Timbers Army

this video makes me wish (again) that i was a timbers fan
or that the Red Bulls could generate any kind of buzz

MLS Predictions

More to come later, but

Revolution 1 - Rapids 1

Sounders 2 - Galaxy 1

DC 1 - San Jose 2

Two Semi Finals

With a little time to reflect on the Champions League Semi Final contests, there are some important thoughts i would like to get out there. 

First, what a stunning final we are in for.  I can not imagine that there are many pundits that would have picked Munich v Chelsea for the final.  Even after the first legs, when these two teams won, most of the press was talking about how the El Classico would play out for Europe's biggest prize.  But it was not meant to be. 

My opinion of the two teams changed dramatically in watching the semi finals.

MLS Coverage

We already know this, but it is good to see the mainstream recognition.
 Here is an article from the Huffington Post by Jason Grill.

Not Your Older Brother's MLS: Soccer Matters America

First things first. We're talking about Major League Soccer not Multiple Listing Service here. However, soccer in America is taking up major real estate as it is a league and a sport that is on the rise. A recent report shows that Major League Soccer's attendance is skyrocketing and has passed both the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association in average attendance. CBS News reports that it appears that soccer is well on the road to becoming America's third favorite sport, after American football and baseball.

Week 8 Predictions

My predictions are creeping closer and closer to the point of irrelevance.  I need a big week almost as badly as Hans Backe does.  At least my livelihood does not depend on this.  A week at 3-5 has left my season standings at 32 and 28.  Just barely over .500, and it could all come crashing down after this week.

Without further adieu, here are my picks (with minor amounts of analysis) for this weeks matchers

Week 7 Predictions

I will be trying to recover from my first losing week in the predictions... Week 6 was a rough one.  I had 4 correct and 5 incorrect leaving me with a season total of  29 and 23 or 56% correct... kinda sad.  that is almost statistically equivalent to someone who has never watched a soccer game.

To make matters worse, i forgot that there were Wednesday games, and i definitely would have picked Impact 1 - DCU 1... but, since i missed that opportunity, here is the rest of what i see for week 7.

MLS Predictions

Well, another average week.  Five out of nine games were predicted correctly last week.
This week, after a long chat on kik, the whole "staff" of FC Woof wanted to make predictions.  Let's see how everyone does.

A Bunch of Guys will feature in this post... and hopefully, everyone else will throw their predictions in the comments.

Week 5 Predictions

Week four started great with the first four games going the way i thought.  Things got sketchy with the RSLs visit to Portland.  I was 90 seconds away from calling the upset; hopefully you saw what happened next.  LAs continued lousy form also hurt my final results.  With all that, i was still 5-4 for the week... not bad.

Week five has an early start with a Wednesday game.  The weekend has a typical full slate.

So here goes:

MLS Week 5 Predictions

I had a rough week in my predicting last week, 4-5.  However, there were some shock results that i am sure most people got wrong.  Who thought that Chivas would beat RSL?  Who thought that Toronoto would get crushed by San Jose?  Tough week.

Here goes week 4

Remarkable!

Great news!

Now or never

The US U23 team has one last chance.. they have put themselves in a put up or shut up scenario.  Under Caleb Porter the group has bad nothing but positive results.  Their style of play has been encouraging from the beginning.

Yet, one ugly result has US fans in a place they are very familiar... disappointment.

There is only one acceptable result for today.  A win.

Nothing else is good enough.  Let's go USA.  Give us something to hope for.

Draper is Back

Draper is back. Discuss.

Week 3, predictions

Week three is upon us.  There are some great story lines to follow.  A few teams are trying to avoid the awful 0-3 start.  Some other teams are trying to establish themselves as the cream of the crop in MLS early season.  The teams will be trying to deal with missing U23 players.  With all this in mind, this is how i see the games playing out. 

Fabrice Muamba

Pretty chilling video of the broadcast of the Bolton v. Spur's match during Muamba's collapse. Pretty incredible.

Read this

A breif look at week two

Here is a quick sentence or two regarding this weeks MLS match-ups.

Montreal v Chicago Buoyed by a raucous home crowd, the Impact will find their first home win. I don't think it will be pretty, but they should get it done in front of home support.
Montreal 2 - Chicago 0

LA Story

Well done, prepare to sit and watch for the next 47 minutes.

Theo, Do You Read FC Woof?

