DISQUS

Kartik,

I mentioned it in one of Michael's post about manager of the season. Steve Bruce deserves some platitudes for turning Wigan around in the second half. They're playing better football and are not as painful to watch. I hope they invest wisely and challenge for a Top 10 spot next season.

Kartik,

I agree with what you're saying about MLS and foreign players but I think you're being a bit harsh on US players. I don't think you need to have the "best" player on several different squads to build a strong national team. And in any case, what about Michael Bradley at Heerenveen? Would he not qualify as the best player on that squad? I know a lot of people see the Dutch league as a "lesser" league but largely I think that's because other leagues have more money to splash around and not so much to do with the on-field product.

I have to say that I have not been overly impressed with Dempsey in the matches I've seen. Eddie Johnson has not had an impact yet either but he was a mid-season transfer and I'm willing to wait and see on him.

For me, Jimmy Bullard has easily been the best player on that squad this year. It's too bad for Fulham that he was hurt for such a large block of the season. I had written Fulham off but they may just pull off an escape yet. Reading are sinking fast and they do not look likely to pick up much in the way of points before the end of the season.

I was following the stories about Modric since they first started surfacing in January. This is indeed a big coup for Spurs and enhances their chances of keeping Berbatov around.

Modric will be the playmaker that Spurs are lacking in the middle. I wonder if one or more of Jenas, Lennon or Malbranque are on the way out?

If that's for real, that's an interesting shirt idea. Not sure why you'd include a design element in a spot where no one is likely to see it but it is different.

I certainly was wrong on the shape the match took and I admit that. If you watched the ESPN broadcast, their analysts were equally shocked by what was on display so I was not alone in that matter.

Alex,

I agree with you that Messi's goal record for is quite admirable for someone that plays essentially as a winger. He has a boatload of talent and I hope that he can stay healthy as I do enjoy watching him play.

As for the future and time travel, I've watched the movies but that's about it. Perhaps my saying that Barcelona "will not" win the CL is a bit strong-headed but based on what I've seen of them this year, my 1.21 gigawatt brain is telling me they will not advance.

Anyone not getting the gigawatt reference...check here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCRUvX2D0E

Alex,

Just a few points in regards to your comments.

Messi is very talented but appears to be too fragile to be relied upon. How many times has he been out injured in the last couple of seasons?

Barcelona will not win the Champions League this season. Puyol is out for this first leg, Messi is just coming back from injury, Ronaldinho cannot be counted on right now, Henry is injured and Barca have struggled all year. They were fortunate to get past Schalke in the last round. They came up with just enough to win, granted that, but that level of performance will not get the job done against Manchester United.

Re: Kuyt's goal...he was not offside and Makelele jumped into him, Kuyt just brushed him off and went on to score...good composure for once.

And how about that gorgeous header by Riise? Just seconds from having the advantage in the tie now the advantage has been handed to Chelsea.

I think West Brom will do quite well next season. They will probably not finish in the top 10 but I don't think they will be relegated either. If they keep the core of their team and add a few they'll be in good shape.

Don't forget they outplayed Portsmouth, a top 10 club, in the FA Cup and were unlucky to not advance. I'll take the group of players that know what to do with the ball over the "lump it long" crowd any day.

Gaffer,

I always watch the clips from this user, they post them with much cleaner audio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JAxzU9GQM

Frazier Campbell is out on loan to Hull City FC. He has scored a number of big goals for them and is their leading scorer this season.

"If the club cannot repay or refinance the loan, banks could force the Reds to sell both Torres and Babel a year from now."

Are the banks really going to dictate where the repayment source comes from? Liverpool could sell Crouch, Pennant, Kewell and others that are not regular first-teamers.

I concur with Michael's remarks. Liverpool have fallen behind other clubs in exploring other markets and generating new capital. That said, I still Hicks should not be making this discussion public. It's unprofessional and if he's worried about marketing and revenue, he should think about the damage he is doing to the Liverpool brand with his actions.

