It's been the strangest of seasons. Liverpool have had a massively successful season, yet so far have nothing to show for it. 97 points and finishing 2nd has got to be one of the biggest kicks in the guts any team has ever suffered?
Man City were maybe not as worthy champions as Liverpool were unbelievably worthy runners-up. Four defeats against one, both teams virtually unplayable - all season. They have made it a classic season. Except, apart from the token challenge by a Spurs side that already looked like they'd blown it - there was a point where, if Spurs won their remaining 13 games they would have won the league because they would have beaten the then two clubs above them. In reality, they played the last 13 games like a team struggling against a relegation threat and fourth was, in the end, gifted to them by the inconsistency of those below them, especially an incredibly profligate Arsenal, who really should have sown up 3rd weeks ago and ended up 5th.
You kind of have to take Spurs out of standard end-of-season reviews because they're a special exception this year; so if you analyse Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man Utd, the most impressive was undoubtedly Wolves, despite finishing three wins shy of 6th. They still might screw up next season by getting into the Europa League, but they did themselves proud this season and with that kind of improvement the top six will be looking over their shoulders next year. They're ahead of those around them by virtue of being the new boys - second season syndrome could strike if they're playing in the Europa League at the end of July.
Unai Emery had an arguably better season than Wenger's final one, but they still missed out on an automatic Champions League place, but might still squeeze in if they win the Europa; they have Chelsea in their way and there will be no love lost. Chelsea and their fag-smoking mad monk have won no friends and have become a slightly distasteful element of the Premier League. It is a club that is clearly not being run as well as it once was and you feel that they're going to go backwards, especially with a transfer ban (upheld after appeal). Man Utd fans were praising saint OGS 8 weeks ago; they ended the season with almost the worst form in the league and had they not had a good patch might have struggled for 6th. There's a lot of work and money needed to be spent there.
And then there was Spurs. Rediscovered the 'spursy' nickname with some awful performances and instead of salvaging wins from losing positions, they seemed to do the opposite this year. 13 defeats... 7 of those came in the days and weeks following the outside title challenge claim (they did exactly the same in 2012). The last player to sign for Spurs was Lucas Moura, two transfer windows ago and this season the club has been blighted by injuries, have played 4/5ths of the season back at Wembley and no one really expected them to get in the top four, yet they finished 4th and more importantly they did something else.
Looking back at the forecasts Roger and I made in August, neither of us did that bad. I had Fulham in the top 10, he had Watford relegated, I had the top 4 with City as winners, he also had City winning but only two of the others. We were as close as City and Liverpool in the end.
However, while that part has told part of the story, the season is not over. It has something special right at the end. The fact that Arsenal play Chelsea in the Europa final is an achievement in what is a far more unpredictable tournament than the Champions League usually throws up, but that is overshadowed by Liverpool versus Spurs. Yes, Spurs. In the Champions League they have been the team that refuses to lay down and die. They were less than 20 minutes away from elimination in Barcelona in December. They played some of their best football of the season by getting rid of Dortmund and played in two of the most nail-biting ties against Man City. Ajax should have been easy, but Spurs lost the first leg, at home and were 2-0 down at half time in Amsterdam.
Liverpool had not had an easier ride but they struggled to get out of their group and generally sailed through the knockout until they hit Barcelona. Despite playing really well, the reds got stuffed 3-0 and all seemed lost. Just less than 24 hours earlier they were winning 4-0 to mark possibly the most remarkable comeback in European football history. At half-time in Amsterdam, Spurs trudged off looking beaten. The squad, hampered by injuries, quite threadbare and exhausted, also hadn't got Harry Kane. Any Spurs fan would have thought at that point there was not going to be a grandstand finish; most of them were hoping we didn't get humiliated.
The last man to sign for the club, Lucas Moura, teaming up with a rejuvenated Dele Alli, scored three times, his third with almost the last kick of the match to ensure four English clubs compete in the two European cups. As a Spurs fan, all I can say is... blimey.
As a Spurs fan I'm petrified. Ah, forget about the final, I'm proud my team has made it, of course I'll be disappointed if they lose, but... wow, man. No, what I'm petrified about is winning it. Winning would maybe mean losing Pochettino. The players who want to leave to win a European title will have achieved it. Winning it might completely break up a once great thing.
I expect at least five of our players will never pull on a Spurs shirt after June 1st. Spurs have achieved top four finishes for four consecutive years. They cannot be considered as anything than probably the third best side in the country. The board needs to replace the players going and bring in a couple of others and that means rebuilding with players that ease into the team quickly; that don't need to bed in and will expect to be paid the money a top four side should be paying with the resources at their disposal. ENIC needs to take Spurs into the same areas as Arsenal as far as wages are concerned and that will cost them a lot of money and they also need more players... There's nothing to suggest that Daniel Levy will spend anything apart from, well, having to.
No one knows at this point what Chelsea will do between now and August. You expect Olly will get to spend some cash and then half a season before the knives come out and Dick Emery will continue to positively rebuild, depending on which European cup competition the Arse are playing in. The team that is no longer the joker in the pack are the team now punching at a similar weight, with a better stadium and arguably more money but most importantly greater expectations from the fans. There are no more excuses. Investment in the squad has to happen because we're at the end of an era.
The squad that got us here is about to fall apart. The first sign was Kyle Walker, but we coped without him. Then Dembele and we struggled to dominate. Now we're facing more departures and we're in a position where we have to look at our squad and ask ourselves not who needs to go but who needs to stay.
I expect Hugo to remain, I also expect Gazzaniga to take the #2 jersey and possibly an academy promotion to fill the benchwarmer's position.
In defence, regardless of age, Jan Vertonghen shouldn't go anywhere; he's got three years in him at least and what he can teach and what he gives makes him essential. Davinson Sanchez is the other rock and these two would be the centre two for the coming season in my team. It's the rest that are problematic; Serge Aurier won't be going anywhere, I expected him to get time, like Sissoko, and he's useful as a back up. There's a question mark over Juan Foyth but I feel that's fan backlash and press speculation. I believe Eric Dier is a confidence player and needs a run in the team to get him to the position that makes him important; whether he's got first team stamped on him is now a doubt and his temperament can be a problem. He's a better defender than he is a defensive midfielder. Ben Davies is also an adequate squad player and Kyle Walker-Peters is going to need to step up. What the team might need are new left and right backs.
Midfield isn't really a position we've considered a problem in recent years but next season it can't just be built around Winks, Sissoko, Alli and Lamela. It's remarkable that I can consider Moussa Sissoko as worthy of inclusion, yet he's proved his worth more than once and if he can score some goals... Harry Winks runs the midfield in a way that hasn't been seen for years; he always finds space. Dele Alli needs to step up; a good rest over the summer will do him the world of good and I believe that he'll be used deeper in the next season because he controls it very well and could well fill part of the void from Eriksen's inevitable departure. Lamela will, if injury free, be given one more season to see if he can consistently do what he occasionally does. I expect Oliver Skipp will remain part of the main set up and maybe another will move where he was, but we need three midfielders and one of them needs to be first team material.
Up front it's clear that support for Kane, Moura and Son is now a priority. There needs to be a goalscorer; a target man; someone who can play with Harry as the #10.
That's six players and guess what? Not all six are going to work out; we know that. We also know that some of them might take a year to get with the program. The problem we have is we can't really expect any more players and, let's be honest about this, we've bought about four players in five years that have pulled on a first team shirt more than as a cameo.
I figure we need to or will lose Vorm, Trippier, Rose, Wanyama, Alderweireld, Janssen, N'Koudou, Onoma, Llorente, probably Cameron-Vickers and, of course, Eriksen. I say, 'of course' because we could get £150million for him and that could get us three good players and meaning Daniel Levy might only have to spend another £100million on rotation players. We are going to struggle to find and then buy enough players without having to either keep some of what we've got or possibly doing a 'Gareth Bale' and spending a lot of money on a certain amount of unknowns - either that or Levy has to loosen the wage strings.
But that is to come (or not, maybe). Before then the biggest night in the club's history has to happen. Win or lose, I hope the boys do themselves proud.
Monday, 13 May 2019
Sunday, 29 July 2018
The 2018/19 Predictions
Football, eh? Fuck me we could all do with a break from it...
This year we are blessed with a Premier League without either West Brom or Stoke City who both of us have wished to be relegated for yonks (yet I don't recall either of us forecasting their demise the year they went down). There are more obvious candidates for the bottom five than the top five, but as last season proved, promoted teams are no longer the most vulnerable.
There is also the simple fact that with the exception of a few clubs, there's barely been any transfer business of note, which means a lot could change in the next 10 days, although quite how much immediate impact any new signing is going to have is negligible now.
Here are my predictions for the coming season; Roger's will either follow mine or be before mine, depending on which blog this is posted on.
Arsenal: Like Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery sounds like some vaguely bottom related ailment. The former PSG manager inherits a stagnant team needing something new to focus on. Another season in Thursday night hell will do them no favours and it's whether they have enough quality players to sustain a challenge for the top 4 that is of the biggest concern. Emery won't make many friends but he won't do bad enough to get sacked. They will take all cup competitions seriously as their only real silverware chances.
