Group C Only France and Germany have won the Henri Delaunay Trophy more than once. The French won as hosts in 1984 and again in 2000. There were a number of occasions when the 2000 win could have turned out very differently. Spain’s Raul could have sent the the quarter final into extra time but missed a last minute penalty for Spain and France won 2-1.
The semi final against Portugal was decided in favour of France by an extra time golden penalty kick from Zidane. And in final Italy was only seconds away from winning when Sylvain Wiltord equalized sending the game into extra time. David Trezeguet then scored a golden goal winner just before the break.
How they qualified France’s two losses to Scotland made the headlines but once all was said and done the French still scored more goals (25) and conceded fewer (5) in finishing second by three points to Italy in Group 8. Thierry Henry was France’s leading scorer with six goals.
The Coach Outspoken and eccentric Raymond Domenech continues to prove the old adage about never underestimating an over achiever. Domenech succeeded Jacques Santini after France lost in the last eight of Euro 2004 to the eventual winners Greece.
Although France made heavy weather of World Cup qualification and the first two games of the finals against Switzerland and South Korea they did reach the World Cup Final before losing on penalties to Italy.
His selections are rarely anything but controversial and he has done it again setting off a heated debate after leaving the likes of Djibril Cisse, Philippe Mexes, Mathieu Flamini (recalled later as cover for a Patrick Vieira) and Hatem Ben Arfa out of the final squad of twenty-three named last week.
Key Players Karim Benzema does not have the name recognition of some of his illustrious team mates but over the next decade this youngster could become one of the world’s best players. Don’t be surprised if Domenech uses him sparingly but given a chance the 20-year-old could turn a game or two France’s way.
Franck Ribery impressed everyone in Germany two summers ago and a move to Bayern Munich last year led to him being named Bundesliga Player of the Year. Ribery has skill, close control, pace and creativity in a package that makes even the best defenders fear him.
Great Euro Memory Two second half goals from Platini and Bellone gave France a 2-0 win over Spain in the 1984 final in Paris. The 90th minute clincher from Bruno Bellone was the fourteenth goal scored by France in the tournament finals and the only goal scored by a French striker.
Synopsis Every tournament has to have a GROUP OF DEATH and for Euro 2008 Group C is it. When you look at the players available to Domenech it is impossible to dismiss France as legitimate challengers for the trophy. They have talent in every area but a nagging feeling persists that they may find it difficult to breakdown a resolute defence – ala Scotland.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Austria, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands will be the opposition in Group 7.
Italy has now made it to the last four finals and won the tournament in 1968.
How they qualified After an opening game home draw to Lithuania and a loss in Paris to France Italy then rattled off a sequence of nine wins and a draw to win Group 8 by three points over France and five points ahead of third place Scotland. With five goals Luca Toni led the scoring for Italy.
The Coach Roberto Donadoni has achieved something that Italy failed to do after winning the 1982 World Cup and that is reaching the following European Championships finals.
Key Players Luca Toni may have only scored twice in Germany in 2006 but he was pivotal to Italy’s success. A massive player -both in size and in temperament.
The reigning bad boy of Italian football Antonio Cassano is in Donadoni’s squad and all eyes will be on how both deal with a situation that may be inherently unstable. Cassano was the only bright spot for Italy four years ago in Portugal but missed out on the 2006 World Cup after falling out with everyone except the baker, the butcher and the pizza-maker.
There is a quality to the Italian squad that few can match.
Great Euro Memory The Championship win in 1968 against Yugoslavia after a replay takes pride of place. Down by one to a first half Dragan Dzajic goal with around ten minutes to play, Domenghini’s equalizer took the final to a replay. Goals from Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi saw Italy lift the trophy in the rematch.
Synopsis Enter the tournament as World Champions although they were not assured of qualification until they had faced Scotland in the last group game. A
A team that should probably be building for a title defence in two years in South Africa but Coach Roberto Donadoni has generally stuck to experience with a significant number of World Cup winners returning two years on.
