• Home
    • Who Are We
    • USMNT Ramblings
    • Where Are They Now >
      • Mike Ammann
      • Chris Armas
      • Brian Bliss Part II
      • Petter Mellor
      • Gary Hamilton
      • John Robinson
    • My Club My Passion
  • Interviews
    • Robbie Mustoe
    • Cyle Larin
    • Daphne Corboz
    • Neil Stafford
    • Eric DaCosta
    • Ian McIntyre
    • Keidane McAlpine
    • David DiIanni
    • Keelin Winters
    • Rachel Daly
    • Arie Ammann
    • Andres Deza
    • EPL 2013 Steve Coxon
    • EPL 2013 Jeremy Melul
    • EPL 2013 Jim McGirr
    • EPL 2013 Elie Monteiro
    • EPL 2013 Lee Billiard
    • EPL 2013 Brian Tompkins
    • Derek Canavaggio
    • Dante Marini
    • Katy Freels
    • Lee Billiard - NWSL
    • Caitlin Foord
    • Sophie Schmidt
    • Jill Loyden
    • Brittany Bock
    • Veronica Perez
    • Kate Deines
    • Brendan Schimmel
    • Gerry Marrone
    • Lee Billiard
  • Extra Time
  • Off The Ball
  • Five For Friday
    • Gary Curneen
    • Dave Clarke
    • Andrew Kean
    • Dan Abrahams
    • Dave Hannigan
Soccer Banter

Off the Ball

11/29/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
1.  The Merseyside derby was end to end action, but even with all that substance, five of the six goals in the match came off of restarts.  With statistics like that, maybe it's time to quit with all the possession at youth soccer practices around America, and instead work on restarts. When it comes to soccer, we do follow the lead of the English, don't we? 

2.  Either Artur Boruc needs to attend a few more Coerver clinics or someone needs to remind him that he's a goalkeeper and not the #10 for Southampton. 

3.  Looks like Eddie Johnson is the fall guy for the Sounders problems at the end of the season.  Which MLS club will show him the money? If the rumors of Toronto FC are true and they are willing to pay Jermaine Defoe over $6 million a year, if I'm Johnson, I'm asking my agent to make a call north of the border. 

4.  Credit to NWSL, some of the clubs have done a better job of staying relevant in the offseason than they did during the month of July. Keep the trades coming. 

5.  Forget all the hoopla about O'Neill and Keane, I'm more excited about Ireland's future because of James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman. Those two boys can play, just wish it wasn't for the blue side of Liverpool. 


Picture
6.  If Lindsey Horan hadn't chosen to turn professional and join PSG at 18 years old, she would be a sophomore at UNC suiting up to play UCLA this weekend in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.  If she had gone the college route, would she have earned two caps with the full national team in 2013? Would she have been named the Young Female Athlete of the Year by US Soccer? 

7.  Even my buddies, Fitzy and Flabbs, would have finished this chance.  

8.  Much has been made of the Cascadia clubs improving the brand of Major League Soccer, but the emergence of Sporting KC and Real Salt Lake has made an even larger imprint on the success of the league. Both clubs have built soccer specific stadiums filled with passionate fans and deserve the spotlight the next week.  


9.  With all the talk of flip throws and long throws in college soccer this season, does Tony Pulis get the blame or the credit for this phenomenon? Or do we blame Fox Soccer for showing too many Stoke City games over the years? 


Picture
10.  Ross Barkley dives - English media goes silent. A non-Englishman (insert Luis Suarez) dives - English media goes on and on about how that type of play is ruining THEIR game. 

11.  Ronaldo for the Ballon d'Or.  And that's just based on what he did over two legs against Sweden. Different level.


12.  Sporting KC to win MLS Cup. Think home field along with Zusi and Feilhaber, will be too much for Real Salt Lake to overcome. 

13.  The World Cup draw takes place on Friday December 6th.  Here's hoping the United States avoids Spain and Germany from Europe, Brazil and Argentina from South America, and Ghana from Africa. Everything else is fair game. 

14.  In college soccer you're either recruiting or coaching during Thanksgiving. One of these years, I hope I'm coaching. 

1 Comment
Flabbs
12/1/2013 11:33:10 am

Stebbs should work with Boruc on the shielding roll-over... he could have potentially made it to the sideline with the roll-over. Thanks for #7.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Brendan Faherty

    Faherty is currently the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach at the University of Washington. He passionately supports four clubs, but is always following the game at many different levels. 



    Off the Ball
    Random observations from the last week of soccer. 



    Archives

    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Soccer Banter: Been Kicking Since March 1, 2011