A Times article on the reality of playing football abroad for three African players. Pele is often quoted as saying that an African country would win the World Cup by the turn of the century – 2000 that is – but it was the former England manager Walter Winterbottom who first said it many years before.
Stewart Fisher questions the wisdom of Celtic captain Stephen McManus playing against Benfica only four days after being knocked unconscious against Rangers.
I just have to had two more. Gabriele Marcotti and Nick Webster chime in with thoughts on the BPL in the USA in light of the NFL circus arriving in London.
Interesting that on more than one occassion Jol pointed to the absence of Ledley King as a reason for Spurs' poor defense. Is there any truth in that? What is Tottenham's record with and without King over the past few seasons? How many goals do they concede per game with and without him? They also recently lost Davids, who seemed to set the tone for them when he played.
Interesting article on Jol and the Spurs board. Seems like two of the managers to go this year had allot of interference especially coming to transfers. You have to wonder if Chelsea would have won the title if Mourinho could of signed some backups during the winter window and its pretty obvious Elano and Petrov would of been great for Spurs especially over Bent.
There have been plenty of articles written about the incompetents running football clubs.
This is a classic example of how not to go about changing managers.
Although I read that Ramos is keen on bringing Kanoute to White Hart Lane which would seem a pretty stupid first move for the Spaniard. Spurs problems being at the other end.
Spurs might also be punished by UEFA for incorrect contact with Ramos and Poyet.
Until you've been to Brazil you really CANNOT understand how passionate the population is about football. The beaches are beautiful but the filth and poverty isn't.
Irish football had it's greatest modern moment with an Englishman at the helm - might not a Scot or another Englishman provide them with a chance at South Africa 2010?
James Lawton comes up with a pile of tosh...again!
This one is for you Atleti! Fudging ridiculous the English can't come even close to emulating this success.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foo tball/internationals/7066112.stm>
What do I know though 7 from 29 results correct this weekend - but I picked the Giallorossi to roll over Milan and my Toffees picked up three points so who cares! :)
In Italy some of the big clubs carried their midweek games in their legs, AC Milan looked pretty tired/lethargic.
Pretty soon though the Italins show the world how smart they are with a winter break.
Italian football Wednesday with the Rome Derby as the centrpiece - although with Roma 8 points clear off their crosstown rivals the games at Florence and Milan might be the ones to watch.
Bobby what criteria do you use to choose a game of the week?
Do you think Ramos can turn Spurs around between now and January?
What result(S) suprised you this weekend?
Can you give your opinion on Benitez's personel and tactics against Arsenal on Sunday.
What was your goal of the weekend?
What was your miss of the weekend?
Bobby why does the EPL only allow 5 on the subs bench? and is it the only league to allow 5? sure makes it annoying in FM to have such a short bench especially since one is a keeper.
After watching the game this is my analysis:
Cesc is simply Fabolous.
Draw was a fair result but Arsenal should have robbed the game if not for wastefullness infront of goal. Which shows we missed Van. Power. I think Eduardo would have been a better sub than Bandenter. He should play against ManUre.
Carragher is simply amazing was a monster today. Gerrald was great to. Rafatator was terrible. Got his tactics wrong and was lucky to get away with a draw. Had they lost he would have been in big trouble, especially when you look at the rate coaches are loosing the jobs at.
People need to stop hating on Eboue he wasn't that bad in the 1st half. I though Rosisky was terrible today he seemed out of synch. Eboue was more effective.
Gilberto needs to be in the mid on Sat. against ManUre I don't care how good Flamstar has been playing.
Congrats to Seville and Roma for big wins. Henry scored an offside goal and tried to celebrate like he had scored a very classic goal but it kind of backfired on him. The ref was very generous to Barca.
An Amazing game at Anfield to set up an even bigger one next weekend. Hope it's another cracker, and hope Arsenal tear ManUre apart.
One old keepers take on the Arsenal goal in regard to Reina:
Giving that the pass from Hleb somehow came from between three Liverpool players, found an unmarked Cesc who had outrun Arbeloa and was finished with a well placed, one touch strike, I in no way lay this goal at Pepe's feet but he made a couple of fundamental errors I'll point out.
When the pass came through he was half a second late reacting to it. If he had gone out for the ball immediately, he may have beaten Fabregas and if not he could have at least challenged for it keeping Fabregas from getting a free shot. When he did move he seemed to start out and then thought better of it taking half a step back. At that point his footwork let him down. His feet were in the proper position for a moment and then he bounced and spread his stance wider than his shoulders, with his body weight in the center. Cesc’s first time shot caught him in that wide stance, leaving him no time to shift his weight to either side for a dive or even a falling hand. The end result was Pepe standing upright, rooted to the spot with the ball in the net.