The trio of Antonio Di Natale, Marco Borriello, and Fabio Quagliarella does however offer the coach some interesting options up front. No one would be surprised if Italy won the tournament but by the same token a traditionally slow start in the anointed GROUP OF DEATH could prove very costly.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group 8 with Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.
LosAngelesChelseaFan - Your thoughts on Denis Law?
Meanwhile, what's your take on our premiership champions pick? I can't begin to figure why JM played 3 holding midfielders against Villa and left Joe Cole on the bench. It was hardly the all out attack we saw at Reading. No-one looked sharp. Maybe it's not surprising when the manager looks so bored/resigned. I'd rather have "bad, angry Mourinho" back. I get the feeling that Abramovich actually didn't have money to spend right now and has asked Mourinho to make do with "adequate" for a while. Do you detect something missing at Chelsea in all of this?
Bobby – Denis Law was simply one of the most explosive and exciting players you could ever hope to see. He was brave and lightning quick and fantastic in the air. He also inspired a generation of young footballers to stretch the sleeves of their jerseys so they could grab on to them with their fingers! I still find myself doing it if I am out running or playing in long sleeves. Chelsea midfield was absolutely pedestrian and cried out for Joe Cole. The game has passed Makelele me thinks.
Leche010 - Is it just me, or is the Premiership just filled, from top to bottom, with more quality than it ever has before?I mean even the bottom club (and all but sure to remain there) Derby has Kenny Miller as a striker.
Bobby – Having Kenny Miller as your striker in the Premiership is more a sign of weakness than strength I am afraid. Miller has his strengths but putting the ball in the back of the net regularly is not one of them. However, I think a number of sides have made good acquisitions – Everton, Portsmouth, Manchester City, Liverpool as examples.
Henry14 - 1 Do you think Diarra's addition can help Arsenal with the bullies up north and maybe there is a chance for a real title challenge? 2 th14 is looking doggy for Barca for the past or so games l have seen him do you see him being a great player as he was or he will be another Sheva or Ballack? 3 Do you still think Arsenal will be under Hill Wood come start of next season?
Bobby –1. From what I have seen of Diarra he can’t be described as the second coming of Patrick Vieira – not so far anyway. He certainly is not going to be the difference between a league challenge and no league challenge. 2. Thierry Henry has looked fine to me. 3. I think the question is really will they be under the same regime at the start of next season? If so my answer is yes.
Foxcube - Re: Robson article. I feel it's unfair to match Pires/Ljunberg with Rosicky/Hleb head to head, toe to toe. This is because Arsenal has changed their way of playing since the 2005 and new players were bought for this new style. Bobby would you please give some analysis of their change?
Bobby – What new style? Bergkamp’s gone and can’t be replaced but the wide players are still being asked to do what they were two or three years ago as far as I can see.
Foxcube - Do you see the foreign investments will go on forever? Will the top teams break FA's restrictions and getting their TV deals individually?
Bobby – No tree grows to the sky. The question is how much upside is left in terms of increased revenues. That comes back to TV and internet deals and I’m guessing that there is a big upside left. Unfortunately most of the clubs have shown that can spend the money as quickly as it is given to them so the foreign investments will continue until someone realizes that soccer in Europe has never been a moneymaker. In fact the only people to have made money the last few years are the folks who have sold out to foreign buyers. What does that tell you? Remember apart from Abramovich most of the deals are being done with other people’s money not the names that hit the newspapers. Relatively little of their money is at risk.
The fallacy is that “new owners” bring new transfer money. Normally they increase the club’s debt load to pay for new transfers. Further to the TV deals I don’t believe that there are FA restrictions – it is a Premiership rule.
Foxcube - Re: players' sudden death. Nobody mentioned their insurance situation. Any insights?
Bobby – No different than any other worker dropping dead or being injured at work. If fault can be shown then the employer faces the possibility of legal and civil action. Otherwise you will probably find that depending on the professional players association in each country that the club and/or player carry some form of death benefit.
