Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle insists a couple of recent disappointing results does not mean their season has been a failure.Bolton fans were left deflated by the comprehensive 5-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat their side suffered at the hands of Stoke City at Wembley two weekends ago.
Although they bounced back in the Premier League with a fine 2-1 win over Arsenal, Bolton went down 3-0 at Fulham in midweek.
But they travel to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday looking for the best possible end to the campaign.
“Our motivation is to finish the season as strongly as we can,” Coyle said on Friday.
“I never thought about getting into Europe, I just want to improve Bolton Wanderers from one season to the next.”
“I am flattered people thought we might qualify for Europe because we were favourites for relegation when I came into this job.”
“We were in the bottom three and for people to say we would do so well shows how much progress this club has made, having spent very little money.”
“There are huge clubs below us in the table who have spent over 20 million pounds so we are pleased with how the season has gone.”
“We now have to finish the season strongly then look for areas we can improve.”
Bolton will be shorn of a few players at Blackburn, but Coyle has done his best to patch up the side.
Those who are fit to play will know local bragging rights are at stake in this Lancashire derby.
“It’s fair to say that we will be short of numbers but the ones that are fit and available will be doing everything in their power to win a local derby,” he said.
“Mark Davies will have a scan on his ankle. He had a few problems last season but this year he had been doing ever so well, up until he turned it late on at Birmingham.”
“He hasn’t been right since and hasn’t felt quite 100 percent. We want to get to the bottom of it and nip it in the bud so that it is sorted out properly. Hopefully it won’t be too bad.”
“Unfortunately, Daniel Sturridge wasn’t quite fit for Fulham but he has responded to treatment – he will be touch and go. We don’t do anything detrimental to Daniel and we need to show consideration to his parent club Chelsea who have loaned him to us.”
“We have to do what is right by everybody. Yes we want him fit and available because he has been sensational for us, but we need to look at the bigger picture.”
“Gretar Steinsson is a big doubt. He has jarred his knee and at this moment I would say that it will be highly unlikely he will play at Blackburn. But he is the type of lad to play through the pain barrier, so we will wait until the last moment and take it from there.”
Defender Sam Ricketts (Achilles) and midfielders Sean Davis and Stuart Holden (both knee) will definitely not play.
It’s one thing to watch your team play badly, but having to watch them in what can only be described as a major fashion faux pas is just unforgiveable. From clashing colours, to odd pictures and animal-esque designs (yes I’m being deadly serious), football isn’t quite the beautiful game when it comes to designing kits. It appears from my ‘research’ that the 1990’s and Mexico’s keeper Jorge Campos are the main culprits for offending our eyes week in week out, without even so much as an apology. Put some of these on a canvas and we would be comparing them to Picasso’s masterpieces, but on a football pitch on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm, and the game is lost before a ball is even kicked.
To sum up the horrors I have seen, even David Beckham would struggle for sex appeal in these…oh who are we kidding? The guy would easily pull off Tiger stripes.
Click on Stade de Francais to see the worst 20 kits of our time
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It would be perhaps be a step too far to call the Premier League anti-competitive, but you could have a fair bet that the top six in the Premier League next season would be Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool – but it remains to be seen in which order those teams will finish; but it would be a surprise if a different club appeared in those top six places.
Teams that may look to break into the top six would be Everton, Fulham and if they can make the right managerial appointment Aston Villa may fancy their chances. However, do they really stand much of a chance especially given the impressive squads of the current top six? Chelsea looks set to return to their old ways and spend big during the summer and we all know that Manchester City will do likewise; but Manchester United are also looking for a big spend as they bring in replacements for players like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. Arsene Wenger will be reluctant to spend big – but they will also feel they need to bring in some new quality.
Liverpool’s £35m capture of Andy Carroll show that they are unlikely to penny pinch in the summer and even if Tottenham don’t spend big they already have an impressive squad and any players that leave will be replaced with quality.
