How about some Muay Thai instead?

At least American Somoa doesn’t have to feel so bad…

52-1: Nice!

You’ll Never Walk Alone

The new Liverpool kit?

Dubai International Capital Ltd and its owner Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has pulled a bid for Liverpool in the face of competition from American serial sports franchise owner George Gillett. It’s hard to say that Gillett has a stellar or terrible performance record as a franchise owner: His stake in the Dolphins was neither large (22%) nor important (he left before the perfect 1972 season though it’s unclear whether or not he was around for the NFL merger and the subsequent Super Bowl 6 loss to the Cowboys); the Canadiens are doing exactly as they did before he took over 2000; the Globetrotters, however, were bankrupt before Gillett bought them, though in the middle of what turned out to be a pretty spectacular 2,495 game winning streak that ended 4 years after Gillett bought them (bought in 1967, first loss was in 1971). This, of course, is nothing compared to what Liverpool can expect if they emulate what the Globetrotters did next:

On September 12, 1995, the Harlem Globetrotters lost an exhibition game 91-85 to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s All Star Team in Vienna, Austria ending a run of 8,829 straight victories in exhibition games going back to 1971. The Globetrotters won the other 10 games during that European tour.

Of course, maybe that just means Liverpool should play nothing but exhibition matches…against the Washington Generals.

The Sheik vs the…that guy

A Scouser Camel?

If Ismael Matar’s benefactor is from Dubai, then things could be looking up for Liverpudlian goalscorers…but what kind of animals would they get? I mean, camels aren’t exactly the right gifts for Lancashire are they?

Check out this little tidbit from the Liverpool Wiki page…Corinto, Nicaragua? I mean, okay, that’s cool and I hope Corinto gets something out of the deal (which seems to make Corinto a twin/sister town with not just Liverpool, but also Bremen and Cologne, Germany and Portland, USA). This is what being a twin/sister town means.

For the children

Thanks to FCBarcelonablog for this one:

FREE WISLA KRAKOW!

In a move that is sure to leave more than a couple people fuming or celebrating, Tottenham have been handed a free pass to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup. Sounds sketchy to me and just a tad unfair — if you kick out a team, don’t you have to replace them? And I’m not talking about rules here, I’m talking about what should be done. Give Wisla Krakow a chance, for crying out loud!

FREE WISLA! FREE WISLA!

In other news, Ronaldote is going to be a Milanese player in a deal worth about $6million. I think it’ll be a good move for everyone involved and the money, relative to his apparent previous worth, is good. The question is playing time and I don’t think there will be many problems in that department even with Pipo and Gilardino lurking. It doesn’t change my stance on the team’s European chances, but should bolster their domestic form.

Also, Du Nord passed this gem on. Check it out and maybe you can add to it.

[Update: Ronaldo officially moved to Milan for ~$10million and Ricardo Oliveira went the other way on loan. I think this is positive for everyone involved.]

Stats and more

Thanks to Bitter and Blue for pointing the way to this site. It’s got all the match facts you’ll ever want to know about Villa (or any other European team for that matter). It seems that it’s best viewed in IE since I couldn’t get Firefox to display most of the charts.

I’ll be posting more over the weekend (probably Sunday) about Aston Villa’s transfers and a fairly straight forward look at the second half of the season.

Eurosport Statcenter home

In fact, I kind of understand.

Despite the fact that he’s obviously a lying athlete (is that redundant?) it would be completely understandable to avoid a team like Liverpool which goes 99 games without maintaining the same lineup. Playing time is always a big deal, especially for international players looking to sustain their NT status. Still, don’t act like $100,000 a week isn’t enticing.

Will Teddy and co. hold the money against him?

Idiots on the pitch

Well, Lee Hendrie’s a dick…He denies it happened, of course.

Why would the fan lie? Why would Hendrie say that? Do EPL players really hear the fans during warmups? How can they not be used to such tough language “you’re a professional footballer, rise above it”? That’s what set him off? That’s actually a worse overreaction than Zidane!

