I'm stuck at work this weekend (have I complained about this enough?). Meanwhile, a large medium-sized contingent of UF was at Kinsale, enjoying today's matches. Even Hirshey is somewhere in Arizona right now hanging out with Maradona, Beckham, a waitress, scorpions and the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson (or something like that). Well, here is a quick update on today's action, as seen from my office.
In the early game, Arsenal beat Man City, who are no longer undefeated at home and frankly have looked pretty poor the past couple months. At the beginning of the season, Sven-Goran said City would wind up mid-table. Looks like that might be accurate. Adebayor netted two goals and set up the third for the Gunners. I think that makes 400 goals in the last 10 matches. So Arsenal go back to the top of the table, until Man U played later in the day when....
Man U only manage a draw against Spurs (great defending on that corner in the 93rd minute), so Arsenal stay tops. I hate being such a pessimist, but champions always manage to get super late equalizers like that. I hope, hope, hope it doesn't happen, but Man U still look like they have what it takes to win the Premiership this year, barring another Rooney broken foot, or maybe another Munich Air Disaster (what, too soon?).
Chelsea-Portsmouth ends in a draw, with Defoe scoring in his first match for Pompey. Think he's happy to finally get into the starting lineup?
Liverpool returned to a bit of respectability today against Sunderland, but I'll leave that result to my fine Liverpudian friends.
Bolton ruins our contest by scoring two goals today against Reading, who haven't won in two months. But, not to worry, Bolton have Portsmouth, Blackburn, Liverpool and Man U coming up in the Premier League. The Wanderers shall be returning to their normal state of futility shortly.
And at the bottom of the table, Derby manage to get a draw (alert the media!) and even Wigan get a win against West Ham.
So, that was today's action. Right now our UF friends are probably still at Kinsale laughing and having a great time. Meanwhile, I'm here, doing God's work, or some such. And, sure this was very half-assed, but Deadspin isn't even bothering to do half-assed EPL recaps anymore (although fair play for this post), and besides no one reads the Internet on weekends, and I'm avoiding work, so why not?
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Today's matches
Don't Fuck with Otay Ranch
Because they will set your facts straight.
Coach Eduardo Jimenez Arenas showed San Ysidro's fighting spirit when, after an Otay Ranch player fouled one of his own, he started choking the player. If that weren't enough, he then punched another player in the face who tried to stop the choking.
At that point, all hell broke loose. Two hundred spectators and players are said to hav.e joined in a melee on the pitch. When the cops arrived, the fighters scattered, because no one likes getting pepper sprayed. Arenas has been arrested, with charges to follow.
I'll say this, Millwall fans better think twice about that American tour if it stops in San Ysidro. Them folks will fuck you up.
All apologies for the previous misstatements. No harm was meant.
Friday, February 1, 2008
I Don't Know How These Guys Are Laying Off These Pitches
I feel like Harry Doyle.
"One hit? We only got one goddamn hit?"
The future came to us last week with a message. "Lots of scoring." It was wrong. Maybe it meant I was supposed to get laid a lot last week, in which case it was still wrong.
Thirty-four goals. That's what was in the cards for match day 24. Instead the total scoring was on par with the average daily temperature I've endured for the last week. Count 'em up. I got 14. That's a solid 20 shy and it's also fucking cold.
One right, we got one goddamn game right: 2-0. That's the score. It's either Man U v. Portsmouth or Sunderland at Birmingham. Everything else was off. Way off. Not even hand grenades close. We had lots of 3's and 4' and it reality it was lots of 1's and 0's. So I'm not going to bother with the other 8 fixtures. Meanwhile, without even looking at the fixtures, I'm going to guess that Chelsea is playing at Stamford Bridge against a club that just sold it's biggest offensive threat to foreign league for a bag of magic sand. This weeks predictions are chasing last weeks scores. And there won't be much scoring. Hopefully, it is again wrong about my romantic prospects for the week.
Instead I'm going to bitch that the Gunners have to go to Manchester to play Citeh (where I believe they are still undefeated) 48 hours after they pick up a competent striker in Benjani.
