Fourth of July.
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Merry Independence Day.
Category: Team News
adios amigos…
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Volzy, Barnes and Dacourt are amongst several players being released today.
John, Gray and Laribi (?) are also being let go.
No real surprises for any of them as Dacourt was the only player to even see the field last season.
Its still sad to see Volzy go. Hopefully he doesn’t hang up his boots. But if he does, there should be a spot on a tv show waiting for him. Especially since Friday Football Show got nixed. We’ll miss ya bud — and thats an understatement.
Alright back from work. Where was I?
CJ seems to be another example of “too much, too soon”. He had a great season when first arriving, got called into the nation team, lost his scoring boots, then ended up in the wilderness. He recently signed with KSV Roeselare in Belgium.
Gray? Sadly never got to even see him play. I wrote a post several months ago questioning why he and Barnes were brought into the fray. And I still don’t any remote answer.
Enough of this sadness. When’s the next signing?
Glad to hear we’re doing things like this. I really do cherish this club.
And there should be a new website soon. Hopefully they don’t gut the existing site because I really do enjoy it — in fact, it was one of several reasons that turned me onto the club!
Our boy Clint Dempsey…
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Well, looks like Harkes and I should probably shut our mouths after all.
I was just concerned while he was downright upset that Clint’s performance for the Yanks was a little lacking. Yet according to FIFA’s Castrol Index, he’s the second best midfielder behind Kaka.
For an explanation, here’s a cool video. But long story short, its another mathematical formula to rate players.
How suspect is it system? Well there are three South Africans in the top 10, and just 2 Brazilians and Spainairds.Conversely, there are no Italians in the top 10 and just one Iraqi — the goalie. Which could mean that their tactics are more team and system oriented than player.
But still, it seems Clint isn’t as off as we thought. Or do numbers hide what we can see with our eyes?
Category: Clinton DempseyEuropa League begins, sorta…
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The first and second round draw for the inaugural Europa League was held today, and although it has little effect to who we will actually play, it may help decide who we may play.
Here’s a link to the first round, and the second round.
So for the 50 teams in the first Qualifying Round: the cup winners from Andorra and San Marino, 16 second-placed teams are from countries ranked 35-51, 29 third-placed teams are from countries ranked 22-51 and 3 teams who won the the Fair Play competition.
The Second Qualifying Round has 80 (!!!) teams: the 25 winners from the first qualifying round, 24 cup winners from countries ranked 28-51, 16 second-placed teams from countries ranked 19-34, 6 third-placed teams from countries ranked 16-21, 6 fourth-placed teams from countries ranked 10-15, and 3 fifth-placed teams from countries ranked 7-9.
Also, Bert Kassies has a sublime compiling of each club’s coefficient.
For these purposes, a coefficient under UEFA determines how many spots a country gets in an international competition. Although I’m normally opposed to ranking and mathematic formulas to determine things (read: the BCS), I find this methodology to be quite intriguing.
Yet despite playing in the #1 league, according to UEFA, Fulham only managed a 15.889, just below Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Once I get around to it, I am going to compile a complete listing of all 133 clubs participating in the qualifying rounds and rank their co-efficient. Until then, here’s a photo of how we stack up in the Third Qualifying Round:
Note: unseeded teams are teams that would have advanced from the second round. Thanks again to Bert for doing some serious grunt work.
So what do you all think? Fair rankings? Are we really worse than Austria Wein? Or better than Anorthosis Famagusta?
Category: Team Newsclosing the book
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Five months and 907 pages later, I finally finished David Goldblatt’s opus “The Ball is Round”.
And the one thing I’ve come to realize about the beautiful game is just how tarnished it is.
Almost every section contains an example of corruption, violence, intrigue, and death. Although a social and political history of the game, it often reads more like a polemic. Not because Goldblatt has an agenda, but because the instances are inescapable.
And it seems like most footy fans know this and accept it. After all, it best reflects reality, doesn’t it?
Conversely,iIts funny how American sports have moments of corruption (NBA and its referees), violence (NFL players killing people and dogs, involved in drug trafficking) and intrigue (MLB’s stance on steroids), but its never accepted as systemic like it is with soccer.
