Nope, not Turbonegro...this is my soccer journal.
Yup, the Boys in Green went toe to toe with Norway today. And evidently, they came away with a confidence boosting draw at 1-1.
Next up... Georgia!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
US versus Guatemala (WC 2010 Qualifier)
For those of you that missed last night's match...well, ya missed a doozy. Though the first half was a tough fought 0-0 draw, the second half was nothing short of brutal. Only two red cards were handed out (one for each side) but there were several yellows and still the ref had absolutely NO CONTROL over the home side (Guate). Though Guate probably had the upper hand as far as how the game was played (when it was actually played), it was the US that dug in and did what needed to be done. Unfortunately, there were some casualties, two-footed slide tackles from behind, Howard got a knee to the head (and then was given a yellow card) and then there was the Eddie Lewis incident. I can't believe I haven't been able to find any pictures of this yet, but i'm sure they'll be out there eventually. Truly Brutal! While the US was able to come away with the 3 points in this qualifying match, I tend to agree with this blogger's ideas about the match. Once I find a good pictures i'll be posting it as soon as I can.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A new season...
As the friendlies wrap-up in the pre-season, things are starting to feel like it's time for some action. Yesterday I made it down to the neighborhood pub to catch Celtic and Manchester City make a go of it for 90 minutes. While the ball stayed on the Celtic end of the pitch most of the time there were few shots on goal and things seemed rather balanced, albeit a bit flat, but nothing unusual for the pre-season, if you ask me.
Eventually, Man City punched in the first goal of the match well into the second half. And with Celtic frequently pinned in their half it wasn't looking good. But with a frenzy in the final 15-20 minutes, it was only a matter of time before the Hoops put one in the net. McGowan tapped one in from a cross and minutes later had a second chance only to have the shot hit the cross bar with high velocity and conviction. There were other chances to break the tie, but few, if any, were very serious. In the end, the final score was 1-1.
Afterwords, Manchester United played Juventus...I caught about 10-15 minutes of this match and was quickly reminded that a) I'm not a Man U. fan and b) I don't like Italian League teams all that much, so I left the pub and did some grocery shopping. With the season not even in full swing yet, there will be plenty more to see in the weeks to come.
Eventually, Man City punched in the first goal of the match well into the second half. And with Celtic frequently pinned in their half it wasn't looking good. But with a frenzy in the final 15-20 minutes, it was only a matter of time before the Hoops put one in the net. McGowan tapped one in from a cross and minutes later had a second chance only to have the shot hit the cross bar with high velocity and conviction. There were other chances to break the tie, but few, if any, were very serious. In the end, the final score was 1-1.
Afterwords, Manchester United played Juventus...I caught about 10-15 minutes of this match and was quickly reminded that a) I'm not a Man U. fan and b) I don't like Italian League teams all that much, so I left the pub and did some grocery shopping. With the season not even in full swing yet, there will be plenty more to see in the weeks to come.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Viva España!
So the Spaniards were able to handle Germany...and rather easily. It was very one-sided for a 1-0 result. Regardless, the best team won and the long list of Spanish players added to the "Team of Euro '08" shows how strong the full side was throughout the tournament. All that's fine and good...but until you've watched the goal that won it, from every possible angle (well, I haven't found, "bird's eye view" just yet), you just haven't actually seen it yet.
A picture of the team I found weeks after the tournament.
Nice to see the tribute shirt that Sergio Ramos is wearing... "Siempre con nosotros," always with us. [sorry, didn't mention, that's Antonio Puerto in case you aren't a Spain or La Liga/Sevilla fan.]
A picture of the team I found weeks after the tournament.
Nice to see the tribute shirt that Sergio Ramos is wearing... "Siempre con nosotros," always with us. [sorry, didn't mention, that's Antonio Puerto in case you aren't a Spain or La Liga/Sevilla fan.]
Monday, June 9, 2008
It's a TIE!
So the US barely get away with a 0-0 tie against Argentina this weekend. Though that sounds desperate, they actually played rather well. Had their fair share of possession, shots and Tim Howard had some AMAZING saves to keep our slate clean.This made the celebration of Kasey Keller's 100 matches that much sadder. Evidently there was very little in the way of ovation from the crowd for this honor.
Both sides had a couple ding off the crossbar but nothing managed to make it into the net. This almost makes up for the US losing to both England and Spain, but the fact that they did not score a single goal during these three friendlies is a bit unsettling. That and they barely played Freddie Adu, possibly the most creative player the team has right now.
The next match is Sunday against Barbados in their first World Cup 2010 qualifier. it will be televised at 2pm on ESPN2. Compared to these friendlies they just finished Barbados SHOULD be easily handled...but ya never know.
Both sides had a couple ding off the crossbar but nothing managed to make it into the net. This almost makes up for the US losing to both England and Spain, but the fact that they did not score a single goal during these three friendlies is a bit unsettling. That and they barely played Freddie Adu, possibly the most creative player the team has right now.
The next match is Sunday against Barbados in their first World Cup 2010 qualifier. it will be televised at 2pm on ESPN2. Compared to these friendlies they just finished Barbados SHOULD be easily handled...but ya never know.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Independientes F.C.
So, not the best time for me lately. Blogging is not high on my list of "things to do." But with the first season with Independientes F.C. coming to an end, I thought I should mention a couple things about that.
Although it's basically the remainders from C.T.C.F.C. (this is all over 30s, the Open CTC
team is still around), we do have a handful of new players making this
a relatively new team. Things started to click with our new "two team"
plan of attack, but we still weren't getting the wins we had hoped for.
Goals were being scored, but we were still getting scored on quite a
bit. Sadly, in a game when we didn't have enough players for the two
team attack, we finally got a win. It was still a close match and we
only won by a goal, but we won.
In the week prior to our first
win, I actually got my first goal in a couple seasons. Don't normally
brag about this but it was a goal that had several folks from the
sidelines, my teammates and even the keeper for the other team
complimenting the goal. Danny O. lobbed a ball into the box from the
left side. I came running in from the "18" (it's super six, so probably
closer to the 10 or so), and crossed in front of both the defender and
the keeper to nail a header into the bottom corner. Definitely in my
list of my favorite goals, which up to this point pretty much included
every goal I've scored...all dozen or so of them. After that one, I
decided to narrow it down to my top four or five. (Side note: a week
later, Celtic F.C. played for theSPL championship and won the match with a very similar goal. Made me proud on two levels.)
Yesterday
we won our second match in a row...and this one was another close one,
had to take it into an extra period. As time in the second half wound
down, and we were losing by a goal, I fed KG a ball up the right hand
side. I was immediately upset as I fed it a little further up than I
had wanted to. But KG was able to get control, bring it inside avoiding
the defender and take a pretty hard shot. I still thought the angle was
too much, but rushed the goal hoping for a rebound. We got lucky and
the keeper bobbled the ball against the post and it bounced in off his
shoulder. As the ball was being picked up the ref blew the whistle, we
tied it up! In the extra period (not a golden goal situation) we were
able to put another one in and held on, just barely, to win the match.
