The Observer looks back to some Premiership predictions from August of last year. Next Monday I will repost the predictions article that was posted nine months ago. This gives you a week to finetune your excuses and for some of you to complete the hole that you should be hiding in.
The latest on Marvin Andrews the Trinidad and Tobago defender who stunned doctors two years by playing on when the professionals felt it was impossible.
Twenty-five years on Tom English looks back on Sir Alex Ferguson’s first European trophy.
The other half of Avram Grant (so to speak) and a bit more.
Simon Kuper on the terrorism threat that hangs over this summer’s European Championships.
A small piece on Manchester United’s financial situation that I have not seen (up to Saturday evening) any place else.
LGB – 1. Do you think the "conference" format hurts or helps the MLS? 2. I went to Bill Turianski's website and it showed United having 9 European titles. Am I missing something? 3. Do you have numbers on the FA Cup Semifinal viewership? 4. Gabriele Marcotti's article was interesting. I've been trying to put a finger on United's "rotating attack" system. Marcotti was very vague on trying to describe it, how would you describe it?
Bobby – 1. I would prefer to see one division. 2. I did as well and saw 2 European titles. 3. In the UK - “Cardiff City and Barnsley drew 1.54 million and a 10.9% multichannel share between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, peaking at 2.09 million and 13.2% in the 15 minutes from 5.30 pm.” – Could not track down WBA and Portsmouth numbers. I don’t think FSC subscribes to ratings. 4. It’s based on speed, mobility and a fair amount of position swapping. It’s a variation of the Dutch system but limited to fewer players.
Gers4Lyfe - As an aside I would say your pithy analysis of Lauren Robert reveals perhaps an underappreciated expertise of the Auld Alliance. Dundee United gave Rangers a great run yet again. If as some would have you believe and Celtic supporters have their way running wee Gordon Strachan out of town, do you see them making a play for Craig Levein?
Bobby – I had to look up pithy – I thought that you had replaced “ss” with “th”. I don’t think Celtic will go after Levein. Very limited European experience.
Redfan4ever - Of the clubs in danger of the drop from the EPL what is your thoughts on the likely changes of managers at Bolton, Fulham, Derby? The press has reported that Megson and Jewell will both keep their jobs if their clubs go down. Will Al Fayed sack Hodgson do you think? Who else do you think (manager wise) might move clubs in the EPL this summer? Could Big Sam replace Curbs?
Bobby – Derby won’t change. My sense was that Hodgson was hired to keep Fulham in the Premiership – if he fails he will not be managing them in the Championship. I didn’t think Megson was an inspired choice and still don’t. As for the others – we will have to wait and see although Allardyce to West Ham I would consider to be a long shot.
Neophyte - This might be a different comment but here it goes. On a successful U-10 team there is this tall, lanky kid. He has great skills with his feet. Sees the pitch better than most. Crosses with left and right feet. He can score but is unselfish and so typically plays on the wings. He looked absolutely wonderful this last game. His glaring weakness is he lacks aggressiveness with the loose balls (50/50 balls) etc...His coach keeps him on a tight rein. If he loses a ball the coach will pull him even though he is obviously the most skilled at his position. They have talked about getting rid of the boy. That was why I was there. I told the coach that it looks like the kid suffers from the Peter Crouch syndrome: He looks awkward due to his height so he is critized but is effective on the pitch. Assuming my analysis of the boy’s abilities and weaknesses are correct how do you handle this?
Bobby –I can’t fathom getting rid of an under-10 player because he lacks aggression on 50/50 balls. Keep the kid, dump the coach.
MasMaz - I agree that the 4-4-2 is out of fashion. I am a proponent of the 4-2-3-1. What do you think of 4-2-3-1? What formation does Man Utd use? I can't figure it out.
Bobby – I like 4-2-3-1 as it seems to be a nice balance between defence and attack and allows the bank of three players to push on and attack. But if you don't have two intelligent defensive midfield players then it will not work. United does not use one formation.
Neophyte - I heard Capello say at a coaches clinic that formation means little in the top leagues. Formation won't win games, players win games. He was talking mainly to coaches about player development so his comments could have been made for affect rather than stating his true beliefs. He seems partial to the 4-2-3-1. I've heard Brazilian trainers say the same thing about formation and players and yet the national team seems to like 4-2-2-2. So what is it? Formation? Players? Both?
