I for one have never understood the mentality of football clubs that fail to improve their squads in pre-season, so to give new signings ample time to settle into their surrounds and build up some chemistry with their teammates ahead of a new campaign. It is surely counterproductive and does little to help the manager.
I’m certainly not going to criticise Daniel Levy as he has done an incredible job with the football club, however when it comes to transfers we do tend to drag our feet somewhat and more often than not we do miss out on players as a result. I know there is the school of thought that the longer you leave it the greater chance you have to secure a better deal, but the way I see it is that to ensure greater success on the pitch it is vital you move early to secure the targeted players early and more importantly give them a better chance to be fully prepared for the up and coming season. Look at the problems Pavlyuchenko faced in settling in; what chance did he really have to succeed given he was just thrown straight into the team?
The general feeling is that it is a slow market and other clubs are also struggling to secure players. That maybe true but if your manager has pinpointed the players that you wish to sign then why not make every effort to secure these deals early? Harry has hinted on occasions that we can’t buy players until we generate some funds, but shouldn’t a club that is on the brink of the Champions League group stages, and the riches it will bring, be looking to perhaps take the financial hit upfront and look to recoup it later in the transfer window, or in January? Shouldn’t Harry be given every opportunity to build on last season’s success? It seems to me we are subsequently going to get dragged into last minute deadline deals in order to improve the squad, which is (as history has proven) hardly the best preparation for a new season.
Written By Matt Wright
With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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Gretar Steinsson and Bolton may be struggling as of late at the bottom of the Premier League table, but to keep Steinsson’s mind occupied and away from the threat of relegation is Icelandic beauty queen Manuela Osk Haroardottir.
The Icelandic full-back, who arrived at Bolton from AZ Alkmaar, has been an ever-present in Owen Coyle’s side. However, they’ve greatly struggled for form this season and have recorded only the one home win.
Steinsson married the winner of the 2002 Miss Iceland competition in 2007 in the Netherlands. The 28 year old also went on to compete in the 2003 Miss Universe competition in Panama City.
The couple currently reside in Bolton.
Click on Manuela below to see her gallery
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Click on the banner below for the ultimate Bolton prize!
%image% Spain virtually secured their place at the Euro 2012 finals with a 3-1 win over Lithuania in Group I on Tuesday. The world champions maintained their 100 per cent record with their fifth win but they did not have it all their own way.
Xavi’s deflected shot opened the scoring, before Marius Stankevicius levelled for the home side, but an own goal from Tadas Kijanskas and a strike from Juan Mata helped Vicente del Bosque’s side into a commanding position in Group I.
The first 20 minutes belonged to the world champions, and it was no surprise when they broke the resistance of the hosts.
Villa, looking lively after his double on Friday against the Czech Republic, combined with his Barcelona teammate Xavi, and the midfielder’s shot looped off the body of Andrius Skerla and flew into the net.
But the hosts struck a stunning equaliser on 57 minutes.
Indecisive defending from Raul Albiol saw the ball loop into the area, and Valencia’s Marius Stankevicius launched an unstoppable low shot that flew past Iker Casillas and into the corner. Just as Lithuania began to asset their authority, Spain regained the lead.
Xavi’s through pass found Juan Mata on the left, and his ball across the area looked for Llorente, but instead found the shin of the unfortunate Kijanskas, with his clearance flying into his own net.
The tournament holders sealed the win thanks to the move of the match. Xavi and Silva combined to play in Mata, and he calmly rolled the ball into the net.
The Czech Republic recorded their third victory with a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein.
Veteran striker Milan Baros opened the scoring after three minutes when he produced a convincing finish after being played through by captain Tomas Rosicky.
It was the Galatasaray striker’s 39th international goal.
Coming into the game having lost all of their qualifiers for next year’s finals in Poland and Ukraine, Liechtenstein were fortunate to be only 1-0 down at the break after the Czech Republic’s Jan Moravek saw his powerful close-range shot rebound off the bar.
But the Czechs did manage to add to their slender lead with 20 minutes remaining when defender Michal Kadlec rose highest in the penalty area to head home.
Who will Johan Cruyff be supporting come Sunday? It’s definitely an interesting thought considering the emotional and ideological ties he finds himself caught in for both nations. On the one hand he embodies every quixotic notion that Dutch football has to offer and, on the other, he is very much responsible for the current Spanish contingent’s obstinate adherence to a possession-based philosophy.
