Over the last 3 months there has been a growing discontent amongst Arsenal supporters in relation to their manager Arsene Wenger. The voices calling for his dismissal or doubting his ability to manage the club have gradually become louder. Robbie Savage although not the most reliable or respected voice in football personifies the current anti-Wenger sentiment by saying:
“So if Arsenal fail to win the poorest Premier League title battle in history, there must be a call for Arsene Wenger to see the board. No other manager would get away with it.
“He’s unearthed gems, financed some of their magnificent new ground and played the prettiest football in the division. And do you know what? That means absolutely nothing when you win nothing.
“In Arsene We Trust? Not any more. Fan after fan told me [on his 606 phone-in] that just qualifying for there Champions League every year wasn’t enough and I agree with them. For a team that is in the top 10 in the world and is probably the equivalent of a Juventus or Inter, it is not enough.”
This in my eyes is a disgrace and an insult to the man who turned a "nearly club" into one of the most successful and financially secure clubs in the Premier League era.
When Wenger joined Arsenal they were still looking for their first Premier League title and were comparable to clubs the size of Everton or Tottenham in terms of recent achievement and stadium capacity. Now they are up there with Europe's elite consistently playing in the Champions League. To compare Arsenal to Inter Milan and Juventus is an unfair comparison. These two clubs are long established institutions in dominating Italian Football and have been forces in European football long before Arsenal reached their first Champions League Final which was incidentally during Wengers tenure as manager.
This season has been deemed a failure by many after their defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, finishing 4th in the league and an unfortunate League Cup Final defeat to Birmingham City. What most fans don't realise is that top clubs are more than about winning trophies immediately. I understand that they haven't won a trophy in six years but what Arsene Wenger is building is an institution following a specific philosophy similar to Manchester United, Barcelona, Ajax and Bayern Munich. Wenger is trying to do what Busby and Ferguson have done for Manchester United and what Johan Cryuff did for Ajax and Barcelona. This kind of success doesn't come overnight and without setbacks.
Barcelona steeped in tradition and "more than a club"
If you look at the history of some of the best clubs in the world, the foundations are what make them great. An example is the length of time it took Manchester United to start winning major trophies again after the end of the Busby era. The same for Liverpool who hadn't won a European Cup in over 20 years until their defeat of Milan in Istanbul. It isn't a coincidence that when it comes to winning trophies its always the same clubs that keep popping up. In Spain it's Real Madrid and Barcelona, in Italy until Calciopoli it was Juventus and AC Milan and in England up until relatively recently it was Manchester United and Liverpool. Obviously there are brief exceptions to the rule, these are usually due to what Wenger would call financial doping or an exceptionally good manager who is inevitably signed up by one of the big boys.
Wenger made the idea of a new stadium a reality for Arsenal
This is what Wenger is trying to build, a club that can sustain itself by following a specific philosophy long after he is gone. Fair enough they aren't currently winning anything but the discord regarding his future at the club is due to a culture of short termism amongst modern football fans. We all know what happened to Leeds United, Portsmouth and West Ham, clubs who have all spent huge amounts of money for short term success with long term financial viability as an afterthought. When teams become successful fans start to suffer from tunnel vision. For example if you told a Leeds supporter after their run to the Champions League Semi Finals that they would be lurching in the depths of the Championship in 2012 you would've been laughed out of the stadium. Wenger doesn't suffer from this, he has tasted success and feels that it should be obtained in unison with guaranteeing the long term future of the club.
This isn't one of my usual articles, but I came across this podcast and felt it has to be shared with all those who have a love for the beautiful game. With guests varying from Michael Cox from Zonal Marking to Daily Telegraph football writer Ben Lyttleton it gives an enlightening insight on European football, I hope you enjoy.
Sunderland, Wigan, Spurs, Blackpool and Everton... All teams who Liverpool have dropped points against after taking the lead. This was during and after Roy Hodgson's tenure as manager two of Kenny Dalglish's three games in charge have ended up with Liverpool dropped points from winning positions.
Aston Villa aren't too good to go down...
Villa have only won 2 out of their last 12 games...
The match was distinctly average made up of long balls, head tennis and generally talentless football. Neither side proved their Premier League credentials. Villa looked toothless bar a few moments from Stewart Downing, Carew lacks pace and work rate and Agbonlahor is better suited to a 100 metre track than a football pitch. They better be looking over their shoulders now they've got Reo Coker and Petrov back in the side no more excuses...
Luka Modric is a world class player...
Darren Fletcher spent most of the game chasing after Modric...
He ran the show against Manchester United, always beating the first man marking him and releasing the ball efficiently. Bale, Lennon and Van Der Vaart are good players but the little Croat was the best player on the pitch in their biggest league game of the season...
Chelsea need to spend some money...
Chelsea can no longer rely on Drogba after his out of Malaria and as a result look toothless...
After threatening an overhaul of the team Carlo Ancelloti held back and it was business as usual with Chelsea. No major changes to their aging first team against Blackburn and a 2-0 victory. Didier Drogba still isn't looking very convincing, I'm not so sure that victory may kick start a title challenge...
Getting two goals against West Ham the Dutchman's return from injury has been long awaited and he seems to have given his side the cutting edge so many say they've been missing. If he can stay fit I think the Gunners can aim for a serious title push...
West Brom scored three and Blackpool scored two...
Ian Holloway's boys have been looking excellent this season. But against Roberto Di Matteo's West Brom side they were beaten 3-2. This doesn't look like a major result but take into consideration that West Brom lost their last five games and now Blackpool have lost four out their five games in January...
