Brighton’s Lewis Dunk found out the hard way in Sunday. The moral of the story is: Don’t try and perform circus tricks in your own penalty area. Keep things simple, stick to what you’re good at, and do the job at hand. There were some good questions this week, so let’s get to them.
Is the CSL schedule finalized?
— Rob Fulton, Zhenzghou, China
Hello, Rob. The CSL (Chinese Super League) schedule has not been finalized. It’s scheduled to start on March 10, but the league and national soccer federation are in a state of disarray at the moment.
A wide-ranging probe into corruption has uncovered evidence that players, coaches and even referees have fixed games for years. Authorities claim to be serious about cleaning up the Chinese game, and part of the 2012 season will likely be affected because of it.
When the league finally kicks off, it will face an uphill battle for the attention of fans and top sponsors. Nicolas Anelka is the highest-profile import the CSL has seen, and his team, Shanghai Shenhua, should attract a fair amount of attention. However the corruption probe plays out, Chinese soccer leaders want their game to be the envy of Asia within a decade. Whether that happens remains to be seen. Thanks for reading and sending this question from all the way in the Far East, Rob.
With all the talk in England that Harry Redknapp will be the next manager for England, who takes over for Spurs? If he takes the job would he leave right away or finish the season?
— John Pappanikou, Waterbury, Conn.
Hi John. It’s a pretty safe bet that Harry Redknapp will become the new England manager at some point. But nobody is certain when he will take over what’s called “the second most important job in the country”.
I think Redknapp will see out the season at Tottenham, with the understanding that he will leave at the end of the campaign. Spurs are dark horse contenders for the Premier League title, and Redknapp and his players will look to send him off on a high note.
As for his successor at Tottenham, it’s a tough to tell. The North London club is an attractive destination for many bosses, but few will be able to take the current group farther than Redknapp has. I’ve heard that chairman Daniel Levy is close with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, and the “Special One” wants to return to England … one day.
If Real wins La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, I might call Mourinho a legitimate candidate. But that’s highly doubtful. In short, I don’t know who will take on that job, but I’ll go ahead and nominate Scott Parker for the post. Thank you for the question and local support, John.
Just your basic chicken/egg question. Will the popularity of the FIFA video games translate to more interest in soccer in the U.S.? Or is the popularity of FIFA a sign of growing interest in soccer?
This is a great question and, unfortunately, it doesn’t have a name attached to it. I like to think that video game soccer has helped fans of American sports gain an appreciation for the real thing. It teaches many of the basics, as well as introducing notable players and clubs to a new audience.
When the video games grow in popularity, it becomes another statistic that can be used as evidence of the growing popularity of soccer in America. On its own, FIFA soccer’s popularity may not be a sign of increased awareness. But coupled with increased attendance at domestic games, and larger television audiences, it’s a clear signal that we live in a soccer nation. Thanks for this fantastic question and I’m sorry I can’t give credit where it’s due.
As we gear up for the MLS season, let me ask you yet another pain-in-the-butt question: How good are MLS teams? Exhibition matches have shown time and time again that MLS teams just aren’t up to Premier League standards (as if we had any doubt), but how might they fare in the Championship? Or the Eredivisie or Ligue 1 for that matter? Could we even say that the Galaxy could escape relegation in the EPL?
–Kristaps, Washington, D.C.
Hello again, Kristaps. This is one of those questions that is impossible to answer since the Galaxy — or any other MLS team — will only play (week in and week out) in MLS. We can only truly answer how good MLS teams are relative to other MLS teams in the past, present and future.
But these excerices are always fun, so let’s take a stab at your question. We should start with two basic points. First, MLS is credited as a league whose standard of play has been rising steadily for over 15 years. But it is well short of top leagues in Europe and South America that consist of clubs with a century of history, infrastructure and development behind them. Second, this L.A. Galaxy team (from 2009-present) is one of the best teams in American soccer history.
Summer exhibitions are misleading because European teams play MLS teams during during the early part of their preseasons. They come to the U.S. well short of full fitness and are often experimenting with new players and systems. For them, the trips are as much about brand building and team bonding as they are for any other reason.
Their MLS opponents are in the middle of their own seasons, and the summer months are particularly taxing on their thin squads (players on international duty and Cup competitions are in full swing). Many games see MLS teams play their regulars in the first half and use reserves (and even youth academy players) in the second. Starters on MLS teams use these games to gauge themselves against the best, but the result may be less important than the performance.
The conventional wisdom says that top MLS teams would fit somewhere at or near the the bottom of the Premier League or in and around the top half of the Championship. I don’t have a major problem with that assessment, other than it being purely hypothetical.
I read a quote recently — and can’t remember who said it, but it was someone I’d consider an authority — that said this L.A. Galaxy team would undoubtedly be a mid-level Premier League team if it played in England. I’d put top MLS teams firmly in the top half leagues across Europe (excluding Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga or the Premier League).
Thanks for all the questions, Kristaps.
That’s all for this week. As always, thanks for the questions and keep them coming.
Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
