Here in the locker room of the Unprofessional Foul, it can be a place that can best be described as 'scuzzy'. Between NY Kid's sobbing into a towel, Spectator taking overly long showers, and general fighting over the last beer in the cooler, a rumble goes on. Over the past week or so, Autoglass and Bigus Dickus have been fighting over the usefulness/uselessness/relevancy of their respective twitters. The biggest issue is over keeping things private vs. not. We're to the point of offering a class at UFU on this topic. Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching is a person who would have benefited from such classes. Fined for whinging about the ref's call. "Ref in seattle just cheated the dynamo," Ching tweeted. "What a joke. Not even close. Ref is a cheat."
He apologized in two Twitter posts the next morning, blaming "the heat of the moment." Now, he was fined $500 for such a comment. I first thought "wow, that's like a big chunk of his salary. But it's not really. I had to pull out my handy MLS Salary Chart (PDF Warning). He makes $242K this year, or more than what Bigus Dickus will spend on Norwich swag in his lifetime.
The throwdown between Bigus and Autoglass shapes up like a classic east coast/west coast feud: The laid back west coaster who openly tweets about his daily life of being a sad Chelsea fan, and the private rantings of a Norwichian. But reading the arguments over twitter between Bigus and Autoglass, it makes us wonder how a twitter feud between Beckham and Landon would play out:
@PoshBoy: Someone told me that I got dissed by my teammates. wazzup?
@LandonsTime: Ignore those writers, they're selling books.
@PoshBoy: I'm always a great teammate, just ask all my mates.
@LandyCakes: Well, you're a captain and I don't feel right asking.
@PoshBoy: All of my mates loved me.
@LandyCakes: We loved you too. We just needed some dinner, and I forgot my visa.
@PoshBoy: All you need is a bite? Let me ask the missus what I should do.
@LandyCakes: The MLS isn't all bad. We've got Davies and he's a stud.
@PoshBoy: Are you sure?
@LandyCakes: Well, there's me!
@PoshBoy: Yea...gotta run, I need to help Tom and Katie move some meter thing.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Tweeting is fun for everyone! (almost)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Newcastle entertaining 100 Million pound bids
Ashley paid 135 millions pounds in 2007 for the club, and has claimed to have put in 244 million pounds since then. I'm still not sure what it was spent on fully, as the club has really taken a nose dive.
Restoring order to a sports team once its taken this emotional and performance hit is a very tough thing. I don't see a conglomerate from Asia having the ability to give the team, staff, and fans the sort of lift that is needed.
One of the early BBC articles mentioned an American bidder, but the only name i've heard of is LA Galaxy owner and developer Philip Anschutz. He's the name that seems to be in the mix all the time, and he's that breed of owners i've always flagged as using sports to drive other business interests. Which may be what a team like Newcastle needs - someone who knows how to extract revenue in other manners to help beef up their players and their farm system.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Setanta stock stops trading
It appears as though Setanta's stock has stopped trading in the UK, from the screen capture (courtesy of Bigus Dickus). This makes the coming receivership all that more immediate. We will miss Setanta for attempting to take on the big boys of the EPL, and then not knowing when to fold them.
This doesn't seem to affect the distribution of Setanta in the US, as according to this page, everything is rainbows and puppies. They will still cover their shrinking number of EPL matches, plus some of their other footy-related output from around the Globe.
I don't know where they will be come the fall. Going into receivership will mean either a restructure of debt, or a sell off of assets. Their biggest assets are some of their deals. Now we will see if ESPN or someone else steps up and takes a flyer on their content, now that they can pick it up for pennies on a dollar.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
QT: Man U sends Ronaldo to Real Madrid
Sir Alex has reached the end of his rope it seems, and has shipped the petulant striker to Real Madrid for 80 Million Pounds. I'm sure he's miffed that he was worth less than Kaka, but they can perhaps compare which bath soaps help soothe their skin after a tough match. No word on what the Manchester United fans are doing right now, other than convincing themselves that a Rooney is better than a pretty boy.
Monday, June 1, 2009
QT: Carlo Ancelotti to prowl the sidelines for Chelsea
It looks like it's a done deal, that Carlo Ancelotti will be leaving Milan and heading to Chelsea. Signing a three year deal, he leaves the Milan squad in tears. We expect Chelsea to be chasing the Champions League next year. Our Chelsea fan boy is still asleep on the left coast of the united states, and unavailable for comment.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Liverpool vs. Real Madrid - Interview time!
There is so much riding on this match, and not just the hopes and dreams of our Scouser brethren.
Some folks are using this to show off whether they are healthy or not, while others will be using it to interview for a new job.
Meanwhile, Rafa is acting like he needs to dump his Starter Wife for next year's model. Poor Ramos. I hope the spiked vitamin water he's been feeding everyone at Bernabéu will sustain tonight's contract hubris.
One thing is certain: outside of all the coach talk, there will be a nice match tonight.
Real started off the season as a club in crisis mode, but Ramos' steady hand has turned them around, and now they've been beating down semi-tough La Liga talent to make it look more impressive than they may actually be. They are playing a lot crisper in their attack, and they are serious in their play. Expect from them some excellent passing in the midfield and some serious attacks. They'll be playing like they have nothing to lose.
