Glazers, Ricardo Clark, Braga and more
Posted by Creaven on January 21, 2010 under England, Europe, MLS, Major League Soccer, Premier League, USMNT, United States, World Cup | 
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Popular columnists have real Q&A columns. Readers e-mail questions and the columnist answers them once every couple weeks. But I’m not popular. I might get a question or two in the comment section but not enough to write an entire column. So what should I do?
Simple. Make my own questions! I get to use a column format I’ve always enjoyed and I get the questions I want. Perfect. It’s like a Republican going on Fox News; it’s impossible to fuck up. So let’s get to it…
First, I wanted to thank you for having the single greatest blog, of any subject, ever. Yeah, you’re grammar is that of a nine year old and you write about three columns a month, but, still, you’re the greatest. To my question: With reports of Manchester United’s debt growing out of control, could ManU be the next Portsmouth?
I’ve tried to wrap my head around Manchester United’s debt problem but the reporting on the issue is so biased it’s hard to know exactly what’s going on. I can’t take the British sports press seriously because they consistently spin stories to sell newspapers (here’s an example). The press knows Manchester United supporters are pissed ticket prices have skyrocketed, the press knows ManU supporters are puzzled why Ferguson hasn’t used the Ronaldo money, the press knows foreign owners aren’t popular and, with last year’s financial crisis, the press knows people are fearful of large institutions failing. The aloof owners from Florida are the perfect target.
That said, ManU is $1.1 billion dollars in debt. Almost all companies are in debt, the question is if it’s manageable. The debt is increasing year-over-year, but it’s not increasing exponentially. The £500 million bond issue seems troubling; it sounds like the Glazers are buying a credit card to pay their other credit card. Still, Alex Ferguson hasn’t shown even the slightest hint that’s he nervous and if things were really bad would have spent £16 million of Antonio Valencia? I don’t even think this would be a story if Manchester United was six points clear of Chelsea.
I like to gamble. Do you have any soccer future bets you would like to share?
As a matter of fact I do! If you’re looking for a big long shot, take a peak at the Europa League odds. FC Twente, who is undefeated in the Eredivisie (15 wins, 3 draws) are 50/1 to win the competition (more on Twente later). It seems way too high. The same goes for Fulham at 66/1 and I like the other English team too, Everton, at 25/1.
In the Champions League, the favorite seems like the right play with Barcelona at 3/1, but AC Milan is tempting at 20/1. I’ll stick with the favorite again in the EPL with Chelsea at -133.
I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself of a long shot for the World Cup but nothing excites me. Italy and Germany are both tempting (especially Italy) at 12/1, but I like the favorites Brazil and Spain at 4.5/1.
Odds are from Sportsbook.com
Ricardo Clark just signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, thoughts?
Eintracht Frankfurt must be desperate.
Unlike his former teammate Stuart Holden, I am not a Clark fan. If Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones are healthy and fit come May (I’m 98 percent sure they won’t be) I would probably argue you could leave Clark home for the World Cup. It’s not just he can’t pass the ball (and he really can’t pass), but I don’t think he’s a great defender either. He’s athletic but not agile and it gets him into trouble. I’m rooting for him and Eintracht Frankfurt have some injured midfielders so he should get a shot, but I’m not optimistic.
Which three clubs will be relegated from the Premiership?
Portsmouth, Wolves and Burnley.
Are there any U.S. players no one is talking about that could make an impact at the World Cup?
Jose Francisco Torres hasn’t got much publicity lately because he’s been stuck on the bench at Pachuca but because of a suspension Torres should start the next three matches and it will be interesting to see how he does. I think he’s a better than Benny Feilhaber.
If Oguchi Onyewu isn’t ready for the World Cup, which I think is more of a possibility than people realize, it leaves a hole at center defense. There are a lot of similar center backs (Jimmy Conrad, Clarence Goodson, Zak Whitbread) but I think my favorite is Chad Marshall; he seems like the most consistent and has the highest upside. (Note: I’ve never seen Whitbread play but he does intrigue me — it might just be the name.)
A deep sleeper might be forward Marcus Tracy, who should get his first cap on Saturday. Also, don’t forget about Eddie Johnson and, dare I say, Freddy Adu.
Whatever happened to your “manipulating the World Cup roster” theory?
If you’re not familiar with the theory you can read it here.
I e-mailed some people I thought would know the answer and this is what I got back:
Steve Goff, Washington Post
I can’t give you a definitive answer but I’d imagine if Michael Owen were rostered as a goalie, he would be restricted to playing in goal if he entered a match.
Jen Chang, ESPN SoccerNet Editor
As far as I know you’d have to get technical clearance from FIFA to name a player like Michael Owen as a goalie for your World Cup squad and the reality is that there’s no way they would approve it.
