The Soccer thread (Part II)

[Inky_Wretch]

We hit 109 pages on the other one, time for a new one.

 

[ServeItUp]

Wish I could have seen more of Beckham's debut. My co-workers wanted to watch minor-league auto racing.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Becks drew a record MLS viewership to ESPN ...

NEW YORK (AP) — David Beckham’s brief appearance in his first game with the Los Angeles Galaxy was enough to draw a record ESPN audience for a game involving a Major League Soccer team.
Saturday night’s exhibition match between the Galaxy and Chelsea on ESPN earned a 1.0 rating and was watched by about 1,468,000 people. MLS’s debut game between D.C. United and the San Jose Clash in 1996 also drew a 1.0 rating. It was watched by about 1,092,000 people.
Beckham, hobbled by an ankle injury, played the final 12 minutes plus four minutes of stoppage time in the Galaxy’s 1-0 loss.
The rating means that approximately 1 percent of homes with ESPN tuned in to the game.

 

[Pastor]

It absolutely is time for a new one...

Okay, so midway through the MLS season, RBNY is again tied for first (although they have played less games). Jozy is back in the fold. I doubt Arena will do it, but I would love to see Jozy and Angel playing up front together against Chivas.

 

[Twoback]

Personally, I think you're running way from the challenge of the 109-page thread like Landon ran away from the Bundesliga.

 

[Webster]

Shaping up as a great playoff race -- it is a very fine line between first in the East or missing the playoffs

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Personally, I think you're running way from the challenge of the 109-page thread like Landon ran away from the Bundesliga.

I prefer to look at it as warming up for the 2007-08 EPL season.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I kind of liked that the soccer thread had reached so many pages. It showed a nice presence, and a good middle finger to those who live to bash the game.

But as long as there's someplace to discuss the gam, I'm cool with that.

Continuing with the Adu discussion: $2.5 million is a bit too little, $7.5 is way too much. Dude didn't dominate the U-20 tournament, he had one great game and another pretty good one in which he created the winning chance. He was nowhere in the elimination games.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Why are EPL jerseys so damned expensive? Are we getting screwed on the exchange rate with England?

And what happened to the Unicef logo on Barca's jersey? The new 07/08 kit doesn't have it.

 

[Beaker]

Speaking of, any recommendations on a good website for buying EPL jerseys?

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I'm looking at these sites...

http://www.worldsoccershop.com/
http://www.onionbag.com/

 

[Beaker]

I'm looking at these sites...

http://www.worldsoccershop.com/
http://www.onionbag.com/

Thanks. I shall check them out.

 

[Angola!]

I don't like when he rips on his younger teammates like after the Guatemala game, saying they need to step up, and those are the guys who are sticking it out in Europe.

Norrin - I don't know which stories you read about this game, but during the interview it sure seemed like Donovan wasn't ripping the younger guys for not trying hard just that they needed to learn how to play in games where the opponent packs in the defense and is willing to settle for a draw, which is what happened in the friendly with Guatemala.

 

[Beaker]

I don't like when he rips on his younger teammates like after the Guatemala game, saying they need to step up, and those are the guys who are sticking it out in Europe.

Norrin - I don't know which stories you read about this game, but during the interview it sure seemed like Donovan wasn't ripping the younger guys for not trying hard just that they needed to learn how to play in games where the opponent packs in the defense and is willing to settle for a draw, which is what happened in the friendly with Guatemala.

I don't think Donovan was explicitly ripping his teammates, but yeah, it would be nice for him to go take another shot at Europe with some of those same younger teammates. But if he really wants to say in California w/his family, can't say I blame him.

 

[TrooperBari]

Shirts: The people at Subside Sports always took good care of me. If you believe now ex-Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, shirts cost so much because fans are dumb and they'll pay whatever you ask.

http://www.subsidesports.com/uk/store/index.jsp

----------------

Adu: How about this story, which just floated across the wire:

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Freddy Adu will be playing in Major League Soccer for at least a little while longer.
Major League Soccer and Benfica reached an agreement on a $2 million transfer fee for the 18-year-old American, but Adu and the Portuguese club could not work out contract terms, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
FIFA’s transfer deadline is Aug. 31, meaning a deal still could be resurrected.
Richard Motzkin, Adu’s agent, declined comment.
Adu was to play for Real Salt Lake on Tuesday night in an exhibition game against Argentina’s Boca Juniors after missing more than a month with his club while he captained the U.S. team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Adu had three goals and four assists as the Americans went 3-1-1 in the tournament.
RSL director of soccer operations John Ellinger, who has been coaching Adu since he was 12, said although the first round of negotiations fell through, talks with Benfica was not finished.
“I know Freddy has called his agent and said ’It’s still open. Don’t let this get off the table.’ It’s still a real possibility,” Ellinger said before Tuesday’s game. “As a club, we’re ecstatic to keep him and we’re ecstatic for him if he gets a chance to play overseas. That’s kind of how we feel about it.”
Adu is his first season with Real Salt Lake, which acquired him from D.C. United last year knowing that he would turn 18 this summer and become eligible under FIFA’s rules to transfer outside his home country.
Adu has just one goal and two assists in 11 MLS games for RSL, which is a league-worst 1-8-6.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Shirts: The people at Subside Sports always took good care of me. If you believe now ex-Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd, shirts cost so much because fans are dumb and they'll pay whatever you ask.

http://www.subsidesports.com/uk/store/index.jsp

Sweet, I'd never come across that site. It's got some good deals, though it'll still cost me nearly $90 to get a Giggs ManU shirt.

 

[NoOneLikesUs]

Speaking of, any recommendations on a good website for buying EPL jerseys?

Ebay..directly from Thailand. Sure some of them are complete crap, but if you're willing to look hard enough there are some extremely cheap authentic shirts to be had.

I've purchased many shirts from SE Asia and never had a problem. One thing I've also noticed is the speed at which these items are shipped. It's phenomenal. Whereas getting something shipped from Britain is a hip-and-miss proposition (As well as damn expensive).

 

[Beaker]

I know this was alluded to earlier, but I just saw it tonight on si.com so I thought I'd post it-Eddie Johnson rejected an offer to play for Derby. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/soccer/07/24/wizards.johnson.ap/index.html

 

[Angola!]

I haven't finished watching the FC Dallas game yet, but I feel like the game must be being played in South America based on how ****ty the officiating has been.
The no call on the hand ball, the guy for FC Dallas getting kicked out for the spock-move on dude's windpipe and then a 3 on 0 break when one of them was offsides.
Terrible, terrible officiating.

 

[TrooperBari]

I haven't finished watching the FC Dallas game yet, but I feel like the game must be being played in South America based on how ****ty the officiating has been.
The no call on the hand ball, the guy for FC Dallas getting kicked out for the spock-move on dude's windpipe and then a 3 on 0 break when one of them was offsides.
Terrible, terrible officiating.

Walter Quesada, Costa Rican ref. Can't say I'm surprised.