Tag Archives: Football Manager

Glossary

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“This website assumes a basic understanding of established football positions and roles – if not, this summary should help provide an introduction. However, it also uses terms that may be less familiar. Many of these are foreign phrases because, in the same way English football has traditionally lagged behind the rest of Europe tactically, it also lacks the the wide range of tactical phrases used in other countries. Many of these are Italian; where there are, for example, four or five phrases for different types of players that the English would group as ‘forwards’ – see here and here for more detailed explanations. Similarly, English lacks any equivalent of the term ‘carilleros’, the wider players in a diamond midfield, so it is often useful to venture into Italian or Spanish to precisely describe players and positions.” (Zonal Marking)

Player Profile – Balazs Dzsudzsak

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“Since the days of Puskas’ Mighty Magyars, who dominated the international football scene during the early 1950s, I doubt many would contest the argument that Hungarian football has undoubtedly failed to live up to the enormously high standards that this legendary “Golden Team “created. 1986 was the last time we were graced with Hungary’s presence at the World Cup finals, and it has largely been a downward spiral ever since.” (6 Pointer)

Tactics: Were Holland 1974 the last true innovators?

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“The words are those of Carlos Alberto, captain of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team, and they come from an interview published in the 50th anniversary issue of World Soccer magazine. The former Santos right-back is one of a number of greats – including Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer and Diego Maradona – to have granted interviews to the magazine about the changes in the game over the last 50 years and their answers repeatedly return to the same complaints: that in becoming faster and more athletic, football has lost some of the artistry that was once central to its raison d’être.” (Football Further)

The tall tale of Peter Crouch’s aerial abilities

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“Peter Crouch is a strange footballer in many ways. Chiefly, he simply looks very strange. His gangly nature makes him stick out like a sore thumb – he looks awkward when merely running onto the pitch, and at a time when a club like Barcelona are packing their side with quick, mobile, 5′7 players upfront, with other clubs around Europe seeking to move in that direction, the sight of 6′7 Crouch battling with defenders seems somewhat bizarre.” (Zonal Marking)

Scotland 2-3 Spain: Scotland come back from two down, but plan B Llorente grabs winner

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“Scotland scored two goals against the World Champions, but that still wasn’t enough to take any points from an exciting encounter. Craig Levein abandoned his midweek 4-6-0 formation in favour of a slightly more traditional 4-1-4-1 system, with Lee McCulloch between the lines of defence and attack, and the two wide players tucked in level with the midfield. Kenny Miller came in upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

Recommended reading

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“The rain comes thick and fast, hurling itself towards the pavement as though seeking a penalty to be given against its cloud. My pace quickens. Short, sharp steps clattering against the grey concrete slabs. It is also cold. Bitterly so. There is sporadic warmth under the glow of each passing street lamp overhead. Shop signs arrive into and quickly disappear from my peripheral vision.” (The Seventy Two)

New Cycle, New Tactics: Thoughts on USA-Poland

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Landon Donovan
“I found the Poland match yesterday incredibly interesting tactically. No intro required for this one. Let’s get right into what I saw: As I’ve written several times, one of my biggest problems with Bob Bradley as a coach is his reliance (until now) on elementary-style tactical decisions. One of my biggest arguments for hiring someone else instead of Bradley was that after the Charlie Davies injury, Bradley’s inability to adjust his 4-4-2 boot-and-run tactical/lineup decisions was inexcusable. Although the boot-and-run, sideline drill, flag drill techniques served us pretty well at the Confed. Cup, I have always maintained that it took a miracle against Egypt to even put us in position to play Spain.” (The Yanks Are Coming)

U.S. changes expected vs. Colombia
“Change was in vogue as the United States tied Poland on Saturday to open a pair of fall friendlies. And there will surely be more as coach Bob Bradley’s Americans complete the back end of the set Tuesday against Colombia at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Colombia will have an extra day to rest following a 1-0 win over Ecuador at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on Friday. It was the latest promising result for the South American mid-tier side, which narrowly missed a berth for South Africa 2010. Mexico had to work hard for a 1-0 win over Los Cafeteros last month, and the Colombians had defeated Venezuela 2-0 four days earlier.” (SI)

