I remain so utterly baffled as to why footie fans tend to have a generally poor reputation amongst those not inclined toward the sport. Sure, we get pretty riled up and a little rowdy, but so do all sports fans, right? It's not like we're losing our minds and going completely flipping mad over routine things that happen in sports all the time...right?

Around 30 Manchester United supporters, many hooded and wearing balaclavas, stood outside Rooney's Prestbury home and invited the player to come out. When he declined, they unveiled a banner reading 'If you join City, you're dead' as he watched from an upstairs window.

Totally reasonable behavior. Now, of course these nuts are outliers in the big picture. As I always point out when a non-soccer person starts spouting off about hooligans, the majority of soccer fans are just normal people with normal levels of fandom - we get really excited sometimes, we get dejected, we moan and cry or jump up and down...for most of us, it's no different than it is for hardcore baseball fans or basketball fans or any other game. However, soccer fans, especially outside the US, do tend to do the whole eat-sleep-breathe-your-team thing to an extraordinary degree, and this kind of incident just fits the damn narrative so well that it makes me more upset. Like...don't play to the stereotypes! And also, you know...don't make death threats. I mean, this is just absolutely ridiculous. Sure, no arrests were made, and as the Cheshire Police spokesman said, "the group dispersed peacefully, no offences were committed". Goody. But this is still frightening behavior, and I've got to wonder what is wrong with people who process the news that one of their top players is probably leaving and maybe he might end up on the rival team and come up with "Let's go threaten his life!!" That's such a crazy and overblown reaction. Of course I understand the anger, but how many players stay with a team for their whole career, or even a majority of it (since Rooney started with Everton, of course)? It's quite common that players - even the top guys, the favorites, the best - end up leaving their team, for various reasons. I know the chance he might go to City is like rubbing salt in the wound, but even so, this shit happens and if you're going to lose it like this every time, maybe you need to take a step back and examine your mental health. If he goes to City, write nasty blog posts, boo him at the games, call him a traitor and a jerk and whatever. Fine. But let's try to keep the crazy in check. No one deserves the scariness of a death threat (no matter how "serious" or non-serious it might be), and the community as a whole would benefit from not having embarrassing shit like this in the books. (H/T to Dirty Tackle)

The second week of the Champions League has just finished, and all five British teams are in first or second place in their groups. Some open thread for comments on the season so far.

Last night I was forced to play at centre back for one of my co-rec teams. A combination of my weakened hamstring and a desperate shortage of players meant I was unable to spend the 90 minutes marauding, Lampard-like (but thinner), from box to box, as is my wont. I managed to keep my positional discipline for first 70 minutes, and even began to enjoy the negativity of the position, but when we went 2-0 up, I decided it was time to enjoy life a little, and, timing my run from the back to perfection, managed to break a tired-looking offside trap and surge through on goal. I smoothly rounded the ‘keeper, and finished with a powerful right foot effort, which pinged satisfyingly off the corner of the upright, before sailing back over my head and into the goalie’s grateful arms. What’s all this about, you may well ask. Well, my own feeble efforts got me thinking about the work of the unsung heroes in the Premier League. Every team has one, some have two or three. Of course, some teams are pretty much entirely unsung (Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers?), but here’s my question: What exactly is it that makes an ‘unsung hero’? Literally, of course, the fans won’t have a chant for that player, but how do you really quantify an unsung hero? We’ve become accustomed to praising the ‘tireless efforts’ of the defensive midfielders. We know all about the ‘great organisational skills’ of top defenders, and ‘commanding presence’ of goalkeepers. Are there any true unsung heroes left in the game? Who fulfils the role at your club? Is there more to it than doing the hard yards, or the dirty work? Is a defender who can chip in with goals or assists any more valuable than his hard-tackling counterpart? Is Ashley Cole an unsung hero - there are plenty of songs about him, but none are particularly flattering. For me, Ji-Sung Park is an excellent example. He may never be first name on the team sheet at United, but his work rate is phenomenal, he’s shown consistent improvement year on year, he never whines about not making the first team, and will play whatever role is required of him, with tireless commitment. And yet, ask 50 United fans to name seven of their current favourite players, and I’d be surprised if he got a single mention. He does of course have his own chant, but let’s skip the debate about the culinary merits of labradors, for the moment. Of course, the scrutiny and interest in the Premier League means that there are very few players who aren’t well known and under the microscope these days, but I still believe that even in the top flight, there are three players like, say, Leighton Baines for every one such as Andre Arshavin. Who fills the role at your club, and why do they get your vote?

Rangers were certainly ready for their visit to Manchester United. Werder Bremen showed heart in coming from 2-0 down to draw. Eight games down, eighty-eight to go. Any thoughts on today's games?