Bobby – Formation has to be built around player skills.
TimC2412 - Wouldn't you regard Skrtel as a pretty strong January pickup for Liverpool?
Bobby – He looked good against average teams but was hardly impressive against Manchester United. I would say that it is a bit early to sing his praises.
Flashman - What do think of Dave Jones' chances of getting back into the Prem? He's done a good job at Cardiff, grappled as best anyone could with the comatose giant of Wolves and has evolved quite nicely since his playing days. Could you see him a candidate for Blackburn if Hughes hops over to Celtic? West Ham? Citeh!? Or is he doomed to be the best tier two manager in England? He would have the derby with Swansea to look forward to next year if he stays. And tell us what you thought about the Dees-Gers game.
Bobby – Very slim. You have to remember that he was close to getting fired earlier in the season so although the FA Cup Final is a great achievement I think the only way David Jones back to the Premiership will be through promotion. I don’t think Dundee United like leads or Kris Boyd.
Flashman - Do you think Spurs would get more selling Berbatov intact, or having his brain bottled and leased out for study to leading psychiatric institutes?
Bobby – Only leading psychiatric institutes?
Jahmikes - What are views on officiating in matches, I think too much games in recent times too much results are dependent on official calls, many that have been wrong, why doesn’t football give each team three appeals for video playback as in tennis or cricket, it would not take time because managers would use their appeals wisely and the time could be put back in injury time. These days refs give 10 mins sometimes of injury. Also is it me or are officials clamping down on handballs this season, I do not recall so much calls for handball in a season before.
Bobby – Results have always been dependent on officials – it is nothing new. Video replays will mean that we can disagree in slow motion – it is not the answer.
Thierry_Henry - Do you see a day when RANGERS and CELTIC would see too much profit by playing in the EPL and decide to join. Kind like CARDIFF, SWANSEA and WREXHAM, who decided it's not worth playing in the Welsh League. I think it would be cool to have the BIG 6 instead of 4.
Bobby – No, you are more likely to get a European League before Rangers and Celtic are allowed to join the Premiership. It is not the Old Firm’s choice just to get up and join a foreign league. Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham made that decision a long time ago in a much less regulated time.
ZUCO2 - A few weeks ago I heard a story about Spain's national team that could get suspended from Euro 2008 because of the Spanish government. What's that all about? It seems that Albania national team is facing a similar problem.
Bobby – This sort of thing blows up on a fairly regular basis and FIFA issue threats about withdrawing sanction from the domestic FA and therefore all teams would be banned from international play.
It usually stems from a real or imaginary threat that governments are interfering in football matters domestically. My understanding is that the Spanish FA refused to comply with a government directive that would have meant elections for national sport organizations would be synchronized. The Spanish FA refused and so there is no threat of a FIFA ban.
Jahmikes - About instant success in the Jan transfer window, there is one, Jermaine Defoe, 7 goals in 7 games so far, that looks to me like positives for Pompey. Also with all the injuries in my teams midfield, why would you say Wenger has not played the young Brazilian Denilson, I would think playing him would allow some of the fatigued players some well needed rest.
Bobby – Defoe would be one of the few. Denilson was injured for a good part of 2008 and so I would think that his match fitness would be a concern.
Catgotyourtongue - I find it disconcerning that mistakes by refs are ignored if the result ends fairly. i.e. Hleb's yellow against Milan. If he picks up another he could miss an important game. Mistakes are so prevalent that announcers give it the same commentary as a streaker. Flag happy offsides are also way too prevalent. The thought that this is part of football is part of the problem.
Bobby – So what are you suggesting? Every call is debated and put to a vote before the game can continue? Who makes more mistakes? Players or officials?
Thewobegonboy - My question concerns Dirk Kuyt. I know he scored bags of goals in Holland and had a great World Cup campaign, but he looks very ordinary in the Premiership. It's plain to see that he's a hard-working player, as his runs and defensive interventions were instrumental in helping secure Liverpool's 1-1 draw at the Emirates (yes, as was his goal, which was more about the run than anything). His prolific tracking back got me wondering: is it possible that he's miscast as a striker? As a frontman, do you think he is out of his depth in England, or has serial rotater Rafa failed to get the best out of him? Could you name some players who flourished after switching positions? Thank you.