America’s game

Thanks to the boys at EDSBS for pointing this out. This country, it is changing, I swear. What’s fascinating is how little tolerance there can be in a country built around tolerance. And for a sport–it’s a sport, people! It’s seen as foreign, as different, as going against…well I’m not even sure what it’s supposed to be going against but it sure is going against it!

Nicole Bengivemo/NY Times

Moneyball

 

This is very interesting.

La Liga Midway Point: the Highs and Lows

I honestly can’t get enough of these Saviola pictures. Redemption just never really looked so good. And on a weekly basis I can now get my fix of I-told-you-so, but of course, no one was really disputing that Saviola should have been playing more so I’m just venting some sort of weird pent-up wonder about the fact that I got something right.

Anyway, Saviola was one of three goalscorers as Barcelona dismantled over-matched Gimanstic 3-0 to take the top spot in La Liga on goal differential with a game still in hand. With Real Madrid winning there is a 3-way tie for first on points (Barcelona, Sevilla, followed by Real) so any thoughts of a crisis for the Madridistas should be summarily chucked out the window. Valencia and Atletico sit 2 and 3 points respectively behind the leading pack so discounting them at this point would be idiotic.

On the other end of the spectrum I think we can call Gimnastic as going down as they have 9 points halfway through the season. Even if they had double that number (18, if you can’t do math), they would still be in the relegation zone. The other relegation teams are currently Sociedad and Betis, though Betis has been showing some signs of life recently (in the sense that they knocked Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, not in the sense that they lost to Osasuna 5-1 last weekend). I still think they’ll pull it out and the three going down will be Levante, Sociedad, and Gimnastic. There’s just no way I can say Sociedad will improve enough to recover the 6 points between themselves and survival by the end of the year. That said, there are many games left to be played and basically anything can happen.

Those who will finish in Europe:

CL: Barcelona (title), Sevilla, Madrid, and Valencia

UEFA: Atletico and Huelva

You can find my preseason thoughts here and so far I’m pretty much on the ball with the exception of Chelsea (a fact I’m very happy to report, but which I’m still assuming will turn out right). My biggest forehead-smacker was calling for Villareal to place in a Champions League spot. Who knew this would appear: 26 points. Juan Roman Riquelme 1 goal 6 assists in 13 games. And they still have a legit shot at making the UEFA Cup.

As for the Segunda Division, it looks like Valladolid are getting closer to the jump (44 points, with a 6 point lead after 21 games). I’m still rooting for Xerez to finally make the one-year disaster-inducing jump to the top where they’ll spend a lot of money they don’t have, still get relegated, and go bankrupt. Yay.

In Serie A Inter Milan might as well just get the trophy now. Inter still haven’t lost! Roma and Palermo will duke it out for second while basically everyone else will go for 4th-6th. I’m guessing Lazio pull out 4th while Milan snatch 5th and because they were my preseason 4th, Sampdoria grab 6th. Catania, incidentally, could jump to 4th with a win since they have a game in hand.

Werder Bremen will take the title in the Bundesliga while Bayern will grab second. From there it’s a cascade to mediocrity, but I’ll say Stuttgart then Schalke. Borussia Mönchengladbach stays up for no other reason than their name and history.

I don’t even care about Ligue 1 or the SPL…those are over. (PSG stays up, though)

Weekend in Review

First, it looks like Andy Johnson broke his ankle today, which is awful news.

