Things to Love

Alright so lets talk about great things.

1. Barcelona are a beautiful team.  As a United fan there is only one, and I mean only and just barely at that, team that I can stomach losing to in the Champions League Final. 
2. Messi happens to be extraordinarily gifted and we are truly lucky as a result.
3. Winning is winning and even an unconvincing win still feels good.  Manchester United won against Burnley Saturday albiet unsatisfyingly so.  Berbatov continues to promise but not deliver and you look at the team and wonder, “How long can it really last?” But at the end of 90 minutes they run out 3-0 and a healthy win is on paper.  This will temporarily, a respite to be grateful for, ease the growing “crisis” talk.
4. Liverpool are not good.  Again and again I keep saying this but for some reason there are some who  are not surprised by Liverpool’s continued and increasingly amusing downfall.  I have repeatedly said that without Gerrard and Torres they are mediocre at best and with them both they are a good team.

Money and endless talk of debt cast a dense shadow over the beauty that is football. 

Would you rather see a Man United free of debt and struggling for midtable or see them enjoy short term success with impending CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. 

Now let’s all enjoy a picture that magnificently demonstrates the humbling of Real Madrid at the hands of Athletic Bilbao.

The wonderful thing about Football is you get to see those rich bourgoisie beaten at the hands of the unfancied proletariet.

Spectacular fun.  All for now.

Generally Speaking

Just a few quick thoughts before the weekend that we hope will contain some sort of defrosted football.

The Togo National Team attacked by gunmen.  The bus driver was killed and four others injured.  Portsmouth is asking for their players back if their safety cannot be guaranteed.  Maybe I’m cynical but this is probably a case of desperate opportunism on the Portsmouth’s part.  Their situation has never been more perilous and any glimmer of hope has to look like the second coming.  If only the club was genuinely concerned about the well-being of their players.

Man City are Desperate.  Patrick Viera?  Do we really have to witness the last painful years of a former star?  Viera is not, NOT I repeat, going to answer the equation Mancini is eagerly trying to solve.  Good players who start to fall off the pace typically move to Italy instead of the way round.  What a pity.

Man United is in Debt but…it doesn’t matter.  Have you ever been in debt?  I’m in debt.  It affects everything you do.  That is unless you’re Manchester United.  As much as I love the man Sir Alex Ferguson seems to be losing his grip of late.  It seems every week he’s ranting about some referee or complaining there wasn’t eight minutes of added time.  Now he’s telling us the “this should be illegal” amount of debt the Glazer family incurred when they bought United does not affect his day to day transfer dealings.  If you owed 700 million and cashed in on an 80 million asset wouldn’t you want to take a chunk off of your shiver and sweat inducing interest payments?  Sure you would.

I suppose that’s all for now.  What a crazy a week it’s been.

Man United are the new Leeds

Let’s quickly get some of the really interesting stats out of the way. 

• Leeds are 42 places below Man United in the overall scheme of English Football.
• Sir Alex Ferguson has never lost an FA Cup Third round match.
• United’s forwards (Rooney and Berbatov) together cost 60 million together.

I don’t really think United will be topping the third division in 10 years. 

Alan Smith and Paul Robinson react to Leeds' Relegation

Don’t you think this would never have come up had Manchester United’s opponents not been Leeds United?  Leeds United are one of the most tragic stories in all of football.  A decade ago they were gracing football’s showpiece, the Champions League.  Their fall was catastrophic .  It had everything really: triumph and success, tragedy, crippling failure, terrible owners and now we see the glimmers of new hope.

The key differences of course is the absence of abject failure for Manchester United.  Leeds United did not achieve the consistent success required sustain the wage bills and other necessities for the premier echelon of world club football. 

Surely a club like Arsenal better fit the bill for a possible club in crisis?  Crippled by obscene building costs they cannot afford to bring in the bright lights of football (provided Wenger decided to) and so results began to go against them.  The talented young prospects they did have suddenly wanted away as quickly as possible. 

With no success whatsoever (and has there really been any of late?) to bring in extra funds Arsenal are left in financial turmoil.  After several unsuccessful bids from well-intentioned buyers (and some not so well-intentioned) they eventually were overcome and went into administration.  The bills just couldn’t be paid.

Okay so Arsenal aren’t likely to plunge into financial hell anytime soon.  But neither are Manchester United.  Again the key difference is success or the lack of it. 

Just to reiterate the only reason the Manchester United were though of in terms of collapse and downfall is because of their opponents who so spectacularly bungled their own success.

Ringing Endorsement

Since I’ve blown my own cover and shown my true colours (orange and orange) I figure I’ll share some of the things that I use to build up my own self belief.

I’m always on the look out for comments and articles that reinforce what I already know: the Dutch will win the World Cup.  This particular endorsement comes from a GERMAN working in England no less.  Surely there could be no better prediction. 

The man’s name is Raphael Honigstein and he believes the Dutch will win.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2009/dec/31/football-weekly-2010-predictions

The prediction is at 3:55.  He says,

“I’m going to make an unusual choice and say they Dutch.  They’re not big favourites because they never win anything.  They’re bottlers, perhaps slightly more aesthetically pleasing bottlers in comparison with England.  I’ve got a feeling that especially after the Euros and maybe the lessons they learned from that and with a slightly more pragmatic manager in charge that it might be their year.”

