I find myself thinking too much about the negative aspects of the game we all love. This season has not lent itself to a ton of positivity in terms of the teams I support. In terms of the game as a whole, though, things really are looking much more positive.
It was a shame how poor the Barcelona-Real Madrid match was this past week. Madrid attempted to slow the match down and tamper the overall quality, and Barcelona realized that they had a sympathetic referee who would blow the whistle a lot. It made for tortuous viewing. There was some incredible skill on display that was largely muted by the teams’ varying agendas. Skill always wins out, however. Lionel Messi made two incredible plays to produce Barcelona’s goals and that is what we must focus on at the end of the day.
Reminding myself that not everything is a lowly negative can sometimes be tough, but the individual skill of the players, the spectacle of the matches, the atmosphere, it’s the fibre of the game that will never disappear. We can also be extremely thankful that there is not a labor situation hanging over our game’s heads like what is currently occurring in the NFL and soon to be happening in the NBA. Obviously, the individual clubs sink or swim of their own volition, but I think that allows you to invest heavily in supporting a club knowing that they control every bit of their own destiny.
The World Cup this past year was an amazing spectacle and assuming that all goes well with getting the infrastructure under control, 2014 in Brazil will be incredible as well. The Euro tournament is next Summer, the Women’s World Cup is this year in Germany, the Gold Cup and the Copa America also happen this Summer. There’s a lot to look forward to.
The little things that annoy us on a day to day basis about the game, our sides not winning on a given match day, it will all pass over time. It cannot get to the point where it overwhelms, though. We are about to enter yet another transfer window that I am positive will be intensely crazy. I will throw out my standard statement about the window. Until a player turns up at the grounds to take pictures with the gaffer and hold up a scarf, do not pay attention to any of the rumor columns. They are not worth your time and your existence will be much happier without them in your life. I urge you to get out to an MLS match if one is nearby enough to get to. The league is really coming on and deserves your attention.
I guess what I’m saying is that I think I’ve been relentlessly negative this season and I do not want to continue in that way. The Arsenal problems are what they are and while I wish this season had turned out differently, there is not much use dwelling on it endlessly. I am excited to see Chris Wondolowski and the San Jose Earthquakes today at PPL. I am excited to watch Leeds and Burnley shortly. There are Champions League semi-finals this week and a lot of tense action to come very soon. It’s a good thing. I need to recognize this more often.
Here are today’s television listings, all times Eastern.
England, Leeds-Burnley 7:30 a.m. Fox Soccer Plus
England, Sunderland-Fulham 10 a.m. ESPN2
England, West Brom-Aston Villa 10 a.m. FSC
England, Wigan-Everton 10 a.m. FSP
Italy, Cesena-Inter Milan noon FSP
Spain, Real Madrid-Zaragoza noon ESPN Deportes
England, Chelsea-Spurs 12:30 p.m. FSC
England, Blackpool-Stoke 2 p.m. FSP
Italy, Napoli-Genoa 2:30 p.m. FSC
MLS, Philadelphia-San Jose 4 p.m. Direct Kick
Spain, Coruna-Atletico Madrid 4 p.m. ESPN Deportes
Mexico, Jaguares-Queretaro 6 p.m. ESPN Deportes, Azteca America
MLS, Columbus-Vancouver 7:30 p.m. Direct Kick
MLS, New York-Kansas City 7:30 p.m. Direct Kick
Mexico, Chivas-Monterrey 8 p.m. Telemundo
Mexico, Pachuca-Necaxa 8 p.m. Galavision
MLS, Colorado-Chicago 9 p.m. Direct Kick
England, Watford-QPR 9 p.m. FSP
MLS, Seattle-Toronto 10 p.m. Direct Kick
Mexico, Atlante-Toluca 10 p.m. Galavision
Mexico, San Luis-Cruz Azul 10 p.m. Telefutura
MLS, Portland-Real Salt Lake 10:30 p.m. Direct Kick
MLS, Chivas USA-New England 10:30 p.m. Direct Kick
Here is ESPN3′s schedule.
As always, use this thread to talk about the matches. We thank you for your clicks and comments. Enjoy the matches and enjoy your Saturday.
Really, my choices are a Deuce-less Fulham against Sunderland or Aston Villa against West Brom?
I guess I’ll go with the relegation battle…
Actually, I think that you’ve had a lot to be negative about this past year. I don’t get upset as much with my teams as I do the game in general, and the state of the game this last year was bad. Reporting teh negative and being negative sort of go hand in hand.
The play in general this year has been average, at best, but mostly a lot of choppy, not very well played, not to exciting games in the League levels. There is so much ref baiting, and refs missing obvious calls, that this has to contribute to the decline in play. So many times it looked like players were more interested in drawing fouls then scoring that as a fan, I begin to wonder if they’ve lost the point.
The spectacle of the WC was great, but the play was shabby. It seemed that 3 out of 4 games I watched was a Bus Parking exhibition. There was some complaining about Spain being off their game, but it was hard to tell since their opponents tended to play 9 in the box. It would be like complaining that the Lakers looked off their game if every team played 4 corner no time clock offense against them.
This leads to the awesomeness that is FIFA and it’s inability to enter the 20th Century, much less the 21st. They are the Firemen out of Fahrenheit 451. They don’t put out fires, they start them. No replay consideration of any merit, no reviews after the game for off the ball fouls and actions, no questioning or punishment for incompetent refs, and the kicker….
Putting the future World Cups up for cash bids but only telling Russia and Qatar!!!
So while you might feel like you’ve been overly negative, I give you these examples of what you’ve had to deal with this year, and in the end, I don’t think you’ve had a lot of positives to report.
MLS play does look better this year though, and Hicks is out of Liverpool, and the Glazers aren’t McCourting the Red Devils…as much. So those are good things.
Martin, I have no numbers to back this up, but I really feel like MLS has turned a corner this year in terms of the quality of play. It could be as simple as each club getting that one additional talent player or the clubs themselves doing a better job seeking out/evaluating talent, but I really feel like the league as a whole has taken a big step in the right direction.
Yes, there are still a few clubs that regularly serve up “clunkers” and a few players who fans and clubs should be asking for refunds, but that has become the exception. I remember watching Portland’s 4-2 win over Chicago earlier this season and thinking, “This club has no right to have this much potential this soon.”
We might not all like the path MLS has chosen or the speed of it, but they are getting closer to the destination of being a perfectly respectable league- and maybe even a desirable one.
I’ve watched every Galaxy game so far and a parts of a couple others, and the thing that I’ve taken this year is “smarter” play. Players in general in the MLS this season seem to be making the smarter play far more often. Sometimes the smarter play isn’t exciting, it might just be kicking the ball out of bounds, but as a fan I can appreciate the smart play.
There is a definite lack of “WTF???” moments this year.