Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea FC

It's a clash of London giants and leader chasers tomorrow as Tottenham and Chelsea meet at Stamford Bridge.

      Chelsea are coming off a recent draw to Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium, which puts their record for the last five games at 3-1-1. They come off a win at home against league leaders Man City, and a knockout round clinching win at Valencia. This puts them in the knockout stage of UCL, where they drew against a strong Napoli team, who qualified just a point ahead of Man City. Although the City Slickers have lost just one game in all domestic play, they have yet to qualify for the UCL knockout stage, something that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and Man City owner Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan share a passion for. Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas will be looking for another strong showing to give him some breathing room with the fans and owners.

      Tottenham, who are just two points ahead of Chelsea in the table, and down two goals in GD. 3-0-2, coming off two wins at Sunderland and at home against Shamrock in the Europa League. They have one of the best midfields in the world, including Scott Parker, Gaerth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart to name a few. Gaerth Bale and Rafael Van der Vaart are at the prime of their game, and Luka Modric has many suitors at his door, including Chelsea. This should be an interesting battle of midfield v defense.

A Bad Week in Manchester (Finally!!!!!!!!!)

We all knew it was going to happen. It had to. No one since Arsenal's 2003-04 "Invincibles" have gone undefeated for a season. And on Monday, on a wintery night at Stamford Bridge, Super Frank Lampard ended Man City's hopes for duplicating that undefeated season.

Early on in the match, in the 2nd minute to be precise, Mario Balotelli, (Why Always Me?), scored again, which was the result of some of the worst defense Chelsea have played yet. Kun Aguero contributed on the assist. Man City came out of the gate storming past a sluggish Chelsea. Then, in the 15th minute, David Silva was brought down in the box, and Man City called for a penalty. It was not given. The City Slickers, being the pouters they are, lost focus, and allowed Raul Meireles to equalise just before half. It was set up by wonderful build up play by Daniel Sturridge, who has turned out to be quite the find for Chelsea. The biggest turning point in the game was to come later though, when Gael Clichy picked up two yellow's in the span of 11 minutes. His sending off just totally shifted the game to Chelsea's advantage. This was followed by 15 minutes worth of weak chances for Chelsea, untill, in the 82nd minute, a Daniel Sturridge shot was clearly hand-balled by Johan Lescott, and Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot. Super Frank wasn't going to miss this time, and Chelsea got three points.

Super Frank for Da Win!

For most of the game, Chelsea had the advantage. For most of the second half, they were up a man. This game showed the Chelsea of old, and also how inexperienced Manchester City are.

A Predictable Outcome

       A predictable outcome came out of the Chelsea v Liverpool game just a few short hours ago. While Liverpool surely dominated the game, you wouldn't be able to tell that from the stat line. Chelsea had 58% of the possession, had more corners, and commited less offsides. They took more shots (19), but had the same amount on goal as Liverpool, (3). Chelsea only scored on 1 of those 3 chances, while Liverpool scored twice, including a Glen Johnson goal that left a streched and tired Chelsea defense in the dust. In the first half, Chelsea barely looked like Chelsea. They weren't attacking well, and left the pitch for the break with no shots on goal, even though Drogba nearly netted a 26th minute free kick, sending it just wide of the right post. It rippled the net, and had a great many people convinced that it was a goal. All of the misery changed though, with a key substitution to start the 2nd half. Daniel Sturridge was brought on to replace an aging John Mikel Obi. Strurridge's youth brought a new attacking vigor to the team, and a goal by the very culprit soon followed. At this point, Torres, Meireles, and Bosingwa were warming up. "Good choice," I thought to myself, "Torres wants to beat his old team so bad, he'll commit himself well, and both Meireles and Bosingwa bring a good attacking personality while still keeping the defense under control." I said that to myself for the nest 30 minutes, as the game went into it's dullest period, with neither team got any real chances. Stewart Downing came on for Maxi Rodreiguez. Then, finally, in the 84th minute, Torres and Meireles came on for Drogba and Ramires. In the 86th minute, a beautiful cross field pass by Charlie Adam set up a downright embbarrassing goal for the Chelsea defense. As Glen Johnson netted the goal, something else happened.

