I am a bit behind this morning. We went to see country music legend Don Williams last night and so I am going to have to watch the EPL highlights show and the FSWR on tape.
Another wild and woolly weekend. It could not have turned out better for SAF (my thoughts on Fergie the greatest ever can be read tomorrow). Meanwhile we are still waiting to hear why Terry got sent off. Watching the replays of the incident during the match there is something very untoward about it. Terry and a Spurs player (King?) get tangled in the penalty box but there is nothing unusual about that. Then when Terry gets up and starts to move away some of the Spurs players are livid. A ruckus ensues then Terry gets called over and sent off – he says nothing which given what is becoming Chelsea’s natural reaction to referee’s decisions is surprising. Terry did something (I have read elsewhere that he threw a punch but I have yet to see it) otherwise he and the other Chelsea players would surely have reacted. Maybe Terry can come clean and tell Jose.
Anyway on to some weekend articles.
Anthony Stokes is on loan from Arsenal at Falkirk and he is currently the hottest player in Scotland.
Michael Grant on the club that the then Alex Ferguson left twenty years ago. It was a move that all but brought to an end an era when the Old Firm was firmly second class citizen in Scotland.
One of the British games great characters Tommy Docherty (the original man who has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus) has just released on new book “The Doc, Hallowed Be Thy Game.”
Some interesting observations from Stewart Robson on the ability of Jens Lehmann and Edwin van der Sar to start attacks with excellent distribution.
Steve Tongue makes some astute observations about Chelsea. I find it interesting that on a number of occasions since he took over at Stamford Bridge Mourinho has been compared to Brian Clough. It seems to me that Mourinho has more in common with Don Revie. Revie’s Leeds team of the 60’s and early 70’s, although widely admired for the football that they were capable of playing, was widely despised for the cynical win-at-all-costs approach.
…….and now that I have brought up Leeds. After losing on Saturday to Barnsley, Leeds now sit 23rd in the 24-team Championship. Six years after playing in the Champions League semi-final. Leeds and new boss Dennis Wise are facing a relegation battle to avoid what is really Division Three.
Peter Risdale may have lived the dream, but he has the left Leeds to face the nightmare.
On the subject of Scotland, how about Dundee! Big win at Rangers, and I bet you're wearing that old disco-era Dundee jersey right now.
One thing that I've always loved doing but haven't seen yet on this blog is posting/discussing a current World XI. Very obvious subject, but I'd really love to see what you and the other readers of this blog have to come up with. Obviously this has to be a real team, so putting 4 central players in midfield doesn't work, etc etc. I won't bother with substitutes. Here's mine
GK - Buffon
D (L to R)
- Riise, Toure, Terry, Zambrotta
M (L to R)
- Giggs, Kaka, Gerrard, Joaquin/Ronaldo (can't decide)
F
- Henry, Eto'o/Rooney/Robinho/Drogba (also can't decide)
Gerrard would play rather deep on this team but I honestly think that if that were his normal role, he'd be the best in the world at it. Left and right back I'm not totally sold on (I know GZ can play both), and Henry is my only lock for forward, though I think my choice would come from one of those 4. Ribery would be an obvious option at RW but I like the two I have there. Now let's see yours.
Bobby- I didn't know Don Williams was still alive! Did you sport a Cowboy hat?
Just a couple of off the wall comments: Where is the Reading firepower up front? Is Convey really that important because they have looked horrid up front. Robby Keane with a total lack of pace just made Bol...(chelsea's RB) look silly! What a move! There is hope for all of those dilusional "sports fans" out there---if you have lost a step, just a couple dips of the shoulders and you too can beat a "world classs" defender. How is it that Chelsea can pull fouls out whenever they are faced with a tough battle? I am really begining to wonder about the "star" factor in the EPL (see NBA refs about that one) (Leaving the Terry incident out)I really would have liked to have seen Pardew and Wenger go for it. I would take Pardew 4:1. Congrats to SAF.
USAEnglandfan - Oh dear, you are risking banishment to the bad row. It was Dundee United that beat the Gers. Dundee lost 3-1 at home on Saturday to Gretna.
I was wondering at the same, judging by how livid King and some of his teammates were, if Terry said something discriminatory to King. This could explain how accepting he was of the sending off and he looked quite ashamed -- For his sake I hope not, and normally the press would be all over that story if they caught wind of it.
Bobby: what is your take on/who is your pick among the current crop of England 'wingers'; Joe Cole, Lennon, SWP, Downing, et al.