Arsenal: Like Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery sounds like some vaguely bottom related ailment. The former PSG manager inherits a stagnant team needing something new to focus on. Another season in Thursday night hell will do them no favours and it's whether they have enough quality players to sustain a challenge for the top 4 that is of the biggest concern. Emery won't make many friends but he won't do bad enough to get sacked. They will take all cup competitions seriously as their only real silverware chances.
Bournemouth: Is Eddie Howe the new Messiah? Well, he has more technical nous than Gareth Waistcoatgate. The problem is Bournemouth are punching above their weight and all they can realistically hope for is a campaign where they're never too close to the drop. Tough season where they need some of their 'investments' to stand up to their potential.
Brighton: In an alternative reality Chris Hughton eventually becomes the manager of Tottenham. In our reality this is unlikely to happen despite him being an excellent and under rated manager. This season he's going to need a lot of grit and determination from his players because, quite simply 18 other teams have more quality.
Burnley: It's the Europa League wot did it for them. How Sean Dyche hasn't been coaxed by a 'bigger' club is a mystery, apart from the fact he just doesn't fit the modern manager role. He's a modern-day Sam Allardyce and the chances are he'd fail at another club and his stock as a tactician would fall. Burnley will be happy with group stages of Europa, mid table and a cup semi - they might get them all.
Cardiff: Does the anagram of Colin Wanker have it in him, at his age, to be a proper Premier league manager or will the Welshmen crash and burn, again? I can't see them putting up a fight. The Spaniard who was at Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday will be in by Christmas.
Chelsea: The last time they had a new Italian manager I said they'd finish 6th and they won it. Like Arsenal, they are a club in a decline cycle, the new manager will be good for moral and form, but ultimately they won't be a team like others and will struggle again to break the top 4.
Crystal Palace: Here's a weird one. Based on form and other irrelevant statistics, some computer came up with a prediction that Palace were capable of a top three finish. I'm not agreeing with that computer, but I get the feeling this team under a rejuvenated Woy Hodgson won't be struggling this season.
Everton: Will the new manager turn this usually guaranteed top 7 team into a top 7 team? Will they win the League Cup? One of the season's mysteries because a) is the manager actually any good? b) do they have the players and have they bought anyone in that can change games? And c) Even if they can are they better than at least three of the six sides above them? Sorry Rog, but no.
Fulham: Puzzle time. This season's QPR? I've always had a soft spot for Fulham; nice ground, mad owners, some great players and with a manager who oversees a game as madly as he played, you can expect the unexpected from this team. Watch Ryan Sessignan; he'll be worth a lot of money soon.
Huddersfield: Seriously doomed without better quality. I can't see them having the resilience of Bournemouth and even though their manager is a really capable future star, this will likely be their EPL exit.
Liverpool: Say it with hilarity in your voice - this lot are the proper pundits' tip to beat Man City to the title. On paper they've filled in most of the cracks by doing a lot of their transfer work while others were pondering the world cup. Even more so than when the FSW or Brenda were in charge, there is an expectation this could be the year Klopp beats Pep, but I feel Liverpool, like Spurs, have forgotten how to win the most important matches and most fans of most other clubs would simply be excited at the prospect of a great season. However, the weight of Liverpool fans' is often too much for the players to burden themselves with.
Leicester: Obviously, they'll never hit the heights they did, but now they are also no longer regarded as relegation fodder. This is a big season for the former Champions and they will want a top 7 finish to maybe give them some more Europe the season after next. This is a club with some money and you can't fault their ambition, but losing Mahrez, their most creative player, will need to be addressed.
Man City: Honestly? You can't really see anyone else really challenging. If Citeh play to 75% of what they did last season they'd still win the league, despite whatever improvements there have been elsewhere. I'd love to see Pep throw all of the money and grandeur away and take on the job of managing Northampton Town for 3 years on £100k a year transfer budget. Then I'd acknowledge he's a brilliant manager, but while he has bottomless resources to essentially buy whomever he wants wherever it is difficult to see anyone else really giving this team a run for their money for the next three years.
Man City: Honestly? You can't really see anyone else really challenging. If Citeh play to 75% of what they did last season they'd still win the league, despite whatever improvements there have been elsewhere. I'd love to see Pep throw all of the money and grandeur away and take on the job of managing Northampton Town for 3 years on £100k a year transfer budget. Then I'd acknowledge he's a brilliant manager, but while he has bottomless resources to essentially buy whomever he wants wherever it is difficult to see anyone else really giving this team a run for their money for the next three years.
Man Utd: I
seriously expect this team to have moments of extreme embarrassment
this season. I have a feeling that Jose won't last the course,
essentially because I don't think he has the passion for it any more and
he would have preferred to have managed Man U when they were very good.
It is no longer a pre-requisite to play for Man U if you're a world
class footballer and only this team's quality will ensure they get
anything from what could be Mourinho's last season in football
management.
Newcastle: Why
is the FSW still there? With no money and an owner who actually is a
Spurs fan, I can't see Newcastle being anything other than the new
Stoke. They have two or three good players who will want a better season
or they'll be at bigger clubs in January.
Southampton:
The new West Brom? Mark Hughes is competent at best and is one of that
list of managers who always get offered jobs when they get sacked for
being shit at their last job. I wish I could be a football manager for a
few weeks... As for the south coast side? I expect a long tough season,
slightly less fraught than last year.
Watford: Who
is their manager this week? Won't finish in the top 10, this year, next
year or in 2050. Have less chance of success than Elton John has of
having a #1 hit while singing naked up to his groin in a sheep.
West Ham: The
wife and brother-in-law's team and one I have always had a soft spot
for despite Whammers' hating Spurs like we were the paedo that stole
their children. I never like seeing them get relegated, but I hate
playing them and they're often more up for beating Spurs than the Arse.
Pellegrino is a remarkably astute signing, but this is going to be a
year of general rebuilding.
Wolves: This
season's proper mystery. They have a manager reasonably unknown but
sounding like a fancy Spanish dish in a Michelin-starred restaurant who
appears to love the Portuguese (cos he is one) and have turned Wolves
into a real dark horse for complete survival. Many people of my age and
older will look at Wolves in the top flight and think that an order has
been restored, but I've always disliked the team, so I want to change my
mind.
Tottenham: I
was so wrong about playing at Wembley and I was so glad I was wrong. I
really thought Spurs would struggle to finish in the top 6 with Wembley
as a millstone and another tough Champions League campaign. In
September, Spurs move into New White Hart Lane (and play Liverpool, so a
nice easy start) before that they have three away matches and a 'home'
game at Wembley against Fulham. It's a bitty start, just the kind of
thing a team that notoriously screws up any chance they have of
genuinely challenging for a title by having crap starts to the season.
Plus, you have to factor in the unbelievably massive work that Daniel
Levy has done in the transfer market. So far, with August 1st just round
the corner (and a deadline that closes on the 9th), Spurs have signed
exactly 0 players.They have at least 13 players still on holiday
after world cup exertions and while it gives the B team a chance to
shine, Spurs could have a bench that resembles the local nursery school
for August.
The
'Spurs' fan in me, looks at all the inactivity, all the lack of real
depth, at the new shiny stadium that needs to be a fortress and all the
seemingly hollow bullshit from the manager about concluding business
early and getting the squad right and I really worry about this season.
However, the optimist in me is weighing up the factors against the team
last season and how well they did considering and I have to think that
Spurs are no longer a team that buckles at adversity. For the fringe
players there has never been a better opportunity (even if these include
Sissoko, Llorente and a few others who you'd be hard pressed to get
excited about) to establish themselves over the 1st team. I expect a
high finish more because of others failure to be consistent rather than
us ever really challenging.
Final Table:
Man City
Tottenham
Liverpool
Tottenham
Liverpool
Chelsea
Man U
Arsenal
Crystal Palace
Arsenal
Crystal Palace
Everton
Leicester
Fulham
Leicester
Fulham
Burnley
West Ham
Wolves
Newcastle
Southampton
Bournemouth
Watford
Brighton
Cardiff
Huddersfield
FA Cup winners: Man City
League Cup winners: LiverpoolBournemouth
Watford
Brighton
Cardiff
Huddersfield
FA Cup winners: Man City
European Champions League winners: Sligo Rovers
Cobblers?: Play-offs
1st Manager sacked: Claude Puel
A
new football season beckons, rising in a vista of hope, only to be
crushed by the jackboot of despondency. Well, if you're an Everton fan
at any rate. Actually, the hope is a little less ecstatic than this time
last year, so at least the onset of despondency will be easier to take.
Pass the happy pills, nurse, I'm going in...
2018/19
will see more insane transfer prices and obscene wages for the top
players, while my local team Northampton Town teeters on the verge of
collapse, stymied by allegedly corrupt former owners and and a brazenly
incompetent local council, the latest owner is thiscloseto walking away
in frustration. Ho-hum.
Anyway,
this time of year Phil and I make fools of ourselves with our annual
predictions. Last season I was spectacularly wide of the mark, reckoning
that Chelsea would retain their title! So, settle in for more
hilariously myopic crystal ball gazing...
