Predictably Unpredictable/Sly Bastard

Chelsea are the best team in the premier league.

They lose three matches out of four.

Manchester United are undefeated.

They throw away late leads.

Arsenal can go top.

They give up a 2 goal lead to lose to Spurs.

Man City are shit.

Man City are brilliant.

Man City are shit.

The top 4 are separated by only 4 points. Each of them have been terribly inconsistent and have failed to impress with regularity. All of these Jekyll and Hyde clubs have shown the potential to be something great, and the first to find that consistency may be the one hoisting that trophy come May.

Realistically, I believe it is too much to ask of Man City to do it this year but for the other contenders the Premier League title is up for grabs. I could tell you who I think it would be but everything will change again several times over the next few months and to be honest I have no fucking clue who will come out victorious. We could talk about the faults and strengths of each squad but I don't have the patience to do so.

I will say this. If I am going to get up at 4:30 AM PST to get to a pub and watch a match here in Los Angeles, please do not ruin my weekend with an abject performance and shit result. It doesn't matter what you do afterward, the weekend is tainted and if there are things to be done I can not drink away the sorrow it brings. This weekend brings upon another Saturday lunchtime kick off for my Arsenal and on the back of consecutive losses I want to have a good holiday weekend.

DON'T FUCK UP!


Onto more amusing matters it seems good old JOE SAY had his players take bookings in order to wipe their slates clean for the knockout rounds. I know some of you may say this is cheating and it's wrong and their bans should be extended but those are the fucking rules.

First and foremost Jose could have had them get the cards by kicking players, imagine the outrage. What they have done is take advantage of flaws in the system, and I can't blame them. I would never encourage such a thing but if anyone has the audacity to blatantly abuse the system it's Mourinho. It is quite possible that he did this to make a point as to how the system can be abused.

Be angry at the system, not the man wise enough to turn it to his favor. Anyone who is mad at Suarez for what he did in the World Cup is not a footballer. I watched that match in a mixed crowd and only the other footballer with me understood when I said that it was brilliant. He did the only thing possible to give his team a chance to win. The handball brought about a direct chance on goal and banished Suarez from games to come. Completely within the rules and payed the price for his actions. Label it unfair if you had like but Gyan sinks that pen like he should have everything would have fallen as it was supposed to.

The problems lie within the rules and I didn't have a problem with either tactic. I am no fan of the Special One but one has to respect his tactical nous and ability to get it done. You wont be hearing any complaints coming from Madrid, that's for sure.

To another weekend of crack of dawn... err pre-dawn kickoffs and drama, hopefully a better one this time around.

UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, first leg round-up

In the aftermath of the quarter-final first legs, I would ask one to remind me of a better sequence of matches in two days in the Champion's League, at any point, let alone first legs of a tie. Each tie still hangs in the balance, not a fixture done and dusted. The brand of football seen world-wide in the past three days(yes, I am including the Europa League) has been some of the best football I have seen in recent years. The level of play and some of the drama witnessed reminds all of us as to why we follow the beautiful game.
Many are calling the match between Arsenal and Barcelona one of the best of all time. The match had everything one could dream of: beautiful flowing football, lightning fast counter attacks, last-ditch tackles, great saves, beautiful goals, extremely consequential bookings, and to top it off late drama, injury, and a penalty kick. Sets us up for a bit of a let down in the second leg, no? The bar has been set so high anything but a footballing masterclass will be a disappointment, yet I am optimistic that it will not disappoint. My good friend Nacho will be around to break down that fixture in the next couple days, look forward to it.
The end all is that not a tie is dead and buried and there is still everything to play for. It would be easy to pick Barcelona, Inter, Lyon, and Manchester United to get the job done in the second leg, but I wouldn't put my money on these four advancing. There is much work to be done and I expect plenty of drama next week before it is all said and done.
As Mr. Cleo predicted, Rooney has inevitably picked up an ankle injury and looks set to miss a least four weeks, seriously hurting United's chances in the UCL, not to mention their Premier League title ambitions. Then we look at an equally as big if not more important injury to Cesc Fabregas in Arsenal's match against Barca. Both players' seasons are in jeopardy with only Rooney looking to possibly figure before the end of the season with both players thinking their World Cup prospects jeopardized as well.
Chelsea fans must be considering themselves a bit lucky to have been knocked out of the champions league in the round of sixteen, having seen both their title rivals losing their most influential and best players respectively. The title lies in their hands and they can make a statement this Saturday by beating a Rooney-less United. The season has taken another interesting twist and one can only look eagerly ahead to the coming week for more of the magic to unfold.
The 4:45 AM kickoff will come too early for those of us who don't plan on sacrificing our Friday nights, but wake I shall to see this top of the table clash, albeit bleary eyed and hazy to get to the pub and relish the atmosphere. The match will be aired live here in the States on ESPN 2.