Side Kicks: Change should be a four-letter word

by Robert Burns and John Juhasz, FoxSoccer.com

Updated: September 26, 2008, 3:22 PM EST 16 comments

I'm not averse to change, but slow change for things that already work fine would be much better, Mr. Platini.

First off, they decided to put a new coat of paint on the Pinto and rename the UEFA Cup the UEFA Europa League. Yeah, that should make everybody wake up and watch this watered-down competition now.

Changing the already fine name is rather silly, but making the group stage matches home and away is a step in the right direction — of course, it's just going back to the way it used to be. Either way, this particular tournament is still going to remain the ugly, red-headed step brother to the Champions League.

The other big announcement was the expansion of the Euro in 2016 to 24 teams. I've got a few thoughts on this as well, but since someone brought it up as a question, I'll deliver my rant below.

Let's do this thing ...

Hey guys! I gota quick question for you. What are the odds of [U.S. coach] Bob Bradley giving Robbie Rogers and possibly Edson Buddle a chance at the first team. robbie rogers is on a hot streak and we could deff use a striker with eye for goal right since donovan is all over the place. to me Edson Buddle is a hard worker for the ball he fights for it. I feel if you give two players hungry for national team a chance then the odds of goals coming in are more possible. what do you guys think..?but really we need to find a way to persuade rossi to play for the red white and blue since the only blue he'll see is his own when hes dumped from italy over and over again.
Colin Malcolm of Goldsboro, N.C.

Robert: Considering our two best options at left wing are 34-year old Eddie Lewis and an in-and-out of form and injury DaMarcus Beasley, I think Rogers has an excellent chance of claiming the spot for his own by 2010.

He still has a lot to learn but at the very least he's fearless taking on defenders one-on-one and has the moxie to take the shot himself if other options don't develop. It's my hope (and prediction) that he'll latch on to a nice European club sometime next year and further work his way towards that goal.

But even if he does stay in MLS, his rise within the U.S. ranks can't be ignored by Bradley. Oh wait, I forgot who I was talking about ...

On that note, I don't think that Buddle has a great shot ahead of someone like Kenny Cooper (if he could ever get a look, either). Buddle's had a great season for the Galaxy, but he's still wildly inconsistent and just doesn't have the chops to make it against great international defenses like Italy or Argentina.

I think that we'll see a strike foursome in South Africa of Donovan, Altidore, Cooper and one other wild card that remains to be seen — but it won't be Buddle.

John: Rogers is still young and has his whole career ahead of him. He does have a long way to go, though, as he was dreadfully overmatched and outplayed at times this past Olympics.

Buddle is kind of old to just be breaking into the senior team. In fact, he's made a bunch of appearances on youth teams, but to my knowledge, he's only played once with the big boys. Maybe his constant injuries were part of the problem, but since striker is a weak position for the U.S. right now, he probably has a legit shot at making the 2010 roster.

Hi Guys. Great Column. My question/questions today are about Referees in all pro leagues. Im curious about the extent of the background checks that refs are required to go through in order to work at the highest level ie: EPL, Serie A. For example if a ref is born and raised in Liverpool and has a long standing family history of Liverpool fanship (proven by season ticket sales in the family name), can that ref, despite a long quality career , ever objectively ref a game in which Liverpool is one of the two teams? Surely said ref should be kept out of games involving Liverpool or effecting Liverpool, because no matter how honest he would be, the game requires split second decisions and prejudices will creep in. Of course this is a hypothetical but its a situation which im sure is happening every weekend in one game or another. Im wondering if league or ref officials do keep track of this kind of info so that they can keep certain officials out of games that they may have prejudices in. At this point games at the top level mean so much to everyone that its really sad when refs make bad calls or seem to favor one side or another. Just look at the ref who gave the "Ghost goal" in the English Championship this weekend. This season is still young and there hav'ent been too many "shockers" from refs other than the aforementioned, but I'm sure there will be. I just think there should be some type of greater agency or controlling board to ensure the maximum fairness in ref performance..
Chris B. of Southampton, N.Y.

