The Beautiful Game

Isn't it possible?

2011-09-03T16:08:00.003-06:00

We've heard over the years that Wenger has money to spend, and then we've been told at the end of transfer windows that he didn't really have all that much to spend. We've watched Wenger buy prospect after prospect; we've watched him create some superstars; we've watched him struggle with those who couldn't fulfill their promise; we've watched his frustration on the sidelines. We've all been frustrated by six years with no trophies.

Isn't possible, though, that Wenger (who takes the brunt of our frustration) has done the best he can with what he's been given? I think it is.

Fifteen years ago, Wenger's policy was to buy a mix of established players, up and coming stars, and diamonds in the rough. Now all he does is the latter. Fifteen years ago he had David Dein wheeling and dealing, now he has Ivan the Terrible. I think Wenger has been hamstrung by the Arsenal board (and I think this is the price he had to pay for a new training facility and a new stadium), and I think he reached the end of his tether pre 2011-2012.

And, yes, I think Man Utd 8 - Arsenal 2 was an intentional capitulation. I think Wenger didn't bother preparing the team. I think he through on the chaff in an attempt to get humiliated. Don't believe me? Look at that picture I posted. That is not the Wenger we're used to seeing. He was resigned to the outcome from the first kick. He wasn't just expecting a loss, he wanted to lose, and he wanted to lose big. Only 8-2 could open the board's chequebook. And Wenger has had enough of being nickled and dimed and expected to take the brunt.

So he lost huge and brought in Park & Santos & Benayoun & Mertesacker & Arteta as a result. He made the changes he wanted. And I am betting it all that he wins a minimum of one trophy this season. I call FA Cup and Carling Cup.

I think Wenger crafted this. But then I could be delusional.

A Gunners' Must

2008-08-08T14:01:00.002-06:00

Autobiographies are the bad first dates of the literary world.

You’re stuck in your chair listening to her talk about herself, and talk about herself, and talk about herself, and the best you can hope for is that the restaurant she picked is as good as she made it sound.

So it follows that sports autobiographies are the bad one night stands of the autobiography world.

Every once in a while, though, you have that one night stand where you wish you’d asked for her phone number, or that you’d stayed to make her breakfast.

Vieira: My Autobiography is a bit like that.

You pick it up, blow through it, and you wish you could go back and ask him to tell you more.

Vieira’s story reads like an oral history, which is probably exactly what it is: his story rambled out to a ghostwriter in a series of conversations. But that’s okay. There is no pretense to literary talent, no silly attempts to elevate the prose above conversations about his impressive career in football, which is dominated by his years at Arsenal, and absolutely no attempt to make Vieira more than he is.

So what is Patrick Vieira?

He is a Senegalese born Frenchman, who plays defensive midfield for club and country; he has won a World Cup, a Euro Cup, a Scuddetto, multiple Premiership titles, and the FA Cup; he has captained Arsenal and Les Bleus; and he is a seemingly honest man who either has too much probity or too much naivety to keep his mouth shut when it comes to those he’s played with and against.

And therein lies the great charm of Vieira’s book. Much like the autobiography of Roy Keane, a competitor, incidentally, Vieira admires and respects, Vieira: My Autobiography is filled with opinions about all the great players Vieira has come in contact with. He is as quick to call Ruud van Nistelrooy a “son of a bitch” as he is to call Tony Adams “a towering personality.”

Nor does he pause when he wants to clear up his side of a story, particularly when it comes to his infamous battles with Manchester United, both on the pitch or in the tunnel.*Yet whether he is providing his side of a story or attacking someone personally, Vieira conveys a real sense of integrity, making it very difficult to disbelieve his perspective.

Vieira: My Autobiography is a must for Arsenal fans, but it is worth a read if you are a neutral, and adversary or just interested in football. Vieira gives us a hint of what footballers go through on and off the pitch, and he entertains along the way.

And that works just fine for me.

does anyone else find it strange?

2008-06-06T11:08:00.001-06:00

I get the sense from Arsenal fans everywhere that nobody really gives a damn that Alex Hleb is probably on his way to Barcelona. Does that strike anyone else? We all gave a damn about Flamini, and I expect that we will care about Adebayor, but nobody is even blinking at the potential loss of Hleb -- despite the fact that he had a decent opening half of last season.

Maybe it is because we haven't forgotten what a useless tit he was the year before (when Henry couldn't stop scowling at him for his shitty passes. Have fun at Camp Nou, Alex). Or maybe because, even at his best last season, Hleb was only ever as good as Ljungberg in his decline. Maybe it's because we're all hoping for Samir Nasri, who has most of Hleb's talent on the ball with the added bonus of being willing to take a shot or two. Or maybe it is just because we won't have to listen to his money grubbing agent inciting Arsene anymore. Or maybe it has something to do with gellato. But it's probably because Hleb is just an average player made to shine by the improvements of Flamini and Fabregas last season, and we know that his departure is the least of our worries.

And, for the record, I am pretty worried; it's just not about Hleb. Sign somebody, Arsene. Please sign somebody.

kiki's back

2007-12-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

My lovely wife is the best sport ever. All season long she has been banished from Arsenal games because she has traditionally been bad luck, but today that changed.

We were watching West Ham v Man Utd and when Upton scored the Hammers' second goal I thought: "Her luck is changing."

So with her new found luck and the Arsenal scarf Giovanna bought me at Emirates (which I also used to great effect during the Chelsea win), Arsenal went on to beat Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park.

I would just like to add that I fucking hate Tim Cahill, and that my love of Eduardo is increasingly vindicated.

Doing the Double

2007-12-22T10:57:00.001-07:00

Not one to gloat -- usually -- but I can't help taking a moment to smile and brag about doing the league double over Spurs this season. We've finally reached the point where we are starting to replay other teams, and the Spurs game is important in a few ways.

First, the Spurs fought hard, and Arsenal's defense had to be very sharp against the always dangerous Keane and an in form Berbatov. Berbatov scored one, but he could have scored more. And Keane should have scored two. Almunia made a fine save on the penalty (the first penalty shot I can remember him saving) and the defense did well, even if they got lucky here and there.

Second, the Gunners have faced all their tests so far this season and done well. There really should be no more of the "Arsenal haven't yet been tested" talk, although there will be.

Third, the first team squad has insured that even if Spurs beat the Younger Guns in the Carling Cup semi-final, it will be a hollow victory unless Spurs can go on to win the whole thing. We know these Spurs can't beat the full squad. So like last year, if the Spurs lose they lose to our reserves. If they win they only beat our reserves. That's gotta suck.

Finally, beating Spurs is a perfect Christmas present for all Gunners. Merry Christmas, Happy Pirate's Day and all that other rot.

to beat Chelsea

2007-12-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

It could be very simple or almost impossible for Arsenal to beat Chelsea this Sunday.

If the Gunners have everyone back and in good form, Chelsea's only hope will be to send Michael Essien out head hunting for Cesc or Hleb. If that doesn't work, then Arsenal should pass around Chelsea with ease.

If the Gunners do not have everyone back, or they're not fighting fit, Arsenal will spend the game being thumped off the ball and chasing after Chelsea.

A lot of people are calling for a draw, imagining that's what's coming. I don't think so. Someone is going to win this thing. I just hope it's the young guns.

A Good Weekend

2007-12-02T15:55:00.000-07:00

HAHAHAHA! Not only did the Spuds get beat at home, they got beat by Arsenal-lite. I love Muamba, Djorou and Seb. What a beautiful weekend this has been (apart from Hleb's achilles injury).

On a more serious note, however, is anyone else thinking that the crappiness of Spurs has nothing to do with the management? The only player who shows up every game is Robbie Keane (who I actually find myself liking because of his tenacity). No one else gives it even 50%. Managers can only do so much with that sort of commitment. Silly Ramos should have stayed in Seville where the players give a shit, and Martin Jol is lucky to have escaped. Maybe McClaren, whose shown how good he is at motivating excellent players to give their all (wink, wink), should be next in line for Spurs manager.

what can you say?

2007-11-03T16:48:00.000-06:00

Games like that are what football is all about. Sure, neither Arsenal nor Manchester United were able to play their usual brands of beautiful football, but they gave as close an approximation as they could. They were, after all, each playing the other best team in European football today. It was always unlikely that either was going to tear the other apart.

Sir Alex says that Arsenal scored chippy goals, and he's right, but that ignores the gorgeous build-up play that got them in range for those chippy goals. Sir Alex also says that the good chances went to Man Utd. The pretty chances certainly did. But what he omits is that those pretty chances were the only chances. While no team dominated, Arsenal certainly got closer to the goal, more often, than Man Utd did.

But none of that matters for either team or their squads.

What matters is that Manchester United and Arsenal drew in a hard fought, impressive game, where both teams deserved a share of the spoils. Moreover, the stars on both teams performed at the highest level: Rooney and Ronaldo (despite incredible marking by Sagna), and Cesc (despite being double teamed by Hargreaves and Anderson) and Hleb.

What matters for Man Utd is that they came into Emirates, got a point, and stayed even with Arsenal. A tough test and one that proves that they are truly title contenders. What matters for Arsenal is that they proved beyond doubt that they are not just pretty -- they are tough. They are the real deal this year, and their start has not been a fluke.

It also proved one other thing for Arsenal, and it's the one thing I have been quietly worrying about all year: they do have a Captain.

Gallas did the job today. I wasn't convinced when he was chosen, I was even less convinced when he went out injured and Toure did such a great job deputising, but I am now believer. Arsene's decision to make Gallas the captain looks to have been the right one, and he'll be great until Cesc takes over.

p.s. Hey, Fergie! I don't buy into the whole "Webb favoured Arsenal" bullshit, but if he did it is about fucking time you got a dose of your own medicine. And isn't it great to see that in the cavernous Emirates the home fans can be far more intimidating than they ever were in the beautiful Highbury? If you really want to impress the footballing world, Red Face, be man enough to admit the next time Old Trafford and the fans force a ref into making crap calls (which Webb didn't do today, except the one that went against Arsenal ;)). You can't and you won't. Old bastard.

don't see it myself

2007-10-16T10:23:00.001-06:00

...but i thought gio would like it. check out other look-alikes here

milos will be famous

2007-10-04T11:39:00.001-06:00

this shot of los is going to be used in an advertisement for Arsenal. how sweet is that?

grinding it out

2007-10-02T15:49:00.000-06:00

Tonight's dour performance in Bucharest was exactly what I've been longing to see. Arsenal really played crap, but they still got the win, and they got it away against a stingy and well organized defense. This is a turning point.

