SBNation.com User Blog: George Templeton

Robbie Savage --- Villa to go down

George Templeton — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:47:10 -0000

Robbie Savage --- Villa to go down

He is a former Bluenose so keep that in mind with this prediction.

Aston Villa open training/meet and greet

George Templeton — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 15:41:47 -0000

There will be limited space for open training and meet and greet opportunities at all three stops of Aston Villa's American Tour.

Here is all the information you need for every one of the events on the tour! I am attending the Philadelphia leg of the tour and I can't wait to meet some of the East Coast Villa fans out there. Just wish I could attend Chicago and Portland to meet more of the crew that makes up this wonderful blog!

Euro 2012 qualification -- who will make the playoffs!

George Templeton — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:36:20 -0000

Now to sort out the playoff picture for Euro 2012 qualification. Keep in mind that one runner-up out of the nine will not advance to the playoffs. Because most groups have six teams while others have five, to make it fair the second-place teams in a group of six have their points against the last-place teams subtracted from their points total. Again full standings here.

Group A: Turkey (14 points, 8 for playoffs table), Belgium (12 points, 9): Both teams play Germany, Turkey gets them at home, Belgium plays them away. Belgium plays Kazakhstan before their game with the Germans while Turkey plays Azerbaijan at home. The Azeris did beat Turkey at home earlier in qualifying and the Belgians will need a repeat of that to grab second because the Turks win the head-to-head tiebreaker (that‘s assuming the Germans beat both teams to complete a perfect qualifying campaign). Because Belgium plays the last place Kazakhs, they probably need to beat Germany to avoid being the bottom-placed runner-up. Turkey may need a point at home to Germany to be sure they get in.

Group B: Russia (17, 14), Ireland (15, 12), Armenia (14, 8), Slovakia (14, 8): Russia‘s in pole position to win the group but they could be out altogether if Slovakia win their final two games (including a home match with the Russians) and Ireland win their final two matches. But the horse closing fast on the outside is Armenia, a Cinderella story coming out of Pot 5 of 6 at the start of qualifying. They held the Russians at home, but looked down out after a credible 3-1 defeat in St. Petersburg. The Armenians (a very young side mostly) then thumped Andorra and came up with a scarcely believable 4-0 win in Zilina over Kirsten Schlewitz’s Slovakia. The Armenians control their own destiny for second. They have Macedonia at home and a win their sets up a huge match with the Irish in Dublin. Keith Fahey scored the winner with 14 minutes to go in Yerevan at the very start of qualifying, but the Armenians have a lot of momentum behind them. The second place team here is almost certainly making the playoffs and even with all the Villains in their side, I’d love to see Armenia get there.

Group C: Serbia (14, 8), Estonia (13, 10), Slovenia (11, 5): It is Serbia’s to lose with two games to go even though one of those is Italy at home. The Serbians final game is Slovenia away and if they fail to win either game that could open the door for Estonia. Of course Estonia would already have the door open for them had they not lost 2-0 to the Faroe Islands in June. The Estonians have Northern Ireland away for their final fixture. In the last round of qualifying, Estonia hammered the Northern Irish 4-1 in Tallinn. If the Serbians manage to finish second without winning either of their final two group games then its likely that this will be the runner-up without a chair when the music stops.

Group D: France (17, 11), Bosnia-Herzegovina (16, 13): Assuming France beat Albania and Bosnia beat Luxembourg then both these teams will be playoff bound at the worst.

Group E: Sweden (18, 12), Hungary (18, 12): Hungary only have one game left, so they need Sweden to slip up against Finland in the Nordic derby and then hope that already qualified Netherlands can get a result against the Swedes in Solna. Hungary finish with Finland in Budapest. The Swedes beat Hungary 4-3 on aggregate in their two meetings so they get the tiebreaker and go through to the playoffs if they beat the Finns in Helsinki.

Group F: Croatia (19, 13), Greece (18, 12): Either team should be good to go to the playoffs no matter what happens.

Group G (5 teams): The other great story of Euro 2012 qualifying for me is tiny Montenegro (11 points and also out of Pot 5) who’ve topped this group most of the way. But a bad spell has put their chances of the playoffs in a bit of danger. The Montenegrans could still win the group if they win their final two matches, but England (17 points) at home is no small prospect and then there’s a trip to the famous St. Jakob Park to face Switzerland (8 points) in the final match. The Montenegrans did beat the Swiss, so a draw in Basel would be enough to get second and probably take their place in the playoff draw (goal difference could be a problem). Before the big match in Basel, Switzerland go to the Liberty Stadium in Swansea to play Wales who are coming off improved performances under Gary Speed in the last round of qualifying (beat Montenegro and lost undeservedly to England at Wembley Stadium). England are playoff bound at the minimum so I can’t help but root for the Montenegrans to recapture that early spirit and finish the fairy tale.