Next week will be our final match of the season.
We are probably
going to skip the summer season, with many of our players coaching h.s.
teams and summer is prep time, plus if the heat last night was any
indication of what this summer is going to be like, our old bones might
NEED to sit out this summer.
Although it's basically the remainders from C.T.C.F.C. (this is all over 30s, the Open CTC
team is still around), we do have a handful of new players making this
a relatively new team. Things started to click with our new "two team"
plan of attack, but we still weren't getting the wins we had hoped for.
Goals were being scored, but we were still getting scored on quite a
bit. Sadly, in a game when we didn't have enough players for the two
team attack, we finally got a win. It was still a close match and we
only won by a goal, but we won.
In the week prior to our first
win, I actually got my first goal in a couple seasons. Don't normally
brag about this but it was a goal that had several folks from the
sidelines, my teammates and even the keeper for the other team
complimenting the goal. Danny O. lobbed a ball into the box from the
left side. I came running in from the "18" (it's super six, so probably
closer to the 10 or so), and crossed in front of both the defender and
the keeper to nail a header into the bottom corner. Definitely in my
list of my favorite goals, which up to this point pretty much included
every goal I've scored...all dozen or so of them. After that one, I
decided to narrow it down to my top four or five. (Side note: a week
later, Celtic F.C. played for theSPL championship and won the match with a very similar goal. Made me proud on two levels.)
Yesterday
we won our second match in a row...and this one was another close one,
had to take it into an extra period. As time in the second half wound
down, and we were losing by a goal, I fed KG a ball up the right hand
side. I was immediately upset as I fed it a little further up than I
had wanted to. But KG was able to get control, bring it inside avoiding
the defender and take a pretty hard shot. I still thought the angle was
too much, but rushed the goal hoping for a rebound. We got lucky and
the keeper bobbled the ball against the post and it bounced in off his
shoulder. As the ball was being picked up the ref blew the whistle, we
tied it up! In the extra period (not a golden goal situation) we were
able to put another one in and held on, just barely, to win the match.
Next week will be our final match of the season.
We are probably
going to skip the summer season, with many of our players coaching h.s.
teams and summer is prep time, plus if the heat last night was any
indication of what this summer is going to be like, our old bones might
NEED to sit out this summer.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Well...
I'm currently "watching" the Man U. v. Barcelona Champions League match (recording it at home, the first half sounds worthy of keeping for later viewing)...and just found a news article about the Olympic draw for both US National Teams.
Also, this evening will be the second round of the new season of my new >30s team at Warners. The team name, if I haven't mentioned it yet, is Independientes F.C, borrowed from an Argentine team with the name Independientes ("los diablos rojos"). We're in blue and white (once the uniforms arrive) and the unis are said to be loosely based on the other "red devils," yes, Man U....NOT happy about that, but I guess it's a step up from our previous unis which were loosely based on AC Milan's). Our defacto captain, Santi, listed the Argentine team, Independientes, as one of his favorites (he's also a La Liga follower like myself).
The season has not started well as we lost our first match against Barely Kicking, 4-1 (I think). But the attitude was better with our team and we had a lot more show up for the first match (3 subs is a good thing). I'm hopeful about this season and it seems others are as well. Tonight we play 1040s and our goal is to shut them out...focusing on defense. I hope it works.
Also, this evening will be the second round of the new season of my new >30s team at Warners. The team name, if I haven't mentioned it yet, is Independientes F.C, borrowed from an Argentine team with the name Independientes ("los diablos rojos"). We're in blue and white (once the uniforms arrive) and the unis are said to be loosely based on the other "red devils," yes, Man U....NOT happy about that, but I guess it's a step up from our previous unis which were loosely based on AC Milan's). Our defacto captain, Santi, listed the Argentine team, Independientes, as one of his favorites (he's also a La Liga follower like myself).
The season has not started well as we lost our first match against Barely Kicking, 4-1 (I think). But the attitude was better with our team and we had a lot more show up for the first match (3 subs is a good thing). I'm hopeful about this season and it seems others are as well. Tonight we play 1040s and our goal is to shut them out...focusing on defense. I hope it works.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Really?!?!
Evidently the U.S. Men's national soccer team has jumped up seven positions to number 21 in the FIFA World rankings. Personally, i'm still a fan of the ELO Ratings where the U.S. is in 18...even though I think they both have the US a little higher than they should be. Guess we shall see how we do in the next few friendlies leading up to the World Cup Qualifiers. Coming up we have a couple in Europe, with England on 28 May and then Spain on 4 June, followed by a return trip home and a match with Argentina (#1 in FIFA and #2 in ELO) on 8 June.
Anyone care to comment on their thoughts on the new U.S. jerseys? Not sure I like the new color, but I need to get a U.S. jersey. Of all the jerseys I have, both pro and national teams, I don't have a single U.S. jersey. Not right.
Edit: Just found out the U.S. Women's National team have now qualified for the Olympics as well. Let's Go U.S.A.!
Anyone care to comment on their thoughts on the new U.S. jerseys? Not sure I like the new color, but I need to get a U.S. jersey. Of all the jerseys I have, both pro and national teams, I don't have a single U.S. jersey. Not right.
Edit: Just found out the U.S. Women's National team have now qualified for the Olympics as well. Let's Go U.S.A.!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Games of the week...
First, Sevilla FC:
With races for the Champion's League and UEFA Cup qualifiers on the line, every single La Liga match for Sevilla will be important from here on out. After last week's extremely disappointing loss to Atlético Madrid, Sevilla now faces a possibly tougher foe in Real Madrid.
Sevilla has already beaten Real Madrid three times this season, one more would make it a clean sweep, though it will be tough in Madrid. They really will have to play one of their best matches of the season, especially with a prime mid-fielder sittin' the next few on the bench. Then again, Real Madrid have had some problems lately, losing their last two matches to Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña. Also on Sevilla's side is the fact that Kanoute is set to play even though his heal has been giving him some troubles lately. Let's Go Sevilla!!!
With Villareal and Atlético Madrid more than 3 points ahead and playing each other ...I almost wonder if a draw between those two would help Sevilla the most ...and that's IF Sevilla could beat Real Madrid somehow. Anyway, in La Liga, the matches to watch would be:
Saturday:
Villareal v. Atlético Madrid 5 pm
Sunday:
Real Madrid v. Sevilla 3 pm
St. Pauli FC:
At the other end of the scale we have St. Pauli struggling a bit in their first year back in the second bundesliga. So each match is important for them as well. Last week they won for the first time in 2008, and of their last 13 matches 10 have been a draw. I think many of those could have been 3 points but several they were lucky to get the point. This Sunday's match would be a definite must win as they pair up against SCPaderborn 07, who is currently in last place in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Sligo Rovers:
Seems as though the Rovers are off to a very rough start and are struggling a bit as well. Tonight they face UC Dublin who currently sit 7th in the standings with Sligo Rovers behind them a few in 10th place. Got my "third" jersey on in support today at work. Let's Go Bit O' Red! (Still looking for some sort of update on this match as this is being published.) (EDIT: Ended in a 0-0 draw.)
