Top Stories

Wednesday Kickoff: Clark sidelined, Liverpool owners face crisis and more

Ricardo Clark 2 (ISIphotos.com) 

Photo by ISIphotos.com

 

You can add Ricardo Clark to the list of U.S. national team starters dealing with injuries.

The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder will be sidelined three to four weeks after picking up a calf strain in training on Tuesday. 

Clark has yet to make his debut for the German club since moving to Frankfurt on a free transfer, and now he will have to wait even longer. Clark is also likely to miss the U.S. team's friendly vs. the Netherlands on March 3.

Here are some other stories to get your Wednesday started:

LIVERPOOL OWNERS FACE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Beleaguered Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet could be forced to sell their stake in Liverpool if they cannot come up with £100million ($159 million) in new investment by July.

Liverpool is believed to be £237 million in debt, with Hicks and Gillet facing mounting opposition from fans who blame the American duo for the team's struggles.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRLINES ACCUSED OF PRICE FIXING

If you are planning to attend the World Cup you could face some exorbitant flight prices to get around South Africa.

Six airlines operating in South Africa are being accused of price fixing ahead of the World Cup. A commission set up to investigate price hikes in flight prices has uncovered what appears to be a plan to raise ticket prices during the World Cup. No, this isn't that much of a surprise, but soccer fan around the world can only hope the South African government can keep the practice of price fixing from getting out of control.

USA MAINTAINS WORLD RANKING

The U.S. national team held on to the No. 14 world ranking in the latest FIFA rankings, released on Wednesday.

Egypt was the big mover, jumping up to No. 10 after winning its third straight African Cup of Nations. Cameroon dropped to No. 20 after a disappointing finish at the tournament.

Spain held on to the No. 1 spot, with the top nine going unchanged.

———–

What do you think of these developments? Disappointed that Clark will have to wait to make his Frankfurt debut? Hoping Hicks and Gillet will be forced to sell their stake in Liverpool? Starting to wonder if you can afford to go to the World Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. China was the last 3rd world nation to hold a big event and they def did not jack their prices this high, sure SA cannot really be compared to China but Beijing 08 had extremely affordable tickets to events and decently priced flight. Their motto was to get as many locals to enjoy as possible while SA seems to be get as many foreigners to spend as much as possible.

    $160, $120, $80 USD for group games is a total joke. Not only are flights high but hotels are going for 2-4 times the normal fee.

    Reply
  2. Seriously, you can find flights for 2000? I’d jump on that if its just 1 stop. Got tix to the Slovenia and Algeria game but flights out of jfk direct are $3300!!! The whole appeal of WC in a third world nation is the cheap price but this WC will be more expensive than 06 🙁

    How is SBI going there? Which airline and where ya’ll staying?

    Reply
  3. Maybe Tom Hicks will sell the Rangers to pay for Liverpool. Please can he sell the Rangers, please! Hicks is the worst owner in all of MLB.

    Reply
  4. Not half their team. Zidan was injured, and their coach (I suspect) got rattled and lined up his players in a 4-4-2 for the first time since he took over the Egyptian NT. Most of the players were the same as the first two games, and they adjusted back into their normal 3-5-2 formation after about 30-35 minutes, but Shehata outcoached himself.

    Not unlike Bradley at times.

    The player pools for the two countries are comparable.

    Reply
  5. You left out greedy and entitled.

    Man U. and Liverpool chose to go public and when you do that youtake the risk of being bought up by people whomaybe don’t agree with your idea of what is best for a club.

    Manchester and Liverpool deserve everything they get.

    Reply
  6. You’re asking the wrong question.

    Clearly you think the US is a better overall team than Honduras in some theoretical, on paper. sense. In that regard,yes, the US is, on paper, a better team.

    But athletic competition is about doing it on the field and paper only matters in fantasy competition.

    It all depends on the competition. A friendly is a one off game. So yeah, Honduras was better than the US on the night. You can go home and claim “Well we’re a better team” but Honduras still won the game.You score more goals that night and you are better. That is why they keep score. This game is based on an objective scoring system which is to say it’s not ice dancing,where you have judges who , subjectively, give you points for “style” and “artistic merit”.

    Now in World Cup Qualifying, the US finished ahead of Honduras over the course of however many games there were in qualifying so in terms of that competition, yes, the US was better. And which ever team goes farther in the World Cup will be the better team for that competition. And if the US should somehow meet Honduras in the World Cup and Honduras beats us then yes, they would be a better team than the US for that night and that competition.

    Isn’t that why they decide things on the field instead of on paper or in opinion polls on SBI?

    What Moose said is complete alcid manure. I just find it completely useless to say Egypt would have beat the US if they had had their injured players. You might expect that and that might be your opinion, but there is absolutely no way to prove that hypothetical. Every game is a unique event that only happens once.

    It makes as much sense as saying that if my lottery tickets had been different I’d be a multi millionaire. Well, they weren’t and I’m not. Too bad.

    Reply
  7. Why is that hilarious? South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa, and certainly the only one in sub-Saharan Africa capable of hosting the World Cup. There’s not symbolism value in holding it in northern Africa.

    Reply
  8. Really…?????? Did you just say this…???

    “I just knows what I reads in the papers inkedAG.”

    Credibility…..drooooppping with EVERY error. What did you do, take Rosetta Stone for Ebonics??

    Reply
  9. this is about anti-American sentiment. it has little to do with football. every comment even on that article is about “yanks” this or that.

    english fans want a handout. they don’t want a well run business. They want an owner that gives money, is willing to lose his shirt and never takes any profit. It’s why all their teams struggle financially. Business wise English soccer fans are naive and amateurish.

    Reply
  10. Your notion is a steaming pile of moose manure.

    It doesn’t work that way. You can only play the team that shows up. This woulda, shoulda argument about” “ooh if we had our whole team we would have kicked your butt” is very lame. The ability to do well with the players you have left, the depth of the squad, the ability to compensate for injuries are all part of the deal.

    Egypt have plenty of talented players. If they couldn’t get themselves together to beat a crap team like the US with one hand tied behind their back them what does that say about such a bunch of pansies?

    Lame.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Nova Cancel reply