Football From Across the Ocean: The 2012/2013 Manchester City Preview

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character."

    -John Wooden

When Jamie Mackie headed home this goal against Manchester City last May, I felt sick.

After following every move of City over the previous nine months, I could not believe that it would all fall apart on the last day of the season against a team that was facing relegation. The next 25 minutes did nothing to allay my sickness but as we know, everything changed in extra time. I've been following sports my entire life and I've never seen anything that comes close to the "Miracle in Manchester" (summed up brilliantly in this video). All was lost until 2 goals in 4 minutes saved City and won them the title.

Three months later and the beginning of a new season in the Premier League is upon us. What are the biggest issues standing between City and a repeat championship? Let's take a look.

1)Will City get burned for a quiet summer?
-It's well known that defending champions play with a target on their back the following season. Over the next 9 months, City will be getting their opponents "best" 38 times but did they do enough to handle this pressure? On paper, the answer is a resounding NO as City only brought in one player on transfer in a young and oft-injured Jack Rodwell. However, three summers of wild spending has created a roster that is deep at multiple positions so City should still have a successful team. United and Chelsea both had big time off seasons but will they be enough to take over City?

2)Will the real Carlos Tevez please stand up?
-Two seasons ago, Carlos Tevez tied for the league lead with 2 goals. Last season found Carlos sinking more birdie putts in Argentina than goals in England. An off-season of transfer requests followed by the legendary Munich meltdown found Roberto Mancini writing off any future of Tevez in Manchester. However, an Aguero slump and a Balotelli meltdown found Tevez making a prodigal son like comeback for the last two months of the season that proved influential in the eventual title. What to expect this year? If you listed to Carlos, big things are on the horizon (this beauty of a goal in the Community Shield would back him up) but you never can tell with volatile Tevez.

3)What about Mario?
-The Easter Sunday loss at Arsenal was the nadir of the 2011/2012 campaign. Besides an apparent season ending loss, the lowlight of this match was the sending off and subsequent suspension of Mario Baltotelli. It not only opened the door for the return of Carlos Tevez but it also signaled the apparent end of Super Mario in Manchester (as if the fireworks, bebe guns and Lamborghini antics weren't enough). They say time heals all wounds, and after setting up the title winning Aguero goal and stealing the show at Euro 2012, Mario appears to be at the top of his game. The problem? The Argentinian duo of Tevez and Aguero seem to create a log jam up front, especially if Tevez gets off to a hot start. The way Mancini handles the line up will be an interesting sub plot for the season, especially since he bungled the use of Edin Dzeko last year, who saw playing time all but disappear after a brilliant start to the season.

4)Kompany, Silva, Yaya and??
-Before the late season swoon, the lowest point of City's play on the field last season came during the absence of Yaya Toure (African Cup of Nations and the suspension) and Vincent Kompany (suspension following an FA Cup straight red against United). Without Kompany, City was left with mistake prone Stefan Savic and the team struggled.  It goes without saying that having the captain on the field is of the utmost importance. In the midfield, the players surrounding David Silva and Yaya will say a lot about this team. You assume the Nasri will be there, but who else? James Milner showed signs of life last year before losing time to Gareth Barry while Adam Johnson is rumored to be going out on loan. I personally liked to see de Jong out there because his physical, defense first style gives Yaya the freedom to move further up the field which is where he is at his best. It will also be interesting to see what impact new signee Jack Rodwell will have.

So, can they do it? To go back to the John Wooden quote that started this blog, it takes a special team to repeat as champions. I know that City has the talent but the major question is, do they have the character? The presence of a captain that leads by example and players that lead by their play on the field makes me feel that City will get the job done.

Football from Across the Ocean: The 2012/2013 Premier League Preview

After one of the most entertaining seasons of sport that I have ever followed, we are back for a third consecutive year of football from across the ocean. A fantastic finish to 2011/2012 and a busy summer should result in another great campaign getting underway in just a few hours.

While I believe that the title will once again come down to the blue and red sides of Manchester (more on that later), I think the most interesting teams to follow this season might just be Chelsea and Liverpool.