The table below shows the 2010 breakdown of the current top six clubs financial breakdown:
Club
Turnover
Gate/Match-Day Income
Commercial Income
Wage Bill
TV Income
Arsenal
£382m
£94m
£31m
£110m
£85m
Man Utd
£286m
£100m
£81m
£131m
£104m
Man City
£125m
£18m
£53m
£133m
£54m
Chelsea
£213m
*
*
£174m
Unknown
Tottenham
£119m
£27m
#
£67m
£52m
Liverpool
£185m
£43m
£62m
£121m
£80m
*Chelsea’s figure is basically combined between Match-day Income and Commercial income and totals £213m comprising of football activities, hotel/catering, corporate hospitality, other commercial and merchandising.
#Tottenham’s number is £42m and comprises of sponsorship/hospitality, merchandising and other commercial income.
Now it is clear that these clubs are making a lot of money and makes it very difficult for other clubs to break in and in particular the income Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal enjoy from match-day and commercial income. It also should be noted that 5 of the top 6 clubs have a wage bill in excess of £100m, suggesting that clubs need to pay a certain amount to build a successful club.
If I then go back to the three clubs of Aston Villa, Fulham and Everton that may be most likely to break in based on how they finished last season and their previous records in the Premier League.
From a purely financial point to view Aston Villa are the best placed of the three clubs. Fulham and Everton face a significant financial shortfall from the current top six.
Here is another table shows the facts from 2010:
Club
Turnover
Gate/Match-day income
Commercial Income
Wage Bill
TV Income
Aston Villa
£91m
£24m
£14m
£80m
£52m
Everton
£79m
£19m
£10m
£54m
£50m
Fulham*
£77m
£11m
£11m
£49m
£42m
*Fulham also gained a further £11m as a result of being involved in the Europa League.
This really does show that it will be a big challenge to break into the top six next season for any of these clubs. Clearly the transfer spending will be significantly smaller than the big six and it will be very difficult for them to compete.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens with the financial fair play rules and there are indications that clubs will look to spend big this summer – because it’s likely to be their last chance to do so. But let’s not make the mistake to assume that it will make a fairer financial situation for everybody. Yes, there are positives such as it should restrict massive transfer fees – but what is considered within the means of Manchester United is entirely different than what is within the means of Fulham.
The brand and the income of Manchester United is simply too strong and whatever rules come in the reality is the team will always make huge amounts of income and be able to spend significant amount of money in the transfer market and let’s keep in the mind they already have a superb squad and facilities.
With the possible exception of Aston Villa the teams out of the top six cannot hope to compete on a financial basis. So their best hope of putting together a challenge is by playing the game smart. First of all that means having a top quality manager who will build the team in the right way, but will also not have problems from the board interfering with transfer policy.
Next investing in the youth system is going be very important to develop future star players and giving them the best chance of developing. So it will be important to both invest in the best facilities but also develop a world-wide youth scouting set-up to try and find the very best youngsters and get them into the youth set-up; a policy that will be useful to do anyway to help satisfy some of those home-grown rules.
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However, even by doing that it is still going to be very difficult because of the financial gulf and also the bigger clubs may also look to implement similar ideas and may have the advantage of also being able to bring in big-money signings. But the other problem that smaller clubs are going to have is keeping the squad together, which is an important part of the strategy; If players must be sold then the money will need to be reinvested into the team to continue the progression.
By doing these things then the likes of Fulham may have a chance but you have to feel it is a fairly slim one.
* Financial information courtesy of David Conn’s article -In sickness and in wealth: a guide to the latest accounts at England’s top clubs – click here to view
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It’s that time of year again. With no domestic football to worry about or comment on, and no international football until the autumn, attention inevitably turns to the clubs’ summer rebuilding plans, and the maddening transfer merry-go-round, as the infamous transfer window will soon open once more for business.
A transfer window is effectively the period when clubs can register a player into the club through FIFA. The window was introduced much more recently than I thought, in response to negotiations with the European Commission, stemming from growing concern at Commission level about spiralling transfer fees. In response Fifa devised a worldwide transfer system, including instruction for domestic leagues. The restriction of transfers had begun.
