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His goal yesterday was pretty sweet.
Inability to take care of the ball in midfield is the main problem right now. Nobody in the middle of the park will take a man on and try to dribble through, not Thud, not Sandro, not Dempsey. Desperately missing a fit Dembele at the moment. Until he's ready, I would play Carroll who at least puts himself about and finds space. Dempsey worked reasonably hard today, but just doesn't have it together and has been a passenger in every game he's played.
Brilliant shift from Adebayor. Hands down MOTM from Tottenham's point of view. More please.
I love Caulker and thought he was great for 90% of the game, but I have to agree with all of this. On the second goal in particular Caulker was completely caught off balance by a pass that was pretty but definitely foreseeable for a good CB.
Sorry if this is a dumb question (I don't follow Spurs as much as many on this thread). How much of their problems in the midfield are related to the change in managers and strategies? They seemed more of a direct or quick-striking team under Redknapp.
One thing about Keane in MLS: he still plays with a lot of intensity and has really helped LA. He and Donovan combined really well again tonight.
Mike Magee is a fun player to watch. I'd like to see him get a look in the January USMNT camp. He can play a couple of roles (including GK!) and plays hard and smart. He's not more than a bench player for the Gold Cup but you need role players with a head on them and a good work ethic. Magee can be that guy.
They're ahead of Barcelona in average height, alcohol tolerance, number of players named "Liam", all kinds of statistics.
Brilliant shift from Adebayor. Hands down MOTM from Tottenham's point of view. More please.
At City, Adebayor worked hard and played well for his first few games. Then just the games vs Arsenal. Then not at all. Seems like he's found the same pattern at Spurs.
I think they'd be having just as much trouble, and probably more, under Redknapp with the same personnel. Modric was the guy who made Harry's 4-4-1-1 work. He's gone. So even if Harry hadn't been sacked, I think he would have been forced to adapt somewhat.
Spurs are still a direct, counter-attacking team really. They're just rubbish at it right now because they're missing their most direct midfielder (Dembele, who's as critical to the current iteration of Spurs as Modric was to the last one) and Dempsey and Sigurdsson are, apparently, terrible. My biggest criticism of Villas-Boas so far, aside from persisting with Friedel, is not giving Tom Carroll a shot in league games. He would seem to suit AVB's preferred style of play so much better than Dempsey.
I don't know where you're getting this. Adebayor was pretty uniformly excellent throughout last season. He had two or three poor games that I can remember, but there was never a prolonged slump or evidence of disinterest.
Yesterday was his first start in the league this season, after recovering from various niggles. We'll see if the energy and dynamism he showed against City and Maribor hold up in the future. On the balance of his Tottenham career thusfar, I see no reason to believe they won't. Especially with Arsenal up next. Ha!
Mattbert - it's true that Adebayor was very good for most of his first season at Spurs. I just don't think he's a player you can count on to do the business over a prolonged period of time, as Arsenal and City learned. He could certainly prove me wrong this year.
As for City, I'm just happy we have Silva back. He's what makes us go.
I should also correct something I got wrong in #103. City's first goal came from a counter-attack, not a throw-in. There was a glorious scoring chance they created from a throw-in deep in Tottenham's half, but I remember now that they failed to convert it. Aguero with a left-footed shot that went just wide of the far post, so similar to the goal. Regardless, Caulker defended Aguero poorly both times!
I think Adebayor is one of those many footballers who needs to be The Man and needs to feel loved to be at his best.
Yeah, this is totally right.
That's the draw? Wow. How do the English stations decide the tv broadcast? I'm sure if they show it, FSC will show it.
Wimbeldon didn't look that good in the 1st round replay; their opponent was down a man for over 80 minutes. But no doubt they'll be up for this one.
The majority view seems to be that they won't show up for the game, or a replay if one takes place.
Crispix - most games at MK Dons are an annoying spectacle, with the ground usually one thirds full at best, and many of those who are there being let in for free. The whole thing was a disgrace and remains one.
This team plays dumb, and it starts at the top with Klinsmann. Another lineup with 3 defensive midfielders. This game doesn't count, experiment a little.
I don't know if you've seen a replay of what happened, but it was so colossally dumb that yes, it's for the better.
