Glory! Glory! Manchester United’s newest star Robin Van Persie made his debut yesterday in the 2nd half of a 1-0 loss to Everton. I’ve always been a fan of RvP, as the Dutchman has displayed undeniable skill and ball striking ability as a player for Arsenal and the Dutch National team. What better way to welcome him to the greatest football team in all the land than to have his wife, Bouchra Van Persie featured in this week’s WAGs Wednesday? Check out some more pictures of the star forward’s wife, Bouchra Van Persie: Read the rest of this entry »
As a player of the beautiful game since I was 5 years old I have a little more respect for soccer than the average American. While my competitive playing days are over, I’ve developed into an avid fan of the US Men’s National Team (already paid my down payment for Brazil 2014) and the greatest team in all the land, Manchester United. You can see me at USMNT games in the Pearl River Hooligans or American Outlaws cheering section, depending on the location of the match.
While some casual soccer fans can’t stand a 0-0 draw, I see the beauty in the defensive aspect of the game and the excitement of the chances for goals. Americans want home runs and touchdowns. They don’t care for the diving saves and crossbar rattling misses. It’s all about the goals, and these 10 are absolutely awesome.
This isn’t your normal top 10 list, as I’ve broken it down into the 5 best strikes for goals and the 5 best moves for goals on YouTube. Pele scored 1282 goals in his lifetime, and I bet some of them are absolutely breathtaking, but sadly there is limited footage of his excellence.
To say dribbling through 5 defenders is better than a wonder-strike leaving the keeper dead in his tracks is too subjective, so I’ve given you the best of both worlds.
5 Best Moves for Goals
#5. Lionel Messi
Arguably one of the best players of all time (no matter what Pele says), Messi displays a skill that few other soccer players possess- he never dives.
First, the Power Poll. Record format is (Win-Loss-Tie). See comments below
1. Manchester United (3-0-0)
2. Manchester City (3-0-0)
3. Chelsea (2-0-1)
4. Liverpool (2-0-1)
5. Arsenal (0-2-1)
6. Tottenham (0-2-0)
7. Stoke City (1-0-2)
8. Bolton Wanderers (1-2-0)
9. Sunderland (0-1-2)
10. Aston Villa (1-0-2)
11. Newcastle United (2-0-1)
12. Wolverhampton Wanderers (2-0-1)
13. Fulham (0-2-1)
14. Everton (1-1-0)
15. West Bromwich Albion (0-0-3)
16. Queens Park Rangers (1-2-0)
17. Wigan Athletic (1-0-2)
18. Norwich City (0-1-2)
19. Swansea City (0-1-2)
20. Blackburn Rovers (0-0-3)
* Why does the power poll have so little correlation to actual position on the table? Simple. A lot of teams have had schedules which are either biased towards extremely easy, or excruciatingly hard. Compare Tottenham, currently at the bottom of the table, who had the good fortune to play both Manchester teams as their opening matches to Wigan, with their impressive one win and two draws – but these three games were all against freshly promoted sides. So there’s not a whole lot we can learn from the standings right now. There are a few exceptions however…
This is part two of my EPL Preseason Preview. Read part one here.Quick addition to part one of the preview – since its publication, Newcastle has agreed on terms to sell left back Jose Enrique to Liverpool. At the same time, there are increasingly strong indications that Arsenal will lose Samir Nasri to Manchester City, and Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. By the time you read this, these transfers might be official. If so, in my view this propels Liverpool into the top 4, above Arsenal.
Now, onto part 2 of the preview.
11. West Bromwich Albion Last Year: 12-11-15, 47 pts, 56 goals for, 71 goals against, Finished 11th Important Players In: Ben Foster (G), Billy Jones (D), Gareth McAuley (D), Shane Long (F), Marton Fulop (G), Zoltan Gera (M) Important Players Out: Scott Carson (G), Boaz Myhill (G)
Bromwich had the second worst defense in the Premier League last year, with 71 goals allowed. Two things will help – Roy Hodgson is known for his disciplined defensive approach, and the additions of Ben Foster, Billy Jones and Gareth McAuley are supposed to shore up the defensive personnel. Bromwich already had a potent offense with Peter Odemwingie and now added Shane Long, who excelled as a goal scorer in the Championship last year. If defense improves, so will the West Bromwich. Read the rest of this entry »
The English Premier League season is set to kick off next weekend, now is a good time to bring you the EPL Preseason Preview. This preview is a version-on-steroids of the EPL Power Poll which will be published every week for the duration of the EPL season.The transfer period is still open (clubs can buy and sell players until September 1st), these predictions may end up wildly out of date. A few big signings are still expected.Because of the difference in structure of the European leagues, teams actually compete for several things. The top finisher is the league champion (there are no playoffs). The teams in the top 4 qualify for the extremely prestigious Champions League, which pits the top teams in Europe against each other. The next 1 to 3 places (depending on other competitions) confer qualification for Europa League, a second tier continental competition. While Europa League has nowhere near the prestige of Champions League, it’s still a desirable prize. And of course, the bottom 3 teams are relegated into the second English division, called The Championship League (not to be confused with Champions League) Read the rest of this entry »
