image borrowed from The Kansas City Star, because we are super gangster.

Yesterday, Manchester United and Manchester City both fell to MLS teams on their pre-season tours. Given the circumstances, it’s time to stop making excuses for big-name competition and grant MLS the respect it deserves.

In the early game, New York Red Bulls (5th place in MLS) found victory over Manchester City, 2-1. This was a game that saw neo-star Thierry Henry for only 45 minutes and almost a complete lineup change for New York over the course of the match. Jamaican Red Bull Dane Richards’ winning goal was perfection and should capture the attention of clubs shopping for a goal-scorer.

The later game saw Kansas City Wizards (12th place in MLS) defeat Manchester United 2-1, even after playing the entire second half with ten men. In fact, United’s only goal came from the penalty that begot the red card. It was a patchwork game but a deserved win for the home team, in front of 50,000+ fans.

American teams defeating European teams isn’t exactly news. The MLS All-Star spectacle may be a joke to some, but no foreign team has defeated the All-Stars in regular time, ever. That includes current EPL champions Chelsea, as well as stand-outs Celtic, Everton, and Fulham.

Yes, these European teams are in their pre-season. Yes, they bring their B-teams. But ask yourself this long and winding question: “Two days ago, if I was asked to place a bet on a game between Kansas City Wizards, a team which ranks 12th among 16 teams in the American league, and a pre-season Manchester United squad consisting of Ryan Giggs, Nani, and Dimitar Berbatov, with the caveat that Kansas City would be forced to play down a man for 50 minutes, on which team would I place my money?”

If you answered “Kansas City Wizards,” you’re probably rich or a liar.

14 years ago Americans planted the seeds of an inferiority complex when we created a domestic league with big hopes in the shadows of giants, about 100 years late to the party. It grew into a tree of self-deprecation and bore the fruit of apologism. We have been told so often MLS is inferior to European leagues (and witnessed the inferiority first-hand in the league’s early days), that most not only believe it today, but never bother to consider otherwise. If MLS was really that bad, could its teams defeat any incarnation of mighty Manchester United?

Has MLS arrived as a world-class league? No. We have to assume a prime Manchester United would have far less trouble with Kansas City than yesterday’s game indicated. Unfortunately, we’ll probably never witness a definite “arrival,” but instead a continued gradual increase in recognition. We may never truly get to compare MLS with European leagues on even terms, save a future FIFA Club World Cup or seismic shift in season scheduling, so we have to draw conclusions from available data. My conclusion is that MLS deserves credit for its continued improvement, respect for its ability to compete, and attention for what it can accomplish. So, watch the All-Star game Wednesday and help cut down that tree.

• Manchester United secured the Premier League title with a 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
  

• Fulham held on to the critical seventh position with a 1-0 win against Newcastle. Tottenham is only two points behind Fulham going into the last week.

• West Brom lost 0-2 against Liverpool to be the first confirmed relegated team.

• Going into the last round, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Hull are all fighting for their Premiership lives.

This game should teach everyone how lethal mistakes are with Christiano Ronaldo breathing down your neck. Time to rethink your player development strategy, Arsene.

Ooh, a PK.

Ah, the old Pretend-to-be-a-hot-mistress-when-you-are-really-two-Liverpool-fans-who-are-also-cage-fighters trick. I have to give them respect for the quality of this prank, but I’m afraid it’s a few steps out of touch, so to speak. I mean, they broke the guy’s ankle and got him divorced? For supporting Manchester United? You must read this cautionary tale of a life lived in the shadow of widespread EPL hysteria.

On the other hand, Landon Donovan is returning to LA this week. Scoring 4 goals in 5 friendly games for Bayern Munich was not enough to secure a more permanent move like LA teammate David Beckham.

Spanish La Liga leaders FC Barcelona have announced that they will not pursue an MLS expansion team in Miami insisting that current global market conditions make the deal hard.

The new MLS expansion team, the Seattle Sounders, have announced 20,000 season tickets have already been sold for their debut season.

I usually dont bother with the other cups in the English game but this season will be interesting. With Manchester United winning the Carling Cup and having the Premier Leauge in sight, that leaves the FA Cup and the Champions Leauge left to pull off the Quad.

