Dear WSJ: Sit Down and Shut Up

Our normal targets for the Fire Joe Morgan treatment are other blogs, or the occasional religion professor, and so today makes for a real treat: the professionals at the Wall Street Journal. You see, the Rupert Murdoch-owned rag has produced a very weird, slapdash effort to explain football to the Brooks Brothers crowd. And while well-written (i.e., no typos!!), it is still quite worthy of ridicule.

The original article can be found here. Let’s just say this effort exploded on the launchpad. Line-by-line analysis can be found after the jump.

Let’s start with the title, shall we?

Taking a Stand in the Grandstands

Bleh. More like taking a dump in the headlines. And the subhead is even worse….

Overseas, Sports Fans Take to Their Feet; Not in the U.S., Where ‘Everyone Thinks They’re King’

And here we see the fundamental problem with this article, the cheap “Americans and English are different!” Yeah, yeah, they say crisps and we say potato chips. They have cricket and we have baseball. They have a queen and we have Brangelina. CRAZY!!!

By AUSTIN KELLEY

Austin Kelley, huh? Nice name. Oh hey look there’s a picture!

Chelsea fans in 2005, above, stand at a soccer match in London.
First off, why did the WSJ use a picture from four years ago? Second off, the only reason that the Chelsea supporters are standing is because Fat Frank just scored a goal. Trust me, they were sitting on their hands just prior to and just after this picture was taken.

In the U.S., go to almost any professional sporting event and look in the stands — just about everyone sits. But at soccer matches throughout the world, many fans prefer to stand.

What a weak-livered lede, complete with qualifiers… “just about everyone” and “many.” But of course not everyone, no! That would simply be going way too far.

This is also a good time to mention that the entire premise of this article is just plain wrong. I can personally think of about a million U.S. sporting events, especially at crucial times in games, when the “fans rise to their feet as one.” So much so that this has become a sportscasting cliche. And not every football game is 90 minutes of standing, roaring cheers. How about when Sir Alex Ferguson called Old Trafford “funereal?” When I think funereal, I don’t exactly think vertical position. But we are dealing with broad generalities here, let’s not get too hung up on such details, right? Please, let’s allow our humble writer to continue….

The tradition of standing is so entrenched that games like Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League semifinal at London’s Emirates stadium often elicit battles between ticket-holders who want to stay on their feet and security guards who want them to relax a little.

“Hey buddy, why don’t you relax a little and sit down?” At least the writer discussed “battles” between supporters and security guards without mentioning hooligans and riots. Also, quite interesting that the author would mention the Champions League… Maybe because FSC just won the TV rights? You can almost hear the editor saying, “Hey Austin, go write something about soccer, maybe about how Americans and English are different or something.” “Sure thing boss!! Uh, what’s soc-cer?”

In fact until the 1990s, stadiums in England included large standing terraces where spectators were treated like cattle. In America, however, custom and shouting have always kept people down in front at big-time baseball or basketball games.

Here is my biggest gripe about this article: absolutely no discussion of Hillsborough or Heysel except for a passing mention below. You would think that a legitimate news outlet would lede with an explanation of why English stadiums no longer feature terraces, which is the crucial part of this story. But no, the discussion of changes to stadium designs comes far below.

And in the meantime, the author decided to quote not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE independent sources for this lame-ass article. Remember when you were in college and you were on page 18 of your 20-page paper, and it was late and you wanted to go to sleep but you had to come up with two more pages, so you threw in a bunch of block quotes? Yup…. That’s what’s in store ahead.

“I don’t see myself going to watch a game and sitting down,” says Oscar Zambrana, a Bolivian-American in Virginia who runs the D.C. United supporters’ group, La Barra Brava. “To me sitting down is kind of boring.”

That’s the sort of hard-hitting journalism that wins Pulitzers: Oscar Zambrana from Washington, DC, thinks that sitting down is boring. Oh, and notice that he’s an MLS supporter? Last time I checked MLS was in the United States. Just saying.

To explain the gulf in fan behavior, historians point to everything from labor laws to gender roles to cultural expectations.

Really? We’re conducting a sociological study now? In the Wall Street Journal?? Okay, well, let’s hear it.

It goes back to “the middle ages, when the nobility sat and the common plebs stood,” says Rod Sheard, senior principle of the leading sports architecture firm Populous and designer of the Emirates. “All of America is nobility. Everyone thinks they’re king in America.”

With all due respect for the guy who designed the Grove, this has got to be the most asinine explanation ever for why Americans sit at sporting events, assuming that they even do sit, or used to sit, or always sit, or whatever. You can almost imagine Mr. Sheard receiving an email from Austin seeking a quote, and thinking, “Eh, I’d love to get my firm’s name into the Wall Street Journal, but what is this reporter talking about? I know, I’ll just say something about nobility and kings.” And then the quote even made it into the sub-headline!

Indeed, 19th-century baseball fans in the U.S. quickly developed higher standards for comfort than British soccer fans, says Steven Riess, author of “Sport in Industrial America, 1850-1920.” “I think there was a sense of entitlement for American leisure clients that they didn’t have in Europe.”

Okay, and now our fair author is firmly going with this line of investigation. It’s Sociology 101 meets football, on the pages of the Wall Street Journal no less. Seriously, I thought that Wall Street had repudiated such soft sciences. Where’s the discussion of supply-side economics??? Oh, hey there it is….

Baseball owners, in the American entrepreneurial tradition, helped create these expectations, by aiming at the tea-and-crumpets crowd, not the “rowdies.” William Cammeyer, the man who is often cited as the first person to sell tickets to a baseball game, saw the civilizing and profitable effects of seating.

Uh, really? “The tea and crumpet crowd?” Is that the tea and crumpet crowd that usually reads the WSJ? Also, when I think about the Brooklyn Dodgers I always think tea and crumpets, certainly not Hilda and the Brooklyn Sym-phony. But okay, baseball owners wanted to make money by marketing toward the wealthy. Fair enough, I guess. Maybe this analysis is only a little bit off. It could always be worse, like using Lexis-Nexis to look up an old article from the 19th Century….

“A long wooden shed has been erected,” the Brooklyn Eagle reported when Mr. Cammeyer opened his Union Grounds in 1862, “and benches provided for the fair sex.” Women were the harbingers of respectability and higher ticket prices. “Wherever their presence enlivens the scene,” the newspaper opined, “there, gentlemanly conduct will follow.”

Was this whole exercise just an excuse for Austin to use the word “erected?” But, thank you for confirming that baseball in the 1860s was misogynistic. Very newsworthy that.

Quite a few people still stood at these early games, sometimes in the outfield. In St. Louis there was a beer garden in right field where players would have to retrieve the ball among the idle drinkers (the garden was in play). But as baseball’s popularity grew, the owners were intent on providing more and better seats. When Albert Spalding rebuilt Chicago’s Lakefront Park in 1883, he added plush luxury boxes with armchairs and curtains to shield kingly spectators from the sun and wind.

“Spalding was one of the folks who was pivotal in making baseball more like high-end entertainment,” says Robert Trumpbour, author of “The New Cathedrals: Politics and Media in the History of Stadium Construction.” “He tried to push the prices upward. He would argue that baseball players are every bit as entertaining as a Broadway show, and people pay a premium for that.”

That’s expert number three if you are keeping track at home. Austin really bringing his “A Game” to investigative journalism.

British soccer developed very differently. The clubs, some of which were started by workers from the Thames Ironworks (West Ham United) and the Woolwich Arsenal (Royal Arsenal), were usually partnerships controlled by local directors, not entrepreneurial owners, and the games were held on Saturday afternoons when laborers were given a half-day off.

