On England: My reactions to their 4-0 Euro victory over Bulgaria

For those who don't know, the World Cup is not all there is to international football. No, each continent has their own tournament amongst their nations, and foremost among those, as one might imagine, is the Euro. The Euro happens once every four years, just like the World Cup. Qualifying began yesterday, and here are my notes on England's 4-0 route of Bulgaria.

In Wembley Stadium on Friday, Fabio Capello showed all of his critics what he can really do as a manager. For the most part, the 4-0 thrashing of Bulgaria was quite impressive, but a couple of things are still worrying me.

First, lets look at the positives in this extremely impressive victory:

1. Rooney: playing well, still might not be himself. It really got a lot harder to not be a fan of Wayne Rooney after his performances recently, especially for the English national team. Roo knows that he isn't in scoring form, so he's been selflessly setting up teammates for goal after goal.

Defoe (pictured above) came out, as he should have, today to thank his strike partner for his hat-trick success yesterday, saying that he couldn't have done it without Roo. We'll get to how good Defoe was later, but the point is important. Rooney set up Defoe perfectly several times, with balls flipped over hapless Bulgarian defenders, clinically weighted through balls, and clever play all over the field.

Roo has also done a great job dropping back into the midfield to help distribute play to the attacking players. This was always one of his major strengths as a striker, and he seems to have gotten at least that part of his game all the way back.

As for his drive, how could you say it isn't there? Roo will always give everything he has, chase down any defender that comes within ten feet of him, blow defenders to the ground when he's on the ball. He's just a tryer, and for that reason I've never understood his mixed reception by English fans. With that said, it seemed like the Wembley faithful were very much behind their star man, so that's good.

2. Wide players: creative, fast, hard-working.

A problem for the English national team in the world cup was a lack of any players out wide. Somehow, there was simply no width to the English attack, and Aaron Lennon and others like him weren't able to get it done for the Three Lions. This was a cause for major concern, as delivery from out wide is key for a side that has players like Crouch at their disposal.

But, yesterday, the guns were out on display. James Milner, in particular, was an absolute work horse. Chasing down every ball, providing a great creative touch, and bringing a lot of width to play, Milner looked exceptional at Wembley.

Walcott is still struggling to play the right ball consistently, but he looked promising, particularly with his lethal speed.

Coming in at the 73rd minute, Manchester City's Adam Johnson was the high point of Capello's strategy in this match. Johnson was quick, thoughtful, and full of explosive energy. His goal cemented the win for England and was a low, driven ball at the near post. A perfect winger goal for what was a perfect day for the wingers of the Three Lions.

3. Jermain Defoe: Oh yeah, he's really good. As promised, let's look at Jermain Defoe, without question the man of the match in this game and his three goals. Defoe proved today why he is, was, and always has been a top class striker. He is the only English striker with the giddyup to get in behind defenders and he showed that skill quite well in the match. It helps when Rooney, who has great vision, is feeding you the ball with every run you make.

Defoe is also a top class finisher, and showed this skill quite well as well. If Defoe had a bad run of form last season, then he is certainly in the twilight of his career this season. His presence alongside Rooney makes England an almost definite shoe-in to qualify for Euro 2012.

4. Other notes: Gerrard seems to be struggling a bit, giving the ball away quite a lot. However, he looks more and more comfortable in central midfield and gets better and better every time I see him in his new niche.

Central defenders: two new faces. Jagielka and Michael Dawson are two of the up and coming stars in English football, and both of whom were starting on friday. Unfortunately, Dawson suffered a ligament injury in this game and will be out for six to eight weeks.

Ashley Cole: answering for his mistakes. Ashley Cole was a notable absentee in terms of form in South Africa a few months back, but he's clearly back in top form for his country and club. His speed, defensive abilities, and passing skills were on display and he proved how vital he is to the Three Lions attack with his brutal overlapping runs coming out of right fullback.

Joe Hart is a beast. It seems that all of the goalkeeping questions have been answered for England with Joe Hart. His reaction time, size, skill with his feet, and jumping ability all are top class. He will probably be England's number one for quite a while.

