Coach Harries highlights some matches in the Premier League this past weekend that made him stand up and cheer.

by: Stephen Harries

What a week, what a week, what a week!

Enough of my little soccer chant!

But seriously, what a week it has been.  On April 21^st, I think the Premiership witnessed one of the greatest games for quite a while since the 1996 Liverpool/Newcastle United game which was a 4-3 thriller, with Liverpool winning on that occasion.

Liverpool needed to win this game to keep their lead at the top of EPL on goal difference and maintain the pressure on a stuttering Man Utd.  Additionally, Arsenal needed to win in order to have an outside chance of winning the EPL. What was witnessed was an all out attack and lack of defense, with Liverpool scoring 4 and Arsenal scoring 4 through the gifted Andrei Arshavin.

Why did so many clubs refuse to pay $25 million plus, he is a phenomenal player, he is a combination of Bergkamp, Henry and Robert Pires, what club would not want that kind of player? It was a great spectacle, where both teams said goodbye to defending and had a go at one another.

There were a lot of games this past week, and lot of expected results and some unexpected results.  So I have highlighted the results that came as a surprise including: West Brom carving open Sunderland, Man City pulling a check mate on Everton, Newcastle not getting those three points, and of course the spanking that Spurs received from my beloved Manchester United!

West Brom got a good result, beating a very poor Sunderland 3-0, sadly it is too late in the season. It would take an absolute miracle for them to stay up, but each year the teams that have nothing to play for play their best football and get some good results, maybe Middlesborough and Newcastle should take that approach, because I still do not see a way out for them.

Manchester City got a good win over Everton, Mark Hughes needed this win to install some drive into City, and use this as a base to begin building for next season and the future. Mark Hughes has a lot to do and, if he is to keep his job, he needs to make the most of the last six games. Everton needed to win to put the pressure on Villa for fifth, even though it does not matter where they finish, they are in the Europa League next season.  Finishing fifth means that little extra in Everton’s coffers to spend on some new additions. A sad note though, Phil Jagielka, who I think has been a sensation at Everton is going to be out for the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. This is not good for their FA Cups hopes!

Newcastle played Portsmouth on Monday, both needing to win to try and avoid relegation, non- more so than Newcastle, who after drawing with Pompey, sit 3 points behind Hull. Newcastle can get out, but it is going to be mighty close. Alan Shearer pin pointed this as a game which they needed to win, and I thought they could do it, but I was wrong. However, this result for Portsmouth gives them that extra point away from danger and into a little more freedom.

Now onto the most astonishing game!

We all know my love for Man Utd, and I am trying to stay away from talking much about them, but I have to throw that one out of the window and fall about crying in sheer disbelief, excitement and happiness at what I witnessed at Old Trafford. I have watched every Manu Utd game for two years, not missing one. On Saturday, came close to turning off the TV because I thought my boys had thrown the league away, but I had to take my memory back to 2001when United were down 3-0 at half time and won the game 5-3, and to last season against Everton, when they were 2-0 down at half time and came back to win 4-2. To go in at half time, losing 2-0, I had had enough! United played fairly well, I think they were unfortunate to be losing by such a deficit, but what the hell did Sir Alex Ferguson say in that dressing room, because what came out was a monster!

The penalty, I think was a good call, Gomez touched the ball with his fingertips, and if Carrick had not jumped, would have been taken out pretty damn hard, some may say this changed the Game, I think not. United do not destroy a team by 5 goals because of one penalty! They were unbelievable, and if they can continue that form, Arsenal is in trouble on Wednesday in the Champions League. If people think Barcelona are the best, and a great team they are, if Man Utd can play like that and play them in Champions League final like that performance, Barcelona are done!

One thing about being a Man Utd supporter, it is the toughest hobby in the world. Yes they win a lot of trophies, but they keep you guessing until the end, and they can make any grown man cry and on Saturday I came close!

By Eric Fulton

Its snowing now, but thankfully it was nice enough to get in your games this weekend. Here’s how the FC Denver teams did:

FC Denver Premier: Tied 2-2 against one of the top teams in the state.

FC Denver Reserve: Lost 3-4

FC Denver Green: Won 4-1

FC Denver White: Lost by a few goals

FC Denver Silver: Barely lost 1-2 against a good Kickers Select team. They were winning until they got a red card and went a player down.

FC Denver Masters: They got a tie (2-2) when two of the top teams in the division dueled it out.