Last edited by ulsterson on October 28th at 11:50 PM.
Contrast that with Almunia's save of the Crouch shot earlier in the half. At the moment the ball is struck, Almunia's feet are shoulder width apart. He reacts immediately, taking a step to his right but keeping his center gravity over the stepping (right) foot. This is the start of his dive and the first step to that class save. Granted it was from much further out but thats still good technique.
I realize that to some of you I sound high or intoxicated in explaining this. The reality is an over use of the DVR/TIVO rewind and slow buttons after too much coffee trying to come up with lessons for the kids on my team....
ulsterson - and what was odd as well is that all throughout the match Reina came off his line well - he denied Adebayor a few times by coming out in a timely manner.
This sets it up for a crucial game next Saturday in London, any predictions.
Gunner44 - whose miss was worse - Fabregas or Bendtner? Your wall was shockingly weak. practically handed Liverpool the lead.
Was going to ask how long he would last after 2 losses in a row and a slow start.... and poof hes gone. If Mourinho is tired of his vacation already you have to rate him as the next coach which will really ####e up the SPL. Do Valencia still play Barcelona twice? :D
and after reflecting over the game yesterday if theres one thing I'm sure of is we wont be seeing Lehman over Alumnia any time soon. With the style Arsenal play they don't need a brilliant goalie just a consistent one who doesn't fall asleep while the game is going on in the other end of the pitch and can pop up with a solid save when needed.
Here's an interesting stat for all you Liverpool/Rafa haters (and I worrying one for me)...0 out of 27!
That's the number of points Liverpool have taken from games away against Arsenal, ManU and Chelsea (EDIT: under Rafa). Sort of puts the seal on their chances of challenging for the title doesn't it?
Last edited by verbal97 on October 29th at 7:12 AM.
is SPL not used as an abreviation for the Spanish league? Spanish Primera División, La Liga? I guess it could be confused with the Scottish Premier League? I'll use La Liga that should be the least confusing.
Don't you think it's crazy that the most eagerly anticipated game of the season, so far, will not be shown live on FSC? I'm talking about Arsenal v Man U of course. It doesn't clash with the other scheduled games on Saturday, and what does FSC want us to watch? 'PAID PROGRAMMING'....I DON'T THINK SO!!!!
Last edited by Ohiogooner61 on October 29th at 9:13 AM.
What a relief it was to see Reading back with their passion from last season. If they can play like that on the road, another top 10 finish may be in the cards.
I know it's on Setanta...and Live Footy. BUT Setanta isn't available on cable, nor are bars open at 8:45am in Ohio. Live footy is great usually, but stream quality can be variable to say the least.
Last edited by Ohiogooner61 on October 29th at 9:37 AM.
Draw was definitely a fair result. Arsenal will be kicking themseleves for this glaring misses and Red supporters have to be wondering when Gerrard will get his confidence back. ON that 90th minute run into the box, why did he take that extra touch? He knows better than that.
I think the game shows Cesc as the best and most influential player in the Premiership right now. Anytime something good was going on for Arse, Cesc was involved somehow.
In Nick Webster`s piece he states that the attendance was 90,000 plus.
First ,the capacity at Wembley is 90,000 ,not 90 plus.(and it was reduced for this game).
Second ,the attendance was 81,000.
If he can`t get the basic facts right ,why believe anything else he has to say.
Craigy f. Bendtner was worse coz one it was on his right foot, it seemed to have less power, and he is a scorer thats why he is in the team to put away such chances. As for the wall it looked like they had discussed with Gerrald that they would move out and leave a whole right in the middle it was terrible terrible defending.
LGB: I agree with you on that last chance he should have taken the shot the 1st time that extra step help Gallas to recover. But he played pretty well considering he was facing one of the best mids he is going to come against this season.
AND HOW THE HELL IS FSC NOT CARRYING THE BIGGEST GAME IN THE EPL. THAT IS JUST SOME B.S. Bobby tell those programing guys that the 1st game they should buy every season is Arse-ManUre game whether they are contenders or not. I feel like I'm going to get Setanta just for this weekend and then remove it. #### that just messed up my week. Now I have to watch it on a stupid computer.
Next game you watch ,check out the throw-ins.
I guarantee half will be foul throws.
If refs are not going to call it ,then throw the ball in one armed like a goalkeeper.
or just kick the damn thing in!
