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.
Robert Philip talks to and about Denis Law before the Scotland and Italy game on Saturday. At the end of the article there is a reference to League Internationals that were mentioned on the blog a couple of months ago.
A more measured assessment of the European Union’s free movement of labour. The reason you are hearing British politicians spouting off on the subject is simple - there is no downside for them.
They can take a political popular - but wrongheaded – stance on foreign players that plays well with the punters. Simple reason for the complex problem of failure at the international level – foreign players.
No evidence, no need to hold the FA accountable or the players for that matter. (Remember this is largely the same team that last summer before Germany 2006 was being described as the golden generation – we found out it was more gilded than gold.)
But no matter at the end of the day the politicians know that they can’t do anything about the number of EU nationals playing in England unless the EU grants a total exemption for football and that will not happen.
MLS Cup Final
I have no idea if MLS intentionally scheduled the Cup Final for a weekend that coincided with European and World Cup qualifying but let us give them credit anyway. The Houston Dynamo versus New England Revolution can take centre stage on Sunday with little else in the soccer world battling for attention.
The Rev’s past failures have been well chronicled as has the Dynamo’s attempt to become the first team since DC United to win back-to-back titles. And of course it is a rematch of last season’s final. During regulation time that game was almost completely devoid of any memorable moments and it took two goals within seconds of each other during extra time to bring the match to life.
New England had the better of the Dynamo during the regular with a 1-0 win and a 3-3 draw although Houston did finish two points ahead of the Revolution. New England edged Houston in goals scored (51 to 43) but that was more than reversed when it came to conceding goals. The Rev’s defence let in close to double what the Dynamo did (43-23).
In setting a new regular season record for the fewest goals against Houston was the model of consistency while shutting out the opposition thirteen times. What’s more the Dynamo only let in more than two goals in a game twice and they lost neither one – the aforementioned six goal thriller with New England and a 4-3 win over Real Salt Lake in September.
For New England it was a case that when it rained on their defence it monsooned. They conceded three goals or more seven times and only came away with a couple of draws. Over half the goals that New England let in during the regular season came in these seven matches which means that over the other twenty three games they averaged less than a goal against per game.
Nine clean sheets also strengthen the argument that perhaps New England are not such a defensive liability as the goals against column might indicate. New England fans might also look to the Rev’s not yet conceding a post season goal while the Dynamo gave up two to FC Dallas.
New England’s standard 3-5-2 formation gives them the extra man in midfield over Houston’s 4-4-2. However, the game might come down to how well Michael Parkhurst, Jay Heaps and Avery John can handle Nate Jaqua - or Brian Ching if he is fit. Houston peppered the Kansas City defence with crosses last weekend and delivering quality balls from wide positions will be a key for the Dynamo. If New England are to win then they need to cut that supply route and they will also need Sharlie Joseph to dominate the midfield and feed Noonan, Twellman and Ralston.
The longer the game goes without a goal the more likely it is that we will get MLS 2006 part two. Here’s opening for an early goal and a better spectacle than twelve months ago.
Next to European Championship qualifying.
Group A – The group of draws with fifteen of the 46 games so far having finished tied but trips to Switzerland and Austria next summer are now for Poland and Portugal to lose. A home win for Poland would book a place and save them from a potentially awkward trip to Belgrade to play Serbia on Wednesday. Belgium are at a low point as far the national team is concerned – maybe it is due to the foreigners playing in the country – and Poland should get the three points that they need.
Portugal can only make sure of qualifying if they get a better result at home against Armenia than Finland does versus Azerbaijan and Serbia does against Kazakhstan. In all likelihood all three will win meaning that Portugal will still need to beat Finland in Lisbon next Wednesday to guarantee that they progress. There is still the possibility of a two or three way tie for the runners-up spot. Either possibility would be bad news for Portugal as they would lose out to Finland (two-way) and Serbia (three-way).
