Goodbye MLS for 2007
and other weekend football tidbits.
First things
first.
Work came first for me this weekend so I watched no games on
TV. I DVRd the games and watched the
highlights. I didn’t even have time to
check any results until Saturday evening.
Wow! What a surprise!
England
beat Austria
on Friday. The surprise isn’t the
win. That was just a dash of
sarcasm.
McClaren saw fit to reward Gareth Barry; the Villa midfielder
who’s been pretty good in an England
shirt of late; the recipient of at least two if not three Man Of The Match
plaudits with a seat on the bench.
The tired, tried and tested midfield partnership that
doesn’t work very well was aired again.
What is that McClaren #### doing?
From the highlights and many accounts the pairing failed to ignite a
dour England,
again.
Now had he gone with Barry and Lampard I would have
applauded him. Even Barry and Cole would
have been something, time and time again Joe Cole has shown he’s not a wide
player. And England
certainly have someone better on the right than Wright-Philips, his crossing is
poor for Chelsea and not much different for England.
At least he had the sense to play Lescott at the back
instead of on the left. Obviously El
Tel and McClaren learnt something from the game they attended at Stamford Bridge.
Owen get’s crocked. That
goal against Argentina is
such a long time ago, against Russia
he was poor. Let’s get 20 or thirty goal
ridden games from the ex Liverpool striker before we even let him sniff and England
shirt.
Still a win is a win.
It’s not three points but the manager has wasted another opportunity to
really use a friendly. I’m sure big Sam
will have crosses McClaren off his Christmas card list though.
Seals, nowt to do
with Fish.
Losing two nil at home to the League topping Milton Keynes
Dons; under the au####es of Paul Ince.
From one side of the fence it’s not a bad loss, the Dons are good and it
shows what we need to do in order to maintain our place in the upper echelons
of League Two. From this side of the
fence I say “Bollocks!” Two losses on
the bounce to a poor Bradford side and we had
a great chance to not lose three times on the bounce with the visit of table
topping MK. The lads in white and blue
blew it, big time. The manager also
needs a good kicking as well. Three
results like that at this time of year have the potential to kill a
season. Who do we have coming up? Well the Red Red Robin may not be a Bobbin’
but right here and right now it looks more like a great bug vicious, nasty
eagle! C’mon girls, at least win the
fight before the game.
Sour grapes from Scotland.
The Haggis munching Scots will have to settle for crying
into their kilts next year. No
debauching the monuments of Austria
and Switzerland like they
did the monuments of Madrid.
Brought a tear to my eye to see the Hampden Park
faithful in full roar. Then utterly
silenced by an early Luca Toni goal.
Great strike from the big lad. That’s
the best and the worst of sounds though, the silence at home after an away
goal.
They did fight back and of course they then got robbed. Sorry lads and lasses, getting robbed is what
Clattenburg does to your team after he takes a back hander from a pompous
Spaniard.
The Police will be gutted; drunken Scots urinating on
monuments is always an easier policing job than crazed, drunken English yobs on
the rampage after the inevitable shiity loss.
The only Scottish hope is that Austria will pull out and hand the
Jocks there spot. Apparently the
Austrian people think their team is just so shiite that it doesn’t actually
deserve to be playing in the tournament.
They want to hand it to the best loser.
I couldn’t find my
arse with both hands.
This little spot is dedicated to all the football experts
who didn’t give Israel
a chance.
They have nothing to play for. Oh so wrong!
Russia
is too good a side. No they are not!
Blah blah blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah.
A lot went for the draw but that’s the beauty of this
wonderful game of football. Deserve
means nothing. History means
nothing. Anything else bar those 22 or
more blokes, the referees and his assistant and the ball means absolutely
nothing. Maybe Israel got lucky but the result is in the book
and didn’t England
cheer long and loud. The bookies were
laughing all the way to the bank.
So some may agree with you Paul but most don’t. All that’s needed is a point against Croatia
on Wednesday and we go for a European Holiday next summer. Even McClaren can’t mess that one up, can
he? A point against a team that has
already qualified at home.
