Kudos to Austria for taking initiative in what will surely be the biggest head-to-head in next year's World Cup, the battle of vuvuzela v. sanity for all the marbles. It's a shame, however, that FIFA won't take such overwhelmingly brilliant action, ignoring all calls for a ban of the tinny, 10-cent trumpets from the tournament.
I feel bad for my remote control, as it's going to be a long summer for my poor, poor mute button.
FIFA's Director of Communications Hans Klaus told reporters the following earlier today: " "That would mean one would have to take away the cow bells from Swiss fans and ban English fans from singing. We approach this in a relaxed manner. I am convinced the vuvuzelas will be a hit at the World Cup. It will be a World Cup with African sound."To be (gasp) fair to FIFA for a minute, he's absolutely right. As frustrating and irritating as the vuvuzela can be, we have no right to march into South Africa and pluck their proud cultural artifact from their hands in order to have a nice, clean, non-threatening tournament, though the temptation is tough to resist.
Still, FIFA got their analogies wrong. It wouldn't be like banning the English from singing, but banning them from getting rip-roariously drunk in a foreign country and destroying everything in sight.
Friday, July 17, 2009
FIFA fails to follow Austria's lead
Quick Throw: The Swap is Confirmed.
That hilarious swapsies deal this morning between Inter Milan and Barcelona is actually happening! It's Ibrahimovic to the Nou Camp and Samuel Eto'o to the San Siro. No word yet whether other players are involved.
This summer is insane. Why are so many top-end players changing hands?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
MLS Liveblog: NY Red Bulls v. LA Galaxy
So exactly what can we expect tonight? Which Beckham will show up, and perhaps more importantly, which Donovan? They blab in the media (well, tellingly, only Becks did) about how they've patched up their differences, but the only way to know for sure is by examining the drivel put forth on the pitch.
Mercifully for the Galaxy, they get to ease Becks back into the league with a soft fixture against one of the worst teams in the league. Seriously, the Red Bulls have managed 2 wins, 13 defeats and 4 draws this season. And to think the RBNY got this bad the old-fashioned way, with a colossally hilarious string of poor personnel decisions, instead of overpaying one washed-up marquee name whose salary then crippled the franchise!
Wait... does Juan Pablo Angel count?
But I digress. The song above may or may not be a reasonable glimpse inside the mind of Los Angeles' two tortured souls, both figuring out a way to make the next 3 months tolerable. A win would make for a happy start.
15 mins to kickoff: Seriously, this is going to be awesome. FSC is running interviews with Beckham and Wahl in the pregame. Personally, I can't listen to this stuff anymore right now, even though I've been blogging about the right-sided midfielder all frickin' weekend.
10 mins to kickoff: And Beckham is full of shit. He knew this project wouldn't take a year or two years. He's in it for the long haul. Just fucking leave already!
Footage of the Columbus Crew visiting Barack Obama. Wonderful.
@Spectator - the Pele Scale! We should enlighten the masses as to our ingenious invention.
5 mins to kickoff: Grant Wahl pitchside for an interview! He reckons US soccer needs a good controversy, so why not something he started with the league's most iconic, misunderstood player? And no, he's not surprised that Donovan spoke as much as he did. So glad he did, too.
Predictions for the game? Score? Scorers? What will Beckham do? Donovan?
3 mins to kickoff: The Red Bulls will assume the position shortly. They are an awful, awful team. I'm thinking LA will win big, maybe 3-0 or so, and their victory will act as one of many impending false dawns for this team. OH GOD SHUT UP MAX BRETOS. My filter is on the fritz. For anyone interested, it's not so much a TV filter but an icepick lodged in my right ear, perforating the drum and making Bretos only half-intelligible amid the bleeding and pain.
2 mins to kickoff: That said, the other commentator noted that LA haven't won in "New York" since 2000. Maybe I should revise my prediction. Kickoff! Next!
LINE-UPS
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NEW YORK (4-4-2): Cepero - Pacheco, Sassano, Petke, Hall - Rojas, Celades, Stammler, Zimmerman - Kandji, Angel.
Subs: Wolyniec, Krupnik, Smith, Richards, Ubiparipovic.
LOS ANGELES (4-1-3-2): Ricketts - Dunivant, Berhalter, Gonzalez, Delagarza - Miglioranzi - Donovan, Lewis, Beckham - Eskandarian, Buddle.
Subs: Sanneh, Klein, Magee, Gordon, Kirovski.
Nice to see Becks and Landy split on separate wings, presumably to keep them as far as possible from one another lest they gripe and grumble about one another within earshot of one another.
Let us do this! Peeeeeeeeep!
LA Galaxy in blue, NY Red Bulls in white.
1 min: The "grass" is wet, as LA are first to experience its slipperiness. Sassano had slipped, allowing the ball to trickle towards Eskandarian, but cover was there to save the day.
Early, early pressure down at RBNY's end. Big surprise! At least the atmosphere is feisty and loud.
3 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and a slice of fried goal from Alecko Eskandarian!!! A fairly innocuous ball forward finds the striker, he nods it ahead into space, and nary a Red Bull has the wings to shut him down. And so, from 25 yards with Luke Sassano impersonating a traffic cone, Eskandarian has a crack on the volley and it rip-roars past Danny Cepero.Top corner shot. Hilarious start for the Red Bulls. NY Red Bulls 0, LA Galaxy 1
The crowd remains unbowed despite the early dagger blow to the chest. LA are still setting the tempo in midfield, but the Red Bulls get something going down the right with Zimmerman and Hall, but Hall's cross floats kindly into Ricketts' grasp.
7 mins: I spoke too soon! RBNY make some progress down the right, Angel nips behind his marker and fires a shot from a narrow angle that Ricketts shins out for a corner. Good effort from Juan Pablo.
What's hilarious early (besides the RBNY concept of "man-marking") is the state of the pitch. No-one can remain on their feet! Players slipping left and right! I thought this is why Adi Dassler did what he did in the 1950s with removable studs.
9 mins: Awful defending by RBNY, tumbling and falling to keep out a string of Galaxy crosses into the box. Eventually they clear to Beckham 20 yards out, and his shot is easily blocked.
OUCH. Berhalter gets a yellow for completely decimating Kandji. The defender's lucky he got there just early enough to avoid a red.
11 mins: Angel's nothing if not persistent. He leaps high in the box and nods for goal from the edge of the box. Woulda snuck under the bar but Ricketts was ready for it.
