Tuesday 9 February 2016
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This is the original blog and platform where 90 Minutes Online started out back in 2008. If you happen to come across this now, you may wonder where all the content went?
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Friday 7 June 2013
The Special One Returns
It’s official, football’s worst kept secret is out, José Mourinho has returned to Chelsea as manager. And despite the managerial merry-go-round that is dominating the top of the Premier League no story has garnered as much attention as the return of The Special One. And that’s just the way he likes it.
It’s been hailed as a victory for the Premier League, one of the most entertaining characters in the history of the league returning. Throw the return of Ian Holloway into the mix as well and Premier League press conferences may just become entertaining again. But this should also be hailed as a victory for Chelsea FC.
Chelsea finished 14 points behind champions Manchester United this season and a mammoth 25 points behind champs Manchester City the season before. Success in Europe over the last two seasons has somewhat masked the fact that Chelsea haven’t been a dominant domestic force for some time, their last league title coming in 2010. It may not be a leap to say that this spell without a league title wouldn’t have happened with José in charge. Certainly you would presume that Chelsea wouldn’t have finished 6th as they did in 2012.
Mourinho’s Champions League success with Porto and Inter Milan are legendary but the Portuguese knows that his bread and butter is the league and that is reflected in his stellar resume. A league winner in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, Mourinho hasn’t finished outside of the top 2 in any season since his debut season with Porto in 2002. It’s that sort of consistency that Chelsea need.
They have a demanding owner in Roman Abramovich who will want success quickly and Mourinho has so often before been the man to provide it. In his debut season in England he delivered Chelsea’s first league title in 50 years, he won an historic treble at Inter Milan and his Real Madrid team won the league despite the challenge of what is considered by many to be the greatest side (Barca or otherwise) of all time.
His time at Real Madrid has seen him come under criticism, he has had major fallouts with many of his star players such as Iker Casillas, and he has failed to deliver a European trophy for one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs. Yet still he lasted three years at Santiago Bernabéu, far beyond the normal life expectancy of a Real manager.
His class is unrivalled, it’s easy to see what he can bring to Chelsea and with City and United shuffling their decks in terms of management and structure it could well be that José hits the ground running again. But what can Chelsea offer Mourinho?
It seems that the first thing they could offer him was simply a route home. Sure, José is not from London, he’d not worked in England before joining Chelsea but the Premier League is his league. He’s spoken so many times about his fondness for the way football is played in this country that there was always an inevitability about his return. And despite being linked over the years to Manchester’s City and United rest assured that Chelsea are his club.
It’s clear to see how much Chelsea means to him. For the first time ever he is retracing his footsteps, taking on a challenge that he has already achieved. It’s hard to imagine him ever returning to Porto or Inter, but it was never in doubt that he would return to Chelsea one day.
The squad that José inherits at Stamford Bridge now only has five surviving first team players from his last spell there, Čech, Essien, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole. But this is still very much his Chelsea. The style of Chelsea’s play, the way they line up their team, it still bears a resemblance to José’s Chelsea.
Already Mourinho has distanced the club from a huge spending spree in this summer’s transfer market, the like of which accompanied him during his first spell. Part of the reason for this is surely that he is already fairly satisfied with the playing staff and doesn’t see the need for a potentially disruptive overhaul.
As much as he will still share a great relationship with the players who have played under him before I would also presume that he is relishing the chance to work with Chelsea’s newer talent such as Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.
That’s not to say that they are already the finished article. The striking department may be what Mourinho first looks at. A José Mourinho team tends to lead with one striker who can hold the ball up well and bring the three man midfield and wingers either side of him into the game, as Didier Drogba did so successfully for so long.
Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have both provided goals this season and Romelalu Lakaku has looked impressive on loan at West Brom but it is yet to be determined if Mourinho will utilise them or look elsewhere. Already the ever ready British press has seen him linked with moves for Eden Džeko.
A holding midfielder may be required as well to supplement the wealth of attacking players that Chelsea already have.
After an up and down period under the hugely unpopular Rafa Benitez, Chelsea fans finally have a manager that they can passionately get behind and can look forward to seeing their team challenging at the very top of the league. After all, José Mourinho wouldn’t have it any other way.
Article Written By James Palmer
It’s been hailed as a victory for the Premier League, one of the most entertaining characters in the history of the league returning. Throw the return of Ian Holloway into the mix as well and Premier League press conferences may just become entertaining again. But this should also be hailed as a victory for Chelsea FC.
Chelsea finished 14 points behind champions Manchester United this season and a mammoth 25 points behind champs Manchester City the season before. Success in Europe over the last two seasons has somewhat masked the fact that Chelsea haven’t been a dominant domestic force for some time, their last league title coming in 2010. It may not be a leap to say that this spell without a league title wouldn’t have happened with José in charge. Certainly you would presume that Chelsea wouldn’t have finished 6th as they did in 2012.
Mourinho’s Champions League success with Porto and Inter Milan are legendary but the Portuguese knows that his bread and butter is the league and that is reflected in his stellar resume. A league winner in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, Mourinho hasn’t finished outside of the top 2 in any season since his debut season with Porto in 2002. It’s that sort of consistency that Chelsea need.
They have a demanding owner in Roman Abramovich who will want success quickly and Mourinho has so often before been the man to provide it. In his debut season in England he delivered Chelsea’s first league title in 50 years, he won an historic treble at Inter Milan and his Real Madrid team won the league despite the challenge of what is considered by many to be the greatest side (Barca or otherwise) of all time.
His time at Real Madrid has seen him come under criticism, he has had major fallouts with many of his star players such as Iker Casillas, and he has failed to deliver a European trophy for one of Europe’s most prestigious clubs. Yet still he lasted three years at Santiago Bernabéu, far beyond the normal life expectancy of a Real manager.
His class is unrivalled, it’s easy to see what he can bring to Chelsea and with City and United shuffling their decks in terms of management and structure it could well be that José hits the ground running again. But what can Chelsea offer Mourinho?
It seems that the first thing they could offer him was simply a route home. Sure, José is not from London, he’d not worked in England before joining Chelsea but the Premier League is his league. He’s spoken so many times about his fondness for the way football is played in this country that there was always an inevitability about his return. And despite being linked over the years to Manchester’s City and United rest assured that Chelsea are his club.
It’s clear to see how much Chelsea means to him. For the first time ever he is retracing his footsteps, taking on a challenge that he has already achieved. It’s hard to imagine him ever returning to Porto or Inter, but it was never in doubt that he would return to Chelsea one day.
The squad that José inherits at Stamford Bridge now only has five surviving first team players from his last spell there, Čech, Essien, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole. But this is still very much his Chelsea. The style of Chelsea’s play, the way they line up their team, it still bears a resemblance to José’s Chelsea.
Already Mourinho has distanced the club from a huge spending spree in this summer’s transfer market, the like of which accompanied him during his first spell. Part of the reason for this is surely that he is already fairly satisfied with the playing staff and doesn’t see the need for a potentially disruptive overhaul.
As much as he will still share a great relationship with the players who have played under him before I would also presume that he is relishing the chance to work with Chelsea’s newer talent such as Oscar, Eden Hazard and Juan Mata.
That’s not to say that they are already the finished article. The striking department may be what Mourinho first looks at. A José Mourinho team tends to lead with one striker who can hold the ball up well and bring the three man midfield and wingers either side of him into the game, as Didier Drogba did so successfully for so long.
Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have both provided goals this season and Romelalu Lakaku has looked impressive on loan at West Brom but it is yet to be determined if Mourinho will utilise them or look elsewhere. Already the ever ready British press has seen him linked with moves for Eden Džeko.
A holding midfielder may be required as well to supplement the wealth of attacking players that Chelsea already have.
After an up and down period under the hugely unpopular Rafa Benitez, Chelsea fans finally have a manager that they can passionately get behind and can look forward to seeing their team challenging at the very top of the league. After all, José Mourinho wouldn’t have it any other way.
Article Written By James Palmer
Saturday 2 February 2013
No Special Treatment From 'The Special One'
José Mourinho, the self-proclaimed Special One, is not exactly a man who lacks self-confidence. However, in the week when he marked his 50th birthday, even Real Madrid’s current manager could be forgiven for indulging in a little quiet introspection, as his tenure has become strangely embroiled in allegations of in-fighting and player subterfuge.
Of course, the very notion of controversy and speculation will have done little to agitate the Portuguese. Mourinho, after all, has hardly been a stranger to the headlines over the years. Indeed, some might say he has forged a career basking under the spotlight, milking the attention for all its worth, before inevitably emerging victorious in a blaze of trophy-laden glory.
But, despite his protestations to the contrary, José is human like the rest of us, and right now you suspect that he will be hotter under the collar than he would have us believe.
For some months now, it’s been strongly rumoured that certain Madrid players are less than happy with Mourinho’s management. Whilst acknowledging that the Madrid squad boasts prima donnas aplenty, this is nevertheless surprising when you consider that the team claimed the league title last season, thereby breaking rivals Barcelona’s recent domestic dominance.
Any lingering unrest was possibly quelled in light of that success, but a poor run of league form during this campaign – Mourinho has already gone public with his view that Barca’s huge lead at the top is already unassailable – has possibly brought matters to a head.
More than possibly any other club, Real Madrid’s supporters have always prided themselves in not only winning, but doing so in style. In that regard, the common consensus is that Mourinho has made a habit of winning down the years, but sometimes by sacrificing style and finesse along the way.
That Barca have combined silverware with a dash of flair and artistry quite unparalleled in the modern game may have led to more than just a handful of Madrid players – and, perhaps more importantly, supporters - becoming dissatisfied.
For a while now, both Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas have been pinpointed in the press as serial troublemakers within the squad, and, for all he mentioned no names, Mourinho admitted there were some ‘rotten apples’ among his star-studded squad of players in a recent interview.
Predictably, both Ramos and Casillas have denied any wrongdoing, although they won’t have done their case much good with the revelation, as reported in ‘Marca’ (Spain’s biggest selling newspaper) that they recently lunched with Real’s president, Florentino Pérez.
Let’s assume for a moment that the lunch did take place – the newspaper, despite the denials from players and president alike, is sticking to its story – and that the subject of Mourinho did get raised, however briefly. In that case, señor Pérez may be faced with a decision in due course – it’s either the retention of the two Spanish internationalists, or his celebrated manager. In other words, something has to give.
This dilemma, of course, reaches beyond the two players in question, in that the sense of their importance and influence to Madrid could be said to outweigh their form on the pitch, at least over the past year or so.
Ramos has long since struck many as being of limited ability, a man who must surely concede more fouls than almost any other player. And Casillas, Spain’s revered European Championship and World Cup winning captain, has suffered an astonishing dip in form in recent months, something which led to his being dropped from the first team towards the end of 2012.
As ever, the outcome of this particular difficulty will lie in the success, or otherwise, of the team during the second half of the season. Given that the league title has effectively been lost – and with a difficult Copa Del Rey semi-final second leg against Barcelona on the horizon - Madrid’s forthcoming Champions League last 16 clash against Manchester United assumes even greater significance.
Should Madrid lose out to the Old Trafford side, the protestations of Ramos and Casillas may be fully vindicated, with the result being Mourinho moving on this summer. However, should a tenth European Cup find its way into the Bernabeu’s trophy room this summer, it may well be the two Spanish internationals who are left with egg on their faces.
Given his track record, it would take a brave man to bet against Mourinho emerging the victor in all this, although the lingering suspicion is that his reputation has been damaged to some extent by this unseemly drama.
Article by Donald Ramsay
Thursday 31 January 2013
Don’t Call Me A ‘Wheeler Dealer’
Harry Redknapp has claimed quite strongly that he is not a Wheeler Dealer, he is a football manager.
“I’m not a wheeler dealer, f**k off”
Harry Redknapp to Sky’s Rob Palmer, 2010
Pretty clear cut. However the end of the transfer window is here and Harry, as well as his fellow Premier League managers, will be scouring the market looking for a bargain or two. Here’s what could still transpire in the transfer market before the window slams shut at 11pm on January the 31st.
QPR
In many ways Harry Redknapp and Queens Park Rangers seem like a match made in heaven. The amount of transfer activity that each have seen over the last 18 months is bordering on the absurd, so it should come as no surprise that Rangers seem to have their fingers in a number of transfer pies as the deadline approaches.
Let’s call him a bargain shopper rather than a wheeler dealer, but Redknapp’s transfer dealings have become a thing of legend. He brought established Premier League players and full internationals like Brad Friedel, William Gallas, Scott Parker and Niko Kranjčar to Spurs for a combined £7million while also taking the highly rated Loic Remy from under the noses of Newcastle this month. It’s hard to imagine that Remy would have opted to join any other team had they have sat adrift at the foot of the Prem, but Harry has a knack for the unfathomable.
With QPR still in turmoil Harry seems to be ready to turn to Stoke’s Peter Crouch one more time, a player who he has bought and sold on at profit an incredible 4 times already. It’s also been widely reported this morning that Rangers could be in for former Blackburn favourite Chris Samba. Harry knows what he’s doing when it comes to strengthening his squad and doing it under budget, don’t be surprised if there’s movement in and out of QPR before Thursday night.
David Villa
The Spanish international was one of the hottest striking properties in the world when he swapped Valencia for Barcelona in 2010. But a badly broken leg saw Villa miss 8 months of action and this has curtailed his career at Camp Nou. Now fit again, Villa seems content with a move away from Catalonia in search of regular first team football.
This has apparently alerted Arsenal who at times have been devoid of attacking ideas this season and Manchester City who seek a replacement for the departing Mario Balotelli. At age 31 Villa could still potentially be a big time player in top flight football and allegedly valued at £15million could be one of the steals of the season. It still remains to be seen whether his wage demands would fit in with Arsenals rigid financial structure or whether he would be satisfied with what could be a bit-part role at Man City.
There is sure to be much more written and reported about David Villa before the transfer window slams shut.
A Striker for Spurs
This weekend’s FA Cup defeat at the hands of Leeds United has highlighted how short of numbers Spurs are in attack. Of the two recognised strikers at the club, Emmanuel Adebayor is away at the African Cup of Nations and Jermain Defoe seems to be carrying an injury. Celtic’s Gary Hooper and highly rated Brazilian Leandro Damião have been muted as possible solutions.
Andre Villas-Boas was previously quoted as saying that Spurs wouldn’t play an active part in this transfer window but with Lewis Holtby already signed from Schalke, AVB’s hand may be forced further due to the crisis Spurs face up front.
