Posted on October 11th, 2009 by David
England have recorded their first competitive defeat under the new management of Fabio Capello.
One thing that Capello can’t seem to overcome in the England team is their defensive mistakes and lapses in concentration. It was not completely unexpected that England lost the game to Ukraine based on two more defensive errors.
England were dealt a heavy blow after just 14 minutes when Rio Ferdinand inexplicably let the ball run past him, not realizing Artem Milevskiy was lurking. Rob Green went to ground and had little choice but to bring Milevskiy down, which resulted in a penalty and a red card for Green. Aaron Lennon was sacrificed to bring on backup keeper David James. The blow could have been heavier but Shevchenko missed the penalty; hitting the post.
Down to ten man England looked seriously second best to Ukraine, allowing the Ukrainians dominate the possession. Then came the second defensive mistake when the normally reliable Ashley Cole decided to do a little drag-back on the edge of the box and missed the ball. The striker stole the ball away and it ran to Serhiy Nazarenko who let rip with a powerful shot; Ashley Cole finished the move off by the deflecting the shot into his own net.
In the second half England reshaped with Milner coming on for Gerrard and Rooney drop back into a wing position. With the formation shift England played much better and looked like they could get at least an equalized, but it wasn’t to be and Ukraine were able to hold on for the win.
There were both some positives and negatives for England to take from this game; most of the negatives were defensive errors which Capello needs to somehow sort out if England are to have any chance at the World Cup.
On a positive note David James was excellent, and did not do his World Cup hopes any damage with two fantastic saves. First he made an impressive full stretch one handed dive to deny Rakitskiy’s powerful strike. Second he gave a lesson in how one-on-one’s should be handled when he stayed big to block Yarmolenko on the break away.
Another player worth noting is Michael Carrick; sometimes it’s so frustrating to watch him play, as you know what he’s capable of but just doesn’t seem to want to come alive. He can pass a long ball like no one else, can unlock defenses with through balls, he’s pretty good running with the ball and can hit a good shot. But he doesn’t seem to want to do any of those things. The game last night was perfect example. He didn’t seem to want the ball at all, taking up poor positions and standing way too close to the ball carrier…almost in subconscious way of saying “don’t pass to me”. When he was on the ball all he would play were short balls across the back line.
Barry can play short passes all day, but he can also make tackles all day, which Carrick cannot. If Carrick has any chance of playing in the World Cup he needs to showcase his skills, not play in the manner of Barry, as Barry will win that contest every time.
Posted in International, Matches | No Comments »
Posted on October 7th, 2009 by David
This week the Liverpool co-owner George Gillett has come out and put all the blame for Liverpool’s poor start to the season on Rafa Benitez. Saying that Liverpool have spent more money than their competitors but due to bad management by Benitez are failing to challenge for trophies.
Rafa has, more professionally, declined to comment on the situation; but is clearly not happy with the way Gillett has public criticized the Spaniard.
It seems like every season since Hicks and Gillett took over the club there has been bickering between the manager and the owners.
I’m not a big fan of Rafa, he has spent poorly on the wrong players, sold the wrong players, his player rotation policy is often at fault, and his tactics are sometimes overly negative. However I have to side with him on this topic; the owners have no business publicly airing their dirty laundry. If they have a problem with Rafa they should call a meet with Rafa, not call a press conference.
It’s clear that the owners have no loyalty to Liverpool FC and are only looking out for their own interests. They are still looking to sell the club and are trying to make it seem to potentially buyers that the club is in good shape; they are just not winning because of the bad manager.
For all Rafa’s failings the failings of the owners are 10 folder. They said they were going to build a new stadium when they came in…where has that gone? They said they’ve given Rafa more money to spend than other clubs, but where is all that “money”? This summer they sold Alonso, Arbaloa for £35m and bought Aquilani and Johnson for £37.5m (plus some other smaller ins and outs). So that’s a £2.5m transfer budget…? That doesn’t exactly seem like Rafa has been given a lot of cash to work with.
The fact is Gillett and Hicks have come in and borrowed way too much against the club and for a while now have been trying to sneak out the back door. Like rats from a sinking ship they are trying to distance themselves from the lack of achievements at Liverpool.
