***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (4 Viewers)

[NewlyRetired]

News out of Portland about a possible DP level signing

“We are excited about it, but also apprehensive and nervous,” said Wilkinson of the potential signing. “It’s not a typical DP in many ways; it’s not somebody that’s a big name. It’s somebody we’ve gone after because we’ve watched him live three times, on video six or seven times, and we’ve fallen in love with this player. Now it’s a matter of how do we go about getting him, and ultimately is it worth it? Merritt has given us his backing and put a lot of faith in our judgment, and that’s both on [manager] John Spencer and I. Now it’s a matter of will it come off? If it does we will have added a phenomenal piece to the puzzle.”

===============================================

As an aside I think the Seattle vs Portland games are going to offer perhaps the best atmosphere ever seen in American club soccer ever.

 

[B Maverick]

Cantona: Kung-Fu Kick was best moment of my career

"I think maybe it's like a dream for some, you know sometimes to kick these kind of people."

saw that and loved it.Also, in SI there is an article on Jose Mourinho, the Special One that is a great read. Calls him the greatest manager in all of sports (as a SAF fan i disagree, but its hard to argue against either's record). Details his rise from interpretor to CL champion with his moves from Porto to Chelsea to Inter to RM... Ambitions to manage in the MLS and maybe the USMNT. Anyway, IMO worth the price of the mag itself to read.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Not sure who are stat geeks out there, but this is a good thing for MLS if you are.

Floppo, check out the bolded part. Not sure if this may be worth looking into in case you are looking to get a job in the soccer world.

=======================================

Major League Soccer today announced a multi-year partnership with Opta, a worldwide leader in sports data, to significantly enhance MLS' data collection and display capabilities. Opta specialises in the collection and distribution of detailed performance data for soccer matches throughout Europe.

Opta works with major companies in the world of soccer, including high profile broadcasters, publishers, sponsors, governing bodies and professional clubs. Opta is currently the official data provider for the German Bundesliga and supplies in-depth live and historical data to their official website.

This new deal will complement MLS' existing partnership with the Elias Sports Bureau and will allow MLS to continue to enhance the League’s digital products bringing best-in-class sports information to MLS fans.

“For many years we have heard a desire from our fans for more in-depth statistics,” said Chris Schlosser, director of digital strategy for MLS. “We are very excited to partner with Opta to bring this critical information to our passionate fans. This deal will allow for deeper analysis of all MLS matches and ensure that MLS is at the cutting edge of data technologies in 2011 and beyond.”

MLS and Opta will build a new North American data collection hub in MLS' Digital Headquarters in New York. From this hub, hundreds of MLS and other North American soccer games will be analyzed with the data available for use by MLSsoccer.com, participating broadcasters and other interested media outlets.

“This is a very exciting new step for our business,” said Aidan Cooney, CEO, Opta. “Our pioneering technology creates digital blueprints of each match, enabling rich statistical and graphical insights into the game's tactics and strategies. This is an opportunity to take soccer to a new, but statistics hungry, audience in the United States.”

 

[NewlyRetired]

News tidbits

* RSL will play Saprissa in the semi's of the CCC

* Jaime Moreno was named the technical director of DC United's academy. Great to continue to see some of the foreign pros who played in MLS set roots down and continue to help the game here in the US.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Nike announced they will release 3rd US shirt that will be red sometime in April.

It has been a long time since the team wore red.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The Whitecaps signed their first DP player. Not a big name obviously but certainly will help the team.

http://whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/eric-hassli-becomes-whitecaps-fcs-first-designated-player

 

[El Floppo]

The Whitecaps signed their first DP player. Not a big name obviously but certainly will help the team.http://whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/eric-hassli-becomes-whitecaps-fcs-first-designated-player

It's always a positive- for me- to see teams use their DP slots on positive, attacking players. Never heard of the guy, but coming from the Swiss league shouldn't be too much of a difference in class. Also he's not a big name, so both factors should hopefully mean that Hassli comes over here and gives it his all. He'll turn 30 this year, so again hopefully, he's got a few years left (albeit down-hill) to make his mark.

