Christmas Break

Everyone else in the world takes a break for the holidays, but not England. Why, you ask? As DJ Shadow said, "It's the money." There's plenty to talk about with United all of the sudden EVEN on points with city despite playing with only one proper defender. Spurs postponing their annual collapse behind Gareth Bale. Everyone and their brother dropping points at home and failing to take advantage of City's slip up. But I think I'll enjoy what's left of the break myself. Enjoy this semi-old school skills video. Plenty of gems in here, but Viera at 1:11 is my favorite.

That's Racist

I am not a fan of Luis Suarez the man, not in the least. Nor am I any sort of Latin American bourgeois apologist. But my goodness, 8 games?! Let's stamp out racism indeed! It's not a witch hunt, but the FA is setting a ridiculous, baseless standard which I imagine will generate more discussion concerning the length of players suspensions for acts of racism, rather than the reason footballers/people say racist things in the first place. Interesting article on the situation at run of play (before the decision was rendered). Anyway, if the decision holds, Andy Carroll will have to play, and play well for Liverpool to maintain their return to relevance.

Neyyyy Maaaaar

He might be a knobhead, but boy got skills!

Chelsea V Man City Player Ratings

Chelsea v Man City 12.12.11

An even game that ended up being decided by two silly City mistakes in the 2^nd half. Clichy’s sending off helped set up Chelsea’s late dominance which lead to Lescott’s hand ball in the box. Man City scored early through Balotelli’s opener and were certainly on top as they looked to run all over Chelsea’s slow marking defense. However, as the game wore on Chelsea wrestled control of the match through the skill and brilliance of their star wingers, Mata and and Sturridge. Man City have now certainly lost their invincibility in the Premier League and Chelsea are back in title contention.

Chelsea

Czech 5.5 – He is an extremely talented shot stopper, but as he showed again today, he is very average when coping with breakaways. He didn’t have much else to deal with as City looked a little off the pace.

Cole 6.5 – He started the game slowly but got better as the game went on. Like the rest of his back four, he surprisingly had little do deal but performed admirably in his task at hand. However, he has never learned how to cross which still puts him a step below other star left backs in the world.

Terry 7.5 – A complete rock today and seems to be back to his very best. He was slightly at fault for Balotelli’s opener but dominated from the 2^nd minute on.

Ivanovic 5.5 - Horrible positioning and recovering for Balotelli’s goal. However, after that mishap, he performed well with the remarkably little he had to deal with.

Bosingwa 6 – Some decent defending and tantalizing crossing. On most occasions, he dealt with Balotelli well and overall had a solid game.

Romeu 7 - Did what he had to do and never offered City’s attacking players any room. After another solid performance, it looks like Mikel will never get his starting spot back.

Miereles 7 - For the player who seems to have replaced Lampard in the starting lineup, he scored a very Lampard-esque goal when he came into the box to score his volley. Had a very strong first half but was extremely unlucky to have not be given two yellow cards in two leg breaking challenges in the first half. Faded in the second half and came off to a resounding ovation.

Ramires 7 – He does everything well and has to be an automatic starter for Chelsea and Brazil. I love everything he does and he only seems to be getting better. Got the better of City’s center midfielders today and was the main cause of Clichy’s sending off.

Mata 8 - Once again, he was the best player on the pitch today. He got the better of his mirror twin (Silva of course) and seems to be loving life in the Premier League. His passing, movement, intelligence, and skill on the ball were impeccable yet again.

Sturridge 8 – With Mata, he was the difference today. Beautiful twist, turn, and cross to set-up Miereles on his goal. He seemed to be able to beat Clichy 1 on 1 every time he had the ball, and he pretty much did. It was his shot that forced Lescott’s hand ball in the box and surely looks like an automatic starter for England.

Drogba 6.5 – Led the line well but didn’t offer anything special today until City went down a man. Had one beautiful back heel to setup Ramires and showed nice flashes of skill at the very end of the game.

Subs-

Lampard- 6 – Even though he missed his last penalty, he had the guts to come up trumps today in his thunder bolting strike. He will be angry he didn’t get the start, but after scoring the game-winning goal against the best team in the league, how angry can he really be?

Malouda N/A

Mikel N/A

Man City

Joe Hart 5 – Most announcers would say he could do nothing with Miereles goal. But I would disagree because his positioning was weak and the volley was down the middle. However, it would have still been an extremely difficult shot to stop and you definitely couldn’t blame him for it. Conversely, I due put blame on Hart for not knowing Lampard’s penalty was going to be right down the middle. Because Lampard had his placed penalty saved by Newcastle recently, Hart should have known Lampard was going to go with power, not placement. Reina would have known.

Zabaleta 5 – Defensively, he is pretty solid and close to on par w/ Richards. Offensively, he offers less than half then what Richards offers. Put those two together and City are a much worse side w/ Zabaleta at right back and it showed today.

Joleon Lescott 5 – Another solid game today until his foolish handball in the box which lead to Lampard’s game winning penalty. As his body was turned, it was a slightly unlucky penalty to give, but because he kept his hands up, the call was correct. Foolish penalty to give as Sturridge’s shot was clearly going wide.

Vincent Kompany 7.5 – True captains performance today when his team badly needed it in such a hostile environment. Similar to that of Terry, he was a complete rock at the back. Unlucky to be on the losing end.

Gael Clichy 3- Couldn’t cope with Sturridge all game and was deservedly given 2 yellow cards to be sent off early. City has bought a new star left back every year since they became the richest team in the world (Bridge, Zabaleta, Kolarav, and Clichy) and it seems like next year they may have to do it all over again. Why City chose him over Enrique last summer I will never know.

