Henry14 - I wanted to ask a couple of questions because we had a heated exchange with my friends
q1 Do Arsenal need a striker? My argument was that as much as l like Ade you do not get the feeling that he will do it again and l think Wenger is with me when he said he over achieved. Walcott and Bendtner are not consistent and l agree with you he is more of a winger than striker and rvp is always crocked q2 Wenger is said to buy a defender assuming that he is a shoe in who would get rid of Gallas or Toure? l would take Toure any day.
Bobby – Q1 – Arsenal do not need another striker, certainly not when you consider that Achilles heel this season was the defence and their overall depth. I know there has been a heated discussion going about Adebayor and frankly I would be shocked (and stunned) if he turned out to be a one-season wonder. As long as he keeps up the work rate he will score goals. Q 2 – You don’t get rid of either of them. How many times in a season does a manager get a chance to pick a first choice eleven? Very rarely. Arsenal needs to depth and talking of getting rid of Toure or Gallas does not make sense to me.
Quest5227 - Manchester United need a day-to-day right-back for the future. Whom do you think they should try to get, and whom do you think they will get? (They may not get their first choice.) Thanks.
Bobby – I am not a fan of Owen Hargreaves playing in midfield for United and he may be the answer at right back post-Gary Neville.
Ringo - Read a piece in the Guardian over the weekend comparing Avram Grant to Tony Barton, what do you think?
Bobby – I was thinking the same thing myself a few weeks ago. The only trouble was I could remember Ron Saunders but not who replaced him. Sort of sums it up doesn’t it.
Verbal97 - I'm NOT looking forward to Bobby posting the predictions.
Bobby – I looked up your predictions and no wonder you are not looking forward to it!!!
“There is a lot of underestimating Liverpool going on and thus a lot of impossible predictions. There is NO way that Liverpool finish any worse than 3rd (i.e., worse than they've finished the past 2 seasons). To predict them 5th (or even 4th) is about the same as predicting Wigan to win the league IMO.”
“I don't understand how anyone (yes, including Bobby) can have Liverpool any lower than 3rd. What about their signings, etc, make any of you believe they'll actually regress this season? And while other teams MAY have improved, I don't see any other team, including Arsenal, that can jump up the table past them.”
And there is more where these came from once the Whoops stops whoopsing.
DVXPrime - 1) Does Rafa Benitez keep his job? Shut out of the (domestic and European) cups and Year #18 without a League title...hmmm...
2) In your opinion, which clubs have done the best with a 4-5-1 (or similar) formation, and which clubs should try something else?
3) Why doesn't Canada rate a spot in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup? Not too badmouth Toronto FC, but MLS has plenty of representatives, Canada has a pro soccer league (if I'm wrong I stand corrected in advance), and MLS has had enough heartbreak in the CCC without being (poorly) represented by a second-year club.
Bobby – 1. Does Rafa get fired? – No way. Does he leave? I still think there is more of a chance of him leaving than staying.
2. I don’t think that is a question that can be answered. All the Premiership teams that I have seen this season have opted to play that way at some point.
3. Canada will have a representative in the “new” Champions League starting in 2008/09. Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and Montreal Impact are playing a round-robin over the next few months to decide a Canadian representative. (Canada does not have a national soccer league. It has a league named the Canadian Soccer League but the teams are all located in the east. It is not a true national league by any means.)
Gongatore -Wow outstanding piece but you are a bit remiss. Where's the post mortem on La Liga and Serie A?
Bobby – Wind up or not I will post the original predictions at the end of the respective seasons…soon.
Aldoray - Clubs in Spain are run and owned much differently than in England. U don’t often here of takeover bids in Spain, just about the president being changed, retiring or losing an election. What are the main differences between club ownership in Spain and England and what can the English structure learn from the Spanish structure of ownership so as to avoid quagmires like that which is going on at Liverpool.
Also Barcelona do not get money for a shirt sponsor (for many years there has been no advertising on their kit, I think they are the only major club like this (UNICEF is free). Why is it that they are able to be financially as strong as other clubs without a shirt sponsor- does this have to do with the previous statement in regards to the structure of the club being different to that of other countries?
Bobby – There is such a fundamental difference between the ownership structures that are commonly found in England versus Spain that goes back to the genesis of the game in each country.
England quickly moved to an entrepreneurial model although there was also a strong philanthropic emphasis as well. Local business men would invest in the club and receive the prestige of ownership.
Up until twenty odd years ago the directors/owners of clubs in the English League were banned from receiving anything put a small dividend and other payments from the club. However, someone realized that by instituting a creative governance and ownership structure you could suck money out of club by way of a holding company.
This was one of the elements that set of numerous clubs being floated on the stock exchange – few with any long term success. Nonetheless with the advent of Sky TV money top teams became a target for hot money leading to the present situation. There is a book or two on how the English game has reached the point it has. David Conn’s book “The Beautiful Game” is a great read while also being very disturbing.
Spanish clubs generally run on a model whereby memberships are sold and renewed every year – hence the elections and Presidential changes. There is a tendency I think, to exaggerate the benefits of the Spanish model.
It hasn’t stopped numerous Presidents of numerous Spanish clubs piling up enormous debt levels and short changing players. You also have to consider that Barcelona and Real Madrid sell their own TV rights, not as a collective organization such as you get with the Premiership.
Gregz-What do U think of Diaby potentially replacing Flamini as Arsenal's holding midfielder? U think he would be up to the task?