Now for the bad things. There aren't many, but they are worth mentioning.

1. Glen Johnson doesn't really know how to play football. Johnson is arguably one of the best athletes in the world. His stamina, strength, and speed are all there. But something about Johnson has always been a little off, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Some of the balls he plays are absolutely head-scratching. His clearances are never consistently safe. He doesn't seem to be on the same page with the rest of the players around him. His defensive abilities have always been suspect. These are the main critiques of Johnson, and they're as old as his career, but that's because he doesn't seem to be getting any better.

2. Still questions in the back. In defense for England, there were numerous miscommunications that could have cost goals, and it's been that way for a while now. These guys just don't seem to be on the same page half the time.

And the speed in defense just isn't there. This has always been a problem for England, and they've always combatted it by keeping a razor thin offside trap, but they need to be careful when they play sprightly, quick teams like Germany or Holland.

3. Gareth Barry is a sissy.

Barry is a secure, strong player to have in the center of the field. But my complaint of him will always be the same: he's a pansy who has no quality in the final third. Barry's only strategy in the final third is to seek contact and take a dive. He did it at least three in this game that I could see. He has no offensive lethality whatsoever, and just should stop taking the ball into the danger area.

All in all, it was an impressive display from the Three Lions in their debut Euro game, and I am optimistic for the future of English football.

Other news from Euro qualifying: France loses 1-0 to Belarus, Klaas Jan-Huntelaar gets a hat trick for Holland, Spain, Germany, and Italy win, Scotland ties Lithuania.

Thanks for reading!

On Manchester United: How good their 3-0 victory was today.

It took about 20 minutes, but by the time Manchester had settled in against what proved to be the lesser United (Newcastle), it was easy pickings at Old Trafford. There was a lot to see and take in today for the Red Devils, but here are my main impressions.

1. Old dogs still have plenty of tricks.

Paul Scholes (pictured above) and Ryan Giggs are the old wise men of United at this point. And they proved today that they are still a formidable force in the Premier League and that they will continue to be leaders of the team.

Scholes dictated the entire game. His long balls over the top of the hapless Magpie defense found Nani, Valencia, Berbatov, and so on. Scholes had to be man of the match today just because of his sheer ability to read and influence the flow of play. He was involved in each of United's goals with his vital running off the ball, and, of course, his work with the ball at his feet.

Ryan Giggs entered play at the 70th minute to record his 19th consecutive season in the Premier League. The 37 year old is still clearly in top form though, as it took him a short fifteen minutes to score. A beautiful Scholes ball across the 18 found Giggs at the edge of the area on the left hand side. Then, in one masterful moment, Giggs one-timed it with his left foot. The finish was top class and glided into the side netting, with Newcastle Harper completely off-guard.

Giggs wasn't done though, and continued to display his mastery of the game with incredible one touch play and great field vision.

These two grizzled warriors are well into their twilight years, but that hasn't stopped them delivering at the highest level in a big way for United.

2. Strikers: questions answered, still more raised.

A major concern for Man U this year is who is going to be the top goal scorer. With Rooney still without a goal since May, and Berbatov still trying to prove himself, it's an important question.

Berbatov helped eliminate some doubt by scoring the opening goal for United. The finish was superb, as Berbatov glided it in his trademark fashion across the face of the goal and into it's cheek, so to speak. But he would struggle from here, but sometimes it was good struggling. A number of times, Berbatov was clearly attempting to set up his strike partner, whether it was Rooney or Javier Hernandez. But when it was the wrong kind of struggling, it was ugly. Berbatov's problem, for me, has been his continued obsession with being an artist. Berb always complicated finishes, often going for the ultimate finesse, the ball that just barely squeeks into the goal. It's beautiful, but, as we saw today, it can be embarassing when you look less beautiful and more like a jackass. But I am still a big Berb supporter and I think things can only get better for him from here, as long as he gets at least 20 goals.