The Striker Merry-Go-Round
If Spurs are in fact looking to boost their numbers in the striking department they could be well served by looking at the clubs around them. West Bromwich Albion's Peter Odemwingie seems intent of forcing through a move to QPR, who in turn may be willing to let Jamie MacKie move on, possibly to Norwich. Norwich themselves could be ready to part ways with captain Grant Holt if reports are to be believed. Norwich also seem to be involved in the race for the aforementioned Gary Hooper of Celtic.
Swansea City look likely to allow unsettled striker Danny Graham to leave with Sunderland the most likely destination at the present time and Newcastle are still reported to be looking to strengthen their forward line. Meanwhile Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal to West Ham), Demba Ba (Newcastle to Chelsea), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea to Liverpool) and Mario Balotelli (Man City to AC Milan) have already moved. It seems to be a transfer window built for forwards so don’t be surprised to see even more chopping and changing yet.
So, to summarise, there still seems to be a lot to be done before the deadline finally comes. Expect to see plenty of action at QPR, Newcastle, Sunderland, Norwich and perhaps Everton as well. Actually, scrap that, expect there to be deadline day activity everywhere.
Everywhere that is, except Manchester United. Once again Sir Alex Ferguson sits in his office and preparing his team for their upcoming game against Fulham on Saturday, unbothered by the (dare I say it) wheeling and dealing that January seems to bring for everyone else. Sir Alex’s refusal to enter the market in January has been well documented, and with the amount of stress it seems to bring on his counterparts, who could blame him.
Article by James Palmer
Thursday 24 January 2013
A Football Fairy Tale
The magic of the cup has often been overstated but when a genuine cup shock comes around this in no way seems to dilute that excitement we feel, even as a neutral. The latest instalment in the love story that British football has with the underdog? League Cup finalists Bradford City. And for them, the fairy tale continues.
We do love these stories. Every fan of a lower league club has one, every fan of a Premier League club has one which they would rather forget. That one cup match where your team upset the odds against the big boys or suffered defeat to a minnow. Part of the magic of the FA Cup and Capital One Cup is that these upsets can and do happen. They shouldn’t, but they invariably do. However Bradford’s may have been one of the finest.
Even if 1st in the Premier League Manchester United were to come up against League 2’s bottom club Bristol Rovers, as the old adage says “it’s just 11 men vs 11 men”. Meaning that (as we have seen countless times) on one day anyone can beat anyone. Playing a game, like the Capital One Cup semi-final, over two legs is supposed to eliminate this kind of upset.
A lower league team may be able to play out of their skin over 90mins and upset the odds against the big boys. But to do so over two legs, home and away, is truly remarkable. Bradford’s earlier victories in this competition over Wigan Athletic and even the win over Arsenal on penalties are eclipsed by this latest achievement.
Bradford City, 10th in League 2 as of this writing, welcomed Premier League Aston Villa to a sold out Valley Parade two weeks ago. And they beat them. Convincingly, 3-1. Villa managed to score an away goal to keep the tie alive. The upset was done. But in this story the hard work wasn’t finished there. On Tuesday night Bradford City had to travel to the impressive Villa Park, a stadium where it was thought by many they would be turned over 4-0 and that the hard work and heroics of their first leg victory would be forgotten.
But it just never happened. Bradford City rallied, worked hard and in many departments matched Aston Villa. Their 2-1 loss on the night enough to see them through 4-3 on aggregate. The Bradford City team that started the game on Tuesday night cost a whopping £7,500 to assemble, the rest just made up of loans and free transfers. To put this in context further, that’s 1/3200th of a Darren Bent, who started both legs as a substitute for Villa. Now, the team who finished 18th in League 2 last season are potentially just 90 minutes away from European football.
Admittedly no fairy tale, football or otherwise, would be complete without the ‘rags to riches’ element of it. In 2009, striker James Hanson was stacking shelves in Co-Op. Nothing wrong with that of course, but compare it to what Villa’s Shay Given or Charles N’Zogbia were doing at the time and there’s quite a stark contrast.
Three and ½ years later and Hanson is scoring at Villa Park in the Capital One Cup semi-final, sending Bradford to Wembley in the process. Incidentally Hanson is where Bradford spent that £7,500 as he was signed from non-league Guiseley.
The figures are staggering, Bradford are the first 4th tier side to reach a major cup final in 50 years and it’s the first time they’ve done it since 1911. Fairy tale stuff.
A harsh bump back down to reality will see Bradford City line up against Wycombe at Valley Parade on Saturday. Manager Phil Parkinson will no doubt have a tough task to keep his players focus on this important League 2 fixture and not on the Wembley showpiece in February or the trip to Las Vegas that the squad have been promised at the end of the season by their chairman.
But, as with every good fairy tale, it can’t be all plain sailing. Bradford’s quest, while undoubtedly impressive, may not quite have a happy ending. Because, as the Wolf, the Witch and the Wicked Stepmother will tell you, every fairy tale needs a villain.
Swansea City are the team that Bradford will meet in the final on February the 24th at Wembley stadium. It shouldn’t be understated what a massive occasion this is for the Swans and their supporters as well. They must feel as though the stars have aligned for them. Their first trip to a major cup final and only lowly Bradford City stand in their way. Of course Swansea will go on to win, Bradford won’t be good enough to contest this, which is a shame. But then, they shouldn’t have been good enough to contest the semi-final either...
Article by James Palmer
Monday 22 August 2011
Merseyside Gamble?
With Liverpool investing around £112 million pounds in players in a short period of time, I hasten to suggest that there is a time period in which this huge investment must bring dividends…
Throughout pre season many pundits and the like have talked up Liverpool’s chances of regaining a Champion’s League place, some even suggesting they could push for a title. I think a closer evaluation at what they have invested in must be done first before really evaluating what they should hope to achieve, and what they can realistically achieve.
At Liverpool you now find a relatively new manager with a relatively new team, the success this team can achieve is yet to be known. What can be done is to look into the components that will determine the success, starting with the man at the helm, one Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish aka Kenny Dalglish.
I think with Kenny Dalglish Liverpool have a manager who to many has encompassed the best in management, he has brought back memories of the old school manager, not so engrossed in the political correctness and precise media presentation which you find with his modern day peers.
So much is made of his charisma and personality that little is actually talked about his managerial pedigree. As a player for Liverpool he was undoubted world class quality, and a rare breed of British footballer who could easily stand alongside the great names of the game. His career as a manager although successful needs close evaluation for the time in which he was a manager, the teams he managed and how that can correspond to today’s Liverpool.
His first spell as Liverpool player-manager then manager was undoubtedly successful with 3 league titles and 2 FA Cups, alongside 3 Manager of the Year awards. The team in which Dalglish took over however was infamous. The Liverpool team of the 80’s (himself included) is and always will be one of the great English teams.
The set up established by Shankly, Paisley and Fagan (the 3 doyens of Liverpool Football Club) was an institution that became the club and an establishment which constantly brought results, trophies and success. It did not take much for Dalglish, who had been an integral part of the playing staff for many years knowing the system in place, to merely continue the tradition.
This is not to take away from his success, he was able to bring in real quality when needed to replace aging players such as Ian Rush and of course himself, adding to the team the likes of Beardsley, Barnes and Aldridge. What to me most defines his time as Liverpool manager however, is the team he inherited, it was not from scratch or his own doing that he established a league winning force, he was part of one and rather took the reigns and continued the success. The other pertinent issue of course is the era in which he was manager, two decades of football has been played since then and therefore it is hard to say that his managerial style is really relevant to modern day management.
The future clubs he managed tell you more about the manger Kenny Dalglish. At Blackburn he had the financial clout to buy the best of English talent and won the league, almost entirely because, unlike situations you have today, no one team could live with the financial supremacy offered by Blackburn.
Following Blackburn he inherited another great squad at Newcastle, left by Kevin Keegan, a team which had been pushing for titles and was competing in the Champions League. Although with Newcastle they reached a FA Cup final they were unsuccessful and he left acrimoniously with the team finishing just 13th in 1997 and after drawing the first two games of the following season.
What of Kenny Dalglish then, you have a manager with proven success at the club, but the years in which he was successful were over two decades ago, many of the players he will be managing were young children when he achieved that success. It is true that there was a turn around in fortunes for Liverpool when he joined the club last season but there could be many reasons for this. Firstly the general impact of the name joining the club. It gave new impetus to the players allowing them to go beyond what they had been achieving previously, basically in layman terms the team has gone through a ‘honeymoon period’.
The true ‘litmus test’ for Kenny’s new team will be the new season, so we must now look into this new team. Has the great ‘King Kenny’ brought wisely? The players needed to look over are; Suarez, Carroll, Henderson, Adam, Downing and Jose Enrique. The total amount of money spent on these players is around £112-115 million differing on who you talk to.
Now even in today’s standard that is a huge sum of money on 6 players. The kind of money that if you aren’t owned by Chelsea, Manchester City, Malaga or PSG today demands immediate results! The strategy Dalglish has clearly put into place is to buy British, which today means to buy BIG!
This strategy of buying British seems to be him signalling that he is buying what he knows as most managers generally do. In the time that he originally managed, it was much less about looking abroad for new players and with the exception of Suarez he has not.
What has he brought though? The most established in the league by far is Downing, with spells at Villa and Middlesbrough he has proven his ability in the league and also has proven internationally with England that he can at least mix it with the best. He will provide you with assists and will give you natural width, however for £20 million pounds it is yet to be seen if he can live up to that price tag.
Following that you have two young players from the North East in Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson, both with few England caps to their names, and both with huge price tags hanging over their heads. The money spent on them is most definitely a gamble, they do both of course hold huge potential, living up to the potential however is what now must be achieved in a relatively short time due to the money spent on them.
The other signings mentioned hold less of a gamble in that both Adam and Enrique have proved their worth in the Premiership with full seasons. Along with that neither carry the extra pressure of a huge transfer sum therefore allowing for extra space to either be successful or not.
The final player to mention is Luis Suarez, he undoubtedly has had a relatively successful start to his Liverpool career. His tenacious style and ability to create as well as score has meant that he is already loved by the Anfield faithful. The price he holds is not too extortionate either as he had a number of successful years at Ajax as well as an excellent, if not controversial World Cup. What Suarez has to now do though is back up the initial half a season he has had with a full season of a similar ilk. He also has to fill the metaphorical boots left by Fernando Torres meaning goals must be consistent throughout the season.
So what is it that we have at Liverpool Football Club this year, we have a team and a manager who are not only expected to achieve because of their skill as a group but because of the investment put into the team. Many pundits and people who hold much more credence than myself have placed Liverpool in the upper echelons of the league this year, I am not yet so convinced. I see a team with a huge amount of pressure from all stand points and a team and management that without instant success could feel the cold reality of the Premier League sooner than they think.
Work by Josh Abbott
Throughout pre season many pundits and the like have talked up Liverpool’s chances of regaining a Champion’s League place, some even suggesting they could push for a title. I think a closer evaluation at what they have invested in must be done first before really evaluating what they should hope to achieve, and what they can realistically achieve.
At Liverpool you now find a relatively new manager with a relatively new team, the success this team can achieve is yet to be known. What can be done is to look into the components that will determine the success, starting with the man at the helm, one Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish aka Kenny Dalglish.
I think with Kenny Dalglish Liverpool have a manager who to many has encompassed the best in management, he has brought back memories of the old school manager, not so engrossed in the political correctness and precise media presentation which you find with his modern day peers.
So much is made of his charisma and personality that little is actually talked about his managerial pedigree. As a player for Liverpool he was undoubted world class quality, and a rare breed of British footballer who could easily stand alongside the great names of the game. His career as a manager although successful needs close evaluation for the time in which he was a manager, the teams he managed and how that can correspond to today’s Liverpool.
His first spell as Liverpool player-manager then manager was undoubtedly successful with 3 league titles and 2 FA Cups, alongside 3 Manager of the Year awards. The team in which Dalglish took over however was infamous. The Liverpool team of the 80’s (himself included) is and always will be one of the great English teams.
The set up established by Shankly, Paisley and Fagan (the 3 doyens of Liverpool Football Club) was an institution that became the club and an establishment which constantly brought results, trophies and success. It did not take much for Dalglish, who had been an integral part of the playing staff for many years knowing the system in place, to merely continue the tradition.
This is not to take away from his success, he was able to bring in real quality when needed to replace aging players such as Ian Rush and of course himself, adding to the team the likes of Beardsley, Barnes and Aldridge. What to me most defines his time as Liverpool manager however, is the team he inherited, it was not from scratch or his own doing that he established a league winning force, he was part of one and rather took the reigns and continued the success. The other pertinent issue of course is the era in which he was manager, two decades of football has been played since then and therefore it is hard to say that his managerial style is really relevant to modern day management.
The future clubs he managed tell you more about the manger Kenny Dalglish. At Blackburn he had the financial clout to buy the best of English talent and won the league, almost entirely because, unlike situations you have today, no one team could live with the financial supremacy offered by Blackburn.
Following Blackburn he inherited another great squad at Newcastle, left by Kevin Keegan, a team which had been pushing for titles and was competing in the Champions League. Although with Newcastle they reached a FA Cup final they were unsuccessful and he left acrimoniously with the team finishing just 13th in 1997 and after drawing the first two games of the following season.
What of Kenny Dalglish then, you have a manager with proven success at the club, but the years in which he was successful were over two decades ago, many of the players he will be managing were young children when he achieved that success. It is true that there was a turn around in fortunes for Liverpool when he joined the club last season but there could be many reasons for this. Firstly the general impact of the name joining the club. It gave new impetus to the players allowing them to go beyond what they had been achieving previously, basically in layman terms the team has gone through a ‘honeymoon period’.
The true ‘litmus test’ for Kenny’s new team will be the new season, so we must now look into this new team. Has the great ‘King Kenny’ brought wisely? The players needed to look over are; Suarez, Carroll, Henderson, Adam, Downing and Jose Enrique. The total amount of money spent on these players is around £112-115 million differing on who you talk to.
Now even in today’s standard that is a huge sum of money on 6 players. The kind of money that if you aren’t owned by Chelsea, Manchester City, Malaga or PSG today demands immediate results! The strategy Dalglish has clearly put into place is to buy British, which today means to buy BIG!
