Premiership Preview--9. Bolton

9. Bolton narrowly held off Reading, Portsmouth, Blackburn, and Aston Villa last season to claim 7th place and the automatic UEFA Cup spot that comes with it. It was their fourth consecutive top 8 finish under manager Sam Allardyce, but there's a new era at the Reebok Stadium. Allardyce resigned on April 29 and signed on to manage Newcastle just over two weeks later. His assistant manager, Sammy Lee, took over for the last two games of the season and after a debut loss to West Ham escaped with a 2-2 tie against Aston Villa, enough for the club to finish in 7th. This will be Sammy Lee's first full season as a manager of any club, Premiership or otherwise. Fortunately for him, Sam Allardyce didn't leave the cupboard bare and management went out and signed several good players this summer.

Bolton have done the best they can to improve their club in this transfer window. Their only major loss was center back Tal Ben Haim's departure for Chelsea, but Jlloyd Samuel should be able to fill that void adequately. Midfielders Danny Guthrie, Gavin McCann, Mikel Alonso, and Christian Wilhelmsson are all much younger than the ancient players Bolton used in that capacity last year (Ivan Campo, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Gary Speed), and Bolton will be the better for using some of those new younger players for the pace and energy they bring to the table. Bolton's real problem, and one they tried to address by bringing in Heidar Helguson from Fulham, is a lack of explosiveness from their strikers. It's almost a one man show with Nicholas Anelka, but he may yet be on the way out before the summer ends. El-Hadji Diouf isn't the player Liverpool and Bolton thought he would be after his coming out performance for Senegal in the 2002 World Cup, and Ricardo Vaz Te is still unproven at the age of 20. If Anelka leaves, Bolton will be in desperate need for goals with no real options to turn to.

Bolton starts the Premiership season with 8 winnable games in a row, with the toughest test being a trip to Fratton Park to play Portsmouth. October is considerably tougher with Chelsea and Aston Villa coming to the Reebok sandwiched around an away game at Arsenal. All three of their games in February are against UEFA Cup spot contenders in Reading (away), Portsmouth (home), and Blackburn (away). A home game with Liverpool comes the week after the match at Ewood Park, followed by a trip to Manchester to take on the defending champions. 3 of the last 4 games of the season are away, including games at Tottenham and Chelsea.

Bottom Line: While this is a club that has better players than the team that finished 7th last season, their manager is not nearly on the same level as Sam Allardyce. Sammy Lee's inexperience will be the main cause for Bolton's lower finish this season, and a streak of four straight top 8 finishes will come to an end.

No More Ties!

When I read a book or watch a movie or TV show, the one thing I absolutely can't stand is an unresolved ending (Yes, HBO and the Sopranos, I'm talking about you!). I want some sense of finality and closure, some certainty of knowing what happened in the end. Zack and Kelly getting married in Las Vegas was the appropriate ending to a series that I basically grew up watching in Saved by the Bell. In truth though, I wouldn't have even cared if they didn't get married just as long as there was some other concrete conclusion. I don't want to be left asking "what if"?

I'm an avid fan of the NHL and of ice hockey in general. After the lockout year of 2004-2005, Commissioner Gary Bettman and the Board of Govenors needed to do something drastic to bring fans back to the sport. Aside from the various rule changes to showcase the individual player's skills, they implemented something that, in my opinion, is the best thing hockey has done in modern history. Having a shootout after overtime ensures that every game has a winner, ensures that the fans who come to the arena every night will walk away knowing that one team skated off with the 2 points that comes with a win in the NHL. No more boring overtime games which usually ended in ties because both teams played like they were afraid to lose instead of playing to win, and so what ensued was 5 minutes of the sloppiest, ugliest hockey imaginable. Shootouts bring every single fan in the arena to stand up, and those who have watched the NHL over the last two seasons know what I mean when I say that the energy level and excitement in the building when the shootout takes place is unlike anything else seen in sports.

I did some research on the 2006-2007 Premiership season, and what I found was startling. 98 games out of 380 resulted in draws, or 26% of the entire total of league games played last year. Just by going from that stat, a fan who comes to an individual game has a 1 in 4 chance of seeing a tie! That's outrageous! Aston Villa had 17 draws last season out of 38 games, nearly 50%! Ticket prices are rising rapidly for these games and the new stadiums that are being built are funded largely by consumer money. Fans don't want to see these sleep-inducing 0-0 or 1-1 ties. They want to get their money's worth when they come to a game because God knows how much money they're spending to attend. It gets to the point where you listen to radio call-in shows or talk shows and the hosts actually predict ties for games instead of a winner. I don't want to see a tie! That's no way to end a game, because neither team is happy with the result and more importantly, the fans are left unsatisfied. Every effort should be made to decrease the percentage of draws because they're not what brings excitement and passion to a game that is all about those things, especially in England. Here, then, are two proposals I came up with to move away from ties and come out of games with a winner:

• 1. Play 15 minutes of 8 v 8 (7 field players and 1 goalie per team) if the game is tied after 90 minutes of regulation. Golden goal, winner gets 3 points, loser gets 1. If a consensus is reached that the losing team shouldn’t be rewarded, the loser could get 0 points, but in my opinion, the loser should get 1 for taking the game into extra time and because 8 v 8 isn’t traditional soccer. If the game is still tied, go to penalty kicks (see my proposal for PK’s below).

• 2. Go straight to penalty kicks if the game is tied after 90 minutes. 5 rounds, winner gets 2 points, loser gets 1. The loser has to get a point because penalty kicks are a crapshoot, and the winner can’t get the full 3 points for the same reason.

If a system was in place to reward the winner of a game that goes longer than 90 minutes, I guarantee you'd see more exciting soccer because both teams would be after the extra points. No more situations where teams play it safe to just get 1 point out of a game because both teams would surely go for the full points if they were guaranteed that 1 point for extending the game past 90 minutes. Hypothetically, let's say that out of Aston Villa's 17 draws last season, they would've won 8 of those games in the proposed 8 v 8 extra time. That's 16 points more and maybe a UEFA Cup spot, provided the teams above them didn't get as many points from their extra time games. Obviously, these proposals would cause a point inflation in the table and it'd be realistic for the champion to have over 100 points. But it's all relative; people would just get used to seeing higher point totals for teams.

I'm very interested in hearing your feedback about this, so leave some comments or e-mail me about what you think. I'm open to any other suggestions to decide games and to your arguments for keeping ties.

Premiership Preview--10. Blackburn Rovers

10. Blackburn's 2006-2007 campaign was the perfect reflection of mediocrity: They finished with 15 wins, 16 losses, and 7 ties, scoring 52 goals while conceding 54 in the process. That was good enough for 10th place and an Intertoto Cup spot as the two teams ahead of them (Reading and Portsmouth) opted to not take part and thus Blackburn's application was granted. Blackburn have taken full advantage of that so far as they've progressed to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round along with the 10 other teams from across Europe who advanced out of the Intertoto Cup.

