Bobby McMahon on the EPL and more

Bobby McMahon is the analyst for the Fox Soccer Report, a nightly soccer news show on Fox Soccer Channel. For many of us here in North America (and around the world), McMahon is an authority when it comes to what's going on in the world of footie.

With a lifetime of experience playing, organizing and studying the game, he's a valuable voice in the coverage of world soccer. He can be seen on the Fox Soccer Report on Mondays and Fridays at 10 pm EST, and regularly updates his blog on Fox Soccer's website.

How did you get started as a Soccer Analyst?

As in life, it’s one of these things, where it’s a series of happy accidents. When the Canadian Soccer League was formed in the middle 80’s, I was still playing for a pretty good amateur team. That formed the basis for the Winnipeg Fury, and I’ve got a finance background, so I kind of got pulled in to help with the organization of that. I did a couple of years with that, and during that time Joe Pascucci was the head of Global Sports in Winnipeg. They were doing some games of the week, so Joe asked me to sit in on a few things. I talked well enough about the game, and because I played locally, he thought I’d be a reasonably credible analyst. I did a couple of games, which was fun, but you kind of just put it to one side and think, “yeah, that was fun”, and that’s one of the things you get to do in life, and it’s something you can look back on 20 years from now.

A couple of years after that, I went to work at a radio station, and there was a show on every night from 6-8 pm called Prime Time Sports. The World Cup came around in 1994 in the US and the week before the tournament started, the guy who did PTS asked me one afternoon, “What’re you doing tonight?” I said, “Going home, I hope,” and he said, “No you’re not, you’re doing PTS with me. We’re doing something on the World Cup and you’re going to talk about it.”

So I went on to do about half an hour, and by the time the World Cup had finished, I’d done PTS, and I’d done two bits a day on the FM station, and also the morning and afternoon talk shows when they started wanting to talk about soccer. So that stopped me from doing my normal work for the 4 weeks of the World Cup and I started doing that stuff, which was nice.

There was the European Championship a few years later, and then the 1998 World Cup came along, and I did it again. At the same time, I got approached by one of the local newspapers to write a World Cup column. It was supposed to be just about the World Cup, but that lasted for about five years. I was up in Edmonton, working in the 2001 World Track and Field Championships as VP of Venue Operations, and I was ready to come home, and Joe Pascucci tracked me down and told me to give him a call. I had no idea what he wanted, and when I called him, he told me that Global had just been given a sports station license, and they were going to focus on soccer, rugby and cricket. He told me they’d need someone to “fill in now and then”.

And that was the start of the Fox Soccer Report, but back then it was the Global Sports Link. I did a piece for them every Thursday, about a five minute piece on soccer, and I answered a couple of questions. The show was re-branded, and sold to the States to Fox Soccer Channel. Dermot McQuarrie (FSC executive) looked at the show and basically said “You’re not on Thursdays anymore, you’re on Fridays and Mondays”. And from there, I just kind of kept on going.

I think one of the keys to your appeal here in North America, is your ability to decipher the media, to cut through the BS.

It’s very easy to get suckered in by the media. I try and put some context to it, and try and separate the bullshit, which makes the headlines, from the things that are really important. The first book I ever read was a football book. I never read a novel until I was well into my teenage years. All I read were football books and all I ever cared about was football. So I don’t just bring the EPL with me, but some 40 good years of solid history, and that kind of helps to show the context.

The EPL seems to be the league worldwide at the moment, do you see that changing?

As long as they keep delivering the money in terms of TV deals, they’ll be tough to match. This is the Fabio Capello question. Does England produce enough good players that Capello can turn into a World Cup-winning team? It’s nice to say English football is successful in Europe, but they’re essentially just England-based clubs. It’s always been this way, but it’s certainly to a different extent, at least in the last five years. There’s always been a foreign influence in football, but the globalization of the game is personified in the Premiership. It’s become the United Nations.

Going back to your earlier question, when we were talking about the 16-team league. If we had a 16-team league, you’d still see the pace of the English game, but with the high technical ability of the top teams.

Did you see the Sunderland-West Ham game? It was terrible, really awful. And that’s why there’s a question mark over Richard Scudamore’s 39th game. There’s a perception that the EPL is followed around the world, when in reality, 95% of the followers follow Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. If you take out the magic of the big four, you haven’t got much of a league.

For the rest of our interview with Bobby, click here.

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Organized crime in the beautiful game

Declan Hill's book The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime details the Canadian journalist's investigation of match-fixing in some of the world's biggest competitions. An excerpt of his book ran in the Sunday Telegraph and is available here.

Hill spoke on the CBC television show The Hour. His interview is here.

