Final Charges

Hello again SOCCER MANIACS!!! 

  In the unpredictability of the game we all know and love, another season is coming to an end.  Its time for the final charge.  Where do you get that last bit of energy to muster the courage to go for the final push?  How can you finish out strong?  Will you taper off?  Will your team blow a lead that its had all season long?  It all gets decided in the final few weeks.  The long season comes down to the next few weeks.  I'm a big fan of the game.

The woes of Menez from Roma reflect the feelings of many fans at this point in the season with no shot at a tittle.

I love a team from Germany, France, England, Spain, and Italy.  Squads I roll with through some tough times.  As it stands, I only have one team left with a remote shot at a tittle. One league cup hope.  No European Tournament Hopes.  No Champion's League hope.  Only two of my top teams in Europe have a long-shot at glory.  No matter.   I'll hold on till the very end for the bragging rights even if its only a string of a few victories to end the season to be proud of.  Even if there's not much left to the season other than a measly 5th place finish and a birth in the European tournament....STAND BY YOUR SQUAD MANIACS!!!!...  TILL THE VERY END!!!!!  Thats what a real fan does.  I'll see how my other teams finish out.... think of recommendations for the off season... who needs to be dropped from the squad?  Who needs to be added?  What talent is available at not too costly a price???  For the most part, a lot of you guys understand my predicament.  That feeling you get when you know your team simply cant win...  When you have to prove it to yourself that this is your squad.  Win, Lose, Or Suck.  In a long and arduous soccer season, when the team sucks, you become clear as to who must go and who you want to come back for the next season.  You love them when they're up, and stomach them when they're down.  Standing by any squad that doesn't win every season is difficult, but when you do get some hardware, its worth it...  Disaster or Triumph?  Who knows.  This week's edition discusses the final charges for my favorite teams.

Consider the Arsenal Gunners.  Just a week ago, they stood the chance of cutting their second place deficit down to less than three points.  With a game in hand, and a head to head match up against Manchester United, Arsenal had the chance to make a run at the tittle, that is with two victories.  But, after a controversial penalty in the 11th minute of injury time (injury time was scheduled to be only 8 minutes by the way) Arsenal gave way to a 1-1 draw with Liverpool.  - 1 point.  Of a possible three.  Then the midweek matchup against Tottenham that ended in a 3-3 draw following the erasure of a 3-1 lead that Arsenal had.  -1 point.  Take that in combination with the fact that Manchester United had a draw in their last EPL contest.  A real chance to trim the lead has vanished.  Now Arsenal have dropped to third place behind Chelsea with whom they are tied at 64 points behind United with 70 points.  But that's what happens when you pick up 2 points out of a possible 6.  You drop to third place.... But still I'm optimistic.  Arsenal will face both Man U and Chelsea to close out the season. Call me a maniac but beating both of those teams will be sweet.... TITTLE OR NOT

 Arsene Wenger's gunners have yet to prove the quality of a champion this season in the EPL

On to Spain, where  the El Classico is the determining champion of the league.  There, I patiently root for and consistently support Sevilla FC.  Sevilla just took a heartbreaking loss to Getafe last weekend which effectively knocked them out of the race for fourth place and the final spot for next year's Champion's League tournament.  With only 18 possible points remaining, and 11 points behind fourth place Villarreal (who they play this weekend) its not looking likely that they will make it.  But I'm hopeful.  At this point in the season from this squad, I've been left with a fool's hope that they will somehow qualify for the Champion's League winning 18 of the last possible points and Villarreal collapsing as we cruise into 4th place.  At least we play Real Madrid one more time... that'll give us the chance for some bragging rights, but honestly, this season we have a total of 46 points.  League leaders Barcelona have 84.  Um.  Yeah.  We definitely wont be winning La Liga this season.....  BUT YOU GOTTA HOPE RIGHT!?!?!? 

Sevilla striker Frederic Kanute will return from a thigh injury this weekend that has held him out for three weeks

This takes us to France, where you can find me sporting a PSG Jersey.  That's right maniacs, Paris Saint-Germain.  They WILL be competing for the French Cup in the final vs. Lille.  Hardware people.  Everyone tries to act as if the Country Tournaments dont mean as much, but a trophy in the case is appreciated by fans, management, coaches and players alike.  The only people that it doesn't anything to are those who don't have it....  In Lige 1 play, they currently sit in 4th place, 7 points off the league leaders Lille with 7 games remaining.  (Is Lille starting to become a thorn in your side too!?!??!?!)  They have a real shot at it if Lille doesn't win out the rest of the season.  They can still definitely qualify for a Champion's League spot if they can move into third place where they currently trail Lyon by a single point...  Its an intense race, but anything is possible IF WE ONLY GET THE FINAL PUSH TO FINISH THE SEASON STRONG!!!!!  Can it be done!?!?!?  Time will tell, but I'll see it through to the end....

Which now on our journey through my favorite teams takes us to Germany where Bayern Munich find themselves with a comfortable 7 point cushion in 4th place and a qualifying seat at next year's Champion's League tournament.  With 55 points in league play this season, and 14 points off of the league leaders, the best I can come up with for this team somewhere in the back of the upper pack is:  Dont Blow It?  The way that Borussia Dortmond are playing is enough to know that this blazing hot team will probably streak into championship glory by season's end.  What then to root for?!??!?!  Um.... well..... there is maintaining the next season's spot, and Schalke game to be up for but otherwise, this fan knows that there's not much else to hope for... BUT I LOVE MY TEAM!!!  And I'll support them till season's end where we will find out who stays and goes....

And finally on to Italy.  Where we can find Juventus comfortably packed into the middle of the boot.  Currently in 7th place, Juve are fighting southern nemesis Roma for the last spot in the Euro's next season.  After a dismal season plagued by injury, disappointing performances, and a lack of morale, Juve currently sit 19 points off of the league leader and there are only 15 possible points remaining.  Tough times for my team.  I hope we can make the Euro's next season.  We've got a good shot at it, but if nothing, i'd love to be a spoiler for a Napoli team at the end of the season.  They are in second place right now, just three points off the league leaders.  How sweet it is to be a spoiler... Besides, I wanna finish the season on a winning note. 

 There hasn't been much to cheer for this season for Juventus fans...

So win some lose some, some you draw.  I'll stay true till the very end cause that's the fan I am.  And at the end of the day I love to see my squads take W's away with them.  No matter at what point in the season no matter the record, no matter the time, even if there is no championship hardware available: A WIN IS A WIN!!!  Either way, I STILL LOVE MY TEAMS. 

And that my maniacs is a fact. 

Till next time,

The Optimistic PHANTOM