We ran into games like this last year, especially in Europe, and we couldn't win them. They were soul sucking grinds that we needed to win but couldn't, but things are different around Arsenal this season, and the Gunners were able to keep going, no matter what happened, and still plug away until they got the goal they needed.

There were no great performances for me, but the one performance that continues to give me concern is Almunia. I love him as a backup, but as a first choice keeper I remain unconvinced (the problem is that Lehmann, my personal favourite, is responsible for the only points we've dropped this season). Fabianski is too far away from being number one, but he's got promise. I figure Mad Jens will be back soon, and for a while he will be great, as his last benching backs up, but can he keep it up. And if he can't, can we really go the distance with Almunia? I don't know. But he certainly has been lucky so far.

Anyway, that was an excellent result today. I expect a free flowing Arsenal side again on the weekend against Sunderland. Can't wait to see Keano at the Emirates.

madness and other things

2007-09-19T20:31:00.001-06:00

so jose moanihno is out the door at stamford bridge. or so the reports are saying. who knows how much was jose being pissy and how much was roman giving him few options but to walk out the door. suffice to say that chelski are going to have a rocky road for the next little while. i see either sevilla's ramos or russia's guus hiddink jumping on board.

but wait for it...i also see jose going right back to work just across town -- at hotspurs. wouldn't that be something?

this is where i believe mourihno's talent lies. he is great at making less than stellar teams great, and given the raw material at spurs and the money they have, i can see him taking the reigns and winning one serious trophy this season and building on it in years to come.

as an arsenal fan i would hate to see it because i don't want anything good for our rivals. as a football fan it would make for fascinating football. derby's between arsenal and spurs would be tougher and more impressive, but the blues and spurs would suddenly have a derby to speak of.

i dunno. gut feeling, and i'll probably be wrong, but something tells me that jose is not through with the premiership just yet.

meanwhile, cesc fabregas and the gunners kicked some ass against one of europe's best. and that game against sevilla today had to be the best games i have seen in ages. end to end attacking, amazing passing, just two great teams going for it, but it was arsenal who got two great goals and one lampard-esque deflection from cesc to win the game 3-0. life is so good when arsenal are playing like this. i pity poor derby county this weekend.

please let us stay healthy, and please let us keep our confidence up.

i have heard praise for manu, sagna and cesc -- all of whom played excellent -- but praise to for alexandre hleb. he reminded me of pires in there today. when he is playing well he is one hell of a player, and this is the most consistent i have ever seen him. and v. persie got a goal. nice! i can't wait until matchday two.

who needs henry?

2007-09-15T14:22:00.000-06:00

when you've got emmanuelle adebayor scoring kick ass goals like his second and cesc scoring 5 in 6 games! not us. hope he's enjoying his time on the bench over at barca.

england beats israel

2007-09-10T11:32:00.000-06:00

but if you are an england fan i suggest you don't get too excited yet. there are a lot of factors that could keep england in trouble and exclude them from the euros, not the least of which is mcclaren.

first thing to remember is that england is in a group with croatia and russia. russia are a disciplined, well organized, physically fit, guus hiddink coached team. they cannot and should not be taken lightly. they are easily capable of drawing against any great european team, somewhat capable of beating any great european team, and are increasingly less likely to let games slip away since hiddink arrived in moscow.

then there is croatia. they are the top of the group. they are, on their day -- and they have a lot of them -- a seriously dangerous european side. they have proven goal scorers like eduardo and klasnic, niko kovac in the midfield and his brother robert in defense. not to mention a bunch of lesser known players with real talent. i will be surprised if they don't win the group -- which leaves only one spot for england and russia to battle for.

and that battle is made much tougher by the presence of steve mcclaren, and this is not because i think he is a shit manager. on the contrary...i think he is pretty decent. under mcclaren, middlesborough aspired to and achieved mid-table premiership mediocrity, punching well above their weight, as can be seen by last year's performance and their lacklustre opening to this year's league. he did a solid, albeit uninspired, job.

the problem is that mcclaren is not a strong enough personality to put his stamp on the england team -- and the england coach MUST BE as powerful a personality as the players (just look at how dunga rallied brazil in this year's copa, having the balls to do it without kaka and ronaldihno). this is still sven's team -- and a change of captain isn't enough to change that. moreover, the problem with this being sven's team is that sven isn't there to make it work. but back to mcclaren. his weak personality insures that he will not change the team because the press will have a fit.

why is this cause for concern? they just beat israel 3-0, and mcclaren made some changes, didn't he? yes, he did. but they were changes that were forced on him by circumstances and he will revert to his "sven" position when the circumstances change back to normal.

gareth barry was excellent on the weekend, making two goals, but most importantly he worked well with stevie g. and joe cole was excellent too. but as soon as lampard and hargreaves are back they are in. i am not totally opposed to the former or the latter, but the former DOES NOT work with stevie. and if i had to choose between frank or stevie there is no choice. stevie wins.

another excellent move was emile heskey. oh i know...he doesn't score goals, but so what. that is not what he is there to do. watch that michael owen goal again. he takes the ball from barry's fantastic pass (an accurate, ballsy rocket) and scores on the half volley. but where was the defender? he was taken out of the play by big emile. owen is a true threat up front when emile is in the game. for me they remain england's best combo up. this is a team game and they make the best team. fuck rooney and crouch (although both would be great on the bench for late impact substitutions) because they are individuals, and excellent individuals in their own way, but they are not the best players when it comes to the team or the teams chemistry.

and ultimately that is the big problem with england. too many individuals. but that disappeared against israel because circumstance required it. swp came on and excelled. cole excelled. barry excelled. owen and heskey excelled. gerrard excelled. richards excelled. and they all did so because the egos and individuals were out of the way and what was left was a bunch of team players: some because they are naturally so (like heskey, gerrard and owen) and some because they were trying to prove something (like cole, swp and barry).

that is what england needs -- now and always. and if, from now on, they play the same team they played against israel (except for robinson who i still think needs to be put on the roster as back up for one of the young guys) they will qualify with no difficulty. but they won't and it will be a slog to qualify that, this time, might just be out of reach because of a rising russian squad.

but you know what? long term that might be the best thing for english football. at least it will mean that mcclaren is replaced. and then steve can get back to coaching somewhere in the middle of some country's table.

The Next Theirry Henry or Jermaine Jenas?

2007-08-30T08:22:00.000-06:00

I am thinking the latter. One good pass does not a good player or a good game make. I have actually seen Jermaine Jenas score a good goal on occasion, but it doesn't change the fact that the rest of his game is basically crap. And that's what we got from Theo Walcott against Sparta Prague: one good cutback that Tomas Rosicky buried -- then nothing.

The rest of the game saw Theo bullied off the ball, saw him driving crosses way too deep or into the stands, making pissy little challenges, and basically out-Jenasing Jermaine. It is a sorry statement on Theo's game that he is third choice Right Midfielder behind Hleb and Eboue (who just found himself moved up the pitch). I am not impressed. And the fact that this boy, whom Wenger dubbed the "next-Henry," only has one fucking goal (albeit against Chelski) in his entire Arsenal career is truly shabby. I don't see great things. I see five year deals and us foolishly hanging onto him in the hope that he'll come good. But, hey, he gives us an Englishman in the side for Champion's League, so that's gotta be good. Right?

Pissing on Theo aside...there some bright spots against Sparta Prague: 1. v Persie is looking more and more like an angry Dutch version of Alan Shearer (I just hope the refs start ignoring his thuggery like they did Al's. Sorry Gio, I know you hated old Al, but I love having a player with his passion and aggression on my team) 2. Fabregas continues to get better and better in the midfield, and the absence of Henry is turning him into a goal scorer (if le Scowl had been around Cesc would have passed and never scored that goal) 3. Eduardo scored a beautiful flying to poke...and he worked his ass off all night. He's going to be the real thing I think. Way better signing than Baptista (whom I still love in spite of myself).

P.S. I am not one of those fools who will try to convince you that Hleb is a great footballer, but he is our new Cygan, and it is awfully hard not to love the guy. He may blow at times, but I can always tell he's giving it his all. Plus, you gotta love his greasy hair. You just know he's listening to Duran Duran and wearing cut-off jean shorts while watching his woman wax his car on the weekend.

so captain fangallic is down

2007-08-21T18:12:00.001-06:00

i'm a bit bitter about william gallas being our captain, and he's going to have to seriously win me over. i wanted gilberto (or freddie before he decided to go hang out in the championship next year), and i would have been okay with mad jens (but now i am glad the armband didn't go that way) or cesc, who, while young, has the right stuff. or kolo toure, who is arsenal through and through.

but not gallas.

i don't hate him, and i rate him highly as a player, but he is a pain in the ass, a thorn in the side of unity, and the illogic of his past statements that we don't sign enough great players to show our "ambition" continues to stick in my craw. what the fuck are you, billy boy? i was under the impression you were the great player that showed our ambition.

and now our illustrious capitain is down with a groin injury until october -- probably.

at least the right man will be wearing the armband in october.

Superliga

2007-08-15T10:41:00.000-06:00

Missing football and being close to the new Arsenal season without Arsenal football, I found myself watching the new Superliga, which pits the top four MLS teams against the top four Mexican Apertura teams in...well...a North American Superleague. It's sort of the Champions League of our continent.

Until last night only one game was really excellent, and that was the game between Pachuca, the Mexican Champs, and Chivas Guadalajara, the runners-up.

But nothing could compare to last night's epic battle between Houston Dynamo and Pachuca in the first ever semi-final match-up of the new league. Holy crap! I find myself slowly turning into a Dynamo fan (Ching, de Rosario and Mullen are making that easy), and watching the way they struggled and scrapped last night put me in mind of George Graham's Arsenal: strong on set pieces, big and scrappy, and willing to do whatever it takes to grind out a win. They've even perfected the old Arsenal offside trap. Not only are they making me a fan, they are also making me a believer in the future of the MLS. 27,000 turned up to watch the semi-final yesterday, so I can't be the only one.

MLS isn't as good as the Premiership (or La Liga or Eredivisie or Bundesliga or Ligue Un or Serie A), but they sure aren't the crap league they were ten years ago when I watched a DC United v. Galaxy game and subsequently tuned out for five years. They deserve a chance, particularly when teams from their league can perform like Dynamo performed last night.

Dynamo got an early red card, but kept on scrapping. They tied the game 2-2. Then Pachuca took a late red card. Then there was extra time. Then Dynamo got another red card due to a petulant kick from Ashe. And Pachuca got a second yellow for their man. But the ref pulled a Poll and forgot about the previous yellow so he stayed on the pitch. Dynamo played with nine. Pachuca with ten. They went to penalties. And finally Pachuca won.

