Germaine Greer says that Football counts as culture just as much as opera does.
And what's more we have more divas.
CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying second leg results.
A former director of Norwegian club Lyn has been found guilty of fraud in dealings with John Obi Mikel.
Michael Henderson provides a dissenting opinion on the “old pros” excuses for dissent.
Alan Pardew admits that his transfer moves have backfired.
For this weekend preview it was a toss-up between the Old Firm derby and the Merseyside derby and the coin landed on an edge.
Rangers vs. Celtic
This will be the 286th Old Firm league derby. Rangers have 111 wins, Celtic 92 wins and there have been 82 draws.
This season Rangers currently lead Celtic by three points with a game less played and five games remaining until the league splits. Even so, these two have to play each other another three times before the season wraps up and it has been five months since they last faced off – an eternity in Glasgow.
Rangers supporters have been chomping at the bit wanting an opportunity to extend a run that has seen their team win 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 since the return of Walter Smith in January 2007. For Celtic fans it is the polar opposite.
When you add a draw in December 2006 it adds up to the worst run for Celtic in SPL Old Firm games since 1995-97 when they went ten games without a win – losing six and drawing four.
The draw in December 2006 brought an end to a Celtic streak that had brought three wins and a draw with Rangers being held scoreless in all four games.
During that run Alex McLeish stepped aside as Rangers manager, and his replacement fared no better. Not long after McLeish’s demise, Paul Le Guen became the shortest serving manager in Rangers history and the only one to not complete a full season.
And so having been the instrument that led to two managerial terminations at Ibrox, Cetic’s Gordon Strachan now finds himself a potential victim of the same syndrome – being second in a league of two teams.
Strange when you consider that Strachan is still within striking distance of becoming the first Celtic boss since Jock Stein to win three consecutive league titles but a fact nonetheless.
Four pieces of silverware in his first two seasons in charge means nothing in a city where “what have you done lately” means when did you last beat the other lot and if you did, you had better beat them again….and again.
What is more with defeats in the Champions League and the Scottish Cup there is nothing for Celtic to fall back on except the SPL.
The phenomena of Old Firm managers going head-to-head with only one left standing is not new. Jock Stein brought an end to Scot Symon’s thirteen year stint at Ibrox in 1967. Symon’s years in charge had brought Rangers fifteen trophies and they had twice made it to the final of European Cup Winners Cup Final.
Even the great Jock Stein was pushed aside in 1978 after Jock Wallace’s Rangers gained the upper hand although Wallace unexpectedly bolted for Leicester around the same time. Graeme Souness saw off former Lisbon Lions Billy McNeill and Davie Hay between 1986 and 1991 while his successor Walter Smith was the principal reason for the demise of Liam Brady, Lou Macari and Tommy Burns.
Smith came a cropper as Wim Jansen spent his one season at Parkhead breaking Rangers run of nine consecutive league titles. #### Advocaat enjoyed initial success at the expense of Josef Venglos, John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish until Martin O’Neill came along to push the Dutchman over the edge in 2001.
Liverpool vs. Everton
After last weekend’s controversy at Old Trafford perhaps the most important starter will be referee Howard Webb. (In his 30 games in charge this season Webb has sent off only one player and issued 100 yellow cards).
With seven games left Liverpool leads Everton by two points and are hoping to complete a league double over Everton. The comparable match last season finished scoreless as have two others in the last five seasons and Everton have not won at Anfield in their last seven visits.
You have to go back to the last century to find the Toffees last win. It came in 1999 when an early goal from Kevin Campbell decided the game.
Tim Cahill (3), Andy Johnson (2) and Lee Carsley from the present Everton squad have scored against Liverpool but Cahill will miss the game – and possibly the rest of the season after reinjuring a foot.
Everton’s leading scorer is Yakubu Aiyegbeni and he is only one goal short of becoming the first Everton player since Peter Beardsley in 91/92 to score 20 goals. However, Yakubu has failed to find the mark against Liverpool in any of his appearances against them.
On the other side Steven Gerrard, Harry Kewell and Dirk Kuyt have all scored two in the derby games while Peter Crouch has a single. After scoring twice from the penalty spot back in October Dirk Kuyt is trying to become the first Liverpool player since Emile Heskey in 2000-01 to score in both meetings in a season.
A draw or win for Everton would mean the battle for fourth would continue unabated. A victory for Liverpool would open a sizeable five point gap with only six games remaining.
