Tons o' controversy, Cosmos film, EPL weekend wrap

It is a little hard for me to talk about the Watford/Fulham match as I lost $90 when Watford equalized in the last minute. What I will say is I don't see Watford staying up this year (bold, I know). You have to get 3 points against teams like Charlton and Fulham at home, especially given Fulham's awful road record and the fact that Watford had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd half.

Watford then let in 3 scruffy goals that showed them to be a little suspect in the back. A team that doesn't score a lot and has a soft defense will not avoid the drop. Credit to Watford and Cole for not rolling over after ceding 3 quick goals and getting the 90th minute equalizer.

Didier Zikorra should get a suspension for that dive versus Mendes to get the PK - it was just blatant and bad for game. This is the perfect thing to use video review to issue a suspension - it would show there will be repercussions for cheating your way to a result even if you trick the match referee.

Ironically, Zikorra was a real bright spot for Tottenham, proving to be a handful when attacking from deep in the midfield. He was the only real spark to the slumbering Spurs attack.

Spurs will be thrilled with the points, but they did not play well at all. There are still major issues for Jol to sort out.

I was going to have to admit I was wrong about Jason Roberts being a steal for Blackburn, but I thought he was decent on Saturday, and got a crucial touch in before the keeper to set up Benny McCarthy with an open goal finish for the 3 points. I think we might see more of him from Mark Hughes as Roberts is a difficult mark and really disrupts opposing defenses.

Villa is a just a real threat now. They are full of confidence and seemed unsurprised to be holding mighty Chelsea to a draw. Despite Chelsea's relentless late pressure, I felt like Villa played for the win and fully believed they could get it. We'll see what Chris Sutton has left for his old gaffer.

For the Blues, I was particularly taken with Sheva in another goalless outing - he is a fine player and I look forward to a season of watching him. I have been underwhelmed by Kallou - Mourinho keeps playing him (in this game as a sub for Robben), but he does not look up to it. Over the past few seasons, Chelsea has been quite reliant on their wing attack - Duff, Robben, Cole, and even SWP. I think they really miss something in their attack without two of them, in the lineup. They especially miss Joe Cole. As I've said before, I think when Cole is fit, Mourinho should use Ballack off the bench and play with two wingers again.

Boris thought Terry fouled Sorenson on the first goal - I was less sure. It could have been given, but I always applaud calls that don't overly protect the goalkeepers.

I am glad Arsenal have found some form, and I think their presence in the title chase makes for a much better season. 2 things left me scratching my head in wonder:

1) The Lehman save was one of the greatest saves I have ever seen. Jens is an elite shot blocker who has astounding quickness/reflexes for such a big guy.

2)And of course, the Robin van Persie finish. It just seemed impossible to do - sprinting full speed to the top of the box, and then midsprint, shaping his body, and volleying a waist-high ball into the top of the net. it took obscene athleticism, judgement and technical skill. Reminds me of Holland legend Marco van Basten's famous volley in degree of difficulty.

Bolton put on their second straight clinic on defending and tackling. Last game they stifled Portsmouth, this game they really limited Liverpool. I still don't know about the Anelka buy - Big Sam has earned a lot of lattitude, but I would not be surprised to see him often reverting to Davies and one of the "rats" (Djiouff or Stelios) just behind - it ain't pretty, but it works.

Credit to Sir Alex for not having some knee-jerk reaction to the Ronaldo/Rooney World Cup controversy and shipping the Porutgese winger to Spain. I don't know where Man U would be without him. With Rooney (and Scholes) still out of form and Giggs injured, they are almost completely reliant on Ronaldo for creation.