Former Spurs and Chelsea midfielder Gustavo Poyet has recently come out and spoken about the decline of the Premier League. Speaking to Reuters Poyet said,
"I'm a bit critical of the Premier League this year, I know people may not agree with me but I don't think it's one of the best Premier Leagues in the last few years -- to be honest I think it's one of the worst. Maybe it's more competitive and interesting but at the same time I would say there is not one team that is really better than the rest. Some say the other teams are getting better but in my opinion the top teams this year have got worse."
So what about Manchester United this season? They've gone into the year unbeaten and are through to the second stage of the Champions League without losing a game, where do they stand in Poyets opinion?
"Look at United, they are not even playing well but they are top. They deserve to be top, don't get me wrong, but if they are top without being at their best what's happened to the rest?
There is also a comparison to the major European leagues and a critique of the matches between the "Big Four" this season from Poyet.
"Look at any other league. If you go to Spain, Barcelona are top because they are absolutely fantastic. If you go to Italy, the same, the teams that are top there it's because they are doing so well and playing good football."
Poyet also said some of the matches between the leading clubs in England had been poor.
"I've been very disappointed," he said. "Apart from Arsenal v Chelsea, all the rest including the Manchester derbies and Arsenal v Manchester City, were awful.
"You expect more but it's even difficult to pick the best player in England. The Premier League has to be careful.
"I think the best players in the world give you something every week to be happy about. In Spain you watch Barcelona and Real Madrid every week and (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo are always, always giving something," added Poyet.
"The fans will think the money they paid for their ticket was worth it. If I go to Manchester every week it's difficult to pick a player ... the same at Chelsea, and I could go on.
"Only (left winger) Gareth Bale at Spurs has been exceptional."
Now it's all well and good making statements about the demise of the big four, but where is the proof? Have they really dropped off? Well I'm going to have a look if this is a case by comparing Chelsea and Manchester United this season so far and from the 2007-2008 season...
At the end of the 2007-2008 season English football was at its zenith, Manchester United were European Champions after beating Chelsea in the final of the Champions League. Out of the semi-finalists in the Champions League that season three out of the four sides were English. At the end of that tournament none of the English sides had been beaten by foreign opposition...
2007-2008 Reserves: Foster, O'Shea, Pique, Park, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Nani, Anderson, Saha
During this season Manchester United had their strongest squad in the last twenty years and this showed in their achievements winning both the Premier League and the Champions League. Its obvious from the reserves that there was plenty of quality cover for rotation or in case of injuries. There is also room for tactical switches, for example Saha was an alternative as a direct centre forward instead of the "false nine" role Cristiano Ronaldo player. Or if Alex Ferguson wanted to play a convential 4-5-1, Rooney and Tevez could go off for Nani and Park. This was a great squad as well as an exceptional first 11.
This season only Rooney from the attacking triumvirate is at Manchester United, with Ronaldo and Tevez being replaced by Nani and Valencia or Park. Now the first team is still made up of players from the 2007-2008 squad. Those players who are now in the first team weren't able to get in the side in 2007-08 so this either is a decline or the players have now developed to the stage where they are now good enough for first team football. The only changes have been the loss of Ronaldo and Tevez.
My next case study is Chelsea the side who finished runners up in the PL and CL in 2007-2008 season.
If you look at the current team in comparison to the one in the season under Avram Grant, just like Manchester United there has been very little change to the first team.
Current Reserves: Turnbull, Ferreira, Bosingwa, Bruma, van Aanholt, Ramires, Zhirkov, Benayoun, Kalou, Sturridge
The only changes from the side in 2007-2008 is that Carvalho, Makelele and Joe Cole have left and been replaced by former squad players Mikel, Alex and Anelka. With Chelsea, their reserves have diminished noticeably this season, in 2007-2008 their reserves were made up of established internationals. This season they have Turnbull, van Aanholt, Bruma and a declining Paulo Ferreira. These players wouldn't have got near the first team in previous seasons.
This season Chelsea's decline can be seen through their results - they currently lie fifth in the table having already lost 6 games out of twenty one. Two seasons ago having Chelsea or Manchester United lose six games in a season was unthinkable, but this season they have both looked beatable on numerous occasions.
2007-2008 League Table
If you look at the table from 2007-08 there is a clear gap between the big two and the rest of the Premier League with there being a massive 20 point gap between Chelsea and Everton. Arsenal and Liverpool as usual pushed them close but failed to upset the duopoly.
Current League Table
The current table shows how close the current league is. There doesn't seem to be such as gap between the big four and the rest. Why is this? Have the rest improved? Or have the big clubs declined? Well I think its a bit of both but the one overriding factor I feel is that Chelsea and Manchester United have both stagnated. What I mean by stagnation is that their decline has followed the frugal spending of their owners. They have both sold players but have failed to replace them and improve their squads.
Spending Figures 2006-2011
If you look at the spending figures for the Premier League for the last five years the three biggest spenders have been Spurs, Man City and Sunderland. Two of those are now the top four and the third is 6th compared to 15th where they finished in 2007-2008. Chelsea and Manchester United are 10th and 14th in the spending figures respectively and this can be seen in their performances...
One thing that does point to a lowering of standards in the Premier League overall is how easy the promoted sides have found it. In past seasons the promoted three would steal points off teams around them and write off the games against the big four. Blackpool have beaten Liverpool twice this season, Newcastle have beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and grabbed a respectable draw against Chelsea and finally West Brom have beaten Arsenal and drawn away to Manchester United.
