Here are a few stories that I read over the weekend that might spark some debate.
David Bond has a story in which he details CONCACAF’s President Jack Warner response to the growing ticket scandal. It seems to me that Warner’s reaction is a strong indication that he no longer feels protected and has been flushed out.
Jack Warner is now suing. In the words of the late great Mr. Roy Orbison it seems that we have a severe case of “Running Scared”. This is from the CONCACAF website. (Surprisingly I could not find a way to order tickets).
I stand to be corrected on this but if my memory does serve me correctly then the red herring in this move is the filing of the lawsuit in Switzerland. There was a simllar suit against Andrew Jennings after his expose of the Olympic movement and in particular the old Fascist Juan Antonio Samaranch. In Swiss law you can be found guilty of defamation if you look sideways at someone - ok an exagerration but you get my drift. However, Swiss court decisions are about as intimidating as their navy. If Warner was serious he would have filed someplace else. And I don't believe he has to file in Switzerland just because FIFA is based there.
The English press is working overtime ahead of a BBC Panorama broadcast into kickbacks and bungs in the English game. This article focuses on a payment made during Harry Rednapp’s time at Southampton.
Nick Harris has some more background on the player at the centre of the Southampton investigation.
Nick Szczepanik describes Portsmouth central defender Linvoy Primus’ journey from the bottom to the top. Primus is one of these players that you would mark down as making the absolute most of the talent he has been given. Any other players in the Premiership that you think might fit the bill?
Natasha Woods writes about Queen’s Park, a team that remains dedicated to playing for the enjoyment of the game without consideration of money.
And finally a few random thoughts on the Manchester United and Arsenal game.
Adebayor’s goal – and Ronaldo’s grotesque error – may have won the game for the Gunners, but Jens Lehmann’s save from Solksjaer just seconds later, certainly saved the full points for Arsenal.
John Djourou and Kolo Toure were outstanding at the heart of the Arsenal defense.
Wenger opted to play Adebayor as a lone striker – a role I thought he filled very well – and packed the midfield with five players. It freed Fabregas to push further forward and United never found a way to shut him down.
The 4-5-1formation allowed Arsenal to dominate possession for large parts of the game but I never sensed that SAF made any changes to counteract the extra Arsenal player in midfield. United seemed quite happy to allow Arsenal the ball perhaps believing that the Gunners would continue their poor performances in front of goal.
By the time Arsenal scored, it was too late to make any telling change. There just seemed to be too many United players who put in average-at-best performances. Despite his mistake, Ronaldo was the only United player to pose a consistent threat over the 90 minutes.
Why would you spend over $30M on Michael Carrick and leave him on the bench for a game that, if won, could have put a stake through the heart of your fiercest challenger over the last decade?
Tomas Rosicky is slowly but surely adapting to the Premiership and Arsenal’s style. He is going to be a Premiership star before the end of this season.
It must have warmed the hearts of Arsenal fans to see patista running at the united defense with power and conviction when he came on late in the game.
Bobby l still feel on a competetive and enjoyment point of view arsenal and manu is still the biggest game in the english game , it had everything that comes with its billing, l found the chelsea liverpool game very dull and lacking event that might come with the meeting of the two.I personally feel that all the other 19 teams in the prem lack creative midfielders in the mould of the deco, pirlo type that arsenal have in abundance, l think everyone saw the how arsenal were full of ideas and united lacked them at all, and by the way l feel gerrad is not at all creative he is an impact midfilder.Bobby what do you make of my creativity theory
great result for the gunners and well earned. I agree completly with you that the 4-5-1 arsenal used in their CL run last year is even more suited to them this year. It means less time for adebyor, but his goal per match ratio isnt all that string anyway. I hope you are correct about rosicki, hleb is much improved from last year, too. Now we need to get baptista and cesc to score some goals in the league.
As an aside, I know its early, but how about those 2 argies!! They are catapulting west ham to domestic and european glory! Im sure these 2 will be assets, but i think argentina and its players are way over rated, and im an objective brasileiro, he he.
I was also looking all over the pitch for ex gunner cole today, did he play? is he hurt and not in the lineup? Hahahahaha what a twit! is there a more over hyped, invisible player so far? Let me enjoy it now cause im surhell influence some games, but all in all good riddence im much happier with gallas anyway.
