EPL GIST....
The problem is that it’s Martial or nothing
Van Gaal call for patience for Martial got me thinking about the effect his position as UTD’s main goal scoring hope will affect his career in the long term.
Generally, when a young player with potential is maturing in their younger formative years, managers will have periods when they take them out of the limelight. Sir Alex was great at this approach as can be seen with the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo.
Whilst they were too good not to play in their younger years there were periods when United could afford to leave them on the bench and rely on older more established pros such as Van Nistelrooy for goals.
The fact that Martial has come in and started with such a bang, coupled with the negligence of LVG leaving United with a lack of attacking options, means that he pretty much has to start. Now that he is going through a period where his form has dipped it would be ideal to take him out for a few weeks away from the spotlight.
However, United simply can’t afford to do this and the longer he doesn’t score the more the pressure will build and the more his confidence will dip. This mismanagement of a young talent could ultimately be to the detriment of his progress in the long term.
Long story short, buy a striker to take the pressure off and let Martial develop at a normal rate for a 20 y/o striker.
Mark MUFC
Liverpool: Also need a winger
That list of Top 10 Problems clubs must fix in January is very good and it’s hard to disagree with anything on there.
While I’m a fan of the squad depth we have in other areas (not necessarily the quality level everywhere but that’s another mail for another day) you are right about our need for another full-back but I’d add another winger onto that list.
Carra made a point that it’s borderline negiligent to go into a season with Jordon Ibe as our only “senior” winger and I agree. Ibe has been impressive under Klopp but it can’t last forever. He’s 20 this week and will be due to drop off if he’s consistently played (I mean I hope he doesn’t but I’m being realisitic) so we need another body in that area. Honestly, I don’t mind if it’s recalling Ojo from Wolves (he’s been doing quite well) or buying someone, I’d just feel better about our improving form (Sunday aside).
Kris, LFC, Manchester
English tactics stopping strikers from arriving from abroad?
After reading a couple of articles, one about the changing role of a striker and the other about a lot of clubs needing a striker in January it got me thinking…
The first article pointed out that most clubs used to have two strikers up top and are now generally only having one. I don’t think there’s much argument that many PL clubs would like / need another striker.
However, I’ve always thought goalkeeper was the worst position to be as there is only one place for you on the team sheet unlike outfield players that generally can play in a number of positions.
So my question is… If you are plying your trade a s a striker, would you want to come to the premier league where only one guy gets the nod or would you rather go play in a country where two strikers regularly trot out on the pitch (or you could go to Real or Barca where they have about five strikers in the team who all score a hundred goals a season).
Just looking at the striking ‘rejects’ from the Premier League over the last couple of seasons might put a few possible targets from coming.
Jon, Jo’burg
Explaining how draws work
The reason that Chelsea often get an easy draw in the third round is that at this point in the competition the draw contains more lower league than top division teams.
It’s not a conspiracy. It’s just a load of balls in a goldfish bowl.
Steve – Germany
Actually, Ferguson wasn’t omnipotent
This is regarding the piece titled “English Management – new dawn or slow death?” by Daniel Storey.
My attention was drawn to a particular line where he says that delegation of management is seen as a weakness in a British/English manager, and takes Alex Ferguson’s example.
It was surprising to read, because Ferguson recently emphasised on this aspect, in the case study on him in the Harvard Business Review where he said his performance as a manager improved remarkably since he started to delegate – and this was when he was still at Aberdeen, not even United.
The point of the article may be valid, but Ferguson was an absurd example to use, since almost everyone knows he was one of the least hands on managers in his final years at United. Sure he had the final word on transfers, but that doesn’t mean he saw delegation as a sign of weakness, far from.
Kartik V
On directors of football
The piece on the rise of Directors of Football this morning was interesting and thought-provoking. The idea of the DoF is to ensure continuity, as Les Reed points out, so that should a manager either underperform or overachieve and get poached by someone else, a similar coach can come in. This approach has worked well in recent years with Swansea, for example, even if their progress has arrested of late.
The DoF role is a foreign influence, and the rise of the role is linked to the influx of foreign owners. With North American investors, it’s largely a nod to the General Manager/Head Coach dynamic employed by just about everyone in the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB – owners of successful teams in those leagues would naturally want to replicate the recipe for success in a new sport. More generally, it’s a symptom of the amount of money sloshing about it club coffers these days – these businessmen didn’t make their money without being careful about how they spent it.
