The weekend Manchester City go joint top of the table and maybe just become serious title contenders what they did not need was their captain writing a transfer request asking to leave in January.
This weekend saw Manchester City comfortably beat bottom team West Ham moving level on points with top of the table Arsenal who tonight go to title challengers Manchester United. Manchester City are now well in the title race and by the end of next weekend considering they beat Everton at Eastland’s could be sitting top of the pile at Christmas if Manchester United or Arsenal do not get the results they need, which will prove difficult considering they play each other and both play Chelsea in the next few weeks.
So just when everything was looking rose for the blues of Manchester Carlos Tevez and Kia Joorabchian (no doubt the biggest agent in football) decide they want out of Eastland’s due to a breakdown in his relationship with “certain executives and individuals”.
This tells me Carlos Tevez and his agent wants more money. It also tells me Manchester City is not willing to renegotiate his contract in the middle of the season. It has been rumoured for a while now that Carlos Tevez wants to return home after being in England for a long period of time but this week Tevez reported denied that he is homesick and is committed to the long term prospect of the club and more importantly his contract which still has 3 and a half years until it expires.
In my head this sparks a memory of a very similar story to the club Manchester City want to replace. Just last month Wayne Rooney wrote a written transfer request (maybe giving Rooney too much credit on his writing skills) saying he wants out of Manchester due to a lack of ambition at the club. And a week later Wayne Rooney had a cheesy grin on his face next to Sir Alex Ferguson after he was rewarded with more than £200,000 a week and the board saying Sir Alex will have money to spend should he want to.
Wayne Rooney played his card saying he was willing to walk away and Manchester United responded giving Rooney want he wanted, showing player power is becoming more and more powerful in the modern game of football. What Carlos Tevez and his money grabbing agent are doing is exactly the same, Kia Joorabchian obviously believes his client is on the same level as Wayne Rooney, and he might be right, but this is nothing more than a play to make Carlos Tevez is the highest paid player at Manchester City and maybe the Premier League.
Manchester City have declined the transfer request and responded with a strong statement that they will not entertain any offers for their talismanic forward during the next transfer window. This is a statement that will tell Carlos Tevez to get back to what he does best, score goals and maybe just maybe if we win the league and take the first step to becoming the dominant brand in English football then you will get a new contract and be made the King of Manchester City, which no doubting he already is.
One thing I am pretty sure of, just like I was sure about with Wayne Rooney is Carlos Tevez will not be leaving Manchester, we will not see him in a Barcelona or Real Madrid shirt this season nor next season. It is simply just a play of power from a player and agent who think they are ‘indispensible’.
Monday 13 December 2010
Wednesday 8 September 2010
2 W's but will Capello learn or take two steps backwards in October
When Fabio Capello says he has learnt from the World Cup embarrassment let us hope he has learnt what England fans have known for years, balance is the key to everything.
When I say balance I mean players must play in their best positions. It means that Steven Gerrard must play in centre midfield, and that must not be alongside Frank Lampard. Every England manager has tried to find a combination that includes both of these players, but two impressive wins against Bulgaria and Switzerland has shown the nation and hopefully Fabio Capello that if England are to move on and rebuild England must have a balance that suits every player on the pitch – not two players who want to play in the same position.
With all the positive talk about England’s performance during these two internationals, come October 12th we will see how much Fabio Capello has learnt from this week and the World Cup. With Frank Lampard injured Capello didn’t have to make the decision of does he stick with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard? In an ideal world Capello like every manager would like to play the same XI, but that happens very rarely in International football. Already England is without James Milner after he picked up two yellow cards meaning he is suspended for the next game. Without Milner this leaves the left side of midfield empty and there is a possibility England could go back to Steven Gerrard playing out on the left and Frank Lampard returning alongside Gareth Barry in the centre. Putting it simply one simple change could see England take two steps backwards and going back to how they played during the World Cup and all the positives from these two performances are instantly forgotten and met with groans and disappointment.
Now this is my point, with Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson being in sensational form for both club and country, and as long as Walcott’s ankle injury is not serious, why not move Adam Johnson over to his ‘natural’ left side, keeping Theo Walcott on the right side and continue to build towards the future. Capello if he chose to could follow the modern way of right footers on the left and left footers on the right (think Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry – Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard) put Theo Walcott left and Adam Johnson right allowing them to both cut in and link up with Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Jermaine Defoe.
There is also the option of replacing the suspended Milner with former team-mate Ashley Young who has made his reputation playing on the left side; cutting inside delivering killer balls with someone like Jermaine Defoe would thrive on. But let’s hope Capello does not go with Shaun Wright-Phillips who somehow managed to sneak back on the pitch replacing Wayne Rooney during England’s convincing 3-1 victory over Switzerland.
England will no doubt finish top of this group, whether they perform or not, but what England need is something to build on and work towards. A new revolution and less pressure can sometimes work in the favour of International teams – such as Germany in the World Cup this year. What Germany had that surprised others was a system they knew, a real balance that allowed Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger to influence the game the way England need Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to do in England’s quest for qualification for Euro 2012. What Germany also had were players who could come in and instantly fit into a system, something England showed signs of developing this week as long as they keep everything ‘balanced’. There is no better replacement for Steven Gerrard in a central midfield position than Frank Lampard and whether it is Theo Walcott or Adam Johnson who starts right-side they have the other waiting in the wings to instantly fit into that position.
When I say balance I mean players must play in their best positions. It means that Steven Gerrard must play in centre midfield, and that must not be alongside Frank Lampard. Every England manager has tried to find a combination that includes both of these players, but two impressive wins against Bulgaria and Switzerland has shown the nation and hopefully Fabio Capello that if England are to move on and rebuild England must have a balance that suits every player on the pitch – not two players who want to play in the same position.
With all the positive talk about England’s performance during these two internationals, come October 12th we will see how much Fabio Capello has learnt from this week and the World Cup. With Frank Lampard injured Capello didn’t have to make the decision of does he stick with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard? In an ideal world Capello like every manager would like to play the same XI, but that happens very rarely in International football. Already England is without James Milner after he picked up two yellow cards meaning he is suspended for the next game. Without Milner this leaves the left side of midfield empty and there is a possibility England could go back to Steven Gerrard playing out on the left and Frank Lampard returning alongside Gareth Barry in the centre. Putting it simply one simple change could see England take two steps backwards and going back to how they played during the World Cup and all the positives from these two performances are instantly forgotten and met with groans and disappointment.
Now this is my point, with Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson being in sensational form for both club and country, and as long as Walcott’s ankle injury is not serious, why not move Adam Johnson over to his ‘natural’ left side, keeping Theo Walcott on the right side and continue to build towards the future. Capello if he chose to could follow the modern way of right footers on the left and left footers on the right (think Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry – Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard) put Theo Walcott left and Adam Johnson right allowing them to both cut in and link up with Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Jermaine Defoe.
There is also the option of replacing the suspended Milner with former team-mate Ashley Young who has made his reputation playing on the left side; cutting inside delivering killer balls with someone like Jermaine Defoe would thrive on. But let’s hope Capello does not go with Shaun Wright-Phillips who somehow managed to sneak back on the pitch replacing Wayne Rooney during England’s convincing 3-1 victory over Switzerland.
England will no doubt finish top of this group, whether they perform or not, but what England need is something to build on and work towards. A new revolution and less pressure can sometimes work in the favour of International teams – such as Germany in the World Cup this year. What Germany had that surprised others was a system they knew, a real balance that allowed Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger to influence the game the way England need Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to do in England’s quest for qualification for Euro 2012. What Germany also had were players who could come in and instantly fit into a system, something England showed signs of developing this week as long as they keep everything ‘balanced’. There is no better replacement for Steven Gerrard in a central midfield position than Frank Lampard and whether it is Theo Walcott or Adam Johnson who starts right-side they have the other waiting in the wings to instantly fit into that position.
Thursday 19 August 2010
Fergies envious truth behind Manchester City's spending
So in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson the spending of Roberton Mancini's Manchester is 'kamikaze' and the wrong way to about achieving success.
This is coming from the man who has broken the British transfer record on several occasions and demanded that Real Msdrid must pay £80 million pounds for Christinao Ronaldo.
This is also the man who this week admitted he spent £7 million on an unknown Portuguese striker named 'Bebe' without seeing the player live or even watching footage of him. Now this could turn out to be a stroke of genius one day, should the player develop but there is a good chance this player could never represent Manchester United with Sir Alex in charge. If this isn't a 'kamikaze' move then what is?
Spending around £130 million on six players compared to Manchester United's modest £24 million on three is a huge difference. The reason of Sir Alex's modest transfer spending is 'there is no value in the transfer market anymore'. What Sir Alex Ferguson is doing is protecting Manchester United Football Club, something Roberto Mancini never has to worry about.
Lets look at Sir Alex's transfer record, in 2002 Rio Ferdinand cost Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United £30 million, at the time being a British transfer record and the most expensive price ever paid for a defender. Since 2002 Manchester United have won four Premiership Titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup and three League Cups. Ferdinand has played 221 times and has become captain of club and country, you could say that justifies 'value for money'.
Manchester United also paid out £25.6 million for Wayne Rooney in 2004 just two years after he made his Premiership debut for Everton at the age of 17 in 2002. Since 2002, Rooney has won the Premier League title three times, the 2007-08 and two league cups. He has also been awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009/10. With this deal United paid for potential, idenfiting Rooney as a future sstar knowing £25.6 million would be value for money.
Other notable successes in the transfer market include Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic who were signed for fee's under £10 million and become players up there with the best in their position. But Sir Alex Ferguson has not always got it spot on with transfers - just like Roberto Mancini wont and like Mark Hughes didn't. Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djema are the two obvious transfer flops who come to mind but what about Juan Sebastian Veron (£28.1 million), Owen Hargreaves (£17 million), Fabien Barthez (£7.8 million) and most recently Dimitar Berbatov (intial fee of £23.4 million) who is yet to prove himself to be worth his inital fee.
If anyone can explain what value Manchester United got from buying Juan Sebastian Veron for £28 million only to sell him on for £13 million less to Chelsea two years later I'd be welcome to hear it. You could even argue buying Owen Hargreaves for a fee of £17 million in 2007 from Bayern Munich for Owen to play 26 games before becoming a regular customer for every knee specialisit across the world. That works out at £653,446 per game. Where is ther value in money in that I may ask.
There is no hidng that Manchester City has spent a huge amount of money in the transfer market this summer but what Fergie describes as 'kamikaze' buy may be switched on it's head and called a huge investment for the club in years to come. With Yaya Toure as an exception all Manchester City's signings this year are 24 years old or below. David Silva, 24 (£25 million app), James Milner, 24 (£24 million p/x Steven Ireland), Jermone Boateng, 21 (£12 million), Mario Balotelli, 20 £24 million) and Aleksandar Kolarov, 24 (£16 million) all have their best years ahead of them and will all feature in the Manchester City first team this season and the years to come.
Sir Alex Ferguson was blessed with the greatest generation of youngsters a team in England has ever seen and maybe only have been bettered in recent years by Barcelona. Ferguson had the right of youth and experience and assembled a team that every billionaire tychool could ever dreamt of. Just how much would Roy Keane and Peter Schmichel been worth in current climate of players? It is still impossible to put a price on players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who still feature for Manchester 12 years on from the famous treble winners at the peak of their powers. But what is forgotten is Sir Alex added and bought quality to that team, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheingham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were all bought to in join Andy Cole who once upon a time was a British record transfer of £7 million from Newcastle United.
Sir Alex has bought many youngsters under the age of 24 in attempts to build his squad. Christinao Ronaldo (£12 million - sold for £80 million), Nani (£17 million), Anderson (£20 million), Antonio Valenica (£16 million), Rafael and Fabio Silva (unkown price), Nemanja Vidic (£7 million), Wayne Rooney (£25.6 million), Rio Ferdinand (£30 million), Ben Foster (£1 million - sold to Birmingham for £6 million) and Patrice Evra (£7 million). This summer Sir Alex invested in Chris Smalling (£8 million) from Fulham who two seasons ago was playing non-league football and Javier Hernandez for £12 million. So with all of these players with their futures ahead of them at Manchester United what are Manchester City doing that Manchester United have not done in the past?
What Manchester City is trying to build is a legacy, a legacy that is bigger than the one created by Sir Alex Ferguson and the red side of Manchester. What we could be talking about in years to come is the technical qualities of David Silva, the determation of Nigel de Jong or the penalty save from England and Manchester number 1 Joe Hart or the skills of England's brighest prospect Adam Johnson. If City does win the title in the coming years as it seems they eventually will given the financial backing they have Sir Alex Ferguson could be foreced to eat his own words and watch 'kamikaze' transfer prices decide the Premiership title race.
This is coming from the man who has broken the British transfer record on several occasions and demanded that Real Msdrid must pay £80 million pounds for Christinao Ronaldo.
This is also the man who this week admitted he spent £7 million on an unknown Portuguese striker named 'Bebe' without seeing the player live or even watching footage of him. Now this could turn out to be a stroke of genius one day, should the player develop but there is a good chance this player could never represent Manchester United with Sir Alex in charge. If this isn't a 'kamikaze' move then what is?
Spending around £130 million on six players compared to Manchester United's modest £24 million on three is a huge difference. The reason of Sir Alex's modest transfer spending is 'there is no value in the transfer market anymore'. What Sir Alex Ferguson is doing is protecting Manchester United Football Club, something Roberto Mancini never has to worry about.
Lets look at Sir Alex's transfer record, in 2002 Rio Ferdinand cost Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United £30 million, at the time being a British transfer record and the most expensive price ever paid for a defender. Since 2002 Manchester United have won four Premiership Titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup and three League Cups. Ferdinand has played 221 times and has become captain of club and country, you could say that justifies 'value for money'.
Manchester United also paid out £25.6 million for Wayne Rooney in 2004 just two years after he made his Premiership debut for Everton at the age of 17 in 2002. Since 2002, Rooney has won the Premier League title three times, the 2007-08 and two league cups. He has also been awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009/10. With this deal United paid for potential, idenfiting Rooney as a future sstar knowing £25.6 million would be value for money.
Other notable successes in the transfer market include Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic who were signed for fee's under £10 million and become players up there with the best in their position. But Sir Alex Ferguson has not always got it spot on with transfers - just like Roberto Mancini wont and like Mark Hughes didn't. Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djema are the two obvious transfer flops who come to mind but what about Juan Sebastian Veron (£28.1 million), Owen Hargreaves (£17 million), Fabien Barthez (£7.8 million) and most recently Dimitar Berbatov (intial fee of £23.4 million) who is yet to prove himself to be worth his inital fee.
If anyone can explain what value Manchester United got from buying Juan Sebastian Veron for £28 million only to sell him on for £13 million less to Chelsea two years later I'd be welcome to hear it. You could even argue buying Owen Hargreaves for a fee of £17 million in 2007 from Bayern Munich for Owen to play 26 games before becoming a regular customer for every knee specialisit across the world. That works out at £653,446 per game. Where is ther value in money in that I may ask.
