On this episode of Canadian Terrace Talk Duane Rollins of the 24th Minute makes a quick cameo as we discuss Canada's upcoming friendlies and we rehash the weekend in the Premier League.
Enjoy,
Canadian Terrace Talk Episode 17
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
What can Canada expect from Poland on the 18th?
Once the friendly with Poland was announced I enlisted my friend Michal (who helped with the Polish League Preview) to write his thoughts on the Polish side for the upcoming friendly. Thanks Michal! (The full squad list for Poland is at the bottom of the post)
The upcoming match against Canada will be the second game on the national team level for the new Poland’s coach Franciszek Smuda. His team will play the first match a few days earlier, against Romania. Smuda has been known as a great motivator and his teams have always played attractive, offensive football regardless of who they were facing. He has had some successes coaching the best Polish club teams (Widzew Lodz, Legia Warsaw, Wisla Cracow and just recently Lech Poznan), especially doing well with them in the European cups. Last season he led Lech in the UEFA Cup to advance from the group stage and in the end to lose to Udinese by conceding a late goal in the second leg game. In the group phase Lech with Smuda played against Deportivo La Coruna (1:1). Julian de Guzman played in that match, so now he’ll be back in Poland and again facing Smuda’s team. To make things interesting, another Canadian player, Michael Klukowski, who was born in Poland, also played against Lech in the Europa Cup, early this season.
What are the strengths of the Polish team?
In theory, it is the offense. Poland has some talented offensive midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan), Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nikozja), Ludovic Obraniak (Lille OSC) and Roger Guerreiro (AEK Ateny). Obraniak has made an appearance for the France U-21 national team a few years ago, however due to having Polish roots through his grandfather and his desire to reconnect with his heritage, he was officially called up for the Poland’s senior team by Leo Beenhakker for the friendly against Greece this year in… Bydgoszcz, where he scored the only two goals in the match.
Up Front
Three forwards are in the squad for the friendlies: Poland U-21 starlet Patryk Malecki (Wisla Cracow), Lech Poznan’s best player Robert Lewandowski and speedy Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre).
Who’s missing?
In the goal we will see either the third Manchester United’s goalie, Tomasz Kuszczak, or the fourth Arsenal’s goalkeeper, 19-year old Wojciech Szczesny. Artur Boruc wasn’t called up, but Smuda says that he will get a chance in the future games. Another controversial decision made by the Polish coach was to not call the Poland’s captain Mariusz Lewandowski from Shakhtar Donetsk who simply didn’t earn Smuda’s trust. Two other first squad players that initially got called up for the coming games are injured. These are the last season Polish Ekstraklasa top scorer Pawel Brozek from Wisla Cracow and a defensive midfielder Rafal Murawski from Rubin Kazan. Right back Marcin Wasilewski has been recovering from his (Eduardo da Silva style) broken leg injury and missed a few recent Poland’s games. Ebi Smolarek is currently without a club and this is the reason (for Smuda) he will not play for Poland in the coming games.
What can we expect to happen in Bydgoszcz on November 18?
