The Arsenal v. Manchester United match up is always an entertaining affair and this edition didn’t disappoint. Both sides attacked bravely but Manchester had more conviction.  For all of Arsenal’s quick passing and flashy dribbling they lacked the substance needed to beat an inform Manchester United side.  United had the basics down, defend with all 11, win the ball, attack with the flank players, and put the ball in the net.  Arsenal, specifically Arshavin and Fabergas, played brilliantly but failed to finish their chances.  Much credit is due to United’s defense who made Arsenal’s attackers uncomfortable for all 90 minutes.

Nani was inspired today and Rooney is still in fine form.  Arshavin got the best of Brown but the United backline as a unit was solid.  Arsenal edged United in possession and shots, but United made every opportunity count.  That is the difference between the two sides.

Arsenal doesn’t have the grit to be champions and that saddens me as an Arsenal supporter.

Eddie Johnson scored his first goal for Aris in their 2-1 loss to Xanthi in league play.   Adu came on in the 64th minute  and found Eddie Johnson off a beautiful long ball for the consolation goal in the 90th minute.

Eddie’s goal is at the 2:10 mark:

What do you think about the goal and pass?  Do you think this might have been the right the decision for both players or are you still not convinced?

Robinho to Santos

Manchester City has agreed to loan Robinho to Brazilian side Santos.  The loan spell will begin immediately and end August 4th.  Santos has agreed to pay all of Robinho’s wages and bonuses.  Roberto Mancini had this to say about the move:

“Robinho is someone who needs to be playing regularly and we wish him well for the period of his loan.”

I think this move is fantastic for Robinho and the Brazilian national team.  The European game has spoiled some of Robinho’s magic.  Hopefully he’ll remember how to play during his time with Santos.

Cooper to Plymouth?

Kenny Cooper’s time at 1860 Munich looks over.  It sounds like a disagreement over playing time has forced the club to loan out the American striker. Reports have linked him to a loan deal at English Championship side Plymouth.  Cooper needs playing time and I don’t blame him for looking elsewhere for that opportunity.  The officials at Plymouth have said nothing is confirmed yet.

Giovani Dos Santos to  Galatasaray

Mexican forward Dos Santos is making a loan move to Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray after failing to impress at Tottenham.  Giovani joined Tottenham from Barcelona in 2008/2009 but failed to earn a regular spot and was loaned out to Ipswich Town.  The Mexican striker once again has failed to earn minutes and is being sent out on loan.

Eidur Gudjohnsen to Tottenham

The former Chelsea and Barcelona attacking midfielder is making a loan move to Tottenham.  Gudjohnsen joined Monaco in the summer and has made 11 appearances for the French Club.  Gudjohnsen was offered an identical contract by West Ham United and underwent a medical with club.  Tottenham swooped in and took the player from under West Ham’s nose.  West Ham co-owner had this to say:

“We thought we had a deal and the player had even had a medical,” West ham co-owner David Sullivan told the BBC earlier this week. “We then heard that Tottenham were trying to speak to the player.

“I can’t say I am happy about it but I believe in karma and what goes around, comes around.”

The newest Rapids supporters group, Bulldog Supporter’s Club, is having their first get together/dinner this coming Saturday.   Rapids Head Coach Gary Smith and Assistant Coach Steve Guppy will be in attendance to answer fans questions.  The coaching staff will be joined by Colin Clark and Kosuke Kimura. If you aren’t into the whole supporters group thing, this might still be interesting to attend just to get some questions answered.

Here is the event info:

Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010

Time: 6pm-9pm

Location: British Bulldog

Address: 2052 Stout St, Denver, CO 80205

Website: http://www.bulldogsupporters.com/

Other Rapids news:

• Rapids season opener against Chivas has been moved to Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 8:30pm Mountain.
• Rapids will play a charity shield match Friday, March 19th at 7pm.  Tickets are $10-20 and the money will go to help Haiti.

Landon Donovan scored his first goal for Everton in Everton’s 2-0 victory over Sunderland.  Donovan’s goal was well taken and hopefully this is the first of many.  Tim Howard was spectacular in goal and should get the credit he deserves for keeping the shutout.

Everton faces Wigan this Saturday before they face a very difficult February schedule.  They’ll have back to back games against Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham.  This is his time to shine, a couple  goals in these matches and Donovan might not come back to MLS.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Share your thoughts on Donovan’s goal and his overall performance in England.