Bobby – I think that there is a very good chance that he will be given the chance. I’m not convinced that he is up to it. However, think back to this time last season and I don’t think you would find anyone who thought Flamini could do the job either.
Wiegs9 - With another EPL season complete, I'm wondering if you have seen anything which gives you any indication the top four finishers in the EPL will consist of something different than the Big Four in the foreseeable future. It seems regardless of the challenges the Big Four face (e.g., additional matches, lengthy injury lists, financing a new stadium, substantial debt, etc.), they are able retain all the Champions League spots, and will continue to do so.
Since Spurs' food poisoning incident, I don't get much indication any other EPL side is able to challenge for a CL spot since the difference from 4th to 5th has been 8 and 11 points the last two seasons.
Bobby – It always difficult to see change coming and to be perfectly honest I don’t see anything changing. However, it will because it always has and always will. Success is relatively fleeting even though it doesn’t seem that way sometimes.
Bevo2284 - 1. What has happened to Jose Antonio Reyes? I know he didn’t fit in at Arsenal or Real Madrid but what exactly are his shortcomings and what are your thoughts on him as a player?
2. I know last week there was a lot of Arsenal talk about the Flamini move. If you were Wenger who would be your top three targets in players and positions?
3. What are your thoughts on Sulley Muntari being a replacement for Flamini?
4. There have been rumours (as always) of Hatem Ben Arfa already having agreed to a deal with Arsenal. I think it’s a great move and could potentially be a great replacement for Hleb who looks set to join Inter. What is your opinion of this?
Bobby – 1. Atleti might be a better source on how Reyes is doing although by all accounts it does not seem like he has done very much. During his time in the Premiership I thought he was far too ponderous on the ball. His inclination when he got the ball was to stop, put his foot on it and allow the opposition to get players behind the ball.
2. Centre half, midfield player, goalkeeper. Who would that be – depends on too many different things.
3. Don’t think so.
4. I haven’t seen enough of him to comment although a young wide player (who can sometimes play up front) doesn’t seem to be the answer to Arsenal’s main problem which is keeping goals out.
Craigy_f –1. Many see the CL in the last few years as a tale of PL dominance. It's hardly that in the UEFA Cup. How to you explain the difference in the two comps for PL teams (or other leagues) in the last three odd years. 2. Do you like the playoffs? 3. The last noise the Liverpool Supporters Who Want To Buy Liverpool made was about having the clout to actually have a dialogue with Hillette and Gicks. Apparently they wanted to talk ' intentions'. Will this happen? 4. Will Ince be given a bigger club or stick with much moved Wimbledon? 5. Tevez's stock must have gone up with that late goal at Blackburn?
6. Gimme your top five footballing flops this weekend, please. 7. What; off what goes on on the pitch; gets your goat when watching football. 8. Who will finish fifth? (In the PL, Serie A and La Liga) 9. Scottish Managers seem to do well darn sarf, why do you think that is?
Bobby –1. Many would seem to have a very poor grasp of what constitutes dominance. One win this decade hardly represents dominance.
2. Yes.
3. Until they have money in the bank they are trying to bluff their way in the door. There is a large chasm between fans expressing a willingness to put money up and actually writing the cheque. There again 100,000 of them could borrow the money from the bank which is no more ridiculous than what Hicks and Gillett pulled off.
(Couldn't resist the notion that the ESPN commentator missed a golden opportunity at the end of the game today when the cameras panned over to Hicks. The comments was something like "owner Tom Hicks must now take his Liverpool team to Stamford Bridge next week..." Should it not have been "owner Tom Hicks must now take his half of the Liverpool team to Stamford Bridge next week..."
4. There are always teams on the lookout for a savior so I cannot see Ince staying with MK Dons much longer. He could take a shorter route to the Championship I am sure.
5. Three late equalizers doesn’t hurt but I think that after what he showed for WHU late last season there are not too many people surprised.
6. You get 1 and 1 a – Clyde losing to Hamilton and Queen of the South beating Dundee.
7. What?
8. Villa, Milan, Racing Santander.
9. If I knew sarf meant then I might be able to answer.
Gorn – 1. Your opinion on whether Fake Ronaldo's PK technique is caution-worthy/unsporting? Seems to me that it's not much, if at all, different than if he just took a shorter run-up. Is there another line of thinking? 2. What sources do you use to do yer research (ie: top away goal scorer in BPL in 07-08, etc.)? Any links appreciated! 3. By how many goals will LFC beat Chelsea in both legs of the CL semi? 4. There appears to be a few quality strikers available this summer (Berbatov, Huntelaar, Villa, Henry, Crouch & hell even Ronaldinho). Do you think this will create a bit of a market correction in transfer prices? Or will this be the priciest market in years? I know you don't like to speculate on things like specific transfers, just wondering yer general feeling on what you anticipate happening, especially w/so many top teams rumoured to be changing managers.... 5. Do you think MLS needs a marquee team or 3 to stimulate rivalries/dynasties like the BPL has? Not advocating a class system exactly, but maybe more along the lines of brand development & recognition. Beckham helps, but if his team is pants, it doesn't help MLS. Further, MLS seems not yet able to simply throw $ at players to solve the problem like NASL did.
Maybe MLS would be served by having more than one team in a big city like NY to create a derby. Thoughts?