To my mind Cole is really the most creative (besides being the most complete player), and after him I would take Lennon. SWP and Downing never seem to show any guile in taking on a defender, and Phillips always needs about 10 feet of space or
he'll lose control.
Last edited by AlexMorph on November 6th at 9:49 AM.
What the Hell is going in in Arsenal. I am starting to really get worried because the team seems to be letting their frustration get to them and they are just falling apart bit by bit. And the refs need to start getting punished for the stupid decisions they are making. Wenger should have pushed the ref not Pardew. Mourinho is right to criticise the ref because he is not explaining why he gave JT a red card.
Why is Mourinho starting Hilario now that Cudicini has been declared fit? Is Hilario really the better option, or is JM repaying a debt to Hilario, or is this part of a larger scheme?
I believe it is part of a scheme to get to Buffon in January. Benching Cudicini will naturally force him to seek a transfer, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind joining Juventus. The bianco-neri have shown a great interest in Mascherano, whose contract is basically owned by Abramovich. I think it’s safe to say that the whole Abramovich/MSI connection is hardly a secret anymore! I think Juventus would accept the Cudicini and Mascherano trade for Buffon with the right amount of cash, which is obviously not an issue! Juventus will need the transfer money next year, and may even get an option for Cech when he’s healthy.
Or it could be that Cudicini is actually not quite fit yet, and Mourinho is just being cautious !!!!
Bobby l have two subjects that need your expertise
1..as l was watching the arsenal game l was frustreted as you can imagine with the lack of determination, l think wenger will clearly take a swipe at his players if he has never did,.westham deserved to win, they were hungry and the gunners let talk of beautiful football get to their head.l feel that wenger 's outbust was as a result of the frustration of loing points while he lied that he was impressed by the team's perfomance and l bet that ,if he had been hit by a ball from a player he would have been on his throat.if you would have asked wenger how manypointhe would get in his past three games incliding hammers he would have sais 7 to 9 and that why l feel he snaped, what do you think caused him to lose his cool
2..l have to say l do not have an idea of why drogba's goal was disallowed and why terry was sent off but l really thought jol outwit mourinho.he always made sure that one of his forwards dropped deep to the right to give extra width and usually that was keane and chelsea were stretched, l felt that if ghally was not wasteful with possession there would have had a couple more.my question is if ashely cole is the best left back in world football then the standard of left backs in world football is low, l have seen him since he has been to chelsea and has not got his best form.l think this is because chelsea are more defense minded than attacking and , his defensive awols are now being exposed than ever b4, he was toasted in the barca game by messi and lennon made him look average, and to be honest chelsea's weekness are wingback.do you think it is chelsea's weekness and what do you make of cole's poor form since joining chelsea in comparison to a gallas
I have to agree with your observations of the Terry sending off. You can see both Terry and King go down, but when they get up, Terry is NOT complaining for a penalty, and the Spurs players are absolutely livid. In the replay, you see Poll staring into the mix wide-eyed and you can tell he saw something he didn't like. Terry seems to be in a hurry to get away and when shown the red card, he doesn't flinch. No surprise or shock, he just walks off without so much as a second glance. Only he, King and Poll seem to know what transpired on the floor, but from Terry's reaction (or lack of it) Poll must have got it right.
I would like to try this team out:
GK: Van Der Saar
D: Sonko, Sodje, Canavarro, Bikey
MF:Messi, Gerrard,Kaka, Ronaldinho
CF/S: Heske, Crespo, Robinho
I smell Champions League winners with this crew!
Anyone of those huge backliners could take out any keeper on a set play then my "slow" forwards (Robinho excluded) could just pick apart that 2nd team keeper. I wonder if I could get a commission from Mr. Chelski by passing this along to him?
Last edited by neophyte on November 6th at 12:32 PM.
neo, have you ever seen Fight Club? Like they say, tall, lanky guys are always dangerous. Wenger would do some serious damage. HA just kidding, I'd take a Teletubby 4:1 over Wenger.
Bobby: Umm... oops! My less worldly and knowledgable twin brother signed on to post that. Honestly I had no idea there were 2 teams! I looked at some headlines the other day and it says "Dundee stuns Rangers." Geez, help a guy out and maybe distinguish your names a bit further. Oh well, the bad row it is :)
It would be nice, for once, to see you act like an objective journalist rather than a fan of big clubs. John Terry, showing malice throughout the game, grabs King by the back of his shirt and pushes him down face first on the goal line. Then he throws a shoulder into Assou-Ekotto. He had a bad attitude all game and continued his repeated fouling even after the first yellow card. A deserved sending off. Wish you'd quit sucking up to the big clubs and give smaller clubs credit when they do something positive. Spurs and West Ham achieved great wins this weekend using correct playing tactics, not relying on anything else. Wenger's actions this weekend smack of a bully, and credit to Pardew who stood up to him. Mourinho, for all his public show of hugging Martin Jol, still had a petulant tone after the game. These are poor sportsmen and should be called out for their ungracious actions.
