Monday 27 December 2010

Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea

A fast paced encounter with a largely unexpected, but deserved, outcome saw Wenger's side overcome, at least some of, their demons. Robin Van Persie was given the task of attacking Chelsea with Arshavin and Chamakh starting on the bench at the Emirates. With Frank Lampard, John Terry, Essien and Drogba all starting it was looking to be an uphill battle from the get go.

Chelsea were cynical to say the least and John Terry may well have been yellow carded first after wrestling with Robin van Persie on the halfway line. Van Persie failed to connect with a Walcott cross in a superb position, it seems Ivanovic done just enough to put the dutchman off.

 After numerous attempts including a well worked free kick by Nasri which Cech done well to hold onto, Arsenal did the unthinkable and took the lead through an unlikely source, Alex Song. The ball was knocked past the Chelsea defence by Wilshere into the feet of Cesc Fabregas who was taken down in the box and amongst the penalty shouts Song, without hesitation, smashed the ball past Petr Cech to put The Gunners ahead.

The Chelsea defence were as nervy as they've ever been, coupled with the fact that Arsenal are playing, and more importantly defending, as a unit and was not surprising that Arsenal were leading at half time.
 

Chelsea's luck did not change after the break, despite taking off Mikel for a more creative central player in Ramires, and they found themsleves 2-0 down. Robin Van Persie's good work in holding the ball up against John Terry paid off, with a bit of luck involved too; Essien chipped in to help his skipper out and inadertedly poked the ball behind the back four into space where it was met by Walcott who slid the ball to Fabregas to finish in front of an open goal.

Little than two minutes later Arsenal added to their lead. Some good work from Theo Walcott, nicking the ball from a doddling Malouda in his own half. Walcott finished, leaving Cech helpless and frustrated with his back four. Suddenly Chelsea were seeing stars and found themselves 3-0 down at the Emirates.

Chelsea made another change, this time Kakuta on for Malouda. Just as Arsenal were getting used to a three goal cushion Chelsea narrowed it down to a two goal lead. Branislav Ivanovic headed home a Didier Drogba cross. A sloppy goal for Arsenal to concede and small questions about the 'keeper's decision making as it looked like Fabianski considered coming to claim the ball and stopped halfway leaving himself off his line and at a disadvantage.


Arsenal made their first substitution of the evening just after 70 minutes taking off the inspired Theo Walcott and replacing him with Abou Diaby as well as Chamack getting a run out for Robin van Persie who had his first really good game since the start of the season. Van Persie flourished as a forward creative player, made possible by the hard work of his wingers and willingness of Fabregas and Wilshere to get forward.

Chelsea had a goal not given for offside; a free kick which resulted in a scramble in the box which saw a blocked shot from Drogba then a rebounded goal for Kalou which hit the post and bounced in off Fabianski's back but the linesman saved his blushes as the clocked ticked 90.

The game finished 3-1 leaving Chelsea with 3 points from a possible 18. Arsenal move up to second place but today was a victory for the Gunners' mentality, tonight's win was more than just three points for Arsenal.

Teams:
Arsenal: Fabianski, Djourou, Koscielny, Sagna, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Fabregas, Walcott, Nasri, Van Persie. Subs: Szczesny, Chamakh, Bendtner, Diaby, Rosicky, Squillaci, Diaby.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Ferreira, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba. Subs: Turnbull, Kakuta, Ramires, Van Aanholt, McEachran, Bosingwa, Bruma.

Man of the Match: Theo Walcott

Monday 20 December 2010

Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla

Real Madrid put on a fascinating performance last night at the Bernabéu when they beat Sevilla by one goal to nil. A game which saw a sending off from each side highlighted the desperation felt by the Spanish giants in their quest to end a three-year trophy drought.

Di Maria found the back of the net in the second half when the Seville defence were all at sea in a moment of confusion. Outdone by an over hit pass that was picked up by the Argentine, Sevilla ‘keeper Palop was forced off his line only to allow Di Maria’s shot in between himself and his near post. 

