should prove.
Chelsea, too, must hope that Torres' two-plus seasons of start-stop play because of nagging injuries is over and the Spanish ace can help them rebuild more rapidly than the now-scrapped plan of replacing from within. Signing David Luiz for big bucks from Benfica right before the window closed, fully confirms this.
There is still some risk in this deal for Chelsea. With the amount of money the Blues are shelling out, they best hope they're getting the Torres from 2007-08 who bagged 33 goals in 46 games, not the shell of that player he's been of late. Though a report surfaced that Chelsea's finances are improved, if this move doesn't work, with the outlay of cash they splashed coupled with an aging squad ... it could, repeat could backfire.
Above all, a healthy, motivated Torres is a force, even if -- to embrace the pro wrestling tone that started this post -- he "sold out" to the evil force known as the n.W.o., err, Chelsea.(*) Guess it explains going away from the blond hair at the start of the season, a classic heel maneuver. Like LeBron James, though, doubt Torres has it in him to embrace the villain persona, which he has now fallen into, completely dissing Liverpool on his way out the door.
(*) Hey, whaddaya know, new reasons to revive my hatred of the Blues. Awesome.
Re-filling the Pool -- Bear in mind that I actually thought the Roy Hodgson/Joe Cole moves were a good move at Anfield. That said, pulling in Carroll and Suarez, even for the massive amount of money they outlaid was close to a slam dunk for Liverpool, especially on the day they lost club icon Torres. As a fan of the club you should be over the moon, since Henry et al parlayed the Torres windfall into three useful players.
For whatever the reason, Torres soured on Anfield, so trying to get back to the Champions League with an unhappy player didn't make sense. Trying to put the genie back into the bottle wasn't happening.
Coincidentally, as Torres moves to Chelsea and -- on paper -- makes the Blues more suited for 4-4-2, Monday's signings by Liverpool signal Kenny Dalglish might use more of a 4-3-3/4-5-1-ish type lineup.
It's a gamble, sure, spending all that money on Carroll -- a 22-year-old forward with 31 professional goals to his name and a wrap sheet almost as long as his ponytail. At 6-foot-3 and as physical as it gets, Carroll creates so much versatility up top for Liverpool either as the point of a trident, flanked by Suarez and, say, Dirk Kuyt, or he can isolate alone with a packed midfield behind him.
What the Carroll signing still doesn't address the Twinkee-like softness of the Liverpool defense, which can be addressed in the summer. The only way this becomes more of a problem is if the continued short-comings of Martin Skrtel drive Pepe Reina to become the next Spaniard out the door at Anfield, following Xabi Alonso, Rafa Benitez, Torres, et al.
If Liverpool wants to maximize Carroll's productivity, its management ought to convince Steven Gerrard to allow the Geordie forward to live with him -- assuming Carroll fancies the music of Phil Collins. It worked wonders with Kevin Nolan. Hard to see a scenario where Carroll and Gerrard don't mesh on the field.
Suarez, today, seems like an afterthought, but let's not forget he did lead all of Europe in scoring last season at Ajax. Granted, that is the Dutch League where you or I could conceivably score 10 goals -- your leading Eredivisie scorer right now is Belgian Bjorn Vleminckx -- but Suarez displayed his world class ability during the World Cup with Uruguay. Okay he did have that handball against Ghana and later bite a player while at Ajax, still, Suarez is the kind of savvy, sneaky player Liverpool has lacked for some time in front of goal. Sorry, David Ngog doesn't count.
A couple weeks ago, Liverpool stared at the brink with the ineffective Hodgson rubbing his face on the touchline, three points above relegation and Torres with one foot out the door. Flash forward to today and the club has replaced Hodson with Dalglish and Torres with Carroll ... without being stuck with Nic Anelka, either.
All-and-all, not a bad turn of events.
Consider too, if Torres has wanted out as long as he apparently has, he could've been sold during the Hicks/Gillette era, who no doubt would have pocketed the cash themselves instead of speading it on Carroll and Suarez, much like Mike Ashley will likely do at Newcastle, no doubt, cackling as he does it. Henry(*) and the new Boston-based owners at least invested it in the team, even if it means they'll have to pay for it with a new line of pink Liverpool hats.
(*) One thing on Henry and the Red Sox, for all their complaining about the Yankees, Boston still has the No. 2 payroll in baseball. They will spend money, as evidenced today. It's not a quaint mom-and-pop operation.
Villa The Younger -- (Paging Debbie Downer) Okay, as a fan of the U.S. National Team, in theory, I'm supposed to go gaga over every single little move or goal or what have you by an American player. Sorry, but I'm not good at faking enthusiasm, so apply that to today's Michael Bradley move to Aston Villa, which personally is getting the wait-and-see treatment.
It's very hard to have a different reaction to the move, outside of the basic it's a move to a better league with a more prestigious team, using the observational evidence that Stuart Holden succeeded at Bolton, Clint Dempsey is integral Fulham at so naturally Bradley will fit in perfectly at Villa Park, a move that seems like a natural career progression.
My very curbed enthusiasm boils down to my lack of faith in Gerard Houllier, who all of a sudden is reworking the Villa team on the fly with an open check book from Randy Lerner, which is odd since Martin O'Neill left in August -- in part -- due to a lack of transfer funds.
The big question is Bradley going to play at Villa?
Logic would dictate Jean II Makoun is in the mix, since Houllier bought him from Lyon for a couple million. So for Bradley to have a spot in the starting XI it means Stiliyan Petrov is on his way out, which is possible since the Bulgarian was a Martin O'Neill stalwart. There's also Villa youngsters Barry Bannan and Jonathon Hogg in the mix for central midfield roles. GrTo be fair, Bradley does seems like a player who would respond to fighting for a spot.
Gabby Agbonlahor could also get the squeeze, with Ashley Young moving into a withdrawn striker positive, with the Villa midfield looking like this: Albrighton -- Makoun -- Bradley -- Downing.
One thing to watch would be if Houllier gives Bradley a more offensive role. Bradley does have that knack for getting forward to finish off plays. From what I've seen of him he's almost a better shooter/tackler/disruptor than as a distributor/passer.
So long as Bradley plays, he should be okay. Let's hope he doesn't get frozen out by Houllier like Eric Lichaj apparently has been, though.
* Jozy Altidore made a late loan from Villareal to Bursaspor. Not to sound like a defective mp3 or a iPhone stuck on repeat, but this move all matters about playing time. This is his third loan away from the Yellow Submarine, in his third different league. Until Altidore starts to produce, well, what is there to say?
Big winners -- Without making a move, it was a great day for Manchester United and Arsenal, your first and second place teams in the EPL table.
For one, though neither side reinforced their strong sides, they also aren't going to have to readjust tactics midway through the season like traditional rivals Chelsea and Liverpool are. Chelsea, even with Torres and Luiz in the mix, are 10 points back of United, which is a lot to make up over 15 matches.
More importantly, outside of adding Edin Dzeko, Manchester City didn't break the bank, or replace Adam Johnson, diminishing their title chances this season.
Big loser -- Tottenham, as we saw in that 4-0 demolition at the hands of Fulham in the FA Cup on Sunday, needs some sort of lively injection, especially at forward. Apparently Harry Redknapp dialed up every breathing striker in Spain -- Rossi, Fabiano, Llorente, Forlan, Aguero -- only to be denied, which left him with a last minute bid for -- bafflingly enough -- Blackpool's Charlie Adam.
Spurs could make a run in the Champions League, but with Torres joining Chelsea, it's hard to see them registering another Top Four finish this season. The team is running a little low on gas, and the magic of Rafael van der Vaart is wearing off. Spurs needed someone, with Jermain Defoe out-of-form and Peter Crouch and Roman Pavluychenko the definition of unreliable.
One more thing -- For all the talk of increased parity in the Premier League this season, the flurry of moves today might pave the way for a re-established "Big Four," which with City in the mix is a "Big Five + Spurs." Other clubs made some sound moves in January, but not enough to keep pace with the big boys, who consolidated their positions.
Round 25 Picks:
Yes, there are games this week. Wait, you wanted more gossip instead of actual balls being kicked?
Tuesday:
* Arsenal v. Everton -- (Live, FSC, 2:45 p.m.) Can't argue with this tweet from today from @thefarmerjones, "And Everton are starting to look like the fucking Pirates." ... Arsenal 3, Everton 1
* Sunderland v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC+, 3 p.m.) Usually this space is reserved for praising the low-budget transfer/loan moves of Steve Bruce, that said, is Sulley Muntari what Sunderland needed at this point? Another less-than-pacey central midfield plodder to go with Lee Cattermole, Steed Malbranque and Bolo Zenden? From an actual sporting standpoint, Sunderland did end Chelsea's approximately 4,301-game winning streak at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, too bad for the Black Cats their best player that day -- Danny Welbeck -- is injured. No idea what kind of XI Carlo Ancelotti fields for this match. ... Sunderland 1, Chelsea 1
* Manchester United v. Aston Villa -- (Live, ESPN2, 3 p.m.) Seems like a match where Chicharito -- a roughly $10 million signing by Sir Alex -- scored with his eyes closed and the ball bouncing off his butt. ... Manchester United 2, Aston Villa 1
* West Bromwich Albion v. Wigan Athletic -- Carlos Vela packs his backs to West Brom. Seems about right. Can't see him every cracking the Arsenal first XI anytime soon. Applause for Wigan, too, a whopping one move in January -- loaning out Mauro Boselli. Great job, Roberto Martinez! ... West Brom 3, Wigan 1
Wednesday
* Birmingham City v. Manchester City -- Feels like I've watched, or at least had the chance to watch, Birmingham City about 20 times in the last two weeks, which is on par with waking up, turning out USA and finding yourself knee deep in a marathon of "Boston Common" reruns. And now, Alex McLeish wrested the corpse of Obafemi Martins away from Rubin Kazan. He's not that bad, and was decent enough at Newcastle United, as it got relegated. Eight goals over the last two years? Not the kind of player to hang your hat one, though if he and Nikola Zigic and team up like Master Blaster, well, then maybe you've got yourself a player. ... Massively overshadowed by all the other news, but City -- even with its largess -- will dearly miss Adam Johnson, who always brought a little bit to the table when Roberto Mancini allowed him on the field. He's bailed out the club more than you think. His crossing and danger on the edges of the penalty area won't be replaced by the manic dribbling of Shaun Wright-Philips. ... Birmingham City 0, Manchester City 1
* Blackburn Rovers v. Tottenham -- When bringing back Roque Santa Cruz actually improves your team ... yep ... you're a winner and a loser. ... Blackburn 1, Spurs 1
* Blackpool v. West Ham United -- Andy Reid? Assuming he doesn't weight over 200 pounds, should help Blackpool. Craig Beattie? Umm, we've seen this show before. Quintuple that for Robbie Keane going to West Ham, the last act of a desperate club. ... Blackpool 3, West Ham 1
* Bolton v. Wolves -- Next. ... Bolton 2, Wolves 0
* Fulham v. Newcastle United -- Stephen Ireland and Joey Barton in the same squad??? The Magpies vault to the top of the teams that need a "Hard Knocks/24/7" show following them around and documenting the season. ... Fulham 2, Newcastle 1
* Liverpool v. Stoke City -- (Live, FSC, 3 p.m.) Lest we forget ... Liverpool are still 19 points out of first place. Maybe rash, bold decisions weren't such a poor stratagem after all. ... Liverpool 2, Stoke City 0
Last round(s): 6-7
Season: 101-132
Labels: andy carroll, Chelsea, English Premier League, EPL, EPL picks, fernando torres, Liverpool
[Author's note: Apparently Brian Philips from Slate.com drew a similar, more thought-out, better-written, more bon mot-y, idea on Thursday, probably generated from the same story that got me to thinking about this post. Full disclosure, wrote this rough draft on Wednesday and was saving it for Friday, since there aren't any EPL games this weekend. It's fairly, well, entirely anecdotal anyways. I hope readers know the last thing I do here at this little ol' slice of Internets is plagiarize or co-opt other people's ideas. It is entirely possible two separate human brains could read something and start pulling at the same thread, afterward. Believe it or not, this was commonplace pre-Internet. Either way, think we've established that baseline of trust through these many years, no?]
Don't take any offense if you follow, care, root and or support one of the following professional North America sports franchises: the Florida Marlins, the New Jersey Nets, the Memphis Grizzlies, any club with teal or neon colors, etc..
You're not "real" teams in my book.
Sincerest apologies.
Now, I'm sure you're about to fire back that logic is unsound, or it's a total arbitrary point incapable to be proven by any scientific metric. True, there isn't a formula or equation to track or credit "real-ness" or a professional sports outfit. So long as you have matching uniforms, a logo, a stadium and a hot dog-firing cannon, technically you're a pro team. In the grand cosmic scheme of things, my silly opinion of "real" teams is about as insignificant as it gets.
Yet in contrast, a "real" team, is the Pittsburgh Steelers, the very team which just ousted my favored New York Jets this weekend in the AFC Championship Game. Despite an overall indifference, to slight disdain of the Steel City gridders, as a sports fan you have to tip your cap to the organization. The Steelers don't tolerate losing. It means something special to don that black-and-yellow jersey. Does it turn you into Superman? Nah, some sort of man of steel, perhaps.
The same thing goes for a team I out-and-out despise -- the New York Yankees. Advanced scouting metrics do not account for the presumed mystic and aura a club like the Yankees has, but it rears its ugly head time after time. Watch time-after-time as opponents wilt in the late innings in important games in the Bronx.
Put it this way, the psychology of the opponent in vastly different in a big spot playing against these two teams, at Hines Field or Yankee Stadium, than some other set of circumstances.
Or take the the sport I write about the most frequently here, soccer. Look at that wild game from Tuesday where Manchester United turned around a 2-0 deficit away to Blackpool, winning 3-2 with a flurry of goals in the final 20-odd minutes. Sure any other club could pull that off from time-to-time, but the commitment level at a club of Manchester United -- which is defined by greatness and winning -- does seem to play a factor. You almost expect Sir Alex Ferguson's boys to find a result in that scenario.
Without question any other Premier League side -- say Blackburn -- could notch a goal in the 72nd minute, but do you think the Blackpool players would have the same "oh shit" moment as they did after the first United goal crossed the line?
For every equation, every spreadsheet, every new formula used to decode sports, they're still played by flesh-and-blood humans with emotions.
I write all this after gaining some questions after reading the thought-provoking piece Jeff Passan wrote about sabremetrician Voros McCracken. In essence, this deep, free, radical thinker came up with a new analytical process to evaluate pitchers. Long story short, he didn't get paid for the idea and is now borderline destitute.
What struck me, is that McCracken is drawing most of his income from an unnamed European soccer club. He wouldn't say what exactly he is working on.
This strikes me uniquely because at my sporting core the two things I'll end up watching and ruminating over the most are baseball and soccer. As a person with a curious eye toward stats and the way they are applied to American sport -- an advance copy of "Scorecasting" arrived Wednesday the moment I was getting out of the shower --I'm in conflict.
It's something I've said in the past is like comparing science and art.
Baseball is science and soccer is art.
At the core, advanced analytics are crucial to baseball front offices since the MLPA is so strong, with certain salary demands at all times. Contracts in baseball follow a market, a market driven by stats, or the evil machinations of Scott Boras, take your pick. Look at the very concept of salary arbitration. A player says he's worth this, the team comes up with their number and an arbitrator decides, mainly using comparative numbers prepared by the player's agent and the team to decide a fair sum.
100 RBIs is equal to X amount of dollars, while 88 is worth Y.
Advanced metrics help front offices deduce ways to get around this static actuary-like tables, finding hidden value or undervalue, while cutting out the tried-and-true "eye test" in the process. You're taking objectively and feel out of the equation, too.
Pro soccer's management is so slapdash, can you imagine something as, well, nerdy and litigious as salary arbitration? Going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to fight to overturn your positive test for cocaine, sure, but salary arbitration? Doesn't it seem like salary figures by most big soccer clubs seem to float entirely out of thin air.
Take this week's on-going negotiations between Chelsea and Benfica over defender David Luiz. There isn't so established set of guidelines to deduce a fair transfer fee for the 23-year-old Brazilian. Instead Chelsea is likely negotiating with a group of directors in the Benfica backroom haggling for every last penny they can get a hold on. There are probably a lot of ill-fitting suits, cigar smoke and thick, mustaches too.