Manager Mark Hughes has only brought in three players this summer, but each of those moves was fairly questionable. Goalkeeper Gunnar Nielsen is a promising talent at 20 years of age, but he becomes the 5th goalkeeper on a roster of 32 as he transferred in from BK Frem Copenhagen. Brad Friedel doesn't have many years left as he's already 36, but he'll be the starter for the forseeable future. The emergence of striker Matt Derbyshire was a revelation last year, and with 9 goals in 30 appearances (all competitions; 14 starts and 16 substitute appearances), Blackburn looked to have three solid strikers in Jason Roberts, Benni McCarthy, and Derbyshire. As already stated, the team scored 52 goals in the Premiership last year, which was tied for 6th most in the league, and so one wouldn't think the striking corps needed much in the way of reinforcements this summer. Not so, said Mark Hughes, and he went out and got two more. Maceo Rigters is just 23 years old and played for the Dutch U-21 team in the European U-21 Football Championship this summer. Rigters scored 6 goals in 9 appearances for his country at that level and moved to Blackburn from NAC Breda, where he scored only 5 goals in 61 league games. The biggest move occurred just this week when Roque Santa Cruz came to Lancashire after playing for German giant Bayern Munich since 1999. He's still only 25 years of age but has an abundance of experience on the international level with Paraguay (14 goals in 49 appearances for his country since 1999) and in the Champions League with Bayern Munich. Blackburn are now overloaded at the striker position as they've got five legitimate options who will want to play. Mark Hughes is in the unenviable position of keeping each of these players happy, and I think Blackburn would've been better suited to go out and spend the money they invested on Santa Cruz and Rigters on a defender or two, though former DC United star Ryan Nelsen will be returning this season from injury.

A second consecutive top 10 finish for Blackburn won't be out of the cards with their schedule. November and April are the only two months that bring multiple games against the "Big Four" as Blackburn will play Liverpool and Manchester United in each of those months. April is by far the most difficult month with a road game at Portsmouth and a home match against Tottenham as well as the games with Liverpool and Manchester United, but the last two games of the season in May (at home against Derby County, away to Birmingham) should mean 6 points to end the year.

Bottom Line: Scoring goals certainly shouldn't be a problem for Blackburn this season, but it wasn't a problem last season either. Mark Hughes should've went out and spent money elsewhere, but the return of Ryan Nelsen is as good as a new signing. There is a good mix of established veteran players (Tugay, Robbie Savage, Friedel, André Ooijer, etc.) and talented young players (David Bentley, Derbyshire, Rigters, and Christopher Samba) on this team. Higher than 10th won't be out of the question, but any lower would be a disappointment.

Premiership Preview--11. Reading

11. Reading finished 8th last season to the delight of manager Steve Coppell, who had insisted all year long that he didn't want his team to play in the UEFA Cup this season, preferring to put all of the team's focus and energy on the domestic level. I understand Coppell's idea, but at the same time, I think he made a huge mistake in not going for a UEFA Cup spot. Let's be honest, Reading overachieved last season. They've got some good young players, but finishing above more talented teams like Newcastle, Aston Villa, Blackburn, and Portsmouth was a major coup for them. Coppell should have seized the opportunity to play in Europe when it was there for the taking, because Reading won't get back to the top 8 this season.

Reading was one of the least active Premiership teams in the transfer market this summer. The only player brought in by Steve Coppell was 23-year old French defender/midfielder Kalifa Cissé from Boavista. Cissé probably won't play too much in the back for Reading as their back four seems entrenched (Murty, Ingimarsson, Sonko, and Shorey), but should be able to earn considerable playing time in the midfield. Losing Steve Sidwell, arguably the club's best player last season, is a huge blow, but one that was self-inflicted as Sidwell wanted to play for a team that played in Europe, and now he'll do just that with Chelsea. Greg Halford, a 22-year old, 6'5" player who can play nearly every position on the field, left for Sunderland after only playing in 3 games for Reading last season. He's a former England U-20 player who definitely would've played a bigger role for Reading in the future, but he went out in search of more playing time and will probably get it under Roy Keane at Sunderland.

We'll be able to see what kind of team Reading is by looking at their results in their first four games this season. In a 13-day stretch, Reading will go to Manchester United, host Chelsea and Everton, and make a trip to Bolton. They won't be able to hide in those games, and getting off to a good start in the Premiership is essential for any team with European ambitions (though Coppell may not have any). Every game from September into December is very winnable, with the toughest of those being a road game at Portsmouth and a home date with Arsenal. I can't see Reading getting many points out of their 7 combined games in January and February as they'll play at Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Everton, and host Portsmouth, Manchester United, Bolton, and Aston Villa. The run-in to the end of the season isn't exceptionally difficult, but 3 of the last 4 games are away, including a trip to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal.

Bottom Line: The honeymoon is over for Steve Coppell and Reading, as they won't get back to a top 8 finish this season. Reading played over their heads last season and they'll fall back to Earth, though not as dramatically as Wigan did last year after their 10th place finish in 2005-2006. The club was too quiet during the transfer window, especially with the improvements that Aston Villa, Portsmouth, and to a lesser degree Blackburn, made. 11th place would be a decent finish for Reading; I can't see them falling much lower than that but they don't have the firepower to compete with the teams in the top half of the Premiership.

Premiership Preview--12. West Ham

12. After West Ham blew a late lead at home against Tottenham and lost 4-3 on a last minute rebound goal on March 4, I completely wrote West Ham off. I thought they were dead and buried, that they were doomed to life in the Championship. Everyone knows about the controversy surrounding Carlos Tevez, but the fact remains that he almost single-handedly kept the Hammers in the Premiership. It's a near certainty that Tevez won't be at Upton Park this season, but the team that will be there won't be anywhere near relegation this time around.

Manager Alan Curbishley made a flurry of changes this summer and might not be done yet. He got rid of some dead wood (Teddy Sheringham and Roy Carroll) and swapped number one strikers (Marlon Harewood out, Craig Bellamy in). Losing Nigel Reo-Coker won't be too much of a blow as he looked disinterested and aloof at best last season, but the departures of Yossi Benayoun and the versatile Paul Konchesky are tough pills to swallow. Signing Scott Parker from Newcastle will pay big dividends if he can stay healthy as West Ham needed that bulldog-type player in the midfield, and Freddie Ljungberg should step into the role vacated by Benayoun on the wing. Striker Dean Ashton's return from injury is like a new signing and his presence on the roster will be important. West Ham might as well hold open tryouts for strikers after their top three (Bellamy, Ashton, Zamora), so they'll need productive, healthy seasons from each of those players. New midfielder Julien Faubert will probably return around Christmas from a ruptured Achilles tendon, but don't expect too much from the soon-to-be 24-year old this year.

West Ham's schedule brings 3 winnable games out of 4 in August and the same in September. The first spot of prolonged difficulty doesn't come until the end of November-mid December when road games at Chelsea (East-West London derby) and Blackburn are in the middle of home dates with Tottenham (London derby) and Everton. West Ham play Reading, Manchester United (both at home), and Arsenal in succession to bring in the new year, and close out their season with a trip to Old Trafford followed by a home game against Aston Villa. All-in-all, it's a schedule that should allow West Ham to think about a top half finish.

Bottom Line-West Ham of 2007-2008 will more closely resemble the 9th place team of '05-'06 than last season's team. They're solid in every aspect of the game (defense, midfield, attack), though their lack of explosiveness up front will hurt. This is a team that will have a legitimate hope of a top 10 place this season, though I don't think they'll reach that plateau.

Premiership Lookalikes-Continued

3. Patrice Evra (Manchester United) and Robert Ri'Chard (Coach Carter, House of Wax)

Premiership Preview--13. Fulham

13. It's lucky number 13 for Northern Ireland--excuse me, I mean Fulham. Manager Lawrie Sanchez will begin his first full year in charge of the Cottagers with a revamped roster and higher expectations for a team that was going nowhere fast under Chris Coleman. Sanchez managed Northern Ireland from January 2004-May 2007 and took them from 124th in the FIFA world rankings to 33rd, the spot they held when he resigned, and did it with a team that wasn't exactly teeming with individual talent. He's shown that he can be successful but the club level is different than the international stage, so he'll be looking to prove that he can cut it in the Premiership. Fulham finished in 16th place last season, just one point clear of relegation, and were rescued from the drop only by a victory over a Liverpool side that was without many of its top players.