Liverpool's been, well Liverpool-ian. Playing dominating football at times in the EPL, and mailing in the rest. Rafa's contract has kept the club in a media circus tent for the past month or so, and it's becoming a distraction. Stop being a weenie, and either sign it or not. The Over/Under on the announcers discussing Rafa's contract is currently sitting at 87.
Who to watch for:
For Real, it will be the striker of note - Raul, the Fresh Prince of Madrid. Keeping him marked and off the ball will be the key to Liverpool's defensive success. Skrtel will have his hands full with him.
For Liverpool, hope that Stevie G can feed Kuyt all day, as he will be the one who needs to have the big game. Torres will get his chances, but Dirk has the passion that makes the Scousers wet themselves (more than usual).
Probable Teams:
Real: 1-Iker Casillas; 4-Sergio Ramos, 3-Pepe, 5-Fabio Cannavaro, 16-Gabriel Heinze; 11-Arjen Robben, 8-Fernando Gago, 6-Lassana Diarra, 10-Wesley Sneijder; 7-Raul, 20-Gonzalo Higuain
Liverpool: 25-Pepe Reina; 17-Alvaro Arbeloa, 23-Jamie Carragher, 37-Martin Skrtel, 2-Andrea Dossena; 20-Javier Mascherano, 14-Xabi Alonso, 11-Albert Riera; 8-Steven Gerrard, 18-Dirk Kuyt; 9-Fernando Torres
Prediction:
Madrid 1 - 1 Liverpool
Thursday, February 12, 2009
It's So On! High School Girls Game Turns into Brawl
What can turn a simple girls high school soccer match in Fresno, California into a brawl? All we know is that Reedley (pictured) and Sanger High Schools' match devolved into a "battle of the Joquian Valley." According to the latest report from the Fresno Bee, while investigation is still ongoing, the brawl led to one player being hospitalized, plus four players and two coaches getting ejected.
Reedley and Sanger are both near Fresno, in the heart of the truck farming valley, not even fifteen miles apart. The chain of events seemed to have been the following: Two players tangled and fell to the ground. The Sanger player started punching the Reedley player about 5 yards from a referee. Benches cleared and several punches were thrown before coaches and administrators intervened.
It's obvious they have not been watching their Premier League matches, because they would of learned a few tricks on throwing punches while "helping" the other player up.
After the fight, three Reedley players and one Sanger player were ejected.
An unidentified Reedley assistant also was thrown out, and Reedley coach Stan Kanawyer was ejected soon after for making illegal substitutions. One Reedley player who was head-butted during the incident did not return.
Reedley has a match against Edison High this afternoon, while Sanger is playing at Bullard. Here's hoping that cooler heads will prevail.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The UF crew whinges about GoldenBalls....
If it's Tuesday, then Lingering Bursitis gets on his high horse. What is it about Tuesdays - the quality of food in the company cafeteria? Steven Gerrard failing to text him sweet missives good night? His declining liquor supply? nope, nope, and nope. He's worked himself up into a froth over...David Beckham, England's soccer captain, and the latest scorn of his ire. We had an impromptu UF round table during the day, with most of us chipping in, to make him feel, well, alone in the corner. Only thing I recall editing out was the piling on of the poor editor. Find out why Becks is not the problem...
"Now watch my free kick hit the broad side of this stadium...."First of all, the link that started Bursitis lingering in an unhealthy way. Beckham approves of Usian Bolt's decision to gloat about winning the gold.
Lingering Bursitis: He's a limelight-hogging child who doesn't know when his 15 minutes is up.
Bigus Dickus: And why does that bother you? Do you read people and watch TMZ? I see none of that crap....so it does not sway my opinion.
Lingering Bursitis: It bothers me because the longer he lingers in the English football system, the longer it'll be before we can finally rebuild our joke of a national team around someone else, someone younger, hungrier, and far more deserving. He wanted to play in Los Angeles and do the Posh Spice reality show life, so he should get on with it. England needs a new talisman... if he plays much in the run-up to the World Cup, or even has a sniff of making WC 2010's squad, I'll be livid.
Moonshine Mike:We've chastised athletes for being limelight-hogging children at
Lingering Bursitis:
times, but they are playing a game and having fun. If they want to do the hogging, and he likes it, then go for it. I'm not into the person who doesn't want the limelight and gets chased by it. The Beckhams want it, and I want him.
Do you know how many women have gotten more interested into soccer because of Becks? the more, the merrier, and if it takes a bit of sexing up the players who want to be sexed up, rock on.Disagree. He's stunting the development of English sport by continuing to hang around and have unfair influence over team selection and the manager, with whom there's a massive conflict of interest, and thus we can't seem to put a good XI together.
Spectator:
I'm tired of him clogging up the game, and being everywhere. It's someone else's turn. He last had relevance to me in 2004 (at least relevance in terms of his playing ability matching up to his brand awareness).
Whoo hoo! A fellow incoherent maniac who agrees with me!I think it's clear that Bustitis secretly hearts Becks.