In this front office, salary negotiation regard, this is one way American sports -- even with their closed system status -- trump soccer hands down. It's like one city has its advanced, clean, tidy monorail system, whilst the other is pushing a donkey-powered wooden cart down cobblestone streets.
Better yet, try searching the Internet for soccer club-by-club salary figures. It's as elusive as roaming the Pacific Northwest in search of Sasquatch. There are a couple sites that keep databases of transfers, but team-by-team weekly salaries? Meanwhile, type in baseball salaries in Google and you'll find page after page, even historic values, too. It's almost hard not to talk about team payrolls when you're talking baseball. A player's contract length and yearly salary are common knowledge. The Internet did a collective plotz last week when the Anaheim Angels acquired Vernon Wells from Toronto, with nearly $90 million left on his deal.
That's just one area, which could change in soccer over time.
The on-field way baseball and soccer are played are so fundamentally different, as well.
You know baseball. It's a start-stop game played by nine individuals masquerading as a team ... at least when you drive down the cold, precise stats. New advanced stats seem to be derived every other week determining a player's value independent of his teammates.
Soccer is non-stop, with the play of 11 men directly impacting the other.
In baseball you can read a box score from 100 years ago featuring John McGraw's New York Giants and have a fair approximation of what transpired at the Polo Grounds that day. Soccer? Not so much, or if you could the minimal recorded stats wouldn't tell the whole soccer. For well over 100 years the only thing anyone seemed to bother to record was the final score, and if they felt like it, the goal-scorers and lineups.
This is probably a simple, narrow approach to it. Statistical analysis of the actual game probably, in the long haul, won't help you unearth massively untapped resources or find hidden edges in soccer. It's just too unpredictable once the whistle blows. Studying tons of date could show you it's not beneficial to play for a cross or make long passes up flanks. There is definitely data to be mined, just not sure how much there is. Time will tell.
Compared with baseball, though, soccer is truly apples and oranges. In baseball once the ball is put into play only a few things can occur. The batter and pitcher act independently. Hell, in soccer everyone players 11 men on the field at once, but there's no codified formation or template for a squad, aside from one goalie.
Maybe, for me, it's that people don't realize that statistics game in baseball boiled down is really used for contracts and trying to find value or an edge in evaluating players compared to 29 other Major League clubs.
In theory you can crunch a ballplayers' offensive numbers and have a fair proximity of his value, or what he's bringing to the plate regardless of his teammates. A slugging percentage is a slugging percentage. Soccer? Goal-rate? Pass-success? Drop Player A on a new team, he's still a good player, but if he doesn't fit in the system or mesh with teammates, he's a waste. Suppose you took average player "X" and plopped him in a midfield next to Barcelona's Xavi and Andres Iniesta, then in a controlled environment paired him with Tottenham's Wilson Palacios and, say, Tom Huddlestone? What rationale way would there be to evaluate him independent of his teamamtes?
Though there's no way to quantify the je ne sais quoi genius of a player like Cristiano Ronaldo in a tidy, four-letter acronym like P.R.A.T., but you could try to find how he effects the rest of his team, the club's winning percentage or goal percentage. Hey, if people are smart enough to find a hidden game lying beneath the surface of soccer, I'll tip my cap. I openly welcome a different way to approach and analyze the game past the same old John Harkesian 1980s coachspeak cliches.
Saying all this, there are certainly ways in the transfer market to look through the numbers and run a club in a semi-profitable, or fiscally sane manner. Or at least get it so you're not selling players for 3,000 pounds of sausages.
When to buy and when to sell, or what ages to buy and sell is simple. Figuring out the maximum to spend trying to bring a player through an academy vs. signing established guys. What type of player with which type of mind works the best.
Value is value, and if there is a way to analytically access a soccer player to deem what he's worth in the transfer market, it's certainly worth it for clubs to start exploring.
Considering how backwater, provincial, petty and narrow-minded most clubs around the globe are -- yes I'm looking at you David Sullivan and David Gold -- one or two progressive minds certainly could help a lesser club make some inroads. Progressive thinking and soccer rarely go hand-in-hand, so a mid-level club that embraced some forward thinking, data-driven principles could make major inroads, or at least offset the deep pockets of richer clubs.
In the end, no matter how many soccer versions Scott Hatteburgs or Chad Bradford a forward-looking analyst is able to unearth, it's not going to help on the on-field product when Manchester City shows up at your door with money bags in hand.
Maybe, though, that's entirely the point.
Don't take any offense if you follow, care, root and or support one of the following professional North America sports franchises: the Florida Marlins, the New Jersey Nets, the Memphis Grizzlies, any club with teal or neon colors, etc..
You're not "real" teams in my book.
Sincerest apologies.
Now, I'm sure you're about to fire back that logic is unsound, or it's a total arbitrary point incapable to be proven by any scientific metric. True, there isn't a formula or equation to track or credit "real-ness" or a professional sports outfit. So long as you have matching uniforms, a logo, a stadium and a hot dog-firing cannon, technically you're a pro team. In the grand cosmic scheme of things, my silly opinion of "real" teams is about as insignificant as it gets.
Yet in contrast, a "real" team, is the Pittsburgh Steelers, the very team which just ousted my favored New York Jets this weekend in the AFC Championship Game. Despite an overall indifference, to slight disdain of the Steel City gridders, as a sports fan you have to tip your cap to the organization. The Steelers don't tolerate losing. It means something special to don that black-and-yellow jersey. Does it turn you into Superman? Nah, some sort of man of steel, perhaps.
The same thing goes for a team I out-and-out despise -- the New York Yankees. Advanced scouting metrics do not account for the presumed mystic and aura a club like the Yankees has, but it rears its ugly head time after time. Watch time-after-time as opponents wilt in the late innings in important games in the Bronx.
Put it this way, the psychology of the opponent in vastly different in a big spot playing against these two teams, at Hines Field or Yankee Stadium, than some other set of circumstances.
Or take the the sport I write about the most frequently here, soccer. Look at that wild game from Tuesday where Manchester United turned around a 2-0 deficit away to Blackpool, winning 3-2 with a flurry of goals in the final 20-odd minutes. Sure any other club could pull that off from time-to-time, but the commitment level at a club of Manchester United -- which is defined by greatness and winning -- does seem to play a factor. You almost expect Sir Alex Ferguson's boys to find a result in that scenario.
Without question any other Premier League side -- say Blackburn -- could notch a goal in the 72nd minute, but do you think the Blackpool players would have the same "oh shit" moment as they did after the first United goal crossed the line?
For every equation, every spreadsheet, every new formula used to decode sports, they're still played by flesh-and-blood humans with emotions.
I write all this after gaining some questions after reading the thought-provoking piece Jeff Passan wrote about sabremetrician Voros McCracken. In essence, this deep, free, radical thinker came up with a new analytical process to evaluate pitchers. Long story short, he didn't get paid for the idea and is now borderline destitute.
What struck me, is that McCracken is drawing most of his income from an unnamed European soccer club. He wouldn't say what exactly he is working on.
This strikes me uniquely because at my sporting core the two things I'll end up watching and ruminating over the most are baseball and soccer. As a person with a curious eye toward stats and the way they are applied to American sport -- an advance copy of "Scorecasting" arrived Wednesday the moment I was getting out of the shower --I'm in conflict.
It's something I've said in the past is like comparing science and art.
Baseball is science and soccer is art.
At the core, advanced analytics are crucial to baseball front offices since the MLPA is so strong, with certain salary demands at all times. Contracts in baseball follow a market, a market driven by stats, or the evil machinations of Scott Boras, take your pick. Look at the very concept of salary arbitration. A player says he's worth this, the team comes up with their number and an arbitrator decides, mainly using comparative numbers prepared by the player's agent and the team to decide a fair sum.
100 RBIs is equal to X amount of dollars, while 88 is worth Y.
Advanced metrics help front offices deduce ways to get around this static actuary-like tables, finding hidden value or undervalue, while cutting out the tried-and-true "eye test" in the process. You're taking objectively and feel out of the equation, too.
Pro soccer's management is so slapdash, can you imagine something as, well, nerdy and litigious as salary arbitration? Going to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to fight to overturn your positive test for cocaine, sure, but salary arbitration? Doesn't it seem like salary figures by most big soccer clubs seem to float entirely out of thin air.
Take this week's on-going negotiations between Chelsea and Benfica over defender David Luiz. There isn't so established set of guidelines to deduce a fair transfer fee for the 23-year-old Brazilian. Instead Chelsea is likely negotiating with a group of directors in the Benfica backroom haggling for every last penny they can get a hold on. There are probably a lot of ill-fitting suits, cigar smoke and thick, mustaches too.
In this front office, salary negotiation regard, this is one way American sports -- even with their closed system status -- trump soccer hands down. It's like one city has its advanced, clean, tidy monorail system, whilst the other is pushing a donkey-powered wooden cart down cobblestone streets.
Better yet, try searching the Internet for soccer club-by-club salary figures. It's as elusive as roaming the Pacific Northwest in search of Sasquatch. There are a couple sites that keep databases of transfers, but team-by-team weekly salaries? Meanwhile, type in baseball salaries in Google and you'll find page after page, even historic values, too. It's almost hard not to talk about team payrolls when you're talking baseball. A player's contract length and yearly salary are common knowledge. The Internet did a collective plotz last week when the Anaheim Angels acquired Vernon Wells from Toronto, with nearly $90 million left on his deal.
That's just one area, which could change in soccer over time.
The on-field way baseball and soccer are played are so fundamentally different, as well.
You know baseball. It's a start-stop game played by nine individuals masquerading as a team ... at least when you drive down the cold, precise stats. New advanced stats seem to be derived every other week determining a player's value independent of his teammates.
Soccer is non-stop, with the play of 11 men directly impacting the other.
In baseball you can read a box score from 100 years ago featuring John McGraw's New York Giants and have a fair approximation of what transpired at the Polo Grounds that day. Soccer? Not so much, or if you could the minimal recorded stats wouldn't tell the whole soccer. For well over 100 years the only thing anyone seemed to bother to record was the final score, and if they felt like it, the goal-scorers and lineups.
This is probably a simple, narrow approach to it. Statistical analysis of the actual game probably, in the long haul, won't help you unearth massively untapped resources or find hidden edges in soccer. It's just too unpredictable once the whistle blows. Studying tons of date could show you it's not beneficial to play for a cross or make long passes up flanks. There is definitely data to be mined, just not sure how much there is. Time will tell.
Compared with baseball, though, soccer is truly apples and oranges. In baseball once the ball is put into play only a few things can occur. The batter and pitcher act independently. Hell, in soccer everyone players 11 men on the field at once, but there's no codified formation or template for a squad, aside from one goalie.
Maybe, for me, it's that people don't realize that statistics game in baseball boiled down is really used for contracts and trying to find value or an edge in evaluating players compared to 29 other Major League clubs.
In theory you can crunch a ballplayers' offensive numbers and have a fair proximity of his value, or what he's bringing to the plate regardless of his teammates. A slugging percentage is a slugging percentage. Soccer? Goal-rate? Pass-success? Drop Player A on a new team, he's still a good player, but if he doesn't fit in the system or mesh with teammates, he's a waste. Suppose you took average player "X" and plopped him in a midfield next to Barcelona's Xavi and Andres Iniesta, then in a controlled environment paired him with Tottenham's Wilson Palacios and, say, Tom Huddlestone? What rationale way would there be to evaluate him independent of his teamamtes?
Though there's no way to quantify the je ne sais quoi genius of a player like Cristiano Ronaldo in a tidy, four-letter acronym like P.R.A.T., but you could try to find how he effects the rest of his team, the club's winning percentage or goal percentage. Hey, if people are smart enough to find a hidden game lying beneath the surface of soccer, I'll tip my cap. I openly welcome a different way to approach and analyze the game past the same old John Harkesian 1980s coachspeak cliches.
Saying all this, there are certainly ways in the transfer market to look through the numbers and run a club in a semi-profitable, or fiscally sane manner. Or at least get it so you're not selling players for 3,000 pounds of sausages.
When to buy and when to sell, or what ages to buy and sell is simple. Figuring out the maximum to spend trying to bring a player through an academy vs. signing established guys. What type of player with which type of mind works the best.
Value is value, and if there is a way to analytically access a soccer player to deem what he's worth in the transfer market, it's certainly worth it for clubs to start exploring.
Considering how backwater, provincial, petty and narrow-minded most clubs around the globe are -- yes I'm looking at you David Sullivan and David Gold -- one or two progressive minds certainly could help a lesser club make some inroads. Progressive thinking and soccer rarely go hand-in-hand, so a mid-level club that embraced some forward thinking, data-driven principles could make major inroads, or at least offset the deep pockets of richer clubs.
In the end, no matter how many soccer versions Scott Hatteburgs or Chad Bradford a forward-looking analyst is able to unearth, it's not going to help on the on-field product when Manchester City shows up at your door with money bags in hand.
Maybe, though, that's entirely the point.
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
Ever get stuck listening to an anecdote by a family member, friend or co-worker, which they find earth-shatteringly amazing, while your brain has tumbleweeds running through it? Of course you have.
I've always found a polite, albeit dick-ish, thing to say is, "Nice story, it had a beginning, a middle and an end." It's nothing, if not honest.
That's sort of how I felt for almost all of Saturday night's West Coast U.S. National Team 1-1 friendly draw with Chile. It was one of those if a tree falls in the woods (or on ESPN3.com) does it make a sound?
Before you answer that, let's change the equation, if said tree falls down on TeleFutura, well folks, it can't help but make a sound ... a big, boisterous one.
A rather pedestrian, forgettable match broke the unintentional comedy record for U.S. soccer matches, so far as I can remember, with the spontaneous(*), one-of-a-kind description of Teal Bunbury's "Dougie" dance celebration after his successful penalty conversion.
"I like that boon, boon, ree."
(*) There's no way the announcer could have been thinking of ways to pun Bunbury's name before the match, could he? He wasn't the Spanish language John Sterling, after all.
Yes, it was set to the tune of that god-awful Black Eyed Peas song, but so be it. It was one of those things that you can't believe actually happened on the fly. No, it's not Al Michaels' asking the country, "Do you believe in miracles? ... Yes!", yet it gave a match that was entirely forgettable at least one talking point, however esoteric it might have been.
Guess it's unfair to gloss over the strong, powerful run by Juan Agundelo that set up the penalty in the first place. This kid is still 17?
Hey, from a game standpoint, too, the 1-1 scoreline scrolling across the ESPN BottomLine certainly cosmetically seems a lot better than a 1-0 draw. Granted, people looking up from their Four Lokos and alcohol infused whipped creams during a late Saturday night of carousing have no idea the parameters of this match, or how it was an experimental, new-look lineup fielded by Bob Bradley.
And speaking of which, this is going to be pretty short from here on out. I had a late Friday night myself, foolishly pushing myself to get up -- or attempt at least -- for the early Saturday Wolves/Liverpool game. Couple that with a relatively tame, low incident game and my brain feels a lot like pancake batter at the moment, probably aiding to the fact I spent three or four paragraphs making jokes about the announcers on TeleFutura.
Although, I never thought in a million years I'd have a new favorite Spanish-language soccer call to replace the transcendent way Andres Cantor et al would pronounce ex-USMNT midfielder Mike Burn's name (Miiiike Booorns) in the mid-1990s.
Sorry Mike, I like that boon, boon, ree.
In the year 2011 everything is a meme.
Other (More Salient) Thoughts:
* No. 1, no sense over-reacting to this match or killing specific players. It's a low-impact January friendly. That said, aside from the late injections of Bunbury and his Dougie-partner Agudelo, not a lot stood out. Bradley got a look at some players and has the sense who's worth keeping in the mix and who's not up to international snuff. If anyone from Saturday gets called up to the Feb. 9 game with Egypt it will be telling.
* Marvell Wynne is well on his way to becoming Jonathan Bornstein 2.0, as in, the player U.S. fans love to hate. (If not Wynne, it's rapidly becoming Brek Shea. In defense of Shea, at least he got his uniform dirty, so there's that.) Wynne's whiffed tackle set up Chile's very well-taken goal, though everyone makes a point that he's got great closing down speed. (There's a reason the song isn't called, "All I Do is Wynne.)
* Once again, the players, the faces and the stakes change but it takes the U.S. team under Bradley to finally start playing with some attacking urgency once they fall behind a goal. Concerning.