Craigyf - Your comments on the US MNT squad? Any USA v Brazil predictions? So far only two teams remain on maximum points in Serie A, does that surprise you. What has stood out in Serie A so far? Any thoughts on who might be favourites for the MLS Cup yet?
Bobby – A couple of minor surprise in Bradley’s selections but nothing stunning. Far too early to read anything into Serie A results – check in again around week 10. MLS Cup – I’ve been very impressed with DC United the last few weeks. However, MLS teams are very prone to streaks and there is still 2 plus months of the season left. You have to factor in New England given Steve Nicol’s record in the play offs. Houston still has time to find there feet again and Chivas as flown under the radar. Chivas’ record at home is outstanding.
Ringo - Now that we’re a month into the EPL season, would you like to take a mulligan on any of your picks?
Bobby – I’ll stick. It is a long season – lots of drama to come.
CIAO - What do you make of the final day transfers? Or lack there of in the case of Riquelme, Adriano and Ballack? Maybe Inter and Chelsea should just swap the 2 players. Inter has much better luck with German players than Brazilian strikers.
Bobby – As I said on the show - the transfer deadline had Super Bowl hype and Super Bowl excitement.
Bigdavedisaster - Why the need for the lack of a better word "lies" in the handling of Graversen and Miller transfers by Gordon? Is he simply covering incase the transfers don’t go through and then don’t the players already know that he was willing to let them go?
Whenever I read something on George Best I’m always reminded of my Uncle talking about what a shame it was that he never played in a World Cup for a United Ireland team (if they could have made it?) so that the world might see him on its biggest stage.
Bobby – The manager’s job is to do his up most to win games and that comes before being honest with the press. In the case of George Best my understanding is that he was asked to join the 1982 Northern Ireland squad for the World Cup in Spain but he said no. Can anyone else confirm that story?
It has become a summer ritual - the departure of another member of the Arsenal side that went undefeated while winning the Premiership title in 2004. Since the summer of that year Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Robert Pires, Lauren, Edu, Ray Parlour, Sylvain Wiltord and Patrick Vieira have all left for new pastures while Dennis Bergkamp chose the end of the 2006 season as the time to retire. And now, the man who over the last eight seasons has been the brightest of all the Arsenal stars, has also left the club.
With Thierry Henry leaving Arsenal to join Barcelona only four players (Lehmann, Toure, Gilberto Silva and Ljungberg) remain from the accepted starting eleven from thirty-six months ago. Reaction from Arsenal fans to the latest departure will be interesting to say the least with initial indications being a clear polarization of views.
One group seeing Henry’s departure for $33M as being a piece of good business for a soon-to-be 30-year-old with a sciatic nerve problem that is likely to be a constant problem; the other group viewing it as the loss of another iconic player without an adequate replacement on the horizon.
Views on the subject are perhaps dependant on three key questions. 1. Should Wenger have tied harder to keep the 2004 team together and if so would Arsenal have collected more trophies by doing so?
Looking back on it the signs were there that rather than being the team to beat, the Arsenal team of 2004 was in fact at its peak and was heading down rather than going onto to dominate the Premiership and Europe. Roman Abramovich had already bought Chelsea and with Claudio Ranieri in charge Chelsea knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League at the quarter final stage in 2004. Manchester United put Arsenal out of the FA Cup around the same time.
Wenger did in fact maintain the core team (Edu, Wiltord and Parlour had only started 37 games in total the previous season all left Highbury after the 2004 season) for the 2005 season. The FA Cup was won and Arsenal finished second to Chelsea in the Premiership. But, was at that point that Arsene Wenger decided his team needed to be rebuilt. All the evidence points to the fact that just one season after going a complete league season unbeaten Arsenal was in decline.
