Get Real Rafa

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is in a bit of an argument with the club's new owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The fight is over transfer funds, with Benitez insisting money be made available now to tie up any deals to be done in the January transfer window. The owners say nothing will be done until they come to England for the Liverpool-Manchester United match on December 16th. This isn't good enough for Benitez, who suggested that the owners don't understand the intricacies of the European transfer system. Maybe what they really don't understand is why Benitez, after spending over $100 million on players this past summer, is demanding new players after just six months. Or maybe they don't understand why the team is only in fifth place in the Premiership and hanging on by the thinnest of threads in the Champions League after spending all that cash in the summer. TWG isn't a huge fan of all the foreign ownership in the Premier League, but we agree with what Gillett and Hicks told their manager: you focus on coaching the players you have now, not what players you wish you had.

Judgment Day

Barcelona defeated Rangers 2-0 earlier today, the opposite of what TWG predicted. Barcelona's goals came from Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, two pretty good players. Damarcus Beasley, obviously, did not score for Rangers. In fact, nobody did. Looks like they could have used Nolan Ryan, or at least Mike Richter in the nets. Don't worry, TWG will continue to make bold predictions, regardless of what anyone thinks, especially you Kate.

Prediction

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means: It's business time. It also means European Cup action (you might know it better as "The Champions League"). Plenty of matches on tap for today, but we'll keep it short and sweet. TWG is going out on a big limb and saying Rangers will pull the upset over Barcelona in the Nou Camp (or is it Camp Nou? we've heard it both ways). Look for Rangers to sit back and soak up pressure from Barcelona's vaunted attackers and try to catch them on the counterattack, much like they did in the game two weeks ago in Glasgow, which ended in a 0-0 tie, and had Barcelona lamenting the fact that Rangers didn't want to play, just defend. TWG is tipping fellow U.S. American Damarcus Beasley to snatch a late winner for Rangers. Bold? Yes. But it's business time.

Mourinho Out at Chelsea

Jose Mourinho, the self-proclaimed "Special One," has left Chelsea, apparently by mutual consent. Speculation about his departure had been rampant for months, but the move is still a bit of a shock, even when taking into account Chelsea's recent run of poor results. Despite the talk of "mutual consent" and Mourinho's huge payoff, TWG thinks Mourinho was simply fed up with all the outside meddling in the day-to-day affairs of his squad and decided enough was enough, he was leaving on his own terms before he was forced out. Regardless of what you thought about Mourinho, he knew how to get results and his coaching record speaks for itself. He'll have no shortage of offers for his services (Lions FC, losers of its past two games, may be in the market for a new manager). What effects will this have on Chelsea and its high-priced squad? Their first match without Mourinho is against Manchester United on Sunday, and the management team of Avram Grant and Steve Clarke have their work cut out for them....

Weekend Action

Interesting match between the US and Brazil. The US took an early lead only for Brazil to equalize on an unfortunate own goal from Oguchi Onyewu. Brazil's counterattack leading up to the goal was pure class, especially the final pass from Ronaldinho to Kaka. Tim Howard made a good save, but the rebound bounced off Onyewu and into the goal. It was a tough match for the 'Gooch, as he was also beaten by Lucio for Brazil's second goal. Clint Dempsey scored the second goal for the US after nice build-up play and a great pass from Steve Cherundolo, before Ronaldinho and Elano finished off the scoring for Brazil. The US can take many positives from the match, but the most positive thing for them would be to get back to their winning ways from the first part of 2007, before the streak of 5 straight losses began.

Virginia Tech won their annual tournament with big victories over Clemson and St. John's. The win over Clemson was also their first ACC match, and they now sit in first place in the league. While it is early, it's always important to get off to a positive start. Next up for the Hokies is a friday night match at Tulsa, which will be televised live by Fox Soccer Channel. Kickoff is 8pm.

Lions FC opened up the CVSA season with a dominating 5-2 victory over the Fan Rats. There were strong performances all over the field for the Lions, with the returning players not missing a beat and the several new recruits fitting in nicely. Things won't get any easier for the squad though, as a matchup with archrivals X-Rams looms next Sunday. Kickoff is set for 9am at Bryan Park.

USL2 Final

Harrisburg City Islanders vs. Richmond Kickers
8pm, University of Richmond Stadium
TV: 10pm, Fox Soccer Channel (delayed)

Not so much a preview, but more of a prediction from TWG. The first goal will be crucial. This may seem obvious but for the most part championship matches are pretty tight, as teams look to defend and avoid making mistakes that lead to goals. Richmond has scored in the first half of the last two games, which forced their opponents to commit more numbers forward, leaving them vulnerable to quick counterattacks. The Kickers were unable to capitalize on those opportunities in last week's semifinal and ended up conceding a late goal. Harrisburg is known for its physical approach and generally commits more fouls than its opponents. This will make it harder for Richmond's attack to break them down. The Kickers, however, boast one of the top defenses in the league and can depend on goalkeeper of the year Ronnie Pascale to keep things organized and come up with the one or two big saves a team needs to win a big match. TWG sees Richmond scoring midway through the second half, then sitting back and absorbing Harrisburg's attack, waiting for the chance to break. This time the Kickers will get the bounces to go their way and put away the crucial second goal, sealing the side's second straight USL2 title.

Should the match go into penalty kicks, TWG gives the edge to Richmond and spot-kick expert Charlie Howe.

Your thoughts?

Other Player Moves

It appears as though Real Madrid will finally get winger Arjen Robben from Chelsea after a long, drawn-out transfer process. The Spanish champions are also set to sign Gabriel Heinze after the Argentine defender's attempted move from Manchester United to Liverpool was blocked by the Premier League. Meanwhile Chelsea have signed defender Juliano Belletti from Barcelona. Looks like Dani Alves won't be making the switch from Sevilla to Stamford Bridge.