Group C

Romania 1-1 Italy

This was an amazing and enthralling match that hung in the balance right through to the final whistle. And in the end Italy and Romania remain in contention for a place in the last eight come the final round of group play next Tuesday.

Italy has Gianluigi Buffon to thank for their first point of the tournament and making sure that they maintained a fragile grip on continued participation. Panucci was got caught red-handed trying to hog tie Niculae for little apparent reason and with ten minutes left Romania got a chance to almost certainly send Italy home.

But the Italian keeper guessed right on a well struck but poorly directed penalty kick from Adrian Mutu. Buffon got his right hand to the shot which then deflected onto his trailing leg and clear.

Earlier in the second half Mutu turned opportunist has he anticipated a header from Zambrotta back to Buffon. By the time the Italy right back had realized what he had done Mutu had struck a rising shot behind Buffon and high into the net. It was however a very short-lived lead as Italy equalized with their next attack.

Giorgio Chiellini intelligently opted to direct a header down and across the Romanian goal rather than go for glory and Panucci snuck in at the back post to tie the game up.

It was almost inconceivable that this match could reach half time scoreless. Italy set off at a cracking pace and keyed on the right side of the Romanian defense early. Contra came in for special attention as Grosso moved forward to support the Italian attack and Petre instead of playing in midfield found himself augmenting Contra at right back.

It took fifteen minutes for Romania to find any attacking intent but once they settled chances were created in quick succession. Tamas and Mutu had shots well saved by Buffon while Rat went narrowly wide from a long range effort and a deflected Chivu free kick came back of the post with the keeper helpless.

The series of close encounters reinvigorated Italy and the first half finished with Lobent making a couple of fantastic saves before being beaten by a Toni header. Fortunately for Romania the assistant referee’s flag went up for offside; replays showed that Toni was not offside.

The best game of the tournament so far in my book and the Group of Death, for once, has lived up to the pre-billing.

France 1-4 Netherlands

It was the sort of day that you want to bottle and preserve only to be opened when you need reminding of how compelling, beautiful and thrilling this sport can be. While Italy and Romania produced an opening act that threatened to one up the main attraction, the Netherlands and France rose to the challenge and produced a display for the ages.

A look at the final score might lead you to conclude that this was a terrible performance by the French. But rather this was a case of an astonishing performance from the Dutch. Think the World Cup Final of 1970 when Brazil beat Italy 4-1. Was Italy that bad? The truth is it didn’t matter because on that day Brazil was just so brilliant it did not matter who wore the other jerseys.  

And so it was today as the Dutch put on a master class of passing, movement, shooting and finishing that was quite breathtaking. While 4-2-4 made way for 4-3-3, then 4-4-2 and now 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 the basic premise of attacking and defending has remained stunningly simple. When you attack you want to create space, when you defend you want to shrink the space.  A simple concept yes, but something that is exceedingly difficult to pull-off - especially when the opposition is constantly trying to counter.

It was concept that the Dutch executed  today to perfection as they sliced open a French midfield with a display of passing that was devastating. No ten yard square passes to slow the tempo ala Makelele. The Dutch bypassed the French midfield with passes that changed defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, the French midfield with two anchors (Makelele and Toulalan), that should in theory have been the perfect foil to the Dutch counter attack was left gasping and chasing shadows.

Netherlands back to back wins against the World Cup winners and runners up from only two years and by a clear three goals each time is unprecedented in my memory. The question for the Dutch is what do they do for an encore?
France and Italy both remain alive with the winner of Tuesday match also needing the Dutch to maintain their undefeated streak when they face Romania in order to move on.

 What a day.

Man of the match - Rafael van der Vaart. Amongst a number of very honourable mentions Ruud van Nistelrooy. Can't play as a lone striker? Hmmm.

Comment of the Day

"If someone talks about my private life, for example, I'll give them a good punching. I'm not interested in suing. I like to sort things out my way" - Luiz Felipe Scolari.

France 0-0 Romania

It was an ultra-cagey first half with neither team willing to commit players forward in numbers during open play. Free kicks and corners offered up the best opportunities but even then the keepers were rarely tested.

You got the feeling that if France was willing to up the pace and go after Romania that they would be rewarded. Tamas and Goian looked very comfortable when balls were played high into the Romanian area but there was a sense that the ball played quickly along the ground might have provided them with a far greater challenge.

What's more Romania's goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont seemed at times to be intent on writing his own special chapter focusing on passbacks in the David James and Fabian Barthez best seller "Adventures in Goalkeeping."

The second half pretty much replicated the opening forty-five minutes. France held an edge but Romania defended with composure and opted to play the ball through the midfield once the French had surrendered possession.

The French midfield cried out for a player to quicken the tempo of the game but Makelele’s forte is to slow the pace down not to speed it up and France rapidly ran out of attacking ideas. The French attack was not helped by a thoroughly badly balanced pairing of Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema.

The second half in particular was close to a mirror image of the Scotland game in Paris last fall. A well organized and motivated team comfortably holding off a French side that enjoyed a significant edge in possession but was unable to change the flow of the game as their attacking options weathered and died.

A draw means that no matter the outcome of the second round of games both countries will enter the final round with a chance of progressing.

Man-of-the-match

My pick would be left back Razvan Rat. Tidy in possession and quick in the tackle Rat not only kept Franck Ribery quiet but he also found time to move forward to support the Romanian attack.

