Baltimore World Cup Soccer @ Slainte Pub

This past weekend, we saw two instances of another trick players have employed for quite some time to win a penalty – letting a hanging leg make contact with an opponent’s, so it looks like he was fouled.

On Saturday, Manchester City’s Adam Johnson gamed the official into believing that Fulham’s Chris Baird struck him down, when in fact, as replays showed, there was no action on Baird’s part to foul Johnson.

On Sunday, Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck “fell over” and even stretched out his leg for it to make contact with Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic’s leg.

Like diving, this gamesmanship stains the beautiful game. But what can officials do? Should these instances require replays by the fourth official to determine if there was indeed deliberate contact to cause a player to go down in the box? Then it follows that every claim for a penalty would have to be replayed, thus affecting the game.

Should these players get red cards? Or just a warning?

It is understandable that in the hectic action on the pitch, a referee cannot make every single call correct, but certain calls that affect the outcome of matches are too important to dismiss.

Should players be retroactively punished?

It is no secret that Liverpool’s record signing, Andy Carroll, is a bust.  Rumors of hitting the bottle a little much and questionable of fitness aside, the Englishman has not produced to the level that was expected of a Red’s star striker.  Carroll was a star at Newcastle, and rumor has it that his old club will not mind having him back despite Andy stating that he is staying at Anfield. That being said, the transfer window closes tomorrow, and if King Kenny’s merry men are going to make a run at fourth place in the league they need to make a move.  Here are some players that a clueless Baltimorean thinks the Reds should and should not sign to wear the number 9 jersey.

For The Love Of All Things Holy DO NOT Sign Tevez
The rumor has already been quickly stamped out by Liverpool, but sources reported that the Reds approached Manchester City for a straight loser-for-loser swap.  Lets just hope this passes and we never hear of Tevez playing for Kenny Dalglish ever again.

Napoli Wont Let Go Of Cavani…
…because they know they need him if they have a chance of knocking Chelsea out of the Champions League.  As cool as it would be to see two Uruguayans playing up front, if the Reds sign him they will end up spending a fortune and possibly breaking Carroll’s own record deal.  It could work, but would the cost be worth it?  Carroll is not the only need that the Reds should address, so back-to-back record signings might not be the smartest business decision.

Stick It To Newcastle And Get Ba On The Cheap
Reports are in that Tottenham and Liverpool (as well as a few other clubs) are interested in what could be the best deal of the window.  Demba Ba will not be playing for Newcastle next season but is expected to stay in England where he can be picked up on the relatively affordable side of things and then practically double his salary.  Despite his knees being an issue, the Reds will make out like bandits if they make this deal happen and may even find themselves with a team willing to take Carroll back.

Wishing for Wesley Sneijder…
…is the only thing a fan can really do.  Wesley has not had the best season at Inter, and rumors temporarily surfaced that he was being looked at by Fergie.  With his value lower than ever it would be a risk a fan-boy like me would love to take, but an unlikely move from the Reds.  Even after Sneijder himself ruled out the Manchester United rumors I still hope for a surprise like this. Any reputable attacking player would suffice.

If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
With an appearance at Wembley for the Carling Cup Final secured and the huge win over United in the FA Cup, the Reds might actually accomplish some of their goals set for this season.  Trophies and a Champions League berth are what fans were told to look forward to, and the Reds might actually deliver the silverware with Andy on the team.  Bellamy has stepped up when he has been needed, Gerard is looking better every week, Suarez will be back on the pitch tomorrow, and Kuyt has finally broken his goal drought.  Despite fan and media disgust for Carroll, Dalglish has continuously praised his forward and has made it clear that they plan on keeping him around.  It is quite possible that Liverpool does not see the same problem fans see with Carroll which would mean a quiet January transfer window for Reds supporters.

Stay tuned!

Carling Cup Semi Final: Liverpool (1) vs Manchester City (0)

Copa del Rey Quarter Final: Barcelona (2) vs Real Madrid (1)

International Friendly: Panama vs USMNT

From an email chain by our own — Patrick Geraghty — not too much polish on this… but you get the idea —

I can watch those highlights again and again (City v Blackpool)….. that second half had so much life it was unreal.

