International Incident
by SamFels on Sep 2, 2010 3:20 PM PDT
1 comment
To the Euro qualifiers. No real matchups to set your heart ablaze, so let's look at a couple story lines.
-France's B-team, which really should have been the A-team anyway, take the field with everyone else suspended by their own federation. No question Laurent Blanc will have more of a clue than Raymond Domenech -- so would a stoned tortoise -- but what's he working with now? The on-fire Florent Malouda is still here, and one could look for Saha and Loic Remy to start up top, unless he wants to provide us all with a laugh and throw the ever more pants Karim Benzema on the field. He still has Sagna and Clichy bombing up from fullback, and this group isn't the hardest. Belarus at home should be negotiated, though Bosnia away from home promises to be tricky.
-Fabio Capello can spend two hours watching 90.000 clueless mouth breathers fashioning knives for him at Wembley Quite who the jingoistic press of the Sun and their readers wanted to take the job is really a mystery. Fat Sam Allardyce? No experience at an international level. Roy Hodgson? Maybe, though that seems a reach, and he was already committed to Liverpool. Anyway, Capello gets a chance to clear out some of the old, dead wood (i.e. Frank Lampard) and try some new blood. Adam Johnson surely will be on the wing and James Milner will get a crack in the center of midfield. Michael Dawson will start in defense one has to believe, and probably has a chance to cement a regular place there as well. Joe Hart takes over between the sticks, and barring something unforeseen will be there for a good decade or so. This group could be harder than it first looks. Switzerland can be at least obstinate, and it's not exactly like England are dripping with creativity. One never knows with Bulgaria, there are banana skins here if England take it too lightly.
-Portugal escape the clutches of dunce Carlos Quieroz for a while, and will probably continue to not produce what their talent suggests they should.
-Phillip Lahm and Michael Ballack can get in a fist fight over the captaincy on the pitch in Brussels, which should be fun for everyone.
-I hadn't realized until today that this was the time they were going to the Friday-Tuesday schedule for qualifiers, which actually makes sense. You can imagine my shock at UEFA doing something that actually seems logical.
Deadline Day Madness!
by SamFels on Aug 31, 2010 4:58 PM PDT
0 comments
Well, not really, but some interesting goings-on at the least.
-Robinho and his sulking and his 18-hour gangbangs are headed to Milan, where Ronaldinho will turn them into 24-32 hour gang bangs. And in Milan, they're obviously more fashionable than Manchester.
-Rafael Van der Vaart may be headed to Spurs, though we don't know yet. Awfully intriguing here, he would seem to play the same position as Modric, but comes with the Champions League experience. Clearly, Harry is loading up to play with only one striker in Europe, and VDV is meant to play behind a striker. Unless he tries to shoehorn either him or Modric out on a wing, but why would he do that if Bale and Lennon are in such form, and Dos Santos continues to fool everyone into thinking he can play? Keep an eye on this one.
-Sunderland broke the bank and brought in World Cup hero Asamoah Gyan, and if nothing else it gives us a name in the Premier League that's awfully fun to say. While he looked pretty tasty in South Africa, this is a striker who only managed 14 goals in 47 appearances in two seasons at Rennes, and one wonders how he'll dovetail with Darren Bent. He's not the target man that Kenwye Jones was, maybe he and Bent are too similar?
-Liverpool basically failed at everything, per usual. Unless you count bringing in Paul Konchesky something of a coup. And if you do, well, what a wonderful world you must live in.
-Across Europe, Jan Klaas-Huntelaar, who's living hasn't been clearly defined yet, is headed to be Raul's strike partner at Schalke.
And that's all the news worth printing...
US Soccer Refuses To Learn From History
by SamFels on Aug 30, 2010 4:48 PM PDT
14 comments
Just breaking is the news that Bob Bradley has signed a four year extension to remain coach of the US. Apparently, tactical idiocy and complete inflexibility is something Sunil Gulati is comfortable with. This is truly disappointing, as there were rumors that Gulati was meeting with Jurgen Kilnsman to become coach. It wouldn't shock me if the same thing happened that did last time, whereas Jurgen wished to have the control and be paid like a real manager would, and the Federation balked.
