How Much More Does Adam Johnson Need To Do To Earn a Place in City's Starting 11...? The guys scores his team's only goal in the mid-week Europa League clash against Juve, and then comes on in a 19 minute cameo against Newcastle yesterday to score the winning goal (and, I'm glad to say -- solely for the sake of my Fantasy League Team -- pick up all 3 bonus points for the match). And this for a team that is not exactly lighting up the scoreboard with goals.... I'm guessing he's going to need to score at least two to three times per game instead of his usual one in order to replace the deadly-boring Gareth Bale or WWF escapee Nigel de Jong. Apparently Roberto Mancini prefers stacking his side with holding mid-fielders than guys who are actually capable of providing offense.
Another Week, Another Broken Leg. Seems par for the course in the EPL this season; I'm beginning to wonder if it's contagious, like the flu. This past weekend it was Newcastle's Hatem Ben Arfa who sustained a serious and unfortunate injury. Like Antonio Valencia and Bobby Zamora before him, it looks as if another emerging star has been cruelly cut down just as he was beginning to capture the public's eye. Let's hope the scene with the stretcher is not the last we see of Ben Arfa in the EPL, although there's a good chance it will be as he is currently on just a one-year loan to Newcastle from Ligue 1 side Marseille.
With Friendlies Like This, Who Needs Enemies-lies? The tackle on Ben Arfa came courtesy of City's Nigel de Jong, and caused an almost five minute stoppage in play to get oxygen and a stretcher onto the pitch and Ben Arfa off it. This is the same Nigel de Jong who tatooed his treadmarks on the chest of Xabi Alonso during this summmer's World Cup final, and earlier broke American Stu Holden's ankle with a heavy tackle in a pre-World Cup "friendly." How many more bones does this guy need to break before attracting the referees' attention? Although City Assistant Coach Brian Kidd apparently saw nothing wrong with de Jong's tackle, I'm glad to report that Dutch Coach Bert van Marwijk did, branding the tackle "wild and unnecessary," and refusing to recall de Jong for this week's Dutch international matches. Well done, Bert.
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| photo by The Real Darren Stone | via PhotoRee |
What? No Photos with Hotties in Dirndls? Bayern Munich's start to the season has been so poor that the team cancelled its annual outing to the city's Oktoberfest and instead handed the players extra training sessions. Lying in 13th place in der Bundesliga, with three losses in seven games, apparently caused panic and sobriety to break out in the capital of Bavaria. I'm glad to report that team management is focused on the root causes of Bayern's poor play and not looking petty or appearing to grope for answers to the team's poor recent play.
Who Played the Part of Emmanuel Adabayor? Bahrain hosted the country of Togo in a recent international friendly, and won easily, 3-nil. One possible reason for the Bahraini's semi-famous victory is that the Togo squad was filled with impostors who ran out of gas in the second half. Yup, that's right: everyone on the pitch for Togo, from the manager on down, was a fake. And to think I was unable to come up with a viable reason for Togo's poor play as I watched the match. Goes to show you that you need to approach this week's coming international matches with a slightly jaundiced eye. And that's farlieonfootie for October 4th.
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