Gunner44 - Luis Aragonés the Spanish coach should be fired. With the disposal of players he has Spain should be killing teams like Iceland. What do you think of Aragonés as the Spanish Coach?
Bobby – On one hand I am astounded that he is still holding the job - on the other hand Spain has only lost only lost 4 games out of 39 with 25 wins and 10 draws.
SynCrew - What do you think of Bernd and his Madrid team? Do you think he has the right mix of players and the managerial knowledge to guide Madrid to winning La Liga? Secondly how do you see Martin Jol (if he stays) keeping all 4 of his strikers happy? I think he should keep 3-rotate them and use a 5 man midfield in case of injury - your thoughts?
Bobby – It is well known that Real Madrid fans want to not only win but to win with style. Hence, the demise of the almost perpetually successful Fabio Capello. However, there is nothing in Bernd Schuster’s managerial background to indicate that he is anything different than Capello. (Schuster is rumoured to have applied to have managed Dundee at the turn of the century but didn’t get an interview!) His record as a coach is spotted at best – Levante was relegated with him in charge – and his appointment seems to be down to his Madrid roots and two seasons of over achievement at Getafe.
His teams have not be known for playing attractive football but the counter argument would be that he has not had the players or the resources at his disposal up until now. After picking Real to win La Liga last season my thought is that they will not repeat.
The premise of keeping four strikers happy is based on four strikers always being fit and available – something that often not the case. If you are suggesting using 2 up front with a 5 man midfield and three at the back then I don’t think that is a very good idea. If your suggestion is playing one up front and rotating the three, does not that mean that on average each of the strikers will appear 1 game in three? That would be less playing time than having four strikers competing for two spots – an average on 1 appearance every two games.
CIAO - 1. Turkey... What do you make of their chances to directly qualify after the mess they made in Malta? They currently have a game in hand, so they are not in that bad of a spot. However, they still need to play Greece, Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina. So I think they lost their safety points now and they created a situation where they have to win every game. I think they have a very difficult time ahead, would you agree?
2. Italy. Currently in third place, but by the end of the week could be moving on up... Italy will play Ukraine which is always a tough game. But I have a feeling Inzaghi will come up big. Then they have to play Scotland. How do you see Italy's chances of making it to EURO 2008?
Bobby – Turkey’s performance has been beyond belief. They won their first four games (including a 4-1 away thumping of Greece) while scoring 12 and conceding 1. Then they have to come from behind to draw with Norway; blow a 2-1 lead and lose to a last second goal from Bosnia; then have to fight back twice to tie Malta. I’m not close enough to their situation to know what might have gone wrong but it might be a case that a surge of over confidence (thrashing Greece) has given way to rampant nerves and second guessing. The game on Wednesday (home against Hungary) is a chance to get things moving forward again and then it is Moldova away in a month’s time. Two wins in these two games would put them back in a strong position considering that Greece has Norway away on Wednesday and then Bosnia. Out of Turkey’s last three games Greece and Bosnia are both at home so all is not lost – yet!
Italy almost always seems to find a way to get through in qualifying tournaments – although they did fail in 84 after their 82 WC win. A point in Kiev tomorrow would not be that bad a result considering that they have slam dunk games against Georgia and Faroe Islands to come 9both home) and Ukraine and Scotland have to still play each other. I can see a scenario where a draw at Hampden in November would almost certainly put Italy through.
Gregz - I didn't get to hear what your predictions on La Liga. With the expectations so high, what do you think the top 10 will look like at the end of the season?
Bobby – I didn’t get a chance so here is my belated prediction for La Liga – last season's finish in brackets. 1. Barcelona (2); 2. Sevilla (3); 3. Real Madrid (Champions);4. Valencia (4); 5. Atletico Madrid (7);6. Villarreal (5);7. Real Zaragoza (6); 8. Real Mallorca (12);9. Espanyol (11);10. Deportivo La Coruna (13); 11. Valladolid (Promoted); 12. Real Santander (10); 13. Real Betis (16);14. Osasuna (14); 15. Athletic Bilbao (17); 16. Getafe (9); 17. Recreativo Huelva (8); 18.Murcia (Promoted);19. Levante (15); 20. Almeria (Promoted)
SDGooner - I didn’t catch the France and Italy game, although I wanted to. I was wondering if you had watched it and if so how did Lassana Diarra and Thierry Henry do? I heard from other forums that Diarra played a great game and that Thierry was the worst player on the pitch.
