Entries from February 2004 ↓

Arsenal will travel to Portsmouth on March 6th to decide the sixth round of the FA Cup. Kickoff is 1 PM ET.Pompey defeated Liverpool 1-0 today in their fifth round replay to advance.

Gael Clichy impresses as Arsenal extend their lead at the top to seven points

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After going down to Chelsea 1-0 after only 28 seconds at Stamford Bridge this morning, Arsenal pulled another magical performance from their hat, repeating last week’s scoreline of 1-0 down, 2-1 up.

Patrick Vieira scored Arsenal’s equalizier in the 15th minute, after a beautiful ball by Dennis Bergkamp sent him through on goal.

Edu scored from a corner about five minutes later, a goal which ultimately proved to be the winner.

Despite all the scoring taking place in the first half, the second was not without incident. Chelsea striker, Eidur Gudjohnsen, who had put Chelsea ahead in the opening moments, was sent off for a second bookable offense, and that sealed the win for the Gunners.

The majority of the credit for today’s win will undoubtedly go to Paddy Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp, and they are quite deserving. However, attention should be paid to young Gael Clichy, one of the unsung heroes of the match.

Clichy, who is only 18, filled in admirably for the injured Ashley Cole, and played with a maturity not often associated with players of his age and experience. I believe we can expect great things of him in the future.

Theirry Henry played the full ninety minutes of today’s match, but it was obvious that he is still feeling the effects of the foot injury he picked up against Southampton a few weeks ago. If anything, these past two wins over Chelsea disprove the theory by many a football pundit who purport that Arsenal are a one man team.

Freddie Ljungberg made a subsitute appearance late in the second half, a sign that perhaps his rib injury is finally behind him.

Jose Antonio Reyes was on the subs bench today, and was thankfully left unused. This adds support to my theory that we will see Jose start the Champions League match against Celta Vigo in Spain this Tuesday.

Speaking of the Champions League, the second round kicks off this week, and like I stated above, Arsenal get things started away to Celta Vigo. Kickoff is 2:45 PM ET on Tuesday, and is being shown live in the US on ESPN Deportes and via Setanta Sport at select pubs.

The man needs to lay off the drink….From ESPN.com:

Sir Alex ponders an Arsenal collapse

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Arsenal could become so determined to preserve their unbeaten Premiership record it could eventually bring about another championship collapse.

On the eve of a potentially pivotal weekend, the wily Manchester United boss has decided now is the time to begin the mind games that proved so successful 12 months ago.

The Gunners visit fellow title contenders Chelsea tomorrow lunchtime just as United will look to emphasise their superiority over relegation-haunted Leeds.

United trail Arsene Wenger’s men by five points - a similar gap they were able to overhaul 12 months ago - and Ferguson knows he needs the Londoners to stumble again to give his side any chance.

And, while skipper Roy Keane believes Arsenal will not fail again, Ferguson can see a chink of light. For the Scot thinks the men from Highbury may become so concentrated on preserving their unbeaten record it will eventually grind them down.

‘Arsenal have the added incentive of going undefeated and they will all be fully charged up trying to make sure they don’t lose a game,’ said Ferguson. ‘But I know from past experience that is a big burden to carry. I was with Rangers in 1967 when we went unbeaten right to the last game of the season and eventually lost.

‘You would have to say it is very difficult to go through an entire season without losing but we are almost in March and it hasn’t happened yet. It makes tomorrow’s game a bigger one for Chelsea, so hopefully it will prove to be a pivotal weekend.’

While attempting to increase the pressure on Arsenal, Ferguson was happy to take the spotlight away from Keane, who has re-asserted his fears for some of the younger members of the Old Trafford squad.

Twice in recent days, the Irishman has questioned training- ground attitudes and suggested some of his team-mates should remember how fortunate they are to play for the club.

‘Roy’s comments are directed towards some of the younger players and that is not a bad thing,’ said Ferguson. ‘At the moment, they do not have the same responsibilities as Roy and people like Nicky Butt, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs who have been an integral part of the success of this club for over a decade.

‘But in three or four years time when Roy is gone these young players will have that responsibility and it is just a reminder.

‘Roy sets high standards and that is how it should be when you are playing for the biggest club.’

Aside from Diego Forlan, who was not due to return from midweek duty with Uruguay until later this afternoon, Ferguson reported nothing more than a series of bumps and bruises from his squad’s international exertions.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Wes Brown will be in the squad after turning out for the reserve team against Liverpool last night, although Ferguson may not stray too far from the side that defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup last Saturday with the notable exception of Louis Saha’s return up front alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Two seasons ago, a meeting between the two Uniteds would have had a major bearing on the league title.

Leeds’ massive reversal in fortune since then emphasises how costly it can be trying to compete with the world’s richest club and, despite the bitter rivalry between fans of the two teams, Ferguson does not gain any pleasure from their demise.

‘What has happened is very sad and there are a few other clubs teetering on the brink just like they are,’ he said. ‘Maybe they are not as exposed as Leeds but certainly a lot of clubs with the same kind of financial problems.

‘I read this week that Arsenal could go into administration next year. You would hate to think anything like that could happen to a club with such tradition and history.’

