***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (8 Viewers)

[Slapdash]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

It would be excellent to watch Spain and Germany dominate and rid the tournament of those teams early!

 

[El Floppo]

I forgot the Slovenia match was on so early and forgot to set my DVR til near halftime so I only got to see a little more than a half. However, in the portion I watched some thoughts: - this wasn't really a 442 diamond as I think of it. It can be called that but it was not simply a 442 with an offensive and defensive mid. It really was some hybrid between a 433 and 442 as both "wingers" played very narrow and Demps played more a withdrawn striker role. City actually uses a similar formation a lot and it is sometimes called a 442 and sometimes a 433 depending on the announcers. - I'm about done with the Beckerman experiment. I get it, he does what Jurgen wants and every coach has that kind of guy. But his limitations are so f'n obvious and no matter how hard he works he won't overcome them. He was just physically overmatched about 5 times in 50/50 challenges I saw. He didn't cover ground. And he's not a natural holding mid and really struggles to find space to help relieve pressure. Several times Bradley had to come 40 yards across the field to give an option to defenders and create space so we could maintain possession, which limits our ability to link up further up field. I actually like Beckerman and can see a spot for him on the team but starting him ahead of Bradley, who can hold much better, and Edu who physically is a beast seems misguided. Again, I can concede that he may be better at the system now, but if the idea is qualifying and then Brazil, you need to start bringing one of those two into the role. I will say he normally is very steady in his passes even if he has fairly limited creativity and today he was just off which may further cloud my judgement of him (everyone has off days like that though so hopefully I'm not being too harsh for that)- Fabian Johnson is interesting. I'd like to see a lot more of him. - as they began pressing higher I thought we'd make some adjustment but instead they just brought it to us in the 2h. I hope that was more about learning the system because it was pretty clear we needed to make an adjustment and never did. Basically took our forwards entirely out of the game in the 2h- I would like to see this formation with LD in Bradley's role and MB in Beckerman's. It's a bit of an odd spot for LD but I could see him excelling at it as he ages into more of a role player.

I also forgot and turned the game on just after the 2nd half started. I didn't get to see much besides Slovenia winning every head ball and 2nd ball.always like reading Pre's comments, and once again I agree with them as far as I what I watched (can't comment on the relative formations- the US was basically pinned back for most of what I watched).re: Beckerman... yeah it's pretty much ad nauseum. Very skilled, tactically gifted but will always be a step slow. It doesn't work at this level unless he's got enough time to take that touch, look up and find his man- and he's brilliant if he does... but he never will at this level, so- the end.I've always said I prefer the diamond, and I've seen Edu and MB play it very well, with MB pushed up (it's a dead horse- but the MF shape has looked best in the games I've seen live when Beckerman plays the holding role... he seems to understand the spacing better and always anticipates where he needs to be relative to the attacking MF... but again... too slow of foot). We haven't seen LD play that attacking role from the middle in a long while- didn't work very well the last go-round, as he never seemed to be able to find the space that he would immediately find as soon as he moved to the flanks. But it's been a while, and now's the time to try these things out. If Adu wasn't missing whatever it is he's missing that has coaches keep him out of lineups and teams... he seems to have the skill-set to play that role too. Hmmm- no shortage of guys to play those two central MF roles, especially once LD and Holden come back into the fold.I'm going to try to find a replay of the game- but from the highlights, the score seems not necessarily indicative of dominance by the US in the first half. The highlight showed the US scoring on a horrible giveaway by Slovenia at the top of the box (nice finish by Buddle though) and two dead balls. I saw a couple of other opportunities (and I wish they'd have shown the play that drew the PK instead of just shwoing the PK which tells me nothing) but I also saw Slovenia create a number of easy-carving-through-the-US-defense plays that they easily should have finished.Was the US really dominant and creating from the run of play... or did they just create some opportunities (finally) and finish them (finally)?

The first 30 minutes they dominated IMO although because they pushed up so far they were getting challenged on the counter. Dominated might be a poor word on my part since they had defensive issues. Lets just say they created more chances in those 30 minutes than in multiple games combined under Klinsmann. I would not look at the pk as a dead ball goal as the build up to the pk was very nice including a killer ball by Chandler to Johnson who was about to turn free when tripped in box. After the first 30 or so minutes, Slovenia really found the game and took it to them. By the way, I really like Matavz, the kid who scored both goals and hit the post on another. Had to look him up. He moved to PSV this year and already has 3 goals in just 4 appearances.

