Sunday, January 30, 2011

Liverpool

They're making moves. I've been telling my friends to get in the bandwagon now while there's room, because this team is going to become one of the best in England soon. Actually, I've been telling them that since NESV took over.

As I'm writing this, Torres's future is uncertain. Effing get rid of him. If it's 50 million pounds, it's worth it. And don't take Anelka-- for all NESV's record of signing baseball-centric players in Boston, and their talk of keeping Liverpool players who want to be there, they let Cammoli go after Nicolas Anelka? This is the guy who made the scene at the World Cup last year for boycotting training, and doing so as publicly as he could. He also dove to get his countryman sent off in the Champions League semifinal a few years ago, which didn't get too much media attention due to the rest of the circus in that game. I hope this is just a media ploy, and I have a feeling it is. The cash is enough, and that way they'll take a pure and positive step toward creating a team-oriented team.

I'm pumped to see Luis Suarez play for Liverpool. The fee was about what I'd expect it to be (22.8 million euro). For all his misbehavior (deliberate hand-ball versus Ghana, ear biting incident in the Dutch league), this guy is team-oriented. I loved what he said when the transfer was starting to hit the media: "I will decline any offer from clubs like Shakhtar Donetsk or [Zenit] St. Petersburg where they offer you sacks full of money. I've an obsession to win trophies. I am a South American with the mentality to win." Beast. He doesn't bow to just anyone.

My thesis of this paragraph is that John Brewin is a piece of crap. This is his piece on Liverpool from a couple weeks ago. He just seems like a piece of crap to me. Don't you agree? Listen to the ESPN Soccernet podcast and then get back to me, because you can really tell there. For some reason, someone made him a senior editor (THE senior editor? Not sure how that works, but I hope there's at least one other senior editor to serve as a check).

Some other guy wrote a really good piece around the same time as that one was published, but I can't find it. I think it was on ESPN, but it could have been Sky or BBC. His point was that despite no wins so far, at that point, there was a lot of progress at the club, between the unity provided by Dalglish and the increasing number of young home-grown players making the team. Now there's a good article. Too bad I can't find it to show you, sorry.

Everyone in the Cambridge area should go see the Chelsea-Liverpool game Sunday at Phoenix Landing. Should be a huuuge crowd, especially if this Torres deal goes down. The last time the Steelers played in the superbowl (against the 8-8, got-totalled-by-the-Patriots-in-week-17 Arizona Cardinals), there was a Liverpool-Chelsea game in the morning in which Torres scored twice in stoppage time to win 2-0. What a game that was. Hopefully they win again this time.

-John

Monday, January 24, 2011

One Year Later

One year ago today John and I started www.bostonultras.com. Wow, it's been 1 year. That went by fast. Going to all the games last year was a blast. Along the way we took people who had never been to a Revs game and I'm happy to report that everyone who went had a blast. So much so that they're coming back again this summer.

The feedback we've gotten for the site has been great. Everyone we've heard from has been very supportive of what we're doing here. If you ever have any comments feel free to post them or email us at bostonultras@yahoo.com

Lets hope this year brings us some better news so the positive posts outweigh the negatives. So far things are looking up. I'll update you with some thoughts over the next couple of weeks as after today, I have some more free time, not too much more but enough for some posts every now and then over the next month.

Lets go!!!

-Andrew

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Liverpool 2-2 Everton

I watched Liverpool draw Everton at Phoenix Landing today. That's the Liverpool-oriented pub in Cambridge where you can go to see the Liverpool fans sing in a jam-packed and loud setting.

I was rooting for Liverpool. NESV's ownership makes them feel more like a home team than any other non-US club, to me. There seems to be a more positive air around the club since Dalglish took over, even though it's still early in his stint. It was particularly strong today, since they were playing Everton at Anfield. The players seemed to respond to it. It ended 2-2, but Liverpool looked really really good in the first half, and steadied the ship after temporarily losing the momentum in the first ten minutes or so of the second half. It was a frustrating but also exciting game.

The Liverpool fans at that bar are a weird bunch. I don't think I like them. There was one gal that made fun of Tim Howard for having tourrettes syndrome. She was American, which made it marginally more irritating than it would have been had she been English, or of some other enthicity. There are also others who just rub me the wrong way. The ones that fit into this category tend to be American, gluttonous, and ingenuine. How does an American become so obsessive about an English soccer club, so much that (s)he uses the word "we" to refer to the club as if it were his (her) home team, so much that she makes fun of her own national team goalie for having tourrettes? There's something fishy there. The most annoying part is that I don't think she even meant it; she was just doing it to satisfy her own low self-esteem. Bam! That's the ingenuine part about certain "Liverpool supporters" that irks me.

It's still totally worth it to see a game at that place, with those people. Please do it if you live in the Cambridge area.

-John

Draft

So the Revolution's first pick in the MLS draft was A.J. Soares. I didn't do any draft research whatsoever this season, so the only things I know about him is what I've read since then. Don't expect a detailed breakdown of the Revs' picks from me. Ives usually does a pretty good job with the draft, if you're looking for detailed coverage.

Not only did I not do research this year, but I genearlly don't get that worked up over the draft. It's too hard to predict how each player will pan out in MLS. It's also hard to find video footage on college players, or find the odd college game on FSC that has a few top prospects. It's not worth reading scouting reports, at least to me. It's not exciting either.

So. A.J. Soares. It would be pretty awesome to have a very good young back line, like the one that's been in LA (Galaxy) these past couple years. Alston, Barnes, and Sinovic are all young and decent. If Soares joins them as the regular starting defenders, there's a chance it could become a competent unit. I said competent; my main worry is that they'll fall into their familiar habit of kicking the ball as far as they can toward the opponent's net every time they get it. No matter how good this Soares character is, I doubt he'll be able to break this plagueish Revolution trend.

I'm just waiting for the Union to become an MLS power. I wish they weren't from Philadelphia, because sports fans from that city are among the country's most irritating. Anyway, I'm rooting for them secondly to the Revs. Jackie Mac's got to play more this season so he can make the senior USMNT sometime in 2011. 2012? He should at least make a camp in 2011. One of those camps where the European-based players aren't released, and the national team camp is full of young MLS players. Like the one for the US game in a week, on Jan. 22. Come on, Bob!

I've been MIA for a couple months I think. Expect more from me from now on.

-John

Sunday, January 2, 2011

A quick update

So, we keep saying that we're going to turn this thing into a full site and then it never happens. Then I keep saying that I'm finally going to do part 2 on my thoughts of the 2010 upper deck MLS set. Then that never happens. Man, we're starting to sounds like Revs management whenever they talk about a stadium or a DP.

Well, I'll actually give you an estimate of when you can expect these things and I think I'll stick by them this time. The second part of the MLS cards post, probably sometime in Feb. 2011. This thing turning into a full site, probably sometime in the fall of 2011. It's being pushed back because there are some other things that need to be taken care of and we just don't have the time to make the conversion. Conversion, I hate that word.

Revs got some cap room, I can't wait to see what they do with it. They still need another center back to pair up with Barnes. If they can find a quality center back to pair with him then I think we've got a very solid defense for the upcoming year. Until we do, I'll be a bit nervous with Osei back there. The draft is this month, perhaps we'll see a center back drafted.

Look for a post the last week of January from me. Until then, enjoy the European season and lets see what the Revs do with the cap room they've got.

-Andrew