Near Post Blog

Check it out. There is a long weekend of matches, so click on the “Soccer on TV” tab in the menu bar, grab a couple of beers, and take a seat on your couch.

Liverpool have been struggling on all fronts this season, and they show their faults once again, losing to Reading 2-1 at Anfield. Liverpool had the lead for the entire second half, until a 90th minutes penalty leveled the score, and then Shane Long headed home the winner in extra time. So far this season, Liverpool have crashed out of the Champions League, FA Cup, and Carling Cup, and we’re not even through January yet. Unthinkable at the season’s kick-off.

But, losing to Reading may not be the worst thing to happen to Liverpool. And, based on the need for the club to qualify for the Champions League next season, dropping out of the Europa League might not necessarily be a bad thing, either. I’m not saying that Liverpool should purposefully flame out in Europe twice this season, but the added games would only clutter the fixture list, and force Rafa Benitez to play his best players more often, increasing the risk of injury. Add to that the fact that Benitez has said that Liverpool would likely have to sell Fernando Torres if they don’t qualify for next season’s Champions League, the Barclay’s Premier League should be of utmost importance.

But, one thing I can’t criticize is Benitez’s squad selection. He didn’t treat the FA Cup like a second rate tournament, starting his big guns in Torres, Gerrard, Aquilani, and Kuyt. The only notable exception was Martin Skrtel. So, don’t blame this loss on squad selection, which I can commend Bentiez for.

UPDATE: Liverpool’s woes continue, after the news that Fernando Torres will be out for six weeks after injuring his knee, which will require surgery to repair damaged cartilage. Torres was substituted 30 minutes into yesterday’s FA Cup match, and was replaced by David N’Gog. If that wasn’t bad enough, news has also surfaced that Steven Gerrard will be out for two weeks with a hamstring strain, and Yossi Benayoun will be out three to four weeks with a broken rib. Liverpool have just agreed to terms Maxi Rodriguez, who will transfer from Atletico Madrid on a free transfer. He can’t get to Anfield soon enough if Liverpool have any hope of salvaging a top four finish.

I consider myself a casual reader. One that picks up a book, gets deeply involved in it, then quits after 100 pages. I’ll blame it on time constraints, but I watch a lot of soccer on TV, so I think I could probably finish up about the 300 random sports books I have lying around the place, but there are so many matches. But, I came across a book about a month ago that caught my eye, and once I started reading it, I felt like I had accomplished something after finishing it. I finished the book yesterday, and it took me about a month, but again, I had iron-clad excuses. I had exams, the Champions League was on, college basketball started, the dog ate my homework, etc.

Finn McCool’s Football Club is the book. It centers around a pub in New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city. I won’t give anything away, because its 300 pages are well worth your time. The book is an easy read because you get sucked in by the stories told by the author, Stephen Rea, and you feel like you’re part of the Finn McCool’s starting XI because you know everything about each player on the team. Where’s he’s from, what position he plays, and how he came to call New Orleans home….you get the picture.

The book isn’t simply a book about football. Sure, football has everything to do with why the book was written, but once you being reading, you’ll understand what I mean. The book made me remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that New Orleans was being thrashed by a Category Five hurricane, and I’ll bet the farm you’ll remember too when you pick up the book. But, mixed with all the tragedy that surrounded the Big Easy, comes the story of the pub team that survived the destruction of its home. It’s a story of camaraderie, friendship, and perseverance. If you have an affinity for football, hurricanes, or just want to enjoy a great read, I sincerely suggest that you pick up Finn McCool’s Football Club.

You can find Finn’s at amazon.com, or you can check out Stephen Rea’s website here.

Not the sport, not the players, not the talent. But, I’m afraid that big spending clubs like Manchester City are going to bankrupt the game if something isn’t done to cap the amount of spending, or at least make spending a proportion of revenue brought in. Manchester City have recently announced an annual loss of nearly $150 million, eclipsing the English record for club losses during a season. According to the story at soccernet.com, These figures do not account for the money that City spent this summer, bringing in Carlos Tevez, Kolo Toure, and Joleon Lescott, as the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009.

