Note: This article has also appeared on FoxSoccer.com but without the statistics on home advantage.
With a comfortable preliminary round win against St. Vincent and the Grenadines out of the way Canada gets down to the serious business of World Cup qualifying on Wednesday when they play Jamaica in Toronto.
Mexico and Honduras are the other two countries in Group B. Two countries will qualify for a final group of six. From the final group, the top three countries will qualify to play in South Africa in 2010 while the fourth-place team will have to play-off against the country finishing fifth in South American qualifying.
Last week Canadian coach Dale Mitchell stressed the importance of winning at home and trying to pick up a point or two on the road. “The last couple of times, the home teams have let us down a little bit,” he said.
One look at the history book will tell you that it wasn’t just the last couple of times and it wasn’t just by a little bit. Canada’s home form in World Cup qualifying since their one and only appearance in 1986 in Mexico has cost them any chance they might have have had of returning to the world stage.
Too many times Canada has been unable to turn home advantage into three points and without rock-solid home performances it is almost impossible to qualify from CONCACAF.
Canada has even found that winning at home sometimes hasn’t been enough. Back in the late 80s Canada beat Guatemala 3-2 in a preliminary round game but lost on the away goals rule. Four years later they beat Australia 2-1 in Edmonton in a playoff game but lost by a single goal in Sydney and then lost on penalty kicks.
All told Canada has won only twelve of the twenty-four home games they’ve played in World Cup qualifying since 1986. They’ve drawn another six, and lost six. In fact, it is over a decade since Canada won a make-or-break game on home soil. The last crucial win came in 1997 against Costa Rica when a goal from Eddy Berdusco gave Canada the win and what turned out to be a temporary lifeline. It was Canada’s only win in the final round and they finished bottom of the group.
A comparison to the home records of CONCACAF countries (see Home Advantage below?) who have qualified directly since 1990 makes it stunningly obvious how important it is to win at home. In the ninety-three games played by countries that have gone on to qualify for the World Cup Finals there have been only four losses against seventy-five wins.
Canada’s Gold Cup win in 2000 encouraged the notion that a trip to Japan and South Korea in 2002 was possible but they failed to even qualify from the preliminary group stage. A similar fate was in store four years later.
Will this time be different? Despite inflated and sometimes unrealistic expectations of previous squads there are a number of genuine reasons why this time it might be different. While many Canadian teams of the past have been able to defend, creating and taking chances has rarely been a strong point.
This team is different. For example in striker Rob Friend Canada has a player with size and strength who can play with his back to the goal, link the attack and score goals. Followers of MLS need no introduction to the talents of Dwayne De Rosario and Mitchell has shown a greater willingness to play Rosario in a more central role than others before him. Deportivo La Coruna’s Julian de Guzman and FC Copenhagen’s Atiba Hutchison are both top class midfielders who are comfortable at either end of the field.
With their first two games at home (Honduras September 6 in Montreal) Canada has a chance to get off to a roaring start and to show the rest on CONCACAF that this time it will be different. But anything less than six points and Canadian fans will be thinking that they have seen this picture too many times before. Home Advantage?
1986 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 2-0 Haiti Canada 2-1 Guatemala
Final Round - Home Record Canada 1-1 Costa Rica Canada 2-1 Honduras
1990 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 3-2 Guatemala (lost on away goals)
Final Round Did not qualify
Qualified Countries - Home Records Costa Rica 4 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses. USA 3 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses.
1994 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 1-0 Jamaica Canada 2-3 El Salvador Canada 4-2 Bermuda
Final Round - Home Record Canada 2-0 El Salvador Canada 3-1 Honduras Canada 1-2 Mexico
Play Off - Home Record Canada 2-1 Australia (eventually lost on penalty kicks)
Qualified Countries - Home Records Mexico 6 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses.
1998 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 3-1 Panama Canada 2-0 Cuba Canada 1-0 El Salvador
Final Round - Home Record Canada 0-0 El Salvador Canada 0-0 Jamaica Canada 1-0 Costa Rica Canada 2-2 Mexico Canada 0-3 USA
Qualified Countries - Home Records Mexico 6 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses. USA 6 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses. Jamaica 8 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses.