Both sides have to play Arsenal and Birmingham away from home.
Liverpool must also visit Craven Cottage to play Fulham, and finish the season away to Spurs. There are also home games against Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City.
Everton have four home matches against Derby County, Chelsea, Aston Villa and on the final day of the 2008 season Newcastle United.
Some statistics and tidbits gleamed from the Liverpool FC website, Evertonresults.com and various other places. You can find more by clicking on the links.
This will be the 178th Merseyside league derby - Liverpool 66 wins, Everton 56 wins, 55 draws.
League results at Anfield have brought Liverpool 37 wins, Everton 23 wins, and 28 draws.
The last 'derby' hat-trick for Liverpool saw Ian Rush score four in a 5-0 win at Goodison in November 1982, while for the Blues Dixie Dean hit three at Anfield in September 1931 in a 3-1 win.
Should Fernando Torres score he will equal the club record of scoring in six successive top-flight home games. It has been achieved by Fred Pagnam (1919), Roger Hunt (1964), Ian Rush (1983) and Michael Owen (1999).
14 red cards have been issued in the last 17 derbies with seven being brandished in the last six games. (21 have been sent off in the history of the fixture).
Yakubu now has 13 League goals for Everton this season, better than anybody since Andrei Kanchelskis got 16 in 1995/96 and he has 19 in all competitions, last achieved by Tony Cottee in 1993/94.
Yakubu has been substituted in 15 of his 20 starts in the Premier League this season
Eighteen of Torres’ goals have come at Anfield – only two away at Derby and Boro.
Thank you for setting out the statistics you have on comparative penalties scored and conceded by those teams constantly in the PL for the 15+ seasons.
Interesting observation: for the seven teams you list, the average number of penalties conceded is 44 (from a range of 62 : 24). And the team that has only conceded 24 in 15+ years, less than every other team by a healthy margin, is ... Manchester United.
So, the question: why has Manchester United conceded on average about 1.5 less penalties per season over 15+ years?
Have United players been that less penalty-prone on average over those years? If so, fine. If not, then do referees on average simply give the benefit o####reater doubt to United players- and if so, why?
Note that Chad876 asked about penalties awarded to United- I'm referring to those awarded against them.
I don't have answers, just pointing out facts and raising questions.
I agree with the other posters who pointed out- as I did previously- that the Masch second yellow/ red card did not occur in isolation.
It resulted from Torres being repeatedly mugged with impunity by United defenders, and getting carded for complaining about it to a referee who couldn't have cared less about protecting any idea of fair play- whose only interest that day was in protecting the image of referees.
Masch should have remembered that, and he is at fault for conveniently giving Bennett and the FA the excuse to make an example of him for the public, the PL, and most of all the referees. He should instead have used the Rooney method, and stayed a few feet away from Bennett while swearing constantly at him. Just as effective, and safer ...
Bobby, regarding Toronto drafting local lads next year for marketing purposes in an already sold-out stadium.
The stadium could well be bigger in the very near future and the team needs stronger Canadian content.
Since Paul Stalteri or Julian De Guzman are staying in Europe for the foreseeable future, it makes sense to try to get young, upcoming players before they're tempted away.
"Yakubu now has 13 League goals for us this season...."
Bobby's been found out! He's a Bitter! (c:
The Mascherano incident (it's still being discussed? I mean, we know he's gonna get 2 more, and 3 if he fights it) was the referee's fault for uneven application. End of. There should have been one card - Arbeloa's - or like 11 (one to Carra, and like 5 to ManUre).
I don't mind a ref grabbing the attention of the players early, but that wasn't a foul on Scholes, and then he hid his card & whistle until another Red complained. Weak, weak, weak.
Masch was clearly tilted by the 1st yellow and it was obvious to all Masch was gonna get his 2nd unless someone intervened. That, IMO, is Gerrard's job. If english is a problem, ask Xabi to do it. In a game of that magnitude, Rafa wasn't going to use a sub like that IMO, rightly or wrongly, especially down 1-0.
IOW, just another match with ManUre like all the others: no breaks, injustice from the ref, less than 11 players going 100%, at least 1 howler by the goalie, and no inspiration in the lineup/subs.
Ursusarctos - As a percentage of penalty scored-conceded to goals scored conceded.