2. How do the replacements stack-up against the 2004 squad in the short and long-term?
Although Cesc Fabregas was on the Arsenal squad the year before Patrick Vieira’s move to Juventus it is fair to consider Fabregas as the Frenchman’s replacement. The same would be true for Clichy and Ashley Cole. The others would be Van Persie, Adebayor, Hleb, Rosicky, Gallas and Eboue.
In the short term only Emmanuel Eboue has slipped seamlessly into the Arsenal first eleven while replacing Lauren. Clichy is almost a clone of Cole and in another season or two he may match the now-Chelsea full back.
Van Persie has shown hints that he has what it takes to become one of the world’s best strikers but last season he started less than half the Premiership games last season through injury.
Adebayor is no Dennis Bergkamp and was never intended to be. In fact Wenger wisely chose not to look for a direct replacement for the iconic-Dutchman and instead opted for a different look up front. Adebayor has proven extremely effective at providing Arsenal with a long-ball option but it is doubtful that Togo striker will be ever be a consistent starter at a top class club.
The jury is still very much out on Alexander Hleb although Rosicky made a promising start to his Arsenal career last season. In defence William Gallas was another who missed a good chunk of last season through injury. Even then a good number of his games at the start of the season were at left back.
When he played in his favoured position at centre back the Arsenal defence often looked less than convincing when high ball were played into the box. Gallas maybe one of the world’s best defenders but the partnership with Toure may not be the best answer for Arsenal.
Finally back to Fabregas. An incredible talent that Wenger has decided to rebuild is midfield and team around. But he is still very much a work-in-progress. (Fabregas could have been playing at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup this summer). At this stage in his development Fabregas can’t carry the kind of load that Vieira could but in the long term the youngster could become one of the world’s great players.
3. Does Wenger dip into transfer kitty to replace Henry and if so who does he sign?
Wenger has no option but to sign a new striker or probably two. With Van Persie and Adebayor the only front line strikers Arsenal is badly exposed at this point. The young Mexican striker Carlos Vela is only 19 and it is unlikely that he will arrive at the Emirates until sometime next year – probably the summer. So who will Wenger go after?
If you were to create an identikit of Henry’s replacement it might look something like this. Under 26 years-old with his best days ahead, international experience, comfortable on the ball, good in the air and with the potential of 20-30 goals per season. A player like that is going to cost a few bucks but with $33m from the sale of Henry plus whatever other money is in the kitty already, Arsenal should be able to afford the asking price.
First off who does this exclude? Michael Owen for starters, as well as Miroslav Klose and Nicolas Anelka – although I admit that the return on Anelka might be intriguing it may also be a bit masochistic as far as the Arsenal brass is concerned. David Trezeguet also fails the identity parade.
Adriano might be available but who knows where his head is at. David Villa of Valencia apparently wants to stay in Spain although with Barcelona now top heavy in strikers the Nou Camp appears to be out. Ryan Babel (Ajax) is a name that has been linked with Arsenal in the past although he has yet to show that he is capable of scoring goals at a rate that Arsenal would expect.
The one player that seems to tick all the boxes is Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres. To land Torres Arsenal may have to outbid Liverpool but they may have a potential ace up their sleeve. Arsenal still own Jose Antonio Reyes and he might be dangled in front of Atletico in order to seal the deal.
Matt Scott says that a report suggests that “New riches may lift Premiership also-rans to the fore.” It seems to me that if this is true the one thing that the mid-table clubs then need is proven managerial talent.
And now to the matches. The European qualifiers dominate although if the truth be told there are very few games that capture your attention.
Here are the best of them and you catch-up on the group standings by following the link.
In Group A Belgium must beat Portugal to maintain any realistic chance of finishing second. Goal scoring is a problem for the Belgians and they are also missing Bayern Munich defender Daniel Van Buyten through injury. Portugal will be missing Simão while Cristiano Ronaldo is suspended. Portugal currently leads Belgium by four points.
