Robbie Keane

[Yard of Pace]

They do the same with bands too. Anyone know why? It's really really weird.

[BonnieShels]

They do the same with bands too. Anyone know why? It's really really weird.

The singularity of the group I suppose.

[Colbert Report]

Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy, I don't see what the problem is.

[BonnieShels]

Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Impact, LA Galaxy, I don't see what the problem is.

That's not what he was getting at.

Eg. he's annoyed at phrases like "Chelsea is European Champion"

[geysir]

I thought I was getting busted for a misplaced (singular) apostrophe after I wrote "Galaxy's stumbling passage"
But in this case the plural are one unit (I think).

It's confusing when there is a sidetracked strand to a thread and whose existence is only understood by a few, who communicate on a need to know basis, in obscure references:)

[DeLorean]

That's not what he was getting at.

Eg. he's annoyed at phrases like "Chelsea is European Champion"

Like most other things when it comes to language, the American way makes more sense. Chelsea is singular, we're just not used to hearing it that way and it sounds wrong.

I always found the American terms and spelling much more descriptive and logical. Examples being sidewalk and elevator to our footpath and lift. Also their spelling of words such as color and center, compared to colour and centre, seem more logical as well. I'm not so convinced about the way they run off their dates though, I think our basic day-month-year is more logical than their month-day-year, but their's still sounds better because they don't have to say 'of'.


Or at least our close friends

[BonnieShels]

It's confusing when there is a sidetracked strand to a thread and whose existence is only understood by a few, who communicate on a need to know basis, in obscure references:)

I had initially referenced you and that tangent in my post but I figured it was best to leave those particular dogs lie.


Like most other things when it comes to language, the American way makes more sense. Chelsea is singular, we're just not used to hearing it that way and it sounds wrong.

I always found the American terms and spelling much more descriptive and logical. Examples being sidewalk and elevator to our footpath and lift. Also their spelling of words such as color and center, compared to colour and centre, seem more logical as well. I'm not so convinced about the way they run off their dates though, I think our basic day-month-year is more logical than their month-day-year, but their's still sounds better because they don't have to say 'of'.


Or at least our close friends

In a word... NO!
:)

[pineapple stu]

Like most other things when it comes to language, the American way makes more sense. Chelsea is singular, we're just not used to hearing it that way and it sounds wrong.
As always, the American way makes no historical sense. Before the days of big money-making leagues, teams were groups of people. If you're talking about the opposing group of 11 players, you're obviously going to use the plural - they. The opposite of "they" is "we", which even Americans use to describe their team. "It" can't feature on that logic. Hence why clubs are described in the plural.

I'm baffled as to how you reckon footpath and lift make more sense than sidewalk and elevator; they say the exact same thing. Color and center are leftovers from Noah Webster's aborted attempt to spell everything they way it's pronounced; now you have a mishmash of Americanisms and Englishisms - so a route is a rowt unless it's a national route, in which case it's a root (like 66).

[DeLorean]

In a word... NO!

Incredibly, I got a reply to a work email with those exact words less than an hour ago. I'm either barking up the wrong tree or it's 'National Terse Day'.

[DeLorean]

As always, the American way makes no historical sense. Before the days of big money-making leagues, teams were groups of people. If you're talking about the opposing group of 11 players, you're obviously going to use the plural - they. The opposite of "they" is "we", not "it". Hence why clubs are described in the plural.

I know what you're saying about teams being groups of people obviously, but they combine to form something singular. I can see the sense in it without being overly passionate about it.


I'm baffled as to how you reckon footpath and lift make more sense than sidewalk and elevator; they say the exact same thing.

I presume you mean 'less' sense. I think sidewalk is more descriptive than footpath. It's a walkway at the side of something, a footpath could be anywhere. I think elevator also tells more of a story than lift, as in your being gradually elevated as opposed to just lifted off the ground.


