Middlesborough 0 -4 Portsmouth, Harry = genius?

Middlesborough 0 -4 Portsmouth


The guys at the dog park this morning were slagging Harry Redknapp, calling him a "mercenary" etc. Call him what you want, but Redknapp's results with Portsmouth are astounding.

In his first tenure with Pompey in the prem, Harry kept them up and, moreover, made them a very difficult opponent to face at Fratton Park. What he did last year was amazing - he had to clean up the Allain Perrin disaster at mid-season with a squad full of players that were not suited to the Prem (and that Harry clearly hated). There was also the issue of an atrocious record - honestly, they were marginally better than laughing-stock Sunderland.

Harry comes in, cleans house, and basically starts from scratch while every other club is rounding into mid-season form. He adds a D'alesandro, finds a heroic role for Pedro Mendes, sprinkles some magic dust, and Portsmouth miraculously avoid the drop.

Now with a summer to organize and add to his side, Harry has Portsmouth climbing the table with 7 points from 3 matches.

Today against Boro, they created tons of quality chances attacking and looked patient and organized defending, only ceding a few half-chances. Primus was great in the first half when the match was still in the balance. Kanu (2 goals) continued his torrid early form scoring on an incredible solo run from his own half. The only small negative I can think of was that scorer Benjani was offsides at least 5 times. But who cares with a 4-0 road victory against a team that just defeated Chelsea?

For Boro, I will say that despite all the benefits in confidence from defeating Chelsea, matches like that are draining. It is not suprising they came up wanting today, but they should never be embarassed at home by Portsmouth.

Viduka, after netting the match winner vs Chelsea, was given the start, but proved unable to build on that performance. The Aussie was full of his usual deft touches and tricks but they were to little effect. Viduka slowed down the Boro attack and often lost the ball before being subbed off in the 2nd half.

Yakubu didnt have a great game but provided some threat and spark. I think he will be good for his usual 15 goals or so this season. Stuart Downing continues to look good and received the loudest cheers from the home crowd.

Prem Sat: Everton Romp, Man City steals one, Wigan

Tottenham 0-2 Everton

David Moyes has every reason to feel smug and self-satisfied tonight. He got it all right and his team played a nearly flawless road match.

That is everyone on Everton except Kevin Kilbane, who picked up two needless cards and was sent off in the 32nd minute. The match had been pretty dull up to that point, and I expected Tottenham to really seize control. Instead, it was 10 man Everton who dominated the action.

Everton has a formidable midfield with Cahill, Osman, Arteta, and Carsley. All offers something different and valuable to the side. The disparity between that unit and Tottenham's - who got nothing from the often invisible Jenas, little from Tainio, and a ton of turnovers from Davids - was enormous and negated the man advantage Tottenham held for the bulk of the match.

I think Davids really isn't working out - even when he wins balls, he usually turns it right back over. Also, at some point will people start holding Jermaine Jenas accountable for disappearing for 88 minutes during matches? Enough "potential" - if he doesn't start delivering the goods consistently he has to sit.

Martin Jol has some real work to do, as his side put in a demoralizing performance. Keane and Berbatov received almost no service and Lennon was repeatedly frustrated down the right; consequently, Tottenham produced little to trouble Tim Howard. I will even say they missed Michael Carrick to whip in some balls on set pieces.

Everton must be thrilled with Andy Johnson, who has looked fantastic. He set up the first goal with his tireless work in winning a ball (and free kick) he had no right to win. He then sealed the game with a lovely finish to a sweeping counter-attack that flowed through Osman, out to Neville on the flank, and into AJ. A beautful move, a great match for Everton. The only downside was that David Moyes busted out 2 of the least coordinated goal celebrations I have seen in a while.

Man City 1-0 Arsenal

Arsene Wenger and must be shaking his head after this match, wondering how the Gunners did not romp to their usual easy victory in this fixture. I don't even think City won the match as much as Arsenal blew it.

Thierry Henry suffered through the worst match I have ever seen him play: 1) he didn't seem to posess a 5th gear and seemed idling in 2nd gear for most of the match 2) he lacked his usual sublime touch evident in very substandard settling, passing, and 3) FINISHING. 2004 Henry would have scored about 5 goals today - no joke. Even 2005 would have had an easy 3. The announcers mentioned that Henry felt he was not yet in top form, so maybe there is no cause for concern. We'll see, but this again shows that for all the pretty passing Arsenal can do, they are very reliant on Henry for goals. It showed when he missed games last year and it showed today.

