Before we get to the articles I would like to thank all those who stop by on a regular basis and those who contribute. The response each week continues to amaze me as does the respect shown for others opinions…….most of the time!
A new professional league for India. A potentially massive market but the chances of besting cricket with the next couplke of generations is probably zilch to nil.
Match-fixing allegations being passed to Interpol from UEFA and tucked away is a mention of the Intertoto Cup being scrapped when the tournaments are changed for the 09/10 season.
Normally in a situation where a team has already qualified the youngsters can look forward to a run-out. However, Gabriele Marcotti thinks that as far as Milan is concerned it is the squad’s old-timers who will get the nod on Tuesday against Celtic.
There was a question on the blog last week about Paul Robinson. In this article Stewart Robson looks at how Robinson and others have fallen behind their foreign counterparts.
Henk Ten Cate will bring attacking verve and a notoriously short temper to Stamford Bridge, writes Daan Schippers. Cate or should it Ten Cate played 21 games for the Edmonton Drillers in the NASL in 1980.
Former Manchester United winger and now Dallas resident, Gordon Hill, chimes in with his thoughts on the dearth of young English talent. What a sight Hill and Steve Coppell were on the wings in Tommy Docherty's Manchester United side of the mid-seventies.
The G14’s response to Michel Platini’s proposals to reshape football in Europe.
Ask fans to name the first Dutch team to win the European Cup and many will blurt out Ajax. However, Feyenoord beat them to it. Here is an abbreviated article on their coach Ernst Happel who also took the Netherlands to the 1978 World Cup Final.
Glenn Moore on the Premiership striker’s best friend – Paul Robinson.
Touch blue (no pun intended) paper and retreat. SFA Chief Gordon Smith chimes in on Old Firm bias.
The surgeries and treatment rooms of Europe are full of football players – so we must have another break for European Championship qualifying. But this time over the next five days there is also the start of the marathon that is South American qualifying. And so this week we start in South America.
The last two World Cups have seen Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay qualify both times with Uruguay moving on through a play off in 2002 after finishing 5th in the ten country group. Uruguay repeated as 5th place finishers two years ago but failed to negotiate a way passed Australia.
Whichever country finishes one behind the four automatic spots two years from now will play the 4th place CONCACAF team rather than New Zealand (sorry that should have read the winner from Oceania).
Winning at home is critically important in any competition but South American World Cup qualifying reinforces just how important it actually is. Tracking back though the 2002 and 2006 qualifying results show that the top four have only lost three games out of their 72 home games and have drawn only 14.
In 2006 the “final” four only lost once at home (Paraguay to Colombia), drew 8 and generated 89 points from a possible total of 108 - 82%; in 2002 two games were lost at home (Ecuador to Argentina, Paraguay to Colombia), six were drawn producing 90 points out of possible 108 – 83%.
Go back a further four years and although World Cup holders Brazil did not have to qualify, the overall outcome was very similar. Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Chile all qualified with Argentina unbeaten at home. The others lost four games but three of them were to table topping Argentina. Even so the top four still generated 88 out of a possible 108 points at home (81%).
Argentina are at home to Chile who have former Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa in charge of a competitive game for the first time. Chile made the headlines for all the wrong reasons at the Copa America this past summer and Bielsa has his work cut out if he is to make it to South Africa 2010. He has some very promising youngsters on the threshold of solid international careers but qualification for a World Cup may have to wait another four years.
Brazil start with an away match against Colombia and Ecuador hosts the ever improving Venezuela. Bolivia are preparing very differently for an opening game at sea level against Uruguay and then a home match against Colombia at altitude in midweek. Domestic players are continuing to train at altitude while foreign based players (including DC United’s Jaime Moreno) are working out at lower levels. Peru versus Paraguay is the other game.
European Championship qualifying for next summer’s finals in Switzerland and Austria may give us a first qualifier this weekend to join the co-host nations. However, if it does happen it won’t be from Group A.