A great game. The better team won, and they will likely win the first Superliga.

I for one will actually be watching the final. I just hope that Pachuca face Becks and the Galaxy, cause if they do there will be real hope for Superliga and the MLS.

The New Season

2007-08-13T11:10:00.000-06:00

I always think it is a bit silly to make prediction lists for a new season, especially when the season hasn't even begun, but now that the first matchday is over I thought it would be time to make some predictions in spite of myself. So here's what my crystal ball tells me about the new season:

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal (although I want them in first)
3. Man Utd
4. Newcastle Utd (yep...I think this is the team to crack the top four with Big Sam)
5. Liverpool
6. Sunderland (Keano for UEFA spot anyone?)
7. Everton
8. Blackburn
9. Tottenham
10. Reading
11. Man City
12. Portsmouth
13. Aston Villa
14. Fulham
15. Bolton
16. Middlesborough
17. Birmingham City
18. Wigan Athletic
19. West Ham
20. Derby County

FA Cup: Arsenal
League (Carling) Cup: Man City
Top Scorer: Drogba
Top Arsenal Scorer: v.Persie
Player of the Year: Fabregas
Young Player of the Year: Abonglahor
Champion's League Final: Arsenal 2 - Barcelona 1 (c'mon...you gotta give me one)

The joy of being a fan in Canada

2007-07-24T14:01:00.000-06:00

The 2007-08 Premiership season is fast approaching. This would be far more exciting if I could actually look forward to seeing my beloved Gunners in action. Unfortunately at this point it appears that exactly one Arsenal game will be shown on any station that I can get. After last season when six EPL games per week were shown (3 games live Saturday morning on Sportsnet, 1 tape-delayed Saturday afternoon of FSWC, 1 live Sunday morning on the Score and 1 mid-week on FSWC) we are down to the one Sunday game per week on the Score. Just three months to go until Arsenal plays Liverpool on Oct. 28.

Basically Sportsnet's rights ended after last season and they found themselves actually needing to compete for what was formerly low value programming. The Score won the full EPL rights for the next three (?) years and has now sold off most of the games to Setanta Sports. Setanta of course is a new channel which claims it will start broadcasting prior to the EPL season beginning (which is doubtful), but will only be available on Rogers cable or Bell ExpressVu. So, being a condo-dwelling Western Canadian, I'm SOL unless Shaw starts carrying Setanta (which, given their history will probably happen next May when the season finishes).

Thank God (or more accurately the Chinese), I'll still have TVU, TVAnts, Sopcast, etc.

doom and gloom?

2007-07-24T08:42:00.000-06:00

i don't think so. even without the geezers we can compete.

How The Arsenal Squad Measures Up:
Goalkeeper: Lehmann/ Fabianski
Right-Back: Sagna/Hoyte/Eboue
Left-Back: Clichy/Traore
Centre-Half: Gallas/ Djourou
Centre-Half: Toure/Senderos
Right-Midfield: Eboue/Walcott/Hleb
Centre-Midfield: Fabregas/Denilson
Centre-Midfield: Gilberto/Diaby/Flamini
Left-Midfield: Rosicky/Diaby
Striker: Van Persie/Da Silva
Striker: Adebayor/Bendtner

this one hurts

2007-07-23T08:36:00.001-06:00

i really didn't much care when henry left. i liked henry, i loved watching him score goals from arsenal, but i have thought for the last couple of seasons (as my posts on this site will attest) that it was time for him to go.

but freddie leaving really sucks. it sucks for a couple of reasons.

the first is personal. he's been my favourite gunner since he arrived. he always plays the game with passion, even when he's playing poorly, and i loved watching him cut across that right side -- especially when he was linking up with pires or bergkamp or viera to score goals. there was always something relaxing for me when i was watching a game and i saw his bald hear or his bright red dye job. he was the comfort food of arsenal for me, and i am personally sad to see him gone (and also pissed because he once said he'd not play in england again because it would be too hard on arsenal fans, bastard).

the second reason is his experience. he was the longest serving gunner. he is sweden captain. i felt like we could have used those qualities this season. we're going to be giving a serious go at the top two this year, i am sure of it, but i think it would have been easier if we'd has ljungberg on the bench. i thought it was time for him to slip into a role more like what bergkamp held in his last few years, and i think freddie would have been good at it, and good for us.

it was not to be, clearly.

now my big question is this: what outfield player do i get excited about?

the only player left i currently love is mad jens (and how long will he last?). ah well, i am sure i will love others. c'mon eduardo & vp. make me love you. of course, i could always make it hleb. no one else likes him, so why not me?

beautiful

2007-07-18T22:20:00.001-06:00

and as it should be

A rant on Henry

2007-06-29T12:34:00.000-06:00

I do realize that this is likely to be unread as the blog has fallen into disuse lately, but I still need to rant about the state of Arsenal FC. It seems increasingly likely that by this time next season the club will be without Arsene Wenger (whose contract ends after this season) and without Cesc Fabregas (who has stated his desire to play in Spain and that he would stay as long as Wenger did). And of course there is the small matter of the greatest striker in the history of the Premiership, Thierry Henry whom Barcelona finally bought off for 30 pieces of silver after years of effort.

Was £16 million seriously the value of Henry? One of the best players in the game (admittedly with some health issues) being bought out of a 5 year contract to move to one of the richest clubs in the sport and it only cost £16 million. Yes, it sounds like a large number, but when compared to some of this offseason's transfers it is astonishing. Owen Whoregreaves cost Man Utd £17M, Darren Bent cost Tottenham £16.5M, Fernando Torres is rumoured to be going to Liverpool for £27M. All of these are apparently worth more than Thierry Henry. And of course, Arsenal is now left looking for a replacement using this money. Who is going to want to play for the team when it hasn't won anything in years, is being abandoned by it's star players and has a manager who is already looking towards the exit?

At the end of the day it probably doesn't matter. With Manchester United bringing in Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson so far (and chasing Michael Owen) and not losing any of their players, they must be considered favourites to repeat. Chelsea has only bought Pizarro and Ben Haim so far, but they also are bringing back all of their team (unless they manage to pawn Robben off on some unsuspecting club). And of course, third place Liverpool are likely bringing in Torres. Where does this leave Arsenal? Looking at another frustrating chase to secure fourth place and Champions League football. I'm not going to blame this on Henry's departure as he played a very small role in last season's fourth place, but unless we somehow make a splash on the transfer market (Eto'o or Torres would be a good start) I can't see the team improving on last season. So far Arsenal has lost Henry, Baptista, Aliadiere and Lupoli and brought in a third string goalkeeper and a 16 year old Norwegian defender. Ouch.

On the plus side, Arsenal's new white kits look far better than the fluorescent yellow kits Chelsea is offering up. Small victories must be savored.

flexing the billionaire muscle

2007-05-31T09:54:00.000-06:00

so man-united states looks like they are buying next year's cup...i wonder what the other 'rich' clubs will do.

and what about henry? that will be such a loss to arsenal.

2 cups - that ain't so bad

2007-05-19T12:52:00.000-06:00

so we didn't win the leagues...but we got the cups. makes me happy enough. now hopefully we can keep some of our players! too many rumors of too many folks leaving the blues: lampard, robben, cech. i'll be a sad girl if its true.

but today - drogba...you are a god

a fun article today.

2007-04-18T12:09:00.000-06:00

read up.

Enough Said....

2007-04-10T15:00:00.000-06:00

Man United 7 - AS Roma 1

Cristiano Ronaldo 2 Goals

Michael Carrick 2 Goals

Wayne Rooney 1 Goal

You know you love Ronaldo Gio?

letter of the day

2007-04-10T10:40:00.000-06:00

i seem to be pissing off some arsenal fans with this. oh well...i expected no less.

p.s. i don't think arsenal are sure to win, just that they have a much better chance, that they CAN win it, and that this win will boost our youth

Toronto enters MLS

2007-04-09T12:37:00.000-06:00

Finally after all of these months of preparation and anticipation Toronto FC kicked off their inaugural season on Saturday. Unsurprisingly they fell 2-0 to Chivas USA in Los Angeles. TFC really impressed me in the first half with Chivas' GK Brad Guzan making four tremendous saves to keep the score level. In the end though, fitness was likely the deciding factor as TFC couldn't make anything happen in the second half after falling behind late in the first.

I must say I'm not a fan of the 3-5-2 formation that Toronto was using. To me it seems far too vulnerable to the counterattack. It works fine against a slow buildup where the wingers have a chance to track back and help out the defence, but off a quick counter the defenders are pretty much left on their own. Perhaps it would work if you have three very good defenders on the back line, but that is the weakest part of Toronto's team and it showed in game one.

It was also great to see ABC is showing MLS games in HD. I watched Colorado Rapids (aka Arsenal USA) vs. DC United and the game looked fantastic. Hopefully Sportsnet is able to show some of TFCs games in HD this season and someday perhaps we will even get Premiership matches in HD (I believe Sky Sports is already broadcasting many of the games in HD in England, so it should be possible to use their feed). On an unrelated note I was thrilled to see that Shaw has added a new soccer channel to its lineup (Gol TV will be available starting on Wednesday). While they don't carry any EPL games, they have La Liga and Bundesliga as well as many South American leagues (so I can brush up on my Bolivian football :)

fucking nightmare

2007-04-07T17:53:00.000-06:00

and it just keeps getting worse and worse.

Arsenal: nil (with 29 shots)
West Ham: 1 (with 4 shots)

at least the man utd fans will have to keep their mouths shut after rio ferdinand gifted portsmouth the win and gifted chelsea back into the title race.

a day of football - praise the universe

2007-03-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

first game at 5:30, and it all ends with chelsea and watford by 12:30. i can't wait.

including a fun graphic of 'little chelsea' - i watch little britain all the time, and if you don't you should check out who they're spoofing in the graphic. it's 'lou' and 'andy'...click here for a clip.

Frank's Cracked Wrist

2007-03-28T09:38:00.000-06:00

F&CKING ROONEY - C@CKSUCKER MOTHER F*CKER - BASTARD DID IT ON PURPOSE.

I F&CKING HATE THAT GUY...

football is not ill

2007-03-23T09:58:00.000-06:00

My response to FIFA President Mr. Sepp Blatter's statement that "football is ill"

Football is ill? Don't make me laugh. Should Chelsea and Arsenal have laid the beats to each other in the Carling Cup Final? Maybe not, but I'm not convinced that they shouldn't have. We are talking about a sporting event. While we all know that "sportsmanship" dictates that "brawls" of that kind don't happen, I think deep down anyone who has played the game, even as a kid, knows that "sportsmanship" is not always possible.