2002 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 0-0 Cuba Canada 0-2 Trinidad and Tobago Canada 1-0 Panama (fate already sealed) Canada 0-0 Mexico
Final Round Did not qualify
Qualified Countries - Home Records Costa Rica 6 wins, 2 draws, 0 losses. Mexico 7 wins, 0 draws, 1 loss. USA 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss.
2006 Preliminary Rounds - Home Record Canada 4-0 Belize Canada 0-2 Guatemala Canada 1-1 Honduras Canada 1-3 Costa Rica
Final Round Did not qualify
Qualified Countries - Home Records USA 8 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses. Mexico 9 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses. Costa Rica 6 wins, 1 draws, 2 losses.
Summary CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying - Home records 1990-2006 Canada P 24, W 12, D 6, L 6. Qualifying Countries P 93, W 75, D 14, L 4. USA P 30, W 23, D 6, L 1.
Canada has shown that they are a legitimate challenger for one of the CONCACAF spots on offer at the 2010 World Cup. However, at this moment that is probably of little consequence given the nature of their controversial loss to the USA in the Gold Cup semi-final.
With only seconds left and Canada pushing for an equalizer a ball was lofted forward towards the US penalty box. Onyewu stretched for the header and finished up heading the ball to the feet of Atiba Hutchinson who calmly side footed it past Keller in the US goal.
From the limited TV replays we received in Canada – apparently the Toronto thingies were playing a game of rounders – Hutchinson was not in an offside position when the initial ball was played forward and although he was in an offside position when he benefited from Onyewu’s wayward header the only way it could have been judged offside was if the ball had deflected of the big US defender.
It would require an active imagination to construe Onyewu’s header as a deflection. But an active imagination apparently is exactly what the assistant referee has as he immediately flagged and the referee accepted his call. If there are any referees out there who might shed some light on this decision I know a good number of Canadian fans would love to hear from you.
The first thirty minutes of the match consisted of the USA trying to play a bit too quickly while Canada could have done with a bit more pace to their game. Although the US may have had the better of the play Canada had a couple of set piece opportunities that might have turned profitable.
But it was the USA that opened the scoring through full back Frankie Hejduk. Hejduk may have trouble with his distribution at times but you have to admire the enthusiasm and energy that he brings to every game. And you have to admire the way he struck the ball from just outside the box to put the US into the lead.
The second goal came from the penalty spot after Beasley was tripped by Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. Beasley was played in by the simplest of passes inside full back Paul Stalteri. Donovan drilled his penalty down the middle.
The two goals the USA scored in the last ten minutes or so of the first half served to change the shape of the game in the second half. The play spread out and as Canada tried to push forward there were acres of space for the US midfielders and forwards to run at the Canadian defence. As the second half progrressed the US’s bad habit of spurning chances reemerged and it proved costly, although thanks to the officiating, it was not fatal.
The emergence of Ian Hume was a turning point for Canada as the wee man starting hustling the US defence and running at the them at every opportunity. Suddenly Canada’s attacks became more intense and threatening and when Hume equalized with a quarter of an hour left we knew we were in for a barnstorming finish.
Ratings Canada Onstad (6) – Had no chance with either of the two US goals. Otherwise rarely tested.
Stalteri (4) – Was guilty of a sloppy back pass in the second half. Was unable to get forward into attacking positions.
Hastings (6) – Handled Dempsey and Johnston well.
Hainault (6) – Ditto.
Jazic (7) – A very competent performance.
Bernier (6) – Pace of the game was a bit too quick for him but he made few mistakes.
Hutchinson (7) – Never imposed himself on the game but he showed again that he is type of player who can turn a game in an instant.
Nash (4) - When given time he sprayed a couple of great passes but in close quarters he was ineffective.
De Guzman (7) – Victim of a brutal challenge in the first half but De Guzman was Canada's most consitent performer over 90 minutes.
De Rosario (5) – Looked like he was going to pull off something special in first half but faded in the second.
Gerba (6) – A thankless task being the lone striker with little support for long stretches of the match. Fought valiantly.
Subs. Hume (8) – A terrific performance off the bench only reinforced the unanswered question as to why he was used so sparingly in this competition.