Bobby – I thought Diarra stuck to his job well – competent rather than spectacular. Italy seemed to focus on making sure Ribery was contained and so they did not go after Diarra. Henry was almost non-existent and it was a surprise that he stayed on the field for the full game.
WorkingtonRED - What do you think of the thought of owning your own Football Club. Now you can. www.myfootballclub.co.uk Can you imagine the Manager consulted by 50,000 Share Holders.
Bobby – There have been a couple of articles posted on the blog about this over the summer. An off-the-wall idea but ultimately not the way to properly run a football club.
Henry14 - What do you think about the additional game of suspension if you lose an appeal for unsportmanship? l think it’s crazy you should be able to appeal because it is a right but, it is not an expense and there are no detectives sent out of the FA, why should they add an additional game, isn't this what they are paid for?
Bobby – The extra suspension is invoked in the case of a frivolous appeal and it a bloody good idea. If that threat of an additional suspension was not there then the incentive – actually would be more than an incentive you be daft not to – is to appeal every suspension. In that case the system grinds to a standstill. Nobody is suggesting that there should not be a right of appeal – all that is happening is that players and clubs need to make sure that the appeal has some merit. You also have to consider the additional suspension sanction is rarely invoked.
Ohphuque - Get fsc to get you a proper chair on the set! There is no way that gumba St Louis should tower over you as he did on the report Monday night. If they don’t have another switch with St Louis so you are sitting better ;)
Bobby – I forgot to negotiate a chair clause into my multi-cent contract. I’ll make a note of it for next year.
Craigy f - Do you know why the Italians are wearing St George crosses on their football kit, Sampdoria have a badge on their home kit and Inter have an away kit that England would be happy to wear?
Bobby – St. George is the patron saint of a number of countries and cities. I’m guessing that it has something to do with the fact that the game was played in Milan.
Call my Agent - From an AP article today: "Hargreaves sat out Saturday's match and, although the injury is not serious, failed a fitness test Monday." What, exactly, makes up these fitness tests? Do they measure things and compare to objective standards (e.g. recovery time, strength, flex range, etc)? Or is it just a "how does the ol' knee feel today" sort of thing?
Bobby – Years ago it used to mean “can you run without the opposition knowing which part they should kick". It is a lot more sophisticated now and measurements would be made against benchmarks that would have been established when a player is considered fully fit. Having said that I’m sure that on a lot of occasions it is still left up to the player to let the coach know whether or not he feels up to it.
Craigy_f re: your St. George cross question. From the website Who Ate All The Pies:
Although Inter's new away kit sports a large cross on the chest that looks exactly the same as England's cross of St. George, it's actually the cross of St. Ambrose, one of Milan's patron saints. The kit, which Inter wore against Barca in the Gamper Trophy this week, is certainly eye-catching. Is it the sort of kit you'd like to see the English national team wear though?
By the way, it's available to order from Inter's official online store, priced at €70
Bobby:
Years ago was an honor for a Player to represent your Country in any International Tournament (Euro Championship, Gold Cup, etc)now seems to me that Clubs dictate if certain player is Fit enough to represent his own Country or if a National Team Manager can even call that player to their roster, was is your opinion
covellite - There is a lot of stuff going on - the European leagues are getting underway, CL about to start, MLS in the final straight and Euro qualifying - and that is enough to keep me busy. I don't want to comment on a tournament that I am not likely going to watch much of.
ncufan - All the evidence is that the national federations are growing in power rather than the over way around.
There was a time when non-English players playing in the English league did not have to be released even for the Home International Championships. Internationals ranked so far down the priority list that international games were often played midweek afternoons. The power has swung much more in favour of the national federations who now have to power to ban players from club matches who don't report for international duty when selected eg the FFA threatened Claude Makelele in 2006 with a ban after he had said he had retired from international play.
The World Cup and in particular TV coverage of the WC has made international football much more popular than it was 25 years ago. It wasn't until 1982 that we had a World Cup with more than 16 countries and the European Championship final of 1980 consisted of 4 countries - now they are considering a final of 24.
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on September 12th at 8:16 AM.
oh well, the TV beckons, England can beat Russia but wther they will is another matter, it certainly own't be as easy as the win against Israel.
Tonught RLS visit DC united, a game the Men In Black should win, on current form DC wouldn't look out of place mid table in the Premier League, well coached, some quality players and a style of play that combines skill and grit, thoughts anyone?
Check out the two game reviews on my blog - posted sometime tonight or in the wee small hours.
