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There is absolutely no chance that Mexico-US will be on ESPN. Sorry [Soccer Insider]
Platini: "If Cristiano cost 92m, when I was 23 I would have cost 93m.” [The Spoiler]
If the above video was too clean cut for you, here's seven minutes of Roy Keane [Dirty Tackle]
Ha ha. Screw you, red half [EPL Talk]
League One map for next season. These are always great [Bill Sports Maps]
Ray Stubbs to ESPN(UK). This is a big deal [Guardian]
Some good, young talent is out there, ready to be snapped up [Premiership Talk]
Ljungberg to stay in Seattle [The Beautiful Game]
Zizou to go to Germany to free Ribery. Will likely surrender instead, but get in a few headbutts first [ONTD_FB]
It's confusing, but there was a Champions League draw today [UEFA]
Finally:
Your TV hopes that Celtic don't make the televised schedule of the Champs League, especially the HD ones [Football Shirt Culture]
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday Backpasses: This is good fun
Fox Attack!
View Larger Map
Not pictured: The fox farm behind Tannadice (right)
Dundee FC play at Dens Park, the ground to the left in the above picture [unless a) I've failed at embedding correctly or b) you've gone ahead and messed around with the map]. If, in the future, Google Maps updates to a satellite photo taken in the last month or so, you'll notice something quite different about the pitch condition.
A family (den?, nest?, fleet?) of foxes have taken over the stadium at nights causing a fair bit of damage to the pitch. The foxes apparently enter at night and have dug up the area in front of the goalmouths and urinated all over the pitch, killing the grass in spots.
The club have admitted to a minor defeat in getting rid of the foxes, erecting temporary fencing around the goalmouths, to be removed for matches, until they can get around to removing the invaders--sometime next year. Yes, there are forms to be filled out and people to be contacted. Those people can't get here until Tuesday, and DFC will be totally out of town that day. DFC will then try to reschedule and the process will begin anew, until 2010.
Actually, there has been no mention of exactly when the pest control people will be able to address the problem, but for now the club is looking at starting the season with the temporary fencing in place, and possible prayers to keep the foxes out. In the meantime, new turf has been laid at the stadium to cover the problem dead spots, a move which in no way will be defeated by new fox urine on the pitch.
Intriguingly, this is not the only recent pest infestation in Dens Park, and the foxes may have been attracted to the stadium because of the last one. Dens Park used to be a playground for rabbits, and the lingering scent of the rabbits is thought to have attracted the foxes in the first place. Quote Dens Park Stadium Manager Jim Thompson: "We used to have a rabbit problem, but the foxes seem to have solved that. Maybe we need a bigger predator now to deal with the foxes." As the fine fellow at Sports Rubbish points out, next summer, expect Dens Park to be overrun by lions, and then reanimated velociraptors the season after that.
Somewhat surprisingly, there has been no mention of anything untowards happening at Tannadice, home of Dundee United, across the street from Dens Park. The conspiracy theorist in me would like to think that fans of the Terrors actually introduced the foxes into their rival's home, but that appears to be unfounded. For now, at least.
Also, I avoided any jokes about the name of Dundee's stadium and the type of home foxes make. If you would like, try out your best one liner in the comments.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday Backpasses: What's this?
Two words that immediately send my head into song. Oh, and there's something over there -->
Arsenal invite 15 year old Montenegrin to trial. Sounds exactly right [Sky Sports]
New Jersey reporter rips on Becks [100 Percent Soccer]
Sepp Blatter falls. You'll watch and laugh [World Cup Blog]
Iker Casillas has a hot new squeeze [ONTD_FB]
How Seattle Sounders attendance would stack up around the world [The Offside]
Finally:
An honest look at the state of growing soccer in America [TIAS]
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wednesday Backpasses: One more time
Last chance: you can win a book! Simply email us at the address in the sidebar, subject line WAHL to be entered in our random draw for the new Becks book. Drawing tomorrow.
