Sunday 26 January 2014

Mata at United. Traditional Values and Styles of Play.



This week has seen the biggest January transfer since that crazy night in 2011 when Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Fernando Torres. This time however, Chelsea find themselves on the selling end of a massive deal for a change. Manchester United have broke their club transfer record to sign Champions League winner, Euro 2012 winner, World Cup winner and playmaker supreme Juan Mata for £37m.

Mata's first appearance as a United player

Mata was Chelsea's player of the season in 2012 and 2013, his only two full seasons there. This year however it's been an entirely different story. He's only played in half of Chelsea's games, finding himself ostracised under the returning Jose Mourinho, who's authority at Stamford Bridge simply isn't questioned. Mata's limited game-time is far from a reflection on his talents but more a representation on the rigidity of Mourinho's system. He needs his attacking midfielders to put in a considerable defensive effort and that is not one of Mata's strong points.

Gary Neville made the point this week than Juan Mata does not fit what he called the 'traditional Manchester United style of play'. It's hard to argue with this. United have a tradition of playing a 4-4-2  formation (or a modified version of it) with at least one winger and there's no obvious way that Mata fits into this formation and style of play.

It's this formation and style of play that have left many fans feeling increasingly frustrated this season. The system hasn't worked and the manager has amazingly refused to try a plan B. The Tottenham game on New Years Day was the prime example. They dominated possession, got the ball out to the wings, and played cross after cross into Danny Welbeck who was playing as the main striker. Virtually every single cross was cleared by the Spurs defence. United had no plan B and Spurs won the game. The style of play isn't working. Evolution is essential for survival in just about every aspect of life and Manchester United now need to adapt in order to survive.


Let's have a look at some ways the talents of Juan Mata can be incorporated into the Manchester United side in the coming months.



Option 1: Three Number Tens

4-2-3-1: Three advanced playmakers

Last season, Chelsea used this formation, essentially using three number tens behind the main striker. The formation was pretty fluid but generally they used Hazard on the right, Mata on the left and Oscar covering the middle. Mata and Hazard both played as inverted wingers, Mata being a left-footer on the right and Hazard a right-footer on the left. Both preferred to cut inside and shoot or play a killer pass rather than cross the ball, one of the benefits of playing these type of players.

United don't have an inverted winger in the mould of Hazard, Ashley Young would probably be the closest match to that type of player but he's not at the same level. Adnan Januzaj, despite being a left-footer would probably be the best fit to this position. He's a creative player with great vision and plenty of pace to burn.

This formation working relies on the defensive solidarity of the two central midfielders and whether they can be reliable enough to excuse the attacking quarter of the majority of their defensive duties. Rooney will put in a defensive shift but the weight of Kagawa and Mata will have to be carried by the rest of the team. I don't think United currently boast a strong enough defensive midfield combination to achieve this (Carrick/Fletcher/Fellaini/Jones/Cleverley/Giggs) so investment in the central midfield area is essential. As if that wasn't already painfully obvious.





Option 2: Winger and Playmaker Balance

4-2-2: Winger/Playmaker Balance

This is a system employed by United to very little effect this season but rivals Man City have used it to tear teams apart almost every week. It works for them because there are so many different ways City can hurt their opponents. Their  formation incorporates a true winger (Jesus Navas) on one flank and a playmaker (Silva/Nasri) on the opposite flank. This provides them with a variety of attacking options, Plan A, Plan B and Plan C etc in order to break down opponents. They can rely of Navas pace and crosses, Silva's trickery and through balls and Yaya Toure bursting forward from the middle of the park to support attacks.

This system hasn't worked for United because they haven't really got any of those things. It had been particularly noticeable in the absence of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie recently. A lot of the attack has been focused on sending crosses in where Danny Welbeck is often the only target. Anyone who's ever watched Danny Welbeck will tell you he's not a centre forward who does well feeding off crosses. Add to this that Kagawa is just not suited to playing out left and the fact United have virtually no attacking threat from central midfield and it's not hard to see why this strategy is not working for them.

Would the introduction of Mata change this? The most logical fit for him in this formation is on the left as the playmaker. This of course means leaving out Januzaj which doesn't seem fair considering how well he's been playing. He could perhaps be used as a second striker in the even of Rooney's departure but overall I don't think Mata being used in this system would change United's fortunes for the better.





Option 3: Right Sided Attacker

4-3-3: A new philosophy

This formation represents a complete change from the traditional values Gary Neville was talking about. United have almost always played a  version of the traditional 4-4-2. This formation sees them shift to a 4-3-3/4-3-2-1 formation and depends on two things: The club investing in a dynamic central midfield player (Arturo Vidal being the best example of what they need) and Wayne Rooney leaving in 2014. Both of which seem very possible.

One of the best examples of this formation working in England is Chelsea's double winning team of 2009/10 under Carlo Ancelotti which set the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season. A record the current Manchester City team (see option 2) is now threatening to surpass.

Playing three in the middle with just one main striker has become the trend in world football over the past decade. Very few top clubs now play with two strikers. Manchester City, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are the only top clubs that spring to mind still employing  this formation. Whilst Rooney and van Persie are at the club, and both virtually guaranteed starting spots, this formation is unlikely to be used regularly.

This position for Mata would be like a hybrid of an inverted winger and a true number ten. I think this would suit him well, the extra man in the middle would leave him with almost zero defensive duties and give him freedom to create. He'd be especially dangerous cutting in from the right side on his killer left foot, picking out that final ball that United have found it so hard to find this season.