The only goal of the game came in the 77th minute following several chances for both sides. Although the match remained open throughout it was largely dominated by the home side who failed to penetrate with their final ball. However, one of the first clear-cut chances fell to Sevilla when Negredo was through facing a one on one with Iker Casillas only to lose his composure and blast his shot over the bar.

The signs were looking good for the visitors when, shortly after, Ricardo Carvalho saw red for a second yellow card for leading with his elbow in an aerial challenge with Negredo.


The final five minutes descended into chaos; carrying on the ill-feeling that was apparent at half time when words, and fists, were exchanged between opposing club officials. Di Maria was guilty of exaggerating a facial injury in the 85th minute which lead to a mass brawl as the players were outraged at his juvenile attempt to get opponents sent off. However, it worked a few minutes later when Mohamadou Dabo followed through with a challenge on Di Maria, catching him in the thigh.


Overall, the feeling of desperation on the pitch and in the stadium was evident as the minutes counted until Real scored. Ronaldo’s free kicks were poor and he was shooting from ridiculous distances, even by his standards. The failure to successfully break through the Sevilla defence highlighted the fact that most of these players are yet to really gel as a team and as a unit. Already influenced by Mourinho’s arrogance, nine players received bookings in the match and none seemed particularly apologetic afterwards.

A distinct lack of respect whether brought on by their situation or their manager, or maybe both; it was despicable nonetheless. I paid particular attention to the performance of Karim Benzema who looked lazy and disinterested. Caught offside on several occasions, the Frenchman was not only guilty of missing chances but also of giving the ball away in the final third. His runs were unimaginative and his touch poor which was surprising since I thought he had quite a good game for France against England which might have helped turn his fortunes around. With Higuaín set to be out for another six weeks or so, there is no wonder than Mourinho is concerned about his striking options.

Madrid now sit two points behind Guardiola's Barcelona. This is probably the most difficult task The Special One has taken on although the chances of winning the league are 50/50 they are up against a Barça side that have a goal difference of +42 after 16 league games. That’s an average winning margin of 2.6 goals per game. Bona sort, Jose.

Starting line-ups:
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas, Arbeloa, Carvalho, Pepe, Ramos, Diarra, Khedira, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Benzema.
Sevilla (4-4-2): Palop, Navarro, Escude, Caceres, Dabo, Capel, Zokora, Romaric, Konko, Negredo, Fabiano.

Saturday 11 December 2010

Stockport County 3-3 Crewe Alexandra

Tansy 24                        Donaldson 45+1
Poole 74                        Donaldson 47
Tansy (pen) 72             Shelley 64
 
Stockport County’s Man of the Match Greg Tansy has now bagged four goals in five games after his brace against Crewe Alexandra.

Greg Tansy
“It’s frustrating because we thought we dominated the first half and our lapses of concentration either side of half time have cost us,” said the midfielder.

“We’re disappointed; it feels like two points dropped to be honest. Their goals were poor goals on our part. We’re disappointed but on the other hand we’re happy that we’ve shown the mental strength to get the point.”

Tansy popped up with Stockport’s first goal, as well as putting away a penalty to level the score at 3-3 after Shelley’s 35-yard free kick put the visitors ahead once again.

Stockport took the lead after a lively start which saw The Hatter’s control much of the game and exploit the Crewe defence. Adam Griffin was in for the suspended Robbie Williams and the full-back made use of all the width of the pitch in attacks down the flanks.

A nervy match saw Crewe take the lead twice after coming back from a goal down by scoring at either side of the break. Clayton Donaldson proved tough work for County’s centre-back pairing of loan-signing, Tom Aldred and Mansour Assoumani.

Assoumani also found himself troubling his defensive counterparts as he was drafted in to loiter upfront and use his towering height and strength to gain possession in dangerous areas. It was his control and flicked pass to Wes Fletcher which lead to Stockport’s first goal midway through the first half.

Crewe’s defence left a lot to be desired as clear weaknesses were apparent at all set pieces. Stockport’s second game stemmed from a scramble in the box in which David Poole got the last touch when he headed the ball up into the roof of the net to bring the scores level at 2-2.