Silva is such an important player and his talents on and off the ball benefit the team so much

We have a lot of depth and we have injuries so we truly do not know our side at 100%.

But in what we have seen so far there are pillars to this team. There are several spots up for grabs but some things are certain…

???? Tevez (obviously… without him we have nothing. he must be up top, best when alone or paired??… we haven;t revealed yet)

Silva (although he has played in the hole and on the wings we aren;t sure exactly how he will fit, only that he must be apart of the game)

??? ????
????
??? ???? Kompany ????
Joe

Slowly we are learning that J-bo is a talent and will lock down rb position, while still being versatile to play opposite wing or in the middle (huuuuuuuuuge for us down the stretch, hes like zab + talent/size/speed)

Yaya/Barry/Nigel all are hammers in the midfield, but there roles all depend on opposition…. they can take all three spots in the midfield, and will probably next week and against the rags, but in a game like yesterday we need to bring the game to opponents(second half) and all 3 enforcers are not need

Milner/AJ/SWP – just as the enforcers roles depend on opposition so too does that of our attacking minded midfielders

Up top with tevez is where mario comes in…. Adebuy could be off if yesterdays performance repeats itself…. either way to have adebuy and mario fighting for same spot…. sick

I think adebuy gets one last shot on thursday and will prob start with silva off him

Some good things-

Mark Hughes loses that game 2-1 in typical city fashion

Robinho maybe gets by one(maybe) of the defenders on Silva’s goal before taking a dive on the ball

Lesscott is much better inside then play out on the wing, but still a bit shakey

Great great game to take us into Arsenal

Yet again one more pathetic showing from City. Viera and Yaya in the middle and Yaya playing deep… really? REALLY? Milner and Tevez can not be the attack and SWP and AJ are not world class wingers — choose one of the other and start playing a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2 with Milner or Yaya running the point. Tevez is a trojan – yes – he is… but he can’t run box to box the whole game… he’ll be retired by December.

Call me Willy Worries but I feel the exodus of Tevez coming soon… his remarks about not wanting to play for the National team paired with his lack of pairing… make for an angry Argentine… and with 7 or 8 illegitimate children and a brother in jail across the pond… I can see a Boja Juniors spot for him in 2011.

Ok so Wigan this weekend – if we don’t beat Wigan this weekend I’m going to wear a jersey of the first commenters choosing to the Chelsea game… book it.

B

Well – A win, a draw, and a loss. Seem almost typical… City typical. A typical start to the City season.

But those days seem to be over now. The air of “How could we lose?” confuses me at times. As a matter of fact if you want a true litmus test for whether or not someone has been a City fan for a while — watch their expression after a loss, to say… ohh… Sunderland. If their expression is one of bewilderment, sadness, and downright shame than you know that person has not been witness to what is politely referred to as “Typical City”.

I felt it on Sunday – I was excited for the replay – but my City DNA wouldn’t allow me to say “We will crush Sunderland” – too many things were working against us… a mid week game, away at City of Lights and Darren F’ing Bent. I have to admit I am a bit more excited and optimistic since our new owners landed on Eastlands and started laying golden eggs. But, I’ve always been excited (not necessarily optimistic) for every game. And when we lost on Sunday… it sucked. It always sucks to lose… but for me… losing is just built in… especially losing late on a bogus PK to a team rated much worse than we… It’s party of being a City fan… it’s a part of being a City fan that I don’t want to lose.

I have no desire for these current expectations.

I have no desire to shield off the haters that don’t know the difference between City fans that know and have lived disappointment and those that just bought a Tevez jersey and possibly seem to remember him playing for United…

I have no desire to run into new City fans that can’t understand how we just lost to Sunderland.

With that said — things are definitely looking up at Eastlands. Even with the loss – they looked pretty good… not Chelsea good… but when Mancini figures out how to use Milner, Silva, AJ, Yaya, Balo, and Ade properly… they’ll score tons of goals. It won’t even be close — you can see it when they play. You can see that they haven’t figured it out yet… but that it’s coming. It’s coming like a giant storm towards any team we happen to meet after October… the Chelsea game will be our first big test in Late September. It’s at home… and I’m sure their pissed from our double over them last year.

