Football 2008-09

[Captain Tancredi]

Tranmere's 1-0 win over Hartlepool yesterday was good to watch- the new signings do seem to be settling in and it was something of a relief given that Hartlepool were quite free-scoring in their first couple of games. Far from a convincing win, but an end-to-end attacking game, played mostly in the right spirit.

[Jonno]

I hope Paul doesn't mind me slightly modifiying the title of the thread - we've had it in this format for the last 6 years or so and I'm afraid I'm a stickler for tradition!

With Keane gone and Berbatov sure to follow, I have a bad feeling about this season - not helped by losing in the North East in the opening game of the season for the second season running...

[Paul Clement]

Blackburn: -

At first glance, the decision by Mark Hughes to leave Euro challenging Blackburn for the lure of the Man City millions seems to be an understandable one. Despite the continual good Premiership finishes the Lancashire club have achieved over the past few seasons, there is an air of inevitability that the club would go no further, and Shinawatra offered Hughes the chance to push beyond the veil of mediocrity that he has had to settle for at Blackburn. The fact that his new club is now in a turmoil of the owners making makes you wonder if Hughes shouldn’t have considered the move more fully first. Taking over from Hughes, and making his Premiership managerial bow, is Paul Ince. Fresh from his lower league successes at MK Dons, the Blackburn board were obviously of the belief that the player formerly known at the Guvnor could continue the success of his predecessor and hopefully build on it. Ince came into a club rocked by Hughes’ departure. He was, after all, a popular manager amongst his playing staff, and a number of players saw his departure as the end of an era and decided the time was right for them to leave to.

The defence, for so long a source of security for the team, lost its mainstay in Brad Friedel. The keeper had been with the club for a number of seasons, and was considered to be one of the best keepers outside the top four clubs, and on his day, could possibly rival some of these more illustrious clubs custodians. He certainly has a phenomenal record when it comes to penalty saves. To replace Friedel, Blackburn brought in the former England no. 1, Paul Robinson. Robinson’s position at Spurs had become untenable after a disastrous 18 month period that saw him lose his place in the England first team, and then eventually in the Spurs side before claiming it back. His move to Blackburn looks to be a way of trying to rejuvenate a career that had started to fall apart due, in the main, to a lack of confidence brought about by playing in front of a defence that afforded him little cover. In front of him is a core of no-nonsense defenders in Ooijer, Samba and Mokoena. They’re play may not be pretty, but it generally ends up being fairly successful come the end of the season. Having kept hold of Stephen Warnock, the left back slot appears to be ably filled and with Ryan Nelsen occupying the right back position, the club has a solid if unspectacular back line. Brett Emerton will supplement the defence when called upon, and despite his reference for playing in midfield, he is more than capable of holding his own in the Premiership in a more defensive role.

The midfield has been rocked by the departure of David Bentley to Spurs. He was the player who had the most assists at the club last season, and there style of play was often based around Bentley providing the crosses that Santa Cruz scored from. His departure hasn’t really been compensated for in the transfer market, with the club seeming content to rely on Steven Reid stepping into the role Bentley has vacated. Reid, although an adequate footballer, doesn’t have that killer ball instinct that Bentley had, and the club is going to have to create more chances from the centre of midfield if they hope to have as successful a season as they did last time out. On the left of midfield they have a player who needs to recapture the sort of form he displayed a couple of seasons ago. Morten Gamst Pedersen attracted the interest of a number of clubs at that time, but his form of the last season was such that his name has ended up leaving the frame in transfer terms. Although this may be good news for the club, who wouldn’t want to lose another of their better players, a player’s name being linked with other clubs is usually a good indicator that they have been playing well, something that Blackburn would love to see again from their mercurial Scandinavian talent. The centre of midfield is starting to look a little aged. Tugay has been a great servant for the club since he arrived, but time has started catching up with him, and he doesn’t seem to have the legs for the Premiership anymore. Alongside him is David Dunn as first choice midfielder. Dunn was on the verges of the England team a few years back, but like Pedersen, his game has faded somewhat and he now does a steady job for the club without really setting the place alight.

It’s in attack that Blackburn really looks at its strongest. Roque Santa Cruz was a revelation last season, and was only eclipsed by Torres at Liverpool in the striker stakes. His emergence has been to the detriment of Benni McCarthy, who was one of the revelations of the season prior. Santa Cruz’s inclusion in the team this season is by no means assured, as he still remains a transfer target for a number of bigger clubs, and Blackburn fans will breathe a little easier once September the first arrives, as long as he is still at the club. McCarthy doesn’t look like a certain starter either, as he hasn’t really settled into a partnership with Santa Cruz as well as Blackburn would have hoped, which leave Jason Roberts in the frame to stake a place in the side as the second striker. With his bustling style of play, Roberts seems the more natural partner for Santa Cruz, being the one who looks the more likely to unsettle the opposition defences.

