Merry Christmas to the U.S. fans!

We would like to wish you a happy holiday season and would like to check in with some of the work done by our successful Americans in the English Premier League.

First, DeAndre Yedlin was dropped for last weekend's game at Chelsea. That happened after he was taken off the pitch after 19 minutes the week before in a loss to Watford.

Said blogger Colin Randall: DeAndre Yedlin, 3 -- After promising shows in previous games, Yedlin lasted less than 19 minutes, managing at least twice to give the ball away in dangerous positions.

Moving to Merseyside, Everton fans are trying to figure out who they want to replace Tim Howard. Howard was booked for bringing down Jamie Vardy in the box for a penalty and the Toffees were beaten 3-2 by the best team in England last week. His lame effort came after this ill-advised attempt to use Twitter.

Everton fans in Australia want him off the team.   Howard may best be advised to re-join MLS in order to avoid coverage like this media speculation. 

Over in the basement, at least Brad Guzan is playing better than he did back in October.  He has allowed 31 goals in 17 games, though mostly because he plays on such a terrible team. Aston Villa are winless in their last 16 games and look utterly hopeless.

And don't expect to see Geoff Cameron play over the holidays either. 

In the Championship, Jonathan Spector is playing well in defence for Birmingham City and Tim Ream recently returned to face his old club, wretched Bolton Wanderers, in a 2-2 draw.  Ream was last seen by your faithful blogger playing for Bolton in January in happier times for the club.

We will have a year-end review for our loyal blog readers before the new year. Thank you for your support since we wouldn't exist without you!

Looking for a team in Germany to root for?

Berlin's secret weapon to draw top footballers

Football fans in the States are always looking to support a team in the Premier League.  Many Americans choose to support Chelsea. How is that working out?

It may be more rewarding to pick a team in Germany to root for. Once good choice is Hertha BSC, the official club of this blog. Hertha are in third place in the Bundesliga and are widely considered one of the world's best teams.

One reason to root for Hertha is that Berlin is the cake capital of the world, according to this Twitter account. For 2.70 euros, you can get a slice of the above cake.

With Hertha, you can have your cake and eat it too!

Why do Bayer never score?

We would like to highlight an excellent piece written by the fine folks over at sports information powerhouse STATS. It's about why Bayer Leverkusen - who were recently beaten 2-1 by Hertha BSC - have struggled to score most of the season until the last two matches. It's the kind of intelligent, analytical writing that this blog favours and we wanted to pass it along to our loyal followers!

He's back folks!

With all the talk of whether Jurgen Klinsmann should be fired, a major U.S. soccer story may have slipped right past you. And no, if you want this blogger's honest opinion, Klinsmann shouldn't be fired because it's clear that his master plan has yet to take effect and the real issue is that our players aren't sophisticated enough in their football to grasp his methods.

But we digress, the real important story in U.S. soccer was Freddy Adu pledging allegiance for another season in Tampa Bay. So sorry Atlanta or LA FC fans, you can't have him - at least not yet.

And don't think Tampa Bay is done there. As competitor to this blog Soccer by Ives noted in the above link:

The Adu announcement, which was originally reported by Sports Illustrated, comes on the heels of another big offseason move for the Rowdies, who announced on Monday that the club had signed forward Tom Heinemann, formerly of Ottawa Fury FC.

So there you have it. Adu and St. Louis native Heinemann are off to the Bay.

Any questions? What are your thoughts on how you think Freddy and Tom will combine for the Rowdies? Who should Tampa Bay get next? Another guy from St. Louis? Jermaine Jones?  Leave your thoughts below!

Champions League analysis

The draw has been conducted and IMOTGP is here to answer all your questions about the Round of 16.

Chelsea v. Paris St-Germain

ANALYSIS: These teams have met in each of the last two years, with PSG playing a man down and prevailing in a tense second leg last season. Chelsea look like relegation fodder in England while PSG has a 17-point lead in France so this looks like a mismatch.