If Sam Allardyce has been proactive in the transfer window this summer, Lawrie Sanchez may have been even more so. He brought in seven players and bid goodbye to eight more, most notably Heidar Helguson, who went to Bolton. Aaron Hughes, Chris Baird, Steven Davis, and David Healy all played under him for Northern Ireland, and striker Diomansy Kamara and versatile defender Paul Konchesky came to Craven Cottage this summer as well. Fulham were tied for the most goals allowed in the Premiership last year (60), and the signings of Hughes, Konchesky, and Baird will give Lawrie Sanchez more options in the back to help shore up the defense. Healy and Kamara join a striking corps that also includes holdovers Brian McBride and Collins John. The attack certainly won't be dynamic, but should be good enough if the defense does the job that's expected of them this season. Heidar Helguson is the only player worth mentioning that left Fulham this summer, so Lawrie Sanchez has a team that will be entrenched in the top 15 this season.

To be honest, Fulham's schedule appears to be the easiest of any of the teams covered in this Premiership preview so far. There's a five-game stretch that covers all of November and into December that brings road games at Manchester United, Liverpool, and Everton, as well as home games with Reading and Blackburn. January will be tricky as well, but Chelsea and Arsenal both come to Craven Cottage and Fulham have winnable road matches at Bolton and West Ham. There are no runs of games of any real length other than those two so Fulham will have every chance to at least challenge for a top half position, though that seems unlikely.

Bottom Line: Lawrie Sanchez will be out to show that he can manage at the club level. I wouldn't be surprised if they swap places with Newcastle (Fulham finishes 14th, Newcastle 13th), but I also wouldn't be surprised if Fulham finish a spot or two higher than 13th either. They've got a decent team in place, a schedule that's not particularly difficult, and a billionaire Egyptian chairman behind them in Mohamed Al-Fayed.

Premiership Preview--14. Newcastle

14. I was tempted to slot Newcastle a bit higher than this. Sam Allardyce is an extremely capable manager who coaxed successful results out of a Bolton team that wasn't stacked with individual talent, and Newcastle have, on paper, a better team than 14th place. However they had a team that should've finished higher than 13th last season and a couple of the teams that finished below them (Fulham and West Ham) are markedly improved and will end up leaping above Newcastle in this year's table. You also can't forget about the curse hanging over the Tyneside club; Neil Armstrong walked on the moon more recently than the last time Newcastle won a major trophy.

Sam Allardyce wasted no time in putting his mark on the club since he was hired as manager. He released Craig Moore and didn't retain Oguchi Onyewu. Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski were told their contracts wouldn't be renewed and both went to Wigan. Letting Scott Parker go to West Ham may prove to be a big, big mistake if Parker stays healthy and performs at the level he's capable of for the Hammers this season as Nicky Butt isn't getting any younger. Kieron Dyer may also leave the club as well, but at the time of writing this, he was still a Newcastle player. The players Allardyce brought in all have a chance to be successful at Newcastle. However, Joey Barton will already miss the start of the season with a broken bone in his foot. Mark Viduka hasn't had any time to rest this summer as he played in the Asian Cup for Australia. Geremi has played in only 72 Premiership games since 2003. Signing David Rozehnal should turn out to be a great move for Newcastle, as Allardyce has proven that he can take low-profile, middle-aged defenders (Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Abdoulaye Méïté) and stick them in the back and be successful.

The winter holidays won't be happy for Newcastle this season. October-November (Halloween and Thanksgiving here in America) brings four home games, but difficult ones in Everton, Tottenham, Portsmouth, and Liverpool. Trips to Reading and Sunderland won't be easy, nor will a game at Blackburn on December 1. With the new year comes an even more difficult stretch of games, one that lasts into the beginning of March and will be what condemns Newcastle to the middle of the bottom half of the table. Ready for this? Road games at (in order) Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Liverpool, mixed in with home games against Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester United, and Blackburn. If Newcastle can survive that and come out of it with good results, they can think about a top half finish..oh wait, they won't survive it.

Bottom Line-After four consecutive years of top-eight finishes for Sam Allardyce, the run will end. Managing Newcastle is considerably more difficult than managing Bolton because of the increased stress and pressure that comes with it. Newcastle has a roster built around experienced, veteran players which are mixed in with some very talented, promising youngsters who will be the future of the club. Look for them to be better in the 2008-2009 season, but for this year, it's another bottom half, disappointing, trophy-less year for Newcastle.

Great Day for Blackburn; Rovers Enter UEFA Cup, Sign Santa Cruz

A 4-0 win today over Lithuanian side FC Vetra in the third round of the Intertoto Cup advanced Blackburn Rovers to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup as they won the tie 6-0 on aggregate. Morten Gamst Pedersen scored twice and Jason Roberts and Benni McCarthy each talled a goal. Blackburn now face the challenge of playing in a major European competition.

They'll enter the Premier League season and the UEFA Cup with Paraguyan international striker Roque Santa Cruz, who signed a four-year deal to come over from Bayern Munich. Santa Cruz's fate with the German club was sealed when they brought in Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen, and now he joins a club that's loaded with strikers. McCarthy, Roberts, Matt Derbyshire, and new acquistion Maceo Rigters are all very talented, productive players. I'm not sure if this logjam will benefit anyone, but we'll wait and see. Blackburn scored 52 goals in the league last year; I think they would have been better served to go out and spend money on a defender or two as Blackburn gave up 54 goals. Hopefully this move pays off for Blackburn, a club expected to challenge for a European spot once again this season.

Premiership Preview--15. Manchester City

15. Despite finishing in 14th place last season, Manchester City was tied for the fewest goals scored in the Premiership with 29. They set a Premiership record for fewest goals scored at home with 10, and even with a new, wealthy owner (Thaksin Shinawatra) and a high-profile manager (Sven-Goran Eriksson), Manchester City has done very little to address their goalscoring needs or to improve the club. With that being said, it's still only July, and the transfer window is open through August so the possibility of acquiring new players is still there, but at this point Manchester City seemed destined for another disappointing season.

When a team is arguably making more news for the players that are leaving then the players they're bringing in, that's not a good sign. Already this summer stalwart defender Sylvain Distin departed for Portsmouth after being a fixture in the center of defense for City since 2002-2003 (when he was voted their Player of the Year), Hatem Trabelsi, a Tunisian defender/midfielder who made 20 league appearances for City, most of them on the right side, was released, and most notably, Joey Barton left for Newcastle. Barton came up through the youth ranks at Manchester City and earned more and more playing team as he got older. He was the team's best midfielder and most talented player, but numerous off-field and on-field controversies led him and the club to move on. Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov has been brought in from Atletico Madrid after scoring just 3 goals in 45 league games for them, but the key signing was striker Rolando Bianchi from Reggina. Bianchi will have to prove that he can score goals in the Premiership after having an impressive season in Serie A, but as Andriy Shevchenko showed last year, coming over from Italy doesn't necessarily equate to great results in England. Bianchi will now have to adjust to the much faster pace of the game and deal with teams who have much better defenders than teams in the Serie A.

The schedule doesn't look to be too difficult for Manchester City. They've got only one real long, tough stretch of games, but unfortunately it comes towards the end of the season when it could be make-or-break time for the Blues. February 2-April 8 brings 9 league games, including trips to Manchester United, Bolton, Reading, and Birmingham (who by that time may be desperate) and home games against Arsenal, Everton, Wigan, Tottenham, and Chelsea. Manchester City shouldn't be anywhere near the relegation zone, but they don't want to leave anything to chance. That run of games will be very difficult, particularly for a team that doesn't score many goals and will probably give up their fair share of goals this season with a young defense. City is away to Liverpool and Middlesbrough to finish the year, but I expect they'll be in decent shape by then.

