Lovely Night For Football

What kind of idiots play football in this weather? Don't answer that. I think I know...

Rain coming down at a 45 degree angle. 36 degrees. Two to three inches of water on the turf field. 9 men on one side. 8 on the other. And yet, we played.

The result was a 5-5 tie. By the midpoint of the 2nd half, my legs were dead from trying to run on the soggy carpet. These are nights in which I really question my sanity.

Fortunately, I was able to watch the Arsenal game before my game. Despite being outhustled for much of the game by a plucky Watford side, Arsenal delivered the three points on a fabulous counter, finished by Mr. Left Foot, Robin van Persie, who screamed a shot past the otherwise impeccable Ben Foster. Note to EPL defenders: don't let RVN cut inside and use his left foot. This has been proven to cause goals against. By the way, is there a better left-footed threat in the EPL right now?

I miss Thierry Henry, but I am becoming a big fan of Gilberto, Thierry's second-in-command. He is a quiet presence in the midfield but his game speaks volumes. Three key moments tonight. First, the hustle-back to make a diving - but textbook perfect - tackle to save a great Watford opportunity. The header for the first goal - second in 2 games. And finally, the winning goal started by another great hustle play to convert a certain corner into a save up the line to Theo Walcott, who sent on to RVN for the goal.

Christmas is over and out of the way and now it's on to Boxing Day. Over the weekend I had a chance to watch the Chelsea-Wigan match and Oh, Nellie what a match!Chelsea had Wigan beat through the first half and down 2 goals. But the home side came out in the 2nd half and put Chelsea on their back heels like nothing I'd ever seen before (Though the 1st half of the Manchester United match was close). Chelsea was reeling. They looked like a Girl Scout walking through a bad neighborhood. And then, after Emile Heskey (this player is a beast, by the way. Incredible physical power) scored the equalizer, they steadied themselves and began building their way back. This was a game in which you could clearly see the momentum shift one way and another. After several opportunitieis, Arjen Robben took the ball across the right side of the mouth of the 18. The defender dove in, Robben dashed past and left-footed a brilliant game-winner. Hate the result. Loved the football.

Despite the brilliance of that game, I really wish FSN had aired the Gunners smashing of Blackburn. 6 goals!

Today, the Gunners are up against lowly Watford, the very sort of team they have struggled against all season. Should be a win, but let's wait til the chicks are hatched, eh? RVN says Gunners results against the top 4 prove they are the best club in the EPL. Uh, actually the table tells you that and it currently says Arsenal are 4th. I'd love to agree with the Dutch Heir Apparent about my favorite club, but you not only have to do well against the best, you have to win the games your supposed to win against the strugglers like Watford.

On an unrelated note, just heard Tim Harford, the Undercover Economist on NPR this past week. He reminded me of why, in the early 1980s I briefly flirted (by briefly, I mean 3 years of study) with the idea of becoming an economist. Tim writes for the Financial Times. You can find his writings here.

That's all for now...

The Power is Back

I'm back on the Internet after 2+ days without power and 5+ without Internet or cable TV, thanks to the Biblical windstorm of 2006. Read it here here here and here. Our power knocked out at our house a little after 10 Thursday night and didn't come back online until 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. It was a cold, cold weekend. Fortunately, I found caffeine sources and was able to fill up most of Saturday with soccer games. Believe it or not, it was warmer out than in!

The kids in our house got a great lesson on how modern life grinds to a halt without electricity. I'm certain they'll all be turning off the lights as they leave the room from now on!

It was very eerie to drive through the city in the pitch black. It felt like one of those zombie movies and I kept expecting something to lurch out of the darkness. But no, it was dark and very, very still. Eerie, indeed.

What's been shaking since I've been off line? Well, you really have to thank your God, higher power, or lucky boots for Jose Mourinho. In a world of uncertainty, he is an absolute rock of stability and consistency. It's nice to know that I can go off-line for 5 days and come back to find that Jose is still an asshole shooting off his mouth because he loves the sound it makes. The knicker twister here is that this time he had to apologize.

Arsene Wenger is thought of as more of a professorial type. But alas, the thin man is getting himself in trouble with his mouth as well. Arsene, just coach, baby.

Ah well, that's it for now. I'm off to face the crowds and try to finish the shopping list for Christmas.

Arsenal Surprise

OK. This is the post i was working before the power went out Thursday, after our big windstorm:

The surprise being a game yesterday, which I totally missed until 40 minutes into the 1st half. I followed it on Gamecast but there really wasn't much action until the end. Cesc Fabregas layed on a nice chip over the defense and right onto Adebayor's feet. The Togoan touched once and toe poked the game-winner past the keeper. A real nice bit of skill on the striker's part. I know I've been a bit critical of him - not being ready for the EPL - but he looked absolutely Henryesque on the play. And Fabregas, boy does he lay in some nice passes. Wow!

And the Gunners won another tough, physical game...

