World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

[AMC]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Jeez, Group G is really going to come down to who beats North Korea's brains out by the most.

 

[jmh]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Jeez, Group G is really going to come down to who beats North Korea's brains out by the most.

Not necessarily - it could be a straightforward 9-6-3-0 group just as easily as it could be a 6-6-6-0 or 5-5-5-0 GD contest, seems like.

Of course, all three of them are going to run up the score against NK just in case it does become relevant.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Not necessarily - it could be a straightforward 9-6-3-0 group just as easily as it could be a 6-6-6-0 or 5-5-5-0 GD contest, seems like.

Of course, all three of them are going to run up the score against NK just in case it does become relevant.

Yeah, the NK keeper would welcome the Firing Squad because then things would stop going by him then.

 

[BoomGoestheDynamite]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Jeez, Group G is really going to come down to who beats North Korea's brains out by the most.

Those North Korea games could get ugly. Either a series of 5-0 beatdowns or games where the commies drop everyone behind the ball and pray the opponent can't hit the net.

 

[blockski]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Good read on MLS's labor negotiations and the league's plans to improve:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=709191&sec=mls&root=mls&cc=5901

MLS commissioner Don Garber has said he is committed to a new collective bargaining agreement that will be good for players and management. The question that remains to be answered is how much MLS is willing to loosen the reins on its teams in order to spur the competition necessary to fuel continued growth.

And what the union is looking for, according to Foose, is for the players to share in the revenue stream, specifically proportionate to the league's growth in terms of revenue. It is also his hope to create "greater competition" through an increased cap. With the expenditures on players like Juan Pablo Angel, David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg, Foose and union representatives are hopeful that the recent splash of cash by several clubs indicates an increased willingness to raise the standard of play and caliber of the players in MLS.

But perhaps the real question for a league that has seen slow and steady growth over 14 years is whether the current status quo is good enough for the next cycle of the collective bargaining agreement and can still grow the game. Will an increased salary cap and free agency improve not only improve the lives of the players but also give teams more flexibility to fill certain needs? All against the backdrop of a recession.

 

[jmh]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

OK, I've got a fantasy question, for people who follow the Premier League closely. I'm not sure whether this was because of poor planning or just bad luck, but I was allocated (autodraft based on customizable rankings) a team with a combination of talented players who were already injured (Mikel Arteta) and players who are both injury-prone *and* were already injured (Jonathan Woodgate, Jimmy Bullard). On top of that, I've had Robin van Persie, Phil Neville, Lee Cattermole and Jonny Evans suffer injuries at various times.

Now, for all that, I'm still in third place (in an 18-team league, mind you) thanks to all of Jermain Defoe's goals, van Persie's stellar contributions before he got hurt (still the 4th-ranked player in the league despite having been out for a while now), contributions from Clint Dempsey and Peter Crouch, and a pretty useful all-free agents defense in Andrew Dawson, Stephen Jordan, Younes Kaboul and John Heitinga. (The defense of my team as originally allocated included Woodgate, Neville and Jlloyd Samuel.)

So what I need to decide is, do I cut bait on one or more of van Persie, Arteta, Neville, Bullard, Woodgate or Evans? (I leave Cattermole off that list because he's supposed to be back in 2-3 weeks.) And bear in mind that, as I said, it's an 18-team league, so the free agent pool is correspondingly watered-down: top forwards available are Cameron Jerome and Guillermo Franco, top midfielder is Mohamed Diame, top defenders are Scott Dann (who I'm thinking of picking up in favor of Evans) and Robert Huth, and top goalkeeper is Asmir Begovic. With the injuries I have, I'm basically just barely able to field a full team as it is.

 

[JF_Gophers]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I'd be careful who you drop. With African Cup of Nations coming up, if your dropped players come back before the end of January they will be snatched up.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

What a joke penalty decision deep in stoppage time.

Joke? The guy totally cleaned out Palacios. That's a penalty every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I don't guess he was trying to deliver the body-check, but he got beaten to the ball and that was what did happen.

(My take on the penalty save is that Howard psyched out Defoe with his feint to Defoe's right. Defoe thought that was where Howard was going to go, adjusted to shoot middle-left, and then got caught out when Howard stayed home.)

There better be 5 or 6 extra minutes after this with Palacio milking this as long as possible.

My sense is that the ultimate amount of stoppage time was about right, but I wasn't paying close attention to where the clock was when the referee halted play to treat Palacios.

 

[Terrierbyassociation]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

It was a joke penalty because IMO it was incidental contact and that deep in stoppage time it shouldn't have been called. He wasn't trying to foul him, they both came together when he was trying to head the ball.

 

[gscott13]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

It was a joke penalty because IMO it was incidental contact and that deep in stoppage time it shouldn't have been called. He wasn't trying to foul him, they both came together when he was trying to head the ball.

gotta agree with craig on this one... no different than a poorly timed challenge. doesn't really matter whether he meant to foul him or not... by that rationale, any time a guy goes for the ball but catches the player instead, a foul should not be called?

and re: palacios "milking the injury," while he has since been released, fwiw, they took him to the hospital as a precaution as a result of it...

 

[Terrierbyassociation]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I think it matters because of where the foul took place. You allow so much to be let go, if he's legitimately going for the ball and they clash, it shouldn't be a penalty.