Option 4: The Second Striker

4-5-1: Replacement for Rooney

This system holds truer than any to Neville's description of the traditional Manchester United style. It's a modified 4-4-2 with two wingers and  Mata as the second striker/attacking midfielder. It is the formation that makes just about the least amount of sense.

This formation, again assuming Rooney leaves in the summer, uses Mata as a second striker behind Robin van Persie, Valencia as a right winger and Januzaj on the left as a winger/playmaker. Mata has said that playing off the striker is his favourite position and that may be the case, but recent evidence would suggest that it's not his most effective position and he's better out on the right side cutting in.

Rooney works well in this position because of his dynamism and attacking work rate. Mata, for all his technical brilliance, doesn't possess either of these two attributes and wouldn't provide much of a threat from crosses either, making this system a complete non-starter.



Football is constantly changing. You can't employ the same methods over and over again and expect them to be successful. Teams have to adapt to meet the needs of the modern game if they wish to compete at the very top of it. Manchester United is a club with a rich history and some fantastic traditions with regards to bringing through youth players and playing attacking football. I'm all for staying loyal to certain traditions to some extent, but if the club refuses to evolve to meet the needs of the modern game, their stay at the top of the world game will be shortly coming to an abrupt end.





Monday 20 January 2014

Chelsea Provide A Benchmark For United's Decline


Given that their first encounter was a week into the season when neither manager was ready to risk defeat and the game fizzled out into a scoreless draw, Sunday presented the first real chance to see the 2013/14 versions of Chelsea and Manchester United face off. A fixture that has dominated English football for the best part of a decade with these two clubs winning 8 of the last 9 Premier League titles and even contesting a Champions League final in 2008, has decreased somewhat in stature and this event proved a complete mis-match. One club is buoyant and on its way back to the very top, the other is declining at an alarming rate.

This game summarised the plight of Manchester United compared to their rivals better than any. United were the highest odds they'd been for any Premier League game ever. I don't think a single fan was optimistic that this United side could end Mourinho's fantastic unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge today. Even a draw would have felt like a huge win.

All smiles, but there's definitely some bitterness there

United hired David Moyes in the summer, choosing what they perceived to be long-term stability over the instant success Mourinho would have brought. It's a decision, Ferguson's decision, that is looking poorer and poorer every week as Moyes continues to struggle to keep United even in the top 6 while Mourinho's Chelsea are clicking into gear as they march towards a title challenge. It's been said for a while now that this team is a quality striker away from being absolutely top drawer. On Sunday Samuel Eto'o gave them a glimpse of what is possible. While I don't think he's the man to lead the line long-term, his hat-trick proved the difference this time around.

Jose would have read the United line-up an hour before kick-off and been forgiven for laughing away to himself in the office. It was without doubt the weakest United side he'd have ever faced. The hopes of this magnificent football institution rested on the shoulders of an 18 year-old Kosovan with 15 first-team games under his belt. The sad truth is that it was probably the strongest side Moyes had at his disposal. Rooney and van Persie are still not ready to return. Aside from them the midfield and defence would probably be first choice, which is worrying for fans.

Strangely, United started the better of the two sides and created a few chances in the opening fifteen minutes. Had they scored here, the game would have been a different affair and they might have gotten something out of it. But once Samuel Eto'o's deflected strike lobbed David de Gea to put Chelsea 1-0 up, the writing was on the wall and, as has too often proved the case this season, we saw no signs of a United comeback. Extraordinarily poor defending from set pieces gave Chelsea their 2nd and 3rd goals either side of half time and this United side, despite having played quite well, were finished.

Eto'o hit a surprising hat-trick

Two years ago in this very fixture, United went 3-0 down early in the second half and came back to secure a 3-3 draw and a valuable point. That was Ferguson's United, characterised by their fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude. The United team that day contained several of today's players: Valencia, Young, Evans, Welbeck all started that day in February 2012. Under Ferguson these players had a unique belief. They were Manchester United. They simply would not lose. This is not evident under Moyes, a manager who's spent too long at smaller clubs punching above their weight to carry any real aura of intimidation about him.

The game got worse for United in the final minutes when they totally lost their discipline, something that Ferguson simply wouldn't allow. Vidic was sent off for a reckless tackle on Eden Hazard, a tackle myself and Jose Mourino both described as an 'orange card'. A tackle somewhere between a red and a yellow. Rafael's two footed lunge on Gary Cahill a minute later was a clear straight red and a worrying sign that United players no longer have any fear of answering to the manager in the dressing room after the game.

Plenty of inches of this blog last week were devoted to praising the somewhat erratic David Luiz in Chelsea's holding midfield role. He has clearly read last week's piece and let the praise go to his head as he gave a rather suspect performance this week. Perhaps the presence of Nemanja Matic on the sidelines had something to do with it but I expect to see the Serbian slot into that holding role and make it his own over the coming weeks. Mourinho saw and issue and wasn't afraid to spend big to rectify it.