There is no hidng that Manchester City has spent a huge amount of money in the transfer market this summer but what Fergie describes as 'kamikaze' buy may be switched on it's head and called a huge investment for the club in years to come. With Yaya Toure as an exception all Manchester City's signings this year are 24 years old or below. David Silva, 24 (£25 million app), James Milner, 24 (£24 million p/x Steven Ireland), Jermone Boateng, 21 (£12 million), Mario Balotelli, 20 £24 million) and Aleksandar Kolarov, 24 (£16 million) all have their best years ahead of them and will all feature in the Manchester City first team this season and the years to come.
Sir Alex Ferguson was blessed with the greatest generation of youngsters a team in England has ever seen and maybe only have been bettered in recent years by Barcelona. Ferguson had the right of youth and experience and assembled a team that every billionaire tychool could ever dreamt of. Just how much would Roy Keane and Peter Schmichel been worth in current climate of players? It is still impossible to put a price on players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who still feature for Manchester 12 years on from the famous treble winners at the peak of their powers. But what is forgotten is Sir Alex added and bought quality to that team, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheingham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were all bought to in join Andy Cole who once upon a time was a British record transfer of £7 million from Newcastle United.
Sir Alex has bought many youngsters under the age of 24 in attempts to build his squad. Christinao Ronaldo (£12 million - sold for £80 million), Nani (£17 million), Anderson (£20 million), Antonio Valenica (£16 million), Rafael and Fabio Silva (unkown price), Nemanja Vidic (£7 million), Wayne Rooney (£25.6 million), Rio Ferdinand (£30 million), Ben Foster (£1 million - sold to Birmingham for £6 million) and Patrice Evra (£7 million). This summer Sir Alex invested in Chris Smalling (£8 million) from Fulham who two seasons ago was playing non-league football and Javier Hernandez for £12 million. So with all of these players with their futures ahead of them at Manchester United what are Manchester City doing that Manchester United have not done in the past?
What Manchester City is trying to build is a legacy, a legacy that is bigger than the one created by Sir Alex Ferguson and the red side of Manchester. What we could be talking about in years to come is the technical qualities of David Silva, the determation of Nigel de Jong or the penalty save from England and Manchester number 1 Joe Hart or the skills of England's brighest prospect Adam Johnson. If City does win the title in the coming years as it seems they eventually will given the financial backing they have Sir Alex Ferguson could be foreced to eat his own words and watch 'kamikaze' transfer prices decide the Premiership title race.
Saturday 14 August 2010
Fantasy Football: The Golden Rules, the must haves & possible bargains
The Barclays Priemership kicks off this weekend and it's that time of year where all football mad fans pick their ultimate fantasy XI or a squad of XV. Whether you are using 'The Sun', 'Sky Sports' or 'Fantasy Premier League' decisions are now tougher than ever with prices of the stars rising meaning no more fantasy front three of Rooney, Drogba and Tevez which was easily possible last season. Everybody has their own personal opinions on how to pick their fantasy teams, some go for players from their own team, some go for a balanced team that will play every week and some choose to pick the star players and rely on these players to score the majority of their teams points. Personally there are golden rules you must follow:
1) Have either Didier Drogba or Wayne Rooney in your team at all times.
2) Pick Frank Lampard - he will be the midfield top scorer no matter what league you play.
3) Favour attack over defence even in defensive positions.
4) If there are teams playing a double week chose players from those teams and more often than not make one of these players your captain. So now you have the golden rules and the must picks in Fantasy Football here are a few possible bargains that could become popular choices over the season. Gareth Bale: (Tottenham Hotspur)
After a real impressive end to the season Gareth Bale became a must have in your Fantasy Football back-line even though he is playing in midfield. This year Gareth is listed as a midfielder which could be off-putting for a few Fantasy managers but Harry Redknapp is a big believer of Gareth Bale and I expect him to play a big role for Tottenham this year. Bale assisted 5 goals and scored 3 last season, with all of these coming at the end of the season as Tottenham beat Manchester City to a top four spot. Listed at £6.5 million on 'Fantasy Premier League' he is fairly priced this season and could be a high point scorer in support to your big name of either Lampard, Fabregas or Gerrard. Jonny Evans: (Manchester United)
Not a big point scorer last season but this year Jonny Evans could well become a regular in the Manchester United first team. With Rio Ferdinand out for the start of the season and becoming more injury prone Jonny Evans could have the chance to make a big impact on Sir Alex and many Fantasy Football managers. Beginning against newly promoted Newcastle United at home gives Manchester United a real chance of completing their first clean sheet of the season. Priced at £5.5 million on 'Fantasy Premier League' he is again like Bale fairly priced this season and is unlikely to be picked by the majority of managers in the first couple of games. Adam Johnson: (Manchester City)
After arriving at Manchester City in January of last season Adam Johnson's career has gone from playing Championship football to becoming an England International and a big part of Roberto Mancini's plans for World Domination. Eight assists last season saw Johnson offer a real attacking threat and although Manchester City have signed David Silva Johnson will surely still be ahead of Shaun Wright Phillips for a starting place on the right hand side of midfield. With players like Ashley Young and James Milner highly priced this season Adam Johnson at £6.5 million could be a bargain for Fantasy Managers. Matthew Etherington: (Stoke City)
Stoke City's player of the year last year and the highest point scorer of any of his team-mates, when it comes to Stoke City creating anything, (other than a Rory Delap throw-in) it comes from Matthew Etherington. Five goals and nine assists last year saw him score 146 points and this season is valued at a modest £6 million on Fantasy Premier League making him £0.5 million cheaper than Adam Johnson and Gareth Bale. His place unlike Bale and Johnson is guranteed so every week you are guranteed 90 minutes from Etherington as well as bonus points and assist points.
1) Have either Didier Drogba or Wayne Rooney in your team at all times.
2) Pick Frank Lampard - he will be the midfield top scorer no matter what league you play.
3) Favour attack over defence even in defensive positions.
4) If there are teams playing a double week chose players from those teams and more often than not make one of these players your captain. So now you have the golden rules and the must picks in Fantasy Football here are a few possible bargains that could become popular choices over the season. Gareth Bale: (Tottenham Hotspur)
After a real impressive end to the season Gareth Bale became a must have in your Fantasy Football back-line even though he is playing in midfield. This year Gareth is listed as a midfielder which could be off-putting for a few Fantasy managers but Harry Redknapp is a big believer of Gareth Bale and I expect him to play a big role for Tottenham this year. Bale assisted 5 goals and scored 3 last season, with all of these coming at the end of the season as Tottenham beat Manchester City to a top four spot. Listed at £6.5 million on 'Fantasy Premier League' he is fairly priced this season and could be a high point scorer in support to your big name of either Lampard, Fabregas or Gerrard. Jonny Evans: (Manchester United)
Not a big point scorer last season but this year Jonny Evans could well become a regular in the Manchester United first team. With Rio Ferdinand out for the start of the season and becoming more injury prone Jonny Evans could have the chance to make a big impact on Sir Alex and many Fantasy Football managers. Beginning against newly promoted Newcastle United at home gives Manchester United a real chance of completing their first clean sheet of the season. Priced at £5.5 million on 'Fantasy Premier League' he is again like Bale fairly priced this season and is unlikely to be picked by the majority of managers in the first couple of games. Adam Johnson: (Manchester City)
After arriving at Manchester City in January of last season Adam Johnson's career has gone from playing Championship football to becoming an England International and a big part of Roberto Mancini's plans for World Domination. Eight assists last season saw Johnson offer a real attacking threat and although Manchester City have signed David Silva Johnson will surely still be ahead of Shaun Wright Phillips for a starting place on the right hand side of midfield. With players like Ashley Young and James Milner highly priced this season Adam Johnson at £6.5 million could be a bargain for Fantasy Managers. Matthew Etherington: (Stoke City)
Stoke City's player of the year last year and the highest point scorer of any of his team-mates, when it comes to Stoke City creating anything, (other than a Rory Delap throw-in) it comes from Matthew Etherington. Five goals and nine assists last year saw him score 146 points and this season is valued at a modest £6 million on Fantasy Premier League making him £0.5 million cheaper than Adam Johnson and Gareth Bale. His place unlike Bale and Johnson is guranteed so every week you are guranteed 90 minutes from Etherington as well as bonus points and assist points.
Friday 13 August 2010
My Premiership Predictions:
Champions: Manchester United
Champions League Spots: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal & Liverpool
Europa League: Manchester City & Tottenham
Relegation: Blackpool, Newcastle & Wigan
Over Achievers: Bolton
Under-Achievers: Sunderland
Top Scorer: Fernando Torres
Top English Goal-scorer: Jermaine Defoe
Player of the Year: Steven Gerrard
Young Player of the Year: Javier Hernandez
One to Watch: Robin van Persie
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Premiership Mini-League: Top 4 has now become the Top 6
With the gap between the top six teams bigger than ever the Premiership Mini-Leagues are now getting bigger and more important than ever. A couple of seasons ago people used to talk about the 'top 4' and the rest with the three promoted teams being the favourites to go straight back down. This year I believe their are more mini-leagues than ever. I will come onto that point later in another post but first lets start at the top. All the talk for the title used to revolve around four teams and that still maybe the case but this year I believe the top four has now become the top six. The top four of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have now been joined by Manchester City and Tottenham. Last year Tottenham beat Manchester City, Aston Villa and Liverpool to finish in the top four with Manchester City and Aston Villa finishing above Liverpool leaving them finishing in a very disappointing seventh. Unfortately with the news of Martin O'Neill leaving Aston Villa and James Milner rumoured to leaving too I find it hard to believe Villa will be challenging up there again this year. It's very hard to look past these six teams to finish in the top six, although when it comes to the title challengers I can only seeing two teams being real challengers over 38 games. Sir Alex Ferguson has said in pre-season if you finish above Chelsea you'll win the league - meaning Chelsea are the favourites. Therefore I make the first mini-league just of two teams - Chelsea and Manchester United. Real Title Challengers:Chelsea
Manchester UnitedThe next mini-league to me involves four teams - three of these will believe they can post a title challenge. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City will go into this season believing they have the quality to win the Premiership as long as they stay injury free and they beat the teams around them - where as Tottentham will go into this season aiming for a top four finish after last season's success. Who knows what the end of the season could of been for Arsenal should Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin had all been fit but the reason I don't have them as 'real title challengers' is because of how convincingly they were beaten by rivals Utd and Chelsea. Manchester City have improved the squad from last year but with such a large squad Roberto Mancini needs to find his first XI and quickly in order for them to challenge. Although Liverpool have many problems behind the scenes with Roy Hodgson in charge and with the signing of Joe Cole they look to have a more balanced approach this season as long as Fernando Torres spends more time on the pitch than the treatment table. Tottenham finished in the top four last year but with European commitments this year they must balance the expectation of now competiting in four trophies. Breaking into the top four is an achievement Harry Redknapp must be proud of but staying in the top four is Tottenhams's biggest challenge yet. Potential Europa League but not Top 4/6:
Arsenal
Liverpool
Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester UnitedThe next mini-league to me involves four teams - three of these will believe they can post a title challenge. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City will go into this season believing they have the quality to win the Premiership as long as they stay injury free and they beat the teams around them - where as Tottentham will go into this season aiming for a top four finish after last season's success. Who knows what the end of the season could of been for Arsenal should Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin had all been fit but the reason I don't have them as 'real title challengers' is because of how convincingly they were beaten by rivals Utd and Chelsea. Manchester City have improved the squad from last year but with such a large squad Roberto Mancini needs to find his first XI and quickly in order for them to challenge. Although Liverpool have many problems behind the scenes with Roy Hodgson in charge and with the signing of Joe Cole they look to have a more balanced approach this season as long as Fernando Torres spends more time on the pitch than the treatment table. Tottenham finished in the top four last year but with European commitments this year they must balance the expectation of now competiting in four trophies. Breaking into the top four is an achievement Harry Redknapp must be proud of but staying in the top four is Tottenhams's biggest challenge yet. Potential Europa League but not Top 4/6:
Arsenal
Liverpool
Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur
The Premiership Mini-League
Real Title Challengers:
Chelsea
Manchester United
Top 4/Europa League:
Arsenal
Liverpool
Manchester City
Tottenham
Potential Europa League but not Top 4/6:
Aston Villa
Everton
Comfortable Mid-Table or Relegation Candidates:
Birmingham
Blackburn
Bolton
Fulham
Newcastle
Stoke City
Sunderland
West Brom
West Ham
Wigan
Wolves
Doomed:
Blackpool
(listed in A-Z)
Scott Loach? Frankie Fielding? Robert Green may as well retire now
This England squad becomes more and more laughable every day of the week. First Paul Robinson and Wes Brown retire after being called up for the squad, five first team players don't train on the Monday and then Darren Bent and Ben Foster withdraw from the squad through injury. This leaves Fabio Capello with Joe Hart and no back up. Hart is a goalkeeper with great potential and if we are building towards the future Hart is the way to go, but this season there is a serious possibility that he won't even be first choice for his club Manchester City and could face another loan spell to another Premiership club. With the retirement of Robinson and the withdrawal of Foster, Fabio Capello has called up Watford's Scott Loach and Blackburn's Frankie Fielding into the squad as cover ahead of the friendly. Fielding who has not yet made a competitve appearence for his club Blackburn started last nights friendly victory and did not have to make a save as England Under 21's strolled to victory past Uzbekistan. Fiedling will now join up with the full England squad to provide cover for Scott Loach. So where does this leave Robert Green? During the qualification campaign for the World Cup Robert Green was England's number one and in early June Green was competing with David James for Fabio Capello's number one spot for England's World Cup opener against the USA. Now before the season has even began Robert Green's international future is over. After making the biggest mistake of his career helping Clint Dempsey's tame long range effort cross the line Robert Green has not been forgiven by Capello and possibly may never get another chance to prove his worth. This shows just how many options England have between the sticks. Chris Kirkland's fitness problems means his England career was over years ago and West Brom's Scott Carson has not been mentioned since he made his own clanger against Croatia when England failed to qualify for Euro 2008. David James who has now turned 40 has said he won't retire but it looks like he Capello has already told him he has no International future and it will really take a mircale for Robert Green to be given a second chance. Lets just hope Joe Hart does not have a great deal to do tonight because should Joe Hart become the next England goalkeeper to make a mistake who knows where Capello goes from here.
Monday 9 August 2010
A quick recap on everything in Sport
It's been a while since I posted anything so I'm going to do a quick recap of everything that happened over the last few days. Main Headline:
The main headline of the weekend is league runners up Manchester United defeated double winners Chelsea in the FA's traditional opener to the new season 'The Charity Shield'. It was quite a convincing win for United with Antonio Valenica opening the scoring in the first half with a simple finish.
