Just a quick word or two before we get going this week on some responses. If you have any comments to make about the Fox Soccer Report – good or bad – that don’t directly relate to the soccer highlights could you please e mail them to the address that is regularly shown on the show rather than posting to the blog. Thanks.
Gumbee2005 - What do you think of Maradona’s comments on how he now hates "America"?
Bobby – I spend as much time thinking about what Maradona says about America as I would if Madonna commented on the latest Argentine national team performance.
IanJames – Well, I'm quite happy you were a bit off about the City vs. United game. I stuck with Kasper in my Yahoo Fantasy team, and it very luckily paid off. City didn't deserve the win, but for parity's sake I'm happy that it happened.
Bobby – Even though I said there was no way Manchester United was going to lose I had picked Richard Dunne as my captain for the midweek round of games – shut out and double points. I forgot to make a change for the weekend round of games and got lucky as well!!
Shmish – Re comments about more scoring opportunities and fewer players.
Bobby – You make an excellent point about the number of scoring opportunities created. Likewise the reduction of the number of players. Without necessarily advocating this as a solution and for the point of discussion what about enlarging the size of the field together with the size of the goal?
CIAO - Do you think Arsenal need to bring in a keeper before the window closes? If so, that you know of aside from Amelia are there any keepers that would be worth making a move for? How do you rate Arsenal's current keepers (Jens, Almunia and Fabianski)?
I guess the questions also brings up the German national team... Would you agree with me that they should hand over the gloves to Hildebrand?
Bobby – It would be very unlike Wenger to sign another keeper at this stage. If he is unhappy with Lehmann then I think he will go with Almunia. I thought when we saw Almunia last season he looked to have improved but still dodgy on crosses. I haven’t seen anything of Fabianski and I think you have to regard him as one for the future rather than someone who is likely to step up this season. If Hildebrand had progressed like he should have he might have been the WC keeper in 2006. But his 2005/06 season was poor although he recovered last season.
Ummufan - Any teams that look to dip into the transfer market that thought they were done? (Man Utd for a striker/LB, Arsenal for a keeper, Bolton for a manager?)
If City was a "really need to win" game, Tottenham becomes a MUST win. But not as dire as last year. I sense with the big 4 beating on each other and an improvement in quality of the top 10 overall we will see a champion in the low 80's rather than 90's. There is still hope United aren't cooked yet (emphasis on 'hope').
Bobby – I don’t think too many teams with a transfer budget left. Managers build squads with a view to taking care of injuries, poor form and suspensions so I don’t you will suddenly see Fergie or Wenger making panic buys. It’s not like they have lost players for the season. If Sammy Lee is fired before 20 games are up then chairman Phil Gartside needs to fall on his sword first. I could see 85 points winning the league this season.
LetsGoBuffalo - Does anyone know if Styles was punished after last year's opener between Liverpool and Sheffield United?
Bobby – He was not.
Bigdavedisaster – I think that people, myself included, have been waiting for a team to compete with the big 4 for a while now. I know its early this season but are we more likely to see a group of teams over the next couple of years get better together Man City, Everton, Spurs, Newcastle, Villa all together with the added money of new ownership and the EPL instead of just one team making it the big 5 like Chelsea made it the big 4?
Bobby – There was an article that I posted earlier this season from the Guardian (I think) that made the point that with the influx of new TV money that this was the chance for the mid table teams to strengthen their squads and close the gap. I’m also hoping that it happens. I can see a tighter title race with more than two teams involved and a couple of teams (at least) close the gap between #4 and the rest.
Red Skin - Why no matches featuring Liverpool on FSC for the whole month of September?
Bobby – Sorry but I have nothing to do with how the station is programmed. You need to e mail or call FSC.
Foxcube - Will you modify your EPL one after August 31 when the transfer market closes?
Bobby–Nope. If you change predictions after the transfer market closes then why not wait until the winter transfer window closes? At some point you just need to make a call and stick with it.
Bobby, I put 'The Ball Is Round: A Global History of Football' by David Goldblatt on my Amazon.com Wish List. I've read some very positive review of it.
Quaresma scored two crackers in the first game of the Portuguese league season. I wonder if Porto have priced him out of the market considering they are far from a poor team and need to keep some quality if they want to keep easily re-qualifying for the Champs League. Not sure if he could adjust to the EPL, Spain or Italy might be closer to his tempo. Not sure if hes in the lineup for the Portugal v Armenia game but I plan on watching it and will drop a post if hes still on a tear.