Tough As Nails?

News at Emirates
Following the Chelsea match, Arsene Wenger says that tie away at the Bridge shows how tough Arsenal is compared to last year. Well, maybe. The result stands on its own. They were within inches (Essien's just inside the post shot) and minutes from doing something noone else done in a few years - beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And I do think they are more resilient than they've been in previous years when a physical team like Bolton could bully them off their game. Yet, at the same time, Chelsea easily could've won this, with 3 strikes at the post in the final minutes and a 20-minute assault on Arsenal at the game's close that was ferocious in the least. Let's call it a mixture of toughness and luck.

And besides, the problem hasn't been beating the top dogs in the EPL, the Gunners have struggled with the Fulhams of the world. If they'd have won the games they ewere supposed to have won, they'd be a lot closer to Chelsea and Man U than just hand-waving distance.

What About Henry
Now news comes that Henry has recovered from one injury - the neck - and has picked up a hamstring problem that'll keep him out until first of the new year. Arsenal have played well without him this season, but you can't keep a top-class striker out of your line-up for long and not suffer. Henry's absence really underscores the need for the Gunners to pony up sufficient pounds to buy a world-class strike partner.

Ashley Cole, Man's Man
I've given Cole a bit of stick in the past for being a general git and gold-digger for his move to Chelsea (though he is still an excellent, excellent left-back), but I have to eat some crow. Apparently, after the Arsenal game, Cole followed Spanish He-man Cesc Fabregas into the tunnel to confront him for not shaking hands after the match (Cole's no lout; manners are important). The exchange became so heated that Robin Van Persie and others had to intervene. Hats off to Cole for confronting the unmannered Fabregas, even though Cole knew he potentially risked having a slice thrown in his face or worse, from the hulking midfielder. Well done, Ash.

Arsenal V Chelsea: A Real Barn-Burner

What a great match Sunday! Arsenal and Chelsea played out an electric 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal looked better in the posession for much of the game, with their standard spread wide passing attack. They sorely missed Thierry Henry up front, though. I love Emanuel Adebayor and his attitude (this cat's always playing with a kid-on-Christmas-morning grin on his face), but he's raw. Right now I think he's an excellent Championship League striker, but he lacks that extra punch to excel in the Premiership.

For the first 70 minues, Arsenal had the advantage in building into the area but could not do much with it at the end. Chelsea looked stout in defense and it appeared to me to be a matter of time before they would punch one through, determined as they were to take the direct route. Ballack almost put them up early with a scorcher of a shot from distance. Then he apparently took a cab home because I don't recall seeing him in the game after that.

But it was the Gunners that struck first with a beautiful edge of the box sequence with Mathieu Flamini playing innie-outie with Alexander Hleb. The Chelsea defense did a beautiful impression of the French Army and left Flamini wide open at the 16 mark, where he sent the ball goalward. Not a great shot - middle of the sticks stuff - but Hilario proved he was no Petr Cech (any coincidence Chelsea announced today that Cech is resuming training in January?) and lamely let the ball slip by.

Proving there's no caffeine-substitute like a 1-goal deficit, Chelsea roared to life, tied the game on a screaming long-distance bid from Essien (Is there a more important player to Chelsea right now?) and then inexplicably started a hit-the-goalpost contest in which Lampard and Essien excelled.

When the dust cleared, I felt that Arsenal had acquitted themselves well without top-line players and played a better brand of building football. Chelsea, however, was clearly the more powerful and dangerous of the squads and they have to be kicking themselves over the lost points at home.

Favorite moment of the game (aside from the Gunners goal): The impromptu Jens Lehman and Didier Drogba slapstick routine. And they say vaudeville's dead! The ref got it spot on; didn't overreact and let the game continue.

Least favorite moment(s) of the game: Chelsea whining about every call against and surrounding the referee at multiple points during the game. Hello, EPL, when are you going to get these boys under control?

One of our local fields was vandalized by thieves stealing copper wire from the junction boxes on the light standards. The field was shut down for a few days while the damage was repaired. Neighboring communities have also been hit by these crackheads. Can't we just rig these boxes to give would-be thieves a bit of a jolt and something to think about?

Great Soccer Game Yesterday

No, it wasn't Arsenal. With both Porto and Gunners needing only a draw to go through to the final 16, neither side was intersted in risking much. Of the two, Porto actually attempted to play football for the first half or so. Following the Gamecast on ESPN, it sounded like Arsenal not only didn't try, they weren't very good and were lucky not to have lost. Anyways, a tepid, tired 0-0 draw is enough for the next round.

Manchester United continue to move forward with a stinging 3-1 defeat of Benfica. The 3 goals came on headers after going down a goal in the early goings. From the highlights I saw, it sure looked like the Red Devils were moving the ball around the pitch with purpose. And CRon took a break from the evening's dives to make a few plays here and there even setting up an actual goal.