Here are the reasons. First, football, as with any sport, is ritualized violence. It exists as a replacement for all the violent things that men do or want to do. It is an acceptable form of the violence that we constantly strive to suppress. Therefore, it is outrageous to assume that ritualized violence will not spill into real violence from time to time. This does not point to illness in the sport, or even in the teams involved. It points to human nature. Second, ritualized violence aside, anyone playing in a cup final of any importance (or a derby or any other important match for that matter) is going to have his temper on the edge of explosion. Don't believe me? Ask Zizou. Otherwise decent guys have their temper explode simply because they are playing for something they care about and tensions are high. The only answer, Mr. Blatter, is to ban all trophies and maybe even stop keeping track of scoring. Let's just make it a big friendly kick about, which we'd all love to watch. Finally, non-violence in sports is not possible because we, the fans, actually look forward to the occassional loss of cool. We like it when a punch gets thrown. We don't want to see it leave the game because when our sides do battle we benefit from catharsis. I am a France fan, and even though we lost the World Cup, Zizou's headbutt made me feel better. It made me feel better because it took my own head of steam, my own building tension and anger, and it gave it a release.

So Mr. Blatter it's time for you to recognize that violence is the natural state of man, and that your sport is simply an attempt to redirect that violence. Occassionally that redirection will fail. That is not a failing of the sport; in fact, it is not a failing at all. It just is, and trying to get rid of it is completely unrealistic. Why don't you worry about important issues like racism and stop worrying when Eboue takes a swing at Bridge. The leagues dole out their fines and suspensions and that's all that needs to happen. You worry about bananas hitting the pitch and stop whining about fists hitting faces.

Owen Hargreaves

2007-03-16T12:21:00.000-06:00

This article was posted in the Calgary Herald today. I had no clue that Owen had his own column.

are we really arsenal fans?

2007-03-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

now's the time that will test our resolve. out of all three cups in the span of two weeks. we lost all cups last year. we are riddled with injuries, riddled with suspensions (two deserved and one not). life looks good for the future, but for now it looks terrible.

are we fans? am i a fan?

you bet your fucking ass. i won't miss any league games this year, even though the best we can hope for is a champs league qualifying spot.

it's not the wins that make you a fan. it's the losses and how loyal you remain. i am staying, no matter how bad it gets.

p.s. FUCK!

my flight home

2007-03-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

thank god that west jet has sattelite tv and that TSN replayed yesterday's barca vs. liverpool game. never did i ever want a flight to last longer, so i could watch the dying minutes of the game.

thank you liverpool, even though you lost, for holding barca to one goal, thereby eliminating them from the champions league. barca loses the champions league title, brazil loses the world cup...could it get any better?

oh ya, if chelski won, i suppose. :)

in my ideal world, today i'd find lille, arsenal, madrid and celtic advancing...

read like a good game

2007-02-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

i wish i got to see it...and if you didn't here are some great highlights....that kick to terry's head looked NASTY!

sunderland

2007-02-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

For anyone who likes Roy Keane in spite of himself and themselves, I just thought it was worth mentioning that old Roy has brought Sunderland -- last year's atrocious Black Cats -- from the bottom of the Championship table up to 5th place. And 5th place, if it can be held onto, means a playoff spot for promotion to the Premiership. I am excited to see the fiery Irishman managing in the top flight next year. And I'll wager they do a hell of a lot better than they did under Mick "Captain Fantastic" McCarthy. Go Roy Go!

monkey off the back

2007-02-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today's FA Cup game between Bolton and Arsenal is a perfect example of why fans say "we" when referring to the exploits of their team. I am exhausted. Arsenal missed two penalties and gave up a lead in the 91st minute, but still manage to win the game. The emotional ringer they put me through makes me feel like I just ran 120 minutes on the pitch with them.

It wasn't just two missed penalties by our two excellent Brazilians: it was the fact that my favourite player scored the winning goal (go Freddie go!); it was the fact that the player of the match was our superior Brazilian, Denilson -- a kid who will pair up with Fabregas to make the best midfield the Premiership has seen in years; it was the fact that Adebayor hit the post of an open net; it was the fact that Arsenal gave up the lead to the team that always beats us; it was the fact that we beat Bolton in the Reebok and not at Emirates; it was the fact that they did it all without the Henry crutch to fall back on, proving once again that Arsenal are far from a one man team.

Wow! That was the best and worst game I have seen in ages. Seriously.

Time to take a nap.

P.S. I for one am excited by the prospect of Eto'o coming to the Arse. Is anyone else? Trade anyone?

pissy henry

2007-02-11T12:41:00.000-07:00

the commentators during the match were critical of henry's little moment with chris kirkland (pictured above), but i loved it. fair comment, i say. and i'm glad someone did it. my real regrets were over henry's blatant dive in the box early on, and mad jens' silly antics, which got him a yellow (but i think that was on purpose. almunia was always playing the carling cup, so why not serve your suspension when you are already scheduled to sit? i wouldn't doubt that was planned before the game ever started). note to all teams playing arsenal: don't time waste. that is a sure way to lose. if you want to beat arsenal you must fight them right to the last gasp, like fulham and sheffield.

Liverpool

2007-02-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Alright two more American owners come into the Premiership and purchase another legendary squad. Since I am such a Football virgin I do have some questions for those in the know.

Has the increase in transfer payments and the overall cost associated with the sport pushed away local ownership? If so, why do foreign sport magnets jump all over the purchase of such clubs?

The one conclusion that I have had about the above is this; the local share holders might be watching a stag nit growth of their clubs while looking overseas at the American ownership grow with their respective sports. The local fans watch the increase in salaries of the North American athlete and also see the growth that the local ownership is willing to take to please the fan and also increase revenue for themselves. The owner is building better multi purpose venues that are more fan friendly. Listen Glazer has yet to kill the Devils over the year.

I could go on but I am more curious to read what you think?

aaaaargh!

2007-02-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

stupid play on the part of senderos, no doubt: his little bout of laziness forcing him into a bad challenge, but for my money that hardly warranted a red card and penalty kick. the contact, albeit a shoulder tug, was minimal, and it happened outside the box. i agree with arsene that we would have won had it not been for that. but there arsenal were again, down to ten men, behind in the game, and they came back to win. i think that card will be overturned if arsene goes to the fa. fair play to boro, though. they played hard and capitalized on their spot kick.

of course, viduka probably should have seen red for his elbow on toure, but what the hell are you gonna do? that's football (and riley).

riot

2007-02-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

i wonder if we will ever know the course of events, or if we'll ever know what really happened here, but so far all that seems important is that a cop died after a bomb was thrown in his car, and that, once again, football hooligans ran riot. i personally think this is sadder for the black eye it gives football than for the death of a security worker who knew the risks going in, but that's just me.

a good omen

2007-01-31T15:22:00.000-07:00

Baba O'Riley (not a reference to adebayor, but something connected to arsenal victories)
by Who, The
album: Who's Next (1971)

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland

Sally, take my hand
Travel south crossland
Put out the fire
Don't look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let's get together
Before we get much older

Teenage wasteland
It's only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh, oh
Teenage wasteland
They're all wasted!

damn that felt good

2007-01-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

and henry, for the first time, made me believe that he can be a good captain. his form and attitude since his injury lay off have been impeccable -- the attributes of a true leader. it looks like maybe arsene was right again. we may not win the premiership this year, but we're going to win it again very soon.

LA Bound

2007-01-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

The good news is David is closer to Tom and the Scientology Head Quarters. I have attached Mr. Beckhams statement to his fans as well.

Why bother with a youth team?

2007-01-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

I think it's time for me to stop following Arsenal's young prospects. There's just no point to it. Today brings news that Anthony Stokes (the 18 year old who is leading the Scottish Premier League in scoring with 16 goals in 18 games) has been sold to Sunderland. It also appears probable that Arturo Lupoli (the 19 year old that has 10 goals for Derby in the English Championship) will never play for Arsenal. Lupoli is on loan until the end of this season, at which point his current contract will be over. He has expressed his desire to return to Italy, or possibly remain with Derby on a permanent contract.

Other recent departures of promising young talent include Jermaine Pennant who is now at Liverpool and David Bentley who went to Birmingham. It seems the only position that Arsenal is willing to bring it's young players into the senior team is on defense, but most of that is due to the amount of injuries that have been sustained amongst the starters.

I understand where Wenger is coming from in that neither Stokes or Lupoli would be forcing their way past Henry, van Persie, Adebayor and Baptista in the depth chart in the near future and that the players shouldn't be stuck in a position where they can't succeed. However, one of the joys of sports is watching players develop from a mere prospect into a star for the team that you support. This must be what it feels like to cheer for the New York Yankees. Why bother developing a farm system when you are buying players that are already in their prime every year?

a galaxy of stars...

2007-01-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

creating a supermassive black hole.

Chelsea's table this Christmas season should have been a gift unto itself; a cornucopia of match points to scare the living daylights out of Man USA. Reading, Fullham, and Aston Villa - an easy 9 points you would think. But what did they earn? 3

My blues are giving me the blues. My galaxy of stars is becoming a supermassive black hole - Chelsea is a dense stellar cluster of football stars undergoing core-collapse at relativistic speeds.

Only a few are playing with heart & character: Kalu, Essien, Drogba. There are injuries, but since when has a win depended on either Cole, Robben or Terry being on the pitch? Cech I can understand...but Hilario isn't horrible, is he? He stopped Barca.

But where is Ballack? Sheva? Lampard? (who by the way, is quite sub-par as the Terry captain replacement). Why are they not stepping up?

I'm not saying that Man U deserves to win the league....but at this point, Chelsea doesn't either.

my fave gooners

2006-12-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

my favourite current gunners in order:

ljungberg
mad jens
gilberto
lauren
flamini
gallas
toure
henry
adebayor
van persie
cesc fabregas

of course this changes all the time, but this is my order right now (and there's a bunch i still love, they just didn't make this list).

cole play

2006-12-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

i'm crying i'm lauging so hard....so of course i bought it....can't wait to get it in the mail. anyone wanna borrow it when i'm done?

Happy Holiday Football Fans

2006-12-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

I hope you can watch your team play (and win) many games this holiday season!

oh man u....