A 35-yard free kick from Shelley saw the visitors lead 2-3 before a penalty converted by Tansy levelled it up once and for all.
Shelley celebrates

“A great game for the neutral, but we’re still in trouble and we have to show character. We have to build on it now and make sure that this is as low in the league as we go,” remarked Paul Simpson.

The Stockport manager also reiterated the need to sign some new players in the January transfer window. “We’re still in trouble and we have to show character. We have to build on it now and make sure that this is as low in the league as we go.”

“We need to improve the squad. We need to get some fresh faces in there to give everyone a lift.”

More so than the need for fresh faces there is the impending issue of several key players’ loan deals potentially coming to an end in January including top scorer, George Donnelly.

Crewe manager Dario Gradi was scathing of his team afterwards: “We don't do well enough with the chances we get.”

Simpson
"We know before the game that we are going to create chances and perhaps concede goals too.”

Stockport: Glennon, Griffin, Assoumani, Aldred, Halls, Turnbull, Poole, Tansey, Simpson, Fletcher (Salem 75), Donnelly. Subs: Vincent, Conlon, Pulis, Pilkington, Rose, Ormson, Salem.

Crewe:  Taylor, Tootle, Blanchett, Westwood, Artell, Murphy, Moore, Shelley, Dugdale (Ada 57), Miller, Donaldson. Subs: Fogler, Ada, Grant, Mellor, Davis, Powell.

Thursday 9 December 2010

Premier League Round Up


Arsenal Hit The Top
Arsenal are top of the league after their win against Fulham at the Emirates. United sit just one point below The Gunners’ with a game in hand after their game against Blackpool was called off due to the bad weather. Despite the win, Arsenal fans remain frustrated at the inability to keep a clean sheet. It has been almost a month since Arsenal kept the opposition off the score sheet in the league when the beat Wolves at Molineux. With Thomas Vermaelen out until January at least the Gunners' will have to continue with operation we'll-score-more-than-you. However, usually the league winners consist of the team who have had the best defence throughout a season which might worry fans slightly. Next up for Arsenal is Manchester United at Old Trafford and although Samir Nasri has been outstanding there is talk of Cesc Fabregas returning to fitness in time for the match which would give Wenger's side a huge boost.

Hughton Down and Out
He's even got Newcastle hair
Newcastle United sack Chris Hughton and appoint Alan Pardew. I know what you're thinking. Me too. What on earth is going on? This is a difficult subject to comment on since it's not a decision that  can be made sense of in footballing terms. Pardew, having last been sacked by League One side Southampton must have jumped at the chance to manage a Premier League club. So, why did Hughton get the boot? “Lack of Premier League experience”, claims Newcastle owner Mike Ashley. I would like to know how much Premier League experience you need to take a newly promoted team to 19 points before Christmas including wins over rivals Sunderland, a 6-0 win over Aston Villa and a victory at the Emirates. It seems that, inexplicably, Ashley has been looking for an excuse to sack Hughton for some time now. How are new managers supposed to gain relevant experience these days if not given the chance? Alan Pardew’s reign at West Ham United ended in sacking and saw West Ham through their worst run in 70 years, not all-in-all great experience one might think.

Dutch Courage for Liverpool

Liverpool completed the weekend’s fixtures on Monday night when they made easy work of an under-strength Villa side at Anfield. Ryan Babel started the match in a central forward role and the young Dutchman finally looked as if he may live up to all the hype after all – something which never looked likely under Rafa Benitez. The forward was lively and showed exceptional skill when he controlled the ball with a deft touch of the shoulder while on the turn and then smashed it across Brad Friedel into the net in what was Liverpool’s second of the evening. The importance of Dirk Kuyt was again reiterated; the first goal coming from a corner which Kuyt won after chasing down a nothing ball and forcing the Villa defence to concede a corner which lead to the opening goal for The Reds. As Liverpool get back to full strength hopefully a better reflection of Roy Hodgson as a manager will begin to shine through.