0-0
1-1
2-1
1-0
0-1
1-1
2-2
0-1
3-1
0-2
We'll check back in on Monday. Not so much to see if these predictions are any good, but more to count the remaining live bodies left around these parts if that last item on the list is for the Liverpool v. Sunderland match.
[Update: Arsenal kicks at what time? Fuck.]
Counterpoint: LFC fans should buy their club back
The American duo of Hicks and Gillett may appear to be getting their act together, with more loans and renewed promises that they're in this ownership lark for the long haul, but let's face it, time is ticking and something needs to give at Anfield.
The recent news that a supporters' group is going to make a run at buying back the club could not come at a better time. For my money, it is not a bad idea at all.
Without looking too much at the financial side of it [mainly because I don't quite understand all the numbers], I'm going to focus on the symbolic side of such actions, because the spirit and passion behind such a move cannot be disputed. Far-fetched as it may come to be, the fan-led movement by Share Liverpool FC Group is directly addressing the problem of Liverpool's foreign ownership. The battling between the Dubai Investment Consortium and the American team of Hicks & Gillett has been distracting and disheartening to us, the average, born-and-bred fan. Neither side is really any better than the other; the Americans leave a trail of bad business practices behind them, while the Dubai investment wing, connected directly to the Dubai ruling class, have their hands dirty with human rights issues and grossly un-democratic ways. Each option becomes even less appealing to the Liverpool faithful when you consider that the drama off the pitch is shadowing and distracting events on it. According to surveys taken by the Liverpool Supporters' network, 76% of 2000 fans polled said that they'd "seriously consider reducing their financial commitment to the club" if things remain as they are. Such a drastic pull-out would be crippling to an already crippled club; with so much debt being hung on the club [somewhere around 105 million pounds] that will inevitably be recouped by raising ticket and merchandise prices, the high percentage of disillusioned fans would ruin those plans and plunge the club into financial ruin. Fan ownership is not a new concept. In the new era, we've seen Ebbsfleet United touted as the crossroads of football fandom and democracy in the modern era, but there are many successful franchises across different sports that have fan ownership to varying degrees: Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Primera Liga, and the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. In my eyes, it's the best remedy for the tumult and hostility that comes with major foreign investment, or any ownership group that doesn't understand what they're getting into. It ensures the long-term stability of the franchise, as there's no ulterior financial or profit-driven motive in the eyes of the fan/owners. While profits will be made, that money is turned back into the club, with the aim of making it better and stronger, the case in point being the Champions League, won 6 times in the last 15 years by fan-owned clubs. The misconception is that this is a pathos-led charge, a disorganized mutiny simply to seize control in the short term, ultimately destroying the club over the long-term thanks to emotionally-charged decisions. That is simply not the case. The shared desire for success throughout the invested fans is a steadying force, not a destructive one. Barcelona may make questionable signings over the year, but the effect on the pitch cannot be disputed. I believe that fans could make the hard choices, as other fan-led franchises have had to, in order to keep the ship steady. While this may lead to a drop-off from being part of the Big 4 for a time, anything is preferable to the current mess. The time is right for a fan-ownership initiative taking over a major English club, and with Liverpool's recent uncertainty and embarrassing run of stories in the media, it couldn't be better-timed. A fan-owned club is the best way to guarantee Liverpool's long-term success and stability.
MLS Expansion Fever: Catch It!
Reports have started streaming out of the Philadelphia area that the Commonwealth (what the rest of us call a "state") of Pennsylvania has agreed to help fund a waterfront stadium in Chester meant to be the home of a MLS franchise. Prior to the announcement, commissioner Don Garber had already said that Philly was a step ahead of other cities looking for that 16th franchise. This is especially good news for Sons of Ben, a Philadelphia soccer fan club who was just waiting on a team.
SoB, as they are alternately known, formed last year and made an immediate impact on other MLS clubs by traveling to their games and heckling them. Opinion is mixed as to whether this is a good thing or not. Some fans praise them for their passion, while others say that SoB is a continuation of the bad behavior of other Philly sports fans. Furthermore, they don't stop at MLS games. Sons of Ben will also go to Philadelphia Kixx (ugh) games and sing their songs there. To put it succinctly, these are fans who are passionate about the sport and just want a club to call their own. Luckily, they will soon get one. Now if we could just get that KC team out of their minor-league baseball park and moved to St. Louis, we'd be just about set.
