EPL: Boxing Day Preview

English Premier League: Boxing Day Preview

Monday Dec. 26, 2005

Charlton (22) v Arsenal (26)
Charlton have won just once in their last six matches and that was against Sunderland. The Gunners have lost three straight.

Chelsea (46-T) v Fulham (19)
Chelsea have won five straight. The Cottagers are 1-1-1 in their last three matches but the win was last week at home versus Blackburn.

Tottenham (31-T) v Birmingham (12-R)
The Spurs are 3-2-1 in their last six matches abd are coming off a draw at Boro.

Liverpool (31-T) v Newcastle (25)
Liverpool have won six straight. Newcastle have won two straight.

Middlesbrough (20) v Blackburn (21)
Boro have not won in their last four matches. Blackburn have just one win in their last four matches.

Manchester United (37-T) v West Brom. Albion (16)
Man Utd are 5-1-0 in their last six games. West Brom have just one win in their last four games.

Portsmouth (13-R) v West Ham (25)
Portsmouth beat West Brom last match but before that lost five straight. The HAmmers are 2-0-2 in their last four games and lost last week to Newcastle.

Sunderland (5) v Bolton (30-T)
The Black Cats have lost six straight. The Wanderers are 4-1-1 in their last six games.

Wigan (28) v Manchester City (27)
Wigan won last week but before that lost five matches to some of the best teams in the EPL. Man City have been up and down recently – beating Birmingham and Charlton but losing to West Brom in their last three games.

Aston Villa (17) v Everton (17)
Villa have not won in three matches, likewise Everton.
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EPL Top 5: Chelsea (46), Man Utd (37), Liverpool (31), Tottenham (31), Bolton (30).

EPL Bottom 5: Everton (17), West Brom (16), Portsmouth (13-R), Birmingham (12-R), Sunderland (5-R).
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Notes:
1. Home team listed first (Home versus Away).
2. Number after team name is the number of points for the team (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw).
3. Records (if listed) are in the Wins – Draws – Losses format.
4. R=Relegation zone.
5. T=Top five in standings.

Carling Cup Quarter Finals

Wednesday Results

Doncaster 2-2 Arsenal
After extra time the score was drawn 2-2. Doncaster were leading in extra time 2-1 until the last minute when the Gunners equalized. Arsenal then won the penalty shootout 3-1 to advance to the semi-finals against Wigan Athletic.

Birmingham 1-3 Manchester United
Man Utd wasily advance to the semi-finals versus Blackburn Rovers.
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Carling Cup Semi-Finals

First Leg Week of January 9
Wigan v Arsenal
Blackburn v Man Utd

Second Leg Week of January 23
Arsenal v Wigan
Man Utd v Blackburn

US MNT: Practice Squad; Friendlies

The US Men’s National Team will begin practice Jan. 4 in Carson, CA.

Friendly Matches
Jan. 22, Canada, San Diego, CA
Jan. 29, Norway, Carson, CA
Feb. 10, Japan, San Francisco, CA
Feb. 19, Maybe a Match, Dallas, TX area (maybe)
Mar. 22, at Germany

30 Man Practice Squad
(23 man team for World Cup)

Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan (Chivas USA)
Kevin Hartman (Los Angeles)
Matt Reis (New England)
Jonny Walker (Columbus)

Defenders
Chris Albright (Los Angeles)
Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City)
Todd Dunivant (Los Angeles)
Frankie Hejduk (Columbus)
Ugo Ihemelu (Los Angeles)
Chad Marshall (Columbus)
Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark)
Eddie Pope (Salt Lake)

Midfielders
Freddy Adu (D.C.)
Brian Carroll (D.C.)
Ricardo Clark (Houston)
Clint Dempsey (New England)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles)
Justin Mapp (Chicago)
Kyle Martino (Columbus)
Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado)
Pat Noonan (New England)
Ben Olsen (D.C.)
Santino Quaranta (D.C.)
Steve Ralston (New England)

Forwards
Brian Ching (Houston)
Nate Jaqua (Chicago)
Eddie Johnson (Dallas)
Chris Rolfe (Chicago)
Taylor Twellman (New England)
Josh Wolff (Kansas City)

World Cup Matches
USA vs. CZE, Mon. June 12, 2006 – Gelsenkirchen
ITA vs. USA , Sat. June 17, 2006 – Kaiserslautern
GHA vs. USA, Thu. June 22, 2006 – Nuremberg

Carling Cup Quarter Finals

Tuesday Results

Birmingham 1-3 Manchester United
Birmingham: Jiri Jarosik (75).
Man Utd: Louis Saha (46’, 63’), Ji-Sung Park (50’).
Man Utd advance to the semi-finals for the third time in four years.

