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Soccer Tuesday: Your Running Commentary

JackWilshereArsenal1-Fenerbahce (Getty)

By DAN KARELL

Arsenal are 90 minutes from qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage, an important achievement considering all of the players they are targeting before the transfer window closes.

Following a 3-0 victory last Wednesday, the Gunners host Fenerbahce at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, seemingly in a strong position to move on. It’s a complete turnaround from the first English Premier League weekend of the season, when Arsenal were outplayed and defeated by Aston Villa.

In addition to Arsenal’s match, Schalke 04 visits Greece to face PAOK with the teams level, 1-1, on aggregate. Austria Wien hosts Dinamo Zagreb, Steaua Bucharest visit Legia Warszawa, and FC Basel face Ludogorets.

Finally, an early afternoon Bundesliga match is on tap as Bayern Munich, with their UEFA Super Cup match coming in Prague on Friday, have moved their upcoming weekend match against SC Freiburg to Tuesday.

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 (Today’s TV schedule is after the jump):

12:30pm – Freiburg vs. Bayern Munich – GolTV USA

2:40pm – Liverpool vs. Notts County – beIN Sport USA

2:45pm – Arsenal vs. Fenerbahce – Fox Sports 1

2:45pm – PAOK vs. Schalke 04 – Fox Soccer 2Go

2:45pm – FC Basel vs. Ludogorets – Fox Soccer Channel

2:45pm – Austria Wien vs. Dinamo Zagreb – Fox Sports Net/MSG Plus

8pm – Houston Dynamo vs. Arabe Unido – Fox Sports 1

Comments

  1. For anyone else watching CCL, KC @ Olimpia is on Fox Soccer Plus now.
    Houston won 2-1 at home, let’s see what KC can do in the rain in Honduras.

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  2. Speaking as a Jermaine Jones fan, want to inject a bit of reality into the discussion tha I saw below about his game today. With the lone exception of the long pa$$ for the first goal, JJ mostly sukked. And his second yellow card was totally stupid. He gave the ball away on a bad touch and then went in from behind for stupid challenge that left Schalke down a man with 26 minutes to go in game that would determine whether Schalke moves to the CL group stage for a 20-million payday or down to the Europa League and peanuts. And the thing is, Schalke actually played better offensively a man down after JJ64yyr left the field.

    And what is troubling form a USMNT perspective is that Jones has mostly sukked in every game so far this season for Schalke. I have no idea what is going on, but I do know he is in the last year of his contract and Schalke apparently has not offered him an extension on his very nice 4-million-euro per year contract. It could be Jones head is not in the game and when he saw the red card today he left the field almost with a smile on his face as if it didn’t bother him one bit. I am not saying it will happen, but I would not be surprised to see Jones move before the end of the transfer window, because he no doubt lost a lot of credibility after today’s game and his teammates most likely are not happy with him.

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    • He does it all the time! Way too much of a liability in a tournament with card accumulation. Even despite this, Cameron is superior. It has been a long time since JJ fid anything to justify his nearly guaranteed starting spot

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  3. Ref in the Arsenal game was extremely poor today, he let Fener players spend half an hour taking cheap shots from behind on Wilshere. Bruno Alves had a full on body check at the top of the box that didn’t even get it booked. Really poor from the ref, he should know the tie is out of hand and that Fener would start to get frustrated.

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  4. Man, soccer fans have to be the most reactionary bunch of people you’ll ever find. Halfway through the third game of a TEN month season, everyone was ready to call for Jozy to put in his transfer request. Folks, Sunderland brought in ten new players and the window isn’t even closed yet. Just relax. We won’t really know much about how things will turn out for another three months minimum. The good thing is that Jozy is playing and seems to be well liked by his manager. That’s the most important thing. Hopefully the other pieces will come together but give it some time. Would you quit your new job 3 days in?

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  5. Regardless of the score, ya still have to be uncomfortable with Paolo di Canio removing Ji three minutes into the second half. That’s just an insult and is so classless.

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    • Yes how dare that classless coach remove somebody that had been playing porely all game. The worst part about it was that he pulled him for a player that helped spark the attack and scored two goals. He was just so mean to Ji, who cares if the team won he should have kept him on so he didnt hurt his feelings.

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      • Pointless rant as he had the option to take him off at half time, which he should have done. There was absolutely no point to waiting THREE MINUTES into the half instead of doing it at half other than causing the player complete embarrassment,

      • maybe something changed his mind…

        how are you guys going to sit here and have an argument about something neither if you can prove? maybe the media will ask for you all.

      • According to the radio broadcast, they had the man warming up to replace him before they even started the half and literally one trip down the pitch he’s taken off to a shower of boos. If you know you’re gonna make the decision, I’d argue you’ve got a responsibility to not humiliate him. That’s being the manager at any job.

      • again, that doesn’t prove anything. all speculation. we have no idea what he said at half time. things can change.

        i could honestly care less, but watching people argue over their @ssumptions is just really annoying. but i guess it’s my fault for reading.

        he’s a professional athlete, i’m sure he can handle it.

      • It’s hard to say given nobody seems to have actually seen it. But it would seem reasonable that Di Canio noticed that whatever message he had hoped to communicate at halftime to Ji had not registered (language barrier or whatever the case may be…) and decided it was best to hook the guy before it got worse. Seems reasonable enough… this isn’t AYSO.

      • Now that could be true, maybe he told him to do something very specific then he completely ignored him. I would take him off too.

        Could have been anything like… mark that guy on set pieces. And he doesn’t? Pull him.

        But no way to know. Game wasn’t even televised.

      • “But no way to know. Game wasn’t even televised.”

        Why don’t you just read his mind? Everyone else here is good at it.

    • Um… Not sure what you are expecting. If you are looking for normal and predictable behavior or coddling his players, you may want to google Paolo Di Canio.

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      • its not coddling your players to do what every other manger would do in the same situation. It’s noteworthy because nobody does it for this exact reason.

      • Given, Jozy’s last trip in England was with a guy who made his entire team sit on the field during half time…in the Premier league. I don’t think they were even given orange slices.

      • PDC has ruled that you can’t drink Coke with ice. Mind you, he hasn’t banished Coke… or ice. You just can’t drink coke WITH ice. We are not dealing with the most rational individual here. He’s a fascist, for chrissake. I’m not being metaphorical.

      • In baseball terms, Manny being Manny doesn’t mean its not ridiculous. That’s how you burn bridges and lose control of a lockerroom.

      • Among the long, long, long list of things PDC has done that one might consider noteworthy, I assure you that pulling Ji 3 minutes into the half does not make the list.

  6. Woah, woah.

    Guys and girls. This is still a mid table THIRD DIVISION side they’re playing against. The only thing to take from this is utter fear that they were getting rolled and a W to advance.

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