Thanks to Easter and a home-maintenance emergency, I didn’t watch a single game this weekend, and I’m just now trying to get caught up. Can someone tell me what’s going on in soccer? Did Kasey Keller really get sent off in the first half against Kansas City? Did Ajax really win 7-0? If the ball is first touched by Arshavin and Fabregas, will even Mikaël Silvestre score a goal? Did Bolton really score three in eight minutes against Chelsea? Did Fernando Torres really do this?
I know you guys were watching, so help me put this in perspective. What was this weekend about?
Read More: Premier League
by Brian Phillips · April 13, 2009
Oh Torres sure did, one of the most jaw droppingly stunning goals I’ve seen in a very very long time 🙂
And Macheda scored another winner for ManU.
Right, of course. I meant to finish the post with that, but I got distracted by the Torres goal. So basically his entire Premier League career involves about seven touches of the ball, and two of them have gone for late game-winning goals, is that right?
I believe he has spent more time celebrating his goals than he has spent actually on the pitch playing…
To chime in as a proxy for the “who cares except for my teams,” “football as tribal warfare” set, Dallas got a point and Cardiff looks a lock for the playoffs.
Yes, Bolton really did score three in 8 minutes, and could very well have tied the game: Chelsea cleared one off the line in stoppage if I remember rightly.
You should see the third Bolton goal. It’s probably the absolute best example of Route One football I’ve seen this year (yes, better than Reina’s hoof to Riera against Villa).
Aston Villa and Everton was very entertianing, but the result almost guarentees both of them being in the Europa League next year.
Does “Europa League” strike anyone else as sounding vaguely totalitarian?
And this time, they ought to try CARING about the Europa League. It’s all they’ve got right now…
I seem to remember Bolton clearing one off the line near the end as well. Anelka and the GK were both fighting for the ball, and Anelka poked it away and watched it roll slowly toward the inevitable — except it was TOO slow, and Bolton cleared.
Not clearing? Man City. Clint Dempsey got two in City of Manchester Stadium, and the rumblings have begun for Mark Hughes’ head. Prediction: Hughes will be sacked at season’s end, and in November, he’ll be given the task of pulling Newcastle out of the Coca-Cola Championship.
Also over the weekend, my Carolina Railhawks won their season opener over Minnesota, 2-1, and I got to play bass drum for 30 minutes with the North Carolina A&T drumline. Neither of these things sucked.
Oh, and my FC Sagittarius side completed its Champions Road quest, thanks to a 2-1 win over Classic Argentina. Fernando Torres and my friend Sharon got the goals, although Torres’ goal for me wasn’t nearly as awesome as the one in that video.
WTF… even on PES, It would be hard to score that goal ! I hope he gave credit to Van Basten for the idea.
God the Railhawks, Dave. I hate Minnesota …
“God bless” I meant to say. (Or whatver diety or superior being(s) smile on your efforts …)
Ajax didn’t really win 7-0, Willem II lost 7-0. They were absolutely pathetic; as an example, Ajax’s Aisatti was free to collect a loose ball among FOUR defenders in the area and poke it home.
Keller did indeed fail to get his arms tucked when he ran out of the box, and when the shot hit his elbow, that was it for him. Despite this (and the 3rd stringer from the MLS goalie pool coming in since Eylander is out injured) Seattle still looked the more dangerous team for most of the last 60 until Arnaud got left open in acres of space and top-cornered one from 30.
Hughes will definitely get sacked at City – the Galactico/Business mentality has taken hold at Eastlands, where money means results immediately or off to the guillotine.
Torres play has been breathtaking, but from the opposition’s perspective, disturbing. He reminds me of my younger brother’s pet iguana: so tranquil and calm for long spells, but in his eyes you can see malevolment mischief
elliott: “Hughes will definitely get sacked at City – the Galactico/Business mentality has taken hold at Eastlands, where money means results immediately or off to the guillotine”
Probably. I mean, even if they win the UEFA Cup, I can’t see Hughes (a good manager by the way) keeping the job at City. Sven is, however, available!
Hughes would appear to be the sort of manager who does best when trying the most out of less (Blackburn) than having an endless supply of money & talent (Man City — at least by comparison, more or less, sort of.)
Big Sam would be another example …
I’ve just read a couple of articles about church leaders calling for a ban on matches on Easter Sunday – and one on the BBC news website mentioned that Aston Villa had its roots in the Methodist Church. I’d never heard that before!
Actually, Everton does too. I’m not sure if this was a joke on the part of the fixture computer, but I hope it was.
If that is the case, then it would only be fair if they banned fixtures on the holy days of non-Christian religions. Which would cause basically every day on the calendar to be match-free. Reductio ad absurdum. So, play on!
I’ve never bought the religion slippery slope claim – the EPL is a private organization and can ban matches for the religious days of any religion it desires. Not holding matches on Easter Sunday does not mean they have to ban evening matches on the days of full moons in accordance of werewolf cult scripture.
What is more troubling is why they hold matches on weekends and not weekdays? Dont players deserve a two day break to spend time with their family? Why do we hold the monday-friday 40 hour block as “sacred,” yet cry wolf when talk of a religious holiday is introduced?