“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)
“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)
“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)
“The Brazilian enclave in Ukraine keeps getting bigger. When the naturalised Croatian Eduardo arrived from Arsenal in the summer, he became the seventh Brazil-born player at Shakhtar Donetsk. The policy of the coach, Mircea Lucescu, is simple: eastern Europeans at the back, Brazilians at the front. The effectiveness of the plan is hard to dispute: Shakhtar won the Uefa Cup in 2009 and stand five points clear at the top of their domestic table.” (Independent)
Robinho
“Just a week after Arsenal reported record profits of £56 million, the other side of the football finance spectrum was seen when Manchester City announced a massive loss of £121 million for the year ending 31 May 2010. This is not quite the worst loss ever reported in Premier League history – that dubious honour belongs to Chelsea, who lost £141 million in 2004/05, the first full year after the acquisition by their Russian benefactor Roman Abramovich. However, to put this into context, City’s deficit is more than the combined loss for every other team in the Premier League if you exclude Chelsea (or Liverpool).” (Swiss Ramble)
“Some things over time become more and more difficult to defend. Like refusing to ever use a public bathroom despite buying those twelve tacos off that dodgy vendor. Or insisting on reverse looking-up the phone numbers of every person that calls. And it increasingly feels that way about Arsenal too. They have become the purist’s team – great to watch but teething problems at the back that, for Arsene Wenger apologists, seem offset by a promise of a brighter future. Chelsea, in more ways than one, seems determined to wreck the Utopian dream and in Didier Drogba have a player who loves doing damage to Arsenal.” (Arsenal Column)
“There were three Premier League matches on October 3 including Chelsea v Arsenal. In that match, Chelsea won 2-0 while Liverpool lost at home to Blackpool and Man City edged Newcastle United.” (The 90th Minute)
“Chelsea’s defending, Rafael van der Vaart’s passing, Manchester United’s shooting and Liverpool’s predictability in the final third” (Guardian)
“You saw this one coming – Arsenal dominated possession, but Chelsea were more clinical. Chelsea’s side was unchanged from last week’s defeat to Manchester City – Yuri Zkirjov had replaced Ramires in midweek for the win over Marseille, but dropped back to the bench. Arsenal fielded the expected line-up, with Lukasz Fabianski starting in Manuel Almunia’s absence, and Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci at the back.” (Zonal Marking)
“Chelsea moved four points clear at the top of the table as they beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Didier Drogba, who has relished his appearances against Arsenal down the years, broke the deadlock as a tight first half was drawing to a close, neatly flicking the ball beyond Lukasz Fabianski.” (ESPN)
Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
The Clash
“Last week was going so well for Arsenal fans. First, their youthful team thrashed North London neighbours, Spurs, in a glorious performance at White Hart Lane, driven forward by an inspirational display from young tyro Jack Wilshere, the poster boy for Arsenal’s strategy of developing players from their academy. Then, away from the pitch, the board announced a sparkling set of financial results that confirmed their status as the best-run club in the Premier League.” (The Swiss Ramble)
“Arsène Wenger remains puzzled. Just how did a well drilled but not entirely spectacular West Bromwich Albion side manage to score three goals past them? And his team, he says, were ‘unrecognisable’ in attack as well as Arsenal failed to close the gap on leaders Chelsea who similarly succumbed to a loss at the weekend.” (Arsenal Column)
“Gaël Clichy’s aerial struggles, Gareth Barry’s all-round display against Chelsea, Ashley Young’s lateral movement and Michael Essien’s shooting” (Guardian)
“It was a busy day in the EPL with a few surprises including West Brom upsetting Arsenal at the Emirates. Other interesting results were Man City’s win over Chelsea and West Ham’s home victory over Tottenham.” (The 90th Minute)
“This week we look at Cheick Tioté’s debut performance, Liverpool’s shooting, Ahmed Elmohamady’s tackling and Manchester City’s passing strategy” (Guardian)
“Before Arsenal’s massacre of Braga, the last time I was at a Champions League game was when the tournament was still called the European Cup. In 1992 – a couple of years before moving off to Brazil – I was lucky enough to be at the old Wembley for the final between Barcelona and Sampdoria. It is one of my happiest football memories. The sun shone, London turned into the Mediterranean for the occasion and two excellent sides served up an enthralling game, decided in Barcelona’s favour with a goal in the last minute of extra time.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
