Crisis is such a relative term – particularly in soccer. How else can you explain Burnley, with 12 points sitting in 9th position and a goal difference of –10, being regarded as a success while Liverpool are two positions and three points better off and enjoy a goal difference of 9 but are currently the crisis club of the Premier League?

Much of it comes down to the old adage about under promising and over delivering. Burnley supporters have seen their side return to the top flight after a trek through the Football League wilderness that lasted just short of a record set back in biblical times. For Burnley this season, survival equates to success.

However, for Liverpool supporters and many media pundits this was going to be the year that Liverpool won the Premier League for the first time and secured their 19th top flight title after a drought of two decades. Expectations, while always high on Merseyside, were ratcheted up.

The source of the optimism was Liverpool’s performance last season. They collected more points (86) than any other runner up had ever recorded, did the league double over Chelsea and Manchester United, rattled off an amazing 31 points from a possible 33 down the straight all while pushing United to the second last round of play.  

Four Premier League defeats in their first nine games this season is just not how it is supposed to be.  And now the pressure on the team and coaching staff as they approach Sunday’s match against Manchester United has risen considerably. With a squad that now looks gossamer thin Rafa Benitez has to pull a few bunnies out of the hat if his side is going to take anything away from Sunday’s game at Anfield.

And it is when you take a close look at Liverpool’s squad that you realize how lean it is in compared with their traditional Premier League rivals. So how come Liverpool are in such a predicament?

The answer is, not surprisingly, money and in Liverpool’s case a distinct lack of it. The club just didn’t invest enough to strengthen the squad over the summer nor does it have a raft of promising youngsters ready to break into the first team.

Rafa Benitez has taken a few body and head shots this week as supporters and columnists have lined up to take aim at his transfer record. Such criticism is not only unfair but holds Benitez to a higher standard than the likes of Ferguson, Wenger and a gaggle of managers who have popped into Stamford Bridge for a cup of coffee over the last few years.

Benitez is certainly culpable for some poor buys but he has also made some very good ones as well. Essentially, he is no different than any other manager. 

Ferguson’s cupboard contains skeletons of Veron, Kleberson, Liam Miller and Djemba-Djemba while Wenger would like Arsenal fans to forget Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Igor Stepanovs, Francis Jeffers and Pascal Cygan.  (Chelsea fans no doubt can come up with an extensive list as well).

The difference is that Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all enjoy some wiggle room while Benitez has none. Liverpool is a club teetering on the financial brink while its business model seems to attract many of the negatives but few of the positives employed by the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Liverpool have moved more aggressively to beef up their academy over the last couple of years but it is far too early for the changes to pay off. Arsenal got a jump on retooling their youth scouting and training operations a few years ago and it has paid off – albeit not as fully as some would demand. Arsenal youngsters may still lack experience but they appear miles ahead in terms of development when compared with Liverpool’s future stars.

Hicks and Gillett followed the path trodden by fellow American Martin Glazer and decided to buy a Premier League club with other people’s money employing a leverage buy-out.

The plan may have been the same but the business fundamentals of Manchester United and Liverpool are very different. By good fortune rather than good planning Manchester United’s reincarnation as the dominant club in England coincided with an unprecedented boom in revenue made available to clubs through TV rights and subsequently the Champions League.

The uptick in revenue has benefited all Premier League clubs but the distribution of riches is very much tilted to the most successful ones and none has been more successful in England over last 15 years than Manchester United.

What is more United’s success has been replicated in foreign markets where they enjoyed a great deal of popularity founded on the Busby Babes of the 50s and Law-Charlton-Best the decade after. (One thing that was down to good planning was the investment United made in Old Trafford which assured the club of a modern facility and spared the expense of building new).

The Glazer business model is a high-wire act with little in the way of safety measures but United’s continued success and popularity has so far provided sufficient cash flow to fund the high cost of borrowing.  It is high risk but it enjoys a buffer of cash generation that Liverpool’s owners Hicks and Gillett can only dream of.

The dilemma faced by Hicks and Gillett is compounded by the need to replace Anfield.  This has been known for a very long time and was in fact one of the selling points of a Hicks-Gillett ownership group. The financial reality is that the stadium is really no closer to fruition than when David Moores decided to sell to the Americans.

Of course Chelsea can be thrown out as an example of a club that manages to succeed with a stadium that holds around 40,000 so why can’t Liverpool make Anfield work?