* Dax McCarty saw a lot of the ball. A lot. Why I'm not reading too much into this, how does he crack the deep, U.S. central midfield? Bradley might be able to use the new DC United player in, say, a game against Barbados, but not in one that counts. Same for Jeff Larentowicz, outside an off-year Gold Cup, when is he seeing minutes in an important match? No offense to either guy, but they're like eighth or ninth in the pecking order at the moment. No shame in that. Exhibit A why not to read too much from the tea leaves this match left at the Home Depot Center.
* Surprised, the way he got a lot of shine leading up to the 2010 World Cup, how little of an impact Alejandro Bedoya had.
* Not sure, if in 90 minutes, we saw one quality cross from either side of the field.
* Zach Lloyd and Sean Franklin each had up-and-down matches on the left and right, respectively.
* Being totally honest, didn't see anything noteworthy or worth mentioning from Tim Ream, Chris Wondolowski or Mikkel Diskerud. It was one of those games.
* There was tactical debate during the match, if the U.S. is better suited for 4-5-1 vs. 4-4-2, with the thought the U.S. doesn't have one good international striker, let alone two. My only addition to the argument is that 4-5-1, if you're using the wrong forward, or one that's not active can be neutralized fairly easily. You're also counting on a lot of goals from the midfield guys like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, or on set pieces from defenders. The 4-4-2 could be on it's way out, but it still has some use.
* Tweeted this joke, but as uptight as Bradley seems to be, he doesn't seem to see eye-to-eye with Ron Swanson on proper haircuts. Very shaggy look for the U.S. Saturday.
* Totally unrelated note, but the camera caught Chile coach Marcelo Biesla a few times, with the supposed "Loco" rocking glasses with a very dainty chain around them to keep them on his neck.
It reminded me of that old episode of "Seinfeld" when George accidentally bought lady frames. Here's the choice nugget. "They're ladies' glasses! All you need is that little chain around your neck so you can wear 'em while you're playing Canasta."
I've always found a polite, albeit dick-ish, thing to say is, "Nice story, it had a beginning, a middle and an end." It's nothing, if not honest.
That's sort of how I felt for almost all of Saturday night's West Coast U.S. National Team 1-1 friendly draw with Chile. It was one of those if a tree falls in the woods (or on ESPN3.com) does it make a sound?
Before you answer that, let's change the equation, if said tree falls down on TeleFutura, well folks, it can't help but make a sound ... a big, boisterous one.
A rather pedestrian, forgettable match broke the unintentional comedy record for U.S. soccer matches, so far as I can remember, with the spontaneous(*), one-of-a-kind description of Teal Bunbury's "Dougie" dance celebration after his successful penalty conversion.
"I like that boon, boon, ree."
(*) There's no way the announcer could have been thinking of ways to pun Bunbury's name before the match, could he? He wasn't the Spanish language John Sterling, after all.
Yes, it was set to the tune of that god-awful Black Eyed Peas song, but so be it. It was one of those things that you can't believe actually happened on the fly. No, it's not Al Michaels' asking the country, "Do you believe in miracles? ... Yes!", yet it gave a match that was entirely forgettable at least one talking point, however esoteric it might have been.
Guess it's unfair to gloss over the strong, powerful run by Juan Agundelo that set up the penalty in the first place. This kid is still 17?
Hey, from a game standpoint, too, the 1-1 scoreline scrolling across the ESPN BottomLine certainly cosmetically seems a lot better than a 1-0 draw. Granted, people looking up from their Four Lokos and alcohol infused whipped creams during a late Saturday night of carousing have no idea the parameters of this match, or how it was an experimental, new-look lineup fielded by Bob Bradley.
And speaking of which, this is going to be pretty short from here on out. I had a late Friday night myself, foolishly pushing myself to get up -- or attempt at least -- for the early Saturday Wolves/Liverpool game. Couple that with a relatively tame, low incident game and my brain feels a lot like pancake batter at the moment, probably aiding to the fact I spent three or four paragraphs making jokes about the announcers on TeleFutura.
Although, I never thought in a million years I'd have a new favorite Spanish-language soccer call to replace the transcendent way Andres Cantor et al would pronounce ex-USMNT midfielder Mike Burn's name (Miiiike Booorns) in the mid-1990s.
Sorry Mike, I like that boon, boon, ree.
In the year 2011 everything is a meme.
Other (More Salient) Thoughts:
* No. 1, no sense over-reacting to this match or killing specific players. It's a low-impact January friendly. That said, aside from the late injections of Bunbury and his Dougie-partner Agudelo, not a lot stood out. Bradley got a look at some players and has the sense who's worth keeping in the mix and who's not up to international snuff. If anyone from Saturday gets called up to the Feb. 9 game with Egypt it will be telling.
* Marvell Wynne is well on his way to becoming Jonathan Bornstein 2.0, as in, the player U.S. fans love to hate. (If not Wynne, it's rapidly becoming Brek Shea. In defense of Shea, at least he got his uniform dirty, so there's that.) Wynne's whiffed tackle set up Chile's very well-taken goal, though everyone makes a point that he's got great closing down speed. (There's a reason the song isn't called, "All I Do is Wynne.)
* Once again, the players, the faces and the stakes change but it takes the U.S. team under Bradley to finally start playing with some attacking urgency once they fall behind a goal. Concerning.
* Dax McCarty saw a lot of the ball. A lot. Why I'm not reading too much into this, how does he crack the deep, U.S. central midfield? Bradley might be able to use the new DC United player in, say, a game against Barbados, but not in one that counts. Same for Jeff Larentowicz, outside an off-year Gold Cup, when is he seeing minutes in an important match? No offense to either guy, but they're like eighth or ninth in the pecking order at the moment. No shame in that. Exhibit A why not to read too much from the tea leaves this match left at the Home Depot Center.
* Surprised, the way he got a lot of shine leading up to the 2010 World Cup, how little of an impact Alejandro Bedoya had.
* Not sure, if in 90 minutes, we saw one quality cross from either side of the field.
* Zach Lloyd and Sean Franklin each had up-and-down matches on the left and right, respectively.
* Being totally honest, didn't see anything noteworthy or worth mentioning from Tim Ream, Chris Wondolowski or Mikkel Diskerud. It was one of those games.
* There was tactical debate during the match, if the U.S. is better suited for 4-5-1 vs. 4-4-2, with the thought the U.S. doesn't have one good international striker, let alone two. My only addition to the argument is that 4-5-1, if you're using the wrong forward, or one that's not active can be neutralized fairly easily. You're also counting on a lot of goals from the midfield guys like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, or on set pieces from defenders. The 4-4-2 could be on it's way out, but it still has some use.
* Tweeted this joke, but as uptight as Bradley seems to be, he doesn't seem to see eye-to-eye with Ron Swanson on proper haircuts. Very shaggy look for the U.S. Saturday.
* Totally unrelated note, but the camera caught Chile coach Marcelo Biesla a few times, with the supposed "Loco" rocking glasses with a very dainty chain around them to keep them on his neck.
It reminded me of that old episode of "Seinfeld" when George accidentally bought lady frames. Here's the choice nugget. "They're ladies' glasses! All you need is that little chain around your neck so you can wear 'em while you're playing Canasta."
Labels: bob bradley, Friendlies, Soccer, teal bunbury, telefutura, USMNT
Depending on whom you ask, 2012 is either:
A) The "Year We Make Contact."
B) The end of the world as we know it. (Whether or not you feel fine.)
So, yeah, the Mayans went bonkers about 2012, crazy enough for a god-awful disaster movie starring Lane Meyer, err, John Cusak.
Meanwhile, poor 2011 is stuck being the Marcia Brady of the apocalypse.
Let's see, that's about 100 words and -- if you're playing along at home -- five disparate pop culture references already, beating my personal best. Success!
Allow that to be my twisting, turning, okay ... meandering introduction to the U.S. National Soccer Team, 2011 edition. That edition kicks off Saturday night at the Home Depot Center against a second-string Chile team, albeit a team coached by Marcelo Biesla(*) -- the favorite coach of every soccer tactics nerd on the Internets.
(*) Biesla is like a hip, indie rock band that's universally lauded and praised by the likes of Pitchfork, when sometimes us humble commoners are sometimes left to wonder what the big deal is? If you're no enraptured by his tactics, you're not cool enough for the club. Chile was a fun team to watch back in June, but thinking back, hard to recall any specifics of their matches, honestly.
Oh right, it's worth noting this match doesn't have an English-language television provider and is only on ESPN3.com and Telefutura.
Before digging too deep, thought it would be interesting, or at least put into context what this match means in the grand scheme of things with the lineup fielded by Bob Bradley in his first match in charge of the USMNT back on Jan. 20, 2007 against Denmark.
It does bear noting that in 2006, Bruce Arena was let go by the USSF after losing to Ghana in the World Cup. The U.S. also didn't play another match from June to January, whereas Bradley is still on the job and had the benefit of a few post-World Cup friendlies to wipe the stink off ... yep, another World Cup knockout by the Black Stars.
Anyways, here was that lineup from that day:
GK -- Matt Reis
DEF -- Chris Albright (Bryan Namoff); Jimmy Conrad (c); Bobby Boswell; Jonathan Bornstein.
MID -- Ricardo Clark; Pablo Mastroeni (Kyle Beckerman); Chris Rolfe (Heath Pearce); Landon Donovan
FOR -- Nate Jaqua (Justin Mapp); Eddie Johnson (Kenny Cooper)
Fairly ironic, or coincidental that three players from that match ended up with somewhat noteworroles at the 2010 World Cup. Donovan, no need to rehash him. Bornstein, well, he is much-maligned but wasn't god awful in South Africa. Clark? Let's move on and forget it ever happened.
As an added treat here's a link to my recap from that match, including this write-up on everyone's favorite international left back, Bornstein. Yes, I actually wrote this:
Let this be a perfect example as to why you can't jump to knee-jerk conclusions in the wake of one match.
It's easy to anoint the new wave of players like Mikkel Diskerud, Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, et al as the next big things, or sure-fire building blocks. The thing is, so much can happen in the next four years it makes it a futile task. The world soccer landscape is always in transition.
More encouraging, is that outside of late-blooming MLS guys like Chris Wondolowski or Jeff Larentowicz, it's a young mix of players, who Bradley should have had ample time to evaluate over the last month during the training camp. If a handful emerge as viable options, mission accomplished.
The bigger question, if the only salient one for 2011, is how important is the Gold Cup? Is winning the CONCACAF regional championship the be-all, end-all? Is beating, presumably, Mexico and gaining entry to the 2013 Confederations Cup the only thing that matters for the U.S. this year, outside of the early stages of World Cup qualifying ... however Jack Warner and his cronies crookedly decide to change the process.
On top of this, how does the U.S. wrest bragging rights away from Chicarito and El Tri?
One thing that is clear is the U.S. will need bodies, or at least reinforcements between now and 2014 in Brazil. The core of the 2010 World Cup team was still pretty much the same as it was in 2006. In eight years there has to be some more turnover. It's the nature of things.
In defense, especially, relying on the old soldiers of Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Oguchi Onyewu doesn't seem feasible.
It's a rebuilding and reloading process for Bradley the next four years, doing it all on the fly. I'm sure Bradley has an idea for this "process."
Then again, who knows, if the Mayans were right we won't have to worry about 2014, now will we?
Horizonal Questions:
* Will 2011 usher in a kinder, gentler version of coach Bradley? Or will it be more of the same, modest success, not much personality or excitement? (Not that those should be the No. 1 requirements of a coach. In turn, the 2011 version of me won't link to photos like these, will he?)
* And will he be locked into a rigid, two-defensive midfield system?
* And with the emergence of Stuart Holden at Bolton, does it mean getting away from Michael Bradley paired with another liked-minded player ie Jermaine Jones, Maurice Edu or even Jonathan Spector 2.0? Or is it possible Holden is a better player week-in, week-out for a club than in 90 minutes of international duty?
* Can the U.S. develop some wide players who can cross the ball effectively?
* Or can the U.S. find that new hyprid type wide forward (think the Messi position), who excels on the flanks cutting either inside or out?
* Did Onyewu really play left back in his debut for Twente? Doesn't seem possible.
* Pie-in-the-sky, but when 2014 rolls around will the U.S. be in position to contend, or just be another team filling out the field of 32?
* And can the team evolve to the point where it can played assuredly as a favorite, dictating the play, or will it remain a team which can only really thrive against evenly-matched competition on the counter attack?
* Is it possible for the player pool to get too deep?
* Is building a team over the next four years around Donovan (will be 32) and Clint Dempsey (31) a recipe for failure, or is that there supposed "primes"?
This Actual Match:
One of my pet peeves is when Americans call a match like this an "exhibition" instead of a friendly. I'm a nerd, what can I say? In any event, this match will clearly be a low-intensity exhibition. The upcoming matches at Egypt on Feb. 9 in Cairo, and the home dates in March against Argentina and Paraguay will give us a much clearer picture of where Bob Bradley sees the team at this point.
Amazed Marvell Wynne continues to get call-ups. So be it.
Russian-born Yevgeni Starikov will probably be subject to roughly 4,302 Ivan Drago jokes during the match, so there's that, though his wispy hair makes him look more like Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Wondolowski has the chance to be Bradley's new Brian Ching, as in his go-to MLS forward in a pinch. That's a compliment, believe it or not.
Looking at this roster, Bradley might be best suited to try a three-man defense, since it's not like there's an abundance of outside backs to plug into to the rote, staid 4-4-2.
Lineup GUESS:
Figure a 4-4-2, why not?
GK -- Cervi
DEF -- Franklin -- Ream -- Gonzalez -- Wallace
MID -- Bedoya -- Larentowicz -- McCarty -- Diskerud
FOR -- Wondolowski -- Bunbury
Closing Thought:
Thought much of this post was dripping with a maple-syrup level of sarcasm, believe or not, 2011 sets up to be pretty fun year, at least through July. With the high-quality friendlies on the horizon and the surprisingly important Gold Cup, it's not a dull as a post-World Cup season usually is.
Expectations and excitement right now among most fans is fairly low, so the only way to go is up.
A) The "Year We Make Contact."
B) The end of the world as we know it. (Whether or not you feel fine.)
So, yeah, the Mayans went bonkers about 2012, crazy enough for a god-awful disaster movie starring Lane Meyer, err, John Cusak.
Meanwhile, poor 2011 is stuck being the Marcia Brady of the apocalypse.
Let's see, that's about 100 words and -- if you're playing along at home -- five disparate pop culture references already, beating my personal best. Success!
Allow that to be my twisting, turning, okay ... meandering introduction to the U.S. National Soccer Team, 2011 edition. That edition kicks off Saturday night at the Home Depot Center against a second-string Chile team, albeit a team coached by Marcelo Biesla(*) -- the favorite coach of every soccer tactics nerd on the Internets.
(*) Biesla is like a hip, indie rock band that's universally lauded and praised by the likes of Pitchfork, when sometimes us humble commoners are sometimes left to wonder what the big deal is? If you're no enraptured by his tactics, you're not cool enough for the club. Chile was a fun team to watch back in June, but thinking back, hard to recall any specifics of their matches, honestly.
Oh right, it's worth noting this match doesn't have an English-language television provider and is only on ESPN3.com and Telefutura.
Before digging too deep, thought it would be interesting, or at least put into context what this match means in the grand scheme of things with the lineup fielded by Bob Bradley in his first match in charge of the USMNT back on Jan. 20, 2007 against Denmark.
It does bear noting that in 2006, Bruce Arena was let go by the USSF after losing to Ghana in the World Cup. The U.S. also didn't play another match from June to January, whereas Bradley is still on the job and had the benefit of a few post-World Cup friendlies to wipe the stink off ... yep, another World Cup knockout by the Black Stars.
Anyways, here was that lineup from that day:
GK -- Matt Reis
DEF -- Chris Albright (Bryan Namoff); Jimmy Conrad (c); Bobby Boswell; Jonathan Bornstein.
MID -- Ricardo Clark; Pablo Mastroeni (Kyle Beckerman); Chris Rolfe (Heath Pearce); Landon Donovan
FOR -- Nate Jaqua (Justin Mapp); Eddie Johnson (Kenny Cooper)
Fairly ironic, or coincidental that three players from that match ended up with somewhat noteworroles at the 2010 World Cup. Donovan, no need to rehash him. Bornstein, well, he is much-maligned but wasn't god awful in South Africa. Clark? Let's move on and forget it ever happened.