[Examiner, CBC]

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The Grab: August 20, 2008

We all know Arsene Wenger hates to pay retail, but a possible shock move for out-of-favor leftback Mikael Silvestre from Old Trafford to the Emirates may be one of the deals of the transfer window. The former French international could be pulling on an Arsenal strip for around $1.4M (750,000 GBP), eschewing an opportunity to sit on the bench for the Red Devils.

Although returning from a series of long-term injuries and on the wrong side of 30 for a fullback, this may be a deal; at worst, he sits on the bench injured, for a mere pittance of a transfer fee, and at best, he fills in next to Gallas in the center of defense against teams Phillipe Senderos can't handle, namely those with big, powerful center forwards. If it happens it's another option for cover in the defense, similar to if the club retained Gilberto instead of letting him go to Panathinaikos for $2M.

Gunners in shock move to steal United's Silvestre from under the noses of Sunderland [Daily Mail]

And since we're on the subject of Wenger's stinginess, Dutch striker Nacer Barazite joined Championship side Derby County on a one month loan. A month? Wow, how benevolent of the gaffer. At 18, Barazite can play a few positions in the final third of the pitch and featured a couple of times in the Gunners' League Cup campaign last season before succumbing to a dislocated shoulder.

Rams snare Gunners starlet [Sky Sports]

What is it about sulky French strikers that EPL managers love? Nicolas Anelka, le Sulk returned to England with Chelsea last year, but just started being relevant to the Blues. Now, it looks like Djibril Cisse will be at the Stadium of Light in a Sunderland kit, on loan from Olympique Marseille. Question is, can he make difference for the Black Cats or is he one more leg break away from retirement?

Cisse joins Sunderland on loan [Reuters]

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Spurs Good Riddance Could be a Black Cat Revival

In the past, Roy Keane has not been shy about looking disdainfully on the quaint but ineffectual nature of Irish football. It's arguable whether or not Roy Keane will be remembered as the uber-competitive hard man of the Manchester United midfield or the rage and pride-filled egomaniac that abandoned his country leading up to the 2002 World Cup.

And Sunderland, long the quaint and ineffectual favorite of the Irish that don't devote all of their time to bleeding Celtic green, now finds Roy Keane and chairman Niall Quinn trying to break out of the old "ah, the lads gave it their all" mentality that so often accompanies failure. A proposed deal totaling $46M for Steed Malbranque, Teemu Tainio, Younes Kaboul and Pascal Chimbonda from Tottenham Hotspur is reportedly on the table.

Pretty big deal, eh? Especially for Sunderland, you say. Well, the number's big, but as everything is relative, a mere pittance compared to the ever-escalating transfer fees that have following the largest TV contracts in history.

$12M is a lot for any of the above individual players, but if this move goes through, it'd be hard to argue that it wasn't the biggest deal done yet in the transfer window. It is difficult to get excited about Steed Malbranque, but he adds creativity to the attack in midfield. Tainio can be petulant and inconsistent, but can play holding midfield, join in attack and perhaps play out wide. Kaboul is perhaps best known for throwing a tantrum when substituted rather than anything he does on the field, but he's still young. Chimbonda is perhaps the best out of all four, and while he carries a bit of the ego with him, he's in the prime of his career and is highly-motivated on the pitch.

$46M doesn't sound like a lot of money until you find out it's Sunderland doing the spending, but if Keano gets his men and they can follow simple directions and avoid the wrath of their manager and his standards, we'll have seen a marked improvement upon last year's squad, all done simply in one fell swoop. It hasn't happened yet, but when does the opportunity to upgrade your midfield and back line, especially with players that have played together, come along? Not often; a deal like this should bring entertainment to the Northeast, and perhaps more importantly the Black Cats.


Sunderland swooping for four Spurs [Irish Times]

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Book Review: Red Mist

Conor O'Callaghan is a poet, but his 2004 memoir, Red Mist: Roy Keane and the Irish World Cup Blues, feels more like an investigative account of a crime. While the drama surrounding the Irish captain's departure from World Cup preparations is well-known among footie fans over here, very few of us understand the impact of Roy Keane's actions.

One must understand Ireland, specifically what Roy Keane means to a nation perpetually on the brink of commanding a seat on the world stage, not only in international soccer, but also in global economic terms. The North American point of view, and perhaps that of the world, previous to the boom of the Celtic Tiger, is one of a quaint land of lilting brogues and Guinness. Ireland may be the homeland of so many, yet maintained their second-world status while the rest of Europe and the world leapt forward.

