I don't see why Columbus can't get teams as big as the ones KC gets. They're getting Stoke this year but have had Man U in before. Not that I'm a masochist who wants to see this Crew team humiliated. The Crew are undefeated vs Bundesliga teams while the EPL teams now come to play rather than vacation. When was the last time we beat an EPL team? Fulham?
I'd rather have Schalke than Stoke, because, Stoke are horrible to watch, and I get enough of that here every week anyway, and Schalke would be a welcome change from the endless procession of mid-table Premier League clubs. And I don't even follow the Bundesliga.
We really should have taken advantage of Guille being here, and scheduled a friendly versus Boca Juniors...
I think the buzz factor argumment is incredibly subjective. Just because football pundits in England stereotype Stoke as boring longball merchants doesn't mean American audiences will think the same or that they will play the same way against MLS teams. As a matter of fact, MLS games where people talk about 'attacking excitement' are often games in which neither team can effectively possess the ball, so it's pretty kick and rush. But people like it because there are lots of scoring opportunities. It's very end-to-end. How is this radically different from the way Stoke plays, with the difference that they are probably better at possessing the ball than most MLS teams?
I for one, don't like it. I can't stand the way Stoke plays. A bunch of kick and chase and nasty tackles. One of the most boring teams in the EPL. Must be the team Robert and the FO just love. I hope no one gets hurt playing them, and I certainly won't be going.
ok, so after a little digging this is what I came up with Team Tour Arsenal Asia Aston Villa USA Chelsea USA Everton Unknown Fulham Unknown Liverpool Canada Man City Asia Man Utd Norway Newcastle Unknown Norwich Unknown QPR Unknown Reading Unknown Southampton Unknown Stoke USA Sunderland Asia Swansea USA Tottenham USA West Brom Sweden Wigan Unknown So having seen that of the following pool of EPL teams Aston Villa, Chelsea, Stoke, Swansea, Tottenham, I will include Liverpool. Out of that list I would have liked to have seen spurs.
Most of the top clubs put out 75-90% reserve/B squads anyway, so its not like we're getting a true Premier League product in these matches.
No. I'm not really a Schalke fan and I've seen them play before anyway. And I still have family in Philly and am from there originally. But it's a friendly.
brilliant... were you at stoke v swansea?? nope. i was. we battered them, won 2 nil. and at 2 nil down swansea were still passing it around their box and not going anywhere. wigan is who you want for good football. http://www.caughtoffside.com/2012/02/27/stoke-city-2-0-swansea-city-premier-league-highlights-video/
we had europe which greatly affected our league position. we had an away PL game two days after each european game (in Israel, turkey, Ukraine etc ). hopefully next season we will finish at least top 10. swansea in my opinion and many others' opinion may go down next year.
Looks like Crouch didn't make the England squad, like I thought he would. Good news, Crew fans, Mrs. Crouch might be make an appearance this summer! *"madness", I say, included Carroll instead of Crouch.
well said. carrol has had two good games this season. you only have to look at the stats. crouch: season goals 11/12: 14 england appearances: 42 england goals: 24 carroll: season goals 11/12: 5 england appearances: 4 england goals: 1
I think the Crouch/Carroll thing is largely irrelevant. Younger players should be given precedence. And I also think Hodgson should get a free pass on this tournament. Just look at England's talent pool. There is zero chance they make the semifinals (and very little chance of the quarterfinals), regardless of who gets picked. If Hodgson is being brought in to revamp the whole system, he should not be fired based on his performance at the Euros, with an ageing squad full of underperforming primadonas who are used to getting their way.
Yeah - why pick an experienced and in-form player with a proven international goal scoring record when you could pick an immature nut job who's best form was 18 months ago? I mean, it's only the European Championships - and, anyway, Roy's gonna be in charge for many other, more important tournaments. <--- is that thing sarcastic? Because, that's about as snarky as I can get.
I'll see you, and raise you.... Yeah, because Crouchy is sure to lead England to (chuckle) glory, what with their impressively talented squad. Picking the right striker is sure to be the critical piece that completes the juggernaut that is the Three Lions. I'm sure the the French will cry "ooh La La!" and capitulate the moment Crouch's lanky presence on the pitch is remarked. Remember, he's scored against such footballing giants as Andorra. T&T, Estonia, and had a hat trick against Jamaica! And anyway, it makes perfect sense to bring in a new England manager with the brief that he implement a root and branch reform of the national football setup over the long term - and then get cold feet and fire him based on the results of one tournament he has just weeks to prepare for, with an elderly, over-entitled, fractious squad he has no prior experience working with. It all makes perfect sense!
actually there is a write up on crouch, comparing stats with other england strikers. it shows the average level of opposition each player has scored against and crouch comes about middle. its a good article. i will try and find it for you but it was a couple of months ago. EDIT- here it is:http://ongoalsscored.wordpress.com/2011/08/07/the-peter-crouch-myth/
Good stuff! Really, England appear to be pretty screwed either way. I just don't think that Carroll has done anything to earn a spot on the squad and that Crouch is simply better than him. Should be interested to see what happens in June!
It is weird that Crouch, for all the positives that fans see in him, does seem to be under utilized both by international, and domestic clubs. No club seems to be able to say no when another club comes knocking. Not sure why that would be.