I should drop of graduate school

So I can write about soccer full time. Since I started this program, my focus has been shifted from the beautiful game to the ugly world of international terrorism and crime and all those yucky things. Once good ideas has come from this though, I am currently enrolled in a law enforcement intel class and the training I get from it could possibly land me a job working for the MET in London. It would be ground zero for my doctorate research.

So, as far as English football is concerned, most things are the same. One of the top four teams that normally lead the Prem are leading the Prem in the form of Arsenal. England has failed to qualify for a big competition, what else is new? The FA has fired yet another coach for the national team. But, the interesting thing is who could be filling the role of gaffer for the country that spawned the damn sport.

The Special One. Jose Mourinho. That's right, the manager who loves the English game is considering making a return to the game he loves oh so much. Now, there are a few issues that come out of this. First, Jose is playing a nice little cat and mouse game with the FA boys. He has went from not wanting to coach in England for a year, to wanting to coach the national team, and now he it is rumored that he has withdrawn his interest because he wants to coach a club in Europe. I can't speculate who would want to bring Jose on as the manager. With his attitude, he would probably try and outshine the players. So that would mean no top flight clubs. So, Jose is indecisive, how does this effect the situation? England is looking for a gaffer that can come in and get things on the ball. World Cup qualifiers will start soon and you very well can't march onto the pitch without someone to tell Wayne Rooney to shoot from outside the box or tell John Terry to press up on the strikers.

Speaking of the skipper for England, Terry brings up another issue in this. JT has went on record saying that he wants Jose to captain the national team. This is obviously a reaction to Jose leaving the Bridge a few months ago. This would cause conflict among the team. I think Mourinho would play favorites and who better to be his favorite than his old squads skipper?

Do I like the Special One. Hell yeah I do. I think he is a great manager but England needs something different. When Mourinho arrived at the Bridge, like most top flight managers, he had a group of stellar players. That's not to say that the England national squad isn't amazing, they lack the cohesion that Jose would be use to working with. I think the social pressure would hurt the team as well. Jose, being the manager he is, would be expected to rework English football in a few weeks. Fergie couldn't do that himself and he is perhaps one of the greatest gaffers to have coached.

When it comes down to it, I think Martin O'Neil could be a great manager. He plays a style close to what the English would play having come from Ireland. He is also a more low profile individual and wouldn't carry the level of press that Jose would. England is in need of a special one but I don't think it's Jose this time around.

No Replay Platini

(dailymail.co.uk)




The video review is a part of American football culture that most fans and coaches couldn't live without. I remember watching games with my family growing up on Thanksgiving or Christmas and flipping out at the challenge flag being thrown and flipping out more when a play was overturn. But what would this do for soccer?

According to UEFA President Michael Platini, it will slow the pace of the game down because coaches will be going to it every five seconds. I think some coaches would do this. Rafael Benitiez for one. Platini is supportive of the extra referee's for the eighteen yard box. This is a move that will be tested by FIFA at the club world cup in Japan this year.

One of the main differences between American football and world footie is the pace of the game. Footie moves at a faster pace than American football and if you have to stop every two minutes because of something like an offside, then it will loose that quickness that gets the game over in two hours. I think that Platini is overreacting. If you set up guidelines as to when a coach can challenge and if you enforce it, then you will get matters that can be contested. I agree, however, that there should be an extra referee outside the eighteen yard box. I also think there should be an extra on field referee. This gives you six eyes in each half of the pitch to keep an eye on things. When a call comes under contention, you could have all three refs confer with each other and go from there. Then and only if the on field ref thinks it needs to be reviewed, then you could send it up to the box.

The truth of the matter is that most calls are easily waved off in soccer, because the players are use to playing like that. An offside call might be contested but it is easily waved off and if you quickly hush up the problem players who would complain, then a replay system could work.

THIS IS SCOTLAND!!

(celticattic.com)



It's rainy, cold, and downright perfect football weather here in Erie today and the sight out my bedroom window reminds me of where my ancestors come from, Scotland. Everything seems to be going on with Scotland these days. The Tartan Army is sitting atop of their group in the Euro 08 standings. Then there is Rangers and Celtic who are top of their groups in the Champions League. And you have Aberdeen atop its group in the UEFA cup. I am personally an Aberdeen fan, so that makes me smile.

It seems that the Scottish sides have found their boots in the past year. The Scottish National team are on top, no not number two, in their group. And what's so crackin' about that mate, you might ask? They are leading Italy. Yes, Italy, the team that apparently everyone in America became a fan of after the World Cup. I have never seen more people eating at Olive Garden wearing Italia kits and World Cup shirts. They only lead Italy by a game going into this weekends fixtures, but I think that the Tartan's can really up their tally against the Ukraine at the weekend. Italy has Georgia at the weekend but France has the Faroe Islands, who are in the negative with the goal differential, could end up taking the number two spot. Good job and good luck to the National team.

In the Champions League, you have two of the best Scottish teams at the top of the tables. If I remember correctly, Celtic were in the group stages last year but they went out before the semi-finals. Two great things that have come out of this: Celtic has beat A.C. Milan and Rangers are so close to bumping Barca off for the top spot in their group. Celtic have dodged a bullet better than Neo. UEFA announced that the only penalty against the club that took down the Kings of Europe would be a 25,000 pound fine. It certainly could have been a lot worse than that. Closed stadiums, and points taken off are some things that come to mind. This psychologically helps Celtic. It also will give their fans a nice boost after the "attack" on Dida in last weeks match. Rangers are the other beautiful story in the Champions League/Scottish setting right now. All they have to do is have a decent game that ends in a draw and pray that Barca gets scored on and they will be the top team in their group. Do I think it will work out like that? Not really. The other two teams in their group, Lyon and Stuttgart, are not showing well against the Scots and Spaniards at present. And lastly, you have Aberdeen, a team that is currently eight in the SPL, sitting atop of Group B in the UEFA cup standings. What else could go right for Scotland at the moment?

