Global Football Corner

[I_AM_LEX_LUTHOR]

@ Andy

I think it would be better for me to respond to you about football over in this section lol.
Yeah Claudio Reyna was absolutely great. We have not found a midfielder to replace everything he did on the field even though he retired from international play 3 years ago. Reyna was a beast in the 2002 World Cup. BTW I got him to autograph my copy of the 2006 World Cup video game... its one of my prized possessions. I also got an Autographed cover of FIFA 08 by cover boy Jozy Altidore. I met them when they played for the New York Red Bulls (MLS).

Man we could really be using Mo Edu right now in the qualifying he adds a stabilization to the midfield. By the way why has Edu become a fan favorite? Is it his attitude, heart, I'm just curious.

Reyna was a fantastic player for us! I was disapointed when he decided to leave and head to England. I wish he would has stayed longer as our midfield really weakened after he left!

Mo Edu is the kind of footballer that British fans love. Hard working, energetic, good passer and you can tell that he gives 110% every game! We will really miss him because our Season starts on Saturday!

How are the USA doing in the World Cup Qualifiers? I was shocked to see the reaction Beckham got when he returned to LA Galaxy to play AC Milan. How are things now for Beckham?

[STILLMATIC]

Reyna was a fantastic player for us! I was disapointed when he decided to leave and head to England. I wish he would has stayed longer as our midfield really weakened after he left!

Mo Edu is the kind of footballer that British fans love. Hard working, energetic, good passer and you can tell that he gives 110% every game! We will really miss him because our Season starts on Saturday!

How are the USA doing in the World Cup Qualifiers? I was shocked to see the reaction Beckham got when he returned to LA Galaxy to play AC Milan. How are things now for Beckham?

That is great to hear that he plays like that over in Europe. We need him to play that way for USA when he is healthy again. We could have really used him yesterday because our midfield was unable to keep possession of the ball for the better part of the game and I know that he is physical and would not have let the mexicans have their way with him.

USA are still in position to qualify as of right now. The top 3 teams automatically qualify for the WC. We are tied for second with Honduras, but Honduras has 1 more goal than us so we are technically in third. Mexico is still on the outside looking in. I support USA first and Honduras second since that is my heritage so as of right now I am excited they are both in qualifying position. USA plays at home against El Salvador next month, it should be a win but in football you never know.


Beckham right now is actually playing great. He is a totally different player than last year where it looked like he was playing like he didn't care. It looks like the criticism from the fans and from the Donovan has motivated him to play better and make up for what he did last year. The fans were all over him in his first game back but it seems that it has calmed down a bit because he is playing well. That's all you can ask for. Just perform on the field.

----- Added 13 Minutes later -----
Edit/ I took a bunch of stuff I wrote out because my rant turned into bashing another team.

Here's a pic of what summed up our game yesterday.

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2698/mexicous2412.jpg

There was absolutely biased officiating going on yesterday. The guy who put his hands around the Americans neck only got a YELLOW. If it was the other way around and an American would've done that to a Mexican it would have been an automatic red. The double standard was unbearable to watch. If the Refs call the red on the Mexicans I don't beleive Mexico comes out with the win, IMO it ends in a tie.
I will say though that the mexicans controlled the ball very well yesterday and that is the real reason as to why we lost. We did not have anyone in the midfield who could hold the possession for us and preserve the 1-1 tie. But to lose in the 82 minute is a punch in the gut given that we held firm with all the elements against us, the altitude, smog, and the refs. Mexico should have won and they deserve it but the refs made it easier for them to get the result.
The ref gave 3 of our defensive players yellow cards and two of them were very soft. Mexico committed the same tackles and got nothing. Those cards were all given in the first half and it changed the way they played the rest of the match because they were then playing timid trying not to pick up a second yellow. It isn't fair but that's the way the cookie crumbles anytime the USA plays anywhere in CONCACAF especially against Mexico.

[Lex Dance]

So is it all over for Liverpool after one game? Do Arsenal have it in the bag after their 6 goal rout at "Fortress" Goodison? Will Manchester United struggle to score more than 1 goal per match without Ronaldo? Is Drogba going to get the golden boot? Will Martinez be manager of the year for getting Wigan into the Champions League?

[costas22]

Lex Dance, i was just about to post here myself! How are you? Pleased with your start?

The premiere had a few shocks, that's for sure. I hope Wigan don't have a good start because we play them next Saturday! United looked like they were trying to regain their footing. I think Fergie will use 1-2 new tricks in our attacking play this season, but it takes time to get used to them. However, if he doesn't address the situation with the injury prone defenders soon, this could be a bad season. Rio can't handle it anymore.

[Lex Dance]

I'm not bad thanks, Costas - just gearing up for a trip down the road to Sunderland for the Chelsea game tonight! Then tomorrow I'm off to St James Park to watch Newcastle play Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship. One of my old friends is a Wednesday fan, but unfortunately we're in the home end so won't be able to sing out. Whereas tonight I'm with the Chelsea boys (and girls) and it's always good fun being in the away end. Think it could be tough though - Steve Bruce knows how to manage a team!

Yeah I'm pretty happy with our start, but it was close. Hull defended very well and did what Jose used to call parking the team bus in front of the goal! They looked good for a point before Drogba got his fortunate second goal.

ManU will always be hard to beat, and I'm sure they'll still score plenty of goals. Biggest shock was definitely Liverpool's bad start. Sounds like they didn't play well at all, despite having Gerrard and Torres on the park.