For 100% clarity your best bet is to email FIFA for a definitive ruling but I’d be shocked if they would allow this.
Jeff Carlisle, ESPN contributor and Centerlinesoccer.com senior writer
I don’t know the answer to this, but I forwarded your question on to FIFA’s media department. They are usually pretty good about getting back to me on things, so I’ll let you know what I find out.
As expected, it doesn’t look like my theory is allowed, but if and when I get a reply from Jeff I’ll let you know. Stay tuned…
Last week, you slammed the MLS SuperDraft pretty hard. Would you have handled it differently if you could write the column over again? Did it bother you the column upset MLS fans? Don’t you have better things to do than teasing a league you don’t even watch?
No. No. No.
Any interesting soccer story lines you don’t think are getting enough attention?
There’s two. First in Holland, Steve McClaren has completely reinvigorated his career at FC Twente. As I stated earlier, the club is undefeated and tied with PSV atop the Eredivisie. Let’s say FC Twente hold on and Harry Redknapp’s tax problems continues to nag him and he leaves Tottenham in the summer. Would McClaren be the favorite to be the manager at Tottenham? If not at Spurs, McClaren will soon get some invitations to come back to England.
Second, anyone been paying attention to the Portuguese Liga?
The league started in 1934 and only twice has the league been won by a club not named Benfica, Porto and Sporting CP (Belenenses in 1946 and Boavista in 2001). But halfway through the season Braga is leading the league and has only conceded six goals in 16 matches. Not only has Braga never won the league, its never even finished in the top three!
(Note: It was reported in the British press that Stuart Holden was about to sign with Braga. Not true. Another example of the British press simply making something up.)
(Note No. 2: You can watch Eredivisie and Portuguese Liga matches on ESPN360.com.)
Bill said,
Creaven… Dude… way to pound out the columns it’s good have decent shit to read online, keep it up.
Seriously, the one thing that bothers me about EPL coverage is the amount of purely tabloid fare. It seems to me that soccer in the USA tends too much down this path. The problem with the tabloid coverage is that it is the antithesis of “intelligent soccer.” It would be much better if more attention were paid to the artistic, tactical, and athletic aspects of the game for both English and American concerns. This is reflected in the way the games are broadcast.
Take the Arsenal-Bolton game yesterday and Gallas’ challenge in the lead up to the second Arsenal goal. It was a definite foul, definitely a yellow and perhaps a red card. Alan Wiley completely missed it because he was out of position, and Davies completely obscured his view of the play. I would say any referee worth his salt could see this plain as day. The commentators were clueless and blathered on and on about things immaterial. It would be great if some of the commentators actually understood the game as a referee, even just a bit. Of course, it might be nice if they spent some time and effort discussing and explaining tactics too, but that might be wishing for too much.
On the other hand the issue of club debt is serious and it will be truly interesting how Manchester United and Liverpool’s situations play out over the next year. Of course, it is the lack of financial constraint on the part of Chelsea and more lately ManCity that have laid the groundwork for their problems. More properly it’s been the perfect storm of trying to remain competitive, and the current economic downturn that have set the stage. It is important to remember that Soccer has never been a money maker, but the question is to what degree can this be true without consequences?
Finally, I’m glad you show no regrets about the MLS Superdraft column. It is truly remarkable how the “fans” of the MLS will defend its profound mediocrity. That’s the spirit that made America great… NOT! Honesty, I saw one website that ranked the MLS as the #46 league in the World. Maybe it’s a harsh ranking, but it ain’t good no matter how you slice it. One might think that fans of US soccer might be interested in aiming a bit higher. I for one think that we should be looking at ways toward achieving real excellence and holding ourselves to a higher standard, that’s the path to success at the game we love.
Bill said,
Creavan,
Any thoughts on the US-Honduras friendly?
If I’ve ever seen proof of how completely awesome MLS players are at the international level it was that game. Put a USA shirt on a MLS player and we can beat the World. Our players show an incredible degree of football intelligence. Exhibit 1. Jimmy Conrad’s judgment about when to commit professional fouls. Exhibit 2, Marvell Wynne’s positional play, crossing and attacking runs. On top of that he’s a physical specimen just like Maicon from Brazil, the only difference is the level of game intelligence and skill.
Its satire, if you haven’t figured that out yet. If there is any player who epitomizes the state of US Soccer, its Marvell Wynne. A fantastic athlete with power, pace and size, but completely and utterly lacking footballing skills and intelligence. Clearly, he was chosen for his physical characteristics, and succeeded on the basis of those. Unfortunately, he never developed any skills or intelligence to compliment his considerable physical talents. He should be our mascot.
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