This strategy of buying British seems to be him signalling that he is buying what he knows as most managers generally do. In the time that he originally managed, it was much less about looking abroad for new players and with the exception of Suarez he has not.
What has he brought though? The most established in the league by far is Downing, with spells at Villa and Middlesbrough he has proven his ability in the league and also has proven internationally with England that he can at least mix it with the best. He will provide you with assists and will give you natural width, however for £20 million pounds it is yet to be seen if he can live up to that price tag.
Following that you have two young players from the North East in Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson, both with few England caps to their names, and both with huge price tags hanging over their heads. The money spent on them is most definitely a gamble, they do both of course hold huge potential, living up to the potential however is what now must be achieved in a relatively short time due to the money spent on them.
The other signings mentioned hold less of a gamble in that both Adam and Enrique have proved their worth in the Premiership with full seasons. Along with that neither carry the extra pressure of a huge transfer sum therefore allowing for extra space to either be successful or not.
The final player to mention is Luis Suarez, he undoubtedly has had a relatively successful start to his Liverpool career. His tenacious style and ability to create as well as score has meant that he is already loved by the Anfield faithful. The price he holds is not too extortionate either as he had a number of successful years at Ajax as well as an excellent, if not controversial World Cup. What Suarez has to now do though is back up the initial half a season he has had with a full season of a similar ilk. He also has to fill the metaphorical boots left by Fernando Torres meaning goals must be consistent throughout the season.
So what is it that we have at Liverpool Football Club this year, we have a team and a manager who are not only expected to achieve because of their skill as a group but because of the investment put into the team. Many pundits and people who hold much more credence than myself have placed Liverpool in the upper echelons of the league this year, I am not yet so convinced. I see a team with a huge amount of pressure from all stand points and a team and management that without instant success could feel the cold reality of the Premier League sooner than they think.
Work by Josh Abbott
Monday 8 August 2011
Championship
The Championship: Preview.
This weekend saw the return of one of the most competitive leagues in Europe in the form of England's second tier, The Championship. And this term's competition promises to be just as exciting as it has been in recent years.
As close and unpredictable as The Championship normally is, it would take a brave man to bet against recently relegated West Ham United gaining promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. With experienced manager Sam Allardyce now at the helm and new signings Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor joining the ranks (arguably signings that would have kept the Hammers up if made a year ago), and most of the club's big names still not having left it will take a pretty big effort by their rivals to stop them winning promotion.
Fellow ‘relelgatees’ Birmingham City and Blackpool have not been so fortunate in the close season. The Blues have lost manager Alex McLeish to cross city rivals Aston Villa and rumour would have it that they may be heading into administration sometime soon. Meanwhile Ian Holloway has lost star striker DJ Campbell to Premiership new boys Queens Park Rangers which won't make his side's chances of a return to the top tier any easier.
Two teams that will more than likely be challenging for a promotion spot alongside West Ham will be Leicester City, managed by former England boss Sven Göran-Eriksson, and Nottingham Forest who have recently appointed Sven's successor as England manager Steve McLaren. Whilst both men famously didn't have the best of times coaching the English national team, their club records speak for themselves.
(Although the days of Sven are looking quite rose-tinted now- Ed.)
Southampton would be my pick of the newly promoted teams with star striker Rickie Lambert finally getting a shot in The Championship, along with a host of other talented players. League One winners Brighton and play-off winners Peterborough may find themselves a little out of their depth, but as we've seen time and time again anyone can beat anyone in this league.
It also remains to be seen what a very new look Cardiff City can do this season. It's been all change in South Wales, upstairs and on the pitch, and with bitter rivals Swansea gaining promotion you would think The Bluebirds will be even more desperate to find that extra something they've been missing for the past few seasons.
The likes of Watford, Crystal Palace and Doncaster Rovers have done little to improve their squads since finishing in the lower echelons of the league last season so it wouldn't be too surprising to see similar relegation-battling seasons for them and a few others.
Mid-table finishers such as Ipswich Town and Bristol City may be ones to watch with both sides adding some pretty solid signings to their squads. Significantly City managed to fight off interest from Leicester, Forest and a host of other clubs for star striker Nicky Maynard, and both clubs are well enough equipped to be there or there-abouts.
So with all of that said, all that's left to do is to enjoy the kick off to the new campaign, and after that, the highlights! Twenty four teams all starting on a level playing field in a league where it seems that literally anything can happen, and despite all of your predictions and the ones made here, it is almost impossible to tell how The Championship is going to pan out.
Work by Josh Coulson
This weekend saw the return of one of the most competitive leagues in Europe in the form of England's second tier, The Championship. And this term's competition promises to be just as exciting as it has been in recent years.
As close and unpredictable as The Championship normally is, it would take a brave man to bet against recently relegated West Ham United gaining promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. With experienced manager Sam Allardyce now at the helm and new signings Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor joining the ranks (arguably signings that would have kept the Hammers up if made a year ago), and most of the club's big names still not having left it will take a pretty big effort by their rivals to stop them winning promotion.
Fellow ‘relelgatees’ Birmingham City and Blackpool have not been so fortunate in the close season. The Blues have lost manager Alex McLeish to cross city rivals Aston Villa and rumour would have it that they may be heading into administration sometime soon. Meanwhile Ian Holloway has lost star striker DJ Campbell to Premiership new boys Queens Park Rangers which won't make his side's chances of a return to the top tier any easier.
Two teams that will more than likely be challenging for a promotion spot alongside West Ham will be Leicester City, managed by former England boss Sven Göran-Eriksson, and Nottingham Forest who have recently appointed Sven's successor as England manager Steve McLaren. Whilst both men famously didn't have the best of times coaching the English national team, their club records speak for themselves.
(Although the days of Sven are looking quite rose-tinted now- Ed.)
Southampton would be my pick of the newly promoted teams with star striker Rickie Lambert finally getting a shot in The Championship, along with a host of other talented players. League One winners Brighton and play-off winners Peterborough may find themselves a little out of their depth, but as we've seen time and time again anyone can beat anyone in this league.
It also remains to be seen what a very new look Cardiff City can do this season. It's been all change in South Wales, upstairs and on the pitch, and with bitter rivals Swansea gaining promotion you would think The Bluebirds will be even more desperate to find that extra something they've been missing for the past few seasons.
The likes of Watford, Crystal Palace and Doncaster Rovers have done little to improve their squads since finishing in the lower echelons of the league last season so it wouldn't be too surprising to see similar relegation-battling seasons for them and a few others.
Mid-table finishers such as Ipswich Town and Bristol City may be ones to watch with both sides adding some pretty solid signings to their squads. Significantly City managed to fight off interest from Leicester, Forest and a host of other clubs for star striker Nicky Maynard, and both clubs are well enough equipped to be there or there-abouts.
So with all of that said, all that's left to do is to enjoy the kick off to the new campaign, and after that, the highlights! Twenty four teams all starting on a level playing field in a league where it seems that literally anything can happen, and despite all of your predictions and the ones made here, it is almost impossible to tell how The Championship is going to pan out.
Work by Josh Coulson
Monday 1 August 2011
The New South American Superpower.
This summer's Copa America has come to an end with Uruguay winning the competition for a record fifteenth time, following on from their impressive showing in South Africa last summer. With seven of the opening twelve games ending in draws it looked as if South America's flagship tournament wasn't going to be the goal and thrill-filled few weeks that it usually promises to be, but by the knock-out stages it was very much in full swing.
Brazil, unsurprisingly labelled as favourites once again, limped through their first two games. After being held to a 0-0 draw by lowly Venezuela, they then relied upon striker Fred to salvage them a point against Paraguay after his strike in the closing stages of the game made it 2-2.
It wasn't until their final group game against Ecuador that we saw what we all come to expect from a typical Brazil side, beating their opponents 4-2 to secure a place in the next round. However just as they seemed to be getting going it was all over. Paraguay managed another draw against the 5 time world cup winners in the Quarter Finals, and it was the Paraguayans who would have the last laugh as Brazil missed all four of their penalties in the resulting shoot-out to gift Roque Santa Cruz and his men a place in the semis.
Hosts and fellow South American giants Argentina also struggled to kick start their tournament after only managing two points from their two opening games, a 1-1 draw with Bolivia in the tournament's opener and a stalemate with Colombia. Their final group game however saw them ease past invitees Costa Rica, beating them 3-0 thanks to a brace from Manchester City new boy Sergio Agüero and a third from Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria.
But they would also find themselves leaving the tournament early along with their Brazilian rivals. Ten man Uruguay held them at 1-1 in their Quarter Final only for Carlos Tévez to miss the crucial spot kick and send through the eventual winners.
Uruguay didn't have a dream start either and were yet another country who could only manage two points heading into their final group game after 1-1 draws with Peru and eventual Group C winners Chile. It was only an early Álvaro Pereira goal; against what has been a poor Mexico side at the tournament, which earned their passage into the knock out stages as Uruguay finished runners up in their group.
Their quarter final win over hosts Argentina was followed by what seemed like relatively easy wins over Peru in the semis, 2-0, and a 3-0 win over Paraguay in the final after the always impressive Diego Forlán added a brace to Luis Suárez 's early goal.
As mentioned above, Chile were the winners of Group C but didn't make it easy on themselves. They had to come from behind in both their opening games, firstly against Mexico to beat them 2-1 and then against Uruguay to earn a point through an Alexis Sánchez equaliser, who briefly left his team mates to go complete his big money move to European Champion's Barcelona. Chile came unstuck however in a shock 2-1 defeat to surprise package Venezuela at the quarter final stage.
Venezuela were runners up to Brazil in Group B with five points, three of which came from a 1-0 victory over Ecuador, only their third victory in the tournament since joining in 1967, and the other two from draws with Brazil and a thrilling 3-3 with Paraguay to officially close the group stages. After beating Chile in the quarter finals the Venezuelans put up a valiant effort against Paraguay for a place in the final, eventually losing in a shoot out and getting beaten 4-1 by other beaten semi finalists Peru in the third place play off.
Peru also performed beyond expectation as they saw off Colombia in the quarter finals, putting two goals past the Group A winners who were yet to concede a goal by that point, and finishing a very respectable third. But the might of winners Uruguay proved too much for them and everyone else it would seem.
They saw off everyone in their path including Brazil's conquerors Paraguay and tournament hosts Argentina, despite having to play most of that game with just ten men. With a first Copa América win since 1995 (a record 15th overall) and a world cup semi final to their name in the last two summers, could Uruguay be returning to somewhere they haven't been for quite a while- the top of world football?
Work by Josh Coulson
Brazil, unsurprisingly labelled as favourites once again, limped through their first two games. After being held to a 0-0 draw by lowly Venezuela, they then relied upon striker Fred to salvage them a point against Paraguay after his strike in the closing stages of the game made it 2-2.
It wasn't until their final group game against Ecuador that we saw what we all come to expect from a typical Brazil side, beating their opponents 4-2 to secure a place in the next round. However just as they seemed to be getting going it was all over. Paraguay managed another draw against the 5 time world cup winners in the Quarter Finals, and it was the Paraguayans who would have the last laugh as Brazil missed all four of their penalties in the resulting shoot-out to gift Roque Santa Cruz and his men a place in the semis.
Hosts and fellow South American giants Argentina also struggled to kick start their tournament after only managing two points from their two opening games, a 1-1 draw with Bolivia in the tournament's opener and a stalemate with Colombia. Their final group game however saw them ease past invitees Costa Rica, beating them 3-0 thanks to a brace from Manchester City new boy Sergio Agüero and a third from Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria.
But they would also find themselves leaving the tournament early along with their Brazilian rivals. Ten man Uruguay held them at 1-1 in their Quarter Final only for Carlos Tévez to miss the crucial spot kick and send through the eventual winners.
Uruguay didn't have a dream start either and were yet another country who could only manage two points heading into their final group game after 1-1 draws with Peru and eventual Group C winners Chile. It was only an early Álvaro Pereira goal; against what has been a poor Mexico side at the tournament, which earned their passage into the knock out stages as Uruguay finished runners up in their group.
Their quarter final win over hosts Argentina was followed by what seemed like relatively easy wins over Peru in the semis, 2-0, and a 3-0 win over Paraguay in the final after the always impressive Diego Forlán added a brace to Luis Suárez 's early goal.
As mentioned above, Chile were the winners of Group C but didn't make it easy on themselves. They had to come from behind in both their opening games, firstly against Mexico to beat them 2-1 and then against Uruguay to earn a point through an Alexis Sánchez equaliser, who briefly left his team mates to go complete his big money move to European Champion's Barcelona. Chile came unstuck however in a shock 2-1 defeat to surprise package Venezuela at the quarter final stage.
Venezuela were runners up to Brazil in Group B with five points, three of which came from a 1-0 victory over Ecuador, only their third victory in the tournament since joining in 1967, and the other two from draws with Brazil and a thrilling 3-3 with Paraguay to officially close the group stages. After beating Chile in the quarter finals the Venezuelans put up a valiant effort against Paraguay for a place in the final, eventually losing in a shoot out and getting beaten 4-1 by other beaten semi finalists Peru in the third place play off.
Peru also performed beyond expectation as they saw off Colombia in the quarter finals, putting two goals past the Group A winners who were yet to concede a goal by that point, and finishing a very respectable third. But the might of winners Uruguay proved too much for them and everyone else it would seem.
They saw off everyone in their path including Brazil's conquerors Paraguay and tournament hosts Argentina, despite having to play most of that game with just ten men. With a first Copa América win since 1995 (a record 15th overall) and a world cup semi final to their name in the last two summers, could Uruguay be returning to somewhere they haven't been for quite a while- the top of world football?
Work by Josh Coulson
Monday 25 July 2011
Tevez
It looks like Carlos Tevez's five year stay in England is about to come to an end with the Argentine seeking a move back to South America to be near his family, but I'm sure it won't only be Manchester City fans who miss the man who has undoubtedly become one of the best strikers in the world since his move to the Premiership.
It's not only goals that Tevez has taken with him wherever he's gone. Since his arrival at Upton Park in the summer of 2006 with fellow country man Javier Mascherano there has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Carlos, with third party ownership by company Media Sports Investments aiding West Ham United to sign both of the South American superstars.
The Hammers were fined a record £5.5 million the following April for breaching Premier League rules when signing Tevez and Mascherano. But a month later Tevez scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, in what ironically would be his last game for the east end club before moving to the Red Devils, and it subsequently kept them up whilst sending Sheffield United down.