Group B – Italy failed to qualify for the finals of the European championships in 1984 after winning the World Cup two years before. They need a tie against Scotland on Saturday to make sure history does not repeat itself – with due respect to the Faroe Islands an Italian win at home on Wednesday is a certainty. In theory a draw could also put Scotland through if France would lose to the Ukraine in five days time – not going to happen.
So Scotland have to beat the reigning World Champions in their final game to qualify for their first major championship since 1998. A tall order but given the group that they were drawn into a one game decider is better than any Scots’ fan could have expected.
Scotland’s best chance to get the win that they need? The longer the game stays scoreless (well up to a point) the better it is for Scotland. Italy will become more and more cautious while Scotland should be able to throw more men forward in an attempt to get a precious winner. (Is there a new John Greig ready to do the business?)
Honestly if I was Roberto Donadoni I would be going for the jugular from the start and come out looking for an early goal that would take the Hampden crowd out of the game and set Scotland a target of at least two goals in order to qualify. Are you listening Roberto?
Group C – Greece have already qualified and will be defending the trophy they won in 2004. The other spot is between Norway and Turkey and the Norwegians are two points up withTurkey traveling to Oslo for Saturday’s match.
While Turkey started strongly (12 points from the first four games) and have faded badly the Norwegians have gone at it in reverse. Seven points from the first five matches has become 11 points in the second half. A win for Norway seals the runners-up spot while anything else will take the final outcome to the last round of play on Wednesday. Norway are away to Malta and Turkey are at home to Bosnia Herzegovina so a draw (in Turkey the sides shared four goals) would set the Norwegians up nicely.
Group D - Germany and the Czech Republic are both going to the Alps while four other countries are playing for places and we have no idea what San Marino are playing at.
Group E - There will be a collective holding of breathe in England on Saturday when Russia faces Israel. A Russian win and the English players can book tee times and Steve McClaren can start mailing his CV to former republics of the Soviet Union. Although England needs to rely on Israel for help the English media stands charged with capitulation. Surely they could wait until death is official.
Croatia only needs a draw in Macedonia although that might be more of a challenge than most realize. Croatia needed two second half goals to erase a 1-0 deficit to Macedonia the first time they played (da Silva with an 88th minute winner) and only Russia with 2-0 and 3-0 wins have handled Macedonia with relative ease.
Group F – Sweden and Spain have almost made it with Northern Ireland and Denmark’s hopes hanging by a gossamer thin thread. Two draws for Spain (home to Sweden then Northern Ireland) will do it while the Swedes need just a single point from their last two matches.
Group G – Romania, along with Croatia, go into the last two rounds as the only two undefeated countries. Romania’s campaign started with a “disappointing” 2-2 home draw with Bulgaria. Disappointing in as much as Romania led 2-0 with eight minutes left. On Saturday Romania travels to Sofia for what fourteen months ago looked like it would be a crucial match. However, two draws against Albania largely put paid to Bulgarian hopes and Holland needs only one point from games against Luxembourg (h) and Belarus (a) in order to join Romania.
COMNEBOL World Cup Qualifying Notes
Argentina v. Bolivia - Javier Zanetti will earn his 116th cap and become Argentina's most capped international if he plays in this match. Bolivia’s last away win in WC qualifying came 14 years ago when they beat Venezuela 7-1. In their last 27 away games Bolivia have picked up only three draws.
Colombia v. Venezuela – It’s almost as if Colombia’s campaign has yet to start. They are unbeaten but have yet to win a game. They have not been scored on but have not scored either.
Peru v. Brazil – Another poor start for Peru who made their last WC appearance in1982. Only one point from their opening two games and they have yet to score a goal (0-0 at home to Paraguay and lost 2-0 to Chile).
Uruguay v. Chile - Both countries consider themselves as legitimate contenders for a top four spot and head-to-head games will be important in the final outcome. In 2006 qualifying Chile won 5 matches but all were against countries that finished in 8th, 9th and the bottom spot.