A fantastic and necessary result for the Gunners. This was a great game to watch with a bit of everything. I was convinced that Man U was beatable as their perfect start didn't appear to be so "perfect" with the results coming against the likes of Fulham and Watford. Arsenal really threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the league with this victory. When you look at their schedule for the next 4-5 weeks there are some very winnable games and they could be in the top 2-3 by late October. Well done Gunners!
Did ManUtd. even field a midfield? The center of the pitch looked empty. Yes Cristiano turned over the ball in a bad position but had there been just one other midfielder to pass to they may have had a good rush to the other end. Way to go Gunners. They are one of the most entertaining teams to watch (add Reading atop of that list).
Bobby- the 4-5-1 is not a new formation but seems to have taken the place of the beloved 4-4-2. I like it since you see more attacks from various angles and not just balls crossed from the wings in a traditional 4-4-2. Your thoughts.
As an Arsenal fan I'm obviously very happy and agree with your opinion about Rosicky, in my opinion hes like Hleb with a brain. I watched the Chelsea game and was amazed to see how much space they gave up on the flanks. Kuyt could have phoned his mum back in Holland and ask her where he should shoot on one of Liverpools attacks.
When J Cole and Robben are fully fit do you think they will revert to their old system and If so who would you drop? I think Essien (even though hes been their best player so far) as I could never see them dropping Lampard and they've recently signed Ballack.
Last edited by only1cab on September 18th at 9:22 AM.
I was only able to watch the first half of the United loss -- my daughter's U12 team had a game -- but it was a very good first half, very enjoyable. Ronaldo had several chances and the way things looked, I expected Lehman to get a second yellow for being an angry person. I'm not an Arsenal fan at all, but before the game it was clear that United was overdue for a loss and Arsenal was due for a win.
Why was Thierry Henry absent?
A bigger shocker was the Liverpool loss considering the gift they were given by the Ref. And, I guess Bonitez doesn't give Crouchy as much credit as I do, it would help my fantasy team if he did.
Bobby, I just have one question. Do you think that Didier Drogba has finally come into his own, despite all the criticism he endured in his first two seasons at Chelsea? There's an interesting story on the Chelsea website about his numbers. By and large not too shabby!
Well, my prediction about Liverpool being champions this year is shot. They have to win games like these. And they had enough chances. Kuyt, I think is a bad buy. Didn't like him in the World Cup and he hasn't improved. Good result for the Gunners and the season.
As a United fan, I have to be disappointed in the second half effort. And also in the rather odd substitutions -- I thought Fletcher and O'Shea would go. That said, I thought a draw would have been a fair result, but perhaps I'm biased. Best player on the pitch? Rosicky. And Batista was very impressive in the short time he had.
This is the second match on the trot SAF has played Rooney up front with Saha in support, and the second time Rooney has been mostly ineffective. That's how Eriksson wasted him too, and I'm suprised to see it at Old Trafford.
Bobby, et al.:
Baptista for Reyes. Who is going to get the better deal Real or Arsenal? Is Baptista really that big o####uy or is the TV camera playing tricks? He looks HUGE! When Rosicky and Baptista start clicking...look out. Having Ryan Giggs out really hurt ManU. They were exposed in the midfield. They now it and so does the rest of the league. Reading will not be an easy game for them.
Last edited by neophyte on September 18th at 1:54 PM.
Man U midfield appeared to be overrun by the Gunners midfield in the second half Sunday, and I cannot remember a shot that Lemann had to save in the second half until Solhsjaer which produced a great save. I cannot understand why Carrick was on the bench, Bobby is it possible he is still carrying an injury as this appears to be the only valid reason.
Do you think the number of games the international players couple with the travels of some to various parts of Europe and the recent world cup is affecting perfomrance
Slow Monday, sorry for all the questions and comments. Ancanada, You bring up a good point. How do these guys keep the pace up? The WC, international Frienlies, Euro qual., Champions league, Cups, Derbys etc... Wow! No wonder at the age of 30 they are considered "old".
Has anyone watched Barcelona? They look incredible. Chelsea v. Barcelona may over shadow the rest of the CL.
