Thursday, September 3, 2009

Time for optimism?


Can Ireland build on their strong position in Group 8 with a win in Cyprus? The next week of international football will have a huge bearing on whether thousands of Irish supporters will defy the knowledge of birds and flock in the opposite direction to the South African winter to spend June singing, drinking and vuvuzela-ing on the streets of Jo-burg or Cape Town. On Saturday night Ireland return to the scene of their most shocking crime to date. Forget the draw against Liechtenstein or that a last minute goal was needed to beat San Marino, Irelands 5-2 humbling in Cyprus was a real low. On Saturday night however, we have the chance to make amends, and to clear another important hurdle in our quest to join the party at next summer’s World cup at the same time.

Since that nightmare in Nicosia Ireland have made huge strides. Under Trappatoni they look like a far sturdier unit than the outfit that combusted under Stan. Granted the campaign has been more steady than spectacular but that steadiness and organisation has left us in 2nd place behind Italy and unbeaten in group 8. Ireland should line up very similarly to the team that started against Australia recently. Trapp will probably opt for Keith Andrew instead of Darron Gibson and may go for the inform Hunt instead of McGeady. One thing is for sure that with Given in nets (Paddy Kenny played in Nicosia last time and had a night to forget!) and with Trapps defensive set up, Ireland will be far more difficult to break down this time round.

Sean St Ledger is a doubt, which would be a real shame as I’ve really liked him in the team so far. Since Paul Mc Grath I can’t think of any Irish centre half who can play football as well as defend and I think the Dunne/St Ledger partnership could be a very successful one. At the other end of the pitch things are looking good aswell. McGeady, Hunt, and Keane have all started well for their clubs this season. Duff has got plenty of games under his belt and Doyle, although just returning from injury played 90 mins for Wolves last weekend. I also hope to see Trapp unleash the joker in the pack, Caleb Folan, at some stage. I took great pleasure in watching Cannavaro and Zambrotta, two of the best technical defenders in the game get bamboozled by Folans aerial ability and eagerness to drive toward goal.

Interestingly while Ireland plays Cyprus, Italy will have a tricky away tie to Georgia and then follow that up by hosting Bulgaria next Wednesday. I wouldn’t bet on the Italians picking up maximum points from both those games so the group table will really have taken shape by this day next week. With three games to play it could be quite simple; if Ireland take the maximum 9 points we finish top of the group. It’s not that much to ask, we CAN beat Cyprus away, this is the same Cyprus whose last competitive game was a 6-1 friendly defeat to Albania, we CAN beat Italy at home, this Italy are a shadow of their former great teams and are crumbling as a superpower of world football. Finally we CAN beat Montenegro at home, because they’re shite.

Unfortunately, over the years I’ve learned from many disappointments that Ireland never take the easy route and there’s always a cavernous sized bump in the road in every qualifying campaign. Let’s hope for once we can avoid further heartbreak, I for one am confident that we will qualify, starting with a 2-0 victory against Cyprus this Saturdays. What do you think…?

Read more!

posted by Shane @ 3:50 PM   1 Comments

Thursday, August 13, 2009

A Game of Four Quarters



A Treasonous Breach of the Foundations of English League Football




Ready the gallows, prepare the guillotine and inform the firing squad; for what I’m about to suggest is a treasonous breach of the ‘foundations’ of English League Football. As can be discerned from the barrage of overwhelmingly clichéd soundbites yawned at us by Premier League managers every year, the League is the staple of every English Club. While those competing in Europe, except in the Europa League, would obviously love to come home brandishing a big, shiny, foreign thing, and for Everton the FA Cup is a nice distraction, managers from Big Sam to Brian Little have convinced us over the years that The League is their bread and butter. Well, what I suggest is not that we change the basic diet of the Premier League altogether, but merely divide the hallowed format into quarters.
The League is rightly considered so sacred as it is felt that it represents the only logical way to determine the truly best team in the country. Only by having every team play the same teams the same amount of times every year and comparing the results, it is believed, can the true Champion be determined. While this logic remains sound, I feel that it is also a system that is responsible for maintaining the biggest problem in English football at the moment; the disparity between the Big Four and the rest. The lack of parity in the Premier League is a self-sustaining problem, i.e. the rich get richer. The League format and Champion’s League qualification procedures have ensured that there remains little hope for those outside but to pray for a outrageously wealthy Arab.
Like Aston Villa, Man United and Arsenal before, the way forward may lie in looking across the Atlantic. While many with little appreciation for the format of US sports will find this detestable, the best way to cure the ennui and nausea caused by the least exciting of the major leagues in the world is to adopt the US system of dividing the competing clubs into smaller geographical regions.
This is what I suggest: taking last years competing Premier League clubs, we divide the Premiership into four, roughly geographical, Divisions:
1. London- Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham, West Ham
2. Midlands- Aston Villa, Porstmouth, Stoke, West Brom, Wigan
3. North-West- Bolton, Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City
4. North-East- Blackburn, Hull, Middlebrough, Newcastle, Sunderland

