Here's our first ever podcast! We review the Manc derby and preview the FA cup final. I hope you enjoy it! If you are on the move, you can download it and listen to Jhala and my drivel on your IPOD-
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
United - City review - What was Fergie thinking?
Three weeks ago, United were eight points clear of City. Cue the collapse - losses to Wigan and City combined with a draw, at home to Everton, and the Manchester clubs are now even on points. City, however, have a far superior goal difference. The game was a tense affair; let's examine the tactical breakdown.
Starting line-ups - United set up in the expected 4-3-3 and Fergie brought back Park from the wilderness. Smalling replaced Evans at center back with Phil Jones as the wing-back. Giggsy and Nani were on either wing with Rooney up-top by himself. There has been much ridicule of Fergie for his decision to not pick Valencia. Although, I admit, I was very surprised when the line-ups were announced, I can see what the legendary scotsman was thinking. The United players were asked to force City wide - with the realization that Rio and Smalling would beat Tevez and Aguero in the air. This meant that United played very narrow and for this reason, Valencia was dropped to the bench. Valencia is most effective when flying down the wing and continuously stretches the play. Therefore, having him in the team would allow City to play through the middle and Fergie wanted to eliminate that possibility. With that idea, he played Nani on the right - with the knowledge that Nani would continuously cut inside and therefore give City the ability to only attack through the wings. And it almost worked.
As for City, Mancini set up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 with Barry and Yaya playing in holding positions, and Tevez, Aguero, Nasri and Silva playing in interchangeable forward positions. Mancini has been ostracized for perceived defensive tactics, but in this game, it was clear that he was trying to win the game outright. The italian matched the United midfield by setting up Barry and Toure against Scholes and Carrick respectively. For the first few minutes, Park found himself in space as the extra-man, but shortly, Lescott was picking up his runs and the korean forward was invisible the rest of the game. Zabaleta's runs beyond Giggsy were absolutely breath-taking. The argentine defender, possibly buoyed by the presence of Maradona, played with incredibly passion and speed and caused Evra all sorts of problems.
For the first 10 minutes or so, United controlled the game. But, at no point did it seem that United would score. It was almost as if they had set up to play out a 0-0 which is in itself disappointing. The entire first half was a tactical battle played out in midfield - Carrick and Barry stood out for their respective teams - mostly because of their defensive play. And then came the goal. City's captain, Vincent Kompany, had been sent off the last time the two sides met. His retribution was powering a header past DeGea that it may have won City the title. Most of the media blamed Smalling for the goal. However, I think the blame lies on the shoulders of the older, more experienced, Rio Ferdinand. Rio was guilty of getting in Smalling's way; which allowed Kompany to out-jump the ex-Fulham defender. As the half-time whistle blew, I was convinced that Fergie would take Park off and put Valencia on. That did not happen.
As I have mentioned earlier, I can sort of see why Fergie benched Valencia. I have absolutely no explanation for why he came on in the 79th minute. Valencia is joint-leader in the assist table with David Silva - despite the fact that he has played in 8 less games than the Spanish forward. He is undoubtedly United's most lethal attacking option. If your team needs a goal, you would think that he would the first sub onto the field? Fergie gave Valencia just over ten minutes to impact the game. Even as a United fan, I cannot comprehend what the reasoning was for that decision.
While I have defended the decision to bench Valencia, I cannot defend the decision to start both Scholes and Giggs. Don't get me wrong, they are two of my favorite players. But, surely, at 37 and 38 years of age, they do not have the legs to compete against one of the most powerful midfields in Europe? Besides, by playing Giggs and Nani on the wings, Scholes' greatest asset - his distribution into space - was completely nullified.
But, anyway, credit also goes to Manchester City. There were multiple occasions where they counter-attacked and could have scored more goals. Apparently, getting past Patrice Evra is the easiest thing in football these days. In particular, Yaya Toure was a monster carrying the ball forward - and helped City control the midfield. Yaya has flourished into one of the top midfielders in the world, and at 28, is reaching the levels that Barcelona expected of him.
There was also the off-the-field battle between Fergie and Mancini, which I admit seemed to have been started by the old Glaswegian legend. Sir Alex' temper is well-publicized and it was certainly on-show while he berated Mancini for 'complaining'. Sir Alex - how many times have we watched you remonstrating with the referee?
With this loss and the subsequent two games, I certainly expect City to win the title. If both teams win their respective games, it will be the first time that the title will have been won on goal-difference; and that would be pretty amazing. Mancini's pressure-deflecting tactics are working wonders, and surely the Italian should be (along with Brendan Rogers) a strong candidate for manager of the year. For those of you who have recently started watching football, this would be only the second time, in the premier league era, that a team other than United, Arsenal or Chelsea has won the league. The only other time was Blackburn - under the tutelage of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish. And Mancini deserves some serious credit. This is also the first time in about 5 years that City has done the league double over United. Noisy neighbors indeed.
As for United - it's time to revert back to 4-4-2 and hope that City has an off-day against Newcastle.
Next up - preview of the FA cup final and the big league games at the weekend.
Starting line-ups - United set up in the expected 4-3-3 and Fergie brought back Park from the wilderness. Smalling replaced Evans at center back with Phil Jones as the wing-back. Giggsy and Nani were on either wing with Rooney up-top by himself. There has been much ridicule of Fergie for his decision to not pick Valencia. Although, I admit, I was very surprised when the line-ups were announced, I can see what the legendary scotsman was thinking. The United players were asked to force City wide - with the realization that Rio and Smalling would beat Tevez and Aguero in the air. This meant that United played very narrow and for this reason, Valencia was dropped to the bench. Valencia is most effective when flying down the wing and continuously stretches the play. Therefore, having him in the team would allow City to play through the middle and Fergie wanted to eliminate that possibility. With that idea, he played Nani on the right - with the knowledge that Nani would continuously cut inside and therefore give City the ability to only attack through the wings. And it almost worked.
