By Paul Gardner Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, the soccer gods turned on David Beckham, and cut him down while he was doing the very thing at which he wassupposed to be divinely inspired: playing soccer. In a flash, the Beckham myth crumpled. Done in by the greatest mythical figure the Greeks had, […]
SoccerTalk with Paul Gardner
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Will World Cup be Rooney-Messi Show?
By Paul Gardner I have not found the prospect of the upcoming World Cup overly enthralling. Quite aside from the obviously political and anything-but-soccer reasons forstaging it in South Africa, I find am finding it difficult to get excited about the soccer itself. Why would that be? Mostly, I’ll admit, because of Brazil. Yes, I feel […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Coming Soon! The Welsh-Estonian Backe Bull Show!
By Paul Gardner Stand by … your intrepid columnist is about to go where few dare venture — and of those who have thus ventured, none has so far survived intact. I propose to take a look at the New York Red Bulls and work out what, exactly, they are up to. More specifically, what […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
English refs too lenient? Stats say so
By Paul Gardner So no sooner do I tell you that coaches never say anything nasty about their own players — just 10 days ago — then up pops Bert van Marwijk, the coach ofthe Dutch national team, to seriously berate one of his players. The tackle that Nigel de Jong put on the American […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Rule-makers take us down the rabbit hole
By Paul Gardner It’s gratifying to see that the International Board (IFAB) has not let us down. It has shored up its reputation for avoiding serious issues bypostponing action on a couple of tricky matters that were included on its agenda for last week’s meeting. Both came under the heading “Items for Discussion and Decision.” […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Signs of making MLS even more physical
By Paul Gardner What do you suppose clubs and coaches — and general managers — look for when they’re signing new players? What comes first? It’s worthpondering, for the answer may well tell us what sort of soccer a team wants to play. Or conversely, what sort of soccer a team has given up trying […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Goals Galore? Think again
By Paul Gardner I would have thought that it was by now blindingly obvious that goals are, in the soccer sense, an endangered species. They occur much less frequentlythan they have ever done in the 150-year history of the sport, and the chances of there being a sudden surge in scoring I can confidently predict […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Another horror tackle and the same old excuses
By Paul Gardner Another horrendous injury to an Arsenal player. At Stoke on Saturday 19-year-old Aaron Ramsey was taken off the field on astretcher, breathing through an oxygen mask, his right leg broken. The soccer future of one of the most promising — I would say the most promising — of British youngsters is now at […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
Rugby? In Red Bull Arena – the soccer super-stadium? Afraid so.
By Paul Gardner It is greatly to be hoped that the gala opening of the Red Bull Arena next month does not get upstaged by the ongoing dispute between MLS and theplayers union. This stadium marks a tremendous step forward for the sport in this country. For two reasons. Firstly, it will surely be the best […]
Posted inSoccerTalk with Paul Gardner, Story
To strike or not to strike: The players' no-win option
By Paul Gardner The negotiations — if that’s what they are — going on between MLS and the players union are, of course, a mess. I’m afraid that’s theway it’s always been with this owners-players confrontation in American soccer. Simply because an almost paralyzing uncertainty rules on both sides of the table. You have owners […]