I Don't Have a Joke for This Post
So here's the deal - Manchester City wanted to bring in Nashat Akram, the star of Iraq's 2007 Asian Cup winning team, but Akram didn't qualify for a UK work permit, since Iraq isn't ranked in the top 70 in the FIFA rankings (Iraq just misses the cut, its average ranking for the last 2 years around #71). Which was fine, because there's an appeal process so you can get past technicalities like that, so deserving players do get their chance to play. Well, except the Home Office ruled against him.
Now, I don't want to get on a soapbox here, but WTF? It's hard for your country to move up in the rankings when your country's war-torn and can't play home matches. And when they did get a chance to play against quality opponents, they won their continental tournament. And remember them in the Sydney Olympics. They're clearly better than the rankings suggest. So if we're going to ignore the footballing merits of letting Akram (and really, who is anyone to argue with Sven's ability to evaluate talent?), what about everything else? Here's a soccer player from Iraq, where the Coalition of the Willing (!) isn't all that popular, and he wants to make his living in England. It wouldn't kill to have good news involving Iraq and Britain, no? Or consider Britain's Muslim youths who are alienated from the mainstream and vulnerable to being radicalized - not that one player is going to change all that, but it would certainly help to have someone they could follow. Now the Iraqi ambassador and a PM are getting involved, which seems more trouble than it's worth, but then, it shouldn't have come to this in the first place.
I own part of a football team
I own part of a football team. (LOLZ!) No, I really do! (ROFL!) By now you’ve likely heard about myfootballclub.co.uk. For those who haven’t, here’s the deal: members pay 35 quid, which comes out to around U.S. $20,000 (thanks to the Bush administration), in exchange for one share in a trust that owns a real, live football team.
As of a couple weeks ago, that team is Ebbsfleet United, which currently play in the Conference League. Because I am an now part owner of Ebbsfleet United, I have also learned that the team used to be called Gravesend & Northfleet. However, I could probably not tell you exactly where the team is located. No matter. I paid my 35 quid, I have an equal say! This is democracy in action, or at least poll taxes in action.
After the jump, find out how it works.
The idea of community or supporters ownership of teams is not new. In fact, in the United Kingdom there is a government-sponsored organization called Supporters Trust that “provides advice to trusts on how to organise and acquire a collective shareholding in their clubs on a not-for-profit basis for re-investment.” (I am familiar with Supporters Direct because they helped Exeter City avoid bankruptcy, and the team is still owned by a supporters trust.) There are also higher profile examples of fan-ownership of athletic teams, such as the socios in Barcelona and Real Madrid, and the cheeseheads in Green Bay. But myfc is different for the obvious reason that, rather than a local community of supporters owning the football team, the Internet allows membership for anyone willing to pony up the cash. One of the great things about the Internet is that it acts as an aggregator of people with common interests. In other words, myfc was able to bring together over 25,000 members from around the globe, with each individual sharing an interest in owning a lower-tier football team. At least for the short term, the venture led to a lot of free publicity for Ebbsfleet, which can only enhance the value of a team that was apparently in pretty a dire financial state before the purchase. (For more on the particulars on how myfc works, I recommend checking out the website's faq.) Once you are "inside" the webpage, two things immediately jump out: First, the fact that the people behind the site have taken a people-powered approach by setting up message boards and a blog-esque system, whereby members can each have their own page to have their proverbial say. Second, and to me probably my least favorite thing about the site, is that there are plans for a "team selector" whereby members get to choose the squad for each match. There is a healthy debate among the members over whether this feature actually makes sense, given that beyond an Abramovich here or there, owners rarely usurp managers' job of picking who plays. The team selector function has not gone live yet, but it looks like it will function more as a "suggestion" for manager Liam Daish to take into consideration. Those who want to keep the team selector function say that it is the reason they joined in the first place. There other members (I'm one of them) who are in favor of scrapping the idea of team selection all together. I, for one, believe that it's totally inappropriate for any owner to dictate management decisions in this way. It just seems kind of crass to turn ownership into a glorified version of Football Manager. Whatever the outcome of this debate, one of the more amazing things is the way that myfc has cultivated a true community. As some have argued way more eloquently than I ever could, the power of the Internet is to create truly democratic communities. It is the power to aggregate small amounts of money or interest into movements that are able to accomplish things that were heretofore unimaginable (this is sometimes referred to as crowdsourcing). In essence, this is why I paid my 35 pounds, because I wanted to be a part of something unique and exciting. There is a pretty high chance that the venture will fall apart after a year or two, because members must re-subscribe each year to remain active, and the novelty of being part owner of a Conference League team might very well wear off. But the fact remains that myfc was able to raise over 500,000 pounds in a short period of time and actually take the reins of a football team. I have been very impressed with the professional way the site is run, which suggests that myfc might be able to sustain itself for the longterm. This is also a model that we're likely to see tried again and again in the coming years. If not sooner.
