The curtain raiser to the Premier League season produced an absolute thriller as Manchester United came back from 2-0 down to defeat their great rivals in the Community Shield, at Wembley Stadium.
Sir Alex Ferguson must have wondered what hit him in the first half that was largely dominated by the Champions, but goals from Joleon Lescott and Edin Dzeko gave their rivals City a 2-0 advantage going into half-time.
The game certainly proved a baptism of fire for United goalkeeper, David De Gea, who was certainly at fault for both goals and Fergie will be hoping that the young Spaniard regains his confidence and composure ahead of next week’s opener.
It must have been a strange teamtalk for Ferguson to give, with United the better of the two teams, but fortunately it wasn’t long into the second half before Chris Smalling brought United back into the game with an excellent finish beyond Joe Hart. The goal galvanised United into action and they didn’t take long to notch up an equaliser with a wonderful team effort finished off by Nani.
The last half hour was end to end with City slowing becoming the stronger side in the last 15mins, but just as penalties were looming large, Nani punished Vincent Kompany’s error to nick the winner deep into stoppage time.
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The result will certainly have no psychological bearing on the football season, but it has certainly whetted supporter’s appetite for the big Premier League Kick Off next Saturday.
The newly promoted clubs will have a great deal of trouble surviving in the Premier League, without a squad full of players that have hundreds of Premier league appearances, amongst them. At least, that is the generally considered outlook. However, in truth, is there really any substance to this.
I’m sure any international or national media outlet can provide pages of data that back up this theory. However, what would they say about the fact that West Ham got relegated last season, with players possessing significant Premier League experience, and even included England internationals.
How was it that Blackpool, nearly managed survival despite having a squad that had barely played a Premier League game between them. Maybe surviving in the Premier league is a darn sight more complicated than having or not having Premier League experience. Dare I say that Premier League experience has no relevance on survival.
Swansea, Norwich and QPR will certainly hope that it isn’t essential. Of the three promoted clubs, QPR have put a greater emphasis on Premier League experience with the signings of DJ Campbell and Danny Gabbidon and are now bidding to bring Scott Parker into the squad.
Paul Lambert is more interested in signing players that are young and hungry to prove they can play at Premier League level. This doesn’t mean, he is ignoring Premier League players, but he isn’t focusing on them either. His eight summer signings have come from the Championship, League One and the Premier League. Despite the so-called lack of Premier League experience, Paul Lambert’s transfer policy should hold Norwich in good stead.
Equally, Swansea, will be hoping that Danny Graham can step up to Premier League football, even though he hasn’t played in the top flight before. Swansea will draw inspiration from Blackpool, who proved that players lacking in Premier League experience can step up and do very well. Blackpool’s major success stories from last season were Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell. Both players have now earned moves to current Premier League clubs.
I think it is also important for newly promoted clubs to be careful which Premier league model they follow. You could for instance, look at Wolves and Wigan and decide that is a good model to follow. Admittedly, they have managed to sustain Premier League football. However, has either club really progressed?
In order for a team to plan ahead, they need to become an established Premier League club. Of course, it is difficult to define exactly what an established Premier League club is, but a pretty good rule seems to be a team that people don’t think will go down. The best current example is Stoke City, Stoke can afford to plan ahead, and they have progressed, every year they have been In the Premier League. This season, of course, they will be playing in Europe.
Who knows what the future holds for QPR, Norwich and Swansea. But a lack of Premier League experience, doesn’t mean that relegation is inevitable. There is plenty to be optimistic about coming into the new season.
Yes, it is likely that at least one of these teams will get relegated. But there is no reason to think that two can’t stay up, as Newcastle and West Brom proved last season. Team spirit, togetherness, and having a good manager can get you a long way. It will be a tough battle, but clubs need to keep in mind, the future, when buying players to sustain Premier League football.
Too many newly promoted clubs go down the road of spending a lot of money on established players. The thinking is, the quality will keep them in the Premier League. However, the cost of failure can be very high, because the players will either wish to leave or stay and cripple the club financially in the Championship.