I didn't watch the first half as I was watching the Cricket & completely forgot it was even happening shows how much The Charity Shield means to a neutral football fan) but from reviews and several friends Facebook status' I did not miss a great deal. The second half I did watch & I was very impressed with Manchester United's new star Javier Hernandez. He looks to have very good movement, I wouldn't say he has blistering pace but he has enough pace to worry defenders & he seems very alert in the box. He took up an excellent position for his goal I want to say he took it well but how he manages to volley the ball onto his own face goes beyond me. Chelsea did manage to pull a goal back after Saloman Kolou put away the rebound from a powerful Daniel Sturridge effort but a third goal by Manchester United ended all hopes of Chelsea mounting a comeback. I have to say Dimitar Berbatov's goal was an absolute delightful finish lobbing Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Hilario from the edge of the box leaving the keeper in no-man's land. Berbatov even celebrated with the Manchester United fans which was something that didn't happen a lot last season. Everybody knows Berbatov has talent so maybe this is the season he steps up and shows he can be a Manchester United player. On a side-note it was a masterclass from man of the match Paul Scholes who has not lost anything over the pre-season. His passing was outstanding and after a discussion with a close friend I have to say he is the best English player since Paul Gascogine. Fabregas staying at Arsenal (For now):
There won't be many Arsenal fans who actually cared about the Charity Shield yesterday but the biggest news coming out of Arsenal this weekend is their captain Cesc Fabregas will be staying at Arsenal for at least another year after respecting Arsenal's decision not to listen to offers from Barcelona.
Now that Barcelona have admitted defeat in re-signing for at least another year Cesc Fabregas must focus on getting fit and helping Arsenal try and end the long run without a trophy. News coming out of Arsenal is that Robin van Persie and Fabregas himself will miss the first game of the season against Liverpool. This is a blow for Arsenal but Arsenal proved last year they are capable of winning games without their big names. Responsibility will fall on Samri Nasri and Andrey Arshavin to supply new signing Marouane Chamakh to score the goals that could give Arsenal a big advantage over rivals Liverpool and Manchester City and Tottenham who play each other on the first day of the season. Capello announces England squad:
Fabio Capello this weekend announced his first England squad since a dismal World Cup campaign. Capello has left out David James, Robert Green, Michael Carrick, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher who retired from International football after the World Cup are also missing.
Fabio Capello has kept his faith in the big names who flopped this summer with Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and captain Steven Gerrard all being named in the squad alongside Gareth Barry, Glen Johnson and James Milner. Fabio Capello hands Theo Walcott a re-call alongside Darren Bent and Adam Johnson who missed out after being named in England's provisional 30 man squad. Ashley Young and Paul Robinson earn re-calls alongside Phil Jagielka who after an injury hit season looks to be batling it out alongside Bolton's Gary Cahill and Tottenham's Michael Dawson for a place in the back four alongside John Terry.
In the new England era Capello has turned to two Arsenal youngsters - Jack Wilshire and Keiron Gibbs. Jack Wilshire has impressed Capello and after a successful loan spell at Bolton has returned to Arsenal looking to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal first team. Bobby Zamora and Carlton Cole replace Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch in the squad, this has surprised many but many feel Bobby Zamora deserves his chance after a very successful season at Fulham. England squad in full to face Hungry on Wednesday:
Andrews View:
First of all, what is the actual point of this friendly? The season hasn't even started yet, so how can Fabio Capello possibly drop and select new players to build a new era. FIFA and the FA argue that with competitive internationals in September this is a chance for International teams to warm up for these qualifiers. How exactly? I'm not exactly sure. If England have the same squad available in a months time I will be amazed.
So the squad? Where do I start? I understand David James being dropped as he is now 40 and has just joined Bristol City. Robert Green must feel very hard done to and must have doubts over his International future. Joe Hart and Ben Foster are the obvious choices for the future but I still don't understand why you need three goalkeepers in each squad when only two of them play. Ashley Cole is the best left back we have giving him the first 45 minutes makes sense with Keiron Gibbs making his debut in the second half. Keiron Gibbs will learn a lot from Ashley Cole but what are Michael Dawson, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka really going to learn by playing alongside John Terry against Hungry?
If Gareth Barry is injured, even if it's minor and after such a poor World Cup why is Tom Huddlestone not even in the squad? What was the point in even selecting him in the 30 man provisional squad for the World Cup if he's not going to be selected in the next squad.
There is no Joe Cole which again surprises me but Fabio Capello was obviously not impressed and only seemed to play him in the World Cup to answer questions from the media and fans. Theo Walcott should of never been left out the World Cup squad and Capello now knows it by dropping Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips who both had awful World Cups. I would expect Walcott to start on the right side of a three with Ashley Young playing on the left side of Wayne Rooney.
I could go on forever with this squad but my final point is the call of Bobby Zamora who in my opinion is not International class and I would of much prefered to see Gabriel Agbonlahor given his chance as I see him having a better chance of being part of England's Euro 2012 squad.
The main headline of the weekend is league runners up Manchester United defeated double winners Chelsea in the FA's traditional opener to the new season 'The Charity Shield'. It was quite a convincing win for United with Antonio Valenica opening the scoring in the first half with a simple finish.
I didn't watch the first half as I was watching the Cricket & completely forgot it was even happening shows how much The Charity Shield means to a neutral football fan) but from reviews and several friends Facebook status' I did not miss a great deal. The second half I did watch & I was very impressed with Manchester United's new star Javier Hernandez. He looks to have very good movement, I wouldn't say he has blistering pace but he has enough pace to worry defenders & he seems very alert in the box. He took up an excellent position for his goal I want to say he took it well but how he manages to volley the ball onto his own face goes beyond me. Chelsea did manage to pull a goal back after Saloman Kolou put away the rebound from a powerful Daniel Sturridge effort but a third goal by Manchester United ended all hopes of Chelsea mounting a comeback. I have to say Dimitar Berbatov's goal was an absolute delightful finish lobbing Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Hilario from the edge of the box leaving the keeper in no-man's land. Berbatov even celebrated with the Manchester United fans which was something that didn't happen a lot last season. Everybody knows Berbatov has talent so maybe this is the season he steps up and shows he can be a Manchester United player. On a side-note it was a masterclass from man of the match Paul Scholes who has not lost anything over the pre-season. His passing was outstanding and after a discussion with a close friend I have to say he is the best English player since Paul Gascogine. Fabregas staying at Arsenal (For now):
There won't be many Arsenal fans who actually cared about the Charity Shield yesterday but the biggest news coming out of Arsenal this weekend is their captain Cesc Fabregas will be staying at Arsenal for at least another year after respecting Arsenal's decision not to listen to offers from Barcelona.
Now that Barcelona have admitted defeat in re-signing for at least another year Cesc Fabregas must focus on getting fit and helping Arsenal try and end the long run without a trophy. News coming out of Arsenal is that Robin van Persie and Fabregas himself will miss the first game of the season against Liverpool. This is a blow for Arsenal but Arsenal proved last year they are capable of winning games without their big names. Responsibility will fall on Samri Nasri and Andrey Arshavin to supply new signing Marouane Chamakh to score the goals that could give Arsenal a big advantage over rivals Liverpool and Manchester City and Tottenham who play each other on the first day of the season. Capello announces England squad:
Fabio Capello this weekend announced his first England squad since a dismal World Cup campaign. Capello has left out David James, Robert Green, Michael Carrick, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher who retired from International football after the World Cup are also missing.
Fabio Capello has kept his faith in the big names who flopped this summer with Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole and captain Steven Gerrard all being named in the squad alongside Gareth Barry, Glen Johnson and James Milner. Fabio Capello hands Theo Walcott a re-call alongside Darren Bent and Adam Johnson who missed out after being named in England's provisional 30 man squad. Ashley Young and Paul Robinson earn re-calls alongside Phil Jagielka who after an injury hit season looks to be batling it out alongside Bolton's Gary Cahill and Tottenham's Michael Dawson for a place in the back four alongside John Terry.
In the new England era Capello has turned to two Arsenal youngsters - Jack Wilshire and Keiron Gibbs. Jack Wilshire has impressed Capello and after a successful loan spell at Bolton has returned to Arsenal looking to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal first team. Bobby Zamora and Carlton Cole replace Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch in the squad, this has surprised many but many feel Bobby Zamora deserves his chance after a very successful season at Fulham. England squad in full to face Hungry on Wednesday:
Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City),
Paul Robinson (Blackburn)
Defenders:
Wes Brown (Manchester United)
, Gary Cahill (Bolton), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea) Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Forwards: Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham)
England troubles:
Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson and Manchester United defender Wes Brown have retired from International Football days after being called up by Fabio Capello. Five players including Darren Bent who today has withdrawn from the squad missed Monday's training but are expected to train tomorrow ahead of the friendly on Wednesday. John Terry and Frank Lampard took part in the warm up but sat out training and Gareth Barry missed out with an ankle problem. Capello has just 16 available players for training on Monday giving more opportunities to Bobby Zamora, Keiron Gibbs and Jack Wilshire who are all expected to make their debuts on Wednesday.
Andrews View:
First of all, what is the actual point of this friendly? The season hasn't even started yet, so how can Fabio Capello possibly drop and select new players to build a new era. FIFA and the FA argue that with competitive internationals in September this is a chance for International teams to warm up for these qualifiers. How exactly? I'm not exactly sure. If England have the same squad available in a months time I will be amazed.
So the squad? Where do I start? I understand David James being dropped as he is now 40 and has just joined Bristol City. Robert Green must feel very hard done to and must have doubts over his International future. Joe Hart and Ben Foster are the obvious choices for the future but I still don't understand why you need three goalkeepers in each squad when only two of them play. Ashley Cole is the best left back we have giving him the first 45 minutes makes sense with Keiron Gibbs making his debut in the second half. Keiron Gibbs will learn a lot from Ashley Cole but what are Michael Dawson, Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka really going to learn by playing alongside John Terry against Hungry?
If Gareth Barry is injured, even if it's minor and after such a poor World Cup why is Tom Huddlestone not even in the squad? What was the point in even selecting him in the 30 man provisional squad for the World Cup if he's not going to be selected in the next squad.
There is no Joe Cole which again surprises me but Fabio Capello was obviously not impressed and only seemed to play him in the World Cup to answer questions from the media and fans. Theo Walcott should of never been left out the World Cup squad and Capello now knows it by dropping Aaron Lennon and Shaun Wright-Phillips who both had awful World Cups. I would expect Walcott to start on the right side of a three with Ashley Young playing on the left side of Wayne Rooney.
I could go on forever with this squad but my final point is the call of Bobby Zamora who in my opinion is not International class and I would of much prefered to see Gabriel Agbonlahor given his chance as I see him having a better chance of being part of England's Euro 2012 squad.
How can anyone seriously post this?
Reading through 'The Guardian' football transfer rumours is quite comical at times but this post today really made me laugh. I won't bother putting any opinions on this one myself because I'm completely lost for words how The Guardian, maybe the best internet blog site for sport there is (in my opinion) can even post this onto their website.
So read on and try and keep a straight face if you can!
Meanwhile, at White Hart Lane, Harry Redknapp risks coming to blows with his former assistant, Tony Pulis. The pair are both trying to lure Nice striker Loïc Rémy, who has given a strong hint as to which he finds more attractive by admitting: "I visited [Stoke] with my agent but it must be said it's not a club in keeping with what I wanted. They have a beautiful stadium all the same and the training facilities aren't bad. Tottenham? I haven't been there but it's a good club with aspirations of getting even bigger. So they are obviously interesting."
Pulis will console himself over Rémy's rejection by attempting to convince Sevilla's Luís Fabiano, formerly a target of Spurs, to turn down Marseille and come to the beautiful Britannia instead. And if that doesn't work, Pulis will swallow his pride and just ask Redknapp to give him Peter Crouch.
You've heard the one about James Milner going to Manchester, right?
Wrong! Because you thought he was heading to City, but the word on the street now is that it's United who will nab him in the end. And when that sale goes through for a preposterous amount of money, Martin O'Neill will have a few million more ways to persuade Steven Pienaar to swap Everton for Aston Villa. Serie A side Palermo, meanwhile, want to prise Leon Osman away from Goodison Park.
Thursday 5 August 2010
Tottenham seeded for Champions League Playoff
Tottenham have been seeded for the UEFA Champions League playoff drawn which will be drawn tomorrow (Friday 6th August). Spurs join Ajax, Seville, Werden Breman and Zenit St. Pettersburg as the seeded teams for a chance of playing in the group stage of the Champions League. Tottenham could face either Auxerre, Braga, Dynamo Kiev, Sampdoria or Young Boys for a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Seeded Teams:Ajax (Hol)Seville (Spa) Tottenham Hotspur (Eng) Werden Breman (Ger)Zenit St. Pettersburg (Rus) Unseeded Teams:
Auxerre (Fra)
Braga (Por)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukr)
Sampdoria (Ita)
Young Boys (Swi)
Breaking News: HMRC lose high court against Portsmouth
Portsmouth have won the latest round of their survival battle after the tax authorities failed in an appeal over the club's Company Voluntary Agreement.
Portsmouth warned they could go out of business if Thursday's tax ruling in the High Court goes against them. But now Portsmouth have won the the case fans and players can now look towards their first game in the Championship against Coventry at the Ricoh Arena.
More to follow.......