Group H (5 teams): Norway, Portugal, Denmark all have 13 points. Despite the fact that Portugal and Denmark play each other in the final game, they both have a game in hand on Norway who have almost no chance to grab the runner-up spot. The Norwegians lose the tiebreaker with Denmark. And because the Norwegians and the Portuguese tied 1-1 on aggregate in their two matches, the tiebreaker between them is goal difference (Portugal +8, Norway +1). So unless Portugal slips up against Iceland at home and at Denmark or the Danes slip up against Cyprus in Nicosia and at home to Portugal it will be the Danes and Portuguese headed for at least the playoffs.

Group I: Czech Republic (10 points), Scotland (8 points): Most likely the Czechs will finish second. They do play Spain at home to start this round while Scotland away to Lichtenstein. One problem for the Scots, they finish in Alicante against the all-conquering Spaniards. Even if the Spanish do them a favor in Prague, its hard to imagine the Scots getting anything in that game. If they don’t then all the Czechs would need is a draw in Kaunas against Lithuania (they have the tiebreaker over Scotland). Now the Lithuanians did defeat the Czechs in the second game of qualifying but its gone horribly wrong after that good start. Since that win the Lithuanians lost to the likes of Lichtenstein and their only point was a 0-0 draw at home with those same minnows.

Sadly the playoffs will be seeded so depending on the makeup of the playoff grouping it will still be a tough hill to climb in November for some of the smaller sides, but remember Slovenia did beat Russia in the playoffs two years ago, you never know.

My guess the playoff field is this: Turkey, Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sweden, Greece, Montenegro, Portugal, Czech Republic (four seeded teams will be Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Sweden).

UEFA 2012 qualification --- how the groups will be won

George Templeton — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:00:24 -0000

We have reached the denouement of the qualification for the 2012 European Championships. The next 4 days will see the hopes of nations of fans fulfilled or crash. The full standings for each group are here. In part one I will take a look at who will win each group and book their places in next summer’s tournament.

Lets get the easy part out of the way, here are the teams that are already qualified.

Germany (perfect in Group A), Italy (only dropped 2 points in Group C), Netherlands (perfect in Group E) and Spain (perfect in Group I).

Now for the rest of the groups!

Group B: Without a doubt the must fun group but more for the race for second place (more on that in another post). Russia’s last game is at home to Andorra and barring a cataclysm, they will win that game to finish on a minimum of 20 points. Before they play the Andorrans in Moscow they face a tough trip to Zilina to face Slovakia (official national team of 7500toholte‘s Kirsten Schlewitz). The Russians may need something in that game because if Slovakia were to win and then win at Macedonia, the Repre would be level on points with the Russians and own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Ireland too will be rooting for Slovakia to win. The Irish lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Russia and could only win the group with victories over Andorra (away) and Armenia (at home) and a Russia defeat in Zilina.

Group D: This group is likely going to the last match. France plays host to Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina does the same with Luxembourg. Both should (and will) win setting up the biggest match in Bosnia’s young sporting history, a trip to the Stade de France. If Bosnia win they book their place in Euro 2012. Any other result means its France. And in case you think a Bosnia win incomprehensible any one remember this.

Group F: While in Group D the decider is the last match of qualifying, the penultimate match will likely settle things here. Greece (18 points) is at home to Croatia (19 points). Their first meeting was a 0-0 snoozer in Zagreb. It is hard to imagine Croatia not getting the maximum at home in their final match with Latvia so the Greeks have to win. A victory for Greece would mean that even a draw in Georgia would be enough for them to win the group (because a win would give the Greeks the head-to-head tiebreaker). And the last match for the Greeks is trickier than you think. Georgia opened qualifying with a 1-1 draw in Piraeus and their only defeat in Tblisi in qualifying was a surprising reverse to Latvia.

Group G: For England its real simple, a draw against Montenegro in Podgorica will suffice to win the group. The Montenegrans did get a deserved point at Wembley Stadium earlier in qualifying but there form was much better then. Since then they only managed one point against Bulgaria and Wales (even losing to them) and sacked their manager. Even if Montenegro knocks off England they would still have to win in Switzerland to complete their fairy-tale story and advance to Euro 2012.

