Wednesday Backpasses: No! Fatty, don’t go!

What to peruse while dealing with the rumors that Maradona may step down before managing a match.

Japan to punish clubs for putting out weakened sides for cup matches. I wonder what Chelsea’s assistant manager has to say about this? [Goal.com]
Bild asks readers if Donovan will make it at Bayern. Readers say no, 62-38 [Bild]
Speaking of Landon, Ives has some choice words about him winning USPotY [SBI]

Jermaine Pennant, smooth operator [With Leather](NSFW-ish)
This never would have happened if he had not turned his back on Canada [Guardian]
It’s safe to say the Elano is not a Sparky fan [Guardian]

And, finally:
Six months ago, Paul Coutts was playing for Cove Rangers in Scotland’s Highland League while working full-time in an oil refinery. He has since moved to Peterborough United in England and just got called up Scotland’s U-21 team. That’s a pretty swell half-a-year, I say [Sporting Life]

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Backpasses and ü75.

SPANISH CUP 2008/09 - LAST 32 TEAMS 2º LEG WEDNESDAY RESULTS

The mayority of the SPANISH CUP 2º leg games have been played
tonight, with two more scheduled for tomorrow. As expected more
surprises as we summarize the results. Winners (Qualifiers for next
Phase) in BLACK

Sporting Gijon 2 (Barral x2) - Numancia 0 (3-0) . BARRAL above
Recreativo 2 (Akale; Martin) - At.Bilbao 1 (Llorente) (2-3)
Betis 2 (Emma;S.Garcia) - Castellon 0 (4-0)

Written by STRIKER on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Spanish Cup.

Drugs In Football/ Gene Doping Is Not A Country And Western Singer - Two Flashbacks

What a kerfuffle!

UK Sport, which oversees anti-doping in the United Kingdom, wants to introduce a system under which a selected group of 30 footballers will be liable for testing five times a year, on any day and at any location, including their homes and holiday accommodation.

But Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), said he felt the provisions envisaged by UK Sport were excessive.
“We feel that to invade the privacy of a player’s home would be a step too far,” Taylor said.
“If we complain about anything to do with drug-testing then people think we might have something to hide, but football’s record is extremely good and there has been a virtual absence of any performance-enhancing drugs, and that goes back decades.”

Really?

In this post, which is one of our twice monthly Flashback posts, we assess the validity of football’s self-satisfaction with the alleged non-utilisation of Performance Enhancing Substances (PESs).
We print two separate historical posts, inevitably with some crossover, in an attempt to demonstrate the realities with respect to PESs usage in football.

It is our proposition that PESs are very very widely used in football and we are able to back up our statement through the application of statistical analysis of match data over many years.
For example, it is easy to demonstrate when certain varieties of PESs are administered at Half Time or to determine when drug usage is utilised over a window of high importance matches.

The key area pharmaceutically, and it should be remembered that the majority of leading clubs have close links with this industry sector either via sponsorship, ownership or through their medical teams, is the development of masking substances to disguise the PESs being taken.
Furthermore, as the second post demonstrates, while football is still coming to terms with an historical PESs abuse that has existed for decades, the far more contemporary issue of Gene Doping is of greater concern.

Gordon Taylor is correct on one point.
Why should footballers have to submit to such testing?
The inquiries should be directed at the core of the issue rather than at the periphery.
Numerous Italian footballers, for example, took the pills or injections offered them as it was necessary to compete in a highly competitive environment.
There was/is systemic, hierarchical and peer group pressure to perform to one’s maximum.