Poland will try to play offensively and I see Canada’s chances in counterattacks. Polish defence hasn’t performed well recently and mostly this formation was blamed for conceding key goals in the World Cup qualifiers. As Poland didn’t make it to the tournament in South Africa, their next competitive game will be played during Euro 2012, which Poland is hosting along with Ukraine. This means two and a half years of experimenting with the squad, tactics and playing friendly matches only. If Smuda decides to play experienced players against Romania and put younger players against Canada, we could see a more open game in Bydgoszcz and more chances for goals for Canada. If Tomasz Radzinski plays in that game, he’ll probably be very willing to score a goal, as the venue will feel like home for him. He was born in Inowroclaw which is located just about 40 km southeast of Bydgoszcz…
Poland Squad
Goalkeepers:
Tomasz Kuszczak, 27 years old (currently at Manchester United)
Wojciech Szczesny, 19 (Arsenal London)
Defenders:
Marcin Kowalczyk, 24 (Dynamo Moscow)
Jakub Rzezniczak, 23 (Legia Warsaw)
Michal Zewlakow, 33 (Olympiacos Piraeus)
Maciej Sadlok, 20 (Ruch Chorzow)
Adam Kokoszka, 23 (Empoli FC)
Piotr Brozek, 26 (Wisla Cracow)
Seweryn Gancarczyk, 27 (Lech Poznan)
Kamil Glik, 21 (Piast Gliwice)
Midfielders:
Jakub Blaszczykowski, 23 (Borussia Dortmund)
Slawomir Peszko, 24 (Lech Poznan)
Dariusz Dudka, 25 (AJ Auxerre)
Radoslaw Majewski, 22 (Nottingham Forest)
Janusz Gancarczyk, 25 (Slask Wroclaw)
Kamil Kosowski, 32 (APOEL Nicosia)
Ludovic Obraniak, 25 (Lille OSC)
Roger Guerreiro, 27 (AEK Athens)
Maciej Rybus, 20 (Legia Warsaw)
Forwards:
Robert Lewandowski, 21 (Lech Poznan)
Ireneusz Jelen, 28 (AJ Auxerre)
Patryk Malecki, 21 (Wisla Cracow)
The upcoming match against Canada will be the second game on the national team level for the new Poland’s coach Franciszek Smuda. His team will play the first match a few days earlier, against Romania. Smuda has been known as a great motivator and his teams have always played attractive, offensive football regardless of who they were facing. He has had some successes coaching the best Polish club teams (Widzew Lodz, Legia Warsaw, Wisla Cracow and just recently Lech Poznan), especially doing well with them in the European cups. Last season he led Lech in the UEFA Cup to advance from the group stage and in the end to lose to Udinese by conceding a late goal in the second leg game. In the group phase Lech with Smuda played against Deportivo La Coruna (1:1). Julian de Guzman played in that match, so now he’ll be back in Poland and again facing Smuda’s team. To make things interesting, another Canadian player, Michael Klukowski, who was born in Poland, also played against Lech in the Europa Cup, early this season.
What are the strengths of the Polish team?
In theory, it is the offense. Poland has some talented offensive midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund), Sławomir Peszko (Lech Poznan), Kamil Kosowski (APOEL Nikozja), Ludovic Obraniak (Lille OSC) and Roger Guerreiro (AEK Ateny). Obraniak has made an appearance for the France U-21 national team a few years ago, however due to having Polish roots through his grandfather and his desire to reconnect with his heritage, he was officially called up for the Poland’s senior team by Leo Beenhakker for the friendly against Greece this year in… Bydgoszcz, where he scored the only two goals in the match.
Up Front
Three forwards are in the squad for the friendlies: Poland U-21 starlet Patryk Malecki (Wisla Cracow), Lech Poznan’s best player Robert Lewandowski and speedy Ireneusz Jelen (AJ Auxerre).
Who’s missing?
In the goal we will see either the third Manchester United’s goalie, Tomasz Kuszczak, or the fourth Arsenal’s goalkeeper, 19-year old Wojciech Szczesny. Artur Boruc wasn’t called up, but Smuda says that he will get a chance in the future games. Another controversial decision made by the Polish coach was to not call the Poland’s captain Mariusz Lewandowski from Shakhtar Donetsk who simply didn’t earn Smuda’s trust. Two other first squad players that initially got called up for the coming games are injured. These are the last season Polish Ekstraklasa top scorer Pawel Brozek from Wisla Cracow and a defensive midfielder Rafal Murawski from Rubin Kazan. Right back Marcin Wasilewski has been recovering from his (Eduardo da Silva style) broken leg injury and missed a few recent Poland’s games. Ebi Smolarek is currently without a club and this is the reason (for Smuda) he will not play for Poland in the coming games.
What can we expect to happen in Bydgoszcz on November 18?
