Man On, your number one source for football comment, debate and probably some conjecture, is back. Inspired by the glorious football on display at the World Cup (Ha!), the opening weekend of the Football Leagues and at long last the Premier League, it has been deemed time to resume hostilities, and re-focus efforts back on to all that is holy with a bumper season-opening edition. Football - its like you’ve never been away…
Today will be dedicated to England’s number one league, and what better place to start than the contrasting fortunes of the gang’s newest members. Blackpool surprised everyone with a 4-0 thrashing of an extremely lacklustre Wigan, who, it is fair to say, surprised no-one. Last season the Latics were far from good enough, and were perhaps saved by the virtue of the unusually low quality of the teams at the bottom of the league. The same could be said of West Ham, Wolves and Bolton, all of whom stayed up despite failing to reach the supposedly ‘magic’ 40 points mark. The Hammers struggled on Saturday, away at ’crisis club’ Aston Villa, but should stay up with the managerial prowess of Avram Grant and importantly the retention of midfield dynamo Scott Parker. Wolves, in contrast, started impressively, with a 2-1 home win over Stoke, a team admittedly prone to homesickness. Bolton managed to shut out Fulham on Mark Hughes’ debut, and, similarly to the Hammers, seem to have made a shrewd enough managerial appointment last term to guarantee safety in this.
The other newly promoted sides, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle, suffered more predictable fates. Both faced extremely tough away trips, and both, unsurprisingly, capitulated, 6-0 to Chelsea and 3-0 to Manchester United respectively. The first weekend of the season is the worst time to make predictions, and I wouldn’t dream of writing anyone’s (even chronic relegation fodder WBA‘s) chances off yet, but both of these sides look like they will at least be in and around the relegation dogfight come the end of May, and don‘t be surprised if any number of West Ham, Wolves, Wigan, Bolton and Blackpool are down there with them. Looks like a good relegation battle at least!
Other results this weekend included Allardyce’s Blackburn continuing their impressive form at Ewood Park with a 1-0 win over perennial slow starters Everton and Birmingham’s comeback from 2-0 down away at Sunderland. Steve Bruce got the traditional managerial criticism of officials off to an impressively early start, with some misguided and misinformed comments about rookie referee Anthony Taylor:
“The referee put himself under pressure. We’re a team from a tough working class area, the fans want a team which mirrors that but I believe Lee is victimised… the referee was totally inadequate, absolutely awful, and its cost us.”
Cattermole is a persistent offender, albeit a very gifted player, and his manager will be asked to explain his comments, a good thing as Bruce’s excuses ring a hollow tone. Furthermore, his suggestion that Taylor was taking charge of his first top flight game are simply incorrect, and he spectacularly failed to acknowledge the ridiculous penalty decision that put his side 1-0 up in the first place.
Finally, a quick mention of the final two games this weekend. Spurs versus City was a wonderful opening tie, a truly fascinating 0-0. Tottenham’s failure to capitalise on their periods of dominance might have cost them on another day, but City were disastrously blunt. Three holding players is not a tactic that can win the title, and Mancini needs to learn this, presuming the money men at the Middle-Eastlands are as ambitious as their chequebook suggests. Tottenham, for their part, looked exciting, dynamic and altogether reminiscent of last season (unsurprisingly!). Last, but by no means least, Roy Hodgson’s first league outing as Liverpool supremo. Reina’s last minute howler aside, the Reds looked organised, dedicated and as a result tough to break down. Exactly what the Anfield faithful will want and expect from a Hodgson side. Arsenal, so often cited as the archetype of free-flowing, attacking football, saw a glimpse of what life would be without Fabregas. The conclusion? No Cesc and Arsenal appeared impotent.
Showing posts with label steve bruce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steve bruce. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Thank God that English football has no Christmas break...
Christmas time means different things to different people. To some it is about friends, others family, to many drinking, presents or charity. Over-consumption is a popular theme and football is no different to chocolates, mince pies or mulled wine. Between Boxing day and the 3rd of January, we have a staggering fixture list to feast on. 135 games, made up of 20 Premier League matches, 24 in the Championship, 27 in League 1, 32 in League 2 and an extra 32 games with the guaranteed white-knuckle ride that is the 3rd round of the FA cup should leave us all (almost) satisfied. By the 3rd, when the fixture list starts to settle down again, we will all have a much better idea of how our teams seasons are looking. Today I plan to have a little talk about which teams are on a precipice, the fine line between success and failure, and pick out a few for whom this Christmas really is ‘make or break’.
The temptation to carry on talking about Man City or Liverpool (who could be out of every competition bar the Europa League 3 days into 2010) is massive, but I have decided to resist. Instead, we are going to have a little look a couple of teams who you might not instantly think associate with danger, but for whom a dodgy Christmas could seriously jeopardise very promising starts.