Paraguay v. Ecuador – Ecuador qualifiers for the last two finals, have made a horrible start, losing 1-0 at home to Venezuela and 5-0 in Brazil. Two veterans have been dropped Ivan Hurtado (145 caps) and right back Ulises de la Cruz (98 caps).
Midweek games - Brazil v. Uruguay, Ecuador v. Peru, Venezuela v. Bolivia, Colombia v. Argentina and Chile v. Paraguay.
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.
Canada destroyed Guatemala 3-0 in a Gold Cup quarter-final match in which Guatemala was fortunate to get the nothing. Canada dominated from the start and Guatemala had no answer to a team that controlled the game in all areas of the field.
There might have been a few eyebrows raised when Coach Stephen Hart recalled midfielders Patrice Bernier and Martin Nash in place of Issy Nakijima-Ferran and Chris Pozniak. As it turned out the Guatemalans hardly got close to Nash all afternoon and Atiba Hutchinson and Julian De Guzman were given free rein to control the midfield. De Guzman must have covered every blade of grass at least twice while Hutchinson exhibited a fantastic change of pace when breaking from the midfield.
As expected, Guatemala started the game defending deep and allowing Canada possession. However, after a lapse in concentration led to Canada’s first goal Guatemala found it impossible to adjust from their one-dimensional game. The second goal scored by Ali Gerba was probably as nice a goal as Canada as ever scored. A series of one touch passes eventually found Gerba unmarked in the centre of the penalty box and he powered a side-footed shot high into the Guatemalan net.
The third goal that came before half-time was an own-goal courtesy of Henry Medina. Even at 3-0 down Guatemala was unable to mount any kind of threatening attack and Canadian goalkeeper Pat Onstad’s only action came when he was put under pressure and had to hack away a ball that had been played back to him.
Altogether an exceptional performance from Canada and now a Gold Cup semi-final game waits on Wednesday at Soldier Field in Chicago against the host country.
Officiating - Referee Courtney Campbell of Jamaica had an outstanding game with one exception. The elbow thrown by Carlos Ruiz that cut Richard Hastings should have been a straight red card. Instead Ruiz got away with a yellow.
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.
While the fans left BMO Field last Saturday talking of Toronto’s first win, first goal and even the first sending off, it was a disciplined and rugged defense that accounted for this win over MLS Champions Houston Dynamo.
With wind, rain and a game time temperature of 8 degrees (46 F) silky soccer was never on the agenda. Nonetheless, Houston started the game with some zip in their play and pinned Toronto back early on. But despite their lively play it didn’t translate into many clear cut scoring opportunities for the defending champions.
The best Houston effort came from a corner kick when Eddie Robinson took advantage of a hesitant Greg Sutton only to see his downward header cleared off the line by Ronnie O’Brien.
And it was O’Brien who set up the Toronto FC goal from a wickedly delivered free kick at the mid way point of the first half. Taken right footed from a little over 30 yards out on the left hand side the free kick was delivered with tremendous pace and swerve. It was the sort of free kick that defenders have to have the courage to attack. None did, and Welsh scored a “dandruff goal” – it came off a bit of his head and a bit of his shoulder.
As half time approached Houston continued to enjoy the majority of possession but the Toronto defenders were able to funnel the Dynamo attacks into the centre of the field where Carl Robinson dealt with any danger.
Dynamo’s best chance can just after half time when newly signed Joseph Ngweyna took advantage of an uncharacteristic slip by centre back Jim Brennan and found himself clean through with only the keeper to beat. Ngweyna put the ball wide and although Dynamo huffed and puffed they created little in the way of clear cut chances.
With ten minutes to play Edson Buddle took advantage of the Houston pushing forward in search of an equalizer and with only keeper Pat Onstad to beat he hit the ball straight at the keeper.
So Toronto FC adds another first to their growing list – this time their first shut out. Six games into the MLS season and the defense is unrecognizable from the Chinese fire drill that took the field in their first three games and conceded nine goals.