Group H: Another potential winner-take-all climax in this group. Denmark, Portugal and Norway are all on 13 points. Norway only has 1 game left so their chances are virtually nil. Portgual had a terrible start to the campaign but have turned things around and should beat Iceland at home (the Portuguese did draw 4-4 with Cyprus at home after all, but that was under Carlos Quieroz who thankfully for them is sacked!). Denmark has the tougher assignment on paper with an away visit to the Cypriots. But Cyprus have been dire at home (1 point from 3 matches). Wins for the Danes and the Portuguese mean everything will be settled Tuesday in Copenhagen. Portugal would win the group with a draw because of their 3-1 win over Denmark earlier in the campaign.

My predictions for the group winners are these. Group B: Russia. Group D: France. Group F: Greece. Group G: England. Group H: Denmark

That’s part one, part two will focus on the race for the eight playoff berths (remember one group runner-up will not advance).

Games to look out for in Tuesday's UEFA 2012 qualifying

George Templeton — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 21:21:08 -0000

So we've had some interesting results in Friday's fixtures that have altered the landscape of qualifying for UEFA 2012. Now its on to these matches and how they could affect the final round of qualifying in October

With that in mind here are the key matches in Tuesday's UEFA 2012 qualifying.

11 a.m EST/8 a.m. PDT --- Group B, Russia vs. Ireland --- Russia are in the catbird seat in this group, but they were made to work very hard by the Macedonians and were a touch fortunate that Igor Semshov's strike was enough. They are two points clear after Ireland and Slovakia drew a blank in Dublin. This is the early game in this group and while a draw would favor the Russians, a win would almost sew up a top two spot and put major pressure on the Slovakians playing later. Ireland does have a negotiable final two matches, but I still stand by what I said before Friday's games, that they needed 4 points from these two games to give themselves a chance. Will be interested to see if Ireland can take the attacking vigor they showed in the final 20 minutes of Dublin and take that with them to Moscow.

2:15 p.m. EST/11:15 a.m PDT --- Two games here to watch for here, first in Group B, Slovakia vs. Armenia. I've sort of ignored the Armenians but they have 11 points in the group and are an up-and-coming side. They held Russia and thumped Slovakia 3-1 at home. The Slovakians turned in an improved performance against Ireland after labouring in two wins over Andorra. The Repre were well on top in the middle portion in the game and despite Ireland's late dominance were good value for their point. With the home match with Russia looming its vital that Slovakia get all 3 points here.

In Group D its Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Belarus. This is a rematch from Friday and Bosnia were superb in their 2-0 victory, scoring twice in two minutes and the comfortably holding off the Belarussians. A win for Bosnia here and they will finish Belarus' chances and have a hammer lock on a top two spot. If they could get some help from Romania (hosting France in their own must win 15 minutes after this starts), the Bosnians could even think about upsetting France to win the group. And that week in October might be the biggest in that young country's sporting history.

2:30 p.m. EST/11:30 a.m. PDT --- Most of the games start at this time and while I briefly mentioned Romania-France my game of the day starts then and it's in Group H, Denmark vs. Norway. The Danes scored early in the first meeting with the Norwegians and only a late goal from Erik Huselkepp prevented them from walking away with the maximum. Denmark has 10 points and a game in hand on both Norway and Portugal (each with 13 points). A draw here would leave this group on a knife's edge. The Danes need to win this game for me, because if they do with Portugal to come at home, a win here would mean they control their own destiny. A draw here and its advantage Norway for second place because there final game is at home to Cyprus.

2:45 p.m. EST/11:45 a.m. PDT --- England-Wales in Group G is only a little more interesting because Wales put behind a load of bad form and upset co-group leaders Montenegro, doing England a massive favor. For that alone I am looking to see if the England fans will surprise me and respect the Welsh anthem, somehow I doubt it. And England win would leave them only needing a draw at Montenegro in their final group game to qualify for UEFA 2012.

The more interesting game is in Group C and its Italy vs. Slovenia. Slovenia had an absolute nightmare at home against Estonia and away to the group leaders (who can qualify with a win) they are facing a mountain to climb. The Slovenians are level with Serbia on 11 points, but they've played a game more. Worse for them is that Serbia has the Faroe Islands at home. And while the Faroes are having one of their best campaigns under former Ireland manager Brian Kerr, the Serbians won 3-0 in Torshavn and should win at home. So for Slovenia its pretty simple, draw is the absolute minimum and the win is probably necessary (although Italy with nothing to play for could do them a favor in October). A loss and Slovenia could be as far down as 4th in the group (Estonia and Northern Ireland are playing each other and each could move above them with a win).