Thank you Wikipedia for confirming where the names of a couple football clubs came from. And sure, there are absolutely NO entrepreneurial owners in the English Premier League today! Oh, and no effort to make money either. No sponsors on kits, no sponsors on the names of trophies, no sponsors on the name of the league (suck it, Barclays). Oh wait, we are still talking about the HISTORY of football. Because that has so much relevance to today, and because I’m sure that Austin will tie this all together in the end (I’ll give you a hint, he doesn’t).

The early stadiums were designed to pack in as many fans as possible and were far from luxurious. Many of them were designed by one man, Archibald Leitch, a Scottish architect who cut his teeth building factories. Mr. Leitch’s Stamford Bridge, the site of Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal, had only 500 seats when it opened for soccer in 1905, but it had room for 90,000 standing. (It maintained standing sections until 1994.)

With only a few paragraphs to go, we’ve finally taken our historical study all the way up to 1905. And Will Leitch’s relative had something to do with Stamford Bridge? I guess I did learn something new.

“The working class in the 19th century and 20th century,” says Gary Armstrong, who studies sports sociology at Brunel University in London, “didn’t have a great deal of expectations about public facilities. They’d go from working in a coal mine or a factory to standing up often in an inch of mud in the winter.”

Expert number four. And yet I still have no idea what this is all about, other than that the history of football was tied to the working class. Fair enough point, but the connection to standing/sitting is still flimsy, flimsy, flimsy!

In Britain, shoddy conditions soon became integral to the fan experience. Fans flocked to the big matches partly for the pleasure of being uncomfortable together. At the 1923 FA Cup final, some 200,000 spectators packed into the new Wembley Stadium, which had seats for about 35,000.

“It became exciting to be standing amongst people and to be part of that huge humanity,” says Mr. Sheard, who designed today’s Wembley with 90,000 seats and no standing room. “You’re almost swept away into a different world for that hour and a half…. You’re part of this huge sweep of humanity that’s chanting and yelling and singing.”

This is the only part of the article that captures any sense of real difference between English football and American sports, yet it is buried two thirds of the way in.

For the most part, spectators at NBA or NFL games plant their fannies and chow down on hot dogs. Now soccer fans are beginning to follow suit. After a series of disasters in standing terraces in the 1980s, many top European leagues, including the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, outlawed standing-room sections. Clubs have also enforced new rules to keep people in their seats. British fans haven’t taken it lying down, though. Protest groups have formed, including “Stand Up Sit Down,” which would like to re-introduce “safe terracing” in Britain. A 2007 survey by the Football Fans’ Census showed 92% of 2,046 English fans supported their effort.

Again, not sure I buy the argument that American spectators (hey that’s me!) always sit, but if they do maybe it’s because Americans tend to be overweight? Hey, it’s just as stupid an explanation as this article. Hire me, the Wall Street Journal!

In other countries, stadiums with standing sections are still common. In Germany some new high-tech venues, like the Allianz Arena in Munich, have incorporated standing terraces that can be converted to seating for UEFA Champions League games.

Safety may not be the main issue. “Standing terraces can be designed to be just as safe as seating,” says Mr. Sheard. “There’s just not the incentive to do it.” Seat assignments allow for more accurate surveillance and crowd control, and they fit in with the newer, more corporate stadiums.

Uh, okay… Basically not paying attention at this point.

Plus, it’s harder to see the game when you’re standing in the middle of a crowd of sweaty fanatics singing, “Who ate all the pies?” Not that it matters much to some soccer fans.

As if anyone reading the Wall Street Journal would have any idea what this means.

“I don’t particularly watch the games,” said Mr. Zambrana. “I always have my back to the field, leading the chants….”I can watch the game when I get home.”

Except that Mr. Zambrana IS AN AMERICAN TALKING ABOUT MLS GAMES!!! It all falls apart again. What a hack job. The Wall Street Journal should truly be ashamed. Look folks, this isn’t all terrible, but it’s a sliding scale. We just expect much better from a legit news outlet.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D8

Page D8 huh? Okay, maybe this explains everything.

Written by Darkvader on May 7th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Fire Joe Morgan Rip-Off and spectator.

Beni - German Big Brother Video

Written by Darkvader on April 8th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Beni and Big Brother and Youtube Video.

Beni - German Big Brother

Thanks to the poster of the photos on FMForums and to Big Brother Men: Uncut for the Video.

To download the video capped in the photos youll have to go here.

Written by Darkvader on April 8th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Beni and Big Brother.

Ten African Players To Watch In 2009

Happy 2009!!

In our last post, we talked about the 10 best African players of 2008.

Now, we shift focus and with the help of goal.com’s Samm Audu, Road to 2010 takes a look at 10 African players to keep an eye on in 2009.

Many of these players could end up on your favorite clubs before you know it. Let’s have a look at the list …

10. Mustapha Jarju ‘Toubabo’ (RAEC Mons & Gambia)

A versatile player, who is comfortable either in midfield or as a striker. He has previously captained his country’s Under-17 side and has now been strutting his stuff in Belgium for the past three seasons, first with Lierse before he joined up with Mons. He has thus far scored five goals this term after playing mostly as a striker and was very much part of the Gambian Scorpions, who came within a whisker of advancing to the final round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

9. Faty Papy (Trabsonspor & Burundi)

Turkish club Trabzonspor got themselves a huge bargain when they signed 18-year-old Burundi international midfielder Faty Papy in December. Papy, who has won six caps for his native country since his debut against Seychelles in June, featured for Inter Star of Bujumbura before his move overseas.

8. McDonald Mariga ( FC Parma & Kenya)

At 21, this highly rated central midfielder has, within a short time, moved from modest Swedish side Helsingborgs to the Italian top flight with FC Parma, who snapped him up for a fee close to two million Euros after he impressed on an intial loan deal. He was capped at full international level in 2006 and has now been linked with a transfer to Serie A giants AC Milan as well as Napoli.

7. Clifford Mulenga ( Wits & Zambia)

Arguably the player with the most exciting left foot in the South African Premier Soccer League, he caught the eye of many with some superb displays for his country at the 2007 Fifa World Youth Championship in Canada. It was a performance that fetched him the Caf Young Player Award in 2007. However, he can sometimes be something of a character, like when he publicly slammed Zambia coach, Herve Renard, for leaving him out of a recent World Cup tie. He has since made up with the French coach.

6. Bernard Parker (Thanda Royal Zulu & South Africa)

Such is the huge promise this young Thanda Royal Zulu skipper holds that his South African club have admitted he will be lost to Europe sooner rather than later.Last season, he played in all of his club’s matches while this term, he has cracked home nine goals in the league.But the highlight of his career are his goals for Bafana - four in nine matches since he was first capped in 2007.

5. Moussa Maazou (Lokeren & Niger)

The year 2008 will certainly pass as a landmark year for this 20-year-old former Sahel Sc striker. He was capped at senior level by his country against Uganda in May and since his move to Belgium same year, he has painted the Jupilar league with goals. He has thus far netted 10 goals in 16 appearances for Lokeren.

4. Macauley Chrisantus (Hamburg & Nigeria)

He is your typical centre-forward - strong on the ball, full of running and a player who knows where the goal is. He proved that at both the 2007 African Junior Championship in Togo and months later at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup, where his seven goals helped Nigeria to a third championship win. German Bundesliga outfit Hamburg gave him a professional contract in August when he turned 18 and has made the bench for several league games this season already.

