Well it has been a wee while, but i need to finish that blog i started  awhile ago for the EPL Preview, bit daft seeing that the season is already a couple of matches in, but i shall prevail!

Everton; Well, they have not spent a lot of dosh in the offseason, and they even lost one of their better youth products in Dan Gosling due to a contract oversight (Mind you he went to Newcastle, NEWCASTLE!), but i think that as usual the Toffees will prove to be one of the better sides in the league, giving pretty much everyone a difficult match.  Moyes-y is a very smart manager, and methinks it is not long til a bigger club comes calling for his services.  They must hope that they do not suffer any significant injury issues, as the squad is a bit on the thin side, but i feel that they will challenge on many fronts.  I also hope to see the first team debut of my friend Ryan Watson, as he is in the U18 squad.  You read that here first!  With Villa dropping off the charts a little, i feel Everton will definitely challenge for the upper half on the table.

Predicted Finish; 7th place, and a long cup run!

Fulham; This bunch of lads from the posh part of London has a brilliant overachieving season last year, making it all the way to the Europa League Final and even finishing with a flourish in the EPL, but i think that losing “Uncle Woy” to Liverpool may be a bit of a stumbling block for them to overcome.  Mohammed Al-Fayed hired smart, picking a manager who excels at smaller clubs, Mark Hughes, and even managing to keep most of their squad together despite Hodgson trying to sign some of his old squad.  The Cottagers als managed to keep Mark Schwarzer, who had his head turned by Arsenal and their offer of Champions League football.  Having said all that, this year will be one of transition, and i don’t think they will quite match last year’s exploits!

Predicted Finish; 10th spot, and should be happy with it.  I hope Sparky drives his old Gaff at T.F.O.D. round the bend as well!

Liverpool; My beloved Reds.  Things do not look good in the short term at least until those two idiots who own the club bugger off back to the colonies.  Hicks and Gillett are two of the biggest clowns in sports, and they have taken the club in the wrong direction.  It stung to see all the speculation about our best players in the summer, and then Monster Masch went and threw all his toys out of the pram until he was sold off.  Good riddance to him if that is how he felt.  Roy Hodgson is the Gaff now, and i hope his managerial abilities will bring some success to us. We have made some interesting signings in the off season, including a (hopefully) fit and motivated Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic,  Christian Poulsen, and a Fulham ol’boy, Paul Konchesky.  However, we still have no  quality replacement for El Nino when he goes down , and we all know that will happen.  I just see Man CIty and Spurs having a better squad, and that does not bode well for us.  I hope i am proved wrong!

Predicted Finish; 6th, and i hope Everton does not overtake us, i will never hear the end of it!

M(oney)an City; Well Mr Mancini has about ten minutes ot prove himself, esp. seeing as how Man City’s scattergun transfer policy brought them some truly brilliant players, but can they be molded into a team instead of the squad they are now? How long will Sheikh Al-Mansouri’s patience last?  Christmas if the results aren’t there!  I hope they do the double over United, and i see them breaking up the big four pretty quick. Might make the EPL a little less predictable, and that in itself is a very good thing indeed.

Predicted Finish; 2nd. Going out on a limb here, and saying that City will get there despite upheavals.

Man. United; There is no end to my dislike for this club.  I cannot stand the fact that everyone who only casually follows football has this lot as their club most of the time, i despise their manager despite him being brilliant and making them over time and time again, and i think it’s bloody awful that they are owned by a bunch of money hungry people who seem to have mortgaged their future.  Don’t all of you “fans” wonder why the Ronaldo money has not really been spent?  People say that Liverpool are in a bad way, but i can see this lot imploding even worse than us, and i might just love that day to come.  Do any of you know that United changed their club badge a few years ago to reflect their “brand” in a better manner?  It was felt that “Football Club” was not an imperative part of this organization.  I call them “The Forces Of Darkness” , and although they will be right up there, i think their reign of terror will soon be coming to an end, and on that day Fergie will ride off into the sunset and they will never be the same club again. End of rant!

Predicted Finish; I would love to see them end up last and go down to the Championship so Leeds and them can bash it out, but realistically i think 4th is a real possibility for them.