Chelsea won an improbable double last year with the FA Cup and Champions League. They struggled in the league all year (finishing in 6th, an amazing 25 points behind City ) yet somehow managed to become champions of Europe. Those two titles reek of a team of veterans who were hell bent on giving the middle finger to a coach who thought he could take charge without their permission. While Chelsea fans benefited from this last year, they may start to pay for it this year. Those two championships basically forced Abramovich to hire Roberto DiMatteo who may or may not be suited for the job. I think Chelsea was a close second to United in the transfer market with the signings of Eden Hazard and Oscar but I'm not sure if it will add up to success in the league.

It's not crazy to think that it's more a matter of "when" as opposed to "if" in regards to success at Liverpool. After getting Swansea promoted two seasons ago, Brendan Rodgers enjoyed a very successful debut, leading the first Welsh team to play in the Premier League. Rodgers' brand of "Barca lite", possession football was both entertaining and effective last season with wins or draws against City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs. Much like Bill Parcells, (who famously said that if you're going to cook dinner you should be able to buy the groceries) Rodgers held out for complete control of football operations and immediately made moves to bring in players that can play his game. In addition to the talent at Anfield already, players like Joe Allen and Fabio Borini should make positive contributions this year. I'll buy in on Rodgers and say that Liverpool push for the top four this year. (On a side note, I can't wait for the behind the scenes "Being Liverpool" on Fox Soccer starting in September)

Other thoughts on 2012/2013....


-I have no idea what to say about Arsenal. They lost Fabregas and Nasri at the beginning of last season and now Van Persie and (apparently) Alex Song this year. Last year, they struggled early on, but ended strong in third place in front of Spurs. The arrival of Lukas Podolsky and Olivier Giroud and the development of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should make it an entertaining season for Arsenal who might be better than people think after losing Van Persie. Heck, maybe even Jack Wilshere gets healthy and does something.

-I think that Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle will be fighting for the final Champions League spot this year. I think Tottenahm is the perfect landing place for Andres Villas Boas as he takes over a team that, while having periods of success over the past two seasons, is still a low pressure situation. Newcastle was the surprise of last year and I expect more success from them especially with a full season of Pappis Cisse and more solid work from Tim Krul in goal.

-Brendan Rodgers and Swansea got most of "newly promoted success story" press last year but you can't forget about the work that Paul Lambert did at Norwich City. I'm interested to see how he does at Aston Villa, after a season in which the team was doomed from the start after hiring the coach of a team that was both relegated and their biggest rival. I'm thinking a finish towards the top half of the table is a possibility.

-I joined a Premier League fantasy league for the first time this year and it help me realize how much I like Everton. I have both Leighton Baines and Nikica Jelavic (who I expect a big year from ) on my team and when you add in Tim Howard and a Daniel Craig look a like coach, I think I have found my second team in the league.

-What would a preview from across the ocean be without a look at the Irish players in the EPL. I'm excited for a full season of James McClean at Sunderland as much as I'm worried about Shay Given at Aston Villa who might find time a little less guaranteed after retiring from the Irish team. I'm hoping that Shane Long can stay healthy for the year and perhaps Seamus Coleman will see more first team play at Everton.

-Where are my Americans at? Well as I write this I see that Clint Dempsey has been suspended for refusing to play for Fulham. Follow that up with his mysterious Twitter feed and this sounds like this is far from over. It seems like he got lost in the transfer shuffle with only two weeks before the window closes. This seems to continue to bad luck for Americans in the EPL as both Stuart Holden and Tim Ream got relegated along with Bolton on the last day of the season last year. It will be interesting to see i this affects their development/status on the USMNT.

Now for the good stuff.

There was a time in baseball where all that mattered was Yankees vs. Red Sox. Nationally televised games, documentaries and back to back ALCS's in '03 and '04 led many to (incorrectly) believe that the only baseball being played was in Boston and the Bronx. After the epic ending to the 2011/2012 campaign last year, there's reason to believe that the Premier League is heading toward a similar era but this time, instead of the teams being separated by hundreds of miles, they inhabit the city of Manchester. Although there will be teams that push them (with Chelsea being at the top of that list) you get the feeling that this year will mirror the last and end with a tight race between City and United.