Lingering Bursitis:Spectator, he was recalled because the new manager was also his manager at Real Madrid.
Moonshine Mike:
Their BFF tendencies go a long way. He lobbied continuously for an England spot even though MLS was in its off-season and even though he was playing in Los Angeles, a place not exactly known for its soccer (oh, and they used him as a winger too, basically there to cross the ball every 5 mins and make a long pass here and there).
The longer he's there, the longer someone else is denied the opportunity. We're building around him because he's our senior-most player, the one everyone's supposed to be looking up to. With him in the lineup, we continue to stagnate. Capello promised us an overhaul, but we're seeing players and XI selections that Boring Sven would have made. Same old bullshit if you ask me.That's Capello's fault then. Blame him and not Beckham.
Lingering Bursitis:Beckham lobbied for it and got his way. With him in the lineup time and time again at age 33 or whatever (aka not going to really play in WC '10 or Euro '12), we'll never have a hope of overhauling the rest of the midfield, the defense, etc etc.
ian:
David James is 36! Is that really who should be giving valuable playing time to on the eve of World Cup qualification? Capello wasn't exactly BFF with Becks at Real Madrid. Or was it just the board that forced him to drop Beckham after the LA move was
Likely Lad:
announced?based on the quotes from back then, he really seemed to despise old goldenballs. but then they recalled him, he scored on a free kick in his first game back and they went on to win the title. capello was about to get fired. becks saved his job.
Bigus Dickus: If he got in because of that then we are fucked with Capello.
autoglass:Bursitis, you are absolutely incoherent about Beckham. You can't see straight. He makes you absolutely mental. You have to see that.
Lingering Bursitis:
I agree with Bigus. He works hard, made himself a good player without great talent to build on, and he's a good teammate. He plays for England because he can still serve balls in better than anyone...which happens to be the chief way that England score these days.
I don't love the guy, I respect him and his game and his attitude. You, on the other hand, blame him for the Georgia-Russia conflict and the price of gas. You view him as evil incarnate. It's very amusing.Wonderful effort, guys, simply wonderful. Yep, I blame World War 2 on him too.
Moonshine Mike:
I had no idea my position was so unpopular. The longer he plays for England, the worse England gets. Is that so off-base?It's not off base, but your reasons sound less like that. Also, it's Capello's fault. Becks could of lobbied until Posh took off all of her clothes, and a strong coach can ignore it. Therefore, Capello either has a weakness for skinny models with balloons, or he is not the answer for England.
Lingering Bursitis: Zidane knew when he couldn't do international football any more, and he was still romping in Serie A, etc. Plenty of talismanic national figures for other countries knew when to move on, or their management came to a tacit acknowledgement of that. Beckham chose money and a lower-quality league in the MLS, so he could be the big fish, the guy winning ESPYs, and he's simply not good enough for England anymore. His quality of play has dropped off significantly, and yet he still hangs around.
Fan's Attic:
Capello is at fault for picking his buddy, sure, but Beckham could stand up and do the right thing and let his country find the next him, if there ever will be such a thing. Instead, he wants more personal accolades, and he's ruining his country's chances of rebuilding.
Lineker was a god. So was Peter Shilton. They both knew when it was time to go. Beckham doesn't have the same capacity for self-analysis. It's all about him, the Brand, the mediagenic god. Meanwhile, he wonders what England's doing wrong.Didn't Zizou retire from football altogether right after the 2006 World Cup...playing his last game with Les Bleus?
sven:
And, frankly Bursitis, you're wrong. Beckham is still a quality player for England. He may not be what he once was, but even you can see that he brings it to the table. He plays quality balls and set pieces, works hard and gets a number of assists. In the last game he was the assist man for the first England goal, which you said you accepted albeit begrudgingly.
Your despise for him is wound up in a number of things. Yes, he is a fame-whore, but who wouldn't be if given the opportunity? You hate him because he played for Man U. You hate him because you feel he is bringing down your country's national team. I don't know if that's true, but I can see your point.
However, you level all blame at a single player who has played well since returning from exile. You should look further. If he really is holding back the Three Lions, maybe you should start ranting about Capello. He selects the team. Maybe you should look to the rest of the under performing squad. How about no forwards that are worth two shits these days? An inconsistent defense. No creative midfielders.
There is more than one man responsible for the ineptitude and likely the majority of any blame cannot be laid at Becks' feet. He just wants to play. I admire that.
However, the mere fact that we are having this discussion with Libgering Bursitis is pure insanity. We keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results from him. We should just leave him be in his personal bubble of Beckham hatred.Alright, I'll wade in on this one too.... I understand where JT is coming from. The England squad has woefully underwhelmed the past few years and Beckham (whilst said underperform predates him) is certainly emblematic of the sorry state of the national side.
Lingering Bursitis:
Seeing him back in the squad only seems serves as notice that England refuses to embrace any sort of change and continues to stumble forward myopically, favoring the old guard (which has failed) instead of attempting to move forward with younger, less established talents because of the untested/unknown qualities.