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid


Jose Mourinho was humbled last night on his return to the Camp Nou with his Galacticos. Having made the fatal error of setting out to play football against his new arch rivals he could only watched as his team were outplayed and then slumped to violence against the Catalans. Real disgraced themselves when Cristiano Ronaldo shoved Guardiola on the touchline and then again later when Sergio Ramos pushed his Spain team mate in the face and received a red card for his troubles, both incidents striking up mass brawls between the two sides.

Before the report is lost on looking towards the bigger picture we must not forget that the nature of Barcelona's overall play, and especially the first goal, which was nothing short of breathtaking. Xavi and Iniesta teamed up for it, igniting more claims that they deserved to share the Ballon d’Or such is the exceptional standard of their telepathic understanding between one another. Iniesta saw space in the box where Xavi was loitering and played in a sweeping ball, his colleague controlled the ball with his back heel, flicked it over his head and, with the utmost composure, dinked the ball over an onrushing Iker Casillas. It really is worth another watch and you can see it here. Guapa!

Mourinho teams simply do not receive defeats like this and the manager knew he had made a mistake. Many prophesied Lassana Diarra to start and for Real to play much like Inter did against Barcelona in the Champions League; allowing Barça to play football, keep their shape and defend against them until the time comes to pounce. Yet, it was Mesut Özil who started high up the pitch leaving Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira, great passers although not great tacklers, to be overrun by Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.

Karim Benzema was largely ineffective and whenever he was given a chance to make good of his start he wasted it. This dressing down saw Real drift back to their worst, similar to the Real we saw at the start of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo resorted to desperately hitting shots from distance which never troubled Valdes and the team on the whole began to kick lumps out of the Barça players. The pressure and embarrassment was leading the team from the capital into self destruction which culminated in a red card for Sergio Ramos.

Pedro Rodriguez has firmly established himself within the Barcelona starting eleven and scored the all important second goal for the home side. His movement along with David Villa was outstanding throughout and the two are seamless in their position switching. Pedro has wholly justified Guardiola's faith in calling him up from the Barcelona B team and the five year deal he signed last year. He also remains the only player to score in six different club competitions in one season; La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, Champions League, Super Cup and the Club World Cup.


It could have been more and although they will not like to face such realities, Real should considering themselves lucky that it was only five. The moral of the story is that a team of home grown players (and David Villa) comprehensively beat a team worth $300m + and Jose Mourinho. Not many teams can claim that scalp and Mourinho has never been beaten 5-0 before and, now widely named the 'Anti-Mourinho', Guardiola done the, frankly, unthinkable.

We must not forget the darker side of the good vs evil story; the violence that Real showed on the pitch mimics the violence shown to them the previous evening when arriving at their hotel. Upon arrival the team were stoned with various objects and forced to duck and dive into the hotel lobbing to avoid the aggression, one of the backroom staff were injured in the incident.

Jose Mourinho has stated that there are still many games to play and that this will not affect the title race in the long run but with his team receiving such brutal mental and physical punishment in Barcelona, how quickly will they recover? There are some very precious egos in the side that may have severe bruising today.

Thursday 11 November 2010

Premier League Talking Points This Week

Manchester City should not have rid themselves of Craig Bellamy

The Manchester derby proved disappointing and delivered very little excitement. City’s resoluteness in defence stood the test of Manchester United and not surprisingly so with three defensive midfielders holding a second defensive line in front of the back four. Only Tevez, Silva and Milner could have provided a bit of magic but rarely did, which is not surprising given that only one of them has played in a Manchester derby before. Manchester City missed Craig Bellamy’s brazen attitude and willingness to run at the defence. Silva and Milner were frequently too slow on the counter attack and there was only so much Tevez can do on his own, too many times he had the ball in a good position and the rest of the team were static.Whilst Manchester City obviously didn't want to lose the game, I don't think they would be too disappointed with a win and without a few potentially special players you wont get that in the big games.

