Bobbygee's Blog

DeFutebol.Net

Spags — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:51:18 +0000

Hey Everyone! My name is John, and I work with Bobby sometimes. This is just a brief announcement about Bobby’s Blog getting moved soon.

The new blog will be located at DeFutebol.Net. I am not posting the link so you will visit the site, it isn’t really done yet. It will be in the next few days. Just wanted to give a quick heads up.

If things go right, the transfer should be seamless, and hopefully will just forward automatically from here.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:29:15 +0000

The Argentina Clausura has three matches under their belt. From the perspective of this observer, there are two surprises.

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I thought Boca Juniors would come out breathing like a house on fire instead Los Xeneizes have with played with the explosiveness of a pop gun.

Boca had their clocks, shirts, and tails handed to them by Newell’s Old Boys on Saturday. Newell’s destroyed Los Xeneizes 4-2.

Newell’s Old Boy jumped all over Boca. Newell’s scored the first three goals of the match. Before Los Xeneizes could turn around it was 3-0. In rapid succession, Newell’s scored in the 2^nd, 15^th, 18^th minute of the match. Juan Insaurralde ripped the twines in the 2^nd minute. Jorge Achucarro tickled the twines in the 15^th minute. Three minutes later, 18^th minute, Mauro Formica hit pay dirt.

Boca made it close with a couple of cosmetic goals in the 34^th minute and 86^th minute. Martin Palermo nailed the PK in the 34^th minute to cut the lead to 3-1.

Lucas Viatri hit the winner in the 86^th minute to make it close.

Newell’s put this sucker away in the 90^th minute. Lucas Bernardi left fly with a wicked shot that beat the keeper dead to rights.

Newell’s was firmly in control of this match from the outset.

River Plate was coming off a hot 3-2 won over Chacarita Juniors. River Plate defender Paulo Ferrari found the Midas touch scoring twice in the win. However, Sunday was a different story for River Plate. River Plate reverted to their old ways and tied nil-nil with Rosario Central.

Godoy Cruz started out the season with two straight wins but this came crashing down in flames on Sunday. Godoy and Independiente kissed their sister nada-nada.

All is not lost for Godoy for they are in second place with seven points.

Velez Sarsfield has seven points as well but Velez has a better goal difference. Velez is a plus four while Godoy is a plus two.

Defending champ Banfield is off to a slow start. They have one win, and one tie. Banfield has three points but they do have a game in hand.

Both Boca and River have identical records of 1-1-1. River and Boca each have three points. Boca is in ninth place while River is in eleventh.

Boca is even Steven in goal difference while Boca is a minus one.

There is big news coming out of Brasil. Dunga has named the squad for Brasil’s final tune up against Ireland on March 2^nd before World Cup play begins for real in June. Dunga did not include Ronaldinho. Dunga has come under fire from the locals as well as the press for not including him.

This is a good move. This clown Ronaldinho was a good player. Yes, he still exhibits some of the scoring flair that made him one of the best players in the world but he is still a head case. Ronaldinho’s inclusion to the squad will kill the team’s chemistry.

He is still not a team player.

Good for Dunga not succumbing to the pressure to use this idiot.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:40:01 +0000

Mengao rested Vagner Love, Adriano, and many other starters in Sunday’s match against Boavista. This move almost bit us Flamenguistas in the butt. Rubro-Negro slipped past Boavista 2-1.

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In what should have been a cake walk Mengao almost wound up losing to lower division Boavista.

Sure, this was a meaningless match. Flamengo has already advanced to the semi-finals of the Guanabara Cup. Jeez, guys a loss to Boavista would have been devastating.

Thank God, this didn’t happen.

It took us a while to get going. Actually, it was the 41^st minute before Mengao dented the twines. If you want to see classic futebol, the opening salvo is for you. Rubro-Negro made ten passes in, around, and through the Boavista defense. Mezenga ripped the header into the open net to give Flamengo a 1-0 lead.

Boavista found the answer in the 56^th minute. Edson nailed home the header off a well placed corner kick right in front of the goalmouth. This was the classic “Oh Lay” defense or as others like to call it the Swiss cheese “D”.

Whatever you call it, it was stupid defending by Rubro-Negro.

The guys sucked it up and scored the match winner in the 60^th minute. Mengao pushed the ball down the left wing. Bing bam, boom a pass into the center of the box. Kleberson puts his left boot on the ball. Bamo, the ball beats the keeper dead to rights on this wide-open point blank shot to lift Mengao to the 2-1 win.

Whew, that was close.

Yes, we showed some signs of brilliance but for most of the match, Mengao played like a bunch of clodhoppers.

Us Flamenguistas are happy about the win but we will have to play better if we want to beat hated foe Botafogo in the semi-finals.

News out of the Rubro-Negro camp has it that superman Petkovic will be ready to play in the semi-finals.

We sorely need him.

Robinho made his debut for Santos on Sunday. Robinho ripped the matching winning goal in the 86^th to lead Santos to a 2-1 win over Sao Paulo.

Robinho didn’t play until the later stages of the second half. He had an immediate impact. He had fours shots on goal. Robinho displayed the talent that made him one of the best players in Brasil.

