Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy has spoken of his pride after watching his side beat Sunderland 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Going into the Molineux battle on the back of a four successive defeats, Wolves grabbed the lead through Kevin Foley five minutes into the second half.
But the Black Cats responded with Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck turning the tables only for Stephen Hunt to tie things up and fellow substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake left to finish off and seal a massive three points.
McCarthy also singled out George Elokobi after the full-back performed admirably slotting in at centre half, helping the club land victory for just the third time this season.
"I'll never have a heart attack that's for sure because if I would have had one it would have been today. I think we earned it, I'm really proud of them and the players deserve all the credit," he said.
"He's a good defender and I thought he had an outstanding game playing against good players as well.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
"They had Welbeck and Bent starting then (Asamoah) Gyan came on and I thought he had a great game."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
FC Utrecht striker Ricky Van Wolfswinkel is reported to be a new target for Liverpool.
There are a number of top European clubs interested in Van Wolfswinkel, but it is thought that Roy Hodgson is trying to jump to the head of the queue by making a €9 million bid in January.
Van Wolfswinkel has been in fine league form for Utrecht this season and has scored 11 goals in 18 league games. He made his international debut in 2010 against Ukraine after rising through the Dutch U-19, U-20 and B teams.
Van Wolfswinkel has played against British opposition twice this season in the Europa League. He bagged a hat-trick against Celtic and gave Hodgson a chance to scout him when he played against Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the month.
Liverpool’s league form has been erratic this season and Roy Hodgson knows that things must improve in order for him to keep his job. The Reds are thin in the striking department and with Fernando Torres struggling to find form this year a new striker could be just what the Anfield side needs to revitalise their season.
Here are Van Wolfswinkel’s highlights from Utrecht’s game with Celtic…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Good grief. I mean, seriously, wow. The over reaction to Manchester City’s performance at The Emirates is unbelievable. A football team went to another stadium and played for a point and that’s it. You’d think they’d started a nuclear war, or been involved in an international drug smuggling scam, or put a cat in a bin, or something. Maybe that’s a slight over reaction, too, but, heigh ho, what’s good for the goose and all that.
I find it very amusing, more than anything, when the accusation of ‘anti-football’ is branded about. I have slated our own supporters for this when moaning about teams parking the bus. It’s a term of snobbery of the highest order and only cracked out of the cliché cupboard when a side has been dominant and failed to win. City fans did it when Birmingham came to Eastlands.
And now Arsenal fans are doing it when City went to The Emirates. You know, like it’s City’s fault Arsenal didn’t (couldn’t) score. It wasn’t Birmingham’s job to let City score, just as it wasn’t City’s job to let Arsenal score. If you have 68% of the possession, but only manage five shots on target, you only have yourselves to blame.
Defending is just as much a part of football as attacking is. City did the former very well and the latter took a back seat. It’s almost as if playing for a draw at one of the best clubs in the league is a crime. In fact, I was rather forcefully told by an Arsenal fan after the game that “even f*cking Blackpool came here and attacked” and, in fairness, he’s right, they did. And look what it got them: -6 in the Goal Difference column.
Does Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Manchester United in 2005 mean less because they defended for 120 minutes and then won on penalties? Of course it doesn’t.
It seems though, of the comments (mainly on Twitter) from Arsenal fans I’ve seen about City’s choice of style for Wednesday’s fixture, most, if not all, have missed the point entirely. It’s all well and good saying things like “if that’s what £200m buys you, they you are welcome to non-football” or “Man City are the most boring side in the Premiership!” or “spending £300m+ and only getting a point, if I was a City fan I would be furious” or “I’m disgusted I paid £72.50 to watch Man Sh*tty park the bus”.
One fan went as far to say City played 12-0-0 because of the goalposts. I assume he forgot that the size of the goal doesn’t change each week and that putting the ball in-between the posts instead of onto them is a job for the attacking team?
