Friday, September 19, 2014

Sorry - No Time Today - Enjoy the Weekend Action

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Bayern Edge City, Schalke Shock Chelsea, Roma Run Riot On & Off the Pitch, Ole Gunnar Out at Cardiff, Jonathan Wilson on Alejandro Sabella

Due to reader complaints, our usual Schalke fan has been replaced. For today...
Right! Talk around SSN Headquarters yesterday was about how many Chelsea would put past Schalke. Cut to the chase: none of us were correct. No, nobody in the office guessed the game would end 1-1. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich controlled their affair with Manchester City but couldn't score until late. That's all it takes, though. Barcelona knows it. They could only manage one at home against Apoel Nicosia. And it was a Pique header! PSG and Ajax? 1-1. Roma went all nutty on CSKA Moscow to the tune of 6-1, while Porto did them one better with their 6-0 victory over BATE. Also going nutty were the Roma and CSKA supports. Both clubs could be in trouble after violence broke out inside and outside the Stadio Olimpico. Here's the lowdown from last night and the matchday in general:

Bayern Munich 1 - 0 Manchester City: Daniel Taylor at Allianz Arena
Chelsea 1 - 1 Schalke: Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
Roma 5 - 1 CSKA Moscow: Report

Crowd trouble in Rome.
Poor Ye 'Ole Gunnar. Everyone's favorite Norwegian baby-faced assassin lasted less than nine months in charge of Cardiff. He's stepped down. Good effort, though.

Jonathan Wilson is a favorite scribe of ours. Today he's looking to answer this question: Where next for Alejandro Sabella? The manager left his post with Argentina after the World Cup final and is in search of a new gig.

The Europa League is today, but it's so early, we really can't be bothered to provide any previews. We'll take a look tomorrow and see if anything happened of note. OK? Good.


Uhh, Major League Soccer unveiled a new logo. So, you know. Big news.

Oops.
Hey! That'll do for today.

Onward!!

-SSN

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Dortmund Defeat Shambolic Arsenal, Liverpool Leave it Late to Beat Bulgarian Minnows, Seattle Win U.S. Open Cup, Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City


Is it Hump Day already? Geez. Well, in Champions League action yesterday, Arsenal had a night in Europe to forget as Dortmund easily brushed them off the pitch. They only scored two but it could easily have been five or six. Elsewhere, Real Madrid did score five to cruise past Basel, and Liverpool barely survived a scare at Anfield against Ludogorets Razgrad. Here's your lot from Tuesday's European fixtures:

Borussia Dortmund 2 - 0 Arsenal: Henry Winter at the Westfalenstadion
Borussia Dortmund 2 - 0 Arsenal: Daniel Taylor at the Westfalenstadion
Liverpool 2 - 1 Ludogorets Razgrad: Richard Jolly at Anfield
Liverpool 2 - 1 Ludogorets Razgrad: Paul Wilson at Anfield
Real Madrid 5 - 1 Basel: Sid Lowe at the Bernabéu


Back in the USA, Seattle won the U.S. Open Cup thanks to a Clint Dempsey goal. Bird has Three Thoughts.

Talking Points! Let's look back at the weekend one last time: European football returned this weekend and there were twists and turns in every domestic league. With transfer deadline signings suited up for their new clubs and squads refreshed following the extended international break, there were plenty of movers and shakers in the league tables across Europe.


Chelsea vs. Schalke: Preview
Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Preview I
Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City: Preview II

That's it!

Onward!!

-SSN

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

The Champions League Begins, Scribes, U.S. Open Cup Final, Keeper’s Water Bottle Spiked With Urine

Hello Hello Hello! What a day we have! So much to get through, so let's roll. Monday Night Football finished 2-2 between Hull City and West Ham. The highlight was the Hammers' new man Enner Valencia's cracker of a strike. Richard Gibson was at the KC Stadium.


The Champions League Group Stage gets going today. Let's begin with some general previews and thoughts ahead of this year's competition prior to diving into this week's action. Here:

Five Key Questions for 2014-15. 

