BLOG POSTS
Posted Mar 25th 2007, 7:07pm
Ronaldo Finally Fulfilling Promise
I think Cristiano Ronaldo is finally fulfilling his promise as a truly world-class player now.
In both club and international football, he is making use of his acceleration and skill to be a match-winner, and has put the ignominy of the World Cup scene with team-mate Wayne Rooney, behind him.
When he first arrived in this country three years ago from his homeland he was order to stop play-acting by his own manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
He was also criticised for being to fancy and not creative enough. Too many flicks, tricks and skills, not providing goalscoring chances.
Well, he has signalled the end of his transistional period and now sits as one of the most important players in the Manchester United and Portuguese sides, setting up and scoring goals himself.
He has 22 goals in all club compeitions this season and following his brace against Belgium on Saturday, has 17 goals from 45 caps for the national side. This puts him in eighth in the all-time golascorers chart for his country and the second highest of players currently available for selection, behind Nuno Gomes.
He has already repaid most of the £12.24million transfer fee, that United paid to his former club Sporting Lisbon and looks set to ignore the advances of the Galacticos of Real Madrid and sign a new deal which will keep him at Old Trafford until around 2012.
Some stunning goals and performances this season have put him firmly in the running for the individual awards at the end of the season.
I don't think he will achieve much going to Spain, he will win much more staying put with United, unfortunately for the rest of the Premiership, it could start this season, with a treble...
Posted Mar 25th 2007, 5:50pm
Just Like Watching Barnsley
I remember when the boys from Oakwell came up to the Premier League in the mid 90's and proclaimed watching their team play was like watching Brazil. Well Steve McClaren is losing the plot in charge of England, and he seems to be turning that phrase into one of reverse.
The tactics of England are in short, shocking.
Playing the ball long upfield to five-foot, seven-inch Andrew Johnson and his strike partner Wayne Rooney who surely can't be much closer to six foot himself, is ludicrous. It is an absolute crime to reduce the percentage of keeping the ball, by playing it in the air like that. Surely lumping passes like that is playing into the hands of a centre-back who should be comfortable dealing with that. That’s in their makeup, they must love it, attacking the ball and taking everything out. Why when you have possession, do you want to give it away? It’s against everything winning is about, if there is no killer pass on immediately, keep possession; it’s simple. How long have these guys been playing the game and been coached? What do they work on in training? Whatever it is, it evidently doesn’t work.
Everton fans will be familiar with the terrible service that Phil Neville mostly churns out, but Rio Ferdinand is no better from centre-half.
His total transfer fees come to just short of £50million, and to be quite honest, he isn't worth half of that amount, when playing in international football.
He may be okay within his limits and pretty strong in the air, and useful on the deck at the back for his club side, and I'm also sure that Sir Alex Ferguson would not listen to a word that I said against Ferdinand.
But the truth is that I believe he lacking the attitude required for his country, and not that he will lose a wink of sleep but I think Jonathan Woodgate would be a much better partner for John Terry in the heart of the defence.
Even if the Chelsea captain and Real Madrid player are both seen as 'stoppers', I think that the passing should be left to the midfield and full backs, and the centre-backs should just stick to dispossessing the opposition and give it simple.
Ferdinand is certainly no Bobby Moore or Franz Beckenbauer, he isn't even in the league of Tony Adams, (no disrespect Tone, I'm reading his book at the moment and what a great read it is!).
I think the Manchester United defender believes his own hype, and he may well pick up a Premiership winners medal come May, but his place in the national side should definitely be under threat.
Don't get me wrong, it isn't all his fault, and if I was looking for a scapegoat, there would many to point the finger at. But would you ever see Fabio Cannavaro or Alessandro Nesta pumping the ball long to Luca Toni, or Francesco Totti? And they are both pretty tall and broad, but they Italians, who everyone seems to forget are the current World Champions, have never been seen to play to that kind of advantage.
And that is why down the years, they have proved a lot more successful in competition than England. Their tactics are measured and calculated, and although people may call it boring football - especially in their home league - it has proved more fruitful tahn bravado and Three Lions spirit.
Yes, our football may have been exciting over the last few decades, but if you aren't winning anything and are disappointed with your results, then something must be wrong.
The amount of times I have heard people say, "We have the players, but they can't play together," that is rubbish. Any players can play together, but you have to position them correctly and make sure their roles, actions, and decision complement each other.