ITVN DOES suck hard!!! Unfortunately, I don't have much of a choice. Setanta isn't covered by cable yet, I can't get a dish and I've never been able to get Livefooty to work. Grainy images for $15 a month or not watch 2/3 of Liverpool's games are my only two choices.
EDIT: FYI, I know Bobby is going to say it...Programming questions should be directed to Foxsports. Unfortunately, they've never answered any of my questions.
EDIT2: Yes, I'm really bitter about this!
Last edited by verbal97 on October 29th at 11:05 AM.
Was Jol really quoted saying that the defensive problems were due to King being injured?
If so, I'm glad they fired him because knowing King is injury prone he could have brought in a suitable back up.
The new appointment seems very promising, but I think it will be a hard year for Spurs. They will be lucky if they place 5th. I think they will be in 6th or 7th place on the last day of PL.
CIAO (and others), One thing that I'm unclear on is how much influence did Jol have on new signings. I also question Ramos wanting to bring in Kanoute (again!). It didn't work out before for Fredi, why would he want to come back. I also read that Ramos wants to bring in Alves, to which I say GOOD LUCK!
RINGO, Tell me about it!!! But as I said, I don't have any other choice except to move and get a dish (which isn't happening).
Rafa's first surprise of the afternoon was the introduction of a new formation. Designed to harass, it was vindicated by Steven Gerrard's sixth-minute opener. Yet the benefits were merely temporary, and the Gunners subsequently simply played out of their opponents' reach. That Benitez felt compelled to change his side's formation in order to obstruct their opponents was instructive. That is not generally the method or mentality of a title-aspiring team. The absence of authority in the Liverpool team - depending on your point of view, either the cause or the consequence of the change in system - was obvious and, ultimately, telling.
craigy - I think Reina is an excellent keeper, he just had a bad moment.
As for a prediction, playing at Emirates will not be easy and I'm not happy about our injury list. Scholes is a big loss and SAF has a tendency to push Giggs inside when he is out which I never feel works too well. For me, pushing Giggs in has reduced our ability to stretch the midfield and left us both impotent going forward and vulnerable to counterattack down the wing. However, Nani has really picked up some of the mantle from Giggs and may prevent past problems. Anderson is really coming on as well and I would feel better with him inside and Giggs on the left with the option of bringing on Nani and then pushing Giggs in if Anderson is ineffective against Flamini et al. I also would be much relieved if either Neville or Evra were back in time for the match and I'm sure Arsenal would love to have RVP. As it stands, I predict a one all draw. However, with the goals both teams are scoring of late combined with the injuries on both sides, if either team gets a second goal I think there will be two or three more to follow. So my final prediction is either one all or 3-2 United. I just need to find somewhere to watch it.
good point, Jol might not have had any say on transfers in the summer. If so, after Spurs spoke to Ramos he must have baught a calender marking his days for his pay-off! $$$
REgardless, Kanoute might want to come back knowing Ramos' style suites him. Previously while at Spurs they probably did not play to Kanoute's strengths. I see him making the move only if there is a big shift in midfield at Spurs during the summer.
I see the mention of “livefooty”. I'm not sure if this is the same thing but you can watch just about any game for free at www.myp2p.eu
Go to the football section on the left.
Its streaming and not always very good quality but after downloading a viewer you can watch for free. It has all the Setanta games.
Im not sure this is legal so for the record, I have never used this site. ahem. cough cough.
I think you are correct, it will either be a draw or a goal fest. However, if the goals start coming I see Arsenal the team cheering at the end. At least I hope... it might wipe the smurk off of SAF's face.
Hi Bobby. I was curious as to what you think about the current Eduardo situation at Arsenal. The guy is incredibly gifted yet lately, he is not getting any playing time whatsoever. It seems to me like he has been relegated to fifth choice striker. To be honest I was always nervous about Eduardo moving to Arsenal and this is not due to lack of skill. On the contrary, I think Eduardo is the most gifted forward on the Arsenal squad. However, I could not never stop thinking about what happened to Croatian megastar #### when he moved to Arsenal. Whenever #### started, he would score goals, and then one day Wenger decided to start Henry and ####'s career was over. Do you think something similar is happening to Eduardo? Now that Walcott and Bendtner are doing well, is this pretty much it for Eduardo? What happened to "It is Eduardo's time to shine"? Could he really be struggling that much with getting accustomed to his life in England, that he does not even merrit a spot on the bench? I personally highly doubt that. What are you thoughts?
Thanks.
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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