Soccer Camps

Scowling Scolari needs a rethink

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:52:51 +0000

Defeat to Arsenal means Luiz Felipe Scolari is facing his first big test as Chelsea manager and there are plenty of people waiting to see how the volatile Brazilian handles it.
Until a few weeks ago everything was sweetness and light at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea set the pace in the Premier League title race. They […]

Source: Martyn Herman

Beckham effect? What Beckham effect?

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:17:12 +0000

Reuters reporter Ben Klayman takes a look at the just finished Major League Soccer season, from a business perspective, and finds that the much-anticipated ‘Beckham bounce’ doesn’t seem to have happened. He writes:
Two years after David Beckham joined the league, Major League Soccer is facing many headwinds in addition to the declining economy as it attempts […]

Source: Simon Evans

Premier League not a sell-out

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:08:11 +0000

So now we know why the Premier League are so keen on taking matches on tour to Asia: the 39th game might be the only one that’s actually sold out.
According to a Daily Telegraph report, attendances at Premier League games are down by an average of almost a thousand fans per game this season. Even […]

Source: Kevin Fylan

Lippi enters the Respect debate - but is he on the losing side?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 03:00:58 +0000

One of the benefits of being a World Cup-winning manager is that nobody complains if you turn up at a party and start badmouthing the hosts - they’re too grateful you came in the first place.
Italy boss Marcello Lippi did that this week when he reprimanded his country’s professional footballers for their treatment of referees […]

Source: Paul Virgo

Vlog on the pitch - can Arsenal thrive in the Champions League?

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:32:05 +0000

The William Gallas saga behind them, Arsenal have reached the last 16 of the Champions League after a 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev.
A late winner from substitute Nicklas Bendtner was enough to send the Gunners through with a game to spare but will Arsene Wenger have to change things if his young side are […]

Source: Mark Meadows

Old Firm big fish can’t swim outside small pond

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:14:47 +0000

You shouldn’t laugh, but it’s hard not to after the mighty Old Firm, soccer’s biggest domestic bullies, once again found they were not so tough when they are allowed into the big boys’ playground.
Celtic might stick it to Hamilton Academical and Falkirk on a regular basis but AaB Aalborg proved too good for them on […]

Source: Mitch Phillips

Wenger makes a statement with Fabregas appointment

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:35:24 +0000

Arsene Wenger’s appointment of Cesc Fabregas as captain is more than just a strategic move, designed to ward off Barcelona attempts to recover the one that got away. The decision also says something significant about the way Wenger sees Arsenal Football Club.
Wenger has changed the youth system, the players’ diets and the style of play and […]

Source: Kevin Fylan

Let’s take ‘deliberately’ out of the handball law

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:25:30 +0000

I have a suggestion on how to clear up inconsistencies with handballs.
Law 12 states that “a direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player…handles the ball deliberately”.
In reality, we all know this rule isn’t always applied correctly. When the ball strikes a hand or an arm which is […]

Source: Mark Meadows

Don’t blame Gallas — he was trying to do a captain’s job

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:27:05 +0000

“There’s a lot of cover-ups sometimes and players need to stand up and be counted. I’m not sure that happens a lot at this club.” — Roy Keane, May 7, 2002.
“When you play for Manchester United nothing should interfere with what you are doing during the week and during a match. I have felt that […]

Source: Julien Pretot

Adriano ‘the animal’ is still to find his bite

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:27:41 +0000

Adriano is surely one of the most frustrating players in the world.
The Brazilian has all the assets needed to be one of the very best strikers — power, pace and guile — yet he has wasted several opportunities to show he can be consistently good.
Indiscipline is part of his problem. Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho left […]

Source: Mark Meadows

Should Arsenal give Gallas the boot?

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:23:35 +0000

For 12 years, Arsenal fans have been used to a manager so loyal it borders on the belligerent, but that quality appears to be lost on the team’s captain, William Gallas.
According to reports this morning, Gallas has been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy. For the sake of the club’s future, the manager may have to go even further […]

Source: Joe Brock

Mourinho v Ranieri is a veritable grudge match

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:24:09 +0000

It’s hard to think of two coaches in the world with such an apparent dislike of one another as Inter’s Jose Mourinho and Juve’s Claudio Ranieri.
Even Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have got on better of late and the only coach to have real gripes with new Argentina boss Diego Maradona is Scotland no. 2 Terry Butcher.
The […]

Source: Mark Meadows