2006-12-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

its a lesson in being humble.

looks like chelsea is only 2 points behind man u after their defeat to west ham...while chelsea wins against everton...and there are months left of premier league action.

should be interesting

Owen in Avenue Magazine

2006-12-15T14:56:00.000-07:00

i was impressed to see that Owen Hargreaves made it into Calgary's Avenue Magazine highlighting underplayed (and overhyped) stories of the year. the female writer talked about his appearance in the world cup, named man of the match as well as one of England's best players on this year's squad. yay owen!

Four young Canadians

2006-12-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is a tale of four talented young men all of whom were born in Canada and all of whom are blessed with tremendous football talent.

Player A was born to a family which had recently emigrated from the United Kingdom. He tries out for the Canadian U16 team, but is cut for being "too small". His play for the local youth teams caught the eye of a man with contacts into one of the largest football teams in the world. At the age of 16 he made the jump into the youth program for this large European team. Several years pass and his star continues to rise. At this point he has four options open to him for international football: he can play in the country of his birth (Canada), the country of either parent or he can wait to obtain a passport for his new home country based on residency. Despite claiming on Canadian TV that he would play for Canada, Player A opts to play for his father's country, one with an illustrious history of international football and in doing so becomes the only player in that nations history to play for the team without ever living or playing football in the country.

Player B moves from Canada to a European club around the age of 12. He gets released from several clubs in this European country, but sticks around long enough to get a passport before moving on to other European nations. During this time he spends some time in the Canadian U20 program, has a disagreement with the manager and never plays a single minute. Eventually he cracks the starting eleven for a team in one of the lesser football leagues in Europe (first division, but not a major league). When the European country that he was developed in pursues him, he commits to their team by playing in a UEFA U21 qualifying game. He has since been linked with a move to the richest club in football.

Player C is born in Ontario to European parents. He moves to his parent’s homeland at a very young age (4 or 5) and is developed in that nation's football system. He plays for the Canadian U20 team at the World Youth Cup, but has not yet committed to Canada for his international career. Seeing a weakness at his position in the country of his parents he is considering playing for that team in the future as it offers a high probability of World Cup play.

Player D is born in Toronto and moves to the youth program of a large European team at the age of 12. He plays in the team’s youth program until he turns 18 and becomes eligible to play with the first team. He is considered one of the greatest young talents in football (he has been compared to Zidane for what that’s worth). To date he has refused to commit to Canada internationally, claiming that he wants to focus on establishing himself with his club team. It is expected that he will receive citizenship in his new country shortly and would likely be strongly pursued by that national team. Speculation has his father urging him to play for the European team and his brother (a Canadian national team member) supporting Canada.

A couple of questions:

1) Should any/all of these players play for Canada instead of the European nation they are eligible for?

2) What would prevent an exodus of football talent such as this in the future?

3) How many of these players can you identify?

My take:

It is very difficult to blame any player for choosing to commit his international career to a team with provides the possibility of success. Given the choice between Canada (which has played in exactly one World Cup) and a nation that expects to be in that tournament every time, it is easy to see why the players make the choice that they do. This is even truer when you consider that the player has left Canada at a young age and spent a large portion of their life outside of the country. If you have gone to school, trained, perhaps married in Europe, why would you not feel loyalty to that country?

While I would love to believe that a sense of national pride and blind patriotism ties these young men to the country of their birth it is usually not in their individual interests to play football for the national team. This of course is somewhat of a dilemma: players won't play for a third-rate national football team if they have another choice. And the football team will remain uncompetitive as long as its star players are moving to Europe at an early age to further their careers and then not returning to play for the national team. I have a little hope that Toronto FC will help the situation by providing another option for the training and development of young Canadian players. If the player is being trained in Canada I suspect they would be more likely to play for the national team. However, this is unlikely to help for the truly elite talents that require an elite academy to make the most of their professional career.

What are your thoughts?

get used to that look

2006-12-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

are there any man utd fans out there who are a little worried by all the talk from the likes of sir bobby charlton and sir alex ferguson and countless pundits who are already handing the red devils the title?

there should be. by wednesday they will only have a five point lead over chelsea, and that isn't enough by a long shot. and let's not forget that better teams than this current man utd squad have dominated before christmas and then collapsed into a giant ball of dung after christmas is over.

man utd may very well win the league title, but i doubt it.

Top Jersey Sponsors

2006-12-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you are stuck in a trailer waiting to be called to the set.....

Manchester United
Country: England
Sponsor: AIG*
Indusrty: Insurance
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 14.1
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 20

Juventus
Country: Italy
Sponsor: Tamoil
Indusrty: Energy
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 12.8
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 18.5

Bayern Munich
Country: Germany
Sponsor: Deutsche Telekom
Indusrty: Telecoms
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 11.5
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 17.0

Chelsea
Country: England
Sponsor: Samsung
Indusrty: Electronics
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 11.0
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 16.0

Real Madrid
Country: Spain
Sponsor: Siemens Mobile
Indusrty: Telecoms
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 9.7
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 14.0

Arsenal - Added on for Brad
Country: England
Sponsor: O2*
Indusrty: Telecoms
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (£mil): 4.0
Annual Value Of Sponsorship (€mil): 5.8

arsenal's problem

2006-12-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

two losses in a row, seventeen dropped points already this season, a rash of injuries again: it's hard to deny that the arsenal are in a bad way.

george graham tells us that the problem is leadership, and to some extent i agree -- to a large extent actually. but old george didn't mention that the leadership is required because of the team's piss poor morale. it is hard to avoid the fact that the team's morale is shit. but none of us should be surprised, and i certainly don't blame them. over the last couple of years they have lost the champion's league final, some of their best teammates (vieira, bergkamp, pires and campbell -- three of whom were leaders in their own right) and their stadium. that's a lot to lose in a short time.

then couple that with the fact that henry made it to the world cup final and lost (how is our captain supposed to be anything other than bitter and gloomy after a year like that?), and the following players all played in the world cup: cesc, toure, eboue, mad jens, rosicky, gallas, senderos, djourou, ljungberg, adebayor, gilberto and van persie. that's not necessarily a good excuse considering that man utd and chelsea both had a shitload of players at the competition too, but those teams didn't have the other shit to compound the problems.

so for all those reasons morale is low, and the man who has to be dragging gunner morale back to the positive is their captain -- theirry henry. but the truth is -- as i've been saying all along -- that henry is not a good captain. i fucking love him, but the armband has to pass on to someone else. he has yet to be a good captain, and now that he's rightfully depressed and frustrated his place as captain is impossible.

just watch a game, any game. henry never inspires. we go down a goal and he focuses inward, trying to focus on his game and score a goal. but a captain can't do that (even though that is obviously what theirry needs to do), so i think it is simple. pass the armband to the man who inspires: gilberto silva. that way henry can concentrate on himself, as he needs to, and gilberto can become the official anchor of the team, which will add credibility and effectiveness to his already impressive attempts to inspire.

in both losses this week it was gilberto who did his damndest to suck arsenal back into the game. his bombing runs up the center led to the only goal against bolton and the most inspiring chance of the game against fulham (and what did henry do when gilberto made the latter run? he gave him shit for not passing the ball, which was barely possible under the circumstances).

so in the end i almost agree with george about leadership. we DO need new leadership, but i think we have it already. make gilberto the captain, pass the backup duties to toure or mad jens, and let henry worry about henry. that, i believe, will lead to improved morale and a return to winning ways.

and then, maybe someday soon, the armband can pass on to the man i think will eventually wear it best...but i'll save that for another day.

chelski or man utd states?

2006-11-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

my vote goes to chelski. ugly it will be, but they will win. whatta you think?

boring, boring arsenal

2006-11-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

but only boring because it's not fun to watch a team manhandle another so thoroughly (who am i kidding? i had a lot of fun. but my dad, the neutral fan, he was bored). liverpool were completely outclassed. they had a couple of decent spells in the first half, but that's all.

the best part about arsenal's victory today (the second whooping of the weekend: chelsea thrashed watford 4-nil yesterday) was that our utility man and our two central defenders scored the goals. what the hell was toure doing, streaking right up the center to get a breakaway? and where were the liverpool defenders when gallas strolled to within a few feet of reina and put the ball home? and flamini's underpressure goal was awesome. three unsuspected scorers, just the way arsenal was when the gunners were on the magic 49 run.

one other thing struck me today: steven gerrard is not long for liverpool. he's had it with rafa, with players who don't seem to care, with being embarrased and with being played out of position. so i figure he'll either go to man utd (and hargreaves will be out of luck) or he'll go to chelski so lampard can go to barcelona, or he could end up in italy or spain, but wouldn't it warm the cockles to see him cross the river to goodison? he won't, of course, but it would be a blast to see.

btw, in case you couldn't tell...this will be a happy week for me.

maybe not beckam

2006-11-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

but somebody...and soon. and i'd put my money on becks to new york red bulls (despite his l.a. youth academy) -- the beckenbaur and pele comparisons will be too much to avoid -- and ronaldo to l.a. galaxy or chivas u.s.a. at least that's what the so-called "beckam rule" has been put in place for. if miami had a team i would say even henry would be there in 7 years.

p.s. the photo is all for you, gio.

The next Henry?

2006-11-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

With the talk of the vastly over hyped Freddy Adu being chased by Manchester United and Chelsea it's time to draw your attention to Arsenal's 18 year old prodigy: Anthony Stokes.

Currently on loan with Falkirk of the Scottish Premier League (a league at least the equal of MLS) Stokes has recorded 9 goals in his last 4 league games. This includes back to back hat-trick performances in the last two games. He was named the Young Player of the Month for October and is the leading scorer in the SPL. Stokes also scored the game tying goal in Falkirk's win over Celtic in the Scottish League Cup this week.

The question remains: will Arsenal leave him in Scotland to finish the season or bring him back to London when his current loan expires in January. And perhaps more importantly, will he be given a chance to perform with the Arsenal squad unlike other talented young strikers such as Aliadiere, Lupoli and Bentley.

Adu to Man U or Maybe Chelsea

2006-11-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

Really? Did we need this kid? I think Henry would look stunning in a Man U kit next season....

Well Bananas how do you like them apples?

letter of the day

2006-11-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

i've got the top letter over at football 365. go see.

zidane: a 21st century portrait

2006-11-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

an original soundtrack by mogwai...anyone ever heard of such a project?

2 goals at camp nou

2006-10-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

that's gotta hurt...(enter evil laugh here) and quite frankly, i don't care how much cheating, diving, whingeing, accusing and feigning injury occurred. barca didn't win. period.

oh henry!