If UK Sport and WADA wish to target PESs abuse, target the abusers not the abused.
Remember cortisone?
_____________________________________________________________________________________

DRUGS IN FOOTBALL

There are certain stages of the season where the illegal usage of Performance Enhancing Substances (PESs) becomes more prevalent. It is evident that the late season is a key period to develop competitive advantage and, sure enough, PESs are more prevalent from February onwards.
Previous posts (including http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2006/12/doped-up-spanish-giants.html) have touched on this area but we intend to expand our overview in this post.
The key PESs is undoubtedly Erythropoietin (EPO). Having been utilised in cycling for years, the pharmaceutical companies have developed a whole range of masking substances to prevent detection. EPO is particularly sought after as it can improve the performance of a team over a considerable time window. We have developed extensive modelling to determine when a club is on EPO but the market-makers are on top of this potential edge nowadays and such information is in the price.
The authorities throughout Europe are aware of this issue - my favourite response remains that of La Liga authorities who test for EPO in urine when it may only be detected via blood samples!
Various types of amphetamine provide a shorter term buzz. Benzedrine, Methedrine and Dexedrine are typical of this class and some teams use amphetamines at half-time which can be particularly rewarding on a trading level if you are ahead of the market.
Other substances eg narcotic analgesics allow athletes to play on through an injury (frequently creating further damage).
Nandrolone has been the most easy PESs for the authorities to detect of late although we believe that successful masking agents are now available.
Another point that is worthy of note. Illegal drug programmes tend to move with management teams from club to club.
We incorporate all of the above into our trading analysis but, occasionally, there is substance abuse that falls outside published science. In season 2001/02, Bayer Leverkusen were a team possessed. They reached the final of the Champions League where they narrowly lost to the beautiful Zidane - they had lost the final of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) four days earlier putting out a reserve XI. Bayer were also pipped to the Bundesliga title by one point. A pretty successful season all in all for a team the size of Blackburn. The following year, Bayer escaped relegation only in a fixed game on the last day of the campaign and finished bottom of their Champions League second-phase group with zero points.
Analytically, we have never seen such a reversal from one season to the next. Leverkusen are owned by Bayer pharmaceutical company which is no relevance whatsoever… obviously.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

GENE DOPING IS NOT A COUNTRY AND WESTERN SINGER

Nietzsche’s Superman - the modern marketed paradigm of hyperreal humanity.

The Scene…
Nothing less than the leadership of the Free World (sic) is at stake.
Winning is Everything.
When the skewed incentives create such a competitive and nationalistic template, one may only be certain of one thing.
Cheating…

Firstly, a prediction.
Dietrological are trading massively on a private Olympic Games market in Asia.
Our position is a Buy.
We are of the opinion that a much higher number of World Records will be broken at these Olympics than is usually the case.
And, you know what, the reason that we think that this is a solid position (as well as being a one-parameter market!) is that Cheating is the Core Competitive Advantage in the modern Olympiad.

The cumulative impact of the incentives - personal, cultural, economic, political and national - are marked in Beijing.
Additionally, the incentives are in tandem - unlike, say, when the Black Power protests by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City extravaganza demonstrated the real feelings about living in the world’s “only remaining primitive society”.

The unipolar world is about to become bipolar.
Measured at purchasing power parity (PPP), Goldman Sachs reckon the Chinese will economically overtake the US of A this very year. In reality, 2028 is the projected date for the changeover in No 1 seed in the global economy - this second date is based on the modern concepts of mathematics and statistics, rather than the sleight of hand of a street magician used by proponents of PPP.

So, they’re up for it.
Big style.
The People’s Republic of China versus Team USA.
How spectacular do you wish for your sport to be?

Anyway.
Back to Cheating.
Herbert Marcuse: “…play is precisely a breaking off from labour and a recuperation for labour”.
The Circularity of Play in the Political Economy is equivalent to the Circularity of Cheating in the 2008 Olympiad.
When the prize is so great on so many levels, Cheating will define the games.
This Cheating will, literally, exist on two different strata - Performance Enhancing Substances (PESs) and Gene Doping.
Lets take these two in turn.

PESs - Remember Euro 2008? Remember how much energy Turkey and Russia possessed in a run of their respective games? Remember how tired the Russians looked in their abject Semi Final defeat to the Spanish? Remember how the Turks never stopped running, even in between matches?