Bobby – I’m not sure I would have described Kuyt has having a great World Cup campaign. Rafa likes him - as would most managers – because he works incredibly hard. I would not necessarily say that he has been miscast as a striker given his scoring rate in Holland - just a striker that has had trouble stepping up to the next level. Kezman was the same.
There are many players who have successfully changed positions. Off the top of my head - Drogba was a midfield player. Gattusso played at right back for Rangers although that may have had more to do with BLEEP Advocaat. Thierry Henry striker-winger-striker. A number of strikers have moved back to centre half. Kolo Toure was a midfield player I believe.
Although the original plan was for another midweek appearance on the FSR on Wednesday night that will not happen unfortunately.
Germaine Greer says that Football counts as culture just as much as opera does.
And what's more we have more divas.
CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying second leg results.
A former director of Norwegian club Lyn has been found guilty of fraud in dealings with John Obi Mikel.
Michael Henderson provides a dissenting opinion on the “old pros” excuses for dissent.
Alan Pardew admits that his transfer moves have backfired.
For this weekend preview it was a toss-up between the Old Firm derby and the Merseyside derby and the coin landed on an edge.
Rangers vs. Celtic
This will be the 286th Old Firm league derby. Rangers have 111 wins, Celtic 92 wins and there have been 82 draws.
This season Rangers currently lead Celtic by three points with a game less played and five games remaining until the league splits. Even so, these two have to play each other another three times before the season wraps up and it has been five months since they last faced off – an eternity in Glasgow.
Rangers supporters have been chomping at the bit wanting an opportunity to extend a run that has seen their team win 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 since the return of Walter Smith in January 2007. For Celtic fans it is the polar opposite.
When you add a draw in December 2006 it adds up to the worst run for Celtic in SPL Old Firm games since 1995-97 when they went ten games without a win – losing six and drawing four.
The draw in December 2006 brought an end to a Celtic streak that had brought three wins and a draw with Rangers being held scoreless in all four games.
During that run Alex McLeish stepped aside as Rangers manager, and his replacement fared no better. Not long after McLeish’s demise, Paul Le Guen became the shortest serving manager in Rangers history and the only one to not complete a full season.
And so having been the instrument that led to two managerial terminations at Ibrox, Cetic’s Gordon Strachan now finds himself a potential victim of the same syndrome – being second in a league of two teams.
Strange when you consider that Strachan is still within striking distance of becoming the first Celtic boss since Jock Stein to win three consecutive league titles but a fact nonetheless.
Four pieces of silverware in his first two seasons in charge means nothing in a city where “what have you done lately” means when did you last beat the other lot and if you did, you had better beat them again….and again.
What is more with defeats in the Champions League and the Scottish Cup there is nothing for Celtic to fall back on except the SPL.
The phenomena of Old Firm managers going head-to-head with only one left standing is not new. Jock Stein brought an end to Scot Symon’s thirteen year stint at Ibrox in 1967. Symon’s years in charge had brought Rangers fifteen trophies and they had twice made it to the final of European Cup Winners Cup Final.
Even the great Jock Stein was pushed aside in 1978 after Jock Wallace’s Rangers gained the upper hand although Wallace unexpectedly bolted for Leicester around the same time. Graeme Souness saw off former Lisbon Lions Billy McNeill and Davie Hay between 1986 and 1991 while his successor Walter Smith was the principal reason for the demise of Liam Brady, Lou Macari and Tommy Burns.
Smith came a cropper as Wim Jansen spent his one season at Parkhead breaking Rangers run of nine consecutive league titles. BLEEP Advocaat enjoyed initial success at the expense of Josef Venglos, John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish until Martin O’Neill came along to push the Dutchman over the edge in 2001.
Liverpool vs. Everton
After last weekend’s controversy at Old Trafford perhaps the most important starter will be referee Howard Webb. (In his 30 games in charge this season Webb has sent off only one player and issued 100 yellow cards).
