No Touching (and Other Thoughts)

Correspondent Ed writes this one from the no-touching "safe zone":

It seems for Spurs these days that good touches into the net are hard to find.  They certainly are tough in the back – beasts in the back – and opponents other than West Ham can’t seem to break them down.  However, they also seem very predictable and, well, boring in the middle and up front.  They are able to possess, but unable to do much with that possession. 

 

Part of this is the lack of form of Roberto Soldado.  I am still trying to figure out what he’s good at.  He certainly isn’t dangerous in possession – he lacks any ability to beat someone with the ball or even threaten to beat someone.  He also seems to struggle just to find an open shot.  Robert Lewandowski – a tough comparison I know – is very nimble in traffic and is able to manufacture shots which he accurately installs in the back of the net with his quick release.  Again, Soldado doesn’t have the ability.  I’ve heard that the ability Soldado does have is to finish crosses.  Hmmm.  Haven’t seen much of that either, though to be fair, Townsend likes to shoot lots more than he likes to distribute.

 

It’s been asked on the talk shows whether it is preferable to win or to play pretty football.  My answer to that is “yes.”  Pretty football is currently being played by Arsenal AND they are winning if no one noticed.  Why can’t Spurs do the same?  Is it really that the team just needs to learn each other and gel?  Not so sure I believe that.  AVB is a very young manager after all, and I suspect he’s the one that has to do more adjusting and learning than the team.  Though to be sure, he’s doing pretty well right now even if it is pretty boring. 

 

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All it takes is just a bit of touch to wake the sleeping giant known as Manchester United – was it from this very blog?  One can only wonder.... But some how, some way, they remembered they have Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie and a heck of a lot of other good players.  Their run is beginning and unfortunately will likely last for some time. 

 

Beer Soaked Notes on Real vs. United, The First Leg

photo by photosteve101	via PhotoRee

Crumpled in a beer-soaked ball on the floor near the trashcan lay Correspondent Ed's notes from the first leg of Manchester United vs. Real Champions League match.  Luckily for you, we found them:

o That's a ridiculous call on RVP. Ramos should get a post-match yellow for acting.

o United not ready to play yet; lucky not a goal.

o Great save by De Gea

o Rafael horrific so far.

o Fergie started Evans because he can run better than Vidic, who's a few paced too slow right now

o The first half was a half without any center midfielders

o Gus Johnson on FOX did a lot of homework but doesn't know the game. There are lots of words that could be used to describe Real Madrids first half, but "patient" isn't one if them.

o Yes RVP does cross with the left foot. This shouldn't be surprising, Gus

o Gus has now described Danny Welbeck as a very patient player. I think he just likes that word. It's "soccery."

o Ref also terrible.   Patrice Evra deserved a free kick and the defender an orange card, it was so close to red

o De Gea has played his best game as a pro

o Welbeck was terrific

o RVP missed one.  He waited until the Champions League to do that

o Giggs is back!

o The ref has been awful all day

o That wasn't a cross, that was a pass. Amazing save by De Gea again

Curses and Grades (on Manchester United and Real Madrid)

photo by dingler1109	via PhotoRee

Correpsondent Scott's fandom can be described in the same manner as his taste in beer: bitter.

So, there I was watching Real Madrid host Manchester United on Wednesday. Being a Real fan (and FOF being a United fan), I was looking forward to Los Blancos taking a couple goal advantage to Old Trafford for the second leg. Unfortunately, a funny little thing happened at the Bernabeu, kind of a Freaky Friday thing. You see, for 90 minutes it seemed that Real Madrid had morphed into Liverpool.  
They they were dominating possession, winning the ball back quickly (and high up the pitch), creating twice as many dangerous chances and, in every way, bossing the game and dictating the flow of play against an uncharacteristically ineffective United side which seemed content to pack it in and play counter attack. Then, just like the Liverpool Reds, with various opportunities gone begging, the Whites conceded on a set piece (corner) via a defensive lapse (the post was left unguarded). They did manage to draw after a Cristiano Ronaldo equalizer but this was one of those times when a tie was the same as a loss, especially given that the (Red) Devils now have an away goal. Images of Liverpool vs. Arsenal and Liverpool vs. Manchester City have plagued me ever since the final whistle, after which I pouted through a wife-forced watching of American Idol. I’m beginning to develop a complex – it seems my fandom is turning into the soccer equivalent of the Madden Curse or the Gillette Curse. I’m just crazy enough to not watch a couple of games to see if that helps. With my luck I’ll end up being the poster child for confirmation bias.  

But enough about my mental (in)stability - I can really relate to those Bud Light "It’s-only-weird-if-it-doesn’t-work" commercials (even if I loathe the beer involved). After all, it’s so much more fun to criticize others. Herewith, some grades:  

Real Madrid – B

They would have received an "A" if they had just managed another goal and won the game. They were brilliant from start to finish, apart from finishing (semantically ironic, I know) -- and the aforementioned defensive lapse, of course. Absolutely dominating the inevitable Premier League Champions, Madrid moved the ball effortlessly around the chasing men in red. Really, their only flaw was defensive communication (and set pieces, of course). But boy do they counter fast and furious (yes, grammar geeks [of which I am one], I realize adverbs are appropriate there – I was going for the alliterative allusion)! But I digress.... Mesut Ozil was a maestro in the midfield, Ronaldo was scintillating, Xabi Alonso was indefatigable and Di Maria peppered the goal as if it were steak au poivre. The bottom line is that the much better team on the day did not win.  

