1. Chelsea will come back to the pack as they face a month without Arjen Robben - clearly the catalyst on their offense. The defense looks strong, OK air-tight, but the anemic offense means that they may draw a couple more games this month either 0-0 or 1-1. If Arsenal and/or ManYoo can put together a run of wins - we'll have a race again.
2. Eddie Johnson will star in the US World Cup qualification and make it very hard for Dallas to keep him for the entire 2005 season. A top half of the table team in Spain or England or one of the big clubs in Germany or Holland will make MLS the proverbial offer it can't refuse. He, and not Freddie Adu, will be the first major US star on the world stage. He will ultimately be the target man off of whom Freddie's promised brilliance will be worked.
3. Steven Gerrard will regret moving to Chelsea if that indeed comes to pass. Real Madrid, who could use a central midfield complement/replacement for Zidane, make much more sense if he's going to move. And how about Becks heading to Liverpool in return - a right wing player of his offensive capabilities would really open things up opportunities for Morientes and give Liverpool Chelsea-like width if Kewell ever gets healthy.
4. Granted it was just one game but based on that game, Arsenal definitely need to keep Edu and find a way to get rid of Gilberto instead if they're bound and determined to subtract a salary from their central midfield equation. Edu has progressed consistently since his arrival and Gilberto has seemed to stagnate.
5. Time for England and the US to stage a series of friendlies (July 4th in non-World Cup/Euro Cup years, perhaps, with an alternative date when those competitions happen). Granted England has a lot more to lose than we do, but in a world where friendlies are often over-looked by the traditional football superpowers, this might generate some interest on both sides of the pond.
No comments:
Post a Comment