O'Donnell's Observations 2
by Paul O'Donnell
Check it out, the imperious Alan Curbishley gets canned and now some names from the recent past are being tossed into the mix to determine his successor at West Ham. Names such as Gianfranco Zola, a fan favorite for years at Stamford Bridge and the flashy and entertaining former Hammer Paolo DiCanio too. Oh, just to keep it in the Italian camp one other name that is perhaps more likely is Roberto Donadoni.
The turmoil at Newcastle bubbles on and KK finally gets ticked off over the interference from the board and takes a hike in a confused two days where he didn't quit, we didn't fire him and then KK says yes, I did quit and I mean it. The circus at Newcastle would be an entertaining good cop, bad cop routine or maybe more accurately a Keystone Cops silent movie played out in real life. You have to wonder if these guys are contributing to the script of Dream Team? Dennis Wise will take the helm, for how long nobody can hazard a guess. To say Wise is 'disapproved of' by a large percentage of the Toon Army would be putting it mildly. What a shame for the supporters; it is a mess.
Manchester City gets bailed out by oil money getting out from under the threat to their stability with the former Thai prime minister and his legal problems. The new owner group says the intentions are to make City into a world power in club soccer which really means taking that mantle from their crosstown rivals Manchester United. In a shock first move to prove they mean business they snatched Rohinho from the clutches of Roman Abramowitz (Chelsea) and a flurry of reports suggest other last minute attempts to buy players such as David Villa and even Ruud. Should be interesting.
When EPL play resumes Liverpool faces one of their biggest challenges to making an actual run at the top of the league in their match with United at Anfield. Steven Gerrard, out with an injury, won't be making any substantive contribution but in an interview with The Guardian offered this:
"Over the last couple of years we've gone into games against United and Chelsea very organized tactically - defensive if you like - and still lost 1-0."
And he's right on target but it is more than just a "couple of years." In fact, Liverpool has gone scoreless versus United in their last 7 EPL games. The last goal scored by Liverpool in a match with United in league play was 4 years ago (Sept, 2004) and that was an own goal. United's 10th EPL title was largely won by their two shutout defeats of the Reds last season.
In addition to that the Reds failure to win an advantage over the other top challengers is also on point. Example: last season Liverpool managed to earn only 4 points in the six games on two draws with both Arsenal and Chelsea along with the two shutout losses to United. In the EPL if you don't defeat those teams you don't really challenge for the title, simple as that. It may be early days in the EPL campaign but no match is more important than the Liverpool v United confrontation on Saturday (Sept. 13).
In fact, if you were to say that if Liverpool does not defeat United any realistic chance of a title this season will be a pipe dream would be supported by recent history. The match is not a derby, and it is only the 4th of the season for Liverpool, but reality says it is that significant a game for both sides. That they will play it on their own home ground at Anfield should be advantage Liverpool, but it hasn't gone that way in recent seasons.
We'll see if they step up, but without Torres and Gerrard it makes you wonder who will score the goals they'll need and they will need at least two of them (Liverpool 1:2 United) looks to be a good line.
World Cup 2010
England wins over Andorra thanks to Joe Cole's double but it certainly was not an impressive performance. England next faces Croatia and they'll need to be better in that one; much better.
France opens with a loss to Austria. Cool.
Team USA didn't impress much either in their first match in Cuba since 1947. Dempsey was in the right spot and surprisingly didn't push his shot wide or over the bar this time for the only goal of the match in the 40th minute. The lighting was poor, the pitch was soggy, uneven and bumpy but they managed to hang on. Credit Tim Howard and his solid work in goal and timely big saves that really made the difference in a match that was otherwise a tossup.
The Americans were typically wasteful with Beasley failing to get his shot on frame after good work on several occasions and with very little contribution coming from Donovan chances were rare. One good one came from Dempsey's hard work and strong run on the right but the result was less than stellar. So poor in fact that it was hard to tell if it was a shot or a cross.
Frankly a draw would have been a fair result. What was impressive about it in the end was that Team USA recorded its 4th consecutive clean sheet, an historic first. Credit the much maligned Onyewu and Bocanegra and some wildly off the mark attempts by the energetic Cubans along with Howard's solid performance in goal. The win puts Team USA on top of the group with their next match (Wed, Sept 10) in Chicago against T&T who holds 2nd place at the moment. Team USA has earned the top spot in the group with the two victories on the road which is in itself impressive even if the play on the pitch has not been what you would call attractive soccer Team USA is in a good position returning home for the next round.
What they need to do is not only create more chances but even more importantly they need to become much more efficient in front of goal and at least force a save by the opposing keeper which they fail to do far too often.
If they don't do that they could find themselves getting a wake up call when they face T&T on Wednesday.