       That goal may very well have ended Chelsea's title hopes. While that may seam premature, think about it. They are 12 points behind leaders Man City, which equals 4 wins, and at the pace Man City are at right now, they very well may stay that far ahead. If Man U, Chelsea and others nipping at their heels start catching up soon, it's going to be Blue Moon Rising all across England. I believe the team with the best chance to catch City are in fact the Red Devils. While that does sound obvious, they are the closest to the leaders, and are in just as good form as the Citizens. I believe that Chelsea's best hope for silverware this year is in the FA cup. Don't even mention the Champions League. Barca has the title wrapped up, unless a talented Inter Milan can regroup enough to make to the championship. I believe that they are the only team with a decent chance at even challenging the Catalans.

The Baggies Bag Another.

Newcastle has surprised all this season. A strong start, allowing just five goals at home, while scoring eight, was a shock to many. After losing Andy Carroll under much scrutiny, one would rather expect the team to not be on such a high. Sadly, that high might just be ending. The next three weeks, Newcastle goes on the road to play Man City and Man U, then returns home for a match-up against fourth place Chelsea. This will be a tough period for Alan Pardew's boys. This is the chance that Chelsea, Tottenham, and Liverpool have been looking for,(Chelsea especially, looking to climb back into the top three and then the top two.)

Meanwhile, Chelsea have continued their search for a new stadium. They have the eighth largest stadium in England, and 61st in Europe. Chelsea's chief executive Rob Gourlay said that they could struggle in Europe if they don't expand to a larger stadium, something that Champions League crazy owner Roman Abramovich would be displeased with. Also, manager Andre Villas-Boas had said that he "feels no pressure to perform," while he does say that "the fans will have his head", and does not see himself there longterm. No comparison to Mourhino huh?

Meryside, London and... Newcastle?

     An predictable start to the BPL season, with one reasonable exception. Newcastle have started out strong, have jumped up to 3rd, passing a Chelsea squad that has lost 2 straight games, both London derbies. They have yet to lose a game, and a tight Newcastle defense allowing just 4 goals at St James' Park. They have a strong fan turnout, as expected, averaging just over 46,000 a game. Meanwhile, a Chelsea side that looks at times like the could beat both Manchester clubs, and at times that even QPR could overcome them. Oh wait, that actually happened. Speaking of QPR, an owner with an open pocketbook has helped to make Neil Warnock's job easier. Summer additions include Shawn Wright-Phillips, (What is it with three word names? Who's next, Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis?), and former Newcastle bad boy, Joey Barton. Although the team seems to be able to attack fine, their defense is hardly up to par with the rest of the body. They have a negative 9 goal difference, and have yet to win 2 games in a row. Neil Warnock, stop getting strikers who will get headlines. Go get a defender, a veteran who will anchor your back line and add some experience to a young team. Maybe an aging Rio Ferdinand. You have the money, so what's the problem?

   Aside from that surprise, the season has been...straightforward? Well, both North London clubs have recorvered from disaterous starts, and the Manchester clubs are taking an early lead. So yes, this season has been straightforward. More exciment to come? Maybe, but not while the Manchester clubs hold such a high lead.

Jurgy get's first win, the Danes shock Portugal, and Nasri is the Hero Again.

In a crazy weekend of international play, where Samuel Nasri proved the hero once again, Jurgy Klinnsman got his first US national team win, and Portugal got rocked at home.

In a game where all France needed was draw, it seemed as though Edin Dzeko would ruin all those plans. In the 40th minute, he sent a spiral into the net, putting Bosnia up 1-0. Then, after a weak challenge and a debatable call, Samuel Nasri stepped camly to the stop and drained a pk to put France back on even level. France goes through to Euro 2012, and Bosnia goes to the playoffs.

Jurgy finally got his first win, over a weak Honduras team, and after 4 games. The game saw youngsters such as Brek Shea and Timmy Chandler step up, the former being surrounded in a cloud of media-frenzy as he is rumored to leave F.C. Dallas and move possibly to Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool. Tonight, the US will face Ecuador, fighting to get their second win in a row.

The Danes beat Portugal, jumping past them in the Group D standings to qualify for Euro 2012. Portugal will now have to qualify for the tournament through playoffs.

A Gilded Glory: The NASL

Gilded: having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth.

What better describes the NASL than the word gilded? It is most famously used by Mark Twain in reference to "The Gilded Age", talking about the thin layer of wealth that covered the immense poverty in early 20th century America. You could say that about the NASL also. While it produced some of the most flashy soccer in the world at the time, and drew stars from all parts of planet Earth, such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, and Giorgio Chinaglia, the NASL rested upon 1 team, the New York Cosmos, and although it did raise the average American's awareness of soccer, it's original goal failed, which was to make soccer the most popular sport in America, although it was already the most popular sport in the world. It's average attendance for the league was never above 15,000, although the Cosmos' drew well over 40,000, selling more tickets in Giants Stadium than the Giants themselves!