So, as City start their season — the only surprise from new fans seems to be that we haven’t won every game 6-0.

The only surprise from rival fans is that we managed to show up and play with integrity, look like a team, and not trip all over the 24k golden shoes the owner has purchased for all fans and players.

And for me… well… a win, a loss, and a draw… seems like a pretty typical City start to the season.

See you all down the pub!

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/05/10/daily18.html

They are coming to town. Lots to do. Lots of bandwagons to burn and then rebuild and embrace. I have a feeling the dynamic at the pub next year will be a bit different — I have to honestly say that I miss the days when there were just 3 or less City fans. I don’t think I can take a slew of dozens more that I’ve never seen…

But as MiniMourinho would say – [sic] “I saw the same thing happen with Chelsea. Just embrace it…”

With that said – I am almost glad we didn’t reach the Champions League in our first attempt. Why? Well… it may be a bit selfish and even a small sign of insecurity but I don’t think we are ready. I don’t think we were ready as fans or as a team. Watching the Chelsea boys (and ladies) sing to their beloved Blues on Sunday made me realize that if this had happened to City it would have been a disaster. It would have been hodge-podged at best and I would have been totally annoyed by anything that wasn’t organized or well done. I would have been upset that we all didn’t know the same songs, that we only had 3 songs, and that Roscoe, Johnny from Karate Kid, and Mini would all make fun of us for such… Anyway – it’s time to up our game as fans. Else – I’ll just recluse back to the days when I was the only die hard fan and leave the kids to play by themselves on the other side of the bar.

I want the songs. I want the history. But – you CAN’T get it NOW – all the time. I like that we get another year to a) play a full season under 1 manager and b) let him have HIS own transfer window and c) play in Europe on a 2 game per week schedule.

Let’s face it – if City had made the Champions League we would have been THE MOST HATED team on Earth. We would have bought Torres, possibly Gerrard, Joe Cole, Huddlestone, Modric, Buffon, the Area 51 Alien, Cindy Crawford, and President Obama to play left back… and you know what? We would have been hated -

Being hated is not what City has ever been about. Although I may be one of the most “acquired tastes” of fans to accept – a real City fan and a City mentality have always been one of underdog tones. It’s always been scrappy and background. Now that has all changed… And don’t get me wrong… I welcome that change. But like with everything that is radical – it’s best to give it time to grow.

I think this next year is exactly what we needed in our natural maturation.

That brings us back to the game here on July 31st. 3 years ago this game would have developed mild success – but today – and I think this is something we should all be proud of… today – this game is a MUST for City fans, United, Chelsea, Scouse, Arsenal and the like – because we want to see it all – and the good news is — especially in Baltimore — we actually DO get to see it all together.

World Cup next though —…

Let me first address some things -

To all my Liverpool friends and fans. I hate that you aren’t in the top 4. Seriously – for some odd reason it really bothers me. It’s like Ireland not being in the World Cup. It just isn’t natural. Maybe it’s our pub, maybe it’s the patience you’ve show us City supporters — maybe it’s just that Irish Dave needs a break. But either way… all love.

To all those Arsenal, Man U and Chelsea fans out there. Cheers on a great year. I feel much closer to the soccer community in Baltimore simply because of your good will and good times. It’s been a fun matriculation of laughs and drinks.

And cheers to Slainte for making an atmosphere that makes every weekend something to really look forward to in the Baltimore Soccer bubble. It truly is a special place and you all deserve a big hand – except Willy… he’s French.

The video – some of you may have seen me jet in with a video camera on Sunday morning. Don’t worry – it’s not incriminating… it’s a video we are shooting for the game on July 31st – it’s a Soccer Fan’s guide to Baltimore.

With all that said – Tottenham and Man City play on wed. – be there. Support the gas kings – crown us the new bouncing baby money bags of the world and join the regime now… because when we take over in 3 years — I’ll have a list of who was there to support us in the beginning.

I’m not going to go into detail about who is playing and who isn’t. There are so many wildcard variables leading into this – that personally I’d rather just see a fight to the death between Mancini and Redknapp. But – if they have to play – let it be at home and let Vincent Kompany score the winner. Because I will not get bogged down in nuance for the biggest game in the Blue Moon realm in 31 years.

