Tag Archives: Football Manager

Feyenoord 1 – 2 Ajax: A disappointing Classic and signs of an unwanted trend in the Eredivisie

“Feyenoord and Ajax contested each other in the 164th edition of ‘The Classic’ today. Regardless of actual rankings and present from, this Classic encounter remains one of the high-points of the year for both teams. The fierce rivalry between these clubs tends to bring out the best of games on the pitch ,but unfortunately also the worst of ‘supporters’ behaviour outside of it. In an effort to control this violence, until 2014 the Eredivisie matches between Ajax and Feyenoord are to be played without any attending away fans, taking away much of the stadium atmosphere.” (11 tegen 11)

FC Groningen – FC Utrecht 1-0… Patient Groningen overcomes a lacklustre Utrecht side

“In the Euroborg, a fine example of a modern stadium that offers an excellent footballing atmosphere, home side FC Groningen took on ‘Celtic-beaters’ FC Utrecht in a match that could be seen as an early six pointer in the battle for the European Football qualification spots. The home side saw their patient and controlled attacks rewarded with a late winner to defeat a rather tame and defensive-looking Utrecht team.” (11 tegen 11)

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Ajax : Big Real makes Ajax look very small

“Ajax’much awaited return to the Champions League turned out to be a big deception in their first Group Stage match against the stars of Real Madrid. Although the final 2-0 score-line made it look like a football match, it was in fact a very one-sided affair. Real dominated all areas of the pitch, creating an impressive number of 33 goal-scoring chances and if it was not for Maarten Stekelenburg’s excellent goalkeeping, Ajax would never have come away with only two goals conceded.” (11 tegen 11)

Bayern 2-0 Roma: Ranieri’s side show shocking lack of ambition

“Bayern dominated the game from start to finish, but it took a superb Thomas Müller goal to break the deadlock. Bayern lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 shape. Hamit Altintop started on the left in the absence of Franck Ribery, whilst Ivica Olic was the lone forward. Roma played a conservative, narrow 4-4-2 formation with Francesco Totti and Marco Borriello upfront. Aleandro Rosi made a rare start at right-back, so Marco Cassetti played on the left. Matteo Brighi was used in a right-sided midfield role.” (Zonal Marking)

PSV 1 – 1 Sampdoria: A misfitting 4-2-3-1 does not beat a defensive diamond

“For the first time in 18 years, PSV has to settle for Europa League (former UEFA Cup) football for two consecutive seasons. And despite 12 Champions League participations in these 18 years, they’ve only passed the group stage three times, with a Hiddink-managed side reaching the semi-finals of 2004/05 as their best result.” (11 tegen 11)

Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos: the away side take the lead, but eventually crumble

“Barcelona had another scare, but hit back to record a convincing victory. The home side weren’t taking any chances after their shock weekend defeat to another Greek big name, Hercules. Pep Guardiola named his strongest side, bringing back Carles Puyol, Daniel Alves, Xavi Hernandez, Pedro Rodriguez and Sergio Busquets, playing a vague 4-3-3 system.” (Zonal Marking)

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Ajax : Big Real makes Ajax look very small

“Ajax’much awaited return to the Champions League turned out to be a big deception in their first Group Stage match against the stars of Real Madrid. Although the final 2-0 score-line made it look like a football match, it was in fact a very one-sided affair. Real dominated all areas of the pitch, creating an impressive number of 33 goal-scoring chances and if it was not for Maarten Stekelenburg’s excellent goalkeeping, Ajax would never have come away with only two goals conceded.” (11tegen11)

Tactics: Fluid Real dance to Mesut Özil’s rhythm

“As the latest batch of world-class international players joined the assembly line at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu over the summer, speculation quickly turned to how José Mourinho would attempt to shape his talent-packed Real Madrid squad into a cohesive team. Two games into the La Liga campaign, his strategy is gradually beginning to emerge.” (Football Further)

Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham: Schaaf’s early tactical shift rescues a point for Bremen