As the World Cup neared, Ireland's rise in global influence inevitably found itself manifested in Ireland's chances in the 2002 World Cup. Ireland may have a second-class domestic league, but players' experience abroad afforded the squad the experience to go far in the finals. Or so Roy Keane, playing for arguably the biggest club, Manchester United, thought.

While Ireland may have differing opinions on Keano and his decision (traitorous knacker vs. a man who stands up for his ideals), there is little argument that the FAI was ill-prepared to compete in Korea and Japan in 2002. Like much of the national team's past, the squad was destined to mediocrity, with the expectation of a congratulations just for showing up. This has been the downfall of Irish soccer according to O'Callaghan, stemming from Jack Charlton's tenure as gaffer.

To an outsider, Keane's fury at the lack of professionalism (a lack of training balls, discipline, and a general "happy to be here" attitude) may seem petulant and egotistical. But it is his single-mindedness that has made him the player he is. Keane is more than known to have little patience with those that do not work as hard as he does, and he communicates this in perhaps less than diplomatic ways.

O'Callaghan does well to capture the anti-Keane sentiment while he struggles to hold onto his support of the embittered captain. Much of his account is intertwined with his family, specifically his young son, who is experiencing not only his first World Cup, but the first time his hero is revealed to be human.

While it may seem like a story unlikely to excite the average footie fan, O'Callaghan's style makes it easy to find yourself drawn into his experience. There really is no comparison to what Keano's departure from the national team meant to Ireland, simply because what Roy Keane meant to the nation is perhaps more than a player has ever meant to a team.

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Oh, Stan? We've always loved him . . . .

It's amazing how benevolent Stanley Kroenke looks now, especially since Arsenal's board, namely Peter Hill-Wood, officially dated himself as a relic by claiming the club didn't want "his sort". It was easy to recoil at Silent Stan, because to the Arsenal board, he undeniably represented all that was wrong in the football world, with its foreign owners and their tasteless riches.

The last thing the Arsenal board needed was to become another plaything to the world's richest, but to an American? What shall be next, oh noble English? Perhaps those vile American things like obesity and violence. We shall not import that into this sacred isle. Footballers, yes, but not one to share our expense accounts and to join us in pretending we have anything to do with what happens on the field.

Enter Alisher Usmanov, "the hardman of Uzbekistan", and now PHW is eating those words like a business lunch in an Emirates luxury box. It is hard to ignore that Usmanov is more akin to the Roman Abramovich sort (non-Western European, rich by dubious means), but it is his bullishness and teaming up with the ousted David Dein that makes Kroenke look like a a dream savior (especially since his partnership blocks Usmanov further). It doesn't help Usmanov that he looks like he can crush a man to death, or at least make a call and have someone else do it for him.

How is this different than the presumptions that we all make? The Dutch are technical, the Italians defensive, Brazilians play joyfully, with big provincial smiles on their faces as they samba through midfield. These attitudes haven't changed. Of course the old-school ways of the Arsenal board are the same, but the ugly American just became a prom queen in the light of someone perceived to be a thug by reputation and association. And so PHW is carefully primping a lovely cushion for Silent Stan's big, fat Costco-sized, gas-guzzling, Bush-loving ass, which of course will be sore from all the incessant love bites sent his way now.

Does any of this matter? Only if the Kroenke's arrival leads to an injection of money, to which strings are always attached. Expectations are hard to let go of for club owners, especially when the drama and allure of top flight football can make new fans dream big, oftentimes to bitter disappointment. The current talk surrounding most of Wenger's supposed targets seem to rely heavily on getting some cash for Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor. All of Kroenke's teams have yet to establish themselves in the upper echelon of American sports, so he isn't a Steinbrenner, or even the Glazers. Like everyone else, he could just be in it for the Premier League money. It's just interesting how an annoying American accent can change its timbre against the backdrop of a Turkic tongue.

Arsenal warm up seat on board for billionaire Stan Kroenke [Times Online]

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Who's next for Chelsea?

Despite nudging Chelsea into the realm of big-time footy, albeit with an infusion of funds of speculative origin, Roman Abramovich has seemingly completed the task of turning Stamford Bridge into a new Siberia. And I don't mean it's Siberia because visiting teams never get more than a point there, but because the Russian billionaire has effectively frightened off any manager with any notions of reality. While we all knew Avram Grant's days were numbered since he began, most obviously by the lack of support from most of the squad, the Israeli's sacking officially labeled the club as not only a trinket for Abramovich, but a manifestation of his megalomania.

You can't criticize an owner for wanting to win it all. Abramovich was able to take a competent squad compiled by Claudio Ranieri, and added the key ingredient in Jose Mourinho. But unless there's another gaffer out there like the Special One, anyone who takes that job will suffer the same fate as Grant. If one can get in, win some silver and do it one's own way, then perhaps there's a chance. But if that's more optimism than reality, very few will hope to stay longer than perhaps a year or a bit more.