Much better from RBNY, as Kandji's passing is wonderfully accurate. The move breaks down on the right as Zimmerman gets crowded out, and once the ball comes back to the left again, Rojas attempts his own Eskandarian special from fully 40 yards but Ricketts catches it on the line.
13 mins: This sodden, skid-inducing excuse for a pitch is causing all sorts of sloppiness. If it's not the ball bouncing strangely, it's the Keystone Kops-esque hilarity of everyone falling over themselves.
Still, RBNY amp up the pressure from a throw-in. Rojas pushes it in from the left, it's pinged out to Angel, and he slips Zimmerman free on the right. His cross misses the man in the middle, and Rojas' 2nd cross is snatched from the sky by Ricketts.
16 mins: Donovan and Beckham have linked up nicely a couple of times thus far. Oh, the healing power of winning. Plenty of room for both sides down the flanks as well, but so far, Donovan's been everywhere. Tracking back down the right, galloping down the left, popping up in the middle... you name it, he's done it.
17 mins: Hall pummels a cross into the stands after working hard to get clear down the right wing. Arena will be encouraged by his workrate, but dismayed by his Pennant-esque inability to cross the ball.
20 mins: This Kandji fellow is wreaking havoc up top. In fact, he only needs to stand still and trap the ball while defenders foul him left and right, and it's Berhalter again, tumbling into his back for no discernible reason. Needs to be careful after that early yellow... free-kick RBNY, 20+ yards out.
... and Rojas almost knocks it in! His cheeky chip over the wall takes a deflection and loops agonizingly this wide of the post with Ricketts, a former cricketer (thanks for that, BRETOS), beaten. Then, RBNY resumes normal service in wasting their corner kick.
24 mins: Great chance to double their lead! Donovan wins a footrace down the right wing and turns in a dangerous cross. With Buddle threatening, Mike Petke sticks out a leg and touches it behind for a corner. Great defending. LA's corner amounts to nothing.
26 mins: Beckham's been quiet. In fact, I don't even know where he is on the pitch as Donovan appears to be the new right winger. Oh wait, a free kick for LA some 40 yards out, there's Beckham behind the ball. Phew. He swerves one in but it's headed clear.
28 mins: No Bretos, Beckham is not dangerous from a free-kick 45 yards out and right against the touchline. Eskandarian gets a yellow for fouling someone or something.
30 mins: Take a breath, Red Bulls fans. The home team still knows how much you love them without the continual screaming.
Chance for LA! Eskandarian beats the offside trap but breaks his run so Donovan can sprint onto it. His cross is long to Lewis, and his shot is blocked.
31 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and the Red Bulls just don't learn, do they? Beckham swings in a corner, it's cleared as far as Landon Donovan some 20 yards out, and it's his turn to Eskandarian the living daylights out of the ball, catching it sublimely on the volley and snorting it past an absolutely helpless Danny Cepero. He was grabbing nothing but the night sky. Gorgeous goal, high-fives all round for LA, and I think I'll retract my revised prediction and stick with the original 3-0 scoreline. NY Red Bulls 0, LA Galaxy 2
32 mins: I feel bad for Angel. He is a man without a team, really. Under pressure of a double-team at the edge of the box, all he can do is shoot weakly at Ricketts due to the lack of support in the middle.
34 mins: Hard foul in the midfield, and Becks has a free-kick to bend from 25 yards out...
... but it takes a deflection off Mo Kandji and dies mid-air. LA press again down the left wing this time, winning another corner. Beckham waltzes over to the RBNY section to take. Pacheco heads it clear, and Kandji is drowned out by a double-team in midfield. No love for RBNY currently, illustrated by Rojas letting a simple pass bobble up off his shin and out for an LA Galaxy throw. Poor stuff.
36 mins: The Red Bulls are just awful. Shockingly awful. Can they just delete the team and start over again? Bring back the Metrostars! Tony Meola!
37 mins: Coach Osorio should just put 6 at the back in order to relieve some embarrassment of his statues in midfield. Beckham comes inside and plays a swanky no-look pass to Eskandarian, who jogs some 30 yards before shooting and shaving some metal off the top of the crossbar with his effort. Can anyone on that Red Bull squad close a man down? Some positively USA v. Italy defending there. Donovan must be having deja vu.
Then, mild excitement at the other end as Kandji just misses out on a low cross by Hall from the right. And Bretos needs to learn to control himself because WE CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO DESCRIBE IF YOU ARE YELLING INTO THE MICROPHONE THAT YOU'RE HOLDING LESS THAN AN INCH FROM YOUR MOUTH.
40 mins: Donovan's toying with RBNY down the right, eluding a couple of challenges before Petke lowers the boom and nicks possession. Free-kick anyways on the right side. Duh Becks to take, but it's headed away by Sassano.
42 mins: Long-distance shooting for all! All of it rubbish, too. Kandji is trying to spark something for the home side, but he's one man against eleven.
AND A SERIES OF STUNNING SAVES BY RICKETTS! How did Rojas not bury that rebound? Ricketts dives to his right to keep out the initial shot by I-forget-who, but the danger lurks as Rojas is first to the loose ball and somehow rifles his shot right at Ricketts' legs. The goalie's block was enough to turn it around the post. If he'd have passed it a foot to his right, Angel would have had an open goal. When things aren't going your way, they're really not going your way.
44 mins: Sorry, had a Bretos moment there. My apologies. To tone down the hyperbole, Ricketts made two wonderful saves in quick succession.
GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL from absolutely nothing! And my score prediction from the pregame looks positively prescient! Landon Donovan gets the ball on the right, loops it across the edge of the box to a wide-open Eddie Lewis on the left side, and he volleys low, beating Cepero with the awkward bounce. Simply easy stuff for the Galaxy, and it's all coming from Donovan, really. Becks must feel great, both to be winning but also to be playing second fiddle for the night. NY Red Bulls 0, LA Galaxy 3
HALF TIME: NY Red Bulls 0, LA Galaxy 3
Just about everything going the Hollywood way so far. The Galaxy looked relatively untroubled at the back, though the Red Bulls should have scored late on via Rojas. Beckham and Donovan are so gonna hug in the dressing room, and it's the mouthy American leading the charge on the pitch.
Now to go draw the winner of that Grant Wahl book a few people here and there have been talking about! Back shortly!