Home cooking is always better than food on the road

Robinho was very uncomfortable at City. He didn’t play with the flare and gusto he had shown in Spain and the Brasil national team.

The EPL is not for everyone.

My question is this, why do so many Brasilian futebol players have a hard time playing in England. When players like Rohinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho go to Spain or Italy they flourish.

Why is this?

De Futebol

bobbygee — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:21:40 +0000

I was hoping beyond hope that Arsenal would come out of Stamford Bridge with a win. This didn’t happen on this fine Sunday afternoon. Chelsea cleaned the Gunners clocks 2-0.

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The entire match can be broken down into four separate plays. Two of those plays resulted in two scores and the other two resulted into bupkis.

The rest is chump change.

Am I sad? Does a chicken have lips? Does the Pope shit in the woods?

Of course I am.

The Blues have not lost at Stamford Bridge all season. Chelsea has given up just one point in their house.

This is the plight of the Arsenal fan. We always have hope that the Gunners will win but in reality, Arsenal breaks your heart just like my Philadelphia Eagles.

Let’s look at the four match changers.

The first pivotal play happened in the 8^th minute.

Before this, the Gunners were in total control of the match. Then wham bam thank you madam. Chelsea took off like a bat out of hell down the other end of then pitch. Walcott knocks the ball out of bounds. The result is a corner kick for the Blues.

The ball meets John Terry’s head. Terry directs the header pass to mate Drogba.

Drogba peeled back to the right post while Terry placed the ball near the far right post.

Drogba’s one timer is into the back of the net.

It is 1-0 Chelsea at the eight-minute mark.

The Gunners Fabregas lollipops the ball over the Blues defender Carvalho straight into the waiting arms Arshavin. Arshavin’s one timer is kicked saved away by Cech. Cech stopped em dead on in the 17^th minute.

Arsenal’s Arshavin lets fly with a shot on goal in the 20^th minute. Carvalho blocks the shot. We are off and running down the other end of the pitch.

John Terry feeds Drogba. Drogba faints left and goes right. Drogba stops. He pops. Goal in the 23^rd minute for Chelsea.

This sucker is over.

You can say what you want but money talks and bullshit walks.

Four plays killed Arsenal.

That’s it folks four plays.

Does this kill Arsenal’s chances of winning the EPL?

No. It puts them on life support.

This is the good news. There are fifteen matches left and anything can happen.

Chelsea is back in the catbird seat with 58 points. Man U is second with 56. Arsenal is third with 49. Liverpool is fourth with 44. Tottenham is fifth with 43.

The race is on baby.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:07:18 +0000

Do you want to talk about being taken to the woodshed? This is exactly what happened to Pompey at Old Trafford on Saturday. It was a total goleada for Man U. This was a total butt whooping. Man U wins 5-0.

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The Wayne Man Wayne Rooney started the massacre off in the 40^th minute. Rooney nailed the open shot in front of the net.

Five minutes later, 45^th minute, Nani fired a wicked ball at the Pompey “D”. Buda Bing Buda boom the ball rebounds off the helpless Portsmouth defender Anthony Vanden Borre into the back of the net.

Michael Carrick fired a rocket into the teeth of the Pompey “D”. Whamo, bamo, the ball hits Richard Hughes. The deflection ripped the back of the net in the 59^th minute.

Dimitar Berbatov ripped the twines from just outside the box in the 62^nd minute to make 4-0 Man U.

Lightening struck in the same place for the third time in this match. Portsmouth’s Mark Wilson kicked Patrice Evra’s cross into the back of his own net in the 69^th minute to add insult to injury.

Man U may have found their form.

5-0 was the final.

This is the second straight match that Man U has forced the opposition into giving up stupid goals.

Maybe Nani is finally living up to all the expectations that were heaped upon him since his arrival from Portugal.

Liverpool defeated cross-town rival and hated foe Everton.

This match was very rough and both sides each had a player given the heave-hoe for rough play.

A dumb defensive error by Everton keeper Tim Howard in the 55^th minute resulted in a goal by Dirk Kuyt.

If Howard would have stood his ground instead of challenging the ball he could have stopped the shot.

Steven Gerrard set the play up with a corner kick directly in front of the goalmouth.

The Reds played most of the match with a man down.

Liverpool’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos was given the early shower in the 34^th minute when he tackled Everton’s Fellaini studs up. Fellaini should have been show the exit too when he stomped on Kyrgiakos ankle.

The Toffees Steven Pienaar was given the heave-hoe in the 90^th minute.

Liverpool has won two straight.

The Reds have 44 points.

Aston Villa and Tottenham put on one heck of a show. Both sides traded their best Sunday punches however neither Villa nor Spurs could deliver the fatal knockout blow. The match ended up in a nil-nil draw.

Hull City took it to City 2-1. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead. City cut the gap to 2-1 on a deadly strike by former Gunners player Emmanuel Adebayor in the 59^th minute.

But this was just a glancing blow by City. The Tigers were in control of this match from the outset.

Heave-hoe zone Hull City completely outplayed City.

City had a chance to move up the table with a victory but they stunk the joint out.

American Jozy Altidore and George Boateng sent City packing.

The race for the final Champions League spot looks like this.

Liverpool is in fourth place with 44 points.

Spurs are fifth with 43 points.

City is in sixth spot with 41 points.