Italy 0-3 Netherlands

Italy is well known for starting tournaments slowly but rarely has it cost them as dearly. This time it has and even though the opening goal was undoubtedly offside the Italians were badly outplayed by a Dutch side was quicker in thought and in execution.

The second Dutch goal was as beautiful as the first one was offside. The classic counter attack came after van Bronckhorst had cleared what could have been own goal of the Dutch line and fed the ball up the left touchline. A glorious 40 yard cross field pass was headed down by Dirk Kuyt and Sneijder showed great composure and skill to hook the ball passed Buffon.

A third could have come before half time as van der Vaart played the pass of the tournament to date. He slipped awonderfully weighted pass behind Materazzi who looked like he was running in sand to van Nistelrooy. This time Buffon deflected the shot over.

Italy looked to be poorly equipped to come back from a two goal deficit. A five minute spell from the 70th minute, when first Toni and then Grosso got behind the Dutch defence and then Pirlo was denied off of a free kick by van der Sar, was the best Italy could offer.

Ironically the best Italian spell of play ended with another Dutch counter attack and another key contribution from Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Gio was smart enough to know that Kuyt would not score one-on-one with Buffon and craftily positioned himself for the cross that came after Buffon’s save. When Kuyt sent in the cross van Bronckhorst had a free jump and the goal bound header was helped across the line by Zambrotta.

A nightmare for Italy; a dream for the Dutch. But remember……it is only the start.

 
Stat check – Italy’s worst defeat at major finals since losing 4-1 to Brazil in 1970?

Comment of the Day

This was a description of Croatia midfielder Luka Modric by Peter Mallett in Saturday’s Globe & Mail.

“Traditionally known for tireless running, precision through balls and brute physical strength this 22-year-old midfielder personifies all that makes the red, white and blue checkered shirts of Croatia revered.”

Hmmm - Brute strength? At a little over 5 foot 9 inches and 143 pounds soaking wet Modric might be considered a brute by an under-13 girl’s team but that is about it.

Prediction Pool

Here is a breakdown of the winners as predicted on the blog by Friday’s posters.

Germany 25.9%

Spain 19.5%

Italy 13.9%

France 13.0%

Portugal 12.0%

Netherlands 9.2%

Romania 2.8%

Russia 1.9%

Croatia 0.9%

Sweden 0.9%

Thanks to everyone who took the contribute their predictions and I will post the interim leaders at the completion of the group stage.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - Your thoughts on Denis Law?

Meanwhile, what's your take on our premiership champions pick? I can't begin to figure why JM played 3 holding midfielders against Villa and left Joe Cole on the bench. It was hardly the all out attack we saw at Reading. No-one looked sharp. Maybe it's not surprising when the manager looks so bored/resigned. I'd rather have "bad, angry Mourinho" back. I get the feeling that Abramovich actually didn't have money to spend right now and has asked Mourinho to make do with "adequate" for a while. Do you detect something missing at Chelsea in all of this?

Bobby – Denis Law was simply one of the most explosive and exciting players you could ever hope to see. He was brave and lightning quick and fantastic in the air. He also inspired a generation of young footballers to stretch the sleeves of their jerseys so they could grab on to them with their fingers! I still find myself doing it if I am out running or playing in long sleeves.
Chelsea midfield was absolutely pedestrian and cried out for Joe Cole. The game has passed Makelele me thinks.

Leche010 - Is it just me, or is the Premiership just filled, from top to bottom, with more quality than it ever has before?I mean even the bottom club (and all but sure to remain there) Derby has Kenny Miller as a striker.

Bobby – Having Kenny Miller as your striker in the Premiership is more a sign of weakness than strength I am afraid. Miller has his strengths but putting the ball in the back of the net regularly is not one of them. However, I think a number of sides have made good acquisitions – Everton, Portsmouth, Manchester City, Liverpool as examples.

Henry14 - 1 Do you think Diarra's addition can help Arsenal with the bullies up north and maybe there is a chance for a real title challenge?
2 th14 is looking doggy for Barca for the past or so games l have seen him do you see him being a great player as he was or he will be another Sheva or Ballack?
3 Do you still think Arsenal will be under Hill Wood come start of next season?

Bobby –1. From what I have seen of Diarra he can’t be described as the second coming of Patrick Vieira – not so far anyway. He certainly is not going to be the difference between a league challenge and no league challenge.
2. Thierry Henry has looked fine to me.
3. I think the question is really will they be under the same regime at the start of next season? If so my answer is yes.

Foxcube - Re: Robson article. I feel it's unfair to match Pires/Ljunberg with Rosicky/Hleb head to head, toe to toe. This is because Arsenal has changed their way of playing since the 2005 and new players were bought for this new style. Bobby would you please give some analysis of their change?

Bobby – What new style? Bergkamp’s gone and can’t be replaced but the wide players are still being asked to do what they were two or three years ago as far as I can see.

Foxcube - Do you see the foreign investments will go on forever? Will the top teams break FA's restrictions and getting their TV deals individually?

Bobby – No tree grows to the sky. The question is how much upside is left in terms of increased revenues. That comes back to TV and internet deals and I’m guessing that there is a big upside left. Unfortunately most of the clubs have shown that can spend the money as quickly as it is given to them so the foreign investments will continue until someone realizes that soccer in Europe has never been a moneymaker. In fact the only people to have made money the last few years are the folks who have sold out to foreign buyers. What does that tell you? Remember apart from Abramovich most of the deals are being done with other people’s money not the names that hit the newspapers. Relatively little of their money is at risk.