Drum Roll..... The winner of a copy of The Beckham Experiment as chosen at random is.... Kopper! Email us at the address so we can match you up with your prize. Sorry Goat. We will have another competition soon-ish, with more books to give away!
Re: this game... full-time can't come soon enough.
And we're back!
This is really the first time this season the LA Galaxy scored more than two goals in a game? Amazing.
46 mins: Buddle gets bundled over by Hall, giving Beckham a free-kick 20-odd yards out. He curls it into the box, it bobbles around a bit, it's knocked over for a corner.
Becks pumps it to the far post, and Donovan's wide open. Brimming with confidence, he cracks a volley but it's always spinning wide.
49 mins: Angel wins a free kick in typical Angel, hustle/bustle style. Kandji heads for goal from the cross, but it's never threatening Ricketts.
50 mins: The color commentator hints that comebacks are possible from 3-0 down, and he namechecks Liverpool v. Milan in 2004/05. Then he has the sense to correct himself, saying that the NY Red Bulls are not exactly Liverpool.
Corners corners corners for the Red Bulls, but nothing doing.
52 mins: Another free-kick for LA in the midfield, an area they've absolutely dominated. Oh, and I missed a wicked volley from Rojas a few minutes ago that gave Ricketts a scare. Aside from that shot, Rojas has been crap today. Same for Delagarza, Zimmerman and Petke/Stammler.
Seeing a banner on the sideline reminded me: how on earth did the Red Bulls make the MLS Cup final last year?
54 mins: Anything else on TV right now?
As much as it pains me to say, Donovan's been superb tonight. Energetic, always looking to get involved, never afraid to track back, and dangerous moving forward. He's the USA's Rooney, who in turn is the English Dirk Kuyt, much like Ji-Sung Park is the South Korean Kuyt. Conversely, Beckham's been quiet and subdued but has done his part when asked. As I thought, he's been good from the dead ball but very little else. Not mailing it in already, surely.
@The Fan's Attic -- sadly, not really if I remember correctly. People came out to witness the circus, and have done so with little vitriol. The odd smattering of boos and hisses when he's over in their section to take corners, but that's about it.
I do rate Mo Kandji though. Good workrate, decent enough trickery in possession, and fast. Would do well in the Colaship. Menacing not just because of his stature, but because he can play the ball well.
59 mins: The game is lulling, but you wouldn't know it from the crowd who are still in full song. USL liveblog tomorrow night. Anyone interested?
@The NY Kid -- no clue. I'm assuming he'd cry off anyway.
Angel wins another corner for RBNY, it's wasted, but then a lovely deep cross from the left lands on Celades' head, but he can only guide it right into Ricketts' stomach. Good chance, that.
@The NY Kid -- careful, people will think you're weird for answering your own question there.
62 mins: Lovely link-up play by Donovan and Eskandarian, but the final pass isn't there and RBNY clear.
Sub for the Red Bulls: Celades off, Dane Richards on.
64 mins: Corner for LA as Buddle bedazzles Petke before the defender regains awareness and toe-pokes it away. Eddie Lewis whips the inswinger into the crowd, but Donovan pushes with too much gusto and concedes a free-kick.
66 mins: Angel is flustered again, as his hard work and industry is squandered by a team-mate. It's sub Dane Richards' turn to disappoint, straying offside to receive Angel's pass following a lovely spin off his marker.
68 mins: The Galaxy are content to let RBNY pass it from side to side without really moving forward or threatening. The Galaxy counter with Donovan (he's everywhere!), who releases Buddle on the right side of the box. His thunderous shot is blocked by Cepero (I'm surprised it didn't kill him, unless the balls are a bit flat and thus making more noise than they should) for a corner, and Buddle can't get on the end of Klein's deep cross.
Sub for LA: Beckham off, Birchall on. Mixture of boos and cheers, few drinks containers hurled in his direction as he trots off, clapping and smiling all the way. He then salutes the crowd from the bench. Always playing the PR game. Always looking for photo ops. The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced Beckham is just some soccer-playing Manchurian Candidate.
71 mins: Sub for NY: Zimmerman off, Ubiparipovic on.
An LA counter gives Eskandarian a great shooting chance, but it's right at Cepero. Lovely one-touch soccer by the Galaxy moving forward. Before that, Ricketts came a mile off his line for some reason but is beaten to the ball by Richards, who twists and turns but can't shoot through all the bodies.
Another sub for LA: Eskandarian off, Magee on.
75 mins: RBNY again shoot themselves in the foot, ruining some great positive build-up by wandering offside. Lazy. I was just about to note how they have been a little unlucky with this scoreline having created some golden scoring chances. Then again, they also defend about as well as the French, so I can't show too much pity.
Angel tries to get a good position on a cross from the right, but he's swarmed by three Galaxy defenders. The guy gets no help whatsoever.
78 mins: Bretos allows himself to indulge in some gooey, dreamy-eyed fantasies about what might happen if the Galaxy win all of MLS and every MLS anything ever, and whether it'd be enough to convince Beckham to stay. Short Answer: No. England won't pick him from all the way over here.
Sub for RBNY: Kandji off, Wolyniec on.
83 mins: Bretos is talking about Argentine soccer. Yet another league, MLS included, that Bretos knows nothing about. He just likes to roll his 'r's when pronouncing all those team names. Douche.
84 mins: The live-action equivalent of this at the moment:
86 mins:
Spoke too soon! Wolyniec taps it in with Ricketts beaten, but the ref calls it back for a handball by Gonzalez and demands RBNY take a penalty instead! Let's hope they miss! It'd be hilarious!
87 mins: GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL, and a rare smile for Juan Pablo Angel tonight. He sends Ricketts the wrong way on the penalty. And I'm thoroughly pissed that my score prediction is now incorrect. NY Red Bulls 1, LA Galaxy 3
89 mins: As you were, folks. It's been a rather quiet second half, which was to be expected. The dream return for Beckham, because people tend to gloss over the backstabbing, doublespeak and general lack of commitment when the team is winning.
90 mins + 1: ANOTHER PENALTY FOR THE RED BULLS! BUT ANGEL MISSES IT! Gonzalez commits another handball in the box, but Angel rushes his take and Ricketts gets enough on it to kiss it off the post and back into his arms. Absolutely hilarious way to end this game.
