CONCACAF Champions League

I don't want to take too long with this post, but I think it is important to point out the absurdity that is going on in the CONCACAF Champions League. At this point, 3 (of a total of 8) teams have already qualified for the knockout stages:


Atlante (Mexico)
UNAM Pumas (Mexico) and
Montreal Impact (of USL-1).


You tell me which team doesn't fit.

Consider this: Montreal plays in the division of US Soccer directly below MLS. As in, MLS teams are supposed to be a lot better than they are. But then we get to a tournament like this, and... well, Montreal has already gotten further than 3 MLS teams (DC United, Chivas USA and New England Revolution have all been eliminated already), and with Houston still battling for survival in Group B, Montreal could have bragging rights over the entire top flight in America.

It is also worth mentioning that Puerto Rico Islanders, another USL-1 team, are in very good shape to qualify through to the knockout stages.

Now, for me these facts bring up a lot of questions. The first is obvious: "Are USL teams actually better than MLS teams?" No, I don't think so. When you look at the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, a competition in which MLS and USL-1 both compete, MLS has dominated that tournament since the inception of MLS in 1996 (MLS teams have won 12 of the 13 Cups, with 11 runners up; only three non-MLS teams have even competed in the final).

OK, so now that I spent way too much time making that point, this brings me back to the original conundrum- why are USL teams doing better in the CC League than MLS teams? I can tell you that it is not because USL teams are getting better luck in terms of drawing easier opposition; Montreal are 2-0 against the same T and T Joe Public side that knocked out New England, while Puerto Rico are 1-0 so far vs Tauro, the club from Panama that saw off Chivas USA.

OK, so USL teams are not better than MLS teams, but at the same time they are progressing further than MLS teams against similar or identicle opposition. So why, oh why?

I brought this point up with Steven Cohen and Kenny Hassan about a month ago when I called in to World Soccer Daily. They suggested that the reason for this phenomenon is that the USL teams "are more up for it" than MLS sides, in other words it matters more to the USL teams.

Well, now that we've got the only plausible reason pinned down, I think that another question is raised- why aren't MLS teams "up for it"? Why don't MLS teams care about the Champions League of our corner of the world? This is a competition that will annually decide the greatest team in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and this competition will also grant the winner entry into the FIFA Club World Cup. This competition is the "biggest deal" that MLS teams can get themselves into, and they aren't up for it?

Well obviously that's got to change if MLS is going to continue to progress. Solutions to the problem? How do we get MLS teams "up for it"? I am not really sure. Here's a few ideas off the top of my head- feel free to suggest some more:

1. Pay MLS players for succeeding in the CC League
2. Don't employ players who think that MLS Cup is their main goal (I don't want to discredit MLS Cup's importance at all, I think it says a lot about a team if they can win it, but CC League should be seen as MUCH more important)
3. Try to start some rivalries with teams from Mexico, Costa Rica, or anywhere really. Talk some trash about them or something; slander their crappy leagues! Get the players' egos involved, then they'll have something to fight for.


If MLS teams can start competing for the CC League, I think that MLS will gain a lot more respect worldwide; the Mexican league is well respected, so consitently competing with them would be a big piece of evidence to suggest that MLS is legit.

Relegation Runaround

I know this site has spent an inordinate amount of time talking about the bottom, and not the top, 4, but SurfDad mentioned something to me as we were talking about Tottenham's relegation chances. When we crunched the math, he naturally lost hope, but when he looked it at from the "If we go down, then some two of Bolton, Newcastle, Stoke and Fulham must stay up" that is all that gave me reassurance. What's most interesting about that is that only one of those teams is newly promoted, and between snatching a point at Anfield (I really hope I don't remember that happened come May) and beating Spurs, they've definitely shown enough grit to squeak in. So then I got to thinking, when is the last time, if ever, all three relegated teams had been in the premiership and by effect all three promoted stayed up? Only once, in 2002, when Blackburn, Fulham and Bolton all stayed up. In fact, only once have all three promoted teams gone down (I felt that this was surprising, but I think Reading is as a good a case study of ever of overachievement followed by a sophomore slump) and that was in 98 where Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton all went down.