I’m a little torn here, because I hate the fact that American sports is all about parity. The worst team in the NFL and NBA generally get the first pick in the upcoming draft for each sport, somewhat leveling the playing field for the following season. Now, this doesn’t always work, but the idea of rewarding a team for finishing last sucks, plain and simple. So, when big money owners come to town in football (soccer), a team gets an instant boost from the money that is injected. Just have a look at Manchester City. They have brought in world-class players that would have never joined up had they not had tons of money waved under their noses, and with the idea that the vast amount of money in the club will now attract other world-class players, making city a world power in the near future. Now, City have even signed a world-class manager in Roberto Mancini, further showing the club’s ambition of breaking into England’s Top 4, and becoming a destination for players like cross-town rivals, Manchester United.

But, at what cost does this occur? Portsmouth have been unable to pay their players for the third time this season because there’s no money. All the while, Manchester City can shrug off losses of $150 million, without even blinking. The reason I feel like football is dying is because, eventually, if a club doesn’t have an owner that can put millions, and maybe billions if the transfer market continues to inflate at the rate it currently is, that club will either a) be relegated because they have lower-tier players, or b) go bankrupt just trying to keep up with the big spenders.

I believe there needs to be some form or regulation on how much money a club can spend, or risk the implosion of the game. My idea is to force clubs to only spend a percentage of revenue that is brought into the club  through tickets sales, TV money, money won from competitions, merchandising, and transfers. This would force clubs that have owners with endless bank accounts to view the club as a business, and not a toy. Now, I know there are some flaws in my idea, because the bottom half of the table in England don’t have as much revenue as the bigger clubs in the country, making them less likely to bring in players that could compete. But, what it would do is stabilize these clubs, vastly reducing the risk that a club, like Portsmouth, would go into administration or be bankrupt.

But, at the rate the game is going at the present, debts are soaring which could spell doom for the game in England. Let’s hope something is done about it quickly.

I can’t figure out this guy. I’m a Manchester United fan, but I’ve become more and more jaded over the past few seasons, partly because of Sir Alex Ferguson’s incessant ranting and raving about officiating. Today, after Leeds United and Manchester resumed the War of the Roses in the FA Cup, Ferguson stated that referee Chris Foy’s decision to award five extra minutes at the end of the second half was an “insult to the game and the players out there.”  Remember how happy Ferguson was after United topped cross-town rivals Manchester City, 4-3, earlier in the season after United were given seven extra minutes after the fourth official signaled there would be an added five extra minutes?  Now, I was as excited as anyone after Michael Owen scored the winner, but I knew there would be fallout over the extra minutes, and the fact that they came at Old Trafford.

And, after that result, Ferguson’s most recent comments confuse me even more. I know he’s the longest tenured manager in the Premier League, has won more than any other current Premier League manager, and has, what fees like, 8,000 trophies in cabinet, but I just wish he could shut up sometimes. It’s really frustrating when a team that has had so much success over the past 20+ seasons has a manager that complains about nearly everything, regardless of the result.

But, with that being said, well done to Leeds. They came to Old Trafford, fought, and won. Also, United clearly need a goalkeeper. Watch the goal, and Kuszczak makes an absolute shocker out of what I felt was a fairly routine play. Get back Edwin, please!

After naming the first XI in my Team of the Decade, I felt like a few names got left off the list. So, I decided to list seven substitutes that I feel deserve to be recognized as well.

Goalkeeper – Oliver Kahn
Defender – Cafu
Defender – Paolo Maldini
Holding Midfielder – Claude Makalele
Attacking Midfielder – Kaka
Winger – Lionel Messi
Center Forward – Ruud van Nistelrooy

The final players to be named to Nearpostblog.com’s team of the decade are the heavy hitters of the group. I named one center forward, and two wingers to the team, and I’m sure you’ll recognize the names when you see them. The best attacking players over the past decade are:

Left Winger: Ronaldinho. I know he’s fallen off as his food consumption has increased, but nobody, and I repeat, nobody, flew as high as Ronaldinho did in the past decade. The Brazilian hit the ground running at PSG, and then at Barcelona, he took over as the world’s best. If I had to pick a player to watch in his prime, no question it would be Ronaldinho, no doubt about it.
- World Cup winner in 2002
- Champions League winner in 2005/06
- Confederations Cup winner in 2005
- FIFA World Player of the Year 2004, 2005
- European Football of the Year 2005
- FIFPro World Player of the Year 2005, 2006
- UEFA Team of the Year 2004, 2005, 2006
- FIFPro World XI 2005, 2006, 2007