I thought Gatt (not Gott!) looked pretty solid as a first cap.
Lots of talk about the hexagonal schedule, are we think 4 points in those first four games is a satisfactory start or am I aiming to low? We CAN do more but I'm trying to get myself set for what is likely to be a rough start to the qualification run with three road games in the first four.
Four goals on the evening. The fourth a bicycle kick from at least 30 yards out.
Altidore didn't seem to have a horrible game, but pretty funny the other two guys' hold up plays turn into goals and his nice cutback gets launched way over the goal.
Bradley was impressive tonight. He had a few very good long passes in addition to that nice volley.
He's started about two-thirds of their games, and been subbed off in half of those.
He also has a below-average player rating from kicker (with some particularly bad ratings before games for which he was dropped).
He was a local youth sensation when we lived in Frankfurt, and has always been seen as a talented guy who often failed to produce the goods.
He's far from their best player but he starts in Champions League. That's a pretty good barometer of his role on the team.
My point was that it isn't as if he's been amazing for Schalke and crap for the USMNT.
I just don't see any real skill of his. Yeah he's big and strong, but in the few games I've seen him play, I don't see him as an enforcer or a good defender. Edu at least seems like a decent defender. Bradley has to be our box to box player that is asked to put in incredible shifts.
Fabian Johnson has played well when I've seen him.
Is it just me or is Bocanegra seriously flirting with being washed up? I don't really see how he's going to be - or at least should be - a starter in the World Cup. The fact that he didn't seem to get a better offer than a second tier SPL team is pretty indicative of what teams think about him.
If Cameron, Gonzalez or Goodson or others can play their way in front of him so be it but I don't think Preparing for the future is the job of next twelve months.
Can't really fault him for the result today, as Spurs were well on top before Adebayor got himself run and his tactical switch at halftime at least gave his team a fighting chance. Still missing several key players as well. And despite this bad run of results lately, Tottenham's still well within touching distance of the top four. AVB shouldn't be anywhere near the hotseat.
Michael Cox did:
What he's saying there is not that AVB was responsible for the loss, but rather pointing out that it's odd that the manager who was on the wrong end of a 3-goal loss was the defining tactical force of the game. Normally we'd be talking about the winning manager's moves when his team wins 5-2.
In Serie A hilarity this weekend, Sampdoria's ultras demanded and received an audience with the coach and team captain prior to yesterday's derby ('We will try harder; in exchange, you must continue to support us. Deal.'), while Juventus performed some excellent trolling on Inter:
No Serie A weekend would be complete without another discourse on refereeing mistakes, and this week's scandal relates to Inter's 2-2 draw against Cagliari. Andrea Stramaccioni was sent off for his protests after seeing the Nerazzurri denied a penalty when Andrea Ranocchia was brought down right on the edge of the area by Davide Astori in injury time, and the club's owner Massimo Moratti addressed the press at full-time. "The referee affected the result and on our part – mine in particular – there is some resentment," he said. "For the third game in a row there have been refereeing oversights, always against us."
If some of his words hinted at conspiracy, he was quick to shoot down that hypothesis when asked point-blank if he thought that anything more sinister lay behind these mistakes. "I don't see any design, I see incompetence," he said. "If there was a plot then that would be very serious, but I hope there isn't one."
Fanning the flames further was the subsequent response from Juventus. Under the headline "No comment", the club published on its website a link to a PDF file of the Italian Football Federation prosecutor Stefano Palazzi's 2011 ruling against Inter – in which he said that the club had been guilty of sporting fraud linked to the Calciopoli scandal, but could not be punished due to the statute of limitations.
And Fiorentina continues to win. The main tactics guy at The Tompkins Times (Liverpool fan-site of sorts) has been raving about Montella and kind-of using him as a point of comparison for Rodgers. In any case, they're now in a Champions League spot and have won the past few weeks without Jovetic.
Great crowd and until the PK a terrific game. It really seemed not just likely but inevitable that Seattle would get the equalizer up to that point.
Honest question, then, what about the play is dirty? It's not late, it's not from behind. He goes in both feet, but the feet are down, his momentum is to the side of Cattermole so if he was late he's not gonna stab him. Worst case scenario is what happens, Cattermole gets tripped, which is nothing. He's not the last man because he's in front, right? Cattermole might even have had time just to leap it if the incentives went that way.