ArsenaL: Unai
Emery sounds abrasive and vaguely anal. I know or care little about
what the Arse have been up to this close season. They have become the
West Brom of the top half of the table, consistently dull and
predictable. OK, West Brom aren't in the PL any more, but yer know
worramean?! Expect a cup win, and little change in their league
position.
Bournemouth: Eddie
Howe - a lot of Evertonians wanted him as Martinez' replacement, and he
had to be a better bet than Fat Sam, eh? The question is how long can
he and his team keep it up? I reckon this time round they will need the
football equivalent of a packet of blue pills to stay up. If Howe has
been poached by Xmas, then expect a relegation battle which they might
lose. Otherwise, a relegation battle they might win.
Brighton: Quite near Bournemouth, but not as good. Straight back down again.
Burnley: Sean
Dyche looks like a low achieving pugilist. His bunch of scrappers will
be in a battle for 7th/8th with my lot. We're quite flaky, so I expect
to lose, but the dreaded burden of hope makes me predict otherwise.
Cardiff: Hail
the return of Colin Wanker! What were his parents Dan Bhoj and Rosi
Ticl thinking? At least they're back to playing in blue. Another club
with a barking and seemingly clueless foreign owner. The bottom half of
the PL is full of relegation candidates with nowt between them, and this
lot are one of them.
Chelsea: By
the time this is published they might have sold Courtois to Real Madrid
and bought Pickford from us. Even though Man City epitomise the unlevel
playing field of modern football, somehow, it's still Chelsea everyone
hates. If they buy Pickford I hope they implode under a huge tax fraud
case involving the Russian mafia, and sex trafficking, the utter utter
bastards. If not...meh...6th
Crystal Palace: Woy
did quite well with them last time. If they sell Zaha to Spurs or
anyone else, as is likely, they could be in big trouble, otherwise solid
upper mid-table.
Fulham: This
flaky bunch of west Lahndan chancers have an owner even madder than
Vincent Tan, and even more unlikable than Ambramovich. Buy Wembley?!
Wtf?! For that alone they deserve to fail, badly.
Huddersfield: I
know absolutely nowt about this lot. Oh yeah...David Wagner, a sort of
saner version of Klopp. Will probably win the title. Or finish bottom.
In that case, 17th.
Liverpool: It's
their year! Unfortunately this time a lot of pundits and journos agree
with the fans' annual deluded nonsense, and sadly they might just be
right. Added to that this may be Klopp's last chance before he gets
poached by Bayern Munich. On the other hand, Citeh could win it in their
sleep at the moment, so 2nd, probably...hopefully.
Leicester: Their
fans still haven't stopped smiling, and who can blame them? Can't see
anything vastly different from last season to be honest. Then again,
Vardy isn't getting any younger and they've lost Mahrez, so this could
be the start of a slow slide back down the table. That prediction
probably means they'll win it again.
Man City: Money, money, money, it's a rich man's world. 1st, obviously.
Man Utd: By
some distance, the dullest team in the top six. Even when he was
winning stuff with Chelsea, Maureen had the demeanour of a bloke who
hates his job, now he just looks like someone who can't wait to retire. I
know the feeling. Wake me up before you go go, Maureen.
Newcastle: There
is a sizeable minority of Everton fans who, every time we change
managers recently, want the FSW as our boss. They can fuck right off. Have
they no memory? Anyway, like Phil said, how is he still at Newcastle?
Come to that how is that cockney sportswear spiv still their owner? More
mid-table fodder, unless Benitez finally does get poached, in which
case, yet another relegation prospect.
Southampton: Meh...wherever they finish, it will be next to Newcastle in the table.
Tottenham: They've
just played in virtually every game in the World Cup so they'll be
asleep for a few weeks, and then disorientated by their move 50 yards
down the road. Expect Harry Hotspur to get lost, looking for the new way
in, not being the sharpest pin in the box. Like Phil I thought
Wemberlee would be their undoing last season, but I was wrong, as per
normal. For the first time I can remember, Spuds have a resilience about
them, and actually don't look flaky. Except when they play Chelsea,
obviously. Will lose to Chelsea twice, but slug it out with Liverpool
for 2nd, and hopefully win, but I doubt it somehow. Third.
Watford: My
dad's team, so I've always had a soft spot for them. Right now they are
an advert for how not to run a football club. Will struggle, badly.
West Ham: A
horrible team, led by a likeable wily old fox. Unlike Spurs, the wide
open spaces of their new ground is causing them big problems, and
probably still will this time. Mid table fodder.
Wolves: I
used to like the 70s Wolves starring Derek Dougan, and their weirdly
designed main stand. I know nothing about them now, nor does anyone else
it seems. Therefore, they will do best of all the promoted teams. Mid
table.
Everton: Like
all clubs we have a sizeable number of idiots in our fanbase. This
time, they wanted Marco Silva sacked for losing a couple of pre-season
friendlies with our team of misfiring misfits, plus Richarlison. These
people are so short sighted they probably hold each other's dicks in the
loos at Goodison and don't notice.
Silva
wasn't my first choice, but he's got my support as he has of any fan
with two braincells to spark off. A bit of an unknown quantity he's not
been at any club long enough to really judge, so we'll see. The best
signing we've made as I write this on 29th July, is Marcel Brands as
director of football from PSV, a bloke who so far has said all the right
things, and in Richarlison bought someone who may be able to change a
game. However what we really need is a centre back to partner Keane, who
will be a great footballing defender, given the same partner for more
than one game in a row, and a left back. Jags and Baines are both
getting well past their sell bys, and Williams is just fucking awful. I
suspect we can't give him away, so perhaps it's best to have him shot
and turned into glue to hold Woodison Park together for another year
while we wait for the mythical new ground to start appearing,
mirage-like at Bramley Dock. I won't be holding my breath.
It will take three or four transfer windows to sort our mess out, so yet another forgettable season beckons. Frankly, all I want this year is to avoid relegation and win a cup, as it will be 24 long years since we last won a pot at the end of this coming season!
It will take three or four transfer windows to sort our mess out, so yet another forgettable season beckons. Frankly, all I want this year is to avoid relegation and win a cup, as it will be 24 long years since we last won a pot at the end of this coming season!
Final table:
Man City
Liverpool
Tottenham
Arsenal
Chelsea
Man Utd
Everton
Burnley
Crystal Palace
Leicester
Wolves
Newcastle
Southampton
West Ham
Bournemouth
Fulham
Huddersfield
Watford
Brighton
Cardiff
FA Cup: Arsenal
League Cup: Everton (sigh...)
Chumps League: Boris Johnson
Cobblers: Last day survival, both in a footballing and fiscal sense
First managerial sacking: Whoever's in charge at Watford
Saturday, 14 July 2018
England's World Cup 2018
As Spurs, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and maybe a couple of others prepare to welcome home World Cup winners, runner's up and 3rd and 4th place medallists, it's time to really examine England's most successful world cup since 1990.
Except, without wishing to appear like I'm jumping on a negative bandwagon, I do think in the euphoria of a semi-final appearance, it's prevalent to examine some of the things that obviously do not make Gareth Southgate a winner, just yet.
Jordan Pickford stands out as one of the outstanding goalkeepers of the tournament; he had one or two moments, but he's young and he was fearless. He was let down by areas that he would not have been let down by with a different defence.
The Defence: Against Tunisia and Panama playing Kyle Walker - arguably the country's finest right wing back and one of the best in the world - as a centre back, when there were two perfectly excellent centre backs on the bench was excusable, but once the opposition started to be more wily, surely that was the time to stiffen it up? Except, England had Kieran Trippier in the right wing back position and he was arguably England's player of the tournament. It seems that Southgate's version of getting Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard in the same team is how to play the two best English right backs in the same team and make the surplus-to-requirements Liverpool teenager feel as though he's there for more than a holiday with his bigger mates?
The problem is, who do you drop? One is lightning fast and the other is one of the best crossers of a ball since Beckham. The problem is, Walker isn't a world class centre back by any stretch of the imagination. France arguably left an entire team of quality players at home (and still took Giroud), maybe part of being an England manager is having to make decisions that mean someone misses out?
John Stones was solid and dependable; I have no complaints about his inclusion and I'd also suggest that Harry Maguire had a tournament to remember and one that will only increase his value. The problem is that I'd also have to say that Ashley Young had a good tournament; he didn't particularly do anything wrong and having an older head on the pitch was a good thing; but we missed the natural left foot and speed of Danny Rose, who never made the impact coming on as sub as he can when he grows into a game naturally from the start.
Eric Dier is as good a centre back as he's a defensive midfielder (he can also play right back) and he's a better ball player (and defender) than Walker. He could also have been used in a revolving back 4/back 5 scenario. Walker and Trippier could have played as alternating wingers.
I also could not understand why Fabian Delph was taken and used in a position he would never play for Man City in. Delph has become a good converted wing back, like Victor Moses at Chelsea and Young at Man U, but he's picked, and played in his old position because there's an embarrassment of riches in the wing back department.