Other matches of note:
As you probably know, i'm not a huge EPL fan, but with all the US players getting picked up, it's hard for me not to hope Fulham does well...and, lately, they haven't. Saturday's match is the true definition of a "must win" match as they face the team that sits firmly in last place.
Derby v. Fulham 11 am on Saturday, FSC
The MLS Kicks-Off later in the evening on Saturday, and while i'm probably and smidge
more interested in this than the average US soccer fan deeply into any other foreign league, I'll probably pass on these...maybe. Pretty surei'll miss the New England Revolution v. Houston Dynamo match due to other plans throughout the day. That one's at 7:30pm on FSC.
If I catch any of either one I might watch some of the Colorado Rapids v. LA Galaxy at 9:30 pm on FSC.
With races for the Champion's League and UEFA Cup qualifiers on the line, every single La Liga match for Sevilla will be important from here on out. After last week's extremely disappointing loss to Atlético Madrid, Sevilla now faces a possibly tougher foe in Real Madrid. Sevilla has already beaten Real Madrid three times this season, one more would make it a clean sweep, though it will be tough in Madrid. They really will have to play one of their best matches of the season, especially with a prime mid-fielder sittin' the next few on the bench. Then again, Real Madrid have had some problems lately, losing their last two matches to Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña. Also on Sevilla's side is the fact that Kanoute is set to play even though his heal has been giving him some troubles lately. Let's Go Sevilla!!!
With Villareal and Atlético Madrid more than 3 points ahead and playing each other ...I almost wonder if a draw between those two would help Sevilla the most ...and that's IF Sevilla could beat Real Madrid somehow. Anyway, in La Liga, the matches to watch would be:
Saturday:
Villareal v. Atlético Madrid 5 pm
Sunday:
Real Madrid v. Sevilla 3 pm
St. Pauli FC:
At the other end of the scale we have St. Pauli struggling a bit in their first year back in the second bundesliga. So each match is important for them as well. Last week they won for the first time in 2008, and of their last 13 matches 10 have been a draw. I think many of those could have been 3 points but several they were lucky to get the point. This Sunday's match would be a definite must win as they pair up against SCPaderborn 07, who is currently in last place in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Sligo Rovers:
Seems as though the Rovers are off to a very rough start and are struggling a bit as well. Tonight they face UC Dublin who currently sit 7th in the standings with Sligo Rovers behind them a few in 10th place. Got my "third" jersey on in support today at work. Let's Go Bit O' Red! (Still looking for some sort of update on this match as this is being published.) (EDIT: Ended in a 0-0 draw.)Other matches of note:
As you probably know, i'm not a huge EPL fan, but with all the US players getting picked up, it's hard for me not to hope Fulham does well...and, lately, they haven't. Saturday's match is the true definition of a "must win" match as they face the team that sits firmly in last place.
Derby v. Fulham 11 am on Saturday, FSC
The MLS Kicks-Off later in the evening on Saturday, and while i'm probably and smidge
more interested in this than the average US soccer fan deeply into any other foreign league, I'll probably pass on these...maybe. Pretty surei'll miss the New England Revolution v. Houston Dynamo match due to other plans throughout the day. That one's at 7:30pm on FSC.
If I catch any of either one I might watch some of the Colorado Rapids v. LA Galaxy at 9:30 pm on FSC.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
U.S. in a few important friendlies
Today is the first of a few friendlies that the U.S.M.N.T. have lined for them. In our last two meetings with Poland, the U.S. has faired rather well winning in both European meet-ups. But, this go around everything changes, the Polish side has a new coach, who helped them reach the Euros this year (even beat Portugal and Belgium). Poland poses a formidable test for the Americans ahead of upcoming meetings with world powers England, Argentina, and Spain, all scheduled for later this spring. U.S. Coach Bradley will be fielding a mostly European based roster...said to be one of our strongest teams since our Gold Cup win last summer...which we won with a Benny Feilhaber goal that is still one of my all-time favorites.
Though this will be one of the strongest teams the U.S. has ever fielded, it will be tough as they haven't played together since the Gold Cup. A match or two at the least will be needed to give the team some cohesion and confidence I would imagine. This is what I would imagine these friendlies are for as we prepare for World Cup qualifiers that begin in June. Poland is probably doing the same as they work towards Euro 2008 which is also this summer. (Edit: That's On Point has another take on this "strongest team" thing, definitely check it out as well.)
Good luck the the U.S. Match is at 3:30p ET and airs on Fox Soccer Channel...which I can't watch at work! :(
(Newer edit: Can't record it but found another online ticker stream for the game. And it's on blogger.
Though this will be one of the strongest teams the U.S. has ever fielded, it will be tough as they haven't played together since the Gold Cup. A match or two at the least will be needed to give the team some cohesion and confidence I would imagine. This is what I would imagine these friendlies are for as we prepare for World Cup qualifiers that begin in June. Poland is probably doing the same as they work towards Euro 2008 which is also this summer. (Edit: That's On Point has another take on this "strongest team" thing, definitely check it out as well.)
Good luck the the U.S. Match is at 3:30p ET and airs on Fox Soccer Channel...which I can't watch at work! :(
(Newer edit: Can't record it but found another online ticker stream for the game. And it's on blogger.
News from La Liga...
Nine-year-old protestors and a missing mid-fielder for a major match...
From the International Herald Tribune...
Standing and saluting or running around the field...either way do they really know what the song is for?
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — An FC Barcelona youth team has boycotted the Spanish anthem at an international tournament for the second straight year.
The Catalans refused to stand for the anthem before their match against Benfica at the Mediterranean International Cup on Saturday, a tournament featuring players under the age of nine.
Instead, the team began warming up while their Portuguese opponents stood in line.
"Regrettably, Barcelona again broke FIFA's protocol before 20,000 spectators," tournament director Ricardo Godoy said in Tuesday's edition of Marca newspaper.
Godoy said he received an "aggressive" letter from Barcelona president Joan Laporta stating that Barcelona would abandon the tournament should it be forced to stand for the anthem.
Godoy is considering taking the case to FIFA.
"You don't use kids as political tools," he said.
___
And in the "Worst Timing Ever" category, Sevilla will be missing a needed mid-fielder in several of the season's final matches...a very crucial time for them.
MADRID, Spain (AP) — The Spanish football federation suspended Sevilla midfielder Vincenzo Maresca for four games Tuesday for headbutting Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero.
Maresca was immediately ejected in the 60th minute of Atletico's 2-1 victory at Sevilla on Saturday.
Sevilla will be without the Italian player for Sunday's game at league leader Real Madrid. Maresca is eligible to return April 27 at Murcia after missing games against Villarreal, Mallorca and Almeria.