I watched the Cosmos documentary on ESPN2. It was a fun watch and very evocative of a certain time and place in America and American Sport - I went to quite a few Cosmos matches as a kid (and my crowning athletic (and possibly, life) achievement was scoring a goal at Giants Stadium for my town team before a match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. I skinned myself sliding for it on that rock hard artificial turf, but it was worth it. )

The Chinaglia stuff is awesome - one could say he is cast in the villain role and thus may not have received fair treatment from the flimmaker. I think he is such a hateable person that what we see and hear in the film is not even a skewed version of the truth. But, man was he a great goal scorer. Baseball turned soccer coaches, who knew little about the game, would always implore us youngsters not to be like Chinaglia - that he was a ball hog who didn't pass. The guy averaged about a goal a game for the Cosmos and we were told he was shit.

Final trip down memory lane - I once went to a Cosmos/Bayern Munich friendly. Bayern won 3-0 and dominated in a steady downpour. I had never heard of Bayern and I could not believe a team could be better than the Cosmos, especially these clowns in ugly red Adidas uniforms.

To be honest, the film is not great and has some problems - I think the Giants stadium Scoreboard was shown so often I started to think of it as a character. Like, I wonder what the Scoreboard thinks of this sell-out crowd? Ah, the scoreboard thinks they are the best fans in the world. Still, definitely worth watching.

Did anyone see Brian Ching's match winner against DC United? I actually watched and enjoyed the match and the goal was outrageous.

Anyone catch Matt Jackson's video diary for EPL preview show? I thought it was hysterical. Highlights:
- Jackson comments that Rio Ferdinand's injury moves him up to England's 450th choice at centre-back, just below his mailman.
- Says he was told by gaffer that he would not be involved in upcoming match, save for an outbreak of bubonic plague.
- He and his wife are remodeling their home, and he feels the finish date will be perfectly timed for when divorce papers come through.
- Last shot was his night at home alone with a bottle of whiskey - Jackson says how well they get along.

EPL weekend thoughts

Man U 1-1 Reading

More of the same problems for Man U - the midfield was weak and dare I say lacked quality? Far too many turnovers and wayward touches. Fletcher was awful. Carrick did not do much. And Scholes is not there yet.

The color commentator for the broadcast would not say a nice word about Ronaldo (while finding cause to praise Carrick and Scholes) - yes, Christiano missed a bunch of shots, but he was the only bright light in 1st half. The guy continually complained about Ronaldo's selfishness, and didn't even give him credit for a darting run and perfect cross that Scholes missed by fractions for a tap in (he praised Scholes for making the run, and let him off by saying Ronaldo's cross bounced awkwardly.)

Then, when Ronaldo single-handedly created and drilled home the equalizer, his comment was "If you've got it, flaunt it." Though, he'd been saying exactly the opposite all game. Someone tell me who this was - I recognize the voice and he is the worst color guy in England.

Skipper Gary Neville was awful. Even besides the handball PK, he just looked weak and frustrated.

We saw the return of Gabriel Heinze- He is a very good player and I'm glad he is back, but he should have had 3 yellow cards in the 1st half. Will they ever call him on the blows he delivers to attackers heads on loose balls? These are pre-meditated assaults and the refs NEVER call them. It is ridiculous.

Reading seems to have something about them - I am not that surprised by this result. Seol was very good again and Murty was great in the back. A deserved point and a special day for the club.

Newcastle 1-1 Everton

I bet on Everton to win this game at 7/3. Not a great bet, as they looked quite different from the side who has come out of the blocks blazing. That said, Ameobe's goal was clearly offsides, so I must have a moan about that.

Everton seemed happy to play counter-attack, ceding so much posession and space to Newcastle. The announcers thought they looked great in the back, and on aerial balls they were fantastic, but, otherwise, I thought they were slow to the ball and full of gaps.

When Everton did try to launch counters, they were often way too slow and ponderous with the ball (Phil Neville wasguilty several times - the guy almost always looks first to go backwards, even when space in front). When they had the ball in the Newcastle area, there seemed to be real spacing issues attacking.

