Fighting Talker

Uh oh, Mike Wise is in attendance tonight in the Press Box. Is it time for his biannual fire the DC coach article?

I am entering tonight’s game with the mentality I had covering Columbus.. I know DC is going to lose. I am sure some of DC’s players or staff know they’re going to lose. Sure, I know you want to say that you always have to support the lads, and I do… BUT, I know a dysfunctional team when I see one… and ladies and gentlemen, this is one. All you can do is start to try and see the humor in it.

The only thing United has going for it is that we’re at home. In the words of the Orange One, THAT’S IT, THAT’S THE LIST.

And think about this, if Emilio suddenly gets his ass in gear and starts playing like he’s interested again… what has he just proven? That it’s acceptable to intentionally under perform and that it might even be rewarded. Is that what we really want?

I’ll keep this short and sweet. Let’s see, we’re playing a team we always struggle against and whose defense is the best in the league in crap weather with our #10 dinged up and many supporters ready to revolt against a team who may have been distracted this week by the sponsorship news and may be fatigued after the short layoff…. Okay that was more long and rambling than short and sweet. But the point is, United doesn’t stand a chance in hell tonight.

Prediction: 2-0 Chicago, Bet the house, Bet the farm, and in honor of Mother’s Day - bet your mom. DC loses tonight.

Steve Goff has the exclusive report:

Here’s the deal: Emilio and United have signed an amendment to his original contract, essentially a bonus (how much, I don’t know) that brings his earnings past the DP threshhold of $400,000-plus. He had been guaranteed $313,000 this year. His original contract remains intact, but at some point this year, one of three things must occur: United must sign him to a new deal, trade him or sell him abroad. Fair to say, his scoring output the next few months will determine his fate.

Snip

Bottom line: Emilio has a fatter contract — reward for his performance last year and perhaps motivation this year — and, for the time being, United cannot sign another designated player (from Argentina or elsewhere). It does not, however, prevent the club from acquiring non-DP players from abroad.

To me this deal appears to be doing one of two things. Keep reading →

DC owner Victor MacFarlane appeared to lay the blame for United’s early struggles on the coaching.

“I’m not happy. We need to do much better on the field,” said the San Francisco-based real estate magnate. “The team needs to come together – we have the talent necessary, the team needs to gel and start delivering.”

EDIT “As the owners of the team, when staff isn’t executing as you think, then you get a little bit more involved and you want to understand strategies a little bit better,” he said. “You want to be a little bit more involved in decisions, because your money is out there.”

I’m glad he’s not happy. I know that none of us supporters are happy either. Thursday night should prove an interesting bellwether on this season and the coaching staff.

Because you are reading my blog, you probably know that AC Milan won the Milan derby Sunday, 2-1, over Inter. Here is a clip of one of the Italian commentators going absolutely berserk after I think the Pippo Inzaghi goal. Can anyone tell us what he is saying here?

from zitosdirtysecret.wor posted with vodpod

From Who ate all the Pies:

In their infinite wisdom, the Football Association has demanded that the national team reach at least the last four of the next World Cup, or Euro 2012. The FA revealed their optimistic vision this week in a 52-page document which set out several policy initiatives for the international side.

is this a realistic expectation? Coach Fabio Capello says he’s “confident” that he can steer England’s overpaid lads to semi-final glory (followed by penalty shootout misery, no doubt). But do you think the FA is getting ideas above its station? Keep reading →

WordPress solved the issue I has having with moving my blog to www.fightingtalker.com. That, along with the old .wordpress address both work.

The only potential issue for readers is that folks with old feed-readers may need to re-subscribe to the new feed. I haven’t noticed any traffic drops from syndicated hits since yesterday, so I suspect the problem is very, very limited.

Please let me know if you are having any trouble accessing the feed or the site.

Thanks!

This isn’t a book review proper as he hasn’t released anything new, but I just wanted to take the time to highly recommend the work of British journalist Andrew Jennings. He specializes in shining the light on the dirty, dirty work of the IOC and FIFA. Keep reading →

From the Bog:

Oh, and there’s a massive United jersey bearing the VW logo draped over like half the seats in RFK, a jersey that will be waved by the supporters following goals, and thus does not need to be taken to road games.

Ouch.