The Soccer Thread (Version 10)

Soccer is a distant relative of American football, but I've always likened it more to basketball.

There's no shot clock of course, but a great No. 10 is like a great point guard. They control the tempo and flow of the match. But only the greatest No. 10's can beat a team on their own. A point guard needs someone to distribute to, otherwise, his skill set is being wasted. It's like the Magic Johnson-Kareem argument. Neither won a title without the other.

Possession matters if something comes of it, but too many coaches, in the wake of Barca and Spain in the late 2000s, became enamored with the possession itself and not the end result. Leicester also proved in 2016 that possession can be turned on its head with lightning-quick counters.

As for Leeds? Their possession is used to unbalance the defense, not lull it to sleep with endless (and sometimes aimless) triangle-style passing. Leeds relies heavily on its wings and Bielsa has trained both the left and right to be very adept at long crosses. Again, to use a basketball term? They reverse the ball. They also use their defensive midfielder as their link who can distribute to both sides, also through long crosses (but crucially, not 50/50 long balls, there is a difference).

Leeds just needs a reliable finisher. Perhaps Eddie Nketiah, their loan signee from Arsenal, will be that man. It pains me that an entire generation of English soccer fans, actually, the majority of North American fans, jumped on-board after Leeds had its near-fatal financial troubles. I was on-board in the early 90s and they are my club and they're a great club.

I actually feel like I've had a more meaningful English football experience by riding out the many lows (including a spell in League One) instead of glory-hunting with Liverpool, Manchester United, etc. That said, Leeds has no business playing what is now their 16th consecutive season of non-top flight soccer.

 

I came to English football early, by way of my mum, mostly. My first match was Burnley, which is her club and was her father's club, when I was 12 or so. They were in what was then the Fourth Division, and nearly fell out of the league soon after, but I've been hooked since. It's so much better to be a North American fan than it was. For years, I followed basically through annuals. There are whole generations of players I never saw.

But that means certain now-lost teams, to me, are Premier League teams (or First Division, which I still sometimes slip up on). Leeds are one of those. They're supposed to be in the top flight. It was the same for me when Wolves finally got back up. Wolves are supposed to be there. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around City being giants. Derby are a top-flight team in my mind. I actually like watching Bournemouth, but clubs like the Cherries and Brighton—what are they doing there instead of Leeds?

I love promotion and relegation, and I think you're right that it's better in some ways to follow clubs that move. It kind of kills me that my son is Liverpool. Burnley will never win the league as long as I'm alive—my mum actually knows them as the Champions of England—but that's not the point for me. They went from the Fourth Division when I was 12 to the Premier League when I was 37. Can you imagine what the day they came up was like for me? For their even harder core supporters? And now they're a fairly—fairly—confirmed Premier League side. That's the reward. It's being here at all, for as long as it lasts.

I think this is the year for Leeds, and it will feel something like that. It will feel like arrival, and I hope you really, really enjoy it.

 

Just for the record, Kareem (as Lew Alcindor) won a title with Milwaukee with late-career Oscar Robertson as one of his teammates.

 

The point is the Kareem alone never won a title without a point guard. And Magic and Oscar didn't win one without a legit scorer to take maximum advantage of their skill set.

Same for soccer. You can have anyone short of Messi at your No. 10. They can dazzle, they can break down a defender, they can possess the ball for time immemorial, but if there's no one there to finish their work? It cuts down on their effectiveness no matter how great they may be or how much possession a team has.

 

Gorgeous shot by Wolves to tie the game.

 

I love seeing intricate training ground corners work out in a match.

 

I see what you are trying to say, but I could feed Kareem in the post.

Basketball is different because it is very easy to get the ball where you want it. It takes a lot more effort in soccer.

 

PL media up in arms tonight over "PenaltyGate."

 

The atmosphere at Villa Park was great on TV.

 

Here I am in London, trying to somehow drink myself to sleep so I can get to Watford for pregame pints in the morning. This whole no tipping the bartenders thing is not computing with me.

 

Are you not allowed to tip them or do they just look at you like you have three heads when you try?

 

You pay as you go and there is no tip option. Using a card since I haven’t had a chance to hit the ATM for a few paper pounds yet. I had read that you don’t tip at the bar here but maybe you tip 5 percent if your food/drinks are served to your table. We Americans are crazy overtippers, I guess. Or maybe European bartenders/servers get a fair wage, unlike ours.

Anyway, one more IPA should do it, since it only feels like 7:20 to me. At least I woke up at 4 am for the flight and didn’t sleep at all on the way. I can crash and get up early for the train ride up...