There's a lot of bleating on about how managers don't get enough time to mold their clubs into winning sides, almost as much as the is complaint about the high number of foreigners in the English Premier League. How does a potential manager get the chance to mold a squad with his vision, to get time to assemble a side that will compete? The short answer is that he doesn't.

Top flight management is more a mercenary occupation than ever before. Does Roman Abramovich really want to give a guy like Mark Hughes time to build a squad as he did at Blackburn? Of course not. In Abramovich's mind, he's one or two pieces away from what he wants: a dominant side both in England and in Europe. The manager isn't necessarily the visionary in this case, but rather another part of the machinery. As soon as Jose Mourinho ceased being merely a part was the beginning of his demise as Chelsea manager.

And that is why Inter Milan is so perfect for Mourinho. Serie A champions at a time when Juventus has yet to assert itself and AC Milan is in a rebuilding stage, there only remains the Champions League to be won. If Jose Mourinho cannot grasp the trophy with the Nerazurri, realistically who can? Sure, Massimo Moratti can be as tyrannical as the worst soccer despot, but it's highly unlikely that Mourinho is in it for the long haul in Milan. Inter are just another notch on the Special One's bedpost, another domino to fall in his attempt to conquer the continent.

Chelsea's future may seem muddled, but if Avram Grant can get the Blues to within three points of winning the league and into the European Cup final, you have to think Abramovich isn't worried about who the next manager will be. The notion of a club built and modeled on the vision of a great manager is gone. You can point to Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger with Arsenal, but these are gaffers that are at the top of the game in the world. Considering the money at stake and the rabid impatience of fans, all that matters is silver, there's very little advantage of giving a manager time unless the goal is to establish a mid-table team as a consistent mid-table team.

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The Grab: 04.08.2008

Goldenballs overtakes Ronaldinho in the Rich List again, but that may change soon if everyone's favorite toothy Brazilian makes a move to the luxuriousness of Manchester City, which will happen when AC and I top the next Rich List. Interestingly, at least six of the top ten aren't playing their best footie in quite some time, including the the aforementioned little Ronnie (too busy partying), Ronaldo (injury) and Michael Ballack (can't play with Frankie Lampard).

Beckham Dethrones Ronaldinho to Top Soccer's Rich List Again [Bloomberg]

The naming of the new MLS franchise in Seattle doesn't quite amp up the citizens of the Pacific Northwest, as much as say, Real Seattle City United Raging Leg-breaking SC (yes, we still make fun of people who say "football" instead of "soccer" over here), but we may see Europe's er, best turn out in a Sounders kit. Is Giorgio Chinaglia still available?

Uninspiring soccer team name will be OK if players’ names are huge [The News Tribune]

Stuck in your grey cubicle, staring off into space, and lamenting how you ended up here can wear one down at times. It's sites like Sniffing the Touchline, coffee breaks and fucking with corporate tools that help me get through my day.

Trouser-Tightening WAG Round-Up [Sniffing the Touchline]

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The Grab: 03.27.2008

Don't get the idea that we make any sort of generalizations at all (e.g., Italian soccer is corrupt, there are no technically competent English players, Brazilians take their tradition of samba to the pitch, etc.) and we're certainly not racist, but here's a little footy-related post from one of my favorite blogs. [Stuff White People Like]

The moment we've all been waiting for is now upon us. The MLS season begins with a scintillating match up between . . . . zzzzzzz . . . . never mind. For those of you new to this exciting phenomenon of American sahhhh-ker, here's a list of some shit. [MVN]

Let this be an inspirational message to all you kids out there. Just as we have our own brand of soccer over here, you can do anything you put your mind to. Someday, even you can lead a nation and rub shoulders with Hugo Chavez, or fulfill your dream of playing for an amateur side, for no good reason. [AP]

Alexandre Pato lives up to the hype, or reveals the holes in Sweden's defense, with this brilliant goal in last night's Brazil v. Sweden friendly at Emirates Stadium. [World Cup Blog]

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The Late Grab: 03.25.2008

Wolfsburg striker, Marcelinho, certainly has a way with the ladies. Remember Joey Barton's technique with the lasses that catch his eye? Well, Brazilian definitely scores points for tenderness, stroking her face and all. Too bad about the beer bottle to her friend's face.

Marcelinho accused of attack [Setanta Sports]

With a target of winning the World Cup by 2050, Japanese Soccer is setting its sights even higher in the hopes it can affect the alarmingly high rate of adolescent suicide in Japan. Japan ranks in the top ten in suicide rates per 100,000 people, with South Korea the only Asian nation with a higher ranking.

