Daily Archives: November 25, 2010

Thirty years ago….when we were good

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“When I get depressed about the latest plans at the club I have supported since I was a child I think back to time gone by. I was lucky in that I was the youngest in a family of West Ham fans, meaning that I spent a lot of time following the club to strange places with my Dad and brother whilst they were in the old Second Division. In fact by the time I was 12 I had seen West Ham play in over 50 different grounds – I mean who would do that today (well apart from Lolly who had seen 64 by the time she was 10).” (The Ball Is Round)

Video of the Week: Only A Game, the Story of Scottish Football, Part One: The Club

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“This week we start a new series for Video Of The week with the superb five-part 1986 BBC series, ‘Only A Game – The Story Of Scottish Football’. Originally shown as part of the build-up to the 1986 World Cup, this series, narrated by William McIlvanney, takes the standpoint of five different aspects of the game for its five episodes: The Player, The Club, The Manager, The Game and The Team. In this episode, the focus is on The Club, but its strength is in its depth – not only Celtic and Rangers are talked about, but also some of the smaller Scottish clubs.” (twohundredpercent)

A Guide To Mid-Range Transfers.

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“Using the data from the Transfer Price Index, Liverpool fan Andrew Fanko takes a look at the mid-range purchasing of the four most successful managers in Premier League history in terms of average points (minimum of two full seasons). Or, in other words, the managers of the ‘big four’ between 2004 and 2007.” (TomkinsTimes)

The Dissection of Dortmund

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“Jurgen Klopp, sitting on the proverbial throne placed on the zenith of Die Südtribüne, has earned his position of Dortmund royalty this season. His tenderfoot squad has exceeded expectations, and after thirteen games lead the ‘World’s Best League’ by seven points. The path to seniority in the Bundesliga has not been through attritional, grinding football, but with an expansive and unrepressed style.” (Talking About Football)

Unhappy Liverpool fans want new boss now

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“When this site and a number of other Liverpool FC fan sites ran a poll to find out the thoughts of fans about the future of Roy Hodgson it wasn’t a surprise to see the ‘winner’ of the poll was ‘sack Roy immediately’. What was surprising was how few supporters felt the club should at least wait. Reasons for waiting crop up from time to time in conversation and are often well argued. Yet just 3% of supporters in the poll said no to sacking Roy on the spot.” (Anfield Road)

Bayern Munich’s struggles in Bundesliga uncover internal rifts

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Louis van Gaal
“‘This is a defeat we can live with,’ Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told sponsors and reporters at the official post-match banquet in the team hotel. ‘We’d all be well advised to deal with it in a serene manner.’ The Bayern Munich CEO has been around long enough to know that this advice will probably go unheeded. Germany’s biggest, brashest football club doesn’t do serenity — even when results are going to plan.” (SI)

Rangers 0-1 Manchester United: Rangers’ five-man defence works…up to a point

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“A late Wayne Rooney penalty meant United eventually found a way past Rangers’ back five. Walter Smith’s tactics had worked well so far in the competition, but he was without two key members of his usual five – Madjid Bougherra and Sasa Papac. He was also dealt an injury blow when Kyle Lafferty broke a bone in his hand the day before the game, so Vladimir Weiss played on the left.” (Zonal Marking)

Ajax 0 – 4 Real Madrid: Outclassed in every aspect of the game

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“If not for the UEFA millions of the Champions League, Ajax won’t have anything to look back on once these group stage games are done with. Their game against Real Madrid saw them outclassed in every department, highlighted to the extreme by the unique fact of two Madrid players purposefully upgrading their yellow cards to reds by delaying taking a free kick and a goal kick. The video of this sequence of events might serve to illustrate the gap between Europe’s top teams and a struggling Dutch top team at the moment. Tactics hardly played a role in the game, such was the difference in sheer player quality.” (11 tegen 11)