Posted in Manager Talk, Team Focus | No Comments »
Posted on October 4th, 2009 by David
It’s not often that I slag off Manchester United but their performance last night against Sunderland, especially in the first half, was absolutely terrible. They could not string more than 1 or 2 passes together and were needlessly giving the ball away at every opportunity.
Darren Bent’s opening goal was a sublime strike and not much blame can be attached to the United team. Normally after playing poorly and conceding an early goal Manchester United are able to elevate their game and come back, this was absolutely not the case yesterday.
Scholes looked like a liability in the midfield, almost every pass went astray. He got a needless yellow card after just 24 minutes; I was praying he was not going to do a repeat of the Spurs game and end up taking an early shower. Fortunately Ferguson subbed him at half time, but Anderson was not able to make much of a difference. Giggs has a lot of life left in him, but I’m not so sure that Scholes can still perform consistently at the top level.
In the second half United did show a bit more intent, and managed to pull the score back level through a magical bicycle kick from Berbatov. Dimitar was one of the few players who didn’t play poorly.
It didn’t take Sunderland long to recover the lead when the ball was floated into the box and Kenwyne Jones jumped over Foster to head it home. Foster absolutely should have won the ball. Jones is a big boy but if Foster was concerned about the power of Jones he should have punched the ball clear. Instead he opted to catch the ball and got steamrolled by Jones.
At this point I have seen enough of Foster. I was all for Ferguson giving Foster a chance to prove himself. Sir Alex has given him chance after change and Foster has blown them all. There are so many holes in his game I don’t know where to begin; every single backpass he receives he either slices into touch or gives the fans a nasty scare, he’s poor on crosses and highballs as he doesn’t have the power to collect or punch the ball away from big forwards, he’s no good on one-on-one situation, the only thing he can do is stop shots.
I for one will be very relieved when Van de Sar comes back, and I think Ferguson should seriously consider bringing in some new keepers as neither Foster or Kuszczak seem capable replacements when Van de Sar retires.
United did manage to steal a point right at the death after Sunderland were reduced to 10 men when Richardson saw a second yellow for kicking the ball away. Evra’s shot was deflected by Anton Ferdinand into the Sunderland net.
Despite conceding 2 goals I feel that the United back four played pretty well, it was really the midfield four and keeper that let the team down last night.
Posted in Matches | No Comments »
Posted on October 3rd, 2009 by David
It looks like the most highly anticipated match of the weekend will be between Chelsea and Liverpool…who do you think will come out on top?
Prediction Results:
- David: 9pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur |
1 - 4 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Burnley vs. Birmingham City |
2 - 1 |
2 - 1 |
3pts |
| Hull City vs. Wigan Athletic |
0 - 3 |
2 - 1 |
1pts |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Portsmouth |
1 - 2 |
0 - 1 |
1pts |
| Manchester United vs. Sunderland |
2 - 1 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Arsenal vs. Blackburn Rovers |
4 - 0 |
6 - 2 |
1pts |
| Everton vs. Stoke City |
2 - 0 |
1 - 1 |
1pts |
| West Ham United vs. Fulham |
1 - 1 |
2 - 2 |
1pts |
| Chelsea vs. Liverpool |
2 - 1 |
2 - 0 |
1pts |
Close Window - X - aaron: 8pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur |
1 - 2 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Burnley vs. Birmingham City |
2 - 2 |
2 - 1 |
0pts |
| Hull City vs. Wigan Athletic |
0 - 2 |
2 - 1 |
0pts |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Portsmouth |
0 - 1 |
0 - 1 |
3pts |
| Manchester United vs. Sunderland |
3 - 1 |
2 - 2 |
1pts |
| Arsenal vs. Blackburn Rovers |
0 - 1 |
6 - 2 |
0pts |
| Everton vs. Stoke City |
2 - 0 |
1 - 1 |
1pts |
| West Ham United vs. Fulham |
1 - 0 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Chelsea vs. Liverpool |
2 - 0 |
2 - 0 |
3pts |
Close Window - X - adrian: 6pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur |
1 - 2 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Burnley vs. Birmingham City |
1 - 1 |
2 - 1 |
0pts |
| Hull City vs. Wigan Athletic |
1 - 2 |
2 - 1 |
1pts |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Portsmouth |
2 - 0 |
0 - 1 |
0pts |
| Manchester United vs. Sunderland |
3 - 1 |
2 - 2 |
1pts |
| Arsenal vs. Blackburn Rovers |
3 - 0 |
6 - 2 |
1pts |
| Everton vs. Stoke City |
1 - 1 |
1 - 1 |
3pts |
| West Ham United vs. Fulham |
2 - 0 |
2 - 2 |
0pts |
| Chelsea vs. Liverpool |
2 - 2 |
2 - 0 |
0pts |
Close Window - X
With 9 out of 10 matches played. Click on any username above to see their predictions.
