Jozy Altidore's quest for his first English Premier League goal will take him to City of Manchester Stadium, where he and Hull City will face off against Manchester City in one of the more intriguing matches on Saturday.
Altidore is coming off a strong performance in Hull's recent 3-2 win vs. Everton and will face a stern test from Man City standout defenders Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott.
The match of the day will feature Brad Friedel's Aston Villa against high-flying Tottenham, while Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley will also be playing on games being televised in the USA today.
If you will be watching any of today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today's soccer TV schedule is after the jump):
TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV
10am– ESPN2- Portsmouth vs. Manchester United
10am– Setanta USA- Manchester City vs. Hull City
10am– FSC- West Ham vs. Burnley
Noon– ESPN360.com- Udinese vs. Livorno
Noon– Setanta USA- Carlisle vs. Norwich
12:30pm-FSC- Aston Villa vs. Tottenham
12:30pm– GolTV- Borussia Moenchengladbach vs. Schalke 04
12:30pm– ESPN Deportes- AZ Alkmaar VVV Venlo
2pm– ESPN Deportes/ESPN360.com- Valencia vs. Mallorca
2:45pm– FSC/RAI- Genoa vs. Sampdoria
3pm– Setanta USA- Lens vs. Olympique Marseille
4pm– GolTV- Sevilla vs. Malaga
4pm– ESPN Deportes- Sparta Rotterdam vs. PSV Eindhoven
5pm– Setanta USA- Fulham vs. Bolton (Delayed)
5pm– FSC- Udinese vs. Livorno (Delayed)
6pm– Azteca America- Cruz Azul vs. Puebla
6:30pm– GolTV- Junior vs. Pereira
7pm– FSC- Wigan vs. Sunderland (Delayed)
8:15pm– GolTV- Deportivo Tolima vs. Atletico Huila
8:30pm– Setanta USA- Blackburn vs. Stoke City (Delayed)
10pm– Telefutura- Club America vs. Monterrey
2am– FSC- Sydney FC vs. Newcastle Jets
Ok. My apology for saying that grabbing was not illegal. It is, its just that my point was they don’t call it unless it is really severe which you also point out. I didn’t think that was the case with Vidic. I am willing to bet you will see more penalities not called than penalities called for shirt pulling in the World Cup.
Isn’t this just being pedantic, though? The end result of either term is that same. Sometimes I feel like soccer fans have sticks up their arses about things.
I’m assuming that by “grabbing” you mean grabbing a jersey or shorts. That is illegal. I think you will find the rules are not always enforced even at the highest level.
Here is the FIFA rule:
“A direct free kick is also awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any
of the following three offences:
– holds an opponent
– spits at an opponent
– handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own
penalty area)
A direct free kick is taken from the place where the offence occurred
(see Law 13 – Position of Free Kick).”
Holding the players clothing is the same as holding a player so shirt pulling is illegal. However, it is so pervasive it is rarely called unless blatant, particularly in the 6 yard box. In the World Cup, they sometimes make a point to be very strict about it, especially in the penalty area. I’m willing to bet you will see a penalty called for it in the 2010 World Cup.
If they can’t see it everytime when it happens all the time and it is illegal, this is a better reason to have video technology than due to diving as shirt pulling happens far more often than diving. If this happens every play, why was it called this time and not the other times.
That was random.
I’d rather see Rogers and Dempsey on the left before Lewis. He is old and slow, though intelligent. But I hope we never get that desperate where we are considering him as an option.
Does anyone know if Eddie Lewis is still available as an option for Bob Bradley? Just a thought, because he’s still a solid option who provides excellent service, and a clever passer of the ball. I just sort of wonder with the crisis of a proper left winger, could Bradley provide Lewis with a good chance? If not a chance at extended time, then a good-bye game?
Actually it’s more of an anal retentive thing. And, the other poster is correct in making the English/American distinction, of which the English terminology is always the one used by FIFA. That doesn’t make it any more correct. I’m sure the FIFA rules refer to the “pitch”, but I’m quite happy to call it a “field”.
because they can’t see it every time. It is just widely known by coaches/players/refs that holding in some sort is occurring on every play. And yes, never did you say grabbing was illegal, the rules of the game say it instead.
Surprised no one on here is talking about how Jack Warner is now backing England for 2018.