Tag Archives: thierry henry

ten words or less #48

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london 2012's "the albert"

for a ball with such an awesome name, couldn't have adidas gone with a slightly less faded 80's design for the official ball of london 2012?

With less than 30 minutes until kickoff between Spurs and United, I’m a literal train wreck. I’m stressing over Tottenham’s extremely weakened line-up squaring off against a solid looking starting XI for the Red Devils, and the potential repercussions of fielding such a weak squad in such an important match.

The only thing that could keep my mind from going into complete meltdown mode was to finish up this week’s TWOL post… though admittedly, it’s just a temporary reprieve for my fingers from the endless nail-biting that awaits over the next two hours.

This is how you know footballers make too much money. – theoriginalwinger.com

Every Euro 2012 Kit… who’s your favorite? – football-shirts.co.uk

Sadly, this might be the best pitch in Cuba. – kckrs.com

Chelsea are sunk because of… Napoli’s three in the back? – guardian.co.uk

MLS eyeing Florida for expansion; apparently doesn’t learn lessons. – soccerbyives.com

French kiss… quite literally. – kickette.com

I will actually watch more Crew games because of this. - thecrew.com

Suprisingly relevant Will Ferrell link: he apparently loves Chicharito. – dirtytackle.net

If this happened to me, I’d literally shit my pants. – youtube.com

How can one properly celebrate while sitting? Answer: you can’t. – soccernet.com

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a winter abroad

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Two months. Eight weeks. Sixty days. It’s not a whole lot of time no matter how you look at it. But it seems to be the magic time span these days, at least for MLS players it seems.

aston villa's robbie keane and everton's landon donovan

by allowing its most prized possessions to go on loan each winter, is MLS playing with fire?

Whether urged on by Klinsmann’s pleas for American players to get more time in competitive playing environments, or spurred on by the past successes of the short-term moves of MLS-bigwigs, the growing fad in American soccer is to get yourself a two-month, winter loan to Europe.

There have been no shortage of temporary moves to Europe this MLS off-season. Of course there have been the hyped moves involving the loans of high-profile players like L.A. Galaxy duo Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane — who have moved to Everton and Aston Villa respectively — and Red Bull’s Thierry Henry return to Arsenal. But there have been lesser heralded moves too, such as West Ham’s move for F.C. Dallas defender George John and L.A.’s Omar Gonzalez heading to Nürnberg.

A number of other players are trialing or training with European sides to gain some experience, and hopefully attract a foreign bid or two. I’ve written a good deal about Brek Shea’s two months with Arsenal, but there have also been shorter training stints for at least fifteen MLS players. That’s included youngster Juan Agudelo at Stuttgart and Liverpool, Robbie Rogers and Kyle Beckermann at Kaiserslautern, and Tim Ream at Bolton and West Brom, just to name a few.

With the temporary moves coming for players all over the MLS spectrum — from established stars to up-and-comers — it’s promising that there appears to be a growing demand for the league’s improving talent pool. It’s a sign Europe’s elite sides are starting to at least consider that we’re a country capable of producing a decent amount of quality players worth having a look over.

However, I do have to wonder if all of these moves are the greatest thing for MLS.

For most of the young players, the moves will end up being nothing more than glamorous learning opportunities. Their goal will be to make the most of the time training with a different class of players, therefore raising their game or at least picking up the habits of higher level professionals. They’ll get the extra competitive football experience that the Jürgs says our country’s set up is lacking, and hopefully they’re return to their MLS clubs with a sharper knowledge of the game, and everyone will be happy.

But while MLS seems content to allow it’s shining gems to go out and grow themselves, it feels like they’re turning a blind eye to the fact that it’s also a great opportunity for the finest young talent in the league to showcase themselves to other, wealthier employers. I mean I can’t imagine a single one of those players not going into those trials/loans/trainings thinking: This is the chance I’ve been waiting for… I better not blow it!

This open door policy has already seen Robbie Rogers turn his brief spell in Germany into a transfer to Leeds United. Tim Ream’s time with Bolton also looks to have paid dividends, as the Wanderers look set to spend their Gary Cahill money on a transfer for the ginger-tinged Red Bulls defender. George John’s loan terms with West Ham have an option to buy if he manages to impress during his two months at Upton Park, so he could be off too.

