Although much of the attention will be on friendly internationals this Wednesday there are CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. However, do not expect Anguilla to move on at the expense of El Salvador…..given the first leg score.
After the weekend’s play and as an update to the British bookies odds posted on Friday here is how they now stand.
To win the Premiership – Manchester United 2/7, Chelsea 7/2, Arsenal 9/1, Liverpool 500/1.
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.
A few things to chew over after another weekend of interesting performances and results around Europe.
This week Arsene Wenger will complete ten years in charge at Arsenal. Considering Wenger arrived to headlines of “Arsene who” and scurrilous gossip you would have to say he has not done to badly. As far as Arsenal fans are concerned, I would have to reckon that only the great Herbert Chapman would be considered along side Wenger. Chapman died prematurely while in charge at Highbury and never lived to see the full fruits of his labour.
However, what about the great managers who have been in charge of English clubs over the last 40 years or so? How will history rate Arsene Wenger against the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Brian Clough, Bob Paisley, Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Don Revie, Ron Greenwood and Bill Nicholson?
Taking trophies into consideration is one way to look at it but the transformation that Wenger brought to Arsenal in terms of the quality of the football has also to be considered I would think. Has their been a more entertaining side than Arsenal in recent memory?
Ronaldo turned 30 (he is younger than Ruud van Nistelrooy) last Friday and he should have at least another two or three seasons of goal scoring left in him. Should he just retire or should Fabio Capello find a place for him in the Real Madrid starting line-up? Alternatively, come January should he be looking for a change of scenery and if so where should that be?
Hernan Crespo seems to be settling in at Inter Milan. With three goals in two games over 5 days, Crespo seems to be one of the few consistent things about Inter. They sit top of Serie A but they do seem to enjoy making things difficult. Three goals down to Roma in the Italian Super Cup they then scored four to win in extra time. In the first Serie A game of the season, they led Fiorentina 3-0 before holding on for a 3-2 win then this past weekend they went one-step better. This time Inter led struggling Chievo by four before allowing the Verona side to score three times in the last 13 minutes to set up a storming finish.
It is early days in Spain but La Liga does appear to have to makings o####reat title race this season. Real Madrid took advantage of Barcelona and Valencia drawing at the Nou Camp while Atletico Madrid brought Sevilla’s great start to a grinding halt. Two goals in the last five minutes turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win for Madrid’s other side. Of course Sevilla will point out that they played a quarter of the game after having both Escude (46th minute) and Navarro (66th minute) sent off.
Next weekend Atletico travel to the Bernabeu for the Madrid derby. Atletico and Fernando Torres have horrible records against Real since Atletico returned to the top flight in the 2002/03 season.
Up in Scotland Celtic drew first blood as they increased their lead to seven points over Rangers. It looks as if a quick turnaround in fortune under Paul LeGuen is not going to happen. Do Rangers have any other option other than being patient and staying the course with LeGuen?
Finally, is there any club that has undergone a crazier September than Gretna? Gretna started the month at the top of the Scottish First Division but were soudly spanked 4-0 by Dundee at home before losing 3-2 to Ross County in the Scottish League Challenge Cup.
A mid-month top of the table clash with Livingstone ended in a 1-1 draw while last Wednesday Hibernian thrashed Gretna 6-0 in the CIS Cup. Saturday brought about a turn in fortune when they beat Partick Thistle by the same score and Gretna returned to the top of the Scottish League.
The FA Cup is not just one of the most renowned sporting trophies in the world but also of the most copied in terms of format. Since the first tournament in 1871-72 the knock out format has become one of the most recognized systems for deciding sporting champions. However, the competition did not get off to the most au####ious of starts. In the book “The FA Cup The Complete Story” by Guy Lloyd and Nick Holt the first competition is described as a shambles. There were numerous walkovers with Scottish club Queen’s Park making it all the way to the semi final without kicking a ball. After drawing the semi final 0-0 Queen’s Park had to withdraw as they couldn’t cover the cost of the replay against Wanderers. Wanderers went on to beat Royal Engineers 1-0 in the final.
Other oddities from the first final include:
Players were distinguished by their cap or garters rather than by their jerseys.
Throw-ins were taken one-handed.
The only field markings were the touchlines.
Teams changed ends each time a goal was scored.
Despite the problematic start the FA Cup prospered until the arrival of the Premiership in the early 1990’s. Since then the glamour of the event has been dealt numerous blows, often from the Premiership clubs treating it as an inconvenience – unless of course they had nothing better to play for!
However, anyone who saw last seasons FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United can vouch for the fact that there is life in the old competition yet - and not only in the late stages of the competition. It is the magnitude of the competition and the “David vs. Goliath” contests that the random draw routinely throws-up that is the real magic.
You can read more about Jarrow – founded 1987 – at their website highlighted above.
Billingham Synthonia has a more extensive history having been formed in 1923 but I could not find a dedicated website. According to a wiki entry - “Synthonia have at least two unique records, the only Football Club in Great Britain named after an agricultural fertilizer and the only Northern League side to play an entire season without conceding a home goal. Connected with ICI Billingham until 1994 when the ground was sold to new owners, the club shortened its name from Synthetic Ammonia, one of ICI’s main products. Synthonia’s second distinction came in the 1950-51 season when they played 13 home league games, winning 12 and drawing one, with a goal tally of 44 for and none against. This was achieved with Goalkeeper Harry Armstrong saving a last minute penalty in the final game of the season.”
Apparently the great Brian Clough was a former player in the 1950’s.
Both clubs play in the Arngrove Northern League Division 1 which is rated step 5/6 in the English pyramid system. The Northern League is touted as the second oldest football league in the world having been formed in 1889.
I also discovered that the company that sponsors the league – the Albany Group – is owned by none other than Brooks Mileson the owner of Gretna. Mileson has guaranteed sponsorship of the league through his lifetime and through his sons’ lifetime by way of a trust.
If anyone can shed anymore light on the two teams it would be appreciated.
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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