Wayne Rooney. The revered best striker in England. Power, speed, aggression, intensity. These are the things that we have heard about the Red Devils' number 10. But what else do we see? We see inconsistency, a lack of ability to perform at the international level. So what does his performance today tell us? I think it's all positive. Roo has remained completely selfless, setting up workhorse Darren Fletcher for a rare goal, and setting up others on numerous occassions. His finishing today, it's true, was a little less than adequate. But he wants so badly to succeed, and he's still brimming with desire and that competetitive fire. Hopefully Rooney will be back in scoring form within the next couple of weeks, and today's performance was a good start. The next step will be getting his confidence back.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez makes debut, does well. Despite slipping and falling in the box, and mishandling a back heel pass, the Mexican looked good on his debut. Though he didn't have a good shot on frame, Chicharito looked great in the build-up play in the final third, and was barely caught offside on a breakaway chance. I expect very bright things from "The Little Pea" in the future.

3. Out wide: the strength of the United attack.

On the receiving end of those Scholes' balls, Luis Valencia, Nani, Patrice Evra, and John O'shea looked great for United out wide. Valencia was the weak link among them, but he made up for it with great hustle and good build-up play. His problem was getting the final ball into Rooney. Nani, however, looked absolutely magical. His cross led to the Fletcher goal, and quite a few were just barely off. Both of the wingers had a great work rate and overall looked great. From the fullback position, Evra and O'Shea did a great job pushing forward and getting involved in play. When these two are up, watch for the goals to rain in.

4. Defending like mad dogs.

The way to tell if a team has got what it takes to finish in top three in the Premier League is if they can complete more than five passes in the final third in Old Trafford against United. The defense, led by Nemanja Vidic, did a great job getting the ball back and distribution was top class as well.

The only question mark for me was Johnny Evans. He's an ambitious fellow, but his clearances had me scratching my head occassionally. He didn't seem to mark as well, particularly in the air. All I'm saying is, it'll be nice to have Ferdinand back when he's fit.

Van Der Sar was perfect today, as usual. Great distribution, makes saves look easy, still one of the best keepers in the Premier League.

These are my major notes from the game today. What did you think?

Other news: Mark Shwarzer looks to be on his way to Arsenal, Scott Parker likely to sign 5 year deal for West Ham, Middlesborough keeper Brad Jones on move to Anfield, AC Milan show interest in Pompey's Kevin-Prince Boateng, in demand defender David Luis gets 40 million price tag at Benfica, questions raised over legality of Chelsea's approach of Brazilian starlet Neymar.

On the FA Community Sheild: What we found out about Manchester United.

So today Manchester United won back the FA Community Shield from Chelsea 3-1. This was a huge match because it shows both teams where they are in comparison to one another, and Man U's win tips the balance in a big way. Let's look at all of the great (and perhaps not so great) things we learned from today's game about Man U:

1. Rooney's as hungry as ever. Though he didn't score today, and didn't even have a shot, Rooney was all over the field and looked as fiesty as he usually is. This was epitomized when he lost the ball cheaply and proceeded to chase down Nicolas Anelka and rip the ball away from him with a perfectly executed slide tackle.

He also set up United's first goal, slotting a ball perfectly across the six for Valencia to finish. Rooney hasn't found the goal for any side, Man U or England, since March, but something tells me that is going to change in the season opener against Newcastle.

2. Van Der Sar's still got it. Edwin Van Der Sar is the current 37 year old number one for Man U. Some were questioning his fitness this year and were calling on manager Sir Alex Ferguson to look for a new keeper, perhaps Federico Marchetti. But Alex waved his finger in front of all of us and pointed to Van Der Sar's performance today, showing his immense capabilities in both reflexes, reach, and skill on the ball.

Old Edwin is as adroit as ever, and he will certainly not be a problem for United this year.

3. Chicharito is a beast. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is the newest signing for Man U. He's a 22 year old Mexican (the first to play at Man U) who comes to Old Trafford from Chivas Guadalajara. So far, Chicharito ("The Little Pea") has played in four games sporting the Man U crest. He's obliged Sir Alex by scoring in all of those appearences.