“A frantic game that Spurs looked set to win at a canter, only to be pegged back in the second half. Harry Redknapp went with a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 shape, with Rafael van der Vaart in behind Peter Crouch. Jermaine Jenas was a surprise starter in the centre of midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone, whilst the rest of the side was as expected.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactical titbits, 11/12th September

“Another pulsating weekend of football action in EU member-states has been and gone; and all we can do is reflect and hope next Saturday and Sunday are just as marvellous! I began my weekend with two successive 2-0 triumphs – Hoffenheim’s conquest of Schalke on Friday evening, followed by Zenit’s cruise to victory over the downwardly-hurtling Tom Tomsk. Subsequent to that interjection of Russian action, I found myself back in the realms of the Bundesliga as Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund sought to inflict a third successive defeat on Wolfsburg.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)

Porto 3-2 Braga: Hulk dominates the game

“A great encounter with some terrific goals – Porto narrowly recorded an important victory. Porto lined up as expected, 4-3-3 with Fernando dropping deep ahead of his own defence, and Hulk and Silvestre Varela switching wings upfront. Braga used a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 shape, with Domingos Pacienca leaving out Matheus, instead using Paulo Cesar on the left and Lima the the main striker, with close support from Luis Aguiar.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona 0-2 Hercules: Valdez beats Valdes twice to give Hercules shock victory

“Barcelona were defeated by a two-goal margin in La Liga for the first time under Pep Guardiola, at the hands of newly-promoted Hercules. Guardiola’s side were without Carles Puyol through injury, whilst Sergio Busquets, Daniel Alves and Xavi Hernandez all started on the bench. Bojan was the central striker, whilst Javier Mascherano made his debut in the deep-lying midfield position.” (Zonal Marking)

Twente’s dominant midfield triangle undone by cleverly organised Roda… Missing Kenneth Perez?

“Yesterday evening saw the much awaited kick-off of the Dutch Eredivisie. And it was the defending champion’s honour to feature in the first match, away against last year’s number nine, Roda JC. A potentially tough fixture as Roda performed particularly well in the second half of last year’s competition and, in contrast to Twente, succeeded in keeping much of their squad together during the summer transfer window. Of their regularly featured players, only midfielder Marcel de Jong and central defender Jean-Paul Saeijs departed. New signing Jimmy Hempte from Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk was attracted as the new central defense partner to the athletic and passionate part-Norwegian, part-Gambian Pah-Modou Kah.” (11 tegen 11)

FC Groningen – FC Utrecht 1-0… Patient Groningen overcomes a lacklustre Utrecht side

“In the Euroborg, a fine example of a modern stadium that offers an excellent footballing atmosphere, home side FC Groningen took on ‘Celtic-beaters’ FC Utrecht in a match that could be seen as an early six pointer in the battle for the European Football qualification spots. The home side saw their patient and controlled attacks rewarded with a late winner to defeat a rather tame and defensive-looking Utrecht team.” (11 tegen 11)

Birmingham 0-0 Liverpool: Reina Earns Liverpool A Point But Hodgson Has Big Problems In Midfield

Roy Hodgson
“Liverpool secured a draw against a determined and robust Birmingham side, but were once again dominated in midfield. Although Konchesky and Merieles made their debuts, there weren’t many positives from this encounter for Liverpool. We review the game and look at where the Reds need to improve.” (Micro LFC)

A rationally explainable, but emotionally dissatisfying 2-1 win of Holland over Finland

Hubert Robert, The Bridge
“Another slightly delayed post on our recent national team’s performance. And yet again, for future reference and for the message conveyed in this particular match, it still is important to review Holland’s performance against a stubborn and, apart from the first 20 minutes, well organized Finland side. Oranje, as always, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with man-in-the-hole Sneijder given a high degree of positional freedom, looking to see a lot of the ball and being involved in a very high proportion of the attacking plays.” (11 tegen 11)

