All-Purpose, Never-Ending Soccer Thread

La Grande Scandale d'Italia threatens to engulf another high-ranking figure ... national team coach Marcelo Lippi!

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1779716,00.html

Even with this much pressure, it's hard to see the FIGC dumping him five days before they leave for Germany.

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Big ups to Watford for winning the CCC playoff final. American Jay DeMerit scores the first goal in a 3-0 win for the Hornets over Leeds.

Eddie Lewis will have to console himself with a stint at the World Cup, I guess....

 

Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck of an almighty fuck! Leeds stays down for another year. Fuck!

I love the promotion/relegation system. If anything, my loyalty to Leeds is strong as ever. It's easy when Champions League appearances are in the offing, but this tests your mettle.

When I read the story on Soccernet today, I was crushed, fucking Watford. Grrrr!

But considering Leeds was almost dead three years ago, this is encouraging.

 

It was kind of surprising. Leeds seem like the more Premiership-ready club, but they just laid an egg in the final. They should be in the running again with Reading and Sheffield United not cluttering up the top of the table. West Brom and Birmingham might be in the mix again, but Sunderpants need a lot of work.

I don't think Watford will be long for the Prem, especially if they don't evolve their tactics beyond Route One passing. Even then, though, they've still earned themselves at least a year in the top flight (and all the money that comes with it) and three years of parachute payments if/when they go back down. Not bad for a rookie manager.

 

Just saw the highlights on FSC - the second goal was a heartbreaker.  The keeper deflected it, I think it hit the post, but it had such a topspin on it that it spun across the line.

Losing the playoff for the third promotion spot has to be an almost unequaled feeling of frustration at the end of a season.

 

Just a reminder - this US Nats have their last three pre-WC matches this week.

Tuesday: US vs. Morocco, Nashville
Friday: US vs. Venezuela, Cleveland
Sunday: US vs. Latvia, East Hartford

All matches start at 7 p.m. Eastern and will be shown live (barring baseball/tennis/paintball running long or important people dying) on ESPN2.

 

The second goal also was a tad ominous for the U.S.
It was scored as the result of some not-so-nifty defending by Eddie Lewis.
I'm just not buying him as a left back.
Put Bocanegra there and cut the rest of this stuff out. I believe Eddie Lewis might be one of the best 11 U.S. players. No way I think he's one of the best four defenders.

 

I'm expecting my boys over at The Onion Bag to have this for sale soon.

 

picked up a great book sent to us at the office, called the thinking fan's guide to the world cup

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061132268/

it's got quick little stories -- pretty much discussing soccer in each country and its role there -- by writers like nick hornby and dave eggers

so far i've only read the us, japan and england. it's really, really good so far. i expect i'll have it all read by june 9

 

Four more teams who will beat my Red Bulls -- not that I'm bitter.

 

four more teams who will be better than any team coached by steve sampson

 

FourFourTwo and When Saturday Comes (two of the top soccer mags in England) gave it shit reviews.

 

If it's anything like the excerpt I read in the Guardian, they're right.