Color and center are leftovers from Noah Webster's aborted attempt to spell everything they way it's pronounced; now you have a mishmash of Americanisms and Englishisms - so a route is a rowt unless it's a national route, in which case it's a root (like 66).

Yeah, I'll leave that side of things to you. I only meant their way makes more sense in the same way this Noah chap obviously did. I'm sure he was p!ssing all over generations of language evolution (as opposed to just making things more straight forward).

[pineapple stu]

The side of something could also be anywhere though. Lift and elevate are synonyms (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lift); any extra meaning is being introduced by you.

I think the problem with Americans (and Aussies) using the singular to describe teams is that it hints at a broader lack of understanding of the game; certainly, a lot (not all) of American commentary on football (saccer) is utter uneducated tripe (and in return, in fairness, England has Sky Sports). "Chelsea is" is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to not seeing the game as we do.

[strangeirish]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ej7ZEnjSeA

[DeLorean]

The side of something could also be anywhere though. Lift and elevate are synonyms (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lift); any extra meaning is being introduced by you.

Yeah sidewalk could be anywhere, but it will always be at the side. I'm not introducing any extra meaning. The fact that they are synonyms only means that they mean basically the same thing, not necessarily the exact same thing. In this case, I think that elevator is more descriptive than lift. Lift means to move something up, elevate can mean to raise something up. It's a subtle enough difference I suppose but I think being raised up is more appropriate in this case.


I think the problem with Americans (and Aussies) using the singular to describe teams is that it hints at a broader lack of understanding of the game; certainly, a lot (not all) of American commentary on football (saccer) is utter uneducated tripe (and in return, in fairness, England has Sky Sports). "Chelsea is" is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to not seeing the game as we do.

I'm not so sure. Is it only sports teams that they talk about using the singular. For example, what about political parties? Would you take any notice if they said "The Democratic Party is introducing new tax measures"? I don't know if they would say it this way or not but, if they do, does it mean they don't really have an understanding of politics?

[DannyInvincible]

That's not what he was getting at.

Eg. he's annoyed at phrases like "Chelsea is European Champion"

Or worse, "Chelsea is champions of Europe". Pretty sure I've heard something like that before.

Some further reading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences#Formal_an d_notional_agreement) on the matter:


Formal and notional agreement

In BrE, collective nouns can take either singular (formal agreement) or plural (notional agreement) verb forms, according to whether the emphasis is on the body as a whole or on the individual members respectively; compare a committee was appointed with the committee were unable to agree. The term the Government always takes a plural verb in British civil service convention, perhaps to emphasize the principle of cabinet collective responsibility. Compare also the following lines of Elvis Costello's song "Oliver's Army": Oliver's Army are on their way / Oliver's Army is here to stay. Some of these nouns, for example staff, actually combine with plural verbs most of the time.

In AmE, collective nouns are almost always singular in construction: the committee was unable to agree. However, when a speaker wishes to emphasize that the individuals are acting separately, a plural pronoun may be employed with a singular or plural verb: the team takes their seats or the team take their seats, rather than the team takes its seats. However, such a sentence would most likely be recast as the team members take their seats. Despite exceptions such as usage in The New York Times, the names of sports teams are usually treated as plurals even if the form of the name is singular.

The difference occurs for all nouns of multitude, both general terms such as team and company and proper nouns (for example where a place name is used to refer to a sports team). For instance,

BrE: The Clash are a well-known band; AmE: The Clash is a well-known band.
BrE: Spain are the champions; AmE: Spain is the champion.

Proper nouns that are plural in form take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE; for example, The Beatles are a well-known band; The Saints are the champions, with one major exception: largely for historical reasons, in American English, the United States is is almost universal. This is due to the growth in federal control over state governments following the American Civil War (cf. the inclusion of the term "indivisible" in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag); before this, the construction "the United States are" was more common.

[osarusan]

"Chelsea is" is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to not seeing the game as we do.

