October 30, 2010

Fanatics of Tangier, Eugene Delacroix
“Alex Song’s late header gave Premier League title chasers Arsenal a narrow victory over West Ham to deny the bottom club a deserved point at Emirates Stadium. Robert Green, in front of watching England manager Fabio Capello, had pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the Gunners at bay.” (ESPN)
Arsenal 1-0 West Ham United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL(The 90th Minute)
Blackburn Rovers 1 – 2 Chelsea
“Branislav Ivanovic nodded home a late winner for Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea as Blackburn squandered a golden chance to upset the odds at Ewood Park. Rovers controlled the game for long periods and could have gone in front for the second time when Jason Roberts shot wide in the 81st minute with the goal at his mercy.” (ESPN)
Chelsea pull one out of the hat
“The Premier League appears to be embarked upon a perpetual quest for another Roman Abramovich or a second Sheikh Mansour. For most, this particular Holy Grail is unattainable. Instead, there were Ewood Park debuts for Venky’s managing director Balaji Rao and his brother Venkatesh, the men intent on making Blackburn a brand in India.” (ESPN)
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Chelsea – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
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Arsenal, Chelsea | Tagged: Arsenal, Chelsea |
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October 30, 2010
“Wednesday was quite a day to be in Buenos Aires. Aside from the national census – which was done by closing every business in the country and ordering people to stay at home to be counted rather than simply sending forms out and asking people to return them – the country’s former president Nestor Kirchner died suddenly of a heart attack in the morning. This might not have been such a pressing issue in terms of national affairs, but for the fact that Kirchner was also married to the current president, and was widely expected to succeed her following next year’s elections.” (ESPN)
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Argentina | Tagged: Argentina |
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October 28, 2010

“Amid all the excitement about Mainz’s exhilarating start to the new German season, Borussia Dortmund’s surge into second place in the Bundesliga, winning seven of their first nine matches, including the impressive disposal of fierce local rivals Schalke 04 in the Revierderby, has gone largely unnoticed, even though Jürgen Klopp’s young, athletic team puts on show a similar brand of aggressive, attacking football.” (The Swiss Ramble)
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Football Manager, Germany | Tagged: Football Manager, Germany |
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October 27, 2010

“‘It’s like we’re girls, in England it happens all the time.’ So said Estudiantes captain Juan Sebastián Verón last week, after a photo of River Plate winger Erik Lamela’s bloodied and bruised knee circulated in the media. ‘Verón’s right, you can’t come out showing what they did to you,’ said Godoy Cruz playmaker David Ramírez. ‘For me he’s a poof. I get hit hard, but I also tackle hard, because that’s football’, ‘Mincing about and showing his leg isn’t a manly thing to do,’ opined Argentinos Juniors midfielder, Néstor Ortigoza.” (The Football Ramble)
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Argentina | Tagged: Argentina |
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October 27, 2010
“It’s now over twenty years since the publishing of Simon Inglis’s seminal The Football Grounds of Great Britain, a book that predated Hillsborough and the first of the breed of stadia, Scunthorpe United’s Glanford Park. So, I thought it would be informative to analyze some of the successes of the subsequent period: an era that has seen great change impinge upon the game. Debate as to what the turning point was – the aforementioned disaster, the setting up of the Premier League, Italia 90, MDMA, all seaters, Fever Pitch and even Michael Thomas’s 1989 winner at Anfield for chrissakes – all have their apologists and the changes have often not been for the better but, as far as stadia is concerned, and away from Goodison or Fratton Park, our forefathers wouldn’t recognise the match going experience as we would. Which clubs have gotten it largely right?” (thetwounfortunates)
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The Two Unfortunates | Tagged: The Two Unfortunates |
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October 27, 2010
“Another impressive tactical decision from Thomas Tuchel, and another victory for Mainz. Jupp Heynckes has played a variety of formations so far this season – here, he went for a 4-5-1 / 4-3-3. Stefan Reinartz played at the back in Sami Hyypia’s absence, whilst Sidney Sam was on the right wing, outside Lars Bender.” (Zonal Marking)
Fenerbahce 0-0 Galatasaray: not enough support for the lone strikers