Is it a foul? Sure. But a lot of refs tend to let fouls go depending on where they take place on the pitch.

One thing is for sure, no penalties to be taken by Defoe.

 

[J.D.]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I know it's way too early for this, but does anyone know what a projected lineup for England would look against the US?

 

[JF_Gophers]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I know it's way too early for this, but does anyone know what a projected lineup for England would look against the US?

Umm...

Foster
Brown, Ferdinand, Terry, Lescott
Carrick, Beckham, Lampard, Wright-Phillips
Rooney, Defoe

 

[Craig P.]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

It was a joke penalty because IMO it was incidental contact and that deep in stoppage time it shouldn't have been called. He wasn't trying to foul him, they both came together when he was trying to head the ball.

Incidental contact? Gimme a break. Incidental contact is when both players are jostling making a fair challenge for the ball. This was a flagrantly unfair challenge, as Hibbert arrived late and into the back of Palacios. I don't think there's a ref in top flight football who wouldn't have pointed to the spot on that play.

Refs will let marginal or uncertain fouls go (and moreso the closer you get to goal), but that body check was neither marginal nor uncertain, and if somebody got hurt in the inevitable retaliation, everyone would be screaming bloody murder about how Marriner brought it on by failing to make the initial call.

 

[Craig P.]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I know it's way too early for this, but does anyone know what a projected lineup for England would look against the US?

At a guess...

Goal (not sure who's favored there) - Johnson, Ferdinand, Terry, Cole - Lennon, Carrick/Berry/Hargreaves, Lampard, Gerrard - Heskey, Rooney

I'm not sure about the deep-lying midfielder, the outside backs, or Gerrard, but I'm fairly certain that Capello has committed to playing Heskey for his hold-up play.

 

[Terrierbyassociation]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

I know it's way too early for this, but does anyone know what a projected lineup for England would look against the US?

Goalkeeper: Green (West Ham)
Defense: Glen Johnson (Liverpool)-Rio Ferdinand (ManU)-John Terry (Chelsea)-Ashley Cole (Chelsea)

Midfield: Gareth Barry (Man City) -Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)-Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (ManU) - Jermaine Defoe (Tottenham)

I would see Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young to be some of the first off the bench. Plenty of time between now and then though. This is the team I would expect but England tends to be one of those countries that always have crippling injuries right before the WC and doesn't have the depth to survive the injuries.

One thing I love about Capello, he'll drop Rio Ferdinand's over-rated arse in a second for Upson or Lescott.

We'll see how the form and injuries play out. But that's what I would expect for England.

 

[realet]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

One thing is for sure - any lineup without Beckham against the US will cause ESPN to pitch a nutty.

 

[Rolevio]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

One thing is for sure - any lineup without Beckham against the US will cause ESPN to pitch a nutty.

That'll happen either way.

 

[realet]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Tim Howard already scaring the isht out of the English.

LONDON (AP)—With six months to go before the World Cup, Tim Howard has already put the fear in England.

The United States goalkeeper saved a late penalty kick by England forward Jermain Defoe in Everton’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday in the Premier League, and some British newspapers reacted as if the World Cup were already under way.

“It’s US 1 England 0 as Everton’s American keeper saves Defoe penalty and denies Tottenham victory,” the Daily Telegraph wrote on the front page of Monday’s sports section.

The United States and England were put in the same World Cup group at Friday’s draw in South Africa. They will face each other June 12 in Rustenburg in the opening Group C match.

“America 1 England 0,” the Daily Mirror wrote in a banner headline in its sports section. Underneath, the paper wrote: “USA keeper wins spot-kick duel with England hot-shot Defoe (let’s hope and pray there’s no repeat on June 12).”

The Metro, a free daily targeting commuters, headlined: “USA 1 England 0: Defoe blows chance.”

The Guardian newspaper appears to believe that Howard’s penalty stop at Goodison Park will give the American team a boost in its quest for another victory.

“Howard saves and takes heart for World Cup clash,” the newspaper wrote in a lower headline.

In reality, though, Howard’s save won’t mean anything when the tournament starts June 11 in Johannesburg. But it is still on the minds of many English fans who feel next year is their chance to reclaim the title they won at home in 1966.

The Sun, however, didn’t want to heap all the praise on Howard, instead giving Defoe equal credit for a goal scored earlier in the match.

“England … 1 USA … 1,” the tabloid headlined over a picture of Howard falling to his right and with the ball about to hit him in the legs.

Traditionally, the English have looked down on U.S. soccer, but there have been solid American players on several Premier League teams over the years. This season, a handful of Americans are playing in the Premier League and lower divisions, including Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson at Fulham, Jozy Altidore at Hull, Jonathan Spector at West Ham and Brad Guzan and Brad Friedel at Aston Villa.

Of them all, Howard is surely the best-known American playing in England right now—at least if you read the papers.

 

[BoomGoestheDynamite]

Re: World Soccer XI: To South Africa, and Beyond!

Tim Howard already scaring the isht out of the English.

I think this is typical English tabloid fear mongering. Keeper is the one position on the field where our starter and backup are better than what they'll trot out. We're weaker at every position in the rest of the field. Still hoping Howard can stand on his head and get us a result