James Milner 6 – The usual Milner game where he did everything pretty well but nothing exceptional. Is that good enough to cement a starting place for City and England over Adam Johnson? I’m not so sure and, to be honest, neither do most.

Garreth Barry 6 - A fantastic start to the game where his touch looked Silva-esque but faded as the game went on. Bruising hip challenge on Ramires in the 55^th that I can feel from a thousand miles away. Couldn’t muster much else as his central partner had such a horrific game.

Yaya Toure 3.5 – Seemed a step slow today and couldn’t get the better of his battle w/ Ramires. Gave the ball away way too easily at times and never offered his usual menacing runs. One of the worst games, if not the worst game, I have ever seen Yaya play.

David Silva 6.5 - His touch, vision, and passing were fantastic as always but he didn’t offer that extra skill and dimension today. Disappointing game by his lofty standards and had to be taken off early as City got more defensive after the red.

Mario Balotelli 6 – Cool as the other side of the pillow to glide by Cech on the first goal. Some fantastic turns and skill, but as usual, his decision making was very poor. He shoots from everywhere when sometimes he should just do the easy pass.

Sergio Aguero 6 – Beautiful strength, turn, and pass to set up Balotelli on his 2^nd minute goal. Looked like a meance throughout the first half and will be angry with himself that he couldn’t put his first half effort inside the box on target. Faded badly in the second half and was taken off early after Clichy’s silly red card.

Subs

Toure 5- Decent job when he came in at right back.

De Jong 5- Couldn’t do much in the latter stages of the match.

Dkeko N/A

Ref- 8 Fantastic game and got the two big calls correct.

Chelsea v Man City Player Ratings 12/12

It took a few months, but Man City finally lost in the league at what has to be the hardest place to get three points in England over the last decade, Stamford Bridge.

City

Hart - 5.5; His team enjoy so much of the ball that it seems he's hardly called into action. But on those rare occasions that his services are required, he isn't always the most convincing. Blameless on this occasion however.

Zabaleta -7; The forgotten Argentine had an impressive game, getting the better of Drogba on several occasions. Struggled a little when he was moved to LB, but who wouldn't.

Kompany -7.5; Truly leads by example, and plays how a commanding center back should, by stamping his authority on the game. His one tackle on Ramires to bail out the hapless Yaya stands out in my mind.

Lescott-5.5; He appeared a little sluggish all night, but looked like he might get away with it until the handball. A silly penalty to concede when City looked like they might see out the draw.

Clichy - 5 ; A tale of two halves I'm afraid for Gael. There were warning signs in the first half when Sturridge brilliantly left him to create the first goal, (a similar move led to his first, cynical yellow card). And you'd have thought he'd have enough experience to not make the challenge that got him sent off, but unfortunately for him and City, he couldn't resist, and it turned the game.

Toure Yaya -4 ; Lazy? wasteful? complacent? I don't have enough adjectives, and this is a family-friendly blog, so I won't even try to put into words the efforts of brother Yaya. But for whatever reason, he seems to avoid the wrath of his manager and continues to find himself on the team sheet despite having the work rate of a middle-schooler who's been given a personal laptop to "learn" on.

Barry - 6.5; Quiet, yet effective night for the Englishman. Games like this remind you of why he occasionally gets into the England XI.

Milner - 6; Good pressuring and running, and found himself in good positions, but his final ball was lacking on too many occasions.

Silva -6.5; Not a memorable way to mark his 50th premier league appearance, some neat combinations at times, but failed to influence the game in his usual manner.

Balotelli- 7; Great goal to knock the game on it's head, and clearly has an incredible skill set. But can you trust baby huey enough to leave him home alone over the weekend, without coming home to find your house in shambles?

Aguero– 8; Lovely through ball to set up the first goal, came close to scoring his own on a couple occasions. Was at the heart of all of City's good work in the first half hour and was unlucky to come off after the red card.

Kolo & De jong-; Couldn't see out the result Mancini wanted.

Dzeko – His only touch was to take a shooting chance off of his teammate Barry's boot.


Chelsea

Cech-5.5; Would have been some save to stop Balotelli, wasn't up for it.

Bosingwa-6.5; After having found himself on the bench after a great start to the campaign, he made the most of his chance to show his manager his quality. Comfortable crossing with either foot, which is essential for a fullback. Perhaps a bit lucky not to concede a penalty to Silva in the early going.

Ivanovic –5; Failed to really step up and make that other CB spot his deputizing for the suspended Luiz. Probably is better on the right, but Bosingwa is a lot to sacrifice.

Terry - 6.5; Recovered nicely after the first goal to put in another solid shift. Never shies away from contact that's for sure.

Cole - 5 ; Looked frazzled like the rest of the premiership has when city were at their throats in the first thirty minutes. Calmed down as the game went on.

Ramires -6;, Not his best game, but always dangerous as it was his now trademark runs that got Clichy sent off. There won't be any questions about his fitness either (yaya) as he sprinted the length of the pitch in the 94th minute to defend. Love it.

Romeu- 7; Impressive stuff from the Spanish U21 Int'l. He showed good spatial awareness and the ability to take the sting out of the game when City were all over Chelsea in the first half. He doesn't play like a Chelsea player. (compliment)

Meireles- 6; Peripheral figure despite scoring. Made the finish look easy where he could have easily blazed over.