The top four countries all face potential banana skin matches. Group leaders Poland have never made it to the Euro finals and are two points clear at the top with three games left. On Saturday they are at home to Kazakhstan, a country they beat 1-0 earlier in qualifying.
Serbia are away to Armenia (in their final four games Serbia plays the bottom three and host Poland in the last round); Finland travels to Belgium – a tricky fixture for Roy Hodgson’s side; Portugal with four draws in their last 5 matches travels to Azerbaijan.
Scotland may lead Group B and may “only” require two wins and a draw to qualify but I have this horrible feeling that this is the weekend (or Wednesday) when it all goes pear shaped. And before I receive any e mails questioning my “Scotchness” let me tell you something. Any Scottish fan over the age of 25 has to be worried or they are brain dead.
Far too many Scottish football revival articles being printed for my liking. For every piece I’ve read I can come up with a heart breaking disappointment. In reverse chronological order – losing 6-0 to Holland Euro 2004 qualifying; knocked out of the 2000 Euro play off by a poor England side; losing to Morocco 3-0 World Cup 1998; Costa Rica, a 1-0 loss WC 1990; 1986 WC scoreless draw against 10-man Uruguay for 89 and a half minutes; Hansen and Miller in a Keystone Cops routine WC 82 in a must win game versus Russia; Iran 1978 1-1 ; losing 2-1 to Spain at Hampden 1974 European qualifying; Zaire World Cup 1974, at least that was a 2-0 win; England 1968 at Hampden; losing two late goals to Poland 1965 at Hampden; World Cup play off against the eventual runners up Czechoslovakia in Brussels in 1962. And there are more. If Scotland goes through I will be as happy as anyone. But until that moment arrives my skepticism will be unabated. Oh yeah, they play Ukraine at Hampden on Saturday.
Germany are the most likely nation to be the first to book one of the remaining 14 spots. Unbeaten in eight games with seven wins and a draw, the Germans need only a share of the points when they play the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. A loss for the Irish would put the Czech Republic within a sliver of joining the Germans.
England should be able to qualify with a win over Estonia and then draws against Russia and Croatia. But rather like my feeling about Scotland, I am tending towards a counter intuitive view of England. Impressive wins over Israel and Russia a month ago can only mean an unimpressive display is on the cards versus a poor Estonia side. No matter they will get three points which will nicely set up Wednesday’s massively gigantic showdown clash (a bit of tabloid stuff there) in Moscow.
Israel faces a mammoth task in beating Croatia in Zagreb if they are to maintain a realistic chance of advancing. The last time these two countries met Arsenal’s Eduardo da Silva notched a hat trick as Croatia inflicted a 4-3 home loss in Israel. A win on Saturday would put Croatia impressively through with two games to spare.
Denmark and Spain renew a bitter rivalry (bitter for the Dames anyway) with Denmark desperate for a win that will keep them in contention for a top two spot in Group F. Since 1984 Spain has beaten Denmark in the 1984 European championship in France; thrashed Denmark 5-1 at the 1986 World Cup; won 3-2 at the group stage of Euro 88; defeated Denmark at the qualifying stages of the 1990 and 1994 World Cup and lost the corresponding fixture of this competition 2-1 back in March.
Denmark have six shut outs in eight games but none of their four wins have come against any of the top three teams. Even so Denmark currently trail Spain and Sweden by 5 points and Northern Ireland by two a win here could put the Danes in a decent position. Spain, Sweden and Northern Ireland all have to play each other while Denmark has to face the Irish (a) and Latvia and Iceland at home.
RINGO - FA Cup Final Trivia. How many times has a non-English team played in the final? How many times has the final been played outside London? On the two occasions Charlton Athletic played in the final, something unusual happened ,what?
Bobby – Seeing that no one esle is playing here goes. 1) Three, Queen’s Park twice and Cardiff who actually won the Cup. 2) Nine times if you don’t include replays. 3) The ball burst in consecutive finals in ’46 and ’47. There was also a Gypsy's Curse involved in the Derby County Final but as far as I know it was not a consecutive season curse!