Bottom Line-Manchester City won't be relegated unless disaster strikes during the beginning-middle of the season when they're playing games they should take points from. As I said before, the defense is extraordinarily young with the departures of Stephen Jordan, Hatem Trabelsi, and Sylvain Distin. Micah Richards and Nedum Onouha (both possible starters; Richards is for certain) are 19 and 20 years of age respectively. If Bianchi can score 12-15 league goals, that would be a huge boost for a club that probably will struggle to score again this season. Look for Manchester City to make some noise in the 2008-2009 season and beyond, but they're too young to challenge for any European spot this year.

Premiership Preview--16. Middlesbrough

16. Last season, 16th-12th positions were separated by only 7 points, and I have a feeling that this year, that gap will be just as close, if not smaller. There isn't much separating teams at those spots in the table, and it's almost a crapshoot predicting what teams will finish where.

Middlesbrough should, at 16th, be closer to safety than their place indicates. They're one step above the relegation battle but two or three steps below the teams challenging for the UEFA Cup spots, and to me, that indicates mid-bottom end of the league table. This is a team that finished 12th last year and limped through the home stretch of the Premiership season before winning their last two games. They didn't get much better this summer and with the considerable improvements that the teams who finished under Middlesbrough last year made, it's going to be Gareth Southgate's team near the bottom.

Middlesbrough essentially swapped strikers this offseason, acquiring the younger (but smaller) Tuncay Sanli and letting Mark Viduka, who scored some big goals for the club in his three seasons at the Riverside, go to Newcastle. Sanli comes over from Turkish club Fenerbahce, where he averaged roughly a goal every three games. However, it usually takes at least a season for players who come to England from somewhere else in Europe to adjust to the high level and fast-paced style of game played in the Premier League. Middlesbrough also brought in 24-year old Jeremie Aliadiere from Arsenal to boost their attacking punch and right-back Luke Young from relegated Charlton to help shore up a defensive unit that gave up 15 goals in the last 9 games of 2006-2007 season and also lost Stuart Parnaby and Abel Xavier this summer.

Middlesbrough's schedule can essentially be divided into three parts: Two long, extremely difficult stretches of games against teams expected to finish in, or at the very least challenge for, European places this season, and the rest of the games against mid-lower table sides that Middlesbrough will have to take as many points as they can from. From September 30-December 8, Middlesbrough will play 9 league games. Out of those 9, they'll be favored in just one of them, and even it's no guarantee (an away game at Manchester City). Also in that long stretch are home games with Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Arsenal, as well as road matches at Everton, Manchester United, Bolton, and Reading. As if that run of games wasn't difficult enough, there's also a killer finish to the season. February 23-April 26, a span of 10 league games, sees just one "gimme" (a home game with Derby County). Trips to Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Sunderland are also included, as are home dates with Reading, Manchester United, and Bolton. Those two stretches make up 19 games in total, half the total schedule. 57 points are possible from those games but I can't see Middlesbrough getting more than 20, certainly no more than 25. That means Middlesbrough will have to take care of business in their other games to assure themselves of another season in the Premiership.

Bottom Line-Middlesbrough should stay up, though the schedule-makers didn't do them any favors this season. It will be essential for Tuncay Sanli to have a productive season because Middlesbrough don't have a stable of strikers who can put the ball in the net. After Yakubu, the talent level drops to the likes of Jason Euell and Lee Dong-Gook. Ouch.

Premiership Preview--17. Sunderland

17. Championship winner Sunderland should acquit themselves better this time around in the Premiership then they did in their last season there (2005-2006) when they recorded just 15 points and were the joke of the league. Irish manager Roy Keane took over the reins a few games into the Championship season last year and turned what was a disatrous start into a promotion for the Wearside club.

The difference between Sunderland and the three teams below them could very well turn out to be the higher level of talent that Sunderland brought in this summer. Derby County, Birmingham, and Wigan didn't really improve their team; in fact, Wigan's team looks worse (at least on paper) than the side they put on the field last season. Sunderland acquired, amongst others, Kieran Richardson from Manchester United to give the team some pace and skill on the wing, fellow 22-year old Greg Halford, who's extremely versatile and should start in the back, and 23-year old striker Michael Chopra, who scored 22 goals in 42 league matches for Cardiff City last season. This infusion of youth will help provide some excitement and speed to a team that, if they can manage to stay up this season, should be on the rise and has the potential to be a better team down the road. By the same token, there's not a whole lot of players with considerable top-flight experience, other than Dwight Yorke and maybe Kieran Richardson. Young players are extremly susceptible to pressure and aren't as well-suited for competitive, high-level games as veterans are. If these players can grow up and mature on the fly, Sunderland should stay up.

Sunderland's schedule also sets up in a way that seems to give the club every chance to remain in the Premiership. December is the toughest month by far, with road games at Chelsea and Reading and home dates with Aston Villa, Bolton, and Manchester United. Their four games in April are all against mid-table teams, so 8-10 points wouldn't be unreasonable, and just 30 points from all of their previous games should mean safety for the Black Cats. The last two matches of the year could be make-or-break for Sunderland, with a trip to Bolton followed by a home match with Arsenal on the last day of the season.

Bottom Line-As I said before, if Sunderland's young players grow up and accept the pressure of playing in England's top flight, this club has the talent to stay up. Roy Keane is the type of manager who will get the best out of his players through whatever means necessary. His fiery personality should transfer itself onto his players and in the end, Sunderland will remain in the Premiership.

Premiership Preview--18. Wigan Athletic

18. It's going to be one place away from safety for Wigan Athletic this season, as they'll return to the Championship after two years in England's top flight. The drop would cap off the wild ride Wigan supporters (all 4 of them, as evidenced by low attendance at JJB Stadium) have been on in recent years. Three seasons ago, Wigan clinched second place in the Championship on May 8, assuring themselves of a Premiership spot. The next year, Wigan finished in the top half of the Premiership and had a chance to play in Europe, though they turned down their place in the Intertoto Cup. Last year, they narrowly avoided relegation by beating Sheffield United on the last day of the season.

Wigan's one good signing this summer, Welsh international midfielder Jason Koumas, is an underrated move that should pay dividends for a club that was in dire need of a midfield playmaker. However, Wigan still took one step forward and two steps back with the addition (or is it subtraction??) of Titus Bramble, a once-promising defender who is now known more for his comical blunders in the back than anything else, and the departure of Lee McCulloch, who made 224 league appearances for Wigan since 2001. The club will also be counting on new acquisition Antoine Sibierski to step up and score some big goals this season. There's still a chance that Leighton Baines, the young left-back, will leave the club this summer. Baines rejected a move to Sunderland recently and it now appears that Everton, Baines' childhood team, are the front-runners for his services.

Without Paul Jewell in charge, Wigan don't look to have much chance of staying up. Jewell took Wigan from League Two in 2001 to the Premiership in 2005. New manager Chris Hutchings has been at the helm only one other time during his coaching career, a stint with Bradford City from June-November 2000. He recorded 7 wins, 4 draws, and 10 losses during that time and then was sacked. He's been assistant manager at Wigan for the past six seasons, but I thought Wigan needed to go get a more experienced, higher-profile coach this summer and they failed to do that.

The schedule is fairly navigable up through November, and Wigan will need to take as many points as they can from the 11 games they'll play to that point. November brings Chelsea, Tottenham, and Arsenal (the latter two on the road), and it's likely they'll take no points from those three games. A trip to Bolton in early December doesn't make things much easier. Their three matches in February could turn out to be the pivotal point for Wigan this season. They're home to West Ham and Derby County, with an away match at Sunderland sandwiched in between. Wigan will probably need to take maximum points out of those games if they're in trouble heading into February, because their last five matches are as difficult as they come (Chelsea and a much improved Aston Villa side away, Tottenham, Reading, and Manchester United at home).