Arsenal have picked up the most points away from home in the Premier League this season (@OptaJoe)

An astonishing achievement for the Gunners’ given their tendency to struggle away from home on a cold, wet, Tuesday evening in the north etc. Coming with this stat is Marouane Chamakh’s first and second goal away from the Emirates stadium which will give the new boy and his team a much needed confidence boost. This fact would be all the more welcomed by Arsenal fans if their home form was a glittering. However, Arsenal have lost at home to two newly promoted sides West Brom and Newcastle respectively. In order to mount a title challenge the Gunners need to be firing at home and on the road.

Joey Barton has not ‘turned his life around’


For someone who I’m told gives talks to children about the importance of changing a bad attitude and trying to be a good role model, punching someone in the chest is not a good move. Doing it in front of thousands of people and millions of tv viewers is even more ill-advised Barton, who has been on the end of a few strong tackles since his return to the premier league with Newcastle, finally gave into his inner demons when he lashed out at Morten Gamst Pedersen last night. There was a slight brush of shoulders which Barton took offence to and the red mist clouded over so obviously that Jamie Redknapp would probably tell you that he could literally see it. Barton proceeded to turn around and full force punch Pedersen in the chest, either that or he tried Pai Mai’s Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique as seen in Kill Bill Vol. 2. This would probably be a bit harsh, though. The referee failed to see the incident and the FA are now investigating, personally, I think he should be banned for at least 5 games.

Should Ian Holloway be punished for his team selection?

The FA have a tough decision to make after Ian Holloway made 10 changes to his team when Blackpool took on Villa last night. You’ll remember that the FA fined Wolves £25,000 when Mick McCarthy made 10 changes in a game against Manchester United last season. However, like Mick’s Wolves side, despite losing, Blackpool put in a very decent performance; the team came back to equalise twice before conceding the heartbreaking final goal late on. So, is it only an offence if teams make changes against the big clubs? I said at the time last season that McCarthy’s decision does not affect the credibility of the league as Arsene Wenger suggested and you can read what I had to say here

Van Der Vaart and Bruce Springsteen

    Bruce                                  Rafa            
There's no doubt in my mind that Rafa Van der Vaart has got a touch of the Springsteen about him so everytime he scores we'll be having a little Bruce sing-a-long. This week his goal against Sunderland evoked an uninspired ourburst of  'Born in the USA'. So, we're going for this video, headband and all. Rock 'em, Rafa!!

Thursday 28 October 2010

Arsenal's Case for Silverware

Arsenal, somehow, managed a 0-4 destruction of Newcastle United in the Carling Cup last night despite looking somewhat disjointed and unconvincing for the most part. Having said that, Newcastle never looked overly threatening throughout the match and whenever they did have a decent chance Szczesny performed brilliantly.

A lot has been made of Arsene Wenger taking the competition more seriously in terms of the strength of squad he fields now that Arsenal seem to be desperate for silverware. However, the team who lined up to face Newcastle last night is not much different from the side who were beat at Eastlands in the quarter final of last year's cup. There were four of the same starters last night as there was last season, arguably, if Wilshere and Ramsey were available that would make six. Gibbs was injured for last season's game, as was Djourou and Nasri started last season's clash against Liverpool so given the circumstances, I don't think the team is all massively different.

The most notable priority shift in Arsene's mentality is not so much the starting line up but, the bench; there is now first teamers such as Fabregas, Arshavin and Sagna occupying bench for the competition.

With Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City out of the competition there is a real chance that Arsenal could give it a good go this season and I think Wenger is very keen to take advantage of the situation.

The only question is, how much would change if Arsenal won the League Cup? It has been well documented that Wenger has previously used the League Cup to give the youngsters some much needed experience however now it seems that he cannot afford to do that to the same extent.

Would Arsenal really be able to silence their critics through one League Cup victory? I suspect not, but what it would bring to the club is a winning mentality, something that captain Cesc Fabregas said his team lacked recently.

Very, very few of these Arsenal players know what it feels like to win anything (and, I'm not counting the Emirates Cup!). This group of youngsters has not achieved anything together resulting in a lack of confidence when it comes to getting over the final hurdle. I suspect that should they lift one trophy, even if it is the Carling Cup that they may go on to win several, not necessarily in the same season but soon afterwards. 