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Breaking News: There is None
Comedian Kevin Bridges said it best this week on the last episode of Channel 4 TV show 'Stand Up for the Week'. Whats happened in the world of sport this week? Nothing! The biggest sport occasion this week was Cricket as England thrashed Pakistan at Trent Bridge in the 1st Test. A test I had the pleasure of seeing every run scored and every wicket taken from behind the bowlers arm working on the bar in the impressive Derek Randell Suite. Fernando Torres has told Liverpool he's staying (big shock, didn't see that one coming). Sky Sports has began it's build up to The Football League (which I'm actually quite excited about for a change), and of course most un-important game in the English Football Calender - The Charity Shield is this Sunday. I'll give you my prediction for that one now - it will be boring, slow paced, the Wembley pitch will again be rubbish and either Manchester United or Chelsea will win a trophy that neither of them care about. The English transfer market continues to make very slow progress with teams not willing to pay out the fees they have paid out in the past. It really puts in perspective just how poor some of the performances were in the World Cup was when no club have really took an interest in any of the players who did shine. Mesut Oezil of Werder Bremen during the World Cup was outstanding for Germany but none of the bigger clubs across Europe seem remotely interested. Luis Suarez of Ajax also impressed (even if he did cheat, just a little bit) but Ajax have put a price of 30 million euros on their star player knowing no-body is willing to put that kind of money. Interestingly that makes him just 4 million euros off the price Valencia sold David Villa to Barcelona (I know which player I would rather have). In a rather dull transfer window there has been money spent, Manchester City have spent over £60 million with the signings of Yaya Toure from Barcelona, David Silva from Valenica and Jermone Boateng from Hamburg. Yaya Toure apparently cost them £30 million and around £200,000 a week in wages which I find laughable and Barcelona must be very happy about this deal. Manchester United may not have bought the profile players there fans are used to but they have still spent over £15 on Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. Most of which I believe will be in installments and future achievements of the players and the club. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is looking for three more players but so far have only strengthened there squad bought with Brazilian Sandro signing from International for an undiscoled fee. Sandro is a player of some talent, which really makes me wonder why Harry Redknapp was looking to bring in West Ham's Scott Parker when they already have future England international Tom Huddlestone and Wilson Palacious who I believe to be the best defensive midfielder in the country. The only transfer activity at the moment is Ramires of Benfica to Chelsea. Well I'm being generous when I say from Benfica, they only own 20% of the player, the other 80% is owned by the same agent of Carlos Tevez (who you have to admit has some good taste in footballing talent). This transfer looks to be a complicated one but with Ramires expected to have a medical at Chelsea on Wednesday (today) we could see Ramires starting for Chelsea in the Premiership opener at home to West Brom. Two players who I am amazed no-body has took an interest in are Manchester City's Steven Ireland and Joe Hart. It's pretty obvious they are not going to be first choice this season so why are teams in the Premiership not looking at these fantastic young players? Aston Villa would be reculent to sell James Milner to Manchester City for obvious reasons but Steven Ireland would do a club like Aston Villa a great job. If Martin O'Neill is willing to pay £10million plus for Stuart Downing then Steven Ireland at under £10 million seems a bargain. I also think these two young players could do a fantastic job at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger obviously wants another goalkeeper after losing faith in Manuel Almunia numerous times and Arsenal are a club in a pretty good financial position compared to the teams around them and Steven Ireland is a player who could fit in at Arsenal. His link up with forward players is outstanding, he's technically very good (because he's not English) and he also works very hard in the middle of the field, a quality the Arsenal midfield lacks in the big games. Eventually the transfer window will liven up, in the last week when teams register there 25 players. Clubs will become willing to offload players on loan to the Championship and will lower the evaluation of players. Who knows, Blackpool may actually be able to register 25 players instead of 15. Until then expect the breaking news to be limited and the rumours about players joining your club to be laughable and quite unrealistic. As a Stoke City suppoter I won't be taking anything for granted until I see the players in a Stoke City shirt on the back of local newspaper being quoted of the dream is to play in the Premiership and looking forward to the challenge.
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Torres staying at Liverpool
Fernando Torres has insisted he is happy to stay at Liverpool after the Spanish striker's future has been under constant doubt whilst he was away at the World Cup this summer. Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City have been linked but have never made a formal approach for the player, while Barcelona have also been linked. Torres has showed his loyalty to Liverpool claiming "This is the best club in the country so the targets and expectations are always high". Torres has also told the club offical website he is looking forward to working alongside new signing Joe Cole. After meeting with new boss Roy Hodgson Torres expressed his appreciation for Roy coming to see him while he was on his holidays. "He told me about his plans for the club and what he wanted from me and I appreciated that. I hope he will be the right man to reach the targets of Liverpool Football Club and I am really looking forward to working with him."Andrews View:
Was this really in doubt? Fernando Torres was never going to leave Liverpool this summer no matter who was the manager or the owner. In the recent financial state no club other than Manchester City can afford the demands Liverpool would expect for the sale of their star man. So now that this speculation is over, Sky Sports News can stop trying to make a story, Manchester City can stop pretending they would be able to sign him and Liverpool fans can go back to believing they can win the title if they can keep Torres fit and on his best form.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
New Blog on Blogger:
http://pottersadventures2010.blogspot.com/A new blog set up by myself and a close friend Jamie Palmer. This blog will feature all the experiences of our away travels to Football Grounds across the country in the Premiership. This blog will be more of a light-hearted approach and will feature stories and experiences which we can look back on in years to come and remember. The main feature we will be running is 'Rate the Pie'. This will be rated out of 5 for 'Value for Money', 'Appeareance' and 'Taste'. This chart will soon be looked upon by football fans galore as a guidance for future football match pie statistics!
Tuesday 27 July 2010
Andrews Networks:
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http://andrewleesesport.blogspot.com/
http://andrewleesesport.posterous.com/
http://twitter.com/andrewleese89
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New Blog Feature: Andrews View
In other sports news today, it seems like the transfer window is taking some shape. As a new feature to my blog I will be giving my own thoughts on the recent transfer activities and rumours regarding the Premiership clubs and the European Giants.
Gill insists there is money available
Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists there is money available should Sir Alex Ferguson want to dip into the transfer market. This is after Sir Alex has previously said he is not interested in any new players.
Andrews view:
Sir Alex has faith in his side so I don't expect Fergie to sign anyone else. Fans of Manchester United are still looking for a Ronaldo replacement and I feel David Gill has come out and said this statement to take the pressure of the Glazor family leaving the decision up to Sir Alex. If Sir Alex decides not to buy another player who are the fans to argue?
Sol Campbell to Newcastle:
After being released from Arsenal, linked with Celtic and Sunderland it now looks like Newcastle have landed the former England international. Sky Sports News understands Sol Campbell is to undergo a medical at Newcastle United ahead of joining the Premier League new boys. The signing of Campbell would be a boost for the Premiership new boy's who have only signed Dan Gosling and James Perch so far this summer.
Andrews view:
The signing of such a high profile name would be a great signing for Newcastle. However, at 35 will this signing benefit the club on the field? Campbell would add organisation and a level head at the back, something that cost Newcastle their Premiership status two seasons ago. There is a doubt on whether at 35 Campbell can take part in a whole season, possibly the main reason he was released from Arsenal for the second time. My view on this.... Sol's not cut out for the Premiership anymore.
City close in on Balotelli (Apparently):
Once again sources are telling Sky Sports news that Manchester City have agreed a fee with Inter Milan for Mario Balotelli. Reports in Italy have suggested that a £25million move has already been put in place, but it is understood that no such terms have been agreed.
Andrews View:
I won't believe this transfer until I see Mario Balotelli standing in the City of Manchester Stadium wearing a Manchester City shirt and holding a scarf above his head. The media in Italy are having a field day with this transfer saga and Balotelli's agent seems to be the only person involved who is giving honest answers. This saga will continue until the very last minute in my opinion and I expect this to be the biggest deadline deal of the summer.
One point that does interest me on this transfer is the view of new Inter Milan manager Rafa Benitez, nothing has been said about whether he wants to keep Mario Balotelli are not.
Mascherano wants out of Anfield
It is reported that after meeting with new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson that Javier Mascherano wants out of Anfield with his only destination being Inter Milan. It has been widely reported that Mascherano wants to join up with his former boss and now it looks like he may get his wish. His representative Walter Tamer has previously suggested a move to the European champions would be a 'dream' for Mascherano.
Andrews View:
Not surprised by this at all. I expect Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti to be adding another star to the European Champions. If this happens, it spells trouble for Liverpool who would be losing out on there best players.
Gill insists there is money available
Manchester United chief executive David Gill insists there is money available should Sir Alex Ferguson want to dip into the transfer market. This is after Sir Alex has previously said he is not interested in any new players.
Andrews view:
Sir Alex has faith in his side so I don't expect Fergie to sign anyone else. Fans of Manchester United are still looking for a Ronaldo replacement and I feel David Gill has come out and said this statement to take the pressure of the Glazor family leaving the decision up to Sir Alex. If Sir Alex decides not to buy another player who are the fans to argue?
Sol Campbell to Newcastle:
After being released from Arsenal, linked with Celtic and Sunderland it now looks like Newcastle have landed the former England international. Sky Sports News understands Sol Campbell is to undergo a medical at Newcastle United ahead of joining the Premier League new boys. The signing of Campbell would be a boost for the Premiership new boy's who have only signed Dan Gosling and James Perch so far this summer.
Andrews view:
The signing of such a high profile name would be a great signing for Newcastle. However, at 35 will this signing benefit the club on the field? Campbell would add organisation and a level head at the back, something that cost Newcastle their Premiership status two seasons ago. There is a doubt on whether at 35 Campbell can take part in a whole season, possibly the main reason he was released from Arsenal for the second time. My view on this.... Sol's not cut out for the Premiership anymore.
City close in on Balotelli (Apparently):
Once again sources are telling Sky Sports news that Manchester City have agreed a fee with Inter Milan for Mario Balotelli. Reports in Italy have suggested that a £25million move has already been put in place, but it is understood that no such terms have been agreed.
Andrews View:
I won't believe this transfer until I see Mario Balotelli standing in the City of Manchester Stadium wearing a Manchester City shirt and holding a scarf above his head. The media in Italy are having a field day with this transfer saga and Balotelli's agent seems to be the only person involved who is giving honest answers. This saga will continue until the very last minute in my opinion and I expect this to be the biggest deadline deal of the summer.
One point that does interest me on this transfer is the view of new Inter Milan manager Rafa Benitez, nothing has been said about whether he wants to keep Mario Balotelli are not.
Mascherano wants out of Anfield
It is reported that after meeting with new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson that Javier Mascherano wants out of Anfield with his only destination being Inter Milan. It has been widely reported that Mascherano wants to join up with his former boss and now it looks like he may get his wish. His representative Walter Tamer has previously suggested a move to the European champions would be a 'dream' for Mascherano.
Andrews View:
Not surprised by this at all. I expect Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti to be adding another star to the European Champions. If this happens, it spells trouble for Liverpool who would be losing out on there best players.
1st Pre-Season Game Tonight - Derby v Stoke
Tonight I am making the short journey to Pride Park to watch Derby County welcome Premiership side Stok Citye.
As a Stoke City fan I am excited to watch there first real competitive match of pre-season. After scoring six past Newcastle Town on Saturday I expect them to be in confident mood especially hat-trick hero Tuncay. I expect Tuncay to start tonight but I won't be surprised to see Tony Pulis go with his preferred partnership of Ricardo Fuller and Mama Sidebe upfront.
Derby also scored six at the weekend but conceded five against Chesterfield which will be a bigger concern for manager Nigel Clough.
I'm looking forward to this and tomorrow I will upload a match report and where these two teams can go from here. Not done a match report since the England warm up games for the World Cup so this may be interesting challenge for me. Also with the match report a friend of mine will be giving his expert opinions on the half time pies and coffee.
As a Stoke City fan I am excited to watch there first real competitive match of pre-season. After scoring six past Newcastle Town on Saturday I expect them to be in confident mood especially hat-trick hero Tuncay. I expect Tuncay to start tonight but I won't be surprised to see Tony Pulis go with his preferred partnership of Ricardo Fuller and Mama Sidebe upfront.
Derby also scored six at the weekend but conceded five against Chesterfield which will be a bigger concern for manager Nigel Clough.
I'm looking forward to this and tomorrow I will upload a match report and where these two teams can go from here. Not done a match report since the England warm up games for the World Cup so this may be interesting challenge for me. Also with the match report a friend of mine will be giving his expert opinions on the half time pies and coffee.
Wednesday 21 July 2010
Mancini confirms interest in Donovon
Manchester City boss has said the signing of Landon Donovon from LA Galaxy is a possibility.
Donavon who impressed for the USA in the World Cup has caught the eye of the Eastland’s boss after a good loan spell at Everton. The former Bayern Leverkusen player is contracted for LA Galaxy who will be un-willing to sell but with Manchester City's spending power LA Galaxy may be forced to part company with their US starlet.
Manchester City who are currently touring America as part of their pre-season have two games scheduled with the New York Redbulls and Club America could use the possible signing as a way to break the US market; something Manchester United and Chelsea have done well in recent years. The arrival of Landon Donavon would give the same merchandise opportunity as their Manchester rivals who have with Park Ji Sung who is the now biggest player in Asia.
One problem Manchester City may face is will Donavon be willing to move to a team that already have the attacking options of Adam Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlos Tevez, Craig Bellamy and new signing David Silva.
Donavon who impressed for the USA in the World Cup has caught the eye of the Eastland’s boss after a good loan spell at Everton. The former Bayern Leverkusen player is contracted for LA Galaxy who will be un-willing to sell but with Manchester City's spending power LA Galaxy may be forced to part company with their US starlet.
Manchester City who are currently touring America as part of their pre-season have two games scheduled with the New York Redbulls and Club America could use the possible signing as a way to break the US market; something Manchester United and Chelsea have done well in recent years. The arrival of Landon Donavon would give the same merchandise opportunity as their Manchester rivals who have with Park Ji Sung who is the now biggest player in Asia.
One problem Manchester City may face is will Donavon be willing to move to a team that already have the attacking options of Adam Johnson, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Carlos Tevez, Craig Bellamy and new signing David Silva.
FIFA approves use Two Additional Assistant Referees
Fifa has approved the use of two additional assistant referees for the next two seasons of UEFA Champions League football.
UEFA experimented with two extra officials during the 2009/10 Europa League and after a successful campaign it has been expanded to be included in UEFA's premier competition the UEFA Champions League.
After a meeting and review in Zurich, the board has decided to continue the trails for at least the next two Champions League campaign.
After an incident involving England's Frank Lampard against Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup goal line technology will now be on the agenda of the next Annual Business Meeting of the IFAB (International Football Association Board) in October this year.
UEFA experimented with two extra officials during the 2009/10 Europa League and after a successful campaign it has been expanded to be included in UEFA's premier competition the UEFA Champions League.
After a meeting and review in Zurich, the board has decided to continue the trails for at least the next two Champions League campaign.
After an incident involving England's Frank Lampard against Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup goal line technology will now be on the agenda of the next Annual Business Meeting of the IFAB (International Football Association Board) in October this year.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
Gerrard Commits Liverpool Future & other EPL news
Steven Gerrard has today pledged his future to Liverpool after transfer rumours he was on his way out of the club.
The Liverpool captain was reported to be leaving Anfield this summer after a disappointing season saw Liverpool finish 7th below Spurs, Manchester City and Aston Villa in the race for a Champions League spot.
"I made it clear that I simply needed to concentrate on the World Cup and then have a decent holiday with my family," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
"I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I'm very impressed with his plans for the future.
I've only returned to training today at Melwood with some of the other World Cup players, but I can't wait for the new season to start."
Gerrard has also spoken on the signing of Joe Cole claiming it to be a fantastic signing for the Mersey side Giants.
"He's proved his ability over many years in the Premier League, sometimes against us - so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool."
In Other News:
Fulham target Martin Jol has snubbed the chance to become there new manager and has decided to stay with Dutch giants Ajax. The news will be a blow for Fulham who had made Martin Jol there number one target to replace Roy Hodgson. Fulham will now need to go back to there shortlist and look at other possible options. Those include former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has said the club will be not making anymore further signings this summer. United have bought in Chris Smalling from Fulham and Mexico's young star Javier Hernandez arriving from Chivas Guadalajara. This news now rules out a move to Inter wonder kid Mario Balotelli who is also a target for city rivals Manchester City.