This is where, Norwich has been very smart. Eight players have been signed, but with the minimum of financial risk. The club can also be reasonably confident that these players would be prepared to play Championship football and wage costs can be kept under control. So, if the worst thing was to happen and Norwich got relegated, then at least they would have one of the strongest squads in the Championship.
Now, if they had followed the age-old wisdom of Premier League experience. Well first of all those players would been very expensive, either in wages, transfer fees or both. Now of course, you would hope that those players would be good enough to keep you up. However, if they were not they would most likely leave the club, leaving a depleted squad. If that weren’t to happen, they would stay, but being paid high wages.
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A further point is that experienced Premier League players are probably nearing the end of their careers. Therefore, the chance of getting your money back on them is relatively slim. Now consider a player coming in the Championship that is 21 years old. That player can develop and may turn out to be a quality Premier League player. Now either the club will sell that player and make a huge profit or the club will benefit from having one of the better Premier League players.
This is effectively, what happened with Charlie Adam last season and at the end of the season Blackpool made themselves a significant profit, by selling the player to Liverpool. Maybe this conventional wisdom is deeply flawed. And this year’s crop of newly promoted sides can continue what Blackpool started last season.
Foreign owners are common in the Premier League these days, whether its Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, the Glazers at Manchester United or Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City, English teams have increasingly become the playthings of the rich and famous. The current trend suggests that there will be an influx of Middle Eastern owners, which could mark the end of American investment in the Premier League.
There was a time when it seemed as if most of the Premier League sides were destined to end up in the hands of wealthy American owners. The Glazer’s blazed a trail with their takeover of Manchester United, and many of their countrymen were quick to follow them to the English game. However, that trend seems to have slowed down of late, and all the talk-or rumours-of foreign takeovers seems to be coming from the Middle East.
The Glazer’s seem to be looking for a way out, and Manchester United are continually linked with a sale to the Qatari royal family. They have snubbed their offers in the past, but with market conditions looking extremely volatile, they could be tempted should a new deal be brought to the table. If the deal were to go ahead it could give United the same kind of spending money as Man City, and would raise questions about whether anyone else in the league could compete with this type of investment.
Cash from the Gulf has already begun to transform the look of the game, and has changed the fortunes of clubs across Europe from the likes of Malaga and PSG, to Anzhi Makhachkala and of course Manchester City. The flow of cash to clubs with little, or no history of previous success, is turning football upside down. The incredible investment in Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi group in 2008 has changed the footballing landscape forever.
Manchester City’s owners seem to have done a good job and appear to have solidified the partnership between the Premier League and the Middle East. They have managed to attract the biggest names, pay the biggest wages, secure massive transfer deals and made promises to invest in ensuring the regeneration of the local area and the future of the club. This has now become the blueprint for Premier League ownership and it seems that there is little that many outside the Middle East can do to compete. Whilst this is great if your club is taken over by Middle Eastern owners, we have to bear in mind the new Uefa Financial Fair Play rules which begin in 2013-14. It remains to be seen what sort of impact the regulations will have on this type of ownership, but they are supposed to cut the ability of clubs to rely on wealthy benefactors.
Whatever nation the owners of Premier League clubs come from, one problem they continue to add to is the problems of debt within the Premier League, which continue to spiral out of control. The concern with foreign owners is that they will swan in and be quick to take their money out of the club as quickly as possible, negative examples like Hicks and Gillette and-despite the trophy haul-the Glazers do not help this image. So far Manchester City’s owners have acted honourably and professionally, but it remains to be seen if the Middle Eastern owners will be here to stay.
The Arab era of investment shouldn’t signal the end of American investment in the Premier League, the likes of Randy Lerner and Ellis Short have done well at their respective clubs and shown that most American’s do know how to run sports teams on this side of the pond. The Premier League allows clubs and therefore sponsors access to a global market, and it offers the owners a chance to acquire a well known, truly global, sports brand. If this globalisation of the Premier League continues then more clubs can expect to fall into foreign hands, and in the search to stay competitive it is more and more likely that these investors will be from the Middle East, as even the American’s begin to fall behind.
