Manchester United's Wayne Rooney to make early return!

Whether the decision is to enhance the poor play of Manchester United over the past several weeks, or because he's actually fit to play, key Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is set to return to the Red Devil's squad earlier than anyone expected.

Rooney had been out recouperating from a fractured left foot he received when he was challed by Reading's Michael Duberry during United's goalless draw with the Royals on the opening weekend of the season on August 12.

Man U faces three important matches coming up soon. One with Everton this Saturday, one Champions League qualifying match with Sporting Libson next Wednesday, and then the following weekend in a clash with their rivals - Chelsea.

Man U is suffering with the loss of Rooney and suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, who received a three game suspension for violent conduct during Man U's draw with Portsmouth on August 15.

English Premier League Review: Week 5

Better late than never. I was traveling during the Week 4 games, but I'll make a few observations on Week 4 EPL results.

Aston Villa 2 - 0 Chelsea. Hard to imagine with their stroke of luck with the officials and squeeking by over the last several weeks, but yes indeed, Mighty Chelsea took their first EPL loss this season at the hands of the Villains. The Villains improved to 10th place, while Chelsea slid to 4th. Watching Chelsea host a solid Blackburn team this weekend will certainly be interesting. Also, News everywhere is reporting Michael Ballack is irate with his treatment by not being included as a part of the Chelsea the Champions League roster.

Arsenal 3 - 1 Portsmouth. The Gunners continue their impressive play in the Premiership, but their win was mostly due to the poor defense that Pompey provided. Although in fairness, Arsenal did play with a 10-man squad after Philippe Senderos was sent off in the 50th minute. Also, reports claim that if not for a bad kick by Abou Diaby the score would have been 4-1. Nonetheless, Arsenal takes the three points in finds itself sitting pretty in the number two position this week. The past weeks' buzz has been about whether or not Russian billionaire, Alisher Usmanov, is seeking purchase of Arsenal. This adds to the continued talk that EPL teams are becoming more and more internationally owned (Arsenal is already) and less the local English teams of old.

Manchester United 1 - 0 Sunderland. Aside from a standing ovation for the return of Roy Keane to Old Trafford, not much can be said of the offense or defense of Manchester United given that they were facing recently promoted Sunderland. Moreover, Carlos Tevez has been a non-factor since moving over from West Ham United, and in fact, the whole Man U team seems to be going through the motions. Only so much can be blamed on not having Rooney or Ronaldo. Despite a number of veterans on the field, United's goal came from Frenchman Louis Saha.

Newcastle 1 - 0 Wigan Athletic. Michael Owen scored the winning goal in the 86 minute helping Newcastle to slide past 10-man Wigan (note that Kevin Kilbane was sent off for two bookable offenses). Hardly an impressive win for Newcastle, we just wonder what might have been if Kilbane kept to his senses.

Liverpool 6 - 0 Derbyshire. Now its becoming increasingly obvious that Derby is a questionable promotion to the Premier League. But those are the rules of the league. Whatever they did last year to get promoted to the EPL seems to have fallen by the wayside. This is ugly. Liverpool on the other hand continues to dominate on the pitch. Six goals is six goals, and they deserve credit past the first three for solidifying their first place holding atop of the EPL.

Fulham 3 - 3 Tottenham. Hmmm. Well Martin Jol is still around yet Tottenham continues to swim at the bottom of the table, actually both Spurs and Fulham are 14 and 15 respectively. The game was poor for Paul Robinson who was murdered in the press for his poor play against Germany a week ago; allowing three goals won't help his case to be England's number one.

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 0 Manchester City. After an impressive start, Man City seems to have taken a few steps backwards over the past few weeks. The only saving grace is that they lost to a very good upstart Blackburn team. The only item of note is that the teams played each with 10 man squads due to red cards issues to Blackburn midfielder Tugay was sent off at 55', while Man City captain Dunne was sent off at 65'. A good game nonetheless. Man City slipped to 5th place, and Blackburn improved to 7th.

Reading 0 - 3 West Ham United. West Ham seems to have really made some improvements to both its offense and defense to hand a solid Reading team such a substantial loss. Their last visit to Reading near New Years' Day last year saw them crushed 6-0, so although the victory is half as large, its still sweet for the Hammers. Reading sits in the relegation slot for the moment - which is quite a surprise to all, while West Ham sits at 11th place.

Bolton Wanderers 1 - Everton 2. Everton continues to win and remains at a steady third place due to a late goal by Joleon Lescott in the 89th minute. Bolton came close to securing the draw but defense let them down in the last minute of the game.