3. Daniel Opare (Real Madrid & Ghana)

A super talent at right fullback, he could not have dreamt of a bigger platform to showcase his ball skills than Spanish champions Real Madrid after he emerged as the best defender at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Korea in September 2007. Blessed with great pace and precise crosses, the former Ashanti Gold midfielder is on the fringes of the Ghana Black Stars and was only dropped from his country’s squad to the 2008 Nations Cup on account of an ankle injury. Injury has again ruled him out of the African Youth Championship this month, but pundits say this player in the mould of Brazil World Cup star Cafu is on his way to becoming a Galacticos.

2. Rabiu Ibrahim (Sporting Clube & Nigeria)

He has already been compared to the great Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha because of his ball skills and vision in central midfield. He was the first from an exciting generation of young players to move overseas after helping Nigeria win the Fifa U-17 World Cup in Korea two years ago. Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu is known for relying on the old guard, but now looks set to draft this youngster, 18 only in March, to add some creative juice in the Super Eagles midfield.

1.Yao Kouassi ‘Gervinho’ ( Le Mans & Ivory Coast)

A product of the famed Asec Academy that produced the likes of the Toure brothers, Kolo and Yaya, Didier Zokora, Aruna Didane, Kouassi is an exciting striker who shone like a million stars as Ivory Coast reached the last eight at the football tournament of the Beijing Olympics in the summer with him as skipper. He scores his fair share of goals but above all, his dribbling runs and ball skills have helped create openings from which his teammates have profited. Little wonder a man like Arsene Wenger with eye for young talent is reportedly keeping a close watch on a player good enough to carry a Brazilian nickname.

Written by Darkvader on January 1st, 2009 with no comments.
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The Worst Week For Capitalism Since 1929 #

The Financial Times: “The panic in the world credit markets reached historic intensity [on Wednesday] prompting a flight to safety of the type not seen since the 2nd World War.”

Why aren’t any of the agents of capitalism attempting to justify their noxious belief in “free markets” now?

There is no such concept in Reality as a free market, there never has been and there never will be.
The allegedly free market is, in fact, a state-based economic system whether one chooses to look at the US, Britain, Japan, Germany, Russia or China, or, indeed, anywhere else.
And any supposed freedom in the marketplace is limited to the market makers, other insiders and those who speculate in a booming market.
Woe betide those who speculate in a bear market!

This week has been one of the most momentous weeks in international finance in the last century - the cyclical trail of disaster and misguided rescue plan has been repeated throughout the week, set against markets experiencing the utmost volatility.

Over the weekend, when most Morecambe and Wise Show decisions are made nowadays so that market reaction may be delayed, Bernanke/Paulson announced that Lehman Brothers was being allowed to go under.
This sent shockwaves through the markets as investors suddenly realised that the public purse is not deep enough to support all the wrecks of capitalism’s plight.
Additionally, it was announced on Sunday that Merrill Lynch, another distraught investment bank, was being taken over by Bank of America.
The markets were unimpressed and slalomed downhill.
But, as usual, Paulson ##############################################

For he announced on Tuesday (##########################################) the biggest bailout in US financial history - fully $85 billion to rescue AIG.
The selection of AIG over Lehman Brothers was key.
Firstly and most importantly, ##################################################
Secondly, ##############################################################
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Thirdly, it was indicative of the systemic risk, already great, that would be markedly magnified if the insurance sector was to follow the banking sector into deep crisis. The tentacles of impact would then be undermining the entire capitalist edifice.

Despite this input, the markets continued to fall.

At 5000, the FTSE reached a key threshold. #####################################
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Additionally, #######################################################
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On Wednesday, Gold saw its biggest ever one day gain (in $ terms) as major investors sought a safe haven for their ill-begotten assets in a turbulent marketplace.

Also on Wednesday, the Russian bourse halted trading for the second successive day. The Russians haven’t learned that it is not seen as good form to simply halt trading because the market is not behaving as one might wish it to.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has a more integrated strategy.
When financial shenanigans were afoot after Morecambe and Wise’s bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the LSE simply collapsed, allegedly for technical reasons, missing seven hours of trading on one of the most important trading days of recent times. Several other European bourses were affected in a domino fashion.

Also, on Wednesday, lending between banks effectively completely seized up, stopped, terminated…
This is serious.
If banks cannot raise money from each other, and if there is no more money in the public coffers so that the social may support the capital, and if mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continue to be rare (apart from those made in desperation) in the recession, then banks are dependent EITHER on proprietary trading in a market cornered by Goldman Sachs OR on attracting new customers at the retail end of the operation.
Consequently, a very simple rule of thumb is worthy of note.
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Interestingly, this is the exact opposite of the idiotic advice given by The Guardian financial journalist, Phillip Inman.
Idiot Inman is an Insider.
The Guardian must specialise in disinformation in finance as well as football, it would seem…
Idiot tells readers to “######################################” before going on to tell us that “it is hard to see how the government could let any bank go bust and allow savers to lose out. It saved Northern Rock, after all.”
And, the US government saved Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae but had still allowed one of the most venerable (if such a word is appropriate in finance) names in investment banking to go to that great credit-default-swap in the sky.
This had occured three days earlier.
Idiot.

Thursday morning brought news that Lloyds was buying out HBOS in the biggest British banking deal ever.
But there were shenanigans here too.
Normally the monopolies people would be all over the Lloyds/HBOS deal like a rash.
But, it has been waved through with scarcely a glance, by an increasingly desperate government, that has called off the competition authorities so long as Lloyds promise to maintain first-time buyer lending - free markets again!

Late on Thursday came a further form of straight market manipulation. All rational people objected when Morecambe and Wise prevented the selling of stocks in a score of financial institutions in July. This was a blatant rigging of the market.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) mimicked the comedians in America last night when they announced a ban on the short selling of bank stocks until January 16th 2009 and even this date isn’t necessarily a threshold for a return to a less corrupted market structure, #######################################################
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Can’t wait…

This is straight market manipulation.
Within minutes of the announcement, British banking stocks had soared 10% on Wall St with Barclays gaining over 20% in 4 minutes!!!
Additionally, #######################################################
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Why is it that when speculators are undertaking speculative behaviour that is causing a market to boom, all is fine and dandy.
But when speculators are undertaking speculative behaviour that is causing a market to fall, they are banned from doing so.

Why are deep-state insiders allowed to rig the markets in this fashion without any public scrutiny?

And there are rumours pre-opening of the LSE this morning that Morecambe and Wise are going to announce a major banking package later today, presumably just in time for the opening of Wall St.

So, with the rampant use of taxpayers money, the banning of short-selling, the rigging of the markets, the arbitrary application of regulation, governments acting as guarantors of the last degree, a selective policy of intervention and the media support of heads of government, the FTSE has recovered to within 250 points of last Friday’s close.
As I said, Morecambe and Wise…

This second banning of short selling in financial stock will make #########
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The short-termism in the banning of short-selling is telling.
Although the share prices of financial institutions will be falsely inflated in the immediate term, the downsides to this rigging are two-fold.
Firstly, the intervention will reduce the likelihood of inter-bank lending restarting anytime soon and, secondly, these short-term crutches for a falling market are only enhancing the eventual impact of this Depression.
They are deferring, but magnifying the future misery.

Many commentators and analysts have compared this week to 1929, having failed to find a single instance of such magnitude in the 79 years in between.

There are many losers from this capitalist cock-up - we’re talking Third World here rather than unemployed commodities traders - and there are going to be a whole load more before this crunch has finished crunching.
And, as ever, we always have to add the systemic proviso that the negative impacts on any adaptation to climate change is left out of our gloomy assessment.
When you include climate change, the prognosis is terminal.