Liverpool 7.14/7.97; Arsenal 6.46/5.74; Chelsea 6.2/5.64; Manchester United 4.8/4.52; Everton 7.59/6.86; Spurs 5.88/7.41; Aston Villa 5.64/7.43. When you consider the ranges I don't think these are extraordinary. The only other comparison I can think of would be penalties as a percentage of the time that the ball is in the penalty box - not on. Even if you used Liverpool rate of 7.97 it only makes a difference of less than three goals against per season or less than one goal every ten games. Clearly thee is enough proof here that a conspiracy was focused on three crucial games each season and each time United were handed draws instead of losses - right!
When perusing Liverpools website I came across a headline that will shock all of you, "Kewell suffers fresh injury blow". I really like(d) Kewell, it's a shame that he's made of papier-mache.
My big fear this weekend is Torres being kicked around the park now that the precedent has been sent that it's acceptable (or is it only acceptable if United do it?).
"Liverpool owner George Gillett Jr, has revealed that his partnership with co-owner Tom Hicks has become 'unworkable'. The American claims that their alliance has been under strain 'for some time' and suggests that Hicks' refusal to sell his stake in the club to #### last month led to the Gillett family receiving death threats."
from over at soccernet.
as for TFC and the MLS and MLSE I personally don't care but a friend in Toronto of mine who is also a season ticket holder is of the opposite opinion. He wants them competing as soon as possible. He enjoys the concept that TFC will most likely win a title sooner then all the other Toronto teams put together..... Assuming they actually attempt to create a team that is.
verbal: After reading your discovery of what Kewell is made of, my first thought was, he'd be PERFECT for Ar5ena1.
Jay: If soccernet was scalping their article from same interview broadcast on Toronto's FAN radio station Thursday, you also got the sense that the Gillett family were digging in for the long haul.
Rather than getting death threats about selling to ####, they were being threatened more about the possibility of selling the crucial one per cent needed by Hicks to assume majority ownership. Liverpool fans aren't all sweetness and light toward Gillett, but it would seem they would prefer if Gillett and #### worked together to oust Hicks.
He also said that Liverpool fan groups had invited him and/or his son to join them for a pub crawl to meet fans and get to know more about the club. Unlike Hicks' son's disastrous pub visit a while back, this one sounded like it would be a more mutually enjoyable time. And he sounds like he'll be giving it a go.
Jay: As for Toronto FC, we waited a long time to see pro soccer return here. I've got lots of patience and would prefer to see them build for the long-term with a core of Canadian players.
There's a handful on the team now, only one of which - Jim Brennan - is a starter. If goalie Greg Sutton recovers properly from a bad concussion last year, there's two. Otherwise, their Canucks are at best bench depth or reserve players. They need to do better than that.
This city has a huge, and growing, talent base to work with at the youth levels. A lot of talent has left here and succeeded elsewhere - Paul Stalteri in England and Germany, Dwayne DeRosario in Houston, the De Guzman brothers in Holland and Spain, Atiba Hutchinson at FC Copenhagen and many more.
With no TFC to pull them back in past years, they've done what they had to do to advance their careers. But this team, this league, should be able to give them everything they need to become successful.
When the NASL was here, the Blizzard routinely featured top Canadians. I know MLS is hungry to become perceived as a bigger league, but keeping domestic development a priority is something they shouldn't get away from.
I cant believe this Mascerano incident is still being discussed. Can this thing be picked apart and scrutinized anymore than it already has? We as casual viewers can never come up with a totally correct analysis because none of us were there that day on the pitch to hear exacxtly what was said. Mascerano is just an oustanding player that made an outstanding mistake lets leave it at that.
Its often said that Rafa Benitez and other managers approach a eurpoean game differently than a prem game. If possible could u explain what it is they do differently wether it be the mental approach that is different or is it formation etc.
Also do u think he will take a european or domestic approach to the arsenal tie?
Kewell would be in his element at WHL as another mediocre, oft-injured whinger who underwelming performances don't match his hype or transfer fee. If Harry's time at Liverpool has taught us nothing else, it's clearly demonstrated he'd be far more comfortable at a big spending club in the bottom half of the table. Rather than test himself with Champions League football, he'd simply have to endure an occasional, wistful homily about the Nicholson years in exchange for a big, fat paycheque and the occasional moan about Arsenal. A perfect fit for a perfect t.i.t.
