Disqus - Latest Comments for Lonnie

Re: Barcelona v Manchester United: Catanaccio be Damned!

Lonnie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:50:31 -0000

H.U.

I like your site...some quality posts there.

Re: your comment here. I think we are saying similar things in slightly different ways. One thing you touched on that I overlooked was the point about Schalke's approach. With a bit more skill/luck up front, Schalke could have advanced as Barca struggled to create quality chances in both legs of that tie.

Re: Chelsea-3, Liverpool-2; Blues Heading to Moscow | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:09:24 -0000

Just posted my take on yesterday's match:

http://www.championsleaguetalk.com/chelsea-v-li...

Re: Cesc Fabregas is on Fire, Literally (Video)

Lonnie — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:54:05 -0000

Does this commercial have some sort of point? I found it to be rather inane. It's certainly not in the same class as the "Take it to the next level" commercial.

Re: Should the Premiership Have Playoffs?

Lonnie — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:33:14 -0000

If you want an awesome playoff system, look at what the Dutch league does. They still have the first place club in the regular season crowned as champions but the CL and UEFA Cup places are determined by a playoff. Relegation and promotion are also determined similarly.

Their system is a bit complicated to grasp at the first go but once you look it over it makes sense and it adds something to the end of the season so that you don't get teams in the middle of the pack snoozing through the final few games. I also think it's a nice compromise in that the team that performs the best over the course of the entire season is still rewarded and not forced into a playoff.

Re: Stoke City, Welcome to the Premier League

Lonnie — Mon, 05 May 2008 12:18:18 -0000

Nice to see a new face in the league. If Watford cannot win the play-off then none of the teams relegated last season will have made the climb back to the top flight.

I still think West Brom, if they stay brave and play football the way they are capable, will do the best of the promoted clubs.

Stoke need some strengthening over the summer...it'll be interesting to see who they can attract. Still...big congrats to Stoke and for their fans...enjoy the anticipation the summer will bring! :)

Re: Dixie Dean - Greatest Centre Forward Ever?

Lonnie — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:11:11 -0000

Sanjay,

I absolutely think he should be mentioned in that class of players. In total, Dean scored a total of 383 goals for Everton, in 433 appearances, as well as 18 in 16 appearances for England, which is an exceptional strike-rate.

I think part of the problem is that Dean's scoring exploits happened before the advent of television and the ever increasing media coverage the game has received. More people have had the chance to see Pele, Maradona, etc. and thus consider them to be a class above some of the earlier stars, if they even think about the early greats. Even greats from the 50's and 60's are often overlooked. Not taking anything away from the players mentioned but Dean is one I would put among the best ever. It was nice that the clubs did something to honor him.

Re: Should the Premiership Have Playoffs?

Lonnie — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:03:25 -0000

Personally I think the idea of totally scrapping the reward for being consistent through the season is a poor one.

This has been a good debate and I'm not picking on you personally Michael but something you posted struck me: "I like my champions as teams who can rise to the occasion on a big night. I like the teams who can show up when it truly, truly matters most. No one will ever convince me that every game means the same; you can’t tell me that the 13th game of the year is the most important as the last one, and I like teams who are able to turn it on at the end of the year for that stretch run."

What about the team that plays consistently and wins matches against any or all opposition. The Liverpool side of the last couple seasons would mop up after having rested through 'nothing' league games against Wigan and the like.

What I would say to that argument is that if the league games are essentially going to be made less meaningful then why play them at all? Just make the league a big cup runoff and be done with it. Playoffs have their use but at what cost?

In the NHL, only half the teams are eliminated after the end of the regular season. They then play another two months to decide a champion. Hockey in June? It's ridiculous.

Even baseball has gotten a bit overblown with the playoff format. The divisional champions are rewarded with very little after a grueling 162 game schedule.

Clearly, a compromise would be a better way to go.

I much prefer the idea that the title still goes to the team that accumulates the most points over the course of the season. This ensures some integrity to the regular season. Let the playoffs settle the "money" positions for European play and I would also adopt the Dutch relegation/promotion playoff system. The more I look at it, the more it makes sense.

I know Kartik advocates the Mexican league system but being relegated only after a second poor season seems a bit too generous. If your poor, then you need to step aside and rebuild. Can you imagine Derby County staying up for another season. Good lord, what would be the point? Not to be too harsh to the club but even if they did stay up due to the "mexican rules" what would they accomplish next season? They could finish 10th and probably be relegated anyway.

Re: Tell Us How EPL Talk Can Improve

Lonnie — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:19:28 -0000

KatKid -- I hear what you're saying about ChampionsLeagueTalk. With more bloggers coming on board at EPL Talk, I'll become a reduced presence here as I plan to focus more of my time on the Champions League site.

Re: Chelsea Beat Man United in Race to Sign Bosingwa

Lonnie — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:56:27 -0000

http://www.championsleaguetalk.com/chelsea-shak...

Re: Responses to Your EPL Talk Feedback

Lonnie — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:27:10 -0000

One thing that I've been noticing is that somehow the links in the RSS feed are getting muddled or WordPress is cross-linking stories somehow. For example, when I click on the link for the 'I'm on Setanta Sports.." story from this week...I am redirected to:

http://www.epltalk.com/new-0809-portsmouth-away...

which is clearly not the correct page.

It's happened with other articles as well in the past couple of weeks.

Re: Which Reading, Birmingham & Derby Players Would You Rescue From The Drop?

Lonnie — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:20:42 -0000

It appears the premise The Gaffer has proposed is to form an 11-man squad out of the ruins that are Derby, Birmingham and Reading.