What I think makes this year more noteworthy is the two weakest teams (thusfar) are Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United. Despite how I'm sure this creates tension in the Reale household, those are two titans of history both recent and ancient in English football. They aren't the likes of Ipswich, Leicester and Derby who were relegated in 2002, and none of them had been in the Prem for that long at all. (Leicester was the most at 8 years). Tottenham Hotspur hasn't been relegated since the 70s, and Newcastle (despite a colorful history of relegations and promotions) have been up since Kevin Keegan turned that ship around in the early 90s. Newcastle finished 4th in 02, 3rd in 03, 5th in 04 and 7th in 06. Tottenham came in 5th in 06 and 07; these aren't the Fulhams of the world who live life on the relegation line. If Newcastle and Tottenham (not to mention Everton who are just 16th, but I believe they're far too quality) go down, you could make the case that it would be the highest profile relegation in the history of the Premiership. West Ham going down was huge, but this the equivalent of TWO West Hams going down, and to be honest, it'd be surprising if neither went down at this point.

Also, SurfDad, I'm not purposefully writing one immediately after you do so you're never the first entry, I had wanted to write this since you wrote the inspiration on my wall.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1689126/

^^^^^^^

The video posted above is perfect. It captures my feelings almost exactly. Everything I want to scream and rage about... it's so glorious. Who would have thought that I could ever identify with Hitler?




***************************************

http://www.101greatgoals.com/2008/10/the-mls-can%e2%80%99t-pass-up-a-barcelona-miami-team/#more-8210

I realize that I have just linked two articles from the same website, and that website happens to be the one that I am kind of trying to emulate, but whatever. I feel like this is an article that every executive or official within MLS should read. Miami is the second most perfect venue for an expansion franchise (the first being Montreal). I really feel like, if marketed correctly, a team in a large hispanic area like Miami (backed by BARCA no less) could pull in great attendence figures for MLS, which obviously equals more fans and more money.

Plus, I live pretty near Miami, so I would finally have an MLS team to support...

(for a really good look at the expansion situation for 2011 in MLS, check out this article by my boy Ives Galarcep: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=582785&sec=mls&root=mls&cc=5901)


While we are on the topic of MLS, let me just say that I am currently DOMINATING my MLS fantasy league, thank you very much. Kyle Thomas (head coach of Twellmen's Tightest) has nothing on me and my squad, David Beckham Soccer USA.





Alright, I know I promised a Team USA profile... It's coming, just be patient!! I can't take all these hundreds of e-mails demanding it, I mean come on, i'm only human people, lay off!!!

I admit, I laughed at this quote from at Arthur Antunes Coimbra 101greatgoals.com

"Losing at the Britannia will not condemn Juande Ramos in-and-of itself, but it will evidence the gravity of their dogfight which even Michael Vick would have avoided."

Zlatan Wondergoal and Language Difficulties

Two things:
1) If you haven't already seen this ridiculous goal by Ibrahimovic against Bologna, it's ridiculous.
2) Not to rip on other cultures, but does anyone know what he's possibly saying in the middle of the video...it sounds like the exact same sound over and over...
Zlatan Wondergoal

UUUUUUSAAAAAAHHH!!!!1 (Pronounced OO-sah)

USA has officially progressed to the final stage of qualification for World Cup 2010, a six-team group of which the top 3 (and possibly the 4th) will progress to the finals in South Africa.

I must say that my allegiance in the world of football lies with my country first, club second. So you can imagine that the USA's progression is a bit of a high for me (especially given Tottenham's current form). Most important for me was the way we won these games; two grind-it-out road wins in hostile environments (Central America and Cuba), followed by two home thrashings. Granted, these are not the best teams in the world, but I am glad to see us taking care of business with these minnow nations (unlike, say, Mexico, who just lost 1-0 to Jamaica in Kingston... I'm sick about it).

I really don't have much else to say; we are well on our way to qualifying for 2010, which is exactly where we should be. Given our road to qualification (be one of the three best nations in CONCACAF), it would be a complete debacle if we ever were to miss out on a World Cup again.