As anyone with a passing knowledge of English Geography will realise, these are not strictly geographical but as close as can be attained while maintaining equal numbers, but strict alignment is not important, the important part is the grouping together of the current strongest teams.
The fixture list would work as such: Each year the teams in each Division play each other four times- twice home and away. The teams in two Divisions, changing year on year, will play each other home and away once. The remaining fixtures will consist of teams in one division playing all the teams in another at home, and all the teams in the remaining division away. For instance, every year all the London teams play each home and away twice. Then, all the teams in London play the teams in North-East home and away. The teams in London then play all the Midland teams at home and the remainder of their fixture list is made up of games away to teams in the North-West. Each division would have a similar structure but consisting of different opponents each year. Thus there would be a 36 game season each year, with all the teams competing in the same Division playing the same teams, maintaining the crucial element of fairness provided by the league format. The winners of each division would go into a playoff format with the winner with most points playing the winner with the least at home, this being followed by an ultimate Final between the playoff winners. While the playoff participants would be the Champions League representatives the following season. The finalists would each play a total of 38 games. Relegation would be determined in a similar way, with playoffs and the two defeated teams being sent down.
While this may seem unbelievably complicated, the league table at the bottom explains how last year would have panned out using the Division system.
I realise that proposing a replacement for the traditional league format is blasphemy. A curse against the God that is football. But football is already cursed. For better or worse the Premier League has abolished numerous traditions of English football as it once was. Gone are 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-offs. Gone is Match of the Day as the only source of TV football. Gone is the fan with the fag in the crowded terrace. Gone is the two-way street of player/club loyalty. Gone is a fair competition between competing teams. I am casting no judgment on the benefits or detriments of each of these changes to football as we know it, I am merely making the point that football in the last 20 years has changed more than in the previous 100, and that it is time to realise that nothing is sacred anymore, Sky and Setanta have made sure of that. Everything is subject to change. So why not the league format.
By placing the Big Four into the same division it ensures that only two can reach the playoffs each year. As the league below indicates, they would most likely dominate any smaller team in the division, but gradually, as success breeds success, the smaller teams would grow and attract better players. Conversely, the richer teams, without the guarantee of a place in the top four and European football, would lose attractiveness to fans and players and thus would come back toward the field. The rich would get poorer and vice versa.
The effect of having the stronger teams competing for limited places in the final reckoning has benefits beyond simply bringing them back toward the field. By having Chelsea and Arsenal play each other twice as often as normal, it will arguably lead to the best team being declared division winner. By increasing the direct competition between Man Utd and Liverpool, then truly the better side can be determined. Wouldn’t we rather the league was decided not by which team beats Hull most often, but by which team beats their direct competition for honours most often? I hear the deafening assent of Liverpool fans.
Yet, the noble pursuit of unhindered competition is not the only benefit of the system. The darker, financially-driven aspects would also prosper. Year on year, the most popular games in the League, both in TV viewers and in attendance, are the games between the Big Four and derby games. By doubling the amount of Man Utd-Liverpool, Chelsea-Arsenal, Man-Utd-Man City, Liverpool-Everton, Arsenal-Tottenham and Newcastle-Sunderland games, both the gate receipts and viewing figures would increase over the season. The argument that this might dilute the product, as it were, can be rejected with a view north of the border, where the Old Firm derbies happen just as frequently but remain no less viewed or enjoyed by fans. As an added benefit, every two seasons, there would only be one Man Utd-Chelsea or Arsenal-Liverpool game, so it would become an occasion to savour and one-off spectacle that year.
Every season, like clockwork, right around Christmas, we hear a loud groaning emanating from somewhere in the League. Sir Alex, after a 1-1 draw away to Fulham, two days after a victory in the FA Cup, will moan about fixture congestion. Or a player will look enviously at the continent and lament the lack of a winter break in the Premiership. The Division system has only 36 games for 60% of the teams. By shaving two valuable weeks off the calendar for the season, we could finally afford to give the poor, overworked players a Christmas break. In return, maybe they would shut up and stop comparing themselves to slaves.
Any financial loss incurred by having two less league games every year could be offset by the increase in interest in the Premiership Playoffs and Final, sure to garner greater viewing figures than a last day of the season, 11th place showdown between Bolton and Wigan.
But I can hear the arguments already. The existing league format is the only objectively fair system to determine the best league in the country. Well the current system is not fair, that’s plain to see. Without any hope of competing financially with the Champions League clubs, other clubs have no chance of competing at all. In any case, the league below illustrates that the system has very little effect on the overall points tallies of most teams. The stronger teams will still get more points, but the system allows them the weaker teams a chance to compete at the business end of the season; in the playoffs.
In actual fact, the current league system is not objectively fair anyway. The Aston Villa that Chelsea play away in September is bound to markedly different from the one Liverpool play away in May. Injuries, form, January signings, fixtures and any possible change in management will make a difference in terms of the difficulty of the task facing the teams. At least by competing against your direct rivals more often over a season, the chance of the truly better team emerging victorious increases.
I’m not a fool, I realise that the chances of this system being adopted are as likely as an Ngog hat-trick. Neither the fans, with their attachment to ‘tradition’ and Amerophobia nor the Big Four, with their attachment to their wallets, will stand for it but something must be done. The wealthier the Big Four get, the poorer the League becomes as a whole and there’s only so many Middle-Eastern bazillionaires willing to come in and Sheikh things up.


