Sanford's Soccer Net

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Monday, May 07, 2007

Barcelona Remain In Title Control
"FC Barcelona brushed aside the hype coming from their title rivals to remain in pole position with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad in Anoeta, thanks to second-half goals from Andrés Iniesta and Samuel Eto'o."
La Liga Report: Madrid Win Amid Flurry Of Reds
"Real Madrid came from behind with three superb second half goals to beat Sevilla at the Bernabeu, in a game marked by three red cards and a flurry of yellows."

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Bundesliga Roundup

Bundesliga: Wins For Leaders
Bundesliga: Rosenberg hat-trick for Bremen

Serie A Roundup

Ascoli and Messina go down, Milan held at home
Serie A Wrap: Roma Secure Second Place As Messina Go Down
With a 2-1 win over Palermo, Roma secured second place in the league while Inter beat Messina 1-0 and sent the Sicilian team to Serie B. Meanwhile, Champions League finalists Milan could not do better than a goalless draw against Fiorentina.

Manchester United Are Champions

Gunners and Chelsea draw, handing Man United the Premiership title.

Man Utd secure Premiership title
Chelsea hopes ended by Gunners
Misfiring Ronaldo gets a kick out of giving City the runaround
Relieved Fergie celebrates 'special' title win
Ferguson hails 'courage'
Mourinho hails his dethroned 'heroes'
Where does United's title victory rank?
"Of Sir Alex Ferguson's nine Premiership triumphs, this one is arguably second only to 1995-96."

Friday, May 04, 2007

Champions League Musings

"Disrupting opponents like Milan is Rafael Benítez's specialist subject and could get him the result that United missed out on."
Why Benítez could succeed where Ferguson failed

To me this epitomises the problems with Rafa as a big club manager. He made his name at Valencia playing third fiddle to Real and Barca, and thus had to tailor his teams to beat those opponents. His ability to find exploit favorable matchups serves him well in cup competitions (see: Crouch v. Essien). However a matchup approach will only take you so far at a big club. Rafa has the quality in his squad to put out a winner every week but instead of focusing on finding his best lineup and letting his players get a feel for each other he juggles his team. Liverpool under Rafa have never displayed the kind of team chemistry that we've seen out of Man United, Chelski or Arsenal in the last 3 years and I think that until he changes his approach from focusing on his opponents weaknesses to focusing on his own team's strengths Liverpool will never find the kind of consistency they need to win the league.

"Should Chelsea and United consider sacrificing their war at home for victory in Europe?"
Fighting on two fronts draws the sting from United and Chelsea

Leeds Relegated

This one (and hopefully future) big club has seen things go from bad to worse after their ill-advised spending spree brought them first to the brink of the European championship and second to the brink of bankruptcy. Robber Baron Ken Bates swooped in to save them and for a while it appeared as if they'd soon be back in the top flight. Apparently not.

Leeds relegated after entering administration
Leeds have known humiliation but this is the deepest hurt

Forecasting

Last time around Lawro got SIX results right but NO perfect scores.
Lawro's Predictions

Bobbie's Picks:

Citeh 1 ManYoo 2
Everton 2 Pompey 0
Fulham 0 Liverpool 0
Newcastle 1 Blackburn 1
Reading 1 Watford 0
West Ham 3 Bolton 1
Wigan 1 'Boro 2
Villa 2 Sheff Utd 0
Arsenal 0 Chelski 2
Charlton 1 Tottenham 3

Premiership Previews

A Manchester United win in the derby in conjunction with an Arsenal win at home against Chelski will clinch the Premiership title for the Red Devils.

Aston Villa/Sheffield United
Charlton/Tottenham
Manchester Derby
Fulham/Liverpool
Everton/Portsmouth
Arsenal/Chelsea
Wenger calls for fans to respect Cole
Wigan/Middlesbrough
West Ham/Bolton
Reading/Watford
Newcastle/Blackburn

Rumors, Etc.

The Mill
Friday Gossip Column
Paper View: Real ready to raid for Carvalho
Gerrard opens talks over new Liverpool deal
One More Season, Confirms Maldini
Toni Heads Bayern Wishlist
Crespo Future Undecided
Sheva wants Milan Return
Jol will not sell Berbatov
Hammond in the frame for Arsenal job

Ligue 1 Preview

Ligue 1: Race for second hots up

Serie A Preview

"AC Milan would rather qualify for next season's Champions League as winners but they have a chance of securing a spot via Serie A on Sunday."

