Yankee Go Home

Surely, you can't say the US exit in the semi-final to Jamaica was a complete surprise.  Except for a thrashing of a defection-riddled Cuba side, the Yankees never looked settled.  They started out well enough against Jamaica but couldn't score and two set piece goals by the Reggae Boyz turned out to be an insurmountable deficit.  Tough call on Guzan handling outside the box.  Replays show the call was technically correct, though some will argue that it's never called.  I will say I always watch the keeper's release of the ball near the edge of the box closely as an AR and would not hesitate to signal a clear violation.  Full credit to Barnes for a marvelously struck free kick.

I have generally defended Klinsmann's work but am puzzled by the contradiction between his claim of the importance of the Gold Cup and his choice to experiment/not use our best players in the tournament.  Brooks and Alvarado may turn out to be good but if winning the Cup was critical, shouldn't Besler and Gonzalez have been our central defenders.  To be fair, I think he made some good choices elsewhere and they either weren't enough (I thought Fabian Johnson was pretty effective) or didn't have the best of games (e.g. Evans, Zardes, Johannson, and Dempsey).  I'll be interested to see the squad Klinsmann chooses for the 10/9 playoff with the winner of Sunday's Mexico-Jamaica final that will decide CONCACAF's representative for the Confederations Cup.


More Black Eyes for CONCACAF


Mexico's quarterfinal triumph over Costa Rica on a questionable PK call in the 121st minute already had people talking conspiracy. CONCACAF and conspiracy? You cynical bastards.  I'd be shocked, shocked if there was anything dodgy going on.  The whole idea took a further hit with the US loss to Jamaica, in part due to the very close call that went against the US.  But that reprieve was short-lived, as the Mexico-Panama provided more than enough fodder.  Unfortunately, US referee Mark Geiger was at the center of the controversy, first with a red card to a Panama player in the 25th minute, then with a PK call in the 90th minute.  The red card looked to me like a garden variety foul though a hand to the face always gives the referee the opportunity to view that as striking a player. The call for handling in the box looked more like a player falling down and his arm landing on the ball than handling plus it's possible he was pushed rather than fell.  Neither call by itself was the worst I've ever seen but the context couldn't have been worse.  The first meant Mexico played much of the match a man up.  The second allowed Mexico, down 0-1 despite the man advantage, to level things in the last minute and extend the match into extra time.  The scene after the PK call was ugly from so many perspectives - players confronting Geiger, players confronting each other, fans throwing stuff on the field.  I suppose it could have escalated into something worse but it was bad enough.  Mexico ended up winning 2-1 (on another PK - this one pretty legitimate).  Geiger needed a security escort from the field.  On Thursday, the talk of how CONCACAF had taken another one on the chin nearly overshadowed the US defeat.


And Another Thing...

During the Women's World Cup we lamented (railed against) the fact that the top international tournament for women was played on artificial turf.  We also noted the common practice on the men's side of putting sod over turf for international competitions could have easily addressed the situation.  Upon further review - that is, viewing the Gold Cup - I'm not so sure that would have been any better.  Many of the Gold Cup venues featured this situation and the results were less than satisfactory, IMHO.  In one case you had chunks of the field coming up, in others you had players constantly slipping on the loose surfaces.  One commentator suggested it might have been responsible for a lot of shots sailing over the goal.  Aren't there enough venues to choose from that a tournament of this stature doesn't need to go that route (not a rhetorical question, I really don't know the answer)? Also, why do they need to have it spread across the US and Canada?  That much travel can't be good for the quality of play.  I love the idea of a bi-annual regional championship but is CONCACAF capable of putting one on without f...messing it up?


Union Escalator

No change here.  First, there was a 1-2 loss to Toronto on Saturday in which they were punchless. A late goal by Casey made it look closer than it was.  Actually, they didn't look awful but after two quick goals against the run of play, the Union had no chance of catching up.

This was of course followed up with an Open Cup victory over the Red Bulls on Tuesday.  On the road.  And a man down.  Can anybody explain this?  Technically, they did not beat the Red Bulls but advanced on kicks from the spot.  Whatever.  This is reminding me of Aston Villa last season.  Can't get a result in league play but are world beaters in Cup play.

Loose End

Back in March I explained the how the EPL Fair Play Table works.  Circling back, we find that 1) the EPL did hang on to third place, thereby qualifying the league for an additional spot in the Europa League and 2) West Ham hung on to the league lead to get that spot.

Who Are These Guys?

Though there is no specific news since last week, the likelihood that Newcastle will sign at least one quality center back is high (Mbemba is agreed to but apparently there is some issue with his visa).  The Magpies are actually spending money to address deficiencies in their line up.  As hope for the new season rises, I must look at the half empty part of the glass.  First, this is mostly a return to old policies, not something new.  With the exception of last January, Newcastle's model has been to fill gaps with good but underpriced talent, a policy that has generally kept them out of relegation danger.  Second, historically, they never keep this talent, or add enough, to move them from a mid-table side to a contender for European competitions.  The prices they've paid for Wijnaldum and Mitrovic offer some hope that maybe there's more this time.  We'll see.

With Benteke and Delph gone, Aston Villa have lost they're two best players.  This is not necessarily awful depending on what they do with the money.

Around the league there's plenty of interesting transactions.  Bastian Schweinsteiger is actually Man United's second best signing for a name beginning with "sch."  For us, that honor goes to Morgan Schneiderlin, a 25 year-old midfielder formerly at Southampton.  Manchester City added Raheem Sterling but we do have to wonder if he'll prove to be worth the $76 million they paid Liverpool. Tottenham have added Toby Edelweiss Alderweireld (we'll provide pronunciation guidance later) to shore up their back line.  For Michael B, there is no net gain, as Spurs gain is Atletico's loss.


Do you believe that the EPL season starts in two Saturdays?  Can't wait for those three hour breakfasts!