1. Times Up Mario
Mario Balotelli was on thin ice for City last season, his match winning performances were too few and when he was suspended for the run in, City kicked on and eventually won the league. His erratic form and behaviour would be hard to take for a club who had no other decent strikers on their books, but given City have Aguero, Tevez and Dzeko... not to mention bottomless pockets, he needs to be shipped out in January and forgotten about. Balotelli’s selections in the big matches, often at the expense of the successful Aguero/Tevez axis are bordering on the perverse. What on earth had Roberto Mancini seen this season to justify selecting the Italian for the game on Sunday? It’s clear that the two have a bizarre father/son relationship going on, but at the risk of agreeing with Alan Hansen, now really is the time to ship Mario out. Perhaps City are too big for him, with too many accepted stars on their books. Would Balotelli be better at a club where he genuinely was the number one guy? Certainly he has played well for his country since being told he’s the first striker on the teamsheet. How all of City’s strikers must look enviously towards Robin Van Persie, bought by Ferguson in the summer and barring a chronic lack of form or injury, has been told he’ll start every major game. All four of City’s strikers have no idea whether they’ll be playing, or who they’ll be playing with in any given gameweek. Tevez was rewarded for a match winning performance and two goals a month ago, by being dropped for 3 games. Dzeko doesn’t start successive games ever and even Aguero, clearly the guy who should be the RVP for City, has been needlessly rotated when fully fit and raring to go. Mancini needs to do what he did last season and start his best players in every game, more so now they’re out of Europe. I’m sorry Mario, but that means your time is up. The Italian may well still develop into a superb, world class player. But doing that at City seems increasingly less likely.
2. Rooney/RVP is beginning to purr
At the start of the season there was talk of whether or not these two would be able to play together. Talk that was never fully answered by Rooney first getting injured and then coming back and playing in midfield. Recently though, Fergie has gone with the two of them upfront and has sat back and watched them not only win games, but dictate them as well. Both got on the scoresheet again on Sunday, Rooney’s first indebted to a wonderful lay off en route by the Dutchman, who then created the best moment of the game, hitting the bar before getting his reward with almost the last kick. The two are starting to look like they could be a real handful, which is probably the least they should be at a combined outlay of almost £60m. RVP played very high up for Arsenal last year but with Rooney and often Hernandez on the pitch as well, he has started to drop out wide again to find space like he did in his earlier Arsenal days. This benefits Utd because his delivery is so good, and with a midfield that is only capable of attacking, it creates space for others to run into. The two of them have already scored or created some 29 league goals this season and Utd’s commitment to attack is, thus far, proving successful in propelling them to the top of the league. For years Ferguson hasn’t bothered trying to sort his central midfield out. Maybe finally he has found the solution... literally not bothering with his midfield at all.
3. The Canaries are souring
The current form table sees Norwich city sitting pretty in 2nd place behind Manchester Utd and unbeaten in 8 games. They have won four of those matches through a mixture of solidity, organisation and now a fair bit of style. Chris Hughton took a few games to bed in his squad but since then he has done a marvelous job; not just carrying on the work that Lambert left, but adding new faces and a new style of play to make Norwich an even better team than before. It always seemed a strange decision by Harry Redknapp to toss away Sebastian Bassong as easily as he did, preferring to play Kaboul (who surely he must be sleeping with) and, even more inexplicably, the likes of William Gallas over the Cameroonian. AVB however, clearly also took this as a sign of his worthlessness and agreed to ship him off to Norwich, again deciding that the 35 year old Gallas was a better option. That deal looked laughable when Bassong was dropped for no reason after the successful, Champions League 2010 season and it looks just as laughable now. Bassong is statistically the second best defender in the league this season, behind the criminally underrated Ryan Shawcross. He has helped Norwich keep three clean sheets in their current run and seems to have added goal scoring to his list of skills as well. Further up the pitch, Hughton has played a blinder in the signing of Robert Snodgrass. The Scottish international has been as good as anyone in the Championship over the past few seasons and scored over 40 goals for Leeds from midfield, as well as numerous assists. Still just 25, bigger clubs have missed out on Snodgrass by refusing to take a punt on a player from the division below. So far their loss has been Norwich’s gain. Inspirational over the last two months, the Canaries are now just 4 points off a Champions League spot. Mind you, so are Liverpool... and according to Michael Owen they’re now the favourites to take that spot...
4. Everton’s luck finally turned
Everton have been playing arguably the best football in the league all season, but whereas Utd and City have had the firepower to get them over the 90 minute line, the Toffees have drawn several matches they really should have won. That finally changed on Sunday after Spurs looked to have picked their pockets following a fortunate and undeserved Clint Dempsey strike. Everton refused to let their heads drop and poured forward for the last ten minutes, eventually winning the goal with a late and instinctive Jelavic finish. AVB had few complaints with the result, which in itself is pretty damning when you’ve been beaten by 90th and 94th minute goals. The result propelled Everton back into fourth and with games against Stoke, West Ham and Wigan up next, they would hope to consolidate that position over the festive period. Hell, by the time Chelsea roll into town on New Years Eve, Everton could easily be playing for 3rd. If they have anything like their usual second half to a season, this could be a very special one for their fans.
5. Michael Owen has no idea what he’s on about
Having already tipped Liverpool for 4th this season, Michael Owen later backed QPR to avoid relegation. Even if you believe wholeheartedly in the power of Harry Redknapp, the safe bet on a team 8 points from safety who haven’t won in 16 games is they’re going down. Owen treated us to all sorts of maddeningly strange comments during MOTD2 yesterday, not least blaming Joe Hart for Man Utd’s winner, but his real gem was saved for after the show when he presented his “Manchester XI.” Selecting any players you could from the bloated squads of the two title rivals, Owen went for this...
Hart - Rafael - Evans - Nastatic - Evra - Cleverly - Barry - Valencia - Balotelli - Rooney - Van Persie.
I don’t even know where to begin with a team that doesn’t include Ya Ya Toure, Vincent Kompany or David Silva. Let alone one which has Mario Balotelli at left midfield. I’m perhaps being a bit unkind to Michael Owen, after all this selection was a touch jestful and actually done via a you pick, I pick system with Hansen. But still, by that rational and going first, you think you’d get at least six or seven players from the best available XI? Owen has four, at best, including none of the defenders. Does he even play football anymore? Oh wait...
Monday, 10 December 2012
Monday, 3 December 2012
Five Things We Learnt From Watching Football This Week - Week Fifteen
Why
on earth did nobody else look at Michu?
Miguel Perez Cuesta, Michu to his friends, scored his 9th and 10th
goals of the season this weekend to become only the third Spanish player in history
to net 10 goals in a Premier League campaign. To have done that by December, in
his first campaign, is a feat only matched by a certain £50m man. Michu cost
1/25th of that total and is making that fee look laughable. Swansea
play controlling, passing football but the Spaniard has added a clinical edge
to their play. Against Arsenal they had defended stoutly and looked to be
heading for a worthy draw, but a moment of brilliance from Michu won the game
before a typical Arsenal error allowed him to add gloss to his earlier effort.