2006-10-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

i don't know how many times this season i have sat there and watched the arsenal fart around the box, passing and passing and passing. 3000 kms away, in my basement, in my crappy brown recliner, early on a saturday morning and i am yelling "SHOOOOOOOT! Shoot the fucking ball!"

and that's what they were saying in emirates this weekend.

henry responded by saying:

"The fans have the right to speak. I keep on hearing them shout 'shoot'. I don't know what they're trying to say or do. [they are saying you should shoot, theirry.] But I think they're getting sucked in by what some people are saying.

"We scored some amazing goals at Reading and nobody said 'shoot!' then [because you were shooting, theirry]. Against Everton we created the same chances but the finishing wasn't what you expect. That's just the way it is.

"Fans are fans and like to express the way they feel. [we sure do. and its our prerogative.]"

now i didn't see this particular game, but i did see the ass whooping of reading and i saw arsenal's defeat to man citeh, and i saw them shoot a lot in the former and not at all in the latter. it seems to me that if the emirates fans were screaming "shoot, " even with the high shot total that arsenal did registe , the gunners could have and should have shot more. fans are in a good position to see the flow of play. fans are also predisposed to be on the side of their team (especially home fans), and they are unlikely to attack their team if they are shooting enough. on this i come down on the side of my fellow fans (although i might feel differently if i could see the fucking game): as a general rule arsenal does need to shoot more.

and as for everton playing negative football...good on 'em. that is the classic "arsenal" way (ten years of tottenham ball can't erase the memory of "boring, boring, arsenal"). we were famous for it. it gets results. and if that's what it takes to get points off of a beautiful team that's what it takes. if i were moyes and i were facing the gunners i'd do the same.

so quit making excuses, thierry. quit going for perfection and just shoot.

Sir David Beckham?

2006-10-25T08:32:00.000-06:00

so it looks like david beckham might be knighted. dear lord. read the article here.

fractured skulls are bad

2006-10-15T10:43:00.000-06:00

I was only able to see the blow to Petr Cech's head on Fox Sports World report, and their focus was on the actual contact and nothing else. I wasn't able to see Stephen Hunt's face before or after the blow, and that certainly would have helped understand his motive -- which is important here to some extent. If Hunt was acting focused on the ball and mistimed things his transgression is significantly less nasty. If he was acting maliciously somthing serious must be done.

I had a fractured skull when I was 2 1/2 years old (I know, I know, that explains a lot), and I had to wear a helmet everywhere for 6 months while my skull reknit. Babies bones are still growing fast, and the natural repair to them is much quicker than for an adult. And I didn't have to have surgery like Cech did today. What I'm saying is that no one should expect Cech back this year, and it may be longer. In fact, it may be never. I don't know how a keeper can come back from this injury -- even if his brain damage (and he's going to have some) doesn't effect his skills. Keepers must be fearless, and I can't see him ever being as fearless as he was before. Moreover, Cech simply won't have the luxury of easing into his spot like Gilberto Silva did after he cracked his spine. If you're an outfielder you can hide behind the other players, and you can always sub in for short periods until you're truly ready to start. If you're a keeper you don't have that luxury.

This could be the end for Petr Cech. That makes me sad.

So back to Stephen Hunt. Regardless of his motive the FA is going to have to fine and suspend the boy. They have to set some precedent and protect the keeper in some way. Even if it is a freak accident and Hunt is innocent of any "wrongdoing," they must take this seriously. They need to take it seriously for Petr Cech's sake, they need to take it seriously for the fans sake, they need to take it seriously for the sake of kids who play the game, and they need to make sure that Mourihno has nothing to complain about.

But if they find that it was malicious (sidebar: i want to mention that if Mourihno is right and Hunt laughed after the fact, it is not proof enough. Some people laugh when they are uncomfortable and that could be what happened here. I know. I broke a girls nose playing softball once and I started giggling with nervous energy. It almost caused a bench clearing brawl, but what I did was not at all intentional), if they find that it was malicious, the FA is going to have to take true action and ban Hunt for life. If they find that he was intending to hurt Cech he has to go. And he'll be damn lucky if criminal charges aren't brought against him. This is going to be right up there with Bertuzzi in hockey.

I sure hope it was just a mistake. Get well Petr Cech. Even fans of some other teams are going to miss you.

famous last words

2006-10-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

"A good manager would qualify with these players. I feel we'll get there, but the pressure is enormous. Along the way we're going to hit rocks because we need to try things. But it's not as if I'm stuck here in a muddle not knowing where I am."

~~Steve McClaren

Well...these certainly won't be his last words, but Macca is putting himself seriously on the line here. When he tanks qualifying for Europe -- and he will (England are famed for blowing qualification when they shouldn't) -- he'll be lucky to get a job managing in Coca-Cola division three. But, hey, his seven figure coaching salary should set him up for life, regardless. Go Macca.

He's Back!

2006-10-11T11:43:00.000-06:00

life just got a little bit sweeter!

Joe Cole has taken a big step towards a full return from injury after playing all 90 minutes of a behind-closed-doors friendly.

The game took place at Cobham on Tuesday with the opposition provided by Coventry City’s reserves. The Chelsea team was a reserve side plus the first team squad members who have not been on international duty.

Tuesday’s game was an important test, but after lasting the course and creating both Chelsea goals in a 2-1 win, Cole was delighted with the outcome.

GIDDY UP!

Beckham to the MLS?

2006-10-08T09:35:00.000-06:00

David Beckham to the MLS? I am not to sure what to think of this potential move. There is one side of me that thinks he should pack it in on the other side of the pond where it all started. Why take a step down as your career is slowly coming to an end?

On the flip side it would be pretty cool watching him play in New York. If this was to happen could he drag others over to play in the MLS?
Beckham, MLS a perfect match?

Why do we?

2006-09-25T16:01:00.000-06:00

Why do we cheer for our favorite team. What has led you to cheer for Man United or the Gunners. For me it was at the age of six having to choose from a Liverpool cup or a Man United cup at my Uncles house outside of London. I choose United for no other reason that it looked cool. My Uncle then said to me that only real men cheer for the Devils! Before getting too excited that is my Uncle talking not me. Gio put your hands down. What led me to this just looking at my Man United cup from Bananas. How about you what are your reasons?

Is Gio Right?

2006-09-15T15:04:00.000-06:00

Rooney is Shrek? Shrek is Rooney?

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité

2006-09-15T11:46:00.000-06:00

I never would have guessed that the footballing millionaires could have this solidarity for those who have nothing.
Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira invited evicted squatters to come see the rematch between France and Italy.

You can read the full story here.

Apart from the fact that the gesture itself is very cool, it also pisses off the extreme right politicians.

Thuram and Vieira must both be feeling very warm inside.

The Bet

2006-09-15T10:51:00.000-06:00

Again another year has come for Brad and I to battle for dinner and a pint......

joe cole is back

2006-09-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

i just read a chelsea blog where someone asked "is it just me or is every other Chelsea fan missing Joe Cole?"

alleluia and a-men to that!

the fact that he's been injured is the only consolation i have that sportsnet and the score haven't shown a single chelsea game this season.

perhaps with cole back in the match, sheva will step up his game. apparently, he's been lacklustre and 'they' think that with cole on the pitch, he'll have to step up his game. especially when joe does his fancy footwork...

so far, sheva's been a waste of money

i'm a touch bitter about my footie today. and since i'm bitching, can i add...i miss crespo too.

this blog is a ghost town

2006-09-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

i can see the tumble weeds...

Shopping for a scarf

2006-08-26T16:07:00.000-06:00

Bananas asked me if i could get him a scarf of the local club of my hometown Haarlem. This weekend i tried to find one. There is one store downtown that has three core bussinesses: tobacco, porn and football pharaphernalia. I thought i had a good chance there.

I was wrong. The shopkeeper could sell me loads of stuff regarding Ajax, Feyenoord, Barcelona and even a very small Brazillian shirt. But anything related to H.F.C Haarlem was not available. I guess you can't make any money with it.

When you are located only 20 kilometers from the sexiest club in the Netherlands, it is kind of hard to get a large fanbase. Even if the club ended on a very respectable sixth place last season and battled in the playoffs for promotion. The last time the club was champion of the eredivisie was in the year 1946 i believe. The club did that with the magnificent striker Kick Smit. In the last three decades, Haarlem nurtured great players like Ruud Gullit, Arthur Numan and Barry van Galen.

So there must be a shopkeeper somewhere here in Haarlem, who is still proud enough of our local hero's, to sell some nice Haarlem gear.

Don't you worry Bananas, i'll get you that scarf.

Champions League Predictions ..

2006-08-24T15:31:00.000-06:00

Not one of the strongest collections of top clubs the ECC has seen play, but with 16 countries represented, it should be interesting nonetheless. Here are my predictions for top 2 seeds advancing (in order), followed by a UEFA Cup runner up.

Group A: Chelsea, Barca .. Bremen (top 2 obviosuly a toss up, however lonely Sofia to hand out points left and right is obvious)

Group B: Bayern, Inter .. Spartak (look for Bayern to top group with Spartak and Inter fighting for 2nd, Sporting will need to play extraordinary to become a part of UEFA Cup, let alone a finalist again)

Group C: Liverpool, PSV .. Galatasaray (straight forward, however, if this was the year PSV do not progress, I wouldn't be surprised)

Group D: Valencia, Shakhtar .. AC Roma (having seen Shakhtar play half a dozen games this summer, I know they are capable of going into Rome and Pireaus and taking points, Roma being inconsistent doesn't bode well for anyone in the group)

Group E: Real Madrid, Lyon .. Dynamo Kyiv (unless the 2 faves both pick up 2 points from each other, neither Dynamo nor Bucharest have a shot of claiming 2nd, I will have my fingers crossed for DK nonetheless)

Group F: Man Utd, Benfica .. Celtic (Kobenhavn's dream qualifier stops here, unfortunately)

Group G: CSKA, Arsenal .. Porto (CSKA top form in Russian premier league will do them favours in Group Stage, I expect Arsenal to lose points out East as usual, Porto and Hamburg will fight for 3rd)

Group H: Milan, Lille .. AEK (Anderlecht are one of the worst CL clubs, yet make it to group stage annually, so much for AC's punishment of being in the easiest group, with it, I expect them to be in mid table in Serie A by November, pushing for UEFA Cup by the end of 1st half)

Everything following that is a draw. I highly doubt my predictions will be anything less than 80%, but futbol is futbol.

Will be interesting to see Mourinho go for the treble while competing in that group.

What are your thoughts?