As an added treat here's a link to my recap from that match, including this write-up on everyone's favorite international left back, Bornstein. Yes, I actually wrote this:
The day's biggest revelation. ESPN played a brief clip of the reigning MLS rookie of the year, stating how he'd like to be like Roberto Carlos for the USMNT. Obviously that's setting your sights waaaaaaaaaaaay high. And it's doubtful that young Californian will ever pull this off. Might as well aim for the best. His defensive technique needs major works, but he was good getting into the attack and creating some danger. Up until the penalty kick, he that the US's best chance with a shot on target from the left in the 29th minute. Scoring the winning goal was a product of hard work by running into the area. It's just one game so let's not go overboard, but leftback is a constant problem spot for the USMNT, so if Bornstein keeps up his progress it could be his spot to lose come 2010.Umm ... should I take credit for predicting that Bornstein would be the U.S.'s best option at left back in South Africa? Maybe it's best for all parties involved to move on. (The goal in question, was this.)
Let this be a perfect example as to why you can't jump to knee-jerk conclusions in the wake of one match.
It's easy to anoint the new wave of players like Mikkel Diskerud, Juan Agudelo, Tim Ream, et al as the next big things, or sure-fire building blocks. The thing is, so much can happen in the next four years it makes it a futile task. The world soccer landscape is always in transition.
More encouraging, is that outside of late-blooming MLS guys like Chris Wondolowski or Jeff Larentowicz, it's a young mix of players, who Bradley should have had ample time to evaluate over the last month during the training camp. If a handful emerge as viable options, mission accomplished.
The bigger question, if the only salient one for 2011, is how important is the Gold Cup? Is winning the CONCACAF regional championship the be-all, end-all? Is beating, presumably, Mexico and gaining entry to the 2013 Confederations Cup the only thing that matters for the U.S. this year, outside of the early stages of World Cup qualifying ... however Jack Warner and his cronies crookedly decide to change the process.
On top of this, how does the U.S. wrest bragging rights away from Chicarito and El Tri?
One thing that is clear is the U.S. will need bodies, or at least reinforcements between now and 2014 in Brazil. The core of the 2010 World Cup team was still pretty much the same as it was in 2006. In eight years there has to be some more turnover. It's the nature of things.
In defense, especially, relying on the old soldiers of Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo and Oguchi Onyewu doesn't seem feasible.
It's a rebuilding and reloading process for Bradley the next four years, doing it all on the fly. I'm sure Bradley has an idea for this "process."
Then again, who knows, if the Mayans were right we won't have to worry about 2014, now will we?
Horizonal Questions:
* Will 2011 usher in a kinder, gentler version of coach Bradley? Or will it be more of the same, modest success, not much personality or excitement? (Not that those should be the No. 1 requirements of a coach. In turn, the 2011 version of me won't link to photos like these, will he?)
* And will he be locked into a rigid, two-defensive midfield system?
* And with the emergence of Stuart Holden at Bolton, does it mean getting away from Michael Bradley paired with another liked-minded player ie Jermaine Jones, Maurice Edu or even Jonathan Spector 2.0? Or is it possible Holden is a better player week-in, week-out for a club than in 90 minutes of international duty?
* Can the U.S. develop some wide players who can cross the ball effectively?
* Or can the U.S. find that new hyprid type wide forward (think the Messi position), who excels on the flanks cutting either inside or out?
* Did Onyewu really play left back in his debut for Twente? Doesn't seem possible.
* Pie-in-the-sky, but when 2014 rolls around will the U.S. be in position to contend, or just be another team filling out the field of 32?
* And can the team evolve to the point where it can played assuredly as a favorite, dictating the play, or will it remain a team which can only really thrive against evenly-matched competition on the counter attack?
* Is it possible for the player pool to get too deep?
* Is building a team over the next four years around Donovan (will be 32) and Clint Dempsey (31) a recipe for failure, or is that there supposed "primes"?
This Actual Match:
One of my pet peeves is when Americans call a match like this an "exhibition" instead of a friendly. I'm a nerd, what can I say? In any event, this match will clearly be a low-intensity exhibition. The upcoming matches at Egypt on Feb. 9 in Cairo, and the home dates in March against Argentina and Paraguay will give us a much clearer picture of where Bob Bradley sees the team at this point.
Amazed Marvell Wynne continues to get call-ups. So be it.
Russian-born Yevgeni Starikov will probably be subject to roughly 4,302 Ivan Drago jokes during the match, so there's that, though his wispy hair makes him look more like Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Wondolowski has the chance to be Bradley's new Brian Ching, as in his go-to MLS forward in a pinch. That's a compliment, believe it or not.
Looking at this roster, Bradley might be best suited to try a three-man defense, since it's not like there's an abundance of outside backs to plug into to the rote, staid 4-4-2.
Lineup GUESS:
Figure a 4-4-2, why not?
GK -- Cervi
DEF -- Franklin -- Ream -- Gonzalez -- Wallace
MID -- Bedoya -- Larentowicz -- McCarty -- Diskerud
FOR -- Wondolowski -- Bunbury
Closing Thought:
Thought much of this post was dripping with a maple-syrup level of sarcasm, believe or not, 2011 sets up to be pretty fun year, at least through July. With the high-quality friendlies on the horizon and the surprisingly important Gold Cup, it's not a dull as a post-World Cup season usually is.
Expectations and excitement right now among most fans is fairly low, so the only way to go is up.
Labels: bob bradley, Friendlies, USMNT
"It's the money." -- D.J. Shadow, "Why Hip Hop Sucks in '96"
If you've been reading this site since August, you're no doubt aware two of my favorite players to wax poetically about are Tottenham's Gareth Bale and Newcastle's Andy Carroll.
What always strikes me as odd, is that after every strong performance by either player inevitably there's an article generated out of England linking them to another club in the transfer market. Bale scores a goal and immediately he's on the radar of every club from Inter Milan to Real Madrid. Carroll? He rips up Manchester City and the press immediately speculates he's on his way over there. Why would Tottenham and Newcastle, respectively, want to sell off their best player? In their current set-ups, each player is irreplaceable, even by a pile of money so high that Harry Redknapp could conceivably swim through it, Scrooge McDuck style.
Guess it's not actually that odd at all, since transfer gossip -- and boobs -- apparently are the only things in England that sell newspapers.
The downside of the laissez-faire, unchecked capitalism of the Premier League is that clubs are always at gunpoint of losing players, like what happened to Sunderland this week when Darren Bent handed in a transfer request. Clubs walk that delicate balance, do we run our outfit on a purely sporting basis, try to win games and placate the fans thusly, or do we let the bottom line and red ink dictate our run of affairs?
Aside from Bale and Carroll, by far my favorite story this season has been the revelatory play of Blackpool and manager Ian Holloway. I openly admit I figured this team would win somewhere in the range of three matches this season, instead the Tangerines are solidly mid-table, playing attractive, attacking football. If they do indeed go down, it's with a fight, not a whimper.
Lately there's been lots of rumors linking club captain Charlie Adam to a move away from Blackpool.
What's the club to do? Risk Adam handing in a transfer request and leaving under duress, or taking the money they can get? Or watching him sulk until he pouts and get his way out?
Leave it to Holloway to sum it up the best, telling Sky Sports he values Adam around $60 million, or the cost of relegation would cost Blackpool. It figures, in the land of the fiscally insane, the supposed "crazy" manager is the only sane voice. There isn't one compelling reason from a sporting standpoint why the club should part with its best player at this point in the season.
Holloway is absolutely right in this situation. Blackpool are playing well, thanks in large part to Adam's midfield fulcrum. Whatever money Blackpool receives in transfer couldn't come close to replacing what he's worth on the field. You wish more managers and club directors would show a backbone. When they have a player under contract(*), they have the power. What's the point of contracts then?
(*) On a slight tangent,my father an I always get into arguments in the winter over baseball contracts. He's old school, wishing teams would only sign players to one-year deals. He thinks that five, six year contracts, like the one Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals are a bigger threat to society than Al Qaida and cancer combined. Soccer contacts might as well be one-year deals since they seem to have no value anyway. Suffice to say, my dad would like it.
It's always interesting this transfer deals. In the U.S. we're worth to making trades for other players or draft picks. At least when the Denver Nuggets inevitably trade Carmelo Anthony, they can at least sell to their fans that they got something appreciable back for the player, even if it's only a draft pick. When it's all about the money, what do you tell the fans? That maybe we'll re-invest the funds into new players who might fit our system?
Granted, in England or elsewhere there aren't the financial safety nets in place for clubs like their are in the top U.S. sports leagues. As proven last summer, the Pittsburgh Pirates can continually finish in last place, but still turn a profit through revenue sharing. The Phoenix Coyotes can go bankrupt, only for the NHL to find a way to prop them back up.
In the Premier League, teams outside the top five or six leave in fear of debt and falling down in the Championship and being eventually erased from the map. Hell, if your finances aren't in order, the League will end up docking you points for administration, making your burden all the more impossible.
By the same token, you could argue it's smart business for a team like Blackpool to sell off its best assets, since what's the best the club could finish? 10th? There's no way the team will ever be able to win the league, so might as well find the best way to turn a profit and keep the team in business.
The question, as always, do we want our favorite sports to operate as a non-transparent business?
And, more importantly, with increased parity on display during the course of this Premier League season will clubs finally be more inclined to make decisions that have a greater affect on the field itself as opposed to the ledger?
Scooby Do, Where Are You?:
Seemingly every year players who've established themselves in club squads fall off the map like MC Hammer post-1992. Always strange. Here a couple players who've gone MIA this season.
* Andy Reid, Sunderland -- Solid contributor the last two seasons, was loaned out to Sheffield United for a month and has played only two league games for the Black Cats this year.
* Nic Bendtner, Arsenal -- The big Dane is now surplus parts at the Emirates with Robin van Persie finally healthy and Maroune Chamakh in reserve. Bendtner has only played 150 minutes all season, scoring twice. Most people seem to hate his guts, for whatever the reason, so it's not like he's missed.
* Tamir Cohen, Bolton -- Israeli international was a regular starter at the Reebok, well, until Owen Coyle came to town and brought in Stuart Holden. He's played in two games this season, logging a whopping eight minutes in both.
* Shaun Wright-Phillips, Manchester City -- Why anyone would want to buy the England international in the next two weeks is beyond me. He hasn't played in a Premier League match since Sept. 19. He's not exactly the world's best crosser of the ball, nor is he as tricksy as he once was. A flop now at Chelsea and the new, mega-Man City and it's pretty clear he's a talented player that thrives when he sees a lot of the ball on a bad team, a recipe for failure. He's 29 and his inclusion in the 2004-05 Premier League Best XI seems a looooooooooong time ago. Of all of Fabio Capello's questionable decisions at the 2010 World Cup, including Wright-Phillips might have been the worse. He's English and has a famous name, and that's about it. Buyer beware.
* Glenn Whelan, Stoke City -- A good, solid professional player who's fallen out of the Tony Pulis' rotation. In Stoke's first two Premier League campaigns he logged an average of around 2,000 minutes. This year? 351. Could be useful buy for a team looking for a like squad depth, though he's not a player that would rally a fan base.
* Niko Kranjcar, Tottenham -- Has the Croatian international eaten himself out of the lineup? Always one of the stockiest players in the league, he's barely seeing the field for Harry Redknapp's crowded midfield. Maybe Kranjcar's being kept around to play some weird Eastern European card game with Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric. He's played four League matches this year. Should be on his ticket to a Serie A club near you pretty soon.
* Carlos Cuellar, Aston Villa -- Spaniard disappeared, seemingly usurped by American Eric Lichaj at right back. Seems to have worked his way back into the fold as of late, though.
Round 24 Picks:
Lots of replays of games we saw in the post-Christmas glut of matches.
Saturday:
* Wolves v. Liverpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:45 a.m.) Question of philosophy, does it make sense for Liverpool to go shopping for new players now in January, more or less on the fly trying to salvage the season, or is it a sounder move to stay the course, ride out the year and use time to make smarter moves in the summer. Liverpool is linked to a lot of players right now, namely Luis Saurez. As the old saying goes, fools rush in. To me, this season is a lost cause, with the best case scenario fighting for a Europa League spot. Maybe that's the big problem for Liverpool, the fans won't allow the club to swallow its pride and start from scratch. Doesn't it make more sense to see which clubs get relegated and pick through those bones for say, a Stewart Downing if Villa screws the pooch? Or wait to grab some players out of contract? Why buy players now when there's no guarantee Kenny Dalglish is there for the long term? Figure the Reds aren't losing to Wolves twice in the same season. Some logic must still hold in the Prem. ... Wolves 0, Liverpool 1
* Newcastle United v. Tottenham -- Figure this , Andy Carroll last played for Newcastle on Dec.. 28 in a 2-0 loss at Tottenham. Since then the club is 2-1-0 (W/D/L) in League action without the Geordie ace. Coincidence, surely, but maybe it isn't since the Magpies score so many goals for set pieces, which is easier to replace with the work Kevin Nolan does to get open and set up teammates. Spurs haven't played very well in a couple weeks. Not sure Steven Pienaar is the answer, unless it allows Gareth Bale to slip back to left back, but why mess with what's working? Still, this should be an open match, which should benefit Spurs. ... Newcastle United 1, Spurs 2
* Manchester United v. Birmingham City -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Odd United stat to chew on, since that 7-1 drubbing of Blackburn, the club hasn't scored more than twice in a game across all competitions. Still, the club chugs along in first place. Guessing Sir Alex Ferguson will want a little revenge less than a month after that infamous Lee Bowyer goal, set up by Nikola Zigic posting up over the back of Rio Ferdinand. Wouldn't be surprised if we saw Alex McLeish line up a 4-6-0 formation or something to that effect. ... Manchester United 3, Birmingham City 0
* Fulham v. Stoke City -- Fulham won at Stoke a couple weeks ago, a win that is keeping the Cottagers from the bottom of the table. Stoke are eighth, despite 10 losses, which if offset by only three draws. Lesson here, play for the three points. Not exactly sure why with Kenwyne Jones, Ricardo Fuller and Jon Walters Tony Pulis feels the need to take on John Carew on loan for the rest of the season. Is it a move simply to make a move? ... Fulham 2, Stoke City 1
* Everton v. West Ham United -- Everton are six points from thinking about a Europa League spot ... and six points from the bottom. You figure it out. Suppose off-loading Yakubu to Leicester City is addition by subtraction, since one goal in 12 matches in the League is an awful return rate for a striker. Carlton Cole is trying his best to out-awful Big Yak, with a paltry three goals in 22 games for the Hammers. The problem for West Ham, was they don't have a Tim Cahill on the books to pick up the slack. ... Everton 1, West Ham 0
* Blackpool v. Sunderland -- If there were ever a chance for Bill Simmons' "Ewing Theory" to be directly applied to the world of soccer, it's at Sunderland with Darren Bent skipping town to join Aston Villa. Steve Bruce has built up a solid enough track record to think he knows what he's doing. Of course, Sunderland are one of those clubs that takes two steps forward and one step back, news broke Thursday that Danny Welbeck could be out for up to two months with knee damage. That leaves the club with only Asamoah Gyan as a healthy option up top. Bruce will HAVE to make an emergency move in the next week or so. Yikes. ... Blackpool have the fewest home points of any club in the division, but that's because the Tangerines have only played eight games at Bloomfield Road. ... Blackpool 2, Sunderland 1
* Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, FSC+, 10 a.m.) Wigan were a banana peel for Arsenal a couple weeks ago. History isn't repeating itself at the Emirates. ... Arsenal 4, Wigan 1
* Aston Villa v. Manchester City -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Still hard to make sense of this Darren Bent move for Villa. The club had been cautious to a fault the last couple seasons, now break the club transfer record to sign a striker with the aim of staving off relegation. God help them if they finish in 18th, since what will they do with Bent in the Championship? On the other hand, Villa weren't going anywhere with a misfiring Gabby Agbonlahor leading the line. If he -- or Ashley Young -- develops some chemistry with Bent, the move likely works. The problem with Villa is, rightly or wrongly under Gerard Houllier the team doesn't seem to have any fight. Tough first match for Bent, too, as City are a couple games away from being scary good. If City maintains a focus and drive throughout 90 minutes of a match they are going to be very difficult to stop. ... Aston Villa 1, City 2
Sunday:
* Blackburn Rovers v. West Bromwich Albion -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) So, yeah, Blackburn signs US international Jermaine Jones on loan for the rest of the season. Seems about right. Will the chance for U.S. fans to see more of Jones end up being less, since we'll now see more of his flaws exposed? The one thing with Jones is he needs to stay on the field, something he hasn't been able to do the last two years. Jones does seem to fit in with Blackburn's collection of castoffs, though. Bottom line, the fact Blackburn added Jones doesn't turn their matches into must-see TV. The club still remains "The Single Guy" of the mid-90s NBC lineup. ... Blackburn 1, West Brom 1
Monday:
* Bolton v. Chelsea -- (ESPN.3 scenario?) Smart, pre-emptive move by Bolton to buy David Wheater as a replacement for Gary Cahill. That's using your noodle Owen Coyle. On the other end of the spectrum, Chelsea is pursuing Benfica's highly-rated David Luiz, trying to break the bank to sign him. My question, does the Blues' brass have that little faith in John Terry and Alex long-term? Considering he's Cup-tied for Europe and making the transition on the fly to center back in the Prem is a tough move, wouldn't the club be better served, short term, to go in for a guy like Cahill? ... Bolton 1, Chelsea 1
Last round: 3-7
Season: 95-125
Free bonus link for anyone that makes it to the end. Enjoy!