Hey, this is timely! Wahl v. Becks at today's press conference [The Offside Rules]
(Very) Short Q&A with Zizou in Cali [100 Percent Soccer]
Panini stopping production in Germany. Good enough reason for a slideshow [Bild]
Bradley Wright-Phillips to take his handbag stealing act to Plymouth [Eurosport]
Drogba and Bosingwa's bans reduced on appeal [BBC]
Headline win: Nancy boys call off England tour in fear of "swine flu" [Soccernet]
King Kev is not getting old, he swears [The Spoiler]
Danny Szetela to DC United a done deal [Behind the Badge]
Finally:
There's an easy answer why Guadaloupe are not FIFA members--blame France [World Cup Blog]
The Good, The Bad, The WTF
Scarborough FC were one of the oldest clubs in England until their dissolution in 2007. Formed in 1879, the club was moderately successful through the years, never tasting relegation until 1999. But it's not like they burned up through the leagues either. For the most part, Scarborough were a provincial team, only occasionally making a blip on other team's FA Cup runs.
This changed when they became the first team promoted from the Conference (formed in the 1970s) into full League status. Neil Warnock was the manager when The Seasiders moved up in 1987. Scarborough never moved beyond this level, but came extremely close in 1998. That season, Scarborough finished in the playoff spots for only the second time since moving up to League status. Unfortunately, they were pounded 7-2 over two legs by Torquay United. The next season, Scarborough were relegated on the last day when Carlisle United's on-loan keeper scored an injury time winner which doomed Scarborough back to the Conference by one point.
From there, they were doomed.
The shirt that Scarborough wore during their last great season was, well, odd.
I'm guessing that Errea were both the sponsor and the kit maker here, due to the double prominence of their name inches away from each other. But that's not the real fun. The real fun is what's below.
Obviously, that's a banner of St. George's cross, but what is that underneath? Does the country of Portugal have something to do with Scarborough? Because when I see those two shades of red and green together, that's the first thing I think of.
This being a long sleeved shirt, we see once again oddly constrictive cuffs. What was it with this time that shirt makers thought that long sleeved shirts needed to stay only on the wrist? Maybe it's a Euro thing.
Finally, because I don't want to disappoint, I'll point out the other horror of this shirt. Yes, there is sublimation. No, it doesn't make any sense. Diamonds with waves in them. Great job, shirt designer dude. You've made the best shirt of all time by adding in those sublimated diamonds. Here's a raise.
I guess it's good that Scarborough FC passed away two years ago. Otherwise, some marketing exec would come along in ten years time and try to replicate this shirt as a reminder of the team's glory days. Sometimes death is freedom.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday Beckspasses: Still time left
Reminder: you can win a book! Simply email us at the address in the sidebar, subject line WAHL to be entered in our random draw for the new Becks book.
WTF is a mun2? [MFUSA]
Sacha Kljestan has a potty mouth [The Offside Rules]
Yes, the 1-1-8 is coming to the EPL [NCNB]
Which EPL club has the most annoying fans? No, Norwich is not in the EPL [PIES]
Looking at the design of branding in soccer [Blue Sombrero]
Interview with the new director of Liverpool youth academy [Fox Soccer]
Longer interview with Grant Wahl [TIAS]
Finally:
Which EPL players are very nervous about their blood tests? [People UK]
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday Backpasses: We love you too, Derek Taylor
Heard on last night's Fox Soccer Report:
After the break, Beckham calls an unprofessional foul on Landon DonovanThank you, Derek Taylor, for acknowledging your readership of our fine blog.
Pulled out of the ether: a fine Southampton goal from 1981 [PIES]
MO7 just doesn't have the same ring to it [Guardian]
Bayern would be well-served to offload Ribery now [The Spoiler]
An early look at what soccer programming will be on FSN. Looks like FSN and FSC will both show Champions League matches [EPL Talk]
Lukas Podolski trained in his undies [ONTD_FB]
Charlie Davies heads to Sochaux after all. Shame about their new shirts [NYT Goal]
Portsmouth's ownership situation is not really resolved [The Football Blog]
Finally:
Bookmark this page for European season start dates [The Offside]
Read more on "Monday Backpasses: We love you too, Derek Taylor"...