It’s also a strange thing to hear such a polarised view about the Spanish national team. A majority of publications deal in terribly opaque rhetoric extolling the guile and craft of the Spaniards (failing to offer any insights on the actual football played and focussing more on the literary value that Spain’s precepts beget) whilst a small but vocal minority lament the ‘boring’, ‘death-by-a-thousand-cuts’, strangulating style that the team implements. I think that, much like the general tactics at this World Cup has proven, there is a blander middle ground being exhibited far closer to the truth – and Cruyff goes some way in representing it, whether he realises this or not.
For Dutch football there are few who can claim to be more influential than Johan Cruyff and I have spent far too many lines in the past few months dedicated to a man who I didn’t even have the good fortune to witness play. And in that admission lies the great danger of anything so widely recounted, reconfigured, and retold; my knowledge and experience of the early 70s Ajax team and Holland’s 1974 World Cup run is rooted in the aftermath of the event. The fact is forced, by the laws of physics and space/time, to be secondary to the interpretation of that fact. So everything I know, every facet of my understanding, is (at least) once removed from the actual event. And it is in this wall of mirrors that the truth becomes incalculably convoluted.
So imagine how Cruyff must feel? Constantly quizzed on the national team, he has been at pains to distance his own belief system from that on show at this World Cup – from the formation chosen to the players deployed; there is a tangible reticence in his dealings. But why do we, 36 years on, burden the weight of the gloriously unfulfilled past on the present Dutch team’s shoulders? It’s not only because there is an unresolved trauma surrounding the ’74 final for Dutch people but, more than that, there is a sordid and deeply romantic enjoyment to the epitome of the World Cup’s nearly-men in the wider football consciousness. We discuss them so widely, so heavily, and so passionately because they never won the ultimate crown. And on Sunday they have the chance to end this, to effectively trump Cruyff.
Germany have starred in seven World Cup finals and been serial iconoclasts in their toppling of Hungary in ’54 and Cruyff’s Holland in ’74 yet we never attribute anything near the cultural kudos to them. But with Holland, well, books have been written and many tears shed at the cosmic heartache felt at that team and that style’s captivating and almost-complete domination. Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie and co resemble the only universal truth in football and in life; it continues. Through tragedy or victory, it continues. Why do the Dutch play a 4-2-3-1 instead of three forwards? It’s because 2008, despite the same criticisms being levelled at Van Basten before the tournament, saw them beautifully entertain before being tactically outfoxed by Russia’s attacking fullbacks. And because, unlike club level (or the anomalous talent pool of ’74 and similarly this current Spain team), you are dealt your hand in the national team. I don’t think it’s a disrespect to say that this Spanish team possesses greater potential and talent than the Dutch but, equally, I don’t think it’s a disrespect to say that van Marwijk’s pragmatism has carved out a team of mental strength and discipline. It comes down to a single match on one day and there is a palpable chance here for victory but I fear that, instead of making history, this team will succumb to it.
“I am Dutch”, Cruyff writes in a Catalan newspaper, “but I support the football that Spain is playing.”
Spain enter Sunday as favourites but I also sense a greater confidence from them; one rooted in realising something which has been two decades in the making. Cruyff transformed Barcelona with four successive La Liga titles and a maiden European success and this Spain team adopts a similar approach to the game (and it’s plain to see that he loves it). It’s both creative and stifling, causing the mixed reviews from football fans. Some fall too easily by saying they are the creative apogee of football but 1-0 victories against Germany, Paraguay, and Portugal debunk this (statistically speaking).
And the other extreme is that ball retention is actually the reconfigured catenaccio. What’s so bad about that? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that having taken the lead, Spain have performed far better and thus systematically shut out the match. So the truth is a middle ground: they remain a supremely talented, perhaps unparalleled, creative group (watching Alonso has been a personal enjoyment at this tournament) who have not ‘clicked’ as many would have expected. But not compromising their style has led them to the final and to unexpected praise (or condemnation, depending on your outlook) as being defensively sound when in the lead – but this is the same ethos serving a dual function.
I think Spain survived a mini identity crisis. There was a period of a few matches where the balance of the team was certainly not right and an over reliance on Villa cutting in from the left materialised. But, in the game where it mattered most, Del Bosque proved his allegiance is with the ideology that has propelled Spain to something close to greatness; only one more match remains. And as for Cruyff, I think it’s far more interesting to note that his own national team distance themselves from everything he stood for (because it has become a burden) whilst he simultaneously associates himself with the team they face – a team who he believes he has much more of an ideological bond with.