The system has been used in many European leagues anyway, before being brought into compulsory effect by FIFA during the 2002–03 season. It was only brought into full effect in the lower leagues in this country during 2005. The Football League was massively against its introduction, fearing it would further hit lower league clubs already struggling after the collapse of ITV digital. Eventually they succumbed.
So the rule is that there must be two windows, a longer one (maximum twelve weeks) in the break between two seasons and a shorter one (maximum one month) in the middle of a season. The specific periods depend on the league’s season cycle and are determined by the national football authorities. The Russian authorities tried (and failed) for a third window, because of the way their league is set up next season (it will be 18 months long!).
Of course, the windows do not prevent movement of footballers completely. Free agents can be signed by a club at any time in the season, if they had been released by their previous club before the end of the transfer window. A club can request to sign a player on emergency basis, e.g. if several goalkeepers are injured at the same time, as Manchester City did only last year, causing considerable outrage.
Like any change to the fabric of football, be it transfer rules (see also the Bosman rulings), play offs or even points per win, there will be those for and against the change. Any system has its pros and cons. So what are the pros?
Well, it has been argued that it has limited clubs buying their way to success (or out of trouble) towards the end of a season, by stopping clubs with ample resources purchasing extra players to get them out of a “pickle”. This way, with set periods when purchases can be made, means that clubs have to plan more carefully, and work with what they have. Some have argued that this also gives more youngsters a chance of first-team action, as managers cannot splash the cash to cover an injury crisis or a run of bad form – they must work with what they have.
What’s more, it does protect (smaller) clubs who have some in-demand players. As they cannot be snapped up by predators at any time, there is a certain relief to be had that come September 1st or February 1st their players cannot be poached in the immediate future.
And the cons?
Well firstly, is it fair? We live in the European Union, with free trade, movement across borders, and increased workers’ rights. Is it acceptable to restrict trade for a whole industry for the majority of the year? Should clubs not be able to purchase as they see fit? After all, the clubs with bigger spending power will continue to spend more, whatever the system in place – nothing has changed in that respect.
It brings on a fire-sale mentality, and often means that rather than clubs planning well and working out what they require for the season, clubs actually purchase too many players, knowing that they have a limited time to do so. This was Steve Coppell’s argument, when he spoke out against the windows in 2008, frustrated at the endless speculation in the press about many of his Reading squad.
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And if the introduction of transfer windows was designed to stop spiralling transfer fees, it certainly hasn’t worked. If it was designed to curb the spending power of the big clubs, it has failed too.
The main problem for me though is the January transfer window. Thirty-one days seems like a long time to sort out the odd deal or two, but it never seems long enough for a lot of clubs. And for teams whose season isn’t going quite as planned, it induces panic. Even for those that are doing well, it induces the feeling that perhaps some strengthening should be done whilst they have the opportunity. The end result is unnecessary buying and inflated transfer fees. There is little value much of the time in a January transfer window. Good for a selling club perhaps, but potentially catastrophic for those doing the buying.
And it seems that many people underestimated how much panic buying would happen in January transfer windows. When the BBC covered the introduction of the window all those years ago, they quoted the infamous football agent Eric Hall, who said: “I don’t think there will be any winter madness on the transfer market, with only about 10 to 20 players moving at the most. So it won’t affect people and clubs that much.”
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The fact is it does affect clubs. Even in the summer window, there is a period of panic as the deadline approaches.
The greatest downside of transfer windows must be the tedious succession of transfer rumours throughout the summer period and throughout January, which leads to a raft of wind-up merchants on football message boards who are “in the know”. They can never say too much, but their brother’s girlfriend works with someone whose uncle is a kit supplier to the reserve women’s team at Arsenal, and he said that the club are definitely signing Miroslav Klose, and before you know it, someone has spotted him at the airport, or sneaking out of the back entrance of the Emirates, or in an estate agents in Highbury. Of course these rumours would exist without two transfer windows, but the windows intensify the scurrilous rumours and petty wind ups, especially as the deadline approaches, and deadline day is full of these fictional sightings, made-up whisperings and fabricated enquiries.