Friday, July 10, 2009
Central American soccer is Crazy, too
Yes, I know that Mexico is considered North America. Just go with it, OK?
Last night, Mexico and Panama played to a 1-1 draw in the Gold Cup. If you were to judge from the ESPN Deportes (?) highlights below, you'd say this was a pretty run of the mill draw, with one little blowup on the sidelines.
But, as you will see below, you would be dead wrong.
First of all, the first half ended with a double red card. Giovanni Dos Santos was tackled by Armando Gun. Play went on as Gun clambered over Dos Santos. Dos Santos seemed to grab Gun's leg and Gun took exception and pushed the former Brazilian. At this point Luis Noriega comes in to play bouncer for Mexico. Both get red cards.
The real fun started around the 78th minute when Ricardo Phillips makes the mistake of dribbling along the touchline by Mexico's bench. Phillips, who had just come on in the 76th, took offense at Mexican manager Javier Aguirre kicking at the ball while it was still in play and shoved the sideline general.
As you can see, there was an immediate reaction from the Mexican bench, as well as the field players, against Phillips. The referee, Joel Aguilar of El Salvador, shows none of the uncertainty he displayed in handling the first half red cards and sends both Phillips and Aguirre off quickly. Well, at least Aguirre left quickly.
Don't have 10 minutes? Let me run that down for you. Phillips refused to leave the pitch. Panamanian team officials tried to get him off. No dice. Security tried to get him to leave. Phillips starts to go off, then comes back on the pitch. The referee looks like he is going to abandon the match, only for the CONCACAF match commisioner (and other men and women in suits) to come on the pitch and seem to force Aguilar to restart things. Finally, after almost 10 minutes, Phillips goes off the pitch. His reward--a shower of bottles, trash and who knows what else from the largely pro-Mexico crowd in Houston.
That wasn't the end of the fun, though. About four minutes into added time, Perez, the Panamanian goal scorer, is stretchered off with a time-wasting injury. Once on the sideline, he also gets the full trash shower treatment from the crowd. This time Aguilar truly looked to just abandon the match only to have the CONCACAF suits march out on to the pitch again and tell him to finish things.
Finally, after 10 and a half minutes of added time, Aguilar mercifully gets to blow for full time. His reward? Immediately being surrounded by Mexican players and coaches, seemingly arguing that he did not give enough injury time.
Surely there will be some blowback from all of the drama in this game, but no announcements have been made at this time. Fingers crossed for Mexico being thrown out of the tournament and the country, yes?
One last thing. Initially, I thought Aguirre was simply trying to stop a ball that was out of bounds so his team could get the quick throw in. After watching this video, I'm no longer sure.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Thurday Backpasses: Big Days Coming
Two weeks until Baltimore. Other changes in the works as well.
Pies loves hair lists. I'll own up. I had a mullet [PIES]
Atletico Madrid player tries to upstage new cross-town rival by getting into a huge car crash. Let's see C-Ron try this [The Spoiler]
Davies to Sochaux? [SBI]
Mexico-USA to take place in the middle of the f--king day [Match Fit USA]
Originaldo to be greeted by trannies when Corinthians go to Flamengo [Dirty Tackle]
UEFA's rule changes screwing over the fans [WSC]
EPL faces uphill battle in Youtube lawsuit since they have no copyright in US [EPL Talk]
2009 MLS All-Ugly Team [NYT Goal]
Hull's Geovanni working as a part-time pastor in the offseason [The Sun]
Finally:
You and me both, lady [Guardian]
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Wednesday Backpasses: Where'd you go?
If you're reading this, you are doing better than any of us. Apologies for the extended outage. Best we can tell, it was on Blogger's end. We will be switching away soon. Suggestions on migration welcome.