Thanks Andy.So it sounds like Demspey was pushed up high? Was he able to combine with Beckerman? Johnson was on one flank and who played the other- I saw MB playing on the right in the 2nd half...was it him? How were the flanking MFs used if Dempsey was pushed high? Not as much roaming as they did under MB with LD and Dempsey essentially pincing in and playing a 2nd forward from the MF flanks? More straight up and and down the sidelines type of stuff? Dammit... I want to see that first half.I wish they would have shown the build-up to that PK on the highlights... sounds good. Also sounds like Johnson played well- look forward to seeing him.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I forgot the Slovenia match was on so early and forgot to set my DVR til near halftime so I only got to see a little more than a half. However, in the portion I watched some thoughts: - this wasn't really a 442 diamond as I think of it. It can be called that but it was not simply a 442 with an offensive and defensive mid. It really was some hybrid between a 433 and 442 as both "wingers" played very narrow and Demps played more a withdrawn striker role. City actually uses a similar formation a lot and it is sometimes called a 442 and sometimes a 433 depending on the announcers. - I'm about done with the Beckerman experiment. I get it, he does what Jurgen wants and every coach has that kind of guy. But his limitations are so f'n obvious and no matter how hard he works he won't overcome them. He was just physically overmatched about 5 times in 50/50 challenges I saw. He didn't cover ground. And he's not a natural holding mid and really struggles to find space to help relieve pressure. Several times Bradley had to come 40 yards across the field to give an option to defenders and create space so we could maintain possession, which limits our ability to link up further up field. I actually like Beckerman and can see a spot for him on the team but starting him ahead of Bradley, who can hold much better, and Edu who physically is a beast seems misguided. Again, I can concede that he may be better at the system now, but if the idea is qualifying and then Brazil, you need to start bringing one of those two into the role. I will say he normally is very steady in his passes even if he has fairly limited creativity and today he was just off which may further cloud my judgement of him (everyone has off days like that though so hopefully I'm not being too harsh for that)- Fabian Johnson is interesting. I'd like to see a lot more of him. - as they began pressing higher I thought we'd make some adjustment but instead they just brought it to us in the 2h. I hope that was more about learning the system because it was pretty clear we needed to make an adjustment and never did. Basically took our forwards entirely out of the game in the 2h- I would like to see this formation with LD in Bradley's role and MB in Beckerman's. It's a bit of an odd spot for LD but I could see him excelling at it as he ages into more of a role player.

I also forgot and turned the game on just after the 2nd half started. I didn't get to see much besides Slovenia winning every head ball and 2nd ball.always like reading Pre's comments, and once again I agree with them as far as I what I watched (can't comment on the relative formations- the US was basically pinned back for most of what I watched).re: Beckerman... yeah it's pretty much ad nauseum. Very skilled, tactically gifted but will always be a step slow. It doesn't work at this level unless he's got enough time to take that touch, look up and find his man- and he's brilliant if he does... but he never will at this level, so- the end.I've always said I prefer the diamond, and I've seen Edu and MB play it very well, with MB pushed up (it's a dead horse- but the MF shape has looked best in the games I've seen live when Beckerman plays the holding role... he seems to understand the spacing better and always anticipates where he needs to be relative to the attacking MF... but again... too slow of foot). We haven't seen LD play that attacking role from the middle in a long while- didn't work very well the last go-round, as he never seemed to be able to find the space that he would immediately find as soon as he moved to the flanks. But it's been a while, and now's the time to try these things out. If Adu wasn't missing whatever it is he's missing that has coaches keep him out of lineups and teams... he seems to have the skill-set to play that role too. Hmmm- no shortage of guys to play those two central MF roles, especially once LD and Holden come back into the fold.I'm going to try to find a replay of the game- but from the highlights, the score seems not necessarily indicative of dominance by the US in the first half. The highlight showed the US scoring on a horrible giveaway by Slovenia at the top of the box (nice finish by Buddle though) and two dead balls. I saw a couple of other opportunities (and I wish they'd have shown the play that drew the PK instead of just shwoing the PK which tells me nothing) but I also saw Slovenia create a number of easy-carving-through-the-US-defense plays that they easily should have finished.Was the US really dominant and creating from the run of play... or did they just create some opportunities (finally) and finish them (finally)?

The first 30 minutes they dominated IMO although because they pushed up so far they were getting challenged on the counter. Dominated might be a poor word on my part since they had defensive issues. Lets just say they created more chances in those 30 minutes than in multiple games combined under Klinsmann. I would not look at the pk as a dead ball goal as the build up to the pk was very nice including a killer ball by Chandler to Johnson who was about to turn free when tripped in box. After the first 30 or so minutes, Slovenia really found the game and took it to them. By the way, I really like Matavz, the kid who scored both goals and hit the post on another. Had to look him up. He moved to PSV this year and already has 3 goals in just 4 appearances.