The fallacy is that “new owners” bring new transfer money. Normally they increase the club’s debt load to pay for new transfers.  Further to the TV deals I don’t believe that there are FA restrictions – it is a Premiership rule.

Foxcube - Re: players' sudden death. Nobody mentioned their insurance situation. Any insights?

Bobby – No different than any other worker dropping dead or being injured at work. If fault can be shown then the employer faces the  possibility of legal and civil action. Otherwise you will probably find that depending on the professional players association in each country that the club and/or player carry some form of death benefit.

Craigyf - Your comments on the US MNT squad? Any USA v Brazil predictions?
So far only two teams remain on maximum points in Serie A, does that surprise you. What has stood out in Serie A so far? Any thoughts on who might be favourites for the MLS Cup yet?

Bobby – A couple of minor surprise in Bradley’s selections but nothing stunning. Far too early to read anything into Serie A results – check in again around week 10. MLS Cup – I’ve been very impressed with DC United the last few weeks. However, MLS teams are very prone to streaks and there is still 2 plus months of the season left. You have to factor in New England given Steve Nicol’s record in the play offs. Houston still has time to find there feet again and Chivas as flown under the radar. Chivas’ record at home is outstanding.

Ringo - Now that we’re a month into the EPL season, would you like to take a mulligan on any of your picks?

Bobby – I’ll stick. It is a long season – lots of drama to come.

CIAO - What do you make of the final day transfers? Or lack there of in the case of Riquelme, Adriano and Ballack? Maybe Inter and Chelsea should just swap the 2 players. Inter has much better luck with German players than Brazilian strikers.

Bobby – As I said on the show - the transfer deadline had Super Bowl hype and Super Bowl excitement.

Bigdavedisaster - Why the need for the lack of a better word "lies" in the handling of Graversen and Miller transfers by Gordon? Is he simply covering incase the transfers don’t go through and then don’t the players already know that he was willing to let them go?

Whenever I read something on George Best I’m always reminded of my Uncle talking about what a shame it was that he never played in a World Cup for a United Ireland team (if they could have made it?) so that the world might see him on its biggest stage.

Bobby – The manager’s job is to do his up most to win games and that comes before being honest with the press. In the case of George Best my understanding is that he was asked to join the 1982 Northern Ireland squad for the World Cup in Spain but he said no. Can anyone else confirm that story?

 

Rwonfootball - While all of the spotlight is on South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, I am as nervous about the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Should the host bid process be changed and what would you do if anything?

Bobby – Well I don’t think it is clear as to whether or not there is a process at the moment or not. FIFA has to decide is there a rotation policy or not and. Just because Brazil is the only CONMEBOL nomination the award of the 2014 World Cup is not a slam-dunk by any means. The evaluation committee could find that Brazil is unable to comply with all the requirements. Rio is hosting the Pan American Games next month and they are hoping to use the Games as a launching pad for a 2016 Olympic Bid. If next month’s Games go badly then it will be a major black eye and call into question both the 2014 and 2016 bids. I would not be surprised if the USA hosts in 2014. 

Footiefan – Thanks for fixing that link, Bobby.

Henry14 - What do you make of Poll's media antics of talking about his football experience, and can he be blamed and what difference is what Poll is doing from a Rooney / Gerrard/Vieira autobiography and lastly do you feel the press 's criticism of coming out in public to speak about these things is fair?

l personally thing Owen is not the same player he was and may never be the same again, how would you rate Owen among the world's best strikers.

Who is the better player between these examples
Maldini vs. Kaiser
Zidane vs. Cruyff
Buffon vs. Schmeichel

Do you get the feeling that the United team is being build for Carlos Queiroz to take over? He is a 4-5-1 merchant and all the players they have suit the system perfectly. and Ribery is going to Bayern, the guy is a joke, he said he wanted Madrid or England last week and all of a sudden changes his mind. Personally l hope Wenger gets one player out of the hat, who is incredibly good who is not known a lot

Bobby – Poll is trying to sell books just like the players. The problem is he has to work harder because the market for a referee’s autobiography is pretty limited. Regarding Owen – I will reserve my comments until he gets himself match fit and with a decent number of games under his belt.

As for who are the better players - the smart arse answers are Maldini, Zidane and Buffon because Beckenbauer is 62, Cruyff 60 and Schmeichel 44. Somehow I don't think that is what you meant though.

Maldini vs. Kaiser – very different players. Maldini much more a defender while Franz Beckenbauer invented a position. Zidane vs. Cruyff – Cruyff by a mile. Buffon vs. Schmeichel – nothing between them. 

I don’t think for one moment that SAF is building a team to satisfy someone who might take over in the future – why would he do that? He’s building a team that he believes will win trophies next year, not one that is tied to one formation.

CIAO - SAF has been with United for a long time. Considering the years of service and the handful of players that have had issues with him... I'd say you have to cut the man some slack. And for the record I am not an SAF fan. Regardless, Marcotti makes an interesting point by indicating that the current transfers are Carlos Q's vision of the future. Maybe he is in transition to take over from SAF in a couple years time. What do you think?
Regardless, I would also have to say that in current years the most balanced team in the dressing room and on field has to be VVV's beloved Milan. Ancelotti is one of the top 5 managers. Along with Lippi, SAF, Mourinho and Hiddink. (Runner ups: Capello, Wenger, Del Bosque, Dino Zoff and Benitez) (Future tops: Klinsmann, Mancini and Big Sam)
What do you think of Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu? Would you say he is one of the most underrated coaches? I think it would be great to see him given the opportunity to manage a competitive team.