Here is the problems with it, and there aren't many. Outside fan support is the biggest thing that comes to mind. How many of you know someone that is a Brazil fan or an England fan or an Italian fan? Many of you know tons of these people. Now how many Scottish fans do you know? I have to admit, I am an Argentina fan myself, and it isn't because of Maradonna or Messi. If Scotland advances to the next round of Euro 08 and continues to advance up until the finals, their fan base will probably grow. It's like the Patriots here in America. They won the Superbowl and I'll be damned if everyone didn't become a Patriots fan. People will flock to Scotland to see the team play or if they did a US tour, stadiums would be full, probably because they would play the Galaxy. But, if they turn around and do poorly for the 2010 cup, they could face a blackout of another four years until Euro 12 rolls around. I think this goes for Rangers and Celtic as well. It might improve their face value as a whole globally but it will do so for as long as they win. They can't hold the prestige that a Man U or A.C. Milan hold right now because while some people know these teams, most could care less about them. Except my friend Josh, who is a Celtic supporter.

People are wearing a purple heart for Scotland right now, because they are winning but unless they do this on a consistent basis, I think this will be short lived and that hurts to say. What many don't know is that back when the first internationals were being played, Scotland use to whip England's ass at first, but eventually England got better and they became one of the greatest teams in the world. This left Scotland in the dark, just like they will be left again, I'm afraid.

New Champs Leauge Ads

(adverblog.com)


Very smooth indeed. That's what my first football match was like. But this post isn't about my first football match. Heineken's ads for the Champions League seem to get better and better with the years and this years are shaping up to be quite good as well. The portable keg on the skateboard was by far the best.

Speaking of Champions league, and I know my last post was about the Champs but this is a different subject. Liverpool lost to Marseille. And if Niang could have slowed himself up a few times, it would have been more than a 1-0 loss for the Anfield boys. Gerrard and Riise must have escorted the boys out to the pub on the evening before the match. I have seen MLS teams that play with more fire than the team from the north and it will be interesting to see if they make it out of the group stages. I am sitting here listening to the podcast of World Soccer Daily(I highly recommend that if you have an ipod or itunes that you check out World Soccer Daily, or stream the show live) and they are discussing the possible situation of both the winner and runner up of last years competition both going out in the group stages. This would make for an interesting round of 16.

I don't know what's going on with Milan, except that their goalkeeper should have been on the Brazil National Diving team. Liverpool though, the problem rests with the gaffer. Benitez switches his lineup more time than George Best changed women. There is no cohesion within the ranks of one of the top clubs in Europe. I disagree with the boys at WSD. I think Liverpool will leave the group stages but I doubt they will end up having tea with Putin in Moscow come May.

I love people who say "soccer is such a pansy sport"

(bbc)


These people weren't tuned into the Celtic/A.C. Milan match on the evening. Celtic has one of the liveliest stadiums in the whole of Europe. And last evenings match against the current club champions of Europe, A.C. Milan, was no different. Well.. there was a difference. The violence that happens at the park is usually limited to Celtic/Rangers matches. This was a bit different. Celtic scored the go-ahead goal with little time remaining in the match and a Celtic fan ran from the bleachers and whacked the Brazilian International keeper for Milan, Dida, in the back of the head.

Personally, I think it's quite amusing. Dida chased after the guy and then fell down and had to be carried off on a stretcher. I wish I would have been there. Now don't get me wrong, I love Milan and Dida is a great keeper. But chasing after the guy? Let the cops do it. That's why they are there.

Apart from it being a stunning ending to a great game for the Glasgow boys, this could spell disaster for them. They are currently ahead of A.C. by goal differential in their group. However, UEFA is in the process of investigating the incident and they will make their decision when the match report from the referee is handed in.

How can this spell disaster for the parties involved? Parties, you ask. Yes, I mean parties. Dida will be reviewed as well. If it is found that he faked his injury, he could face fines and possibly a suspension from the remainder of the group stages. I must add that I am strictly speculating on the actions against Dida. What I am not speculating on is the actions that can be taken against Celtic. They could have the three points that they earned honestly, revoked if disciplinary board sees fit.

That's simply not far to the team. Celtic played a hard game and won against the European Champions fairly. The supporter who charged the pitch, a 27 year old male, has been banned from both domestic and international fixtures that Celtic may play. Even the coaching staff at Milan are going easy about it. They have went on record as saying that they don't see a need for a change to the result.

Hooiganism happens in football, all of us fans know that. UEFA really can't impose sanctions on a club because a fan got past Glasgow cops. And if Milan are fine with it, then it shouldn't even be handed over to a prosecutor for the organization. If anyone should press charges, it should be Dida, assuming he is out of the hospital before the statute of limitations is up. Don't punish the club because someone can't grow up. That goes for both the fan and you too, Mr. Dida.

Will Russia Control the Guns

(news.bbc.co.uk)


Ah such a beautiful site. The new Arsenal stadium that the Gunners now call home has helped the North London team in its finacial short falls. This is interesting to note because of the recent moves of the Russian metal magnate Alisher Usmanov.

Usmanov, who bought into the club ownership back in August, had said that he was not interested into actually buying the club, seems to have changed his tune in the past few weeks. He originally bought into the club at a 14% stake but his ownership has jumped to 23% and he is intent on buying more into the club.

The rest of the board is not so keen on this though. Danny Fizman, who owns the second largest stake at 24%, has formed a bit of a pact with the other members of the board. Together they comprise more than 50% of the ownership. This knocks out Usmanov from owning the club at present.

That's what's going on. So what? Well, the thing is that Arsenal would add to the growing number of foreign owners of English teams. Chelsea, for example, is owned by a Russian, Manchester United is owned by an American, and Liverpool is owned by a pair of Americans.

How does this effect English football? English football is a complex system that many people outside the UK can barely understand. We don't have four different competitions a year for all the teams in the NFL. It would be too brutal. I haven't examined the Thai football world or the Russian football world but I doubt they have anything as extensive as the English system. I think it would be hard for managers from outside of the British Isles to manage a team effectively.

We have already seen an example of this with Chelsea. Roman Abromavich, the owner of Chelsea, continueosly fought with recently departed manager, Jose Mourinho, over his inability to win the coveted Champions League. This could be a reoccuring theme in the coming years, especially if Arsenal continue to do well. If Usmanov buys the Gunners outright in 2008, when is reportedly the earliest that he could buy all the shares in the club, how will he react if they only win one cup a year? That is the big issue with foreign owners of clubs that will unfold more as this matter progresses.