Thanks Andy.So it sounds like Demspey was pushed up high? Was he able to combine with Beckerman? Johnson was on one flank and who played the other- I saw MB playing on the right in the 2nd half...was it him? How were the flanking MFs used if Dempsey was pushed high? Not as much roaming as they did under MB with LD and Dempsey essentially pincing in and playing a 2nd forward from the MF flanks? More straight up and and down the sidelines type of stuff? Dammit... I want to see that first half.I wish they would have shown the build-up to that PK on the highlights... sounds good. Also sounds like Johnson played well- look forward to seeing him.

Dempsey rarely if ever hooked up with Beckerman. They were separated by a pretty big distance as they should be in a diamond. The shape was significantly different from B Bradley's 4-4-2 where the two center players tended to be next to each other. Beckerman played his normal short safe passes out to the wing midfielders who were pinched in a bit. Bradley started on right, Johnson on left. Johnson roamed forward more than Bradley from what I could see. It was not uncommon to see Johnson in almost a striker position when he pushed up. Almost every time Bradley was with the ball on the far touch line Johnson pinched in much further than you would normally see the opposite side midfielder do. Johnson was also pretty deep when he received the pass that he drew the pk on. As for Bradley off ball movement, I have to be honest and say I could not see. In the first half he was litterally a bald ghost in the fog. It was impossible to judge. Dempsey was up high but not high enough to call him in the hole.

 

[scoobygang]

Dempsey rarely if ever hooked up with Beckerman. They were separated by a pretty big distance as they should be in a diamond. Beckerman played his normal short safe passes out to the wing midfielders who were pinched in a bit. Bradley started on right, Johnson on left. Johnson roamed forward more than Bradley from what I could see. It was not uncommon to see Johnson in almost a striker position when he pushed up. Almost every time Bradley was with the ball on the far touch line Johnson pinched in much further than you would normally see the opposite side midfielder do. Johnson was also pretty deep when he received the pass that he drew the pk on. As for Bradley off ball movement, I have to be honest and say I could not see. In the first half he was litterally a bald ghost in the fog. It was impossible to judge. Dempsey was up high but not high enough to call him in the hole.

One consistent comment I saw about Bradley was that his set pieces were excellent (which is an area where the US has struggled when Landon hasn't played). Deuce is good at taking free kicks that are clear shooting opportunities, but as he's one of our best headers, he can't take the service free kicks. Cherundolo has been kind of awful at that recently. I think Bradley is important for that reason alone. Like Donovan, he can also help Dolo out a lot with defensive duties on the right side.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Here is a long highlight package for those that missed either part or all of the US game.

 

[The Z Machine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.

I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

 

[prefontaine]

- I would like to see this formation with LD in Bradley's role and MB in Beckerman's. It's a bit of an odd spot for LD but I could see him excelling at it as he ages into more of a role player.

I was thinking this as well. Donovan could play either side in case Holden ever gets fit again. MB really needs to start on this team. I love Beckerman as much as anyone but MB is better in every phase of the game and is much younger.

Yeah, I'm not ready to anoint Fabian Johnson just yet. We've seen many players come and go over the years who have terrific first games only to slide back over time. But he has the advantage of playing in Germany and this system. He gets what he is supposed to do and his movement is crisp. Anyway, I think he could be an option as well as Holden, who, at least from the role MB played yesterday, was damn near born for that job. LD could potentially play up top as well.

I've always said I prefer the diamond, and I've seen Edu and MB play it very well, with MB pushed up (it's a dead horse- but the MF shape has looked best in the games I've seen live when Beckerman plays the holding role... he seems to understand the spacing better and always anticipates where he needs to be relative to the attacking MF... but again... too slow of foot).

I always thought the Beckerman thing was about getting a few games on tape to show to MB or whomever here is what I want you to do. Get a couple of games to highlight where JG wants that holding guy to be and then let MB take it so you can give him his own tape and hammer him to show him the differences. Teach him the role. But we're now, what, 7 games into this? Seems excessive.

 

[AcerFC]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

 

[prefontaine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

any hurling sticks?

 

[Eephus]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

My son has been talking about trying out for the team in spring

 

[jonessed]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

Were these pots completely random? Does not look like any seeding occured.