They’ve got a name for this type of issue: talent drain. And with MLS seemingly giving its blessing for foreign sides to take a free look at their best players, it comes off as them accepting their place as a stepping stone league. This flies in the face of the Commish has stated on several occasions, which is to turn Major League Soccer into one of the preeminent tournaments in the world.

robbie rogers at leeds united

it seems that robbie roger's short term move to europe this winter has paid off... for now at least.

Now maybe MLS does a much better job reinvesting the millions in transfer money they rake in during these sales than I’m giving them credit for, and if that’s the case, I’ll happily eat my words. But in the mean time, I’m going to assume that it’s still a bit of a risky strategy.

And all of that only takes into account the youngsters. What about all of the veteran, star players tacking two months onto their seasons; how can their departures possibly hurt the league?

First, Klinsmann’s desire to see American players securing loans or training spells in Europe is centered on his belief that the MLS season is too short. That does hold true for many players who teams don’t make the playoffs, or exit them early. Problem is, all of the high-profile loans have involved players whose teams made deep playoff runs. Keane and Donovan were both directly involved in the MLS Cup game winning goal. Hell, Keane hasn’t really had a break from training since the beginning of the last European season when he was still with Spurs. So none of them are in a position where they’re lacking for matches or sharpness, especially when you consider that Donovan and Keane are also still logging serious minutes with their respective national teams.

Ultimately, star players being loaned out during the MLS close season does nothing but put extra miles on their valuable legs. And extra miles on (mostly) older legs usually end up leading to one of three outcomes: 1) increased susceptibility to injuries, 2) burnout or 3) both.

Don’t believe me? It’s already happened, twice.

The gigantic risk MLS exposes itself to is best embodied by David Beckham rupturing his Achilles tendon playing for Milan two winters ago. Beckham’s move was supposed to help him earn a place in the following summer’s England World Cup squad — something MLS considered of great benefit at the time — ended up costing the league dearly when he was forced out of the entire MLS season. Regardless of the size of potential media-exposure gains the league would have received from Beck’s participation in South Africa, it was likely dwarfed by the lack of match-day ticket revenue the league missed out on by not having him play.

For those saying “Well that was over two years ago,” this isn’t something that only occurs in the past. As it turns out, MLS has already suffered one winter-loan casualty so far this season. And ironically, it’s not even one of their big guns that’s gone down injured. Instead, it was L.A. Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez, a younger player who should have become a regular feature in the USMNT’s back line in 2012. But thanks to a collision with “American” teammate Timmy Chandler during his first training session after signing a 2-month loan with Nuremberg, the MLS Defender of the Year will now be out for at least the next seven months… a.k.a. most of the upcoming MLS season.

an injured beckham on loan to milan

losing beckham for a season apparently hasn't phased MLS at all. but, will lightening strike twice?

And though the loss of Gonzalez won’t really hit MLS in the pocketbook the way Beckham’s absence did, it will undoubtedly be a big hurdle to overcome in the Galaxy’s defense of their crown. But if MLS end up losing Donovan, Henry and/or Keane to injury during their loan spells, it will hurt them both on the field and off.

Let’s assume the trend of taking MLS players on loan continues to grow next season (I’d be willing to wager that it probably will), the amount of risk they’ll expose themselves to each off-season will go up exponentially. I’m not sure how great of a scenario the league could be getting themselves into unless the think about these types of moves in a bigger picture.

Look, these loans and trials are ultimately a good thing if they lead to the development of better American players. I’m all for them leading to more American players playing in more competitive leagues in Europe, and the added benefit we could see from the increased levels of experience. But I want to make sure that such moves aren’t undercutting MLS’s mission and efforts to develop better American players. We need to protect the investments we’ve made so far, and that protection requires a wide variety of issues to consider. Here’s hoping MLS and US Soccer did their homework before allowing this policy to become more common place.