But one particular fact has impressed us most over Paulson’s reign, the speed of US government financial intervention in crises of capital and property.
If only such behaviour had been replicated in New Orleans in their crisis of the social.
And still the city waits for the release of various US government grants and funding to continue with the pitiful attempts at rebuilding the city.

And every so often, up pops the strange idiot child from Texas, to inform us that he has total faith in the financial markets, with that preppy sneer-grin that has been perfected through all those weird weekends of pseudo-klan behaviour dressed up as frivolous, fraternal fun.
“The markets are safe, trust me…”
This is likely to reassure who exactly?
The strange idiot child, who does war crimes when in tantrum mode and hides underground when scared, the man who gave Goldman Sachs control of the global economy and the global recession, and he wants our trust.
Fuck Bush.

Unfortunately, the blocked out parts of the posts, all 475 posts prior to July 1st 2008 and all posts labelled # are available in full to subscribers only.
Annual rate is just £10 ($20).
For full details, please see: http://footballisfixed.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-buy-into-football-is-fixed.html.
You can even make donations too, if you want

© Football Is Fixed/Dietrological

Written by Football Is Fixed on September 19th, 2008 with no comments.
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An Interview with Marc Stein: Part I

When Lingering Bursitis and I had the honor and the pleasure of attending the Showdown in Chinatown a while back, little did we know the mileage we’d get out of that chance encounter on a warm, summer day. As you may recall, one of those who took part in the game was ESPN’s Marc Stein, by day an NBA reporter, but also a lifelong footy fan. We have to admit that we were a little jealous of Marc, getting the opportunity to run around with Steve Nash, Thierry Henry, Robbie Fowler and the rest. But, it turns out that there couldn’t have been a better representative for us, the fans.

Marc Stein recently took some time out of his hectic schedule covering the NBA to answer some of our questions about football and various other topics as well. A big thanks go his way. Marc is what we, in the business, like to call a real mensch.

Find out why after the jump in Part I of our interview.

Q: You already covered your experience at the Showdown In Chinatown for ESPN.com but how exactly did you get involved in the game. And about how long did it take you to say “yes” to playing?

STEIN: Apologies first of all for the link you’ve included and foisting so much on the public about this already. But I think anyone who’s heard anything about this day of fantasy football can understand why I can’t stop talking about it.

How did it happen? Dismayed as I am that one man can be so good at both footy and hoops, I have to give Nash all the credit. It was all his idea (with some encouragement from his trusty Italian sidekick Simone Sandri, no doubt) to let me bring the level down a few (dozen) notches, ensuring that I would be there to chronicle it all but as much because he knew how much it would mean to me to be out there. I’ve covered Nash at close quarters since he dribbled into Dallas in 1998 and we hit it off largely because of soccer, which is the sport he’d rather talk about 11 times out of 10. He was introduced to Fowler and McManaman years ago, quickly became close friends with them . . . and has since heard ad nauseum from me how those two are two of my absolute, all-time favorites.

Let’s just say that Nash must have realized that he’d lose me forever as his Ahmad Rashad — when I’m not working as Nowitzki’s Ahmad Rashad, of course — if I wasn’t allowed to sneak out there somehow.

Q: Will you be trademarking the term “Plimptonian Power Rankings?” If not, you probably should, even though I’d guess very few readers have any idea what you were talking about.

STEIN: Really? Inhabitants of the modern-day sports blogosphere don’t know George Plimpton? A major disappointment, if true.

For the kids out there: Plimpton is the undisputed, legendary father of participatory sports journalism. Please read his Wikipedia page immediately.

[Ed.: I probably should’ve given readers far more credit. As an aside, the first time I heard about George Plimpton was when my Mom told me that he hit on her when she was working at NBC in the 1960s!]

He actually did full-length books on his experiences, but I’ve done OK for myself with probably more dabbles than I deserve in the Plimptonian realm. Besides the two other cameos I described in the article — playing for a week with indoor soccer’s Dallas Sidekicks and trying to return Roscoe Tanner’s serve on three different surfaces — I’ve also shared some interesting court time with Elgin Baylor and Pete Sampras . . . and was once paraded on the Maine Road pitch before a night match with a City scarf held over my head like a new signing. That was for an article I was invited to write in the Manchester Evening News.

I know, I know: I’ve actually had WAY more fun than I deserve.

Q: I thought it was interesting that some NBA players who were rumored to be involved in the Nash/Claudio Reyna match (Nate Robinson, David Lee and you mentioned Joakim Noah) weren’t there. Did their teams pull the plug or was it more scheduling conflicts?

STEIN: No idea what happened to Nate and D-Lee. All of a sudden they went from available to unavailable. At least with Noah there’s a story. Joakim called Nash when he read about the game on Page Six in the New York Post, told Nash he was dying to play and then called shortly before kickoff, apologizing for missing “yesterday’s game.” He had the wrong day somehow.

Q: I think everyone who was there agreed that Jason Kidd, among the NBA players, was the biggest revelation on the football pitch. Watching Kidd play, I couldn’t help but think that he would’ve been an amazing professional soccer player, with the same athletic skills, vision and playmaking . . . plus at 6-3 he’d actually have a height advantage. What’s your take on the argument that the United States would produce more top soccer players if student-athletes didn’t gravitate towards other sports?

STEIN: I had to apologize to J-Kidd because I had it totally wrong in my preview story for ESPN.com. Never knew he had a soccer background and I made it sound like he had never kicked a ball in his life.

As for the bigger issue . . .

I don’t know that I have anything profound to say beyond than the obvious. Soccer just doesn’t have a big enough profile in this country — and you have to wonder if it ever will — to consistently attract the Kidd-level athletes. You’d like to believe that a country this big could hook, say, 50 of the best athletes under any circumstances. Or at least 20. But America is just totally unlike almost every other nation around the world, where soccer is generally the runaway No. 1 sport. What’s the ceiling for soccer here with so many sports ahead of it in the queue and so many choices? I honestly don’t know that soccer has moved up much in my lifetime.

Q: Changing topics slightly, when did you become interested in football, especially your beloved Manchester City? And how closely do you follow the Premier League during the season?

STEIN: Apologies, again, to anyone who has already been subjected to this sad, geeky, long-winded story.

My brother and I are the first generation in our family born in the States, so footy is the sport my father grew up with in Romania and shared with us. I was first exposed to English football when I was 11. We made frequent trips to Israel to see family in my youth and the only sports publication in English that you could find in the Holy Land in those pre-internet, pre-cable times was SHOOT! For those that don’t know, SHOOT! was a famed kiddie soccer mag that had heavy involvement from all the big England stars of the day and was published mostly on a weekly basis for a good 40 years before meeting its tragic demise in June as yet another victim of the unforgiving world of modern publishing. I will always hold it dear because SHOOT! immediately became my bible to get through the summer. I milked every word out of every issue.

Knowing nothing about the geography or the history of the English game, I was going to have to pick a team some other way from all the names and clubs I was suddenly trying to learn on the fly. On the back cover of my first issue, pictured in stunning sky blue, was City defender Tommy Caton doing a Q&A. City’s kit had a strong resemblance to the shirt worn by my AYSO team back in Southern California — except ours was one of those cheapo light blue mesh shirts with all the little holes and a white v-neck – so that’s the glamorous story of how this City fan was born.

The choice obviously stuck. And in what I consider to be a true sign from above, I made this call without even knowing that City had won the FA Cup in 1969 one day after I was born. Once I eventually discovered that bit of trivia, I realized that me and City were meant to be.