Moyes has plenty of issues but doesn't seem to be spending at all this transfer window. The faith some of the United fans are showing in him is admirable no doubt but no other club would sit idly by while a manager destroys a dynasty and say 'we'll give him a year'. Football has changed. You don't get time to lose first before you win. Results are needed now. So what if he doesn't have the players. That's his own fault. He had the whole summer to buy players. Rebuilding should have begun instantly. A year of decline and clearout is not acceptable in the current climate. Even still, he has the same squad that walked this league last year. 7th place isn't good enough. 4th place won't even be good enough. Moyes, not a top level manager, is not good enough for United.

League One title with Preston in 2000, Moyes only trophy

I liken the situation to when Liverpool appointed Roy Hodgson in 2010, a tenure that is often forgotten. Within a few months it became clear that Hodgson was simply not a top level manager and they parted ways. Nobody asked for him to be given a year to make his mark on the team. At a big club you need instant success to survive. He had done well at Fulham and after Liverpool he went to West Brom and did wonderfully there. Not everyone is cut out for the top rung. Moyes took Preston from the third tier to the brink of the Premier League. He took Everton from the relegation zone to the fringes of the top four.  That's his level. When United dispense with him, he'll take over at somewhere like  West Ham and bring them from the foot of the table to a solid mid-table berth. That's what he's good at. He's never going to be a success at a club like United.

As for Mourinho, his comments last March when his Madrid side eliminated United from Europe suggested he had designs on managing at Old Trafford some day. The away support on Sunday wasted no time in reminding him of this implication. His comments after the game on Sunday suggest nothing has changed. While ordinarily he would stick the knife in, he relented and sympathised with the club in it's current predicament. Whether or not this was just out of respect to his old friend Ferguson remains to be seen. I don't think he'll ever manage at United, but he's exactly what they need right now. Someone with a big enough personality to fill the chasm left last summer. A visionary. A leader.



United need 24 more points this season to avoid finishing as the worst defending champions in Premier League history. Blackburn in 1995/96 finished 7th with 61 points.




Monday 13 January 2014

Chelsea hitting top form, helping the refs, Atletico vs Barca and Qatar shambles



It was a big weekend for both the pre-season title favourites, Chelsea and Manchester City. With Arsenal not playing until Monday, both sides faced tricky away games with a chance to make their title intentions clear and each spend a little bit of time on top of the table. Both sides obliged with wins.

Chelsea beat Hull on Saturday afternoon. Two players in particular stood out for me. The first was the excellent Eden Hazard. The Belgian had a tough first year in London following his protracted Lebron James-style transfer from Lille. A year probably most memorable for his kicking a ball-boy at Swansea rather than his on-pitch exploits. Now the Belgian is emerging as one of the finest players in the division. Hazard is an inside out winger, a right-footer playing on the left wing who likes to cut inside and shoots on his stronger foot. He reminds me of Franck Ribery, although not quite at that level yet, he will surely get there.

Hazard is red-hot right now

Hazard was brilliant again against Hull on Saturday, scoring a sublime goal to give Chelsea the lead. It's talismanic player like this who decide titles. Ronaldo and Henry did it so often for United and Arsenal throughout their era's. Hazard has the opportunity now to be Chelsea's go-to guy when the chips are down.  The guy that will produce a moment of magic in tight away games such as this to turn one point into three.

The other standout player on Saturday, who did not get nearly as much credit was David Luiz. Mourinho, for only the second time I can remember, used Luiz in a holding midfield role rather than his traditional centre back spot. This was a strategy first used by Rafael Benitez last year and part of me thinks Mourinho was reluctant to try this idea based purely on where it came from.

Chelsea's midfield on Saturday

Luiz started in centre midfield in place of John Obi Mikel on Saturday. He was excellent. Chasing down and mopping up everything that got as far as the Chelsea third of the field. Not only that but when he won possession, he was particularly effective at bringing the ball forward and picking out a pass trying to create an opening. As a defender he was often percieved to be a bit wild, marauding out of defence at times and getting caught out. This role encourages him to do that and at the same time retains his defensive muscle, with the added benefit of having two centre backs to cover him. For the big games in particular, I think Mourinho should use Luiz in this role much more often.

Man City had a huge slice of luck in beating Newcastle on Sunday with the home side having a perfectly good goal chalked out for a contentious offside call. It was not the best day for ref Mike Jones who should have sent Newcastle's Yanga-Mbwia off for a nasty hack on Samir Nasri, who might be seriously injured. It is utterly ridiculous that in such an important sport money-wise for clubs that games and even championships can hinge on the split second judgement of one ordinary man who may be forty yards away from the incident. Extra officials would be helpful and a video referee is an absolute necessity. One replay is all it takes more often than not to show viewers what the correct decision should have been. We're talking about a maximum 10 second delay in the game to ensure that justice is done. Too much to ask? Far too often it is the case that the main focus after a match is on the officials rather than the players which is just plain wrong.

City got the win however and a valuable one at that. The league looks to be settling down at long last. There's an upper tier of Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal, whom the champions will likely come from. Following these is a selection of teams: Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and Man United who are all fighting it out for that coveted 4th Champions League spot. All of the aforementioned seven teams, with the exception of Arsenal who play Monday night, won their games at the weekend. 

The relegation battle was probably more exciting this weekend with two interesting clashes: Cardiff hosted West Ham and Sunderland went to Fulham. Both produced away wins which, given how close things are down there, have changed the look of the table drastically. Andy Carroll returned for West Ham, ahead of schedule and provided and assist for the clinching goal in stoppage time. It was just what Sam Allardyce needed following 5-0 and 6-0 thrashings in both cups this week. Surprisingly he did not give a post match interview so was unable to take all the credit for this piece of genius, as I'm sure he would have liked to.