Today, Chicharito recieved a ball fed low and hard with pace by Valencia in front of the gaping goal, flicked it up, and knocked it in off his face. This is a young man who literally cannot help scoring, it just comes naturally to him.

Another thing I love about Chicharito is the way he hugs the offside trap. This is a fad in Central and South America (currently practiced with great results by Diego Milito of Inter) and is a good sign of a great player. Even if he is called off once or twice in a game, this technique shows that Chicharito is absolutely salivating for goals and is also an intelligent footballer.

Chicharito is already winning comparisons to Hugo Sanchez, the legendary striker from Mexico. So that's awesome.

4. Michael Owen's out of gas. Poor Michael is a 30 year old legend for United and England and is a hometown favorite. Unfortunately today he showed his age in more than one way.

He simply wasn't thinking about scoring, he seemed to be in another place for the whole half he was in. John Terry threw him around like a rag doll and he could barely pass. I think we might be seeing the dying embers of Michael.

5. Berbatov is a great player. Dimitar Berbatov's chip to add the third goal for United and the final nail in Chelsea's coffin was simply immaculate. It's difficult to describe Berbatov's style of play, because everything is so percise and yet so off the cusp. He weighs every touch so perfectly, every minute detail of his play is so finely tuned. And yet, he's merely reacting to what's happening around him. Berbatov has scored four goals in six games, and I think we could be looking at his breakout year for United.

6. Man U will win the title. What we saw today from United was everything that a team needs to win the title in the Premiership. They have depth, class, competetive fire, the right mixture of inspired youth and experienced elders, and they've got a great manager to light the way. I think Man U's short hiatus away from number one will end this season.

On United States: What we learned today.

I thought I'd wrote a post that just summed up what I thought the U.S. team should take away from their opening tie against England. I would like to preface this post by saying I am extremely happy with the result, and am very proud of the American side. That said, let's look at what we now know from watching this game:

1. Robbie Findley shouldn't start. Ever. Robbie Findley is a youngster who has just broken unto the scene because of his "speed." Quite frankly, I'm growing more and more unimpressed with forward known for their speed, especially, in Findley's case at least, when that is their only attribute. Even more frankly, Altidore used his speed much more impressively with that one great chance he had late in the first half, getting around Jamie Carragher and just missing a shot that bounced off the post. Findley is just fast. He can't carry the ball at all. Kind of like...Theo Walcott. That's not a good comparison, in my book.

Findley messed up almost every touch he had on the ball, particularly his first one, and his passing throughout was pretty dismal. It seemed like every time the U.S. lost the ball, it was all his fault. He needs to be replaced with Buddle, or perhaps even Herculez Gomez. Both have proven how potent they can be, especially in the goal scoring department.

In short, Findley's speed can come in handy as a substitute late in the game when defenders are tired, but having him start is a recipe for bad chemistry and ball movement.

2. Tim Howard is a champ. If you missed the game today, I hope you at least got a chance to look at all of the amazing saves that Howard made. There were about three saves that I legitamately still can't figure out how he made, and his ability to hold on to a shot without allowing a rebound has proven to be invaluable. He also took a cleet to the hand from Emile Heskey and stayed tough, finishing the game off.

United States know that they can always rely on the last line of defense, and that's important to establish in the opener of a tournament as massive as the WC.

3. Jose Torres deserves a chance. My other least favorite U.S. starter right now is Ricardo Clark. He was the man responsible for marking Gerrard when they scored their goal in the sixth minute, missed numerous markings throughout his performance, passed like his cleets were made out of bricks, and could barely keep the ball. Clark seems tired, and frankly doesn't seem to be playing with any spark at all. Every time he touched the ball it was like all the air went out of whatever the U.S. was trying. But then, there's Torres.

I only got the chance to see this kid play once, but it was incredible. He's got great skills, passes accurately and with just the right amount of touch, and is absolutely voracious. When he's in the game, a whole new burst of energy is given to the team. In fact, it was his substitution for Clark in the friendly against Turkey that allowed the U.S. to open up and score their two second half goals, giving them the victory.

