Febuary Post to the Delight of Most

While my co-writers practice "real" journalism alas left to my own rythm, the cut n' paste incision of mid-term grades and bad weather in Savannah shades. Winter headlines find Villa breaking into the top five seeds whilst Arsenal holds league lead, despite sacking Big Sam Newcastle is in trouble again as Keegan's renewal can't stop the skid. In fact many managerial faces have changed, awash in the hard rain of expectations involving strategy, glory and g-d. Tottenham appointed Ramos and Chelsea shoved Jose aside, Fulham sacked Sanchez, Bruce got the blues and left City for Wigan while Ally took his place and Paul Jol is now in charge of Derby with egg on his face. Sunderland fights relegation having topped Wigan as Derby fans recite incantations amid PR relations at their club's 9 point BPL funeral. Man City steals points from United at derby spun as Munich tribute 50 years ago to the day, Sven adds gems in the transfer window as clubs shuffle their cards, money-bags Liverpool deny lowly Luton gate fair during FA Cup draw as civil war rages around Rafa.

England's manager Capello stands stern at helm of first win against the Swiss, new faces playing in new places before a tense Wembley crowd. Controversy collides with 70-plus-thousand fans down in Texas land, a night that saw Altidore start and score beautifully was marred as Clint Dempsey's goal, the game-winning third was pulled back for offsides. Honestly, get me a crew from Germany, Australia, Switzerland, or any nation neutral to the USA v Mexico game, someone not possibly corrupted by money, pressure or outright bias!

As a side note I watched that game on Telemundo because the announcers are that much better despite the extreme language barrier. So get wise US journalists, send your camera crews to England so they can learn how to shoot the beautiful game. Trust me on this one, not every sport needs a sky cam. Why ask the impossible of titanic telecasting corporations? Simple, because the arrival of Figo and Zidane are eminent when considering that the same entertainment group that owns the LA Galaxy recently bought Luis Figo's contract. Now will these players alone change MLS for the better, probably not. What MLS needs is an overhaul of US sports ideas; strip down the regional division system for a league table for the love of g-d! New blood could come into the league if USL became the eqivalent of lower league football in England, but this won't happen because of the profit and incentive driven business of owning exclusive rights among other scruples. And another thing, shift the league's schedule to match the rest of the world, this bullshit is really fucking up our national team. Enough MLS venting, back to rhymed ranting. Catch Saturday's FA Cup draw, United v Arsenal, the only game by far, worth watching. With ECC knock-out stages to come next week I can only hope that crowd violence doesn't rear its ugly, unwanted head. Until then, peace.

This is a test

This is a test of our blogging capabilities

Joyeaux Noel

just like Ligue A and La Liga, we're out.
Happy Holidays and a Merry New Year.














just get the sink picture out of here

The "everything but the kitchen sink" post

Okay, I lied, this post has everything including the kitchen sink. This post will cover a lot, so bear with me.

A. Champs League reaction: So i went 4-12 on matchdays 11 and 12 to bring my overall total for the group stage to 53-43 and a 55% accuracy rating. Now, being able to predict 96 matches with a 55% accuracy rating isn't bad, but it isn't really good either. Mark my words though, it will improve in the knockout rounds. Of the 16 teams left in the Champions League, Lille is the only team that can't win. Based on form in the group stage, I would say that Lyon is the favorite, with ManYoo, Bayern, Inter, Barca, and Real Madrid possible winners.

B. FREDDY ADU HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED...to real salt lake. He will start every game he is available there, but the team sucks. This is a bad move for Freddy, but there is nothing he can do about it because his contract is owned by the MLS. If Manchester United do rescue him, good for him; but all inklings from the British press are that Sir Alex just didn't see enough from him to splash the cash that would be required to buy MLS's golden boy.

