This year will mark the first time I have lived outside of England during a World Cup, and while this should prove beneficial in some regards - particularly in that I can avoid the jingoistic fever and over-hyped expectations for the England team that the British media will stir into a frenzy - it does mean I can't have a punt on the winners, as gambling is (as far as I know) illegal here in the States. Regardless, I thought it might be quite interesting to have a look at what the bookmakers at home think is likely to happen this summer, and see how far we agree with them.

Read All...

I'm not usually one to want to be emotionally uplifted - call your movie "heartwarming" or "inspiring" and you'll pretty much guarantee I will never see it. However, this new video from Go USA Bid about soccer fans in the States is getting me uplifted like nobody's business. Soccer is the only thing that can get me to chant USA! USA! with no hint of sarcasm or eyerolling.

If you haven't done so already, go sign that petition.

Bob Bradley has submitted his 30-man preliminary roster for the World Cup, so let the games begin! No, I don't mean the football matches - I mean the "Bradley's a moron!", "We need a foreign coach!", "Where's Freddy Adu??" games. It is, indeed, a hallowed tradition of United States soccer fans to bemoan the hell out of our team and our coach and everything related. I am in general a Bradley supporter - or at least, I don't want to chase him down with pointed sticks - and while I understand the frustrations expressed by his, shall we say, non-supporters, I often find that a lot of those frustrations are underscored by unrealistic expectations. That being said, I do have some worries about the roster, but I'll qualify that in a bit. The group heading to camp is: Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Chad Marshall, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Spector Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers, Jose Francisco Torres Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Brian Ching, Robbie Findley, Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson Many of the usual suspects, of course. A quick look-see at some others...

Read All...

Obviously we've been dark for a while, and I hate to reawaken this with such bad news, but Charlie Davies, US and Sochaux forward, was injured in a car accident today. Grant Wahl tweets that he's likely to require 6-12 months to recover, and that his future in competitive soccer is in doubt. There was a death in the accident - Davies was a passenger - and our thoughts have to be with that victim and her family, as well as Davies and his.

This isn’t the Fulham Clint Dempsey we’re seeing in the Red, White, and Swoosh. The Fulham Clint doesn’t do silly tricks, dribbles, passes etc for the sake of doing silly tricks, dribbles, passes etc — especially ones that lead to fast breaks and goals. The Fulham Clint also appears to hustle, enjoy his teammates, and argue with opposing players... His body language is reminding me of Craig Bellamy in a Wales Shirt, or Juan Román Riquelme in an Argentina kit. Its the inexplicable “I’m beyond this” gait and aura. Statistically Clint is better with the Yanks (13 goals in 50 caps versus 14 goals in 81 appearances) than with Fulham. But there still seems to be a difference in favor of the Fulham version. Maybe with the Nats he is releasing his inner self, a self that is presumably quelled under the schoolmaster Roy. Or maybe he just has respect for and of his peers with the Whites and not the Nats.

That was written by a Fulham blogger during the Gold Cup. But it holds true for the match last night, too, and far too many national team matches (although certainly not all of them; he looked fine v. El Salvador.) But last night was a disaster, at least until he moved up front towards the end.

I love Football365, and not just because they once published an essay of mine which got picked up elsewhere and made me a professional writer for the first time. Especially good is the Mediawatch section, and a recent item highlights the kind of joy they bring:

We're sure you've already read it, but if not, [John] Terry said: "I can speak about the England lads and the England team and it (diving) is something we don't do. "I think sometimes we're too honest because sometimes, even in the Premiership, you see the English lads get a bit of contact and try and stay on their feet and try and score from the chance they've been given." Sigh. Do we really need to do this? We do?

Click here and scroll down to see the long list of counter-examples. Seriously, there's nothing funnier than anyone defending his countrymen against charges of diving, since it's so easily proven wrong and obvious. That said, I do think the US players are far better than average. Cough. Later in the same column:

'England must do it Chelsea style, says JT' - CityAM. Yeah, nicking all the best young players from around the world would help, but we're not sure how it would work. Unless JT just means that England aren't allowed to do transfers...

Hee hee.

Midfield: Workmanlike. Goalkeeper: Strong. Forwards: Inconsistent. Defense: Embarrassing. Referees: Atrocious. (The officiating was terrible in both directions, really, but several of the calls against the US, including disallowing my boy Altidore's goal, were unforgivable.)

Watching England v. Slovenia (friendly) and wondering whether penalties should be eliminated altogether. The highlight of the day, of course, will be USA v. El Salvador. This Real Salt Lake beat writer thinks that Bradley will start Altidore, which naturally makes me happy, but then I remember it's Bob Bradley, and then I'm sad again. It's a must-win, obviously, and Donovan is saying the right things:

Our absolute goal has to be to finish in the top three...If we can't finish in the top three, we probably don't deserve to go anyway.

Although El Salvador is a tough opponent, a team of the class the USA is looking to be can't afford to do anything but close this match out in a clinical style. I'm not as nervous as I was ahead of the Mexico game, but I'm not sanguine.

That's not my reaction, that was the chant from the crowd as Jozy Altidore made his Hull City debut...just before he created this:

Read All...

And there he stands to this day, all alone, unless the birds perch on him; for goalies, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again.

-- JRR Tolkien, The Gunner

Too bad.

I am Bob Bradley. Stare into my eyes. Know me. Fear me. Or at least fear my substitution patterns. Stare into my eyes. Are you staring into them? Good. Because this game is huge. It's so huge I jacked into the matrix to give you a readout of my thoughts, live during the game. NOW STARE! And behold my brilliant noggin at work.

Tim Howard should be in goal today, and he's playing as well as any keeper in the world. Landon Donovan said they aren't going down there for a draw. Jozy Altidore will be playing up front with the increased confidence (and jetlag) of a guy playing in the Premiership. People make too much of the heat in Mexico, but the altitude will be trying. People make too much of the history, but I suppose 0-19-1 for the US in Mexico since 1937 has to mean something. People can't possibly make too much of the fans because 100,000 diehards will have a powerful, sustained impact on Mexico's team. Ultimately, I think the shots in the arm they will provide at key moments to Mexico will be the difference in the match. Here's what others are saying about the game at 4pm ET on Telemundo and mun2: Big Soccer Potomac Soccer Wire Goal.com Toronto Star Grant Wahl Hooligan Talk

I know that not everyblogger here is a fan of the US National Mens Team, but for those of us who are, the news of Jozy Altidore's season loan from Villareal to The Tigers has to be welcome. Hull's fairly weak up front, as these things go, and as Andrew Hush says:

In some ways, this move is a win-win for Altidore. If he is successful and scores the goals to keep Hull up, a permanent move may be in the cards, unless Villarreal is so impressed that it recalls him to its first team. If things go well personally but Hull is relegated, his stock will nonetheless be high. Even if he struggles and Hull goes down, Altidore has a full season in England under his belt and, at 20, time still on his side.

Terrible quality video of Altidore's first goal for Villareal...about 25 seconds after entering the match.