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.

Craigy_f – 1. Who do you rate more highly Best or Ronaldo? 2. What are your first football memories? 3. What moments made you laugh at the weekend – football related of course? 4. Casano’s first of Trezeguet’s second – which was more enjoyable? 5. How do you think that FSC gets it’s team sheets for Serie A games?

Bobby – 1. George Best. 2, Being taken to an amateur international at Dens Park between Scotland and Ireland. First professional game was I think Dundee United vs. Aberdeen. 3. Nothing. 4. Cassano. 5. They get team sheets?

Leche010 - Who do you see surviving and not this season? Obviously Derby are going down, but it's not like that was a surprise from the start. Fulham appear to be joining them, but have brought in quite a few new names, and could easily make a push to get out... I consider them in the relegation fight, as opposed to condemned.

 After that there are Boro, Reading, Bolton, Birmingham, Wigan, and Sunderland all within 2 points of each other, fighting not to be bottom of that pack. Simply which of the 7 clubs do you think have what it takes to survive, and which clubs don't?

Bobby – I picked Derby, Wigan and Fulham to go down this season and as normal I will stick with these picks until it is mathematically impossible that it won’t happen. I can see Derby’s fate being sealed with at least five games to go in the season.

Boro will continue to pick up points only to get sucked back down but will stay up; Reading is too strong at home and will survive; Bolton – they scored goals before Anelka and will find enough goals to win a couple of important matches; Birmingham have enough zip about them to finish above the bottom three as long as they hold their nerve. Sunderland – Keane will batter them if they don’t – I don’t think he will allow them to go down.

Apad03 -  I just read the news that the Concacaf is starting up a champions league for this region. What do you think? I am thrilled to see this happen. I have suggested this for a few years now and I think it will be great to see MLS teams flying to Honduras or the Caribbean for these games. Great experience and I think some lively football.

Bobby – A step in the right direction but it is going to take a few seasons to establish the competition in the hearts and minds.

Craigy_ f - PROMOTION TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Any of the current top ten in the Championship you'd love or hate to see in the Premier League next year? They are:-
1 - West Brom, 2 - Bristol City, 3 – Watford, 4 – Stoke, 5 – Charlton, 6 – Palace, 7 – Burnley, 8 – Ipswich, 9 – Cardiff, 10 - Wolves

Bobby – Nothing stands out for me really and they all have the potential to drop back down fairly quickly. Take the clubs you list and the seven clubs listed as possible relegation candidates from a question above and you have parity and an extremely competitive league. 

Henry 14 - q1 Do you know how Ericksson might feel now that the bucket load of money from Thaksin seems to not have come as he thought and he really has not spend as he might have thought and do you see them challenging the course for European places if he does not strengthen?

q2 Do you think we will see the full potential of Rooney at Man Utd as long as Ronaldo is there because two years ago he was sort of going to be the alfamale now it seems he is in the shadow of Ronaldo?

q3 With Eduardo coming into his own and playing well by the game, assuming that Adebayor is a shoe in, how do you view the future of RVP because he direct rival striker are at an age that if you know if they become shoe in the team he will be frustrated because they are both 24 years.

Bobby – Q 1. I have no idea what was said to Sven when he signed on but he certainly got a bucket full of money in the summer. The new signings settled in quickly and City benefited from Sven’s organizational skills. However, the momentum has stalled and the rest of the Premiership has done its homework. He needs a regular goal scorer if they hope to compete for a European place.

Q 2 - I don’t see how a player would not achieve his full potential by playing with excellent players. I can’t agree that players can only become great players if there is no one else on the team that might challenge them. I would have thought it the other way around.

Q3 – You are assuming that there is such a thing as a first choice eleven and that all the first choicers are fit and raring to go. It just doesn’t work like that anymore and hasn’t for a long time. 

LGB - Would you say that Ronaldo is already a greater player for United than Cantona was?

Bobby – No. Cantona’s influence on United goes well beyond his performances on the park and so I don’t think he ranks behind Ronaldo. The problem with the “who is better” debate is that in almost all cases it favours the current player. Only in retrospect can you really judge whether or not players should be considered as truly great or just one of the best of their generation. And like managers it may not necessarily come down to trophies won.