Real Madrid 1-0 Osasuna: Özil stars in narrow victory on Mourinho’s home debut

“The Jose Mourinho effect: Real Madrid averaged exactly three goals per game at home last season – here, they began with just one, but it was enough to get the three points. Mourinho made four changes from the opening day draw at Mallorca, giving full debuts to Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and a surprise start to Karim Benzema on the right. Sergio Ramos shifted across to right-back, so Pepe came in.” (Zonal Marking)

Juventus 3-3 Sampdoria: All-out-attack from both sides produces a superb match

“A brilliant, open, end-to-end classic as Miloš Krasić and Antonio Cassano dominated the game. Sampdoria continued with the interesting Roma/Brazil-esque shape they used against Werder Bremen, with Franco Semioli wide on the right, Daniele Dessena tucked in on the other side, and Antonio Cassano drifting in from the left. They were without Giampaolo Pazzini, so Nicola Pozzi came in, whilst Vladimir Koman played an attacking midfield role.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactical Variety vs Wolves

“Something at the Fulham-Wolves game really sprang to my attention. In contrast to the disciplined 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 that the team played under Hodgson, there was a fair deal of variety in the way the team lined up on Saturday. Watching the team’s set up during goal-kicks is always a fairly good indicator (if not a perfect one) of the formation in which they are being set up by their manager.” (Hammy End)

Premier League chalkboards analysis

“This week we look at Nani’s preference to play on the right, Arsenal’s short passing, Andy Carroll’s physical dominance, and Milan Jovanovic’s poor crossing.” (Guardian)

Cesena 2-0 Milan: familiar problems for Milan

“Newly-promoted Cesena have four points from two tough opening games against Roma and Milan after this deserved victory. The home side were unchanged from the opening, playing a disciplined 4-5-1 system that became 4-3-3 when they had the ball. Milan gave a debut to Zlatan Ibrahimovic upfront, in a 4-3-3 formation largely similar to the one Leonardo favoured last season. Andrea Pirlo played deep, with Massimo Ambrosini and Rino Gatusso either side.” (Zonal Marking)

Hércules flex muscles to record a famous victory

“Outside of the Barcelona – Madrid axis it was a relatively quiet summer transfer window in Spain, many of the country’s clubs beset by crippling debts and unable to make significant additions to their squads. Newly-promoted Hércules, however, were one of the few La Liga clubs to truly catch the eye with the calibre of the players they brought in. The biggest name to arrive at the Estadio José Rico Pérez was undoubtedly former France international David Trezeguet, the striker signing on the back of a bounteous decade at Juventus having been released from his contract by the Turin giants.” (The Equaliser)

Barcelona 0 – 2 Hercules
“Barcelona were left stunned as Nelson Haedo Valdez struck twice to give promoted side Hercules a famous win at the Nou Camp this evening. Valdez gave the Alicante-based outfit the lead when he poked home from a free-kick against the run of play after 26 minutes. And the Paraguay forward, making his debut for the visitors, silenced the Nou Camp with a superb second on the hour to give Hercules a two-goal lead.” (ESPN)

Everton 3-3 Manchester United: Amazing stoppage time comeback

“Manchester United concede two goals in stoppage time for the first time in Premier League history and throw away what seemed a certain win. Everton were without any fully fit strikers, and so were forced to play Tim Cahill upfront with support from Marouane Fellaini. Leon Osman came in on the right, whilst Jonny Heitinga started just in front of the defence.” (Zonal Marking)

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

Turkey 3-2 Belgium

“A fiery, frenetic affair saw the Turkish national team prevail from yet another of the epic games they habitually partake in. With two wins from two games, Turkey will push Germany all the way. I was flabbergasted upon reading the Belgium line-up – Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Daniel van Buyten, and Thomas Vermaelen – all of whom play centre-back at club-level – started.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)