Click here to find out how the points are calculated
Posted in Predictions | No Comments »
Posted on October 1st, 2009 by David
As a Manchester United fan secretly I was hoping that Michael Owen would come to United be reborn as his former self, dispel the “injury prone” label and become the league’s top scorer…
At this point it’s clear that this isn’t realistic and it does not appear that Sir Alex had such lofty ambitions for Owen.
Ferguson has only used Owen sparingly, mostly as a substitute; one of those final roll-of-the-dice players, who you can throw on in a clutch situation and they might be able to nick a goal for you.
Owen had spent most of the summer defending his fitness, saying that he wasn’t an injury prone player. And for the start of the season he backed up that talk and avoided any kind of embarrassing first game blow out.
I think it’s time to be honest; Owen is still a good player who might be able to come on as a substitute and get a goal, but he’s never going to be his former self, he will probably not play any significant future England roll, and he will pick up injuries.
The question now is how much better is the Manchester United treatment room compared to Newcastle. If they can get him back quickly in the next few weeks then he may be able to shrug off this incident, but if it turns into months on the sideline it could be curtains for Owen’s dream comeback.
Posted in Player Focus | No Comments »
Posted on September 29th, 2009 by David
I am back from Singapore after having a great time watching the Grand Prix, well done Lewis Hamilton who ran away with it in the end. I have to recommend Singapore to any travelers out there as it is a fantastic city, great people and excellent food.
Anyways time to get back to football!
Manchester City have revealed their £32.5million striker, Robinho, is expected to take another 3 weeks to recover from injury.
At first this seems to be very bad news, but this might not necessarily be the case. Robinho was not playing exceptionally well prior to the injury, and Manchester City have been done very well without him.
When he does come back from injury Mark Huge will undoubtedly feel the pressure to get him back into the team. This would likely result in Bellamy or Tevez having to ride the bench; although they have both been playing very well and would definitely be disgruntled by such a move .
Huge may have dodge a team selection bullet for now, but at some point he is going to have to start making difficult decisions as to which big ego he is most willing to rub the wrong way.
Posted in Manager Talk, Player Focus, Team Focus | No Comments »
Posted on September 18th, 2009 by David
It seems like the big games just keep on coming; this week there is the Manchester derby between City and United and a London derby between Tottenham and Chelsea. Who will come out on top?