The point is, though, (aside from the fact that the later the evening went on, the total City had spent on the team rose, it seemed, until it peaked at about £1bn – seriously), City don’t park the bus in front of their goal every week. In fact, it’s happened twice this season: Wednesday evening and in the first half at White Hart Lane. City may have the best defensive record in the league so far this season, but they have also scored more than, for example, Tottenham and, somehow, it’s Tottenham who are being portrayed as the free-scoring saints and City as the smash-and-grab merchants.
All good teams are built from the back; it’s the first thing a good manager gets right. Roberto Mancini seems to be getting it very right indeed and that the attack (with one or two exceptions) is coming along nicely too is the added bonus.
Continue to PAGE TWO…
City, like Arsenal, have put on some fine attacking displays this season. And they will put on some more as the season goes by. So they had to defend like beavers in order to secure a point at The Emirates. Off the back of four games in ten days, ten out of twelve points is a good haul, especially as the final game was the toughest of the fixtures. Total football was never going to be on the agenda; City have saved and will continue to save that for the teams it will be most successful against.
I also re-iterate the point that it’s not solely City’s fault that Arsenal didn’t score. Paying £72.50 for a ticket to a football match is obscene, but that’s not because your team didn’t break my team down. It’s because £72.50 to watch any game of football is obscene. And if you’re disgusted with anyone, it should be your own team for not putting one of their chances in the net. And for setting the price that high.
It’s not the away team’s job to entertain the home fans.
Hearing Arsenal fans complain about City’s style last Wednesday does feel somewhat hypocritical. It would be pertinent to consider their own club’s history of grinding out 1-0 victories by shutting the shop, pulling the shutters down and setting the alarm when having taken the lead before criticising.
I have been impressed with City’s defensive record this season. I’m not used to it; we’re more than halfway through the season and I’m yet to fully appreciate that, if City are under pressure with ten minutes to go, the chances are they won’t concede. For a City team to be playing keep-ball for the last five minutes while leading by one goal is unnerving. I’m far too used to panic stations, hoof it anywhere and defending deeper than a military submarine on manoeuvres.
If truth be told, I’m neither disgusted nor disappointed that City drew 0-0 at The Emirates. I would have taken it, if offered, at the start of the day. The manner of the draw doesn’t matter: it’s a dangerous game to play, because it could have been a disaster if Arsenal had scored. But they didn’t (couldn’t), so it wasn’t.
In fact, I was more disappointed with the result of the reverse fixture. City played some good football that day and were very harshly done to by a team that had a man more for 87 minutes. I didn’t blame Arsenal for getting Boyata sent off in that game because he got himself sent off. I didn’t blame Arsenal for taking advantage because I’d expect City to do the same. But I doubt it would have been such a clear cut victory had Boyata stayed on: it wasn’t exactly easy for them even with the man advantage and City could have scored on several occasions before the second goal went in.
At no point this season have City claimed to be title contenders, in fact, quite the opposite. When asked, both management and players alike have played down City’s title ambitions. It’s the fans and the media that have played it up. Sure enough, come mid-April if they are still where they are now, then they are very much in the mix, but right now they still have a long way to go and a lot to learn. Spending hundreds of millions assembling a team isn’t like playing Football Manager. Players won’t settle, high numbers of players in and out makes it difficult to gel a team, managers don’t know their best combinations… But, most importantly, throwing money at a club won’t win you the Premier League title. There’s much more to it.
Arsenal have been there and done it. City haven’t.
Least, not for a long time, at any rate.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Just because X number of millions have been spent on a team doesn’t mean that they will suddenly go out and dominate. It’s taken a long time for some City fans to learn this lesson (and some still haven’t, judging by the people that sit near me – I’m looking at you Angry Lady). City are a work in progress. A work in progress that won a well-earned and hard fought point away from home on Wednesday evening.
It’s very easy to say that City won’t be title contenders because no title contender would park the bus at an away game. However, it is also worth considering that an entirely different title contender would break down a stubborn defence when playing at home.
Don’t blame the opposition when you don’t score.
[divider]
Use your FREE £20 to bet on an FA Cup accumulator!