It looks odd because of the host-sharing between Poland and Ukraine. Normally, the host would just take up the one spot. Poland and Ukraine likely wouldn't have qualified otherwise, much less get seated in the first pot. It's kind of a shame really.

 

[The Z Machine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

My son has been talking about trying out for the team in spring

HS in SF?

 

[The Z Machine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

any hurling sticks?

Not unless the sticks are identical to field hockey, which is a female sport in the US.

 

[Eephus]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

My son has been talking about trying out for the team in spring

HS in SF?

Yeah, Sacred Heart

 

[The Z Machine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

My son has been talking about trying out for the team in spring

HS in SF?

Yeah, Sacred Heart

Let me know if he decides he'd like to play. I may want to pick his brain a little bit.

 

[Eephus]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

Were these pots completely random? Does not look like any seeding occured.

It looks odd because of the host-sharing between Poland and Ukraine. Normally, the host would just take up the one spot. Poland and Ukraine likely wouldn't have qualified otherwise, much less get seated in the first pot. It's kind of a shame really.

I don't think it matters too much because of the depth of the Euro field. The last two pots don't include any easy outs and Ukraine has had some recent success.Two relatively weak host nations would be more of an issue in the World Cup draw but FIFA used a regional selection process rather than direct seeding in 2010. South Africa's group still ended up being pretty competitive.

 

[prefontaine]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

any hurling sticks?

Not unless the sticks are identical to field hockey, which is a female sport in the US.

no they aren't. Oh well, figured I'd ask.

 

[Eephus]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland would be the Group of Debt

 

[Slapdash]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

Were these pots completely random? Does not look like any seeding occured.

It looks odd because of the host-sharing between Poland and Ukraine. Normally, the host would just take up the one spot. Poland and Ukraine likely wouldn't have qualified otherwise, much less get seated in the first pot. It's kind of a shame really.

They've shared 3 out of the last 4. Seems like a new trend.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Any of you guys play, watch, or have kids that play lacrosse? I'm about to take a job at STX, a lacrosse, field hockey, and golf (putters) equipment company. I'll be designing new products for them, and get a pretty good discount on STX equipment.I'm looking to develop my understanding of lax and field hockey, since I don't know #### about the sport.

Acer coaches. I played when I was younger and I'm a fan of the outdoor college game. There's a lacrosse thread in the FFA that I started like 2 years ago but there's only like 4 pages of posts, most of which just consist of Pick making fun of lacrosse players.

 

[NewlyRetired]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/11/17/article-2062863-0ED764FF00000578-638_634x396.jpg

foreground and background both bring a chuckle

 

[Steve Tasker]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/11/17/article-2062863-0ED764FF00000578-638_634x396.jpgforeground and background both bring a chuckle

I like this picture for both reasons.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

EPL is back this weekend, finally, with a good one on Sunday.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

The pots for the December 2nd Euro 2012 draw have been announced.Pot 1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, NetherlandPot 2 - Germany, Italy, England, RussiaPot 3 - Croatia, Greece, Portugal, SwedenPot 4 - Denmark, France, Czech Republic, IrelandImagine a group of Spain; Germany, Italy or England; Portugal and France!

Were these pots completely random? Does not look like any seeding occured.

It looks odd because of the host-sharing between Poland and Ukraine. Normally, the host would just take up the one spot. Poland and Ukraine likely wouldn't have qualified otherwise, much less get seated in the first pot. It's kind of a shame really.

It's to give the host teams a better opportunity of advancing. I suppose it kinda sucks but it happens for every Euro/World Cup so it's standard fare. Plus, I think these big tournaments are better when the host nation goes pretty far.On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

 

[B Maverick]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?or leading a 1st place team maybe?Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick. Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

 

[TLEF316]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?or leading a 1st place team maybe?Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick. Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?or leading a 1st place team maybe?Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick. Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

 

[NewlyRetired]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?

or leading a 1st place team maybe?

Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick.

Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.

To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.

But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

I would argue that I am one of the more hard core MLS fans on this board and it was an easy choice for Beckham this year. Davies was a good story but you are talking about a player who was having a hard time getting to start on a non play off team. Everyone who watched him play was pretty meh of his play this season. His goal total was inflated by a significant amount of PK's. There is talk that DC does not even want him back next season. It is hard to give an award to a player whose own team did not value his contribution.

Beckham on the other hand had by far his best year ever in MLS. He worked his ### off all year and his passing was superb in leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield, the quarter finals of the CCL, and to the MLS Cup. You people are mistaken IMO if you think he did not have a fantastic year this year and is getting this for his name only.