Center Forward: Theirry Henry. Since his switch to Barcelona, Henry has moved positions, and has been vocal about his difficulty in adjusting to life on the left wing. But, at Arsenal, Henry was one of the most lethal strikers that I’ve ever seen, and probably that England has ever seen. At Arsenal, from 1999-2007, Henry scored a remarkable 174 goals in only 254 matches. For France, Henry scored 51 goals in 117 matches, showing he can do it at the club and international level. The goal he scored v. Manchester United in 2003, which you can see here, shows the talent that Henry possess.
- Champions League winner in 2008/09
- Premier League winner in 2001/02, 2003/04
- La Liga winner in 2008/09
- World Cup runner-up in 2006
- Euro 2000 winner
- Confederations Cup winner in 2003
- Confederations Cup Golden Ball 2003
- Premier League top scorer 4 times
- UEFA Team of the Year 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
- European Golden Boot 2004, 2005

Right Winger: Cristiano Ronaldo. Love him or hate him, he’s been the world’s best player over the past four seasons. His goalscoring record is absolutely absurd. Ronaldo single-handedly took Portugal to the Euro 2004 Final, went on to score 42 goals in 49 matches in the 2007/08 season, and then shattered the world transfer record with his move to Real Madrid this summer. He’s also the only player on my list that I’ve seen live, and if you’ve never seen him in person, he’s the best physical specimen in world soccer.
- Premier League winner 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09
- UEFA Champions League winner in 2008
- UEFA Team of the Year in 2003/04, 2006/07, 2007/08
- FIFA World Player of the Year 2008
- Ballon d’Or 2008
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year 2008
- FIFPro World Player of the Year 2008
- Premier League Golden Boot 2007/08
- FIFPro World XI 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this, and I think want to get away from the 4-4-2 formation. I know that I said a couple of days ago that I wanted to stick to that formation, but after analyzing the players available, I want the best team possible, not necessarily the classic 4-4-2. So, with that being said, I’m going to go with a 4-2-1-3, with two holding midfielders, an attacking midfielder, and three attackers, consisting of a center forward and two wingers. I think this only makes sense with the players I’ve seen in the past decade.

Today, I’ll be awarding the two holding midfielders and the attacking midfielder, and here they are:

Attacking Midfielder: Zinedine Zidane. I felt like this was between Kaka and Zidane, but with Zidane’s exploits at the international level, I think he just edges it. Zidane came out of international retirement to take France to the World Cup Final in 2006, being award the Golden Ball along the way, all while being famously red-carded for headbutting Marco Materazzi. But, even though his final game was marred by controversy, I think Zidane is one of the top 3 players of all-time, as it stands right now.
- Champions League winner in 2001/02
- Euro 2000 winner
- Euro 2000 player of the tournament
- FIFA World Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003
- UEFA Team of the Year 2001, 2002, 2003

Naming the holding midfielders is a bit like naming the defenders, as stats aren’t always evident because these players do the mopping up behind the attackers, and help take the pressure off the back four. With that being said, what I was looking for when naming the two players in this position was success of the player’s club(s). A successful team means reflects well on the defensive midfielder, as this player holds everything together and give stability to the side.

Holding Midfielder: Patrick Vieira. This guy is a winner, and is probably the most skilled player to play in the holding roll since Dunga made it popular back in the early 90’s for Brazil. Vieira was won at every club he’s been a part of, including Arsenal, Juventus (though this title was revoked in 2006), and Inter Milan. Vieira also has a very good goalscoring record, which is highly uncommon of a holding midfielder. Interestingly enough, Vieira is tied atop the English Premier League record book with two other players, having been shown a red card nine times.
- Premier League winner in 2001/02, 2003/04
- Serie A winner in 2005/06 (Juve), 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 (Inter Milan)
- Euro 2000 winner in 2000
- PFA overall Team of the Decade
- 2001 Confederations Cup Top Scorer