Finland against Serbia in Helsinki is a real six pointer with both countries tied on 11 points after six games and with only a single loss each. What is more they have both slipped on banana skins in the not too distant past. Serbia lost to Kazakhstan 2-1 in March while Finland’ lost away to Azerbaijan 1-0. Giant Serb striker Nikola Žigic is suspended for this one.
Ukraine and France are tied at the top of Group B (Scotland has the same number of points but a game more played) and are two ahead of fourth place Italy. Both countries will be missing important players for the match in Paris. Olexandr Kucher, Andriy Shevchenko, Artem Milevskiy and Sergi Rebrov are all absent for Ukraine while Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Willy Sagnol and Louis Saha are all crocked and unavailable to France. Scotland does not play until Wednesday while Italy travels to Lithuania looking to improve on the draw between the teams the first go round.
Bosnia-Herzegovina needs to find a way to stop a Turkey side that has only dropped two points in the first five games and leads Group C. Bosnia-Herzegovina is six points behind the Turks and five behind second place Greece and started poorly in the early qualification games. A 2-1 win in Oslo against Norway provided fresh hope but a loss will leave them hoping for a minor miracle in order to finish second. Two Premiership players are in Turkey’s squad – Emre (Newcastle) and Colin Kazim-Richards (Sheffield United).
UEFA.com wins the prize for the headline of the week - “San Marino short in attack.” Here is a quick synopsis of San Marino’s campaign so far. They have an outstanding chance to break their own record for the worst European Championship qualifying campaign. All five matches to date have been lost with an average margin of defeat of a little under 6 goals. This is even worse than their 2000 qualification campaign that saw no points and an average loss by 5.4 goals. Attack would seem to be a secondary problem. Oh yes I forgot. They play Germany this weekend on FSC – the last time Germany won 13-0. If only the San Marino forwards had done better!!
Ryan Giggs plays his final game (#64 and this one against the Czech Republic) for Wales in an international career that has been largely about fighting lost causes. During his time a play-off loss to Russia in the Euro 2004 was about as near as Wales has come to qualifying for either the Euros or the World Cup. Freddy Eastwood (Southend) has been called up to the Welsh squad. He qualifies through the Grandpa rule.
In Group E both Croatia and Israel should pick up full points against Estonia and Macedonia respectively. The big match in this section will be on Wednesday and will be in Zagreb when Russia plays Croatia. While Beckham’s return hogs the headlines the Croatia - Russia game might have a bigger impact on England’s chances.
Denmark versus Sweden looks to be one of the few standout matches. Northern Ireland sits atop Group F but are idle this weekend and on Wednesday of next week. Denmark has a game in hand on Sweden and Spain and has played two games less than NI. A Danish win – and a Spain win against Latvia – could create a logjam at the top of this group. Denmark have called up Morten 'Duncan' Rasmussen who gets his nickname from a similar style to the former Everton striker. Something to look forward to!!
Group leaders the Netherlands sit out this Saturday and Wednesday. Hristo Stoitchkov’s interim replacement Stanimir Stoilov has omitted Juventus striker Valeri Bozhinov from the Bulgarian squad for the away and home games against Belarus. Bulgaria dropped what could become tow crucial points when they drew at home to Albania in March 0-0. Belarus took only a single point from their first three games but have since beaten Slovenia and Luxembourg in the last two. Another win could add Belarus to what originally looked to be a three-way race.
In MLS Toronto faces Colorado Rapids without three Canadian players who have already reported to the national team for the Gold Cup. They are still without Carl Robinson (Wales vs. Czech Republic) although young centre-back Andrew Boyens is available after missing last weekend’s draw with the Columbus Crew. Boyen was on international duty with New Zealand against Robinson and Wales.
Goalkeeper Greg Sutton appears to be the largest hole to fill with replacement Srdjan Djekanovic having only very limited experience. The Rapids are on a hot streak with two wins and two draws in the last four matches although they have only averaged a goal a game.
