Rooney is on his way…back to United. Huh?

I just woke up from the weirdest dream. I was convinced it was real, except the headline that greeted me this morning was one I would have expected: “Wayne Rooney signs new five-year contract with United.”

OK, so onto my dream, which seems pretty ridiculous now. In it, Rooney denied publicly that he’s been suffering from an ankle injury and went on to reveal that he wasn’t interested in signing a new contract at United. Then the press went all crazy, saying he’s told everyone that his time at the club is done because they can’t guarantees about the future because of the debt the Glazer family has piled onto the club. Around that same time, Sir Alex Ferguson did some interviews with more candor than I’ve ever seen from him saying Rooney was gone. Then Rooney had a press conference to explain he was gone. Then Robbie Fowler said tongue-in-cheek that Rooney wanted to go play for Perth Glory. Then I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post encouraging Major League Soccer to table a bid and amp up the hype machine. After a dream in which a tooth fell out and another one where my car stuttered and couldn’t start and eventually caught on fire, I woke up.

Look, I can start rumors, too!

I won’t go too in depth about Wayne Rooney’s impending departure from Manchester United. He wants out, and everyone admits it, so I don’t know how much more ink can be spilled on that particular part of the saga until other teams actually start tabling offers. In the days since the story broke, the thing that’s piqued my interest the most is Robbie Fowler’s revelation that he’s spoken to the Roonatic and that he’d be interested in moving to Australia to join the Perth Glory. Of the A-League. In his prime. Here’s the story: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=834508&sec=global&cc=5901

I find that very hard to believe that an England international just entering his prime would want to jump to the A-League. I’m 99 percent sure Fowler was blowing smoke or saying ridiculous things just to see what he could get the media to print. Maybe tomorrow he’ll say he was out for a walk and was abducted by aliens, which I would actually find less ridiculous than his current claim.

BUT, the one percent of me that thinks this is so outrageous it must be true wonders how long it’ll be before he’s talked up for a move to Major League Soccer. I’d hate to see MLS lose out on a chance to advance its stature by not even tabling a bid. An MLS club should take a shot: United will be letting him go for under his market value since he could buy out his contract this summer, and $20-30 million seems a small price to pay to actually sign a foreign superstar who’s still in his prime. I wouldn’t hold my breath on any of this, of course, as I’m 99 percent sure I would pass out, but I do think it’s worth the media attention for at least one or two MLS clubs to start publicly stating interest.

Qatar tries to woo FIFA with architecture

Qatar presented its stadium proposals to FIFA as part of its efforts to land the 2022 World Cup, for which the United States is also in the running. Sports Illustrated has this cool slideshow of models and renderings. Just to tease you, the first of them is below. Thanks to our friend (and longtime potential Kicks contributor) Kevin Zelaya for sending this our way.

A rendering of the Doha Port Stadium in Qatar, which, if built, could take the cake as one of the most beautiful sports facilities in the world. (Photo: Qatar 2022)

What do you think of Qatar’s chances of landing the World Cup? Before you say, “TOO HOT,” bear in mind that all of the stadiums are designed to be cooled and carbon neutral. I still think the US is the front-runner to host 2022, but I must admit, I’d start saving up now just for a chance to geek out at the stadiums if Qatar can land it.

Very preliminary thoughts on FIFA 11

I picked up the new FIFA yesterday, my first upgrade in two years. I realize some features might be continued from 2010, but I never played it because there weren’t enough new features to really convince me to part with my money, and I thought the game’s insistence that Newcastle could regularly compete for silverware was just kind of funny.

Anyway, the big sellers on this game are the “Personality+” and the Creation Centre, which uses an online application to make custom teams and players to download into the game. That sounded way easier than pushing sliders around on the system itself.

Personality+ has shown through almost immediately. I played games on both the professional and world class settings, and the different inclinations of players was readily apparent. For one thing, AI players never used to try skill moves; now they do it all the time, often with devastating effect, as I learned when the KC Wizards’ Ryan Smith made my defense look clumsy and porous.

I’m disappointed with the Creation Centre. The options for the players go a long way toward establishing their personalities, which is cool, but the team creator leaves much to be desired. It’s mostly just a system of coloring in simple logo templates. I was hoping the online system would open the door to uploading your own artwork for uniforms.

There’s also a new mode where you can play Be A Pro as a goalkeeper. It sounded fun on paper, but in reality it’s a lot of watching the computer kick the ball around while waiting for something to happen. Perhaps playing as a goalkeeper for a terrible team would make the mode more interesting.

Of course, there’s the usual wealth of FIFA options. I was amazed at how many teams now have a third kit available to users, and for dorky reasons I was in awe of the ability to manipulate the mowing pattern and grass wear on the field, as well as the option to change the shape and tension of the nets.

I’ll have more complete thoughts as I get into the career mode, which this year allows you to build a career as a player before moving into management. I generally lose interest in manager mode around year six, so I’m hoping the elimination of separate Be A Pro and Manager Modes will add some long-term intrigue for me, especially seeing as how I tend to only upgrade every other year.