In the mean time, we can’t do anything other than sit back and see how this season’s off-season MLS moves shift out. Obviously, I’m hoping that nothing but great news. Trust me when I say that there is nothing I want less than for me to look back in two months and say “I told you so.”

round up #23

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now that the transfer window has (quietly) closed and the theatrics of the world cup are slowly fading into the background, i feel like we can finally focus on what really matters: the football.

this would be awesome... if marquez wasn't there.

but, let’s be honest.. i love the fluff that comes with it. and here’s the best i’ve come across on the tubes in the last week.

mind blowing social experiment of the day – theoffside.com
if you were take a stroll around say, downtown manhattan, while the world cup final was on this summer, and nothing would have looked any different than any other normal day. thousands of people would still be snapping pictures in times square, buying knockoff purses in chinatown, and strolling about times square. but flash to brazil, and things are clearly different. one man had the bright idea to roll around são paulo during the world cup finals with a video camera. the biggest city in south america was a virtual ghost town. while it’s not surprising that the soccer-mad country would be consumed by the big event, i am a little shocked to not see a single person in the entire clip. which makes me wonder… how the hell is this country going to host the finals in 2014 if no one wants to work during the games?

making the most of being sent off – dirtytackle @ yahoo.com
fellow defenders will agree with me when i say that those nancy-fancy forwards always go down for fouls pretty easy. they fall with the slightest nudge, rolling about like someone castrated them instead of a having just suffered a little shirt pull. it certainly doesn’t help that the refs always tend to give those diving bastards the benefit of the doubt. so trust me when i say we defenders have some pent up rage that lives within us all. so when you see a defender lose it a little when they get a foul called against them. but the reaction of the guy in this video, well, i just can’t find the words to stick up for him.

donovan’s ridiculous price tag – matchfitusa.com
when donovan signed the four year extension with the galaxy in the fall of 2009, two things immediately came to mind:

  1. landycakes is a moron, and apparently never wants to play in europe ever. why would he put himself in a position where it would be harder for him to move abroad?
  2. MLS just made a shrewd move to make sure they got paid when donovan tried to make his eventual move to europe.

both thoughts were true, to an extent at least. donovan’s contract extension did nothing but give MLS the upperhand with any potential suitors from the old continent, meaning they could ask for a good deal more money in any transfer moves for the golden egg. landon’s extremely successful loan to everton, coupled with his good performances in south africa, meant that donovan was a hot commodity. don garber’s eyes no doubt had dollar bills instead of pupils at that point. unfortunately, their little plan turned into a giant cockblock. perhaps catching wind of interest from cash-laden citeh drove up their asking price, but america’s pride and joy isn’t worth $16 million. in the end, neither party got what it wanted. great.

the crest of a wave? – guardian.co.uk
i love logos… they’re fascinating to me. to me, there is nothing more iconic than an emblem that is instantly recognizable the world over (nike, mcdonald’s, coca-cola; please take your bow). it’s a necessity in this day in age where everything is branded. but the incredibly difficult thing about having a good logo or crest is creating it.

i for one don’t mind most teams taking a stab at remaking their image, though it’s insanely hard to create a new identity that is still grounded in tradition. while the article gives credit to arsenal and chelsea for their new crests’ paying homage to their histories, i also think tottenham deserve credit in the same regard. while some clubs make the change very poorly, there are, of course, also clubs like fulham that desperately needed to change, and did so well.

henry and rafa take the path – metrofanatic.com
the fact that this photo can even happen in this country… boy, it makes me feel like MLS is on to something special. ignore for a second that RBNY might be trying a little too hard to be the new cosmos. can you imagine sitting next to henry, one of the best players of an entire generation, on the subway? that’s equivalent to sitting next to brett farve or derek jeter, and easily being able to take a picture with them and not get mobbed in the process. please MLS; intelligently ride this wave of awesomeness.

the decade that was – part 1

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it’s that time of year where everyone starts reflecting back on the year that was, and 2009 has certainly been a fun one as far as the football world is concerned. but we get the added benefit this year in that it’s the end of a decade, one where we’ve had some incredible stories and players grace the world’s stage.

as seems to be the case with all of the major news outlets, pundits and bloggers, everyone is putting out their year end lists for the best/worst of the year and decade. i’ve decided that i want in on all of the fun, and will be joining the party. only i’m not going to trouble you with the best and biggest of just this year. no, i’m doing it for the whole damn decade. we’ll do this in two parts:

  1. my best XI of the decade.
  2. the biggest stories of the decade (click here to read part two)

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let’s dive right in to my team of the decade. i wanted to piece this together like it’s an actual team, so we’re going to choose a formation and run with this. for the sake of keeping my sanity, and based on the players i’ve chosen, i’m going to go with the traditionalists 4-4-2. don’t be insulted if you don’t like the formation.