Henry14 - Q1 what do you make of Fergie's claim that he wants to spends in the midfield and attack, publicly, even if l am not a Man Utd fan l feel he is going to overpay because he is linked with every good finisher. Even if he spend $100m l still feel Hargreaves is not worth $40m and Berbatov is not worth $80m he is at most a $40m player, do you think it was a smart move?
Q2 What do you make of Fergie’s selection because it was awful, I felt it played into West Ham's plan and would not have been at the top of the table with that line up
Q3 l heard Graham Hunter and Ian Wright on talk sport saying Wenger has summoned the board for another meeting on his transfer budget, he claims that , he is not happy with the amount given to him and feels that another season of fighting for fourth Cesc and co might leave, do see Wenger leaving if he does not challenge for trophies next season
Q4 - Who owns Tevez it seems West Ham do not own him, it’s not a loan everything around this guy is mysterious even after the commission, can you clarify the situation.
Bobby – Q1 – And when has it been any different for Manchester United? As far back as I can remember they have been linked with high profile players. Even if Ferguson came out and said that he is not interested in signing anyone this summer no one would belief him. Q2 – I watched the game and in the first half in particular United destroyed West Ham and did everything except score. If it was a one-off result I could understand your point but West Ham did the double over United and Arsenal and didn’t concede a goal in the process. Q3 – No I don’t see Wenger leaving. Q4 – Tevez is owned by MSI and so when he is sold this summer West Ham will realize nothing from any deal.
Meansucka - The FA Cup and the La Liga race look to be great drama! Any predictions on the latter?
Bigdavedisaster - As the Champions League approaches I can’t help but look at AC Milan and wonder if they should be there? None of the other teams involved in "match fixing" were allowed to compete in Europe, even Lazio with less of a point deduction was kicked out of the lesser UEFA cup. If they cheated enough to have points deducted from there domestic league what does them making the final say about communication between UEFA and domestic leagues in this case Serie A? Did they cheat in the 2005-2006 season or not? It seems as though you here no talk of this incident anymore even though a team that had points deducted for being involved in fixing games is going for the biggest trophy in club football. I’m really not a big conspiracy guy but is this being kept quiet? And yes I am seeing someone on the grassy knoll. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
I wrote earlier in the season that I thought the Bulgo-irish striker combination would be the ticket for Spurs now my question is, Spurs have shown that they can score with the best of the EPL what do they have to do to defend with them? Is a healthy Ledley King the answer or is the problem bigger than one man?
Bobby – First off none of the other teams had enough points to qualify for Europe after the points deduction – the exception was Milan. Did they cheat? Yes they did. But just like other things in life there are degrees of cheating. For example trying to steal five yards at a throw-in isn’t likely to get you thrown out of European competition. Whether we agree with the punishment or not, the fact is that the Commission that conducted the inquiry in Italy found that although all were guilty there were degrees of cheating involved and the different points deduction reflected that. I don’t think that Milan needed to cheat or affect the results last season in anyway to finish in the top four in Serie A.
A healthy Ledley King will make a big difference and I thought that Zokora was far steadier in the second half of the season than the first. They certainly need a left back and if they managed to sign a naturally left footed player then they might just get away without a left sided midfield player. They also need Paul Robinson to pick his game up.
Rwonfootball - It's relatively easy to pick a "Player of the Year," because it goes to the best player. But who would get an MVP award if one was given?
Bobby – Good question. I think my choice would be Mikel Arteta at Everton.
Venti_Vidi_Vici - At the beginning of the season you had rebutted claims that Chelsea were not adequately staffed at the center back position after the loss of Gallas and Huth, replaced only by the Cannibal. Do you think they will be shopping for central defenders this summer, or stick with who they have?
Bobby – They still had three centre backs but as it turned out Boulahrouz was so brutally bad that he was a liability. However, it wasn’t the defense that let Chelsea down this season it was a lack of goals. They only conceded two more goals than last season while goal production in the Premiership was down by 10 goals at Stamford Bridge and 8 overall. The drop in goals at home led to a reduction of 12 points season-over-season at Stamford Bridge. The issue of centre backs was a red herring. If they do buy someone it might be a full back who can also play centre back. Maybe someone like William Gallas. How many games did Gallas and Huth play this season?
