Today's shirt does not fall into the usual realm of this feature. There is no bad design. There is no awful pattern. There is no sublimated print, though the shirt is from the '90s. No, today's shirt is what happens when you use trendy coloration and then a decade passes.
The season from which this shirt comes, 1995-96, is one year before Elton John rebought his interest in Watford after 10 years away. Could the sight of these colors have enticed him back? Or was it that, after seeing this away shirt, he knew his beloved club were heading in the wrong direction? I'll leave you to ruminate on that, for I certainly do not have the answers.
To me, this looks like a discarded Vancouver Grizzlies warmup top. A team which, not coincidentally, started up in 1995. I don't know who deigned that purple and teal not only looked good together, but were the it colors of the time, but it showed up in force at Watford. Ugly, ugly stuff.
And what about that sponsorship? I remember 1995 fairly well. I had a car (Ford Escort, if you must know) with a factory sound system. From time to time I would peruse some catalogues looking for ways to update said system. Blaupunkt were, to my friends and acquaintances at least, the gold standard at the time. For a princely sum, one could update their car's sound system with a new stereo and subwoofers to really blast that Miami Bass that was so popular at the time. It wouldn't have made Soundgarden sound much better, though, so I stayed away.
Are you looking to replay 1995? If so, then this is the eBay auction for you. For a mere 10 pounds (plus postage) you can be the proud owner of this unique shirt. As a special bonus, it's actually (probably) wearable by an adult. Unlike most old shirt auctions on eBay, this is not a Youth Large or some such, this is in fact a Adult Extra Large. Though, given size inflation and the UK to US sizing conversion, it's probably about equivalent to a modern US Medium.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The Good, The Bad, The WTF
Yes, Please.
Hugh Hefner, the octogenarian purveyor of smut, is king of an empire whose foundation is being eroded by the internet. Rulers, however, usually don't go down without a fight and Hef is trying to land few more scantily clad blows. The Playboy founder is trying to entice Cheryl Cole (and other comely British celebs) show her wares in the pages of his lad mag.
I'm sure this would go over well in the lockerroom.
What is this selling?
This was supposed to go in Backpasses last night, but I lost track of it. Anyway, it's a not-very-authentic-at-all video of Claude Makelele and Guillaume Hoarau playing foosball and getting beaten badly. The twist comes at the end.
It seems obvious to me that this is an attempt at making a video go viral. Unfortunately, I have no idea why. Is Nike trying to push a line of black and white tracksuits? Is that bar the French version of Dave & Buster's? I need an answer please.
Want.
I saw this t-shirt in the great Adam Sandler flick, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, and now I want it. I've managed to locate it for sale in a couple places, but it's super expensive. If anybody can find it for cheaper that would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I'm not sure who the silhouette is supposed to be of, George Best? Franz Beckenbauer (did he ever have a moustache?)? \
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Tuesday Backpasses: Zuszczak attack
One of many postings featuring "MLS sources" saying who the expansion clubs will be. Considering the last I saw (yesterday) said Miami and Montreal, take it with a grain of salt [The 24th Minute]
Did no one check a calendar? Wembley double-booked for CL final and League Two playoffs in 2011 [Mirror]
Man U fan recreated Wembley for CC final. Couldn't he at least wait for a FA Cup final? [EPL Talk]
Ex-Galatasaray and Leverkusen manager was shaken down for sexy photos from his stolen cell phone [Dirty Tackle]
More shirty typos [Guardian]
South Africa to institute voluntary lie detector tests for referees [Independent Online]
French ref, dropped by Ligue 1 for incompetence, to officiate Netherlands-Scotland [ScotZine]
Finally:
Which EPL club has the brightest future with its youth? [Daily Mail]
Quick Throw: Adios Miami
Breaking news on the MLS expansion front. MLS, FC Barcelona and Marcelo Claure have "jointly agreed" that Miami is no longer a candidate for an expansion club. Jointly agreed is like telling people you and your girlfriend mutually agreed to break-up. In other words, it's a lie because she broke up with you. Miami joins Atlanta and Montreal in withdrawing their bids, leaving St. Louis, Vancouver, Portland, and Ottawa to fight it out for the two spots.
Portland's task force is set to recommend today a proposal to the city council that would call for the Paulson bid to chip in an additional $20M, plus a personal guarantee on the bonds for stadium improvements. I imagine the expansion fee might also be in play now with demand slowly drying up.