On the other hand, certain old-fashioned English managers (whose surnames might rhyme with “dead cap” and “pen-a-balls”) have form for taking unilateral control of the club and of the chairman’s chequebook, splurging money ridiculously, then doing one at the first opportunity once the money dries up and leaving everyone else to clear up the mess.
Too many lessons have been learnt the hard way about leaving one person in charge of every aspect of running a football club. We don’t like to think of clubs as businesses but that is what they basically are, multi-million pound businesses. The Manager/Head Coach is in effect a head of department, just as the DoF and Commercial Manager will be heads of different departments.
The sooner the old-fashioned British PFM gaffer-autocrat types realise that the Manager is a very important cog, rather than the whole machine, the sooner they’ll be back in work. Otherwise, they’ll become an irrelevance, and simply reduced to hanging out with Richard Keys, talking about how British managers don’t get opportunities these days, clubs “go foreign” and what do Directors of Football even do?
The literary Ed Quoththeraven
Bournemouth: Better than you think
AFC Bournemouth may have been struggling in this division, but can I please point out that prior to Saturday’s game versus Chelsea, we had actually scored 9 (nine) – in brackets just like the videprinter for avoidance of any doubt – goals away from home in the league this season. Including 4 (four) against the team currently in sixth. And after Saturday, the tally is currently more than 11 (eleven) other teams in the division.
Not quite sure what that says about Chelsea, but it says we are a lot better than you may think. Only time will tell if it’s good enough to avoid relegation. But we’ll give it a damn good go.
And we might even have even more away goals before we’ve left the Emirates later this month.
Robbie (AFCB)
Praise for MOTD
Match of the day has rightly been criticised over the years, the BBC failing to keep pace with Sky’s analysis and the old boys club phoning in their appearances from the 18th green.
But, this season I’ve actually started enjoying it again. They’ve stopped the rot by replacing the moaning serial miserablists and top football haters Hansen and Lawro. Danny Murphy looks like he actually loves watching football.
And, weirdly, I think I saw a glimmer of personality from Alan Shearer on Saturday (admittedly it was the personality of my boring uncle but it’s a start). Combine that with Gary thoroughly enjoying Leicester’s season and we’ve got ourselves a show going.
Neymar to United. For £144m
Date published: Tuesday 8th December 2015 1:18
Shout out to Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo for their list of forwards that Barcelona could sign in January. That list includes Antonio Di Natale, Luca Toni, Dimitar Berbatov, Miroslav Klose and Claudio Pizarro.
They might as well go full Harry Redknapp and get Niko “lovely boy” Kranjcar in.
No more, Neymar
‘Manchester United transfer news and rumours: United up ante for Neymar with staggering bid of £143.9m,’ is the big transfer news from the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday. You have to admit, it’s pretty hot stuff.
You also have to admit that it’s probably piping hot mess. The Telegraph write that ‘today reports are doing the rounds’, but Mediawatch’s rough translation of that is ‘Fichajes.net said yesterday’. No wonder they didn’t quote the source.
That Fichajes story is headlined as ‘Neymar not listen to Manchester United’ when forced through Google translate. It’s fair to say even our favourite
‘Manchester United have €200 million to spend, and their priorities are of course Gareth Bale and Neymar. But the Brazilian international will not hear talk of the Red Devils.’
So Fichajes go with ‘United have €200 million to spend but won’t get Neymar’, and within 24 hours the Telegraph have ‘United up ante for Neymar with staggering bid of £143.9m’? They should be ashamed (but they’re not).
Walk on
‘Sergio Aguero struggling to walk and will miss Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach but Yaya Toure returns to training,’ reads the catchy headline on MailOnline.
‘Manchester City’s injury problems have worsened with the news that striker Sergio Aguero is struggling to walk,’ a piece by Ian Ladyman begins. ‘City face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Tuesday night looking to recover some form after Saturday’s Barclays Premier League defeat by Stoke City. But manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed on Monday that Aguero will still be missing as he tries to recover from a heel injury.’
Aguero might be struggling to walk, but that’s not what Pellegrini said. As Ladyman’s own piece quotes: “It is an injury that he cannot work on. He needs time to recover from that problem. It is not a serious injury but it is a pain injury. We will have to see how he improves in the next week.”
Lost in translation?
