08.31.07
Rachid Bouaouzan
Wigan Athletic have signed this pacy young Dutch winger from Sparta Rotterdam for around ￡300,000. I’ve previously bought Bouaouzan for my WE10 Master League team, he is a good buy for Wigan on that price and would complement such a team that took everyone by surprise, including me, of how their season started.
Unfortunately, it would just be a matter of time when English fans will watch this horror tackle he did against Go Ahead Eagles’ Niels Kokmeijer and doubt if Wigan officials know of this. Soon people will question his mentality, and players will ask for a lot of protection against this “dangerous”young player. Opponent fans will boo him at every touch.
But, that incident happened 3 years ago. I am an advocate of giving players a chance, and I will be hugely disappointed if people will only remember him by that horror tackle. He endured a ban for half a season for that, why would anyone think he wouldn’t change his ways after that? And as soon as he lunges for a ball, he’d be off. Because even a really, really nice guy like Dave Kitson could be sent off for that kind of tackle.
Wigan fans are quite fickle too. I doubt they know they have a real top international striker in their books in the face of Julius Aghahowa. I doubt they know in Denny Landzaat they have a Dutch international midfield general. Heck I don’t think they know Paul Scharner is actually a defender! So Wigan officials should pray the tackle I linked to you will not be played to the Wigan fans, and make them think “oh my goodness, who the heck did we sign?!”.
08.29.07
RIP Puerta
The loss of Antonio Puerta to the football world has greatly shocked everyone. This is the most high-profile on-pitch football death yet for Europe (Marc-Vivien Foe had more caps for his country, and I compared Sevilla as UEFA Cup holders, even though Miklos Feher also had more caps for Hungary) and with similar circumstance.
Here’s the first team of Afterlife FC, recent footballers who have died young. A team nobody wants to transfer to, but can at any day…
GK 1. Aaron Flahavan
RB 2. Serginho
LB 3. Antonio Puerta
CD 6. Mohamed Abdulwahab
CD 5. Federico Crescentini
RM 4. David di Tommaso
DM 17. Marc-Vivien Foe
AM 10. Peter Dubovsky
LM 8. Catalin Haldan
CF 9. David Longhurst
CF 29. Miklos Feher
GK 16. Luc Borrelli
CB 7. Niccolo Galli
CB. 14. Matt Gadsby
SB. 13. Vittorio Mero
CM. 18. Gabor Zavadsky
RM. 16. Edy Vasquez
WG. 29. Lesley Manyathela
WG 36. Jimmy Davis
CF. 0. Hicham Zerouali
CF. 11. Marek Krejci
CF. 12. Cristiano Junior
CF. 20. Otilino Tenorio
With the utmost respect and much condolences to these names, rest in peace, hope the grass where you are playing now are evergreen.
08.26.07
At long last
It took the combination of a piece of magic, a bit of Portuguese class, a twist of luck and Carlos Tevez’s shoulder to give Manchester United the first win of the season. Coming after 3 frustrating games (one of them a derby loss) and only one player having scored, this is a nice boost for what was looking to be a very painful season for the Red Devils.
But let’s get real – 5 points out of a possible 12 is not good reading, for a team that would normally be gunning for the top from the get-go. The other teams in the EPL Big Four, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, are starting to be at where they should be, but Man U are languishing in mid-table after this sole win.
And surprise surprise – Sir Alex is unmoven even after the departure of an experienced defender from the squad. This summer, he has bought 3 midfielders (and Tevez is a second-striker) but no target man. I am seriously hoping Sir Alex would snap up a tall, unproven striker from somewhere outside; it would be nice if it was someone like Nikola Zigic but he’s already gone to Valencia.
So I’ve come up with some tentative names here that hasn’t gotten a move and would suit Man U well…
- Llorente (Ath. Bilbao): Standing at 193cm, this towering Spanish striker would be a menace to even the most ragged EPL defence.