Holding Midfielder: Gennaro Gattuso. Again, a winner. You can’t quantify what Gattuso has meant to AC Milan or the Italian national team in numbers. But, what you can say is that every team he has played for this decade, has had tremendous success. Gattuso won’t dazzle anyone with talent or ball skill, but what he will do is neutralize the opposing team’s best player and work harder than anyone on the pitch.
- Serie A winner in 2003/04
- UEFA Champions League winner in 2002/03, 2006/07
- World Cup winner in 2006
- FIFA World Cup team of the tournament in 2006

I bet Wayne Rooney is terribly upset he hasn’t pulled this incredible feat off yet. In a Moroccan league match, the center official took a shot right off his face, which knocked him out cold.  Apparently, Morocco hasn’t adopted the “Respect the Official” campaign that we’ve all be beaten to death with by the Premier League.  This is way more interesting though, have a look at the video.

The back four is probably the most difficult to chose, simply because you normally can’t judge a player based on stats. Strikers and midfielders put up numbers, goalkeepers keep clean sheets, and though defenders play a huge roll in a goalkeeper’s success, it’s much more difficult to quantify the position. But, with that being said, there are a couple of players that really stand out as the best defenders of the past decade. Again, I’m going for a 4-4-2 formation, and I’ll be placing the players based on their position. So, if I, or you, feel like there are three center backs that could make the list, only two can make the cut.

Left Back: Roberto Carlos. To me, he’s clearly the best left back of the decade, and he could probably lay claim to the honor in the 90’s as well, but he’d have some stiff competition from Paolo Maldini. Some of Carlos’ accolades include:
- La Liga Titles in 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07
- Champions League winner in 2002
- World Cup winner in 2002
- UEFA Team of the Year 2002, 2003

Center back: Alessandro Nesta. Since his transfer to AC Milan from Lazio in 2002, Milan boasted the best center back duo of the decade, in Nesta and Paolo Maldini. Though Nesta is getting up there in age, you can’t complain about what he’s done since the year 2000. Some of Nesta’s accolades, and there are many, are:
- Serie A Defender of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007
- FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2007
- World Cup Winner in 2006
- UEFA Champions League Winner: 2003, 2007
- Serie A Titles in 2000 (Lazio) and 2004 (AC Milan)

Center back: Carles Puyol. Barcelona’s captain, and one of the most influential players in the game. Probably the most incredible thing about Puyol is that he’s only 5′10″, but he seems to win everything in the air, and even scores the occasional goal from a corner or free kick. Some people claim he’s a bit overrated, but his awards speak for themselves:
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008
- UEFA Club Best Defender: 2006
- FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008
- La Liga titles in 2004/05, 2005/06, 2008/09
- UEFA Champions League in 2005/06, 2008/09

Right back: Dani Alves. I feel like this position might catch me the most flack of any I’ll put on my team of the decade. Arguments could be made for numerous players, mainly Gary Neville, Cafu, and Javier Zanetti. But, Dani Alves, I think, has been the best right back of the past ten years, since he burst onto the scene in 2002 with Sevilla. His pace and skill on the ball set him apart from the rest of the right backs over the past decade, and he keeps getting better and better, probably because Maicon is pressing him for his national team spot. Alves’ accolades over the past ten years:
- UEFA Cup Winner in 2005/06, 2006/07
- UEFA Champions League Winner in 2008/09
- Copa America Winner in 2007
- FIFA Confederations Cup Winner in 2009
- La Liga title in 2008/09
- La Liga Best Defender in 2008/09
- UEFA Cup Most Valuable Player in 2006

I’ve been doing a lot of internet scouring and it seems like everybody is creating a team of the decade. So, I figured I would make one of my own. But, I’ll do it by area on the pitch each day, and I’m going to award it based on a 4-4-2 system. Today will be the goalkeeper. Tomorrow will be the backline. Feel free to comment on it, and if you disagree let me know who you’d rather see at that position.

There were plenty of goalkeepers that could have taken the award, but only one could really lay claim to being the best goalkeeper of the last ten years. The guys that could have made the list were Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United, Netherlands), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Spain), and Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich, Germay).

