Trouble up north in the MLS!

It's rare that IMOTGP is forced to address football issues regarding Canada, although your humble blogger did see the Canucks unsurprisingly get trounced in March in Mexico City. So it's a bit of a nuisance that we have to deal with this pressing topic of debate, since the MLS site refuses to cover it.

Last weekend, Montreal Impact went on the road and snatched a 1-0 victory from Toronto FC in an intense MLS matchup. The story wasn't how Sebastian Giovinco got hurt or how Nacho Piatti's goal sent the Eastern Conference leaders to defeat. Instead, the major story was in the stands, as you see below.

Hey @torontofc, these are your fans, in your stadium, in your club's name. You gonna do anything about this or nah? pic.twitter.com/qKd4EZhGb5

— Milanista Esq. (@LaDiavolina) August 28, 2016

For those of you who don't speak French, the worlds on that banner say 'Montreal, you s---' and because this is a family blog, that's the act that is being depicted in case you didn't get it. We know the intelligent readers of IMOTGP rarely stoop to such sophomoric attempts of crude humour.

Toronto FC has apologized for the banner, although many feel that is not enough. It has created a huge uproar up north but you won't find any headlines on the MLS official website. Instead their post-game coverage was focused on a hot dog covered with crickets that they ate pre-match.  We kid you not.

Congratulations to MLS for sweeping aside an ugly controversy and focusing on a disgusting meal instead. It's apropos for a league that wants to be taken seriously yet never deals with anything in serious terms.

Yes it's true: Klinsmann hates the IMOTGP!

Welcome back!

The United States is making a tricky road trip Friday to face both St. Vincent AND the Grenadines at the same time. It's a crucial game on our road to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia and you can keep it here at IMOTGP for full coverage of this huge must-win match.

Star defender John Brooks went the distance for Hertha BSC in Sunday's thrilling 2-1 season-opening victory over newboys Freiburg yet he won't play a role with the Stars and Stripes. Brooks is out due to injury and you all know he has been injured before by Klinsmann in Guatemala to wreck Hertha's Champions League dreams. Now Klinsmann has decided to hurt another of The Phantom's clubs by who he chose to fill Brooks' roster spot.

That's because New York Red Bulls superstar Sacha Kljestan is back on the team after a lengthy absence. The former Anderlecht man has only been one of the top players in MLS, leading the league in assists and dominating proceedings for a club among the best in the U.S. top flight. While the call-up is well-deserved, it hurts a New York team that travels out of the country for a fixture over the weekend against a Vancouver team also depleted by call-ups.

It would have been a sure three points with Kljestan in there but Klinsmann decided to once again harm IMOTGP by calling up the midfielder, just like he did when he injured Brooks in March. It's not clear if the fact that Kljestan having his passport ready for the Red Bulls game was a factor in the U.S. opting to take him to both St. Vincent AND the Grenadines. That wouldn't surprise the IMOTGP blog, though.

Although its a blow to the Red Bulls, we would be remiss in not congratulating Kljestan on the fine season and your humble blogger paid tribute to him in person just last month.  Since we strive to maintain a comprehensive football blog, we know like you do that credit to footballers also should be distributed to their significant other or WAG.

In Sacha's case, that credit goes to his wife, former Victoria's Secret model Jamie Lee Darley. She's possibly the only Victoria's Secret product in history to marry a U.S. soccer player since most opt for our athletes from some inferior sport like baseball. We have photo proof and a YouTube video of her as part of our effort to honor Kljestan's return to the national team. Enjoy!

IMOTGP Tale of the Tape: Pep or Mou

Well that was nice last season, wasn't it folks? Charming, wouldn't you say, that little Leicester City beat the odds and captured the Premier League. Thankfully, the big-spending clubs are having none of these kinds of stories anymore.  As reported previously on IMOTGP, the Champions League is making it even harder for smaller clubs to succeed. And if you look at the Premier League table now, the trio of clubs you see represent football money at its finest.

So as we take a break from the action with international matches, you can be rest assured that IMOTGP will have a full analysis of the riveting USA-St. Vincent and the Grenadines matchup Friday. But we can't lie to you that our minds are on the resumption of European action and the huge Manchester derby on Sept. 10.

Make no mistake about it, this derby - while always fiercely contested - isn't about which club is better between United and City. It's not about who is actually on the pitch either.  It is solely about which Manchester football philosophy you fall into - that of Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho.

With both clubs on nine points with high-flying starts and City owning an additional two routs in Champions League play-off action, there is little to quibble with as far as results go.  So which manager should we support in this heated derby?