RINGO - Note to the SFL - Dump the Shire and promote Tayport! Although looking at the Tayport website, it does not look like they are still in business.
Bobby – You might have the old website. Here is the link I use. Unfortunately we will have to put this season down as a transition one.
Venti_Vidi_Vici - A couple of very promising youngsters who I don't hear mentioned much, but I think show great promise and may well be on the move this summer. What do you think?
Aston Villa's Gabriel Agbonlahor, 20 years old, played hard all year, managed 9 EPL goals, combines speed, strength and technical ability. Could partner Rooney in 2010.
Giuseppe Rossi, is doing very at Parma scoring better that a goal every two matches in a league which is very challenging for young strikers. I'm sure Sir Alex is very pleased.
Daniel Agger, has relegated veteran Hyypia to the Liverpool bench, and in the UCL semi showed experience far beyond his years. Benitez proved he too can spot talent, even though $10m isn't exactly a steal.
Around Europe looking at the top scorers, in Spain David Villa and Freddie Kanute are having great seasons. In Germany Stuttgart's Mario Gomez (21) and Bayern's Lucas Podolski (21) will be Germany's strikeforce in 2010; the latter may be on the market due to possible restructuring at the club after a quiet season. Also in Holland, Heerenveen's Alfonso Alves has scored over 30 goals.
Bobby – Agbonlahor qualifies to play for Nigeria and Scotland as well as England which is his first choice. He has had a very good season and finished very strongly. I can see John Carew providing a great foil for Agbonlahor. I think Rossi has done more enough to earn a chance at Old Trafford come August. His goal scoring record at Parma has been the difference between a chance of staying in Serie A and being certain to go down. Benitez broke Agger in slowly but he is clearly he is now part of the first choice centre back pairing with the largely underrated Jamie Carragher. Gomez has missed a few games through injury but he scored after coming off the bench against Bochum on Saturday. Alves is beginning to crop up in more transfer stories but I have to admit that I don’t know very much about him.
JKendrick08 - Based on performance in European competitions and overall standard of play throughout this season, how would you rank the top 10 leagues in Europe?
Bobby – The only objective measure is something like the UEFA coefficient rankings and I don’t really know if that accurately describes which might be “best”. I think trying to rank the leagues is a lesson in futility until you can define what you mean by best. Is it the most exciting, the quickest, the most goals, the largest crowds, the greatest level of parity, the best technical players, the greatest level of media hype…the list is endless. Each league has strengths and weaknesses and appeals to individual likes and so it is a very personal. Ultimately it is what ever resonates with each of us and engages us.
Thank you for your continued support of the blog. I will put a UEFA Cup Final discussion blog tomorrow morning.
Mr. Red Devil - What do you think of those yellow kits that Liverpool wore yesterday while getting soundly beaten by Man Utd? Those have to be worse than Bolton's away kit.
Bobby – I am not a particular fan of the yellow Liverpool kits but they are still better than the Bolton away set. I was surprised to find out on Friday that certain members of the FSWR office actually like the Bolton kit and I was taken to task for my comments.
Bmax 14 - It seems to be common where good teams cannot duplicate good league form in the CL or vice-versa. Is this an accurate statement, and if so, has it been this way for a long time?
Bobby – I wrote a column on this just before the Champions League Final in May. As you can see it has never been particularly easy to compete at the top level in Europe and domestically. The article focused on any differences between the old European Cup format and the relatively new Champions League version.
