It's season ticket day

Yesterday was one of my favorite day at the home office. My Rutgers season tickets came in the mail.Can't wait for the season to start. 

Spurs will be better without Bale

As Gareth Bale prepares to walk out on Spurs for Real Madrid the demise of Spurs might be greatly exaggerated. Actually Spurs might have a stronger team without Bale.

Last year with no defined striker the goal scoring fell on Bale, while this year with Spurs have a proven goal scorer in Soldado who will come close to matching Bale's goal output. This years starting 11 for Spurs is deeper and stronger with Bale gone. With the addition, this also allows AVB to change the game when he needs to on the bench.

Just take a look:

Last years Spurs went with a 4-2-3-1 formation: 

Striker: Adebayor/Defoe 
Attacking Midfielder: Dempsey/Sigurdsson
Attacking Midfielder: Bale
Attacking Midfielder: Lennon
Holding Midfielder: Sandro 
Holding Midfielder: Dembele
Defender: Walker
Defender: Dawson 
Defender: Vertonghen
Defender: Assou Ekotto
Goalie: Lloris 


Now look at this years roster for Spurs playing 4-2-3-1, if the rumoured transfer for Willian and Lamala go through:

Striker:  Roberto Soldado
Attacking Midfielders: Lennon /Lamala
Attacking Midfielders: Willian
Attacking Midfielder: Sigurdsson/ Nacer Chadli
Holding Midfielder: Dembele 
Holding Midfielder: Paulinho
Defender: Walker
Defender: Vertonghen 
Defender: Dawson/ Capoue
Defender: Rose/Contrao
Goalie: Lloris

If the rumoured deals for William an Lamala go through, Spurs would have spent 117 million pounds on player this summer. That makes this team deeper, which might allow them to reach their ultimate goal which is Champions League football next year, even without Bale. 

NBCSN already have a big impact on EPL ratings

This past weekend kick off the start of the Premier League on NBCSN and it has been a success at least from a ratings point of view. According to Richard Deitsch, the media reporter for Sports Illustrated, NBCSN saw a 67 percent increase in ratings over last years opening weekend, which was broadcast on ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel. That is an amazing number and shows the continued growth of the sport in this country.