Not even going to bother with a jump tonight. Shit sucks.
Liverpool and Arsenal preseason picspam [ONTD_FB]
Michael Owen will not bring in lost shirt revenue to Man U. Maybe Red Devils fans are smarter than we thought? [Dirty Tackle]
Nando's baby came. Only a matter of time until they have the same haircut [Kickette]
Five pretty good bargains available for transfer [Premiership Talk]
Arseblog made a Adebayor promotional booklet. Watch out for the PDF [Arseblog]
Greg Lalas explains how the US can get a WC seed, plus he hates on blogs [SI]
This haircut was all the rage. Fess up if you had one [PIES]
We hope to see you tomorrow, but who knows?
The Good, The Bad, The WTF
[Ed.: Yes we know our blog was down this afternoon, no we have no idea why, but we suspect it was the North Koreans]
Wow. After ignoring the country for a while, France has come back with a new level of crazy in their shirts. First it was this rugby-looking pink one, and this week we see a four way tie for worst from FC Lorient. Good times!
FC Lorient unveiled their new range of shirts recently and man, are they awesome. The collection includes the ultra-rare fourth shirt, which is useful when Lorient find themselves up against competition that feature white, orange and black in an equally confusing form.
((*Gotta put First Things First*))
But before we get to that fourth shirt, let's look at the home, away and third shirts in order.
Anyone who has been paying attention to this recurring post for any time knows that I hate cookie-cutter kits, like how Nike recycled their old Mexico look for the new Man U shirt. But this is . . . different. First of all, it's not a standard design (at least I hope it isn't). At least the bottom part where the ocean's waves become seagulls shouldn't be. That check mark that separates the shoulder color from the beer belly seems to be a Duarig corporate emblem worked into the shirt design. Better than sublimation, but only just.
Speaking of the emblem (which really looks like it belongs on old Pony shoes), it shows up on the shirt's sleeves as well as well as covering the kidneys. A bit of overkill there. Think of it like a warning to German shirt makers not to attack on the sides, but instead to go up the back.
This is the lovely fourth shirt. Clearly inspired by your bathroom's old tile floors, this brown and aqua mix will make Lorient the envy of the French footballing world. Can't say much else, other than BLEH.
Another thing to note on these shirts is the amount of ads. Obviously, La Trinitaine Biscuits are the primary sponsor, but there are three other sponsors on here as well. The actual club crest is the small thing centered on the breast bone with the fish and soccer ball. My favorite sponsor is the one on the back. Using both the Euro symbol and a globe (featuring the Americas oddly), I can only guess that this is a call for the New World Order.
The one thing I can say I truly like about these shirts is the inclusion of the flag of Bretagne, or Brittany, the home region of Lorient. I wish that more teams would adopt this type of regionalism into their kits, though this is by no means the lone team that does so. The downside here is that the Brittany flag is so, well, boring. Black and white don't really pop together. Perhaps the team can petition the government of Brittany to change their coloration. I'm sure it has only been in use for a couple of centuries, so that should be no problem.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tuesday Backpasses: Who the hell are these guys?
Arsenal back at training today. Almunia forgot his shorts (they'll just photoshop those in later), Senderos is back and Rosicky was not just a fevered dream.
Some back story on new Everton signing Anton Peterlin [PIES]
The madness of the USMNT [When Saturday Comes]
How accurate are your favourite newspaper's transfer predictions? [The Offside]
Some iconic stands of the EPL [EPL Talk]
Wayne Rooney tried to look even more like a rugby player [Mirror]
Underperforming national teams [Avoiding the Drop]
Will NYRB even reach 20 points this season? [WV Hooligan]
Finally:
Stuart Holden blogs, with a baaaaaaaaaaaad title [Houston Chronicle]
Michael Bradley is a hot head, but you knew that
You remember this, don't you?
Quite possibly the softest of the three red cards the US earned in its five match stay in South Africa, this tackle has led to a four game suspension for young Mr. Bradley. His daddy must be so proud.