Excerpt - “There is also a long tradition of teams doing well in Europe but not doing the business in domestic competition. If we assume the European Cup format to have run for 36 seasons and the Champions League for 14 seasons it is difficult to make a case that there has been much difference in the number of “surprises” or an increase in the number of poor home performers. Over 50 competitions the European Champion has also won their domestic league 19 times in the same season. The break down is14 times under the EC format and 5 times under CL. A percentage comparison 38% to 36% is a miniscule difference. At the other end of the spectrum the three worst domestic performances by a European Champion all came under the EC format. Aston Villa finished 11th in the English First Division when they won the European Cup in 1982; Bayern Munich 10th in the Bundesliga in 1975; and Juventus 6th in 1985”.
MeanSucka - On Barca: you've highlighted, as well as others, that the loss of Eto'o is bigger than realized and it is more than clear after losses to Chelsea and Real Madrid. What I want to know is whether Saviola can look for more time and why Lilian Thuram was in the starting lineup? Also - Would Gudjohnsson be more appropriate as a striker/midfielder to bring on when the team is ahead? He seems very allergic to taking scoring chances when they present themselves.
Bobby – Rijkaard has never been a big fan of Saviola – either that or he has been trying to hide it by loaning him out the last two seasons – but I think he will have to use him. He is far closer to the Eto’o style of play than Eidur Gudjohnsen. Gudjohnsen is a very gifted player but he is at his best playing behind the striker and he doesn’t have the kind of pace of finishing touch that Barcelona has become used to. He is a bit like Hernan Crespo (not the quickest player) so he is forced to play right on the shoulder of the last defender in an attempt to get any advantage possible. Unfortunately – unlike Crespo – he is not the most clinical of finishers.
Wickedzoot - I was su####ious when I saw David James on your list again. I thought it was a typo (obviously didn't read last week). But wow this guy's the real deal. That was one fine article he wrote. Too bad he got so hard done against Chelsea. I thought he was brilliant. Does he have a chance to regain his England spot or is that bridge well and truly burned?
TheIdiot - I noticed you’re putting David James in the list of top GKs in the Prem - on current form, I must agree. Do you think he deserves an England recall? Or with his long record of gaffes, does he need to show a longer run of continued mistake-free keeping?
Bobby – McClaren will stick by Robinson unless he goes down injured. If that happens and James maintains his current form then James will get another chance. The media will forget how they hammered James over the years – many of the times justifiably so – and will call for his recall on a wave of nostalgia induced emotion.
USAenglandfan - 3 questions, two somewhat off topic: (1) Do you see Daniel Carvalho breaking into the first team in Brazil within the next year or two? (2) What players' jerseys/kits do you own, if any? (3) What is your favorite ever kit, aesthetically?
Bobby – (1) I cannot say I have seen too much of Carvalho but from what I have seen he is an impressive young player. Dunga sent a very clear message when he picked his first squad that he is ready to look at younger players and that they do not have to necessarily be playing in one of the top leagues. I could see Carvalho moving to Italy or Spain for a very large fee in the next 18 months. (2) I started collecting jerseys from Mexican teams while on holiday so I have 4 or 5 in the cupboard. I also have a jersey from Tayport the last team I played for in Scotland. It was a “special” when they made it to the Scottish Junior Cup final a couple of years ago. The first jersey I have received was a v-necked Dundee top in the early 60’s (same style as the Man Utd one this season) followed by the crew neck a couple of years later. I got a Chelsea top after Charlie Cooke moved from Dundee to Chelsea in the mid sixties. Since then I can remember an assortment of Scotland, QPR (Guinness), and Liverpool tops. (3) Real Madrid – all white from the 50’s.
Gongatore - In your mind, who do you think is the best choice for USMNT gaffer?
Bobby – I still think Klinsmann would be a great choice.
AlexMorph - Of the 30 short listed names for the Ballon D'Or, who would be your pick for the overall year?
Bobby – I think it is Thierry Henry’s year. He made it to the Champions League and World Cup Final and scored goals domestically. Samuel Eto’o is definitely worthy of consideration as is Fabio Cannavaro (who should have won the Golden Shoe).
Neophyte - the term "gaffer" what are its origins and when should one use it and when should you avoid it. Do you call the manager "gaffer" to his face or is it a term you should only use when out of his presence etc...?