Farleft - I was wondering if you had any insight into the decision making of which officials get to officiate certain matches? Do officials also get promoted and or relegated at the end of the season based on their performance throughout the season? I am not trying to slag off officials or anything like that, I am just curious.

Bobby – Here is an article that explains the FA’s move a number of years ago to professional referees and another that includes an interview with Keith Hackett. The answer to your promotion/relegation is yes and in some cases referees have been “demoted” for a period of time during the season.

I wrote an article in the fall of 2006 on professional referees and their preparation and the constant feedback and evaluation they receive. Different leagues will deal with referee assignments in different ways but I am confident in stating that any league or association worth its salt is continually evaluating and working with their officials. 

Neophyte - Real Madrid continue to show what a great job Capello performed while manager there. Do you think he deserves the credit of bringing back the club to preeminence in La Liga or did the rebuild start before he got? When I watch them play (Real Madrid) they look so strong...solid all the way across. Do you see a fatal flaw that may haunt them later in the season? How about Villarreal? Just out gunned in the final minutes. Got to admire the fight they showed.

One more question....Did you see Riquelme during the Boca/River match-up this weekend? He is still impressive (especially on those free kicks). Do you know why he hasn't been linked to more teams in Europe? I thought I heard Newcastle was interested (who wouldn't they be interested in?). Riquelme seems like such a talent that other teams would have picked him up already.

Bobby – Capello deserves credit because he was the one that took on the galaticos culture and won…even though he lost if you know what I am getting at. I am not convinced that Real Madrid are as strong as their record  indicates.

Castillas is still relied upon to bale the team out on more occasions than seems fair and I think their midfield is going to come up short in Champions League play. Villarreal certainly went for it on Sunday – perhaps too much so. It would have been more interesting if Pires had been playing.

I did catch the second half of the Super Classico and the first half highlights. Riquleme was impressive but I don’t think you will see him leave Argentina for Europe again. He is a special talent but he needs a coach who is willing to build a team around him.

At Barcelona that didn’t happen and that is why it did not work out. At Villarreal – initially anyway – they were willing to do that. To answer your question of “who wouldn’t be interested”? – the answer is the overwhelming majority of good teams would not be interested. They are not too many teams willing to gamble success or failure on a single player and that is pretty close to the straight choice with Riquelme. A wonderful talent but with limitations.

AlanV - Different subject. I just finished reading the article about the pilot program to have only the team captain be allowed to discuss decisions with the Ref. As a parent whose son plays at the club level, we already have a similar program here in So. California, at least as far as the parent and player accountability go.

My son has to sign a code of conduct each year where he promises to maintain a level of decorum and civility. He's a ref (U14 and lower) and has noticed a difference for the better in the comments of both players and the sidelines. I think it's a great idea and hope it works. I can agree to a players initial reaction when he disagrees, that's human nature. But there's no call for half the team to be discussing the situation with the ref, especially knowing he won't change his mind. What's your take? Will it work at the pro level or will that be impossible to enforce.

Bobby – It will work if the leagues are willing to stick with it. However, too often we have seen these initiatives taper off after a few weeks. It is really about setting standards and sticking to it. Unfortunately it is easy to say but difficult to stick to.

Henry 14 - My question is that Owen is given an excuse when he does not score that he needs service and other strikers are not given such a ride. The poacher is a dying breed hence reference to Ruud's assist rate

Bobby – You make a good point. I have read a number of articles over the last few seasons that allude to the same point that pure strikers are now a luxury and that they need to deliver more.  Having said that it really doesn’t matter if a striker is a pure poacher or a more rounded player they still nned service or some kind to get goals.

LGB - If there is anyone who believes that LFC's most profitable year was a pre-tax profit of £9.46m than I have a bridge that I'd like to sell you...

Bobby - How much for that bridge? Liverpool FC annual financial reports 2006, 2005 and 2004 (year previous column to 2005 statements).

Ursusarctos provided a top class explanation but I will chime in with my two cents worth.

It is not what they (businessmen) are losing, it is their take on how much more revenue potential there is. Generally successful entrepreneurs do not make money by buying successful businesses, they make money buying companies that they consider to be undervalued and that have potential to generate significantly more revenue or have a poor cost structure.  