Andrey Arshavin looks left-field in search of his old mojo

“To most people, Andrey Arshavin would have registered on their consciousness in the summer of 2008. He was boyish in his looks; his plum cheeks and fluffy hair were never going to hide his impish charm but it wasn’t before long he displayed all his cunning trickery. Suspended for the first two games of the European Championships with Russia – one of which included a 4-1 defeat to Spain – Arshavin made an instant impression. He was instrumental in seeing his side progress out of the group stages in the final game against Sweden before producing a performance which made everyone stand up and notice. Arshavin was devastating in a 3-1 win over Holland, scoring a fantastic counter-attacking goal to see off the Dutch and was so effective every time he got the ball that ITV pundit Andy Townsend claimed it would be the best £20million a club could spend in the transfer window.” (Arsenal Column)

Norway 1-0 Portugal: A crazy Eduardo mistake and a resilient Norwegian defensive display

“Portugal continue their dreadful start to the qualification group – after two games they’re already five points behind table-toppers Norway. The home side made two changes from their win in Iceland – left-back John Arne Riise was injured, so was replaced by Espen Ruud, a player more comfortable on the right. John Carew was fit to start, so replaced Mohammed Abdellaoue – but only lasted 38 minutes before getting injured, and Abdellaoue was back in.” (Zonal Marking)

Holland in fine display against small San Marino

“This analysis of the Holland – San Marino game might come as a somewhat dated publication, which, in fact, it is… Although it’s been delayed due to busy times on several fronts, I’ve still decided to publish it, mainly for future reference. Last week saw the opening fixtures of the Euro 2012 qualification rounds with Holland kicking off against San Marino in the big-named, but small-sized Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle. The other teams in group E are Sweden, Finland, Moldova and Hungary and it looks like a two-horse race between Holland and Sweden for the qualification place with vice-World Champion Oranje being the big favorite of course.” (11 tegen 11)

Argentina 4-1 Spain: good audition for Batista

“Argentina beat Spain at their own game – passing them off the pitch, and finishing chances ruthlessly. Sergio Batista has replaced Diego Maradona as manager, but is not yet certain of the position on a full-time basis. He chose a 4-3-3 system, bringing back Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, who had both been omitted from the World Cup squad. Ever Banega played in a tight midfield three, whilst the Messi-Tevez-Higuain trio was retained, in a different format.” (Zonal Marking)

Spain put to the sword
“Argentina handed Spain only their third defeat since 2006 after putting the reigning world and European champions to the sword early on in their friendly at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, two players who ply their trade in Spain, put Argentina two up inside the opening 14 minutes and Carlos Tevez made it 3-0 in the 34th minute following a costly slip by Jose Reina.” (ESPN)

Spain lose ‘the final that never was’
“See. Even when La Liga Loca is completely wrong, it’s right. While the blog was suggesting that the Argentina v Spain friendly was the flounciest of flimflams, something to tune into if there was nothing better to do of a Tuesday night, a channel-filler during the normal 35 minute blocks of adverts on TV and a chance to swoon at Santi Cazorla’s little hamster face, the Spanish press was happily hyping the game into something that resembled a meaningful game of football.” (FourFourTwo)

Argentina 4-1 Spain – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

Interview: Michael Cox, Zonal Marking

“The graphs, diagrams and match reports on Zonal Marking are pored over by thousands of football fans the world over and have helped push tactical analysis towards the centre of mainstream football debate in the United Kingdom. Set up in January this year, the phenomenally successful website received an average of 210,000 visitors per week during the World Cup and counts tactical mastermind Jonathan Wilson among its many admirers.” (Football Further)

Switzerland 1-3 England: more positives for Capello

“England dominated the majority of the game and fully deserved their victory. Switzerland were very underwhelming.
The hosts went for a 4-4-1-1 shape with (initially) inverted wingers – David Degen started on the left, Xavier Margairaz on the right. Alexander Frei played very deep off Eren Derdiyok, who was isolated upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

