What’s that behind Kofie Sarkodie’s leg? Oh, right, it’s the ball, in the goal.

Here are some things we learned during last night’s match…

• When the Revolution play attacking soccer and play a high pressure defense they can play with anybody and are going to cause a few clubs some unexpected problems.
• When Juan Toja plays with his teammates rather than among them, good things happen.  The triangular play between Toja, Fagundez, and Nguyen last night was beautiful to behold- and produced the first goal.
• The best part of Fagundez’s goal was that it was fundamentally sound.  The kid has all the bells and whistles and the fearlessness that only comes with being 18 years old, but he’s smart enough not to “overplay” situations.  This will serve him well going forward.
• Brian Ching should have retired two years ago, but since he didn’t, he should have to wear his shorts up around his armpits and shake his fist at “those damn kids!”  Juan Agudelo abused him several times last night and Ching just about lost his mind, committing cheap fouls and screaming at Agudelo.  I’m not a great lip reader, but I think the end of it was, “…get off my lawn!!”
• Speaking of Agudelo, he looked to be playing at about 80% and he still gave Houston fits.  He may just be the dynamic playmaker this offense needs.  He won’t get official credit for the club’s second goal, but it wouldn’t have happened without him running loose in front of Houston’s goal.
• Dimitri Imbongo and Bobby Boswell got into it in front of the Houston goal last night resulting in both getting red cards.  I’ll make two predictions about the aftermath of their tussle.  First, I guarantee that Bobby Boswell is going to get a multi-game suspension for ramming his head into Imbongo’s.  Second, I’ll say it’s 50/50 that Imbongo’s red card is rescinded.  He shouldn’t have thrown Boswell to the ground, but what would you do if somebody had just tried to fracture your skull with theirs?
• Speaking of Imbongo, I haven’t changed my mind yet on him being destined for a career in the NASL, but I’ll admit to two things. First, he may be the strongest player in the league (if he’s not, he’s in the conversation with Jamison Olave and Victor Bernardez).  Second, if he begins to finish his chances he’s going to become a player to watch.

Finally, what a big win!  They took the lead, held it, added to it, and finished off the match.  Maybe there is hope.

He’s the ginger on the left.

Allow me to set the scene, won’t you?

No matter what happened today at Victoria Park Global Engery Stadium in Dingwall, Ross County F.C.’s first campaign in the Scottish Premier League was an absolute, runaway, success.  The goal when the season began was simply to “stay up” and that goal has been in the rearview mirror for months now, meaning that every achievement since then has been a “milestone.”

Going into today’s Highland Derby even with a win Ross County could not improve their league position and they could not qualify for Europe (it’s a dizzying thought that playing in Europe was actually an issue this season!), Inverness Caledonian Thistle could improve their position with a win and could qualify for Europe.

Full disclosure forces me to admit that, going into this derby match, things did not look good for Ross County as the best they’d been able to manage in their first three matches in the SPL this season was a 0-0 draw- actually they hadn’t beaten ICT since 2009.  Keep in mind, however, the two clubs had been in different divisions during that stretch!

Which brings us to today, and to Andre Hainault.  Hainault joined County during the January transfer window and his time at Ross County got off to a sputtering start.  First their were delays in getting his work permit, then some niggling injuries, and then he was sick for a while  All of which meant that instead of competing for a place in the starting eleven he watched newcomers Evangelos Oikonomu and Mihael Kovacevic cement their positions in the back line along side Grant Munro and Scott Boyd.

When Hainault was fit he was initially relegated to “garbage time.”  He showed enough during these brief appearances (and, one assumes, during training) that he eventually did move into the starting line up, starting the last four matches and impressing the County faithful each and every time with his tackling ability and footballing instincts.  Though only signed through today’s match, there are many who would like to see Hainault back in Dingwall next season.

And that was before the 44th minute of today’s match when, before a packed house, Hainault latched on to a poor clearance from the Inverness defense and thumped a volley past Antonio Reguero and into the back of the net.  County were able to keep the pressure on ICT during the second half, dominating in terms of shots and shots on goal despite ICT having the bulk of possession.

So, that’s County in fifth place for the year, only one point behind their Highland Derby rivals.

I’ll be back in a day or two with a rundown of all of the club’s numbers and achievements this season, but for now I want to say that I couldn’t be more proud of what this club has done this year and I’m equally proud of how they’ve done it.

Next season?  Europe!

Diego Fagundez!!

That’s right, the Castrol Index’s “Top 20 Players” for this past week was led by New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez- all 18 years old of him.  Thierry Henry was second, Diego Valeri was third.