Where have you gone, Jose Mourinho? The Blues turn their lonely eyes to you

(www.soccerblog.com)


If it wasn't bad enough that graduate school classes are starting to pick up, now, Jose leaves the Bridge. Oh and lets go ahead and toss in the fact that the US Women's team lost in the semi-finals to Brazil. Needless to say, the last two weeks have been quite the adventure. To make matters better, my girlfriend doesn't understand my passion for footie. Horses are here anti-drug, soccer is mine.

In the intel business, we ask ourselves three questions usually: what's going on, so what, and what are the implications. Jose Mourinho has left Chelsea. That's what's going on. This is a realy big move within the ranks of Premiership coaches. Arsen, Fergie, and Rafael will have much easier seasons this year because of Jose departing. Chelsea has shuffled the rank and file of the club and brought up Avram Grant, the former Israeli national team coach and the director of football at the club, up to the post of skipper. Premiership coaches are calling for an investigation into Grant who does not have the appropriate coaching license for the league. Needless to say, this hasn't been the best fortnight for the Blues.

So, what are the implications of this? It seems that Roman Abromavich, the clubs owner, has started to help pick the lineups until Avram gets the swing of things. There is also a movement in the ranks of the players to quit the club. Players like Drogba, Lampard, and Essien, who are all loyal to 'the special one," are talking of leaving. This could leave the club in a right ugly place by the end of the season. Personally, I don't see Chelsea being in the top four by the end of the season. That truly breaks my heart. But I look for Chelsea to go out of contention by January. I think they won't make it past the group stages in the Champions League. And to despite the fact that they won their Carling Cup match on Wednesday, they will not go far.

On Tap: The English Premier League

(springfieldbrewingco.com


So, how long is long enough between an international fixture and a domestic one. Not long enough according to Liverpool skipper, Rafael Benitez. ESPN is reporting that Benitez is calling for an overhaul on the way the fixture system is arranged in England in respect to domestic and international duties.

Most players get back to England on Thursdays and you can work them a bit that evening and then a little light training on Saturday but apart from that, it's go time. It's easy to understand the Spaniards argument, but that's what you get for having a team full of superstars.These guys are going to get called for international duty and it's your job as a manager to develop a team that can work around the shortcomings of a tired first team.

I see two outcomes here. The first is a fairly simple one. You have a reserve team for a reason. Use them. That's what you are paying them for, not to kick around with the first team on practice days. You never know, you might find the next Drogba or Rooney in your B squad. That's the purpose of scouting and the youth academies. If you are only going to use them when someone on the team gets hurt, you might as well not staff an eleven man reserve.

The second option, and the more drastic of the two, is to tell the players to hush. They knew what they were signing on for when they accepted a role in the Premiership and when they accepted a role on their national team. It wasn't going to be easy. And I am sure that most of these players aren't having to deal with this on a regular basis. There is a reason why qualifiers and group stages are spread out the way they are. To follow Benitez's logic, we should space out the Champions league qualifiers as well.

When it comes down to it, footie is one of the most endurance based sports in the world. Running around for ninety minutes straight can't be a fun thing but if they players aren't complaining, then the skippers should hush. It isn't their fault that the internationals and major competitions get scheduled the way they do. So, Beitez's claim is pretty much groundless.


Making other news in the Premiership, things are not looking good for Roy Keane and Sunderland. The former Manchester United star is facing more problems with his club that is sitting in the seventeenth place in the table right now. Keane has reported that apart from his team captain, he has lost two key wingers; one to a back fracture and the other to a knee injury.

It's hard to imagine how a team will come back from a blow like this. Keane's side is nearly decimated and it's likely that a relegation will come for Sunderland, who won the Championship title this past year.

Euro 08 news and reviews

(bbc.co.uk)


So, England made a liar out of me. Israel went down to an injury stricken England team. It will be interesting to see if England will stay in the number two spot in their group or if they will loose to Russia on Wednesday. Steve McClaren, the skipper for England, will have an interesting time at Wembley against a rather strong Russian side. There is also fruitless speculation that England will be playing against a Russian side that may be in line to receive an added bonus if they pull a win against the mighty lions. The BBC website has reported, and it doesn't give its source, that Chelsea have released a statement on a rumor that its owner, the Russian oil magnate, Roman Abramovich has offered the members of the Russian team each a cash reward if they win at Wembley.

Chelsea have went on record saying that while Abramovich supports grass roots football back in Russia, that the back room deals that make the Russian business world what it is have no place in the football world.

Can we believe this? Abramovich is a big name in Russia. He owns one of the largest yachts in the world, according to VH-1, so in theory, he could afford to pay off the players if they win. I think the money would be better spent to pay off Chelsea skipper, Jose Muriniho, who has been on rocky terms with his boss since loosing the Premiership to Manchester United this past season. It would be a nice bit of hush money to get the "special one" to quiet down about the squad not being at peak strength and how the teams in the lower positions on the table will challenge Chelsea this season.

So, my call for the game, I look for Russia and England to have a close match, depending on who the starting elevens are but, I don't, however, look for England to make it past qualifying. I do look for McClaren to go the way of Man City skipper, Erikson. That's all for my take on the current standing of Euro 08. Happy footie all.

Getting my boots back.

Yesterday was the first time I have actually pulled on my boots and played since June 2nd, the day I broke my leg. It has been three months since I have felt a ball on my foot and the sensation of flicking the ball over my head, turning around to settle it and taking off with it. My touch is gone. It must have left when it heard that I was going to have a two month lay off. I suppose I should send it a email and tell it to get it's ass back here. Oh yeah, bring the touch for my left foot too.

It's beautiful footie weather here today in Erie. It's about 90 degrees with low humidity and a strong wind of about 20mph. The wind alone made it fun today. I chased the ball around so damn much and then came the scoop that put the ball on the parking lot about the basketball court where I play. I grab my bag and hobble my ass up there to grab my ball and find it lodged under a car. I lay down, in my white team USA heat shirt, and dig the ball out from under the car. It brought a smile to my face like no other. I haven't had to do anything like that for so long. I guess it truly is the little things that make us happy.