“Galatasaray ended their incredible ten-year losing streak at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium with a goalless draw. Fenerbahce played a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 systemwith few surprises. The powerful Mamadou Niang was the lone striker, with support from the Brazilian playmaker Alex. Miroslav Stoch started on the left and Issiar Dia on the right, but they switched flanks throughout.” (Zonal Marking)
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Football Manager | Tagged: Football Manager, Germany |
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Posted by 1960s: Days of Rage
October 26, 2010
“A 2-0 win that was both aesthetically impressive and quietly professional, as Villarreal move back up to second place. The home side fielded a narrow 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 with two quick forwards, and wide players looking to move into the centre of the pitch. Cani made a rare start on the left, whilst Gonzalo Rodriguez was played at centre-back alongside Carlos Marchena.” (Zonal Marking)
Villarreal’s South American-European fusion:
“If Jonathan Wilson’s explanation as to raison d’être of the 4-2-3-1 formation is true (affording licence to playmakers and dribblers in an age of increased physicality), then little wonder it first became popularised in Spain, that country that produces a phalanx of ball-players; players who would be miscast if they were to operate as traditional box-to-box dynamos in a 4-4-2. Witness, for example Roy Hodgson’s struggles to impart lessons on Liverpool’s more adept ball players, or more pointedly, Joe Cole’s entire history as a young footballer.” (santapelota)
Out of Villarreal’s old orange grove grows ‘the perfect football eco-system’
“It was Benjamin Franklin who said nothing in life is certain except death and taxes but what does he know? Sure, he built a few libraries and did some experiments with electricity and catheters and fireplaces and stuff, but he didn’t know the first thing about what really matters: football in Spain, that magical world where death and taxes aren’t certain at all; where football clubs owe the taxman €627,266,721.38; where a player literally came back from the dead this weekend – Salamanca player Miguel García’s heart stopped beating, the doctor who saved him revealing: ‘He was dead for 25 seconds’, and where it’s not just that death and taxes aren’t inevitable, it’s that plenty of other things are.” (Guardian)
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Football Manager, Spain | Tagged: Football Manager, Spain |
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October 25, 2010

Treuziñ ar bed isdouarel, Joachim Patinir
“Samir Nasri, Alex Song and Nicklas Bendtner were on target as Arsenal struck a blow for the old guard against 10-man Manchester City, triumphing 3-0 at Eastlands. City had been looking to reclaim second place in the Premier League but hopes of a fifth successive win were all but dashed with the early sending off of Dedryck Boyata.” (ESPN)
Manchester City 0-3 Arsenal: red card holds back City, but Arsenal impress in important win
“An early red card was the game’s key moment, but Arsenal played well on their way to an ultimately comfortable victory. Manchester City’s front six were as expected – the news was at the back, where Dedryck Boyata started alongside Vincent Kompany in Kolo Toure’s absence, with Jerome Boateng at left-back and Micah Richards at right-back.” (Zonal Marking)
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Argentina, Football Manager, Manchester City | Tagged: Arsenal, Football Manager, Manchester City |
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October 25, 2010
“Ladies and gentleman, friends, family, opium smugglers, torch singers, bicyclists, balloonists, chemists, painters, gangsters, mysterious women in kimonos, and grad students; Three years ago today, armed with nothing but youthful pluck, a Google password, and a biography of Pierce Egan, I set out to create a sports website that would ‘be insanely profitable’ and ‘basically run itself.’ From those springs of innocent idealism, plus electricity and several computer languages, The Run of Play was born.” (Run of Play)
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Run of Play | Tagged: Run of Play |
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October 25, 2010

“Inter dominated, Sampdoria took the lead, then Rafael Benitez’s side rallied late on to claim a point. Diego Milito was still out injured, but Esteban Cambiasso returned to the centre of midfield. Elsewhere, the side was as expected, with Jonathan Biabiany on the right and Coutinho on the left.” (Zonal Marking)
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Football Manager, Inter Milan, Serie A | Tagged: Football Manager, Inter Milan, Serie A |
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October 25, 2010