With seven games left Liverpool leads Everton by two points and are hoping to complete a league double over Everton. The comparable match last season finished scoreless as have two others in the last five seasons and Everton have not won at Anfield in their last seven visits.
You have to go back to the last century to find the Toffees last win. It came in 1999 when an early goal from Kevin Campbell decided the game.
Tim Cahill (3), Andy Johnson (2) and Lee Carsley from the present Everton squad have scored against Liverpool but Cahill will miss the game – and possibly the rest of the season after reinjuring a foot.
Everton’s leading scorer is Yakubu Aiyegbeni and he is only one goal short of becoming the first Everton player since Peter Beardsley in 91/92 to score 20 goals. However, Yakubu has failed to find the mark against Liverpool in any of his appearances against them.
On the other side Steven Gerrard, Harry Kewell and Dirk Kuyt have all scored two in the derby games while Peter Crouch has a single. After scoring twice from the penalty spot back in October Dirk Kuyt is trying to become the first Liverpool player since Emile Heskey in 2000-01 to score in both meetings in a season.
A draw or win for Everton would mean the battle for fourth would continue unabated. A victory for Liverpool would open a sizeable five point gap with only six games remaining.
Both sides have to play Arsenal and Birmingham away from home.
Liverpool must also visit Craven Cottage to play Fulham, and finish the season away to Spurs. There are also home games against Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City.
Everton have four home matches against Derby County, Chelsea, Aston Villa and on the final day of the 2008 season Newcastle United.
Some statistics and tidbits gleamed from the Liverpool FC website, Evertonresults.com and various other places. You can find more by clicking on the links.
This will be the 178th Merseyside league derby - Liverpool 66 wins, Everton 56 wins, 55 draws.
League results at Anfield have brought Liverpool 37 wins, Everton 23 wins, and 28 draws.
The last 'derby' hat-trick for Liverpool saw Ian Rush score four in a 5-0 win at Goodison in November 1982, while for the Blues Dixie Dean hit three at Anfield in September 1931 in a 3-1 win.
Should Fernando Torres score he will equal the club record of scoring in six successive top-flight home games. It has been achieved by Fred Pagnam (1919), Roger Hunt (1964), Ian Rush (1983) and Michael Owen (1999).
14 red cards have been issued in the last 17 derbies with seven being brandished in the last six games. (21 have been sent off in the history of the fixture).
Yakubu now has 13 League goals for Everton this season, better than anybody since Andrei Kanchelskis got 16 in 1995/96 and he has 19 in all competitions, last achieved by Tony Cottee in 1993/94.
Yakubu has been substituted in 15 of his 20 starts in the Premier League this season
Eighteen of Torres’ goals have come at Anfield – only two away at Derby and Boro.
Update - the deal is done and has been announced. For those who can't be bothered hitting a link here is the article.
The Dutch Royal Family, through the lineage of the House of Orange, can trace its roots back to the 1500s to a man called William of Orange - aka William the Silent. He was called the Silent as he rarely spoke out on controversial matters.
However that trait didn’t stop him from instigating a rebellion against Spain that lasted eighty years before independence for the United Provinces was achieved nearly a century after his birth.
William the Silent is still known in the Netherlands as the “Father of the Fatherland” although sometime in the last five hundred years the Dutch decided that they liked the independence bit but silence was just not for them.
Just take a look at the in-fighting and public feuding that has been part of most Dutch national teams for good parts of the last thirty odd years. Some may speculate that a calmer more reasonable demeanor might have brought more success to a country that twice lost to home nations in the World Cup Final while flaming out in numerous European Championships and World Cups.
After all, a single European Championship win in 1988 seems scant reward for a nation that has not only produced some of the world’s greatest players over the last four decades but also some of the most entertaining teams.
However, it might also be argued – and what is wrong the Dutch would argue with a good argument – that it may be the Dutch characteristic of single-mindedness and an appetite to discuss and debate controversial issues that has actually allowed the Dutch game to grow and prosper not only nationally but internationally.
