Monday Cannon Fodder: more of this and that

Good Monday morning, TSFers. I hope you’re rested and fresh for another week of the rat race. For those of you who aren’t aware, today is a federal holiday. It’s Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the fall of slavery in Galveston, Texas. I highly recommend reading both of those NPR articles (and doing some Googling / reading on your own) to get a better understanding of the importance of Juneteenth to the Black community and its significance within the greater fabric of our society.

The USMNT beat Canada 2-0 to win the CONCACAF Nations League, whatever that is, yesterday. The Gold Cup starts in five days. What are we doing here, y’all? Let these players rest. Their club seasons resume in less than two months. The start of preseason is two weeks away. It’s too much football. Way too much football.

Folarin Balogun looked great and scored a fantastic goal. He made an excellent run, received a magnificent ball from Gio Reyna (who absolutely balled out before getting hurt), showed good strength to throw / hold off his marker, and fired home with his first touch. Balogun is constantly attacking the areas you want your striker attacking and he works hard out of possession, too. It seems as if Arsenal are going to cash in on him this summer to help fund other business, but I wouldn’t hate it if the club reevaluated that stance and kept him around. If they do sell, I hope they insert a buyback clause.

As to the other big football news, the stuff about the PIF, Clearlake Capital (Todd Boehly’s investment firm), and Chelsea players being sold to Saudi Arabia, all I can express is dismay and disappointment. On its face, it seems as if we’ve entered a new era of manipulation and circumvention of the financial regulations that supposedly govern the Premier League and European football. I can only hope that the diligent journalists who cover football — not the insiders, they just do their transfer thing — continue to serve the public interest by searching for the truth and bringing it to light. I have little faith that the powers that govern the sport will do so on their own. It’s a real bummer.