Serie A: Milan target Champions League spot

La Liga Preview

Lame Liga race draws to intriguing climax
Real in bullish mood ahead of Sevilla

Bundesliga Preview

"Bundesliga leaders Schalke 04 face a difficult tie at home against fifth-placed Nuernberg in a clash of the league's meanest defences."

Weekend Preview

England Turning into Italy?

I hope that we're not subjected to the morbid spectacle of the courts presiding over relegation and promotion. What's next, suitcases full of cash to whomever is playing a relegation rival next weekend and Peter Kenyon intimidating referees?

Whelan may sue West Ham & League
Six Clubs Are Ready to Sue
Pardew prepares for the worst

All Spanish UEFA Cup Final on the Books

Dominant Sevilla Eclipse Osasuna
Werder Bremen 1-2 Espanyol

Joey Barton is on the Lam

Joey Barton has earned a reputation as a hothead after clashes with opponents and his own teammates. His recent training ground assault on teammate Ousmane Dabo which left him hospitalized seems to indicate that shithead or perhaps psycho would be more apt monikers. Now he's holed up in a resort in the Algarve. I'm going to be there in a week; I'll be sure to post the photo my wife snaps just after I kick him in the nuts.

Barton out of reach on the Algarve as Dabo talks to lawyers

Roy Keane at Sunderland

"With promotion to the Premiership assured this year, there is now the feeling amongst supporters that the 'yo-yo' tag applied to England's sixth most successful club of all time will become a thing of the past. And that comes down to having Roy Keane in charge."

Keane to snip Sunderland's yo-yo string

Thursday, May 03, 2007

RSL Coaching Change

Major League Soccer's all time leading scorer has retired from the game to take over the coach's role at Real Salt Lake. Not much good will come of this, methinks.

Ellinger Out, Kreis In

UEFA Cup Previews

Sevilla/Osasuma
Werder Bremen/Espanyol

Thursday's Rumors

The Mill
Toni to Chelski?
Say it ain't so Luca! Your partnership with Adrian Mutu has been electric this year and a top 4 finish next season is a virtual lock!

As the Management Carousel Turns

Boredom could bring Eriksson back to England
Newcastle are focusing fully on Allardyce

Alan Ball Funeral

Football greats turn out for Ball funeral

Mirror to Pay Sheva

Andrei Shevchenko has won substantial damages in a libel case brought against the Daily Mirror alleging dressing room stool pigeonry.

Shevchenko: Mirror to pay out

Will he use his winnings to buy a plane ticket back to Milan?
Shevchenko Milan link

Mourinho's Woe

The post-mortems for The Special One's Chelski career have begun despite the fact that they could still take home the FA cup this season.

Bleak outlook for boorish Mourinho
Abramovich's displeasure leaves Mourinho railing against his fate
Who's Next in the Chelsea Firing Line?

Milan Destroy Man United

Frankly this was a fantastic match. While the Chelski/Liverpool games epitomised everything about high-level European football that can frustrate viewer- overly cautious team selections, negative tactics, time wasting, etc, this series proved to be the opposite. Both sides came to play in both matches as evidenced by an aggregate 5-3 score line. The first leg showed how English fighting spirit can be enough to dominate the competition and the second leg saw a tactical masterclass from the Italians. Milan won this match on the strength of their midfield and the superiority of their full backs. Scholes' marking caused Pirlo to disappear from the match but largely took him out of the action as well, while Gattuso and Seedorf simply devoured Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick. Seedorf had an especially outstanding match, assisting on the first goal and scoring on the second. Kaka turned in another dominating performance, making smart runs, spraying passes around and opening the scoring with an amazing piece of skill. If they can keep this form I can't see Liverpool meeting with any kind of success in Greece.

Milan 3 Man United 0
United Washed Away by Milan Tide
Milan Close to Perfect
Fergie Admits to Shortcomings
Ancelotti: We Played Perfect Football
Another Masterclass
The Fullbacks Were the Key
Fergie Blames Premier League
Seedorf Weeps

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Wednesday's Rumors

"Tottenham are going to push Chelsea all the way to £30m in return for Dimitar Berbatov's services"

The Mill

Honorary Chelsea VP Missing

Honourary Chelsea VP missing after copter crash

Man United/AC Milan Preview

This match should entertain a bit more than Chelski/Liverpool. Milan will attack as they need at least one and Man United will play to score as they always do. I expect Milan to pip them in a close one. Once again all eyes will be on the current darlings of world football- Kaka and Ronaldo.