“With several matches played, the dark haze clouding our view of football in England has finally started to disperse. Now, with the crystal clear light of the holiest of truths, we set upon the most divine of inquisitive expeditions. We turn a deciphering eye upon the UK, helping you to distinguish the verdad santisima from the deceptive half-truths mulling about. Let us begin.” (futfanatico)
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Arsenal, Chelsea, FC Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United | Tagged: Arsenal, Chelsea, FC Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United |
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Posted by 1960s: Days of Rage
October 24, 2010
“Celtic have started the league season well. We’ve played eight, we’ve won eight. But there’s a familiar problem: Rangers have won all eight too. Something’s got to give today, when Lionel Messi’s favourite blue immovable object meets what was – until Tony Mowbray arrived in the East End – also an immovable object. By Scottish standards, at least. Who will win is as hard to predict as the league title. Celtic have the resources, but Walter Smith has steered a remarkably steady course through Rangers’ financial maelstrom. Neil Lennon’s side won the final derby of last season, but there was little to play for then, and his Celtic side are still unpredictable.” (WSC)
Celtic 1-3 Rangers: second half turnaround
“A typically fiery Old Firm derby saw Celtic lose their 100% record, and Rangers maintain theirs. Celtic were unchanged from their win last week at Dundee United, starting with a 4-4-2 system that saw Georgios Samaras dropping deep to the left.” (Zonal Marking)
Celtic 1-3 Rangers – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – SPL
(The 90th Minute)
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Celtic, Scottish Cup | Tagged: Celtic, Scottish Cup |
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Posted by 1960s: Days of Rage
October 24, 2010
“Striker Fernando Torres ended his six-match goal drought with the winner against Blackburn to provide a much-needed boost at Anfield. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson had kept the Reds at bay until Sotirios Kyrgiakos’ 48th-minute header and although a Jamie Carragher own goal quickly levelled things up Torres struck only his second of the season soon after.” (ESPN)
My Promise To Roy
“There was pressing. There was a higher defensive line. There was no Poulson to slow the game down. Meireles was not marooned on the wing. The game was taken to the opposition. There was passing and movement, playing to the strengths of the players. It was what so many of us have been calling for. Play like that in six of the next eight games, and Roy Hodgson might find the criticism from fans (myself included) dissipating. So that’s my promise: more of this, on a consistent basis, and all can still be forgiven.” (Tomkins Times)
Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
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FC Liverpool | Tagged: FC Liverpool |
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October 22, 2010

“It was no surprise that Liverpool lost the 214th Merseyside derby given their woeful start to the season. No Liverpool fan, not even the most pessimistic of follower, would have fathomed such baffling results and such perturbing performances on the field given the strength of their squad at the start of the season. With some trading-up and trading-down from both Rafael Benitez and Roy Hodgson over the past couple of seasons, the majority of the Liverpool team still remain from the title challenging season of 2008-09. Crippled by the Hick’s and Gillett’s unwillingness to service the promises they provided when they took over the club, Liverpool stumbled around the Premier League last season, like a common drunk who is just about on their last legs before slumping face first into the bar.” (Talking About Football)
Napoli 0-0 Liverpool: the home side not brave enough when going forward“A fairly uneventful 0-0 at the Stadio San Paolo. Napoli played broadly their usual system, although here it frequently looked like a 3-4-3 rather than a 3-4-1-2 or a 3-4-2-1, as has been more accurate in recent games. Michele Pazienza and Walter Gargano started in midfield, whilst Hugo Campagnaro was in on the right side of defence, with Salvatore Aronica on the other side.” (Zonal Marking)
Napoli 0-0 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats
(The 90th Minute)
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FC Liverpool | Tagged: FC Liverpool |
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October 22, 2010
“Some goals Werder Bremen conceded in the 4-0 drubbing at Internazionale last month were so soft that Italian football paper Gazzetta dello Sport rechristened the team ‘Werder Crema.’ It was a charitable assessment; Gazzetta easily could have reached for a stronger Italian word.” (SI)
Panathinaikos 0-0 Rubin Kazan: little invention from attackers and a good result for neither
“A disappointing match in which both sides’ shooting ability deserted them.