Bottom Line-If Wigan lose Leighton Baines this summer, give them absolutely no chance to stay up; put them below Birmingham in the end-of-year table. It may take a managerial change in the middle of the season to bring life into a club that just doesn't have the personnel to stay up.

Premiership Lookalikes

They say that everyone in this world has someone who looks exactly like them. Well, these gentlemen may not be the people who that nice little saying refers to, but for me, it's a good start. Feel free to think of some more Premiership figures who look like American celebrities. Players or managers, I don't care. Ready, set, go!


1. Steve Bruce (Birmingham City) and Jay Leno (Tonight Show)



2. Alan Curbishley (West Ham) and James Denton (Desperate Housewives)..well, maybe an older James Denton..

Premiership Preview: 20 Teams, 10 Days--20. Derby County, 19. Birmingham City

Over the next 10 days, starting from the bottom, I will preview my predicted order of finish for each of the 20 Premiership teams. I'll summarize their major transfers in and out, take a look at how their schedule sets up, and explain my reasoning for where I believe they'll end up in the table after this season.



19. Fellow Premiership returnees Birmingham City also should end the season with a return ticket to the Championship. The Blues spent only one season back in the second tier of English soccer, but manager Steve Bruce (aka Jay Leno, more on that later) will have to do a wonderful job of coaching to keep this club up.

Birmingham made a couple of solid moves this summer, including bringing in the young Dutch midfielder Daniel de Ridder and making Fabrice Muamba's loan deal from Arsenal permanent. Stuart Parnaby provides depth with his versatility at the back. Steve Bruce also appears confident that they will sign midfielder Hossam Ghaly from Tottenham by this weekend, but the move that now appears unlikely is the acquisition of Mido, also from Tottenham. The departure of DJ Campbell is the only real loss to a side that finished runners-up in the Championship last season.

If Birmingham are to have any hope for staying up, they'll need big seasons from their strikers, Cameron Jerome and Mikael Forssell. Forssell has been a disappointment since he made his loan deal from Chelsea permanent in 2005, scoring just 4 goals in 35 league games since. Jerome is a very talented young player but scored only 7 goals in 37 league games in 2006. Radhi Jaidi, a Tunisian defender, scored 6 goals in 37 league games for Birmingham by comparison, so increased production from the strikers will be vital for Birmingham.

August opens up with a bear of a match at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea is undefeated for 2+ years of league games. The rest of the month shapes up far easier for the Blues, but in September they play Bolton, Liverpool, and Manchester United in successive weeks (Bolton and Manchester Utd. at home). With the new year comes Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea also in consecutive weeks, with the first two of those games away from St. Andrew's. The home stretch of games is manageable enough, and even if Birmingham can take care of business in those games, they'll still need to steal some points from games in which they'll be the heavy underdogs.

Bottom Line-Birmingham will be a lot closer to safety then they will be to 20th place, but they still will be relegated.



20. Bringing up the rear, I've got Derby County. Back in the Premiership after a five-year absence, the Rams have a tough season ahead of them. They've brought in no real players of note, though Robert Earnshaw could turn out to be a decent buy, and on top of that, they'll start the season without talented midfielder Giles Barnes. Barnes looks certain to miss the season opener at home against Portsmouth, and is highly doubtful to play in either of the two consecutive away matches after that.

September trips to Liverpool and Arsenal won't help the Rams get off to a much-needed good start, and they also play Tottenham on the road in August as well as Reading the first week of October. Everton, Newcastle, Bolton, and Portsmouth (all UEFA Cup spot contenders) make up 4 of the first 5 home games. The run-in towards the end isn't much easier, as Derby plays Manchester United and Chelsea on consecutive weekends in March and finish up with Blackburn and Reading (Blackburn away, Reading home). It looks fairly certain that Derby won't get off to a good start, and with a pretty tough schedule towards the end of the season, they'll have to make hay during the winter months to have any chance of staying in the Premiership.

Bottom Line-Derby will head back down to the Championship. No if's, and's, or but's.

Freddie Ljungberg Completes Move to West Ham

Swedish international star Freddie Ljungberg sealed a move to West Ham yesterday, ending a decade-long run with Arsenal and with it, his tenure as the longest-serving player of the famed North London club. In total, he appeared 325 times in all competitions for Arsenal, scoring 72 goals, but injuries severely limited his impact with the team in his last three seasons, as he played in only 69 of the possible 114 Premier League games.

His move across London is just another of the flurry involving West Ham this summer. Ljungberg joins Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker at Upton Park, and one of the biggest reasons for his transfer is the club's chairman, Eggert (aka Elf-Ears) Magnusson, a fellow Swede:

“And why I want to join is because of Magnusson. He wants to bring them forward to be top of the country.

“He’s willing to go to the transfer market to buy top players and mix them with youth players. West Ham have a great academy.

“He wants to help take the club up and take them to the top in England. It’s a big challenge for me."

West Ham are not exactly stacked in midfield and if Ljungberg can stay healthy, he'll surely play a vital role for a team with European ambitions this season. If they can somehow hold on to Carlos Tevez, their fire would just be stoked even more and West Ham would be a serious contender for a European place.

New Jerseys for Middlesbrough

Here's a look at Middlesbrough's new jerseys for the 2007-2008 Premier League campaign. The club has replaced former sponsor 888.com with Garmin, a satellite navigation company based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Middlesbrough's new logo is featured prominently, which is a refreshing change from the uniforms that splash the sponsor's name in huge lettering across the jersey and leave little room for the club's crest to show. I like both jerseys a lot; maybe a bit plain for my taste, but overall, two nice jerseys. They should be available for purchase around the middle of August.
Jersey designer: Errea

•Image courtesy of footballshirts.co.uk

Chris Eagles

I was watching highlights from the Manchester United-FC Seoul friendly yesterday and noticed something about the goal Chris Eagles scored (more on that in a bit). He also scored the final goal against Everton in Man U's 4-2 victory on April 28, the win that essentially wrapped up the Premiership for the club. It was his first ever goal for Manchester United.

What's the point of this post, you ask? Check out the clips of these two goals scored by Eagles. When was the last time you saw another young player open his body and place the ball to the right corner the way Chris Eagles does? These are two good goals.

1. @ Everton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyhBI7rnP-E

2. vs. FC Seoul: http://www.dailymotion.com/related/4336920/video/x2kygg_fc-seoul-0-2-manchester-united-eagl_sport/1

Saturday Night's Alright-for Soccer

We've got two friendlies on tap tonight, both of which are set to kickoff at 8:30 PM here on the East Coast. Though nearly all of America knows that Chelsea is in suburban Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy (with or without David Beckham), Everton's preseason tour in the US has been far less publicized. The Merseyside club's first stop is in Salt Lake City to play MLS Western Conference bottom-dweller Real Salt Lake.


Everton also announced that they too would be coming to Los Angeles. This Tuesday (July 24), they are set to face the Premier Development League's Ventura County Fusion at the Home Depot Center. The PDL is considered to be the 4th tier of American soccer, with most of its teams, including Ventura County, playing at high school fields.


I have nothing to say about the Chelsea-LA Galaxy game tonight (8:30 PM, ESPN) that hasn't been said by the media already; this game is the most hyped soccer event in recent memory, though for reasons other than the actual game (David Beckham, cough, cough).