I have some of the guys in the program ready and willing to start pickup games here. And I started a group on facebook for all the soccer players in the college. I doubt I'll play in a league this year but pick up games are better than nothing. I hope everyone has a happy footie Friday and remember two things: make the ball happy and joga bonito.

England v. Israel

With qualifying for Euro 08 heating up, and the morale of the English team dwindling, one has to wonder how England will approach their qualifier against Israel this weekend. In the early goings, I think Israel will win this. They simply have a fitter squad than England. Steven Gerrard has been cleared to play on Saturday but the BBC isn't reporting if he will be taking a shot to alleviate the pain in his broken toe. Apart from that, England's normal starting eleven is now England's missing eleven. Crouch, Rooney, Lampard are all ruled out for this weekend and Owen Hargraves will undergo a medical on Saturday to see if his injured thigh will keep him out of play.

With the struggle to reassign players and call up others, it will be interesting to see how England Boss Steve McClaren handles the pressure not only from this game but the next qualifier against Russia. Most of his team look to be sidelined for that match as well. We should also pay special attention to Paul Robinson. The English keeper, who flailed around in net against Germany in August, will be starting Saturday against would be the collective conscious of the fans and perhaps the FA.

For a country that invented the sport, England has sure seen some rough times in recent years and I don't see them making it past the group stages for Euro 08 and I think Mr. McClaren should start shoping for a home in America, where we won't notice him because his name isn't Beckham.

Breaking the hearts of Americas daughters once again

(delivery.viewimages.com)


With the Women's World Cup about to kick off, young girls around America are probably figuring out how they are going to fit watching the games in with their school schedules and sleep schedules. For all the bad press that the men's national team gets, the women's team gets nothing but positive. And for the young girls watching at the odd times of day when the games will be on, this is probably their dream. To play professional womens soccer.

See, the thing is, we tried to have a professional women's league after the last WWC, but it kinda fell apart after three years. Now, the associated press is reporting that a seven team league will be put into play after the 2008 summer games in China. Why wait until 2009? Because, the founders of the league think that if they started earlier than that, that it would take focus off the cup and the Olympics.

I disagree with that. I think the waiting has to do with the fact that there might not be a league in two years. I think the protracted start date is a safety net that gives the investors enough time to pull out if the deal starts to go under. Hopefully though, with seven teams slated to start, more of Americas daughters will get the chance to earn their boots and the play at the advanced level will develop a good crop of talent for when the older members of the national team start to retire.

Football and football

Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, said after his teams loss to Aston Villa on the weekend that he expects a more open race for the Premiership trophy this year. He told BBC that the teams that occupy a the few rungs under the top four spots, have spent more money to acquire better players and will give the top four teams a run for their money. I think "the special one" is getting a bit of himself. It is almost a month into the season and May is far away.

Mourinho's words remind me of another sport that is dear to my heart. College football. College football kicked off this past weekend and we have seen, what would the be equivalent of a Football Championship league team knock off say, Liverpool or Manchester United. The college football system here in America is designed in such a way that you play the smaller teams in your normal schedule but you run the risk, no matter how small, of loosing to them. I don't think that risk is as great in the EPL.

I think the issue in these early weeks has been injuries. Manchester United lost Rooney one game into the season. Frank Lampard has been ruled out for international duty so, one can assume he might not be kiting up for Jose anytime soon. Chelsea are also at a loss due to the absence of Ballack who might not be back until October because of an ankle issue. Liverpool has it's on issues to deal with. The Anfield boys are struggling with the injury to Steven Gerrard, who has a broken toe. The only top four team that seems to be in form is Arsenal.

I don't normally disagree with "the special one," but I am going to have to here. Sure, the smaller clubs went out and bought great players during the transfer window but the big sides are having to deal with losses among their squads. I don't think it's that the teams have better players now, it's that the normal Premiership manager doesn't plan for things like this. They dump half their transfer budget to get one good international that will drive the fans wild until his breaks something. Then, the manager spends the rest of the season rebuilding the house that was built on a foundation of one instead of a foundation of 25.

Champions League draws announced

(arsedup.com)


It's nearly September and that means one thing: the Uefa Champions League is heading into group play. After the qualifying rounds drew some familiar and favorite faces(Liverpool & Arsenal), Europe's premier cup competition will begin it's group play later in the month. For a full listing of the tables you can zoom over to the BBC's sport section and look under the football tab and from there look for the Europe tab on the left side bar.

Looking at the group stages, there are some familiar battles from last year. Manchester United and Roma who met in the round of 16 and whom Fergie's lads destroyed in the home leg, will meet in the group stages. I look for these two teams to be the top of their group, honestly. The only thing that could hurt United is the loss of Rooney. Hell, the loss of Rooney is impacting the whole of English ball as well.

We will also see a rematch of Chelsea and Valencia. Chelsea barely scraped past the Spanish team last year and I remember sitting there watching the match with my friends, trying to put off going to work as late as I could. Just like Uniteds group, I take Chelsea and Valencia to get past the group stages.

As far as the other groups go, I have to take the elusive Liverpool from group A. This is a team that can't win the Premiership, but they can win against the rest of Europe. The FA should talk to the British government and see if they can extend dual citizenship to the players on Liverpool that aren't from Great Britain. Then they can field Liverpool's starting 11 as the national team. Also in Liverpool's group, I have to take Marseille over Porto. Marseille is a wonderful team with a good record in French football but I think they have a little more gusto than Porto does. And to add to Porto's folly, Chelsea are trying to wrangle one of their best players away, Quersma.

For group C, I am taking Real Madrid and Werder Bremen. These are both teams that know what they are doing when it comes to European football and they should breeze past their competition.

Group D has one obvious prospect and two circumspect prospects. AC Milan will lead the group. And as a runner up I am saying Celtic. The Scottish side is always a joy to watch and I think that they will give the group a run for the money. The other "upset" roles that might come out would be Benfica but I don't see that happening.