I just think the Everton midfield (who I recently praised) were sub-par. Arteta set up Cahill's goal with a pinpoint cross, but aside from that suffered through a mediocre match. Osman was pretty invisible (tho almost scored the winner late), and Carsley was helpful defending in their own box but wasn't winning much in the middle of the park. The midfield overall seemed very passive (esp for such an active unit).

For Newcastle, James Milner looked bright and lively down the right, and Emre was pulling the strings in the middle. I think they should have done more with the chances they created (I'm talking to you, Martens) but not an awful result.

Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United

Once again, this confirms Henry's importance to Arsenal. Arsenal was not very creative today and the Blades defended well and in numbers, and yet Arsenal, struggling for goals, gets 3 of them.

Henry didn't even look that great, yet he scored 1 and created a second (unfortunate OG for Jagielka (sic)). I put much of the lack of creation on Cesc Fabergas, who looked really bad today, after a great match and decisive assist against Man U. Gilberto looked kind of weak as well. But, the Gunners get their first win at the Emirates and can turn their focus to Europe.

I want to praise Kolo Toure, even though it was a relatively quiet game for the Arsenal back 4. This guy just keeps getting better and at age 25 is now heading into his prime as a defender. Arsenal paid like 150,000 pounds for him, and I think he now deserves mention among the very best defenders in the world. What a buy, what a player.

Other thoughts/notes, and self-congratulations:

Samaras really came through for an increasingly desperate Man City - he scored 2 beauties to get them 3 points. Just as I had sort of predicted in the Reading-Man City post.

Is there a better left foot in the world than Liverpool's John Arne Riise? If you mention Roberto Carlos, we have nothing to discuss. Also, with increased support, Kuyt looks real good, as I sort of predicted in the CL post.

Lampard shoved all my comments about his wayward shooting with a nice PK and a lovely second goal from about 18 yards to earn Chelsea a late victory at Fulham. When Joe Cole returns, I would sit Ballack and not Essien. Tough decision, but thats why they pay me the big bucks (They=google, big bucks= not a penny).

The Villa revial continues, as the does the Charlton slide. Does anyone have any info/insight on the youngster Gabriel Abgonlahor? Was wondering why O'Neill was playing him every match, but he sure showed why with a lovely goal, and almost a second. On both plays, he embarassed Hermann Hreidarsson, blowing right by the Icelandic defender, who looked totally at sea.

Man U win a thriller over Celtic, EPL picks and thoughts

Man U 3 -2 Celtic

Man U will be take the result, but I think there are some ominous signs looking forward:

- They lost Giggs to injury and revealed Park will be out for several months.
- Scholes and Rooney both looked really rusty. Rooney will shake that off, but you never know with aging players like Scholes exactly what level of play they will produce. Scholes did have a pretty assist to Saha for the second goal.
- SAF is still sticking with Darren Fletcher, a player who should start for a side like Blackburn, but is not up to snuff in the midfield for an EPL title contender. With above injuries, there are still real questions in the middle, despite the addition of Carrick.
- The defense looked terrible, especially on crosses into the box. Just slack.

Positives:
- Saha was rampant and I think looks the part this year. He still squandered some great chances, but he created so much with his athleticism and work rate up front. I think a Rooney/Saha partnership with Solskjaer coming off the bench will be great. Solskjaer got the winner in typical poachers fashion, smartly hustling to clean up on another Saha break away miss to give United the 3 points.
- In the first half I thought Man U looked really soft on tackles and Celtic was repeatedly winning 50/50 balls. With the scored tied 1-1, Carrick finally got stuck in on a tackle, won the ball, fed Scholes, who fed Saha for the go-ahead goal. Thought that play changed the match.

I think Celtic will be pleased with their performance, as they certainly showed that they belong on the pitch with a top English side, and I think could have easily gotten something from this match.

Celtic goalie Arto Boruc was outrageous and my man of the match. It is rare that a keeper conceding 3 goals played so well, but he was not at fault on any goal and made an array of first class saves.