As for City, Mancini set up in an attacking 4-2-3-1 with Barry and Yaya playing in holding positions, and Tevez, Aguero, Nasri and Silva playing in interchangeable forward positions. Mancini has been ostracized for perceived defensive tactics, but in this game, it was clear that he was trying to win the game outright. The italian matched the United midfield by setting up Barry and Toure against Scholes and Carrick respectively. For the first few minutes, Park found himself in space as the extra-man, but shortly, Lescott was picking up his runs and the korean forward was invisible the rest of the game. Zabaleta's runs beyond Giggsy were absolutely breath-taking. The argentine defender, possibly buoyed by the presence of Maradona, played with incredibly passion and speed and caused Evra all sorts of problems.
For the first 10 minutes or so, United controlled the game. But, at no point did it seem that United would score. It was almost as if they had set up to play out a 0-0 which is in itself disappointing. The entire first half was a tactical battle played out in midfield - Carrick and Barry stood out for their respective teams - mostly because of their defensive play. And then came the goal. City's captain, Vincent Kompany, had been sent off the last time the two sides met. His retribution was powering a header past DeGea that it may have won City the title. Most of the media blamed Smalling for the goal. However, I think the blame lies on the shoulders of the older, more experienced, Rio Ferdinand. Rio was guilty of getting in Smalling's way; which allowed Kompany to out-jump the ex-Fulham defender. As the half-time whistle blew, I was convinced that Fergie would take Park off and put Valencia on. That did not happen.
 |
| Kompany scores possibly the most important goal in City's history. |
As I have mentioned earlier, I can sort of see why Fergie benched Valencia. I have absolutely no explanation for why he came on in the 79th minute. Valencia is joint-leader in the assist table with David Silva - despite the fact that he has played in 8 less games than the Spanish forward. He is undoubtedly United's most lethal attacking option. If your team needs a goal, you would think that he would the first sub onto the field? Fergie gave Valencia just over ten minutes to impact the game. Even as a United fan, I cannot comprehend what the reasoning was for that decision.
While I have defended the decision to bench Valencia, I cannot defend the decision to start both Scholes and Giggs. Don't get me wrong, they are two of my favorite players. But, surely, at 37 and 38 years of age, they do not have the legs to compete against one of the most powerful midfields in Europe? Besides, by playing Giggs and Nani on the wings, Scholes' greatest asset - his distribution into space - was completely nullified.
But, anyway, credit also goes to Manchester City. There were multiple occasions where they counter-attacked and could have scored more goals. Apparently, getting past Patrice Evra is the easiest thing in football these days. In particular, Yaya Toure was a monster carrying the ball forward - and helped City control the midfield. Yaya has flourished into one of the top midfielders in the world, and at 28, is reaching the levels that Barcelona expected of him.
.jpg) |
| Battle of the managers - Sorry, Sir Alex, but the Italian just jobbed you. |
With this loss and the subsequent two games, I certainly expect City to win the title. If both teams win their respective games, it will be the first time that the title will have been won on goal-difference; and that would be pretty amazing. Mancini's pressure-deflecting tactics are working wonders, and surely the Italian should be (along with Brendan Rogers) a strong candidate for manager of the year. For those of you who have recently started watching football, this would be only the second time, in the premier league era, that a team other than United, Arsenal or Chelsea has won the league. The only other time was Blackburn - under the tutelage of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish. And Mancini deserves some serious credit. This is also the first time in about 5 years that City has done the league double over United. Noisy neighbors indeed.
As for United - it's time to revert back to 4-4-2 and hope that City has an off-day against Newcastle.
Next up - preview of the FA cup final and the big league games at the weekend.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Manchester City vs Manchester United - preview
This is it! This is the game that will decide it all. Tomorrow, Manchester United will make the short trip across Manchester to the Etihad stadium to battle Manchester City for the title. For those of you who have been living under a rock, here's the scenario - United are currently 3 points above City in the table with three games left before the end of the season. City and United have one tricky away fixture left - to Newcastle and Sunderland respectively and a home game they should both comfortably win - QPR and Swansea respectively. So, yes, it comes down to this game. It's pretty simple - whoever wins this game will win the premier league. A draw would suit United more.
Likely starting formations
City - Mancini is likely to flood the center of midfield and set up with a 4-3-3 formation. This is the formation that destroyed United 6-1 earlier this season and is definitely City's best formation. Although it can seem defensive at times, it is a formation designed to be flexible and powerful. Moreover, it can be switched to a 4-3-1-2 during counterattacks.
United - SAF will probably try and match the formation and go 4-3-3. This is the formation United use when playing away in Europe, and it will be how they set up at the Etihad. It is definitely not United's most effective formation. United would definitely switch to a 4-4-2 if a goal is required.
Probably starting line-ups
Keepers - Hart and DeGea. These two pick themselves and are both in good form.
Fullbacks - Richards and Clichy vs Rafael and Evra. Although Richards is coming back from injury, he is a shoe-in at right back because of his excellent positional awareness. Plus his speed may set up some counterattacking opportunities. Clichy will be preferred to Kolarov for the same reasons plus the fact that he can match Valencia for speed. Besides, Kolarov could be the best defensive sub in the league when a goal is required! Although Rafael was terrible against Everton, his match fitness will see him selected ahead of Smalling. Also, Rafael tends to do well in the big games (don't remind me about Bayern though). United's captain, Evra, will be an automatic selection although, in my opinion, this has been his worst season as a United player.
