Loyal Readers,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to Chads United. It is an honor for me to be apart of this panel of American footballers, and a privilege to share with you my football story. lets start at the beginning.
My love of football began only a couple of years ago, starting with the 2006 FIFA world cup, and culminating in my official declaration of allegance to Arsenal FC during the spring of 2007. in that time i have begun to understand the beauty of the game and the passion of its fans. also in that time, I have begun to understand how far, yet how close, America is from playing true football. And I've grown from delusions of granduer to a true understanding of the depth of talent and physical ability that dominates the world's game. Moreso than any other american sport, football takes unparalled skill and athletic ability. it is this skill mainly that has made me truly appreciate football at its highest level. and it is skill, along with other components, that truly separates american "soccer" from true football.
I am an American Gooner. For those of you who do not understand what a gooner is, it is, in essence, a loyal fan and patriot of Arsenal Football Club, located in the Highbury district of northern london (Ashburton Grove to be precise). Arsenal plays in the Barclays Premiership, the top flight of english football, and is a perennial member of the big four (the top four clubs of the premiership, including arsenal, chelsea, liverpool, man utd.). My love affair with arsenal began with its greatest player, Thierry Henry. Literally a player who has captured my imagination, Henry will always be my favorite footballer. His pace, which at its hieght was unparalled, his imagination, and his skill have awed me since I first saw him play. see for yourself. Go ahead and spend hours watching his highlights. God know I have.
Sadly I have to cut this post short. Alot has been going on with Arsenal that i can't wait to talk about! well... I guess I can. until later
Dr. Volley
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A personal introduction
SurfDad has covered some of the introductions to our non-existent readers, and I also extend my best wishes for the blog. As one could guess from my name, I'm a Liverpool supporter, though I have soft spots for both Sunderland (it's difficult for an Irishman to turn on Roy Keane) and Fulham (as I do primarily root for the US National Team, so as long as Fulham has a large American contigent, or at the very least, Clint Dempsey, I'll suport them.)
Anyways, here are some random thoughts I have had on the season thusfar:
My beloved Liverpool will set a new record for fan frustration if the early season is any indication. The Manchester United victory and the Merseyside domination obviously raises our hopes, but that's always spoiled by things such as our Anfield draw with Stoke. Champions don't mail it in against inferior competition, and until Liverpool can figure that out we'll always compete for the cups but never the league.
I feel the need to throw in a quick thought on SurfDad's beloved Tottenham. I really just don't think people realized that Tottenham was more of last year's team than the year before. Last year was not an aberration, this team has the same issues that Liverpool has about showing up every week, and they had that problem in droves last year. They have more than enough talent to push for a top table finish, and I do believe their fans hopes of another cup triumph this year is feasible, but they all need to get on the same page first. Pavlyuchenko is starting slowly, to say the very least, but maybe Bent can recreate the magic he made at Charlton Athletic that convinced Tottenham that they needed a fourth starting-caliber striker last summer as a lone striker. Even if this is a early-season hiccup, they're falling into the trap my beloved Scousers always do: Losing the title in October, and in Tottenham's case, losing a place in Europe by November.
If Ronaldinho's goal against Inter in their derby win today was any indication that Ronaldinho actually wants to try again, Mourinho should be quivering in his Prada loafers. I don't care if the base of their team (Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo, etc) are getting old, at the end of the day a midfield duo of Kaka and an on-form Ronaldinho is terrifying, and when you add the mix of an ever-improving Pato, this team could not only challenge, but take Serie A from Inter.
I hope no one follows Ligue 1, because seven games in, Lyon is already five points clear. Following this league must be like if you followed the Globetrotters on tour.
Anyways, here are some random thoughts I have had on the season thusfar:
My beloved Liverpool will set a new record for fan frustration if the early season is any indication. The Manchester United victory and the Merseyside domination obviously raises our hopes, but that's always spoiled by things such as our Anfield draw with Stoke. Champions don't mail it in against inferior competition, and until Liverpool can figure that out we'll always compete for the cups but never the league.
