The USSF makes an interesting selection to lead the under-17 program.
And before we move on I think the comments from the UK’s minister of sport Gerry Sutcliffe are worth addressing. Sutcliffe picked on John Terry’s reported salary, as well as losses run up by Chelsea. He might have done his case more good if he had got his numbers right but even so picking on an individual is out of line and so are his general comments.
Sutcliffe’s comment included "people in the street cannot understand salaries like that.” That might be the case but the same people in the street aren’t likely to understand the kind of money made by entertainers and movie stars or any other highly paid individual.
It’s called the free market and John Terry and other players are entitled to be compared to other stars because that is what they are. They provide millions of people with enjoyment (and stuff to write and comment on!!) every week and any nostalgic longing for the good old days before money ruined the game is beyond nostalgia and is in fact delusional.
Over a century ago the first player was paid to play the game and from that point on it was about money. Before the abolition of the maximum wage in England the money flowed from the spectators to the owners with a relatively small portion finding a way to the players.
At least now players are paid commensurate with the revenue they generate – they are the product, they are who we pay to see. And let us not forget that “we,” as the fans, are complicit in the whole scheme. If we didn’t pay to see a game – either live on the box - or buy merchandise, there would be no money to pay the salaries.
The weekend game previews will be considerable shorter as I will be spending much of Thursday and Friday on airplanes. But here is something to chew over with over a quarter of the Premiership season already in the books.
One of things that I look at regularly is how a team is doing compared to previous years and, more often than not, the season before. The simple approach is to look at the number of games played; the points gained and compare the number to the same point in the season before.
Using that criteria and applying it to the top five finishers from last season the gainers so far are Arsenal (+8) and Liverpool (+6) while Manchester United (-2), Chelsea (-4) and Tottenham Hotspur (-8) have all lost ground. If you are attempting to project these numbers to a league finish in May you have to consider the final league points from 2006/07.
Manchester United 89
Chelsea 83
Liverpool 68
Arsenal 68
Spurs 60
In order to catch Manchester United this season Chelsea would have to gain or United would have to lose 6 points this season. For Liverpool and Arsenal the magic number was 21 points and for Tottenham 29 points.
If you assume from here on the teams would generate the same record this season as they did last season then the league table for the five teams would look like this.
Manchester United 87
Chelsea 79
Arsenal 76
Liverpool 74
Spurs 52
Chelsea’s magic number has grown from 6 points to 8, while Arsenal’s gap is now 14 where it was 21 points at the start of the season. Liverpool’s gap has also closed considerably dropping from 21 to 13 points. In the case of Spurs the gap is now an unachievable 35 points up from 29 points.
However, there is perhaps a more interesting way to compare season to season records. And that is to contrast the records last season to this one against the same opposition.
Because of relegation and promotion you have to make an assumption about the teams that dropped a division and those that came up. For the purposes of this example Sunderland = Sheffield United, Birmingham City = Charlton Athletic and Derby County = Watford.
When you consider this scenario only Spurs are actually doing worse than last season having dropped 2 points over last season. Manchester United and Chelsea are exactly even, Liverpool have picked up 2 points and Arsenal leads the pack having gained 6 points on last season.
Projected to seasons end and assuming no change to last season’s head2head records for the remaining games the positions come out looking like this.
Manchester United 89
Chelsea 83
Arsenal 74
Liverpool 71
Spurs 58
What this ishows is that despite Liverpool and Arsenal making early gains it is still a long road to catch United and Chelsea – even though it doesn’t appear that way when looking at the present table.
Of course you have to consider that given United and Chelsea’s records last season there is more down side than up. However, one area available to Manchester United are the two games against Arsenal – they lost both last season. And of course on Saturday they meet for the first time this season.
Others games that stand out this weekend include Blackburn at home to Liverpool. Don’t expect many goals in this one – we’ve only seen five in Liverpool’s last five visits to Ewood Park. In MLS to second leg of the first round of play offs continue with all three games evenly balanced. We can expect more goals than in the first leg - as we saw on Thursday evening between the Fire and DC United.
Italy has the Italian derby with Juventus against Inter. In Spain Sevilla “welcomes” Liga champions Real Madrid while Atletico Madrid versus Villarreal looks to be an intriguing match.