Japan soccer tackles pre-teen suicide [Reuters]

Let the fawning over Goldenballs begin again. Like many of his celebrity buddies, David Beckham made a show of his trip to Africa, chronicled here in the LA Times. Don't get me wrong, I do like the fact that he's "raising awareness", but it's hard to take it seriously when his soccer schools have opened in Los Angeles and Brazil, of all places.

It's an interesting contrast to what Patrick Vieira has done in Senegal, and even Rio Ferdinand in Uganda. It's great to be a UNICEF ambassador, but he hasn't even adopted a third world child yet. If he and Posh have any ideas about conquering the States, maybe they can take a cue from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Beckham's world tour is a gratifying experience [LA Times]

It's seemingly Footballers' Wives whenever Jermain Defoe's around. This time his former lady, Danielle Lloyd, who's been pretty much been passed around the top London sides like a spitoon, goes ape shit over something to do with the pint-sized Pompey boy. For those of you who don't know Dani, she's one of those English girls who's famous, but you're not quite sure why, sort of a more unhinged Paris Hilton.

Now Danielle Lloyd is caught up in nightclub 'catfight' over ex Jermain Defoe [Daily Mail]

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The Grab: 03.24.2008

Nice work from the team over at Sniffing the Touchline, with a little rundown of some truly classic (and by classic, I mean embarrassing) attempts at a second career by some footballers with delusions of grandeur. Call it a gross generalization, but I never thought athletes and music were a likely match, unless you're 7 feet tall with a lazy eye. [STT, Amazon]

Is keeping Michael Owen (as opposed to keeping his job) really one of the bigger concerns for Kevin Keegan? Or is it just another desperately planted story to keep Newcastle United relevant in the news? They did beat Fulham, after all. Money quote: "Michael's not going to stop scoring, he's not going to stop catching the eye and Michael is going to be wanted by other clubs." Good point, Kev. Let me know when he starts scoring. [Setanta]

If you can deny the fan's favorite because of potential religious connotations, can't you ban a kit simply because it's hideous? Well, apparently a vague cross is better than "hints of eagle claws" (or those streamers that gymnasts whirl about in the Olympics) and an eagle evocative of the Weimar Republic. [Reuters Blogs]

Bored with the minutiae of your own life? Take a a snooze with Willy in North London, albeit without the thousands of pounds a week you're watching pile up in your account. [Times Online]

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London Revelation

The sieve of the Premier League's tail end of the season has finally taken the long-awaited bump we've all anticipated, sifting the top four into the most likely of orders, if experience is to be the measuring stick.

Manchester United's cream rises to the top, and the discussion is no longer whether the Red Devils can overtake Arsenal (that became clear weeks ago when the North London side seemed to echo the frustrating ineffectiveness in front of goal that cursed them throughout last season), but who will step up to challenge a seemingly unassailable team.

Sir Alex's team have done nothing different than last year, save for an inglorious departure from the eternal grail of the treble to Portsmouth in the FA Cup. It is more Arsenal's fine start to the campaign that made this a race, and now that the lack of depth and experience has shifted this advantage north from London to Manchester, the lever of pressure has been passed within London to a headless team of mercenaries in Chelsea.

Neutrals bought into the dream of a young side of technical experts, imbued with verve and a love of one-two, on the carpet passing. Jose Mourinho's provocative charisma overshadowed Chelsea's sometimes lack of creativity, despite winning successive trophies and racking up an unheard of unbeaten streak at Stamford Bridge. And Sir Alex Ferguson's infallible rotation, at least when it came to winning what mattered, facilitated a modern definition of "bounce-backability".

Looking back, Arsene Wenger's adherence to his belief that a tight, gifted group of youngsters growing up as a team can produce beautiful football may seem ruefully narrow-minded. He might be right, just a bit early as he was in calling for an unbeaten season prematurely, but the Arsenal fan's insistence that "Wenger knows" has officially taken a beating, as another trophy-less season seems imminent.

Arsenal's victory over stagnant European champions Milan overshadowed the squad's weaknesses, despite such impotency in the league. As confidence can be razed just as quickly as it can be built from an injury time goal, the Gunners' current results shouldn't be surprising. Until this team, as wonderfully youthful and frustratingly naive it can be at times, learns how to win ugly and get up for those games that don't get the blood racing (Birmingham City and Middlesbrough to name a few, where putting eleven behind the ball isn't being defensive, it's survival), Arsenal will remain just another pretty face with potential.

Wenger rues 'big setback' in race for title [Guardian Football]

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