Odds and Sods

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was kicked by a man in Euston station. The Ferg had traveled to London by train to attend a function, and was repeatedly kicked in the shins by a 40 year old man. Sir Alex pointed the man out to British Transport Police who arrested him. He has been charged with assault, actual bodily harm, and a public order offense. The Ferg was unharmed and attended the aforementioned event as scheduled.

Not that Odds and Sods would ever promote wanton acts of public violence, but would the thought not at least cross your mind if you saw him in public?

Only when you walk into someone’s living room and find Chris Hansen, do you suffer a faster fall from grace than Charlie Frye.  On Sunday morning he was the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, and 48 hours later he lost his job and was shipped out of town to Seattle.

Frye was drafted by the Browns in the third round of the 2005 draft.  He was a hometown boy, from the University of Akron, and quickly gained popularity when he won the starting QB job in the middle of the 2005 season.  However, he failed to progress during a poor 2006 and had his days in Cleveland numbered when the team traded up to grab Brady Quinn in the first round.

Charlie had been declared the starter in pre-season after a fierce battle with Derek Anderson (Quinn not included due to his holdout).  However, he was pulled in favor of Anderson during the first half of the Browns’ 34-7 mauling by Cleveland.  He was 4-10 for 34 yds and 1 interception during the game, and was also sacked five times.

He was, apparently, so bad in those ten pass attempts, that he went from the best of the bunch to an irredeemable cancer that needed to be excised from the team in a matter of minutes.  Never, at least since the AFL/NFL merger has a quarterback started for a team in Week 1 and been traded before Week 2.

Phil Savage, mentioned previously on this blog for insulting his quarterback of the future, came out with a gem when asked about this stating, “This move obviously clarifies our quarterback situation.”  The AP writer felt compelled to mention that he said this “with a straight face.”  You know you said something ridiculous when an AP writer feels compelled to take a sarcastic shot across the bow at you.

What is next for the Browns?  It doesn’t get any easier from here as far as opposing defenses are concerned.  Their next five games are against Cincinnati, Oakland, Baltimore, New England, and Miami.  Even when the defenses let up a little bit they still have St. Louis and Seattle the two weeks after that.  If Anderson doesn’t provide an improvement immediately, the wheels may come irrevocably off the track for this season.

Brady Quinn may be the quarterback of the future, but it appears unlikely that Crennell or Savage will be there to see it.  Get used to this phrase because you will be hearing it all throughout the Mel Kiper Christmas season “The Dallas Cowboys are on the clock.”

Roma

Roma are coming off an excellent season, led by everyone’s favorite Francesco Totti, who won the European Golden Boot with 26 goals (31 in all competitions).  Their dynamic attacking style took the depleted league by storm as they finished 2nd in Serie A and won the Coppa Italia.  They also made the quarterfinals of the Champions League, before being booted by Manchester United.

Over the summer, they bolstered the defense by adding Brazilians Juan (Bayer Leverkeusen) and Cicinho (Real Madrid).  They also brought in French bete noire Ludovic Giuly from Barcelona to help out in midfield.  They have been off to a flying start so far, winning the Supercoppa as well as their first two Serie A matches without conceding a goal.  Man U may be the better squad on paper, but Roma have the firepower to put teams away when the Red Devils may struggle for goals.

Manchester United

Man U began by firing on all cylinders, and never looked back last season.  They won the Premier League in style, scoring 83 goals (even without a true striker).  They also made the FA Cup Final and the Semifinals of the Champions League, where they were defeated by eventual champion AC Milan.  Not content, Lord Ferg spent over 50mGBP in slick Glazer cash to supplement the squad with World Cup Standout Owen Hargreaves, with spunky midfielders Nani and Anderson, and with a Carlos Tevez for good measure.

Despite the supplements to the squad, Man U have been on nowhere near the form that won them the title last season.  Unable, due to suspension and injury, to field Rooney and Ronaldo, they have sputtered at the start earning 8 pts from 5 matches, and scoring a mere three goals.  There is probably too much talent not to get going eventually, but they will be distracted by their efforts to climb up the league table, which may hinder their performance in the group stages a bit.  The lack of depth in the group will keep them from dropping, however.

Sporting Portugal

The club formally known as Sporting Lisbon finished a close second in the Portuguese Liga, beaten by a frisky FC Porto who edged them by a mere point.  They participated in the Champions League, but were eliminated in the Group Stages after a last place finish in Group B.  Their major move over the summer, was the sale of Nani to Manchester United for 25.5m euros.  They currently sit 3rd in the league with 6 pts from 3 matches.

Dynamo Kyiv

Dynamo Kyiv won the Ukranian double last season, winning their 12th Ukranian title in 15 years, and their third straight Ukranian cup.  They participated in the Champions League as well, but were eliminated in the group stages after earning just 2 pts from 6 matches.  They bought an exciting 22 year-old Guinean striker named Ismael Bangoura from Le Mans, who currently has 4 goals in his first five matches for the club.  But, that won’t be enough to keep them around.