Playoffs: Liverpool v Sunderland
Chelsea v Aston Villa

Relegation Playoffs: Fulham v Middlesbrough
W Brom v Bolton


Guest Article Submitted by: Barra Neary


Read more!

posted by Rich @ 5:37 PM   4 Comments

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Let the games begin....




With the new season only a week away the team reveals their predictions for the coming 9 months...

Oskar's Predictions

1 Arsenal
2 Liverpool
3 United
4 Chelsea
5 Man City
6 Tottenham

Bottom 3
18 Wolves
19 Burnley
20 Portsmouth

Top Scorer
Dimitar Berbatov

In what has been an off season that has been characterised more by subtraction then addition, the landscape of the top of the premier league has seen significant upheaval.

While it is big spending Manchester City that have grabbed the headlines with their lavish spending, the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso are likely to cause just as much commotion as Arsenal’s Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. While three of last year’s top 4 are involved in this wheeling and dealing, it is the final member of the group who are conspicuous in their absence. Chelsea are many people’s favourites for the title this year, often because of the virtue that their pre season has been the most settled. There have been no high profile departures from Chelsea this year, despite sustained interest in Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole and most of all, John Terry. The fearsome Michael Essien continues to draw the plaudits and Didier Drogba’s signature on a 2 year contract extension will have caused more wrist related pleasure to Chelsea fans then they ever could have thought possible. However despite this, I believe the blues will finish fourth this year.

Let’s be honest – they will stroll into the champions league places. I simply can’t see City disturbing the top four this season, at least without the addition of a quality defender. But if Carlo Ancelotti’s record in charge of a bunch of pensioners is anything to go by, league glory is a long way away from Chelsea’s grasp just yet. In charge of a settled, talented but grey Milan team, Ancelotti won only one scudetto in what is a very long time in Serie A football. It is still astonishing that Galliani, Berlusconi et al deemed to keep him in a job given his last few seasons at Milan. With Yuri Zhirkov the only major addition to a side that needs major freshening up, I can see Chelsea adrift of the other big 3, although don’t be surprised to see them finally succeed in Europe.

Manchester United are perhaps the hardest side to predict this season. The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly going to have a big effect on the champions, with many games last season won solely through the magic right foot of the world’s best and most arrogant player. Replacing his goals is going to be a huge challenge for United, but not so much I would suspect as winning the midfield battle. The anonymous performance of Anderson in the champions league final suggests the talented youngster has a bit more to go before he is good enough to be a mainstay in this side, and despite Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher being useful players, neither would instantly command a place in the midfield of Chelsea or Liverpool. On the flanks, Luis Antonio Valencia is an exciting prospect who one suspects may struggle at this level, while neither Giggs nor Nani would inspire any fear into the opposition. While I have a feeling that this is the season Wayne Rooney will be exposed as being far from world class, I also feel that Dimitar Berbatov is the man who will get the goals for United this season. Marginalised under the reign of King Ronaldo, the Bulgarian maestro will live up to his £30m fee this year, and I predict will be this season’s top scorer. The defence will be rock solid as usual, and Ben Foster will claim the England number one jersey but there isn’t enough bite in midfield to sustain a title challenge, despite three victories on the trot.

Liverpool were originally my favourites to win it all this year, but the departure of Xabi Alonso has left a gaping void in the middle of the park. Benitez has done well to get £30m out of Madrid for a defensive midfield player, but neither Lucas nor new boy Alberto Aquilani is the answer here. Liverpool have lost their heartbeat, and while they are far too talented a side not to challenge for the title, I fear they will come up slightly short, by 3 or 4 points. While it is hard not to rate a side that boasts a motivated Steven Gerrard, a fully fit Fernando Torres, a consistently excellent defense upgraded by an £18m full back and the vastly underappreciated Dirk Kuyt, it is hard to escape the notion that Liverpool without Alonso is the equivalent of an Arsenal without Fabregas.