I don't know if there's anymore for me to add to the whole Arsenal situation. Everyone seems to have pretty muched summed up the game pretty well. But my question is in regards to the 4-5-1 formation. Don't you think Arsenal have too many attacking options up front to just use 1 forward. Yeah there is better possesion in the midfield, but Arsenal does not really have a problem with possesion so far this season its scoring goals and I think they lack attacking options with just one striker especially with the midfielders not showing any good form in front of goal so far. Also Henry never seems quite comfortable when he's left up front alone. I can remember a number of occasions both with France and Arsenal when he has been pleading with his coaches to give him some support what do you think?
One other thing Bobby. Your thoughts on Real Madrid so far this season. I know you like Capello, but I'm not too impressed with the squad he's put together so far. Is it too early to tell or do you see any potential problems with his lineup?
Last edited by Reggae_Boy_23 on September 18th at 4:08 PM.
From BBC website. Program will air on BBC 1 on Tue @ 9pm GMT
Undercover: Football's dirty secrets
For the first time, an undercover team has spent a year infiltrating the world of football.
This secret camera investigation names top agents, clubs and managers who are cheating their supporters.
Panorama delivers evidence which will rock football to its foundations.
Knut Auf dem Berge, a UEFA licenced coach and ex German semi-professional player, went undercover as an agent to help expose corruption in some top Premiership football clubs.
A record £300 million was spent on players in the Premiership this summer.
This Panorama special will be broadcast on the the eve of the official Lord Stevens inquiry report into skulduggery in the beautiful game.
DON'T MISS IT
skulduggery: (noun) underhand or unscrupulous behaviour; trickery
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on September 18th at 4:31 PM.
Quite a week, quite a week. Amen and then some on Rosicky. I think he has a style that could translate to any league. re: Baptista, yeah hes a big boy! Can you imagine Adriano and him up front for Brazil? I would be quite concerned for my well-being. I, like you guys, sense an upward curve for Arsenal. re: Cole, I know its fashionable to slam the guy given his recent dealings, but come on now. Its just one game.
On the weekend, I thought Gerrard missed a sublime opportunity to lob Cech and seemingly tried to shoot it through him. Reminded me of Henry v Barca in the UCL final. Cech didnt have to move. Crouch should've placed that last header much better. Over at OT, my man Rooney needs to get sharp, and quick.
I'm suprised no one has talked about Riquelme yet. I know it's all about the EPL right now, but one of the most pivotal midfielders in the game just retired internationally, at 28 years old, from a perennial top 5 team and the best team at the World Cup! Oh yeah, and he was captain. Do think he retired for the reasons he cited (Im pretty sure he said it was due to the criticism he received post WC and post Brazil @ Emirates) or could it have been something else? He's such a "rugged individual" type of person, so I wouldn't be all that suprised if this decision was indeed driven by spite, but who knows? I thought this deserved some attention.
Surprising bit of fencemending that Mourinho did with Benitez. That feud had livened things for awhile and I wonder what will replace it. Also, Mourinho actually admitted the Ballack foul was a red card offense. A sign of JM stepping a bit more lightly?
In the Newcastle-West Ham match I couldn't see what Roeder did to inflame the WH fans(granted, not everything is on camera). He was an unpopular appointment there and they never seemed to respect him--including the players, despite a rather backhanded vote of confidence from Di Canio. It seemed to poison his tenure right from the beginning. Do they still hate him that much?
Given Totti's track record with the Italian national team... do you think the team is better off with out him?
Also have you heard any rumors about Mancini getting sacked and/or Buffon being signed in January at Inter? I that at the end of the season they bring Mourinho to Inter. If things don't turn around in the next 3-4 games Mancini will be looking for a new job. Hopefully a new manager can set up a functioning youth program.
Speaking of italian football, how is it that a relegated Juventus with a points defecit is able to hang on to so many of their stars.
Was United really overrated this season or was it the Ewing Theory at work with Henry out? The Ewing Theory is based on Patrick Ewing with the New York Knicks - when he got hurt in 1999 they went to a different style of play and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Same phenomenon with Drew Bledsoe and the New England Patriots in 2001 when they won the Super Bowl - reinforcing team over the individual.
I suppose we'll see when Henry returns, but as you said - they need to get results against average sides too. Can't wait to see Rosicky blossom.
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