Is no one watching football anymore? I feel like I'm talking to myself in this thread. I went to the DC-New England match at RFK last night (DC 2 - 1 NE) . Can't get the individual highlights on the site to work for some reason, so here's the full highlight reel on YouTube: Starting watching around 2:48 is Pontius' equalizer set up with a beautiful backheel by Branko Boskovic.
I'm watching, and after seeing the Real Madrid/Manchester City game I just have to say I love the Champion's League.
And for ALL my fans out there (and those of you wondering what the hell I'm talking about) today my beloved AIK takes on Napoli in Napoli. Yes, folks, after the Miracle in Moscow, it's now time to take on a team even better than CSKA for our heroes! We're now strengthened by the arrival of some of FrankA favorite Celtic players: Swedish international Daniel Majstorovic and Sierra Leone striker Mohammed Bangura! If things run their normal course, I expect Napoli to win this with at least two goals.
Well. AIK played a really good game if you disregard the fact that Napoli scored 4 and AIK 0. I don't think we've met anything as brutally efficient as Napoli in the 35 years I've followed AIK.
Good outcomes for my DCU this week. Tonight, of course, 3 points from Chivas were needed and, I should say, expected. It's pathetic that we only scored 1-0 against a team like that, and emblematic of our finishing difficulties without De Rosario. But 3 points is 3 points, the goal that was scored was beautiful, and it was the first MLS goal for Branko Boskovic, who usually notches the assists from setpieces. Chicago beat Columbus 2-1; I like Chicago for their own sake, sure, but we've been in a tight race with Columbus and Houston for playoff berths. Philadelphia 3-1 over Houston, on a brace by Freddy Adu, who's not done much of anything lately, helps us further in the playoff race. Nothing's guaranteed, we've got a couple matches left that could be tough, we don't have our star player. But this week was great for us. We have 50 points, ahead of Houston (46) and Columbus (45). We've got a shot at it.
Tottenham defeating Man U this weekend may just have been the highlight of my sporting year. I was at rehearsal when the final score came over my phone, and let out an unfortunately timed "FUCK YES" in the middle of an emotional scene between Beatrice and Benedick.
I'll just leave this here for posterity. Sweden scored FOUR on Germany in one half, after being down 4-0. I'll admit that I switched off after 2-0.
Honduras topped Canada 8-1. Wake me when you do that, Sweden. Oh yeah, and USMNT is through for now as well.
Yes for Barcelona! Man City got kicked in the short hairs and I liked the result with Dortmund smashing Real Madrid. Feel somewhat bad for Arsenal. AC Milan lost to Malaga, which I guess fits after getting gutted this summer.
For those of you in the US following the EPL, there will be some changes next year in how you can watch it. Personally, I think NBC could outsource the production team to an above average high school's AV department and be better than FSC (how FSC survives more than a year in this I don't know). I'd also recommend hiring Ray Hudson and paring him with Ian Darke.
If NBC gets the EPL and Fox keeps the Champion's League I will be quite put out. It's annoying enough that I need beIN sports to watch the League Cup.
Getting really tired of anti-American elitism about football. It's never substantive, and it's never in response to anything that merits it. I was in an IRC channel yesterday and someone asked what time the DC match was scheduled for. I said 8:00. That's about how much time we had before a bunch of people spammed the channel with "LOL MLS." The SA EPL matchday thread often contains variants of "why do we let Americans post in this thread?" Is the MLS the EPL? No. What is? I eventually left that channel, probably forever, because I'm sick of it and the ops there seem more interested in yelling at people like me for objecting. Anyway, give 'em hell, Newcastle.
To be fair, that was a 1-1 draw by own goals. I enjoyed the game, but DC United are out. Without DeRo they're not the team that handily beat us 4-0 or whatever, and the Red Bulls seem to show a little more concentration in defense now. We'll see, I'm happy anytime I don't' see them down 1-0 within 15 minutes.
Yeah, I'm not at all confident about our chances on Wednesday. I'm hoping for a win, but playoffs are progress either way at least.