In the past, IMOTGP has sided with Guardiola and Barcelona's possession-based style. We enjoyed his thrashings of Mourinho in Clasico showdowns. We enjoyed Mourinho's baseless whining in response. It's true that Mourinho may, in fact, be a bellend in comparison to the classy Guardiola. Some, like the gentleman below, have called us Guardiola apologists.

Former U.S. college football star who said we hate Mou!

We say it's not fair to say who the better manager is because although Guardiola only has won the Champions League at Barca and Mourinho at Porto and Inter, there are stains from Mourinho's Real Madrid tenure that are too glaring to ignore.

Let's instead focus on what we have seen so far on their latest stints. It's not surprising that Mourinho has easily adjusted to life at United since he's the one with the experience in English football.  But what is noticeable is how players have already fallen in love with him.  And that has borne fruit because The Special One's decision not to sub out Wayne Rooney when half the Twitterverse wanted that to happen ended up resulting in Roo setting up Saturday's late-game strike in a 1-0 victory at Hull City. Mourinho has also shown a softer side because of the continued lovefest with him and a revived Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Meanwhile, over at the Etihad, Guardiola has done nothing but inflame the situation between the club and Yaya Toure. Maybe Yaya is done and there is blame on both sides but it's shameful for this treatment of a player who was the talisman of City's glory days. We know that Pep hates Yaya so it should come as no surprise that he, and not Mourinho, is The Vindictive One.

If humiliating the proud Yaya isn't enough, why not do the same for another of the club's servants in Joe Hart? Once again, Hart may have to leave due to pure footballing terms but is this truly the way to treat a player who was a key to last season's run to the Champions League semi-finals? At least the smug Guardiola had the heart to give Hart a farewell game for City. And City certainly aren't winning as of now because of any tactical genius by the new boss.

Sure, Mourinho has banished a player like Bastian Schweinsteiger, but Schweini had no history at United or with the manager. Look at what he has done with Rooney; he has handled the situation like a consummate professional, befitting United's rich history. If City are accused of being a plastic club like this one, one way to defend themselves would be for the new manager to treat some of the stalwarts of the club with some respect.

Maybe Pep truly is a genius as this guy who is a better coach than Guardiola claims. And sure, Mourinho, has his aforementioned flaws.  But the IMOTGP blog sees a Mou that is a bit chastened after last year's disastrous Chelsea campaign and a manager mindful of his stewardship of one of the world's most popular teams. Guardiola seems emboldened at City despite a Bayern Munich tenure that wasn't really that special.

Style of play aside, the IMOTGP blog loves the superior man-management style of Mourinho over Guardiola's aloof approach. We endorse Manchester United in the upcoming Manchester derby over "Guardiola City!"

IMOTGP exclusive: An American Shines in Europe!

Our next great hope!

Many a United States football fan has searched for hope for our lads across the pond. And our boys are in the news. Whether it's Christian Pulisic's transfer value or former Premier League defender DeAndre Yedlin moving to the Championship and Newcastle United, there is plenty of news to digest. U.S. fans can also enjoy analytical pieces on 20 year-old sensation Lynden Gooch, if they desire.

That is all well and good but what if we told you that you can look at your early standings at a European league head and shoulders above the MLS and see an American leading the way for the team atop the table? Well folks, the time to do that is now and to take a gander at this table.

That's right, the league that Yedlin will soon gain valuable experience in sees Huddersfield Town right at the top. It's dizzying times for coach David Wagner as he oversees an astounding turnaround.

The Terriers were near the bottom of the table a season ago with 51 points in 19th place as Wagner took over and had wretched results for these stumbling, bumbling also-rans.  But some shrewd implementation of his playing philosophy has infused a renewed sense of confidence in his side.

What is that philosophy? Well, for starters, Wagner does not have the football background of some stodgy Sam Allardyce-type Brit but is rather a product of world champion Germany's system and a German-American to boot. He's a Jurgen Klopp disciple, claiming he knows Klopp better than his wife. (No word on which coach Wagner's wife knows better!) Anyway, Wagner spent time with Kloppo at Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, coaching Pulisic, Joe Gyau and Terrence Boyd at BVB.

Wagner has already masterminded a victory over Rafa Benitez and Newcastle, only dropping points against Aston Villa. They head into Saturday's matchup with Wolves - one of four teams below them on eight points - with plenty of momentum.

"Of course, we are fearless at the moment," Wagner said. "We have every reason to be confident."

Wagner is also a familiar name to longtime U.S. fans, spending time with the national team back in the day as the son of an American serviceman and German mother. A former teammate of Eric Wynalda, it's little doubt that Wagner would represent a major upgrade as U.S. national team coach.

