It wasn't too long ago when Tottenham would have been considered an underdog against Chelsea, but things have changed a bit over the past month.
Chelsea is mired in a slump that erased a once healthy lead atop the Premier League while Tottenham comes in having won its Champions League group and having pulled within four points of Chelsea.
Tottenham-Chelsea is the marquee match on a day with some quality match-ups, such as In Italy, where Juventus will look to slow down high-flying Lazio.
The last big American soccer game of the season takes place this afternoon when Louisville takes on Akron in the NCAA Colleg Cup Final.
If you will be watching today's action please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Here is today's TV schedule):
TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV
6:30pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Bologna vs. AC Milan
8:30am- Fox Soccer Plus- Wolverhampton vs. Birmingham City
9am- Fox Soccer Channel- AS Roma vs. Bari
9am- ESPN3.com- Brescia vs. Sampdoria 9am- ESPN3.com- Cagliari vs. Catania 10:30am- Fox Soccer Plus- Bolton vs. Blackburn (Delayed) 11am- Fox Soccer Channel- Tottenham vs. Chelsea 11am- ESPN3.com- Athletic Bilbao vs. Espanyol 11am- DirecTV- Hercules vs. Malaga 11am- DirecTV- Mallorca vs. Racing Santander 11:30am- ESPN3.com- Mainz 05 vs. Schalke 04 1pm- ESPN3.com- Real Zaragoza vs. Real Madrid 2:45pm- Fox Soccer Channel- Juventus vs. Lazio 3pm- GolTV- Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad 3pm- Fox Soccer Plus- Bordeaux vs. Stade Rennes 4pm- ESPN2- NCAA Men's College Cup Final 5pm- GolTV- Santa Fe vs. Deportes Tolima
In my book, it means that he should be given the opportunity to prove that he can play well for the national team. An “opportunity” means he is given minutes, not guaranteed starts or anything else.
Not sure how you can say he is “clearly good enough to be in our starting XI” when he has never starred in an important international match.
He’s a good player, could be great. I will agree that he “NEEDS to start for the United States in every meaningful game in the future” when he consistently proves it wearing a US jersey. A great club team performance only goes so far . . .
Jozy turned on Carragher
It’s the quality of the goal that matters, not the fact that they were playing Blackburn. How many players do we have that can keep that kind of composure in that situation? And if you watched him play this year – he’s been very steady in arguably the best league in the world. In my book that puts him ahead of our other midfielders -minus Dempsey and Donovan. I’m not saying he’s a worldbeater, but he’s clearly good enough to be in our starting XI.
He’s had a great season but the hyperbole gets extremely tiresome.
Players earn their national team position by playing well for the national team. Club form does not always translate (see Messi, Lionel).
“He laid a great ball to Dempsey after making a great run off of Donovan’s run, Dempsey actually missed 1 he should of scored & it was all history from there like Landon: “time kind of stopped & you can’t miss from there.” ”
To be fair, Demspey didn’t miss. As soon as Dempsey got the ball he did shoot but it was blocked by what looked like the entire Algerian defense ( and flattened in the process). The blocked ball rolled out to Landon and the rest is history.
“Double sigh. Stu had played in a couple games tail end of EPL season; he’d just gone through USMNT training camp. I think that is known to be tough for out of form players, like say… Onyewu, who saw more time.”
Onyewu was a center back and while I would have liked to have seen more of Goodson, that position was much thinner than midfield for the US.
“remind me when USMNT has ever played Holden at CM, where he thrived in houston and is doing rather well we might agree with Bolton? Sigh”
The Holden you see today isn’t the same guy as the Holden at the World Cup. He’s been playing for a while now with a system that is almost tailored for him by a manager who brought him in specifically for that role and with players who are arguably more talented than the ones he plays with on the USMNT and who are very well established in their roles.
That makes a very big difference. If you doubt it just go over the mile long list of players who do great for their clubs (whatever the level) and never play that well for their national teams. Or vice versa.
People always forget that success for a club does not automatically translate to success for a national team, a completely different set up.
Here’s a fact; we don’t really know what condition Holden was in at the World Cup. I’ve never heard, and I doubt anyone ever will hear, whether the fitness coaches said Holden could only 10, 15, 45 or 90 minutes at the World Cup. Until those “facts” are published all of this is just speculation and hindsight.
Let’s just hope Holden is in this form and healthy by next June.
“He was fine then, and confirmed that he would be 100% match fit by the opener against England”
Are you saying Holden confirmed he would be 100% for the World Cup? What else would he say? Charlie Davies said he would 100% for the World Cup too.
Dempsey has played 136 games for Fulham and scored 26 goals which means he scores a goal every 4.8 ( call it 5) games for Fulham.
He has played 68 games for the US and has scored 19 goals which means he has scored a goal every 3.5 (call it 4) games for the US.
He scores more frequently for the US and , if you examine his goals, most of them come, not in friendlies but in competitions where it matters i.e. the World Cup, WC qualifying, the Confederations Cup and so on.
He may look lazy to you but perhaps that is because he he does not run around like a chicken with his head cut off, sweating just to impress those who don’t understand the difference between sweat and production. He simply produces when he is needed. I believe the term for it is “clutch”.
Bolton V. Blackburn highlights
http://todayfoot.com/Football/31147/
Someone hasnt been watching Stu this season to be that sarcastic.
+1
The next really meaningful game for the US is probably in June 2011 which is about six
months from now.
