Avoiding the Drop

That seems about right.

Ross County F.C. v. Partick Thistle F.C. (Saturday)

The Staggies are off to a middling start, but it’s still early enough that a win could, at worst, bring them within three points of first place, and at best, have them tied for first place. With the close of the transfer window the Staggies also trimmed their squad of two players. Darren McCormack- whose initial contract was extended so that he could recover from a broken leg was released (but will continue to train with the club until he finds a new one) and Gary Wood- who broke a bone in his foot and missed most of the club’s preseason- was loaned out to Third Division Peterhead F.C. until January. Fun Fact: Ol’ Fuse is busy planning his trip to Scotland in the spring- County @ Hamilton Accies, Falkirk @ County, and a bonus Third Division match between Queen’s Park and Clyde. Woo!!

New England Revolution v. F.C. Dallas (Saturday)

After the worst in an ever-growing list of debacles on Wednesday night (up 4-1 at halftime and ending in a 4-4 draw!) against the Union I’m not even sure what to say about this team. I want to think they are getting their act together, but it’s pretty much too late. It was nice to see the team apparently able to score at will, but the defensive posture they adopted in the second half was doomed, doomed I tell you. Maybe against Dallas they will just attack…and then attack some more. Dallas should have plenty of motivation to win this match- they have the last playoff spot in the Western Conference and Real Salt Lake breathing down their necks. Fun Fact: Newly signed Moroccan international Monsef Zerka marked his Revolution debut with a well-taken goal and looked to have a bit of class in general.

Seattle Sounders F.C. v. Real Salt Lake (Saturday)

It might be going too far to call this a “make or break” match for RSL, but it is a very important one. They have two matches in hand over the three teams they are chasing for a Western Conference playoff spot, and at least four points to make up. Should they lose, however, they then have two games in hand and may have as many as seven points to make up and less of the season to do it in. Seattle probably won’t catch L.A. for the conference championship, but they just need to steadily earn points to remain in the playoffs, so a draw is probably enough for them in this match. Fun Fact: Seattle Sounders’ midfielder has made it clear that he wants to play for the USMNT, but due to U.S. immigration policy he’ll have to wait years for that to happen, so it may have to be the Congo or England instead.

New York Red Bulls v. Vancouver Whitecaps F.C. (Saturday)

It’s a sad day when I have to root for a Red Bulls win, but I have no choice. After New England’s monumental choke job on Wednesday a win by Vancouver would mean that the Revolution would enter a three way tie for last in MLS and I’m not sure I can deal with that. Go Red Bulls! New York should be happy to fatten-up on the new kids- they are three points out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and time is running out in the regular season. Vancouver, on the other hand, has to be pretty content with their season thus far. They’ll probably end up with around 30-32 points and they’ve only been on the wrong side of one lopsided score all season (a 4-0 loss to D.C.) Fun Fact: Vancouver’s Eric Hassli is still responsible for my “Goal of the Year.” Have any of you seen a better one this year?

Arsenal F.C. v. Swansea City F.C. (Saturday)

8-2?! Well, the appropriate way to deal with that kind of a result is to turn around and put the same kind of hurting on the Premier League new boys, right? Not going to happen. Not because Swansea are more talented (they’re not) or better managed (they’re probably not), but because they’ve toiled in the Championship and learned how to grind out results- or at least how not to give up a quadruple bogey to the opposition. Another reason I don’t think it’s going to happen? During Arsenal’s drubbing at the hands of Manchester United I didn’t see a single player that look angry, humiliated, or anything else, they just “took it,” and that’s never a good sign. I’m looking for a 1-1 draw or maybe a 2-1 win for Arsenal in this match. Either way, it won’t be the kind of result that gets them “back on track.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. v. Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (Saturday)

The only team that has had a rougher start to the season than Arsenal are their London neighbors Spurs. Sure, they have a match in hand as a result of their riot-postponed match against Everton, but in the two matches they played they lost both and they scored once will conceding eight- not good, not good at all. Conversely, has any club had a better start to the season than Wolves? I’ll admit that I didn’t see it coming- and it probably won’t last, but it is a hoot to see them tied on point with Liverpool and Chelsea and only a point behind the Manchester Derby sides. Fun Fact: Wolves striker Steven Fletcher should have more than eight caps for Scotland. He’s been a full-time professional and reliable scorer in the SPL and EPL since he was 17 and that’s more than you can say for a lot of Scotland’s strikers.

Novara Calcio S.p.A. v. Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona SrL (Sunday)

If I’m not mistaken and setting aside any traitors- I’m looking at you, Giuseppe Rossi- this year’s Serie A season will be the first one since 1996 that has included an American player. In this case, it is midfielder Michael Bradley. I’m not sure who he’ll do in Italy, but Serie A seems to have more than its fair share of hot-heads, so I think he’ll fit in just fine. Novara, as I mentioned a while back, are making their return to the Italian top flight for the first time in 55 years. Based on their roster, however, this will not end well for them. Fun Fact: It was nice to see Michael Bradley get a new job in the same week that his dad, Robot Bradley, did- almost. He’s either the new coach of Egypt. Or not. Or the new coach of Santos Laguna in Mexico’s Primera Division. Or not. Perhaps Borg F.C. needs a new coach.

Atlético Clube de Portugal v. Clube Desportivo Trofense (Sunday)

This match from the Portuguese Liga de Honra (second division) features another player player Jurgen Klinsmann might want to investigate- Tennessee-born, Australia-raised goalkeeper Caleb Patterson-Sewell. The big 24 year old has not appeared at the senior level for the U.S. or for Australia, but he was groomed in the youth systems of Anderlecht, Sheffield Wednesday, and Liverpool, and he is the starting goalkeeper for a club that seems likely to be promoted to the top flight next year. Worth a look, no? Conversely, things are not looking good for Trofense. After missing out on promotion to the Primiera Liga last year by only a point they are already in danger of being relegated to the third division! Fun Fact: For sponsorship reasons the Liga de Honra is known as the Liga Orangina.