I've said this to all fans Arsenal or not the league is not won until May when you recieve it. I've learnt from experience in 03-04 season Arsenal looked like they were going to defend there title but all of a sudden they crambled in around March and lost it. All I can say about the current table is a good start is better than anything. Remember Fergie last season before the season started he talked about much important a good start is coz you don't want to be playing catch up come Dec/Jan when the season really starts, especially with a young squad. And look at how well they did. And it builds the confidence of the whole squad which is key.
Not a good day for MP's ,and did you hear the one about the Scottish MP's who somehow managed to make a pigs ear of the Scottish League Cup semi-final draw?
Graham Poll on today's WSD ,for once it might actually be worth listening to.
And this is the weekend when Arsenal come crashing back down to earth ,landing somewhere near Sven and Man City.
Arsenal are the only team, along with Liverpool, still unbeaten in the EPL. Gunners will have the home advantange so I don't see what can prevent them from winning. Last year, they beated United twice. 1-0 at Old Trafford and 2-1 at the Emirates This year, it's different. But still, they can win. GO GUNNERS!
I think you mean the 2002/03 season. 2003/04 should be special for gooners for another reason.;)
Over the past twenty years, Arsenal supporters have suffered plenty of disappointments -- the 2001 FA Cup final, the 2006 Champions League final, losing out to Manchester United's treble-winning side in the closest of finishes in 1998/99 -- but the 2002/03 collapse really bothers me because Arsenal was the better team. I'm convinced Ole Gunnar Skolesjar embellished the contact with Sol Campbell's elbow that earned a four-game suspension, where our Cygan-led back line went to pieces. Arrgh. It didn't help that Paddy Vieira was injured at the same time and we couldn't defend a corner or set piece for the life of us. It does explain why gooners shouldn't get too excited yet and why you need strength in depth. Calling to sell off a player such as Gilberto Silva are particularly silly. He understands Arsenal's system and can play in a couple of different positions.
Goog points on salary. While salaries that high may seem unrealistic compared to what others make who seem to have a real impact in life, ie doctors. However, I don't have a problem with player salaries for one main reason - they can only accept the salaries that are offered to them. If the money were not there, then management would not be able to offer it...and management controls the purse strings. (If an owner with an ego wants to overspend to win, that's his problem. What's really funny is that he's not even on the pitch, so how satisfying can winning be?) This contrasts with much of corporate america where a CEO will pack a board with his people and then gets an aggregious salary/bonus.
So the average guy can't understand those salaries? Well, the average guy can hit a stop sign from 40 yds like Beckham, or dribble through 7 defenders like Messi.
If a club has exceedingly high salaries and the team is not performing, then that's a coaching/management issue. Also, I don't believe that teams need to be run by white nights who are willing to lose money in order to win. Hey, only one EPL club is going to win, no matter what the salaries are. Clubs should be run responsibly and for a profit...it's a business, right? I don't like high ticket prices, but if the fans are willing to pay it, then that's their problem.
Bobby, don't US sports have salary caps for players? I don't follow American sports but I've always heard that -- ironically for the country that promotes the free market more than any other -- big league sports in the US are actually "socialistic" in structure.
Why do so many people (including some fellow gooners) feel the need to lecture and put us gooners in our place when we express higher hopes for the team than we did at the start of the season? And who are all these gooners confidently predicting we'll win the league and every other trophy and blow everyone else away? I haven't seen any. I'm sick and tired of these fingers wagging "now now don't get bigger than your britches young man!" So we dare to think maybe just maybe we can win a trophy this season--any trophy--and that we can win v. ManU tomorrow. I visit the Arsenal blogs regularly and no one's claiming anything more than that the rest of the season is going to be very tough, that there's no way we can be confident about winning the league, and that we're going to face major obstacles -- AND that we have yet to see how this team will respond to their first defeat.
Sheesh! We've been dismissed since 2004, we've been the subject of doom and gloom predictions, gooners have gone into meltdown over the last 2-3 seasons about whether or not to support Wenger anymore, please allow us to be surprised, happy and hopeful that maybe we can achieve something this season.