It is easy to forget that less than half a century ago Dutch football was an irrelevance. The country may have made it to the 1934 and 1938 World Cup Finals in Italy and France but the amateur footballers of Holland were there to make up the numbers rather than to compete for the trophy.
The turning point came in the mid-fifties as professional teams were sanctioned followed two years later by the creation of a national league. Even then there was no sudden improvement. In the early sixties the Netherlands lost at home to Luxembourg in the European Championship qualifiers – as it happens the last time the Netherlands lost at home in a European qualifying game.
Success came when the authoritative coaching skills of Rinus Michels crossed paths with the fabulous footballing skills of a young Johan Cruyff. Domestic dominance quickly morphed into European success as Ajax won three successive European Cups between 1971 and 1973. Michels became the first top class Dutch coaching export when he left to coach Barcelona after the first European win. Two years later Cruyff also arrived at the Nou Camp.
Both men joined the Los Angeles Aztecs of the NASL for the 1979 season although the spell was largely without success. After the North American sojourn Michels split his time between the Dutch national team and a couple of Bundesliga teams while Cruyff headed home to Holland after a brief spell with Levante in Spain.
Cruyff’s return was fortuitous as it coincided with the emergence of three players who would go on to become part of one of the late 20th century’s great teams – AC Milan. While Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard came under Cruyff’s influence upon his return to Ajax it was not the same for Ruud Gullit.
Gullit had been approached by Ajax as a youngster but the deal was never done. Instead he joined Haarlem before moving to Feyenoord as a 20-year-old in 1982. A year later Dutch football was shocked when Cruyff turned down a contract extension at Ajax and instead opted to join their great rivals Feyenoord. At Feyenoord Gullit was to learn from the master-craftsman.
Later that decade, Van Basten, Rijkaard and Gullit played under Michels in the 1988 European Championship wining side and were signed by Milan’s ambitious owner Silvio Berlusconi.
Berlusconi saw in the three Dutch players a way by which Milan could again dominate Italy and Europe. It worked like a charm and the Milan side with the Dutch trio remains the last team to win back to back European titles. Before their arrival at the San Siro Milan had not won Serie A for almost a decade and the European Cup for nearly 20 years.
But as a player Gullit was never backward about coming forward and was never on Christmas card terms with Fabio Capello or for that matter BLEEP Advocaat. In 1994 Gullit walked out on Advocaat’s Dutch squad just days before the World Cup finals in the USA in 1994.
Injuries took their toll on Gullit and he bounced from Milan to Sampdoria then back to Milan before finally arriving at Stamford Bridge in July 1995. It was a move that reinvigorated the Dutchman and at 33-years-old he was still good enough to finish as runner-up to Eric Cantona as the Premiership Player of the Year.
Glenn Hoddle, the man who signed Gullit, resigned to take the England job in 1996 and the Dutchman was appointed as player-manager to replace him.
The first season in charge brought Chelsea a FA Cup and Gullit became the first non-British manager to win a major English trophy. The year after with his side sitting second in the league and in the last eight of two cup competitions “cuddly” Ken Bates sensationally fired the man who had brought silverware to Stamford Bridge for the first time in 26 years.
To this day it is still unclear as the reasons behind Bates’ actions.
A brief and largely unhappy stint at Newcastle ended after he benched local legend Alan Shearer. Even so Newcastle still made it to the FA Cup Final during his time there only to lose 2-0 to the treble winning Manchester side of 1999.
A period of five years then lapsed before Gullit again took the managerial reins, this time he returned to Feyenoord for the 2004/05 season but a fourth place finish was much below expectations.
So what can the LA Galaxy and fans of MLS teams expect from Ruud Gullit. First of all they are getting a man with the sort of instant credibility that comes from being one of the great players of his generation. His strength, speed, power, skill and tactical acumen made him the consummate modern player. As a player he was recognized around the world.
Some may describe his managerial record as poor or mediocre but that would be harsh. He won the FA Cup with Chelsea (in the days when Chelsea never won anything) and they were well positioned when he was fired. When put in the context of the time his spell time at Chelsea was a success.