Can anyone explain why the Italian team has players that should not be there , when they have so many better ones? This is so obvious that their coach has to be an ####. Friends/poltics or whatever reason. It would not happen in the USA or perhaps many other European teams. I see many Eurpoean teams recruit or take many players not in their country as starters! We do the same too but Italy seems weird, when the whole soccer world knows some of the player should not be there. They think people do not see this?
Last edited by ravrs on September 12th at 11:30 AM.
ravrs, WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? WHICH ITALIAN PLAYERS SHOULD NOT BE IN THE NATIONAL TEAM??? BASED ON WHAT??? If you're talking about their age, form or skill, that's one thing (there are some who think Donadoni should not have included the aging del Piero in his squad, esp. against France on Saturday), ok then explain which players you think aren't good enuf to be on the NT. But if you're talking about something else, to repeat -- WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???
Well maybe the Russians weren't as bad as the scoreline suggests but 3-0 was a good result and England played well in the first half. They sat a bit deep in the second, but the defence looked solid. Heskey did seem the real deal today and unlike Saturday where the Chelsea wingers played the best, Barry (again playing forward and not as a holding midfield was in all the action), Gerrard, Heskey and Owen all looked the danger. The Russians looked very skilled but maybe a little lightweight. Another good game, surpisingly clean.
Only game I got to see any of today (stupid classes got in the way) was the Slovakia-Wales game...
England's result looks fantastic, Owen on the mark twice... Scotland looks even better, simply because of how big of underdogs they were... What does this do to France though? I've gotta believe that they're still in a better condition to qualify, and that the team being left out will be the loser of the Scotland/Italy match... Scotland have put themselves into a position where a draw in that one favors them. Very well done.
Five days ago if England had been offered back to back 3-0 wins ,there`s not an Englishman who would have turned it down. Especially with the line-up McLaren was forced to go with.(Heskey)?
But by luck more than anything else he has stumbled upon probably the best team he has picked ,thanks to a few injuries.
Now if he has any sense he will stick with this team for the next game ,even if Rooney ,Lampard etc are fit.
Ringo it wasn't luck.......... Finally he had to play players in there correct positions, instead of trying to keep people (players), press and fans happy.
Time to give McClaren credit where credit is due.
Playing players in their correct positions is half of it, yes... But there are still right and wrong players to play those positions... Rooney over Heskey wouldn't change much, but make the team better... I agree with keeping Lamps on the bench, though
Congrats to England. Don't get your knickers in a knot though.
They'll qualify but will most likely not do much in Euro '08.
It's the players. Collectively, they probably just aren't good enough.
If Rooney ,Lampard ,Beckham and Neville had all been fit they would have played and it probably would have been the same old story ,that`s what I call luck.
McLaren will never get any credit from me. Any success England might have under him will be in spite of ,and not because of him.
Bobby - I just watched Fox Soccer Report and to my absolute surprise I learned that Paul Robinson was standing in for the injured Tim Howard. Please tell your colleagues that although he's a good goalkeeper Tim Howard is not, and never will be, eligible to play for England.
I`m just guessing ,but I`d say most Scots would probably regard their win at Wembley in `67 as their best result ,followed by every other win at Wembley.
IMO it was the best win ever by the national team since WW2. Wembley 67 comes close - it was a Euro qualifying game as well as a Home International - but it was team that included Law, Bremner, Baxter and had as its backbone a number of players that won the European Cup with Celtic a month later. A lot more talent than this edition has. Holland in 1978 would also get consideration. The warning of course is that in the end neither of these wins led to anything - Scotland didn't make it to the 1968 Euro or to the second round of the World Cup. I still consider Italy and France favourites to qualify.
It looks as if UEFA is going to look at the Saulius Mikoliunas dive against Scotland on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how this investigation intends to stay onside with FIFA’s stated position of not allowing retroactive review of incidents such as this.
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/ kind=512/newsid=585906.html?cid=new sletter&att=text
Last edited by BobbyMcMahon on September 13th at 5:57 AM.
All credit to Scotland, they did what neither Brazil nor Italy could do -- win in Paris. Scotland has exposed Domenech's lack of imagination or solutions. Bobby and others are saying that they still think France will qualify, I don't think it's probable at all. It's possible but Italy always scrapes thru and Scotland are on fire with enormous self belief. Domenech has no solutions -- France are playing like Arsenal of last season.
danielgregg-The reason France and Italy are still favorites to qualify is the remaining schedule of all teams in the group.
Scotland still have a lot to do with home games against the Ukraine and Italy and then they travel to face Georgia in between those two.