PESs are now commonplace in all sports - the information is “in the price”, so to speak. As an example of this, count how many of those super-energetic Turkish and Russian footballers have secured moves to the G14(18) teams following their overperformance at Euro 2008. We’ll save you the trouble - the answer is zero. No top tier club makes an evaluation based on PESs.
The competitive advantage has turned away from the usage of erythropoietin (EPO), perfluorocarbon (PFC), blood doping, steroids, amphetamines etc, and to the development of masking substances instead.
Originally, the monitoring regimes were so lax that maskers weren’t necessary. Indeed, a cynic might argue that the global regulation covering the illegal utilisation of PESs is suitably time-lagged to allow the next wave of ‘innovation’ to be initiated prior to more cumbersome regulations being developed for earlier forms of Creative Cheating.
But, in spite of this, PESs are secondary in impact to the Next Big Thing.

Gene Doping will distort outcomes at the Beijing Olympics.

Do you need to know the science?
Okay, here’s a bit…
This physiological advancement (sic) is based on introducing extra copies of particular genes into the body (transgenes). EPO is the prime transgene target. It was the biotechnology industry that introduced EPO in the late-eighties and an EPO transgene would not be detectable using any technique.
The Perfect Crime.

Repoxygen is already freely available in the sorts of locations where you can purchase guns and things. Other Big Pharma advances include IGF-1 (which is muscle specific - think javelin or tennis), vascular endothelial, Switching Genes that act as an on/off device, advanced endorphins for pain control etc etc.
The specificity of these designer doping genes allows particular products to be aimed at particular sports. One can even game the detection regime via the use of Switching Genes.

Now, when the leadership of the Free World is at stake, surely the unknown health risks to a few athletes are not worth worrying about?
Cortisone? Who cares?
And, in a parallel pharma-verse, notice how quickly Vioxx has disappeared from the hyperreality?

As The Economist correctly states, the decision on Gene Doping should be based on safety and fairness.
However, the right wing libertarians then proceed by totally ignoring the former (profit over people) while producing illogical, unscientific and selective arguments in support of the latter.
The Economist think that Gene Doping is a Good Thing.
Over their column inches, even the name changes.
Gene Doping, with its nightmare-state images of Frankenstein-athletes…
…becomes Gene Therapy, with an altogether more comfortable-couch-with-caring-counsellor sort of image.

If we are going to be objecting to the hunger merchants of the next millennium imposing genetically modified foods on us, we must be equally assertive in our objection to genetically modified athletes.

The Economist uses the case of Eero Mantyranta to promote their case. This Finnish athlete was fortunate. His body produced large amounts of EPO entirely naturally. He won a couple of Olympic Golds in those bizarre sports that involve snow and rifles and forests and things.
So what?
Sport is about natural ability.
That is the point.
Fairness.
No corruption or advantage through PESs, Gene Doping, control of match officials or whatever.

The list of negatives to The Economists arguments are extensive, too extensive for my working day.
But here are a few points worthy of input (in random order):

* If natural ability is to be artificially equalised using Gene Doping then some of the most beautiful things that we have ever witnessed will never happen again.
Maradona, Tiger Woods, Don Bradman, Gary Sobers would all have just merged into the crowd of heightened mediocrity. The incentives would make it imperative that all athletes partake in Gene Doping - what chance in outrunning or outjumping an android without becoming one yourself?

* In the end, it will still probably be natural ability that provides some edge but not before Big Pharma has made extensive profits out of gullible and desperate athletes equalising their gene intake. The profits of the pharmaceutical industry are one of the foundational bases of this ruse.

* Big Pharma will also game the sector. Generic Gene Doping will be available off-the-shelf, in a manner of speaking, for the poorer participants. The G8(12) will have proprietary Gene Doping established with particular pharmaceutical giants - Team Pfizer USA. This will help maintain the most psychopathic nations at the top of the Medal Table.