And, let's be frank. Becks, despite his good attitude and commitment, has several gaping holes in his game that, now as he gets even older, as even less-defendable when you hand him a slot in the starting XI. Sure, he passes the ball great, but would England not benefit from a right-sided midfielder who also has pace and can get stuck in?
I don't hate the man, but I wouldn't dare defend his inclusion in the starting XI... and probably wouldn't even include him in the squad. It's time to move on.Zidane knew when his time was up. So did Gullit. Van Basten. Voller. Klinsmann. Pick any legend from any other country. Beckham doesn't know when to let go. I admit that Capello is at fault for always selecting him, but Beckham represents a much larger problem. Perhaps I'm being a fool in laying all the blame on him, but it makes for better television, doesn't it? A lot of the England team are far too comfortable. They underwhelm on a club level (Gerrard included... he's lost a step or two), and yet they keep getting picked. Capello is responsible here, but Beckham can play his part, especially considering that he's the talisman of the side. Can he not step down, or step aside? His future for England is purely limited to material, trivial reward. He's not going to lead us to a World Cup in 2010. He's too old.
Precious Roy:
We need to rebuild now, and Beckham needs to step down. Lineker managed it, so did Shilton, or Butcher. They were our heroes, but they all knew when their national contributions had reached a logical impasse. Us not making Euro '08 should have been it for David. Instead, he still trots out, giving mediocre performances (and pointing to him being "an assist man" for his cross... yeah, he crossed that ball, but couldn't someone else have? It's like selecting an outfielder in baseball because he can throw a man out from Right Field who's trying to score. It's a special skill, sure, but if he's not hitting well and fielding well otherwise, you can't keep justifying his selection on the merits of one isolated talent, can you?
Beckham needs to step down. The longer he waits to do so (as Fabio's obviously not saying no anytime soon), the longer I shall continue to hate him. We need to throw away the England blueprint and start over. Beckham isn't the future of the team, so why is he still there?
The modeling and product placement bullshit, that's not the crux of the issue. Sure, it doesn't help when he's on TV all the fucking time, but still... it's about England for me.
He's not the player he used to be, he's a long way below that. He patrols the wing, takes free kicks (hasn't scored one of those in a while, has he?), takes corners and largely does nothing else. Oh, he works hard. So does Dirk Kuyt.It's going to have to come from Capello. Becks is only about 6-7 caps short of Moore for second all time and about 20 short of Shilton. He wants the record. I think after he gets to second he might reassess how likely it is, but he's not stepping aside.
England would do much better to start putting out Walcott, Agbonlahor, Bentley, Young, etc. Currently, how hard is it to game plan to beat England... Wait a minute, you guys are suckering me in to talking about England again.
Friday, August 15, 2008
EPL: Previews: Sunderland AFC
You can't talk about Sunderland without talking about Blighted English Shipping Towns, Sex Parties, and yes, Roy Keane. Whenever they think they are going to turn the corner, there is someone there to kick them in the knees. Just a few days ago, a Tory-friendly think-tank ravages the northern cities like Sunderland and urging people to give up and move. In a quote from the report, they state:
"Sunderland demonstrates just how hard it is to regenerate such a city. It is time to stop pretending there is a bright future for Sunderland and ask ourselves instead what we need to do to offer people in Sunderland better prospects."
As goes Jones, so goes the season.
They have a point: stop pretending there is a bright future for Sunderland and ask ourselves why don't they move it along?
We strive to be positive here, so I'll be positive about Sunderland - their biggest fan website is named after a wonder John Coltrane Song that always moves me in a positive way. We can only hope it moves the Sunderland fans positively.
Sunderland is a team that will live and die by its coach. But when the coach overshadows their best players, this is a sign that it will be a team dragged through the season performing up to their level of mediocrity. They lost 21 matches last year, only registering six draws. Yet, they managed to hang on and avoided relegation. Now they feel flush with success.
Talent?
They picked up Steed Malbranque and El-Hadji Diouf in the transfer market. This will help them hold onto the ball as they seemed to suffer from that fact last year. They picked up three of the four players from Tottenham that Keane wanted.
Chopra is sitting out a suspension for three games, and Kenwyne Jones and his hobbling knee was recently worked on, and the club is hanging its hopes on the idea that he can start practicing in October, and not Christmas as first thought. Jones is a leader on the pitch, and held up the line. This will leave a void for Coach Roy to scramble to fill. Keiran Richardson has come over from Man. U. and, if he can stay healthy, he will have something to prove.
No One Wants To Play Here
Keane spent 40 Million Pounds in the transfer market last summer, and the news was the WaGs were not happy with the shopping up there. Meanwhile, they managed to save themselves from relegation. He's spending all of his time trying to put a good face on the town. They need someone in the midfield to replace Jonny Evans, who couldn't wait to split town. They still need a striker.
Prediction
Sunderland's idea of tactical planning is 'surprising' Liverpool and jumping ahead early. This will be somewhat of a challenge, as they conceded the first goal in 24 matches last year. They started fast last year, before shooting their collective wad early, and dropping off the map. Maybe someone should tell Keane the season is much longer than 8 matches.