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Click on image below to see the PORTUGAL babes at the World Cup
Partick Thistle manager Jackie McNamara is turning the events of his career into a sitcom. The former Scotland international has been working with actor and comedy writer Francis Gilhooley to pen “The Therapy Room” and the pilot episode was screened in an Edinburgh cinema last week in an attempt to gain a broadcasting contract.
The 38-year-old’s brother Donny will play a footballer who makes the mercurial rise from amateur football to Premier League player, with the team manager being played by Billy Elliot’s Gary Lewis.
McNamara told the BBC: “They were just things I had in my mind for a long time, playing football,”
“I think a lot of players had a lot of stories over the years and it’s just my way of putting them into a comedy and making characters up.
“Some people go and do a book or an autobiography. This is my way of doing things.”
With the ex-Celtic player’s decision to try his hand at TV writing, we look at other possible football related TV shows.
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Monitoring Mario
Following the life of the world’s most entertaining footballer, this show would always be worth a watch. It could be a reality TV show although it may be better as a sitcom because nobody would believe that someone would do the outrageous things that have now become a regular occurrence.
The biggest problem would be where to begin. Wearing the shirt of your biggest rivals? Holidaying on a boat owned by the Italian mafia? Throwing darts at a youth team player? Or setting off fireworks in your own bathroom?
This show would definitely become a guilty pleasure.
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Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner- Carlos Tevez
With the striker now seemingly on strike after refusing to return back to Manchester, his hideaway antics resemble the Looney Tunes cartoon. Despite the best efforts of the City, they just cannot catch the Argentine who looks like he is totally unaware of the furore surrounding him. Like Wile E. Coyote they know where to find their prey, but catching him is a totally different task.
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I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here- Manchester City
The club has such a vast array of talent that outside of the first team there are a lot of unhappy players not getting a game. Many of them will want to leave and what better way than making them do ridiculous tasks and voting one out at the end of each week. It’s much easier than finding someone to pay their wages and the transfer fee.
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Boot of Fortune- Manchester United
A show to kick-off Saturday nights, the players enter the changing room where a pile of kit is lying in the middle. A boot is randomly placed in their before the boss arrives and viewers can ring in to place bets on who will be the unfortunate victim to receive a stud to the face. One kick, one recipient, one prize, one winner. Definitely better than the Cube.
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1 v 100- Chelsea
Villas-Boas thinks that referees have it in for his team, so in a twist to the pre-lottery show the Scot would face 100 officials and answer a series of questions based on these situations. May well turn into Jerry Springer after a few differences in opinion.
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Mr Benn- Emmanuel Adebayor
The Togo international walks into the local JJB Sports and the moustachioed shop assistant hands him a football shirt. He walks into the changing room and is transported to the board room of a different ground and a contract is in front of him to sign. The adventure continues as he joins the team and continues until he gets bored and visits another JJB store to begin the next episode. Loosely based on real life.
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Managerial Merry-go-round
Another game show for any manager in-between jobs. They sit on the traditional fairground ride which then begins to spin. A post bearing a contract for an available manager’s position is put up at the opposite end of an obstacle course. The contestants must get from the ride, across the course and be the first to reach the contract.
The biggest deal that the Premier League has seen for years was Fernando Torres’ £50 million move in January from Liverpool to Chelsea. With the Premier League champions looking to reinvigorate their title hopes, they turned to the Spaniard and David Luiz to do just that. With Didier Drogba past his best and Nicolas Anelka struggling to find form consistently, Fernando Torres was seen as the man to fire the Blues back to the top of the Premier League table, but it hasn’t quite worked out like that.
In the half dozen or so games that Torres has played since he moved to Stamford Bridge he has failed to find the back of the net for Chelsea. While manager Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that he’s happy with the striker, it must be concerning the Italian that Torres has yet to score in a Chelsea shirt. The Spaniard has continued his patchy form that he displayed in the first half of the season for Liverpool and back in the 2010 World Cup for Spain and is nowhere near reaching the heights he’s previously set for himself.