- Nuno Gomes (Benfica): Why not bring in yet another classy Portuguese to the team? He has proven to be a great finisher in the box and he’s often speculated to go abroad on a big move, and I feel it’s time.
- Pantelic (Hertha Berlin): If teams like Chelsea are courting this Serbian striker, Man U should do the same and start inquiring. He looks desperate for a move to a big club and it may not be necessarily Chelsea.
- Ching (Houston Dynamo): This past year I’ve literally been screaming at European clubs to sign this tall, classy American player, who plays like an English target-man – direct and powerful. He has been a regular for the Yankees for so long that I’ve always questioned why he has often been passed up.
- Julio Cruz (Inter): Down the pecking order at Inter, but can still be a valuable asset to any top club with his dedication and experience.
- Koevermans (AZ Alkmaar): Great on the header, has been one of the reasons AZ has risen to become one of the most feared Dutch sides in Europe. He’ll do well in England.
- Kuranyi (Schalke 04): This German striker can really score goals at the highest level, he just scored against England, so why not follow the likes of Eduardo and Berisha (goalscorers against England who moved to an English side in the summer) and come here?
- Younis Mahmoud (Al-Gharafa): And finally, we have the Iraqi skipper, who brought the Asian Cup to the nation in great need of any sort of joy. Headers like the one in the final are what we desperately need.
So please, Sir Alex and your great network of scouts, buy a target-man like the ones I’ve mentioned. We play a crossing game and we need someone to get to the end of them.
08.19.07
Blue Season
(insert the bajillions of expletives I need to say)
-_-
It’s over. A loss and two draws isn’t Champions material. Where have it gone wrong? Losing a few players, having injury-prone ones in the squad, I think we need to panic-buy a tall center-forward. Someone. Anyone. Even Geoff Horsfield. As long as he’s uberfit, can head the ball, strong in the air, knows how to play on the shoulder and keep the ball. I know we won last season’s Prem without van Nistelrooy, but that kind of player is a must in a top-level team. Just get anyone, get someone from like the end of the earth ffs.
08.16.07
Tidbit
Oh god -_-; 0-2-0 is so not a good season starter. Our new(?) No.10 is out for 2 whole months, and we really don’t have a replacement.
Compare to Chelsea losing Terry for a month but still won their opening 2 games. This is gonna be a long long season…
08.12.07
Does man-marking work?
Oh the sheer frustration of Reading – but actually you have got to give credit to them for sticking up to their task, and ruing about what would have happened if there was another striker on the bench.
Forget about the sending off which wasn’t in my opinion. Forget about Rooney’s injury which had helped the cause. Man-marking won the match for Reading, a game-plan which is hard to pull off but pays dividends if rightly executed for 90 odd minutes.
As a young, raw 14-year-old with only 2-3 years of really playing football, I remembered this kind of tactic which I put to use on one of the dorm’s big players at that time, and when you were as young as me on the field you can run to as much space as you want but you’ll never get a pass, so you need to get the ball yourself.
It actually worked on that day – I think I had more pass cuts than in a months’ normal playing time. I can still remember the change in attitude of the one I was marking – he was going “oh no! Azu’s man-marking me” in a mocking fashion, only to be closed down all game.
But he was a Beckham-style player, great distribution but only reasonable pace so it was easier for me to get around him. Later on I tried marking faster players, but they killed my feet, so I kinda left the thing altogether. As a designated defensive midfielder, I only did zonal marking for the rest of my days since my lack of pace has hindered me from playing anywhere else.
You do see man-marking in the modern game, especially with set-pieces, but has it occurred to an extent that it has to be deployed all game, against players who aren’t at all sluggish? Usually, good dribblers are the bane of man-markers, the likes of Joe Cole can take on these players and skid away from him as if he was nobody.