Bobby – Regarding SAF I don’t think he is looking to retire soon. Carlos Queiroz could finish up waiting longer than Prince Charles. Just look at Guy Roux who is returning to coach Lens at 68 after being retired for two years.
I would have to disagree with your choice of Hiddink over Capello. Lucescu has a good record and would make an interesting choice for a club in one of the big 5.

Neophyte - My U-10 player just tried out on a U-12 team on fluke...the coach needed another player to scrimmage a complete team and he was there so they put him in. Three goals, two earned corners and an earned penalty kick got the attention of the coach. Should he play up at U-12 or play on his U-10 team?

Bobby – I don’t think there is a hard a fast rule on something like this. As an 8-year old I played for the under-12 school team without any trouble or problem. Seven years later I was very small for my age and got regularly pummeled. It wasn’t until I hit 17 that I caught up physically and was able to compete again. If your boy can handle it physically then I think the next question would be whether or not he wants to move up or does he want to play with his friends? Does he have an option move back and forward between levels?

Ringo - With Ryan Giggs retirement from international football, does he now become the second greatest ever player, not to appear in a World Cup?

Bobby – I would not have him as high as second.

CIAO - Does anyone know where Nakata is playing now? How about Ilhan Mansiz (Turkish player that shined during the 2002 World Cup)? Do you think Italy and England will qualify for the EURO 2008? Did anyone watch the Italy game over the weekend? How did they play?

Bobby – Nakata and Mansiz are both retired I believe. As for qualifying – Italy without a doubt, England yes but with a greater level of doubt. I didn’t see the Italy game just the highlights. Italy got three points – enough said and be thankful. Scotland has to play there tomorrow - it will be a bad night's sleep.

Mistafantastic - I heard Alan Green (a man I had a lot of respect for) babbling on 606 Friday that Beckham was going to hinder his career by going "to that joke of a league MLS". Only Andy Grey & Martin Tyler have at least given MLS the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I know all these so-called "experts" wouldn't be hammering Becks if he went to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, or even Australia, but have no problem ripping a league that's given England a helluva lot of players the past few years. Why exactly is this the case? I'm the last guy to ever defend MLS but this is irking me something awful! Any comments? Cheers!

Bobby – My only comment is the vast majority of comments coming from England regarding MLS is based on total and absolute ignorance.

The realrico - At first I thought there was no way Henry leaving Arsenal, but with him now being linked to AC Milan, it seems like it is more likely now then ever he might go. My question is if he leaves, whom does Arsenal get with the money from the Henry sale?

Bobby – I don’t think Henry is leaving. My question is what is Milan actually up to – the Henry transfer hint is a smoke screen for something else.

Neophyte - Since the Beckham rule, we have seen an increase of foreign players come into the MLS. Now Claude Makelele and Shevchenko have stated playing in the MLS might be something they would consider. If Beckham actually plays in the league, do you see more players from Europe coming to the MLS?

Bobby – Will more players come from Europe – the answer is yes but it will not be a flood. I wouldn’t read too much into the comments by Makelele or Shevchenko. They are professional players and in Shevchenko’s case his wife is American so there is no reason not to consider a moved to MLS. MLS just has to make sure that a balance is maintained and that the players that come from Europe don’t come with a #### attitude.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - Why do think that West Ham or Newcastle would risk putting Joey Barton in their dressing room? I just don’t get it. Is this an $11m charity donation?

Bobby – When you have a player with ability – and Barton does – there will always be managers who think that they can control players with bad reputations and turn them around. Out of all the players who were trouble but with genuine talent that you can think of over the years, how many were dumped and never picked up?

Gongatore - What do you think of the US squads' performance vs. China and since it starts this week how they may do in the Gold Cup? I was impressed by Bradley's kid, he really has some bite to his game, what do you think?

Bobby – I didn’t see the game so I can’t really comment on the specifics. The team that played against China is very different than the one that will play in the Gold Cup. If the USA don’t make it the Gold Cup Final Bob Bradley may find that the honeymoon period is over. As for young Bradley I haven’t seen enough of him to form a decent opinion.

 

 

Chelsea’s win over Norwich in the FA Cup 5th Round was of the routine variety. A deflected shot from Shaun Wright-Phillips just before half time set the Pensioners on their way. Didier Drogba put the game beyond Norwich with a goal early in the second half and then Essien and Shevchenko scored in injury time to give to scoreline a look that Norwich probably didn't deserve.

Now Chelsea faces a Premiership side for the first time this season although they do have home advantage once more. Tottenham provides the opposition and it is difficult to guess how Spurs reacted to the quarter final draw. On the positive side they did beat Chelsea 2-1 at White Hart Lane in November after falling behind to an early Claude Makelele goal. Conversely it was only the second time that Spurs had beaten Chelsea in their last 38 meetings.

Spurs looked to have finally got their season on track and although they continue to have trouble keeping the opposition off the score sheet the goals are flying in at the other end. Four straight wins in all competitions before the UEFA Cup match against Braga has seen Spurs score 14 goals.