With Fernando Torres’ goal drought continuing, the Spaniard is 12/1 for a Premier League blank for Chelsea. Torres is 12/1 with bet365 not to score a Premier League goal for Chelsea this season and even money to notch less than four goals. bet365 spokesman Steve Freeth says “Ancelotti is talking about it being just a matter of time before Torres ends his drought, but the only requests we’re getting are for the Spaniard’s barren run to continue until the end of the season.”
So is it unthinkable that Torres won’t find the net again this season? The longer his goal drought continues the harder it will become to score and the more pressure that he will be under. However, strikers of his quality are sure to break their duck eventually, just look at Tottenham star Jermain Defoe’s brace against Wolves last weekend. As soon as the first goal comes he might just hit his stride and have a fantastic end to the season, and it still isn’t out of the question that he can’t fire Chelsea to the Premier League title – you can get odds of 7/1 on that!
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I was shocked to read that Aston Villa won the first division title in 1980/81 using only 14 players for the whole season (see here). If we compare that to Manchester United’s 2008/09 triumph where Alex Ferguson used, unbelievably, 33 players we can see the vast changes to the game that have occurred over the years. My question now is, given the anomalous depth of talent of the Spain squad, is squad rotation applicable in a World Cup?
Squad rotation is still a much derided concept by many supporters and the media. The problem is that the general public don’t understand why 90 minutes of football twice a week is too much to ask from professional athletes. This isn’t a completely fair rendering of the circumstance that top managers face when competing in up to four competitions simultaneously. Playing to 100% intensity is more the issue than simply being able to last the 90 minutes so maximising players’ outputs remains the key issue. When United last won the title Ferguson did not name an unchanged XI in consecutive matches. Guardiola employed a similar concept for large portions of last season before injury (and tension) forced his hand in the latter stages. So why is Ferguson/Guardiola not admonished in the public sphere for ‘tinkering’ when the infamously dubbed Tinkerman (Claudio Ranieri) or restless Rafa Benitez had to answer for their changes?
The obvious reason is success. When there is a glaring gulf in quality between first team regulars and squad members squad rotation becomes a dangerous exercise. But Ferguson has repeatedly proven that the idea of rotating players in a domestic league is imperative. Whilst Aston Villa won the league in 1981 with seven players playing each of the 42 games, United won the league in 2009 with only Ronaldo and Vidic playing more than 30 games (no one being an ever present, whether it be through suspension, injury or rest).
So after such a long season for so many World Cup players can squad rotation actually be employed in a knockout tournament? I would say in Spain’s case, probably. At the moment they’re losing 1-0 to Switzerland so talk of favourites is evidently premature. But in terms of players coming back from injuries (Iniesta, Fabregas, Torres) these group matches were supposed to provide an opportunity to manage his stars. Does Del Bosque know his best XI? I think the starting team against the Swiss was what he thought to be his strongest team. But with the natural width of Navas and the direct threat of Torres coming off the bench to positively influence the Spaniards’ chase, Del Bosque has some difficult decisions to make.
In theory it would have seemed that the only team who could realistically manage some sort of squad rotation system would be the Spanish. But as I’m writing this I’m being proven wrong.
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Tears were shed at the DW Stadium back in May as West Ham’s relegation was confirmed after a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Wigan, leaving most Hammers fearing the worst for their beloved club.
Five months down the line and the East Enders have settled into their new surroundings well and sit second in the Championship table going into an away clash at Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday night.
There have been many comings and goings over the summer and I feel that the new look West Ham side are better off from the drop down to the Football League as it will benefit them in the long run.
Immediately after the relegation was confirmed, Avram Grant was rightfully sacked by the club’s board, which resulted in the biggest cheer of the day from the travelling 4,500 away fans returning from the North West.
That was just the beginning of a much needed clear out at Upton Park that saw players such as Mathew Upson, Kieran Dyer and Luis Boa Morte leave on free transfers after their poor form and injuries during the season.
The financial side of things would have been the main concern for the owners who were able to bring in some money from the sales of Manuel Da Costa, Scott Parker and Junior Stanislas.
Hammers fans were disappointed with the departures of Ba and Hitzlsperger who perhaps owed something to the club having given them the chance in England but decided to look for new clubs.
With the squad trimmed down to just the players that wanted to be there, Sam Allardyce was brought in and given the target of instant promotion in his first season in charge.
Whatever your opinion on Big Sam, he was the right man for the job and has installed some heart and passion into the club along with toughening up a terribly leaky defence.