A third year pro with the Revs who attended his senior prom just over a month ago, Fagundez has become a regular under Jay Heaps and has often been one of the best players on the field this season.  His speed, willingness to take the ball at opponents, and willingness to mix it up with players twice his age- and size!- have made him both a fan favorite and one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sputtering Revolution offense.

Just a little note for USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann- Fagundez has already been capped twice by the Uruguayan U20 team, how about calling him up for the Gold Cup, getting him into a match, and making sure he wears the red, white, and blue from this point forward?

Also remember, Thierry Henry, second place is “first loser.”

(Thanks to the Twitter follower who put me onto this story, even if I can’t remember who it was!)

After a season of turmoil- starting with Rangers ouster and continuing through the recent restructuring fiasco- couldn’t the 2012-2013 Scottish Premier League just end quietly?

No, of course not.

Word comes today that the Lithuanian government has placed the investment company UBIG on a list of companies “unable to meet their obligations.”  UBIG and its sister company Ukio Bankas (which is already bankrupt and owned by Hearts chairman Vladimir Romanov) own almost 80% of Hearts.  Hearts owe a total of £25m to these two essentially defunct companies, and that’s where the problems begin.

In effect, if UBIG and Ukio Bankas cease to exist their creditors could come after Hearts because, with the “middle man” out of the picture, the club essentially owes that £25m to anyone who was owed money by UBIG and/or Ukio Bankas.  I don’t know this for sure, but I’m going to guess that there isn’t an extra £25m hidden in the tea room at Tynecastle to pay this debt.

This would mean that Hearts would be insolvent, would be penalized 17 points, would fall into last place in the SPL table (no matter the outcome of their final match against Aberdeen), and be relegated from the SPL- at the very least.  I suppose their is every chance that they could be dropped all the way to the Third Division just like Rangers were last year- “sporting integrity” and all that.

As maddening as this is on any number of levels, it might actually provide something resembling justice for Dundee F.C..  You may recall that Dundee were the “beneficiaries” of Rangers ouster from the SPL last year, i.e., they were unexpectedly promoted to the SPL despite finishing 1038 points behind Ross County in the First Division.  Unfortunately, their promotion came so late in the game that they had already begun preparations for another season in the First Division, e.g., freed up cash by not re-signing their best player (Farid El Alagui was actually voted the SFL’s best player!) and as a result, essentially entered the SPL season with little chance of survival.

And yet, after bringing in manager John “Bomber” Brown in February, they actually made a run at avoiding relegation.  Though they weren’t successful, they may come within 5 points of it on their own merits when all is said and done, so to see them stay up- even at the expense of a club as storied as Hearts- wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Still, I’m sick of this…

That expression just about sums things up.

In a move that seemed to be years in the making the New England Revolution have finally waived Gambian international midfielder Sainey Nyassi.  Nyassi joined the club as a 19 year old after he was scouted by former Revolution manager Steve Nicol at the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup.  Nyassi was nothing if not raw when he showed up at Gillette Stadium in 2007, but his blazing speed and dribbling skills had players, coaches, and supporters salivating at what might be…

…it wasn’t.  Though Nyassi showed enough improvement to be a regular starter during the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons, his development stalled dramatically after that and his problems were compounded by absences caused by lingering injuries.  By 2011 he was a part time player, by 2012 largely absent (1 match, 11 minutes), and by this season, a ghost.  In all, Nyassi played in 104 MLS matches, but only tallied 8 goals and 4 assists.  Those last numbers really tell the story.

Nobody expected Nyassi to be a point machine, but if he’d been able to average 4-5 goals and 4-5 assists a season he’d still be with the Revolution and he’d still have a long career ahead of him.  Given his talents these relatively “modest” numbers should have been well within his grasp.  The problem was that he never used his speed or dribbling ability to his advantage.  He should have made a career of blazing down the wing, turning toward the middle of the field just above the box, then passing the ball to the forwards or taking on players and getting his own shot.  Instead he would blaze down the wing, get stuck in the corner (because he’d rather keep running than take on a defender) and then try to cross the ball (not one of his best skills) into the box.  As often as not the ball would end up rolling over the far sideline.  I still have a vivid recollection of then coach Steve Nicol shaking his head and muttering every time Nyassi did this.  Lest you think I’m just coming up with this, I’ve been saying it for a long time.