Group E is the group of death. You have Barcelona, Lyon, Rangers, and Stuttgart. These are all wonderfully composed teams. Lyon and Stuttgart won their respective leagues last year and Barcelona was a runner up. Despite loosing Eto'o for two months, I still think that Barcelona will be the first team safely clear of the group. Then comes the fight for the other position. I have to put my money with Stuttgart. German football is more aggressive than French football and while the intensity of Champions league games does not get turned up until later in the competition, by that time Stuttgart will have knocked Rangers and Lyon out of the running.

Groups G and H are the two groups that I think no one will pay much attention to. Your top draws are Inter and Arsenal, respectively. I think they will both emerge from the group stages but as for the second teams in the groups, I've got nothing.

By looking at the groups as we have them now, it is going to shape up to be another cracking year for the Champions League. I think the group stages will see more knockouts of bigger clubs this time around as opposed to last year, where there were still formidable clubs up until the semi finals. As far as picking a winner, it's too early on. However, I think if Chelsea can get it's players fit and not end up drawing Liverpool again this year, I think Chelsea could get to the final and probably face AC Milan or perhaps Liverpool. I do think AC or Liverpool will be in the final and who knows we might have a repeat of Istanbul and Greece, all over again. Good luck to all the teams. And to the fans, don't be upset if your team goes out in the group stages. It takes a great commitment to get to the Champions league. The winner wouldn't be referred to as the Kings of Europe if it wasn't so prestigious. Once again, good luck to all and go Chelsea.

On Tap: The English Premier League

Last week was pretty uneventful. Manchester United fell into relegation status and Man City went to the top of the league. Oh, how do things change in the Premiership? A week later: Man City lost to Arsenal, United finally won, oh and Chelsea is leading the Prem by a point. This puts Man City fast on the heel of Chelsea and Man U out of relegation status. Oh and might we add, England lost a friendly.

BBC is reporting that Arsenal will be keeping Arsene Wenger around for a few more seasons. Managerial transitions have been the highlight of the off season and indeed the start of the new season it would seem. You can argue the Berbatov trade issue has been important, but what about his boss at Tottenham, Martin Jol? Since the opening gates were thrown open a few weeks ago, Jol has been a constant image. There is talk of him being fired but it seems that now, it isn't going to happen.'

Then there is the Arsene Wenger talk. I can remember back before school let out for the summer that there was talk that Wenger might be looking to manage a different gun with the fall rolled around, but it seems that those reports were un-warranted.

And perhaps the most publicized manager dispute has been that of Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho. He has been at odds with Chelsea's owner, the Russian oil magnate, Roman Abromovich for some time and most were sure that the Special One would be leaving Stamford Bridge this fall but once again, a manager prevails.

With all the stories that float around websites about players, it's amazing that we know the teams have managers. For ever one story about Jol, there are ten about Berbatov. It seem that the job of being a Premiership boss is a rather thankless one that I would never want. I rather play the beautiful game then see the ugliness that it can produce.

I saw so many footie pitches today.

As I flew across the middle of our amazing footieless country today, I was amazed to see how many pitches there were between Nashville and Erie. I must have counted ten on my flight into PA. This comes at a time where it seems that soccer is once again taking off in America. I don't think America has been this excited about soccer since Pele moved to the Cosmos back before I was thought of being born. I don't think the Womens National team got as much press after winning the World Cup. We knew who Mia Hamm and that she ran around a field, ripping her shirt off and spinning it above her head but we didn't know why.

However, and a lot of people will disagree with me, but I think soccer just might be falling into its prime here in America. With the creation of the David Beckham soccer academy in L.A and the continuing of the soccer mom culture, more youth are being inspired to not hang up their boots when they reach middle school. They see the star life that can come from being a soccer player. Players like Josey Altidore of the Red Bulls will be the next Beckham, leading the young footballers of America to grow pitches across this land at the rate that NFL stadiums went up at. I am not a big fan of Dicks Sporting Goods but their MLS ads talk about a rebirth of soccer in American and they just might be right. Let us nurture this growing child and truly make the beautiful game an American tradion.

Memories

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As fall rolls around and I think back to the start of last school year, I remember training for what would be an amazing journey into the land of Footie. I bought my first pair of gloves last summer and started with goal kicks and drop kicks. I started not being able to target a shot and after this past year I can now punt the ball around sixty yards with a nice high arch. I had my mother tossing and kicking balls at me to get my hands going. I became damn near cocky when the ball came at me but then I got back to school.

My friend Josh, who played in high school, decided to test me a bit and see how much I had learned over the summer. He got nearly every shot past me out on that wet grass in front of the dorm. He failed to mention, and I failed to realize that penalty shots are a hell of a lot harder to save than anything else. That's what he started me on was penalty kicks. When he moved about ten more yards out, it got a bit easier. I think my save percentage went up a little. I can save high crosses into the box and I can save well with my feet but I be damned if I can save Josh's kicks. My friend Shibley, that's a different story. He has his boots but no leg power to follow through with the finish. I stopped a lot of shots off of him.

I think one of my greatest saves so far was one off of Josh. Shib had played a through ball to him and Josh was coming in on me. I made my decision to come out for it and I dived at his feet to take it off of him. He got me back though when he went for a free kick outside the area. He had pace and power on it and it damn near broke my finger, or so it felt.

So, as I start a new semester without my friends, I wonder who I will have to play footie with. I am going to try and recruit my RA and some of the kids in my program. Hell I might even try out for the schools team next year once I get my touch and skill back. Happy footie to all and good luck with school ya'll.