The reason is quiet simple – Chelsea has an owner who is filthy rich and when push comes to shove Chelsea does not live or die financially from game day revenues but from the willingness of Roman Abramovich to maintain his interest in the club.

Even then, should the Russian decide to find another toy the only short term casualty will be his bank account. If he put Chelsea up for sale he would take a sizeable – but probably manageable – hit to his personal fortune.

When the Americans bought Liverpool they were viewed as a step or two down from Abramovich when the truth was they were and still are nothing but opportunists looking to make a quick buck. But as Liverpool struggle on the field the chance that Hicks and Gillett will make money on the deal begins to evaporate.

There is blood in the water and any prospective buyer worth his salt is going to circle waiting for the asking price to drop significantly before moving in. For Liverpool fans it might require the loss of a nose to get rid of two unwanted faces.

Who is hot and who is not…a weekly look at the form teams over the last 5 games.
Premier League
Manchester United – 13 points
West Ham – 1 point

Ligue Une
Auxerre - 13 points
Grenoble – 0 points

Bundesliga
Schalke 04 - 12 points
Hertha Berlin – 0 points

Serie A
Inter - 12 points
Livorno – 1 point

La Liga
Barcelona – 13 points
Malaga – 1 point

SPL
Hibernian – 10 points
Kilmarnock and Falkirk – 3 points

MLS
FC Dallas - 12 points
New York Red Bulls – 2 points

The Best…..

James Milner provides such wonderful for Aston Villa week in and week out. He put in another great ninety minutes on Saturday when Villa beat Chelsea 2-1.

There were six goals in the Real Madrid v Valladolid match (four on them to Madrid) and there were some real beauties amongst them.

Steve Bruce may have made two of the best signings of the season in Darren Bent and Lorik Cana. Bent scored his eighth in the Premier League and Cana put in a yeomen effort in midfield and centre back as Sunderland beat Liverpool 1-0.

Honorable mentions.....

If it wasn’t for Brian Edwards in goal Toronto would not have finished the game against Real Salt Lake with one point let alone the three that they took. Replacing first choice Stefan Frei, Edwards pulled of three terrific saves to stymied RSL.

FC Dallas maintained their late drive to the play offs with a 2-1 win at Colorado. At the end of August it looked to be an almost impossible situation but the seven games since have brought a remarkable 16 points.

There final game is away to Seattle Sounders next Saturday and Seattle has already secured a play-off spot in their inaugural MLS season.

It was in a losing cause but Daniele Dessena’s goal against Catania was spectacular. Dessena is currently on loan at Cagliari from Sampdoria.  

Hugo Rodallega continues to provide full value for money. This time the Colombian put in a tremendous effort stationed on the left side of the Wigan midfield that lined up against Manchester City. Rodallega was a constant thorn to City and it was his shot just before half time that Given spilled to a waiting Charles N’Zgobia.

Best forgotten…..

As the minutes ticked down on CONCACAF World Cup qualifying it looked as if Costa Rica had indeed turned around their death spiral and were going to be able to hold on to their 2-1 lead against the US.

However, a poor piece of marking allowed Bornstein to head an equalizer. That, combined with Honduras beating El Salvador, means a play off show down with Uruguay if they hope to make it three consecutive World Cup appearances.

Dejan Stankovic scored what may well turn out to be the most unique goal of the season as he hit a shot from the halfway line after a misplaced Marco Amelia pass. The Genoa keeper had ventured out of his penalty area and instead of finding a team mate with was was supposed to be racking cross field pass he hit the ball right to the Inter midfielder who volleyed it first time back into the Genoa net.

Last season Hertha Berlin surprised almost everyone as they challenged for the Bundesliga. This season got off to a great start with a win against Hannover but it soon turned ugly. Hertha has now lost eight consecutive Bundesliga games and not surprisingly they are marooned at the foot of the table four points adrift.

Goodness knows what Burnley captain Graham Alexander was thinking off when he headed the ball across his own goal area. Franco di Santo gratefully accepted the gift to put Blackburn 2-1 up.

Stat facts…..

Raul played his 711th game for Real Madrid on Saturday, a new club record.

Two Bundesliga sides that have struggled at home both recorded wins on Saturday. Eintracht Frankfurt had gone seven games without gaining three points, while in the case of Cologne it was six. Cologne beat Mainz 1-0 and Eintracht beat Hannover 2-1.