PREDICTION: PSG 5, Chelsea 1.

Arsenal v. Barcelona

ANALYSIS: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

PREDICTION: Barcelona 4, Arsenal 2

Roma v. Real Madrid

ANALYSIS: Rudi Garcia thinks this is a 'nice draw' for Roma. The question is whether he will be around to coach in this tie. Remember the UCL is where Rafa Benitez shines and Roma usually suffers embarrassment.

PREDICTION: Real Madrid 8, Roma 1

Juventus v. Bayern Munich

ANALYSIS: Who knew Juve's failure to get a draw in Seville would result in this? Bayern aren't happy about it.  Arturo Vidal and Kingsley Coman will return to Turin and face a club that is slowly but surely displaying the form they showed in last season's UCL.

PREDICTION: UPSET SPECIAL - Juventus 4, Bayern Munich 3.

Benfica v. Zenit St. Petersburg

ANALYSIS: The major storyline is that Axel Witsel will return to Portugal along with boss Andres Villas-Boas and company. Zenit is the real deal as they showed with five wins in the group stage and Benfica will crumble.

PREDICTION: Zenit 3, Benfica 1

Dynamo Kiev v. Manchester City

ANALYSIS: City's ability to top the 'Group of Death' resulted in a favourable matchup with the first leg in an empty stadium. There is only one result possible in this tie.

PREDICTION: City 5, Kiev 0

PSV v. Atletico Madrid

ANALYSIS: How many people know that the 2014 finalists are currently joint top of La Liga on points? And that's despite all the players the Atleti have lost over the years. PSV are a game challenge but Cholo Simeone's side will be ready.

PREDICTION: Atletico 3, PSV 1

Gent v. Wolfsburg

ANALYSIS: Neither team has been this far before and Wolfsburg are favoured. After the first leg, the Wolves have a tricky trip to face European powerhouse Hertha BSC so that's a challenge. We like the Germans to prevail.

PREDICTION: Wolfsburg 4, Gent 2

Trivia Answers

There were no winners in the comments section on our trivia quiz from last week so no one won the prize to see Barcelona play in the Club World Cup.  Here are the answers:

1. The father of this Fabian played for Bayern Munich - in basketball. Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Fabian Johnson

2. This Fabian shined in a preseason win over Inter Milan.  Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Fabian Benko

3. This Fabian began his career for Bayern Munich's arch rival - 1860 Munich.  Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Fabian Johnson


4. This Fabian was born in Bavaria.  Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Trick question. Both Fabians are Bavarian-born.

5. Fabian Johnson just completed the UEFA Champions League group stage while Fabian Benko competed for Bayern Munich's team in the group stage of the UEFA Youth League. This Fabian's team totaled more points in its group stage. Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Fabian Johnson (Gladbach amassed five points, Benko's team only managed one draw at press time of this quiz).

6. This Fabian has scored more goals in UEFA competition this season. Which Fabian?


ANSWER: Fabian Johnson (he scored two and Benko scored one)

7. This Fabian's contract ends in June of 2016.  Which Fabian?

ANSWER: Fabian Benko

Still too Green for the top level!

The United States football fan was no doubt excited to see Julian Green play for Bayern Munich on Wednesday night in their 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, an utterly meaningless match which is why Green started and lasted 62 minutes.

Well it turns out Green was mostly a flop. According to sports information powerhouse STATS, he had the fewest touches of a Bayern player in the first half with five "bad passes" out of 15 for a horrific ratio. Pep Guardiola brought on Arturo Vidal to replace him.

Further analysis shows how useless and skilless Green was, as detailed in this Bayern think piece about the trip to Croatia. 

A year on loan has changed Julian Green’s drive for the game. His will and work rate cannot overcome the clear gaps in his skills though. He struggled to create a good chance from the right wing, and did not have the movement to establish a presence in the penalty area.

Fear not U.S. fans, at least the national team is in the right hands with Jurgen Klinsmann doing a masterful job as well as Sunil Gulati continuing to prove his competence at running the organization.