Montenegro look a well-balanced team with explosive attacking potential

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“Ask Montenegro’s players what has changed since the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and all reply with a combination of the same three factors: luck, experience and balance. For a new country, drawn from the pot of minnows, they performed creditably in World Cup qualifying, but there is a sense that they did not quite get the results they deserved: 2-2 draws against Bulgaria and Cyprus probably should have been wins; the 4-1 defeat in Bulgaria looked far worse than it really was. Soft penalties were given against them, there were unfortunate ricochets, and perhaps a lack of conviction at the back. A team packed with talented forwards either defended en masse, or poured forwards in numbers, and so were alternately involved in either tedious 0-0s or high-scoring thrillers, with little in between.” (Guardian – Jonathan Wilson)

Removing the Romanticism from an Unexpected Victory: Denmark – Euro ’92.

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“Denmark’s victory in the Euro Championships in 1992 had all the ingredients of a unforgetful footballing fairytale. It is the story of a team who didn’t qualify for the finals who went onto win the thing, beating the World Champions, the French and the Dutch; surely this would be a story that was woven into the tapestry of footballing folklore?” (Talking About Football)

Bibliography

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“Futebol, Alex Bellos. The best book around about the most successful footballing nation in the world. As with many of these books, the obvious line is that it is ‘not just a book about Brazilian football, but also one about Brazilian culture’. But as interesting as some of the more general parts of the book are, it is at its best when discussing the actual football, after all, Brazil has probably the most distinctive way of playing the game of any national side. The parts about some of the great characters (the likes of Pele and Zico) and the great games, like the 1950 and 1970 World Cup finals – are excellent.” (Zonal Marking)

Moldova 0 – 1 Holland: Is the deep-lying playmaker the way forward?

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“The runners up of the past World Cup have started their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign well. Holland is grouped with Sweden, Hungary, Finland and Moldova, San Marino. The Dutch and the Swedes were expected to battle for first place, and indeed so far these two team managed to win all of their matches. Compared to the team that finished second in the past World Cup, Holland has been changed on several positions. In discussing the 0-5 away victory at San Marino, the positional changes have been explained in detail. Of the team playing the final against Spain three months ago, seven players featured again in the match against Moldova.” (11 tegen 11)

Laurent Blanc’s ‘coaching’ wins it for France

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Laurent Blanc
“October 14th 2009, that was the last time France had won in front of their home fans when they beat Austria in World Cup qualifiers. A win at the Stade de France was long overdue and the three points against Romania will do the greatest of good to Laurent Blanc and his men, now top of Group D. Les Bleus dominated the play for most of the match, creating many chances, but could not find a way past a clinical Costel Pantilimon. The decisive factor ended up coming from Laurent Blanc’s inspired coaching as substitutes Loïc Remy and Yoann Gourcuff secured a second consecutive win for France.” (Match Centre)

It’s not the players…it’s the managers

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“Starting from the notion that the main responsibility lies on the AFA for all their atrocious decisions and the mafioso-like way in which they deal with many of the matters that go through their hands, I thought it was interesting to try and establish who is more to blame for the lack of trophies and even the absence of a clear and established style of play. Is it the players or is it the managers?” (Mundo Albiceleste)

Ireland 2-3 Russia: Irish outpassed & outclassed

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“Ireland staged a comeback in the last twenty minutes, but were second best for the majority of this game. Giovanni Trapattoni named the same side for the third consecutive qualification game, setting out in a standard 4-4-2, with Robbie Keane dropping slightly off Kevin Doyle, and both strikers tirelessly running the channels.” (Zonal Marking)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy: Pirlo a class above, but poor finishing from both sides

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“Both sides had chances to win the game, but Northern Ireland emerge with a well-earned point. Northern Ireland made one change from their previous qualification game, bringing in Jonny Evans at left-back in place of Craig Cathcart. They played a 4-4-2 shape that often looked like 4-4-1-1 when Warren Feeney dropped deep into midfield when Northern Ireland lost the ball.” (Zonal Marking)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Both sides remained unbeaten in Group C as the match ended in a scoreless draw. Italy are now 2-1-0 with seven points through three matches while Northern Ireland are 1-1-0 with four points through two matches.” (The 90th Minute)