Central defense - Lescott and Kompany vs Ferdinand and Evans. Joleon Lescott and Johnny Evans have a lot in common. They are both defenders that are lauded when playing well. However, they are both capable of defensive lapses and Evans, in particular, will be looking to set things right after he was sent off at Old Trafford in 2011. In Kompany, City have the best central defender in the premier league. Ferdinand has been in good form, but may struggle against the speed of City's defense. He is definitely going to play the sweeper role and sit back and gobble up anything Evans messes up on.
Midfield - DeJong, Toure and Milner vs Scholes, Carrick and Jones. De Jong will be selected ahead of Gareth Barry to nullify the influence of Paul Scholes. I expect Nigel to man-mark Scholesy and simply play the ball to the other midfielders to distribute. Toure, as I will talk about later, will be City's key player. Milner had a good game against United last time and I expect him to be selected for his movement off-the-ball. His speed will be difficult for United to handle. Scholesy's distribution puts him ahead of Giggsy in the pecking order; although Giggsy's movement would be a huge asset. I expect Giggsy to replace Scholesy at about the 60 minute mark as the ginger prince cannot last the full 90. Carrick has had his best season in a United jersey and will play the quarterback position. He will be responsible for tracking the runs of Milner and will hopefully make some crucial interceptions. Jones will be selected for one reason and one reason only - competing with Toure. Neither Scholes nor Carrick would be able to win headers in the air or track Toure's gut-busting runs from midfield. Phil Jones has the muscle and speed to do both. The disadvantage to play Jones in midfield is that he could not make a pass at Pamela Anderson.
Outside forwards - Tevez and Silva vs Nani and Valencia. Tevez has been in fine-form since his return from the wilderness. Back in December, Kartik Krishnayer, from EPL talk soccer, predicted that Tevez may be the catalyst that takes City to their first title in decades. This is the game to ensure that that sentiment is true. Let's not forget that it was another ex-United player that sent United down to the old first division. United legend, Denis Law, scored the goal for City that relegated Manchester United three decades ago. Perhaps history will repeat itself and Tevez will score to win City the premier league. Silva's creativity is stunning and he has been coming back into form of late. I expect him to trouble Rafael at right back. Ashley Young is defensively aware and may be selected against Nani. But, Nani tends to play well against City and I think the Portuguese midfielder may score after cutting in from the left. Valencia is an automatic selection on the right.
Strikers - Aguero vs Rooney. Both strikers have been in fine form lately. City's forwards will be more flexible - with Aguero and Tevez switching positions.
Achilles heel
United - Right back - Rafael, Fabio, Jones, Valencia, Smalling have all played on the right with varying degrees of success. Sir Alex will be hoping that Rafael will have a good game, or else City's forwards will have a field day.
City - handling the pressure - Such is the strength of City's team that it is difficult to think of a weak link. However, they have shown that they struggle to handle pressure at times. When City were odds-on to win the premier league, they experienced their worst form of the season. To counter that, once United were 8 points clear and Mancini started to declare that the Old Trafford outfit would win the league - City started winning games by five goal margins. This is a high-pressure game and Mancini will be trying to take the pressure off his players.
Trump cards?
United - Play Park JiSung - Park is a big game player who has been used to nullify creative players in the middle of the park (refer to AC Milan and Chelsea for a perfect example of this). However, his lack of match fitness and height make this an unlikely scenario.
City - Go 4-4-2 - If Mancini decides to throw caution to the wind, he could play Adam Johnson and Silva on the wings and completely throw off united's tactical setup. Again - an unlikely but fascinating scenario.
Key Players
Yaya Toure - Yaya is one of my favorite players in the premier league. Strong, fast and tireless, he is a more muscular version of Chelsea's Ramires. It is very difficult to track his runs from midfield and he will undoubtedly be involved in many counter attacks for the Etihad outfit.
Jonny Evans - Evans has had his best season in a United shirt. Let's not forget, however, that he got himself sent off at Old Trafford and will need to have a near-perfect game to nullify City's potent strike force.
Key substitutes
Balotelli - He scored twice against United and the mercurial forward will be looking to repeat that form at the Etihad.
Chicharito - Last year's super-sub will undoubtedly be brought on if United find themselves a goal down . Welbeck may be brought on if a little more ball-retention is required.
Prediction - 2-1 City. I expect City to win this one as united will be cagey and likely to make some defensive lapses. I certainly hope I'm wrong!
Likely starting formations
City - Mancini is likely to flood the center of midfield and set up with a 4-3-3 formation. This is the formation that destroyed United 6-1 earlier this season and is definitely City's best formation. Although it can seem defensive at times, it is a formation designed to be flexible and powerful. Moreover, it can be switched to a 4-3-1-2 during counterattacks.
United - SAF will probably try and match the formation and go 4-3-3. This is the formation United use when playing away in Europe, and it will be how they set up at the Etihad. It is definitely not United's most effective formation. United would definitely switch to a 4-4-2 if a goal is required.
Probably starting line-ups
Keepers - Hart and DeGea. These two pick themselves and are both in good form.
Fullbacks - Richards and Clichy vs Rafael and Evra. Although Richards is coming back from injury, he is a shoe-in at right back because of his excellent positional awareness. Plus his speed may set up some counterattacking opportunities. Clichy will be preferred to Kolarov for the same reasons plus the fact that he can match Valencia for speed. Besides, Kolarov could be the best defensive sub in the league when a goal is required! Although Rafael was terrible against Everton, his match fitness will see him selected ahead of Smalling. Also, Rafael tends to do well in the big games (don't remind me about Bayern though). United's captain, Evra, will be an automatic selection although, in my opinion, this has been his worst season as a United player.