The league started in 1968, when 2 former leagues, (the FIFA commissioned United Soccer League, and the non-commissioned National Professional Soccer League), merged into 1, the North American Soccer League, or NASL. It was at this time that Steve Ross, owner of Warner Communications, started the New York Cosmo's. He took amateurs from the surrounding New York semi-pro league's, and paid them small salaries. The first few years of the league were hardly recognizable, with the players not playing because of the money, or because it was a job, but because they loved the game. In the league's first year, the average attendance was under 5,000. The small crowds consisted mostly of the player's family and maybe even friends, with the rare non-relation/friend coming to the game. All of this changed, in 1975, with a small exchange of $1.4 million.

Steve Ross wanted to win. Badly. He would do anything to win, even, according to story, run down on the field to give the players towels. He knew that his team needed more talent, which would attract bigger crowds, thus earning him more money, allowing him to get more talent. He wanted a well known player, one who would score and earn the love of the crowd. In Pele, he found his man.

Pele and Giorgio lead the Cosmos onto the pitch.

Pele, the Brazilian star, the winner of 3 world cups, was coming to the United States. With him came an downpour of foreign talent. Giorgio Chinaglia, from the Italian club SS Lazio, was in his prime when he signed, and these 2 made up the best scoring combo, possibly in history. This was Giorgio's prime, possibly the only foreign player to sign in America still in the best days. Althought the Cosmos were the pride and showpiece of the NASL, there was also the Washington Diplomats and Johan Cruyff, and the L.A. Aztecs, who signed a fading George Best. When told he was "the white Pele", Best promptly replied, "Pele is the black George Best." This did not rest well with Pele, and he made him pay the next time the Cosmos played the Aztecs. This well represented the NASL, a league whose teams had flair in everything; their names, players and jerseys. 

The Diplomats Jersey.

Back to that word, gilded. Although it seems that the NASL's glory would never end, every good thing must end. After Pele retired in 1977, the league was destined for a downfall. In fact, the league had only ever been an uneven league, with teams like the Cosmos dominating. In 1984, the league folded. Although there were some attempts to recreate indoors, there was no returning for the NASL. The glory that was; the NASL.

A resurgence has been made in North American soccer, starting with the MLS. Some teams like the Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, and San Jose Earthquakes taking their names from former NASL teams, and some big European stars joining the league, like Thierry Henry of the Red Bulls or David Beckham of the LA Galaxy, the level of play is nowhere near what the NASL was. The style, the flair, the "playing for the love of the game" attitude was what made it great. Nothing can replicate that. Nothing.

He's Baaaack!.... Maybe?

Yes, as many of you are wondering, it does seem that Fernando Torres would be back. It was a little sneaky, almost catching everyone, (and probaly himself), by surprise. But as soon as Anelka played that ball in to Torres and "El Nino" finished the only goal Chelsea could muster at Old Trafford, I knew that either it was a lucky play, or the Torres of old was back. The way he reaffrimed is goal-scoring ability was somewhat cheeky, like Napoleon coming back to rule France, and wage war with Britain and Holland in the "100 days war". (Hopefully, for Chelsea at least, Torres' return won't be that short.) Although he is far from paying back the $50 million that Chelsea payed for him, he has brought some compensation. Yes, he did get red carded for a wild challenge, and yes his hair STILL looks like roadkill. But, who's looking?

 On another hand, the Manchester clubs can seem to grasp that DRAWS in the UCL don't win you Europa Trophies. Yesterday, Man U drew 2-2 with FC Basel, while today, Man City LOST (they had it coming) to Bayern 2-0. Bayern is another topic I would like to talk about. They seem to have found their way again, despite having won no silverware last year, which is quite shocking when you think about how they have most of the German national team AND Arjen Robben. Another powerhouse, Inter Milan, who knocked them out of the UCL last year, (granted they then lost to Schalke, who they also lost to in the German cup), have not recovered, losing to newly promoted Novara, and have sacked their manager. Hopefully, a win this past weekend with put them back on track.

Well, that's all for today, and thanks to the 3 of you who read consitently.