Sunderland also picked up a massive win, thanks in no small part to Adam Johnson. He made a scoring return against Carlisle in the FA Cup last weekend, won the winning penalty in the League Cup semi-final on Tuesday and hit a hat-trick against Fulham on Saturday which has lifted Sunderland off the bottom of the table. Outside the top 9, there are only six points separating Hull in 10th from Crystal Palace in 20th place.

11 teams seperated by just 6 points

Looking at the table, I think the teams from Fulham downwards are the real relegation candidates and the three teams going down will come from them. I can't honestly see the likes of Swansea or Hull being dragged into a relegation scrap, their sides are just too strong. Of these bottom five, Cardiff look best equipped to survive. Other than that it's too close to call.

In Spain, Barcelona visited Madrid to play a potential title decided. This time however the team they were facing were Atletico Madrid and not their more illustrious rivals. Both sides went into the game on identical records. P18, W16, D1, L1. Hyped up to the max in the media, the game failed to deliver in a big way, fizzling out into a 0-0 draw. Lionel Messi started on the bench as he continues his recovery from injury. The match was an interesting clash of styles. Barca's fluid, super slick, passing and movement met Atletico's smash-mouth tackling and high pressure. In the end they cancelled each other out and a draw was a fair result.

Diego Costa has fired Atletico into title contention

It's the halfway mark in La Liga now. Barca and Atletico remain tied at the top on 50 points from a possible 57 with Madrid's 'other' team just 3 points back. Atletico have established themselves as genuine contenders this year and are showing no signs of faltering or fading away as the season draws on. After years of Clasico dominance, it would be great for the league to see a new face in the title shake-up at the tail end of the season for the first time since 2004.

Finally, this past week it was also announced to no-one's surprise that the '2022 Qatar World Cup' will take place in winter instead of summer. While this is an inconvenience for pretty much everyone, it baffles me that moving the time of the competition is the solution rather than moving the location. Qatar is by far and away the worst choice of a host nation ever. Even by FIFA's standards. A tiny country with a population of only two million people, with no stadiums, no footballing tradition, an appalling human rights record with a very unsuitable climate. The World Cup simply can't happen in Qatar and hopefully someone stands up in the name of common sense, sooner rather than later. Give it to Australia.




Friday 10 January 2014

The 10 Worst Owners in Premier League History


10. Thaksin Shinawatra
(Manchester City, 2007 - 2008)

Thaksin: Called 'Frank' by City fans

In the history of Manchester, the acrimonious era of Thaksin Shinawatra is often overlooked. The infamous Thai businessman, who served as the country's prime minister for five years up until 2006 (when he was overthrown), bought what was a very different Manchester City to the one we know today, in June 2007.He was initially well received and won the fans over with his appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson and his funding the transfers of some highly rated European stars such as Martin Petrov, Valeri Bojinov as well as Brazilians Elano and Geovanni.

His troubled past caught up with him as the season went on and he became embroiled in all sorts of controversy back home facing charges of fraud and money laundering. Several warrants were made for his arrest should he arrive back in Thailand, which to this date he has not. Ironically his younger sister now rules Thailand. His ownership is mostly forgotten thanks to the super-rich Abu Dhabi group who bought the club from him and launched them into stardom.





9. Assem Allam
(Hull City, 2010 - present)

Mauled by the tigers.. Allam

Allam would not have made this list were it not for his actions of last summer. On the whole he's been good for Hull, funding their promotion back to the top flight following relegation in 2010. Upon returning to the Premier League however he announced that the club would be re-branded and re-named as the Hull Tigers from the following season, removing the 110 year old 'City' part of their name which he deemed "irrelevant and common".

A cardinal sin for any owner is to try an alter the identity of the club. Ask Pete Winkelman, considered in league with Hitler and Mussolini by most Wimbledon fans for his part in moving the team to Milton Keynes in 2003. Football clubs in the UK are unique in that they represent part of the culture of a town or city. To mess with something such as their name is to mess with the city itself. Allam should have known this having lived in Britain since 1968. His inviting the fans to "die whenever they want" as a response to vocal protest at his plans was unwise indeed.





8. Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshimi Mittal
(Queens Park Rangers, 2007 - 2011)

Flavio is banned from the sport Bernie runs, yet they owned a team together

OK so they sold QPR five days into their first season back in the Premier League, the mob who ran them for the previous five years were universally unpopular and turned the club into a comedy show and the laughing stock of English football.

Briatore in particular, the head of the Renault Formula One team, ran the day to day operations at Loftus Road and was notoriously impatient with managers. His first boss, Luigi De Canio lasted seven months and 35 matches, which turned out to be the longest reign of any of the ten managers who preceded Neil Warnock in a two and a half year spell. Briatore was also know to text managers instructions mid-match as he deemed it more subtle than a phone call.

Flavio was given a lifetime ban from F1 in 2009 for fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix (he did, though he protests his innocence). This meant that he failed the FA's 'fit and proper persons test' and needed to be bought out. Ecclestone (an even bigger crook) obliged and bought Flav's share. The team won promotion to the Premier League in 2011 and were sold to another F1 boss, Tony Fernandes upon their return. Despite being relegated in 2013, the club is more stable now than it has been since the F1 mob came to town.