That's a lot of pain for such a club
Ah Tottenham. We like to make fun of you on these pages. Every once in a while The Likely Lad will show up and try to defend you, but that often just makes it worse. Still, we don't get as mean as we could, because at some point beating a dead horse is not as fun as it used to be.
Today is not one of those days.
Consider yourself duly warned that what we are about to link to is as vile and disgusting as it gets.
From the, well, oddballs at ONTD comes a bevy of images all showing the same thing: shirtless Spurs getting tattoos. You know you are in trouble when the first image of the post is of a pasty and pliable Robbie Keane.
See? Not pretty.
Anyway, there are plenty more on there including one groups shot that shows just how short Aaron Lennon is in real life. Go look. And when you're done with that, I have another treat for you.
That one bloke in every picture seems to be the proprietor of New Wave Tattoos. Betcha didn't know that he has a Myspace page. I didn't either until I clicked the link at the bottom of the post.
Some of the winners from that page.
So, why is Homer Spurson wearing a pink shirt?
You should probably eat a sammich, Craig Bellamy
Male trampstamp, complete with bloody runoff
A Yid? Really?
I don't know what to say
UF POWER POLL - March 3, 2009
After a 21-moon hiatus, the UF Power Poll returns today with some big changes and one glaring, red-faced constant. The worst we can say about Manchester United? They have conceded A GOAL (but not with van der Saar playing) and they did fail to do off with Spurs in 120 minutes (they waited to KICK ARSE in the shoot-out.) If they've suffered at all, it's by NOT notching that "precious away goal" at the San Siro. But we all knew this would be a tricky fixture. In theory, Jose and Co. have a decent chance at this. In theory. In practice, as much as soooome of us (self-included) can't stand it, Man U will probably win 2-0 at Old Trafford.
And what of Barca? Pep had sailed a near perfect course until the middle of February, but can he right the ship now? It's easy to dominate in the fall and winter, less so to recover as spring arrives. And then, before we get down to it, there's a certain well-known club from central Spain. They are called Real Madrid and they are led by one of the foremost managers in world football: Juande F#$%ckin' Ramos.
Dios Mio.
Here's the list-- with your Facebook votes lumped in!
1) Manchester United - 1.2 (last poll: 2nd place, 1.67 avg)
The Carling Cup winners tighten their death-grip on the top spot mostly thanks to Barca's freefall. It really wasn't a great two weeks by SAF's outsize standards. Like we mentioned, they should be expected to come through home to Inter, but would you be shocked if Mourinho snuck in there and managed a 1-1 (thus, sending the Mancs out on away goals)?? If Zlatan wants to stick it to his legion of English detractors, I believe this may be the time.
2) Real Madrid - 2.8 (4th, 4.00)
Probably the form club in European league play right now... maybe the best team on the continent if not for that Liverpool disaster. (It was an unlucky draw for Real, as Liverpool is probably the best team in Spain. Lingering should start a petition to move Los Rojos to La Liga. Surely they'd win a title there before the Premier League.) Still, the winning streak in the league is impressive, as is the way they're doing it. Ramos plays a style that might not win Europe, but is sure to make him a favorite at the Bernabeu. How man 6-0s did Don Capello manage during his title run?
3) Inter Milan - 2.9 (3rd, 3.67)
Draws with Torino and Roma in Italy have got to be frustrating, but would anyone like to bet on Juventus to overtake them? Think not. Another (real) Scudetto is in the offing and now it's all about the Champions League. Denying Man U that road goal was huuuuuge, obviously, and one can only imagine what Mourinho is cooking up for the trip north. His office is probably looking like the scene from A Beautiful Mind with Russel Crowe going apesh*t with the maps and magazine covers. Here's my hint, don't let Ronaldo alone with your left back.
4) Barcelona - 3.4 (1st, 1.33)
We're a fickle group over here-- the Facebook crew was more steady, placing these guys Second-- dropping the two-time leaders all the way down to the fourth slot. As we mentioned in the intro, Barcelona are in their first bad streak since Pep took over, so it remains to be seen if the mister can deal with a spot of failure. If they escape this Lyon mess, we'll still be rooting for that Barca - Man U final.
5) Juventus - 7.1 (unranked)
Juventus head up our Best of the Rest list. The latest challenger to Inter's reign of dominance in Serie A, they've had some...uhh... good luck (sound familiar?), but have also been fairly consistent in not losing. Though they did just that against Chelsea last week...
Wait, what are these guys doing so high up? I think we've been compromised. Someone here's on the take.