“The Rossoneri started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a group stage match against French side AJ Auxerre on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)
Real Madrid 2-0 Ajax Amsterdam – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Jose Mourinho led Real Madrid for the first time in the UEFA Champions League as they began the group stage with a home match against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)
Arsenal 6-0 Sporting Braga – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Arsenal hosted Portuguese side Sporting Braga in their opening UEFA Champions League match of the group stage on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)
MSK Zilina 1-4 Chelsea – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Chelsea traveled to Slovakia to face MSK Zilina in their first UEFA Champions League group stage match on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)
“Below are video highlights for all of the group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League on September 15.” (The 90th Minute)
“This week we look at Nani’s preference to play on the right, Arsenal’s short passing, Andy Carroll’s physical dominance, and Milan Jovanovic’s poor crossing.” (Guardian)
“It was a busy day in the EPL with eight fixtures on Saturday, September 11, 2010. The most dramatic match of the day was Everton’s comeback to draw 3-3 with Man United while Blackpool surprised Newcastle 2-0 at St James Park. Below are links to MOTD (Match of the Day) video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)
“There was a lot of talk before the match about how Arsenal would cope with Blackburn’s long ball and set piece-orientated style of football, particularly after comments made by both sets of managers. In the end it was fairly comfortable for the Gunners as they defended their box well and exposed Blackburn’s lack of possession retention.” (The Backwards Gooner)
“In a league of Abramoviches and Glazers, and mid-ranking clubs dreaming of oligarchs and oil barons to bail them out, Arsenal’s owners have always stood out as somewhat of a curiosity. Yes, they may have both a Russian tycoon in Alisher Usmanov and an American billionaire investor in Stan Kroenke, but the club has been run by the Hill-Wood family since 1929 and takes pride in their plurality of ownership. What’s more, unlike several of England’s bigger clubs, the relationship between the board and the fans has always been generally good.” (Pitch Invasion)
“In the face of wanton intimidation Arsenal never cowered but out-fought such typically irksome opponents. Sam Allardyce had yet to lose at home to Arsenal since 2002 and was similarly undefeated last season at Ewood Park to each of the “big four” through a bullish and no-nonsense style. It may be a divided style in England at least but there is no doubt that for a side like Blackburn it can level the playing fields somewhat against what is known as superior opponents. For a good part of the game Arsenal survived a barrage of long passes – and throws – and with the growing confidence of Theo Walcott in particular found an outlet to exploit Blackburn’s in mobility.” (Arsenal Column)
“The Premier League season is less than two weeks old, but a look at how the top sides lined up in their opening matches provides an interesting indication of how they plan to approach the season from a tactical perspective. The diagrams below, screenshots from the ESPN Soccernet website, show the average positions adopted by the players from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool in their teams’ opening home games of the season. (Data is taken only from home games because ESPN’s average position diagrams inexplicably go a bit haywire for away teams.) Average position diagrams do not give a water-tight representation of a team’s formation – which is necessarily in a constant state of flux – but they do offer useful insights into basic shape.” (Football Further)
“Arsenal emerge with the points after a professional display in a decent match. Sam Allardyce chose to use the two Dioufs either side of Nikola Kalinic upfront, and continued to use Phil Jones ahead of the back four, in a very defensive midfield role. Vince Grella also came into midfield – Allardyce seems to see him as a ‘big game player’, since his three starts in 2010 have come against Arsenal (twice) and Manchester United, and the two before that were against Tottenham and Liverpool.” (Zonal Marking)
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL – 28 August 2010
