Josh Ouellette
By Josh Ouellette
Kick it. No literally. This is my new little column about football, or as we call it here in the good ole’ U. S. of A, soccer.
To get it all out and in the open, I am an LA Galaxy fan dating back to my childhood, ever since Cobi Jones visited my elementary school, and a diehard wake-up-at-4:30-a.m.-on-a-Saturday-just-to-watch West Ham United fan. And while I won’t let my passions as a fan get too far in the way, it is better people know these things now.
Speaking about the Galaxy, some fans are ecstatic about the Galaxy’s winter full of big-name signings like Nigel de Jong, Ashley Cole, and Jelle Van Damme. I’m not. While all are solid additions to the likes of Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, Giovanni dos Santos, and Gyasi Zardes… it does pose the question of whether or not the Galaxy is committed to developing any of their homegrown players.
And they have some good ones in the ranks. Even bringing in Emmanuel Boateng jeopardizes the chances of a player like Bradford Jamieson, who has done nothing but impress while playing with the first team. It has also closed off routes for Sebastian Lleget, who impressed in his first season with the Galaxy last year and was the cause of Los Angeles earning a point vs. Portland on Sunday thanks to Nat Borchers’ own goal in the 82nd minute.
Would LA be as good without the aforementioned big-name signings? Maybe not, but if the Galaxy does anything but win the West Conference and the MLS title this season, it will be a disappointment. And I’m more excited about the prospect watching guys like Jamieson and Lleget win a title in a couple of seasons anyways, to me, this feels a little like cheating.
LA travels to Houston for a Friday night clash at 4 p.m. PT. Sunday the team truly missed the creativeness of Gerrard and the attacking of Keane, both are injured still, and dos Santos put in a lackluster 64 minutes vs. the Timbers in his first game back from injury. The team will also likely be without de Jong as the MLS Disciplinary Committee is set to hand him a retroactive red card and at least one-match ban for his tackle on Darlington Nagbe on Sunday, which forced the Portland midfielder coming out of the game.
If you missed it, it is worth watching (on the MLS website) the 90th-minute free kick game-winner by the Philadelphia Union’s Tranquillo Barnetta from last Friday night. Some will argue his teammates were making a run at the wall as they lined up behind it, thus the argument that the goal should discounted as offside. But if you watch that fine shot from 30-plus yards out, one, there is no chance any keeper in the world would have got there, and two just shut it and accept the shot as the thing of beauty it was. Not quite a bend it like Beckham-like scenario but still a sign the quality in the MLS is only getting better every week.
Homer time. Andy Carroll netted a hat trick in a span of under 10 minutes on the pitch for West Ham this weekend in what was possible the most exciting 3-3 game anyone will see in the Barclay’s Premier League this season. Down 2-0 to Arsenal after early goals, the Hammers fought back to equalize before the half and then took an early lead in the second half before Laurent Koscielny helped the Gunners earn a share of the spoils (despite two goals that were disallowed for West Ham throughout the course of the game which would have made it 5-3 for the East London club).
Though, this brings me to my point about the Premier League this season. It hasn’t been the big-money clubs making all of the noise in England this year. Out of nowhere, Leicester City has taken the rest of the league by storm and caused a panic among the BPL elite like Manchester’s United and City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, who as much as I hate to admit it when it comes to the latter three, have been the perennial top-five clubs in recent history. In fact, since Arsenal last won the BPL in the 2003-04 season, only three clubs, Chelsea (4), Manchester City (2), and Manchester United (5) have won the title.
The Foxes have emerging stars like Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, and stalwarts like Wes Morgan and keeper Kasper Schmeichel, but none of those names were really even known up until last year, nor well-known until this season’s prolific run. And while The Guardian (Link for hyperlink: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/11/leicester-city-finances-football-league-financial-fair-play-investigation) released a piece about the club’s mysterious finances, you can’t take away the 11 men on the pitch who’ve proved players don’t have to cost $150,000 a week and millions in transfer fees to win a title, just like Blackburn Rovers did when I was the tender age of five back in 1995-96.
Joe Torosian’s high school football novel is available through Amazon.com
(Cover by Pat Cherry www.blackheartart.com)
Having a team who isn’t Man United win the Premier League, as it has 13 times since its inception before the 1992 season, can only be a good thing. Teams like Tottenham (gross) have climbed the table every year, with even the likes of West Ham (yay!) pushing for a top-five finish and a spot in European football next season. Disparity is the best thing for the best leagues in the world like the Bundesliga, La Liga, or Serie A, but it’s boring when the same two or three teams win every season. And I mean literally every season.
Leicester City has pushed from a stint in the Championship (the second division in England) to a 14th-place finish last year, to top of the table this season.
To put this in perspective for normal Mid-Valley readers, that is like South Pasadena football (American version this time) winning a league consisting of against West Covina, San Dimas, Monrovia, Corona Centennial, and Paraclete, and then beating all of those teams a second time to win a CIF Championship. Why did I choose South Pasadena? We’ll the Tigers’ have had great seasons before where they have played and beaten the best, like Leicester City who has been in the Premier League for 10 of its 13 seasons of existence and the top flight of English football 47 times in the club’s history, but the Foxes were on a downtrend in recent history until the ship was miraculously righted.
And sure, there are down years in leagues where the Blair’s of the world run amuck in the Rio Hondo or the Colorado Rockies make it to the World Series, but watching this season doesn’t feel like it. There seems to be a shift in the attitude of the league. Will Chelsea be a mid-table team next year? It’s doubtful, that is where the money and prowess to get the best players helps. But is it impressive that AFC Bournemouth– in its first year ever being in the top league of English football ever mind you–sits right below Chelsea at the moment? Yes.
Most clubs only have five or six games left to make a d
ifference in the BPL this season, with only Andy Villa-the-devil’s Aston Villa the only team officially mathematically relegated. But Leicester City has truly made a difference in the Premier League going into future seasons.
Well, at least that’s how I see it. I’m just joshing around.
Agree? Disagree? Hit me up on Twitter (@JoshoYouKnow) and let me know what you think.
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