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Spurs Unfortunate to Draw Sunderland
Tottenham put on a lovely footballing display this afternoon, their best stuff in the first half when they moved the ball around the pitch with ease, linking through van der Vaart and even getting peripheral winger David Bentley in on a good amount of the action.
The game ended in a draw and should’ve really gone to Spurs. Of particular interest were Bale’s lack of accuracy serving the ball from the wing (he needs more consistently excellent play before he can rightly be called one of the best wings in the world), and the amount of time the home side spent moving up the right wing, through the oil-coiffed Bentley.
I hadn’t seen Bentley in a long while. I’d forgotten about him in fact. The last time I think was 2007, he had just fallen over after having the ball swept away from him, and he stood up to adjust his hair before trotting back to look for an outlet pass. I was flabbergasted. Shouldn’t a professional athlete be prepared for the rigors of the game, and apply a sufficient amount of styling gel to keep his hair in place throughout the match? For shame.
No such acts of vanity today (at least not on the pitch, something must’ve happened in the dressing room to achieve the evening’s look). Bentley looked sharp, playing intelligent balls that kept up the pressure on Sunderland’s rearguard, and his set pieces suggest that he hasn’t lost much in terms of accuracy. Bale on the left, Bentley on the right, all’s well that ends well — in that they didn’t lose…
News
MLS Creeping Toward Championship Final
The MLS season ended a couple of weeks back, and then the top half of the league were pitted against one another in goal-aggregate, home-and-away series. What does that mean exactly? For one thing, it means all the games the Galaxy won during the season to earn first place are half worthless. They still would’ve made the playoffs with 12 less points—why not take a page from city associates the Lakers and play at half speed until the playoffs, when you can come out limber but rested?
Let’s save the full rant for another day, but let’s just say I’m not in love with the playoff system in the MLS. Moving on, the chart below represents the final standings of all teams in the MLS, regardless of division. (Give LA a trophy I say…sorry, another day, another day)
Remaining at this point are the Galaxy vs Dallas, and San Jose vs Colorado. Very left coast, must be the bountiful full-year playing surfaces. And do note their season-ending positions (but I will not continue my rant).
How do the playoffs work then, you ask? Well I can’t be bothered to explain it myself, so here’s a bit of description from the public domain after the bump:
CommentaryNewsVideo
Real Madrid best Atletico
Los Blancos eased passed city rivals Atletico yesterday with the glamor side firing on all cylinders. Strong in defense and quick in attack, Real put Los Colchoneros (an odd name, yes) on the back foot early. The score ended 2-0 but really should’ve been more.
Sadly, Forlan, a favorite from the World Cup, hasn’t scored since September, and while Atletico did look like they’re capable of stringing together potent attacking movement, nothing actually came off in their favor.
We’re about brevity this week, so here’s one audacious play that somewhat sums up the afternoon — outrageousness from Ronaldo, followed by a near miss. (Ps. Benzema, who looked like crap earlier in the season, appears much fitter these days, and has been doing very well coming on in later stages of the game). And as we’re not actually all about brevity, following the video is some public domain description of el derbi madrileño.
Historically, Real Madrid have long been seen as the establishment club. On the other side, Atletico was always characterized by a ‘sentimiento de rebeldía’ (a sense of rebellion) although, during the early Franco years, it was Atlético that was the preferred team of the regime, being associated with the military airforce, until the regime’s preferences moved towards Real Madrid in the 1950s. Franco sought to make political capital out of Real Madrid’s European Cup titles at a time when Spain was internationally isolated – “Real Madrid are the best embassy we ever had”, said one minister. Thus, Atleti fans regularly chanted that Real was “el equipo del gobierno, la vergueñza del país”–the team of the government, the shame of the country—and adopted a more left-wing slant (tempered by the rise of ultras culture and Rayo Vallecano‘s presence as the “true” leftist club) to combat the conservative Real fanbase. Bernabeu, Real Madrid‘s stadium, is majestic, alongside banks and businesses on the classy andaristocratic Castellana, while Calderon can be found beside a brewery along the river; Real Madrid draw greater support because of its successes, while Atletico has a more working class fan base, which comes particularly from the south of the city.
ChalkboardsCommentary
Newcastle Impose Their Will on Arsenal
Newcastle came into their game at the Emirates significant underdogs, though in good spirits coming off a strong win last weekend against aggressive long-time rivals Sunderland. The first half was one of frustration for Arsenal, with Fabregas’ strike against the crossbar the only time the 22 year old Dutch goalkeeper Krul let a ball past (a triumphant return against the team who put 4 past him in recent Carling Cup play). Walcott was unlucky against the woodwork in the second half, but overall Krul made some top-notch saves to kept Newcastle in the lead.