Games to look out for in Friday's UEFA 2012 qualifying

George Templeton — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:41:14 -0000

I am probably in the minority but I don't mind International breaks as long as they are filled by qualifying matches that actually mean something as opposed to mostly annoying friendlies!

So with that in mind here are the key games in Friday's UEFA 2012 fixtures.

9 a.m ET/ 6 a.m. PT --- Group F, Israel vs. Greece. This is the first kickoff in UEFA qualifying. The Greeks have a game in hand on Israel and share the group lead with Croatia. Israel's next game is at Croatia so they have to win. And if Greece wants to win the group then a win here is probably necessary since the Croats face Malta today.

1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m PT --- Group D, Belarus vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina. These are the two teams chasing France in this group and this is the first of a doubleheader between the two in this round of games. Belarus (12 points_ has played a game more than the Bosnians (10) so they probably need 4 points from these two fixtures to ensure they go through (though Romania on 8 points is still a threat to grab the runner-up spot).

2:45 p.m. ET/ 11:45 a.m. --- This is when most of the games will be played and there are some real beauties in here. Germany-Austria is a local derby but mainly the most interesting thing about this game is that a Germany win will make them the first team to qualify for the tournament. Northern Ireland has a must win game at home with Serbia. Both teams have a game in hand on Slovenia in the race for second behind Italy in Group C. I would also put up Cyprus-Portugal up as one to watch in the hopes this happens again.

The absolute game of the day for me is in this time slot and it's in wide open Group B. Ireland vs. Slovakia. These are two of the teams tied at the top of the group with 13 points. The other co-leader, Russia, is at home with Macedonia. This really is a make or break week for the Irish with a trip to the Luzhniki to play Russia on Tuesday. Kirsten's beloved Repre get Armenia at home next so even though a draw would leave both teams likely trailing Russia, a draw probably suits the Slovakians more than the Irish. That said, I think Giovanni Trappatoni will know how the group sets up and he knows a win is pretty necessary for their chances to qualify. If the Irish are a bit more expansive then Slovakia certainly has the attacking intent to take advantage. If there is one game I wish was on TV it would be this one.

Houllier and MacDonald?

George Templeton — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:57:33 -0000

Houllier and MacDonald?

Apparently Aston Villa are considering former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier to be director of football and leaving Kevin MacDonald in a coaching role. I would actually like that quite a bit.

Kevin MacDonald is humble and well liked

George Templeton — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:10:23 -0000

Kevin MacDonald is humble and well liked

If anything you wonder if a decent, hard-working guy like MacDonald can make it in a Premier League where usually a big ego is needed to deal with the other big egos in the locker rroom.

Transfer ideas based off rumours

George Templeton — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:05:15 -0000

There are rumours about the two Manchester clubs having interest in James Milner. Also the rumour mill says that if Barcelona don't get Franck Ribery that Ashley Young is their backup plan.

So I have some ideas about what to do if we lose one or both of them. First James Milner. Now unless Manchester United make some sales it is my opinion that they don't have the money for Milner. So I am focusing on Manchester City who of course have both the wage and transfer money power to make something happen. And sure they can offer Aston Villa 24 million pounds and that be it, but I have a better idea. City have a classy midfielder who is out of favor and might want a move so he can start playing again. This midfielder is rated around about 14 million. So if City want James Milner, how about 10 million pounds plus this man!

Now for Ashley Young. If Barcelona do hand us another load of cash (say 22 million) for him than I have a replacement in mind for him. He is a young midfielder that Aston Villa face in the FA Cup. Can get you goals and is one of the best strikers of a deadball in England right now. I am talking about Gylfi Sigurðsson. He was the key to Reading's run in the FA Cup and resurgence under Brian McDermott.

Now with all that nice extra money plus some sales (Emile Heskey, Marlon Harewood, Luke Young) lets go out and get an upgrade for a big striker, Nikola Zigic (a bit fanciful I know), a right back so Carlos Cuellar doesn't have to play there all the damn time.

If Martin O'Neill can integrate Wifried Bouma (because Stephen Warnock need competition over there) and Mark Albritton back into the squad and give someone like Barry Bannan a chance then Villa will have as good a team as they had this season, with as much depth, without two of their top players.

James Harden is talented but . . .

George Templeton — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:36:33 -0000

I know James Harden is an excellent player, but what Herb Sendek (who I have some respect for) did with him at the end of Pac-10 final was the most atrocious piece of coaching I've seen this weekend (and there has been a lot of bad coaching this weekend).