LA Galaxy plays DC United and is another team that will be missing Canadian players - Kevin Harmse and Ante Jazic. However they can still call on American Landon Donovan who doesn’t have to report to the USA camp until Monday. The Beckham headlines seem to be blurring the fact that this is a LA team that just isn’t getting results.
Six games have brought only one win, five points and four have come from two games against Chivas. Coach Frank Yallop will also be without defender Chris Albright may miss most of the rest of the season after suffering a severe hamstring injury. Midfielder Kyle Martino is suspended after a red card last week and LA may have trouble putting together a full bench! DC has won their last three games and has taken ten points from their last four games.
The game of the weekend in MLS is Kansas City Wizards hosting New York Red Bulls. Defensively the RED Bulls have been a solid unit – or a series of solid units. They have only conceded four goals in 8 games (5 shut outs), even though the back four has been a bit of a revolving door with multiple changes common. It is a marked improvement on last season that saw 15 goals against over the first eight games. Kansas City is a point behind the Revolution and Red Bulls in the Eastern Standings and has played the same number of games as Red Bulls, and one less than New England.
Verbal 97- First, can (or rather will) a team like Portsmouth or Bolton be able to claim 3rd or 4th? Second, can someone from the pack jump into the title race (i.e., is there precedence that someone as many as 16 points down at this stage of the season winning the title)?
Bobby- To answer the second question first, I can't remember anybody coming back from 16 points down, particularly as someone else has pointed out when two teams are involved. In regards to Portsmouth or Bolton or other such teams, the squad depth will have a major impact as well as avoiding injuries. That is where the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal have a significant advantage over the other teams. If you're looking for a team to spring a surprise then maybe you look at last year when Spurs got knocked out of both cups early and were able to concentrate on the league. A third-round exit in the FA Cup, early in the New Year may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise for someone.
BlueBlades-Being an Everton Fan it has become very frustrating that we don’t seem to score very many goals. Is this the players fault or the system that the team plays? Do you think James Beattie should be moved on and the younger players given more opportunities? Victor Anachebie looks like he would run through brick wall for the side.
Bobby-I think if you go back to last year's Everton’s scoring rate has increased. But then again, last year was pretty awful. I think you have to factor in that Arteta and Cahill are both out and they create and score a lot of Everton's goals. Beattie’s scoring rate is down significantly from when he was at Southampton and Moyes must be losing patience with him I would think. However, you have to consider that the relegation battle this year is going be very tight and although Everton are sitting in mid table I don't think they could count themselves out of trouble quite yet. Until Moyes feels safe I can't see him gambling on youngsters from the start.
Gunner 44- Great game it was. Essien is the best midfielder in the EPL at the moment the guy can do everything, even Vieira and R. Kean weren't this good where they? One thing I noticed though is the high pressure that Arsenal put on Sunday. They did the same against Tottenham and it seems to bother teams. Even Chelsea some times lost the ball because of it. So I think Wenger should keep telling his team to do that but when they win the ball they have to finish the opponents off.
Bobby-the difference perhaps is that Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane did it for season after season. The way that Arsenal played against Chelsea (early on) and Spurs was quite reminiscent of the way Milan used to play- placing the opposition under pressure high up the park. As for finishing the opponents off, I am sure Arsenal team are not missing chances on purpose!
Henry 14- Is it worth to put a player of Robben's ability on the bench when Sheva is not performing, because l feel Robben would make it in any of the top four team's first eleven, how do you view that?
Bobby- Robben tends to be quite inconsistent - on his game he could play for just about anybody, but he is not always on his game. It is quite different coming into a game than it is starting one. On Sunday, Robben was able to take advantage of a tiring Arsenal side and the space created between Hleb and Fabregas.
ranndino-The whole episode with Lehmann and Drogba provided me with some comical relief. What penalty, Bobby? They both totally exaggerated the contact and dived. Lehmann's push on Drogba would not have knocked down a 10-year old girl. Same goes for the flop Jens took when Drogba came back at him. It all reminded me of old Charlie Chaplin films really. Except his falling over looked less fake.