Nakajima-Farran – no rating
USA Keller (6) – Handled what he came his way.
Hejduk (8) – Scored a call and was here, there and everywhere…although you may not want to see that in your right back.
Onyewu (3) – He might be a fan favourite but too often he is an accident waiting to happen.
Bocanegra (4) – Was lucky to be on the park after a spectacularly late challenge on De Guzman in the first half.
Bornstein (5) – Showed great promise and energy in the first half but suffered in the second half as much of the US attacks avoided the left side.
Dovovan (6) – The upside his Donovan continued to look for the ball even though he struggled most of the evening. He will want to remember his set up for the first goal and his well-struck penalty. He will want to forget his wiff with an open goal in front of him. That was in the 50th minute and would have killed the game as a contest.
Bradley (4) – Was prominent in the early stages of the first half but his performance dropped off alarmingly as the game progressed. Rightfully shown a straight red card for a challenge that was late, high, from behind and designed to stop a player breaking away from him – the referee got that one spot on!
Mastroeni (7) – Patrolled his area well with a minimum of fuss as a good holding midfield should do.
Beasley (6) – Everytime I watch Beasley I am left with the feeling that he could have contributed so much more.
Johnson (4) – Poorly timed runs and failed to link well with Dempsey and the midfield.
Dempsey (5) – Absolutely starved of the ball but failed to go and get as well.
As the Canada – Haiti match coincided with part of the FSR last night I didn’t get a chance to see the full game until today.
An improved performance by Canada – they played at a higher pace and kept Haiti under pressure when they had the ball. Toronto’s Chris Pozniak came into the side to play as the defensive midfield player, while Atiba Hutchinson dropped a bit deeper to play alongside Julian De Guzman in the centre of midfield. Over the ninety minutes the two moves gave Canada a more solid look in the engine room although the price paid was a lack of support to Rob Friend who played as the lone striker.
Dwayne De Rosario’s two goals inside five minutes just after the half hour mark of the first half put Canada in the driver’s seat. The first came after a Stalteri cross that bypassed striker Rob Friend but dropped to De Rosario. The Haiti keeper got caught out badly at his near post. The second was from the penalty spot when the lively Issey Nakajima-Farran was fouled after nipping around a defender. The power in De Rosario’s spot kick compensated for a placement that was a bit to close to goalkeeper Gabart Fenelon for comfort.
Either side of half time Haiti enjoyed their best spell and that lasted for around twenty minutes. During that time Canada lost their way defensively and needed keeper Pat Onstad to come to the rescue on at least three occasions. In one case Onstad took a sickening shot to the head as he dove at an on-rushing Haitian forward. After a delay of over five minutes Onstad continued on.
Going into the last eight of the Gold Cup (opponents still not known) the centre of the Canadian defense is probably the biggest concern. Under any sort of pressure Hastings and Hainault look very uncomfortable. Despite De Rosario’s two goals against Haiti there were long stretches of the game when he was not involved in the game as he was left marooned out on the left wing. To be consistently successful Canada has to find a way to bring De Rosario into the game for longer stretches.
Ian Hume was left on the Canadian bench again – something that I think surprises many people while Rob Friend could have benefited with more support up front. He was left to plough a lone furrow with minimal support from midfield.
A post-script to how Guadeloupe stacks up against other teams in the region. In the Shell Caribbean Cup of 2007 – the qualifying competition for this Gold Cup – Guadeloupe played eleven games, winning seven and losing four. They beat French Saint-Martin, Dominica, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They lost to Guyana twice, Haiti and Cuba. In total they scored 22 goals and conceded 14.
Having spent the first two decades or so in my life in a country that has, over the years, turned embarrassing and shameful results (not always defeats) on football fields around the globe into an art form, I’ve suffered more than a few humiliating experiences.
Embarrassing losses to England (9-3, 5-0, 5-1) can come rolling back as if they were yesterday. A devastating loss to Peru at the 1978 World Cup was followed by a draw with Iran. If it is possible to scrape a 5-2 win then Scotland achieved it four years later against New Zealand and then there was a scoreless draw in 1986 against a Uruguayan side that played 89 minutes with ten men.