Unsurprisingly bitter about being relegated, the powers that be at Sheffield United argued that West Ham should have been subject to a points deduction when they were punished for the signings of Tevez and Mascherano. It took almost three years for an agreement to be reached, so a long time after both Tevez and Mascherano had left the club, with both teams agreeing an out of court settlement of £20 million to be paid to Sheffield United in compensation for them going down.
After one season for West Ham that saw him win 'Hammer of the Year' Tevez made the move to Manchester United whilst rejecting an offer from Inter Milan as he wanted to remain in England. Due to the ongoing saga of who actually owned the striker, United signed him on a two year loan deal. He joined a side that already boasted Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in their front line, and the three of them together were even referred to as the 'Holy Trinity' what with their goal scoring ability and being three of the best attacking players of the last decade or so.
However with this much talent at one club Tevez didn't get the amount of first team action he hoped. When his two year loan deal came to an end he stated he would be leaving saying he was dissatisfied with being dropped from the team despite, in his opinion, not having played badly.
For a while rumours circulated that Tevez would be leaving for bitter rivals Liverpool, something only one player has ever dared to do, but these rumours turned out to be false and the talisman instead opted for the slightly less controversial move to cross-city rivals Manchester City!
It was the erection of a billboard poster by Manchester City that sparked more bad feeling between the two clubs about the move. One which depicted Tevez all in sky blue, with a sky blue back drop, and the words 'Welcome to Manchester'.
Since joining City Tevez has scored 43 goals in just 63 appearances for the club and was made captain by manager Roberto Mancini for the 2010/11 campaign which saw the side finish third in the league and win the FA Cup for the first time in over 40 years. But it looks like Mancini will have to find himself a new captain for next season with it looking almost certain that Tevez won't be a Blue.
Amidst rumours that Carlos would be moving to either Italy or Spain in the summer City's captain said he would stay at Eastlands if his family problems could be resolved, only to later say he was planning to leave Manchester and never return, 'not even holiday' to quote the man himself. It would seem the Argentinean goal machine is all set for a move back to South America after his wife and children moved back there not long ago, but with a move to former club Corinthians recently falling through it remains to be seen where the controversial striker that has become a household name in European football will end up next.
It's not only goals that Tevez has taken with him wherever he's gone. Since his arrival at Upton Park in the summer of 2006 with fellow country man Javier Mascherano there has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Carlos, with third party ownership by company Media Sports Investments aiding West Ham United to sign both of the South American superstars.
The Hammers were fined a record £5.5 million the following April for breaching Premier League rules when signing Tevez and Mascherano. But a month later Tevez scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, in what ironically would be his last game for the east end club before moving to the Red Devils, and it subsequently kept them up whilst sending Sheffield United down.
Unsurprisingly bitter about being relegated, the powers that be at Sheffield United argued that West Ham should have been subject to a points deduction when they were punished for the signings of Tevez and Mascherano. It took almost three years for an agreement to be reached, so a long time after both Tevez and Mascherano had left the club, with both teams agreeing an out of court settlement of £20 million to be paid to Sheffield United in compensation for them going down.
After one season for West Ham that saw him win 'Hammer of the Year' Tevez made the move to Manchester United whilst rejecting an offer from Inter Milan as he wanted to remain in England. Due to the ongoing saga of who actually owned the striker, United signed him on a two year loan deal. He joined a side that already boasted Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in their front line, and the three of them together were even referred to as the 'Holy Trinity' what with their goal scoring ability and being three of the best attacking players of the last decade or so.
However with this much talent at one club Tevez didn't get the amount of first team action he hoped. When his two year loan deal came to an end he stated he would be leaving saying he was dissatisfied with being dropped from the team despite, in his opinion, not having played badly.
For a while rumours circulated that Tevez would be leaving for bitter rivals Liverpool, something only one player has ever dared to do, but these rumours turned out to be false and the talisman instead opted for the slightly less controversial move to cross-city rivals Manchester City!
It was the erection of a billboard poster by Manchester City that sparked more bad feeling between the two clubs about the move. One which depicted Tevez all in sky blue, with a sky blue back drop, and the words 'Welcome to Manchester'.
Since joining City Tevez has scored 43 goals in just 63 appearances for the club and was made captain by manager Roberto Mancini for the 2010/11 campaign which saw the side finish third in the league and win the FA Cup for the first time in over 40 years. But it looks like Mancini will have to find himself a new captain for next season with it looking almost certain that Tevez won't be a Blue.
Amidst rumours that Carlos would be moving to either Italy or Spain in the summer City's captain said he would stay at Eastlands if his family problems could be resolved, only to later say he was planning to leave Manchester and never return, 'not even holiday' to quote the man himself. It would seem the Argentinean goal machine is all set for a move back to South America after his wife and children moved back there not long ago, but with a move to former club Corinthians recently falling through it remains to be seen where the controversial striker that has become a household name in European football will end up next.
Sunday 19 June 2011
Third Time Unlucky.
For the past few seasons Cardiff City have been many people's favourites to reach the promised land that is the Premier League, yet time and time again they have seemingly run out of steam towards the end of the campaign and failed to deal with the pressure of the play-offs…
This last season saw them having to settle for the lottery of the play-offs once again, due to their drop in form as the season reached its climax. Their losing in the semi-final to Reading, has proven to be the last straw for many people involved with the club.
Manager Dave Jones was sacked not long after the semi final upset, ending a six year stint at the club in which he took the side to an FA Cup final and a play-off final, and in all honesty he was probably given more time than he should have been allowed due to the successful cup run he oversaw back in 2008. With the players at his disposal the Liverpudlian should have guided the Bluebirds to England's top tier with relative ease, but that has not been the case and time has deservedly been called on his stay in South Wales.
For the past three seasons Cardiff have been labelled as favourites to gain promotion from the Championship, something that can be a curse in itself, and all three times they have fooled fans in to believing they can achieve the feat right up until the summer. The 2008-09 season saw them occupying an automatic promotion spot for almost the entire season, only for them to earn a solitary point from their final four games. This included a 6-0 drubbing from Preston, and a fall not only out of the top two but down to 7th in the table, meaning they even lost the consolation prize of a play-off place.
The following season saw them playing at the brand new Cardiff City Stadium, but not even that could keep their form consistent enough to finish in an automatic promotion spot. And the Welsh side were undone in a thrilling play-off final that saw Ian Holloway's Blackpool claim the final spot in the following season's premier league, winning 3-2.
With the aforementioned semi-final defeat to Reading last month, and the added blow of having to watch bitter local rivals Swansea become the first Welsh side to grace the Premier League, it seems that Dave Jones isn't the only one who will be leaving the capital in the coming weeks.
Record signing Michael Chopra has already jumped ship with a move to Championship rivals Ipswich Town for £1.5 million (a £2.5 million loss). England international Jay Bothroyd failed to agree a new contract with the club along with team mate Chris Burke who has signed for recently relegated Birmingham City. Many would find it hard to argue the fact that Bothroyd should probably be plying his trade in the Premiership, something he had hoped to have been doing with City by now.
A few others look set to be on their way, but someone who's future is still shrouded in mystery is that of Craig Bellamy. The shock signing of last summer's transfer window, and the man who many thought would be the final part of a Cardiff squad capable of promotion, is still a Manchester City player. It seems that they don't want the Welsh winger back and at the same time are not willing to pay his wages, something they did do last season what with Cardiff not being able to foot the bill, instead they want to sell him.
Cardiff City have had three consecutive bites of the cherry, something almost unheard of when you consider how competitive a league the Championship is, and managed to 'bottle it' on every occasion. With the exodus of top class players along with adapting to the new manager Malky Mackay, it seems questionable if we'll be seeing Cardiff at the top table of English football any time soon, although you never know, maybe losing the title of 'favourites' is exactly what they need.
Work by Josh Coulson
This last season saw them having to settle for the lottery of the play-offs once again, due to their drop in form as the season reached its climax. Their losing in the semi-final to Reading, has proven to be the last straw for many people involved with the club.
Manager Dave Jones was sacked not long after the semi final upset, ending a six year stint at the club in which he took the side to an FA Cup final and a play-off final, and in all honesty he was probably given more time than he should have been allowed due to the successful cup run he oversaw back in 2008. With the players at his disposal the Liverpudlian should have guided the Bluebirds to England's top tier with relative ease, but that has not been the case and time has deservedly been called on his stay in South Wales.
For the past three seasons Cardiff have been labelled as favourites to gain promotion from the Championship, something that can be a curse in itself, and all three times they have fooled fans in to believing they can achieve the feat right up until the summer. The 2008-09 season saw them occupying an automatic promotion spot for almost the entire season, only for them to earn a solitary point from their final four games. This included a 6-0 drubbing from Preston, and a fall not only out of the top two but down to 7th in the table, meaning they even lost the consolation prize of a play-off place.
The following season saw them playing at the brand new Cardiff City Stadium, but not even that could keep their form consistent enough to finish in an automatic promotion spot. And the Welsh side were undone in a thrilling play-off final that saw Ian Holloway's Blackpool claim the final spot in the following season's premier league, winning 3-2.
With the aforementioned semi-final defeat to Reading last month, and the added blow of having to watch bitter local rivals Swansea become the first Welsh side to grace the Premier League, it seems that Dave Jones isn't the only one who will be leaving the capital in the coming weeks.
Record signing Michael Chopra has already jumped ship with a move to Championship rivals Ipswich Town for £1.5 million (a £2.5 million loss). England international Jay Bothroyd failed to agree a new contract with the club along with team mate Chris Burke who has signed for recently relegated Birmingham City. Many would find it hard to argue the fact that Bothroyd should probably be plying his trade in the Premiership, something he had hoped to have been doing with City by now.
A few others look set to be on their way, but someone who's future is still shrouded in mystery is that of Craig Bellamy. The shock signing of last summer's transfer window, and the man who many thought would be the final part of a Cardiff squad capable of promotion, is still a Manchester City player. It seems that they don't want the Welsh winger back and at the same time are not willing to pay his wages, something they did do last season what with Cardiff not being able to foot the bill, instead they want to sell him.
Cardiff City have had three consecutive bites of the cherry, something almost unheard of when you consider how competitive a league the Championship is, and managed to 'bottle it' on every occasion. With the exodus of top class players along with adapting to the new manager Malky Mackay, it seems questionable if we'll be seeing Cardiff at the top table of English football any time soon, although you never know, maybe losing the title of 'favourites' is exactly what they need.
Work by Josh Coulson
Friday 29 April 2011
Europa League
This week saw the semi final first leg of this season’s Champions League, played out to much hype and hysteria at Schalke’s Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen and the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid.
Yet while the eyes of many may have been on Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi & co., this writer was keeping a closer look out for Thursday’s Europa League semi final clashes.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the Europa League or Uefa Cup as it was known then was held in some regard by English football fans, with some classic matches and memories to savour. And whilst the memory of “that night in Istanbul” will remain fresh in the minds of many a Liverpool fan, few talk about arguably one of the greatest European finals ever featuring the Reds back in 2001.
Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion was the setting for an epic encounter between Liverpool and surprise Spanish package Alaves.
The Merseysiders had overcome some top teams to get their too, with the likes of Porto, Roma and Barcelona dispatched on route to the final. What followed was a glorious game of open attacking football coupled with often suicidal defending and a final score that read Liverpool 5 Alaves 4!
More recently, there was the extraordinary run of Steve McClaren’s Middlesborough in 2006, which culminated in a stunning semi final comeback that saw the Teesiders overturn a three goal aggregate deficit to win with four second half goals.
Last season Fulham were the English heroes in the competition, reaching the final after momentous wins over the likes of Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk. But whilst the Cottagers and Roy Hodgson engaged fully with the tournament, there’s been a growing sense that the Europa league is something to be dismissed by English sides, which see other competitions as being more important.
The rot started with Gary Megson and Bolton. Back in 2008 the Trotters had just beaten Atletico Madrid over two legs to set up a first ever appearance in the last 16 of a major European competition.
Yet despite claiming a decent 1-1 draw at home to Sporting Lisbon, Megson opted to field a reserve side for the second leg and consequently lost 1-0. The reason given was that Bolton were facing relegation rivals Wigan Athletic at the weekend. The problem was that they then lost to the Latics anyway, leaving their fans somewhat short changed.
Ask any Birmingham fan today whether they would have swapped survival for what proved to be a successful tilt at the Carling Cup for instance and they will tell you – they would take the chance at Silverware any time.
The recent malaise shown by some is best exemplified with Aston Villa. In back to back seasons, the very capable Midlands club have narrowly missed out on Champions League football, falling into the Europa League. Yet then in two years running, Villa opted to field weakened sides in qualifying for the tournament and promptly lost, thus depriving their fans of a season of European glory nights.
All of which is in stark contrast to two of Thursday’s semi finalists – Villarreal and Porto.
The Spanish side missed out of Champions League qualification last year but have been in fine form in the Europa League, scoring 23 goals on route to the semi final. The highlights have included an 8-2 aggregate demolishing of FC Twente and the 5-3 two legged win over the hotly tipped Bayer Leverkusen.
Whilst midfielders like Cani and Borja Valero have dazzled, the front pairing of Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi have won plaudits from fans and neutrals alike with a string of attacking displays.
Porto meanwhile, came off the back of a season to forget in their native land. Yet in what many brand Europe’s second class competition, they have produced football worthy of the Champions League.
Former Sporting favourite João Moutinho has been given a new lease of life, whilst up front the irrepressible Hulk has impressed yet somehow been eclipsed by the exploits of his strike partner Radamel Falcao. The 25 year old Columbian has had quite a journey in his career. A highly rated youngster at River Plate, Falcao suffered a cruciate ligament knee injury that many feared would curtail his career and any hopes of making a name in Europe.
But the youngster did make a full recovery and has never looked back since signing for Porto in 2009. At present, he is the top scorer in the Europa League with 11 goals, one more than Rossi and looks set to join recent gold boot alumni like John Dahl Tomasson and Henrik Larsson.
The Portuguese giants have put on quite a show so far, firstly with their dispatching of favourites CSKA Moscow, who maintained a 100% record through the group stage. In the last round too, Porto went into overdrive with a 10-3 aggregate with over CSKA’s compatriot’s Spartak Moscow.
With the second semi final offering up an all Portuguese affair between underdogs Braga and sleeping giants Benfica who boast the likes of Pablo Aimar, Nicolas Gaitán and Javier Saviola, there’s plenty to look forward to with both games.