Having said that, I don't think it is wise playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard as a midfield pairing in the national side and that is probably why Jose Mourinho has never totally followed up his approach for the Liverpool captain. I don't think Gerrard has played well for England since David Beckham's form deteriorated. Beckham was always looking to come inside for England, and the Liverpool midfielder liked being able to switch a little with the Madrid man. He hasn't had a crucial effect in an international match since the 5-1 demolition of Germany in 2001 - when things really looked bright. Hargreaves looks decent enough to continue in the holding role, which is all-important in modern football; the man who can stifle and irritate the opposition, also helping England get men marked, while the Munich player holds up the attack.
I also can't see why McClaren picks players to play out of position when he has the personnel to fit the criteria; Aaron Lennon playing on the left-hand side for his country and playing predominantly right-sided for Spurs, is a mystery.
England got away with that tactic in Tel Aviv on Saturday, as Jamie Carragher was playing left-back and he rarely gets forward too far and Lennon was not asked to support his colleague as often as the Israelis would have liked. Pace is a great attribute and one that you either have or you don't, and the Tottenham man has it in abundance, but that doesn't mean it will make him able to play out of position.
He did get into some interesting areas behind the defence, but when he got into crossing positions, he didn't provide the 'killer' pass and Rooney and Johnson were frustrated in the penalty area, making runs to no avail.
If Ashley Cole was available to play, Lennon would almost certainly have played on the right, and maybe Gerrard would have been asked to play in front of Cole, and again forced out of his natural position.
The man I would like to see played on the left is Aston Villa's Gareth Barry. He has nine goals to his name from that position this season and is comfortable playing at full-back, so when Cole decides to support the attack on the many occasions that he does, Barry can sit in and not look out of place.
Wayne Bridge is also another one whose name has been bandied about in recent times to combat, what people seem to think is a problem area for England, but it all depends how the role is played.
It is very difficult to play two wingers to good effect at international level, and as Lennon would be my choice to play at right midfield, then a good balance would be to have a player on the left, who is comfortable in defending when needed. Joe Cole is a no-no. He is too attack-minded, but not effective enough for me getting forward, I would definitely put Lennon in the side in any case, ahead of him. He is style over substance, like a lot in the world recently!
So with the left-hand sorted and the centre of defence corrected, where else can be tweaked?
Andrew Johnson is surely put in the side for his pace and finishing, but it was the wrong decision to play him from the start against Israel. The hosts were always going to defend deep, and at times it was unbelievable the amount of territorial possession had, but Johnson was asked to play on the shoulder of the last man, and with about five yards of clear space behind the home side’s backline to run into, it would have had to be an inch-perfect pass to play him in. He is best for Everton playing in the wide channels in the lead up to moves, dragging defenders wide and out of position for Cahill et al to capitalise on the empty space he leaves behind. That is where either Gerrard or Lampard thrive, on the second ball. The second ball is the most important in football and if you can master the art of anticipation, then you are one step ahead.
Most football is played on instinct, but a gameplan helps and also adapting during the game. Rooney can play that role in the space behind the striker(s), but he is the number one striker at the moment and it is difficult to see who can relieve his job at the moment. That isn’t to say Johnson isn’t good enough for England, but I don’t think he is the answer. A Teddy Sheringham-type player – someone who can link the play between midfield and attack - is the answer, but there just isn’t that type of player about at the moment. Peter Crouch isn’t it either; he struggles against the big names and looks out of place to me. Maybe if he was a few inches smaller, he would be more successful. It is too tempting to toss the ball up to him and expect him to win it every time.
The fans seem to want exciting, attacking football, but it doesn’t always work; look at Arsenal. Sometimes, you have to do the boring stuff in order to reap the rewards. Good teams can carry less skilful players, as long as they can mix it and nullify the opposition. This is my reason why, I would never have sold Kevin Kilbane at Everton. The fee was obviously too good to turn down, but at the moment the Blues could be closing out games better and easier. Balance is the key; you have to be able to do all the good and bad things to be successful. The best looking side will not always triumph, as Arsene Wenger.
So England have a problem up front as well. Rooney’s goal in the friendly draw against Holland in Amsterdam last November is the last time England registered a goal. One in the last five games and it’s only seven in seven, but five of them were in the win over Andorra – who they travel to face in Barcelona on Wednesday.