Michu wasn’t exactly a complete nobody, he did play in La Liga last season and
despite being at low mid table club Rayo Vallecano, managed 17 goals from
midfield. 9th in the scoring charts overall and the highest of any
player from a midfield role, outscoring the likes of Di Maria, Ozil, Inesita
& Santi. Why then, after just one year with the club was he allowed to
leave for such a farcically low fee? And secondly, why on earth was he on
nobody else’s Radar but Michael Laudrup’s? Michu has since moved into a
striker’s role, the victim of partly his own success but also a Ronaldo esque
unwillingness to return past his own half way line. That trait can be forgiven
though whilst he continues to win games for his new club. Even if Swansea can’t
hold on to him past the summer, they’ll turn a handsome profit… and probably go
and buy someone just as good for a third of the price.
Rio
Ferdinand will not be missed next year
With his contract running out in the summer there has been talk of Rio Ferdinand moving east for a final and lucrative paycheque. Fergie claimed this week though; that he thought Rio could play for Utd for another “2 or 3 years,” and implied he was keen to use him in a similar manner to Scholes & Giggs once they moved deep into their 30’s. That comment looks, at best, optimistic and at worsts the demented ramblings of a senile pensioner. Ferdinand is way, way past his best and shorn of his pace, lacks the organisational ability of other defenders who can play into their 30’s with a degree of elegant grace. He was static on Saturday evening as Reading became the first team to ever score 3 goals against Utd during the opening half hour of a top flight fixture. The trouble for Utd is that statistics like this keep getting broken every month or so. The team that kept 14 clean sheets in a row three years ago looks like a distant and implausible memory. In fairness to Rio, he has deteriorated at nowhere near the pace that Patrice Evra has. Arguably one of the best left backs in the world 3 seasons ago, the Frenchman is now the worst full back in the league. His passing is errant, his discipline pathetic and his positional sense almost comical. Utd have promising young defenders coming through the ranks and there’s a strong argument to start playing them now. If either Ferdinand or Evra are lining up for Utd next August, the club will be weaker.
With his contract running out in the summer there has been talk of Rio Ferdinand moving east for a final and lucrative paycheque. Fergie claimed this week though; that he thought Rio could play for Utd for another “2 or 3 years,” and implied he was keen to use him in a similar manner to Scholes & Giggs once they moved deep into their 30’s. That comment looks, at best, optimistic and at worsts the demented ramblings of a senile pensioner. Ferdinand is way, way past his best and shorn of his pace, lacks the organisational ability of other defenders who can play into their 30’s with a degree of elegant grace. He was static on Saturday evening as Reading became the first team to ever score 3 goals against Utd during the opening half hour of a top flight fixture. The trouble for Utd is that statistics like this keep getting broken every month or so. The team that kept 14 clean sheets in a row three years ago looks like a distant and implausible memory. In fairness to Rio, he has deteriorated at nowhere near the pace that Patrice Evra has. Arguably one of the best left backs in the world 3 seasons ago, the Frenchman is now the worst full back in the league. His passing is errant, his discipline pathetic and his positional sense almost comical. Utd have promising young defenders coming through the ranks and there’s a strong argument to start playing them now. If either Ferdinand or Evra are lining up for Utd next August, the club will be weaker.
Does
Gareth Bale need to leave Spurs?
It will be interesting to see how Spurs cope without their inspirational Simian following his ham-string injury this weekend. Bale has been in scintillating form this season, picking up the mantle left behind by Luca Modric and making it his own. Bale had already proved himself loyal, having been courted by bigger clubs for two years, but this summer is probably the time for him to move to pastures new. Bale is not yet the complete player; he goes missing for long periods and struggles when the space around him is closed down. Give him the ball with the pitch to run into though and he’s lethal. His pace and dribbling are well spoken about, but his delivery is unerring for one so young. Bale is currently Spurs best player by a distance, despite the arrival of the impressive Dembele, and it would be fascinating to see if a move to the likes of Real or Munich would improve him still further. People like to knock Bale, myself included, after all he is a shameless diver, has the worst celebration in history and often follows up an amazing match winning performance with touching the ball twice in the next one. But he is just 23 and arguably has everything in his locker that a certain C.Ronaldo did at this stage of his career. A move might just take him to that next level and liberate Spurs from their over reliance on their talisman. They certainly didn’t miss him when he came off on Saturday, pouring forward to win at a canter. The next few weeks will tell us a lot though, both about Bale and the club he currently plays for.
It will be interesting to see how Spurs cope without their inspirational Simian following his ham-string injury this weekend. Bale has been in scintillating form this season, picking up the mantle left behind by Luca Modric and making it his own. Bale had already proved himself loyal, having been courted by bigger clubs for two years, but this summer is probably the time for him to move to pastures new. Bale is not yet the complete player; he goes missing for long periods and struggles when the space around him is closed down. Give him the ball with the pitch to run into though and he’s lethal. His pace and dribbling are well spoken about, but his delivery is unerring for one so young. Bale is currently Spurs best player by a distance, despite the arrival of the impressive Dembele, and it would be fascinating to see if a move to the likes of Real or Munich would improve him still further. People like to knock Bale, myself included, after all he is a shameless diver, has the worst celebration in history and often follows up an amazing match winning performance with touching the ball twice in the next one. But he is just 23 and arguably has everything in his locker that a certain C.Ronaldo did at this stage of his career. A move might just take him to that next level and liberate Spurs from their over reliance on their talisman. They certainly didn’t miss him when he came off on Saturday, pouring forward to win at a canter. The next few weeks will tell us a lot though, both about Bale and the club he currently plays for.
Derby
day looms for lumbering giants.
Both Manchester clubs have flattered to deceive this season, but they have been carried to the top of the league by a mixture of prolific strikers… and other prolific strikers. The two clubs have 65 goals between them so far, the same number as Newcastle, Wigan, QPR, Villa & Sunderland combined. RVP is the league’s top scorer, Hernandez the league’s best sub and Rooney added a brace this weekend to take him to 5 so far. City have shared them around a bit more, but Tevez, Aguero & Dseko have all been match winners on a regular basis and it would be a shock if the game on Sunday wasn’t decided by one of those six figures. With Chelsea caught up in their own personal crisis, the league is looking like a two horse race at a worryingly early stage. It would be good then, if unlike the recent games at the Etihad Stadium, we were treated to a proper match. The fear is both managers will resort to their defensive approaches for the game, more frightened of losing than anything else. But with neither team convincing at the back so far, especially Utd, it would be great to see the two best teams in the land, with the greatest collection of strikers in the land, really go for each other’s throats. You never know, Christmas might come early after all.
