Someone pissed off the Crypt Keeper lately, and by the looks of it, that someone was Bruce Arena. Because our dusty old skeletal friend is neither happy nor charitable with his analysis of how Metro is coming together on the field under The Best Coach America Has Ever Produced (tm).

Michael Lewis reports on Paul Gardner's slams on Arena.

What a truly weird thing to publish - and I'm talking about what Michael Lewis did here. Don't get me wrong. I like Lewis. I'm just not quite sure what the point of excerpting and highlighting an opinion piece in another publication could be - especially one that's sorta there, sorta on-the-periphery like SA is these days. And when it's Paul "Rotmasters was mine!" Gardner doing the opining. Sure, you will find some who like him, some who respect him as part of an earlier era of soccer journalism but think him pretty irrelevant now, and many who throw him straight in the "Cranks" basket, beside Trecker the Younger. Whatever - it's not like we look to Paul Gardner to get the inside scoop on Metro.
It makes me wonder just what the real purpose is on Lewis's part.

Is Gardner saying things that Lewis would like to say himself, but can't get away with, being on the beat and all?
Is it just the product of a slow news week, team-wise?
Something else?

The thing that's missing in the BAS piece, unfortunately, is any kind of response from Lewis - in agreement, in rebuttal, or to moderate. That's a real shame.

But if the Crypt Keeper is more right than wrong here...hoo boy.

Labels: Bruce Arena, Metro, Michael Lewis, Paul Gardner, pessimism