The first win of this current run was 4-0 over Fulham in the FA Cup 5th round at Craven Cottage. This brought Tottenham’s goal tally in FA Cup to 11. Cardiff were beaten 4-0 in a replay (after 0-0), and other Championship side Southend went down 3-1.

Only Manchester United and Arsenal have won the FA Cup more often than Tottenham Hotspur but neither can match Spurs’ record of losing only once in the FA Cup final. Eight times Spurs have won the FA Cup (1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982 and 1991) and the first win in 1901 was while playing in the Southern League. Spurs remains the only non-league to lift the trophy since the advent of the Football League in 1888.

The only loss came in 1987 to Coventry and even then a Spurs player scored the deciding goal. Clive Allen and Dave Bennett swapped goals in the first ten minutes of the Wembley final but a Brian Kilcline own-goal just on half time sent Spurs in with a 2-1 lead.
A flying header from Coventry striker Keith Houchen took the game into extra time and then Spurs centre back Gary Mabbutt’s knee gave Coventry the Cup as he deflected a cross passed his own goal keeper.

Chelsea and Tottenham met for the first time in the FA Cup nearly a century ago. In 1910 Spurs beat Chelsea 1-0 in the second round and since then Spurs have retained a slight edge with four wins, three losses and one draw. Chelsea knocked Spurs out of the FA Cup in both 1964 and 1965 but Spurs gained revenge two years later when faced each other in the Final for the only time. It was the first time that two London teams had made it to the final.

The record shows that Spurs were the much better side on the day and goals from Jimmy Robertson and Frank Saul gave them a comfortable lead even though Bobby Tambling pulled one back with five minutes to go.

The line ups read like a Legends game.
Tottenham Hotspur – Jennings; Kinnear, England, MacKay, Knowles; Robertson, Mullery, Venables, Saul; Greaves and Gilzean.
Chelsea – Bonetti; Harris (A), Hinton, Harris (R), McCreadie; Hollins, Cooke, Baldwin, Boyle; Tambling and Hateley.

The full quarter final draw can be found here and this is a link to the latest news from the official FA Cup website.

The FA Cup payments to clubs can be accessed here.

Past Featured Games
Extra Preliminary Round    Jarrow Roofing Boldon C.A.  5-2    Billingham Synthonia.
Preliminary Round             Jarrow Roofing Boldon C.A   5-4    Thackley F.C
First Qualifying Round        Fleetwood Town                   3-0    Jarrow Roofing Boldon C.A. 
Second Qualifying Round  Fleetwood Town                   4-2    Goole AFC 
Third Qualifying Round      Fleetwood Town                   2-0    Warrington Town
Fourth Qualifying Round    Fleetwood Town                   2-0    Wisbech Town
First Round                         Salisbury City                        3-0    Fleetwood Town
Second Round                   Salisbury City                        1-1    Nottingham Forest
Second Round Replay       Nottingham Forest                 2-0    Salisbury City
Third Round                       Nottingham Forest                 2-0    Charlton 
Fourth Round                    Chelsea                                  3-0    Nottingham Forest
Fifth Round                       Chelsea                                  4-0    Norwich City

First of all my aplogies to anyone who logged on earlier expecting to share half time and full time thoughts. My Internet service provider became my internet no-service provider this morning. Normal service has just been resumed.

And to the game. I enjoyed the game and the time flew past. There was always the threat o####oal or a controversial incident to keep me glued to the set. A share of the points I thought was fair over the ninety minutes with United no doubt regretting their failure to put Chelsea away in the first half.

United were terrific in the first half. The back fire was water tight and the midfield was much brighter and quicker in thought and deed than their Chelsea counterparts. With Giggs being given the freedom to room the United game plan seemed to consist of getting the ball to Ronaldo and allowing him to run free or alternatively, to move the ball quickly through the midfield and isolate Makelele.

The United goal started with Giggs popping up deep on the right side and the ball was quickly relayed to Saha. Saha showed the deftness of a pickpocket as he almost passed the ball into the net.

Mourinho’s key move was taking off Geremi (a lovely passer but not the most mobile of players) and slotting Essien in as a right wing back. We saw Essien’s versatility a couple of weeks ago against Tottenham as Chelsea tried to salvage the game. This time Essien did turn the game. He did a fine defensive job but he also provided Chelsea with much needed width on the right side and an extra man in midfield. I am pretty certain it was Essien who was up in the United penalty box and who forced the corner from which Carvalho scored.

I don’t think SAF will be disappointed in any of the performances from his players although Jose Mourinho is unlikely to feel the same way. It looks to me as if Claude Makelele is beginning to show his age against teams that move the ball quickly. Ballack and Shevchenko both disappointed and not for the first time this season.

Up to this season Mourinho’s teams have exceeded the sum of their parts - that is not the case this season. Chelsea is far from firing on all-cylinders. 

Finally a word about the referee Howard Webb who did a fine job.

