Rainy Thursday MLS blogging

Because, kids, the MLS Cup is this weekend, and your humble blogger is going. This is actually my first MLS game ever, and even though I don't care much for either of the teams, I'm excited to go. I'm actually sort of going in as a neutral; I'm from Texas and all, but most Texans don't claim Houston as their own, and Boston's winning everything else this year, so I don't want to see them win MLS Cup, too. Not that either of those are really good reasons to dislike a team, but who said sports fandom was rational? I'll probably end up cheering for Houston, since the friend I'm going with has decided to support New England, and I'm contrary like that.

I'm not going to get into the whole "playoffs mean the best team doesn't win" thing, because 1) that's true of every sport, and 2) that's true of foreign cup competitions, too. Does anyone really think Liverpool were the best team in Europe in 2005? Or Milan were last year? No (or at least, they shouldn't). But that's how it works. I would have liked this final to be DC/Chivas, since they were the teams with the best overall records this season, but that's not how knockout competitions work.

I'm just thinking of this as the equivalent of the FA Cup final, and an excuse to go up to DC, drink in the stands, and tell the New England players to suck it. Because, really, isn't that what being a sports fan is all about?

Pointless link of the day

Alexi Lalas and his incredibly tiny and adorable Yorkie.

What is it with super-masculine managers and Yorkies? First Mourinho, now Lalas. I love Yorkies, but aren't they a little, well, girly for that type of guy? If I were that dog, I'd be worried about Lalas accidentally stepping on me. Dude's tall, is all I'm saying.

Friday linkspam

With an international twist this time, since we're coming up to the last round of Euro qualifiers.

• McClaren recalls David Beckham. Because for a must-win game against Croatia, you totally want an oldish midfielder that has barely played a game since he went to MLS. If anyone ever doubted that McClaren is completely out of ideas, this should be all the proof you need.


• The US named their roster for the friendly against South Africa. I'm glad to see some of the younger players get called up, like Altidore and Edu and Kljestan (...and Eddie Lewis. I don't know.) I kind of wish they were playing a European opponent, but I guess that's hard to do with the Euro qualifiers. Anyway, South Africa should be an interesting opponent, and it's probably a good idea to go down there before the World Cup. Um, assuming they qualify.


• I really have no comment on this story. Except that man needs a job, and fast.

Derby > Besiktas?

Darn right, kids. I just hope they didn't use up all their goals in this match. They'll need at least one or two more for Porto and Marseille.

All right, Liverpool

It's time to get your act together, kids. Well, really, the time to have gotten your act together in the Champions League was a couple of months ago. Being bottom of a group with Besiktas, Marseille, and Porto is an absolute embarrassment. As is the fact that Liverpool have yet to win a game against any of those teams. I don't think Liverpool are going to win anything this season -- especially considering they can't seem to win in the league -- but going out in the group stage of the Champions League is completely humiliating. Particularly when you can't even make it into the UEFA Cup. Just ask Manchester United a couple of seasons ago. I don't really understand how Liverpool are playing so badly right now; I know they're dealing with a lot of injuries, but were Alonso and Agger so essential that they can't put anything together until they return? Right now, the midfield distribution is horrendous. Sissoko can't manage to even pass successfully, we don't have a single fast defender, and I'm starting to screech every time I see Kuyt picked over Crouch. Right now, I don't care how pretty they play, I just want a win. And all our injured players back. And a pony.

In MLS playoff news, all of the teams I wanted to make it to the final (DC, Chivas, Dallas) are out. Now I'm going to have to cheer for Houston or Kansas City, I think, because I refuse to cheer on a team with Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Ugh, he's such a whiny little bitch. Hate. I don't love the MLS playoff format -- if you're going to do home-and-away, you need to have away goals -- but I don't really know enough about the league to say what would make it better. Though I did just look here, and seriously, the semifinals are just one game? Well, that's crap. Anyway.

In non-playoff MLS news, Alexi Lalas wants a 'sexy type of candidate' to manage the Galaxy. I'm not sure what that means, but if he thinks he's getting Mourinho, he's fooling himself. Player/manager David Beckham. That's all I'm saying.

Can't-think-of-a-title news

WAGs are inspirational and good role models. As far as I can tell (and I don't really understand the British educational system), getting GCSEs is basically the minimum level you have to do to finish school, right? So this is like calling people good role models for graduating high school. Which is, I guess, better than not finishing high school, but really, is that all we expect of women?