Sturridge-7.5 ; Had a hand in both goals, and the sending off. He has to be an automatic selection for AVB these days. Still puzzles at times with his decision making, but you have to credit him for getting into the right positions.

Drogba- 5.5; It's probably telling that the liveliest old Didier looked was in the dying moments, when he acted as human shield to time waste. We may have seen the best of the Ivorian.

Mata- 7; Was able to influence the game after City went down to 10, Chelsea are probably a better team without Lampard taking away his touches.

Lampard –There's that penalty I promised, and what a pen it was.

Malouda & Mikel - Brief cameos for the forgotten men and understudies of Mata & Romeu.

Man City verdict - Mancini got it wrong when he took off Aguero in favor of Mario when they went down to ten men, and he looked less likely to score another goal than he did to do something naughty. They were the better side for large parts of this game and will be kicking themselves when they look back and see how vulnerable Chelsea were.

Chelsea Verdict - The rest of the league will be thanking them, and you can't argue with the result, but you just wonder if AVB has some tinkering left to do before he decides how his Chelsea will play. Fernando Torres needs to play football. Frank Lampard will want to play football. It's all up for grabs at the Bridge.

Refs - Mark Clattenburg is a good referee, perhaps one of the better ones in the Prem. But he fell victim to the age-old adage of "Well, I've given one bad yellow card, so now I have to give 10 bad yellow cards." Too often referees are stubbornly predictable in their bookings. I'd love to have a favorite referee, one that I can always count on to have a good game, I'd even cheer for him, talk him up. But the more football, or any sport I watch for that matter, I just start to wonder if any good refs are even out there...

CL Recap

Both Manchesters Are Out

This marks the first time that I can remember where two of the top four teams in the world were unable to make it into the knockout stages of the Champions League. While Man City easily defeated a second string Bayern Munich squad, they needed a hopeless, and injury ridden, Villarreal to at least tie a dangerous Napoli side at home. Villarreal was not able to do City any favors and now City, and their gazillion dollar built squad, can watch the rest of the CL on their tele. With the combination of City's lack of experience playing together mixed with this being arguably the best CL group of my lifetime, I cannot say I am surprised that a team of this quality got knocked out so early. Man U not qualifying, on the other hand, is a complete shocker. Put into a group that looked like a cakewalk, not qualifying for the knockout stages will go down as one of the biggest hiccups in Sir Alex's near flawless resume. Smalling being knocked out for Basel's first goal, Park's lack of creativity in the attacking midfield position, Vidic's injury, Rooney forgetting to bring his shooting boots, or United's lack of an answer for the impressive Shaqiri are all to blame for the pathetic loss. The main takeaways I got from the game are that no path to the CL knockout stages are as easy as they look, Shaqiri is a star in the making (think Messi 2.0), and if Vidic's injury is long-term then we might as well hand the EPL title over to Man City now.

Frenchies Once in a Lifetime Comeback

Lyon did something today that I have never seen before. They went into today's match down 3 points to Ajax and with a 7 goal worse differential to the Dutch champs. Sounds like an impossible gap to make up in one day right? Wrong. While Ajax got beat 3-0 to Real Madrid today, Lyon went a goal down but were able to score 7 consecutive goals to win 7-1. A year away from winning their league, Ajax, with their ongoing leadership troubles (think owners and people who run the club wanna kill each other) look to be in serious trouble and must be near Armageddon right now. With Marseille coming back from 2 goals down yesterday in Dortmund to win 3-2 at the death by Valbuena's wonder strike, the French football club nation is officially on cloud 9. Too bad we cant say the same thing about the national team. Marseille and Lyon can enjoy this week as if they won the whole thing because I do not see them going much farther so enjoy it while you can boys. But hey who saw Dallas winning the NBA title, St. Louis coming from nowhere to take the World Series, or even Man U getting knocked out in the group stages? I guess that's the best thing in sports. Anything can happen and we, the fans, can always be surprised.

Fulham vs Liverpool 12/5 Player Ratings

In a mostly forgettable contest, Fulham stole all three points over the only slightly more deserving Liverpool, who will be kicking themselves when they look back at this Monday night come late May.

Fulham
Schwarzer-7- Heroic save to deny Downing late on was the pick of the litter. Was well beaten by Henderson in the first half, and could have easily been on the wrong end of this game on another night.

Kelly-5.5- Got a couple of key blocks in, and was repaid the favor by his keeper on more than one occasion.

Senderos-6.5- Held his own for large parts of the evening. Cleverly brought down Adam just outside the area to gladly receive his yellow for a professional foul.

Hangelaand-7- Resolute defending from the Norwegian tower. His stature was especially crucial in the dying moments to see out the game.

Riise-5- The other Norwegian will have enjoyed beating his former club, and tussling with his ex-golfing buddy Bellamy, but his best days are behind him I'm afraid.

Ruiz-5- The Costa Rican looks a shade too soft for the Premiership. Surprised Jol left him on for as long as he did.

Etuhu-6- There's no mystery what his role in the team is and he does it well. I'm not sure he played a pass more than 10 meters all night, which is an impressive feat when you think about it.

Murphy- 7.5 - Like it or not, everything Fulham does goes through him. He's no Xavi Hernandez, but he was the most influential player on the pitch tonight, dictating the snail's pace of the game when Fulham were in possession.