Central defense - Lescott and Kompany vs Ferdinand and Evans. Joleon Lescott and Johnny Evans have a lot in common. They are both defenders that are lauded when playing well. However, they are both capable of defensive lapses and Evans, in particular, will be looking to set things right after he was sent off at Old Trafford in 2011. In Kompany, City have the best central defender in the premier league. Ferdinand has been in good form, but may struggle against the speed of City's defense. He is definitely going to play the sweeper role and sit back and gobble up anything Evans messes up on.
 |
| Yes, that actually happened. |
Outside forwards - Tevez and Silva vs Nani and Valencia. Tevez has been in fine-form since his return from the wilderness. Back in December, Kartik Krishnayer, from EPL talk soccer, predicted that Tevez may be the catalyst that takes City to their first title in decades. This is the game to ensure that that sentiment is true. Let's not forget that it was another ex-United player that sent United down to the old first division. United legend, Denis Law, scored the goal for City that relegated Manchester United three decades ago. Perhaps history will repeat itself and Tevez will score to win City the premier league. Silva's creativity is stunning and he has been coming back into form of late. I expect him to trouble Rafael at right back. Ashley Young is defensively aware and may be selected against Nani. But, Nani tends to play well against City and I think the Portuguese midfielder may score after cutting in from the left. Valencia is an automatic selection on the right.
Strikers - Aguero vs Rooney. Both strikers have been in fine form lately. City's forwards will be more flexible - with Aguero and Tevez switching positions.
Achilles heel
United - Right back - Rafael, Fabio, Jones, Valencia, Smalling have all played on the right with varying degrees of success. Sir Alex will be hoping that Rafael will have a good game, or else City's forwards will have a field day.
City - handling the pressure - Such is the strength of City's team that it is difficult to think of a weak link. However, they have shown that they struggle to handle pressure at times. When City were odds-on to win the premier league, they experienced their worst form of the season. To counter that, once United were 8 points clear and Mancini started to declare that the Old Trafford outfit would win the league - City started winning games by five goal margins. This is a high-pressure game and Mancini will be trying to take the pressure off his players.
Trump cards?
United - Play Park JiSung - Park is a big game player who has been used to nullify creative players in the middle of the park (refer to AC Milan and Chelsea for a perfect example of this). However, his lack of match fitness and height make this an unlikely scenario.
 |
| Will he play tomorrow? |
City - Go 4-4-2 - If Mancini decides to throw caution to the wind, he could play Adam Johnson and Silva on the wings and completely throw off united's tactical setup. Again - an unlikely but fascinating scenario.
Key Players
Yaya Toure - Yaya is one of my favorite players in the premier league. Strong, fast and tireless, he is a more muscular version of Chelsea's Ramires. It is very difficult to track his runs from midfield and he will undoubtedly be involved in many counter attacks for the Etihad outfit.
Jonny Evans - Evans has had his best season in a United shirt. Let's not forget, however, that he got himself sent off at Old Trafford and will need to have a near-perfect game to nullify City's potent strike force.
Key substitutes
Balotelli - He scored twice against United and the mercurial forward will be looking to repeat that form at the Etihad.
Chicharito - Last year's super-sub will undoubtedly be brought on if United find themselves a goal down . Welbeck may be brought on if a little more ball-retention is required.
Prediction - 2-1 City. I expect City to win this one as united will be cagey and likely to make some defensive lapses. I certainly hope I'm wrong!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Is Barca on the decline?
 |
| Is it over? |
1. Barca's squad is getting old.
This one is just demonstrably false. Here's a link to the respective age of Barca's first team squad -
http://www.footbo.com/Teams/Barcelona/Squad
As you can see, other than Xavi, Abidal, Keita and the goalkeepers, all of Barca's first team squad is in their mid to early twenties. So, let's count this as debunked.
2. Barca do not have quality substitutes.
There is some truth to this. But, it's not because Barca's squad lacks quality; it's because their first team squad is absolutely phenomenal! Let's not forget, Messi, Iniesta and Xavi are three of the top 5 players in the world! Obviously replacing them is never going to be easy. It's like arguing that United suck because no one can step in for Rooney, or that Arsenal are terrible because no one can replace RVP. Yeah - it's true - but that's because they are incredibly good players. It's just a pointless criticism.
3. Guardiola's resignation proves that he does not see a future for the squad.
Again- demonstrably false. Ever since Pep took over, he has only signed rolling one-year contracts. He has been hinting at his desire to take a step away from football since early last year. Yes, even when Barca had won every single thing they could win. If he did not see a future for the squad, he would not have signed young players such as Sanchez and Affelay.
4. No one can replace Xavi, Messi and Iniesta
This is somewhat tied to #2, but I consider it a slightly different point; in that Barca actually do have excellent substitutions for all of the above. In Fabregas, I believe Barca have a ready-made replacement for Xavi. And, yes, he has not had the most stellar of seasons; but that is because he has been playing on the right hand side in order to accommodate Xavi. Once Xavi retires, Cesc will undoubtedly replace him and go on to become the best central midfielder in the world. Messi is the best player in the world. Period. But, Barca actually does have players that can complement him/give him a rest - likes of Villa, Affelay, Sanchez, Pedro and the young Tello. These are all excellent players in their own right, and can be rotated in for either Messi or Iniesta.
5. They've lost the desire to win.
Yup - the team that is 2nd in the spanish league and reached the semi-finals of the champions league - no desire. Stupid.
6. Messi has grown too big for his boots.
Yes, Messi has a slight dark side to him. but, for someone who literally has the world at his feet, Messi continues to be a model professional off the field; he's rather Scholes like. He shies away from the media and focuses on football. He constantly praises his teammates and famously declared that Xavi, and not Messi, should win the world player of the year.