7. Tom Hicks and George Gillett
(Liverpool, 2007 - 2010)

Genuinely thought they were the other way around until now

Football fans do not like to be lied to. There's nothing worse than over-promising and under-delivering and that's exactly what these two American businessmen did when they took over at Anfield in 2007. At the forefront of their promises was a new stadium in Stanley Park, a 60,000 seater stadium to match the club's size and ambition. Construction was to begin with two months according to Hicks. It never did and the project has long since been scrapped.

It didn't stop at empty promises though. Hicks and Gillett constantly meddled behind the scenes, mostly concerning the ousting of Rafael Benitez, trying to find a replacement before pulling the trigger. They even fell out with each other and weren't on speaking terms for quite a long while. All this contributed to disrupt events on the pitch with Liverpool falling from 2nd in 2009 to 7th in 2010. Benitez was sacked. Hicks and Gillett were eventually forced to sell the club in October 2010, by then the club was in the relegation zone. They didn't bring the new stadium they promised and brought no trophies in almost four years. The drawn-out saga only ended when they dropped their lawsuit against Liverpool only in January 2013.





6. Mike Ashley
(Newcastle United, 2007 - present)

Ashley in the early days, clad in Newcastle colours

Mike Ashley, a self made billionaire and owner of Sports Direct bought Newcastle United in May 2007. At this point he was a notable businessman but had kept out of the public eye, leading a very private life. When he became involved in the world of football however, this all changed. Ashley attended matches wearing a Newcastle shirt and sitting amongst the fans (he's apparently a Tottenham fan). This served to win them over and made him, seemingly one of the most popular owners around.

His popularity only served to increase with the re-hiring of 'King' Kevin Keegan in January 2008, seen as a messiah among the Geordie faithful. However the bubble burst in September of that year when Keegan, citing intolerable interference from director of football Dennis Wise, resigned from his position as manager. A civil war was at hand and the fans unanimously took the side of Keegan, dubbing Ashley and Wise the 'Cockney Mafia', Londoners, who were not welcome at St James Park. Ashley subsequently stayed away from St James Park and nine days later put the club up for sale.

It's been over five years and he's still in charge. The furore over the boardroom conflict obviously had an effect on the players as Newcastle were relegated in 2008/09. Ashley even brought back another Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer, as manager to try and bail them out but to no avail. Since then Ashley has not done as much to invoke the fury of the fans, sacking Chris Hughton in 2010 was a rash move. Things died down for a while under Pardew and they nearly reached the Champions League in 2011, but bringing back Joe Kinnear as a director of football in the summer of 2013 has once again left fans calling for his head.





5. Randy Lerner
(Aston Villa, 2006 - present)

Anything above 18th place will satisfy Lerner. Not the fans.

The theme of a fall from grace is becoming a common one and this is no exception. The Premier League's second American owner, twelve months after the first, Lerner bought Aston Villa in 2006. The immediate results were good. Led by Martin O'Neill and a team spearheaded by the promising Gabby Agbonlahor, Villa were top 6 regulars for the first few years of the Lerner-era.

I remember so clearly the point at which Villa's downfall began. At home to Stoke in March 2009. John Carew scored with 13 minutes to go and put them 2-0 up. The win would send them 8 clear of Arsenal and virtually ensure Champions League football the following season. Villa failed to see it out and drew the game 2-2. After this they collapsed, lost their next four on the bounce and won only 10 points from the final 33, finishing outside the top 4. That summer, captain Gareth Barry was sold. The following year it was James Milner and when Martin O'Neill was told by Lerner that the £26m windfall created by this would not be available for re-investment he resigned on the eve of the new season.

Lerner essentially gave up on Villa being a Champions League worthy side and was willing to settle for secure Premier League status year after year. A horrendous lack of ambition. He is essentially running a football club as a business, something which simply cannot be done. His hiring of Birmingham boss Alex McLeish in 2011 only further decreased his popularity among the fans. Simply put, the once European Champions are going nowhere but down while this man remains in charge. He has escaped a lot of criticism in the media so far purely because Villa have not been relegated. Yet..





4. Venky's
(Blackburn Rovers, 2010 - present)

Dubbed Cowboys rather than Indians by Rovers fans

Unlike Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers have been relegated from the Premier League and the former champions show no sign of emerging from the doldrums. They went down in 2011/12. The first full season under the ownership of Indian chicken company Venky's.

In 2009/10 Blackburn were minutes away from the League Cup final and finished in the top half of the league. Venky's took over and within a month they had sacked Sam Allardyce to replace him with his inexperienced first team coach Steve Kean, whom they took a liking too. Kean played up to the owners, visiting India to provide reports whenever he was summoned, which seemed to be on a whim at times.

The Steve Kean era lasted abnormally long, he kept the job for almost two years and oversaw a relegation to the Championship before being dismissed in late 2012. Blackburn favourite Henning Berg followed but he was dumped after just two months. Similarly with Michael Appleton. The club now sit in the middle of the Championship with debts of over £50m, huge for a club outside the Premier League.

But the absolute worst thing Venky's did to Blackburn was this cringe-worth chicken ad.





3. Vincent Tan
(Cardiff City, 2010 - present)

Tan has the look of a Bond villain

Some owners take (and in fairness are entitled to) something in return for their bankrolling the club. Allam at Hull wanted the name changed, City owner's use them as a marketing tool for their company Etihad, Mike Ashely changed the name of Newcastle's ground to his own company's. Vincent Tan's price was Cardiff's colours.