But, as I said, only one goalkeeper stands above the rest. And, that man is (drum roll please), Gianluigi Buffon of Italy and Juventus. Buffon finished second in European Player of the Year voting in 2006, which is nearly unheard of from the goalkeeper position. Here are just a few of Buffon’s awards since 2000:

- Champions League Most Valuable Player: 2003
- Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008
- UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year: 2003, 2006
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2006
- World Champion: 2006
- Champions League Runner-up: 2003

Surprise, surprise, Barcelona’s wonder-kid is on top of the world. His club wins six trophies, and the Argentine has picked up UEFA’s Ballon d’Or, and now FIFA’s World Player of the Year. Messi becomes the first Argentinian to win the award since its inception in 1991. Messi finished second in the voting in 2007 to Kaka, and 2008 to Cristiano Ronaldo. Every player in the top 5 in voting plays their club football at either Barcelona or Real Madrid, showing the shift in power in the European game since Real Madrid decided to be its on bank. The voting finished up like this:

1. Lionel Messi – Barcelona
2. Cristiano Rolando – Real Madrid
3. Xavi Hernandez – Barcelona
4. Kaka – Real Madrid
5. Andres Iniesta – Barcelona

Just in case you’ve never seen Lionel Messi in action, here’s a little snipit of what he’s capable of:

FIFA have awarded the Puskas trophy to Cristiano Ronaldo for his goal for Manchester United v. Porto in last season’s Champions League. The goal was a 35-yard bomb that was hit with such venom, Porto’s Helton stood no chance in making the save, regardless of where he was placed in the goal-mouth. Helton is quite a disaster at times, but he didn’t make a mess of this one, it was just that good.

After beating Spurs last Saturday, Wolverhampton Wanderers had won their second straight, which is huge for a team that everyone believed would be battling relegation this season. But, on Wednesday, Wolves had to travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. Even at the best of times, playing United away is a daunting task. So, the Wolves manager, Mick McCarthy, made a strategic move and made nine changes from the team that beat Spurs just a few days earlier. Wolves were beaten 3-0 by United, and the English FA wanted answers. The FA believed that McCarthy “compromised the integrity of the game” by fielding a reserve side, and the Wolves fans weren’t much happier either. The fans, who payed for tickets and travel to the match, were treated to a team that stood no chance of beating United, and songs like, “we want our money back” were sung. But, with the result Wolves achieved today, was it not the best option?

Let’s be honest, McCarthy made a decision to rest his starters against a team, in United, that he felt couldn’t compete regardless of who he put in the starting XI. At the end of the day, a 3-0 loss, or a 1-0 loss is virtually the same. It seems like the fans and the FA believe that Wolves would have beaten United if they had played their first XI, but watching Wolves and United this season, I don’t believe that would have been the case. And to further substantiate McCarthy’s decision, Wolves beat Burnley 2-0 today, and in the process, move up to 12th in the standings. Had McCarthy started his first XI v. United and lost, which was highly likely, and then lost the match to Burnley because of fatigue, Wolves would be sitting in 18th place as of today. Making that decision allowed his squad to move up a hypothetical six spots in the league table, and these three points could possibly save Wolves place in the Premier League at the end of the season. Still want your money back?

Image Credit

Another week, and another two training sessions, and here we are. The good news? I made the Revolver FC squad. The bad news? My knees look like I spent 2 days in a tanning bed, and they feel like badgers have been tearing at them for hours. I really need some training pants, but that’s my problem, not your’s. But, this week went much better than last week. I fully attribute it to me having knowledge of what I was getting myself in to. Last Saturday, I figured I wouldn’t really be “trying out” per se, but out to have a kick around and play a little scrimmage. But, if you read my post last week, you can find it here, you’ll know that wasn’t the case. So this week, I mentally prepared myself for what was going to happen, and I believe that was the reason I preformed better and I’m not nearly as sore as I was last Saturday.