* Longer-term health risk is the biggest issue. Corners will be cut in pursuit of glory. The real impacts may only become evident in future decades when the athletes are well away from the lens of the spectacle. And the athletes take on the Total Risk ie Life. The profiteers simply count the cash…

* Numerous unnecessary industries will benefit from the introduction of Gene Doping - advertisers, sponsors, the media, merchandisers, sportswear firms, bookmakers etc etc etc.
For example, lets look at bookmaking.
Natural ability is very annoying to bookmakers.
As we hopefully demonstrated in our recent post at http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2008/07/why-bookmakers-hate-olympics.html, the layers do not appreciate competitions where the incentive to win is considerably greater than the incentive to cheat.
Gene Doping will solve this.
And then some…
As only the leading nations will be able to take advantage of Gene Doping, and as the leading nations have very mature betting industries, the inevitable linking of the Dopers and the Layers will produce internally controlled betting markets on currently dangerous spectacles such as the Olympic Games.
Take the 100 metres.
This is a flagship event.
Of the top ten competitors in the betting markets, 3 are Jamaican, 3 are Trinidadian, 1 is from the Bahamas and the other three are from Team Pfizer.
In a world where the bookmaking and pharmaceutical industries cosied up to one another for mutual advantage, and oodles of insider trading opportunites - all industries love those off-balance sheet little grey and black market earners - the possibilities of gaming the 100 metres outcome for proprietary trading advantage is obvious.
For example, inside knowledge of the use of Switching Genes would be valuable both with respect to historical ‘form’ and real-time hyperrealities in the race.
The worst two industries, apart from all the others, are pharmaceuticals and bookmaking, and their collusion is not an edifying sight.

The Economist dresses up the whole argument regarding Gene Doping on the basis of fairness. Apparently, it is unfair that the likes of Eero Mantyranta have natural ability providing natural advantage. It would be much fairer, claim a tongue-in-cheeked Economist leader, if rich countries could develop an unnatural advantage for themselves through drugs and doping.
“Why should others be denied the chance to remedy …[their] deficiency?” argues The Economist.
Aside from all the above (and more), the winners of the prizes should be the individuals who have natural talents, have selected the correct sports in which to demonstrate those talents, have trained while their peers partied and who avoid the competitive advantages bestowed by PESs, Gene Doping or linking to the bookmaking industry.
Exactly the sort of individuals who will not be winning Gold Medals in Beijing, in fact…

© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological

Written by Football Is Fixed on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.

Mickey Mouse Cup Open Thread

I’m jealous after seeing the Arsenal tweens absolutely massacre a nearly full-strength Wigan side yesterday. I wonder what Liverpool’s 2nd XI will do against Spurs’ 2nd XI?

3 games on tap… join us after the jump, won’t you?

The schedule and lineups: (all kick-off at 2.45pm ET)

Chelsea vs. Burnley
Chelsea: Cudicini, Ivanovic, Alex, Belletti, Bridge, Ferreira, Deco, Mineiro, Malouda, Drogba, Kalou.
Subs: Hilario, Lampard, Di Santo, Mikel, Sinclair, Terry, Woods.

Burnley: Jensen, Alexander, Duff, Caldwell, Jordan, Eagles, Gudjonsson, McCann, Elliott, Blake, Paterson.
Subs: Penny, McDonald, Akinbiyi, Mahon, Rodriguez, Kay, MacDonald.
=====

Sunderland vs. Blackburn
Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, Collins, Henderson, Whitehead, Richardson, Malbranque, Cisse, Jones.
Subs: Colgan, Tainio, Diouf, Murphy, Leadbitter, Reid, Kay.