The EPL has suddenly gotten a little more competitive at the top, if not more unpredictable. The Big 4 are still the top 4 and Watford are going down. Whether or not Wigan join them is yet to be played out, but my money is on West Ham to eek out a couple of wins where Wigan can’t. Still, it’s getting better and there’s no assured winner yet, unlike several of the other European leagues. Here’s a look at Pennant’s goal against Chelsea. (I forget where I got this link)

I had the pleasure of watching the Arsenal-ManU game and it was a good one. I missed the opening 17 minutes, so I can’t be positive, but Arsenal deserved to win. ManU sat back and played the counterattack the whole game, creating a few chances in the process, but not really ever dominating the game with the exception of the final minute of the first half. Arsenal were a bit unlucky not to get a penatly called before Rooney put a way a header to go 0-1 up, but the introduction of van Persie for Hleb put more pressure on the Devils, who found out the hard way that Robbie picks his spots pretty well. Then Henry was gifted a goal by Rio’s inability to judge the cross in extra time(should there have been a foul called on Rosicky/Fabregas on that play? I couldn’t really tell). After that it was sort of mayhem as Henry celebrated for what felt like half an hour and then Lehmann was typically “injured” for a few seconds while Henry motioned for him to fall on the ground. Then the whistle was blown about 30 seconds too early, but still, ManU didn’t really look like they were going to score so it’s not such a big deal.

A side note: Wayne Rooney is the classic superstar in the sense that regardless of his performances, any time he does anything good it’s considered a reaffirmation of his talent, such as popping up and scoring ManU’s goal early in the second half. Despite how badly he’d been playing up until that point, the commentators crowed that he showed class and deserved to be considered some sort of shining god. I don’t disagree about his talents, but he tends to disappear for long periods of time and make boneheaded mistakes (mostly associated with his temper) too often. To me, he has potential and certainly hasn’t become the player I think he will one day be, so to act as if it’s destiny that he scored is silly. He, like Freddy Adu, has been pushed into the spotlight a little too early and his goal tally should be inconsequential at this point. Rooney is 21, you know, barely able to drink in my country, much less dominate a professional sport.

You know who I don’t like? Flamini. I’m not exactly sure why because he’s not such a bad player, but I really just don’t like him on the field. Not sure if Arsenal have anyone to do a better job in that position…oh wait, Lauren…oh wait no he’s gone. Oops. But still, Flamini did a pretty good job on Rooney, which is saying something. Not that it makes me like him more. I’m sure he’s appalled that SoccerSpot doesn’t look favorably upon him.

Speaking of me not liking people: I didn’t know who to root for in the game today. Am I rooting against all things Chelsea or sticking with my enjoyment of Arsenal. I’d like to see Arsenal take second from Chelsea, of course, but not if it means Chelsea are first. That doesn’t look likely, of course, since ManU are basically assured of a top 2 finish unless Ronaldo, Rooney, and van der Sar all break their legs in the next month or so. Still, despite being a passive Arsenal fan via their style of play, I couldn’t help but wonder if I shouldn’t be rooting for ManU simply so that they could go 9 clear of Chelsea. Difficult times, these.

I ended up cheering for Arsenal, in case you were wondering. Old habits die hard.

I’ll add to this when the Spanish league games are done, but as of right now (halftime of Barca-Gimnastic), Saviola is proving that I am always right. I’ll see if I can’t get something up before the NFL games, but don’t count on it.

Just another elephant in a room of elephants

Well he looks like a goalscorer…

Apparently Watford have accepted Aston Villa’s $18million ($15.5m at first and then the rest later) bid for striker Ashley Young. [Side note: What's with the name Ashley for boys in England? Did I miss something?] Whether or not this investment will work out hinges on personal terms between the clubs and, of course, whether or not Young turns out to be a talented striker. I can easily see him becoming a second option in O’Neill’s 4-3-3 system when Moore returns and if Baros begins to play like he means it. Agbonlahor should be considered untouchable until he proves himself unworthy which means basically until the end of time at this rate. So long as Villa doesn’t forget to augment the backline it’s not a problem to splash out on Young (and that’s assuming O’Neill knows what he’s doing, which I believe he does).

