Tag: #Football

  • ODDS and ENDS: Tottenham Confusion, Unruly Passengers, and I Am That Guy

    Man, what is up with Tottenham? I mean, they just got by Wolverhampton in their League Cup match on penalties, and in total, they haven’t won a match since August 29th. With the North London derby this Sunday, it would be a good opportunity for the Spurs to show up. Arsenal isn’t playing well either, as they are sitting at 13th on the table, so you’d think that Tottenham would have the advantage, but, I’m not confidant in this squad. After a great start of the season, Spurs seem to have just floundered. The attack is lacking, and giving up two 0-3 blowouts to Premier teams doesn’t say much about the defense either. I mean, I’ll watch the match on Sunday, but I don’t see myself in positive supporter mindset for it.

    I know I can’t prove this, but I think one of the contributing factors in all the unruly passengers on airlines is the fact that the seating is too damn small, and people are too damn close! Just look up “The Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat” and see how many stories you can find. When people are too close, they get angry. Remember personal space?

    I am wearing a sweatshirt today. Is it that cold? Sort of. Am I doing it because I want it to be Autumn? Yes. It was 56 degrees this morning, so the A/C is off, the windows are open, and I am pretending that the season has really changed. I am that guy. But at least I’m cozy.

  • Harry Kane Stays at Tottenham

    Have I mentioned that I know nothing about the Premier League?

    Let me reiterate; I know nothing about the Premier League.

    Except I think I can claim that I was right about Harry Kane and Tottenham Hotspur sticking together for this season.

    I am saying all of this because Harry Kane Tweeted today:

    I guess that settles that.

    Being that I don’t know or understand anything about the League, I don’t know what the correct interpretation of these events are. Did Kane blink? Did Man City lowball Kane’s value to Tottenham? Did Tottenham refuse to negotiate? Did Kane and Tottenham’s owners come to an agreement? Did Kane suck it up, and get back to being a player on the team? Who knows…

    What I do know is that this could be a fun season. Spurs have two wins in the Premier League, and are down a match in the playoff round of the Europa Conference League, but they did make some moves this summer to add players, and the big move was keeping Son. So, I’m looking forward to what Tottenham can do.

    Should be fun.

  • Premier League Begins on Friday

    If you know anything about me, it should be that I know nothing about how the Premier League works, and that lack of knowledge will not stop me from talking about it.

    The season kicks off tomorrow, and I won’t be watching. It’s nothing personal. Brentford will play Arsenal and I have nothing invested in either team, and I most likely will be with the kid at the park. I might watch highlights at night, but I doubt it.

    The match I will be waiting for is Tottenham against Manchester City. Only because the Harry Kane saga has yet to conclude. I have been wrong about everything that I thought I knew. I thought it was a ploy by Kane; wrong. He hasn’t shown up for training and says he won’t until he is released so he can sign with another team. (I might have that wrong.) Right now, odds are that team will be Manchester City. So, if in the next three days that happens, then we could have a very dramatic first match of the season.

    Or…

    As my track record has gone for this off season, I could be calling this all wrong. I’m probably calling this wrong.

    What I have learned about following a League where I have to pick it up all on my own, is that so much of sports has been taught to me. Either by my dad, my brothers, or by friends. It is like an oral tradition, being passed down from generation to generation, learning the in’s and out’s of the team, what the history is, and why the owners suck.

    I’m lacking all of this, so I have a wide learning curve. I just hope Tottenham make it back into the Champions League

    (I do know what that means.)

  • I Don’t Understand the Premier League

    So, I can admit that I was wrong. Or maybe I was living in denial. The Sun and everyone else is reporting that Harry Kane is going to Manchester City for 160 million pounds. I had thought it was a ploy by Kane to get the owners of Totenham to spend the money to build a team, as Kane still had one year left on his Spurs contract.

    Clearly, I was wrong.

    Now, here’s the thing that I don’t understand; with Kane going to Man City, what does Tottenham get in the deal? Is MC sending players, or cash or what? I am sure this has to do with me being new to the sport, but in the States, if a player is under contract, and another team wants them, then there is a buyout or a swap of players. From what I have read, it sounds like Man City is offering a lot of money and Tottenham’s owners are letting it happen.

    That can’t be right, right? I feel like I am missing something.

    The only good news in the world of Tottenham is that Son Heung-Min signed a four-year extension on his contract. Now I just need to find out if Lucas, Dele, and Bale are going to hang around as well. I know Lloris will be there, as he’s out there modeling the away kit on the team’s website.

    I am looking forward to the start of the season. That will be on August 15th, against, irony of irony, Manchester City.

  • England Lost

    It was just heartbreaking. There was a pit in my stomach when extra time started. I knew, just knew, that if England didn’t score in the extra period, that they would lose in penalty kicks. I don’t know a ton about international football, but what I do know is that England has a bad history when it comes to shoot outs.

    And that history continued.

    I don’t blame the game plan that Gareth Southgate had for his English team. It has been working since The World Cup in 2018, and in each following match, their defense got better and better. Think about it. In the Euro 2020/21 Tournament, England only gave up two goals. That’s pretty amazing. That was the plan, and it was working. England scored super early, and played its defense. Even after giving up a goal, The Three Lions were bending, but they didn’t break.

    But Penalty Kicks. It had to be Penalty Kicks.

    And England’s goalie, Jordan Pickford, did an amazing job, and kept them in it. But Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy’s goalie, had the better day.

    And that’s how matches go. You can have your best day, but if there other guy has a better one, there’s not much you can do.

    And I felt awful for Bukayo Saka, when he missed the final penalty kick, sealing England’s loss. He’s a kid; 19 and playing the biggest game of his life. I just felt awful for him. The only solace I found was how the whole English squad rallied around him after missing the kick. Saka was in tears, but all of his team mates were there consoling him. They even showed Southgate giving him a hug. And if there is one name in England who knows what that feels like, it’s Southgate. And if there is one man who can tell Saka that one play doesn’t define you, it’s also Southgate.

    Thus comes to an end for Euro 2020/21. I had a lot of fun watching the matches, learning about the players, and even enjoyed rooting for a team that came so close.

    All I can say is that I am looking forward to the Men’s World Cup in 2022, and Women’s World Cup in 2023.