Compelling Soccer

It was the best of times.... It was the blurst of times...

-Remember all that hype when German midfielder Jermaine Jones switched FIFA allegiances to the US? He was going to right in a be the best midfielder on the squad right?

The US addition of Frankie Hejduk to the 22 man roster for Clint Dempsey yesterday caused me to grimace. This is nothing against Hejduk; he's been a contributor to the National team for years. However that's part of the problem. He's old, 35, and his skills have declined to the point where he should not be on the roster of a national side with aspirations of making it out of a World Cup round robin.

As you've no doubt heard by now, Clint Dempsey sustained a shoulder injury in last week's Fulham 2-2 draw with West Ham. Yesterday it was announced Deuce is out for the Honduras v. US qualifier Saturday night in Honduras, meaning the US will have to do without one if it's midfield mainstays of the past few years.

Despite his poor form nationally as of late, this is a crippling blow to the US team. I've been critical of him lately, but talent wise, it's arguable that Dempsey is the best player in the US midfield and the most irreplaceable. Conventional wisdom says Landon Donovan is both, but something has to be said for Deuce being the only player in the US midfield/forward position to hold down a starting job at in a top level league in some time.

It's Monday, which feels less like a Monday than normal when you have to work Sunday.


-Funny thing watching the Hull City v. Wigan game. At one point a Wigan player dove in the box in a one goal game. It was clear he was trying to draw a penalty and the referee rightly produced the yellow card. Okay, no harm done. But what blew my mind was the announcers. They spoke of how diving was a part of a "foreign" element to the Premiership, going as far to say as while that might be acceptable in Spain, is not in England. Seriously, are you for real?

I planned to Live Blog this one, but work made a surprise appearance and got in the way. Despite the poor result, I would have much rather parlayed my streams of consciousness than deal with work today.

That said, I was able to watch the whole game and pay attention to most of it. Overall, Chelsea was the better side, but Liverpool wasn't awful. Unfortunately, their big guys were unable to cash in on opportunities.

Chelski v. Liverpool

Chelsea: 18 pts, 2nd in the Premiership

Liverpool: 15 pts, 4th in the Premiership
Stakes: The Reds were streaking until a trip to Italy mid week resulted in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina. Liverpool's reward? A visit to Stamford Bridge and a showdown with Chelsea. During this run, Liverpool's been beating up on the weaker sisters of the Premiership; victories over Hull City, West Ham, Bolton and Burnley are necessary if you want to win the league. But they don't show where you rank among the top squads.

I didn't see all of the US junior squad's game against South Korea Friday, but I had more than my fill. The 3-0 scoreline told only part of the debacle for the US. While they got the better of possession, they did little with it and ended up barely troubling their opponents despite being down by two goals for most of the second half. But that wasn't the worst of it.

When on Wednesday Honduras named it's squad in advance of the upcoming October 10th clash against the US, I really didn't bat much of an eye. After all, the US team never reveals their team publicly until a few days before the game. It's Bob Bradley no doubt channeling his inner Bill Belichick, except you know, without the winning and stuff. He also tends to make a mockery of it all by doing things like revealing it piece mail on the internet. So I guess you have to refrain from calling it Belichikian and refer it as Mangini-esque.

Kickoff runs a little late today, but I'll make up for it by providing a big run down on the US roster for their final two qualifying games.

-Trinidad's Under 20 team finished up their World Cup run garnering a point against Paraguay's lesser squad. The game was a poor one with pretty poor finishing on both ends, so it was little surprise when it ended a scoreless draw. I would have liked the team to have shown more urgency in the closing minutes and try to get three points rather than settling for the one.

I caught two thirds of the Houston v. Pachuca battle yesterday. It might have been the best effort I've seen from an MLS side thus far, ranking up there with the Sounders' game against Chivas USA. And wouldn't you know it, like the Sounders game, Houston failed to register a goal. This was an even worse result for the Dynamo though, as they fell 1-0 to Pachuca, putting them in a dangerous spot heading into their final game of the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. They can still advance, but the road becomes more difficult.