A Points Deruction For Liverpool: Theoretically Possible, But Almost Certainly No

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Check out the hunting unit, Philips Wouwerman
“The lead story on the BBC Football website this afternoon may have given Liverpool supporters (who, it has to be said, are now getting close enough to feelings of perpetual panic to be able to warrant the soubriquet ‘long-suffering’) further palpitations. After the confirmation that a sale of the the club to John W Henry’s New England Sports Ventures had been agreed, the BBC is now reporting that the ongoing legal wrangles that have inevitably followed the confirmation of the sale agreement may yet force the club into administration and that this may mean that the club incurs a nine point deduction.” (twohundredpercent)

FC Utrecht 0 – 0 Liverpool: A paradox of players committing themselves and managers holding their horses
“FC Utrecht qualified for European Football by winning last year’s Eredivisie play-off and their Europa League qualification campaign, starting back in July, saw them defeating KF Tirana, FC Luzern and last but not least, former European Champions Celtic. Especially notable was the 4-0 home triumph over the higher rated Scottish side that featured in the Champions League group stages in three out of the past five seasons.” (11 tegen 11)

Hodgson overwhelmed by high expectations as Liverpool manager
“Roy Hodgson always was likely to face two problems at Liverpool: that his football was too boring for the fans, and that his training was too boring for the players. A certain stodginess leading to long-term grumbling was perhaps to be expected, but what nobody predicted was that Liverpool would be as bad as it has been so far this season, and that there would be immediate outrage.” (SI)

Deluded Liverpool fans off-target
“Like many of you I have been astounded by the shocking situation at Liverpool this season. Beaten last weekend by Blackpool, which is the football equivalent of Muhammed Ali being beaten up by a dwarfer, they find themselves in the bottom three and the fans are not happy.” (Three and In)

Chairman holds the cards but Tom Hicks vows to come out fighting
“Tom Hicks, the embattled co-owner of Liverpool, maintained today that he will fight the high court action launched by the Anfield chairman, Martin Broughton, to force the American to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures, the owners of the Boston Red Sox.” (Guardian)

Ajax 1 – 1 AC Milan: Recurrent midfield problems for Ajax

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“Back from a short holiday! Totally refreshed and ready to pick up the pace of a determining phase of the season. The coming months will see which jump starts will turn out to be true overachievers and which slow starts will prove a lost year to the club. Picking up the action I’ve missed starts with last week’s midweek UEFA Champions League (UCL) action. Match day 2 of the UCL saw Ajax face AC Milan at home, with the hosts aiming for their first points after a disappointing performance away at Real Madrid in their first UCL match in four years. Milan did win their UCL opening match against Auxerre, albeit trough a rather narrow 2-0 victory with two Ibrahimovic goals shortly after the hour-mark.” (11 tegen 11)

Tactics: Can France play without a playmaker?

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“The team that Laurent Blanc aligns against Romania on Saturday may herald a significant change of direction in the tactical evolution of the French national side. Teams representing the country have long been built around a single, richly talented creative player, from Raymond Kopa in the 1950s through Michel Platini in the 1980s to Zinedine Zidane at the turn of the last century. But that could be about to change.” (Football Further)

How Manchester City Could Break Even

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Robinho
“Just a week after Arsenal reported record profits of £56 million, the other side of the football finance spectrum was seen when Manchester City announced a massive loss of £121 million for the year ending 31 May 2010. This is not quite the worst loss ever reported in Premier League history – that dubious honour belongs to Chelsea, who lost £141 million in 2004/05, the first full year after the acquisition by their Russian benefactor Roman Abramovich. However, to put this into context, City’s deficit is more than the combined loss for every other team in the Premier League if you exclude Chelsea (or Liverpool).” (Swiss Ramble)

Man City 2-1 Newcastle: tactical weaknesses exploited early on, before Johnson’s winner

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“A close game that Newcastle were slightly unfortunate to lose. Manchester City continued with their now-established 4-5-1 system, with David Silva and James Milner switching flanks. Jerome Boateng and Joleon Lescott came into the backline. Newcastle’s system (taken after Hatem Ben Arfa’s early injury) was also a 4-5-1, with two wingers either side of a compact three-man midfield of Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Cheick Tiote.” (Zonal Marking)