The signings of full backs Marvell Wynne and Kevin Goldthwaite has added a bit of speed and balance while Jim Brennan has been excellent playing in an unaccustomed role at centre back. Coach Mo Johnston has the other centre back Andrew Boyens on a short leash with only the basics being requested. However, given that Boyens looked about as comfortable as a man with piles perched on a cactus during his first two appearances against Chivas and New England, it is a wise move.
And one that is paying dividends as Boyens has been a far more effective player in the last two games as he has kept it simple. Carl Robinson has given Toronto FC a much more solid look playing the holding role in the last two games while the midfield in general is doing their part by harrowing the opposition when needed and maintaining possession when able.
Toronto FC is now off the bottom in the East and on Saturday DC United, who trail TFC by two points, arrives at BMO Field looking for their second win of the season.
Were you at the game or did you watch it on TV? Let’s hear your take on the match.
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.
A lively blog again this week as far as comments and opinions are concerened.
Henry14-1. Who do you think will win the title given that both teams are in Europe and FA Cup & also looking at the runs left for them? 2. l personally fancy Sheffield to stay up because of their matches at home left who do you think will drop? 3. How do you assess Klose this season? 4. It pains me to say this but l really see that Spurs have made big strides in the last two years do you know when they can ever win the title? 5. Lastly l disagree with what you said on the show that Benitez's rotation is paying dividends, l think it is because they were knocked out of domestic cups, so they were no replays because Arsenal played 7 domestic cup games after Liverpool, Man Utd. had 5 and Chelsea had 6 so l think that’s the main reason up to now. 6 Do you think Fergie regret letting Larsson go?
Bobby–1. I picked Chelsea at the start of the season and I am not jumping ship even though United have the lead and an easier stretch-run. 2. With Rob Hulse out Sheffield United will struggle to score goals and that is their biggest challenge going into the last 6 games. 3. I haven’t seen enough of Klose this season to really comment. He seems to be off his usual goal scoring pace although he is still Bremen’s top scorer. 4. They will some day but I can’t see it in the near future. 5. Fair point but if Liverpool had won the cup games Benitez would have still rotated his squad. 6. Not after today’s display!
LosAngelesChelseaFan - Chelsea are certainly capable of dumping Valencia on Tuesday, since I suspect that stamina rather than skill will dominate the outcome of all competitions. We shall see. What’s your considered opinion of all this? What do think is more important for all these teams right now, (a) heart and will to win? (b) stamina? (c) quality and skill? (d) most recent result? ... and which one has it?
Bobby – All of the above plus momentum and some well-timed slices of luck ?
Flashman - Toronto FC looked competitive in their MLS debut at Chivas. Obviously, any MLS squad has flaws, but TFC didn't look like an expansion team to me. Greg Sutton looks solid in net and they generated some excellent scoring opportunities early on. Still some work to do in defense. Do you see this team rewarding the Hogtown Massive - sold out at 20,000 for every game this year - by diving in and snagging a big name player? If so, at what position? Also, as the streets of London's toney Islington district yet again run brown with fear, do you think Arsenal can hang on to a UEFA Cup qualifying position as they free fall this spring down the Prem standings? Who do you see them losing due to their inability to compete financially with bigger clubs in Yorkshi - er, umm, Europe?
Bobby – I would be surprised if Toronto go the “big name” player route this year. I think Mo Johnston has already said that he is not interested and with a sell out almost guaranteed there isn’t a financial incentive to make a move like that. I think they would be better off spreading the wealth around a bit in an attempt to improve the overall quality of the team. I think Sutton is a keeper – in more ways than the positional sense – but I didn’t see anything else that gave me much encouragement. But, there again it is early days, so maybe a fairer assessment can be made after 10 games. The games against Bolton and Spurs will be important over the next two weeks but I think Arsenal will hold on to 4th place.
jeffers77 - Any thoughts on Tottenham and Sevilla? I think Tottenham has a good chance on Thursday, that penalty against Robinson was ridiculous; a 1-1 score would have been a fair result. Do you feel they have a chance at WHL and if they do go on, what do you think their chances are of winning the whole thing?