FULL TIME: NY Red Bulls 1, LA Galaxy 3
Wonderful stuff for LA, who were aided by a monstrous effort from Donovan, and some sharp counter-attacking, in their win. Becks and Donovan share a split-second loose embrace after the whistle, and maybe it'll be all smiles at the Home Depot Center from now on.
T-Minus 2 Hours
Until the fun at Giants Stadium. Join me for a liveblog, won't you? The beer is cold, the chips and pretzels are all kinda neatly arranged in bowls to keep them separate (hate snack-mixing), and the TV is ready and equipped with a brand-new Bretos Filter to tune out the inanity.
I'll be here from 7.45 to follow along tonight's MLS tilt between RBNY and LAG, thus concluding our MLS coverage until next season.
Oh, and I'll generate some fake suspense in announcing the winner of that Grant Wahl book at halftime. Catch the excitement! Who will get a book for free!?!? WHO WILL IT BE!??!?!
Beckham Speaks Again!
In just two brief days, I reckon Beckham's undone all that dubious goodwill work with kids and Zinedine Zidane that we kept getting emails about (more on that soon...). Yesterday was that EPL comment about how he'd play anywhere, just give him a ring someone and he'll do it, etc.
Then, he and Grant Wahl had a little donnybrook during a far-from-routine presser ahead of his season debut at the Red Bulls, which I'll totally be liveblogging by the way (beginning at 7.45pm. Bring the dip, I got the chips!).
Well, today saw him hide behind the England manager as justification for his continual want-away-ness. I mean, it's not his fault he needs to play anywhere but in Los Angeles.
It was Fabio! Fabio told him to!
Cue the "well if Fabio told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?" jokes, but seriously, let's look at what he said and then make fun of him.Leading up to the World Cup, the England manager has made it very clear to me that I need to be playing at a European level." (regarding playing for England) I will do everything possible. I'll always regret it if I didn't do everything to give myself a chance to be involved in that. At the moment, my priority is the rest of the season and also playing and keeping in every squad for England and representing my country. Going forward, of course I want to be involved in the World Cup. I've not hidden that fact."
That's of course assuming that you're going to be included in the World Cup squad. I mean, you're not getting any younger and you're becoming a little one-dimensional on the right wing, having been supplanted by the likes of Walcott and Lennon as a more agile, spritely option.
Would it kill you to just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the LA Galaxy for even five minutes? Tomorrow, I await the presser where he claims God came to him in a dream and implored him to move to Barcelona immediately.
**UPDATE** What do you get for the overpaid footballer who has everything?
If you're a Citeh player, you're probably wearing yours right now!Imagine you're Carlos Tevez, or Gaz Baz. You've just signed an absurd contract in moving to Citeh, new home of all that is evil and wrong with soccer etc etc etc etc, and you're meeting the gold-encrusted Sheikh Mansour whose money is bankrolling your hair gel expenditures.
The Sheikh is a nice man, and as if those cushy pay packets weren't enough, allegedly he's only gone and gotten you all limited edition Franck Muller watches worth 168,000 pounds each!
What a guy! Imagine what he'd buy you for Christmas if he celebrated the holiday.
Allegedly, the entire team was greeted in a fancy, swanky reception in Abu Dhabi, a pit stop before they head to South Africa for some pre-season friendlies in Durban and Polokwane. Staying in the five-star Emirates Palace Hotel, the team got a taste of the good life, although they might want to mail the watches directly home instead of taking them with, amirite?
Not much more to this story other than this being a harbinger of greedier, money-driven times to come (seriously, if Citeh win any kind of trophies this season I'll vomit), although I did like this quote from a "club source".. I'm guessing it's Mark Hughes: "Manchester City's players are now the most pampered on earth, and they were greeted like kings."
If Adebayor and John Terry somehow manage to talk themselves out of the lucre, I'll be absolutely fucking amazed.
**UPDATE** Manchester City claims that The Sun's story is false and will be pursuing legal action against it. In that case, let me just throw an allegedly in here.
Read more on "**UPDATE** What do you get for the overpaid footballer who has everything?"...
Samuel L. wants to keep his possessions
There are plenty of celebrity soccer fans, and plenty more to come, but last night's ESPYs saw the world's finest loud-voiced, over-the-top actor pledging his allegiance to the Red Scouse.
Though it might stop his house from getting burgled, it'll never be able to stop that shark.
Samuel L. picked up the LFC bug back in 2001 while filming so-so crime flick The 51st State, a movie in which his character goes to a Liverpool/Man U tilt at Anfield.
Ever since, he's been an avid follower, and decided to show his pride on the red carpet for ESPN and the paparazzi, although he's not often understood by his Hollywood pals: "I put my Liverpool gear on every now and again, and people say '"what the hell is that?"'
I thought Becks had fixed this problem! Poor Sam.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
It's Not Good for Hartson
John Hartson underwent emergency surgery last night on his brain to combat the testicular cancer that has spread to his lungs and brain. He's facing a gargantuan task to recover and successfully fight the disease.
His family issued the following statement:
"We have been overwhelmed by the support and goodwill from many thousands of football fans, players, clubs and sporting figures and we have drawn strength from this support."Here's hoping this story ends well.
Read more on "It's Not Good for Hartson"...
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Any Team Will Do
Seeing as though it's become a bit of a Beckham day around here thanks to his unwitting dominance of the news cycle, there's yet more PR fun from the blonde muppet in the form of comments about the English Premier League.
Basically, he'd play for any English club, having suddenly dropped his self-imposed limit of just Manchester United as being worthy of his presence.
You heard it, Citeh. Save Beckham!
Becks recently touched down in the USA to pick up his trail of enmity and discord from where he left off in the winter, seemingly determined to see out that albatross of a contract currently hung around the neck of his LA Galaxy overlords (though let's be honest; the Galaxy don't control anything).
I mean, he is going to honor that deal, right?"Never say never. I would definitely consider it.," said Beckham when asked if he would consider playing for another Premier League side. "When I left my heart was in Manchester – I couldn't see myself playing against United. Now I wouldn't rule it out."
Dear oh dear, Becks. So now you're so desperate to depart that you'll accept playing time from any old EPL has-been just to get out of Dodge?
Los Angeles should just sell him now and be done with the matter, unless they like having the rest of the league, nay, the rest of the world, looking at them and laughing hysterically. Becks also says he's patched up his differences with Donovan, but given their respective egos, there's no way a 60-minute chat can undo 2+ years of festering dissatisfaction, dishonesty and disgruntlement.