Conclusion
I personally feel that this season the Premier League is weaker than it has been in the previous 5 years. I think the money has dried up at clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. The likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona have also done a good job of hoovering up talent from various clubs leaving very little for the English sides. This was reflected in the nominees for the Ballon D'or where hardly any British based players were given any sort of recognition.
With the January transfer window being swung wide open recently and the rumour mill going into overdrive, I feel its time to have a look at the best and worst signings from last time the window was open.
Best Signings
Firstly its time for the best signings, it must be the best feeling for a manager when a signing comes off exactly how you planned it. But as in every season there are some who have been better than expected...
Richard Kingson - Free Transfer (Blackpool)
You cant go wrong with a free transfer. Especially when you sign a full international who has Premier League experience. This season this free transfer was Ghanaian international Richard Kingson for Blackpool. He has spent time at both Sunderland and Birmingham but failed to convince.
Due to an injury crisis manager Ian Holloway handed first team goal keeping duties to him and he has repaid his managers faith in him ten fold. He is now first choice ahead of the highly rated Matt Gilkes.
Half of Europe was looking for an attacking midfielder, Liverpool bought Joe Cole, AC Milan bought Kevin Prince Boateng and Manchester United... Well they gave up and bought lots of strikers. Whilst all this was going on Spurs snuck in under everyone's radars and snapped up Van Der Vaart. To sign a full Dutch international with Champions League experience at the peak of his career for £7.5 million pounds is a bargain in itself, but with the performances he has been putting in for Spurs since his move have rubber stamped his move as a complete success.
He has made 20 appearances 1 of which was as a substitute so far this season and scored an amazing 10 goals. When looking back on when Van Der Vaart was signed his manager Harry Redknapp said "I took a gamble with him because he has had a hamstring problem, and when he gets tired he tends to get injuries. So when he gets a bit fatigued he does tend to do a hamstring or something else, and that's what I was scared of. I probably left him on for 10 minutes longer than I was going to because when he got hold of the ball at least he would keep it." When talking about his performances Redknapp goes on to say "he has been fantastic for us. He's a 15- to 20-goal-a-year man, and he has everything as a player. He's not just a goalscorer, but a fantastic footballer.''
Marouane Chamakh - Free Transfer (Arsenal)
The Moroccan international is another one of Arsene Wenger's gems. Signed for nothing from French side Bordeaux he has played 21 matches and scored 10 goals so far this season. He has also provided Arsenal with an Aerial threat and physical presence up front and Arsene Wenger has said about him that “He has all you want from a typical centre-forward that we have known before in England before. He fights for the club and works hard for the team.”.
Although he has dipped in form recently, I feel that these statistics and the fact that he signed for free might put him up for signing of the season at the end of the 2010-11 campaign.
Javier Hernandez - £6 million (Man Utd)
Signed before the 2010 World Cup by Manchester United, could've already been considered a very good piece of business after his performances in the world footballs biggest stage which led to him scoring two goals at the World Cup.
Since his move to United he has scored some important goals including the winners against West Brom, Stoke, Wolves and Valencia. His goals from the United bench have turned potential draws into wins which makes him invaluable in their hunt for another Premier League title.
Just to show how much of a bargain he has on his hands Alex Ferguson said "I think our scouting people deserve 10 out of 10 for identifying him before the World Cup and I think if we had been trying to negotiate after the World Cup it would have been very difficult," Ferguson also went on to say "I think a lot of teams would have been after him and it would probably have cost us two or three times more,".
Cheikh Tiote - £3.5 million (Newcastle)
After his move from Dutch club FC Twente Tiote has wasted no time in establishing himself as a first teamer for Newcastle United. The skillful and strong box to box midfielder has already drawn comparisons to Michael Essien.
He has injected energy into Newcastle's midfield and has shone in two games particularly against Arsenal and Everton. In the Arsenal game he shackled opposition playmaker Cesc Fabregas and helped his side to a 1-0 win at the Emirates. He was given recognition by The Guardian who covered his performance:
Now its time for those signings which haunt managers throughout the season. Whenever a manager makes a signing there is a spotlight on the player to see if the performances put in the player matches his value. Here are a few that haven't matched their values by quite a long way...
Christian Poulsen - £4.5 million (Liverpool)
He was brought in from Juventus as a replacement for Argentine Javier Mascherano and frankly he's rubbish... He's so rubbish he's spent less than 6 months at the club and he is being linked with Relegation strugglers West Ham...
Mauro Boselli - £6.5 million (Wigan)
He has played 8 Premier League games and he hasn't come close to scoring... Oh yes he has he's missed a penalty.
Signed from Manchester City after the sale of James Milner and he's done a very good job at showing why they froze him out and sold him. So far he has played 581 minutes of football, scoring no goals and has earned an astonishing £1.2 million his troubles or lack of them...
Well he's been so bad this season that his mum had to come out and defend him... And she didn't do that to well either telling Liverpool fans to stop "living off the past" and that the current side is "s**t". Well if that's the case Konchesky is doing a very good job at fitting in at his new club...
Even his current manager and manager from his days at Fulham, Roy Hodgson got the message in Liverpool's last game against Bolton. Konchesky was dropped and didn't even make the squad for the match.
Rumours are that he is already a target for former club West Ham, that's always bad news if you look at their signings in past seasons. One more thing I said earlier "you can't go wrong with a free transfer", well I lied...