An opening round loss to Costa Rica in 1990 was perhaps the lowest of the low and since then there has been two draws with the Faroe Islands, a loss to Belarus and assorted beatings in the European Championships. Plus the managerial reign of Berti Vogts had to be endured.
But although Scottish supporters and the media now have a much better grasp of where their team sits in the larger scheme of things they will not stay silent if their team turns in a #### performance.
I think we saw the same thing last summer at the World Cup when US fans vented their anger and disappointment at what they considered to be an unacceptable performance.
At the time I had suggested that if there was a silver lining to the USA’s early exit it was that the supporters had shown that they were no longer willing to accept just making it to the World Cup Finals. Expectations had risen and the USA team now knew that more was now required of them. The fans and media expected the USA to not only reach the Finals every four years but also to produce decent performances at the Finals.
A year on and I can’t help but contrast the reaction in the USA with that found north of the border after what was arguably the worst result ever suffered in international competition by Canada.
On Saturday evening Canada produced a display that exhibited the worst kind of tactical cowardice in a performance that was pathetic and humiliating. Canada lost 2-1 to Guadeloupe, a country that isn’t even a country.
The mainstream media’s reaction to what is possibly Canada’s worst result in the last 30 years of international competition? The sum of it is two press bureau articles from the Associated Press and Reuters.
The Associated Press describes Canada as “sluggish and disorganized” while quoting interim coach Stephen Hart as saying that “both goals were definitely preventable”. That’s telling them!!
As for Reuters they dedicated a whole two paragraphs to the loss and stated that Canada “became the victim itself of a huge upset.”
What we were treated to on television during the game was even worse. Apparently the fact that a 41-year-old Jocelyn Angloma had been capped 37 times for France was proof that this Guadeloupe side should not be taken for granted and were a good team. God knows how terrified we would be if we ever came up against a team that fielded a 70-year-old Bobby Charlton who has 106 international caps and a World Cup winners medal.
And there was more – the Guadeloupe side had a Sheffield United player in the starting eleven (David Sommeil a reject Manchester City centre back who started four Premiership games for relegated Sheffield United this past season) as well as seven players who played in France and none at a top flight side. That was presented as evidence of quality opponents. You can see how Guadeloupe could be mistaken for Italy or Brazil with a line-up like that can’t you?
Oh yes and this is from commentators that will tell you that Canada is one of the top four countries in CONCACAF. The summation of this humiliation was “an unfortunate result” – hardly a scathing assessment of a reprehensible performance. Instead of holding the Canadian team’s feet to fire as the players day-dreamed their way through ninety minutes what we heard was pathetic.
There were repeated tirades about these horrible Guadeloupe players feigning injury. Certainly something good Canadian boys wouldn’t do. Has Don Cherry been cloned? And of course the Canadians love playing for their country – if that is the case they certainly didn’t show it last night and in the process they didn’t receive one piece of criticism from the men in the booth.
For excessive stretches of the game Canada played as if it was an Artistic Gymnastics contest that could be won on marks for artistic impression if they maintained possession long enough without actually achieving anything of substance.
Balls were played square across the back four continually while the defenders rarely had to deal with anything other than a lone striker. The five-man Canadian midfield in what was supposedly a 4-3-3 formation and the full backs rarely turned the Guadeloupe defense.
When things turned bad there was little or change in the tactics by the coach. Did I mention that coach Stephen Hart suppossedly approached the mighty Guadeloupe with the primary intention of keeping a clean sheet? Thank goodness that someone is there to keep prospective and to not allow the expectations for this Canadian side to get to grandiose.
The midfield pairing of Nash and De Guzman that had performed so admirably against Costa Rica was virtually non-existent while keeper Greg Sutton, who had missed the win over Costa Rica because of concussion, showed that the condition had obviously not cleared as he conceded two long range efforts.
This is not an inexperienced Canadian side. Take a look at the average age and the cumulative number of caps. Atiba Hutchinson and Paul Stalteri have played in the Champions League, Julian De Guzman has held down a regular spot for Deportivo La Coruna during the second half of La Liga season and Dwayne De Rosario is recognized as one of MLS’s great talents.