Start as you mean to go on, as the old adage goes. This season has been something of a tumultuous one for Villa both on and off the pitch. Things obviously didn’t get off to the best start with the sale of James Milner seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back and Martin O’Neill brought down the curtain on his four-year spell in charge just five days before the beginning of the season. But where has it all gone wrong?
The case for the defence – Villa’s 6th place finish last term was built upon solid foundations that quite simply haven’t been there this term. Last season, Villa conceded just 39 goals all term, the fourth best defensive record in the league and kept 15 clean sheets to boot. This season however, in just 21 league fixtures they have conceded 38 goals already and have just four clean sheets to their name.
The form of Richard Dunne has also been a concern. Is there a more inconsistent defender in the Premiership? Brilliant one season, diabolical the next. Brad Friedel has been unusually poor by his standards too. Stephen Warnock has also seen a dip in form sure to put him behind Leighton Baines in the England pecking order once more. Individual errors have proved costly and although a settled unit at the back, collectively and individually they’ve been poor this season.
In such an unpredictable league such as this one has been so far, consistency is the key, grinding out results even when you’re not playing well is what keeps the momentum going. Villa, much like Liverpool who are also struggling, have been bloomin’ awful away from home and able to do this. In 10 away games this season, they’ve collected just 5 points and have shipped 25 goals. Contrast this with last season and they finished the campaign with the 3rd best away record in the league. A side that once proved a tough cookie to crack has all of a sudden become a soft touch on their travels.
Of course, O’Neill’s resignation just 5 days before the start of the season didn’t help matters. A somewhat juvenile exit for a man often ruled by his emotions, brought an end to a largely successful reign. Kevin McDonald did his best under the circumstances and one thing the terraces have him to be thankful for was his willingness to blood young talent – namely Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Barry Bannan – from the off.
One criticism that you could level at O’Neill, is that during his time at Villa, more often than not he spent his money poorly and most of the fringe players, in an already thin squad, were his signings. You can’t operate across multiple competitions time and time again on limited resources, without trusting your youngsters and without spending wisely. As a result, the squad is a smorgasbord of youthful exuberance and players on the wane.
The exit of James Milner, the catalyst for last season’s driven consistency must not go unnoticed either. His replacement, Stephen Ireland, has floundered and is already looking to leave the club this transfer window.
A lack of firepower has proved a problematic issue to solve for new manager Gerard Houllier, with the club’s top goal scorer in the league being Stewart Downing this season with just five goals to his name. It’s clear that too much pressure has been placed on Gabriel Agbohnlahor in the past and that in order for Villa to succeed again, the already beleaguered Houllier needs to bring in reinforcements up top this transfer window to lighten the load on the native Brummie.
Finally, we come to Gerard Houllier, a familiar face to English fans from his time at Liverpool. He has got off to a frankly appalling start as Villa manager. The club now find themselves in 18th place in the league and Houllier, a quiet man, the antithesis of the confrontational and passionate O’Neill, has led the club to just 7 wins in his 21 games at the club, with 10 defeats on his record already. A similar record to the one that got Roy Hodgson sacked from Liverpool it has to be said.
Reported training ground bust-ups between assistant manager Gary McAlister and Richard Dunne and rumoured unrest at Houllier’s training methods hasn’t helped either and has meant that the club have often been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Some players, such as Warnock, Carew and Ireland, are all apparently disillusioned with life at the club and are eyeing moves elsewhere.
Suffice to say, when a club as seemingly stable as Villa were going into this season, goes into a sudden freefall, there cannot be just the one reason for their demise, but several. Rather than it simply all being Houllier’s fault, which seems to be the popular trend at the minute on the terraces, to blame the manager, it’s the players that have to take more responsibility for their woeful underperformance thus far and it is ultimately at their door that the blame for the fact that they now find themselves in a relegation dogfight lies.