Both Manchester clubs have flattered to deceive this season, but they have been carried to the top of the league by a mixture of prolific strikers… and other prolific strikers. The two clubs have 65 goals between them so far, the same number as Newcastle, Wigan, QPR, Villa & Sunderland combined. RVP is the league’s top scorer, Hernandez the league’s best sub and Rooney added a brace this weekend to take him to 5 so far. City have shared them around a bit more, but Tevez, Aguero & Dseko have all been match winners on a regular basis and it would be a shock if the game on Sunday wasn’t decided by one of those six figures. With Chelsea caught up in their own personal crisis, the league is looking like a two horse race at a worryingly early stage. It would be good then, if unlike the recent games at the Etihad Stadium, we were treated to a proper match. The fear is both managers will resort to their defensive approaches for the game, more frightened of losing than anything else. But with neither team convincing at the back so far, especially Utd, it would be great to see the two best teams in the land, with the greatest collection of strikers in the land, really go for each other’s throats. You never know, Christmas might come early after all.
Wenger
out.
I’m getting so bored of saying it I cannot even summon the energy to write this point. Arsenal are an embarrassment and a severing of ties between Wenger & the club is the only way forward. Look at it as a mercy killing. I now refuse to write to about Arsenal until this happens… or they improve at such a dramatic rate I’m forced to eat a piece of humble pie so large I’d choke on it.
I’m getting so bored of saying it I cannot even summon the energy to write this point. Arsenal are an embarrassment and a severing of ties between Wenger & the club is the only way forward. Look at it as a mercy killing. I now refuse to write to about Arsenal until this happens… or they improve at such a dramatic rate I’m forced to eat a piece of humble pie so large I’d choke on it.
Thursday, 29 November 2012
Five Things We Learnt From Watching Football This Week - Week Fourteen
1. What the hell has Darren Bent done to Paul Lambert…
In one of the more intriguing subplots of the season, Darren Bent was once again left out of the Aston Villa squad on Tuesday to play Reading. At a cost of £24 million and having scored 52 goals in his last 100 Premier League games, this is beginning to look strange. Add in the fact that Villa were the joint lowers scorers in the division before Benteke’s crucial late strike and it begins to look stranger still. Not just that, but since going two nil up at home to Man Utd, Villa had gone 300 minutes without scoring at all. Finally consider the bench in the last two games. Darren Bent hasn’t been on it. Jordan Bowery, a 21 year old from Chesterfield who cost the club £400,000 has. Suddenly this isn’t strange anymore, it’s perverse. If Bent has done something behind the scenes he needs to be named and shamed. Villa may think that by doing so other clubs might turn away from him, but by not playing him at all Lambert is sending out a much more damning assessment that he isn’t good enough to get in the squad of one the worst teams in the league. He’ll surely go in January, but at this rate Villa will be lucky to get £10m for him when he effectively won’t have played for 3 months. Proven goal scorers are arguably the greatest asset in the league, and keeping one from playing who is as talented as Bent is beginning to look like an ill-advised practical joke. That said, it’s just about the only thing of interest that’s happening at the most boring football club in the land. So we should at least be grateful for that.
In one of the more intriguing subplots of the season, Darren Bent was once again left out of the Aston Villa squad on Tuesday to play Reading. At a cost of £24 million and having scored 52 goals in his last 100 Premier League games, this is beginning to look strange. Add in the fact that Villa were the joint lowers scorers in the division before Benteke’s crucial late strike and it begins to look stranger still. Not just that, but since going two nil up at home to Man Utd, Villa had gone 300 minutes without scoring at all. Finally consider the bench in the last two games. Darren Bent hasn’t been on it. Jordan Bowery, a 21 year old from Chesterfield who cost the club £400,000 has. Suddenly this isn’t strange anymore, it’s perverse. If Bent has done something behind the scenes he needs to be named and shamed. Villa may think that by doing so other clubs might turn away from him, but by not playing him at all Lambert is sending out a much more damning assessment that he isn’t good enough to get in the squad of one the worst teams in the league. He’ll surely go in January, but at this rate Villa will be lucky to get £10m for him when he effectively won’t have played for 3 months. Proven goal scorers are arguably the greatest asset in the league, and keeping one from playing who is as talented as Bent is beginning to look like an ill-advised practical joke. That said, it’s just about the only thing of interest that’s happening at the most boring football club in the land. So we should at least be grateful for that.
2. Michel Platini is an idiot.
Following on from his flawed idea to extend the European Championships to 32 teams, and the genuinely insane one to have it played across the whole of Europe, Michel Platini plumbed new depths this week by suggesting scrapping the Europa League and having a 64 club strong Champions League. This, put bluntly, is a simply terrible idea. The problem with the Champions League is that is not a Champions League, it is fast becoming a collection of the richest clubs in Europe all competing for the Holy Grail. I’ve spoken before about the seeding system, which should be dramatically weighted towards champions of all the major leagues rather than merely getting through the group stages each year (Arsenal). Dortmund for example, could win it this season along with their third consecutive title and would still not be a top seeded club. The Europa league is a bloated and flawed tournament, but combining the two solves the problems of neither. You would have even more dead rubbers than before and all the teams competing would play even more games, meaning that you would need an even bigger squad to be successful. It’s the squad issue that irks the most. Take as an example West Brom, who are a small club currently punching above their weight in the Premier League. If they finish 4th and make it to Europe, the chances of them going on a “Cinderella story” are massively reduced by a tournament which would ask them to play against teams who can rotate their entire first XI for group matches and still be good enough to beat them. They would also have to play 17 games to win it (including qualifiers) – a figure that would likely rise above 20 with the new format. When Nottingham Forest won back to back European Cups they played just 9 matches. A figure that was doable with a small squad. 17 isn’t… 21 even less so. All this will mean is that the richest, most successful clubs will continue to pool into the later stages, arguably not even maintaining a proper interest until that moment. Platini has pitched this idea to combat a breakaway league from the big clubs, but this move will make that even more likely than before. A 64 club Champions League could have 28 teams from the four main leagues in it! When you consider that countries from the same club can’t be drawn against each other until the last 8, that gives the smaller teams even less chance of getting to the knockout rounds knowing they’re almost certain to face teams from La Liga, Serie A, The Premier League or the Bundesliga. This move cannot be allowed to happen and needs to be vetoed before it gets off the ground. The return to a properly seeded, stripped down tournament which incentivises teams to actually win their own league has to be the priority. This should be supported by a straight knockout tournament that rewards the cup winners of all the leagues, along with those finishing a decent position (not 6th or 7th). This won’t happen, because Platini doesn’t ultimately care about anything other than getting as much money as possible. Whether this move comes to fruition will depend on that one thing alone. Sadly, that is everything that is wrong with football right now in a nutshell.
