Liverpool survived an awkward opening spell against their nemesis Manchester United before putting on their most impressive display of the season so far. Once Alonso and Mascherano came to grips with the task the centre of the United struggled badly and United’s substitutions made little difference.
This one could be categorized as a best forgotten display followed by an outstanding performance for Borussia Dortmund and vice-versa for Schalke 04. Schalke 04 were two up by half time and lead 3-0 before the hour mark. But in front of Europe’s last crowd this weekend of 80,000 Dortmund bounced back with three goals in the space of twenty-one minutes to secure a heart-stopping point.
Best forgotten…..
It was another miserable weekend for the fans of Newcastle United. A 2-1 home loss to newly-promoted Hull City, Danny Guthrie sent off for a petulant kick at Craig ####an, Alan Shearer’s dismissal as a club ambassador, a ludicrous attempt to replace Kevin Keegan with ….Kevin Keegan and finally confirmation that owner Mike Ashley is willing to sell the club.
Barcelona struggled to a home draw with Racing Santander. Two games and two draws is not a good enough start at it leaves new Coach Pep Guardiola waiting for his first league win. It will not have helped matters that Santander’s goal came from a deflected Ezequiel Garay free kick – Garay is on loan from Real Madrid.
The last time Milan lost their two opening games of the season was in 1986/87. A home loss to Bologna (2-1) on opening day was followed by a 2-0 away loss to Genoa on Sunday. Most worrying for Milan supporters was how relatively easily Genoa handled Milan. Milan looked slow, ponderous and played little or no imagination. Kaka will take a couple of weeks to regain his match fitness but he should not to carry the rest of the side.
Best goals….
Arsenal’s 2nd goal against Blackburn came just before half-time, took seventy seconds and consisted of an uninterrupted string of 28 passes. Finally Denilson floated a cross to the back post and Adebayor scored with a well paced header.
Fabrizio Miccoli first goal of two against Roma was a classic Miccoli goal. He used his quick feet to create a chance just outside the Roma penalty box and then he ripped the ball past goalkeeper Doni. He added a second goal in the second half.
Davy Arnaud’s blast for Kansas City Wizards from 30+ yards killed off Los Angeles Galaxy. Arnaud’s goal came only two minutes after he helped set the opening goal with around a quarter of the match remaining.
Alexander Frei’s left footed long range rocket pulled Dortmund back to within a goal of Schalke 04 in the Ruhr derby. A soft penalty allowed Frei to tie the game.
Best Players….
As someone once remarked “Dirk Kuyt’s second touch is usually a tackle” but you can never question the Dutchman’s drive and desire. No matter how badly he may be playing he never stops and never hides. Asked to start up front on Saturday against Manchester United he harried and chased and then moved out to the right side of midfield as Benitez moved players around. Either way he was outstanding for Liverpool.
Manchester City and their newly acquired financial depth were found sadly wanting against the team previously #1 on the financial charts Chelsea. City even got off to a great start with a Robinho free kick giving them a 1-0 lead. But from then on City were given a swift and decisive lesson on how far they have to go if they hope to compete with the best in England and in Europe. Frank Lampard was central to all that was good about Chelsea’s performance at the Eastlands and he chipped in with the go-ahead goal – his 150th goal of his professional career.
The Brazilian midfielder Fabio Simplicio ran the show in Palermo’s 3-1 win over Roma on Saturday. The former Parma midfielder was not selected in the opening round loss against Udinese but was recalled for Saturday’s clash.
Genoa started Andrea Gasbarroni of the left side of an attacking front three against Milan. However, it did not stop him cutting inside at will and popping up to cause Milan in all sorts of problems in other positions. He started the move that led to Genoa’s opening goal and generally led the Milan defense a merry dance for the eighty minutes he was on the park.
Goal feast……
Two matches in Spain finished 4-3 in favour of the home sides and both involved valiant but ultimately unsuccessful efforts from two newly promoted sides. Sporting Gijon (Croatian striker Mate Bilic had a first half hat trick) and Sevilla shared six first half goals before Freddie Kanoute scored a second half winner. In the capital Real Madrid led Numancia 4-2 at half time and survived a fright as Numancia pulled to within one courtesy of a free kick just before the hour mark.
North Americans in Europe….
Canadian striker Olivier Occean saw a minimal amount of time in the recent World Cup qualifying games. However, he did score his tenth goal of the season at the weekend for his Norwegian club Lillestrom in a 1-1 draw against Molde. The draw leaves Lillestrom sitting third from the bottom of the league and in the last relegation spot with six games left. Molde are a spot above Lillestrom but only on goal difference.
Biggest Howlers……
Adebayor had a hat trick on Saturday but Stephen Warnock had a hat trick of errors. Poor marking allowed Adebayor goal side on the second goal; he then tripped Eboue and conceded a penalty; and completed his day by playing Adebayor onside.
I try to give officials the benefit of the doubt by Mark Halsey’s decision to send John Terry off was a mistake of Graham “Three Card Trick” Poll proportions. Carvalho was clearly behind Terry and Jo was well within his range. A case could be made that Terry’s action was cynical and deserving of a card. That may well be, but under the current rules and instructions it should have been a yellow card.