Last edited by albertagooner on March 28th at 8:51 AM.
aldoray, if you want something to go away, don't bring it back up.
flashman, I like Gillet, I know someone from Montreal that has a lot of respect for how he's handled the Canadiens as owner. The problem is Hicks has a lot more money than Gillet and is also very stubborn, two things that in combination that make the more desirable Gillet/#### a pipedream. I never liked Hicks as a baseball manager because I thought he made idiotic decisions, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he said he wouldn't be that involved with the day-to-day at Liverpool. But unfortunately he just can't keep his trap shut. The ironic thing about this is that Gillet was forced to recruit Hicks and his money to purchase the club and now Hicks is the one pushing Gillet out with his "Texan" behavior problem.
I brought it up because I came onto the blog this morning and saw posts about it if u read above u will see that clearly. I dont just post things for the sake of posting
alberta, if there was a way to wager on it I would bet that Kewell would end up at a West Ham-like club (like you described) and have an absolutely fantastic season where he didn't get injured.
Although I wouldn't be surprised if he went the Kieron Dyer way either. It's a shame because both players had the potential to be world class IMO. They're both my age too, which means that susceptibility to injury increases. Just yesterday I noticed a tendon popping out of my elbow that will prevent me from playing softball this spring :( Good thing I don't need my arm to play soccer :|
Oh, I'm definitely going. It's funny you bring this up because I actually looked at ticketmaster and Giants' stadium websites today to see if tickets are on sale yet.
Sir alex ferguson came out today and said intl friendlies are futile and useless. Finally he and wenger can agree on something, but I disagree with them both. Friendlies have a purpose or else they would not be played. For a team like scotland(fergusons's homeland) who just got a new manager it would catastrophic if the only time Burley can see his players play together is when World cup qualifiers start. When will he get a chance to find his best 11? When will he find out what formation is best or what if he has an idea of what 11 players he wants and then 2 days b4 a big game one of them get injured? he would then probably have to play players who have never been capped. In essence what I am saying is Intl managers need these friendlies to see what they have to work with and to try to get the team working as a cohesive unit before competitive games. nobody needs friendlies more right now than england the same country that ferguson and wenger ply their trade in
Is it a coincidence that niether of these 2 managers have managed internationally? I think not I dont see any Internatinal managers saying friendlies r useless shouldn't their opinions be the one that counts? Now if they say the frequency of friendlies should be decresed then that is more understandable although still unfounded
i am totally baffled when people who r supposed to be very knowlegable about football(managers,media pundits and anylists etc.) make nonsensical statements like that.
Sorry for the long diatribe I just had to get it out
A good piece we should have a debate about, which also echoes Bobby's mentioning of the topic of capping the number of fouls in a game. Makelele fouls
Can Makaleles do their job without committing "cynical fouls"? How would you define a cynical foul anyway?
I'm still far from convinced that his record in Montreal with the Canadiens is one to give great comfort to LFC supporters.
True, after a rocky start he has shown himself to be diplomatically aware in dealing with fanatical, largely French-speaking Habs fans- a good omen for the future dealing with fanatical, distinct-feeling scousers.
But the on-ice record of the Habs since his purchase of the team has been ... mediocre (to be charitable), and terrible by the historical standards of the club (does this sound familiar ...?)-- annual playoff thrashings of the Boston Bruins don't count.
There are important differences between the NHL and the PL-- a salary cap, for one thing, that limits the ability of ownership to pull an Abramovich-- but it seems to me that these differences play in favour of Gillett being more successful as an NHL owner than as a PL one, since he is not rich in comparative PL ownership terms.
"As a percentage of penalty scored-conceded to goals scored conceded."
It must be Friday- I'm even less sharp than normal. I'm sorry, but I cannot figure out precisely what your figures represent?
"The only other comparison I can think of would be penalties as a percentage of the time that the ball is in the penalty box"
That might be a revealing statistic, were it available.
Another approach would be a classic regression analysis: identify potentially relevant variables-- starting with measures of (proxies for) managerial "outspokenness" and team "reputation", in order to test the "conspiracy" hypothesis-- and including such football matters as relative team ball possession, goals against and scored, time in each penalty area, etc.
Using penalties awarded and conceded as the dependant variable (or use each separately), and the 15 completed PL seasons as the database, regression would estimate which of the identified variables made a significant contribution to the penalty measures, and which could be dismissed as likely having no importance. The relative importance of the variables would also be set out.