I've got a few "working man's champagne" (read: beer) chillin in the fridge. It looks promising but Chelsea are still in it. That Stamford Bridge match will be the decider for sure. A win over Chelsea at the Bridge would be sweet, sweet revenge for the 2005-06 season when Chelsea clinched by dumping United 3-0 and breaking Rooney's foot.

I'm hoping United can also win the Champions League as well. Maybe Tevez can play the role of the new Solskjaer while Rooney can re-enact the Teddy Sheringham role. :)

Ivan,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will work on a longer piece comparing salaries for some of the American-based sports leagues (NBA, NFL, etc) as well as F1, rugby, etc.

It might take me a little while to compile but look for it hopefully by next week ! :)

Turning Rooney into someone that sounds like a 12-year-old bookworm is some good comedy !

Interesting article. I do like the Championship and wish I would get to see more than just highlights. It would be nice if FSC would pick that up instead of their current programming. I also had hoped that both Nottingham Forest and Leeds would make it back up to the Championship but it looks like those two will be in the playoffs and only one, if lucky, will make it.

A couple of small points. Clubs relegated from the Premier League are given those big parachute payments which gives them a bit of an unfair advantage in the transfer market. However, that does not always translate into an immediate return to the Premier League as Sheffield United and Charlton are finding out.

MLB is a bad example of a sport with a salary cap. They don't have an actual cap on spending, just a tax for spending over a certain amount. So, teams like the Red Sox and Yankees continue to spend because they can easily pay the tax.

As it turns out Derby are going to Holland instead:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/...

Are Derby going to play against A-League sides? :) I can't see them beating an MLS team the way they've been.

United will want to win at Stamford Bridge. It will be the exclamation point on the season for them. With that win under their belt they can then focus a bit more on their Champions League meeting with Barcelona.

Looks more like a training top than an actual match top. I hope this is not their third shirt...it's awful.

Ashley Young has recorded 16 assists second only to Cesc Fabregas so far this season. Agbonlahor has 9 goals and 8 assists. Good solid seasons for both so I don't mind that they were nominated.

The problem is, and I actually agree with Michael's article, that the "Young Player" award criteria need to be re-examined.

I've touched on it before in a couple of posts but I will again be examining why the English-based clubs are proving to be more dominant this season in the Champions League.

I agree with the comment that comparing leagues is like comparing apples and oranges. There are certain factors, like money, that we know vary widely from league to league.

The easy answer is that the patient, short-passing game favoured by many Spanish and Italian sides is not matching up well against the high-energy, pressing style that is so common in the EPL but I think there is more to it than that.

I think the UEFA Cup (which if it did not matter to anyone, what's the furor over letting Cardiff City in ? And why are EPL teams so worried about getting into the UEFA Cup spots?) does point to the fact that the EPL is quickly becoming a haves/have-nots league where the top 4 are always the same. Everton and Portsmouth are knocking on the door but how close are they really?

As for the Bundesliga, I have been watching it quite regularly this year and I have not found the tempo of the matches to be "way slower" than in the average EPL match. In terms of "slower" leagues, I'd nominate Serie A before I would mention the Bundesliga.

In general though, each match settles into its own particular rythmn and within any league there will be both turgid stop-start, kick-him-in-the-shins affairs and there will be flowing end-to-end games. A lot of it depends on who's matched up with who, what the pitch conditions are and a whole other host of factors that are never talked about. I find that the whole argument about what the best league often has the smell of jingoism/self-interest about it.

Re: Gerrard

The Telegraph listed him as their man of the match. Funny how different people see different things :)

I agree with you on the in-game interviews...most post-game interviews should be scrapped as well. They offer little more than cliches or whinging.

I disagree about the introduction of different camera angles. The standard long view that we get is a bit stale and fresh perspectives on the action (especially in HD) are a good thing.