Many hope this will be the year that they end up getting relegated. I for one, don't see that happening. They will end up in the middle of the pack, muddling along. Which may be the best this once-busy blue collar town can hope for.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
"Team Set Me Up" - DC United Stadium Plans getting turfed out
DC United has been petitioning the DC Government for a stadium of their own. The primary team owner, an urban real-estate developer, made some promises to build the stadium, in exchange for some contracts. Well, he didn't win the contracts (more DC contract boondoggles?) and now wants to take his stadium deal off the table, and wants the city to bankroll it. A tale of money, property, development, and the wonders that is the Local Government.
I've been following this locally, and it has a several twists and turns.
Initially, the majority owner of DC United (a San Franciscan by the
name of Victor McFarlane) offered to build the stadium with his own
money, if he was allowed to develop the surrounding area. However, he
lost the contract on the development of the area (which is slated for
mixed-use retail/office space) and he has since been claiming that the city
needs to build the stadium. Stadiums in other cities have been built
for $100MM or so, DC is offering (weakly right now) $150MM, and he is
claiming they need $225MM for their stadium.
Poplar Point
The location of the new stadium is an area of SE DC called "Poplar Point". As the picture shows, it's jammed in between the Anacostia freeway, the South Capital St. Bridge, and the 11th St. bridge. In other words, while it is served nicely by a combination of freeways and metro stations, it is still termed "Centrally Isolated". The MCI center was smack in the middle of downtown, and the Nationals park is on the waterfront
Other stadiums like the MCI center downtown (hockey/basketball) and
the new National stadium (baseball) in SE are able to meld into the community
(the baseball one is a very big question mark as the area down near
the old navy yard was special in its own way).
The Post article which nailed the reason for the concern was Mark Fisher's article where he used the number: 35. This is the number
of home dates that are played by DC United. When you do the math, and you look at the return, each home date will need to bring in $320K worth of revenue. I'm basing this on $225MM cost and 20 years to pay it back (which may be too long. Many owners start whining when their stadium is ten years old). In this term, they are correct. We haven't even discussed the environmental issues surrounding the open parkland, though personally the place has always been a no man's land - near the water, but so close to nothing, and it's ideal for noontime trysts from the local military bases.
Councilman Jack Evans (the one who made the Nats stadium happen) will probably make a good run at getting this going because
he has two agendas - he wants to see the Anacostia development go
through and work and he thinks the mixed use idea can be made to work
again. Second, and more importantly is he wants everything out of the
old RFK stadium because he wants to level it and tempt Dan Snyder into
bringing the Redskins back into the city. RFK is there, and DC United
will get trampled the first whiff of the Redskins moving back.
Victor MacFarlane, primary owner of DC United, has been running into some financing issues recently, most notably in Southern California with CALPERS. They had to get bailed out by Dubai money. Struggling real estate market + lack of contract to build retail/office space = no money for stadium from Victor.
The best part - Councilman Marion Barry is in the mix!! You can not be denied
the political enjoyment.
Friday, February 29, 2008
WaGs, GND edition
When you don't have the cash to buy the best (and perhaps best looking) players, you make adjustments, plan, and spend your money wisely. Conversely, when you're looking for a lady for your small budget team, you need to be a bit more creative.
Here's a homage to a few clubs and what they're getting into. Millwall made a splash recently with their contest to spot the best WaGs, and what small club Weston are up to.
We here at the Unprofessional Foul cheer all female supporters of their teams, as well as the wives and girlfriends of the players. They need someone to come home to after an afternoon of being kicked at. However, to set the bar, and to cheer up our esteemed editor, we bring you the girlfriend of Scouser Mikel Arteta. Poor guy is paid so little, he can barely buy his lady enough clothes to be seen in public.
Millwall caused a stir last week with the news leaked out about their Facebook site, and their contest to find Millwall's hottest fan. As expected, it generated some local interest, a bit of buzz in the football community, and a lot of fapping at blurry pictures of women of all shapes and sizes. In the interest of promoting parity in the world of WaGs, we've thrown a few photos in for those who don't use facebook (like myself):
Winner of the "what kind of wine is that shade of red?" award.
Why does this look like every other blurry photo on the interwebs of a female?
Lingering Bursitis's Favorite, as it reminds him of fellow scousers.
Not to be outdone, semi-pro club Weston Mare has been putting together a WaG of the Month Calendar for their club. Sales of which are going to be donated to the Weston Hospicecare. Nobel indeed, though having the winners showing up to visit the blokes would do more for morale than a few extra biscuits with their tea. Winner Candice Davies pictured above the jump is only a mere 19 in years, but is well on her way to going far.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Who's scaring who?
I always figured that Almunia had a bad dye job. But perhaps the bigger problem for Arsene and Co. is that he has found himself dealing with more ethereal pursuits?