Scotland's two losses so far have been to Ukraine and Italy.
LetsGo, I realize that but I frankly have my doubts about Domenech's ability to get France out of this hole they've dug themselves in. Other French managers from the past had more imagination than he does.
C'mon,
I'm pleased as punch for the two victories.
The long ball to the Donkey is fine against Russia, let's see if the Croatians, Germans, French, Italiand, Dutch, Portugeuse, Scots, etc don't just gobble those cacky balls up, both Coles were poor, Gerrard was OK, Robinson did a job, Owen was almost back to his best, Barry was MOTM, Richards looked good going forward but got skinned a few times in defence, Ferdinand, made too many errors, Terry was rock. Huff and puff football worked against poor and average opposition at home.
The second half was dire, England sat back and the Russians (all but the first ten minutes) gave up.
I've seen a lot of the press and the commentaries are glowing; blinkered desparation for a positive headline.
We beat two teams we should beat easily but the football played was sub standard, hardly the sort of game that would threaten in 2008.
The team did look better than the team McClaren would have picked had all the players been available. What the heck is Downing doing on the bench?
leche - Rooney is MILES better than Donkey, one is world class and the other is just a beast of burden.
Great to see the Scots beat the Frogs!
Spenno - nice to see you on this forum :)
Nah, can't see it; don't buy it; McClaren is a poor excuse for my national coach. Too many players played poorly and the opposition had a perfectly good goal dissallowed. 10-1 Barry will be benched for Hargeaves, Carrick or Lampard
Ringo - apparently the whispers are already murmering that Pearce is looking good as a future Senior England manager.
God, this is a pretty funny thread and far more entertaining than most of the qualifying matches.
So Domenech should be fired for a lack of imagination. Really? This is the same trainer that took France to within about six inches (the difference between Trezeguet's hitting the crossbar and putting the ball into the net) of the World Cup. Comments like those cause me to wonder how long some people on this blog have been watching football.
For those of us who bothered to watch France-Scotland and have seen more than a couple years worth of EPL matches in our time, 1-0 Scotland was one of those freakish results that the game will occasionally throw out. It was a fantastic result for a side whose play really didn't deserve a point.
I've watched Les Bleus play under Michel, Platini, Houllier, Jacquet, Lemerre and Santini. And Domenech has gotten better results than almost all of the previous regimes.
Under Houllier, France somehow failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup despite having many of the players who would win the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 championships. After winning Euro 2000, Lemerre completely botched the 2002 World Cup so badly that France didn't make it out of the knockout stages. I was at the France-Denmark game in Incheon so I saw the man's tactical inepitude first hand. The less said about the Santini regime, the better.
So for those who are calling for Domenech's head, take a deep breath. And watch a little more football before posting.
Scottish supporters should enjoy their moment in the sun, but, as Bobby astutely notes, don't book yo
Daniel I agree with you Domenech has no creativity and with the collection of players he has it is unconscionable. This is ridiculous. You are right the French are a streaky bunch and with this downturn they could easily wind up out of '08 which is unthinkable. Look at the names on the team and it is eye popping.
I blame him more for the Italy game, Italy were vulnerable and they could have won that game with one or two subs.
Anelka needs to sit, I rate him but not to win anything. All of sudden everyone who is jealous of Henry wants to say Anelka is awesome, big joke. A Cisse- Henry or Henry- Saha pairing would be best. Just thinking about France's striking options with Henry, Saha, Cisse, Trez, Anelka makes me want to challenge Domenech to a duel.
All credit to Scotland everyone wants to see Scotland do well, not at the expense of France though.
albertagooner, I've been watching Les Bleus since the great Platini team of the 80s, and I've been watching football since England won the world cup when I was in kindergarten. I strongly support France. I credit France's performance at last year's wc more to the veteran players -- Zidane, Thuram, Vieira, Makelele -- rather than Domenech. The fact is that France have been playing like Arsenal since the world cup -- they can't freaking score. And that's something that Domenech has proved totally incapable of solving. He said last night "I don't know what else we could've done." He's got no solutions.
I have siad this since day one, France win in spite of Domenech as RIngo said about McClown, same deal. However France he finest collection of talent in the world at all positions except keeper, and I mean the finest Argentina are close and have the edge in midfield but in defense and at striker they fall far short. Brazil are close and get a boost with Ronnie and Kaka, but fall short at many other positions.
France sputters and then wins due to sheer talent as the article Bobby gave us said also.
WHy they ran Jacquet out of the scene is still a mystery.
What would Wenger do with this team???