The 1-1 draw between Manchester City and Wigan means that City have still to record an away Premier league win against Wigan. For Wigan it was only their second draw in the last 21 premier League matches.

The Blackburn v Burnley brought together two the fonder members of the Football League but was their first top flight clash since 1966.

The top of the Bundesliga clash between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen didn’t produce any goals but the clean sheet for Bayer they have equaled a club record for not conceding a goal in four consecutive games.


What was said….

Here is a look back at the fantastic Danish side of the 80s. Another example that puts paid to the notion so often parroted of it all being about trophies.

An interview with actor Michael Sheen who plays the role of Brian Clough in “The Damned United”

Former New England Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman is ready to take advantage of a little known FIFA rule that will allow him to play for Wales.

UEFA.com looks at some young players making a name in this season’s Champions League.

David Conn looks at how Pompey won an FA Cup but couldn’t pay the bills.  


Coming up this week…..

We have the return of the Champions League and the Europa League as well as CONCACAF Champions League.

On Thursday Chivas and Chicago Fire, two MLS teams that know that they will be in post-season play, complete their regular season schedules.

Serie A has two excellent matches scheduled for Saturday.

Juventus v Fiorentina

These two sides have almost identical records with goal difference all that separates them – Juventus has a + 5 to Fiorentina’s +3.  However, Juventus and Fiorentina approach this game from very different directions.

Ciro Ferrara is facing his first mini-crisis since taking over from Claudio Ranieri at the tail end of last season. Two draws and a loss in the league combined with two draws in Champions League have tarnished a start that had brought four fairly convincing wins while conceding only one goal.

Conversely, Fiorentina have picked up momentum since losing away to Lyon in the Champions League and being badly beaten 3-1 by Roma a month ago. Within ten days of the second loss Fiorentina had rebounded to beat Serie A leaders Sampdoria 2-0, Livorno 1-0, and had made Liverpool look clueless and lifeless in a 2-0 Group E match.

In Alberto Gilardino, Fiorentina, have a striker who must have thoroughly enjoyed the winter break. The former Parma and Milan striker saved Italy in Dublin with a late equalizer while he scored a rapid-fire hat trick to inspire a 3-2 come-from-behind win against Cyprus. (It got even better when his two game European suspension was halved which means he is available for the trip to play Debrecen in Hungary this coming week).

Last season the Fiorentina was often undervalued and with exception of the Roma disaster it looks like they are going to be tough to breakdown once again. Five clean sheets in seven Serie A games and five games in all competitions since allowing a goal at home is not a bad start by any means.

Genoa v Inter Milan

If Inter have had a weakness since the arrival of Jose Mourinho it has been their away form.  All four Serie A losses last season came on their travels and the single loss this season was on the road.

And for Inter, it will be a case of returning to the scene of the crime on Saturday. Three weeks ago they lost 3-1 to Sampdoria who share Luigi Ferraris Stadium with Genoa – or to give them their full title the Genoa Cricket and Football Club.

Last season in the corresponding fixture they lost 2-0 to Inter – one of only two home defeats last season. But come the summer they lost again – this time it was two players as Diego Milito and Thiago Motta completed big money transfers to Inter. Coming the other way, but in an unrelated move, was veteran Argentine striker Hernan Crespo.

Genoa are currently three points behind Inter and must to eager to close that gap. Genoa’s last win at home against Inter was way back in the 1994/95 season. Dutch international John Vant’Schip scored that day for Genoa.

John Vant’Schip was born and spent his first nine years in British Columbia before the family returned to the Netherlands. (His Canadian connection guarantees that his name pops up on chat boards every time Canada is in the market for a national team coach). He went on to sign for Ajax and the national team. At the club level he won domestic and European trophies while he was part of the Netherlands squad that won Euro ’88.

Since turning to coaching he has spent time as the assistant to Marco Van Basten during his spell in charge of the Netherlands and Ajax. Earlier this week Vant’Schip was put in charge of the Melbourne Heart, an expansion A league side in Australia.

Statistical note

This season Genoa have scored nine goals after half time while Inter have scored seven in the opening forty five minutes. A game of two halves perhaps?

Who is hot and who is not…a weekly look at the form teams over the last 5 games.

