At my desk

At home! Yessir, Last night I was more than a few sheets to the wind when I stopped everything and thought to myself, "Holy shit do I have to work tomorrow?!?" Well after few frantic text messages and emails I was informed that I in fact have the whole week off. Success! Which means about five days of non-stop football nerdery. Nerdery? Well I said it, can't go back on it now.

I've laid out my various sources of entertainment from where I watch games online to what podcasts are IMO the best to listen to. The Guardian, Times, 606, EPL Talk and even the now free thirty minutes of World Football Daily are staples, but with this extra time on my hands I've had to scour around a bit and see what else is out there.

So I'm trying to open up to more VCasts, and as I download the one from Al Jazzera, I noticed that UEFA puts out a VCast and it's not half-bad! Obviously nothing groundbreaking but still pretty cool to see well produced interviews and shots of players and teams that are at the forefront of European Football.



And as I'm watching this I'm thinking to myself, do they use the same guy for every voice-over of a European athlete into English? Don't know about you but I definitely grew up (well I was about 10 or so) watching Trans-World Sport and I swear to god it's the same guy. And I definitely remember watching this wondering when the hell are they going to show some baseball or hockey highlights?!!?! Well once a year we saw the Super Bowl highlights but it was always a week late and by that point I'd seen it one hundred times. But at least there was always Rally-Car footage and I always wished my parents would buy a decaled-out Toyota Celica.



Getting back to the topic at hand, the UEFA Vcast is pretty sweet and the last one up there is on Genoa, which works because Serie A has definitely grown on me over the last few years. Berlusconi getting punched in the face literally and figuratively with AC Milan has definitely had something to do with it.

The day of the boxe

Clearly the craziest time of the year. On the roads, in the malls, and in the EPL. Maybe they could squeeze in a few more games? I mean only TWO games on Tuesday and Wednesday? Unacceptable. Surely there are a few clubs that have had a days rest that could suit up.

Good to see the Reds get it together for the holiday season. Strange coincidence that the poster below was made by none other than Wolverhampton. Not a bad game at all for the reds, although you can clearly see something is still off. You gotta take it when you can though. It will be interesting to see what 2010 will bring. I do not anticipate any signings, and if there are they would be on the cheap. Hard times for scousers that is for sure. But it is soon January and things always begin to take shape. This time last year Liverpool began the string of draws (Stoke) and losses (Middlesbrough in Feb) that cost them the title. Now is the time to get it straight because as we saw, by March it will be too late.

So here's hoping Yossi stays in the starting XI and Hicks can sell the Rangers!!

And to all a good night

Simpson in the inflatable blue boat?

I have to say, over the last year one of the CMNT players that I've really taken notice of is Josh Simpson. His attitude, determination, desire ... is everything we need in a player to go over and above to get us to qualify. I am really excited to see how his career continues to develop considering he has looked really good an Manisaspor.

Speaking of the team that I always have to spell check over and over. We run the Across the Pond, which may seem repetitive week in and out, but checking game stats every week of CMNT players in Europe has actually given me what I'd like to think is a pretty good handle of what's up with about 10-15 starters at their respective clubs and their current form.

Which is why I was somewhat surprised to see that Simpson hadn't played this past week. So with the magic Google search (the same one I used to find out about frozen pitches in England and did Simeon Jackson actually as a defender this weekend?) I was somewhat surprised to see that there are some transfer rumours attached to Simpson. Ok well not surprised but surprised that through the usual channels no one's picked this up yet.

1860 Munich? Linking up with Kenny Cooper? Or Fenerbahe!? Besiktas!? Galatasaray!? Could he be getting coached by Frank Rijkaard in 2010?!

Well it's nice to see that a somewhat ridiculous fantasy line-up actually wasn't that far off in Simpson making a move within Turkey.

Well here's Josh scoring on his potential future club, and Harry Kewell gets the opener to once again keep the blog 100% Reds!

Where do we go from here?

Wow. Out of Champions League. An "easy" draw in Europa League. Then the Reds lose to last place Portsmouth. A terrible run, some terrible signings over the years. Rafa is still in (for now).

And I can't help but throw in a contrast - Man City. Heaps of cash, incredible players, exciting games, they beat Sunderland, a club Liverpool didn't beat, and the sack Mark Hughes.

