Entries from January 2007 ↓

After a dire opening twenty minutes, the gulf in class shone through as two goals from The Beast earned Arsenal a draw in the first leg of the League Cup Semi-Final at Shite Hart Lane this afternoon.

Those away goals will be a nice cushion going into next Wednesday’s return leg at the Grove. It’ll be interesting to see if Arsene names the same side as today’s match, or if he decides to start some more first-team players.

Thierry Henry & Robin van Persie combined to give Arsenal an absolutely amazing come from behind victory over Manchester United at Ashburton Grove earlier today.

Henry’s header 3 minutes into stoppage time helped the Gunners do the double over Man U for the first time since 2002.

More on this amazing game after Doris’ 30th birthday party.

EDIT: OK, sorry not to post anything yesterday, but work got away from me. Anyway, there’s not much to be said that hasn’t already been discussed elsewhere. Obviously, Robin’s injury is disappointing, but looking at the tape, I don’t think he injured it during the celebration, but rather it was when Neville challenged him that the foot broke.

Also, one thing I feel is important to stress is that this is a different Arsenal team than we’ve seen in a really long time. You know, I was watching ArsenalTV last night, and they played the Sp*rs match from last April. As much as I loved Bobby P when he was here, I really do think that it was best that he moved on. Also - does anyone really miss Jose? Watching that match, he contributed nothing. This team is hungry, and now that Thierry’s head’s clear and his injuries seem to be behind him, the energy coming from the Grove is palpable.

Thierry Henry’s wonder strike in the 70th minute sealed the three points for 10-man Arsenal against Blackburn this afternoon.

A dubious straight red card on Gilberto after the Brazilian was brought down by Robbie Savage meant that the Gunners were a man down for nearly 80 minutes.

Arsenal played the counter-attack to perfection, earning a free kick in the 37th minute, which Kolo Toure got his head to to put the Gunners up 1-0 at the half.

In an astonishing deal announced today, David Beckham has accepted an offer to play here in the US for MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy for nearly $900,000.00 a week.

Unbelievable.

The numbers being thrown around are astonishing, but they do cloud the real issues brought up by the infusion of Beckham into the MLS.

1.) Will Beckham’s decision influence other European stars to include the MLS in their career plans?

2.) Will Beckham on his own be enough to raise soccer’s profile in the United States?

3.) Has MLS signed it’s own death-warrant; dooming themselves to a NASL-like fate?

To answer the first question, the answer seems to be yes. Word has it that several EPL players, including Edgar Davids and Teddy Sherringham have been in talks about possible transfers to MLS sides. Also rumored to be arriving on these shores are Luis Figo and Ronaldo. All of these players are in the twilight of their careers. What remains to be seen is whether players who would otherwise still be in demand in Europe instead choose a big payday in America. Ex-Arsenal players such as Sol Campbell and Robert Pires both come to mind when thinking of this category. What’s also interesting to think about is whether Freddie Ljungberg would make a move Stateside. He’s 29, has a modeling career, and has recently signed with a Hollywood-based agent. Would the Swedish captain move here with an eye toward life after football?

The truth is, Beckham has already raised soccer/football’s profile in the United States. The announcement of his deal with the Galaxy was reported on ESPN, CNN, FOX News and many other avenues. Problem is, he won’t be playing until August. Eight months. The US is a country afflicted with a national case of attention deficit disorder. Beckham will be lucky to be a line item on the ticker on SportsCenter between now and then. MLS has it’s work cut out for it.

The demise of NASL is well documented. Stars like Pele helped make the league an glamorized retirement home for aging European & South American footballers. Sometimes the play was magical, most of the time it was sub-par. I sincerely hope that MLS has learned from the mistakes of the past, and parlays the latest spike in interest in the sport in this country to ensure for the health of the league, and by extension the US National team, for decades to come.

The New York Giants today announced that Tom Coughlin would be returning as Head Coach for the 2007 season. On top of that, Coughlin has been granted an extension for 2008.

WTF?

This team has collapsed in the second half of the season three years in a row, has now lost Tiki Barber to retirement, and is probably losing Michael Strahan as well. Not to mention the lack of discipline and in-fighting that was rampant this past season.

I would love to be proven wrong, but somehow I doubt that this doesn’t come back to bite the Giants in the ass.