Dempsey-6.5- He certainly isn't shy of shooting, and he usually doesn't have another option. To a certain extent, Fulham are quite similar to the U.S. in their playing style, and Dempsey flourishes in this type of role in this type of system. It will be interesting to see how Jurgen & Jol deploy him going forward. On another night, he might have been sent off for childishly trying to get in Bellamy's face. But popped up at the crucial moment and got his goal.

Zamora - 6 - Proved that he can hold the ball up, but will need to show a little bit less with his back to goal if he wants to crack into Capello's squad.

Dembele - 8 - Should have opened the scoring early, but made up for it as the game progressed. Looked the only real threat to Liverpool with his somewhat unorthodox dribbling style. Useful player.

Liverpool

Reina-5.5- Made some great saves, but no one will remember those I'm afraid. Such is the life of a goalkeeper...

Johnson-5.5- Was hardly hassled at the back, but he hardly got forward and was prisoner to Fulham's negative tactics.

Skrtel - 6.5 - Sound defending, Zamora made things easy for him.

Agger -6- I'd like to have seen more of his driving runs from the back, as Liverpool were clearly starved for ideas as to cracking the Fulham nut.

Jose Enrique - 7 - Only the young Valencian left back Jordi Alba is keeping him out of Spain's national team.

Adam-6.5- Was influential, but only at times. Critically chose the wrong option on a 4-2 break. Liverpool needed him to be Gerrard tonight, and he wasn't.

Spearing - 6 - Was enjoying a decent debut until he lost his head and got sent off. Granted it was never a red card, but he didn't do his team any favors for the last 20 minutes.

Bellamy - 6 - Started the game really well, but faded in the second half and failed to convince his critics. Some will wonder if he really is the best wide option as Kenny tinkers with his personnel.

Henderson - 6 - So unlucky not to score when he hit the post in the first half. He did a respectable job of playing a sort of right defensive midfield, but you feel he was almost wasted in this role.

Carroll - 6 - Much like Bobby Zamora showed he can take a pass with his back to goal, Andy Carroll proved that he can win headers and knock the ball down to his supporting strikers. Is that worth $55million?

Suarez- 7.5- PhD candidate in the Dark Arts, Suarez's talent is impossible to deny. At the same time, he is impossible to root for as a neutral, because he is so repulsively childish and transparent in his demeanor. Needs a proper strike partner. Torres buyback?

Liverpool verdict - Dalglish's decision to keep Downing on the bench probably cost the reds three points tonight as the winger looked a match winner in his brief cameo. A top 4 spot is a more than reasonable expectation, but they still have some soul-searching to do, and hardly look a well-oiled machine.

Fulham verdict - Almost painful at times to watch, their insistence on playing almost everything backwards and sideways must be a footballers dream. But three points is three points, and they'll take them how they can get them.

Newcastle Chelsea (in brief)

By far the weekends most entertaining game,(apologies Blackburn & Yakubu) Chelsea were more than flattered by the final scoreline. And as Deyan feared, with the news of Steven Taylor lost for the season, Newcastle are officially fucked and the scrap for survival begins. Chelsea are floundering still, but have the depth in their squad to mount a title challenge yet. With the brutal christmas games to come, anything can happen.

Newcastle

Krul - 9 - Incredible stuff from the young dutchman, stecklenberg has to be looking over his shoulder.

Coloccini Inc- Hopefully he'll only miss a week.

S.Taylor -7.5- Outstanding. Will be sorely missed.

Perch - 3.5 - With his awareness and Mertesacker's speed, I think we've found our ideal center-half.

Simpson - 5.5- Mata absolutely undressed him with that one turn, go back and watch it.

R. Taylor - 4.5 - I empathize here severely, because it's not fun to be slow, white, and out of position when you're playing full back.

Guthrie - 7- Really liked what I saw from Jeremy's non-morman cousin. Creative tattoos as well.

Cabaye - 6 - useful on the ball, useless in defense. conceded the pen, and was at fault for the goal, all in a days work.

Obertan - 5- Looks like Shane Battier, plays like J.R. Smith.

Lovenkrands - 7.5 - Economical in possession and incisive with his runs. Had no idea he was such a versatile player, I'll look out for him in the Danish team.

Ben Afra - 5.5 - Trying to do too much with too little of the ball.

Ba - 8 - Excellent. Deserved better.

The Ameobi Brothers - 6 - Sammy still has a lot to learn from big bro.

Chelsea

Cech - 5 - John Olereud is getting worse.

Terry - 8.5 - Who are you, and what have you done with the new, ridiculous JT?

Luiz - 4.5 - He is a bit unlucky at times, but he puts himself in bad situations.

Cole/Ivanovic - 5.5- Job done for the fullbacks, but never can I remember either player being less involved in attacking buildup, esp Ca$hley.

Ramires - 8 - Brace face was all over the place again. Unlucky not to score. Great player to have in your team.

Romeu - 5 - I was less than enamored with Alpha Romeu's play. Take your pick between him and Mikel.

Lampard - 5 - Poor penalty, not his best game. He'll score a penalty on tuesday night though, book it.

Mata - 8.5 - He's playing on a different cerebral level than the others.

Sturridge - 6.5 - Could have had about 10 goals. Will he partner/(deputise for the suspended) Rooney in Poland?

Drogba - 6 - He's lost that fire from a few years ago.