(The 90th Minute)
“There is a saying – familiarity breeds contempt. However, for the attacking trident of Chelsea, a keen understanding and movement has led to a whopping 12-0 goal differential and two wins. Granted, neither West Brom nor Wigan will be fighting for titles this season, but…but…but…six goals is six goals is six goals. Malouda was at his thoughtful best, anticipating a Lampard shot and pouncing on the rebound. Anelka followed a classy far-post finish with a right-place-at-the-right-time header (read: offside).” (futfanatico)
“Arsenal’s effective wing play, Blackpool’s adventure, two holding midfelders, and the joys of Chamakh and Rosicky.” (Arsenal Column)
“Arsenal hosted Blackpool in the English Premier League looking for its first win of the season. Blackpool were coming off an impressive 4-0 win against Wigan Athletic but were not expected to get any result in this match. The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.” (The 90th Minute)
“With just one game played in the new Premier League season, the standings are basically meaningless—we’re the equivalent of 50 yards into a marathon, when the guy in the gorilla costume is still in with a chance of the lead. But there’s no escaping the fact that the opening weekend has left English soccer’s top division with a familiar and somewhat ominous look: Chelsea and Manchester United occupy two of the top three spots and are already two points clear of their biggest title rivals.” (WSJ)
“There was a time when a stalled contract negotiation would be a trauma at Highbury/the Emirates. Is it possible that an uncomplicated extension to Arsène Wenger’s stay at Arsenal, agreed over the weekend, could soon be cause for concern?” (Telegraph)
“A crazy game that neither side truly deserved to win. Arsenal’s side was largely as expected – injuries in the centre of midfield meant Jack Wilshere was deployed alongside Abou Diaby, who played a more conservative role than he likes. Laurent Koscielny made his debut alongside Thomas Vermaelen, whilst Marouane Chamakh also started. Liverpool played a 4-2-3-1 with Steven Gerrard deep alongside Javier Mascherano and Joe Cole as the link player. Milan Jovanovic played an industrious, Kuyt-esque role on the left, ahead of Daniel Agger in an “unfamiliar” left-back role.” (Zonal Marking)
10 Thoughts on Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal
“After the first heavyweight game of the 2010/2011 season (or was it, given it pitted 7th vs 3rd from last year?), here are ten observations and conclusions I came to after an interesting match…” (Just Football)
“The first weekend of the season went into the books with the final whistle at Anfield, Arsenal’s visit to Liverpool the EPL Talk Podcast Match of the Week. To talk about the match and the eight from Saturday, I was joined Sunday night by Kartik Krishnaiyer for the first EPL Talk Weekend Review Show of the season.” (EPL Talk)
Victory of Joshua over the Amalekites, Nicolas Poussin
“Jose Reina’s late howler enabled Arsenal to snatch a draw from a thrilling Premier League opener at 10-man Liverpool. The Liverpool goalkeeper saw the ball rebound off him after Marouane Chamakh had hit the post in the final minute at Anfield to cancel out a David Ngog strike. The goal was reward for a late spell of Arsenal pressure but it was unfortunate for Liverpool, who had survived most of the second half unscathed after the sending off of Joe Cole.” (ESPN)
A few thoughts on Liverpool’s draw with Arsenal
“Roy Hodgson would gain employment as a psychologist … The new Liverpool manager has made a greater impression on the morale of his club than on the shape or make-up of his team. Last season an early dismissal of a key player would have been the signal for moody introspection and finger-pointing, but today they responded superbly to adversity. Not even the timing and manner of Arsenal’s scrappy equaliser should disguise that fact. Liverpool played better with 10 and occasionally nine men on the pitch than they had done before Cole’s red card.” (Guardian)
Pepe Reina howler gives Arsenal a point against 10-man Liverpool
“This was a draw that felt as if it contained a season’s worth of incident. That was encapsulated in the figure of Laurent Koscielny, the centre-half making his competitive debut for Arsenal. He was fouled in the incident that brought a red card for Joe Cole, yet would be dismissed himself in the final moments with a second caution.” (Guardian)
Liverpool 1-1 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats “It was a match that wasn’t pretty and ultimately was decided by poor goalkeeping on both sides. The match was about even in the first half with each team getting some chances but no goals. A turning point came just before halftime when Joe Cole was sent off for a late challenge. It was a red card as Cole had gone on with both feet and the referee had little choice (following the rules/guidelines set by the FA).” (The 90th Minute)