And there is always one story that runs and runs throughout the summer, until every fan has lost the will to live. As a Manchester City fan, I hope Carlos Tevez remains at the club (though I doubt it), but whatever happens, I pray to god that it is sorted soon – if I have to endure another three months of will-he-won’t he rumours I may have to go and hibernate in my garage until September. But if it is sorted soon, the press will turn to Cesc Fabregas instead, or maybe Samir Nasri, or Didier Drogba, or……
The window can be a guilty pleasure, especially deadline day – you never know if something truly surprising is about to break (though more often than not, it doesn’t). But on the whole, I cannot agree that transfer windows are a good thing. Not only are they a restraint of trade (an important consideration for smaller clubs and the lower leagues), but they cause panic buying close to the deadlines that creates swamped squads in some instances, and insufficient squads for those that were forced to sell late in the day. The limited period to deal leads to more bad buys, and a lack of reasoned planning in my opinion. You cannot have an all-year transfer window, and the current system is certainly not without its merits, but perhaps the system would work better if the transfer windows covered a greater period of the year.
Rangers have announced the signature of Spanish midfielder Juan Manuel Ortiz for an undisclosed fee. The 29-year-old moves from Almeria, who were relegated from La Liga in 2010/11, and becomes new manager Ally McCoist’s first signing.
The Ibrox boss stated his delight at being able to add the Spaniard to his squad, and feels the former Atletico Madrid youth player can add versatility to the Scottish side’s squad.
“I think the fact he can play a number of positions was a big thing. He will probably run Steven Whittaker close. He can play a few positions, he is quick and he has played a few games at the very top level,” the former striker told the club’s official website.
The player however ends a four year spell at the Andalusian outfit, and revealed that he spoke with countryman and ex-Rangers defender Carlos Cuellar before the move.
“When the chance came up to come to Rangers, I spoke to Carlos about it and he only had good things to say. He told me the club is massive and that he was very, very happy here, so he told me it was a move I should make,” he stated.
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Meanwhile, ex-Rangers striker Kris Boyd, now with Middlesbrough, is weighing up a move to Turkish Super Lig side Eskisehirspor, and is expected to fly to Turkey at the end of the week to negotiate a potential transfer.
Wading through the thousands of transfer rumours surrounding potential United targets only one thing becomes clear amidst all the uncertainty.
If United are to add to the squad with a ‘big name midfielder’ then it seems Sir Alex is going to have to pay at least 200k a week to tempt the likes of Wesley Sneijder or Samir Nasri to Old Trafford.
In the case of Nasri, certain media outlets are reporting that the French midfielder is now leaning towards a move to the Easyjet Stadium after being tempted by the ‘astronomical wages on offer’ believed to be around the 250k a week mark.
While I’d welcome Nasri at Old Trafford, if he wants to earn a million pounds a month then I think he’d be better off plying his trade for Stockport’s finest. The Frenchman’s a talented player with a proven Premiership pedigree but I thought the whole point of United’s pursuit was that with only a year left on his contract he’d be available at a reasonable price.
Should United match City’s figure then paying around £12 million a year- say over three years -plus £20 million in transfer fees means a player that was considered a bargain would end up costing over £50 million. Now I’m no accountant but even if United do have that sort of money to spend surely it would be better served elsewhere.
Investing in a couple of less proven players for half the money may be a better bet than spending the cost of the entire 1999 team on one player which seems about as wise as buying a long haired chav for £35 million.
City can offer silly money because they’ve got it and seem to have a buy now think later policy when it comes to certain players. I don’t even think they need Nasri and wouldn’t be surprised if they did get him, and he ended up on the bench, but they can afford to be so wasteful while United cannot.