Panathinaikos lined up with their now customary 4-2-3-1 system. Simao sat infront of the defence with Kostas Katsouranis playing a more energetic role, and linking up with Giorgos Karagonis. Luis Garcia started from the left and drifted into the centre, whilst on the other side, Stergos Marinos linked up with with Loukas Vyntra, the right-back.” (Zonal Marking)
Inter Milan 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats
(The 90th Minute)
Twente 1 – 1 Werder Bremen: A self fulfilling prophecy for defensively tuned Twente
“Dutch champions FC Twente faced Werder Bremen at home for their third Champions League Group stage match tonight. This offered them a chance at revenge for both team’s match-up last season when the Germans knocked Twente out of the Europa League competition in the first knock-out stage. After winning 1-0 at home, Twente went on to lose the second tie 1-4.” (11 tegen 11)
UEFA Champions League Power Rankings After Matchday 3
“The Champions League is halfway through the group stage and the contenders to win the title have not really changed. Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern, and Real Madrid remain at the top. Other teams showing great form are Arsenal and Lyon who are both 3-0-0. The rankings are below and through October 21, 2010 and only include the top 8 (along with teams just missing the cut).” (The 90th Minute)
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Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, France, Germany, Holland, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Real Madrid | Tagged: Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, France, Germany, Holland, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Real Madrid |
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October 22, 2010
“If this week’s Wayne Rooney saga has done anything other than earn the Manchester United striker a huge pay rise and, presumably, an even huger grudge from his manager, it’s added yet another hammer blow to the wedge that is being driven relentlessly between players and supporters. The nutshell version of the story is that Rooney allegedly nailed a hooker, not-only-allegedly disgraced himself at the World Cup and allegedly briefed journalists that he wanted to leave United.” (twofootedtackle)
For a Break-Up [UPDATED]
“I, personally, have never been the type who dwells on heartache and tragedy. Others may whinge, but it’s never been my way. When a thing goes pear-shaped, you can either throw a bin through a window and steal a pair of trainers, or you can lift a pint to the good times and set about refactoring your tattoo situation.” (Run of Play)
Wayne Rooney, Manchester Uniter and Contempt
“Manchester United supporters have learnt a tough lesson this week. The fact that footballers are mercenaries may be common knowledge amongst fans of most clubs, but Manchester United, by virtue of their sheer scale, have been largely insulated from this. They have been able to hang on to the likes of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs for years and years, and have been afford one major luxury that is denied to almost every other club – they sell, by and large, only when they need to sell and they feel that a player is surplus to requirements. Comments to the effect that they are not matching the ambitions of a player (a deliberately ambiguous statement – ‘not matching ambitions’ can quite easily be extended in its interpretation to ‘not doubling my wages’) are not something that they are used to.” (twohundredpercent)
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Manchester United, Run of Play | Tagged: Manchester United, Run of Play |
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October 20, 2010

Charles Le Brun – Entry of Alexander into Babylon
“Last Tuesday, a riot broke out at a soccer game in Italy. Its perpetrators were a group of right-wing Serbs who had traveled to Genoa to watch their national team play Italy—or, as it turned out, not to watch it play, since the game was called off after just seven minutes. The Serbs threw burning flares onto the pitch and used a metal bar to try to smash the fence that separated them from the Italian supporters. A large, heavily tattooed man in a black ski mask climbed the Perspex barrier at the front of the stands and started slicing through the perimeter netting with wire cutters, pausing to give the occasional Nazi salute. As Italian riot police moved to surround the visitors, the Serbs set fire to an Albanian flag and unfurled a banner reading ‘Kosovo is Serbia.'” (Slate – Run of Play)
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Italy, Run of Play | Tagged: Italy, Run of Play |
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Posted by 1960s: Days of Rage
October 20, 2010

“An enjoyable contest between the two most successful sides in the history of the European Cup ended in a comfortable won for Real. Real set out in a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 system. Cristiano Ronaldo played higher up the pitch on the left than Angel di Maria on the right, whilst Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira alternated position, with Alonso generally further forward.” (Zonal Marking)