If Houllier is to last until the end of the season, with pressure already mounting on the terraces, who were sceptical upon his appointment right from the very beginning it has to be said, he is going to have to spend his money more wisely than O’Neill did at times at the club. He’s certainly going to have to spend it more wisely than he did during his last foray into English football with Liverpool.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
This transfer window looks to be pivotal in turning the tide and it looks as if Houllier is going to be given some money to deal with Jean Makoun, out of favour at Lyon this season, is a decent if unspectacular holding midfielder and this sort of acquisition looks a step in the right direction. Consolidation, while it might not sound too sexy when put to fans, is the name of the game now.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, this season could be the one where the club sheds some of the dead wood and they’ve already began to blood an extremely promising set of youngsters. If Houllier lasts until the summer, which it looks like he might just do, this poor season could be the start of something much more promising in the future.
[divider]
Love fantasy football? Love live footy? You’ll love live fantasy football! Take part in the Spurs v Man United match and play Picklive for FREE Go on, give it a go!
Harry Redknapp doesn’t like the term wheeler dealer, although it remains to be seen whether Tottenham will be partaking in any last minute dealings within the next 48hours. With a strike-force that has only accumulated six Premier League goals between them this season, few would be surprised if the North Londoners don’t look to add at least one striker to their roster by Monday night.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Tottenham blogs that include time Keane moved on; Tottenham need to take a transfer splash, while Levy gamble’s with eviction notice.
We also look at the best Tottenham articles around the web this week.
Andy Gray and Richard Keys starring in…
*
TEN things we can guarantee on Transfer deadline day
Time Tottenham star put himself out of his misery
An unenviable decision that Harry Redknapp has to make
The answer to Tottenham’s prayers…and England’s?
Tottenham gamble with eviction notice
Will Tottenham fans shed a tear if he was to leave WHL?
Tottenham chief’s words leave me feeling a little uneasy
Crouch v Pavlyuchenko – who would you rather?
Knocking Tottenham’s intentions has a smack of hypocrisy about it
Passionate, crazy, talented…that’s why I love him at Tottenham
Last minute transfer dealings at Tottenham
Hart Break Lane? Or football at its finest?
The NINE key factors behind every transfer fee
Why Tottenham need to make a transfer splash
*Best of Web*
Stadium problem solved. Simples – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
Pienaar Butter Jelly Time – Who Framed Ruel Fox?
An open letter to Daniel Levy –Martin Cloake Online
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Sideways Spurs need fantastic forward – Dear Mr Levy
Stratford Decision Day Looms: No One Bothers To Ask The Fans – Tottenham On My Mind
[divider]
[divider]
Click on Miss Santarelli below to see her in all her glory
Liverpool defender Daniel Agger believes Kenny Dalglish’s influence on the Anfield club is the reason for their resurgence this season.
Following the sacking of Roy Hodgson last month, Dalglish returned for a second managerial stint with theMerseyside giants and the 59-year-old Scot has turned their fortunes around.
Dalglish’s first league game in charge resulted in a 2-1 loss to Blackpool, but Liverpool have since gone unbeaten in five English Premier League matches.
They have won four games in succession, culminating with Sunday’s 1-0 triumph over champions Chelsea, and sit in sixth having lingered above the relegation places earlier in the season.
Despite the departure of Fernando Torres to Chelsea in a 50-million-pound deal, Agger insists the mood in the camp is buoyant and credits much of that to Dalglish’s involvement.
“A big part of it is Kenny and (his assistant) Steve Clarke. They have made a major difference,” Agger said.
“But it is also something to do with confidence, because it is the same footballers as before.”
“Confidence can win you games and somehow Kenny and Steve have put the confidence back in the players and the belief.”
“I think we have shown that definitely in the last four games. It is looking good, although there is still a long way to go.”
Agger said Dalglish, who scored 112 goals for Celtic and 118 for Liverpool in a 21-year playing career, had tried to instil an attacking mindset since his arrival at Anfield.
“He is a positive guy. In football terms, he is positive,” he said.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“First of all because he likes to play positive football, going forward, and keeping the ball on the ground and I think he is good among the players.”
“The training sessions have been really good and I think everything starts at the training ground.”