Being booed in Portugal.
They won but got booed for some really turgid and
unenteprising football. Has the team
with the Real Golden Generation finally come back down to earth, it was Armenia after
all.
Grotty Robert F
Kennedy Stadium isn’t Wembley or even the Millennium Stadium.
What may be home for the Redskins and the Baseball team that
occupies it in the summer but RFK isn’t a great football stadium.
It has no ends.
Behind the goals is unusually the loudest and most loyal section of the
fan base, here it’s just empty space.
A shade under thirty nine thousand people joined me at the
MLS Cup game today and the place still seemed devoid of atmosphere. Too many empty seats and great swathes of
gravel between the pitch and the fans just doesn’t a Cup Final atmosphere
make. The one side was packed, Houston at one side and New England
at the other, that was a good crowd, noisy and vocal and isolated.
The game turned out to be OK, not a classic but a decent
enough display. Although the half time
entertainment weren’t remotely entertaining.
Defences did dominate, as you’d expect but neither team
really exploited the width of the pitch to any degree. Wells Thompson has a blundering first half in
which he came inside at every opportunity, had little or no positional sense
and couldn’t help out his back three. In
the second half he seemed to take Nicols words a bit too literally and spent
long periods hugging the sunlit touchline, isolated from his team mates.
Houston
noise and smoke; how did they get that splendid smoke bomb past the eagle-eyed
security guards?; was a barometer for their team. The kept up some chanting in the first half
but the were equal to the Revolution Supporters. The second half they cut loose and dominated
the chanting.
The one time when New England
showed any width and quality they scored.
Great Twellman goal but they never really went for the second.
Fair play to Houston’s
fans and the Dynamos on the pitch. It
wasn’t pretty but they; also lacking width; plugged away and fought themselves
back into the game. They got their tying
goal moments after a volley shot just inches high of Onstad’s crossbar. Ngwenye stabbing home when he just couldn’t
give up.
Again a quality cross from wide and Houston take the lead, great De Rosario
header but shoddy marking.
New England came close but
a reluctance to shoot and a goal line clearance meant Nicol’s team remain
winless in their last four MLS Cup outings.
Do you think they can do a Buffalo
and lose four in a row in 2008?
The referee should have sent Smith off. He’s a winger not a bouncer and the way he
‘escorted’ Ngwenya off the pitch after he got a petulant first yellow necessitated
a second. The referee bottled that one.
Good game and definitely better than last years final and we
were spared the ignominy of extra time or penalties. But Please Mr. Garber, choose a stadium more
suited to football and not football next time, you’ll have a better final.
The MLS did bag a winner with the National Anthem
though. One of the Three Tenors from the
Italia 90, Placido Domingo, did a marvelous rendition.
Annoyed and from
DC.
On the Metro on the way back I chatted to some DC United
fans. Three main points came
across.
First that winning the League is a stunning yet barely
recognized achievement. They recognize
that the play off format is very American but don’t understand the paucity of
acclaim that comes from winning the League (or the MLS Supporters’
Shield). Very not football. And as Garber has changed some other rules to
better keep true to the version played abroad why not the League
Champions?
RFK location wise is great for DC United home games. The next stadium may not be quite so fan
friendly in terms of access. Even places
like Dulles have been touted and the fans are unhappy. They want the new stadium in the city and
accessible. The Metro is a cheap and
established transit system, why not take advantage of it?
The US Open Cup is magnificent. A clear fan favourite, old, established and an
American twin of the best Cup Competition in the world. Yes, I do mean the FA Cup. Even DC United fans follow it.
TTFN – a little
something from A A Milne.
It’ll be nice to get back to the rigours of Serie A and the
Premier League but for this weekend it was a pleasure to kick back and enjoy
some live football, always one of the very best ways to spend a Sunday
afternoon. Just be very wary of the dogs
if you ever take a trip to RFK.
Post Script.
Charles Boehm, someone who writes for MLSnet.com – are you
blind, mad, stupid or just a cack reporter.
