Football Methods, by Tom Morrison

A Scot playing for Liverpool in 1929 recorded his thoughts on soccer tactics for the Inverness Courier. I re-posted his article over at Massive Report - and talked a little bit about Morrison's life.

Tom Morrison went by the name of Jock Anderson after he abandoned both Liverpool and Sunderland (as well as his wife and child) the night he and the Black Cats celebrated their only only League title.

"Jock" worked as a pea picker in Gamlingay. When he wasn't playing snooker at the local pub, he found time to play evening football with the locals. Gamlingay FC picked him up and with him, won every game he played in.

Game day program from around when Tom Morrison was with St. Mirren FC in the 1920s.

Tom Morrison was lost to history after his time with Gamlingay FC in 1936 but his thoughts on the game have not been.

One of the things I liked about his piece in the Inverness Courier was that it was written as if the pitch and players were right there in front of him.

Half-backs and the Attack (Massive Report).

For more on Liverpool FC history please visit http://kjellhanssen.com/

MR Post: In, Out or the Space Between

Patrick and I ran up and down the roster looking at which players will / will not be back next year. We are always looking at the team and the future but a lot of it doesn't make it to MR. This was an attempt to get things out before they changed during a busy off season (highlighted by the fact that Sanchez and Horton were let go in the middle making the post).

Crew not wasting time. Part of this feels rushed on the business side of the Crew for whatever reason. Shouldn't they have a coach before doing this? Anyhow, check out the post. It'll be interesting to see how things look in a month's time.

In, Out or Somewhere Between

...or These fickle, fuddled words confuse me, Like... Will it sort of came back to me because a long lost Luscious Jackson is putting it out there again but drives memories from a crummy video to one of my favorite songs from a generation ago. If I could go back in time and somehow change time, I'd make it so I could see this song live, Long Island-ish. If memory serves I did see them at RFK or 9:30 in DC... Or was it in Hampton Roads? Richmond? Fuzzy. Either way; That beat.. gah.

Dear Prudence, What to do with Bliss

Dug about as far in to the Brian Bliss situation as I want to go right now for Massive Report.

Unreasonable Expectations

One thing I realized is that it gets real sticky real fast. So so many things need repairing outside of the coaching staff, trainers and players first (General Manager is probably good place to start).

After looking at it I decided that Bliss wasn't given enough time in order to make a solid decision, which is unfortunate because he could have been given enough time and the FO could have made a sound decision.

There really wasn't any reason to not make the move sooner. Instead we got a misguided move based around making an impossible run at the playoffs.

I think I may come off in support of Bliss in that piece and in a way, I am. But it has more to do with circumstance.

The Crew might have sold some tickets on the promise of playoffs (which to me was more like that Bain prison hole in the last Christopher Nolan Batman movie) but they sacrificed a great opportunity to evaluate a potential coach and many players.

Anywho, like I said; Sticky.

Oduro a Midseason Massive Report

Spent time looking at Dominic Oduro for Massive Report. I tried to stay away from any giant conclusions but did want to get across (using numbers) a few things that I found: the Columbus Crew made him the focal point. He's performing right around his career averages. The team is in 14th place.

Oduro is a unique player. It's not often you have an attacking player with so much time with so many teams in MLS. Teams adjust to his playing style and treat him in ways similar to a player making two, three times as much. Go give it a read if you have time.

The Massive Report Ohio Crew

I wrote a lot about Crew rosters since 2011 over at Massive Report. For a while now I've been tracking starting lineups, subs, plus/minus and the like but a couple weeks ago decided to match individual player salaries up with that data. What came out was interesting.

It was also a little overwhelming. Once it was matched up I spent a few days sorting it in every way I could think of. I felt that I was able to come to a number of reasonably thought out conclusions (though there is always more). I'll keep tracking it to and messing around with it. Fun stuff.

Abracadabra.

Frankie Hejduk Singing, Meeting, Pictures

One of the highlights of my week is joining in the conversation over at Massive Report's podcast. This past Monday Frankie Hejduk joined in. He took my spot and my headphones for close to an hour.

Hejduk is as close to a modern, living legend as US players get. Folks here in Columbus, Ohio may take him for granted but they shouldn't. I basically grew up with him and remember him vividly from my early morning perch in an Irish pub in Raleigh, NC during the 2002 World Cup.

He is was a special player and is a special human being. You can hear what he had to say on Monday's Massive Report podcast HERE.

Infiltrating the Orange Beast

Rick Gethin and I went down to Dayton to see the Dutch Lions take on the Columbus Crew. Rick wrote about it:

Infiltrating the Orange Beast...

You can read my preview to the game as well as more about Major League Soccer's relationship with United Soccer League here.