While on paper one can't necessarily complain too much about what Bradley has accomplished - he's the only manager to take the US to a major final and the second to get them out of the group stage on foreign soil - this really smacks of a lack of imagination. The Confederations Cup only contained 2, maybe two and a half, decent performances, and the US only won one game at the World Cup -- and that was over a decidedly average Algeria side at the death. On the flip side, you could argue the US didn't lose one game in South Africa in the 90 minutes. However, this is the guy who may have tossed away the Ghana game by inexplicably starting Ricardo Clark. It's not Bradley's fault that the US has no strikers beyond Charlie Davies and the touch-less Jozy Altidore, but it is Bradley's fault that he kept trying to shoehorn those below par strikers into a 4-4-2 that he refused to stray from. It's not Bradley's fault that Jose Torres biffed his one audition, but it is his that he put Torres in positions - holding midfielder - that he's complete unequipped for. It wasn't Bradley's fault that Oguchi Onweyu blew out a knee and wasn't fit, though I suppose you could argue it was his fault that he was playing in a meaningless qualifier that he got injured in. Oh, and I guess we can look forward to more Sasha Fucking Klesjtan. Joy of joys.
The US Soccer Federation had a real chance to take a big leap here, to give a real manager four years to build a team and ethos to make some noise in Brazil. They've decided to keep giving us Coldplay when we had a chance to become Radiohead. I'm gonna go punch a wall.
14 comments | 1 recs |
Ten Thoughts From The Weekend
by SamFels on Aug 30, 2010 1:07 PM PDT
13 comments
-Should we just skip to making Robin Van Persie the new Bionic Man? It's clear he's never going to last as currently constructed, with this mortal ligaments and tissues and such. That said, good win for Arsenal against a manager and side that usually finds a way to bully them around. While I still find Theo Walcott to be a complete momo, if put through where his only option is to shoot, he's pretty good at finishing those off.
-There was a time when I and others thought Carlo Cudicini was a pretty good keeper. At least I could swear there was. Maybe I hallucinated that. I did my fair share of drugs in high school. It's not good when you have one shot to save all game and you merely wave as the ball goes by. Oh, and what's the point of Wigan if they don't sell half their home tickets and only bring 60+ supporters to an away game against a Top 4 team? If they don't care, why should I?
-Well, I got one right (stop the presses!). Blackpool and Fulham looked like quite the tasty affair.
-Frank Lampard doesn't appear to be able to get out of 3rd gear these days. Not that Chelsea could look better than they do, but it'll be interesting to see what they look like whenever Lampard has to go for his operation and Essien moves into that spot, or Ramires.
-I got West Ham relegated.
-What does Harry Redknapp want with Scott Parker when what he needs is an attacking midfielder besides Modric? What does Parker do that Huddlestone and Palacios don't?
-I bet if we gave Tevez that chance ten more times and told him to purposely miss it, he couldn't do it more than once or twice.
-Though they came away with three points, being on the rack by Everton for the entire 2nd half only puts Bob Bradley closer to the Villa job. Though I don't know that'll change anything.
-I like the signing of Raul Meireles, he was the only Portugese player who looked to have a pulse at the World Cup. But I wonder if this means that Roy Hodgson is already giving up on the Cole-through-the-middle experiment. It leaves Meireles, Lucas, and Poulsen all vying for the holding role next to Gerrard if Cole stays there, or two of them if Gerrard moves behind Torres. We shall see.
-Brief thought from Spain. Madrid have about 12 attacking midfielders. Ozil, Di Maria, Canales, Ronaldo, and Alonso isn't exactly defensive either. And yet the disaster of Marcelo is still the left back. Wouldn't Ashley Cole have been a better addition instead of adding to the riches in midfield with Ozil?
Simitar Thrown By A Watery Tart: Your EPL Weekend Preview
by SamFels on Aug 27, 2010 4:09 PM PDT
3 comments
Saturday, 7:45AM EST - Blackburn v. Arsenal (ESPN 2): Weekend kicks off with a pretty interesting clash. Arsenal never seem to fly straight against Allardyce teams, and Ewood Park hasn't always been a happy hunting ground for them. Arsenal's last away game saw them struggle pretty mightily with a 10 men Liverpool side, who as we all know are pretty middle of the road right now. They were able to blow away another ten man side in Blackpool, though that game was somewhat even until the sending off. Well, not even but Blackpool had a chance or two, and I expect what is at least an organized, if not spectacular, Blackburn side to make the Gunners work for it.
10AM EST - Spurs v. Wigan (FSC): Coming off their high after drubbing Young Boys (and all the connotations with that sentence), Spurs get back to the reality of the Premier League. And what a softer landing could it be than facing the overturned clown car that is Wigan at the moment? An early goal and Wigan probably chucks in the towel, with memories of conceding nine here last year flooding back. Roberto Martinez is a great TV analyst, but as a manager he's proving to be a....great TV analyst.
Blackpool v. Fulham: The first top flight game at Bloomfield Road, should be quite the occasion. It's hard to know what to make of Blackpool. They swept aside Wigan - and that and 2.25 gets you on a public bus. They created a chance or two at The Emirates before being reduced a man saw the roof cave in. Fulham should have gotten all three points against United, but they were abhorrent on the road last season, and the opening day's draw at Bolton doesn't speak to that getting any better yet. But both teams like to go for it, a more entertaining clash than you might think is on the cards.
