Footie Phantom

So the Londoner is off to Merseyside. In what has been a stale post-World Cup transfer cycle, where hearsay reigns supreme over any actual movement, this week saw the first eyebrow-raising move: Joe Cole to Liverpool. Eyebrow-raising because all summer it seemed that most of the major English power players were in for Cole EXCEPT […]

First there was Brand Beckham going to Hollywood. Now we have King Henry coming to the Big Apple. While MLS is getting that knack as a semi-retirement league for the world's greatest stars (Frank Lampard has mentioned it as well), Henry's signing is still a major deal for the young league. Put simply, on footballing […]

I am fully aware that I am late to the why-England-were-eliminated-party here, but as I've pored over the litany of explanations on the web, I've found that there is an unfair discrepancy of player blame vs. manager blame. Sure, the England stars appeared lackadaisical and short on ideas, but these are the same players that […]

During his broadcast of the Italy-Paraguay match, Ian Darke, never shy in his observations of that match before him, made the astute observation that the Italian penalty area "must be a minefield" to the Paraguayans by the way they seemed to avoid it at all costs. While Darke's comment focused on Paraguay's defensive "negativity," that […]

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Ashley Cole. An illustrious lot, these world footballing stars would make the starting XI of just about every squad on the planet and are known from the Midwest to the Midlands. Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Tim Howard. While making strides in European leagues, […]

Just as the hype and excitement for the World Cup is building to a feverish pitch, over the last two days we have had to read devastating headlines about star players (most of them Premier League stalwarts or ex-EPL stars) going down to injury in exhibition warm-up matches. Devastating because in the World Cup you […]

Perhaps this is a frivolous post, but with Theo Walcott shockingly omitted from Fabio Capello's World Cup squad, the England national team are left with ZERO players from Arsenal traveling to South Africa. Sure, Arsenal FC will be well-represented in this year's tournament: William Gallas (France), Robin van Persie (Holland), Niklas Bendtner (Denmark), Cesc Fabregas […]

Another England match, another goal for Peter Crouch. Sure, the one against Mexico yesterday was hardly artful, in fact, it was illegal on two fronts: handball and offside. But to speak of that Mexican injustice misses the point. Peter Crouch somehow, someway finds the back of the net for England at an astonishing, befuddling, flabbergasting, […]

Grant. Scolari. Hiddink. Since the acrimonious departure of Chelsea's revered and beloved Jose Mourinho, who gave the club its first taste of sustained glory, a revolving door of big-name managers have cast a dark cloud over Stamford Bridge. This is not to say said coaches came and went without accomplishment. Scolari aside (who was an […]

Despite their loss to Tottenham earlier in the week, Manchester City fans should still have plenty to feel good about going into the summer. The English press was all too happy in vilifying the Sheik Mansour’s tactics of overpaying for players and trying to buy themselves a Champions League spot, but they did well to […]

Well, so much for Chelsea buckling under the pressure Manchester United created with their 3-1 victory of surging Tottenham yesterday The Blues are made up of wily veterans, so Sir Alex Ferguson's futile attempts at mind games unsurprisingly fell on deaf ears around Cobham, but even the most die-hard Chelsea fan couldn't have foreseen […]

The powers that be in the Premier League tend to get all uptight when a club manager suggests that he's going to rest his starters for whatever reason. This is somehow an affront to the integrity of the competition and unfair to the other clubs fighting to avoid relegation or to get into Europe. Plus, […]

Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United. Drawn by Nicholas Buchel, using a Sharpie for the red lines and a fancier pen for the yellow.

Last week in the build-up to the English Premier League's most anticipated match of the season, there were many in the press and blogosphere that openly questioned Dimitar Berbatov's ability to replace Wayne Rooney as an effective lone striker. I, myself, wrote an article arguing that Rooney's ankle injury made the EPL Chelsea's title to […]

Without even kicking a ball, Chelsea were given a gift this week. One roll of Wayne Rooney's ankle has altered the dynamic of the entire 2009-10 EPL campaign, and has handed Carlo Ancelotti more than just a lifeline, but possibly the title itself. While the Italian would never admit that the championship may have been […]