It’s too bad, really, but it just seems like Nyassi had a mental block of some kind that prevented him from becoming the player everyone wanted and hoped he would be.  Perhaps dropping down a level or two, rebooting, and giving it another go is the best thing for him at this point.  He should count himself lucky that at only 24 years old he still has time to get his career on track.

As they did last summer, Ross County F.C. will be making a preseason training trip to the Netherlands at the end of July as they begin preparation for the 2013-2014 SPL season.  Last year the club played Erste Divisie (second tier) club FC Den Bosch (losing 2-1) and this year they will take on the Blauwvingers (Bluefingers) of  PEC Zwolle of the Dutch Eredivisie- the same league that contains Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven, and Feyenoord.

PEC Zwolle have been around since 1910 (though they have existed in four different incarnations due to reformations and bankruptcies) and this is their third time in the nations top flight.  Zwolle have been runners-up in the KNVB Cup (the Dutch “F.A.” cup) twice, but are otherwise an undecorated and unglamorous side so they should be thrilled to welcome high-flying, silverware-winning Ross County to Ijsseldelta Stadion in Zwolle.

Ross County may seek another, lower level, Dutch team for a second match during this training trip to the continent.  More to come as details emerge.

I wonder why I chose to use a photo of THIS mill building…

There is still one match left- and the Highland Derby at that!- in Ross County F.C.’s inaugural Scottish Premier League season, but preparations for their second are already underway.  As I mentioned the other day, Archie MacPhee and Sam Morrow have already been given their walking papers.  As I’ve detailed elsewhere on the site several times, the recently-injured Richard Brittain’s status is up in the air until he and St. Johnstone can come to an agreement.  The names of two new players have also entered the conversation- see he red text below.

• Michael Fraser (GK)
• Mark Brown (GK)
• Paul Gallacher (GK):  C0ntract expiring.
• Branislav Micic (D)
• Grant Munro (D):  Contract expiring.
• Scott Boyd (D)
• Andre Hainault (D):  Contract expiring.
• Evangelos Oikonomu (D)
• Mihael Kovacevic (D)
• Archie MacPhee (D)
• Stuart Kettlewell (M)
• Paul Lawson (M):  Is believed to be on the verge of signing a two year deal with Motherwell F.C.
• Richard Brittain (M): Has signed a pre-contract with St. Johnstone, trying to get out of it.
• Iain Vigurs (M):  Has publicly expressed his interest in returning to the club next year.
• Rocco Quinn (M)
• Martin Scott (M):  Loan from Hibernian ending, not likely to return to County.
• Ivan Sproule (M):  Under contract through 2013-2014
• Alex Cooper (M)
• Steven Ross (M)
• Mark Fotheringham (M):  Contract expiring.
• Tony Dingwall (M)
• Steffen Wohlfarth (F)
• Sam Morrow (F)
• Gary Glenn (F)

As one might expect, the names of players who might be joining the club have also begun to pop up.  The most interesting of which is that Ross County may make a bid to bring former Scotland international and current Motherwell forward James McFadden to Victoria Park.  McFadden returned to the club of his youth after several injury plagued years at Everton and Sunderland and enjoyed something of a resurgence, scoring 5 times in 12 matches.  McFadden would certainly be the most high profile player signed by the club.  In addition to playing almost 50 times for Scotland, he also played 200+ matches in the EPL for Everton and Birmingham City.  It probably won’t happen, but it’s nice that the club are in a position where a rumor regarding a player like this is not completely laughable.

Multiple news outlets are reporting this morning that the injury to Richard Brittain’s left knee is not as serious as first feared.  Although no specifics of the actual injury have been reported, it has been confirmed by Brittain himself that he will be out of action for approximately three months and that he fully expects to enter the 2013-2014 preseason at 100% fitness.  The only question that now remains to be answered is whether the fully recovered Brittain will be returning to action in Perth or in Dingwall.

Let’s hope it’s Dingwall.

Well done, St. Johnstone

In my recent post about Sunday’s match between Ross County and Motherwell I engaged in a lengthy discussion about the future of County midfielder Richard Brittain (we are still awaiting the results of his knee scan) and how it would reveal a lot about the characters of Brittain, Ross County, and St. Johnstone.  In brief, Brittain singed a pre-contract agreement to join St. Johnstone next season, then had a change of heart about it (pleasing Ross County, who never wanted to see him go), and Brittain now has what appears to be a long-term injury.