Didier Drogba and Chelsea take advantage of Arsenal’s defensive inefficiency

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“Some things over time become more and more difficult to defend. Like refusing to ever use a public bathroom despite buying those twelve tacos off that dodgy vendor. Or insisting on reverse looking-up the phone numbers of every person that calls. And it increasingly feels that way about Arsenal too. They have become the purist’s team – great to watch but teething problems at the back that, for Arsene Wenger apologists, seem offset by a promise of a brighter future. Chelsea, in more ways than one, seems determined to wreck the Utopian dream and in Didier Drogba have a player who loves doing damage to Arsenal.” (Arsenal Column)

Inter 0-0 Juventus: defences come out in top in a disappointing Derby D’Italia

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The Country Concert, Tiziano Vecellio
“An entertaining first half, but a second period where both sides were happy to take a point. Juventus were broadly in Luigi Delneri’s favoured 4-4-2 shape, with Fabio Qugliarella dropping to the left, just off Vincenzo Iaquinta. Milos Krasic played on the right and stayed high up the pitch, whilst Claudio Marchisio was tucked in on the opposite side. Rafael Benitez didn’t consider Diego Milito fit enough to start, so Samuel Eto’o was used upfront with Jonathan Biabiany and Coutinho either side. Ivan Cordoba continued at the back with the captain’s armband.” (Zonal Marking)

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Arsenal suffer from Cole-Drogba combination yet again

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“You saw this one coming – Arsenal dominated possession, but Chelsea were more clinical. Chelsea’s side was unchanged from last week’s defeat to Manchester City – Yuri Zkirjov had replaced Ramires in midweek for the win over Marseille, but dropped back to the bench. Arsenal fielded the expected line-up, with Lukasz Fabianski starting in Manuel Almunia’s absence, and Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci at the back.” (Zonal Marking)

Parma 0-1 Milan: Pirlo’s 40-yard strike wins it

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“Andrea Pirlo’s wonderul goal gave Milan all three points at the Tardini. Dino Marino used a 4-2-3-1 formation, although it was lopsided, as Jose Marques stayed high up the pitch supporting Hernan Crespo, whilst Angelo (usually a right-back) made his debut on the right of midfield. Massimo Gobbi played as a holding player with license to come forward.” (Zonal Marking)

Panathinaikos 0-2 Copenhagen: Gilberto v N’Doye battle decides the outcome

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“Dame N’Doye scored the first, created the second, and Gilberto Silva received two yellow cards for fouling him twice. Nikos Nioplias selected his usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Gilberto Silva dropped into a centre-back position alongside Josu Sarriegi, leaving Kostas Katsouranis playing just ahead of Simao in the centre of midfield. Luis Garcia started in a central playmaker position.” (Zonal Marking)

Schalke 2-0 Benfica: two diamonds, little sparkle

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“Schalke eventually found a way past Benfica, in a game between two sides lacking confidence. Schalke played a 4-3-1-2 / 4-4-2 diamond system, with Raul dropping off Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Jefferson Farfan was the midfielder with most inclination to get out wide.” (Zonal Marking)

La semaine en France: Week 7

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“Ask any football fan how they’d prefer to beat their fiercest rivals, and they might not say a 5-0 thrashing or a thrilling 4-3 victory with a dramatic winner deep into injury time. For some, there is nothing sweeter than beating your worst enemies in unjust and controversial circumstances after a match in which you’ve been completely played off the park from start to finish. Fans of Saint-Etienne have been celebrating just such a victory this week.” (Football Further)

Valencia 0-1 Manchester United: 4-5-1 v 4-5-1 becomes 4-4-2 v 4-4-2, and United nick it late on

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“Smash and grab – Javier Hernandez’s late goal settled a tight contest. Valencia were without Joaquin, so fielded a fluid Mata-Pablo-Dominguez trio behind Roberto Soldado, who started ahead of Aritz Aduriz. Jeremy Mathieu was preferred to Jordi Alba at left-back. Manchester United were without Wayne Rooney, which made it an easy decision to start with a 4-5-1 (indeed, it would have been interesting what Sir Alex Ferguson would have done if Rooney had been available. Michael Carrick and Anderson’s returns from injury were timed well in the absence of Paul Scholes, whilst Rio Ferdinand replaced Jonny Evans.” (Zonal Marking)

