Tag: Premiership

DC United vs Seattle Sounders – May 4th

May 11th, 2011 · Laz · Constantly Offside, MLS, USMNT, World Cup 2010 One comment - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Excuses for not writing: accepted to grad school, tore ACL for the 3rd time, Sharks playoff hockey, and lastly, moved across the country to Washington DC, which brings us to the focus of this article, DC United vs. Seattle Sounders.  When Groupon (shout out) offered decent tickets to the game for a good price, I could not pass up the opportunity. After settling in Foggy Bottom in NW DC and with RFK on the same metro line as me, I had no excuses. Ticket: $16, Metro ride: ~ $2. Alcohol: $10-15

I will not provide a comprehensive analysis of the match because I simply do not want to and who in God’s name would want to read it. Go to soccernet for all I care.

However, Charlie Davies’ goal in the 52’ was a good piece of play with a nice ball played down the right side and a well placed cross, allowing Davies to cash in from about 4 yards out and provide us with a lovely rendition of the stanky leg.  The goal came moments after I explained to two less informed soccer fans that Charlie Davies is a poacher.  Now before you get angry, I realize this is probably an unfair and inaccurate assessment of him as a player.  However, I do not see this as a bad thing whatsoever (Filippo Inzaghi has made himself quite the career out of that role). While I do not think the two are the same player my message is such, THE USMNT NEEDS A PLAYER LIKE THIS. Someone who will simply score goals, not always the pretties, but who cares?  Davies doesn’t necessarily have to be that player, and maybe he isn’t, although it’s tough to argue with his scoring record thus far.  Nevertheless, the USMNT desperately needs a player who can simply be in the right place at the right time and score goals.  ZERO goals from US forwards in the 2010 World Cup ringing any bells for anyone?  I’m not looking for some miracle forward from the US, how about someone who can get a deflection and put it in the net.  How about ANY forward who can put it in the back of the net?  The USMNT’s laundry list of issues will not be solved by this, but scoring goals never hurt any team.

Yup, no transition.  Being an avid EPL (English Premier League for you amateurs) the quality of football in the game was pretty poor with a few moments of genius, as is the story for most MLS games.  But the most surprising game play was with about 7-10 minutes left and DC United up a goal.  They played by far their best football of the match.  They focused on possession, keeping the ball on the ground, swinging it from side to side, with no giant rush to get the ball in the 18.  It is easy to understand why they would play this way, protecting a one goal lead, but I would love to see an MLS team play the entire game like this! Unfortunately, most MLS teams do not possess the technical skills to play this way, as was displayed by DC United when they tried their best to give the ball away in their own defense.  But it was fun to watch and exciting to see an MLS team does actually occasionally value possession and the ball staying on the ground.  The bottom line is the MLS will become a better league when teams can increase their technical ability and attempt to keep possession of the ball for more than 2-3 passes.  This should be obvious, yet I NEVER SEE IT when I watch an MLS game.  I hope to see this transition in the MLS soon because the faster it happens, the quicker the USMNT begins to have a roster with a little depth.  While it is still a must for USMNT players to play in Europe for us to have any chance of competing, an improving domestic league can only strengthen our national team.

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Week 3 EPL Predictions (Late, we know)

August 29th, 2010 · Chamo · Constantly Offside, Predictions, Premiership No comments - Tags: , , ,

Biggy, being as useless as he ever has been in his life, fell asleep writing his predicts… literally, you’ll see where he stopped typing and passed out.

Either way, they must be posted, and Chamo has to extend his lead, because last week was a rather poor performance by my own high standards.

Week 3:

Biggy:

  • Blackburn 1 – 2 Arsenal: Let’s talk about Cesc baby!
  • Blackpool 1-3 Fulham: Blackpool runs into beastly………..(beastly what Biggy!? Beastly Pantsil own goals!?)
  • Chelsea 4  – 0 Stoke City
  • Tottenham 3 – 0 Wigan
  • Wolves 2 – 2 Newcastle
  • Man Utd 3 – 0 West Ham
  • Bolton 1 – 0 Birmingham
  • Liverpool 1 – 1 West Brom
  • Sunderland 1 – 2 Man City
  • Aston Villa 0 – 1 Everton

Chamo:

  • Blackburn 1 – 2 Arsenal: Arsenal bitch and complain too much about people that actually know how to get stuck into a tackle, but they still win.
  • Blackpool 1 – 1 Fulham: Fulham have yet to impress me at all, meanwhile Blackpool are my favorites to stay up currently (cue memories of Burnley last season).
  • Chelsea 3  – 0 Stoke City: Chelsea are on fire, but I have faith in Sorensen to make it respectable.
  • Tottenham 4 – 0 Wigan: Wigan. Are. Terrible.
  • Wolves 1 – 1 Newcastle: Two words. Ebanks-Blake. Two more words. Andy Carroll.
  • Man Utd 2 – 0 West Ham: United will win, Grant will get fired soon.
  • Bolton 2 – 2 Birmingham: Bolton have been… impressive? Birmingham meanwhile, love to draw.
  • Liverpool 3 – 1 West Brom: Liverpool need a big victory under Hodgson, nowhere better to do it than Anfield.
  • Sunderland 0 – 2 Man City: City aren’t perfect, but Sunderland are floundering.
  • Aston Villa 2 – 0 Everton: Villa need to recover in major fashion, especially in the matchup of American keepers.

Week 2 EPL Predictions

August 21st, 2010 · Chamo · Constantly Offside, Predictions, Premiership No comments - Tags: , , , ,

We actually had our week 1 predicts, but Biggy is A) apparently incapable of both writing and e-mailing B) preoccupied most of the time with a new lady-friend and C) pretty much useless altogether, which lead to it not getting posted in time (they are included at the bottom of this post, for those who like to make fun of his atrocious picks).

Week 2:

Chamo:

Arsenal 2-1 Blackpool: Fab returns, but Nasri is out for an extended period. Still, I can’t see the Tangerines pulling off the miraculous twice in a row on the road. Particularly at the Emirates. Need Harewood to score for my fantasy team though…
Birmingham 1:0 Blackburn: Blackburn got a gift last week, and Birmingham are one of my teams to watch this season. Still, both teams struggle to find the net, with Birmingham scraping out the result in the end.
Everton 1:0 Wolves: Wolves looked in good form last week, but still have defensive frailties that have not been addressed. Everton need to rebound after a disappointing performance against Rovers last week. Arteta steals the show in this one, finally.
Stoke 1:1 Tottenham: Shock result for the Potters as they hold the Champions League hopefuls for a point after Jones’ recovery from his brief ankle injury. Tottenham’s lack of a fit striker comes back to haunt them.
West Bromwich 1:2 Sunderland: West Brom still need more acclimation to the speed of Premiership football, though their bout against Sunderland goes much more smoothly than their first encounter against Chelsea. Still, the pace of Darren Bent torches the Baggies defense.
West Ham 3:1 Bolton: West Ham give their bubble blowers something to cheer about and smash out a brilliant win over fellow likely stragglers Bolton as Carlton Cole gets off the mark for the Hammers, and Stuart Holden brightens all American’s days with a wonder strike to spare all Wanderer’s blushes.
Wigan 0:7 Chelsea: Audacious, yes, but they scored 8 a few months ago against a similar team, though this is away, hence the drop in proficiency. Still, Blackpool scored 4 on this side without reply at the same grounds… I expect no less.
Newcastle 1:1 Aston Villa: Newcastle’s return to home Premiership football catches the mourning Villans off guard and allow the Magpies to snatch a point after a late Andy Carroll equalizer.
Fulham 1:2 Man United: United has lost at the Cottage in two straight season’s. Could it be three? No, not this year. Chicarito opens his Premiership account for the winner, this time not off his face.
Man City 0:1 Liverpool: They both have issues, but for the first time in a long while, Liverpool actually have less than City. Joe Hart’s heroics only last so long before Captain Fantastic unleashes the unstoppable.

Biggy:

Arsenal 3-0 Blackpool: Welcome back to Earth Blackpool. This is the EPL you know.
Birmingham 2:1 Blackburn: No free goals for Blackburn this week.
Everton 2:0 Wolves: No free goals from Howard this week.
Stoke 1:3 Tottenham: Spurs stop thinking about Young Boys long enough to Stoke it.
West Bromwich 0:4 Sunderland: Being West Brom isn’t fun.
West Ham 1:2 Bolton: Neither is West Ham.
Wigan 0:4 Chelsea: Does it just suck to have your team name start with W? Yes, indeed it does.
Newcastle 1:2 Aston Villa: Missing Milner? Not really.
Fulham 2:1 Man United: United is not that good. Plus Zamora/Dempsey gogogo time!
Man City 2:1 Liverpool: Ugh can they both lose?