Theo Walcott, who scored two goals last night, believes this too, saying: "Our fans have been desperate for us to win a trophy and the players have as well.  Hopefully we can win the Carling Cup and it will be one of many."



Tuesday 26 October 2010

Real Problem Solved


A few weeks ago I analysed the possible reasons for Real Madrid's goal drought despite fielding Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuain and Mesut Ozil. Which sounds bizarre now for a team that have scored 18 in their past four games, one of which was against AC Milan.

You might remember I suggested that Real's problem was Ronaldo. You know, Ronaldo, Cristiano, who only went and scored four in their previous outing against Racing Santander.

Well, I stand by my statement. I said that Ronaldo was shooting on sight, blasting balls everywhere and anywhere instead of attempting to play passes, and it was true. Ronaldo is now shooting less and scoring more. When Real were 6-0 up on Saturday night, they only had seven shots on target.

None of Ronaldo's goals were fired in from the edge of the box, in fact, two came about after superb runs from his team-mates, Higuain and Ozil respectively, which Ronaldo's pace saw him fly past defenders to perfectly steer the ball into the net from the pass across the box. The third was a slight scramble for the ball after a pass from Higuain intended for Di Maria which Ronaldo snaffled up and hit past two defenders and a goalkeeper and the fourth was a penalty.

Mourinho has finally got his forward players in sync. Any of them can play slightly more on the wing and they all seem happy and confident in switching positions as the mood takes them. However, most importantly, they are gelling with Mesut Ozil who has had a fantastic start to the season at the Bernabeu and I will be surprised if Kaka starts a high profile game again so long as the German stays fit.

A Mourinho team playing dazzling football... Anyone else already excited for El Clasico next month? Me too. But the first big test for Los Blancos, a local derby against Athleti in a couple of weeks.

Click here to watch Ronaldo's haul.

Bendtner's Back


Nicklas Bendtner was on target for Arsenal last weekend, scoring his first of the season, and aiming to back up his recent boasts of supreme fitness. Some reckon he's a bit of an arrogant so and so but this blogger thinks he might just be the real deal.

Arsene Wenger admitted that Bendtner's groin had been troubling him for some time and that we had not yet seen Nick at “full fitness”. Despite his somewhat constant injury setbacks and the fact that he has never been first choice striker (apart from the end of last season due to several injuries within the squad), Bendtner netted his 50th Premier League goal against City after coming on as a sub at the Emirates.

Since his niggling injury, through which he played at the World Cup for Denmark when he probably shouldn't have, Bendtner has watched Marouane Chamakh relish in the role of Arsenal centre-forward in his three month spell on the sidelines.

Chamakh's adaptation to the Arsenal team and the Premier League has been seamless and he is looking like a fantastic all-round option for the Gunners. He adds the height that Van Persie does not and the speedy link-up play which Bendtner can, at times, lack.

Bendtner, however, has time on his side and still has a lot to learn. His feud with Adebayor was well documented and even boiled over onto the pitch at White Hart Lane during that infamous Carling Cup game.


Learning from Chamakh, rather than pitching himself against him, will do the young striker a lot of good. He has a similar physique but does not always use it to his full advantage, the Morrocan on the other hand holds the ball up well and usually turns the defender only for them to foul him.

Bendtner has been watching Chamakh and has commended him on his smart positional play, "As well as scoring goals he works hard when he doesn't have the ball which I like."
Positional play is something Bendtner is praise for by his manager. He is an intelligent player and he knows that he does not possess the gift of pace, as Walcott and Rosicky do, instead he has to make up for that by getting himself in good positions.

"I like Marouane. As a team-mate he's been really great. I hadn't trained with him until very recently but he seems like a good guy, a good football player and - on what I've seen so far I think he has done really well", Bendtner added.

It seems as if he has welcomed the competition that Chamakh brings and realises that no matter how good he believes himself to be that there is always room for improvement. The Dane also stated that he could play in any of the front 3 positions and would be happy to be deployed however Wenger sees fit.


