All Ball

A race to mediocrity.  A battle to decide the most disappointing team of the Premiership's season.  Although, Everton fans may have a gripe about that.  Somehow, both teams managed to equally disappoint.  If it was a 1-1 draw, fans would at least have a moment of exaltation.  However, yet again, Blues and Reds fans are left feeling empty. Both clubs felt as though they had an opportunity for success leading up to this match.  Liverpool are coming off a 3-0 drubbing from Brighton.  And with Chelsea coming off a 1-0 nailbiter over Crystal Palace, are hoping to continue their success.  Especially with the addition of Mykhailo Mudryk.  The Ukrainian winger from Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a ~€70 million transfer fee.  Chelsea's reloaded attack have a great opportunity to build momentum against a shaky Liverpool backline. Liverpool, meanwhile, see a Chelsea side with three losses in their last four games.  Being outscored by...

January 18th, 2023 Exactly one month after Argentina earned their 3rd star.  For the special occasion, I wanted to break down the most dominant half of sports I have ever witnessed.  I wanted to highlight the masterclass performance that Lionel put on display.  In awe of what I was blessed with experiencing.  I wanted to take the time to express my gratitude to the great Lionel.  But not Lionel Messi, the other Leo.  The coach of the Argentina men's national team, Lionel Scaloni. Before breaking down how the first half played out, let's analyze the French starting XI.  And what a starting XI it is: To be able to trot out this squad, after suffering injuries to multiple starters like Karim Benzema, Lucas Hernandez, and N'Golo Kanté.  A team that Pep Guardiola could only imagine buying.  Unheard of depth and talent.   There were three things I was looking forward to from the French.  The first being the fitness of CB Upamecano an...

Unbelievable timing.  In my blog from yesterday, A Modern Tragedy , I analyzed the offside rules determined by FIFA's International Football Association Board.  And of course, another brilliant game has been marred by an egregious interpretation of the intentionally ambiguous Law 11.   In today's much anticipated Manchester Derby, City went ahead 1-0 thanks to Mr. Calf Muscles himself.  Jack Grealish, aided by his voluptuous calf muscles, hopped in the air like an aptly named jack-rabbit to meet a perfect cross with his empty noggin to break the scoreless draw in the 60th minute.   78' Goal Manchester United 1-1.  Watch the video bellow: Casemiro plays a through ball to Rashford who is at least 1-2 yards offside, negating the "level" argument that was levied by me in the previous blog.  Rashford, continues to run with the ball under his feet, not touching it.  Nearing the box, and right before Bruno Fernandes ultimately makes a beautiful...

Above is an example of video assisted refereeing, VAR for short, from yesterday's Barcelona-Real Betis Spanish Supercopa semi-final.  After review, it was determined that the Barcelona attacker, Raphinha, was offside.  Disallowing the first goal of the game.  The first of two VAR decisions that would disallow a goal for Barcelona.  It is worth noting, Barcelona did win on penalties, setting up an El Classico in the Supercopa final.  This is not an outright grievance of VAR, but instead how VAR is used to determine an offside/onside position and the rules surrounding what is an offside/onside position. With the addition of VAR to the sport, players are now penalized for having, what amounts to be, exceptional reaction times.  According to the International Football Association Board's 2022/2023 governing rulebook, Law 11 states: "A player is in an offside position if: any part of the head, body or feet is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball...

The perfect  match to sum up Chelsea's campaign. Todd Boehly takes the reigns and immediately breaks out the cheque book for his first summer transfer window.  Attempting to reload the attack with signings like Sterling and Cucurella, an overlapping wingback providing width. João Félix comes on a six month loan in the Winter transfer window to lead the attack.  Reenergizing the attack, Chelsea finally get a multitude of shots on net in his first appearance.    The hope that a new season brings with it.  Tuchel, with added ammunition in attack, are stunned by a drubbing from  Leeds United States of America.  A stunning upset against Dinamo Zagreb in the opening match of the Champions League.  Suddenly, the hope in the heart of the London Blues was extinguished.  Too many unforgivable disappointments, ultimately leading Boehly to relive the German gaffer of his duties. An inspiring attacking display, with a surprising 7-2 shots on target ...

The Break is Over The sun rose today to cast its rays on Lionel Messi.  Messi returns to the pitch against Angers in Ligue 1 play for the first time since he reminded the world what greatness is.  For the special occasion, I wanted to explore a scenario that could cause a global shift in the sporting world.  What if Messi came to the United States to play in Major League Soccer?  Leading up to the 2024 Copa America * rumored * and 2026 World Cup when footballing world convenes in North America to play soccer. Personally, as a Messi disciple, I want the alien to stay in Europe.  Specifically, remaining at Paris Saint-Germain where he can allow Neymar and Mbappe to carry the brunt of the attacking workload.  A sportsman of Messi's caliber, has to compete in Champions League football for as long as possible.  The " Little Dictator ", who has conquered more of Europe than Napoleon himself.  Crossing the English Channel for a mid-week ransack of the Em...

After Chelsea's uninspiring performance mid-week against the titans of Manchester City, Potter got his chance at redemption Sunday morning in the Third Round of the FA Cup.  After the 1-0 defeat, and two more critical injuries, patrons were pondering if this is a sign of things to come for the rest of the English and European campaigns.  This morning that question was answered with a shocking display of football. In my first blog post, I was critical of both managers, as they both made mistakes.  Pep Guardiola did not become the most sought after and most accomplished manager in the world by remaining stagnant and stubborn in his own ways.  The great managers understand the necessity of adaptations, and honest self analysis.  In my previous 'Chelsea Blues' critique, I admonished Pep's incistance on utilizing Phil Foden as an isolated winger.   For today's match, the unseen level of squad depth (chequebook) was utilized and Pep wisley rotated the world ...

Chelsea are sitting at 10th place in the table with 25 points.  That is 10 points behind 4th place the Red Devils with 35 points and 10 points ahead of Everton who have 15 points after 18 matches played.  The Blues are as close to playing in the Champions League as they are to being relegated to the one championship they do not want to compete for.   An abysmal 20 goals after 17 league matches.  The team may be plagued by injuries, however I do not believe they are the reason for this campaign's woes.  In fact, I think they are highlighting the true issue at the heart of the club which is a lack of control and using spot signings to remain competitive instead of setting up the club for future success. In new owner's Todd Boehly's first transfer window, he showed he was willing to spend, but that's not new for Chelsea.  They attempted to remake the attack without reinforcing the engine of a football team, the midfield.  Moving off of disappointing ...