OK! Now that's done, what's up today? Obviously, Arsenal's trip to Dortmund is grabbing the headlines since those two clubs are rather large, it must be said. Oh, and Liverpool host something called Ludogorets Razgrad after five years of Champions League exile. Interesting...

Borussia Dortmund vs. Arsenal: Preview I
Borussia Dortmund vs. Arsenal: Preview II
Liverpool vs. Ludogorets Razgrad: Preview I
Liverpool vs. Ludogorets Razgrad: Preview II
Liverpool vs. Ludogorets Razgrad: Preview III
Real Madrid vs. Basel: Preview

What the hell is going on at Newcastle? Barry Glendenning takes a gander at the chaos at St. James' Park.

The U.S. Open Cup Final is also today (7:30 pm EDT on GolTV). Here's all you need to know about that illustrious competition and a preview of the match itself featuring Seattle vs. Philly. Sticking with the U.S., Bird has his MLS honors from the weekend and Jeff Carlisle has his weekend review and Power Rankings.

Would it make a difference?
Scribe Time! In-depth analysis of the action around the globe. Sadly, just Europe this week. For some reason nobody is writing about South America.


Where? Germany. Who? Adam Bate. What? Kagawa is back where he belongs

Where? Spain. Who? Guillem Balague. What? Madrid need to be more adaptable and show intensity

Where? Germany. Who? Raphael Honigstein. What? Hamburg in a familiar position while Schalke’s crisis deepens


It is Tuesday, so that means it is also time for Marcotti's musings. This week, Gabriele is gabbing about Real Madrid's self-inflicted issues, Man Utd's evolution, and Barca's bright start.

And finally...there's this: Swiss Football Shaken By Truly Disgusting Scandal After Goalkeeper’s Water Bottle Spiked With Urine.

Onward!!

-SSN

Monday, September 15, 2014

No More Gus Johnson, Real Madrid 1-2 Atlético Madrid, Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City, Inter Milan 7-0 Sassuolo, Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa, Parma 4-5 AC Milan, Big Interview = Thomas Müller, Monday Night Football

Where's Waldo Welbeck?
All right! We were pretty excited going into the weekend because it looked pretty damn good on paper. Isn't lovely when the paper is correct? An enthralling draw at the Emirates, Chelsea's attacking machine, Atlético's win over Real, Inter's annihilation again of Sass, Manchester United's new boys changing the mood, Parma and AC Milan in a thriller, there was so much great action. Perhaps the greatest action, however, was Gus Johnson's decision to step down as Fox Sports' lead soccer announcer. While we understand and sympathize with the difficulties in his personal life, we also don't care for his presence on our televisions during soccer matches. Now, let's move on to the Premier League and all the fallout from the weekend:


Arsenal 2 - 2 Manchester City: Daniel Taylor at the Emirates Stadium
Arsenal 2 - 2 Manchester City: Phil McNulty at the Emirates Stadium
Chelsea 4 - 2 Swansea City: Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
Liverpool 0 - 1 Aston Villa: Chris Bevan at Anfield
Manchester United 4 - 0 QPR: Five Talking Points

No shortage of drama in Spain, where Atlético Madrid went to the Bernabéu and beat Real. Was Sid Lowe there? Duh. Here's his report. And here's a wee weekend review. We'll have more on Spain from El Sid tomorrow.

CRISIS!!!

No shortage of drama in Italy, where Inter Milan pasted Sussudio Sassuolo yet again (!) and AC Milan edged Parma in a thriller. Here's a wee weekend review. We'll have more on Italy with Paolo Bandini tomorrow.

Oooo. We've got a Big Interview to begin the week. It's Raphael Honigstein asking the questions and it's Thomas Müller providing the answers.


The complete package (ahem) for Diego...
As if all that excitement from the weekend wasn't enough, there's Monday Night Football to enjoy today! Yes, indeed. Big Sam and his boys head up to Hull to face Mrs. Doubtfire and his Tigers of Hull. Here'a preview. Want to watch? Great! Go to NBCSN at 3pm EDT and you'll be all set.

And finally...Thomas Vermaelen can't park his car.

Onward!!

-SSN