Stat facts.... Emmanuel Adebayor’s hat trick against Blackburn on Saturday brought his personal goal tally against Paul Robinson in Premiership play to 8 goals in six games. Adebayor has only been blanked once by Robinson and even then the Arsenal striker assisted on a goal from Thierry Henry in a 1-1 tie.
Paul Robinson has now conceded 37 goals in 13 Premiership starts against Arsenal. Saturday’s 4-0 loss was the seventh time that the former England number keeper has let in three or more goals when facing the Gunners.
Catania’s 2-1 away loss to Inter means that they have now gone 22 away games since their last away win in Serie A. During the run they have lost 15 of these games.
Rangers 2-1 win against Kilmarnock means that they have now won their last 16 SPL games played at Ibrox. The last time Rangers dropped points at home in the SPL was October 6, 2007 when they lost 1-0 to Hibernian.
What was said….
Bill Edgar proposes ten rule changes that he believes would improve the game. This article should generate a few posts I think.
Andy Hunter on the two demonstrations held by fans on Saturday.
Stewart Fisher catches up with former New England Revolution midfielder Andy Dorman who is one of the first names on the St. Mirren team sheet each week.
Aidan Smith looks at how some players are growing larger.
Coming up this week…..
The group stage of the Champions League starts as does the first round of the UEFA Cup. There is also a full Championship schedule midweek in England. Columbus Crew is at home to New York Red Bulls in Thursday night’s MLS game.
The inaugural CONCACAF Champions League group stage also starts on Tuesday with DC United at home to Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica). The following day Houston Dynamo entertain CD Luis Angel Firpo (El Salvador) and Montreal Impact hosts Joe Public (Trinidad and Tobago) the conquerors of New England Revolution.
It seemed pretty straightforward at the time. A day after the transfer window closed write a column on some of the bigger moves and some that didn’t come to pass. Then yesterday came and we were hit with the equivalent of a category five hurricane.
Who could have possibly thought on Sunday evening that within 24 hours Manchester City would be turned into a financial powerhouse and that the new owners (Abu Dhabi United Group) would mark their arrival by signing Robinho?
After all, a week ago the general consensus was that City was in financial and organizational disarray and that the best route for manager Mark Hughes was the door marked exit. Now, he has a board of directors talking instant success, and all funded by a budget that even Roman Abramovich might hesitate to sanction. (Some may argue that the best route for Hughes remains the same.)
The remarkable events of yesterday has left writers, bloggers and fans stunned and grasping to try and understand the full implications of the audacious takeover for the Premiership, as well as European and World football. It has also not stopped many resorting to received wisdom cloaked as insightful comment.
Most would argue under more sober circumstances that joining the dots between unlimited funds, success and world domination is a tad simplistic but it hasn’t stopped some jumping on board the hyperbole bandwagon as it heads to the north-west of England. Lots of cash + best players in world = World Domination.
If that is the case then examples should readily come to mind. Chelsea under Abramovich – not even domestic domination let alone global. Real Madrid and the Galacticos era – yeah that worked. Check out how much Inter Milan spent trying achieve success during the 90s – in terms of major trophies it was ####-all squared. Barcelona have spent many fortunes over the years and have won the European Cup just twice in over half a century.
That is not to say that the availability of money doesn’t matter. Money has always being part of the game and identifying and buying the right talent at the right price has always been a key skill set of any successful manager. In terms of British managers from Herbert Chapman and the Bank of England Arsenal side of the 30s to Sir Matt Busby, Bill Shankly, Jock Stein and Brian Clough, all were astute buyers of talent.
For Manchester City the requirement to buy at the right price appears to no longer apply but building a team is much more than just signing “world class” players. Quite simply I would refer to a basic definition - “a team is a group of people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose and a set of goals.”
It is not a group of high priced mercenaries unwilling to sacrifice self for the common guide. Separating players with character from the imposters takes skill, experience and insight – it takes smarts.
Until Manchester City show that they have the smarts I would suggest that a Global Domination Tour 2010 (or 2015 for that matter) might be premature.
Transfers
For the last three months we have been inundated with news of transfers that were sure to be consummated, deals that only needed a signature and daring multi-million dollar raids being planned in bunkers deep below Premiership grounds.
With a lot of last minute wheeling and dealing we are told that a new Premiership spending record of around $1B has been set during the just completed transfer-window. But what of the transfers that didn’t come to pass?
Here is a list of my top 25 non-transfers.
1. Samuel Eto’o – Barcelona to assorted clubs. My biggest surprise when you consider that Barcelona was happy to see the back of the former African Player of the Year. A clear indication that the top clubs believe Eto’o to be more trouble than he is worth.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United to Hartlepool United. Forgiven but not forgotten and with cash from the Robinho in-hand we are sure to hear more in ten months time.
3. Gareth Barry – Aston Villa to Liverpool. Wasn’t about the money? Right.
4. Andrei Arshavin – Zenit St. Petersburg to Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur. You have to feel that Arshavin’s magical European Championship semi-final appearance against Spain cost him dear. Magical? He disappeared.