As there are a dearth of quality centre-backs, I decided to really roll the dice and build a 3-4-3 formation:

GK - Stephen Bywater
LB - Nicky Shorey
CB - Ívar Ingimarsson
RB - Stephen Kelly
MF- Marek Mat?jovský
MF - Giles Barnes
MF - James Harper
MF - Seb Larsson
FW - Kevin Doyle
FW - Olivier Kapo
FW- Cameron Jerome

Subs (I name 7 as this team would get into UEFA Cup for sure....LOL) - Leroy Lita, Liam Rosenoir, Kenny Miller, James McEveley, Bobby Convey, Maik Taylor, David Jones

I opted for younger players with that I thought have some promise. The exception are for my backup keeper and I did not count Zarate as he is on loan from another club. I only considered players that any of the three actually owned the contracts of.

A fun premise....nice post Gaffer.

Re: Wigan Athletic Unveils New Club Crest

Lonnie — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:22:44 -0000

I like it. Wiganham Forest !! :D

Re: Which Reading, Birmingham & Derby Players Would You Rescue From The Drop?

Lonnie — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:39:37 -0000

Bywater's played well at the Championship level for West Ham and Derby and I preferred him over Hahnemann largely because of age. He's a quality keeper and I do not fault anyone for naming him in their preferred XI based on this exercise.

Bywater's inexperience at the top level is why I kept Maik Taylor around...a quality vet who could mentor the younger goalkeeper. I tried to approach this with the mindset that I was really asked to piece together a squad and thus went with players I would build a squad with.

As for the mentions of McFadden -- you do have a point in that he has shown flashes of brilliance for both club and country but he has not produced consistently at the club level. He had a terrible run with Everton and after a bit of a hot run after signing with Birmingham, he went cold again. I did think about adding him to my subs bench but opted for Kenny Miller instead who has only done marginally better.

Re: How ESPN Would Change The Face of Premier League Coverage On U.S. TV

Lonnie — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:12:55 -0000

If we're dreaming here...then why not have Bolton out of the PL at this point and have Nottingham Forest replace them :)

Re: Shinawatra Wants To Sell Entire Manchester City Squad. Or Does He?

Lonnie — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:18:13 -0000

This seems too outlandish to be real. I think you're seeing some of the worst of the tabs at work here.

If for some unholy reason this were true, Shinawatra should be kicked out of the league and forced to sell the club to a responsible ownership. This would make the Liverpool ownership situation look like a well-mannered tea party by comparison.

Re: Top 5 Soccer Blogs

Lonnie — Sun, 18 May 2008 17:46:11 -0000

Why not pick a classic Arsenal star like Lee Dixon or Ray Parlour??

Re: Frank Lampard To Inter Milan? The Daily Express Walks A Fine Line

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:47:45 -0000

The story has some legs because Lampard is 29 and this could be his last shot at playing abroad if that's something he's really interested in.

However, all of these papers/websites print tons of rumours that never come to fruition. They are largely done to sell papers/drive traffic to their sites. How many times has Klaas-Jan Huntelaar been on his way to Manchester United in the last two years? A dozen or more? Last I checked he was still in Amsterdam playing for Ajax. Of course now that I say that the transfer will happen and I'll be left with egg on my face :)

Re: Where To Find The England vs USA Friendly On TV

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:58:46 -0000

Doesn't look like we're getting this game up in Canada. I suspect England will go with an experimental squad of sorts while the US, as mentioned, are not in a position to play their best XI. Could be a good chance to see some players that normally don't get a chance to shine.

As an aside, If you haven't seen this site yet, it's definitely worth checking out:

http://www.livesoccertv.com/

They carry schedules for both US/Canada...very complete listings. Might be a good candidate for the EPL Talk podcast :)

Re: Top 5 Soccer Blogs

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:50:24 -0000

How about Perry Groves?? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3jd_aiVjs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2YUkVY2BwM

Re: Domenech turns away from Trezeguet and introduces the world to Bafétimbi Gomis

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:10:47 -0000

It's about time Domenech left some of the old legs behind and brought some of the new faces into the national team. Makelele, for example, has wanted to quit playing for the national team for some time now.

As for the term attaquant, it does translate as attacker though in football terms it's more accurate to use the term striker or forward. Ribery, Nasri and Malouda are most definetly in the class of what is commonly referred to as attacking midfielders/wingers. Ben Arfa started his career as a centre forward, but has been used mainly as a left winger under Lyon coach Alain Perrin.

Anyhow, those are just labels and I don't want to get too caught up in them :) Ribery is going to be in the side for certain and I've become a bigger fan of his since he moved to Bayern and I've watched him more. A true world-class player that can use both feet with near equal ability.

I'm also looking for Benzema to really have a good tournament. I've been really impressed with his combination of speed, power and ability.

Some nice clips of him in action here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkvFU6QMrCo

Group C is going to be killer. Italy, Romania, Netherlands or France...who's going home early? That's going to be a tough group to call.

Re: Raul Axed by Spain

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:26:34 -0000

What's always impressed me about Raul is that he gets the job done with his brain and technical ability not pace or power and that's why he's remained effective even as he has gotten a bit older.

Re: Champions League Final TV Schedule: UK, US and India

Lonnie — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:48:20 -0000

I booked the day off...HD feed, burgers, cold beer, some friends coming over to watch...going to be a great day !! :)

In Canada, TSN is carrying the ESPN feed of the game starting at 1pm CST.