6. Dis/agree that there are at most 3 Canadian cities than can support an MLS team?
Bobby – 1. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
2. I hunt through stats sites. There is not one that has everything and in some cases the information doesn’t seem to exist. Most of the time it is a case of getting raw information and adding things up. I don’t think I use any sites that I or others haven’t referenced before; BBC, Fox, Telegraph, Soccerbot (probably my favourite), soccerbase.com, premiersoccerstats, RSSSF, channel 4 are the normal haunts. I also buy the European Book of Football each year which contains a statistical recap of every league in Europe plus international games.
3. Leading the witness – can’t have that. And do you now wish to rephrase the question after today?
4. Prices aren’t necessarily dependent on supply but are more influenced by money in the system. In the last few years that has been Premier League money and there is no indication that the money will dry up. I would also suggest that managers are not looking for strikers per se they are looking for specific types of strikers depending on their needs.
Berbatov is going to give you imagination, silky skills, and the ability to lead the line. Crouch is going to provide you with a lethal five yard pass back towards his own goal and ….come to think of it how many goals has your list of quality strikers actually scored this season?
Huntelaar 34 goals – we know from experience that goals in the Dutch league do not necessarily translate into goals in bigger leagues and he his coming up on 25 years old and nobody has made a real move for him yet. Wonder why? Berbatov 15 goals but also offers more. After that there have not been many goals from the others.
5. Use the words “brand development” and you are not off to a very good start. Rivalries do not come from plunking a team or two down in the same city. They come from years of games, incidents and shared history.
Rivalries cannot be manufactured and it is not just about location. After all if your theory was right we would be watching the Greater London League every week. One more thing – the NASL did not solve any problems by throwing money at them; they just caused more problems.
6. Vancouver I have no doubt. Montreal is a strange market and I don’t know enough about it. The others - not a hope of being considered let alone being given a chance. It is after all an US league.
Ursusarctos - "Should the Moscow [CL] final turn out to be an all-English affair this season, there will be plenty of talk about the Premier League being the best in the world. It isn't. Torres is right [that La Liga is tougher than the Premier League because matches are more competitive all the way down the league, and that English football is really all about the top four.]"
Yes. And it is too bad.
Do you agree with Wilson's (and Torres') analysis?
How would you rate Serie A? Does it resemble the PL, in terms of the quality being consistently concentrated among the top (6 or so?) teams, or is it more similar to Spain?
Leagues appear to tend to develop a quasi-permanent group of "haves", with the quality dropping off rapidly after-- Scotland's Old Firm and Portugal's Big Three are other examples.
Which major leagues would you consider to have the most turnover amongst the top group of teams, and the most competitive depth, over time (recent decades)-- and which the least? What factors might be responsible for differences between leagues?
Or does the competitive depth of leagues go in cycles, with England at the lower end of the scale and Spain at the higher at this point in time (and Scotland doing its own thing)?
If so, will increasing financial rewards, such as CL prize money, tend to fix "elite" teams in place, or are there contrary factors that might help to promote intra-league competitiveness?
Bobby – I don’t care one way or another. You may as well argue about the greatest ever heavyweight boxer. At the end of the day it is what excites and engages you – it has nothing to do with a subjective definition of best.
(I notice another MLS is #### discussion has broken out. We have been around this one before but someone has yet to tell me what constitutes great football that they will watch and bad football that they won’t. Fans relate through building allegiances and they have no idea whether or not they will enjoy a game or will want to throw up when they pay their money or sit down in front of a TV. There is no such thing as all games in X league good; all games in Y league bad. When fans dismiss a league as being rubbish what they mean is they don’t relate to it. It has nothing to do with the standard of play even though they make it out to be.)
In terms of parity England use to be the exception in that there were a number of clubs that had a real chance of picking up silverware every season. The advent of the Premiership killed that extended era and the Premiership took on the same character as Europe’s other main leagues.
Take a look at the teams who have won leagues and cups in each country – it will closely follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty per cent of the silverware will have been won by 20% of the teams. The difference between success and failure long tern in soccer is the same as in business – the access to capital.
No guarantee of success but if you don’t have access to money through a large fan base (which normally means a team from a large city) you cannot compete in the long term. It works the same for leagues – that is why countries with large populations generally have better teams and more of them.
There are a couple of exceptions but they are exceptions, not the rule.
I haven’t done the research but my guess is that the French league has probably enjoyed the broadest range of winning sides until Lyon started their domination.
The Champions League is installing or in some cases ingraining what could become a perpetual cycle of relative success for a relatively small number of clubs. Win their league and make it to the CL group stage generates money that their domestic rivals do not have access to; spend the money to improve the squad and qualify for Europe again etc etc.
Rosenborg had it down to an art for over a decade. Platini’s initiative to extend places in the group stage to more countries is in theory good and noble but it may also lead to a greater distortion at the domestic level.
MasMaz - I assume that tonight you will give us your opinion about Rooney being given free reign to do whatever he wants. If not I'd like to hear it.
Bobby – I can’t say that I have noticed any difference in the way that Ferguson is playing Rooney. He has been granted a lot of freedom all season from what I can see.
However, if you are trying to make some ridiculous comparison with Mascherano’s sending off against United then you will have to make a better case. If you can show me an example of Rooney running 40 yards to get in the referee’s face when he has already been given a yellow card and had no involvement in the incident then you might have a case – oh and your teammate has just been carded for yapping at the referee. Otherwise you might want to wait until you have a more credible comparison.
Neophyte - Did you see the Toronto FC/ Real Salt Lake match? It looked like the match ended with only one minute of injury time instead of the three minutes posted by the 4th official. Home cooking or poor clock management and communication from the center to the 4th official?
