LIV and I have been having a side discussion about the World Cup and he thought that we should spread the love. Actually, he probably jsut felt a little awkward about chatting with the cats on his own....

LIV says:

See forum chat on World Cup.
USA's Freddy Adu - what can you tell us about him on forum?
Is he a wonderkid?
Will he play in World Cup this summer?

Clyde reply:

Just off the top of my head, yes, he does appear to be a real wonder kid. However, his squad (DC United, I believe) places serious restrictions on his playing time for whatever reason. His reaction to that last season was a disaster...pouting, complaining to the press, etc. Very unbecoming given his young age, because he came off in the public eye as a real whiney crybaby. I think it affected his game performance as well, because his play declined. It seemed like he was really pressing to make it all happen in the short playing time he was allotted. When he came to KC to play against the Wizards, I think he got at most 30 min., and maybe much less. Really pressing, no results.

I don't know what Bruce Arena (that's the coach's name, not a playing site) has in store for him in the WC (that's World Cup, not water closet).

Bruce Arena and Water Closet gags are great.

As for Freddy Adu, he is a superstar in Football Manager PC game, so I really want to see how he plays in the flesh.

Heard Chelsea bid £5million for Freddy Adu.

Is he really any good?

Much ADU about Freddy

One young man who won't be overjoyed at Theo Walcott's inclusion in the England squad is a certain Freddy Adu. Born on June 2nd 1989, Adu is only two and a half months younger than Walcott (born March 16th 1989) but missed out on the USA's World Cup squad by quite a distance.

Similarly left footed, and capable of playing either up front, in the hole or wide left, Adu seemed to have the much better chance of going to Germany. Not only has he been playing regularly (and well) for D.C. United, while Walcott has been turning out for Arsenal's reserves, but with the comparative weakness of the US squad next to England's he looked the much safer bet.

Walcott's inclusion and Adu's exclusion say a lot about their respective coaches. Walcott is a gamble taken by Sven, in a desperate (but exciting) bid to fill a Rooney-shaped hole, while Adu is a talented young player not deemed ready to fit into Bruce Arena's well established game plan.

I personally think that Sven has made a mistake in picking Walcott. I'd have rather seen someone like Ashton, who for me is an underated player that could do a very good job, especially if lanky legs got injured.

Oh! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whooooooa!

Freddy Adu won't be playing in the flesh...he wears a jersey and shorts just like all the other players! The cats aren't sure what type of game you guys are playing over there, but in the US soccer is not a clothing optional sport!

Clyde & Calvin

Michael Owen goes off injured after 4 minutes, and STILL Theo Walcott does not get a game for England in a meaningless match.

Why is Walcott at world cup exactly? How is he better than Defoe?

Sven gonna get it in the neck when England go out in Quarter Finals to Portugal or Netherlands. Ultimately he will be seen as a failure.