Re: New 08/09 Fulham Home Shirt: Sneak Preview

Lonnie — Wed, 21 May 2008 07:52:26 -0000

I kinda liked the red and black striped kit from this season. Maybe they'll keep those as their alternate strip.

Re: Manchester United–The Champions of Europe | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:27:16 -0000

John Terry ? Classy? Not sure about that :) Anyone remember this?

John Terry gives middle finger to the disabled:
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2008/03/1...

He's a good centre-back and I did feel a bit bad for him but he's a professional and he'll bounce back from it.

Glad United won today. Very good game all in all...lots of drama and plenty of talking points.

Re: Champions League Final Reveals Ugly Side Of English Football

Lonnie — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:59:19 -0000

I think the deterioration of the pitch as the match wore on was a contributing factor. The rain and cool conditions had the players cramping up as well. I thought the two teams put on a good display but the point about sportsmanship is warranted.

For me, Chelsea were horrible at crowding and shouting at the ref though United had their moments of shame as well. Drogba was brutal...constantly going down at the slightest touch. He can be such a dominant player when he actually puts himself about the pitch instead of falling on his backside and whinging.

Re: Euro 2008 Trailers From BBC and ITV

Lonnie — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:22:14 -0000

Clever! I like the Beeb's ad much more than the ITV one.

Re: Bristol City or Hull City in the Premier League? Vote Now

Lonnie — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:00:46 -0000

Gotta be Hull City. Might be too much too soon for Bristol City. Besides I gotta see that crazy old dog Dean Windass make it to the Prem again. Anyone who can rack up three red cards in one match has got to have some entertainment value :)

Re: New 08/09 West Brom Home and Away Shirts Leaked | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:02:45 -0000

That yellow shirt is just bland and ugly...nothing to do with the color, the shirt is just boring. Hopefully this pic is wrong.

Re: Carlos Bocanegra Released By Fulham

Lonnie — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:30:31 -0000

You forgot to mention that they also signed Mark Schwarzer from Boro so Keller and maybe even Niemi will be gone.

Re: Javier Mascherano And The Seven Nation Army

Lonnie — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:06:57 -0000

Cool clip. I guess when you're that far from the field singing is your best source of entertainment :)

Re: Fulham Announces Preseason Tour Of South Korea

Lonnie — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:16:19 -0000

Poor choice IMHO. They should have tried to arrange some friendlies with MLS or USL sides. They could really have expanded their presence in the US/Canada with a North American tour.

Re: Russia’s Euro ‘08 Squad

Lonnie — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:12:27 -0000

It's a good squad...I just wish they would have called up Smertin for one last tournament. His experience and versatility could have been useful. He can cover either defence or midfield in a pinch.

Re: Euro ‘08 Preview–Group B

Lonnie — Wed, 28 May 2008 09:25:38 -0000

I don't know about actual points totals or order of finish but my money is on Germany and Croatia to advance. Poland were good in qualifying but were in a weaker pool of teams (Portugal excluded). They beat up the weaker sides and either drew or lost against the more competitive sides in the group. Austria may nick a point off of Poland but anything more will be a big upset.

Re: Holland’s Euro ‘08 Squad

Lonnie — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:01:24 -0000

OK. Here's my perspective on it.

The idea behind playing two 'holding' midfielders is to allow your full-backs some freedom to get forward and support the wide midfielders especially when counter-attacking. The misconception is that you need two players like a Makelele to be successful with this formation.

If you look at how a team like AC Milan have played the 4-2-3-1, one of the CMs is usually more attack-oriented than the other (i.e. Pirlo). Milan flip between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-2-1 depending on what personnel they start.

The main strength of the 4-2-3-1, at least in the way it has been played by Brazil in the past, is that it offers balance. You can create a 6-man attack and a 6-man defense tactical layout as either the fullbacks or the central midfielders or some combination of the two can move forward and then drop back as the play flows from zone to zone.

Holland have game-tested this formation -- they won their match against Croatia 3-0 -- with Gio and de Zeeuw as the CDMs. Yes, it was a friendly but it was still a very positive result.

Re: Greece’s Euro ‘08 Squad

Lonnie — Wed, 28 May 2008 10:03:32 -0000

I'm not surprised by the 9 defenders. In all likelihood they are going to play 5-4-1 or 4-5-1. And who could argue with them? They won it all 4 years ago playing that way.

Re: Holland’s Euro ‘08 Squad

Lonnie — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:49:27 -0000

I neglected to mention Engelaar in my post....he is a big physical presence as well. He has been strong for Twente and has done well in his brief national team appearances. I think the Dutch team will have great flexibility and balance (ie not all-out attack-minded). If they do go with the 4-2-3-1, I suspect the decision will partially be based on the teams they are going up against (France, Italy) who also have tended toward playing formations with a lone striker.

In their recent friendly win over the Ukraine, Giovanni van Bronckhorst started at left-back, Engelaar was the holding midfielder beside Demy de Zeeuw while Dirk Kuyt was on the right of midfield, Afellay on the left, and Rafael van der Vaart playing as an attacking midfielder in support of lone-striker Huntelaar. They again won 3-0 as they did in an earlier friendly against Croatia when they also played the 4-2-3-1.

For my money, van Persie (unsure to be fit for the tournament) and Robben are too fragile (i.e often injured) to build a team around them. I think having them as support options from the bench makes much more sense. To me, Babel will be the super-sub, coming on later in the game to try and take advantage of his pace against tiring legs of the opposition.

I like this change from Holland and I'm looking for them to get out of the group of death along with France.