Last edited by flashman on November 6th at 1:28 PM.
And just let me add how disappointing it is to see the video package your show presented on Sunday night/Monday morning on the West Ham-Arsenal game. Maybe you aren't aware that youtube.com contributors routinely post video from all sorts of sports, but what was offered on the FSWR on Sunday is simply pathetic. The scuffle between Wenger and Pardew is available in far more detail than what your network showed. The youtube highlight package shows what looks like Wenger throwing a right-handed punch at Pardew. The Sun newspaper in England has the same. What FSWR offered was a condensed, cleaned-up version of the incident. Why?
Easy there, buddy. Wenger was wrong but he didn't throw a punch - it was more of a "get away from me" push/shrugging off.
I don't think FSC can air Youtube segments, just as Youtube will one day face massive legal action for a large portion of their content. FSC didn't have the rights to the Arsenal/WH game, and are thusly allowed only a small portion of the highlights - Remember the FSC world cup highlights? I think each game got ten seconds or so.
By EPL standards, the John Terry sending off was a bit harsh. However, Terry lost his cool and got out of line, and you can see that by his reaction to his dismissal. In any other major European league it would be an automatic second yellow, but when you see what EPL players get away with, the second yellow was harsh. Poll felt that was the only way to keep the match from blowing up, and I think he was wrong, even though, as it turned out, the match concluded without further incident.
Also in any other league, Wenger and Pardew would have been sanctioned by the ref, but apparently, Rob Styles (worse ref than Riley!) didn't see anything wrong with the bust up. Furthermore, the League Managers Association chief exec thinks that problem was due to the technical areas not being far enough apart! Yeh, by the end of this week the League will be apologizing to them and providing compensation - I'm sure Wenger expects it too!! I think Wenger branded Pardew a racist last season, so there's history between the two as well.
Here's a useless stat:
The four EPL teams in UCL last week committed 79 fouls in their four respective matches. The same four teams played some entertaining EPL matches this weekend yet were only called for 37 fouls.
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on November 6th at 4:37 PM.
Rio: It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you it's a big conspiracy !!! Or the refs are now so afraid of being accused of bias towards Milan, that they are erring the other way.
They haven't looked awful, lost to a good Palermo side, and played a good derby. As seen against Atalanta, things just aren't going Milan's way in the serie A at all. I guess it's much harder when the refs aren't helping you !!!!
Here's a good example of how things are going for Milan in Serie A just lately. Against Atalanta, Milan were denied a clear penalty just before halftime, then just after the restart Atalanta took the lead. Then, just after, Gourcuff appeared to be fouled in the penalty area, the ball wound up in the net anyway but the ref whistled for the penalty without playing the advantage. Then the linesman flags that he thought it was a dive, so no advantage, no goal, no penalty - yellow card for Gourcuff. The ref was very close to the action, the linesman was 40 yards away and was positive that Gourcuff intentionally dived, and the ref went with it! Milan have been very critical of Pieri in the past, and this must've been payback. Did anyone else see this farse!?
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on November 6th at 6:26 PM.
Milan play Roma on Saturday who looked very good against Fiorentina this weekend. Milan are still not too far off pace for fourth spot, but this game against Roma is a big one, and a good chance for a morale boosting win and get back on track. In case of a third straight home league defeat ....... let's not even think about that !!
Milan are safe in the UCL as long as they don't suffer a meltdown and let AEK overturn the 3-0 from matchday 1, and assuming Lille beat Anderlecht.
Bobby: Milan's going to turn things around starting with a win on Saturday, right ?
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on November 6th at 5:57 PM.
The real issue here isn't how severe Wenger's actions were. It's the unwillingness of Bobby McMahon's network to show us the full video replay of the incident that is available. I could understand this if FOX was showing ArsenalTV, but that is presently the property of another rival network.
Why does this show act as though it's necessary to mollycoddle and protect a manager who has shown a very unsportsmanlike streak in matches where things aren't going his way?