The Gaffer over at EPL Talk posted about the new TV deal the EPL has signed which will guarantee that money is unfairly distributed between the rich clubs all the more. We’re talking almost $100 million to the title winner, which of course means the richest clubs will only get richer by leaps and bounds unfathomable by the smaller clubs, especially if they’re in the Championship or below. A few positives from this may or may not outweigh the bad that comes from economic disparity:

• Along with the large bonus for the winner, each EPL team will receive $50million. This is a positive for teams like Watford or Reading who aren’t the most cash rich there are in the world. That said, a negative is that it will probably create a top 23 in English soccer, including whoever is in the EPL starting next year and then the next 3 teams to go up. Since even the relegated will get $50m, they’ll be able to spend it on stars to help them return.
• Global exposure for the EPL is definitely good as it will help attract better players (Like, maybe, this one), but that could in turn lead to further economic disparity as European championships fall into the hands of stud-loaded British clubs (the factor keeping someone like Ronaldinho from England is the fact that it’s a much different and harder-tackling game than the rest of Europe where what would be a foul in England can be a red card in Spain).
• The races to the top for that extra $50m could get better as more teams are able to afford the above-mentioned better players. That might not really translate to the truth, of course, but one can always hope. Another factor is that this could lead to newly-promoted smaller clubs massively overspending like Leeds United where they end up defaulting and almost or actually going under. Could easily happen like Osasuna and Celta Vigo in Spain.

Real Madrid get bounced from the Copa del Rey. It happens to the best of clubs and according to SFS, the ref missed a penalty that would have ensured the Merengues of moving on. Despite this only being a domestic cup, I believe it has some major significance in the greater scheme of things (and I don’t mean to belittle domestic cups too much, but it isn’t exactly the league) as Real Madrid are currently being rocked by some serious issues between the fans and coach and players and president. In the background are several transfer rumors that threaten to change the entire complexity not only of Real Madrid but for the entire continent (think La Liga as well as Champions League). The biggest exit rumor (and rumor is all it probably is) doesn’t fall to Ronaldo leaving for Milan or Beckham to El Mundo Nuevo, but rather Robinho’s possible departure. If it’s a sinking ship, someone might snap up a deal worthy of rememberance for a long time. Obviously it’s only a rumor until it happens and it won’t happen until the summer regardless of the money thrown at Madrid, but what a change that would be. Movement away from Robinho would be silly based on his display against Barcelona in the first Clasico this year alone.

Yeah like this isn’t hilarious…

I don’t even know what to call this

That look of surprise must have been caused by what came out of his own mouth.

Rabbit, score

There are other things besides La Guerra de Beckham going on in Spain these days, including the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup). Javier Saviola scored a hat trick against Alaves Tuesday to ensure Barcelona advanced to the next round (quarterfinals). It’s just a little more proof that Saviola can indeed still score. He’s a fantastic player (and yes, I mean that: fantastic — he proved this in the World Cup and at Sevilla last season) and deserves more playing time and credit for his abilities.

But someone is back…

…and he’s got one word for Javier: Pichichi. (That’s top scorer in La Liga, fyi)

Samuel Eto’o is back! Fantastic news and now the CL matches with Liverpool look like they could be turned on their heads as the Leo Messi Blog reports that even he will be able to play against the Reds. Could be some amazing football on display, but without Luis Garcia I don’t see Liverpool as quite as good. Bad luck, really, and it means Gerrard will have to really step up.

Short note on the Alaves game: Interesting that Barcelona chose to start a pretty powerful lineup against such weak opposition. Makes sense to give a few youngsters some playing time, but instead Rijkaard chose to get some more experience for his regular first teamers. Makes sense as well, especially since they’ve been off their game, but 2 goals to Alaves isn’t great. The back line needs to close ranks like they did last year and not expect the offense to outgun opponents every time.

Tommy Flanagan, soccer star

“I said yesterday and some people laughed at me, but this move for me is not about the money, it’s about hopefully making a difference in the US with the soccer and that’s what I’m going there for.” (Guardian)

Yeah, that’s the ticket! Decisions influenced by Tom Cruise, eh? I sure hope it means more than just a bit part for Posh, what with her being so talented and all…

Not to be outdueled in lunacy, Chelsea has succumbed to Mourinho’s desires and has offered up a few billion dollars or something for new players. Not that anyone could have seen that coming or anything.