Believe me, I was not happy about the call. I root for Fulham. I like Hangeland. I detest Cattermole. But I thought it was red.
God, that was painful to watch. Galaxy were awful, "awful" being the best word I can find but not really adequate to express the true nature of their play. Seattle probably deserved at least a 3d goal.
That said, in today's game it's a nailed-on sending off. Two-footed, studs up, and he's off the deck. By the current standards of the game it's "dangerous" because he could easily have snapped Cattermole's ankle if he'd mistimed it. Easy decision for the ref, I'm afraid.
And how odd given how good they looked the week before. No Landon this time, plus rain and turf, but still. A real Jekyll and Hyde thing.
So, the MLS Cup will be Beckham's last game with the Galaxy.
The article doesn't say what's next, but it implies he's not retiring. Dubai? Australia?
Fairleigh Dickinson back into the NCAA Div 1 men's soccer Sweet 16: No. 9 North Carolina is next (they survived U-MD-Baltimore County on penalty kicks yesterday).
thought you'd all want to know...
Reagan freed the USSR, Beckham brought soccer to America, and now he brings it to China, completeing the liberation of the unfree world?
I'm hoping that Heart can scoop him up. We are struggling a bit in the league this season, but its mostly due to a lack of offense from our midfield that could use his skill set. At least Beckham and clan should avoid those Victory bogans at all cost, he's much to classy for them.
Hazard pretty far forward with Mata further back. Can't say that makes me happy.
Elsewhere Celtic down 1-0 in a game in which a draw would put them in fantastic shape.
Tied it up. A draw clinches.
Celtic ties it at 1. Hope they can maintain. A draw here and that are almost guaranteed advancement.
And Juventus scores. Inevitable really but unlucky. They are dominating the ball although Chelsea have had two big chances of breaks.
And another Juve ball cleared off the line...only to have Chelsea counter and nearly get Mata to equalize.
Really open game here.
You are correct now hat Celtic has scored, they win the away goal tie breaker.
Hawk Harrelson would be embarassed by that guy.
Looked intentional to me. Juve has had a surprising number of chances, whereas Chelsea has barely had any possession out of their own half. I wouldn't be surprised if they popped one on a turnover as you say.
From what I can tell that is correct. Tie breakers are among teams tied only and go points, goal differential, total goals, and finally away goals. Given the 0-0 score of the first game, Celtic and Benifica would go to the 4th and final tie breaker should the match end in a draw. Celtic wins that.
So, a draw and they are in.
Wonder if UEFA steps in with any punishment. That was pretty awful.
Unless Benfica beats a Barca team of backups (no easy task) next week and Celtic chokes at home to Spartak, then they could be tied and Benfica could advance on goal differential.
No. The differentials are between only the tied teams first. Celtic wins that tie breaker on away goals scored. The result against Spartak would be irrelevant (even a 10-0 defeat wouldn't matter).
Fox Soccer just confirmed btw.
The way Celtic is playing they should be really happy with a draw regardless.
Thought that was a good call myself. Not that much contact to elicit that type of fall.
Definitely deserved goal though. Cech has played superbly or it could easily be 4.
Link
[url href=http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/8262546/redknapp-in-talks-with-ukraine]
"On Tuesday, during a meeting of the Football Federation of Ukraine, the chairman of national teams' committee and coaches' council Mikhail Fomenko reported on the situation surrounding the selection of candidates for the position of a head coach," the statement read.
"During discussions some specialist managers were suggested to be invited from England - Oleg Luzhny and Yury Vernidub mentioned Redknapp's surname.
"The majority of members of the committee supported this suggestion.
"The presidium made the decision to start negotiations with Redknapp's representatives concerning his work on the position of the head coach of a national team of Ukraine."
[/url]
Seems like a haphazard process. But it's stylishly retro to have a presidium.
Not sure he makes it to December if they lose to City this weekend. Not sure it's his fault per se, but the Russian hand is harsh.
Other than the money, is there a reason anyone would actually want to coach Chelsea?
It's the best gig out there, five million or so for four months work.
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