Blame game
‘Blaming him [Van Gaal] for yet another goalless draw – United’s fourth in six home games – doesn’t add up,’ is Adrian Durham’s first big opinion of the day in his MailOnline column. He does like a big opinion.
‘The big stick Van Gaal was being beaten with was that United had only one effort on target in the West Ham game on Saturday. But whether the efforts are on target or not is not down to Van Gaal, it’s down to the player who is aiming for the target.’
That’s all true, of course, as long as you ignore details such as where the players are shooting from, which players are doing the shooting and how the chances are created (ie the style of play), all of which are implemented by the manager.
Why stop there? It isn’t Steve McClaren’s fault that his players have shown little passion, or Tim Sherwood’s fault that his players couldn’t attack or defend properly. Why is any manager sacked at all, when it’s the players who have played badly not them?
To answer the rhetorical question, it’s because the manager is held responsible for the performance of the club’s players on the pitch. If West Ham was a one-off then Van Gaal could avoid censure, but it’s three goals in six home games and seven in ten in all competitions.
I’m wicked and I’m lazy
Mediawatch would like to congratulate Sheffield Wednesday’s Lucas Joao on being named as the Football League Player of the Month in the Championship for November.
Joao played 188 minutes in November, and started one match. He was brought off in the 56th minute of that game. Quite the advert for England’s second tier.
We’re not scared
‘Barca clash would be no hell for Pell,’ reads the headline in the Daily Mirror.
‘Manuel Pellegrini has no fears about Manchester City finishing second in their Champions League group – even if it means facing Barcelona again,’ is the first line of that story.
Number of mentions of Barcelona: None.
Changed your tune
“It is very important to finish top of the group, not just to avoid Barcelona, but to beat a big team like this in Turin” – Manuel Pellegrini, November 24.
“If you do not finish at the top of your group, I do not think it is disappointing. I do not think we have to be always pessimistic about the draw. Maybe if you finish top, you can have a draw against a big team that finished second in its group” – Pellegrini, December 8.
Funny what a defeat to Juventus can do.
Ride together, die together
“What’s good is that he tells us we’re all together, if things are going badly there’s a problem with everyone. He doesn’t leave us, how shall we say, in the s**t, in the poo, and we’re always together” – Kurt Zouma.
Because if there is one thing Jose Mourinho is famous for, it’s not singling people out for blame.
On the same page
“On the positive side we are still in all four competitions, but today we didn’t have the legs to defend as we needed to or attack in the way we liked and we didn’t create many chances. We have had to play the same 12 or 15 players for most of the season” – Manuel Pellegrini, December 6.
“The amount of games is not an excuse, because we have everything around us to make our life easy. We have good facilities and good staff, and as much as we can recover we have to do it” – Bacary Sagna, December 7.
Daniel and Romelu up a tree
Dateline: Leeds, March 2016
Daniel Storey finally leaves Football365, changes his name to Rupel Boom, moves to Liverpool and starts a cult based on the teachings of Romelu Lukaku. Great significance is given to the number 10, members all wear ebony shoes and Romelu deniers are called ‘Joses’. The cult grows fast.
Dateline: A complex just outside Tranmere, August 2019
Lukaku is sold to Real Madrid for £50m. The COL whipped into a manic frenzy by their charismatic leader, Rupel Boom, tragically follow through on their suicide pact. The note they leave is a little too wordy.
Jeremy Aves
Wake up, Jose
I know that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but seeing De Bruyne lighting up the Etihad and Lukaku scoring his 11th goal of the season, its maddening knowing that Chelsea allowed them to depart (admittedly for lots of money!)
I have no inside knowledge, but seemingly Jose wanted more defensive work (De Bruyne) and didn’t trust Lukaku to lead the line at his age ?
Now, I’m not in the Jose out camp, although I am peering over the fence watching those guys toasting marshmallows on their bonfire. but I am left hugely disappointed by his lack in looking at the long term. He’s happy to continue picking players on past glories (Ivanovic, Fabregas, Costa) when its obvious to pretty much everyone that these players aren’t performing. Surely its time to trust other players. Namely any younger ones.