“If you can get that right you have a big advantage in the games.”
Fast running out of superlatives for this supremely gifted young United centre-back. The question is not is this lad any good, its fast becoming how good… twice now in quick succession he has featured live on ITV and they’ve certainly not (despite the channels many flaws) failed to realise just how blessed they’ve been to witness the next potential English defensive superstar. It’s not ridiculous hype, this kid is very much looking the real deal and today’s coming of age performance in a potential cauldron of fire was immense.
He put his body on the line today – Numerous blocks from thunderbolts on the edge of the box were met with barely a flinch and his anticipation/bravery when going in for headers were amazing. When you then take into account this lads fast developing distribution, (actually more positive on the ball than most of our midfield) it becomes clear that this lad could arguably be the perfect modern centre-back, although he has to continue putting in this level of performance against much better opponents than Marseille.
Signs are he is more likely to get down and dirty than Rio and that he is superior in possession. He is purposeful with the ball, likes to keep the game moving forwards and attempts to find team-mates with long raking passes rather than just dwelling on the ball to appear skilful and then just laying it back to the goalkeeper under pressure. What he needs to demonstrate is that he has the same defensive prowess of Rio against high calibre opponents and that his reading of the game is as good as the guy he is meant to replace, one can’t argue with the fact that the signs are looking good at the moment.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
2. Midfield Breakdown (Literally)
After an initial 20 minutes in which some of our midfield play was reminiscent of that away leg against Inter a few years back at the San Siro, we were soon found wanting once again as we have so often been this season in the centre of midfield.
It was painful to watch and the culprit wasn’t the much maligned Darron Gibson who is so prone to blame that even if he was selected on the bench and the team lost, many detractors would find a way of producing evidence the lad produced a fart which distracted the players on the pitch and therefore he should be sold. I personally thought he did very well in the initial stages, was forward thinking both on the ball and off it (good movement to support the lone striker and made sure Nani always had an easy pass inside). He looked sharp and up for it but sadly his partner’s were so off the boil that the possession required in order for him to make a success of his role was non-existent and he was rendered ineffective for the majority of the game. It doesn’t matter how good a goalscoring attacking mid you are, if your game relies on others feeding you with possession… you are going to suffer, if they’re not up to their job. Lampard is the most similar player to Gibson and as they are both not playmakers, they suffer in a team that is not cohesive and rely on their colleagues to run the game whilst they go about scoring goals… clearly after the 20th minute, that did not look like it was going to plan and he was unfortunately hooked off for Scholes.
Fletcher started off brightly, full of archetypal verve and dynamism. Once a few errors were made on the ball, almost trying too much… he went into his shell on the ball and relied on his industry off it to mask what was fast becoming a mediocre display. He was over-hitting long passes and when running with the ball unable to release players in forward positions with his weaker foot instead having to go back and forcing his defenders to retain possession for him.
That said he wasn’t as bad as Michael Carrick who put in a dreadful display. I’m a big fan of Carrick in the Premiership and I’ve always questioned his ability with regards to being an international class creative midfielder due to his lack of footwork in tight spaces and lack of mobility on the ball. Despite these shortcomings its been clear that many misinterpreted or misunderstood what his role was at United, that of a defensive midfielder who would read the play break it and keep playing moving forward through a simple efficient pass forward to a more creative player. This latter definition is how I measure a good Carrick game, if he does that.. I’m more than happy and it is down to the likes of Scholes & Anderson to provide the creative input. Tonight however, he put in a non-shift rather like that night in 08/09 when we were destroyed by Barcelona, completely clueless on the ball, always passing it back, scared of the ball and relying on the likes of Vidic and Smalling to bail him out. His defensive positioning was generally sound as per usual but with Anderson out for a potentially lengthy period. I am rather worried with regards to our aspirations in the Champions League if the likes of Fletcher and Carrick don’t get their act together.