Big name signings such as Kevin Nolan, Matthew Taylor and John Carew have arrived and made instant impacts along with wing backs Joey O’Brien and George McCartney settling in very well.
Allardyce’s team is a huge contrast to last year’s whipping boys and on paper it would be fair to say the squad is stronger than it was this time last year even though it is in the Championship.
Late transfer window action saw Henri Lansbury, Sam Baldock and Papa Bouba Diop also arrive at Upton Park giving a fantastic strength in depth to the best squad in the division.
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If West Ham had not been relegated, I for one am sure they would have been in a battle to survive again this season, probably with Avram Grant still in charge and wantaway players putting in 50% effort for the cause.
If, but more likely when, West Ham return to the top flight, they will be much better off from their short stay in the Football League, bringing them back to reality and showing the passion of the supporters who still turn up in their droves for a home match with Peterborough United.
With the right man in charge and a talented squad things are looking brighter in East London and that combination could install some pride back to the club when they return to Premier League football next season.
Barcelona will seek an immediate return to winning ways in La Liga after suffering just their third defeat of the season against Arsenal.
The Spanish champions went down 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie.
The league leaders also dropped two points last week in a 1-1 draw away to Sporting Gijon, allowing Real Madrid to close the gap to five points at the top of La Liga.
By Barca’s own remarkably high standards, one draw and one defeat is more than a minor stumble and if they falter again at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, Real could be back to within two points.
Barca are undefeated at home since September last year, but Bilbao have more reason for confidence than most teams ahead of their visit to the Camp Nou.
The Basque outfit went unbeaten over two legs of a Copa del Rey meeting with Barca earlier in the season, drawing 0-0 away and 1-1 at home to lose out on the away goals rule.
Joaquin Caparros’ side lost 1-0 away to Mallorca in their last league match, but had previously won three consecutive games and sit fifth in the table.
Real, meanwhile, have the opportunity to put Barca under pressure when they play a day earlier at home to Levante.
Jose Mourinho’s side battled to a 1-0 win over Espanyol in their last outing, despite being reduced to 10 men in the first two minutes at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat.
Also on Saturday, third-placed Valencia host Sporting Gijon at the Mestalla and struggling Real Zaragoza are at home to mid-table Atletico Madrid.
In Sunday’s other matches, bottom side Malaga have a daunting trip to fourth-placed Villarreal, while fellow strugglers Almeria – second-last in 19th place – are at home to Deportivo La Coruna.
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Osasuna must beat sixth-placed Espanyol away from home if they are to climb out of the relegation zone.
Getafe will expect to pick up maximum points from their home match against Racing Santander and Sevilla are also favourites to come out on top when promoted Hercules visit the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
In Monday’s match, ninth-placed Real Sociedad play host to Mallorca, who are 10th.
The boys discuss England’s abject failure at the World Cup and ask themselves how and why, and what next for the Eng-er-land. They also have some advice for Fabio Capello and reveal their surprise choice for the next England Manager – Gazza. Genius!
Having lulled us into a false sense of optimism after beating the mighty Slovenia, England were totally humiliated by one of our greatest rivals and basically played like a pub team. The boys blame Capello for a poor use of players and the wrong system rather than what should have been Super Frankie Lampard’s first World Cup goal for England.
We think that Capello should take the fall for not getting the best out of the so-called Golden Generation, but who to replace him? The usual suspects are mentioned, but in a moment of inspiration Chidge makes the point that if Argentina can achieve success with a troubled and crazy genius in Maradonna, then why can’t England? Gazza must therefore be the only choice for next England manager. At least the players will have a laugh and be able to enjoy a beer. It could hardly be worse than what we’ve got!
With the World Cup effectively out of the way, the Chelsea FanCast can now get back to what counts: Chelsea. The boys preview the pre-season tour of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Hamburg and errr…Crystal Palace. Only 2 weeks to go!! We also look at the latest transfer gossip and ‘Moody Blues’ a great Chelsea book following the 2007/2008 season written by James Clarke.
No Dr Mart this week, but fear not, Ross answers your questions in “Dear Mart” including the lack of gratuitous TV shots of fit women during the World Cup, decent USA players and media bias against JT and Chelsea players. Finally Chidge reads out the best posts from the website and facebook group in “You’re on CFFC”.
The Chelsea Football FanCast: Gazza for England Manager!
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