Leeds have not won at Old Trafford since 1981 and without in- form striker Mark Viduka appear unlikely to break that unhappy sequence tomorrow.

Ferguson would be happy enough if they could avoid the drop. But even with fellow Scot Eddie Gray at the helm, he accepts the chances are slim.

‘Eddie has done as well as anybody could possibly do in those circumstances,’ he said. ‘He knows the club and its support and in the situation Leeds are in, they need someone with that experience.

‘The one thing going for them is that they have a very passionate support behind them. That alone gives them a chance. But they have to start winning games because at the bottom of the league, getting a point is no use.

‘Manchester City are an example of a club that has drawn too many games this season and they are in the bottom part of the league now. It is not easy to win games when you are down there.’
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This guy is such a - in Brit parlance - tosser. “I read this week that Arsenal could go into administration next year.” Where did he read that, “Sir Big Red Nose’s Big Red Book Of Big Red Fairy Tales?”

Arsenal are in no danger of turning into another Dirty Leeds done dirt cheap, thank you very much.

Worry about your own problems, like not having a job come June, you wanker.

The US Men’s National Team lost to a fairly under-achieving Dutch side this afternoon in Amsterdam. We’ll see how this sets the team up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers which begin in June. - Just an aside if I may; the Nike jerseys the teams were wearing today were some of the ugliest articles of clothing I’ve ever seen, but don’t take my word for it, judge for yourself…

From the Associated Press:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — A 1-0 loss to the Netherlands on Wednesday night dropped the United States to 0-10-1 in Europe over the past five years.

Still, U.S. coach Bruce Arena saw a lot of good things during the exhibition game, the first time in nearly two years the Americans used most of their regulars.

“This is almost the first time this group has been together since the World Cup, so to come in and play a solid game against an outstanding team - I’m pleased,” Arena said.

The Netherlands’ goal came in the 56th minute when speedy forward Arjen Robben took the ball down the left side of the field, headed it past Frankie Hejduk as he cut to the center, then beat U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Arena was pleased with the defense, where he used Frankie Hejduk, Gregg Berhalter, Carlos Bocanegra and Cory Gibbs, and said midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey frustrated the Dutch attack. Ruud Van Nistelrooy twice failed to convert scoring chances.

Arena praised second-half substitute Josh Wolff, saying Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar had to “come up big” to stop a shot in the 82nd minute.

“They controlled the ball, but we had some good chances to tie the game,” U.S. captain Claudio Reyna said. “It was a good chance for younger players to get some experience in Europe.”

Landon Donovan, Reyna and Brian McBride had a good combination in the first half, but McBride’s header was wide.

“We needed to put more pressure on them,” McBride said. “We did a little more in the second half, but we needed to cause ‘em some more trouble,” he said.

The United States, 0-3 and without a goal against the Dutch, hasn’t won in Europe since beating Austria in April 1998.

Dutch coach Dick Advocaat said his team played without passion, but he was satisfied with the win. He said the U.S. defense “made it difficult to play the way we like to play.”

The United States, preparing to start qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in June, dropped to 0-1-1 this year.

Van Nistelrooy was given a yellow card in the 30th minute after knocking the ball into the goal with a hand on a free kick. In the 13th minute, Van Nistelrooy put the ball in the next but the Dutch were called for offsides.

Netherlands defender Jaap Stam touched the ball in front of his goal with his upper arm in the 78th minute but wasn’t penalized by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

The Americans, who Grenada or Guyana in their first round of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, had not fielded a top-level lineup since losing to Germany 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.

Now he thinks there should be a salary cap..

.(from ESPN.com)

BOSTON — Red Sox owner John Henry now believes a salary cap could be good for baseball after watching the rival Yankees trade for Alex Rodriguez — a deal his own franchise could not complete.

Henry said in an e-mail response to reporters early Wednesday morning that he is changing his mind on whether the sport needs a salary cap “to deal with a team that has gone so insanely far beyond the resources of all the other teams.”

The Yankees’ payroll is about $186 million after they acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers earlier this week in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a minor leaguer to be named.

But the number could come down if third baseman Aaron Boone is released. Boston is expected to be second at about $125 million.

“One thing is certain the status quo will not be preserved,” Henry wrote.

“There must be a way to cap what a team can spend without hurting player compensation … without taking away from the players what they have rightfully earned in the past through negotiation and in creating tremendous value. There is a simple mechanism that could right a system woefully out of whack.”

Henry’s comments come after his team failed in its bid to land the reigning American League MVP.

The Red Sox tried to trade Manny Ramirez, the second highest-paid player in baseball, for Rodriguez this winter. But talks fell apart because the two sides could not agree on how to divide the remaining $179 million on Rodriguez’s contract.

The Yankees were able to absorb Rodriguez’s salary without dumping a major star.

“Baseball doesn’t have an answer for the Yankees,” Henry said. “Revenue sharing can only accomplish so much. At some point it becomes confiscation. It has not and it will not solve what is a very obvious problem.”
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Talk about sour grapes. What a loser.