You might not know that because the Crew didn't bother to cover the game even though every other MLS team is covering these matches. Maybe the Crew are too good to bother with it?

Justin Meram ‏@JustinMeram
Good battle tonight in Dayton with the boys. A tough game to get up for but we battled and came away with a result. Open cup Wed.

Game ended 4:4. Interesting, more fans came out to Beavercreek HS to watch this game than came out to Crew Stadium to watch these two play in the 100th US Open Cup match about a week ago (1600 / 1300). Of course it is not Justin Meram's fault but I do believe it is representative of club temperament. Perhaps the Crew organization should try and "get up for" these games and prove the are the better side before dismissing them. Both in result and in attendance.

Bottled Up, Follow Up + Min Max Cap

Working on a new post for Massive Report that discusses the capacity of this year's Columbus Crew team. Digging back I am going over a lot of Higuain's production and performance. I've been writing about his role on the Crew since he started and dug pretty far into it over at Massive Report about a month ago. There were early signs last year that he had been figured out and the Crew, as of yet, have not adjusted.

Going to explore 'capacity' (min /max /expected) more tonight but wanted to get a link up to my Bottled Up, Higuain post and the artwork that went with it here at Helltown.

Massive Report Podcast (pic)

Here's a picture taken by the podcast's producer (the wonderful Sameh Safaa Fahmi) this past Monday. In it is Mr. Chris LaMacchia (right), Justin Bell's hand reaching for beer, host Rick Gethin going Hunter S. Thompson and myself on the far left trying to keep up.

Normal program host Matt Goshert will be back in a couple weeks after he is finished running around England getting all football educated.

The podcast records Monday evenings around 730-800 PM at Hendoc's (just on the north side of Lane Ave on High St in Columbus, OH -- on the college side of life but I balance it out and the company is great, promise).

Recent MR podcasts can be found at Massive Report.

MR Post: Conf Round Up

Have a new post up over at Massive Report that runs down MLS Rd 2 happenings across the Eastern Conference. Going to keep it going all year, hopefully each week.

Highlights this week
Montreal winning on the road again, New England Revs beating Chicago away

Lowlights
Chicago, The SkyDome and NASR picking Toronto's Earnshaw as player of the week.

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I'm fascinated with Montreal this year.
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Check the post out. In other Massive Report news, I'm planning on heading over to Hendoc's this Monday to see if I can get back on the podcast, been tied up recently. In the meantime listen to the one they recorded last night.

I've got a couple things cookin' so keep checking Massive Report every hour on the hour (I'll probably be writing Wednesday and Thursday evenings so, Thursday I guess).

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Here's full header art/illustration. All the photos were taken by Anne-Marie Sorvin for USA Today Sports. They are really excellent. Check out her other work too.

I felt like she was shooting portraits more than a sporting event and was drawn to the images. I think all of these were taken pre-game, their eyes tell a story.

Thanks for reading.

More Posts. Maps + Round Up

Some new stuff over at Massive Report. Content and art.

My last post there dropped each Major League Soccer player into a executable type map. I thought it was fun. It keeps things in perspective. The art is a satellite image of Buenos Aires. Higuainland. I took part of the Argentinian flag and included it in the Crew logo on the top right. I liked the map colors.



Earlier I did a summary on the first weekend of the year. I liked a Glauber Berti pic that was simply credited as "USA Today". I cropped in and made b/w. Same thing I wish the Columbus Dispatch did more often because they rarely get their color registration correct.



Winter Storm here in Columbus right now... 'The snow is falling and I'm gone!' a good man once sang. Lots more soon.

2013 Prediction on MR + Eval of 2012 Picks

Last year I did alright with my preseason predictions. 4 out of the 5 playoff teams correct.

The Toronto pick sticks in my craw - but all of the other picks were either within one spot (7) or two (NE) on the table. Quite proud of that actually.

MY PREDICTION : 2012 ACTUAL FINISH : TEAM
1 : 1 : Sporting KC
2 : 3 : NY
3 : 2 : DC United
4 : 4 : Chicago
5 : 10 : Toronto
6 : 5 : Houston
7 : 9 : New England
8 : 8 : Philadelphia
9 : 7: Montreal

You'll notice that the Crew are not listed. Last preseason I was pretty worked up about the team. I couldn't bare to include them in the list (seriously). "These days I am a pretty big Crew fan so I have removed them from the list and put them on a celestial plain of which I shall write romantically about all year."

However, before it got to crunch time I did mention that the Crew would end up fighting for a playoff spot.

2013 PREDICTION, MASSIVE REPORT

Head on over to Massive Report for a full explanation for my 2013 predictions. I used pretty much the same methodology as last year though. It worked. I'm pretty confident with it again this year.