If you've been reading this site since August, you're no doubt aware two of my favorite players to wax poetically about are Tottenham's Gareth Bale and Newcastle's Andy Carroll.
What always strikes me as odd, is that after every strong performance by either player inevitably there's an article generated out of England linking them to another club in the transfer market. Bale scores a goal and immediately he's on the radar of every club from Inter Milan to Real Madrid. Carroll? He rips up Manchester City and the press immediately speculates he's on his way over there. Why would Tottenham and Newcastle, respectively, want to sell off their best player? In their current set-ups, each player is irreplaceable, even by a pile of money so high that Harry Redknapp could conceivably swim through it, Scrooge McDuck style.
Guess it's not actually that odd at all, since transfer gossip -- and boobs -- apparently are the only things in England that sell newspapers.
The downside of the laissez-faire, unchecked capitalism of the Premier League is that clubs are always at gunpoint of losing players, like what happened to Sunderland this week when Darren Bent handed in a transfer request. Clubs walk that delicate balance, do we run our outfit on a purely sporting basis, try to win games and placate the fans thusly, or do we let the bottom line and red ink dictate our run of affairs?
Aside from Bale and Carroll, by far my favorite story this season has been the revelatory play of Blackpool and manager Ian Holloway. I openly admit I figured this team would win somewhere in the range of three matches this season, instead the Tangerines are solidly mid-table, playing attractive, attacking football. If they do indeed go down, it's with a fight, not a whimper.
Lately there's been lots of rumors linking club captain Charlie Adam to a move away from Blackpool.
What's the club to do? Risk Adam handing in a transfer request and leaving under duress, or taking the money they can get? Or watching him sulk until he pouts and get his way out?
Leave it to Holloway to sum it up the best, telling Sky Sports he values Adam around $60 million, or the cost of relegation would cost Blackpool. It figures, in the land of the fiscally insane, the supposed "crazy" manager is the only sane voice. There isn't one compelling reason from a sporting standpoint why the club should part with its best player at this point in the season.
Holloway is absolutely right in this situation. Blackpool are playing well, thanks in large part to Adam's midfield fulcrum. Whatever money Blackpool receives in transfer couldn't come close to replacing what he's worth on the field. You wish more managers and club directors would show a backbone. When they have a player under contract(*), they have the power. What's the point of contracts then?
(*) On a slight tangent,my father an I always get into arguments in the winter over baseball contracts. He's old school, wishing teams would only sign players to one-year deals. He thinks that five, six year contracts, like the one Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals are a bigger threat to society than Al Qaida and cancer combined. Soccer contacts might as well be one-year deals since they seem to have no value anyway. Suffice to say, my dad would like it.
It's always interesting this transfer deals. In the U.S. we're worth to making trades for other players or draft picks. At least when the Denver Nuggets inevitably trade Carmelo Anthony, they can at least sell to their fans that they got something appreciable back for the player, even if it's only a draft pick. When it's all about the money, what do you tell the fans? That maybe we'll re-invest the funds into new players who might fit our system?
Granted, in England or elsewhere there aren't the financial safety nets in place for clubs like their are in the top U.S. sports leagues. As proven last summer, the Pittsburgh Pirates can continually finish in last place, but still turn a profit through revenue sharing. The Phoenix Coyotes can go bankrupt, only for the NHL to find a way to prop them back up.
In the Premier League, teams outside the top five or six leave in fear of debt and falling down in the Championship and being eventually erased from the map. Hell, if your finances aren't in order, the League will end up docking you points for administration, making your burden all the more impossible.
By the same token, you could argue it's smart business for a team like Blackpool to sell off its best assets, since what's the best the club could finish? 10th? There's no way the team will ever be able to win the league, so might as well find the best way to turn a profit and keep the team in business.
The question, as always, do we want our favorite sports to operate as a non-transparent business?
And, more importantly, with increased parity on display during the course of this Premier League season will clubs finally be more inclined to make decisions that have a greater affect on the field itself as opposed to the ledger?
Scooby Do, Where Are You?:
Seemingly every year players who've established themselves in club squads fall off the map like MC Hammer post-1992. Always strange. Here a couple players who've gone MIA this season.
* Andy Reid, Sunderland -- Solid contributor the last two seasons, was loaned out to Sheffield United for a month and has played only two league games for the Black Cats this year.
* Nic Bendtner, Arsenal -- The big Dane is now surplus parts at the Emirates with Robin van Persie finally healthy and Maroune Chamakh in reserve. Bendtner has only played 150 minutes all season, scoring twice. Most people seem to hate his guts, for whatever the reason, so it's not like he's missed.
* Tamir Cohen, Bolton -- Israeli international was a regular starter at the Reebok, well, until Owen Coyle came to town and brought in Stuart Holden. He's played in two games this season, logging a whopping eight minutes in both.
* Shaun Wright-Phillips, Manchester City -- Why anyone would want to buy the England international in the next two weeks is beyond me. He hasn't played in a Premier League match since Sept. 19. He's not exactly the world's best crosser of the ball, nor is he as tricksy as he once was. A flop now at Chelsea and the new, mega-Man City and it's pretty clear he's a talented player that thrives when he sees a lot of the ball on a bad team, a recipe for failure. He's 29 and his inclusion in the 2004-05 Premier League Best XI seems a looooooooooong time ago. Of all of Fabio Capello's questionable decisions at the 2010 World Cup, including Wright-Phillips might have been the worse. He's English and has a famous name, and that's about it. Buyer beware.
* Glenn Whelan, Stoke City -- A good, solid professional player who's fallen out of the Tony Pulis' rotation. In Stoke's first two Premier League campaigns he logged an average of around 2,000 minutes. This year? 351. Could be useful buy for a team looking for a like squad depth, though he's not a player that would rally a fan base.
* Niko Kranjcar, Tottenham -- Has the Croatian international eaten himself out of the lineup? Always one of the stockiest players in the league, he's barely seeing the field for Harry Redknapp's crowded midfield. Maybe Kranjcar's being kept around to play some weird Eastern European card game with Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric. He's played four League matches this year. Should be on his ticket to a Serie A club near you pretty soon.
* Carlos Cuellar, Aston Villa -- Spaniard disappeared, seemingly usurped by American Eric Lichaj at right back. Seems to have worked his way back into the fold as of late, though.
Round 24 Picks:
Lots of replays of games we saw in the post-Christmas glut of matches.
Saturday:
* Wolves v. Liverpool -- (Live, ESPN2, 7:45 a.m.) Question of philosophy, does it make sense for Liverpool to go shopping for new players now in January, more or less on the fly trying to salvage the season, or is it a sounder move to stay the course, ride out the year and use time to make smarter moves in the summer. Liverpool is linked to a lot of players right now, namely Luis Saurez. As the old saying goes, fools rush in. To me, this season is a lost cause, with the best case scenario fighting for a Europa League spot. Maybe that's the big problem for Liverpool, the fans won't allow the club to swallow its pride and start from scratch. Doesn't it make more sense to see which clubs get relegated and pick through those bones for say, a Stewart Downing if Villa screws the pooch? Or wait to grab some players out of contract? Why buy players now when there's no guarantee Kenny Dalglish is there for the long term? Figure the Reds aren't losing to Wolves twice in the same season. Some logic must still hold in the Prem. ... Wolves 0, Liverpool 1
* Newcastle United v. Tottenham -- Figure this , Andy Carroll last played for Newcastle on Dec.. 28 in a 2-0 loss at Tottenham. Since then the club is 2-1-0 (W/D/L) in League action without the Geordie ace. Coincidence, surely, but maybe it isn't since the Magpies score so many goals for set pieces, which is easier to replace with the work Kevin Nolan does to get open and set up teammates. Spurs haven't played very well in a couple weeks. Not sure Steven Pienaar is the answer, unless it allows Gareth Bale to slip back to left back, but why mess with what's working? Still, this should be an open match, which should benefit Spurs. ... Newcastle United 1, Spurs 2
* Manchester United v. Birmingham City -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Odd United stat to chew on, since that 7-1 drubbing of Blackburn, the club hasn't scored more than twice in a game across all competitions. Still, the club chugs along in first place. Guessing Sir Alex Ferguson will want a little revenge less than a month after that infamous Lee Bowyer goal, set up by Nikola Zigic posting up over the back of Rio Ferdinand. Wouldn't be surprised if we saw Alex McLeish line up a 4-6-0 formation or something to that effect. ... Manchester United 3, Birmingham City 0
* Fulham v. Stoke City -- Fulham won at Stoke a couple weeks ago, a win that is keeping the Cottagers from the bottom of the table. Stoke are eighth, despite 10 losses, which if offset by only three draws. Lesson here, play for the three points. Not exactly sure why with Kenwyne Jones, Ricardo Fuller and Jon Walters Tony Pulis feels the need to take on John Carew on loan for the rest of the season. Is it a move simply to make a move? ... Fulham 2, Stoke City 1
* Everton v. West Ham United -- Everton are six points from thinking about a Europa League spot ... and six points from the bottom. You figure it out. Suppose off-loading Yakubu to Leicester City is addition by subtraction, since one goal in 12 matches in the League is an awful return rate for a striker. Carlton Cole is trying his best to out-awful Big Yak, with a paltry three goals in 22 games for the Hammers. The problem for West Ham, was they don't have a Tim Cahill on the books to pick up the slack. ... Everton 1, West Ham 0
* Blackpool v. Sunderland -- If there were ever a chance for Bill Simmons' "Ewing Theory" to be directly applied to the world of soccer, it's at Sunderland with Darren Bent skipping town to join Aston Villa. Steve Bruce has built up a solid enough track record to think he knows what he's doing. Of course, Sunderland are one of those clubs that takes two steps forward and one step back, news broke Thursday that Danny Welbeck could be out for up to two months with knee damage. That leaves the club with only Asamoah Gyan as a healthy option up top. Bruce will HAVE to make an emergency move in the next week or so. Yikes. ... Blackpool have the fewest home points of any club in the division, but that's because the Tangerines have only played eight games at Bloomfield Road. ... Blackpool 2, Sunderland 1
* Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic -- (Live, FSC+, 10 a.m.) Wigan were a banana peel for Arsenal a couple weeks ago. History isn't repeating itself at the Emirates. ... Arsenal 4, Wigan 1
* Aston Villa v. Manchester City -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) Still hard to make sense of this Darren Bent move for Villa. The club had been cautious to a fault the last couple seasons, now break the club transfer record to sign a striker with the aim of staving off relegation. God help them if they finish in 18th, since what will they do with Bent in the Championship? On the other hand, Villa weren't going anywhere with a misfiring Gabby Agbonlahor leading the line. If he -- or Ashley Young -- develops some chemistry with Bent, the move likely works. The problem with Villa is, rightly or wrongly under Gerard Houllier the team doesn't seem to have any fight. Tough first match for Bent, too, as City are a couple games away from being scary good. If City maintains a focus and drive throughout 90 minutes of a match they are going to be very difficult to stop. ... Aston Villa 1, City 2
Sunday:
* Blackburn Rovers v. West Bromwich Albion -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) So, yeah, Blackburn signs US international Jermaine Jones on loan for the rest of the season. Seems about right. Will the chance for U.S. fans to see more of Jones end up being less, since we'll now see more of his flaws exposed? The one thing with Jones is he needs to stay on the field, something he hasn't been able to do the last two years. Jones does seem to fit in with Blackburn's collection of castoffs, though. Bottom line, the fact Blackburn added Jones doesn't turn their matches into must-see TV. The club still remains "The Single Guy" of the mid-90s NBC lineup. ... Blackburn 1, West Brom 1
Monday:
* Bolton v. Chelsea -- (ESPN.3 scenario?) Smart, pre-emptive move by Bolton to buy David Wheater as a replacement for Gary Cahill. That's using your noodle Owen Coyle. On the other end of the spectrum, Chelsea is pursuing Benfica's highly-rated David Luiz, trying to break the bank to sign him. My question, does the Blues' brass have that little faith in John Terry and Alex long-term? Considering he's Cup-tied for Europe and making the transition on the fly to center back in the Prem is a tough move, wouldn't the club be better served, short term, to go in for a guy like Cahill? ... Bolton 1, Chelsea 1
Last round: 3-7
Season: 95-125
Free bonus link for anyone that makes it to the end. Enjoy!
Labels: English Premier League, EPL, EPL picks
Weird weekend in the Premier League.
Four huge matches on Sunday, including three white-hot derbies ... and four draws.
Let's dig into what happened.
***
The Darned (savvy) United:
If you've been regularly reading here the last couple weeks and months, you know I've been scant in my praise of Manchester United this campaign, openly wondering if this team is any good and worthy of being atop the Premier League table. Yes, this is silly, since the table don't lie. The best team will win the league, regardless of entertainment value.
Sunday, United might have answered my questions, grinding out an effective 0-0 draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't memorable. It wasn't much of anything. It was a point, that was all.
Yet United played the game with an assured confidence, especially in defense where it sat back deep and limited space for Tottenham to unleash its fast-breaking, speedy counter attack.
Credit to Sir Alex Ferguson. He's like a great horse jockey. He knows when to push his team, when to lay off the whip, when to take it easy. Ferguson realized that a point -- pushing their season total vs. fifth-place Spurs to four -- would be more than enough. It kept United atop the table, level with Manchester City with TWO games in hand. This was a match Spurs had to win if it wanted to harbor -- faint -- title hopes.
Three points in this spot meant much more to Tottenham than United, so the caution made sense. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand proved that they might be the best position of strength in the Premier League this season, keeping Edwin van der Sar from a shot in open play. Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick were solid enough in the midfield, helped in the 63rd when Anderson came on for Nani. The Rafael red card -- weak call -- didn't even hurt the team.
The biggest encouragement for United was that Wayne Rooney looked a lot like Wayne Rooney again, very dangerous lurking around the penalty area and serving in a few dangerous balls. It's clear that Rooney felt the pressure of his brother John being drafted by the New York Red Bulls and wanted to reassert himself as the family's alpha dog.
All-and-all simply a smart, confident performance for United who seem to have the more organization and commitment in the league. It's not flashy, but it's got the Red Devils in first.
As for Tottenham? It started great with Gareth Bale ripping up the left side and whipping in a cross.
After that? Not much.
Spurs are a good team, no doubt, with great, creative players, but the team still isn't suited to grind out a win when the onus is on them to attack in a packed-in space. Tottenham are like an NFL team that thrives in the fast-and-loose two-minute drill offense, or a basketball team that can get up-and-down the court. In a rigid, defensive-minded game they struggle to find chances. (Sticking with Peter Crouch alone, with Jermain Defoe on the bench didn't seem like Harry Redknapp's best decision, either.)
Tottenham's success this season has been weird. Defensively they've given weaker teams plenty of chances and possession, only to sting them with deep-lying movements starting in the midfield.
United didn't fall into this trap and Spurs didn't have much of a Plan B outside of some free kicks and Rafael van der Vaart's bending ball he picked up at the edge of the penalty area away a United giveaway.