“A month and a day after Andres Iniesta slammed the ball low and true past Maarten Stekelenburg to win the World Cup for Spain, the Premier League is back. Richard Keys and the boys have some shiny new suits and ties, the 20 competing teams are ready for a shot at the title (who are we kidding, Blackpool’s title odds of 10,000-1 to win the league says it all), and the phrase ‘best league in the world’ is being dusted down, showered, groomed and dressed ready for an outing roughly every single time any league game has more than 2 goals.” (Just Footballs)
“We’re one day away from the start of the 2010-11 English Premier League season, and in response to your requests, we roll into the weekend with our full EPL preview. This podcast is all four of our preview shows edited into one file for your listening ease.” (EPL Talk)
” The predicted Premier League table in the WSC guide for 2009-10 turned out to be right in only two positions: we had Man City to finish fifth and Hull second from bottom.” (WSC)
Antoine Caron, The Triumph of Mars
“With the Premier League season kicking off Saturday, here’s what the next nine months might have in store …” (SI)
Premiership season predictions
“With a week to go before the season begins, here is my read on how the 20 Premier League clubs will finish, with the caveat that rosters could still change because we’re in the midst of the transfer window.” (SI)
Fergie squanders Ozil money on Oliver Twist
“The new season is nearly upon us and Off The Ball will be scratching around the underbelly of professional football for some bizarre and often inexplicable revelations every step of the way. This week, we have Manchester United spending £7.4 million on some bloke from the Portuguese third division, Steven Gerrard claiming Joe Cole is better than Lionel Messi, Patrice Evra’s attack on Lillian Thuram and a referee running for his life.” (ESPN)
Pretenders eager to kick-off after poor pre-seasons
“It was a stroll in the sunshine, a chance to introduce new players to an appreciative audience. That, historically, was the role of the pre-season friendly. Now its definition has changed. It can become part of a global PR campaign, winning new friends and cementing distant allegiances. For the biggest clubs, it can be a lucrative interlude before the official start of business.” (ESPN)
“In the final part of our preview series, Laurenca McKenna, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself talk about the three clubs we expect to compete for the 19th Premier League title: Arsenal, Chelsea, and Mancester United. We also talk surprises and disappointments, themes and trends, and our first match of the week: Arsenal’s visit to Liverpoll.” (EPL Talk)
“The die, it seems, is cast. England won, Hungary’s goal never even crossed the line, the first-half performance was actually quite good to watch and the second-half display wasn’t a great deal worse and the captain scored two lovely goals. So everybody’s happy, right?” (Guardian)
“Wednesday is here, and time for the EPL Talk team to tackle the strength of the league. No league in the world has the kind of depth the Premier League has four through eight. Today, Laurence McKenna, Kartik Krishnaiyer and myself talk about Aston Villa, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham and pick which teams will miss-out on Europe and which team will go to Champions League.” (EPL Talk)
Philips Wouwerman
“Back without much of a bang and certainly with a whimper from those suffering from World Cup burn-out, the Premier League’s return would seem low-key compared to its previous big build-ups. When Johnny Heitinga is among your list of top performers in South Africa, it’s perhaps best to draw a Barclays-sponsored veil over the summer’s events, and especially when your prime stars flopped to a man, give or take Cesc Fabregas’ late cameos for Spain.” (ESPN)
“In the first of four parts, the EPL Talk team returns from their post-World Cup hiatus just in time for the 2010-11 English Premier League Season. Richard Farley, Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer, in the first quarter-hour of a recording from Sunday night, talk about some of the summer’s overriding issues – the sale of Liverpool, 25/7 – as well as the direction the show will take in the next week and over the next season.” (EPL Talk)
“Here is my read on how the 20 Premier League clubs will finish this season, although rosters could still change since we’re in the midst of the transfer window and with a week to go before the season begins.” (SI)