Qualifying is over and the January training camp is behind us. The pool of players has shrunk considerably over the last 6-8 months. Every player is working very hard to make this roster and there are plenty of skilled players that won’t get the call. With less than 6 months until the World Cup, Bradley has some tough choices to make.  For some of these players, making the World Cup roster will depend more on luck than actual skill. Injuries, lack of playing time, and tactical decisions (taking 4 forwards instead of 3, etc) will determine many players fate.

Below I take a look at the players who are in the picture for a spot on the World Cup roster. I changed the format of the list from previous editions. The first group consists of players who would be on a plane to South Africa if the World Cup started next week.  The second list consists of players who are at the gate hoping they get called to board. Why did I do it this way? If I just picked the best 23 players who are very likely to be at the World Cup, then I wouldn’t have much to write about.  By doing it this way I can analyze the evolution of the roster.

23 Tickets:

Goalkeepers (3):

Tim Howard: Playing well and the best America goalkeeper.

Brad Guzan: I think it will be safe to say that he is the second best keeper in the US.

Troy Perkins: Right now it’s his spot to lose. I’d like to see Kasey Keller here though.

Defenders (8):

Carlos Bocanegra: The captain, but is struggling to get minutes at the moment.

Steve Cherundolo: A veteran and is playing again for Hannover.

Jonathan Spector: In competition with Cherundolo for starting right back.

Frankie Hejduk: He’s reliable but might make way when players get healthy.

Jonathan Bornstein: A step above the other options at left back, but still needs to step up his game a little

Jay Demerit: Fully fit again and playing well for Watford.

Chad Marshall: When Gooch went down, Marshall’s stock went up

Clarence Goodson: Once everyone is healthy, it will be between Marshall and Goodson for the last centerback spot.

Midfielders (8):

Michael Bradley: Tireless player, and should wear the captain’s armband some day.

Benny Feilhaber: A good utility player that doesn’t look like a starter at any position. If everyone gets healthy he might be the odd man out.

Ricardo Clark: Signed in Germany and will likely come off the bench in South Africa

Stuart Holden: Signed with Bolton, if he gets minutes early he’ll be on the roster.

Jose Francisco Torres: Skilled and composed player. The fact he can play on the left raises his stock.

Sacha Kljestan: He’s lucky everyone is hurt. He’ll be the first to get dropped.

Robbie Rogers: I honestly prefer Beasley on the left . . . that’s sad. He’ll watch the World Cup on TV with Kljestan.

Kyle Beckerman: At the very bottom of the center-mid pool, but Bradley keeps calling him so he is at least in the mix.  Will likely get replaced by Edu or Jones.

Forwards (4):

Landon Donovan: Best American field player, doing well at Everton

Jozy Altidore: Has lost some time because of the tragedy in Haiti, but was getting a lot of minutes at Hull before that.

Brian Ching: Best target forward in the bunch.

Conor Casey: He is the second best target forward in the group and might get a shot because there aren’t better options.

On Standby: These are guys that are the closest to getting a spot on the final roster.  The players in this group fall into 3 basic categories: 1) the players that are very, very likely to be on the final roster once they are healthy; 2) the players that are back-ups if any of the top 23 guys has an injury or sudden drastic drop in form; and, finally, 3) the unknown commodity that looks promising.

The very likely to be on the final roster:

Oguchi Onyewu: Should be back with Milan soon, we’ll see if he gets back into form.

Clint Dempsey: Injury not severe, but no timetable set for return.

Charlie Davies: Recent updates suggest he’ll be back on the field for Sochaux in April.

If these three are healthy and fit, they’ll be at the World Cup. Gooch is the closest to getting back on the field. Dempsey doesn’t need surgery for his injury but is just waiting to see how long it will take him to heal.  Davies is the least likely to be back in time but so far his rehab has been extremely promising.

The back-ups:

Kenny Cooper: Back from injury but needs to start scoring goals

DaMarcus Beasley: Looking good for Rangers . . . but injured again

Maurice Edu: Finally back from injury and Bradley stated he still has a shot.

Marvel Wynne: Bradley is probably hoping Wynne learns to defend in the next 6 months.

Heath Pearce: Still sucks, but we don’t have many options at left back.

Jimmy Conrad: A World Cup veteran, but a concussion and an early red card in his last two games with the national team doesn’t speak well for the defender.