FC Denver Women: No game.

AND good luck to all of our Indoor teams playing tonight and tomorrow night, especially our women’s indoor team that plays on Tuesday night at Bladium, as they are in the playoffs!!!

By: Zach Utsler

Soccer is a wonderful sport that immediately brings to mind a healthy competition comprised of skill and determination. Unfortunately, the Beautiful game is not always so beautiful.  Throughout the world there are several cases where racism and prejudice tarnish its’ luster.  Not all of us in the U.S. are aware of the scope this subject heeds so to get a little background you can check out this link or do a little googling yourself there are even some decent videos on youtube. Racism in Football

There have been numerous campaigns, sanctions, and fines that have been applied in an attempt to curb the problem.  Yet, the issue still exists.  Most recently in Italy, Juventus was ordered to play their next home game closed off to spectators for alleged racist chants from their fans towards Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli.  This has spawned a new idea from the UEFA president Michel Platini, which he introduced just a couple days ago.  His suggestion is to give referees during a match the power to stop the game for up to 10 minutes and if the misconduct in the stands is not controlled then the game can be ended.  This seems to be a pretty bold idea and I’m sure it will be met with a fair share of praise and opposition.

It is certainly a sensitive issue and as I mentioned before there have been many attempts to figure out how best to handle it.  Personally, I do believe that there needs to be stricter punishment for these situations whether it has an affect on the team, organization, tv broadcasters, or not.  I’m hard pressed to think of a plan that would only punish the fan base, because they are such a large part of what makes an organization thrive. There really is no place for such cruelty in the game or outside of it for that matter.  I think there is a big difference between taunting an opposing team and singling out a player/players because of race, religion, or creed. Heck! Whatever happened to just cheering for your own side?

Let’s take a poll!

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Spout off:

I’m sure some of you have ideas about what can be done to curb this issue.  Maybe just adding something to what UEFA is discussing now.  Let us know what you think.

by: Chris Lobkovich

This week, we are going to shift gears a little bit and not lay waste to something absurd in the soccer world.  Instead, I would like to comment on a special event that is happening this week.  That’s right.  I am of course talking about Eric Fulton, our fearless leader, becoming eligible to play in the old farts league.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUCKA!

That’s right, the big 3-0. Don’t feel bad, from what I understand, it happens to the best of us at some point!

And I would also like to take this opportunity, to bring to light and thank Eric for all the hard work he does running the club and providing us with such a fantastic environment to play soccer in.  I’d be willing to guess that in any given week Eric logs about twenty or so planning practices, recruiting players, talking shit about your MLS fantasy squad and all the other stuff that goes along with running the club.  It is no easy task keeping us bums in line!

Thanks for all your hard work and dedication and again,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Stephen Harries provides insight on 4 teams that are talking the talk but not walking the walk.

By: Stephen Harries

The past ten years has seen the English Premier League grow into the most lucrative, most marketed, and strongest football league in the world. The league is doing what La Liga and Serie A did in the 80’s and 90’s, attracting the best players in the world. It is being watched in almost every country in the world; English teams are dominating in the Champions League, and have provided some thrilling action in the process.

But I have to wonder, has some complacency crept into the English Premier League?

I am starting to think so! I look at teams like Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and, after a successful season last year, Portsmouth. Personally, I feel these teams should be somewhat ashamed of their performances in the league and in the UEFA Cup.  Three of the four teams (except Tottenham who finished 11^th) finished in the top ten last year. Each team, qualified for Europe; Tottenham by winning the League Cup and Portsmouth by winning the FA Cup, and all spoke at the start of the season about “how they were a team that can challenge the top four and get into the Champions League.”

Where is the challenge?

The top four teams are a great example of setting their expectations and playing to these expectations, anything else is failure. If these teams are to break into the top four they need to be prepared

Starting with Aston Villa, a team that I have always respected, a team that has a great owner and a great manager, I love what O’Neill has done. I hoped that Villa were the team that would break into the top four. However, their conduct in the UEFA Cup was appalling! Last season they wanted to be in Europe, they get into Europe, and then field a weak team and crash out of Europe believing that 4^th in the league is far more important.

I can understand this, but again they find themselves adrift of the pack in 5^th, with Everton two behind and chasing hard in 6^th. I think that the quest for trophies and the prize money for coming fifth and winning the UEFA Cup could go a long way to building an even better squad that is able to maintain that top four challenge and get them to the Champions League.