Blackburn: Robinson, Simpson, Khizanishvili, Samba, Olsson, Kerimoglu, Derbyshire, Mokoena, Treacy, Fowler, Haworth.
Subs: Brown, Ooijer, Warnock, Nelsen, Roque Santa Cruz, Villanueva, Judge.
=====

Tottenham vs. Liverpool
Tottenham: Gomes, Hutton, Dawson, Corluka, Bale, Lennon, Zokora, Huddlestone, O’Hara, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell.
Subs: Cesar, Bentley, Bent, Modric, Gunter, Boateng, Rocha.

Liverpool: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Agger, Degen, Babel, Leiva Lucas, Ngog, Plessis, Torres, El Zhar.
Subs: Gulacsi, Riera, Alonso, Benayoun, Insua, Carragher, Darby.

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Chelsea FC and Gary Lineker and Liverpool FC and Open Thread and Spurs and carling cup.

The Good, The Bad, The WTF

I have Germany on the brain right now. Like many other hopeful Americans, I can only pray that Landon Donovan does not destroy the Bundesliga with his awesome talents. With the once-great league about to fold under His Hairline’s greatness, I am taking a break from the recent run of German shirts in order to go back to that wonderful bastion of crazy: South America. Argentina is our destination for this week’s shirt. Happy traveling.

The full name if this week’s club is Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro. As you can see from their badge, it’s a handful just to compress the initials onto a crest.
So you can imagine how difficult it would be to try to fit the name of the club onto the shirt, even if it is just once. Well, in this case, just once would have been a blessing.

Mere words cannot describe my reaction upon seeing this. Maybe this video can.

My ROFLCopter does all kinds of things.

Alright, I know I’ve said it before, but it bears a repeat asking here. What the hell were they thinking? Who in their right mind thought it would be good to try to fit the name of the club all over the shirt, place it vertical, interchange the colors, and then never ensure that the club’s name can be read bottom to top on any of the columns? The column that came closest to achieving this is interrupted by the badge. Real smart thinking there, fellas.

Beyond that, what else is there to say? The words dominate the shirt in such a way that you can’t nitpick anything else. Maybe you can be bothered by the manufacturer’s name on both sides of the collar, as well as the sleeves, but that’s just small potatoes compared to the body of the shirt. The only other thing that tick me off is that I don’t have a picture of the back of the shirt. Would be nice to know if there is anything the least bit redemptive back there.

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on San Lorenzo de Almagro and The Good The Bad The WTF and ü75.

GTA: Ackerville

Who’s up for a Blind Item Guessing Game? ‘Cept that the item ain’t really blind, it’s just withheld. What with these foreign newspapers and their ethics? I mean, once the guy is arrested, you can actually publish it as fact, right? Apparently not in South Africa. Join me below for scant, but juicy, details.

It’s the land of the 2010 World Cup and, in case you haven’t heard, it has a bit of a crime problem. Kind of like my home state, except amped up a good bit. Since crime apparently pays, and well, in South Africa, it ensnares all kinds of folks. Including men so powerful, their names cannot be printed, and only their job titles alluded to.

A “top soccer boss” in Soweto has been arrested for his involvement in a fairly sophisticated car theft ring. He was caught when an arrested accomplice snitched his part in the plot to the police. Obviously, this is not a Barksdale-scale organization, or else that kid would have been iced a lot earlier.

Now, onto the interesting part. The paper knows the name of the man arrested, but will not release it. They do dance around it a bit, giving the names of his former clubs, but don’t go any further. I have no idea what South Africa’s libel laws are like, but this seems extreme.

Anyway, if you have any insight on a high-ranking soccer official around Soweto who used to play for Vaal Professionals and Bush Bucks, then please tell us who it is in the comments. Otherwise, make up stuff for you own personal amusement. Me, I vote Roy Wegerle.

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Arrests and Car Theft and South Africa and a reference to The Wire because I can and ü75.

Democracy works…

… and not just in America. It appears that our UF campaign to elect Plamen Konstantinov as Bulgarian Man of the Year, ahead of Dimitar Berbatov, was successful.