One small comment about Sheva. I absolutely agree that patience is required. I think he's been getting better in the last few games. However, it is really difficult for Jose to keep Robben on the bench. He completely turned the match when he came on and is 10 times more effective than Shevchenko at the moment (and I'm a big fan of Sheva). With Robben on the bench Chelsea have no width and look very short of ideas up front. It's mostly limited to individual runs by Drogba and long shots by Lampard. I still think that dumping Duff for Sheva has really hurt Chelsea. With Duff and Robben Chelsea's attack was nearly unstoppable.
Bobby- What penalty? Then why yellow cards? I think the Duff and Robben combination was much more effective two seasons ago. I'm not sure the statistics from last year backup your argument about Duff and Robben being nearly unstoppable. Duff only started in 18 Premiership games last season and was substituted in 14 of them. Robben last season started 21 games and was substituted in 10 of them. So between the two of them they only managed to complete 15 games.
USA England fan-What was your favorite goal and favorite match of the weekend, and who would you say was MVP (I'm guessing Essien)?
Bobby-There were certainly some crackers on the weekend- Essien, Matthew Taylor, Pedersen to name three. My favourite has to be Essien though -a clutch goal. As the MVP- I would probably go for Gilberto Silva, he held Arsenal together particularly in the first half.
Bigmacmtl - I believe there was no penalty given because Drogba was not pushed during open play? (Drogba and Lehmann incident).
Bobby- From the commentary it certainly sounded as if the ball was in play – there was a foul, the referee booked the players, why wasn't a free kick given where the incident took place which was in the penalty box - why not a penalty? I would agree that the referee showed good sense, but my point was that by his stupidity Jens Lehmann could have cost his team dearly.
Riocharlie- One thing I’ve noticed during the 1st half of the season, are the number of young Irish lads making strong contributions to their sides. Is there a renaissance of Irish football under way? They have a tough Euro qualifying group, how do you rate their chances?
Bobby- I think you have to keep your eyes on Ireland for 2010 World Cup qualifying. They got off to a bad start in Euro qualifying and I can't see them catching the Czech Republic and Germany.
bigdavedisaster - I have admired the play of Gamst-Pedersen since early last season great balls in especially from corners is there any talk of him moving from Blackburn?
Bobby- There was some talk a year or so about Gamst-Pedersen may be going to Old Trafford. But I don't think a wide midfield player is really what Alex Ferguson is looking for.
Carljamaica – I am from Jamaica and I make sure I don’t miss the show when you are on. What will Man Utd have to do to get a little credit? I always wonder what team you support. Is it me or does Man Utd seem to not get much love at all. Everyone talks about their squad and it’s like everybody expects them to falter, and how they have had a good home fixture. that team as always done well on the road, from week one everyone has been predicting united will soon come unstuck and now we are in week 17. Do you think united can win the league? I just think people need to give credit where it is due and look beyond Chelsea and their whining players. A couple weeks ago Drogba said he was the best striker, now he is stuck on eight goals and a number of players have caught up with him. Man Utd. has done well and if Fergie get one or two players in January then I honestly believe they can win it. Chelsea is just stupid cause there is no way Robben should be on the bench, they can’t expect to out muscle teams every week, they need some spark that Robben has.
btw which players do you think could be available for Man Utd that would help that team in January?
Bobby- Interesting Carl, I usually get accused of going light on Manchester United! I think people are cautious about United's chances of winning the league because of the depth of the squad, and in particular, a shortage of quality midfield players -- central midfield players -- and what would happen if Saha or Rooney were injured.Talk of signing Fernando Torres percolates every now and again, and of course, Owen Hargreaves who seems to me to be just a younger version of Philip Neville.
Djnima - Do you think Jose will stick around if he fails to win the league or the champs league this season?
Bobby-I think Mourinho is just as liable to leave if he wins the league or the champions league this season as he is to leave if he doesn't. Ronaldo has been absolutely outstanding so far this season and has been the player of the season so far IMHO.