7. They do not have a Plan B
I mentioned this in my analysis of the Chelsea-Barca game. But, although true, this is not applicable to a comment on Barca's decline, because this has been true for years now - Barca only play one way. They will never be able to boot the ball upfield and score. It's just that, sometimes, the brilliant plan A gives out. And i would argue that that is okay.
So - for all of you prematurely predicting Barca's demise - please go back into your parents' basements.
The end. Thank your for reading.
Next up - preview of the united-City game.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Chelsea-Barcelona/Madrid-Bayern REVIEW
Champions league madness! Both games this week were thrilling and nerve-wracking. As you might already know - my prediction of a Madrid-Chelsea final came undone. Surprisingly, however, it was not for the reason many predicted.
Barcelona vs Chelsea
Let me start off by congratulating DeMatteo. The man came into the Chelsea job with the unenviable task of sorting out the mess left behind by the tactical ineptitude of AVB combined with the paranoia of Abramovic. Let me also denounce all of those denigrating Chelsea's performance as 'anti-football'. Let's get this straight - NO ONE beats Barcelona playing Barcelona's game. No one. Why would Chelsea try and have 50% possession? It means absolutely nothing. Chelsea had one goal - to get through to the final of the Champions League. They were not trying to appease the football purists and why the hell should they be? You lot are a bunch of pedantic morons who consider 'beautiful' football to be more valuable than winning. If beautiful football is all that matters, why exactly do Arsenal fans ever moan? Surely there has to be a balance between beautiful football and winning. Anyway, I digress.
Once Chelsea were 2-0 and a man down, I was sure that it was game over. Readers of my blog know how I feel about John Terry. I am absolutely thrilled that he will not play in the final because he is pound-for-pound the most reprehensible man in football - and that coming from me - a Wayne Rooney fan. Regardless of what he may have claimed later on, there was no 'accidental lifting of the knee'; that was a blatant disregard of an opponent's safety.
Ramires, my second favorite Chelsea player, scored an excellent goal and Chelsea were going through on the away goal rule. Although the goal was against the run of play, it was emblematic of the Chelsea's combative performance. After a good tackle, Frankie Lamps played in young Ramires who chipped the on-rushing Valdez to stun Camp Nou. From that point on, Chelsea played with all 10-men behind the ball. Other than Messi's missed penalty and his strike that hit the upright, for all of Barca's possession (~80%), they did not create too many clear-cut chances. Besides, Cech was smothering all shots from distance and all crosses into the box. With Pique having gone off injured, Barca were really finding it difficult to find anyone to aim at in the box, and Chelsea allowed them to have tons of width. The fact that Barca do not have a Plan B to complement their admittedly brilliant Plan A, ended up being their undoing. They huffed and they puffed, but they could not blow Chelsea's house down.
Although my heart goes out to Ramires for picking up a yellow that will see him missing the final, NOTHING compares to how I felt when I saw Meireles being booked. That guy, above every single Chelsea player, deserves to play in the final. He was fantastic over both legs - his workrate, distribution and tackling were a pleasure to behold. And if I can make a bold prediction, it will be his absence that will lose Chelsea the final. As a United fan, I am reminded of when Darren Fletcher received an unfair red in the semi-final against Arsenal. His absence is the key factor to why United lost to Barcelona in 2008. Poor Meireles - seeing him beg the referee to not give him a yellow almost brought tears to my eyes. Oh, and if you haven't figured it out by now - he is my favorite Chelsea player. I'm glad he left Liverpool because now I do not feel guilty cheering for him.
Despite Ramires' excellent goal, the highlight of the night was yet to come. Although Chelsea were winning on the away-goal rule, there was an anxiety present because Barca were one goal away from securing their place in the final. Cue a certain Mr. Torres. As soon as he was introduced, I asked myself (and facebook) whether he would score against Barca. He sure did. Picking up the ball from a long clearance, he rounded the hapless Valdes to secure both Chelsea's place in the final and his name into Chelsea folklore.
But - please don't start singing 'He scores when he wants'. Because that shit is demonstrably and laughably absurd.
Madrid-Bayern
Madrid were favorites to go through after scoring an away goal. And once they had gone 2-0 up with two quick goals by Ronaldo (and some brilliant vision by 'Avatar-eyes' Ozil), it looked like Madrid were going to run away with the game. When i saw Ronaldo score, I was reminded of how he is often criticized as someone who goes missing in big games; especially when compared to Messi. He had a brilliant game overall - and despite his eventual PK miss - should be proud of his overall performance. Mourinho has added a dimension to Ronaldo's game that was non-existent during Cristiano's time at Man United - defensive awareness. Ronaldo tracked back throughout this game and helped keep Ribery/Robben at bay.
Soon, it became increasingly apparent that Madrid's defense was shaky. The first signs of it was a bursting run by Austrian defender Alaba. Alaba tore past three players and hit a great cross to Robben who should have scored against his old side. Madrid gave up a penalty via Pepe, who was lucky not to get sent off, and Robben duly dispatched the PK into the side netting.
Both Robben and Ronaldo were guilty of wasting some free kick chances in the second half, but the game was fairly even at that point. The best chance of the game came when Alaba played in Robben. Robben's first time pass found Gomez and the 40+ goal striker was odds-on to score. He flubbed his first touch and found himself crowded out before he could get a decent strike away. I thought Kaka's introduction during the 75th minute would prove to be catalytic - but the brazilian 'star' was at his disappointing best. Extra time was uneventful and the game was finally decided by the lottery of penalty kicks.
Oh Ronaldo. The kid never misses penalties during the game. The kid never scores penalties during a shootout. Neuer had a good game and Bayern were through - thereby denying Mourinho the chance to avenge Abrahomivic's mistreatment of him. The final will be a brilliant affair and I look forward to it.