Everton's Schedule:
Tonight: @ Real Salt Lake (8:30 PM ET, GolTV)
Tuesday, July 24: vs. Ventura County Fusion (TV TBA)

Stuart Pearce Becomes Full-Time England U-21 Manager

Former England left-back and Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce has been named as the permanent England U-21 manager today. Pearce was handed the temporary reins in January and led England's youngsters to the semifinals of the European Under-21 Championships in June. The squad's results in Holland obviously influenced the FA's decision to hire Pearce on a full-time basis; but let's be honest, with the talent level on that team, the semifinals should've been a given (especially with only 8 teams participating in the tournament), and surely expectations in England were higher than that.

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's Director of Football Development, says he was impressed by Pearce's achievements this summer:

"Stuart did an excellent job with the Under-21s last season and they came incredibly close to reaching the final in Holland. His record and achievements as a player set a great example for any young player. As a coach he already has a wealth of experience at the top level including taking all of his coaching badges with the FA right through to the Pro Licence. He will be a superb addition to our coaching team working with the young players who we hope will become the England internationals of the future."

Personally, I have mixed opinions about Pearce as a manager. His outstanding career as a player both for club and country is well-documented, but I think he's given more leeway as a manager simply because he was a great player, and that's not right.

Some very talented young players came through the ranks at Manchester City while Pearce was in charge there, the likes of Stephen Ireland, Micah Richards, Nedum Onouha, Ishmael Miller, and Daniel Sturridge among them, but how much of their skill can be attributed to Pearce's guidance? For me, naming Pearce as the manager of the U-21 national team, where the future of England's senior national team can be found, is a questionable move.

Harewood to Aston Villa, Richardson to Sunderland

Marlon Harewood finally left West Ham officially today to sign a three-year contract with Aston Villa. The 27-year old striker scored 47 goals in 142 Premier League appearances with West Ham after joining the East London side from Nottingham Forest, and now gives Aston Villa four solid options at the striker position (Ashley Young, John Carew, and Gabriel Agbonlahor being the other three). Harewood may have been influenced by his old teammate Nigel Reo-Coker's move to Villa this summer. The transfer fee was $7.1 million US, which is a relatively cheap sum of money with the way strikers have been going this summer, especially when you consider Harewood is a proven goalscorer with the exception of this season.


Kieran Richardson moved to Sunderland yesterday, and I believe this signing will lead to nothing but good things for the newly-promoted club. Richardson was never given much of a chance with Manchester United as they had Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo playing on the wings, and the champions' acquisition of Nani over the summer basically shut the door on Richardson's career in Manchester.

That said, he's still only 22 years old and at one time, Richardson was one of the hottest young prospects around. He's signed a four-year contract to play for his former teammate at Manchester United, Roy Keane, and like I said before, this could be a very rewarding move for both parties involved. Richardson needs to play regularly to improve and to reclaim a spot on the English national team and Sunderland will benefit from Richardson's pace and considerable talent. The transfer fee is rumored to be somewhere around $11 million US, but that's not an outlandish price for a still-young player who can really help Sunderland for the next four seasons.

Roundup of Recent Friendlies

•Manchester City-3, Doncaster-1
•Manchester City-4, Orgryte-1
•Manchester City-2, Shrewsbury-0
•Manchester City-0, Valencia-1
•Arsenal-2, Barnet-0
•Arsenal-3, Genclerbirligi-0
•Arsenal-0, SV Salzburg-1
•Arsenal-2, Paris Saint-Germain-1 (Emirates Cup)
•Arsenal-2, Inter Milan-1 (Emirates Cup; Arsenal wins Emirates Cup)
•Arsenal-2, Lazio-1 (Amsterdam Tournament)
•Liverpool-3, Crewe-0
•Liverpool-3, Werder Bremen-2
•Liverpool-2, Auxerre-0
•Liverpool-3, South China-1 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Liverpool-2, Shanghai Shenhua-0 (Port of Rotterdam Tournament)
•Liverpool-1, Feyenoord-1
•Bolton-2, Chivas Guadalajara-0 (Peace Cup)
•Bolton-2, Racing Santander-1 (Peace Cup)
•Bolton-0, Lyon-1 (Peace Cup Final, Bolton wins Peace Cup)
•Bolton-3, Espanyol-0
•Reading-0, River Plate-1 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-1, Lyon-0 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-1, Shimizu S-Pulse-0 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-6, Brentford-1
•Reading-3, Wolverhampton-2
•Portsmouth-2, Yeovil-0
•Portsmouth-2, Havant & Waterlooville-0
•Portsmouth-1, Eastleigh-0
•Portsmouth-1, Fulham-0 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Portsmouth-0, Liverpool-0 (Portsmouth wins on PK’s, Barclays Asia Trophy Final)
•Portsmouth-4, Bournemouth-1
•Portsmouth-3, Leicester City-1
•West Ham-2, Dagenham and Redbridge-0
•West Ham-1, Leyton Orient-1
•West Ham-2, MK Dons-3
•West Ham-3, Southend United-1
•West Ham-2, AC Roma-1
•Chelsea-2, Club America-1 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, Suwon Bluewings-0 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, LA Galaxy-0 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, Feyenoord-1
•Chelsea-0, Rangers-2
•Chelsea-2, Brondby-0
•Middlesbrough-0, FC Schalke-3
•Middlesbrough-1, Burnley-1
•Middlesbrough-2, Darlington-0
•Manchester United-2, Urawa Red Diamonds-2
•Manchester United-4, FC Seoul-0
•Manchester United-6, Shenzhen Jianlibao-0
•Manchester United Reserves-2, Port Vale-3
•Manchester United-3, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical-0
•Manchester United-2, Inter Milan-3
•Manchester United-2, Doncaster-0
•Manchester United-3, Glentoran-0
•Manchester United-4, Dunfermline-0
•Newcastle-3, Hartlepool-1
•Newcastle-1, Carlisle United-1
•Newcastle-4, Celtic-1
•Newcastle-0, Hull City-1
•Newcastle-2, Juventus-0
•Newcastle-1, Sampdoria-0
•Fulham-1, Dagenham & Redbridge-0
•Fulham-4, South China-1 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Fulham-1, QPR-2
•Sunderland-2, Darlington-0
•Sunderland-4, Galway United-0
•Sunderland-1, Juventus-1
•Tottenham-2, Kaizer Chiefs-1
•Tottenham-2, Orlando Pirates-1
•Tottenham-3, Orlando Pirates-0 (Tottenham wins Vodacom Challenge Trophy)
•Tottenham-4, Leyton Orient-2
•Tottenham-2, Torino-0
•Everton-0, Real Salt Lake-2
•Everton-4, Ventura County Fusion (PDL)-0
•Everton-2, Werder Bremen-2
•Everton-0, Crystal Palace-0
•Aston Villa-4, Toronto FC-2
•Aston Villa-3, Columbus Crew-1
•Aston Villa-2, Stoke City-0
•Aston Villa-3, Inter Milan-0
•Wigan Athletic-2, Blackpool-1
•Wigan Athletic-2, Barnsley-0
•Wigan Athletic-2, Leeds United-1
•Derby County-2, Nottingham Forest-0 (Derby County wins inaugural Brian
Clough Trophy)
•Derby County-2, Espanyol-2
•Blackburn-1, Huddersfield-2
•Blackburn-3, Preston North End-0
•Birmingham-3, Peterborough-0

Note: Premiership team listed first, NOT home team

US-Austria Preview

What possibly could be the most underhyped of the four quarterfinal games of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup (at least from a global view) features the US and Austria, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals to take on the winner of the Spain-Czech Republic game. The US is seen as the significant favorite over Austria, however they were seen in the same light before their game against Uruguay and that was a much closer game than many people thought it would be.