Bobby – You hit a sore spot. I opted to watch the Blackburn game, tape TFC, go out for the first kick about of the new season and then come home and watch three MLS games. Tape malfunction on the TFC game so the only part I saw was when I switched over at half time in the Blackburn match. I did catch the other two MLS games though.
Maybe the 4th official did as good a job programming his board as I did programming my tape machine!
Aldoray - Football clubs have a Manager and Assistant Manager and coaches. What are the roles each of them play? Does the manager give the overall plan and then the assistant and the coaches carry it out or is the manager always hands on with the squad and everybody else is just peripheral. Or is it different for every club.
Bobby – Unfortunately the answer is the old standby – it depends. Some mangers are out there with the squad every day, some occasionally and others hardly at all. I remember reading a feature on Martin O’Neill during his Celtic days and his view was that a manager can maximize his impact if he limits his contact with the players.
His theory was that with a lot of daily contact the messages that the manager wants to communicate are blunted and the motivational effect is dampened. I can only assume he still feels the same way.
There is a certain irony because that is a view from many years ago. Prior to Busby, Shankly, Stein etc. popularizing the idea of the “Tracksuit Manager” the preparation was left to a coach (rarely coaches!) and the manager would come in on game days to give the team talk. Otherwise he dealt with other things during the week.
JayAlves - Arsenal fans can sleep easy knowing Usmanov /=/ Abramovich from a money standpoint.
Last time I checked Usmanov was worth 1/3 or 1/4 of Abramovich and considering how Arsenals profits are going might become an unrealistic team for him to buy assuming the board keep entering no sale agreements.
They floated this theory on WSD not long ago but they were off the mark on one point. They said maybe the board is being cheap on purpose to keep growing the club financially so they can’t be taken over. Thing is though the board on several occasions have dropped the huge money figures that Wenger has if he wants so you could hardly accuse them of being cheap.
Bobby – I don’t think that theory stands up. First off being debt free and enjoying the relative luxury of a fully paid for stadium did not save Manchester United from a highly leverage buy out from the Glazers. The same would hold true for an Arsenal club that is in a poorer position than United were because it still carries a huge stadium debt.
A case could be made that by improving the net financial position (not spending money) Arsenal are actually making the club a more desirable takeover target rather than turning the opportunists off. Companies that enjoy great balance sheets and hoard gobs of cash are often bigger and better targets for raiders than companies with huge debts.
Think about it from a lenders point of view and what would give you greater security – your money to pay off someone else’s debt or go towards buying cash generating assets with a pile of cash already sitting there?
LGB – 1. Any chance you are going to be able to leave NA and go see some Euro matches? 2. Have you been to any Cup Finals? Worked any? 3. You see what’s going on with Liverpool how often do you think this happens in boardrooms(in the background that is)? 4. If you could do your own short list for PFA player of the year, who would be on that list? 5. You said last week that United's system of attacking is a variation of the Dutch system using fewer players. Has Ferguson reinvented himself with this approach? I don't remember the high-flying United teams earlier in this decade using this type of attack. 6. Speaking of the Ferguson's, I read the article on Darren. Have you seen any of Peterborough's games? Is he worth all the press? 7. Finally...has anyone offered you a bribe to pump up their team on the FSR?
Bobby – 1. No chance whatsoever.
2. I’m assuming you mean FA Cup Finals? – No.
3. I think you would find this sort of thing at lower levels but not at the top flight. You are dealing with multi million pound budgets and usually that brings with it some sober second thought. You don’t call for the CEO’s resignation knowing that you don’t have the votes to achieve it without it being part of a longer term objective. What’s his longer term objective? I can only guess the purpose it to continue to poison the atmosphere to the extent that Gillett bales or the other directors will pay a healthy premium to get rid of Hicks.
4. Ronaldo, Torres and four others.
5. United has help true to attacking football right from the Busby era. It is part of the culture to go out and entertain – that was why I questioned the fielding of two defensive midfield players at the start of the season. Ferguson from his days at St. Mirren (perhaps even East Stiringshire!) and Aberdeen has been a manager who likes to go forward and take the play to the opposition. I think the only thing that is different this season is how fluid their play is and that comes down to the players he has.
6. Really don’t know anything about Posh (the team not the “singer”) apart from the owner Barry Fry. The press are taking an interest because of the family but also at this time you will see a few articles about younger managers pushing for promotion spots in the lower leagues. Paul Ince got some attention after MK Dons won at Wembley and Swansea’s Spanish manger Roberto Martinez has also received some coverage.
7. Yes it happens on a fairly regular basis and I have even been threatened.
Matt_Johnston - I know this is a common question, but in light of the attention paid to the Champions League has the domestic cup challenges become something of an after thought for the top clubs in any league, whether it is the EPL, SPL, La Liga, Serie A, League 1, etc? As you mention Cardiff and Queen of the South (what a story there) getting to their respective finals, but it goes even deeper than that. In Scotland, Rangers, Celtic, et al and in the FA Cup, every one of the big four teams was gone by the semi-finals if not before.
Bobby – First of all I think you have to consider that some countries don’t have a deep Cup tradition – Italy is good example of that. What I find strange is that it was my sense that more teams took the FA Cup “seriously” this season than in previous years and we got the wackiest results in a couple of lifetimes.
The format of single game cup ties lend themselves to surprises so maybe what we are seeing is that trend being reestablished and making up for some predictable finalists over the last decade or so.