Why Old Trafford is Old Trafford

Although the loss to Manchester United is disappointing, it is not demoralizing. To beat Manchester United at Old Trafford is a near impossible feat, so impossible that is has not happened in 18 games. Yes, Torres did miss 3 chances that could have brought on a draw, including an open net, but all is not to be blamed on Torres. Our defense was hardly up to par, and Ramires got in the way of a better positioned Sturridge, who also was not the familiar goal-scorer/creator. Also, on the first 2 goals Man U scored, Nani and Chris Smalling were both clearly offsides in the build up play to the goal. But, on the Nani, a weak challenge from Juan Mata, and Terry coming out to late all added up to overwhelm the missed call. However bad we may have been though, I am actually satisfied with the loss. Torres seems to be coming back, and new signings and young blood all add up for a long period of success to come. Another good thing to enjoy in the coming AVB era is that he has no setbacks by benching Lampard, Drogba and other long time employees. This will allow for width and freedom on the pitch.
I sign off now, and will be back next week.

All Hail, King Manchester!

As much as I hate to say this, but the rule of Premier league soccer is definitely held in Manchester, with the Red Devil's and Man City proving this weekend that any chanlenger MUST be prepared to play defense. Right now, only Chelsea and Liverpool have a remote chance of rivaling the Manchester clubs in the race for the title. But that's not all that happened this weekend. A Midlands derby, Tim Howard and Wigan featured this weekend.

In the Midlands derby which featured last year Wolves winning for the first time in 31 years, the story was missed chances for Aston Villa. 6 or 7 times the Lions tested goalkepper Wayne Hennessey. Alex McLeish cannot be satisfied with that draw, but Wolves certainetly will be. They have not lost a game out of 4 possible opportunities.

Back to Manchester. To start off Sunday, Man City pounded Tottenham 5-1. Dzeko scored 2, with Nasri providing an assist on one. The large sums of money Man City have spent prove well worth the financial setback. With Aguero, Dzeko, and Nasri all leading the movement of newbies, Man City have assured their place in the title race.

On the other side of town, Man U have also proved wise in the transfer markert, buying youngster Danny Welbeck, and Ashley Young, both of whom have scored. Man U too have bought cheap talent.

Although it is still early, a few canidates are knocked out of the title run. Arsenal and Tottenham are both definetly out, with the new "Big 4" being the real contenders. Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City and Man U are the largest contenders for this year's trophy, at least in my eyes.

Tim Howard had an amazing game, saving a penalty and forcing another miss. This was easily his best game in a long time.

Wigan beat QPR 2 nil, bringing QPR down to 12th in the table, and they will definetly be lower than that. If the pieces come together for Neil Warnock's men, then they could finish mid-table.

The League Returns....

Europe's most premier league returned today with the draw for the group stages. I will break down the groups and give my predictions later, but for now I would like to talk EPL.

This weekend saw host to Andre Villas-Boas' first home game as manager of Chelsea. He must have been feeling great. 4 minutes later though, he most surely was not. After an aggressive play by Shane Long to steal the ball from Alex, and a defensive mishap by the latter mentioned, the ball was in the back of the net and AVB was in the dog house. In fact, the first 35 minutes played host in a statistically off game, where Chelsea had 70% of the possession, but West Brom was dominating the game. WBA could have scored again, in the 24th minute. If  Shane Long had played the ball back a few feet to Tchoyi, then the ball would be in familiar territory and AVB might as well have bought his ticket home on the spot. But, the ball was over-hit, and Chelsea fans could breathe easy. An unusual first half substitution brought Florent Malouda on and West Brom's dominance off. For the rest of the game,  55 minutes, Chelsea set the tempo. Nicholas Anelka scored the goal that had only been a question of when, not if. Bosingwa then made a beautiful play to split 2 defenders then crossed the ball to Malouda, who put Chelsea on top for good. 3 points won.


The Champions League Groups have been decided, and I shall give my best group, worst, and predictions.

The Best: Group A, the "group of death" has Man City, Bayern Munich and Villareal and Napoli, making it easily the toughest group.
The Worst: Group G, with Porto, Shakhtar, Zenit and Apoel, is easily the worst of this year.

Predictions: Man City and Bayern, Lille and Inter, Man U and Benfica, Real Madrid and Ajax, Chelsea and Valencia, Arsenal and Marsellie, Porto and Zenit, Barca and Milan have my predictions to get out of the group stages. I also believe the Bayern and Barca will play in the final, with Barca winning their 2nd in a row and 3rd in 4 years. That just about wraps it up for pitch view this week.

A Transfer, 2 Thrasings, and 5 Draws

The opening weekend of the EPL was one of a transfer, 2 thrasings and 5 draws. Cesc Fabergas returned home to Barca, Man City beat Swansea 4 nil, QPR lost to Bolton 4 nil at home, and Sunderland, Liverpool, Chelsea, Stoke, Newcastle, Arsenal, Fulham, Ashton Villa, Wigan and Norwich all drew their games.