Switzerland 1 – 3 England
“Wayne Rooney put his personal problems to one side just as he promised and fired England on their way to a Euro 2012 qualifying win over 10-man Switzerland. Substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent also found the net after Stephan Lichtsteiner had been sent off, to ensure Xherdan Shaqiri’s thunderbolt was of no real value.” (ESPN)

Match Of The Midweek: Switzerland 1-3 England
“Two games, six points and seven goals. On the pitch, at least, it is starting to feel worryingly as if this summer’s meltdown in South Africa never happened for England. Off it, meanwhile, it has been a busy week in very different ways for England’s players and their PR people, and the suspicion remains that the team are hanging on by their fingernails with their opening two results from the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012.” (twohundredpercent)

Switzerland 1-3 England – UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying – Tuesday, September 7, 2010
(The 90th Minute)

Estonia 1-2 Italy: a decent start for Prandelli

“Italy fell behind and looked to be struggling for goals, but Estonia’s awful marking from set-pieces came to their aid. Tarmo Ruttli chose an experienced XI, in a broad 4-4-1-1 formation, with Konstantin Vassiljev playing just behind the pacey Sergei Zenjov. Cesare Prandelli set his side out in a 4-3-3, with Simone Pepe keeping wide on the right, and Antonio Cassano just off Giampaolo Pazzini to the left, a combination that works well at club level.” (Zonal Marking)

France 0-1 Belarus: A compact Belarus side with a classic smash and grab

Eustache Le Sueur, L’Amour ordonne à Mercure d’annoncer son pouvoir à l’Univers
“A disastrous start for Laurent Blanc, in his first competitive game as France manager. Blanc had severe selection problems before the match. He was without Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Jeremy Toulalan, Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Lassana Diarra due to injury or suspension. His starting line-up was a system that was broadly 4-4-2, with Yann M’Vila very deep ahead of the back four, and Loic Reomy dropping off Guillaume Hoarau upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

France 0 – 1 Belarus
“Laurent Blanc’s first competitive match as France coach ended in a shock defeat which deals an early blow to their Euro 2012 qualifying bid. Sergey Kisliak scored the only goal four minutes from time to punish France, who failed to capitalise after dominating possession.” (ESPN)

French Soccer Still Can’t Shake the Blues
“Nearly two months have passed since Raymond Domenech left his post as manager of the French national team. Yet anyone watching Les Bleus in their European qualifier against Belarus Friday night would be forgiven for thinking he was still around.” (WSJ)

France 0-1 Belarus – UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying – Friday, September 3, 2010
(The 90th Minute)

England 4-0 Bulgaria: Hattrick for Defoe as England cruise to victory

Jermain Defoe
“A great start, a quiet first half and then a dominant end to the game, as England opened their qualification campaign with a much-needed high-scoring win. Fabio Capello chose to play Wayne Rooney with a partner, Jermain Defoe, rather than in the lone striker role he occupied in the recent friendly against Hungary. Theo Walcott and James Milner were the choices in wide positions, whilst the rest of the team was as anticipated.” (Zonal Marking)

Defoe hat-trick sinks Bulgaria
“Jermain Defoe gave the surgeon’s knife a swerve and instead carved up Bulgaria with his first England hat-trick to bring a smile back to Fabio Capello’s face. Defoe put off a groin operation that threatened to rule him out of England’s opening Euro 2012 opener and gained perfect reward in a deserved win that eased some of the pressure that has been building around Capello.” (ESPN)

England 4-0 Bulgaria – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“England began their Euro 2012 qualifying with a home match against Bulgaria on Friday, September 3, 2010. The match was important with England’s disappointing run in the 2010 World Cup and failure to qualify for Euro 2008. The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