As for the MLS Goal of the year, don't blame MLS, blame the fans. That was a fan driven vote. The league had nothing to do with it outside of picking the 64 best goals for the fans to vote on. I voted for Hassli myself.

How do you call an award "just dumb" when you don't even understand who was responsible for the votes?

 

[MarshallPlan]

Thoughts on defending a team who has a player who's very good in the air. He's about 6'2 and can jump, high school kid. Any tips here?

 

[El Floppo]

Thoughts on defending a team who has a player who's very good in the air. He's about 6'2 and can jump, high school kid. Any tips here?

If you don't have defenders who can match up height-wise with this guy, you need to make sure somebody is always getting a body on him so that he's not going up for balls in the air uncontested. Make him earn anything he gets in the air- if he's getting pushed around, it doesn't matter as much if he's taller. and make sure his team earns any pass/cross to this guy by plugging the passing lanes and not letting wide players get free for crosses.

 

[El Floppo]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?

or leading a 1st place team maybe?

Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick.

Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.

To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.

But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

I would argue that I am one of the more hard core MLS fans on this board and it was an easy choice for Beckham this year. Davies was a good story but you are talking about a player who was having a hard time getting to start on a non play off team. Everyone who watched him play was pretty meh of his play this season. His goal total was inflated by a significant amount of PK's. There is talk that DC does not even want him back next season. It is hard to give an award to a player whose own team did not value his contribution.

Beckham on the other hand had by far his best year ever in MLS. He worked his ### off all year and his passing was superb in leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield, the quarter finals of the CCL, and to the MLS Cup. You people are mistaken IMO if you think he did not have a fantastic year this year and is getting this for his name only.

As for the MLS Goal of the year, don't blame MLS, blame the fans. That was a fan driven vote. The league had nothing to do with it outside of picking the 64 best goals for the fans to vote on. I voted for Hassli myself.

How do you call an award "just dumb" when you don't even understand who was responsible for the votes?

It was nice to see Davies get on the field and actually play this year- and IIRC, he started very strong and put up most of his goals at the beginning of the year (and as Andy says- a bunch of PKs). But he faded fast and didn't do much through the year. Compare that to Beckham who played as if it mattered to him all year- huge work=rate and fantastic numbers/team-results. Whether he saw this as his swan song and wanted to make sure he went out not leaving anything on the field, or if he was using it as a end-of-contract year to get legitimate interest (beyond PR) for his services from another team... dunno- but it was as good a DP performance as the league has ever seen IMO.

If this result was PR-related, I'd think it would have gone to Davies if just for the near-death story; it doesnt get much more "come-back" than that.

And I postd a similar frustration about the final 4 goals of the year lacking Agudelo's turn and shoot- last week?. Andy pointed out then that it was fan voting, not MLS directed. Again, for me it's between Juan's and Hasli with the latter's separating himself in a big way. The other three were there just because he Northwest voted more than anybody else.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Man Ctiy Records losses of $315 million

 

[Time Kibitzer]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?

or leading a 1st place team maybe?

Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick.

Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.

To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.

But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

I would argue that I am one of the more hard core MLS fans on this board and it was an easy choice for Beckham this year. Davies was a good story but you are talking about a player who was having a hard time getting to start on a non play off team. Everyone who watched him play was pretty meh of his play this season. His goal total was inflated by a significant amount of PK's. There is talk that DC does not even want him back next season. It is hard to give an award to a player whose own team did not value his contribution.

Beckham on the other hand had by far his best year ever in MLS. He worked his ### off all year and his passing was superb in leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield, the quarter finals of the CCL, and to the MLS Cup. You people are mistaken IMO if you think he did not have a fantastic year this year and is getting this for his name only.

As for the MLS Goal of the year, don't blame MLS, blame the fans. That was a fan driven vote. The league had nothing to do with it outside of picking the 64 best goals for the fans to vote on. I voted for Hassli myself.

How do you call an award "just dumb" when you don't even understand who was responsible for the votes?

It was nice to see Davies get on the field and actually play this year- and IIRC, he started very strong and put up most of his goals at the beginning of the year (and as Andy says- a bunch of PKs). But he faded fast and didn't do much through the year. Compare that to Beckham who played as if it mattered to him all year- huge work=rate and fantastic numbers/team-results. Whether he saw this as his swan song and wanted to make sure he went out not leaving anything on the field, or if he was using it as a end-of-contract year to get legitimate interest (beyond PR) for his services from another team... dunno- but it was as good a DP performance as the league has ever seen IMO.

If this result was PR-related, I'd think it would have gone to Davies if just for the near-death story; it doesnt get much more "come-back" than that.

