Freddie's Gone

Freddie's gone. To the Hammers. While I hate to see Freddie go - he has always been a sparkplug - he has seen limited action in the past 2 seasons, with injuries and new personnel coming on. It may have been time for him to move on...

The Professor Reading This Blog?

Does Arsene Wenger read Out Of My Head? Of course he does. A day after I posted about the cons of swooping for Nicholas Anelka, The Professor came to his senses and declared he had no further interest in The Incredible Sulk. Quel coincdence, non?

He is happy with the current squad and touts Msr. Theo Walcott to shine. I'd almost forgot about lil' Theo. Given that he's 18 now, isn't it time for him to start making an impact? Rooney, Messi, Fabregas, they were all bona fide talents by 18. So far, Theo has been the fast guy with potential. This is the season for the young lad to make his bones. Come on, Theo, make the gaffer forgot all foolish thoughts of Nicholas Anelka!

Oh, yeah. And some guy from England is making is debut in the MLS tomorrow in a friendly v. Chelsea. Only time will tell what the true impact of bringing David Beckham over from Real Madrid will be on American soccer and the LA Galaxy.

Every American sports reporter on the beat, who is furiously boning up on soccer, has the same story angle: Will David Beckham finally get Americans to like soccer?

How annoying. First, Americans already love the footy-ball. It's the most popular youth sport in the states. Professional soccer, on the other hand, is an animal of a different stripe. That aspect of the sport hasn't taken off. Yes, the overall quality of players is lower in the US than just about every where else outside of Antarctica (Hey, I personally contribute to that weak broth talent pool!).

And there is some truth to the argument that when you bring in better players, people will come to watch. But you know what, there are a lot of dreary teams in England and elsewhere that on average outdraw your typical MLS team. The differences are not so much quality, but competition from other sports and fan base loyalty.

Here in the US, we've got scads of professional and amateur teams to choose from. Here in the Seattle area, where the USL Seattle Sounders play, I could choose to go see a Sounders game, or I could also buy a ticket to see the Seattle Mariners play baseball, the Seattle Sonics (at least for the time being) in B-ball, the Seattle Seahawks play the football that allows you to carry and throw the ball, the University of Washington football team. I believe there's also a hockey team or two around. What are the EPL teams competing with? Cricket?! Come on, that's no competition at all.

Add to that the incredible brand loyalty that comes from growing up in a culture where you identify with a team from an early age (often) and stick to it through adulthood. If you're a Newcastle supporter (and God help you, if you are, you poor sod) you're part of a long history with that club, that comes with its own songs, history and lore.

The Sounders don't give you that. You can trace the team back to the 1970s NASL heyday but it's still not the same.

I remember a couple of years back reminiscing with an elderly friend of mine who is a lifelong Liverpool supporter. He was telling me stories about matches and what the crowd was singing and how they'd improvise the songs to react to what was happening on the pitch, or on the sideline. As he recounted these tales, his eyes fairly sparkled with a light and joy that comes from revisiting fond places in the mind.

When American soccer can breed emotions like that, well that's when soccer will make it in this country. Now, if Becks can accomplish that, he's done his job.

Out of his Head

Most of the time I believe that Arsene Wenger is a football genius. Then, he starts off flirting with the idea of re-signing retread Nicholas Anelka to replace the sublime Thierry Henry and I have to wonder whether Henry's departure has made him a bit loopy.

We have a saying on this side of the water, Arsene: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

You've been down this road before, and was not a happy camper and became disruptive to the team. He demanded to be let off. In fact, he carried his attitude problem with him to subsequent clubs. It's why he's known as "The Incredible Sulk."

Six teams in 10 years. This is not a player who will be anything more than a band-aid. He won't be long at Emirates before his wanderlust returns.

And as for the product that strikers are signed for, goals, there's not much there. Last season, Anelka had 11 in 35 appearances. Granted, it seemed like half of them were against Arsenal. But if you sign him, you'll want him to be scoring at the other end of the pitch and there, he's not a proven commodity anymore. In fact, in his entire career he's never scored more than 17 goals in a season. That was at Manchester City four years ago.