David Beckham to LA, among other things

In this edition:

1. Coming To America starring David Beckham

2. Chelsea: total rope-a-dope

3. How Dubai’s real estate prices affect you

1. David Beckham

In an apparent bid to be just like the old NASL, Major League Soccer has spared no expense to snag a superstar. The problem with the NASL’s capture of Pele is that it eventually sunk the entire league. The Galaxy are apparently looking for a repeat performance of that grand failure of sporting hubris. A reported $250million contract in salary and endorsements (definitely the majority from the latter) doesn’t exactly strike me as a solid way to keep your head above water in a tight financial market where the average attendance was 15,502 in 2006. LA is the largest market by quite a bit so Beckham’s appearance will probably only effect an already better market than say, Kansas City, which would benefit the most from adding a superstar. That means regardless of what happens with the Becks deal, places like Kansas City will sell their souls (and all material goods) to get an aging Ronaldo or a semi-star looking for greener pastures. That’s the NASL style and a very probable future for the MLS. Perhaps the optimists are right, though, and the arrival of a foreign megastar still capable of playing at a world-class level will not only boost the LA Galaxy attendance numbers, but everyone’s in general.

Perhaps the slow trickle of big names or half-known, badly-pronounced names will not turn into a merry-go-round of who’s-retiring-from-Europe-now and will instead be solid decisions by intelligent board rooms looking to strengthen particular positions with skillful role players. I’ll leave that one to your imagination…but just think about Al-Ittahad for a second and where they’ll be this time next year: still in Saudi Arabia. The MLS is not going to become a powerhouse league by imitating Leeds United…

2. Chelsea is far from done

Mourinho began his merciless and annoying mindgames this week when he announced he was unhappy with Chelsea’s transfer limits. Well blow me down, 30million GBP for a single player and now you’re bummed you don’t have any more money? I wish credit card companies would accept that excuse after I charged a Porsche, went over my limit, and couldn’t afford food: “But, but, but, how will I live?” Nevermind the fact that you have a team made up almost entirely of superstars, that you probably do have 30million more in the bank waiting for the right moment to drop out of the sky and snag some soon-to-be forgotten benchwarmer worth his weight in gold to any other club on earth. If SWP gets out of there to Villa, that might open the door to a radical transfer policy never before thought of: don’t buy excessive numbers of players, especially if they don’t fit into your system.

There are lots of pundits and fans out there crowing that Chelsea is dead, done, cooked, but anyone who thinks that Chelsea is out of contention in the Premiership or the Champions League because they’ve had a few off games is a fool. Wait until ManU has a double digit lead and not just one of 6 points before popping that bottle of champagne. It’s a long haul from here till the last match and there’s no telling what can happen over that period of time. Just imagine the headlines: CRonaldo breaks ankle, ManU season tanks. Or: Shevchenko actually scores in consecutives. Imagine. And if that happens yeah, you’ll find me bemoaning bad luck and how much I hate Mourinho for keeping the Blues in contention until it really mattered.

3. Dubai Rental Prices and You

I was just catching up on my leisure reading when I came across this article in The Economist detailing the new measures being taken to curb Dubai’s rapidly rising real estate prices. If there is a sudden or even slow decline in Dubai’s cash flow due to these restrictions (meant to curb inflation if you don’t want to read the article), there could be a major lack of transfer funds for Dubai-owned Liverpool FC. You’ve probably heard of them, but if not, well, you should probably find other websites to read.

I love how things like Dubai rental prices can make or break an English team’s chances at major trophies. Dubai is interesting anyway and if you haven’t read it, National Geographic has a good article about the city in its January 2007 issue, including mention of this insanity.

Shhhh

No, you shut up.