6) Hertha Berlin - 7.2 (unranked)
Oh, those wild and wacky Germans. Once again, this is the most competitive of the "big leagues" in Europe. Hertha are the newest leaders, overtaking UF men-crush Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich, Hamburg, etc... Led on the scoring sheet by Anfield Legend Andriy Voronin (7), with another win Hertha will exceed their point total from any of the past three seasons. Again, their inclusion is indicative of how sheisty the situation is after the Big Four.
7) Chelsea - 7.4 (unranked)
Sprechen die "Big Four," have Chelsea double-Dutched themselves back into League and European contention? Their season has gone from a Dutch Oven to a Bong and Blintz, Scmoke and a Pancake, in just a few weeks. Whether it's Guus, The New Manager Effect, or Drogba (the latter being the true path back to old glories), Chelsea have been solid of late, in that same unimpressive but dependable way to which we'd all grown so painfully accustomed. The real drama at Stamford Bridge has to be over Hiddink's future. Some rumblings about that he'd stay and offer up the Russkies to buddy Dick Advocaat. In the end, it's all up to Roman, of course. He may be out a bit of money, but the trigger-men are still on salary, so what the Boss says still goes.
8) Olympique Lyonnais - 8.0 (unranked)
How happy are Lyon supporters to know that Fred is finally out of town? (If you're there, Lyon fans, pray tell.) He was a significant part of their incredible run, but really, it's enough. Back to the football-- they were shockingly good against an admittedly struggling Barca side. Still, Barca is Barca and with Benzema in the attack, anything is possible. Including a long sought-after trip to the CL quarterfinals.
Yea, and they're going win in France, again-again-again-again-again-again-again. (The only way they don't is by knocking off Barcelona and losing focus on the league. Something I doubt would upset our Lyon fan. Où êtes-vous?)
9) AZ Alkmaar - 8.1 (unranked)
These dutch bastards just. will. not. lose. After dropping the first two, AZ have gone unbeaten for the better part of six months. And they're doing it with clean sheets and a bit of style. We also thank them for dispatching of any "Look, Steve McCLaren is about to lead Twente to the Dutch title" stories. That would've been bad for everyone... English fans and the people who care about them... the proud history of Dutch Football (David Winner would've crawled into a kiln)... so on...
10) Liverpool - 11.7 (5th, 5.78)
Not much to say here that hasn't already been said. Back to their old tricks. Had a little flirt with the Premier League, then remembered they are not, in fact, an English football team. Hey, I'd love for Spurs to have their problems... but not that manager. Rafa has a fantastic record, no debate, but they will never win the Premier League with him. See: article from yesterday's Guardianas proof.
Per Autoglass: stammering in mock shock-- "This is remarkable. Umm, an injured striker? Who could plan for such a scenario? Why, one might have to keep an extra proven striker around just in case..."
Dropped - Aston Villa, TSG Hoffenheim, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, AS Roma
In the mix - FC Porto, PSG, Celtic
Not in the mix- Arsenal (no votes)
Read more on "UF POWER POLL - March 3, 2009"...
Much Adu About Nothing: Whither Freddy?
This was supposed to be a "passing the torch" moment. Um, not so much.The topic has come up over at Soccer By Ives on several occasions, and now our friend Greg Lalas has chimed in on the subject.
The most recent reports regarding Freddy's playing time with Monaco have been expressing disappointment at the departure of AS Monaco president Jerome de Bontin who only arrived last April. The reason for his departure has been stated as being that the new majority investor in AS Monaco expressed a difference of opinion with de Bontin regarding his authority over club affairs. One example of his prior exercises of authority is his insistence on signing Freddy on loan from Benfica, and he appears to have been Adu's sole champion at the club.
With that in mind, let's examine Adu's career:
Playing with the U-20 and U-23 USA squads, he has a total of 20 goals in 38 matches which is an excellent strikerate. However, playing on the full senior squad (i.e. the USMNT), he only has 1 goal in 12 matches which represents a significant dip in production. Of course, on the USMNT Freddy faces much more serious competition for playing time and even when on the pitch he is not the first choice to receive the ball on scoring opprotunities. Yet, when playing in MLS for DC United, against demonstrably inferior competition to that which he now faces in Europe, he only had 11 goals in 87 matches, which is a similar rate to that on the USMNT. In short, against teenagers Freddy scores approximately 1 goal every 2 matches, against domestic (US) competition he scores approximately 1 goal every 8 matches, and against international competition he scores 1 goal every 12 matches (so far, at least). See a pattern emerging there?