Conclusion
Well that was quite a Liverpool heavy flop section, its not been the best of seasons for the Merseyside club who could soon be counting their manager in the flop section. But in a time when teams can't splash out as much as they used to, we're a bit short on flops this season as teams now bother to do their scouting or don't bother signing anyone. With the successes, they could easily turn into flops if they're not careful as there still is the second half of the season to go, penalties to be missed and managers to fall out with, we shall see what happens. As usual thanks for reading....
With all this talk about Carlos Tevez and his Rambo-like one man war against the powers that be at Manchester City, I thought it would be good idea to look back at past player v club disputes to see if the past can give us an idea of what the outcome of Mr Tevez's war will be.
William Gallas - Chelsea
We all know that William Gallas is a volatile character at the best of times, but his behaviour before leaving Chelsea was shocking even for his standards.
Gallas' contract was due to expire at the end of the season and when Chelsea offered him an extension it wasn't to the defenders liking. Following this he started working on finding his way out of Chelsea as quickly as possible.
He failed to turn up for pre-season training which Chelsea were holding in Los Angeles during a tour of the United States. This was after a transfer request he handed to the club was rejected as he was seen as too important to the club. His manager at the time Jose Mourinho responded to his behaviour by saying "It's not only me that is upset - we're all upset," said Mourinho. "Everybody is upset because we had a strong family and a strong group and this has shown a lack of respect to everybody and I don't like that." So he alienated his teammates and managers which made his position untenable at the club and made a move away from the club a real possibility.
Following Gallas' move to Arsenal stories were emanating from Stamford Bridge that Gallas threatened to score own goals if he was in the starting line up for Chelsea's match against Manchester City for the first game of the 2006-2007 season. Gallas went on to deny he made these comments but I'm a believer that there's no smoke without fire...
In the end Chelsea did benefit from selling a player they were so hell bent on keeping. They brought in Ashley Cole as part of the deal for selling Gallas. Gallas has gone on to win nothing since he left Chelsea.
Pierre Van Hooijdonk - Nottingham Forest
He joined Nottingham Forest in 1997 when they were in relegation trouble and he was deemed by many as their saviour from relegation. The plan didn't work and they went down...
Van Hooijdonk promised he would stay at the club and help them back the Premier League. He did this by scoring 34 goals and forming a formidable partnership with Kevin Campbell (remember him?).
After promotion is where it started going wrong for PVH at Forest. The club sold strike partner Campbell, Club Captain Colin Cooper and refused to play key midfielder Scott Gemmil after he refused to sign a new contract. Enough was enough, PVH felt the club had gone back on promises made to him about allowing him to leave the club after promotion or about making new signings to help the club stay up (those are the two main reasons given), he decided to go on strike.
This was a time when clubs generally had power over their players unlike the current climate where player power reigns supreme. He missed the first 11 games of the season during which he refused to play and spent most of his time in Holland. The Club didn't give in to his demands and refused to sell him during the season, PVH did in the end give up and played a few games for Forest, but this didn't help much...
Nottingham Forest ended up relegated and PVH managed to jump ship and moved to Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem. But this curious tale didn't end there PVH did return to the club... To sue it for unpaid bonuses, the clubs response to this was to release a statement saying, "The club intends a counter-claim based on the damage the player inflicted on his own transfer value by taking strike action and his inability to perform during his final season at the City Ground." This case ended up in an out of court settlement for PVH...
In the end Forest did manage to keep the player even after he went on strike. But the question is was it worth it? If they had sold him at the time of his strike he would've brought in a handsome fee because they didn't he left for a cut price and came back to haunt the club in the courts.
Nicolas Anelka - Arsenal
This is the man who became know as "Le Sulk" after his and his agent (who is also his brother) antics in order to engineer a move to Real Madrid.
It all started in May 1999, the President of French Club Olympique de Marseille complained publicly that Anelka was continuously calling his club asking for them to sign him. Seven days later Anelka's agents were in talks with Real Madrid's...
With his brothers touting him across Europe to clubs which included Juventus, Lazio and Real Madrid. Arsenal tried to retain his services but only to hear Anelka come our publicly and say "My priority is to join Real Madrid but if that does not work out why not Lazio? I prefer that than to return to Arsenal," Just in case anyone is still wondering, He wanted to leave...Just in case the Arsenal Board missed this he went on to accuse the of making an illegal approach from him while he was at Paris St Germain.
Following this to ensure he is allowed to move Anelka threatens to strike, releasing a statement through his agent saying "Arsenal must hurry if they want to conclude a deal - if not Nicolas will stay a year without playing. That's no problem," This isn't exactly the most civil way of handing in a transfer request.
In the end Anelka and his agents managed to arrange a transfer to Real Madrid which cost the Spanish giants 23.5 million pounds and Anelka a decent career as he went on to move between numerous clubs around Europe.
Goran Pandev & Cristian Ledesma - Lazio
Well this is a strange one, these two players were key players at Lazio at the time. Problems arose when both players were running down. With Pandev the problem was that he declared he wanted to leave the club and with Ledesma it was over the financial aspects of a new contract. Both refused to refused to sign new contracts.
Both players were frozen out of the first team by the clubs owner Claudio Lotito. He branded both of them rebels and refused to sell either, he even rejected a €13,000,000 bid for Pandev from Zenit St Petersburg. Now what the difference between the two players was, was the difference in their responses to the situation.