Lastly, I am trying to turn over a new leaf, but ... would in be wrong, misguided and so 2010 to call Wilson Palacios the dream Bob Bradley player?
Have Mersey:
Hey, letting you in a little inside information you won't read any place else: Kenny Dalglish is back coaching Liverpool.
Surprising, right?
Sarcasm aside, were the producers of Sunday's Merseyside Derby given specific instructions to show a picture of "King Kenny" every third minute at Anfield? If not, it sure felt that way.
Kenny smiles. Kenny grimaces. Kenny fist pumps. Kenny tips over dejectedly.
On the plus side, it wasn't a Roy Hodgson face rub, so there's that.
What more to make of the utterly uninspiring play of Liverpool, now over the last two or three seasons under three managers?
I emailed my friend and part-time TOP contributor "Ace Cowboy" for the first time in a long time after a Liverpool game. He didn't even know what to say, resigned to this team's malaise, noting that hiring the "fiery" Dalglish isn't exactly how the sabremetrically inclined NESV want to do things.
Liverpool are in a hole, and as we know, you can't dig your way up from a hole.
This much is certain, Martin Skrtel for all his tattoos and raw-meat eating visage, just isn't a very good defender, not in the air, not with the ball at his feet. The more he plays with the injuries to Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher and without Xabi Alonso or Javier Mascherano to shield the back-four, the more exposed the Slovakian would-be hard man is.
Martin Kelly has looked pretty solid in defense, maybe he shifts inside in the near future. Worth a shot.
On the plus side, Fernando Torres is looking a little more like the unstoppable force he was when he came to Anfield. You do have to worry if he's trying to work his way out the door, though.
Still, the lack of confident at a club with Liverpool's pedigree is hard to fathom. Punch this team once in the mouth and they teeter over like a hastily assembled Jenga tower. The talent level at the club doesn't blow you away -- what has Maxi Rodriguez contributed over the last year? -- but it still should be enough to compete with the middle of the pack teams. Of course we've seen that pulling down the red jersey so a Liver-bird rests above your chest doesn't turn ordinary players into Supermen.
The 2-2 draw suited Everton well enough, as it moved the Toffees ahead of Liverpool on 26 points thanks to goal difference. David Moyes brave 4-4-2 experiment worked again as the maligned Jermaine Beckford(*) scored again thanks to a strong set up by the underrated Leon Osman.
(*) Aren't there an usually high number of Jermaines playing football in England? Was there a generation of English women obsessed with the late work of the Jackson Five? Odd.
On the other side of the spectrum Tim Howard conceding a penalty, lunging into Rodriguez after making a save. It wasn't a very elegant move, nor was Howard screaming into the wind after Dirk Kuyt converted to make it 2-2. Not a great moment for the American keeper.
Also, Everton appear to have a deal for Steven Pienaar to Chelsea. This season the South African has been an utter non-factor at Gooidson Park. Can't fault David Moyes for the sale, but the $5-6 million dollar range does seem a little low. Moyes did spend a fortune on Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, might as well try to get some of that investment back by playing him the rest of the season. Put it this way, Toffees, what exactly is Pienaar going to help the club do in the next couple months that it couldn't do without him?
Long story short, gun to your head, who's finishing higher in the table: Liverpool or Everton?
TCB:
Manchester City is such a strange conflagration of talented players. City's M.O. continues to be, look like the second-best team in the world for about 10 minutes every match, then kind of stand around, defend and do nothing the rest of the way. The scary thought: what if City ever figures out how to sustain those white hot periods for longer?
City's 4-3 win over Wolves was typical City.
Kolo Toure gets caught ball-watching, as Wolves go ahead, then he scores a deflected goal to level it a 1-1 before the half.
Then City turns it on, using the active debut of Edin Dzeko as a catalyst to blitz Wolves with Carlos Tevez bagging a pair, including this knifing gem ... only to hang on for dear life. Strange, but that's City in a nutshell.
* Chelsea's 2-0 win over Blackburn, for some reason, wasn't on ESPN2 in the U.S. For a change I had to turn to a pretty poor-quality 'Net stream, featuring the worst commentary I've heard in quite some time.
In the words of Jay Peterman to Elaine on "Seinfeld," congratulations to Chelsea on a job ... done.
The way things have gone at Stamford Bridge, lately, Chelsea will gladly take the three points, with each goal set up by Branislav Ivanovic aerial prowess.
We'll have a better gauge of where Chelsea really is next Monday when the Blues go play at Bolton. The Blues can enjoy a week ahead of Spurs for fourth.
Getting Bent:
What the what? Darren Bent handing in a transfer request to Sunderland makes the club's late 1-1 draw vs. rival Newcastle seem like a minor issue at the moment. Same thing for Birmingham City drawing Aston Villa -- Bent's likely new home -- 1-1, too.
However this pans out, my thought back in August during my EPL previews that Bent could make Sunderland -- still in sixth place mind you -- a destination for ambitious players spurned by the top tier clubs, was proven very wrong.
Bent hasn't been lights out great this campaign, with 11 goals -- but only four since September. The bigger issue seems that Steve Bruce has needed to adjust his lineup to accommodate Bent, record-signing Asamoah Gyan and on-loan Danny Welbeck.
Welbeck is the clear key to however this pans out for Bruce and Sunderland.
But before that, if Bruce does indeed sell Bent to Aston Villa for around $25 million, it offsets the roughly $20 million the club paid for Gyan from Rennes in the summer. Gyan hasn't set the world on fire, but he does have eight goals for the club, plus he's more athletic and a year younger than Bent.
The gamble for Bruce is that he can somehow convince Sir Alex Ferguson -- and Welbeck for that matter -- that his future is at the Stadium of Light, not Old Trafford. That's no easy task, since at best Sunderland is a Europa League team, in sixth place like it is now.
Shame that a club like Sunderland is hamstrung by the Premier League's artificial glass ceiling and can't operate on a pure sporting basis, factoring in fiances above all else. Bruce, though, is smart and realizes this and should be praised for being pro-active. Wonder what happens if somebody with deep pockets comes calling for Jordan Henderson, who's not nearly as readily replaceable as Bent?
As for Aston Villa? All depends which Bent the club is going to end up with, the guy from last year that was an every-other-game hitman, or the invisible player from this year. He's probably an upgrade from the one-dimensional Emile Heskey, for sure. Is Bent up for a relegation battle? He'll score some goals, but outside of those tallies he's not going to put a very big stamp on games.
It's a bold, headline-making move for Aston Villa but it's not a sure-thing on the field. Villa could use a strong personality to lead it's kiddie core of promising youngsters. By handing in his transfer request like this, it doesn't seem like Bent wants to lead.
Suffice to say, it's not going to be pretty when the kid that ran onto the pitch and trucked Newcastle No. 1 Steven Harper finds out Bent is leaving the Stadium of Light. Hide your kids...
You're a Loser and a Winner:
The consensus chatter Saturday from East London was, "Poor Avram Grant." Something about the sullen Israeli generates sympathy, especially with strong rumors that he was about to be fired by West Ham United and replaced by Martin O'Neill ... which as of Monday morning still hasn't happened.
Sure nobody wants to lose their job, but is Grant being freed from his West Ham bondage such a bad thing?
For one, you're no long beholden to work for a clown like David Sullivan, he of the porn publishing empire. Yes, this guy actually made his money through porn, as hard as it might be to believe.
More than that, Grant will likely get paid not to coach West Ham, which is a blessing in disguise, since the Irons are dreadful. Just dreadful, Jerry.
New loanee signing Wayne Bridge might have suffered less indignity at a dinner part at John Terry's house, than the roasting Arsenal gave the ex-England international. The five-man midfield Grant fielded: Radoslav Kovac, Jonathan Spector, Zavon Hines, Luis Boa Morte and Freddie Sears was arguably the worst I've seen since I started tracking the EPL.
Long story short, aside from being unemployed is getting away from a sinking ship the worst thing that'll ever happen to Grant?
* Arsenal were Arsenal. Not much to take away since West Ham was so utterly abject. The two takeaways were the continued return to form by Robin van Persie, who does give the Gunners an added threat in front of goal and Arsene Wenger opting to play both Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott, relegating Andrey Arshavin to the bench.
Guess it should be noted, too, that the Gunners won a match with Emmanuel Eboue starting at right back, a feat unto itself.
Around the League:
Fulham rescued a point, drawing at Wigan 1-1 on a weird, deflected goal by Andrew Johnson. Meh. Clint Dempsey almost had a goal, but used his arm to play the ball down to himself. Dempsey, at least, won't let the Cottagers go down without a fight. ... Stoke got by Bolton 2-0 in a game, as hard as it is to believe, might play a factor in Europa League qualification. ... West Brom snapped its five-game losing streak, beating Blackpool 3-2, on a Peter Odemwingie brace. If there's a weak link for Blackpool its in goal with Richard Kingson, who just isn't very good despite playing for Ghana at the World Cup. He's smaller than most keepers, significantly in fact, and his positioning is out at sea half the time. A worry. ... The montage of sleeping fans around Upton Park was seven shades of awesome. ... Minor gripe, but I definitely missed the dulcet tones of Ian Darke this weekend. ... Birmingham lost defender Scott Dann for the season. Could be a crippling loss for Alex McLeish's team, changing his January business for sure, as he's already canceled (wisely) his pursuit of Robbie Keane. ... Ryan Giggs played his 600th league match for Manchester United. That made it 600 games without the commentators saying anything bad about it. Impressive. ... As I tweeted Sunday, Liverpool's Jay Spearing is clearly the son of Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Sean Golden's "Blackpool's Nutz" is at the bottom third of the tale, but put up 79 points thanks to 17 from Ivanovic, 16 from Theo Walcott and 26 from captain Tevez.
One Other Thing:
Nothing much to say here.
Enjoy this clip from the 1987 cinematic classic, "Disorderlies."
Four huge matches on Sunday, including three white-hot derbies ... and four draws.
Let's dig into what happened.
***
The Darned (savvy) United:
If you've been regularly reading here the last couple weeks and months, you know I've been scant in my praise of Manchester United this campaign, openly wondering if this team is any good and worthy of being atop the Premier League table. Yes, this is silly, since the table don't lie. The best team will win the league, regardless of entertainment value.
Sunday, United might have answered my questions, grinding out an effective 0-0 draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't memorable. It wasn't much of anything. It was a point, that was all.
Yet United played the game with an assured confidence, especially in defense where it sat back deep and limited space for Tottenham to unleash its fast-breaking, speedy counter attack.
Credit to Sir Alex Ferguson. He's like a great horse jockey. He knows when to push his team, when to lay off the whip, when to take it easy. Ferguson realized that a point -- pushing their season total vs. fifth-place Spurs to four -- would be more than enough. It kept United atop the table, level with Manchester City with TWO games in hand. This was a match Spurs had to win if it wanted to harbor -- faint -- title hopes.
Three points in this spot meant much more to Tottenham than United, so the caution made sense. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand proved that they might be the best position of strength in the Premier League this season, keeping Edwin van der Sar from a shot in open play. Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick were solid enough in the midfield, helped in the 63rd when Anderson came on for Nani. The Rafael red card -- weak call -- didn't even hurt the team.
The biggest encouragement for United was that Wayne Rooney looked a lot like Wayne Rooney again, very dangerous lurking around the penalty area and serving in a few dangerous balls. It's clear that Rooney felt the pressure of his brother John being drafted by the New York Red Bulls and wanted to reassert himself as the family's alpha dog.
All-and-all simply a smart, confident performance for United who seem to have the more organization and commitment in the league. It's not flashy, but it's got the Red Devils in first.
As for Tottenham? It started great with Gareth Bale ripping up the left side and whipping in a cross.
After that? Not much.
Spurs are a good team, no doubt, with great, creative players, but the team still isn't suited to grind out a win when the onus is on them to attack in a packed-in space. Tottenham are like an NFL team that thrives in the fast-and-loose two-minute drill offense, or a basketball team that can get up-and-down the court. In a rigid, defensive-minded game they struggle to find chances. (Sticking with Peter Crouch alone, with Jermain Defoe on the bench didn't seem like Harry Redknapp's best decision, either.)
Tottenham's success this season has been weird. Defensively they've given weaker teams plenty of chances and possession, only to sting them with deep-lying movements starting in the midfield.
United didn't fall into this trap and Spurs didn't have much of a Plan B outside of some free kicks and Rafael van der Vaart's bending ball he picked up at the edge of the penalty area away a United giveaway.
Lastly, I am trying to turn over a new leaf, but ... would in be wrong, misguided and so 2010 to call Wilson Palacios the dream Bob Bradley player?
Have Mersey:
Hey, letting you in a little inside information you won't read any place else: Kenny Dalglish is back coaching Liverpool.
Surprising, right?
Sarcasm aside, were the producers of Sunday's Merseyside Derby given specific instructions to show a picture of "King Kenny" every third minute at Anfield? If not, it sure felt that way.
Kenny smiles. Kenny grimaces. Kenny fist pumps. Kenny tips over dejectedly.
On the plus side, it wasn't a Roy Hodgson face rub, so there's that.
What more to make of the utterly uninspiring play of Liverpool, now over the last two or three seasons under three managers?
I emailed my friend and part-time TOP contributor "Ace Cowboy" for the first time in a long time after a Liverpool game. He didn't even know what to say, resigned to this team's malaise, noting that hiring the "fiery" Dalglish isn't exactly how the sabremetrically inclined NESV want to do things.
Liverpool are in a hole, and as we know, you can't dig your way up from a hole.
This much is certain, Martin Skrtel for all his tattoos and raw-meat eating visage, just isn't a very good defender, not in the air, not with the ball at his feet. The more he plays with the injuries to Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher and without Xabi Alonso or Javier Mascherano to shield the back-four, the more exposed the Slovakian would-be hard man is.
Martin Kelly has looked pretty solid in defense, maybe he shifts inside in the near future. Worth a shot.
On the plus side, Fernando Torres is looking a little more like the unstoppable force he was when he came to Anfield. You do have to worry if he's trying to work his way out the door, though.
Still, the lack of confident at a club with Liverpool's pedigree is hard to fathom. Punch this team once in the mouth and they teeter over like a hastily assembled Jenga tower. The talent level at the club doesn't blow you away -- what has Maxi Rodriguez contributed over the last year? -- but it still should be enough to compete with the middle of the pack teams. Of course we've seen that pulling down the red jersey so a Liver-bird rests above your chest doesn't turn ordinary players into Supermen.
The 2-2 draw suited Everton well enough, as it moved the Toffees ahead of Liverpool on 26 points thanks to goal difference. David Moyes brave 4-4-2 experiment worked again as the maligned Jermaine Beckford(*) scored again thanks to a strong set up by the underrated Leon Osman.
(*) Aren't there an usually high number of Jermaines playing football in England? Was there a generation of English women obsessed with the late work of the Jackson Five? Odd.
On the other side of the spectrum Tim Howard conceding a penalty, lunging into Rodriguez after making a save. It wasn't a very elegant move, nor was Howard screaming into the wind after Dirk Kuyt converted to make it 2-2. Not a great moment for the American keeper.
Also, Everton appear to have a deal for Steven Pienaar to Chelsea. This season the South African has been an utter non-factor at Gooidson Park. Can't fault David Moyes for the sale, but the $5-6 million dollar range does seem a little low. Moyes did spend a fortune on Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, might as well try to get some of that investment back by playing him the rest of the season. Put it this way, Toffees, what exactly is Pienaar going to help the club do in the next couple months that it couldn't do without him?
Long story short, gun to your head, who's finishing higher in the table: Liverpool or Everton?
TCB:
Manchester City is such a strange conflagration of talented players. City's M.O. continues to be, look like the second-best team in the world for about 10 minutes every match, then kind of stand around, defend and do nothing the rest of the way. The scary thought: what if City ever figures out how to sustain those white hot periods for longer?
City's 4-3 win over Wolves was typical City.
Kolo Toure gets caught ball-watching, as Wolves go ahead, then he scores a deflected goal to level it a 1-1 before the half.
Then City turns it on, using the active debut of Edin Dzeko as a catalyst to blitz Wolves with Carlos Tevez bagging a pair, including this knifing gem ... only to hang on for dear life. Strange, but that's City in a nutshell.