Re: Euro ‘08 Final Rosters–Group C

Lonnie — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:44:15 -0000

I'd take Sagna over Boumsong at any position on the field :)

Hopefully it is Diarra or Toulalan in the middle for France alongside Vieira.

Re: Euro ‘08 Final Rosters–Group A

Lonnie — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:11:10 -0000

Plašil is going to need to come up big without Nedved or Rosicky in the team.

Re: Tottenham Hotspur Signs John Bostock From Palace

Lonnie — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:53:45 -0000

Bostock will probably be loaned back out to Palace or another Championship team I would suspect.

Re: EPL Talk Ranked Second Most Valuable Soccer Blog

Lonnie — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:03:15 -0000

Happy to hear the blog is well respected but I do have to ask....What's with that trophy? What does 'bumping' Evangeline Lilly have to do with this site? I hope this is not a trend of 'sex sells' marketing.

Re: Mark Hughes given permission to speak to Manchester City

Lonnie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:45:54 -0000

I hope Hughes doesn't take the job at City...that could be a bad career move for him. Why go work for an ungrateful employer like Shinawatra. The sacking of Sven should be a red flag for any manager looking at that job.

Re: Fulham Unveils New 08/09 Home Shirt

Lonnie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:49:23 -0000

Not much of a change really. Not sure why a fan would shell out for this if they have last season's kit. And had they really wanted to highlight the collar, they should have made it read Fulham FC with a small version of the logo there as well.

Re: Silly Season Sillier Than Ever | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:40:20 -0000

I enjoy the speculation as much as anyone but I agree it does get ridiculous at times. Everyone is buying everyone else's players and you have to wonder how often clubs buy players simply out of the pressure they feel to look like they are doing something.

Re: Mark Hughes Leaves Blackburn, Goes to City

Lonnie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:23:37 -0000

I also agree with Kartik's outlook. Glad Sven took his money and then moved on to the Mexico job. Good for him. He's a quality manager and I think he'll do a decent job with Mexico.

City are aiming too high too soon. They need to stabilize being a Top 6 club and play some UEFA Cup before trying to topple the big boys. Just throwing money at a club can only take it so far, you need to have patience and build a stable core of management and players to move forward over the course of a few seasons. Like Hughes did with Blackburn. Too bad he won't get any time in the new job. If he makes it to Christmas I'll be amazed...and I give it a year tops and he'll be sacked.

Re: Mark Hughes Leaves Blackburn, Goes to City

Lonnie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:24:35 -0000

BTW, I'll happily eat my words if I am wrong. I like Hughes and hope he can succeed. I just don't expect it with this owner.

Re: Euro 2008 Semifinals Predictions

Lonnie — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:52:02 -0000

IMHO, Podolski only "struggled" because Luca Toni soaked up most of his playing time. Podolski sat on the bench most of the season but when he did get some starts he did produce. He ended up with 5G and 4A from 8 starts and a bunch of second-half cameos.

The German midfield is going to be formidable and if Ballack stays healthy and in form there will be another source of goals.

I'm going to take an opportunity to give another plug to the Bundesliga. The Bundesliga will have the most players competing at the tournament with more than 50. The EPL and La Liga are a ways back with about 40 players. Serie A is contributing around 35 players.

This is based on a quick scan I did of final rosters on the UEFA.com site.

Re: Ronaldo picks Real Madrid over Manchester United | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:20:37 -0000

Kartik,

I think your viewpoint is a bit out-of-date. Not every player on the pitch needs to play a rigid, structured role. It stifles creativity and dynamism. Roma, Manchester United and even at times in the past AC Milan, have shown that you can deploy three or four attack-minded players who can interchange fluidly without needing a rigid structure to make them work. Ronaldo has speed, dribbling ability, is good in the air and can score from distance. Why would you want to pigeon-hole talent like that by simply having him run up and down the wing ?

Anyhow, if he goes Ronaldo will have Robben and Sneijder among others to work with so it's not like he's going to some squad of 3rd division outcasts. Even if Real give up some players they still have a good cast to draw on. They have been successful but the football on offer has only been inspiring in brief glimpses. The Madrid fans want not only to win but win with style and flair. Barcelona is the same way...grinding out a 1-0 win is not good enough. I applaud that attitude.

I do agree that Madrid run the risk of repeating the Galacticos mistake though I don' think they lost out financially by bringing in names like Beckham, Zidane, etc. Their shirt sales from Beckham alone probaly funded the move.

As for SAF, it will be interesting. He does not usually take these situations well. It could be that Ronaldo's handlers know that and are looking to anger him into selling like what happened with Staam, van Nistelrooy and many others.

I am an admitted United fan and would be disappointed to see him leave but if the club can haul in a big chunk of cash (45m +) as well as Sergei Ramos and one or two others....it'll ease the pain :) From what I've seen of him, Ramos is going to be one of the best defenders around very shortly.

Re: Ronaldo picks Real Madrid over Manchester United | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:35:06 -0000

Michael,

When I said Ramos is going to become one of the best defenders in the world, I meant it two ways. First, defenders tend to improve with experience, for full-backs this holds true at least as long as their legs hold up. Look at a player like Cafu for example, he got better as he aged...up until the the last two seasons when he was simply off the pace.

Secondly, in watching Real Madrid this season, I do notice Ramos picks up a high number of yellows and reds. On more than one occasion this has been a retaliatory late tackle. So with a bit more discipline he'll be even that much better. I do like a player with some grit and edge to his game but 3 reds is a bit much.