Pandev who was attracting interest from various European clubs stuck to his guns and went to the footballing courts in Italy. He felt that he was unfairly treated and that Lazio had breached the contract he has signed with them. He also went further and requested that Lazio terminate his contract. In the end the courts ruled in Pandev's favour and ordered Lazio to release him and on top of that pay him €170,000 for emotional distress. After this he went on to join rivals Inter Milan and win the European Cup the following season.
In the end Ledesma was put in position where he had to sign a new contract and Pandev was allowed to leave the club. I feel this example at Lazio shows that player power without direction can be controlled.
Conclusion
Well after those examples I hope that Carlitos sees that throwing the toys out of the pram works in the short term but it isn't always the best thing to do. I mean so far the hierarchy have been understanding with regards to his homesickness by giving him leave so he can see his children in Argentina. But if it comes down to it with the wealth City have at their disposal, it would be a drop in the ocean to allow him to rot in the reserves until his contract expires (a bit like the Lazio incident). But I feel that in the end this might just be a bit of Rooney-like posturing for a new contract. If this isn't the case I feel Tevez may have bitten of more than he can chew.
I know its obvious but its been bugging me. Its been nearly a third of the season has gone and I've enjoyed watching Bolton play... Yes that's right they've been playing some tremendous football this season and winning.
West Ham, Wigan and past West Brom teams have tried to play expansive attractive football and have been trampled on by less aesthetically pleasing sides like Stoke, Blackburn and Birmingham. But this Bolton side has the steel it had under Sam Allardyce and Gary Megson and now creativity and attacking endeavor gained from relatively new manager Owen Coyle.
The names on the team sheet are still the same from last season. Coyle has made five signings three of which were free transfers and the other two were for the combined value of 2.2 Million, which in todays' market is next to nothing. So whats changed?
Line up for Owen Coyles first game v Arsenal 07/01/2010
Line Up For Their Last League Game V Newcastle 20/11/2010
I personally think Owen Coyle has proved himself as a top class manager, and yes this is another if only he was English moment... Coyle has come into the club and reinvigorated it, Bolton are no longer happy to play their role as the kick and rush team willing to bully team out of games. They are now a well organised outfit that can play some good stuff and still maintain the physical aspect of their style. This can be seen in their 5-1 demolition of Newcastle, during this match they put in 31 tackles which is an amazing figure for a team which you wouldn't say was on the back foot for most of the game.
Coyle has a team full of Megson signings and is succeeding. The players who've impressed me this season are Chung-Yong Lee, Stuart Holden, Johan Elmander and everyone's favourite Gary Cahill. Lee was impressive last season and was dubbed the most underrated footballer in the Premier League by Fourfourtwo Magazine. This season he's played 14 games contributing with two goals and five assists.
Holden is playing his first full season for Bolton has already been on the score sheet scoring his first goal for the club during a victory against Wolves. He is a box to box midfielder who supports the attack but also puts in a shift defensively. He has all the attributes to be a solid Premier League midfielder in the long term.
Johan Elmander has been one of the more obvious successes this season, he is a completely different player to the one who was signed and had his confidence destroyed by Gary Megson. This season he is looking like a poor mans Zlatan Ibrahimovic and that is not an insult by any stretch of the imagination. He has scored 8 goals and provided 4 for his colleagues.
And now time for Gary Cahill, touted as a future England defender has been solid at the back for Bolton. Cahill has always been rated since joining Bolton, and was voted players' player of the year 2008-2009 but this season I feel he is getting more recognition as he is part of a more successful team. Other than the red card against Arsenal he has been excellent.
The notable thing about these players bar Elmander they are still at the beginnings of their football careers and will improve. Coyle has galvanised his squad of young unproven players supported by hard working solid players like former Luton man Matt Taylor, effective target man Kevin Davies and the reliable and efficient Paul Robinson at left back. They also have the benefit of the most underrated goalkeeper in the history of English football Jussi Jaaskelainen. This season I feel they may be able to finish as high as the top six.
The only worry is will Bolton be able to keep them together to reap the benefits of this young side in the long term? Or will they be able to keep hold of Coyle? With their well documented financial problems I'm not so sure, but for at least this season I feel they are the most improved side in the league.
Well another England friendly and another false dawn this time led by Andy Carrol, Keiran Gibbs and Jordan Henderson. After England's shocking performance in South Africa, the footballing establishment and fans are desperate for some kind of light at the end of the tunnel and capping young players seems to be that.
The thing is nothing that is being brought in is better than the original World Cup squad. Someone said to be that some of the newer players just seem like nicer guys, the problem with this is that it isn't a popularity contest its top level football. England are going through the motions they've been through previously, instead of bringing in Peter Crouch now they're calling up Andy Carrol the lanky Newcastle target man.
I really don't think that bringing a target man into the equation will fix anything. The problem with England is far deeper than that, it goes down to the basic philosophy and culture of English football. English players are very successful at their clubs where their skills are supplemented by their foreign colleagues, but when the foreigners aren't there to support them they fail to replicate their domestic form.
The line up for the friendly against France shows how futile the changes being made are. Firstly Joe Hart is far better than Ben Foster so playing Foster is a pointless exercise. Why play Jagielka as a full back when Micah Richards is on the bench? I say this not because Richards is a world beater although he has improved a lot since Roberto Mancini became Manchester City manager but because he is a natural full back.
I still feel that when not injured John Terry and Rio Ferdinand make England's best defensive partnership although Jagielka is a decent player and has impressed for England as a central defender. This is England's best strength producing solid centre backs. These include Birmingham pair, Scott Dann and Roger Johnson, Bolton's Gary Cahill and Joleon Lescott. This is where the problem lies, too many players who have the same attributes are produced.