Austria's roster is comprised of all domestic-based players except for one, Martin Harnik, who plays for Werder Bremen in Germany. They're led offensively by Erwin--and this is not my own bad joke--"Jimmy" Hoffer, who's scored twice in four games for his side. Austria as a team has only scored four goals in this tournament; however they've only conceded two and if they can force their tempo on the US like Uruguay did, they could pull the upset and move on to the semi-finals. Three different goalies have played for Austria thus far; Michael Zaglmair has started twice and Andreas Lukse and Bartolomej Kuru have started once. Zaglmair was in net for Austria's 1-1 tie with Congo in the first group game and for the 2-1 win over Gambia in the quarterfinals. It seems as if a rotation is in place, and if that's the case, Andreas Lukse is in line to start against the US as his last appearance was in the second group game (a 1-0 victory over Canada). One thing is for certain though: Austria's defense is led by Sebastian Proedl, who plays his club soccer at SK Sturm Graz. Proedl has played every minute of every game at this U-20 World Cup, and at 6'2", 187, Proedl is a physically imposing player who could give the US fits all night.


I'd venture to say everyone reading this preview knows about the US by this point. Freddy Adu, Josmer Altidore, Danny Szetela, and Sal Zizzo have carried the US to this stage in the tournament. However, Altidore's availability could be in question after he limped off with a knee injury in the 51st minute against Uruguay. The last thing the US needs is to play without Altidore against an already-referenced stout defense. The two goals scored in the Uruguay game were scrappy, hard-nosed goals that don't come around too often. Andre Akpan didn't show much of anything after he was subbed on for Altidore and if he has to start this game, the US could be in trouble offensively. Their goalkeeping situation also could be in doubt. Chris Seitz, the starter, got injured against Brazil and was obviously still too banged up to play against Uruguay was Brian Perk got the call. There's a huge gap between Seitz and Perk, in my opinion, and though it may not turn out to be much a factor against a team like Austria that struggles to score, I'd rather have Seitz in goal ten times out of ten. Perk looked shaky at best against Uruguay; not calling off defenders to claim the ball himself, punching balls he easily could've caught, in short, looking every bit of the 17 years of age that he is. Seitz is a steady, calming influence at the back and his presence alone would give the US a huge advantage.

Toronto, Ontario is the host city for tomorrow's game, which is scheduled for a 2:15 PM Eastern Time kickoff on ESPN U. Check back here for a full match recap, one which hopefully will be celebrating a US win.

US U-20's Rally, Advance to Quarterfinals

Michael Bradley put the finishing touch on a left-footed shot by Julian Valentin in the 107th minute and the US U-20 national team held on to beat the Uruguayan U-20's 2-1. Luis Suarez put Uruguay ahead on 73 minutes after slamming home a rebound that couldn't be controlled by US fill-in keeper Brian Perk, but an own goal 14 minutes later sent what was a brutal-to-watch, no rhythm game to extra time.

The match started off slow and just got slower throughout the first half. A combined 22 fouls (some of which were nitpicky and could've been no-calls by the Uzbek referee, Ravshan Irmatov) really sucked the flow out of the first 45 minutes of play. The US wasn't able to play the up-and-down, high-paced style of soccer they'd exhibited in the group stage of the tournament as they fell in to the slow tempo that Uruguay wanted to maintain. Neither side had any exceptional scoring chances, though Luis Suarez sent a curling free kick just over the crossbar and Josmer Altidore had a free header which was saved by the Uruguayan backup goalkeeper, Yonatan Irrazabal.

The US suffered a huge blow in the 51st minute when Josmer Altidore suffered a knee injury that could prove problematic to the US down the line. Uruguay's defenders had been very physical with Altidore all game long and their repeated challenges seemed to take their toll on the New York Red Bull striker. He was substituted for Andre Akpan, and at this point, things seemed bleak for the US as they'd generated little offense to that point and with their best striker out of the game, not much more attack could be expected.

The situation became even drearier when Uruguay drew first blood in the 73rd minute. Luis Suarez beat Brian Perk to a rebound from an Edinson Cavani header and hammered it home to put the South Americans up 1-0. The two European-based players were the best players on the field for Uruguay all night long, and when Suarez was substituted out in the in the 83rd minute, it was a move that had me second, third, and fourth-guessing Uruguay coach Ferrin Gustavo.


Sure enough, the US scored just 4 minutes later courtesy of a Mathias Cardaccio own goal. Danny Szetela kept a Freddy Adu corner kick alive, dribbled towards the end-line, and slammed a low left-footed drive from 9 yards out that skipped under Irrazabal's diving frame. Andre Akpan looked certain to finish it, but a sliding lunge from Mathias Cardaccio was actually the touch that directed the ball into the net.

Uruguay nearly won the game in regulation but an awkward-looking header from Manuel Diaz came squarely off the right post. It had Brian Perk frozen; just an inch or so to the left and Uruguay would've won but as it was, the US benefited from a stroke of luck and the game went into extra time.

The first 15 minutes of extra time went by without any drama, though a yellow card was handed out to defender Anthony Wallace. The second 15 minutes produced 5 more yellow cards, but most importantly, what turned out to be the game-winning goal by US midfielder Michael Bradley. In truth, Bradley had not played very well, to say the least, all game long but he was in the right place at the right time to redirect a Julian Valentin shot into the net to give the US a 2-1 advantage. Bradley has often times looked out of his depth during this FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is surprising after his impressive performance (though it was against lesser CONCACAF teams) during the Gold Cup. However, his goal gave the US the lead and it was a lead they held onto for the last 13 minutes of extra time.

Men of the Match:
USA: No one jumped out at me whatsoever, and I refuse to name Michael Bradley man of the match simply because he scored the game-winning goal because he didn't play well at all during the game. Insert your choice here, but I'll go with Freddy Adu.
Uruguay: Edinson Cavani

The US advance to the quarterfinals to take on Austria, a 2-1 winner over Gambia. That game will be played this Saturday, July 14, also in Toronto. Kickoff is set for 2:15 PM Eastern Time, and ESPN U will have the live broadcast from BMO Field.

A full preview of that game can be found here either tomorrow night or early Saturday morning. Keep checking the site for the latest coverage of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

International Eligibility

When the US U-20 national team played Poland on July 3, the match commentator made a comment touching on something I had been stewing over for a while. He said that Danny Szetela was eligible to play for Poland based on his heritage; Szetela's parents are native Poles but Szetela himself was born in New Jersey and has lived in the US his whole life.


Nigel Reo-Coker's transfer on July 5 brought up the same topic. Reo-Coker is of Sierra Leonean descent and has stated on multiple occasions that he would consider future call-ups to their senior national team, though he was the captain of the England U-21 team until recently, having become too old to play for the squad after the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship which finished in June. He's lived in England since he was eight and played for England's youth senior teams and club teams and captained some of them along the way. Should he really be allowed to play for Sierra Leone? He's spent more than half his life in England, including the part of it where soccer played the bigger part. Ages 8-present are more important for soccer than anything younger than 8 because opportunities for rapid development and good coaching can be found as you get a bit older.

There are, of course, many other players who are in the same position as these two players; that is, they're eligible to compete for multiple countries, if their heritage allows, on the senior international level even after playing for one country on the youth international level. They can still play for another country at the senior level as long as they're uncapped with the senior team of the country they played their youth international games for. This ruled Freddy Adu out as he played for the US senior team on January 22, 2006 in a friendly against Canada. Adu could've played for Ghana even though he's lived in the US since he was eight and has played for youth international teams here, but that eligibility was terminated once he made a senior appearance with the US. It doesn't work backwards, however. A player can't play for one country's senior team and then still compete for another country's youth teams.