1 : Sporting KC
2 : NY
3 : Houston
4 : DC United
5 : Chicago
6 : Columbus
7 : Montreal
8 : Philadelphia
9 : New England
0 : Toronto

What this means is that Columbus is looking at the same finish as last year. One thing I'm worried about this year is Montreal. There are a couple indicators that point towards them jumping into the top five (player retention being of most important indicator).

Their performance in the preseason only solidifies this thought. They have the potential to push out a team like Chicago and Columbus from the playoff picture.

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More on the Massive Report post:

Now that the schedule is unbalanced it seems like things can be a little more predictable. Once a team has played a couple times the outcome is remarkably predictable. It's surprising to me that Major League Soccer is marching forward with the unbalanced schedule.

Anyhow. Stay tuned to Massive Report tomorrow and Saturday before the Chivas USA opener (that's on past my bedtime). It's going to be a tricky game for the Crew.

The Crew are no doubt a better team but given the time of the game and the fact that the players traveling have been on the road for a solid month...

... could be a tricky fixture. Did I mention that? Oh.

Talk on MR Podcast

I joined Matt Goshert, Chris LaMacchia, Rick Gethin and Justin Bell at Hendoc's for the Massive Report Podcast yesterday where we talk Crew. Really good group of folks who know what they're doing. Give it a listen. I jump in around 40 minutes with my bumble.

[LINK]

Favorite Finley Faults

The Crew drafted Ryan Finley 9th overall in Thursday's MLS 'super draft'. Looking at his measurables he is definitely a top 15 pick but looking around at post draft grades there seems to be some missing gaps.

Top Drawer Soccer: "...Finley who has a burst of pace, but [The Crew] may have reached..."

WV Hooligan: "Finley is a solid player at number nine but I do still have question marks about him."

MLS Soccer: "[Warzycha] also tends to run a tight ship discipline-wise, yet he gambled his first-round pick on Ryan Finley, this rookie crop’s most prominent maverick."

WHAT HAPPENED AT DUKE

Ah. A question many ask Duke students. Well, with Finley we know he played there a couple years and was on his way to a Generation Adidas contract but was suspended a couple games at the tail end of his sophomore season. He then transferred to Notre Dame - but no concrete reasons behind the suspension or why he transferred. We'll never really know. It's Duke and, well... Notre Dame. With that in mind, my seemingly endless five minute investigation ended.

SCOUTING REPORT

"What scouts say," type thing exists over at the MLS site. Walking through these it appears that most were written by each player's respective college coach or staff member. With Finley's scouting report words like "cheeky" and "tad bit" are there which leads me to believe it was written by his coach, Bobby Clark. A Scot. Not exactly a bunch that holds things back.

Reading through Ryan Finley's italicized summary I found myself liking the kid because of his faults. A lot.

MY FAVORITE FINLEY FAULTS

1. The biggest question mark is his attitude ...
I like this. He should have one, he's a forward.

2. Might be a tad selfish ...
Good. He's a goal scorer. Bad attitude and selfish are ingredients 1 and 2.

3. Also, can he play quicker and think quicker in MLS? ...
So, speed questions. I've watched what I could on him. He looks a little slow but so are most defenders in MLS. He's got the size that he'll need against big MLS defenders. The creativity is the unknown.

4. Coming back in midfield and combining is not his game ...
He'll fit right in with Jairo Arrieta and Federico Higuain then (hardy har).

5. Not at his best when he's involved in build-up play.
Ever watched a MLS game between two mid-table clubs? Build-up?

5a. Not a good link-up guy. Needs to learn to combine better ... Plays with his head down and will miss teammates at times. Questions about his overall ability to pass and to play ... He needs players that can play him in behind ...
Alright already. Got it. 5. and 5a. match up with 1. and 2.

6. Has a reputation for being a diver ...
OKAY. This one needs to be fixed.

FAVORITE POSITIVES

Powerful, quick runner. On the field he can run hard at you with the ball, he's two-footed and scores with both feet ... A great finisher and has a nose for the goal. Rides the offside line and is difficult to deal with ... Always at the right place at the right time ...Intense and will come into Player Combine fit ...

Definitely an MLS player ...

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SLOW, SELFISH AND HAS A BAD ATTITUDE

Robert Warzycha has a history of loving this type player. He was picked in the top 10 so he will get at least a 500-1000 minute type look. If so, I expect him to bank a goal or two. Warzycha's face after each should be priceless.

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MASSIVE REPORT

This post started out has as something more formal but it got a little loose. Head over to Massive Report for more information on Ryan Finley and his selection during the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. Not looking to sort out hero / anti hero stuff over there. I should have more presentable type-ish information on Finley, Beckie and other new Crew players there soon.