Friday, February 27, 2015

Spurs & Liverpool Out of Europe, More Crowd Trouble, Weekend Previews, League Cup Final, QPR Movie, Sex at the Valley



Ugh. Sorry, folks. There was some snow yesterday, and when it snows in the southern United States, people lose their shit. This loss of shit resulted in schools being closed and SSN Staff refusing to make their way to SSN Headquarters. They are weak and will be disciplined.  Anyway, you probably are well aware of Arsenal doing an Arsenal and completely embarrassing themselves. They lost to Monaco 1 - 3. In the other Champions League match on Wednesday, Atlético Madrid lost in Leverkusen. Now that we're up to speed, let's move on.

In Europe's secondary club competition, winners included Inter, Zenit St. Petersburg, Ajax, Besiktas, Fiorentina, Sevilla, Everton, and Roma. Losers included Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic, Bilbao, Salzburg, Guingamp, and Feyenoord. Yes, more woe for English clubs in Europe. As you might expect, The Fourth Estate is having a field day (see more from Ronay and White below). Regardless, here's your lot from yesterday's fun:

Fiorentina 2 - 0 Tottenham: James Riach at the Stadio Artemio Franchi
Fiorentina 2 - 0 Tottenham: Three Thoughts
Besiktas 1 - 0 Liverpool: Andy Hunter at Ataturk Stadium
Besiktas 1 - 0 Liverpool: Three Thoughts

Woop!? Are Inter Milan finally turning it all around? Richard Hall investigates. Right. Richard Williams has an article about a film called R’Story. Apparently, it's about QPR fans. Check it out.

Dynamo Kiev fans fight...amongst themselves.

We've not had a The Joy of Six is far too long. Appropriately, ahead of Sunday's What's In Your Wallet Final Clash at Wembley, it's...League Cup Final Goals!

And with that, we'll delve into the action in England and Wales this weekend. The Premier League (Manchester City vs. Liverpool looks tasty) and the League Cup Final are on deck:

League Cup Final: Preview
League Cup Final: Key Battles

What the hell else is going on out there? Well, for one, Dunkin' Donuts executives made a big massive offensive error. Idiots. Charlton Athletic have an interesting way of promoting a pitch rental scheme. Six at the center circle? Uhhh, really? 

On that note...

Onward!!

-SSN

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Football Suspended in Greece, Barcelona Beat City, Juventus Edge Dortmund, Cannavaro Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison, Arsenal vs. Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid, Marina Hyde on Qatar

Stay classy, Feyenoord...

Hey Hey Hey! Hump Day! The two matches yesterday were quite good. Barcelona's total football was a joy to behold, Messi missed a penalty (twice), and Juventus showed some mettle in Turin. Here's all the loot from all of that:

Manchester City 1 - 2 Barcelona: Phil McNulty at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City 1 - 2 Barcelona: Barney Ronay at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City 1 - 2 Barcelona: Three Quick Thoughts
Manchester City 1 - 2 Barcelona: Five Talking Points
Juventus 2 - 1 Borussia Dortmund: Report
Juventus 2 - 1 Borussia Dortmund: Three Quick Thoughts

Dude. Don't swim in your pool if the cops tell you not to. Former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro and his wife did just that, and he's been sentenced to 10 months in the slammer! Yikes!


Looks like SI has something called, "Under The Crest." Grant Wahl is trying to figure out Chelsea's identity. Hmmm. Looks like a stupid piece to try to garner more U.S. interest. You decide.

Oh, Qatar 2022. What a shit show you've become, and you're still years away. The always astute Marina Hyde is the latest to provide some perspective on the insanity.

Two more matches today, peeps. Look to London and Leverkusen for the ties. Here's all your preview information:

Arsenal vs. Monaco: Preview
Arsenal vs. Monaco: Preview II
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid: Preview
Bayer Leverkusen vs Atlético Madrid: Preview II

And finally...they can't even play anymore in Greece. Yes, it's come to that...

Onward!!

-SSN

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Manchester City vs. Barcelona, Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund, Paolo on Parma, Winter World Cup



Oooooo. Manchester City vs. Barcelona. That should be nice, right? Get to that TV at 2:45 EST this afternoon (Fox Sports 1 USA) and soak it all in. Here are some previews of today's Champions League matches:

Manchester City vs. Barcelona: Preview
Manchester City vs. Barcelona: Preview II
Matthew Stanger: Messi back to his best 
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund: Preview
Juventus vs. Dortmund: Preview II
Adam Bate: Are Dortmund back?