No doubting he is a world-class player though. I just think he can become even better.

Re: 2006 Predictions, Part One

Lonnie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:14:18 -0000

This is linked to the wrong story again. Just a quick note on your article Gaffer, Sneijder is capable with both feet but actually takes most free-kicks with his right.

Plasil will have to step up in the Czech midfield to fill the absence of Rosicky.

Austria might not do much but keep an eye on their striker Roland Linz.

The Russia squad has a number of potential breakout stars like Pogrebnyak and Akinfeev

Re: Viewership Numbers For ESPN Euro ‘08 Broadcasts So Far Are Not Bad | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:34:25 -0000

I'd agree with Tampa soccer as far as to say that England were atrocious at WC2006. They just squeaked past Paraguay & TandT in the group stage, drew with Sweden and then just barely beat Ecuador to reach the quarters. Not a display of any conviction from a "major power" in world football. Not everyone can win every game and every tournament that's obvious but the English side in 2006 were struggling and that was obvious to anyone watching that tournament.

Re: Phil Scolari Set to Sign…Everyone

Lonnie — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:42:20 -0000

It is ridiculous how many players are going to sign with Chelsea now. I would guess they would need to carry 3 full starting XIs to satisfy these rumours.

Re: Euro 2008 Coverage By Sky Sports Is Pathetic | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:46:24 -0000

Fox Soccer Report looked pretty sad when the tournament started. 3 guys sitting around discussing still photos. Has anyone caught the show lately? Is this still the case? If so, I wonder why they wouldn't have access to highlights?

Re: New 08/09 Newcastle United Away Shirt

Lonnie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:13:38 -0000

Looks too much like Chelsea's shirt.

Re: The Thin Line Between Euro 2008 Winners And Losers

Lonnie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:00:33 -0000

Formations are not rigid either. Far too many people tend to think of it as foosball where they move in straight lines up and down the field. Certainly, players will tend to be found in certain areas more than others but players move and interchange positions throughout the match. I completely agree that formation is often mis-used in terms of discussing 'winning' football. The difference in games comes down to the one-on-one battles and other subtleties. Does a winger or forward know where to move when their team does not have the ball? Can a forward effectively find himself space by eluding his marker? Do the wingers track back to help move the ball out of their own end? Do the defenders push out of their own end effectively to support the attack? Can you deny time and space to the other team's playmaker? Are you going to man-mark or zonal defend on set-pieces? Is the ball movement in the final third precise? That was one thing that I thought was serverly lacking in the Spain-Italy game. Both teams were very poor around the opposition goal.

If you actually were to map out a 'formation' during the middle of a game, its shape would depend on whether the team is on the attack or defending. When attacking it might resemble a 2-5-3 with your full-backs pushed up high and a couple of central midfielders sitting a little in front of the central defenders. When defending (and depending where the ball is on the field) it might resemble a 5-4-1 with one of the forwards tracking deep to help link the defense to the rest of the midfield. What I tend to look for more than how they might line up at kick-off, is what type of players are out there. Has the manager opted for two defensive midfielders? Is there a lone target man up front?

What I've found useful has been the 'heat map' that I believe is on the Telegraph site after Premier League games. It gives a much richer understanding of where the players were during the match and where the key battles took place. No shock to say that midfield (around the centre circle) is more often than not the 'hottest' area on the pitch.

I actually find it funny how often the TV coverage gets the 'formation' of the teams incorrect. The most recent example I can think of was in the Canada-St Vincent match where the Canadian broadcaster did not even have the defensive backline correct let alone the midfield/forwards. At least they had the goalkeeper in the right spot ! :)

Re: New 08/09 Hull City Away Shirt Revealed

Lonnie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:01:39 -0000

Looks a bit like a training top

Re: New 08/09 Newcastle United Away Shirt

Lonnie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:05:26 -0000

Just looked at it on the Newcastle website and it is almost a jewel-tone purple by the looks of the photo there. Horrid ! I agree with the reader that said they should have gone all black or all white.

Re: Spain And Italy’s Bore Draw Gives Soccer A Bad Name

Lonnie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:59:47 -0000

Kartik,

The final is going to be Russia - Germany ;) You must have gotten an incorrect copy of the TV listings!

Re: Latest Soccer News From Around The World

Lonnie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:24:19 -0000

I've also published an update on the Intertoto Cup, as Champions League Talk will be following that competition. This is the final Intertoto as UEFA has restructured UEFA Cup qualifying as of the 2009-10 season.

http://www.championsleaguetalk.com/uefa-interto...

Re: Are Football Match Programmes Slowly Becoming Extinct?

Lonnie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:29:38 -0000

I love what Arsenal do or were doing. They (at least last season) allowed visitors to their website to download PDF versions of the match programme's. I thought it was such a brilliant idea...I wish more teams would do that for their supporters. I hope Arsenal continue the downloads and that others take up the idea as well.

Re: Euro 2008 Semi Final Preview Germany v Turkey

Lonnie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:53:49 -0000

The feed went out here in Canada too.

Our coverage has been excellent. We've been treated to the host broadcast feed which has used British announcers Tony Jones, John Helm, Dave Woods and Steve Banyard. No 'color' commentator or summariser...whatever term you prefer to use. I prefer to call it noise :) I have to say I much prefer a one-person announced match as opposed to two or more. The atmosphere of the stadium is allowed to leak more into the broadcast and I feel more like I am there.

Anyone else feel that way?

