Quick Throw: FA Cup Sour Grapes Edition

Fergie hates the Wembley pitch. It's even the reason why he selected a team full of pre-teens. [The Sun]

Wenger hates it too. [The Sun]

Fergie also thinks that Moyes' pre-match whispers about ref Mike Riley cost 'em that penalty [BBC Sport]

Even Rio Ferdinand thinks that because of United's brilliance, they miss out on obvious penalties all the time! [Guardian Sport]

Really, we know who's to blame for United's loss: that Timmy Howard lad. He did good, didn't he? [101 Great Goals]

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Yeah, But Do Those Countries Have Our Enormously Successful and Complex Financial System?

Far from grinding any axes, former Galaxy boss Ruud Gullit actually had some surprisingly complimentary things to say about the quality of soccer in MLS.

From a piece that appeared in the Daily Mail:

The football is different, and the salary cap prevents the league from attracting the very top players, but the standard is higher than people think. It's unfair to make comparisons with football in this country... I'd liken it more to the leagues in Holland, Belgium and Norway.

Watch out Aalborg.

Oh wait, I think they're Danish. Uhm, Liege.... no, don't think any MLS team could hold Liverpool scoreless for 180 minutes home and away. Oh wait, what am I saying? Stoke held Liverpool scoreless (disallowed goal notwithstanding), so clearly anyone can. Woo hoo! MLS, almost world class.

Okay, enough cheap shots. Back to Gullit. The former World Player of the Year was very honest about the limitations and mitigating circumstances affecting the quality of play on the pitch: "For a start, they play in the summer and that means it can be 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity. You just can't play high-tempo football. Certainly nothing like the Barclays Premier League, which is all about long ball and pace.

A) Ninety? Did Gullit ever coach the Galaxy at FC Dallas or the Dynamo? Ninety is unseasonably mild for Texas in the summer. B) Who the fuck is successfully playing Route 1 football and winning consistently in the EPL (Suck it, Barclays). Does Gullit even watch soccer?

He continues: "Then there's the travelling. If you're in LA and you've got a game in New York you're talking about a six-or-seven-hour flight." The salary cap, the lack of desire to schedule around international fixtures, etc. He hits all of the obvious explanations.

I kind of appreciate the compliments (even if they are slightly backhanded) of the MLS because when it's good, it's totally watchable soccer. And I'll continue to champion it as such.

But read the article more than once—and maybe read between the lines the second time through—Gullit's explanations start to sound more like scapegoating for his own lack of success. Dominic Kinnear, Sigi Schmidt, Steve Nicol, some coaches have managed to work with the limitations to field competitive teams. The Galaxy might have been a special case, given all the went on between ownership, management, and staff; but winning and doing it consistently is doable in MLS even with the heat, the travel, the cap and the calendar.

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The ref's a wanker

Yeah, Arsenal rogered by the referee in their tie with Liverpool. Call it sour grapes, but I don't care. If Gunners get the benefit of either disputed penalty call, they are likely watching film of Avram's "tactics" this morning.

I guess the dynamic duo of Hicks and Gillett have decided that the best way for them to overcome Rafa's obstinate rotation policy is to just go all out and bribe the refs. I kid, sort of. Or maybe a superbly trained athlete like Ryan Babel, who was able to easily blow through a weak shirt grab, didn't dive and really did lose his balance two steps later and flung himself to the ground in the opposite direction. Come vent with me, after the jump.

After the game, Arsene Wenger rightly blamed the refs. He told the official website that:

"I believe that we have to live with that and sometimes you have to swallow it. It is like that but it is very difficult to understand it because it was not a penalty tonight. I watched it clearly again. Last week [the challenge on Hleb] was a real penalty but we have to accept it. As well we have to accept in a game like that where we had so much control, but we were too naive. We lacked a little bit of maturity defensively."

Hey, at least he didn't bust out the usual "I didn't see anything" defense. I'm sure non Arsenal fans are laughing, but he has a point. If that penalty isn't called and Babel picks up a yellow for diving, then Arsenal advance on away goals.

If the Hleb call is reversed the outcome is less clear, but it would have been an advantage to have won at Emirates. After Diaby's early goal, it would have been 3-1 Arsenal in aggregate.

In a high stakes environment like this, its a shame that the referee feels a need to interject himself so blatantly into proceedings. And these weren't even shitty EPL refs like Mark Clattenburg! I was hoping for more, Mr. Peter Frojdfeldt, whatever Nordic country you hail from. At least he didn't grow up five minutes from Dirk Kuyt.

Arsenal fans can take some cheer from last night's proceedings, though. They bossed play for large parts of both legs, and the team clearly has the quality to beat anyone in Europe. Theo Walcott looked exceptional out on the wing, and he would be a huge upgrade over Eboue if he can stick in that role. Gilberto played well replacing Flamani. Its too bad he apparently can't be happy as a squad player, because he offers great depth in the midfield and would be able to spell Flamani in games against Bolton and Wigan. We also learned that Rosicky and Van Persie are made of glass, and should be flogged off to some middling Continental club, or Man City, at the earliest opportunity.

Anyways, its looking like another empty season for Wenger. That's four in a row, if you are keeping score. This weekend's visit to Old Trafford could very well be a severe beating given the fragile state of the team psyche. Like every Arsenal supporter on earth, I'm on record that he needs to make it rain this summer and buy some depth.

Also I'm hoping for Chelsea to beat Liverpool and make it to Moscow, just to see the hilarity that will ensue when Abramovich literally tries to fix a Champion's League Final. Ronaldo and Rooney better make sure they don't visit the wrong whorehouse when they are town, less they get arrested and shipped off to the gulag in Kamchatka.

And no, I'm not bitter at all.

[photo credit: BBC, Getty]

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