Still, I'll be watching and liveblogging the trip to NY on Thursday (I was originally set with tickets until our babysitter fell through! Blast!) with great interest to see how they mesh together. My guess is "not very well."
UF Book Review: The Beckham Experiment, by Grant Wahl
With all this Becks talk today, it's only right that I review the comprehensive account of the LA Galaxy and their disastrous attempt to buy themselves some success. To the surprise of no-one, David Beckham, everyone's favorite right-sided midfielder (not mine!), wasn't enough to get them an MLS Cup.
When David Beckham landed in America, his presence garnered worldwide attention. The prodigious Englishman seeking to colonize the US and conquer its ignorance of the world's greatest and most popular sport; it made for a thrilling, compelling story that everyone wanted to cover. ESPN whipped the masses into a frenzy, forcing the non-believers to care and giving the nation's soccer-crazy a chance to experience the kind of soccer coverage in America that they'd always dreamed of.
But, with every good story, there's a turn, and a Second Act that comes with far less joy. With Beckham, there were several downward turns, and Grant Wahl has captured every single moment of the descent in producing one of the better sports books you'll read all year. Akin to Buster Olney's "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," Wahl's unprecedented look behind the wafer-thin veneer of the LA Galaxy is compelling and enjoyable from beginning to end.
The book's two main strands dovetail together nicely; on one hand, we get an intimate look at Beckham and the invasive management of his branding team (the figure of 19 Entertainment, his nebulous handlers, loom ominously throughout the book), while on the other, we get a chance to get to know how the proverbial other half live, the players living on table scraps and working multiple jobs (or, in one perhaps overstated case, living three-to-a-tiny-apartment in order to save enough money for dinner and gas. One of them likes loud music! Another never cleans his dishes!) who are swept up in the media hurricane.
With all eyes on Beckham and his effort, it's guys like Alan Gordon who are able to give the most unbiased, uncensored opinions about life at the Galaxy and its farcical organization.
And so we get to the most impressive element of the entire story: Wahl's access. One wonders how different it might have been if Becks and the Galaxy became the all-conquering force so many envisioned, but in truth, the team's fall yields remarkable candidacy from so many close to the wreckage. If it's not Lalas, never shy of a soundbite, it's Landon Donovan, the team's jilted lover in the wake of Beckham's arrival. Donovan's story, and opinions, are compelling simply because we're never sure if he's genuinely angry at Beckham or angry at the organization for making him, the established alpha male of the team, play such a neutered role once the real golden goose swans into town.
The tale surrounding the LA Galaxy captaincy, and the pathetic, passive-aggressive manner in which Beckham gets what he wants in the armband (and believe me, thanks to his shadowy best mate Terry Byrne, who it seems essentially ran the club with Lalas as a well-meaning, clueless puppet, Becks always gets what he wants) is most telling of all. Remember, this is a guy so crippled with concern about his public image that if he wants something that people might react negatively to, you can bet it's not going to come directly from him:"When Beckham led the LA starting XI out of the tunnel the next night for the team's Superliga semifinal against DC United, there was mild surprise among his teammates that he was taking over as captain so soon -- even superstars usually need to earn the armband on the field with their new team, and it was Beckham's first Galaxy start -- but it was entirely plausible that Beckham would have ascended to the position before long...
However, the one thing Beckham's PR army couldn't get for him was on-field success, and it's this lack of team success that eventually tanks the entire experiment. I always felt that Beckham came to the USA thinking he could dominate in his old-ish age, becoming the best player in the league and single-handedly dragging the Galaxy to the winner's podium; when that didn't occur, he looked for the exit as quickly as possible, and Wahl's account of events reads in much the same way.
In the long term, the sub-rosa machinations that led to the captain switch would set the tone for the Beckham Experiment on a number of levels. Galaxy executives and coaches would continue bending over backward to accommodate (and even anticipate) the wishes of Beckham and his handlers, rarely saying or doing anything they feared might offend their meal ticket. For their part, Beckham's handlers would exert more and more influence behind the scenes, almost always using Beckham's surrogates -- Terry Byrne, mainly -- to avoid leaving any of Beckham's own fingerprints. Meanwhile, Donovan's resentment would build as he slowly began understanding that outside forces were taking over the team."
By the end, all parties involved seek to exonerate themselves of the lion's share of blame, no-one seemingly caring about throwing others under the bus in an effort to look good. The Beckham Experiment's bigger story, beyond the flashbulbs and media management of the English midfielder, concerns the comical mismanagement of a franchise, their actions providing a step-by-step guide of what not to do when trying to achieve success in a given sport. 
From Leiweke's flirtation with Beckham over a 5-year period until the deal was signed (not to mention his rather poorly-constructed contract that gave his team no margin for error whatsoever), to Lalas and his naivete in a job he should perhaps never have been given (like so many in the workplace, his personal rolodex got him a gig well above his druthers), to Beckham and his team of self-interested PR wizards, there's plenty of blame to go around, and Wahl does an admirable job in presenting the facts and leaving the reader to decide who ultimately deserves the bulk of the criticism for what went wrong.
My favourite section concerned the immediate post-Beckham arrival, when he and his handlers were able to sweep out MLS-savvy management and players (oh, the team they would have had were it not for some fundamental idiocy; look at who they let go once Becks came to town! Joe Cannon, Chris Albright, Kelly Gray, Kyle Martino, Tyrone Marshall, as well as Gullit effectively ruining Peter Vagenas) in favor of more global brands to keep Beckham happy. Oh, and all the global brands were just as clueless about MLS as Beckham is/was.
Ruud Gullit, if the book is to be believed, couldn't even be bothered to learn how transfers work in his new job, so much so that some hilarious personnel errors were unavoidable. Celestine Babayaro arrives and leaves, but not before displaying the same naivete that doomed this entire experiment to begin with (and a hilarious anecdote concerning flights). As for Abel Xavier, well, the less said the better.
It's hard for me to judge a book like this impartially as I have such strong personal feelings against David Beckham -- since Real Madrid, I feel like his playing abilities were never worth the hype, but it didn't stop him pillaging free money from teams desperate for the Beckham that hadn't existed since the 2002 World Cup -- but I can say this: Wahl is an excellent writer and researcher who has put together a fantastic account of a franchise that tried to purchase success but ended up worse off than they'd ever been.