And I postd a similar frustration about the final 4 goals of the year lacking Agudelo's turn and shoot- last week?. Andy pointed out then that it was fan voting, not MLS directed. Again, for me it's between Juan's and Hasli with the latter's separating himself in a big way. The other three were there just because he Northwest voted more than anybody else.

That's exactly my point. Davies came back from near death to not only play soccer professionally again, but to score 11 goals in his very first season back (4 of which were PKs). David Beckham came back from an Achilles injury, his playing career was never in doubt due to the injury let alone his life. Sure Beckham played well this year, but the comeback player award shouldn't be treated like who had the best season following an injury, it should be about who had the greater comeback story. As for the Best Goal, I didn't realize it was fan chosen; makes sense then.

 

[NewlyRetired]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?

or leading a 1st place team maybe?

Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick.

Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.

To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.

But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

I would argue that I am one of the more hard core MLS fans on this board and it was an easy choice for Beckham this year. Davies was a good story but you are talking about a player who was having a hard time getting to start on a non play off team. Everyone who watched him play was pretty meh of his play this season. His goal total was inflated by a significant amount of PK's. There is talk that DC does not even want him back next season. It is hard to give an award to a player whose own team did not value his contribution.

Beckham on the other hand had by far his best year ever in MLS. He worked his ### off all year and his passing was superb in leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield, the quarter finals of the CCL, and to the MLS Cup. You people are mistaken IMO if you think he did not have a fantastic year this year and is getting this for his name only.

As for the MLS Goal of the year, don't blame MLS, blame the fans. That was a fan driven vote. The league had nothing to do with it outside of picking the 64 best goals for the fans to vote on. I voted for Hassli myself.

How do you call an award "just dumb" when you don't even understand who was responsible for the votes?

It was nice to see Davies get on the field and actually play this year- and IIRC, he started very strong and put up most of his goals at the beginning of the year (and as Andy says- a bunch of PKs). But he faded fast and didn't do much through the year. Compare that to Beckham who played as if it mattered to him all year- huge work=rate and fantastic numbers/team-results. Whether he saw this as his swan song and wanted to make sure he went out not leaving anything on the field, or if he was using it as a end-of-contract year to get legitimate interest (beyond PR) for his services from another team... dunno- but it was as good a DP performance as the league has ever seen IMO.

If this result was PR-related, I'd think it would have gone to Davies if just for the near-death story; it doesnt get much more "come-back" than that.

And I postd a similar frustration about the final 4 goals of the year lacking Agudelo's turn and shoot- last week?. Andy pointed out then that it was fan voting, not MLS directed. Again, for me it's between Juan's and Hasli with the latter's separating himself in a big way. The other three were there just because he Northwest voted more than anybody else.

That's exactly my point. Davies came back from near death to not only play soccer professionally again, but to score 11 goals in his very first season back (4 of which were PKs). David Beckham came back from an Achilles injury, his playing career was never in doubt due to the injury let alone his life. Sure Beckham played well this year, but the comeback player award shouldn't be treated like who had the best season following an injury, it should be about who had the greater comeback story.

It was very close between the two.The vote was from players, media and club officials. Becks came in first with a score of 59.76 and a Davies had a weighted scored of 57.81.

The break down of votes indicated that is was the players who made the difference. This is likely due to the fact that Davies was all but benched in the latter part of the season and Davies also did not garner any fans amongst the players with his well publicized dives.

 

[B Maverick]

On a unrelated note, the MLS is kind of a joke the way they give out their awards. Charlie Davis scores 8 goals in 16 games after almost dying the year prior in a car accident, yet Beckham who scored twice in 27 games wins the Comeback player of the year award after coming back from an Achilles injury... pretty big BS right there. Also, Hasseli's goal might have been the best goal scored in any league in the world last season, yet the MLS doesn't even award it for the best goal of the MLS season? Just dumb.

Since when does comeback player of the year rely on goals to win it? What about the 15 assists?

or leading a 1st place team maybe?

Dont get me wrong, wont find me defending Becks in most cases but to point out goals as your basis is inadequate. Especially since Beckham is NOT a goal scorer. He is a setup man and scores the occasional free kick.

Should the severity of the injury or reason for having to comeback be more important? Maybe. In that case Davies car accident and near death is light years more important then Becks achilles.

To your point though, Becks winning is probably more the league wanting to validate Becks $ and trying to show bringing him over and marketing him wasnt a mistake.