Everton is in seventh place with 41.

Lets not forget both the Reds and the Spurs are still in the running for the EPL title.

When the smoke clears on Sunday after the Chelsea-Arsenal battle of the titans, we will have a clear picture what the real table looks like.

Go Gunners.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:20:19 +0000

This is a huge weekend for the sports world. In America, we have the Super Bowl. In England, all us Arsenal fans are gunning for Sunday’s encounter with hated foe Chelsea.

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The Blues had a chance to be eight points up on the Gunners but Chelsea’s tie with Hull City left the door ajar for the Gunners to move within three points with a win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Hull City tie gave Chelsea 55 points.

Arsenal has 49.

This is a must win situation for the Gunner nation.

Fabregas, Arshavin, and his mates need to step up to the plate big time.

It is kick ass and take names time for the Gunners.

Nothing short of a win will suffice.

Nasri said it best. A loss will kill our title hopes. A defeat is not part of our lexicon.

So, true my main man.

The Gunners have had a full week of practice. There were no mid week games. The guys should be rested. Locked, loaded, and we are ready to fire everything in our arsenal at the Blues.

Eduardo will not make the trip.

Theo Walcott will play but Diaby will be a game time decision if he is fit or not.

Lets hope Diaby is ready to go.

I will be holding my breath until mid Sunday morning.

Go Gunners and kick some major butt.

The other matches with title implications are Man U-Portsmouth, Liverpool-Everton, Hull City-City, and Tottenham-Aston Villa.

The Red Devils should not have a problem handling Pompey at Old Trafford but anything is possible. Least we forget what Burnley pulled off at the house that Man U built in the way back machine in September.

I bet the Red Devils fans haven’t.

When Man U wins this will give them 56 points. This will propel Man U into first place in the EPL.

The other big match is Spurs-Aston Villa.

There is a logjam for the final Champions League spot between Villa, Reds, City, and Spurs.

Lets not forget this little diddy. Thirteen points separate Spurs and first place Chelsea. If either Villa or Spurs can go on a huge run and at the same time the Blues stumble a title can be had by Tottenham, Villa, and yes Liverpool.

I am I saying this will definitely happen? No.

But, lets not rule out the possibility of Chelsea faltering down the stretch.

This years EPL title race has been any thing but sane.

Expect in the insane.

There are fourteen games left and crazier things have happened.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:47:39 +0000

Flamengo escaped with a tie by the hair of their chinny chin-chin. Mengao in plain English played like crap. They stunk the joint out.

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By no stretch of the imagination Rubro-Negro should have lost to Olaria but lady luck was shinning on Mengao and we escaped with three all tie.

Us Flamenguistas are on to the semi finals of the Campeonato Estadual.

We started out behind the eight ball when Caca shred the Mengao defense to pieces. Caca left fly with a long-range bomb. The shot squeezed between Bruno’s out stretched hand and the crossbar in the 5^th minute to give Olaria the early 1-0 lead.

A minute later Olaria returned the favor by committing a stupid defensive error. Adriano out leaped three Olaria defenders. The Emperor nailed the header in the 6^th minute to tie this baby up at one all.

Juan set this goal up with a great run down the left sideline. Juan lifted a deadly ball into the box that found Adriano’s head.

The Olaria keeper Angelo never had a chance. He was hung out to dry.

Olaria had a chance to take the lead but Bruno stopped the all-important PK by Caca in the 53^rd minute.

This PK stop by Bruno turned out to be the save of the match.

If Olaria scored, Mengao would have lost.

This was the key moment of the match.

Mengao took the lead when Fierro stopped and popped a long ball floater into the box. All Vagner Love had to do was stick out his leg. He did. Goal for Mengao in the 56^th minute. Rubro-Negro is up 2—1.

But wait there was more to come.

Olaria played tick-tack-doe with the Flamengo “D”. All Araruama had to do was ease the ball past a helpless Bruno in the 59^th minute for a two all tie.

Mengao played the famous Oh Lay defense. I like to call this the Swiss cheese “D”. Flamengo had more holes in the “D” than Carter has pills.

Bruno had a chance to stop the goal but his attempted kick save failed.

Five minutes later, 64^th minute, Olaria scored again. Mengao was called for a penalty. This was a bogus call. Flamengo defender Toro barely touched Aleison.

For the life of me, there was no foul. Caca nailed the PK to give Olaria a 3-2 lead.

Enter Vagner Love to save Flamengo once again. Juan nailed a perfect ball in front of the goal. Love fired the bounce header past the keepers out stretched right hand. The ball squeezed just inside the right post to tie this baby up at three all in the 82^nd minute.

Once again, the Mengao played like crap.

The Defense needs lots of work. Yes, Petkovic and several key players are missing.

This situation needs to be worked out before we begin the Campeonato in May.

If not we will be on the short end of the stick.

We can’t let these smaller teams push us around.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:45:59 +0000

The more things change the more they stay the same. Please tell me something I don’t know or I haven’t seen, done, or heard. River Plate is still in the crapper. Boca Juniors can’t hold onto a lead.

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When will these two clubs finally realize they are slipping big time. Boca and River have failed to make the Copa Libertadores for the first time in well over twenty years. Oh, God what is happening in Buenos Aires.