So much for predictions (2)

2006-08-24T11:52:00.000-06:00

"I'm so confident about this team that i will even venture into guessing how far they will get into the champions league: i would be disappointed if they wouldn't make it to the quarter final."

Did i wrote that? I guess i did.

It turns out that Ajax isn't going to play any champions league football at all. After winning away against FC Copenhagen with 2-1, i was quite confident that they would finish the job in the Amsterdam arena. But after a good first and a dismal second half, Ajax Ajax lost with 2-0 from the Danes. So we weren't even able to save the preliminary round. So it will be the UEFA cup this year. Bye bye Chelsea, hello Newcastle United.

Not that there is anything wrong with Newcastle but still... Ouch.

The draw for the group stage of the CL has just finished. FC Copenhagen has found themselves in a group that would haven perfect for Ajax: Manchester United, Celtic and Benfica. I still believe that Ajax would have had a good chance to end as number two in that group.

Despite yesterdays disaster, i still believe that Ajax has a real good team and a fantastic coach. I expect that this team will really shine this season. Just not on the European stage that matters most.

FC Copenhagen will do that instead. Good luck to them.

So much for predictions

2006-08-19T17:47:00.000-06:00

AZ goalgetter Simon Cziommer celebrates another goal against NAC. Cziommer did that three times in a match where NAC was annihilated: 8-1.

So much for predictions. Of course this is only the first game of the season and NAC haven been struggling for several seasons now.

But still, 8-1... When was the last time when that happened? Maybe somewhere in the 80's when Ajax had a good day against Helmond Sport or some other first division team who got promoted by accident. AZ don't have a Van Basten or Bergkamp and NAC is far from a candidate for relegation.

Apart from all the goals, there was the excellent pressing game, the terrific use of space and ball posession. All in all, you could say that AZ was a budget version of Arsenal this evening.

Tomorrow the match of the day will be FC Goningen - Feyenoord. Ajax and PSV will play their matches too.

Prediction for this years Eredivisie season

2006-08-19T09:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the overture of another season of Eredivisie started. Vitesse beated Sparta by 2-1.

So if i want to predict the top 5 for this season, i should do it now.

1. Ajax

Due to the introduction of the imbecilic play-offs, Ajax ended as vice-champions last year. Ajax was fourth after the end of the regular competition, which is the proper way to look at it.

It might seem silly to predict Ajax to come out on top this year. I have good hope that Ajax will be champions this year and not only because i want them to be.

I think they have done well on the transfer market. Even though he is 34 years old, Jaap Stam could be an important member of the squad for at least 2 seasons. Gabri could be a very good asset for the club, the same goes for George Ogararu and Roger. I'm not sure about Kenneth Perez though. He seems to be too far over the hill, to be a good and consistent right winger for the whole season.

Together with guys like Wesley Sneijder, Urbi Emanuelson, my personal favourite Ajax player Mauro Rosales and of course Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, this is a team that should be at least a strong contender for the title.

But it is Henk ten Cate who is Ajax' guarantee to new triumphs. Ten Cate has been very successful with teams like Sparta, NAC and MTK Budapest. There is no doubt in my mind that as Frank Rijkaard's assistant, he had a huge part
in Barcelona's success.

So Ajax will be champions this season and i'm so confident about this team that i will even venture into guessing how far they will get into the champions league: i would be disappointed if they wouldn't make it to the quarter final.

2. PSV

Last years champions PSV lost very little on the transfer market. Most noticeable move was Theo Lucius, who went to Feyenoord. They gained very little too. All the new players are defenders plus one goalkeeper.
Until proven wrong, my heart won't be beating faster for new players like Manuel Da Costa or Jelle de Bock.

But as long Alex won't get the chance to play his first game for Brazil (If that happens he will be playing his first game for Chelsea right after that), PSV has one of the best teams in the Dutch premier league.

I don't expect them to win the championship this year. Mainly because they lost world class coach Guus Hiddink and replaced him with Ronald Koeman. Despite winning national titles with Ajax and the national cup with Benfica, you can't say that Koeman's history as a trainer is something you can be excited about. He certainly never made any team better. Since stagnation is always decline, PSV will end this season as vice-champions.

3. Feyenoord

Due to the introduction of the imbecilic play-offs, Feyenoord ended as number five last year. Feyenoord was third after the end of the regular competition, which is the proper way to look at it.

Despite the fact they lost top scorer Dirk Kuyt right before the end of the transfer period -and before that Salomon Kalou, who will keep Chelsea's bench warm-, i have good hopes they will be a great squad throughout the season. They certainly were able to buy some promising players: Theo Lucius (PSV), Stan Huysegems (AZ). Henk Timmer (AZ) is a very able goalie, so all in all i am confident we will see a lot of good football from this team.

I do wonder if and how they are going to replace Kuyt. If NEC is still in financial troubles, i would try to get both Romano Denneboom and Andrzej Niedzielan. Edgar Barreto might be a nice addition too.

4. FC Groningen

Due to the introduction of the imbecilic play-offs, FC Groningen ended as number three last year. FC Groningen was fifth after the end of the regular competition, which is the proper way to look at it.

Even that was a sensational place for FC Groningen to end the season. I think they will even do better. They strengthened the squad with some new players and only lost a few players to other clubs.

I have high hopes on new striker Luis Suárez. But it is coach Ron Jans who is the secret behind the sudden success of FC Groningen. And as long the former German teacher will stay with the club, i would be very disappointed if they would not be able to end on a position that would get them into the UEFA tournament.

5. AZ

Due to the introduction of the imbecilic play-offs, AZ ended as number four last year. AZ was vice-champion after the end of the regular competition, which is the proper way to look at it.

AZ has been very busy on the transfer market this year. Not without good reason. The club lost essential players like Barry van Galen (end of career), Denny Lanzaat (Wigan Athletic), Steyn Huysegems (Feyenoord), Kenneth Perez (Ajax) and Tarik Sektioui (Porto).

Most of the newcomers are very promising young players, but i'm afraid that Louis van Gaal will be using the term "learning year" a lot this season.

But it might be the start of a new era for AZ and if their trainer stops to act like a dickhead towards the press, AZ might finally become the top club it wants to be so very bad

D-Day

2006-08-18T14:26:00.000-06:00

i'm so excited i could throw up.

the only downer is that i can't watch either chelsea or arsenal win their first games this weekend...its a crying shame. especially when i think that watching game one is going to feel like picking someone up at the airport that you haven't seen in some time. you miss them, you love them, and you can't wait to see them. the anticipation is killing me.

Where will Co go?

2006-08-10T12:38:00.000-06:00

Co Adriaanse always manages to surprise me. Just when i was certain that he was perfectly happy at Porto, he leaves. I do understand that it must be really dissapointing when you aren't able to even get a player like Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, but still. Co seemed to be so perfectly happy in Portugal and Porto was according to him a "top club".

Of course Porto isn't a top Club. I can't imagine Barcelona, A.C Milan or Chelsea would want Vennegoor of Hesselink even he was given to them for free. And Co isn't a coach for a top team. Co is a turd polisher. Give him a club that is average at best he make it shine again.

Crewe Alexandra, now that would be the perfect club for Co. First he fires the lady that runs the cafeteria, then the groundsman. then he demands that all players take off their earrings, remove their tattoo's and get a jehovah's witness haircut. Three years later, Crewe is playing the UEFA cup semi finals against Lazio Roma. Crewe loses of course. Co get's angry with the journalists who write that Lazio was clearly the better team, since they won both matches with 4-2. Co thinks that that is "score board journalism". The following season he's off to another "top club": Borussia Dortmund. His first purchase: Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

one player in

2006-08-04T19:24:00.000-06:00

i'm not hoping for anything extreme, and i do trust our young players, but...tomas rosicky? that can't really be it during this transfer window an it? please, arsene say it ain't so.

Chelsea Go West

2006-07-27T15:23:00.000-06:00

so close yet so far away...if i wasn't so obsessed with seeing chelsea at stamford bridge, i'd go into about of depression. i'll be in toronto tomorrow...they're in chicago right now.

damn scott for getting married the same day as the freaking friendly in the US

arsenal 2 - ajax 1

2006-07-22T15:39:00.000-06:00

goals from henry and kanu (and huntelaar for ajax) sent bergkamp off in style. and did you see that ajax bench? van basten, rijkaard, and best of all cruyff, all dressed up for bergie's goodbye. freaking awesome.

farewell dennis

2006-07-21T00:19:00.000-06:00

back in 1999, when i started watching arsenal for real, dennis bergkamp was at the height of his powers, and he was instantly the mentor for a young frenchman who'd barely registered on the margins at mighty juventus. i have been partial to the pupil, but i have nothing but respect for bergkamp the master. he has always been the perfect professional, and gunner fans everywhere (and i'm guessing ajax fans too) will always miss him. i hope he comes back as a manager someday. i think he'd be great. have a great opening night farewell at emirates, dennis. i wish i could be there.

Dutch news

2006-07-20T03:35:00.000-06:00

Ajax beaten by Spakenburg

I'm still optimistic about Ajax' chances for the title this season, but the start isn't very promising. Allthough Spakenburg is one of the top amateur teams, they are still amateurs. I have no idea why Ajax lost with 3-2, but i'm sure that new Ajax coach Henk ten Cate will sort it out. Congratulations to Spakenburg!

Denny Landzaat leaves AZ for Wigan

Dutch international Denny Landzaat is leaving Dutch top team AZ for English relegation candidate Wigan Athletic. Allthough 30 year old Landzaat was looking for a transfer abroad, i can't imagine that had a club like Wigan in mind. Maybe he was so fed up with the tender tyranny of Louis van Gaal, that he got less picky.

Canada 2007

2006-07-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

Tickets for the biggest football tournament Canada has ever hosted (and likely ever will host) are now on sale. The FIFA U-20 World Cup is being held June 30-July 22, 2007 in 6 cities (Victoria, Burnaby, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal).

Edmonton is hosting 6 games:
Prelim round games on July 2, 5 and 8 (Canada is playing in the later 2)
Round of 16 on July 11 and 12
Quarter-Final on July 14
Semi-Final on July 18

A package for all Edmonton games is $160 and I am certainly considering it. Not sure if I can make it to all of the mid-week games, but it might be easier buying the package than trying to get individual games (though I'm not sure that Commonwealth would sell out for any of the games).

So, are any of you going to be there?

The Italian Outcome

2006-07-14T14:48:00.000-06:00

Wow! Relegation for Juventis, Lazio AND Fiorentina and a 15 point deficit for AC Milan.

Read the article here.

Man U Moving?