With a couple of minor exceptions the team was made up of players with experience of playing overseas and generally at good levels. So why do the Canadian media and many fans continue to treat them as a bunch of inexperienced grinders who are beyond criticism?
Someone once said that inconsistency is the real mediocrity and with the results against Costa Rica and Guadeloupe Canada showed that never truer words were said. And perhaps based on the reaction from Saturday’s game, mediocrity is all that we deserve.
Saturday started at 4:30 a.m. and finished around midnight. In between there was a trip to Toronto to work the Chicago game for Fox Soccer Channel and what a great day it turned out to be. The new stadium is a terrific venue but it is the enthusiasm of the fans that stands out. The close to 20,000 fans (including a healthy number of supporters who made the trek from Chicago) in attendance were given a match to remember with Toronto FC notching their first goal and eventually their first win.
There was also the first red card in Toronto FC’s history with the scorer of the first goal Danny Dichio sent off along with Chicago Fire’s Diego Gutierrez on the stroke of half time. Todd Grisham, who was anchoring the FSC presentation, asked just as we were about to start the second half who might now have the advantage.
My opinion was that it would be easier for Chicago to cover the loss of Gutierrez in midfield than it would be for Toronto to compensate for the loss of their big striker. How wrong I was and it was down to how Toronto coach Mo Johnston reacted to the enforced change.
Johnston moved Edson Buddle further forward from his support role to take the lone striker position. Maurice Edu was also asked to work harder than he had even done in the first half when he helped set up the Toronto goal and to get forward and support Buddle. But the most crucial move was keeping Ronnie O’Brien and Andy Welsh wide on the right and left touchlines respectively.
It was a move that could have backfired and provided the Fire with an opportunity to overrun the midfield. As it turned out O’Brien (making his first MLS appearance for Toronto) and Welsh (playing his best game so far since arriving from England) stretched the Chicago back three and midfield and never allowed the Fire to dictate play in the second half.
The Toronto midfield constantly changed the point of attack from wing to wing and it paid off with two second half goals. Like the first goal, the second and third goals came from crosses from the right wing and both involved diagonal runs across the Chicago defense. First Buddle and then Welsh created space for Kevin Goldthwaite and Maurice Edu at the back post and both goals were put away with some panache and composure.
This first win for Toronto sets up an intriguing encounter this Wednesday at BMO Field with reigning MLS Champions, the Houston Dynamo. Houston’s ranks include Canadian internationals Pat Onstad and the mercurial Dwayne de Rosario.
Quip of the day: Fans attending the game on Saturday were provided with cushions upon their entry to the stadium. The cushions also doubled as Frisbees and were launched on mass onto the park when Toronto scored their first ever goal. Well known Canadian broadcaster and analyst #### Howard was working the sideline with FSR anchor Jeremy St. Louis. As an army of volunteers cleared the field of cushions #### turned to Jeremy and said, “Could be problems on Wednesday night with the battery give-away”.
Thank you to all the fans who stopped by to say hello at the FSC desk on Saturday. A special thanks to the gentleman who was kind enough to provide me with a pint of Tetley’s.
Were you at the game or did you watch it on TV? Let’s hear your take on the match.
Flashman - A lot of Toronto FC fans, many still waiting to commit their first dollar, are hoping the club can attract big-name Canadian players and bring in quality opponents for international friendlies. But the club plan to play on plastic turf - they and FIFA claim it's very special stuff - but many reactions to that have been negative. I thought the Spartak-Inter CL game, played on this turf, was a very sterile affair. Paul Stalteri and Dwayne De Rosario have trashed it, as has Charmaine Hooper. Since we're still golfing in mid-November on pretty decent grass an hour north of Toronto, it makes the club's claim that grass won't work sound like the accountants are running Mo's show. This is a team that isn't likely to see a home playoff game for many years. And its playing style is likely to be more shillelagh than stiletto, so wouldn't grass suit the sort of game they'll need to play in the early going, attract quality clubs for friendlies, and keep fans interested? Also, the playing surface is not likely to see, in the short term, heavy multi-purpose usage, such as the CFL, though rugby would be a nice event to add. This seems like a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach in their early going. A warming climate is hardly hurting the southern Ontario sod industry. What's your take on it?