Arsenal again suffered again from overpassing in the attacking zone and wasted some glorious moves through the midfield, where they repeatedly sliced through City. Everyone says it and it is true - Arsenal needs to shoot more - its getting ridiculous. Even the departed Robert Pires occasionally used to check in off the left and bend in some shots.

Jens Lehman looked on the verge of a meltdown, one camera angle showing him yelling in Paul Dickov's ear as a corner was about to come in. A minute later he looked to give City's Corradi a cheap shot after gathering the ball. He is such a weird guy.

For Man City, I thought Sylvan Distin made a few nice plays in the back and had a solid match. And I'd give man of the match to keeper Nicky Weaver.

Wigan 1-0 Reading

I missed the first half of this match, so comments are from the 2nd half (apparently first half was much of the same). Sry.

Wigan really controlled things and really should have clinched the game with a deserved second. Reading looked sort of tired and aimless (and did not trouble Wigan until the 89th minute when Lita was sent in only to be denied by Kirkland) - they resorted to a lot of route 1 long balls but Wigan's back 4 just kept winning in the air and stopping most attacks for the Prem new boys. Outside of early season star Seol Hyeon, Reading looked physically outmatched - something to look for as the season progresses.

Heskey got his goal and should have had two more - hitting the crossbar on a header and lofting the keeper too heavily as he came in alone on goal in the 2nd half. I guess its a promising performance, but I need to see more - I'm still not a believer. The other negative was the first appearance of disgruntled Pascal Chimbonda, who came on as a 2nd half sub and, despite showing signs of his touch and speed, looked like he really didn't care at all. A far cry from the box-to-box ball-winning dynamo of last season.

Boro shocks Chelsea 2-1,Things to look for in Prem

For a full recap:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=199100&cc=5901

Watching the Chelsea/Boro match today I had a thought - Chelsea was up 1-0 and decently in control of the game early in the second half. Boro looked reasonably bright, was at home, and Chelsea was missing the creativity of Cole and Robben. But it was the type of game and lead that Chelsea has rarely squandered over the past 2 years.

Then Schevchenko made a great run down the left and hit Lampard alone at the six for the certain clincher. Lampard hit the bar, Schwarzer recovered and Boro started gaining some steam with great work rate and some hard tackles that brought the crowd to life. The thought was, if Boro nicks a goal and gets a point, maybe Chelsea will be beatable this year.

Lo and behold, Boro got 2 goals and bagged all 3 points with a 2-1 win. Is there hope for the chasers this year? I'll say this - they were both goals that Chelsea never concedes. An unmarked Pogatetz on a set piece and a lose scramble for the second with 4 Chelsea players caught frozen for the Viduka winner. And the goals were in the 2nd half - last year, Chelsea was even more dominant in the 2nd half than the first.

I'm not gonna overdo it - its one match - but its the stumble everyone else was looking for. I would still pick Chelsea to win the prem, but at it gives real hope for the chasers (who have been buried by the end of the first 15 games the past 2 years).

Other thoughts:

Sheva looks pretty solid - perhaps hasn't seen enough of the ball yet, but looks really good when he gets it. Also provides a good 2nd option on direct kicks to the recently erratic Lampard - Sheva almost scored on a beauty from 30 yards.

Kallou looked a little lost out there - he was a late replacement for Robben and didn't offer much.

George Boateng looked good in the middle, especially the 2 times he stepped up and drove the ball forward when Chelsea refused to mark him. Both times that he did this he sprung dangerous Boro attacks - I'd like to see him to more of this to match his brutal, effective tackling in the middle.

Gaizka Mendietta has ditched his signature stringy, shaggy blond hairstyle for a "short on top-medium on sides" look that only seems to highlight his baldness. He has struggled with injuries since his move to Boro and will probably need more matches to regain form. But I wonder if he will ever regain it - its always hard to tell with older players dealing with declining skills and injuries. I did think Boro looked much better with Lee Cattermole and the other energetic youngsters (they out-hustled Chelsea in the 2nd half). I don't see Mendietta playing a big role for them this year.

Some we will see, some we won't. Some things I am looking forward to now that the Prem is back:

Harry Redknap keeping Portsmouth up again. And twitching.

Nolberto Solano curling in a beautiful goal.