Loftus-Cheek should be a regular now. If able (clause?) bring Christensen back from his loan (18 games in defence for a Champions League side, who just beat Bayern Munich and are 3rd in the Bundesliga!) Bamford could easily fill the Falcao role (namely sub with odd game!) and not do any worse. Nathan Ake offers versatility at LB and CM. Ola Aina certainly wouldn’t be any worse than Ivanovic at RB, pus there’s Kenedy and Troure. Not even mentioned the youngster’s at Vitesse.
I’ll caveat the above with the acceptance that, in July it was the correct decision to send players out on loan. Far better for e.g. Christensen to play in German League, than sit behind Cahill, Zouma and Terry at Chelsea, but things have changed.
I only hope that Jose can change too ?
Neil (happy to finish 12th with youngsters, than 6th (?) with current team), Surrey.
Just trust Baba
Does anyone else who been watching Chelsea with Baba Rahman feel that no Chelsea player seems to trust Baba.
In last weeks game against Bournemouth (and other matches before), i noted that Baba was in good position multiple times with acres of space infront of him to run.. but other Chelsea players preferred to pass side ways than to Baba.
Baba has not been very good with ball at his feel but to his credit sent in two good deliveries from the wings when he was given the ball.
Either Mourinho should not play Baba or players should trust Baba when he plays. It otherwise feels like we are playing with an handicap.
Bharni CFC
Death, taxes, and Arsenal needing a midfielder in January
Scrolling down the Top 10 list this morning wondering what was number 1 was like listening to the charts at Christmas. Arsenal’s centre midfield problem = X Factor winner. In a list of problems you just knew that’d be number 1 for the 748th Christmas in a row.
Joe (sign up Tugay)
Calm it, Brian la
Jeez Brian, LFC, we were not being negative, but cautious, and the point I was trying to make was don’t invoke ‘the commentator’s curse’. .
I applaud you being the optimist in your regular emails, but always saying “We WILL” just leads to trouble, with laughter and abuse from other team’s mailboxers, as you have experienced in the past. As we have learned from recent experience getting too optimistic can lead to crushing blows.
As you say, it is only December and we do have some definite winnable games coming up and all the big teams still to visit us. But we need to raise our home form/atmosphere for the latter to count, and as we have just found out you can’t guarantee anything (and no, that’s not negative, it’s just taking into account the whole season’s home form so far).
Sure keep the excitement and hope going Brian, I will as well, but like many of us, will not shout it from the rooftops. I distinctly remember the 70s and 80s management teams and players constantly emphasizing do the talking on the pitch, not in the media.
Of course if we do manage to do it this year I WILL buy you a pint!!
Mike (I repeat, “in Jurgen we trust”) Woolrich , LFC
Watford thoughts
When asked over the summer by a Chelsea supporting acquaintance my thoughts in Ighalo as a fantasy football selection I said something along the lines of ‘if he plays he’ll score a lot of goals’
This weekend’s victory showed exactly why, he was an absolute menace from start to finish and given that Bassong spent a portion of last season on loan at Watford and I would imagine training against Ighalo, it is quite surprising that he didn’t seem to know what was coming. With a bit of luck he could have had 3 or more.
With Everton and Lukaku next to come for Norwich I’m sure Ryan Bennett and Bassong will surely be looking forward to the relative relief of United’s frontline.
But onto Watford and that was much better, Villa last week was a battle of resilience whereas this week we took the game by the scruff of the neck and controlled it. There was a 15 minute wobble in the middle of the second half but even then we looked capable of scoring at any point. We now sit 9/10th depending on the result later tonight (Monday) but are as many points from the top as we are from the relegation zone. My heart tells me to look up (at time of writing only a point away from a probable European place) but the head says get to 40 points (36 will probably be enough) as soon as possible and be grateful for any fun you have along the way.
A long trip to Sunderland awaits next weekend, surely an interesting tactical battle between an irresistible force and an immovable object. Not sure if either team will want the ball as both look to keep it tight at the back and grab something on the counter, could be an awful game for the neutrals or it could end up 4-4. 3 points would be incredible but 1 would be nice.
Following that game the fixture list looks a little darker with the next 10 including Liverpool, Man city, Spurs (twice), Chelsea (twice). But based on this weekend would anyone fancy trying to predict scores in those games. (if forced, draw with Spurs at home, 4 points from Chelsea and lose the rest)
Colin (Above Chelsea for Christmas dinner, what a time to be alive) Watford FC
Morning, Ed
Dear Football365,
All right, don’t make a big song and dance about it.