5. Emmanuel Adebayor – Arsenal to Barcelona or Milan. So much press but just a reincarnation of numerous Patrick Vieira summers on a smaller scale.
6. Xabi Alonso – Liverpool to Arsenal, Aston Villa, Juventus. Poor Rafa Benitez. Has to make do with one of the best passers of the ball in the Premiership – with both feet.
7. David Villa – Valencia to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid. Real Madrid was going to be his destination if it was to move but Valencia decided to continue their flirt with insolvency. Here’s betting that he will have to be sold at a much lower price than Valencia might have demanded coming off the Euros.
8. David Silva – Valencia to Liverpool, Manchester United. Similar scenario to his teammate Villa.
9. Frank Lampard – Chelsea to Inter. Frank demanded a five-year deal and Chelsea with a back bone of jello gave it to him.
10. Kaka – Milan to Chelsea. Good headlines but little chance that it was actually going to happen.
11. Gennaro Gattuso – Milan to Bayern Munich. The German club seemed genuinely interested at the start of the summer but it faded quickly. The January transfer window might find Gattuso moving but not to Bayern Munich.
12. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – Ajax to assorted clubs. Every year Huntelaar is rumoured to be a target for the big clubs of Europe. And every year nothing happens. I think the message is loud and clear.
13. Adrian Mutu – Fiorentina to Roma. Mutu opted to keep faith with the side that resurrected his playing career but with a hefty invoice arriving soon from Chelsea Mutu might have to find funds quickly.
14. Roque Santa Cruz - Blackburn Rovers to Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United. Another player showing some loyalty to a club that offered an opportunity when many would not.
15. Thierry Henry – Barcelona to Seattle Sounders, New York Red Bulls, Manchester United. The most unbelievable rumours of the summer.
16. Diego Forlan – Atletico Madrid to Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur. Forlan may have struck gold in Spain but he will never live down his spell at Manchester United. It would take a gutsy Premiership team to offer Forlan a second chance.
17. Joao Moutinho – Sporting Lisbon to Everton. An on-going frustration for Everton but I can’t help but feel that Moutinho would not have filled Everton’s needs.
18. Javier Saviola – Real Madrid to Newcastle. A summer has gone by and Saviola did not change clubs.
19. Ruben de la Red – Real Madrid to Arsenal. Real Madrid is not so deep in great midfield players that they can afford to let de la Red slip away.
20. Gokhan Inler – Udinese to Arsenal. Inler enjoyed an excellent European Championship for Switzerland and just signed a long-term deal with Udinese of Serie A.
21. Branislav Ivanovic – Chelsea to Milan. Signed with a great deal of fanfare last January Ivanovic is on course to challenge Winston Bogarde as Chelsea’s worst signings of all-time. He has been described as a versatile defender who is able to play any position on the bench if given a chance.
22. Vagner Love – CSKA Moscow to Everton. This one enjoyed some prominence for a week or so in the form of a loan deal or a transfer.
23. Karim Benzema – Lyon to assorted clubs. The young man has showed a great deal of common sense by realizing that he is going to become a better player playing each game for Lyon rather than being rotated at another club. His time will come and it will be big money. (I wonder if he supported Manchester City as a boy?)
24. Sergio Aguero – Atletico Madrid to assorted clubs. Sit back and wait for the English media to discover a player that by the time the World Cup comes around in 2010 will be regarded as one of the top five talents in the world.
25. Luis Figo – Inter to UAE, MLS. Remember that back in January Figo was reported to have signed a contract to play in the Middle East? On Saturday there was Figo at 35 starting for Inter.
Newcastle Whether Kevin Keegan has been fired or has resigned or will be taking training tomorrow doesn’t really matter. Newcastle continues to operate in a shambolic manner with owner Mike Ashley showing he would have trouble finding the ground if he fell out a tree – beer or no beer.
Ashley is another example of the misplaced faith that fans put in businessmen that have a “passion” for their club. It is the “passion” that causes the problem. Better to look for an owner who has a solid long-term plan rather than one who has a desire to kow-tow to the supporters.
I said in the pre-season preview that Ashley had “bit off more than he could chew” and “despite stories of how much money Keegan was to be given to bring new players to St. James’ there has been little indication these past months”.
Less than a month in and Ashley has admitted that he did not undertake any due diligence when buying the club and has been shocked at how much transfer money was owed in deferred payments. (Must have glass doors at St. James’).
Furthermore, it has become clear over the last week that the Newcastle board is willing to sanction the sale of players no matter what the manager thinks.
As a new Premiership season draws ever closer one of the favourite pastimes of pundits and fans is to opine on who will be the first managerial casualty of the campaign. Alan Curbishley (West Ham), Kevin Keegan (Newcastle), Gary Megson (Bolton), Roy Hodgson (Fulham) and David Moyes (Everton) are all attracting some attention in the "sack race" - or first-out-the door.
Interestingly three of the most touted names (Keegan, Megson and Hodgson) were brought in to takeover after Newcastle, Bolton and Fulham opted to pull the plug on the then incumbents. We know all three clubs survived so perhaps the end justified the means but do the statistics from last season support the managerial changes that were made?