Alan Smith lose the ball to a tough challenge. He turns and hunts the ball and chops down an opposing player. Then a "fuck-off" to the ref on the inevitable whistle. Depending on the speed of the ref, the over/under is about 9 seconds from Smith's loss of posession to yellow card.

Off the dribble, Christiano Ronaldo beats everything except the lingering adolescent acne on his cheeks.

Seeing 3 sides I have barely ever seen. Also, not having to see Sunderland anymore.

Press conferences with Jose Mourinho. Anything with Neil Warnock.

Solkskjaer playing again and scoring big goals again.

After a visitors' goal at Anfield, when an announcer, in grave tones, warns a visiting player not to "taunt the Kop."

Kevin Davies win 90% of header chances sent his way

Robbie Keane continue to score and impress and remain underrated and often 3rd choice at striker for Spurs.

The first color commentator to suggest the first goal is important in this match.

Drogba and Djiouff shaking hands pre-match and both going down in a heap clutching their faces and asking for cards.

Martin Tyler.

McClaren wins World Cup in 1st Friendly!

England thrashed Greece today 4-0 and fans of England (myself included) hungry for an exciting, successful side should over-react. The positives:

Gerrard was rampant and creative on the right in the 1st half - he drove the entire England offense, which I thought might suffer from the loss of Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney .

Lampard, perhaps at McClaren's request, didn't wildly blast a free kick from 35 yards. Instead he took adv of Crouch's height in box with a chip, which led to the opening goal by Terry. Then Lamps scored - a little lucky perhaps, but it could have been a PK anyway.

Hargreaves - Man U will buy him now for sure, as Boris had suggested. Just more of same awesome work-rate, crunching tackles that he showed in Germany (and that Man U. has missed since Keane's demise). Great tackle on Samaras outside the box. Named man of the match - amazing for a defensive midfielder who had no goals or assists in 4-0 win. He had a really solid match, but I think the recent Hargreaves love-fest caused his choice over Stevie G, who was certainly man of the match in my view.

Rio - also continuing good form from WC - showing a bit of attacking flare, as well as solid positional and tactical defending. Not that Greece offered that much in the way of attack. Also, the dread/braids look is gone and I hope for good (I thought he looked like Nefertiti's ugly sister with them).

Crouch - awkard and effective.

Ashley Cole had 2 goal-line kick saves that would have made Ken Dryden proud, and ate up any through balls played on the deck.

A first half TKO is a strong statement ("you are not in the same league as us"), and surely helps to build confidence in the squad. And I think that is what England needs.

Btw, it was strange to hear a few England players attribute failure in Germany to "over-confidence." They never seemed over-confident to me - they seemed to lack confidence and belief (and creativity). And have been for as long as I have been watching them. I didn't think McClaren was man to instill that, but I like everything he has done thus far in his short tenure.

On the "let's take it down a notch" front, this is what England should do to 2nd tier European competition more often. (I know Greece is defending Euro champs, but that was pretty lucky and they didn't qualify for the World Cup.). Also, Greece's marking in their own box was atrocious.

The 2nd half was unimportant - England sat back a lot more, brought in some subs etc. Some concern was the defending on set pieces in both halves. Greece looked dangerous on them and probably should have scored at least 1 goal.

Lastly, some really nice referee work in this game.

Fair Play, Ashton

Bobby M has provided this link re: "fair play" BS being scrapped. They are answering our prayers. Hallelujah!

There is also a "respect" campaign that will focus specifically on four of the evils of the modern game: dissent, mass confrontation, simulation and elbowing.

Now, let's see the implementation.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2006/08/15/sfnwin15.xml

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/BobbyMcMahon/2006/08/15/The_end_of_a_badly_abused_good_intention#comments

Dean Ashton has suffered a serious ankle injury, and could be outof action until November. I have been really impressed with Ashton in his stints with Norwich and West Ham and thought McClaren's selection of him for England was a wise move.

I can't help but side with big Sam A and wonder why the national teams are training and playing friendlies in the days leading up to the opening match of the domestic season. I know finding time for national teams is always difficult and problematic, but this week seems ludicrous. I imagine Allen Pardew might agree as well.

Reyes, Hargreaves, and Wigan

Buyer's beware.

Madrid coming for Reyes is a dream scenario for Wenger - Real is in such a buying frenzy that he can unload one of his few misstep signings and perhaps profit from it. Reyes has been a disappointment for a few years now. Wenger should re-invest the proceeds elesewhere - with his keen eye for talent, he is sure to get better value for the money.