The Newcastle job chewed him up and spat him out. The halcyon days of Kevin Keegan had given way to a brief spell under Kenny Dalglish that finished acrimoniously. Under Gullit Newcastle still reached the FA Cup Final (the only team to reach two consecutive finals and lose both times to teams that completed domestic doubles) but a poor start the following season combined with issues in his private life brought his time to an end after only a year. Although Newcastle could not be considered a success it might be more accurate to describe it as a work in progress prematurely terminated.
Certainly the return of the prodigal son to Feyenoord failed to achieve instant success. The Galaxy will be getting a coach that has had some short sharp managerial lessons administered but by now they should have sunk in.
They’re getting a man who can relate to the Beckham circus having been regarded as a god by Milan fans during his playing days and one that is media savvy.
Probably most importantly they are getting a manager who will not be distracted by the media focus on the Galaxy’s most important investment and who understands that no matter how much media attention, the Galaxy, like every other professional sports team, is in the results business.
It will also have not escaped Gullit’s notice that he will be following in the footsteps of two giants of the game who have also been two of his greatest influences - Michels and Cruyff.
Twenty-eight years ago the Dutch duo joined a league that was hemorrhaging money and was destined for extinction. Even though Michels was a pioneer who showed the world what Dutch coaching could offer, nothing registered in North America.
But the rest of the globe took notice and you have only to look at the 2006 World Cup in which Leo Beenhakker, Guus Hiddink and BLEEP Advocaat all coached other countries to understand how highly valued and appreciated Dutch coaching is.
But with the exception of Thomas Rongen, MLS has to date not fallen under Dutch influence. Now Gullit, a Dutch football Crown Prince, has been presented with a chance to resurrect his managerial career and to perhaps leave a mark on the game in North America in a way that his royal footballing forefathers could not.
The Ruud Gullit File Born Sept 1, 1962, in Amsterdam.
Club Career Haarlem 1978-1982 Feyenoord 1982-1985 PSV Eindhoven 1985-1987 Milan 1987-1993 Sampdoria 1993-1994 Milan 1994-1995 Sampdoria 1995 Chelsea 1995-98
471 games, 174 goals.
International Career Netherlands, 66 caps, 16 goals.
Honours Dutch Second Division 1981 Eredivisie 1984, 1986, 1987 Dutch Cup 1984 Serie A 1988, 1992, 1993 Coppa Italia 1994 Italian Super Cup 1988, 1992, 1994 Champions League 1989, 1990 European Super Cup 1990 Intercontinental Cup 1990 FA Cup 1997 European Championship 1988
Managerial Career Chelsea 1996-1998 1997 Won FA Cup; 6th in Premiership. Newcastle United 1998-1999 1999 FA Cup Runners Up; 13th in Premiership Feyenoord 2004-2005 Finished 4th in Eredivisie
Paul LeGuen’s seven months in charge at Ibrox makes him not only the shortest serving boss of Rangers but only the second to have failed to win a trophy during his tenure. (For trivia buffs the other was the much-maligned Davie White from 1967-69. White had the misfortune to have Jock Stein’s Celtic as the opposition.) LeGuen also leaves the post without a win against Celtic.
It is difficult to comprehend how one of the most highly regarded young managers in Europe could so suddenly become a man with a great future behind him.
Only twenty months ago LeGuen had just led Lyon to a third successive French title on his watch before stunning the football world by resigning. A move to Italy or Spain appeared to be imminent in a matter of days but nothing materialized.
Over the next year LeGuen was rumoured to be ready to sign with a number of European clubs but each time LeGuen had a change of mind. When finally Rangers announced his move to Ibrox to replace Alex McLeish more than a few eyebrows were raised. Even though Rangers and Celtic attract 50,000 plus audiences and enjoy a global base of support the SPL is not normally regarded as a stepping stone to greater things.
Some suggested that LeGuen saw the Rangers position as purely temporary until a big Premiership team – Arsenal was frequently mentioned – came calling. If that is now to materialize LeGuen needs to rebuild his career over the next few seasons as his time at Ibrox will remain a black spot for sometime to come.
Rangers’ SPL form has been abysmal while progress in the UEFA Cup as been the sole source of solace for the Ibrox faithful. The players LeGuen bought have been largely ineffectual, a trait he shares with the man he succeeded Alex McLeish. Both were forced to rake through the bargain bin looking for players that might improve the team’s quality while costing very little.