Your article on this page;
Says the weather was cloudy.
Did you perhaps miss the bright sunshine that illuminated the Giant
Houston Dynamo Shirt. The fans on the
shady side of the stadium were gutted that their seats were cold and shady
whilst the seats opposite them were bathed in gorious late autumn
sunlighght.
If you can’t even get the weather correct can we assume you
spent too much time in hospitality?
England beat Russia comfortably, good first half and shoddy second, 3-0
home win.
Wembley on a Wednesday night,
almost packed, tense and expectant. The
second of two home games that are crucial to hopes of European qualification
was touted as being more difficult than the win against Israel. Wembley has yet to develop the spirit and character
of the old stadium. A win would help
build an appropriate aura for the new modern arch.
McClaren; beset by injuries;
stuck with the winning players from Saturday.
Robinson got the nod between the
sticks; the back four of Richards, Ferdinand, Terry and A.Cole looked
untroubled against Israel;
Barry retained his midfield spot alongside Gerrard with J.Cole and
Wright-Philips on the flanks; Donkey and Owen paired up front.
Hiddink; once a prospect as the
England manager; had to put the second choice Malafeev in goal due to
suspension of his first choice ‘keeper; the back three is the brothers Berezutsky and Ignashevich; a five man
midfield is Aniukov, Bilyaletdinov, Zhirkov; would have license to get forward;
Semshov and Sychev, Arshavin is the playmaker and Zurianov the only
forward.
A bright start from the home side
saw plenty of long balls up to Donkey; Ferdinand getting in on the act as well;
the Russian threat is muted but much more elegant, Zhirkov making nice runs on
the left; then the visitors attack on the right, the covering Ferdinand is
beaten and a good cross is cut out by the industrious Barry.
Another long ball to the Donkey
continues an England
theme; whereas more football is being played on the right, Richards and
Wright-Philips combine and overlap to create problems. A long throw finds the Donley whose knock
down is found by J.Cole, the shot is blocked behind for a corner; Barry’s first
delivery is blocked and he gets a second chance, the deliver is much better,
dropping at the feet of an unmarked Owen who controls the ball then curls one
in at the far post.
The Russian’s put the ball on the
floor and rely on passing to attack; a corner kick is wasted directly at
Robinson.
England’s better moves come
through as an alternative to the hoofed ball up field; the Coles combine on the
left; Barry and Gerrard start a move in midfield which sees a ball into the box
missed by Owen and well saved by a athletic Malafeev off the boot of the
Donkey.
A long but pinpoint ball from the
middle finds Zhirkov on the left; he turns Richards inside out then cuts inside
and finds Bilyaletdinov, the
midfielder slashes one into side netting.
Non existent defending.
England continues to press, applying the pressure
in midfield and maintaining a high pace to the game, Russia is trying to play their way
back into the game.
Owen beats two men on the right and Donkey keeps England’s possession
going; one the right Wright-Philips and Richards combine to make the ‘keeper
work; Barry works hard to prevent chance
on left after A.Cole lets his man through; A.Cole and Wright-Philips combine
but the diminutive Chelsea player fires wide; Zhirkov cuts inside and finds Zurianov
who chests the ball down and whips the ball into the net on the turn, the goal
is harshly disallowed for handball when replays clearly show the Russian used
his chest and the referee was unsighted.
Russia get another chance after Zhirkov and Arshavin combine,
Bilyaletdinov fires true but Robinson is equal to the shot; Russia start to
press England and the home side is starting to sit back and rely on the long
ball, Wright-Philips finds Donkey who brings the ball down beautifully only to
fluff a relatively simple through ball.
Bilyaletdinov puts a ball in for Sychev but it’s a fraction too
high and Robinson claims.
Wright-Philips showed good hustle
to stop a goal kick and the ball isn’t cleared well by Russia, J.Cole
has a shot well saved by the ‘keeper and Gerrard’s long range shot is
high.