It is this very Arsenal who I believe are this year’s champions in waiting, despite their 9-1 price tag with the bookies. Arsene Wenger has the look of someone who has indentified the problems in his team and who knows how to fix them. A combined fee of £39m for Adebayor and Toure is masterful business, and although the Frenchman has not yet spent the proceeds, I expect a midfielder with steel to be recruited to help Fabregas in the centre of the park. Thomas Vermaelen, despite his much cited lack of height, is an astute addition to the squad, and Johan Djourou is deserving of an extended run in the first team. Two top class full backs and an underrated keeper give Arsenal a solid look, but expect to see Wenger’s failed 4-5-1 experiment manifest itself into a 4-3-3 with the lethal Arshavin and the brilliant van Persie complementing Nicholas Bendtner in the centre. The mercurial 17 year old Jack Wilshere has looked excellent in pre season, and based on how much he has bulked up I expect him to play a big role in the gunners season this year, although Theo Walcott may find himself marginalised. Wenger’s patience has been both his virtue and his greatest flaw, but I feel that this is the season he will be rewarded. The Arshavin compromise with his philosophy has added a new dimension to the team, and with so much attacking talent in one side I can see Cesc Fabregas lifting the premiership trophy this season.

At the other end of the table, the only team I see surviving of the newly promoted threesome is Birmingham City. Alex McLeish appears to have heeded the lessons of his relegation season by bringing in some foreign talent in the form of the powerful Christian Benitez, who despite an injury which will rule him out of the start of the season, has potential to be an excellent signing for the blues. The astute purchase of Roger Johnson from Cardiff City along with a solid spine to the team makes them survival material in my book. I hate Phil Brown as much as the next man, but I believe his patience in the transfer market will be rewarded with another season in the top flight. Seyi Olofinjana adds beef to a midfield that desperately needs it, and the addition of Jozy Altidore could in my opinion prove to be a masterstroke that allows Brown to take the pressure off Geovanni.

Wolves survival prospects can be shot down in two words: Mick McCarthy. Burnley’s can be killed off with a swift glance at what is a bloody awful squad. The established side I fear for this year is Portsmouth. Virtually unrecognisable from Harry Redknapps FA cup winners, the farce surrounding their takeover bid has put the south coast side in massive danger of relegation this year. If Sylvain Distin leaves the sinking ship for Liverpool as expected, they will lack solidity as well as bite – let’s not forget that Kanu and David Nugent are their only two strikers as of now. They look relegation certainties to me, and probably face a reunion with Milan Mandaric in the 2010/2011 championship season.

That’s it for my preview – for the record Barca win the Spanish league, Inter the Italian, Stuttgart the bundesliga and Chelsea the champions league. Here’s hoping for a great season.

Shane's Predictions

Top 6:
1 Chelsea
2 Man U
3 Pool
4 Arsenal
5 Everton
6 Man City

Bottom 3
18 Hull
19 Portsmouth
20 Burnley

Top Scorer
Anelka

Compared to last year’s squads none of the top four have yet strengthened (by the time the season begins Chelsea will probably gazump me by signing David Villa and Franck Ribery) and in fact you could argue that Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal have gotten weaker in comparison to last year. As a result my favourites for the title this year are Chelsea.

For the last few years Chelsea have had the strongest squad in the Premiership and if it wasn’t for the revolving door fixed outside their manager’s office I believe they would have won a lot more. They have remember been extremely close, in ’08 they lost the Champions league and Carling Cup finals and were pipped to the premiership on the last day. After last year’s much talked about semi with Barca they can again count themselves unlucky/robbed not to have got the chance to atone their previous years champions league final defeat. In terms of their league campaign last year they definitely suffered from the instability of Scolari’s departure but a worrying stat for Ferguson et al is that Chelsea picked up 34 points from the last 13 games of the season when a steady manager arrived. I predict Ancelotti to have a similar effect as Hiddink, he’s been hugely successful with a ‘mature’ squad at Milan and will have a similar age profile at Chelsea. Not that thats important, what is important is how he sets his team out. The Italian favours a midfield diamond which will liberate Frank Lampard. Unlike Scolari, he will benefit from the energy of a fully fit Michael Essien and a focused Didier Drogba, with Yuri Zhirkov – recommended by Hiddink – a potentially eye-catching addition on the left. Add to this the ever improving Florent Malouda, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Nicholas Anelka and a fit again Ricky Carvalho back to partner “Mr Chelsea… if the price is right” John Terry and you’ve got a squad that I think will triumph come next May.

Ruling out Man Utd is always dangerous.... The obvious argument is that United will struggle to find the goals Ronaldo scored but it’s a real problem they face and difficult to see where else those 25-30 goals will come from. Less obvious is Tevez’s effect on United’s season last year. He single handedly dug them out of a few games they looked destined to drop points in last year and came up with goals and assists at crucial points of crucial games.

Last summer Benitez felt Alonso was surplus to requirements but this year he tried everything to keep his compatriot. The fact that new boy Aquilani has barely played since March would worry me and I think the Pool will find a gaping gaping 'not too shabby' Alonso shaped hole in midfield as his guile, experience and passing range is difficult to replace. I also think Liverpool played above themselves for much of last season. They needed their best season for years to stick with United and even then they fell 4 points short. I don’t think they will be able to last the pace again this year.