Of course, his daddy is the coach, so this transgression will probably be forgotten as soon as the suspension is over.
The full weight of the four games was brought down on Bradley, not solely because of the tackle itself, but because Bradley allegedly had words with referee Jorge Larrionda in the tunnel after the match. Spanish paper AS (possibly making shit up because the US team vanquished their unbeatable heroes) even went so far as to claim Bradley physically assaulted Larrionda, though FIFA found no merit in that particular claim. FIFA did rule that Bradley violated article 49 of their Disciplinary Code, which means that he showed unsporting conduct toward a match official. Considering the reaction above probably did not merit such a censure, the idea that there was a post-match face-to-face between the two seems to be the ebst available answer. Occam's Razor and all that.
Here's the good-ish news--Bradley's suspension will effectively be over at about 11PM EDT on Wednesday. Even though he is not on the Gold Cup roster, Bradley will get credit for the Brazil final, the walkover against Grenada and Wednesday's upcoming match against Honduras. The fourth match will itself be suspended, provided that Bradley keeps his nose clean for six months. Here at UF, we put the odds at about 75-25 that Bradley will eventually have to serve his fourth match of the suspension. I mean, it's almost a given that he picks up a red at the Azteca on August 12th, right?
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday Backpasses: Soccer fight!
Does David Moyes know that much better than anyone above the PDL in America. Plus, tansfer rumors [NYT Goal]
Or, Gooch could be going to Real Madrid. Highly unlikely, I think [ONTD_FB]
Ajax look into signing keeper who fans like to taunt because of his weight [101GG]
Falcao (not the one you are thinking of) scores a pretty nice goal [The Spoiler]
Well, that's one way to make sure Almunia makes the save [Two Footed Tackle]
Man U's new training top evokes a unfortunate uniform of the past [PIES]
Ever wonder where English players not good enough to play in England go? [WSC]
Fox appears to be bringing footy back all across their networks [EPL Talk]
John Oster, the spit roaster, is owed back pay by Crystal Palace [Sky Sports]
Finally:
How unlikely is the Indonesia bid for 2018? Let's just say that whatever the odds are, they are not long enough [SPAOTP]
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday Backpasses: Treat it like a Friday
It seems that a lot of people with better jobs than mine have tomorrow off. As such, we will have a three day weekend. If big news comes up, we'll hit it; otherwise, we will gorging ourselves, as is the American way.
Here's something to chew on: Little Mikey Owen to Man U? [Premiership Talk]
Or should he go back to Pool? I find that highly unlikely [The Shankly Gate]
This goal is almost Ibrahimovic-like in its finishing. Shame about that [101GG]
Hmmmm. Not sure if I want. Bradley's extra call ups for the Gold Cup [SBI]
Horse-faced Ruud could be doing the reverse Benzema [Soccerway]
Gay goings on in Uganda. Ha ha. FUFA [The Independent]
Notts County trying to become "Formerly the Oldest Football League Club In The World" [Two Hundred Percent]
Final Nielsens for US-Brazil--about 4 million. [Soccer Insider]
Finally:
If you love comedy dives, this is the video for you [The Offside]
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday Backpasses: Fletcher'd?
No foul. He got a touch on the ball, see? [Pies]
Odd article about Arsenal and Robin van Persie. Cult-like shenanigans [NotW]
This guy's a better bluffer than the guy who got in the Man U team photo [Dirty Tackle]
Because they did so awesome in the Confederations Cup, CONCACAF are allowing the US to carry 30 players for the Gold Cup. Everybody gets a medal! [SBI]
Finally:
Colbert had a footie segment. 'Nuff said [ONTD_FB]
The Good, The Bad, The WTF
I came across this link yesterday, and I must say that I like the new Bradford City shirts. Kind of like a low rent Roma, which may have influenced the signing of Benito Carbone upon their entry into the Premier League in 2000. That signing was a financial disaster, but without getting into grisly specifics, is not the worst disaster Bradford City has faced.