C. No more Alan Pardew- Okay, so I was wrong about West Ham. Look for Sven Goran-Erikkson or Alan Curbishley to take the reigns. Now that they are completely out of the top 4 picture, I am giving you my new top 4 prediction. Unfortunately, it seems that it is probably going to be the usual suspects:
1. Manchester United- THE CHAMPS
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal

D. The Fifa World Club Championships are upon us, and it doesn't seem to have a lot of luster, maybe because Max Bretos is the commentator, but I digress. However, there could be surprises. Liverpool was supposed to win easily last year, but fell to Sao Paulo in the final. I don't see that happening to Barcelona. They should win it in a walk. So give me Internacional (Brazil) vs Barcelona in the final. Barcelona will win, but don't sleep on the Brazilians.

Goodnight Sweet Prince

West Ham axe skipper Alan Pardew, claiming to have a replacement set up in time for the January transfer window. Where are all my contributors who had West Ham finishing in the top four? Gone but not forgotten.

US Soccer: Explain Yourself

Somebody needs to tell me why we failed to sign the best free-agent coach on the market, Mr. Klinsmann. Sunil Gulati, President of U.S. Soccer, has somehow let out guy go without the slightest inclination why. I am deeply disturbed by this development as I was sure Klinsmann would be a Yank and thus our team would be on the track to respectability....this is obviously not the case. It's now the second week of December and we still don't have a coach. This is not a good sign if you're a fan (or worse, a believer) in US Soccer.

Here's the deal:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=394971&cc=5901

Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks for Matchday 12

The last day of group play is upon us. Here are your predictions:





Madrid over Kiev in a cakewalk
Lyon over Steaua
Celtic over Copenhagen to win the group
Milan beat Lille
AEK over Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock
CSKA Moscow defeat Hamburg to set up...
UPSET ALERT-Porto over Arsenal, knocking them out of the Champions League
and in the match of the day... MANCHESTER UNITED break Benfica's spirits by getting out of the gates quickly and winning the match handily.

Show up or get shown up

It's win or go home time in Europe's top football competition, so let us cut to the chase and get to the sure-fire analysis.

I like PSV in a big way over Bordeaux. This is probably my lock of the day.

Liverpool only need a tie to secure top place in thier group, but they get the win instead, beating Galatasaray 1-nil.

Spartak Moscow is dreadful away from their synthetic frozen pitch back home, and they get it handed to them at Sporting Lisbon.

Valencia at Roma will be a good contest, but Roma need the win to secure the knockout round and Valencia's already through...got to give the nod to the more desperate club here, Roma 2-1.

Shakhtar Donetsk at Olympiakos is my rubber-bullet special of the day. I think they're actually handing out comlimentary body armour and gas masks for the first 5000 supporters. Olympiakos has nothing really to play for whereas Shakhtar has a chance of survival with a win and a Roma loss, but they don't get te result here. Shakhtar and Olypiakos play out to draw, and after the game supporters from both sides will get shanked in the achilles and likely assaulted with tear gas in the streets of Athens.

Internazionale at Bayern will be the match of the day, regardless of what people are saying at the Nou Camp. Both of these squads have been playing their best football of the season and now meet to decide who wins group B. As much as both of these teams want a result, I don't see it happening. Draw along the lines of Lyon at Madrid last matchday...something wild like 2-2.

Chelsea will probably not field a first-team squad but still name the score against a dreadful Levski Sofia squad. Chelsea wins 3-nil.

Finally we come to Barca hosting Werder Bremen, the ESPN2 featured match of the day. I've like Barcelona to win this competition from the outset but they really haven't impressed during the group stage. If they do manage to pull off this win, it's going to be an absolute battle for 90 minutes. From what I've seen of this squad, and given there's no Messi and Eto'o, I can't feel good about Barca's chances. Yet somehow I can't stay away. Give me Barca 2-1 over Werder, which I'll acknowledge up front is a decision made with my heart and not my head. I do, however, feel good about this game going over the 2.5 goal mark. That 2-1 scoreline is going to win this match for someone, I'm just hoping it's the boys in blue.

Enjoy the matches and come back tomorrow for more knowledge.

Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks for Match Day 11

Here are Match day 11's picks
Inter Milan over Bayern Munich in Bavaria
Sporting Lisbon tie Spartak Moscow
Liverpool over Galatasaray with a strong performance from Dudek in goal
PSV over Bordeaux (Mendez, you are making me look bad. Score already)
Olympiakos over Shakhtar
Roma beat Valencia at home
Chelsea destroy Levski at the Bridge. Poor, poor Levski. However, Lampard doesn't get any goals because he couldn't hit a barn door with a machine gun.
and, in the match of the day:
Barcelona over Werder Bremen in a barnburner at the Nou Camp. Werder Bremen go on to win the UEFA Cup

HENRIK LARSSON TO JOIN MAN UTD IN JANUARY!

Chelsea have just been guaranteed second place or worse, because the man who singlehandedly won Barcelona the Champions League last year is joining Man United on loan. This is the perfect move for Manchester United and it gives Larsson, 35, one last gasp at greatness. This will not only propel United to win the league, but it also gives them a proven Champions League threat and makes them a top contender (if they can qualify out of the Group Stage). Larsson can play as an all out striker or on either wing. If United go into January with the lead in the league, then the second half should be a cakewalk with a proven commodity like Larsson in your ranks. I could not be happier with this move. You can read more about this from our esteemed colleagues at ESPN Soccernet.

Champs League Reaction Match Days 9 & 10

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO RELIVE HISTORY
My predictions took a Zidane headbutt to the chest on match days 9 & 10. I went 7-9 to headbutt my total to 49-31 and my accuracy rating down from 66% to 61%. Still not bad, but these match days were not my best.

Impressive teams: Werder Bremen- I hate to say I told you so but... (see other posts)
Celtic- they wanted it more over Man United
Benfica- can knock United out on the last match day again
Liverpool- Gerrard is on top of his game now... watch out
AEK Athens Pizza Express- I just wanted to show off my nick name for them. Impressive win over Milan. They could win the group over Milan if Milan slip to Lille and AEK beat Anderlecht.
Barca- Did what they had to do. Now they HAVE to beat Bremen

Dissapointments: Hamburg: 0 points from 5 matches... Ouch
Roma- you lost to Shahktar... enough said.
Chelsea- cinderella just put her slipper on at your expense.
MAN UNITED- I've been waiting to vent on this one. You can't lose that game. I know that Nakamura's free kick never should have happened because Jirosik took a dive, but Saha absolutely choked. Not only did he miss the penalty, but he missed a one on one with the keeper because he thought he was offside. Louis, no flag was up. You gotta pay attention to that. Now that Sir Alex has officially appointed C-Ron to take all of the penalties, Saha can now focus on just being the Ruud replacement (or lack thereof).

Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks for match day 10

I just got back from the Mexican Mecca (El Torero), sorry my picks are late.

Barcelona all over Levski

Bremen and Chelsea draw, which sets up a huge final day showdown between Barca and Bremen

Bayern over spartak

Inter over sporting

Bordeuax and Galatasaray draw

Liverpool and Psv draw

Roma beat Shakhtar

Valencia beat Olympiakos

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SELECTIONS

I overslept so no official selection for the Spartak Moscow hosting Bayern Munchen match, but I will say that it was my 'rubber bullet game of the day', which, as all you longtime readers know, is the one european football match every day that I predict will end up with body armor and mustard gas and, since we're already in Russia, why not a few Molotov Cocktail's for good measure. On with the offical selections:


Chelsea and Werder Bremen play out a nil-nil draw. Chelsea have got their sights set on this Saturday's clash with top-of-the-table ManU and I think could care less about this match having already assured themselves the round of 16.

Barcelona puts on a clinic in an absolute must win at home against Levski Sofia

Inter hosting Sporting is going to be the game of the day. Sporting is a tough tough out, and Inter are going to have their hands full if they want to win this game and have a shot going into the group finale against Bayern. I still like Inter here but I'm starting to lean a lot more towards a draw. I'll make it official with Inter but I'm telling you this is going to be a lot close than the experts predict.

Bordeaux (yawn) gets by Galatasawhogives a shit 1-nil

Liverpool hosting PSV is another one I'm just not real confident about. My official selection will be Liverpool but PSV is playing some top-flight football in the Dutch league, and I know what you're saying: 'great, it's still the Dutch league' and that's a valid point but they're just playing the schedule in front of them and have been dominating teams of late. They beat Ajax in Amsterdam last week to cement their grip as the class of the league, and Liverpool had better bring their a game, and by that I mean Gerrard.