Sevilla is sixth in the standings with 45 points, five behind Atletico for the fourth and final Champions League qualifying place.
From the International Herald Tribune...
Standing and saluting or running around the field...either way do they really know what the song is for?
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — An FC Barcelona youth team has boycotted the Spanish anthem at an international tournament for the second straight year.
The Catalans refused to stand for the anthem before their match against Benfica at the Mediterranean International Cup on Saturday, a tournament featuring players under the age of nine.
Instead, the team began warming up while their Portuguese opponents stood in line.
"Regrettably, Barcelona again broke FIFA's protocol before 20,000 spectators," tournament director Ricardo Godoy said in Tuesday's edition of Marca newspaper.
Godoy said he received an "aggressive" letter from Barcelona president Joan Laporta stating that Barcelona would abandon the tournament should it be forced to stand for the anthem.
Godoy is considering taking the case to FIFA.
"You don't use kids as political tools," he said.
___
And in the "Worst Timing Ever" category, Sevilla will be missing a needed mid-fielder in several of the season's final matches...a very crucial time for them.
MADRID, Spain (AP) — The Spanish football federation suspended Sevilla midfielder Vincenzo Maresca for four games Tuesday for headbutting Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero.
Maresca was immediately ejected in the 60th minute of Atletico's 2-1 victory at Sevilla on Saturday.
Sevilla will be without the Italian player for Sunday's game at league leader Real Madrid. Maresca is eligible to return April 27 at Murcia after missing games against Villarreal, Mallorca and Almeria.
Sevilla is sixth in the standings with 45 points, five behind Atletico for the fourth and final Champions League qualifying place.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
This town IS big enough...
Seems as though starting your own club is the new trend with dissatisfied EPL fans. Next up, Liverpool fans have decided it's their turn to create a club whose matches they can afford to attend on a regular basis. I think this is really the saddest part of the changes in any league. To price out your long time and usually the strongest of fans, just to boost the net gains of the club itself. Doesn't advertising bring in loads for any decent club? And let's not even get into the very high-priced contracts that many athletes have signed into lately, I'm sure they deserve it, but who pays? Not the owners obviously.
Sadly this happens with a lot of smaller sports teams, even amateur teams. I can only speak directly about our local "Seminoles." When I was a wee lad, won't directly discuss dates or age but it was definitely over 15 years ago, the going rate for a regular season pass was about $40-60, depending on the number of home games. Now, I understand that with inflation that price will surely rise over time, but as the team gets better and/or more popular the owner understands more money is there to be had. Prices begin to rise exponentially. Today a regular season pass is now in the $300/season pass range.
All said and done, i'm just jealous Liverpool has enough fans for a single soccer club, much less two...Tallahassee had a team...a while ago...but no more.
R.I.P. Tallahassee Scorpions and the E.I.S.L
1997-1998
Sadly this happens with a lot of smaller sports teams, even amateur teams. I can only speak directly about our local "Seminoles." When I was a wee lad, won't directly discuss dates or age but it was definitely over 15 years ago, the going rate for a regular season pass was about $40-60, depending on the number of home games. Now, I understand that with inflation that price will surely rise over time, but as the team gets better and/or more popular the owner understands more money is there to be had. Prices begin to rise exponentially. Today a regular season pass is now in the $300/season pass range.
All said and done, i'm just jealous Liverpool has enough fans for a single soccer club, much less two...Tallahassee had a team...a while ago...but no more.
1997-1998
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
England all the way huh...
While all four teams making it to the Champions' League Quarter-finals are English Premier League teams...I feel I must make note of a certain "official" ranking site. I do this also because it is the EPL that is frequently touted as the greatest league with the greatest teams. An example would be the recent quote from Man. U.'s Sir Alex Ferguson, "'The Premier League is the strongest in Europe.
Personally, I agree with That's On Point's latest take on this, in which the top EPL teams are better than other leagues' top teams, but with the money the EPL has to spend how could they not buy the best teams?? But, to consider all teams from the top to the bottom I think the UEFA ranking is more correct.
While I may be a little biased, I still believe this "official" ranking holds true. Just look at the point spreads of each league. Currently, the comparison between the top and the bottom teams of each league are EPL = 56 points, Italy Series A = 46 points, La Liga = 43 and even the Bundesliga is only seperated by 33 points. I could be wrong but I think I remember a time last year (after the winter break) in which the top ten La Liga teams were only seperateda by about 12 points. I know this isn't the only indicator, some could say the whole league is subpar (and we know this isn't true), but when you have that strong of a league, there won't be as big of a spread.
Just wanted to put that out there.
(Total sidenote that I also just wanted to add: Here's an article about attendance for leagues all over Europe vs MLS.)
Personally, I agree with That's On Point's latest take on this, in which the top EPL teams are better than other leagues' top teams, but with the money the EPL has to spend how could they not buy the best teams?? But, to consider all teams from the top to the bottom I think the UEFA ranking is more correct.
While I may be a little biased, I still believe this "official" ranking holds true. Just look at the point spreads of each league. Currently, the comparison between the top and the bottom teams of each league are EPL = 56 points, Italy Series A = 46 points, La Liga = 43 and even the Bundesliga is only seperated by 33 points. I could be wrong but I think I remember a time last year (after the winter break) in which the top ten La Liga teams were only seperateda by about 12 points. I know this isn't the only indicator, some could say the whole league is subpar (and we know this isn't true), but when you have that strong of a league, there won't be as big of a spread.
Just wanted to put that out there.
(Total sidenote that I also just wanted to add: Here's an article about attendance for leagues all over Europe vs MLS.)
A Bout With Unlucky
After an "eh, okay" first half and a barrage of shots from the US in the second half, the US and Cuba ended last night's match tied at 1-1 in the first round of Olympic qualifiers.
Adu had a pretty good night with several shots that just barely missed, he even put in a few great passes and one perfect set-up for a shot to Findley who tried to rush the shot, all but handing it to the Cuban keeper. But even Adu had a few rough spots sprinkled here and there. Rough spots aside, it was the bad luck that really hampered the U.S. With 19 shots and too many "near misses" to think of, luck was definitely not on the side of the U.S. Even the goal that Cuba scored seemed to get deflected a couple times, just enough to get past the keeper and into the net.
With all this working against them, the U.S. side still looked strong and patient and I think with a little more pratice together (they'd only been together for 10 days prior to the match) and a few inspiring words from the coaches, they will do even better in their next match, which is Thurday evening (8pm ET), March 13, against Panama. I can only hope a few more soccer fans make it out to this (or the next) match, as the attendance was only a little over 4,300. After not qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, this was not our best start, but we still have two more qualifiers to go and they did end rather strong in the second half.
(Sidenote: I know it's a part of the game, but it was frustrating for the last 10 minutes of the match when Cuba was obviously dragging their feet to get time off the clock. The red carded Linares, who scored Cuba's goal, took over a minute just to walk off the pitch after being ejected...though I also disagreed with the call, that's ridiculous. Not to mention their captain who went down no less than three times with an appearant cramp that needed tending to.)