Right.  Now onto some REALLY important business! I will finish the “preview” this week, but our indoor soccer sign up is starting.  You can check out all the info on this website, and we are all really excited to see how this season will pan out! We are looking forward to continuing our work with all the brilliant soccer players of Nelson, and hoping that our adult indoor league continue to grow and flourish!  Sign up before the end of the month to take advantage of early registration, and we look forward to seeing you on our pitch!

Yours in Soccer!

Greetings all!

Dave  and Ross continued to try and raise the game of our local soccer talent today.  All training was based on the idea of possession, which means passing and receiving the ball, as well as movement.  I had the privilege of watching Dave in action today, and it was a pleasure to see how he developed the session and the work that goes into being a good player.  I hope the kids are soaking it in, and enjoying the experience!

I wanted to take the time to mention my friend Dan Szabo.  He is a real soccer buff, and has developed a keen love for the game which i love to see.  He also wants to find a team to follow in the Premier League, and apparently he will be taking my recommendation of Blackpool VERY seriously indeed.  Dan has a great blog set up here in Nelson, and if you are a fan of soccer in the local region i recommend you check it out, at www.nelsonsoccer.net. It truly is a shame that the only thing that “Yourcon” (as i call Dan, long story) can tackle is a can of  lager after the match! I have told him the check out the Scott Lewis School of Tackling, but apparently that class is currently full!  Anyway, check out the blog, and i hope you enjoy it as much as i do!

Onto more of my Premier League Preview!

Bolton Wanderers; Hopefully Owen Coyle can get the Trotters playing the kind of free-flowing football that Burnley were playing over the past couple of seasons, as Bolton were a dire team to watch under both Sam Allardyce (see Blackburn’s section) and the “worst manager in England”, Gary Megson.  If they do that and Jussi Jaaskaleinen (spell THAT while drinking!) keeps up his stellar keeping, then Bolton will live to fight another Premier League day!

Predicted Finish;  15th place

Chelsea; I have to say that Carlo Ancelotti has the lads playing out of their skins from an attacking perspective, and after the reigns of Scolari and Grant, this Chelsea team is a nice and refreshing change, meaning that England’s top three sides all play attacking and expansive football when they are in the mood.  They have bought wisely, and the only question marks for them in regards to retaining the title is if they can avoid injuries and how the backline will shape up.  Should be fun to watch again, and my pick for the title!

Predicted Finish; Premier League Champions!

Right, i am off, time for more coaching, will finish this later on today!

Yours in Soccer!

Hello to all our faithful readers!

We had a great morning down at Lakeside, as Vancouver Whitecaps youth coaches Dave and Ross put some of our local talent through a challenging and fun session.  What was really great to see was that the kids were shown a lot of stuff similiar to what we preach, just with new voices telling them how to improve.  Suffice to say the kids seemed to enjoy the challenges brought forth by Dave and Ross, and although they worked hard, they also seemed to quite enjoy it!  Let’s hope the intensity and enjoyment goes through to Wednesday!

I promised a Premier League preview, and even though the season HAS started (Thanks go to Hitch for pointing that out), I still wanted to provide my two cents on how the season will play out! In alphabetical order and with cheeky comments thrown in!

Arsenal;  Arsene Wenger has resisted Barcelona’s flirting with Cesc Fabregas, and although he has a young and brilliant squad with the right blend of experience thrown in, he still DESPERATELY needs a good keeper!  Maybe it’s fate that Man Citeh has handed the first team role to Joe Hart, giving the crafty Frenchman a chance to offer Shay Given Champions League football.  Whether Citeh will be daft enough to sell him remains to be seen!

PREDICTED FINISH-3rd AGAIN!

Aston Villa; The loss of Martin O’Neill is a heavy blow to the Second City side, and recovering from that blow will make or break their season.  I have a feeling that they are about to become a selling club again, and that James Milner AND Ashley Young will soon be sporting new colours.  A real shame, seeing how much dosh Randy Lerner really has, and how much progress has been made at Villa Park.  I predict a gloomy season on the Holte End…..