Premier League

Manchester United – 13 points

West Ham – 2 points

Ligue Une

Lyon - 13 points

Grenoble – 0 points

Bundesliga

Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen - 13 points

Hertha Berlin – 0 points

Serie A

Inter - 12 points

Livorno and Siena – 2 points

La Liga

Barcelona and Sevilla – 15 points

Malaga – 1 point

SPL

Celtic – 10 points

Kilmarnock and Falkirk – 3 points

MLS

FC Dallas 12 points

New York Red Bulls – 2 points

The Best…..

Two goals from Conor Casey against Honduras vindicated his selection by Coach Bob Bradley on Saturday night. However, it was Landon Donovan who made the difference for the USA.

The pass to Casey that led to the second goal was an absolute delight while anyone who looks to poor goalkeeping by Valladares on the third goal is missing the point. Donovan hit the free kick to the opposite and better guarded side and it simply flew around the wall (not over it) and blew past the keeper.

Slovenia turned Group 3 on its ear with a 2-0 away win against group leaders Slovakia. The visitors entered the game five points behind in second spot and likely more concerned about the Czech Republic who were a further two points behind.

Despite beating Poland 2-0 the Czechs’ chances of finishing second are now close to nil given that Slovenia is set to ply the punching bag that is San Marino.

Slovenia has a chance to run up their goal difference in their final game which means that Slovakia needs to beat Poland away from home on Wednesday or they will be heading to the play offs instead of celebrating a first appearance at major finals.
 
Theofanis Gekas cannot get a regular starting position at Bayer Leverkusen but he managed to score four times for Greece in a 5-2 win over Latvia. The win means that Greece can still gain an automatic spot at the finals. They need to beat Luxembourg and look to Israel to topple top of the group Switzerland. After beating Luxembourg Switzerland cannot finish lower than second and a draw versus Israel will seal top position for the Swiss.

Last second heroics from Argentina and Uruguay against Peru and Ecuador set up a tremendous match between the two on Wednesday in Montevideo. The simple take on the game is whoever wins in Montevideo takes the fourth automatic qualifying spot in South America.The loser would then lose out on the play-off spot should Ecuador win against Chile in Santiago.

A draw in Montevideo makes it a bit more complicated should Ecuador win. Anything less for the Ecuadorians and Argentina and Uruguay will not be budged from 4th and 5th spots although the order hangs in the balance.  

Diego Maradona’s selections for Argentina have polarized fans and media alike. Incessant calls for Gonzalo Higuain to be called up had been ignored by the coach and were only amplified after the inclusion, after an absence of ten years, of striker Martin Palermo in the squad that faced Paraguay a month ago.

However, Maradona relented and when the Argentine squad to face Peru and Uruguay was announced last Monday both forwards were included. How ironic is it that both players scored to rescue Argentina’s bid for an automatic qualifying spot in South Africa?

Honorable mentions......

There were two cracking long range goals from Valter Birsa of Slovenia against Slovakia and from Glen Whelan for the Republic of Ireland against Italy.

Best forgotten…..

Slovakia’s collapse at home against Slovenia will also impact Wednesday’s match away to Poland. Defenders Radoslav Zábavník, Ďurica and Martin Škrtel, plus midfielder Miroslav Stoch, will all miss the match due to suspension.

Games and futures are often decided on the slimmest of margins. If Carlos Pavon slots home the penalty kick at 3-2 down to tie the game then the USA comes home to a very tricky last game against Costa Rica and Honduras controlling their own fate. Now Honduras needs the USA to do them a favour and make sure that Costa Rica does not return home with three points.

Stat facts…..

The quarter final between Hungary and Italy at the FIFA under-20 World Cup saw only 18 players on the field at the final whistle(ten for Hungary, eight for Italy), both coaches sent to the stands and forty four fouls called by referee Oscar Ruiz of Colombia. Hungary won the match 3-2 after extra time and will now play Ghana in the semi-finals.

A 4-1 win over El Salvador guaranteed Mexico a place at South Africa World Cup 2010. It will be their will 14th appearance at the finals, while the USA will be their sixth consecutive appearance.

Some will be surprised that Denmark will be making only their fourth appearance at the World Cup finals. It took the Danes until 1986 to make it for the first time while the other two came in 1998 and 2002. However, each time Denmark has made it to the knock out stage.

Benin’s goal in the 92nd minute that beat already qualified Ghana in Africa Group D was the first conceded by Ghana in five games.  

Miroslav Klose’s winner for Germany against Russia in Moscow was his 50th international goal. He opened his international account over eight years ago when he scored a late winner against Albania.

