• The US continues to struggle against its CONCACAF competition thanks to the coach but somehow the players find a way to pull out the points.
• England is crazy with some early season play, especially with Burnley and Hull.  Manchester City is perfect along with Chelsea while Arsenal still struggles to find points.
• Eduardo’s 2 match ban is overturned.
• Liverpool is still not liked by me.
• Beckham in the news for where will he go in January.

 This season is starting out with some hot topics and there is just so much to talk about and so little time.

What are some of your highlights in the past month?

Spain

Barca looks like the team still to beat with their technical skill and pace of play. Real Madrid look poised to give them a run but when they meet on November 29th (assuming all are healthy) this will be a major run in!

England

Some early big matches with Manchester United loosing a shocker to Burnley, Liverpool being shaken by Tottenham and Chelsea just cruising… this will be a spectacular season. Everton look shaky but hopefully with the Lescott drama over they will settle in and get back to form. Rafa already in hot water with the FA (after only one match!).

Italy

AC Milan looks old and Inter are finding form after a Week 1 draw that shouldn’t have been. Juve is solid and will make a push but Inter will prove too much yet again. I am hoping Palermo makes a nice run.

US

Bradley has something to prove with his selection this week. If Davies and Altidore don’t start up top considering their early league form then he must be truly questioned. If Bradley doesn’t select something very close, if not exact, to the Confederations Cup success then we are really not in for any success in 2010. I can hear the continuing shouts for a replacement building. Sad part is, not enough people care yet to put pressure on him and US Soccer is happy with where we are. Ugh. If we were any other country, he would either be on the boiling hot seat or already replaced with his selections. NOTE: MLS players cannot compete at this level or pace. Stuart Holden posted on his Twitter account that Barca is so skilled and fast. Yet he sees more minutes that Torres who plays in the Mexican league in a faster, more technical and more proven league.

TV

Awesome coverage by ESPN (showing 3 leagues and getting solid games), Fox Soccer (still showing great matches and insight) and even Comcast (who showed a replay from the weekend but it is still televised). This proves we are going to have a great 2010 summer of World Cup coverage.

He gets subbed into the match in the 60^th minute and all he does is provide the assist for the match winning goal… on his second touch of the game (his first touch was to chest the ball, second was an overhead bike to send a through ball).

This size and speed and awesome, his skill is still a bit raw.  He missed a great goal scoring opportunity and could have had another assist but was selfish and didn’t play a ball square inside the box to an open Giovanni which could have put the match clear.

Granted, the kid showed up on Thursday after being quarantined from the US/Mexico match and had minimal time to train with his new mates but there are always simple things to do in matches that will get you going.

Jozy will settle in and will open his account soon.  Give him time to settle in against tough and physical defenders.  Give him time to hone his ball skill.  His is not shy about taking on defenders and that will cause all sorts of issues for the opposition.

Welcome Mr. Altidore to the big show!

Unfortunately, Steven did say something that wasn’t accurate about a tragic day for Liverpool fans.  This was the beginning of the end.

Why?

The Liverpool fans in this country went crazy.  They threatened to boycott the shows advertisers, which they have every right to do.  But even more astonishing was that they threatened bodily harm to Steven and his family!  As a result, World Soccer Daily is off the air.

Let me get this straight, it is acceptable for fans to threaten bodily harm to get their way?  In England, this is called “hooliganism”.

Do you want to know why so many people do not like Liverpool?  Not only is it their storied history, their players, their Gaffer but also their fans.  The same fans that burglarize the players homes when they have matches.  The same fans that have a history of violence.

These fans had every right to boycott the WSD advertisers.  They had every right to voice frustration, anger and any other emotion they felt.  They lost any support when they threatened personal injury to the Cohen family.

Because of this incident, I am performing my own boycott of Liverpool.  I will not watch any Liverpool match (unless it is against my own club that I support) and I will not spend any money to support this team in any way possible.

Please, won’t you join me?

What did Coach Bradley learn from the Confederations Cup?  Apparently absolutely nothing.

Where was the starting back line from the Confederations Cup that beat Spain and had Brazil sweating.  Well, 3 of the 4 were there but one but one big glaring omission was Spector.  His size, strength and knowledge were definitely missed yesterday.

Normal midfield I guess, it is what has become expectant from Bradley.

Up top, Ching and Davies.  No Altidore?  Davies and Altidore gave fits to the, at the time, #1 ranked team in the world.  But hey, Spain is no Mexico!

Then he substitutes two holding midfielders into the match late in the game, Holden and Feilhaber.  Great idea to leave Torres on the bench.  I mean, the kid only plays in the Mexican league, plays in Azteca and knows the opposition and their style but no… he isn’t going to play.  Then after Holden and Feilhaber come on, now we’ll put Altidore on the pitch.

Bradley has got to go.  He bought himself time in South Africa but clearly he has no idea how to compete in big games.

Yes players win and loose games but this coach is making things near impossible with his personnel tactics and alignment.  I wave the US flag proudly but cannot argue our place in the world’s most popular game, especially with this guy heading up the senior team.

Why do I like it?

First, it allows Jozy a better opportunity to play regular minutes.  He was searching for time with Villarreal and again when he was sent on loan (which was a poor decision).  The EPL will provide him with some great tools leading up to the World Cup and position him against some of the top defenders.