A quote from Captain Edu:
“In the second half we started pressing them again and were creating a few chances. We were unlucky not to finish one. If he had put one of those in the net, the game probably would have been out of reach, but that happens.From here we just move on and we know we’ve got to get points in the next game.”
One of the many close opportunities as midfielder Kljestan goes up for a ball crossed over in front of the goal in the second half. His shot went just wide of the goal.
Adu had a pretty good night with several shots that just barely missed, he even put in a few great passes and one perfect set-up for a shot to Findley who tried to rush the shot, all but handing it to the Cuban keeper. But even Adu had a few rough spots sprinkled here and there. Rough spots aside, it was the bad luck that really hampered the U.S. With 19 shots and too many "near misses" to think of, luck was definitely not on the side of the U.S. Even the goal that Cuba scored seemed to get deflected a couple times, just enough to get past the keeper and into the net.
With all this working against them, the U.S. side still looked strong and patient and I think with a little more pratice together (they'd only been together for 10 days prior to the match) and a few inspiring words from the coaches, they will do even better in their next match, which is Thurday evening (8pm ET), March 13, against Panama. I can only hope a few more soccer fans make it out to this (or the next) match, as the attendance was only a little over 4,300. After not qualifying for the 2004 Olympics, this was not our best start, but we still have two more qualifiers to go and they did end rather strong in the second half.
(Sidenote: I know it's a part of the game, but it was frustrating for the last 10 minutes of the match when Cuba was obviously dragging their feet to get time off the clock. The red carded Linares, who scored Cuba's goal, took over a minute just to walk off the pitch after being ejected...though I also disagreed with the call, that's ridiculous. Not to mention their captain who went down no less than three times with an appearant cramp that needed tending to.)
A quote from Captain Edu:
“In the second half we started pressing them again and were creating a few chances. We were unlucky not to finish one. If he had put one of those in the net, the game probably would have been out of reach, but that happens.From here we just move on and we know we’ve got to get points in the next game.”
One of the many close opportunities as midfielder Kljestan goes up for a ball crossed over in front of the goal in the second half. His shot went just wide of the goal.
Monday, March 10, 2008
FC ST PAULI...match cast
As it stands, this ESPN site is the only one I know of that will have "updated" info about the match this afternoon against TSV 1860 Munich. I hope to find a better one with more detail and info. We shall see.
Let's Go Boys in Brown! NO MORE DRAWS!!
And speaking of the Bhoys in Brown, looks as though a little band known as The Wakes (formerly Murphy's Law) are working on (or have recorded, I can't quite tell from the quality of this video) a new song FOR "the fans of St. Pauli." Check out this live recording of "The Pirates of the League" from a couple weeks ago.
Let's Go Boys in Brown! NO MORE DRAWS!!
And speaking of the Bhoys in Brown, looks as though a little band known as The Wakes (formerly Murphy's Law) are working on (or have recorded, I can't quite tell from the quality of this video) a new song FOR "the fans of St. Pauli." Check out this live recording of "The Pirates of the League" from a couple weeks ago.
A Truly Interesting FA Cup...
First, I can't believe I didn't watch the entire Chelsea v. Barnsley match. And, second, with Portsmouth beating Man. U. (must watch the replay on Tuesday), I think I'll have a new favorite team by the end of this thing!
As usual, That's On Point has something to say about all of this amazing madness, with mention of US players in the match between Blackburn and Fulham (another match that I only got to see the first half).
More "excitement and romance" to come:
Barnsley v Cardiff City
And
West Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth 
(Portsmouth is the lone premier league team remaining)
Sidenote Edit: Sevilla beat Levante this weekend but it was not televised on GOL TV so I'm not going to write about that until a replay or until I get to read a bit more about it.
As usual, That's On Point has something to say about all of this amazing madness, with mention of US players in the match between Blackburn and Fulham (another match that I only got to see the first half).
More "excitement and romance" to come:
Barnsley v Cardiff CityAnd
West Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth (Portsmouth is the lone premier league team remaining)
Sidenote Edit: Sevilla beat Levante this weekend but it was not televised on GOL TV so I'm not going to write about that until a replay or until I get to read a bit more about it.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Premier League of Ireland...begin.
Season openers for theEircom Premier League of Ireland are this weekend. Our dear, dear Sligo Rovers open with last year's runners-up, St. Patrick's Athletic. We wish the Bit O' Red much luck as the opening match looks to be a rather tough one for them. Definitely hoping for a great season this year.While the above article makes it seem as though the season openers are tomorrow (Sat. 8 March), this article makes it seem as though Sligo has already lost against St. Pat's. I'm not saying anything else until I see something official on the Rovers' site (click their logo above) or on the official Eircom Premier League site... ok, it's official, Sligo lost their opener at St. Patrick's. Well, looking forward to next week's home opener versus Drogheda United.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
A must win situation...
Only a few hours away from match time and stories about it are everywhere.
UEFA.com story about what the team will need to win.
and
...Meanwhile, Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido has described the second leg tie as "one of the most important in the history of Sevilla FC"...
Sounds like the Sevilla
match is also one of the most intense in its history. Just finished 30
minutes of overtime and aggregate score is still tied at 5-5. Certainly hope Gol TV or FSC replays this thing.
Possibly one of the worst matches i've "watched" online via matchcast. And yes, it's because Sevilla
lost after a full overtime in penalty shots (possibly the worst way for
any sporting event to be decided). Not sure I want to watch it now, but
I had to know how it ended. So,Sevilla is out of the Champions' League finals this year and we can only hope they survive and qualify to compete in it next year.
UEFA.com story about what the team will need to win.
and
...Meanwhile, Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido has described the second leg tie as "one of the most important in the history of Sevilla FC"...
Sounds like the Sevilla
match is also one of the most intense in its history. Just finished 30
minutes of overtime and aggregate score is still tied at 5-5. Certainly hope Gol TV or FSC replays this thing.
Possibly one of the worst matches i've "watched" online via matchcast. And yes, it's because Sevilla
lost after a full overtime in penalty shots (possibly the worst way for
any sporting event to be decided). Not sure I want to watch it now, but
I had to know how it ended. So,Sevilla is out of the Champions' League finals this year and we can only hope they survive and qualify to compete in it next year.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Nightmarish weekend in La Liga
Once again I was unable to watch the one match I truly wanted to see but it did not matter as nothing went right for me this weekend. First, and foremost, Sevilla lost in a match they should have won quite easily. Granted the team they played, Deportivo La Coruña, has had a late season run themselves, they are (or were) in the bottom of the bunch, in the relegation area. The final score was 2-1, but if you look at the shots and time of possession I'd guess it could have been worse. I'll still browse around and see if a replay of the match will be shown.
Next up was Barcelona (sort of my number two team), and they had a poor showing as well. Not sure why but they did not put in Messi until almost an hour of the match had past. They ended up losing to Atletico Madrid 4-2 which puts Atletico further ahead of Sevilla in the standings.