When he loses the ball, you can see his fury as he chases down the offender and rips it back, and whatever cost. I think that Bradley should experiment in the next game and go with the hot player at the moment and let Clark think about how much he really wants this for his country.

4. Oneywu is back. The media was making a huge point of doubting Oneywu's form in the WC. But, if they had paid attention at all during the Turkey game, they would have seen that he was in fact, back. And this game was no different. Oneywu got his head to two corner kicks, and eventually he's going to get one, it's just a matter of when. He also absolutely devoured English attacks. Most of the time when they lost the ball it was because Gooch had poked, slid, or punched it away from them with his great feet. There should be no reason to doubt Oneywu anymore, especially not after this performance.

5. Dempsey, Donovan, and Altidore are in form. These are the three key players for the United States and all three played extremely well today. Donovan was the most innovative player on the pitch, and he made some great passes that would have been goals if Ashley Cole hadn't been in the way.

Altidore made some great runs, showed a lot of confidence on the ball, and also had the best chance in the match to score. I blame him not scoring it on Green's rapid determination to ammend for his earlier fumble, but we'll see.

Dempsey also could not have played better. And I don't want to hear anything about his goal being "lucky." Sure, the goalie fumbled it, but Dempsey still made a great strike from a long way out with a lot of power on it, and that's something to be said when you're staring down John Terry. Also, he proved in this match just how much of a warrior he is. Getting cleated in the thigh, punched in the gut, and falling on his face several times, Dempsey always got back up, as he has always and will always do during this tournament.

6. Bradley is a great coach. Though he made some subs a little later than I would have liked, Bradley had the right idea as soon as he saw Capello's decision to push his men into a more attacking playing style. He quickly told his players to switch to a counter attacking style, which they performed quite well, capitalized by Altidore's oh-so-close chance.

Bradley has led this country where it has never gone before in it's football playing history, now let's see if he can take it even further.

These are my thoughts on what I learned from today's match. Did you see anything, or think my findings are dumb? Comment!

On Fabio Capello: What makes England's coach a bumbling idiot

I'm not going to get into how odd it is that England's coach is from Italy when every other major country's coach, Brazil (Dunga), Argentina (Diego Maradona), Spain (Vicente Del Bosque), Italy (Marcello Lippi), France (Laurent Blanc), and Germany (Joachim Low), have coaches that are actually from the country they are coaching. I mean, that makes sense right? Every player has to have established citizenship...shouldn't the coach? And here I am saying I wasn't going to get into it and then I did. Anyways, moving on, what makes Capello an idiot:

1. His squad selection. There are a couple of reasons why Capello messed everything up from day one when he picked his provisional squad. First of all, he didn't pick any of the Big Four. This is the name I have given to Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes. These guys are the last remnants of the first class of the first installment of the Premier League. England would have loved if any of these guys had made it, particularly Hargreaves. But no, Capello decided to go against his word and pick a player who was woefully injured: Gareth Barry.

Barry had an injury at the time Capello picked him that some were saying would take 8 weeks to recover. From the provisional squad selection point, 8 weeks later would be a full week into the tournament itself. So Capello expects Barry to come back at 100 percent and compete? It seems like every time I bring up ESPN's Soccernet, it's some story about how Capello is kissing Barry's ass and telling him that everything is going to be fine and he'll do whatever it takes to get him on the roster. This is not what England's coach should be doing. England's coach should be out there saying that Rooney's ankle is fine, and that he'll win the Golden Boot this year. He should be out there saying that he doesn't care about how bad Gerrard's season was, he's still the most phenomenal blah blah blah. He should be out there saying that we should move on from the John Terry scandal and focus on our new captain, Rio Ferdinand, who's broken leg has healed great thank you, and will be a great asset to this team. But no, it's all about little Barry.

On Tuesday, Barry was scheduled to have a series of tests done to see if he would be ready in time. He failed miserably. Capello came out and said that he would give him more time. The World Cup is closing fast and Barry is wasting away on the bench when Hargreaves could be in there knocking the ball around with these guys. Also, Barry's injury is just not a big deal for one big reason: Michael Carrick exists. Carrick should start anyway, he's got a lethal shot, and he's just as good if not better of a passer than Barry. But no, Capello has to keep saying that Barry is his guy. I honestly don't think he knows anything about any of England's other players. Which brings me to my next point.