The season will be a successful one for Blackburn, but I don’t envisage them achieving the league placing they managed last season. Bentley’s departure will hit them hard, and if Santa Cruz were to depart, then they could finish even lower than I’ve predicted. Ince needs time though, as he is taking over a club in transition, and he could go on to return the club to the higher positions that recent seasons have seen them finish.

[Paul Clement]

Man City:-

Who’d be a Blue Mooner? For so long, Man City has lain dormant in the shadows of the more illustrious and far more successful neighbours. Every few seasons, there is a changing of the guard and the dawning of a new age is announced at the club. Last time out, it was the arrival of King Kev, who was expected to drag the club into the higher echelons of the Premiership playing the sort of free flowing football the City fans have been craving for years. This time, it’s the Shinawatra revolution, but already the sun is setting on this latest new hope. When Shinawatra first took over the club, his murky past was ignored as the club looked to the millions their new Thai owner was ready to plough into the club. Sven was brought in and given almost limitless funds to bring in the players to make City real challengers in the Premiership, if not for the title, then at least for a European place. The trouble is, Shinawatra isn’t a City fan. He’s not even a footballing fan when it really comes down to it. His purchase of the club smacks far more of a prestige and image purchase, Shinawatra wanted to own a football club and it just happened to be Man City who were looking for a buyer at the time. His credentials as a chairman were called into question when he unceremoniously dumped Sven out of a job at the end of last season. This despite City having their best season for a number of years, based on a team that was still getting to know each other in footballing terms. He side managed to hit the ground running last season, but the team hit a rut midway through the campaign and did well to come out of it as a top half team at the end of it. Now it’s his ability to finance the club and the very question of whether he’s fit to run it moralistically that’s in question. Mark Hughes was brought in to replace Sven, and one can only surmise that Hughes was offered a sizeable transfer kitty to improve the team as part of the negotiations. That financial source no longer appears to be in place, and there are rumours coming out of the club that Hughes is already thinking about jumping ship. The simple fact is, Man City have been far too quiet in the transfer market, and there’s was a team that needed a lot of improving doing to it.

Joe Hart will remain the first choice keeper at the club, with the young custodian now only having Kasper Schmeichel as a challenger for his first team place. The previous season was quite a successful one for Hart, as he moved from third to first choice over the course of the campaign. In front of him there are a few quality players that will help the club put up a good showing. Micah Richards is fit again, and Vedran Corluka has decided to stay at the club after transfer speculation recently linked him with a move to Spurs. With Onuoha, Garrido, Dunne, Ball and new signing Ben Haim all in contention, the club has a number of options in defence. The problem is whichever way the defence is set up, it doesn’t look particularly solid. Richards is versatile, being able to play at right back or central defence. Corluka is naturally a right sided defender, and Onuoha again is similar. Garrido and Ball are the only options available to the left hand side, and neither of them is likely to strike fear into the hearts of opposition attackers.
The problems get worse as we look at the midfield. Petrov is a guaranteed starter, and Elano, despite a poorer showing towards the end of the last campaign, is most likely to play a central midfield role. That leaves Hamann, Ireland, Johnson and Fernandes to fight out the other two positions and most of these players are most comfortable in a central midfield position. The side has a creative spark to it, and last season showed that Petrov and Elano in particular can both create and score goals. Whether they can chip in with enough goals is the real question.

The reason for this is the lack of goals in the forward line up. Jo, the main transfer of the season, is untested in English football, and is at the Olympics as the season kicks off. That leaves Vassell, Sturridge, the perpetually injured Bojinov and Benjani to get the goals that City will need to combat the leaks in their defence. Benjani has the ability, but the remaining choices wouldn’t inspire much confidence if I were a City fan. The big question still remains over Jo. If he can adapt quickly, he could strike up a formidable partnership with Benjani, if not, then City could end up with another expensive flop on their hands and will most likely lose money on a trade in at a later stage.

Perhaps I’m being a little generous to City. The chances of them finishing in the top half of the table look remote at present, but you can’t discount the Hughes factor. For an ex-striker, Hughes has a good defensive mentality, and he will start to instil some of the defensive discipline that was prevalent at Blackburn under his tenure. If they can start creating goals, Hughes will get them defending better and the wins should start to come through. It may not be pretty, but it should be effective.