The big problem is that Ebbsfleet does indeed have a very capable manager. There are just so many intangibles that go into picking a team, especially a relatively thin team at the lower rungs of English football. As perhaps would be expected now that myfc actually now owns Ebbsfleet, the organizers have backed off somewhat from allowing members to actually pick the team.
The Loan Arranger
Bang.
As the transfer window slammed shut last night, I looked back on the signings my beloved Norwich had made and I couldn't help but be happy. We tried to sign two players for cash yesterday but were scuppered by a ridiculous price for one (Scunthorpe wanted 5 million for Martin Paterson-Who??) and circumstance buried the other. Martin 'Tiny' (he is 6ft 4) Taylor was top of the shopping list for Norwich boss Glenn Roeder but Bongo FC decided not to sell. Had Villa reject Gary Cahill committed himself to years of Derby Day abuse at Bongo, we would have nabbed our man. Instead Cahill went to Bolton, leaving Bongo short at the back. This one is definitely not dead though. I expect 'Tiny' to reappear in the summer or maybe as soon as next week! Championship clubs can still arrange a loan starting in six days. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that Bongo's African backline return from the sunny cup in Ghana sooner rather than later. Roeder also revealed today that he was victim to Gary Megson's deadline day decisions twice! Apparently we were close to signing Gregorz Rasiak before he decided to spend his time patrolling Bolton's halfway line waiting for chances that won't come. So what did we learn about the January transfer window? Its for mugs that's what! Check out this list of late movers: Andy Reid: 4 mil from Charlton to Sunderland. All of the above would have been at least half those prices come June. No doubt Spurs did good business yesterday. They grabbed Brazil left back Gilberto for under 2 mil, but spending 9 mil on a player that's only been tested in the inferior league that is the SPL is just plain bonkers. Benjani was going for the same price and he is a proven net buster at the highest level. Another sign that the window is for desperados was the revelation that Reading wanted 7 million for Leroy Lita!! While Roeder could have spent his war chest on one or two pricey players what good would that have been? After an awful start to the season super Glenn saved the day and currently has City on a 10 game unbeaten run and 9 points from the playoffs. However.... The playoffs are still a mile away and splashing the cash on 2 now instead of 4 maybe 5 in the summer would NOT have guaranteed a top 6 end either (are you listening Namath?). Instead Roeder opened his little black book this month and signed 6 of the hottest young stars of tomorrow to help us push on today. In came Chelsea left back of the future Ryan Bertrand. Highly rated Arsenal winger Kieron Gibb. Gibb proved a handful for both Blackeye Rovers and West Brom in Arsenals Carling Cup run this season. Sven Goran Erikkson kindly lent us Ched Evans till the end of the season also. Ched had already been on loan at Carrow Road but his longer stay relied on Human Rights FC's transfer activity. Ched has already scored four goals for us. Add Boro defender Matthew Bates and Reading pair Alex Pearce and James Henry and Roeder's new year transfer work looks to be woth a good pat on the back. Henry was wanted by Spurs but Steve Coppell obviously rates the lad as one for the reading team of the future. All of these future Premiership stars will be hungry an that can only be good news for Norwich fans. I nearly forgot to mention that we had already signed Mo Camara from Derby Yankees and Matty Paterson from Newcastle earlier this month. This is how you deal in the January window. So a recap for any Ipswich readers: 8 players in. January rocks. If you are not a mug!
