There are eight games left in the Dynamo's 2012 MLS regular season. Eight games to get enough
points to stay in fifth place or better and avoid missing the playoffs for the second time in three
years. The odds are in the team's favor with several games left against non-playoff teams but after
last night's 3-1 loss at Chicago, everyone is right to at least be a little concerned.
That was the story of this match, as it so often is in MLS where teams are more evenly matched
than is often the case in other leagues. With Joseph missing through suspension and the Revs'
string-puller-in-chief Feilhaber not fit enough to start, I had high expectations. And the early
going seemed to bear me out.
There is a well known scene in Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" in which King Arthur fights a
black knight. As Arthur dismembers him, the black knight nonchalantly goes on boasting that there
are merely flesh wounds and he will go on fighting. Bruce Arena this week has reminded me of the
black knight.
After Week Two, here's how the teams stand in my eyes:
1. Real Salt Lake: Strong, convincing victory; Espindola and Velasquez each off to tremendous
starts. 2. Seatte: Who needs Fucito (or EJ for that matter) when you've got Estrada? 3. LA Galaxy:
Keane finally finds his confidence, Galaxy reap rewards.
Do you know what else they have in common? They're the only two teams in the "worst team in the
world" conversation with Toronto FC, who had lost nine straight league matches to open the season
before beating the Union on Saturday.
Wigan. 15th
Prediction (18). Dexys Diamond. Moses.
I had Wigan to go down for about the 4th year running but the fairest of fair play to Martinez,
he's pulled the cat out of the bag once again and Wigan have extended their premier league stay for
another season at the JD.
The MLS offseason has certainly been interesting recently. Whether it was the Lee Nguyen
lottery, the on again/off again Beckham to PSG debate (rumored to net Beckham 1 million dollars per
month on an 18 month loan), or Americans to Europe talk, there hasn't been a shortage of news
lately. A recent deluge of stories have come out recently linking Americans with moves to
Europe.
England's newly appointed manager Roy Hodgson has been slated by the press and public for his
Euro 12 squad selection, even though he has yet to select a squad. Certain that Hodgson's picks for
this summer's tournament will be disastrous, pundits and fans have united in decrying Hodgson's
personnel decision before he's made them.
English football in 'shambles' shocker. With a major tournament around the corner, the FA intervene
and strip John Terry of the England captain without consulting the manager. The manager resigns.
England have no captain, no manager and naff all chance of winning Euro 2012.
In many ways, I don't blame Fabio Capello for leaving.
Chelsea score a vital three points away to Newcastle in a match that was, well, fucking insane.
I mean, Salomon Kalou played clearly at the suggestion of Devin and even contrived to score the
pivotal second. Yes, it was that bizarre of a day.
Didier Drogba put Chelsea 2-0 up on Liverpool in the FA Cup final and it seemed like they were
strolling to a comfy win. But then Andy Carroll entered the match and tried to take it back for
Liverpool all by himself.
Carroll scored in the 64th minute to make it 2-1 as Chelsea's defending devolved into a shambles
and Liverpool retained possession at a Barcelona-esque clip.
This was Arsenal's 10th defeat in the league this season. Another win chalked away by a lower
league side. This time at home where we've only lost twice all season, one to the team that is
looking likely to lift the title and one at a time when we were in shambles. When we were supposed
to increase the gap between us and the other sides chasing the Champions League spots, we dropped
the ball.
While we're not in full-on panic, everything is lost, 'Rome is burning' mode quite yet - let's wait
until the Spurs game next weekend to see if that's necessary - it's fair to say that the last two
games have meant that we are on the verge of a pretty awful state of affairs. Just like Blackadder,
we are faced with a crisis, and, again like Blackadder, I'm not sure that two pencils and a pair of
underpants will be enough to see ourselves out of it.
The out-Stoking of Stoke at Anfield two weeks ago, followed a week later by the utter shambles
of a performance at Bolton, set the table for a four-day stretch in which Liverpool's future, not
only in the two domestic cup competitions, had been placed in the balance by a fairly significant
portion of those who fancy themselves supporters of both Liverpool and general unrest.
Bolton 3:Davies 4′, Reo-Coker 29′, Steinsson 50′ Liverpool 1:Bellamy 37′
Bolton thoroughly dominate Liverpool at the Reebok and coast to a 3-1 victory that boosts them
out of the relegation zone. The host's performance was certainly deserving of victory, and
Liverpool's was equally deserving of a loss.
Liverpool's blind loyalty to Luis Suárez leaves no room for contrition
Liverpool looked to have seen the light in not appealing against the verdict but club and player
still refuse to accept they are in the wrong At last Liverpool have seen sense. At least that was
the initial reaction when news broke that the club would not be appealing against the eight-match
ban and £40,000 fine imposed on Luis Suárez for racially abusing Patrice Evra.
