Is the Avram Grant of Blogging Out There?
By: Greg | November 20th, 2007
This is the end, my friends. Much like my favorite manager and Portuguese celebrity Jose Mourinho, I guess have a small flair for the dramatic.
After my long and protracted court battle against the improper placement of signage in a local New Jersey borough, I returned to work to be pulled into a meeting with the two owners. I thought they’d be upset that I took the majority of the day fighting a 3-point $85 traffic ticket. They were not. Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for the Blogosphere) I have been given a larger amount of responsibility and a larger pay scale.
With great pay comes great responsibility and thus less time. Since The Offside is a non-paying pseudo-job (I took the daily posting and quality of said posts pretty seriously actually) this makes it an (however unfortunately) expendable aspect of my day.
To let you know that I didn’t take leaving this lightly, I actually spent last Friday and this Monday going through the normal day of a Sales Manager around here to see if I’d be able to fit in any time to write at least a halfway decent blog for you guys. I didn’t even have time to post about the fact that I was trying out my new position and seeing how I might fit this in.
I’m going to miss all eleven of you. I’ll miss the Offsiders who were always very supportive and great for link love and fun comments. I’ll miss the commenters, especially Andrew who always kept me on my toes with his curiosity and genuine interest in getting into the sport from the Portuguese angle. I can’t forget OGT, Pedro P, Ceasar, LusoCanuck and Luis (who I am planning to resurface with in a smaller, weekly role somewhere down the line at www.tugasblog.com). Anyone else who I missed, you may be forgotten at this moment but won’t be as I look back through the posts and reminisce over the short but extremely fun period of time I’ve spent here. I hope I was able to pique at least a few peoples’ interest in Portuguese football, I know writing did wonders for my knowledge and passion.
I also hope they’re able to find an Avram Grant to fill in as yours truly (since I’m clearly the Jose Mourinho of Portuguese football bloggage) hits the road. If any of you are ever in the NJ/NY area and want to catch a drink and a game or even just a drink, don’t be shy. I don’t have a criminal record and also do not bite. E-mail me at santos.greg@gmail.com . Use that email for drink offers, donations to my monthly rent fund, or even just to shoot the proverbial Portuguese football shit. Good luck to all of you and best of luck to our boys on the pitch, as after the last match it looks like they’ll need it. I’m going to sincerely miss this. Kisses ALL AROUND!!
Category: Super Liga
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Comments
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Not sure anyone will have the nuts to follow Greg…hope so.
In all honesty it has been great, I think u did a great job splittin between informing us and being hilarious.
This sucks, i’m actually kinda sad, and im a cold, cold person.
Posted from
United States
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NO! NO! NO!
Ah Greg, say it isn’t so!!!!
You know, I hav’t contributed much at all but have always looked forward to the almost daily post always checking in at least a couple times a week.I’d check in for some Portuguese Footbal News but mostly for the comedy.
So, I suck at goodbyes but can send along this “HALO” tidbit and good wishes from the left coast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-z5bOOSTiU
Posted from
United States -
I
am
devastated
Last night I saw that Bob left too (a little late, I know) and now Greg is gone? What are we going to do you guys? Hopefully somebody from the Greg school of blogging will take over soon.
I got into this blog over the summer with the Portuguese WAG entry and have followed ever since. You’ll truly be missed, Greg. You’ll have to stop by every now and then to give your 2 cents.
Posted from
United States -
Say it isn’t so! Don’t worry guys, we’ll be back. It’s hard to balance a corporate job and start a blog like this. As many of you already know, I’ve been struggling to finish a design for a new blog at http://www.tugasblog.com. That’s design, coding and authoring work. It’s not easy but bit by bit it’s coming together.
We are a small but dedicated bunch. Pedro P, Greg, LusoCanuck, Nelson, Beto, Ceasar, Martha, and many more. Your dedication as readers makes it all worthwhile. We will all blog our way to a championship or two some day. Mark my words. Don’t give up on us. Blogging about Portuguese football will continue soon enough.
Posted from
United States -
Luis – I have never been to tugasblog.com. How can I get there…it keeps asking for a username and password?
Posted from
United States -
Andrew – i’m still putting it together. Access is locked during development. I appeal for your patience and understanding. If you come back in the future, I guarantee it will eventually be available. I think we’ll manage to get Greg away from his job once in a while, during the run up to the Euro. Hear that Greg? Use the time wisely to lick this new job. Get it figured out so you can cruise in the Spring. We need ya.
Posted from
United States -
Well, I’m shocked!
What am I supposed to do for comedy now?? And, how am I supposed to make it look like I know something about Portuguese soccer now??