* Chelsea's 2-0 win over Blackburn, for some reason, wasn't on ESPN2 in the U.S. For a change I had to turn to a pretty poor-quality 'Net stream, featuring the worst commentary I've heard in quite some time.
In the words of Jay Peterman to Elaine on "Seinfeld," congratulations to Chelsea on a job ... done.
The way things have gone at Stamford Bridge, lately, Chelsea will gladly take the three points, with each goal set up by Branislav Ivanovic aerial prowess.
We'll have a better gauge of where Chelsea really is next Monday when the Blues go play at Bolton. The Blues can enjoy a week ahead of Spurs for fourth.
Getting Bent:
What the what? Darren Bent handing in a transfer request to Sunderland makes the club's late 1-1 draw vs. rival Newcastle seem like a minor issue at the moment. Same thing for Birmingham City drawing Aston Villa -- Bent's likely new home -- 1-1, too.
However this pans out, my thought back in August during my EPL previews that Bent could make Sunderland -- still in sixth place mind you -- a destination for ambitious players spurned by the top tier clubs, was proven very wrong.
Bent hasn't been lights out great this campaign, with 11 goals -- but only four since September. The bigger issue seems that Steve Bruce has needed to adjust his lineup to accommodate Bent, record-signing Asamoah Gyan and on-loan Danny Welbeck.
Welbeck is the clear key to however this pans out for Bruce and Sunderland.
But before that, if Bruce does indeed sell Bent to Aston Villa for around $25 million, it offsets the roughly $20 million the club paid for Gyan from Rennes in the summer. Gyan hasn't set the world on fire, but he does have eight goals for the club, plus he's more athletic and a year younger than Bent.
The gamble for Bruce is that he can somehow convince Sir Alex Ferguson -- and Welbeck for that matter -- that his future is at the Stadium of Light, not Old Trafford. That's no easy task, since at best Sunderland is a Europa League team, in sixth place like it is now.
Shame that a club like Sunderland is hamstrung by the Premier League's artificial glass ceiling and can't operate on a pure sporting basis, factoring in fiances above all else. Bruce, though, is smart and realizes this and should be praised for being pro-active. Wonder what happens if somebody with deep pockets comes calling for Jordan Henderson, who's not nearly as readily replaceable as Bent?
As for Aston Villa? All depends which Bent the club is going to end up with, the guy from last year that was an every-other-game hitman, or the invisible player from this year. He's probably an upgrade from the one-dimensional Emile Heskey, for sure. Is Bent up for a relegation battle? He'll score some goals, but outside of those tallies he's not going to put a very big stamp on games.
It's a bold, headline-making move for Aston Villa but it's not a sure-thing on the field. Villa could use a strong personality to lead it's kiddie core of promising youngsters. By handing in his transfer request like this, it doesn't seem like Bent wants to lead.
Suffice to say, it's not going to be pretty when the kid that ran onto the pitch and trucked Newcastle No. 1 Steven Harper finds out Bent is leaving the Stadium of Light. Hide your kids...
You're a Loser and a Winner:
The consensus chatter Saturday from East London was, "Poor Avram Grant." Something about the sullen Israeli generates sympathy, especially with strong rumors that he was about to be fired by West Ham United and replaced by Martin O'Neill ... which as of Monday morning still hasn't happened.
Sure nobody wants to lose their job, but is Grant being freed from his West Ham bondage such a bad thing?
For one, you're no long beholden to work for a clown like David Sullivan, he of the porn publishing empire. Yes, this guy actually made his money through porn, as hard as it might be to believe.
More than that, Grant will likely get paid not to coach West Ham, which is a blessing in disguise, since the Irons are dreadful. Just dreadful, Jerry.
New loanee signing Wayne Bridge might have suffered less indignity at a dinner part at John Terry's house, than the roasting Arsenal gave the ex-England international. The five-man midfield Grant fielded: Radoslav Kovac, Jonathan Spector, Zavon Hines, Luis Boa Morte and Freddie Sears was arguably the worst I've seen since I started tracking the EPL.
Long story short, aside from being unemployed is getting away from a sinking ship the worst thing that'll ever happen to Grant?
* Arsenal were Arsenal. Not much to take away since West Ham was so utterly abject. The two takeaways were the continued return to form by Robin van Persie, who does give the Gunners an added threat in front of goal and Arsene Wenger opting to play both Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott, relegating Andrey Arshavin to the bench.
Guess it should be noted, too, that the Gunners won a match with Emmanuel Eboue starting at right back, a feat unto itself.
Around the League:
Fulham rescued a point, drawing at Wigan 1-1 on a weird, deflected goal by Andrew Johnson. Meh. Clint Dempsey almost had a goal, but used his arm to play the ball down to himself. Dempsey, at least, won't let the Cottagers go down without a fight. ... Stoke got by Bolton 2-0 in a game, as hard as it is to believe, might play a factor in Europa League qualification. ... West Brom snapped its five-game losing streak, beating Blackpool 3-2, on a Peter Odemwingie brace. If there's a weak link for Blackpool its in goal with Richard Kingson, who just isn't very good despite playing for Ghana at the World Cup. He's smaller than most keepers, significantly in fact, and his positioning is out at sea half the time. A worry. ... The montage of sleeping fans around Upton Park was seven shades of awesome. ... Minor gripe, but I definitely missed the dulcet tones of Ian Darke this weekend. ... Birmingham lost defender Scott Dann for the season. Could be a crippling loss for Alex McLeish's team, changing his January business for sure, as he's already canceled (wisely) his pursuit of Robbie Keane. ... Ryan Giggs played his 600th league match for Manchester United. That made it 600 games without the commentators saying anything bad about it. Impressive. ... As I tweeted Sunday, Liverpool's Jay Spearing is clearly the son of Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner.
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Sean Golden's "Blackpool's Nutz" is at the bottom third of the tale, but put up 79 points thanks to 17 from Ivanovic, 16 from Theo Walcott and 26 from captain Tevez.
One Other Thing:
Nothing much to say here.
Enjoy this clip from the 1987 cinematic classic, "Disorderlies."
Labels: English Premier League, EPL, Monday recaps, Soccer
So ... IBM is pitting its latest Super Computer against previous champions on the long-running gameshow, "Jeopardy"? Are they just asking for some kind of SkyNet like event? By the same token, is it a given that all Artifical Intelligences are preternaturally determined to turn evil?
Here's one way to beat those super machines and their endless strings of ones and zeros, finding answers in the 2010-11 English Premier League. Ok, yeah, asking a computer to love might break it too.
In the meantime, let's ponder this ultra-important questions for all 20 teams that will need to be answered by mid-May.
Manchester United -- Will Wayne Rooney ever be Wayne Rooney again? ... Will Rio Ferdinand ever be booked again? ... Will Anderson keep getting better? ... Will Sir Alex Ferguson's Faustian pact with the Devil expire before May? ... Will Howard Webb referee every ensuing United match? ... Can Chicharito score even crazier goals than he's already tallied? ... Can this team win the title without really being all that special? And should that matter? And does United deserve credit for being in first place, still, without ever really replacing Ronaldo or Tevez and Rooney now a pale imitation of what he once was?
Manchester City -- Will this team ever find a leader? ... Will the team sew a scudetto patch onto its kits if it wins the title? ... Will Roberto Mancini wear a scarf in May? ... Will Mario Balotelli ever stop sulking and man up? ... Will Edin Dzeko be the next Dimitar Berbatov or the next Mateja Kezman (or Roque Santa Cruz for that matter)? ... Will this team go a week without teammates punching each other? ... Will David Silva ever assume the central play-making role away from Yaya Toure?
Arsenal -- Will Arsene Wenger's refusal to fix the defense once again cost them the title? ... Will this team be able to stay healthy? ... Will the Champions League knockout round game with Barcelona define the rest of the Gunners season? ... Mathew Upson? Really? ... Is this the year Wenger's master plan pays off? ... Can Wenger make it through a make without some from of incredulous-ness? ... How long with Maroune Chamakh be happy coming off the bench behind Robin van Persie? (I'll avoid the tired injury joke here.)
Tottenham -- Will Harry Redknapp be able to restrain himself before the January transfer window closes? ... What is the point of the David Beckham flirtation? ... Will this team ever post a clean sheet again? ... Can it's central defenders ever play consecutive games? ... Can Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart continue their current form another five months? ... Is Robbie Keane the oldest-looking 30-year-old on the planet? And where will he go, not that anyone cares? ... Is this team realistically a title contender? ... If not, can it return to the Champions League for another season?
Chelsea -- Is the Drogba-Lampard-Terry era in its death throws? ... Will Roman Abramovich serve us Carlo Ancelotti's head on a plate? ... Can the Blues get anything positive from the underachieving trio of Nic Anelka, Flourent Malouda and Salomon Kalou? ... When does the Josh McEachran era begin? ... When does the Champions League become priority No. 1? And does this team have the bodies to sustain a run in Europe, while fighting for a Top Four spot with Spurs? ... What happened to 6-0 marauders from September?
Sunderland -- Does this team have the mentality do finish in a Europa League spot? ... How many more red cards for Lee Cattermole? ... What is Steve Bruce's next under-the-radar transfer revelation? ... Is there any way to top beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this season?
Bolton -- Is this as good as it will ever get for Bolton? ... Are Gary Cahill and Johann Elmander out the door in the summer? ... Could Owen Coyle possibly wear shorter shorts on the touchline without them being considered hot pants? ... What does the future, selfishly, hold for Stuart Holden?
Newcastle United -- Are Mike Ashley and Kia Joorabchian trying to form some kind of evil EPL version of DC Comic's "League of Doom"? ... What will Andy Carroll be like when he returns from his vacation in Dubai? And what will his hair look like? Did he pull a Kenny Powers? ... Is this team due another psychotic outburst before May? ... How many more five-goal scorelines on either side can this team be a part of? ... Will, by its nature, Newcastle find itself in the relegation battle?
Blackburn Rovers -- Will the beer at Ewood Park be replaced by a fermented chicken-type product? ... Is there any compelling way Venky's can convince players that Blackburn is where they want to be? ... Is this the most un-interesting club in the top flight from a player standpoint? ... Does the return of Roque Santa Cruz do anything to change that? ... Which club will win the Christopher Samba lottery?
Stoke City -- Can this team keep on doing what it's doing since it's working? ... Will Mathew Etherington morph from being criminally underrated that he's so underrated it overrates him? (If that makes sense?) ... Can Ryan Shawcross make it through the season without crippling someone? ... Will the Potters ever score off a Rory Delap long throw ever again? ... Did Tuncay start a trend by making his own Top 10 goals compilation, looking for a transfer?
Everton -- How could I conceivably leave the Tofs out of my first draft? That's almost as atrocious as Steven Pienaar's been this season. ... Actual questions, will Everton stay 4-4-2 when Tim Cahill returns? ... Will the club get David Moyes' traditional post-Christmas bump? ... Will the real Mikel Arteta show up? ... Will Seamus Coleman continue his right-footed, Irish Gareth Bale impression? ... Jack Rodwell, worthy of the hype?
Blackpool -- Will the bottom fall out? ... Will the (apologies) Tangerine Dream continue? ... Can the team afford to sell Charlie Adam. ... Can they afford not to sell Charlie Adam? ... When is the book on Blackpool last 12 months released?
Liverpool -- Without Roy or Rafa to kick around, who's fault is it now? ... Will the Kop allow patience? ... Will the real Fernando Torres please stand up? ... Does Damien Comolli and NESV have the guts to break up this team and rebuild? Can they? ... Will we get at least one insightful, unique story in the 2,403 written about Kenny Dalglish in the last two weeks? If you read one, you read them all. (Stories by professional news outlets, not blogs, mind you. Latest "Special1 TV" is on my wavelength here.)
Fulham -- How much more can Clint Dempsey do for this club? ... Will Mark Hughes be afforded time to mold the club into his image? ... Will the legs of Damien Duff, Danny Murphy and Simon Davies hold up? ... Can this team score enough to avoid the drop? ... Was losing the Europa League final last year the peak of this club's progress?
Birmingham City -- Can this team ever find a way to score a goal on non-set pieces? ... Can they edge ahead of Blackburn in the least-interesting category? ... When will we see owner Carson Yeung's Dr. Zaius coat again?
West Bromwich Albion -- Is this the team that upset Arsenal and drew at Old Trafford, or the club that's lost five in-a-row? Six, if you count losing to Reading in the FA Cup last weekend. ... Will this team's major lack of talent catch up to it? ... Will the Baggies willingly accept another yo-yo relegation?
Wolves -- Has this team turned a corner? ... How do they win enough games to stay up? ... Is this team, which has lots of those players, going to pull a Reading from circa 2007 and go down in its second season in the top flight?
Aston Villa -- Is Eric Mangini available? ... Where is this club's fight? ... Is it concerning Gerard Houllier is freezing out his experienced veteran players like Richard Dunne? ... Can Villa invest the windfall it received in successive seasons from Gareth Barry and James Milner? ... Is turning the keys over to a kiddie core going to work in a relegation scrap? ... Will Gabriel Agbonlahor ever show up this season? ... Jean II Makoun? Seriously?
Wigan Athletic -- Will, once again, Wigan prove slightly less crappy than three other teams? ... If Wigan Athletic gets relegated, does it make a sound?
West Ham United -- Will Avram Grant ever smile?
Two Continental Tidbits:
1. There are numerous reports about a falling out between Claudio Ranieri and Francesco Totti at Roma. How long until he's linked to a Premier League club? Not saying he's got a lot of value at this point, but you know with Roma strapped for cash somebody might want him. Then again, since Roma is long-rumored to be sold, the new owners would incite a riot if they trade the Roman idol. Roma already have Marco Borriello, Jeremy Menez and the really good Mirko Vucinic up top.
Oh right, Totti is 34.
Guess last year would have been the time for him to land at Chelsea with the Over the Hill Gang.
2. Are the Miami Heat the Real Madrid of basketball, or the other way around?
And which is more complicated to get working together at a high-level in the same lineup: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade or Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka?
Oh right, Eric Spoelstra you're not even a fleck of dandruff on Jose Mourinho's scarf.
Round 23 Picks:
Unusual schedule, but Sunday is derby day, with Tyne-Wear/Second City/Merseyside all going off. Suppose the powers that be figure the crowd early on Sunday with be either a) hungover from Saturday night b) in a more respectful mood on the Sabbath.
Saturday:
* Manchester City v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Mentioned this up top, but does City have a leader, or better yet a personality? The players and the construction of the roster seems so slapdash, what are the players playing for? They're so highly paid, how motivated are they? Carlos Tevez wears the captain's armband, but do you see him in the dressing room rousing the players? He probably doesn't even speak. City have great players at its disposal, but seem so a-typically sterile to the usually fiery English game. That's not to say they need to be as combative and blood-and-guts as Wolves, but a little fighting spirit -- not among themselves -- would help. ... City 2, Wolves 0
* Stoke City v. Bolton -- (Live, FSC+, 10 a.m.) From a roster standpoint, these two 4-4-2 twins are very alike. Perhaps the biggest difference is Stoke doesn't have a dynamic player going forward in the midfield like Stuart Holden. Should be a nice throwback game with lots of high balls and Kevin Davies flying elbows. Also, who's this Rodrigo fellow on Bolton? Someone to keep an eye on, that's who. ... Stoke City 1, Bolton 1
* Chelsea v. Blackburn Rovers -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) What to make of Chelsea beating Ipswich Town 7-0 in the FA Cup, then the Tractor Boys beating Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of the Carling Cup semifinals three days later? Can't figure this stuff out some times. Blackburn has been tricky, especially when the two Dioufs decide they want to play, or in El Hajd's case, hurt opponents. Benjani was a thorn in Chelsea's side the first time these two played. One thing about Blackburn, its act doesn't go on the road. Doubt the players will be up for a fight at Stamford Bridge. The question, though, can Chelsea tip them over and make it an easy go? ... Chelsea 2, Blackburn 0
* West Bromwich Albion v. Blackpool -- Until further notice, I'm not going against Ian Holloway and Blackpool the rest of the way. All this team does is get results. Not as catchy as all this team does is win, but you get the point. ... West Brom 1, Blackpool 2
* Wigan Athletic v. Fulham -- Maybe Fulham broke out of its away form hoodoo? Cottagers probably need to make a move in the next two weeks for something, anything. ... Wigan 0, Fulham 1
* West Ham United v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) I'll give West Ham some credit, the team is playing harder. Mathew Upson returned from the Land of the Dead, which helps. Still, unless Arsenal is misfiring hard to see West Ham keeping up. Worth noting Arsenal, since beating Chelsea on Dec. 27 is 1-3-1 (W/D/L) across all competitions. ... West Ham 1, Arsenal 3
Sunday:
* Sunderland v. Newcastle United -- Should be a bitches brew of a rivalry game inside the Stadium of Light, as both sides come off shocking losses to lesser teams in the FA Cup. Sunderland is good at home and still smarting from the 5-1 beatdown at the hands of the Magpies in the earlier fixture. Newcastle are the box of chocolate team this year, never know what you're going to get. This one is probably good for a red card, or two. ... Sunderland 2, Newcastle United 1
* Birmingham City v. Aston Villa -- (Live, FSC+, 7 a.m.) Birmingham has been the redheaded stepchild in this derby, with Villa going 6-1-0 over the last season. El Brum would just be tinkled pink, heaping more trouble on Aston Villa. They might be able to do it, too, since Villa's defense is a shell of what it was last year. You have to hope Alex McLeish opens it up, at home. A five-man midfield is just asking to be beaten. ... Birmingham City 1, Villa 0
* Liverpool v. Everton -- (Live, FSC, 9 a.m.) Desperation. Fear. Loathing. Anger. Uncertainty. It's the Merseyside Derby. NEXT! ... Liverpool 2, Everton 1.