CL Preview: AC Milan - Manchester United
"Milan go into this clash looking for a chance to win their 7th trophy, while Manchester United are craving for their 3rd, having underachieved in Europe by their own admission."
Fergie Confidant
Kaladze to Fill in for Maldini
Seedorf on Man Utd
United wedded to attacking tradition
Ancelotti proves a friendlier foe
"Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho are separated by many things, and class and politics are two of them. "
Inzaghi: Portrait of a Dive Artist
"Pippo Inzaghi may be a figure of fun, but he'll laugh the longest if his goals beat Man Utd."

Reina Raided

Porsche, jewellery and stereo among items stolen from Liverpool goalkeeper's home

Burglars raid Reina's home

Liverpool Top Chelsea

Liverpool have again dumped Chelski out of Europe and unless the Special One can bring home the FA Cup it's not likely that he'll be at the helm next year. Ultimately I think it won't be a great thing for the club- Jose pretty much bottled the tactics last night, sending out a conservative side that lacked invention in midfield and was susceptible to crosses at the back. However his players seem to respond to him and if he's replaced they'll need at least one season to take to the new guy's system. If Jermaine Pennant had been more effective getting the ball to Crouch Liverpool could have won it 3-0 in regulation. Salomon Kalou brought a bit of pace to the table but saw none of the ball, Lampard was ineffective in a wider role, they had no width, etc. I could go on and on. Ultimately of the many things that anger me about Chelsea this season the worst is that they've got a player who's probably the best all-around midfielder in England in Michael Essien and because the squad is thin he's played at center back where his only role is to get out-jumped by Crouchygol. They got what they deserved.

Liverpool Vanquish Chelsea en route to Athens
Jose: We'll be Back
Mourinho the Deluded One
Benitez the Master of Europe
Reds Chief Mocks Beaten Chelsea
This is England
"The primitive football served up by Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield was an appalling advert for the English game."
Kop may have been singing a farewell to the Special One
"The new Liverpool owners can already see the dollar signs in their eyes, but for Chelsea last night may have marked the end of an era.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Champions League Preview

Round 2 of the heavyweight battle of the blow hards, Rafa and Jose. These two are England's reigning kings of petty whining and I personally can't wait until the bullshit stops and the footie starts.

Rafa Pops Off
Liverpool Will Fear Drogba
Where are the "Chelsea will fear Crouchy" headlines?
Rafa Demands More
Scheva Out
Claude may have something yet to give
Papers: Dressing Room Row?

Monday, April 30, 2007

Barthez Quits Nantes

Is this it for the Fat Clown? Rumors from the French camp at last year's World Cup indicated that Barthez only played at Zidane's insistance. He came out of retirement to try to save Nantes. Will he come back for another season in Ligue 1? I think it's doubtful.

Barthez quits Nantes after attack

Benitez stirs up the hornet's nest

Pot:"Kettle- you are black."

Bundesliga Recap

Weekend Action

Big Sam Walks Out

Sam Allardyce has abruptly quit the Bolton Wanderers, claiming a lack of support. Rumors have him accepting the managerial post at Manchester City next season. This is a huge blow to the club as their success over the last 5 seasons is attributable to his leadership and recruitment skills. Odds of Nicolas Anelka playing somewhere else next season have tentatively been set at 1:50.

Allardyce claims lack of funds is the reason for his departure
Lee takes over at Bolton
Bolton Board takes a dim view of Big Sam's future job opportunities

Major League Soccer Roundup

DC United still without a point. LA spanks Chivas in the derby. Revs and Dallas can suck it. Chicago rules.

MLS weekend summary

Eredivisie Roundup

PSV win league on goal difference

La Liga Roundup

The title race stays tight with Real and Sevilla chasing Barca.

Eto'o strike moves Barca back top
Phil Ball on the title chase

Serie A roundup

Champions cruise, race for Europe heats up.

Serie A Round 34

EPL Weekend Roundup

ManYoo are one win away from claiming the championship after a remarkable comeback against Everton. Chelski blow it. Liverpool leave the stars at home and pay the price. Fulham flirt with disaster. A whole bunch of meaningless games for the mid-table sides, etc.

Everton 2 Man Utd 4
Chelsea 2 Bolton 2
Arsenal 3 Fulham 1
Middlesbrough 2 Tottenham 3
Portsmouth 2 Liverpool 1
Man City 0 Aston Villa 2
Blackburn 4 Charlton 1
Sheff Utd 1 Watford 0
Wigan 0 West Ham 3

Friday, April 27, 2007

This week's EPL guesses

Lawro's predictions

Weekend Previews

Here are the quick rundowns on this weekend's action:

Premiership
Serie A
La Liga
Ligue 1
Bundesliga
MLS

Arsène dishes out the compliments

Wenger puts feud with Ferguson on hold to laud old foe’s achievements

Woody back to Boro

Middlesbrough bring home favourite son Woodgate

World's top player?