Taking another recent example, last season’s Champions League final. Javier Mascherano was given the task of man-marking Kaka, and he did it very well for 60-odd minutes before being substituted – the first Inzaghi goal came from a free kick committed by a foul on Kaka by not Mascherano but Carragher, and the second one happened just after the Argentinian was taken off. Most importantly, if you remembered the final, Kaka was kept very quiet, but AC Milan isn’t all about Kaka anyway.
So is man-marking is going to be “the way forward”? Will lesser teams be stringent on this tactic, due to the success Reading had on this game, snuffing out United? It rests on Reading’s next game, at home to Chelsea. If the same kind of tactic works a second time (even if they’re on home soil), be warned – the season may yet become a really frustrating one.
08.11.07
The deal with EPL in Asia
I don’t need to give you results of the first round of matches; you can get them on any good footie websites anyway.
So, this year, Setanta Sports have gained 2 out of 6 packages of EPL live broadcasting rights in the UK. Which means 1 out of 3 Premiership games will be aired by Setanta, with Setanta-contracted commentators like Steve Banyard.
Now, since ESPN Star has a very close partnership with Sky Sports, who until now have monopolised the EPL screening rights, they will not be using Setanta Sports’ commentary, so instead you’ll be hearing ESPN Star commentators. I guess they used the Asian Cup for training (if you had noticed, there were another set of commentators doing the Asian Cup games, which ESPN would have easily used).
I was actually going to ask ESPN about what changes this will mean to the Asian broadcasting, but I rather answer that question myself. Unless someone links this on their forums and reply here…
Before the big kickoff
I just spent the day updating Winning Eleven 10. Oh god, why am I so obsessive…
We’re just hours before Tottenham v Sunderland, so I am going to cast my thoughts on the fate of the EPL and look to this post, hours after the season ends, to see if I was right. Here goes.
Predicted Final League Position
1. Manchester United
2. Liverpool
3. Chelsea
4. Newcastle United
5. Arsenal
6. Everton
7. Aston Villa
8. Tottenham
9. Blackburn Rovers
10. West Ham
11. Middlesbrough
12. Manchester City
13. Portsmouth
14. Birmingham
15. Bolton
16. Sunderland
17. Fulham
18. Reading
19. Wigan Athletic
20. Derby County
I once tipped Fulham to go down at 18th, but now I feel different about Lawrie Sanchez on the helm. I think his Northern Ireland-strong side will do him well. Big Sam will finally get to the Champions League, while the young Arsenal side will have to be content with a UEFA Cup place. Arsene Wenger will leave at the end, but the first manager to be sacked will be Steve Coppell after a bad mid-season. Why have I written off Reading? It’s not just about second-seasonitis. Emerse Fae and Kalifa Cisse may find it hard to fill Sidwell’s boots, and Nicky Shorey would go wantaway at some point in the season.
Individual Club Tidbits
Arsenal: Unless Fran Merida suddenly becomes an overnight monster of a player, there’s really no replacement for Thierry Henry as much as they thought they found one for Vieira in the form of Cesc Fabregas. Eduardo da Silva is a good player, and van Persie may be fit and raring to go but the team’s lightweightness and rumblings-on behind the scenes will distract them this season.
Aston Villa: The side is going stronger, even if slowly. They are unfortunately very fragile in defence after the departure of a lot of defensive players in the summer, if O’Neill doesn’t act to this, injuries may mean the team will start to falter midway through. Ashley Young will grow in stature, but Gareth Barry will announce his retirement from England.
Birmingham: The assortment of players in this team is incredible, but I can’t see them past mid-table. O’Connor will score a lot of goals.
Bolton: Not the same without Big Sam, but what bit of quality left with this team will ensure its safety.
Chelsea: A strong season in Europe, they may win the Champions League this time. Such focus in that competition will make them go third in the league at the last hurdle. Shevchenko will score and score in his second season, much like Drogba did. Scott Sinclair could turn out for England late in the season.
Derby: The “3-points” team this season, like in every season. Billy Davies is, in any case, a very interesting manager, let’s see how he talks. But won’t win more than 5 games in the first half, fate will be sealed as early as February.