Rejoice knowing that justice has been served.

After the jump, a video of our noble volleyball hero, the man who shall forever be known as the guy who beat Berbatov.

The man can act too!

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bulgaria and Lingering Bursitis and Scimitar Berbatoss and UF Campaigns and mission accomplished and voting.

Merseyside Money Muddle.

The current credit crunch appears to be threatening a number of football teams over the next few months. One man who certainly seems to be making money in these tough times is former Football League supremo Keith Harris.

Harris’ firm brokered the deals to bring new owners to Aston Villa, Manchester City, West Ham and Hull in recent times and Harris says that Liverpool could be in trouble if they do not find a new sugar daddy to lift the burden of the hefty debt currently held by Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Harris believes Liverpool may have to cash in on some of their players or face the risk of the bank repossessing the club.

“Liverpool’s debt is due in January, with maybe a six-month extension. The two banks which are the principal lenders - the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia - are two of those that have suffered. Whether they want to lend it again or not, they may not be able to.”- Keith Harris.

The situation is not much better for Liverpool’s close neighbors Everton either. Harris has been trying to pimp out the Toffees for weeks with not much luck.

“The demographics of Liverpool as a city are not hugely compelling” says Harris who quit his position as Chairman of the Football League in the face of the much publicized fiasco that was the ITV Digital farce.

Harris’ firm Seymour Pierce Investment Bank is currently charged with finding new owners for Newcastle, Norwich and Everton. What is interesting is that Harris says that “it’s never been harder to find investment”, yet he is taking on the task anyway. What a hero.

Delia Smith at Norwich should certainly not hold her breath over Harris’ efforts. His difficulty in finding buyers for Premier League clubs does not credibly indicate that he will be able to find some mug wants to pony up to buy a Championship club. However awesome that club may be!

-Bigus

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bigus Dickus and Everton and Keith Harris and Liverpool FC and investment.

Old Hucks as Best Newbie. Norfolk Still Angry.

Norwich legend Darren Huckerby has been named MLS ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at 32. Huckerby has put in some excellent work in his new league in the last few months, scoring 6 goals in 14 games from the left wing, but Norwich fans are still irritated at Manager Glenn Roeder’s decision to axe Hucks during the summer, and they let the Norwich boss know exactly how they felt at last night’s Annual General Meeting.

When Huckerby was shown the Carrow Road exit at the end of last season, many Norwich fans were miffed at Glenn Roeder’s decision to shun the most popular footballer the team has had for many years, maybe ever! What also irked the fine people of Norwich was that their hero was not given the send-off that he deserved when Roeder clearly knew that Huckerby was no longer part of his rebuilding plans.

Six months later, with the team sitting 2 points above the relegation zone and Mr. Huckerby back in Norwich last weekend, as a spectator in the Jarrold stand, the Norwich City AGM became the perfect forum for City fans to air their displeasure.

While I am sure that if Huckerby’s replacement this season, Wes Hoolahan, had been en fuego for the Canaries, the people of Norwich may have been a little more forgiving with the decision to send their wing-king packing, but he hasn’t. Roeder has even dropped Hoolahan from the squad recently, and he’s featured in just 9 games this term. While David Bell has been impressive in that position in the last couple of games, Bell arrived as a right winger and it appears that Roeder may have gotten lucky with the Irishman, who’s starting to look tasty on the left in Huckerby’s old role.

That said, this season’s inconsistent performances, tenuous league position and many different line-ups has kept Huckerby fresh in the memory.

Last night’s AGM should have been filled with questions regarding the club’s financial situation, its on-and-off flirtation with Billionaire Peter Cullum and concerns over the future of a team that sits 19th in the Championship with a home crowd of 25,000 weekly.

Instead, a large portion of the proceedings were taken up with questions from angry supporters bringing Roeder’s decision over Huckerby into question.