Bobby – The penalty was an atrocious decision. If Spurs are to go through then I think scoring first is almost mandatory. Perhaps the bigger question is can the Spurs back four keep Sevilla from scoring.
Henry14 - l wanted to know the requirements of entering the Intertoto cup and if the Gunners qualify.
Bobby – Here is a link to who is eligible. This link gives the reason for the competition – I think it might surprise you.
Ringo - Can someone explain how Portsmouth can beat Man U and then lose to Watford? Unless the Asian betting syndicates were involved!
Bobby – The only logical conclusion is that if Watford were in Serie A then they would be a serious challenge to Inter this season!
Henry14 - Who is a better winger Quaresma or Ribery or rather player because l thought Quaresma had the edge.
Bobby – I woud take Ribery. He seems a bit more robust to me.
Realmadridcffan - 1. Out of all the soccer magazines that are published, which is your favourite and your least favourite? 2. How would you rate the performances of DC United and the Houston Dynamo in the recent CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final? What do you think it will take for an MLS side to actually win the CONCACAF Champions Cup? 3. Besides the Houston Dynamo and DC United, who do you see as a dark horse(s) for the MLS Championship this year?
Bobby – 1. Favourite(s) – When Saturday Comes, Champions (the UEFA mag) and World Soccer. The least favourite – there are a number of them. The magazines that I have the most trouble with are the ones that just lift pieces and drop them into the magazine – Soccer Italia a prime example – and they are often contradictory stories. Page 3 states Fabio Star Defender wants a transfer to Real Madrid; Page 7 Fabio Star Defender says “I will never leave.” 2. I thought both teams did very well. When Brian Ching scored with only minutes left I thought Houston were going to do it. As far as what is needed - experience obviously helps and I don't think a MLS side winning the CONCACAF Champions Cup again in the next three or four seasons is out of the question. 3. Dark horse - well with a 13 team league it pretty difficult to be a dark horse. However, i can see Chicago Fire challenging DC United in the east and I liked the look of Colorado Rapids on Saturday so they might be the team to watch in the west.
djnima19 – 1. Do you think losing Vidic will cost United the title? 2. Is Foster or Kuzscak a better keeper than Edwin for next season? 3. Who would you like to see coming from La Liga to the EPL next season?
Bobby – 1. Not necessarily although he does leave a large hole in the defense – a lot can happen in the next half a dozen games. 2. I don’t think you can consider Foster or Kuzscak better than van der Sar. Kuzscak, for the rather obvious reason that he is currently the back-up. In Foster’s case he has been playing with very little pressure on him so it is a very unfair comparison at the moment. It is not unusual for keepers to look better playing in a poorer team because they get more chances to shine. With better sides I think that keepers need to concentrate more because of the lack of action. Foster is still very young for a keeper and he certainly looks like he has the potential to be a very good goalie. 3. There is always a big gulf between who we would like to see and who is available. Even with Premiership riches you can’t have all the great players. Goalscorers are high on everyone’s list so the likes of David Villa, Fernando Torres and Diego Milito will probably be targets.
LosAngelesChelseaFan - I have a few questions: 1. Can you recommend a theBLEEP who specializes in Depressive Goonophrenia? 2. Do you think asking over and over again if Thierry Henry will leave Arsenal at the end of the season is a symptom of the above condition? 3. Do you think if Arsene Wenger wears the grey suit with the grey tie at next week’s game against Bolton, it will bring him more of the bad luck that caused them to lose the double against Whamo Utd for the first time since 1965? 4. Do you think hell is a place: a) populated by Arsenal players who pass the ball for endlessly, but who never shoot at the goal or b) a place where there’s a soccer game in which the referee is being chased by a complaining Wane Rooney for all eternity?