The NFL and NHL have a salary cap system in place that does not limit what a player can make individually but it sets limits on how much the total salary for all the players on each team can be. So a team could pay one player a ridiculous amount of money if they chose to, it would just leave less money in the pot for the rest of the players on the team.
MLS also has a cap system in place but beginning this year they allowed each team to have a "designated player" that did not count against the team salary cap. Dallas, Chicago, LA, and NYRB are the only teams in the league who filled this slot with NYRB getting ahold of Chivas USA's DP slot in trade so they now have 2 (Angel and Reyna).
MLB has no cap at all and the NBA has a "soft cap". You can read about the NBA cap here. Sports Illustrated published this list earlier this year of the top 50 earning athletes in the US. I think that shows the pay difference between the capped leagues vs. the non-capped leagues better than anything else.
Last edited by Maoze_Reading on November 2nd at 9:51 AM.
Do think it is fair that players can choose what international team they play for? For instance the Rossi kid who plays for Villareal. He was born and raised in the US and has decided to play for Italy. Is that fair? Considering America is an entire country of immigrants, what if every player decided to play from their country of heritage. Sort of defeats the purpose of the International team.
It certainly wasn't lecturing anybody except people who've suggested Arsene ship out Gilberto Silva. I put down $100 on Arsenal to win the Premiership this season largely because I got great odds (14/1) and the club usually performs its best when it is written off.
As a supporter who vividly remembers the pre-Wenger era, I'm optimistic every year, this more so than any year since the Invicibles.
A couple of things to add to your list about the MLS and the designated Player - LA has Landon that is making more than the limit as well as KC has Eddie Johnson. As far as I have read this year those two are exempt from the DP slot, but in 2008 they have to be include in that DP slot. Which leaves LA in a pickle - they have David Beckham and Landon, with one position. What will they do?
So to you list in 2008 we need to add KC - unless they can fool someone into taking Eddie off their hands.
Also, I think Chivas were screwed in their trade to NY for Armando (I think that was the guy) - who turned out to be a dud and leaves Chivas without that spot.
One last note - I think MLB has a sort of player cap, but there's is based on team salary and if they go over they have to pay a luxury tax for every dollar over that threshold - something like 28%
Thx for the info, Maoze, interesting reading. I always hear or read English fans compare the US structure with the European one on this issue and saying that the US structure is more economically sane.
alberta, I wasn't referring to your comment re Gilberto (tho, again, I haven't heard any gooners saying Wenger should sell him, just that it's probable that he WILL be sold in January--which by the way is NOT something I think will or should happen). The team definitely need Gilberto over a long season.
I was referring to pundits and fans (incl. some gooners and I wasn't even thinking of you) feeling the need to put the rest of us gooners in our place, like we're children who are dreaming fairy tales and need to be woken up into the real world. Arsenal could very lose tomorrow, it's very possible, tho I think a draw is more likely.
We're in early November, so much is going to happen before May that we can't make any assumptions about anything. I'm just tired of all these people acting like old mothers scolding us about the obvious.
You are correct Atleti, Senderos played a lot b/c Willie has been injured for much of past 2 seasons, hence my comment that I would rather have Gilberto. However Wenger seems to think he will come around.
I agree lets keep the faith, Wenger has worked wonders and besides my calling for him to sell Cesc, which I am quite ashamed of, I never doubt the professor. even if we lose against Utd, big deal. I still don't believe Vidic and RIo will go the whole year healthy and that will be the key.
A game that can go anyway is how I look at it. Arsenal will attack that everyone nows but it will be interesting to see how ManUre will play. Ferguson will definetly tell Owen H. to deal with Cesc but having seen Alonso and Macharano both try and not completely succeeded I don't see Anderson/Carrick and Owen succeeding. I think Ferguson will worry more about Helb/Rosisky and the threat they pose with the runs and quick passing. Shuting this 2 will somehow slow down Cesc and the whole Arsenal system. A 2nd striker very likely Eduardo will play. Wenger will not play 5mid at home. So I expect to see Eduardo over Walcott who is more dangerous as a sub coz of his speed against tired defenders.
