Some of the News That's Fit to Print

photo by bere	via PhotoRee

Time for a check of the weekend's newspaper headlines:

o Fergie Fined $12,000 for His Rant Against Simon Beck:  This non-headline should have been replaced by the following: "FA Goes Light on Fergie As It's Obvious He's Correct".  Remember the good old days when the FA would banish a Manager to the stands?  So he could phone in his instructions to the Assistant Manager?  Apparently the FA didn't like that approach, either, so they've gone for the small fine -- roughly equivalent to one day's pay for the Manager.  We don't think Fergie's losing much sleep about that.

o Is He or Isn't He:  Is Super8Frank negotiating with Chelsea?  It depends on who you ask....  Although the word out of Cobham is that Roman has made the executive decision (are there any other kind of decisions made by Chelsea?) to bring Frank back, Super8's representatives say no such negotiations are happening....  We tend to believe management -- even THIS management team -- over agents any day of the week.  Wethinks its entirely possible that Chelsea leaked the information to tamp down the market for competing offers for the free-scoring midfielder.....

o World's Most Expensive Parking Ticket:  Peter Odemwingie's fine for parking his car in the QPR lot equaled £80,000.  That's more than even Mario Balotelli managed to rack up during his stint in Manchester.

More Questions Than Answers, Part II: Round 25 in the BPL

Sunderland look a completely different side under Martin O'Neil, who is playing with roughly the same squad as his predecessor had....  Is Steve Bruce really that poor a manager?  The Black Cats were extremely unfortunate to lose 2-1 to the Arsenal on Saturday, although only a true Gooner-hater could begrudge Thierry Henry his late game winner in his last game in his beloved Arsenal kit....

o And where did this kid James McLean come from? This is more a rhetorical question, as I actually know where he came from (Derry City, brought in by Brucie to Sunderland), but what a difference that guy is making to a dangerous Sunderland side....

o I wonder what Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner thinks of his decision to dump O'Neil now...?  Is Alex McLeish really filling O'Neil's boots?

o And speaking of clueless American owners in the EPL, what is one to make of the curious case of John W. Henry? The owner of Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox was conspicuously silent in his reaction to Luis Suarez' despicable racist behavior until the club finally issued a statement yesterday.  There's no way in the world that Henry would have allow this type of behavior -- condoned by the club and manager, no less -- to happen with the Boston Red Sox. Did he think Americans aren't paying attention because this was all happening overseas?

o And speaking of despicable racist behavior, Micha Richards chose to leave Twitter this week after being barraged by racist tweets.  What in the hell is happening in England?

o Did anyone else enjoy seeing the pair of American flags behind Tim Howard's goal as Everton took on Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday? There was one flag for each American in the Toffees' starting lineup. And with a shutout and an assist on the afternoon, the Yanks proved they're more than just a couple of pretty faces, too.

o What in the world is wrong with Petr Cech, and how has he escaped the type of criticism solely reserved for David De Gea?  On at least three separate occasions on Saturday, Cech kicked the ball straight to an Everton player. As if trying to deflect attention away from his poor performance, Cech even tried the latest publicity stunt, Bradying, after he was beaten for the second time on the afternoon.

Petr Cech Tries the Newest U.S. Fad: Bradying

Jarring, and Other Random Thoughts on EPL Week Four

photo by Chris Makarsky	via PhotoRee

It was jarring to see Mikel Arteta in an Arsenal shirt on Saturday. It's always strange the first time you see a player identified so strongly with one club suddenly wearing another team's kit. Likewise Niklas Bendtner at Sunderland -- although it was refreshing to see he's still useless, no matter which shirt he wears -- and maybe a little bit less so, Peter Crouch at Stoke.

o Fernando Torres didn't look very happy sitting on the Chelsea bench Saturday. Nor did Florent Malouda. I wonder what the atmosphere is like inside that locker room.... My sense is that it's probably closer to Manchester City's than it is to Manchester United's. At the latter, it's expected that you're going to spend some time on the bench -- that is, unless your name is Wayne Rooney or Nemanja Vidic. At the former, however, all of the players who signed there were originally lured in under the pretense that they'd not only be starting, they'd be leading the 'revolution.' It's a massive difference in mindset.

o Arsenal may have won Saturday, but they continued to look completely impotent in front of goal this season. No matter what personnel Arsene tries, his boys can't seem to find the back of the net. That is, unless the opposition goalie throws his clearance right at the feet of the closest defender, allowing the ball to settle nicely in front of Andrei Arshavin with the goal begging. If that's what it takes for Arsenal to score, though, it's going to be a very long season indeed at the Emirates.

o Liverpool found out on Saturday just how tough the away trip to Stoke is. I read somewhere on Twitter that the last three English champions (United, Chelsea, United) all won their away games at Stoke, but needed goals post the 80-minute mark to do so. I guess Liverpool won't be joining that club, but that'll only be a real surprise to their most ardent supporters.