Said Wynalda: "Some guys you just know. If anything, he was just a big sponge and wanted to learn and understand everything about his surroundings. The real leaders are the ones that never stop learning. He is the kind of guy that will fall into that category."

So fans looking to broaden their Euro fandom can look no further than Huddersfield Town, where an American may lead them to the Premier League. This has been an IMOTGP exclusive!

The United States proves their greatness over England!

It is with great pleasure that we can report that the United States has once again put one over on England in the football department. This time, we can't claim a victory or a positive result in the World Cup but we can claim moral superiority over the inventors of our language.

That's because of the language of English scumbucket Richard Chaplow, who has been banned from the mighty USL for his homophobic slurs directed at LA Galaxy and former US star Robbie Rogers. (Fun fact: Did you know Rogers is the first player to score for the U.S. in the highly successful Klinsmann era?)

In the interest of fairness, the ol' chap has denied committing this egregious act. He insists the ban is for swearing and not homophobic language as if swearing at an opposing player is a suspendable offence in any league, much less the fledgling USL. Besides why believe someone who is a former Doncaster Rovers and Millwall man. His career is littered with playing with lower-level hate-filled trashy English clubs.

We salute the United States for suspending the wanker and suggest we should send him to Brazil as a guinea pig for Zika mosquitoes!

'Experts' answer 'same old' stupid question about MLS

Call it clickbait, insanity or just plain stupidity but our friends at ESPN are running an exclusive roundtable with experts titled 'How can Major League Soccer become one of the best leagues by 2020?'

We'll save you the trouble of reading this garbage with this simple answer: It can't.  Hell, even the MLS blooper reels aren't funny as you can see below.  Enjoy your football Tuesday!

Wynalda rips Bedoya, praises Bundesliga and more

You know him, you love him but Eric Wynalda has always been opinionated. Yet no matter what you think, the man is U.S. footballing greatness. With over 100 caps for the United States national team and the first goal scorer in MLS history, Wynalda's place in our football history in secure. And now he's taking aim again.

The living legend recently gave this wide-ranging interview with philly.com on a number of topics, including why the Bundesliga is better than the Premier League, why Christian Pulisic should stay with Dortmund and why he doesn't rate new MLS designated player Alejandro Bedoya.

You should read the interview but here are some highlights:

On the Bundesliga and Premier League:

"All the numbers would indicate that you'll get more goals, that the games are just more wide open [in Germany]. Far more goals are scored in England on set pieces, and not really in the run of play. The main difference is in England, many of the opponents are trying to deter the other team from playing, as opposed to trying to play themselves. That's "park the bus" and all those little defensive clichés that we come up with. But it's just [that] German games are far more open."

The Phantom's Take: Wynalda is 100 percent right. Bundesliga matches are high-octane affairs with young talent being allowed to flourish. Premier League games are stodgy, kick-it-long borefests that bring to mind managers like Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce and players like Andy Carroll and Phil Jones who simply regress over time.

On coaching young talent: "As a manager - and my experience is with very young, talented players - stop trying to think as a manager that you're making it happen. Just throw your ego out. Yeah, prepare them to play on the defensive side of things, and give them some ideas. But "Let it happen" is really the phrase we need to see more of. We need to see more managers allowing their players to express themselves.

"You see this at the youth level all the time. The ball will go to a young, talented player, and every single one of the parents, and the coach, and everybody, is yelling: "Pass!"... The child is influenced by the 12 voices that he hears from the sidelines, not the one voice he should be hearing in his head."

The Phantom's Take: Wynalda is 100 percent right. Football is an instinctual game. Yelling at players while they make split-second decisions is inane and idiotic. American coaches are imbeciles to do this. You yell at the players off the ball to get into good positions. In fact, yelling at teammates who have the ball in general is a dumb idea. You won't see The Phantom do this in his over-35 matches on Thursdays and Sundays. Instead it's communication on space that is transmitted verbally. You must trust the player with the ball - otherwise his football mind will never develop if he can't read situations or figure out how to deal with pressure.

On why Pulisic should stay at Dortmund: "We all tell ourselves, "Well, he should go somewhere where he could play, because Götze is so good," and "He can't beat out Shinji Kagawa" or "He can't beat out Marco Reus." [Adrian] Ramos is now in there. Instead of just throwing in the towel and saying "I'm out, I've got to somewhere that I can play because I'm not good enough," if he puts both fists up and says, "I'm good, coach - I'll prove it to you how good I am; I'll prove to you that I want to be here; I'm going to bring the right attitude every day," then when he gets his chance he might make the most of it."