 

[El Floppo]

I don't know why I JUST now made this connection, but I played against Jim Rooney (long-time MLSer) in college... the guy was an absolute beast on a terrible team. Nice to see old guys (my age) being followed-up on. btw... NASL? wtf? have we talked about that already?

 

[TLEF316]

The Whitecaps signed their first DP player. Not a big name obviously but certainly will help the team.http://whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/eric-hassli-becomes-whitecaps-fcs-first-designated-player

at the video in that link

 

[Christo]

Huge win for Fulham. Could end the week in the top half of the table ready to make a late push for Europe. And look out--the Hammers put together two wins in a row to make the relegation battle even more interesting.

Arsenal should be ashamed.

 

[Christo]

And my St. Pauli boys on the receiving end of a 5-0 butt kicking!

 

[Mjolnirs]

Bayern in a tailspin with three straight losses.

 

[jonessed]

Arsenal has the amazing knack to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I would love to see a two horse race, but this team simply doesn't have the capability to run with United. They have the talent, but they don't have the heart or the experience.

 

[NewlyRetired]

The Whitecaps signed their first DP player. Not a big name obviously but certainly will help the team.http://whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/03/eric-hassli-becomes-whitecaps-fcs-first-designated-player

It's always a positive- for me- to see teams use their DP slots on positive, attacking players. Never heard of the guy, but coming from the Swiss league shouldn't be too much of a difference in class. Also he's not a big name, so both factors should hopefully mean that Hassli comes over here and gives it his all. He'll turn 30 this year, so again hopefully, he's got a few years left (albeit down-hill) to make his mark.

Interestingly, I read that the Whitecaps now have 3 players who all have extensive experience in the Swiss league.I am assuming this is one of those low level DP signings where they needed to get a little over the salary cap max but they are not spending a ton on him. I assume he is making in the high 300's, low 400's, but that is just a guess. Also it sounds like this may have been a free transfer as his contract was up this summer but his club released him early for the transfer.And yet another team passes the Revs in getting a DP. :( I have to do some research, I wonder what teams have never had a DP level player yet...

 

[NewlyRetired]

I have to do some research, I wonder what teams have never had a DP level player yet...

OK the following teams have had at least 1 DP level player either currently or in the past.LA, NY, Tor, Seattle, DC, Dallas, Sporting, RSL, Chi, Colorado, Columbus, Houst, SJ, VANThat leaves NE, Portland, Phili, Chivas. Phili, and obviously Portland get a pass as they are either 1 year or a brand new team. NE and Chivas have no excuses at this point. The two teams have been relative crap since the DP plan was put in place so they can't say they have been winning with out the need for a DP.Here are the current DP's in the league from Wiki:Year Signed/Player/Current club2007 /Beckham, David/ Los Angeles Galaxy 2007 /Ángel, Juan Pablo/ Los Angeles Galaxy 2009 /de Guzman, Julian/ Toronto FC 2010 /Donovan, Landon/ Los Angeles Galaxy 2010 /Nkufo, Blaise/ Seattle Sounders FC 2010 /Bošković, Branko/ D.C. United 2010 /Henry, Thierry/ New York Red Bulls 2010 /Fernández, Álvaro/ Seattle Sounders FC 2010 /Marquez, Rafael/ New York Red Bulls 2010 /Bravo, Omar/ Sporting Kansas City 2010 /Saborío, Álvaro/ Real Salt Lake 2010 /Montero, Fredy / Seattle Sounders FC 2011 /Hassli, Eric/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC

 

[Mjolnirs]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.

Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.

Should be fun.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Huge win for Fulham. Could end the week in the top half of the table ready to make a late push for Europe.