When it comes to Sneijder, it’s almost as though we’d be doing what City do in terms of spending a lot of money on a player who wouldn’t necessarily get in the first team if everyone was fully fit. That may sound somewhat ridiculous but if as was the case at the end of last season, Wayne Rooney drops into an almost attacking midfield role, then Sneijder may not be as indispensable as some believe- certainly not vital enough to warrant a £30 million plus transfer fee, then around £9 million a year in wages.
The latest reports suggest Sneijder, like Nasri is hoping his transfer could lead to mega money wages, although the Dutchman has Malaga not the World’s Richest Club TM as his other suitors so may find it difficult to convince United to pay him the astronomical type wages on offer at City.
The Alexis Sanchez saga- which is becoming almost as tiresome as the Nasri one, seems to have died down somewhat although there’s still enough United transfer rumour embers aglow to keep the smoke going.
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The Chilean at one point seemed destined for the Nou Camp and will more than likely still end up there although some reports seem to indicate a deal with United is still possible.
Sanchez almost certainly won’t be hopping on a free flight to The Jet2.com stadium any time soon after Roberto Mancini revealed the winger had turned down a move to City.
There’s no doubt that City told him the wages they were willing to pay to make him part of their ‘project’ whether he’d expect the same terms at United is debatable but it wouldn’t surprise me if he demanded them.
Sanchez is an awesome talent but is it really worth spending vast amounts to acquire a player we may not even really need? I’d argue not. With all the wingers available at United, plus Rooney’s ability to play ‘in the hole’ pursuing Sanchez may be a frivolous endeavour.
It’s obvious there is room for improvement at United, no matter how strong the squad is another top quality player could only elevate it, however any new signings should be made without breaking the club’s wage structure or handing out Rooney type terms.
Part of the problem may be the seeming lack of truly world class players available, which can make breaking the bank for one who is one the market, seem all that more acceptable.
People tend to forget that United have since the Premier League began, never been the richest club and have lost out on certain players because of that.
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In the early years it was Blackburn Rovers who were able to offer the sort of wages United weren’t hence their acquisition of Alan Shearer. Although they won the title in 1995, they were never able to successfully maintain a challenge to United’s dominance, partly due to the fact that certain players would rather have earned less playing at Old Trafford each week.
More recently it was Chelsea who had bottomless pockets and were able to convince the likes of Arjen Robben and Jon Obi Mikel that the sun shone brighter in West London than it did in Manchester.
Chelsea may have had success but four titles in five years plus three Champions League finals, tells you which club’s remained the dominant force in English football.
The point I’m making is that United don’t need to try and equal any of the top spender’s wages in pursuit of players, we never have done. Should Sneijder, Nasri or whoever feel they’re worth more than they can get at Old Trafford, I’d be happy to see them sign for City or anyone else for that matter.
Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High
The waiting is almost over as the Championship kicks back in to action on Friday night as Hull face Blackpool at the KC Stadium. For lower league fans all across the country the time is now upon you as reality kicks in. Will your pre season optimism turn to a nightmare? Is it inevitable that West Ham will romp home at the top? Can Coventry stay up? Will Blackpool go straight back up?
All these questions will be answered come May next year, but in the meantime, we take a look at the front runners in The Championship, and with plenty of free bet offers on offer now is a great time to pick out some value.
West Ham head the betting and it’s easy to see why they are priced up at 4/1 to lift the title.
Much has been made of Gould and Sullivan’s take over and the £80m debt at Upton Park, but the there are signs of a very promising season and a quick return to the Premiership will be all important for the future of the club.
Manager Sam Allardyce has made some shrewd signings in the summer, most notably raiding his former club Bolton of Matty Taylor and Joey O Brien, while Kevin Nolan has made the surprising move south from Newcastle to once again join up with his former boss.