2. He's making terrible formation decisions. Ahead of the England's first friendly match against Mexico on Tuesday, Capello said he had been "experimenting" with England. Let's take a look at what he's suggesting and how terrible his suggestions are.

First, Capello said that he has been working with a three man centre back defense. For those who don't know, a traditional defense includes four defenders. Two on the inside, called full backs sometimes, and two on the outside, called wingbacks. What Capello is suggesting is a formation with only three defenders, who would play much more central positions. This is the formation that makes the German Bundesliga the top scoring league in the world, because this formation allows for teams to push more players up field and make more scoring opportunities. But, it's difficult to really tell if the high scoring is because of the extra man up top, or the man missing down below, as pretty much every team in the Bundesliga uses this formation. Ignoring these variables, Capello decided this would a good formation to have England PRACTICE. And I capitalize practice because practice is a big deal leading up to the World Cup. Because every team basically has a month to get a bunch of superstars together and have them work as a team. Let's look at why this strategy is a waste of precious practice time.

Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson. For those who know who these players are, I really don't need to say anything else. But I will, because it's important. Cole and Johnson are quite the dynamic duo, both players are extremely skilled on the ball and love to push the ball up field and deliver crosses into the box for their teammates. Both have accrued quite a few assists over their careers doing this. Of course, with Capello's new three man centre back defense, these two wing backs would be basically worthless. This is why this is a horrible idea. Does Capello understand that having Cole upfield not only gives Gerrard an outlet when he gets in trouble, but would also allow him to get into the box? Apparently not.

Another reason why this is a terrible idea is that centre back John Terry would be extremely limited. He is also known for pushing the ball past the centre line and starting an attack. He wouldn't be able to do that now because if he lost the ball, there would only be two English defenders back. Which would of course, suck.

The second proposal of maistro Capello is to make Wayne Rooney a lone striker and have Gerrard play as a retracted striker behind him. This is also a terrible idea. Here's why: traditionally, England scores on the principle of "pass and move." This is what every English club (sans Arsenal) bases their strategy around. Let me explain. In a REAL English attack, Rooney would have someone like Jermain Defoe with him up top. Here's what happens theoretically: Lampard passes to Rooney. Then Rooney passes to Defoe, who quickly taps it back to Lampard. Now, while Defoe is tapping it back to Lampard, Rooney has made space for himself in the box. Then Lampard passes it right back to Rooney, who scores on the keeper who is like, "WTF? I can't follow ball it move so fast!!" This is called a "triangle" and it is based on the principle of pass and move, as Rooney makes a pass, and then moves into position. You would think that's how every team scores, but this is not so, as every team scores a little differently.

Like at Brazil. On Brazil, here's what happens: someone passes to Kaka who runs past every opposing player and scores some miraculous upper 90 goal. Because he's Kaka. Or, any Brazilian passes to any Brazilian who then does some kind of miracle bicycle kick into the top corner. Then they do the same thing like five more times and win. This is still different from how Argentina scores:

Some nameless Argentine midfielder passes the ball to Lionel Messi/Carlos Tevez/Diego Milito/Gonzalo Higuain/Sergio Aguero who then does Maradonas past everyone and chips the keeper. This is still different from how Ivory Coast scores:

Get the ball to Didier Drogba. Then you just...win. But then you can look at Italy and it's still different:

A constant merry-go-round of good-but-not-great Italian strikers and attacking midfielders repeatedly get into the box and lose the ball until finally one of them scores and it's 1-0 but it doesn't matter because the other team can't score because Buffon is in goal and no one can score on him. Or, Italy can't score at all but it still doesn't matter because Buffon is in goal and no one can score on Buffon so it goes into penalties and the other team still can't score because Buffon is in goal and then Italy wins because at least Andre Pirlo will be able to score a penalty kick for them.