Newcastle 0 v Chelsea 3 Player Ratings

A truly entertaining, end to end match that sadly was mainly decided by a blown non red card call in the first 5 minutes. David Luiz should have been giving his marching orders after he took down Demba Ba in the beginning of the match but was luckily only given a yellow card. This led to a match where Newcastle hit the post a bunch of times and Chelsea could have scored at least 5 more goals then they did. The worst possible result for Newcastle where not only did they unlckily lose their unbeaten home record, they also lost two of their best players through injury. With no depth at center defense, and both their star center defenders getting injured, Newcastle look to be in serious trouble. Adding that their star defensive midfielder, Tiote, is also injured, Newcastle will need some serious reinforcements in the January transfer window if they are to maintain their top 6 place. Chelsea, on the other hand, were extremely fortunate today and got the result they needed before their big Champs League game coming up in mid-week. This game will look to be the positive changing point of their so-far underperforming season.

Newcastle

Krul- 8.5 Two world class low left handed saves in the first half- the first on Lampards penalty, the second on Sturridges breakaway. Could really do nothing with Drogbas header and made a couple more great saves in the second half. Extremely unlucky to give up two more late goals and had another man of the match performance.

Simpson- 4 Wretched first half where he gave the ball away way too easily. He is a young improving defender who can hang with other decent players in the EPL but when coming against a star such as Mata, he has no chance. Improved in the second half but still a very weak display today.

S Taylor- 7.5 An extremely difficult game without his better center defender partner. Solid in the first half but couldn't do much playing alongside a player as wretched as Perch. Worked his ass off like usual but was given no help from his pathetic other defenders. Came off injured late on in what looks to possible be a serious calf injury.

Coloccini- N/A Made a couple solid defensive stops before he came off earl with what looks like an ongoing back injury. Was sorely missed to say the least.

R Taylor- 4.5 Some of the worst positioning I have ever seen. For a defender, he brings a great work rate and an exceptional offensive game. However, he is far too slow to be playing at outside defense in the EPL and for a defender, he really cannot defend well at all. Horrible challenge at the end of the match that showed his frustration and easily could have been a red.

Obertan- 4.5 Yes he is dangerous with the ball on the right wing and has skills in abundance. But he seems to run around like a headless chicken that has no soccer IQ whatsoever. Gave the ball away way too easily and seems to only be able to go right, thus making him far too predictable for a winger.

Cabaye- 7.5 Solid all around. I love everything about this player and he does everything above average. He is fierce in the tackle, seems to always be one of the smartest players on the pitch, and has perfected the cross field pass. However, he was slightly at fault for Mata getting separation in Drogba's first half goal.

Guthrie- 6.5 He is too slow and not even close to the power man that is Tiote. However, he knows what his strengths are and sticks to them wisely. Another solid game deputizing at center mid.

Lovenkrands- 6 A surprising start, and a more surprisingly well played first half where he looked dangerous and full of confidence every time on the ball. Faded massively in the 2nd half and came off for Sammy.

Ben Arfa- 5 Newcastle's most skilled player did what he has been doing all season- he tried to do too much too much of the time. He did again show his flashes of skill when on the ball but could have done much more. Came off at half, hopefully for tactically reasons and not cause of injury.

Ba- 7.5 Easily Newcastle's most dangerous player who has developed into a fantastic all around striker and one of the buys, if not the buy, of the season. Hit the post once in the first half off a fantastic header and forced another post hit again in the second half when pressuring Drogba. Got tired at the end and seemed to need more help today.

Subs

Perch- 4 Maybe the worst player in the EPL. He is far too weak to hang w/ Drogba in the air and is far too unconfident to do anything else well either. The drop off going from Collo to him is like going from dating a dime for a year and having her break up with you so you go to the bar get blacked out and take home the fatty. However, he did improve greatly in the second half and seemed like he finally grew some confidence. Sadly, it looks like he will be starting in central defense the nest couple weeks.

Shola Amoebi- 5.5 Came on at halftime for Ben Arfa to add a big physical presence and def made his presence felt. He, as always, screwed up a couple opportunities but was able to hit a lovely right footed rocket off the bar. Like the rest of his team, he was very unlucky today.

Sammy Amoebi- 5 Showed his flashes of skill in one dribble but didn't offer much else.

Chelsea

Cech- 6 Pretty decent save on Ba's turnaround effort in the first half. He kept his clean sheet but that was mostly because of luck aka the crossbar/post.

Ivanovic- 6 Ok first half where he did nothing really wrong nor nothing really well. Did what he needed to do and didn't offer anything more.

Luiz- 4 Ooo how he always seems to amaze me. He should have been sent off for tackling Ba in the first 5 minutes and almost gave away a goal a few minutes after that. Then he got beat way too easily by Ba for his header that hit the post moments after that. He did settle down as the game went on.

Terry- 8 It was always going to be difficult playing with such an unreliable player such as Luiz but, like usual, he played with his heart on his sleeve and put his body out there when he needed to. Fantastic performance to help his team keep the clean sheet they needed.

Cole- 6 He realized very early that Obertan can only go right and, on the most part, did a decent job defending him. Like Ivanovic, he had a solid game defensively but didn't offer much in attack.

Ramires- 7.5 For one of the few players who played mid-week, it was surprising that he seemed fresher then most. However, it was not surprising that he seemed faster then everyone on the pitch and did everything above average. Fantastic player all around.

Romeu- 7.5 If Ramires surprised me, Romeu baffled me. And I mean in a good way. For the youngest player on Chelsea, he someway seemed the smartest. He never gave the ball away cheaply and except for one time when Ba completely blew by him, his defending was rock solid. A great young player who at this rate Barcelona will surely use their genius buy back plan on as soon as they need him.