Thanks for making me look bad all over the intergooglez Theo!  Seriously.  Thank You.  After your 4  month dip in form you had Gooners all over the world calling for your removal from the starting XI.  I thought that after Gervinho's return and The Ox's rise that you would go the way of Arshavin and be sent to the bench.  Or Russia even.  But you have been electric these past few weeks!  You touch looks, well, decent enough.  But you're playing with passion, running at defenders, and serving up Van Persie some service that he can work with.

The question is, because we've seen this before, is how long can you keep this up for?  It seems whenever you get into the fans' good graces after a torrid run of form, you fall off the face of the earth for a couple months.  What is it going to take to keep you playing this way?  Do I need to bash you all over cyber space again?  You certainly don't want that.  Either way, third place is in sight.  You center forward is in the form of his life, he needs you.  And I would love nothing more than to finish ahead of The Scum after one of our worst seasons in what seems like decades.  Let's keep this up...or else.

Red Bulls Anticipation

Once again, all of the thoughts associated with being a fan are bombarding me. There is the idea of blind hope. Seven short days ago, I really thought that this might be the year of the Red Bulls. Titi was fresh from a rejuvenating loan deal with Arsenal. A couple of new foreign players that seemed to be authentic. There was also a position battle in the goal. After one discouraging week, I am not ready to give up, but I am scared. It seems the Red Bulls need some big talent.

Greatest GK ever...?

Yup, that's Leo Messi going for it in a manner I have never seen from him before. You have to love the commitment shown here. Is there anything the dude can't do?

MLS Week 1 Thoughts

By the end of this weekend, 16 teams will have played in their first MLS games of the 2012 season.  There are abundant story lines that i will be keeping an eye on.  There are plenty of off the field stories that will provide plenty of discussion points, but obviously, the on field action will make all of the headlines.  After the jump, look at the games, leave your predictions in the comments or tell me any story lines that i may have missed..

MLS Thoughts; I am a Fan

All the anticipation of a new season is about to pay off.  Over the next three days, 19 teams will begin their 2012 MLS campaigns.  For some of us, this is a difficult and amazing thing to understand.  I can recall a day when the possibility of a top flight soccer league in the United States seemed impossible.  Even when the league was announced, and the original garish jerseys were debuted, it seemed destined to fail.

MLS Preview, 3 of 3

Today is the final day of our MLS preview.  I hope that you have read these and compared and contrasted opinions.  It has been interesting putting these together and comparing what we think.

Without further adieu... Day 3

MLS Preview, Part 2

Our team of experts answer a few more of the questions we know you want the answers to...

  What team will be the biggest surprise (positive):
Jon: Portland Timbers will make the leap this year to one of the teams people hate to play.
Dig: Vancouver..have arguably had the most active offseason of any team. Bulked up their porous defense with some quality defenders, and added some serious firepower. Don't know if they can hold it together for the entire season, but should be entertaining.
Roc: Vancouver... goals, goals, goals. Camilo, Hassli, Chiumiento, LeToux... maybe Omar Salgado and Darren Mattocks will contribute. DeMerit looking like the Boss of all Bearded Bosses in the Back (that's called alliteration, Biotch). Should be a fun team to watch.
Joe: Vancouver
Dylan:  Timbers - growing pains over, top 5 finish

MLS Preview, Part 1

I asked our crew of soccer wizards a few key questions leading up to this MLS season.  Look below at the answers to the first bunch.

Supporters Sheild Winner:
The Brit:  LA Galaxy
Roc:  LA Galaxy
Dig:  LA Galaxy- They have mastered the financial aspect of the league and returned the strongest squad in the league. They have one more year until this team will be blown up, expecting big things.
Joe:  Galaxy
Jon:  RSL.  I think that the obvious choice (Galaxy) will be able to get past the injury of Omar Gonzales, but the loss of Beckham (and possibly Landon) to the Olympics, and Keane to the Euros will make it too difficult to capture the supporters sheild.  

A few thoughts on Arsenal v Milan

Tuesday, March 6 offered some of the most exciting soccer i have watched on television in years. We all know the story. Arsenal went to Milan two weeks ago and laid an egg. A completely overpowering Milan team finished half their chances and still had a 4-0 lead heading to London... Simple task, don't allow four goals. I am not a huge fan of either. I like Serie A so would not mind seeing Milan advance. I like Arsenal's commitment to wide open, intricate attacking play, so would not mind seeing them win. The match that resulted had me on the edge of my seat. By twenty minutes in, i found myself backing Arsenal.

Here is 9 minutes of proof that you are not as good as you think you are.

MLS on NBC

Oh Well

I guess we are still waiting to see this....