It has been requested that we do a sort of "Team USA" profile for this blog; I think I will do so, once I find the time. But for now:

Goodnight, you princes of Sealab.

Pretty fucking intense

Welsh Player Rips off cast to score game-winning goal

Constructive Criticism for the Lillys

When I look at Tottenham, it really reminds me of a poor man's Arsenal, and by poor, I mean homeless. I'm sorry if basically mocking you in reference to your rivals is hard to bear, but I don't know if you caught any bit of the Hull City game. Tottenham had LOADS of chances that were just shanked (just as many, if not more, by bent than by your new Russian import might I add) and I really think Ramos needs, at the very least, a new lineup and formation to mix it up. You have a very different club this year with your two marquee players fleeing the roost over the summer, as well as the bringing in of Pavy (his new name seeing as I hate spelling his really one) Modric Bentley and Dos Santos. You have a much more finesse based club than you're used to, to a Wengerian like degree. If I were Ramos, and I'm clearly no Premiership manager, I would utilize a more free-flowing and attacking lineup, something along the lines of:
Pavy
Bent/Campbell Modric
Bale Zokora Jenas Lennon
Woodgate Gunter Corluka
Gomes

It's frightening for scouts everywhere that your team has trouble scoring goals considering the names. Pavy, Bent, Campbell, Modric and Lennon are all highly regarded, and Dos Santos, Bentley and Bale (who had some great free-kick attempts against Hull City I may add) aren't too far down people's lists either. I honestly can't say you can look at an Everton, Blackburn or Portsmouth and say that they're club is that much more TALENTED. If Tottenham were to go down, Ramos would deserve every bit of the axe that falls on him (or would have fallen if it got that bad.) If this team were cohesive, they could easily be scoring goals left and right, but correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they're now 275 minutes (and counting) without a goal in Premiership action. That is TERRIFYING. Just for kicks, lets look at this: Tottenham Hotspur has scored 4 goals this season. I'm not going to list all players who have scored 4 or more goals this season.
Jermaine Defoe, Fernando Torres, Amr Zaki, Kevin Cyril Davies, Nicolas Anelka, John Carew, Gabriel Agbonlahor

Yes, Jermaine Defoe has one more goal than all of his own club. I really don't mean to keep going Debbie Downer on Tottenham all the time, but it's a really fascinating club, and clearly you guys would be interested. I don't understand how that much firepower has resulted in the weakest offense in England, for God's sake Stoke City has TWICE as many goals as you! (And they're 19th) To be fair, I believe the relegation talk is premature, when one talks about relegation you invariably think "Are there three teams worse in the Premiership than us?" The answer to that question in regards to Tottenham is clearly a resounding yes. This club has the talent, but does it have the ability to translate that into success? If not, just ask Upton Park how 2002 went.

EDIT: So, I was just checking out my post...and I swear I have an actual formation for the players when I type it up, but whenever I publish it, it turns to shit. Basically, what I have there oriented in a 3-4-2-1 set up.

Does Tottenham Hotspur need to be worried about relegation?

In a word, yes.

In a few words, hopefully not, but it's a possibility.

In many words, Tottenham should be a great club. We should have gotten replacements for Keane and Berbatov on time, we probably should have gotten Campbell permanently rather than on loan, we should be beating teams like Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Wigan and Hull, and we should be challenging for at least a Europa League spot. We shouldn't have such a leaderless team, we shouldn't be lacking goals like this, we shouldn't have ditched Jermaine Defoe and we shouldn't have kept Jermaine Jenas.

It is breaking my heart, man. Seriously. We suck. Why do we suck? Mostly because of all of those should's and shouldn'ts. The start this year, though similarly drastic, has a much different feel to it than last year's; last year we came out of the gates at a crawl, eventually learning how to walk and working our way up to a run (e.g. the Carling Cup). This term, we have yet to show any real sign of even being aware that two-legged travel exists! Last season I knew that we were too good for relegation, and we proved it by finishing comfortably safe... this season I legitimately question whether or not we are a strong enough side to stay in the Premiership. We certainly have the talent to be a top 7 or 8 team, but we absolutely do not have the cohesion.