 

A whole series of questions relating to Makelele foul on Angel as he broke free and Zokora’s blatant dive.

bliss_street - Makelele's tackle on Angel would have earned him an unnecessary roughness penalty in the NFL. I wondered whether referee Graham Poll was going to give him a straight red card or let him off with a yellow. Imagine how flabbergasted I was when he made no call at all!

henry14 - I have to say they is a tendency for Chelsea to go away with the most decisions, on all their games l have seen they have been given fair decisions on penalties, but the officials were not consistent when they are guilty, l felt Makelele deserved a straight red card. The most outrageous decision to me was the way Zokora sunk so low to fall to the ground, it is one thing to make the most of a tackle but to fall to the ground is tacking cheating to unprecedented levels. I think the FA should ban players who do so for games if they go unpunished in the game, because it is so unprofessional

AlexMorph - I'll probably be immensely unpopular for suggesting this, but I think that Angel played Makelele for the foul because he knew that he couldn't outrun him. The Frenchman was right on his tail, running off to the side a bit, and Angel showed him his back without bringing the ball. He went across the direction of the ball and Make ran into him (ok, he didn't have to use his arms), so the ref probably saw it as obstruction from the Villa striker.

travel_coach - Since the ref. made no call on Zokora's dive in the Pompey game, cannot the FA review the incident and penalize Zokora with some time off and a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct?

Ducky_Jones -  I've read comments from Glenn Hoddle & Tony Adams about the Zokora phantom penalty; they're calling him a cheater and that if he wants to stay in the EPL he can't do that sort of thing. Is there a double standard in how they treat foreign players compared to English ones? I've seen Rooney dive in the area and get the penalty call. I'm sure that I've seen other English players do the same thing. What gives?

bigdavedisaster - As a Spurs supporter in the EPL I can not defend Didier Zokora’s dive. There is no place for it in football except for apparently the EPL, La Liga, Serie A Champions league (Giggs) the world cup and just about all the other leagues and competitions until something is done it will only get worse! As long as diving continues to produce results it is here to stay in today’s big dollar global football world were wins mean so much....oh and with all those dollars come all those cameras so we can see the dive from all angles as to be sure not to miss one

Bobby – I have watched the challenge by Makelele on Angel and in my opinion Makelele was very lucky to stay on the park let alone get away without even a foul being given against him. Angel is not the quickest forward in the Premiership but he was in front of the Chelsea player, heading for the goal with the ball under his control. I can agree that Angel played for the foul but the ball was always within his playing distance so an obstruction call couldn’t be given by Graham Poll. Makelele was all over Angel – Chelsea was very fortunate in that situation.

In terms of Zokora the FA’s position would be that the referee made his decision and so calling Zokora to account for the dive would be undermining the ref’s decision. If Zokora had punched Mendes off the ball without an official seeing it then video evidence could be used as the referee did not make a decision.

However in the case of the elbow Thatcher threw at Mendes – and connected with – the referee gave a yellow card but the FS still used video evidence. Although I can see the difference – the Thatcher decision involved further punishment of a foul correctly called by the referee versus what would essentially be the retroactive overturning of a referee decision – it does not seem to me to be that great a leap to make sure that dives such as the one by Zokora are punished using video evidence. Bringing the game into disrepute is a pretty good catch-all for something like this I would think.   

And yes – there is a double standard in terms of diving. Foreign players are singled out. Diving may not have been so prominent before foreign players became more prevalent but it was definitely there.

davard - Could you please explain the Makelele/France situation to me? Can a player not retire internationally but still play in a domestic league? Does this mean McClaren could, within his rights, declare Paul Scholes onto the nat’l team, with or without his consent? In fact, he should, just to see Fergie's reaction.

Bobby – We went over this one a couple of weeks back if I remember correctly. I don’t believe FIFA anticipated their rule that a player can be suspended if he doesn’t report for international duty would used to force a player into reporting when he had already announced his international tournament. The rule was imposed to try and deal with situations where players were being pressured into calling off “injured” after being named to a national team. Your point is well taken. McClaren could name Scoles to the squad and force a suspension if he didn’t turn up. The obvious solution is for FIFA to create a register of retired international players. Then the likes of Makelele would register his retirement and would not have to bother with the antics of Domenech. 

neophyte - Great pieces on the Yanks at Reading. We have been following them in our household. They are everyone’s favorite 2nd team. Question: Why doesn't USSOCCER promote the Americans abroad? I would think they would be the poster kids for the up and coming generation.

Did you see Villarreal against Zaragoza? Riquelme put on a show! Note to the rest of La Liga, do not make him mad. You won't like him when he's angry. I think the press in Argentina pushed too far and now they (the Argentines) will be looking even more troubled against their South American competition.

Bobby – I guess the question is better put to the USSF. However, what would they promote – that Reading has two US players? I think US soccer fans know that so they would really be preaching to the choir.
I didn’t see the Zaragoza – Villarreal match but I have noticed that Villarreal’s performances have improved over the last couple of weeks and they are moving up La Liga – to my relief seeing that I picked them to finish third!

spike24 - What do you think about Reading's Ibrahima Sonko? It seems he must be considered one of the surprising standouts of the new season. The only games Reading has failed to get a result were the ones he missed from his red card. And in the games he has played, he's been a dominating force - neutralizing Rooney against Man Utd, and coming up with tackles and deflections to preserve 1-0 wins against West Ham and Man City.

Will we see him playing as a French International any time soon? I understand that since he's never played for the top squad, his time at Senegal does not invalidate him from playing for France.

Bobby – I am holding judgment just a little bit longer on individual performances from Reading. As a team I think they are an entertaining team to watch and their goalscorers will get enough goals to keep them out of relegation trouble. However, after so few games we will have to wait and see who is playing above their normal level. I understand he was ready to join Senegal for an African Cup of Nations qualifier this weekend but called off through injury.

gregz – What’s the deal with Shevchenko? He is a much more lethal striker than Drogba and yet Drogba has been totally outshining him. I wonder though is it a case of Sheva making Drogba look good because he attracts so much attention from defenders which leaves Drogba open to score goals. And what of Tevez is it too early to expect anything good from him.