You are reading way too much into this.

[Charlie Darwin]

Or worse, "Chelsea is champions of Europe". Pretty sure I've heard something like that before.

Some further reading (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences#Formal_an d_notional_agreement) on the matter:
You hear it a lot in music writing. "Coldplay has released their new single..." It's hypercorrectness to the point where it's actually wrong.

[geysir]

Verb morphology in football parlance, common usage of 'was sat' instead of 'was sitting'.

Robbie was sitting on the bench until the 80th minute or Robbie sat on the bench.....

Brit English -> 'Robbie was sat on the bench' or 'Woobie wuzz sat on the bench'.

[osarusan]

Verb morphology in football parlance, common usage of 'was sat' instead of 'was sitting'.

Robbie was sitting on the bench until the 80th minute or Robbie sat on the bench.....

Brit English -> 'Robbie was sat on the bench' or 'Woobie wuzz sat on the bench'.

It could also be a rare usage of 'sit' as a transitive verb, in the same way as we might say, 'he sat his grandson on his lap and told him a story.' In this case, Robbie was sat on the bench by the manager, as opposed to being played by the manager.

God I love grammar.

[peadar1987]

I think it's actually grammatically correct to use either the singular or plural pronoun when referring to a group, but that doesn't change the fact that it's clearly immoral to say "Ireland is getting a foothold in the game". If nothing else, the plural gives a handy distinction between Ireland the country, and Ireland the baldie shaper.

[DeLorean]

Keane named in MLS team of the season (http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/world/2012/1127/355394-keane-named-in-mls-team-of-the-season/)

[Charlie Darwin]

I see they've opted for a 3-4-3.

[geysir]

I see Beckham is unidentified in the MLS Best X1 list.

[Colbert Report]

What will Robbie be doing this time next week? Hopefully he'll be back in England doing some training. I think another off-season in LA could be the end of him. He looks very, very unfit. This is easy enough to work your way out of when you're ten years younger than he is now.

[gastric]

Robbie may not completely happy with this article, but there is a degree of truth about Lineker's comments!

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/gary-lineker-brands-robbie-keane-a-journeyman-3310621.html

[pineapple stu]

"Chelsea is" is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to not seeing the game as we do.


You are reading way too much into this.


I see they've opted for a 3-4-3 [in the MLS XI].
See what I mean osarusan? Think edge of the wedge stuff here! :eek:

[theworm2345]

Beckham is supposedly leaving LA now, would it be safe to guess Robbie would follow him out?

[gastric]

keane has just had a disallowed goal in the MLS Final, that should have been allowed. Growing into the game. LA now 2 -1 up.

[gastric]

Just awarded a penalty in injury time to confirm LA's win. Keane scores! It's all over.

[EastTerracer]

LA Galaxy win 3-1 with Keane getting a late third goal from the penalty spot. Two titles in two years for Robbie. We know it's not the best standard but fair play to him.

[gastric]

Commentators mentioned the fact that Keane is virtually unknown outside of football circles in the US, and with Beckham leaving and possibly Donovan too, that Keane 's profile might rise, therefore he might possibly stay. Scoring a penalty in injury time in the Final would have helped his profile today.

[Crosby87]

Was the RK show in the second half, I enjoyed it.

Funniest Part: The ESPN Play by Play guy said "Robbie Keane....not really known outside of Europe too well, the other day there was a picture in the LA Times of Keane sitting in between Beckham and Russell Brand at a Lakers game and the caption said 'David Beckham, Russell Brand and unidentified fan courtside at the Staples Center..."
Unidentified fan. LMFAO.
Fair play the same guy said he was "Irelands best ever" and the color guy said he was "The best player in MLS."
My only question is, what the hell is with his hair?S

Edit sorry gastric didnt see you post above

[tricky_colour]

I see Beckham is unidentified in the MLS Best X1 list.

No wonder he wants out.