So it seems that our Favorite Keeper for the Gunners bought a house, that may have some problems. No, not your run-of-the-mill Spurs fans urinating in the garden like most folks have to deal with. No, it seems as though Almunia owns a haunted cottage. It seems as though this was known before they bought the place, and the apparition in question appears as a monk. You noticed I didn't say "castle." He's just the keeper, mind you, and doesn't have the dosh to afford a full-on castle. However, if it was Henry, he would have had the castle that would be infested with the visions of slow-moving Spaniards, but Henry would have still missed them. Good Luck to Arsenal in their match this afternoon with AC Milan in the Champions League. Hopefully this sort of distraction will not keep the boys from rolling along. One night, we were sleeping and my wife suddenly woke me up with a shout. She said there was this monk-like figure with a candle in his hand. She was in bed, next to me. I didn’t see him but I was s*** scared.
Are we sure that wasn't the gardener sneaking over for a little of the old extra work? It doesn't seem to matter, just the thought of a spectre has spooked him. It's also taken to turning up the stereo (no word on whether on what the music of choice the ghost has).
Sunday, February 10, 2008
African Cup Pseudo Live Blog
Egypt came out in a 4-3-3 formation instead of their more aggressive 3-5-2 formation they've used all match. Also Zidan is starting on the bench. Cameroon brought out I think a 4-4-2 formation. I also say "pseudo" because I may have to walk the dog before half-time. Miserable weather to boot.
First Half:
Cameroon has started off pushing the ball up field more, with strong volleys but struggling to finish. Egypt is a making some runs. First free kick near the goal is done by Housy and his attempt is saved by the keeper. Much more physical play, very similiar to an EPL match in intensity. Corner by Egypt is handled well by Cameroon.
My English sopcast stream is being overrun with Nigerian I believe. The Arsenal midfielder Alex Song is replaced by Binya. Song is limping, which does not bode well for Wegner's attitude.
Eto'o is being marked hard, and the Lions seem lost as to what to do without him free. Egypt has had several strong attacks with very good saves by Kameni.
It takes almost 30 minutes into the match before Eto'o gets his first crack at the net, but there is no one for the cross that would of put it in, so he shoots it wide.
Eto'o and the Egyptian keeper do some knee on shin dance, and Al Hadari is down. Eto' o shows genuine concern. Al Hadari is staying in for now.
The Stadium is just getting full. This match deserves a full house.
Atouba goes down for Cameroon right before half. Song is out, Mbia is hurt. Coach Pfister is probably pulling the last few strands of hair out.
First half summary: Egypt is running like fiends and getting some very strong shots on goal. Cameroon is tackling pretty aggressively, which may bite them if it goes the wrong way, Egypt is doing some nice flopping, but the Injuries (or the subs) will be the decider.
Second Half:
Kameni keeps up with his Man of the Match honors, keeping back charges from
Zidan appears, as Moteab goes off for Egypt. He of juggling boot.
Yellow card for atouba for knocking down Zidan. That will have him sitting out the next International match. I'm sure he's crying about that.
Mbami comes in substitution for Epalle, and they switch to a 4-3-3. It's like everyone is too scared to take the initiative to win.
Egypt just capitalized on a Cameroon defensive lapse. Rigberto Song had tied up Zidan, but left Aboutrika open for the poke in. That may be it, as Cameroon has had no solid attack for awhile. 1-0 Egypt.
A yellow card on #17. Hasayan for Egypt. Cameroon decides they want one too now a yellow card is called Idirisiu.
Roberto Song misses a nice chance on a header. And it's over. Egypt wins, 1-0.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Eto'o is Enough for Cameroon
Samuel Eto'o pulled a brace setting a new record in goals, and helping the Cameroonians reach the quarter finals. Meanwhile, Egypt squeaked in with a draw. Zambia and Sudan are on their way home as Group C has been settled.
Wednesday's Results
Cameroon 3-0 Sudan Eto'o's two goals pushed him ahead of Laurent Poku of the Ivory Coast, who previously held the record of African Cup Goals. The Barcalona striker has been a beast this tournament. He toyed with the Sudanese. I'm thinking he heard that his country received some camels from Libya, and was looking to put a request in for one.
Egypt 1-1 Zambia Egypt came out in their attack formation, determined to win and not hope for the draw. But once their first goal on a great volley that showed some great play. The play was almost dead as the feed outside was too hard, but Moawad made a great save and cross, and Zaki was there to place it in. Sweet! When Zambia equalized, they did it was equal panache, on a great finish by Katongo. The Danish footballer side-stepped the Egyptian defenders and settled it into the near post.
Cameroon will play the winner of Group D on Sunday.
Thursday's Matches
Senegal v South Africa, D, 17:00
Tunisia v Angola, D, 17:00
The last matches in group play, then a few days off before the quarter finals kick in on Sunday. Senegal and South Africa have little chance, and lots of luck will be needed. Primarily a clear victory in the Tunisia/Angola match. Senegal was picked to go far in the tourney, and now is likely going home. A sad state for them. Tunisia and Angola need to really draw for both to advance. Otherwise it will fall into one of those complicated goal differential equations that we'll skip for now.
Over the weekend we'll run a recap of the Tables, and highlight some of the nice scores so far. Mostly because I like watching video of little balls spinning around and hearing middle aged men scream in languages I can't yet dechiper.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Nigeria is bequested a gift, move on
Nigeria, whom I had written off for as done as a bad 419 scam, received some serious help from a suddenly inept Mali, and will now move forward. Ivory Coast took care of the business as expected. Nigeria will party on tonight, more out of relief than joy.
(SSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)
Tuesday's Matches
Nigeria 2-0 Benin Benin was the team that was expected to not do well, but they just played all around poorly. Nigeria's first goal was a nice header at the end of a broken play following a free kick. Great finish, and you could see them gettting would up. Their second goal and they knew they had it in the bag. Nigeria now goes on to play host Ghana.
Ivory Coast 3-0 Mali Mali just screwed the pooch here. They played a great attacking game against Nigeria, and were able to keep them down. Perhaps Ivory Coast is just that good. Drogba got the party started for Ivory Coast with a nice clinical example of beating the defenders and then the keeper. But it was the header by Zorro on a corner kick that got the whole team celebrating. And the party was on. Ivory Coast goes on to play Guinea.
Wednesday's Matches
Cameroon v Sudan, C, 17:00
Egypt v Zambia, C, 17:00
Sudan is effectively out, but they can play the spoiler in this match if they can defeat Cameroon (unlikely, but nothing is unlikely). They need to play to win. Egypt is at the top of the table, but they still are not safe. A tie rolls them in easily, as does a win. A loss could backfire on them if Cameroon also wins. Three teams fighting for two spots. The conventional wisdom is that Egypt and Cameroon will advance, but I've been wrong before.
In other news, the family of Ghana's striker Gyan has received death threats over the quality of his play. The 22 year old missed a few chances in the earlier matches, and was booed lustily. He will need all the help he can get when Ghana goes after Nigeria.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Coach, you've been Hansen'ed
Since the Howard University Men's Soccer season wound down to an end in November on the back of 5 straight losses, their head coach Joseph Okoh has been hard at work. What's he been up to? Strategizing for the upcoming season? Working on a plan to bounce back from a 3-8-5 record?
Nope, he's been on the internet.
From the NBC affiliate: Okoh is/was in his first year as soccer coach of Howard University, a small predominately black college in the District of Columbia. Before that he was coaching at Division II Shepherd College in bucolic Shepherdstown, WV, where he was their all-time winningest coach, posting a 38-19-3 record. So what will the team do now? They could always look to Okoh's son, Michel, who is currently on the team. There's the other fun part of this story. Okoh brought his son onto the team before the 2007 season, his first at Howard, and in addition to trying to implement his "Total Football" philosophy to the team, he's now got to try and explain to his son that he's a pedophile. Perhaps "Total Football" is his euphemism for "proper ball control?" Okoh's being held without bond until a hearing on Friday. No word on what video tapes the team will be watching during the offseason. All I know is that on the Internet, no one knows I'm really a dog."The Louisa County Sheriff's Office said Joseph E. Okoh, 40, allegedly traveled about 90 miles from his home in Arlington for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a person who he thought was a 13-year-old girl. The person was actually an undercover agent."
D'oh. Why does this keep happening? Will the wave of delusional, lonely, middle-aged men ever grow suspicious of this internet thing? Hasn't every man over the age of 25 with an IQ in the triple digits figured out that they are not who they say they are on the Internet? Howard University has suspended Okoh pending completion of the investigation, so the soccer team becomes the real victim of all this [sarcasm], lost in the scandal without a mentor.
Guinea and Ghana are moving on up...
Ghana breaks out the Rally Caps and uses the power of the home field (along with a touch of Essien) to put down Morocco, and move onto to the quarter-finals. Guinea needed only a draw, and they managed to do just that against a prideful Namibia squad who didn't fold when they could of.
Monday's Matches
Ghana 2 - 0 Morocco Michael Essien was the man of the match, showing the world why he's the best Chelsea striker that wears pants. Look at Essien's no-look volley for his first goal. Truly a work of high speed art. He follows that one up with a near post score that left the poor Moroccan goalie flat-footed. Morocco can always take solace in the fact they can soon shoot down the competition next time they fall behind.
Guinea 1 - 1 Namibia Guinea needed just a draw to move forward, and this match dragged out. They scored in the 62nd minute on a long ball that left Namibia defenders a bit off-guard. Namibia equalized it with a low strike, and they finished the match more stronger and more aggressive than Guinea.
Tuesday's Matches
Ivory Coast v Mali, B, 17:00
Nigeria v Benin, B, 17:00
Ivory Coast is assured of moving forward with their 2-0 record, but Mali needs at least a tie to be able to move forward. We'll see how lax Ivory Coast plays this one. Nigeria, on the other hand, is a loss away from losing their manager. Vogts will either step down, or he will be fired if Nigeria do not advance. Should he be on the block? Mali is a better team than they are given credit for. Nigeria has to beat Benin by two goals, and hope that Ivory Coast defeats Mali.
Other News
In other news, Egyptian midfielder Aboutrika showed off shirt under his uniform showing his support for Gaza. He's been warned, and he swears he won't do it again.
Meanwhile, South Africa is having major power problems. Due to strong growth, they are having problems meeting demands. Why is this a problem now? Well, in 2010, the World Cup is scheduled to be played there. Of course, Officials from South Africa rush to assure everyone there is no problem. Not at all. Personally, two years is too early to panic on such things. I like to save my panicking until the last moment, but I'm not much of a planner.