Along with the three aforementioned managers there were another four managerial changes in the Premiership last season. Juande Ramos replaced Martin Jol at Spurs, Paul Jewell took over after Derby from Billy Davies, Steve Bruce returned to Wigan taking the place of Chris Hutchings and Avram Grant stepped into the special shoes left by Jose Mourinho.
So of the seven managers who made the biggest difference? The points differential can’t be used because all seven arrived at different times so the best comparison is the points per game gained after the change had been made measured against the points per game gained before the new gaffer signed on.
As well as making interesting reading in terms of last season the numbers may also give a hint of things to come in 2008/09.
The most “successful” change was at Wigan. Steve Bruce inherited a side that had averaged 0.57 points per game and he saw it increase by more than double to 1.33 per game. Projected over an entire season the pace under Bruce would have given Wigan a 50 point season – good for a very comfortable mid-table finish.
Next was Bolton’s Gary Megson. Before Megson arrived Bolton was collecting a point every two games. Megson increased that to well over a point per game (1.14) – another increase of over double the prior rate. Projected over a 38 games season Megson’s team would have finished on 43 points.
In third place is the manager who I am guessing most fans would have picked as the one showing the greatest improvement – Juande Ramos at Spurs. Ramos came within a smidgen of doubling Spurs points per game tally (1.39 to 0.70) but was well behind Megson and Bruce in the most improved category.
However, only Chelsea under Avram Grant averaged more points per game (2.31) under a new regime. If Spurs were to maintain the post-Ramos pace in the coming season they would finish with 53 points – not really top four form. There was the Carling Cup win however.
Finishing out of the medals was Roy Hodgson at Fulham. A little over a 50% improvement and it was all down to Fulham’s storming finish in the final three games. The nine points from three games made the difference between a 50% improvement and a record that would have worse than the man he replaced.
Projected to the new season Fulham would finish on 44 points – a cautionary note, exclude the final three games and that points total becomes 30 points.
Avram Grant’s Chelsea garnered the highest ratio of points per game but the improvement Mourinho’s performance was a little over 25%. (A caveat when making an assessment on Chelsea’s pre and post performance is that Chelsea fired a manager who was averaging 1.83 points per match. Of the seven sides only Newcastle pre-Keegan at 1.18 points per game exceeded an average of a point a game.)
After that we start moving into points regression. Under Keegan the points per game ratio was 90% of Newcastle’s ratio before he arrived (1.18 before – 1.06 after). Points projection over a full 38 game schedule – 40 points.
Last but not least was Paul Jewell and Derby County. With only six points from the first 14 games under Billy Davies I wonder if any of the Derby top brass suggested that if they parted ways with Davies it certainly could not get any worse. Well – it did. The next 24 games brought only five points and a projected total so low that it will not even be mentioned.
Amid all this summer’s transfer talk one of the few big money moves to actually happen has been the $20M+ transfer of Peter Crouch from Liverpool to FA Cup holders Portsmouth. Taken at face value the intent would seem to be to play Crouch in attack alongside former West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe.
The press has been quick to label the pair as a “little and large” combination. The little and large arrangement appeals to a number of sensibilities as it seems to match the best of two of the most common type forwards – the big fellow who is good in the air and the wee speedy striker with a nose for knock downs and an eye for a half chance.
But such combos appear to have fallen out of favour and instead many of the most successful Premiership scoring partnerships over the last few seasons have been made up of a striker and a midfielder - Van Nistelrooy and Scholes; Henry and Pires; Torres and Gerrard; Drogba and Lampard.
Nevertheless strike partnerships such as Quinn/Phillips (Sunderland), Heskey/Owen (Liverpool) and Dublin/Vassell (Aston Villa) have shown that a pairing of a big man and wee man along with the right supporting cast can sometimes deliver goals.
But when it comes down to ranking big and small pairings no combo has yet bettered the Kevin Keegan and John Toshack partnership from the Liverpool team of the seventies. Keegan and Toshack is still regarded as the consummate “little and large” strike partnership although as the years have gone by there has been a tendency to think only in terms of long balls pumped forward for the big strong Toshack to knock on for the speedy and nimble Keegan.
There was a lot more to the duo than balls thumped forward looking for Toshack to make contact. Keegan’s prodigious work rate and unselfish running created all sorts of problems for defenders who had become use to marking relatively static target men while Toshack was an intelligent reader of the game who was rarely given sufficient credit for his anticipation and touch.
Encouraging for Portsmouth fans is the fact that Peter Crouch’s only double figure scoring season in the Premiership (12 goals) was in 04/05 when he combined with “little” Kevin Phillips. It also marked Phillips last good Premiership season (10) although Southampton was relegated.
Both Crouch and Defoe have had trouble holding down regular staring spots at their previous clubs with over a third of their Premiership appearances coming as substitutes. Defoe has been the most productive scorer of the two and has also racked up 50% more Premiership appearances than Crouch despite being a year younger – 26 to Crouch’s 27.
Sixteen of Defoe’s 69 Premiership goals in 225 appearances have come off the bench and his 33 helpers reinforce his reputation as a striker who who is sometimes overly focused on his own exploits. Defoe’s best Premiership season for goals came in 2006/07 when he notched a dozen but he has finished two other seasons in double figures.