The top and bottom of it is, are the England coaching and playing staff too stubborn to change the way they play in order to succeed? Because is they don’t arrest this slump in form, there will be no need to worry about nail-biting penalty shoot-outs next summer; they won’t be involved.
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Posted Mar 23rd 2007, 11:34pm
Tactics Not Personnel Causing Years Of Hurt
I can't believe that no-one has mentioned that it's England's game plans over the last few decades that is troubling our chances of success and not the players.
Forget the Lampard/Gerrard saga, or the £5million-a-year, (£13698.63 a day, £590 an hour) of Sven-Goran Eriksson... Sort the tactics out.
Don't give the ball away at any cost, utilise the playmaker in the side, namely Steven Gerrard - playing him in the centre of midfield may be the key there (!) - don't dwell on the ball in important areas (in crossing positions, get the ball in early; in the middle of the park, make sure the opposition is pushed back towards their own box, etc.) and make sure you get enough bodies into the box when the pressure is on, to maximise efforts at goal.
First things first; you need to play like you
a) want to win the game, and
b) show you CAN win the game.
Confidence goes a long way when shown in the right way, and England have many guises in which they display a lack of it.
When the ball is punted long up field, especially when Peter Crouch is in the side, then England look one-dimensional. Yes, it is ok to be able to mix tactics up a little, but the aerial ability of Crouch is unfortunately not enough to frighten the Italy's, Holland's and France's of this world. Even Germany, who are always well organised, whether or not the personnel is good enough is a different story; imagine England with a side/squad criticised by the home press reaching a Word Cup Final?
That is the expectation level, and why? Germany have won three World Cups and a couple of European Championships, we have won one captured the old Jules Rimet on one occasion. So all this talk of “we invented the game…blah blah,” is a load of rubbish. Why are we so loyal? And DON’T bring WWI or WWII into sport, it doesn’t wash. They were criticising their squad because they were concerned about the future, and everybody knows that the Germans are an economical, efficient nation. So how did they reach a World Cup Final with an unfancied side? Because their tactics were right. They maximised their chances of beating the poor sides, including an 8-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia, and all this after an England side under Eriksson, had destroyed them 1-5 in Munich! They took note of that result, we got carried away!
It maybe fine to utilise a height advantage in at set-pieces but surely when you are 60+ yards from goal, playing 'route one' is not the answer. And even if the long-ball is deployed, the support for the 'second-ball' following Crouch winning the header is not satisfactory.
Another thing about playing up front in international football is that you have to take your chances, but also it is vitally important that you can get into the positions to make the goalkeeper work. Without Paul Scholes in the squad, England doesn’t have the men to help out the attack, inside the penalty area, coming late in attacks and capitalising on free space.
So, this leads me to another thing, DON'T play 4-5-1 or any variation which leaves one man up front, even if this does mean we can accommodate both Lampard and Gerrard. We can be strong enough in the middle of the pitch, and in my opinion, I would drop the Chelsea man to play Owen Hargreaves with the Liverpool captain.
To play one up top, you need a good attacking midfielder who links the play well, as well as two very functional and centrally supportive wide players. This will never happen while Ashley Cole gets picked for the national side, as he needs a left-midfielder in front of him who can sit in when he the Chelsea man gets forward.
Another reason I wouldn’t pick Joe Cole, never mind Stewart Downing! Granted there aren’t many choices on the left flank, but I would choose Gareth Barry, as I feel he is comfortable right up that side of the pitch and could play at centre-half at a push. Balance is the key, and there are always teams that can carry players and still be successful. He can chip in with goals, is very experienced at top level football and possesses a very good football brain. Martin O’Neill’s influence at Aston Villa can only being having a good effect on the 26-year-old and he is the right age now to be able to bring an extra dimension and most importantly, balance and versatility to the setup.
At the back, England are blessed with some fantastic potential, and in Micah Richards, one of the most impressive youngsters in recent years. But the pressure on the back four to cope with the pressing from the opposition, once they have discovered that England are just a reputation, and one that has not been built on following the 1966 World Cup victory, and the 1990 Italia ’90, Euro ’96 experiences.
If Israel perform a coup de grace on Steve McClaren’s boys, then who will come into the squad, Lazarus!?