Next up, I will be previewing the United-City game. Thank you for reading.
Barcelona vs Chelsea
Let me start off by congratulating DeMatteo. The man came into the Chelsea job with the unenviable task of sorting out the mess left behind by the tactical ineptitude of AVB combined with the paranoia of Abramovic. Let me also denounce all of those denigrating Chelsea's performance as 'anti-football'. Let's get this straight - NO ONE beats Barcelona playing Barcelona's game. No one. Why would Chelsea try and have 50% possession? It means absolutely nothing. Chelsea had one goal - to get through to the final of the Champions League. They were not trying to appease the football purists and why the hell should they be? You lot are a bunch of pedantic morons who consider 'beautiful' football to be more valuable than winning. If beautiful football is all that matters, why exactly do Arsenal fans ever moan? Surely there has to be a balance between beautiful football and winning. Anyway, I digress.
Once Chelsea were 2-0 and a man down, I was sure that it was game over. Readers of my blog know how I feel about John Terry. I am absolutely thrilled that he will not play in the final because he is pound-for-pound the most reprehensible man in football - and that coming from me - a Wayne Rooney fan. Regardless of what he may have claimed later on, there was no 'accidental lifting of the knee'; that was a blatant disregard of an opponent's safety.
Ramires, my second favorite Chelsea player, scored an excellent goal and Chelsea were going through on the away goal rule. Although the goal was against the run of play, it was emblematic of the Chelsea's combative performance. After a good tackle, Frankie Lamps played in young Ramires who chipped the on-rushing Valdez to stun Camp Nou. From that point on, Chelsea played with all 10-men behind the ball. Other than Messi's missed penalty and his strike that hit the upright, for all of Barca's possession (~80%), they did not create too many clear-cut chances. Besides, Cech was smothering all shots from distance and all crosses into the box. With Pique having gone off injured, Barca were really finding it difficult to find anyone to aim at in the box, and Chelsea allowed them to have tons of width. The fact that Barca do not have a Plan B to complement their admittedly brilliant Plan A, ended up being their undoing. They huffed and they puffed, but they could not blow Chelsea's house down.
Although my heart goes out to Ramires for picking up a yellow that will see him missing the final, NOTHING compares to how I felt when I saw Meireles being booked. That guy, above every single Chelsea player, deserves to play in the final. He was fantastic over both legs - his workrate, distribution and tackling were a pleasure to behold. And if I can make a bold prediction, it will be his absence that will lose Chelsea the final. As a United fan, I am reminded of when Darren Fletcher received an unfair red in the semi-final against Arsenal. His absence is the key factor to why United lost to Barcelona in 2008. Poor Meireles - seeing him beg the referee to not give him a yellow almost brought tears to my eyes. Oh, and if you haven't figured it out by now - he is my favorite Chelsea player. I'm glad he left Liverpool because now I do not feel guilty cheering for him.
Despite Ramires' excellent goal, the highlight of the night was yet to come. Although Chelsea were winning on the away-goal rule, there was an anxiety present because Barca were one goal away from securing their place in the final. Cue a certain Mr. Torres. As soon as he was introduced, I asked myself (and facebook) whether he would score against Barca. He sure did. Picking up the ball from a long clearance, he rounded the hapless Valdes to secure both Chelsea's place in the final and his name into Chelsea folklore.
But - please don't start singing 'He scores when he wants'. Because that shit is demonstrably and laughably absurd.
 |
| Projjol "I'm sexy and I know it" Banerjea |
 |
| Shoutout to my good friends Projjol 'muscle-man' Banerjea and his beautiful wife Hickie 'she-wears-the-pants' Chatterjee/Banerjea for these recently acquired pictures from the Camp Nou. |
Madrid-Bayern
Madrid were favorites to go through after scoring an away goal. And once they had gone 2-0 up with two quick goals by Ronaldo (and some brilliant vision by 'Avatar-eyes' Ozil), it looked like Madrid were going to run away with the game. When i saw Ronaldo score, I was reminded of how he is often criticized as someone who goes missing in big games; especially when compared to Messi. He had a brilliant game overall - and despite his eventual PK miss - should be proud of his overall performance. Mourinho has added a dimension to Ronaldo's game that was non-existent during Cristiano's time at Man United - defensive awareness. Ronaldo tracked back throughout this game and helped keep Ribery/Robben at bay.
Soon, it became increasingly apparent that Madrid's defense was shaky. The first signs of it was a bursting run by Austrian defender Alaba. Alaba tore past three players and hit a great cross to Robben who should have scored against his old side. Madrid gave up a penalty via Pepe, who was lucky not to get sent off, and Robben duly dispatched the PK into the side netting.
Both Robben and Ronaldo were guilty of wasting some free kick chances in the second half, but the game was fairly even at that point. The best chance of the game came when Alaba played in Robben. Robben's first time pass found Gomez and the 40+ goal striker was odds-on to score. He flubbed his first touch and found himself crowded out before he could get a decent strike away. I thought Kaka's introduction during the 75th minute would prove to be catalytic - but the brazilian 'star' was at his disappointing best. Extra time was uneventful and the game was finally decided by the lottery of penalty kicks.
Oh Ronaldo. The kid never misses penalties during the game. The kid never scores penalties during a shootout. Neuer had a good game and Bayern were through - thereby denying Mourinho the chance to avenge Abrahomivic's mistreatment of him. The final will be a brilliant affair and I look forward to it.
Next up, I will be previewing the United-City game. Thank you for reading.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Review Manchester United vs Everton
What a game! This was a perfect example of how the Premier League is undoubtedly the most competitive league in the world. While Madrid and Barca stream roll their way through the other 18 teams in La liga, the likes of City and United have been dropping points for fun.