Lastly, Real Madrid somehow pulls out a win in the last SECONDS of the match to hold onto the number one position in the standings. After the final goal was scored, Recreativo Huelva only had time to tap the ball off of the midfield line to "re-start" the match before the ref blew the final whistle. Painful.
And to top all this off it was just announced that Sevilla FC has dropped in the world club rankings. For 17 months they held the top position, but understandably, they have dropped a bit. Now Sevilla sits in Third place behind AC Milan and Chelsea FC.
NOT a fun soccer weekend.
This week we have Sevilla's second match with Fenerbahce and of course next week Olympic qualifiers begin, In TAMPA, for the US Men's U-23 team (FSC will broadcast these matches).
Next up was Barcelona (sort of my number two team), and they had a poor showing as well. Not sure why but they did not put in Messi until almost an hour of the match had past. They ended up losing to Atletico Madrid 4-2 which puts Atletico further ahead of Sevilla in the standings.
Lastly, Real Madrid somehow pulls out a win in the last SECONDS of the match to hold onto the number one position in the standings. After the final goal was scored, Recreativo Huelva only had time to tap the ball off of the midfield line to "re-start" the match before the ref blew the final whistle. Painful.
And to top all this off it was just announced that Sevilla FC has dropped in the world club rankings. For 17 months they held the top position, but understandably, they have dropped a bit. Now Sevilla sits in Third place behind AC Milan and Chelsea FC.
NOT a fun soccer weekend.
This week we have Sevilla's second match with Fenerbahce and of course next week Olympic qualifiers begin, In TAMPA, for the US Men's U-23 team (FSC will broadcast these matches).
Friday, February 29, 2008
A few must win matches...
Though they are down a goal, I think Sevilla has a very good chance against Fenerbahçe SK next Wednesday. This story and the quotes from Poulsen do a good job of stating the obvious, "this will be another thriller." Though they were handed a loss in Turkey, they do have the two away goals, which can help a lot.
With their placement in La Liga, all of their remaining Liga matches will be just as important and almost as exciting as this next Champions League match against the Turkish side. Fifth place with only nine matches remaining, the Andalucians have little room for mistakes. I think a strong run of wins would make for a fitting tribute to fallen teammate Antonio Puerta.
Let's Go Sevilla!!
And speaking of a need for an end of season run, Fulham is in need of a really good run. As i've mentioned in the past, Fulham being relegated will look very bad for US soccer with their American heavy roster. Not that Americans are the only important players on the pitch, because they aren't, but surely the "court of public opinion" will have some more things to say (or at least think about) regarding US soccer should they fail to remain in the Premier League.
With their placement in La Liga, all of their remaining Liga matches will be just as important and almost as exciting as this next Champions League match against the Turkish side. Fifth place with only nine matches remaining, the Andalucians have little room for mistakes. I think a strong run of wins would make for a fitting tribute to fallen teammate Antonio Puerta.
Let's Go Sevilla!!
And speaking of a need for an end of season run, Fulham is in need of a really good run. As i've mentioned in the past, Fulham being relegated will look very bad for US soccer with their American heavy roster. Not that Americans are the only important players on the pitch, because they aren't, but surely the "court of public opinion" will have some more things to say (or at least think about) regarding US soccer should they fail to remain in the Premier League.
Death of a Team?
I really didn't want to write about this...but it seems I might as well.
One of the teams i'm on, an Over 30s men's league team, which has been around for about 10 years, may be dieing. The team has always been in the middle of the pack or lower since i've been with them (about 6 or 7 years). The way we are playing this season and the number of players that "had to drop out" may put us at the very bottom this season.
A few players, and our usual "manager," quit this past year due to lack of participation by other players and lack of winning. This never stopped me, as I grew up on several losing teams and learned to appreciate the game and just be happy if i felt like I put in my best possible match (not that I always do, but I try). This has cut down our core and the additional players have not stepped in as the rest of us hoped they would.
Granted, our team is probably one of the, if not THE, oldest team by average age. But to add to this "problem" we have several players that are coaches for local high school teams. This "winter season" is always the hardest to get and keep players for every match. In the past we've been lucky to get some of the coaches out to one or two of the 10 match season. Between the age thing and the lack of participation you can see why we are immediately at a disadvantage.
This brings me to our last match which happened Wednesday night. We were scheduled to play the other "bottom dweller" team, but a scheduling problem and a local accident which kept many teams from having a full roster switched things up on us. (There was an accident on one of the main roads which affected all other smaller roads. My drive to the fields usually takes about 20 minutes, it took me almost an hour and I got there about 5 minutes before the scheduled game time.) We ended up being matched with one of the better teams...who had a full team of six (did I mention this is a super-six league?) and we were forced to play with only five (the minimum you can play with and not forfeit the match).
I won't tell post the score here, mostly because I don't know what it was, I don't think anyone but the ref knew the score at the end of the match. The team we played probably scored ever two to three minutes or so. Obviously, it wasn't good. We did get in a couple goals. I had two chances myself but screwed up one of them and had a bit of bad luck on the other.
The first half it was kinda funny and we were mostly able to laugh about how horrible this was, originally thinking we were in for a good close match with one of the other bottom dwellers and ending up getting battered by one of the top teams. But, by the second half, we knew there was little we could do but hunker down and try to prevent scoring at will. We almost were able to do this, they definitely did not score as much in the second half (at least it didn't feel like it). And we were actually able to put in a couple goals mid-way through the half, so not being shut-out was also nice. But, by the time we got to this point we had lost our sense of humor and basically just wanted the match to be over.
At the end of the match, I spoke with our regular goalie about the team and its future (he's playing the field these days, AND SCORING, while he mends a sore/bruised hip). He agreed that this season (and this type of match) could signal the end of our team). This almost happened at the beginning of this season, when the day before registration ended our usual manager decided to tell us he was stepping down. We scrambled and scraped together another team (luckily combining with another small crew who were looking to start a completely new team). Around that time I questioned the feasibility of such a quickly gathered group, even asked around to see if any other teams were looking for players. Eventually I knew I would stick it out with our "usuals" or at least a handful of them and see how we would do.
Evidently, not so well. I think i'll be browsing again soon. Which is not fun on so many levels. Wish me luck.
Guessing this means our "international" adventure is no longer viable either. :(
One of the teams i'm on, an Over 30s men's league team, which has been around for about 10 years, may be dieing. The team has always been in the middle of the pack or lower since i've been with them (about 6 or 7 years). The way we are playing this season and the number of players that "had to drop out" may put us at the very bottom this season.
A few players, and our usual "manager," quit this past year due to lack of participation by other players and lack of winning. This never stopped me, as I grew up on several losing teams and learned to appreciate the game and just be happy if i felt like I put in my best possible match (not that I always do, but I try). This has cut down our core and the additional players have not stepped in as the rest of us hoped they would.
