Friday, November 14, 2014

Euro 2016 Qualifying, USA vs. Colombia, Inter Milan Sack Mazzarri


And so another week comes to a close. We shut SSN Headquarters down for a couple of days because nothing was happening. The FIFA report on Qatar and Russia is a complete joke (as David Conn puts it, "Corruption, collusion and vote-buying are identified but not seen as damaging), and we really didn't want to think about the international friendlies that occurred. We do, however, have a soft spot for the U.S. National Team, so we're back today to take a look at The Yanks' match this afternoon with Colombia at Craven Cottage (2:45 p.m. EST on ESPN), along with whatever else is on tap for today and the weekend. Here we go.

USA vs. Colombia: Preview
USA vs. Colombia: Preview II
USA vs. Colombia: Preview III

Right. On to Europe. Miguel Delaney picks four "can't miss" qualifiers for you to check out here. He's got Scotland vs. Ireland, Romania vs. Northern Ireland, Netherlands vs. Latvia, and Belgium vs. Wales. Meanwhile, Adam Bate is looking at the players themselves. He's got Five to Watch right here.

Oh, dear. Germany play Gibralter. That could get ugly. Here are 9 Other Things To Look Out For in this next round of games. And tomorrow's game between England and Slovenia will be Wayne Rooney's 100th match for England. So...way to go Wayne.

New York City Football Club

It's been a shitty season for Inter Milan. What does that mean? It means Walter Mazzarri has been fired and Roberto Mancini is set to return. Mancini enjoyed plenty of success with Inter in his last stint as their manager. We'll see if he can right the San Siro ship this time around.

Speaking of new/old gaffers, we mentioned earlier in the week that David Moyes had taken over at Real Sociedad. Jim White points out that if things were going better at Old Trafford, Moyes would probably still be out of a job. Makes sense.

Hmmm. Interesting, this: Growing up at Fulham: Life as an American youth in a foreign academy

Let's check in with Guillem Balague. He's dealing with all things Spain, including Costa, Cesc, and the national side.

Damn. African Cup of Nations. Equatorial Guinea is the new host after Morocco bailed. Have a glance at the action, won't you?

Back to Italy: The top three sides in Serie A last season were, in order, Juventus, Roma and Napoli. After 10 rounds of the current season, those three teams are, once again, leading the table in the same order they finished last time around. But that is not necessarily a sign that Italian domestic football is set for an unexciting repeat of least season.

And finally...Richard Williams claims that the international friendly is an institution worth cherishing. We suppose if we could have headed down to Upton Park to catch Aguero, Messi, and Co. lighting it up we'd appreciate the meaningless matches a bit more. But, we could not.

Onward!!

-SSN

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

International Waste Of Time


Hey. Meaningless friendlies today. Not really anything of note until Friday. Bleh.

Onward!!

-SSN

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Moyes Takes Over at Real Sociedad, Scribes, Seattle Advances


Well, hello there. Welcome to Tuesday. Moe Szyslak David Moyes has taken over at Real Sociedad. How did the La Liga club get him? Does he have what it takes? Can he succeed in San Sebastián? There's only one man to give us the proper 411: Sid Lowe. Go.

Ebola! Morocco freaked out and said it wouldn't host the African Cup of Nations. Now, Morocco won't be involved at all. Good.

This looks lovely: From José Fonte to Mame Biram Diouf: 10 Unsung Premier League Heroes. Smashing. On that same page, Barney Rooney looks at how Southampton, West Ham, Swansea, and Stoke have been successful this season.

It's Tuesday and that means it's time to scribe. Hit it:


Where? Italy. Who? Jack Sargeant. What? El Shaarawy is finally getting back to his best

Where? France. Who? Julien Laurens. What? France's great expectations weigh heavy on Karim Benzema


Where? Germany. Again? Yes. OK. Who? Raphael Honigstein. What? Could Christoph Kramer’s freak own goal be the lift that Dortmund need?


Lots of disfunction in North London at the moment. No, it's not the transport that's the problem. It's the area's two largest clubs. Today, we'll examine the issues facing Spurs.

Major League Soccer is heading for its finale. Are Henry and Donovan destined to clash for the championship? Landy has to get by Seattle first, mind, and Thierry needs his Red Bull to beat New England. Graham Parker examines how things look to be playing out.

Sticking with the US, let's ask this? Who is Hot? Who is Not? 

Podcast! On today's Football Weekly, AC Jimbo has Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and John Ashdown for company to give the hot chat on all the goings on in the Premier League and beyond. We start at Anfield, where Chelsea swatted away Liverpool, and also benefitted from slip ups (again) from Manchester City and Arsenal. Can anyone stop Mou's Blues? Certainly not Spurs, but you knew that anyway. Next, we head to Europe, to get up to speed with the action in Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga. (We'll have an extra-long phone call with Sid Lowe on Thursday to find out what's happening in Spain). Finally, we pop down to the Championship, where it's tighter at the top than, well, this.

It is Tuesday and that means we get Gabriele Marcotti's Musings. This week Gab is gabbing about...PSG pick up more than a win vs. Marseille. Plus: more pain for Rodgers.

That's really about it, friends. Have a good one.

Onward!!

-SSN

Monday, November 10, 2014

Chelsea Win Again, Newcastle Win Again, Burnley Win For Once, Spurs & Arsenal Lose, Juve Hit Seven, Suárez Shines, Donovan Hat-trick


Hey, now! A fine Monday to you out there, OK? Woof. What a weekend. Have Chelsea already won the EPL title? When will Real Madrid score 10 goals in a game? What about Juventus? Is Luis Suárez the man to propel Barca back to the top? Why is Landon Donovan retiring? Who is more inept - Arsenal or Tottenham? So many bloody questions. Let's get to it.

Liverpool 1 - 2 Chelsea: Phil McNulty at Anfield
Liverpool 1 - 2 Chelsea: Andy Hunter at Anfield
Liverpool 1 - 2 Chelsea: Daniel Taylor at Anfield
Queens Park Rangers 2 - 2 Manchester City: Daniel Taylor at Loftus Road
Queens Park Rangers 2 - 2 Manchester City: Three Points
Tottenham 1 - 2 Stoke City: Amy Lawrence at White Hart Lane
Swansea 2 - 1 Arsenal: Stuart James at Liberty Stadium
Swansea 2 - 1 Arsenal: Same old problems for Arsenal
Swansea 2 - 1 Arsenal: Three Points

Oh, dear. Juventus plastered Parma 7 - 0. Ouch. You don't see that type of result very often, especially in Serie A. Other results? Here's a review. Inter Milan? Not good. Not good at all.

What did we learn in La Liga this weekend? Here are Five Things. You won't be surprised to learn that one of them is that Real Madrid scored five goals. You will be surprised to learn that Valencia didn't score any.

If you've made it this far, you've noticed that there were a fair amount of goals scored over the weekend. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

That's a lot of purple.
Are you hungover this Monday morning? Here, take this: World Football's Monday Morning Hangover

MLS? The assGalaxy crushed Real Salt Lake, thus allowing Landy to play another day. Donovan scored his third career playoff hat trick in the match. Time to retire, pal. Oh, and that Nguyen guy led New England to victory in their series. They'll face Red Bull in the Eastern Finals.

That'll do for today!

Onward!

-SSN