Sanga and Clichy will have the toughest job in my opinion coz Ronaldo and Giggs/Nani are players you need to keep quiet especially Ronaldo(who by the way in the last 2 season has played well against Arsenal). Stopping ManUre on the wings is key, coz thats where there counters usually start.
Rooney is the biggest danger. The boy loves to score against Arsenal and at the moment him and Tevez look very scarey. But Kolo and Gallas won't be an easy task for them. Gallas will have to bring out his best though coz we know Kolo is going to play.
Alumini will definetly have a chance to proove his position. He did well against Liverfools but this game I'm pretty sure he will have an even busier day.
And let Flamini start. He deserves it with the way he's been playing. And with Scholes out I think he can handle Carrick or Anderson.
Last edited by Gunner44 on November 2nd at 12:42 PM.
Hold on a second 2 weeks ago I was nearly run off the blog for suggesting that Man Utd get an unfair amount of calls in their favor especially at critical moments.
Players being able to pick the country they represent may not be fair, in some cases but it is a two way street.
Kenoute chose to play for Mali versus France. He was born and raised in France.
Basturk and Ilhan Mansiz chose to play for Turkey even though they were born and raised in Germany. Which now has led to at least 2-3 others in the same position for the Turkish NT (i.e. Nuri Sahin and the Altintop brothers).
Klose and Pedolski play for Germany even though they are Polish.
Depending on the situation it all comes down to where the player wants to play utilizng workers' rights. Because any player could move to a country become a citizen and then represent their national team. Hence Deco for Portugal, Camoranesi for Italy, Eduardo for Croatia, Adu for the States, Aurelio for Turkey and on and on...
Maybe England should start thinking ahead and import some players that will be eligible to play for the 2018 WC...
I fear you have sucumbed to the North American addiction to stats. It is in my opinion beneath you to offer such ludicrous comparisons.
But if you are going to do it, I would suggest entering addional variables, such as changes to player rosters, coaching staff, ownership and of course the previous form of new players, previous record of coaches and their assistants.
At the moment your statistical analyses is suggestive of a politician not a football fan, commentator and authority.
No worries, I understand. I've been trying to restrain myself since MasMaz called me crotchety (or was it cantankerous) so I'm glad I'm not the culprit.
I dismiss about 95 per cent of what most pundits say, it's usually recycled rubbish. That's why I enjoy Bobby.
As for gooners lecturing gooners, it stems from the fact the club has attracted a lot of new supporters from around the world, largely due to the quality of their football. Older cranks sometimes feel the need to drone on about how much they suffered in the past in order to steep them in the club's history to discourage any "plastic" supporters that have become all too common with United. That's why I enjoy listening and chatting with LGB and Verbal, I believe they began supporting Liverpool long after the Reds' last domestic success.
I've only seen a couple of Arsenal supporters calling for Gilberto to be sold -- I forget the blog, but it probably wasn't this one -- and it troubled me because we'll need some steady heads over the season that only comes with an experienced international. Wenger would be crazy to let him go to Turin.
As for the match, 3-1 to the Gunners. Tevez and Rooney cause trouble because they are quick but Arsenal have centre halves that are even pacier than United's strikers. Gallas and Toure should keep them in check. Saha could cause some problems because we struggle against strikers good in the air.
Scholes will be a huge miss for United. I like our odds in the centre of the park. Here's hoping the referee let's the considerable talent on display decide the
Last edited by albertagooner on November 2nd at 1:48 PM.
hey alberta, I love the perspective of the older fans -- I'm in my late 40s and only started watching Arsenal during Graham's last season. Around that time I immersed myself in Arsenal's history and have tried to learn as much about the club as possible. I think the veteran fans' perspective is vital and I'm always searching for posters on the Arsenal blogs who've been following the club since before Wenger arrived. I think you're one of the most level-headed, rational, informed people on this board -- keep it up.
Henry14 according to Sky sports or BBC Carric is fit to play.
Gangstar Neville will likely be on the bench.
I've been a gunner since around 97-98 season and like danielgregg I tried my best to learn more about the history of Arsenal. And it's great to have an old school fan in the blog 20yrs from now I'll be an old school like you alberta. coz I ain't changing teams anytime soon hope will still be at the top though.