Bobby – Up to now MLSE have shown that they are good business people but they are not in the trophy winning business – the Maple Leafs a prime example. However, I would not be blaming MLSE for choosing the artificial surface – that was a CSA decision that was made from the outset. The CSA has been a proponent – despite players’ objections – for a long time now. Over eight years ago a member of the Canadian Soccer Association told me that FIFA would approve artificial surfaces within a month and that Winnipeg should spend over a million dollars installing the to-be-approved artificial surface in Winnipeg Stadium for the Pan American Games soccer tournament. The same person also told me that the Pan Am soccer tournament would attract crowds of 40,000. The approval did not come until many years later, the surface wasn’t installed and the average crowd for the soccer tournament was 2,500. I mention it as an illustration that major assumptions –international friendlies is a good one – sometimes are flawed and just don’t pan out.
Henry 14 - Bobby what do you make of Pompey and lastly how do you rate Hleb amongst Wenger's best midfielders at Arsenal?
What do you make of Spurs striking combinations, Martin Jol just spend $20m on a 20 goal a season striker, he has Keane who averages 16 goals a season and l do not see why he does not make them his first choice pairing, what do you make of the basic Martin Jol team selection?
Bobby – I think Portsmouth will settle into an upper mid table position with a reasonably good chance of grabbing a UEFA Cup spot. But I think a Champions League spot might be beyond their reach. Hleb is improving every game and based on what I saw while he was at Stuttgart we have still not seen the best of him.
Obviously Jol believes that rotation is the best policy and I think it is too early to say that he is wrong. He has to keep all four happy at some level because he will need all four during the rest of the season. Spurs are facing a much heavier load than last season – only 40 games – with an extended and deep UEFA Cup run a strong possibility plus the FA Cup starting in January. Managers need to look at the larger picture and cannot just pick the best team for every game. Whether Jol is right or wrong will be judged at seasons end rather that after a 1-1 draw with Blackburn.
Neophyte - Pressley is getting such a raw deal. Watching the happenings at Hearts is the equivalent of a manly soap opera. Where do you see him going? What did you think of Giggs' service into the box? He looked rushed and completely off target---to much confidence? Poor form? Lack of patience? What do you think?
Bobby – There has been talk of Pressley going back to Dundee United where he spent some time after moving back to Scotland from Coventry. With Craig Levein now in charge at Tannadice it is a move that makes some sense given that Pressley is now 33 and apparently interested in a coaching career. However, what might be a good move for Pressley and Dundee United might not be a good move for Hearts and the supporters. As for Giggs, I didn’t think he had a particularly poor game against Sheffield United.
Bmax14 - I had a question and comment on the article from Marcotti on formation of new leagues. I know his article is not about any "super league" but over the years I've heard speculation on the "Super league" and Uefa's ongoing fight against such a proposal. Do you think something of this nature (Euro league with 20 biggest clubs) will ever come to fruition and if so, do you think it's good or bad for the game? From a fans perspective, it seems the most anticipated games of the year are the occasional great matches in the Champions league so I would expect a weekly slate of games between the likes of Man U v. Barca or Chelsea v. AC Milan would be great. All of the top leagues are dominated by 2-3 teams anyways so I see this Euro league as natural progression of the game. Ideally, I'd like to see the domestic leagues more competitive but under the current system I don't see this happening. I also don't mind Marcotti's proposal to try and get the smaller leagues up to par with the Big 5. It is a bit ironic though that as Europe becomes more integrated politically and economically that Uefa seems to want to stick with the domestic approach.
Bobby – A full European league will come – but it will not be anytime soon as long as things stay pretty much the same. UEFA has acted very astutely in how they have managed the G14 and the money on offer from the Champions League. As it is the G 14t eams in the big 5 leagues have the best of both worlds with big domestic TV deals (Bundesliga might be considered an exception to that) and a very good prospect of big Champions League pay days each season. The one thing that is on the horizon that might set off a rebellion and that is if Platini wins the UEFA Presidential race and cuts representation for the top three countries from four to three teams.