The breakthrough comes from a
long ball, the first one gets put back into midfield by the Russian back line
and then comes in again, Donkey nods a diagonal ball on and down and Owen needs
just the one touch to hammer the leather sphere into the back of the net.
England takes their foot off the
petrol but retain control of the game for the last quarter hour; mostly. Owen finds Wright-Phillips but his shot is
poor; Zhirkov delivers a deliciously tantalizing cross to on one in particular;
Richards cross is cleared; Zhirkov shoots wide; switch to a 4 4 2 with the
introduction of Byshov and the withdrawal of Semshov has some benefits, Zhirkov
finds Bilyaletdinov in the area
through the legs of Ferdinand but Terry cleans things up; Owen passes to Donkey
but his back heel is cleared by the Russian defence.
The Russians start hard and fast; attacking straight from the kick off;
Zurianov’s final ball is a cross/shot and doesn’t trouble Robinson.
Sychev gets the ball in the left channel and fires one across Robinson,
but it goes just wide; Zhirkov delivers a cross from the left which beats
everyone including the outstretched boot of Sychev by an inch or two; Bystrov
beats J.Cole then is bundled over by him but the referee does nothing; Zhirkov
finds Zurianov inside the area but England clear.
The rest of the half is pretty dour, Russia seem to have given up and
England sit back, a few flurries from each side but the result seems to be
satisfactory for both teams.
England’s last fling is started by Barry, he finds
Owen who neatly passes the ball to Ferdinand, and he shows a trick to the
Russian defender then ices the cake with England’s third.
McClaren will be delighted and
will undoubtedly take the credit for the win.
Hiddink’s reputation wasn’t
matched by the performance of the Russians.
The referee made one calamitous
mistake and a few minor ones, the big game changer was in disallowing a
perfectly good goal even though he was behind the player and didn’t consult
with his assistant. By not awarding the
goal the referee all but handed the tie to England.
England:-
Robinson
Richards
Ferdinand
Terry
Ashley Cole
Wright-Phillips
Barry
Gerrard
Joe Cole (Neville 88)
Heskey (Crouch 80)
Owen (Downing 90)
Booked:-
Cole
Goals:-
Owen 7, 30
Ferdinand 84
Russia:-
Malafeev
Berezutsky
Ignashevich
Berezutsky
Aniukov (Kerzhakov 80)
Bilyaletdinov
Zhirkov
Semshov (Bystrov 40)
Sychev (Pavluchenko 63)
Arshavin
Zurianov
Booked:-
Goals:-
Attendance:-
86106
Referee:-
Martin Hansson (SWE).
Robinson – pulled of a couple of good saves, was alright on the night.
Richards – good interplay with Wright-Philips looked stretched at the
back when faced with ball skill on occasion, totally skinned once or twice.
Ferdinand- reasonably solid but made one terrible mistake and a couple
of other blunder, his distribution was poor.
Terry – a rock.
Ashley Cole – got beaten at full back too many times and didn’t have too
much going forward.
Wright-Phillips – bright and eager, still lacks the killer delivery but
works well with Richards.
Barry – Man of the Match, hard work all over the pitch, involved in the
goals and helping out his defenders, always available and always had a decent
pass when in possession, rarely wasted a ball.
Gerrard – OK, no real threat in attack, reasonable in the middle.
Joe Cole – a few nice flashes, but it’s easy to see why he’s not a Chelsea starter from this
performance.
Heskey – got his head on the ball well, poor with the ball at his
feet. EYORE!
Owen – almost back to his best, showed touch and ruthlessness in front
of goal and worked hard when pushed wide.
McClaren – he picked a team that beat a poor and an average
side. The tactics were poor; just hoof
it to the Donkey; and some of the players he picks hardly showed up, late
substitutions didn’t give fringe players a shot in a game that was well
won. Barry was MotM but you kinda think
that’ll he’ll no start the next game if Hargreaves is fit. Downing was his own player but still remains
on the bench. Phil will probably be a
first choice once fit. How does he do
when his team is in trouble? Can he
alter the shape or tactics of a team that looked pretty one dimensional?