Ranges and Celtic have dominated Scottish football to a large extent for over one hundred years but they have contested 14 finals out of a total of 122. You would need to do a bit more analysis to find out how many times one of the Old Firm has knocked the other out before the final but even so it shows that there is a good chance that at least one finalist in Scotland will not come from the Old Firm.
footie_fan - Bummed you won't be on tonight. Could you give us your views on the two games you watched? Thanks.
Bobby – United and Arsenal game was cracking match. Arsenal had the chances to win the game in the first half but allowed United back into it and United did not pass up the opportunity. United went for the throat – Arsenal didn’t.
TFC and Galaxy was a horrible game but three needed points for Toronto. Like Arsenal, the Galaxy failed to take their chances (Landon Donovan take a bow) and paid the price. I don’t know it was just me but the playing surface at the Home Depot looked to be playing very poorly. The ball seemed to bump along rather than rolling with any consistency.
Dasayev - And speaking of wacky coaching transitions, what about Klinsmann's impending takeover of Bayern? Of course he did a great job at the world Cup but he has no managerial experience at club level and will take over a Bundesliga champion team headed for the CL. And on Bayern, did you catch that finish with Getafe? Between that and Liverpool-Arsenal, it was two of the great finishes in a matter of days...
Bobby – If you get a chance there is a very good article about the Klinsmann appointment in the March issue of World Soccer by Nick Bidwell.
Albertagooner - I caught Inter-Fiorentina and was hugely impressed by Mario Balotelli, a 17-year-old who showed a lot more composure in front of the net than either Adebayor or Wayne Rooney for that matter. Apparently he's hopped ahead of Hernan Crespo in the pecking order, which is why the former Chelsea man will move to Juventus this summer.
Bobby – One of the regular posters was talking Balotelli up earlier this season.
MasMaz - I hope this isn't a trend, all the shows besides Monday and Friday can get a little slow.
Bobby – I try to keep Mondays and Fridays but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Craigy_f -1. Isn’t it normal protocol for the referee to flip the coin at the beginning of the match? 2. What three things stand out for you in all the football you’ve seen this weekend? 3. To what do you attribute the MLS’s inability to get its best teams into the final of the CONCACAF Champions League. Two wins and one final appearance from ‘97 through 2000 and then nothing? The MLS Cup holders were stifled at home and outplayed comprehensively by a team from Costa Rica and the Supporters’ Shield Holders had a dreadful away leg and didn’t take the opportunities to make the home leg their own. 4. Peter Couch has been rated at 10M GBP and 6M GBP this week, which valuation do you think is closer to the fee he would actually be sold for? 5. Why do we not see ‘three at the back’ formations in the PL? 6. Can you see any of the three promoted Championship teams not going straight back down? 7. Next Jan/Feb there will be no ACoN. Do you see this having any effect on the transfer targets of PL managers (or other big euro league managers) this off season. (Of course it’ll be on in 2010 – football does have a short memory though doesn’t it) 8. Do you think the title race is over?
Bobby – 1. From what I know there is not a rule about who flips the coin. All the rule states is that a coin is tossed and the winner chooses the way to play. The loser gets kick off. I experienced referee’s flipping the coin, and have also seen referees ask one of the two captain’s to flip and the other to call.
2. Hargreaves’ free kick and a great example to a poster of sometime ago of what happens when a wall doesn’t jump. Evra and Clichy putting on a fantastic display of how to play full back. Some great sot blocking from Greg Sutton for Toronto.
3. Not good enough at that stage in the season.
4. Based on transfer inflation at least 10M – is he worth it? I’ll let you decide.
5. Three at the back especially when played at a high temp allows forwards too much space to make runs into. It puts the defenders under lots of pressure and in turn it takes away the option of building through wide positions. It also creates a bit of space for midfielders to attack if the forwards pull the markers wide. Dominant teams can get away with it but a lot of coaches believe that the formation lacks balance.
6. It will be very tough on them. I would hope that West Brom might give it a real shot given Tony Mowbray’s commitment to attack and trying to play from back to front. I’ve mentioned it a number of times that there are a lot of poor teams in the Premiership this season and it is likely that there will be a good number next season as well.
7. It’s been shown that the human brain is more likely to discount the long term in exchange for short term gratification. I can only assume that managers’ brains are wired in a similar way.
8. Two wins and a draw wins the title for United – one win and a draw if the win comes against Chelsea. It is now a Willie Waddell.
Thierry_Henry - Just a personal question if you don’t mind. If you were to compare yourself at FSC with managerial job, which one would mostly be the closest:
-Benitez at Liverpool -Wenger at Arsenal -Mancini at Inter -SAF at UTD -Rijkaard at Barcelona -Ancelotti at Milan - Ramos at Tottenham
Bobby – Alex Rae at Dundee.
Jahmikes - With Ronaldhino pretty much on his way to Milan, what do you think of my Gunners acquiring the services of Seedorf? , He seems to be unhappy with his new role, since the introduction of Pato, I think the price would be right, we would have an experienced player who has won on all levels, and he would provide good leadership for at least three yrs.
Bobby – Not going to happen.
Seanhipworth - How many of Cristiano Ronaldo's goals (in the Premiership) are from the penalty spot? I cannot seem to find this statistic anywhere, (even on ESPN's stats-loaded website). Are these things only Americans care about? Secondly, I assume it's not illegal but it should be: why are players allowed to pause their approach run when taking a penalty? It's hard enough for a keeper to stop it, why does the kicker get to try and fake him out in such a way? I think it's a tasteless way to take a penalty, results aside.