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This season could be the breakthrough one for the Gulf owned clubs, and signal whether it is their intent to stay. The Premier League grew used to the influx of American owners at several of its top clubs, but the arrival of the Gulf has shepherded in a new era that even the American’s and Roman Abramovich don’t seem to be able to compete with.
Do you think Middle Eastern investment is likely to end American investment in the Premier League? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or following me on Twitter @LaurenRutter for more comment and debate.
There were many things that we could have featured in the week in brief. Chelsea going down to nine men against QPR, still almost picking up a point and a certain John Terry. Newcastle continuing their unbeaten run, Arsenal’s crisis seemingly being over or Liverpool’s inability to put teams to bed. However, only one man is worth talking about: Mario Balotelli!
Manchester City beating Man United 6-1 at Old Trafford was big news, but even that has been overshadowed by Balotelli, fireworks and a t-shirt. Because Mario Balotelli accidentally set fire to his own house. Yes. He was innocently setting off some fireworks from his bathroom, but against all the odds, something went wrong. With the entire 1st floor ablaze, he then rushed back into his house to retrieve a suitcase full of money (this story may not be entirely accurate).
We have a look at the antics of Mario Balotelli in the Week in Brief…
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Football fans’ willingness to show their dedication comes in all shapes and sizes. One such way is to splay their dedication over their body in the form of a tattoo. I can understand why somebody might choose to tattoo their footballing allegiance onto their body. Whilst women come and go, a football team is for life. It’s the manly man’s equivalent of getting “I love mom’ yet a tattoo is a big commitment, so it’s important to get it right. As you can imagine, this process isn’t always a success.
Below are the top 10 Liverpool tattoo’s to be found on the net – the good, the bad and the plain ugly – click on image below to unveil gallery:
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Have you got a better Liverpool tattoo? Football FanCast would like to invite the readers to submit their own entry via our Facebook Page. The winning entries will go forward to our grand competition to find the best tattoo in the Premier League.
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Win tickets to Legends Lounge to see the titanic clash at Anfield
Dig deeper into the world of football and you will discover a lot. Many international footballers aren’t native to the country they represent, some of which have extremely loose ties and choose their national side only to be in with a higher chance of playing international football. FIFA rules were altered in 2008 in order to help secure Sepp Blatter’s plan to reduce the number of foreign footballers playing abroad. Under these laws, uncapped footballers are allowed to switch allegiances after 5 years of being native to a country. You are also eligible to represent a country if a parent or grandparent was a native.
All very well it seems, I’m of the belief that your nationality lies with your place of birth. However, I can understand this clause. There is a major problem though; this rule is being exploited for the advantages of larger countries on the international stage. Leaving the smaller countries without what could be a historic player for them or that could bring them closer to the dream of playing in a international competition such as the World Cup or European Championships.
It doesn’t take long to find an example of this, Germany’s second all time goalscorer Miroslav Klose was born in Poland and was 7 when his family moved to Germany. He himself has said it’s better for him not to be called German or Polish, but European. Another example is his old Bayern Munich strike partner Lukas Podolski , although this is more understandable as he moved to Germany when he was 2.
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh here, they might both claim themselves to be German Nationals and yes, technically they are. The real issue is when a player is able to represent a country when he himself would not class himself as being of that nationality. Two examples of this are Manuel Almunia and Mikel Arteta, both Spanish footballers and both uncapped, due to how long they have lived in England for they are both eligible to represent the three lions. However, they themselves will never claim to be English.
This is not a new issue, Alfredo Di Stefano is classed as a legend of the game but did you know he represented 3 countries at the top level? He scored 6 goals in 6 games for his native Argentina between 1947 and 1949, following this came 4 appearances for Columbia, where he scored 0 goals. He gained Spanish citizenship while playing for Real Madrid and went on to score 23 goals in 31 games for Spain. Ridiculous isn’t it? Ok, the law has been cleared up since then meaning you can only represent 1 country at full level but this should never have been allowed to happen.
Owen Hargreaves was born in Canada and went on, as we know, to represent England. However, he also gained German citizenship while playing for Bayern Munich and was close to playing for Wales at U-21 level before pulling out at the last minute. Paulo Di Canio was also eligible to play for England. Ryan Giggs represented England at schoolboy level under the name Ryan Wilson, before opting for his country of birth. As he should.
