Bleacher Report - Articles by Ben Sharpe

Faith Restored: Arsenal and Spurs Serve Up A Classic

Ben Sharpe — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:55:46 -0400

Of late, my relationship with the "beautiful game" has not exactly been great. I have made no secret of my feelings on the Premier League’s shortcomings, and I have really struggled to enjoy the competition due to the apparent failings of those who run the league, and those who play in it.

I became disillusioned with our national game, heck I even pledged a boycott. Things just didn’t sit right, so we separated. Divorce was on the cards.

However, everything changed on a cold night in North London.

On Wednesday night, Arsenal and Tottenham waged a battle at the Emirates Stadium which will go down in football folklore. It was a spectacular epic between two fierce rivals at opposite ends of the Premier League spectrum.

Going into the game, Arsenal were sitting pretty. Nestled in position near the top of the table, Arsene Wenger looked like the managerial genius we know him to be.

His squad of footballing gods were playing gorgeous football, and they were basically having a good old laugh at the expense of their neighbours from Seven Sisters.

Spurs on the other hand had started the season horribly. Having lost their best strikers, Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov, in the off-season they were rock bottom with only one win to their name.

They had sacked their manager, Spaniard Juande Ramos, the weekend before the game and signed Englishman Harry Redknapp. Lovable though he is, was he really the answer to the quagmire that Spurs had become?

A once proud, mighty giant of a team who were now the laughing stock of football.

As if the bitter long-standing rivalry and recent cultural differences of these teams didn’t provide enough pre-game spice, Arsenals Spanish phenom, Cesc Fabregas, threw a seasonal firework into the fray by stating that Spurs would have trouble getting any result if they were to play the Arsenal Ladies team. Ouch!

Although, at the time, it was hard to see who would be most offended by that statement, the worst team in the Premier League, or the greatest female side ever assembled.

What followed was 94 minutes of sheer, unadulterated, classic Premier League football. 60,000 plus fans packed into the modern cathedral that is the Emirates. As the players exited the tunnel, there was a feeling in the air that something very special could occur. A sense of occasion, excitement, and expectation hung in the air like the cold air clung to the Holloway sky.

David Bentley’s goal on 13 minutes gave the visitors the early lead they so craved, and boy, what a goal. The fact it was against his former employers must have been sweet enough, but given that it was a 40-yard strike of such audacity and beauty makes it a clear contender for Goal of the Season. 1-0 to Spurs.

But wait, seven minutes before the half time Bovril break, Mikael Silvestre headed home for Arsenal. Football history suggests that possibly the best time to score is just before half time; it breaks the opponents spirit. 1-1.

Out for the 2^ndhalf and seconds into it, Arsenal take the advantage with a William Gallas effort to lead 2-1. The early lead Spurs had taken had now been fully reversed now and Arsenal were in full on destroy mode. They were ripping Spurs’ hearts out.

Emmanuel Adebayor added another to make it 3-1 Arsenal after 64 minutes. Spurs were sinking, Arsenal were flying.

Four minutes later, substitute Tottenham striker Darren Bent bought the deficit back to one. 3-2. New manager Redknapp will take full credit for such a genius tactical substitution no doubt, and quite rightly so.

Maybe, just maybe…Oh dear.

Robin van Persie nets for the Gunners whilst the travelling contingent were still celebrating. 4-2. Arsenal stepped up a gear and looked like champions. Spurs were surely finished. Their hearts had not only been ripped from them, but Arsenal were showing the pumping tickers to their slain victims.

Wenger started to make a few changes in the field to suggest his men were content with their haul, and locking out their enemies diminishing powers for the remaining 20 minutes of the contest.

However, the final few minutes will live forever in the memories of anyone who was still watching this nationally televised game, and all those present.

A neat Jermaine Jenas curler gave Spurs their third goal on 89 minutes. 4-3. A slight ray of hope, but surely not enough time left against such mighty opponents.