Following on from his flawed idea to extend the European Championships to 32 teams, and the genuinely insane one to have it played across the whole of Europe, Michel Platini plumbed new depths this week by suggesting scrapping the Europa League and having a 64 club strong Champions League. This, put bluntly, is a simply terrible idea. The problem with the Champions League is that is not a Champions League, it is fast becoming a collection of the richest clubs in Europe all competing for the Holy Grail. I’ve spoken before about the seeding system, which should be dramatically weighted towards champions of all the major leagues rather than merely getting through the group stages each year (Arsenal). Dortmund for example, could win it this season along with their third consecutive title and would still not be a top seeded club. The Europa league is a bloated and flawed tournament, but combining the two solves the problems of neither. You would have even more dead rubbers than before and all the teams competing would play even more games, meaning that you would need an even bigger squad to be successful. It’s the squad issue that irks the most. Take as an example West Brom, who are a small club currently punching above their weight in the Premier League. If they finish 4th and make it to Europe, the chances of them going on a “Cinderella story” are massively reduced by a tournament which would ask them to play against teams who can rotate their entire first XI for group matches and still be good enough to beat them. They would also have to play 17 games to win it (including qualifiers) – a figure that would likely rise above 20 with the new format. When Nottingham Forest won back to back European Cups they played just 9 matches. A figure that was doable with a small squad. 17 isn’t… 21 even less so. All this will mean is that the richest, most successful clubs will continue to pool into the later stages, arguably not even maintaining a proper interest until that moment. Platini has pitched this idea to combat a breakaway league from the big clubs, but this move will make that even more likely than before. A 64 club Champions League could have 28 teams from the four main leagues in it! When you consider that countries from the same club can’t be drawn against each other until the last 8, that gives the smaller teams even less chance of getting to the knockout rounds knowing they’re almost certain to face teams from La Liga, Serie A, The Premier League or the Bundesliga. This move cannot be allowed to happen and needs to be vetoed before it gets off the ground. The return to a properly seeded, stripped down tournament which incentivises teams to actually win their own league has to be the priority. This should be supported by a straight knockout tournament that rewards the cup winners of all the leagues, along with those finishing a decent position (not 6th or 7th). This won’t happen, because Platini doesn’t ultimately care about anything other than getting as much money as possible. Whether this move comes to fruition will depend on that one thing alone. Sadly, that is everything that is wrong with football right now in a nutshell.
3. In Rafa we truzzzzzzzt.
Two games, two nil nils, it’s clearly far too early to make any judgements on Rafa’s time at Chelsea, but the former Liverpool boss has done nothing to appease the angered Chelsea fans who have vowed to celebrate Di Matteo’s name every 16th minute until the Spaniard leaves the club. We always knew Rafa would bring defensive solidarity, but benching your most talented creative player for a third defensive midfielder was possibly overkill. Away at Man Utd maybe, but at home to Fulham? No. Chelsea have two away games next before they depart for the World Club Cup, an achievement that is nice to have on your CV (to quote Fergie) but doesn’t really amount to anything in the broad scheme of things. West Ham & Sunderland loom and with both those teams being far, far better at the back than going forward what price now for Rafa to start with four consecutive nil nils? That surely won’t happen, but yesterday’s game was an even worse affair than the one against City. Fulham actually should have won the game near the end, squandering two good chances whilst Chelsea were restricted to shooting from range. In fairness to Benitez, Chelsea’s creative hub has failed to spark for a while now. In the last five games the Blues have managed just 14 shots on target. That’s one every 32 minutes, which is pretty terrible for a title chasing team who played three of those fixtures at home. It gets even worse when you compare those stats. In the same last five games Man City have managed 32 shots on target, one every 14 minutes and Man Utd have got away 28 efforts, one every 17 minutes. Comparing Chelsea’s current rivals for 3rd West Brom also makes worrying reading, the Baggies having offed 24 efforts in that time. The final test? Aston Villa. In the last five games Villa have managed… wait for it… 35 shots on target!!! Aim for the corners boys...
Two games, two nil nils, it’s clearly far too early to make any judgements on Rafa’s time at Chelsea, but the former Liverpool boss has done nothing to appease the angered Chelsea fans who have vowed to celebrate Di Matteo’s name every 16th minute until the Spaniard leaves the club. We always knew Rafa would bring defensive solidarity, but benching your most talented creative player for a third defensive midfielder was possibly overkill. Away at Man Utd maybe, but at home to Fulham? No. Chelsea have two away games next before they depart for the World Club Cup, an achievement that is nice to have on your CV (to quote Fergie) but doesn’t really amount to anything in the broad scheme of things. West Ham & Sunderland loom and with both those teams being far, far better at the back than going forward what price now for Rafa to start with four consecutive nil nils? That surely won’t happen, but yesterday’s game was an even worse affair than the one against City. Fulham actually should have won the game near the end, squandering two good chances whilst Chelsea were restricted to shooting from range. In fairness to Benitez, Chelsea’s creative hub has failed to spark for a while now. In the last five games the Blues have managed just 14 shots on target. That’s one every 32 minutes, which is pretty terrible for a title chasing team who played three of those fixtures at home. It gets even worse when you compare those stats. In the same last five games Man City have managed 32 shots on target, one every 14 minutes and Man Utd have got away 28 efforts, one every 17 minutes. Comparing Chelsea’s current rivals for 3rd West Brom also makes worrying reading, the Baggies having offed 24 efforts in that time. The final test? Aston Villa. In the last five games Villa have managed… wait for it… 35 shots on target!!! Aim for the corners boys...
4. When will Swansea’s attacking English
players start getting some recognition?
Swansea swept aside high flying West Brom last night in 30 minutes of pass and move football that wouldn’t have been out of place in the upper echelons of La Liga. 20 points after 14 matches is a pretty decent return for a team tipped by many to go down, indeed, they are just one point behind Arsenal, who once again find themselves closer to the relegation zone than the title (Wenger Out) – but I digress. In Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge, Swansea have two English players in rich form who deserve a place in the England squad well, well before anyone currently playing at Liverpool (to name a club at random). Routledge has scored four and made four already this season, whilst Dyer has three goals with a further two assists. They haven’t played every game owing to the rotation with the excellent Hernandez and in total the pair have scored or created a goal every 130 minutes. Let’s compare that, again at random, to the much vaunted Raheem Sterling, who has scored or created a goal every 227 minutes and got an England call up before he had done even that. Swansea are an entertaining, easy on the eye, football team and after a slight dip, Laudrup has got them flying again. You could do a lot worse than get a season ticket to the Liberty Stadium. It’s just a shame that it’s in Swansea…
Swansea swept aside high flying West Brom last night in 30 minutes of pass and move football that wouldn’t have been out of place in the upper echelons of La Liga. 20 points after 14 matches is a pretty decent return for a team tipped by many to go down, indeed, they are just one point behind Arsenal, who once again find themselves closer to the relegation zone than the title (Wenger Out) – but I digress. In Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge, Swansea have two English players in rich form who deserve a place in the England squad well, well before anyone currently playing at Liverpool (to name a club at random). Routledge has scored four and made four already this season, whilst Dyer has three goals with a further two assists. They haven’t played every game owing to the rotation with the excellent Hernandez and in total the pair have scored or created a goal every 130 minutes. Let’s compare that, again at random, to the much vaunted Raheem Sterling, who has scored or created a goal every 227 minutes and got an England call up before he had done even that. Swansea are an entertaining, easy on the eye, football team and after a slight dip, Laudrup has got them flying again. You could do a lot worse than get a season ticket to the Liberty Stadium. It’s just a shame that it’s in Swansea…
