Emotional Ginger

Correspondent Ed is an Emotional Ginger
photo by ljcybergal	via PhotoRee

Correspondent Ed is in a fragile state of mind:

o Spurs played an almost perfect game last Monday.  They put on a defensive lineup, stayed behind the ball, and played for a draw.  I say almost perfect because Gareth Bale really should have scored, and they lost track of Luis Suarez for an instant, and he also should have scored. 

o I cannot understand the reluctance of Kenny Dalglish to start Suarez.  Surely he's been training and is ready to go.  In fact, he dramatically changed the scoring opportunities of Liverpool as soon as he entered the field.  If he was coming back from injury, sitting him is understandable.  But from a suspension it makes no sense.

o Speaking of Suarez, upon viewing the replay there is no question he should have been sent off for his kick of Scott Parker.  Immediately before the play, he gives a forearm to Parker's back.  There is no question that he knows Parker is there when swings his leg at him.  As someone not entirely familiar with Suarez's history, it's probably taken me too long to realize that this guy has problems.  The support of Dalglish and the Liverpool fan base will likely blow up in their faces on this one.

o But why, oh why, do we constantly have players getting away with this conduct in an era when we can review their actions on tape?  It's time for football associations worldwide to review and penalize dives and cheap shots.  It is hard to understand any rationale for not doing this.  Stopping the game is one thing, but allowing players like Adam Johnson to flop and admit he flopped (to his credit) without penalty is another. 

o Uncle Harry was found not guilty of tax evasion.  This is good news for Spurs fans worldwide, and hopefully will provide a much needed boost for the team and its manager for the final third of the season.  The problem, of course, is that now Redknapp is the odds-on favorite for the England team.  From 20,000 feet, I would think that the England position is a job no one should want -- intense scrutiny and pressure, minimal time to prepare, egos galoure, and overly optimistic expectations.  I'm also hoping that the loyalty of Spurs to Redknapp through the ordeal will get him to stay.  However, I do not know the pull that country will have on Uncle Harry.  We will see.

One's a Born Liar, the Other's Convicted. Or Something Like That...

photo by jimmyack205	via PhotoRee

So, two pieces of news to discuss, both inter-related, but neither setting my particular world on fire.  It may be a different situation for Spurs' fans, though, as they are the ones who could be most affected by yesterday's twin deveopments.  Viz.:

Harry Redknapp was acquitted by a jury in London of all charges stemming from his prosecution for alleged tax evasion.  While I profess to be an expert in neither English jurisprudence nor tax matters, I do happen to know one -- or at least I know someone who has an opinion on the matter, which is all that really counts in today's talking head world.  For confidentiality reasons, I'm duty bound to keep our expert's name private, but you can call him Rosie....  And here's Rosie's take on the verdict in the Redknapp case:

What a travesty of justice.  The defense counsel called an admission by Harry on tape to a newspaper reporter "repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness."  I would like him to explain why a taped admission is "repugnant" in any way, other than that it teed up his client for a conviction.  Oh, but that's right, Harry was lying to the paper because. . . . .well, no reason, really, just because he could, whereas with the police he was 100% truthful (despite his first attempt to keep everything under wraps) because, well, there would be no possible motive to obfuscate the issue with the police, would there?  I mean, everyone tells the police the truth!  

Harry also seemed to have taken the position that he is an idiot of a businessman, but yet he's clever enough to open offshore accounts in tax havens (just a coincidence, I suppose, that he picked Monaco, and not France or the United States) for, ostensibly, tax purposes or portfolio deals, or both, and to be a manager that has built a reputation on clever transfer deals -- thus the "wheeler dealer" moniker (his offense to that remark was always related to this trial).  

I also found the "we paid tons of taxes, why would we cheat on these?" to be entirely unpersuasive.  Most people that cheat on their taxes pay something, just not everything.  I heard the judge instructed the jury that they had to be 100% sure that the defendants did x, y, and z.  If that's the standard in Britain, no one is going to get convicted any more.  What happened to beyond a reasonable doubt?  Weird.   

From what I head about what happened, this seems to be slam dunk that the prosecution lost to a celebrity.  I think Harry's popularity won the day.  He's a great manager, but wow, what an awful story.  I would love to hear a person on the jury interviewed;  I suspect they would say that they felt about 99% sure he did it, but couldn't get to the 100% number.  

In a related development, across town yesterday afternoon, Fabio Capello resigned as England Manager.  Related, you ask?  But of course....  You don't actually think the FA would have accepted Ab Fab's resignation if Redknapp had been convicted, do you?

Fat, Dumb & Happy

England Flags photo by sk8geek via Flickr

England struggled to an unconvincing 1-nil win over a spirited bunch from Wales on Tuesday night at Wembley, in a match more notable for the lack of ambition and cohesion from the England squad than anything else.  Liverpool's Steward Downing combined with Manchester United's Ashley Young to put the English in front shortly before the half, yet the home side was unable to convincingly put the contest to bed in the match's second half, despite a starting lineup containing considerable EPL 'star power.'  My belief is that this stems from a central midfield that played as if fat, dumb and happy, coasting through the game at three-quarters speed, and lacking the required creativity and quality to link up with the man up top, a bonafide goal scorer who goes by the name of Wayne Rooney.

o In fact, England spent the last fifteen minutes of the match on the back heel, as Wales threw attack after attack at their nearby neighbors.  Sure, the English eventually held out and took all three points for Euro qualifying , but at the risk of being obvious, let me point something out. This was Wales they were playing, not Germany or Holland. At home.

o Indeed, England were very fortunate not to end up with a draw, as Rob Earnshaw somehow conspired to miss a wide open net from point blank range with roughly 15 minutes left, well after England had grown content with their slim one goal lead. I can't figure out how a team spearheaded by Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young can look so blase on offense, but Fabio Capello apparently has. Maybe it has something to do with the forcefield that is Gareth Barry in the midfield.

Time To Go

photo by Unhindered by Talent	via PhotoRee

Saturday's action featured two coaches who've both managed to dramatically overstay their welcome, Fabio Capello and Bob Bradley. Herewith some thoughts on two not-so-pretty games for the English-speaking sides:

o Wembley was declared a "sell out" for the England's Euro 2012 qualifier versus the Swiss on Saturday. Amazingly, a number of fans came dressed as empty seats.....  

o You're kidding me, right? Ads on the sideline at Wembley stated that Carlsberg is the "Offical Beer" of the English national team? What's next?  Newcastle sponsoring Denmark?

o There was some shocking defending by the Three Lions in the first half. Memo to Fabio Capello: Do not use James Milner in a two-man wall. In fact, don't use Milner at all. He's terrible.

Makin' it Rain in the EPL

photo by goldenrail	via PhotoRee

Random thoughts on transfer activity and more, from the blog's muse, Ed.  He's always interesting, if not too accurate in his assessments:

• What to make of Spurs four-nil loss to the Cottagers in the FA Cup?  Nothing.  It’s the FA cup and Spurs needed out.

• Would have liked to see Dempsey get out of Fulham if for no other reason than a change might be fun for him and for fans.

• Spurs £35MM for Guiseppe Rossi wasn’t accepted.  Wish they could’ve gotten in the mix for Carroll.  They could have unloaded Crouch and Pav for something – maybe enough to make up for the cost.

• Charlie Adam would have been good for Liverpool.  He might have been better for Spurs.  Where, you ask?   How about where Wilson Palacios plays?  Those cross field passes to Bale and Lennon would make Spurs tough to stop.  And to hear it was missed by minutes.  What could have been . . . . .