Wigan 2-0 Bolton
Wigan: Jason Roberts (40’, 45’).

Wednesday’s Matches
Doncaster v Arsenal
Middlesbrough v Blackburn

EPL: Weekend Report

English Premier League: Weekend Report

Man Utd, who won Saturday, were briefly just six points behind Chelsea, who won Sunday. Arsenal lost and drop to eighth place in the table. Michael Owen returned from injury and scored a hat trick for the Magpies.

Liverpool lost 1-0 in the final of the FIFA Club World Championship to Sao Paulo FC. Does anyone think this competition really determined the best club in the world?

What’s with the bosses? Several managers for big-time clubs (Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea) are bitching and moaning a lot lately. Stop it! Show a little class and sportsmanship.

Saturday Dec. 17, 2005

Aston Villa (17) 0-2 Manchester United (37-T)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (10’) and Wayne Rooney (51’) scored for the Red Devils in their clean sheet win over Villa.

Everton (17) 0-4 Bolton (30-T)
Stelios Giannakopoulos (75’, 80’) netted a brace for the Wanderers; Kevin Davies (32’) and Gary Speed (pen 79’) also contributed for Bolton.

Fulham (19) 2-1 Blackburn (21)
Papa Bouba Diop (45’) and Luis Boa Morte (52’) scored for the Cottagers and Zat Knight’s (og 90’) own goal helped out the Blackburn cause.

Portsmouth (13-R) 1-0 West Brom. Albion (16)
Svetoslav Todorov (56’) netted the lone goal of the match for Portsmouth.

West Ham (25) 2-4 Newcastle (25)
The Magpies got a hat trick from Michael Owen (5’, 43’, 90’) and a goal from Alan Shearer (66’) to secure the three points. Marlon Harewood (pk 73’) scored on a penalty kick and Nolberto Solano (og 20’) contributed an own goal for the Hammers.

Wigan (28) 3-0 Charlton (22)
After a string of losses against some of the best teams in the league, Wigan get back to winning with a hat trick from Henri Camara (9’, 51’, 63’).

Manchester City (27) 4-1 Birmingham (12-R)
City scored early and often in their win over Birmingham. David Sommeil (1’), Joey Barton (pk 15’), Antoine Sibierski (40’), and Bradley Wright-Phillips (70’) all scored for City. Jiri Jarosik (76’) netted a goal late for Birmingham.
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Sunday Dec. 18, 2005

Middlesbrough (20) 3-3 Tottenham (31)
A shootout at the Riverside as each side score three goals. Boro: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (30’, 43’) and Franck Queudrue (69’); Spurs: Robbie Keane (25’), Jermaine Jenas (63’) and Ahmed Mido (83’).

Arsenal (26) 0-2 Chelsea (46-T)
Arjen Robben (39’) and Joe Cole (73’) netted goals as Chelsea held Arsenal scoreless at Highbury.
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EPL Top 5: Chelsea (46), Man Utd (37), Liverpool (31), Tottenham (31), Bolton (30).

EPL Bottom 5: Everton (17), West Brom (16), Portsmouth (13-R), Birmingham (12-R), Sunderland (5-R).
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Notes:
1. Home team listed first (Home versus Away).
2. Number after team name is the number of points for the team (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw).
3. Records (if listed) are in the Wins – Draws – Losses format.
4. R=Relegation zone.
5. T=Top five in standings.

EPL: Sunday Results

English Premier League Sunday Results

Sunday Dec. 18, 2005

Middlesbrough 3-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea

EPL: Saturday Results

English Premier League Saturday Results

Saturday Dec. 17, 2005

Aston Villa 0-2 Man Utd
Everton 0-4 Bolton
Fulham 2-1 Blackburn
Portsmouth 1-0 West Brom
West Ham 2-4 Newcastle – Owen 3 goals
Wigan 3-0 Charlton
Man City 4-1 Birmingham

Sunday’s Matches
Middlesbrough v Tottenham
Arsenal v Chelsea

US MNT: International Friendlies Early 2006

U.S. Men’s NationalTeam

International Friendlies

January 22, 2006
U.S. Men vs. Canada
Torero Stadium; San Diego Calif.