5. Obligatory and token once a season post on Stoke City.
There is only one good thing about Stoke City football club, their fans. Aside from being amongst the loudest and welcoming in the league, they have the two best chants about Luis Suarez. Whilst the first has been copied by every other club up and down the land, the second is all theirs… and makes so little sense you just have to love it. Unlike the way Stoke play football… which is turgid, negative, predictable, dull, desperate and arguably illegal. But, as I’ve said before, I’d still like them to play Real Madrid. £100 says Ramos would get sent off first…
There is only one good thing about Stoke City football club, their fans. Aside from being amongst the loudest and welcoming in the league, they have the two best chants about Luis Suarez. Whilst the first has been copied by every other club up and down the land, the second is all theirs… and makes so little sense you just have to love it. Unlike the way Stoke play football… which is turgid, negative, predictable, dull, desperate and arguably illegal. But, as I’ve said before, I’d still like them to play Real Madrid. £100 says Ramos would get sent off first…
He cheats, he dives, he hates the Jackson Five!
Suaaarezzzzz, Suareeezzzzz.
Suaaarezzzzz, Suareeezzzzz.
eyes of blue
Robert huth is after you
with a nick nack paddywack
give a dog a bone
luis suarez
fuck off home
Monday, 26 November 2012
Five Things We Learnt From Watching Football This Week - Week Thirteen
1. Harry Redknapp has
his work cut out.
QPR wasted no time on Friday bringing in cockney wide boy and media darling Harry Redknapp, to replace the terminal Mark Hughes. Harry has worked his magic before, most noticeably at Portsmouth (if you count working his magic as keeping them in the division via loads of overpaid transfers and then jumping ship and watching them become bankrupt) – but he really has his work cut out this time around. QPR have that fatal mix of overpaid former stars that don’t seem to care, and underpaid championship players who just aren’t good enough. Rangers are utterly adrift of safety in the form of 7 points and have a run of immediate fixtures that are almost all crucial. Sunderland, Villa & Wigan are all up shortly and winning/losing them could be the difference between opening up the relegation zone to a wider audience… and staring into the abyss. Harry will need all his man management skills and a set of transfer targets that aren’t quite so obvious as Beckham to turn things around. Keep this lot up and solidify them further next year and his stock in the game could rise even higher. Fail… and you wonder if this could be Harry’s last chance to put his unique spin on the football merry go round that he loves so much.
QPR wasted no time on Friday bringing in cockney wide boy and media darling Harry Redknapp, to replace the terminal Mark Hughes. Harry has worked his magic before, most noticeably at Portsmouth (if you count working his magic as keeping them in the division via loads of overpaid transfers and then jumping ship and watching them become bankrupt) – but he really has his work cut out this time around. QPR have that fatal mix of overpaid former stars that don’t seem to care, and underpaid championship players who just aren’t good enough. Rangers are utterly adrift of safety in the form of 7 points and have a run of immediate fixtures that are almost all crucial. Sunderland, Villa & Wigan are all up shortly and winning/losing them could be the difference between opening up the relegation zone to a wider audience… and staring into the abyss. Harry will need all his man management skills and a set of transfer targets that aren’t quite so obvious as Beckham to turn things around. Keep this lot up and solidify them further next year and his stock in the game could rise even higher. Fail… and you wonder if this could be Harry’s last chance to put his unique spin on the football merry go round that he loves so much.
2. But so does Rafa
Benitez.
Rafa was welcomed to Stamford Bridge on Sunday with open and widespread dissent from the Chelsea faithful. The combination of a manager they hate replacing one they had loved, proving too much for a set of supporters who thus far had remained faithful to their Roman empire. Worries about Benitez’ style of football would have hardly been quashed by one of the worst games of the season. City at least tried, if seemingly happy to take a point in the backyard of their second nearest rivals. Chelsea looked like they were at a funeral for the first half and in the second upped their work rate in a strangely petulant way, as if they’d been told by Roman himself to get out there and show him they cared. Saving Torres career looks beyond even Rafa and it will be interesting to see who he signs in January. Recalling Lukaku has to be the first move. The Belgian looking more threatening in 20 minutes than Torres & Struridge have in their last 200; and he is a much more natural front man to play in this formation. Personally, much as I condemn the ludicrous sacking of Di Matteo, I’m happy to see Benitez back in management. He is a strangely likeable man and unlike Ferguson or Wenger, his tantrums are funny rather than tiringly predictable. He needs to get the players and fans onside quickly and he’s right about one thing... you start winning football matches and all that other stuff gets forgotten quickly. Chelsea though, with two victories in their last eight games, need to remember that habit again and fast.
Rafa was welcomed to Stamford Bridge on Sunday with open and widespread dissent from the Chelsea faithful. The combination of a manager they hate replacing one they had loved, proving too much for a set of supporters who thus far had remained faithful to their Roman empire. Worries about Benitez’ style of football would have hardly been quashed by one of the worst games of the season. City at least tried, if seemingly happy to take a point in the backyard of their second nearest rivals. Chelsea looked like they were at a funeral for the first half and in the second upped their work rate in a strangely petulant way, as if they’d been told by Roman himself to get out there and show him they cared. Saving Torres career looks beyond even Rafa and it will be interesting to see who he signs in January. Recalling Lukaku has to be the first move. The Belgian looking more threatening in 20 minutes than Torres & Struridge have in their last 200; and he is a much more natural front man to play in this formation. Personally, much as I condemn the ludicrous sacking of Di Matteo, I’m happy to see Benitez back in management. He is a strangely likeable man and unlike Ferguson or Wenger, his tantrums are funny rather than tiringly predictable. He needs to get the players and fans onside quickly and he’s right about one thing... you start winning football matches and all that other stuff gets forgotten quickly. Chelsea though, with two victories in their last eight games, need to remember that habit again and fast.
3. Southampton know how to play football.
Back to back victories have propelled Saints up the league table to the dizzy heights of 17th and finally got their fans dreaming of survival. Yesterday they tore into a beleaguered Newcastle like a pack of Wolves to a fresh carcass. Saints move the ball around with real style and their front four, with the cultured Ramirez pulling the strings, look dangerous every time they go forward. Indeed, Southampton have created as many chances as any team in the division and remain the leagues great entertainers having seen 50 goals go in during their 13 matches. 7 or 8 nil would not have flattered them yesterday, but the most pleasing thing for Nigel Adkins will probably have been the clean sheet. If they are to remain in the top flight they will need plenty more of them. Talk of their manager’s demise was offensive a few weeks ago and looks ludicrous now. Southampton are now a well-run, attractive club who were on their knees before Adkins stepped in. Even if they go down, it is about time clubs showed some loyalty and his services should be retained for several years yet. When you keep having to go to Dave Whelan to teach you something about morals in the game, you’re in serious trouble.
