Cup Hopes Still Alive--Man City 3, Southhampton 1

In typical Man City fashion, the team that was humiliated at home to Blackburn the week before turns it around to achieve a comfortable FA Cup victory over Southhampton. I can't say too much about this game because it wasn't broadcast in the U.S., and although apparently you can watch some Brit who is watching football games through YouTube, I actually do have a somewhat meaningful life.

So, it was ESPNsoccernet's match tracker that kept me company this Sunday. From all accounts, City didn't look too bad in the second half and thankfully Mr. Pearce fielded a rather offensive-oriented squad. Let's hope it continues for the midweek fixture. Now it's on to Preston North End, which, all-in-all, is not a bad draw. At least we didn't make out like Reading, who have to face Man U at Old Trafford.

Review: United States B Team vs. Denmark B Team

After what seemed like a football eternity, we finally got a chance to see what the national team might look like in a post-Arena era. I always get excited for national team games, even when the U.S. fields its B team. So, when the U.S. got off to such a slow start, I couldn't help screaming in agony at the TV (which prompted other family members to flee the room). The first 20 minutes were exactly like watching the U.S. against the Czech Republic. No one seemed capable of creating space in the Danish defense, and no one wanted to take responsibility. When the Danes took the lead off of a headed cross (poor marking by media-darling Jimmy Conrad), I began to thank the U.S. soccer gods that Bob Bradley was only an interim head coach.

And then something remarkable happened. The newest additions to the MNT roster began to show the old faithful what it means to play American football. Of all people, Ricardo Clark would be the player to drive into the box and get fouled by the Danes. Not Landon Donovan, or Eddie Johnson, but our defensive midfielder. Although Donovan did all he could to screw it up for the team, the U.S. pulled even on Donovan's penalty kick.

The rest of the game would confirm my suspicions. There are several national team players that need to be temporarily shown the door for their own good. Donovan and Johnson are two obvious choices, but I would also add Taylor Twellman, Brian Ching, and almost every other lackluster U.S. forward. The U.S. has a surprisingly deep team, especially in the creative midfield area. I would love to see a competition between Justin Mapp, Clint Dempsey and Landon for that position (and who knows, in four years you could add Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber to the mix). My point being, Landon should no longer be the national team's golden boy and Eddie Johnson should no longer be considered the "next big thing". After the World Cup, they need to prove those titles. If Bob Bradley has to, he should go through every major MLS forward until he finds a guy capable of taking advantage of the opportunity. Who knows, if Kenny Cooper makes a good showing against Mexico we may already have found our Brian McBride look-alike.

All-in-all, the end result was a positive performance for the U.S., but I think the verdict is still out on whether I would keep Bradley. The U.S. needs a new coach, not a continuation of Bruce Arena's pedantic "it's all about the cross" style of play. Bradley didn't show us anything new on Saturday, but he also didn't show us anything bad. Let's hope we see something a little different versus Mexico.

Review: Man City vs. Blackburn

It's rather rough to have to start my substantive comments with a game that was so miserable to watch, but of course you can expect little else from this team. I'm not going to rehash my pain on Saturday by giving you a play-by-play, but if you're so inclined take a moment to read the BBC's account of the game. It certainly didn't have to turn into one of the most pathetic home performances of the season, but as soon as Morten Gamst Pedersen turned in a ludicrously well-placed cross at about the half-hour mark, you just knew the rest of the game would be painful.

Apparently, Stuart Pearce believes that you can win football matches by fielding a team with almost no offensive creativity. Ousmane Dabo and Hatem Trabelsi are perhaps the least inspiring City players, and both had particularly poor games on Saturday. Of course, this is in part because we were missing Joey Barton, who, along with Micah Richards, is pretty much the only reason City aren't looking at relegation this season. It's a very sad state of affairs when your right back might be the most entertaining player on the squad.

This begs an important question, why is it that after two years in charge Stuart Pearce has not found a single offensive player worthy of putting on a premiership jersey? Although I'm a big fan of SP, I've come to the conclusion that SP doesn't understand what an offensive player is supposed to do. After watching City flail around, trying to find the right formation to score goals, it's clear that Mr. Pearce has absolutely no clue how to field a goal-scoring team. So, I'll offer some helpful suggestions that I believe will avoid the type of performance witnessed on Saturday.

1. Ideally, City needs a strong center forward, capable of holding up the ball after it has been cleared from the back. The first 30 minutes saw some impressive City defending, but every clearance would fall to a Blackburn defender, who would simply set up another Blackburn attack. A strong presence at forward would hold the ball long enough for the City midfield to gain possession. Corradi would appear to be such a player, but this doesn't seem to be his season. The only other option is Samaras, and I would argue he should be out there regardless of some poor showings in the past because he's all we got. Even if Samaras is not living up to the $5 million price tag, he's the best we have at the moment.
2. Joey Barton is a great passer, and a brilliant all-around midfielder. However, every team also needs a dribbler. A player capable of splitting the defense and forcing the opposing team out of position. In the premiership, the wing is often the only space for these players to ply their trade. City has tried Riera, Sinclair, and Musampa, and although there have been flashes of brilliance, none of them had a significantly long spell as starters. Pearce has to give DaMarcus Beasley the chance to succeed by starting him in several successive games. He is the best dribbler on the team, and when he has the ball and some space he can create the type of opportunity that a team needs to score. Although SP seems to think that Stephen Ireland offers the same thing, he doesn't.
3. Finally, buy a decent right midfielder. You don't have to find a replacement for SWP. All we need is someone with a little more natural talent than Trabelsi or Sinclair, because at this point our right midfielder's main contribution to the game is to turn the ball over to the opposing team.

If I have to watch another match like last Saturday's I will seriously consider stalking Stuart Pearce until he takes at least one of the aforementioned suggestions. I don't pay for expanded cable to watch Ousmane Dabo make poorly timed tackles.

Why Man City

When I mention that I'm a fan of Manchester City Football Club the typical reaction I receive is akin to if I had just declared that I suffer from syphilis. Why, of all the football clubs in England, would an American (who I might add has never been to Manchester) choose to support such an uninspiring team. For the entire time that Man City have been in the premiership, they have been mid-table battlers -- actually, more like perennial relegation contenders. Although they once enjoyed considerable success in the 50s and 60s, since then the team has either suffered through incompetent management or been so saddled with debt that every good player left once the price tag reached above $2 million.

I can't really explain my attraction to the club. It might be that Claudio Reyna became a City player several years ago, and being a rabid Reyna fan I thought that any club that would spring for his services would be worth my adoration. However, if it's Americans I want to see every Saturday my first choice should be Fulham at this point, not City. Instead, I scan the Fox Soccer Channel listings for any sign of a Man City game during the week and religiously tune in to see what must be the most uninspiring football in the league at this point. Yet, despite a five-man midfield and a hapless Italian striker, I still love to watch Man City play.

At this point, I could go on about the seductive joy of throwing the essence of one's being into a football team's every performance, but I can't be nearly as exciting to read as Nick Hornby, so we'll just assume that my infatuation with Man City is a little like Hornby's love of Arsenal, without the eloquence. My hope for this blog is really that it will give me an opportunity to write about something that for at least the last three years I've been unable to express. Like most blogs, I consider this an exercise in narcissism, and frankly, I don't mind.