Crouch has 38 Premiership goals to his credit in 149 appearances although his 5 goals as a substitute seem to contradict the widely held opinion of him as a goalscoring “super-sub”.
In linking Crouch and Defoe Portsmouth boss Harry Rednapp is looking to improve Portsmouth’s goal output knowing that if his club is to improve further then more goals are necessary. In their five Premiership seasons Portsmouth’s scoring has ranged from a low of 37 (miracle escape year) to a high of 48 last season.
The best season return from a single player came from Yakubu with 13 in 04/05 and their two top goal scorers have never broken twenty between them in the five seasons - the best performance was in 2003/04 with Yakubu 11 and Sheringham 9.
Strangely that total was matched last season with Benjani collecting 12 goals and Defoe 8 but these two crossed transfer paths during the January transfer window and never did play together. For Harry Rednapp a change in preferred tactics may also be in order – especially at home.
Although last season Portsmouth finished a best ever 8th in the Premiership Pompey’s home form slipped and four single goal losses and eight draws at home meant a goal here and there might have meant a realistic challenge to fifth place Everton.
Rednapp’s favoured formation was the lone striker and although these tactics worked to Portsmouth’s advantage away from home it often backfired at home. Twenty-four goals in nineteen home games is far from prestigious but it becomes anemic when you consider that 17 goals came in only 4 games (against Reading, Birmingham, Bolton and Derby).
If Portsmouth is become a consistent top six finisher then not only do Crouch and Defoe have to become a dependable source for goals but Rednapp needs to make sure that more goals at one end are not negated at the other. Portsmouth need to find a way to service and support two strikers while keeping the midfield from being overrun and the defense from conceding more goals.
Paul Doyle says that the African Cup of Nations is more than just another tournament for the players.
Jonathan Wilson looks at Benin’s preparation for the tournament.
Here is another place where you can access the African Cup of Nations. You can buy per game, the group phase or the highlights. Muntari’s winner against Guinea was an absolute cracker.
A BBC article marking the 25th anniversary of Garrincha’s death. For anyone who has not read Ruy Castro’s book, get it and you will enjoy. It is an incredible story. Someone once said that before there was George Best there was Garrincha – that applied to the on-field and off-field exploits.
Harry Pearson's original review of the book contained the following: "It's hard to imagine the biography of any English footballer featuring cannibalism, masturbation contests and the subject losing his virginity with a goat inside the first twenty pages..."
A very sober and fair assessment of Kevin Keegan from Nick Townsend.
And Rob Hughes’ take on the Liverpool Boot Room, Hicks, Gillett, Rafa and possibly new owners.
The latest on cuddly Jack Warner from Andrew Jennings. It’s a pity that the larger CONCACAF nations can’t gather up the courage to take a run at this on-going embarrassment.
Here is some additional background to the Antigua story.
Celtic executive Peter Lawwell looks at what the dismantling of the G-14 means for his club as well as to club football in Europe.
Finally a massive thank you to all the people I met at the NSCAA convention in Baltimore. And in particular thank you to Charlie Cooke for his patience in listening to my boyhood memeories of his time in the dark blue of Dundee and Scotland.
Robert Philip manages to name check Mary Queen of Scots, Scotty from Star Trek, ####es, Bill Shankly and Sean Connery before getting to the point of his football article. You really just need to read his introduction.
Another idea of how to generate stadium revenue. Sounds a bit bizarre but....
A Soccer America interview with USA national team boss Bob Bradley.
The Financial Times and Guardian articles on Manchester United record revenue and profits are the best I have read in terms of giving good information about the interest payments.
From the top to the near bottom - the reverse of Sir Alex Ferguson's journey. The Times with a positive story about East Stirlingshire - the team that offerred Ferguson his first job in hairdressing nearly thirty four years ago.
With Newcastle United pulling the plug on another manager it is worth looking at the performance of the not-so-magnificent seven (although in relation to Keegan and Robson that remark should be tempered) during the Premiership years. Newcastle was not a charter member of the Premiership but after missing out on the first season Keegan secured promotion in his first full season.
Here are the managers, the position the club was in when they “left”, games in charge, average points gained and the approximate net outlay in transfer fees – it is a lot.
The list is in chronological order:
o Kevin Keegan – 4th, 143 games, 1.85 points, $80M
o Kenny Dalglish – 13th*, 56 games, 1.34 points, $27M
o Ruud Gullit – 19th, 41 games, 1.65 points, $13.6M
o Sir Bobby Robson – 17th, 188 games, 1.60 points, $58M
o Graeme Souness – 16th, 56 games, 1.16 points, $66M
o Glen Roeder – 13th, 52 games, 1.42 points, $19M
o Sam Allardyce – 11th, 21 games, 1.24 points, $28M
(Dalglish carries an asterisk as he was fired only two games into a season and 13th was the previous season’s finishing position.)
From Gullit on the managers are getting fired with the team sitting in ever higher positions. Maybe it is all part of some cunning plan to literally fire Newcastle to the top?