El Conejo at the double

Javier “El Conejo” Saviola scored both goals in Barcelona’s 0-2 1st leg away win over Alaves in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey (King’s Cup). AS covered the match in Spanish, but I’m sure there are several news outlets that discuss it in English. I’m merely too lazy to find them for you. Suffice it to say that AS calls Alaves “unhinged” due to the “very poor” Piterman…sadly that’s probably not very far from the truth of the matter. Regardless, though, Saviola played well and scored twice, which perhaps will aid his movement into some sort of 1st team place before Eto’o returns and knocks him from the ranks pretty much altogether (except in Copa games, of course). It’s telling that Ezquerro was withdrawn in favor of Gudjohnsen and not 8 minutes before Saviola scored his second and, really, AS calls him the most dangerous man of the game. Elsewhere in the Copa, the only major result was Valladolid beating Villareal 2-1 in a match that saw the always unpredictable Guillermo Franco sent off (I have so much more dislike for La Volpe because he included Franco in his WC squad, but that is a topic for another night).

In England Chelsea drew 1-1 against Leaue Two minnows Wycombe in the FA Cup, meaning, well, nothing since there’s another leg to play and it’s at Stamford Bridge. Good result, though! Keep it up Wanderers and you’ll be my favorite team three leagues down! Yay!

The Little One that almost could.

Oh and some contradictory nonsense about Beckham’s future.

A Flash and a Bang: How Brazilians are like Buckeyes

The Flash was the opening 16 seconds, the 93 yard run to the end zone by Ted Ginn Jr.; the Bang sounding immediately afterward was the OSU team imploding in on itself. Last night as I watched the BCS title game I couldn’t help but think how strange it is that teams just don’t mentally show up for big games. The lack of passion in the Buckeyes reminded me of Brasil’s failures at last summer’s World Cup. Certainly within those two examples we’re talking about different sports and different skill levels, but there are plenty of similarities as well.

Here’s a little Cliff Notes action in case you missed either last night’s game or the World Cup:

1. Ohio State was ranked #1 in all major polls entering the game and had in fact been ranked consensus #1 all year. They were undefeated (12-0) and had won the Big 10 title by beating Michigan 42-39 in November.
2. Brasil entered the World Cup in June as favorites as well as sporting a #1 ranking in the FIFA World Rankings (which they still hold, but that is a matter for a different discussion). They also finished first in South American qualifying on goal differential.
3. OSU was led by Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, supposedly the best player in college football whose teammates weren’t exactly slouches either: WRs Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez were the ultimate deep threats while James Laurinaitis led a very able defensive unit.
4. Brasil had FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho as its core and a slew of superstars surrounding him. Dida, Lúcio, Roberto Carlos, Cicinho, Luisão, Ze Roberto, Kaká, Juninho, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Adriano, and Ronaldo reads like a who’s who of European elite clubs and looked to be one of those most potent attacking ever.

Big underdog and mostly written off Florida and seemingly impotent, ego-maniacal France beat them. While the Gators tore into OSU lots of points (the final score was 41-14) and France only won 1-0, neither game was ever really in doubt after the first 10 minutes. Sure, Ginn ran that kickoff back and I thought the game was going to get out of hand in favor of the Bucks and sure, there were some chances for Brazil and I thought the game was going to get out of hand in favor of the Seleção, but neither happened exactly that way.

The Beast within…

All you gotta know.

Moratti is a big jerkface!

 

 

So I know all of this is rampant rumor and speculation, but it’s worth posting about if only for the humor-factor:

InterMilan president Massimo Moratti has recently been expressing his manly love for Lionel Messi anywhere and everywhere he can. Perhaps he even has a blog of his own where he writes fantasies about winning Scudetti with the little winger. I don’t know. Supposedly he has offered Messi twice his current salary if he joins up with Inter. I don’t know how trustworthy Corriere dello Sport is (perhaps it is The New York Daily News of Italy, or perhaps the Drudge Report, it’s hard to say)…

Also, what is going on in this picture? What are the men in the background doing? Is the one on the right stealing the other one’s jersey?

[Update: According to Tribalfootball, again, Moratti is denying any real interest in Messi. Really, because I can't believe he's not really willing to pay $150million for a single player...]