We move on to Tottenham, who are a joke! They spend millions, struggle in the league, sack their manager and hire a mid table manager, the wheeler-dealer himself Harry Redknapp. They have a good run under him, which has steadied out, and shown Tottenham for what they really are, a mid table team.

These teams were shouting how they were going to dislodge Arsenal or Liverpool to be in the top four; that they would easily qualify for the Champions League; and they would be the team to challenge on all fronts.  Good job doing that!

Under Martin Jol Tottenham could have been a top four team, under Redknapp they will be a top ten team!

All of last season, Tottenham wanted to qualify for Europe, they did so winning the league cup and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. They played okay, moving into the second stage, where they decided that the league is far more important and go out.  But straight away Mr. Redknapp is saying how important it is to again qualify for Europe!

If it was such a priority to the success of the club, why did they throw it away?

Then we come to Manchester City, a club who has been up and down for 15 years. Three years ago they were purchased by a crook, sacked a manager who brought stability to the club, and then, last summer, were purchased by a mega rich oil family and hire one of the best up and coming managers around.  Yet they have struggled all season for consistency.

As soon as this deal to purchase the club went through and the purchase of Robinho, Man City believed they were a top club.  A club needs time to build for success, Man Ute have done this, Chelsea has done this, and Arsenal has done this. Man City is looking to splash huge amounts of money, basically buying the title. Blackburn Rovers did this in 1995, and today, remain the only club outside of Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal to have won the Premiership. Man City needs to look at Blackburn and realize that they have not challenged for major honors since. Man City need to build a team over the course of two to three years, and then success will come.

Lastly, Portsmouth have had season they can forget, struggling throughout.  Portsmouth came sixth last season, qualified for the UEFA Cup with an FA Cup win, but did not really try in Europe as they were focused on league survival. They were a team that expected to be in the top six, and expected to be challenging for all honors by fans and league followers; but instead have found themselves in the battle to avoid relegation. Yes they have financial problems, but so do West Ham and Fulham, and look where they are positioned in the league.

Their pre-season predictions, their performances in Europe and the league only show that these clubs still have a lot of work to do before they become successful.  They have shown some delusions of grandeur rather than the grit and determination to challenge and succeed in dislodging the big boys.

It is great to set expectations, but these clubs need to be realistic. Everton are a great example, they understand what they want to achieve.  They go about their business in almost a stealth manner, being the team that has challenged the top four for a couple of years now!

If these teams are to succeed, they need to start believing in what the say, and start performing on the field, not performing against the top clubs and being dismantled by the bottom clubs. A team is only as good as their results and what the league position indicates.

Congratulations to Chelsea and Everton on reaching the FA Cup final! I hope Everton win, the club and David Moyes deserve it!

The US U17 team kicked off their the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Tijuana yesterday by dismantling Cuba 5-0.  US forward and Georgia native, Jack McInerney, scored two goals and provided two assists in the victory.  Luis Gil added a goal and two assists, Stefan Jerome and Sebastian Lletget rounded off the scoring.

The US started off tenatively but were able to break the deadlock in the 31st minute.  Both teams were playing at a furious pace as both teams looke for the early lead.  The US had the best chance early on as McInerney hit the post in 4th minute.  The US began to take control of the game but it didn’t look like it would by McInerney’s day as he hit the post twice.  Fortunately, the ball rebounded off the post into the path of Stefan Jerome for a simple tap in finish.

Minutes later Jerome drew a foul down the left wing. Luis Gil stepped up to take the freekick and drilled a ball into the box that McInerney buried into the back of the net with a powerful header. Lletget rounded off the first half scoring after he collected a rebound near the PK spot.  He brought it down turned and curled a beautiful ball into the corner of the goal.  The US went into the half 3-0.

Shortly after the break, the US was back to scoring.  Luis Gil carried the ball into the 18 yard box and slipped a pass to McInerney for the 4th goal of the day.  Gil got one of his own in the 63rd minute.  He ran onto a diagonal ball from the midfield and dribbled into the box.  With the goalie out of position McInerney took an errant touch that fell back to the feet of Gil for an easy tap in.  The game ended 5-0.