Valencia will sqeeze past Olympiakos, 2-1

Lastly, Roma goes on the road and takes Shakhtar Donetsk out of their misery 1-0. This game is going to be in a tough environment in Ukraine, not too far up the road from Borat, but I think Roma's ULTRAS fans are more than capable of holding their own, judging by the stories I've read about Italy's most notorius football fans.

Which reminds me...over the holiday and you're looking for something good to read? Check out a great book on football and the fascinating culture of hooliganism. Enjoy.

Stone Cold Lead Pipe Locks for Match day 9

Yea Klinnsi, I know. Only 4 more match days left in the group stage of the Champions League. Crunch time is upon us, and here are the predictions of the day. So give me:

Bucuresti over Dynamo in a Ukrainian Darby
Benfica will crush Kopenhagen to try and keep their Champs League hopes alive.
Porto over CSKA
Hamburg and the Arse play a really hard fought game, but Arsenal win at the Emirates.
Lille squeak by Anderlecht
AC Milan over AEK Athens Pizza Express
Lyon and Madrid fight out a draw at the Bernabeu
and finally, Manchester United win a dogfight at Celtic Park.

My record right now is 42-22 or a 66% accuracy rate. Watch it go up after a perfect day today.

18 months from now...

Guys, we have to do everything in our power to land some media credentials for Euro 2008. I know it's next summer, but we have to pool our resources and figure it out. We need to be in Switzerland and Austria for this gig, we just gotta. Think about how sweet that would be, living it up at Europe's biggest football party, having no agenda other than going to games and writing about them...that, my friends, is a dream job.

The day that Man U won the title (NO, NOT THIS WAY)

This little flashback piece is all about the day that Manchester United was handed the title:





The Madejski Stadium was packed to the brim,
Chelsea fans a many, Reading's times ten.
The referee's whistle started the game,
and twenty seconds in, a moment of fame.
With Stephen Hunt bearing down,
Petr Cech went to ground.
And while Hunt got up from that collision,
Cech is suffering double vision.
Was the play dirty, no one knows?
But now the Prem, to Man United it goes.

Now, I am a HUGE Manchester United fan and I HATE Chelski, but I didn't want to see Manchester United win the title in this way. I wanted to see them earn it. The BEST goalkeeper in the world was injured on that day, and without their #1 stopper, there is no way that Chelsea can win the Prem, let alone Europe. As for the game coming up in 9 days time, It is going to be a real barnburner, a real clashing, and a real...THUMPING. Sir Alex Ferguson is going get the team ready for this game like never before. He knows as well as anyone that this is the opportunity to put Chelsea in the rearview mirror. A six point lead over the current Champs would certainly give Sir Alex's boys a major confindence boost for the rest of the season. I like ManYoo to win this game 3-1 with Wayne, Cristiano, Rio, and all the other boys putting up the perfromance of the season, therefore picking up on the biggest drunkfest of the season stemming from Old Trafford all the way to Athens GA... Where the annual "Clean, old fashioned hate" game between UGA and Georgia Tech (American football) will have been decided the day before. (3:30 Eastern U.S. time, 11/25 CBS.) I like the boys in Yellow and Gold to win this game 24-17. And you CAN take both of those lines to Vegas Baby!

International preview

Lots of footy action for a wednesday, as the international friendly's highlight a lineup that also sees a few meaningful EURO Qualifiers as well. The two most meaningful games on the day are Croatia at Israel (EURO Qualifying) and the England at Holland friendly.

In the first match we'll see two of group E's four leaders (England and Macedonia the other two) face off with a lot on the line. Croatia is always a tough out in European play, but Israel is poised to make a run at something they've never done, atleast not in my lifetime, and that's make the finals of a major tournament. I think a draw would suit both clubs just fine, but expect a lot of fallout from this game as the loser would suddenly see themselves go from 1st to 5th place in a tough group E.