It's engaging, enlightening and pulls no punches when looking at Beckham in the USA, and for that, I'm grateful.
When he gets to AC Milan, it's hard to feel like he put in his best efforts for Los Angeles in 2008. It's passages like this that make you wonder about his integrity and commitment to that grandiose, gargantuan task he'd charged himself with in coming to MLS in the first place:"From the moment David Beckham donned the famous red and black striped of AC Milan in January 2009, he looked like a completely different player from the one who'd gone 70 percent, sullen and out of shape, during the last half of the Galaxy's 2008 season. This Beckham was fully fit, buzzing up and down the right flank like the Goldenballs of old. This Beckham saves his emotional outbursts for his teammates, not just the referees, jumping on the back of teenage phenom Alexandre Pato after feeding him a perfect pass for a goal."
Reading this makes it tough for even the most ardent Becks fan to give him the benefit of the doubt when you see the MLS version and the England/Serie A version existing so brazenly separate from one another.
But ultimately, the book isn't just about Beckham, but the hopes, dreams and day-to-day operations of the team that relied upon him to turn them around. The Los Angeles Galaxy make for a wonderful case study in what not to do when trying to build a franchise, and the decisions made since 2005 will haunt this team for many years to come. Make no mistake; there is plenty of blame to be spread around, and Wahl leaves no involved party free of culpability.
I fear that when Beckham finally does leave, it'll be an eternity before they get back to where they want to be and with Wahl's controversial expose, it might take even longer.
UF Quick Throw: Adebayor to Citeh almost confirmed!
Arsenal have accepted a 25m pound offer from Citeh for their sulky, lanky Togolese striker. How many pre-pubescent French starlets will that buy?
Personal terms for Emmanuel are believed to be around 150,000-175,000 pounds a week, proving the adage "more money than sense." They now have a striking corps of Bellamy, Adebayor, Tevez, Santa Cruz, and Robinho. Good luck keeping everyone in check! Or maybe they're bringing back the 2-3-5 formation?
[Guardian Sport]
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The Beckham Experiment is here! Grant Wahl Q&A
We've been snickering and chuckling over the last couple of weeks at the stories beginning to seep out from Grant Wahl's new book, The Beckham Experiment, as he and his publisher begin the PR campaign. (You can buy the book here, should you fancy)
Well, we need feed off the scraps no longer as the book drops today, and we can all finally learn the entire truth of Beckham's tumultuous, phantasmagorical, chaotic, downright hilarious time at the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Grant was gracious enough to take some time out of his busy media schedule with the MSM to answer a few questions about all things Beckham and book-related.
Hit that after the jump, and, if you're in feeling lucky, you can enter our impromptu competition to win yourselves a copy of the book in shiny, new hardcover!
Simply email us at the address in the sidebar, subject line WAHL to be entered in our random draw.
Enough procrastinating. Wahl below.
Wahl!
UF: What are your thoughts on the media reaction to the book thus far? In the UK, the prevailing theme so far appears to be focused on mocking Donovan's precocious ways and tuning out the negativity about Beckham, while the US has always looked upon Beckham with suspicion as to his motives. Did you expect such a backlash from the English press?
Wahl: I don’t know if I’d use the term “backlash” to describe the reaction in the British media. I haven’t read all of it, but most of what I saw was just straight-up reporting of Donovan’s comments (and, now, Beckham’s response). I would say this: Almost all of the people who are criticizing Donovan for his remarks about Beckham (in Britain or anywhere else) didn’t see all of the Galaxy’s games in the second half of 2008. I did see every game. And while it was admittedly terrible soccer, it was obvious that Beckham wasn’t giving his full effort during that time. Donovan was by far the best player on the Galaxy last year (his 20 goals led the league), and that may be part of the reason why he felt comfortable issuing his criticisms of Beckham, who didn’t even make the MLS Best XI. Beckham was really good in the first half of the season, however.
UF: Has Beckham read the book? AEG? Leiweke? Lalas? Any of the major characters? Any feedback from them or commentary?
Wahl: I’m not sure exactly who has and who hasn’t read the book yet. I’ll be curious to hear what they think after they’re done reading, because I think it’s a fair-minded account of the Beckham Experiment’s successes (yes, there were some) and failures. My main hope all along has been that people read the whole book. I’m proud of the finished product.
UF: What were some of the biggest difficulties in getting the book together? Did Team Beckham and their PR spin team make things hard for you?
Wahl: I have always had a good relationship with Beckham and his handlers after writing two long open-minded stories about Beckham for Sports Illustrated in 2003 and 2007. Those stories were done as straight-up journalism—in other words, Team Beckham was not paid a dime for access and didn’t have approval over anything in the stories—and this book was the same way. I’ve interviewed Beckham one-on-one more than any other U.S. journalist, and the book includes material from those interviews, as well as the many interviews of Beckham that took place before and after every Galaxy game. He provided far more access than he ever has to the media in Europe, so his voice is in the book.
UF: From reading the book, Beckham's naivete and arrogance regarding his abilities and his potential role in MLS shine through. He appeared to never have a clue, and the book gave me the impression that once he realized his presence was unable to transform the Galaxy into a winning franchise overnight, he virtually checked out. Based on your intimate knowledge of the situation, was he aware of what he was getting into, or was he as clueless as Gullit regarding the structure and operations of MLS?
Wahl: I don’t think Beckham was totally aware of what he was getting into with the Galaxy—or how bad the team really was. Obviously, the Galaxy deserves a lot of blame for that, but so do Beckham and his handlers for not being fully aware (and then adding to the problems during Team Beckham’s shadow takeover of the team in late 2007 and 2008).
UF: How did writing and researching this book change your opinion of Beckham?
Wahl: In covering Beckham over the years before he joined the Galaxy, all of his former teammates and coaches said that he put out 100% effort all the time in practices and games. But in the last half of 2008 it was clear that Beckham was not putting in 100% during games, and several teammates (including Landon Donovan and Chris Klein) noted that Beckham could have been doing more at practices too. My theory is that Beckham had never lost this much in his career, and as a result he partly checked out on the team in the last half of 2008.
UF: What impact do you think this book might have on the MLS moving forward? Could Becks' struggles deter other big names from coming across to try their hand in America?
Wahl: I don’t think this will keep other stars from coming over, though it might cause some MLS owners to think twice about opening their wallets. That would be unfortunate. MLS needs star power, and the Beckham case is so unique that I don’t know how many lessons can be applied to other players.