Re: Euro 2008 Semi Final Preview Germany v Turkey

Lonnie — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:55:17 -0000

I should be more clear about my last post. Host Broadcast Services is the world feed producer for tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup, and for UEFA. I should have explained that more clearly. Sorry !!

Re: Website Review: Portsmouth Football Club

Lonnie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 10:52:12 -0000

The site is nice and this is a solid review. The accessible site scales upward decently and loads quite quickly. I found the 'enhanced' site a little sluggish at times.

The PFC TV section seems to be designed moreso with PC users in mind as it does not operate correctly on my MacBook. Could be my setup but
I tried a few different things and no success to even see the demo video. I've found this to be the case with most club's online TV presence as well as the UEFA video subscription. They rely on Windows Media Player as they want to use its DRM capabilities.

I will say that the design company did a nice job on Pompey's stationary/business cards as well.

Re: How Fox Soccer Channel Can Improve Its Summer Programming

Lonnie — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:41:46 -0000

Fox Sports World here in Canada shows very little live soccer even when the major domestic leagues are up and running. The only thing they have is some Argentine league and Serie A when that is up and running. I have not seen any MLS games on Fox Sports World listings the past couple of weeks. I tune in to HDNet or some other channel to find some MLS coverage.

Half of each programming day is dedicated to re-running the Fox Soccer Report of Sky Sports News or dull general talk shows about sport.

I don't even know why I pay the premium to have the channel at this point :)

GolTV also run far too many repeats of their news show but their carrying Bundesliga and La Liga is what make it worth the price for me.

Re: New Hull City 08/09 Home Shirt Launched | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:17:57 -0000

I like it...Hull's shirt will add a bit of difference to the league...agree with the sentiment that there is too much red/blue

Re: Benitez Burns His Bridges

Lonnie — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:24:56 -0000

Isn't it splitting hairs to say that Barry's valuation is based on Carrick/Hargreaves rather than Mascherano? All of those players cost somewhere in the £16 - 19m range in transfer fees.

Re: New 08/09 Blackburn Rovers Away Shirt Revealed

Lonnie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:49:04 -0000

A nice unique looking shirt. Good to see some of the clubs being a bit bold in their choices.

Re: Bored By The EPL’s Big Four

Lonnie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:56:09 -0000

Just a couple of quick points:

1) I did not jump on the United bandwagon as of 99. I started following United, as I've stated elsewhere on this site, because when EPL games started showing regularly on TV here in Canada in 97/98, Manchester United was most often featured. One of my favourite games is actually a loss. It was the 4-3 thriller against Newcastle from the 2001-02 season.

2) Those that are slagging me for not showing 'loyalty' -- I understand part of where you're coming from and the fact that you feel that I am not really a fan if my loyalties can just switch. To be honest, I don't know if I can stop cold turkey. I have followed the club for years and did not come to the decision to undertake this venture lightly. I felt it would be a good to hear some of the reasons why people developed loyalties to their chosen clubs. My following of United developed for reasons of convenience and I have to wonder if fans in North America are perhaps too far away from the action to be more than just tourists.

In thinking about what it means to be a fan, it seems to me that the big clubs in Europe have become increasingly consumer-driven, at the expense of being local and community driven, and the current way of how fan identities are derived is in flux. The Pitch Invasion site had an excellent post on this topic:

http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2008/02/09/mercha...

Re: Premier League Clubs Are Not Alone In Cashing In On Our Money

Lonnie — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:55:00 -0000

I agree with Phil's comments. 'New' kits are brought out every season and most don't change much.

Re: Poll: Premier League Signings

Lonnie — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:10:38 -0000

I think Portsmouth and Aston Villa have both done a good job so far. They both picked up a player with PL experience (Crouch and Sidwell respectively) at reasonable prices. Crouch was pricy but still came for less than Liverpool had apparently been asking for so that's a good deal for Pompey.

Re: Alexander Hleb’s Departure From Arsenal Not A Huge Loss

Lonnie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:24:19 -0000

Wenger has admitted in recent interviews that the strategy of the club is to sell established players every year and to buy less expensive players. He also said the main reason for that is that the club has to to free up - for about 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24million to pay for their new stadium.

They also have to keep the overall wage bill at a reasonable level so any 'stars' looking for the big 100K/week deals are going to have to move on.

The only way this tide will turn for the club is if they receive some heavy investment from someone like Stan Kroenke or another foreign interest. However, I like the approach Arsenal are taking at the moment. They are avoiding the whole ridiculous notion of chasing after 'star' players and work hard to develop young talent. It would be interesting to see them add a veteran or two on a free transfer just to have someone to mentor and/or take some of the pressure off the younger kids coming through.

One that comes to mind would have been Ivan Klasnic, who was available on a free after he was released by Werder Bremen (The release was due to a dispute between the two over medical diagnosis of his kidney problems, the lawsuit Klasnic filed was settled but he still felt uncomfortable with the team doctor and wanted out.)

Re: Top 5 Worst Football Shirt Designs Of 08/09 Premier League Season

Lonnie — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:38:31 -0000

There are a lot of ugly looking shirts this year. You would think that with the big TV money the clubs would want their products to look good :)

Re: West Ham United v MLS All-Stars On ESPN Tonight

Lonnie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:17:26 -0000

I for one and am looking forward to the match tonight. I've not gotten to see as many MLS games as I had planned on but it'll be interesting to see how the All-Stars match up against West Ham. It's really a win-win in some senses for MLS as if they lose they can simply say that the players have no chemistry together but if they win they can point to a strong league with players capable of playing at any level, etc. etc.

