The Soccer Thread

[wolf stansson]

I'm very anxious to see how Jurgen works Clint and Landon into the attack together. They both need freedom and a lot of the ball to be effective.

 

Starters:

Howard - 6 - Faced very few chances, organized the back line well.

Steve Cherundolo - 5 - Was very active up and down the right side, defended well, but I have to call him out for that irresponsible petulance swinging at Guardado that could have been a red.

Boca - 7 - Solid, responsible and best of all, physical. Those little forwards wanted nothing to do with him. Kept them out of the box and organized the back line like the captain he is.

Edgar Castillo - 5 - Fast, but didn't get forward as much as advertised, some bad giveaways and like when we've seen him before, nothing to get excited about but about on par with our previous clown car left backs of Bornstein, Pearce and Boca.

Orozco - 5 - Don't rate him. Physical and held the line well, but is a walking red card. Good for depth, but I'd rather see Gonzalez and Goodson.

Jermaine Jones - 4 - Clumsy with the ball, missed two solid chances and didn't distribute the ball from the midfield.

Beckerman - 7 - Solid, responsible, fluid, put out fires and calmly laid the ball off. His best international performance. Finally looked like the dude who runs RSL in the US kit.

Michael Bradley - 4 - Garbage. Looked lost holding a high line, bad turnovers, bad passes, terrible positioning too close behind Buddle.

Torres - 5 - Good second half. Garbage, awful, scared first half. He has a left foot, but he is not a left midfielder. If you have to put him in the middle and tailor the game around him just to get him to be a contributor, he's not good enough. You know who doesn't need that? Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Stuart Holden, Benny Feilhaber, Maurice Edu and Brek Shea. It's a numbers game and Torres isn't good enough.

Landon Donovan - 8 - Brought into the middle in the second half, Landon was a lightning bolt. Popped up everywhere faster than they could react. Brilliant performance in the second half.

Edson Buddle - 5 - It's almost unfair to grade him. Jurgen marooned him up top alone. That said, we all know he's second rate.

 

Subs:

Brek Shea - 8 - Dynamic, creative, fast, fluid, great vision and calm. He didn't look like this was his second cap. On the ball he's as good as anyone we have, his size creates problems for smaller defenders, his ideas are young Dempseyesque and he can play on the left side.

Juan Agudelo - 7 - Enthusiasm got him in good position but sometimes led to some fizzled attacks, but that said, I love his direct style, I love his persistence, speed, strength and he always has tricky, unconventional runs.

Robbie Rogers - 7 - I don't rate him as anything more than depth, but he put himself in great positions to score and to receive the ball from Agudelo that should have been the red card. Lazy, inexcusable marking on the goal, but good for him anyway.

Rico Clark - Can we strip him of US citizenship so he'll never play again? Get on it, Congress. Seriously, he brings nothing.

 

 

The first half guys suffered from a terrible formation, that as I said earlier when I first saw it, can [expletive] itself. Not sure what Jurgen was looking for there, but good lord it was bad. Still, the players could have done better.

Edited August 11, 2011 by wolf stansson

[shnsajax]

Would like to see us try something along the lines of:

 

                                  Altidore/Agudelo

                      Donovan                     Dempsey

     Shea                                                         Holden

                                  Bradley/Jones

[TruffleShuffle]

Rico Clark - Can we strip him of US citizenship so he'll never play again? Get on it, Congress. Seriously, he brings nothing.

 

lol

 

but seriously, he is terrible and it's time that he stops getting chances.

[shnsajax]

Sounds like Arsenal will get about $57 million pounds for Cesc and Nasri. I would prefer to keep Nasri but he can walk free next season. Wonder if Wenger will spend any of it. Staying in the top 4 is going to be tough this season.

[shnsajax]

EPL TV Schedule for this weekend:

 

TV:

 

SATURDAY, August 13

 

ESPN2

England TOTTENHAM-EVERTON (live) 9:30 am. Postponed

 

FOX SOCCER CHANNEL

England LIVERPOOL-SUNDERLAND (live) 10 am.

England NEWCASTLE-ARSENAL (live) 12:30 pm.

 

FOX SOCCER PLUS

England QPR-BOLTON (live) 10 am.

England BLACKBURN-WOLVES (delay) 4 pm.

 

FOX DEPORTES

England LIVERPOOL-SUNDERLAND (live) 10 am.

England NEWCASTLE-ARSENAL (live) 12:30 pm.

England FULHAM-ASTON VILLA (delay) 7 pm.

 

ESPN DEPORTES

England TOTTENHAM-EVERTON (live) 9:30 am.

 

FOXSOCCER.tv

England BLACKBURN-WOLVES (live) 10 am.

England FULHAM-ASTON VILLA (live) 10 am.

England LIVERPOOL-SUNDERLAND (On Demand) 10 am.

England QPR-BOLTON (live) 10 am.

England NEWCASTLE-ARSENAL (On Demand) 12:30 pm.