UF: I was struck by the level of comfort shown by a lot of players in going on the record with their feelings toward Beckham and LA, in particular Landon Donovan. Was there a general willingness amongst the rest of the team to come forward and share their uncensored thoughts?
Wahl: I did the reporting for this book over 16 months, following the team in Los Angeles and around the rest of the country. I think Donovan and several other figures got used to me being around and were comfortable sharing their thoughts. They also knew that I didn’t come in with an agenda. When I started the reporting for the book in the summer of 2007, none of us knew what would happen. For all we knew, the Galaxy was going to win championships like Pelé’s New York Cosmos. That didn’t happen, of course, and I just ended up following the story where it took me.
UF: Who might be your next target after Beckham?
Wahl: I don’t think I’d use the term “target” since it implies some sort of intended malevolence, but I am starting to put together ideas for my next book. Not sure if it will be on soccer. The Beckham Experiment was a huge story for American soccer that was deserving of a book, but there may not be many other U.S. soccer stories that publishers think are worthy of books. I’d love to be wrong, though.
UF: And a couple of off-topic ones to round things out....
Hopes and Expectations for World Cup 2010?
Wahl: To have a tournament that’s free of major incidents and has the kind of quality soccer we saw at Euro 2008.
UF: Favorite US Player at the moment? All-Time?
Wahl: Alan Gordon. Anyone who reads the book will know why. He’s a symbol of all the anonymous U.S. players who bust their tails to keep MLS afloat.
UF: Favorite World Player at the moment? All-Time?
Wahl: I’m in the bag for the Argentines. Messi now. All-time: Maradona, circa 1986.
Monday, July 13, 2009
A few more words on John Hartson
Hartson was an imposing, raw striker for whom silky skills were always elusive. Goals, however, were never too hard to come by, scoring at a rate of more than 1 every 3 games for Luton, Arsenal, West Ham, Wimbledon, Coventry City, and, most notably, Celtic.
His impending struggle with cancer is a familiar one, and he has a long and difficult fight ahead of him. It'll take every last drop of that grit and determination for him to overcome.
In August of 2005 I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, but, thanks to the wonderful vagaries of insurance, it didn't get much treatment until well into the fall.
I knew what it had been all along, but the bureaucratic red tape and the endless visits to a small doctor's office in Brooklyn made things overly complicated. It was October when I finally got my surgery, but the spread to the base of my spine was an unexpected epilogue.
The spinal node infections were far worse, and required far more; a few cycles of strong chemotherapy, bedrest (I kissed work goodbye and somehow managed to freelance throughout despite the heavy haze of Cisplatin and painkillers continually clouding my head), and a far more intrusive, painful, dangerous surgery (a RPLND, or Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection... google it if you dare!) in order to kill off the beast.
There was precious little time to deal with the potential compliations from the surgery - painful recurring acid reflux (check), sexual dysfunction (thankfully, no, as the birth of my first child recently can attest), paralysis, kidney failure, nerve damage restricting movement, bowel obstructions, hernias - before going under the knife, thanks to the aggressiveness of the disease.
As the pattern normally goes, lungs would be next, and eventually brain. Of course, not all variations behave the same way; some skip right to the brain, some are far more invasive, others loiter solely in the groin until plucked clean, but Hartson's type sounds especially awful. Of course, there are all the stories about Lance Armstrong and his recovery, but to be grim, for every Armstrong, there are 999 non-Armstrongs, those who can't handle the treatment and those who eventually succumb.
My story ended brightly; after the long course of chemo, coupled with this difficult surgery, I made a full recovery with few lingering effects (and a sweet 18-20inch scar), and recently passed my three-year anniversary of receiving that good news of being cancer-free. Two more years to go until my chances of remission fall back in line with the general population, and I'm moving on with my life.
The point of sharing my small story is simple: I feel for Hartson and his diagnosis, as he might well not be so lucky. Few are, despite testicular cancer being one of the easiest cancers to treat, and I wish him all the best. We all do, and here's hoping his story ends brightly like mine did.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
The Gold Cup sets World Cup standards of punishment
Aguirre smelt it, CONCACAF dealt itRemember that gigantic donnybrook late last week between Mexico and Panama, the one in which limbs were torn from bodies and players ran bleeding and delirious into the warm Houston night?
Yeah, well CONCACAF acted swiftly to dole out some punishments, and the only one feeling the pinch is Mexico coach Javier Aguirre, smarting from a three-match suspension. His wonderful leg-sweep near the sideline sparked a wonderful brawl, the likes of which hadn't been seen since that night in Detroit, and though plenty of shoving matches took place after the Cobra Kai move, only Aguirre is in the doghouse.
"The committee acknowledged that Mr. Aguirre is well known to them as a responsible person and it was their belief that this was an aberration rather than any aspect of his normal behavior," mumbled CONCACAF secretary Chuck Blazer in-between heavy abuse of the gratis buffet table.
Aguirre apologized, and we can all move on with our lives. At least until the next time it happens.
Read more on "The Gold Cup sets World Cup standards of punishment"...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Jermaine Pennant gets what he doesn't deserve
Remember those crazy days last season when Jermaine Pennant was apparently receiving offers and overtures from AC Milan?
Well, things are a little less crazy now, but the former Liverpool winger failure and Pompey paycheck-casher has somehow engineered a move to La Liga and Real Zaragoza, where he'll surely do his best to refute Cristiano Ronaldo's theory that Spain is the new power seat.
It's a wonderful, sunny new place for Pennant to underachieve, and the worst of it is that thanks to Spain's lazy tax laws, the son-of-a-bitch will be rolling in the money.
I didn't know if it was possible to hate him more, but learning this showed me otherwise!
To break it down for a second:It is the detail of Pennant's deal at Zaragoza with regard to taxes that will have some English players and agents salivating. His three-year contract is worth £6.24m net, with the Spanish club effectively paying his taxes. They have been helped to do this by top-bracket tax perks or what has become informally known in Spain as the "Beckham law".
As the article goes on to explain, not only will Zaragoza be paying the taxes on his paycheck every week (somewhere in the region of 10,000 pounds), but he'll take home a minimum of 40 grand a week with no strings, AND Zaragoza even threw in a car and a villa to his deal, meaning that the awful, horrendous, absolutely painfully useless right-winger is sitting prettier than most.