Granted, our team is probably one of the, if not THE, oldest team by average age. But to add to this "problem" we have several players that are coaches for local high school teams. This "winter season" is always the hardest to get and keep players for every match. In the past we've been lucky to get some of the coaches out to one or two of the 10 match season. Between the age thing and the lack of participation you can see why we are immediately at a disadvantage.
This brings me to our last match which happened Wednesday night. We were scheduled to play the other "bottom dweller" team, but a scheduling problem and a local accident which kept many teams from having a full roster switched things up on us. (There was an accident on one of the main roads which affected all other smaller roads. My drive to the fields usually takes about 20 minutes, it took me almost an hour and I got there about 5 minutes before the scheduled game time.) We ended up being matched with one of the better teams...who had a full team of six (did I mention this is a super-six league?) and we were forced to play with only five (the minimum you can play with and not forfeit the match).
I won't tell post the score here, mostly because I don't know what it was, I don't think anyone but the ref knew the score at the end of the match. The team we played probably scored ever two to three minutes or so. Obviously, it wasn't good. We did get in a couple goals. I had two chances myself but screwed up one of them and had a bit of bad luck on the other.
The first half it was kinda funny and we were mostly able to laugh about how horrible this was, originally thinking we were in for a good close match with one of the other bottom dwellers and ending up getting battered by one of the top teams. But, by the second half, we knew there was little we could do but hunker down and try to prevent scoring at will. We almost were able to do this, they definitely did not score as much in the second half (at least it didn't feel like it). And we were actually able to put in a couple goals mid-way through the half, so not being shut-out was also nice. But, by the time we got to this point we had lost our sense of humor and basically just wanted the match to be over.
At the end of the match, I spoke with our regular goalie about the team and its future (he's playing the field these days, AND SCORING, while he mends a sore/bruised hip). He agreed that this season (and this type of match) could signal the end of our team). This almost happened at the beginning of this season, when the day before registration ended our usual manager decided to tell us he was stepping down. We scrambled and scraped together another team (luckily combining with another small crew who were looking to start a completely new team). Around that time I questioned the feasibility of such a quickly gathered group, even asked around to see if any other teams were looking for players. Eventually I knew I would stick it out with our "usuals" or at least a handful of them and see how we would do.
Evidently, not so well. I think i'll be browsing again soon. Which is not fun on so many levels. Wish me luck.
Guessing this means our "international" adventure is no longer viable either. :(
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sevilla releases Kerzhakov...and other stuff.
"Alexander Kerzhakov's move from Sevilla to Dynamo Moscow has finally been confirmed by both sides, putting to rest weeks of speculation..."
And as a follow-up to the Fulham match I commented on earlier, looks like McBride understands the importance of the rest of their season just like the rest of us...
And as a follow-up to the Fulham match I commented on earlier, looks like McBride understands the importance of the rest of their season just like the rest of us...
A pretty good soccer weekend...
We'll start with the Sevilla FC match against Zaragoza. Sadly I only got to watch the first half hour as I had to go to my own season finale'. But, from the hightlights and all the stories i've read Sevilla pretty much put on a clinic in their 5-0 win to Zaragoza. I'd still like to see the full match, even though I did get to see Fabiano add to his goal tally (leads la liga with 19 in all this season). This win moves them into 5th place in La Liga, just ahead of Espanyol by goal differential (both have 39 points but Sevilla has a +18 to Espanyol's +3 goal differential). Though I believe Sevilla are out of the running at this point, it was nice to see Barcelona gain on Real Madrid this weekend as the Madrid side lost, at home, to Getafe, who have only won half as many matches as Real Madrid. Go Barca! Sevilla's next match will be with Deportivo La Coruña on Saturday and then next Wednesday they play a Champion's League match in their second round with Fenerbahce. Go Sevilla!!
On to my match...Liam's United went into our final match of the Crazy 8s season undefeated (only one tie in the full season). So we were optimistically cautious going into this final match. As with last week's last minute win, the match was against a side with several pick-ups (if a team does not have enough players those that are not a regular team member for another side OR those that want to play in more than one match a day can "pick-up" and play for another side, teams are given a fair amount of players so they have enough to play a match). This can be bad as frequently it's the better players that want to play multiple games in a day (us "old" folks are lucky to finish a full single match). Plus we were missing our star scoring machine, Josh. This match ended up being pretty even and at the half we held the lead with the only score of the match (1-0). But as the second half started they began working their own scoring drives. In the end, the final was 2-2 and Liam's United remained undefeated. Not sure I can remember the last time I was on a team that went undefeated. Good times.
Next up is FC St Pauli...against Greuther Fürth, who are currently third in the 2nd Bundesliga (St. Pauli is currently 11th). With several players out either injured or due to yellow cards, St Pauli had many opportunities to score and capitalized on very few of them. Eventually they also tied their match at 1-1. I suppose a single point is better than none, but to start gaining some ground they really need to win some more matches. St. Pauli have tied their last four matches against FC Köln, Carl Zeiss Jena, TuS Koblenz and now against Greuther Fürth. This has left them in the middle of the pack in 11th place out of the 18 teams. Let's go St. Pauli!!! [Edit: Glad to hear the MillernTaler idea was squashed before it really got going.]
Addendum: Love this shot of Eto celebrating his (first?) hat-trick with his Barcelona teammates.
On to my match...Liam's United went into our final match of the Crazy 8s season undefeated (only one tie in the full season). So we were optimistically cautious going into this final match. As with last week's last minute win, the match was against a side with several pick-ups (if a team does not have enough players those that are not a regular team member for another side OR those that want to play in more than one match a day can "pick-up" and play for another side, teams are given a fair amount of players so they have enough to play a match). This can be bad as frequently it's the better players that want to play multiple games in a day (us "old" folks are lucky to finish a full single match). Plus we were missing our star scoring machine, Josh. This match ended up being pretty even and at the half we held the lead with the only score of the match (1-0). But as the second half started they began working their own scoring drives. In the end, the final was 2-2 and Liam's United remained undefeated. Not sure I can remember the last time I was on a team that went undefeated. Good times.
Next up is FC St Pauli...against Greuther Fürth, who are currently third in the 2nd Bundesliga (St. Pauli is currently 11th). With several players out either injured or due to yellow cards, St Pauli had many opportunities to score and capitalized on very few of them. Eventually they also tied their match at 1-1. I suppose a single point is better than none, but to start gaining some ground they really need to win some more matches. St. Pauli have tied their last four matches against FC Köln, Carl Zeiss Jena, TuS Koblenz and now against Greuther Fürth. This has left them in the middle of the pack in 11th place out of the 18 teams. Let's go St. Pauli!!! [Edit: Glad to hear the MillernTaler idea was squashed before it really got going.]Addendum: Love this shot of Eto celebrating his (first?) hat-trick with his Barcelona teammates.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
If you can't beat an 80s pop act, who can ya beat?
