England

Will never have success with all the attention that the press gives them.... Saying McClaren is NUTS on the cover of the sports page the day of a hyped friendly doesnt exactly give confidence to the players or the country. Unity supports the players... The olympics can be an example of a country coming together behind a team and winning like "the miracle on ice" or more recently the Ivory Coast and getting into the world cup. But it should be the opposite. I believe that the trudo wrote in one of his college essays that France united together after they won the WC in 98. It was a diverse team and they were winning and it was uniting a country that has many differences.
So through all this it leaves me to believe that England just have to win for any unity to happen. The problem is how many games do they have to win. Red Sox fans are still in a daze after winning the World Series over 2 years ago, yet put that in major competition form for England (such as Euro and WC) and England would never be satisfied.

So in the end I am going to sit back and watch England self destruct

Chelsea whining must stop

Today sees another article (http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=390277&cc=5901) with a Chelsea player complaining about the ref. This all comes from the top, with Jose seemingly whining after every game. I watched the game vs tottenham, and felt that Graham Poll (The Ref's favorite) did a fine job- Drogba did push off on the disallowed goal, albeit ever so slightly but it doesn't take much of a shove to get someone off balance, Terry did seem overly agressive after the incident in front of the goal and shame on him for doing so when he had a card already. Chelsea pushes everything to the edge- hard fouls, not moving back from the ball for free kicks, diving, complaining about everything during the game- and they have since Jose got there. All of which is fine, but then take your yellow cards with some grace when they come.

Half way there!

Belated congratulations to the Ref, who passed his on-field assessment for an upgrade to Grade 7! Not only passed but received high praise from his assessor, one of the top guys in US soccer's ref community. All that's left are the upgrade class (and recert exam) and the physical fitness test, both of which the Ref should pass with ease.

I had the privilege of working one of the lines in the Ref's upgrade game, and it was clear that he was in control throughout. He demonstrated good use of the advantage call, letting play continue, while acknowledging that he saw the foul but letting the players play through. He called two penalty kicks, one a clear easy foul (hard charge from behind) and one a tougher call on handling in the penalty area. It was the right call, but not as obvious as the first. The assessor made several important suggestions for improvement, but on the whole, it was a great afternoon.

Blowing up Europe's Top Teams

According to news reports, FIFA and an international players' union on Thursday "signed a 'memorandum of understanding,' [proposing] the implementation of a six plus five system, whereby six members of a side must be eligible to play for the club's national association."

The ink was barely dry on the memorandum when Arsene Wenger, Arsenal's manager, complained: "'It is not to protect the national identity, it is to protect the national teams, their competitions, and their incomes,' said the Arsenal manager.

'Football bodies have to care about the level of the game - the level of the game does not mean protect mediocrity.'

When Arsenal reached the Champions League final last season, they only had two Englishmen in their starting XI - Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole. Both have now left the club.

Defender Justin Hoyte is likely to be the solitary Englishman in the side when the Gunners line up to face West Ham on Sunday."

Not to single out Arsenal -- other teams in the EPL, notably Chelsea and ManU, as well as top teams in the other European leagues, such as Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, may be forced to alter substantially their rosters to comply with this rule if it it is adopted as official policy.

What to think about it? On the one hand, it would open up opportunities to a country's nationals to get an opportunity to play in their country's top leagues. It also might level the playing field among clubs in first divisions by limiting the number of internationals and spreading the talent around. It also could lead to a reduction in salary among some of the top internationals as fewer slots would be available on the super rich teams, while raising it for the locals. And it could have a positive effect on a country's National team: more players would have the chance to develop their skills in the top league. The Italian league may offer an example: the winning side in the 2006 all played for the Serie A.

On the other hand, it could affect the quality of play in some of the top leagues, because the teams top heavy with internationals would have to dump some of their players and replace them with locals who would not be as good.

So what do you think?

Rant 3 - That Moment

I can only imagine that final whistle. The feeling of winning the Champions League or say in America, The World series (the final out would be different I guess). The elation, joy, relief, the rush. I bring this up because I tuned into the world series for the last inning. I saw that last out when all of St. Louis jumped up and down for their beloved Cards. Yet to be honest I wasn't impressed. Maybe it was the TV coverage but I don't think so. The players themselves on the field didn't seem as joyous as previous winners. I didn't see anyone throw their gloves up. I didn't see anyone just fall over in pure joy (exhaustion wouldn't be an excuse for a baseball player until maybe a 12 inning game). They all just ran to the mound, hugged, fell over when someone finally pushed and then a few of the outside players jumped on top. The hugs were there, the TV cameras turned to the crying wives in the stands. Yet it just didn't feel right. Eh, it might be my ideas about baseball that sway my decision about the pure celebrations but it just wasn't there. I go back to my earlier idea about how majors sports are now seen as jobs. Those NBA players like Juan Howard who take the biggest contract they can get yet never seem to perform the same, eh they got it in the bank why should they.
I think back two years ago to Boston winning the world series, now that was a celebration. 96 years of celebration came rushing out by anyone who ever associated themselves with a tea party connection. I cant discuss Italy winning the world cup because of the poor coverage provided here in the states, overall is just seemed like a sigh of relief from the every present press coverage Italian soccer players get (Brits should learn by example and ease up, Italy had lower expectations due to the scandal at home and thus less pressure).
And I digress to those same people that live for the pressure, for those high profile moments, let it be Michael Jordan or a Zizou. They celebrated the most cause hell if they messed up, the really messed up, and Zizou knows he really messed up. My call to celebrations is somewhat muted by also the call for easier goal celebrations. Hell they better score a goal, hit a home run, or get in the end zone sometime soon again so why celebrate so much. Ill give Frank Lampard an excuse for his brilliant goal against Barca yesterday. It wasn't even him who celebrated the most but Robben who jumped on top of him.
Where is the passion. I know its still there. I know St. Louis could have also seemed a little more excited. Hell most of the photos I saw the next day were of things that actually occurred during the game, not the champagne baths or on field celebration, and for once that's a shame.