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CommentaryNews

Mario Balotelli Gets Lucky

December 28, 2010 — by Sean1

Eric Lichaj did well against Bale, but stunk up the joint against City.

We tuned into the Man City v Aston Villa match for one reason today, to watch Villa’s American right back Eric Lichaj. The 22 yr old was impressive in shutting down Gareth Bale in their loss to Spurs two days ago, and we though maybe he could replicate the performance today. No such luck. Against Spurs, Lichaj showed pace equal to Bale, made a number of impressive stops, and even had a chance at the end of the game to pull back a tying goal.

Lichaj’s first contribution today against City was to offer Mario Balotelli the chance to flop and earn a penalty. The cocky Italian felt a hand on his should and went down as if a piano had fallen on him. He then converted the penalty kick to put City ahead. City’s next goal was probably not a goal as it looked to be headed off the line, and then their third, a Balotelli tap-in, came from an offside position.

Gifted three goals City played keep away and Villa didn’t have much chance to get back into the flow. Balotelli then converted another penalty to score a hat trick, pumping his head full of more hot air after just receiving the World Young Player of the Year award last week. His closest competition for that trophy was 18 yr old Jack Wilshire who has been playing well, and holding down a starting role at Arsenal. Had Balotelli heard of him?

“What’s his name? Wil…? No, I just don’t know him, but the next time I play against Arsenal I’ll try to be careful. Maybe I could show him the Golden Boy trophy and remind him that I won.”

He’ll have a chance next week when Arsenal meet City, though it’s unlikely Balotelli – the man who has proclaimed himself the best player in the world besides Messi – will get on the field earlier than the 70th minute.

Schedule

Carling Cup Draw – Quarterfinals Today & Tomorrow

November 30, 2010 — by Suman1

The Carling (i.e., League) Cup is certainly a lesser competition in England than the FA Cup, but it’s hardware nonetheless.  The quarterfinals just kicked off in a matter of minutes, with two matches today (West Ham-Man U & Arsenal-Wigan), and two more tomorrow (Birmingham City-Aston Villa & Ipswich Town-West Bromwich Albion).  All games start at 7:45pm in England (which corresponds to 2:45pm ET).

One match each day is available for viewing here in the US.  Today, West Ham-Man U is on FSP, as well streaming on foxsoccer.tv.  Tomorrow, the same goes Birmingham City-Aston Villa.

Carling Cup Quarterfinals

Tuesday 30th November

Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic FC
Kick-off at 19:45 at Emirates Stadium
West Ham United vs Manchester United
Kick-off at 19:45 at Upton Park

Wednesday 1st December

Birmingham City vs Aston Villa
Kick-off at 19:45 at St. Andrews
Ipswich Town vs West Bromwich Albion
Kick-off at 19:45 at Portman Road

NewsVideo

A Bad Weekend for American Goalkeepers in England

November 28, 2010 — by Suman

Americans Tim Howard and Brad Friedel–generally considered among the stronger goalkeepers in the Premier League–had weekends to forget, as each gave up four goals Saturday in front of their home fans.

Howard’s Everton side lost at home to West Brom 4-1, while Friedel’s Aston Villa side lost 4-2, also at home, to Arsenal:

Video: PL Highlights: Everton/West Brom

Video: PL Highlights: Aston Villa/Arsenal

A much better performance and result for another American abroad in England: midfielder Clint Dempsey continued his strong play and scoring for Fulham, getting the equalizer for them against Birmingham City. Dempsey is playing aggressively and with confidence–watch the way he wins the header for the goal, and follows that up with a cracker that almost goes in for a 2nd goal, if not for a great save by the Birmingham ‘keeper:

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video/?vid=21c556fb-1549-4387-8ea0-676ba993258f&#038;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_videocentral_player" target="_new" title="PL Highlights: Fulham/B&#39;ham">Video: PL Highlights: Fulham/B&#39;ham</a>

Commentary

Bob Bradley to Aston Villa?

August 11, 2010 — by Sean

There’s a lot of rumbling about Coach Bob heading to Birmingham to take over at Aston Villa after Martin O’Neill’s surprising departure just days before the season starts. It’s been a strong side, and O’Neill has done well during his tenure there. His leaving was as sudden as it was mysterious, though most assume he was simply fed up with the transfer pot at his disposal.

Bradley has 11/4 odds of being selected, and he was given polite backing by Sir Alex during Man U’s tour of the States. Before the Brazil matchup last night, Tim Howard thought better of criticizing the coach:

“With his style, I think he’d be accepted by all the players. It’s hard to say how he’d do, because the way things happen now with managers in Europe, and certainly England, is pretty damn crazy. But overall I think he’d be accepted. And that’s the biggest thing, is player acceptance.”

There’d be a learning curve for certain, but Bradley is a decent tactician and clearly knows how to motivate his players. He prepares well, his teams are always fit, and I think he’d make a good showing holding the reins at Villa. I say go for it, Bob!