If you look at some of the English players playing the the PL, for example Walcott, Lennon, Wright-Phillips England top right sided midfielders are all one dimensional wingers overly reliant on their pace. Gerrard, Lampard, Nolan, Wilshire are all good players but again they take up the same positions on the pitch and are playmakers who expect the team to be built around them.
Gareth Barry England's premier holding midfield is nowhere near mobile enough to play at the top level but there aren't any reliable replacements. Lee Cattermole and Fabrice Muamba are all candidates but have disciplinary problems with Muamba being 6th in the most fouls committed in the PL this season so far and Cattermole has had 2 red cards and four yellows in thirteen games.
The problems up front are well documented, with the injured and out of form Wayne Rooney being the only England forward who has proven his class beyond Premier League. The others don't seem to be rated by Fabio Capello, my personal favorite is Darren Bent. He is a good finisher can play up front on his own and has pace, the only thing he lacks is Champions League experience.
So where will the solutions come from? Younger players? More Champions League football? I have two theories, one through concentrating on giving young players produced through academies more first team football and the other through allowing English footballers to move abroad and ply their trade in Europe.
At the moment there are two shining lights in the Premier League who show that with time and effort young stars can be produced and could be England's saviour in the long-term. These are Aston Villa and Arsenal. Villa under Gerard Houllier played with five quality English youngsters against Manchester United as I've noted in a previous blog. With Arsenal, they've brought through Keiran Gibbs, Craig Eastmond, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Jack Wilshire and Henri Lansbury who have all played for the first team at one point or another some of it including Champions League football.
The problem with the youngsters is that I'm not sure that they will get enough first team football. With Arsenal there is the fact that Arsene Wenger is under pressure to win trophies more than ever to end their four year trophy drought. With Aston Villa only an injury crisis has led to them trusting their youngster, its still to be seen if they will continue to play them when Stillian Petrov and Nigel Reo-Coker return from injury.
I think that a short term solution for the problems England face could be found if more English players move abroad. Just like when light weight foreign players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Nani when they first joined Manchester United have worked at the gym to adapt to the physical aspect of the English games. English players could go to Italy, Spain or Germany to learn the technical side of things.
The Premier League is far to rushed to allow players to focus on technique for example teams like Wolves, Stoke, Blackburn and Birmingham play simple direct result orientated football which doesn't produce international class players. The problem with this theory is that the values of English players and wages are over-inflated meaning foreign teams don't want them unless they are Gerrard, Rooney or Ferdinand who are deemed as unsellable by their clubs.
Overall I don't think the Premier League is the best place for English talent to blossom. The manner of the defeat against France just shows how far England have regressed in recent years although the domestic football has improved, only drastic changes from the top down will improve things. Like when Germany conducted their own overhaul it may hurt at first but it is now time to start thinking long term.
Well everywhere I look all I hear is X-Factor this and X-Factor that. Well if their was a footballing X-Factor who would be who? Well here's a few of my observations...
Cheryl Cole - Arsenal, Both look very pretty when they do what they do, both also had a major spat with Ashley Cole but neither are going to get to the top as they are all beauty with little substance behind them... Oh and before I forget just like Arsene didn't see it, Cheryl refused to vote for it.
Simon Cowell - Alex Ferguson, Regardless of whatever he says and does he always gets away with it. Its good to be king... Oh and both are trying to win things with kids...
One Direction - Chris Smalling, Javier Hernandez, Bebe, Federico Macheda, Rafael, Fabio - Fergie's kids expensively assembled kids...
Louis Walsh - Arsene Wenger, doesn't get on very well with Simon, was very successful a long time ago, but now everyone only seems to want ridicule him.
Danni Minogue - Old, from Australia and seems to be like by Louis.
Wagner - Stoke City, look ugly, but get the job done... Very little talent present either.
Katie Waisell - Wigan Athletic, don't have too many fans but seem to have an have habit of sticking around...
Paije Richardson - Bolton, no-ones talking about either but both have been very impressive.
Mary Byrne - Roy Hodgson, both out of their depth...
Matt Cardle - Chelsea, looks good and everyone thinks he's going to win everything... I'm not so sure...
I think that's more than enough X-Factor for a life time...
Well I know everyone's talking about the performance Sunderland put in against Chelsea, which I admit was a very impressive one. But my personal favourite performance of the weekend was Aston Villa against Manchester United. This Villa side looked fired up and put Manchester United to the sword for eighty minutes of the match.
When I saw the Villa line up, I was surprised as I'd not really heard much about Barry Bannan or Martin Hogg. They were up against the experienced pairing of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick, and outworked and outplayed them for most of the game. Like most people I was hoping they were English unfortunately only one of the pair is. Bannan is a Scotsman and a very impressive one, he has an eye for a pass which is very useful if you have aggressive forward thinking wide players like Marc Albrighton and Stewart Downing. Hogg is a ball winning energetic midfielder who is hungry for success after suffering a serious knee injury not too long ago. With the pace of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Luke Young, this Villa side look like a very handy side on the break.
Downing was looking very dangerous and gave Wes Brown a torrid time, he looks a different player to last season when he really struggled to make an impact. I've seen Albrighton play before in the Europa league where he looked very impressive showing pace, skills and also crossing ability. The way the national team is currently performing these two should be serious contenders for places in Capello's squad.