In all likelinood I’m blowing this way out of proportion but I don’t care.  I’ll take what I can get.

Afterall, the Dutch are famous for winning…squat.  My hope is they remember the four matches they played in Euro 2008.  They had such incredible momentum after the first two matches but decided to change the line up for the dead rubber match to conclude the group.  Once they met Russia they had lost their rhythm and exited without so much as a whimper.

I refuse to learn my lesson.  It’s not the losing but the hope that kills you.  I didn’t make that up I lifted it from somewhere.  Probably the Guardian in all honesty.

PES 2010 vs FIFA10

So I’ve played both of the latest editions put out by Konami and EA.  Both franchises have been tweaking and fiddling for years and years.

Before this years copy I had played a PES offering for approximately 30 minutes or so.  Previously I’ve owned about eight of the last ten FIFA editions.

I don’t play a lot of video games and truly when it came time to get a new system I was married and some compromise was required.  The Nintendo Wii was the decision.  Really it was the only decision since a financial outlay of that amount requires value for both of us and the Wii provides her with plenty of entertainment options.

I can’t believe that nobody has spoken about the Wii versions of these games.  EA has gone in a completely different direction with their 2010 edition.  They have aimed at a much younger audience somewhere in the seven to ten year old range.  The players are cartoonish and the game itself is littered with “GREAT SHOT” and “Good Pass” messages.  Pull off a good shot and the whole game goes into flow motion and you have no idea the outcome until the agonizing animation concludes.

I don’t use the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk, I prefer the classic controller and I always have.  I own the FIFA 09 and could see the transition being made already then.  The cartoonish match experience was apparent then already.

The 2010 edition of Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) however is much more realistic.  The concept of a sports simulation is alive and well in this game.  The bells aren’t as shiny and whistles not as sweet as FIFA but the match play is excellent.

Personally I love the ability to “correct” the game if there is anything I feel is out of place.  This was something I hugely enjoyed in previous FIFA versions and I was sorry to see it taken out of FIFA 09.  I’m astonished at the level of customization available in PES2010.  I can create myself and place myself not only in whichever club team I choose but I can also call myself up to a national squad and compete in a World Cup.

Ultimately there is no debate and no difficult decision to be made if you want to play football on your Wii.  It isn’t a carefully weighed or close contest.  Just face facts: if you’re not an 8 year old who likes cartoony graphics and slow motion highlights FIFA10 isn’t meant for you.  EA intends their latest Wii edition to hold over the youngsters until their parents buy them an Xbox or PS3.

Finally for a real and honest simulation game you need PES 2010.

Pulling back the curtain

I should be completely honest.  I think its time I took off the overcoat and revealed the shirt beneath.

I’m Dutch.  The shirt underneath is a shimmering orange finished with Robben #11 on the back.  I’m not ashamed by my background or bias it’s just that…well its a little hard to control sometimes.  As we move towards the World Cup a fever will take over.  Let me count down some of the worst moments in memory:

1. Losing to Russia in Euro 2008:  Talk about going out with a whimper.  After dismantling Italy and France earlier they play around with their system and line up and lost all of their momentum.

2.  Losing to Portugal in WC 2006:  One of dirtiest and most ill-tempered games I’ve ever watched.  Sixteen Yellow cards.  Four red cards.  At least two missed straight red cards, a tying goal smashed against the post and out and out cheating by the Portuguese.  Quite simply and ugly match.  Check out this really good article about the “Battle of Nuremberg” and you also have watch ‘highlights’ below to truly appreciate the depravity in its completeness.

3.  Beaten on penalties by Italy, Euro 2000(particularly painful): In the quarter finals against Yugoslavia was one of the best performances I’ve seen by a single player in a top international match.  Patrick Kluivert was sensational.  His every touch was goal bound.  I remember running up the stairs to update my family on the score and returning just in time to see the 4th go in.  Throughout the game the mostly orange crowd sang “Campeones (Champions)”.  They seemed to be able to do no wrong as the 6th goal came from a wicked deflection off the post that fell directly at the feet of the impeccable Overmars. 

     Now cue the Italians in the semi-final.  The Dutch had their chances.  The Italians down to 10 men.  Two penalties missed.  Bergkamp crashing a shot against post.  And then penalties.  I hate penalties.  I truly and deeply hate penalties.  They were always going to lose.  And as the Dutch prince looked on, smiling through the pain, they duly obliged.

I’ve frightened children with my screams and bruised my knuckles on low ceilings ove r the course of my relationship with the Oranje.  I’ve paid $5 just to get into a bar to sit at a table by myself to watch my team alongside a score of … err … unfriendly supporters of the opposition. 

I’m putting all of this down for a reason.  I want you to know that at some point in the future I may make an impassioned statement born solely out of frustration or euphoria.  Please remember that I am a flawed individual.  I open myself up to hurt and pain in the hope that I will be rewarded with happiness and joy.  Together we’ll make it through.  Thankfully this only happens every 4 years.