Bobby – From what I gather Ronaldo has scored three goals from the penalty spot in the Premiership. Louis Saha has a couple. In terms of the penalty kick you have to consider that not so many years ago the goalkeeper was not allowed to move at all until the ball was struck. There is nothing within the Rules of the Game but the following appears as part of “Additional Instructions and Guidelines to Referees”.
"Feinting to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football. However, if in the opinion of the referee the feinting is considered an act of unsporting behaviour, the player shall be cautioned."
Neophyte - Where would you put the signing of Luca Toni on the scale of successful signings? Is it just the proximity of the stands to the pitch or are the fields smaller in Germany (dimension wise) than you see in England? (It could be my TV...they just look more compact)
Bobby – Toni - very much a success. I doubt very much that fields on average are that much smaller in Germany than England. It is more likely caused by camera angles…..or your set.
Neophyte - I just read a comment on FSC site from Cruyff about Man Utd. being an "English" side that plays the long ball. It seems that stereotypes can blind even some of the most respected soccer minds (talents). It is a good thing that Frank R. is not being advised by Mr. Cruyff....he would have Frank preparing for a different team. What's your prediction for the CL's semis? (any comment on Cruyff's statements?)
Bobby – I’m guessing that Cruyff comments may not have been accurately reported for no other reason than if true it provides greater motivation to United. United to beat Barcelona and I have yet to decide on the other tie.
Aldoray - Which do u think is the lesser of two evils Hicks or Gillete. And why? And have u known of any previous examples in the Prem where 2 people have equal ownership in a club and run it successfully?
Bobby – Gillett has been given – and taken – the better PR advice. They are both experienced and largely successful businessmen but as we have seen on many occasions that does not bring with it a guarantee when owning a football team in Europe. I don’t think either got into this understanding the culture of Liverpool FC and their fans. What’s more it would appear that the previous shareholders were seduced by the money on offer and did not represent the true nature of the purchase offer to the fans.
After stating that they were not offering a Glazer-type leverage buy-out deal it is clear that is exactly what they were intending to do. In that circumstance you cannot separate the two. I think the remark was attributed to Roman Abramovich but I am sure it was not an original – “a hamster is just a rat with with better PR.” That probably sums it up.
It you consider success in the Premiership as winning the League title then you are limited to Manchester United, Arsenal, Blackburn and Chelsea and none of these clubs had a 50/50 shared ownership.
Finally perhaps I should I clarify my answer to LGB way back at the beginning of the responses. The bribes and threats come from the Old Timers team who offer to waive the price of a post match bru or if that doesn’t work to post slanderous remarks on the blog about my on field performances!
Matt Dickinson compares the Capello’s manner to that of Sir Alf Ramsey.
A piece on Anguilla’s World Cup second leg qualifying match against El Salvador.
Stephen Brunt writing a couple of days before Toronto FC opened the season with a loss to the Columbus Crew.
John Cushley who spent much of his Celtic career as a back up to Billy McNeill has died from Motor Neurone Disease, the same illness that took Jimmy Johnstone. Cushley spent sometime with West Ham in the late 60s.
Regarding Diaby's red card. As has been pointed out there has been a stunning silence on the blog from those ready to have Martin Taylor hung, drawn and quartered a few weeks ago. Even though Arsene Wenger seems to be able to differentiate between the two incidents the only difference I can see is that Eduardo was unfortunate that his foot was planted while Steinsson was on the move and got lucky.
If everything goes well I should be making a midweek appearance on Wednesday's Fox Soccer Report - Champions League edition.
An extract from Sir Bobby Charlton’s latest autobiography. I still have one he wrote in 1964 called "My Soccer Life" so it will be interesting to contrast it with the book that is about to be published.
This piece is for the old timers. The last chapter of the 1964 book Charlton picked his best British eleven. The side he picked in the old 2-3-5 was - Bert Trautmann; Jimmy Armfield, Ray Wilson; Danny Blanchflower, Neil Franklin, Duncan Edwards; Stanley Matthews, Wilf Mannion, Tommy Taylor, Denis Law and Tom Finney.
In their second ever game Toronto went to Gillette Stadium and looked awful in losing 4-0. Nearly ten weeks on TFC returned to the same scene and produced another dreadful performance. Even though this loss was by a goal less it was arguably a worse result than the one back in April given that the Revolution were without three legitimate starters in Twellman, Ralston and Parkhurst.
The Toronto FC squad may have a threadbare look at the moment but with the exception of goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who continues to suffer from the repercussions of a concussion at the Gold Cup, but it was the recognized starting eleven that started and finished the match.
However, Toronto was simply never in the game with far too many players missing for large periods of the game. The Revolution was up by two with a little over thirty minutes gone and cruised through the rest of the match before a third goal with nine minutes left completed the scoring.
The first goal came after Avery John was given all sorts of time to cross into the heart of the Toronto defence. All it required was a routine bit of defending to deal with the cross. However, midfielder Carl Robinson (?) dropped to deep and missed the clearing header only for the ball to rebound from a surprised Kevin Goldthwaite to Andy Dorman who scored easily.
The second goal was remarkably similar in the obscene amount of time provided to Jeff Larentowicz. Larentowicz was allowed to control the ball, look up and pick out Pat Noonan as he arrived in the penalty to place a header past TFC keeper Djekanovic from about 12 yards.
The third New England goal looked good but again Toronto’s defence was poor as Smith, Christman and Dorman combined to set up the midfielder for a deuce and his third goal in two games against Toronto.