“It was not an easy decision for me to make. But it was my decision and my decision only. Don’t hold anyone else responsible. It was a tough call. I targeted a couple of players in Darren’s position - younger players - and I decided to let him go and bring in two others. Football is about opinions. You will never please everyone all the time. We have to move on. The future is now, today and tomorrow. Lets stop living in the past.”
- Glenn Roeder last night.

Meanwhile thousands of miles west, Huckerby is gathering hero status with another set of supporters, those of the San Jose Earthquakes. Huckerby’s trademark runs have given the Earthquakes fans a new paladin in their first year in MLS.

Huckerby chants can be heard at ‘Quakes home games and fan message boards are filled with messages of excitement for next term and a full season of Hucks magic.

Huckerby only played in 14 games this past campaign yet he established himself as a key figure for the ‘Quakes, scoring 6 goals and setting up 4. His arrival started a 9-game unbeaten streak which lifted San Jose within touching distance of the play-offs for a short while. Huckerby’s performances have been noticed across the league resulting in Huckerby being essentially named ‘Rookie of the Year’.

An ironic accolade for a player who is 32 years old and a veteran of the game. He also appears to have settled down well in his new part-time home of San Jose as he told me back in September. Other notable awards Mr Huckerby can place on his Norfolk mantle include San Jose’s MVP, Earthquakes golden boot winner and MLS Player of the Month for September. Quite an achievement to be named a team’s ‘player of the year’ after only 14 games!

“Darren had phenomenal run for us right from his arrival to the team. He brought an attacking mentality to our team that helped spark us on our run for the playoffs. His experience and professionalism were also great assets to the team this year. He is very deserving of this award.”
- San Jose Coach Frank Yallop on Huckerby’s M.L.S recognition.

The MLS season is done for Huckerby as the Earthquakes missed out on the postseason, and the popular number 6 is back in Norwich where his heart really lies. He was in the crowd amongst his people last Saturday as Norwich failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead to beat Preston North End, and as a season ticket holder, you would assume he will be there again this weekend for the visit of Swansea. A visual reminder for City fans of some good times behind them and some rocky ones ahead.

-Bigus

Written by Darkvader on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bigus Dickus and Darren Huckerby and M.L.S Newcomer of the Year and Norwich City.

Here Comes Arshavin Again

Andrei Arshavin, the russian play maker has been again linked with a possible move to FC Barcelona when the winter transfer window opens. This does not come as a surprise as I mentioned in my earlier post Arshavin Desperate to be at Barca that Sport.es is trying to get their favourite Russian in the club. Arshavin some days earlier gave an interview in which he made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a Zenit player in the new year. During the summer many clubs were interested in the Russian star but a move was made impossible by the price tag Zenit atatched to their star player. But now since Zenit sees a possibility of Arshavin moving out for free in the summer, they have agreed to negotiate with club who are interested. It is yet to see where he moves to; but he has clearly stated that given an option he will chose FC Barcelona. Arshavin has been a Barca fan from the times of Romario and want to spend some time in the club.

Not surprisingly it was Real Madrid who seems to have shown the initial interest to sign him in January. Real Madrid is missing their mercurial star Robben and Van Nistel Rooy through injury and would like to have Arshavin as a back up for them. It is not yet clear whether Totenham or Arsenal will re-kindle their interest in him this winter. Arsenal for me would merit heavily from his purchase but the fact that he cannot be used in Champions League would make Wenger think twice. Now with Sport.es reporting a possible chance of Barca approaching Zeni for Arshavin; this could be a tough fight for the ultimate winner. Arshavin could be played on the left side of thepitch where we are certain to miss Iniesta for some time. Henry and Hleb has not made that position their own. But will Guardiola unsettle the squad in between a very good campaign is yet to see. If Arshavin moves in to Barca, there could be a high chance of Henry leaving to Manchester City.

Written by Bibin on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on FC Barcelona and Transfer rumours.