zidane: my selection as the best player of the decade... even if he does headbut people

goalkeeper: gianluigi buffon
italy / juventus
though i thought this position would be hard, it was actually quite easy. buffon lead his italy side to a world cup title at germany 2006, where his team only gave up a staggering 2 goals in the entire tournament (shockingly, one of which was to the USMNT). but in addition to his world cup glory, buffon really earned his selection by his exploits in serie A for juventus. he’s been the club’s starting keeper since 1996, leading them to 4 serie A titles in the 2000′s. however, two of those were stripped due to match fixing allegations, and the club were subsequently relegated to serie B. there was an exodus of the club’s top players for the 2006-2007 season, but buffon stuck it out and lead his side back to the top flight… so he get’s bonus points for being a trooper, too.

left back: roberto carlos
brazil / real madrid, fenerbahçe
my favorite player growing up, i modeled my my own playing style after roberto carlos, so i felt a little biased picking the brazilian for this list. but how couldn’t i? his title credentials during the decade would alone earn him a spot: 2002 world cup champion, three spanish la liga titles, and two champions league titles. throw in his absolutely amazing free kicks, and the fact that he scored 61 goals for his clubs as a freaking defender, and it’s nearly impossible to not include him on this list.

center back: paolo maldini
italy / a.c. milan
sure, i’m playing him a little out of position. but let’s face it, the man could play anywhere on the back line. honestly, there’s a good chance that maldini is the best defender to have ever lived, let alone play during the 2000′s (and the 80′s and 90′s for that matter). he helped milan win two champions league titles during the decade, in addition to a serie a and italian cup title, while he’s deputized the italian side’s defense since 1985. although my most standout memory of the guy came from a friendly against the chicago fire a few years ago where chris rolfe put a move on him and he fell over as rolfe scored.

center back: fabio cannavaro
italy / parma, inter milan, juventus, real madrid
normally when you think of a center back, you think of a tall player who can win the ball in the air. not cannavaro, who despite being only 5’9″, was one of the finest defenders of his generation. he was exceptionally athletic and fantastic at reading the game. serving as a defender who not only could chase players down, cannavaro could also cut off angles and direct an entire team’s defensive strategy. he was rewarded for his talents in 2006, after being the standout player on the italian’s world cup winning side, by being awarded the 2006 fifa world player of the year — the only defender to have ever won the award.

old man maldini was still bad ass enough to make to be one of the decade's best players

right back: gary neville
england / manchester united
though certainly maligned by the press for his numerous press boycotts, neville’s talent is undeniable. he’s been a staple of the united line up since the mid-90′s, though he’s had some injury struggles during the last few years. none the less, neville has helped the red devils to five premier league titles,  an FA cup and a champions league title this decade.

defensive midfielder: patrick viera
france / arsenal, juventus, inter milan
do you remember the panic in the eyes of arsenal fans when viera decided to leave? and though the meteoric rise of cesc fàbregas is due in part to viera’s departure, arsenal haven’t won a trophy since the big frenchman left. viera was the captain and driving force in arsenal’s invincibles period, and he was also one of the most inspiring players in france’s 1998 world cup winning side. it’s hardly a coincidence that viera’s arrivals at juventus’ and inter milan’s rises in prominence.

offensive midfielder: zinedine zidane
france / juventus, real madrid
zidane is one of the greatest players of all time; the perfect mix of skill, intelligence and passion (which is bordering on rage). don’t believe me? watch the documentary “zidane: a 21st century portrait”. as 17 different cameras exclusively follow the oft misunderstood zidane in a match for madrid, you get to see all sides of this legend: his quiet nature, his brilliant goal creating abilities, and his anger as he is foolishly sent off. buy — don’t rent — this movie if you love the game; you won’t be dissapointed. oh yeah, and his resume is okay too: twice a world player of the year, world cup winner, champions league winner (including the brilliant winner against bayer leverkusen in the final), and league titles at both juventus and madrid.