We all know what Young and Agbonlahor are about, Young with his dribbling and trickery and Agbonlahor with his lightning pace. Young won and converted a penalty and Agbonlahor did a good job of stretching Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic who had to constantly watch the space behind them.
Villa hit the woodwork a number of times and got forward with pace and in numbers Manchester United couldn't handle. This game should've been over before Federico Macheda's goal which swung the flow of the game in Manchester United's favour, maybe a more experienced side may have been able to close the game out. I feel that with the right guidance this Villa young team could be a real threat to opponents and a blessing for the national team.
Okay after seeing Tottenham's performance against Manchester United I felt that Harry Redknapp was shown up as a poor tactician for the umpteenth time. The are three big games in which he was shown up, against Werder Bremen, Inter Milan and yesterday against Manchester United. I'll be concentrating the the game again Sir Alex Ferguson's team.
The first thing I noticed was that Redknapp decided to start without a recognised holding midfield. He did this in the past against Werder and Inter and paid for it, this time it was at Old Trafford against United. Jermaine Jenas is an energetic box to box midfielder not a holding midfielder with both Sandro and Palacios sitting on the bench I feel this was tactical error by the Spurs manager.
Another issue I saw in the Spurs midfield was the presence of Lennon, Modric and Van Der Vaart. Three midfielders who aren't known for their defensive capabilities. Add Bale in who is now an attacking winger, there is very little protection for the back four in game where most teams would expect long periods of pressure.
With Chelsea and Arsenal who all play with one up front have holding midfielder which stops them from being over-run in midfield. All the teams who've taken points from United started with combative ball winning midfielders Fulham (Etuhu), Everton (Fellaini), Sunderland (Cattermole) and West Brom (Mulumbu). With no holding midfielder tracking him Nani had one of his more positive games for United as he exploited the spaces between the Spurs lines.
The decision to play Robbie Keane also baffled me. Just like during his short unsuccessful spell at Liverpool he was asked to play up front on his own. Keane is a good forward but he doesn't have pace, aerial ability or physical presence, therefore Vidic and Ferdinand had an easy afternoon. Both Lennon and Bale failed to provide him any support during the game and were fairly anonymous.
If you look at Manchester United's midfield Carrick sat deep spreading possession to different areas of the pitch with Nani switching flanks trying to stretch play. In the middle Fletcher and Park (tucking in from the right) are more energetic and mobile defensively than Van Der Vaart and Modric and they can get forward maybe not as well as the Spurs pair but I feel their role was to negate them. I feel that this was were the game was lost for Spurs.
Redknapps substitutions showed that he was trying to rectify the errors made with the starting line up, he brought on Palacios for Jenas but was unfortunate enough to have Van Der Vaart injured and had to bring on Crouch emptying midfield further, especially as United had brought on Scholes for Berbatov 10 minutes earlier.
All in all i feel that Redknapp was on the back foot from the start due to his selection of no holding midfielder and Robbie Keane as the sole striker. I can see that Redknapp is starting to veer away from the 4-4-2 he was so used to but the striker he has dropped is for an attacking midfielder rather than a holding one.
Well when there's nothing of note to write about why not create a dream team? This seasons been an interesting one if it was a normal one Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard would've scored a million goals between them and people would still think that Glen Johnson is a good player. Well have a look below and give me your thoughts and suggestion if you can do better?
Dream Team So Far...
Bench: GK - Joe Hart,CB - Alex, LB - Gareth Bale,
DM - Nigel De Jong, CM - Paul Scholes, AM - Rafael Van Der Vaart, CF - Darren Bent
1.GK - Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)
Has been very impressive this season in a relatively unimpressive Blackburn side. Lost his confidence after a poor end to his time at Spurs and with England a few years ago. Sam Allardice has brought the best out of the Yorkshireman even to the degree that Fabio Capello recalled him to the England Squad only for Robinson to announce his international retirement.
2.RB - Branislav Ivanovic - (Chelsea)
Not the most creative and attacking full back but solid and dependable also a threat at set-pieces. May lose his place to the returning Jose Bosingwa but is a very good centre half so expect to see him back in the Chelsea side. Scored the winner against Blackburn in a game with had draw written all over it.
3.LB - Ashley Cole (Chelsea)
Has just been proclaimed the worlds best left back by his manager Carlo Ancelloti... where has been the last 3 years? Cole is as dependable in the opponents half as much as in his own. Is one half of a deadly left sided double act with Florent Malouda who we'll discuss later.
5.CB - Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
He's been the only reliable player in a strangely shaky Manchester United defence. The Serb has the habit of winning any aerial duels and uses his imposing physique to its maximum. Is also a very good leader from the back as shown when United have been missing Rio Ferdinand their usual captain.
6.CB - Titus Bramble (Sunderland)
Yes... This isn't a typo and it isn't April fools. Bramble has played some of his best football under Steve Bruce at Wigan and now Sunderland. He is currently at the heart of the best defence in the league outside the top four and hasn't shown any of his trademark concentration lapses.
4.DM - Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Imposing central midfielder with the strength of a brutal centre half and the touch and passing of a number 10. He is here after he took on Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Ramires and... Won. He is a instrumental part of Mancini's side and looking like he's played in the Premier League for years.
6.CM - Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
The only Arsenal midfield who can pass forward with intent. Unable to get into Spain's national side but has been at his imperial best this season. Arsenal fans are probably counting their blessing after Barcelona failed in their traditional summer smash and grab.