Embarrassing.

How can anyone seriously support this team? I am one turn away from any club that is built on a open wallet with endless funds (Yankees, Rangers, Chelsea, Madrid), but over the last two years Man City takes the cake. From trying to sign Kaka for a disgusting fee - for ditching Dunne for LESCOTT for a disgusting fee, to going through Sven and now Hughes - what is there to look forward to? Mancini? What player IS Man City? Please.

I guess I should sympathize - because two teams who are really passing each other in opposite directions are at the mercy of their ownership who clearly have their heads up their asses.

Again, can't help but throw out the Blues are nothing more than a poor man's Real Madrid. And it's too bad because they don't have to be. Hughes, I am certain of it, could have gotten the results. But when you are buying the hot shit players and coaches, for 2-5X their worth, you don't have the balance to have truly long-term greatness. Chelsea, who I hate, are essentially the same team as the last year and you can see why they are doing well because there is legitimate chemistry and stability.

Such a messed up era in sports. I think back not even that long ago, within my lifetime anyway, where coaches/managers are brought in and you can look back over a long span of their career with a certain team (especially baseball - Sparky Anderson, Tony LaRussa, Tommy LaSorda etc ...) and see seasons with success and failure - but the teams stuck with them. You can even look at Shankly who wins the First Division in '63/'64 but finish seventh the next year. If this was today, he would be canned and we all know what happens after this.

I shake my head and as much as I flip flop on Benitez I have to say I'd rather be a Red (in their current state) than a Blue any day of the week.

Pizza Day

Well it's Friday at my new(ish) job. Which means PIZZA. I could eat it ever day, but then I would be fat. Don't want to be a fat guuuuyyyyy.

After the first month was down at my new place of employment, my blogging was almost at a record high. But alas, my obsessive ways once again ruin a good thing. The above photo is a slight exaggeration ... in fact it would be 100X cooler if I was spending my lunch hours playing NASL Soccer. After finishing dead last in a MarioKart Tournament I am now in serious training to at least finish in the top 10 next time.

Actually if I was playing Football Manager like I used to (I'm sure many can share this experience) of every morning before work, during my lunch break, as soon as I came home and all through the night (I did this for no joke at least a year solid ... maybe two), then it would be a more appropriate to make posts about video games.

But once again in the wake of missing the week's most exciting stories (Liverpool WINS, Hutchinson AND Klukowski through to the 32 in Europa League!) I am left with writing about ... what I do on my lunch break? Agh. Get it together Spark.

This is mostly a joke as weeknight have been used plotting 2010 and writing for RNO, but there was a good run going on here and I have to refocus.

Stay tuned!

Dalglish for Manager!

Of the Tampa Bay Rowdies?!


That's right. You better watch out. When you come down to play in Tampa Bay shit's gonna get Rowdy. Noogies, wedgies, knocking things over, lots of yelling, not givin' a care, the whole lot. No parents allowed.

Normally you'd be thinking of Kenny as a possible manager, and with the Reds in absolute shambles his name has been bandied about as a possible replacement for Rafa or at least buffer until someone else can be sought out.

But the OTHER Dalglish, the Son of Dalglish (nobody steal my movie title!) the one who played for the Houston Dynamo in MLS is now the manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Hmmmm unless my blog roll's information is off point, is he aware the state of the "league". As in there might not be one?

These are all debates for another day because there is a more important question to ask:

Which logo is more brutal? Tampa Bay circa 1984


ORRRRRRRR Tampa Bay 2009?


Wow. I'd have to say 2009. At least the 1984 one doesn't look like it was done in Microsoft Word. Although their website would have you think differently - mix of traditional and contemporary ... yikes. On a sidenote, did anyone else ever notice there are some very terrible crests in the former USL?

These are the kind of things I'm thinking of this Tuesday night ...

It's a juggling act

Well with this amazing weather it makes it harder to come home at lunch to blog. I guess we can't complain considering it was warm up until about a week ago. I actually tried to ride my bike out in this mess this morning but pretty much got to the curb and said F#$& it! Within thirty seconds my pants were soaked as were my shoes. As a result, no Blondie's and I had to drink Druxy's coffee and walk to work wearing rain pants and jacket. Trust me I looked cool. In case you are wondering, that is me on the right juggling and beside me tearing it up on the vielle is my good friend Augustine Aldous that old scamp, and the lovely lady playing the harp is his girlfriend (who I hate!) Florence Margaret.