The Liverpool captain was reported to be leaving Anfield this summer after a disappointing season saw Liverpool finish 7th below Spurs, Manchester City and Aston Villa in the race for a Champions League spot.
"I made it clear that I simply needed to concentrate on the World Cup and then have a decent holiday with my family," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
"I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I'm very impressed with his plans for the future.
I've only returned to training today at Melwood with some of the other World Cup players, but I can't wait for the new season to start."
Gerrard has also spoken on the signing of Joe Cole claiming it to be a fantastic signing for the Mersey side Giants.
"He's proved his ability over many years in the Premier League, sometimes against us - so it will be fantastic to play alongside him in a red shirt for Liverpool."
In Other News:
Fulham target Martin Jol has snubbed the chance to become there new manager and has decided to stay with Dutch giants Ajax. The news will be a blow for Fulham who had made Martin Jol there number one target to replace Roy Hodgson. Fulham will now need to go back to there shortlist and look at other possible options. Those include former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has said the club will be not making anymore further signings this summer. United have bought in Chris Smalling from Fulham and Mexico's young star Javier Hernandez arriving from Chivas Guadalajara. This news now rules out a move to Inter wonder kid Mario Balotelli who is also a target for city rivals Manchester City.
Monday 19 July 2010
Breaking News: Joe Cole signs for Liverpool
Liverpool has signed former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole on a free transfer on a four year deal.
The 28 year old England international failed to impress the Chelsea board and left the club at the end of last season. Cole is expected to complete a medical within the next 48 hours.
Joe Cole had been linked with Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal but has chosen Liverpool even though the Merseyside club could not offer him Champions League football.
Cole is the second summer arrival at Liverpool after Serbia forward Milan Jovanovic joined following the expiration of his contract with Standard Liege.
The 28 year old England international failed to impress the Chelsea board and left the club at the end of last season. Cole is expected to complete a medical within the next 48 hours.
Joe Cole had been linked with Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal but has chosen Liverpool even though the Merseyside club could not offer him Champions League football.
Cole is the second summer arrival at Liverpool after Serbia forward Milan Jovanovic joined following the expiration of his contract with Standard Liege.
Friday 9 July 2010
Final's Day
Now it's been a while since I uploaded a post on here, due to work & other reasons. I'm still working hard on my articles & trying to find myself a writing style I'm comfortable with!
So this weekend is the World Cup final. Holland vs Spain, an all European final which I cannot say I am surprised about with it's dominance but it was looking like it was going to be an all South American final for a while! I guess it has been the best two teams over the last two years competing in this final. The European Champions Spain against the team with the best record in qualifying and the team who has won all 6 games so far in this World Cup!
My prediction is go with Spain simply because of the quality they have. Iniesta and Xavi never fail to perform and hardly ever give away the ball, with David Villa on hot-form I think he could be the difference between the teams & who am I to argue with a physic octopus?!
So this weekend is the World Cup final. Holland vs Spain, an all European final which I cannot say I am surprised about with it's dominance but it was looking like it was going to be an all South American final for a while! I guess it has been the best two teams over the last two years competing in this final. The European Champions Spain against the team with the best record in qualifying and the team who has won all 6 games so far in this World Cup!
My prediction is go with Spain simply because of the quality they have. Iniesta and Xavi never fail to perform and hardly ever give away the ball, with David Villa on hot-form I think he could be the difference between the teams & who am I to argue with a physic octopus?!
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Fear of failure? Or fear of Capello? Whatever it is, big personalities need to shine through for Capello's sake
Capello may call John Terry’s comments a ‘big mistake’ but John Terry’s comments were for the best of England, he is an England fan like everybody else and he shouldn’t be forced to apologise to the media.
You can take away an arm-band but you can’t stop personalities shining through:
John Terry may not be captain anymore but can anyone really say there is another player in that England camp that wants to beat Slovenia and do his country proud more than John Terry? John Terry is a leader and more importantly he wants to win. Fabio Capello may be able to take away the captain’s armband from John Terry but he cannot take away his personality as the leader. In this kind of situation this is where you need strong personalities who have experience in situations such as England’s. At Chelsea Terry is the leader, the main man in the dressing room, he is entitled to voice his opinions and frustrations. The leader of the team is one that takes the criticism; he has the weight of the team on his shoulders. The skills that make a player a good leader is he takes whatever is thrown at him on the chin and leads a group of men into battle.
That is exactly what Slovenia vs England on Wednesday afternoon is, it won’t be pretty and it will be nerve-racking but would we really have it any other way? After-all we are England; as a country we don’t do things easily. The England World Cup campaign as disappointing as it has been so far has captured a nation more than we could have ever expected.
England and the Press:
John Terry has simply said exactly what every England fan and the British Media are saying back in England which is that Joe Cole has to play and the system needs to be changed with Steven Gerrard playing off Wayne Rooney. However, because John Terry is no longer Fabio Capello’s captain, he does not have the privilege to openly discuss England’s tactics in the media in front of 250 media journalists who are looking for a sentence to twist into a headline. He lost that privilege when he let down Capello and abused his power as a role model and the most important man in the dressing room. If John Terry wants to discuss England tactic’s he must do it one-on-one with Capello and as Capello has said recently ‘his door is always open’.
It says a lot when no other England footballer has come out and voiced their frustrations with the system. Frank Lampard who has an experienced head and seems to be quite a calming influence in the England camp has come out and squashed everything John Terry said making his fellow Chelsea teammate look like an outcast who is disturbing the team’s morale. John Terry has been forced to apologise for voicing his frustrations and personally I think that’s wrong, where is Wayne Rooney’s apology? Rooney made an emotional outburst and behaved like the Wayne Rooney of old, by lashing out at the fans that booed him and his team mate’s efforts on the field and used language that is unacceptable. Wayne Rooney has matured a lot as a footballer and as a person since he became a dad and a husband, but in this instant Rooney acted in a less professional way than John Terry did and he’s been let off and taken out of the lime-light. John Terry has been forced to apologise and take a back seat and that is not part of his personality but it is something he has to deal with because of his actions in recent months.
Playing in fear.... of Capello:
In the qualification group stage Fabio Capello stopped England playing with fear and to play with confidence. England’s performance at the World Cup has shown no confidence at all and almost looked scared to do anything in-case they make a bigger mistake than what Robert Green did. They are no-longer playing with fear of losing and upsetting a nation; they are playing in fear of upsetting Capello. Has the Green mistake had more of a mental impact on the other players than it has had on Robert Green himself?
Terry is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, no England fan has ever doubted that at all He has been one of England’s most consistent performers in the two games. He has done everything he could have done and it will be a big loss for England not having the partnership of Jamie Carragher and John Terry at the back against Slovenia. They are both captains for their clubs and are real leaders of men; they would have surely been the most vocal against Slovenia because that is their personality on a football pitch.
Fabio Capello has called Terry’s comments a ‘big mistake’, but at least John Terry spoke his mind, he is frustrated just like everyone watching it is. Steven Gerrard is the captain of England during this World Cup, and he is playing on the left hand-side of the midfield. Gerrard knows that his not his best position and so does everybody else, so why is Steven Gerrard not pleading to Capello saying ‘I am the leader of this team; play me in my best position and I will win you the World Cup’. We may not be hearing Steven Gerrard voice his frustration but you can certainly see it on the pitch, not once did Gerrard attack on the left, he came inside and wanted to take control and influence the game. This is again just like John Terry, this is Steven Gerrard’s personality; this is what he has done for Liverpool for years so why is Capello not putting him in his best position and letting him do it?
The proud Italian that Capello is has his ways; he could be described as ‘stubborn’ but the tactics and system used against Algeria is what worked for England in the qualification stages and nobody can deny that. What Capello seems to be forgetting is England played against minnow’s such as Estonia and Andorra in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley, I’m pretty sure that even lower league Premiership sides could easily beat these minnow nations with that kind of support. In the biggest football competition there are no such things as minnow’s, what has worked for England then may not work now, nations will raise their game against England and watch the qualification games and study what worked and work out how to stop it. New Zealand is the smallest nation there and even has two amateur players and they drew with the World Cup champions Italy and possibly could of won. Those New Zealand players will never play in a bigger game and that is exactly what attitude Algeria took against England.
Pressure as a Nation:
No-body can deny that Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and other big names have played in more high profile games than England v Algeria, but Slovenia v England is possibly the biggest game of their lives, this is more important that the actual World Cup final. If England does not win this game, there will no World Cup final. They are not coming home as winners or runners up, they are coming home as a team that failed to get out of the easiest group in the World Cup (on paper at least). The World Cup is bigger than the Champions League final and too me, it does not look these players understand that. If players cannot raise their games when representing England in a World Cup then when can they? Playing in the UEFA Champions League players are representing their club team, where only percentage of the nation support, for England the whole nation becomes one, and the players know this far too well. Every single fan of English nationality wants them to win, it does not matter whether they support Manchester United and live in Bournemouth; it does not matter whether you are born in Liverpool and a Liverpool season ticket holder or whether you support Stockport County. Football fans in England are now all sharing the same goal.
Everybody knows these players are good players, and they want these big name players to step up and show why they are rated among the best players in the World because the World Cup is where legends are born. The whole country lived off the success of England’s victory in 1966 and shared the heartbreak of losing to Germany in the Semi-Finals in Italia 90 and if England fail to reach the next stage in 2010, the whole nation will share the frustration of this World Cup for a very long time, everybody will remember where they were when England drew with Algeria or when Robert Green fumbled the ball over his own line against USA. In future years when younger generations ask what do you remember from the World Cup 2010 in South Africa? Fans will certainly remember those matches and where they were, because football is a religion and every England football fan is proud to be English.
____________________________________________________
Too be continued, by Andrew Leese
You can take away an arm-band but you can’t stop personalities shining through:
John Terry may not be captain anymore but can anyone really say there is another player in that England camp that wants to beat Slovenia and do his country proud more than John Terry? John Terry is a leader and more importantly he wants to win. Fabio Capello may be able to take away the captain’s armband from John Terry but he cannot take away his personality as the leader. In this kind of situation this is where you need strong personalities who have experience in situations such as England’s. At Chelsea Terry is the leader, the main man in the dressing room, he is entitled to voice his opinions and frustrations. The leader of the team is one that takes the criticism; he has the weight of the team on his shoulders. The skills that make a player a good leader is he takes whatever is thrown at him on the chin and leads a group of men into battle.
That is exactly what Slovenia vs England on Wednesday afternoon is, it won’t be pretty and it will be nerve-racking but would we really have it any other way? After-all we are England; as a country we don’t do things easily. The England World Cup campaign as disappointing as it has been so far has captured a nation more than we could have ever expected.
England and the Press:
John Terry has simply said exactly what every England fan and the British Media are saying back in England which is that Joe Cole has to play and the system needs to be changed with Steven Gerrard playing off Wayne Rooney. However, because John Terry is no longer Fabio Capello’s captain, he does not have the privilege to openly discuss England’s tactics in the media in front of 250 media journalists who are looking for a sentence to twist into a headline. He lost that privilege when he let down Capello and abused his power as a role model and the most important man in the dressing room. If John Terry wants to discuss England tactic’s he must do it one-on-one with Capello and as Capello has said recently ‘his door is always open’.
It says a lot when no other England footballer has come out and voiced their frustrations with the system. Frank Lampard who has an experienced head and seems to be quite a calming influence in the England camp has come out and squashed everything John Terry said making his fellow Chelsea teammate look like an outcast who is disturbing the team’s morale. John Terry has been forced to apologise for voicing his frustrations and personally I think that’s wrong, where is Wayne Rooney’s apology? Rooney made an emotional outburst and behaved like the Wayne Rooney of old, by lashing out at the fans that booed him and his team mate’s efforts on the field and used language that is unacceptable. Wayne Rooney has matured a lot as a footballer and as a person since he became a dad and a husband, but in this instant Rooney acted in a less professional way than John Terry did and he’s been let off and taken out of the lime-light. John Terry has been forced to apologise and take a back seat and that is not part of his personality but it is something he has to deal with because of his actions in recent months.
Playing in fear.... of Capello:
In the qualification group stage Fabio Capello stopped England playing with fear and to play with confidence. England’s performance at the World Cup has shown no confidence at all and almost looked scared to do anything in-case they make a bigger mistake than what Robert Green did. They are no-longer playing with fear of losing and upsetting a nation; they are playing in fear of upsetting Capello. Has the Green mistake had more of a mental impact on the other players than it has had on Robert Green himself?
Terry is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, no England fan has ever doubted that at all He has been one of England’s most consistent performers in the two games. He has done everything he could have done and it will be a big loss for England not having the partnership of Jamie Carragher and John Terry at the back against Slovenia. They are both captains for their clubs and are real leaders of men; they would have surely been the most vocal against Slovenia because that is their personality on a football pitch.
Fabio Capello has called Terry’s comments a ‘big mistake’, but at least John Terry spoke his mind, he is frustrated just like everyone watching it is. Steven Gerrard is the captain of England during this World Cup, and he is playing on the left hand-side of the midfield. Gerrard knows that his not his best position and so does everybody else, so why is Steven Gerrard not pleading to Capello saying ‘I am the leader of this team; play me in my best position and I will win you the World Cup’. We may not be hearing Steven Gerrard voice his frustration but you can certainly see it on the pitch, not once did Gerrard attack on the left, he came inside and wanted to take control and influence the game. This is again just like John Terry, this is Steven Gerrard’s personality; this is what he has done for Liverpool for years so why is Capello not putting him in his best position and letting him do it?
The proud Italian that Capello is has his ways; he could be described as ‘stubborn’ but the tactics and system used against Algeria is what worked for England in the qualification stages and nobody can deny that. What Capello seems to be forgetting is England played against minnow’s such as Estonia and Andorra in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley, I’m pretty sure that even lower league Premiership sides could easily beat these minnow nations with that kind of support. In the biggest football competition there are no such things as minnow’s, what has worked for England then may not work now, nations will raise their game against England and watch the qualification games and study what worked and work out how to stop it. New Zealand is the smallest nation there and even has two amateur players and they drew with the World Cup champions Italy and possibly could of won. Those New Zealand players will never play in a bigger game and that is exactly what attitude Algeria took against England.
Pressure as a Nation:
No-body can deny that Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and other big names have played in more high profile games than England v Algeria, but Slovenia v England is possibly the biggest game of their lives, this is more important that the actual World Cup final. If England does not win this game, there will no World Cup final. They are not coming home as winners or runners up, they are coming home as a team that failed to get out of the easiest group in the World Cup (on paper at least). The World Cup is bigger than the Champions League final and too me, it does not look these players understand that. If players cannot raise their games when representing England in a World Cup then when can they? Playing in the UEFA Champions League players are representing their club team, where only percentage of the nation support, for England the whole nation becomes one, and the players know this far too well. Every single fan of English nationality wants them to win, it does not matter whether they support Manchester United and live in Bournemouth; it does not matter whether you are born in Liverpool and a Liverpool season ticket holder or whether you support Stockport County. Football fans in England are now all sharing the same goal.