How Mainz stopped Bayern – in ten steps

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“Mainz are THE story of the European season so far – top of the Bundesliga with six wins from six. Five wins from five was good enough, but few expected the run to continue, since they faced a trip to last season’s champions. But Mainz triumphed 2-1 over Bayern, using a 4-3-1-2 formation and pressing all over the pitch.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactics: Pass master Van der Vaart central to Spurs’ redevelopment

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“Having essentially admitted that the purchase of Rafael van der Vaart was a transfer deadline day whim, it has been interesting to see how Harry Redknapp has tried to accommodate the Dutchman in his team. Spurs’ success last season was built on a fairly classic 4-4-2 formation, with dashing wingers on either side and a big-man-little-man combination in attack. Redknapp conceded over the summer that the same system would likely prove too naïve and inflexible for the demands of the Champions League, so van der Vaart’s arrival can also be seen as a recognition of the need for greater subtlety and sophistication in Tottenham’s attacking approach.” (Football Further)

Ajax 1-1 Milan: neither plays their best football

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“An entertaining first half, a much less interesting second half, and a point apiece. Ajax maintained the 4-3-3 shape they used in the 2-2 draw with Twente, making one change – Demy de Zeeuw replaced the ineffectual Rasmus Lindgren, with Eyong Enoh dropping into a deeper midfield position.” (Zonal Marking)

Chelsea 2-0 Marseille: Chelsea win relatively comfortably without playing well

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Cornelis van Poelenburgh, Landscape with Roman Ruins
“Chelsea are onto six points after a victory over Marseille that was in doubt for longer than it should have been.
Carlo Ancelotti made two changes from the side that lost to Manchester City at the weekend. Ramires, who had a poor game, was left out in favour of Yuri Zhirkov, whilst Gael Kakuta was in for Didier Drogba, who is serving his traditional start-of-season Champions League suspension.” (Zonal Marking)

Cash City Rockers

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The Clash
“Last week was going so well for Arsenal fans. First, their youthful team thrashed North London neighbours, Spurs, in a glorious performance at White Hart Lane, driven forward by an inspirational display from young tyro Jack Wilshere, the poster boy for Arsenal’s strategy of developing players from their academy. Then, away from the pitch, the board announced a sparkling set of financial results that confirmed their status as the best-run club in the Premier League.” (The Swiss Ramble)

Twente 2-2 Ajax: thrilling contest, fair result

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“Last year’s Eredivisie top two share the points in an open, attacking game. Michel Preud’homme played a 4-3-3 system that was basically similar in nature to the formation Steve McClaren used at the club last year, even if there have been numerous changes in personnel. Luuk de Jong started upfront in the absence of Mark Janko, and Nacer Chadli returned on the left wing.” (Zonal Marking)

Arsenal given a taste of their own medicine as West Brom cruise to win

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“Arsène Wenger remains puzzled. Just how did a well drilled but not entirely spectacular West Bromwich Albion side manage to score three goals past them? And his team, he says, were ‘unrecognisable’ in attack as well as Arsenal failed to close the gap on leaders Chelsea who similarly succumbed to a loss at the weekend.” (Arsenal Column)

Werder Bremen 3-2 Hamburger SV

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“The Saturday evening tie for Round 6 in the Bundesliga saw Northern rivals Bremen and Hamburger SV face off. Coming seventh in the list of the nine fixtures that comprise the round, Hamburger SV began the clash in 7th place on 8 points, while Bremen found themselves in penultimate place on a mere three points.” (Defensive Midfielder)

Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea: Tevez wins it

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“Chelsea’s 100% run ends with a third consecutive defeat to Manchester City. Roberto Mancini chose Dedryck Boyata at right-back to ease his defensive worries, with Pablo Zabaleta at left-back. David Silva got the nod over Adam Johnson, and started on the right.” (Zonal Marking)

Werder Bremen 3-2: Hamburg: Wesley-inspired Bremen make Hamburg pay for wasted chances

