Friday, March 06, 2015

Quick Friday Stuff


Hey there. SSN Headquarters is hosting some foreign dignitaries today so we'll need to keep the post brief. There is some FA Cup action this weekend, although the big one (Manchester United vs. Arsenal) is not until Monday. No real massive match-ups in the big continental leagues. Napoli vs. Inter would normally be of note, but both sides have been so poor this season, there's not too much in that one.

There is one EPL match and it's QPR vs. Tottenham. Also in the Premier League, Cisse and Evans have been charged with spitting and will probably be banned for several matches. Stoke City's resident asshole Jonathan Walters says spitting is the lowest of the low. Yes, he would know what it's like to be racially abused, we're sure. Dick.

If you're into that sort of thing, Major League Soccer will be a-happinin' beginning with tonight's LA AssGalaxy vs. Chicago Fire match. On Sunday, over 60,000 are expected at the Citrus Bowl to watch Kaka's Purple Army face New York City Football Club City FC New York. That's at 5:00 p.m. EDT (yes, the clocks spring ahead this weekend) on ESPN2 if you want to check it out.

Also on Sunday is Atlético Madrid vs. Valencia. That's probably the best match-up of the weekend across Europe.

OK - gotta run. We'll leave you with The Joy of Six. It's No Look Passes!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 12:07 PM 0 comments

Thursday, March 05, 2015

MLS Agreement, Wednesday Reports, Spitting Row


No real surprises in yesterday's action, unfortunately. Everything was fairly standard fare in the end. Barcelona advanced to the final of the Copa del Rey where they'll face Athletic Bilbao. In the Premier League, it was business as usual. You've got to fear a bit for Everton, though. They are not looking well. Here's a rundown on all the went down yesterday:

West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea: Dominic Fifield at Upton Park
West Ham 0 - 1 Chelsea: Three Quick Observations
Tottenham 3 - 2 Swansea: David Hytner at White Hart Lane
Liverpool 2 - 0 Burnley: Andy Hunter at Anfield
Newcastle 0 - 1 Manchester United: Louise Taylor at St. James' Park
Newcastle 0 - 1 Manchester United: Three Thoughts
QPR 1 - 2 Arsenal: Amy Lawrence at Loftus Road
Manchester City 2 - 0 Leicester City: Jamie Jackson at the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City 2 - 0 Leicester City: Three Thoughts

Meanwhile, back Stateside, it looks like the U.S.'s top league will play after all. MLS announced that the league and Players Union have reached an agreement in principle on a new collective bargaining agreement. Good. We're glad. Play ball! Just to get you excited, here are some predictions for the upcoming campaign.

You know what? That's it for today.

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 10:56 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Midweek EPL, Copa del Rey, Big Sam and Bolton, Tevez Yes, Mata No

Wow. Hump Day is here. How did that happen? We'd better get to it. So, Southampton edged Palace, Villa finally won a match, and Hull and Sunderland drew. Richard Jolly reckons Tim Sherwood's passion may just be enough to keep Villa up.

Yes, he has a pulse.

Today we've got West Ham vs. Chelsea, Spurs vs. Swansea, Arsenal at QPR, Everton at Stoke, Leicester at City, Burnley at Liverpool, and Newcastle hosting Manchester United. We had some midweek general previews yesterday, and here are some additions:

Newcastle United vs. Manchester United: Preview

This is a great piece on one of the more interesting stories in English football back 10 years ago or so. The Editor remembers that Bolton team quite well. They were unique and incredibly annoying.

More MLS Season Previews? Why not? Because the season might not begin on time? That's a decent reason. Regardles, we still think it's time to examine the Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution and NYCFC. Speaking of NYCFC, dear God, this is bad. NYCFC has a terrible new song thingy. Ugh. Who decides these things?

Over in France in League Uhhhhhhh, things is tite, yo! Nobody seems to want the title. Lyon, PSG, and Marseille keep screwing things up. Let's take a look.

Down in Spain, it's the second leg of the Copa del Rey semis between Villarreal and Barcelona. The first leg finished 1 - 3, with Villarreal grabbing that all-important away goal to take back to El Madrigal. The other semifinal features Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao. That one finished 1 - 1 in the first leg.