Lampard- 6 A decent game from the England International who had his penalty saved, but it wasn't a bad penalty whatsoever. He looked extremely pissed to be taken off in the second half and surely knows his time as a starter is about to come to an end.

Sturridge- 6 He created so much in the first half but yet couldn't finish any of the chances he created. Far too selfish today and will need to improve his decision making and finishing if he wants to be starting in place of Rooney for England during the group stages of Euro '12. Nice strike late on however to finish the scoring.

Drogba- 6 A fantastic header goal in the first half that was followed by a horrible miss in the beginning of the second. Great hold up play once Collo went off through injury but nothing to brag about since he was going against a Championship players such as Perch.

Mata- 8.5 World class play in the first half from probably the only world class player on the pitch. His movement, timing, intelligence, touch, and passing are second to none (except for maybe his Spanish counterparts he cant seem to jump in the Spanish starting lineup). Faded a lot in the second half but did all the work he needed to do in the first. Came off in the second in what sure is to rest him for their Champs League game coming up.

Subs

Miereles- 5.5 Did what he needed to do when he came on in the 2nd.

Torres- 4 No confidence or sharpness in his play. He is a shadow of his former self.

Kalou- 5 Was lucky to score his first goal of the season. Will he ever get a start again?

The Big 5 of the Last 2 Weeks and Predictions

Over the last couple weeks, there have been 5 important things worth noting in the futbol world. I will briefly go over all of them.

#1. The English teams are in serious Champions League trouble

While Arsenal were able to scrape a victory and advance to the qualifying stages, Chelsea and the Manchesters weren't as fortunate. Chelsea, a squad severely out of form, must now beat an in form Valencia or draw nil nil to advance. Man U must win or tie Basel away to advance. And Man City must beat Bayern Munich AND have Villarreal take some points of Napoli to advance. Prediction- Chelsea and Man U advance, Man City does not.

#2. Lucas Leiva tears his ACL

The most important injury no one seems to be talking about. After his 3rd consecutive man of the match performance where Liverpool dominated Man City and were unlucky to not come away with all 3 points, the conservation should have been about whether Lucas has cemented himself as the best CDM in the EPL, or in the world. Instead, it was about how severe his injury would be. And unluckily for Liverpool, Lucas has torn his ACL and is out for the season. Being arguably the most underrated player in the world (how a starter for Brazil's national team can be underrated I do not know), this could potentially have serious consequences on Liverpool's Champions League spot hopes. If Gerrard comes back to his form from years past, the blow will soften significantly. If he does not, they are in serious trouble. Prediction- Gerrard can't rediscover his old form and Liverpool ends the season a couple points away from 4th place.

#3. Madrid look unstoppable, Barcelona does not.

Including national teams, these are easily the 2 best teams in the world. On paper, these might be the 2 best teams of all time. Their second string squads would beat almost every other teams first strings. I can go on and on about how good these squads are but while Madrid look to have finally figured out their best formula, counterattacking at a ruthless pace and letting Ronaldo do his thing on the left wing, Barcelona seem to be losing theirs. With Barca losing to Getafe last week, Madrid have a 6 point cushion on them that is huge when you are talking about a team with their quality. Yes it is a little early to come to any conclusion. Yes defensive injuries have essentially forced Barcelona to play a weird 3-4-3 formation. But with such a deficit, Barcelona need to play near perfect to defend their title. Prediction- Barcelona closes the gap on Madrid but does not have what it takes this season to overtake them as Madrid takes the Spanish title.

#4 Gary Speed dies

One of my favorite players of all time, Gary Speed, passed away last week in what looks to be a suicide by self hanging. This has to be one of the most confusing suicides of all time. He was the manager of his home country, Wales, and was loved by everyone he ever met. He was a true hard working professional and was one of the players I grew up idolizing when he was dominating the center of the pitch for Newcastle. He was a good looking lad who had a wife and two sons who seemed to love him dearly. Why he committed suicide will be one of the biggest mysteries of all time. RIP Gary Speed.

#5 Euro '12 draw

For those of you unaware, the Euro '12 draw came out this morning. And o what a draw it is. Group A is Poland, Greece, Czech, and Russia. Group B is Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal. Group C is Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Croatia. Group D is Ukraine, Sweden, France, and England. It is the only draw in my lifetime where one groups best team (Russia in Group A) is worse then another groups worst team (Denmark in Group B). Group B is the obvious group of death where all 4 teams have the talent to win it all. With there being 3 teams in the tourney head and shoulders above the rest, Spain-Germany-Netherlands, and 2 of them in the same group as the best player of the tourney, Ronaldo, this makes for an interesting group to say the least. Group C is easily the second best group and Group D the third. Yes with Group A being so weak and Group B being so strong, the pot system is severely flawed and unfair, but in sports not everything is fair. Ooo how June 9nth can't come soon enough. Prediction- Way too early to tell but if the tourney started today Germany over Spain in the final.

Villa vs. Spurs Player Ratings

Tottenham

Friedel - 6 - The Premier league's oldest player was scarcely tested by an impotent Villa attack. Claimed what little crosses he had to and might have been expecting better from his former club.

Walker - 7.5 - Another stellar performance from the young right-back, justifying Capello's decision to include him in the England squad and underscoring the depth the three lions have at that position. You have to admire his skill set: a powerful shot, accurate crosses, comfortable going forward, and aerial prowess. Looks to be the total package.

King - 6 - Ledley mostly stayed out of the limelight, but he'll surely face sterner tests than this. Can he stay healthy? Is he first choice when everyone else is fit?