So, let’s get to some specifics. Thursday night, we moved locations from where we had practice on Saturday, and I (stupidly) used mapquest to find my destination. Instead of winding up at a soccer field, I ended up in the middle of a brick-lined street with Christmas decorations everywhere. If practice would have been there, I would have been early by about 15 minutes. But, it wasn’t, and luckily my wife was near a computer and she directed me to where I needed to be, and I was 15 minutes late. It happens. Myself and another goalkeeper were worked for about an hour and fifteen minutes, and once again, it was rough. I strained my calf midway through the training, which is still bothering me, and it definitely slowed me down, but then a miracle occurred when I thought I was nearly dead. At about 9 o’clock, the team was getting ready to split into teams and scrimmage, but the lights majestically went out out the field. We had the field reserved until 10 pm, but I guess the city of Winter Park is having to scale back the budget, and Revolver FC had to suffer the consequences. So, I got to head home  a little earlier than expected, but I looked like a little kid’s finger painting, only I wasn’t covered in paint, I was covered in mud.

Today (Saturday), practice started for the goalkeepers at 8:30am, and Old Man Winter decided to show up in Central Florida. I’ve only been down here a little over two years, but my blood has become as thin as wet paper, and anything under 50 degrees feels like -50 degrees. I park my car in the garage and didn’t venture outside until I showed up at the fields. I expected the temperature to be 80 degrees (it’s Florida, right?), but it was in the mid-40’s, and my t-shirt and shorts didn’t do much to keep me warm. So, movement was the only way to stay warm, which tired me out more, and so on. Today, we had four goalkeepers working, so we had a bit more of a rest between drills, but it wasn’t much easier. Today’s drills consisted of quick movements and hitting the ground constantly, which is pretty common for goalkeeping drills, but my hips don’t realize that and they’re not happy. One drill in particular really smoked me. This one has one player on all fours, with another person actively diving over the guy on all fours making saves in a rapid-fire fashion. I haven’t done this one since I was playing for the Fayetteville Force back in 1998. And, when I hit the ground from being 3-4 feet in the air, it’s the equivalent to this. Sorry PETA.

But, after training was over, we scrimmaged and all the goalkeepers got about 30 minutes in the net. I didn’t have much to do, but it was the first time I’ve been in the net in an 11 v. 11 game since my senior year of college and it was good to my bearings again. Goalkeeping is all about positioning, and that only comes with playing.

Overall, this week was better than last, and at least I know what I’m up against each time we practice. I’m still super sore, but that’s the price you pay when you’re trying to get back in shape and you play a position that spends more time on the ground than a Duke University basketball player. I really like the players that made the team, and I think we’ll be extremely solid once we start playing matches in mid-February. Until then, I guess I’ll settle for scraped knees and swollen hips.

What I looked like after practice.

I think it’s only logical to consider this Barcelona squad in the argument of the best club teams off all-time. The others to be considered, in my eyes, are Milan in the late 80’s, Manchester United 98/99, Bayern Munich in the mid-70’s, Ajax of the early 70’s, and Liverpool of the late 70’s. In the past seven months, they have won: La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and now the FIFA World Club Cup titles. I know the Spanish Super Cup is probably a bit of a Mickey Mouse trophy, but Barcelona can only beat who is on the schedule, and they’ve done that over and over since the beginning of the 08/09 season. Today’s win carried a bit of drama with it, as Pedro equalized for Barcelona in the 88th minute, and Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi put away the winner in extra time. Both came in strange fashion, as Pedro scored with his head, and Messi scored with his chest. This team is something to behold, and I’m happy I’m around to witness the greatness they have put on display over the past year and a half.

To build a world-power in football, you need two things. The first being players, and Manchester City seem to have built the base of an outstanding squad, bringing the likes of Adebayor, Lescott, and Garreth Barry. The second is an established, successful coach. Mark Hughes was not the man to take Manchester City forward, but I think Roberto Mancini could be.

Under Hughes, City played 77 games, only winning 47% of those matches. Now I understand that Hughes assembled a much better squad this season, but since October 5th, City have drawn eight, lost one, and have only won twice. Ironically, the two City wins were in succession, and against Arsenal and Chelsea. But, with the squad that City have, 14 out of a possible 33 points is unacceptable, and the club needed a change.