4. Utd’s central hub still wouldn’t pass an MOT.
The phrase “one more year” for Scholes & Giggs stopped being amusing long ago, such has been their absurd longevity. Giggs, to his credit, was still brilliant 18 months ago and Scholes kept Utd in the title race until the death last time around. Finally though, it looks like this might be one bridge too far. Neither player has influenced a game this season in the way they did in the last two campaigns and Utd have looked sluggish with them in the team. A central hub of Scholes/Carrick cannot be allowed to continue. The partnership lacks page and urgency and the time has come for Cleverly and Anderson, even the impressive looking Nick Powell, to be given a sustained run of games. If that fails, Ferguson has to buy and sort out the part of his team that has continued to come up short for the best part of a decade. The thinking was that Utd would play 4-2-3-1 this year with the lively Kagawa in behind Rooney, allowing two deep lying passers such as Scholes/Carrick to ping balls into the channels. Buying Van Persie changed all that though, suddenly Rooney finds himself in a deeper role. Not even a number 10, but like a half 8, half 10 clone who doesn’t really play in the space or burst in unmarked. Utd don’t possess a defensive midfielder so their formation looks a bit silly. Better to play to your strengths and attack, which is all Utd have ended up doing this season anyway once they’ve fallen behind again… and again… and again. Utd can outscore almost anyone in full flow and when they’ve got the bit between their teeth there is no team better at scoring 2 or 3 goals in a very quick period of time. Utd played well for 15 minutes on Saturday, and once again it was enough to win. Ferguson has one more piece of surgery to conduct before he retires and he cannot ignore the heart of this team anymore.
5. It’s time for Pardew to start justifying that contract.
8 years always seemed a stretch and little over 8 weeks into that deal Alan Pardew looks like a man sat on his laurels. Newcastle have been very unlucky with injuries this season, their first choice midfield having barely played, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of organisation and discipline that has crept into their ranks of late. Pardew’s men have just been beaten comfortably by the two teams who got promoted last season. They are in a desperate rut, winning one of their last eight league games and even that in an extremely undeserved way. The worry for the Anti-Christ must be that whereas before they were solid but lacking in spark, on Sunday they were truly battered by the team who are odds on favourites to finish bottom. The Toon army are beginning to get restless and whilst Pardew’s commitment to the Europa league is noble, it is clearly costing his side in the league. Newcastle have Stoke, Fulham & Wigan before a Christmas schedule that looks handpicked by Ebenezer Scrooge. Both Manchester clubs, Arsenal & Everton all loom over the season of goodwill. On the evidence of the last few games, it could be the season of discontent instead.
Friday, 23 November 2012
Premier League Predictions - Week 13
After a dramatic few days of football this weeks predictions are delivered as if they're a series of suspicious criminal allegations:
Sunderland v West Brom
Sunderland win twice in a row? I don't believe it for a second. Not with the Baggies all bouncing to the same beat. Away win, maybe a draw if there's a fist fight or two.
Everton v Norwich
The most improved team in the top flight take on the Toffees in their backyard. What's that? You can shoot people for trespassing now? Their could be a lot of dead Canaries here... Home win.
Man Utd v QPR
This could get uglier than a Liverpool player on a night out. Have the board given Mark Hughes one more game as a form of torture? Will he be sent to the chair straight after the match? It's likely. Utd never lose three in a row. Big... big home win.
Stoke v Fulham
Without Fulham's Norse God at the back this could be a bit of flair vs GBH at the Britannia. The draw's the safe bet, but I reckon Stoke will escape with a minor caution and win this.
Wigan v Reading
Reading are off and running but likely to be done for speeding if they win again. Wigan are due a win and should get it here. Could be here today, Kone tomorrow for the Royals.
Azzzton Villa v Arsenal
Away win.
Swansea v Liverpool
Few subplots here and I think the Scouse will find it hard down on the coast. Nobody wants a day trip to Swansea at this time of year and it could be a case of spot the ASBO in the crowd and the pitch. Home win.
Saints v Newcastle
A goal fest fit for all the senses is predicted here. If you attend one entertaining riot all year, make it this one. 3 all draw.
Spurs v West Ham
Like picking a criminal out of a line of Russian billionaires, this game is very hard to call right. Chances are, they're all guilty. Is anyone getting these analogies at all? I'm just not sure this is working... anyone... Home win, just.
Chelsea v Man City
What a build up, what a week, what a potential treat, if you see one game this weekend... Nil Nil.
Sunderland v West Brom
Sunderland win twice in a row? I don't believe it for a second. Not with the Baggies all bouncing to the same beat. Away win, maybe a draw if there's a fist fight or two.
Everton v Norwich
The most improved team in the top flight take on the Toffees in their backyard. What's that? You can shoot people for trespassing now? Their could be a lot of dead Canaries here... Home win.
Man Utd v QPR
This could get uglier than a Liverpool player on a night out. Have the board given Mark Hughes one more game as a form of torture? Will he be sent to the chair straight after the match? It's likely. Utd never lose three in a row. Big... big home win.
Stoke v Fulham
Without Fulham's Norse God at the back this could be a bit of flair vs GBH at the Britannia. The draw's the safe bet, but I reckon Stoke will escape with a minor caution and win this.
Wigan v Reading
Reading are off and running but likely to be done for speeding if they win again. Wigan are due a win and should get it here. Could be here today, Kone tomorrow for the Royals.
Azzzton Villa v Arsenal
Away win.
Swansea v Liverpool
Few subplots here and I think the Scouse will find it hard down on the coast. Nobody wants a day trip to Swansea at this time of year and it could be a case of spot the ASBO in the crowd and the pitch. Home win.
Saints v Newcastle
A goal fest fit for all the senses is predicted here. If you attend one entertaining riot all year, make it this one. 3 all draw.
Spurs v West Ham
Like picking a criminal out of a line of Russian billionaires, this game is very hard to call right. Chances are, they're all guilty. Is anyone getting these analogies at all? I'm just not sure this is working... anyone... Home win, just.
Chelsea v Man City
What a build up, what a week, what a potential treat, if you see one game this weekend... Nil Nil.
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Roman Abramovich doesn’t destroy managers, he makes them.
Following the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo this week, many
fans, managers and pundits were quick to pour scorn on the Chelsea tycoon and
his unique vision. Whilst it’s undoubtedly true that Abramovich has created a
culture at the club where it’s now impossible to see a manager ever being in
real control, the same can be said of Real Madrid and it hasn’t done them a lot
of harm in the long run. What is worth considering though, are all the comments
that were directed to the Russian about his treatment of the managers who have
come in and ran his team for an average of 250 days (discounting Jose). Are we
missing a big point here? Yes Roman hires and fires managers at will (only 1 of
the last 5 has finished a season he started with the club) but aside from the
massive pay offs, there is a strong argument that every person’s reputation has
actually been enhanced by spending time at the club. Let’s look at the roll
call:
Rainieri – The
incumbent when Roman stepped in, Rainieri was a dead man walking from day one
yet was a likeable presence both on and off the pitch and guided Chelsea to
second in the league and a Champions League semi-final. His reputation was
enhanced at the club and he went on to manage successfully in La Liga and Serie
A.