Looking back the failure to use the relatively successful spell under Bobby Robson to groom a successor was a faux pas of immense proportions. Who in their right mind would operate with one of their most important employees past the age 70 and with no succession plan in place?
As for Allardyce I don’t think any fair minded person would accept that half a season is enough time to turn a team that has failed to win a major domestic trophy in over half a century around.
A significant number of Newcastle fans are apparently upset at the type of football Allardyce had the team playing. But again if you are trying to change a culture of mediocrity then there is going to be protracted spell of rubbish dished up – that should not be a surprise. And in terms of a new manager it is likely to be more of the same.
I often wonder if a new manger might not get better results and reduce short term expectations if instead of asking for the cheque book he told players that they had half a season to prove themselves.
Immediately moving to sign new players and dumping the ones signed by the predecessor just leads to a belief that improvement will be immediate. Then if the new signings fail to impress – as they did in the Allardyce/Newcastle situation – the pressure mounts and the revolving door starts to rotate once more.
As for a successor, the names are beginning to appear in the press and on websites. Harry Rednapp, Mark Hughes, Steve McClaren (surely not!!) are all getting some play in the media. The odds are a Keegan return have also been slashed.
But as Simon Barnes said in The Times last weekend will a new manager be given a fair crack while Alan Shearer continues in the role of the best manager never to have managed Newcastle?
It would seem that Mike Ashley has done the easy bit in firing Big Sam, the hard bit is convincing someone of quality to pick up the poisoned chalice.
Quick free kicks
A number of teams are looking to cure some sporadic bouts of Premiership travel sickness this weekend. Spurs travels to Stamford Bridge in what could be a preview of the Carling Cup Final. But travelling to Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford, Anfield and wherever Arsenal were playing at the time, has not brought much joy to Spurs. In sixty-three Premiership trips to these grounds Spurs have won just twice - a win at Arsenal and a win at Liverpool.
Manchester City are the visitors to Goodison but they have only one once in ten Premiership visits to Goodison – and that was way back in October 1992.
Middlesbrough may not have scored against Liverpool in their last four Premiership encounters but Liverpool are without a win at the Riverside in their last five visits - two losses and three draws for the Reds. Despite Boro’s spotted form over the last couple of years the Riverside is still a place where bigger teams often come a cropper. United, Chelsea and Arsenal have all lost at the Riverside in the last two and a bit seasons
Oh and let us not forget that no matter who has been in charge of Newcastle a trip to Old Trafford as never ended in three points for the Magpies – it has however often finished with a loss (nine times) and sometimes a draw - five of them.
This weekend offers Reading, Wigan, and Fulham another opportunity to pick up three points away from home for the first time. This time against Aston Villa, Derby County and West Ham respectively. Also without an away win are Bolton, Sunderland, and Derby County but they will have to wait for another day.
Craigy_f – 1. Ian Bell - did he see the Spitting Image Mourinho interview on Setanta this weekend? Brilliant! As only Spitting Image can be. Has that show ever made it across the Atlantic?
2. What are your opinions on Mourinho for England? Whom would you hire or England? How's the search going in Scotland?
3. Best and worst refereeing decisions for you this weekend.
4. Any games or results stand out for you?
5. How important is a club's history, particularly with the explosion of global fan support?
6. Arsenal - a wobble or something more?
7. My Carling Cup game will be hotly contested but what about the other three? 8. Has Goughie got his badges? 9. The ACoN - little more than a storm in a teacup for everybody but Pompey? Will you be covering the competition in any depth?
Bobby – 1. Spitting Image was broadcast in Canada for a while – I don’t know about the USA.
2. The question now has an answer …..but from Mourinho not me. I said on the show that I felt Mourinho was not serious about the position and was only using it to stir up interest and a media frenzy. It now looks to be down to Capello.
And although I said last night that I was still not sure who I would pick, the more I think about it, the more I cannot come up with a reason why not Capello. If he isn’t the most successful manager in the world he is dam close (I think his record carries more weight than Fergie’s). But I still have a nagging feeling that it won’t happen.
The campaign to hire Mark McGhee as Scotland’s new boss seems to have generated a lot of momentum. Meanwhile “my choice” Jim Jeffries is no place. McGhee is experienced although I would suggest that he is as likely to bolt to a better club opportunity should an offer come as was McLeish. John Collins of Hibs has also been mentioned but I think he is short on experience.
3. Worst referring decision – allowing Pascal Chimbonda’s goal. Best decision – either of Sonko’s two tackles on Torres.
4. Tayport beat Carnoustie Panmure 5-2 in a Scottish Junior Cup 3rd round replay. Dundee are now tied with Hamilton at the top of the Scottish First Division.
5. A club’s history has always been massively important and it is probably even more important as the game goes global. The marketing people would probably talk about it in terms of branding but that makes it sound far too corporate.
Personally I don’t think you can be considered a fan unless you are intimately aware of your club’s history. History and former heroes help you through the bad times; it gives perspective and reminds you that good times will return. History and past triumphs (even though others may not see some results as triumphs!) keep pulling us back for more.