Love – overlord.

Well – after our Nil Nil love fest at Slainte – it appears it’s time go back to our seperate corners and watch the end of the season.  Only 2 things to play for now – 4th place for City, Villa, Tottenham – and I guess Liverpool – if the other 3 teams all die – and then the big clash between Chelski and Scumbags – I mean – who to root for there? I guess… Chelsea… but I mean – it’s like rooting for Lex Luther or Skeletor – - does it make a difference?

It was also nice to see that City fans outlasted the Arsenal fans on Saturday – I could probably credit that to 3 things – 1. Their absolute LOVE of me and my usual fandom (sarcasm)- 2. The fact that they don’t have anything to play for… or 3. It was just a really nice day – - we had a full house but not too many die hards outside of the City boys, Scoot, beardy – and the Mayor of Fells with BittyGunner and Roscoe with Johnny from Karate Kid – With that said – we had a great time… there were laughs, politically incorrect jokes, shots, hugs, but alas… no goals – so it was a lot like kissing your cousin for 90 minutes.

Well – with all that behind us. City. Damnit City! You are killing me with only 1 point out of United and Arsenal. 2 years ago – that was acceptable – now… it’s just not – especially when we were at home for one. Offense has been not only absent the last 2 weeks – it’s been downright stymied by an awful lineup choice. City are in control of their own destiny – with a game in hand against both Villa and Pool and a head to head against Tottenham next Wed. (I will be back at the pub for that in FULL FORCE) – If City win out – we go to the big dance – if we don’t then – i’m sure the Mayor and Flash’s owner will come up with some more chants to make fun of us kicked City fans – but we’ll laugh all the way to the bank soon –

Lineups -

………….Fulop
micah..toure..kompany../zaba
……..de jong…Barry………
swp………tevez…Bellamy……
………….adebayor……………

Our new keeper instills no confidence in me what-so-ever . But the way Kolo anf VK have been playing I’m ok with that — I think Jono  may have worked his way to the bench with last week’s performance and IF I EVER SEE VIERA on the pitch again – I’ll smack someone – that may have been the worst lineup choice I’ve seen all year – so Robbie Manc – get it together this week and let’s get these 3 points going into wed. fixtures.

In Football anything can happen – so – predicting scores is pretty useless – but I’m going 1-0 City in a yawner – see you at Baltimore’s Best Soccer Bar.  Would love to see someone write up ‘Pool v Chelsea – that’s on Sunday.

Best – ManCity

I guess someone has to do it. It shall be myself. If anyone was to partake a moment and to watch the highlights of this thrilling match, you would see… absolutely nothing. Yes it was a let’s play to a boring nil-nil draw. Now, please don’t get me wrong, I do love my nil-nil draws when they are end to end action, pitched battles in the midfield and great saves by fantastic keepers but this was not one of them.

Sad part for the City fans is that they lose Given due to a shoulder injury. HOWEVER, I am going to blow my top here for a moment. There was an interesting bit of copy in the Guardian earlier today. ManCity is trying to make some deals to replace Given outside the transfer window. Earlier it mentioned the possibility of bringing in a keeper from Sunderland (Fulop) but the latest bit of news is to cancel Hart’s loan deal at Birmingham. Article

While the FA are currently considering this move, I find it appalling. You picked your squad, you have an academy, and you have a FAROE ISLANDS International as your back up. And as everyone knows, I give my support to the Faroe Islands. They are always a sleeper team come International matches.

Anyways, the reasoning behind it is that City is without a first choice keeper. And I quote.

The officials discussing the application have agreed that City meet the criteria, namely having no established first-team goalkeeping cover, and the club hope to be given official approval tomorrow.

By the way, has anyone seen the Arsenal first team keeper coverage? Can the Arsenal have a mulligan on the season? I mean putting in my own self-serving perspective, is it possible to bring in a first team striker or defensive midfielder?

Once more, I am happy to express my disgust with a football governing body. I know ManCity did not plan on losing Given or two back ups but that is what happens.

C’est La Vie.

~LeChat