Middlesborough 2 - 0 Birmingham City. Nothing much to talk about here, other than the fact that Middlesborough and Birmingham City remain in the lower half of the table with a lot more to prove on the Middlesborough side after last years' good season a distant memory.

English Premier League Kicks off tomorrow!

The official season of the English Premier League (EPL) kicks off tomorrow, and it looks like the games will be as exciting as last year - which is great news for those of us who love the sport of Soccer as played by the Europe's and World's greatest and most formidable league.

This brings me to a question that I've been toying with off and on regarding this blog and how to incorporate EPL updates as part of my regular ramblings. The question I've been asking is should I set up a separate blog for that purpose, or should updates continue here as key developments unfold? I don't intend to set up a blog or webpage that provides up to the minute scores or details of trades and so forth - as that is well covered by both Fox Soccer Channel's website and ESPN's Soccer site. And to their credit the coverage is good enough for the average fan.

In the coming days, I'll either set up a new blog, or decide to keep my soccer ramblings to a once a week thing.

But no matter what happens, I'm ready to watch Chelsea, Man U, Tottenham, West Ham, Liverpool, Newcastle and the host of other teams that are ready to take to the pitch. This will come as a huge disappointment to my wife and kids. The television will be centered around soccer which means that nonsense shows, soaps, reality TV, and Barney will have to take a hike. If Barney wants viewing time, he'd better put on a Chelsea Jersey and shag his fat, purple self onto the pitch.

Now how many parents would pay to see Barney slide-tackled. I'd pitch in a few bucks toward the Red Card suspension fee. Wouldn't you?

In the meantime, trying to figure out who was transferred to where? There have been a lot of trades in the EPL over the summer, so you may want to look here so your not surprised to see players like Alan Smith wearing a Newcastle Jersey over the weekend!

Pulling for West Ham! And EPL league analysis heading into this weekend's action!

As English Premier League play draws to a close, we have to pull for the West Ham United "Hammers" as they attempt to escape the relegation zone. As of this writing West Ham is hanging in at the number 18 spot with 35 points and only two games to go (Wigan also has 35 points but leads because of other stats that define rankings).

Why pull for West Ham? West Ham has been a forerunner for the EPL for years, and at the onset of this season, West Ham seemed like they would have a promising season; they handed Arsenal a loss that no one expected on Sunday, November 5th, but immediately after that point West Ham only managed to win one more game out of their next 20 games (defeating only Sheffield United on Saturday, November 25th). So with West Ham either losing or drawing week after week until they managed a win against Middlesborough on March 31st - it seemed that the team was simply bound for the relegation express.

West Ham improved in April winning three out of five games including consecutive victories over the past two weeks. But as the world wondered, would a last minute effort by last years' former FA Cup contenders be enough to pull them out of the basement? Would it be enough to save them from Coca-Cola land? That answer is still up in the air.

West Ham has also been in the news regarding irregularities involving the signing of Carlos Terez and certain clauses within a four year deal that allowed a third party Kia Joorabchian direct influence over West Ham. The FA ended up fining West Ham a record $5.5 million. Initially it was thought that the FA would have also deducted 10 points from West Ham which would have doomed them to relegation, considering their current ranking. Wigan and other relegation teams have threatened legal suits to attempt to get the 10 point subtraction imposed. This is yet another reason why we MUST ALL PULL for West Ham. How weak is it for a rival relegation bound team to threaten legal action instead of trying to beat out West Ham by winning their way to security? It's damn pathetic!

With Carlos Tevez now playing for West Ham, its possible that the Hammers have a fighting chance to beat relegation. But let's not kid ourselves, the road to beating relegation is paved in blood, sweat and war - with final two two games of the season scheduled against top EPL teams - Bolton and Manchester United. If West Ham beat these teams, then they deserve a place in the 2007-2008 Premiership.

The battle against the fifth place Bolton Wanderers tomorrow (Saturday 10 am EST) will be no walk. Bolton is hell bent on knocking off their rival, Arsenal, for a slot in Champions League play (CL spots are reserved for only the finishing top four teams), and at a minimum, hold onto their spot in European UEFA cup action (reserved for the top six finishing teams).

Naturally, finishes depend on how the other teams in and outside of relegation fair. The schedule breakdown and analysis is as follows:

20th place Watford is headed to relegation because they have 24 points and even two victories would not pull them free of relegation.

19th place Charlton Athletic has 33 points, but must play a red hot 9th place Tottenham Spurs this weekend and 3rd place Liverpool on May 13th.