“As most economists will tell you, the more times are uncertain, the more folks hunker down and count every penny. Judging by transfer activity (or lack thereof) this summer, most clubs feel the same way. As of Thursday, the Premier League’s traditional ‘big four’ of Arsenal, Cheslea, Manchester United and Liverpool had signed just two players for more than 10 million euros ($13 million): Laurent Koscielny, who joined the Gunners, and Ramires, whose move from Benfica to Chelsea is all but wrapped up. Last summer, those same clubs made five signings north of the 10 million range. Serie A’s big three of Juventus, Milan and Inter broke the 10 million mark six times a year ago.” (SI)
Cesc Fabregas
“The protracted will-he won’t-he transfer of Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal to Barcelona shows little sign of reaching a timely conclusion. From Arsène Wenger through to Xavi, here’s who said what and when.” (Telegraph)
“The efficiency that holding midfielders provide teams makes them very important in the modern football. International competitions are always fascinating tactically if anything for the inflexibility they confront managers with. Arrigo Sacchi, in charge of the Italy side who reached the final of World Cup ’94, stated it was “impossible” for a national manager to drill the same understanding that club level coaches are afforded due to the lack of day-to-day availability of personnel. The sporadic amount of time they have with players means it can be difficult for coaches to develop plans so they usually are forced to stick with philosophies they think are correct – and that in turn highlights the common trends in the thinking of modern coaches. And certainly, what has become oblivious from the recent World Cup in South Africa and indeed club football for the past few years is that the use of two holding midfielders in front of the back four is become crucial in the modern game.” (Arsenal Column)
“Evolution never stops. As the World Cup showed, 4‑2‑3‑1 has come to replace 4‑4‑2 as the universal default (18 of the 32 teams played some form of 4‑2‑3‑1 at some stage, with another three fielding a 4‑4‑2 that perhaps should have become 4‑2‑3‑1) so the system at the very highest level has already begun to mutate. Spain, by the end of the World Cup, had followed what Barcelona did at times last season, what Arsenal seemed to be reaching towards, and set up in a 4‑2‑1‑3.” (Guardian)
Exequias de un emperador romano, Domenico Zampieri
“Arsene Wenger is today being quoted as stating that the new Premier League rule reducing squad sizes to 25, as being “a disastrous decision for football and for the players”. When the rule was introduced, the rules stating that Premier League clubs had to have a ‘Squad List’ of just 25, with eight of these being ‘Home Grown’, it was seen as a great thing for the England football team.” (twohundredpercent)
“So. England have won the World Cup. (In case you haven’t got it yet, I’m asking you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. Try harder.) Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Aaron Lennon have all fulfilled their potential and England have pulled off the greatest feat in the nation’s sporting history. Gerrard, looking slightly less miserable than usual, lifts the trophy aloft in Soccer City. But is it a good thing?” (Footballing World)
“During the excellent world cup coverage on my home channel RTÉ, two ex-footballers decried the rise in the defensive midfielder. Johnny Giles and Liam Brady are two certified legends of Irish football both won multiple trophies at club level and Brady is currently the director of Arsenal’s famed youth system. Both were also midfielders who played at an elite level for most of their careers and have commented on football and have provided genuine insight into the game.” (EPL Talk)
“Having made front-page news earlier this week for offering to find a nice sanctuary for para-sailing Russian donkey Anapka, Harry Redknapp is showing no such compassion to David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane, who he appears ready to ship out to Aston Villa in exchange for Ashley Young.” (Guardian)
Stiliyan Petrov
“Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson wants Aston Villa midfield general Stiliyan Petrov as the shock replacement for transfer-seeking Javier Mascherano. (Mirror) Chelsea want to wrap up the £17m signing of Benfica star Ramires in time for their pre-season tour of Germany. (Star) With Sol Campbell heading to Newcastle, Arsenal are ready to turn to Per Mertesacker to solve their defensive crisis. Arsene Wenger will offer Werder Bremen £10m for the German international centre-back. (Mirror)…” (Telegraph)