Just maybe, Freddy Adu was a bit overhyped and he had not lived up to expectations before he even set foot in Europe. So what has happened at Monaco? Have a look:
Ligue 1 matches:
26: Number of matches for which Freddy was eligible to be selected
17: Number of matches for which Freddy was selected
0: Number of matches for which Freddy was in the starting XI
9: Number of matches for which Freddy was used as a substitute
In those 9 matches, Adu has played a total of 97 minutes (with his longest match appearance at 21 minutes against Rennes in a 2-1 loss), scored 0 goals, had 0 assists, and picked up 1 yellow card (which came 1 minute after his substitution against Bordeaux). He has come on as a substitute in the 87th minute, 82nd minute (twice), 79th minute (twice), 69th minute, 90th (!) minute, 80th minute, and 75th minute.
More importantly for Lalas' assertion that Freddy should "tough it out" where he noted that "Ricardo continues regularly to include Adu in the match day roster, an obvious encouragement to the youngster", in the past 7 Ligue 1 matches Adu has only been selected once and he never got off the bench in that match.
Now, to be fair to Freddy, his best performance of the season was the match where he got the most time on the pitch, playing 21 minutes against Carlos Bocanegra and a very good Stade Rennais side. But in the other matches, even when he has 10 minutes on the pitch he has looked completely lost. Certainly some of this is a function of being thrust into a match so late, but he trains with his teammates every day and so there should be a modicum of understanding between them that simply does not appear to be there.
Sadly, Freddy reminds me more and more of Landon Donovan's early days in Europe (although Landon's latest stint isn't blowing any doors off either). He looks lost, hurt, confused, and a bit homesick. In contrast to Lalas' assertion that Freddy coming home would damage both himself and US soccer, I think that the youngster still has much to learn about being a team player, and he is better suited doing that on an MLS club with 1 or 2 other "important" players rather than in Europe where he will be dismissed too easily, as most American outfield players tend to be. Perhaps after 2-3 more years of seasoning playing alongside a mix of aging international players and current USMNT players, Adu will develop the mentality he needs to be successful in Europe. I don't think that anyone doubts that the skill is there - his recent performances against Argentina and Juventus have demonstrated that. Maybe Freddy Adu just needs to grow up, or risk being the latest wunderkind to not live up to his billing.
Americans Abroad: Strengthening Our Reputation for Producing Awesome Goalies Crappy Tourists
Hunter Gilstrap has gone AWOL in South Africa.
Yeah, we had the same reaction: Who the hell is Hunter Gilstrap and why is he playing in South Africa?
He's a former College of Charleston goalkeeper and he doesn't seem to be playing in the PSL anymore. After conceding five goals and then showing fans the proverbial middle finger, Maritzburg United goalie Hunter Gilstrap failed to attend a disciplinary hearing and has also apparently vanished from the Kwa-Zulu Natal town... "His cell phone is off, he has not been at training since Monday and he failed to show up for the disciplinary hearing," said team manager Quinton Jettoo.
The five-goal one-finger incident occurred two Saturdays ago against Golden Arrows. Gilstrap was supposed to attend a hearing the following Wednesday, but he didn't make it.
And there is suspicion that he tanked the game on purpose. Gilstrap was dropped from the team's number one in favor of Tashrique Goldman earlier in the season, so when Gilstrap was called in late to start in the provincial derby, club boss Farouk Kadodia suspects Gilstrap might have allowed in some howlers to avenge his demotion.
Oh, and get kicked off the team on purpose so he could come home.
"It was a comedy of errors - cheap, cheap goals. It was like sabotage," said Kadodia. "Perhaps the goalkeeper was trying to provoke us into cancelling his contract, so he could leave for home, all because Goldman took his place."
Gilstrap was on a one-season contract that could only be terminated by mutual consent.
Maritzburg is just two points from the bottom of the league, so it's in a relegation battle. On top of that, they just lost their striker (and this name is A) Awesome B) Now ironically more awesome) Lucky Maselesele as he was banned for two years after being caught with cocaine.
Officially, Gilstrap was supposed to appear on two charges: 1) for giving a poor performance, and 2) for bringing the club into disrepute by showing a finger to the fans. The latter was probably a solid case. The former, not so much.
It might be irrelevant if Gilstrap never turns back up in South Africa as speculation is that he's already returned home to Cleveland.
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