[costas22]

Well i guess you are back Lex Dance. I heard it was a comfortable display by Chelsea. After Bent's goal anyway. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I went for the first time at Old Trafford for a friendly against Valencia 2 weeks ago and it was an overwhelming experience.

I think Liverpool will recover. They just need another major result like the one against us laste year() to get them going. People talk about Xabi Alonso, but they beat us without him. I still can't believe that they are closing in on a Greek defender. It will be awkward wanting one of my own to fail miserable!

Today it's a crunch game for United. No defence and against a team that has caused quite a few upsets against the big 4 in recent times. Not to mention the fact that it will be the first Premiership game at Turf Moor.

[Lex Dance]

ManU will always be hard to beat.

What do I know about football, ey?
Sorry Costas - it looks like all your worst fears about playing Burnley came true. Apparently Turf Moor was absolutely deafening before, during and after the game! We're playing there at the end of January so I'm definitely going to have to try and get a ticket for the away end. Should be interesting to see how the Chelsea millionaires get on on a cold afternoon in Burnley!

As for the Sunderland game, they played very well in the first half and did pretty much what Hull did to us in the previous game. Their goal was about their only chance but they defended very solidly in that first 45. But then with 10 minutes to go before half time Chelsea really started to force the issue and the goals were only a matter of time. By the end it was all looking quite easy. Deco in particular was outstanding (and I didn't think I'd be saying that at the start of the season). Even Shevchenko came on! We were all singing "Let him score, let him score, let him score!"

Glad you enjoyed Old Trafford. I've been there twice, but both times were FA Cup semi-finals so I've never been there to watch Chelsea play ManU - maybe one day....

[costas22]

Unfortunately, few things about United shock anymore Lex Dance. I have followed the team so long, that i am aware of it's mentality. We are experts of giving teams like Burnley(or Wolves 5 years ago) chances to make famous victories. As long as United don't have their regular defenders back, they are very vulnerable. It was the perfect occasion for Burnley. Chelsea won't get an easy game either, but i think that all of the other big teams will win at Burnley.

[Lex Dance]

Just found out that Rio's injury will keep him out for longer than expected - up to a month, which means he'll miss the England game against Croatia. He'll miss the home against Arsenal too, which with their firepower could be very tough! I didn't realise that both he and Vidic missed the Burnley game. No matter how good the squad, a team will always be damaged by the loss of both central defenders. It happened to us in the year that Mourinho didn't win the title. We had Terry and Carvalho out, and Cech had only just came back from his head injury, when we got turned over at Anfield.

[Vindellavon]

Shoot, here I thought this was the Amercian football corner. Can't believe I actually missed this!

[Lex Dance]

Welcome along, Vindella. I toyed with the idea of calling it the Global Soccer Corner but as an Englishman it just didn't sound right!
Who do you follow then?

[costas22]

HI again. Finally, a convincing performance! Rio will miss a month, but nowdays, the real rock is Nemanja Vidic. For me he is the best in the world right now. Today he gave the rest of the team an assurance that they can feel safe about what goes on behind them. Berbatov was also great. A special misunderstood player in my eyes.

I rememer that year Lex Dance. We won the title and played some good football along the way. But Chelsea's injury crisis helped a lot too. That team had such a strong character! I remember the game at the Emiates against Arsenal. 1-0 down and 1 man down at half time and at the second half you bormbarded the Arsenal goal. Jose might not be able to make his teams play champagne football, but in terms of motivation, there's no one better.

[Vindellavon]

Welcome along, Vindella. I toyed with the idea of calling it the Global Soccer Corner but as an Englishman it just didn't sound right!
Who do you follow then?

Babe, the country's games I follow is France. I go by any club, but AS Algrange, FC Dieppe, a few amateur leagues, AS Nancy (don't make fun of it! ), Tolouse FC, and Grenoble F-38 are the ones I'm grubbing around with right now. Ligue isn't doing to pretty on some sides right now. *le sigh*

Ah, it great to be around peeps who understand the 'foot' in football.

EDIT: On the other hand, Grenoble plays RC Lens later today, and then Tolouse against LOSC. I'm fit for the day, you?

[Lex Dance]

I rememer that year Lex Dance. We won the title and played some good football along the way. But Chelsea's injury crisis helped a lot too. That team had such a strong character! I remember the game at the Emiates against Arsenal. 1-0 down and 1 man down at half time and at the second half you bormbarded the Arsenal goal. Jose might not be able to make his teams play champagne football, but in terms of motivation, there's no one better.

Yeah that was the match with Jose's famous "chin up" gesture to the fans. It was a great moment but unfortunately other fans (namely Arsenal's and Man U's) used to it to mock us for a few games afterwards!
After the performance against Fulham yesterday, there's a feeling that Chelsea can push on from the good work that Hiddink did last season - Drogba and Anelka look like they have a real understanding and the midfield seems very fluid (and not the narrow diamond that many pundits were questioning). Mind you, I always think Chelsea have been most effective when we've had fast wingers like Duff and Robben.

Good result for your boys then, Costas - you write Man U off at your peril (as has been proven for years and years).

Vindella, that's a lot of sides to keep your eye on! Do you support them all, or just look out for their results? Because I live in the North East of England I always look to see how those teams (Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesborough) are getting on. Then I look for the results of my friends' or family's teams. For instance, my brother-in-law is a big Leeds fan, and what with their turmoil of the last few years I always follow their progress.

[BadaBingBadaBoomsday]

It was the perfect occasion for Burnley.

What does this mean???

Burnley!!!! Burnley!!!!