In an attempt to encourage overseas businesses to place their leading executives in Spain, the government introduced legislation to cut taxes in the top bracket to 23% for the first five years. Real Madrid, a club synonymous with galáctico signings such as Beckham, then argued successfully that leading overseas footballers ought to enjoy the same privilege.
Quoth the inept bastard: "I wanted to come to Spain and I had offers from important teams in Europe but I joined Real Zaragoza. I really want to get started and do well in the league."
I'm sure you do, Jermaine. I mean, three goals in three-and-a-half seasons at Anfield shows just how firmly you believe in "getting started".
Perhaps more troubling for the EPL is this tax situation outlined above, something that could potentially see a ton of superstars leaving England in order to keep more of their money (England currently imposes a 50% tax rate for those people earning more than 150k per year), and a country like Spain, already far advanced in the Totty, Weather and Cuisine stakes, would make for quite a soft, sexy landing should others decide to defect.
Most galling of all is that it's Jermaine Pennant being the one to expose this glorious, totally unfair loophole. If Jermaine Pennant can do it, why not Crouchaldinho, or Darren Bent, or Kenwyne Jones, or Joey Barton, or Florent Malouda, or David Bentley?
(pause for thought)
.... actually, it would be kinda nice to get rid of all that EPL deadweight. And if Spain theoretically took 'em all, C-Ron would be eating his words about which league is best.
Until that happens, focus your hate rays on Pennant, and all that filthy lucre, and the free sports car, and the luxury villa.
May he get immediately sold to FC Twente, or Brann Bergen, or some club in the Faroe Islands.
Friday Backpasses: Zero Effect
Tonight's Guest Backpasser: LB
One of my favourite movies of recent times, and I cannot understand why it seemed to fail so completely and utterly. Pullman and Stiller work surprisingly well together as a idiosyncratic Sherlock Holmes & Watson, the script is fresh, the characters compelling and funny, and you can't go wrong with a soundtrack by the Greyboy Allstars, no sir. As I lie awake with LB jr taking a late-night nap on my belly, I'm reminded of its excellence Plus Bill Pullman drinks Tab! That's just insane!
Anyways, around this time in the early hours of Saturday, July 25, a bunch of us will be stumbling around Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I cannot wait!
Ronaldinho's is in danger of becoming fat, like orca fat. Meelan are scared [Wales Online]
Nike's been juicing with their new soccer balls. At least the next John Terry PK miss will occur with a sexier ball [Gizmodo]
Citeh allow Jo to spend more time at Everton on loan [Guardian Sport]
Manchester United miss out on yet another player, as Huntelaar agrees to shift to Stuttgart [Sky Sports]
Tranny involved in Originaldo scandal last year dies of AIDS [Brisbane Times]
Diadora goes belly-up; Scotland need new shirt maker [BBC Sport]
American coach to take over the reins at beleaguered Scottish First Division club [Boston.com]
Aberdeen decide to sue Elton John for pitch damage that happened 5+ years ago [Evening Express]
Some info on the NYC soccer movie festival [NY Times]
And finally:
Sad news about former Blackburn/Scotland legend Colin Hendry. His wife died following complications from botched cosmetic surgery [Guardian.co.uk]
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Friday, July 10, 2009
UF Quick Throw: No-one wants to go watch Newcastle?
Apparently, NUFC season ticket sales are at a 20-year low. The club hasn't specified what kind of renewal stats they're facing, but it's not good.
So 600 pounds is too expensive for their season of Colaship in 2009/10. Who knew?
[Tribal Football] via The Sun
More Shares to Kroenke
The savvy Colorado sports magnate (I mean, he owns the Nuggets, Rapids, and some of the St. Louis Rams) Enos Stanley Kroenke got his hands on 160 more shares of Arsenal, bringing his total stake to 28.58% and surely preparing for some future ownership battles with the fatty Ulisher Usmanov.
At $8,500 a piece, the shares weren't cheap, but Kroenke is loaded (and being married to a Wal-Mart heiress doesn't hurt either) and is cementing his position in charge at the Emirates.
For Kroenke, he's been on the record in the past about not wanting to hit the 30% ownership threshold that would require him to make a formal offer for the remaining shares, but his quest for control is evident. Usmanov is still very much on the periphery, popping up here and there to offer spending money to the EPL's most frugal club, but with Kroenke still lurking underneath that 30% ceiling, anything is still possible.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Turkey will take ANYONE.
The home of washouts Milan Baros and Antipodean sick note carrier Harry Kewell has bagged another EPL reject... in Citeh striker Darius Vassell!
You read that correctly: DARIUS VASSELL. He found a club to pay him to play soccer!
Wassermann Media Group, take note! Maybe Michael Owen won't be such a hard sell after all.
And, by the looks of the video after the jump, you'd think they'd signed Kaka, a young Platini and Alfredo DiStefano, back from the dead.
Pretty awesome, right? I mean, I'll be honest... if I ever received this kind of warm welcome, I'd be pretty damn happy.
The mania was orchestrated by Ankaragucu chairman Cengiz Topel Yildrim, who wanted to sway his decision (the two sides are still in talks... nothing has been signed yet) from the get-go, and I reckon it'll do the trick: "We aim to secure a big signing as this year is our centenary. He will visit the city and our installations. Then he will make a decision. I hope we can include him in our squad."
Can he at least score with the Vassell ladies? Maybe once every 5 games...
Fingers crossed for you, Cengiz! He orchestrated a convoy of 50 buses and 250 cars(!) to follow his car from the airport to his hotel, and the whole thing looks surreal and kinda brilliant.
Here's hoping Ankaragucu gets the good news it's looking for. Darius Vassell, scorer of 52 goals in 265 games for Aston Villa and Citeh, is on his way to the Turkcell Super Lig.
Stay tuned!
H1N1 1, Queen of the South 0
Poor Bob Harris.
The Queen of the South defender took a relaxing holiday to Ibiza, home of cranium-pounding techno and loose, drunk women, and ended up coming home with the Swine Flu.
At least it wasn't herpes, right? Right?
He's the second player on the team to be struck with the illness after midfielder Paul Burns, and the team isn't too concerned about a full outbreak.
Said manager Gordon Chisholm: "He caught it while on holiday with his pals in Ibiza but it's no worse than Paul Burns and he's just been told to rest and stay at home until the weekend."
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