Second, he is able to learn how to be both a target forward as well as an attacking forward.  This would be an unbelievable skill to learn for him.  Jozy is not afraid to run at defenders however he needs to learn more of the target forward skills to allow a build up and better attacking style.

Third, he will be forced to learn how to use his body’s size, speed and strength more.  He is a “kid” but has a “man’s” body.  It does take some time to understand how to use it to your advantage against world class player’s week in and week out.

Fourth, he will be playing with an unbelievable playmaker in Giovanni who knows how to play and how to get teammates the ball in key positions.  The important part we need to learn is will Jozy be able to convert on his opportunities.

Fifth, and my last point, the English culture will be so easy to understand and assimilate into coming from the US that this will be one less distraction for him to contend with.  Easier for him to focus on play and less on fitting in and understanding a culture and language.

For all of these reasons, he will succeed.  He will be a target for defenders, he will have his opportunities and he will learn a fantastic style of play.

OK, now for why it isn’t a bad thing.

Mexico brought their top team into the Gold Cup and for 60 minutes couldn’t beat the US at all.  Yes, once they scored the flood gates opened like Moses parting the Red Sea.  I also hated the US comments after the game (but that is for another blog).

Mexico probably comes out of this feeling good… and they shouldn’t.  They spanked the US team for about 30 minutes after struggling for 60.  Dos Santos had an unbelievable game but he hasn’t played like that for Tottenham EVER!

The US will enter Azteca with a chip on their shoulder in already hostile territory and Mexico will feel good about beating a team where zero of the members of that roster will be on the pitch.

Mexico can have this moment, the US will savor Azteca!

Enter Grant Wahl.

This guy writes what could have been a more interesting book on the business side behind Beckham but instead wants to get anyone who would have a negative comment or an anti-Beckham word was free to be included. Maybe it was a great way to make a quick buck.

I guess Beckham is an easy target, arguably the biggest soccer brand in the world still being relevant with large clubs. For his time with the MLS, it has been admittedly mixed but that is OK. Becks has brought recognition to a league still in its infancy. Other players have come over to join him and others are still discussing the possibility.

For Beckham to want to go back to Europe to stay relevant for consideration in the 2010 World Cup is not a bad thing. It is simply looking out for his interest and is saying that the MLS cannot give him the same competition as the Serie-A… that isn’t a bad thing.

The MLS is growing and as better players come into the league it will improve but it does take time. Soccer is awesome in America for the under 13 age group. After that, many players take on other sport interests which is too common in the American day and age. It will improve but those looking for a quick fix or for Becks to arrive on American soil and the entire soccer climate will change were poorly disillusioned.

These are all popular journalist topics and all opinions are fine but I disagree with most. Maybe I am the minority but I can’t see how one person can ruin a league. Without Beckham, the MLS would be in much worse condition.

Beckham has made positive progress in soccer today, but we still have a long way to go.

The US began the match strong going up 1-0 early behind a great goal from Dempsey off of another cross from Spector (these two really are getting a great feel for each other on these in-swingers).  Then, I was floored to see Donovan score from open play and not the penalty spot, AWESOME and so needed.

Then the half time whistle came and Bob Bradley got in the way… again.

Yes, we had a 2 goal cushion that evaporated within 45 seconds of the 2^nd half.  Yes, we were under constant pressure.  To me, it appeared that Bradley told the team to create a shell, hold the pressure and look to counter.  This was much different from the 1^st half where we could possess the ball and put pressure on Brazil’s back line that showed to be shaky at best.

Yes, Altidore didn’t have his best game but he was a force to be reckoned with and took up defenders at every turn.  Davies speed was awesome but these two were pretty much abandoned early and often in the 2^nd frame.

Then, at 2-2, Bradley takes off two offensive minded players and puts on the defensive minded Bornstein and another MLS kid in Kljestan.  At this move, I thought we were in huge trouble because where will the offence come from and why go into a shell hoping to get to extra time?

I want to see the same play in the 1^st half that got you that lead.  This is the US’s first FIFA championship final match and you want to play for extra time against a top 2 team in the world who are coming at you in waves?  Yes, take off players who can move the ball and put on players to stand behind the ball.

Where was Torres in the tournament?  How is Kljestan better than Torres?  Why does everyone other than Bradley see that Torres is a benefit over Kljestan?  To have midfield options of Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, Feilhaber, Torres is awesome.  Then you add in Bradley’s favorites of Kljestan and Clark and there goes the hope.

Coaching was a major let down in this tournament and I fear for what it will also do in the 2010 World Cup, we have less than 12 months to get it right and Bradley MUST get it right and not have a let down like 2006.

The US saw players stepped up in a crucial match which was awesome to see.  What was also impressive is that Ricardo Clark was memorable and had a strong impact in the game for a change.  I am not getting my hopes up, I am not sure if this was an anomaly or something for him to feed off of going forward.

Our back 4 of DeMerit, Gooch, Bocanegra and Spector was awesome and should be locked in (barring injury) for the World Cup.

Jozy was as strong as an ox and gave the Spanish defense something to fear all night.  He and Davies up top are just two menaces that we haven’t seen in the US maybe ever with that combination of speed and strength.

A match like this gives you that extra national pride!