In the case of football clubs in England the Glazers, Hicks and Gillett see that additional revenue coming from fans. To cut to the chase they purchase the club with little of their own money at stake and then through increased revenue from the fans they pay off the loans incurred in the purchase. End result - they own the club and the fans pay the purchase price and more. The problem is that it is a gamble and should certain assumptions not work out then you see the potential of a financial meltdown ala Leeds.

“What I'm trying to say is that the numbers are #### (just like with United) and these clubs even with the construction of new stadia and the like are still making money hand over fist.”

I can understand that this stuff is not easy to understand but that doesn’t make it ####. Your example of United reminds me of the guy that jumps from the 40th floor of a building and as he passed the 20th floor people heard him say “so far so good.”

The Glazer deal may work out but that doesn’t preclude the fact that it is highly leveraged and comes with significant risk – as does the Liverpool deal. Try telling Leeds fans that it was #### …….they went into Administration for fun right!

The Leeds example is only used as an example of a meltdown …Leeds problems were not caused by a buy-out but they were caused by making some key assumptions that proved to be wrong.

The last 32 of the Scottish Cup goes next weekend with a historic entry.

Jonathan Northcroft looks at Everton and Spurs prior to their Carling Cup semi finals against Chelsea and Spurs.

Misery enjoys company – The Fink Tank article prior to the FA Cup third round.

A NFL TV article but one that points to what might happen as sport gets more and more greedy.

Dan McDougall on the market for young African players and how they are often cheated and abused.

Stewart Robson dissects the play of Nicolas Anelka.

Paul Gardner wants some people to shut up.

Simon Barnes nails the Newcastle managerial situation.

Mark Lawrenson says that Newcastle Chairman Mike Ashley reminds him of David Brent.

And given that there is a shortage of good articles this week here is some stuff from Rick Gervais.

The first piece is with celebrity-Chef and former player Gordon Ramsey. The second bit I am sure most of you have seen but it is well worth revisiting.  It's from the 2006 World Cup.

And finally David Brent’s preparation for his motivational speech followed by his views on football management .

George Weah asks “With Anelka possibly linking up with Diouf at Bolton the Trotters could have the most combustible strike force in the EPL. What are the odds on one of these two being dropped by December?”

Bobby – Or how long until Anelka’s first sulk? What a fantastic talent, what a moaner.

Reggae_Boy_23 – What’s your opinion on Jens Lehmann.

Bobby – Up until last season my opinion of Lehmann was not great. However, being dropped for a spell the season before seems to have made a ton of difference. He was fantastic last season and although he did have his little tantrums now and again he really did come into his own.

JohnQuinn – Frank Lampard and deflected goals.

Bobby – I’m not aware of any statistic being kept on deflected goals but it is an interesting point. It seems to me that there are a lot more than there was a decade ago – but there again I don’t have anything to prove that. Maybe it has something to do the ball?

 TheFishingWidow – Sheva and Drogba

Bobby – Shevchenko will bring out the best in Drogba. Not only is he a great striker but he also works hard to create chances for others as well. Sheva will create space for Drogba and if they both stay fit I can see them scoring 40 between them in the Premiership.

 thedream “Why was Pascal Chimbonda not in Wigan's line-up this past weekend?”

Bobby – Because Paul Jewell and Wigan are royally pissed off at him for wanting a transfer. Next he is going to be sent to his room early, without supper, and no internet privileges.

SLRed – Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt.

Bobby – What I have seen of Kuyt has not been all that impressive but I don’t think Benitez has bought a dud – although he did sign Crouch. I can see Crouch becoming a role player who is brought off the bench to give the opposition a different look. I just don’t think Crouch is up to what is needed week in and week out.

Looneyrooney14 - Does Man U's performance today make you want to edit your prediction? Especially since Liverpool were disappointing on Saturday.+ I am the only Tottenham fan in my family, everyone else is a Man U fan, so I was teased pretty bad this weekend, do you think my team can turn it around?

Bobby – Not after one game I am not. United were great on Sunday but it is far too early tell. Mind you drawing conclusions after every team has played one game is not as bad as what we saw on Sportsnet in Canada after the Sheffield United and Liverpool game on Saturday. As you all know this game was the first of the season and finished before the others kicked off. Sportsnet put up the league standings with Liverpool and Sheffield United top and all the other 18 teams showing zero records. Talk about pointless!  For a comment on Spurs see below.

milanfan – Lack of action from Milan in the transfer market.