The Community Shield was a lot more fun this year than last -- higher-scoring, more wide open, and featuring the nifty moves of Javier Hernandez, Man U's newest weapon up front. In casual conversation, I've sometimes been one of the people poo-poing the Red Devils' chances of mounting another title challenge this year because of their age. At some point, the Scholes/Giggs/Van Der Sar/etc crowd is going to lose enough steps that even guile won't compensate. But really, arguing that Man U's getting old is silly. Rooney and Valencia are 24, Nani's 23, players like Rafael da Silva are coming up through the ranks, and United just added a genuine star in Hernandez. His goal today was nothing special, and he actually missed a much better chance earlier on, but the kid's full of tricks and looks like a born finisher. That rare formula of explosiveness + moves + lethality should cause fits for defenses that could focus primarily on Rooney last season. With Valencia and Nani blazing down the sidelines and Rooney and Hernandez up front, Manchester United could threaten 100 goals. At the very least, they could threaten 100 goals if, as rumored, they add Mesut Ozil from Germany for just a little more than Liverpool is contemplating for Peter Crouch. I don't have to explain to anyone who watched the World Cup what a rare and special player Ozil is. As an attacking midfielder who could create for the afore-mentioned young stars already in place for United (and finish a few rockets himself), Ozil would cap off the start of a new era of offensive dominance for a team that struggled to score as easily last year as in glory days past. Chelsea and Arsenal fancy their chances this year, but the more I look at United, the more I see a team whose young guns are ready to assume the mantle of Champions. Adding Ozil just might make them favorites.

If any England fans are still wondering what went wrong in South Africa, allow Sir Alex Ferguson to illuminate you:

With inquests continuing into England's lacklustre showing at the World Cup, Ferguson lamented the continued absence of a mid-season break from the English football calendar (which would need the approval of the Premier League) as a major contributing factor to the struggles of Fabio Capello's side. "(The FA) has to give the country the best possible chance of doing well in the World Cup and because of the nature of our game and because of the demands from television to have a programme every week, the idea of a winter break, which I was first talking about 30 years ago in Scotland and have done since I came down to England, nothing has happened about it," Ferguson said. "They must realise that, going into the World Cup, they have handicapped their team."

It's certainly possible that taking a short break mid-season could be beneficial. A little rest and recuperation could help prevent some injuries and strains and keep players at peak performance levels - I won't argue with that. But it's also possible it wouldn't do jack shit if you've got players who are, for example, so accustomed to being the stars of their club teams that they forget how to play as a full squad and blunder around the pitch, communicating as badly as Palin's Twitter feed. Besides that, it's simply no guarantee that taking a couple of weeks off six months before the World Cup would have any impact whatsoever, so while it's fine to say that maybe this is an idea to think about, it seems a little egregious for Ferguson to essentially say the failures are the FA's fault because they have not granted him his birthday-candle wishes for 30 years. It is not definitive that the team is "handicapped" by not having a winter break. It is far more definitive that Ferguson misses having officials on the pitch to complain about and just wants it to be mid-August already, guys! Plus, even if the FA did kneel before Zod SAF and implement a break, we all know it would either be too long or too short for Fergie, depending on how United played in their games following resumption of play.

Quick thoughts on the Manchester derby: --United's midfield dominated the second half. After a lackluster first period, Anderson and Fletcher were possessed in the second. They alternated between providing needed steel on defense and keeping the offensive pressure on City's defense. For the first 20 minutes of the second half, it seemed that the ball never left City's half as either Fletch or Anderson retained possession every time City attempted to clear. --Shay Given was tremendous. Normally, four in the net does not yield compliments for the keeper. But Given kept City in the match with two point blank saves on Berbatov and a third on a classic Giggs volley from the top of the area. Given probably should have come out on Fletcher's second header, but he had no chance on Rooney's opener or on Fletcher's unmarked first and second headers. --Ben Foster was the opposite of tremendous. Although he had no chance to save Bellamy's wonder-strike, Foster was at fault for City's first goal and he should have stood up longer and cut the angle on Bellamy's break-away. In fact, I don't know that Foster made a single save in the match. --City missed Adebayor more than Robinho. Without Adebayor, City had no aerial presence and were unable to hold at the top. Bellamy --even aside from his two goals -- ably provided Robinho's pace and creativity. --City are a top 4 team. --Welcome to the derby, Michael Owen.

Notwithstanding the new guy's jumping the gun, this is the real liveblog for the Spurs-United match. [A] is Auguste, and [AM] is Ape Man, our new Spurs supporter. Except when we forget to label ourselves, and then you'll just have to use context.

Old Giggs is old. One bad match is not the death knell for his career, not by a long shot, but this is a singularly bad match and, although it's obvious and I'm sure Fergie has some sort of master plan, we need to see Berbatov sooner than later. Weak Foster is weak. It shouldn't be taking anything away from Arshavin's geat strike, which most goalies would have missed, to observe that Foster's effort was pathetic. As have been most of his efforts so far. Whiny Wenger is whiny. Just saying. And yes, Alex Ferguson is never anything but level-headed and even-tempered, why do you ask? I don't think the game is as lop-sided as the commentators would have it. United have had more offensively going on - sans finishing, to say the least - than the current analytical zeitgeist. And good job with that save just now, Foster. Sorry I took your name in vain.