STATS:

Scoring Summary: 1   2    F
USA                              3   2    5
CUB                              0   0   0

USA - Stefan Jerome (Jack McInerney)    31st minute
USA - Jack McInerney (Luis Gil)                 34
USA - Sebastian Lletget                              40
USA - Jack McInerney (Luis Gil)                  48
USA - Luis Gil (Jack McInerney)                 63

Lineup:

1-Earl Edwards

3-Tyler Polak   6-Jared Watts   2-Eriq Zavaleta   4-Perry Kitchen

8-Alex Shinksy   5-Marlon Duran   20-Sebastian Lletget   10-Luis Gil

7-Stefan Jerome    9-Jack McInerney

Subbed: Martinez for Shinksy in 64^th, Gyau for Lletget in 70^th, Craven for Jerome in 75^th

Subs not used: 11-Dustin Corea, 14-Zachary Herold, 17-Juan Agudelo, 18-Spencer Richey,
Subs not available: Emilio Orozco, Nicholas Palodichuk
Head Coach: Wilmer Cabrera

Notes:

Luis Gil is the youngest member of this U17 group.

McInerney has scored 6 goals in 5 games this year. Bringing his career total to 13 goals in 21 games.

Charles Renken, one of the U17 stars, is not on the roster due to a knee injury.  Lletget took his place in the midfield.

Carlos Martinez was kicked off the U17’s about a year ago but has been fully reinstated. He played 25 minutes and should working his way back into the starting lineup.

Cuba recently beat Mexico 2-0.

Check out the videos here: Soccer by Ives

By Eric Fulton

The Spring Men’s 11v11 Indoor League at the Foothills Indoor  Arena kicked off last night with 3 of our mens teams participating. Not only do we have 3 of our men’s teams in the league, but all of our men’s teams are represented by players on the squads. Our very own FC Denver Green Team won the Season-record Championship last season.

Here’s the results from last nights action:

FC Denver White vs. First Bank: 2-2; Our boys battled in a fiercely compettive game and got a tie. Good to get a result.

FC Denver Green vs. Happy Feet: 1-0; Our boys only had 10 men and got the result by playing smart counterattacking soccer. The team relied on the will and passion of the backline and the skill and elusiveness of their attackers.

FC Denver Premier vs. Corrosion: 6-1; Our Premier groups first game at Foothills was a good one. The guys displayed aggressive defense and  sharp passing to easily dismantle their opponents.

Our Coed Team, FC Denver ALPHA, kicks off their season tonight. Good Luck to them!

By Eric Fulton

All of our soccer teams had the week off because of the Denver snow-storm, EXCEPT for our MASTERS Team. They played yesterday on the artificial turf field at Dicks Sporting Goods Park. They dominated their opponent in a 5-0 rout. Each of the 5 goals was scored with a different goalscorer.

Congrats to the MASTERS Team on their 2-0 start to the season, and we’ll be looking for many more successful games to come.

Cheers!!!

By: Zach Utsler

Serie A

I’m sure all of you are still buzzing about the Champions league matches this week, definitely had some thrillers there!  Heading into the weekend there shouldn’t be much of a slowdown.  The top two teams in Italy will have it out on Saturday the 18^th when Juventus host’s Inter Milan.  Inter has a large 10 point lead sitting at the top of the table, but, Juve holds on to second just 2 points above AC Milan.  They will be out to topple the Milan giants and secure a spot near the top with only 7 rounds left.  I can’t lie if I were playing for Juve I’d want to win just to stick one to the Inter manger Mourinho  a.k.a. the “special one.”

I did my best to find out when and what channel the game will be on.  For those of you lucky enough to have Fox Soccer Channel at home it appears the game will be on at 12:30pm.  If not and you can get out of the house through the piles of snow we are supposed to be getting I found on the British Bulldog website they will be airing the game at the same time.  You can always call your favorite pub beforehand and ask if they have FSC.  Enjoy the match!

La Liga

There is a much tighter race for first place in the Spanish league with Barcelona only 6 points above Real Madrid.  Real has been able to keep pace by winning 14 of their last 16 matches and are in really good form at the moment.  Los Blancos should be able to gain an easy 3 points this weekend with a win over Recreativo, a side that has lost their last 5 games.  Barca on the other hand, could have some difficulty gaining all 3 points against 14^th placed Getafe who is running hot after a big away win over 3^rd placed Sevilla last weekend.  I like it when at team can make a comeback during the second half of a season to win the title and Madrid definitely have the drive to do so….. But, Barcelona has the chance to do something even greater!  It is my understanding that no La Liga side has ever been able to capture the treble (League, Champions League, Copa Del Rey) so that would be a spectacular feat!  Thus, I have to wish the best for the Catalan side.  Go Barca!