My friend Doctor Luis Palau must be a sad puppy.

The summer tourney the Clausura began last weekend.

The Clausura runs until May.

Argentinos Juniors came from behind twice to tie Boca Juniors two all.

Ismael Sosa saved Argentinos Juniors bacon in stoppage time. He nailed the equalizer to send Boca home with a two all tie.

Martin Palermo rammed the twines in the 45^th minute to give Boca 1-0 lead.

Boca Juniors was in control of the match until the 82^nd minute. Boca was nursing a delicate 1-0 lead. Then whamo bamo just like that Boca defender Ezequiel Munoz knocked the ball into his own net to level this sucker up at one all.

Three minutes later, 85^th minute, Riquelme kissed the ball between the post and the keeper. This made it 2-1 Boca.

Enter Argentinos Juniors Superman Sosa. Sosa’s poke into the net off a crazy scramble ball in the 93^rd minute broke Boca’s heart and thus left them with a two all draw.

River lost to defending champ Banfield 1-0.

Sebastian Fernandez ripped the twines in the 30^th minute to seal the deal for Banfield. A huge shout out to his mate Walter Erviti who set up the goal with a get pass.

This is not a good start for the Los Millonarios. River looked bad. They hardly mounted an attack all Sunday afternoon.

The Los Millonarios lost striker Diego Buonanotte for the entire season when he was injured in a car wreck in December 2009.

Ouch, this hurts big time.

Both River and Boca have slipped so much that now down looks like up. River Plate and Boca Juniors have been perineal powers in the Copa Libertadores. Not this year. They stunk so bad they didn’t qualify.

Boca won Copa in 2007. Boca lost in the 2007 FIFA World Cup final to Milan in a 4-2 PK shootout.

Oh hard the mighty has fallen.

This breaks my heart.

I am not a huge Los Xeneizes fan.

River Plate has taken a huge swan dive as well. The Los Millonarios were fixture atop the Clausura and Apertura for many years. River Plate has won twelve combined Clausura and Apertura titles. River Plate has won 33 domestic titles.

Sure, this gives clubs like Newell’s Old Boys, Lanus, and first time titleholder Lanus a chance for the glory.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:22:09 +0000

Chelsea had a chance to widen its lead over Man U and Arsenal on Tuesday but the Blues stubbed their toes in a one all draw with next to bottom feeder Hull City.

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The Blues fell behind in the 30^th minute. The Tigers Steven Mouyokolo showed some serious hoops when he out leaped several Chelsea defenders to head home the winner for a 1-0 Hull City lead.

John Terry was one of those cats that were out leaped. We can call John Terry credit card hoops.

Drogba fresh back from his African Cup campaign nailed a sizzler of a free kick from just outside the box in the 42^nd minute to tie this sucker up at one all.

This is how this baby stood.

The Blues had their chances but they couldn’t crack the stubborn Tigers “D’ for more scores.

Hull City had their chances as well but they fell by the way side as well.

No, harm no foul I guess.

Not really.

Chelsea has struggled on the road. Yes, the Blues won on the road against the Clarets last Saturday however Tuesday was another story.

Playing against next to last Hull City was a huge opportunity for the Blues to increase their lead over second place Man U to four points and third place Arsenal to eight points.

This tie keeps both the Red Devils and Gunners within striking distance.

Anything can happen over the next three and a half months.

There is a ton of futebol to be played.

Chelsea is now 6-3-3 on the road. Man U is 7-1-4, and Arsenal is 6-3-3. Last years combined total road losses between the Blues, Red Devils, and Gunners was nine.

We still have fourteen matches left.

The title will go to the team who has the best road record.

This is how it always is.

You strive for .600 on the road and .995 at home.

Chelsea has now played their make up game.

It’s a race to the finish.

The Blues are in the catbird seat with 55 points. Man U is second with 53. Arsenal is third with 49. Tottenham is fourth with 42.

Please don’t count Tottenham out of the title chase.

I have seen crazier things happen.

This happened in last years Campeonato Brasil. My team Flamengo was 15 points off the pace with two and a half months to go in the season. Mengao went on a fifteen match unbeaten string and won the title.

Yes, the basket counts, and a foul.

All us Flamenguistas were crazy and happy.

When the dust settles in the EPL Arsenal will hoist the cup.

De Futebol Blog

bobbygee — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:34:56 +0000

Mengao fell behind 3-1 before mounting a furious rally to pull their chestnuts out the fire with 5-3 win over hated rival Fluminense.

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Po-de-arroz jumped all over Mengao. Fluminense scored in the 14^th minute. Diguinho threaded the needle to mate Alan. Mengao keeper Bruno was helpless to stop the shot. Fluminense was up 1-0.

Things got worse for Rubro-Negro in the 41^st minute. Defender Ronaldo Angelim pulled down Alan in the box. This was a dumb play. Alan nailed the PK to make it 2-0 Po-de-Arroz.

Mengao drew close when Diguinho tackled Juan in the box. The Emperor calmly nailed the PK to cut the Fluminense lead to 2-1 in the 43^rd minute.

Po-de-Arroz increased the lead to 3-1 three minutes later (46^th minute) when Cassio struck for gold on a wild and crazy scramble ball in front of the Mengao net.