Holden’s play is encouraging but six months is an eternity in the soccer world and its premature to be writing out USMNT lineups.
Wow wow wow wow. What a shot by Iniesta! great passing too. I LOVE watching Barca play…
I’ve always thought this.
Iniesta looks like he could be Landon Donovan’s twin.
Barca up already.
Hard to believe a coach made a coaching error? Happens every week. it just gets magnified when it’s the World Cup.
Double sigh. Stu had played in a couple games tail end of EPL season; he’d just gone through USMNT training camp. I think that is known to be tough for out of form players, like say… Onyewu, who saw more time.
Fact is BB may love Stu but he loves MB more as a CM. And Stu wasn;t going to displace Dempsey or Donovan in the wide positions at the Cup.
Final fact is BB preferred the supposedly tougher combo of Rico and MB over MB and Holden in the middle, or Holden and Edu because….remind me when USMNT has ever played Holden at CM, where he thrived in houston and is doing rather well we might agree with Bolton? Sigh.
Damn sorry Ives, it’s been a while since I’ve ranted that long, woke up drozy and didn’t realized the size of the rant, my apologies yall
Adrian look @ the play vs Slovenia tying the game, Jozy layed ball off to Bradley on a sweet very hard work like &hustle play in which he out jumped his man going back towards goal with his back to goal was able set up Bradley perfectly for him to score the goal.
He laid a great ball to Dempsey after making a great run off of Donovan’s run, Dempsey actually missed 1 he should of scored & it was all history from there like Landon: “time kind of stopped & you can’t miss from there.” If you’re to knock on Jozy knock on him for sending his wide open try with the gGK not even close to being able to stop his shot & sending the ball to stands.
Further vs England Jozy had a play in which he turned on his defender, Glenn Johnson of Liverpool I believe,& with pure grit hustle &hard work out paced, blew by him with his sheer speed &strength to force himself on the outside & go by him, put a shot on goal only to see Green BARELY tip the ball to hit the post to a corner.
I can agree Stu should have played more, but before him Edu not starting every game was the biggest mess up by RoboBob.
Clark starting vs Ghana was stupid & we wasted a sub when we needed fresh legs in OT like Buddle or Torres or Stu. Bob knew it & had to take out Clark before halftime, Clark also messed up on play where Gerrard scored & shouldn’t of been playing. The forward who shouldn’t been playing so someone like Stu could in the wing or CM or Torres could play in a 5 man midfield was Robbie Findley ask anyone, time after time he had great runs &chances only to miss them all, Jozy did the correct runs to pull defenders giving Findley time & space to create& even with his speed would get in front of defenders only to miss every time
Oh, absolutely. He scored an important regular-season goal against a bottom-half EPL team, so he has no doubt locked up a national team position.
He should be made captain, too. And given his own bus.
Go Bears!
It really was a fantastic goal. I can’t decide what my favorite part is though, Stu’s finish or Davies discarding the Blackburn defender like a rag doll. Either way, those two looked like they had been playing together for years.
Enjoyed Spurs-Chelsea, and although I hate Chelsea, that was the best I’ve seen John Terry play in a long time. Master class.
Ronaldo’s free kick was unreal.
You’re fu*king joking right?? I’m sorry but reading through all of your posts, I’ve come to the consensus that you bit*h more than my girlfriend. I’ve actually seen Jozy in each of his appearances this season. I’ll tell you my secret, it’s called…live streaming, keep it on the hush hush though. Spanish media is known for picking on a player once and then harking on it every game they don’t score a brace.
Redknapp is going to get fined or suspended for the explosion that happens after this match to the media.
This is cheating, absolute cheating.
refs have ruined this game, no question
OMG and right after I finish that post, Bale is taken out by Essien on a fast break and the official ignores it!
Okay this is getting out of control.
The official wants Chelsea to win, that is the only possible explanation for that.
This is the third time that a Chelsea player does something which could end a season, and not even a foul is called.
I have no horse in this race, Adrian. Chelsea appears to be getting the benefit plenty
Yeah, that’s clear enough for me. Likewise buddy.
your claim that Dempsey is what Adrian said. is that clear enough English for you? and nice talking with you…not. how about that, clear enough?
Watching the replay, Droga clearly arm balled that down to himself out of the air.
Thought it was a head at first, but on replay it should have clearly been a hand ball.
Awesome!!! love Stuart
Dempsey dogs it… I’m unfamiliar with this term, just use english you know. It’s easier… Here’s what I’m claiming; Dempsey will be deservedly in a starting role right up to Brazil 2014.
Why on earth would you ever leave Drogba on the bench? Best striker in the world for me. 1-1 now
that Dempsey dogs it for the USMNT. not true for some time. did I misunderstand you?
sorry, what am I claiming? Please be more specific.
This official is not calling this match fair, and it’s frustrating even for someone without a horse in the race.
What’s a foul against Tottenham is not a foul against Chelsea.
not true; no way you follow the USMNT over any period of time and then claim this
I’d say it’s been 2 years now since Clint changed this…even though you have been unable to notice it. hmmmmmmm
No, you’re totally right about that Dempsey… but even then, he’s still one of our best players. If he’s available, you play him. He gets results.
Holden’s goal (great site, too)
http://www.noshortcorners.com/
I’ve now watched Stu’s goal about 10 times. What a great goal! And in a derby match no less. Wonder if he heard some “USA! USA!” chants after that one? 😀
hasn’t been like that for a looooong time; you need to update your files, man 🙂
thanks mate