Looks like your best chance at catching either of the games I mentioned above will be on GOLTV.  Getafe Vs. Barca 12pm on Saturday and Recreativo Vs. Real 3pm Sunday.

Our resident Brit chimes in this week with an insightful look at the top managers in the EPL.

By: Stephen Harries

Each week I will be looking at different elements of the Premiership: profiling teams, managers, and looking at results and how they are shaping the final weeks of the EPL.

This week, I want to look at three British managers who have done wonderful things with their clubs and should seriously be considered EPL managers of the year.

At the start of the season, three teams were expected to struggle, yet, they have been playing out of their skins, and find themselves sitting comfortably within the top ten, actually sitting 10^th, 8^th and 6^th.  These teams are Fulham, Wigan Athletic, and Everton.

Sitting pretty in 10th is Wigan Athletic. Wigan is a team that is fairly new to Premiership life, but has proven to be an ultimate survivor. A year ago Wigan was a team facing relegation, until a former defensive stalwart, and a fantastic manager, Steve Bruce became their manager. As a player Bruce was brilliant, he was the foundation that Sir Alex Ferguson built Man Utd’s dominance upon.

When Paul Jewell left, Chris Hutchinson turned a difficult to play against team into a total disaster. Causing Wigan to fall into the relegation zone, and once there, looked as though they would be a team that could be set for the drop until the arrival of Steve Bruce.

Bruce left Birmingham and turned Wigan around immediately. They rose from the relegation zone and survived a nightmare season. At Birmingham Bruce built a team that was hard to beat, and could get a result against any team, becoming the master of the 1-1 draw. At Wigan, he brought the same style of play, often defensive, and at times attacking, but they play with determination and commitment. Bruce has helped Wigan rise into a safe position, competing for a European place in the newly formed Europa League, which is a vast improvement from last season.

Another team punching above their weight and sitting in 8^th is Fulham.  Fulham is a team that I, and possibly many others felt would struggle with relegation. Lennie Lawrence was a disaster, turning an okay team into a horrible team, and when Roy Hodgson took the manager position last season, he did a remarkable job avoiding relegation from the EPL on the final day. Much has been said of Roy Hodgson, who really does have a good resume, coaching teams such as Inter Milan, and almost guided Finland to the World Cup in 2006.

When he came to Fulham, many spoke of his ability that he was a great tactician, and this was shown during last season, when he took on a job and a team that was quite frankly “shocking.” He has purchased well and sold well, and has Fulham playing with belief, and at home, they are a hard team to beat. Yes, they have struggled for goals away from home, but if they can purchase a natural goal scorer to play alongside Andy Johnson, Erik Nevland and Bobby Zamora, Fulham have the chance of being a very good top eight EPL team.

Hodgson deserves a lot of praise and recognition for their transformation, without him, they would be struggling in the Championship. Roy Hodgson really needs to be considered as one of the candidates for manager of the year.

Lastly, Everton, a team that has been a consistent performer under David Moyes, has proven that they are a good team yet again. What can I say about David Moyes . . . the third best manager in the EPL, I certainly think so!

What he has done at Everton has been something short of magical. Throughout his seven years at Everton, which currently makes him the third longest serving EPL manager, Arsene Wenger, and Fergie are the other two, has built a very competitive team out of nothing. Everton are a big club, and enjoyed a lot of success in the 70’s and 80’s, but in the 90’s fell from grace, until Moyes came to the club.

Moyes introduced Wayne Rooney to the EPL, kept hold of the Brilliant duo of Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, two players who would compliment the world’s best teams. Additionally, he has helped Tim Howard to become the keeper we all knew that he was, a very talented shot stopper, and had Ferguson given him more of a chance he would be United’s No1. Also, Moyes has made Lescott and Jagielka into one of the best central defensive pairings in the EPL. With little money and a small squad, Moyes has built a wonderful competitive team that challenges for the top 4 each year, and always finishes high on the table.

For me, Moyes is the manager to replace Fergie at Old Trafford or, should Guus Hiddink leave Chelsea at the end of season, is the prime manager for that job. Imagine what he can do with millions at his disposal.

Out of the three managers, David Moyes is my candidate for the EPL manager of the year.