Back to England. Let's look at Capello's vision of how England will score:

Rooney gets the ball. From here, he has two options, and only two. He can juke out FOUR defenders (see what I did there?) and try to score on the keeper, or he can do a back-pass to Lampard or...Hargreaves. Then he can try to get into open space. The problem is, there's no one else to pinch defenders away from him, so while one centre back charges Lampard/Hargreaves, the other locks down on Rooney. That's fundamentally what will happen. Here's what Capello wants to happen:

Rooney gets the ball, he shoots the ball, which the keeper has to parry and can't catch because Rooney shoots so damn hard. Then Gerrard, who was behind Rooney, happens to be in perfect position for the rebound and puts a whole in the net.

That sounds like a miracle goal that may happen once in the whole tournament. That sounds like a coach who has no idea what he's doing and is about to let a country he normally lives 3,000 miles away from down. Why does he care again? Oh yeah, England is paying him. Diego Maradona came out today and claimes he WILL run naked through the streets in joy WHEN Argentina wins this year. Notice the language, his words not mine (I still want England to win). I'm not expecting the English coach to make statements like that, I just wish someone was coaching who I felt comfortable with. Not just the manager of Roma, for God's sake.

On Manchester United: Why they are my favorite club and why they are great.

Explaining the title: I just said "great" because personally, it really pisses me off when people always say "THE GREATEST TEAM/BAND/PLAY/MOVIE/POTATO CHIP EVER." Even if it is true, it's obnoxious and dumb. Except for football, as it actually is the best sport. As I will explain later. Anyway, I think it would be pretty hard to argue that Manchester United (who have won 18 Premierships, 11 FA Cups, 3 UEFA Championships, one Super Cup, and a Fifa World Cup) or really any club in the Barclays Premier League, isn't great. This is the top level of football (followed closely by Spain's La Liga, in my book)

Explaining why they are my favorite: We'll just get this out of the way, as I'm sure most of you aren't interested in my personal stake in this team.

I've only been a fan of this club for about 8 months, but you can't really blame me because I'm from the US. I started being a fan of the club after I bought Fifa 10. A video game. But, in my defense, it's considered to be quite great (Metacritic). I liked using them because I could score with them quite a lot, and I liked all of their players. Easy enough. Looking into my history, I found that a major part of my heritage actually comes from Manchester. So, that makes me legit. I guess. Alright, moving on.

Why they are great:

Reason 1: Wayne Rooney.

Rooney is Manchester United right now, straight up. He's the player everyone associates with them, and they very well should. With 26 goals in 32 appearences in League play in 34 goals across all competitions, Rooney is the top scorer for Man U and probably would have been in the Premier League if not for an injury that kept him out of four games at the end of the season, letting Chelsea's goal eater Didier Drogba (29 goals in League play) pass him.

But Rooney means more than just Man U. Going into South Africa, Rooney is really the only solid forward England has got. With Jermaine Defoe woefully out of form, and an aging Peter Crouch, there's really nobody left up top at England. Gerrard plays like a forward, so that will help, but they still need Rooney up there. Rooney is also simply the most fun English forward to watch right now, for the following reasons.

Defoe: Defoe is simply out of form. He's also basically just a speed forward. He doesn't have too much of a shot, and he's got some solid skill, but nothing terribly special.

Crouch: Crouch is just an ugly player in my opinion. He's pretty good at taking chances, but his goals are never really like, "Wow! That guy is special!" He just sort of has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and he's maybe good for a goal every two games.

Heskey: Heskey is a pretty solid player, but that's it. He's just good. He's definitely not great. And in the World Cup, you have to be nothing short of miraculous. Or at least good at kicking penalties.

In short, Rooney is the life blood of Man U, and of England in a lot of ways.

Reason 2: A history of greatness.

I already mentioned this up top, but Man U has got a lot of established precedent of being great. They are one of only four teams to ever win the Premiership, and they've won it the most of anyone. This is reason enough for a band wagon, which Man U definitely has, but there's still more.

(Pictured above is George Best, considered by most to be the best player in Man U's history.

Reason 3: They get them first.