Bobby – I think generally fans have unrealistic expectations when big signings move to another club and sometimes another country. I am convinced that Shevchenko will come good. At the moment Drogba is carrying the load in fine style. As for Tevez and Mascherano – it far too early to tell.

wickedzoot - Regarding the West Ham meltdown. I saw a not on the rumors page that at least one of the Argentines is already bucking for a transfer. I kinda lost track after that. Was that smoke? I haven't seen much reporting on WH lately so I wonder if I've missed something. Will they get a chance to turn things around or are we just waiting for the next window to see where they go?

Bobby – It is a normal type of rumour when a player has moved in a high profile transfer and success hasn’t been immediate. There was the ridiculous story earlier this week that Shevchenko was heading back to Milan in January. At the moment the Argentine pair have not made an impression and so what other European teams would be looking to step in anyway? I find it interesting the Chelsea conspiracy theorists have gone strangely quiet since the pair arrived and WH has not won a game since. 

MeanSucka - Becks' work rate seems to have greatly increased since being brought off the bench, most notably against Dinamo Kiev. Think he was gunning for inclusion on the England squad? Or trying to get back in Capello's starting 11? Or both?

The shot of he and Ronaldo sitting on the bench at the beginning of the game was interesting. I guess they're discussing the best places to live in the states! Now if we could only get an MLS franchise here in Miami - especially since we recently lost our only draw - Romario.

Bobby – I think the chances of a Beckham recall to the England national team is very low. But one thing is for sure – he will not be called up by Steve McClaren if he is not a first choice for Fabio Capello.

Venti-vidi-vici – Many people (Jose Mourinho included) seem to think that Inter Milan is, ON PAPER, one of, if not, the best club teams in the world. Crespo-Ibrahimovic-Adriano is arguably the best trio of strikers anywhere, along with Figo, Vieira, Cambiasso, Solari and Stankovic in midfield and a very experienced back-four, Inter should amount to a formidable force. I guess, like Real Madrid teams of recent years, it’s not always about the sum of the parts. Unfortunately, most of the Inter team is (or at least acts) semi-retired !!!!

On the other hand, Milan is simply trying to get used to life without Sheva. Gilardino had an excellent first season at the club, and if Oliveira can find the form which saw him claim the La Liga scoring title, the two can form a lethal partnership for many years. In the mean time Sheva is very sorely missed. The midfield of Gattuso, Pirlo Kaka’, Seedorf, now in their fourth or fifth year together, can play from memory, and Gourcuff (incredible potential) will fit in nicely. The back four with Nesta, Simic, Jankulovski and Kaladze, along with the elder statesmen of the game, is one of the stingiest in Europe. Do you think it will all come together for the rossoneri?

Speaking of Milan’s defense what do you think of the careers of Milan’s aging defenders, Cafu, Costacurta and, in particular, Maldini? Paolo represented Italy 126 times, including 23 consecutive World Cup finals games (all starts), losing a final, a semi and a quarter all on penalties, and losing the final of Euro 2000. He has played in seven Champions League/Champions Cup finals (winning four), and holds the record for the fastest goal ever scored in a UCL final. He is in his 23rd season with Milan’s senior squad and has now played over 800 games in all competitions for Milan. He is the first and only defender (excluding goalies) ever to win the World Player of the Year Award (1994). When he retires at the end of this season, where will he rank among the all time greats of the game?

Note: When Maldini made his debut for Milan, he played alongside Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley, and a couple of his current teammates were not yet born!

And who are your top 5 midfields?

 
Bobby – I was surprised that Milan did not make more moves in the summer. The Milan midfield looks to be a solid unit once again but they have relied on the full backs to give them width. When the full backs fail to get forward Milan tends to become a bit predictable. Maldini has been the greatest defender of his generation and history will consider him one of the greatest ever – right up there with Franco Baresi. The World Player of the Year title he won was from the publication “World Soccer” rather than thee FIFA award. If FIFA has any sense at all they should present Maldini with a special award for services to the game and to recognize his outstanding play over 20 years at the end of this year.

Top 5 midfields? I am assuming current midfields. In no particular order I would have Milan in the top group and Chelsea – more on potential than current form though. Barcelona has to be included. If Alonso could find his form again then Liverpool would be another. Valencia would have to come into the reckoning especially if Vicente can stay fit and once Joaquin settles in. Given that Lyon have lost two excellent midfield players over the last two seasons and they are still producing great football then they would also be up for consideration.

buffytvs - You missed listing another atrocious call -- the blatant handball on Paul Scholes' shot by a Newcastle defender (whose name I've blotted out I think) was ignored. The Richard Dunne block I've never seen a good enough angle on, but it looked really su####ious too.

Bobby – I am surprised that there is not more debate over handballs. The appropriate section of law 12 states “A direct free kick is … awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following ….offences: handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)”.

Liverpool fans will find the bracketed section ironic I am sure. It is what constitutes deliberately that is the problem. It seems to me that for many referees the rule is flexible and has much to do with where the “offence” occurs on the field.

Richard Dunne did very well to save the ball and not with his hand either. 

We start off with an array of articles.

Apparently British bookies took a hiding as little Forfar of the Scottish League was forced to play Peterhead despite being unable to field a fully fit first eleven - Neil White explains.

