Fun Atmosphere, Terrible Football

On Sunday, I decided to watch the Old Firm Derby on Fox Soccer. I wanted to take the in the passion of the game. Sure the passion and atmosphere were fantastic but one that was lacking was quality of play.

The quality of play might have been equal to a Major League Soccer game. Terribly weighted passes, terrible shots and not to mention terrible miss timed challenges. Nothing says a quality soccer match like three red cards.

The highlight of the match was the call by the announcer when Sone Aluko scored for Rangers earlier in the first half, "A goal for Aluko, A goal for the fans, A goal for the cause.'' Perfectly said.

I understand the history of the two clubs but if you changed the names of the clubs people would be complaining about how terrible a match it was and not praising it for the terrific atmosphere.

Summer Friendly Series Quick Thoughts: United vs Celtic

During the course of the next six week OTWT will be breaking down the as many friendlies as we can. We start with United and Celtic in Toronto.

• Oberton needs to play more. He has the skills but needs more seasoning.
• Love the United kids back line of the de Silva twins, Smalling, and Evans. Now if that is something to look forward to.
• I know its preseason, but Celtic do not look like a good team at all. If I'm Rangers, I'm not that worried in the. SPL.
• Wow Berba actually showed some effort in this one good to see. He showed the skill that he has with several moves during the match.
• Diouf might not get a lot of first team chances but with a loan spell he may be something good.
• On a tv note, I love listen to Kyle Martino on the radio during the World Cup and he did another great job today. He might be a real star on tv.

Tomorrow at some point we will running the microscope over Spurs and San Jose game.
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So that was really boring

So that was really boring. The transfer window in the England close with little in the way of action except for Robbie Keane heading up north to play for Celtic. Above the Daily Mail breaks it down.

Maybe its time

With Rangers getting closer and closer to almost becoming Leeds United, maybe its time for both Celtic and Rangers to run away from the Scottish Premier League and head for greener pastures. Rangers 's club's bankers Lloyds are owed £30million by the end of the campaign. With a TV contract that is nothing to celebrate the only way that they maybe be able to meet the payment is to sell half of the first team. Maybe its time that both clubs look for a new idea to generate revenue, something like the North Atlantic Soccer League.

The league, which has been rumored for sometimes, would include top teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Portugal and Scandinavia. The league would almost be like a smaller version of the Champions League.

The league would create some interest all of Europe. Traditional powers like Porto, Celtic, Rangers, Ajax, PSV would bring large fan bases and large of amounts of money to a league that would be interesting to watch. Under my proposal the 20 team league would consist of Rangers, Celtic, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Benfica, Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Malmo, Gotenberg, Brondby, HJK, and eight other teams to developed from a playoff.

Some think the creation of the league would kill the leagues in Portugal, Scotland, and Belgium, but that does not have to happen, if UEFA decides to give out spots in the Champions League to the winners of the leagues that are left behind and give a spot to the winner of the proposed North Atlantic League, it might all workout in the end.

Sure it might not be the best idea to soccer purist but its only a matter of time before something like this happens and before we turn our backs on the idea we have to look at what the impact will be and if UEFA handle it correctly it could be a win win for everyone involved.

The Champions League Playoffs are interesting

In some years the final round of Champions League Playoff can be almost a bore, but this year that could be different with one tie Arsenal vs. Celtic. The team that drops this tie could be in financial trouble. Both clubs count on the Champions League group stage money in order to fund their spending, so going out before that stage could be a mess for both. Rangers went out in an earlier playoff round last year and they are still trying to dig out from the lost revenue.

Here are some predictions for the playoff round:

• FC Sheriff v Olympiakos: Olympiakos
  
• SV Red Bull Salzburg v Maccabi Haifa: Red Bull Salzburg
  
• FK Ventspils v FC Zurich: FC Zurich
  
• FC Copenhagen v Apoel Nicosia: FC Copenhagen
  
• Levski Sofia v Debrecen: Leveski Sofia
  
• Lyon v Anderlecht: Lyon
  
• Celtic v Arsenal: This has PK written all over it, but I can not see Wenger going out at this point.
  
• FC Timisoara v VfB Stuttgart: VFB Stuttgart
  
• Sporting v Fiorentina: Fiorentina
  
• Panathinaikos v Atletico Madrid: Panahinaikos, the shocker of the round. Last years the Greeks booked a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
  

Some leagues are up and running, while others about to start. It feels like it has been a long time since we have all had club football.