Owen Hargreaves has issued a "come purchase me" plea to the Prem. I am sure someone will quickly forget years of not liking him and overpay Bayern for one of the few bright lights for England at the World Cup. Bayern should sell for a good price - he has been a good servant there, but I think he can be replaced.

I'm worried for one of the feel good stories of last year, Wigan. I'm still scratching my head about the purchase of Emile Heskey. Seemed like some desperation to stop the exodous after losing Roberts, Chimbonda and Bullard. But I would be surprised if Heskey can replace Bullard's goals, let alone Roberts. 5.5m pounds? Emile Heskey screams free transfer at this point in his career. And I think Blackburn robbed them for Roberts - 2.2m seems a steal for his production, pedigree be-damned.

Paul Jewell succeeded in winning Wigan promotion from the Championship, an exceedingly difficult feat. The following year he accomplished a yet harder feat, he kept them up (and in some style). Now he faces the task of survival after suffering the old "big clubs raid and sign away top talent of successful small club." Throw in what looks to be a dicey and pricy Heskey signing, and Jewell will really be put to the test once again.

More love for Barca, less for announcers

Paul Caliguri called the Barca/Red Bulls match with Max Bretos - Paul is improving but I can't believe he got a recall after his WC performaces on FSC. Is anyone at FSC listening to him on the air? Aside from his usual nervous meandering sentences to nowhere, his highlights included:

1) Putting forth the controversial theory that Barca's opening La Liga match might mean more to them than this friendly against the NY Red Bulls.

2) When Ronaldinho came off (to a thunderous standing ovation), Caliguri asked "now who he will give the captain's armband to?" That's really unimportant in a friendly.

3) Paul then commented on Ro touching every Barca player on the bench. (Paul really notices some uninteresting things). His comment was "class." I know he was swept up in Ro's performance (I was as well), but that is not a display of class. Those are his teammates.

4) Discussing who on Red Bulls that Barcelona will try to deny the ball - outside of maybe recognizing Djorkayeff as they disposess him, I don't think Barcelona could name one player on the NY side.

Max and Paul combos:

1) Conjecture on Steve Nash playing for Red Bulls after training with them and Arena light-heartedly saying he could play for them. Tell me they were kidding. Please.

2) They both talked about Messi as one of the best players in the world - are they judging on his performance in the u-21 championships (which were astonishing)? All signs point to his becoming great, but he hasn't been a consistent starter for Barca or Argentina yet, so to call him one of the world's "great players" is premature, and seems more on the buzz around him than on his performances. Btw, Messi put on a fantastic display and I thought was man of the match.

3) After listening to the Meadowlands crowd in the first 20 minutes, they thought maybe this wasn't really a home game for Red Bulls - perhaps the crowd was more pro-Barca. Bold considering the ratio of Barca to Red Bull jerseys in the crowd was about 15,000 to 1 (the fan base ratio might be even higher).

Max does decent play-by-play - he certainly knows the players. I'm not a big fan of his on-camera personality - he is sort of loud and hyperbolic a lot of the time.

The last two games Max has been a little irritating regarding Ronaldinho and how long he would play before Rykaard subbed him. Max has been constantly anticipating his removal and always wrong. Max had him being subbed off in the 1st half - Ro ended up playing about 75 minutes.

Rykaard let him play and I'm glad he did - Ro is in his prime and can handle it. Moreover, I think this Barcelona tour did more for promoting soccer (and Barcelona football) in the USA than anything since hosting the World Cup.

The friendly match that followed - Real Madrid vs Real Salt Lake (ridiculous name) - showed just how special Barcelona is. Madrid has big names and big talent, but outside of Robinho (who was outrageous as a 2nd half sub - looking for a huge year for him) they failed to wow the muted crowd. There was no electricity or excitement around the match. Just some big names playing some no names in Utah.

(As far as I could tell, they had two guys (Chris Sullivan and a guy I don't know) do the game from the studio, not Utah. That didn't help the atmosphere. Add to this, some really bad production work by FSC on all thse friendlies - bad replay work, timing, angles etc. - and outside of the dazzling Robinho, it was pretty forgettable.)

I think people will attribute Barca's immense appeal in the USA to Ronaldinho - and he is certainly a huge part of it. But the whole team, and particularly players like Messi and Eto'o, can and do play at Ro's level and it makes for really entertaining soccer. ESPN would be wise to ensure we see Barca as often as possible in the Champions League - its just good business.