Shibley and the Spaniards

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I can remember the day that I bought FIFA 07 for my PS2. It was cold as hell and it was snowing. This is signiificant because it hardly ever snows in Tennessee. The last two months of the semester were spent being Rooney and Drogba from about 11 p.m. until 2 in the morning. Loves for new teams formed and even someone who rather discuss why the cutback route is more effective than post-cross pass found his league. I am referring to my friend Michael Shibley. Shib is a die hard college football fan who has a soft spot for the beautiful game. He also seems to have a soft spot for the trio from Barcelona. He told me that he was considering ordering an Eto'o kit and that sealed him as being the Barcelona fan among my footie supporting buddies. It was nice to have a bit of diversity when we watched the Champs League matches. Me and Josh were both EPL fans. I support Chelsea and Josh, well.. Josh supports a group of players called Manchester United. I must say, I don't know they are really. We had a Liverpool fan on our floor as well, who rubbed their victory into my face after Chelsea lost to them in the semi's. Then, two doors down from me, was a Newcastle supporter. So, Shib was the odd voice in the choir of footie supporters that I knew but it was nice to have that change around. So, Mr. Shibley, here is a section of posts for you. I am going to try and keep up with both the EPL and La Liga as well as other footie related stuff.

So, La Liga gets kicked off this weekend and I can't seem to find any predictions for the season over on soccernet. Since they are lacking, I will toss my own out there. Last seasons winners, Real Madrid could very well win again this year. I have referred to them in the past as being the "retirement home" for some of the worlds better players; Van Nistelroy, Robinho, Baptista, Raul, and the list goes on. Some might question how the team will play now without Beckham, but I think if they can wake their scoring up a bit more, they will be fine. Van Nistelroy was their top scorer with 25 goals. If Raul and Robinho are next on Real's score card with just 13 goals between the two of them. The lack of consistent scoring will be what hurts Real this season.

Scoring will most definitly not be a problem for the runner's up in the league, Barcelona. They have enough seasoned forwards that they could probably take on the English national team by their self. I honestly can't say much about the Barcelona team that will kick off at Camp Nou on Sunday. Pound for pound. Point for point, they are one my favorites to win the the league and maybe the Champions League, if A.C. doesn't throw up a big game this year.

The only other team that might make a run for the cup will be FC Sevilla. They finished the season a win and a draw behind tying Barca and Madrid. They had a better goal differential than Madrid and seriously, only squeaked out of a runner up spot. Their scoring was dead on, with their top two strikers going into double digits. That is a key to a winning season, really. Good defense is vital but you have to have scorers. And you need more than one descent striker on your team. That's what all three of these teams have and that's why La Liga will be a highly contested cup this season. Sure, you have Cinderella stories in football, that's the way it goes, but that's not the case in the La Liga. This season will come down to what it was this past year. Someone is going to score on a free kick from outside the box in the last minute of extra time to sweep their team past the other two teams they have been tied with for the last few weeks. I don't think that's what Shibley likes Barcelona though.I think he just liked seeing the digital Eto'o do the Electric Slide when he scored a hat trick

I think they want to scare their opponents off the pitch

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Don't get me wrong, anyone who reads this that knows me, knows that I am a Chelsea fan. However, I doubt i can seriously support a squad that wears a damn near lime green kit. The white kits of last season have become the new third/European kits. Me and my friend, Jessie, joked about the new Arsenal kits looked but at least they looked better than that. The third/European kits from last season were far better and could have subbed nicely for the away kit this season. I suppose I am partial to the that wonderful black kit with the nice blue stripes because I have a Drogba one packed, ready to go back to college with me. That's the last time I do that. Well.. unless it's John Terry or a Crespo kit. Speaking of new kits, I am getting one for Christmas. Any suggestions?

Flashpoint!!! David Beckham has cured cancer!!... oh yeah and D.C United has great fans

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I almost expect that to be the next headline on ESPN's Soccernet front page. With all the hustle and bustle of the season, it would seem that the good ol' folks over at ESPN have forgot that there are other teams in the MLS and that the Galaxy are near the bottom of the league. The arrival of Becks has turned the MLS into a footie-tatorship. I doubt that ESPN would have covered a Sunday night Toronto-Galaxy match if Becks wasn't there. That was a good game by the way and the Toronto fans are amazing, but more about that latter. I have never seen this level of detail put into the coverage of a soccer player here or a football player for that matter. Sure, we have the Michael Vick case going on right now, but he has less coverage on ESPN's NFL front page than Becks has. I am not denying that Becks is a great player, he has to be, he got his England call up for Wednesdays match against Germany, but he is not the entire league. I wouldn't be suprised to turn on an MLS playoff game and see Becks by himself playing a clone of himself. Sure he can play. Sure he bends kicks like a metal worked does steel but all the camera flashes and VIP entrances at the Home Depot Center can't make up for the fact that there are other things that make the MLS great besides Becks.




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This is what there is beside Becks. Since the season started, I have seen the emergence of two wonderful supporter clubs; D.C. United and Toronto F.C. These two groups of supporters are absolutely wonderful to watch. They are a source of non-stop chants and songs and I doubt there is a quiet moment inside of RFK when United is on the pitch. This is the motivation that has led United to its number two spot in the table. It's funny, I remember about two months ago, the boys on World Soccer Daily mentioned that there were no teams in the MLS that carried the kind of support that an English team does and I thought they were right. We all might want rethink that position when it comes to these two clubs. They don't need Becks to draw the fans in. Their fans come because they love the beautiful game that is soccer or football or footie or whatever you want to call it. These people are there because the spirit of the game runs through their bodies, not because they want to get a glimpse of Posh or Katie Holmes with Surrey. Hats off to the fans of D.C. United and Toronto F.C. You should be mentioned on those "Real American Hero's" commercials. "So, have yourself an almost room temperature Guinness(real soccer fans don't drink Bud Light nor do they drink their beer ice cold) because you stand in a not even half way packed football stadium watching sport that will never be popular in America. You are truly a real American hero, Mr. D.C. United fan. What people call a pansies game, you call war and you would wrap yourself in flag and chant for hours on end about the score being 1-nil to your team." And as I wrap this up, I can hear the sounds of the United fans chanting and see them flapping that, huge, car dealership sized United flag around. A beautiful moment for such a beautiful game.

A Tale of Two Cities

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I can remember back when I was in college, one of the ladies I worked with had a friend who visited from England. He hated Manchester United(he was a Man City fan) but he offered to bring me a Man U hoodie and a box of tea. I still have the hoodie and I abandoned the tea rather quick. He had brought me a box of aromatic earl gray tea. I think he bought me pansy tea to go along with what he thought was a pansy clubs hoodie.