Everybody knows these players are good players, and they want these big name players to step up and show why they are rated among the best players in the World because the World Cup is where legends are born. The whole country lived off the success of England’s victory in 1966 and shared the heartbreak of losing to Germany in the Semi-Finals in Italia 90 and if England fail to reach the next stage in 2010, the whole nation will share the frustration of this World Cup for a very long time, everybody will remember where they were when England drew with Algeria or when Robert Green fumbled the ball over his own line against USA. In future years when younger generations ask what do you remember from the World Cup 2010 in South Africa? Fans will certainly remember those matches and where they were, because football is a religion and every England football fan is proud to be English.
____________________________________________________
Too be continued, by Andrew Leese
Friday 18 June 2010
My England thoughts
My Thoughts on England:
Now one thing I have noticed about when people talk about England’s World Cup chances, and this may sound a pretty obvious statement but the only people who believe we can win it are English. We have all seen the TV adverts starring Ian Wright and Terry Venables for ‘The Sun’ hyping up just maybe England can add the famous second star above the England badge. Every former England manager, player and of course all fans say England can win this World Cup with this squad.
This week Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas came out and said England’s goalkeepers lack big game experience, this got a few eye-brows raising but and boy was he right. It’s not an unknown fact that neither David James nor Robert Green has played European football in recent years. Joe Hart will of course play at the highest level one day but Green and James are not experts when it comes to major European events. They are good goalkeepers, not World Class goalkeepers in the league of Gianluigi Buffon, Julio Cesar and the man himself Iker Casillas.
Now here’s my point, England is only hyped up in the World Cup because of the profile of names – such as Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Steven Gerrard, all big players in the big English clubs. But apart from those names and a handful of others none of them play in the top four clubs in England (including Liverpool in that and not Tottenham). The Premiership has become such a high quality league because of the high quality international talent the top teams have. It’s quite an amazing fact that seven of the American starting XI have featured or do feature in England’s top league. Yes there is a valid argument that if you take Wayne Rooney out of Manchester United and they are not the same team, the same argument is valid with Gerrard at Liverpool and Frank Lampard and John Terry at Chelsea. But what people forget is there are 11 players in a team and there are more foreign players than English players in team in the top four.
The big England clubs are dominated by World Class talent who are not English. Theo Walcott can be electric for Arsenal and look awesome at times but this is because the ball is being played onto the perfect spot by one of the world’s best creative midfielders Cesc Fabregas (who happens to be a European Champion and wanted by the best club team in the world). All Theo Walcott has to do is control it and play the correct ball or get a shot on target (which most the time he fails to do). However, give that same opportunity to team-mate Andrei Asharvin and he makes it look effortless.
This is exactly the same for players such as Steven Gerrard who had the perfect ball supplied to him from Xabi Alonso over the last three or four seasons, which in my opinion Alonso was the real star of Liverpool but does not get appreciated in a media dominated around English celebrity footballers. Now it does not take a genius to see why Liverpool and Steven Gerrard has struggled this season as Xabi Alonso now plays for Real Madrid.
On Saturday night the world got a glimpse of exactly what England should be capable of doing on a regular basis. Emily Heskey played a perfect ball into Steven Gerrard who did exactly what other team’s see when he is given the service he gets or used to get for his club. Gerrard is a very good finisher and that’s why he’s given the title of being one of the best in the world in his position just off a front man, and of course here comes the ‘but’. With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard being forced to play together in centre midfield of a 4-4-2 formation (who by the way none of the top four teams in England play this formation) you are limiting their attacking instincts and they are playing different roles to the roles they play for their clubs. This is why Gareth Barry is so important because he is the one breaking up play and supplying the service to Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard who are responsible for supplying service to Wayne Rooney, Emile Heskey and Aaron Lennon, or by scoring goals themselves.
After watching the German’s cut Australia into little sorry pieces England need to take notes and instead of passing the ball to player in ‘position’ you need to pass the ball into the space where the player is ‘heading from his position’ and play at a high tempo when attacking. That is how Wayne Rooney scored the majority of his 30+ goals this season, by moving into a position in the box and receiving the ball at the perfect time; only once did that happen for Wayne and he was very unlucky the ball was just too high for him. That is also how you expose the electric pace of Aaron Lennon; who must of been so frustrated at the poor service he got and where he got the ball, static and having to go backwards more or less every time instead of attacking the bye-line. When Aaron Lennon got the opportunity to do that England looked frightening and the US could not cope, on another day the squared ball across the 6-yard box falls straight to Rooney and not an inch to the side of an out-stretched right foot.
This could be an over-reaction and a slight bit negative as England did deserve the win in Rustenburg and credit must be given to the US team who were organised and closed down England’s key men well and restricted England to more half chances than full chances. If England is to be serious contenders in this tournament they must take those half chances and they must fall to the right players. With a draw from the first group game it is expected that England and US could both finish on 7 points and it is important to finish top of Group C with second place looking like they are facing Germany in the last 16. Goal differences will more than likely be the difference and England must beat Algeria by a healthy margin and hope that the USA don’t as Slovenia needed a late goal from a goalkeeping mistake to dismiss the Algerian’s.
Predictions and Germany v Australia
With four days completed in the World Cup Finals of 2010 the whole world has been waiting for one team to step up and say ‘right, we are the team to beat’. With two of the favourites England and Argentina playing in the first two days of the tournament the scripts were written for Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney or head coaches Fabio Capello and Diego Maradona to be the one’s everyone is talking about. But instead it’s 2006 runners up and 3 time champions Germany who have stepped up and really opened up this World Cup from a rather dull start.
It was Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil and Bayern Munich duo Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm who really caught the eye and showed this World Cup is not just between Spain, Argentina and England. Germany was outstanding against Australia who could not get close to them and will be glad Australia’s rugby team beat England the previous day. Free-flowing football from the German’s is not something you come to expect but that is what we got. It was a performance of perfection, a performance that even Barcelona would have been proud of.
Germany were under-rated going into this World Cup with their squad not offering such star names as we are used to. They are missing Michael Ballack though injury who is normally their leader and driving force but could that actually proof to be a blessing in disguise after the influential but aging German has also been released by Chelsea this summer. After that performance the world certainly know the names of the new breed of German stars.
Every major competition the German team get written off and every time they perform; this is a team that have not lost a World Cup group match since 1994 and hold the record alongside Italy of World Cup final appearances including the last World Cup in their home country under the management of Jurgen Klinsmann. Now coached by then assistant manager Jurgen Lowe Germany have continued the same way Klinsmann’s team did, who really went for it and almost delivered their fourth World Cup victory.
So with Brazil, Spain, Holland and Italy all still the play Germany have set the benchmark for the team to beat; but we all know what happens when you peak too early in the Group stages. I wonder just how many bets the book takers have taken on Germany at 14/1, surely that’s worth a cheeky ten pound note or perhaps double with Miroslav Klose being the golden boot winner after scoring his 11th World Cup goal against the ‘Soccerroo’s’.
My Prediction: The Results
Before sharing my views on England’s performance against the USA let’s look at my predictions for England v USA. I predicted a narrow 2-1 England win and I could of quite easily got that right should England of put away their chances. I said an early goal for England would happen and England being of course England, they would become nervous and USA would come back into the game. One thing I don’t think anyone expected to happen was a howler by Robert Green who became a member of an elite club of England goalkeepers who have made big errors in big games, he’s in good company alongside David Seaman, Paul Robinson and most recently Scott Carson. It may be easy to blame Robert Green for his mistake but he is also the reason England did not go behind after a World Class save prevented Jose Altidore adding to England’s blushes with a powerful run and shot that was tipped onto the post by Green.
I predicted Steven Gerrard would play a big role in this England team and a super taken goal after just four minutes gives me one prediction I got right. I still don’t understand how Shaun Wright-Phillips got the nod after 30 minutes when James Milner left the field who had had not trained much all week after a virus, poor selection maybe from Capello? I would much rather see Joe Cole on the left wing and it says a lot when Glen Johnson from right back is creating much crossing opportunities on his left foot than Shaun Wright-Phillips himself. I’m still not a fan of his and I don’t think I ever will be. Dare I say it but will England ever fix the problem of the left sided midfield player?
One out of three is an average performance on the prediction front.
It was Werder Bremen’s Mesut Ozil and Bayern Munich duo Thomas Muller and Phillip Lahm who really caught the eye and showed this World Cup is not just between Spain, Argentina and England. Germany was outstanding against Australia who could not get close to them and will be glad Australia’s rugby team beat England the previous day. Free-flowing football from the German’s is not something you come to expect but that is what we got. It was a performance of perfection, a performance that even Barcelona would have been proud of.
Germany were under-rated going into this World Cup with their squad not offering such star names as we are used to. They are missing Michael Ballack though injury who is normally their leader and driving force but could that actually proof to be a blessing in disguise after the influential but aging German has also been released by Chelsea this summer. After that performance the world certainly know the names of the new breed of German stars.
Every major competition the German team get written off and every time they perform; this is a team that have not lost a World Cup group match since 1994 and hold the record alongside Italy of World Cup final appearances including the last World Cup in their home country under the management of Jurgen Klinsmann. Now coached by then assistant manager Jurgen Lowe Germany have continued the same way Klinsmann’s team did, who really went for it and almost delivered their fourth World Cup victory.
So with Brazil, Spain, Holland and Italy all still the play Germany have set the benchmark for the team to beat; but we all know what happens when you peak too early in the Group stages. I wonder just how many bets the book takers have taken on Germany at 14/1, surely that’s worth a cheeky ten pound note or perhaps double with Miroslav Klose being the golden boot winner after scoring his 11th World Cup goal against the ‘Soccerroo’s’.
My Prediction: The Results
Before sharing my views on England’s performance against the USA let’s look at my predictions for England v USA. I predicted a narrow 2-1 England win and I could of quite easily got that right should England of put away their chances. I said an early goal for England would happen and England being of course England, they would become nervous and USA would come back into the game. One thing I don’t think anyone expected to happen was a howler by Robert Green who became a member of an elite club of England goalkeepers who have made big errors in big games, he’s in good company alongside David Seaman, Paul Robinson and most recently Scott Carson. It may be easy to blame Robert Green for his mistake but he is also the reason England did not go behind after a World Class save prevented Jose Altidore adding to England’s blushes with a powerful run and shot that was tipped onto the post by Green.
I predicted Steven Gerrard would play a big role in this England team and a super taken goal after just four minutes gives me one prediction I got right. I still don’t understand how Shaun Wright-Phillips got the nod after 30 minutes when James Milner left the field who had had not trained much all week after a virus, poor selection maybe from Capello? I would much rather see Joe Cole on the left wing and it says a lot when Glen Johnson from right back is creating much crossing opportunities on his left foot than Shaun Wright-Phillips himself. I’m still not a fan of his and I don’t think I ever will be. Dare I say it but will England ever fix the problem of the left sided midfield player?
One out of three is an average performance on the prediction front.
Monday 14 June 2010
Andrew’s World Cup Predictions:
(written 9th June 2010, before the World Cup started)
Winners: Spain
Biggest Disappointments: France and Portugal
Runners Up: Brazil or Germany
Dark Horses: Germany or Holland
Golden Boot Winner: David Villa
Wonder kid: Eljero Elia of Holland. Club: Hamberg SV
Star of the Group Stage that no-one will mention: Giovani dos Santos of Mexico
Player of the Tournament: Lionel Messi of Argentina or Xavi of Spain
Biggest star name that won’t perform: Frank Ribery of France
Over Achievers: South Korea
A cheeky little bet: Germany to win the World Cup and Klose to win the Golden Boot
Dream Team:
GK: Casillas
DEF: Ramos, Lucio, Puyol, Lahm
MID: Sneijder, Xavi, Gerrard
ATT: Messi, Villa, Klose
Other Contenders: Rooney, Ronaldo, Torres, Mascherano, Robben, van Persie, Malouda, Podolski, Iniesta, Kaka, Robinho, Park Ji Sung
Winners: Spain
Biggest Disappointments: France and Portugal
Runners Up: Brazil or Germany
Dark Horses: Germany or Holland
Golden Boot Winner: David Villa
Wonder kid: Eljero Elia of Holland. Club: Hamberg SV
Star of the Group Stage that no-one will mention: Giovani dos Santos of Mexico
Player of the Tournament: Lionel Messi of Argentina or Xavi of Spain
Biggest star name that won’t perform: Frank Ribery of France
Over Achievers: South Korea
A cheeky little bet: Germany to win the World Cup and Klose to win the Golden Boot
Dream Team:
GK: Casillas
DEF: Ramos, Lucio, Puyol, Lahm
MID: Sneijder, Xavi, Gerrard
ATT: Messi, Villa, Klose
Other Contenders: Rooney, Ronaldo, Torres, Mascherano, Robben, van Persie, Malouda, Podolski, Iniesta, Kaka, Robinho, Park Ji Sung
Friday 11 June 2010
France will be getting a plane home & it's finally here!
First of all let’s focus quickly on the big day tomorrow, all the hype and anticipation ends for England fans and of course most importantly for the players and the manager. Tomorrow all the talking stops and the nation of England becomes one, with their own opinions and of course it’s the day fan’s become arm chair managers and in the famous words of Al Murray “Every England fan believes they can lead England to World Cup Glory”. Every England fan will have something to say about what players should start, what players shouldn’t, who should be England’s number 1 and who is better out of Lampard and Gerrard.
I am going to give a prediction of a nervy start for England and U.S.A being tight and organised with England eventually growing into the game with Steven Gerrard being England’s key man. An early England goal would be brilliant for the fans but in previous England times nerves can often get the best of everybody, we are England after-all. I think U.S.A will mark Wayne Rooney tightly and the sub’s that Capello makes and the extra added quality in the squad that U.S.A don’t have could be the difference between the two sides.
I’m going to predict a 2-1 England win with either Lampard or a goal from a set-piece opening the scoring. Joe Cole will have a big impact in the 2nd half as I don’t expect him to play from the start.
_____________________________________________________
Now moving onto the opening games from Group A, I have not seen either game so I can’t comment and give any type of opinions but regarding France's performance but the word 'unconvincing' does not surprise me at all! In my World Cup predictions for France I mentioned Florent Malouda would be their driving spark in central midfield and for him not to start and to be left on the bench after an apparent training ground bust up with coach Raymond Domenech then it's not really a surprise France lacked quality. Leaked stories in the press have made out that certain experienced players Florent Malouda especially, believes Thierry Henry should start and it seems Raymond Domenech has told Florent Malouda he's the coach and he picks the team. But the media will obviously not get the full story until after the World Cup is finished and Domenech will be out of a job already being replaced by Laurent Blanc.
