19 days till the season starts!

And, y'all, I am so very ready. Not that I don't love the transfer window, but it's hard to get that excited about Man U buying Carrick or Chelsea spending a ton on building Abramovich's fantasy team. We got rid of Cisse and Morientes, and got a couple of good wingers for, you know, less than 18 million pounds. Get us another striker, and I'm happy.

This was pretty awesome, though. I mean, I wouldn't want to see Reina playing in midfield every time, and I'll be happy when the full side starts playing again. But, man. I thought playing Steven as a left-back was odd. Sometimes I love my team. (Where "sometimes" is defined as "pretty much all of the time.")

And speaking of my teams, things my other team needs to do to not suck anymore. I pretty much agree with all of it -- the biggest priorities are getting the midfield figured out, getting a new captain, and getting together a solid backup plan for the next time the Owen/Rooney partnership is unavailable. Which will be pretty much all of the qualification, if Owen takes as long getting over this ACL tear as he did the metatarsal. And with Rooney out for the first two games, they need to figure it out fast. I'm a big supporter of Peter Crouch; he didn't have the greatest World Cup, but he was still England's most prolific striker. Actually, I think pairing him and Walcott up front could work really well. Crouch isn't great as a lone striker, but working with someone smaller, with better pace, could really work well, I think. Maybe not Walcott, since he has yet to play in the Premiership, but I think Defoe or one of the others could be a good choice here.

As far as the midfield, I think you have to go with J. Cole-Hargreaves-Gerrard-Lennon. Beckham's been good, but you have to start preparing for his retirement. Hargreaves had a couple of really good games in Germany, Cole was solid (if you can cure him of trying to cut in all the time), and come on. Is it really even a contest between Gerrard and Lampard these days? I'd like for them to be able to work together, but it's just not happening. You have to at least experiment with them separate. God, England. At least the defense is relatively solid these days. Though I'd bench Rio on the basis of his hair alone.

One more thing -- Steven for captain, dude. Like it's even a contest. I don't see John Terry singlehandedly winning the FA Cup anytime soon, do you?

And yet more preseason randomness

1. Liverpool is the best team in the Premiership. Nice to have my suspicions confirmed. (Also, Chelsea's place in the table might be the best thing I've seen all day. That's how it should be, kids.)

2. All the Serie A cheaters get their sentences reduced. That is some bullshit. Sorry, but an eight-point deduction, for trying to fix games? Like, and they get to be back in the Champions League next season? Oh no. I don't care that they were the least culpable of the four dirty teams. Eight points is less than three games lost -- that's all they get for destroying the integrity of the league and calling the last two seasons into question? And even worse than that is that Lazio and Fiorentina get to play in Serie A next season. It's completely ridiculous -- I guess money and prestige still talk. The last thing these clubs need is to have their sentences reduced. Fixing matches, no matter how it's done, is the worst thing that a team can do. As far as I'm concerned, bust them all down to Serie B, and Juve, who were really behind all of it, to Serie C. Ban them all from Europe. That's the only way to stop things like this.

3. Amateur team to play the LA Galaxy in the US Open Cup. This is like a non-conference team beating Liverpool and going on to meet, say, Man City. The Galaxy aren't the best MLS team by a long shot, but it's still worth celebrating that they got this far. I gotta say, I'm cheering for the minnows. Let's go, Dallas!

Is it really a friendly if you lose?

I swear, he and Steven take it in turns to be linked with Real. As long as it doesn't really happen, the rumors are probably a good thing. I mean, better than being linked with, like, Boro or something, isn't it? However. He better not really go.

Um, isn't the point of a preseason tour to win? Someone forgot to give Man U that memo. If you think this is gloating because they lost, well, you're exactly right. Come on, it's Man U. This is a Liverpool blog. I can't be highminded all the time.

When does the season start again?

New fans are so cute. Even when they're nationally known sports columnists. He ended up picking the wrong team, but that's okay. It's still cute -- reading that kind of reminds me of where I was four years ago, having really just gotten into soccer and trying to figure out a lot of things. (I remember being really confused when the media would refer to clubs by the name of their stadium. I knew who Arsenal were, but Highbury? No clue.) This may be the first time anyone has called Bill Simmons "cute," but I'm standing by it. I love seeing new people get into the sport.