I will stand firm in my allegiance, even through relegation, if it comes to that. I will remain faithful to the Lillywhite Army. I have tried not to think about soccer too much (thank goodness for the Steelers and Penn State football...), mostly to ease the pain. But after every Spurs game, there it is, staring me in the face: a big scoreline that says "You suck." It's not been a fun experience, and I can only shudder at what I will be feeling next May should things continue on their current course.

Goodnight, Mr. Ramos

Look, I know Colin and Eric are both Tottenham fans. I know you guys both love the Juande Ramos. But, at the end of the day, Cups will always fall short of the Premiership. Would Rafa Benitez ever have been within thirty miles of the hot seat if this wasn't true? Even though year in, year out, Liverpool competes strongly in the Champions League, being a semifinalist 3 out of the last 4 years, finalist 2 out of the last four and of course winning it in 2005, because of our continual fourth place finishes and reprehensible record against Manchester United, not everyone was sold on him. Ramos did an amazing job winning the Carling Cup last year, and I read probably forty-five articles talking about how England wouldn't miss a big-game manager like Jose Mourinho because it now had Ramos and how Chelsea now wishes they had Ramos and not Grant and that Ramos is the true successor to Mourinho et cetera. Basically...everyone loves this guy because he played well against Chelsea last year (who could forget that amazing 4-4 draw?) And it looks like he has kept the gift, as one of his two points in the Premiership has been a Chelsea draw. Lets just look at what he's accomplished this year in the Prem:
Middlesborough 2 1 Tottenham
Tottenham 1 2 Sunderland
Chelsea 1 1 Tottenham
Tottenham 1 2 Aston Villa
Tottenham 0 0 Wigan Athletic
Portsmouth 2 0 Tottenham
Tottenham 0 1 HULL CITY

Ok, so, that's rather underwhelming. The only result anyone Tottenham fan would be happy with is obviously the away draw with Chelsea. But otherwise, they've lost to the recently promoted Hull City (at home), to a struggling and patchwork Portsmouth club, a Sunderland team with far less cash or talent (and then drew the equivalent with Wigan) and those were both at home. The loss to Villa is understandable, Villa are a very good team. But you see what I'm getting at. Sure he's only seven games in, and I'd say you should give him fifteen, but only because he still hasn't lost a cup game. If Tottenham bombs out of UEFA or the Carling cup, the noose will tighten very quickly, and honestly, I can't see an angered White Hart Lane not calling for his head (even more) if they fail to get at least 3 points out of the upcoming matches with Stoke and Bolton. Because couple that with a (probable) demolition at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates, and Ramos won't be allowed to walk down Harigney without a flak jacket on.

Just another day of history at Anfield

I know no one likes to label a win as comfortable, especially against top rate competition like PSV, but that is about as close as it comes. The fourth minute goal by Kuyt obviously helped that cause, but the first-half in this match was nothing more than shooting practice for the Reds. It's great that Keane finally got on the scoresheet, as the first goal is always the hardest for a player to overcome. And Gerrard's free-kick was just an absolute monster, I don't think Isaksson would have wanted to get his hands on that if he could have. There isn't much to be said for this match; Liverpool has been the receiving ends of dominations like this before in years that they would go deep (or even win) the tournament, so I don't think there was too much said about Liverpool or PSV Eindhoven in this match. Any team that scores early and is able to keep the pressure up in an electric home environment is obviously going to cruise to an easy victory most of the time. The real test will come in our next two games against Atletico Madrid and the absolutely unbelieveable Sergio Aguero.

If you haven't checked out his goal from their match against Olympique Marseille, here you go, it's filthy: http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/1618835/

That control is just nuts, and I hope he doesn't make Carragher and Skrtel look as foolish as he made the OM defenders. If we can get out of those two encounters with at least 4 points, (or honestly even just 3), I'll be more than pleased. That sort of result would really all but guarantee placement into the knockout stages, as I can't see us dropping 6 points between a home match against OM and an away match with PSV. This is a brief post, maybe I'll do like a live diary for the next game so it isn't a much "In case you missed it"