 

ESPN3.com

England TOTTENHAM-EVERTON (live) 9:30 am.

 

SUNDAY, August 14

 

FOX SOCCER CHANNEL

England WEST BROM-MANCHESTER UNITED (live) 11 am.

 

FOX SOCCER PLUS

England STOKE CITY-CHELSEA (live) 8 am.

 

FOX DEPORTES

England WEST BROM-MANCHESTER UNITED (live) 11 am.

 

FOXSOCCER.tv

England STOKE CITY-CHELSEA (live) 8:25 am.

England WEST BROM-MANCHESTER UNITED (On Demand) 11 am.

 

Monday, August 15

 

ESPN2

England MANCHESTER CITY-SWANSEA CITY (live) 2:55 pm.

 

ESPN DEPORTES

England MANCHESTER CITY-SWANSEA CITY (live) 2:55 pm.

 

ESPN3.com

England MANCHESTER CITY-SWANSEA CITY (live) 2:55 pm.

[UMFan83]

damn Tottenham-Everton postponed due to the riots? dammn you fools chill out!

[wolf stansson]

Sounds like Arsenal will get about $57 million pounds for Cesc and Nasri. I would prefer to keep Nasri but he can walk free next season. Wonder if Wenger will spend any of it. Staying in the top 4 is going to be tough this season.

Dude that's nuts. I don't think they are a top 4 team with Cesc and Nasri. Without them, you're struggling to make Europe at all. He'll have to turn that cash around fast.

 

http://www.noshortcorners.com/2011/08/semi-sweet-goodies.html

It's been a while since we've checked in with AS Roma and with Clint Dempsey, so let's do both now. It seems the arrival of fan Luis Enrique has actually put Deuce from the "He's good, but we're not sure what position he is" category onto their "Project Buy American" list. In fact, since I last spilled, they have given up hope of Landon Donovan and sold Mirko Vučinić. These two facts, plus the sticker shock received when calling to enquire about Nilmar, have put Dempsey straight to the top of their Statesider wishlist along with Michael Bradley.

 

Roma have also finally cracked to code to land Maarten Stekelenburg, taking care of priority #1. They grabbed a defender (Heinze), a winger (Lamela) and a forward (Bojan). They still, however, need to shed a non-EU player before they can start chasing any American without a European passport. When it all shakes out, they will have a new attacker and one or two new midfielders by the close of this window. If Roma signs a big name midfielder, start watching for a Dempsey offer. At the same time, they may also go thrifty with the midfield purchases and do the splurging on Robin van Persie.

 

So... yeah. It's a lot to process, so just be thankful I haven't confused anyone by saying any more about Deuce for the moment. He has remained popular all window long and caused a case or two of sticker shock himself. I will close this presentation by letting you know that previous callers AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund are no longer in the picture, just so you don't get any wrong ideas trying to figure out what I'm hiding.

 

This is not over, folks, it's possible that he'd go for the first time. Stay tuned, because in a matter of days I'm just gonna throw this scene completely open. I've been sitting on 85% of what I know about it the whole summer and I need to let it out. If I hold it too long, it's like John Hurt in Alien. Noooo, thank you.

[shnsajax]

Yeah it sucks, my confidence is Wenger is getting ready to hit an all-time low. His title will soon change to Financial Manager.

 

Holy [expletive], looks like Eto is heading to Russia to Anzhi Makhachkala (never heard of them) for $485,000 a week or 25.22 million a year.

[wvcbxl]

... Anzhi Makhachkala (never heard of them)...

 

Neither had I until they bought Mbark Boussoufa from Anderlecht in the spring (for an insane fee and salary).

They also have Roberto Carlos (who is their captain) and Joeri Zjirkov (ex-Chelsea), so it sounds like a club owner with very deep pockets.

As it's a team from Dagestan better not ask too many questions about how he got his money. :wink:

[wolf stansson]

Freddy to Philly. Great move for both. Good team, quality offensive running mates, familiar coach and defensive responsibilities will be emphasized.

[TruffleShuffle]

http://deadspin.com/5829808/it-sure-looks-as-if-one-mexican-soccer-player-had-some-bowel-issues-tonight

[USSoccer]

Freddy to Philly. Great move for both. Good team, quality offensive running mates, familiar coach and defensive responsibilities will be emphasized.

 

 

I'm surprised Nowak wants him back. Chivas USA are such a terribly run team. They've now passed on Feihaber and Adu.

 

RE: last night the only two guys I rated were Shea and Agudelo. Shea has a chance to be very good. That first half was some of the worst soccer we've played this year, and that's saying something.