But here is the question: Does the casual fan know who Charlie Davies is? Serious question since I dont watch a lot of MLS. Becks, for better or worse, is Becks. Known by most people regardless of fan level. Probably an influence as well for right or wrong.

I imagine that most serious MLS fans are USMNT die hards, so I'm pretty sure they know who Davies is.

Exactly. Plus my main point was, as you pointed out yourself B Maverick, that Beckham got the award just for publicity and so the MLS could validate Beckham's salary, and not because he deserved it.

I would argue that I am one of the more hard core MLS fans on this board and it was an easy choice for Beckham this year. Davies was a good story but you are talking about a player who was having a hard time getting to start on a non play off team. Everyone who watched him play was pretty meh of his play this season. His goal total was inflated by a significant amount of PK's. There is talk that DC does not even want him back next season. It is hard to give an award to a player whose own team did not value his contribution.

Beckham on the other hand had by far his best year ever in MLS. He worked his ### off all year and his passing was superb in leading the Galaxy to the Supporters Shield, the quarter finals of the CCL, and to the MLS Cup. You people are mistaken IMO if you think he did not have a fantastic year this year and is getting this for his name only.

As for the MLS Goal of the year, don't blame MLS, blame the fans. That was a fan driven vote. The league had nothing to do with it outside of picking the 64 best goals for the fans to vote on. I voted for Hassli myself.

How do you call an award "just dumb" when you don't even understand who was responsible for the votes?

It was nice to see Davies get on the field and actually play this year- and IIRC, he started very strong and put up most of his goals at the beginning of the year (and as Andy says- a bunch of PKs). But he faded fast and didn't do much through the year. Compare that to Beckham who played as if it mattered to him all year- huge work=rate and fantastic numbers/team-results. Whether he saw this as his swan song and wanted to make sure he went out not leaving anything on the field, or if he was using it as a end-of-contract year to get legitimate interest (beyond PR) for his services from another team... dunno- but it was as good a DP performance as the league has ever seen IMO.

If this result was PR-related, I'd think it would have gone to Davies if just for the near-death story; it doesnt get much more "come-back" than that.

And I postd a similar frustration about the final 4 goals of the year lacking Agudelo's turn and shoot- last week?. Andy pointed out then that it was fan voting, not MLS directed. Again, for me it's between Juan's and Hasli with the latter's separating himself in a big way. The other three were there just because he Northwest voted more than anybody else.

That's exactly my point. Davies came back from near death to not only play soccer professionally again, but to score 11 goals in his very first season back (4 of which were PKs). David Beckham came back from an Achilles injury, his playing career was never in doubt due to the injury let alone his life. Sure Beckham played well this year, but the comeback player award shouldn't be treated like who had the best season following an injury, it should be about who had the greater comeback story. As for the Best Goal, I didn't realize it was fan chosen; makes sense then.

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

 

[Eephus]

New USMNT jerseys leaked. Looks like red & white hoops for the next two years. Brek Shea will look like Dennis the Menace wearing this kit.

I kind of liked the diagonal sash but I guess Nike (and Thai bootleggers) need our money.

 

[NewlyRetired]

New USMNT jerseys leaked. Looks like red & white hoops for the next two years. Brek Shea will look like Dennis the Menace wearing this kit.

I kind of liked the diagonal sash but I guess Nike (and Thai bootleggers) need our money.

Yikes. Those be some thick stripes.

 

[scoobygang]

New USMNT jerseys leaked. Looks like red & white hoops for the next two years. Brek Shea will look like Dennis the Menace wearing this kit.

I kind of liked the diagonal sash but I guess Nike (and Thai bootleggers) need our money.

We should have copied Slovenia and started rocking the Charlie Brown.

 

[The Z Machine]

New USMNT jerseys leaked. Looks like red & white hoops for the next two years. Brek Shea will look like Dennis the Menace wearing this kit.

I kind of liked the diagonal sash but I guess Nike (and Thai bootleggers) need our money.

We should have copied Slovenia and started rocking the Charlie Brown.

Both of these are horrible. Should have gone Chivas/Atlético and the red/white vertical stripes with blue shorts.

 

[Eephus]

New USMNT jerseys leaked. Looks like red & white hoops for the next two years. Brek Shea will look like Dennis the Menace wearing this kit.

I kind of liked the diagonal sash but I guess Nike (and Thai bootleggers) need our money.

We should have copied Slovenia and started rocking the Charlie Brown.

Both of these are horrible. Should have gone Chivas/Atlético and the red/white vertical stripes with blue shorts.