Wolves v. Newcastle: With their first three points in hand, Newcastle can relax a bit. They head to a simply-there Wolves side, but these are the types of games that determine whether you merely survive or can progress in the league. Remains to be seen.
Chelsea v. Stoke (FSC +): I'll go out on a ledge here and say Chelsea won't get six. Maybe.
12:15pm EST - Man United v. West Ham: There was a time when West Ham strung together a couple results at Old Trafford. But it is not this time.
Sunday, 8:30am EST: Bolton v. Birmingham: Two sides much better at home than away, so Bolton probably take this. Or a mind numbing 0-0 draw, but probably not worth waking up for if you're not emotionally involved. Sleep it off a little more.
10AM EST - Liverpool v. WBA: Hmm, let's see. What looks to be a winnable league match after a thoroughly underwhelming European excursion. This is exactly the type of match Liverpool have fucked up royally in the past few years, save two years ago. We'll see if Hodgson is different than Rafa, and Gerrard's and Torres's return to the lineup should help. They couldn't be any worse than they were in Turkey, that's for sure. If they are, shoot me in the face.
Sunderland v. Man City
Sunderland haven't had the best of starts, blowing a two goal lead on the opening day (though down a man), and then losing pretty weakly at West Brom. While that score was only 1-0, Sunderland didn't create much. They'll have to here. Man City were pushed all over by Spurs, and then did the same to Liverpool at home. So who knows what to make of them. The Stadium of Light can be a tricky trip, and if Sunderland start well Man City might revert to I-barely-know-this-guy form. Or Adam Johnson will eat souls again. Could be either.
11am EST - Villa v. Everton (FSC): Villa are another schizo, having destroyed West Ham (though who knows how hard that is right now) and then getting bent over the prison urinal at St. James Park. They crashed out of Europe on Thursday, and the honeymoon for interim manager Kevin MacDonald is already over. The pressure of playing for a manager auditioning for his job could prove to be too much, as there's no such problems with Everton. The Blues grabbed a point at home Wolves, though probably would have wanted more, after losing at Ewood Park. Still, clearly Villa are a jittery side, could make for interesting watching.
On You Spurs
by SamFels on Aug 25, 2010 8:36 PM PDT
6 comments
It was hard to remember this afternoon that there was a good half an hour last week when we thought we'd be laughing about Tottenham's attempt at the Champions League last week. But since Bassong scored at the end of the first half in Bern, there was only one team in this tie. Well, except for those two hilarious misses by Young Boys' Christian Scheuanlnalkgnlkjdgy or whatever his name was. That would have made today a little more interesting.
I usually deride Tom Huddlestone's contributions. He barely seems to move, I rarely notice him, and some of his passing can be woeful. But it also can be wonderful, and since he came on in the first half in the first leg, Spurs were a completely different side. So I've got another thing wrong there. Spurs are really solid at basically every position -- save possibly up front -- and if they can keep Michael Dawson and Ledley King in one piece (or Williams Gallas's mouth shut), they have an excellent chance of getting out of their group, depending on not getting a nightmare draw.
I still wonder about goal scoring. After all, Jermain Defoe won't always be able to fair catch a through ball to set himself up to finish (and he's going on the shelf anyway). Peter Crouch eventually will see a defender that will consider contesting a header with him, but he'll always provide a contribution. Roman Pavlyuchenko is either a force or abject awful, and there seems to be no in between ground. Do Spurs have enough goals in them?
They might if Gareth Bale continues his Jesus act, and Aaron Lennon is reigning down the right and actually providing a final product. Palacios and Huddlestone are a little one paced, but are a fine shield. Might Harry just go with Modric in front of them behind Crouch? It would certainly be a departure. You also have to compliment Redknapp's work with Benoit Assou-Ekotu, who couldn't find his ass with a road map and a flashlight with Cameroon this summer but is a fine left back who actually covers in his own end at Spurs.
Still teams taking their first crack at the group stages tend to struggle. But they'll be fun to watch.
That Last One Was Werder
by SamFels on Aug 24, 2010 3:52 PM PDT
2 comments
-Surprisingly cracking match today between Sampdoria and Werder Bremen. This is the wonderful thing about being a footy fan, is there are so many chances just to accidentally stumble upon a game you weren't even planning on watching and be endlessly entertained (and not having a real job or adult schedule also helps). Wide open, great goals, some meaty challenges, and tons on the line. For Bremen, Marko Marin had an absolute cracker of a match, finally setting up Pizzaro's winner in extra time. Rosenberg's strike in injury time was pure class, this team could scare a few in the group stages. Would have been easier if they still had Mesut Ozil, but such is the way of the world.