Mourinho – The special
one. Won 5 trophies in 3 years and has since forged a reputation as arguably
the best current manager in the game. Left Chelsea with a monster pay off and
an even bigger ego than when he joined.
Grant – Grant was
a nobody when he was given the role of Jose’s successor on a temporary basis.
He guided them to a steady second in the league and was a kick away from
winning the Champions League. Left with a reputation as a likeable, talented
manager with a dry sense of humour and was subsequently employed by
West Ham. Ok so he also managed Portsmouth, badly... but then nobody remembers that... not even Portsmouth fans.
Scolari – Scolari’s
reign could arguably be seen as damaging to his reputation, but instead he
earned plaudits from around the world from being the first manager under the
Roman era to turn Chelsea into a team playing free flowing attacking football. He
didn’t buy a lot of players and was subsequently sacked for failing to keep
clean sheets and losing pace with the leaders. His next job? Becoming the
highest paid manager of all time…
Hiddink – Roman’s
second caretaker manager, Hiddink guided Chelsea to the FA Cup and lost but one
match. Left with his reputation even bigger than it was when he took over. So
much so that he’s still spoken about as being THE manager Chelsea should be
courting.
Ancelotti –
Sacked after his second year with the club after the small achievement of
winning Chelsea’s first ever double in his initial season. Reputation arguably
boosted by stint in English football and was the first of three managers to
come unstuck by the “Torres conundrum.”
Villas-Boas – The
only manager on the list who can genuinely claim to have had his standing in
the game reduced by Roman Abramovich. Was touted as the brightest young manager
in the game yet over his 40 games with the club the form and confidence
unravelled and was eventually let go in March with a staggering severance
package. Including the cost to Porto, AVB cost Roman over £30,000,000 to hire
and fire. That’s £775,000 a game…
Di Matteo – The number
two was promoted until the end of the season having had his managerial credentials
burnt by being sacked by West Brom. He delivered another FA Cup and a first
ever Champions League. He united the squad and had begun to usher in a new era
of youthful, attacking football. And Fernando Torres. He leaves the club with a
considerably enhanced reputation than when he joined.
Benitez – Roman’s
4th caretaker manager in barely as many years. Rafa arrives after 2
years out of the game following a Liverpool melt down and an epic fail at
Inter Milan. Baring a complete disaster, it’s hard to see how his reputation
will do anything but go up. Chelsea are likely to finish 3rd
whatever he does and if he wins one of the cups he’ll be in an even stronger
position to negotiate come May.
So there you go. Nine different managers and only one left
with his reputation ruined. And even he got employed straight away down the
road. Far from being a poisoned chalice, there is a strong argument that being
a Chelsea manager will actually enhance your standing in the game. As well as
setting you and your family up for life. Who’d take that job eh…
Monday, 19 November 2012
Five Things We Learnt From Watching Football This Week - Week Twelve
1. The Baggies are all bouncing to the same beat.
The season is almost a third of the way through and if awards were being handed out now, Steve Clarke would be manager of the year by some distance. In his first role in the head coach hot seat, Clarke has taken West Brom to 4th in the table, a point behind Chelsea. The best thing about them being there is the manner in which they’ve won games. West Brom are organised and dependable at the back, but they play brilliant football and have a collection of strikers as good as any team outside of Manchester. Clarke is using a small squad, but he is rotating sensibly within it so that the likes of Brunt, Gera, Morrison and Odemwingie are all staying fresh. Shane Long is having a brilliant season and is regularly keeping the on loan Lukaku, who looks amazing almost every time he plays, out of the team. Indeed, the Belgian powerhouse, still just 19… looks a considerably better player than both Torres and Daniel Sturridge did this weekend. Torres is a man who now needs his own personal crisis blog, whilst Sturridge missed around 285 chances in the last half hour alone. West Brom are an extremely well run football club, and this form is a rich reward to their fans. This is not a collection of individuals, this is a team in every sense of the word. The Baggies are playing for each other and working hard for each other. Every member of that first team squad is contributing and they are showing what is possible when the whole team bounces to the same beat. They are yet to play poorly all season and their next six opponents are Sunderland, Swansea, Stoke, Arsenal, West Ham, Norwich. On this form, you wouldn’t bet on them losing any of those matches.
The season is almost a third of the way through and if awards were being handed out now, Steve Clarke would be manager of the year by some distance. In his first role in the head coach hot seat, Clarke has taken West Brom to 4th in the table, a point behind Chelsea. The best thing about them being there is the manner in which they’ve won games. West Brom are organised and dependable at the back, but they play brilliant football and have a collection of strikers as good as any team outside of Manchester. Clarke is using a small squad, but he is rotating sensibly within it so that the likes of Brunt, Gera, Morrison and Odemwingie are all staying fresh. Shane Long is having a brilliant season and is regularly keeping the on loan Lukaku, who looks amazing almost every time he plays, out of the team. Indeed, the Belgian powerhouse, still just 19… looks a considerably better player than both Torres and Daniel Sturridge did this weekend. Torres is a man who now needs his own personal crisis blog, whilst Sturridge missed around 285 chances in the last half hour alone. West Brom are an extremely well run football club, and this form is a rich reward to their fans. This is not a collection of individuals, this is a team in every sense of the word. The Baggies are playing for each other and working hard for each other. Every member of that first team squad is contributing and they are showing what is possible when the whole team bounces to the same beat. They are yet to play poorly all season and their next six opponents are Sunderland, Swansea, Stoke, Arsenal, West Ham, Norwich. On this form, you wouldn’t bet on them losing any of those matches.
2. AVB needs to be given time.
Some managers come over here and just click with the Premier League. Not just in the way their teams play, but with the fans, the media, everything. Jose Mourinho’s teams played the most lifeless, soul destroying football imaginable, yet he was adored by the media. AVB is a positive and forward thinking manager yet both with Chelsea and now Spurs, there seems to be this general sense around him of people willing him to fail. That would be a shame, because if Spurs give him time he has shown plenty of promise in turning them into a progressive, counter attacking team who can cause real problems. He has been hindered thus far, by some very bad luck. His main defender has been injured all season, his best defensive midfielder likewise and Spurs were in complete control of the match on Saturday before Emmanuel Adeboyer had his moment of madness. The fact that his tackle wasn’t malicious actually makes it even more stupid. A clear red, Adeboyer should be made to donate a month’s wages to a local charity for such a reckless act of idiocy. AVB deserves to be stuck with though, for starters his decision to go 3-4-2 second half was brave and almost paid off. The shameless MOTD highlights glossing over a twenty minute spell after the restart when Spurs were clearly the better team. Spurs didn’t deserve a 5-2 reverse and they probably don’t deserve to be just two points ahead of Liverpool in a league table that “doesn’t lie.” AVB hasn’t got everything right, the decision to make the 35 year old William Gallas captain remains mystifying, but he deserves at least a couple of years to see his style of football become a blueprint at a club famed for their attacking philosophy. At the very least, he should be allowed time to try and find the shooting boots seemingly lost in the transfer window of both Sigurdsson and Dempsey.