Once again you blink and everything happens all at once. After last friday's World Cup draw it was all quiet until the email came through on Sunday (I think) saying Canada would be announcing their next head coach. Hmmm hmmm who could it be? Well there was never any doubt and the CSA all but admitted it wasn't like they were actually 'looking' for a new head coach. Per usual it just takes them about 6 months to make any kind of decision on anything. Ah the perks of associations.

Part of me is fine with Hart being named the head coach, however, there is a part that looks at it and thinks ... nothing has changed at all, we're just lucky that on the shortlist of ONE he happens to be a decent coach. I shudder to think who would have been picked had he not been up for it, or who will be his successor one day.

To round off an interesting week (well by hump day anyhow) the good ol' Reds lose at home to Fiorentina!! Now like many out there I have a soft spot in my heart for cities I've actually been to so I do think that it is a good story that they have gotten out of the group stages, and considering all the hoop-la with Italian football (which in the last year I've actually begun to really like) I think it is a good think overall. But Liverpool ... oh my ... through failure comes success? Jeez I hope so because this is getting too much to bear. I mean ... no offense to Blackburn supporters but they are not quite Europa League quality so I'm honestly not sure how Liverpool, in their current form, will handle the likes of Juventus, Wolfsburg, Rubin Kazan or Marseille.

A moment out of the day

Just riding around today. Thought I'd cross over from the West side (WHAT!?) to the East side and stop by some spots I might not get to see now that it is getting FREEZING outside. First stop was Mercury Coffee just before Carlaw for a much needed coffee at 1:30pm, then it was on to check out some badass posters at none other than Telegramme.


This place is dope and has an amazing selection of prints from Charly Harper to Tavis Coburn, Music to Nature to old Cuban movie posters. I've been in there a bunch of times and asked if they have access to any football posters. I could eBay it but would rather buy it locally and after trolling around I forgot how cool some of the old ones were.

These are so sweet. Uruguay 1930, Switzerland 1954, and Spain 1982 by Joan Miro:

The big draw!

Well what can you say? I felt like I was watching a cross between the Grammy's and Bumper Stumpers. Here's your beauuuuuuuutiful host ... Charlize!!! Not sure if you can say the actual event is exciting but the results and now anticipation to the opening kick off is. I was going to sit at work on lunch watching this on the FIFA site (you know just the results building the groups on a web page) and then realized I can snag it somewhere on TV. Presto! And this was the first thing I saw:


YIKES!!!!
And then this:


YEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWW!!
I wonder if anyone told her what a sausage-fest this was going to be.


I have no idea what the hell Beckham is thinking with this hair style. Seriously who actually maintains their faux-faux-hawk? Not punk.

Some big results and it's times like these where I sit back and wonder what the footballing landscape would be like if Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were still countries. But not for long because then I look at Brazil and think holy shit this team is insane and you still have the likes of Grafite and Nilmar (or Robinho) on the bench.


All in all I have to say I can't wait for June!!

50 years ago

SIGH

Too slow

Well geez you get tied up for two days and miss the window for a perfectly timed post!! Trying to not always be second place (ok fifth) I went down to BMO Sunday morning to scope out the turf getting all ripped up and shed a single tear. But alas it wasn't the idle machinery and concrete pitch I took note of, it was the missing beer garden and the first time I'd seen the north end completely cleared out. Well, I thought to myself, this really would be a perfect spot to fit a pretty decent permanent stand. The RM Game a good start - hell tear down those stupid VIP bunkers and we'd have a badass south and north end! As noted ... well, everywhere, looks like MLSE (or the Globe and Mail) have set up some futuristic mind reading device around BMO Field. Much like a force field, anyone who breaks it's plain their thoughts will be transmitted to MLSE IN THE FUTURE where they can make it look like they had been planning the whole thing for weeks.

No clue what that was all about.
Either way, here's hoping the north end is for supporters, but knowing those suits it'll probably seats that are $40 a pop and scalpers will now have even more real estate to keep empty.


And not to mention the bubble is where is always should have been.