Poland will try to play offensively and I see Canada’s chances in counterattacks. Polish defence hasn’t performed well recently and mostly this formation was blamed for conceding key goals in the World Cup qualifiers. As Poland didn’t make it to the tournament in South Africa, their next competitive game will be played during Euro 2012, which Poland is hosting along with Ukraine. This means two and a half years of experimenting with the squad, tactics and playing friendly matches only. If Smuda decides to play experienced players against Romania and put younger players against Canada, we could see a more open game in Bydgoszcz and more chances for goals for Canada. If Tomasz Radzinski plays in that game, he’ll probably be very willing to score a goal, as the venue will feel like home for him. He was born in Inowroclaw which is located just about 40 km southeast of Bydgoszcz…
Poland Squad
Goalkeepers:
Tomasz Kuszczak, 27 years old (currently at Manchester United)
Wojciech Szczesny, 19 (Arsenal London)
Defenders:
Marcin Kowalczyk, 24 (Dynamo Moscow)
Jakub Rzezniczak, 23 (Legia Warsaw)
Michal Zewlakow, 33 (Olympiacos Piraeus)
Maciej Sadlok, 20 (Ruch Chorzow)
Adam Kokoszka, 23 (Empoli FC)
Piotr Brozek, 26 (Wisla Cracow)
Seweryn Gancarczyk, 27 (Lech Poznan)
Kamil Glik, 21 (Piast Gliwice)
Midfielders:
Jakub Blaszczykowski, 23 (Borussia Dortmund)
Slawomir Peszko, 24 (Lech Poznan)
Dariusz Dudka, 25 (AJ Auxerre)
Radoslaw Majewski, 22 (Nottingham Forest)
Janusz Gancarczyk, 25 (Slask Wroclaw)
Kamil Kosowski, 32 (APOEL Nicosia)
Ludovic Obraniak, 25 (Lille OSC)
Roger Guerreiro, 27 (AEK Athens)
Maciej Rybus, 20 (Legia Warsaw)
Forwards:
Robert Lewandowski, 21 (Lech Poznan)
Ireneusz Jelen, 28 (AJ Auxerre)
Patryk Malecki, 21 (Wisla Cracow)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Half Time EPL Table
You may recall seeing what the MLS standings would look like if matches only lasted 75 minutes. It would have been a very different season for TFC, one that would still be going in fact. But I digress, I was on the Premier League website looking at some statistics (I'm cool like that) and I came across the Half Time Table. It is the same idea as we saw with TFC only instead of 75 minutes they look at what the standings are if matches ended at the half. They could also call the table why it sucks to be a West Ham fan this season.
When I first looked at the table two things jumped out at me. Well actually the same thing jumped out at me twice from different angles. First off I noticed that West Ham would be in 11th place on 14 points - and said something to the effect of What The ____!? They are tied with Manchester United! What The ____! are United doing in 10th! I also noticed that Portsmouth are still in the relegation zone, but that didn't really jump out at me. At the time of writing the table wasn't updated from West Ham's match against Aston Villa. Since they had a 1-0 half time lead they would be in 5th place in the Half time League. Since they managed to win the game they are now 17th in the actual League. In the Half Time lead they would be fighting for a Champions League spot, when in reality they are fighting to avoid another trip to the Championship. All it really tells us is that West Ham aren't that great at holding onto a lead, perhaps they should hire an Italian to coach them, oh wait. It also tells me that as long as they don't have to sell their best players in January they should be fine.
Manchester United are the cardiac kids this season. They are in a very un-Red Devil like mid table position in the half time League. They have a lot of quality and confidence to come back, but they have only led three matches at the half so far this season. I can't imagine that has escaped the notice of Sir Alex. I think that this will start to improve or Sir Alex will go shopping in January. I can't imagine he wants to bust out the hairdryer every weekend.
Other highlights of the Half Time League are Everton one point above Liverpool with the Toffees having a game in hand. Liverpool is also ahead of Manchester United. While the top four are Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Sunderland. The funniest thing is probably all four teams that begin with B in a row. So there you have it, the Half time League.
When I first looked at the table two things jumped out at me. Well actually the same thing jumped out at me twice from different angles. First off I noticed that West Ham would be in 11th place on 14 points - and said something to the effect of What The ____!? They are tied with Manchester United! What The ____! are United doing in 10th! I also noticed that Portsmouth are still in the relegation zone, but that didn't really jump out at me. At the time of writing the table wasn't updated from West Ham's match against Aston Villa. Since they had a 1-0 half time lead they would be in 5th place in the Half time League. Since they managed to win the game they are now 17th in the actual League. In the Half Time lead they would be fighting for a Champions League spot, when in reality they are fighting to avoid another trip to the Championship. All it really tells us is that West Ham aren't that great at holding onto a lead, perhaps they should hire an Italian to coach them, oh wait. It also tells me that as long as they don't have to sell their best players in January they should be fine.