What the hell Sendek was doing twice running an NBA-esque 1-4 set with Harden on an iso in the final minute of Arizona State's stunning (and damaging for bubble teams) loss to Southern California mystified me to no end. Your team runs the Princeton offense for heavens sake! You know, passing, cutting, all five guys moving? You know the things that make your team so difficult to defend. How could you do this to me (and all the other Terrapin fans you #@#$)

What is it with coaching and the last two minutes of games because while I may not know jack about recruiting or dealing with teenagers, I swear I could sit on the bench and do a better job of coaching the final two minutes of a college game than most of these people.

This is an open thread with a bunch of purposes. Who do you want to see get into the NCAA tournament that is on the bubble? Where do you think American will go and who might they face. Other than James Harden and Blake Griffin who are you looking forward to watching in the NCAA tournament, whatever the reason maybe? And whatever other college basketball issues might be on your mind.

I will answer the last question. I want to see Saint Mary's make it so I can watch Patty Mills. And in this year of craziness, I think a healthy Mills could help Saint Mary's emulate the legendary George Mason Patriots. The similarities are there. Like GMU, Saint Mary's lost in its conference tournament. Like GMU they will be a (somewhat) controversial choice if they get picked. The one major difference is that if Mills hadn't got hurt, Saint Mary's would be easily in the field and a lot of folks would look at them as a sleeper for a Final 4 berth. Well Mills played a game Saturday night against Eastern Washington and all reports say he is now 100 percent. Get on Saint Mary's if they make it to the Big Dance.

NBA eve

George Templeton — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:43:11 -0000

As I type this, I am an hour away from my fantasy basketball draft (where I am the defeding champ!) and we are 24 hours away from the opening tip of the NBA season. Even if the Redskins were 2-6 or 0-8 instead of 6-2, I would be normally be fired up like a blowtorch. Basketball stirs something in my soul that none of the other sports that I fanatically follow do. But not this year.

It's a little late and everyone's beat this horse to death, but I am sitting here asking why? Why must the basketball fates deal this hand to us over and over again. We know the injury litany and I won't repeat it. But dammit it's not fair (I know I sound like a 7-year-old on this, just gimme a break). Lord we've been through it as Bullets fans and we've been loyal. Fat players, lazy players, players too tall, too short, too skinny, a player that have wrecked his career because of stupid movie (i.e. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120765/), players that liked the nightlife too much, players that flashed like a comet and then disappeared. And of course all the bumbling and stumbling in the front office.

Now basketball fates you finally hand us a good team and even let us have a magical spring with wonderful memories that foster hopes of great times to come. But do you let us have them, do you give us, the long-suffering Bullets' fan a day in the sun, a chance to shine. A deep playoff run that reminds the world what a great and important basketball town Washington, D.C. is. What a great basketball tapestry we have.

NO! Of course not! And it hurts. All this disappointment takes my blowtorch and reduces it to a flickering spark. Oh I will always be excited for the new season because there are always interesting teams and interesting players (Oden, Bynum, Rose chief among them for me). But I want to be excited for my team too.

This team has wrung some grief, lots of embarassment and indescribable moments of joy out of me since my grandparents took me to my first game in 1986. All I ask you, oh imponderable basketball fates, is to give me one glorious run to the Finals, winning them would be immaterial. Just give me and our city a chance to jump, scream, dance, hug and cry our way into late June. Just once. Please!!!! I am begging you!

I have a confession to make

George Templeton — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:12:27 -0000

Olympic basketball hasn't been as much fun to watch since the U.S. started using pros, but I have always watched and rooted for the Americans while taking the opportunity to play amateur scout and eyeball the foreign talent on offer during the tournament,

But this tournament is different for me. Because for the first time (and hopefully only time) I won't be rooting for the good ol' U.S. of A. in the Olympic basketball tournament. I can't do it. And it has nothing to do with the players on the team, because many of them I very much like and respect (and three of them contributed to my first fantasy basketball title). It only has to do with one man. Him!

I am a diehard Maryland Terrapins fan (even though I went to VCU) going all the way back to the great Len Bias (RIP). And I loathe that man. There have been a lot of villains and loathesome characters that have roamed the ACC during my time as a Terrapins fan (and unfortunately some of them have been Terps!) but none as much as that man.

I know its unpatriotic. I know its terrible to root against the country in the Olympics, but I can't help it. As long as the brill cream scumball coaches our country, I can't get behind them. Every coach that has helmed team USA since I started watching international basketball in 1988 has had my full support except that man. I cheered like mad and cackled like a hyena when Greece beat them at the Worlds and I will feel the same way if they lose this time.

There I said it and I feel better. I am prepared for the onslaught, fire away!