The Midfield: I wasn't the only person mystified by the inclusion of Delph as a central midfielder, but considering England took a grand total of 7 footballers who can, have and do play in right back positions for their clubs, I would have thought that a couple more midfielders wouldn't have gone amiss. I'm no fan of Jack Wilshere but I think he's a much better player than Fabian Delph and Jonjo Shelvey would have provided freakish distraction allowing Harry Kane to score even more goals. The thing is for an England football team to be light of a midfield is not a positive sign, especially when there appears to be few on the horizon, excepting the injured players, of course (but would the relatively inexperienced Harry Winks be ahead of someone like Ruben Loftus-Cheek?).
Jordan Henderson actually had a reasonably good tournament. He was better than I expected or even believed he could be, I simply don't think he offers England anything other than workmanlike from midfield. He tries hard, but so, as some people say, do fat girls. The same can pretty much be said of Jesse Lingard, who, despite excellent moments, never seems to achieve what you expect of him when you need it. Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced Dele Alli for a couple of games and did okay, but it wasn't until he returned and scored that the Spurs man started to look up for the cup, but surely RL-C could have done Lingard's role, the way Dier could do Henderson's? Simply put, our midfield should have been more prominent. One of our tactics in the Croatia game seemed to be the back five passed it around a bit, played it back to Pickford who launched it up field - shades of Graham Taylor.
I believe Dele Alli plays well in central midfield, when he has his usual crowd around him; he's far more creative in a Spurs shirt than he was for England; the problem is - and this isn't bias - he's best as a #10 styled player and better in that position than both Sterling or Lingard.
The Forwards: Harry Kane didn't look fit. He hasn't looked fit since his injury back at the end of March. He's a player England have to play, but preferably when he's fit and up for it, not just the latter. Raheem Sterling does lots, sadly there's very little return in this team because they're not Man City. Sterling plays a specific way and doesn't read the game well, he's just tenacious enough to get consolation prizes for his greedy tendencies. Marcos Rashford displayed both naivety, nerves and flashes of brilliance; he warranted being on the field longer than Sterling. Vardy looked like he was at the beach. Welbeck might have well been - we could have brought at least another midfielder, even if it was just 'a potential' like Trent Alexander-Double-Barrelled-Liverpudlian-Lad?
England's Competition: Tunisia hit us back at the right time because that game was fizzling out and England needed a wake-up call. Panama could have happened to anyone half decent and Belgium was an almost pointless B-team game (as it will be on Saturday). By the time extra time arrived in the Last 16 match against Colombia, it was obvious that they had started to suss out our one routine from set pieces; the fact Sweden also sussed it but failed to do anything about it glossed over some glaring cracks hidden by how fortuitous we'd been with the draw. In the semi, Croatia really struggled with our set-pieces in the first half, but pretty much weathered the storm; by the time they'd collected themselves for the second half they dealt with set plays easily and started to play it around with some belief. Instead of being tired, they were fired up by their equaliser and anyone with half a footballing brain saw the best hope England had from that point on was actually penalties.
Southgate pretty much kept the same line-up, the same Plan A, throughout the entire World Cup. Look at a maligned manager, Roberto Martinez of Belgium; he changed things around against Brazil and Belgium breezed through that match with little to worry about. Belgium might not have beaten France in the other semi-final, but Martinez was at least shifting things around. My only criticism of Martinez was he didn't rotate his excellent squad enough and appeared to play some of his clearly less capable players at times - but what do I know? Some of those unfancied footballers won games for him!
When you look at how England got to the semis - Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden - you would be excused from believing it wasn't exactly hard (Albeit the performance against Sweden was largely excellent). Croatia - many positions lower than England is the laughable FIFA rankings - had experience and a couple of world class footballers and pretty much offered the young English lads their only real test. They reminded me so much of Spurs versus Juventus in last season's Champions League; the better team failed to capitalise and were then suckered and had no reply.
In general, this world cup was as full of surprises as the last European Championships. The early loss of Germany, Argentina and Spain opened it up and some teams performed considerably better than they should ever have been allowed to. No one is suggesting the competition was fixed, but Russia's penalty shoot-out defeat in the quarter-finals was possibly the most justified result in the entire competition. Russia should never have been given the cup; like Qatar in four years, this does nothing for the world game and loads to help line the pockets of oligarchs and sheikhs as well as shining a grubby spotlight on human rights abuses, which, of course, FIFA are blissfully ignorant of on an industrial scale.
The world cup is a bloated and unnecessarily large competition that stirs up unwanted jingoism from English twats (and others). It impinges on the far more important domestic football seasons and makes people think they're seeing stunning matches and a celebration of football; when in reality we'll lap up anything in a hot summer with no club football and Wimbledon. Equally, the same could be said for the European Champions League - which should be for Champions only and not an invitation for rich clubs to make more money (and that includes the exclusive club my own team is now entering). The World Cup should be smaller, maybe with just 16 nations, if this means the same 16 nations almost every four years, then FIFA needs to invest more of its banked billions on developing nations, on bigger youth tournaments (which allows these young talents more of a platform than academy or B team football), on ensuring smaller leagues are not only supported but encouraged to develop players from every country that wants to play football.
That isn't going to happen. I might as well argue with a brick wall because England got to a world cup semi-final! Just be thankful they didn't get through to the final or even win it.
Except, without wishing to appear like I'm jumping on a negative bandwagon, I do think in the euphoria of a semi-final appearance, it's prevalent to examine some of the things that obviously do not make Gareth Southgate a winner, just yet.
Jordan Pickford stands out as one of the outstanding goalkeepers of the tournament; he had one or two moments, but he's young and he was fearless. He was let down by areas that he would not have been let down by with a different defence.
The Defence: Against Tunisia and Panama playing Kyle Walker - arguably the country's finest right wing back and one of the best in the world - as a centre back, when there were two perfectly excellent centre backs on the bench was excusable, but once the opposition started to be more wily, surely that was the time to stiffen it up? Except, England had Kieran Trippier in the right wing back position and he was arguably England's player of the tournament. It seems that Southgate's version of getting Scholes, Lampard and Gerrard in the same team is how to play the two best English right backs in the same team and make the surplus-to-requirements Liverpool teenager feel as though he's there for more than a holiday with his bigger mates?
The problem is, who do you drop? One is lightning fast and the other is one of the best crossers of a ball since Beckham. The problem is, Walker isn't a world class centre back by any stretch of the imagination. France arguably left an entire team of quality players at home (and still took Giroud), maybe part of being an England manager is having to make decisions that mean someone misses out?
John Stones was solid and dependable; I have no complaints about his inclusion and I'd also suggest that Harry Maguire had a tournament to remember and one that will only increase his value. The problem is that I'd also have to say that Ashley Young had a good tournament; he didn't particularly do anything wrong and having an older head on the pitch was a good thing; but we missed the natural left foot and speed of Danny Rose, who never made the impact coming on as sub as he can when he grows into a game naturally from the start.
Eric Dier is as good a centre back as he's a defensive midfielder (he can also play right back) and he's a better ball player (and defender) than Walker. He could also have been used in a revolving back 4/back 5 scenario. Walker and Trippier could have played as alternating wingers.
I also could not understand why Fabian Delph was taken and used in a position he would never play for Man City in. Delph has become a good converted wing back, like Victor Moses at Chelsea and Young at Man U, but he's picked, and played in his old position because there's an embarrassment of riches in the wing back department.
The Midfield: I wasn't the only person mystified by the inclusion of Delph as a central midfielder, but considering England took a grand total of 7 footballers who can, have and do play in right back positions for their clubs, I would have thought that a couple more midfielders wouldn't have gone amiss. I'm no fan of Jack Wilshere but I think he's a much better player than Fabian Delph and Jonjo Shelvey would have provided freakish distraction allowing Harry Kane to score even more goals. The thing is for an England football team to be light of a midfield is not a positive sign, especially when there appears to be few on the horizon, excepting the injured players, of course (but would the relatively inexperienced Harry Winks be ahead of someone like Ruben Loftus-Cheek?).
Jordan Henderson actually had a reasonably good tournament. He was better than I expected or even believed he could be, I simply don't think he offers England anything other than workmanlike from midfield. He tries hard, but so, as some people say, do fat girls. The same can pretty much be said of Jesse Lingard, who, despite excellent moments, never seems to achieve what you expect of him when you need it. Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced Dele Alli for a couple of games and did okay, but it wasn't until he returned and scored that the Spurs man started to look up for the cup, but surely RL-C could have done Lingard's role, the way Dier could do Henderson's? Simply put, our midfield should have been more prominent. One of our tactics in the Croatia game seemed to be the back five passed it around a bit, played it back to Pickford who launched it up field - shades of Graham Taylor.
I believe Dele Alli plays well in central midfield, when he has his usual crowd around him; he's far more creative in a Spurs shirt than he was for England; the problem is - and this isn't bias - he's best as a #10 styled player and better in that position than both Sterling or Lingard.
The Forwards: Harry Kane didn't look fit. He hasn't looked fit since his injury back at the end of March. He's a player England have to play, but preferably when he's fit and up for it, not just the latter. Raheem Sterling does lots, sadly there's very little return in this team because they're not Man City. Sterling plays a specific way and doesn't read the game well, he's just tenacious enough to get consolation prizes for his greedy tendencies. Marcos Rashford displayed both naivety, nerves and flashes of brilliance; he warranted being on the field longer than Sterling. Vardy looked like he was at the beach. Welbeck might have well been - we could have brought at least another midfielder, even if it was just 'a potential' like Trent Alexander-Double-Barrelled-Liverpudlian-Lad?
