Happy Monday?

First up, three of our French players have been "ignored" by their national team.  Clichy, Diaby, and Sagna will sit out for Euro 2008.  If you ask me, I feel bad for them, assuming they wanted to represent their country, buuuuuut I feel super mega happy for Arsenal, who will need and want rested players for the CL qualifiers and the start of next year. 

I'm not so sure that Diaby is world class yet, but the additional experience would do him good, of course.

The other bit of news is that we've been linked with a number of French players now, but really, who knows what the chances are.  I'd give you the names beyond Nasri and Hatem Ben Arfa, but if I linked every name we'll be associated with, there'd be no end to the list.  All speculation and rumor, right now. 

Arsene, change that! 

And finally, it looks like Lehmann may head for Germany.  Good for him.  I always liked him, especially for how scrappy he is.  Jens reminds me of a hockey goalie....without skates.  And pads.  And a mask.  But just as pissy.

Shin out

Hello All,

Our wonderful blog creator, Shincan, has asked me if I could chime in here and there to give the blog a different perspective. I gratefully accepted and you'll find that what I lack in footy knowledge I make up in...nothing else really.

Nonetheless, a little about me. I fell in love with the sensible world of soccer during international competitions like the World Cup and the European Championship (I know, I know, silly American without a club team). During the most recent World Cup I fell in love with a certain player:

Thus, I fell in love with all things Liverpool, excluding Rafa's maniacal rotating and Riise's own goal.

So enough about potential Gooner transfers because we all know Wenger will just sign a couple young internationals that won't see much playing time next year and not the big splash that Shincan so desperately wants (see his Money Matters post). And let's talk about the ever approaching European Championship.

Clearly, I will be supporting Spain and I think they have the easiest path to the knock-out stage in Group D. Sweden doesn't worry me as they just recalled the 53 year old Henrik Larsson, Ljungberg has no legs, and I believe Ibra has a knock. Russia and Greece should bother me but for some reason they do not. Spain should definitely be able to grab one of the top two spots.

How about that Group C? According to the latest FIFA Rankings Group C has numbers 3, 7, 10, and 12 with Italy, France, Holland (Can we still call them Holland? I don't care, I'm doing it), and Romania, respectively.

Group B is probably the least interesting to me and I expect the Krauts (is that derogatory? I hope not) to move on quite easily.

The Czechs will be hurting without the inclusion of Patrick Swayze AKA Pavel Nedved:

And with Gooner Rosicky out with an injury, they'll have to rely on other guys that I don't know to get service to the big animal Koller. Is this the year Fruit Pie C.Ron leads his team to glory or do they fall short again? Let's hope not. I enjoy the Turkey side because they are basically a Besiktas, Fenerbahce, and Galatasaray All-Star team so you would expect them to play well together.

Anyway, that's my preliminary take on the EURO groups. Can't wait for the competition to start! Let's hear your thoughts.

Also, before I go, I want to say congrats to Team America AKA Fulham for staying up. We (Americans) need all those Yanks to keep getting that Premiership experience.

'Til next time

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