Continue to the NEXT PAGE…
3. Lack of Penetration
I knew it was likely to be a 0-0 as soon as Berbatov was being asked to play up front alone. Unless Nani scores or produces magic time after time, it is very easy to prevent United from creating regular goalscoring opportunities due to the fact that Rooney despite his improving fitness, doesn’t possess the agility to be a genuine menace on the left flank and Berbatov lacks the pace to get in behind defences and the aerial prowess to flick balls into the path of a Nani or Rooney when they make late runs off the flank. He’s basically a decoy forward, a guy just there to occupy space and its not the United way to not really look to be a goal threat and just focus on stifling opponents, we need to at least look dangerous on the counter if we are to progress against more potent sides away from home.
4. Lack Of An Away Goal… Dangerous?
• 99/00: Lost v R. Madrid (QF) 3-2 at home after drawing first leg away 0-0.
• 00/01: Lost v B. Munich (QF) 2-1 at home after losing first leg away 0-1.
• 07/08: Won v Barcelona (SF) 1-0 at home after drawing first leg away 0-0.
• 08/09: Won v I. Milan 2-0 at home after drawing first leg away 0-0.
So I’ve been having a look at our CL campaigns since 1999, to see if the lack of an away goal would have any significance in the second leg. Well as you can tell from the stats, its pretty inconclusive.. if anything it suggests that United are a more solid outfit in general these days, less likely to go overly gung-ho at home in order to compensate for the lack of an away goal and more measured in their approach. So hopefully this conclusion can wipe the smile of Deschamps face and prove that Fergie was right to be content with that result and the side he put out.
That said in the second leg, we mustn’t forget that Valbuena and Gignac (the French Higuain – even though Gonzalo could’ve played for France himself) will both be back barring further injury and provide a genuine bite to Marseille’s counter-attack. Will be interesting to see how highly Fergie rates their capability to get a goal at Old Trafford and whether he’ll treat it as a one-off cup tie where he expects us to just score more goals than them or whether he’ll adopt a more clinical approach and rely on keeping tight and getting a goal through a moment of magic/set piece.. for the sake of entertainment I hope its the former.
5. Opposition MOTM: Andre Ayew
The son of 3 Time African Footballer Of The Year Abide Pele, this lad clearly has quite a pedigree to live up to. Some of you might remember him for providing the assist for the game-winning goal scored by Asamoah Gyan in the World Cup for Ghana against the USA after sending a lob pass into the United States defence, which Gyan collected and then converted. For his performance in the match, Ayew was named Man of the Match by FIFA. Sadly for him and his nation, Ayew missed the team’s quarter-final defeat on penalties to Uruguay due to yellow card accumulation robbing them of a genuine match-winner.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
After having signed a new contract this season, he has settled now and is seen as a key figure in the first-team set up and we saw why today.. barely 21, he has that raw direct dribbling style reminiscent of Charles N’Zogbia, not afraid to go into areas that most conservative wingers, stay away from and unless you’re Ryan Giggs succeed in. He looked a menace and whilst his end product is lacking for now, if he can develop a right foot and learn how to make the most out of defenders backing off him, he could win himself a move to a bigger club.
Conclusion:
One of those displays where despite our mediocrity in midfield, we should still have expected to brought home a lead. It’s hard to tell how this game will go but I’m hoping we’ll just be positive and relieve some pressure off our midfield and surround them with attacking talent capable of putting this decent but not frightening Marseille side to the sword.
After losing to Chelsea, no matter how Manchester United get on at the weekend against Liverpool, one thing is for sure: any slip up for Sir Alex Ferguson won’t affect their ‘noisy neighbours’ Manchester City. We’ve been wondering all season whether Roberto Mancini’s men were ready to make a real assault on the Premier League title, but now it would seem their title bid is as good as over as the Eastlands club sit 10 points adrift of Man United. Even so, City fans can be reassured by the fact that when it comes to winning silverware, it is only a matter of when, and not if. They have bought some of the world’s best players and in David Silva they have a player who can unlock any defence. Can he be the real difference next season?