A Ronald Atkin profile of Bobby Convey while Jon West has an interview with hisUSA and Reading teamate Marcus Hahnemann.

Ian Bell compares and contrasts the managerial careers of two of the best ever - Bill Shankly who died 25 years ago last week and Arsene Wenger who has just celebrated a decade in charge of Arsenal.

Henry Winter suggests that the tax man should not be far behind the release of the Stevens Report today (Monday October 2).

Paul Wilson believes that Sepp Blatter has not gone far enough and the answer is that games should be decided by naked penalty shootouts.

Erik Kirschbaum on the debut of a documentary focusing on the German team’s build-up and participation in this summer’s World Cup. 

It was a bad weekend for officials what with the phantom Reina handball for Liverpool against Bolton, Claude Makelele jumping Juan Pablo Angel as he broke free and Didier Zokora’s conning of the referee in the Spurs – Portsmouth game.

In Serie A the two Milan teams drew – when are Milan going to start scoring some goals and when will Inter manage to keep eleven players on park. It is odd that the players Inter have had red-carded are all new arrivals. 

No shortage of items to debate.

And by the way Fleetwood beat Goole 4-2 to progress to the next round of the FA Cup.

 

 

Last season Chelsea won the Premiership by 8 points with Manchester United finishing as the runner-up. Liverpool was a point further back and then Arsenal was 15 points behind and then came Tottenham another 2 points back and in fifth place. So the gap between first and fifth was twenty-six points.

The season before the corresponding gap was thirty-seven points and between the winners Chelsea and runner-up, Arsenal was twelve points. The gap has been reduced over the last two seasons but can any team stop Chelsea from winning a third consecutive Premiership title? The season gets going in a little under five weeks and to date Chelsea has been the most aggressive as far as signing are concerned.

Michael Ballack from Bayern Munich; Andriy Shevchenko from Milan; Salomon Kalou from Feyenoord; John Obi Mikel from Lyn; have all signed and rumours of Roberto Carlos coming to Stamford Bridge continue – although I don’t see that as a positive. Perhaps the biggest problem for Mourinho is going to be keeping his squad happy. At the moment Jose Mourinho has a team of midfielders to choose from alone and at least eight of them are bona fide starters - Ballack, Cole, Robben, Wright-Phillips, Duff, Makelele, Lampard & Essien.

For Manchester United it has been a case of standing pat so far although it looks as if three injured players should be back for the start of the season - Solskjaer, Scholes and Heinze – with Alan Smith ready to start training again in the fall. The biggest hold in the United squad continues to be the centre of midfield. United had 11 players on World Cup duty but not one of them was a central midfield player. With what seems to be the imminent departure of RVN, United will also need another gun up front.

Liverpool has made some interesting moves in signing Gabriel Paletta from Banfield; Craig Bellamy from Blackburn Rovers; and Fabio Aurelio from Valencia. Bellamy should give Liverpool some different options up front and watch for Aurelio from set pieces – he has a great left foot. We will also get a chance to see mark Gonzalez who was signed last summer but who has now received a work permit.

Arsene Wenger has limited Arsenal to Tomas Rosicky plus three youngsters for the future. Even though the youngsters will continue to improve is hard to see how the squad as it stands could push Chelsea for the title.

Tottenham’s hopes will be to build on last seasons fifth place finish but other clubs have found it difficult to hold on to what they achieved the previous season. Spurs’ chances may be better than most given that they have a young squad and have made some interesting additions with the likes of Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer Leverkusen; Benoit Assou-Ekotto from Lens; and Ivory Coast World Cup standout Didier Zokora from Saint-Etienne.

So with five weeks left and friendly games already underway what does Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and perhaps Tottenham need to do to take the Premiership title away from Stamford Bridge?

I don't know if Materazzi made contact with Malouda.

Cheeky chip from Zidane.

Camoranesi has been on the ball a lot.

I couldn't blame Barthez for Italy's goal. It would have been foolhardy to come out on that type of corner - Materazzi did a terric job with his header.

Italy is having the better of the play.

France is having trouble defendin corners from the right side - everytime one comes in it is causing problems.

Makelele is neutralizing Totti but Pirlo is a different problem. He plays so deep that he is difficult to mark.

Totti and Toni have taken to exchanging positions to try and disrupt French marking.

A good first half - here's hoping that France and Italy can keep it up.

France win and Portugal can have no complaints. France was the more composed side and looked as if they were the more likely side to score - even though it was mainly on the break.

My stand-outs for France was the back four. Sagnol and Abidal don't garner many headlines but I thought they were both outstanding tonight. They stuck to the Portuguese wingers and wouldn't allow them to get their crosses in. How many times do we see Simao, Ronaldo, and Figo check back when it looked as if their crosses were going to be blocked?

Makalele was also tremendous - he didn't allow Deco to operate in the areas where he could hurt France.

Portugal paid the price for not having someone who could hold the ball up when they did get it forward.

So we have a repeat of the Euro 2000 Final.

The big decision was the penalty call and the referee got the call absolutely right. Portugal is getting nothing out of Pauleta as the lone striker as the French always have enough players back to cover.

Makalele has Deco in his back pocket while Zidane is being given a lot of room to operate in.

I would say that France looks to be the team most likley to score again as Portugal gives free kicks away in dangerous positions.

The longer the second half goes on the more Portugal will have to push players forward nd the game will stretch - all the better for Henry.