But it was pretty tough to follow English football back here in the States, in my experience, until the early 1990s . . . even though my dear Uncle Josef in Israel arranged for me to receive SHOOT! by mail in California through my teens at a ridiculous cost. As a kid, Toby Charles’ unforgettable broadcasts on Soccer Made In Germany and games in Spanish (starting for me with the 1982 World Cup) were the standout international footy programs I remember watching, overshadowing some sporadic coverage from England on similar UHF stations in SoCal. I more clearly remember subscribing to Sports Channel America (which I think is now basically Fox Sports Net) around 1991 or 1992 (for about $10-12 extra monthly on the cable bill) because they had an English footy highlights show every week. Then the Internet arrived and the world amazingly and mercifully started shrinking. Every season it wonderfully gets a little bit smaller, too. Example: Just in the last month I’ve watched both legs of City’s first UEFA Cup qualifying tie against a tiny team from the Faroe Islands and a preseason friendly against AC Milan on internet feeds that come from I don’t know where. I don’t know that you could have done that as recently as two years ago. I love this game!

In adulthood I’m your basic Premiership snob/geek who can’t find much time for the MLS, but I also have an equally deep (and disturbing) love for England’s lower divisions. I’d rather watch club football than international football any day of the week and I’d rather watch a League Two or Carling Cup match on Setanta than a La Liga game. Don’t ask me to rationalize any of this because I know I’m a freak. I guess I just grew up reading so much about English football — without actually being able to watch what I was reading about — that even clubs in England’s lower leagues have mystical qualities in my twisted world. City also spent three long seasons in England’s second and third tiers in the late ’90s before the club started to rebound, which took me to some remote outposts that only cemented my Football League fetish. Sixfields Stadium in Northampton, for example. I’ve indeed been there to see City in what is now known as League One; it’s one of the roughly 40 or so professional football grounds in England that I’ve been to in the past decade-plus. Like I said . . . total geek.

How closely do I follow the Premiership now? Closer than I want anyone to know. Closer than my family can stand. Let’s just say that no one in the United States finds a way to watch more of the three daily helpings of Sky Sports News that we get over here than me.

Q: What do you make about the Thaksin Shinawatra/Sven-Goran Eriksson drama at Man City?

STEIN: It’s nothing, sadly, that I didn’t expect back when Frank, as we call him, got the club. I always feared, with all the potential pitfalls attached to Shinawatra’s legal situation, that City could end up worse off than we were before he took over, which was an absolutely excruciating time in the last days of Stuart Pearce’s regime. I dearly hope I’m just being my usual paranoid, worst-case-scenario self, but the developments coming out of Eastlands are ominous, to put it charitably. And you get conditioned as a City fan to wonder when the next crisis will hit.

As for Sven specifically, clearly he didn’t deserve to go. The man only had us in the top five for half the season and did the league double over U—-d, after City had gone nearly 40 years without beating our neighbors twice in the same season. If I must be honest, I was not a fan of his football, like a lot of City fans, largely because Sven insisted on playing a dour system (only one man up front) even at home. But let’s face it: He was absolutely fantastic in his first season, results-wise, getting a team full of new players to gel so quickly. Sven also had an undeniable presence that was even more impressive than the top-10 finish. Not Mourinho-like, obviously, but Sven gave City unmistakable credibility, especially in the area of player recruitment. He could call any player in the world and at least get that player to take his call. Don’t know if City has ever had another manager with that kind of juice.

That said, I’m a pretty big admirer of Mark Hughes, in spite of his U—-d connections and last week’s slip up to whatever the hell that Danish team is called that Danny Califf plays for now. He’s a rare breed (top young British manager) who’s joining the club with the most underrated, on-the-rise youth academy in England (reigning FA Youth Cup champions). So I fall into the camp of City fans who have their fingers crossed that we might have gotten away with one when Frank was able to convince Hughes to come to Eastlands after forcing Sven out prematurely. I think Hughes is good enough to solidify us as a top-six or seven side, but that naturally depends on Shinawatra’s troubles going away or someone with money coming in to rescue him.

If the stories are true about Shinawatra wanting or needing to sell the club . . . don’t make me think about what happens next. But that’s life as a City fan. It’s a roller coaster that never lets you off. As legendary striker Franny Lee famously said back in the club’s glory days — and I’m paraphrasing here to Americanize his quote — City would have an overflowing trophy case if they gave out cups for screw-ups.

Q: Do you think Ronaldinho would have worked out at Man City?

STEIN: Nope. No chance. Ronaldinho surely thinks he’s still too good to go from Barca to City. Factor in the ridiculous money we’d have been risking and it only could have ended in tears.

Part II of our interview with Marc Stein is on its way tomorrow!

Written by Darkvader on August 18th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Interview and Manchester City and Marc Stein and Showdown in Chinatown and spectator.

Wherein Greg Lalas Disagrees With Me

Recently, I hit up Greg Lalas–former professional soccer player, writer, provocateur and general soccer aficionado–for an interview. After a few technical difficulties, I managed to catch the white whale. He graciously answered all of my questions and challenged me to a duel some of my positions. It is also apparent there is no bigger advocate of American soccer than Greg Lalas which is something it needs. Something UF does not do well with, but should try harder.

Before we jump into the interview, I want to take a minute to promote a couple of Greg’s recent pieces that are excellent reads. The first, the Bill of Rights of American Soccer fans. The second, a Bill of Responsibilities for American Soccer Fans.

After the jump, Greg on Beckham, Donovan, dating a Lazio fan, and our favorite Chris Mannix.

Clearly you have a unique background as a soccer writer since you played in college and professionally, but did you ever envision having a writing career? Did you plan for this while in college? You now write for several outlets, SI.com, Goal.com, and NYTimes Goal Blog, how did you end up doing this?

Luck and connections. To be honest, I never really envisioned anything as a “career.” But I did a lot of writing, and have been doing so since I was a pipsqueak. In college, I wrote a lot of really bad poetry and some semi-decent short fiction. Then, even when I was playing, I was writing. In 1996, while I was playing with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, I had a short play produced by the Source Theater in DC.

After I retired in 1998, I left soccer behind totally. I went to grad school for creative writing, and stumbled into a job at a magazine in Boston. But the soccer itch came back. In 2003, I was living in Greece, freelancing and writing, kind of off the grid. I decided to move back to the States, to New York, and the first thing I did was to get a hold of someone at MLSnet.com and ask about writing for the site. They said sure. My first piece was a profile of Freddy Adu, who I met up with the day before he was drafted. He was great. So I wrote a column for MLSnet.com, “The View from the Cheap Seats,” for about a year, and everything snowballed from there. Next thing I knew, I was doing the TV for the Revolution.

After I wore out my welcome at MLSnet — calling for a sitting coach’s head in an article on the league website didn’t sit well with certain people…but come on, Andrulis needed to go! — I started writing the “Outside the Box” column for SI.com then I took over Goal.com USA. I’ve only written for NYTimes.com for special events, like this past Africa Cup of Nations.

Your brother, Alexi Lalas, is a US soccer legend and the current GM for LA Galaxy. Does this relationship help or hinder you as a writer?

Both. Being his brother has gained me access to things that many journalists don’t have access to, like sources, etc. But it’s a hinderance because there have been people in the past who love to slam anyone who might appear to have an advantage. Truth is, advantages come in various ways, and I think at this point, I’ve proven to the people who matter to me that I am a good journalist.

Also, has your brother always been so outspoken, for example his comments comparing MLS to the Premier League?