Enter the second half and oh, what a relief it is. Rubro-Negro struck for four goals to slap this puppy away.

Flamengo must have gotten their butts chewed out by Andrade at halftime.

Mengao came out breathing fire.

In the 53^rd minute Adriano literally took the ball away from a Fluminense defender. The Emperor fed Vagner Love a perfect ball. Bamo end of this discussion. Goal for Love. It was now 3-2 Fluminense.

Two minutes later (55^th minute) Petkovic laid a great crossing ball into the box. All Kleberson had to do was walk the ball into the net.

This baby was tied up at three all.

Adriano showed why he is the one of the top players in Brasil. He scored the final two goals for Mengao thus killing Po-de-Arroz dream of beating cross-town rival Flamengo.

Mengao wins 5-3.

Both of the Emperors goals were nothing short of amazing. The first in the 82^nd minute Adriano rammed the ball into the back of the net off a wicked counter attack.

In the 89^th minute, the Emperor made Po-de-Arroz keeper Rafael look stupid.

Game, set, and match to Rubro-Negro.

Yes, the Birds started out like crap but when Adriano nailed the PK kick, this opened the floodgates.

It was Katie bar the door baby.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:16:06 +0000

I am sad today. Yes, that is right. I wanted Arsenal to win but just like my Philadelphia Eagles, the Gunners break your heart. Manchester United out gunned the Gunners 3-1.

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Nani was the key to the Red Devils attack. I said take Rooney out and force Nani to beat you. This is exactly what happened. I have ESPN, I mean ESP.

For most of the match, Rooney was a non-factor. The Rooney man had five shots. Four of those shots came in the second half.

Rooney scored one goal.

Nani took over the controls of the Man U attack. He ran the offense almost to perfection.

On the other hand, Fabregas had a really hard time directing the Gunners attack.

The only threat throughout the match was Arshavin. He had several great scoring opportunities.

The first one came in the 13^th minute. Arshavin took off like a bat out of hell down the left sideline. His shot curled just wide of the net.

A few moments later Fabregas darted through the Red Devils midfield. Fabregas fired a great pass to Arshavin. Arshavin lost his footing and this scoring chance was wasted.

Nani drew first blood for Man U. He fired a wicked ball into the goalmouth. Arsenal’s keeper Almunia missed played the chip shot and Whamo bamo the ball is into the back of the net.

Own goal. Man U is up 1-0 in the 33^rd minute.

Four minutes later Nani and Wayne Rooney played a great two man game that killed the Gunners D”.

Rooney fed Nani. Nani made a mad dash down the pitch. Nani nailed a perfect centering pass into the center of the box. Rooney killed the winner in the 37^th minute to put Man u up 2-0.

The Fat Lady began doing her pushups.

Park Ji-Sung’s goal in the 52^nd minute put the kibosh to Arsenal’s chances of mounting a comeback.

Thomas Vermaelen added a cosmetic goal in the 80^th minute to make the final score a respectable 3-1.

In a sad postmortem of the match, three things stand out.

The Gunners forced Nani to become the playmaker. This should have worked but Nani stepped up to the plate and had a hand in two of the three Red Devils goals.

Arsenal could not take advantage of Manchester United’s weak back line. Wes Brown, Evans, and Evra played well enough to stop the Arshavin and Fabregas from scoring.

Arsenal’s attack seemed to be just a hair off. The Gunners were missing the spark and intensity they had in their previous matches.

Speaking purely as an Arsenal fan, I want to jump off the bridge, but hey, Arsenal is like Philly we expect these things to happen all the time.

If anything will go wrong, it will. This is the plight of Arsenal and the Philadelphia Eagles.

In Philly, we have a saying about our Eagles. This saying will apply to Arsenal as well. The Eagles will find a way to screw up a wet dream.

City defeated Portsmouth 2-0.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Vincent Kompany scored both City’s goals in this total whitewash of Pompey.

The dust has settled. The results are in and Chelsea is in the catbird seat with 54 points. Man U is second 53. The Gunners are third with 49. Tottenham is fourth with 42.

My final parting shot is this.

Arsenal will win the EPL.

Where there is hope there is life.

Arsenal and Eagles fans always hope for the best and expect the worst.

Go figure.

It could be worse than five points difference between Arsenal and the Blues.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:09:56 +0000

Chelsea took care of the business at hand. Yes, the Blues escaped with 2-1 win over Burnley.

Once again, Chelsea gave an easy breakaway goal to the Clarets. The trumpets sounded the charge. John Terry to the rescue with a late goal in the 82^nd minute to give Chelsea the needed three points.

The Blues were in control of the match from the outset.

Chelsea applied a ton of pressure throughout the entire match.

At one point in the second half, the pitch looked like it was tilted on 90-degree angle towards the Clarets end.

Anelka gave the Blues the early in the 27^th minute.

Steven Fletcher nailed the equalizer in the 50^th minute.

Mate Robbie Blake forced a TO in the Blues end. Alex lost the ball and thus gave Fletcher the easy goal.

Enter John Terry and his brilliant header goal to kill the Clarets dreams of salvaging a point.

Malouda set this baby up with a well-placed corner kick directly in front of the goalmouth.

Chelsea is atop the table with 54 points.