Oh, Liverpool. Y'all better put something together today, or it's pretty much over. I was glad to see that Alonso was traveling to Istanbul, but who knows if he'll start. I hope he does -- Sissoko's had an awful season, and wasn't ever really a playmaker to begin with. Alonso can be inconsistent, but he's still a lot better than the nothing they have there now. And I don't want to be the one to do it, but someone should tell Steven Gerrard that he needs to be playing on the right instead of in the center. Maybe Rafa's goatee can break that news.

Greg Ryan out as US Women's coach

Oh, thank god.

Should have happened right after the World Cup, but better late than never. I would have liked them to have a replacement lined up. Everyone remembers the clusterfuck after Arena got dumped, right? Not that I'm anti-Bob Bradley, but still. That was a lot of drama no one needed, especially after the keeper drama.

I promise this isn't becoming an MLS blog

But I am going to DC next month for the MLS Cup, so I have been paying a little more attention to the playoffs than I normally would be (i.e. more than zero). I'd like it to be a DC/Chivas final, but since they have the best regular-season records, it probably won't happen. Anyway. So I was reading about the Columbus/DC game, and came across this quote:

Both goals came from the 20-year-old Rogers, who was an influential player on the U.S. under-20 national team at this past summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup. . . . "He's a good player," said Schmid. "He had a good under-20 World Cup and sort of fell in a hole when he came back. But he got out of there in time and if you look what he's done the last two weeks, he's showing that he can be a player that has very, very bright future."

And maybe that's just an American phrase (like PKs or "in the cage"), but he "fell in a hole"? Really? Taken literally, that's pretty great. If a little disturbing -- he fell in a hole in the summer and is only out now? No one thought to look for him?

Thoughts on Liverpool/Everton -- Basically, ugh. I mean, an away win is always nice, and away at Everton is better, especially considering how they lost this one 3-0 last time. But the midfield's still a mess without Alonso, and without a couple of sketchy calls, it would have been a draw at best. The injuries aren't really their fault, but man, the sooner Agger and Alonso get back (to say nothing of Torres), the better. It's a little bit embarrassing to be behind Man City, you know?

Not dead yet.

Honestly, if England did this, they might get me to care about them again.

Um, yeah, I'm still alive. Sad to say, I don't have anything stunning to report. Liverpool don't seem to be into it this season, which makes it hard for me to care that much. I'll get excited for the Everton game this weekend, but they drew at Birmingham and lost to Marseille, and ugh. The only change I'm seeing this season is that we have a more expensive striker that Rafa's refusing to play consistently, and we've switched from a slow start to the season to a slow October. It's still not great for our title hopes. I do think they should be able to beat Everton, but the sooner Agger and Alonso come back, the better. As my rec-league team can tell you, you need some sort of connection between the defense and the attack, and Steven Gerrard flailing around just isn't enough.

And yeah, I have to admit it. I've lost the England love. I may come back around by Euro 2008, but they've got to start playing better (3-0 against Estonia doesn't count, sorry). They keep making the same mistakes and McClaren's afraid to drop big names, and it's kind of like Sven never left. Which isn't surprising, but it's depressing nonetheless. (And seriously, the US team is just so cute. I don't think England chicken-fights, and more's the pity.)

Ugh.

Frustrated with the sports blogging world today, so I'll just say I wish this were real.

Oh, and also, if I hear another comment about how lame women's soccer is, yeah. It'll be way too soon. And I'll think you're an asshole.

Schadenfreude!

I have to say, I'm loving the Chelsea implosion. It's probably setting me up for all kinds of bad karma when Rafa leaves Liverpool (whenever that may be), but god, what a little bitch John Terry is.

Seriously.

Midway through the first half Rosenborg scored, after Miika Koppinen beat Terry at a set piece. When Mourinho then directly criticised the centre back's defending at half time, Terry refused to accept responsibility for the goal or even to respond to his manager. . . . The club subsequently asked Mourinho for his resignation, which he refused to tender, but ultimately settled on dismissal by 'mutual consent'. Later on Wednesday, Mourinho sent Terry a text message sarcastically thanking him for talking to the club's hierarchy.

Again, really.

Mourinho made a final trip to the training centre at Cobham to pick up his possessions and say goodbye to his squad. There was a message in each farewell. For most there was a Latin embrace and warm words of thanks. For Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard the emotions were so strong that both men were reduced to tears, Lampard retreating to the shower room in an attempt to hide his. For Shevchenko and Terry there was nothing but a handshake that, in the words of one observer, could have 'frozen a mug of tea'. No one was in any doubt about who he considered the true captains of his team.