Some more inapporpriate overanalysis of individuals in the friendlies:

I think the Ruud van Nistlerooy transfer was a great piece of business for Man U. He is still a great poacher in front of net and will get his goals, but he definitely looks slower (I blame the switch to white cleats). Moreover, he is so much less influential over the past year and a half. He did a lot more than score for Man U in his first 2 years (and he scored a ton) - he held the ball up extremely well on the counter-attack and found streaking midfielders like Paul Scholes consistently. That piece of his game is missing now.

Deco looks shitty. He looked fatigued in Portugal's last few World Cup games and continued to look the same in these friendlies. Just a shocking number of errant passes by him. I wonder if the number of matches he has played for Porto, Portugal and Barca over the past few years has taken its toll on his slight frame.

Ro's step flick drag move at full speed in the midfield - is there even a name for that move? Can we invent one?

Refs/response to posts

My blog site is acting in an irritating fashion. It showed no comments posted (I called its bluff and found my boys posts) and is displaying only a draft version of my post. Hope its just me - did it show there were comments at bottom of post for you all? I'm responding to posts on the Barca friendly and refs with this post.

First, I'm glad we are all agreeing - makes me think we are on to something.

Overall, I want more refs with a better "game feel." It is a bit vague I know, but basically the ref should realize that his role is to facilitate fluid play.

Certain games demand the ref to stop the play and have a chat with a player (or issue a card) if things are getting really chippy. I like that b/c it will let players know that cards are coming and hopefully encourage fewer fouls and more fluid soccer.

What I hate is a ref who assumes he must be the center of attention and places himself at the forefront of games that don't need it. These refs assume the role of parochial schoolteacher who reflexively assumes the lads are misbehaving and need a stern talking to from an adult. (At times, I think Graham Poll fits this genre.) Referees should aspire to be invisible - if the players don't abide, then make yourself visible.

I know Pierluigi Collina was perhaps over-hyped as a ref , but I thought he was good in his approach. He used his scowl and menacing stare down when players deserved it (not just cause it was a great look with the bald dome and crazed eyes). But if the players were playing in a sporting fashion, he did not always thrust himself into the spotlight - he just let the game go. I love when refs do this.

I do think referees need a lot more protection and respect - the common mindset of players, fans, and coaches is that the refs are whipping boys. I hate it when the refs are mauled by a horde of angry teammates after a call. Refs should never have to back away from advancing idiots and they should never feel intimidated on the pitch - yet at times I think they do and it just leads to more problems.

I think players should not be allowed to approach the referee if he gives his "get away" signal. The only player who should be allowed to approach (if he is not in an out-of-control Roy Keanesque frenzy) is the captain.

Really unfair is any abuse of the linemen - so often players take out frustration with vicious tirades against the poor linesmen, who have no defense (cards to issue). Despite so many missed calls, Linesman must be left alone - Bellamy is gonna bring a linesman to tears one of these days. Sadly, if Bellamy does, I bet the Kop will roar with approval.

Btw, I think my comment on that Onyewu penalty call was "One of the worst PK calls ever." If that had not been called, I would not assume we would have gone through - but we would have been in with a shout. But I agree- it really took the wind out of our sails, after we had scored our first legitimate goal. I couldn't link to that article - Boris, can you post link again? My comments on the USA/Ghana match are in the following post:

http://handbagsattenpaces.blogspot.com/2006/06/some-world-cup-match-reports-france-3.html

Definitely check out the Community Shield preview on FSC (also the EPL preview was pretty good). Highlights inlcude last year's FA Cup Final - is there anything more emotional and exhilirating than Steven Gerard goals? They just get my heart pumping, esp the injury time wonder strike from 35 yards.

I will say I like Liverpool at 3/1 in the Shield. Also the draw at 5/2.

Chelsea seems a bit unsettled trying to incorporate some big names and an unhappy William Gallas. As Bobby M said on the Report, Mourinho doesn't know his best line-up yet. I don't think Makalele is available and I imagine Mourinho will expiremnt more with the 4-4-2.

Liverpool a) has a tough Champions League match under their belt, which helps at this point and b) has played better than anyone against Chelsea in the Mourinho era. I also like the way the Liverpool players sound in the preseason - they really believe in Rafa. I dig him too.

