El Clasico Uno: Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona; Mourinho's tactical changes.

The thing about Jose Mourinho is that he quickly learns his lesson and last night's performance against Barcelona was a good example of his tactical prowess. Beaten 5-0 at the Camp Nou, Mourinho’s biggest defeat ever as a manager must have cut him deep and it won’t be forgotten. However, despite his Catalan rivals being top of La Liga with an impressive eight-point lead the momentum has shifted seemingly at the right time for Madrid.

An impressive come back last night has giving his substantial squad a boost, especially with ten men; his ten-man strategy paid off, it seems. The first of four encounters saw a particularly defensive Madrid side take the field with Pepe playing defensive midfield along with Alonso and Khedira in the middle. This allowed Barcelona little time and space on the ball; something they enjoyed in the reverse fixture. The first half was fast paced yet lacked many real threats and, uncharacteristically, both sides’ passing was not as sharp as usual.

With the second half came both goals, both from the spot. Ronaldo and Messi respectively converted for their teams.  The pivotal point was the dismissal of Raul Albiol for his foul on David Villa in the box. Mourinho was left with a big decision to make and his substitutions rescued a point for Real. Instead of moving Pepe from his midfield position back to the centre of defence he brought on Arbeloa who went to right back, allowing Sergio Ramos to move into the middle keeping Pepe in the space between the defence and midfield. This allowed Ronaldo, Ozil and Adebayor to go forward with Khedira linking everything together.

Despite the fightback from Real, Barcelona still remain top and strong favourites for the championship. Next comes the lesser of all the clashes between the two and Real have the squad to put out a stronger team if Barcelona feel like they need to rest players. The team who lift the trophy on Wednesday will receive a massive boost of confidence for the all-important Champions League ties.

 

Madrid: Casillas, Ramos, Albiol (sent off), Carvalho, Marcelo, Alonso (Ozil), Pepe, Khedira, Di Maria (Arbeloa), Ronaldo, Benzema (Adebayor).

Barca: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol (Keita), Adriano (Maxwell), Busquets, Xavi, Ineista, Pedro (Affelay), Messi, Villa.

Were the FA right to fine Wayne Rooney and uphold his two match ban?

Of course they were, the man will never learn otherwise. It was a shocking and unnecessary display from a spoiled player. I’m not offended by his language, it was the attention seeking nature of the incident and it’s not the first time. As a youngster I was taken to football matches every weekend and at a young age I was exposed to the "industrial" language that comes as part of the football watching experience, rightly or wrongly. If parents allow their children to watch football then they must face the fact that bad language will be used.

So, if bad language is part of the game then should Rooney be let off the hook somewhat and have had his two match ban reduced to one as he appealed? Well, Rooney's outburst was pre-meditated in a way. If he had addressed the away section of the fans, or even the home fans and uttered the expletives which the camera microphones had picked up involuntarily then I would say that we have no problem. It would be put down as being an unfortunate error in which much of the questioning would be directed towards the broadcasters to broach the subject of having a time delay on the audio feed for live televised matches.

However, the expletives were not picked up accidently; they were very purposefully directed at the live audience. Instead, Rooney acknowledged the thousands of viewers watching the live feed, this acknowledgement indicates a disregard for authority and for football and the FA by bringing the sport into disrepute which is not allowed. Lest we forget that Rooney actively sought out the camera on another occasion too; during the 2010 World Cup after England had taken part in a drab draw against Algeria (?) when he directed comments towards the fans. Despite no blue language being used on that occasion it should have been an indication of his potential and readiness to offend and his manager should work on his player’s worrying attitude problem.

Champions League Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals Draw.

Tuesday April 5^th:                                                              Wednesday 13^th April:

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur                                    Schalke ’04 v Inter Milan

Inter Milan   v Schalke ’04                                                Tottenham v Real Madrid

Wednesday April 6^th:                                                       Tuesday 12^th April:

Chelsea v Manchester United                                         Manchester United v Chelsea

Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk                                        Shakhtar Donetsk v Barcelona

The winners of Barca/Shakhtar will play Real Madrid or Tottenham potentially setting up a tantalising semi-final between the two Spanish giants and seeing them face each other 4 times in 10 days with a league game and Copa Del Rey final in the diary around that time too. Talks have been started and the league and Copa games are temporarily suspended until further notice it seems if the teams both progress. However, people may be underestimating the difficulty of going to Ukraine and facing that formidable Shakhtar Donetsk atmosphere, especially going there in the second leg.

This means that there is no chance of an all-Spanish final but we could still have an all-English final if Tottenham can overcome Madrid then either Barcelona or Shakhtar.

There is always a tasty story of revenge and payback in the Champions League and none more so than the revenge Chelsea will be looking to take out on Manchester United for the 2008 final when John Terry agonizingly missed his spot kick, handing the trophy to Man United there and then.

Rafael Van der Vaart has expressed his excitement at the prospect of returning to the Bernabeu via his Twitter. Not wishing to patronise Spurs but this is definitely a glamour tie for the North London club; the most experienced team and nine time winners, Real Madrid, up against the new boys: Spurs. That’s what the competition is all about, and lest we forget – anything can happen!