“Since I withdrew, game-worn, from full-time sportswriting in 2007, the question I’ve gotten most is: ‘Do you miss sports?’ I wonder if these same people ask retired weathermen if they miss weather, or ex-food critics if they miss food, or recovering nudists if they miss nudity. Because missing sports is not an option. I couldn’t miss them if I tried. And I have tried. But sports, it turns out, are always there. Even when I think they’re not, they’re present — silent and odorless and invisible but emphatically present, like radon gas.” (SI)
“It’s that time of the season again, and we have time this year for a pre-season piece on all twenty of the clubs in this season’s Premier League. First of all, since we’re doing this in alphabetical order, Arsenal, where the big question over the next nine months may turn out to be what they can do to end their run without a trophy and how long supporters’ patience with M. Wenger will last.” (twohundredpercent)
Newcomers boost Arsenal’s hopes
“By the time defender Thomas Vermaelen had played just four games for Arsenal after last year’s $13 million move from the Dutch club Ajax, coach Arsene Wenger already knew he had a bargain on his hands. It was after that fourth game, a Champions League-qualifying victory against Celtic, that Wenger spoke of the Belgian’s “football intelligence,” an intangible quality he had also spotted in Alex Song, the young midfielder written off by many who had his breakout season the previous year. Against Celtic, Vermaelen was marshaling the defense, even telling the more experienced William Gallas where to position himself on corner kicks.” (SI)
The Premier League 2010/11 Previews 2 – Aston Villa: Becoming A Single Issue Party
“Aston Villa’s summer thus far can be neatly condensed into two words, and the second of those is “Milner”. Their own supporters will be thoroughly sick to the stomach of the constant pas de deux that has been going on over the last couple of months between their most-prized asset and a team which they last season regarded as rivals for the final Champions League place, and it is starting to become a little wearing for the rest of us, too. Consider, for example, the front page of The Guardian’s section on Villa. At the time of writing, eleven of the fifteen main articles on the site concern the long, drawn-out saga. Aston Villa Football Club are at the point of becoming a single issue party.” (twohundredpercent)
David Villa
“With a new European season fast approaching, we got in touch with various bloggers, prolific members of the footballing twitterati and friends of The Equaliser to make a few pre-season predictions that will undoubtedly make us all look very silly in ten months’ time. So, here are the results of our collective FIFA-approved crystal ball gazing…” (The Equaliser)
“Now that the World Cup is over (and there will be a couple more bits and pieces to tidy it up over the next couple of days), it is time to start looking forward to the new domestic season, which starts in just over four weeks, and what better way could there be to start it all off than with our annual look at the kits that the teams of 2010/11 will be wearing. As ever, it’s a mixed bag in the Premier League this season, with some clubs getting it right, some clubs getting it woefully wrong and a couple of clubs treating the launch of their new kit as if it is some sort of state secret.” (twohundredpercent)
“Someone wrote on Twitter yesterday that “Is Spain boring?” is the new “Will soccer ever make it in America?” And yes, it is, in the same way that it’s the new “Can Lampard and Gerrard play in the same midfield?” and possibly the new “Can Asians think?” It wants a word, nevertheless, if only because Spain-Germany was so divisive; and because this is the World Cup final, and a bubble of resentment against the pre-tournament favorites and anointed Best Team on Earth is one of the conditions in which history’s about to happen.” (Run of Play)
Pastorale, François Boucher
“Hot on the heels of the Goals of the Season, we move on to the Football Further European Team of the Season. As in any decent dream team this side is strongly, perhaps even foolishly, oriented towards attack. Feedback, particularly of the irate, finger-jabbing kind, is warmly welcomed.” (Football Further)
Dejan Stanković
“In the hope of provoking plenty of debate, disagreement and downright indignation, Football Further proudly presents – in purely chronological order – its Goals of the Season 2009-10…” (Football Further)
“The Champions League final has been and gone, so we are now officially at the end of the 2009/10 season. This would not be an internet football site without an article outlining some reasonably pointless ‘awards’, but since this is a site focussed on tactics, hopefully the tactical angle will – like a newly-signed winger that doesn’t appear to fit into the team – ‘provide something different’.” (Zonal Marking)
Scissors Kick 