The Phantom's Take: We couldn't have said it better ourselves. U.S. players always whine and complain they they aren't taken seriously in Europe or that the coach doesn't like them. Landon Donovan himself admitted he did this as a young player. Well, guess what? Football is serious business and it's about the survival of the fittest. Former U.S. great Steve Cherundolo played for umpteen coaches at Hannover. The U.S. needs players who want to stick it out and beat out top-level players to earn a spot.

On Alejandro Bedoya: "Well, I've never wavered on this: I don't really feel that he's that great of a player. I've always questioned - well, not always, but at least at times, I've questioned his selection to the national team [for] some of the bigger games that he's had, even at the Gold Cup level."

The Phantom's Take: Harsh but somewhat true. Bedoya isn't that great of a player. Saying that, should he have been in the national team XI?  Probably given that injuries and absences have necessitated a player of his pedigree in there. Having said that, are you going to pay big-money MLS prices to watch Alejandro Bedoya play for Philadelphia? I don't think you need me to furnish an answer.

There is more great stuff from Wynalda about why Germany is great, why Pep Guardiola may be overrated and why you can question many things Jurgen Klinsmann does. Thanks to Wynalda for his insights!

La Liga Preview: Odd ad campaign targets Indian fans!

While the Premier League is already underway, it is time for the best league in the world to commence Friday when play begins in the Spanish Primera. This is the IMOTGP preview and we predict the top three teams to be (in no particular order): Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.  Beyond that we are hoping that fans actually show up to watch the games.

Of more interest in the 2016-17 La Liga season is how Spain is trying to compete with the high-spending Premier League for some overseas cache.  Most notably, La Liga is going into a market where British culture is revered - and reviled - as they try and develop more of a worldwide foothold with a new TV deal in India.

The Premier League is a huge deal in India, with clueless Indians supporting clubs like this. However, the star power of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo have created legions of Spanish football fans as well in the country that just celebrated its 69th year of independence from the hated Brits.

Of course, India is known as a cricketing powerhouse and as a pacifist country but that's not how the geniuses at Sony have decided to market La Liga to the public.  Watch the video below:

There you have it folks - 'It's not football, it's war.' There really isn't a more appropriate slogan for these times full of hatred and misery. We hope you enjoy your La Liga season in a similar spirit. And enjoy one more video from this ill-fated ad campaign below:

Champions League update: The rich get richer!!!

The Champions League playoff stage got underway this week with Pep Guardiola's Man City smashing apart some poor excuse for a Romanian outfit, substitute Fabian Johnson and Borussia Monchengladbach putting home three away goals in Switzerland and Roma getting a valuable score draw despite playing with 10 men at Porto.

In a couple of years, the IMOTGP blog won't be reporting on these results. And not because we won't be in existence, either, since ours is a long-term project, don't you know. Rather teams like Man City, Gladbach and Roma won't ever have to waste their time in a 'playoff round' ever again.

That's right, the Champions League is set to change in 2018-19 with four guaranteed group-stage spots for teams from the top four leagues. That means fourth-placed finishers in Spain, England, Germany and Italy will advance right to the group stage and not have to play in. It means the field will have half of it consist of the top four leagues and probably more considering that Europa League champions are also invited to the party.

Long-time followers of the blog recall that we reported on this back in May. That was when United States football power broker Charlie Stillitano made his controversial remarks about Manchester United having more value than Leicester City and that change was coming to the Champions League.  Many people dismissed the 'Yank' as a 'wanker.' Well it turns out that he was right. And remember, this wasn't his idea - the biggest clubs in the world are after one thing: and you see it pictured above below the headline. 

Many people are complaining about the power of the Real Madrids, Man Uniteds, Barcas and Bayerns. But as we said before, how many of you watched Wolfsburg-Gent or Zenit-Benfica in last season's round of 16?  I don't see many hands raised yet you lot all tuned in for Barca-Arsenal and Bayern-Juve in that same round.  Coincidence? We think not.

It's a changing world and we all need to adapt. Your faithful blogger recently was replaced by a robot at his job so the IMOTGP knows all about this. Yes clubs like Steaua Bucharest, Red Star Belgrade and Ajax are all former European champions but no top footballer worth his boots would play for those clubs now. There's no money there. 

It should be noted that this change goes into effect for the Champions League seasons of 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21. After that? We can only assume the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A will want even more teams in Europe's premier football club competition and exclude all other clubs. Why not?

So let's look at the bright side. Maybe if the big-four leagues get in, our beloved Hertha BSC can be a debutant to the brand-new European Super League in 2021-22. That's the major positive we see. 