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“A thoroughly entertaining battle ended with a win for the home side thanks to a late Hugo Almeida goal. Bremen lined up with an attack-minded system which was vaguely a 4-2-3-1, with the front four players allowed to drift across the pitch, with the understanding that two of them would cover the wide positions and defend with two banks of four when they lost the ball. Generally this resulted in Marko Marin on the left and Aaron Hunt on the right, although sometimes Hunt ended up in the centre and one of the strikers provided right-wing width.” (Zonal Marking)

Twente 2 – 2 Ajax: Clash of the top sides living up to expectations

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“This weekend saw the first clash of last year’s Eredivisie’s top two sides. Both clubs managed to win an impressive 16 out of 17 home games last season . Ajax’ only draw was, ironically against to-be-relegated Sparta (0-0), in the second home game of the season and Twente’s against PSV in their first home game of the season. Ajax managed to win their final 14 games of the season, scoring a magnificent 50 goals while conceding only 4 in these series. In spite of that, Twente managed to just hold on to their early season lead, keeping a one point margin intact over the final six matches, ensuring a thrilling end to the 2009/10 Eredivisie season and claiming their first ever title.” (11 tegen 11)

Roma 1-0 Inter: Roma win it from the bench

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“Substitute Mirko Vucinic scored a superb last minute header to record a crucial win for Roma. Claudio Ranieri lined up with a 4-4-2 / 4-2-3-1 formation that saw Francesco Totti playing off Marco Borriello. Simone Perrotta was naturally more defensive on the left than Jeremy Menez was on the right. Rafael Benitez played the usual 4-2-3-1 system. Their side was also slightly lopsided, as Goran Pandev was both deeper and more central than Samuel Eto’o. Dejan Stankovic played as a deep-lying regista.” (Zonal Marking)

Marx, Engels, Mao, Castro, & now…Vucinic
“You saw the well-timed run. You saw the diving header. And you saw the fiery celebration. But what you didn’t see was…. The simmering tensions amid the eternal struggle between proletariat and owner. First, read John Foot’s excellent piece at Goal on the history of the infamous ‘Sindacato Miliardari’, the Serie A players’ union. Up to speed on the current crisis? (futfanatico)

Excelsior 0 – 2 Vitesse: Half-time words of wisdom win the game for Vitesse

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“Seven games into the new season and not a word spent on Vitesse yet in 11tegen11. And yet, in some regards Vitesse has been one of the most dynamic teams so far. Disappointingly, however, this only held true for the off-pitch events so far. A change of ownership last August meant that Vitesse is the first, and so far only, foreign owned club in Holland. Georgian Merab Jordania took over the club, speaking of title challenges within three years and building the club into a stable force in European club football. Not the smallest of ambitions for last year’s number 14 of the Eredivisie, is it?” (11 tegen 11)

Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea: Tevez wins it

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“Chelsea’s 100% run ends with a third consecutive defeat to Manchester City. Roberto Mancini chose Dedryck Boyata at right-back to ease his defensive worries, with Pablo Zabaleta at left-back. David Silva got the nod over Adam Johnson, and started on the right. Carlo Ancelotti named his side on Friday afternoon, and stuck to it. Indeed, with injury problems, there were few other options for him, and Chelsea lined up in the 4-3-3 shape they’ve favoured so far this season.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)

Liverpool desperate for win against Sunderland

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“Liverpool needs a morale-boosting home win over Sunderland on Saturday to relieve the pressure on manager Roy Hodgson at the end of a depressing week for the 18-time Premier League champions. After losing to rival Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford last weekend, Liverpool went down to an embarrassing League Cup third-round defeat on Wednesday to Northampton, a team struggling near the bottom of England’s fourth tier.” (Yahoo)

Football transfer rumours: Fernando Torres to Manchester City?
“Over the past few weeks the Mill has been ruminating on the tabloids’ attempts to coin a nickname for Liverpool’s manager Roy Hodgson. ‘Uncle Roy’ has done the rounds as have ‘Hodgy’ and ‘Hodgo’ but none have stuck. But today’s Mirror backpage splash of Steven Gerrard under the headline ‘Don’t panic’ has opened up a whole Dad’s Army world to explore and makes Hodgson perfect casting as ARP Warden Hodges, the officious bane of Captain Mainwaring’s life who has a tendency to undermine his authority by falling into rivers.” (Guardian)