Maybe England will stutter to a win and the fromer Middlesbrough boss will keep his position, which I don’t doubt, even if Tel Aviv proves a tough and impossible destination.
But overall, the future does still look a little dull for the Three Lions to roar significantly; they may not even reach Austria and Switzerland next summer…..unless the ski slopes are maintained for the WAG’s. Tut tut tut! Don’t get me started on them….
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Posted Mar 21st 2007, 7:26am
Kirb Your Enthusiasm
Excuse the mis-spelt title, just to make my pun fit!!!
Anyhoo, I have some interesting points to raise following the comments of Professor Tom Cannon on the 'Ground Move' situation at Everton.
They signed an exclusive deal towards the building of a new stadium in Kirkby, in December of last year.
The Blues agreed that the move four miles from Goodison is now their preferred option, and reached formal agreement with Knowsley council and Tesco to start the project.
The news of the deal was formally announced to shareholders at the club's AGM at Goodison Park, the Blues home for 114 years.
And today Prof. Cannon answered some questions posed by former BBC Sport Online Chief football writer, Phil McNulty.
When asked about Everton's attractiveness to any possible investors, Prof. Cannon's response was less than assured;
"It depends on the type of investor. If you are looking for a bankable asset probably not because bankable assets are probably the top four clubs, with one or two others who are single town clubs such as Newcastle.
If you are a speculator and you think you could invest enough to turn a club strategically in another direction then they might be attractive."
So obviously on these terms, it seems to be unlikely that the Blues will benefit from a big cash-influx in the near-future? Don't be so sure.
Why would Terry Leahy - a die-hard Evertonian, who runs Tesco, arguably the best run company in Britain, Prof. Cannon's words, not mine - want to collaborate with the Blues and Knowsley Council if they were a lame duck, no matter how much passion he has for the club?
He has a sound business mind and I think he would wait for the development to materialise and then think about putting a stake into Everton, as it would never be turned down, and he would be in a great position to see how the club is running and how he could improve on the business side. Bringing key personnel in at the top level is something that the Blues have been lacking in recent years. Bill Kenwright is a great Evertonian, but loyalty unfortunately counts for nothing these days, and money, marketing and results are all that counts to succeed.
No club can afford to run itself nowadays, the top clubs have all been bought out bar Arsenal, although their new ground at Ashburton Grove is currently making the most profit on a matchday than any other in the world.
So they have also 'sold-out' in order to keep up with their rivals. They obviously have some great young players and the future on the pitch looks great as well, so long as Arsene Wenger gets his scouts continuing to work wonders.
Arsenal Chairman David Dein is a close friend of Kenwright and the latter needs to take some advice from the Gunners supremo to help plan for the future.
Back to the ground, and with Merseyside neighbours, Liverpool sorting out their own home and financial matters, Everton need to keep up with the Joneses and move away from the shadow, as I can only see the current domination of the city's honours continuing with the lack of funds.
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Posted Mar 13th 2007, 10:40pm
Why Moyes Must Work Hard For His Next Five
So David Moyes wants another five years in charge of Everton?
Well he better pull his finger out and get some more quality players in to compliment the few that we have at the moment!
Harsh you may think, but the realistic thing is, that we can't really afford not to improve as we will continue to be left behind, the more teams get taken over by big corporations, and their corporationy ways and the corporational attitudes of rich get richer and the poor get f-all! (Thanks to Team America....not the muppets across the park, but the puppets in the film of the same name!)
Backing is needed, whether it be in the shape of a new ground or improving Goodison, players on the pitch or the lager in the stands....
I mean, I've seen good players come and go, such as Materazzi, Dacourt, Rooney, to name a few, and it's showing a lack of ambition, no matter what the excuses are.
Qualification for the UEFA Cup this season is a must, and then we have to qualify every season onwards, but building a squad, no matter how difficult it may be is absolutely of paramount importance.
It's not a criticism, but a realistic statement.
Moyes has plenty of fans supporting him, but a growing minority are sensing he may not have what it takes to take the club to the next level, and some within that group don't know who they would replace him with.
He obviously has something within him that has helped the club finish in 4th and 7th place during his five years at the club.
And this season is the chance of finishing in the upper echelons of the English game.
Why we have to follow a goo/great season with a dismal one is beyond me, but that is the unfortunate reality.