Newcastle United fans may also catch a glimpse of former player Hugo Viana, who is back in form and pulling the strings for the minnows that have already dispatched Liverpool and Manchester City’s conqueror’s Dynamo Kiev.
With mainland Europe still engaged with the competition on a year in year out basis, the question remains. How do you get the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester City engaged in a tournament that is aimed at their level (those places just outside the top four) and which they could stand a chance of winning?
One simple way would be to do away with a system which allowed Atletico Madrid to win last year despite only actually “winning” three games in Europe all season. By taking away the consolation prize of the Europa league from the Champions’ League group stage, there may be some dead rubber matches but then the value of competition in the Europa knock out stages would not be diminished.
The second step is even easier, whilst the Europa League may offer little reward financially, by giving the winner an automatic spot in the group stage of next season’s Champions League, suddenly there is something very valuable to play for too.
Some, like José Mourinho and his Porto side of the early 2000s, have used Europa League success as a stepping stone to Champions League progression. And so if winning the Europa League made this progression automatic, Uefa could certainly have the likes of Spurs and Liverpool taking a different attitude to the tournament.
But for now, with the matches fast approaching and Thursday offering another chance to witness Porto’s “New Mourinho” Andre Villas Boas at work, there remains plenty on offer in the Europa League of today..
work by Jack Beresford
Yet while the eyes of many may have been on Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi & co., this writer was keeping a closer look out for Thursday’s Europa League semi final clashes.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the Europa League or Uefa Cup as it was known then was held in some regard by English football fans, with some classic matches and memories to savour. And whilst the memory of “that night in Istanbul” will remain fresh in the minds of many a Liverpool fan, few talk about arguably one of the greatest European finals ever featuring the Reds back in 2001.
Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion was the setting for an epic encounter between Liverpool and surprise Spanish package Alaves.
The Merseysiders had overcome some top teams to get their too, with the likes of Porto, Roma and Barcelona dispatched on route to the final. What followed was a glorious game of open attacking football coupled with often suicidal defending and a final score that read Liverpool 5 Alaves 4!
More recently, there was the extraordinary run of Steve McClaren’s Middlesborough in 2006, which culminated in a stunning semi final comeback that saw the Teesiders overturn a three goal aggregate deficit to win with four second half goals.
Last season Fulham were the English heroes in the competition, reaching the final after momentous wins over the likes of Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk. But whilst the Cottagers and Roy Hodgson engaged fully with the tournament, there’s been a growing sense that the Europa league is something to be dismissed by English sides, which see other competitions as being more important.
The rot started with Gary Megson and Bolton. Back in 2008 the Trotters had just beaten Atletico Madrid over two legs to set up a first ever appearance in the last 16 of a major European competition.
Yet despite claiming a decent 1-1 draw at home to Sporting Lisbon, Megson opted to field a reserve side for the second leg and consequently lost 1-0. The reason given was that Bolton were facing relegation rivals Wigan Athletic at the weekend. The problem was that they then lost to the Latics anyway, leaving their fans somewhat short changed.
Ask any Birmingham fan today whether they would have swapped survival for what proved to be a successful tilt at the Carling Cup for instance and they will tell you – they would take the chance at Silverware any time.
The recent malaise shown by some is best exemplified with Aston Villa. In back to back seasons, the very capable Midlands club have narrowly missed out on Champions League football, falling into the Europa League. Yet then in two years running, Villa opted to field weakened sides in qualifying for the tournament and promptly lost, thus depriving their fans of a season of European glory nights.
All of which is in stark contrast to two of Thursday’s semi finalists – Villarreal and Porto.
The Spanish side missed out of Champions League qualification last year but have been in fine form in the Europa League, scoring 23 goals on route to the semi final. The highlights have included an 8-2 aggregate demolishing of FC Twente and the 5-3 two legged win over the hotly tipped Bayer Leverkusen.
Whilst midfielders like Cani and Borja Valero have dazzled, the front pairing of Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi have won plaudits from fans and neutrals alike with a string of attacking displays.
Porto meanwhile, came off the back of a season to forget in their native land. Yet in what many brand Europe’s second class competition, they have produced football worthy of the Champions League.
Former Sporting favourite João Moutinho has been given a new lease of life, whilst up front the irrepressible Hulk has impressed yet somehow been eclipsed by the exploits of his strike partner Radamel Falcao. The 25 year old Columbian has had quite a journey in his career. A highly rated youngster at River Plate, Falcao suffered a cruciate ligament knee injury that many feared would curtail his career and any hopes of making a name in Europe.
But the youngster did make a full recovery and has never looked back since signing for Porto in 2009. At present, he is the top scorer in the Europa League with 11 goals, one more than Rossi and looks set to join recent gold boot alumni like John Dahl Tomasson and Henrik Larsson.
The Portuguese giants have put on quite a show so far, firstly with their dispatching of favourites CSKA Moscow, who maintained a 100% record through the group stage. In the last round too, Porto went into overdrive with a 10-3 aggregate with over CSKA’s compatriot’s Spartak Moscow.
With the second semi final offering up an all Portuguese affair between underdogs Braga and sleeping giants Benfica who boast the likes of Pablo Aimar, Nicolas Gaitán and Javier Saviola, there’s plenty to look forward to with both games.
Newcastle United fans may also catch a glimpse of former player Hugo Viana, who is back in form and pulling the strings for the minnows that have already dispatched Liverpool and Manchester City’s conqueror’s Dynamo Kiev.
With mainland Europe still engaged with the competition on a year in year out basis, the question remains. How do you get the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester City engaged in a tournament that is aimed at their level (those places just outside the top four) and which they could stand a chance of winning?
One simple way would be to do away with a system which allowed Atletico Madrid to win last year despite only actually “winning” three games in Europe all season. By taking away the consolation prize of the Europa league from the Champions’ League group stage, there may be some dead rubber matches but then the value of competition in the Europa knock out stages would not be diminished.
The second step is even easier, whilst the Europa League may offer little reward financially, by giving the winner an automatic spot in the group stage of next season’s Champions League, suddenly there is something very valuable to play for too.
Some, like José Mourinho and his Porto side of the early 2000s, have used Europa League success as a stepping stone to Champions League progression. And so if winning the Europa League made this progression automatic, Uefa could certainly have the likes of Spurs and Liverpool taking a different attitude to the tournament.
But for now, with the matches fast approaching and Thursday offering another chance to witness Porto’s “New Mourinho” Andre Villas Boas at work, there remains plenty on offer in the Europa League of today..
work by Jack Beresford
Wednesday 27 April 2011
Serie A
Things took a decisive turn this weekend at both ends of the table following another round of topsy-turvy games in Serie A this Saturday.
At the summit of the league, AC Milan all but sealed their first Scudetto in six years with a narrow victory over an increasingly doomed Brescia.
The game appeared to be heading towards a stalemate at the Stadio Rigamonti with neither side able to break the deadlock. But with just eight minutes remaining, Robinho struck a decisive goal for the Rossoneri, to leave the hosts five points off safety.
The win also allowed Milan to open up a seemingly unassailable eight point lead at the top, with Napoli’s challenge all but over. The Sky Blues have endured a difficult couple of weeks with last Sunday’s defeat to Udinese compounded further by another loss to Palermo on Saturday.
It started so well too with Edison Cavani giving Walter Mazzarri’s team the early lead from the spot following a handball from Mattia Cassani. But Palermo were in front before half time with goals from Federico Balzaretti and Cesare Bovo (with a penalty of his own) completing the turnaround and breaking Neapolitan hearts in the process.
AC Milan’s nearest rivals in the table are now Inter Milan, who produced a stirring fight back against Champions League hopefuls Lazio.
Mauro Zárate had given the visitors a 25th minute lead from the spot, following the dismissal of keeper Júlio César for the home side. Nevertheless Inter drew level with five minutes remaining in the first period, courtesy of a 25 yard free kick from Wesley Sneijder.
The stage was then set for the Serie A top scorer Samuel Eto’o, who pounced just eight minutes into the second half to give the Nerazzurri all three points and denting Lazio’s European hopes further. The late sending off of Stefano Mauri for the Romans only added to a bad weekend in the blue half of the Capital.
In fact, the loss allowed their cross town rivals, Roma, to cut the gap between themselves and the coveted fourth spot to just four points. Simone Perrotta was the hero at the Stadio Olimpico as the Giallorossi won 1-0 over Chievo. Meanwhile, this loss left the Flying Donkeys four points off relegation and far from safety just yet.
Another matchup between the haves and the have nots of Serie A saw Parma travel to the league’s form team- Udinese. The little Zebras were expected to make short work of their relegation threatened visitors, yet they were behind after just thirteen minutes with Amauri on target for Parma.
The game was then turned on it’s head in the 22nd minute with the dismissal of Gökhan İnler for the home side. The Swiss international will want to forget the incident which saw him first booked for a foul on Sebastian Giovinco and then red carded after man handling the referee.
Despite Parma being a man up and seemingly in control, the visitors had to wait until stoppage time to seal the much needed win through another Amauri strike, all of which leaves them just a point off Chievo.
But whilst Udinese remain a point off Lazio in fourth, Juventus’s hopes of European football are all but over following a crushing draw with lowly Catania.
A first half double from Alessandro Del Piero looked to have put the Old Lady of Turin in control going into half time. But Alejandro Gómez’s 81st minute goal set up a nervy finale which ultimately ended with a leveller for Catania, which came courtesy of a stunning 95th minute free kick from Francesco Lodi!
The draw left Catania two points clear of the relegation places and level on points with Cesena who took three points from a Bologna side with little left to play for this season. A goal early in the second half from Emanuele Giaccherni set them on their way before Dominique Malonga added the decisive second late in the game at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
Two other sides with little to play for in Serie A are Fiorentina and Cagliari who met at Stadio Sant’Elia in Sardinia. In the end the Viola broke the deadlock with Alessio Cerci opening the scoring on 45 minutes. The goals continued to fly at the start of the second period with Andrea Cossu levelling matters on 46 minutes before Cerci got what proved to be the winner four minutes later.
Arguably the story of the weekend saw Genoa helping out their bitter rivals Sampdoria in their on-going fight against relegation. Going into this weekend’s games, Samp were three points off Lecce and in dire need of a quick turnaround.
Enter Il Vecchio Balordo (the Old Fool!), who put on an impressive display against the previously rejuvenated Lecce to win 4-2. Things started well enough for the visitors with Lecce going ahead through David Di Michele after just three minutes.
But Genoa were soon level through Antonio Floro Flores on the ten minute mark. Back came the away side with Di Michele grabbing his second to restore the lead. But five minutes before the break Genoa were level once again through Rodrigo Palacio.
The second period was a slightly different story. With the Apulians visibly stretched, it was left to first Palacio and then Floro Flores to complete doubles and seal what could prove a pivotal win in the battle for Serie A survival.
This was all the more apparent given that Sampdoria overcame a doomed Bari at the San Nicola stadium. In truth the game looked to be heading for a draw until Erik Huseklepp’s foul on Andrea Poli in the box gave Nicola Pozzi the chance to grab all three points for Samp. However, they still had to survive the late dismissal of Poli.
The win saw Sampdoria move out of the relegation zone on goal difference at the expense of Lecce, whilst any hopes Bari had of pulling off a mathematical miracle ended too. And although the same miraculous turnaround may now be required for this season’s Scudetto to end up out of AC Milan’s hands, as the old saying goes “it ain’t over until it’s over.”
Work by Jack Beresford
At the summit of the league, AC Milan all but sealed their first Scudetto in six years with a narrow victory over an increasingly doomed Brescia.
The game appeared to be heading towards a stalemate at the Stadio Rigamonti with neither side able to break the deadlock. But with just eight minutes remaining, Robinho struck a decisive goal for the Rossoneri, to leave the hosts five points off safety.
The win also allowed Milan to open up a seemingly unassailable eight point lead at the top, with Napoli’s challenge all but over. The Sky Blues have endured a difficult couple of weeks with last Sunday’s defeat to Udinese compounded further by another loss to Palermo on Saturday.
It started so well too with Edison Cavani giving Walter Mazzarri’s team the early lead from the spot following a handball from Mattia Cassani. But Palermo were in front before half time with goals from Federico Balzaretti and Cesare Bovo (with a penalty of his own) completing the turnaround and breaking Neapolitan hearts in the process.
AC Milan’s nearest rivals in the table are now Inter Milan, who produced a stirring fight back against Champions League hopefuls Lazio.
Mauro Zárate had given the visitors a 25th minute lead from the spot, following the dismissal of keeper Júlio César for the home side. Nevertheless Inter drew level with five minutes remaining in the first period, courtesy of a 25 yard free kick from Wesley Sneijder.
The stage was then set for the Serie A top scorer Samuel Eto’o, who pounced just eight minutes into the second half to give the Nerazzurri all three points and denting Lazio’s European hopes further. The late sending off of Stefano Mauri for the Romans only added to a bad weekend in the blue half of the Capital.
In fact, the loss allowed their cross town rivals, Roma, to cut the gap between themselves and the coveted fourth spot to just four points. Simone Perrotta was the hero at the Stadio Olimpico as the Giallorossi won 1-0 over Chievo. Meanwhile, this loss left the Flying Donkeys four points off relegation and far from safety just yet.
Another matchup between the haves and the have nots of Serie A saw Parma travel to the league’s form team- Udinese. The little Zebras were expected to make short work of their relegation threatened visitors, yet they were behind after just thirteen minutes with Amauri on target for Parma.
The game was then turned on it’s head in the 22nd minute with the dismissal of Gökhan İnler for the home side. The Swiss international will want to forget the incident which saw him first booked for a foul on Sebastian Giovinco and then red carded after man handling the referee.
Despite Parma being a man up and seemingly in control, the visitors had to wait until stoppage time to seal the much needed win through another Amauri strike, all of which leaves them just a point off Chievo.
But whilst Udinese remain a point off Lazio in fourth, Juventus’s hopes of European football are all but over following a crushing draw with lowly Catania.
A first half double from Alessandro Del Piero looked to have put the Old Lady of Turin in control going into half time. But Alejandro Gómez’s 81st minute goal set up a nervy finale which ultimately ended with a leveller for Catania, which came courtesy of a stunning 95th minute free kick from Francesco Lodi!