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Premier League Predictions

August 20th, 2010 · Chamo · Constantly Offside, Premiership One comment - Tags: , , , , ,

Just as we did (somewhat successfully I might add) last season, Chamo has decided to enlighten everyone on his feelings going into this season, and where he expects to see each team line up come May of 2011.

1. Manchester United

If Chelsea don’t dip into the transfer market some more this summer I see United taking the league after just one year off the top. The key is van der Sar, if he stays healthy, United are set. However given the lack of a quality backup, and van der Sar’s current age, if he gets injured for an extended period of time like he did last season, it could spell disaster for the Devils. That said, they remain largely unchanged from last year, adding Chicarito and Bebe in the attack, and Jonny Evans should be able to stay solid in the backline until Rio can return.

Key Man: van der Sar. The goalie needs to be healthy all season for the Red Devils to perform well.

2. Chelsea

Chelsea have made very little noise in terms of incoming transfers so far, only just completing the Ramires transfer, and replacing Joe Cole with Mr. Benayoun. The incoming traffic certainly doesn’t match the talent they have lost, even if almost everyone who was deemed surplus was well on in the age department. The defense is worrisome, but I have faith Ancelotti will be doing some dealing for a new center back after selling Carvalho. Chelsea has the advantage of their first six matches being against teams expected to end up near the bottom half of the table, so there is still time to perfect the squad. The core remains unchanged, which is their biggest advantage, and Essien returns seemingly fitter and happier than ever, which should terrify everyone in the league.

Key Man: Almost every single year I have said Frank Lampard, but I think Essien will be a much more important figure this coming season. His strength, tenacity, and ability to play anywhere is a huge asset to a team recovering from mass departures.

3. Arsenal

The Gunners have some key issues that Wenger hasn’t addressed in at least three years, mainly the fact that they needed a goalkeeper, because what they have doesn’t cut it. They finally bought a forward that can perform in the air (Chamakh), but they let half of their defense go, and while they replaced one or two of them, it isn’t with anyone that is Premiership tested. Vermaelen was an incredible signing, but surely Wenger can’t be right three times in a row on untested center backs. He managed to keep Fabregas for now, which was key, but the Spaniards happiness levels will be in question this entire term, as he obviously wants a move back to Catalonia.

Key Man: Fabregas, no surprise there, the Spanish midfielder runs that entire team, and without him they tend to look like lost dogs on the pitch.

4. Liverpool

Oh no, I just predicted the return of the big four. Liverpool made huge changes all summer, not the least getting rid of their hero-to-goat manager Rafa Benitez in favor of Roy “everyone loves me because I’m just that damn good” Hodgson. Roy, always the bargain hunter, has hit the transfer season with a bang, bringing slightly lower than top quality players to Anfield for next to no money at all. The Joe Cole swoop could be the greatest or the worst signing of the summer, but seeing as he was free, if he injures himself again all they lose is a weekly pay packet. Gerrard looks in inspired form after England’s woeful World Cup, though Torres’ injury problems are sure to be of great concern, along with his suspected disillusionment with the club.

Key Man: Captain Fantastic, Steven Gerrard, there were times when he seemed out of ideas last season, but with a blank slate, the 30 year old should have a season to remember.

5. Tottenham

Spurs are another team that remains largely unchanged, and will relish the opportunity to play Champions League football. However, the added congestion of European football will be a new experience to many on the squad, and the fatigue will show in their league performances, seeing them fall off the pace of their previous term. Robbie Keane returns to lead the attack alongside Defoe, Crouch, and Pavlyuchenko, but Harry will be relying on good fitness to perform this season. Bale is the man to watch, especially if he gets more time to play on the left wing.

Key Man: Luka Modric. The small Croatian is the creative force in the center of the park for Spurs, and after watching him train this summer it became apparent to me how influential he is to the Tottenham attack.

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