FIFA’s 289-page Technical Report on the 2010 World Cup – in 15 points

Iker Casillas
“This week, FIFA have unveiled their ‘technical report’ on the 2010 World Cup. Technical reports are, in FIFA’s words, ‘published after each and every FIFA competition in order to analyse how the game is progressing’. Some of the information is not particularly fascinating, an example being the revelation that ‘all successful teams have excellent strikers who arecapable of converting goalscoring opportunities that come their way’. Nevertheless, the document does identify some intriguing patterns, and offers a variety of interesting theories about the success, or otherwise, of the 32 teams competing in the tournament. Even the most ardent football fan would struggle to find the motivation to read all 289 pages of the document, so here’s 15 key quotes, and some comment.” (Zonal Marking)

Hodgson’s men struggled through no fault of their own

“With Javier Mascherano refusing to play, a response to the Liverpool board rejecting a derisory bid from Spanish giants FC Barcelona, Roy Hodgson had a tactical headache. He had options to replace El Jefecito with youngster Jay Spearing or risk Christian Poulsen, who was recovering from his debut on Thursday. This would have resulted in Steven Gerrard playing in an advanced midfield role, something of a ‘hot topic’ among football-fans. However, Roy Hodgson opted for a 4-4-2 with Gerrard and Lucas in midfield with N’Gog and the now-fit Fernando Torres up-front.” (Talking about Football)

Blackburn 1-2 Arsenal Analysis

“There was a lot of talk before the match about how Arsenal would cope with Blackburn’s long ball and set piece-orientated style of football, particularly after comments made by both sets of managers. In the end it was fairly comfortable for the Gunners as they defended their box well and exposed Blackburn’s lack of possession retention.” (The Backwards Gooner)

How will Milan line up this season?

“In what was a predictably mellow summer transfer window, AC Milan bucked the general trend around Europe by making a number of high-profile acquisitions. The arrivals at the San Siro of Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Manchester City and Barcelona respectively have provided Milan with what is, at least on paper, one of the finest attacking units on the continent.” (The Equaliser)

Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli: the away side’s lopsided defensive shape works rather well

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“The closest thing to a ‘glamour tie’ in the first round of Serie A finished all square – 1-1 both in terms of goals and red cards. Fiorentina’s only debutant in Sinisa Mihajlovic’s first game in charge was Gaetano D’Agostino, the central playmaker who is effectively taking Stevan Jovetic’s place in Fiorentina’s 4-2-3-1 from last season. Otherwise, it was a distinctly Prandelli-esque team, with no major changes.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactics: Robinho arrival threatens Ronaldinho’s renaissance

“Right-footed, left-sided attackers are currently one of football’s most fashionable commodities (think David Villa and Robinho at the World Cup; Franck Ribéry at Bayern Munich; Nani at Manchester United), and like any self-respecting wealthy Italian man, Silvio Berlusconi has to be up with the latest trends. So he bought two. But while Robinho is hoping his transfer deadline day move to Milan will allow him to re-launch his stuttering club career, his arrival at San Siro may well turn out to be bad news for Ronaldinho.” (Football Further)

Bologna 0-0 Inter: Benitez starts with bore draw

“A low-key game with few goalscoring opportunities – the result was celebrated by managerless Bologna like a win. The home side included new signings Andrea Esposito, Matteo Rubin, Gyorgy Garics and Albin Ekdal in a 4-1-4-1 system that saw Belgian midfielder Gaby Mudingayi sitting very deep in front of his defence, with Marco di Vaio isolated upfront. Rafael Benitez used the 4-2-3-1 formation that Inter played towards the end of last season, and the system Benitez favoured at Liverpool. Maicon was unavailable so Javier Zanetti started at right-back.” (Zonal Marking)

Aston Villa 1-0 Everton: Villa strike early, then hold on
“A bizarre game that Everton dominated from start to finish, and yet still managed to lose. Stephen Ireland suffered an injury in the warm up, so Nigel Reo-Coker replaced him in the centre of midfield. James Collins returned at the back, and Gabriel Agbonlahor wasn’t fit enough to start, so John Carew continued upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