England's Competition: Tunisia hit us back at the right time because that game was fizzling out and England needed a wake-up call. Panama could have happened to anyone half decent and Belgium was an almost pointless B-team game (as it will be on Saturday). By the time extra time arrived in the Last 16 match against Colombia, it was obvious that they had started to suss out our one routine from set pieces; the fact Sweden also sussed it but failed to do anything about it glossed over some glaring cracks hidden by how fortuitous we'd been with the draw. In the semi, Croatia really struggled with our set-pieces in the first half, but pretty much weathered the storm; by the time they'd collected themselves for the second half they dealt with set plays easily and started to play it around with some belief. Instead of being tired, they were fired up by their equaliser and anyone with half a footballing brain saw the best hope England had from that point on was actually penalties.
Southgate pretty much kept the same line-up, the same Plan A, throughout the entire World Cup. Look at a maligned manager, Roberto Martinez of Belgium; he changed things around against Brazil and Belgium breezed through that match with little to worry about. Belgium might not have beaten France in the other semi-final, but Martinez was at least shifting things around. My only criticism of Martinez was he didn't rotate his excellent squad enough and appeared to play some of his clearly less capable players at times - but what do I know? Some of those unfancied footballers won games for him!
When you look at how England got to the semis - Tunisia, Panama, Colombia and Sweden - you would be excused from believing it wasn't exactly hard (Albeit the performance against Sweden was largely excellent). Croatia - many positions lower than England is the laughable FIFA rankings - had experience and a couple of world class footballers and pretty much offered the young English lads their only real test. They reminded me so much of Spurs versus Juventus in last season's Champions League; the better team failed to capitalise and were then suckered and had no reply.
In general, this world cup was as full of surprises as the last European Championships. The early loss of Germany, Argentina and Spain opened it up and some teams performed considerably better than they should ever have been allowed to. No one is suggesting the competition was fixed, but Russia's penalty shoot-out defeat in the quarter-finals was possibly the most justified result in the entire competition. Russia should never have been given the cup; like Qatar in four years, this does nothing for the world game and loads to help line the pockets of oligarchs and sheikhs as well as shining a grubby spotlight on human rights abuses, which, of course, FIFA are blissfully ignorant of on an industrial scale.
The world cup is a bloated and unnecessarily large competition that stirs up unwanted jingoism from English twats (and others). It impinges on the far more important domestic football seasons and makes people think they're seeing stunning matches and a celebration of football; when in reality we'll lap up anything in a hot summer with no club football and Wimbledon. Equally, the same could be said for the European Champions League - which should be for Champions only and not an invitation for rich clubs to make more money (and that includes the exclusive club my own team is now entering). The World Cup should be smaller, maybe with just 16 nations, if this means the same 16 nations almost every four years, then FIFA needs to invest more of its banked billions on developing nations, on bigger youth tournaments (which allows these young talents more of a platform than academy or B team football), on ensuring smaller leagues are not only supported but encouraged to develop players from every country that wants to play football.
That isn't going to happen. I might as well argue with a brick wall because England got to a world cup semi-final! Just be thankful they didn't get through to the final or even win it.
Friday, 13 April 2018
The Arse End
With the season drawing to a far more exciting close than most would have expected three months ago, there are some burning issues still to be resolved...
Can Liverpool win the Champions League, again?
Which of the four remaining teams will lift the FA Cup? Will it be boring boring Man U or Chelski or can Spurs win their first FA Cup since the 1990s or Southampton their first since the 1970s - oh, Bobby Stokes.
Will the Premier League Champions elect continue to implode? And probably more pertinent, will any of the current other three teams in the Top four blow it, when all have reasonably easy run-ins?
Who will be joining WBA in the Championship next season?
And will Arsene Wenger still be in charge of Arsenal next season, even if they win the Europa League and therefore qualify for the Champions League?
The fact there are still things to talk about, some of which don't include Man Citeh, is further proof you should never expect anything in football.
Let's examine the questions in detail:
1. Can Liverpool win the Champions League again? Well, it's not beyond their capabilities; but just because they seem to have got the size of Man Citeh doesn't necessarily mean success. Liverpool have a theoretically easy run-in. They face Chelsea, who by then might have even less to play for or a cup final, either way it's not going to be as tough as facing them three months ago. Other than that they're more than capable of winning all their remaining matches, which if Spurs and Man U do the same would mean they finish fourth.
Here's where all kinds of fun comes into play: If they finish fourth, but win the Champions League, none of the top four would be required to qualify for next seasons Champions League and, neither would Arsenal if they won the Europa League - so Liverpool winning the European trophy would benefit everyone but only if they finish 4th.*
2. Who will win the FA Cup? Man U versus Spurs at Wembley one day and Southampton versus Chelsea the next. Two weeks ago I was rubbing my hands at that draw. We're better than Man U and on hindsight I would have preferred them in the final. However, while it seems a straight shoot out between the two top four sides to play Chelsea in the final, the south Londoners' are anything but unbeatable at the moment and while they have a great record at Wembley, the real fly in the ointment would be if Southampton won. Why? Because they'll win the cup. Spurs can beat anyone who play their way, which is why we've beaten Man U and Chelsea in recent months - home and away - Southampton represent the chaos which has a tendency to stymie Spurs, especially at 'home'. The winner of this competition should come from the first game but it will raise some awful questions for Spurs fans if they lose, again, in the semi-final.
3. Will Man Citeh continue to implode and is the current top four a done deal? If Citeh lose on Saturday night, to Spurs at Wembley, then I would put a large amount of money on the Londoners finishing in the top three (that's second or third), but will Citeh lose four games on the bounce? When was the last time champions elect were throwing away matches like marbles down a drain? *This is where it is key - if Spurs can beat Citeh then it'll be a straight race between Spurs and Liverpool for 3rd. Man U, who have probably the easiest run in now, will have to lose and draw in their remaining six matches for Spurs to catch them. The thing is Spurs are the form team in the league so you can't rule them catching Man U if the latter falters. The problem is you can feel a backlash coming from Guardiola's men and we haven't had a serious beating since they tore us apart in Manchester. As usual, while Champions League is all but guaranteed, but nothing is simple for the Spurs.
4. Who's going down? Who cares unless you support a team with less than 36 points at the moment? I wouldn't be surprised if either Stoke or Southampton manage to turn their form around in the remaining matches. It's still a lottery.
5. Will Wenger stay at the Arse? Honestly? I don't really care, but frankly he's taken Arsenal nowhere in years apart from all those cups they've won since Spurs last lifted one... From a comedy perspective it would be fantastic for them to win the Europa League to see the absolute dichotomy it will place the 50% or so of their fans who want the Frenchman gone. The ridiculous thing is, this year's Europa League would have Burnley salivating at their chances of lifting it; it's been low on quality and Everton provided everyone with comedy football. Only really Athletico Madrid stand in the Arse's way of regaining Champions League football for being mediocre at best.
What it would mean for spend-thrift Wenger, who only seems to buy strikers of any real quality? At the moment, Arsenal are where Spurs were five years ago, the problem here is that Spurs were going forward, while Arsenal have, apart from their ability to win cups, gone backwards and won't be challenging for the title again soon... Or will they? The situation with Arsenal isn't helped by the fact they're in a rich - no pressure - vein of form. There is no denying they are far too good to be lower than 6th, but not really good enough to be higher and arguably, the only way for them is back up. Whether he stays or goes, they will have to spend big in the summer to maintain it and even that isn't a given. Them winning the Europa League would be a slap in the face for all Spurs fans in more ways than one.
A bonus 6. England at the World Cup - what are the chances? Frankly, there's more chance of us boycotting it than there is of us winning it. It will be mainly won by Germany, with other teams finishing just behind them or by a distance. England have about as much chance as Denmark; it won't be embarrassing as it was last time, but TV won't feature that many live England games; five at best would be my guess. Out on penalties to Brighton.
Can Liverpool win the Champions League, again?
Which of the four remaining teams will lift the FA Cup? Will it be boring boring Man U or Chelski or can Spurs win their first FA Cup since the 1990s or Southampton their first since the 1970s - oh, Bobby Stokes.
Will the Premier League Champions elect continue to implode? And probably more pertinent, will any of the current other three teams in the Top four blow it, when all have reasonably easy run-ins?
Who will be joining WBA in the Championship next season?
And will Arsene Wenger still be in charge of Arsenal next season, even if they win the Europa League and therefore qualify for the Champions League?
The fact there are still things to talk about, some of which don't include Man Citeh, is further proof you should never expect anything in football.
Let's examine the questions in detail:
1. Can Liverpool win the Champions League again? Well, it's not beyond their capabilities; but just because they seem to have got the size of Man Citeh doesn't necessarily mean success. Liverpool have a theoretically easy run-in. They face Chelsea, who by then might have even less to play for or a cup final, either way it's not going to be as tough as facing them three months ago. Other than that they're more than capable of winning all their remaining matches, which if Spurs and Man U do the same would mean they finish fourth.