Last edited by MasMaz on September 13th at 9:29 AM.
MasMaz, the problem is that none of those strikers have proved effective recently. In any combination. They're all excellent player but the forward line just isn't working -- that's something that any close observer of France's recent form has noticed and that Domenech has totally failed to resolve.
There is no link-up with the midfield. Bobby said it on Monday, they played with 6 at the back with 2 isolated wingers and 2 isolated strikers against Italy and I didn't see the Scotland but the team was the same but for Trez, Nasri doesn't come on till too late. This is a home game they should take it to them. With 2 def mids where is the flow going to come from?? Ridiculous. Mght as well play 4-5-1 and leave Anelka alone. Stupid.
As far as England, I am happy for them. First priority is to qualify, certainly. I never thought they would not qualify, I think will go out in the group stage. Which is a failure also. This team should make the quarters, if not semi's. Hopefully McClown will have the testicular fortitude to keep Neville, Beckham, Lampard, Crouch and maybe even Rooney on the bench. And for once England will have a formidable team. I mean that is a bench to make you feel like you have options, good options.
MazMaz
It's a tough one but I'd rather Scotland qualify for the finals than France anyday, they'll be drawn in England's group again and we can thrash them :)
Clown's have painted faces and are scary or funny depending on your psyche, he's just cack!
Poor results for the Republic and Northern Ireland, but a nice win for Wales.
I`ve just seen McFadden`s goal and I`m surprised no one is faulting the goalkeeper.
He shouldn`t have been beaten from that distance ,especially when he got a hand on the ball!
It's a shame things have gone downhill for N. Ireland after their bright start. Spain had their own slip-ups in the early part of the competition, but thanks to N. Ireland's two recent losses, they've leapfrogged to #2 spot.
NB: Everyone should join CIAO's Champions League Fantasy League. It only takes 5-7 minutes. Details on my blog.
England does not have a formidable lineup no matter who they start. Layoff the Fleet Street rags and Sky Sports and come down to earth.
They beat Israel and Russia at home, big deal. Now there's two Euro powerhouse sides and since when is Israel in Europe?
I mean they ain't the Faroe Islands or San Marino but hey England won, eh?
A week ago everyone was calling for McClaren's head and now he's a genius. England will forever be overhyped and will more than likely underperform in Euro '08. Someone said that Euro '08 will not be the same w/o England.
Rubbish, all it means is that a better collective side of talent that knows how to play and perform together beat them to qualify.
Nevertheles Congrats to England but the real story yesterday is those Bonnie Scots, well done!
So now people are calling for Domenech's head? Typical rant.
Even though RM were crowned champions, Capello was fired because he did not have the team play "attractive" football. So why do you think if some bloggers think Domenech needs to be fired is far fetched? It is no secret that he has not gotten the team to play on all cylinders since Zidane quit. So there might be a case for his job here. Same goes for the Turkish and Spanish coaches.
Verbal:
"All I have to say is thank God the international break is over!"
Amen!!
Ciao, actually France haven't done badly since the wc -- before yesterday, they only lost 1 qualifier and 1 friendly. Domenech has done ok, but his inability to deal with the front line problem has finally come to a head. Mind you, it's a problem France have had before but past managers have somehow managed to deal with it. France scored 96 goals in 46 qualification games since 1994.
Hey Bobby whats with Mc Claren and Venables I know Terry is the assistant manager but the pair look like they were joined at the hip at birth. How much influence do you think he has on the England team and the selection of players?
L'Equipe: "It is not impossible to qualify, but the position in the group of Les Bleus is nevertheless worrying. [The defeat] was a terrible disappointment that nothing really enabled us to foresee."
Liberation, French daily: "The Euro championships are still a long way away for France."
Lillian Thuram, France defender: "Our first half display was not one of a team desperate to win. It is a disaster, a very bad result. Whether we like it or not, it will be complicated to qualify."
Le Monde, French daily: "From now on Raymond Domenech's players will have to start again. Those who were looking set to practically assure their qualification for the Euro championships from this Wednesday onwards must avoid any more slip-ups in their last three matches."
Louis Laffitte, football journalist: "France are awful when they have the ball and when they have to take the game to the opposition."
Edouard Orozco, football journalist: "The lesson of Glasgow [when France also lost 1-0] had not been learnt. However, this painful defeat was not inescapable."
L'Equipe: "A French rugby team beaten by a big football nation, a French football team beaten by a rugby nation, Les Bleus of both shaped balls are doing everything the wrong way round at the moment."
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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