Gravesen suffered through an awful 2nd half with repeated giveaways - one leading to Man U's 3rd goal. (Graveson did almost score the equalizer in 78th, but was denied on a great save by Van der Saar.) I still think Graveson and Lennon will prove dominant in the SPL and perhaps give Celtic an outside chance for some CL success after some embarassing showings over the last few years.

Nakamura looked quite good - nice touches and composure and a gorgeous direct kick goal that left Van der Saar frozen.

Tommy Smyth was far less irritating today and I agreed with his comments re: the terrible PK call and Rooney's sub-par perfromance. The Giggs PK call was awful. Ref Lubos Michel was right on top of play as well, which made it even more shocking.

Tommy lowlight: re: Celtics' JvH: "He may have the longest name in football, 23 letters, but he knows how to put it away." Huh?

Other CL news:

Rosicky did for Arsenal what I said was missing since Pires left - someone to check in off the left and curl in a shot (or drill in Rosicky's case). The Czech provided the clinching goal for Arsenal against Hamburg in a tough opening group match.

Lyon buried Real Madrid 2-0. I am not on the bandwagon that Madrid, despite great additions, will win Spain this year or the CL for that matter. I think Madrid has a better chance in the CL as I think Barca is a special side and will not be caught in La Liga. Also, I would love to see Lyon make a deep run in the CL this year - promising signs - Juninho's devastating free kicks and Fred finishing up front.

Pipo Inzaghi was on target for AC Milan. I have never been a big fan, but I enjoyed this article and agree that AC Milan is a real contender for the CL:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=378931&cc=5901

For this weekend in the EPL, I like Villa to take all 3 points away to Watford. As Bobby McMahon noted, Villa is unrecognizable from last year. They looked fantastic against a tough West Ham and deserved victory.

I also like that O'Neill started Juan Pablo Angel - I think Angel needs a manager to say, "You are my guy - you are starting the next 10 matches no matter what." With Villa creating many more opportunities, I think he will deliver goals this year.

I do not like Baros - the guy has just never been a consistent scorer in the Prem, despite some sparkling form for the Czech Republic. I also think he has terrible vision and often dribbles into corners. His transfer was a colossal overpayment by O'Leary, and I think if he has some strong performances for the Czechs in qualifying, O'Neill would be wise to sell to him to another European side (there has been interest expressed in the past).

I also think Arsenal will give Man U problems this weekend. The Gunners are huge dogs, but I think they have played way under their capabilites thus far, while Man U has sparkled against some mediocre competition early. Man U has looked weak against Spurs and Celtic in their last 2 matches and have a host of injuries. Arsenal had their first solid result against Hamburg and I look for them to build on it.

Champions League Matchday 1 Which was more irritating?

Champions League Matchday 1

PSV 0-0 Liverpool

Which was more irritating - the defensive match, the satellite feed that froze every 4 seconds, or Tommy Smyth? It was the feed, then Smyth, then the match.

Tommy highlight: As Rafa gave tactical instructions to substitute Steven Gerard, Tommy said, "there's only one instruction u can give to Stevie G., 'Get out there and play the way you can play'." He must be a great coach that Tommy, who also failed to mention over the course of the match that Liverpool was playing a defensive tactical match and not really committing anyone forward besiddes Kuyt and Bellamy. Incidentally, Stevie G did play the way he can play and almost won the match in the 89th minute with a great strike from a Kuyt flick.

Finally, in the 65th minute, Derrick Rae, whom I like, mentioned that 'you know a draw might not be a bad result for PSV here.' Of course that is true for a PSV side which has lost like 8 key players to transfer in the last month and is playing the best team in their group on matchday 1.