City have hired the ex-Inter Milan coach, and I think it’s in an effort to secure the big name signings they have missed out on since the club was bought by Sheikh Mansour, such as Kaka. As Inter coach, Mancini won the Serie A title in the 05/06, 06/07, and 07/08 seasons, as well as the Coppa Italia in the 04/05, and 05/06 seasons. Mancini was fired as Inter coach after the end of the 07/08 season, not because of results in Serie A, but because Inter Milan floundered in the Champions League, only advancing as far as the quarterfinals twice while Mancini was in charge. But, if City’s goal is to break into the Top 4, Mancini has the name to bring in big name players that will allow City to challenge for the Champions League next season. The January transfer window will open in just over two weeks, and don’t be surprised to see some big signings made by the boys in Sky Blue.

Surprises abound everywhere!  Portsmouth knock off Liverpool, Fulham thrash United, and Mark Hughes is sacked at Manchester City after his squad beat Sunderland 4-3. Robert Mancini, the man who was replaced at Inter Milan by Jose Mourinho, takes over at City. Spurs and Aston Villa look like they want to crash the top 4 party as they both won, and Arsenal take care of Hull, 3-0. I love the Premier League.

This isn’t because they don’t play attractive football, or because I’m no longer a fan. The reason goes a bit deeper than that. The fact that I am a graduate of the University of North Carolina has more to do with it than anything.

Since I grew up on Tobacco Road (that name refers to the sports rivalry between the universities in North Carolina), I’ve been bludgeoned to death with college basketball since I was in diapers. It’s a way of life in North Carolina since there aren’t many professional teams in the state, therefore most people are bigger college sports fans than professional sports fans. Anybody will tell you that I’m a huge Carolina fan, and they’ll probably throw in there that they know I support Manchester United, too. But, I’ll tell you that Carolina is my first love, which is why I can no longer watch Manchester United on days that Carolina also plays on the hardwood.

Why? Here’s the reason. Over the past few seasons, I’ve watched every single United match, and every single Carolina basketball game, and I’ve noticed a not-so-nice trend between the two teams. On days that United and Carolina play, Carolina has an awful win-loss record when United win. Generally speaking, United will play first since England is five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time here in the States, so  after watching a United win, I sit in fear over the next few hours just knowing that Carolina is about to lose. At first, I was thinking it was total coincidence, but after it happened again on December 5th, I just had to do some research and see if it was true. Here is what I found since the 2005/06 season, and the results depressed me more and more. Now keep in mind that Carolina has only lost a grand total of 24 games since the beginning of the 2005/06 season, making these results even more unlikely.

2005/06 season
January 25th: United 2-1 Blackburn, Carolina loses to Boston College 81-74

2006/07 season
January 13: United 3-1 Villa, Carolina loses to Virginia Teach 94-77

2007/08 season
January 19th: Reading 0-2 United, Carolina loses to Maryland 82-80

2008/09 season
January 4th: Southampton 0-3 United, Carolina loses to Boston College 85-78
January 11th: United 3-0 Chelsea, Carolina loses to Wake Forest 92-89

2009/10 season
December 5th: West Ham 0-4 United, Carolina loses to Kentucky 68-66
(UPDATE) December 19th: Fulham 3-0 United, Carolina loses to Texas 103-90

In roughly 4.25 seasons of Carolina basketball since the beginning of the 05/06 season, six of Carolina’s 24 loses have come on days that Manchester United won. Only three times have United and Carolina both lost, and those were on January 14th, 2006, March 14th, 2009, and December 19th, 2009. Now I know that everybody is saying, what about days that United lost and Carolina won? That doesn’t matter to me. I’m a Carolina fan first, so I can deal with a United loss if Carolina wins on the same day. Another question may arise as well. What about days that both teams win? As a fan, you expect this to happen, so again, this doesn’t factor into the equation. I’m a pretty superstitious guy, so since 25% of Carolina’s losses have come on days that United wins over the past fours season plus ten Carolina games this season, I refuse to watch a United match if they play the same day that Carolina does. Another chance for this black curse to strike again will happen on Saturday. United goes to Fulham, which should be a tough match, but one that United should win, and Carolina takes on the #2 team in the nation, in Texas. So, as a good and loyal Carolina fan, I will DVR the United match and watch in on Sunday. It’s the least I can do.