Last year, we saw him get into it with Martin Jol after Spurs scored a goal where the referee was clearly in prime position to deal with a controversial matter involving the collision of two Arsenal players before the goal was scored.
I thought this show might be able to present football on a balanced, impartial level. Clearly, this is not the case and it might be appropriate now for Bobby and his cronies to declare the Fox Sports World Report an exercise in public relations as opposed to factual, unbiased journalism.
Bobby
I thought your comments on mondays show about Robbie Keane were spot on. He has become a fan favorite at spurs because of his tenacity and great work rate and he seems to take a leadership role when he starts games. I criticized him earlier in the year but he seems to be back in his form of last year the more that Jol plays him I hope it translates to Ireland. He and Berbatov seem to play well together and I think Jol should stick with them. I like Defoe but he does not see the field well and though he has great pace and quickness I think that he rarely creates chances for other players and needs the ball at his feet a lot to create his own chances. Mido and Defoe are sloppy with the ball whereas keane and berbatov tend to be a settling presence allowing other players to get forward and create scoring opportunities. Do you you think Jol will stay with the Bulgarian and Irishman and does that mean that Defoe might be dealt in January?
I think that Wengers frustration all came to a head against West Ham. How many chances can a team create without scoring? The game against CSKA was just comical acant remember seeing anything like it and then to lose to West Ham late I think he just lost it.
Last edited by bigdavedisaster on November 6th at 8:39 PM.
Have you ever seen a more tragic game by a defender than Caldwell had for the bhoys? He must have just wanted to crawl up in the back of the net and cry. OG horribly just terribly misplayed ball and then a chance to block the third.
Celtic looked right back to old European form away from Parkhead. Evander Sno and Naka were no where to be seen after playing so brilliantly at parkhead and in my opinion the whole team just played scared. They really blew a great chance against a Benfica side that though strong in the midfield are very weak up front and average in the back with a Goalie that is very shaky to say the least. Why does Celtic continue to play on there heels on the road in Europe? You could see Benfica break down at the back the few times that Celtic attacked but the horrible midfield play really held back most of the chance to attack. It just had that feeling that if they could get a goal more would follow until that third goal. They should have had all the confidence in the world after thrashing them 3 0 I know the OG was early but they seemed to come out flat get scared after the OG and then completely melt after the Caldwell blunder.
Last edited by bigdavedisaster on November 6th at 8:49 PM.
From watching the review show, it is very clear that Terry yelled something at Ledley King. It was from the side, so impossible to lip read, but whatever it was certainly rubbed Chimbonda the wrong way and had he not been held back would have swung at Terry.
Bobby, thanks for not adding to the ridiculous hyperbole that is crowning Ferguson the greatest manager in the history of the world. Although, I personally think Paisley is better than Busby as he had to take over for a legend in Shankly and was even more successful.
Flash:
I understand your point a bit, but I think the coverage was adequate. [Bobby please skip to next paragraph]. I can tell you that Bobby is a good football journalist, and very fair in his analysis. He and the FSW crew, tend be slightly biased towards EPL. Also, for all the coverage they provide of the big clubs in that league, I feel there very little criticism of the big EPL managers. However, Bobby is the best football analyst around; I have read this blog since it started and rarely miss his analysis on FSW; he is opinionated yet objective and knowledgeable, which is all we could ask for.
In the media Wenger seems to have reached the untouchable status of Sir Alex. You could argue that they have earned it, and at this point can do no wrong. Wenger wouldn’t dare act like that in the UCL, because he knows he’d receive a substantial touchline ban and a hefty fine. In the EPL that behavior is not considered detrimental to the game, in fact it adds to it’s allure. The two managers have history, and this was no misunderstanding or accident. However I do think that this was mostly of Pardew’s doing, and Wenger reacted amateurishly to extreme provocation.
I noticed that many of you have Buffon listed as the #1 keeper, as well as FIFA. My son even tells me he is one of the best keepers in his FIFA video game. Maybe VVV can help out here since I haven't seen Buffon a lot but I didn't see much in the way of "the best keeper" in the WC. His backline was incredible and I don't remember him getting tested. I have seen Dida-impressive, and a couple of other keepers in La Liga that were impressive. Why doesn't Van Der Saar get more love. He looked great in the WC (as well as Ricardo-Portugal)and plays in a league that scores more than anyother. I am sure I'm missing something but what is going on with the Buffon man-crush everyone is feeling?