Manchester United are the cardiac kids this season. They are in a very un-Red Devil like mid table position in the half time League. They have a lot of quality and confidence to come back, but they have only led three matches at the half so far this season. I can't imagine that has escaped the notice of Sir Alex. I think that this will start to improve or Sir Alex will go shopping in January. I can't imagine he wants to bust out the hairdryer every weekend.
Other highlights of the Half Time League are Everton one point above Liverpool with the Toffees having a game in hand. Liverpool is also ahead of Manchester United. While the top four are Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Sunderland. The funniest thing is probably all four teams that begin with B in a row. So there you have it, the Half time League.
Looking Ahead to the African Cup of Nations - EPL Perspective
There is starting to be a lot of talk about the African Cup of Nations, mainly due to the number of players a team may lose for the tournament. But we should talk about it more as one of the top football tournaments in the World. The tournament will be in January 2010, running from the 10th to the 31st. The Nations involved will likely call up their players before the 10th. So far there are 12 of the 16 spots taken with only four up for grabs. The qualified Nations are:
Angola (Host), Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
The 8 teams remaining are fighting for third place in their World Cup Qualifying groups and the final spot in Angola. Here are the teams that are battling it out:
One team from each pairing will advance (however in most cases they are not playing each other)
Togo - Morocco
Mozambique - Kenya
Zambia - Rwanda
Malawi - Guinea
Looking at the English Premier League I checked out the rosters from one of the twenty nations I have just mentioned. These are players that are eligible for the African Cup of Nations. Whether they will all be picked it is a matter for their national team boss. Players whose team have not yet qualified are marked with an *. I have also listed the matches that teams will play during the African Cup of Nations.
Fans of Birmingham, Blackburn, Manchester United, and West Ham can all relax because they don't have any players that will be heading to Angola in January.
Arsenal - Song and Eboue (v. Everton, @Bolton, @Aston Villa, v. Manchester United)
Aston Villa - Salifou* (@Wigan, v. West Ham, v. Arsenal, @Fulham)
Birmingham - NONE (v. Manchester United, @ Pompey, @ Chelsea, v. Spurs)
Blackburn - NONE (@ Manchester City, v. Fulham, v. Wigan, @ West Ham)
Bolton - Shittu (@Sunderland, v. Arsenal, v. Burnley, @Liverpool)
Burnley - Bikey (v. Stoke, @ Manchester United, @ Bolton, v. Chelsea)
Chelsea - Essien, Mikel, Kalou, Drogba (@Hull, v. Sunderland, v. Birmingham, @Burnley)
Everton - Yobo, Yakubu, Anichebe (@Arsenal, v. Manchester City, v. Sunderland, @Wigan)
Fulham - Paintsil, Etuhu (v.Pompey, @Blackburn, @Spurs, v. Aston Villa)
Hull - Ghilas, Cousin, Ekra, Olofinjana, Zayatte* (v. Chelsea, @Spurs, @United, v.Wolves)
Liverpool - El Zhar* (v.Spurs, @ Stoke, @Wolves, v. Bolton)
Man. City - Toure, Adebayor* (v. Blackburn, @Everton, @Stoke, v. Pompey)
Man. United - NONE (@Birmingham, v. Burnley, v. Hull, @ Arsenal)
Pompey - Dindane, Belhadj, Yebda, Kanu, Utaka (@Fulham,v. Birmingham, v.West Ham, @City)
Stoke - Sidibe (@Burnley, v. Liverpool, v. Man City, @ Sunderland)
Sunderland - Mensah (v. Bolton, @Chelsea, @Everton, v. Stoke)
Spurs - Assou-Ekotto, Bassong (@Liverpool, v. Hull, v. Fulham, @Birmingham)
West Ham - NONE (v. Wolves, @ Aston Villa, @ Pompey, v. Blackburn)
Wigan - Kingson, Bouaouzan (v. Aston Villa, @Wolves, @ Blackburn, v. Everton)
Wolves - Elokobi (@West Ham, v. Wigan, v. Liverpool, @ Hull)
So there are 34 players from the Premier League that may be participating in the African Cup of Nations. Hull and Pompey may lost five players while Chelsea will lose four big players. Fans of the Manchester club with money will be hopeful that Togo fail to qualify so they can hold on to Adebayor. While Spurs fans will be hoping that King, Dawson, and Woodgate are healthy as they will be without two of their back four.
