Relegation, Barca, Schalke -- Oh My!
West Ham pulled off the unthinkable, the unbelievable, the inspiring... Okay, they beat a very flat Manchester United at Old Trafford 1-0 to ensure another year in the Premiership. The goal came from soon to be former West Ham Player of the Year (as voted by his teammates), Carlos Tevez. And the transfer fee they will reap from his sale to a Spanish team can't come soon enough. Neil Warnock is certainly preparing the Sheffield United legal team as I type. Wigan sent Sheffield United down (along with Charlton & Watford) by winning 2-1. I was a bit stunned by this result considering Wigan have been atrocious the past 3 months.
Despite being one of the oddest looking players on the pitch, Carlos Tevez has been one of the most entralling since he started getting regular minutes for The Hammers. Shame on you Alan Pardew. Have fun in the Championship next season because if you couldn't make it work with a couple of talents such as Tevez and Javier Mascherano, you have no business in the top flight. I have a feeling we are in store for months of legal wrangling, but in the end West Ham will stay in the EPL and Tevez will be scoring goals for Sevilla.
Speaking of Spain, I posted the other day about how average I thought Inter Milan. But let us take a look at Barcelona and let us pose the question: "What the hell is going on?!?!" They've completely come undone in the recent weeks and I'm not just talking about the disaster at Getafe in the Copa semi-final. Their league play is shocking and the draw today against Real Betis means that Real Madrid are suddenly top of the table. Yes, Real Madrid are level on points but the head-to-head advantage means that David Beckham could soon be boarding a plane to Los Angeles with a winners medal draped around this neck. When Frank Rijkaard looks around his locker room he sees a bunch of players that he no longer trusts. The few that he does have faith in will probably be joining him next season at AC Milan. And unless Ronaldinho regains his form and drops a few pounds he won't be on the plane with Deco, Puyol and Iniesta.
The match on Saturday between Espanyol and Real Madrid was one of the best of the season in any league or competition. Twice down by 2 goals Real battled back to win the match. I never felt Espanyol had a handle on things - even after going up 2-0 early on in the first half. But without Becks and Robinho, Real mustered the fire power and took all 3 points. Where are all the Fabio Capello detractors now? For me, the best manager in the world is still Rafa Benitez. But Capello would make a great assistant. I'm kidding. Capello has done an amazing job this season and Real Madrid are coming together at the correct time and playing the best football in Spain. I predict they get a point or 2 separation from Barca befor season's end.
Finally, Schalke have managed to piss away the Bundesliga by losing on Saturday to Borussia Dortmund. I know there is still a match to be played next weekend but Stuttgart are not going to relenquish the title in the final week. The match played in Dortmund was very fun to watch and the stadium was packed with over 80,000 fans. Germany remains king of Europe when it comes to fan turn out and passion. While the league still languishes behind England, Spain and Italy in terms of talent I think for viewing excitement it is second only to England. The matches produce goals, atmosphere and a pleasing style of play.
Despite being one of the oddest looking players on the pitch, Carlos Tevez has been one of the most entralling since he started getting regular minutes for The Hammers. Shame on you Alan Pardew. Have fun in the Championship next season because if you couldn't make it work with a couple of talents such as Tevez and Javier Mascherano, you have no business in the top flight. I have a feeling we are in store for months of legal wrangling, but in the end West Ham will stay in the EPL and Tevez will be scoring goals for Sevilla.
Speaking of Spain, I posted the other day about how average I thought Inter Milan. But let us take a look at Barcelona and let us pose the question: "What the hell is going on?!?!" They've completely come undone in the recent weeks and I'm not just talking about the disaster at Getafe in the Copa semi-final. Their league play is shocking and the draw today against Real Betis means that Real Madrid are suddenly top of the table. Yes, Real Madrid are level on points but the head-to-head advantage means that David Beckham could soon be boarding a plane to Los Angeles with a winners medal draped around this neck. When Frank Rijkaard looks around his locker room he sees a bunch of players that he no longer trusts. The few that he does have faith in will probably be joining him next season at AC Milan. And unless Ronaldinho regains his form and drops a few pounds he won't be on the plane with Deco, Puyol and Iniesta.
The match on Saturday between Espanyol and Real Madrid was one of the best of the season in any league or competition. Twice down by 2 goals Real battled back to win the match. I never felt Espanyol had a handle on things - even after going up 2-0 early on in the first half. But without Becks and Robinho, Real mustered the fire power and took all 3 points. Where are all the Fabio Capello detractors now? For me, the best manager in the world is still Rafa Benitez. But Capello would make a great assistant. I'm kidding. Capello has done an amazing job this season and Real Madrid are coming together at the correct time and playing the best football in Spain. I predict they get a point or 2 separation from Barca befor season's end.
Finally, Schalke have managed to piss away the Bundesliga by losing on Saturday to Borussia Dortmund. I know there is still a match to be played next weekend but Stuttgart are not going to relenquish the title in the final week. The match played in Dortmund was very fun to watch and the stadium was packed with over 80,000 fans. Germany remains king of Europe when it comes to fan turn out and passion. While the league still languishes behind England, Spain and Italy in terms of talent I think for viewing excitement it is second only to England. The matches produce goals, atmosphere and a pleasing style of play.
posted by Anonymous at 7:28 PM
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