by John Brandon on August 31, 2010
Rewind to July 2 and Asamoah Gyan scored three goals in four games in the World Cup. Winning a standing ovation in his sides match against Serbia. In the quarter final against Uruguay he then stepped up and fluffed a chance to write himself and Ghana in to record books as the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi final.
Many men would have hidden, simply sulked, felt sorry for themselves and seeked refuge in the warmth and comfort of his sides dressing room. Not Gyan he continued to battle on and took his sides first penalty in the shoot out and cooly slotted home in to the top corner to put his country a step closer to history. Obviously it didn’t happen but Gyan was making people stand up and take notice of his undoubted potential. Read more... (302 words, 1 image, estimated 1:12 mins reading time)
by John Brandon on August 30, 2010
Manchester United eased past a troubled and feeble West Ham United thanks to two of the greatest players this country have ever seen.
Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs single handedly won the game for Manchester United and in the process started their campaign to knock the mighty Chelsea off of their perch. Oh and how they did it.
Pass after pass was arrowed across the pitch by Paul Scholes, skill after skill was displayed by Ryan Giggs and it was this combination that led to all 3 of the goals in their 3 – 0 win.
American full back Jonathon Spector had a torrid time against Ryan Giggs (his old team mate) and after being nutmegged by the Welsh wizard, Spector brought him down to give Manchester United a penalty. A penalty which ended 1,114 minutes without a goal for Wayne Rooney. Read more... (332 words, 1 image, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)
by The Yank on July 14, 2010
In my post ”The Bard’s 100 Best Soccer Players: Series Preview“, I promised you that I – William J. Shakespeare (aka “The Bard”) – would offer up unto you 100 posts about the most gifted gents to ever play the greatest game on the globe: soccer. But, alas, the Final Act of the Bard’s blogging career is now upon us, and I must forge on to other literary endeavors without finishing my magnum opus. ‘Tis a shame, really, as I did write half the series. Yep, lurid limericks and all. Read more... (586 words, 2 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)
by The Yank on June 30, 2010
photo credit: ROBBO WRH, PFB, WD…..Team Robbo
The Pick: I know what you are likely thinking. There were two excellent soccer stars who went by the name “B. Robson”, Bobby and Bryan. So, which B. Robson has the Bard selected to join his pantheon of the 100 Best Soccer Players ever? Drumroll! It’s Bryan, of course. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bobby, but Bryan is the all-time longest serving captain for Man U (+340 with the armband). He is also a legend for the English team (90 caps and 26 goals). Read more... (254 words, 2 images, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)
by The Yank on June 27, 2010
photo credit: bixentro
The Pick: George Best is probably too high on my list. My rankings are flawed. I never should have given players bonus points if their son nailed Lindsay Lohan, but c’est la vie. George hit a lot hotter shit than LiLo though. In fact, he was known as the biggest playboy of his day. He also got a lot of action on the pitch, which is really why he is on this list. He notched more than 150 goals in over 300 pro games and 10 goals in approximately 40 games for his Nats. Read more... (230 words, 2 images, estimated 55 secs reading time)
by The Yank on June 16, 2010
The Pick: Sir Bobby Moore fittingly joins the Bard’s Best 100 Soccer Players Ever today, and I have decided to dedicate this soliloquoy to him to mark the occasion. He certainly earned it during his +700 pro matches and +100 caps for England. He was Captain of the 1966 World Cup champion side. He not only did great things on the pitch, he also appeared in films on the silver screen like Victory. Well, maybe he really did do great things only on the pitch. Read more... (168 words, 2 images, estimated 40 secs reading time)
by The Yank on May 26, 2010
photo credit: spjwebster
The Pick: Sir Stanley Matthews deserves a spot in the Bard’s Top 100 due to both his celebrated career and his clutch character. He enjoyed a long career spanning nearly four decades and over 700 games (almost exlcusively with Stoke City and Blackpool), but he will always be best remembered for just one of those games, the 1953 FA Cup Final, now known as ”The Matthews Final”. That moniker is impressive when you consider his mate had a hat trick in the game. Read more... (219 words, 2 images, estimated 53 secs reading time)
by The Yank on May 19, 2010
photo credit: themikelee
The Pick: A good many of you likely think I have Thierry Henry too high on this list (Arsenal, Barca and Bleus fans, for instance), and you could persuade me to put him lower by lecturing me about his +50 international goals, two Prem titles, La Liga title, Champions League title, World freaking Cup title, and his warehouses full of individual awards and accolades. But some of you also don’t think I shouldn’t “hand” him a spot in my Top 100 at all (Ireland fans). Read more... (217 words, 2 images, estimated 52 secs reading time)
by Patton Hunnicutt on May 13, 2010
Perhaps Fernando Torres is leaving Liverpool? Perhaps he’s moving somewhere else in the EPL? Chelsea thinks it might be them. They seem to be ready to make a bid for him and some current players are quite happy about the prospects. Didier Drogba–their monster scorer says:
“I have heard the talk about Torres maybe coming in and I would welcome it, of course. Every time there is a new player coming here it’s making the club bigger and giving us a lot of strength. If there is a chance for him to come he will be welcome because any help is welcome!” Read more... (233 words, 2 images, estimated 56 secs reading time)
by The Yank on May 12, 2010
photo credit: Mike__Lawrence
The Pick: The people of Wales idolize John Charles, and they should. He rose in esteem during his early career at Leeds United, but he blossomed into a soccer legend during his later years with Serie A giant Juventus. He averaged a goal every other game over his entire 600 match career. But he will also be most legendary in my eyes though because he was never cautioned or sent off during his entire 600 match career too. And I mean never. That’s discipline. Read more... (223 words, 2 images, estimated 54 secs reading time)