In other news, trash-talking is now just as bad as a headbutt. So, Materazzi didn't say anything racist. Then why is he getting a fine? Trying to get a rise out of your opponents is a part of every single sport. As long as it's not racist, I don't think it should be punished. Materazzi wanted to make Zidane less effective. Zidane took the bait. Punishing Materazzi for this is really setting a precedent that FIFA are probably going to regret. Why are we trying to make soccer into a garden party?

The season starts in less than a month. Thank God.

World Cup withdrawal means YouTube trolling.

Why doesn't England do stuff like this? Also, I'm a little disturbed by the bizarre affection I have for Gattuso these days.

Thanks to Footie Girl for the link!

Forza Italia!

Yes, I'm supporting Italy in the final. Yes, pictures like this are the only reason why.

In defense of CONCACAF

This is a little cynical even for me. I don't think he's wrong, exactly, but still. If there's no hope, why even bother? You're not playing for pride at that point. I'll fully agree that the US were wretched in two of their games, and Costa Rica didn't really show up, either. But Mexico had a great game against Argentina, and T&T did better than anyone expected them to. Yes, they only got a draw, but come on. They played well (and more entertainingly than England), and only losing 2-0 is pretty respectable. Everyone expected them to crash and burn, but they fought, and I have a total thing for the plucky little underdogs.

Not that CONCACAF should be thrilled with this Cup. But it's not as awful as he says. I think getting more players in Europe will make a difference -- the non-European teams that performed best, like Ghana and Argentina, had a lot of players overseas. I don't think it'll be instantaneous, but it'll do more for the development of the international team than playing in a bush league like MLS will. I also think playing in more international competitions will help. I don't think CONCACAF should merge with the South American conference; it's just not at that level yet. But one of the best things they could do is improve the level of the teams they play against -- they've been invited to Copa America several times, and that's got all of the South American teams. It's a good step between the useless friendlies and being in the same conference. (Also, seriously, step up the level of the friendly competition. Playing Morocco and Jamaica's not doing you any favors.)

So, it'll be hard, and it'll take a while. But I don't think you can say a CONCACAF team will never win it all. The next Cup's in South Africa. Out of Europe, all bets are off.

You play for 120 minutes, and then Portugal win on penalties

(With apologies to Gary Lineker for this post's title.)

I guess I can't avoid the quarterfinal forever, can I? At least they had a good game before they went out. I mean, obviously the finishing left something to be desired -- there was none of it. The defense was shaky, and they still haven't figured out what to do with the midfield. As far as I'm concerned, that should be Steve McClaren's first job as manager, not deciding who the new captain should be. (Because, come on. That's easy. Steven.)

I don't want to blame Rooney, or even Ronaldo, or the penalty takers. England had a good game. It could have been better in a lot of ways, like Rooney not letting himself be baited. England should have killed the game off several times, but they didn't, and the penalty curse kicked in. Portugal came out and played like they always do. They whined and dove and cried and complained, and it seems to work for them. It's a crappy way to play, not that they seem to care. But it makes them look bad, it makes the game look bad, and I don't like it. I don't like it when England does it, I don't like it when other teams do it, and I really hope it doesn't pay off for them in the next round.

As an England fan, I never thought I'd say this, but allez les Bleus!

Podolski? Really?

Dear Germany: you can have her.

I'd hire him.

This is perhaps the most awesome thing I've seen all week. That includes Ribery's goal and the Argentina/Germany game.

Quarters, here we come

I totally would have posted sooner, y'all, but I was gone last weekend, and then I came back and watched the England/Ecuador game. I've only just now come out of the coma. Hi, everyone. So, what's happened since I've been gone?

Spain crashed and burned. Man, I knew supporting them would only end in tears. I just didn't know it would be so soon. That first French goal was gorgeous, though, and I'm glad it was a relatively clean game, Thierry Henry aside. (Really, Henry, you're too talented for that stuff. Lame.) I'm going to have to hold my nose and cheer for France Saturday, though, just because I'm so tired of everyone going on and on about how awesome Brazil is. Also, how great would a France/England semi be?