* Tottenham v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) The long-and-short of this match is if Tottenham truly wants to pretend it's a title-contender, it has to win this match.
Let's see which of this established trends holds up: Spurs inability to keep a clean sheet and kill off a match or United's troubles on the road? This does feel like it's going to be one of those rollercoaster matches, played at about 160 miles per hour.
Amazing stat that 16 of the 19 goals United have allowed this season have come in the second half, while Spurs have scored 60 percent of their goals in the second half, including six in the final 10 minutes.
It's not often, either, that the three glitziest, most in-form attackers (van der Vaart, Bale and Luka Modric) all play on the opponent of Manchester United, not the other way around.
How Sir Alex Ferguson tries to slow down Bale will be interesting, since Nani isn't known for his defensive prowess, while Ji-Sung Park is in Qatar with South Korea. The Korean could've at least run and chased Bale around. Guess he better hope Rafael eats his Wheaties, or their Brazilian counterpart. Bale, of course, wasn't rampant in the first game in October.
Maybe each side throws caution into the wind and lets it fly. Didn't matter much in the first meeting won by United 2-0 at Old Trafford as it was Nani scoring a brace and Park winning Man of the Match honors.
Dimitar Berbatov should be able to find space and torture his old club again, too.
Neither Gomes or Edwin van der Saar is in form, so keep an eye on keeping mistakes.
Considering Spurs started Robbie Keane back on Oct. 30, you'd think Redknapp learned his lesson. United leak late goals away. Spurs score them. Seems logical, so let's run with it. ... Spurs 2, Manchester United 1
Last round: 4-6
Season: 92-118
Here's one way to beat those super machines and their endless strings of ones and zeros, finding answers in the 2010-11 English Premier League. Ok, yeah, asking a computer to love might break it too.
In the meantime, let's ponder this ultra-important questions for all 20 teams that will need to be answered by mid-May.
Manchester United -- Will Wayne Rooney ever be Wayne Rooney again? ... Will Rio Ferdinand ever be booked again? ... Will Anderson keep getting better? ... Will Sir Alex Ferguson's Faustian pact with the Devil expire before May? ... Will Howard Webb referee every ensuing United match? ... Can Chicharito score even crazier goals than he's already tallied? ... Can this team win the title without really being all that special? And should that matter? And does United deserve credit for being in first place, still, without ever really replacing Ronaldo or Tevez and Rooney now a pale imitation of what he once was?
Manchester City -- Will this team ever find a leader? ... Will the team sew a scudetto patch onto its kits if it wins the title? ... Will Roberto Mancini wear a scarf in May? ... Will Mario Balotelli ever stop sulking and man up? ... Will Edin Dzeko be the next Dimitar Berbatov or the next Mateja Kezman (or Roque Santa Cruz for that matter)? ... Will this team go a week without teammates punching each other? ... Will David Silva ever assume the central play-making role away from Yaya Toure?
Arsenal -- Will Arsene Wenger's refusal to fix the defense once again cost them the title? ... Will this team be able to stay healthy? ... Will the Champions League knockout round game with Barcelona define the rest of the Gunners season? ... Mathew Upson? Really? ... Is this the year Wenger's master plan pays off? ... Can Wenger make it through a make without some from of incredulous-ness? ... How long with Maroune Chamakh be happy coming off the bench behind Robin van Persie? (I'll avoid the tired injury joke here.)
Tottenham -- Will Harry Redknapp be able to restrain himself before the January transfer window closes? ... What is the point of the David Beckham flirtation? ... Will this team ever post a clean sheet again? ... Can it's central defenders ever play consecutive games? ... Can Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart continue their current form another five months? ... Is Robbie Keane the oldest-looking 30-year-old on the planet? And where will he go, not that anyone cares? ... Is this team realistically a title contender? ... If not, can it return to the Champions League for another season?
Chelsea -- Is the Drogba-Lampard-Terry era in its death throws? ... Will Roman Abramovich serve us Carlo Ancelotti's head on a plate? ... Can the Blues get anything positive from the underachieving trio of Nic Anelka, Flourent Malouda and Salomon Kalou? ... When does the Josh McEachran era begin? ... When does the Champions League become priority No. 1? And does this team have the bodies to sustain a run in Europe, while fighting for a Top Four spot with Spurs? ... What happened to 6-0 marauders from September?
Sunderland -- Does this team have the mentality do finish in a Europa League spot? ... How many more red cards for Lee Cattermole? ... What is Steve Bruce's next under-the-radar transfer revelation? ... Is there any way to top beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this season?
Bolton -- Is this as good as it will ever get for Bolton? ... Are Gary Cahill and Johann Elmander out the door in the summer? ... Could Owen Coyle possibly wear shorter shorts on the touchline without them being considered hot pants? ... What does the future, selfishly, hold for Stuart Holden?
Newcastle United -- Are Mike Ashley and Kia Joorabchian trying to form some kind of evil EPL version of DC Comic's "League of Doom"? ... What will Andy Carroll be like when he returns from his vacation in Dubai? And what will his hair look like? Did he pull a Kenny Powers? ... Is this team due another psychotic outburst before May? ... How many more five-goal scorelines on either side can this team be a part of? ... Will, by its nature, Newcastle find itself in the relegation battle?
Blackburn Rovers -- Will the beer at Ewood Park be replaced by a fermented chicken-type product? ... Is there any compelling way Venky's can convince players that Blackburn is where they want to be? ... Is this the most un-interesting club in the top flight from a player standpoint? ... Does the return of Roque Santa Cruz do anything to change that? ... Which club will win the Christopher Samba lottery?
Stoke City -- Can this team keep on doing what it's doing since it's working? ... Will Mathew Etherington morph from being criminally underrated that he's so underrated it overrates him? (If that makes sense?) ... Can Ryan Shawcross make it through the season without crippling someone? ... Will the Potters ever score off a Rory Delap long throw ever again? ... Did Tuncay start a trend by making his own Top 10 goals compilation, looking for a transfer?
Everton -- How could I conceivably leave the Tofs out of my first draft? That's almost as atrocious as Steven Pienaar's been this season. ... Actual questions, will Everton stay 4-4-2 when Tim Cahill returns? ... Will the club get David Moyes' traditional post-Christmas bump? ... Will the real Mikel Arteta show up? ... Will Seamus Coleman continue his right-footed, Irish Gareth Bale impression? ... Jack Rodwell, worthy of the hype?
Blackpool -- Will the bottom fall out? ... Will the (apologies) Tangerine Dream continue? ... Can the team afford to sell Charlie Adam. ... Can they afford not to sell Charlie Adam? ... When is the book on Blackpool last 12 months released?
Liverpool -- Without Roy or Rafa to kick around, who's fault is it now? ... Will the Kop allow patience? ... Will the real Fernando Torres please stand up? ... Does Damien Comolli and NESV have the guts to break up this team and rebuild? Can they? ... Will we get at least one insightful, unique story in the 2,403 written about Kenny Dalglish in the last two weeks? If you read one, you read them all. (Stories by professional news outlets, not blogs, mind you. Latest "Special1 TV" is on my wavelength here.)
Fulham -- How much more can Clint Dempsey do for this club? ... Will Mark Hughes be afforded time to mold the club into his image? ... Will the legs of Damien Duff, Danny Murphy and Simon Davies hold up? ... Can this team score enough to avoid the drop? ... Was losing the Europa League final last year the peak of this club's progress?
Birmingham City -- Can this team ever find a way to score a goal on non-set pieces? ... Can they edge ahead of Blackburn in the least-interesting category? ... When will we see owner Carson Yeung's Dr. Zaius coat again?
West Bromwich Albion -- Is this the team that upset Arsenal and drew at Old Trafford, or the club that's lost five in-a-row? Six, if you count losing to Reading in the FA Cup last weekend. ... Will this team's major lack of talent catch up to it? ... Will the Baggies willingly accept another yo-yo relegation?
Wolves -- Has this team turned a corner? ... How do they win enough games to stay up? ... Is this team, which has lots of those players, going to pull a Reading from circa 2007 and go down in its second season in the top flight?
Aston Villa -- Is Eric Mangini available? ... Where is this club's fight? ... Is it concerning Gerard Houllier is freezing out his experienced veteran players like Richard Dunne? ... Can Villa invest the windfall it received in successive seasons from Gareth Barry and James Milner? ... Is turning the keys over to a kiddie core going to work in a relegation scrap? ... Will Gabriel Agbonlahor ever show up this season? ... Jean II Makoun? Seriously?
Wigan Athletic -- Will, once again, Wigan prove slightly less crappy than three other teams? ... If Wigan Athletic gets relegated, does it make a sound?
West Ham United -- Will Avram Grant ever smile?
Two Continental Tidbits:
1. There are numerous reports about a falling out between Claudio Ranieri and Francesco Totti at Roma. How long until he's linked to a Premier League club? Not saying he's got a lot of value at this point, but you know with Roma strapped for cash somebody might want him. Then again, since Roma is long-rumored to be sold, the new owners would incite a riot if they trade the Roman idol. Roma already have Marco Borriello, Jeremy Menez and the really good Mirko Vucinic up top.
Oh right, Totti is 34.
Guess last year would have been the time for him to land at Chelsea with the Over the Hill Gang.
2. Are the Miami Heat the Real Madrid of basketball, or the other way around?
And which is more complicated to get working together at a high-level in the same lineup: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade or Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka?
Oh right, Eric Spoelstra you're not even a fleck of dandruff on Jose Mourinho's scarf.
Round 23 Picks:
Unusual schedule, but Sunday is derby day, with Tyne-Wear/Second City/Merseyside all going off. Suppose the powers that be figure the crowd early on Sunday with be either a) hungover from Saturday night b) in a more respectful mood on the Sabbath.
Saturday:
* Manchester City v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC, 10 a.m.) Mentioned this up top, but does City have a leader, or better yet a personality? The players and the construction of the roster seems so slapdash, what are the players playing for? They're so highly paid, how motivated are they? Carlos Tevez wears the captain's armband, but do you see him in the dressing room rousing the players? He probably doesn't even speak. City have great players at its disposal, but seem so a-typically sterile to the usually fiery English game. That's not to say they need to be as combative and blood-and-guts as Wolves, but a little fighting spirit -- not among themselves -- would help. ... City 2, Wolves 0
* Stoke City v. Bolton -- (Live, FSC+, 10 a.m.) From a roster standpoint, these two 4-4-2 twins are very alike. Perhaps the biggest difference is Stoke doesn't have a dynamic player going forward in the midfield like Stuart Holden. Should be a nice throwback game with lots of high balls and Kevin Davies flying elbows. Also, who's this Rodrigo fellow on Bolton? Someone to keep an eye on, that's who. ... Stoke City 1, Bolton 1
* Chelsea v. Blackburn Rovers -- (Live, ESPN2, 10 a.m.) What to make of Chelsea beating Ipswich Town 7-0 in the FA Cup, then the Tractor Boys beating Arsenal 1-0 in the first leg of the Carling Cup semifinals three days later? Can't figure this stuff out some times. Blackburn has been tricky, especially when the two Dioufs decide they want to play, or in El Hajd's case, hurt opponents. Benjani was a thorn in Chelsea's side the first time these two played. One thing about Blackburn, its act doesn't go on the road. Doubt the players will be up for a fight at Stamford Bridge. The question, though, can Chelsea tip them over and make it an easy go? ... Chelsea 2, Blackburn 0
* West Bromwich Albion v. Blackpool -- Until further notice, I'm not going against Ian Holloway and Blackpool the rest of the way. All this team does is get results. Not as catchy as all this team does is win, but you get the point. ... West Brom 1, Blackpool 2
* Wigan Athletic v. Fulham -- Maybe Fulham broke out of its away form hoodoo? Cottagers probably need to make a move in the next two weeks for something, anything. ... Wigan 0, Fulham 1
* West Ham United v. Arsenal -- (Live, FSC, 12:30 p.m.) I'll give West Ham some credit, the team is playing harder. Mathew Upson returned from the Land of the Dead, which helps. Still, unless Arsenal is misfiring hard to see West Ham keeping up. Worth noting Arsenal, since beating Chelsea on Dec. 27 is 1-3-1 (W/D/L) across all competitions. ... West Ham 1, Arsenal 3
Sunday:
* Sunderland v. Newcastle United -- Should be a bitches brew of a rivalry game inside the Stadium of Light, as both sides come off shocking losses to lesser teams in the FA Cup. Sunderland is good at home and still smarting from the 5-1 beatdown at the hands of the Magpies in the earlier fixture. Newcastle are the box of chocolate team this year, never know what you're going to get. This one is probably good for a red card, or two. ... Sunderland 2, Newcastle United 1
* Birmingham City v. Aston Villa -- (Live, FSC+, 7 a.m.) Birmingham has been the redheaded stepchild in this derby, with Villa going 6-1-0 over the last season. El Brum would just be tinkled pink, heaping more trouble on Aston Villa. They might be able to do it, too, since Villa's defense is a shell of what it was last year. You have to hope Alex McLeish opens it up, at home. A five-man midfield is just asking to be beaten. ... Birmingham City 1, Villa 0
* Liverpool v. Everton -- (Live, FSC, 9 a.m.) Desperation. Fear. Loathing. Anger. Uncertainty. It's the Merseyside Derby. NEXT! ... Liverpool 2, Everton 1.
* Tottenham v. Manchester United -- (Live, FSC, 11 a.m.) The long-and-short of this match is if Tottenham truly wants to pretend it's a title-contender, it has to win this match.
Let's see which of this established trends holds up: Spurs inability to keep a clean sheet and kill off a match or United's troubles on the road? This does feel like it's going to be one of those rollercoaster matches, played at about 160 miles per hour.
Amazing stat that 16 of the 19 goals United have allowed this season have come in the second half, while Spurs have scored 60 percent of their goals in the second half, including six in the final 10 minutes.
It's not often, either, that the three glitziest, most in-form attackers (van der Vaart, Bale and Luka Modric) all play on the opponent of Manchester United, not the other way around.
How Sir Alex Ferguson tries to slow down Bale will be interesting, since Nani isn't known for his defensive prowess, while Ji-Sung Park is in Qatar with South Korea. The Korean could've at least run and chased Bale around. Guess he better hope Rafael eats his Wheaties, or their Brazilian counterpart. Bale, of course, wasn't rampant in the first game in October.
Maybe each side throws caution into the wind and lets it fly. Didn't matter much in the first meeting won by United 2-0 at Old Trafford as it was Nani scoring a brace and Park winning Man of the Match honors.
Dimitar Berbatov should be able to find space and torture his old club again, too.
Neither Gomes or Edwin van der Saar is in form, so keep an eye on keeping mistakes.
Considering Spurs started Robbie Keane back on Oct. 30, you'd think Redknapp learned his lesson. United leak late goals away. Spurs score them. Seems logical, so let's run with it. ... Spurs 2, Manchester United 1
Last round: 4-6
Season: 92-118
Labels: English Premier League, EPL, EPL picks, Soccer