Things could always be worse

 

[scoobygang]

I kind of dig the French away jerseys. They look like they should be wearing a beret and carrying a baguette while they play.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

I don't see how the bolded is true. They should give the 'comeback' player of the year award to the guy who made the greatest 'comeback', publicity has nothing to do with it.

 

[theprince]

EPL is back!

Sorry I don't have time for a longer write-up, but I think Chelsea's confidence is on the brink. Liverpool pushes them over the edge. 4-1 at the bridge.

 

[bentley]

Thoughts on defending a team who has a player who's very good in the air. He's about 6'2 and can jump, high school kid. Any tips here?

If you don't have defenders who can match up height-wise with this guy, you need to make sure somebody is always getting a body on him so that he's not going up for balls in the air uncontested. Make him earn anything he gets in the air- if he's getting pushed around, it doesn't matter as much if he's taller. and make sure his team earns any pass/cross to this guy by plugging the passing lanes and not letting wide players get free for crosses.

I'd follow the advice my old high school basketball coach gave me when I was going up for rebounds against a guy that was taller and more athletic:"Son, take a dive and hope they call some fouls. Because as long as that guy's in the game, he's going to be whipping your ###."

 

[bentley]

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

I don't see how the bolded is true. They should give the 'comeback' player of the year award to the guy who made the greatest 'comeback', publicity has nothing to do with it.

The criteria isn't who made the biggest comeback, it's the player who had the best season coming back from injury or adversity.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

I don't see how the bolded is true. They should give the 'comeback' player of the year award to the guy who made the greatest 'comeback', publicity has nothing to do with it.

The criteria isn't who made the biggest comeback, it's the player who had the best season coming back from injury or adversity.

I actually looked for the criteria but couldn't find any. It's kind of like the MVP award where it depends how you define it I suppose.

 

[bentley]

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

I don't see how the bolded is true. They should give the 'comeback' player of the year award to the guy who made the greatest 'comeback', publicity has nothing to do with it.

The criteria isn't who made the biggest comeback, it's the player who had the best season coming back from injury or adversity.

I actually looked for the criteria but couldn't find any. It's kind of like the MVP award where it depends how you define it I suppose.

MLS COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR (one player per team, each with 60-­‐word bio, will be on ballot)

• Description: Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2011 regular season.

I read that to mean that any injury and/or adversity makes someone eligible and that the level of success is what they vote on.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Thats a better argument then the goals scored at least. But the greater comeback STORY is really no different then giving it to a guy for publicity reasons (which is why you discounted Becks. I dont watch enough MLS so I speculated on why it was Becks). It really should be the player that has the best season after not playing the previous year due to injury.

I don't see how the bolded is true. They should give the 'comeback' player of the year award to the guy who made the greatest 'comeback', publicity has nothing to do with it.

The criteria isn't who made the biggest comeback, it's the player who had the best season coming back from injury or adversity.

I actually looked for the criteria but couldn't find any. It's kind of like the MVP award where it depends how you define it I suppose.

MLS COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR (one player per team, each with 60-­‐word bio, will be on ballot)

• Description: Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2011 regular season.

I read that to mean that any injury and/or adversity makes someone eligible and that the level of success is what they vote on.

The definition they give doesn't convince me that Beckham should have won the award. Having said that, it certainly isn't very specific, leaving for a lot of leeway for either side.

 

[Mjolnirs]

A big top of the table clash in the Bundesliga today at 12:30 eastern. (espn3)

Bayern (9-1-2 28) v Borussia Dortmund (7-2-3 23)

With Bremen and Gladbach at 23 points as well a win helps Bayern stay 5-8 points out front, a loss really tightens up the whole race.

 

[Steve Tasker]

A shaky performance at times from Arsenal today, but nice to see them come away with 3 points on the road. Some lowlights....what in holy hell was Mertesacker doing on that Morison goal? Horrible defending. Koscielny is most definitely not a right back, he was way out of position a few times, and Santos was a bit too aggressive at times, I think. Gervinho was always in a dangerous position, but he's gotta be disappointed with his finishing.

I don't think there's a striker in the world that I would want on my team RIGHT NOW rather than RvP. I can't remember the last time I watched a striker consistently dominate, week-in-and-week-out, as he's been doing. They had a stat today - since the start of the Premier League, only 3 players have topped 30 goals in a calendar year...Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, and Robin van Persie (by virtue of his double today). I think this team is in deep #### if/when he gets hurt, though...and let's be honest, he will get hurt at some point.

I really like what Walcott's doing on the wing. He's really developed into a tremendous player, and I think he's partially responsible for RvP's tear. They work so well together.