What's Arsenal's problem?

Arsenal find themselves dumped out of two competitions in less than a week and suddenly the Gunners’ chances of silverware are decreased significantly and now every league game is a cup final, almost (and we know how well Arsenal do in cup finals!). Now, don’t get me wrong, the title race is far from over but do Arsenal have what it takes or is there something of a ‘mental block’ when it comes to obtaining a trophy?

Arsene Wenger may not be highly regarded as one of arsenal’s problems and rightly so but the manager must take responsibility for his teams failures at some point. When players are under-performing and being accused of lacking in effort it’s easy to blame individual players but one must question how much of this attitude is down to the managers style and motivational tactics. For example, it’s difficult to imagine a player under the likes of Ferguson or Moyes playing a full game in a lacklustre fashion without it being pointed out to him, to put it mildly.

Arsene Wenger has seen a number of players come and go over the past 5 trophy-less seasons yet, all the squads seem to have the same problem. Wenger has said before that if his team are losing or have been defeated he never uses the hairdryer method; instead they are made to sit and contemplate their mistakes. This is, no doubt, a tactful and subtle approach yet, it does seem slightly childish to me, like the naughty step or silent treatment method employed by parents.

Perhaps Arsenal would benefit from a more mouthy and brash assistant coach, someone to tell them when they’re flailing around arse over tit. Someone to provide some steel and some of the ‘English grit and determination’ that we’re so often reminded of. Could Wenger’s method be too intellectual for a football team?

Barcenal v Arselona Pt. 2, Round 2.

 Arsenal are in Barcelona followed by fans in great numbers ahead of their much anticipated Champions League tie against the Catalan giants. It wont be easy, many of the players will still be haunted by the memories of last year’s clash at the Camp Nou when Arsenal, having fought back from a 2 goal deficit at the Emirates to take a 2-2 score line to the Camp, were demolished by Lionel Messi. Arsenal even took the lead through Nicklas Bendtner and spirits were cautiously high until Messi hit four in front of the Barça faithful.

This time it’s different, Arsenal take a lead into the second leg and Wenger’s side will be looking to and find that special something in Catalonia. Many walk the streets, serenaded by the winding paths of the Barri Gotic, some search for life itself or love, romance or beauty; everything and nothing. Although Arsenal’s task is more definite in a footballing sense; a coming of age and exercising past demons the reality of beating Barcelona by playing total football is poetry in motion and it would indeed be a thing of great beauty.

Both sides are hindered with injuries/suspensions so the changes will be rung. Expect Busquets to partner Eric Abidal in the centre of defence in the absence of Puyol and Gerard Pique who is suspended. This is, no doubt, pleasing for the Arsenal team but lest we forget the attacking line up likely to be Villa, Messi, Pedro, Xavi and Iniesta. As for Arsenal, with the exception of Alex Song who is definitely set to miss out, Van Persie and Cesc Fàbregas will have late fitness tests prior to the match with, Arsenal captain, Fàbregas, “90% likely” to start. Jack Wilshere, the man who received rave reviews in the Catalan press after his performance in the first leg when he did not look out of place when up against the world’s best, has declared himself fit via his twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/jack_wilshere) account.

Walcott missing out is a bigger blow than the possible absence of Van Persie. The winger can punish teams with his pace especially a team like Barcelona who often play a high line. Arsenal will not only miss his ability, they will miss his presence; he terrifies defenders. No defender enjoys playing against pace and Walcott would really give the Barça defence a reason to be fearful.

The Arsenal defence have their work cut out for them in the shape of Leo Messi, Pedro and David Villa. Although little praise has befallen Koscielny and Djourou for their solid performance at the Emirates, the Arsenal centre-backs took control of their area and put in a sturdy performance against the tricksters. They must put in a similar performance but that wont be enough, Arsenal will need Lady Luck on their side too.

Without a doubt, it’s going to be a beautiful game and a very different one from last year’s encounter in that both teams have grown. After Mourinho’s Inter Milan beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final last season the Special One claimed: “You cannot play their way and win”, Arsenal will be hoping to prove him wrong tonight.

Oldham 1-1 Dagenham: Post-match thoughts on the North West side.

It’s exciting times for Oldham Athletic on the pitch even if things haven’t been going their way off it. The Latics have climbed six league places into the play-off places in the past month and manager Paul Dickov is extremely pleased with his young side.

Despite disappointment in the week with the news that their plans for a new stadium have been turned down the team are playing some of their best football and only their momentary lapses in concentration seem to be keeping them at the lower end of the play off places rather than the top.

Dickov has praised his players’ mental strength in recent weeks yet it seems like they just can’t catch a break; every tiny mistake is being punished in the most telling ways. They largely dominated the game against bottom of the league Dagenham and Redbridge yet failed to convert that domination into three points. A combination of a fine goalkeeping performance by Dagger’s ‘keeper Tony Roberts and Oldham’s own lack of concentration saw them concede the equaliser that they wouldn’t overcome.