Just as I predicted last week, if not this year but next, Fabergas would return to Catalan. He made that return yesterday, as he agreed to a 5 year deal with the Spanish giants. Some may say that he will now sit the bench, and that will certainly be prospect for debate, but with the aquisition of the 25 year old midfielder, Barca have surely assured themselves a treble. Even if Xavi or Inestia get injured, they have a first rate replacement just waiting to get onto the pitch for the club he grew up in.

Speaking of transfers, Man City have surely provided themselves with a franchise player in Sergio Augero. In his 30 minute debut, he scored twice, and provided a beatuiful assist to top it all off. Manchester City have surely proved their tenacity for scoring, winning by a 4-0 margin. Newly promoted QPR also got whipped at home, against Bolton. 2 own goals did not brighten the day for Neil Warnock. They play Everton next week, but the first game against a championship contender comes in week 6, where they play Chelsea, and then Tottenham and Man City. They will be fighting to stay up the whole time.

Man U won their game, but lost 3 defenders, including captain Rio Ferdinand. David De Gae didn't have a good debut, and it was on his mistake that West Brom even scored. But, the rule of thumb says never to contradict Sir Alex, so I won't, but I will end on this. The transfer market is a double edged sword. You can win for little, or lose big. The best way to go is to use as little as possible.

Drips and Drabs

With the BPL only a week away, I would like to discuss the upcoming year.

The noisy neighbours are getting a bit too noisy for Red Devils fans. This summer, Manchester City have seemed to greatly increased their chances, with new signing such as Sergio Augero, and returning veterans like the Toure brothers, David Silva, and Carlos Tevez, City are a sure bet to make a run in the Champions League, BPL and every cup.

On contrast, Man U has only made really 1 big signing this summer, and that is David De Gea, the replacement for legendary Edwin Vander Sar. The young Spainard has large shoes to fill, with the championship trophy to defend. Sir Alex Ferguson will surely be looking to utilize his attacking fowards, with Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez creating possibly the best front in the game, maybe only rivaled by Chelsea's Torres, Drogba, Anelka, or Barca's Messi, Pedro, and Villa(though not to forget the returning Abromavic from his loan at Milan). All around, Man U have a very high chance.

Chelsea has just signed Oriol Romeu, making that their 2nd signing of the summer. With a mixture of youth and experience, Andre Villas Boas will surely turn it into a potent machine. With John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Nicholas Anelka leading the veterans, and Fernando Torres, Josh McEachran, Daniel Sturridge, and Gael Kalkuta leading the youngsters, all they need is the right manager. Villas Boas will surely provide that, being an assistant under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Inter, before taking over a Spanish club. He then lead Porto to a treble last year, and now will hopefully do the same to Chelsea in the Champions League.

Liverpool at the winter break last year were look dismal. But with King Kenny back, the house is clean. New signings including Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in the winter transfer window, and Jordan Henderson recently ensures that Liverpool will go a long way the the title run, maybe even winning. They qualified for the Europa League, in which they will surely dominate. Their season and future looks very bright.

On the contrast, Arsenal is having trouble keeping it's future. Arsene Wenger, possibly the smartest coach in the game, is having trouble keep Cesc Fabergas from Barcelona, and Samuel Nasri from really everyone. If not these year, then next, will Arsenal's best players leave. I see few chances for them, even though I respect Arsene Wenger above all managers.

My Predictions:

1. Man U
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Man City
5. Arsenal
6. Hotspur

So, all is well, and I will be back after the first weekend.

Milan Lab

Hey readers, I found a great article on ESPN Soccernet about the Milan Lab and how it affects the way AC Milan plays and wins. It is a great article, and I will give you the link at the end of this post. But first, I would like to talk about how much I hate summer in soccer. There is nothing on. All the games  are meaningless "Cups", in which some of the worlds best teams compete against one another. Most of the time they don't care, and their stars don't play. Granted, this is the only break they get all year, but it still is a huge bore. I mean, if I wanted to watch some trash, I would just watch the MLS. Which brings me to my second point. The USA have just hired Jurgy Klinsmann, and I am quite satisfied. Not that I know anything about him, but his accomplishments look quite good. Then again, you can never go by accomplishments...
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/937778/john-brewin:-the-science-behind-victory-at-ac-milan?cc=5901