Bizarro Football

This weekend was almost as if the Spanish footballing world was turned on its head and the Little Man became the Giant. It wasn’t all roses for David, as Goliath definitely still has some teeth (see Valencia), but for the most part, the big boys were knocked down a peg or two. The scores of note:

Zaragoza 2 – 1 Sevilla Getafe 1 – 1 Barcelona

Deportivo 2 – 0 Real Madrid Villareal 0 – 1 Valencia

Atl Madrid 0 – 0 Gimnastic Real Sociedad 2 – 1 Osasuna

Basically this means that the top of the table is now just a little more squished, with Sevilla only 2 points ahead of Barcelona and Recreativo Huelva sits in 7th 9 points behind Sevilla. The full standings are here, but I don’t understand Valencia (30pts, +9gd) being above Zaragoza (30pts, +11gd). Whatever, it’s a tighter race than anything else other than the Bundesliga, whose top 4 are all within 4 points of each other (in comparison the top 4 of La Liga are within 7 points, though it gets tighter than the Bundesliga after that).

Most of the European leagues are beginning to look like they’re already over and even the “tight” EPL race is actually just between two high-flying clubs. Not that failure is anything wonderful, but I believe the quality of smaller squads in La Liga is higher than that of those in other tables. While it’s probably true that the upper third of the EPL is stronger than most other leagues, especially France, from Reading on down it’s pretty abysmal. I believe in the quality of the EPL’s Champions League representatives, but I’m not sure Liverpool and Arsenal are better teams than Sevilla at this point (that could easily be debated, but Sevilla’s run of form has been pretty impressive over the last 12 months).

FA Cup Weekend in England and a few more games off the beaten path. Villa barely lost after Gabor Kiraly let in a goal in injury time, but from the sounds of it they didn’t even deserve to be in that position in the first place. Not that there aren’t detractors from that point of view, but this coming Saturday at Old Trafford a rematch could make up for it. Regardless, it’s wonderful to see Henrik Larsson back in the big leagues and scoring. Arsenal beat Liverpool at Anfield 1-3 and Blackburn turned on the style to beat Everton 1-4 away. League One club Swansea beat Sheffield United 0-3 at Sheffield’s ground. League One Nottingham Forrest defeated Charlton 2-0 at home while Chelsea mauled poor League Two strugglers Macclesfield 6-1 at Stamford Bridge. Not a good matchup, really. There should be some sort of law against a Div 4 team playing a Div 1 team out looking for blood. At least give Macclesfield homefield advantage! [4 of the 6 goals game after Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee got a straight red in the 48th]

Nice, but against the wrong team.

In other news, the City Pillars mopped up Western Province United 5-0 in the South Africa Mvela Golden League. Thank you Soccernet for letting me keep up with that league.

[Update] According to Tribalfootball.com, Aston Villa are on the verge of signing Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley. O’Neill is quoted as saying he thinks Bardsley will arrive sometime this week. This is good news for Villa who desperately need even mediocre players to fill gaps at the back. Now for every other position…

News!

Finally, something to write about! Luis Boa Morte has moved from Fulham to West Ham for an undisclosed fee most presume to be around the 5 million pound mark. Boa Morte is a solid player, if not particularly brilliant, and his understanding of English football will be invaluable in a side whose most recent imports (need I remind you who?) have been duds. Boa Morte, of course, has his own detractors, but if he plays as we all know he can, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Speaking of those duds, one of them is looking to break some FIFA rules this January. Mascherano and his handlers seem intent on getting him to play for Liverpool, first on-loan and then permanently once the summer comes. Doesn’t make sense to me that you’d splash out cash for or fill up a roster spot with someone who can’t play for you, but I’m not Rafa Benitez so I guess I don’t get to make any of the decisions here.

Breaking FIFA rules to be a Red?