Prediction Results:
- David: 11pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Burnley vs. Sunderland |
1 - 2 |
3 - 1 |
0pts |
| Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic |
4 - 0 |
4 - 0 |
3pts |
| Aston Villa vs. Portsmouth |
3 - 0 |
2 - 0 |
1pts |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Stoke City |
1 - 1 |
1 - 1 |
3pts |
| Hull City vs. Birmingham |
3 - 1 |
0 - 1 |
0pts |
| West Ham Utd vs. Liverpool |
1 - 2 |
2 - 3 |
1pts |
| Man Utd vs. Manchester City |
2 - 1 |
4 - 3 |
1pts |
| Wolves vs. Fulham |
0 - 2 |
2 - 1 |
0pts |
| Everton vs. Blackburn |
1 - 2 |
3 - 0 |
1pts |
| Chelsea vs. Tottenham |
3 - 1 |
3 - 0 |
1pts |
Close Window - X - adrian: 6pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Burnley vs. Sunderland |
0 - 2 |
3 - 1 |
0pts |
| Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic |
3 - 0 |
4 - 0 |
1pts |
| Aston Villa vs. Portsmouth |
3 - 0 |
2 - 0 |
1pts |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Stoke City |
2 - 1 |
1 - 1 |
0pts |
| Hull City vs. Birmingham |
0 - 2 |
0 - 1 |
1pts |
| West Ham Utd vs. Liverpool |
1 - 1 |
2 - 3 |
0pts |
| Man Utd vs. Manchester City |
1 - 1 |
4 - 3 |
0pts |
| Wolves vs. Fulham |
2 - 2 |
2 - 1 |
0pts |
| Everton vs. Blackburn |
2 - 1 |
3 - 0 |
2pts |
| Chelsea vs. Tottenham |
1 - 2 |
3 - 0 |
1pts |
Close Window - X - aaron: 6pts
| Teams |
Prediction |
Score |
Points |
| Burnley vs. Sunderland |
2 - 1 |
3 - 1 |
1pts |
| Arsenal vs. Wigan Athletic |
2 - 0 |
4 - 0 |
1pts |
| Aston Villa vs. Portsmouth |
3 - 0 |
2 - 0 |
1pts |
| Bolton Wanderers vs. Stoke City |
1 - 2 |
1 - 1 |
0pts |
| Hull City vs. Birmingham |
1 - 1 |
0 - 1 |
0pts |
| West Ham Utd vs. Liverpool |
1 - 3 |
2 - 3 |
1pts |
| Man Utd vs. Manchester City |
2 - 1 |
4 - 3 |
1pts |
| Wolves vs. Fulham |
1 - 0 |
2 - 1 |
1pts |
| Everton vs. Blackburn |
0 - 1 |
3 - 0 |
0pts |
| Chelsea vs. Tottenham |
2 - 2 |
3 - 0 |
0pts |
Close Window - X
With 10 out of 10 matches played. Click on any username above to see their predictions.
Click here to find out how the points are calculated
Posted in Predictions | No Comments »
Posted on September 17th, 2009 by David
This is a website that I’ve been playing on for the last few month and I have found it to be good fun, and great for killing any free time at the office.
The website is: http://www.hattrick.org/
It’s free to sign up and you get to be the owner of your own football team. Your team is automatically placed in your own country’s domestic league system…there are hundreds tiers and about 8 teams per league, win the league and you get promoted to the next tier.
The system has lots of features, such as buying and selling players, managing your finances, upgrading your stadium, developing the youth team, arranging friendlies…the list goes on…
My team is Ratchada United and I’ve just managed to win my league and get promoted; currently in my 3rd season. Each season only lasts a few months.
The system does have a paying members upgrade where you pay a subscription and get extra features such as design your own kit etc…
I’d recommend you sign up and pit your management skills against the rest of the online football geek world.
Posted in Websites | No Comments »
Posted on September 15th, 2009 by David
It seems to me that every country is fairly keen to blame their problems on “foreigners” and football is no exception. When one’s national team gets knocked out of the world cup the reason is…”too many foreigners in the domestic league”. When one’s favorite team gets beaten in the champions league or a cup final the reason is…”too many foreigners on the opposition team”.
Nowhere can this seen more clearly than in England where the Premier League attracts large numbers of foreign players due to the league’s popularity and high salaries. For some time this has been sighted as a major reason why England frequently under achieve at tournaments. England have not won a world cup since 1966 and I’m no statistics buff but I’m pretty sure foreigner have not been prolific within the English league all the way back 40+ years ago.
The argument is that bringing in foreigner players stunts the opportunities of young English players. Personally I disagree; playing with the best players in the world can only improve the skills of young players. And while it may prevent the opportunities for throngs of mediocre English player, it also takes the shining star English players puts them on the biggest stage next to the best in the world and takes them to the next level.
I for one would rather be able to pick a national team squad from 30 superstars than 1000 garden-variety muppets.
I guess one could argue that youth players will just give up on football if it’s too hard to make it big. I’d like to believe that “oh it’s too hard, let’s just give” has not become the new motto for a country that prides itself on determination.
Wrongly or rightly I think rules such as the new home-grown rule will become more popular as foreigners are such a convenient scapegoat for everything.
Posted in General Interest | No Comments »
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