Marka Ragnos

Going bleedin' bonkers waiting for kickoff. Can't stand it. 

Meanwhile, Bradley Manning is being sent away for 35 years for showing the world the truth about U.S. "Democracy Spreading"....

Um, no. He's been convicted fairly for releasing classified documents. If he wanted to blow the whistle on the government, there were dozens of legal options open to him. What he did was illegal and traitorous -- and he admits it himself.

Glad to see him get a reasonable sentence. Just about right. (He'll be paroled in less an 10 years.)

And by the way, before you flame ... I'm probably about as hard left-wing as anyone on this board. Want to see my old CPUSA membership card lol? But you don't have to be a Little America or Little England reactionary to spot a quisling.

Well i've been bleating on for years about how the game is rigged in favor of certain, as it happens wealthy, clubs. For me this was just a random one off game where the official reffed it fairly & just "as he saw it" rather than being swayed by the pressures inherent in reffing a game featuring one of these favored teams along with the media bias and otherwise. . .

 

... The game is corrupt and this one off game & the pathetic reaction it stirred are simply more evidence of that.

...

Now watch it all be levelled up against Chelski with one of ours being shown a red & them getting everything going after the FA "Have a word"

Dunno. Sounds a bit cynical, mate. I think we outplayed a strong Arsenal squad that was often unlucky, too.

I wouldn't be surprised if Wenger failed to spend much more money and the Gunners STILL finished near the top of the table.

And I still believe we're giving ourselves to little credit for last weekend's win, too, and conversely pumping up Chelsea into something they're not because of Mourhino awe. Despite Arsenal fans' whinging about the lack of money spent by Wenger, they still have a damn good club flush with money, and we deserve credit for spanking them.

Yeah, the ref was crap. But corrupt? That's Ian Holloway territory, and I don't want to go there.

I don't understand them making an offer for Cabaye, he's the 1 type of player they don't need. a full back, centre back, big ball winning DM or striker I'd understand

For me it was when he got the Crawley fan banned this pre-season that he went from being a slightly mental but entertaining character to a malicious touchy nasty piece of work who happens to be mental. That said, I still think he's Palace's trump card if they're to stay up.

A Holloway quote: "I couldn’t be more chuffed if I were a badger at the start of the mating season" – after his QPR side beat Cardiff.

Ugh.

What odds can you get on them getting relegated this year?

Around 6 or 7, I gather. We're at 12. :-)

Well, that didn't take long, did it?

Since he's back in the PL, he better work on his PR nous, no?

Poor bloke needs to master the art of such football-management basic PR tactics as "damning with faint praise" and critiquing the ref's actions not his character. Is it really so hard?

He should make lots of public apologies. Hey, it's even more attention, right?

This year's squad is totally dispirited. There's no sense of team unity or common purpose. Everyone knows Jeremy Peace has no intention of taking the Baggies further.

I agree some of the very weak new promotees such as Hull give WBA a bit of a buffer. 

... and I would be delighted with a point against most likely the eventual champions of the league. I honestly think we can do it if we play to our potential. UTV!

Still not getting why so many people think Chelsea is going to be No. 1 this season. I just don't see it.

How have ManU and ManCity really deteriorated in any way, really? What's so great about Chelsea this year? 

Is Newcastle that bad? Or City so good? Both?

Damn, Newcastle getting arses handed to 'em. Man City 4-0, and ten more minutes of suffering to go?

Is Pardew gone tomorrow?

Not really sure if you're wanting to get that off your chest, ask why they do it, or ask how they do it - or a combination of all three?  Either way, in a way I can see why you find it irritating, but I guess the intention is to make them seem like the icons/heroes that fans crave, and that the media thrive on.  All the images you have posted are marketing shots, so I can understand the point from an 'artistic' point of view (whether it's your cup of tea or otherwise).

I think I've figured it out, answered my own question, but it took awhile. I think it may be a Photoshop setting called "Hard Light"??? It's kind of odd how it's become so de rigueur. Ripe for satire, that's for sure. 

Some of those images actually give me a chill of sympathetic embarrassment. It's that combination of the "hard light" and the oooooo-so-deadly-serious faces. I just feel like, "Please."

Anyone notice in the last several years that a very similar new (new to me, anyway) photographic finishing effect gets added to the preponderance of images of footballers.

The effect, in my mind, gives people a kind of "bronzed" or metallic look. Something funny with the contrast levels, but I'm not really a photography expert so I can't say much. Doesn't matter what the original skin tone is, everyone emerges with looking like a polished tin-soldiers look.

I see it everywhere, and it drives me nuts. Here's just one of a zillion examples.

Here's another. Here's yet another. 

Finally, here's one that's particularly OTT. Ugh. Are they men, or are they (rather silly) statues?

I'd be very interested to know if anyone with photography or Photoshop savvy can explain this.

Why does it bug me? God knows. Not for any important reason. It's just become a kind of image-making cliche.

 

(Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news.

Time for a Levi Ramsey mini-epic...

...

Part of that may be because the Krafts don't give a shit about the Revs, but even in Philadelphia, where the Union are the most successful MLS club in terms of local fanbase, I'd still bet on there being more fans of at least Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd, and either Arsenal or Man City (and it's perhaps telling that the Union, along with Toronto FC (and the Impact, but they're French, so they don't count for this discussion), don't have the baggage of the MLS's first decade when the focus was on selling the league to soccer moms that the other Eastern MLS clubs do and have focused at some level on developing a more "European" fanbase). As international football has converted non-expats into soccer fans, on the East Coast it's been the PL that has soaked up the interest.