Over in Italy, Inter Milan beat Zola's Cagliari side 2 - 1. Here are Five Key Points from that island encounter. Napoli also won. Here's a panino.

Scribe Time! Travel the globe! Well, sadly, today it's just Europe...


Where? Italy. Who? Jonathan Jurejko. What? Time is running out for Parma

Where? Germany. Who? Andy Brassell. What? Stuttgart starting to lose hope at the bottom

Where? France. Who? Julien Laurens. What? Wenger's reunion with Monaco dredges up unpleasant memories

Where? Italy. Who? Paolo Bandini. What? Parma’s downfall pains a city and its people 


Oh, this is fabulous: Burnley boss Sean Dyche breaks down Jose Mourinho's 'four moments'. Take that, Jose! Paul Parker's got more on Chelsea here. He (rightly) claims that Chelsea will never be champions off the pitch with The Special One in charge. And how about this? Can we just stop talking about referees altogether? Thank you.

Podcast! This week it's...AC Jimbo is back, back, back - and on today's Football Weekly, he's joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul MacInnes and Nick Ames to laud Liverpool, bravo Burnley and salute Spurs as we look back on the best and worst of the weekend in the Premier League. Plus, we look forward to Manchester City's visit from Barcelona in the Champions League with Sid Lowe, as well as the second legs of the Europa League's round of 32. Finally, we get nostalgic for the Football Italia days as we ponder the fate of poor old' Parma, who find themselves well and truly on the brink.

Bloody hell. In an (failed) attempt to save face, it looks like SPECTRE FIFA will hold it's Qatar World Cup during the "winter." Idiots. Idiots. Idiots. Anyway, Owen Gibson is on hand to off the when, why and what of a winter Qatar tournament. And Dan Roan is wondering if conditions have improved for all the laborers imported by Qatar to make the stupid thing happen.

On most Tuesdays, we visit with Gabriele Marcotti for his musings. This Tuesday is no different. Today, Gab's gabbing about...Barca no longer control their Liga fate; Mourinho's siege mentality; Parma woe.

And finally...The Athens Derby, or, The Eternal Derby, turned chaotic over the weekend. Enjoy the mayhem.

Onward!!

-SSN

Monday, February 23, 2015

Premier League Madness, Barcelona Lose at Home, Another Goalfest for Bayern, Parma's Problems


Whoa Nellie! Another doozy of a weekend of footy, eh? Barcelona lost at Camp Nou, Matic lost his head at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea lost two points, The Special One went off the tracks on Sky Sports, Joey Barton did an excellent Joey Barton imitation, Bayern Munich scored six goals, Spurs got a late penalty miss/follow-up from Big Daddy Kane to snatch a point from West Ham, Liverpool slid past Southampton in a deluge at St. Mary's, there was too much rain to play the Genoa Derby, and Manchester United lost at Swansea. Attack!

Peter Berlin: EPL Notes
Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley: Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 1 - 1 Burnley: Three Observations
Swansea City 2 - 1 Manchester United: Joe Lovejoy at the Liberty Stadium
Swansea City 2 - 1 Manchester United: Three Observations
Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Arsenal: Jacob Steinberg at Selhurst Park
Crystal Palace 1 - 2 Arsenal: Three Quick Observations
Manchester City 5 - 0 Newcastle: Chris Bevan at the Etihad Stadium
Tottenham 2 - 2 West Ham: Dominic Raynor at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 2 - 2 West Ham: David Hytner at White Hart Lane
Tottenham 2 - 2 West Ham: Three Thoughts

We noted above that Barcelona lost at home this weekend. Here are Five Things We Learned in La Liga, and here's a wee review. More tomorrow from El Sid.

The rain in Italy falls mainly in Genoa...

Over in Italy, no go in Genoa, and although Totti scored for Roma, they fell further behind Juventus. Matches today in Serie A include Napoli vs. Sussudio and Cagliari vs. Inter. More tomorrow with Paolo. He'll also give us more insight into the sad situation at Parma.

Since we're in Europe, how about a European Team of the Week? Lovely. Wait. Massimo Maccarone?!?!


Look! Arsenal play Monaco on Wednesday. Here's a great piece on Arsene Wenger's time in Monaco. What a coincidence.

Back to the EPL for a second: How to replace the near-indispensable Nemanja Matic? Yes, how will Chelsea do it?

That's a nice run for a Monday. We'll see you tomorrow with scribes and Champions League previews.

Onward!!

-SSN