7. RM - Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
9 games 5 goals and 3 assists in all competitions... Need I say more? Continuing his good form from the end of last season and has become a major player and also back up play-maker when Fabregas is injured.
8. LM - Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Has had a very good season supporting Didier Drogba, scoring 7 goals combined in league and cup matches. Who would've thought 2 seasons ago he was labeled a big money flop. Chelsea's patience has been rewarded.
10. SS - Carlitos Tevez (Manchester City)
I feel he is a world class centre forward with the attitude of a limited centre half. He will run all day for the team but the also score the goals needed to be a top class forward. Has recovered well from a unsuccessful world cup. Manchester City's captain and top scorer is definitely worthy of a place in this team.
9. CF - Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Fernando Torres, Wayne Rooney and Drogba make up what i feel is the big three in Premiership strikers. This season its been a "big 1" with Drogba being absolutely unplayable in some games. With 6 goals and 5 assists in his 8 games so far I think he could already be a possible footballer of the year.
Every season regardless of how tough the Premiership is looking there seems to a surprise package rising from the depths of the Championship. But which club is doing the best in its mission to upset their well established neighbors? More recently it was Phil Browns Hull City who beat Arsenal at the Emirates during their amazing start to the 2008-2009 season, there was also Ipswich Town under George Burley remember them? All the way back in 2000-2001, when the club finished 5th in the league.
So whats going on this season I hear you ask? Well in England there's Blackpool, Newcastle and West Brom who have all made encouraging starts to life in the top flight. None of them are in the relegation zone and all look like they could stay up.
Blackpool
Under maverick manager Ian Holloway are looking like a decent side, so far they've beaten Wigan 4-0 away and more surprisingly took all three points in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Three of their players have really stood out for me, Luke Varney with 2 goals and an assist, goalkeeper Matt Gilks who put in an amazing performance in a 2-0 win against Newcastle and Charlie Adam "the Scottish Pirlo" with his two goals and two assists this season.
The squad has been put together on a shoe string budget by Holloway who has a collection of rejects was all around the football world. Although its nice to see I do think they'll get relegated, a bit like Burnley last season they have enthusiasm, energy and bravery but I feel they will burn out by Christmas. There isn't enough quality in the team even the players I've mentioned earlier are decent enough but I don't think they can consistently perform at the highest level.
Newcastle
Well here's an interesting one, I don't think we'd be talking about them as promoted teams if Mike Ashley hadn't been so trigger happy by getting rid of Sam Allardyce. Big Sam isn't the best in the business but is a specialist at making sure teams survive which is exactly what Newcastle needed the season they went down.
Currently on paper they have the strongest line up, with two Argentina internationals in the form of Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini, the sometimes controversial Joey Barton and the inconsistent but troublesome Andy Carrol. Carrol has now scored 5 goals in 8 Premier League games and Barton has scored 1 and set up 2 from the heart of the Newcastle midfield this season.
Like Blackpool they haven't spent too much with their most high profile signing being Sol Campbell on a free transfer who's experience I feel they will need to use to ensure they stay up this season.
A weakness if feel with the club is Chris Hughton who I'm not too sure about as a manager, I feel that if results go against Newcastle he may struggle controlling the dressing room which is full of strong characters like Kevin Nolan, Andy Carrol and Joey Barton. The board at Newcastle also isn't renowned for its patience and if anything will cost Newcastle their place in the top flight it could be dressing room and boardroom instability.
West Brom
Now I feel that Roberto Di Matteo's side are an interesting prospect. They are the biggest spenders out of the new boys with a total of 9.5 million pounds on various players to strengthen their squad. They have already spent some time in the top four (although it was only one night) I feel that they may have what it takes to stay up.
At the start of the season I saw them sell two of their "best" players in the shapes of Robert Koren and Jonathon Greening. This didn't look very promising, but what Di Matteo has done is sign Paul Scharner, Marc-Antoine Fortune and Peter Odemwingie. Both Scharner and Fortune are hard working players who have both been involved in relegation scraps for various clubs and Odemwingie off the back of the World Cup adds a bit of class up front.
Simon Tchoyi who made his debut against Manchester United I feel could be West Brom's surprise weapon. The former Redbull Salzburg winger put in a man of the match performance in a 2-1 victory against Manchester City and then went on to score the equalizer against Manchester United in an impressive 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. They are currently on an impressive 6 match unbeaten run including wins over Fulham and Birmingham City, I really do think they have a real chance of avoiding relegation.
Is it easier this season?
With all three promoted sides looking like they have a real possibility of staying up, the question is why? I personally feel that there are far too many predictable teams in the Premiership at the moment. Sides like Blackburn, Wolves, Stoke and Birmingham while decent at home are liable to drop important points on their travels. There are also teams like Wigan, West Ham and Fulham who have a soft centre (lack the power and industry of the teams mentioned earlier) and are very inconsistent both home and away.
In what Sky Sports for sales purposes labels "the best league in the world" I don't feel there is the quality in the bottom half of the table to make life difficult for the new boys this season. A counter argument to this is that the Championship is such a tough league that the promoted teams are better prepared for life in the top flight this. I can only discredit this argument with this article written by the rather articulate former England goalkeeper David James.
Conclusion
For this season I hope that sides like Stoke and Wolves are punished and sides with endeavor and creativity like Blackpool and West Brom stay up, this is the only way the league will improve. But my prediction this season is from the promoted sides, Blackpool will go down but West Brom and Newcastle will stay up at the expense of West Ham and Wolves.