It kind of feels like piling on, since I've made cracks about Wigan since pretty much the first day of this blog's existence, but I have to admit I was getting a little worried, season-wise, for the first 45 minutes of today's match (following on a similar disturbance from the Burnley match.) Then I got less worried. Rapidly. I'm still not entirely pleased with the fact that the finishing waited until the second half, considering how thoroughly United was drubbing the Wigan defense (Melchiot, particularly, looked like he wanted to be somewhere else) and Paul Scholes, one of my all-time favorite players, is looking grizzled. But Rooney's performance, Owen's debut goal, and Nani's pretty little free kick were all quality stuff. And Berbatov. His self-service was in the finest of styles (second goal): Despite the scoreline, it wasn't a match from which to extrapolate season-long success - Wigan looked and seemingly felt beaten, even before they started getting beat. But it certainly provided entertainment, and necessary points after Wednesday.

Sir Alex has given some unintentionally ironic interviews before, but I'm not entirely sure there's been one worse than this:

...[T]he Clarets are facing up to a nightmare run of matches, starting with the visit of Manchester United to Turf Moor on Wednesday night. It means unless Coyle's men can record a couple of exceptional results, they will find themselves near, or at, the foot of the table, with many pundits believing they will stay there. Then Ferguson fears Coyle will be a man under pressure, no matter that he was responsible for their unexpected return to England's elite for the first time since 1976. "I hope he has got an understanding chairman," said Ferguson. "We live in a results industry. No matter what we think is fair or how difficult we think it is to get into the Premier League, some directors don't think that way.

Indeed.

Down 1-0 just before the half, surely Michael Carrick isn't the best penalty kick option a championship team has. Is he? Reactions from anyone who saw the game are welcome. Here's what's being bandied about online. The Guardian:

Sir Alex Ferguson's team were shockingly bad, with Michael Owen's body language saying everything as he was substituted after 63 minutes of personal misery, though it would be unfair to dwell too much on United's shortcomings if it deflects any of the praise away from Burnley.

Football365:

United looked disjointed and sluggish against Burnley. They weren't terrible, but each pass seemed to take a split second longer than it should have, and more often than not was half a yard short or wide of its target.

Bleacher Report:

The entire second half was played in the Burnley end, but United couldn't find the golden touch to get them level, which would have been all they'd need to get them a second. Instead, United looked like the team they are, one with new faces and players who haven't played nearly enough together to put forth a real team effort.

Three Five* points about the United win over Birmingham this morning: 1) I'm getting a fucking DVR. 5:30 kickoff equals another Auguste misery. 2) United Derangement Syndrome. The comments on this YouTube video of Rooney's entertaining goal center around whether he was offside or not. I'd like to think that the argument is based on an ignorance of the offside rule. I'd like to think that, but I can't. Oh, I know it (hating, that is) happens to everyone. But seriously, I'm not entirely sure anyone's ever been more onside than Wayne Rooney was on that goal. 3) NANI. He needs some consistency, but his entire outlook seems improved and Fergie reckons he's feeling the benefit of being out of Ronaldo's shadow. One way to look at CR's departure, for sure. Hopefully his shoulder won't continue to nag. 4) A bold prediction about Michael Owen. He will, this year, appear on a scoresheet. 5) Birmingham looks relatively good. I'd call them perennial underachievers, but I know that would offend our resident anti-Big Four police. So maybe I'll remain true to stereotype and say that the Blues looked as good as can be expected against mighty Man United. Pompey should be an easier bet for them next week. --------- * A la Kingpin: Only three points for a win? That's for Quakers!

1989, Cheshire - "Oi," said Paul Wolfe, "Simon, you tosser, you wearing a United scarf?" Simon looked down at his black, white, and red scarf, looked up and nodded, semi-apologetically. To me, Wolfe's remark, given in the cloakroom as he was showing me around on my first day of school at __________ High School, was literally no more intelligible than if he had been speaking another language. Tosser? United? United scarf? Does he mean a USA scarf? I had already heard several anti-USA slurs, most of which I didn't mind, being the raving liberal I already was* but this one was unclear. First of all, a US scarf should involve red, white and blue, not black; second of all, do scarves mean anything? Do English schoolboys wear scarves according to some secret code? If I wear the wrong color, will I be shanked in the shower?

Read All...

Should play have been stopped before Frank Lampard scored the go-ahead for Chelsea? Was Wayne Rooney offsides when he tied it up the 92nd minute? Has Man U collectively adopted the "ZOMGHOWCOULDYOUDOTHATTOME?!" facial repertoire of the departed Ronaldo? Do Chelsea players look like half-footballer, half-bar-brawler monsters that score and beat you up along the way? Does Drogba finally look badass now that he dropped that little circle thingy he wore on his head? Was Michael Owen's irrelevance a sign of things to come? Has Petr Cech laid early claim to the mantle of the EPL's best keeper? Does Ancelotti's diamond formation make Lampard a better fantasy pick than Gerrard? Why was Man U nudging pathetic dribblers during the shootout while Chelsea was bombing balls into the corner? Will Man U be rattled by the poor PKs or buoyed by Rooney's run? Will Chelsea have a habit of letting up a bit too early at the end of games? The only thing of which I'm certain: this is going to be a barn-burner of a chase for all the silverware amongst the top teams in England.
You should read Tom Bryant's awesome minute-by-minute report.