I fear England/Portugal. Because, grudge match much? I'd be so incredibly happy if they could pull this out, but history seems to be against us in this area. God, especially if it goes to penalties (not PKs, Marcelo Balboa, thanks). Portugal haven't really set the world on fire, but you know, neither have England. They're down a couple of their best players, though, after that debacle against the Netherlands. I have limitless belief in the ability of England to choke on the big occasion, though, so I'm not calling this for them. I'll just be wearing my lucky socks and hoping for the best.

I developed immunity to the ESPN commentators. The secret? Not paying them any attention. That way lies madness. I'm just so sad that O'Brien and Balboa are still there, and they'll be calling the final. I'd give a lot to be able to get the BBC audio feed.

Wow, really?

Dear US Team:
Shut up. Really. True, that was a bad penalty call. And that was a hell of a bad time to concede a goal, right before the half. I'll give you that. However, Markus Merk isn't the reason you had the lowest shots-on-goal of ANY team at this World Cup. Yeah, Trinidad and Tobago beat you out. How's that feel? The ref didn't make you play 4-5-1 in a game you needed to win, either. He didn't make Landon Donovan forget how to play, he didn't make you take Bryan Ching over Taylor Twellman, and he certainly didn't make you not show up at all in two of your three games. I know the ref can mess up games -- though I'd talk to Croatia before complaining too much -- but if you play well enough, it won't be a factor.

Also, complaining about being 2-1 down at halftime and how haaaaaaaard it is to come back from that? Yeah, as a Liverpool fan, I have to say this: Put on your big-girl pants and shut the hell up.

No love,
YNBA

World Cup randomness

Who Should I Cheer For?

If you're a true neutral, this site will recommend which team to support, based on ten factors, including economic equality and corruption. I'm increasingly impatient with geopolitical analyses of soccer; this is why I have no plans to buy "The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup." (That and the title's incredibly patronizing.) But if you don't take it too seriously, that site's a good way to spend a few minutes. (No matter what it says, though, I'm still cheering for Japan over Brazil.)

And Spain does it again. If they follow the script, they'll run all over Saudi Arabia, top the group, and then fall apart against South Korea or Switzerland in the Round of 16. I'm not getting excited yet.

As far as England's team selection, I'm not saying anything yet. Except I think Sven's finally gone crazy. Hopefully, crazy like a fox, though I have a hard time even suggesting that about any lineup that doesn't include Steven Gerrard.

England/Trinidad and Tobago

Well, I guess England wasn't taking notes on the Spain game, because, wow, that was pathetic. Ten minutes of solid play at the end, but the eighty minutes before that were completely wretched. I'm happy for Crouch and Steven (and really happy Crouch didn't do the robot again), but I can't be happy at all with that performance, especially when you remember Trinidad finished fourth in CONCACAF. The biggest issues in today's game:

1. The midfield still isn't working well together. Steven, when he's defending, completely disappears, leaving Lampard to try to make the kind of shots Steven normally takes. Considering that Lampard had about five shots, and no goals, and Steven scored with his first shot, why is Steven still stuck defending? Oh, right. England can pack 24 tubes of toothpaste, but forgot to bring along a real holding midfielder.

2. Owen's first touch has yet to return, and Crouch was incredibly wasteful. I don't know why we brought Walcott, since he's clearly never going to get a game. But on his current form, Owen needs to be dropped. I adore him, y'all know that, but he's obviously not match-fit yet -- hell, Rooney looked better than he did, and he's barely got a foot. His first touch has gone to pieces, and he's just not there. Crouch, on the other hand, seems to have been reading the papers too much. I like him and all, but he's not the new Maradona. He needs to forget the bicycle kicks, take some time, and get the shots right.

3. John Terry's the only reason that wasn't a 2-0 loss. It hurts me to praise Terry too extravagantly, but his defending was the only good thing about most of the game. It shouldn't take a flight over the goal line to keep a clean sheet against T&T, but since it did, I'm glad he was there.

It didn't cost you here, boys, but it should have. And it sure as hell will in the next round, whether you get Ecuador or Germany. Get it together. The Guardian was being generous here -- you were extremely lucky to get a result, let alone win.

Spain/Ukraine

Oh, Spain. Don't toy with me. I don't want to get my hopes up -- I've read your record in World Cups.

However, that was a pretty sweet game. I can only hope England was watching, and taking notes.