Bobby – The term “gaffer” comes from the factory floor and building site. It is the term for a front-line supervisor – the proper title would be “foreman”. There is nothing derogatory about the term unless you place a commonly used adjective beginning in “f” before it.
bigdavedisaster - Here’s a great old video about the Old Firm. Gives a little bit of insight into where the rivalry comes from and into football in Glasgow. What a difference 30 or so years makes and doesn’t make. If you have time to watch it I’d love to know what you were up to then and what kind of a hair style you had. A snap shot of 1974
Bobby – That video brought back some bad memories!! In 1974 I was in College in Dundee and probably enjoying myself far too much. I was playing for a local team called Barnhill – with many of the mates I grew up with – so we trained, played, drank and did almost everything together. I also played in a Sunday morning league for the Dundee Press Club – they allowed me to play centre forward!!! – and sometimes on Sunday afternoon in another league. Training was Tuesday and Thursday while on Wednesdays I played for the College team. No one thought about rotation or rest back then – the pitches from October to March were mud heaps or skating rinks and we all loved it. As for hair it was long and a headband was mandatory when playing – although they were just plain white in those days unlike Ronaldinho’s current effort that makes him look like a big girl’s blouse!
MeanSucka - How about the reports of Becks being out in January or Rijkaard trying to sell Deco to get Lampard?
Bobby – Having said for the last two years that Beckham will play out his career in MLS I think a compromise will be reached and he will eventually sign for another year for Real - that way both parties will save face. It is interesting that Beckham quotes and stories seem to have escalated in the last couple of weeks – a sure sign that he is trying to put pressure on Real Madrid. As for selling Deco to get Lampard – I don’t put a lot of credence in that one.
Mr. Red Devil - BigDave, I watched that Rangers-Celtic video. Very interesting. Bobby, do you know of any good books that offer a neutral point of view on the history of Celtic & Rangers?
Bobby – I haven’t read the book myself but there was a book a few years back by Bill Murray that looked at both clubs - at what seperates them and what unites them (something many people forget - there is a reason they are called the Old Firm after all). Murray wrote a book about the global reach and history that I read and enjoyed, so I think his Old Firm book might be worth picking up.
Henry14 - l have been reading stories of huge losses in fans at club in the epl even f the price of tickets at some places like Blackburn is as low as 15 pounds, the only teams that have had an increase in fans to their ground are United and Arsenal, inevitably two clubs that play attacking and beautiful football, do you feel it is too big a task for clubs to try attacking football, l know you might need young quicker players and technically good but l feel it will affect the spending of these clubs in the long run like for instance Liverpool spend $60m during the summer hoping to cover it with gate earning , with the exception of Chelsea what do you see will be the solution if the stadiums are to be full again.
Bobby – “Falling attendance” has been a recurring story at the start of the last few Premiership seasons. Go back to the fall of 2004 and 2005 and you will find the same stories. I don’t agree that United and Arsenal have increased attendance because of the quality of their football this season – even though it has been attractive. The bottom line is that they have bigger stadiums and are reaping the reward of being popular, entertaining and most importantly successful over the last decade or so. There was a pent-up demand going into this season and we increased capacity you are seeing the results in an increase in the attendance for both clubs.
Finally thank you to all that take time to read the blog and to participate.
Over in the other game ####mp;T is losing 1-0 at half time on an own goal. It looks like it might be bad news for LA Galaxy fans as Cornell Glen has been carried off with an ankle injury. It might be a break.
You wonder if Sven's told Joe Cole to keep running the Swedish right side till he drops and the n bring on Stewart Downing.
Right against the run of play Sweden equalizes on a very simple in-swinger to the near post. Allback flicks it home after Beckham and Crouch are caught flat footed.
Sweden make an attcaking substitution with Wilhelmsson on.
Another corner and almost another goal. Replica corner except from the right side and Larsson's deflected header is heading in until Robinson pulls off a magnificent save.
England is on the ropes - another corner and Mellberg should have at least hit the target.
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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