Just for the few Canucks that might be reading this, the game is being shown on CBC Ontario (not nation wide) at 7pm EST and is also on CBC-HD (which is available in most major Canadian cities) at the same time.

Re: Which Club Will Crack The Big Four This Season?

Lonnie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:22:01 -0000

I was torn between Everton and Pompey but I voted for Pompey as they have had the most stable off-season thus far and have added a little quality to their attack by signing Peter Crouch. The only thing I see working against them is the UEFA Cup adventure that they'll be on. More games, more pressure, etc.

Re: Where’s The Wisdom In Andy Johnson’s Move From Everton To Fulham?

Lonnie — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:28:16 -0000

I agree with most of the sentiment here that Johnson is a bit one-dimensional and if Everton can get £10.5 m for him, I'd say sell !! :)

Fulham would be better off spending that cash on some defensive depth.

Re: ESPN Coverage Hits New Low With West Ham vs MLS All-Stars

Lonnie — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:07:51 -0000

I thought the CBC did a nice job of covering the game. They featured a one-on-one interview with Beckham during the pre-game build up. Nigel Reed handled the call of the game with Jason De Vos doing color.

I did not notice any of the issues that the ESPN broadcast apparently had.

One thing that was not evident from the broadcast was the flag/anthem mixup (unless I missed a mention of it). From the Canadian Press:

"In a case of bad planning, organizers of the Major League Soccer all-star game led many fans to believe that the Canadian anthem was not going to be played on Tuesday at BMO Field.

Instead of bringing the Canadian flag onto the field along with the American flag and the English flag (for the visitors from West Ham United), organizers waited until several minutes after the other two anthems were played to showcase the Maple Leaf, leading to an ugly scene as fans belted out O Canada and booed while the Star Spangled Banner was being played.

When the Canadian anthem finally was performed, the crowd responded with loud cheers and joined in for a loud rendition of O Canada. "

Re: Blackburn Signs Paul Robinson For £3.5 Million

Lonnie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:31:39 -0000

I think this is a good move for Blackburn over the long haul. Friedel is quite a bit older than Robinson and while I might rank Friedel as slightly better at the moment, I think Robinson has been harshly criticized and is not as poor as he has been made out to be at times.

Friedel will be No 1 at Villa and will help mentor Guzan for the future. Really it's win-win for both teams I think.

Re: Ashton and West Ham Show Flashes of What Can Be

Lonnie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:48:19 -0000

Kartik,

While I think Curbishley is an OK manager, I'm not sure how much "better" he has been than Pardew. Pardew guided the team to 9th and then had to go through the signing of players he was clearly not comfortable with as well as the takeover drama that disrupted the club.

Curbishley came in and while "saving" them from possible relegation (it's debatable how much of an effect he had) he guided them to 10th last season. Big improvement ! :)

Re: Poll: Is Carlos Tevez Worth £32 Million?

Lonnie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:36:14 -0000

That's a loaded and a little bit vague of a question. You could argue that no player's contract rights are worth that much cash -- that's a fee just to gain the right to sign him to a contract -- it does not take into account what he'll be paid in salary. Fees like this are what teams need to look at and decide if they want to buy for crazy amounts or if they want to spend some time to work with the young talent they've got on hand at the club.

On the other hand, based on what Torres and others have been selling for it's not unreasonable. Hopefully they won't have to pay that much though as they already paid some ridiculous loan fee for last year. £5m or something in that neighborhood.

Re: Forget A Four-Horse Race, It Will Be Man United And Chelsea At The Top Again

Lonnie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:40:55 -0000

I really think that Arsenal were hard done by last year -- mostly by the media. They were written off to start the year, praised through the roof when they exceeded the media's expectations and then slagged when they faltered down the stretch due to a combination of injuries and the lack of experienced quality on the bench. It was really a telling picture of how the mainstream media operate.

Re: Appearance On BBC Radio 5 & World Football Phone-In Show | EPL Talk

Lonnie — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:08:43 -0000

Great job Chris !

Re: Robbie Keane Is A Ticking Time Bomb Waiting To Explode At Liverpool

Lonnie — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:25:40 -0000

The other point that I'd raise is that with Keane, who will likely play just off Torres in sort of an attacking midfield role, what happens to Gerrard? Does he get shuffled out wide again?

Re: Bolton Unveils New Away Shirt For 2008/2009 Season

Lonnie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:14:40 -0000

Yikes. I might have to watch EPL in black and white this year. There are some really ugly kits coming out. The color isn't the problem in this case. That mustard yellow doesn't really have much to do with Bolton though does it? Looks more like a Wolves kit to me.

Re: Fulham Unveils New Away Shirt For 2008/2009 Season

Lonnie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:17:54 -0000

I think their away kit from last season was sharper.

Re: Premier League Teams Appearing Most Often On Setanta Sports

Lonnie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:20:03 -0000

Odd. The reigning champs are usually the most featured club, at least from what I can recall. I wonder what's caused the shift this year?

Re: Sanchez v Hodgson — Comparing Fulham Transfer Signings

Lonnie — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:52:29 -0000

timmyg,

I agree with your view on Hangeland...he and Hughes started to form a decent partnership in central defence at the end of last season.

Nevland was effective in the "super sub" role...he was able to come on late and give the team a little boost but I think the verdict is still out on him. Let's see what he can do if he gets a more regular turn in the rotation.

Re: Is David Bentley Really Worth 15 Million Pounds?

Lonnie — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:58:02 -0000

Lennon might be on the bench this season or even sold off now that Bentley is there. It'll be interesting to see what other moves Tottenham make before the end of the summer.