2006-07-14T08:11:00.000-06:00

Looks like Man U has a new owner and maybe moving? Come on you Reds!

Zidane and Ronaldo to the U.S?

2006-07-14T04:13:00.000-06:00

Maybe it was to expected that rumours like these were starting to pop up in the newspapers. But being the naive fool i am, i did not see it coming. And it will take me some time and effort to get used to the idea that Zizou will be playing in the U.S for a club named the New York Red Bulls. An article about the rumour can be found here.

Despite the fact that it was also mentioned in one of the best Dutch newspapers, i don't believe it is going to happen. Why play low level football in a country that will be all over him for the very last action he made on the pitch? I envision a very unpleasant depth interview in Harpo, and an even more unpleasant talk at the Dr. Phils show (WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!?!). Whatever his role in the U.S. would be, it would not be an anounymous one. And i think he wants to be just that most of all.

Zinedine, if you are considering to make a career move to the other side of the ocean, don't do it. Why not pick up golf, fishing, maybe origami? Just lay low for ten years and win another world cup as the coach of France, together with Henry. Please don't end your career in country where they gave the noble name football to a game where you have to throw around a cigar shaped object.

For Ronaldo it is a total different thing. Since the world cup, i really don't care where he is going. But i guess he will be trying his luck at lesser clubs in Spain and Italy before considering to be a "star" in New York city. I wonder if Real Madrid ever earned back the 48 million euro's they spent on him in 2002.

And the U.S? They will rise in the football ranks with or without Ronaldo or Zidane. Already there are 16 million kids play for a club in the States. That number will only rise with the influx of more Mexican immigrants. I would not be surprised if they will be a serious contender for the world title in the next couple of decades. If it will not change the game too much, i will welcome that.

the O2 was way cooler

2006-07-12T20:33:00.000-06:00

it just ain't the same...

have you seen chelsea's strategy in slowly revealing their new kit...from adidas. dammit, i just stocked up on the umbro shirts!

No excuse for his actions

2006-07-12T14:55:00.000-06:00

Regardless of what was said, there is no excuse for physically assaulting someone.

What ever happened to the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me"?

Zidane had a choice, walk away and be the bigger person or retaliate and be the guilty party, looking for an excuse for his actions....he obviously chose wrong. The fact that he is asking for punishment of the provocator is ridiculous, there is NO WAY anyone can prove exactly what was said, but you will never forget what HE did, it was a vicious malicious attack. I am a coach of a U11 Girls Soccer team and I tell my players all the time to "ignore what the other players are saying to you, they only want to get under your skin". The only reason the soccer world is questioning what happened is because the Italians won the World Cup, there was never this much question when Totti spit (i'm not condoning his action just proving a point) in someones face, no one asked was he provoked! Goodbye Zidane, as much as I once thought you were a great player, today I remember your childish retaliatory act.

Viva Azzuri!

p.s. I hope they take the golden ball away....Truly it should have went to the player who had the best tournament (Cannavaro) and not the player who had a few good games.

no racism...

2006-07-12T12:38:00.000-06:00

...is good. but i spoke too soon in my apology to materazzi because it appears that the comments did have racist overtones. anyway we may never know if you are a racist, materazzi, but you're still a stupid asshole (as this quote proves: "I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is").

and a note about my satirical "a modest maternazzi." the idea was taken from an italian woman who phoned into cbc 1010 post world cup, saying that if materazzi was a racist it was the fault of the nazi architecture that surrounded him. just in case anyone is curious.

World Cup predictions revisted

2006-07-10T10:16:00.000-06:00

Before the tournament Brad asked for predictions on 6 questions. Looking back on my answers shows just how little I know:

1. Who will be the final four?
My answer: Germany - Czech Rep; England - Brazil
Results: Germany was there

2. Who will be man of the tournament?
My answer: Pavel Nedved
Results: Czech's got eliminated in group stage

3. Who will win the golden boot?
My answer: Adriano
Results: 2 goals. 3 behind Klose.

4. What huge team is going to be the first eliminated?
My answer: Italy
Results: No comment.

5. Who will win the best young player?
My answer: Lionel Messi
Results: He played 122 minutes in Argentina's 5 games. He was a finalist for the award though thanks to fan voting.

6. Who will win the tournament?
My answer: Brazil
Results: Lost in the quarter-finals.

a modest matternazzi

2006-07-09T22:06:00.000-06:00

don't blame matternazzi. it's not his fault that zinedine zidane was sent off.

the blame should be split between adolph hitler (more on this later) and the dirty arab who head butted matter- nazzi. but what would any of us expect from a poor boy of algerian heritage. zidane was bound to be a scumbag -- just like all arabs.

the truth is that the romans, or the italians as they are now called, are superior to all comers. the most superior in the world. just look at the facts: they killed the savior; they had an empire that lasted almost fifteen hundred years; they have the most beautiful women, great film, great literature, great food and everything that makes a civilization civilized; and they are the most beautiful players of the beautiful game.

tonight's battle between france and italy was a crusade; it was a battle between a team led by a filthy wog and a team of righteous catholics. no matter what matternazzi said, no matter how horrible, no matter how loudly the french call "racism", the fact is that zidane showed his brethren's classic overreaction to insult. a civilized christian would turn the other cheek to insult, but infidels always show their true colours with a violent retalitation.

moreover, matternazzi's racist comments are mitigated by the actions of the Deutscher Fussball-bund. how dare they play the final game of the 2006 world cup in the house that adolph built? the nazi architecture and the history of hate that are the olympiastadion left little choice for the clearly superior matternazzi. what else was he to do? zidane, a clear inferior, dared to speak back and then strike back at a man from the greatest empire in the history of the world in a shrine to aryan greatness. therefore, matternazi's words were justified. and let's face it...matternazzi probably would have said nothing if the Deutscher Fussball-bund had chosen a less controversial site for the final game. the ghost of hitler MUST have been an influence.

your career will forever live in ignominy zidane...unless you apologize to matternazzi. maybe then you will find some forgiveness. until then, you are just a dirty wog who couldn't keep his head when his superiors put him in his place.

too bad you had to cheapen italy's positive and righteous victory.

allez les bleus!

2006-07-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

italy v. france. wow!

in my life i have loved four sports teams: kansas city royals, the arsenal, the edmonton oilers & france.

this year the kansas city royals could be the worst team in the history of major league baseball, so i don't have to worry about them.

but i've seen the arsenal, the oilers and france make it to the finals in the champions league, the stanley cup playoffs and the world cup, respectively. i have had to suffer as a fan of the losing side twice already. you can guess how little i want to suffer again.

but my own selfishness aside, i want to see france win for two great players who i love -- henry and zidane.

zidane -- here's a guy who has leukodystrophy, a degenrative gentetic disorder of the nervous system. he has had a masterful career, alreayd won a world cup, and he's retired from football so that his last game is the world cup final on sunday. even better, he once retired from international football, but came back because a visitation in the night told him that if he came back france could win one more time. moreover, this man has done the impossible. not only has my mother, a canadian raised on hockey and the belief that soccer is a "fag's" game, become a fan of football, she even thinks zidane is sexy. if zidane and the french win it will be mythic. and even my mother will forever be a fan of les bleus.

henry -- then there's our captain. arsenal's henry has already had one major heartbreak this year, and this one just has to be. and if he gets it, if he plays an important role, this may finally be the year for him to win the footballer of the year (probably not, but it's nice to dream). regardless, i love the man, and think he is an exemplar of all things good in footballers and people. i am very proud my two year old son loves him so much. as milos says : "henry, henry, henry." go france go.

with love and optimism, the bananas

why i hate brazil

2006-07-04T12:55:00.000-06:00

here's a post to answer canadian gooner's query. these are the reasons i hate brazil. all of them are personal, to some extent, and some are purely emotional, but they are the reasons and there are plenty of them:

their 5 stars -- they've won five world cups, and my very makeup rails against the overdog. i am not always required to appreciate the underdog, but the overdog -- the yankees, the canadiens, the lakers, and all historically dominant sports teams (barring the oilers, which i can defend but have no reason to here) -- force bile into my throat.

their ego -- and part of that bile comes from the egos that necessarily develop around that "greatness". i read a lot of soccer mags, and the first thing i do every day is read the soccer websites, and i've seen a lot of interviews with the current crop of brazilians. only two of them show any humility and ronaldhino is not one of them. of those whose interviews i've read, only juninho and gilberto silva see themselves as working parts of an exceptional team -- the rest consider themselves gods among mortals. and maybe they are. but carrying that attitude around the footballing world and shoving it into the faces of everyone is no different and no less vexing than the world's only "superpower" doing the same politically. adriano is called the emperor and believes it; ronaldo pissed off raul so badly on real madrid, saying "i score goals. i don't need to run," that they don't talk anymore; ronaldinho has bought into the idea that he's the greatest ever and is only capable of admitting that some other players are good; cafu is the captain of the gang and feeds their egos by continuing to mystify their greatness when he talks; kaka considers his abilities "magical"; and roberto carlos figures he's the best left back who ever lived, let alone in the world.

their luck -- the other thing that pisses me off is that they are lucky. sure they pound on crap teams on a regular basis, and even simply good teams, but they usually find a way to win against really good teams, squeaking out one goal wins, and that is often done with a stroke of crazy luck. good on them, certainly, for taking the risks that lead to the luck. that is admirable. but it is frustrating when your team falls because of their luck -- and that clearly adds to my disdain for them.

their whining & diving-- i will admit straight out that they aren't the biggest footballing nation of whiners in the world, but they are the ONE nation that has both no cause and no need to whine or dive. and it's the way they whine and dive. lots of teams are theatrical and that's annoying (and the brazilians aren't the most theatrical), but the way they complain one would think they were trinidad and tobago, a crap team having their job made even more difficult by horrible calls. and in damn near every game i've seen the calls and the benefit of the doubt go their way. moreover, a different standard is set for brazils whining than for everyone else. you all know i hate england, but consider this: ronaldo complained to the ref at half time during the france game, contesting a perfectly valid yellow card, all the way back to the tunnel. does anyone think that if that had been rooney he wouldn't have been shown a red card immediately? because they are brazil their whining and diving get them further than anyone else (except maybe italy). and that is impossible for me to admire or like.

les bleus -- and on a completely personal level, brazil was set up to be my villains right from the start because it was the 1998 World Cup and les Bleus that brought me back to football. and whoever played les Bleus in the final were doomed in my eyes for all time.

so there you have it. i probably forgot some reasons. i am sure that gio can add a couple. but that is why i hate brazil.