If you’ve played the game, feel free to add your thoughts below.

Signings facepalm!

Manchester City is somehow short on defenders for its biggest game of the season. The team that is constantly linked to every halfway decent player and spent hundreds of millions this offseason has only three defenders healthy and available for a game with Chelsea. At this point, perhaps City should consider the rarely used 3-3-4 formation and hope to outgun Chelsea. More and more, City is starting to resemble the first Galacticos era of Real Madrid, where the team had enough attacking talent for two teams, but no one at the back. D’oh!

Financial facepalm!

ESPNSoccernet’s Leander Schaerlaeckens has a very interesting article about European football debt. It’s not as thorough as you might get from one of the many books out on the subject, but it’s a good primer for what’s going on. Check it out here: http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/news/_/id/5580467/european-football-eating-itself

My favorite line is this: “The crux of soccer’s debt habit is this: Clubs aren’t nearly as good at generating income as they think they are.” Personally, I can’t help but wonder (in a slightly horrified way) what we’re going to see first: A series a of huge clubs crumbling under the weight of their own debt, or a revolution of club management that runs teams under the harsh light of reality instead of the floodlit illusion of grandeur.

What do you think? Do you support a club that’s financially unstable? Which would you rather have: the danger of bankruptcy or the stability of knowing there’s a future?

A LEAD! Is Heath Pearce the Nefarious Mr. Ben?

Is Heath Pearce the Jekyll to the Nefarious Mr. Ben's Hyde?

Heath Pearce would seem to be a little busy, what with being a starting defender for FC Dallas and all, but he certainly seems to match our artists’ representations of what the Nefarious Mr. Ben might look like. Given that the Nefarious Mr. Ben often has others do his wicked deeds for him, it’s not inconceivable that Pearce is behind all this.

Or he could just be rocking an awkward mustache, Joey Barton style! Actually, had he not shaved the mustache, Joey Barton was probably a more likely suspect to be the Nefarious Mr. Ben, but it just seems too obvious.

3:22 p.m. edit: It has come to my attention that Gary Neville and Franck Ribery also fit the description of the Nefarious Mr. Ben. With so many mustachioed footballers, it’s likely going to take a great deal more digging to find the whereabouts and identity of the scheming agent, the Nefarious Mr. Ben.

I should also note that this is not an indictment of all mustaches. Not all mustaches are evil.

What do you make of the Henry-Hartman incident?

In Major League Soccer action last night, Thierry Henry’s celebration ended up spraining Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman’s MCL. Henry was attempting to celebrate teammate Medhi Ballouchy’s goal by slamming the ball back into the net, but Hartman put his foot behind the ball and ended up on the receiving end of Henry’s joy. Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman was furious that the referee didn’t yellow card Henry for the incident. Keep in mind, Henry was sitting on a yellow card picked up only moments before the goal.

Put yourself in the ref’s shoes: Would you have shown Henry a second yellow card for the incident?

You can also read MLSSoccer.com editors’ comments about the incident here: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/mixed-messages-debating-henry-hartman-incident

Has MLS ever looked so unbalanced?

It’s unbelievable how heavily to the west Major League Soccer is leaning this season. As things currently stand, six teams from the Western Conference will make the playoffs, while only the top two from the Eastern Conference will be making the postseason. Teams have between six and eight games left to play, so this could all change, but even on a points per game basis, which discounts extra games played somewhat, the West is set to claim six playoff spots this season. If the season ended today, the teams (and seeds) would look like this: Los Angeles Galaxy (1), Columbus Crew (2), Real Salt Lake (3), New York Red Bulls (4), FC Dallas (5), San Jose Earthquakes (6), Colorado Rapids (7), Seattle Sounders FC (8).

What’s causing the tilt? Does this strengthen the argument that MLS should go to a single-table format?

New page: The Nefarious Mr. Ben

With our post yesterday about the fake Togo team that lost 3-0 to Bahrain, I was reminded by my buddy Dave of a scam email from a Tunisian Football agency that promised a place on a club team in the North African nation. Tempting as it was to seek fame and fortune abroad, I thought instead we’d put up a page for the agent, the Nefarious Mr. Ben. If you see something shady, underhanded or, best of all, utterly nefarious from the world of soccer, feel free to comment or email it to us at kickssoccer[ ]gmail[ ]com. Check out the page here: http://kickssoccer.wordpress.com/mr-ben/

MLS will play 34 games next year

Major League Soccer announced yesterday that it will expand to a 34 game schedule next season when Portland and Vancouver join to bring the league up to 18 teams. This likely means teams the balanced schedule the league is finally using this season will continue next year, but it certainly raised a few questions for me:

1. When are we playing these extra four games? MLS schedules are already pretty congested as it is, at times, especially with the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, SuperLiga and CONCACAF Champions League games in the mix. Is MLS planning to start earlier or play later, or we actually going to see some poor teams playing three league games in one week?

2. Is there a market for four more games? I could proabably argue both sides here, as I think the experience will vary from team to team. I’m sure the teams in their own stadiums will appreciate the extra revenue, but will crowds dwindle for teams that are out of contention with 14 games left?