i always thought that zidane was a top class player, but it took me seeing him play in person to truly appreciate his greatness. sitting in chicago’s soldier field, i watched zizou intentionally play slower than all of the opposing players from chivas de guadalajara, and he was making absolute fools of them. as the mexican defenders scrambled about at a thousand miles an hour, zidane seemed to be on a walk in the park, playing brilliantly simple touches, passes and dribbles. this is the reason i choose him as not only a member of my best XI for the 2000′s, but also as the player of the decade.

left wing: ronaldinho
brazil / grêmio, paris saint- germain, barcelona, a.c. milan
so what if he is now a shell of the player that taught us what “joga bonito” was. think back to the beginning of the decade, when ronaldinho’s fancy tricks, playful nature, and breathtaking play led brazil and barcelona to the pinnacle of the sport. for the first four years of the 2000′s, ronaldinho gaucho was a force in the sport. he inspired millions of us to go into our backyards/streets and try to do things with the ball that we’ver never done before. and while having so much fun, he captured a boatload of honors: a world cup title in 2002, also twice a world player of the year, two la liga titles, and a champions league winner’s medal.

right wing: cristiano ronaldo
portugal / sporting lisbon, manchester united, real madrid
you know, i struggled to put ronnie on this list… in the same way that i contemplated putting messi in this spot as well. there rises to the top of the game have been meteoric, and both are by far the most dominant players in the world at the moment. but i felt that putting either of them here would compromise this list because they’ve only recently come to sit at their thrones at the top of the game. but then i thought more about it, and decided what the hell. i’m giving it to ronaldo though, because he’s been at this level a bit longer than messi. ronaldo has been sublime the last few years, and his sheer output of goals in the last four seasons has been almost unprecedented (104 goals in 167 appearances). he helped manchester united to three premier league titles, an f.a. cup, and a champions league trophy, not to mention a second champions league final. and, honestly, how can you leave a player of this list that cost $132 million dollars? oh yeah, you can’t.

jar jar binks... i mean ronaldinho... also made the cut for my team of the decade

striker: thierry henry
france / arsenal, barcelona
although his star has faded a bit since his days at highbury (partially thanks to his handball debacle against ireland), henry at his peak was awe inspiring to watch. sublime is the word that comes to mind when thinking of him, and henry made it look so easy. his nose for goal was, often times, mesmerizing. i watched maybe 20 of his strikes on youtube, and singled out these two (#1 & #2) as the cream of the crop, although i easily could have included ten. and though he was responsible for putting my spurs to the sword on many occasions, and then made his dream switch to real madrid’s hated catalan rivals, it is and was always a joy to watch him play.

striker: ronaldo
brazil / inter milan, real madrid, a.c. milan, corinthians
a team of the decade would not be complete without t o fenômeno on the pitch. what can you say about ronaldo that hasn’t already been said? he was a beast on the pitch, scoring goals like they were going out of style. though he only won one of his three world player of the year awards during this decade, let’s not forget that he wont it after he had reconstructive knee surgery. there’s hardly any argument that he wasn’t one of the most feared strikers in the world during most of this time, and he was particularly prolific while playing for real madrid.

——————————

so there you have it, my best XI for the 2000′s. it was by no means any easy task of picking this list, as i had to leave off so many fantastic players (messi, john terry, claude makélélé, ryan giggs, cafu, steven gerrard, kaká, oliver kahn, raúl, luís figo, etc.). disagree with any of my selections? let me know about it!

and be sure to check back for the second portion of this post, with my selections for the biggest stories of the decade up next. (click here to read part two)

round-up #10

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it’s so unsurprising, but now that i find myself with more time to write than i can remember, there hasn’t been as much going on to write about for these (somewhat) regular news rounds ups. lucky for you, i’ve scoured the deepest reaches of the interwebs to dig up some interesting tidbits that you might have missed during the hoopla of the last week of world cup qualifying.

this is how every ireland fan felt at the time of henry's handball assist to william gallas

grimsby town fan letter – telegraph.co.uk
i doubt many of you spend much of your time following grimsby town of england’s league 2, so it wouldn’t be surprising if you hadn’t noticed that they currently lie 23rd in the table of 24. their poor form hasn’t gone unnoticed though, as they have left some of their supporters infuriated by a supposed lack of effort that will likely see them relegated out of the football league system back to the county leagues. one exasperated fan by the name of “poojah” was so put off by their play that he wrote an open letter to the team to express his displeasure with them. originally published in the local grimsby telegraph, poojah gives a tongue lashing — err, writing? — that leaves no doubt about how he feels:

Use your imagination, guys – strangle yourselves or cover yourself in tinfoil and take a fork to a nearby plug socket, or something. Just put yourselves and us fans out of our collective misery.

trust me, it’s definitely worth the read, especially if your side has ever had you mad enough that you would like to go on a shooting spree in the club offices.

van persie to use placenta fluid to boost recovery – thesun.co.uk
probably one of the most talked about topics in football right now, but i have to put in my two cents. when arsenal’s dutch striker went down in the holland-italy friendly last weekend, few were surprised to see that he was seriously injured. after all, robin is completely made of glass and is likely the most injury prone player in all of football. what is surprising though is his decision to see a serbian doctor who specializes in the use of placental fluid to help decrease recovery time to serious injuries.

as a former biology major, i can’t tell you that it will for sure help, but it definitely won’t hurt. placental fluid has an extremely high concentration of development hormones and immunological proteins. these could, and i stress could, help van persie’s torn ligaments to heal faster and fight off infection more efficiently. liverpool are claiming the same specialist helped with the recent speedy recoveries of benayoun and reira. but odds are this is just some witchcraft BS that won’t help at all. it does make me wonder though, where is she even getting this stuff from?

al fayed – hodgson is committed – skysports.com
fulham owner mohamed al fayed has been forced to quash rumors of manager roy hodgson’s imminent departure. after steering “fulhamerica” away from relegation in the ’07-’08 season and into europe last season, it’s easy to see why many clubs and national sides might be interested in the english gaffer. speculation of him leaving has increased of late, seeing how he hasn’t entered into discussions with the club over a new long-term contract. my advice to fulham: give the man whatever he wants and do it quick. the fact that he has done so much with the club on a severely limited budget is nothing short of a miracle. and while shooting for another european spot this season might be a stretch with a thin squad, the london club would be foolish to not tie him up quickly.

as henry shows, footballers can’t be trusted – usatoday.com
undoubtedly the biggest controversy in the sport right now is thierry henry’s handball assist that sent ireland packing in their world cup playoff yesterday.  and i have to admit, the handball is such an un-henry-like action that it even caught me by surprise. sure, the french captain admitted to “accidentally” handling the ball in the post-match presser. but article author john leicester’s complaints that henry celebrated gallas’ goal immediately after, instead of running over to the ref and admitting his cheat, are completely ridiculous. honestly, what footballer, no matter how honorable or decorated, is going to do that?!

however, leicester does raise a good point in here too. video replay is not an answer here, as it is too time consuming and will break the flow of the game that makes the sport so appealing. it’s time for fifa and uefa to stop experimenting with the extra goal-line officials and make them a full-time reality, especially during high profile matches and tournaments. if not, we’ll never hear or see the end of it.

youth soccer goalie scores on her own team – youtube.com
in what is fast becoming a news round-up trend, here is this week’s video clip of the week. as an ardent follower and player of the game, it always brings back fond memories of my youth to see little kids playing the beautiful game.

to see this little 5-year-old girl accidentally “bicycle kick” the ball into her own net definitely made me LOL. but then i stopped laughing. why you ask? two reasons:

  1. this clip currently has over 320,000 views, and some of the user comments have been a little harsh on the hapless youngster. it’s just a cute little girl who is trying to learn to play soccer, so let’s go easy on her internet trolls. hopefully this doesn’t cause some undue embarrassment for the girl down the road, let alone spoil her opinion of the game.
  2. some day i’m going to have children. i’ve already accepted that karma will repay me with nothing but daughters. and knowing my genetics, i’ll probably be one of those dads that tries to live vicariously through his children. so it’s entirely possible that my daughter(s) will either a) do something like this and i’ll giggle, or b) and most likely, it will be an ominous sign that my daughter(s) will be terrible at the sport i love. frump.

but it’s still funny… and i hope you enjoyed.

round-up #9

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judging from my lack of posts as of late, i wouldn’t blame you if you thought i had been kidnapped by mexican drug lords or that i was eaten alive by a rogue bear. but as you can see from my recent postings that neither has been the case, though i am sorry that i’ve left you all anxiously awaiting my next epic piece. so to reward those of you diligent enough to continue visiting through my barren stretch, i’m giving you two whole posts in less than 24 hours. and what better way to cap off my marathon writing exhibition than to drop you another footballing news round-up! i know, my generosity is just too much sometimes.