[Larry]

after that embarrassment yesterday I have only two words to say




CURBISHLEY OUT

[Paul Clement]

Aston Villa:-

The main focus of the summer for Aston Villa fans has been the ongoing saga surrounding Gareth Barry. To Villa, Barry is the main man. A player that leads the team on the pitch and provides the craft and guile that feeds the strikers. At present, it looks as if he will be staying with the club, but with a busy final week of transfer dealings still to come, most Villa fans will be crossing their fingers in the hope their captain will remain at the club. The club hasn’t let the uncertainty around Barry’s future unsettle their transfer policy, with Brad Friedel, Luke Young, Steve Sidwell, Nicky Shorey and Carlos Cuellar joining the club.

Last season, Aston Villa were one of the most free-scoring sides in the Premiership. Their biggest problem was keeping the goals out at the opposite end. No wonder then that four of the signings Aston Villa have made this pre-season have been defensive options. Friedel replaces Carson in goal, although one suspects that Martin O’Neill would have liked to have kept hold of his own loan keeper of last season. Friedel brings a wealth of experience to the side, and will be an assuring figure to the Villa defence. The club needed a replacement for Olaf Mellberg, who was perhaps their best defender of the last few seasons, but surprisingly, the club’s new recruits are all much more comfortable in full back positions. The natural replacement for Mellberg seems to be Curtis Davies, who will be expected to partner Martin Laursen in the centre of defence, with Zat Knight on call as back up. Last season, Wilfred Bouma occupied the left back slot, but an injury in pre-season has effectively ruled him out for the majority of the season, with new signing Nicky Shorey ready to step into the role. At right back, Cuellar and Young will be fighting it out for the final place in the starting line up. Despite this defensive strengthening, I still see the team shipping in far more goals than is entirely healthy, and as a result, I believe their season will not be as successful as the Villa fans will hope it to be.

The midfield has a good mixture of experience and youth to it. Barry, if he stays, will probably have a new central midfield partner in the shape of Steve Sidwell. In his Premiership debut season, Sidwell won a lot of plaudits as he helped Reading not only stay in the Premiership, but achieve a creditable final place too. This led to his inevitable departure from Reading into the waiting arms of Chelsea. His season at Chelsea was strangely reminiscent of Scott Parker, signed after an excellent season, but then hardly given a chance to prove himself at the more illustrious club. Sidwell will be hoping to prove something at Villa this season, and will help to create goals, taking some of the pressure off of Barry. With Reo-Coker in the frame as well, don’t be surprised if Villa sometimes play with a narrower midfield incorporating the three of them. Ashley Young and Stillian Petrov are ostensibly the wingers of the team. Young, a converted striker, will be the more attacking option of the two, and will be expected to weigh in with a fair share of goals too. His pace will be another asset the club will try to utilise.

In attack, the options seem a little more limited. Agbonlahor and Carew will be the natural pairing up front, and big things will be expected of the former player as he looks to build on the fine performances of last season. He will be hoping to get more goals, and with only a couple of games gone in the season so far, he looks ready to fulfil this part of his game already. The back up striker will be Marlon Harewood, who has a great deal of experience and will offer the team a different kind of attacking threat, based much more on his burly size and rugged approach.

Goals will be in good supply again, both at Villa Park and away matches. The problem will be that the goals will come at both ends, with Villa’s attack being once again diminished by defensive frailties. A mid table end of season finish looks almost inevitable unless the defence is further strengthened in the central positions.

[Paul Clement]

Sunderland:-

Last season, Roy Keane openly admitted that his transfer policy was one of quantity over quality. This season, quantity has been joined by quality. Keane has been one of the busiest managers in the transfer market, with over a half dozen new players coming in. He’s strengthened virtually every position at the club, and will be expecting a better showing from his team than he got last year.

His defence is formed around Craig Gordon. The Scottish keeper is arguably one of the finest keepers in the Premiership, and last season saved the team from more than one defeat due to his heroics. With an improved defence in front of him, his form can only improve on last seasons showing. New signing Pascal Chimbonda will settle in at right back, but given his ability to cover anywhere across the back line, he will provide welcome cover when injuries hit the club. Danny Collins looks another certain starter, but the remaining positions are really up for grabs with players such as Bardsley, McSahne, Anderson and Nosworthy all pushing for a place in the side.

The midfield has been given a boost to its industry and guile in the signings of Teemu Tainio and Steed Malbranque, while Kieran Richardson will hope to give a more consistent run of performances than he did last season. Andy Reid, Arnau Riera and Dickson Etuhu will be pushing for the starting places alongside them, and with others waiting in the wings, there will be a lot of competition for places at Sunderland this season.