Wouldn't Europe take a near miracle at this point for Fulham? I might misunderstand the placements, but I thought it went like thisTop 3 go to Champions League4th place goes to Champions League Qualifying5th place team goes to EuropaFulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesSpurs are in 5th with 47 points after only 27 games game.12 points back and giving away two games makes this nearly impossible to achieve in my eyes with so few games left.Right now relegation is SIGNIFICANTLY closer for Fulham than Europe is.Fulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesBirmingham is in 18th place, and sitting on 30 points after on 27 games played. (West Ham is in a worse spot though as they are on 31 points after 29 played)I don't see Fulham being relegated this year but I would be more worried about the bottom of the table than the top IMO.====================================================One team and one American that might have a very outside shot at Europe is the surprising Bolton (of which Holden is playing a ton for). They are in 6th right now with 40 points after 29 to play. It is likely out of their reach as well but stranger things have happened.

 

[Christo]

Huge win for Fulham. Could end the week in the top half of the table ready to make a late push for Europe.

Wouldn't Europe take a near miracle at this point for Fulham? I might misunderstand the placements, but I thought it went like thisTop 3 go to Champions League4th place goes to Champions League Qualifying5th place team goes to EuropaFulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesSpurs are in 5th with 47 points after only 27 games game.12 points back and giving away two games makes this nearly impossibly to achieve in my eyes.Right now relegation is SIGNIFICANTLY closer for Fulham than Europe is.Fulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesBirmingham is in 18th place, and sitting on 30 points after on 27 games played. (West Ham is in a worse spot though as they are on 31 points after 29 played)I don't see Fulham being relegated this year but I would be more worried about the bottom of the table than the top IMO.====================================================One team and one American that might have a very outside shot at Europe is the surprising Bolton (of which Holden is playing a ton for). They are in 6th right now with 40 points after 29 to play. It is likely out of their reach as well but stranger things have happened.

Don't rain on my parade, killjoy.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.Should be fun.

Davies is back from his quick trip to Europe to move everything back to the states. Hopefully he will get some playing time tonight. If you go let us know how Najar/Davies etc look.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Bayern in a tailspin with three straight losses.

oh my, I just realized they lost to Hannover right?That gives Hannover a 5 point lead on Bayern for the Champions League qualifying spot. I hear Cherundolo has been playing great for Hannover. This must be their highest placement in a long time.When was the last time Bayern missed the Champions League?

 

[Christo]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.

Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.

Should be fun.

I just discovered what's going to get me to go to more Fire games!Luxury Bus Service to Chicago Fire home games - 2011!

Large, comfortable luxury buses with a bathroom for use only by it’s passengers! No more waiting in line for a portajohn at the stadium!

Tailgate at every game, hosted by the Section 8, the official supporters club of the Chicago Fire! (Weather permitting, of course. Donations appreciated)

Free beer on the bus!

Prices for the 2011 season are unchanged from the last three years at $17.50 for a seat on the bus and $35 for a seat on the bus AND a ticket to the game.

Don’t worry anymore about how to get to the game, paying for parking, not being able to drink, standing in line to buy a ticket and everything else! Just get the WCW luxury bus, and look forward to laughing with new friends, drinking beer and cheering on the team to glory.

These buses are 100% reliable. As soccer fans ourselves, we know how important this is. Tickets for this new service will be sold by pre-order on the site in advance only, and we will run as many buses as there is demand for.

 

[El Floppo]

Huge win for Fulham. Could end the week in the top half of the table ready to make a late push for Europe.

Wouldn't Europe take a near miracle at this point for Fulham? I might misunderstand the placements, but I thought it went like thisTop 3 go to Champions League4th place goes to Champions League Qualifying5th place team goes to EuropaFulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesSpurs are in 5th with 47 points after only 27 games game.12 points back and giving away two games makes this nearly impossibly to achieve in my eyes.Right now relegation is SIGNIFICANTLY closer for Fulham than Europe is.Fulham is currently sitting on 35 points after 29 gamesBirmingham is in 18th place, and sitting on 30 points after on 27 games played. (West Ham is in a worse spot though as they are on 31 points after 29 played)I don't see Fulham being relegated this year but I would be more worried about the bottom of the table than the top IMO.====================================================One team and one American that might have a very outside shot at Europe is the surprising Bolton (of which Holden is playing a ton for). They are in 6th right now with 40 points after 29 to play. It is likely out of their reach as well but stranger things have happened.

Don't rain on my parade, killjoy.

Per Wiki...