The draw left Catania two points clear of the relegation places and level on points with Cesena who took three points from a Bologna side with little left to play for this season. A goal early in the second half from Emanuele Giaccherni set them on their way before Dominique Malonga added the decisive second late in the game at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
Two other sides with little to play for in Serie A are Fiorentina and Cagliari who met at Stadio Sant’Elia in Sardinia. In the end the Viola broke the deadlock with Alessio Cerci opening the scoring on 45 minutes. The goals continued to fly at the start of the second period with Andrea Cossu levelling matters on 46 minutes before Cerci got what proved to be the winner four minutes later.
Arguably the story of the weekend saw Genoa helping out their bitter rivals Sampdoria in their on-going fight against relegation. Going into this weekend’s games, Samp were three points off Lecce and in dire need of a quick turnaround.
Enter Il Vecchio Balordo (the Old Fool!), who put on an impressive display against the previously rejuvenated Lecce to win 4-2. Things started well enough for the visitors with Lecce going ahead through David Di Michele after just three minutes.
But Genoa were soon level through Antonio Floro Flores on the ten minute mark. Back came the away side with Di Michele grabbing his second to restore the lead. But five minutes before the break Genoa were level once again through Rodrigo Palacio.
The second period was a slightly different story. With the Apulians visibly stretched, it was left to first Palacio and then Floro Flores to complete doubles and seal what could prove a pivotal win in the battle for Serie A survival.
This was all the more apparent given that Sampdoria overcame a doomed Bari at the San Nicola stadium. In truth the game looked to be heading for a draw until Erik Huseklepp’s foul on Andrea Poli in the box gave Nicola Pozzi the chance to grab all three points for Samp. However, they still had to survive the late dismissal of Poli.
The win saw Sampdoria move out of the relegation zone on goal difference at the expense of Lecce, whilst any hopes Bari had of pulling off a mathematical miracle ended too. And although the same miraculous turnaround may now be required for this season’s Scudetto to end up out of AC Milan’s hands, as the old saying goes “it ain’t over until it’s over.”
Work by Jack Beresford
Thursday 21 April 2011
La Liga
A wise man once said that "Some Things Never Change. They just Become Different."
In the aftermath of a weekend that saw the first of four “El Classico” match ups between Barca and Real it’s fair to say that little has changed in the La Liga standings but yet things somehow feel different.
With Pep Guardiola’s men travelled to the Bernabeu to face Madrid, many anticipated a season defining match which would irreversibly decide the course of the title. What they got instead was a somewhat lacklustre affair that really only sprang to life on two occasions in the penalty box.
The first came just after the break and with the teams tied at 0-0. A foul on Lionel Messi saw Los Blancos defender Raul Albiol dismissed, and Messi tucked away the resulting penalty. Barca, now with the numerical advantage took control, constructing long passing sequences with one minor problem: a lack of penetration in the final third.
With eight minutes remaining and the Catalans seemingly intent on not adding a second, Real got their own penalty following a foul by Dani Alves on compatriot Marcelo. Ronaldo duly stepped up to level the game and earn Mourinho’s men an unlikely point.
The result left Barcelona still eight points clear and closing in on the title, but something else was different. The feeling of invincibility that had previously seen Barca win 5-0 over their greatest rivals was gone. The Catalans showed a vulnerability that may yet give the Special One hope in the Champions League. (This is even more prominent after Real defeated Barcelona to win the Copa Del Rey tonight- Ed.)
One side with more than a hope of qualifying for the Champions League is Valencia. Last week saw the cash strapped club hammer nearest rivals Villarreal 5-0, and Los Che continued their fine goal scoring form on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Almería.
All three goals came in the second half, starting with a Roberto Soldado strike on 51 minutes. Marius Stankevičius and Jordi Alba sealed an impressive win that left the visitors stranded at the bottom of the table, seven points from safety and with relegation looking all the more likely.
In the race for Europa League qualification, one side hoping that things may have changed were Sevilla. The Andalusian side have endured a nightmare season but had recovered in recent weeks to mount a challenge on the European places.
However it seems that the same old problems persist for Gregorio Manzano’s side who crumbled away to Getafe on Saturday. The home side have hardly been in impressive form in recent weeks, but nevertheless they grabbed the winner through Miku on 76 minutes after poor defending from Federico Fazio.
Come Sunday then, underdogs Athletic Bilbao had the chance to leapfrog Sevilla into the much coveted fifth place. They had to travel to bitter rivals Osasuna though, who boasted one of the best home records in the league this season.
After a first half stalemate, Osasuna took the initiative six minutes into the second period with a Kike Sola goal. Seven minutes later and things took a turn for the worst for the visitors, with Athletic defender Xavi Castillo dismissed.
But Bilbao fought back and grabbed a shock equaliser through Fernando Llorente with just over twenty minutes remaining. And with the clock running down and Osasuna obviously anxious over the real threat of relegation, things were evened out as defender Sergio Fernandez saw red for the hosts. Then in a spectacular finale, Iker Muniain hit a curling long range strike, which beat the out of position Ricardo Lopez to gift the win to the visitors.
Elsewhere, things could not have gone better for Bilbao, with their other nearest rivals Espanyol and Atlético Madrid drawing 2-2.
Espanyol had to come from behind twice to secure the draw, with Koke scoring for Atleti after just 78 seconds. Dani Osvaldo levelled things before half time but the visitors were soon back in front after the break through Sergio Agüero. Fortunately, Osvaldo was on hand once again with nine minutes remaining to secure the draw.
The result left Espanyol just three points above Levante, whose recent form has seen the side change from relegation strugglers to outside bets for the Europa league. Eight wins and three draws in their last twelve games is an astonishing turnaround.
This form continued on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Hércules. First half goals from Rubén Suárez and Juanlu put the Valencia based club in complete control before half time. And although the old reliable David Trézéguet pulled one back for the visitors, it was a poor display from Hércules that leaves them second bottom but only three points from safety. Meanwhile, Levante look all but safe and can continue to look upwards.
Whilst fortunes may have changed for the better at Levante, Sporting Gijón were brought back down to reality with another defeat. The recent away victory over Real Madrid had given the minnows some confidence over the following weeks but little of that swagger was on display against fellow strugglers Real Sociedad.
Winger Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring for Sociedad in the first half and though Gijón did draw level after the break through Miguel de las Cuevas, Griezmann proved the hero. With ten minutes to go his shot deflected twice to gift a deserved win to the newly promoted struggler.
The win saw Sociedad draw level with Gijón on 38 points. They were also joined by Deportivo La Coruña who won 2-0 over another fellow struggler Racing Santander. Goals from Lassad Nouioui and Newcastle United reject Xisco, either side of half time, sealed the win which leaves Depor & co five points off relegation.
Villarreal secured a 1-0 win against Real Zaragoza on Monday, courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s late penalty (his 16th league goal this season). The win practically secures a top-four finish, whilst leaving Zaragoza fourth from bottom on goal difference!
The side looking to change from relegation certainties to title challenger are Málaga. Bought by Qatari billionaires with dreams of challenging Real and Barca, Málaga have rarely been outside of the relegation zone with many expecting certain relegation.
Yet despite a few false starts it now seems there may be hope for survival. A 3-0 victory over Mallorca coupled with Real Zaragoza’s defeat on Monday saw Manuel Pellegrini’s side move level with Zaragoza and sniffing safety.
And it came courtesy of an imperious display against the Islanders at home. A goal from Sebastián Fernández on 26 minutes, as well as a double from Júlio Baptista, just back from injury, killed the game before half time but left Malaga very much alive in La Liga. Real Mallorca meanwhile, may just be starting to feel uneasy. Six points off the relegation zone, could the Islanders soon be about to change – for the worse?
Work by jack Beresford
In the aftermath of a weekend that saw the first of four “El Classico” match ups between Barca and Real it’s fair to say that little has changed in the La Liga standings but yet things somehow feel different.
With Pep Guardiola’s men travelled to the Bernabeu to face Madrid, many anticipated a season defining match which would irreversibly decide the course of the title. What they got instead was a somewhat lacklustre affair that really only sprang to life on two occasions in the penalty box.
The first came just after the break and with the teams tied at 0-0. A foul on Lionel Messi saw Los Blancos defender Raul Albiol dismissed, and Messi tucked away the resulting penalty. Barca, now with the numerical advantage took control, constructing long passing sequences with one minor problem: a lack of penetration in the final third.
With eight minutes remaining and the Catalans seemingly intent on not adding a second, Real got their own penalty following a foul by Dani Alves on compatriot Marcelo. Ronaldo duly stepped up to level the game and earn Mourinho’s men an unlikely point.
The result left Barcelona still eight points clear and closing in on the title, but something else was different. The feeling of invincibility that had previously seen Barca win 5-0 over their greatest rivals was gone. The Catalans showed a vulnerability that may yet give the Special One hope in the Champions League. (This is even more prominent after Real defeated Barcelona to win the Copa Del Rey tonight- Ed.)
One side with more than a hope of qualifying for the Champions League is Valencia. Last week saw the cash strapped club hammer nearest rivals Villarreal 5-0, and Los Che continued their fine goal scoring form on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Almería.
All three goals came in the second half, starting with a Roberto Soldado strike on 51 minutes. Marius Stankevičius and Jordi Alba sealed an impressive win that left the visitors stranded at the bottom of the table, seven points from safety and with relegation looking all the more likely.
In the race for Europa League qualification, one side hoping that things may have changed were Sevilla. The Andalusian side have endured a nightmare season but had recovered in recent weeks to mount a challenge on the European places.
However it seems that the same old problems persist for Gregorio Manzano’s side who crumbled away to Getafe on Saturday. The home side have hardly been in impressive form in recent weeks, but nevertheless they grabbed the winner through Miku on 76 minutes after poor defending from Federico Fazio.
Come Sunday then, underdogs Athletic Bilbao had the chance to leapfrog Sevilla into the much coveted fifth place. They had to travel to bitter rivals Osasuna though, who boasted one of the best home records in the league this season.
After a first half stalemate, Osasuna took the initiative six minutes into the second period with a Kike Sola goal. Seven minutes later and things took a turn for the worst for the visitors, with Athletic defender Xavi Castillo dismissed.
But Bilbao fought back and grabbed a shock equaliser through Fernando Llorente with just over twenty minutes remaining. And with the clock running down and Osasuna obviously anxious over the real threat of relegation, things were evened out as defender Sergio Fernandez saw red for the hosts. Then in a spectacular finale, Iker Muniain hit a curling long range strike, which beat the out of position Ricardo Lopez to gift the win to the visitors.
Elsewhere, things could not have gone better for Bilbao, with their other nearest rivals Espanyol and Atlético Madrid drawing 2-2.
Espanyol had to come from behind twice to secure the draw, with Koke scoring for Atleti after just 78 seconds. Dani Osvaldo levelled things before half time but the visitors were soon back in front after the break through Sergio Agüero. Fortunately, Osvaldo was on hand once again with nine minutes remaining to secure the draw.
The result left Espanyol just three points above Levante, whose recent form has seen the side change from relegation strugglers to outside bets for the Europa league. Eight wins and three draws in their last twelve games is an astonishing turnaround.
This form continued on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Hércules. First half goals from Rubén Suárez and Juanlu put the Valencia based club in complete control before half time. And although the old reliable David Trézéguet pulled one back for the visitors, it was a poor display from Hércules that leaves them second bottom but only three points from safety. Meanwhile, Levante look all but safe and can continue to look upwards.
Whilst fortunes may have changed for the better at Levante, Sporting Gijón were brought back down to reality with another defeat. The recent away victory over Real Madrid had given the minnows some confidence over the following weeks but little of that swagger was on display against fellow strugglers Real Sociedad.
Winger Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring for Sociedad in the first half and though Gijón did draw level after the break through Miguel de las Cuevas, Griezmann proved the hero. With ten minutes to go his shot deflected twice to gift a deserved win to the newly promoted struggler.
The win saw Sociedad draw level with Gijón on 38 points. They were also joined by Deportivo La Coruña who won 2-0 over another fellow struggler Racing Santander. Goals from Lassad Nouioui and Newcastle United reject Xisco, either side of half time, sealed the win which leaves Depor & co five points off relegation.
Villarreal secured a 1-0 win against Real Zaragoza on Monday, courtesy of Giuseppe Rossi’s late penalty (his 16th league goal this season). The win practically secures a top-four finish, whilst leaving Zaragoza fourth from bottom on goal difference!
The side looking to change from relegation certainties to title challenger are Málaga. Bought by Qatari billionaires with dreams of challenging Real and Barca, Málaga have rarely been outside of the relegation zone with many expecting certain relegation.
Yet despite a few false starts it now seems there may be hope for survival. A 3-0 victory over Mallorca coupled with Real Zaragoza’s defeat on Monday saw Manuel Pellegrini’s side move level with Zaragoza and sniffing safety.
And it came courtesy of an imperious display against the Islanders at home. A goal from Sebastián Fernández on 26 minutes, as well as a double from Júlio Baptista, just back from injury, killed the game before half time but left Malaga very much alive in La Liga. Real Mallorca meanwhile, may just be starting to feel uneasy. Six points off the relegation zone, could the Islanders soon be about to change – for the worse?
Work by jack Beresford
Saturday 16 April 2011
Eredivisie
FC Twente and PSV both missed golden opportunities to further their title aspirations this past weekend as mid-table sides held them both at home. This left the door open for Ajax to rejoin the title race as their 2-0 win over Groningen now leaves them just three points off of top spot.
Alkmaar dropped out of the top four after they could only muster a 1-1 home draw with NAC Breda on Friday evening. Both of the game's goals were scored from the spot, Rasmus Elm converting after 32 minutes, and Donny Gorter doing the same to level it and earn his team a point just before the hour mark.
As a result it is ADO Den Haag that now occupy that last Europa League spot after they were 1-0 victors over Vitesse Arnhem. The only goal of the game came through Danny Buijs when he found the top corner on 28 minutes, but the visiting Vitesse were lucky it wasn't more than just the one by full time.
VVV Venlo are now destined to finish in the bottom three after a 4-1 hammering from NEC Nijmegen in their own back yard. It started when Lorenzo Davids opened the scoring on 22 after latching on to Björn Vleminckx’s ball.
John Goossens was the star of the show however, as he went on to be involved in the rest of NEC's goals, grabbing his in the 58th minute. Vleminckx, hotly linked with a move to England due to his 19-goal haul so far this season, made it three via Goosens. And Goossens grabbed his second of the night with nine minutes left on the clock. Venlo's Ahmed Musaab managed to make it 4-1 from the spot in stoppage time.