Despite the slip down a division the Hammers still hold on to much of their squad from the Premiership. Rob Green, Scott Parker and Carlton Cole still remain, although it remains to be seen for how long, so much depend on new blood at Upton Park. James Tomkins, Winston Reid, Jack Collison and Freddie Sears are all expected to feature much more often this year and with a healthy dose of experience it appears that Allardyce has a winning formula. On paper at least,
Leicester City (5/1) are the bookmakers close second favourites, and its easy to see why the Foxes are seeing plenty of support. Sven Goran Erikkson has deep pockets at the King Power Stadium through investment from a Thai duty-free emporium, and with a squad featuring Yakubu, Michael Johnson, John Pantsil and the impressive Matt Mills in defence, who was superb for Reading last season, the Foxes should have squad more than worthy of challenging for automatic promotion.
Birmingham (12/1) have also attracted plenty of support but its very difficult to make a case for Chris Hughton’s side. The Blues’ new manager has seen a host of departures from during the summer months, and with Chairman Carson Yeung under arrest in Hong Kong all is not well at St Andrews. The core of the side has been ripped out with Ben Foster, Roger Johnson, Barry Ferguson all departing and the future of Scott Dann unclear. Jon Spector has been brought in from West Ham to bolster the defence but it is clear that with so much upheaval it would take a monumental effort to secure promotion.
Middlesbrough (14/1) are another side that will surely be knocking on the door but they have been dealt a big blow with the news that striker Leroy Lita has joined Swansea, Kris Boyd has left for Turkey and with Marvin Emnes also rumoured to be looking for a move away the Boro could be a little short of firepower going forward.
They possess a great lower league manager in Tony Mowbray and he is to be respected, but with a tight purse to use automatic promotion could be a little too much to ask.
Cardiff City (18/1) continued the theme of change as Dave Jones stepped aside to let Malky McKay take over the reigns at the City of Cardiff Stadium. The Bluebirds were one of the most consistent sides in the Championship over the last few years but after coming up short each year, a change had to be on the cards.
Jay Bothroyd, Craig Bellamy and Michael Chopra may have left the club but their shoes have been filled with quality players in Rob Earnshaw, who returns to the Cardiff side from Forest and ex Rangers man Kenny Miller. These two could develop into a very productive partnership together with Peter Whittingham in midfield, and with arch rivals Swansea City playing in the Premiership, there is no better incentive for Cardiff this year.
Brighton (20/1) are still riding on the crest of a wave following successive promotions and it is clear that boss Gus Poyet is building something very special on the south coast. A move to their new Amex Stadium, together with the shrewd purchases of £2.5m man Craig Mackail-Smith, who scored 35 goals for Peterborough last season, Will Buckley from Watford and Will Hoskins who looks to have a bright future after signing from Bristol Rovers have all strengthened the side. Perhaps Seagull s fans are asking too much for another successive promotion but Brighton definitely are a team to watch over the next year or two.
Nottingham Forest (16/1) have brought in a new man at the top, ex England manager Steve McLaren has taken over at the City Ground on a three year contract with Billy Davis leaving the club during the summer. Rob Earnshaw has left for Cardiff while Nathan Tyson, Julian Bennett and Paul McKenna have also departed. Keeper Lee Camp is also rumoured to be on his way after an impressive season.
This may be a worry for some fans as it appears there has been a distinct lack of investment into the club, with Chairman Nigel Doughty indicating the club must ‘financially prioritise’. There are a few new faces, with veterans Andy Reid, George Boateng and Jonathan Greening all arriving in the summer but surely their best playing days are behind them, and Forest fans must be wondering when the big name signing will happen. Forest may be a dark horse this season but they look a little off the pace at the moment, in the transfer market at least, and with no further signings imminent a playoff place looks the most likely outcome.
Any of Ipswich (22/1), Leeds or Hull could make a challenge with Ipswich looking the more likely. The arrival of Michael Chopra from Cardiff, together with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Lee Bowyer are likely to see the Tractor Boys challenging around the playoffs, but it is vital that these players are kept fit. This may be difficult in the light of Chopra’s increasing injury worries, where he missed a large portion of Cardiff’s season. Ipswich do have a great manager in Paul Jewell and they should be a difficult side to beat this year.