Loads of great points in your excellent post. I live an hour north of Philly, and this summer I saw about three kids wearing Union jerseys. Always white suburban boys (and I'm one myself lol), for whatever reason. But if I add up all the others I saw -- heaps and HEAPS of Barca, Real Madrid, Chivas, América, and a few Chelsea and Man U and, for some reason, Everton shirts -- there's no comparison. The fandom around here is completely diffused with no higher number of MLS fans that I can see. 

I know, I know -- purely empirical, purely anecdotal, etc. I know it's pretty lame, but I think I'd get more excited about the Union if it didn't take 2-3 hours in Philly traffic to travel to a match. So out here in the "hinterlands," I just don't feel "clubbiness" of any sort. Naturally, I find myself reverting to old faves in Blighty. As you suggest, you can practically speaking be "closer" to Birmingham than to many major American cities due to general crap coverage, history, market dynamics, etc. Lots of irony!

I sense way too much awe of José Mourinho. Perhaps I'm way wrong, but I smell awe, and it doesn't seem fully justified given the complete context. I predict it will be a tough challenge for us, but we're going to cause some serious havoc and, if we lose, go down fighting hard. I'm not sure it's wise to pour our hearts into this particular match, but as I said above, I'm not sure our boys are capable of NOT fighting with a lot of heart and energy at this stage. Last year's demons are very fresh in our boys' minds, and they're battling to exorcise them, IMHO. 

I'm changing my final score to:

Chelsea 3-2.

Wow, just noticed this.

 

I suppose with todays media coverage of other leagues it is not as bad as it could have been but its still a sad case of affairs.

 

Surely it has just been suspended though?

I guess much depends on whether or not a civil war ensues in Egypt. If so, obviously, could be years before we see Egyptian football. The reason I did the topic is because they've actually had some really good players come from their system. No, they're not Brazil, but for African systems, they've done pretty well.

 

 

I'm Anglo-American, but have never been able to warm up to US soccer. Dunno why, just haven't.

 

Cause it's shit? (I genuinely don't know) ...

 

 

(Going off topic here.) No, not the case. Honestly, I think it's the cultural context here. There are some good players and interesting clubs, and the MLS has made incredible progress compared to past USA leagues, but "soccer" just isn't given prime space in the national consciousness and it just makes the game and all that goes with it, for me, less compelling. I have friends who support MLS teams and they're as absolutely dedicated as supporters anywhere. But MLS teams are sort of culturally isolated, IMHO. There are vast spaces in the USA where you could go for months without hearing a single thing about an MLS team, even if you were regularly reading the main news.

Chelsea looked old and tired at the end of the Hull match -- except for Lukaku.

Would Okore have the goods to mark Lukaku aggressively? If Luka could be nullified a bit ...

Lukaku, people. That's all that really matters. If Chelsea don't play him, we have a chance. If Chelsea do (and why wouldn't they?), we're up bunghole creek without a paddle.

We're younger, faster, brainier, and better-looking against a Chelsea without Lukaku. But bring the kid on, and Benteke's Belgian bro may well neutralise all the good hurt we put on Arsenal last weekend.

All that aside, my bigger concern in this match is that we don't get any needless injuries. I worry our boys are still (unnecessarily) going to try to prove they're not last year's team. This is a bad game to do that. I still think they'll play to win, and I half hope they do, but I worry ... please, stay healthy!

Don't get hurt, don't get totally humiliated, and I'll be pleased. 

Chelsea 3 - AVFC 1

 

How could you not want to punch that face?

Haha. I hear ya, but still ...

He's really just striking the same kind of all-too-serious pose you see all footballers striking. Gotta wonder whether players have much choice about the pressure to market themselves in a certain way. They're basically copying -- or told to copy -- the kinds of poses you see from music celebs. It's very rare that a self-deprecating or humorous face appears any more in "serious" music magazines, for example.

Can someone clear up something Arsenal-related for this American observer?

Why all the hate for Jack Wilshere?

Maybe I'm missing press comments or something, but I heard a long interview with the guy and he seems pretty cool. Are on-pitch antics to blame? If so, which? I don't get it. Is it because he's short? He's a scrappy mid-fielder who bobbles around with amazing, cat-like ability to stay on his feet.

Arsenal will still finish ahead of Villa come what May though. I think 5th place.

Nope. :-)

Walcott is a hard working player, he is not lazy.

I have to agree with you. Fast and deadly. He's a great player who's best is yet to come. Like a lot of younger players, he has sometimes been a bit on and off as he learns, but I also think his dazzling bursts of speed make his regular play sometimes look slow by comparison.

I also have to agree with Arsene's post-game comments that yesterday's Arsenal was fully capable of winning that game, even without spending more ££££ on new players.

It's a credit to how hard we worked yesterday that we won. No need to trash Arsenal because we won.

Walcott is a flash in the pan player though, so inconsistent, very little work rate and switches off both going forward and defending

If only Walcott were as good as his EA Sports FIFA 13 version lol.

Very sad last year to see the Egyptian Football Association dissolved due to violence. I don't think the authorities had much choice, but you have to feel for the young Egyptians who dream of the pitch.

Now, with the country seemingly on the verge of civil war, it seems that Egyptian football may be gone for many years to come. I saw this story recently, and it makes you realize how much the game is loved in this incredibly populous nation (84 million souls), despite its many political problems.

Anyone have any thoughts on Egyptian football?

Apart from Villa, I love so many clubs, very hard to choose ...

AS Livorno Calcio

PSG 

Atalanta

I'm Anglo-American, but have never been able to warm up to US soccer. Dunno why, just haven't.