You ask most of the people in the world what football teams they know and they will name off Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea, but never will you hear Manchester City. In all of the derbies that get played across England and the world, I think none are more dull than the Man U vs. Man City derby. Man U usually fields a strong side and Man City goes and rounds up the boys playing in the school yards. But, it would seem that this season is a wee bit different. One week, and three games into the new Premiership season, Manchester United is near the bottom of the ladder and Manchester City is sitting at the top smiling down at their cross town rivals.

I have read columns on BBC.com that say people automatically jumped on the absence of Rooney and are saying that this two month loss could spell disaster in the table for Fergie and the Reds. United only have two points, so far this season, but the season is only two weeks old. I think the pundits should back off on those that would call the season now. Let the fans have their fun. Most of the City fans are just happy that their team is not in United's place this early in the season.

Man City won against their cross town rivals on Sunday and City's coach, Sven-Goran Erikkson, was all praises for his side, which was apparently put together at the last minute. As nice as the win was for City, it makes one wonder if the FA should have rethought it's decision on sacking Erikkson amid tribulations of his "personal life," which both parties have denied. Erikkson, who has won double silverware in three countries, might take his new team and do the same thing. Granted, it will take time to see those results, but one thing is for sure, this very well maybe a tale of two cities worthy of Dickinson himself.

What do you have on tap? The weekly Premiership post

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Being a lover of all things British, and since the Premiership is one of the only leagues I truly follow, I will be adding this little ditty into the post rotation.

The Premiership opened up this past weekend and in less than a week, last seasons champs are already in 11th place. Last seasons runners up, Chelsea, are sitting in third after there 2-1 win over Reading today. Chelsea fielded a cracking squad today that included Petr Chech. One might question why this might seem odd. The reason would be that this is the fixture that put Chech out for most of Chelsea's season last year and according some analysts, cost them the Prem for the third year in a row. Being a Chelsea fan, I think the team did rather well in the absence of Chech. Petr is a great keeper, one of the best in the league. At this level though, you can't rely on one player. Sure, your star keeper goes out a week into the season but you have to bounce back. Chelsea also lost on John Terry, the immortal, at points throughout the season. Some say he got injured during the Carling Cup final, I say he was off to have a sword fight with Keith Richards to see who would be the only one, the highlander. This is the point where my mind is started the Highlander tv theme.

Speaking of things that will survive nuclear fallout, Manchester United is the other thing that has drawn my attention so far. They are not even close to the top 5 teams in the league at the moment and you have to wonder if Sir Alex hasn't been holding back signing more than one superb player during each transfer season. Sure, Tevez is good but when you have Rooney gone until October and Saha injured,(he was didn't play today) you have to have a more solid base. United is full of wonderful players. There is no denying that their position as one of the top teams in the league since before I was born has gained them some of the better players in the world. But that must be awkward at United's camps when all the summer arrivals come in. You have players that come from the four corners of the world and most of them play different styles of ball.

I think this is one of the fundamentally inherent problems with English football and their National team as well. England has more football clubs than any country in the world. They Premiership could easily be filled by all English players but half the Premier league is imports. I think that is a good thing but at the same time it hurts the prospects of younger players that didn't have the drive to make it big in football. And these younger players are kids that could go on to be in the ranks of the national teams. They could be real talent but they are getting looked over because the Prem bosses are looking beyond England, instead of looking at what the local breweries are putting out. That's what's on tap this week for the Premiership.

What did England do to you?

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That's what I want to ask FIFA VP Jack Warner. Warner went on record earlier in the week and stated that he would try and block any move by England to bid for the 2018 World Cup. Warner, who is the president of the CONCACAF region of FIFA, wants to see the cup in his region of the world. That would mean that we could see the first cup on American soil since 1994. This could do well for American football if the FIFA committee rules to give it to America.

England invented the sport but in recent years, the mother country of this wonderful sport has not seen any great strides. You could argue that England might be laying its hopes with the young Rhain Davis, the recent signing for Manchester United. Most of the English team, at present, will be pushing their last cup when 2018 rolls around. That, coupled with their current lack of success in Euro '08 qualifying, might be the reasoning behind Warner's decision to not back England's bid.

The interesting thing about this situation is that there is talk of the rotation of the hosts being lifted after the 2014 cup, which is slated for Brazil. Even if they didn't lift the rotation cycle, it would be logical for Asia to get the 2018 cup, and not the CONCACAF region. It would seem that Warner is just simply upset that his region hasn't seen the cup in ages. He should stand in line though. South America hasn't hosted the cup since 1978. While that is almost forty normal years, it's eight world cups. CONCACAF held the cup in 1994 with America. By the time 2018 rolls around, that is just five cups, not the eight that South America has had to wait.

So, at the end of the day, what does FIFA do? I think that England should have a fair crack at it and according to the BBC, so does Franz Beckenbauer. Beckenbauer thinks that England would be a wonderful host for the cup. It certainly has enough pitches to be able to do so. Hell, you could host friendlies on pitches across town from a major match with the devotion that England has put into its football. On another note, I wouldn't mind seeing China hold the cup. They would have the space seeing that they are holding the Olympics rather soon. It could also be a force to bring China and Taiwan back together. Because if there is anything that the World Cup has taught us, it's that nations forget their problems and a ball becomes a weapon of nationalism instead of a gun. And that right there is what makes football such a beautiful game.

At Least Wait Until Wigan Wins The Prem

So, I was a political science major in college and being the lover of British culture that I am, I was interested to see what the new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown's take on the Iraq situation was. I was watching the news the other day and they brought up the fact that Brown, who visited the UN on Tuesday to push for peace keeping in Dafur,had also visited with President Bush. Brown did not mention the situation in Iraq but he has reportedly began to query what effect, if any, there would be if the UK started to pull it's troops out of Iraq.

Could the UK be making a move to distance itself from us? If so, can we expect to see the type of protests that we saw when France decided not to join us in the "war" on terror? If this is the case, what does that say for the future of English Football here? I can see it now, "Americans play the REAL football." There would be no more Fox Soccer Channel because it wouldn't be American to watch a sport from a country that won't support us. All of this could lead to a ban on English tea like Twinnings. That would be where I would draw the line. No tea equals an unhappy Bela.