Kaboul - 6 - This was an uncalamitous night for the Algerian. He even showed flashes of composure on the ball. Still this defensive partnership has doubters to convince if Spurs are to stay in the coveted top 4.

Assou-Ekotto - 7.5 - His ridiculous afro couldn't distract from the fact that this is a hugely improved player from seasons of old. Maybe it takes a couple of years to adjust to the Premiership. BAE is a confident and accurate passer and does a nice job of supplying his weapons around him with the ball.

Lennon - 6 - He's capable of creating a goal at any moment, but his decision making can let him down at times. Laid a goal on Adebayor's doorstep which the Togolese promptly squandered.

Parker - 8.5 - He looks much more deserving of the PFA's player of the year award this year than he ever did at West Ham. He's been a revelation in his terrier role that Redknapp has bestowed upon him. I only hope that he doesn't lose his occasional impulse to get forward and give us goals like the above.

Modric - 8 - He almost suffers from the fact that players like Van der Vaart and Bale require so much of the ball. Too often he is sacrificed and not able to influence the game enough for me. As long as they are winning this is tolerable, but you can see why he might want out in January.

Bale - 9 - What a weapon. His speed, combined with his ability have to put him in the conversation as the most sought after players in the world after CR7, and Messi.

Adebayor - 7 - Sure he got his double, but he should have had at least 4 in truth. He was uncharacteristically active, especially tracking back in defense. He is undoubtedly talented, but I think both he and Spurs will need to sustain their play if they are to convince their skeptics.

Van der Vaart - 6.5 - Still looks a tad pudgy for me, i.e. huffing and puffing after 30 minutes. Although his vision and left foot are top class, he can be a defensive liability.

Aston Villa:
Given - 5.5 - He should have done better to collect Bale's cross on the second goal, although Collins didn't do him any favors.

Cuellar - 5.5 - What a way to return to the premiership after what feels like a three year absence. Go and mark Garreth Bale.

Dunne - 5 - Much to everyone's chagrin, he only just missed adding to what has to be the largest and most comical own goal collection of any capped player. Not his best evening.

Collins - 5.5 - Unsighted Given which probably led to the second goal, but won tons of headers on long balls.

Warnock - 6 - Came into the game for Villa's brief flurry of attack early in the second half with a couple of decent crosses.

Hutton - 5 - I do not like him at right back, and I certainly don't like him at right wing. Will have to fight Cuellar for his place.

Herd - 6 - Looks to be a decent young player, but Spurs passing simply wore him out, and he was out of gas halfway through the second period, not unlike most of his team.

Petrov - 4 - The Villa captain is usually a good barometer of their chances in a game, and boy did he sum up their play tonight. He stunk, and so did they, He didn't do the young Herd any favors, allowing Modric, Van Der Vaart, Parker, and whoever else drifted infield entirely too much space.

Agbonlahor - 7 - The only remotely dangerous looking play that Villa mounted came through him and his pace. Did not look like he was enjoying proceedings.

Bent - 6.5 - Had a handful of half chances, and tried to stay as active as he could. But he was horribly starved for service.

Heskey - 5.5 - Another chapter in the illustrious career of Sir Emile Heskey. Just when you thought you'd seen it all, he lines up at left wing. Is there anything this man can't do?

Spurs Verdict - They outclassed their opponents by a long way in this Anglo edition of MNF. Redknapp couldn't have lucked into a better class of midfielders, but they are still suspect up front and at the back for me.

Villa Verdict - Their new manager, (a man who led arch rivals Birmingham straight into the Championship) elected to use a holding striker and a right back as his wingers. Their lack of ambition was evident when they ran out of gas and ideas and essentially threw in the towel around the 70th minute. The end stages of this game were painful to watch as a neutral and felt more like an exhibition than a competitive match. All you need to know is that Mcleish only used two subs, and one was bringing on Fabian Delph, (a defensive midfielder) for Chris Herd in the 88th minute.

2011-12 EPL Player Rankings

Deyan and I proudly Present...


*Indicates Short-term Injury
#Indicates Long Term Injury

USMNT v France + EURO 1st Legs

(Who wouldn't love an NFL Quiniela, does this exist?)

In case you missed it, our beloved USMNT went down at the Stade de France 1-0 behind Loic Remy's goal in the second half. The John Harkes of the world might like to tell you that this was a heroic effort for our boys to hang in there with the French on their home soil. But anyone who watched the game, and remembers French teams of yore, will tell you that we were poor, and should come away with the one glaring truth from this game: France are still that South African funk, and struggling to find their feet in the post-Zidane era. Klinsmann will no doubt be kicking himself that he couldn't jump start his career with that marquee win over what was a very beatable French side.

The Positives
Jozy Altidore has a nice set of tools, he seems to excel with his back to goal, his finishing will only get better. He is 23. Maurice Edu was our MOTM for me, and I see no reason he can't become our regular CDM. He is 25.

The Negatives
There are obviously plenty of negatives that occurred in this game, most of them are obvious, so I'm not going to dwell on them here. I guess this is as good a time as any to point the finger at little Landon Donovan. He chose to stay at home and prepare for his MLS cup final instead of playing his supposed role as USMNT talisman. This is the same guy who had a chance to permanently move to England, and elevate the profile of our team and hopes of our country along with it. If we keep pinning all our hopes on this guy, we're going to get burned every time.

Europe
Only one big shock from the first leg of the Euro Qualifiers. That being the big fat egg laid by the Turks at home. Maybe they realized that they'll never get into the EU, and they aren't really in Europe in the first place, and didn't want to spoil everyone's fun. That is the only plausible explanation for their defending on that third goal. Shocking.