When Jose Conseco wrote ‘Juiced’, it was mostly dismissed by the media and MLB because it was written by Jose Conseco. But most of what he wrote, although I haven’t fully read it, is practically true. Several sports writers and bloggers are coming around to the suspect officiating in the NBA, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. And for all the (incorrect) bad publicity the NBA gets for its players being ‘thugs’, those questions should be directed to the NFLPA.
It seems American sports haven’t even reached the stage where the problems are acknowledged and not fodder for contrarians.
In some elements footy has accepted this issues, but hasn’t done a thing to change it; stadium infrastructure being a prime example.
And the more I read the I kept asking why I keep following the game that is so obviously suspect. Maybe not Fulham, but the entire system that surrounds them.
Perhaps some answer will come on Monday when the first and second round draw Europa Cup occurs and Fulham get an idea who they could be playing next month.
Or tomorrow if the USA upsets Egypt.
Category: Off TopicSolving Clint
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As I’ve been watching the USMNT embarrass itself over the past few weeks, I’ve realized something:
This isn’t the Fulham Clint Dempsey we’re seeing in the Red, White, and Swoosh.
The Fulham Clint doesn’t do silly tricks, dribbles, passes etc for the sake of doing silly tricks, dribbles, passes etc — especially ones that lead to fast breaks and goals.
The Fulham Clint also appears to hustle, enjoy his teammates, and argue with opposing players. And break JT’s jaw and ruin Micah Richard’s career.
Since the (crap)fiesta in the ‘Rica up to today’s demolition by Brazil, Clint seems more than exhausted. His body language is reminding me of Craig Bellamy in a Wales Shirt, or Juan Román Riquelme in an Argentina kit. Its the inexplicable “I’m beyond this” gait and aura.
Statistically Clint is better with the Yanks (13 goals in 50 caps versus 14 goals in 81 appearances) than with Fulham. But there still seems to be a difference in favor of the Fulham version.
Maybe with the Nats he is releasing his inner self, a self that is presumably quelled under the schoolmaster Roy. Or maybe he just has respect for and of his peers with the Whites and not the Nats.
I really don’t know. But if I was granted media access , I’d like to follow him around and figure it out.
I like him, but I don’t like this disparity.
Category: Clinton Dempseymisc.
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Any have an idea when players out of contract will be released? Or when we may sign someone?
Also, Grizzly Bear is an amazing band that makes quite odd videos. Their newest ups that ante.
The (final) loaner report
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…of sorts as all but Wayne Brown are/should be? back at SW6.
Seol appears to be deliberating his next move, as his time in Saudi Arabia saw him appear 26 times and score once.
Still no news on Leon Andreasen, but he made 11 appearances for Hannover 96, scoring twice in his half season there.
Lastly the Guardian has some interesting figures about debts and football clubs. Here’s their breakdown:
Accounts for the year to 30 June 2008
Ownership: Mafco Holdings Limited, a Bermuda (tax haven) company, which is owned by Mohamed Al Fayed and his family
Turnover: £53.7m (up from £39.7m last year, a 35.2% increase)
Gate and match-day: £9.6m
TV and broadcasting: £34m
Commercial activities: £4.9m
Sponsorship: £3.6m
Other operating income: £1.6mWage bill: £39.3m (up from £35.2m the previous year, an 11.6% increase)
Wages as proportion of turnover: 73%
Profit before tax: £3.2m
Debts: £197m, included £174m owed to Al Fayed
Interest payable: £1.8m
Highest paid director: Unnamed: £228,083
State they’re in: Mohamed Al Fayed continued his extravagant funding of Fulham, increasing the loans from his companies to £174m, the second highest subsidy of any club by an owner behind Chelsea’s Roman Abramovich. The loans are all interest free and during the year £9.5m was written off completely. Al Fayed, resident in Monaco, has had the reward this season of Fulham’s highest ever finish, and he vehemently insists he has no intention of selling.
May 2009 Podcast
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A few days late –libsyn changed some things up — but here it is!
Category: Team News
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