I feel the need to throw in a quick thought on SurfDad's beloved Tottenham. I really just don't think people realized that Tottenham was more of last year's team than the year before. Last year was not an aberration, this team has the same issues that Liverpool has about showing up every week, and they had that problem in droves last year. They have more than enough talent to push for a top table finish, and I do believe their fans hopes of another cup triumph this year is feasible, but they all need to get on the same page first. Pavlyuchenko is starting slowly, to say the very least, but maybe Bent can recreate the magic he made at Charlton Athletic that convinced Tottenham that they needed a fourth starting-caliber striker last summer as a lone striker. Even if this is a early-season hiccup, they're falling into the trap my beloved Scousers always do: Losing the title in October, and in Tottenham's case, losing a place in Europe by November.
If Ronaldinho's goal against Inter in their derby win today was any indication that Ronaldinho actually wants to try again, Mourinho should be quivering in his Prada loafers. I don't care if the base of their team (Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo, etc) are getting old, at the end of the day a midfield duo of Kaka and an on-form Ronaldinho is terrifying, and when you add the mix of an ever-improving Pato, this team could not only challenge, but take Serie A from Inter.
I hope no one follows Ligue 1, because seven games in, Lyon is already five points clear. Following this league must be like if you followed the Globetrotters on tour.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Welcome to Chads United
I guess I will take the liberty of opening this blog's account. First off, I want to make a statement, that I wish this blog the best of luck, and I expect to be at the top of the world this time next year.
Now that's out of the way... I have some things that I want to say about my club Tottenham Hotspur.
1. We need consistency! It's so strange and disappointing to see us go out and lose to Middlesbrough and Sunderland, then turn around and draw Chelsea at the Bridge. We've proven that we can hang with the big boys, so why do we always play down to our opponent's level?
2. Our fans need to get behind the team. I am disgusted by a lot of what I am hearing, like people dismissing Pavlyuchenko after 3 games or calling Bentley a bust. Booing the team off at the end of every half is not going to help them. And it makes us all look like a fickle, shambles of a supporters group.
3. I can't stand that people are calling for Ramos' head. The man is a TOP manager. He obviously knows how to play the cups, so why don't we give him some time to translate his knowledge of La Liga into knowledge of the Premiership? (He's just recently begun to translate his speech with the press from Spanish to English, so maybe that's a sign that we'll start winning very soon...)
4. I love Heurelho Gomes.
5. We've just drawn Liverpool in the Carling Cup... Let's show the Scouse why we're holders!! And PLEASE, let's applaud Robbie Keane on his first visit back to White Hart Lane... Robbie Keane is a legend, and don't you forget it.
Now that's out of the way... I have some things that I want to say about my club Tottenham Hotspur.
1. We need consistency! It's so strange and disappointing to see us go out and lose to Middlesbrough and Sunderland, then turn around and draw Chelsea at the Bridge. We've proven that we can hang with the big boys, so why do we always play down to our opponent's level?
2. Our fans need to get behind the team. I am disgusted by a lot of what I am hearing, like people dismissing Pavlyuchenko after 3 games or calling Bentley a bust. Booing the team off at the end of every half is not going to help them. And it makes us all look like a fickle, shambles of a supporters group.
3. I can't stand that people are calling for Ramos' head. The man is a TOP manager. He obviously knows how to play the cups, so why don't we give him some time to translate his knowledge of La Liga into knowledge of the Premiership? (He's just recently begun to translate his speech with the press from Spanish to English, so maybe that's a sign that we'll start winning very soon...)
4. I love Heurelho Gomes.
5. We've just drawn Liverpool in the Carling Cup... Let's show the Scouse why we're holders!! And PLEASE, let's applaud Robbie Keane on his first visit back to White Hart Lane... Robbie Keane is a legend, and don't you forget it.
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