Bobby – 1. Dr. George Graham. 2. No it is a condition caused by the Vieiraitis virus that was limited to Highbury for a period of five years although it was thought to have been eradicated. 3. Only if he wears it with the standard Sam Allardyce earpiece. 4. Hell is what North America was to soccer fans 20 years ago.
Verbal97 – 1. Does Dumfermline stand a chance to a) stay up in the SPL and b) to make it to the Scottish Cup Final? If they make the finals and play Celtic, would they get a UEFA Cup spot like in the FA Cup? 1 c. Also, how do you rate Adam Hammill, if you've seen him? 2. Also, do you think Abramovich will fire Mourinho this week WHEN Chelsea lose to Valencia or will he wait for the end of the season?
Bobby – 1a. Stephen Kenny seems to have whipped the Pars into much better shape and they now have at least a fighting chance of survival – four points behind St. Mirren with five to play. 1b. They beat Hibs last weekend in the SPL and they face each other again this Sunday in the Scottish Cup semi final. If they do make it and finish up facing Celtic (who play St. Johnstone on Saturday) then a UEFA spot is guaranteed. 1 c. I haven’t seen him and to be honest no one that I correspond with in Scotland has mentioned him. 2. I guess that now changes to “WHEN Chelsea lose to Liverpool.”
Neophyte – 1. What do you think about Riquelme coming to the Prem? or another La Liga team? What ever happened between Villarreal and Riquelme? You can clearly see that without him they're just middle to bottom of the Liga. 2. What do you see SAF doing about the obvious aging midfield at Old Trafford? Does Scholes get the same treatment as Becks and Keane? Is Giggs' time up as well?
Bobby – 1. I never thought there was much of a chance of Riquelme moving to the Premiership at the end of last season and so I think that there is almost no chance now. Most likely destination – where he is now, at Boca Juniors. Next – a return to Villarreal. Then – who can guess? It seems that Miguel Pellegrino and Riquelme just fell out – it can’t have been anything that important or we would have already heard all the lurid details. 2. Manchester United have clearly benefited from the incredible seasons that Scholes and Giggs have had. Unless they “misbehave” – and there is no reason to believe that will be the case – Ferguson will be dumping either of them out. Well deserved testimonials for these two – someday.
In a number of provinces in Canada we can bet legally on sports courtesy of the government. The down side is the Russian Mob would probably give better odds than we can get on what is known as Pro Line. Included on Pro Line is the Premiership. Over the couple of years I have got into the habit of dropping by the local store on the way home from doing the Friday Fox Soccer Report.
My weekly wager is very small but it does add something extra to the weekend's soccer action. I try to avoid the early Saturday game because if you get that one wrong then your are screwed. Luckily this weekend was one of the few occasions when the govermment gets to return some of that money to me. I picked six games and all came good. The picks (all to win) were Bolton, Charlton, Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham.
Here are some articles that caught my eye over the weekend.
Stewart Fisher with a piece on Paul Dalglish of The Houston Dynamo. Apparently Paul’s father was quite a good player. Unfortunately Mr. Fisher can’t get the name of the Dynamo’s coach correct!
Gabriele Marcotti takes a look at how Roma have changed under the very underrated Luciano Spalletti. Totti has never been rated by the English media. I wonder if that will still be the case in a few weeks time.
Patrick Barclay takes a look at a player born just miles from Old Trafford who is out to stop Manchester United.
Steve Tongue points out that seven of the eight remaining Champions league teams are skippered by home-town players.
A little piece on Northern Ireland hero David Healey.
Finally a piece from Hugh McIlvanney on the behaviour of some England fans in Barcelona last Wednesday. It includes this stiletto - “All their efforts to masquerade as passionate patriots driven to condemnatory fury by the inadequacies of McClaren and his men could not begin to conceal the revolting truth that most of the snarling, bellowing viciousness came from look-at-me exhibitionists so absorbed in masturbation of their emotions that their favourite insult had an autobiographical ring.”
A big week coming up with the Champions League and UEFA Cup taking centre stage.
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 m