This solely places a ton of pressure on Arsenal and Man U to win on Sunday.

Neither side can afford a loss or a draw.

Both the Gunners and the Red Devils need to go balls to the wall and get the “W”.

Right now Man U has 50 points.

Arsenal has 49.

So once again, this epic battle between the Gunners and the Red Devils at Emirates will have a huge say on who will win the EPL this season.

Spurs were on the verge of a huge win over Birmingham but Liam Ridgewell scored the equalizer in the dying moments of injury to give Blues a heart thumping one all draw.

Jermain Defoe thought he scored the match winner in the 69^th minute.

Bale’s centering pass was flicked on goal by Crouch. Block. Kick out. Goal.

Then the dagger to the heart in the 90^th minute may have killed Tottenham’s chances of staying in touch with league leaders Chelsea.

Liverpool defeated Bolton 2-0.

Aston Villa creamed Fulham 2-0.

The race for the final Champions Leagues spot looks like this.

Spurs are in fourth place with 42 points.

Liverpool is in fifth place with 41 points.

Aston Villa is in sixth place 40 points and Man City is in the seventh place with 38 points. City has three games in hand.

Four points separate Spurs, Reds, Villa, and City for the final Champions League spot.

My final parting shot is this. The Gunners will win 3-1.

Fabregas and Ramsey will play lights out.

Rooney will be wrapped in a blanket all match. He won’t score.

Nasri will have a big game as well.

Sol Campbell’s “D’ will surprise the entire EPL.

Campbell has a point to prove.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:42:16 +0000

This is nut cutting time week in the EPL. Chelsea goes on the road to take on giant killer Burnley. Arsenal and Man U will duke it out on Sunday. Oh, yes, baby, you gotta love it.

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Chelsea is not the consummate road warrior. The Blues have struggled on the road even though Chelsea have won their last two road matches.

The Blues have five wins, three losses, and two ties on the road.

It is even money Chelsea could either win, lose or draw.

The Blues are perched on high in the EPL with 51 points. Two points separate the top three clubs Chelsea, Man U, and Arsenal.

This is a must win for the Blues. If they stumble, Chelsea could sink as low as second or wind up in a two-way tie for the top spot.

Drogba and Kalou will not play for the Blues in today’s encounter with the Clarets.

Man U and Arsenal battle it out at Emirates on Sunday. The stakes are huge.

Depending on what happens Saturday either Man U or Arsenal could be in the catbird seat.

I want to see an Arsenal win. This is whom I am pulling for. The winner of this match could be a deciding factor on who wins the EPL title.

Man U is not very good on the road. The Red Devils are 6-1-4. This is only two games above over .500

These are the keys to the match. First of all, shut down Wayne Rooney. Do not give him room to operate. Force Man U to become on dimensional by taking Rooney out. This will force Berbatov and Nani to become the bread winners.

The soft spot in the “D’ is the back line. Ferdinand will not play due to a four-match suspension. Spread the attack out and force Man U into unfavorable match-ups. Arshavin and Fabregas need room to roam and create scoring opportunities. When this happens the Gunners can score big.

The Gunners need to attack and play smart “D”. This means Fabregas must be at his best. Attacking and creating scoring opportunities for Arshavin, Eduardo and Ramsey.

When the final whistle blows it will be a 3-1 win for the Gunners nation.

I know this is very simple explanation but when it is all said and done the team that dictates the tempo and forces the other team to get away from their game will win.

Go Gunners.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:49:45 +0000

Mengao took care of business against Americano. Flamengo jumped out to a huge 2-0 lead before giving two goals in the final ten minutes of the match. Rubro-Negro squeaked out a 3-2 win.

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Whew, that was close.

Adriano and Vagner Love both scored for Mengao in the win. Fernando added the other Flamengo goal.

Adriano drew first blood for Mengao when he was literally tackled in the box. I guess the Americano defender thought he was playing in the NFL.

The Emperor nailed the PK in the 40^th minute to Rubro-Negro a 1-0 lead.

Petkovic nailed a well-placed corner kick. The ball went Bamo into the box. Fernando gathered the ball and nailed a wicked strike in the 48^th minute for a 2-0 Flamengo lead.

Vagner Love scored a break away goal in the 81^st minute to salt this puppy away for Flamengo.

This break away goal was set up by a great dribble drive down center of the pitch by Adriano. The Emperor’s pass spilt the seam in the “D”.

Vagner Love took the ball in full stride and fired a pass back to Adriano. Adriano took two steps and returned the ball back to Love.

This was a classic example of the give and go or a two-man game that leaves the “D” as helpless as a baby.

This was all she wrote baby.

The three headed attack of The Emperor Adriano, Love, and Petkovic is working out really well in the Copa Rio.

Lets see how this puppy will work when we get into Campeonato.

Rumor has it that Sao Paulo has sent a representative to Manchester City to see about taking Brasilian star Robinho off their hands.

I don’t know what it is about the EPL but many Brasilian futebol players have a hard time adjusting to life and futebol in merry old England.

The latest causality is Man U’s Anderson. It has been reported by www.uol.com.br that he will be heading back to Brasil.

Anderson showed lots of promise but his stay at Man U just didn’t work out.

My question is this. Brasilian futebol stars flourish in Italy and Spain and not in England why?