Up front, Kenwyne Jones will face stiff competition for a fist team slot with the arrivals of El Hadj Diouf, David Healey and Djibril Cisse. The new arrivals seem to spell the end of the line for Michael Chopra and possible Anthony Stokes, both of whom never settled into the Premiership in the way Keane would have hoped last season. With nine recognised strikers in their squad, Sunderland will need to start trimming away some of the players whose chances are evaporating, to alleviate the wage bill and to recoup some of the hefty transfer spend that has accumulated this summer.

The biggest question mark over Sunderland is how well the signings made will adapt into the team. So many new players coming in all at once could have an adverse effect on the team’s fortunes, but the players brought in have all been of a higher quality, and will certainly improve the team as a whole. More signings could be forthcoming, but look for a few players leaving too. I predict an 11th place finish for the club this season, but they are a club that will continue to improve over the next few seasons unless Keane gets a job offer away from the club.

[Paul Clement]

Newcastle:-

Newcastle the enigma! Since King Kev’s first time in charge of the club, the giants of the North-East have been trying to find a manager who would be able to get them challenging the big four again. Having tried and disposed of managers such as Gullit, Dalglish, Bobby Robson, Sam Allardyce, Glenn Roeder and Graeme Souness, the club has come full circle, and once again King Kev is at the helm. This time though, there are a few differences. Before, Keegan had the riches of an owner who was also a huge Newcastle fan to dip into, and although Mike Ashley proclaims himself to be a fan of the club, he seems a far shrewder operator financially. The fans have been clamouring for the return of the hero for years, and one wonders whether his instalment as manager is set up to fail so that Ashley can say to the fans ‘we’ve tried it your way, now let’s try it mine.’ Keegan has been given limitations on his power at the club, with signings being made by Director of Football, Dennis Wise, and there has been more than one public dispute between the manager and owner so far.

Shay Given regains his status as first choice keeper, as the defence, renowned for being as leaky as a sieve, has been strengthened by the signing of Olympic Gold Medallist, Collocini. Whether he will succeed at a club that has turned more than its fair share of top class defenders into poor imitation of themselves (see Boumsong) is a question that remains to be answered. It is clear, however, that Collocini will be part of a new central defensive pairing with Steven Taylor for the upcoming season. Converted winger, N’Zogbia takes the left back slot while Habib Beye will be the most likely candidate for right back.

The midfield has six players contesting for positions, with Nicky Butt and Danny Guthrie looking like the preferred central midfield pairing. Whether this changes once Joey Barton is available to play again remains to be seen, but the club has publically declared their backing for him, suggesting he still has a big part to play. Duff, Gutierrez and Milner will be the main choices for the wide position, with Duff also being able to play of the striker when the call arises.

In attack, the choice seems to be a straight toss up between Martins, Owen and Viduka, with Alan Smith appearing to have limited time ahead of him at the club. The line up suggests goals, but there is also a danger that their injury prone strikeforce could backfire on them at the business end of the season. Whether this is the reason Smith has been kept on by the club is open to debate, but the squad as whole looks only a couple of injuries of suspensions away from mediocrity at best.

On paper, the Newcastle starting XI look far better than the position I envisage them finishing in, but the squad outside this first choice is surprisingly weak, and it’s when the need to paper over the cracks comes that the wheels will start falling off of the Newcastle band wagon.

[Paul Clement]

West Ham:-

The time is fast approaching when Curbishley will need to succeed or face the bullet. West Ham’s Icelandic owners have money to spend, but seem reluctant to let their current manager do the spending. With only two players brought in over the summer, and one of them a loan signing, West Ham are going to have to rely on their youngsters if thy want to achieve any kind of success this season.

Robert Green, an unfairly overlooked player for the England squad, will be a consistent performer for the Hammers again, but the defence in front of him is starting to look a little thin, and with Anton Ferdinand set to leave, it’s going to become a little stretched if they get any injuries or suspensions. Matthew Upson and Lucas Neill aside, the defence lacks the quality required for a Premiership team, and you get the impression that Robert Green is going to be a busy keeper over the coming season.

The midfield has been rejuvenated to a degree by the return of Kieron Dyer from long term injury. With Dyer, Bowyer, Noble, Parker and new signing Behrami in contention for places, the midfield looks the strongest part of the West Ham squad. There’s aggression and trickery there, and they will need to be on form to create the chances as they look like conceding a lot too.
Dean Ashton will be the main focus of the Hammers’ attacks. His goal return is generally a healthy one, but he needs a supporting striker who will take the weight of burden off of his shoulders by chipping in with a few goals themselves, and I don’t see Carlton Cole as being that man. If Bellamy gets fit and can play regularly, then he could be the one to take them further, but the only other choice is Fred Sears, a youngster full of promise, but who needs time to settle into the side. Thrusting him in too early could backfire and waste a potentially excellent talent.