93% of Arsenal fans don’t think they can win the league without landing a major signing (according to a poll on the clubs website) and I couldn’t argue with them. In fact I think they need two or three signings of Arshavin’s quality to be considered serious contenders. They are a class act on their day but have too many off days when they fall behind in a game and with nobody in the team capable of pulling them out they end up dropping points in games where none of their title rivals struggle.

Some may be surprised that I don’t predict Man City to challenge at all. It will be very interesting to follow their progress but my tip is for them to be as mediocre as the ambition of the players who joined them. Saying that I think they’ll have enough quality to see them to a Uefa cup spot.

In terms of relegation, I probably could have picked six teams likely to go down but I think Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth will be the weakest and I’m not looking forward to watching games involving any of them.

Most importantly and to have it as printed proof if Chelsea finish above Arsenal this year than Oskar Persson will have to bow down to yours truly and hand over a cool 20 bills. Come on you blues....


Fenning's Predictions

1-Liverpool
2-Man Utd
3-Chelsea
4-Arsenal
5-Man City
6-Everton

18-Hull City
19-Pompey
20-Burnley

Top Scorer: Dider Drogba

Liverpool have strengthened their squad in a few important areas (Glen Johnson and Aquilani) and for this reason I believe they will end the 19 year wait and lift the Premier League for the first time. Also I believe Liverpool will bring in one more player before the end of the window. My concerns lie, predictably, with the fitness of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, and then secondly, the ability to fill the spot which Alonso has vacated. Javier Mascherano is a young player who has plenty of ability; Liverpool fans will hope that he can improve the passing element to his game.

The rest of the top 4 have all lost important players. I believe Wayne Rooney will be a huge player for Man Utd this season. But not even Rooney can be expected to score the goals that Ronaldo has scored in recent years and he will also have to cover for the departed Carlos Tevez.

Chelsea will be interesting to watch under a new manager, but I believe it will take Carlo Ancellotti a season or two to understand the frantic pace of the English game.

I think Man City will be a real force this year, but a top four spot is just out of their reach as it will take time for all their new players to gel.

Read more!

posted by Shane @ 1:07 PM   0 Comments

Friday, April 3, 2009

Time to face up to Old Firm banana republic



Barry Ferguson and Glasgow Rangers fans deserve each other...


There are occasions in life when the actions of an individual may not be unexpected, but the extent of them may well still surprise you. The Barry Ferguson situation that appears to be unfolding at Rangers is one such example. For those of you who have not seen the news, the Rangers man has been stripped of the captaincy following his being caught on a drinking bender while on international duty, along with goalkeeper Allan McGregor. This would be bad enough in itself. But the pair than went on to flick the V sign with their fingers from their position on the Scotland bench throughout what was an absolutely vital qualifier against Iceland.

Scotland went on to win 2-1, but what was an excellent result for them has been overshadowed by the situation. Walter Smith has shown that there is at least some dignity left in Scottish football by stripping Ferguson of the Rangers captaincy, dropping the pair of them and he now appears to be about to put them on the transfer list.

Good for him. Smith should rightly be applauded for illustrating that no Rangers player is above either his country or his club. The generally odious element that are the Rangers fans have predictably hopped on the bandwagon, backing the manager and talking about how Ferguson was too cocky, how he should never have thought he was bigger than Glasgow Rangers. I wonder who gave Ferguson that impression? Surely not the same fans who forced one of the most talented young managers in Europe out of the club over his refusal to back down over dropping one Barry Ferguson? Paul Le Guen is the architect of the great success Lyon have enjoyed in France over the last number of years – they had never won a league title before his arrival – and he has taken a terrible Paris St Germain side and turned them into title contenders. He is clearly a very good manager, and had he received the same backing as Smith has now, I have no doubt that Rangers’ wait for a title would be over.

However as usual the xenophobic and intolerant “fans” that make up a majority of old firm regulars did not allow him that time – how dare a French upstart drop the poster boy of Scottish football? Unfortunately this is what has come to pass as par for the course in the Banana Republic of Old Firm football. The terrible scenes that accompanied last year’s UEFA cup final in Manchester were proven to be more than a coincidence with the continued use of disgusting, vile and racist chanting by the Rangers fans, epitomised by the abuse the alleged “Fenian bastard” Aiden McGeady received in a recent Old Firm game. While I am in no way suggesting that Celtic fans are saintly in any way, one cannot deny that the incidents involving the blue half of Glasgow are far more common and more severe than those instigated by the hoops. There certainly wasn’t any trouble at the Celtic vs. Porto final a few years earlier, quite the opposite with FIFA awarding Celtic fans the fair play award for their conduct in Seville.

Having said that, hopefully this incident is the first step in a much needed wake up call to Scottish football. Ferguson and McGregor’s behaviour is proof that the disgusting behaviour of the fans is being translated onto the pitch, and the fact that they chose to insult the entire tartan army with their behaviour shows their contempt for anything past their empire at Rangers. Scottish football is about more than Celtic and Rangers – it’s about time their players and fans recognised this.