Nicklas looks set to start the Carling Cup fixture against Newcastle at St. James' Park in his preferred central position and will be hoping to show Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal fans what they've been missing.

Thursday 21 October 2010

Decisions, Decisions?

 Manchester United found themselves throwing away another two goal lead in the Premier League against West Bromwich Albion, making this the second two goal cushion they have relinquished this season. Before Everton’s late scramble against the Red Devils, United had no given away a two-goal lead for just under ten years when they let a 3-1 lead against Charlton slip and the match ended 3-3.

However, the flailing results are made to look like the least of United’s worries today as I open the paper to find countless stories focusing on the future of their talisman, Wayne Rooney. Whilst it’s true that Wayne’s form has dipped somewhat, everyone was waiting for him to get out of his slump and become the striker we all know he is again. Instead of becoming unstuck Rooney has now reached the worst form of his career.

Not only is Rooney failing to deliver on the pitch, the player is now making the mistake of being too outspoken in his press-conferences and contradicting his manager. Sir Alex Ferguson’s strained relationships with previous star-players such as David Beckham and Ruud Van Nistelrooy has been well documented and it has been said that Fergie’s relationship with Rooney has been “broken beyond repair”.

Rooney had been left out of the squad, according to his manager on account of an ankle injury. However, the player told a different story: “No, I've had no ankle problem all season,” said Rooney when asked about his problems on the fitness front. There is no doubt Sir Alex will feel that Wayne has embarrassed him to the media and suspicions are arising that the manager has had a problem with the player since the allegations with his private life were revealed.

Fergie has been known to judge players on their private life and more importantly, how that affects their football famously once stating: "He was never a problem until he got married," about David Beckham. He clearly feels that Rooney’s off-field predicaments have compromised his concentration and performance on the pitch.

“To suggest Wayne Rooney will be sold in January is nonsense,” said a United spokesman, having contacted Gill over the issue of Rooney’s future. But the reality is that Rooney is on the verge of leaving United, as the latest of their iconic players to fall foul of Fergie and his notoriously combustible temper.

Whilst this all may be a ploy from the player to ensure a bigger wage packet, he might also be realising that Manchester United are not in the greatest position at the moment; with regards to both finance and football. The Glazers are sucking the club dry it seems, and despite turning over a £100m profit last season they still operated with a loss of £83m at the end of the tax year; United are losing £40m a year in interest payments on the Glazers debt alone.

If Rooney were to actually seek pastures new it would be a massive blow for United in terms of continuity. Rooney is set to become the face of Manchester United Football Club. When the old guards of Giggs and Scholes eventually retire United need a leader, they need someone who embodies the club and holds their spirit and identity and this writer thinks that Fergie had Rooney fitted nicely set up to slot into that position.

Vocal interest from Real Madrid has sparked rumours further with Florentino Pérez apparently becoming “obsessed” with signing the Englishman. Ferguson is said to be interested in French forward Karim Benzema who is currently failing to make the cut in the Spanish capital. Jose Mourinho has also welcomed the arrival of Rooney, stating that if Rooney were to come the only problem is who to get rid of, potentially setting up a nice little exchange deal with United.

Despite Wayne having said before that he has no desire to play abroad, a change of scenery might be exactly what he and his family need after all the revelations about his private life. However, those who work closely with Wayne and know him well do not seem to think that he would be suited to living abroad. And let’s be honest, when Federico Macheda came out in the press and said, in a manner of speaking, that Rooney is a “chav”, he was not wrong.

Do we really think Wayne Rooney could cope in a foreign land, learn the language and hold Spanish press conferences? His wife might enjoy the idea of Spain but personally, I think Rooney needs to try and repair his relationship with his club and his manager before he makes any rash decisions. It only takes a quick glimpse at the likes of Ajren Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Klaas Jan Huntelaar’s time at Real to see that they are a very fickle club and players come and go out of fashion there quite abruptly.