Is it the style of play?

EPL futebol is very rough while the Spanish and Italian futebol is very wide-open affair.

Kaka, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho all have had great careers in Italy and Spain.

Maybe someone can answer this question for me.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:17:16 +0000

It is all over but the shouting. Chelsea took it to Birmingham. The Blues kicked some major butt winning 3-0.

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This sucker wasn’t even close.

Chelsea drew first blood in the 5^th minute. Florent Malouda nailed the perfect winner for a 1-0 Blues lead.

Chelsea never looked back. The rout was on.

Frank Lampard hit the daily double. He struck for gold in the 32^nd and 90^th minutes for the Blues.

Chelsea is now hitting on all cylinders.

The Blues looked really good in this total whitewash of a very good Birmingham squad.

My team Arsenal and Aston Villa tied at nil-nil.

I am not happy but a tie will suffice. For a tie is better than a loss.

This still keeps the Gunners in the top three.

Both sides had their chances but neither could find the back of the net.

Tomas Rosicky had a great shot at giving the Gunners the win but his shot went clang right off the cross bar in the 61^st minute.

Arshavin had a near miss as well too in the 61^st minute. Fabregas set it up with a drive into the box. Villa’s Brad Friedel made a great save.

Fabregas had a great scoring chance as well in the 45^th minute. Damn the left post got in the way. Bonk off the left post.

This is the John Madden in me.

Villa’s best defense was the hardware. The extra defender proved deadly for the Gunners. The left post and cross bar denied us twice.

I don’t care what anyone says one point is better than none.

Fox Soccer Channel broadcasted the Chelsea-Birmingham match so I kept track of the Gunners-Villa match via ESPN play-by-play live game cast.

Chelsea is a top the EPL with 51 points. Man U is in second place with 50. Arsenal is third with 49 points.

The race is on baby.

Do you want to talk about a crazy match? Lets examine the City-United Carlin Cup Semi-Final.

This baby had it all. An in your face celebration by Tevez after his daily double at City, harsh words between Tevez and Neville, Sir Alex and Tevez huge resentment against each other all came into play in Wednesday’s second leg.

Manchester United advanced to the Carling Cup finals with a crazy 3-1 win over hated rival City.

Paybacks are a bitch Tevez.

Tevez scored in the 76^th minute to level the match on aggregate at three all.

Enter Superman Wayne Rooney. Rooney nailed the header off the rebound in the 90^th minute to seal the deal for Man U.

Paul Scholes (52^nd minute) and Michael Carrick (71^st minute) scored the other two goals for the Red Devils.

You gotta love this. Yes, folks the EPL race is just warming up.
I don’t care what anyone says. Arsenal will lift the trophy at the end of the season.

Lets start a new tradition. We are now Gunners nation.

I am nuts but this is who I am.

Or as the English would say, I am a bit daft.

This weekends matches will be wild and crazy.

This is called nut cutting time.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:16:18 +0000

The EPL is back in action on Tuesday. Tottenham took it to Fulham 2-0. Liverpool escaped with nil-nil tie with just above the drop zone Wolverhampton.

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The friendly confines of White Hart Lane proved to be too much for Fulham to handle.

This was a great all round effort by Spurs.

Peter Crouch provided the opening salvo when connected on a gimmie ball right in front of the Cottagers net in the 27^th minute.

A great deep ball fired by Bentley set up this goal. Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer went high to punch the ball out. The ball went flying backwards to the end line. Spurs attacker Modric didn’t give up on the play. He chased it down and flicked the ball back into play.

Crouch went high and tapped in the easy winner.

This goal took the sails out of the Cottagers.

David Bentley sealed the deal in the 60^th minute for Tottenham.

He nailed a wicked free kick to put to the Cottagers out of their misery.

Liverpool on the other hand couldn’t find the back of the net with a cannon.

Wolves held the Reds at bay.

This tie may have driven the final stake in Liverpool’s chances of securing a Champions League spot.

We will see

Liverpool moved ahead of City on goal difference but remember City has two games in hand.

The Fat Lady is warming up on the death of Liverpool’s season.

Portsmouth and West Ham tied at one all.

Bolton defeated Burnley 1-0.

Chung-yong Lee scored the only goal of the match in the 35^th minute.

This was the first win for the new Wanderers manager Owen Coyle.

Arsenal has a hot date with Aston Villa on Wednesday at Villa Park.

This is one of those all-important key road matches.

Titles are won on the road.

Arsenal needs to play balls to the wall futebol. Attack and play great “D” is a must.

The Gunners need to punish Villa and pick up the all-important three points to put us a top the table once again.

Chelsea battles Birmingham.

Man U is in first place with 50 points. Arsenal is in second with 48. Chelsea is third with 48. Tottenham is fourth with 41.

This will all change once the results are in from Wednesday.

Lets hope for upset city at Chelsea and the Gunners clean Villa’s clock.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:17:14 +0000

Vagner Love hit the daily double to lead Flamengo past Bangu 2-1 in the Copa de Rio on Saturday. Mengao has struggled a lot in their first three matches. Sure, we won but the team has given up some really cheap goals.