Just watching the Fulham match, currently at the halftime break. I really hope they can win this match, at this point every single match is important to them getting out of the relegation group. It doesn't look good for the team with the most US national starters to be in the relegation group. Let's Go Fulham!Silly, I know, but I find it funny that FSC has the teams listed as FULHAM 0 - 0 W HAM. The letters are just close enough that it looks like Fulham is playing Wham.
Still no score at the half, we shall see how the second half goes.
UPDATE: A controversial goal gives West Ham United the win (1-0). While i'm not a huge EPL fan, I hate to see this because with the number of US players (more than most other teams I believe), this can only add to the european (or maybe even the world's) opinion of the quality of players coming from the U.S. Until the world cup, i'll continue to look at the ELO Rankings.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
No EPL for USA.
For a minute there it looked as though the US (along with a few other non-European countries) might get an EPL (39th) match to visit them, spreading the good word, so to speak. But, alas, it is not meant to be, at least not for the 2010-2011 season.
The original plan was that the "39th" match would be added on to the regular-season schedule, and the twenty teams would be involved in 10 overseas matches at five sites, two per location. This initially sounded like a very fair deal, especially to someone that had recently looked into traveling to see a match or two in Europe and finding the expense to be much too much. My thoughts, "they're gonna come over here!?! Sure, i'm game!"
Turns out adding a single match to the already full schedule of 38 matches (each team 2 matches X the other 19 teams) throws things truly off balance. This couldn't work even though the adding of a match gets around the idea of the "locals" missing out on a home match. How would the new matches be chosen? What if the top two teams are only seperated by a point but the number two team plays the last place team and the number one team plays number three. Doesn't seem fair does it. Who decides which teams play which and when would they play?
To really balance things out they would probably need to actually balance the schedule by having the teams play each other three times instead of only twice. This would create a schedule of 57 matches and the season would last more than a full calendar year...well, I suppose they could shedule more than one match a week but with all the Champions League FA Cup matches... it's rather impossible.
I think another option would have to be a democratic one. Since the adding of a match is supposed to prevent any teams from missing a home match, maybe the teams/fans could volunteer to give away a home match for this endeavor. Obviously not all the teams are going to be up for this. There would need to be some sort of an incentive (discounts to an away match or maybe free tickets to another home match). I realize this idea is totally out in "left field" (forgive me for using that phrase), but with the extra money made on the overseas match it seems something could be dangled like a carrot. And if only a handful of teams go for this option, then one of their home matches could be played over seas, thus giving at least a few overseas markets a match at a stadium "near" their home.
So, any teams up for this, or any fans ready to volunteer their team? ...I didn't think so.
Should this 39th match (or some version of an overseas EPL match) somehow end up happening anyway, expect a bit more of this...
I was initially very much for this plan, and i'm not even a big EPL fan. But, I don't see how they could make this work without truly screwing up the regular season or without screwing over a team, or several, and its fans. Gotta say no go if you ask me. Not that you did, but i'm just sayin...
The original plan was that the "39th" match would be added on to the regular-season schedule, and the twenty teams would be involved in 10 overseas matches at five sites, two per location. This initially sounded like a very fair deal, especially to someone that had recently looked into traveling to see a match or two in Europe and finding the expense to be much too much. My thoughts, "they're gonna come over here!?! Sure, i'm game!"
Turns out adding a single match to the already full schedule of 38 matches (each team 2 matches X the other 19 teams) throws things truly off balance. This couldn't work even though the adding of a match gets around the idea of the "locals" missing out on a home match. How would the new matches be chosen? What if the top two teams are only seperated by a point but the number two team plays the last place team and the number one team plays number three. Doesn't seem fair does it. Who decides which teams play which and when would they play?
To really balance things out they would probably need to actually balance the schedule by having the teams play each other three times instead of only twice. This would create a schedule of 57 matches and the season would last more than a full calendar year...well, I suppose they could shedule more than one match a week but with all the Champions League FA Cup matches... it's rather impossible.
I think another option would have to be a democratic one. Since the adding of a match is supposed to prevent any teams from missing a home match, maybe the teams/fans could volunteer to give away a home match for this endeavor. Obviously not all the teams are going to be up for this. There would need to be some sort of an incentive (discounts to an away match or maybe free tickets to another home match). I realize this idea is totally out in "left field" (forgive me for using that phrase), but with the extra money made on the overseas match it seems something could be dangled like a carrot. And if only a handful of teams go for this option, then one of their home matches could be played over seas, thus giving at least a few overseas markets a match at a stadium "near" their home.
So, any teams up for this, or any fans ready to volunteer their team? ...I didn't think so.
Should this 39th match (or some version of an overseas EPL match) somehow end up happening anyway, expect a bit more of this...
I was initially very much for this plan, and i'm not even a big EPL fan. But, I don't see how they could make this work without truly screwing up the regular season or without screwing over a team, or several, and its fans. Gotta say no go if you ask me. Not that you did, but i'm just sayin...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A new blog for a seperate subject...
My original blog was set up to post about music. It quickly pulled in some politics and some soccer. The politics sometimes works, but I found that no one reading my music and politics posts were interested in my futbol rhetoric. So...thus begins, Futbol in the Shadows. I'll be discussing futbol/soccer in general but my favorites include the US National Teams, the Republic of Ireland's National Teams, FC Sevilla and FC St. Pauli. I'm also a fan of Fulham in the EPL but that's mostly because they've picked up so many US National players for their roster.
Anyway, on with the show...
The first post will be about this evening's Champions League match that Sevilla will be playing in Turkey. The Fenerbahce coach is already spreading some harsh words to the press about how they plan on taking control of their destiny with this match. Should be an interesting match...just wish I could watch it instead of keeping track of it online via matchcast. At least Sevilla is a lot closer to full strength with several players returning.
Let's Go Sevilla!!!
[Edit: So, I was able to "watch" the gamecast off and on while at work. It sounded like a nasty match (Fenerbahce had 4 yellow cards) and I guess their coach was correct...at least for this match. Fenerbahce ended up beating Sevilla 3-2 with a goal in the final three minutes of the match. We shall see how the next ten years works out for him. I certainly hope Sevilla has better control over the second match which will be at home.]
...(Not a fun first post.)...
Anyway, on with the show...
The first post will be about this evening's Champions League match that Sevilla will be playing in Turkey. The Fenerbahce coach is already spreading some harsh words to the press about how they plan on taking control of their destiny with this match. Should be an interesting match...just wish I could watch it instead of keeping track of it online via matchcast. At least Sevilla is a lot closer to full strength with several players returning.
Let's Go Sevilla!!!
[Edit: So, I was able to "watch" the gamecast off and on while at work. It sounded like a nasty match (Fenerbahce had 4 yellow cards) and I guess their coach was correct...at least for this match. Fenerbahce ended up beating Sevilla 3-2 with a goal in the final three minutes of the match. We shall see how the next ten years works out for him. I certainly hope Sevilla has better control over the second match which will be at home.]
...(Not a fun first post.)...
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