And RINGO watch what you predict against Arsenal it might come to haunt you.
Hey guys, I'm not THAT old school, I've probably only followed the club since the late 1980s, slightly longer than danielgregg. I became an Arsenal fan by quirk of geography -- my brother lived near Highbury when he moved to London after the 1986 World Cup.
For any gooners that really want an interesting and highly entertaining perspective on pre-Wenger Arsenal, I highly recommend Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby. It is a personal account of the best-selling author's lifelong obsession with Arsenal and it chronicles the club's ups and downs from the 1960s through the early 1990s.
I have it in my collection of all time favorites book. I read chapters now and then just to help me feel normal coz sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who is so crazely in love with a sport or team that I take risk of loosing my job just to watch it or miss classes just to watch it. Any true sports fan should read that book Arsenal fan or not.
Ok that enough bloging and studing for today now let me go release my stress out on the field and feel like the soccer stars I'm going to be watching tomorrow. ARSENALIANS LETS HOPE FOR THE BEST TOMORROW. GO GUNNERS>
Fever Pitch is arguably the best sports book ever written anywhere. For me, the movie does not do the book justice but when does one. The American version by the Farrelly Bros. is just an abomination and they never should have optioned the title.
Ringo or should we call you JR, love the new pic.
Did you see JR on FFFI awhile back?
He was hilarious.
I LOVE Fever Pitch. Easily one of my favorite books to read over and over again. Another great football book, but harder to come by is 'Morbo' by Phil Ball. It's another book I usually read during the summer. I bought 'Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football' by Jonathon Wilson about a few months and it is pretty good. Unfortunately, I've been bogged down with my studies and I haven't had an opportunity to get beyond the first few chapters.
In terms of the big game this weekend in the PL, I predict a 2-1 win for Arsenal too.
I watched the EPL regulary between 98-99 through 2005-06. I mostly followed the London teams. Gullit was a favorite of mine, so I went to see him play/manage Chelsea once too. Regardless, over these years I find myself mostly drawn to Arsenal because of Wenger's tactics. Regardless of who has been in the team it has always been entertaining. I don't know much about the club's history before Wenger, but I have been learning a lot through blogs.
My primary club loyalties lie with Besiktas (Turkey) and Inter -I grew up watching these two since the mid-80s. During the Gordon Milne (an English manager) tenure in Turkey I went to every home game for 3-4 years. Les Ferdinand even was at the club.
But now... both clubs are poorly run. So I enjoy watching the Gooners as a sudo-fan. Maybe in a couple years I can see myself as a true Gooner.
Because of SAF I do not like United. He is a great manager that has made me suffer on multiple occasions. Arg!!!
I also do not like Argentina's Claudio Caniggia for sinking Italy's hopes and dreams at the '90 WC.
gongatore,
Are you sure there is an American verison of Fever Pitch? I haven't heard about it and I usually pay careful attention to football films. I know there was an English one made in the mid-90s. At any rate, I won't rush out to see it because the book is almost always better than the film!
The Arsenal-United match airs on Setanta up in Canada one hour later than normal as we haven't switched over to standard time yet. I'll be up at 6 a.m. to put on a pot of coffee!
atleti,
Where did you pick up Morbo? I've heard about it and it might make for a fascinating read. Does it go into the club's connection with the Franco regime?
CIAO
One of my best mates growing up -- we played on the same teams together between 8 and 14 - was an Interista who suffered plenty since most of the Edmonton Italian community seemed to be bianconeri or rossoneri. I remember him calling me after they won the Scudetto by "going German" as he put it many years ago (I think Klinsmann and Matthaus were on that team). But 2002 was definitely worse for him than 2003 was for me.
Yes, 'Morbo' includes the Franco years. I bought the book from Amazon.com. It wasn't directly available from Amazon, so I had to click 'See Buying Options'. It was shipped from an England-based book store.
hornby's fever pitch was optioned and the filmamkers changed the locale and sport and made into a rabid redsox fan story starring jimmy fallon and drew barrymore. i thought it was rubbish.
i don't have setanta down here in sf so unfortunately won't see match tomorrow.
good luck for arsenal, i think they can win it.
cheers
Last edited by gongatore on November 2nd at 9:33 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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