The Bluebirds, as of the 2012/13 season, now wear red as their home kit. This was a ploy by Tan to create a more global appeal for his side. Like Allam, he seems to have confused his local football club with a major international franchise. Franchise is a label that in English football would only apply to the likes of Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and now Man City. Club's like Cardiff and Hull belong to their respective cities, they are not brands.

Then there was the whole business with Malky Mackay. Mackay was not totally blameless in the falling out between the two but to publicly pressurise a manager into quitting is deplorable in any business and Tan won himself no friends with that. Mackay didn't buckle but still lost his job which has now passed to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who, tellingly, is 5/1 to be gone before the end of the season. Things are only going to get worse under Tan, who now only wants players with the number 8 in their birthday to play for Cardiff.





2. The Glazer Family
(Manchester United, 2005 - present)

They have faces that enrage every United fan everywhere

Three football clubs in the world generated over £500m in revenue over the past twelve months. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. Two of these clubs have seemingly limitless budgets with which to but new players year after year. One has an owner with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt to service.

Malcom Glazer borrowed £790m to fund his purchase of Manchester United in 2005. He secured this loan against the assets of the club which was immediately saddled with this debt of which now over £500m of money earned by the club has been use to repay. The fans realised his intentions immediately and mass protests were held outside Old Trafford. In 2010  the green and gold protest movement started and a group of wealthy United fans calling themselves the Red Knights launched a takeover bid were rebuffed by the Glazers. A middle-eastern consortium also made a reported offer around the same time of about £1.5bn which was also refused. Since then no fresh hope has been offered for United fans of some freedom from these money-hungry, immoral Americans.

The Glazers have essentially decided to milk this money making franchise for all it's worth. They see United as a giant cash cow in the long term and the loan repayment years are just a temporary burden to bear. Once the debt is out of the way they will begin to make actual money out of the club. Success for the club is a bonus as it enhances the brand, but all the thing the Glazers care most about is filling their pockets with the vast amounts of money this club can generate year after year.





1. Peter Ridsdale
(Leeds United, 1997 - 2003)

United we fall was his book title, except he jumped the sinking ship in 2003

To be clear Ridsdale was chairman of Leeds, not owner, but answered to no one and handled finances so held the exact same responsibility as head of a PLC. While the Glazers have arguably hindered United's growth into a superclub, this man single handedly destroyed Leeds United. Through a combination of naivety, carelessness, utter stupidity and incompetence, he sent them from Champions League semi-finalists in 2001 down into the third tier of the league in 2007.

What Peter did was borrow £60m to fund investment in new players, guaranteeing this against gate receipts at Leeds over the coming years, essentially betting on them qualifying for the Champions League every single year without fail. This money was used to purchase the likes of Rio Ferdinand for £18m from West Ham,  Robbie Keane from Inter, Mark Viduka from Celtic, Robbie Fowler from Liverpool and £7m on Seth Johnson from Derby.

The story of Seth Johson's contract negotiations is brilliant. He went in asking for £20,000 p/w but hoping for £15,000. Ridsdale's opening offer was £25,000. Mistaking Johnson's shock for disgust, he increased his offer to £35,000 and a deal was done.

Leeds failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second year in a row in 2002 and the bombs went off. Ferdinand was sold. So were Woodgate, Bowyer, Fowler and Keane, the guts of the first team left and were replaced with free transfers but it wasn't enough. They narrowly avoided the drop in 2003 but fell victim the following year. Ridsdale left in April 2003 under overwhelming pressure from supporters so was not around long enough to see them slide further down into League One and a spell in administration which almost killed the club.

The story of Leeds is a tragic one and there is one man at fault for everything. He claimed to be 'living the dream' as Leeds faced off against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan in the 2000/01 Champions League. This dream however soon turned to a nightmare. Fortunately for Ridsdale he was able to wake up and move on. The fans have not enjoyed that luxury.

Ridsdale moved on to Barnsely and took them to the very brink of liquidation before quitting. He moved on to Cardiff who were too heading for extinction under his leadership before being bought out by Vincent Tan. He's now the chairman of Preston, and is banned from being a director at any business until 2020 due to his past discrepancies.





Monday 6 January 2014

FA Cup reaction, yet more Moyes misery and Juventus take Serie A by the throat


Third round weekend in the world's most famous cup competition didn't produce any major giant killings, none of Wrexham and Arsenal 1992 proportions anyway, but still we saw upsets from Rochdale and Sheffield United and one of the favourites and the competition's most successful team ever, were dumped out in unceremonious fashion at home.

Eleven times FA Cup winners Manchester United went down 2-1 at home to Swansea on Sunday evening. It says a lot about how far United have fallen in the past six months that this was barely considered a shock but nevertheless it is a result which has piled yet more pressure on David Moyes. A fourth home defeat in six weeks and only United's second third round exit in thirty years was not exactly what the doctor ordered, particularly in a week where Wayne Rooney has decided to not-decide on his future until July at the earliest and United fans were warned against any new hope of January arrivals to breathe new life into this abomination of a season.