[Exile on Waveland]

Getting really excited for the EPL tomorrow. Especially after the first-half nightmare last year for LFC, the resurgent second half, and a whole bunch of new quality signings. I'll get the predictions started, for whatever it's worth, if anyone wants to join:

 

1. Man City (Might open myself to criticism here as the smart money is probably still on Man U -- but I thought them a rather weak winner last year despite the nine-point cushion, and not sure they're better. Mancini maybe has a more difficult job than most with the size of his squad and the Tevez/Balotelli, um, "issues." But signing Aguero was huge, especially in case Tevez does leave. This is probably the best overall defensive team in the league, and, if Mancini loosens the reigns a bit, I think they win the league. Won't be a popular winner because they'll have bought the league. Oh well).

 

2. Man U (Still the favorites, though for a league winner and Champions League finalist weak(er still without Scholes) in central midfield -- which is only kind of important. But they'll be there in the end like they always are. I just think City is stronger/deeper all over the field.)

 

3. Chelsea (Unless Villa Boas works some magic or Modric is actually signed, I think Chelsea will finish a lot close to fourth than second. Aging all over the place. Lukaku is a great signing, but probably not for this year as they still have Drogba/Anelka and signed some oft-injured striker in January. Can't recall his name though.)

 

4. Liverpool (As I said, resurgent second half under Dalglish and a good summer -- made even better with an apparent answer at left back, finally. I feel relatively confident/optimistic(?) they'll finish in a Champions League spot, but would be surprised if much higher. Would be absolutely thrilled with third, which is the highest I can rationally envision.)

 

5. Arsenal (Would be very strange seeing them out of the Champions League -- though, I suppose, technically they need to beat Udinese to make it this year, but whatever. I think they finish here even with Fabregas/Nasri. Without them? They might be looking at sixth. Which is unfortuante because, outside of Liverpool naturally, I'd rather see them challenging for the league than anyone else.)

 

6. Spurs (With Modric they won't go lower and could finish higher. I struggle seeing them finishing in the top-four though, regardless. They were fifth last year, didn't improve over the summer, and I think Liverpool has pretty clearly jumped them in the pecking order. Though if they do completely ignore Europa, they would/could be much fresher for league games than last year.)

 

7. Everton (Might be the most likely finish of any team. Think they're better than everyone else, but certainly not better than any of the aforementioned six. Of course, if Arsenal lose Fabregas/Nasri, don't replace them, and Spurs lose Modric, and don't replace him, they'll dream of higher.)

 

After that, toss a bunch of teams in the hat, and, frankly, I don't care enough to even try to pick (nor do I imagine anyone cares to read). Relegation will be a battle between all three promoted teams, Wigan, Blackburn, and maybe a couple others (Wolves, Newcastle(?), etc).

 

That was longer than I intended, sorry. Feel free to ignore.

[wolf stansson]

1. United - Sneijder is what the doctor ordered.

2. Chelsea - They'll spend in January if City is a threat.

3. City - Too many crazies to win the title.

4. Liverpool - Daglish will get them back into the top 4.

5. Spurs

6. Arsenal*

7. Villa

8. Everton

9. Fulham**

10. Bolton

11. Stoke

12. Sunderland

13. Wigan

14. West Brom

15. Newcastle

16. Swansea

17. Blackburn

18. QPR

19. Wolves

20. Norwich

 

*As currently constructed.

**With Clint.

[Guest]

The thing that will be interesting with City is how they manage the Champions League schedule. IIRC, they didn't put much effort into the Europa League last year and focused on the EPL/FA Cup but they obviously won't be doing that with the UCL this year. ManU/Ferguson know how to deal with the extra games so it will be nothing new for them.

[Exile on Waveland]

That's a good point -- I firmly believe the extra games hurt Spurs last year (fewer games should/could help Liverpool this year). I think City is deep enough, though, to withstand it. We shall see.

 

If United do get Sneijder, then I think they win the league.

[wolf stansson]

EPL Fantasy League - http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/

Click Join League

Choose Private

League Code - 1761481-365361

[shnsajax]

Filling out that with 15 is the most difficult task of any fantasy sport.

[wolf stansson]

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm16/dhohulin/Capture-6.jpg

[Mark Priors Calves]

EPL Fantasy League - http://fantasy.premierleague.com/my-leagues/

Click Join League

Choose Private

League Code - 1761481-365361

This website sucks.

 

ETA: Finally got it going, I was trying all day. Thanks for setting this up, wolf.

[Mark Priors Calves]

The Galaxy signed Robbie Keane from Spurs.

[shnsajax]

Mexico is playing Brazil in the semi's of the U20 World Cup. God I hope they get their [expletive] asses kicked. Last thing we need is for them to win another trophy this year.

[wolf stansson]

The Galaxy signed Robbie Keane from Spurs.

I just made a farting sound with my mouth you guys.

[wolf stansson]

Rangers getting pretty US American these days. They bought Bocanegra and Bedoya today.

[shnsajax]

Holy [expletive] that was a great Super Cup match today, Messi's 2nd goal was fantastic. Good to see both benched clear too after Marcelo went de Jong on Fabregas. Its fun watching these two teams play each other, should be a great season.