US v Italy Roster thoughts

JK has called in his players for the February 29 match with Italy.  It is a very strong US roster, and marks the first time that JK will use Deuce and Landon at the same camp.  Injuries, form, and where players are in their season all played into JK's decisions.  Here are his roster picks:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

 

Aaron Ramsay ain't nothin' to f*ck with!

Got this email sent me today from my roommate. Truly incredible.

Discuss.

Champions League, Round of 16

Less than twenty four hours away from some of the biggest clashes in European soccer, elimination rounds of the Champions League.  There are many stories that i find intriguing with these games.  I will look at things one week at a time.

First, and hopefully this comes true, i anticipate some world class performances from Barca.  Clearly, they are the best (or in the discussion) of what world soccer has to offer these days.  With their inexplicably poor performance in La Liga, they can focus all of their energies and efforts on these games.

MLS Season Approaches

Why is it that some teams figured out marketing in no time (RSL, Seattle, Portland) and other teams will never get it (NE Rev, FCD)?  It probably helps to have celebs like Drew Carey or bros like Rancid on your side (new RSL anthem courtesy of Branden Steineckert).  This video was put together by an RSL fan, the song written by an RSL fan, and in the end you get something by the people, for the people, and goosebump inducing.  I hardly give a shit about this team, but this gets me pumped for MLS.

Hand-Shake Clusterf*ck

I admittedly wasn't watching this live (7:45 kick off's on Saturday aren't my thing if Arsenal aren't involved) but I did catch the last 10 minutes and the post match analysis. What to make of all this handshake hoopla?

It's an interesting quandary in my opinion. If you approach it with the opinion that Suarez did utter a racist slang to Evra, then obviously the actions of Suarez (and the entire Kop) are indefensible. "Wait, you dropped the N-Bomb on me and you're gonna act like the d-bag???"

Biggest Games of the Weekend

This is a viewer's guide to what i will try to tune in to this weekend.
Saturday looks to be a day full of entertaining games from the Prem.

United v Liverpool. So many story lines in this one; suarez v Evra, Rooney's hairline, how many PKs does United get this week.
Everton v Chelsea:  This game is on my list for one reason, and one reason only.  I want to watch Landy-Cakes play against Chelsea.
Tottenham v Newcastle:  Interesting to see if Tottenham can keep the pressure on the Manchesters as well as to see if New Castle can keep fighting four fourth (it is the new first)

Bologna v Juve. Sunday will be reserved for Juve as they try to hold on to their slight advantage in the Serie A.  Milan plays Saturday, so Juve will know what they need to do.

Also like to watch any French League games that are on.  Exciting league!

What are you going to watch?

Ives, Dropping Knowledge

This is not the primary place to share links (that is on the right), but i wanted to make sure you guys read this article.  Ives seems to know the most, be the most rational, and at the same time, maintain a level of entertainment.

Read this article when you have a moment... For me, it brings feelings of jealousy. I wonder when (and if) the Red Bulls will ever string together any consistent results.  They seem to like to shoot themselves in the foot whenever possible.

I am getting excited for the new MLS campaign, and hope you guys are as well!

Twittering's and such

I know some of the members of this diabolical group are Twitterer's so I found it fitting to start a conversion about some good people to follow. I just stumbled upon a gem in @LiveRayHudson. Some dude tweets live Hudson quotes from Goltv, and they are actually better to read than listen to live. Here is a small sample. Absolutely hilarious. 5 minutes ago on Cesc' goal for Barca ...

"Forget the goalscorer for a second and look at the genesis of genius from the unbearded one to the beard that is Fabregas."

"The ex-Gooner goes disco but what a celestial ball from the Albicelestial player, Lionel Messi."

Follow, and follow quick.

Anyone have any other good soccer/non-soccer related people to follow?

CAPELLO RESIGNS!!!

Reaction to come soon... Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager!

Welcome Back Old Lady

It is with great nerves that I welcome back the butterflies.  For the first time since 2006, Juventus is in a meaningful Serie A games this late in the season.  It has been a long time coming for Juventus fans, and as the second half of the season playsout,  it gives me a chance to reflect on the past few seasons, as well as to remember what it is like to watch a game with so much on the line.



When the Serie A scandal hit*, and Juventus relegated, it presented a conundrum for the players and fans.  In a time when player's loyalties are always questioned, it becomes important to see who stayed.  Players like Gigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Alessandro DelPiero

Redknapp Cleared

A unanimous decision finds 'Arry not guilty. Good thing, keeps him in the game for the England job since Capello is digging himself deeper and deeper holes to try to get out of.
Thoughts?