Liverpool’s Gerrard sets target of top four finish
“Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has set a target of a top-four finish at the end of the season, maintaining that the 18-time champions will be happy to settle for fourth place. Liverpool have picked up just five points from as many games in the Premier League so far and suffered the humiliation of being dumped out of the Carling Cup by League Two Northampton Town on Wednesday. But while Gerrard stopped short of writing off their title challenge, he has set some realistic targets for the club this season.” (ESPN)

Reflecting on Northampton: Time is Running out for LFC’s Disappointing Squad Players
“The word will become etched into our collective consciousness in the same way Worcester, and to a certain extent, Burnley, and Wimbledon are. I can almost see the tortured faces of Babel, Lucas, Kyrgiakos et al as they travel past Northampton during future coach journeys to away games in London. (Assuming they remain Liverpool players and that they really care enough to be as humiliated as they should be.)” (Micro LFC)

Dig deep enough, you can find beauty in the most ugliest of things: West Germany, 1990.

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“The 2010 World Cup was a World Cup that brought twenty-five year old men and above together for one reason – to collectively preach about how dismal the 1990 World Cup was. Such derision implanted an idea in this writer’s head that they need to watch the thing to let them know what they were missing out on. It is this apparent self-tortury that is all part of footballing character building, just what you know what boring, bland and characterless football is really like, or so I thought.” (Talking about Football)

Thoughts from the weekend: All Boys 2 – 1 Estudiantes

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“I’m a bit late with this, but here it is at last. Last weekend saw a lot of goals scored in the first division, but in some ways perhaps the most important ones were scored in Floresta at the clash between newly-promoted All Boys and title-chasing Estudiantes de La Plata. Estudiantes’ defeat in that match has handed the impetus in the title race, for the moment, to San Lorenzo, and the victory for All Boys has given the club confidence that they could pull off an amazing survival this season. There were dramatic scenes before the match as well, when Estudiantes’ barra brava almost pulled guns on a group of All Boys fans (not the Albo barra, I feel compelled to point out).” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

Rolling out of control

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Pierre Henri Revoil, Jeanne d’Arc in Prison in Rouen
“Real Madrid is broke. It was broke before completing the two most expensive transfers ever in 2009, bringing in Kaka for $86 million and Cristiano Ronaldo for $123 million. And it was broke when setting the previous transfer records, buying Luis Figo for $57 million in 2000 and Zinedine Zidane for $71 million in 2001.” (ESPN)

The EPLtalk Beginner’s Guide to Tactics

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“Following on from the Gaffer’s suggestion for articles to use as resources one of the key elements of a Football match are the Tactics each team employs. Unfortunately for converts the terminology can be impenetrable – 4-4-2 & 4-3-3 are just random numbers and with two teams lining up it can be hard to understand how it all works.” (EPL Talk)

Bordeaux 2-0 Lyon: a tight game won in the second half thanks to three factors

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“Yoann Gourcuff’s return to Bordeaux was an unhappy one, as the home side won a good contest. Bordeaux made significant changes to the side which lost 2-1 to Nice the previous weekend, with Moussa Maazou being given his first start of the season in a lone striking role. Jussie also came into the side, meaning Jaroslav Plasil started in a deeper role.” (Zonal Miarking)

Out of the frying pan and into the fire
“Half-a-season is a long time in football. At the winter break last year Yoann Gourcuff, French football’s long-awaited successor to Zinedine Zidane, was leading Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux on an imperious march to retaining their title. Everybody knew he would leave the Chaban-Delmas sooner or later, but he was meant to return as part of one of the world’s finest sides. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” (ESPN)

Are Liverpool Using The Correct Formation?