Just One Match

Oh come on! It isn’t as if Jermaine Defoe reinvented the sport by scoring 5 goals in a match. So after this weekend what have we been told? Some new things…some old things:

Liverpool are in a whole heap of trouble and should be concentrated on damage control.

Jermaine Defoe is super fantastically awesome after … well just one really good game. Oh and Tottenham are better than Liverpool. HOLY CRAP!! I know what I just said.  Check out what I lifted from ESPNSoccernet.

But Redknapp believes no other Englishman can match Defoe for poise and calm in front of goal.

“He’s an amazing finisher,” Redknapp said. “When you look at England strikers, Wayne Rooney’s fantastic – a complete all-round player – but as a finisher, Defoe is the best out there.

Mr. Redknapp with all due respect…no he isn’t.  He’s just not.  He had a great game and will go to the World Cup as a substitute.

Chelsea are boringly good. They seem to just dispatch teams without thinking or breaking a sweat.

Arsenal are yet again proving that they are not the finished product.

Boring boring boring. Bring on the World Cup already. Let’s see some upsets and unsung heroes. I can’t wait to see unpaid players playing for nothing more than the glory of their country. There’s nothing more pure and excellent than that.

What’s Sport compared to This?

Sport is nothing.  I mean come on, what is it really.  You have checked your favourite site today, read up on your club and maybe even felt, angry, frustrated or somehow aggrieved at something you’ve read.

It’s all nothing compared to life though.  Sport is a distraction.  It’s a good distraction too.  Football doesn’t actually define anyone or anything though.  You can pull on a shirt but that shirt comes off just as easily.  A swimsuit would be just as easy as a football shirt or hockey skates for that matter.  The men is the same.  He goes home, he eats and he sleeps

Robert Enke is a goalkeeper in Germany.  Robert Enke booked his place on the plane to South Africa with the German team.  Robert Enke is dead and they’re saying its suicide.  He’s left behind a wife and an adopted child. 

Football and sport as a whole are the icing on the cake.  They’re the garnish on our dinner; the parmesan reggiano sprinkled over our meaningless spaghetti and meatballs. 

Let’s take a minute and allow ourselves a dose of perspective.  While we’re slagging off referees for missing a yellow card or a linesman for an incorrect offside always remember that there are worse things in life than losing a football match.

Robert Enke had a chance of going to the World Cup to represent Germany.  That and all his other dreams have come to an end.

Robert Enke

That Scalding Reality

I will tell you why players like to dive and con the referee.  Have you been wondering?  Everyone likes to talk about how terrible cheating is but nobody ever wants to talk about the *why*.  I guess it’s typical though….there’s more fun in condemning someone for being depraved instead of wondering why he’s depraved.

It’s because there is no other way to gain an unearned advantage. 

Isn’t that one of the reasons why we love it?  You can’t fake skill.  You can’t fool me into thinking you’re a great player when you’re clearly not.  I can watch you playing and I can see that you can’t win by being better than that other team.  Ya, they’re crap too but the only way you can beat them is by falling all over yourself trying to make a man who’s sole job is to be impartial and unbiased look bad.

For every flop, for every dive, for every con there is a player who is found out.  We’re all better than that cheat.  I’ve seen my own hero try to unfairly gain an advantage!  My faith has been betrayed.  My integrity assaulted.

Even the love we have for our hero’s doesn’t smother the indignation or the humility.  We’re better than that.  I encourage you to watch the below video and enjoy the idiocy of those who have tried to con not just the officials but YOU the true lover of football.

Impending Failure, Liverpool are still Crap

Everyone once in a while I whip out one of my “Season Review” DVDs to remind myself of how far my club has come.  Everything has to come to an end though.  Life, and Football, is all about cycles.  In Sport its impossible to maintain total dominance.  There is always a flux where certain players do well, others do poorly and some circumstances just can’t be replicated (I’m thinking a beachball on the pitch that magically deflects a save-able shot into the net).  Sport always changes. That’s why we love it.

I can’t help but think that Chelsea will win the League this year much in the same way United won last year.  They will be the only team that is able to show consistency and therefore limp over the finish line before any of the other teams can drag themselves across.

Liverpool are crap, Arsenal are great at smashing anyone who doesn’t actually matter, Manchester United win despite their best efforts and  Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City are fooling themselves if they think they’ll get anywhere near the pinnacle of England.

Manchester United will prove to be a challenger but will fail.  As a club they have a wonderful ability to beat teams despite appearing to not care either way (Wayne Rooney apart).  The only way Chelsea won’t win is if they manage to trip themselves up as they have done in the previous two seasons.

The Conclusion:

Chelsea are still winning convincingly

Arsenal are happy to beat teams when they’re allowed to

Manchester United have the momentum of three straight titles pushing them forward and over their opposition, but will it last?

And Liverpool: you may have noticed through the number of times I bring it up but Liverpool are crap.  They most definitely peaked last season.  They should be proud of their runner-up spot to Manchester United last year.  It will certainly be their best finish for some time to come.