Card Him!

Why all the attempting to tell the ref how to do his job? It’s not a pretty sight to see players giving the universal “card him” signal to the ref. Even the managers are getting in on it this season. It would be an interesting day when I see a game where the players just go about their jobs and PLAY, walking away calmly when they just saw their teammate get hacked just outside the box, and in no way running 40 yards across the field to tell the ref their, obviously clear-sighted, thoughts on the recent tackle.

Total D-Bag??

When Zlatan got sent off for giving Salvatore Aronica an open-handed bitch slap in the weekends Milan v Napoli draw, I couldn't help but feel it was another harsh red card for the poor guy.  I mean, watch the video, he was trying to be a good teammate and extract his buddy Nocerino from an unnecessary fracas.  Ever the peace-maker and supportive comrade (as Oguchi Onyewu can attest), Ibra just seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He is a good dude.  He is fun to have around the training ground.  I have provided a few video examples of how his good-natured joshing really brings the locker room together. 

Will Ferrell Pitching for Old Milwaukee

I realize this is not soccer related, but just thought some of you would like this any how.

This was discovered via Slate and a story about the best Super Bowl ad no one saw unless you lived in Nebraska. Upon further reading, it was revealed that there really is a strange ad campaign coming from Old Milwaukee. 

On Cue, I find this article

Clint Dempsey, called a "talisman" of Fulham.

An excellent site that I was recently introduced to (by Joe Quigley) is "Who Scored?" and here is their coverage of Dempsey

Enjoy

A Light Read

Since many people watched the Chelsea - Manchester United encounter on February 5, and i love the work done on Zonal Marking, I thought you might find this article interesting.

Speaking of interesting, if Debatable Decisions ever updates, we may see Man U climbing up the table.  Four penalties in the last two games?  and Sir Alex still giving post game rants about the officials?

Save of the season?

The Prem on Fox

For the second time in recent weeks, the Prem is on Fox. Real life network television in the United States. As a soccer fan, I am torn by this development.

While I am anxious for soccer to increase its profile among the American fan, I want it to do so on the strength of the game. That is to say, the beauty and elegance of the this sport. The stories, teams, history and tradition are what pulled me in. It certainly brings enough drama and passion that, when given a chance, can convert. I have seen this first hand. When a fan is educated about the history of the teams, leagues and competitions, many will make the leap.

Bye Bye Theo

"In 2012, at the beginning of the year, he will play games." Since this prediction, Alexander Oxlade-Chamberlain has been electric for Arsenal.  Arsene Wenger saw it coming.  Now Arsenal fans see this coming: Theo Walcott will be relegated out of the starting lineup when Gervinho returns from the African Cup of Nation.  And frankly $100,000 a week for the 4th best striker on your team is not a good way of doing business, Arsene.

Feed the Ox

It's early Saturday morning and I'm nursing a healthy hang over on my couch. I'm doing my best to recover before my 11:00 CrossFit class. In the meantime, I'm more than content to watch Arsenal slam balls past Paul Robinson as he chomps on meat pies. Oh, and watch the Ox absolutely tear shit up.

How good is he?

As i watch another Premier League season, I see Clint Dempsey continue to get better. It brings up two questions. One, how good will he be when his career is over? And more significantly, why does his level of respect still lag behind where it should?

 The first question is simple. At this point, even if he does nothing else, he should be considered the greatest field player this country has ever produced. The evidence is everywhere you look. Since he moved to the England, his goal total has improved each season. This year, remarkably, he is scoring at a rate of one goal in every two games. Not only is he prolific, but his game has evolved. he has always been able to knock home a scramble or goal based on "guts". Over the last season or two, he has added another element to his game, and that is more elegant and shocking goals (evidence).

To get things rolling...

Well, I've decided to call into work this morning, opting instead for a day of skiing, so seeing as I'm up before 6am anyway and can't get back to sleep, I have some free time on my hands and some thoughts in my head. With all the constant hate being rained down upon John Terry these days, it got me wondering, who is my most hated player of all time? My mind immediately jumped in a number of different directions, so I'll do my best to try to make sense of it.

What are we?

We are 4-6 guys who are across the country (although we all knew each other at one point). We share a common interest... Soccer. FC Woof will be random musings, thoughts, observations and ideas that occasionally (but not often) make sense or develop a point. More often, it will be total nonsense. We hope that, at some point, you read something here that makes you smile, laugh or, god forbid.... think.