Realmadridcffan - 1. Out of the EPL managers their right now, which manager gives the best post game sound bites or press conference quotes? 2. With the January transfer window coming soon, who do you see so far being mentioned as the biggest name to move to a different club? 3. What do you think of the FIFA World Club Cup? I find it is ok, but 6 teams is too awkward and with the fixture schedule as hectic as it is for the clubs in this competition, is it even feasible to have in reality?
Bobby- I like Stuart Pearce’s honesty, and I'm waiting for Steve Coppell to crack a smile. I'm not sure that there will be many big-name moves during the transfer window- Ribery perhaps? FIFA will not let the Club World Cup die so we may as well get used to it. It will take a couple of years, and a few good games for the fans to embrace it. Next year will be the last tournament in Japan and taking the competition around the world will help.
Eriktheviking-re: Sheva I'm not sure what is worse for Sheva--Chelsea's system or Lampard either shooting whenever he gets the ball or making all those CF runs in the box. Sheva drops to receive the ball. Lampard fills the CF channel. Sheva is left supporting play.
Bobby- I thought it was interesting that the comments Shevchenko supposedly didn't make seemed quite accurate to me. When he was at Milan it seemed like the player's knew exactly the areas that they were to operate in, while at Chelsea a number of players seem to want to operate in the same area.
The verdict is due very soon but Gazzetta dello Sport reported this morning that the sanctions will be:
Relegated to Serie B and docked points for 06/07 - Juventus, (docked 20 points) Fiorentina (docked 7 points) and Lazio (docked 10 points)
AC Milan to remain in Serie A but excluded from the Champions League and docked 10 to 15 points for 06/07 season.
I will not be surprised if these are the sanctions or something very close. With a 20 point deduction it is the equivalent of demotion to Serie C.
The ramifications are extensive and the impact long term.
The sale of players will take a number of Italian players to other leagues. Traditionally Italian players do not play in other leagues. Vialli, Zola and Di Matteo (Chelsea) are probably the highest profile Italian players to make a living in another league. Di Vaio, Viera, Corradi are either border line or past their best.
Loss of revenue to the clubs and Serie A in general. I saw one estimate - from a reliable and credible journalist - that the loss to Juventus over a three year period (before they could return to Europe ) of close to $500M. That also takes into consideration the required firesale of players e.g. paid around $20M for Patrick Vieira but will be lucky to get $5M tomorrow.
The over supply of quality players will further depress the transfer market and impacts all teams in Europe. Manchester United is rumoured to want $15M for a 30 year-old Ruud Van Nistelrooy - will they get that when you might be able to pick up a 26 yesar old David Trezeguet for maybe half of that.
The quality of Italian teams in the Champions League will be less which means less money flowing to Serie A and an opportunity for other European leagues to fill the vacuum.
I am sure there are more. If you support an Italian team - and particularly one of the four - how do you see it impacting your team. For supporters of other teams how do you think the verdicts will affect your team.
And last but not least will Inter now win Serie A!
France played the almost perfect game against Brazil. Defensively they were solid and they ran at Brazil when they got the chance.
Domenech has found the role for Zidane just behind Henry - he was fantastic.
Malouda and Ribery were the lags of the team in midfield and Vieira and Makalele fitted in perfectly.
Zidane's first ever assist on a Henry goal for France?
The Brazil inquest will be underway all ready - I wonder if I should pull out the "Ten reasons why Brazil won't win the World Cup" article fom May to help the process.
A very disappointing display from Brazil over the five games. We never really saw the pace and power that was expected.
This was a very evenly contested 90 minutes but the difference was a couple of mistakes that led to the second French goal. Henry's pace forced Puyol into the obstruction that led to the free kick and then Vieira was left free at the back post.
The third was the icing on the cake. Is Domenech going to enjoy the last hearty laugh!!
For Spain another great start to a tournament and agin it ends in tears.
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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