Read more!

posted by Oz @ 5:07 PM   0 Comments

Gold Standard



With awards season round the corner, it's time to break down the top ten contenders for the PFA player of the year award...

With only 8 games left in the season the time has come for the annual awards season. Just like the Oscars, there will be some hot favourites, some outside chances and of course some perennial Scorsese esque runner ups. Given that the voting is over at this stage, it is time for my own opinion on the top 10 premier league players this season. We’ll begin at number 10 and run from there.

10. Robin van Persie

While Arsenal have comfortably sewn up a champions league spot at this stage, the fact that they are back up there can be put down to two players in particular, both of whom appear on this list. The first is van Persie, a frustrating figure for fans of the gunners whose quality is undoubtable, but whose durability is under constant scrutiny. Forget Cesc Fabregas, when van Persie is fit he is unquestionably the best player on the team, one who is adept at creating chances as he is scoring them. A cannon of a left foot combined with a class that can only be described as Dutch brilliance mean that Arsenal have a frontman who can lead the team for years to come – if they can keep him fit.


9. Stephen Ireland

While the Andy Reid debate continues to rage in these shores, the fact that Stephen Ireland has yet to return in a green shirt is the real tragedy to befall the Irish team this term. City signed a whole host of players, including the mercurial Robinho, but it is clear that when it comes to City’s attacking threat there is one man Mark Hughes trusts over any other. Ireland’s early form in particular this year was as good as any in the entire league, and drew many weary sighs from members of the green army who have not seen a schemer in his class since the days of Ray Houghton. There will no doubt be many more expensive arrivals at Eastlands over the summer, but this is one member of the side who is absolutely assured of his place.


8. Phil Jagielka

Everton have been the unsung success of this season, quietly creeping into 6th place without ever really threatening to go one further like Aston Villa have done this season. This represents undoubted progress – David Moyes has seen previous successful seasons followed by mediocre ones in comparison – and much of this consistency is down to Everton’s superb pairing at the back in Yobo and Jagielka. Moyes has developed Jagielka superbly, and it is very much worth remembering that when he signed for the blues he was considered to be a defensive midfield player, a position he thrived in throughout his Sheffield United days. The tactical awareness and sureness on the ball he developed through this time has served him well in his deployment into the back four, and his progress this season has seen him awarded with an England debut. The two merseyside teams are characterised by rock solid spines to the teams, and no one epitomises this more for Everton than Phil Jagielka.


7. Brede Hangeland

While the name by number seven is Hangeland himself, it would be rude not to recognise the contribution of some of his teammates. A superb partnership with Aaron Hughes, who has come a long way since the Lawrie Sanchez days, is helped immeasurably by the tactical nous and leadership of Danny Murphy, whose position in front of the back four might not provide a Mascherano style toughness, but does provide assured possession and few mistakes. Hangeland however, has been the standout of the three. The best example of a superb transfer policy, Roy Hodgeson has proved his calibre as a manager by leading Fulham to 8th place in the league after keeping them up the season before. Hangeland has it all – strength, physique, pace, positioning and leadership, and he is an advert as to the benefits of a manager playing his trade in another country. (One doubts that Hodgeson would have signed him without prior experience of Scandinavian management) While the majority of the top four sides have rock solid defenses, it would not be a great surprise to see Arsenal come in for the Norwegian international come summer.


6. Luis Antonio Valencia

The spark in premier league surprise package Wigan Athletic, Valencia looked like he had ability in his games for Ecuador at the 2006 world cup, but seemed far too lightweight for the demand of the premiership. He is the perfect advert for how ability is always going to be a greater determinant of success than physique in football, despite certain managerial philosophy dictating the contrary at clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Inter Milan. Valencia’s performances have been absolutely superb, and have seen him linked with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. These are not empty tabloid links; this boy has everything required to succeed at one of the clubs at the pinnacle of the English game. Trickery, pace, superb crossing and an ability to beat his man are the hallmarks of a player who appears to be close to the complete player, and one who has a great future whether in these shores or abroad at the likes of Real Madrid.


5. Martin Laursen

A controversial choice given how much game time he has missed, but on his day it is hard to argue against the fact that he is arguably the best defender in the league. It is no coincidence that his absence has seen Villa’s form spiral downward, and combined with the return of Robin van Persie his injuries have given the momentum back to Arsenal in the race for fourth place. He is a paradoxical players – he has undoubtedly proved why Milan deemed him to be a good enough player for their ranks, yet at the same time as shown comprehensively why they let him go. A player who is as injury prone as this is always going to be a liability in some format, as you could lose them at any time. Villa have found this out to their cost, as their fans hopes and dreams were dispelled by the return of the distinctly average Zat Knight to the line-up following Laursen’s serious knee injury. While they will undoubtedly have to strengthen the centre back position in the summer, the great irony is that they will not find someone with more ability than this defensive colossus with shaky foundations.