Bobby – I find this surprising as well. Could the rumour of a Ronaldo bid be true?

 djnima – 1. Your prediction for Spurs not challenging for the top four this season surprised me. The front 6 line up for them looks quite dangerous. If Zokora succeeds in the EPL, and I think he will, then Tottenham's midfield and striking options surely look promising. They only seem to lack quality in defense which would seem to be their only weakness. Chimbonda was the answer to some of those questions. Since Tottenham failed to sign him, do you think their lack of spending at the back will lead to their demise?

2. I joined the Fox EPL fantasy so I could see your picks. I can't seem to be able to view your team. How can I do so?

 Bobby – 1. Taken from another blog response to a similar question.  My take is that few teams have been able to produce back to back seasons that have moved them into the top four. Spurs will also have the UEFA Cup and are unlikely to be knocked out at the first attempt in the Carling and FA Cups. Finally (a) Spurs had a fantastic record against teams that finished in the bottom half of the table while (b) they had a poor record against the top four and (c) they had a great home record. I can't see them doing much better against the top four while I don't think that they will be able to replicate the record against poorer sides and it will be difficult to match the home record from last season.

 2. This is my rookie year in the Fantasy League so I will be happy to avoid relegation. I have made some four transfers all ready but this is what I have at the moment under Tayport. Van der Sar; Carr, Ferdinand Rio, Gabbidon, Hunt: Parker, Nolan (captain), Arteta, Benayoun; Johnson Andy, Henry; Sub Solskjaer.


travel_coach -   What can be done about the disparity in cash? I watched Chelski beat my Man. City side handily, despite that Chelski were missing 3 starters. The Prem. really has split into super teams and the rest of the lot. Is that really what we want? EU labour laws to the side for a minute would instituting a "4 non-U.K. player maximum in the Prem. help restore a reasonable level of parity? How about a salary cap like we have in the Fantasy league? Or, given the Sheffield United game, are such efforts really unnecessary?

Bobby – There has always been a disparity of cash, the only difference is that now it is greater than ever and Chelsea has more money than anyone can reasonably dream of. Unfortunately any discussion has to involve European Union Laws. UEFA and FIFA chose to ignore that reality so when the Bosman decision came down they were totally ill-equipped to respond. The fact that UEFA and the European Union cooperated in the report tabled in May was very important and a sign that UEFA now sees the EU has part of a long term solution rather than the problem.

Keane16 - dmanufan07: I believe the addition of Hargreaves would be excellent as it would give an added option in the midfield(if we can get him for 6 to 8 million), but what I would prefer is the addition of more young players who can fill gaps and do a good job there. Such as a younger Quinton Fortune or Phil Neville type player who can be put anywhere on the field and do an above average job and doesn't complain if he doesn’t get to start every week but when called upon puts the shirt on and plays for his place. John O'Shea is an excellent example of this even if you wince every time he needs to control a ball.

Bobby – I can’t believe that United are willing to fork out $30M plus for a player who they could have had on a Bosman pre-contract last season given that his deal was up in June of 2006. Hargreaves is a competent and energetic ball winner and that is all. He is a younger Philip Neville. He plays a couple of good games for England and suddenly Fergie is willing to pay silly money for him.

 henry 14 - bobby l am now getting confused l heard that arsenal bid for Gallas and Chelsea refuse at the same time Mourinho is prepared to trade him with Cole +money, to be honest l feel Chelsea have money to spend and can afford to pay A PLAYER WHILIST IN THE RESERVES which tells me that the coming of cannibal does not affect the Gallas issue, l still feel that they will be no deal, l le boss just said if nothing happens till Friday he closes his door and Cole will stay. At the same time they are rumours that Cole does not want to leave arsenal until December because he wants a 2m pound loyalty bonus so he might be dragging his feet for the deal, he gets me sick. What do you feel about the sudden twist of events?

Bobby – Patrick Barclay in his Jose Mourinho biography put it very well. When a manager or a coach speaks publicly, he his only out to achieve one thing – an advantage. If the truth is also spoken then it is just a fortunate side effect. 

 davard - Actually my real question involves South American futbol. I have enjoyed watching some of the Argentina league on FSC, and I was wondering about the Copa Libertadores. Do the South / Central American clubs view it as the Euro clubs view the Champions League? Is it as prestigious? I just like to know what I'm watching, since I wouldn't know if the teams were fielding weakened sides as I don't know any of the players that well.

