Week 2 (mostly)

Back once again from Caringa Park.

Where the week one action showed us three distinct tiers of teams this week was all about parity. I don't want to give too much away but lets just say that every team got at least 1 point in the standings this week.

Week 2 also featured one team that didn't show up at all, and one team that showed up a little but too much.

Liverpool Versus West Ham
In the first match between Liverpool and the Hammers, Justin's stinky pinks seemed to control most of the game, especially in the first half. West Ham squandered a brilliant chance early with a striker all alone on goal against an undefended net, but squandered it away with a careless crossing pass. After this and despite the ball being on the Liverpool side of the field for the majority of the first 15, it was the Reds (greens) who struck first with a shot that lifted straight over the Hammer's defense and into the upper corner of the goal. West Ham would have their revenge in the second half and equalized with a brilliant move down the sidelines and a deadly finish with 6 minutes to spare. The final whistle blew with a 1-1 draw.

Fiorentina versus Austria Wien
The stands were a sea of purple for the second match as Fiorentina squared off against Austria Wien. It was a real chess match between these two clubs as players maneuvered feverishly around the field looking for an advantage that never seemed to come. Austria Wien appeared to break the deadlock with a goal in the second half but with about 4 minutes to go in the game, controversy (and that's with the emphasis on the "tro") erupted.

It turned out that team Austria had been playing the entire second half with an extra man on the field! This meant that their lone goal was scored with the extra man advantage.

League officials quickly met together on the sidelines and a spirited debate emerged over how best to rectify the situation. In the end, the goal was disqualified, and 4 minutes were added to the play clock. After the added time the game ended scoreless and a 0-0 draw.

Arsenal versus Stuttgart
Arsenal failed to show up so this match was postponed.

Stuttgart versus Austria Wien
The fans could not be satiated by a mere two matches on this day so Austria Wien agreed to play the double header and face off against Stuttgart for an advanced screening of their week 4 match up.

Of particular note in this match was the unconventional defense employed by Stuttgart manager, Maja Stoevhase. Team Stuttgart consistently started with a fairly conventional 4-3-3 formation but almost immediately sent their defenders screaming on the attack. Austria Wien would typically be attacking with only one fullback standing in their way. Well...one fullback and one formidable goal keeper: Sven Ulreich. Ulreich has quickly gained a reputation as the leagues most talented net minder and blocked multiple shots from Austria's frustrated strikers. The game ended in a nil-nil draw but Stuttgart fans seemed quite pleased to be in possession of such a super-star keeper.



That's all the news to report. the current standings:

Hammers
Fiorentina
Liverpool
Austria Wien
Stuttgart
Arsenal

-E

Match Day 1 - Season 01. Opening Day!

Welcome to opening week At Caringa Park and the WCD Table Football League.

Week one match-ups include: Sir Iwan Thomas coaching Arsenal against Justin Buhr's West Ham. The Liverpool Reds (or Greens in this case), with Eryn Roston at the helm, against Adam Spragg's Schnitzel loving lads of FK Austria Wien. Finally the Ladies took to the pitch with an "under construction" version of Trisha Manbeck's Fiorentina against Maja Stoevhase's Stuttgart.

Match 1
Despite scoring 2 goals on the day, Arsenal proved to be no match for the methodical attacking style of West Ham, who set the tone of the game early with a goal in the opening minutes. Iwan's squad would equalize, but than allowed the Hammers to drive home 2 more goals, the third being the nail in the coffin for the gunners. Aresnal's last-second goal was too little too late and West Ham secure the first 3 points of the league. Final score West Ham 3, Arsenal 2.

Match 2
The Scoring didn't come quite so easy in the match between Liverpool and FK Austria Wien. Liverpool came on strong early in the match with several good looks on goal but nothing to show for it but insults from the crowd. It was the Austrians who made the most of their chances in the first half with a solid shot from a tough angle, beating the Liverpool keeper to the far corner of the net. Things were looking grim for Liverpool but they finally slipped through the Austrian defense late in the second half and equalized with just 4 minutes to spare. FK Austria Wien had one solid chance at victory on a set piece with 2-minutes remaining but couldn't capitalize and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Match 3
Finally we come to Fiorentina against Stuttgart. This was a game characterized by defense and ball control. Both sides playing strong "possession" football, with Fiorentina playing particularly tight defense. There was a minimum of chances on goal for both sides but Fiorentina managed to break the deadlock with a goal in the second half and never looked back. Stuttgart, who managed zero shots on goal, will be looking to improve their offensive game in the coming weeks to be sure. Final score: Fiorentina 1, Stuttgart 0.

And so after the first week's matches we see the Hammers sitting on top of the tables, with 3 points, +1 goal differential, and 3 goals for. Congrats to the Hammers -- the early favorites for the cup! Look at those Hooligans celebrate...



Current Standings
1) Hammers
2) Fiorentina
3) Liverpool (t)
3) FK Austria Wien (t)
4) Arsenal
5) Stuttgart

The Final Countdown part six. FK Austria Wien

We come at last to the final team of the league, FK Austria Wien out of the Austrian Bundisliga, also known as Die Veilchen "The Violets". (Does that make two "violets" and two "reds" in the league?)

Austria Wien make the sexy stadium of "Horr Stadion" their home base.

The team was founded in 1911 and had it's most successful run between 1975 and 1986 when they won 8 national titles. While their performance since than has been mostly unexceptional, there have been bright spots (including a quarter-finals appearance in the 2005 UEFA cup).

Some notable players include: young scoring sensation Rubin Okotie and defensive midfielder Joachim Standfest.

Here's some highlights set to the themes from Magnum PI and Dallas

The Final Countdown part five. The Hammers!

Only two teams left in our countdown and it's back to England to cover West Ham United F.C.

West Ham's home stadium, Uptown Park is located in London and is the second London team in our league (The other being Arsenal).

The Hammers have the dubious distinction of being more well known for the antics of their supporters than they are for the performance of their players. West Ham Hooligans are the subject of several films.



West Ham's lively supporters adopted "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" as an anthem. (I expect Little Buhr to have this song memorized)

West Ham have never won the Premiere League (placing as high as fith place). Their most recent FA cup win came in 1980 and have won the UEFA cup once back in 1965. Notable players include Australian "Socceroo" Lucas Neill, and Dean Ashton.

In 2006/07 West Ham was facing Relegation for the 6th time in their club's history. However they made a dramatic run at the end of the season winning 7 of their last 9 games. Included in those wins were victories over league giants like Arsenal and Manchester United. Here's some highlights from that season.

State of the Pitch

First off: the goals are now secured (thanks to the birdman). So no more holding on to the posts while goal tending.

This morning the players from the practice squads lined up on the pitch to see a strange sight:

The Final Countdown part four. VFB Stuttgart

Another entry from outside the EPL, this time we head to Germany and the Bundesliga.

Stuttgart is known as "The cradle of the automobile". Mercedes-Benz and Porsche both call Stuttgart home. Stuttgart is also home to "Die Roten" ("The Reds" but not the Liverpool "Reds"), the local football team over at Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Stuttgart has had it's ups and downs in Germany's upper division soccer league but have seen some great success in recent years, including a Bundesliga title in 2006/2007.

Prominent players include Mario Gomez and Cacau.

Here are some highlights from the 2006, 2007 season

Interlude. Instructional Videos

For those who have not seen these yet:





-E