Eddie Johnson: At Aris now and is slowly earning minutes.

These back-ups fall into two categories: 1) the players that are in control of their own fate (Beasley, Edu, Wynne, and Cooper); and 2) the players that are waiting for someone to get hurt. The players in the first group can still play themselves onto the roster if they get back into form. The rest of the players (Pearce, Johnson, and Conrad) are just waiting to see if they are needed. I think the players in the second group will be soon joined by Kljestan, Rogers, Marshall, Casey, and Beckerman.

The unknown commodity:

Edgar Castillo: Very real possibility of being on the roster, will likely join the next camp.

Alejandro Bedoya: Good debut for the national team and we aren’t deep at left mid.

Jermaine Jones: Still injured and a long-shot at the moment to make the roster

We got our first glimpse of Bedoya this weekend and he looked worthy of another shot. Unlike some of the other new faces, Bedoya could really fill a void on the left side of midfield. He can also play centrally as a playmaker. Jones hasn’t touched a ball in a while and is in a race against the clock to get fit.  Right now, most people have him on their roster as one of the top 23 players, but realistically no one has ever seen him play with a US jersey on so he’s still an unknown.  Castillo made a short cameo appearance last month.  He has been tearing up the Mexican League and is likely a serious contender for a spot at left back.  We still need to see how he performs on the international stage before he becomes a lock.

Let me know who you think should be on the final roster.

Ives Galarcep at Soccerbyives.net and ESPN wrote a piece for ESPN on Charlie Davies’ remarkable recovery.  Davies isn’t over his injuries just yet, but his recovery up to this point has been nothing short of amazing.  Here are couple of excerpts from the article: Davies on a remarkable path to recovery

Less than four months after the crash that threatened to end his promising career, Davies is already jogging at a good rate and working on agility drills that would have seemed impossible just weeks earlier, when simply getting out of a wheelchair was an exhausting exercise.

“Charlie is pretty much light years ahead of where anybody would tell you he should be,” said Jim Hashimoto, the former U.S. national team trainer who is overseeing Davies rehabilitation.

“That’s what’s been driving me this whole time,” Davies said. “I’ve been looking at Web sites the whole time and they’re always saying, ‘We need to find a replacement for Charlie. We need to find someone because he’s not going to be back.’

“These people don’t know,” Davies said. “They don’t know me, and if they just knew me alone, let alone the determination and will I have now, you guys don’t know.

The entire article is fantastic and Ives even had a chance to talk to Oguchi Onyewu who is rehabbing alongside Davies.  Ives couldn’t fit everything into his ESPN article so he posted some other quotes on his blog found here, More on Davies Road to Recovery. Here are some excerpts from that blog post:

“I don’t want to just come back and be able just to play, and I didn’t want to be back and be the same person I was. I want to come back and be better. I want to build on the last Confederations Cup, where I was really able to show Coach Bradley and the players that I’m ready and can play at this level. Now, I want to be a player that people are watching out for.”

“I’ve definitely changed. I still feel like I’m going to be the outgoing, easy-going guy that I’ve always been, but I’ve definitely become more religious. Appreciate life much more than I did before.”

Davies is a fighter and I always believed he’d make a full recovery from this accident, but I have to admit that I never expected him to be this far along so soon. Give the articles a read and let me know what you think.

Robinho has told Radio Bandeirantes that he isn’t happy at City and is likely heading back to Brazil.  Robinho is unhappy with his lack of playing time and would like to get more minutes since it is a World Cup year.  Speculation of Robinho leaving the Eastlands have been circling for several months but it is likely that last weekends game against Everton cemented his decision to leave.  Robinho experienced the indignity of being subbed in against Everton and subsequently subbed off.

Robinho has stated that he will return to Brazilian side Santos on loan, the club that gave him his start.  Robinho came up through their youth system and made over 100 appearances for Santos before being sold to Real Madrid in 2005.  Robinho’s return to Santos is good news for New York Red Bulls supporters as they are scheduled to play a friendly on March 20 to christen the newly built Red Bull Arena.

Robinho will join a host of superstar Brazilian players that have already returned to Brazil, including Ronald, Roberto Carlos, and Adriano. The Brazilian season just started and Santos currently sits in 5th.

Not the best way to start a World Cup year, but we can recover.  The night started off poorly when Jimmy Conrad was sent off for second yellow card in the 17th minute.  Losing a key defender so early was tough for the US.  It took almost until the half to regroup.  Honduras was already up 2-0 by then.