Here's where all kinds of fun comes into play: If they finish fourth, but win the Champions League, none of the top four would be required to qualify for next seasons Champions League and, neither would Arsenal if they won the Europa League - so Liverpool winning the European trophy would benefit everyone but only if they finish 4th.*
2. Who will win the FA Cup? Man U versus Spurs at Wembley one day and Southampton versus Chelsea the next. Two weeks ago I was rubbing my hands at that draw. We're better than Man U and on hindsight I would have preferred them in the final. However, while it seems a straight shoot out between the two top four sides to play Chelsea in the final, the south Londoners' are anything but unbeatable at the moment and while they have a great record at Wembley, the real fly in the ointment would be if Southampton won. Why? Because they'll win the cup. Spurs can beat anyone who play their way, which is why we've beaten Man U and Chelsea in recent months - home and away - Southampton represent the chaos which has a tendency to stymie Spurs, especially at 'home'. The winner of this competition should come from the first game but it will raise some awful questions for Spurs fans if they lose, again, in the semi-final.
3. Will Man Citeh continue to implode and is the current top four a done deal? If Citeh lose on Saturday night, to Spurs at Wembley, then I would put a large amount of money on the Londoners finishing in the top three (that's second or third), but will Citeh lose four games on the bounce? When was the last time champions elect were throwing away matches like marbles down a drain? *This is where it is key - if Spurs can beat Citeh then it'll be a straight race between Spurs and Liverpool for 3rd. Man U, who have probably the easiest run in now, will have to lose and draw in their remaining six matches for Spurs to catch them. The thing is Spurs are the form team in the league so you can't rule them catching Man U if the latter falters. The problem is you can feel a backlash coming from Guardiola's men and we haven't had a serious beating since they tore us apart in Manchester. As usual, while Champions League is all but guaranteed, but nothing is simple for the Spurs.
4. Who's going down? Who cares unless you support a team with less than 36 points at the moment? I wouldn't be surprised if either Stoke or Southampton manage to turn their form around in the remaining matches. It's still a lottery.
5. Will Wenger stay at the Arse? Honestly? I don't really care, but frankly he's taken Arsenal nowhere in years apart from all those cups they've won since Spurs last lifted one... From a comedy perspective it would be fantastic for them to win the Europa League to see the absolute dichotomy it will place the 50% or so of their fans who want the Frenchman gone. The ridiculous thing is, this year's Europa League would have Burnley salivating at their chances of lifting it; it's been low on quality and Everton provided everyone with comedy football. Only really Athletico Madrid stand in the Arse's way of regaining Champions League football for being mediocre at best.
What it would mean for spend-thrift Wenger, who only seems to buy strikers of any real quality? At the moment, Arsenal are where Spurs were five years ago, the problem here is that Spurs were going forward, while Arsenal have, apart from their ability to win cups, gone backwards and won't be challenging for the title again soon... Or will they? The situation with Arsenal isn't helped by the fact they're in a rich - no pressure - vein of form. There is no denying they are far too good to be lower than 6th, but not really good enough to be higher and arguably, the only way for them is back up. Whether he stays or goes, they will have to spend big in the summer to maintain it and even that isn't a given. Them winning the Europa League would be a slap in the face for all Spurs fans in more ways than one.
A bonus 6. England at the World Cup - what are the chances? Frankly, there's more chance of us boycotting it than there is of us winning it. It will be mainly won by Germany, with other teams finishing just behind them or by a distance. England have about as much chance as Denmark; it won't be embarrassing as it was last time, but TV won't feature that many live England games; five at best would be my guess. Out on penalties to Brighton.
Monday, 9 October 2017
England are Spurs (but worse)
I recently read a rant by a QPR fan that left no doubt about his (and other QPR fans) feelings towards Harry Redknapp. While discussing this rant with my friend, an Everton supporter, I came up with a theory about Redknapp that I'm now going to extrapolate on as a way of possibly explaining why the England football team's failure is probably John Terry's fault as well.
I have often cited John Terry as being the reason why Spurs completely-unexpected title challenge in 2012 withered on the vine and died spectacularly - within weeks of punters daring to suggest that Harry's team could possibly do it. Terry's racism caused Fabio Capello to leave the England job and while I don't think he was anywhere near the best man for the job, his leaving caused the widespread expectation that Harry Redknapp would replace him and do to England what he appeared to be doing at Tottenham.
Harry, as some fans and commentators claimed, was good until 'Daniel Levy fucked him over in January 2012' and Harry has always claimed - mainly off camera - that he asked for two players to help give Spurs a chance of winning the title (they were 2nd in January 2012 and even Paul Merson was talking about them being stalking horses) and he asked for Carlos Tevez and a top class defender. He got Ryan Nelson and Louis Saha, combined age about 170. Spurs ended up finishing 5th and I think, from memory, they took about 7 points between February and May - it was heartbreaking to watch and many Spurs fans conveniently forget that not so illustrious last few months of Harry's reign.
There were many other factors at work than listed above. There was family tragedy, a fraud case, some or unfortunate bad timing with contract talks and, of course, when Capello quit and the press installed him as the 'only' replacement, it obviously went to his head. The fact that the FA, in its infinite stupidity, chose Roy Hodgson probably put paid to Harry's career and ruined the national side's chances of being something other than one of the regular teams who make numbers up at competitions.
Roy's period in charge was a strange blend of unbeatable and unwinnable. In qualifications England were dull but imperious. At the World Cup and then the Euros - even without extra pressure from the media - they were woeful and reinforced the view that whenever England does something positive, it will follow it up with something worse than ludicrous. When an England manager decides that Harry Kane should be taking corners you know that he isn't the man who should be doing the job...
I have often cited John Terry as being the reason why Spurs completely-unexpected title challenge in 2012 withered on the vine and died spectacularly - within weeks of punters daring to suggest that Harry's team could possibly do it. Terry's racism caused Fabio Capello to leave the England job and while I don't think he was anywhere near the best man for the job, his leaving caused the widespread expectation that Harry Redknapp would replace him and do to England what he appeared to be doing at Tottenham.
Harry, as some fans and commentators claimed, was good until 'Daniel Levy fucked him over in January 2012' and Harry has always claimed - mainly off camera - that he asked for two players to help give Spurs a chance of winning the title (they were 2nd in January 2012 and even Paul Merson was talking about them being stalking horses) and he asked for Carlos Tevez and a top class defender. He got Ryan Nelson and Louis Saha, combined age about 170. Spurs ended up finishing 5th and I think, from memory, they took about 7 points between February and May - it was heartbreaking to watch and many Spurs fans conveniently forget that not so illustrious last few months of Harry's reign.
There were many other factors at work than listed above. There was family tragedy, a fraud case, some or unfortunate bad timing with contract talks and, of course, when Capello quit and the press installed him as the 'only' replacement, it obviously went to his head. The fact that the FA, in its infinite stupidity, chose Roy Hodgson probably put paid to Harry's career and ruined the national side's chances of being something other than one of the regular teams who make numbers up at competitions.
Roy's period in charge was a strange blend of unbeatable and unwinnable. In qualifications England were dull but imperious. At the World Cup and then the Euros - even without extra pressure from the media - they were woeful and reinforced the view that whenever England does something positive, it will follow it up with something worse than ludicrous. When an England manager decides that Harry Kane should be taking corners you know that he isn't the man who should be doing the job...
What if Harry Redknapp had got the job he wanted? My belief is when he failed to get the England job it kind of killed his desire. Spurs faded badly and he's done nothing of note since. In fact, his stock fell so badly at Birmingham that it's probably a good thing he's 70 and in need of retirement. When he was being touted as Fabio's replacement, Spurs were playing some stunning football - yes, they had Bale, Modric, Van der Vaart, an almost Ledley King and players who gelled well with the stars, but Harry had brought Spurs on from an upper mid-table team to genuine top 4 challengers and while his tactical management left a lot to be desired, his man-management brought the best out of mediocre players - the perfect man for an England job, surely?
Had Daniel Levy not been a plonker - he was pretty much solely responsible for Spurs failure to do anything but become a joke in 2012 - he could have got £250,000 from the FA, got shot of a man he didn't really like and got the same end result, but maybe a year earlier. But he didn't and Roy got the job and I don't think there was one England fan in the country who looked at his appointment and got a hard on for our future prospects.
I'm not going to attempt to presume the hypothetical, but I can't help thinking that playing for England would suddenly have become important again - like it might have if Brian Clough had ever seriously been considered in the 1970s, the last time England were really awful. Reading some autobiographies and historical reports, you got the impression that under Ron Greenwood and Bobby Robson, England felt like a team not a collection of individuals. Graham Taylor set us back when we should have gone forward, Venables took us forward and should never have been sacked. Hoddle might have become something special had the press not picked up on his 'eccentricities' and from that point on, we simply flattered to deceive. Apart from the 5-1 win in Germany (which was the catalyst they needed to reform their game), I can't see anything fond to look back on from Keegan onward.
