Sapling Snapshot will look at the Timbers Academy,
Pre-Academy and Alliance Clubs. The snapshots will feature individual athletes, some of the
athletes could become Home Grown Players.
The class of 2014 features five members of the Portland Timbers Pre-Academy ranked in the
Pacific Northwest and nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.
Sapling Snapshot will look at the Timbers Academy,
Pre-Academy and Alliance Clubs. The snapshots will also feature individual athletes, some of the
athletes could become Home Grown Players
TopDrawerSoccer.com has slowly, but surely updated rankings on individual youth players across
the country.
Last Saturday, in the game against Norwich, Vermaelen won possession around the halfway line in
the 26th minute and proceeded on a run towards the opposition box. Arsenal did manage to get enough
bodies forward but Sagna's cross was easily cleared leading to a counter-attack that resulted in
the visitors' second goal.
Last Saturday, in the game against Norwich, Vermaelen won possession around the halfway line in
the 26th minute and proceeded on a run towards the opposition box. Arsenal did manage to get enough
bodies forward but Sagna's cross was easily cleared leading to a counter-attack that resulted in
the visitors' second goal.
Given the way Arsenal were playing in recent games, Spurs were always going to score a couple of
goals. The first half-hour or so was ominously miserable for the Gunners but the script had a
twist! To be fair and honest, the best I expected was a 2-2 draw but Wenger and his players have
put me over the moon.
In India, particularly in the north, there is a saying, "sher kabhi ghaas nahin khaata hai". A
loose literal translation would be, a lion (no matter how starved he might be) doesn't eat grass.
For a football hungry person like me a weekend disrupted by weather spells disaster when the
Arsenal game is postponed.
Just before Shakhtar got the equalizer there was a period when they created a couple of clear
cut chances. I want to look at these with snapshots to see the defensive mistakes Arsenal made.
In the first image the situation seems under control. The ball is near the touchline and Arsenal
have enough numbers back.
While Gooners disagree on many issues, I think our weakness of conceding counter-attacks, often
from good attacking positions, is something many agree on.
Since this international break is boring the life out of me, I thought it will be worthwhile
discussing why we are so vulnerable to the counter.
Too many people are having a go at Fabianski. It's become a fashion of sorts to blame the keeper
for every goal. The facts do tell a different story and we can see this from the snapshots of the
goals we conceded at Blackburn.
I don't think many would disagree with the opinion that Arsenal have a shaky defence and
struggle to hold on to a lead. This doesn't mean that we have a relegation quality defence, just
that we are not as good as some of the other top teams.
The goal we conceded against Birmingham is a perfect example of how poor our defence actually
is.
I am feeling fine again. Before the match I was a little nervous as I didn't have the right
feeling, during the match till we got the second goal the same anxiety dominated. Once the second
goal went in I had a sense of relief and now that I have thought about the game a bit, there is
even more belief that we are up for it this season.
OTP was fortunate enough to watch the FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool and Everton at Wembley
yesterday, thanks to Budweiser. From Carroll's redemption to Distin's disdain, here is our
pictorial portrait of the Merseyside match-up.
Remember the passing wheel for Lucas posted two weeks ago? That was fun. Let's do that for Gerrard
against West Ham last Sunday. We've got some time to kill before previewing the United match.
The word of the day is "more." More total passes, more ambitious passes, more incomplete passes,
more sideways passes, and more backwards passes.
In fairness, an all-together decent enough result as Liverpool share the points with Napoli.
But let's not kid ourselves today was not going to convince anyone that Roy Hodgson should be
sticking around past Sunday (or yesterday for that matter), and the performance was fairly
consistent enough with what we've seen in the months since his arrival.
Serie A Weekly is proud to present another episode of this beautifully written feature from well
known and respected journalist Giancarlo Rinaldi The Milanese derby's darkest night It is one of
the most iconic snapshots of the Italian game. Inter's Marco Materazzi leans on the shoulder of
Milan's Manuel Rui Costa as the pair of them gaze in disbelief or bemusement at what is unfolding
before.
It might not be obvious every time we watch a game of soccer, but there's a tacit contract
between players and observers of the sport. In it, we the viewer expect nothing less than maximum
effort, maximum fun, and we can never see that soccer is not the be-all and end-all for our heroes.
Blood, sweat, tears, and none of the complaining that comes from living a more ordinary life.
I've been having a lot of trouble trying to write about the result against Philadelphia Union (A
1-0 win for Philly). Therefore I've decided sidestep that result and to post a few links where you
can follow this blog around the internet. This is mainly a compilation of links that you might (but
might not) find interesting and worth visiting.
I've been having a lot of trouble trying to write about the result against Philadelphia Union (A
1-0 win for Philly). Therefore I've decided sidestep that result and to post a few links where you
can follow this blog around the internet. This is mainly a compilation of links that you might (but
might not) find interesting and worth visiting.
Ahead of tonight's big match, here are a few England vs Sweden moments from yesteryear that you'll
probably recall. 1. Brolin-Dahlin-Brolin (1992) This well worked one-two has come to be one of the
snapshots that represents England failures over the years. Swedish pie fan Tomas Brolin put paid to
England's Euro 92 hopes with this [.
What to do when your squad is underperforming? You take them on vacation to Spain,
naturally.
'What do you mean Gary got lost at baggage claim??'
So yeah, apparently this trip is actually happening. AVB did his best to downplay expectations
prior to departure, insisting that trips of this variety are normal for English teams.
We heard last week how Redknapp has introduced yoga sessions at the club in an attempt to boost
long term fitness of the squad, employing the same yoga instructor Brad Friedel has been using to
keep him at the top into his fourties.
Finally, we have some snapshots of the squad in the middle of a yoga session.
Memories are funny old things. Events become fine tuned to specific key moments and time merges
into a mass of indistinguishable snapshots. Dad took me to a lot more games this season yet looking
through Phil Cowan's archive none really spring back into focus. I know I went to a lot of games
because I had a large stack of these bawdy, yellow bannered, programmes.
A bright future looms on the horizon in Libya with spectacular scenes overnight of celebration
and victory over the decades long dictatorship of Muammar el-Qaddafi. Many have lost their lives
during this struggle but they should all be remembered as heroes.
As for those fighters still on the front line risking their lives, and the countless innocent
victims of Qaddafi's regime, one thing has stood out amongst the endless snapshots of war football
shirts.
It's finally here. The biggest event on the football calendar begins late tonight.
Work and family demands have meant that I haven't been able to devote as much blogging time to the
preparations as I would have liked, but don't for a moment get the impression that I'm not excited!
Answers to my last quiz can be found here, by the way.
Yes you've already seen photos today in the post below, but now anyone can help us document the
work on our new stadium as it happens. Head to our new Flickr group at
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kcsoccerstadium/ to upload your own photos throughout the process and
see what other fans have submitted.
1) The 2010 seeding formula. Using the previous formula (from 2006), it appears that Portugal's
resurgence may see them get seeded after all at the expense of France. They were always in good
shape as long as they managed to qualify, and that looks very likely now. The same eight teams have
been in the running ever since July 2006, so one good team is going to get let out no matter what.