It is important to remember that as teams are knocked out of the tournament their players can return to England. So not all of the players listed above will be out for the duration of the tournament.
Once the draw is made I will put a preview of the tournament.
Angola (Host), Cameroon, Gabon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.
The 8 teams remaining are fighting for third place in their World Cup Qualifying groups and the final spot in Angola. Here are the teams that are battling it out:
One team from each pairing will advance (however in most cases they are not playing each other)
Togo - Morocco
Mozambique - Kenya
Zambia - Rwanda
Malawi - Guinea
Looking at the English Premier League I checked out the rosters from one of the twenty nations I have just mentioned. These are players that are eligible for the African Cup of Nations. Whether they will all be picked it is a matter for their national team boss. Players whose team have not yet qualified are marked with an *. I have also listed the matches that teams will play during the African Cup of Nations.
Fans of Birmingham, Blackburn, Manchester United, and West Ham can all relax because they don't have any players that will be heading to Angola in January.
Arsenal - Song and Eboue (v. Everton, @Bolton, @Aston Villa, v. Manchester United)
Aston Villa - Salifou* (@Wigan, v. West Ham, v. Arsenal, @Fulham)
Birmingham - NONE (v. Manchester United, @ Pompey, @ Chelsea, v. Spurs)
Blackburn - NONE (@ Manchester City, v. Fulham, v. Wigan, @ West Ham)
Bolton - Shittu (@Sunderland, v. Arsenal, v. Burnley, @Liverpool)
Burnley - Bikey (v. Stoke, @ Manchester United, @ Bolton, v. Chelsea)
Chelsea - Essien, Mikel, Kalou, Drogba (@Hull, v. Sunderland, v. Birmingham, @Burnley)
Everton - Yobo, Yakubu, Anichebe (@Arsenal, v. Manchester City, v. Sunderland, @Wigan)
Fulham - Paintsil, Etuhu (v.Pompey, @Blackburn, @Spurs, v. Aston Villa)
Hull - Ghilas, Cousin, Ekra, Olofinjana, Zayatte* (v. Chelsea, @Spurs, @United, v.Wolves)
Liverpool - El Zhar* (v.Spurs, @ Stoke, @Wolves, v. Bolton)
Man. City - Toure, Adebayor* (v. Blackburn, @Everton, @Stoke, v. Pompey)
Man. United - NONE (@Birmingham, v. Burnley, v. Hull, @ Arsenal)
Pompey - Dindane, Belhadj, Yebda, Kanu, Utaka (@Fulham,v. Birmingham, v.West Ham, @City)
Stoke - Sidibe (@Burnley, v. Liverpool, v. Man City, @ Sunderland)
Sunderland - Mensah (v. Bolton, @Chelsea, @Everton, v. Stoke)
Spurs - Assou-Ekotto, Bassong (@Liverpool, v. Hull, v. Fulham, @Birmingham)
West Ham - NONE (v. Wolves, @ Aston Villa, @ Pompey, v. Blackburn)
Wigan - Kingson, Bouaouzan (v. Aston Villa, @Wolves, @ Blackburn, v. Everton)
Wolves - Elokobi (@West Ham, v. Wigan, v. Liverpool, @ Hull)
So there are 34 players from the Premier League that may be participating in the African Cup of Nations. Hull and Pompey may lost five players while Chelsea will lose four big players. Fans of the Manchester club with money will be hopeful that Togo fail to qualify so they can hold on to Adebayor. While Spurs fans will be hoping that King, Dawson, and Woodgate are healthy as they will be without two of their back four.
It is important to remember that as teams are knocked out of the tournament their players can return to England. So not all of the players listed above will be out for the duration of the tournament.
Once the draw is made I will put a preview of the tournament.
Canadian Terrace Talk Episode Sixteen
In this episode we're joined by Matt Wooding of The Subs Bench. We go through one of the best Premier League weekends to date (not just because Pompey won) and we touch on the Canadian friendly with Poland.
Canadian Terrace Talk Episode Sixteen
Enjoy
Canadian Terrace Talk Episode Sixteen
Enjoy
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