Real Madrid were interested in Quaresma this season, but OPorto's asking price was way too much even for them, 25 million. He's a talented player, but not worth that much.
You ask a question here, in the comments section...just post it up.
25 for Quaresma would be no different than Liverpool paying 24 for Torres. The kid's already shown that he's amazing, and he's young enough that he's only going to get better, so a lot of that is paying for the potential.
I am a loyal Man U fan and have supported them all my life. It is embarrassing to see the opposition successully use the long shot against Van der Saar domestically and abroad, and it has proven to be his weakness since last year. I remember Man U bought Van der Saar based on his incredible performance against the undefeated Arsenal squad, yet he has not brought that form to Manchester. He does not have the same confidence against long shots with a world class defence, as he used to at the Cottage. Van der Saar does not have anything more to offer and I think Man U should get rid of him for Boruc. I know some of the long range efforts have been deflected, but when was the last time Reina or Cech allowed a long range effort? All the past winners of the CL have goalies that laugh when players try to score on them from afar.
Am I crazy or would you agree that Man U has a serious problem against long range efforts?
(You know Sir Alex is going to sign Boruc eventually, I'll bet he never got over that performance last year!)
Last edited by intergalacticspaceman on August 22nd at 9:15 AM.
Madrid-
A question like yours always comes up in one way or another on this site and it tends to be an inflammatory one.
It really is down to personal preference and enjoyment. I find that La Liga and Serie A are more to my liking. I prefer the skill and tactical awareness of the top flight sides in those leagues. It doesn't mean that I don't enjoy the EPL, just not as much. The pace in the top EPL sides is obviously faster than the other leagues but it does not make up for their lack of skill and tactical awareness compared to the top sides in La Liga and Serie A.
Cheers
Last edited by gongatore on August 22nd at 10:26 AM.
I was ready to crown the EPL the hands down best league in Europe right around when 3 of the 4 semi final Champs League teams were English and Tottenham was still in the Uefa cup and what do you know the Italians go on to win the Champs League and the Uefa cup is a all Spain final. I think some of the finances are starting to get lopsided for EPL teams even the 5-10 ones which is allowing them to flex their transfer muscle.
On Quaresma and Portugal in general I watched the game today and they failed to impress and looked very much in pre-season league form. He came on in the second half and didn't make much of impact at all. I also agree that maybe his extra curricular activities might have teams shying away. I think the only reason we have seen Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson in the EPL is 1) Queiroz 2) they are so young they can be molded on and off the field. Quaresma is starting to get on in age that adjusting his playstyle and lifestyle might be too much of an adjustment for England.
I will trade you Van Der Saar for Lehman... Honestly the problem is Manchester have scored 1 goal in 3 games not Van Der Saar. I will agree that he isn't the best from distance but to be fair it's not like hes dropping them into the net. This will most likely be his last year I wonder if Kuszczak will be able to take over or will Manchester dip into the transfer market for a keeper.
How about Yukubu going to Everton! A very excellent signing for Everton, and you gotta think with thier current start, they have a real shot at a top four finish. I would say 3-5 are all very real possibilities. Not only that but with the added depth, I feel they can challenge for the FA Cup, and go far into the UEFA Cup, won't win though, that is Bayern Munich's.
On the other side this is not good for Boro. To me he was the only way they stayed up this season. You look at his goal scoring, over the last 3-5 years only Henry was more prolific. I just don't see them replacing his goal scoring touch, and being able to stay up.
Which will make it fun to watch the firesale, with players like Woodgate, Boateng, and Downing whom all will be looking for a team staying up.
August 23rd 2007: Liverpool today announced a swap deal where Real Madrid defender Gabriel Heinze will join Liverpool in exchange for unhappy mifielder Yossi Benayoun. This comes one day after Real Madrid signed Heinze from Manchester UTd..
Last edited by LosAngelesChelseaFan on August 22nd at 12:10 PM.
Hah! I don't feel the least bit sorry for Benayoun. He *knew* he would have a difficult time breaking into the starting 11. I recall him saying during his press conference something to the effect of, "when Liverpool call, you cannot say no (or turn them down)". Did he honestly think he'd even be considered as top choice by Benitez?
Well said JayAlves. Van Der Sar is no Cech or Schmeichel(Sr.) but he is better than most out there. Long range is not his forte but finding a keeper to play consistently in the pressure cooker that is Old Trafford is not easy and VDS has been excellent. Look at the goals allowed not only this season but last. Defense is not United's problem despite what everyone has been crowing about. And for the record, G. Neville is underrated not overrated. He is good enough defensively to allow Beckham and Ronaldo to shine even though neither are/were very good defensively. United had tied with Liverpool for second fewest goals against last year without holding midfield cover. People always forget that.