Back over in Italy, Juventus are flying high and on their way to yet another Serie A title. Much of their success has to do with the form of one Carlos Tevez. Adam Bate examines how the Argentina striker has really made it count in Turin this season. On the flip side, Juan Mata has become persona non grata at United. What went wrong with him? Jim White takes a look.

That'll do. Hopefully you can catch some of the matches later today. Good luck with that!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:06 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Whelan Resigns, Scribes, Midweek EPL, Roma & Juve Draw, Adam Johnson Arrested

Those were the days...

All right, all right, all right! The match of note yesterday went down in Rome. If you were hoping for some sort of exciting title race in Italy, too bad. Not gonna happen. Juve have got it pretty much wrapped up after yesterday's drab draw with Roma. Yes, it's still only nine points, but Juventus won't be losing much from here on out. Trust us. You can find more on all of that Serie A stuff from Paolo and James in the Scribes section below.

What else? There are matches today and tomorrow in the Premier League. Here's enough to get you started:

Aston Villa vs. West Brom: Preview
Hull vs. Sunderland: Preview
Do you want some MLS previews? Oddly enough, The Guardian has some. Here. Did you know that the league has been around for 20 years? Geez, we're old...

Oh, no. Adam Johnson's been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 15-year-old. That's not good. His Mom says he's innocent, though. Want more bad news? How about this: Reported incidents of racist abuse rise 70%?

Want a bunch of really good stuff? Here is the Best XIs from the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga, plus analysis of which English clubs will qualify for the Champions League. See? We told you it was really good stuff.

Dude. What's up with Di Maria? He's gone rather flat, no? Is it LVG's fault?

Tuesday = Marcotti's Musings. This week Gab is gabbing that Zouma impresses for Chelsea, Real Madrid slip, Man City's season fades.

We out!

Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 11:49 AM 0 comments

Monday, March 02, 2015

Chelsea Win League Cup, More Racism, Liverpool Beat City, Barca Win, Real Held, Roma vs. Juventus, MLS, Gentleman Ultra's Alternative Serie A Guide To Sassuolo



And a fine Monday morning to you, as well! Chelsea has won the first trophy on offer this season. The Capital One Cup is theirs. Diego Costa was his usual feisty self, slapped Bentaleb and then scored a goal, as did some guy named John Terry. After the match, some of their supporters were accused of racist actions on a train. Again. Over at Anfield, Liverpool gave Chelsea's title hopes a boost by beating City 2 - 1. In Spain, things got a bit tighter thanks to a home draw for Real and an away win for Barcelona. Germany? Borussia Dortmund won again to continue their rebirth, Bayern Munich were victorious, and Bas Dost simply cannot stop scoring. In Italy, the big one is this afternoon (2:45 p.m. EST on beIN Sport) when the top two clash in Rome. Let's get to it, beginning with that trophy...

Chelsea 2 - 0 Tottenham: Phil McNulty at Wembley
Chelsea 2 - 0 Tottenham: Daniel Taylor at Wembley
Chelsea 2 - 0 Tottenham: Barney Ronay at Wembley
Chelsea 2 - 0 Tottenham: Three Quick Thoughts
Adam Bate: Classic Chelsea
Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester City: Andy Hunter at Anfield
Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester City: Three Thoughts
Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester City:  

In Spain, as mentioned above, things have gotten a bit tight thanks to the weekend results. Real Madrid's lead over Barcelona is down to two points. Here are Five Things We Learned in La Liga over the past two days.

Major League Soccer. Remember that league? Things are a bit iffy Stateside at the moment. Jason Davis brings us up to date here. 


Holy Cannoli! The Gentleman Ultra is back! We're graced with a guide to Sassudio. Grazie, Gentleman! Sticking with Serie A for a moment, here's your preview for tonight's clash at Stadio Olimpico between Roma and Juventus. What happened already? Fiorentina defeated Inter, for one. Here's a review of the weekend action in Italy. Oh, and want to see a really shitty corner kick? Look no further than Podolski in the Inter/Fiorentina match. Yikes! What the hell was that?!


Onward!!

-SSN

Posted by The Editor at 10:55 AM 0 comments
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