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...just what the heck Arsenal vs. Bolton has to do with Seattle sports...and why anyone actually watches Soccer with interest...
*head scratch*
Arsenal 4-2 Bolton Wanderers part 3
=== Fabregas Controversy ===
About 10 minutes into the second half, Arsenal center back William Gallas went for a 50-50 ball just outside the Bolton goal box. The Wanderer slid in and Gallas trode directly on the opponent's ankle in a scary mis-step.
As the Wanderers stood around screaming for a foul and a yellow card, moments later the ball came to Cesc Fabregas at the elbow of the goal box right side. He spectacularly dribbled the ball through four Wanderers, seeming to be in the box for ages, and then found an impossible angle from the right side -- about three yards off the touch line and about 6-8 yards wide of the right post.
He scooted the ball low, under the keeper's hands and even between his feet, to the far left post and it was 2-2 level.
All week, controversy has been raging that the referee's non-call gave Arsenal the Premiership lead... as to whether Bolton had held off Arsenal anyway, you be the judge ...
The goal was Fabregas' 11th of the Premier League campaign in just 22 games, this placing him 7th in the league. Many of Fabregas' goals have been self-created with little set assistance from teammates.
Only Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool super-strikers Rooney, Drogba and Torres, plus 4 other players, have as many. This coming from a player who is a playmaking midfielder, the announcers immediately started in again about Footballer of the Year.
....
Right now Arsenal have three of the EPL's top scorers, no small feat being as one of them is Robin van Persie, who has been out of play for a month.
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=== Echoes ===
Later in the second half, a series of headers went high into the sky in the Bolton goal box this time. This mirrored Bolton's first goal.
This time the ball came down to the left foot of Tomas Vermaelen, Arsenal's high-priced young Dutch center defender. This is one of the complaints that Arsenal's opponents have about them, that each and every one of their ten starters play on the ball as confidently and expertly as the other.
Vermaelen put the ball in as confidently as if he'd been a striker, and the announcers in the booth fell out of their seats at "such a sensational comeback by the Gunners."
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=== Round Out the Scoring ===
Near the end of play, Russian team captain Andrey Arshavin netted a celebration goal, and Arsenal were at top of table.
Much admiration around the league for the job Owen Coyle has done in sparking Bolton to such spirited play. It will be interesting to watch Bolton climb out of relegation and maintain their precious Premier League membership.
Cheers,
jemanji
Comments
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The answer is, Sounders fans have to pick one Euro team or another if they want to follow top-flight soccer. At a Sounders game, there are plenty of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool fans.
It's a little like Kalispel Sports Insider picking the Dallas Cowboys as the team of the blog.
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It's always kind of neat when we put up a non-M's post and people go, "hey! This cuts into the Mariners shtick! Knock it off!" :- )
You could file an appeal with Grant, LOL. But I think the very-long-term prospectus is to diversify.
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I don't really care about the Seahawks but at least it made some tiny bit of sense for the blog's mandate.
Why the heck should we give a flying frog about some team in Europe playing a sport no one in America actually watches?
Do you have the right to post on that? Of course. Do I have the right to think it's off topic and get annoyed...and tell you so? You bet.
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Nah, that's great, readers (and co-authors) voicing their opinions as to site content and direction.
My guess is 10%, 15% of the community is into the Premiereship. Could be wrong.
From where I sit, "fresh" is th' name of the game, mate.
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Its kind of like NPB fans who are into the Mariners or Red Sox. I get the appeal.. You wan't to see the game played at the highest level.
When a Sounders' player crosses over, it will make it that much more interesting for soccer fans..
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If there were a Kyoto Sports Insider, and it adopted the M's or Angels as the team of the blog, it would probably synch fine.
As you probably know, Landon Donovan was loaned to Everton in order to sharpen his game for the World Cup. He apparently played extremely well in his first two games for Everton and represents the first candidate the U.S. has had to become a true world-class player.
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I have really enjoyed the recent Soccer coverage.
I was always one of those boorish Americans who refused to get into soccer simply because we weren't the best at it, didn't invent it or perfect it, etc., and usually I claimed the reason "It is boring!" But then my daughter decided to play AYSO soccer and I got roped into being an assistant coach and for the first time watched soccer without contempt, and actually *gasp* enjoyed it, even when it was played by 6 year old girls :) So of course I had to try out a few "real" soccer matches and was surprised by what I hadn't seen before, that being the strategy and play makers that were exciting, even in a 1-nil game. I have always wondered why an american can watch a 3-0 defensive standoff in football, or a nerve racking 1-0 cy young vs. cy young pitching fest, and call those some of the best entertainment around, but could care less about a beautifully played defensive soccer match ("But they only scored 2 goals the whole game, and it ended in a tie!")
Anyways, I am most definitely a soccer newb, so it is nice to read some A.) English soccer commentary and B.) Isn't totally over my head :) Plus of all the US the NW is the most interested in Soccer, and of course Seattle is more interested in soccer than most of the country so it makes sense that SSI would have some soccer content. Do you ever go to the Sounders games, Doc?
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It takes the star factor for me to enjoy a game of football :- )
Am now DVR'ing Everton as my second team, though...