In a little over a week the FIFA Under-20 World Cup will kick off in Canada. When you consider the impact that Toronto FC of MLS has already made it is turning out to be a banner – perhaps pivotal year – for the game in Canada.
This is the first in a series of Under-20 World Cup blogs that will run from now until the Final on July 22 in Toronto. Although watching all 52 matches might prove to be a couple of games too far my intention is to watch – and attend – as many as I can.
To start off here are a few articles and some information on the tournament.
You can find details of previous tournaments back to the inaugural event in 1977 in Tunisia along with the winners. You would not have to be overly perceptive to notice that Brazil and Argentina have dominated this competition while Portugal and Spain have also achieved some success. So why have Brazil and Argentina been successful? A seemly endless production line of talent definitely helps although a recent article in FourFourTwo that focused on how Brazilian clubs develop talent shows that their success is far from happenstance.
In a Champions Magazine interview with Claudio Borghi the legendary Argentine playmaker and now coach of Colo Colo provide his insight into why South American countries continue to produce such great players. Borghi believes that it is the upside of European teams continually raiding South American clubs. “It’s like having a fast-food concept. Players are being sold all the time, and you must be expert in gambling on the club’s youth system. In Europe, 17-year-olds wouldn’t be able to stand the pressure of playing finals as they do here.”
Over the next week or so I will be posting some pen-pixs of players who may arrive in Canada relatively unknown but who may leave as global superstars-in-waiting.
And the not unexpected speculation about the return of professional soccer to Victoria. You can expect this to be one in a long line of articles that will touch on the same subject. My guess is that someone will raise the issue of a new Canadian Soccer league well before the end of the first week of competition.
Ticket problems in Victoria. Far be it for me to point out that there were no such double-headers at last summer’s World Cup in Germany.
A regular blog reader and poster Miro has forwarded the following information about the Czech Republic team. “The Czech Coach,Miroslav Soukup,named his 21 men roster for the U-20 WC.The players and coaching staff are pretty much the same group from the U-19 Euro,last July, where they ended up Bronze. He is missing 2 players ,who are with the U-21's at the Euro in Holland, one that got injured in the friendly vs Congo, last week and one wasn't released by the Club (because of injuries during season).He says that because they had a large pool to pick from, they have pretty much a complete squad. The Head of The Delegation is Rudolf Bata, the Honorary Chairman of the Czech Football Association, son of Tomas Bata, the shoe magnate, who are all back operating their 'empire" in the Czech Rep, after being forced to move to Canada, after the 2nd WW. They will fly to Edmonton on the 16th on Saturday, play a friendly vs the home team of Canada on Monday (the game was abandoned at 0-0 due to bad weather) and another one vs Korea in Toronto on the 23rd of June.
They will play the first WC game vs. favorite Argentina on the 30th of June in Ottawa.”
You can send any information (fsr@mts.net) that think might be of interest about the 24 countries and I will post a selection regularly. However, I’m not holding my breath thinking I’m going to get much on North Korea. If you have a blog and you have information on the tournament please post your link under comments.
Toronto FC made in four wins in seven home games this season when they walloped FC Dallas 4-0. In a game of contrasting styles it was Toronto’s pressing and more direct play that triumphed over a Dallas side that looked to build slowly while maintaining possession.
In the early going Dallas had the better of the play but they were left to rue a couple of early missed chances when Toronto took control of the game half way through the first half.
The first goal came after excellent work from Kevin Goldthwaite on the left side as he crossed for Danny Dichio. Dichio’s two efforts were saved by Dario Sala before Edu stuck the loose ball away as it bobbled around in the six yard box.
Three minutes later a free kick swung into the penalty area by Carl Robinson from the right side led to a second Toronto goal. Dichio simply out-muscled the FC Dallas defense to head home.
Dichio failed to appear for the second half after injuring his ankle while FC Dallas brought on Ruiz and Nunez for McCarty and Thompson. While Dallas enjoyed most of the possession in the second half they failed to create many clear cut chances.
A Carl Robinson header from a wonderfully flighted Kevin Goldthwaite cross after twenty minutes of the second half put Toronto up by three goals and the game beyond doubt. The speedy Jeff Cunningham could have had a second half hat trick but each time his hesitation and indecision when granted lots of time proved costly.
As it was Cunningham did get on the score sheet when he headed home in injury time. Proof, if any is needed, that Cunningham prospers when he acts instinctively.
With all four goals coming from crosses, three of them leading to headed goals, Coach Steve Morrow – himself a former centre back – was be left in no doubt as to where the FC Dallas weakness lay.
As for Toronto they now face six games away from the friendly confines of BMO Field and do not return there for MLS action until July 29 and a date with the Chicago Fire.
Scouting notes Toronto FC has had Trinidad and Tobago forward Collin Samuel on trial this past week. While with Falkirk, Samuel was linked with a move to Everton of the Barclay’s Premiership. However, his form dipped and he was transfered to Dundee United (coincidentally a former team of Ronnie O'Brien). Ian McCall who had signed Samuel for Falkirk was the man responsible for taking him to Tannadice.
However, McCall was subsequently sacked. When Samuel’s contract was up for renewal at the end of this past season United offered him a less lucrative deal and Samuel opted to become a free-agent. A life-long Dundee United fan described Collin Samuel to me as an enigma (in Scotland that describes someone who once played well and everyone is waiting for it to happen again!) who on his day can be a world beater but who is wildly inconsistent.