Silva was another big name who came to the Premier League off the back of a huge transfer fee. So naturally, the media were quick to write him off after a couple of mediocre displays. But if we’ve learnt anything from foreign stars coming to England, it’s that it can take time for them to settle. Silva’s settling period seems to be well and truly over as he is now consistently playing as well as anyone else in the country.
[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]
With a full season under his belt, Silva can only get better. He has already adapted to the physical nature of the Premiership and has shown signs of his technical genius. As well as having the ability to hardly give the ball away like all good Spanish midfielders, Silva floats around his opponents, proving to be impossible to mark. In fact, I don’t think you can call him a midfielder because he quite often fills that gap behind the front men which most defenders struggle to cope with.
If you add Silva to an improving Edin Dzeko, a fit Adam Johnson and the power of Yaya Toure, Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany, I’d say City have all the ingredients of a Premier League winning side. With experience of fighting a top four battle, next year could prove to be the year City finally get one over Manchester United after years of watching them lift trophy after trophy. What is brilliant for the neutral of course, is that Ferguson is highly unlikely to let that happen quite so easily, so it makes for some interesting viewing next season. But United need to invest, or at least replace some of their ageing stars. It’s been widely recognised that what Fergie needs is a new creative midfielder. Someone like…David Silva, perhaps?
Silva could be the key to whether or not City finally get their hands on the Premier League trophy. Until then, he is more than capable of continuing to mastermind Mancini’s assault on the Europa League – a trophy they probably should win this season. They still have the FA Cup this season as well, so despite being off the pace in the league, there is still much to play for.
City fans may have to endure their bitter rivals lifting the trophy again come May, but the future is definitely looking bright. What’s that old phrase? Every cloud has a silver lining? City certainly have theirs.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Enjoy my predictions for next season? Follow me on Twitter for more at www.twitter.com/@joino
Football – we simply couldn’t live without it. It consumes our lives, from cheering our team on come Saturday afternoon to searching out football news and every little tit bit of information on our club throughout the week. We just can’t get enough of it. Emotionally every football fan goes through the ringer, but recently the humble football fan is also put under increasing economic strain as well. The fact of the matter is that supporting your football team week-in-week-out has become an expensive practice and one that isn’t getting any cheaper.
If you support a Premier League club or a team in the Football League, you’ll know just how expensive season tickets are. With the recession hitting the country hard, more of us are having to seriously consider the hundreds of pounds that are forked out to watch our team play. Sometimes you have to consider whether it is really worth it, especially if your club is struggling at the bottom of the league. Even paying to watch the matches on TV isn’t exactly cheap, while club merchandise and football shirts will cost you a hefty chunk of cash too.
However, in the Football Fans Survey 2011 carried out here on FootballFanCast.com, we have had some surprising findings in my opinion. We asked the question: does your club offer value for money? With the rising price of football tickets and the economic squeeze we’re under, I thought a fair proportion of people would answer no. That certainly wasn’t the case though, as two-thirds of respondents think that their club does offer value for money, and I suppose when it comes to entertainment, us football fans do get a pretty decent deal.
We also asked whether fans thought that their club treated them like a supporter or a customer. Again, my expectations were confounded as 66% of people think they’re treated like a supporter. This is despite the fact that chairmen across the country are more than happy to take your money and on the whole give little consideration to the fans when it comes to running clubs as businesses. I would say that football fans aren’t given the credit we deserve, but then only a third of you feel that you’re treated like a customer.
Do these results surprise you at all? Football in the 21st century is definitely treated more like a business than a sport by many involved in the game, but on the whole we’re still satisfied with our club’s financial dealings. I guess when it comes down to it, following your team and experiencing the joy you’re given from time to time is simply priceless and is almost incomparable to anything else. Just don’t let the country’s chairmen catch wind of this, as they’ll only be too happy to increase football ticket prices and their profits!