Everton: Stagnates at top six, but will go on a successful UEFA Cup run.
Fulham: Northern Ireland… but Lawrie Sanchez would find club management a lot harder, the team will have mixed fortunes.
Liverpool: Will join Chelsea as the title contenders. Fernando Torres will not score as many goals as the fans would like, but but watch out for Sebastian Leto. Harry Kewell will play more regularly, if not injured.
Man City: Sven’s club-level revolution starts at a slow pace as the squad takes time to gel with each other. A Thai player will sign for the club. A strikeforce of Vassell, Corradi, Samaras, Mpenza, Bianchi and Bojinov may not be feared by many in England and such anonymity may be of their advantage.
Man United: Will successfully defend the title. The squad have strength in-depth now, barring any major injuries they’ll be steamrolling the opposition like the best of what this team can do.
Middlesbrough: Will again be a shock team, doing well against expectations. More youngsters like Seb Hines will come to the fore. Woodgate may be the big man in defence but Robert Huth will surprise a lot of people and will finally seal a big-money move to a huge European team next season.
Newcastle United: Big Sam will have a monster of a team, after having underachieved for so long, they may win a cup this year. Luque will be resurrected. Ameobi will leave in search for first-team football. Jose Enrique will be the biggest buy of the team, as he makes eye-catching performances.
Portsmouth: After the lofty heights last season, it’s a return to the normal mid-table stuff for Harry Redknapp’s men. David Nugent will not score much, and will lose his place to strikers like Utaka, Lua Lua and Mwaruwari.
Reading: Will struggle a lot this season, and will lose a lot of players in the winter transfer window.
Sunderland: Will find points hard to find, but have enough strikers to score their goals to survive.
Tottenham: A phenomenal strikeforce, but a shaky defense will mean they will lose out on even Europe this season. Martin Jol may even have to play a 4-3-3 mid-season.
West Ham: The money invested in the team will show its worth, but Europe may have to wait for now. Dean Ashton will be slow to recover, but will be muchly feared in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Bellamy would offset the striker trouble, but Carlton Cole flops and drops a division.
Wigan: The lack of quality in the team will spell their doom. Already losing Baines, soon more players will leave the club like Landzaat and Camara.
Well now, the action has started. Let’s watch… kickoff!
08.05.07
The FA Community Shield
Our towering Dutchman has won us the first silverware of the new season, the FA Community Shield, after Giggsy’s strike was cancelled out by the similarly left-footed Malouda. Edwin van der Sar saved all three penalties while Ferdinand, Carrick and Rooney tucked theirs sweetly in.
I’m off for university. Will post stuff out and about, opinions and perspectives, and the like.
08.04.07
Tevez in, Smith out
The transfer saga of Carlos Tevez has ended (for the time being), with Man United loaning Tevez for two years from MSI, with a compensation of ￡2m to West Ham, with first option to buy after the loan stint ends.
Alan Smith has followed the footsteps of Giuseppe Rossi who left early this month for Villarreal by going out the door and signing for Big Sam’s Newcastle United.
Ir will be very interesting to see how the new boys will blend with the old this season. Players returning from loans, such as Ben Foster and Gerard Pique, are like new signings too, let us not forget that. Sir Alex will find it hard to satisfy players who want to play this season – even at central midfield, the addition of Owen Hargreaves means Carrick and Scholes’ places aren’t as firm as last season.
It may not work for Anderson, who may need to find playing time elsewhere. But he’s not Kleberson either (not that I’m saying the other Brazilian was bad when he played for us) – at 19, he has a bright future ahead of him, which is all in his hands.
I expect Gabriel Heinze to leave in the next few days, but leaving for Liverpool will be bad for the former fan fave, even if not on a playing perspective.
All in all, I am happy that there are a lot of transfers knocking about this season, Winning Eleven for the PS3 would be a blast to play even though it won’t be out till long… if it retains the old editing tools that is.