Late August looks at Bundesliga and Serie A

“As per usual action in Germany’s top-flight commenced on the Friday, and for the second week in succession Bayern Munich got things under way. Unfortunately for Louis van Gaal, they didn’t quite gets things all their own way. Much to the delight of a rapturous home-crowd in Kaiserslautern, the 2009/10 2. Bundesliga champions defeated the illustrious treble-winners by a comfortable two-goal margin.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)

Blackburn 1-2 Arsenal: Wing play the perfect escape from aerial bombardment

“In the face of wanton intimidation Arsenal never cowered but out-fought such typically irksome opponents. Sam Allardyce had yet to lose at home to Arsenal since 2002 and was similarly undefeated last season at Ewood Park to each of the “big four” through a bullish and no-nonsense style. It may be a divided style in England at least but there is no doubt that for a side like Blackburn it can level the playing fields somewhat against what is known as superior opponents. For a good part of the game Arsenal survived a barrage of long passes – and throws – and with the growing confidence of Theo Walcott in particular found an outlet to exploit Blackburn’s in mobility.” (Arsenal Column)

AZ 1-1 Excelsior: how to execute a 4-1-4-1…

“It’s only slightly over a year ago that Dirk Scheringa’s AZ broke the 27-year span in which either Ajax, PSV or Feyenoord won the Eredivisie title. However, things look rather different for AZ at present. The worldwide financial problems induced the bankruptcy of Scheringa’s DSB Bank, AZ’s main sponsor since 1993 and the driving force behind their success, culminating in the Eredivisie title of 2008/09.” (11 tegen 11)

Barcelona: Mascherano to be Used in Double Pivot?

Javier Mascherano
“When I previously wrote about how signings will affect Barcelona’s squad, I naively assumed that Guardiola’s summer transfers were over. Then, possibly their two biggest transfers were completed – Javier Mascherano was signed from Liverpool and big money signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent out on loan (with a view to a permanent move) to AC Milan.” (A Tactical View)

Manchester United 3-0 West Ham: a slow start, but a comfortable victory for United

“Manchester United struggled to get going, but were always comfortable after Wayne Rooney ended his goal drought from the penalty spot. Avram Grant set West Ham out in a conservative 4-1-4-1 system, with Scott Parker deep in midfield. Grant chose to field Kieron Dyer on the left of midfield, and Luis Boa Morte in a central role. Mark Noble was the central midfielder with most license to get forward and support Carlton Cole.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactics: How the Premier League title contenders shape up

“The Premier League season is less than two weeks old, but a look at how the top sides lined up in their opening matches provides an interesting indication of how they plan to approach the season from a tactical perspective. The diagrams below, screenshots from the ESPN Soccernet website, show the average positions adopted by the players from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool in their teams’ opening home games of the season. (Data is taken only from home games because ESPN’s average position diagrams inexplicably go a bit haywire for away teams.) Average position diagrams do not give a water-tight representation of a team’s formation – which is necessarily in a constant state of flux – but they do offer useful insights into basic shape.” (Football Further)

Blackburn 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal’s passing game prevails

“Arsenal emerge with the points after a professional display in a decent match. Sam Allardyce chose to use the two Dioufs either side of Nikola Kalinic upfront, and continued to use Phil Jones ahead of the back four, in a very defensive midfield role. Vince Grella also came into midfield – Allardyce seems to see him as a ‘big game player’, since his three starts in 2010 have come against Arsenal (twice) and Manchester United, and the two before that were against Tottenham and Liverpool.” (Zonal Marking)

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL – 28 August 2010
(The 90th Minute)

Cheick Tioté

“Unlike the majority of their Premier League counterparts, Newcastle United’s squad seems to askew cosmopolitanism. Buttressed by an English spine, you can almost taste its Carling-flavoured depth. This isn’t to suggest Geordies are a xenophobic bunch – rather, it’s a reflection on a monotonous birthplace-list nestling in a place where Wigan Athletic don’t include a single Englishman in their first-XI.” (Defensive Midfielder)