Here's one for the superstitious among you; every time the season finishes in an odd year, Moyes has steered the club to a place in the top ten, otherwise, it's 11th or downwards.
And although we may not break the points record of the 4th place finish three years ago, it is unlikely we will lose as many games, which you may well agree is strange. But it's drawing that is stopping us from overtaking Bolton and streaking ahead to catch Arsenal and The Franchise Reds.
We have only lost two Premiership games this calendar year, but have drawn three of the eight games since the turn of the year. Yes you may argue that one was at Anfield, but the other two were at Bramall Lane and home to Reading.
I know Steve Coppell's men have surprised many this season, but we never really turned up that day and played very disapointing that day. The tactics were really shocking, and everything went long, and it seems that unless we take a lead under Moyes - which he defends with his life - we don't look that likely to come back at times to win.
I'm not saying we should go more out attack, we should have more balance in our moves and cover each other more on the pitch.
Lee Carsley has been a good servant, and he will always a a place in every Evertonian's heart for his winner in the Derby at Goodison that Champions League qualification season, but he cannot play in a 4-4-2 no matter how many times he is selected there.
We are not strong enough in the middle of the park to play two up front, so Johnson up front with Cahill pushing on is the best tactic. But now he is out for the season, it will be interesting to see how many games James Beattie will figure in.
I have been disappponted with Beats since AJ arrived last Summer and feel it has had a negative effect on him and his game.
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Posted Mar 10th 2007, 3:21pm
Nuno On Way Back
Everton's Portugese left-back Nuno Valente is stepping up his training activity after four weeks out and could be in line for a return for the home Premiership fixture against Arsenal at Goodison next Sunday.
The defender has started running as he joined the rest of the squad have jetted off to New York on their weekend off.
Blues Head Physio Mick Rathbone is happy with the player's progress and is confident he will be back within the timescale he expected.
"The highlight was running through Central Park in the snow.
"Nuno had a really bad calf strain about four weeks ago. He was jogging with me in Central Park and hhe is now making good progress.
"We have said all along it is a six week injury. There's no game this weekend so by the time the next game comes he should be running comfortably and he won't be far away."
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Posted Feb 28th 2007, 9:42pm
Everton Join Cut-Price Club
Season ticket prices at Goodison Park for next season have been lowered for a month.
There will be a 10% discount on an annual admission for the 2007/08 campaign, which will be available for season ticket holders, between April 1st and April 28th.
Prices thereafter will be frozen at the same as this season's, which are £574 for the most expensive seats - Park End Stand - and £234 for a child's place in the Family Enclosure, although that will now drop to the equivalent of £10 a match.
Blues Chief Executive Keith Wyness is aware of the recent criticism of ticket prices in the Premiership and the club have reacted by following Bolton Wanderers' and Blackburn Rovers' example by appeasing fans' concerns.
"Last year over 80% of our season ticket holders benefited from a two-week price freeze and this prompted our decision to introduce a four-week window this time around to give our fans more time to take advantage.
"The structure of this year's offer will also mean in many cases supporters buying during the early bird window can actually benefit from a cheaper seat than 12 months ago even if they did the same and purchased early last year."
The difference between Everton and their league rivals is that the Trotters and their Lancashire chums from Ewood Park reduced their prices after falling attendances.
Everton's average gates this season are 36,567, which is 90.5% of their capacity, so it is an admired step.
Blackburn have the lowest percentage with just 68.2% - the lowest in the top division - of their capacity filled this season. Bolton's isn't totally as they would be satisfied with either, with 83.2%.
The next step would obviously be for all of the Premiership teams to follow suit, but there are no fewer than twelve of the twenty sides in the league, filling more than 95% of their ground on average, every game.
So they would have no excuse, to lower their prices as they would see no benefit, to attract the fans. The only real reason would be to placate the possible boycotting of fixtures being quietly organised around the country, albeit by the minority.
That doesn’t seem as far away as you would think. Manchester United fans were furious at being charged £45 to watch their side against Fulham at Craven Cottage, during the weekend as their rivals City pay £25 for the same trip. Strange you may think, and somewhat unfair. But the prices are based on a Category system that Fulham employ. £45 for Category A’s – Arsenal, United, Chelsea and Liverpool fall into that grade.
Very unfortunate, as it seems the price of success!!!
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