But, with the help of stoppage time and with practically the last kick of the game, Aaron Lennon slotted in a rebound. Cue mad scenes of celebrating Lilywhites, and gob smacked Gunners.

4-4. Final whistle.

What a truly great game. Played in high, but great, spirit by both teams. Arsenal will be fine. Yes, they let in four goals in their own back yard, but this was a derby. These things can happen.

Spurs too, I suspect, will be fine. Harry Redknapp knows how to reach his players. It’s no coincidence that all four Spurs goals were scored by four different Englishmen.

So, here I am, falling in love with the beautiful game again thanks to that wonderful battle. The sport still has its problems—they will always be there—but this match was a timely reminder to me that, ignoring the politics of the competition, the Premier League produces some of the best pure sport in the world.

Surely that’s what it’s all about. I forgot that once, but I’m humble enough to admit that. Thank you Arsenal, thank you Tottenham.

They say that if something should fly away but then it flies back to you again, then it’s yours.

True, so very true.

Why Brett "the Jet" Favre Will Be Great in New York

Ben Sharpe — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:54:13 -0400

When I woke up early this morning, I headed into the study to log on to the worldwide Web.

As the system was booting up, I had a degree of certainty that I would soon be reading headlines such as "Brett To Make Big Bucs" or "It's Official! Favre Has Been Tampa'd With" or some other corny headline confirming that the Green Bay Packers' legendary quarterback had been traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But no!

Brett Favre has signed for the New York Jets after being traded for a conditional draft pick. There had been rumors for weeks that Favre would end up in the green locker room of the Meadowlands, but something didn't just sit right.

I mean, Brett Favre, the tractor driving, alligator wrestling, squirrel shootin', country boy...in New York? Come on!

But now the trade is done and the dust on this whole brouhaha is starting to settle (please, God!). Oddly enough, the more I mull it over, the more it makes sense.

The Jets are a storied NFL franchise with a proud history and a loyal fanbase, who are a demanding and tough-loving bunch. They are coming off a not-so-good season in a division that is dominated by the New England Patriots.

But this could be a division in which Favre will flourish.

The AFC East is a very strange division. If anyone has seen the Adam Sandler movie The Wedding Singer, I liken this division to the Freaks At Table Nine (If you haven't seen the movie, just imagine a bunch of freaks...sitting at table nine).

The Pats are a monster of a team that were perfect in last years' regular season, only to lose the big one. Then you have the Miami Dolphins, a sorry bunch of fish that were one game short of being perfectly rubbish last year.

There's the nice, friendly, and not very dangerous Buffalo Bills, who went 7-9, but they don't look like they can go much better this year. Which brings us to the Jets. 4-12 last year without a quarterback. Hmmm, I see what they did there.

How does the Favre era on the East Coast of the AFC change this division?

My honest beliefs are that the Patriots will suffer a minor Super-Bowl-loss hangover. I also believe that having a bit more rivalry in the division now, thanks to a now-competitive Jets ballclub, could unsteady the Pats' ship, which has, let's face it, been on far-too-steady seas these past years.

There are other factors in New York that could help Favre settle in nicely. It's cold in winter. OK, not Green Bay cold, but still a bit nippy nonetheless. The Jets wear green. OK, not Green Bay green, but green nonetheless. And imagine the shopping the missus could do!

Joking aside, the point is that Brett and Green Bay had a messy divorce, one that was never to be reconciled. His return to the Packers would have lowered the team to the depths of the NFL (something I think Aaron Rodgers will do nicely on his own anyway, but that's another story).

There's no way he could have successfully gone back to Lambeau as a player.

New York is new for Brett. It's a fresh regime that needs a decent player under center to lead them. Brett is now that man.

Put simply, Favre needed someone to love and need him. New York will provide that. The Jets needed a QB that can lead the team and instill passion into their play. Brett Favre will provide that.