From Newsday.com:

February 16, 2004

Before Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees secured their future together, the Boston Red Sox did all they could to break up the marriage in a frantic, back-door attempt to upstage their hated rivals and convince the All-Star shortstop to play at Fenway Park

Multiple baseball sources said the Red Sox reached out to both the Texas Rangers and Rodriguez Saturday. In these discussions, the Red Sox offered to take Rodriguez and his bulky contract “as is” - a stunning reversal from their previous position.

According to a source, a mutual friend of both Rodriguez and the Red Sox approached the All-Star on Boston’s behalf. The acquaintance suggested that, unlike in the failed December negotiations, the team might be willing to take on Rodriguez’s entire contract. In December, the Red Sox had insisted that Rodriguez take a pay cut.

Saturday, Rodriguez enthusiastically told the go-between, “tell [Red Sox president] Larry Lucchino to - off!”

Lucchino did not return a phone call for comment yesterday. Through a Red Sox spokesman, general manager Theo Epstein denied the Red Sox made an 11th hour push for Rodriguez. However, he conceded that there might have been communication between the mutual friend and Rodriguez. Only the approval of baseball commissioner Bud Selig is needed to finalize the trade that will send Rodriguez, considered baseball’s best player, to the Yankees in return for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named. The Major League Baseball Players’ Association signed off on the trade yesterday.

“He just wants to go over it,” Rich Levin, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of public relations, said yesterday of Selig. “It’s a Sunday, and I think he had some family issues.”

That approval should come today, and with it, an announcement by both teams. The Yankees are planning a Yankee Stadium news conference tomorrow, in which they’ll formally introduce Rodriguez.

As part of the agreement between the teams, the Rangers will assume $43 million of the $179 million that Rodriguez is owed over the next seven years. In addition, the Rangers will pay the $24 million remaining in deferred money from the original contract. Rodriguez altered the deferred payments to help the Rangers, and in return for slightly diminishing the value of his contract, he’ll receive a hotel suite on Yankees road trips and the right to link his Web site to the Yankees’ site. Each perk represents more salt in the wound to Red Sox Nation, the vast collection of New Englanders who felt like they had finally gained the upper hand over the Yankees this off-season.

After acquiring ace starting pitcher Curt Schilling and All-Star closer Keith Foulke, the Red Sox were extremely close to acquiring Rodriguez in December, and A-Rod had agreed to diminish the value of his infamous 10-year, $252-million contract by about $28 million in order to expedite the transaction. But the Players’ Association wouldn’t approve the trade, as it didn’t want Rodriguez to set a precedent by giving up so much money.

The two teams and Rodriguez continued to talk and the players’ union agreed to let Rodriguez diminish the value of his contract by $12 million. That left a $16 million gap for the Red Sox to fill to make the trade a reality. Rodriguez would have become the Boston shortstop, Washington Heights native Manny Ramirez would have gone to Texas and Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra would have gone to the Chicago White Sox for power-hitting outfielder Magglio Ordo�ez.

The Red Sox would not add that $16 million, and so the deal died. In a December statement, Lucchino - who infuriated Yankees owner George Steinbrenner by referring to the Yankees as “the evil empire” in a December 2002 interview with The New York Times - ripped into the Players’ Association. By doing so, he essentially pitted the union against Rodriguez, its highest paid member.

Throughout this SOAP opera, the Red Sox never considered that, if they failed to pull the trigger, Rodriguez would wind up in the Bronx.

“Larry operates under the assumption the Yankees might be involved in 90 percent of what he does,” a Red Sox official said. “But with A-Rod, it was not really a question.”

The official described the Red Sox as “stunned” that Rodriguez would agree to change positions and play third base for the Yankees.

When Newsday broke the story on Saturday that the Yankees and Rangers were engaged in serious discussions to put Rodriguez in pinstripes, a Red Sox official reached out to Rangers general manager John Hart, according to an American League source. The Red Sox told Hart that they would pay A-Rod’s entire contract in exchange for Ramirez and a minor league pitcher. Hart quickly turned down the offer.

The Rangers were much happier with the Yankees’ package, whereby Texas took on only the $5.4 million that Soriano is due in 2004, than Boston’s, which would have required them to take on Ramirez, the second-highest paid player in baseball.

Hart denied speaking with the Red Sox in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Handle On A-Rod’s Contract

How the remaining seven years of Alex Rodriguez’s contract will be broken down year-by-year in the deal involving the Yankees and Texas Rangers. THe Yankees will pay $112 million of the remaining cotnract and the Rangers $67 million ($43 million in salary and $24 million in deferred compensation.)

What the Yankees Will Pay What the Rangers Will Pay Total: In millions

2004 $15M $3M $18M

2005 $15M $6M $21M

2006 $15M $6M $21M

2007 $16M $7M $23M

2008 $16M $8M $24M

2009 $17M $7M $24M

2010 $18M $6M $24M

Note: In each of the next four years, $1 million will be deferred without interest and will be paid by the Yankees in 2011. In exchange for the alterations, which devalue the contract slightly, Rodriguez will receive a hotel suite on road trips and have the right to link his Web site to the Yankees’ site.