Qualification for European competitionsAs of the 2009–10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changes, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group stage.[23] The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions. If one of the cup winners qualifies for Europe through their league position, the sixth-placed team in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. If both of the cup winners qualify for the Champions League through their league position, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. If either domestic cup competition is contested between teams outside the top four league positions, the winner will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League regardless of their final league position. A further place in the UEFA Europa League is also available via the Fair Play initiative. If the Premier League has one of the three highest Fair Play rankings in Europe, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings which has not already qualified for Europe will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[24]An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in the Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers.[25] UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this means that if the Champions League winner falls outside of its domestic league's top four, it will qualify at the expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. No association can have more than four entrants in the Champions League.[26]

 

[NewlyRetired]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.

Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.

Should be fun.

I just discovered what's going to get me to go to more Fire games!Luxury Bus Service to Chicago Fire home games - 2011!

Large, comfortable luxury buses with a bathroom for use only by it’s passengers! No more waiting in line for a portajohn at the stadium!

Tailgate at every game, hosted by the Section 8, the official supporters club of the Chicago Fire! (Weather permitting, of course. Donations appreciated)

Free beer on the bus!

Prices for the 2011 season are unchanged from the last three years at $17.50 for a seat on the bus and $35 for a seat on the bus AND a ticket to the game.

Don’t worry anymore about how to get to the game, paying for parking, not being able to drink, standing in line to buy a ticket and everything else! Just get the WCW luxury bus, and look forward to laughing with new friends, drinking beer and cheering on the team to glory.

These buses are 100% reliable. As soccer fans ourselves, we know how important this is. Tickets for this new service will be sold by pre-order on the site in advance only, and we will run as many buses as there is demand for.

That is a fantastic deal. I know the Section 8 guys are very organized. I assume they can pull off the free beer through some kind of sponsorship else this would have to be a money losing deal for them.

 

[bentley]

Wouldn't Europe take a near miracle at this point for Fulham? I might misunderstand the placements, but I thought it went like thisTop 3 go to Champions League4th place goes to Champions League Qualifying5th place team goes to Europa

I agree about Fulham, but wanted to point out that the 6th place team will also make Europa League if the FA Cup winner and runner up have already qualified for Europe. Birmingham has the Carling Cup spot (thanks for nothing, Arsenal). As a Liverpool fan, I'm really counting on Arsenal, ManU, Birmingham, or ManCity to win the FA cup.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Qualification for European competitionsAs of the 2009–10 season qualification for the UEFA Champions League changes, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top three teams directly entering the group stage. Previously only the top two teams qualified automatically. The fourth-placed team enters the Champions League at the play-off round for non-champions and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group stage.[23] The team placed fifth in the Premier League automatically qualifies for the UEFA Europa League, and the sixth and seventh-placed teams can also qualify, depending on the winners of the two domestic cup competitions. If one of the cup winners qualifies for Europe through their league position, the sixth-placed team in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. If both of the cup winners qualify for the Champions League through their league position, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League will qualify for the Europa League. If either domestic cup competition is contested between teams outside the top four league positions, the winner will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League regardless of their final league position. A further place in the UEFA Europa League is also available via the Fair Play initiative. If the Premier League has one of the three highest Fair Play rankings in Europe, the highest ranked team in the Premier League Fair Play standings which has not already qualified for Europe will automatically qualify for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[24]

yeah, I think someone mentioned earlier than Birmingham's shock win in the league cup has removed a Euro place from the top of the table.I don't know enough about the Fairplay rankings to see if England will get another Europa slot from that.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Wouldn't Europe take a near miracle at this point for Fulham? I might misunderstand the placements, but I thought it went like thisTop 3 go to Champions League4th place goes to Champions League Qualifying5th place team goes to Europa

I agree about Fulham, but wanted to point out that the 6th place team will also make Europa League if the FA Cup winner and runner up have already qualified for Europe. Birmingham has the Carling Cup spot (thanks for nothing, Arsenal). As a Liverpool fan, I'm really counting on Arsenal, ManU, Birmingham, or ManCity to win the FA cup.

cool. We should know more soon as the FA Cup quarter finals are next weekend I believe.