David Norris: 2.5 mil from Plymouth to the scum.
Alan Hutton: 9 mil from The Pope's Rangers to Spurs.
Gary Cahill: 5 mil from Villa to Bolton.
Afonso Alves: 12 mil from Heerenveen to Boro (they will be having a schmoke and a pancake in Holland tonight!)
10 games unbeaten.
9 points from the playoffs.
Converting a title contenders average of 2 points per game.
-Bigus
Nothing like a questionable draw
Two draws, one of them was well-played, but the other match was played by nancy boys too scared to lose. But now the quarterfinal matches are all filled out, and we're ready to move forward.
Thursday's Matches
Tunisia 0 - 0 Angola Both teams needed a draw, and they both acted like it. Too timid to play an aggressive style, and settled into a long ball, passing game of little consequence. I curse both teams for this, and I suspect the soccer gods will down on them. Before this match, I was thinking of putting Angola into the Semi-finals, but less now. Angola advanced for the first time ever.
Senegal 1 - 1 South Africa Now this was a match played by teams who knew they had little chance unless they won, but played strong. South Africa got things started with a really great von Heerden volley, that followed a really clinical example of a 6+ pass run starting at the keeper and ending in the back of the opponent's net. Senegal tied it up a Camara's score after getting behind a South African mistake.
No matches until the Quarter Finals on Sunday. I'm hoping to have a recap over the weekend before the Quarterfinal matches, and some predictions for the finals.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Transfer Deadline Linkdump
Sunderland, the orgy-filming swingers of Tyne & Wear, have been busy today, along with Spurs and a few other perennial wheeler-dealers in the EPL.
The last day of the transfer window before the summer is always a frantic one, full of gusto and outrageous events that ultimately disappoint, much like any film directed by Michael Bay.
Join me after the jump for a round-up of today's action, including tasty news about Jermain Defoe, Benjani, and Andy Reid!
After some classic will-he, won't-he bollocks, Defoe finally left White Hart Lane on his way to Portsmouth. It was thought that the deal would hinge on Benjani bolting for Man City, but as of this moment, Benjani is staying put and Jermain finds himself in yet another logjam of strikers - Kanu, Benjani, Defoe, Utaka, Baros, and Nugent. Good luck! Middleborough landed their dream striker in Afonso Alves, the man who's scored more in Holland than a million backpacking students. One wonders whether he can make the switch to the EPL, where so many Eredivisie strikers have faltered, but heck, it's their money [all 12 million pounds of it]. Fulham bag two Finns and a Canadian in Jari Litmanen, Toni Kallio and Paul Staltieri. Hodgson is still on the way down, though. Enjoy Litmanen [just like we did at Anfield]. Sunderland lure the fat, injured Irishman Andy Reid from Charlton Athletic, no doubt with a string of sausages. Roy Keane's dream of fielding a full Irish XI moves one step closer to being realized. Man City ship two out in Dabo [Lazio] and Ishmael Miller [West Brom], bringing in 19-year-old Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo [Basel] and 17-year-old Filippo Mancini, the son of Italian "legend" Roberto. Spurs grab defender Gilberto from Hertha Berlin, despite the rumours that he failed his 2nd physical and that the deal was in the shitter. Everton snag one-time England call-up Anthony Gardner from Spurs, in a move no-one saw coming, and perhaps a move no-one cares about. In the most retarded move of the day, Newcastle lose David Rozehnal to Lazio in a loan move until the end of the season. Koogan managed to sign no-one as of yet, and just tossed his most experienced defender out to Serie A after he played virtually every game for them this season. We wonder when Koog will catch the shitstorm for that one. In the meantime, we can only hope he knows what he's doing. --- Until then, this is the pick of the crop. Not one of the Big 4 made a signing, although Arsenal and Chelsea did let a couple of young'uns go. In the same breath, a lot of the next tier made significant moves in attempt to chase down that last Champions League spot. We shall see how it all pans out.
As is often the case, it was a dismal day. The January deadline often is. There is the chance of some transfer deals to be completed or formally announced tomorrow, especially considering the raft of rumours and possible sightings at stadiums all around the country. It's a normal practice, so if anything clicks tomorrow that's worth noting, we'll make it known.
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