Man of the match and Oldham player of the month, Chris Taylor set up joint top goal scorer Dale Stephens to open up the scoring for the home side soon after the restart. Taylor looked to come inside onto his right foot and shoot but instead laid the ball off to his oncoming team mate to side foot it into the Dagenham net.

This gave The Latics some good momentum but they were denied by Roberts on several occasions. Dickov admitted that Taylor was central to their success and the second half didn’t go as well as he’d hoped. “We were a big threat today when we got Taylor on the ball.”

“Their goalkeeper has made three or four really good saves – any of them go in and it’s a different game. They came here, defended doggedly, set their shape up to frustrate us and did that for long periods of the game,” said the Scot.

The equaliser came from a throw in – a blink and you miss it moment. Manchester United goalkeeper, Ben Amos fails to clear the ball and allows Dagger’s top scorer Romain Vincelot to head in the goal.

Oldham have held on to their star players in the transfer window, extended loan contracts and made some new signings and the manager is delighted with his young, exciting side. Chris Taylor is coming into his own in the midfield; Dale Stephens is rivalling him for the top scorer’s position. Dominating the left hand side whether it’s at full back or midfield is Arsenal player Cedric Evina who is mastering his trade in the North West.

“We had enough chances to win two games today. We’re disappointed with the goal we conceded but we’ve got to be more ruthless at the other end.”

“We’re all disappointed and it feels like a loss yet again but we have to take the positives out of it. We feel that we’re a good team and we’re delighted about where we are.”

That was the note that Dickov signed off on, afterwards making a comment about not making any “fucking excuses” and then apologising to me for his bad language… Paul Dickov being polite and respectful to journalists?? - It has certainly been a weekend of shocks in the football world!

Oldham 2-0 Swindon

Chris Taylor’s early strike set Oldham Athletic off to a flying start as they ended their run of four matches without a win against a lacklustre Swindon Town. A dangerous cross by Morais was headed away only as far as Taylor who, with far too much space, curled the ball into the right hand corner from just inside the box.

Paul Dickov was full of praise for the forward, "Chris' all round game today was fantastic. He was threatening when he had the ball and we all know he's got quality when he gets the chance."

Dale Stephens sealed victory for the home side with a late penalty, after a frustrated Charlie Austin was judged to have handled in the box. Stephens confidently smashed home a penalty as Oldham laid their recent demons to rest.

Swindon striker and top scorer, Charlie Austin had a frustrating game and Dickov praised his centre-backs for their performance.

"Both centre-backs were excellent. Charlie Austin is one of the best strikers in this division and I thought both of them were fantastic, as all of my team were."

"I’m delighted with all the boys. Too many times we've talked about individual errors but there was none from any of my players today."

With the inclusion of new arrival goalkeeper Ben Amos, on loan from Manchester United goalkeeper, Dickov has a strong set of players fighting for positions.

"Ben is a great 'keeper, it's going to be a competitive spot for the goalkeeper now. Ben gives us, as a back four, the chance to do well this year", said Oldham full-back Paul Black.

Black reclaimed his place in the squad after being left out on Monday against Rochdale.

"In most positions there's a competition and there's a great togetherness. Even after two defeats no one's head went down."

"I was disappointed to be left out; hopefully I can stay in the team now and get a few more results, starting on Tuesday in a tough match against Southampton."

In what was an evenly contested match the Swindon manager, Danny Wilson, felt his team were unlucky to leave without a point but conceded that they were the makers of their own misfortune.

"All of our great performances have been followed up by an average one and that was exactly the same again today."

Swindon had the chance to equalize in the 85^th minute when Michael Rose’s 25-yard free kick rattled off the post. Sometimes when things aren’t going your way you don’t get a break and this was the case for Swindon today.

"Playing two back to back games seems to be our problem at the moment. We don’t get out of the blocks; we’re slow in our passing, our tempo, our accuracy. "

The win takes Oldham takes up to 9^th in the League although Black insists that there is no talk of promotion in the dressing room just yet.

"We're just taking each game as it comes and we want to win every match. We bounced back today and hopefully we can go on a bit of a run again now."

Teams:

Oldham Athletic (4-4-2): B. Amos, R. Hazell, D. Furman, C. Taylor, K. Lee, D. Stephens, P. Black, F. Morais (R. Brooke 90), C. Evina (K. Millar 76), O. Tounkara, N. Trotman.

Substitutes not used: R. Jones, J. Jarrett, W. Feeney, D. Brill, A. Holdsworth.

Booked: Lee, Furman.

Goals: Taylor 4, Stephens (pen) 88.

Swindon Town (4-5-1): P. Smith, M. Rose, A. Frampton (Cuthbert 63), P. Caddis, S. Ferry, D. Prutton, M. Timlin (J. Douglas 57), S. Morrison, A. O’Brien (D. Ball 57), M. Ritchie, C. Austin.

Substitutes not used: J-P. McGovern,V. Pericard,T. Dossevi, M. Scott.

Booked: Austin, Douglas.
 

Referee: D. Drysdale.
 

Attendance: 3, 573