In all reality, I doubt that it would come to us boycotting Manchester United or Chelsea matches being shown here in America but, and this is a BIG but, if it were to come down to this, I hope both parties can play nice until Wigan or Leeds win the Premiership, then we can so long to soccer.

I will take a lare coke...and...um... Barcelona FC

I was poking around on the BBC soccer front page last night and I came across a story that I found interesting. The website MyFootballClub is offering fans who want to pay a round $70 American, a chance to buy stake in a football club. It's a novel idea that has caught on quickly. How quick? The site has reached it's goal of 50,000 fan in only three months. By my calculation, that comes out to a little over $3 million.

Will Brook, MyFootballClub's creator, has already been approached by four clubs that are looking to let him and his 'investors' buy their club. They are wiling to turn over the run of the club and the power to make all the major decisions with the fans.

I read this and found myself wondering if this would work here in America with, lets say, a hockey team or perhaps an MLS team. You could launch a site and let the people that live in the state where the team is make a smaller deposit, with fans outside of the state, paying a slightly higher fee. I think this takes the idea of being a fan to a whole new level. Imagine if you could log on to a website and decide who D.C. United was going to sign in the next MLS draft. Or if your team should make upgrades in their staffing.

This reminded me of playing Manager Mode on EA's FIFA 07. Interestingly enough, Brook has negotiated a deal with the world leader in sports video games. Perhaps Brook got the idea from them. I don't think that Mr. Brook's idea would see more than a touch or two here in the states though. I don't think that professional sports teams here could bolster the kind of support needed to buy a franchise out. The teams that have approached Brook are all from the lower divisions in the FA. Perhaps a minor league club would work here.

In the long run, Brook wants to surpass the group of Barcelona's fans, around 155,000, who vote for the clubs president every four years. It will surely be something to watch over the next few months as the English season takes off.

The Wizards could have used Mr. Potter (MLS Prime Time Thursday)

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If Kevin Hartman would have attended Hogwarts, he very well might have been in Gryffindor. His courage tonight against the New England Revolution surely backs that claim up. The game was scoreless until the second half, due to Mr Hartman, who was at full stretch for most of the evening. I have seen some amazing saves in the last year but this kid could easily play keeper for a Quidditch team.

He did, however, get knocked off his broom twice. Once by Pat Noonan and once by the rookie, Adam Cristman. The Noonan goal was a squeaker and it slid right past Hartman as Noonan fell out of bounds. The Cristman goal was a bit more like what you would expect from Kaka or Eto'o. New England completely pulled the Wizards defense to one side before finding Cristman in space big enough to be a galaxy. He ran it home and flicked a quick shot past Hartman to continue the Rev's spot at the top of the MLS east.

Other news around the MLS this week finds us talking about the young American forward Freddy Adu. Adu, who started out with the Red Bulls at the age of 14, but the last year has seen a spark around him with talks of a transfer to a European side. Adu had mentioned a move to Manchester United but that fell through at the urging of the MLS. Now though, Adu has signed a five year contract with Portugal side Benfica. Adu has spoke about his wanting to move for some time. He wants the experience that playing in a new league would bring. He also is looking for a run in the Champions League, which he could very well see with Benfica. It will be an interesting five years to see how Mr. Adu evolves in Europe and it will greatly help the US Mens team in the years to come. Good luck, Freddy. And for any other young players, get out while the getting is good.

The other interesting thing that came out of MLS this evening was talk of Beckham playing on Sunday. It's as if it's Becks v. Toronto on Sunday and not the Galaxy v. Toronto. I think Kind David, as some American press is calling him, has had his name mentioned a record number of times in an ESPN broadcast. I am half tempted to call and ask if a record has been broken. I think the bottom line is, Dave is a great player but I almost feel that it will take focus off other players coming up in the MLS like Josey Altidore, Juan Toja, Juan Pablo Angel, and Eddie Johnson.

The hype around Beckham can be attributed to that that surrounded Pele after his days with Brazil. Even Pele has warned Beckham against becoming a 'pop star' instead of a footballer. Hopefully, though, Becks will listen to the words of the Galaxy's Manager, Alexi Lalas. Lalas said that the Galaxy would be playing Toronto Sunday, not just one person. Well said Alexi, lets just pray that Becks can get his head out of the Hollywood hills and hear him.

Because shooting in the south doesn't always have to be from a gun...

I bring you this blog from Nashville, Tennessee. I have been a fan of footie, or soccer, or football, or whatever you want to call it, for a little over a year. I admit that I jumped on the 2006 World Cup bandwagon when it rolled through town. I am, however, happy to say that I wasn't like everyone who ran out to buy and Italia shirt or kit after the cup was over. I was personally pulling for Argentina and the Ivory Coast.

I had watched Champions League matches that spring before the cup and fell in love with the beautiful game and the World Cup just exacerbated that love. Since the night of the WC final, I started to eat and breathe soccer. I picked up on what is possibly the best footie league in the world, the English Premier League or EPL. I had watched Chelsea play the year before in the Champions League, and despite the fact that I have a Manchester United hoodie hanging in my closet, I started pulling for the mighty blue lions that den at Stamford Bridge in western London.

Chelsea faired pretty well this past season. They went out in the Champions league semi-final to Liverpool on PK's. They lost the Premiership to Sir Alex and his the Red Army of Manchester United. Chelsea did walk away with two pieces of silverware though; the FA Cup and the Carling Cup. As my friends, Shibley and Josh, have both reminded me that these two lesser trophies were like wining the Outback Bowl and the Alamo Bowl, a win is a win.

So, after a lengthy introduction, I should probably get down to what this thing is gonna be about. I am not a big fan of MLS but I will probably make a weekly post on Thursdays that goes along with ESPN's weekly coverage. I will probably focus heavily on grass roots soccer here in America and EPL, SPL, Italia Seria A, and the international scene with both the Womens World Cup coming up this year and Euro '08 next year. Last but not least, please visit the sponsors when I get some and read the other blogs and news sites. You don't just want my view on the beautiful game.