I’m not sure what comments you’re referring to, but I’ll surmise they are things like “MLS teams could compete in the EPL.” Well, I don’t think that’s so outspoken because he’s right. And he’s not the only one who says it, by the way.

A lot of Englishmen I’ve talked with — at least the ones with open minds — say similar things.

What amazes me is that many of the people who slam Alexi for comments like that have never stopped to say, “Hey, Alexi played at the highest levels in the world, including the World Cup and Italy’s Serie A. Maybe he knows a little something about this.” Now, sometimes his mouth bites him in the ass, but that just goes with the territory of being in a high profile position. My favorite quote of all time: “To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.” That’s from Elbert Hubbard.

This is the quote I was talking about from Alexi:

“The fact that a segment of the world worships an inferior product in the Premiership is their business,” Lalas said in an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday.

I think that it is fair to say that calling the Premiership and the quality of play in the league inferior to any other league is a bold statement. Especially considering the Champions League play the past few seasons. It is without a doubt one of the strongest leagues in the world. And, while the best of the MLS teams might be able survive relegation, it is safe to say, in my opinion, that none of them would contend for a spot in Europe. Just my opinion.

Yes, it is a bold statement. And yes, the EPL is without a doubt one of the strongest leagues. But in terms of actual soccer, it’s overhyped and overpriced. No, MLS team would contend for Europe. Very true. But then, I repeat, the New England Revolution, arguably MLS’s best team right now, carries a salary of around $2 million (they don’t even use the whole cap available to them!), and yet, I would argue, they could contend with teams in the middle of the EPL. That says something pretty profound.

Either MLS is better than most people believe, or the EPL is not as good as everything thinks. Outside the top four and then a revolving three teams after that, the EPL is pretty mediocre. Same goes for the other leagues too. Same goes for MLS, for that matter. Unfortunately, these arguments will never be solved until the teams play against each other in a meaningful way. Maybe the CWC in 2009, if an MLS team can win the CCL.

Soccer is definitely on the rise in the states. It is more commercially viable, MLS is looking like a good investment now, and soccer is receiving more coverage than ever before, but it’s not a finished product yet. What are your opinions on where the sport is headed in the US and how it needs to improve?

More money. More exposure. More fans. These are all chicken or the egg things, though. Ultimately, time seems to be the final arbiter of soccer’s success. When more Americans know the game and understand its nuances and beauties, soccer’s popularity will explode.

Also, in a decade or so, many of the old-school Baby Boomer sports editors at newspapers and TV channels will move on and younger, more soccer-savvy guys will take over. That will help.

Finally, there’s the youth development. And it’s a strange seeming paradox that I think will work best. When the US starts to consistently export young talent to Europe, like Jozy, our reputation globally as a soccer nation will improve. After that happens, players will be less reluctant to come here and play.

Along those lines, what does the U.S. need to do to develop better players?

I think we’re developing pretty fantastic players.

At Unprofessional Foul we have had several email discussions about the poor track record the U.S. has in developing highly-skilled players. There are certainly well conditioned and skilled players but nothing coming close to world class, except for the goalkeepers.

So you don’t consider Landon Donovan a world class player? I do. I think often we are too enamored of European and South American players and don’t realize just how good some of our players are.

I think we do have a track record of developing highly skilled players. What we don’t have is a track record of developing players who can step onto Europe’s fields and be very good for a long time. This is why Brazil and Argentina are so revered, because for more than 50 years, their players have proven their worth. But on the face of it, is Alexandre Pato $20 million better than Jozy Altidore? No. It’s just that Brazilians have a better track record of succeeding in Europe than Americans do, so it’s a better risk, which means a higher transfer fee. Then there’s the other issue: When you say “skilled,” do you mean a Messi type or a Ballack type?

I get what your saying about “world class” players, but no, I don’t think Donovan is world class when he can’t get pitch time in Germany and wants to go home. Yes, he is skilled. Much more skilled than the majority of MLS, but he’s not great. But, I’ll say he forfeits any right to be called world-class when he decided not to stick it out in Europe. He’s a big fish in a little pond now and that’s how he likes it. At least Riquelme showed his talent and ability before packing it up to go home.

But why does he have to show his talent in Europe? What if Donovan shows his talent in the international game? Is Cuauhtemoc Blanco world class? Was Carlos Valderrama? Check out Pibe’s record in Europe–he pretty much flamed out in Europe. Was Marco Etcheverry world class? Never played in Europe. Or a guy like Martin Palermo, who also barely had a career in Europe but is a legend in Argentina. And those are just some of the modern examples. It’s absurd to say this, considering the eras, but Pele never played in Europe.

Are the MLS Academies and US Soccer Development Academies the answer?

Not necessarily. They are a start, though. It comes down to having coaches who encourage players to express themselves. But you also need the non-Ronaldinhos — guys like Marquez and Makalele and Nesta. It’ll come.

And maybe I am a bit enamored with European soccer, but we certainly haven’t produced any elite players other than goalkeepers that could be considered for an all-league team in the best leagues in Europe (Brian McBride being the one exception I would think of). Maybe I should have said elite rather than world-class. Maybe Adu and Altidore will be there but they really haven’t proven anything on the big stage yet. Heck, Adu had trouble getting off the bench at Benfica, although he did have coaching changes to deal with.

Freddy’s gotten a bum deal. I hope Monaco works out for him. He’s had so much pressure to deal with, and, if you look at it objectively, he’s handled it amazingly well. I still think he will be a star — and world class — when all is said and done. But when thinking about his “trouble getting off the bench at Benfica,” it’s tantalizing to compare him to guys like Messi and Pato and other young studs.

Thing is, we only ever notice the ones that rise to the top from their respective countries. There are a hundred Messis and Patos out there, but only these two become international stars. The US, on the other hand, only has a few guys. We don’t have a critical mass yet. Hell, we don’t have any mass yet, although it’s changing. After all, we now have a $10 million 18-year-old player. And Bradley is another one. And even Rogers, if he does well in Beijing, could move. Once we get more youngsters over there, we’ll start to see some of them rise to the top.

To address your “skill” question, I would say both. No US player has ever dominated a midfield like Ballack does even now at 31. Reyna did well, but was never at that level consistently. As for Messi, maybe Altidore will be that, but those two are about the same age and Jozy hasn’t done what Messi has.

See above. I’d argue that Jozy has done in MLS what Messi has done in Liga. Different scale, I admit, but still something impressive. Now that he has the chance to try his luck at the next level, we’ll see just how good (or overhyped) Jozy is.

But, when I say highly skilled I am talking about the best of the best like Messi and Ballack. Have we had anybody come close to that level, ever from the US? I don’t think so.

I agree. We haven’t. But here’s another thought: Messi and Ballack are great because they have great players around them. This is something Alexi and I have often discussed, how these great players we see, although certainly terrific in their own rights, are also buoyed by the general skill level around them. But if you surround a good MLS player with good talent, he will be good too. Could he be great?

Think about this: Joseph Ngwenya, the Zimbabwean striker who used to be with Houston and then went to Austria, where he basically flopped, is right now training with Bayern Munich. He played on Friday in the German SuperCup against Dortmund. How can this be? How is this guy from MLS, from the US college system, and a flop in Austria, now getting time with one of the best clubs in the world? Well, partly, it’s because of his relationship with assistant coach Martin Vazquez (former Tampa Bay Mutiny player, Chivas USA assistant coach, and college coach). But it’s mainly because they think that Ngwenya, surrounded by good players, can have an impact. Strange, huh?