The main issue you have here is that many football fans are jingoistic, tribalistic, braying fucking idiots by their very nature. Digging a little deeper, football fans romanticize the past. In England this means there's a lingering affection for the halcyon days of managers in sheepskin, mudbath 1-1 Yorkshire derbies in the piss-freezing rain where three men break their legs, £60 a week wages, terraces, Denis Law bowing his head, two-footed challenges being waved on, and TV coverage delivered from a dove grey studio in a polyester tie. It doesn't matter if you were alive then. This is the legend, the aspirational working class ideal of the game passed down by dads hunched in the chicken run at the Boleyn, grandads shivering in the sleet at Elland Road, useless pundits and sepia-tinted intro graphics. As an American approaching football from a space outside of these shared fictions you're easy to marginalise. It's a form of empowerment, more of the tribalism that defines the game. They're the real fans, the guys who liked the band before they were cool. Acronyms like EPL stick in the craw, ominous portents of a crassly yankeefied future where we watch Manchester Red Devils take on North London Cannons at the Heineken Omnidome. You're made into a symbol of the new order of slickly moneyed soap opera Murdochball, which they all pretend to hate but pay 70 quid a month to watch week-in, week-out, never engaging with the game as more than a useful proxy for hurling vile abuse at people. Not fair I know. But did I mention that many football fans are fucking idiots?
Swans looked good and I wish that had taken 3. I am enjoying the Houston Dynamo, but have not got to watch them often. Hoping they take out KC on the second leg. Time Warner apparently picked up BEin Sports, so I will get to watch Barcelona play again.
Cannot believe San Jose scored another winning goal in stoppage time. I can't even blame Lenhart for this one. I can see how if you were an SJ fan you'd love him. He pushes people's buttons on purpose and it's probably pretty funny if it's your guy doing it. I'm pretty sure last night after getting in a confrontation with an LA player he patted the other guy's ass before he walked away.
Oh my fucking god. Guess who is fucking officiating on Wednesday. Mark fucking Geiger. Yes, the official from That Game. I'm just going to fly into a blind rage now, save everyone some time.
I'm totally looking forward to this. middle of a nor'easter, snow all over the field even though they shoveled it just now. I think there's more DC fans in the stadium since the MLS provided transportation and free tickets due to the sandy switch. I predict more own-goals. Also, the Red Bulls should win since they are stacked with Scandanavians
MLS did not provide transportation and tickets. United provided transportation and tickets. This is gonna be bad. I think people might get hurt. VAMOS UNITED.
Absolute bullshit with DCU being denied their game. We bused seven hundred people in eleven buses up there for fucking nothing. Again we're forced to give up our due. Everything else about Today In Foot owned. Besides Celtic balling out of control, I bring you all excellent news from the MLS: San Jose is out. Steven Lenhart is out. Steven Lenhart's hair is out. Steven Lenhart can fuck off forever. Wondo looked like he was heading for tears. I felt a little bad for him. A little. But I'm still glad Lenhart's done for the season and I hope a cat pees on him.
And AIK are up 1-0 at the half against PSV Eindhoven. Scorer? Well, it's Mo Bangura who scored an absolutely stunning solo goal. I sure hope FrankA or Celtic aren't watching. If the result stands btw, AIK will have the same amount of points as Napoli and PSV.
Yes, thank you, we'll keep him. Because doing that against a Dutch national team player, just isn't up to the standard of Celtic ;-) We've just taken four points from PSV Eindhoven. Not too shabby.
Certain players just can't do it in certain sides. We'll call it The Torres Effect. Whatever it may be, Bangura was absolutely awful in every minute he had with Celtic, and it obviously wasn't a fit for our staff or our system, so I'm happy he's back scoring goals elsewhere. We've got a bit of a history of signing unproductive strikers under Lennon, and while I don't mind a bit of developmental time (OOH AH SAMARAS! OOH AH SAMARAS!) before players find their real potential, we clearly need to be more discerning up front.
I think, or rather I actually know, that the climate at Celtic and at AIK is completely different. Also, most people don't remember how fast everything happened for Mohammed. He came to AIK after a few months in a Swedish division two side (i.e. the fifth highest division!), became a smash hit during the summer and helped us avoid relegation (we play April to November). We denied him the possibility of going to Spartak Moscow, thinking we could get more than the 2.5 million Euro they offered. The next season his best buddy Tetteh scored goals by the truckload during the spring, gets set for life with a super-contract in Turkey, Mo doesn't understand why he hasn't been sold, finally gets a deal with Celtic. Arrives injured and fatigued, gets off to a terrible start. And probably ends up doubting himself for the first time. On the one hand it's a damn shame he didn't make it at Celtic, on the other it's absolutely wonderful to see him find himself as he has during these last two months and become the player he once was again. He was far and away Man of the Match tonight. If Celtic can't offload him during the winter window we'll probably hopefully be able to get him on loan again. Sadly, we can't match neither his salary nor his transfer fee.
DC United! Overcame RBNY, and saw a mirror of our last game officiated by Geiger, with encroachment called against NY and disallowing their sunk PK. Joe Willis in goal for a red carded Bill Hamid saves the second attempt and Nick DeLeon puts us up 1-0 to win it.