Each team had the summer you think a first and second place team would have. After having the title pulled out from under them in a matter of seconds (the look on the faces of Fergie and Phil Jones in Sunderland after losing the title is classic) United worked the transfer market with a purpose, ending with the landscape shifting acquisition of Robin Van Persie and his little boy.  While the signing of RVP is huge, I think a full season of  Nemanja Vidić is even more important for United who didn't necessarily want for goals last year as much as sound defense.

City on the other hand had a shockingly quiet off-season, much to the dismay of the finely coiffed Mr. Mancini. Whether it be financial fair play or the inability to unload massive contracts, there has only been one move of note from City. While it's tough to feel bad for a man who has had a blank check for the past few years, it's easy to understand his frustration. After you win a title, everyone in the league is gunning for you and to not make any moves to improve your team (while everyone else is bringing in players in order to beat you) might dash any hopes of a repeat. With that being said, you won't find anybody feeling bad for City who still have an incredibly deep roster that will allow them to be at the top of the table all year.

Much like last year,  my brain is saying United but my heart is with City. The foundation of Kompany, Silva, Yaya and Hart, combined with the Argentine pair of Aguero and the fresh and resurgent Carlos Tevez (somewhat of a transfer player after only playing in 13 league games last season) will find City at the top of the table come May.

Predictions for 2012/2013
Top Four: City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal
Golden Boot: Carlos Tevez
FA Cup: Newcastle
Capital One Cup (sounds like college football): Manchester City
Top Newcomer: Eden Hazard

The Biggest Challenge I Face in my Classroom

In July, I spent a week at the University of Kansas studying the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education. At the end of our day at the Brown national park site, the lead professor of the seminar shared with us a quote from W.E.B DuBois on segregated education and opened the floor to the participants to share their thoughts and reactions.

What happened next was a teacher led discussion on educational inequality starting with the segregated schools of the American South in the 1960's and leading up to today.  It was a very interesting 90 minutes, with 25 teachers from around the country exploring many issues from race, teacher effectiveness, parental involvement and their influence on education. As a teacher from New York City, my contribution to the discussion focused on the crippling affect that poverty is having on many of the students in New York City and around the country.

Teaching in the Bronx for the past two years has brought the issue of poverty crashing into my world. I teach students who can rarely stay after school for extra help or extracurricular activities because they need to go home and watch their siblings while their parents (or in some cases, parent) work. Over 80% of the students at my school qualify for reduced or free lunches based on their family income. These are just two of many examples that I could use to show that learning is just one of my challenges my students face each day.When my students step into my classroom each morning, many of them have already had a pretty tough day; education is often the furthest thing from their minds.

If you listen to the media in our country, the performance of American students does not offer much promise for our future. A report released in 2004 shows that American students rank toward the middle or back of the statistical pack on math, science and reading standardized tests when compared with 34 countries globally. However, recent studies have shown that affluent students score up to 40% higher on standardized tests when compared with low income students, an increase that would have an impact on the statistics found in the 2004 report mentioned above. While there are many issues facing education in America, the one with the most profound impact on our educational system is the gap found between rich and poor students.

This week, NY1 reported that up to 70% of students in New York City live at or below the poverty line. On a personal level, this article comes at the right time, as I begin to shift out of "summer" mode and prepare for the upcoming school year (call it Spring Training for Teachers if you will). This study is a reminder of not only how important my job is, but how challenging it is as well. I agree that quality instruction and teaching can make a tremendous impact on students but I'm also aware that there are many forces out of my control that impact my work as well, with poverty being at the top of that list.

This isn't a teacher making excuses (as I'm sure many people outside of the world of education would believe) but rather an educator who lives and experiences these issues everyday. We live in a world of "quick fix" solutions (over testing students, charter schools, vouchers, "for profit" education, etc) but poverty is an issue that goes beyond the classroom and thus cannot be "easily" tackled. As with all education issues, it is vital that teachers share their voice on this issue and push for change. From there, it is left to our government and policy makers to do what we need them to do and take on the most difficult issues facing America today, starting with the disparity between rich and poor and the devastation that extreme poverty is having on both our country and classrooms.