There are rumors that ESPN may be pursuing EPL games in the near future and changing ESPN Classic to ESPN3 and focusing it on soccer. Unprofessional Foul has debated whether this is a good or bad thing. What is your view? Is this a positive for soccer in the US? For the MLS?

I’ve heard this same thing. I think it’s a great sign about the popularity of soccer if a juggernaut like ESPN realizes they need to get into it even more than they already are. But I worry about the lack of competition in the soccer TV space. I don’t know if they are going to be acquiring FSC’s rights or Setanta’s. But either way, there might end up being less soccer on TV because of it. On the other side, I think it’s a positive for MLS, sure, because it will better educate the American public about the game. That’s certainly good.

The old adage is that any press is good press, but it seems you’re not of that opinion. You called out in your last SI.com piece Marc Stein and your fellow SI.com writer Chris Mannix for their recent writings on soccer. Although, I must note you have amended your opinion on Stein subsequently. Unprofessional Foul found the Mannix piece reprehensible and did a quite long post on it. Why do you think the Mannixes of the world continue to write this tripe? And, do you care to expand your criticism of Mannix and Stein?

I realized after the fact that I was unduly harsh on Stein, which is why I added the endnote to that article. I knew he was a soccer fan, so I should’ve cut him some slack. I didn’t particularly like his article. It was really well written, but it just proved precisely how soccer is a sideline for him. He’s a great writer, and I’d love to see him doing more soccer writing, real soccer journalism. But he knows what pays the bills.

Mannix…I think I said it all in my article — and I commend SI for running my slam of one of their big-name guys. (Although I was pissed that the magazine ran a letter that praised the article then said, “But I still hate soccer.”) Basically, pieces like Mannix’s are obtuse journalism that comes out of the uncreative minds of the aforementioned old-school editors.

Media outlets will need to change their attitude about soccer or be left behind. Globalization means that the worldwide juggernaut that is soccer is slowing taking over the States, and that includes the media.

I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you about your Wikipedia entry. “His Major League Soccer career consisted of only five games played, 100 minutes, one weak shot on goal, and one foul committed.” Did you do that or did a friend?

I didn’t do it. And my friends are technological morons. They couldn’t create a wiki page even if they were promised a one-night stand with Jessica Alba for doing it. And, is it true? Yes, however, that “weak” shot missed the upper 90 by a few inches. At least, that’s how I remember it.

Who is your favorite player to cover?

Jimmy Conrad. He’s clever, well-spoken, honest, and, as he’ll gladly tell you, good looking.

Your least favorite?

Beckham. He’s a poster boy for staying on message by spouting out cliches and platitudes.

Is the Designated Player a good development for MLS? Why or why not?

Hell yeah! Why? Because we get to see the likes of Juan Pablo Angel instead of Sergio Galvan Rey.

Some quick hitters and we’re done. 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1? 3-4-1-2

Best league in the world? La Liga

Favorite all-time player? Michel Platini

Favorite current player? Matt Reis

Landon Donovan—fraud or real-deal? See above.

Do you still own any of your brother’s CDs from his band? I played bass in his band, so, yes, I have a few.

What club(s) do you support? Panathinaikos. Pame oi Prasinoi!!! Also Roma, because I dated a girl from Rome for a little while — although she was for Lazio.

Written by Darkvader on July 29th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Greg Lalas and Interview and The Fan's Attic.

Euro Eulogy: Portugal

Note: I would have been posting earlier today, but I only just finished masturba-I mean, working, after seeing Fowler and Macca playing on the same pitch again for the first time in ages

Well, Cristiano. You were knocked out of the tournament days ago, and it’s still hilarious to me. You and your gelled, flamboyant collective of footballing talent couldn’t get it done against the efficient Germans.

Might this be a good moment to talk about your move to Spain now?

Portugal were enjoyable to watch, for the most part. Some of the showboating late in the game against Turkey was a bit much, but then again, that’s the role Portugal plays in tournaments. You’re the older brother of the family, the guy who knows he’s good and lets his charm ruin him at the most inopportune time.

You ever try to date two or more girls at the same time? For the first month or so, everything is going swimmingly well; you have seen them all a couple of times and managed to explain away your disappearances to each of them when you’ve been seeing one of the others on the side. And then, you take one to dinner, and the others show up separately for a bite to eat at the same restaurant, and you end up walking home covered in soup, spittle, and with a couple of buttons missing from your shirt.

That, my friends, is Portugal. Blessed beyond God’s will with talent at all positions, they are apt to a brainfart when it counts the most.

Deco was masterful at times, and downright ordinary in others. C-Ron seems to think that his natural gift and avalanche of accolades is enough to win matches, but it’s really not. Even when the Dallas Cowboys were ridiculously loaded with talent in the 90s, they still lost from time to time. Remember this.

Boswinga is off to Chelsea, as is the now-finished manager, Big Phil. How many others will follow them? Could we see the Algarve transplanted to Stamford Bridge? Heck, he’s already got 3/4 of the backline, what’s another 2 or 3 matter? Deco’s been linked, as has the pacy but greedy Quaresma.

Drogba’s going to need to learn how to say “fuck you” in yet another language if this carnival keeps up!

In all seriousness, it’s hard for any of us to say that we didn’t see this coming. The quintessential counter-attack team, like many within pissing distance of the Mediterranean; they’re a nightmare moving forward, but an embarrassment at the back. It’s fun to watch when the scenario keeps repeating itself: C-Ron, Carvalho and co losing in the knockout stages to a far more disciplined team. Sure, Portugal got back into it as the clock ticked down, and Germany looked rather rattled, but it amounted to little.

You have to wonder when Portugal will learn. Could they pull a Russia and bring in the ultimate ball-breaker tactician to finally get them over the hump? Charisma is clearly not something needed in management there, as the players have more than enough to go around.

No, the only way for them to move forward is to strip their coaching candidates of a sense of humor, and pick the most miserable, irritable one. It’s the only hope they’ve got: in a team full of petulant children, who’s going to enforce the law?

There’s only really one option: Avram Grant.

Seriously though… C-Ron might well pack a bag for the Costa del Sol and spend his seasons in the Bernabeu, but constant failure at the international level is never something that sits well.

And if a real ornery bastard isn’t given the job, well, we know where to bet our money when South Africa ‘10 rolls around.

Written by Darkvader on June 27th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Big Phil and Euro 2008 and Euro Eulogies and Lingering Bursitis and cristiano ronaldo and portugal.

Frings can only get better and is that Hleb on Big Brother?

Since last season ended we have been linked with about seven hundred and thirty eight players. The latest is a German called Frings.

He is seen as a direct replacement for Flamini and while I think he is a good defensive midfielder there is one draw-back. He is 31.

To the average person like myself and possibly yourself, 31 is not that old, not even in the career of a professional footballer. But to Le-Boss, being that old is the equivalent of being 67, so lets rule this transfer out straight away!

I've noted my favourite replacements for Flamini in previous post's and must say I would like Yaya Toure most of all, if not him then Vieira or Gattuso would do me fine.

I feel though that Le Boss WONT sign a replacement for Flamini and will promote from within. Expect to see either Denilson or Diaby partner Cesc next season. New signing Ramsey will start wide for us as Wenger seems to like blooding central players out there.

I read that Alex Hlebs angry at the moment. Boo-Hoo. So Alex, angry are you?

You want some peace and time to sort out your future?

You know what the funniest thing is?

Hleb wants to spend time with his agent to discuss it. His agent is the main reason Hleb's future is even being discussed!