And Rafa and Liverpool, reeling from a few bad performances, fielded a defensive side and seemed happy with a ship-steadying road draw. Both teams content with a 0-0 result had to be the biggest fear for neutral fans going in, yet Derrick only kind of came to this in the 65th minute (As Bellamy and Pennant repeatedly went 1 on 3 (with Kuyt blanketed by 2 more in the center). It is more Tommy's job to do that, but Derrick is often left to do color and background when Tommy is lost in the ol' onion bag.

I will limit analysis of a game that froze on my TV every few seconds, but I agreed with Tommy that Bolo Zenden was a disaster - I have never liked this guy in my 4 or 5 years of watching him at Chelsea, Boro and now Liverpool. He seems a coaches and commentators fave, but I just don't get it. It seemed Bolo was sort playing a holding central role - I like him there more than out wide, but he still did preciously little of note.

They were not very effective as a strike duo (no goals), but I kind of liked Bellamy and Kuyt together up front. As mentioned before, they got NO support and were left to take on numerous PSV defenders. With support from missing attacking midfielders Gerard, Garcia and even Alonso, I think these 2 might work quite well together and I expect to see more of this pairing from Rafa.

Mendes of PSV, who Derrick tipped as a guy to watch, looked a very interesting player with some real skill and creativity (and a scorching shot from 40 yards that almost beat Reyna).

I also thought PSV's new signing, Salcido had a solid game in the back (including a sprinting lunging tackle to deny Kuyt on a burst). The Mexican international defender impressed me at the World Cup and I am interested to see how he fares in Europe - I think quite well.

Redding 1-0 Man City - Trouble ahead for City?

Redding 1-0 Man City

This was a pretty drab contest here - I think a 0-0 draw would have been a fair result. Credit to Reading's Ingimarsson for a brave winning header (and Convey for a class delivery)- it was the only truly memorable moment of the match.

I see a lot of potential trouble for Stuart Pearce's Man City this season. The team just doesn't seem to be responding to the fiery Pearce as they did to start the last campaign. It is early, but as Martin Tyler said about City, where are the goals going to come from? Corradi - dunno. Dickov, did play well v Arsenal, but dunno. Barton to match last season - dunno (looks to have dropped from top form of early-mid last year). Most hope for me is with Samaras.

I thought the game cried out for Samaras at half - Pearce brought him in in the 60th and he almost scored immediately. When City is unable to effectively build-up through midfield, they need a target like Samaras - Dickov (subbed off for Samara) had done little and not converted a decent chance or two. Samaras created more chances in 30 minutes than Dickov and Corradi combined in 150 of play. Samaras didn't score, I know, but before he came on, City weren't doing much of anything. He is big and active and I think will show a better scoring touch with increased playing time.

Claudio Reyna could not match other American exploits in the Prem this weekend. I think he might be kinda done - he is still decent and does some nice things, but I have doubts about him. Also, he blew a great chance in the 69th - all alone with time from about 15 yards and blasted high over the bar.

Man City looked really weak defending in their own box from set pieces - they just aren't marking well and don't have the required urgency or desire to win balls. Throw in the stagnant offense and some dissension (Micah Richards, whom I had thought the lone City player who looked at all up for the match, got pissed at being subbed and threw a tantrum, stripping off and tossing his uniform angrily) and it all looks a little bleak.

Redding didn't look so great- reasonable defending, but I think this is a team who will survive the drop by scoring and their attack was weak and lacked cohesion. They came to life a bit when a tired City (a man down) started pushing forward for the equalizer, but that doesn't tell me much.

Seol was not as influential as past games. Convey looked decent but struggled to beat defenders off the dribble. Lita was very quiet up front.

Howard Webb, the ref, overall did a very good job, but that red card given on Dabo was just wrong - I am all for the red cards for flagrant elbows on headers, but this sending off should be overturned on appeal (tho of course it won't). It was a) a push to the head (not an elbow) and b) Dabo didn't locate the opposing player and then deliver a blow. Eyes were on the ball. Webb could give a yellow for reckless or dangerous play, but it was not even close to a red.