With such drama and tension within the ranks of the French squad an early plane home after a disappointing group performance would not surprise me one little bit, I expect changes from France in their next game with the players Domenech wants to play and not the players who are impressing in training or the players in form.
I am going to give a prediction of a nervy start for England and U.S.A being tight and organised with England eventually growing into the game with Steven Gerrard being England’s key man. An early England goal would be brilliant for the fans but in previous England times nerves can often get the best of everybody, we are England after-all. I think U.S.A will mark Wayne Rooney tightly and the sub’s that Capello makes and the extra added quality in the squad that U.S.A don’t have could be the difference between the two sides.
I’m going to predict a 2-1 England win with either Lampard or a goal from a set-piece opening the scoring. Joe Cole will have a big impact in the 2nd half as I don’t expect him to play from the start.
_____________________________________________________
Now moving onto the opening games from Group A, I have not seen either game so I can’t comment and give any type of opinions but regarding France's performance but the word 'unconvincing' does not surprise me at all! In my World Cup predictions for France I mentioned Florent Malouda would be their driving spark in central midfield and for him not to start and to be left on the bench after an apparent training ground bust up with coach Raymond Domenech then it's not really a surprise France lacked quality. Leaked stories in the press have made out that certain experienced players Florent Malouda especially, believes Thierry Henry should start and it seems Raymond Domenech has told Florent Malouda he's the coach and he picks the team. But the media will obviously not get the full story until after the World Cup is finished and Domenech will be out of a job already being replaced by Laurent Blanc.
With such drama and tension within the ranks of the French squad an early plane home after a disappointing group performance would not surprise me one little bit, I expect changes from France in their next game with the players Domenech wants to play and not the players who are impressing in training or the players in form.
Wednesday 9 June 2010
World Cup Predictions: Part 1 - Groups A-C
World Cup Predictions:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, France & Uruguay
France:
I think France should be able to overcome this group but I don’t think they will do it easily. They have good strength in depth in pretty much all areas, but it all depends on whether the French squad are a team or a team of individuals. Centre back and central midfield looks a worry although it may be a blessing that Florent Malouda has been outstanding for Chelsea in that area. There is a lot of hype surrounding playmaker Yoann Gourcuff; Gourcuff is highly rated by coach Raymond Domenech and impressed for Bordeaux in the Champions League this season but Franck Ribery is still the key-man for France.
South Africa:
South Africa may struggle to get out of this group, although it is not uncommon for the hosts of the World Cup to do well in their own country and conditions. A lot relies on Everton’s Steven Pienaar if South Africa are to progress and it worries me that they have only three forwards in the squad of 23. A very unpredictable package but with home advantage I would not be surprised to see them surprise one or two.
Mexico:
After watching Mexico play England in a World Cup warm up match I was impressed with their tactical ability, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge. Carlos Vela who Arsenal have very high hopes for alongside veteran striker Cuahtemoc Blanco are their main strikers but I think a lot depends on the creativity of Giovani dos Santos who was not labelled the next Ronaldinho at Barcelona without reason. I think he may be one of the stars of the group stage.
Uruguay:
I think an unknown quality in this World Cup, not many people seemed to have mentioned them. There forward line is very impressive, obviously people know about Diego Forlan and what he can do and if Uruguay is quality of this group then Forlan needs to fire. The player I am most interested in viewing is highly rated Ajax player Luis Suarez, he already has 10 goals in 30 international appearances and scored 48 goals in two seasons since moving to Ajax from fellow Dutch outfit Groningen.
Qualifiers: France and Uruguay (on goal difference)
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece
Argentina:
Argentina is without doubt favourites for Group B and some people’s favourites for the tournament. There forward selection is unbelievably talented FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, son-in-law of Maradona Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain. I’m sure every nation in the World Cup would like just one player like these in their squad. The two question marks with this team are do they have the balance to allow their attacking options to play? And secondly what on earth is Diego Maradona going to do in this World Cup? Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso still does not make any sense to me but hey! He used 75 players in the qualifying stages so I am sure the other 52 players he missed out are disappointed to have missed out; and people say Fabio Capello had problems having a provisional squad of 30. Argentina should walk this group, but should is a big word in football.
Nigeria:
It is a big blow for Nigeria losing no doubt their best player John Obi Mikel to injury so he won’t play any part in this tournament. He is a big player for them and has experience of major club competitions. Obfemi Martins is obviously their most well-known player, Premiership fans will know how much of a treat he offers and Chinedu Obasi is a high-related youngster for German club Hoffenheim. Joseph Yobo is another player with a lot of experience and will be a major influential factor for them in the group stage. Being an African based team may work in their favour.
Greece:
Now don’t ask me to pronounce any of the chosen squad but I do remember striker towering Angelo Chariesteaus from his winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal. There squad is very experienced with the majority of the squad being 30 or over and this could be beneficial to them. The retirement of legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis has left a big gap in this team. They have a chance of progressing but they have a very tough side of the draw, but I can’t write them off at Euro 2004.
South Korea:
Without a doubt the best nation representing Asia in this year’s World Cup. Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung is without a doubt their highest profile name, he is an indispensible member of this team and they will need his work-rate and his creativity to help them progress. Guus Hiddick obviously had a big influence on this team guiding them to the last four of the World Cup in their homeland beating Spain and Italy on their way before losing out to Germany. I doubt they can repeat this year as their squad lacks a finishing product in front of goal.
Qualifiers: Argentina and Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
England:
After the disappointments of failing to quality for Euro 2008 Fabio Capello has brought back discipline, pride and most of all confidence to the England national side. England in major tournaments has played with fear and have lacked a tempo to their play. Wayne Rooney has emerged as the world-class player everyone all knew he would become and for the first time in many years England are not relying on David Beckham and Michael Owen. Balance in midfield is England’s key to success; they must take notes from when they played Spain and control the midfield if they are to have any chance of winning this tournament. With the pace of Aaron Lennon England have a new dimension to their play, this is something Capello likes and looks to take advantage of. The injury to captain Rio Ferdinand is a blow but England have always been blessed with cover at centre back; England need Gareth Barry to be fit to provide the midfield balance and most important of all the partnership between Gerrard and Rooney is vital in the later stages of the tournament.
USA:
With 10 players now playing or to have played in English Premier League you can tell why this nation has come a long way in ‘soccer’. Landon Donovan is their key man and if they are to qualify out of this group as expected then Landon needs to be on form. Clint Dempsey is a good player and has plenty of experience, but their key man in my opinion is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and if USA keeps clean sheets they should have enough quality to edge their way out of the group stage. Don’t forget this team got to the final of the Confederations Cup and were beating Brazil two goals to nil before a Kaka master class denied them victory.
Algeria:
Now I won’t lie on this one, I’m cheating and using a bit of help from the FIFA website. Looking at the squad I can only name two players who I recognise and they have both played for Portsmouth this season and I don’t need to repeat what happened to them this season. FIFA’s profile of Algeria tells me “Algeria’s strength is in midfield, with Captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger”. So I will trust FIFA (as it’s their World Cup) and agree that they seem to be the players to look out for. If Algeria is to gain any points in Group C they have to beat Slovenia in Game 1, otherwise, it’s zero points for Algeria and possibly quite a demoralising goal-difference against.
Slovenia:
Another team I have very little knowledge on, looking at their 23-man squad the name that sticks out the most is Robert Koren who surprisingly has been released from West Brom this summer. Other than that, I’m relying on the help of FIFA’s profile again. Considering they beat Russia in the qualifiers on their road to South Africa I am predicting they cannot be a bad side. I’m expecting them to be organised, with no real star names they will more of a team rather than relying on individuals. Striker Milivoje Novakovic scored five goals in qualifying so maybe the Cologne striker could be one to watch (thanks FIFA) and in more certain terms he will definitely be a commentator’s nightmare.
Qualifiers: England and USA
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, France & Uruguay
France:
I think France should be able to overcome this group but I don’t think they will do it easily. They have good strength in depth in pretty much all areas, but it all depends on whether the French squad are a team or a team of individuals. Centre back and central midfield looks a worry although it may be a blessing that Florent Malouda has been outstanding for Chelsea in that area. There is a lot of hype surrounding playmaker Yoann Gourcuff; Gourcuff is highly rated by coach Raymond Domenech and impressed for Bordeaux in the Champions League this season but Franck Ribery is still the key-man for France.
South Africa:
South Africa may struggle to get out of this group, although it is not uncommon for the hosts of the World Cup to do well in their own country and conditions. A lot relies on Everton’s Steven Pienaar if South Africa are to progress and it worries me that they have only three forwards in the squad of 23. A very unpredictable package but with home advantage I would not be surprised to see them surprise one or two.
Mexico:
After watching Mexico play England in a World Cup warm up match I was impressed with their tactical ability, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge. Carlos Vela who Arsenal have very high hopes for alongside veteran striker Cuahtemoc Blanco are their main strikers but I think a lot depends on the creativity of Giovani dos Santos who was not labelled the next Ronaldinho at Barcelona without reason. I think he may be one of the stars of the group stage.
Uruguay:
I think an unknown quality in this World Cup, not many people seemed to have mentioned them. There forward line is very impressive, obviously people know about Diego Forlan and what he can do and if Uruguay is quality of this group then Forlan needs to fire. The player I am most interested in viewing is highly rated Ajax player Luis Suarez, he already has 10 goals in 30 international appearances and scored 48 goals in two seasons since moving to Ajax from fellow Dutch outfit Groningen.
Qualifiers: France and Uruguay (on goal difference)
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece
Argentina:
Argentina is without doubt favourites for Group B and some people’s favourites for the tournament. There forward selection is unbelievably talented FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, son-in-law of Maradona Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain. I’m sure every nation in the World Cup would like just one player like these in their squad. The two question marks with this team are do they have the balance to allow their attacking options to play? And secondly what on earth is Diego Maradona going to do in this World Cup? Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso still does not make any sense to me but hey! He used 75 players in the qualifying stages so I am sure the other 52 players he missed out are disappointed to have missed out; and people say Fabio Capello had problems having a provisional squad of 30. Argentina should walk this group, but should is a big word in football.
Nigeria:
It is a big blow for Nigeria losing no doubt their best player John Obi Mikel to injury so he won’t play any part in this tournament. He is a big player for them and has experience of major club competitions. Obfemi Martins is obviously their most well-known player, Premiership fans will know how much of a treat he offers and Chinedu Obasi is a high-related youngster for German club Hoffenheim. Joseph Yobo is another player with a lot of experience and will be a major influential factor for them in the group stage. Being an African based team may work in their favour.
Greece:
Now don’t ask me to pronounce any of the chosen squad but I do remember striker towering Angelo Chariesteaus from his winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal. There squad is very experienced with the majority of the squad being 30 or over and this could be beneficial to them. The retirement of legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis has left a big gap in this team. They have a chance of progressing but they have a very tough side of the draw, but I can’t write them off at Euro 2004.
South Korea:
Without a doubt the best nation representing Asia in this year’s World Cup. Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung is without a doubt their highest profile name, he is an indispensible member of this team and they will need his work-rate and his creativity to help them progress. Guus Hiddick obviously had a big influence on this team guiding them to the last four of the World Cup in their homeland beating Spain and Italy on their way before losing out to Germany. I doubt they can repeat this year as their squad lacks a finishing product in front of goal.
Qualifiers: Argentina and Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
England:
After the disappointments of failing to quality for Euro 2008 Fabio Capello has brought back discipline, pride and most of all confidence to the England national side. England in major tournaments has played with fear and have lacked a tempo to their play. Wayne Rooney has emerged as the world-class player everyone all knew he would become and for the first time in many years England are not relying on David Beckham and Michael Owen. Balance in midfield is England’s key to success; they must take notes from when they played Spain and control the midfield if they are to have any chance of winning this tournament. With the pace of Aaron Lennon England have a new dimension to their play, this is something Capello likes and looks to take advantage of. The injury to captain Rio Ferdinand is a blow but England have always been blessed with cover at centre back; England need Gareth Barry to be fit to provide the midfield balance and most important of all the partnership between Gerrard and Rooney is vital in the later stages of the tournament.
USA:
With 10 players now playing or to have played in English Premier League you can tell why this nation has come a long way in ‘soccer’. Landon Donovan is their key man and if they are to qualify out of this group as expected then Landon needs to be on form. Clint Dempsey is a good player and has plenty of experience, but their key man in my opinion is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and if USA keeps clean sheets they should have enough quality to edge their way out of the group stage. Don’t forget this team got to the final of the Confederations Cup and were beating Brazil two goals to nil before a Kaka master class denied them victory.
Algeria:
Now I won’t lie on this one, I’m cheating and using a bit of help from the FIFA website. Looking at the squad I can only name two players who I recognise and they have both played for Portsmouth this season and I don’t need to repeat what happened to them this season. FIFA’s profile of Algeria tells me “Algeria’s strength is in midfield, with Captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger”. So I will trust FIFA (as it’s their World Cup) and agree that they seem to be the players to look out for. If Algeria is to gain any points in Group C they have to beat Slovenia in Game 1, otherwise, it’s zero points for Algeria and possibly quite a demoralising goal-difference against.
Slovenia:
Another team I have very little knowledge on, looking at their 23-man squad the name that sticks out the most is Robert Koren who surprisingly has been released from West Brom this summer. Other than that, I’m relying on the help of FIFA’s profile again. Considering they beat Russia in the qualifiers on their road to South Africa I am predicting they cannot be a bad side. I’m expecting them to be organised, with no real star names they will more of a team rather than relying on individuals. Striker Milivoje Novakovic scored five goals in qualifying so maybe the Cologne striker could be one to watch (thanks FIFA) and in more certain terms he will definitely be a commentator’s nightmare.
Qualifiers: England and USA
After the worse season Liverpool can remember, Rafa is the only winner.
After delivering Liverpool’s worst season for many years Rafa Benitez is the biggest winner, £6 million in his bank account and now manager of a treble winning Inter Milan. After going from 2nd place and so close to the title finishing just four points behind winners Manchester United one year ago to finishing in 7th place, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and only qualifying for the Europa League because Portsmouth failed to register for a European Place after never believing they would get to the FA Cup Final. You could say Rafa Benitez was lucky not to be sacked before Christmas.
The five year contract Rafa Benitez signed in 2009 until 2014 made him virtually un-sackable! The very same contract that promised him such an embarrassment of riches should it is terminated. Now personally I am not a fan of Rata Benitez, and neither am I a fan of Liverpool who make me cringe when watching them due to their boring, slow unattractive football that only ever becomes exciting when Steven Gerrard links with Fernando Torres. But, you have to give credit where credit is due, Rafa Benitez is a winner, he may not be able to answer a simple yes or no question but he is a winner.