Neither manager came anyplace close to the extravagant transfer kitty enjoyed – and largely squandered – by BLEEP Advocaat between 1998 and 2001. Few managers can have spent so much money with so little return than the man known as the “Little General.”
Now attention shifts to a replacement. Former Rangers manager and current Walter Smith as well as ex-Ibrox star Terry Butcher are the bookies early favourites. However, don’t be surprised if names like Derby boss Billy Davies and Southampton manager George Burley to surface in the next few days.
Henry14 - Do you think Henry is finished, because he is not playing like he used to, what is your verdict on Henry, is he going down? Do Buffon and Henry receive anything, for being runners up to the Ballon D'Or - or they are just named, and what is your take on who deserves the award.
Bobby – Henry not playing like he used to still makes him a better player than 99.5% of the players in the Premiership. Finished – yes….. in around ten years time! I have no idea what second and third place receive – maybe a years subscription to France Football? Cannavaro should have won the Golden Ball at the World Cup. However, I don’t think he has been Europe’s outstanding player over the last 11 months
Neophyte - Heskey is an amazing player with a rocket of a leg. I don't know how long his contract is but he may not be playing at the JJB for long or they will have to shell out some serious cash for his services. Bobby -- are you surprised by Wigan? Would you buy Heskey? (provided he comes back from his calf injury)
Bobby – Wigan will continue to have their ups and downs. I picked them to finish 15th come season’s end and I still think that they will finish close to that spot. As for Emile Heskey – I will turn to Tommy Docherty for inspiration. Back when a million pounds was a million pounds he was asked about a player who was being hyped on a regular basis. The Doc’s quote went something like this “They tell me that 2 million wouldn’t buy him, and I am one of them”. Heskey was given all the physical tools but he has never known what to do with them. His managers have been relegated to talking up his strong defensive qualities – which is fine except he is supposed to be a striker. His career average has been a goal every four games and his record with Wigan is about the same.
As for a rocket of a leg, is that why he constantly falls over? Maybe if he had a pair of leg rockets he could balance better.
davard - How much does qualifying for the UEFA cup get anyone? (if anything) Obviously the knockout rounds are the more lucrative ones, but is the reward anywhere near as lucrative as the champs. league?
Bobby – It is difficult to make apple-to-apple comparisons because Champions League pay outs are largely dictated by market pay outs that are largely based on how much television revenue is generated in a teams home market and which rounds the teams from that market reach.
For UEFA Cup qualifiers the payment system is - the clubs get gate money and the right to sell some of the TV rights. Celtic estimated that their run to the 2003 final earned them about $18M but you have to consider that a lot of that would be gate money that many other teams would not be able to generate. Another comparison is that Celtic and Rangers have used in the past is that if they don’t qualify for the Champions League group stage then they need to reach the semi final of the UEFA Cup in order to compensate.
Overall though, the UEFA Cup is small potatoes compared to the Champions League.
Realmadridcffan1. With Canada hosting the FIFA World Under 20 soccer championships next year in Canada, what do you think will the CSA define as an acceptable performance for the Canadian Squad? 2. Who do you think will be Canada's next coach of the Men's National team? and what type of qualities should the next coach of the national team should have?3. Who do you think is the most overrated and underrated goalkeeper currently playing at a club level right now?
Bobby – 1. Canada has to qualify from the group stages (given that 16 of 24 make it that should not be difficult), an exit in the last 16 would be spun as a success by the CSA but it would not be, last 8 would be about right, anything after that a massive over achievement.
2. I have no idea and I don’t think that the CSA has much choice given the mickey-mouse reputation that they enjoy internationally. Even after the changes at the top I can’t see the CSA offering a competitive wage and so the choice will be between foreign “damaged-goods” or a North American who is willing to put up with inadequate funding and resources. The new CSA President can talk all he wants about making the national men’s team a priority but until he walks the talk I remain skeptical.
3. Given that club level in Europe covers 50 plus countries and who knows how many teams and goalkeepers I can’t answer that question.
Davard - I don't know if you saw that one but I'd love to know what you thought of your female countrymen getting booted out of the cup by a last gasp penalty.