I can’t see a great deal of success ahead for the Hammers this season, and am expecting Curbishley to be out the door before Christmas. There season could then be defined by their spending in the January transfer window, when a new manager will have access to the owners millions. Ultimately, for this season at least, that could be too little too late.

[Milky Tears]

Liverpool are jammy/robbing *****.

[Dave Lewis]

Love the mediocrity.

[duncan]

after that embarrassment yesterday I have only two words to say




CURBISHLEY OUT

We'll take him back anytime!

I miss Curbs and the club do too. I have just come back from Crete and we were the laughing stock of the other British holidaymakers after Yeovil knocked us out the League Cup.

Curbs may not get a team into Europe but he was good at Charlton.

[Lissa]

One newspaper's pathetic, predictable, cliché soaked reaction to the Champion's League draw.

United set up battle of Britain with Celtic, but Arsenal must face the group of death

Whoever filled the gaps in that dreadful sentence better be crying right now or else.

[Captain Tancredi]

Alternatively, "Manchester City Council wonder why they bothered clearing up".

[Paul Clement]

but Arsenal must face the group of death

Yeah, right!!! All the English clubs have fairly straight forward passages into the next stage unless they shoot themselves in the foot. In one case, Chelsea, the only real competition they'll face is Roma. A loss to Bordeaux or Cluj would be an embarrassment.

[Captain Tancredi]

Meanwhile in Belgium, several thousand Standard Liege supporters are arriving home and saying "Sacre bleu, that was some journey- I'm glad we don't have to go back there in a hurry!".

[Pip Madeley]

Scholes, WTF?!

Still, I was wise to put a tenner on Zenit winning at 4/1.

[Captain Tancredi]

Scholes was probably unfortunate in that the ball went in the back of the net- by which I mean that if it hadn't looked like a blatant attempt at cheating, he mightn't have had the second yellow.

I know I can go on about United at some times, but it does wind me up when Ferguson gives interviews while he's chewing gum. It's just rude.

[Pip Madeley]

it does wind me up when Ferguson gives interviews while he's chewing gum. It's just rude

[Dave Lewis]

Some interesting transfer deadline day deals so far, but none more so than Liverpool's signing of an eighteen year old Brazilian called Flora.

Has he been brought in to spread the play or is he a midfield Anchor?

[Captain Tancredi]

More likely somebody misheard Mrs Benitez's last-minute shopping request as Rafa was getting in the car this morning.

[Paul Clement]

Levy has to go. Selling Berbatov was a given considering his behaviour of the last few weeks, but to bottle it and accept a deal which included retracting their complaint about United's illegal approach...compunded by the fact they undertook a medical with the player before getting permission to talk to him, that's proof positive that the guy hasn't got the guts to deal with the big clubs. To make matters worse, we get a useless cock like Frazer Campbell on loan for the season as a makeweight. He was interesting the likes of Hull and Wigan, for christsakes, we'd have to have an injury crisis of epic proportions before that tool gets a place in the side. I'd rather have Pekhart return from loan and go up front than him.

[Pip Madeley]

Welcome home.

[Dave Lewis]

Cheerio!

[Captain Tancredi]

Levy has to go. Selling Berbatov was a given considering his behaviour of the last few weeks, but to bottle it and accept a deal which included retracting their complaint about United's illegal approach...compunded by the fact they undertook a medical with the player before getting permission to talk to him, that's proof positive that the guy hasn't got the guts to deal with the big clubs.

There's something very fishy going on if (as the BBC were reporting this morning) part of the deal was dropping the complaint- if nothing else, it makes a nonsense of making such a big deal out of tapping-up if the richest clubs can buy their way into having the complaint dropped. It worked in the Ashley Cole case because Arsenal were in a strong enough position and didn't need Chelsea's money, but it's a shame that there isn't somebody in the Premier League with a conscience and prepared to say "no, a complaint's been made and we should see it through". Although Spurs also put themselves in a vulnerable position by spending money before the Berbatov deal was signed.

Meanwhile, Tranmere's chairman Lorraine Rogers announced in the first programme of the season that she's selling up at the end of the season because of the way the game is going. But at least we have a Premier League defender in our squad now- that's Ryan Shotton, 19, on loan from Stoke City after having made his debut last week...