I came around to seeing the Atlantic League proposal as a positive one when it was suggested a few years ago and I think the idea of a series of super leagues is even better. As it is England, Italy, France, Spain and Germany have big enough domestic markets to generate significant television and ancillary revenue so these leagues can take care of themselves. It is the “big” teams in the small markets that need to be taken care of and it would seem to me that if larger league markets can be created then there is a better chance that the “second-tier” teams can compete on a more equal basis in the Champions League and that would make it an even better competition. The Champions League needs to remain as the “cherry-on-top” and not become a replacement for regional or national leagues.
Davard - With the talk of super leagues and the EU and political integration, why not a Great Britain Premier League?
I was thinking about this the other day, considering a baseball team like the Seattle Mariners traveling 3,000 miles to play The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, for example. Celtic traveling to London is about 1/10th that. (give or take, for all you exacting readers)
Keep the cups in place (FA, Scottish, Irish [if there is one, I am ignorant of Irish football]) but unite the leagues into one super British Isles league! You can even keep the individual continental leagues for those who do not qualify. I'm sure there's been talk of this in the past - More Champions league places for the one league, less boring fixtures, No more Watford, Sheffield United, etc, unless they are truly a great team. AND it makes domestic football (for GB) even stronger, and more unified. I'm all about the political unity, we're all brothers on this planet - let's let football lead the way!
I want to know where you stand on an idea like this and why it would or would not work.
Bobby – Davard you are making some large assumptions here. More Champions League places? – do you really think that the rest of Europe would sit back and allow a GB league to just add the existing SPL and Premiership CL places together? Do you think the likes of Watford and Sheffield United are going to vote themselves into the Championship? How many turkeys think Christmas is a great idea?
USAenglandfan – I was speaking with a family friend and former editor-in-chief of a kid’s soccer magazine here in the US, and he had an interesting take on the potential for success here and in other parts of the world. A lot of what he said had to do with economics. He said that in many cases the more wealthy your country is, the harder it is going to be to compete in the world's sport. The discussion was much more detailed, but this was the general idea. There are obvious exceptions (Pirlo, who was raised upper class, comes to mind), but I think it makes sense. You have your Brazils of the world where kids cope with the harsh reality of the favelas and soccer is not only woven into the culture, but is also seen as a 'way out'. I'm sure some of you have heard/thought about this, but I'd like to know what you all think.
And finally, cast your votes: Rooney with beard or without beard? I vote 'with'
Bobby – I’m not sure that I would agree with entire notion that wealthy countries have a harder time competing in the world’s sport – I assume you are limiting this to soccer rather than world sport. Certainly the wealthier the economy then the more choices that kids are likely to have within a broader range of sports and that means – I would think – that more kids would be lost to other sports. However, if you flip the notion – poorer nations find it easier to compete in the world’s sport – few would agree.
As for Rooney - it is one thing to lick up to the owner, it is another thing to try and look like him.
Blueblades - Do you think Everton has any chance of finishing in the top four this season? It seems to me that the fourth spot is up for grabs especially with Liverpool be so inconsistent.
Bobby – A number of teams – Everton included – have a shot at fourth place. Despite their inconsistency I think Arsenal will slot in at number 3. Andy Johnson needs to get going again though – I think this is his driest spell in the Premiership. Cahill will be a big loss and if Arteta was to go down then all bets would be off.
Henry 14 - Did you see the Arsenal Champions League game, l have to say Hleb is a genius, a highly creative player. You were laughing at Gallas the other night l hope you would laugh at the Hamburg defense, because the guy went on a one man dribbling expedition that if he had score surely it would have been goal of the year for the last 3 years+
Bobby – I didn’t see the Arsenal game. I was laughing at Gallas – why would I be laughing at Gallas?
Hawkman14 - Do you see any current EPL players as top-flight future managers? If so, who?
Bobby – I did an article last season and suggested that Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher might be prime managerial candidates. Given the number of managers who have at one time or another come under the influence of SAF then existing United players would seem to be a potential pool of future recruits. Carragher is supposed to be a real student of the game and given the position that he plays it makes him another player who may choose the dug out after his playing days are over. Look for defenders and hard working midfield players to make the move.
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.