A Liverpool fan who doesn’t know about Shanks, Yeats, St. John, Keegan or Albert Stubbins isn’t, in my opinion, a fan - they are someone with a passing interest. Dixie Dean and the midfield of the late 60s/early 70s for Everton. Arsenal and Herbert Chapman, Charlie George even Sir Henry Norris. Sir Matt, the Babes, the holy trinity of United. Bell, Lee and Summerbee for City. Chelsea’s first FA Cup win, Hudson, Osgood and Cooke, the 1955 League winning team.
Every team has their own version – just some are more famous than others, but they all have the same hold on fans, no matter the team.
6. Arsenal is 11 points up on their position after 16 games last year so in the larger context a few drop points still puts them way ahead of last season and they still finished in the top four with relative ease. It is tough stretch of games but I expect them to still be up in the top three come the first week of the New Year.
7. All four games are potential crackers. Everton has a pretty solid record playing West Ham 12 wins and 6 draws in the last 23 matches – Everton could win this one.
Blackburn knocked Arsenal out of the Cup last season and normally plays well against them at Ewood. Wenger will play the youngsters and although Blackburn has only one win in their last six Premiership games I think Blackburn will go through.
Manchester City at home to Spurs? City with an unbelievable home record playing against a side that has only lost once at City in their last 13 visits – 9 wins and 3 draws.
I fancy Spurs to pull off what might be considered an upset. Then we are left with Chelsea vs. Liverpool. In the past I have regularly called for a Liverpool win in cup games between these two but I am going to flip and pick Chelsea.
8. Richard Gough was in charge of Livingstone a while back so I am confident that he has passed his exams.
9. I think the African Cup of Nations impact extends beyond Portsmouth. Chelsea (Essien. Drogba, Kalou), Newcastle (Martins, Abdoulaye Faye, Habib Beye and Geremi), and Arsenal (Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue) for starters.
I read somewhere that United, Manchester City and Aston Villa are the only teams that do not have players who might be picked to play.
I don’t know at this time what sort of level of coverage I will be able to provide.
Neophyte - How would you rate Steve Coppell's performance as manager? Do you see him getting offers to a bigger club maybe a national team staff spot?(I thought playing Hunt more in the middle with Convey back on the left really opened up the pitch for Reading...your thoughts on the Royal's performance).
Bobby - He certainly is not a man that gets overly excited which can be refreshing some weeks. I can’t see him being offered the top job with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea or even for that matter whether he would even want a job like that.
Once you eliminate these four there is not much left that could be considered to be a significant step up from Reading. I have thought for a while that Coppell would make a good international manager but in the present climate he doesn’t stand a chance with England.
In terms of Reading’s performance against Liverpool it was well overdue and much more like the stuff we saw last season. Doyle and Kitson have to get goals and they have to get them earlier. I would be surprised if Reading gets sucked into the relegation zone come New Year. Twelve or thirteenth seems like a reasonable position for them.
CIAO - It appears the two front runners O'Neill and the "Special One" have both opted out of running to be the next England Manager. From what I know, Klinsmann, Lippi and Capello are all still available. However, as the article you provided for one reason or another indicated that they are not the ideal candidates.
I agree with you on that Ranieri would be an interesting choice but he still is at Juve probably at least until next summer. Martin Jol is also available, but I have not heard his name mentioned for the position. What do you think of him as the next England manager?
Does the FA have to rush to assign a manager? Considering the current limited selection would probably drastically expand in options after the EURO 08, would it not be better for both Scotland and England to wait to select their next managers until after the tournament? Who knows by then Hiddink might be looking for a job. If the England manager were going to be assigned to either Lippi or Capello, who would you prefer to take the position?
Bobby - I’m beginning to think that Martin Jol the martyr is getting a lot more credit for his time at Spurs than his record indicates that he deserves. Yes, the signing of players appears to have been more than a bit dysfunctional but the bottom line is that the Spurs team he left was pretty much in the same position as the Spurs he inherited from Santini.
Spurs were exceptionally entertaining last season and at their best they played some outstanding football. However, they finished in the same position (5th) as the previous season and with fewer points. They had good FA Cup and UEFA Cup runs but there was nothing to show that Jol was up to the England position.
The FA is rushing because of media pressure – no other reason. Without a manger the speculation will grow exponentially until the organization grinds to a standstill.
As for Scotland there is nothing to indicate that waiting for Euro 2008 would make any impact on their choice. Scotland is not short of suitable homegrown candidates.
Given a choice I would go for Capello because he seems to me to be tougher and would not put up with the tabloids’ shenanigans.
Henry14 - q1 Do you think it devalues Scottish football when every time they play a game of any significance they postpone league matches you look at Rangers postpone their match in the weekend when Arsenal has played 4 games in a space of 12days and still need to win their group and their euro qualifying matches. q2 Your prediction Chelsea vs. Arsenal, Man Utd. Vs. Reds q3 One word next England coach q4 Best goalie Casillas, Cech, Buffon, on league stats and form q5 Top midfielder Pirlo, Gerrard, Xavi
Bobby - 1. Henry14, “every time they play a game of any significance they postpone league matches”. I’ve told you a million times – don’t exaggerate! No it doesn’t devalue the league, absolute nonsense. League games are rescheduled continually in other countries to fit in with European games. A postponement is only another form of rescheduling. Why do Arsenal need to win their group – is qualification not good enough?