Real Madrid 2-0 AC Milan – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
(The 90th Minute)
Arsenal 5-1 Shakhtar: stalemate turns into a rout
“Arsenal started slowly but ended up thrashing a Shakhtar Donetsk side who offered no attacking threat until the final ten minutes. Arsene Wenger recalled Cesc Fabregas and played him alongside Jack Wilshere and Alex Song, whilst Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky were preferred to Andrei Arshavin.” (Zonal Marking)
Arsenal 5-1 Shakhtar Donetsk – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
(The 90th Minute)
Ajax 2 – 1 Auxerre: A false nine and a false nr. 10, but a true victory for Ajax
“The double confrontation with AJ Auxerre from France will be decisive on Ajax’ European Football campaign this season. Having faced world class teams Real Madrid and AC Milan in the first two matches, Ajax will have to defend a one point lead over Auxerre to hold onto the third place in Group G of the UEFA Champions League, and to qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League.” (11 tegen 11)
Spartak Moscow 0-2 Chelsea: usual professional display from Ancelotti’s side
“Yuri Zhirkov’s stunning goal put Chelsea into a lead they never looked like giving up. Spartak fielded a 4-2-3-1 system, with Ari playing close to the main striker, Welliton. The two wide players stayed on their respective flanks for most of the first half but switched in the second. Ibson and Aleksandr Sheshukov played a loose double pivot, with a good understanding allowing each other to move across the pitch.” (Zonal Marking)
UEFA Champions League Video Highlights For Tuesday, October 19, 2010(The 90th Minute)
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Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, Football Manager, France, Holland, Real Madrid | Tagged: Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, Football Manager, France, Real Madrid |
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Posted by 1960s: Days of Rage
October 20, 2010
“If the average, cheese-brained, money-obsessed English footballer paid as much attention to becoming a better player as to the size of their bank balance, Ipod headphones and the press attaché’s tits then a heck of a lot more would have headed to the Spanish league in recent years than the brave few that have manfully taken the plunge in la Primera.” (Football 365)
Why isn’t Wayne Rooney the player we thought he’d become?
“Wayne Rooney is a force of nature: a natural, swaggering, street footballer who used to play the game with the reckless abandon of the best player in the playground and who made the dimensions of the pitch seem to shrink whenever he received the ball. He retains all of these qualities, despite his current loss of form, but he only really got the credit his talent deserved in England when he started scoring goals.” (Football Further)
Wayne Rooney’s arch adviser heads for another big pay day
“Wayne Rooney plays for England in a summer tournament, then returns to gory tabloid stories exposing his alleged weakness for prostitutes. Further stories soon follow, that he has fallen out with his Scottish disciplinarian manager and wants a transfer. The manager denies any falling out, but complains that, despite all his club have done for the ‘boy’, Rooney’s ‘advisers’ say he wants a move.” (Guardian)
Alex Ferguson is not always right
“It seems to be a truth universally acknowledged that, when in want of a new club, a footballer rarely gets the better of Alex Ferguson. The Manchester United manager, we are told, is the right man to send players on their way. He knows when to protect his players, when to discipline them and when to dispense with them. When a player looks set to leave Old Trafford we are fed the usual line, that Ferguson sells players when it suits him but not when it suits them. Well, Wayne Rooney might just be proving that theory wrong.” (WSC)
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Manchester United, Real Madrid | Tagged: Manchester United, Real Madrid |
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October 19, 2010
“It’s easy and facile to suggest that morality has no place in football, that ultimately only results count, that money talks louder than ethics, and that fans don’t care anyway. The furore over the hiring of Marlon King by Coventry City aside, it’s obvious that morality, both of the general type and of a more specific version relating to football, is at the heart of most interesting discussions about football. Fans care passionately about the nebulous quality ‘fairness’, about the ‘right’ way to play, and even to which values their club should aspire. Almost everything that makes people angry and passionate about football is to do with some kind of morality. It’s just that they rarely care about what two (or three) consenting adults get up to in a hotel room (allegedly).” (Run of Play)
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Manchester United, Run of Play | Tagged: Manchester United, Run of Play |
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