Kaka on his way to being best in the world

Kevin McCarra on Andriy Shevchenko

Shevchenko famine forces Chelsea to be even more miserly

Portuguese men at war

Mourinho labels Ronaldo 'a liar'

Fire old boy Hristo Stoitchkov

The maverick manager. The Bulgarian doesn't do tactics, falls out with players and rants at officials. So why have Celta Vigo put their future in his hands?

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Thursday's rumours

You can almost hear the guy saying 'No shit? This stunner is really Frank Rijkaard's daughter?'

Citizen Neville gets moor for his money

Red' Nev may be moving to a mansion but the Premiership can rest assured he'll be keeping his Citizen Neville business cards

Lennon leaving...

End of an era as midfield enforcer exits Celtic Park

Pompey on the move

Portsmouth sinking future in stadium built on the sea

Arsenal comings and goings [well, stayings]

Gallas is upsetting people again, so where better than Madrid? :

Gallas set for Madrid after failing to bridge generation gap

But at least Mad Lens looks like staying...

Lehmann prepares to put pen to paper in show of staying power

Analysis from Tony Cascarino

Caution so costly for Liverpool [and the viewer]

Simon Barnes on José and Rafa

Two managers may be worlds apart but they still play the same game [boring us to death]

Advantage Chelsea after predictable boring long ball affair

Omens stacked against Spaniard's side...

Mourinho is left red-faced by 'penalty' claim

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

What Would Your Name Be If You Played For Brazil?

Sanford = GEA in a roundabout way...
http://www.minimalsworld.net/BrazilName/brazilian.shtml

Thanks to Patrick Buckley, a.k.a. Bucklinhosa Peres, for sending this my way. -Sanford

Alan Ball Dead at 61

The midfielder won 72 caps for his country in a 10-year England career and starred for both Everton and Arsenal.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=424869&cc=5901

John May Remembers:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6591385.stm

Alan Ball may have been modest in size but on the pitch he had the ability and attitude to leave opponents in his wake:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/25/dynamo_who_terrorised_worlds_b.html

Dida Gifts United a Win as Kaka and Rooney Strike Twice

Manchester United 3 - 2 AC Milan
Richard Jolly at Old Trafford:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=424762&root=uefachampionsleague&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1&cc=5901

Richard Williams' Verdict:
Kaka and Ronaldo did not let down an expectant public as their goals and glitz lit up Old Trafford.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/25/kaka_and_ronaldo_glitter_on_a.html

Lawro's Euro Verdict:
Man Utd might find it a bit easier to contain Kaka in Milan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/default.stm

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Prem Talking Points: The Relegation Equation

Talk about a sting in the tail. For a long time it looked as if Manchester United would walk away with the Premiership title, while West Ham and Charlton would quietly accept a grim future in The Championship. Not so. Chelsea have closed to within three points of United, while the two London clubs have every chance of avoiding the drop.
http://goal.com/en-US/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=287784

A mature Convey looks to take the next step

Those early days, the baby face and pimples, the mop of hair and the uncertainty surrounding the much-hyped player, all seem so long ago. It's an image that Bobby Convey, now 23, still has difficulty shedding. With the Gold Cup and Copa America on tap for the national team this summer, it was supposed be a busy season for Convey who had hoped to be a part of the team, but a long-term knee injury and subsequent surgery has forced him to the sidelines. With his club team Reading guaranteed of staying in the Premiership, it was a decision he made with management's blessing to go under the knife, in the hope that he'd be ready for the start of next season.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=424083&root=americansabroad&cc=5901

James Richardson in Italy

Inter have finally won their first proper title in 18 years, and it would be a churlish soul who tried to belittle the achievement. Facili o Assegnati, Sempre Meglio dei Vostri Rubati. Whether they're easy or won by default they're still better than your stolen ones, according to the new slogan of Inter fans.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/24/all_hail_the_nerazzurri.html

The Word From Spain

Phil Ball:

The interesting thing about Leo Messi's goal last week against Getafe was the consensus. The greatest goal ever, or perhaps the second greatest ever? The only sign of rebellion came from Getafe's manager Bernd Schuster, who complained that one of his defenders/midfielders should have brought him down - a rather depressing comment from a man who practised a more advanced aesthetic himself when a player, and exactly the same comment made by Argentines in 1986 after Maradona's uncannily similar goal.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=424412&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&cc=5901