Run this for each of the seven teams in the 15 year PL database, then compare results between teams. This would go a long way to resolving the "conspiracy" debate one way or the other for all but the most obdurate on each side (I'm sure someone has already done something like this, but I've never heard of it. Anyone?).
Bobby, just read the last thread. That is why you are the #1 soccer analyst in North America and why we love you. Perfect response, extremely funny, it made my day, thank you. BTW-I prefer detail oriented. And remember, "Noah built the ark before the flood".
Not to pull an LGB, but in the NHL you can't blame the owner for on-ice performance. The GM hires the coach (sometimes) and picks the players to sign, he/she should bear the brunt of blame for on-ice issues. Gillet went into a less than conducive atmosphere and was able to turn the fans around by building (from what I'm told) an excellent arena and other things as well. In any case, we can agree that Hicks is a complete tool.
I am still trying to find out where on the internet i can go to watch the 2005 champions lge final. anybody have any suggestions preferably a free site
"I'm scared that in the modern game there is no room any more for friendly internationals, just because people will not be interested in that any more. There is nothing at stake. People want to see competitive games."
"You could see a guy like David Beckham was ready to die to get his 100th cap. It matters to players like him but it's a friendly, it's low-key. The guy plays [on Wednesday night] and next week he has a Champions League game and he doesn't want to miss that. So, subconsciously, you miss a fraction and that makes a game less interesting."
Just having a little fun with Mad Mel on my Kewell post. It is a shame because anybody who saw him (Kewell not Lastman) play at Leeds knows that he's lost something at Anfield and his injuries only explain part of it. Whether it's hunger for the game or his mental edge, I don't know. But he isn't remotely the same player.
ursusarctos,
I think it's tough to judge Gillett based on the history of les Canadiens. On the ice, the NHL is a much, much different beast than the pre-1967 original six or even the 1970s, during the Canadiens last great dynasty built by Sam Pollock. More teams are competing for talent and the Habs no longer have the hammerlock they enjoyed on talent in the province of Quebec that they enjoyed prior to the draft being instituted in 1971. Can you imagine how many more Cups they would have won if they retained exclusive territorial rights to all French-Canadian players?
By the standards of most NHL owners, I see Gillett as smart enough to hire a very good hockey man, Bob Gainey, away from Dallas and let him run the team without interference. He's displayed patience, a willingness to invest and made all the right noises about respecting the traditions. The Canadiens now lead the Eastern Conference and look set for a great run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Compared to Hicks or even the Glazers, Gillett looks to be a far, far better steward in the boardroom to this neutral.
Most of your points about Gillet are well taken, but several clarifications:
He did not have anything to do with building the Bell Centre. The Habs moved there from the old Forum several years before Gillett bought the team.
Gillett did initially go through a difficult situation, with a great deal of press and public skepticism about his intentions as an outsider buying an icon, to general acceptance today, in large part due to his diplomatic abilities (knowing what to say, and when to say nothing).
(It will be interesting to see the mistrust resurface in 10 years if Gillett is still owner, as the 20 year franchise relocation ban imposed as a purchase condition by the NHL winds down ...)
Your points about hiring good management and letting them work without interference are correct-- but that goes to my point about Gillett perhaps being better suited to the NHL context than the PL one, where boards have a more direct role in club management ... particularly since he lives far away and manifestly does not have the resources to provide the bridge financing LFC need until the new stadium project is well underway and starting to generate revenue (first through sponsorship deals, then through match-day revenue).
Added: I agree that Hicks comes across as a wanker ...
Last edited by Ursusarctos on March 28th at 9:22 PM.
Oh, and what a win for the Lhight Bhlues. Safe to say they've taken the fizz out of the remaining two Old Firm fixtures.
Bobby, now that Cesc Fabregas has hired Darren Dein, son of exiled Ar5ena1 chairman David Dein, as his agent, there's word that Fabregas will be moving back to Barcelona. Darren Dein, after all, pulled the strings to get T. Henry to Barca.
Is there really that much bad blood between David Dein and Ar5ena1 that he would work to undermine the club he once led?
It seems u "gooners" have become very familiar with Matty Taylor in the space of 45 minutes. And u also seem to have some serious discipline problems(2 yellows and a red in 45 minutes)
Cesc told the media that he believes Arsenal can beat ManU at old trafford 2 get back in the title race. how on earth can u beat ManU at Old Trafford when u cant beat Bolton at the Reebok?
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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