Favre and the Jets are like two elderly divorcees that settle for each other, as it could be their last chance of happiness.

A healthy Brett can lead the franchise to 10-6 this year, but more likely 8-8. If I were a Jets fan, I'd be turning hand spring at this news. Your team is back!

Broadway Brett has touched down in New York. It will be the first of many.

An Englishmans' Thoughts on the Premier League and the NFL

Ben Sharpe — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:35:27 -0400

I have followed both the Premier League (soccer) and the NFL (American Football) for many years now. However, this year, I think will be my first year where I could not care less about one of the sports... much to my frustration and disappointment.

People in the UK should, by now, be starting to grow tired of what the powers-that-be at the Premier League are providing us, the fans, with year-in and year-out. In a 20 team league, there is only a realistic chance of four teams ever winning it (and two of those are outside bets!) That scenario will not be changing for at least the next ten years if the system doesn't dramatically change by then.

In 15 years, only one team outside the top four has ever won the title.

Yes, stop the press! Manchester United, Chelsea. Arsenal and Liverpool WILL be the top four teams this year, probably in that order. No-one will come close to challenging for the title. Not this year. Not next year.

The reason for this is simply because there is no fairness in the league. No parity or structure at all. It seems that all the Premier Leagues decisions are decided by: a) The Press, or b) The Big Four managers. As a point of interest, just who is in charge? The FA? the Football League? Premier League? Ferguson? Wenger? Abramovich?

Games have become meaningless. The Premier League title is no longer held in high regard in the soccer world. There are too many competitions and far too many teams competing. Fan catchment areas are too limited and the infrastructure of the game is too archaic to fit a modern sporting world.

Not only are we being spoon-fed The Premier League, but also The UEFA Cup, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Johnstones Paint Trophy, no fewer than Four Domestic League Championships, and also all the Scottish, Spanish and International soccer too! No wonder the Premier League has lost its importance. It is physically drowning in a sea of saturation.

Thanks Sky TV.

So, now I find myself on the NFL side of the fence. The season is structured beautifully into 17 weeks (excluding play-offs), and pretty much any team can win. If not this year, the bottom-rated club could potentially be a contender in the next four, given the correct management and coaching.

Management and coaching: That is what the NFL season comes down to essentially. No £31 million signing fees being transferred between teams here. No sir, it's all trades (player-for-player or draft picks). Speaking of the draft, the worst team gets the best player. That in turn could entice better players/coaches to the team. In next to no time, the worst team in the league could be a serious competitor.

The 32 NFL teams play only one competition, the NFL. The Super Bowl is the ONLY competition teams want to win. No excuses of demanding fixture schedules (every team plays just once a week) and the phrase, "We're concentrating on the CarlingBarclaysCarling League right now, the Mickey Mouse cup—sponsored by Durex—is a distraction we don't need!" This is nowhere to be heard!

Also, there's the whole shared revenue thing. No team is considerably richer than the other. There is a salary cap in place, and major decisions about the league rules and competition are decided by the owners of the 32 teams balloting, presided over by a commissioner. Not by Fergie or Wenger telling the FA what to do, how to do it, and who to do it to.

In the last 15 years, 11 different teams have won the Super Bowl.

A level Playing Field. Parity. Fairness. Structure. A genius idea for an ideal of what sport should be.

Now, I'm not saying that American Football is, game-for-game, a better or worse sport than soccer. I'm just saying that I can no longer enjoy soccer in the UK due to the poor running of the competition and the sheer greed of the league's fat cats. The lop-sidedness of the Premier League has made it become a "Sport" akin to Formula 1. Sod the driver, the best car wins.

Until they all get their stuff in one sock, I'm turning off. Instead, I'll be watching the hundred plus NFL games that will be showing in the UK this year. I look forward to sitting down in front of the TV to watch a game, and genuinly not know who will be victorious come the full-time whistle.

Thanks Sky TV