Lets start in the Premiership, where for me, one of the teams most reliant on coming through Christmas unscathed are Sunderland. Steve Bruce, indisputably an excellent manager, managed to make the Black Cats a tough side to beat for the first month or so of the season. The form of Darren Bent in particular turned the Stadium of Light into a place no-one fancied visiting, and top half clubs like Birmingham City, Liverpool and Arsenal have lost there, whilst Man Utd couldn’t beat them at Old Trafford. Their upcoming fixtures. a home tie versus Everton, a trip to Ewood Park and non-League Barrow in the FA Cup all look like very winnable games, but Sunderland’s form is abysmal - they have only recorded 1 win since 17th October. This coincides with the absence of influential midfielder Lee Cattermole, who returned on Saturday against Man City in a game that the Black Cats were unlucky to come out of without at least a point. They are sitting in 10th place with 21 points - interestingly the exact same amount as at this stage of last season. That year, they only won 15 more points after Christmas and finished in 16th place, only two clear of relegated Newcastle. In 2010 they must strive to ensure they do not capitulate to the same extent, and this kicks off on Boxing Day against Everton.
The next side who’s Christmas period I have identified as particularly crucial are Nottingham Forest. 3rd place in the Championship may seem like a dream come true, even for those fans who remember the glory days, but now is the time that Billy Davies’ side must start believing that they deserve to be where they are. Especially as the clubs beneath them, particularly Cardiff, will fancy their chances of picking off the Reds in the second half of the season. This Forest side are relatively inexperienced in the search for promotion out of the league, only finishing in the Championship play-off positions once since 2000 and securing safety in the latter stages of last season. Therefore, it is crucial for Forest to capitalise away at Watford and at home to Coventry, as Cardiff will be looking for 6 points in games against the bottom two teams in the league. As I previously mentioned, Billy Davies has repeatedly talked down his team this year. However, wins against Boro, Newcastle, Swansea and Preston to name but 4 prove that his side deserve to be where they are. Maybe now is the time for Billy, shrewd man that he is, to start talking up his side and push for an automatic spot rather than risk the lottery of the playoffs.
Anyway, every football fan in the country will have 3 points on Boxing Day top of the Christmas list. Although the clubs I have picked out find themselves in particular situations, I doubt anyone will be feeling too charitable come kick off on the 26th. Barring any major developments in the football world tomorrow, I will update again on Christmas or Boxing Day- Merry Christmas one and all!
P.S. I thought this made interesting reading, the Daily Mail‘s Premier League “Improvement Table“…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1237746/Second-best-Manchester-City-sack-boss-rock-Liverpool-persist-Rafa-Spurs-Premier-League-improvement-table.html
The temptation to carry on talking about Man City or Liverpool (who could be out of every competition bar the Europa League 3 days into 2010) is massive, but I have decided to resist. Instead, we are going to have a little look a couple of teams who you might not instantly think associate with danger, but for whom a dodgy Christmas could seriously jeopardise very promising starts.
Lets start in the Premiership, where for me, one of the teams most reliant on coming through Christmas unscathed are Sunderland. Steve Bruce, indisputably an excellent manager, managed to make the Black Cats a tough side to beat for the first month or so of the season. The form of Darren Bent in particular turned the Stadium of Light into a place no-one fancied visiting, and top half clubs like Birmingham City, Liverpool and Arsenal have lost there, whilst Man Utd couldn’t beat them at Old Trafford. Their upcoming fixtures. a home tie versus Everton, a trip to Ewood Park and non-League Barrow in the FA Cup all look like very winnable games, but Sunderland’s form is abysmal - they have only recorded 1 win since 17th October. This coincides with the absence of influential midfielder Lee Cattermole, who returned on Saturday against Man City in a game that the Black Cats were unlucky to come out of without at least a point. They are sitting in 10th place with 21 points - interestingly the exact same amount as at this stage of last season. That year, they only won 15 more points after Christmas and finished in 16th place, only two clear of relegated Newcastle. In 2010 they must strive to ensure they do not capitulate to the same extent, and this kicks off on Boxing Day against Everton.
The next side who’s Christmas period I have identified as particularly crucial are Nottingham Forest. 3rd place in the Championship may seem like a dream come true, even for those fans who remember the glory days, but now is the time that Billy Davies’ side must start believing that they deserve to be where they are. Especially as the clubs beneath them, particularly Cardiff, will fancy their chances of picking off the Reds in the second half of the season. This Forest side are relatively inexperienced in the search for promotion out of the league, only finishing in the Championship play-off positions once since 2000 and securing safety in the latter stages of last season. Therefore, it is crucial for Forest to capitalise away at Watford and at home to Coventry, as Cardiff will be looking for 6 points in games against the bottom two teams in the league. As I previously mentioned, Billy Davies has repeatedly talked down his team this year. However, wins against Boro, Newcastle, Swansea and Preston to name but 4 prove that his side deserve to be where they are. Maybe now is the time for Billy, shrewd man that he is, to start talking up his side and push for an automatic spot rather than risk the lottery of the playoffs.
Anyway, every football fan in the country will have 3 points on Boxing Day top of the Christmas list. Although the clubs I have picked out find themselves in particular situations, I doubt anyone will be feeling too charitable come kick off on the 26th. Barring any major developments in the football world tomorrow, I will update again on Christmas or Boxing Day- Merry Christmas one and all!
P.S. I thought this made interesting reading, the Daily Mail‘s Premier League “Improvement Table“…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1237746/Second-best-Manchester-City-sack-boss-rock-Liverpool-persist-Rafa-Spurs-Premier-League-improvement-table.html
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