Barcelona 4- 4 America: What a Friendly

This is the soccer I want people in the USA to see - I simply could not my eyes off this match. There appeared to be a standing ovation - if not, then at least a prolonged sitting ovation at the final whistle.

Chelsea has big bucks and some big names and are one of the best teams in the world, but there is nothing like Barcelona. They really play beautful, rhythmic soccer (I think I have to get permission from Nike and Eric Cantona to use the phrase jogo bonita now) and the crowds at their first 2 friendlies in the US have been buzzing (and shrieking when Ronaldinho touches the ball) for 90 minutes.

Some thoughts on Barcelona:

Ronaldinho was a little bitchy - less of the total joy/prepetual big smile manchild, more of the I am the greatest so why don't I get every call prima donna who came out with the R headband against France. (The refs were positively giddy post match as they shook hands with Ro.)

More importantly, Ronaldinho did some astonishing stuff on the pitch. At first he seemed only half into it - doing a few tricks, but more for show than anything. But the last 20 minutes, he started running at the makeshift America side (they had made a lot of substitutions at that point) and terrorized them. It was outrageously entertaining. Even Archie, my dog, was watching.

Rafa Marquez had an awful first half and was fully responsible for ceding one goal and debatably so for two others. Though announcers Max and Chris kept crediting him for the first Barca goal, I'm pretty sure it was an own goal off an America defender. Sullivan went on about Rafa's impeccable body shape on the flick header, while Max was amazed by his understated celebration. Add to that all the Barca players went to congratulate Gio who took the corner. Put the clues together - auto-goal.

The Barca defense was hilariously bad and one could easily see what Carlos Puyol means to their back 4. Barca played a high-pressure, high-line defense, but America was exploiting it and repeatedly sending guys in on goal with through balls. In those spots, when the shit hits the fan in the back and guys and loose balls are flying through the box, you need a guy like Puyol (or Cannavaro or Terry) who knows how to defend at defcon 5 (at defcon 5, its pretty much "fuck hold your shape - go win the ball." ) They didn't have him and conceded 4 goals.

I was happy to see Eidur Gudjohnsen have another decent outing. His exquisite touch on the ball and exceptional vision look perfectly suited for Barcelona. He may struggle for time, but I think he will definitely be of use at the Nou Camp and might well thrive.

Peeves:

Mark van Bommel remained in the same negative form he displayed for Holland at the World Cup - he began with a crass chop down of an America player followed by an obscene dive in the box. I know Barca wants some bite in midfield, but I dont think he fits.

Speaking of dive - the tying goal came after Ronaldinho was taken down in the box. He appeared to be tripped, but it was one of those instances where all he did was get his foot in and flick the ball fractions before the defender (who then made contact with him). But Ro's touch put the ball way past the endline.

I think they should use the NFL pass interference rule- where the pass must be catchable or else no flag. In soccer, I don't think just touching the ball means you are in posession. You must have some control or chance to continue your dribble.

This is not just for PK decisions. When attacking players dribble through the midfield at speed - this scenario often unfolds: The defenders close the space down and hem in the attacker, who is picking up speed has nowhere to go. The attacker pushes the ball past a defender, but another supporting defender is there. But the attacker gets that toe poke in before the second defender and the attacker goes flying after the inevitable contact. But the toe poke went right to another defender or twenty yards away from anyone. I think refs should generally let these plays go.

Another thought in the promotion of less diving/theatrics is something I have seen certain refs do, but would like to see more. That is using the advantage rule to give the fouled attacker every possible postive outcome.

Say Rooney is flying through the midfield and a guy tries to chop him down about 35 yards from goal. Rooney, being the keg-shaped terrier that he is, is slowed but continues dribbling. He has posession, but his momentum has been slowed and his control isn't as great post-foul. He loses out to the next defender (1 or 2 seconds after the foul). The ref should still call that original foul then.

The idea is to play the advantage as long as possible to reward guys like Rooney who continue to plow on after getting repeatedly fouled and discourage incentives to dive or go-flying theatrically and ask for a card rather than try to continue the move. Knowing that the ref will blow the original foul encourages the attacker to stay up as he is freerolling to some extent (if he can't pull it off, the ref blows the original foul - nothing to lose.)

One last thought- refs don't give yellow cards often enough when the advantage rule allows play to continue after a card-worthy foul. Cards should be on intent and action, not result. Just because a player doesn't go down and writhe in pain doesn't mean a defender doesn't deserve a card at the next break in the action.