It is rare enough for one English team to win 3 of the 4 competitions. Man U has a good chance to win all four Cups. Stay tuned.

• Tottenham used three early goals to beat Stoke 3-1. This win lifts Tottenham up to 13th place in the table and a little breathing room from the relegation zone.

• Aston Villa has pulled five points clear of Arsenal for the critical 4th place in the Prem table with a 1-0 win at Portsmouth.

• Arsenal needed a 92nd minute goal by Van Persie to secure a 1-1 draw at Everton.

• Liverpool continued to produce tie games with a 1-1 game against Wigan. All these draws are starting to catch with Liverpool as they dropped to 3rd in the table.

• With a 2-0 win against Middlesbrough, Chelsea has regained 2nd place in the table. Chelsea and Liverpool are currently tied with 48 points but Chelsea has the edge with goal differential.

• With a 5-0 drubbing of West Ham, Manchester United has gone 2 points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

Since my cable got rid of the Fox Soccer Channel, it is really hard to watch these games….stupid cable.

• Liverpool has continued adding draws to their record with a 0-0 scoreline at newly promoted Stoke. Liverpool has had the opportunity to put this season almost out of reach but continue to make minor slip ups….LIKE DRAWING WITH NEWLY PROMOTED CLUBS.

• Hulls great form at the beginning of the season has continued to slip. Everton managed a 2-0 win at home against Hull to maintain sixth place and just one spot from Europe.

• Aston Villa has retained forth place in the Prem table with a 2-1 win against bottom dwellers West Brom. Villa’s current form will give them an excellent chance to gain a spot in Champions League qualifying next term.

• Wigan beat Tottenham 1-0 which had two outcomes. The first being Tottenham still sitting in the relegation zone. The second outcome was the vicious outburst by Tottenham skipper Redknapp that he will need new players if Tottenham wants to stay up in the Prem next season. I guess the honeymoon period is over.

• The big game this weekend was Chelsea visiting Manchester United. It was a game till the second half and finished with an impressive (or lackluster if you are a Chelsea fan) 3-0 win for Manchester United. Man U are curently 5 points behind leaders Liverpool but have 2 games in hand. The first of those makeup games are this Wednesday against Wigan. If Man U were to win both of the games they would be leading the league by a point.

The deal that AIG signed with Manchester was approximately $110 million USD in a four year deal. Many don’t believe that the amount spent on these kit deals are worth it. AIG is one of the largest companies in the United States and the world.

I learned what AIG was from the Manchester United sponsorship, and I live in America.

Sponsorship deals with teams like Manchester United create more brand recognition than most marketing mediums in this day. I could name many of the top teams in Europe and pair them with the sponsor on their shirts.

Don’t shed a tear for Manchester United. Even in this tough economic time, companies will line around the block to get their name on a Man U shirt.

The only argument for signing Berbatov is the 15 goals he scored for Tottenham last season. Which makes sense. Manchester United is a little weak in the scoring department (cough…Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney…cough).

Ronaldo is hurt (only for a few more weeks) and Tevez was out due to a death in the family, Man U needs help. Well, they did drop points at home to Newcastle in the season opener. If your car breaks down and is going to be in the shop for a few weeks do you go out and buy a new Mercedes? No. And with the depth that Manchester United has?

Another possibility is Man United is trying to steal good players to harm other clubs. Did I mention that Tottenham finished in the bottom half of the table last year? Down with that theory.

Manchester United’s reasoning for wanting to purchase Berbatov is the “lack” of fire power with the current injuries. I suppose if they have the money and Dimitar wants the move then go for it. My fear is what I call the Big Four Syndrome. The Big Four Syndrome is when good players that can start for 80% of the Prem teams go to one of the Big Four clubs (Chelsea, Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal) and end up sitting the bench or playing in less important games.

Are you going to pick Dimitar Berbatov over a health Rooney or Tevez? Probably not. We have seen the Big Four Syndrome work like a factory at Chelsea over the last three years. There are under two weeks left in the transfer window so the deal could still fall through, if Berbatov is lucky.