In the second half Coach Bradley inserted Clarence Goodson and pulled the ineffective Jeff Cunningham.  The team looked more secure in the back but still let one more in off some nifty passing from the Honduras side.  Goodson pulled one back for the US off a corner kick. The US centerback crushed the goalkeeper to get to the ball for the US’s lone tally.

Plenty of players got playing time in this match and most got a big reality check. Here are my thoughts on the game:

The Good:

1. Newcomers played with confidence: I thought both Dax and Bedoya looked confident and energetic when they came in.  They didn’t do everything right but they looked willing to take chances and step up to the level of play.  That is a good sign.
2. Robbie Rogers blast: around the 50th minute Rogers hit a beautiful 30 yard shot from the left side that had the goalkeeper beat but ricochet off the post.
3. Marvel Wynne’s speed: the guy is fast, like silly out of this world fast. When he fit full stride to chase down attackers the looked like he was on another level.  He also got up the line well using his speed to make space for crosses.
4. Bornstein stepping up: When Conrad got red carded Bornstein stepped up and did his best to keep things tidy.
5. Goodson crushing the goalkeeper: Goodson’s goal at least let Coach Bradley know that he wants it.  He absolutely plowed through the Honduran goalkeeper to get the ball and played with the same tenacity all night.  He was picking fights all over the field.  I like it!!!

The Bad:

1. The veterans: Maybe veterans isn’t the right word, but the more experienced players didn’t play well.  Feilhaber, Pearce, and Conrad are the only players to have 20+ caps and none of them showed up today.  Conrad’s early red card was a disaster (and questionable). Feilhaber was invisible and Pearce didn’t get one right all night.  The only 20+ guy to have a good night was Bornstein.
2. Overall defending: Wynne’s speed is impressive but his defending needs to get better, too many missed pokes forcing him to chase down attackers.  Goodson and Marshall never took control of the middle.  Bornstein did what he could but its tough to defend when the unit is weak.  Beckerman didn’t give them much cover either.  There were plenty of times when the Honduras attack faced a flat line of 4 defenders with no defensive mid even close breaking up the play.
3. Cunningham: Maybe he doesn’t want to go to the World Cup.  He looked slow and disinterested.
4. Findley: Poor passes all over the place and no ability to beat defenders on the dribble.  He was more active  than Cunningham but looked out of his league.
5. The So Cal kids: Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan didn’t look good.  You’d think playing in front of their friends and family would inspire them.  Kljestan was more of the same.  He looked like the same player that stopped getting called to the national team 6 months ago.  Rogers just isn’t good.  He comes up with some plays from time to time, but he looks so stiff and one dimensional that he doesn’t even look like a soccer player.  He needs to learn some new tricks, the good news is that he’ll still be a contender when 2014 rolls around.

Perkins wasn’t good or bad in my opinion.  He did well with the stuff he could handle, but he did get beat 3 times.  Same with Conor Casey.  He was more active and looked more comfortable with the ball than either Findley or Cunningham.  But he was just as ineffective.  I wouldn’t quite put him the good category but he wasn’t bad in comparison. Beckerman made good decisions with the ball even if he wasn’t breaking up plays adequately.

So there are my thoughts on the match.  I hate watching the US lose but I think this let some players know where they need to be if they ever want to go to a World Cup.

Hello!

We are very excited about the upcoming Spring outdoor season. This upcoming February marks our 4 year anniversary since the inception of the club and we’ve got plenty to be excited about moving forward.

Our Spring new-player Tryouts will be held on Sunday February 14th at a location in the Denver City Limits (we are still finalizing field details). The Tryouts will likely be from 10am-Noon, but times may be adjusted slightly as we get closer to this date. If the weather is inclement, we will reschedule til the following Sunday. To keep up-todate on the clubs plans for the upcoming season and exact details of the Club Tryouts, please email Eric Fulton at efulton@fcdenver.org to get put on our email list.

We will also have a drop-in informal scrimmage the weekend before the tryouts that you can attend to meet myself and other FC Denver management and players and  to ask questions. We highly advise attending both, if possible, as the more we see you and get to know you, the better the likelihood that you’ll make an upcoming team.

Until then, cheers!

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Eric Fulton
Futbol Club Denver
fcdenver.org/blog