4. Xabi Alonso

There are many that say Rafa Benitez is a lucky manager, and their case will have been helped no end by the reemergence of Alonso through this campaign. Anonymous for the past two seasons, Alonso’s immense popularity with the fans shielded him from the fact that Benitez was absolutely spot on in his rationale of cashing in on him to sign Gareth Barry. As fate would have it, logic failed to rule the day once again, and Alonso retained his place in the heart of the Anfield midfield, and has responded with his best season to date in a red shirt. The metronomic passing that was a hallmark of his first season at Liverpool has returned, and he has been missed as much as Steven Gerrard when his name is not in the starting line-up. There have been many occasions where Liverpool have come from behind this season. If Benitez has rested a couple of players in some of these matches, it is telling that he does not turn to a second striker to change the tide of the game – instead he motions to Alonso to rise from the bench and to raise the tempo of the match. Alonso’s form has not gone unnoticed – he is back in the starting line up for his country, and it is probably a safe bet that he will not be touted around Europe this season.


3. Nicolas Anelka

It is absolutely mystifying as to why this man has not received more plaudits this year. The league’s top scorer has stepped up to the plate magnificently, performing week in week out as a lone striker while Didier Drogba appeared to take on his traditional mantle of “Le Sulk.” Anelka has always had the tools to succeed as a modern frontman – pace, power, finishing ability and game intelligence. While his career has been dictated by agents thus far, a breakout season with Chelsea this year almost certainly points to pastures greener in the future. On a personal note, I have never seen a better player in the flesh – having had the pleasure of being present in Anfield in March 2002 against Newcastle, the day the lights went out, Anelka was the star of a three pronged attack alongside Owen and Heskey. Anyone who has seen the French enigma in the flesh, and who has seen his exquisite touch light up a game of football will surely agree that he is worth a top three finish in the PFA awards this year.


2. Nemanja Vidic

The favourite to win this years award, and justifiably so. Vidic has performed admirably in a United defence that broke records left right and centre this season. Forget the mediocre Edwin van der Sar, the real plaudits are deservedly heading Vidic’s way for his domineering displays that broke the consecutive clean sheet record. While I still maintain that Ferdinand is a more valuable defender, his absence for a considerable number of games saw Vidic take the lead and develop considerably as a player. However, a number of costly errors this year have seen him slip out of my top spot. The two against Liverpool come to mind, but there have been several similar incidents where generous refereeing has let him off the hook. Vidic might get exposed for pace every now and again, but his displays throughout the rest of the season crown him as the seasons best defender in my humble opinion.

1. Steven Gerrard

My choice to win the award this year is not motivated by bias, but by having had the pleasure of watching arguably the most complete player in world football week in week out. Gerrard can play well in a deeper role, but it is in his new position that Benitez has managed to unleash the torrential ability that has existed in his captain to play in a more attacking role. The amount of times that Gerrard has taken a game by the scruff of a neck through sheer grit, ability and determination has gone over my head, and one almost expects him to do it at this stage. I have never particularly liked Steven Gerrard, even as a Liverpool fan. He is arrogant, he would have gone to Chelsea without the admittedly over the top protestations of the fans and having seen how he has treated young fans waiting for autographs on occasions outside Anfield I would certainly never sing his praises on a personal level. But in terms of pure footballing ability he is unquestionably the best player in England on form, and is only rivalled by Eto’o and Messi this season.

Honourable mentions outside the top 10: Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Ashley Young, Danny Murphy, Peter Crouch

Read more!

posted by Oz @ 12:53 PM   2 Comments

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Is the King about to return?




Shearer to swoop in and save the Geordies season

Eight games to go in the Premier League and Newcastle are sitting not so pretty. Relegation battles are not what Geordie fans expect for their loyal and unwaning support. The supporters however are not the only people associated with the club who have suffered heartache on the back of their shambolic performances; JFK suffered a stroke at the sight of his teams defending and stand in manager Chris Hughton is having little effect. Newcastle have tried everything; even recruiting the services of a Shay Given look alike to stand in nets but to no avail. So what are the Geordies going to do? My guess is that Newcastle’s greatest ever export is going to be swooped in to save the season. That’s right Alan Shearer (not Cheryl Cole) will be swooped in to save Newcastle from Championship obscurity. He tried a bit of punditry before everyone realised he’s one of the most boring men alive and now he’ll get to stick his finger in the football management pie. Expect lots of uninspiring team talks and post match interviews but plenty of imaginative one armed celebrations should Newcastle miraculously survive the drop. You heard it here first….

Read more!

posted by Shane @ 9:45 PM   2 Comments

Monday, March 30, 2009

So close yet so far....