There is no secret in which Massimo Moratti’s first choice was to replace Jose Mourinho, he made that pretty public and within days Fabio Capello had met with the FA and had the clause in his contract removed that would of allowed him to leave England after the World Cup. So with this Rafa Benitez saw an opportunity, an opportunity created for him by Moratti, one phone call to the Liverpool chairman to discuss next season’s transfer budget [knowing their wasn’t one] and within that very night he had talked his way out of Anfield and had landed a nice £6 million pay off from his ‘unbreakable’ contract sending a message to Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti saying ‘come and get me’.
Inter Milan have gained a smart man that even when he loses, he still wins. Rafa Benitez has gained a dream opportunity. He has inherited a treble winning squad created by the ‘special one’ himself, a league that is actually harder to lose than to win and a transfer budget that he could of only dreamed of having at Liverpool even with new owners and a winning national lottery ticket.
Rafa will be able to play his way in Italy, his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation works in the country made famous for being organised and not conceding goals, and if he has any sense he will try his best to bring Fernando Torres with him.
The five year contract Rafa Benitez signed in 2009 until 2014 made him virtually un-sackable! The very same contract that promised him such an embarrassment of riches should it is terminated. Now personally I am not a fan of Rata Benitez, and neither am I a fan of Liverpool who make me cringe when watching them due to their boring, slow unattractive football that only ever becomes exciting when Steven Gerrard links with Fernando Torres. But, you have to give credit where credit is due, Rafa Benitez is a winner, he may not be able to answer a simple yes or no question but he is a winner.
There is no secret in which Massimo Moratti’s first choice was to replace Jose Mourinho, he made that pretty public and within days Fabio Capello had met with the FA and had the clause in his contract removed that would of allowed him to leave England after the World Cup. So with this Rafa Benitez saw an opportunity, an opportunity created for him by Moratti, one phone call to the Liverpool chairman to discuss next season’s transfer budget [knowing their wasn’t one] and within that very night he had talked his way out of Anfield and had landed a nice £6 million pay off from his ‘unbreakable’ contract sending a message to Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti saying ‘come and get me’.
Inter Milan have gained a smart man that even when he loses, he still wins. Rafa Benitez has gained a dream opportunity. He has inherited a treble winning squad created by the ‘special one’ himself, a league that is actually harder to lose than to win and a transfer budget that he could of only dreamed of having at Liverpool even with new owners and a winning national lottery ticket.
Rafa will be able to play his way in Italy, his trusted 4-2-3-1 formation works in the country made famous for being organised and not conceding goals, and if he has any sense he will try his best to bring Fernando Torres with him.
Monday 7 June 2010
Argentina may have unlimited attacking options but how many of them can play at one time?
It says a lot about a national team when Carlos Tevez, outstanding for Manchester City this season, treble winning hero Diego Milito and wonder kid Sergio Aguero cannot get into the national team. It’s pretty safe to say all of these would walk into the majority of the nations in this year’s World Cup. Of course keeping these fantastic players out is the world’s best player Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain. Argentina seem pretty settled on a 4-4-2 formation but other than Javier Mascherano I have no clue who else is going to be in the starting line up against Nigeria on June 12th.
What Maradona must surely be thinking is how to get a balance out of this team and how can he fit in his world class stars! Well I hope this is what he’s thinking, after using 75 players in the qualification games you kind of get the impression other than Messi he does not know his starting line up yet. How this man can overlook and not select Javier Zanetti and Estaben Cambiasso who have been key in Inter Milan’s success in his World Cup squad, managed by a man who knows a few things about football I have no idea. Cambiasso and Zanetti would have added a huge deal of experience, given two outstanding defensive options, provided balance to let the attacking flair players create the magic that the whole competition must fear.
Two holding midfield players would allow Messi to play in his famous attacking wide right position, it would allow Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero the licence to play off the main striker; either Higuain or Diego Milito with exciting prospect Angel Di Maria or solid Maxi Rodriguez playing wide left. This would allow Maradona to have four world class attackers instead of two with security at the back and Juan Sebastian Veron would be able to give his old legs a rest.
But who knows there may be actually a method to Maradona’s madness. It could work out to be an advantage for stars like Messi, Tevez and son-in-law Aguero for the attention not to be on them but to be on the manager who if he does not deliver an impressive World Cup is surely out of a job.
What Maradona must surely be thinking is how to get a balance out of this team and how can he fit in his world class stars! Well I hope this is what he’s thinking, after using 75 players in the qualification games you kind of get the impression other than Messi he does not know his starting line up yet. How this man can overlook and not select Javier Zanetti and Estaben Cambiasso who have been key in Inter Milan’s success in his World Cup squad, managed by a man who knows a few things about football I have no idea. Cambiasso and Zanetti would have added a huge deal of experience, given two outstanding defensive options, provided balance to let the attacking flair players create the magic that the whole competition must fear.
Two holding midfield players would allow Messi to play in his famous attacking wide right position, it would allow Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero the licence to play off the main striker; either Higuain or Diego Milito with exciting prospect Angel Di Maria or solid Maxi Rodriguez playing wide left. This would allow Maradona to have four world class attackers instead of two with security at the back and Juan Sebastian Veron would be able to give his old legs a rest.
But who knows there may be actually a method to Maradona’s madness. It could work out to be an advantage for stars like Messi, Tevez and son-in-law Aguero for the attention not to be on them but to be on the manager who if he does not deliver an impressive World Cup is surely out of a job.
Why Theo Walcott may not be in form but he still should be in South Africa:
The word potential is a word that often gets over-used too much in football, especially if you’re an Arsenal player. When Theo Walcott burst onto the football map at Southampton people expected him to be a world-beater, linking him to Thierry Henry and even taking his squad number at Arsenal after a £12 million pound move; and this may still be the case. There are no excuses for Theo Walcott not to for fill his potential and become a world-beater one day, but people need to remember he is only 21 years old.
He has a great manager in Arsene Wenger who is looking out for his best interests but there is protecting him in cotton wool in the Premiership so he is full fit and fresh and then there is protecting him from World Cup heartbreak. Sven Goran Eriksson made a huge mistake taking Theo Walcott to the World Cup but in a way it has benefited him making him stronger, given Theo the experience of a major tournament and this definitely showed in the Under 21’s tournament before losing out to Germany in the final. So if those two experiences have allowed Theo to learn things then missing out on the World Cup this time around will surely make him stand up learn from this season, become an Arsenal regular, complete 90 minutes more often than not and most importantly become a man.
Personally, I think he should be in South Africa, yes his final ball lacks quality at times and yes Rooney got very frustrated with him in the two warm-up games and personally I think that is a big factor is why Walcott is not chosen. Capello needs the best service to Rooney if England is going to win the World Cup. But what Theo can offer is lightening pace, he has shown against Croatia that he can deliver and in the two games against Barcelona for Arsenal in the Champions League he absolutely terrified the Barcelona back line scoring one goal and assisting Nicolas Bendtner with another. Personally I think Aaron Lennon can offer a little bit more than Theo Walcott from the start but if Aaron Lennon does have an off day we have the express pace to worry teams later in games and if there is one thing England club team’s can do well, is score late goals at important times.
He has a great manager in Arsene Wenger who is looking out for his best interests but there is protecting him in cotton wool in the Premiership so he is full fit and fresh and then there is protecting him from World Cup heartbreak. Sven Goran Eriksson made a huge mistake taking Theo Walcott to the World Cup but in a way it has benefited him making him stronger, given Theo the experience of a major tournament and this definitely showed in the Under 21’s tournament before losing out to Germany in the final. So if those two experiences have allowed Theo to learn things then missing out on the World Cup this time around will surely make him stand up learn from this season, become an Arsenal regular, complete 90 minutes more often than not and most importantly become a man.
Personally, I think he should be in South Africa, yes his final ball lacks quality at times and yes Rooney got very frustrated with him in the two warm-up games and personally I think that is a big factor is why Walcott is not chosen. Capello needs the best service to Rooney if England is going to win the World Cup. But what Theo can offer is lightening pace, he has shown against Croatia that he can deliver and in the two games against Barcelona for Arsenal in the Champions League he absolutely terrified the Barcelona back line scoring one goal and assisting Nicolas Bendtner with another. Personally I think Aaron Lennon can offer a little bit more than Theo Walcott from the start but if Aaron Lennon does have an off day we have the express pace to worry teams later in games and if there is one thing England club team’s can do well, is score late goals at important times.
Sunday 30 May 2010
Unlucky Number 7
The number 7 is normally recognised as a ‘good’ number in sport. Players such as David Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo, George Best, Lewis Figo, Eric Cantona and Raul have all worn the famous number 7 jersey for club and country. But for 7 England internationals it will be their unlucky number.
Capello picked a provisional squad of 30 to ensure all his options were covered meaning 7 players would get the dreaded phone-call on Tuesday June 1st telling them they are not going to be flying out to South Africa, Capello claims he knows his final 23 but with every fan, pundit and player still unsure who are ‘the unlucky 7’.
There seem to be seventeen names that Fabio Capello has faith in and has shown his cards with.
D, James (Portsmouth), R, Green (West Ham), J, Hart (Manchester City) G, Johnson (Liverpool), A, Cole (Chelsea), J, Terry (Chelsea), R, Ferdinand (Manchester United), J, Carragher (Liverpool), L, Baines (Everton) S, Gerrard (Liverpool), F, Lampard (Chelsea), T, Walcott (Arsenal), A, Lennon (Tottenham), J, Milner (Aston Villa) W, Rooney (Manchester United), P, Crouch (Tottenham), J, Defoe (Tottenham)
The only player out of the ‘seventeen names’ to have played all 180 minutes and that is Wayne Rooney. Capello recognises the importance of Rooney to England’s chances and although Rooney hasn’t been at his best in these two warm up games every different system Capello has tried is based around him. Four players who have not featured at all in the two warm up games are Matthew Dawson, Matthew Upson, Steven Warnock and Scott Parker. So if you read much into that you could say the seven is down to three.
How here comes the debate, 9 players, 6 plane tickets. Who does Capello pick?
If Capello had any question marks over Joe Cole they were answered with his performance against Japan giving England a creative link between the front and the midfield that allowed Rooney to do best and movement in positions in the box. Shaun Wright-Phillips also made an impact perhaps pushing him in line for a plane ticket ahead of possibly Adam Johnson who has impressed Capello in training, but obviously not enough for a chance to show it when it matters.
Ledley King also will be positive of his chances after an impressive showing against Mexico and showing his treat from set-pieces by finishing a knock-down from Peter Crouch. Not featuring in the warm up game against Japan shows Capello must have worries about his fitness and of course nobody knows how much he has trained this week.
The last three places then are between Emile Heskey, Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Carrick and Gareth Barry. Although there is a serious injury doubt surrounding Gareth Barry he instantly gets one of the last three places even if he is unavailable for U.S.A come 12th June. Darren Bent didn’t do himself many favours but you could argue he lacked service in a very average first half performance against Japan. Emile Heskey featured for the last ten minutes against Japan and although he missed a sitter from 5 yards when it was easier to score maybe the relationship he has with Wayne Rooney who likes playing alongside Heskey gives him the nod.
The last plane ticket then is between Tom Huddlestone and Michael Carrick. A poor and as usual casual performance by Carrick against Mexico after hardly featuring in Manchester United’s run-in shows a lack of confidence and faith in his ability to break up play. Huddlestone was okay but nothing special against Japan so I’m going to leave this one to experience. 22 caps, 3 Premiership titles and two Champions League finals over 2 full caps and 33 under-21 caps give Michael Carrick the advantage, just.
The Unlucky 7:
S, Warnock (Aston Villa), M, Upson (West Ham), M, Dawson (Tottenham), S, Parker (West Ham), A, Johnson (Manchester City), T, Huddlestone (Tottenham), D, Bent (Sunderland)
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Written by Andrew Leese; 30th May 2010.
Capello picked a provisional squad of 30 to ensure all his options were covered meaning 7 players would get the dreaded phone-call on Tuesday June 1st telling them they are not going to be flying out to South Africa, Capello claims he knows his final 23 but with every fan, pundit and player still unsure who are ‘the unlucky 7’.
There seem to be seventeen names that Fabio Capello has faith in and has shown his cards with.
D, James (Portsmouth), R, Green (West Ham), J, Hart (Manchester City) G, Johnson (Liverpool), A, Cole (Chelsea), J, Terry (Chelsea), R, Ferdinand (Manchester United), J, Carragher (Liverpool), L, Baines (Everton) S, Gerrard (Liverpool), F, Lampard (Chelsea), T, Walcott (Arsenal), A, Lennon (Tottenham), J, Milner (Aston Villa) W, Rooney (Manchester United), P, Crouch (Tottenham), J, Defoe (Tottenham)
The only player out of the ‘seventeen names’ to have played all 180 minutes and that is Wayne Rooney. Capello recognises the importance of Rooney to England’s chances and although Rooney hasn’t been at his best in these two warm up games every different system Capello has tried is based around him. Four players who have not featured at all in the two warm up games are Matthew Dawson, Matthew Upson, Steven Warnock and Scott Parker. So if you read much into that you could say the seven is down to three.
How here comes the debate, 9 players, 6 plane tickets. Who does Capello pick?
If Capello had any question marks over Joe Cole they were answered with his performance against Japan giving England a creative link between the front and the midfield that allowed Rooney to do best and movement in positions in the box. Shaun Wright-Phillips also made an impact perhaps pushing him in line for a plane ticket ahead of possibly Adam Johnson who has impressed Capello in training, but obviously not enough for a chance to show it when it matters.
Ledley King also will be positive of his chances after an impressive showing against Mexico and showing his treat from set-pieces by finishing a knock-down from Peter Crouch. Not featuring in the warm up game against Japan shows Capello must have worries about his fitness and of course nobody knows how much he has trained this week.
The last three places then are between Emile Heskey, Darren Bent, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Carrick and Gareth Barry. Although there is a serious injury doubt surrounding Gareth Barry he instantly gets one of the last three places even if he is unavailable for U.S.A come 12th June. Darren Bent didn’t do himself many favours but you could argue he lacked service in a very average first half performance against Japan. Emile Heskey featured for the last ten minutes against Japan and although he missed a sitter from 5 yards when it was easier to score maybe the relationship he has with Wayne Rooney who likes playing alongside Heskey gives him the nod.
The last plane ticket then is between Tom Huddlestone and Michael Carrick. A poor and as usual casual performance by Carrick against Mexico after hardly featuring in Manchester United’s run-in shows a lack of confidence and faith in his ability to break up play. Huddlestone was okay but nothing special against Japan so I’m going to leave this one to experience. 22 caps, 3 Premiership titles and two Champions League finals over 2 full caps and 33 under-21 caps give Michael Carrick the advantage, just.
The Unlucky 7:
S, Warnock (Aston Villa), M, Upson (West Ham), M, Dawson (Tottenham), S, Parker (West Ham), A, Johnson (Manchester City), T, Huddlestone (Tottenham), D, Bent (Sunderland)
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Written by Andrew Leese; 30th May 2010.
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