January 29, 2006
U.S. Men vs. Norway
The Home Depot Center; Carson, Calif.
5:00 pm ET, ESPN 2

February 10, 2006
U.S. Men vs. Japan
SBC Park; San Francisco, Calif.

March 22, 2006
Germany vs. U.S. Men
Dortmund, Germany
2:00 pm ET, ESPN

Note:
The U.S. has qualified for next summers World Cup in Germany and is grouped with Italy, Ghana and the Czech Republic.

MLS News: Houston Press Conference

Major League Soccer: Houston Press Conference

Houston team president Oliver Luck was introduced this morning. He was a quarterback with the Houston Oilers in the 1980s and is currently the CEO of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority.

The team has agreed to play in Robertson Stadium for the first three years. The stadium is the home to the University of Houston football team. MLS is pursuing a soccer specific stadium (SSS) for the Houston team. Pres. Luck gave no attendance projections but thinks they can beat San Jose’s attendance of last season (roughly 13,000).

So if there wasn’t a SSS plan in place already with Houston then why did MLS move the team? (MLS is still working with San Jose for a SSS.) GSM – Give me Some Money. The team/league will get more of the parking and concession money in Houston than they were getting in San Jose, where they also played at a college stadium. Attendance should be higher in Houston too.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if an expansion team is playing in San Jose in a SSS before Houston is playing in a SSS? It could happen.

New Name for the Houston Team?
The new team was introduced with a plain white jersey and on the team’s MLS web page Dwayne De Rosario is pictured also wearing a plain white shirt.

Additionally no team name was introduced, so what should the team be called? The Colt 45s is too easy, as is anything space-related (Astros, Rockets). Lately it seems like the league is predisposed to “traditional soccer names� (FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake). Houston Rovers or Houston Wanderers anyone?

EPL: Weekend Preview

English Premier League: Weekend Preview

If Chelsea lose at Arsenal and Man Utd win at Aston Villa then Chelsea’s lead in the table will shrink to six points over second place Man Utd.

Note: Liverpool is in Japan for the FIFA World Club Championship so their match with Sunderland will be rescheduled for a later date.

Saturday Dec. 17, 2005 (times ET)

Aston Villa (17) v Manchester United (34-T), 7:45 am
Villa two draws in last two matches. Man Utd (5-1-0) have not lost in their last six games.

Everton (17) v Bolton (27-T), 10:00 am
Everton a draw and a loss in their last two matches. Bolton are 1-1-1 in their last three games.

Fulham (16) v Blackburn (21), 10:00 am
Fulham are 1-1-1 in their last three games. The Rovers won last week but before that lost two straight.

Portsmouth (10-R) v West Brom. Albion (16), 10:00 am
Portsmouth have lost five straight. West Brom is 2-2-0 in their last 4 games.

West Ham (25) v Newcastle (22), 10:00 am
The Hammers are 2-0-1 over their last three games including a win Wednesday at Everton. The Magpies won last week at home against Arsenal but were winless the previous three matches. Looks like Michael Owen is still out with injury.

Wigan (25) v Charlton (22), 10:00 am
Wigan have lost five straight against the best of the EPL. Charlton beat Sunderland last week but lost five straight before that.

Manchester City (24) v Birmingham (15-R), 12:15 pm
City have just one win in their last five matches – two weeks ago over Charlton. Birmingham have won two of their last three matches.
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Sunday Dec. 18, 2005 (times ET)

Middlesbrough (19) v Tottenham (30), 8:30 am
Boro last won four matches ago. The Spurs have won three straight and have just one loss in their last six matches.

Arsenal (26) v Chelsea (43-T), 11:00 am
The Gunners have lost two straight to Newcastle and Bolton. Chelsea have won four straight. Dennis Bergkamp should play for Arsenal but Jose Antonio Reyes probably won’t.

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EPL Top 5: Chelsea (43), Man Utd (34), Liverpool (31), Tottenham (30), Bolton (27).

EPL Bottom 5: Fulham (16), West Brom (16), Birmingham (12-R), Portsmouth (10-R), Sunderland (5-R).
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Notes:
1. Home team listed first (Home versus Away).
2. Number after team name is the number of points for the team (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw).
3. Records (if listed) are in the Wins – Draws – Losses format.
4. R=Relegation zone.
5. T=Top five in standings.