He has been whoring Hleb around Europe and if Hleb was that bothered about it why didn't he stop him? Or better still, sack him. Cesc did.

I'm sorry your angry Alex, but spare a thought for the fans mate. Your agent has dragged us through the wringer with this will he/wont he shit, and believe me, we Gooners are more angry than you.

Did you think of us when your agent was sprouting his shit? No Alex you didn't You could have stopped it whenever you wanted mate but you didn't. You loved the attention and your head grew even bigger.


So you decide to get some peace and quiet. Well you wont get that on Big Brother, the sooner you leave the better.

Below are pictures of Hleb before entering Big Brother and during Big Brother, where he was getting bigged up so much by his agent his head grew!







Keep it Goonerish.......

Written by Wrighty7 on June 11th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.

UF Goes to the Movies: Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos

We continue our somewhat sporadic series of movie reviews here at UF with the film "Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos." As the title implies, this movie is about the history of the North American Soccer League as viewed through the prism of the league's most popular team, the New York Cosmos. As someone who went to numerous Cosmos games growing up in NYC, I thought that it was about time that I took a look at this cinematic masterpiece.







(Not pictured: a young NY Kid flipping off Bugs Bunny. Seriously, that fucker never gave me any of his stupid carrots)





The movie, narrated by Matt Dillon strangely enough, opens with footage of the American soccer scene in the 1970s, and we hear that "the Cosmos were the best and worst of soccer in the US." This is followed by Shep Messing (who looks distrubingly like David Hirshey) stating that "in the summer of '77, the Cosmos took over." At this point our man Hirshey makes his first (of many) appearance(s), where he discusses the 1950 World Cup in which the US shocked the world by defeating England.

The film then delves into the history of the North American Soccer League and the NY Cosmos. Steve Ross had created Warner Communications and Atari, and then expanded his empire by buying Atlantic Records. The Ertegun brothers, who had founded Atlantic Records, told Ross that one condition of the sale would be that he had to help them establish a soccer team. And thus, the idea of the Cosmos was born. The television broadcast of the World Cup final in 1966, in which England defeated Germany, motivated enough people to invest in the Cosmos that the idea became reality in 1971.

The team played their first game in Yankee Stadium, but eventually moved to Hofstra University on Long Island. Disillusioned with the progress of the team, and losing a significant amount of money, the ten original investors sold their shares to Warner Communications for $1 each. The players were also stuggling financially, which lead to Shep Messing posing fully nude in VIVA magazine. Although Cosmos management was initially furious, they realized that the pictorial brought attention to the team. It was also the first sign of the "rock star" status that the players would take on.

In 1974, the team moved to Downey Stadium on Randall Island, and were faced with a pitch that was made up of dirt and rocks in large patches. They went 6-14 that year, although this result was due more to the lack of talent rather than the state of the pitch. This caused management, and Ross in particular, to start looking for big-name players, and at the time no one was bigger than Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. At this point in the film, almost everyone associated with the early history of the Cosmos gets on camera and claims to be the one whose idea it was to go after Pele, so it remains unclear where the idea came from. What is clear is that Real Madrid and Juventus were also interested in acquiring Pele's services, but he was intrigued by the prospect of bringing soccer to the US on a grand scale (obviously this would never happen today - if Real Madrid, Juventus, and the LA Galaxy were all interested in bringing Ryan Giggs to their team, it's pretty clear that the Galaxy would be the last option; they get Beckham precisely because Real didn't want him anymore).

Pele eventually signed a multi-part contract worth several million dollars (although it is unclear exactly how much) for playing, public relations/marketing, and music (really? Did Pele ever put out an album?). The Brazilian government wanted to force Pele to play one more year in Brazil, so they declared him a national treasure. Steve Ross, as head of Warner Communications, worked with Nelson Rockefeller, who was also the vice president of the United States, and he asked the latter to intervene. Rockefeller put Henry Kissinger on the case, and the situation was quickly resolved.

In preparation for Pele's first game, the Cosmos organization spray-painted the dirt patches on the pitch at Downing Stadium in order for the field to appear green and lush with grass. CBS broadcast the game, and Pele didn't disappoint by scoring two goals to tie the game 2-2. There were some, however, like prominent sportswriter Dick Young, who didn't believe that soccer was here to stay. In an attempt to discredit Pele, Young took him to Mets game in order to show him the "true American sport." Young was stunned when the Mets game had to be stopped as the crowd acknowledged Pele, forcing him onto the field in order to respond to their ovations.

The next season, the Cosmos moved back to Yankee Stadium and other foreign stars followed Pele to the NASL. Steve Ross went after even more stars, bringing Giorgio Chinaglia to the Cosmos. At this point, the film moves into a montage of people discussing the fact that Chinaglia is a complete asshole. Although he claims that this is due to the fact that he became the NASL's leading scorer and was quite close to Steve Ross, most people in the clips aruge that he was simply an epic douchebag. Obviously, friction developed between Pele and Chinaglia, as tends to happen when two superstars share the pitch.

The next season, 1977, the Cosmos finally moved into Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. This was Pele's final season, and Ross added even more international players. After losing 3 of their first 5 games and averaging only 20,000 fans, Ross brought Franz Beckenbauer to the Cosmos, which pissed off Chinaglia even further. The strain of the season eventually lead to the resignation of president Clive Toye and the firing of coach Gordon Bradley (who recently passed away). Chinaglia exerted some influence and convinced Ross to hire Eddie Frimani, who repaid the favor by using Chinaglia more often in matches. The Cosmos went on a winning streak, but then lost 5 in a row so Ross signed Carlos Alberto from Brazil.

At this point the Cosmos were taking off as a cultural phenomenon, with the players partying at Studio 54 after every game and generally living the good life. In the playoffs that year, the Cosmos sold out Giants Stadium (77,961) for their match against Fort Lauderdale. The Cosmos won the championship that year, leading ABC to negotiate to broadcast NASL games the following season. During that season, during which the NASL expanded to 24 teams, the Cosmos won 15 out of their first 17 games against much weaker competition. They went 24-6 overall but lost their first playoff game 9-2 against Minnesota. However, in the second leg the Cosmos beat Minnesota 4-0, resulting in the need for a shoot-out (apparently they didn't follow the European "away goals" scoring format). Carlos Alberto's chip shot resulted in the 2nd consecutive championship for the Cosmos.

The following season, Chinaglia exerted even more influence and began to take over team operations, alienating much of the management. Although the Cosmos reached the championship match once again, they lost this time, and ABC cancelled their contract due to poor ratings. In 1980, league attendance reached its peak, and the Cosmos won their 3rd title in 4 years. At this point the film delivers another montage of individuals blaming Chinaglia for the downfall of the Cosmos. In 1982, although the Cosmos won their 5th title, the rest of the league was crumbling. After the crash of Atari crippled Warner Communications, the Cosmos eventually folded in 1984 and the league disbanded.

Steve Ross continued to follow his passion for the game, and he was part of the movement to bring the 1986 World Cup to the US, eventually losing out to Mexico. Unfortunately, Ross passed away in 1992, just 2 years before his dream was realized and the World Cup came to the US, playing several significant and well-attended matches at Giants Stadium.

The film ends by noting that the legacy of the Cosmos is that they laid the seed for everyone who plays soccer in the United States today, from the AYSO the MLS teams. Overall, this was a really good movie in terms of providing a history lesson on the Cosmos, including how they impacted both pop culture in the NY of the 1970s as well as the culture of soccer in the US.

Written by Darkvader on May 11th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on David Hirshey and Getting to Know and NASL and The NY Kid and movies.