Montenegro will feel like they have a chance if they get an early goal, but the Czechs experience combined with their stoppage time second goal in the first leg should carry them through. That was a back-breaker in a tie that was never going to yield many goals. Ronaldo throwing a vintage hissy-fit over the bit of the turf that caused the ball to bobble at a critical moment was probably the highlight of the first leg in Bosnia. Portugal will like their chances at home, but you'd be a fool to bet on Portugal. And good for Ireland getting that monkey off their back. But they better be coming with a little better than old man Robbie Keane next summer. He is as washed up as a beached whale. Remember when he signed for Liverpool?

Newcastle 2 v Everton 1 Player Ratings

Newcastle

Tim Krul- 6.5 He made some decently hard saves look easy. Could do nothing with Rodwell's late 1st half header. He is only growing in confidence each game and has become one of the best young goalies in the world.

Danny Simpson- 6.5 Fantastic in the 1st half, decent in the 2nd. His tantalizing, bouncing cross led to Heitingas own goal and he patrolled the right flank throughout.

Steven Taylor- 6.5 A tower in defense, His and Simpson's weak marking was the cause of Rodwell's goal, but besides that, he didn't put a foot wrong.

Fabricio Coloccini (c)- 7 He just seems to be two times smarter then everyone else on the pitch. His positioning and technical skill, as always, were excellent.

Ryan Taylor- 7.5 His son is born and he cements himself as the starting LB with a wonder strike of a goal. Could he become one of those rare players who completely switches positions midway through his pro career and become a way better player? It looks so.

Sylvain Marveaux- 5.5 He looked composed, tenacious, and had-working in his first ever EPL start. However, he did not offer anything special in attack and was forced to come off through injury.

Yohan Cabaye- 5 You can tell how important he is to the squad by watching this game. Before his injury, Newcastle looked the better squad and were up 2-0. After his injury, Everton dominated possession and were unlucky to not grab the draw.

Danny Guthrie- 7 Due to Tiote's injury, he made his second consecutive start, and once again, he played brilliantly. His passing and positioning were intelligent, and he did whatever he could to help his team to victory.

Jonas Gutierrez- 5 Quiet game from the Argentinian International. As always, his work rate and defensive helping were excellent, but he offered very little in attack. His crossing was weak and was never able to get behind Hibbert.

Leon Best- 5 He was a thorn in Everton's defense but couldn't do much with what he was given. His hold up play is fantastic, but he needs to create more if he wants to keep his starting spot from King Arfa.

Demba Ba- 6 He kept running, and running, and running. For a striker, his work rate today was phenomenal and that was all that was needed to get the full three points.

Subs-

Gosling- 5 Came on early for the injured Cabaye and did what was needed. However, he still looks a step slow from his past injury and is at least a year away from fighting for a starting midfield position. He was extremely lucky to have not given up a penalty with his hand ball in the box off Saha's shot.

Sammy Amoebi- 5.5 Didn't show the speed I was hoping for when he almost had the step on his man for the break. His left footed deliveries were brilliant and looks to have an excellent cross on him.

Ben Arfa- 5 He was unable to show the class he possesses in his brief cameo.

Everton

Tim Howard- 5.5 He could do nothing with either goal and didn't have much else to do today as Everton held control of the game.

Tony Hibbert- 6 He was solid throughout and didn't offer Jonas any room to operate.

John Heitinga- 3.5 He started the game with a horrible own goal and ended the game playing out of position due to Neville's injury. Not a day he will want to remember as he couldn't put a foot right today.

Phil Jagielka- 6.5 Started the game averagely but got better and better as the game wore on. Once Saha came on, it looked like nothing was ever going to get through their rock solid central defense partnership.

Leighton Baines- 5.5 He was solid defensively but never delivered his usual picture perfect left footed crosses.

Seamus Coleman- 4 He wasted a fantastic scoring opportunity in the beginning and could not get anything going for him all day. He gave the ball away too cheaply and must improve to keep his starting spot.

Leon Osman- 5.5 He worked hard but offered little. Nothing much to note of him today.

Jack Rodwell- 7 He worked his socks off and helped wrestle control of the game with his overall play. His header for Everton's lone goal was nice as well.

Phil Neville (c)- 5 He is getting to be a liability for Everton. He adds experience and grit to the squad but Moyes has to have a selection problem because Neville isn't fast enough to keep starting in the EPL. Came off hobbling in the 2nd so will probably sit out a couple games anyhow.

Royston Drenthe- 7 He was easily both squad's most entertaining and dangerous attacking player. If he is able to keep his head right, he will be an absolute bargain of a loan for the Everton squad and possess the last bit of quality they need to get back in the top 10.

Louis Saha- 5 He was able to create himself a lot of opportunities but was unable to finish any of them. He was extremely unlucky with his pop shot that hit the post but was even more disappointing in his other shots off target.

Subs

Distin- 7 Everton became a better team when he came on. He was unbeatable in the air and on the ground. It will be a shock if he isn't starting next game and for the rest of the season.

Cahill- 5 A weak cameo for the Australian. He was brought in to get the tie and was unable to deliver. He should be back to full fitness and starting at forward by the time they take on Wolves in two weeks time.

Mcfadden- 4.5 No impact worth noting.

Ref- 5 He got every call correct besides one huge miss. Gosling clearly handed the ball in the box and that was the difference in the game as he completely missed it.