John: I think people could have related to your question a little better if you would have used Man United instead of Liverpool; we can compile a long laundry list of blatant and incorrect "decisions" which have gone in their favor throughout the years.

Anyway, referees, just like most other employees around the world, are most likely subject to background checks and annual performance evaulations by their bosses. I can't find a source for this, but I do remember reading a while ago that the Premier League tries to ensure each ref only referees the same team's game a certain number of times. In other words, they rotate the refereeing crews among different clubs each week, so the same ref shouldn't have to work the same team more than three or four times per season.

Robert: I've been all over the English FA's website but the pages that seemed most pertinent to this question all turned up 'The Page you reqested cannot be found.' A conspiracy!

No, I'm sure it's nothing that sinister, but I'm sure that the process itself truly attempts to weed out any unsavory characters who don't appear on the level. Of course, there are always going to be cracks in the system, but for the most part, I believe referees in England (and in all other countries) understand their roles as impartial observers.

I plan on writing an email to the FA and trying to get some more info on this which I will pass on later ...

Why do people consider La Liga the second best league in the world? Its boring. Besides Real Madrid and Barcelona I dont care.
D.J. of New York, N.Y.

Robert: I'm sure there are many who consider La Liga the best league in the world, but it's all just a question of taste.

It's hard to argue with the fact that the Spanish League has definitely delivered the most when it comes to European competition — that's truly the only gauge. But even though Real Madrid has won the competiton nine times in its history, Italy's Serie A and even the Premiership have delivered just as many titles (11) as a nation as Spain.

But that's all ancient history — what about the here and now?

At present, the Premier League is dominating Europe like never before, especially over the past five seasons. English clubs are almost always found in bulk until at least the semifinals, and two of the last four winners hail from the island. In fact, since 2005, an English club has reached every final in Europe (Liverpool won in 2005, Arsenal were the runners-up in 2006, Liverpool the runners-up in 2007, and Man United and Chelsea were in this year's finale in Moscow).

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As far as 'boring' goes, again, it's just a question of taste. I get quite excited to watch teams like Villarreal, Atletico or Deportivo myself, but I'm also a huge Bundesliga fan, so what do I know?

John: You could probably find someone who has the exact same opinion about any league in the world, and they could just replace "La Liga" with whatever they're talking about.

I don't watch it as much as I watch the PL, but I'll take a look when it's on. You can see some top-level talent on display with plenty of other teams than the ones you listed. Plus, even though Barca and Real outspend everyone else, that doesn't always guarantee one of them wins the title (Valencia won the La Liga title as recently as 2004; when was the last time a team besides Arsenal, Man United or Chelsea won a PL title?).

Just found out that they're planning on expanding the European Championship to 24 teams in a few years. Is this really such a good idea? I don't like it one bit ...
Paul of Chicago

John: Even though this will give some of the minnows in UEFA a better shot at qualifying, I really don't like it. Like I said before, the Euro Championships and World Cup actually begins during qualification, not just the finals. Having only 16 teams should, in theory, guarantee we see the best of the best without too many fluke qualifiers.

What's to stop them from expanding it to 32? Hey, why not just go all the way and invite all 53 members of UEFA to the finals? With 24, you're already at almost half of the teams in the whole region, and I have a hard time believing all those teams are good enough to deserve the invite. This is becoming like college football where there are almost 40 bowl games (eighty teams from a total of 119) playing at the end of the year. Blah.

Robert: I think this is a terrible idea. Even from an aesthetic point of view, 16 teams is just perfect. Top two advance right into the quarterfinals and everyone's happy.

Twenty-four teams is just a way to make a lot more money since the 2008 Euro was so successful. But I feel the integrity of the competition will be lessened by the whole process.

Third-place teams can reach the knockout stage? Almost half of UEFA has a shot to get into the dance? For me, this just knocks it down a peg as I enjoyed the Euro just the way it was.

No, it's an awful plan, but unfortunately it will come to pass and UEFA will bank lots and lots of Euros and we'll be stuck with it forever. Come on in San Marino! The water's nice and warm ...

Robert Burns is the editor of FoxSoccer.com and John Juhasz is a fantasy writer for FoxSports.com.

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