Manchester United – C  

The next Premier League champions looked out of their league, and more like a relegation team against their Spanish opposition. A couple of corners and counters are what passed for their offense as they chose to dig in deep in their own half for large stretches of the game. Running around chasing the white ghosts who seemed to vanish the ball just prior to each tackle, it was actually unsettling to see them so unsettled.  

Yes, there were a few dodgy moments for the home side when the Manchester Keystone cops managed to pick up their trousers, thanks to a certain Dutchman, long enough to actually stumble into the forward third with the ball, most notably during a period when more Real defensive miscommunication led to a series of dangerous United crosses. But those efforts ultimately came to naught and the last 10 minutes saw the visitors batten down the hatches for, and ultimately survive, an all-out onslaught by Madrid.

More on the Gus Johnson Debacle

Scott Felt Exactly the Same as this Viewer Upon Hearing the News

Scott has some thoughts regarding Gus Johnson's appointment as that network's lead announcer for the Champions League and the World Cup broadcasts in the US.  And they're not good ones....:

Oh my God!  Just when I thought the US was finally getting on the right foot with soccer, and defending the spread of the game in this country just the other day to an ignorant buffoon, it seems that FOX, and soon NBC, will conspire to provide more fodder to the soccer haters.  Of the billions of people on this planet who love and know the game and the millions in the US who know and love the game, they pick a freaking basketball guy??!!

The fact that they try to make hay of him playing pickup soccer at the park is belittling and pathetic (and probably untrue aside from the one time he did it so they could say it).  I still have PTSD flashes from Brent Musburger’s insulting commentary at the 1994 World Cup and now they have flared up again.

Did you watch the clip of Gus Johnson’s play calling that was shown on the blog yesterday?  Really bad....  Among other things that ruffled me during the 1 minute and 45 seconds: “Chips it forward” ( there was no chip) and “Near post cross past the keeper” (the error there is self-evident, I believe).

FOX Sports Screws it Up Again with Gus Johnson Appointment

Columnist Ed sounds off on Fox's incredulous decision to use college basketball announcer Gus Johnson as the network's lead announcer for the Champions League and World Cup:

Unless this guy has spent the last five years reading about and watching the game, he’s not ready -- he'd have to be an absolute genius.  This move is yet another attempt by FOX to “American-ize” a game that doesn’t need to be “American-ized.”  Part of the fun of watching the games is that you’re transported to a different place.  [Editor's Note: Is the voice of the ultra-knowledgeable Martin Tyler so offensive that American listeners won't tune in?]  Keep Johnson on MLS until he proves he’s the best there, and only then move him forward.  

Many Americans already think the sport is unsophisticated, and this move will only serve to reinforce their ignorance of the game.  Give us more detail, not less.  We can handle it.  Just knowing there's an understory -- tactics, positional awareness, halftime adjustments -- is often enough.  See e.g., The Lord of the Rings.

Instead, FOX wants to dumb it all down for us poor American viewers.  The move sounds like yet another step in the direction of making their announcing teams as poor, unknowledgeable and uninspiring as possible -- just look at the awful crew who do Goals on Sunday.  Maybe that’s somewhat unfair: Warren Barton is fine and so is that reddish-haired guy; plus Christopher Sullivan seems to be gone (thank God!).  However, Rob Stone is annoyingly bad, Eric Wynalda is not good at -- well, speaking or analyzing [Editor's Note: He's an insufferable horse's ass, according to long-lost Columnist James].  Either way, all in all, it's not a very good broadcast despite the fake pitch and graphics (which they use to illustrate NOTHING).  

On the plus side, I do think their news show is better than it used to be (at least the set is), but still not up to Sky Sports news, which is a much easier watch [Editor's Note: Columnist James generally agrees with this sentiment, adding that he "misses the Scottish dude" but enjoys the "chick with the tattoos."]  ESPN with Macca and Ian Darke is a much better model; FOX should’ve have done something like that.  Get Gary Neville!!  He’d be awesome.

A Few Things...

Inside the Mind of Correspondent Ed

 ...from inside the mind of Correspondent Ed:

Much has been written on this site about the Manchester United versus Spurs game this weekend, but a few points are beingmissed.  First, in light of how many goals have been given up by United this year, it is possible to say -- as someone did -- that United without RVP might very well be a mid-table team?  They simply are not very good in the back as Vidic is not near his form (and seems to have lost a few steps), Evra seems pretty mediocre against tough competition, and Ferdinand also appears a bit long in the tooth.  Only one of the most annoying players in football -- Rafael -- is having a good season.

FOF is half right regarding  David De Gea.  Half because he is correct that he was in a tough position for that first punch.  Incorrect because those first two saves were largely good fortune.  The first being a ricochet that was going to hit him in the feet regardless of what he did; the second, a shot by Dempsey, was poor and pretty much right where he was standing before he jumped the wrong way.

Most telling about United was their setup: triple up on Bale, cede possession, and hope for a counter.  This against a team that United shouldn't consider at their level -- this is not Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.  The fact that it almost worked for United was largely the result of good fortune, as United could've and probably should've been down big in this one considering the enormous advantages in possession (60%) and shots on goal (15 to 4).  In particular, the midfield of Moussa Dembele and Scott Parker simply outclassed their opponents.  Strange days at United and not, as Sir Alex has said, one of his best teams.  I suspect if things don't change the table will, and soon.

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Well, everyone loves an underdog, and it was exciting to see League Two's Bradford City get past Aston Villa (after getting past Arsenal) to get to the Capital One Cup Final.  They didn't look that good at times, but it does prove that the levels down to the fourth division are not always that different, and that in a one or two game series virtually everyone has a chance to win.  Hope BC come to play in the finals….