Re: Is David Bentley Really Worth 15 Million Pounds?

Lonnie — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:49:16 -0000

Darren made a good point about the sell-on clause that sees Arsenal pocket a good chunk of the transfer fee that Blackburn obtained. I've seen it reported as 7m of the 15m fee. That may indeed be the reason that Blackburn drove up the price.

Spurs were obviously willing to pay as they had just raked in a nice pile of cash in the Robbie Keane deal so it doesn't affect their budget from that perspective.

As far as Bentley comparing to Van der Vaart, I'd say he's a more consistent performer than Van der Vaart. Bentley's always had a decent level of skill but he's now blended the work rate and attitude to go with it. You have to give a nod to Mark Hughes and his staff for helping the player mature.

People have to keep in mind that these deals are negotiated. Just because some player is 'rated' as a 7m player, that doesn't hold a lot of relevance to what happens in the deal. You can't simply walk up to Blackburn and say "Right. Here's 6m...we want Bentley". Doesn't work that way.

Either way, I hope Blackburn reinvest the money wisely and bring in a couple of players to bolster their squad. Maybe a couple of million can go into boosting their academy......nahhhh....this is the Premier League...they don't do that do! :)

Re: ‘Man City And The Football Factory’ Starring Mark Hughes

Lonnie — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:52:17 -0000

Good article. I'm gaining a lot of respect for Hughes as a manager.

I think City are fortunate in some ways to have missed out on signing Ronaldinho. It would have put expectations through the roof and may have proved to be more of a distraction than anything.

Re: Karthik’s Pick - 10 Young Sizzling Transfers

Lonnie — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:07:04 -0000

Boro had a speedy winger last season -- his name is Stewart Downing !! :) But it will be nice to see someone perhaps compliment him on the right side of midfield.

Re: Karthik’s Pick - 10 Young Sizzling Transfers

Lonnie — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:11:48 -0000

I would have put Luka Modric ahead of Behrami.

I also think its a bit of a stretch to dos Santos is "right up there with Berbatov"....he's had a couple cups of coffee in the Barca first team but if they rated him as a player in that class, I don't picture Barca letting him go. If they have then things are in bad shape at the Nou Camp ! :)

Re: Beaten To The Punch- Again

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:30:31 -0000

I thought Garay was a centre-back/right-back?

Re: Zaragoza cries seven yeras later

Lonnie — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:34:27 -0000

Hi Jose,

Welcome to the "Talk" family of sites. This was a good post.

It is too bad that Zaragoza underachieved this year. Millito will leave for sure but where to? Maybe Barcelona to join his brother?

Also I didn't quite understand the statement "The problem is that Portuguese crack is saying yes and no at the same time." Can you explain it? I get the intent of what you mean but don't understand the "Portugese crack" part.

Re: Zaragoza cries seven yeras later

Lonnie — Wed, 21 May 2008 10:45:11 -0000

Jose,

Trust me...your English is 1000 times better than my Spanish :) I look forward to more of your posts.

Re: Manchester Strikes Back- Episode 2

Lonnie — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:21:29 -0000

"Malcolm Glazer rebutted Real Madrid’s offer by asking for three key players of Real Madrid’s in exchange for Cristiano Ronaldo. Mahmadou Diarra, Sergio Ramos, and Robinho as well as 50 million euros are the bargaining chips that Manchester wants Madrid to put on the table."

I suspect you're culling this info from Marca. I wouldn't put much faith in what Marca prints regarding Real Madrid. They've long been accused of being a mouthpiece for whatever propoganda Real want to push out.

If I were a gambler, I would say that Ronaldo will stay at Manchester United for at least one or two more seasons.

Re: Holy Spirit Sustainability (by Brian McLaren)

Lonnie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:16:31 -0000

It seems to me that McLaren did a fine job in calling us to do the 'feel good' things like composting and switching to flourescent lights. But it is the bloggers who identified the critical issues facing our planet: overpopulation. Come on Brian and all of you other Bible thumping evangelicals, engage with the real world and its very critical issues instead of the magical, wishful thinking that absorbs so much of your time!

Re: Holy Spirit Sustainability (by Brian McLaren)

Lonnie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:24:55 -0000

Please delineate the theological reasoning you have for finding population control so disgusting and immoral and do so without falling back on some inerrant argument.

Re: Holy Spirit Sustainability (by Brian McLaren)

Lonnie — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:52:14 -0000

"Today's population exceeds that which existed at the time scripture was written by over 30 times! Therein lies the problem."
Thank you Cads-my feeling precisely.

Re: Holy Spirit Sustainability (by Brian McLaren)

Lonnie — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:19:52 -0000

Please Mike, Do not try to say that the Bible did not condone slavery. All of the religious academic community agrees on this point. If you are not aware of this then I submit you have little ground to stand on when you begin to speak about being a steward of the earth. God gave you a brain---use it!

Re: More Backgrounds- Special Black And White Pack

Lonnie — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 12:49:00 -0000

I sure miss San Antonio...Ft. Sam and Trinity are home to some of my best memories...

Nice blog...

L

Re: We’re all on the same bus

Lonnie — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:02:00 -0000

Sign me up Sifu....

Great post...

Merry Xmas from GZ...

OMBW

Re: 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid Official World Premiere

Lonnie — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:46:17 -0000

I used to be strictly Honda until I saw this 2007 Camry. I love it! The previous body style was a little to 'geriatric' for my taste. This new design is amazing. I especially love the interior aesthetics.