 

[NewlyRetired]

http://www.livesoccertv.com/news/3025/espn-promotes-amy-rosenfeld-to-coordinating-producer-for-soccer/

ESPN Promotes Amy Rosenfeld to Coordinating Producer for Soccer

March 5th, 2011

ESPN has promoted veteran producer Amy Rosenfeld to the role of coordinating producer to oversee its global soccer coverage.

She will be responsible for all soccer events on ESPN’s linear and digital networks, including the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, US Soccer men’s and women’s national teams, Major League Soccer, and international leagues such as the Barclays Premier League. Rosenfeld reports directly to Jed Drake, ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, event production, and is based at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn.

Rosenfeld’s first season as coordinating producer for soccer will commence with the 2011 Major League Soccer season-opener – Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles Galaxy – on Tuesday, March 15, at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN3.com, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mobile TV.

“Amy’s new role and expanded responsibilities are a testament to her production experience and soccer knowledge, which will help ESPN maintain the quality presentation and increasing commitment to the sport that fans have come to expect,” said Drake.

Rosenfeld joined ESPN as full-time producer in 2007, after working as freelancer on numerous soccer events for ESPN and other networks since 1997. Her experience includes serving as the lead producer for every English-language telecast of the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s FIFA World Cup since 1999 in the United States. She assumes her new position after playing a key senior producer role on ESPN’s critically acclaimed coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, the company’s most successful and most-watched FIFA World Cup.

 

[NewlyRetired]

btw... NASL? wtf? have we talked about that already?

if you can give me the cliff notes I would appreciate it.I don't get this. Where is Rochester, Richmond, Charleston etc..many of the teams who made up the bedrock of the old A-League for a long long time...Those teams seem to still be under the USL banner in something called USL Pro.If the NASL is provisionally division 2, where does that put the USL pro league? Are they now division 3?I don't see how the NASL is going to survive. Their only strong team is Montreal and they are moving up to MLS next season.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.Should be fun.

Davies is back from his quick trip to Europe to move everything back to the states. Hopefully he will get some playing time tonight. If you go let us know how Najar/Davies etc look.

Chicago looked pretty dominant over Toronto. Chicago even went down a player and still controlled the run of play. DC was obviously the better squad against Charleston. Charleston's goal came on a PK that was given after one of the Battery players got away with a blatant dive. Davies came on in the 78th minute and had one or two runs, but not a lot of action. I can't really comment on other players by name ... no rosters in the program, no names on the shirts and I couldn't understand a thing said over the PA.

Bayern in a tailspin with three straight losses.

oh my, I just realized they lost to Hannover right?That gives Hannover a 5 point lead on Bayern for the Champions League qualifying spot. I hear Cherundolo has been playing great for Hannover. This must be their highest placement in a long time.When was the last time Bayern missed the Champions League?

Cherundolo is actually the squad's captain. Hannover finished 5th in the Bundesliga in the 64/65 season and 8th in 07/08.Bayern were not in the CL in the 07/08 season and haven't finished out of the top 4 since 91/92.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Bolton hit the magical 40-point plateau with the win today. Good to see Bradley doesn't even see the field....

 

[NewlyRetired]

Carolina Challenge Cup pre-season tournament starts tonight here in Charleston.Tonight's matches are Toronto FC v Chicago Fire and Charleston Battery v DC United.Should be fun.

Davies is back from his quick trip to Europe to move everything back to the states. Hopefully he will get some playing time tonight. If you go let us know how Najar/Davies etc look.

Chicago looked pretty dominant over Toronto. Chicago even went down a player and still controlled the run of play. DC was obviously the better squad against Charleston. Charleston's goal came on a PK that was given after one of the Battery players got away with a blatant dive. Davies came on in the 78th minute and had one or two runs, but not a lot of action. I can't really comment on other players by name ... no rosters in the program, no names on the shirts and I couldn't understand a thing said over the PA.