Excelsior and Graafschap played out a pretty uneventful 0-0 draw at the Stadion Woudestein on Saturday evening. Neither team ever really looked like scoring at all, with hardly any goalmouth action at either end, nor did it look like both teams were unhappy to settle for a point.
Willem II Tilburg's game with Heracles was a very different matter though. The Eredivisie's basement club once again had a thrilling game in which the ball was in the net no fewer than eight times, alas in losing 6-2 to their visitors.
However it was a dream start for the hosts as Heracles were reduced to ten men within the first five minutes, Andreas Lasnik scoring the resulting penalty. But just two minutes later Everton Ramos da Silva scored his and his side's first of the night to make it 1-1. He grabbed another in the 40th minute and Willy Overtoom hit a well-placed penalty to ensure their side went in ahead at the break.
Heracles continued to not let their numerical disadvantage bother them as Everton completed his hat trick in the 58th minute. Denis Halilovic got back a little pride for Tilburg when he made it 4-2, but that was short-lived as two goals in the last two minutes from Overtoom and Kwame Quansah capped off the rout.
Twente remain top despite only managing a point as they drew 1-1 with Roda. And despite it being a game that had pretty much everything a fan could ask for from it, there was nothing of note until the 53rd minute when Bryan Ruiz spurned a great chance to put Preud'homme's men ahead as he saw his poor penalty saved.
Twente were made to pay as Boldiszar Bodor made it 1-0 to Roda with just thirteen minutes left to play. However the action was far from over, when six minutes later Roda keeper Mateusz Prus saw red for his challenge on Ruiz, and Theo Janssen scored from the resulting penalty. Twente went down to 10 by the end of the game as Roasales Roberto was also dismissed, and both sides left with a point.
PSV could have reclaimed top spot with a win over visiting Heerenveen, but they could only manage a draw themselves as matters ended 2-2. Again all of the game's action came in the second half, and Jermain Lens opened the scoring as he put PSV a goal to the good with his tenth of the campaign in the 58th. But Heerenveen squared up the tie through Oussama Assaidi twelve minutes later and then turned the game on it's head as Bas Dost gave them the lead just three minutes after the equaliser. It was only a very late Ola Toivonen effort that stopped Heerenveen claiming a famous win in Eindhoven, as his injury time goal earned PSV an invaluable point.
Ajax however did not miss their chance to get back in to the title race as their 2-0 win over Groningen leaves them just a point behind PSV and three behind leaders Twente. For most of the game it had looked like they would be following suit and only managing a point. But with just over twenty minutes left to play at the Amsterdam ArenA two goals in four minutes, from Miraelm Sulejmani and Jan Vertonghen, secured the win for Ajax, adding yet another twist to this season's run-in.
Elsewhere, FC Utrecht were well beaten when they played host to Feyenoord who put four past the home side without reply in a great all round performance. The Rotterdam side were off the mark after just eight minutes when Leroy Fer's header found the net. Kelvin Leerdam made it two before the break and Diego Bieswar added a third in the 58th minute. Despite a torrent of abuse from the home fans that caused the referee to threaten to call off the game, the match continued and Feyenoord added a fourth and final goal through Georgino Wijnaldum in the 65th minute.
work by Josh Coulson
Alkmaar dropped out of the top four after they could only muster a 1-1 home draw with NAC Breda on Friday evening. Both of the game's goals were scored from the spot, Rasmus Elm converting after 32 minutes, and Donny Gorter doing the same to level it and earn his team a point just before the hour mark.
As a result it is ADO Den Haag that now occupy that last Europa League spot after they were 1-0 victors over Vitesse Arnhem. The only goal of the game came through Danny Buijs when he found the top corner on 28 minutes, but the visiting Vitesse were lucky it wasn't more than just the one by full time.
VVV Venlo are now destined to finish in the bottom three after a 4-1 hammering from NEC Nijmegen in their own back yard. It started when Lorenzo Davids opened the scoring on 22 after latching on to Björn Vleminckx’s ball.
John Goossens was the star of the show however, as he went on to be involved in the rest of NEC's goals, grabbing his in the 58th minute. Vleminckx, hotly linked with a move to England due to his 19-goal haul so far this season, made it three via Goosens. And Goossens grabbed his second of the night with nine minutes left on the clock. Venlo's Ahmed Musaab managed to make it 4-1 from the spot in stoppage time.
Excelsior and Graafschap played out a pretty uneventful 0-0 draw at the Stadion Woudestein on Saturday evening. Neither team ever really looked like scoring at all, with hardly any goalmouth action at either end, nor did it look like both teams were unhappy to settle for a point.
Willem II Tilburg's game with Heracles was a very different matter though. The Eredivisie's basement club once again had a thrilling game in which the ball was in the net no fewer than eight times, alas in losing 6-2 to their visitors.
However it was a dream start for the hosts as Heracles were reduced to ten men within the first five minutes, Andreas Lasnik scoring the resulting penalty. But just two minutes later Everton Ramos da Silva scored his and his side's first of the night to make it 1-1. He grabbed another in the 40th minute and Willy Overtoom hit a well-placed penalty to ensure their side went in ahead at the break.
Heracles continued to not let their numerical disadvantage bother them as Everton completed his hat trick in the 58th minute. Denis Halilovic got back a little pride for Tilburg when he made it 4-2, but that was short-lived as two goals in the last two minutes from Overtoom and Kwame Quansah capped off the rout.
Twente remain top despite only managing a point as they drew 1-1 with Roda. And despite it being a game that had pretty much everything a fan could ask for from it, there was nothing of note until the 53rd minute when Bryan Ruiz spurned a great chance to put Preud'homme's men ahead as he saw his poor penalty saved.
Twente were made to pay as Boldiszar Bodor made it 1-0 to Roda with just thirteen minutes left to play. However the action was far from over, when six minutes later Roda keeper Mateusz Prus saw red for his challenge on Ruiz, and Theo Janssen scored from the resulting penalty. Twente went down to 10 by the end of the game as Roasales Roberto was also dismissed, and both sides left with a point.
PSV could have reclaimed top spot with a win over visiting Heerenveen, but they could only manage a draw themselves as matters ended 2-2. Again all of the game's action came in the second half, and Jermain Lens opened the scoring as he put PSV a goal to the good with his tenth of the campaign in the 58th. But Heerenveen squared up the tie through Oussama Assaidi twelve minutes later and then turned the game on it's head as Bas Dost gave them the lead just three minutes after the equaliser. It was only a very late Ola Toivonen effort that stopped Heerenveen claiming a famous win in Eindhoven, as his injury time goal earned PSV an invaluable point.
Ajax however did not miss their chance to get back in to the title race as their 2-0 win over Groningen leaves them just a point behind PSV and three behind leaders Twente. For most of the game it had looked like they would be following suit and only managing a point. But with just over twenty minutes left to play at the Amsterdam ArenA two goals in four minutes, from Miraelm Sulejmani and Jan Vertonghen, secured the win for Ajax, adding yet another twist to this season's run-in.
Elsewhere, FC Utrecht were well beaten when they played host to Feyenoord who put four past the home side without reply in a great all round performance. The Rotterdam side were off the mark after just eight minutes when Leroy Fer's header found the net. Kelvin Leerdam made it two before the break and Diego Bieswar added a third in the 58th minute. Despite a torrent of abuse from the home fans that caused the referee to threaten to call off the game, the match continued and Feyenoord added a fourth and final goal through Georgino Wijnaldum in the 65th minute.
work by Josh Coulson
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Serie A
With AC Milan roundly trouncing cross town rivals Inter Milan last weekend and with Leonardo’s men suffering the most almighty of calamities in mid week against Schalke 04, many forgot that there was still a title race to be enjoyed in Serie A this season.
After all, though Inter may have failed in their bid to overhaul Milan’s two point lead, which now stands at five, Napoli remain very much in the hunt for the Scudetto, trailing Massimo Allegri’s men by just three points.
Saturday saw the next nearest challengers to the Sky Blues, Udinese in action. Inter Milan also played, with both sides looking to recover after momentum curtailing defeats.
Udinese, who lost for the first time in 2011 last week, were clearly still reeling from the end of a run that had seen some tip the Little Zebras as dark horses for this season’s Scudetto. But if last week’s surprise loss to lowly Lecce put the dampeners on such talk, the visit of Roma is likely to have extinguished hope for Francesco Guidolin’s men.
Though nothing could separate the teams in the first half, the second period saw Roma take control through a 57th minute penalty from Francesco Totti. With the Romans chasing Udinese and that soon to be gone fourth Champions League qualification spot, the home side looked to have rescued a valuable point when top scorer Antonio Di Natale levelled the game with two minutes remaining.
However, Udinese found themselves guilty of some inept defending from the restart and with what proved to be the last action of the game, Roma captain Totti struck once again to close the gap on their opponents.
Inter at least, took some solace from an otherwise miserable week. An inept showing in Europe had had many pundits questioning the methods of Brazilian coach Leonardo. But his team responded against Chievo with a solid, if unspectacular 2-0 win which came courtesy of second half goals from South American pair Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon.
The win saw Inter briefly return to second place in the table on Saturday night. By Sunday evening though, Napoli were back breathing down the neck of leader AC Milan thanks to an important away win over Bologna. A 30th minute goal from Giuseppe Mascara saw the Neapolitans edge ahead, before a moment of madness from Emiliano Viviano gifted a spot kick to the Sky Blues on the stroke of half-time, and Marek Hamšík duly dispatched it.
Lazio meanwhile, took full advantage of Udinese’s slip up with a 2-0 win over Parma. The visitors welcomed new manager Franco Colomba to the fray but soon found themselves behind through a goal from Brazilian Hernanes. And despite Parma pressing the Eagles for an equaliser, the game was tied up with 13 minutes to go. Sergio Floccari doubling the advantage and leaving the away team just a point off the relegation zone.
With Roma and Lazio both winning, Juventus knew that defeat to Genoa would effectively end the Bianconeri’s hopes of qualifying for Europe. And when Leonardo Bonucci put through his own net after seven minutes to gift Genoa a 1-0 half time lead, fans feared the worst.
Back came Juve though, with Marco Rossi scoring an own goal of his own to level the game and restore hope. That proved to be short lived however as Antonio Floro Flores pounced just six minutes later to put Genoa back in control. The stage was then set for the big man Luca Toni…
Labelled a flop by many following just three league goals for Genoa in the first half of this season, the ex Bayern Munich man clearly had the last laugh, beginning with a careful headed assist for Alessandro Matri to equalise just after the hour mark. Then, with seven minutes remaining and time running out, Toni struck the winner to breathe life and most importantly belief back into Juve’s campaign. Six points off fourth place and Champions League football, the Old Lady may just sneak it yet.
One side that gave up on hopes of Europe long ago are Palermo. This week marked the bizarre return of Delio Rossi to the Sicilian side’s bench, following the dismissal of his replacement Sergio Cosmi- and what a crazy game it was!
Things started well enough against Cesena, with goals from Jasmin Kurtič and Mauricio Pinilla putting them in control. And when Steve Von Bergen saw red for Cesena, few could have expected what followed. Two goals from Marco Parolo and Emanuele Giaccherini in stoppage time saw the relegation battlers salvage an unlikely point in an otherwise bad tempered encounter. More incredible still was Cesena substitutes Paolo Sammarco and Alex Calderoni receiving red cards despite featuring as unused substitutes.
Relegation rivals Brescia enjoyed a similarly heated draw at Cagliari. The home side took a first half lead through Andrea Cossu before Andrea Caracciolo levelled up things for Brescia. With the clock running down Cagliari striker Eder attempted a dive but to no avail as the Brazilian received a second yellow card, much to the dismay of coach Giuseppe Iachini who soon followed the player for an early bath.
Brescia now lie second bottom and two points from safety. Contrastingly, Lecce continued their impressive revival against Sampdoria. David Di Michele opened the scoring for Lecce on 39 minutes before a Ruben Olivera strike just past the hour mark doubled their lead.
Sampdoria did pull a goal back through Massimo Maccarone on 69 minutes but any hope of a revival was quashed with the dismissal of Daniele Mannini for a second bookable offence.
The home side are now just a point off relegation and a far cry from the Champions league qualifiers of last season. One reason behind that has been the difficult departure of Antonio Cassano.
Cassano meanwhile continues to impress for Milan and his team enjoyed another important win over underachievers Fiorentina. Like Samp before them, the Viola have flirted with relegation this season when dreams of Europe were the target at the start of the campaign. Unlike Sampdoria though, Fiorentina have steadied the ship and will certainly survive another season in Serie A.
Nevertheless, the Rossoneri made short work of their hosts with Clarence Seedorf putting Allegri’s men a goal up after eight minutes. And it was 2-0 before half time with Alexandre Pato doubling the lead just before the interval. The second half saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic take centre stage for all the wrong reasons.
The Swede huffed and puffed aplenty but could find no way through the Viola defence. And when Real Madrid target Juan Vargas pulled a goal back for the Florence based team, Zlatan’s misses looked all the more telling. But worse was to come as Ibrahimovic received a straight red card in stoppage time to put the dampeners on an otherwise good win.
With the former Barcelona and Juventus man now set to miss three games for Milan, Napoli may just continue to dream of a first Scudetto since their Maradona glory years. After all, Milan have struggled for goals without Ibrahimovic in the squad. Six games to go and three points in it – the battle for league titles and Serie A survival could go down to the wire.
work by Jack Beresford
After all, though Inter may have failed in their bid to overhaul Milan’s two point lead, which now stands at five, Napoli remain very much in the hunt for the Scudetto, trailing Massimo Allegri’s men by just three points.
Saturday saw the next nearest challengers to the Sky Blues, Udinese in action. Inter Milan also played, with both sides looking to recover after momentum curtailing defeats.
Udinese, who lost for the first time in 2011 last week, were clearly still reeling from the end of a run that had seen some tip the Little Zebras as dark horses for this season’s Scudetto. But if last week’s surprise loss to lowly Lecce put the dampeners on such talk, the visit of Roma is likely to have extinguished hope for Francesco Guidolin’s men.
Though nothing could separate the teams in the first half, the second period saw Roma take control through a 57th minute penalty from Francesco Totti. With the Romans chasing Udinese and that soon to be gone fourth Champions League qualification spot, the home side looked to have rescued a valuable point when top scorer Antonio Di Natale levelled the game with two minutes remaining.