17th place Wigan must play 14th place Middlesborough tomorrow, and 15th place Sheffield United next weekend. Wigan has the easiest road, but Middlesborough is no walk having recently held Manchester United to a draw in the FA Cup - and nearly pulling out an upset. Wigan has also lost its last two games, including their last game to rival West Ham by a lost of 3 - 0. If Wigan fails to win, they could give West Ham an even chance even if West Ham draws.

16th place Fulham has 36 points and have lost and draw in their past two games; the "Cottagers" must face a red hot 3rd place Liverpool team this weekend, and then must play 14th place Middlesborough.

15th place Sheffield United is in at 38 points, and must face 11th place Aston Villa, who have drawn and lost in their last two games. The Blades then go on to face 17th place Wigan next week.

14th place Middlesborough, already mentioned above stands with 40 points and plays Wigan this week and Fulham next week.

Manchester City (13th place) and Newcastle United (12th place) seem assured of safety, but will finish out in the bottom half of the league with little to be proud of except avoiding relegation and clinging to survivial. Hanging out near the bottom makes you a target the next time around and doesn't do much for club enthusiasm particularly when both teams sit with 42 points.

So I think we have it. Let's hope West Ham finds six points, and pray Wigan loses this weekend and next. Soccer schedules can be tricky things, the answer lies in not putting yourself in a position where you are counting your points, and others at the end of the season.

Go West Ham!

Soccer: the REAL athlete's sport

OK, so today I'm tackling the big question that everyone has been asking me these days... what is all this (sudden) fascination you have with Soccer (a.k.a. European football)?

Well its not really sudden, since I've been a fan for some time, but its been nearly impossible until very recently to be able to watch it on cable television and take in the game at a professional level on a regular basis. With the advent of Fox Soccer Channel (FSC), fans like myself can catch both the English Premier League (EPL) - the number one professional soccer league in the world, U.S. MLS, Italian League, and other soccer leagues from around the world. And its daily coverage instead of what we used to get which was a splattering of sound bites at the end of the World Cup.

Thank God for FSC as ESPN hasn't really caught onto the "world most popular" sport. Here's what I see: ESPN shows a five second clip of a ball entering a goal with little reference to the actual game, and calls it "coverage". Although to be fair, ESPN does get high marks for http://www.soccernet.com/ - its probably one of the best sites out there for scores, news stories, trades, and analysis, etc. But ESPN TV, especially SportsCenter coverage -- stinks! They need to get a clue over there at ESPN studios - someone needs to remind them that ESPN Desportes shows are produced in spanish, and the channel isn't available to everyone state-side. And they could probably cut out some of the airtime they give to the world's biggest cheater - baseball's Barry Bonds. Maybe some of the spots that ESPN devotes to kissing Bond's rear could go to real athletes like Ronaldo and Keane.

Of course, soccer isn't an unknown here. Just about every kid in the USA grows up playing soccer as part of the gym curriculum; and teams are popular from Elementary School through High School level. But when I was young, most kids could probably name only one soccer player - the great Pelé. Although they probably couldn't tell you that he is a famed player from Brazil. Today, kids know Ronaldo, Rooney, Henry, Keane, Lampard, and on and on.

Today, my hometown of West Hartford boasts as having the largest number of soccer leagues, and boasts of being the town with the largest number of kids playing in all of the State of Connecticut: 1400 kids are registered to play soccer under the banner of the West Hartford Youth Soccer Association. And that is just the kids - that doesn't include high school teams, recreational teams, and adult leagues. If you move from Italy or the U.K. and want your son or daughter to grow up playing soccer - then West Hartford is where you want to be! Here is the WHYSA site in case you are interested.

My general interest in soccer was reignited back when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994; FIFA was very reluctant to permit the U.S. to host the World Cup based on the incorrect perception that there weren't many soccer fans in the United States. FIFA also imposed that in order for the United States to host that they would have to create a professional league at some point in the near future - which they did in 1996 under the banner of Major League Soccer (MLS). Despite the initial perception of FIFA representatives and officials from competing nations, World Cup Soccer venues were well-attended in the States - up to 70,000 attendees per game. And with a good action plan in place, interest in U.S. Soccer is on the rise.

Anyone can recognize that Americans have almost too many choices for Pro Sports with long seasons that already tend to cross over each other. NFL Football, MLB Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, PGA Golf, NASCAR, Tennis, are but a few that receive regular programming time, then complicate the matter by throwing in NCAA College games and tournaments in most of those sports mentioned above. So why would anyone want to add Soccer to the list to compete with all of those previously mentioned. Well, one reason is that Soccer pound for pound, minute for minute is better than most of those listed above.

