The Game « Nutmeg Radio

The Game

Team Talk

Italy’s Premier Should Stop Meddling with Milan

by The Chairman

Silvio Berlusconi

Conflicts of interest and abuses of power are well-documented hallmarks of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s reign. Berlusconi has a stranglehold on Italian media outlets (many of which, he owns) and isn’t shy about manipulating legislation to avoid being tried in court. One has to wonder what role his magical touch has played in the current state of affairs at his club, AC Milan. The Rossoneri, once feared as arguably the best football side in the world, are nothing more than a shadow of their former selves. (more…)

Team Talk | The Game
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The Game

Random Weekly Football Review: Around The World in 90 Minutes

by The Chairman

Protest: Kim Jong-Il Style

In a strange case of life imitating art, or in this case football imitating politics, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea women’s football team pulled a move on the football pitch that only Kim Jong-Il would have been proud of. During an international friendly in Australia against the Matildas, the Australian women’s national team, the North Korean women walked off the pitch in protest over a controversial decision by the referee to award a penalty kick to their opponents. Television replays reportedly showed the call to be incorrect. In a display of defiance, the North Koreans were instructed by their coaching staff to walk. Can you believe that all this posturing was for a meaningless game? Nevertheless, after several minutes, sanity prevailed and play resumed. Australia won 3-2. (more…)

The Game | Weekly Review
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Player Talk

Paternalism Gone Mad: The Ian Wright Story

by The Chairman

Mr. Wright

Ian Wright may have been a legend on the pitch, but he lacks the same fine touch off of it. Wrighty is at it again, giving misguided career advice to his son Shaun Wright-Phillips. It was Wright who steered his son towards a massive payday at Chelsea, even though Wright-Phillips consistently found himself firmly planted on the bench. The Chelsea move was so detrimental to Wright-Phillips’ development that he went from being in contention for the England squad to ultimately being nowhere close to the plane that left for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

You would think father and son would have learned their lesson, but no. (more…)

Player Talk | The Game
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Coaching

Nigeria Might As Well Hire Me Next: Systemic Problems in African Hiring

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Nigeria has appointed Swede Lars Lagerback as their new national team coach on a five-month contract. I’m still trying to figure out why. I wrote an earlier piece about African nations’ perpetual need to hire foreigners to lead African teams. With the firing of Nigerian Shaibu Amodu, there’s only one remaining African coach poised to lead a side at Africa’s first World Cup, Algeria’s Rabah Saadane.

This isn’t about xenophobia. It is about understanding why African FAs always end up paying so much money to foreigners who, more often than not, end up turning in the same results as local coaches.

Over the past few decades, the Nigerian coaching job has been just about as stable as the Nigerian Presidency. (more…)

Coaching | The Game
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Matches

Random Musings About The EPL (Feb. 27-28)

by The Chairman

With so much drama in the Premiership, I couldn’t resist pontificating on this weekend’s games. So here we go … (more…)

Matches | The Game
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Player & League Development

Major League Soccer Needs Jay-Z

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Major League Soccer (MLS) wants to be popular. Looking at the professional sports landscape in the United States, the market is arguably already saturated. Instead of just competing through measured, strategic growth, MLS may need to think outside of the box to make its mark.

In the history of MLS, steps have already been taken to think outside the box. Remember the thirty-five yard penalty shootout? Yeah, I’m trying to forget it too. But at least it showed a genuine interest in devising ways to make the game more user friendly to a new market. I’m of the opinion that the game on the field needs to be left alone. It seems the league now gets that too. But there is much to be done off the field to change how soccer is perceived by the general public. The game needs to be cooler and needs to lose its suburban feel.

So where should MLS start? Start by hanging out with some reputable celebrities who have actually already expressed an interest in the game. Enter Brooklyn’s Finest, former street pharmacist and current businessman, Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z. (more…)

Player & League Development | The Game
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The Game

Is Landon Donovan Trying To Bend It Like Beckham?

by The Chairman

Landon Donovan

Since arriving at Goodison Park, Landon Donovan has been an enormous hit with the Toffee faithful. He was recently named Everton’s February Player of the Month. His run of form has coincided nicely with Everton’s resurgence in the league and it appears that he can do no wrong. During his tour de force, the club has gone 5-1-1 in the league, with victories against Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United. He’s even done Team USA a favor by jacking up Ashley Cole for the next couple of months, much to the delight of women everywhere.

All this has many in England and in the U.S. wondering if Landon will (more…)

The Game | Transfers
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Player & League Development

MLS Labor Negotiations: What We Learned (or Didn’t) From The Countdown to 5PM

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

After the dramatic “Countdown to 5pm” yesterday, here’s a list of what we know:

Not much.

However, looking at the statements released from both sides yesterday, a few things stand out. I’ve translated both statements below. First up, the Major League Soccer Players Union (MLSPU): (more…)

Player & League Development | The Game
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Player & League Development

MLS Free Agency: Why Won’t MLS Budge? It Comes Down to Single Entity Treatment

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Most of us who follow MLS are paying attention to the labor negotiations between the league and the MLS Players Union. One thing is certain, no one wants to see a strike. We all want to see matches, and we are all aware that a strike right before the World Cup will be bad for the league, bad for the owners, bad for the fans, and bad for the players (particularly those who want to be on the plane to South Africa).

Free agency is one of the issues on the table. The players seemingly want it. But the league says in no uncertain terms that they don’t. As it stands, out of contract players can be held in limbo if they can’t agree on a new deal because their teams still hold their rights. Free agency would allow these out of contract players who are unwanted or unused by their teams to find a new home if there is a demand for their services. (more…)

Player & League Development | The Game
20 Comments So Far

Officiating

No MLS Referees At World Cup: Steps to Improve Standard Raise Eyebrows

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

FIFA recently released the final list of referees for the 2010 World Cup. The referees from North and Central America are from EL Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala. That’s right. No referees from the the United States. Sad, but not too surprising considering Major League Soccer (MLS) referees don’t have the best reputation, even within MLS.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is understandably disappointed, but has stated that it will just keep plugging away to improve the standard of refereeing in MLS. A recent Soccerlens article details several steps that the Federation is taking to improve refereeing standards. Some of the steps are clearly a move in the right direction. But others might answer your questions about why certain players seem to be penalized more than others and may aggravate fans who already think that the fix is in. (more…)

Officiating | The Game
7 Comments So Far

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Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.: I thought, “Where would I wear this?” So I guess reggae concert might work...
Roman's Empire: Unemployment. Someone might get fired.
Paul: Reggae and clowns.
Dutch: It’s similar to the entire development industry.
Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.: Conspiracy theory, huh. I’m on board, Kimbel. I love me some conspiracy...

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The Game

Team Talk

by The Chairman

The Game

by The Chairman

Protest: Kim Jong-Il Style

Player Talk

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Coaching

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Matches

by The Chairman

Player & League Development

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

The Game

by The Chairman

Player & League Development

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Player & League Development

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

Officiating

by Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq.

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