To see the rest of the results from the Football Fans Survey 2011, brought to you by ZOO Magazine and FootballFanCast.com, click here
A London club has never won the Champions League but, when the English capital became the first European city to boast three sides in the group stage of the competition this season, the likelihood of its long wait to win the competition ending at last looked to be greater than ever. When Arsenal, Chelsea, and Spurs all succeeded in reaching the knockout stages, the odds on the final at Wembley witnessing a win for a London team shortened again – at least until Arsenal and Spurs drew Barcelona and Milan, respectively, in the last sixteen.
In the end, Spurs excelled themselves against the Serie A leaders but Arsenal were narrowly defeated 4-3 on aggregate by their Spanish spiritual cousins, though they were comprehensively outplayed in the away leg. Chelsea, for their part, eased past FC Copenhagen. With the draw for the last eight and the semi-finals of the Champions League to take place on Friday, the two remaining London sides from the west and north of the city are both still in the running to do what the other English club joining them in the quarter-finals – Manchester United, who knocked out Marseille – achieved in 1968: lift the trophy on home soil.
The last time a team won the Champions League in its own country was in 1997 when Germany’s Borussia Dortmund defeated Juventus 3-1 in Munich. That result came only a year after the Italian club had beaten Ajax on penalties in the final in Rome. The other clubs to have benefited from home advantage all won the tournament when it was still trading as the European Cup: Liverpool (1978 – against FC Brugge at Wembley), Ajax (1972 – against Inter Milan in Rotterdam), Manchester United (1968 – against Benfica at Wembley), Inter Milan (1965 – also against Benfica, in Milan), and Real Madrid (1957 – against Fiorentina in Madrid). The 1957 final at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and the 1965 final at the San Siro, then, are also the only two that have been won by sides playing in their actual home stadium.
Roma could have followed suit in 1984 but, with a little help from goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar’s ‘spaghetti legs,’ Liverpool triumphed in the penalty shootout at the Giallorossi’s Stadio Olimpico to win their fourth European Cup. The last time the final featured a side from the host country that then went on to lose on the night was in 1986 when Barcelona lost a dour game against Steaua Bucharest in Seville, again on penalties. Reims, who lost the first ever European Cup final to Real Madrid in Paris in 1956, are the only other side to have lost within their native borders.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’left’]
Should either Chelsea or Spurs make it to Wembley on 28th May, then, it will be only the third time a London side has reached the Champions League final. Arsenal lost to Barcelona in Paris in 2006 while, two years later, Chelsea came within the width of a post of beating Manchester United in Moscow. The 2008 final – John Terry’s scuffed penalty and all – summed up the north-west of England’s pre-eminence over the capital in Europe’s top club competition. Not only have Liverpool and Manchester United lifted the cup at Wembley before, the two clubs have triumphed eight times between them in total.
Aside from the 1968 and 1978 finals featuring United and Liverpool that Wembley played host to, the old stadium staged the showpiece fixture of the European season on three other occasions before it was marked for demolition in 2000: in 1963, Milan beat Benfica 2-1 to deprive the Portuguese side a hat-trick of final wins; Ajax won the first of three successive European Cups in 1971 against Panathinaikos; and Barcelona won the trophy for the first time in 1992 thanks to a Ronald Koeman free-kick against Sampdoria. Aside from Liverpool’s win in 1978, then, the old Wembley only ever welcomed first-time winners. Indeed, of the nine different clubs to have been Wembley finalists, Liverpool and Benfica were the only two that had won the competition prior to the year they lined up in London – and Benfica lost on both their visits. If the new stadium is to maintain that quirk of history it could count in Spurs and Chelsea’s favour but, then again, Schalke or Shakhtar Donetsk’s too.
Berlin, Paris, and Rome are three other members of the luckless capital city club, in that none of their sides have won the Champions League either. The German and French cities have never even had a finalist, and it is one of the interesting aspects of the European club game that sides from those two capital cities have been continuously outshone on the football field by their provincial rivals. London will be playing catch-up with the north-west clubs’ European trophy haul for a long time yet, even if Chelsea or Spurs do manage to avoid Barcelona in Friday’s draw and then progress to and win the final. Nonetheless, Wembley success for Harry or Carlo in two months’ time would be a truly historic event.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.