Everton lined up like they SHOULD have against Liverpool and United were unchanged except for Nani replacing Ashley Young - a diver for a diver. Right from the start of the game, Fellaini and Jelavic's movement caused the United defense all sorts of trouble. Evans was consistently beaten in the air, and Jelavic was running behind Rio for fun. It was no surprise to see Everton take the lead when an excellent cross found Jelavic at the far post. Jelavic's header was perfectly placed over DeGea and Everton went up 1-0. Rafael, not for the last time in this match, switched off and was responsible for the goal.
United started taking control of the game and after a couple of half chances, Rooney scored. There was some excellent, intricate passing involving Carrick and Evra which lead to an early Nani cross that found the noggin of a diving Wayne Rooney. 1-1. While Nani was finding joy on the left, Valencia was finding it difficult against Sylvain Distin who matches Valencia in both speed and strength. To counter this, Sir Alex allowed Nani to play a free role - which is why nani kept popping out on the right. This completely threw off Everton's marking and directly contributed to the 2nd and 3rd goals. For the second goal, Nani's knockdown found Welbeck and his first touch completely took Heitinga out of the game. His finish was excellent and United found themselves taking the lead.
For the third goal, Nani was played in by a perfect first time ball by Welbeck - after the young striker had been fed by carrick. Nani chipped the on-rushing Tim Howard, and United were 3-1 up and looked to be sailing.
Not so fast. Against the run of play, Fellaini scored from a volley after a good cross from the excellent Hibbert. In my opinion, Fellaini is the most under-rated player in the premier league, and I am amazed that bigger clubs do not try to sign him. I've said this before - I hope United sign him this summer - as he is just the sort of player that would strengthen United's midfield.
United took the lead again - scoring my favorite goal of the game. A beautiful dummy by Welbeck allowed Rooney to play the 19 year old in, and his return ball found Rooney one-on-one with the keeper. Rooney did the rest, and once again it looked like United had done enough to secure the game.
Again, that proved to be wrong. Jelavic scored his second and Pienaar scored a goal involving Barcelona-esque movement to bring the game to 4-4. Yet again, young Rafael was at fault for both those goals. Just a few days after Sir Alex had praised the Brazilian defender - highlighting how his positional awareness had improved - Rafael's marking contributed to three goals that United conceded. the dilemma for Sir Alex will be who he should pick at right back for Monday's game. Phil Jones has experienced a marked drop in form and Smalling has had minimal game time of late. As for Rafael, Balotelli/Silva would probably pick-pocket him all day. So it will be interesting.
Another problem was how quickly Scholesy tired. By the 60th minute, Everton players were running past the 37-year old for fun. Against the likes of Toure and Milner, Sir Alex may have to play a three-man central midfield.
Speaking of City - clearly they now have the advantage. If they win on Monday, they will be level on points with United, with a better goal differential, and that might be enough to take them through. Big, big game on Monday.
Good luck to Chelsea today - I sincerely hope they can do the business against Barca at the Nou Camp. Remember - I predicted a Chelsea-Madrid final a month ago!
My next post will review the champions league games and preview the weekend's fixtures.
Thanks for reading.
Everton lined up like they SHOULD have against Liverpool and United were unchanged except for Nani replacing Ashley Young - a diver for a diver. Right from the start of the game, Fellaini and Jelavic's movement caused the United defense all sorts of trouble. Evans was consistently beaten in the air, and Jelavic was running behind Rio for fun. It was no surprise to see Everton take the lead when an excellent cross found Jelavic at the far post. Jelavic's header was perfectly placed over DeGea and Everton went up 1-0. Rafael, not for the last time in this match, switched off and was responsible for the goal.
United started taking control of the game and after a couple of half chances, Rooney scored. There was some excellent, intricate passing involving Carrick and Evra which lead to an early Nani cross that found the noggin of a diving Wayne Rooney. 1-1. While Nani was finding joy on the left, Valencia was finding it difficult against Sylvain Distin who matches Valencia in both speed and strength. To counter this, Sir Alex allowed Nani to play a free role - which is why nani kept popping out on the right. This completely threw off Everton's marking and directly contributed to the 2nd and 3rd goals. For the second goal, Nani's knockdown found Welbeck and his first touch completely took Heitinga out of the game. His finish was excellent and United found themselves taking the lead.
For the third goal, Nani was played in by a perfect first time ball by Welbeck - after the young striker had been fed by carrick. Nani chipped the on-rushing Tim Howard, and United were 3-1 up and looked to be sailing.
Not so fast. Against the run of play, Fellaini scored from a volley after a good cross from the excellent Hibbert. In my opinion, Fellaini is the most under-rated player in the premier league, and I am amazed that bigger clubs do not try to sign him. I've said this before - I hope United sign him this summer - as he is just the sort of player that would strengthen United's midfield.
United took the lead again - scoring my favorite goal of the game. A beautiful dummy by Welbeck allowed Rooney to play the 19 year old in, and his return ball found Rooney one-on-one with the keeper. Rooney did the rest, and once again it looked like United had done enough to secure the game.
Again, that proved to be wrong. Jelavic scored his second and Pienaar scored a goal involving Barcelona-esque movement to bring the game to 4-4. Yet again, young Rafael was at fault for both those goals. Just a few days after Sir Alex had praised the Brazilian defender - highlighting how his positional awareness had improved - Rafael's marking contributed to three goals that United conceded. the dilemma for Sir Alex will be who he should pick at right back for Monday's game. Phil Jones has experienced a marked drop in form and Smalling has had minimal game time of late. As for Rafael, Balotelli/Silva would probably pick-pocket him all day. So it will be interesting.