VVV-educate me. Bobby-help me see the light.
neo - I admit that my opinion of Buffon is heavily influenced by press and 'general opinion' and I'm sure I speak for others here. As English speakers in America we basically have the highlight reels on FSWR and that's it as far as Serie A is concerned (and that's if you're fortunate enough to have the channel to begin with). GK is a funny position. Seems like any keeper on any day can be a world beater. Obviously long-term consistency is the hallmark o####reat GK, and high-profile mistakes the opposite. For as long as Buffon has been around, it seems like he has stayed almost mistake-free and has always been considered among the top 2 or 3. Haven't seen him much, and it could be just unwarranted media hype, but you gotta figure that his esteem is what it is for a reason. Also, if you want to see him tested, watch the WC final again for Zidane's header. Not every keeper is puttin that one over the bar. I do agree though that EVDS is a bit underappreciated. Best ball skill and distribution in the world, and a great shot stopper.
Last edited by USAenglandfan on November 7th at 9:57 AM.
Bobby what do you make of cole's allegations towards graham pole, l did not feel he had a bad game and do you thing if a niel wanock, or andy bothroyd ahd compalined about ref treatment would the ref chief go to speak to him or it is just one of those moves that only happen to the big boys as the case with mourinho and if so what causes the bias?
Last edited by henry14 on November 8th at 5:53 AM.
Do you think Cesc Fabulous should have won the young Fifapro Young player of the year instead of Messi. Because I think he had a better season than Messi when you look at the influence he had in Arsenal's run to the CL final and what he is doing this season. Maybe I am being biased.
Neo:
Regarding Buffon, I agree that during the WC Italy’s impenetrability had more to do with the defense than Buffon. Having said that there are two facets of Buffon’s game, and the first one is consistency, which we saw during the WC. He was beaten yesterday in Juve’s 1-1 tie with Napoli after keeping a clean sheet for over 700 minutes, and he has done that several times throughout his career, and will again.
He is an exceptional shot stopper and pulls off some incredible reflex saves from time to time, especially from point blank range, which add to his status. He made his Serie A debut at 17 and his national team debut at 19, so at 28 years young he has barely reached his peak!
As someone already accurately pointed out, his best strength is his consistency. Buffon seems to understand the game very well and has good vision of what’s happening in front of him. He is simply a very solid keeper and it takes something special to beat him. Petr Cech is very similar in both aspects. Var der Sar has always been a very good goalie, and was Juve’s first and only ever foreign goalie, but doesn’t have impeccable consistency.
I am a huge Buffon fan, but again, just my biased opinion.
VVV covered the Buffon situation pretty well, except I think that, age discounting, VDS is a more complete keeper than Cech. Not as athletic perhaps, but far better at distributing the ball, and he is confident enough to even dribble a bit.
VVV. Thank you for the lecture. May we call you Herbert?
What ticks me off, in this age of information, is when a network and a purportedly neutral journalist fail to either deliver all available information as soon as it's ready to distribute or sugarcoat matters that, as we can see for ourselves, need no sugarcoating.
Apart from being able to watch the Spurs-Chelsea game live on FSW, there were some excellent reports available on the net after the game that were critical of Terry's conduct throughout the match. Mind you, these were from people who were actually in the stadium, not in a television studio in the mosquito capital of the North American continent.
When I can watch a complete series of replays on the Pardew-Wenger handbag fight on youtube and learn far more than what's being presented on the network showing it in Canada, that's wrong.
I can see for myself exactly how Pardew conducted himself, and it was hardly a series of backflips, and then see Wenger's intrusive action and unnecessary intervention. Why FSW initial coverage chose to run a limited view of the matter smacks of editorializing and, given Bobby's tendency to gush about Arsenal, favoritism. Of course, they've got all week to re-analyze, replay and repair the errors of their ways.
Not only should you and I expect better, this day and age demands it.
Last edited by flashman on November 7th at 2:12 PM.
My intention was not to come across as lecturing. Most of our fellow bloggers have called me worse, so you may absolutely call me Herbert. (I assume it's a South Park reference)
Like I said, I agree that Bobby is a fan of Wenger's, and, in fact, wrote a flattering article about Wenger's tenure at Arsenal a couple of weeks ago. I just thought I'd add my 2-cents-worth by saying that while Bobby definately has his favorites, he does a very nice job for football fans in this part of the world. I think that FSW is less biased than your typical media outlet in Europe, but they do definately love their big EPL clubs. But, then again, so do most of their viewers.
By my standards Terry deserved his red card and I think even John Terry seemed to agree. Wenger and Pardew should have been sent off immediately, and deserve a couple of games suspension and a ten-game suspended sentence. Just my biased opinion.