Also, what is the possibility of MLS teams participating? Do they already? That would be excellent to see them in a cup like that.

 Bobby – The Copa Libertadores is the most important club tournament for South Americans but a country mile. Clubs will play weakened sides in their domestic competitions in order to have their best available for the Copa Libertadores. Mexican clubs participate by invite and have done so for a few years. MLS clubs being invited might a few years away yet.

This week we look at the clubs that finished six through ten in last season's Premiership.  It is understandable that fans of Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan are looking to improve on last season’s showing. However, history shows that it is more difficult to consolidate the improvement than it was to leap up the table in the first place.

Let us go back three seasons to the final league table of 2003/04. Aston Villa, Charlton, Bolton, Fulham, and Birmingham City filled positions six through ten respectively. The best performance over the last three seasons has been by Bolton. They have managed to finish in the top ten in the two seasons since; the worst is by Birmingham City – they are now in the Championship. Of the others, Villa slipped to 10th the next season and then 16th last season.  Charlton, 11^th and then 13th and Fulham 13th followed by a late rally last season that took them to 12th. 

If we look at the 2004/05 league table, only Tottenham Hotspur (9th) improved their position the following year (5th). The others – Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, and Aston Villa – all garnered less points and dropped in the standings.

In fact over a four year spell finishing in the top ten has shown to be down right dangerous to a teams Premiership health. Consider this; Ipswich 00/01 (5^th) - 01/02 (relegated), Leeds 01/02 (5^th) – 03/04 (relegated), West Ham 01/02 (7^th) – 02/03 (relegated), Southampton 02/03 (8^th) - 04/05 (relegated), Birmingham City 03/04 (10^th) – 05/06 (relegated).

So for Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan will be it be up or will it be down this season?

Blackburn has brought in Jason Roberts from Wigan while Craig Bellamy – a big loss – and Paul Dickov have both departed. Mark Hughes is reported to be interested in signing Mr. Loyalty aka Nicolas Anelka while acquiring Francis Jeffers would seem to be an inexpensive gamble, albeit one that it unlikely to succeed.

Glenn Roeder faces the start of the season without his two main strikers from last season and a replacement for either, yet to be secured. With Michael Owen’s injury showing complications, his time on the treatment table may extend into 2007. Shola Ameobi is the only specialist striker available at the moment and although he can mature into a 12 to 15 Premiership goal scorer he cannot be expected to carry the full load.

The addition of Damien Duff should prove to be a great investment and he adds strength to a midfield that could be one of the best in the Premiership. Defensively Newcastle showed a massive improvement in cutting the goals against from 57 down to 42 and Shay Given was a big part of the reason. If the defensive can tighten up a little more and with a midfield that can score goals, Newcastle fans might just find that a few goals may generate many points.
After all the speculation at the end of last season it looks like Sam Allardyce will still the man in charge at the Reebok come the Premiership kick off. Bolton has seen eight players leave already – seven if you exclude the strange case of Didi Hamann. Arrivals Abdoulaye Meite and Idan Tal are far from household names but big Sam has shown in the past a good eye for talent so we should not be surprised if they fit in smoothly. Further signings are promised and with the transfer window open until the end of August that gives Allardyce opportunity to shop around.

It was a great return to the big time for West Ham fans. A solid finish in the league and a trip to the FA Cup Final was more than almost everyone expected. Alan Pardew has already spent some money and is adamant that the likes of Dean Ashton will not be leaving Upton Park.

Paul Jewell is another manager who has given been given a freer role with the club’s chequebook this summer. Five players have arrived while eight have left. The loss of Jimmy Bullard will probably hurt the most along with the departure of Jason Roberts who improved as last season progressed. Other solid veteran players to leave such as Damien Francis, Alan Mahon, Stéphane Henchoz, David Thompson, and Matt Jackson might leave the depth of the squad paper-thin.

While Emile Heskey and Fitz Hall for a combined fee of around $14M raised a few eyebrows, Denny Landzaat from AZ Alkmaar might an inspired signing. Andy Webster may also be on his way from Hearts of the SPL.