Chelsea, yet again, find themselves in a situation where there is uncertainty hanging over the managerial position. After Roberto Di Matteo was sacked – despite winning the Champions League, which was meant to be what Roman Abramovich was craving – the club hired Rafael Benitez as (interim) manager, presumably in an attempt to try and get Fernando Torres firing again. However, with the fans against Benitez and Torres still misfiring – despite amassing a respectable 20 goals in all competitions - change is once again on the horizon for Chelsea. With the striker situation they have, only having Torres and Demba Ba at their disposal, the fans want a new, world-class, striker to lead the line – and the club have been linked to many in the past eighteen months. Read more ›
Why A ’9.5′ Would Be Better For Chelsea
Aaron Ramsey: The Utility Man Has Found His Role
When 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey made the £5m switch from Cardiff City to Arsenal in 2008, big things were expected from the Welsh U21 player. However, despite not yet living up to his potential – mainly due to the leg break he suffered against Stoke City in 2010 – he has started to flourish in the deeper role in the Arsenal midfield, after injuries to Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere gave him his chance, he hasn’t looked back and, deservedly, hasn’t been dropped for the returning Wilshere. After being used as a utility man for a season or two, filling in on the right and left as well as his favoured central-position, he seems to have found his calling in the double-pivot alongside Mikel Arteta, and has started to make the place his own.
PSV 2-3 Ajax: Ajax Take A Huge Step Towards The Eredivisie Title
This was probably the most important game of the Eredivisie this season, with the title race being the closest out of Europe’s major leagues, the winner of this game would surely take one step towards the title. The game was even more important for PSV, as a win was a necessity. Heading into the game PSV trailed Ajax by three points, and were also one point behind Vitesse – after they threw away their three goal lead to draw with Roda JC – so if they wanted to win the title, they would have to take the three points, which would put them ahead of Ajax on goal difference.
PSV may have been encouraged by the fact that Ajax haven’t won in Eindhoven in their last six attempts, but Ajax were the form side heading into this game. Winning their last five games – with four of them being away from home – whilst also being on a nine game unbeaten run. PSV have dropped points lately, losing two of their last six games, but they also hold the best home record in the league, winning twelve out of their fourteen games this season – scoring 47 goals in the process, an average of 3.36 a game. When these two sides met earlier in the season, Ajax ran out 3-1 winners, as Viktor Fischer scored two brilliant goals, to really announce himself onto the world stage.
Southampton: The Pochettino Effect
The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino was a controversial one, as he replaced Nigel Adkins – the man who guided Southampton to back-to-back promotions and had had a relatively good start to his début season in the Premier League. With this in mind, Pochettino would have to make a good impression, in an attempt to convince people that Southampton had made the right choice, with the majority of people defending Adkins and believing his dismissal was unjust. However, since Pochettino has taken charge at Southampton, they’ve been an exciting team to watch, as he brings a style of football that is rarely used in England, as he is a disciple of Marcelo Bielsa’s and adheres to a similar style – bringing a new approach to the Premier League, which makes the league a lot more exciting. Though, he may not be as radical as ‘El Loco’ Bielsa in his approach – I predict we won’t be seeing a 3-3-1-3, or an attempt to use a ‘double enganche’ in the future – the high-tempo pressing game is something the Premier League has been lacking. So, what effect has Pochettino had on Southampton?
Are Tottenham Only A Striker Away From A Title Challenge?
Since Harry Redknapp took Juande Ramos’ place at White Hart Lane five years ago, the club has undergone a huge transformation. They’ve gone from a mid-table side pushing for a Europa League place, to a side that is underachieving if they aren’t challenging for the Champions League places. A large part of this is thanks to Harry Redknapp – which I don’t like to admit – as with some good signings, he has made the change for Tottenham, however, this season, I think Tottenham have been a lot better than previous seasons, with Andre Villas-Boas’ side playing some of the best football in the league, and really taking Tottenham to the next level – in my opinion. He may have got off to a relatively slow start, which sparked a media outburst claiming he was ‘under pressure’ just two months into his reign, but since that initial blip, they’ve gone from strength-to-strength. They’ve dropped some points in recent weeks, but at one point second place was a very reachable target, as Manchester City faltered, with that now out of sight, some eyes have turned to next season and have been seeking ways in which Spurs can improve, and the main weak-point for me is the striker. So, it begs the question, are Spurs only a striker away from mounting a serious title challenge?