Thanks! I was able to watch about 30 or so minutes of the game online last night. DC was sitting Quaranta, Davies and Brankovic at that time so the team playing was not their normal A side I think. Najar had a couple of nice runs. I love his first step which seems to be pretty quick (which is needed with his size (see Freddy Adu)

 

[NewlyRetired]

Over 10,000 fans came to Tucson last night to see the Red Bulls and Sporting play a preseason game.

 

[El Floppo]

Bolton hit the magical 40-point plateau with the win today. Good to see Bradley doesn't even see the field....

Wow. That was an insane game- really fun to watch. AV found LOTS of ways to not score... astonishing really- the missed PK was just the icing. Holden picked up as the game went along, but I thought was pretty useless for the first 60- getting beat badly down the wing by Walker who crossed in for the first goal (clearly why we're not seeing Licaj... Walker has looked great the games I've seen him play). Even though Holden was on the ball a lot, I didn't see any usefulness from his passes until later; AV players seemed to know to just stand off him, as he never tried to turn only playing quick, pointless balls back and square.Lots of questionable/bad refereeing, but at least it went both ways. The PK looked like the right call.btw- I just passed wind, and somewhere Ashley Cole has gone to ground. Likewise, somewhere Paul Robinson has just slammed into somebody and is complaining to the ref about getting called for it.I would've really liked to see Bradley play.

 

[Christo]

Fantastic first half between Wolves and Spurs. 2-2 with two screamers from Defoe

Did ManU leave van der Sar at home this morning?

 

[NewlyRetired]

With Liverpool beating ManU, the top of the table became interesting again.

Arsenal is obviously not playing well but ManU has been giving up points lately, particularly away from home. Out of the last 18 possible away points, ManU has only managed to grab 7.

Arsenal is now only 3 points back and has a game in hand.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Bolton hit the magical 40-point plateau with the win today. Good to see Bradley doesn't even see the field....

Wow. That was an insane game- really fun to watch. AV found LOTS of ways to not score... astonishing really- the missed PK was just the icing. Holden picked up as the game went along, but I thought was pretty useless for the first 60- getting beat badly down the wing by Walker who crossed in for the first goal (clearly why we're not seeing Licaj... Walker has looked great the games I've seen him play). Even though Holden was on the ball a lot, I didn't see any usefulness from his passes until later; AV players seemed to know to just stand off him, as he never tried to turn only playing quick, pointless balls back and square.

One thing about Holden I never appreacited in MLS or even with the Nats is just how good he is defensively. I never pictured him as a ball winner but as of late Feb, he was the #1 player in the entire EPL for tackling. That is a pretty cool achievement. God bless Opta, with out there incredible stats, it would be so hard to have real evidence for what you think is happening on the field.

 

[Bonzai]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF

 

[The Gator]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Christo]

Settle down scouser. Your team has been as fickle as a school girl this year. No reason to get too excited from one result at home to a depleted ManU team.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Settle down scouser. Your team has been as fickle as a school girl this year. No reason to get too excited from one result at home to a depleted ManU team.

Don't rain on his parade, killjoy.

 

[derek245583]

What a brutal call

 

[Steve Tasker]

Wolves got robbed

 

[Steve Tasker]

WOLVES

 

[derek245583]

Well they deserved that....

 

[onionsack]

Incredible match. Full credit to Wolves for fighting on against 12 when they should be playing against 10.

 

[ffldrew]

Incredible match. Full credit to Wolves for fighting on against 12 when they should be playing against 10.

 

[SmoovySmoov]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[JMon348]

Tuesday's big match of Barca and Arsenal just got a bit more interesting. Most everyone knows that Arsenal will be missing key players, but Cesc looks like he will be playing. For Barca it was widely assumed that Puyol would be back, but he was ruled out today. Combine that with Barca's lack of D lately and Pique being suspended for yellows, and this game will be bitterly close. 1-0 is all it would take for Barca to advance, but it got a lot more dicey now. Vic Valdes came back yesterday so at least that off sets the defensive problems somewhat.

 

[The Z Machine]

... Vic Valdes...

? Never seen him called that.

 

[Steve Tasker]

... Vic Valdes...

? Never seen him called that.

Pssh you're crazy.I really hope Bob van Persie is able to go on Tuesday though.