In 1985 Bradford City won their league for the first time in almost 60 years. On the day they were to lift the trophy in front of their home fans, a fire started underneath the dilapidated, and wooden, home stand. Many of the approximately 3000 fans who were in the stand made it to safety, but 56 did not. The main stand was fully consumed by flames within four minutes. This year's Bradford City shirt pays tribute to those lost with an embroidered black ribbon on the back.
A couple of years after the fire, Bradford City was relegated back to Division 3. This is the shirt they wore that year.
How many different stripes does one shirt need? The amber stripes on this shirt all seem to be of uniform width, but the claret ones have three different widths. It's as if Bukta, the shirt's manufacturer could not decide whether to use equal width stripes, pinstripes, or something in between. So they decided to throw all three on there and hope it worked. It didn't.
I can't really tell what's on that badge either. It looks like a boar's head. For a team that is known as The Bantams, and were previously known as the Paraders, this makes no sense. Perhaps it was secondary advertising for a certain maker of sliced meat that the team tried to slip under the radar?
As for the shirt sponsor itself, modern-day Grattan in the UK seems to be the rough equivalent of Sears or Ross in the US--a store which sells a wide range of items, but has a focus on clothing, especially women's. No wonder then that the shirt above was the last season that Grattan sponsored Bradford City. With fashion advertising like that, who would need rivals to steal business?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday Backpasses: Another day down
Hate for The Sun, complete with funny swear words [Arseblog]
Adriano has no idea what number he wants to wear [Dirty Tackle]
USA-Brazil ratings are. . . lower than I would have expected. But still good [Match Fit USA]
Guy who snubbed US before now wants to snub Mexico. Ay de mi [US Soccer Players]
Robert Kraft smartly walked away from buying a money-pit club [Times Online]
Games managed: zero. Death threats: more than zero. That would be enough for me to quit too [Off The Post]
Finally:
Burnely continue their summer of FAIL by scheduling a game in SoCal on the same night Chelsea and Inter Milan tilt at the Home Depot Center [NCNB]
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday Backpasses: Winnars!
No fear everyone. Now that the Confed Cup is over, you can follow Robosoccer [Robocup 2009] (H/T: NCNB)
Which big club should you pull for? [EPL Talk]
Should Landy have won the Bronze Ball over Deuce? [Soccernet]
Explaining why the US loss was not a choke [The Big Lead]
Abbey Clancey bikini pics. Difficulty: some Nacho Pete [Daily Mail]
Chin up, US soccer fans/ESPN haters. Canadians have it worse than you [The 24th Minute]
The real reasons real 'Mericans hate soccer [East Coast Bias]
Possible big winners from US's performance in South Africa? Charlie Davies and Rico Clark [SBI]
10 lessons to take from the Confederations Cup [World Cup Blog]
Finally:
The 2009 Barclays EPL (suck it, Barclays!) Photographic Awards. L like 6, 7 and 15 [Guardian]
Friday, June 26, 2009
Friday Backpasses: Three seconds of explosive hilarity
James Milner did his best to assure himself the future England captaincy. His PK had the balance of John Terry with the placement of David Beckham. (It's the first one)
Betfair had all of $51 bet on the US at 999-1 to win the Confederations Cup [NYT Goal]
Burnley are already asking to be relegated. Could we see a sub-10 point season? [Dirty Tackle]
Early word on the ESPN World Cup broadcast team [The Big Lead]
Scottish club on the brink of collapse. Unfortunately, it's the epitome of a poorly-run club [Two Hundred Percent]
True Hoop's take on the SiC [True Hoop]
Man City's Felipe Caicedo too black to dine in his own country [Off The Post]
Want to bet on the Confederations Cup final? Look at these stats first [The Spoiler]
Finally:
At 1.21 PM on this Iran liveblog, there is a call for the US to wear green wristbands in the Final on Sunday. If that's something you can get behind, there is contact information. Sorry about the partisan blog link [HuffPo]
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