harry rejects rio rumors – skysports.com
seeing how manchester united’s normally predictable defensive penchant has gone missing for most of the season so far, many have blamed rio ferdinand’s uncharacteristic mistakes in the back as a primary reason for his team’s defensive shortcomings. it certainly seems that rio has caught the poor-form bug from jamie carragher, the england center back’s displays have made him the perfect subject for tabloid transfer fodder.

and where else would the papers be picking him to land other than at my spurs. after all, ‘arry redknapp gave ferdinand his big break while the two were at west ham about a half century ago, so picking tottenham as a potential destination isn’t that far of a stretch. the tottenham gaffer was quick to dispell the rumors, and rightfully so. first off, a small dip in form from one of the most consistent center backs in the world is no reason to sell him yet, and united certainly won’t be ready to make that gamble. but more importantly (for me at least), why would tottenham want to throw money at another oft-injured center back? the only reason i can think would be to give ledley king and jonathan woodgate some more company in the training room…

where did the recent thierry henry to MLS rumors come from? – theoffside.com
i can’t deny it: i love the idea of former arsenal hitman thierry henry moving to MLS next year. i absolutely love it more than any other juicy transfer rumor

henry facing new york last summer. could the frenchman be gearing up for a move to MLS next summer?

in the world right now. i don’t even care what team he ends up with (save for LA), though 99% of the rumors have him landing with red bull new york. however, as the article above so clearly implies, this story is nothing but a rumor based upon more rumors. there doesn’t seem to be a shred of factual evidence or resources that say henry or his people or barça are even discussing the issue. but i’ll tell you one thing: if he does come, it will put my butt in an MLS stadium next season to watch him play. this is the kind of use of MLS’s designated player rule that i can truly appreciate, and the article says it perfectly:

He could be described as the David Beckham for people who actually like football instead of celebrity.

couldn’t have said it better myself. so let’s make it happen MLS. i guarantee new york’s fans are begging you. i bet juan pablo angel would beg you if you asked him in private. and i’m definitely begging you.

robinho’s £6 million loan – thesun.co.uk
so it looks like the cry baby will finally get his wish after all. man city’s brazilian winger spent the last few weeks publicly pining for a move to his former club’s hated rivals, and it looks like all of his whining has been worth it. feeling under appreciated in the spanish capital (or in reality, tired of facing the criticism for having not made as much of an impact as he should have while playing for madrid), robinho forced his way out of real and thought he was heading to his preferred destination of chelsea.

however, thanks to city swooping in at the last minute with a superior bid, madrid delightfully sold him to a team that they knew they would not have to face in the champions league for at least a few years. brilliant move by the spanish giants: more money and less risk. it’s pretty much common knowledge that robinho was disappointed with being sold to man city from the first minute he stepped off the plane in england.

my guess is that with the £6 million barca will pay man city for the 6 month loan in january, city will also get yaya toure and more cash in the summer in an eventual full sale of the winger. personally, i’m sad that his “personal hell” looks to be coming to a close… it’s what he deserved.

sounders fc gadget for windows – soundersfc.com
while surfing the interwebs for soccer news the other day, i came across this interesting tidbit. microsoft’s recently released windows 7 operating system is making a waves in the computing world, and suprisingly in the world of soccer too. microsoft built the sounders their very own gadget/widget for the windows 7 desktop that gives fans quick access to bounty of info about the team (news, schedule, stats, roster, etc.). with microsoft just down the road from seattle, the club being owned primarily by one of microsoft’s former big wigs paul allen, and the team’s jersey sponsor being microsoft’s xbox gaming platform, it’s not really that surprising that microsoft would do something this cool for a very well supported club. and while i’m an apple-fanboy through and through, i definitely would like to see more of this type of exposure available for all MLS teams.

smithy meets the england football team – youtube.com
a gem of a comedy video featuring some of the england squad’s biggest stars, featuring comedian james corden from the BBC’s gavin & stacey. i’m sold whenever, and i repeat whenever, someone rips on john terry to his face. trust me, it’s well worth the watch.

(props to nic for giving me the heads up on this video… thanks!)