I see the corporate trap has snagged another good one. I wish you all the luck in the world. You did a great job keeping us informed while adding some amazing humor at the same time. You will be missed.
Posted from
Canada -
You’re killing me, dude. Killing me.
We may just hang out here and talk without you, just so you know.
Posted from
United States -
I thought your blog sucked the whole time…I don’t know what these people were reading….but then again, I am your little brother = ) I will surely miss whipping out my iPhone during pooping breaks in the middle of NYU classes to catch up on your horrible sense of humor and references to Frank Stallone…I will leave you with this fitting video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWcb4YuUo6kPosted from
United States -
Good luck, Greg! I know I didn’t comment here often, but I’ve always enjoyed your posts on Portuguese football. We’ll miss your sly sense of humor around here.
I hope you can use some of your coffee breaks to visit us!
Posted from
United States -
Came back one more time to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Looks like reality wins over the voices (this time).
I can see it now, in five years time, you’ll have the 2.7 kids, a dog, a Land Rover, you’ll of moved out of that apartment into a place that requires an oppressive shit mortgage and you’ll look back and think……………………………
Posted from
United States -
NOOO! Your blog will be missed! Best Blog Ever!
Goodluck Greg and a very big thank-you for your excellent work!
Posted from
United States -
Crap, I came here out of habit. Oh well, we made it, everybody! 0-0 wasn’t the result I hoped for but it doesn’t matter now because that’s all it took.
Thanks again, Greg. Good luck with everything.
Posted from
United States -
Portugal played one of their better games in a long time. They out hustled to win loose midfield balls, cut-out passes and showed some energy. Gomes was a bit shotty in receiving balls and laying them off. Finland defended very well, but Portugal could’ve created more chances.
Player notes:
MOM for 2nd game in a row- Bosingwa- tons of energy, crosses, runs, and great defence as wellAlmost MOM – Pepe – was cutting out balls left and right, and driving to corner balls.
Tactical award to Scolari for Meira shield – playing in centre mid, he cut out alot with his aggressive style, added additional tall man to defend tall Finns. He even made a few incisive passes.
Worthy performances – Veloso – won alot of balls and was available for distribution and was very flexible.
Good – Caneira
OK – CR – a little too many balls disposed
– Q – too one dimensional
– Maniche and AlvesBlah – Nuno – he made 2 nice runs, but he was black hole when passed to.
Overall I like the variety they are starting to implement offensively, it’s a work in progess for sure, and without a killer striker, this team will often struggle for goals. The good news is Almeida is having a career season, and Makukula looks good too.
Bring on the preparation games. We are going to the EURO!!!!
man I hope the SPAM error isn’t triggerd.
Posted from
United States -
OGT – nice summary.
My take:
Bosingwa=rock solid, we didn’t even miss Miguel. Time for Miguel to up his game.
Pepe – industrious, always giving orders and marshaling the teams attention. He’s critical to a serious Euro challenge IMO.
Meira as holding mid? Wow, who knew? At times he looked like Deco with those slotted passes. I’m glad we have another option for him.
Caneira did everything he could. Always useful on any squad.
Veloso and Maniche finally found a groove. Veloso on the pivot and Maniche appearing as a threat up the middle. Scolari took him out too early IMO.
Q and R? Well, I’d say Q provided more over all. Both wingers pulled out of runs too often for my taste, but I understand that sometimes that’s critical to establishing some balance against aggressive defenders. Overall they looked menacing. Ronaldo could have been more productive.
Nuno…well, he does offer more when it comes to team movement, but on many of those early crosses a taller player like Makukula might have made the difference. There were too many crosses to nowhere with little support in the middle.
All in all. A much better match for PT. They were organized and managed to move their lines effectively. They could have risked more but I understand that qualification is all that matters.
Now. What next? Hopefully, we’ll get our squad patched up and healthy. That will go a long way. Then it’s down to some serious warm ups and friendlies. Scolari just needs to put some final touches on his strategy. He’s at his best when he’s at odds with the PT press. It’s been a rough few months for Big Phil, but I finally see a system evolving out of all his trials. In the long run, I think we’re a better team because of it. Our avg. age dropped from 27 to something like 24. That means turbulence and change in the short term, but potential championships in the long term.
Posted from
United States -
Greg, you taught my mates and me a great lot of football wisdom – thank you for always having provided the nicest moments of a day. Good luck, the Lord bless you. THANK YOU
Posted from
Austria -
I appreciate all of the amazingly kind words you guys had for me. I’m personally touched and wish all of you the best and unlimited happiness.
Posted from
United States -
You did a great job, Greg. Pitty you leave. Boa sorte para ti e obrigado.
Posted from
Netherlands -
Valiant effort, Sporting.
Posted from
United States
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