I thought I responded to this yesterday, but I guess it was when the board was down.

So was that why you were surprised that Ianni took the abuse from Landon--that Landon isn't a "tough guy?"

Inca wrote:

QUOTE:
I thought I responded to this yesterday, but I guess it was when the board was down.

So was that why you were surprised that Ianni took the abuse from Landon--that Landon isn't a "tough guy?"

No, I was surprised nobody bothered to get back in his face. Given Landon's no hulking monster, that means Shaka may be right and Houston may have some internal team spirit issues. You usually stand up for your teammates when someone tries to humiliate them.

Don't take the "freaking" part of the Landon comment so seriously, it was a throwaway jab. It's never not fun to take the piss out of Landon Donovan if you're not a Galaxy fan.

Shaka's Back!

And, quel surprise, he's talking about the Galaxy again. And his own days at Reading.

I'm taking bets on when the following will occur: a) "when Shaka will go an entire column without mentioning his own career" b) "when Shaka will write a column that doesn't mention wither LA or Houston".

Oooo, the suspense is killing me. Ony a couple of hours until SH's latest meisterwerkis posted. How many ways will he piss me off this time?

E10, if you're doing any of the editing on this, hurry up!

Has Shaka got the sack for being pathetic, or what? There was no column this week...

No column last week because he wasn't even in North America, apparently.

This week's column is about racism in football. MLS sort of gets a mention in the last paragraph.

I think this speaks volumes about the seriousness with which our league is viewed over on Farringdon Road.

I blame E10.

I mean, I know they don't have to have an MLS column, but if they want to run one, why have it be as pathetic as this is turning out to be?

edit: and I didn't read your comment before posting mine, AG, really, so don't come down on me for plagiarism.

Even if you had read mine before posting, chiming in is quite different from plagiarising. Someone's got to balance out the half-wits who keep praising his columns.

E10 is either not reading this thread (more snubs from the Guardian!) or he is heroically not rising to the bait.

Shaka's latest installment focuses on the disparity of talent in MLS and why players leaving don't succeed elsewhere. He refers to Kansas City as "Kansas."

Gah. Beat me to it.

Problematic still, but better than the first few offerings. Maybe there's hope yet.

I didn't make it to the end of the column. I tried to drag myself there, but I never made it. And it's not "the MLS", it's just MLS. Drives me fucking nuts, that.

Shaka was on ESPN's Champions League final coverage, and though he's no worse than any other pundit, he has an awful habit of looking very pleased with himself after he's said something, as though what he's just said trumped the rest of the panel.

Hahaha! Garth Crooks does that all the time.

He leans back in his chair and gives it the full "I've just changed all your ways of thinking with that statement".

I'm guessing most former players probably think that you can't really know the game unless you've played it professionally.

I can't find anything glaringly wrong with this week's offering.

Might he be improving?

Last week he told us that DC United and Houston had picked up a point each in a 0-0 draw, when in fact the game had been abandoned after 15 minutes. That's a fair indication of how much attention he pays to what he's writing about. I haven't read this week's. Subconsciously, I'm probably saving it for a really special moment.