Slumming it with IMOTGP: MLS edition

Yes, IMOTGP has sunk to rock bottom

That's right football fans, the IMOTGP is officially slumming it. Like many bloggers who live in their parents' basements, we have no job and no future prospects. So we know you come here and expect coverage of the Community Shield or European Super Cup, but we no longer can spare no expense and pay top dollar to give you the proper reporting on those games. And some major events we chose to ignore since Hertha BSC have already crashed out of European football.

Instead we have been slumming it in MLS - where the IMOTGP blog saw three of the league's worst teams along with the mighty New York Red Bulls in an eight-day span. You no doubt saw that we attended a 2-2 draw between the Red Bulls and Chicago Fire over a week ago. This past weekend, we mustered enough dough through our ill-fated partnership with Google ads to make it to sunny Florida to see two teams so abject that have ditched their coaches - Orlando City SC and Seattle Sounders.

It was a welcome opportunity to see the 50-year-old Brazilian legend Kaka as well as 'Deuce' Dempsey and the future of the league itself, rookie sensation Jordan Morris - better known as J-Mo to the sophisticated MLS fan. Throw in Uruguayan newcomer Nicolas Lodeiro and it was a star-studded affair at the MLS level.

And the game did not disappoint. The march to the stadium was excellent, the Orlando fans showed tremendous enthusiasm when seeing The Phantom and a stirring edition of the national anthem ensued. Then the contest started.

Sure, Deuce had a 'Thrice' - also known as a hat trick - and former Bundesliga star Nelson Valdez hit the post twice in a 3-1 Seattle victory as Orlando suffered their first home defeat of the year. But it was a ragged affair that the artificial turf didn't help - although it's clear that teams in the area seem to be proud of turf.

Fear not, football fans. IMOTGP was able to inspect the construction site of the new stadium and it looks like the project is coming along, as you can see in the photo below. New boss Jason Kreis has hailed the facility as one of the best in the world - and the club is expected to use a grass surface.

No taxpayer money involved!

Maybe it's our lower budget but footballing standards aside, we actually like many things about the MLS. There are cheap tickets available gameday from fans desperate to unload them after buying in advance for some reason. The league also makes The Phantom feel better about being past his prime. Sure there are negatives like the long lines for the concession stands, but the IMOTGP blog found out with the photo below that they can sometimes be worth the wait. We hope you enjoyed this edition of  'Slumming it with IMOTGP.'

Suck it IMOTGP! The J and J boys make the Phantom eat s--- (Language NSFW)

While the IMOTGP usually gets it right like with our correct prediction of Chile over Argentina in Copa America, there are times we don't get it right.  And when we don't, we admit to you that we choked.

Well last week's takedown of Julian Green drew plenty of attention in the blogosphere after his beyond abysmal performance with The Phantom deciding to show up to observe. It was an embarrassment to football itself.

As you know, we spare no expense for football and decided to pay $350 for tickets to another big match. We continued our tour of Euro training matches with a trip to famed Michigan to see Real Madrid and Chelsea. But it was later in the day that Green and fellow flop Jozy Altidore would strike, as the J and J boys of the United States made the Phantom look like a phool.

First, Green redeemed himself with a performance for the ages. Facing a mighty Inter Milan squad, Green delivered the following hat trick:

Looking like a cutthroat striker and perhaps motivated by playing in his "home" country and by his disdain for the controversial bathroom laws in North Carolina, he thrilled a Charlotte crowd with a set of clinical and ruthless finishes. The football media world was stunned, saying that Green has "come of age."

What did Green say? We quote (though it's not clear if this was said by him): "IMOTGP can eat s----!"

That comment stung your humble blogger but an even more fatal blow would be struck later Saturday by another player who also etched his name in U.S. lore with his own meaningless hat trick. None other than Altidore, who no doubt inspired by Green did something unthinkable later that night in MLS.

They said it couldn't be done but finally, the superstar scored his first goal of the year after nine goalless appearances with an 87th-minute strike to wrap up a 3-0 Toronto FC win over Columbus Crew. He ended not one, but two national nightmares, since all of the United States and Canada were wondering if he was ever going to score.

Altidore has been ripped by many media outlets and afterward he may or may not have said, "Suck it, IMOTGP!" while throwing in something unintelligible about Draymond Green - no relation to Julian Green. Your blogger was not sure he understood the reference.

The bottom line is that the J and J boys came up big over the weekend. The only logical conclusion is that Green is set to become a key figure for the Bavarian giants since he has no doubt usurped Robert Lewandowski's place in the lineup while Altidore's greatness can't be questioned.

We here at IMOTGP are red-faced in our shame.  Thank you.

Yes!

So did you guys have a good time in Chicago?#RBNY#CHIvNY pic.twitter.com/Pxw9go7zw7

— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) August 1, 2016