Yeah I agree G Neville, is highly underated. He doesn't do anything flashy, just goes about doing his job. And that point about Ronaldo and Beckham is great, I never realized that till now.
Bobby - I had a couple of questions about the England game.
1)What is your take on the second German goal? After a bad pass from Terry it appeard to me that Rio didn't close down the shooter who made a fantastic shot. Was this your assesment or did I miss something?
2) Following that up, Rio was out in the second half with Richards in the middle and Brown out on the right. Do you think this was in responce to Rio's play or could it be that Mac was trying to keep his old boss happy by only playing Rio for a half? Do you think Mac or other national coaches cave to certain Club manager's pressure and if so, doesn't this give certain managers a questionable avenue to wear down opponants(Terry had more chance to be injured and tire).
Last edited by ulsterson on August 22nd at 5:06 PM.
Everton signing Yakubu makes gives them a much more potent attack, but their problem (why they won't finish top 4 this year) is their midfield, and particularly it's lack of depth... Arteta is great, Osman is on fire right now (can he keep it up though?), and who else? Carsley? Cahill (who hasn't been serious about playing much of anything since Australia were beaten by Italy in the World Cup)? Van Der Meyde?
There's just not enough quality there to consistantly compete.
However for Boro, I see the selling of Yakubu as one of the ways they DO stay up... And that's assuming Southgate takes the cash from selling him, and spends it on a couple of quality players. Afonso Alves would be one of those.
Seeing how I spent the day moving to my new appt. I didn't get to see much of the game :(
But that's an interesting thought about Rio only playing a half and Terry playing the whole game. Obviously, if you're SAF, you're going to try to get Mac to save your players, but then again JM probably is too...
From what I did see (first half, already 2-1) England looked aweful going forward. Looked a lot like United has this season, seemed too concerned about making something happen, that they didn't just take the opportunities they had. Michael Owen, how do you miss that shot? You're 4 yards away?
I'd pass on the USA vs Sweden game if at all possible. It was tragic watching our halfbaked and halfhearted attempts at scoring a rare (I'll err on the side of caution and charity) goal on European soil. Absolutely tragic.
United have Foster as well, but he is likely too young to hand over the keys to the car. Kusczcak may be able to win the spot with his cup performances. They city goal was also deflected by Vidic, so I think you have to give VDS a bit of a break.
I think the first half of US v Sweden is watchable. They might have gotten something going if donavan weren't as bad as I've ever seen him. Bornstein ended a few build up's with poor balls too. They had trouble with ibrahimovic-but who doesn't? But I'm biased. I watched the second half on fast forward to get a glimpse of the young subs. It was unpretty.
Bobby,
Do you see any Americans that have the quality to play for the top 4 (GK excluded). Donovan maybe, but only as a RM and not a central attacking mid. The problem is that he is put in the middle where he usually can't find the space he needs. His gold cup performances at RM are exhibit A.
What's the deal with the giant, goofy, gold-coloured graphic bars that are used to house on-screen text? They usually obscure a lot of relevant detail to what's being shown AND, if you listen closely, what's being talked about at the same time.
Want to bet the show would look massively improved without them?
There's nothing like a well-produced highlight show and, sharp suits and dazzling repartee notwithstanding, we're seeing nothing like a well-produced highlight show.
Neither on Fox, Gol or Setanta. But we are working the channel changer constantly. And hoping to hear of a bold transfer bid for Natalie Sawyer at Sky.
A pity England's greatest cultural ambassador, Sid James, isn't around to properly portray England's soccer woes.
We could all have a laugh if they revived an old film series with a new addition - Carry On Flailing! Hmmm, wonder how Brian Barwick would handle the role of Matron?
Last edited by flashman on August 23rd at 9:41 AM.
I always get a feeling watching England play at Wembley that the Pitch is too big? They do not seem to have the pace or the vision on the ball to deal with all that room. Are continental pitches bigger in general?
Flashman:
Presumably that would put Leslie Phillips in the role of Steve McClaren, steering England's ship: "Left hand down a bit no. 1"
P.S. Everyone is invited to see if you can outsmart(outguess!) your fellow bloggers and post your EPL predictions! Click here to join in the game.
Last edited by LosAngelesChelseaFan on August 23rd at 11:15 AM.
I was wondering why you thought nobody has gone after Ricardo Quaresma? In my mind he has great talent and at times can be unstopable but he does have an attitude problem sometimes.