Malaga 0-0 Dortmund: Some Thoughts
The tie was deemed as a dream for ‘footballing hipsters’ – as it is somehow ‘hipster’ to like these two teams – and with the risk of sounding ‘hipster’, I have to admit, it was the tie I was looking forward to the most, as it seems the most unpredictable. Both teams have their own way of playing, but are also quite pragmatic, making this such an interesting encounter, especially with both sides playing a high-tempo, direct, passing game – it was sure to be a classic.
The line-ups were, roughly, this:
Can The U.S.A. Become A ‘Soccer’ Superpower?
The United States of America are one of the best sporting nations in the world, consistently in the top two of the Olympics medal table, whilst being the home of some of the best sporting facilities and programs in the world, with their prestigious universities. Their college football makes a mockery out of our Premier League, with the average attendance for a college football game being 45,000, whilst the average Premier League attendance is a mere 35,000. The only thing lacking for America, is football – or soccer, as there may be some confusion after the last bit – with them being an adequate team, but not reaching the heights they tend to in other sports. If America were to put more focus into football, would they excel and become a superpower? Everything seems to be available for it to happen, so is the opportunity there for the taking for America?
Are Holland The Dark Horses For The 2014 World Cup?
The Netherlands may only be a small country, but on the international stage they could be seen as perennial underachievers – having been one of the best footballing sides over the decades, but failing to win a World Cup. They’ve revolutionised the game of football, with the birth of ‘Total Football’ in the early 1970′s and produced some of the best players the world has ever seen – with the likes of Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp – yet have never got their hands on that prestigious trophy, with a the team usually imploding every four years, rather than rallying together and playing the way they can. It seems almost destined for Holland not win a World Cup, as even the 1974 team – who’ve been called one of the best teams ever and as close to perfection a football team has ever been – fell at the last hurdle, as they aimed to score the perfect goal, rather than being merciless. However, could this current crop of Holland players be the ones to lift the curse, and finally bring the World Cup back to the Netherlands?
Mousa Dembele – The Premier League’s Most Complete Midfielder?
Despite our relationship getting started off on the wrong foot as he scored two against my beloved Wolves – with the second being a late winner – I’ve been an admirer of Mousa Dembele for a while now. I don’t usually like ‘industrial’ midfielders, or typical box-to-box destroyers, or all-rounded midfielders who seem to have a ‘jack of all trades master of none’ theme about them, however, Dembele seems to be an exception to all of these categories. He has some aspects of the box-to-box destroyer, but then his technique on the ball, particularly his skilful dribbling differentiate him from the rest, then when you think he could be a creative midfielder, with his dribbling and creativity, he alters from ‘competitors’ with his solid defensive play.
He truly is an anomaly when compared to other midfielders in the world, with him seeming to have no stand-out area of improvement. He’s not the perfect player, not at all, but if you look at the ‘generic categories’, ie. passing, defending, dribbling etc, he rivals most players in the Premier League, and is strong statistically in nearly all of them. It does beg the question, is Mousa Dembele the most complete midfielder in the Premier League?
Rodgers’ Vision Is Falling Into Place
“I will leave no stone unturned in my quest – and that quest will be relentless – to try and get Liverpool back on the map again as a successful football club.”
When Brendan Rodgers was hired as the Liverpool manager in the summer, it seemed he was hired to spearhead a ‘project’, to get Liverpool back amongst Europe’s finest, after their recent slum, since losing Rafa Benitez and several key players. From his first few press conferences and interviews, it was clear Rodgers was hired with a long-term vision, a vision to make Liverpool the club they were, whilst playing attractive football and using home-grown players, from the highly coveted Kirkby academy.