This isn't a real striker signing, Arsene. Resist the temptation to revive past relationships. Challenge the big clubs for a real striker.

The other big four clubs have all strengthened themselves. Liverpool nabbed Fernando Torres (who, by the way, I think is going to be huge in the EPL. This kid really impressed me in the World Cup). Man U looks set to nab Carlito, who is also the real deal. I don't know about the Hargreaves kid; he just doesn't strike me as the second coming of Roy Keane. Chelsea - well, they actually stepped back a bit with the loss of Robben, who I thought was one of their most important players after Terry, Drogba, Essien and Cech. Malouda does not fully compensate. But, after all, they are Chelsea and they are still loaded for bear.

My point being that signing Nicholas Anelka does not even keep the Gunners at pace with the other big EPL clubs. Those youngsters had better be ready to evolve this season.

Meanwhile, I hope Arsene comes to his senses.

A Brilliant Copa Final

I got back in town yesterday afternoon from a loooong soccer tournament in the lovely state of Oregon. BTW, our southern neighbor reminds me of Richard Nixon's infamous quote about democracy. It'd be a lovely state if it weren't for all the Oregonians. Man, what's up with that place? I've yet to see a more motley collection of uptight, angry, and just plain ill-tempered people.

Enuf of that. Spent some time with the DVR to watch the Copa final with Brazil and Argentina. While I'd expected more of a match, I was happy to see the gold and green boys whomp Argentina 3-0, particularly without their big name stars. (Though, it was a bummer not to see Gunner Gilberto - one of my favorites).

The last goal was a sublime piece of football. It started with an in the box clearance, which was placed where it posed the least danger. Robinho then left-foot cleared the ball upfield right to Vagner Love, who executed a high-speed show-and-tell with 2 defenders before threading a beautiful pass between the Argentinians which was met by an onrushing Danny Alves who finished with a laser precise strike just inside the far post. The whole thing took mere seconds and was as murderously final as it was beautiful to watch. The Argentine players at that point were just plain outclassed and they knew it.

Think I'm kidding:

"We're totally ruined," Esteban Cambiasso said. "Losing like this penetrates your soul."

Said Brazil Coach Dunga

"We came to rescue the self-esteem of the Brazilian worker, who wakes
up in the morning and returns home late at night, whose only
satisfaction in life is seeing Brazil win a football match."

The players then pledged to donate half of their professional salaries for the coming year to Poverty relief and workers' rights.

...Just kidding about the last one

Arsenal signed a couple of players now, including a 24-year-old French defender of which I know nothing. Apparently, he's considered a back-up for when Eboue and Toure disappear for the African National Cup. Good, as far as that goes, but I have to think not addressing our primary need at this point.

Too Quiet on the Gunners Front

Another day another big nothing from Arsenal. Come on. We need some players!

A great game from the Copa with Argentina smashing Mexico and setting up yet another classic in waiting with the Samba Boys. I'm off to tournament land this weekend but will get the DVR set for this baby.

Cheap Gunners and Bra Know-How

William Gallas hits out at Arsenal's lack of action on player acquisition. Sayeth the French defender:

"I am not at Arsenal to play for third place," he said.

Hear. Hear.

In my never-ending quest for knowledge I stumbled across a couple of YouTube-like sites for how-to videos. VideoJug and AskanExpert. I haven't exhaustively gone through them yet, but they look interesting. VideoJug has a wide range of topics that are covered, including a dating section that contains a rather funny explanation of how to unhook a bra. Where were these guys when I was 15 years old?!

With Henry gone, I had begun to worry that the rumour mill would want for work and might even have to begin laying rumour millworkers. I'm happy to report that those industrious artisans of the rumour mill trade are happy back at work, crafting Cesc Fabregas rumours now.

It has been traditional for some time to suggest that men driving certain cars, or driving cars in certain ways, are compensating for, let's say shortages in a certain physical department. Now the Australian Road and Transit Authority has come right out and made an ad campaign centered on this theme. Nice...