1. England's goalkeeper scenario- Is Paul Robinson their man? David James? Scott Carson? Ben Foster?
2. Other than the games against Israel and Russia being "must win" games... What's your take on England's chances? On paper they look pretty good...
3. How long before McClaren gets the axe? (there's no way England keep him around for that much longer, regardless of qualifying results)
LecheO: How can you expect anyone to properly assess England's coach or goalies when they're forced to cope with a squad full of replacements, fill-ins and pizz-poor performers?
You could put all those goalies in together and they'd still get pounded because the defence is terrible. Rio Ferdinand might as well wear an orange jersey because he's playing like a traffic cone.
And why would you axe McClaren after seeing him manage a squad missing so many regulars? They did create chances and if Michael Owen were a touch sharper, they'd have tied or won and the view would have been on a plucky England team showing character in its depth players.
intergalacticspaceman - First off your argument is complete balderdash. Also, yes you are crazy. Doesn't surprise me that you're calling Manchester United Man U after reading what you posted.
Are you guys planning on carrying AC milan games. I would be really disappointed if you get the rights to the Italian league and do not carry a weeky game for AC.
Flashman- You knew McClaren wasn't the guy for the job the minute he decided to pick his players based on the "style of play" he wanted them to play... Instead of picking the best players, and then picking the style that fits them best.
He dropped Becks because... He didn't like him? He thought he was too old? He was sick of his popularity? Why?
How'd that move work out for him, anyway? Oh yeah... I see that he was back in the lineup this past Wednesday.
Nevermind the fact that they're missing regulars... Their backups, fillins, subs, and reserves are all better than the starters for a lot of the teams that they are playing against... And they're still not getting results... As far as a German team goes, the one England lost to on Wednesday was #### poor...
Rio's playing like a traffic cone? What does that say about the REST of the England defense? Notice how every good thing said about their defense, is about Micah Richards... And it's always about what he's doing on the ball, going forward... Their entire defense is playing like ####.. Why? They're un-prepared... Who's fault is that? McClaren's...
And Paul Robinson giving up that equalizer to Germany had NOTHING to do with England's defense playing #### poor, or them not having a "full" squad... It was because he ####ked up.
Q: Why would I axe McClaren?
A: Because I'd rather watch a European Championship Tournament that includes an England side, than one that doesn't...
Re: England's performances of late here's a novel thought, maybe they just aren't good enough.
It's tiring to hear England's gaffers (amongst a myriad of other pathetic excuses and pick one as there's new ones every week) being blamed year in and year out for it's players lack of skill, tactical awareness and quality performances on the pitch.
It's all about accountability as sportsmen. You don't perform
the chances are you will lose.
If England doesn't qualify for '08 so be it as that may mean that a better side outplayed them.
May the best sides win.
Leche: On both German goals, England's defenders were totally out to sea. ANY goalie playing for this edition of England could hardly be faulted for taking chances. There's just too many gaps to fill. Watch the replay of Kuranyi's goal and he just strolls past THREE defenders who do nothing to mark him.
My sense is the players just don't care enough about these international friendlies, but I bet they want to play them because they have bonus clauses. Not for winnning, just for playing them.
As for axing McClaren, who could you envision replacing him? And before you answer, consider just who would want to take on this dog's dinner of a managing assignment?
It's actually funny that Eriksson is beginning to look like a genius,now that he's chucked the burden of carrying England around on his shoulders.
Bobby,
Enlarging the field would not help. The defenders still collapse towards goal. There are easily enough defenders to put a perimeter around the box and not care if someone has more midfield or width to work with.
Not always the best analogy, but I'll give hockey up as one again. World championship hockey is played on larger ice than the NHL but it doesn't really open up the game at all. Soccer is in a better position because of the effectiveness of a cross (which doesn't really exist in hockey). I guess extra width could mean more crosses, but we're not talking about high-percentage scoring chances on crosses (not set pieces) are we.
flashman- Robinson still screwed up royally, and literally handed the ball to Kuranyi to finish. Sure, there the defense probably should have been better, but even with terrible defending, that goal never should have happened.
I don't care who replaces McClaren at England, they already screwed themselves by hiring him, instead of someone better in the first place. Who would want this? Not many people. But that still doesn't make McClaren the right man for the job...
In the 1970's Bobby Moore was involved in 2 incidents showing his leadership qualities. I wonder if you remember them. In a West Ham game the ball was headed against the referee knocking him out and Bobby picked up his whistle and brought the game to a halt. In another game he filled-in for an injured goal keeper.
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.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