In the nightcap, disregard the friendly pretext, cause England are coming out with guns blazing. They feel disespected, and quite frankly, they've earned it. Since McLaren's debut when they hung up 4 on Greece I believe, England have layed eggs. And with qualification for Europe not a given this time around, the Redcoats need to step their game up and net some goals. This will be a road game, England are the underdog according to the bookies, and this game has all the signs of a Holland W or a draw. Are England capable of winning on the road? It should be interesting. All that said, I still like the boys in Orange.

Official picks for tomorrow:
Israel/Croatia draw
Ivory Coast over Sweden
Brazil over Switzerland
Belaris over Estonia
Holland over England
late night:
Chile over Paraguay

stay away from the parlays

MLS cup Review

Okay, I am really drunk right now after going to the Atlanta Hawks game/T.I. concert tonight so you'll have to forgive me if i sound a little crazy tonight.

The MLS cup is tomorrow (I know who cares). But I think we are in for a good game. .Both of these teams (for what little attention I have paid to the MLS this season) have both looked good. The Canadien Dwayne de Rosario for the Dynamo is one of the best players in the MLS, but the New England Revolution are going to win this game. I like my man Clint Dempsey to score and make it known that it should have been him going to Man Utd instead of Freddy Adu. Yes, Clint Dempsey is better than Freddy Adu.

As soon as you meet a guy, you are ready to shine his shoes.

As this has seemed to turn into "Let's team up on Sambo blog", I want to re-iterate some comments.

1. The Freddy Adu thing is complex. I came out and said things against Stephen's post because at the time I said them they were true. The new Sir Alex quotes came out two days after the original story broke. So don't say I wasn't paying attention to what Sir Alex was saying. Because he didn't say anything until two days after the story broke. I was correct two days ago, Stephen is correct now, and that is all we are trying to do here at the blog. And if you think that's drinking haterade, then I will chug it.

2. I have no beef with Freddy Adu. I think Sir Alex is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to him, but he can't try that "beef with the coach" shit he had with Peter Novak or else Fergie will get rid of him faster than a C. Ronaldo run from touchline to touchline.

3. If this seems like a very pro-Freddy blog, it is because Stephen met him. That's why he is defending him so staunchly.

4. How is our domestic league going to get better if all the good players are leaving? I don't agree with keeping them here when there are better leagues overseas, and I have no solution to this problem. Anyone?

5. The whole "brand" thing is overrated. Henry is sponsored by Reebok, and he plays for Arsenal(Nike) and France (adidas).

Now for Liverpool/Arsenal. This is probably going to happen one of two ways. It will either be a nil-nil bore or it will be a blowout. I am going to say that Liverpool is on the better form right now and call it a 3-1 Liverpool thrashing of Arsenal.

You want knowledge? Here it is, eat it.

What? Me Worry? This story is dedicated to our intern, Sambo. Make sure you pay attention to what Sir Alex is quoted as saying. Story courtesy of our boys at Soccernet.com

UNITED WILL SIGN ADU IF TRAINING GOES WELL

Manchester United are keen on signing Freddy Adu if the Ghanaian-born American teenager can prove himself, Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed.

The hotly tipped 17-year-old is due to come to United for a two-week trial and could sign in the January transfer window.

Asked if he was interested in signing the midfielder, Ferguson said: 'I think so, he's only a young lad but we have known of him for a long time.

'We tried to get him here some years ago but he signed for DC United and that stopped the progress of us keeping tabs on him.'

United had previously denied any interest in the American star, who has been a considered a massive prospect ever since Inter Milan offered a six-figures fee for him having watched him in just one junior tournament prior to his 14th birthday.

Chelsea have also been linked with Adu, reportedly turning down a solid offer to sign him on loan in January 2007, with a view to a permanent £5 million transfer deal.

If Adu does enough to persuade Ferguson to offer him a permanent contract, a fee would have to be negotiated with MLS who, as with all US-based players, own Adu's registration.

Adu made his professional debut in Major League Soccer at just 14 years of age, making him the youngest professional athlete in modern US pro sports.