To steal and modify a line from a fellow Englishman, Real Salt Lake's match last weekend was a tale of two teams. In the first half we watched as RSL could barely put two passes together and then in the second half we watched in frustration as Real Salt Lake's lady luck once again confirmed that she is off the clock on game day.
I mean really - two posts? Two posts! If ever there was a reason for her to be fired that was it. It doesn't help that RSL can't seem to come out two games in a row with a solid performance in every area of the pitch.
But I was encouraged to see the boys respond so much better than they normally would, believing that the squad is going in the right direction. Last year RSL would most likely not have responded well to being mauled in the first half. Having said that, RSL did do something right, going in 0-0 at the half.
It is encouraging to see how much better the team handles pressure now, putting the first half mistakes in the rear view and coping much better. I'm not saying "Yippee!" just yet, but at least the team is going in the right direction; they're not there yet, but they're on the way. I know what you're thinking but I'm not ready to wave the white flag yet. It's only the start of the season - so just relax a little.
I know it's easy and more comforting to panic and get all armchair coach on a bad day when you see a poorer performance than you'd like to but the last few games have got me thinking about being a fan.
I think it was the great Bill Shankly who said "Football (soccer) is misery, but it's my misery." I have supported Liverpool all my life, I have been an England fan forever, and I remember going to Anfield as a boy in the 1970s and '80s and thinking we'll never be beaten - ever!
Kenny Dalglish was an inspiration, Terry McDermott was a wild man never beaten, and Kevin Keegan was a nightmare for any defender; that's who I grew up watching. Liverpool were unbeatable in Europe and at home: four European Cups, 11 league championships in two decades, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, European Super Cup, Milk Cup. You name it, Liverpool won it; there was simply no one to beat us.
Then with two tragic events (that won't be forgotten) things changed for the worse and Liverpool started what has felt like a long walk in the wilderness that is not winning - losing. We had occasional moments, but nothing like the glory days. It all felt so depressing. I mean losing to Crystal Palace - are you kidding?
Even though Liverpool are obviously doing better (yes that's right we get to keep it after winning No. 5 in Europe) it has still been 16 years without the league title, but through it all I have never wavered for a second, not for a solitary moment. Liverpool will always be my team "come rain, come shine." I'm a Liverpool fan. I still believe.
England? Talk about classic underachievers, consistently some of the best players in the world and still it's been 40 years since we've lifted Jules Rimet as World Cup winners. We've come close a few times, been robbed by hand ball prima donnas and cheating divers, not to mention a few stupid decisions from our own players, but this morning I still spent two hours searching for and downloading the new England song from Embrace - "The World at Your Feet" - and I'll learn it word for word, beat for beat, and sing it as loudly as a school boy screaming for the ball in the playground. Because 40 years since the last one - I still believe.
At times I have moaned about Liverpool's and England's woeful performances, lack of talented players, and even occasionally criticized the managers. But still, in an argument with a Manchester United, Aston Villa or Argentina fan I would defend them to the hilt, because they're my team, my misery and as with family, only I get to call them out.
So Real Salt Lake? Look - we're not there yet; we might not even be that close, but now is when the team needs loyal fans the most. Don't think that after a game the coaches and players just wander off without a thought to the game. They agonize over it, they re-play it over and over in their heads.
Now is the time to lift the team at the next game, and the next and the next and the next ... you get the picture. Call me a cheerleader (you wouldn't if you'd ever seen my legs) but I agree with Shankly: football is misery - so enjoy it and say what you will in frustration. You're entitled to as a fan, but remember it's the second season (and only just in to it) so relax and enjoy being a fan "come rain come shine;" there are teams out there who are in their 11th season and still haven't won the league. I don't think we'll be one of them, but if we were I'd still be singing for Real Salt Lake because its my Real Salt Lake, my football team, and it's my misery because I'm a fan.
My gripe of the week
I know I am often ... erm ... ever so slightly critical of the referee situation in MLS but seriously if one thing drives me nuts it's playing against 12 men. Please, have a little consistency in the calls. If a tackle from behind is a yellow card for one player, then shouldn't the three tackles previously that were from behind have been yellows or at the very least free kicks? Don't even start me on assistant referees keeping up with the play.
Los Angeles Galaxy
Maybe I am the eternal optimist but I honestly think that we have an edge on this one; it's not like they're on a winning streak themselves is it? They have shown some dreadful inconsistency in the midfield and last weekend they didn't look like the MLS champs they are. We have a good record at home against them and we're going into a stretch of five out of six games at home. I think RSL are up for it.
My mate Landon
Well he's not my mate, actually, although I am sure he's a lovely lad.
The question remains will I make fun of him much to everyone's dismay?
Erm ... yes, yes I will, I still think he needs a map for every pitch he plays on so that he can avoid the blades of grass he apparently trips on; I know, he's a footballing genius, and the best thing since Tivo (the updated bread) - got it.
But mostly I like him because in soccer we need characters to love to hate - he's mine - unless he played for RSL and then please refer to my comment of 'he's a footballing genius' and ignore the rest.
E-mail Wayne and the entire RSL broadcast crew at fun@RealSaltLake.com, and your e-mail could be featured in the Computech "Fan Feedback" feature on all KALL 700 broadcasts, as well as on KSL and FSN Utah broadcasts!
Scholes enters his second season as Real Salt Lake's radio color analyst alongside his on-air counterpart Ryan Hatch. The England native was recently hired as the Virgin Entertainment Group Director of Strategic Marketing in Los Angeles, Calif. He also recently moved his family from Draper, Utah, where he lived for eight years. Scholes is a soccer fanatic who has been involved in the game as a youth, attending the famed Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League at Anfield. With the obvious connection, Scholes is huge England supporter, but is rooting for the U.S. team's success in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