Is Man Utd's elimination from the Carling Cup a set back for Sir Alex, or the final piece of a perfect anniversary weekend !!??
Ashley Cole needs to suppress his beliefs that his team is being schemed against by referees - look where it got Moggi. Next thing you know Chelsea will be bottom of the Championship on -12 points!
Last edited by Venti_vidi_vici on November 7th at 3:49 PM.
Given the virtual cult status of this show due to its 'intimate' audience numbers, you can assume that I watch the show and have an appreciation for what they do.
We should all be concerned when the show slips below standards they've set for themselves. And given FOX's tendency to put entertainment far above good journalism in other sports they cover, I feel it's a fair to point it out, in the hope they'll avoid becoming irrelevant.
You NEED to let it go flashman. The Pardew-Wenger fight isn't Watergate or anything remotely approaching importance.
Besides, when you start complaining about the fact you can see things on youtube but not on FSWR and then have the gall to accuse FSW of not having journalistic integrety for not showing something they don't have the broadcast rights for, you're being fairly hypocritical.
What do you expect? Bobby or one of the reporters saying they saw the prolonged Wenger-Pardew footage on the "thousands of copyright lawsuits waiting to happen" youtube and here's my blow-by-blow account.
VVV, I'd like to add to your comments about Ashley Cole. Apparently, the first thing you do when you get bought by Chelsea is take a class in how to completely criticize referees. Remember, Morinho repeatedly does this and even forced a referee to retire because of his comments. My opinion is that Cole's comments are just another example of Chelsea being completely classless and the sorest of losers.
Obviously nobody would call Jose Mourinho full of grace (pun intended), but it's a bit presumptuous to say Wenger is calm and collected. If any team has the audacity to play defensively and slowly (gasp!) against Arsenal then he whines pathetically post game. Ferguson is better than the other two but can still be quite abrasive. If you want reasonable and cordial, just have to look at how Capello and Ancelotti would conduct themselves after a heated juve/milan game; they would even give interviews together.
ps. Please don't take this as a defense of Flashman, his posts are so plaintive I hardly bother reading them.. except to say that while I LOVE youtube, it's ridiculous to compare user submitted footage to professional commentary from a news cast.
Last edited by AlexMorph on November 8th at 11:17 AM.
flashman - Verbal covered it pretty well, so I won't bludgeon your comments with some sort of heavy object, but I'll add something to it in the form of a few equations that I think even you will understand: Interest = Viewers, Viewers = Money, Money = Broadcasting Rights. How much interest is there in soccer in No. America? Thought so. That kinda screws the whole set, doesn't it. I'm sure there are a handful of American football or baseball fans in the UK, but something tells me that the highlights they get aren't exactly SportsCenter. In addition, please understand that we do not blindly follow and unconditionally dote upon Bobby or FSWR for that matter. We simply enjoy most of what they offer us. We are slamming your comments b/c they are ridiculous and you are obviously not trying to make any friends here. Anyways...
Shola Ameobi is out for the season, leading me to believe that God hates Newcastle. I think if I had my pick of black & white stripe clubs to play for right now, I'd go with West Brom. Their injury list is comical, but how much of their misfiring should be blamed on Roeder?
I'm not sure what team ManU put out, but presumably, it's mission accomplished by getting out of unecessary fixture conjestion and avoiding the injury worries of a totally useless competition for the top teams. Other than being a good way of paying off Red Cards (Terry), getting injured players back to fitness (J Cole Sheva) and seeing if the youth team has any stars, I just can't fathom why Chelsea are putting out their top players. Arsenal are fielding a junior team today as are Spurs. Chelsea put out a strong team and are now stuck with another useless fixture on the next round. Makes no sense to me. Good job Man U.
They should exclude UCL teams from the competition or just scrap the whole thing.
Just after I posted this I saw: "Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko dislocated his shoulder in a Carling Cup tie at Birmingham" (Actually that might be good for them!)
Last edited by LosAngelesChelseaFan on November 8th at 2:07 PM.
Perhaps Chelsea fielded a stronger team than they had to (they can't really field a weak team, now can they?) but I think they make the right decision going as far as they can in this competition. The further it goes, the more premiership teams involved, the bigger the gate is. Gate = revenue. Not so important for Chelsea maybe, but helpful nonetheless.
As for Man U, the side that lost to Southend included Ronaldo, Rooney, Heinze, Smith, and others.
Last edited by AlexMorph on November 8th at 2:50 PM.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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