Shambles in Shanghai: Tigana, Tantrums and Anelka as manager is a post from: Just Football
by Andrew Crawford
The Chinese Super League (CSL) is once again watching its most noisy tenant,
Shanghai Shenhua, soak up all the attention. Its big name manager, Jean
Tigana is gone, replaced, or rather deposed, in headline-grabbing style by Nicolas
Anelka, who will now try to rescue the club from its plunge into the bottom half of the
league.
Regular readers of this blog will know that neither of the two D words in the headline are those
I ever use about Arsenal, or anything connected with this great club. Optimistic and defensive in
the extreme, I'm not one for reactionary anger, at least inwardly (opposition and incompetent
officials are a different story), preferring attempts to rationalise and find mitigating reasons
for the bad days.
Newcastle had two league defeats before yesterday's shambles against West Ham, and we were beaten 2-0 at Chelsea and 3-0 at home to Manchester United, so to be beaten by those two top teams was not shameful, but to be beaten by newly promoted West Ham, and at home too is not good. Still [...]
Bright start, on top early, turning to complete domination as the first half progresses.
Creating a steady stream of chances that cry out for a finish, a mere touch but the crosses find
only fresh air. Playing well after the break but gradually tire as the other lot come into it more.
Defensive calamities suddenly appear where before there was calm and serenity.
The Dynamo went to El Salvador and all they got was a lousy t-shirt...and three points! Goals
from Brian Ching, Cam Weaver and Je-Vaughan Watson led Houston over C.D. FAS 3-1.
The switch back to a 4-4-2 formation led to a near dream first half for the Dynamo with goals
from Ching and Weaver.
With an unlikely goal by Michael Orozco Fiscal in the 80th minute of last night's international
friendly between Mexico and the United States at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, history was
made.
For the first time in its 75 year history, the United States, featuring a young, cobbled
together squad, managed to beat their CONCACAF rival, Mexico, on Mexican soil.
Not much news on the Arsenal front, although Santi Cazorla has travelled to Germany for
pre-season training and the friendly match against FC Köln on Sunday.
I really hope that Arsene is going to treat this game a bit more seriously than the ones on the
Far Eastern tour. I would like to see him field a true first XI team or something resembling one
for at least 60 minutes, before making the wholesale changes that are typical of this type of
match.
If Les Bleues feel robbed today it's in the way you do after leaving the doors to the house
unlocked and the windows wide open. They took the early lead with two quick, confident and gorgeous
goals from Gaëtane Thiney and Marie-Laure Delie.
Greece's manager Fernando Santos knew what was coming – in the first half at least. He had his
head down, his eyes shut and his hand wiping a furrowed brow (a neat facial trick if your eyes are
closed). The speech bubble "oh no, here we go again" wrote itself. I'm sure it has been noted
somewhere that Santos would be a shoo-in for any Greek remake of the Inspector Wexford
Mysteries.
What a fantastic start to a summer that I hope shall see several transfers of top quality talent
into the Arsenal. Â The board and manager know that the shambles of last summer cannot be repeated,
and the early signing of Lukas Podolski is a very encouraging sign that they have learnt their
lessons. Â Podolski is a top striker, his record speaks for itself, even though he did not set
Munich on
A team with aspirations will obviously want to combine a good offense with a good defense.
Scoring lots of goals and not allowing many is a pretty reliable recipe for success. But for the
neutral or a casual soccer fan, the best combination might be a good offense and a bad defense.
That will drive up the goal totals, and as much as we want fans to become more educated about the
game and learn to appreciate all aspects of play, there's no question that goal scoring is
something everyone can enjoy.
What a shambles. I don't usually Harry bash on here, and when he does make mistakes I usually point
out that with the benefit of hindsight, we'd all be world class managers. But what sort of idiot
plays a 442 formation, and then admits he could see we were getting overrun and that there was too
much space for Norwich?
Liverpool Whilst success in the Carling Cup provided KK with a degree of respite after last week's
shambles at the Reebok Stadium, will (or perhaps more pertinently should) Liverpool fans be happy
with the poorest domestic trophy and a top four finish? One suspects so, but with Liverpool six
points of the Promised Land of [.
Time for the 2011 season grades to (finally) continue! Corey, Matty, and I have looked at the
four major areas of the team - goalkeeping, defense, midfield, forwards - and assigned our grades
on a 4.0 scale.
Unfortunately for the New England Revolution, we don't curve based on the rest of the
league.
The Arab Football Spring - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
The performances of the North African national football sides in 2011 have reflected the
political actions of the Arab Spring.
The failure of Egypt, the champions of the past three tournaments, to qualify for the 2012
African Cup of Nations (ACN), alongside the absence of regional heavyweights Cameroon and Nigeria,
has thrown the tournament wide open.
I have a deep connection with traditional media, having been raised reading newspapers, then
launching a journalism career at what was then considered the country's best sports section.
Now the industry is a shambles and, in some ways, shamefully
complicit in its own demise.