Read more on "Guinea and Ghana are moving on up..."...
Monday, January 28, 2008
A new week of Cup Action
After the bus accident, it all went downhill for Senegal on Sunday, as they were beaten in a Shocker (and not the shocker we all know and love) by Angola and Tunisia is sending South Africa back home sooner then expected.
Sunday's Matches
Senegal 1 - Angola 3 A total stunner to myself as I expected Senegal to take care of business. However, the power of the Header can not be denied, first with a Manuchu equalizer. Give him props, even if he plays for ManU. Then there was a brilliant header by Flavio which sealed the deal. Senegal will still probably advance, but Angola is one of the northern African suprises.
Tunisia 3-1 South Africa Less of a suprise, and more showing that many of what I call the Northern African teams are playing very inspired ball. Yet another sweet header by Dos Santos. These games were way better than the Saturday games, and makes up for the sloppy play.
Monday's Matches
Ghana 0-0 Morocco, A, 1700
Guinea 0-0 Namibia, A, 1700
Group A shows all four teams with the possibility of advancing, but Namibia is the slimmest of Chances. Ghana needs only a point to advance, and if that match is a graw Morocco will advance. It's all very muddled for these folks.
In Other News, the coach of Senegal resigns after the poor showing in their match on Saturday. Hey son, you still have one more match left. Suck it up and stick it out!
Also, you have to give it up to the Zambian president, who refused to pay African Cup Rights. President Mwanawasa (say that 3 times fast) feels that it would of been wrong to spend the money on television rights when they are trying to help flood victims. "You can imagine what you can do with 5 billion kwacha (1.2 million dollars), given this needy situation. Misplacing that priority would be like buying beer when people are suffering," was his comment. Well said, though it begs to wonder why the government has to pay for the cup rights. Oh yea, they control the television stations.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday Saturday African Nation
I have no idea where Friday went. I do know where saturday went, and I want to thank those who brought me those brownies. Thanks. Friday's matches weren't very exciting, and Saturday's matches where all over before they started. We're all hoping Sunday will bring us back to some action more in line with what we've witnessed so far.
REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly
Friday's Results
Nigeria 0-0 Mali This doesn't look good for Nigeria, and for the first time in recent history, are in trouble of not advancing to the world cup. Mali played an attacking style and kept Nigeria out of the goal. They need to win their next match and hope Mali does not draw against Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast 4-1 Benin Poor Benin. They were outplayed severly today. I won't even show any goals, because they are mostly examples of defenders poorly marking their players. If you need an example, you should watch the early part of the Liverpool Havant and Waterlooville match.
Saturday Results
Cameroon 5-1 Zambia The biggest news out of this match was Eto'o scoring his 14 goal in Cup play, which equals the old record, set almost 40 years ago. Even though this score was a bit lopsided, their was some fine scores: A nice free kick from Geremi was the sweetest goal of this contest. Eto'o was on a penalty kick which he should almost do blindfolded to give Zambia a chance. Now Zambia will be bag packing.
Egypt 3-0 Sudan Another match, where one side essentially outplayed the other. Egypt is making a strong showing so far with their style of play. Yet again, three goals that were more examples of defensive breakdown than superb play.
More match fixing The match fixing stories are starting to fly fast and furious now. Namibia were offered $30,000 per player to throw a match. I find this one specious - all Namibia had to do was show up and get their ass handed to them. They may be a team that believes in fair play, but they may also need to cash.
Sunday's Matches
Senegal v Angola, D, 17:00 These matches will sort out this group. Senegal played Tunisia to a 2-2 draw, while Angola drew with South Africa. Senegal should win this match, though it this group is proving to be the most interesting.
Tunisia v South Africa, D, 19:30Tunisia, who spent a good deal of time whining during their match with Senegal, will try their luck on their refs in this match. This one should be less interesting.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
African Cup of Draws
Wednesday featured two very excellent matches, with some sweet long balls ending up in the back of the nets. While South Africa/Angola and Tunisia/Senegal both ended in draws, both matches featured late equalizers.
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
South Africa 1-1 Angola South Africa is claiming to be fielding a younger team, and are using that as an excuse in case they fail. Angola struck first, and looked solid. They ended up getting lack at about the 30 yard mark, and that was all it took for van Heerden's equalizer. Nice way to catch the defenders napping.
Tunisia 2 - 2 Senegal Senegal should of won this game outright. Even though Tunisia struck early and first, Senegal scored two and seemed to have the match in hand. But this late strike from outside the box salvages the draw for Tunisia.
Thursday Matches
Guinea v Morocco (1700) Guinea played well but lost against Ghana. Morocco played lights out against Namibia. Morocco won't be able to score at will against Guinea, but it will play well enough to win easily.
Ghana v Namibia (1900) West Ham defender John Paintsil is currently doubtful for Ghana due to a possible concussion, and it looks like they may have other injuries that could give them problems. Namibia needs a win or they're packing their bags.
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