This weekend, I did not watch a single game. You’re welcome. Why? You ask. By me not watching I created an environment of drama and goals. Chelsea on 4-2 at White Hart Lane; United won 4-2 against Stoke; City grabbed three points at the death against WBA; Barcelona won 5-4 at the Riazor; and Valencia stole the match late at home against Athletic Bilbao.
Spooky at Dear Mr Levy saw Spurs’ start slow in part due to the absence of Dembele and Bale, rebound with a higher tempo second half but in the end capitulate due to defensive lapses. Watching the highlights, what was Walker doing in the second half? Not tracking, not marking, not shielding the ball out of play. Spooky addressed and asked for patience towards the young player. As MOTD stated, Spurs asked questions (at least for a little bit) and the Blues responded.
James Martin of ESPN FC summarized an open game in which he felt that Chelsea stepped it up. See above. Walker went missing and gave Chelsea plenty of room to operate. James mentioned Gallas’ struggles as well as his clearances led to two of the visitor’s goals. In the Blues won three more points as they look to cement their claim as title contenders.
Danny at Bitter and Blue saw the Champions (still have a hard time writing/saying that) grab all three points at the Hawthorns. Despite Milner being sent off in the first half, City took the game to WBA and were eventually rewarded. Stat Attack from Danny:
Eight of City’s 17 goals this season have been scored in the final five minutes, with five of these netted in the final five minutes. Nine of Dzeko’s last 11 goals have been to earn a draw or get the win.
This last statement led to Danny wrapping up the post. Is Dzeko a super sub or what? Have to say that watching the run in to last season and the early part of this season, he fits the bill. After Aguero, Tevez, Silva and Balotelli run defenders ragged, he steps in and seals the deal. The storyline will be whether he remains happy with that role.
Musa Okwonga of the Manchester United Blog for ESPN FC looked at the attacking triangle of Welbeck, van Persie and Rooney for Manchester United. The three of them combined for all four goals, showing a cohesion that could put the Reds back in to the title chase. Unfortunately the defense still needs shoring up and may ultimately prove the deciding factor come May.
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Articles and Pods
During the international break, I skimmed the internet, visiting sites previously unknown or ignored in my routine. I came upon a post on Bleacher Report about players that United might get rid of in January and possible replacements moving forward. Out: Nani, Josh King (striker I don’t know too much about), Bebe (forgot he was even on the team), Macheda, and Robbie Brady (a possible left back option going forward but if he wants to stay in contention for Ireland, he needs to be playing). Who to bring in? Hangeland to rebuild the center of the defense and Strootman to strengthen the center of midfield. Yes to all of the above.
Occasionally I’ll check out the Pitch Invasion podcast. Episode 8 looked back at the found of the Chicago Fire, with Peter Wilt, the founding General Manager of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club recounting the forming of the club, including the badge, the name (original name was going to be Chicago Rhythm?), the kit and development of the supporter culture. I remember going to early games at Soldier Field, actually cheering against the home team so that I could support DC United. Good times.
The USMNT has moved on to the next round of qualifying after a tougher than expected semi-final round. A lot has been written and said in the last week regarding Klinsmann’s time in charge, just over 14 months. I listened to two podcasts that examined his time thus far: Beyond the Pitch and Men in Blazers. Both pods touched on the fact that a massive sea change has not occurred under the German and that is big ideas have not become concrete actions. Alexi Lalas was on Men in Blazers to discuss this as a former player and current pundit, which made for an interesting conversation.
Finally, Grant Wahl looked at the emergence of beIN Sport in theUS and Europe for SI.com. The network has the US rights to several leagues—Italian, French and Spanish—plus it has picked up USMNT away games, which previously were impossible to find. From a US viewing perspective, the channel has essentially combined GolTV and Fox Soccer Plus, with the real losers being the German Bundesliga (still on GolTV, which has been dropped by DirecTV per Wahl’s article) and the English Championship (Bueller, Bueller).
But another loser may be the American soccer consumer. BeIN has all of these leagues but only one feed. (Sorry, that’s not fair. They have the Spanish feed but guess what? Americans would like to watch games with English commentary.) My question is this: How do you show everything? A recent example was the massive one time convergence of rivalry games that occurred two weeks ago: El Clasico, the Milan Derby and PSG v Marseille. Here’s what beIN chose to do in their infinite wisdom: viewers only got to see the second half of the Milan Derby live as it was shoehorned in between El Clasico and the French game. What? That will be the norm as important games in Italy and Spain are typically shown in late afternoon Eastern time. With no online platform, you can only see the live games that they show. The rest are shown on delay, and in the internet age, they should be able to do better.
Every time they make a decision between leagues, they piss off people. A couple of weeks ago, the Juve/Roma game (typically a big rivalry game, especially more so this year with Zeman in charge of the Romans) was not broadcast live. The Juventini were PISSED and with good reason. This is a big game and fans were not able to see it live, having to go into media blackout if they wanted to watch it without knowing the result. Where will the channel put their focus as they to strike a balance between all of the leagues?
So far we’ve got a terrible name, poor distribution and only one screen for three important European leagues. Can’t fix the first one without MAJOR re-branding. I pray every day for a better name. Distribution will be fixed over time. I can’t believe that they won’t be in more homes by next summer. Comcast will come around and so will AT&T. As for the third, that’s where it gets tricky. If they don’t add an online option to provide customized viewing and then we are at their mercy as I see it. Maybe I want to watch Getafe v Osasuna or Genoa v Catania or Le Havre v Sochaux. And I can’t because it conflicts with another match in another league. And there is no option beyond illegal internet feeds. That doesn’t seem right.
On top of all of this, is their pursuit of the EPL. If they get that, everything I have mentioned will be negatively affected at a rate of 10, while causing the probable collapse of FSC. While I don’t really like the channel (studio shows, graphics, choice of live Champions League games), you can’t argue with the access they provide to the game—constant repeats, online options, two channels. If they go away then beIN has a virtual stranglehold on the American soccer viewer. I’m not really in favor of that. Not only do I find that wrong on a very basic level, but basically I’m swapping Rob Stone for that annoying skinny blond that is constantly on in between games doing her best deer in the headlights routine.
Soccer Nomad 