The two main questions were, “Does Ross County still want their captain back now that he is injured?” and “Will St. Johnstone still honor his pre-contract?”  The St. Johnstone side of things is not settled.  Club chairman Steve Brown will be sitting down with Richard Brittain after the final match of the season to decide the matter, but Brown has made it clear that, at least on the club’s side of things, the injury will not be a factor.  Brown had the following to say about the situation:

“We have acted in an honourable fashion all the way down the line and that certainly won’t change…Right now we don’t know the extent of the injury Richie suffered but as far as we are concerned nothing changes. We certainly wouldn’t use an injury as a get-out.”

I would, obviously, still like to see Brittain come back to Ross County, but at the very least it appears that if he does honor his pre-contract with St. Johnstone, he will be well taken care of.

Still, I have to wonder why they want a player who doesn’t want them?

No, no, no, no, no, no…

Ross County lost 2-0 away to Motherwell this afternoon ending any chance the club had of playing in the Europa League next year.  Unfortunately, what seemed so important only 24 hours ago, now seems inconsequential.  In the 56th minute of today’s match, with County already down 2-0, team captain Richard Brittain was injured.  While there has been no official announcement from the club, judging by the look on Brittain’s face (above), the immediate concern of the two Motherwell players (class act, that), and the fact that he was stretchered off the pitch at Fir Park while receiving oxygen, one has to assume that he has done some sort of ligament damage to his left knee.  If that is the case, it would appear that at least the first half of, if not the entire 2013-2014 season may be in jeopardy for Brittain (more on this in a moment).  Whatever the case, I want to wish him as speedy and as full a recovery as possible.  Brittain has been a stalwart for County, having played almost 200 senior matches for the club since joining in July of 2008.  He has been the perfect captain, always leading the club from the front, and never more than this year when, in the club’s first year in the Scottish Premier League, he led Ross County in scoring despite playing in the midfield.

If it turns out to be as serious as it appears, Brittain’s injury is going to reveal a lot about  the character of Brittain, Ross County, and St. Johnstone F.C..  As you may recall, during the January transfer window Brittain signed a pre-contract agreement to join St. Johnstone next season.  A few months later, however, Brittain indicated that he had undergone a change of heart (apparently due to some changes in his family situation) and wished to stay at Ross County after all.  St. Johnstone were understandably nonplussed, believing that they had a binding agreement with Brittain, while those in charge at County remained silent because they never wanted to see him go in the first place but they couldn’t really come out and, for lack of a better word, “meddle” in a dispute between a player and another club.  Manager Derek Adams said enough that most could read between the lines, but basically he stuck with, “I’m sure that all the parties involved will quickly resolve the matter to their mutual satisfaction,” or something to that effect.  The matter remained unresolved- in part because nobody seems to know if pre-contracts are binding or not, clubs have broken them in the past- as Motherwell and Ross County kicked off today.

The reason that this situation is going to revealing as to the “character” of those involved is this:  St. Johnstone’s main argument was that it was a binding agreement and that neither party could walk away from it.  What example did they choose to illustrate this point?  If the player were to be injured between the time of the pre-contract being signed and joining the club, they would be “on the hook.”  This of course, is exactly what happened.  St. Johnstone is now in the position of either a) having to honor the pre-contract under just the nightmare scenario they outlined or b) to release Brittain from the pre-contract, which would give him what he wants, but which may leave the impression that St. Johnstone has changed its mind about how binding pre-contracts are now that Brittain is “damaged goods.”

Ross County also now find themselves in a similarly character-revealing position.  They wanted St. Johnstone to release Brittain from the pre-contract (again, assuming the pre-contract is binding) so that he could remain in Dingwall.  If they get their wish they will now have to a) negotiate a contract with Brittain and assume the burden of his rehabilitation process or b) shrug their collective shoulders and say something along the lines of, “Well, he signed a pre-contract with St. Johnstone, it’s not our problem…”.  In my opinion this second option is both unthinkable and inconsistent with the way this club has gone about its business in the McGregor Era.  If St. Johnstone release Brittain and Ross County do not sign him it will be a public relations disaster.  The only thing to do if St. Johnstone release Brittain is to issue a very brief press releaset:

Ross County Football Club are delighted to announce that they have agreed a contract with club captain Richard Brittain.  Richard is already working hard to return as soon as possible from his recent injury and when healthy the club will be delighted to welcome back a player and a captain who has been so instrumental in the club’s successes in recent years.

This let’s St. Johnstone off the hook, it prevents Brittain from being put in an awkward position (injured and without any club- including the one he wanted to stay with!), and it is the right thing to do.  I have every confidence that this is what Ross County will do if St. Johnstone release Brittain from his pre-contract, but if, for any reason, they do not, you will here it hear and you will hear it loudly and repeatedly.