Arsenal tried and tried, but couldn’t penetrate a compact and organized Newcastle defense. The team in black and white collapsed around the Arsenal playmakers as they crossed midfield, cutting off distribution through the center. They also did well to quickly pressure the Gunner’s wingers when they had possession, isolating them and forcing turnovers.
Of particular note was Andy Carroll. The big leaping forward who scored the winning goal for the Magpies was all over the filed, winning balls in defense and forcing the issue in attack.
For this week’s chalkboard project, let’s take a look at the first 17 minutes of the second half. A crucial period for Arsenal (for any team really, ahead or behind), if they’d come out a changed, charged team they might have turned the game then and there and gone on to win. Pity to the home fans, their team were worse after the break. This little slice of the game is a fine example of how most of the match played out–in Newcastle’s favor.
As Newcastle plugged up the middle, then the wings, then the middle, and so on, Arsenal were forced to pass the ball laterally, with very few forays into more dangerous areas. They did try (132 total passes attempted) but Newcastle upset them enough to force 26 turnovers, concentrated dead in the center of the pitch where Fabregas’ magic would have otherwise been crafted.
On the chalkboards, Arsenal is moving left to right, and Newcastle right to left.
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Weekend Results
We’re really into the season now, with some great games and big upsets this weekend. England is done all matches, and we’re still catching up with play on the continent. For now, results are at one of our favorites on all things EPL: football365.com. We’ll be back through the week discussing the games in every league, alongside what’s to come.
CommentaryNews
Mancini Running Man City Players into the Ground
Manchester City have been on a lovely little losing streak of late, and the only player capable of dragging them out of the doldrums has flown off to Argentina to hide in his mom’s house. There have been all sorts of rumors flying about over Mancini’s lack of control in the dressing room. Now with an ever expanding injury list the gaffer is looking to lay blame on his physio, Jamie Murphy.
Mancini has won a key battle in his attempt to impose his authority, with the club’s head physiotherapist set to lose his first-team role. Jamie Murphy, whose relationship with Mancini is understood to have become strained, was absent from last night’s trip to Poland (ed note: refers to the embarrassing loss to Ekstraklasa minnows Lech Poznan).
Anyone remember how Tevez and others were complaining of Mancini’s training practices at the beginning of the season (double sessions, resultant joint injuries)? Remember Mancini’s fallout with his trainer at the start of the campaign, when he fired the man who kept Man City the healthiest side in all of English football though the 09-10 season? I do, though I’ll be damned if I can find the post we wrote on this a few months back.
Mancini is looking for a scapegoat, again. City used his name (and lots of cash) to attract top players from all over, but now that he can’t do anything but destroy the bodies of the multimillion dollar squad, he’s sure to be out the door. Who’s next in line at the helm of Man City?
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Red Bulls Choke
Well, our local team, the New York Red Bulls, have gone crashing out of the MLS playoffs even with the likes of Rafa Márquez and Theirry Henry on the roster. To be fair, Henry was injured and only came on in the last 5 minutes, when he mishit a ball lofted gently to his head whilst unmarked inside the six yard box. It would’ve tied the game. Henry would’ve been a hero, worth every penny. I couldn’t believe it. But first things first.
The Bulls were actually pretty fun to watch tonight. Sure they lack that killer last pass, and even if they made the right choice the person on the end of the ball usually stiffened up and turned it over. But there were some serious bright spots. Lindpere was solid as usual, and Dane Richards created some dangerous attacks up the right. Ballouchy in the center ran hot and cold. He’d get into good positions, but often waste the ball. And Tim Ream, left back and rookie born in the USofA, was also solid and has had a great first season. Potential USMNT call up for certain.
The real standout in the losing effort was 17 yr old Juan Agudelo. His movement wasn’t always the best, but he’s quick, has very good control, and plays patiently even right in front of net. He smashed a shot into the post at one point and was a general nuisance to San Jose throughout. By the way, it was his second ever game for the team. You can see he has the markings of a man set for European.
In other news: the ref was sub-par this evening. I’m not one to approve of whistling ticky tacky fouls, but players were barreling into each other, the ball nowhere near them, and the ref would let play continue without a blink. And John Harkes on the ESPN color commentary, sweet jesus what a mouth on that guy. He spent a good 10 minutes just venting about Márquez from a place of deep and long-standing resentment. The guy is like a drunk at the bar shooting off his mouth. Instead of providing well crafted, diplomatic insight into the good bad and ugly on the pitch, he’d rather rant about a tackle on Cobi Jones from a decade ago. He actually has some good things to say, but when you’re a paid sportscaster, it’s all about the delivery. (ps. we’re not paid, so we can be crap)