Sid Lowe:
Strange but true: Real, somehow, are going to win the league. Never mind their myriad shortcomings; Real Madrid have been let off the hook so many times that their rivals will surely end up paying for it.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/23/strange_but_true_how_real_some.html

Essien arrested on drink-driving charge

The 24-year-old, who is suspended for tomorrow's Champions League semi-final first leg clash with Liverpool, had been driving his black Range Rover, according to reports.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=424623&cc=5901

If you can't play, might as well drink!! -Sanford

Jose escapes UEFA in laundry trolley

Matt Dickinson : Mourinho, a ban, an earpiece and a laundry basket . . .

Aki Riihilahti

Premiership presence ruining it for Germans — but not for Aki

Self-interest makes it hard to look beyond all-English final

Hugh McIlvanney in The Times

The voice of sport says: Time to believe the hype

Arsenal Chaos

Sue Mott : Upmarket Arsenal warrant Royal takeover
Matt Scott : Candidates queue up to fill Wenger's vacancy

Gabrielle Marcotti in The Times

England on high with tall order: The big target man still has a role at international level

Ex-player to buy Man City

Ranson launches £90m bid

Champions League Semi: Manchester United vs. Milan

Tue Apr 24 02:30PM Eastern
Length: 2 hr 30 min LIVE
ESPN2 (US)
UEFA Champions League - Semifinal - 1st Leg
Manchester United (England) vs AC Milan (Italy)

Kevin McCarra : It's just as well United are so gung-ho
Don Howe: United's forwards are free to run riot
Oliver Kay : Maldini gives Ronaldo high five but has no fears over marking him

Champions League Semi: Chelsea vs. Liverpool

Wed Apr 25 02:30PM Eastern
Length: 2 hr 30 min LIVE
ESPN2 (US)
UEFA Champions League - Semifinal - 1st Leg
Chelsea (England) vs Liverpool (England)

Dominic Fifield : Alonso fired up for final push by Mourinho's sniping
Bill Edgar : Drogba could be direct line for blues’ success
Martin Smith : Away advantage for Cech

Zizou To Play With Fire?

This comes from The Daily Mirror, otherwise known as Britain's most reliable newspaper, so you can bank on it being 100% true. Bob, start planning your tailgating.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=zidane-to-join-becks%26method=full%26objectid=18952740%26siteid=89520-name_page.html

Monday, April 23, 2007

Bayern plumb new depths as Santa Cruz hits the rocks

Having elevated apathy and meekness to an art form, no one has epitomised the champions' sad demise quite like Roque Santa Cruz.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/23/bayern_plumb_new_depths_as_san.html

Owen One Week Away

Michael Owen was at St James' Park yesterday but he did not get stripped. However, the Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder said Owen is on course to play at Reading next Monday. "We'll know by the middle to end of next week if he'll be fit," Roeder said of Owen. "I wouldn't rule it out."
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2063385,00.html

Mourinho hits at United penalty luck

Kenyon's talks with Klinsmann in LA also agitate Chelsea's manager, reports Michael Walker:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,2063383,00.html

MLS Roundup

Quick links to this past weekend's Major League Soccer action:

Dallas 3 Colorado 1
Chivas 4 RSL 0
Chicago 2 KC 1
Energy Drinks 1 Houston 0
Columbus 2 New England 2

I had the pleasure of attending Saturday's Fire/'Zards matchup. The game could easily have ended 1-0. The Fire's second goal was a penalty which happened just on the edge of the box and could have been called either way. The 'Zards goal came on a dive/makeup call by newboy Carlos Marinelli, another over-the-hill "Next Maradonna".

Results and Reports from Italy, England, Spain and Germany

Serie A:
Marco Materazzi scored twice, once from the penalty spot, as Inter Milan won 2-1 at Siena to clinch their second successive Serie A title with five games to spare.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=423976&cc=5901

Bundesliga:
Paolo Guerrero scored seven minutes from time to give Hamburg SV a 2-2 draw at home to struggling Mainz in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=424249&cc=5901

EPL:
Watford relegated, ManU and Chelsea draw.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=423735&cc=5901

La Liga:
Leaders Barcelona were beaten 2-0 by Villarreal on Sunday to blow the title race wide open.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=423985&cc=5901

The Insider at White Hart Lane

Tottenham 2 - 2 Arsenal
Jenas strike snatches late draw...
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/index?cc=5901