3. What about 2012 when Montreal joins? Will MLS play a 36 game schedule? Will it play 38 if/when New York gets a second team? Personally, I think a balanced schedule is the only way to go, but I don’t see MLS as a 38-game regular season + playoffs league.

What do you think about any of those questions? Feel free to share any other concerns, too.

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Bahrain beat a counterfeit Togo team in an international friendly: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=823331&sec=global&cc=5901

I’ll forgo the obvious questions, like how did Bahrain get suckered into this, how did the “Togo” team pull it off, and how did NO ONE notice, and instead simply ask: Anybody want a home game against the US National Team? I’m scheduling.

United play reserves in Champions League opener

Put this in the “WTF were you thinking?” file. With the Champions League kicking off, this is the lineup (and subs) Sir Alex Ferguson put out against Rangers in the opener at Old Trafford:
GK Tomasz Kuszczak, RB Wes Brown, RCB Chris Smalling, LCB Rio Ferdinand, LB Fabio (Jonathan Evans 76), RM Antonio Valencia (Ryan Giggs 63), RCM Darren Fletcher, LCM Darron Gibson, LM Park Ji-Sung (Michael Owen 76), RF Wayne Rooney, LF Javier Hernandez.

Did no one remind SAF that the Champions League is much more important than the Carling Cup? Not surprisingly, United tied 0-0 with the Scottish champions, who did nothing more than park the bus in front of the goal. I know there’s a big game with Liverpool coming on Saturday, but what the hell was Fergie thinking with that lineup? (PS – Antonio Valencia probably broke his leg, too.)

Champions League kicks off today

There are eight UEFA Champions League on the docket today, all of which kick off at 1:45 p.m. CDT. Fox Soccer Channel will be televising five of these between this afternoon and tomorrow’s kickoff. I think every game is available if you’re lucky enough to have Fox Soccer Plus.

Group A: Inter Milan (ITA) @ FC Twente (NED) (FSC, 1:45 p.m. Tuesday); Tottenham (ENG) @ Werder Bremen (GER) (FSC, 10 a.m. Wednesday)

Group B: Hapoel Tel Aviv (ISR) @ Benfica (POR); Schalke (GER) @ Lyon (FRA) (FSC, 1 a.m. Wednesday)

Group C: Valencia (ESP) @ Bursaspor (TUR); Rangers (SCO) @ Manchester United (ENG) (live on Fox Sports Net, delayed on FSC, 4 p.m. Tuesday)

Group D: Panathinaikos (GRE) @ FC Barcelona (ESP) (FSC, 8 a.m. Wednesday); FK Rubin Kazan (RUS) @ FC Copenhagen (DEN)

Any games stand out to you, either as great matchups or potential blowouts?

Bayern chief blaming FIFA for sluggish start

According to this Soccernet article, Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge thinks FIFA is to blame for the fact that Bayern is five points off pace in the Bundesliga this season.

Quick summary: So many of Bayern’s players were in the World Cup that Bayern didn’t get enough time to train before the season started. What do you think? Is Rummenigge making an excuse, or does he have a point? Read my thoughts below.

FIFA to scrap World Cup extra time?

Sepp Blatter said last week that FIFA was considering changes to the extra time format in the World Cup in an effort to promote attacking soccer. Two changes FIFA will consider are the reintroduction of golden goal extra time or, more radically, scrapping the extra 30 minutes altogether and moving straight to shootout. Blatter told FIFA.com, “Often we see teams set themselves up even more defensively in extra time, in an attempt to avoid conceding a goal at all costs. To prevent this, we could go directly to a penalty shootout at full time, or reintroduce the golden goal rule. We’ll see what emerges from the committee meetings.”

What do you think about the idea? Vote in the poll, then share your thoughts below.

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http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=821733&sec=europe&cc=5901

Huh. (Not a question “huh,” but a full sentence one.) Italian players going on strike for one week. Given that three American sports could potentially strike next season and that MLS narrowly avoided one this year, I thought this was interesting. Short summary: Italian players want a new collective bargaining agreement, so they’re striking for one weekend at the end of September.

Question is, what makes a better or more effective sports strike? Should athletes even be striking?

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http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/09/impossible-soccer-goal-explained.html

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FIFA hails Rooney’s performance? http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=820160&sec=worldcup&cc=5901

Brief summary: FIFA thinks Rooney was one of England’s three best players in South Africa this summer, basically because he ran around a lot and sweated. I think we might finally have concrete proof that FIFA doesn’t actually *watch* the World Cup.

Bob Bradley to remain coach of USMNT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/30/AR2010083004574.html

Despite making eyes at Aston Villa in recent weeks, Bob Bradley has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the US Soccer Federation to remain the coach of the US Men’s National Team. US Soccer president Sunil Gulati had been in contact with Juergen Klinsmann, but the new contract with Bradley was announced Monday.

What are your thoughts on Bradley staying on as coach of the US Men’s team? I’ve shared mine in the comments field below.