What was said….

This has my nomination for the most ridiculous headline and contrived story that I have seen for some time.

Paddy Agnew considers the dilemma faced by Marcello Lippi as he approaches the 2010 World Cup Finals – one eye forward and one looking back.

“There are 46 games in the season and we’ve played just eight of them so far. There are still 30 left, so we are not worried.” Tranmere defender Shaleum Logan might want to check his arithmetic.

Here is Brian Glanville’s latest column for World Soccer.

Simon Kuper on why Diego Maradona was picked to coach Argentina.

Coming up this week…..

It comes down the final group qualifying games in Europe, South America, and CONCACAF.

There will be the final stages of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.

Real Salt Lake is at home against New York Red Bulls in a match vital to Real’s play-off hopes.

As the remaining two rounds of the World Cup qualifying in the Americas draws nearer only five teams out of 16 definitely know their fate. In the South America group Brazil and Paraguay have secured spots in the finals, while Bolivia and Peru have already been eliminated.

Further north Trinidad and Tobago knows that they won’t be making it two consecutive appearances in the last thirty-two.

 As for the rest, some of the countries are certainly in stronger positions than others but any complacency could prove very costly. And while each federation sorts out their remaining automatic qualifiers many countries will be casting an eye aware that the 5th place finisher in CONMEBOL will have to see off the 4th place team in CONCACAF in order to make it to South Africa.

In fact the situation is so tight that the countries considered next in line for the respective automatic spots (Chile 3rd and United States 1st) could nose-dive into the play-off spots by next Wednesday evening.

Even draws this weekend against Colombia and Honduras respectively would not do the trick unless other results go their way. Ecuador sits fourth in COMNEBOL on 23 points and heads a quintet of countries all of whom maintain realistic ambitions of one kind or another. Colombia brings up the rear with 20 points and a home win against Chile on Saturday looks to be compulsory.

Venezuela is a point above Colombia and finds themselves facing the two countries that have already qualified. At home to Paraguay and then away in Camp Grande to face Brazil is no slam dunk but at least their opponents have much less riding on the results than they might have otherwise.

Uruguay have been South America’s play-off representatives in 2001 and 2005 (one success/one failure) and they need at least a draw in the altitude of Quito against Ecuador to have any chance of a top four finish and they would still need other results to go their way.

And that leaves two-time World Cup Champions and the current occupant of 5th place Argentina. Argentina are in the slightly peculiar position whereby they could win both of their remaining matches and still be forced to settle for the play off route – it could also be the same end result should they lose both games.

It was a qualifying journey that started well with three straight wins (2 home and one away), seven goals scored and none conceded. In retrospect it is just as well that points were picked up as otherwise their average of a point a game over the other 13 games would have them just slightly above second-from-the-bottom Bolivia.

Manager Alfio Basile resigned after ten qualifying games the last of which was a loss to Chile. Considering the team picked up 16 points under Basile and with the benefit of hindsight, the resignation seems to have been a m****ive overreaction.

In came Maradona as Coach and although things started well with a 4-0 win over Venezuela it turned out very much a false dawn. A 1-0 win at home against Colombia has provided the only points in their last five games and for Argentina it is truly crunch time.  

Under normal circumstances a match against last place Peru in Buenos Aires would be nothing more than a minor convenience – but these are not normal times. And Maradona is not a normal coach.

The conventional wisdom has it that in times of crisis the manager turns to experience and calls for calm – not so with Maradona. He threatened to pack in the job even if Argentina does qualify for South Africa and 13 of his 26-man squad named earlier this week have not started in any of the previous 16 qualifying games.

A look at his choice of defenders does not inspire confidence but the real source of Argentina’s problems has been their inability to score goals away from home resulting in a scarcity of points on their travels.

Stretching back to the 2006 qualifying campaign Argentina have only won one away match of the last eleven, have been shut out seven times and have only scored five goals. How such a thing is possible with the likes of Messi, Tevez and Aguero available is hard to fathom. But that is Argentina’s reality and one that they need to overcome.

Because after they play Peru on Saturday their final match is across the River Plate in Montevideo.  No two countries have faced each other more times than these two and it will be their 198th meeting since the inaugural in 1902. And it could be that next Wednesday’s encounter will only be exceeded in importance by the first World Cup Final in 1930 and the round of 16 meeting in 1986.