McClaren better watch his back. Not that he doesn't deserve to be fired, but you know. You'd think your captain would be on your side, right?

LOL Chelsea

Goodbye, Mourinho. I guess this means Rafa wins? (And I'm pretty sure it means Chelsea's out of the title race this season.)

And if I didn't love the Guardian forever, this slideshow would seal the deal.

What I've been reading

A few blogs I've been meaning to link, but haven't. Because I'm lame. But I really enjoy making lists in HTML, so here we go.

1. First of all, a newish women's soccer blog, Kickster. British, and seems to be in the Who Ate All the Pies family of blogs. Georgina Turner, who I've missed a lot at The Guardian, is writing there, and so far I really like it. It's one of my perennial resolutions to pay more attention to women's soccer, so I'm definitely going to be reading this one.


2. Another new blog, Dying Midseason, from a friend of mine. Liverpool-focused, but also has some American football and Argentina and Spain, too. I have to say, I don't care about the NFL, but this is good stuff.


3. I already linked the US Women's blog this morning, but I would be remiss if I didn't link the US Men's blog as well. They're both mostly active when the teams are in camp (obviously), but they're pretty great then. I'm always in favor of team blogs, and the USMNT one is particularly cute. It's kind of refreshing to read about a national team where the recreation is Playstation and marathon keep-up, not, you know. Partying with hookers.

International round-up

• England 3 - Israel 0. I'm not feeling the England love lately, and I had an elsewhere to be, so I didn't watch this one. (Remember how I said school was kicking my ass this semester? Still true.) Since I was absolutely convinced that England weren't going to qualify, though, this is kind of good to see. And it's especially good to see Michael Owen score again, especially when he doesn't break something immediately after doing so. A lot still depends on Russia, but this is fairly encouraging. I do wish I believed that Steve McClaren had even the slightest clue about what he was doing. I feel that as soon as Lampard's fit, he's back into the lineup, and that's just a bad plan for everyone.


• Brazil 4 - United States 2. I did watch this one, and the score is flattering to the Brazilians, honestly. Their first goal was an own-goal, and the US was unlucky to concede a penalty while getting at least two penalty calls against Brazil denied. I thought the US played pretty well overall -- the usual striker problem continued, though. Dempsey's goal was solid, but Wolff should have done better. The midfield was pretty solid, I think, and by the midfield I mean "Michael Bradley." I think I've already talked too much here about my thoughts on him, but he was absolutely everywhere in this game, and totally unafraid to take on Ronaldinho or Kaka, which is great. Well, great for most of the game -- just like it happened in the Gold Cup semi, he made a bad tackle in the last few minutes and became a liability, conceding that penalty for Brazil's last goal. Feilhaber and Donovan disappeared for large parts of the game, which wasn't unexpected (especially for Donovan), but was a little disappointing. The defense seemed overwhelmed for a lot of the game -- there were a lot of panicky clearances -- but even with that, they did pretty well, the own-goal excepted. (Yeah, I'm still not an Onyewu believer. You need more than being massive to be a good defender.) And then there's Tim Howard. While I would have liked to see Chris Seitz get capped, this wouldn't be the ideal first game, and you've got to respect Tim Howard for playing with a dislocated finger. Pretty awesome. I mean, Brazil was Brazil, and I never thought the US was going to win. But they made a good strong showing, and it's nice to see them not get intimidated. (Also, dear Kaka, I don't think Jesus likes it when you claim an own-goal as yours. Shut up, darling.)


• And finally, the Women's World Cup starts today in China. The US are the favorites here, and while they haven't gotten a ton of media coverage, the games are being shown live on ESPN/ESPN2 -- admittedly starting from 5:00 to 8:00 in the morning, but still. Also, they blog. The other team I'll be paying attention to is England. Unlike the men, the women aren't favorites here, and they definitely don't make $200,000 a week (or even a year). I can't pretend to know a whole lot about most of these players, but I am pretty much always pro-Rachel Yankey. Though not as much as I am pro-Kristine Lilly. Just saying.

Hi.

So, Footie Girl is currently pestering me to update, and I admit it's long overdue. My problem, along with the start of school completely kicking my ass, is that Liverpool are top of the table for just about the first time since I've been following them, and I don't really know what to say, to be honest. Torres isn't choking, we're beating up on newly-promoted teams (and Villa), and ... I really can't complain. Which doesn't leave me with a lot to say.

So instead I'll hit and run with this link I've had saved for a couple of weeks -- apparently it should be mangoes at halftime and not oranges. The FA, tackling the important issues since never.