All of this, to me, is ridiculous. If you play for a country at the youth international level, that's the country you should have to play for at the senior level. FIFA currently organizes world championships at the U-17 and U-20 level, but countries have national teams for ages even younger than this; both the US and England have a U-16 team, for example. By that age, players should have enough maturity to decide what country (if they are eligible to play for more than one) they want to play international soccer for. Jumping from one country's youth teams to another's senior team shouldn't be permitted. That rule needs to be changed by the powers-that-be. What sense does it make?? The players that take advantage of this rule often exploit it to play for a country on whose senior team they would be able to play more for, perhaps because the country whose youth teams they played for is stacked at the senior level and there's no room for that player to play a part on the team.

How right is that? Doesn't sound logical to me. Playing for your national team is supposed to be an act of patriotism. It's not a right, it's a priviledge (as my parents said to me when I became old enough to drive). To put on that uniform is something time-honored and something that people who aren't blessed with the skills that those players have but still play the game would do anything for. You represent your country when you play for their national teams, at any level. But for some reason, it's permitted for players to, for lack of a better term, country-hop. What message does that send young players?

In Danny Szetela's case, I understand that his parents are from Poland. I'm sure they speak the language fluently and I wouldn't be surprised if Danny himself spoke it as well. Here's the reality though: He was born in New Jersey and has lived his whole life here. He shouldn't be allowed to play for Poland because he isn't Polish! His parents, if they played soccer, could play for Poland because they're native Poles, but Szetela is an American. There simply shouldn't be any way that could play for them. He's made it clear that he will only play for the US senior side if called up, and I applaud him for that, but that isn't the point.

Look, I know that some situations are different than others, some are the same, and some are completely unique. But the fact is, if you're mature enough to embrace the colors of one country at the youth international level, that's the country you should have to play for at the senior level. If there's any doubts in your mind as a player about who you want to play for as an adult, don't appear for any youth team until you've made your decision. Players take advantage of the rule that allows them to play for different teams and that shouldn't be the case.

Benayoun to Liverpool, Nugent to Portsmouth; Baines to Everton?

According to the agent of Israeli midfielder and captain Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool and West Ham have agreed to an $8 million US fee that would send Benayoun to Liverpool. It is the second high-profile deal between the clubs this week (Bellamy to West Ham). Benayoun is just 27 years old and played as an attacking midfielder for West Ham, though Liverpool sees him as the perfect replacement for Luis Garcia, who left the club for Atletico Madrid. His acquisition seems to signal Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's intention to reinforce the outside midfield positions this year. The move further strengthens a midfield that is probably the best in all of England, with Xabi Alonso, Gerrard, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Pennant, Javier Mascherano, and Mohamed Sissoko already signed through at least this season.


Former England U-21 striker David Nugent is reportedly set to sign for Portsmouth on Wednesday, according to BBC Radio Lancashire. Nugent has starred for Championship side Preston North End since 2005, scoring 33 goals in 94 appearances for the club, but the 22-year old has been seeking a move to a Premiership team and Portsmouth is a team where he would be able to play a lot of games and contribute at a high level. Sol Campbell has been pleading with management all summer for additions at the striker position with the departure of Svetoslav Todorov and the controversy surrounding Kanu and his return to the club, and this signing could be just what Portsmouth needs to contend for a European spot this season. The deal is rumored to be worth $12 million US with Nugent then having to agree to personal terms and pass a physical.

Updated Wednesday, July 11: Nugent's transfer has been confirmed and completed as he passed a physical and signed a four-year contract with Portsmouth, keeping him on the South Coast through the 2010-2011 season.


Another former England U-21 player, Wigan defender Leighton Baines, could also be on the move within the coming days. Wigan has rejected multiple offers from Sunderland but now Everton is lining up a $9 million US bid to bring Baines to Merseyside. New Wigan manager Chris Hutchings said that Baines would be part of his club next season:

"I have told (Sunderland boss) Roy Keane that Leighton is not for sale. He is part of this club.

"Every player does have a price but I am happy to keep him here as I am building a team."

With this being said, if Everton can match the price at which Wigan rates him, I would expect a transfer to be completed. At only 22 years of age, he's already been a part of Wigan's first team for five seasons, and he is still a young talent growing into his tremendous potential. Baines will only be looking to play for a bigger club in the future anyway, and I think Wigan would be wise to sell him if they can get full value so they can bring in more players to address their multiple needs.

New Uniforms Galore

We'll start off with a team on the South Coast, Portsmouth. Their new home jersey looks very similar to last year's edition; the only real addition to this jersey is the presence of gold/yellow as an accent color, replacing white (though white can still be found around the collar). White shorts and red socks finish off the home kit and all-in-all, it's a classy, more modern kit that still reflects some of the club's history.
Jersey designer: Canterbury


Blackburn Rovers will also be debuting a new home jersey this fall. The club had already released a home jersey manufactured by Lonsdale which was supposed to be their new jersey for this year as voted on by fans, but they've scrapped those plans and signed a contract with Umbro instead. Once again, one large blue stripe and one large white stripe are the focal points of this jersey. A bit of red can be found near the neck as well. In my opinion, this is one of the uglier jerseys I've seen. Blackburn shouldn't be credited for flip-flopping manufacturers; they had a deal with Lonsdale and had already come out with a jersey, it should've been honored.
Jersey designer: Umbro


I have mixed feelings towards Derby County's new home shirt. On one hand, it's tight, slim, and not ruined by a sponsor who wants their logo blown up across the front. On the other hand, it's a bit plain and almost resembles white Under Armour. The shorts are all black, and the away uniform will be what you see here in reverse (black shirt, white shorts). Adidas wasn't very creative when they came up with these uniforms, to say the least.
Jersey designer: Adidas


And to finish up, here's a look at Charlton Athletic's new away jersey, which will replace their black away jersey from last year (that black jersey now becomes their third jersey). It goes on sale beginning July 18, but honestly, why would people it? The stripes are clashing with each other ("seahawk blue" and "denim" are not a good combination) and there's no red anywhere in the jersey, which is Charlton's traditional color. Puzzling choice of colors, to say the least.
Jersey designer: Joma


Images courtesy of http://www.football-shirts.co.uk

US U-20's to Meet Uruguay in Round of 16

The Round of 16 was finalized yesterday as group play finished off in Groups A and C. The US, as the winner of Group D, earned the right to play a third place team in the Round of 16, and their opponent will be South American side Uruguay.

Uruguay ended group play (Group B) with 4 points from 3 games and a -1 goal differential, which cost them second place as Zambia also had 4 points but a +1 goal differential. Uruguay was led by two goals from Palermo striker Edison Cavani and a goal and an assist from FC Gronigen midfielder Luis Suarez. Worth noting, however, is the fact that Uruguay will enter the match with the US without their starting goalkeeper, Mauro Goicoechea, who received a red card just 19 minutes into his country's final group match against Zambia (a 2-0 loss). This surely will be a huge advantage for the US, whose dynamic offense gives starting goalkeepers fits, much less their backups.

The US heads into the knockout stages as the winner of Group D with 7 points. A comfortable goal differential of +6, buoyed by 3 goals apiece from Danny Szetela, Freddy Adu, and Josmer Altidore. Sal Zizzo contributed 3 assists as well, and the US led all countries in goals scored during the group stage with 9.

The match will be played in Toronto on Wednesday, July 11. It's tentatively scheduled to be televised on ESPN U, though interest across the country forced ESPN executives to move the match against Brazil to ESPN and the same may be done again. The winner of this match will play the winner of the Austria-Gambia game in Toronto on July 14.

Check back here for a full recap of this match and if results go the US' way, a preview of their quarterfinal game.

For the complete knockout bracket, see: http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/index.html