Moving out beyond the EPL, Linda at The Beautiful Game gives her usual good analysis about Barcelona who I’m surprised has moved for at least someone yet this January. Despite the imminent return of Eto’o there are some holes in the forward line, especially if Messi can’t return early like expected. Saviola’s lack of playing time greatly disturbs me, but at this point there’s no real way for him to prove to Rikjaard that he’s capable of holding down at least a subsitute’s position in the Barca lineup. It would make sense for him to move during this transfer period, but the injuries will probably hold him until the summer when a someone can be brought in to replace Gudjohnsen as the main sub for Eto’o. Linda’s look at Quaresma and Messi is also worth your time.

On the Aston Villa front, the rumors are rolling thick and fast as to who will come and go in the next few days. With Manchester United appearing twice in a row on the schedule and only 5 points from the last 10 games, it’s time for Villa to find a way to win against a big boy, whether it be with this current squad or new replacements. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is the most recently linked striker, but another aging ex-star won’t really fill the gaps up front. There are reports that a Milan Baros-for-Darren Bent swap could happen, which might be good if Villa can get some cash in return as well. Baros is still capable of shining and is only 25 while Bent is 22 and currently on the sideline with a knee injury. Buying a hurt striker not expected to return until mid-February in exchange for Baros would be pretty stupid, I think, especially with Sutton already out through injury. Luke at the Aston Villa Blog reports rumors circulating around Hasselbaink and ManU’s Phil Bardsley (defender, 21), the latter of whom would be a far better investment, if perhaps better as a loan signing. One commenter at the Aston Villa Blog wrote that O’Neill is insterested in signing Saviola. As I personally highly rate Saviola, I think this would be smart, but it’s doubtful he’ll be let go during this break. Also I’m not sure how well his style of play (fast-paced, one-touch) would work in the EPL. Henry pulls it off, but as part of a side that plays one-touch ball, not a more English-centric team like Aston Villa, though the latter does play attractively quite a lot.

It looks like Manchester United might be adding Owen Hargreaves for real this time if they’re willing to pay €30million (~£20million, $39million) for him. It’ll be interesting if that’s the real asking price or an inflated one to get a few extra bucks from United — last I heard they were offering £15million (~$30million, €23million) so perhaps a middle-of-the-road £18million (you do the conversions this time!) will get him to Old Trafford. Only time will tell, really.

I wish I were worth this much with a broken leg…

Joel Witmer: Better than you

In honor of the bet I had riding on the Boise State-Oklahoma game, here is my end of the bargain:

Joel Witmer: Better than you

by Isaiah

I know that the Time Person of the Year is “you,” but I’m pretty positive that they meant Joel Witmer. It’s just that he’s such a great guy he declined the offer and extended to everyone on earth as an act of charitable goodwill. It’s not the first time he’s turned down a major honor through humility, even though he fully deserved the recognition. When we were in high school he was asked to be valedictorian not just of our class, but also the next year’s. Granted, they were idiots, but it’s still a first in world history, I think.

There are many things you should know about Joel before you’ll agree with me that he is better than you. He’s certainly better than I am. During the summer of 2004 he took a three-month break from the comforts of his home (which is made entirely of recycled materials) and went to a small Malaysian village to build a free clinic. When he got there he realized that no one else in the group had shown up, but, undaunted, he proceeded to build the clinic by himself with only “Eye of the Tiger” as his only musical accompaniment. I also enjoy the story about when he was whitewater kayaking and saw a raft full of handicapped school children flip over: fearlessly, without regard for his own life in the class 5 rapids, Joel jumped from his kayak and proceeded to haul all 8 children to the riverbanks. He also speaks 8 languages fluently, but has never cursed in any of them. John Paul II used to call him for moral advice as well as that week’s NFL picks.

We used to have poker games a couple of times a week back in college and after cleaning us out Joel would buy us all drinks at the bar after giving the winnings to poor children. He teaches gorillas to read and makes sure to hug every sad person he sees. His sweet right hook was the inspiration for Captain America and years later, Muhammad Ali. Clinton called him before okaying a run for president and Hillary should have done the same but now she’s going to lose because she didn’t.