Another problem was how quickly Scholesy tired. By the 60th minute, Everton players were running past the 37-year old for fun. Against the likes of Toure and Milner, Sir Alex may have to play a three-man central midfield.
Speaking of City - clearly they now have the advantage. If they win on Monday, they will be level on points with United, with a better goal differential, and that might be enough to take them through. Big, big game on Monday.
Good luck to Chelsea today - I sincerely hope they can do the business against Barca at the Nou Camp. Remember - I predicted a Chelsea-Madrid final a month ago!
My next post will review the champions league games and preview the weekend's fixtures.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, April 16, 2012
How can Chelsea beat Barcelona? (1st leg)
1. Play a flexible 4-3-1-2 formation.
Assuming that both Luiz and Cahill are missing for the game, the back four will pick itself - Terry and Ivanovic in the middle with Ashley Cole and Bosingwa as the full backs. The midfield will have to be Meireles, Essien and Ramires. The reason for Lamps' omission would be that the midfield will have to make continuous tracking runs and Lamps would be found wanting in that situation. Besides, he may have a huge impact on the game coming off the bench. Mata would play the attacking midfielder role and up-top, I would have Torres and Drogba. My reasoning for my forward selection will be clear later in the post. Also, the above formation can be used as a potent counter-attacking option by switching to a 4-3-3.
2. Accept that Barca will score at Stamford bridge.
Let's face it, at some point, Barca will score. At some point, Messi will sneak past the defense and place the ball beyond a hapless Cech. Chelsea should NOT set out looking for a clean sheet, because Chelsea cannot keep a clean sheet. If deMatteo accepts that Chelsea will get scored on, he can focus on Chelsea's strength; offense. The Stamford Bridge outfit should be aiming for a win - whether it's by one goal of three - there is no way they will not concede an away goal. And, that is perfectly okay.
3. Play a deep-line on defense
As Chelsea have found out earlier this season (refer to the Arsenal game), they are poor at playing the offside trap. Besides, with the foot speed of the players and the incision of their passing, no one should play the offside trap against Barcelona; it just would not work. By playing a deep-line, Barca should be able to nullify Messi and Iniesta running behind the defense via chipped/dinged passes played by their brilliant midfield. The flipside to this will be - it will give Barca a lot more time on the ball.
4. Let Barca have the ball in their own half + Run Ramires Run
Yes, Barca will have possession. But, as long as Chelsea pressure in their own half, Barca will find it difficult to feed Xavi. And Xavi is the heart of that team. Also, this will allow Ramires to drive at the heart of the Barca midfield. For as talented as Mascherano, Xavi and Busquets are, they are not particularly fast. Facing the young, dynamic midfielder will be something different from anything they have experienced in La Liga.
5. Stop Messi
This one is obvious. But how? In my opinion, it is pointless to man-mark Messi. With the exception of Luiz and Bosingwa, no defender on Chelsea's defense can match Messi for foot speed. And, unfortunately for Chelsea, those two are the team's most positionally unreliable defenders. So, yeah, no man-marking. It would be preferable to play a stopper-sweeper formation with Terry sitting deep and Ivanovic playing stopper; distributing the ball to Meireles.
6. Essien to man-mark Xavi
As mentioned earlier, Xavi (along with Busquets) is the heart of that Barca team. Essien will have to prevent Xavi from running the show. For one night, he will need to be the hard-tackling, no-nonsense monster that he was before all his injury troubles. By playing the ball-winning role, Essien can free-up Meireles to distribute the ball into space behind Puyol, or directly to the target man-Drogba.
7. Get Drogba on Pique and Torres on Puyol
Both of Chelsea's strikers have found some form recently and will need to be on top-form to score against arguably the best central defensive partnership in Spain. Pique (for any gossip queens reading this - he is the lucky bastard waka-waka-ing Shakira) has blossomed into a brilliant defender. His reading of the game and his distribution has earned him comparisons to the legendary Beckenbauer. However, his one weakness is a physical battle. That is exactly what Drogba can provide; Drogba should isolate himself against Pique in every dead-ball situation. Also, Drogba is the best in the world at holding-up the ball (and winning cheap fouls) and this will give Chelsea the chance to get a breather/some possession.
Similarly, Puyol is an excellent defender. His achilles heel is a slight lack of speed. This can be capitalized on by El Nino. As for picking Torres, I believe that this is just the sort of game that he would thrive in. He is a big-game player and will have a point to prove while playing against many of his spanish compatriots. Besides, I would argue that the alternative - Sturridge - has a poor work-rate and would not be able to handle the big occasion. He would be best as a good option off the bench; where he can play without pressure.
8. Capitalize on set-piece situations
Barcelona are fast in every sense of the word. However, they also have a lack-of-height throughout their team (with the exception of Pique and Busquets). Chelsea should be looking at making the most of every corner and every set piece. Similarly, they should be wary of Barcelona taking short corners, as they will be hesitant to cross the ball into the box. Also, while on defense, they should leave Mata and Bosingwa at the half-way line. This will force Barca to stay vigiliant against the counter attack; given Mata and Bosingwa's speed. And, let's be honest, neither of them can defend corners.
9. Play narrow while defending
If Chelsea play narrow and force Barca to play wide, any balls crossed into the box would be comfortable dealt with. Moreover, it would force a certain dani Alves into overlapping positions. Dani Alves is excellent going forward, but his positional awareness on defense is suspect. In other words, having Alves in Chelsea's half may provide the best counter-attacking possibilities for Torres and Mata to exploit.
10. If needing a goal, get Lamps on for Essien, Malouda/Kalou on for Mata and Sturridge on for Torres.
This one explains itself. Also - only use Mikel if someone is injured. The guy is pants.
What do you guys think? Anything you would add/subtract from the list?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)