I think you don't necessarily have to be a world class team to win a competition - Greece and Denmark have proved that - but you do need a coach who can look at what he's got and make them work together for the good of the team. I don't think we've had a coach since Venables who has done that. Obviously, Harry's reign would have had to have been done without wheeler-dealing; he couldn't just go and buy a journeyman Romanian to slot into left back in a crisis; but he might have taken a young English left back and slotted him into an existing set up smoothly; put an arm round his shoulders and told him that he wasn't going to be a jinx and he wouldn't have picked him if he didn't have faith... Who knows; Harry might have been worse than Roy? I doubt it, though. My mum wouldn't have been as bad as Roy and she's been dead 20 years! Sandra Redknapp would have been better than Roy and would have scored a few poacher's goals for us after picking herself over Darren Bent.
And now it's late 2017. We're less than nine months from the next World Cup finals, which we have qualified for, in stunningly dull fashion. The most positive thing you can say about the management is Southgate is honest enough to tell everyone we're shit before it's been proved, again. The thing is I don't actually think we are that bad, we just never pick the right man to manage us and while the incumbent is trying hard, he isn't that good.
Look at the class of 2017. I'm going to throw a few names at you, see if you can guess the link: Danny Rose (when fit), Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier, Dele Alli, Kyle Walker, Harry Winks? With the exception of Walker, who is now at Man City, this is Spurs. This is an England squad with more Spurs players than I can ever remember. One newspaper columnist even suggested Southgate was trying to get England to play like Spurs, and wouldn't that be something worth staying in and watching games for?
Southgate's problem is his players who aren't playing for Spurs. If Mauricio Pochettino put Jordan Henderson into his team, Sissoko would look world class. If Oxtail-Chambermaid played ahead of Alli or Eriksen, Spurs would be rubbish. Poch plays the 4-2-3-1 formation that Southgate has used in his last half a dozen qualification games (discounting the final game) and frankly playing two defensive midfielders against Malta is only going to work if those players are capable of turning up and scoring the odd goal - like Dier, Wanyama and Dembele do at Spurs. Dier in an England shirt is a bit of an enigma; he comes and goes like a troublesome bout of the trots and I think this is down to whether or not England actually need two covering midfielders against opposition Germany can beat 8-0, but we struggle to get 1-0s against.
In fact, in many ways, England's biggest puzzle at the moment is Jordan Henderson. I simply cannot understand what he is doing in an England shirt. I've watched football for a long time, I like to think that, in general, my opinions gain more agreeable responses than angry ones and I can't understand why he's there in the same way I can't understand why Sissoko is so high up in the Spurs pecking order. I hear we have a dearth of decent midfielders and this might be true; England often have no left back for a generation and five vying for the same position in the next. Look at Paul Scholes, someone who should have got 150 caps, but you know... If midfielders were really the problem I could understand it, but I think this is just scapegoating before the event.
I've seen Dele Alli play in a far more defensive midfield role for Spurs. Early last season especially and whenever he got booked. Poch would bring him deeper, give him more responsibility and not only did we stay as solid, he created a lot from a deeper position and showed much more discipline. If continuous England bosses want to play all their favourites, even if that means there are five number 10s on the pitch, then you can play an attacking midfielder in a less attacking role, surely. Eriksen can do it, Dembele can and it looks like Harry Winks can also do it. I think Alli can do it, probably better than most.
If England could play the Spurs way, it would need a solid centre and two ball-playing central defenders - as far as I can see they can just about do this, but in many ways England doesn't have Vertonghen or Alderweireld because they're Belgian, both of them... But, there are some excellent central defenders playing in 2017, getting the right partnership is key but probably doable with this group of players.
The wing backs have to be Walker and Rose, if both fit and playing the way we know they can. Here is the most dynamic wing back pairing in world football from the same country and there's this myth growing about how good they are together, which gives England an unexpected psychological advantage (for a change).
England do not have Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele or Victor Wanyama - at the moment they have Jordan bloody Henderson... - but they do have Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Dele Alli, who all play together at club level. I think that's the midfield problem sorted. Up front, there is a burgeoning partnership in Kane and Rashford; they can both play off each other, drop into the number 10 position and could score goals for fun (if they had a progressive midfield behind them).
I don't care who's on the subs bench as long as they can slot into that system and they can play a high press, high tempo game easily. I would also take Jordan Henderson to one side and let him down, reasonably gently.
In fact, in many ways, England's biggest puzzle at the moment is Jordan Henderson. I simply cannot understand what he is doing in an England shirt. I've watched football for a long time, I like to think that, in general, my opinions gain more agreeable responses than angry ones and I can't understand why he's there in the same way I can't understand why Sissoko is so high up in the Spurs pecking order. I hear we have a dearth of decent midfielders and this might be true; England often have no left back for a generation and five vying for the same position in the next. Look at Paul Scholes, someone who should have got 150 caps, but you know... If midfielders were really the problem I could understand it, but I think this is just scapegoating before the event.
I've seen Dele Alli play in a far more defensive midfield role for Spurs. Early last season especially and whenever he got booked. Poch would bring him deeper, give him more responsibility and not only did we stay as solid, he created a lot from a deeper position and showed much more discipline. If continuous England bosses want to play all their favourites, even if that means there are five number 10s on the pitch, then you can play an attacking midfielder in a less attacking role, surely. Eriksen can do it, Dembele can and it looks like Harry Winks can also do it. I think Alli can do it, probably better than most.
If England could play the Spurs way, it would need a solid centre and two ball-playing central defenders - as far as I can see they can just about do this, but in many ways England doesn't have Vertonghen or Alderweireld because they're Belgian, both of them... But, there are some excellent central defenders playing in 2017, getting the right partnership is key but probably doable with this group of players.
The wing backs have to be Walker and Rose, if both fit and playing the way we know they can. Here is the most dynamic wing back pairing in world football from the same country and there's this myth growing about how good they are together, which gives England an unexpected psychological advantage (for a change).
England do not have Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele or Victor Wanyama - at the moment they have Jordan bloody Henderson... - but they do have Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Dele Alli, who all play together at club level. I think that's the midfield problem sorted. Up front, there is a burgeoning partnership in Kane and Rashford; they can both play off each other, drop into the number 10 position and could score goals for fun (if they had a progressive midfield behind them).
I don't care who's on the subs bench as long as they can slot into that system and they can play a high press, high tempo game easily. I would also take Jordan Henderson to one side and let him down, reasonably gently.
Friday, 20 January 2017
Pep's Most Difficult Job
I fancy tempting fate. Football fans hate to tempt fate, especially Spurs fans, because it will all go wrong and for some strange reason you will think it's your fault it all went tits up. The thing is I tempted fate with a massively proportioned sex doll at the start of the season by stating, quite emphatically, that Tottenham Hotspur would win the league and then in December, after the team suffered defeat against a poor Man Utd team, I started to think my forecast was going to go the same way as other bursts of optimism in the past.
Since then Spurs have strung seven straight wins - six in the league and a rare emphatic win in the FA Cup - and each game we win the better we look. At times last weekend, against one of my club's bogey teams, we played like Brazil circa 1970 with Dele Alli as Pele and Harry Kane as Jairzinho. At times the football we play makes Barcelona look, you know, a bit, okay but nothing special. On a couple of occasions on Saturday I felt like a child being subjected to some ultimate glee-inducing fun. At one point, after one stunning move resulted in a simply wondrous disallowed goal, I clapped my hands together like a child seeing Father Christmas for the first time. There is something remarkable about the feeling you get from watching your football team play with such confidence it's almost scary - it transcends sex and just condenses into an ecstatic joy that I can only imagine my friends, who support teams that have won things, have felt.
This Spurs team scares me as much as it delights me. There is almost an entire team of potential world class footballers on display. At this moment in time I'm struggling to see a weak link in the side when it's on the same wavelength. That alone is some kind of surreal reality matched only by the weird shit that is going on in the world, add to that the first manager we have had who looks both happy and determined to do better and is doing it in a way that must give Daniel Levy almost unbearable erections of joy. I'm struggling to find any other negative than we're going to end up being much richer than we are now when all of them and the manager are bought for £1billion by another 'bigger' team.
Remember the Harlem Globetrotters - a team who, legend has it, were so good they gave up competitive basketball and just played exhibition matches against top teams they then proceeded to demolish. That's my Spurs at the moment (maybe not in Europe, but certainly within these more isolated shores).
Yet, ironically, I find myself feeling slightly sorry for one of my team's rivals and opponents this coming Saturday. Frankly, I couldn't care less if Man City crash and burn and lose their Arab owners lots of money and I, on the surface, find it hilarious that the media-proclaimed 'best manager in the world' is struggling to turn his team of expensive class into a unit that will challenge for the title.
Any harsh critic of Pep Guardiola will point out that the two teams he has managed so far, both only really had one or two serious rivals and if you need evidence that anyone can win a league in a division of one just look at Brendan Rogers at Celtic. Most people who manage Celtic get to add trophies to their CVs and act like priapic porn stars because in their league there is no competition. What Pep possibly did realise is while the Premier League has four, maybe six, likely winners, he probably didn't think the other 14 pesky teams are more than capable of upsetting the odds and beating your side. Pep probably suffered some slightly embarrassing losses in his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but English football has a tendency to throw up unexpected results and City's 4-0 thumping by 'average' Everton made me feel a little sorry for him.