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Am I concerned? Yes! Sure, this is only Flamengo’s third week of training but guys we need to have better concentration and kick these smaller teams in the backside. Rubro- Negro can’t let them hang around for this will surely bite us in the butt.

This match marked the first time Adriano and Love played together on the pitch. The Emperor had two really good chances to score but Adriano missed by that much.

Adriano will be the central attacker while Love will be the off striker. This will give Love more room to roam and create a ton of scoring chances for both men.

This will really open up the pitch thus will force the opposition to cover more than one man.

This strategy will create many mismatches for Flamengo and this will lead to many easy goals.

Imagine Love, Adriano, and Petkovic firing on all cylinders.

This will result in goals galore for us Flamenguistas.

Love struck in the 18^th minute. Fernando fired a wicked salvo from 30 yards out. Block. Rebound. Love nailed the rebound winner to give Mengao a 1-0 lead.

In the 45^th minute, Bruno let fly with a long kick. Adriano flicked the header to Wagner Love. Love spilt the two Bangu defenders. Love gathered ball. He deeked right and then left. The Bangu keeper fell to the ground. Bamo. This was an easy walk in goal for Love.

Mengao gave up a second half goal to Bangu.

Flamengo fell asleep on the “D”. Mengao allowed an easy ball into the goal area. There were three Flamengo players surrounding one Bangu player. The Bangu player snared the ball. He attacked but a Rubro-Negro defender stripped him of the ball. The ref said no-no.

A PK was awarded in the 49^th minute. Bangu nailed the PK to make 2-1 Mengao.

This was not a penalty.

It was a boneheaded defensive play by the three Mengao defenders.

We are now undefeated in the Copa Rio.

This is good but Mengao needs to improve a lot if we are to go for the two-peat.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:08:23 +0000

The FA Cup once again is full of surprises. Stoke City ruffed up the Gunners in 3-1 win. Man City took it Scunthorpe 4-2.

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Arsenal rested most of their regulars while the Potters threw the kitchen sink at the Gunners.

The FA Cup may be the only chance at a trophy the Potters have. For Stoke City is firmly entrenched in the middle of the pack in the EPL.

The Potters are in eleventh place with 25 points.

This match marked the return of Sol Campbell. He last played for the Gunners in 2006 Champions League final.

The Potters decided to play goon soccer. This was designed to take advantage of the younger Gunners squad.

Cesc Fabregas and Denilson were the only Arsenal regulars who played.

Sure. everyone had a hissy fit because Wenger decided to start the young guns however my question is this. Why risk playing Cesc Fabregas and Denilson in this contest when you have huge matches in the EPL coming up in the next two weeks.

Give the guy a break. Wenger knows what he is doing. His focus is on the bigger prize the EPL and Champions League.

The Gunner will win the EPL crown and this is why Wenger won’t risk getting his star players hurt.

City took it to Scunthorpe 4-2.

This match may have marked the swan song for City’s Robinho.

Robinho scored in the 84^th minute. He let fly with smash from 35 yards out. This sucker ripped the twines and torn off the back of the net.

If this is his last match for City, at least Robinho went out on a high note.

De Futebol

bobbygee — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:22:31 +0000

Can lightening strike in the same place? We will surely find out. Leeds United and Tottenham tied one all in the fourth round FA Cup. Who would have thunk it. Surely not me.

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This is one of those feel good stories. Leeds is in the process of a long slow climb back into the EPL.

I love stories like this. Leeds was dropped from the EPL in 2003-04. Then the Whites hit the skids and went belly up.

Now Leeds is top dog in League One.

Leeds knocked off mighty Manchester United in third round FA Cup action.

Now Leeds is in position to knock off another EPL giant Spurs.

Tottenham had a real chance to put the Whites away but Jermain Defoe missed a PK in the 9^th minute.

This wasn’t the real killer.

Jermaine Beckford nailed a PK in the 90^th minute to tie this sucker up at two all.

Tottenham’s Michael Dawson committed the unpardonable sin when he fouled Beckford in the dying moments of injury time.

The run up. The shot. Just inside the post. GOAL. Now it’s on to Leeds House Elland Road.

Spurs had their chances in their house White Hart Lane.

This was no cigar this time.

Can you say Upset City baby.

We will find out.

Chelsea breezed to a 2-0 win over Preston North End.

The pitch looked like a mud bog.

The match was played at Preston North End’s house.

Reading defeated Burnley 1-0. This gives Reading another notch on their gun belt. First Liverpool now Burnley.

West Brom stopped Newcastle dead in their tracks with a 4-2 win.

The Magpies are currently top dogs in League Championship.

When the dust settled after Saturdays fourth round FA cup play there were only two upsets. Reading won but I will also call the two all tie between Leeds and Spurs an upset.

This is what makes the FA Cup so much fun.

Surprises always happen.

Manchester United and Hull City was the only clubs to play in the EPL. The Red Devils took the Tigers to the woodshed 4-0.

The Rooney man Wayne Rooney hit for the quadruple.

Was Rooney’s quadruple a warning shot fired at Manchester City?

The crowd at Old Trafford screamed the Glazers must go. They also screamed some other things that I will not print.

It looks like the Philly mentality has hit Man U as well too.

So, be it. But, all real Eagles fans root and cheer for Arsenal.

Gunners fans and Philly fans are kindred spirits.