For Samp, I find Antonio Cassano infinitely fascinating. There's no question he's always been disgustingly talented, but good God could he let his mouth fuck up anything. I remember him being the only Italian at Euro 2004 to apparently give a shit, but he couldn't drag them out of the group single handedly. Now he seems to have grown up slightly and just gone about the game, and he's the joy you may remember briefly seeing at Bari or Roma, when he even used to play Francesco Totti off the park. Shame he won't get to strut his stuff on the biggest of stages.
Does any Sampdoria fan wear a shirt? Is that a law or something?
-The Champions League qualifiers have featured the new ref set up, with extra officials placed behind the goal lines. I don't see how extra eyes can hurt I guess, but I don't know if they solve the right problem. To me, it wasn't that refs were missing anything, they just lacked the nerve to call penalties or balls over the line. I can't recall a significant miss of a call where the ref was unsighted. Barcelona's handball against Chelsea two seasons ago was seen, just not called. If it's still the same men with the same nerve manning these new positions, then we'll have the same problems. This isn't hockey where too much was going on behind the play for the ref to see. I would bet this causes more controversy than it solves before it's all said an done.
Ten Thoughts From The Weekend
by SamFels on Aug 23, 2010 3:49 PM PDT
5 comments
-Chelsea are on pace to score 228 goals. While both Wigan and WBA pretty much threw in the towel after going down two, some of Chelsea's displays have been utterly coma-curing. Florent Malouda picked up right where he left off last season, and with Anelka and Drogba provided a trident up top that no one's going to match. Essien being back in the engine room makes a huge difference, and Ramires hasn't even shown up yet. Despite being an utter tool who only wears pants at training and games apparently, Ashley Cole is still unmatched at his job. There's always a team that starts the season gang busters and eventually falters, but I don't know that Chelsea is it.
-While everyone rushes to praise Paul Scholes -- and don't get me wrong, he has been and is a legend -- to me at this point in his career he's basically a bum slayer. After his goal - a peach, by the way - Scholes was hustled out of the match by Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu. Last season, whenever Man U came up against a team with a quality central midfield, Scholes was outdone. Etuhu could have had a brace if he didn't have the touch and awareness of a rapist. Lucas once outplayed Scholes. Against the lesser lights, he'll dominate a match. Against equals? Not so much. Man U didn't look lively at all until Nani's and Giggs' introduction. Still a problem of what to do when Rooney is not around. And Johnny Evans is a clown car.
-Gary Taylor-Fletcher might be my new favorite player. He looks like the dude who tried to fight you at closing time at the bar last night, and then he washes up on a Premier League pitch. He's bald, and fat, and ugly, and he's playing top flight footy. I love it.
-That West Ham pick is looking like genius. I've done it again.
-So's that Jermaine Beckford one. Any day now, I'll get one right.
-Spurs passed the first test that usually befalls most debut entrants in the Champions League. At a tough ground to get anything from, after a European tie, with half the team resting aching bones from a plastic pitch, they found a way to win. And that way is Gareth Bale's face. So that works.
-So much for keeping the Aston Villa job full time there MacDonald. Though I don't know how much better things will get if Bob Bradley gets the job.
-Is Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, and Allan Smith the angriest midfield ever?
-I find Eddie Johnson's comments about their being a bias in England against Americans. No, Eddie, there's a bias against players who can't even tie their shoes.
-And finally, to this afternoon's "match". There are so many reasons I could complain about Liverpool here, there's no way I'll get them all. But today was a prime example of why not even considering Alberto Aquilani defies explanation. With Joe Cole suspended, Roy Hodgson faced the dilemma of leaving a gap in whichever position - either behind the striker or in midfield - he didn't put Steven Gerrard. With him partnering Lucas, there was no creativity just outside the box, or where Aquilani would have been or Gerrard would have with Aquilani behind him. Liverpool were out of ideas by about the fifth minute. If you play a drinking game where you take a shot every time Lucas completes a pass, I guarantee you can still drive home.
Secondly, when in a 4-4-2, Dirk Kuyt can't be a winger. It barely works when he's behind a lone striker and his runs into the box are in support. But when you generally need a winger, Kuyt comes up woefully short (on the other side, Jovanovic is looking like it's Serbian for "Dirk Kuyt"). Kuyt has no pace or touch, and his crossing ability is on par with a toddler on quaaludes. He's Ji-Sung Park without speed or skill, but with a slightly better nose for goal. Which doesn't help much when there are already two strikers taking up the positions he's trying to get to. With Cole out, maybe Hodgson's options were limited, but Danny Pacheco was eating souls at this summer's U-19's tournament, surely he's earned a punt at this point?
Oh, and Martin Skrtel apparently has come down with lupus or something, because he's been awful for a full year now.
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