Great speed but Samuel can suffer through stretches of games when he is completely anonymous. With Toronto FC due to lose players to the Canadian Under-20 side we will find out this week whether or not Coach Maurice Johnston offers Samuel a contract.
As the Canada – Haiti match coincided with part of the FSR last night I didn’t get a chance to see the full game until today.
An improved performance by Canada – they played at a higher pace and kept Haiti under pressure when they had the ball. Toronto’s Chris Pozniak came into the side to play as the defensive midfield player, while Atiba Hutchinson dropped a bit deeper to play alongside Julian De Guzman in the centre of midfield. Over the ninety minutes the two moves gave Canada a more solid look in the engine room although the price paid was a lack of support to Rob Friend who played as the lone striker.
Dwayne De Rosario’s two goals inside five minutes just after the half hour mark of the first half put Canada in the driver’s seat. The first came after a Stalteri cross that bypassed striker Rob Friend but dropped to De Rosario. The Haiti keeper got caught out badly at his near post. The second was from the penalty spot when the lively Issey Nakajima-Farran was fouled after nipping around a defender. The power in De Rosario’s spot kick compensated for a placement that was a bit to close to goalkeeper Gabart Fenelon for comfort.
Either side of half time Haiti enjoyed their best spell and that lasted for around twenty minutes. During that time Canada lost their way defensively and needed keeper Pat Onstad to come to the rescue on at least three occasions. In one case Onstad took a sickening shot to the head as he dove at an on-rushing Haitian forward. After a delay of over five minutes Onstad continued on.
Going into the last eight of the Gold Cup (opponents still not known) the centre of the Canadian defense is probably the biggest concern. Under any sort of pressure Hastings and Hainault look very uncomfortable. Despite De Rosario’s two goals against Haiti there were long stretches of the game when he was not involved in the game as he was left marooned out on the left wing. To be consistently successful Canada has to find a way to bring De Rosario into the game for longer stretches.
Ian Hume was left on the Canadian bench again – something that I think surprises many people while Rob Friend could have benefited with more support up front. He was left to plough a lone furrow with minimal support from midfield.
A post-script to how Guadeloupe stacks up against other teams in the region. In the Shell Caribbean Cup of 2007 – the qualifying competition for this Gold Cup – Guadeloupe played eleven games, winning seven and losing four. They beat French Saint-Martin, Dominica, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, Cuba and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They lost to Guyana twice, Haiti and Cuba. In total they scored 22 goals and conceded 14.
While TFC extended their unbeaten streak to three games (including a friendly against Benfica), the Rapids unbeaten run came to an end at four. It was a win that was thoroughly deserved by Toronto and a score line that flattered Colorado. Only a combination of some fine one-on-one goalkeeping from the Rapids keeper Bouna Coundoul and some less than stellar finishing by Toronto – Jeff Cunningham step forward – kept Colorado in with a chance of rescuing a point right to the end.
It was a possibility that grew when Kevin Goldthwaite was sent off with less than ten minutes to play. With a depleted squad coach Mo Johnston can ill-afford the suspension that Goldthwaite’s red-card will bring. But nonetheless, Toronto held on and now awaits the arrival of the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night.
With Carl Robinson playing for Wales in a European Championship qualifying game against the Czech Republic, Toronto coach Mo Johnston opted to move Ronnie O’Brien back to his normal position on the right side of midfield while Chris Pozniak slotted into the holding midfield role.
It was a move that gave TFC more attacking options while Pozniak did a stellar job of deputizing for Robinson. Another enforced change meant that Srdjan Djekanovic was given his MLS debut with Greg Sutton on international duty for Canada. The keeper was rarely tested over the ninety minutes and dealt capably with Colorado’s sporadic attacks.
All the goals came in the first half and each coach would likely put the goals down to sloppy defending. Toronto jumped into a two-goal lead through Danny Dichio and Andrew Boyens. The first came after the Boyens was allowed far too much time to find Marvell Wynne breaking down the right side. Wynne then nugmegged a Colorado defender and found himself in acres of space as the other Colorado defenders failed to provide any cover.
Wynne was then allowed to cut back and reach the touchline before knocking the ball to the front post where it found a charging Danny Dichio who only had to deflect the ball high into the net. The Rapid’s defense showed no sign of learning a lesson as TFC created more chances and in particular an intelligent quick kick from Dichio that set Cunningham on a free run only to be stymied by Bouna Coundoul.
The second goal for TFC came from a well-delivered corner kick from Ronnie O’Brien that found an unmarked Andrew Boyens eight yards out. Although it looked like Dichio had run some subtle interference on Ugo Ihemelu no one picked up Boyens and the ever-improving New Zealander scored his first Toronto goal.
However, this time the Rapids struck back quickly after taking advantage of an ill-advised pass by Goldthwaite and some poor control by Welsh just inside the Colorado half. The Rapid’s transitioned quickly – even rapidly – as the ball was relayed to Conor Casey who then fed in Hercules Gomez. Gomez made a good diagonal run across the Toronto defense before burying the shot.
It was a bad goal to lose considering that Toronto had possession, were under no pressure and the Colorado counter-attack found the TFC defense ill-prepared.
Despite a couple of half-time substitutions by Colorado, Toronto was rarely troubled and created the better chances. In particular great inter-play between O’Brien and Dichio led to the big striker playing the Irish midfielder in with a delicate back-heel only to have Coundoul produce another fine save.
Goldthwaite’s red card only helped to lend the element of doubt to the final outcome but in the end Toronto ran out deserved winners.