Whatever is happening at Manchester United is demonstrating cause for concern, is Fergie cracking up? Only two newspapers have been allowed into his most recent press conferences and he has been avoiding the media at every opportunity. There is also the worry in his mind that Manchester City are willing to pay whatever it takes to land Rooney’s signature, even up to £300,000 a week, some reports say. Ferguson may be left with two choices – sell Rooney to City for big money or let him away on a free to Real Madrid when his contract runs out. I would not like to be in the press room that day.

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Barcelona 2-1 Valencia - And Some Thoughts On Xavi


 Xavi Hernandez shone in Barcelona’s 2-1 victory over Valencia at the weekend but news of his ongoing injury has dampened the victory for the Catalan club, and for football lovers everywhere.

Barça played 4-3-3 as usual but the line-up was populated differently; Messi was in the middle of the front three with David Villa on the left and Iniesta on the right with a midfield of Busquets, Keita and Xavi. Valencia played more of a 4-5-1 with Soldado up front who was never stranded due to the hard work of Fernandes and Pablo H in support.

The midfield heavy nature of Valencia’s game was effective in the first half, they stopped Barcelona playing the football they love and with Iniesta playing higher up the pitch that usual it was more difficult for Guardiola make changes in the midfield to combat their style.

Barcelona have been playing with 3 at the back now and then with Sergio Busquets slotting in between Pique and Puyol however, he was reluctant to drop so deep in this game and that cost Barcelona their first goal. Caught out too high up the pitch, Busquets was taken out of the game with one pass, as were the rest of Barcelona’s back line. A superb run by Mathieu to the goal line followed by a cut back to Pabo H resulted in Valencia taking the lead in Barcelona.

There were no explicit changes made at half time before Barça’s equaliser but, as always, the three up front were making a habit of switching positions in an attempt to confuse the Valencia back line. Messi was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions and I think it’s safe to say that he’s not quite back to his best just yet, only because his best is absolutely sublime.

But, who is back to their best and possible better than ever in this current Barça side is Xavi. The equaliser came from not only a great run through the middle by Iniesta but a delightful one-two with Xavi in which the number 6 just dinked the ball past Navarro and Costa for Iniesta to his a lovely finish past Cesar.

The winner from the Catalan club couldn’t have been more emphatic. El capitan, Carles Puyol headed a cross into the net like a bullet. His considerable neck bulging with thick coarse veins as he, once again, led his club to victory.

Vincente and David Albelda were brought on for Banaga and Mathieu in an attempt to turn things around for Valencia but their once inspirational captain had very little to offer a Valencia side on the back foot. Albelda is said to be reluctant to re-hash his captaincy role and things are obviously not as stable as they would like at the club. Nevertheless, they currently sit 4th place in La Liga, joint on points with Villareal and Barcelona. Not a bad return on losing your two best players (Villa and Silva) in summer.

On a sour note Xavi was substituted 13 minutes from time after a recurrence of an achilles injury. There are talks that the midfielder may have to now undergo a Ledley King-style playing schedule since his injury may niggle him for some time. Barcelona manager, Pep Guardiola commented: “My feeling is that he won't be able to play week in, week out, but we will see how he is and how the problem evolves over time.”

This is disappointing news for Barcelona because at the moment they are able to play Iniesta upfront allowing Messi to play in the middle and then Villa on the left. If Iniesta has to drop back to play in the midfield due to Xavi’s absence then it means either Pedro or Bojan will have to start on the flanks; probably the left, pushing Villa into the middle with Messi on the right. Otherwise Barcelona will lose their crucial creativity in the midfield.

With all due respect to Keita and Busquets they can certainly do a job but would I like to rely on them for the season? Not really. As for Mascherano, well, he’s a tackler not a passer. My only worry is that Bojan and Pedro, while they are superb young players, I’m not sure Guardiola can rely on them to perform to the highest level every single week.

Despite what the Daily Mail think, Xavi is the perfect player; he can push forward when needed but he usually has the mindfulness to take a step back and prop up the attack from deep usually confusing defences and forcing them to play deeper themselves or risk being outdone by Messi or Villa’s pace.