But it was my game that was match of the day in my book. My team went down 2 goals in the first half, but we kept pressuring. Finally, I picked off a cross-field pass on my side, battled through the sweeper and fullback and slotted the ball far post for the goal. It was a great goal, all the more so, because I almost never posess that kind of professionalism on the shot. I knew where I was going all the time, never looked at the goal or the keeper and just put the ball in the sweet spot of the goal. Not too much later, another of our midfielders got through the defense and slotted past the keeper to tie. At this point, we started pass well and move in support. It was a good flowing game of footie.

At the half I switched to keeper (my 2nd game in the sticks) and was under pressure immediately. I ended up making 3 saves, 2 of which were near goals. On one the striker headed a crossed ball from about 3 yards out and I just got there in time to slap it off the goal line. On another, I stopped the shot, but the ball bounced out of my hands, hit the ground and had the spin to bounce in. I dived and ended up saving the shot with my body in the goal and the ball just outside the line. I also got to snag a corner kick out of the air, which was fun.

The ultimate play, though was on a penalty kick. Again, 2nd game as a keeper, I'd never defended penalty kicks before, except against my daughters and they always score on me, so that's not a good omen. I decided to simply choose a side and go in that direction. I evaluated the kick taker and guessed that he would go to his left, which he did. I had started to dive, but the kick wasn't exceptionally taken and I only had to jump to the right and slap the ball down. Saved! What a feeling!

We scored with about 20 minutes left. The other team piled on the pressure at the last 10 minutes and it seemed like the ball was alway in the 18. Just before the whistle there was a hard driving shot taken just inside the 18. I was screened by players and don't know if I'd have gotten to it, but my fullback blocked it and the ref blew the whistle. We won 3-2. There was something about being in goal, making the saves and being under pressure, that made the victory all the more sweet. Very, very fun game!

Klinnsman to be Named US Coach?

Jamie Trecker is saying the worst kept secret in US soccer is about to be exposed. As I've written before, Klinnsman is the best choice to bring US mens' soccer out of the backwaters.

With the apparent disagreement between Arsene Wenger and Thierry Henry recently, rumblings of an exit are renewing. Tempest in a teacup, I say. However, I do agree with the fleet-footed one that plunking some pounds down for a co-striker would be money well spent. After all, Graham Poll won't officiate all our games, will he?

Arsene says that the Gunners will be gunning for the win, not the draw today. Good. But they'd better at least draw, right?!

In a strange twist, the Litvinenko poisoning case has now touched Arsenal, with traces of Polonium 210 being found at Emirates Stadium.

Meanwhile the Bhoys have their eyes set on going through as a firster by beating Copenhagen away. Love Strachan's views on the pressures of being a Celtic manager! Easy job, eh?

Mom's Widsom, Redux
I heard it all through my childhood, "Sit up straight." "Stop slouching." And I've passed the commandment for vertical spinal alignment on to my kids. But now, inveterate slouchers everywhere can rejoice, slouching is good for you, say Scottish spinal researchers.

Next up, Broccoli gives you cancer and watching TV improves intelligence...

Another blow for the Gunners as Thierry Henry is out for a month. This is a big knock however you slice it, but with the Dec 12th match against Chelsea this feels ominous. Meanwhile, Thierry denies a bust-up with Arsene, but the two are clearly not on the same page about the roster.

A late entry for the Newspaper Headline of the Year award. I've got nothing against nudity. And you can smoke crack, if that's what you're into. Alligator wrestling is weird, but OK. But, wow, if you combine all 3, you're just asking for trouble.

You've Got to Fight For Your Right To Party (Dip)
Lawsuit of the year. Someone had to make a stand.

Regarding Henry...
Thierry Henry is banged up and needs a rest to heal his neck. Tough timing. Arsenal sorely needs Thierry in form and in stride to help them find a groove, but it's not to be. The Gunners playpen will need to soldier on without their captain. Meanwhile, Monsieur H thinks that the January transfer window would be a great time to find a bargain, perhaps a Chelsea cast-off Shaun Wright-Phillips. Can't say that SWP would be a bad pick-up, but I've always seen Arsenal's strike force needs as a RVN type player, a scrappy, goal-hound to bang around in the box and create havoc and play off Henry's play from outside.

...Well, it looks like Henry can continue resting, because as I'm writing this, word comes in that the Gunners have crushed Tottenham at Emirates 3-0! Adebayor from open play and 2 Silva penalties converted. Awesome! Too bad, FSN chooses this game not to televise.

Back at the Horse Race...
Sir Alex Ferguson (aka, the man who can catch pizza with his face) is not about to be duped into a battle of wits with Jose Mourinho. SAF announced the signing of former Celtic great Henrik Larsson on a short-term loan deal from his Swedish team. This should help MU significantly. Even at 35, Larsson is a speedy threat. In last year's title game for the Champions League, Larsson's 2nd half entrance into the game was the difference.