Kickin' It: Sun and Shadow

Last weekend being Thanksgiving in Canada, I was out of town doing nothing (read: ignoring World Cup qualifiers.) I did, however, visit a used book store and picked up the invaluable reissue of Soccer in Sun and Shadow by the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano. It's one of the most poetic descriptions of the game we love, rivalled only by Brian Phillips' work on Grantland and the dearly departed Run of Play. You can read an excerpt here and an interview with the author over here. And then buy the book, for heaven's sake. You're only hurting yourself. To the links!

Three Lions Roar | SB Nation

Congratulations, England! Not only have you qualified for the 2014 World Cup, you've also managed to get yourself the newest soccer blog on the SB Nation network. We're all very happy for you, this is quite an achievement. If you have the misfortune of supporting the England national team, this site is surely a must-read.

Arsenal supporters groups' beef with AWOL owner Stan Kroenke reveals a fundamental antagonism | Counter Attack

Richard Whittall continues to do the Lord's work over at Counter Attack, poking holes in the conventional wisdom that supporter's groups know what's best for their club. I've been skeptical of supporter's groups for a while, because I've been a member of organizations like that before and they're generally chock full of self-interested sociopaths, which is a condition that can't be much improved by introducing the tribal allegiance one feels like they owe the football club of their choice. Not to defend Stan Kroenke, because anyone who owns this much land is not worth defending.

Can Seven Games Change The World? | The Power of Goals

Here's the obligatory stats-heavy post I always include when I do these. Look at some numbers, they'll do you some good. There's also a fair amount of analysis on Aston Villa's upcoming fixture with Tottenham Hotspur, even if they are used as an example of small sample size.