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Leeds(20/1) look to be a little short this year with some big name departures during the summer really rocking the side, with Neil Kilkenny, Bradley Johnson and Kasper Schmeichel all leaving Elland Road. There are also serious injury concerns over Davide Somma and Luciano Becchio who will both miss the start of the season, and it is likely Leeds may have left themselves with two much ground to catch up when these two return at Christmas.
Hull (25/1) look to have a great balance in the side at the moment and with the calming influence of Nigel Pearson at the helm should do well. The Jimmy Bullard suspension will have annoyed the placid manager but the arrival of Paul McKenna and Dele Adebola should bolster the side, and a top six finish is not out of the question.
In the bottom half of the table Andy Thorn looks to have his work cut out at Coventry, with Marlon King, Westwood and Gunnarsson all leaving the Ricoh, and with deep financial trouble there are no transfers on the horizon. Crystal Palace also look like a side teetering on the edge but could well stay up with the impressive Dougie Freedman at the helm and the arrival of Glenn Murray from Brighton.
The rest should play out mid table mediocrity and survive for another year
David James is a feature writer at http://www.onlinebookmakers.co.uk, bookmakers free bets directory and can be contacted at [email protected]
Football is getting more expensive. Everything about it is inflating so rapidly the whole thing could just explode. Ticket prices, T.V. revenues, player prices and player wages are now so high that you could be forgiven for falling behind. For people of the younger generation who’ve grown up alongside the prices, the stories of the old days do not seem real. An old friend (literally), told me that when he was a kid he could get the bus to White Hart Lane, his matchday ticket, programme, chips, and the bus home again and have change from a pound. You would probably assume this man is older than time itself or at least in his 80’s, but he is actually only 55. Six years younger than Arsene Wenger.
This may go some way to explaining some of Arsene’s recent activity in the transfer market. When I saw his bid for Gary Cahill last week it struck me that Mr Wenger may be labouring under the impression that he is still in the early 90’s.
Is Arsene living in his own groundhog year? His Casio Calculator-Watch has gone into meltdown, and Wenger wakes up every New Years Day to find it’s 1992. In response to the harsh recession of 1991, he reduced his £12 million bid for Everton’s Phil Jagielka to £10 million. Sensible man, but I don’t think that’s how people do business these days. You can understand why no-one on the board wants to tell him what year it really is and how much modern players actually cost, they’re making a fortune while he pinches the pennies.
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The £6 million bid for Bolton’s Cahill is such a wonderfully low bid, so brilliantly far away from the Club’s very public valuation that it stands out a mile from all the other business this summer. Just as his tactic of offering less money for Jagielka even though the first bid was rejected also stands out. Perhaps Arsene’s long-standing fear of buying English is preventing him from making a bid that might be accepted. After his disastrous attempts in 2001 that saw him buy Francis Jeffers and Richard Wright in the same season, he may still be scarred and understandably so.
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Wenger’s bids only really seem crazy because the world he is operating in has gone mad, still, it’s his job to stay in touch.
The Europa League as a tournament is getting increasingly unfavourable reviews over the past couple of years, with many managers at the top clubs in the group stage complaining of too many fixtures (although there are only two more games to be played in the Europa League than in the Champions’ League) and long away journeys across Europe, with teams from Ireland to Greece to Sweden to Russia taking part.
Those complainants, though, are missing the point. To a football romantic, away trips to Malta or Slovenia (sorry, Rangers fans) are what European football is all about – playing football around Europe. Tell me, how boring and hypocritical would it be to stage a European Champions’ League just for the clubs of England, France, Holland, Spain, Germany and Italy? Ask some of the biggest names not in Europe this season: Liverpool, Roma, Sevilla, Galataseray, Rangers. They’ll all tell you they’d rather be making the trip to Legia Warsaw than watching it on TV.
For Tottenham Hotspur, this year’s Europa League was clearly initially viewed within the club as a distraction, an obstacle on their path back to fourth place in the more important Premier League. And while everyone appreciates their need to force their way back into the Champions’ League if they are to advance, Spurs themselves are waking up to the beautiful opportunity the Europa League has presented them with.