However, Udinese found themselves guilty of some inept defending from the restart and with what proved to be the last action of the game, Roma captain Totti struck once again to close the gap on their opponents.
Inter at least, took some solace from an otherwise miserable week. An inept showing in Europe had had many pundits questioning the methods of Brazilian coach Leonardo. But his team responded against Chievo with a solid, if unspectacular 2-0 win which came courtesy of second half goals from South American pair Esteban Cambiasso and Maicon.
The win saw Inter briefly return to second place in the table on Saturday night. By Sunday evening though, Napoli were back breathing down the neck of leader AC Milan thanks to an important away win over Bologna. A 30th minute goal from Giuseppe Mascara saw the Neapolitans edge ahead, before a moment of madness from Emiliano Viviano gifted a spot kick to the Sky Blues on the stroke of half-time, and Marek Hamšík duly dispatched it.
Lazio meanwhile, took full advantage of Udinese’s slip up with a 2-0 win over Parma. The visitors welcomed new manager Franco Colomba to the fray but soon found themselves behind through a goal from Brazilian Hernanes. And despite Parma pressing the Eagles for an equaliser, the game was tied up with 13 minutes to go. Sergio Floccari doubling the advantage and leaving the away team just a point off the relegation zone.
With Roma and Lazio both winning, Juventus knew that defeat to Genoa would effectively end the Bianconeri’s hopes of qualifying for Europe. And when Leonardo Bonucci put through his own net after seven minutes to gift Genoa a 1-0 half time lead, fans feared the worst.
Back came Juve though, with Marco Rossi scoring an own goal of his own to level the game and restore hope. That proved to be short lived however as Antonio Floro Flores pounced just six minutes later to put Genoa back in control. The stage was then set for the big man Luca Toni…
Labelled a flop by many following just three league goals for Genoa in the first half of this season, the ex Bayern Munich man clearly had the last laugh, beginning with a careful headed assist for Alessandro Matri to equalise just after the hour mark. Then, with seven minutes remaining and time running out, Toni struck the winner to breathe life and most importantly belief back into Juve’s campaign. Six points off fourth place and Champions League football, the Old Lady may just sneak it yet.
One side that gave up on hopes of Europe long ago are Palermo. This week marked the bizarre return of Delio Rossi to the Sicilian side’s bench, following the dismissal of his replacement Sergio Cosmi- and what a crazy game it was!
Things started well enough against Cesena, with goals from Jasmin Kurtič and Mauricio Pinilla putting them in control. And when Steve Von Bergen saw red for Cesena, few could have expected what followed. Two goals from Marco Parolo and Emanuele Giaccherini in stoppage time saw the relegation battlers salvage an unlikely point in an otherwise bad tempered encounter. More incredible still was Cesena substitutes Paolo Sammarco and Alex Calderoni receiving red cards despite featuring as unused substitutes.
Relegation rivals Brescia enjoyed a similarly heated draw at Cagliari. The home side took a first half lead through Andrea Cossu before Andrea Caracciolo levelled up things for Brescia. With the clock running down Cagliari striker Eder attempted a dive but to no avail as the Brazilian received a second yellow card, much to the dismay of coach Giuseppe Iachini who soon followed the player for an early bath.
Brescia now lie second bottom and two points from safety. Contrastingly, Lecce continued their impressive revival against Sampdoria. David Di Michele opened the scoring for Lecce on 39 minutes before a Ruben Olivera strike just past the hour mark doubled their lead.
Sampdoria did pull a goal back through Massimo Maccarone on 69 minutes but any hope of a revival was quashed with the dismissal of Daniele Mannini for a second bookable offence.
The home side are now just a point off relegation and a far cry from the Champions league qualifiers of last season. One reason behind that has been the difficult departure of Antonio Cassano.
Cassano meanwhile continues to impress for Milan and his team enjoyed another important win over underachievers Fiorentina. Like Samp before them, the Viola have flirted with relegation this season when dreams of Europe were the target at the start of the campaign. Unlike Sampdoria though, Fiorentina have steadied the ship and will certainly survive another season in Serie A.
Nevertheless, the Rossoneri made short work of their hosts with Clarence Seedorf putting Allegri’s men a goal up after eight minutes. And it was 2-0 before half time with Alexandre Pato doubling the lead just before the interval. The second half saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic take centre stage for all the wrong reasons.
The Swede huffed and puffed aplenty but could find no way through the Viola defence. And when Real Madrid target Juan Vargas pulled a goal back for the Florence based team, Zlatan’s misses looked all the more telling. But worse was to come as Ibrahimovic received a straight red card in stoppage time to put the dampeners on an otherwise good win.
With the former Barcelona and Juventus man now set to miss three games for Milan, Napoli may just continue to dream of a first Scudetto since their Maradona glory years. After all, Milan have struggled for goals without Ibrahimovic in the squad. Six games to go and three points in it – the battle for league titles and Serie A survival could go down to the wire.
work by Jack Beresford
Thursday 7 April 2011
Eredivisie
Probably the biggest game of the season this past weekend in the Eredivisie, and it was FC Twente that came out on top as they beat long time league leaders PSV to go first with just five games to go. Other highlights came in a nine-goal thriller, and also Ajax keeping themselves in with a chance of the title.
FC Twente came out 2-0 winners against title rivals PSV last Saturday at De Grolsch Veste, returning to the top of the Eredivisie table for the first time since late November. This resulted in a giant leap forward to making it back-to-back championships, as they now have a two point lead with just five games left to play.
And it was no easy task, both sides creating great chances throughout the game, but it took until the 64th minute for the deadlock to be broken when Twente were awarded a penalty and Theo Janssen converted. This gave the hosts the boost they needed and Janssen capped off the win with a magnificent solo effort, taking it round three of the PSV defence and lobbing Andreas Isaksson to make it 2-0 and to wrap up a massive three points for his side, now leaving them in the driving seat and PSV with ground to make up.
Willem II Tilburg have been known for their thrilling games in recent weeks, despite their lowly table position, but this was amazing even for them as they lost 5-4 to visiting Roda. Shockingly it was only 1-0 at the break, an Andreas Lasnik penalty putting the home side ahead, leaving eight goals for the second half.
Pa-Modou Kah scored the first as he levelled the affair, only for Bart Biemens to put Willem back in the lead after a great run. But it was three goals in thirteen minutes for Roda that was the undoing of the home side, goals from Morten Skoubo, Ruud Vormer and Davy De Fauw putting Roda 4-2 up.
Lasnik then scored ten minutes from time to make it 4-3, only for Vormer to score his second of the night and restore Roda's two goal lead. There was still just enough time for a dramatic injury time goal from Maeco Rigters, but it wasn't enough at it ended 5-4 to Roda who remain 7th.
Alkmaar are still clinging onto fourth after they beat Feyenoord 1-0. Charlison Benshop scored the only goal of the game just before half time, and after Gill Swerts was sent off for a challenge that saw Maarten Martens have to leave the field on a stretcher, Feyenoord never looked like equalising.
NAC Breda were 3-1 winners in their mid-table clash with Graafschap. Leonardo put Breda a goal to the good after 29 minutes, and it wasn't until the 74th that Graafschap found their equaliser through Yuri Rose. It was short lived however as Anthony Lurling restored the lead five minutes later, and the Doetinchem side were beaten when Rogier Meijer was dismissed and Donny Gorter made it 3-1 from the spot. Graafschap were reduced to nine and gave away another penalty late on (Leon Broekhof the culprit), but Gorter failed to score a second.
Excelsior produced a stunning comeback in Heernveen to win 3-2 and boost their chances of beating the drop. Heerenveen took an early lead when Michel Breuer nodded home with just two minutes gone. And they doubled that lead on the half hour mark when Bas Dost made it 2-0.
It looked like it would be plain sailing for the hosts from then on, but fourteen minutes from time Excelsior rallied and started their comeback. Geert Arend Roorda scored to goals in two minutes to level things up, and things went from bad to worse for Heerenveen as they were reduced to ten when Christian Grindheim saw red. And it was substitute teenager Nayib Lagouireh who struck the final blow, making it 3-2 in time added on.
Ajax beat Heracles 3-0 on Sunday to keep their title aspirations alive; the Amsterdam side are now five points adrift of top spot. The win also takes focus away from the fact that the club's entire board of directors walked out this week after falling out with Johan Cruyff. Second half goals from Olegeur, Siem De Jong and Aras Özbiliz ensured Ajax got all three points in front of a packed Amsterdam ArenA.
Meanwhile, Groningen kept themselves within the chase for a European place after beating VVV Venlo 3-2. Dusan Tadić and Andreas Granqvist put Groningen 2-0 ahead within 22 minutes, and Nicklas Pedersen quickly cancelled out a Dario Vujicevic goal for Venlo as the sides went in 3-1 at the break. Robert Cullen scored the only goal of the second half just before the hour mark to make it 3-2, but that's how it remained, leaving Venlo fifteen points adrift of safety!
ADO Den Haag are also chasing that fourth European place and remain a point away in 5th after the beat Utrecht 3-2. And it was Utrecht who struck first as Edouard Duplan made it 1-0, but Charlton Vicento made it 1-1 six minutes later. Aleksandar Radosavljevič scored in the 63rd minute to put ADO 2-1 up, and Dmitry Bulykin scored from the spot to make it three and eighteen for his own season's tally. Kevin Stoorman scored a second for Utrecht but ADO held on despite Vicento's dismissal late on.
Finally, Vitesse came out 2-1 winners when they played host to NEC Nijmegen on Sunday. Bonno Wilfried fired Vitesse ahead in the 12th minute, and John Goossens made it 1-1 with 66 minutes gone. But it was Vitesse who would have the last say as Marcus Pedersen's header ten minutes from time earned them all three points.
Work by Josh Coulson
FC Twente came out 2-0 winners against title rivals PSV last Saturday at De Grolsch Veste, returning to the top of the Eredivisie table for the first time since late November. This resulted in a giant leap forward to making it back-to-back championships, as they now have a two point lead with just five games left to play.
And it was no easy task, both sides creating great chances throughout the game, but it took until the 64th minute for the deadlock to be broken when Twente were awarded a penalty and Theo Janssen converted. This gave the hosts the boost they needed and Janssen capped off the win with a magnificent solo effort, taking it round three of the PSV defence and lobbing Andreas Isaksson to make it 2-0 and to wrap up a massive three points for his side, now leaving them in the driving seat and PSV with ground to make up.
Willem II Tilburg have been known for their thrilling games in recent weeks, despite their lowly table position, but this was amazing even for them as they lost 5-4 to visiting Roda. Shockingly it was only 1-0 at the break, an Andreas Lasnik penalty putting the home side ahead, leaving eight goals for the second half.
Pa-Modou Kah scored the first as he levelled the affair, only for Bart Biemens to put Willem back in the lead after a great run. But it was three goals in thirteen minutes for Roda that was the undoing of the home side, goals from Morten Skoubo, Ruud Vormer and Davy De Fauw putting Roda 4-2 up.
Lasnik then scored ten minutes from time to make it 4-3, only for Vormer to score his second of the night and restore Roda's two goal lead. There was still just enough time for a dramatic injury time goal from Maeco Rigters, but it wasn't enough at it ended 5-4 to Roda who remain 7th.
Alkmaar are still clinging onto fourth after they beat Feyenoord 1-0. Charlison Benshop scored the only goal of the game just before half time, and after Gill Swerts was sent off for a challenge that saw Maarten Martens have to leave the field on a stretcher, Feyenoord never looked like equalising.
NAC Breda were 3-1 winners in their mid-table clash with Graafschap. Leonardo put Breda a goal to the good after 29 minutes, and it wasn't until the 74th that Graafschap found their equaliser through Yuri Rose. It was short lived however as Anthony Lurling restored the lead five minutes later, and the Doetinchem side were beaten when Rogier Meijer was dismissed and Donny Gorter made it 3-1 from the spot. Graafschap were reduced to nine and gave away another penalty late on (Leon Broekhof the culprit), but Gorter failed to score a second.
Excelsior produced a stunning comeback in Heernveen to win 3-2 and boost their chances of beating the drop. Heerenveen took an early lead when Michel Breuer nodded home with just two minutes gone. And they doubled that lead on the half hour mark when Bas Dost made it 2-0.
It looked like it would be plain sailing for the hosts from then on, but fourteen minutes from time Excelsior rallied and started their comeback. Geert Arend Roorda scored to goals in two minutes to level things up, and things went from bad to worse for Heerenveen as they were reduced to ten when Christian Grindheim saw red. And it was substitute teenager Nayib Lagouireh who struck the final blow, making it 3-2 in time added on.
Ajax beat Heracles 3-0 on Sunday to keep their title aspirations alive; the Amsterdam side are now five points adrift of top spot. The win also takes focus away from the fact that the club's entire board of directors walked out this week after falling out with Johan Cruyff. Second half goals from Olegeur, Siem De Jong and Aras Özbiliz ensured Ajax got all three points in front of a packed Amsterdam ArenA.
Meanwhile, Groningen kept themselves within the chase for a European place after beating VVV Venlo 3-2. Dusan Tadić and Andreas Granqvist put Groningen 2-0 ahead within 22 minutes, and Nicklas Pedersen quickly cancelled out a Dario Vujicevic goal for Venlo as the sides went in 3-1 at the break. Robert Cullen scored the only goal of the second half just before the hour mark to make it 3-2, but that's how it remained, leaving Venlo fifteen points adrift of safety!
ADO Den Haag are also chasing that fourth European place and remain a point away in 5th after the beat Utrecht 3-2. And it was Utrecht who struck first as Edouard Duplan made it 1-0, but Charlton Vicento made it 1-1 six minutes later. Aleksandar Radosavljevič scored in the 63rd minute to put ADO 2-1 up, and Dmitry Bulykin scored from the spot to make it three and eighteen for his own season's tally. Kevin Stoorman scored a second for Utrecht but ADO held on despite Vicento's dismissal late on.
Finally, Vitesse came out 2-1 winners when they played host to NEC Nijmegen on Sunday. Bonno Wilfried fired Vitesse ahead in the 12th minute, and John Goossens made it 1-1 with 66 minutes gone. But it was Vitesse who would have the last say as Marcus Pedersen's header ten minutes from time earned them all three points.
Work by Josh Coulson
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