Another night of mediocrity for the Irish football team

On reflection, last night’s performance from Ireland can be described as nothing more than dire continuing on from our previous dire performance, the smash and grab 2-1 win against Georgia. Last night we took a very early lead and after that were dominated by the Bulgarians in terms of possession and class, you really would’ve thought the team in white were the home team. So as Trapp faces his biggest test yet against the Italians on Wednesday I feel there are huge issues that need to be resolved otherwise this promises to be yet another doomed campaign:

Why can’t Ireland win a game comfortably?

So far this campaign Ireland have drawn twice and have won three games, all of those three games were won by the narrowest margin of one goal, usually with tense endings with us camped in our own box. It is the usual story with Ireland, you nick a goal and then you sit on it and hope to God the other team don’t have enough quality to score. Why is it that when Ireland goes a goal up they can’t go for the jugular and get a second goal, allowing them and the fans to relax? After Irelands early goal last night they didn’t do a single thing in the first half, Bulgaria surged at them and had four good chances with Given called into action. The second half continued in the same vein, the sense of impending doom realised when Bulgaria got their goal and you couldn’t say the bastards didn’t deserve it. In the 96 minutes of football that was played last night Ireland had no sustained pressure, not even ten minutes camped in the opposition half, chances were scarce and the fans were left to cheer for corners and throw ins high up the pitch. There is an attitude problem that seems to run through Irish teams, when Bulgaria scored their equaliser the urgency returned to Ireland briefly but why wasn’t this urgency there when we were 1-0 up and could’ve killed the game and secured a vital three points.

Are Kilbane and Mc Shane really our best fullbacks?

I have a lot of time for Kevin Kilbane, he’s as honest as they come and has been very loyal to the Irish cause. Likewise Paul Mc Shane is a brave defender with a big heart BUT the bottom line is these guys are really shit footballers. These days’ full backs are becoming more and more important to a team; good fullbacks will be seen overlapping wingers high up the pitch and also remain solid in defence. Our Hull City duo cannot offer us that and we need to find somebody who can. Usually you can at least say Mc Shane is solid but last night he was nut megged, skinned down the line and beaten for pace with ease. Every time Mc Shane got the ball he shirked responsibility and looked to give it to someone else, that meant going backwards a lot of the time. When he did get into advanced positions and McGeady gave him the ball in a couple of yards space instead of getting a cross in the box he looked to give it straight back to McGeady, at international standard you can’t afford to have a guy so uncomfortable on the ball. Kilbane will of course be remembered in this game for calmly slotting Petrov’s centre passed a hapless Given but I wouldn’t really blame him for that. What I would blame him for is a lack of ambition, I never saw him in the opposition half and every time he got the ball he simply pasted it as hard as he could up to Keane and Doyle, it wasn’t good enough.

Why the fuck doesn’t Trapparoni make substitutions?

Last night as in other games, a change was desperately needed. Bringing on Andy Keogh on the 90th minute is absolutely useless. Why not do it twenty minutes earlier. McGeady was ineffective the whole game, what’s there to lose? I get the impression there is a very cautious approach from Trappatoni that probably also explains why Ireland don’t win games by more than one goal, but if ever there was a game that needed a shake it was last night. Granted our bench wouldn’t strike much fear into any team but some of the players on the pitch were spent and fresh legs could’ve brought some urgency to our performance.

Where is the creativity going to come from?

Last night we really missed Duff, who has been our most creative player this campaign. So in his absence it all lay on the shoulders of Aiden Mc Geady who once again had a stinker in an Ireland shirt. Hunt was willing and did well for Ireland’s goal but for all his running and enthusiasm often very little come from it. The gruesome twosome in the centre of the park can’t open teams up. Who else can we turn to? Stephen Ireland would be what’s needed but he won’t play so it’s back to the most overplayed argument in Irish football, bring back fat Andy Reid, the only Irish player who can pass the ball with conviction.

Was Glenn Whelan on the pitch?

Good oul’ Glenn Whelan, ‘the invisible man’ I hear his Stoke team mates affectionately call him and if they don’t they should. His central midfield partner Andrews wasn’t a whole lot better but at times he did show some adventure with a chip just over hit to Kevin Doyle and his cross to the same player in the last minute. He also got a few tackles in. To put it simply Whelan is just not up for the job, not good enough. I watched about twenty minutes of England last night and you see Lampard and Gerrard on the ball so often, they WANT the ball, they show for it, they pass it and they move. Glenn Whelan on the other hand managed to go the whole game without getting his name mentioned. The purpose of a midfield player is to link the backs with the strikers, pick up ball and pass it off. If you have an invisible man in centre midfield your only option is what happened repeatedly last night, long ball after long ball was lumped up field, by-passing the midfield and being easily dealt with by the ‘Bulgar’ defence. It’s an insult to Andy Reid that this man is accumulating caps at his expense and we can’t afford to have invisible men when we play the World Champions on Wednesday night.

Read more!

posted by Shane @ 12:06 AM   0 Comments