PREDICTED FINISH; 9th for the Villians!

Birmingham; Alex McLeish will be hard pressed to follow up on last season’s endeavours, but with few flair players and the lack of a cutting edge up front, he will have little choice but to try and grind out 1-0 wins again this season.  The loss of Joe Hart is a blow, and the pressure is on Ben Foster to prove that he was worth the money the Blues paid for him and his keeping abilities.  Having said that , Foster will be eager to prove Sir Alex wrong!

PREDICTED FINISH; 11th barring no significant injuries

Blackburn Rovers; I don’t like “Big Sam” Allardyce, his teams park the bus, and they rough the opposition up far too much.  All this negativity will probably keep them on the Prem for another year at least. Cluggers!

PREDICTED FINISH; Other than Rovers supporters, who cares?  When push comes to shove, 14th

Blackpool; Yet another “sixth place Championship, through to the Prem via the playoffs” side, and will likely do as well as expected, and that is to finish in dead last, and get stuffed every match!  Having said that, Ian Holloway is a charismatic and funny manager, and will be gnashing his teeth to have a crack at the big sides, especially at “cosy” Bloomfield Road, the Tangerines “quaint” stadium.  If their first result is anything to go by, they should be planning for Champions Leagues night nest year!  Sadly though, they will most likely pull a Burnley, get a few wins on the surprise factor, get murdered after the New Year, and bugger off back to the Championship, tangerine tail between legs! I wish them the very best!

PREDICTED FINISH; 20th, but wot a larf it will be! PS they should sign Jimmy Bullard, he looks good in orange!

More to come, i am running out of time, so i shall post more tomorrow!

Hello all;

Just a few thoughts on the state of soccer in Nelson.  I have been a resident of Nelson for almost two years now, and i have to say that in the months where we are not covered in snow, I can guarantee you that if you go down to Lakeside, you can always find someone knocking a ball around, be it father and son, a bunch of adults having a kickabout, or Rep players honing their skills.  This town is passionate about soccer, and it is truly one of the great things about being here.  I went down to Lakeside to play in one of those kickabouts last night and at 635pm there were only about 6-8 of us, next thing you know there are players all over the place and we had a good match that was fun and competitive (aside from a few nitwits!)

Give yourselves a firm pat on the back Nelson soccer community, it is you that makes being here so enjoyable!

PS You must be able to get the ball for it to be a fair shoulder challenge!  Look out for my Premier League Preview in the next few days!

Hello to all of our valuable readers! (None of you so far) We are getting a big tingly around here as we think of what will be happening for us in the next little while.  First and foremost is our upcoming Vancouver Whitecaps Rep Camp.  We are bringing in two coaches from THE premier soccer organization in Western Canada!  They will be conducting sessions from Aug 16th to Aug 20th and ALL serious Kootenay players should mark it on their calendars and make sure that they are in attendance.  These sessions will run from 10am til 12pm at Lakeside.  DON’T MISS IT!

Dave and I will be taking three teams down to the Mount Hood Tournament in Portland, Oregon on Thursday Aug 19th.  These teams are part of our Kootenay Regional Showcase Program, and we are both looking forward to seeing how the boys and girls will do once they face up to some real competition. We have been working hard with these players since April and now is their chance to really show Dave and I what they have learned.  Should be a really great time!

Lastly, PAUL DOLAN IS COMING TO NELSON!  For those of you who do not know him, he played for Canada in the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, and he is a legend of the Canadian game!  He will be in Nelson conducting a FREE GOALIE CLINIC on Aug 23rd, from 5-6pm at Lakeside.  This is a truly magnificent opportunity for all young Kootenays keepers to learn from one of the best in the Canadian game, as he is now the Keeper Coach for the National Program.  I had the unique pleasure of having dinner with Paul several years ago, and i have to tell you that Paul is a true gentleman, and his soccer stories are second to none! Don’t miss this chance to learn from a legend!

Come back anytime and join the debates!

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to our new blog!

We will be using the new soccerquest blog to keep you informed with news and some results. Maybe get some discussions going as well!

Thanks for stopping by and we will start blogging soon!