Harry Redknapp stated at the start of the season that the Europa League was not a priority for Spurs, and re-affirmed his stance by leaving both first-choice ‘keeper Brad Friedel and star playmaker Rafael van der Vaart out of his 25-man senior squad. Although clubs are required to select a 25-man squad from which they are to choose their Europa League teams, they may also register a B-list of players under the age of 21 who have been with the club more than three years. Redknapp’s extensive B-list has so far provided the bulk of the players he has used in Europe.
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Spurs’ youngsters are benefitting massively from this precious opportunity. The team which featured in the second leg of the playoff with Hearts was built around youth-team players. Young striker Harry Kane somewhat outperformed his disinterested strike partner Roman Pavlyuchenko. Andros Townsend was a bundle of energy down the left flank. Jake Livermore and Ryan Fredericks controlled the midfield. There were opportunities for several more of the next generation in the away tie with PAOK, in which Giovani, Iago Falque and Tom Carroll started.
Tonight’s clash with Shamrock Rovers at White Hart Lane will see this trend continued, although this time Redknapp will seek to gain two advantages from the game – not only will he give his starlets more invaluable European experience, he will also use the game to give some fringe senior players, and a few returning from injury, a chance to show themselves worthy of a place in the squad for the North London Derby on Sunday.
Steven Pienaar, Aaron Lennon and Danny Rose are all set to feature alongside the likes of Kane, Townsend et al as Redknapp checks their progress in their return from injuries. Pavlyuchenko and Sebastien Bassong are also expected to appear, having played alongside the youngsters in both the Hearts and PAOK games.
The Europa League may be viewed as a distraction by many, but at Spurs, it is starting to be seen as a more important competition than the club had expected. Redknapp can rotate his squad, evaluate promising talents and reserve players in competitive scenarios, while still bringing in some extra revenue from gate receipts and prize money. Perhaps being part of Europe’s second-tier tournament isn’t such a drag after all.
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Leaving Old Trafford last night following United’s lackluster draw with Basel, feeling somewhat dejected, I immediately recieved two texts almost simultaneously.
The first text read: “Didn’t see owt of Carrick all night!” The second read: “Carrick MOTM IMO”.
It was the same when I visited twitter later that night, with some claiming Carrick was a “disgrace, waste of space, passenger again etc.” Others were tweeting “superb, brilliant, best player on the pitch, the only bright light in midfield.”
Looking at various match reviews it was the same contradictory tale, the Manchester Evening News’s Stuart Mathieson gave Carrick five out of ten describing his performance with the sentence: The midfielder was pretty anonymous and his usual protection of a defence as anchor man was non-existent
United fans who rated the players via the MEN website went even further, giving Carrick an average of 3.9 -the worst of any United player.
The United Religion had a different view, their player ratings noted: Michael Carrick 7- Was great with the ball at his feet, and Carrick showed that he could offer much more to the United attack if he could get forward, but limited capabilities from his teammates prevent that.
The Busby Way’s Facebook page was another example of paradoxes: Carrick was our best player tonight in my opinion and I wouldn’t trade Carrick for a pizza.
My own personal opinion of Carrick’s performance was that he played well, my only criticism was his attempted tackle on Xhaka on the way to Basel’s third goal was pitiful.
I’ve never been one for examining stats to see if a player’s performed well, I much prefer to simply watch a game and make a judgment. As I left the ground last night, I felt Carrick had been, behind Danny Welbeck , our best player.
The stats -which were all over twitter from the Carrick supporter’s brigade seem to back this opinion up with a high number of forward passes. That doesn’t tell the full story of course as many people will point to Carrick’s inability to fully protect the back four- as Mathieson did. I think this is being harsh as it wasn’t Carrick’s fault United conceded three goals last night- bigger fingers needed to be pointed at the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra who were both well below par.
The question is Michael Carrick: ‘Brilliant’ or ‘Anonymous’ in midweek?
Article courtesy of Justin Mottershead from Red Flag Flying High
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