2. Why would I predict games five days before they take place? Lots can happen in five days. Even then you know I don’t spend a lot of time on predictions. I pick and choose normally based on what I think might be a surprise or a bit counter-intuitive.
4. Cech but it has nothing to do with form (he’s injured) or league stats (not a valid form of comparison).
5. Three very different players – are you looking for a continuity type player, a bustling and rampaging midfielder or a deep lying playmaker?
DuncanEdwards - 1) Assuming he loses some of his pace on the wing later in his career, I was wondering what you thought of Cristiano Ronaldo moving to center forward...he's big, strong, has quick feet, passes and lays the ball off well, has an eye for goal and is a good header of the ball...seems like it would work
and 2)Keeping with the Portuguese theme, why is Carlos Queiroz's name not mentioned in connection with the England National team job?...He knows the league, the culture, the language, the players and would surely have the support and assistance of his present boss, Sir Alex...he has also coached at the National level before...don't you think he should at least be considered?
Bobby - If he loses his pace he will likely lose his sharpness at the same time which would certainly affect his effectiveness as a centre forward. Behind the striker – a position he has played – is a position he could excel in .
Queiroz’s record as a number one is poor and is the reason that I think that the only way he will get a sniff at Old Trafford once Fergie goes is as a sacrificial lamb. Some people are just better 2ICs – yes Mr. McClaren.
Flashman - As for greatest soccer books of all time, Bobby you particularly will know that one book will never be matched in this day and age when media access to players and managers is heavily restricted. That's Hunter Davies' The Glory Game. Re-read it this past summer. Remarkable. No team nowadays would ever grant an independent journalist the sort of access Davies was given by Spurs. And the players today are just too media savvy, or even cynical, to honestly provide the sort of information he gathered back then.
And Bobby, do you think that the ref overlooked the fact that Pascal Chimbonda was offside and handled the ball as he scored the first goal against Manchester City was a way of making up for some of the brutal calls that have gone against Spurs this season?
Bobby - I read the book again a couple of years ago and you are right there is no way that book could be written today. Another book that focused on the same era was Eamon Dunphy’s “Only a Game?” – also excellent.
If your Chimbonda explanation helps you sleep better then we will go with it!
Tuoc - Should Arsenal start Jens in goal again? I thought Manuel is an average goalie.
Bobby - On the upside I have to admit that Almunia has surprised me this season. However, I am still not convinced that he is up to the job. Arsenal’s defensive stats are not just down to the goalkeeper but the defense is giving up too many goals compared to Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. If Lehmann can dump the prima donna (not as I saw written in another blog pre-madonna) then he can still help Arsenal.
Vidic15 - I would put Yugoslavia/Serbia just under Spain as chronic underachievers on the national level (I leave out Croatia because they have been better recently). Yugoslavia has always produced great players but they could never come together when it counted.
They had the talent but seemed to lack the mental quality and mental toughness to win, and I think that same reason is why Serbia didn't qualify for Euro 2008. They got too many draws from teams they should've beaten.
Bobby - I think if you look at the numbers Serbia and England are neck and neck for the biggest fall from grace from pre-World Cup 2006 to Euro 2008.
Gers4Lyfe - Rangers will miss the pace of Beasley and Darcheville for tomorrow's clash with Lyon. It appears your considerations of Celtic and Rangers might be spot on. Who do you see most likely to replace Beasley's spot in the European matches? I'm certain WS will go with the 4-1-4-1 although for this game at Ibrox I would love to see a departure to a 4-4-2 with Boyd and Cousin up front. What are your thoughts?
Bobby - I hate to say it but I am not sure that Rangers have any players left who can provide the pace that Beasley and Darcheville give the team. Beasley, especially, is a player who excels on the counter attack and is very valuable in Europe.
Novo would have been an important player as well but I understand that he is injured. Naismith got good reports from the Stuttgart game so he will probably come into the reckoning. I cannot see Walter Smith starting two up front. Cousin to start most likely with Boyd held in reserve in case a goal is needed perhaps?
Truebluecfc – I have enjoyed the blog for quite awhile and the fantastic articles you put up each week. What are your favorite football books?
Bobby - If you click on this link it will take you to a blog from this time last year that includes some books that I enjoyed in 2006.
To that list I would the following that have either been read or will be in the next few weeks.
“If you’re second you are nothing” by Oliver Holt. A contrast of Bill Shankly and Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Legends of United” by David Meek. A look at United players from the Busby era.
“Arsene Wenger – The Biography” by Xavier Rivoire.
“Jose Mourinho” by Luis Lourenco.
“England Managers – The Toughest Job in Football” by Brian Glanville.
“Love and Blood at the World Cup” by Jamie Trecker.
My favourite book in the past year is an updated reissue. “A Strange Kind of Glory – Sir Matt Busby and Manchester United” by Eamon Dunphy. I read the book about a dozen years ago when it was lent to me. I noticed the reissue and I thought it was even better than I remembered.
I have so far been unable to get my hands on "The Damned United" but I hope to soon.
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.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