Throughout their history, Man U has had a knack for getting the world's best players right in their prime. It's true that they usually end up losing them, but they still get them while they're hot. We have seen a good amount of this in recent years. Before David Beckham was famous for "bending it," before Cristiano Ronaldo was just "Ronaldo," they were Red Devils. You can see it happening even now. Rooney is now a star (I know, he was at Everton first, but he wasn't a star yet), and they've got 18 year old Italian phenom Federico Macheda waiting in the laurels. A note on Macheda: that kid has come into a game twice now for a total of only about 30 minutes and scored two goals. That's exciting talent right there, and it's budding, as it always has, in Man U.

Reason 4: Diversity.

This is true of most clubs in the big five leagues in Europe (Ligue 1, La Liga, Seria A, Bundesliga, Premier League), but it's especially true of the starters at Man U. Nemanja Vidic (Serbia, pictured above), Patrica Evra (France), Nani (Cape Verde), Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Edwin Van Der Sar (Holland), Rafael (Brazil), are all not only starters, but some of them (particularly Vidic and Evra) are considered the best in the world at their position. The list goes on as you look at their roster for those that don't start but are still on the active roster: Senegal, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Poland, South Korea, Yugoslavia. This is a club of the world, and when you realize that it's really incredible when you think about how all of these different people work together so effectively

They also cast a wide net, obviously, as there are players in that list from every continent except Antarctica. And it's only getting wider, as they just signed Javier Hernandez, the club's first ever Mexican player.

Reason 5: Important English national players.

In addition to reason 4, Man U has a great amount of players from England that are key players. We've already talked about Rooney, but they've also got Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand is important not only because he's a really great center defender, but also because people like him. That goes a long way when you're starting next to John Terry, who's faced a whole slew of scandals throughout his career and is known as a pretty dirty player. Ferdinand is also a really loyal Red Devil. He made a point to come out after there was buzz in the air about Man U not winning the Premiership this year to say he wanted to be one of those guys who "got to Man U and stayed there."

By the way, the "those guys" are also an important part of Man U. These are the extremely experienced (aging, slightly) players that are established legends in England. These are the guys who have been to the World Cup, have been on the teams that have won the Premiership. This is where the leadership aspect of the club comes in. You've got guys like Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, and Paul Scholes. Scholes, Giggs and Owen hold countless Premier League records, and Hargreaves was supposed to get a tap for the World Cup this year, but then Capello decided to be an ass and pick Garreth Barry, who will be recovering from an injury and useless.

Reason 6: The Red Army.

Whether England likes it or not, hooliganism is a major part of the Premier League image. It's a pretty big draw. Whenever you mention English football, the first reaction is "Whew, those guys are crazy!" It's what everyone wants to talk about when they go to a match, how crazy the fans are. It's what the media projects as the lifestyle of English football. It's a way of life for these guys.

And if you are interested in hooliganism, you need look no further than Man U's Red Army. Despite having probably the most intimidating name of any other hooligan group, the Red Army is one of the largest and have an established precedent as being insane. While the term has been used to describe Man U fans in general, the memory of all of the vandalism and violence still lives on. They are a large part of why fans are segregated at matches now, with two seperate entrances. They have pet players, like the ever-pugnacious Gary Neville and the stoic impassable mountain that is Nemanja Vidic.

Reason 7: Old Trafford.

This should have been higher up on the list, because it's probably one of the best parts of Man U. Built in 1910, the Theater of Dreams is the premier stadium of the Premier League. After Wembley Stadium, it is has the largest capacity of any stadium in England, seating 75,957. It is the 11th largest in all of Europe. It is also the only stadium along with the Wembley to be given a five star rating by UEFA. It's where dreams are made, it's majestic, and I really want to go.

Reason 8: Sir Alex Ferguson.

Whether you like him or not, the man almost won an unprecedented four Premierships in a row. If he didn't have idiotic owners like the American Glazer family pulling the strings, he'd have a lot more money to throw around and may even still have Ronaldo. He's an old guy with a lot of power and he knows how to use it, plain and simple.

I'm out of reasons. Comment if you like this/have other ideas/think I'm an asshole.