Some managers come over here and just click with the Premier League. Not just in the way their teams play, but with the fans, the media, everything. Jose Mourinho’s teams played the most lifeless, soul destroying football imaginable, yet he was adored by the media. AVB is a positive and forward thinking manager yet both with Chelsea and now Spurs, there seems to be this general sense around him of people willing him to fail. That would be a shame, because if Spurs give him time he has shown plenty of promise in turning them into a progressive, counter attacking team who can cause real problems. He has been hindered thus far, by some very bad luck. His main defender has been injured all season, his best defensive midfielder likewise and Spurs were in complete control of the match on Saturday before Emmanuel Adeboyer had his moment of madness. The fact that his tackle wasn’t malicious actually makes it even more stupid. A clear red, Adeboyer should be made to donate a month’s wages to a local charity for such a reckless act of idiocy. AVB deserves to be stuck with though, for starters his decision to go 3-4-2 second half was brave and almost paid off. The shameless MOTD highlights glossing over a twenty minute spell after the restart when Spurs were clearly the better team. Spurs didn’t deserve a 5-2 reverse and they probably don’t deserve to be just two points ahead of Liverpool in a league table that “doesn’t lie.” AVB hasn’t got everything right, the decision to make the 35 year old William Gallas captain remains mystifying, but he deserves at least a couple of years to see his style of football become a blueprint at a club famed for their attacking philosophy. At the very least, he should be allowed time to try and find the shooting boots seemingly lost in the transfer window of both Sigurdsson and Dempsey.
3. Mark Hughes does not.
There is no argument that can be made to keep Mark Hughes in a job. There are normally two that can be thrown into the ring when somebody is doing as appallingly as he is. They need more time… and they’re a good bloke who loves the club, so show some loyalty. Hughes has had the equivalent of a full season at QPR, and would have taken them down over the 38 games. He hasn’t won in 12 matches this season, a new league record. He doesn’t love the club, QPR owe him no loyalty. Oh… and he’s a cunt. QPR have been at worst terrible and at best average this season, but on Saturday they plumped new depths. Losing is one thing. Losing at home another. But losing to the second worst team in the league at home is something else. And QPR didn’t just lose, they were battered. If Jason Puncheon had been more prolific, Saints could easily have won by 5 or 6. As I write this, Hughes is still in a job. That cannot be allowed to still be the case by the time next weekend comes around.
There is no argument that can be made to keep Mark Hughes in a job. There are normally two that can be thrown into the ring when somebody is doing as appallingly as he is. They need more time… and they’re a good bloke who loves the club, so show some loyalty. Hughes has had the equivalent of a full season at QPR, and would have taken them down over the 38 games. He hasn’t won in 12 matches this season, a new league record. He doesn’t love the club, QPR owe him no loyalty. Oh… and he’s a cunt. QPR have been at worst terrible and at best average this season, but on Saturday they plumped new depths. Losing is one thing. Losing at home another. But losing to the second worst team in the league at home is something else. And QPR didn’t just lose, they were battered. If Jason Puncheon had been more prolific, Saints could easily have won by 5 or 6. As I write this, Hughes is still in a job. That cannot be allowed to still be the case by the time next weekend comes around.
4. Sometimes you just need luck to reverse your fortunes.
Sunderland have been in dire form this season, scoring just seven goals in ten matches and playing some truly rubbish football along the way. At Fulham yesterday they were organised and disciplined, but didn’t show any signs of being able to win the game until Brede Hangeland’s harsh red card. From there, with Fulham committed to already having three strikers on the pitch, they slowly but surely worked themselves into the game before finally hitting Jol’s adventurous team on the break. Eventually winning 3-1, nobody can convince me that they would have won that game had Fulham kept 11 men on the pitch. Sometimes though, you need that little bit of luck to kick start a season and Stephane Sessegnon’s sublime strike was everything he needed and more to get his confidence and form back up to the sort of levels he was showing last year. Sunderland now have a very winnable run of fixtures and, in a bunched league, they remain 3 points off relegation and 6 off a European spot. More pleasingly for Mackems everywhere, is that they’re only 2 points behind Newcastle. A club who in their own, unique style, have spent the last two months mocking Sunderland relentlessly whilst somewhat failing to notice the chronic lack of form that has inherited their own team.
Sunderland have been in dire form this season, scoring just seven goals in ten matches and playing some truly rubbish football along the way. At Fulham yesterday they were organised and disciplined, but didn’t show any signs of being able to win the game until Brede Hangeland’s harsh red card. From there, with Fulham committed to already having three strikers on the pitch, they slowly but surely worked themselves into the game before finally hitting Jol’s adventurous team on the break. Eventually winning 3-1, nobody can convince me that they would have won that game had Fulham kept 11 men on the pitch. Sometimes though, you need that little bit of luck to kick start a season and Stephane Sessegnon’s sublime strike was everything he needed and more to get his confidence and form back up to the sort of levels he was showing last year. Sunderland now have a very winnable run of fixtures and, in a bunched league, they remain 3 points off relegation and 6 off a European spot. More pleasingly for Mackems everywhere, is that they’re only 2 points behind Newcastle. A club who in their own, unique style, have spent the last two months mocking Sunderland relentlessly whilst somewhat failing to notice the chronic lack of form that has inherited their own team.
5. Harry Redknapp needs a job.
I’m not Harry Redknapp’s biggest admirer, mainly because he’s a criminal and a West Ham fan. But he is an extremely entertaining manager. He plays good, attacking football with an almost casual disregard for defending and his transfer dealings, whilst clearly illegal, never stop being fun to talk about. What Harry isn’t, is a football pundit. He meanders around the point just saying “we tried to sign him” or “I like the look of him” over and over again. The man doesn’t give a shit about analysis, he just wants to be back in the game. Will somebody please throw the old dog a bone…
I’m not Harry Redknapp’s biggest admirer, mainly because he’s a criminal and a West Ham fan. But he is an extremely entertaining manager. He plays good, attacking football with an almost casual disregard for defending and his transfer dealings, whilst clearly illegal, never stop being fun to talk about. What Harry isn’t, is a football pundit. He meanders around the point just saying “we tried to sign him” or “I like the look of him” over and over again. The man doesn’t give a shit about analysis, he just wants to be back in the game. Will somebody please throw the old dog a bone…
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