Bobby – Didn’t watch it – don’t care.
Henry14 - l have seen linesmen come into the field to align proper positions of free kick and corners l have one thing that makes me wonder, why do they not stop the ball from going far from where the throw in is taken. Do you know why? What do you make of the Sun's claims about Sheva?
Bobby – Because their job requires them to be level with the last line of defense. When you see them come onto the field it is almost exclusively because the ball is in the corner. People read/look at the Sun for two reasons and they are both on page 3.
USAEnglandfan - The hot topic right now is Man Utd's depth up front. Personally I think it's pretty urgent in the midfield too. Fletcher/O'Shea are great cover guys but they don't have much else. Where do they need support more and can they possibly reinforce both areas in January? Also, I'm a huge fan of some of the crowd chants in the prem. BBC has a few great ones in their Quotes of the Week this week. Exactly how are they conceived? Are they made up on the spot? Do you recall any that you'd say are the funniest?
Bobby – I think in the aftermath of Sunday’s game for fans are looking at the relative depth of the two squads. As Alan Parry and David Pleat pointed out on Sunday, United didn’t have a player that they could bring on who could change the game. Solskjaer might have been that player if he had been fit. Alan Smith is never going to be a top drawer midfield player or cover for Saha. His best performances with Leeds tended to be in a support type role ala Wayne Rooney. I can’t see how United can battle on two fronts with their squad and how are they going to get the money to buy impact players?
There is usually a core of fans who take it on to conceive the chants and then others pick them up. Many are traditional and have been handed down while there is also a regular stream of new ones built around news or gossip. One of the primary differences I found between British and North American sport audiences was the humour or to be more accurate in terms of North America the lack of humour.
As for chants – “He’s short, he’s fat, he’s going to get the sack – Advocaat, Advocaat” by Celtic fans to Rangers boss BLEEP Advocaat has stuck with me.
There are a number of legendary ones. After Leeds United keeper Gary Sprake literally threw the ball into his own net during a game at Anfield in the late 60’s the Kop sang “Careless Hands” which was a pop song of the time.
USAEnglandfan - There was recently a high-profile college football (American) game here (I think it involved Missouri), and in the dying minutes there was an iffy penalty call which allowed the trailing side to score a touchdown and win. The officials issued a statement recently saying, and I quote, "We blew it." Perhaps it is because video technology has all but eliminated incorrect calls in the sport, but American football refs seem to be respected more and much more in the periphery of the sport (where refs should be) than world football. Granted, the stop-and-go nature of American football lends itself much better to video technology, but when the mistakes are made, this type of statement issued by the officials at this college game is absolutely unheard of in world football. Do you think under-fire referees like Poll would do well to get off their high horse and own up to their mistakes or would it just damage their authority and future job prospects?
Bobby – Didn’t a referee issue an apology after incorrectly awarding a goal against Middlesbrough last season – against West Ham perhaps?
AlexMorph - Just how much longer do we have to suffer Sepp Blatter for? Can he run again for the presidency, and if so is there a realistic challenger to replace him (perhaps a donkey or Kermit the Frog?). Why is it that contenders for these big positions can never have a moderate stance on things. Platini, Johansson, and Blatter all make stupid comments.Plus, is there any chance that Beckenbauer might throw in his lot in the near future?
Bobby – Despite his promise to only run for two terms, old Sepp has decided that soccer cannot do without him and he will run again next year – without a credible challenger in sight. Beckenbauer is a notable absentee from the UEFA election and there is no way I could see him running against Blatter. My guess is that Beckenbauer is angling for 2011. His opponent in five years time might turn out to be Jack “get your tickets here” Warner.
Henry14 - l think we all know the sky sports ratings, do you know which player had the highest average in Premiership history for an entire season and by which value?
Bobby – Give up, who is it?
To bigdavedisaster – I hope your sister made the comment with her tongue firmly in her cheek.
Togo has absorbed Korean presssure but when they atack they look more liable to score. South Korea is playing a very typical BLEEP Advoccat style - competent technical football but with no cuttig edge up front.
At the moment the South Korean attack is as about as sharp as a rubber knife.
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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