This sight is becoming all to familiar for United fans

United's recent home form is unlike anything seen at any time under Sir Alex Ferguson and is giving fans reason to question the former boss's final decision as manager, the appointment of his successor. Moyes is looking increasingly unsuitable for the role and you get the sense he's a bit over-awed by the club and its history, emphasised that he refers to them as 'Manchester United' rather than 'we' as most managers would. It doesn't seem to have occurred to him yet that's he's the man in charge of this club now. The decision to hand him a six year contract, the day after Fergie's retirement, is looking worse and worse by the week.

Ferguson's farewell speech to the Old Trafford faithful last May encouraging the crowd to get behind David Moyes and the vast majority of United fans have done so to this point, but even the most patient of fans, those that can remember the grim pre-Ferguson era, must surely be questioning Moyes's leadership at this stage. With Ferguson in charge you got that the players would do absolutely anything to win, that they would rather die out on the pitch than face him in the dressing room having lost so meekly on their home turf. Moyes seems unable to elicit the same sort of passion out of them and they don't seem to be motivated to play for him. To be fair that's not 100% his fault and blame should lie on both sides but in football when the players don't perform, the manager inevitably pays the price. It's not exactly fair but that's the way it is. Nobody expected the transition to be seamless, but nobody expected it to go quite this badly either.

United's demise in the competition will please the other favourites, all of whom bar Man City progressed to Round Four with no difficulty. City have a replay with Blackburn to come at the Etihad, Arsenal saw off Spurs with a convincing 2-0 win, emphasising that despite Spurs outspending them by more than 2:1 during the summer, North London remains very much theirs to rule. Liverpool saw off Oldham, giving them the edge in that head-to-head. They had been paired together the previous two seasons with both sides claiming a victory each. Everton dispatched Harry Redknapp's QPR at Goodison Park and FA Cup specialists Chelsea beat Championship high-fliers Derby at Pride Park.

Walcott cheekily reminding Spurs fans the score

Derby really impressed me at times during this game although Chelsea's obvious class showed in the second half and they won fairly comfortably in the end. Players like Jeff Hendrick, John Eustace and the highly rated Will Hughes had good games. Steve Mclaren has done a really good job there since he took over in September and given the form they are in, it would not at all be a huge surprise to see Derby back in the Premier League next season. The club will be desperate to make up for a quite disastrous 2007/08 season, the last time they reached the top tier and won only 11 points all year.

Chelsea were not at their best yet still won quite convincingly. They are starting to look ominously good as the season turns into the business end. I'm of the opinion this this side is a leading striker away from being one of the best in Europe. Torres and Eto'o between them managed to fluff some golden chances on Sunday. Chances that an striker with an ounce of confidence would have put away. As is usually the case, the quality of their 3/4 line (the attacking midfield trio, Oscar, Ramires and Willian in this case) was enough to bail them out again. Were they to sign a striker of the calibre of Cavani, Falcao, Higuain or even Luis Suarez in the near future, this side would be unstoppable.

Oscar: Majestic yet again

League action got back underway across Europe following the winter break and the pick of the fixtures was in Italy where reigning champions and league leaders Juventus played host to undefeated Roma.

The game was fascinating tactically. Juventus, with the better side and playing in front of their own fans, surprisingly sat back and let Roma have the ball for the opening period for fear of being caught out by the pace of Roma's deadly counter attack. On virtually Juve's first attack, they scored through the wonderful Arturo Vidal which essentially won them the game. They continued to sit back and not press as much as they would normally do and doubled their lead from a set piece right after half time. Daniele De Rossi, who joked that he would have committed suicide if he had left Roma last summer, was sent off for a horrible lunge on Giorgo Chiellini on 75 mins. The resulting free kick lead to a blatant handball on the line, a second red card for Castan, 3-0 Juventus and a massive swing in the momentum of the Seire A title race.

Vidal: One of the world's top centre midfield players right now

It's a shame Juventus aren't still in the Champions League, as a result of bizarre circumstance and bad luck more than anything else. This side is really good, they had Andrea Pirlo back from injury last night forming a three man centre midfield along with Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba which is among the very best in the world. The three man defence of Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini is incredibly solid and with Tevez in good form playing off Llorente up front, this side looks unstoppable as they march towards another Scudetto, what will be their 3rd in a row and 30th overall. This result sends them 8 points clear of Roma at the top and 10 ahead of probably their biggest threat in Napoli.


Friday 3 January 2014

Who needs the FA Cup the most?

The first week of January is a significant one in the English football calendar as it heralds both the re-opening of the transfer window and the entry of the Premier League and Championship teams into the FA Cup. Barring a sensational upset, this years winners are entering the competition this weekend. Here's a look at some teams with designs on the famous trophy in 2014 and which one of them could do with cup glory the most:


The case for Arsenal

The last time Arsenal won a trophy there was no such thing as Twitter. There were no iPhones, the PS2 was still the most advanced gaming console around. HD TV hadn't come into our lives, nor had Blu-Ray, no version of Windows existed beyond XP, Wifi had yet to be invented. This was way back in May 2005 when a team led by Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires were very fortunate to beat Manchester United on penalties at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff to win the FA Cup.

Arsenal's last trophy photo features Vieira, Ashley Cole and a teenage Cesc

The longer this drought goes on the greater the burden of expectation grows on the players. The FA Cup represents for them the simplest path to silverware this year, granted they overcome North-London rivals Tottenham this weekend. Yes they are top of the league but Man City look to have sorted out their patchy away form and are building serious momentum. On top of that they beat Arsenal 6-3 when the sides met in early December. I doubt any English side is good enough to win the Champions League this season and Arsenal have probably the toughest last 16 opponent in Bayern Munich.