Many, many footballers fall under this issue and there will be alot more in the future, unless the rules are altered. Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eduardo, Giuseppe Rossi. Have a look into the background of football and you will learn alot and begin to question the work of FIFA.
It needs a simple law to clear up and it won’t cause FIFA much hassle to organise. It begs the question, are FIFA ignoring the issue or are they under the influence of the bigger nations who benefit from these players?
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Article courtesy of Josh Challies from This is Futbol
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has admitted that Gareth Bale will need to get used to tough tackling from opponents, as the flying winger is targeted by opposing defenders.
The Wales international has impressed with stunning performances over the last 18 months, and sides facing Spurs are wary of the attacker’s threat.
Similar to leading dribblers in the game, Redknapp feels that Bale will continue to be targeted for rough treatment.
“The last tackle (from Simon Cox) at the end of the West Brom game, that was bad and from behind when he was running away, that was cynical,” the tactician told The Daily Mail.
“But he is so quick and can just move the ball away, people lunge in and suddenly the ball is not there and they catch him. I suppose when you are that good a player you are going that.
“The top players in the world – [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi – who can run at people with the ball and beat people all get that.
“He has got quick feet and is maybe a little bit too quick for the people he is playing against,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has admitted that his side will not be happy with finishing second in the Premier League this season, even if they get more points than last term.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have more points on the board now than at the same stage last season, but are trailing rivals Manchester City by three points in the race for the title.
Smalling has stated that criticism over the side’s performances are expected if The Red Devils are not at the top of the pile.
“I can understand the criticism. We’re second in the league and the expectations of this club – from both inside and out – are massive,” he told Mirror Football.
“If we’re not on top, then everybody’s asking why. Rightly so, too. Finishing second with more points than we collected last season won’t make us feel any better about ourselves.
“The only objective is to win the league. We knew the Christmas period was going to be tough and we did well against QPR, Fulham and Wigan.
“But we were gutted to get beaten by Blackburn on New Year’s Eve, and then by Newcastle a few days later.
“The win over City in the FA Cup has given us a lift, so we hope now we can kick on, because there are some big games to come,” he concluded.
United travel to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in a mouth-watering clash on Sunday.
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Vincent Kompany will serve a four-match ban, after the FA dismissed Manchester City’s appeal against his red card in the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Etihad Stadium captain was given a straight red card for a sprawling challenge on Nani in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, but the Premier League leaders challenged Chris Foy’s decision.
However, the governing body stood by the referee’s ruling, and the Belgium international will now add to Roberto Mancini’s defensive worries.
“An Independent Regulatory Commission has today dismissed a claim of wrongful dismissal from Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany following his red card for Serious Foul Play in the FA Cup Third Round tie between Manchester City v Manchester United on 8 January 2012,” the statement reads.
“Kompany will serve a four-match suspension with immediate effect. The suspension consists of a statutory three-match suspension for Serious Foul Play plus one additional game given this is Kompany’s second dismissal of the season.”
The talismanic centre half will miss both legs of the Carling Cup semi final against Liverpool, along with Premier League games against Wigan and Tottenham.
With Kolo Toure away on African Cup of Nations duty for at least the next month, Mancini now has limited options at the heart of his defence.
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The men who broadcast our football through the TV are almost as famous as the players themselves these days. Think John Motson, Clive Tyldesley or more controversially, Andy Gray and Richard Keys. But you always get the impression you’ve heard everything they say before. Well, that’s because you probably have. The commentator is the king of the cliché, using the same phrases to sum up most situations! Here is the A to Z of Commentators Clichés:
A- “All to Play for” – The phrase always issued after a dramatic goal is scored to get the losing team back in the match. I’m fairly sure there was all to play for before, it’s just they hadn’t managed to score then.
B- “Beckham Territory” – Anytime a team that old Goldenballs played for won a free kick in the opposition half, out came the familiar phrase. The ball inevitably hit the wall.