*I thought a draw was a fair result. Early on in the Guardian’s minute by minute Nick Ames made the point that an early goal would have spoiled the fun, as one team got more defensive, and I think he was right. With Palace scoring in the 76th minute, Everton then threw everything at them to get an equaliser.
*Obligatory reference to two F365 recurring themes: Daniel Storey’s love of Romelu Lukaku (how many games? How many goals? How old?), and the site’s assertion that hitting the post/bar is not unlucky, merely inaccurate shooting. Not sure I fully I agree with that, but you could sympathise with Toffees fans thinking they were cursed, such was the magnetism between the frame of the goal and the ball.
*Yanick Bolasie and Gerard Deulofeu made this into the battle of the jinky wingers, and were their respective team’s main attacking threats throughout the game. One of football’s great pleasures is watching someone combine speed and skill to make an opponent look foolish, and on nights like last night, these are two of the best at it in the Premier League.
*Lukaku deserves all the plaudits, but at the other end, Connor Wickham put on another quietly decent centre-forward display, creating space and chances for the attacking midfielders behind him. People will still put him down for his lack of goals, some of which is fair, but the role he plays in the creation of chances for more skilful teammates is important.
*Wayne Hennessey had possibly his best game for Crystal Palace last night. However, I’m still not convinced he will ever be good enough to take the Glaziers to where they want to be. Similarly, one of Everton’s main limitations in recent seasons has been Tim Howard. It’s not that he’s constantly making gaffes, but there are signs of a lack of mobility on occasion. For example, Bournemouth’s third goal last week – Howard had taken a cheat step towards the near post, to give himself a better chance of getting to a shot there, and was then found miles out of position when the ball was crossed and headed in, because he wasn’t quick enough to react or move.
Howard has found himself in a similar position to David James, late in his career. His accomplishments in his heyday meant he largely avoided criticism for any poor play, but that same status meant he was effectively undroppable, even when it became glaringly obvious he was a major part of the problem.
Everton have the makings of a very good team, in players like Lukaku, Deulofeu, Galloway, Coleman and Stones (plus others), but it does seem like a new goalkeeper could be one of the answers for when they want to really push for a place at football’s top table.
*Crystal Palace are up to sixth. Our next two games are against Southampton and Stoke, two sides we should be aiming to be in the mix with come the end of the season. After that, we’ve got three against teams looking nervously over their shoulders at the relegation zone: Swansea, Bournemouth and Chelsea.
Regards,
The literary Ed Quoththeraven
Insults to injuries
While sitting in a drab econ lecture on a dreary winter evening, my mind couldn’t help but wander towards the whirlwind that has been this season’s Premier League. I know it’s been said time and time again, but you really can’t tell who is going to beat who in the league, even 15 games in, which makes for some fantastic entertainment every damn week. There has been 1 clear overachiever in the league so far- Leicester sitting at the top of the table, with people constantly questioning when they will hit a bad run of form rather than if. I do agree with that questioning, as the big reasons for their overachievement have been free-flowing attacking football coupled with a hit of injuries to all the big clubs below them, and their luck to stay relatively injury-free (not to undermine them at all, they’ve been a joy to watch this season).
For Leicester, they’ve had 7 players- Vardy, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton, Huth, Morgan, and Schmeicel- who have featured in every game this season, Mahrez has also just missed 1 game out of 15. That sounds like some sort of fantasy for the perenially injured sides of Arsenal and United who have only had 3 players feature in every game this season- Giroud, Monreal, and Cech for Arsenal, and Mata, Smalling, and Schweini for United. City just can’t seem to get the job done without their backbone of Aguero, Silva, and Kompany who have collectively missed 20 games between them. And Liverpool have had some Henderson, Coutinho, Lallana, and Sakho injuries sprinkled around the glass legs of Sturridge. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see whether Leicester can keep this up when it all gets evened out and Mahrez has to sit out for a few games while Vardy fires blanks; not to be pessimistic, but injuries are inevitable, and when they catch up to the Foxes, and the big teams start firing with relatively fitter squads, then we will be able to see their true character. Till then though, it’s fun to watch them shake up a league that has become a little too complacent , hopefully it’ll set them straight, and this could be the wake up call other English clubs to get their act together, especially if they want to stand a chance of avoiding the continuing trend of embarrassment in Europe.
– HJ (The Epl is the best league in the world), MUFC
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