It really isn't his fault he's been so successful at two of the world's richest and most successful clubs. His style of football isn't bad and he's proved that with world class footballers at his disposal he can do good things; but he's never really tried to manage at a slightly lower level, where you have to show your adaptability rather than just bring on a £50m player from the bench. This is why Mauricio Pochettino is likely to end up managing one of the world's richest clubs and why he might even get something others aren't often afforded - time. This is also why Spurs' visit to Man City this weekend is so significant. First off, it's a game neither side can afford to draw or lose because with Chelsea playing easier opposition the odds are they will pull even further ahead. Secondly, and more long game, is the stock of each manager. Mauricio looks happy, relaxed and his team are playing in a way that would make any manager happy (and secure). Pep on the other hand looks like a man who has been presented with his first real problem - plucky opposition - and he's not sure what to do. The pressure is really beginning to show on him and while I don't think his job is at risk, it would be if he, as I sometimes think he might, just resigns in the middle of press conference, storming out and never seen again outside of Spain.
The third and, at present, least important thing about the game will be how many of the Spurs side will the Sheikhs be eyeing up a transfer deal for? And from a personal position, the fourth thing is can we continue our current upper hand over City? I hope we can because even 7 points behind Chelsea is a big gap, but one I think we can overcome in the next five months; 10 points might be enough to put a dent in our chrome. The loss of Jan Vertonghen is a worry, but we have able cover and usually players who come in at the back retain the rhythm. We're the better side at the moment, the mark of true champions is whether they can overcome these kind of obstacles.
Since then Spurs have strung seven straight wins - six in the league and a rare emphatic win in the FA Cup - and each game we win the better we look. At times last weekend, against one of my club's bogey teams, we played like Brazil circa 1970 with Dele Alli as Pele and Harry Kane as Jairzinho. At times the football we play makes Barcelona look, you know, a bit, okay but nothing special. On a couple of occasions on Saturday I felt like a child being subjected to some ultimate glee-inducing fun. At one point, after one stunning move resulted in a simply wondrous disallowed goal, I clapped my hands together like a child seeing Father Christmas for the first time. There is something remarkable about the feeling you get from watching your football team play with such confidence it's almost scary - it transcends sex and just condenses into an ecstatic joy that I can only imagine my friends, who support teams that have won things, have felt.
This Spurs team scares me as much as it delights me. There is almost an entire team of potential world class footballers on display. At this moment in time I'm struggling to see a weak link in the side when it's on the same wavelength. That alone is some kind of surreal reality matched only by the weird shit that is going on in the world, add to that the first manager we have had who looks both happy and determined to do better and is doing it in a way that must give Daniel Levy almost unbearable erections of joy. I'm struggling to find any other negative than we're going to end up being much richer than we are now when all of them and the manager are bought for £1billion by another 'bigger' team.
Remember the Harlem Globetrotters - a team who, legend has it, were so good they gave up competitive basketball and just played exhibition matches against top teams they then proceeded to demolish. That's my Spurs at the moment (maybe not in Europe, but certainly within these more isolated shores).
Yet, ironically, I find myself feeling slightly sorry for one of my team's rivals and opponents this coming Saturday. Frankly, I couldn't care less if Man City crash and burn and lose their Arab owners lots of money and I, on the surface, find it hilarious that the media-proclaimed 'best manager in the world' is struggling to turn his team of expensive class into a unit that will challenge for the title.
Any harsh critic of Pep Guardiola will point out that the two teams he has managed so far, both only really had one or two serious rivals and if you need evidence that anyone can win a league in a division of one just look at Brendan Rogers at Celtic. Most people who manage Celtic get to add trophies to their CVs and act like priapic porn stars because in their league there is no competition. What Pep possibly did realise is while the Premier League has four, maybe six, likely winners, he probably didn't think the other 14 pesky teams are more than capable of upsetting the odds and beating your side. Pep probably suffered some slightly embarrassing losses in his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but English football has a tendency to throw up unexpected results and City's 4-0 thumping by 'average' Everton made me feel a little sorry for him.
It really isn't his fault he's been so successful at two of the world's richest and most successful clubs. His style of football isn't bad and he's proved that with world class footballers at his disposal he can do good things; but he's never really tried to manage at a slightly lower level, where you have to show your adaptability rather than just bring on a £50m player from the bench. This is why Mauricio Pochettino is likely to end up managing one of the world's richest clubs and why he might even get something others aren't often afforded - time. This is also why Spurs' visit to Man City this weekend is so significant. First off, it's a game neither side can afford to draw or lose because with Chelsea playing easier opposition the odds are they will pull even further ahead. Secondly, and more long game, is the stock of each manager. Mauricio looks happy, relaxed and his team are playing in a way that would make any manager happy (and secure). Pep on the other hand looks like a man who has been presented with his first real problem - plucky opposition - and he's not sure what to do. The pressure is really beginning to show on him and while I don't think his job is at risk, it would be if he, as I sometimes think he might, just resigns in the middle of press conference, storming out and never seen again outside of Spain.
The third and, at present, least important thing about the game will be how many of the Spurs side will the Sheikhs be eyeing up a transfer deal for? And from a personal position, the fourth thing is can we continue our current upper hand over City? I hope we can because even 7 points behind Chelsea is a big gap, but one I think we can overcome in the next five months; 10 points might be enough to put a dent in our chrome. The loss of Jan Vertonghen is a worry, but we have able cover and usually players who come in at the back retain the rhythm. We're the better side at the moment, the mark of true champions is whether they can overcome these kind of obstacles.
Friday, 16 September 2016
Leicester City - This Year's Conspiracy Theory
“It was like all the other teams let them win.”
I heard Spurs fans make this suggestion of Leicester as
their own team’s title challenge petered out. As conspiracy theories go, the
other Premier League clubs letting Leicester City win the league is about as
far-fetched as fake moon landings and Piltdown man.
However, I’d like to make a case for why some Spurs fans would rather come up with an excuse than face
the reality of why their team didn’t win and possibly make them feel better
about being cast as the villain in what shouldn’t have been a two-horse race
between footballing underdogs.
There is no denying that titles are not won in August, but
they are almost certainly lost and Spurs fans need to look at the 3 points from
a possible 12 at the start of the season as being far more important in the
grand scheme of things than the woeful capitulation from the moment Chelsea got
back into the game at WHL, precipitating a collapse and some of the most
unfortunate scenes on a football pitch.
Leicester’s August was not title winning, but it was
effectively guaranteeing them survival and while Ranieri kept banging on about
40 points, by November he must have thought the way he had the team playing
that a mid-table finish was almost guaranteed. Yet, the inconsistencies of the
big clubs meant Leicester never dropped out of the reckoning, instead it
fuelled the team – obviously driven by confidence – and I believe the beginning
of the key factor began to nestle into the heads of the other Premier League
players for the other 19 teams – including Spurs – if we don’t win it, we don’t
mind Leicester winning it.
I know, if you ran this theory past Mark Lawrenson or Danny
Murphy, Alan Shearer or Dion Dublin they would laugh in your face and tell you
that footballers aren’t that complex and they only play to win. Except, by late
January the only two teams that looked like they had the desire to win were
Leicester and Spurs – both went on fabulous unbeaten runs and with Chelsea long
dead in the water, Man Utd flattering to deceive and Man City and Arsenal just
not showing the right amount of consistency, the impossible started to become a
reality; there was a good chance that one of the big four wouldn’t win the league.
If you look at the last six games of the Premier League
season 2015/16 – at the point where pundits no longer believed anyone would
catch Leicester – you would have been excused had you woken up in an
alternative reality where the Foxes were the dominant team and there was a
fading hope of someone else resting control from them. The amount of insipid
performances against them; the seeming failure of coaches and squads coming to
terms with what was essentially the same tactic week in week out; had it not
been for those perennial ignorers of scripts West Ham, the East Midlands would
have been celebrating long before Spurs implosion against the wind-up experts
Chelsea.
Aggrieved fans will point out how West Brom produced
arguably their best performance of the season to put a dent in Spurs’s title
challenge, or how Chelsea, devoid of passion, found bags of it to deny Spurs.
The closer the Londoners got to being a threat to Leicester, the harder their
opponents seemed to try.
The simple truth is Mauricio Pochettino used less players in
the closing 12 weeks of the season than 18 other Premier League sides; when it
came down to the nitty-gritty, the manager did a Harry Redknapp and failed to
trust much more than his preferred starting XI. I can see it even now – Poch sitting
at home thinking, “If I play Ryan Mason or Tom Carroll or Nacer Chadli how am I
going to live with myself if we screw up and lose the league by one point; I
will be forever labelled as the man who lost the league because he played
someone else instead of the knackered and under-performing Christian Eriksen...”
Obviously Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele didn’t help matters and neither did the
arguable lack of investment in something
during the previous January when we needed something – even a short term loanee
– the stir it up at the club and refocus the players.
But it’s much easier to say that 18 other Premier League
sides gifted Leicester the title because it makes them feel better...
Fast forward less than six months and the top 7 of the
Premier League looks more like how people expect the top of the league to look:
the two Manchester clubs, three London clubs and, hello, the two Liverpool
teams again. The seven largest clubs in the country occupy the top 7 spots and
there’s the battle for the next eight months – three of them are going to miss
out on prizes.
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