So why do I believe that soccer is better than most other American sports?

Well to start with, soccer is one of the few sports where the athletes, referees and officials have to actually be in reasonable shape in order to even show up on the field of play. Players and officials must run their tails off for 45 minutes straight - with few breaks, followed by a brief intermission, and then followed by another grueling 45 minutes of non-stop play. If that isn't enough, players endure kicks to nearly every part of their body, collisions, slide tackles, dives, and a host of other dangerous maneuvers during the game. Most soccer players are in incredible shape - and clearly, you can't fake the kind of physical fitness that's required of the game. No one stands around "waiting for a ball to come to them"; you either play hard for 45 minutes at a clip or you don't play. There is no time out, and if time is wasted, the ref adds more time on the end of the period to make up for it.

In contrast, if you look around Major League Baseball (and I am a die hard baseball fan, so no hate mail please), a great number of the guys on the field are just plain fat and out of shape. And I don't just mean those porkers in the Designated Hitter (DH) position, but pitchers, outfielders, first basemen, and particularly MLB umpires are all poster-children for weight loss programs. Quite a few (American) football linesmen are big, bulky and out of shape too. It's nearly pathetic to call some of these overpaid slobs - athletes. And I won't even start on the golfers. Oh man!

Soccer season tends to run from late August through end of May (continuing through the summer for athlete's chosen to represent their nation in World Cup qualification games), and often the teams participate in multiple Cup Championships during the regular season and in the middle of regular season league contention, and not after they are all rested up at the end of the season. How about that in contrast to Major League Baseball owners and players whining about pre-season activity by some players who participate in the World Baseball games. Gesh, give us a break, won't ya? Just don't overexert yourselves boys! It's a long summer sitting on the bench spitting out sunflower seeds and we wouldn't want you to become too tired to do that!
Soccer action is fast and furious, while baseball comes slowly, one pitch at a time. Soccer requires athletes to cover lots of space by spiriting back and forth a long 130 yard field, unlike pro basketball players who run around on the court and are able to rest during the plentiful "television timeouts" (Football is even more pathetic when it comes to TV timeouts). Soccer requires team effort all the time, passing the ball forward and backwards, and side to side, where as pro basketball is simply premaddonas making pretty baskets from 30 feet away.

Whippeee!

I would also say that the excitement, stamina/physical fitness required, fan sense of extreme anticipation (based on the fact that soccer at the pro level is usually a low scoring game than can be decided at the last second by a quick goal which could mean a win, loss, or draw), atmosphere, unpredictability, and complexity of the game, the incredible technical skill required, and number of rules (actually referred to as Laws) that govern actual play - all of this - makes the sport more exciting than most.

Finally, I particularly have to give a special Kudos to the professional English soccer leagues for setting the bar across all sports for penalizing teams who don't make the grade, and rewarding teams that do. The English system is made up of six levels (listed lowest tier to highest tier): Conference North and Conference South (both level 6), Nationwide Conference, League Two, League One, League Championship, and the Premiership (a.k.a. English Premier League or EPL). If you finish in the bottom positions in either the Championship League or the EPL then you receive an automatic demotion the next lowest tier; this is referred to as "relegation". So losing can mean losing a sponsor, notoriety, embarrassment, playing in front of smaller crowds, and there are obvious salary and pay disadvantages. On the other hand, if you finish in the top three spots in either League One or the Championship League, you receive a promotion to the next highest tier. And promotion naturally comes with all the rewards of moving to an advanced league provides - money, fame, and fortune.

So what does this do? Well, it makes teams play hard all the way through the last game of the season since every game counts; teams control their own destinies, and of course, on the other side of the equation - no one wants to lose to a team about to be relegated. The competition is so fierce that it doesn't permit teams to settle for a loss here and there based on laziness, when it could mean getting bumped down to a lessor division after losing in consecutive quality games. In contrast to other sports, where teams face no "penalty" other than embarrassment and loss of revenue for being at the bottom of their division.

The best example of how relegation can affect your club is to look at the history of Leeds United. A team considered to be cream of the crop in the EPL, a team that won several cups in the 80s, now finds itself struggling to keep from being relegated to League One!! Obviously, the money teams are usually the Premier teams, and once you lose a foothold, it become harder to recruit the best players, and reclaim ascension and glory. After all, what all-star wants to play for a has-been, when there are 20 teams in the Premier League offering higher salaries, and more options?

Alas, if you wonder what the big deal is... then tune in. There's nothing like it in the world!