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“Argent a Cormorant in the beak a Branch of Seaweed called Laver all proper.”
“Watching Liverpool thus far this season, it’s apparent that things are not how they are supposed to be. They are not scoring as they should and they are not really that convincing at the back. Roy Hodgson admitted that his transfer activity was a bit limited, but as they say, the show must go on. Until January or even the summer, Hodgson’s managerial credentials and experience would be put to the ultimate test. He is going to have to make the best out of the club’s current plight. His playing staff, although threadbare, is by no means hopeless. How can he get the best out of them and thus stop the club from it’s ignominious free-fall into oblivion?” (Flix and Trix)

Willem II 2 – 4 ADO Den Haag: Willem II lacking manpower upfront and ADO producing another high-scoring game

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“Willem II and ADO Den Haag are amongst the teams that expected to battle against relegation this year. The ‘Tilburg Tricolores’ avoided relegation only in the play-offs of the past season after finishing in 17th place, while ADO only just avoided these play-offs by grabbing six points from the final four games of the season.” (11 tegen 11)

Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona: Busquets takes ‘modern centre-half’ role a little further

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“Barcelona claim a narrow victory in a fixture they’ve found difficult in recent years – but Lionel Messi was injured late on. Quique Sanchez Flores chose a 4-4-2ish system with few surprises, similar to the team which reached the Europa League final last season. Sergio Aguero passed a late fitness test, but didn’t look 100% and had little influence on the game. Simao Sabrosa and Jose Antonio Reyes were deployed as inverted wingers.” (Zonal Marking)

A Mauling For Messi In The Calderon…
“There are a handful of players in la Liga who are genuinely scary people – the kind that have the opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan playing endless loops in their frequently-addled brains. Two of them, Walter Pandiani and Carlos Aranda, play up front for Osasuna. Both sport shaven heads, boast long histories of off-the-field ‘incidents’ and most probably have kennels stuffed with slobbering, testosterone-chomping pit bulls back at their evil lairs.” (Football365)

Atlético Madrid 1 – 2 Barcelona
“Barcelona put their poor recent record at the Vicente Calderon behind them to end Atletico Madrid’s 100% start to the Primera Division season – but there was an injury scare for Lionel Messi. Barca had lost their three previous league visits to Atletico’s home 2-1, 4-3 and 4-2 but they deservedly earned all three points on this occasion thanks to first-half goals from Messi and Gerard Pique.” (ESPN)

Lionel Messi Injury – Atletico Madrid 1-2 FC Barcelona – La Liga
(The 90th Mniute)

Sampdoria 1-2 Napoli: late turnaround as Hamsik and Cavani snatch the win

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“Napoli dominated the game and yet fell behind, before rallying in the final ten minutes to record their first win of the season. Sampdoria lined up with their diamondish formation, with Stefano Guberti as an attacking midfielder, Antonio Cassano off to the left (but narrower than usual) and Franco Semioli on the right.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool: Berbatov x 3

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“Manchester United threw away another two-goal lead – but a Dimitar Berbatov hattrick saved them. Sir Alex Ferguson went with a 4-4-2 – the first time he has done this in a ‘big’ game since Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over United last season. John O’Shea moved to right-back to replace Gary Neville. Roy Hodgson went for Fernando Torres upfront alone at the top of a compact side. Raul Meireles was the link player, with Steven Gerrard deeper in midfield. Joe Cole made his return on the left side of midfield.” (Zonal Minute)

Berbatov treble inspires United
“Sir Alex Ferguson was indebted to the “genius” of Dimitar Berbatov after the Bulgarian’s brilliant hat-trick floored Liverpool at Old Trafford. Every single member of the United side had need to thank Berbatov at the end after they had tossed away a two-goal advantage against Merseyside opposition for the second weekend running, only for the former Tottenham man to net the winner six minutes from time.” (ESPN)

Match Of The Week: Manchester United 3-2
“Manchester United vs Liverpool. Aon vs Standard Chartered. Nike vs Adidas. The warm, sticky smell of testosterone and hubris hangs large in the air this afternoon for this match, but all is not well at either Old Trafford or Anfield. Manchester United are still unbeaten since the start of the season, but they are a curiously unsatisfactory team this season so far.” (twohundredpercent)

Dimitar Berbatov’s hat-trick halts Liverpool’s spirited recovery
“Dimitar Berbatov has so far been taking personal responsibility for Manchester United’s Premier League campaign. Liverpool had come back to draw level after being 2-0 down but with five minutes left the striker climbed to meet a John O’Shea cross and head the winner. He has now scored in four of his club’s five league matches to date.” (Guardian)

Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats
(The 90th Minute)