I hear he is looking for an even worse league. (polishing up his Irish accent perhaps :p)

[liamoo11]

well done robbie delievered the holy grail for galaxy twice in his season and a half there class

[elroy]

Robbie played very well last night and was a constant threat. But my god the standard is well well short of premiership let alone championship level. The pace of the game is very slow. Its the first full MLS game I watched and while enjoyable, have to say the standard is nowhere near where you would want a top level international striker to play.

PS: I know an argument against that is Landon Donovan and how he has played there for so long and still done very well with the US.

[Crosby87]

Keane will be the head man with Becks and Landy Cakes leaving, perhaps moving into recognisable territory by this time next year and being able to grind with other famous men like what was in that page 6 blog. But as I said he needs to shell out some cash for a new hair stylist. Looks German circa the early 40s or something.

[pineapple stu]

Nice little Aldo shuffle on the penalty too. Been a while since I saw a proper one of them!

[Crosby87]

what is he doing after he shoots the bow and kind of makes that circle with his hands? I dont get that.

[tricky_colour]

highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2_mocj0ISM

[geysir]

I watched about 40 minutes of the game, imo better than the championship games I have watched.
Robbie is still sharp and should have no problem finding a holiday job with some epl team.
Was it my imagination or was the half time show actually longer than 15 minutes?

[tricky_colour]

I woudl not be surprise if it was longer than 15 minutes, they like to put on a show and max out the advertising revenue
in the USA, I mean American football is pretty much a game designed to fit in between the gaps in the ads!!

[Charlie Darwin]

Robbie played very well last night and was a constant threat. But my god the standard is well well short of premiership let alone championship level. The pace of the game is very slow.
I wouldn't read much into the pace of the game. English football is uniquely fast - the Championship is the second-fastest league in the world but far from the second best. In terms of style and standard, the best teams in MLS would be comparable to teams in the bottom half of the Bundesliga and rest between B2 and B3. If you're talking about the pace of individuals players, I'd agree with you - MLS defenders are unreasonably slow, but midfielders and attackers are generally quite quick. I didn't see the game but from watching MLS in general and particular last year's finals, it would be similar to a bog-standard match in Germany.

[geysir]

BL bogstandard > EPL bogstandard.

[Charlie Darwin]

Plot twist: Harry Redknapp wants to bring Robbie back to London, but crucially not before the end of Christmas party season: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/queens-park-rangers/9730763/Queens-Park-Rangers-manager-Harry-Redknapp-keen-to-bring-in-loan-star-Robbie-Keane.html

[Crosby87]

yup, ESPN saying Harry is in love with MLS.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1255893/qpr's-harry-redknapp-eyes-robbie-keane,-mls-for-loan-targets?cc=5901
Can you imagine Rob finally getting to play for his boyhood club, QPR? Oh the humanity!

[paul_oshea]

Robbie brought back a lot of clothes with him.

Is his contract up now? I thought it was for 2 years. And he has been there 2 seasons, just wondering if its actually 3 seasons.

[Crosby87]

POSH have you ever heard of a restaurant on riverton (?) street called Tramshed?

[paul_oshea]

yep why?

[Crosby87]

I have to go to some function with the chef today, and i heard he is making fish dogs that he makes in a food truck in front of tramshed.....and i was wondering what i am in for. not to big into fish.or mushy peas. wont have a choice though. Just wondering if you know what i am talking about...

[EastTerracer]

Robbie was on Sky Sports today and revealed that he has signed a new 2-year contract with the LA Galaxy http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,12606_8380875,00.html

He also seemed to rule out any short-term loans over the next month.

in another clip he picked the best XI he has played with during his career http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,12606,00.html

[Colbert Report]

-------------Given----------------
Zanetti-Dunne-Ledley King-Bale
------------Keane-----------------
-------Gerrard----Seedorf--------
Beckham----------------------Duff
-----------Berbatov----------------