C- “Mark of True Champions” – Manchester United play dreadfully, they fail to break down Wigan all game long, defend like a bunch of strangers, yet sneak a late goal to pick up a vital win. Lucky? No that’s the mark of true champions.
D- “Schoolboy Defending” – Alan Hansen’s favourite saying on Match of the Day. Said defender makes first mistake of the season, yet needs to return to his youth to relearn the art of tackling.
E- “End to End stuff” – Normally used to describe a frantic game. Very overused, the action usually isn’t literally end to end, more like a few shots in a short space of time. Always heard whenever the Big Four play each other.
F- “Best Form of Defence is Attack” – Is it? Counter-attacking may be OK, but ask Ian Holloway and Blackpool how many goals they conceded when they tried abandoning defending altogether. I’d say the best form of defence is defending properly. (Sorry Mr Wenger)
G- “Game of Two Halves” – Whenever any side takes a big lead in the first half, the commentator has to keep the viewing public interested by reminding them anyone can mount a comeback. Well, in reality, this never happens and we get conned into watching 45 more minutes of one-sidedness. Unless it’s Istanbul 2005.
H- “He had to go” – Shocking challenge, red card given. Commentator shakes his head disappointedly, judging the naughty red carded player, “he had to go.” Well yes, that’s generally what a red card means.
I- “I’ve seen them given” – Another one for the pundit. A penalty gets turned down. It’s controversial. Knowledgeable pundit announces he’s seen them given. Well congratulations. You’re a pundit because you’ve meant to have seen everything in football anyway!
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J- “Just enough to put him off” – Used just after the lumbering centre-back clatters into the striker with a desperate challenge after being beaten all ends up.
K- “Killer Ball” – Normally heard when the team’s playmaker plays a majestic pass. Sounds painful…
L- “Lost the Dressing Room” – That was careless. Where on earth did you put it?
M- “Magic of the FA Cup” – Lower league team beats bigger league team. Why? Not because bigger team put out reserves due to fixture congestion. Nope, it’s definitely the magic of the cup.
N- “Needs a Goal” –Most games do need a goal, yes. I cant ever remember enjoying a 0-0 draw.
O- “On Paper” – Yes we all know Manchester United have a stronger squad on paper than Torquay United. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
P- “Park the Bus” – One of Jose Mourinho’s favourites after a Spurs side went all defensive at Stamford Bridge. The commentator recognises the negative attitude (usually from the away side) and out comes the big double decker of a cliché.
Q- “Can’t Question his Commitment” – Means said player is terrible and the only thing he can do is run around like a headless chicken.
R- “Rub of the Green” – Having watched one team miss two open nets, have three penalty appeals turned down and see a goal chalked off for offside, the commentator usually ruefully decides the other team had all the luck.
S- “Six Pointer” – Big clashes between teams (usually at the bottom of the division) are referred to as six pointers. Which is rather ‘pointless’ as they still only carry the standard three.
T- “Too Good to go Down” – The pundits always know best. They always predict whose squad isn’t good enough to keep them in the division and who’s got the quality to stay in the league. Errmm, think again. Ask Leeds fans in 2004,Newcastle fans in 2009 or West Ham fans last year if they were “too good to go down.” Didn’t think so…
U- “Unbelievable Jeff!” – Enough said.
V- “Virtually Unmarked” – I wouldn’t say he was virtually unmarked. More like literally unmarked. Hence why he scored.
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W- “Worked his Socks off” – Always used to describe a player with an exceptional work rate. Every time Park Ji Sung plays for Manchester United or Dirk Kuyt turns out for Liverpool, you can guarantee hearing this phrase at least once during the game. Can’t say I’ve ever actually seen those workhorses without said sock though.
X- “X-Rated Challenge” – Alright, it was a fairly bad two footed tackle. But that’s what the fans come for right?
Y- “Yard of Pace” – When a player gets old, according to our friends with the microphones, they always lose that yard of pace. I’d still back any said player in a foot race against Per Mertesacker though.
Z- “Row Z” – The words a commentator reserves specifically for Emile Heskey. Even though most grounds don’t have a Row Z.