In terms of needing a trophy, Arsenal definitely have a better case than any of the other top sides. It is very rare in modern football for a manager to survive nine years in a job without delivering silverware but Wenger so far has proved the exception. This year is different somewhat in that he's invested  heavily in the squad, paying £42m for Ozil and so some return on this is now expected rather than wished for. The mythical trophy for 4th place will no longer satisfy this club. They need actual honours.





The case for Man United

The FA Cup in 1990 is widely regarded as the trophy that saved Alex Ferguson's job as Manchester United manager. However that was four years into his reign and he had inherited a side accustomed to finishing in the upper mid-table. David Moyes inherited league champions so a trophy in his debut season would be a merely satisfactory ending to what has so far been a trying year for the Scot.

Since the 1990 success, Ferguson's first trophy at the club, Man United have only endured five barren seasons out of twenty-three. The current generation of fans have grown up expecting success and only that will appease them. Retaining the title is beyond them at this stage, as is a fourth Champions League title so the best chance the fans have of some silverware this year is either this competition or the League Cup, where they get their semi-final tie with Sunderland under way on Tuesday evening.

United have had a very up and down couple of months

Ask a United fan to choose between the FA and League Cups and virtually every one will chose the former. The club has won this competition a record eleven times and is deeply ingrained in its illustrious history. However they have not tasted success since 2004 and the feeling that the club is overdue a twelfth FA Cup success has been lingering for a while now. But given their shockingly unpredictable form lately, three home defeats in their last four games, it's not hard to imagine them going out with a whimper to Swansea on Sunday evening.





The case for Chelsea

Jose Mourinho had spent three full seasons at Chelsea prior to this one. The first two ended in Premier League wins and the third in a domestic cup double. The man just hoovers up trophies wherever he goes. In fact, if you count the 2012 Spanish Super Cup (which you can be sure he does), he has not endured a full trophy-less season as a manager. At any club. Ever.

In recent times Chelsea have become the undisputed kings of cup football. FA Cup triumphs in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012 can be added to Champions League success in 2012 and a Europa League triumph the following year. This year, you can add to  the equation Mourinho's relentless desire to win every single football match he's involved in and it probably makes Chelsea favourites for the competition outright. In the past few weeks they've looked strong again, showing some of the old muscle of the Special One's first reign to see off opponents ac close out games. The Blues will be a force to be reckoned with come the later stages. Expect them to return to Wembley in April at the very least.





The case for Liverpool

Liverpool are in the later stages of a rebuilding phase. Brendan Rodgers, to his utmost credit, has done a fantastic job recently making them a credible force challenging near the summit of the table. He will need to deliver trophies soon, a club like Liverpool will always demand so, but the need is not as urgent as it is at Arsenal for instance. Liverpool did win a trophy as recently as 2012 and like the Arsenal in recent seasons, finishing 4th in the Premier League would be seen as a trophy in its own right.

What will play in their favour over the coming months is their lack of European football as a distraction. It has worked in their favour so far in the league, having midweek off to prepare for European games while the rest of the Premier League's elite have travelled across the continent and often slipped up on their return. Liverpool will have no such travails over the second half of the season so will not feel the need to rotate their (relatively thin) squad as much. They'll be very difficult to beat. Had they had a bit more luck they'd have gotten results from both City and Chelsea over Christmas. On their day, they could beat anyone and that's what cup football comes down to at the end of the day.





The case for Man City

The best team in the country right now with undoubtedly the strongest squad, Manchester City are rightly considered by the bookies to be the most likely team to lift the FA Cup this year.

But will they? I don't think so. At the moment they look like the Premier League and Champions League take priority over everything else. They have reached the semi-finals of the League Cup without breaking a sweat and should everything go to plan, will have a trophy in the bag by the start of March. The Champions League and Barcelona will by then be moving to the forefront of the Manuel Pellegrini's mind along with maintaining pace in the league. Honestly, I don't think City will be too bothered with the FA Cup this year. Their strength in depth may carry them a few rounds in but don't expect them to field their strongest side at any point in the cup over the coming months.





The case for everyone else

The FA Cup need not necessarily be won by won by one of the Premier League's top sides. Look at last year when relegated Wigan took the trophy, or 2008 when Portsmouth, now sixth from bottom of the football league, beat Cardiff at Wembley. Of sides outside the five mentioned above, Tottenham and Everton are probably the most noteworthy contenders. Tottenham's chances may be slim owing to the fact that they've been handed a trip to local rivals Arsenal in the third round, a tie I just can't see them winning. Everton have a somewhat easier tie against Championship high fliers QPR. I feel that progress in this competition for them will play a clear second fiddle to their Champions League push and however many games they do face in this competition will merely be a chance for Roberto Martinez to rotate his squad. Although he did win the competition last year with Wigan, I don't think a repeat triumph is a priority for him now.

Martinez's Wigan sprung a huge surprise in 2013

As always, a surprise package can and often does emerge. 59 other teams remain in the competition and each one has the potential to cause an upset. The competition is famous for them. In 2008 who would have predicted the semi-final line-up on Cardiff, West Brom, Portsmouth and Barnsley, three of whom were outside the Premier League at the time. The competition does retain its magic and third round weekend, the first one of January is often when it is at its most potent.