Tottenham 4-0 Young Boys: Much-improved Spurs progress with ease

“A routine victory for a Tottenham side that always looked in control, and are now into the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. Harry Redknapp made a few changes to last week’s side – Peter Crouch replaced Roman Pavlyuchenko (who, despite his late wondergoal, was awful in the first leg), whilst Tom Huddlestone came into the midfield alongside Wilson Palacios, Aaron Lennon was selected instead of Giovani dos Santos, and Ledley King got a start too.” (Zonal Marking)

Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Young Boys – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
“Tottenham Hotspur hosted Young Boys in the second leg of the playoff round in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. The score was 3-2 in favor of Young Boys after the first leg but Spurs would only need a 1-0 win to advance because of away goals.” (The 90th Minute)

Auxerre 2-0 Zenit: Two goals from corners and two red cards
“Auxerre progress thanks to two goals from corner-kicks, against a frustrating nine-man Zenit side. Jean Fernandez made one change from the first leg, surprisingly dropping Walter Birsa and bringing in Roy Contout in the left-wing position. Otherwise, they played the same conservative 4-4-1-1 system, with Anthony Le Tallec trying to combine with Ireneusz Jelen upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

Ajax 2-1 Kiev: midfield changes win the game for Ajax
“Ajax beat Kiev 2-1 to advance to the group stages of the Champions League. In a match that, in the end, brought both relief and confidence, Ajax’ common 4-2-3-1 had a tough time against Kiev’s defensive 4-4-2. Jol’s essential midfield adjustments turned the game around, and in a climatic closing ten minutes, Ajax managed to get away with a 2-1 victory.” (11 tegen 11)

Sampdoria 3-2 Werder Bremen (AET): Pazzini puts Sampdoria in charge, but subs prove crucial

“An amazing second leg of a superb tie sees Bremen progress thanks to a dramatic late show, whilst Sampdoria must settle for the Europa League. Both teams changed shape from the first leg, with plenty of personnel changes too. Sampdoria set out with a strange formation vaguely resembling a 4-4-2 diamond (more on that later), with Stefano Guberti and Daniele Dessena starting in midfield, and Marius Stankevicius replacing the suspended Stefano Lucchini.” (Zonal Marking)

Man City 3-0 Liverpool: Hodgson’s 4-4-2 completely outplayed

Joseph Parrocel, Combat de Leuze, 18 September 1691
“A dominant performance from City, who weren’t flattered by the 3-0 scoreline. Roberto Mancini made changes on his wings, bringing in James Milner and Adam Johnson for Shaun Wright-Phillips and David Silva. Mario Balotelli wasn’t fit, and Emmanuel Adebayor was omitted. Joleon Lescott played at left-back in the absence of Aleksandar Kolarov.” (Zonal Marking)

The Monday Night Match: Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool
“Well, that’s one question answered, at least. Those that had been wondering how long it would take Manchester City’s diamond-encrusted team to gel this season have their answer, and it is quite a specific one – give or take a few seconds, it took one match and twelve minutes before the team clicked into place and from then on the result of this evening’s match was never in a great deal of doubt. While City gelled, Liverpool were oil and water.” (twohundredpercent)

City smash sorry Reds
“Manchester City flexed their enormous muscles at Eastlands tonight to delight the man who made it all possible and deliver their biggest beating of Liverpool since 1937. Sheikh Mansour could not have picked a better night to watch the team he has spent £1 billion on in a league game for the first time.” (ESPN)

City slickers hit their stride
“Once deemed the final piece in the jigsaw, then a cause of controversy, now the architect of their downfall, Gareth Barry has become a byword for bad tidings for Liverpool. This is the player for whom Rafa Benitez was willing to sacrifice Xabi Alonso, the one he really wanted when the club bought Robbie Keane and the man who became the reason for escalating tensions.” (ESPN)

Manchester City roll back the years as Mancini’s mentality takes hold
“The first thing to say about Manchester City is that for a team of fractious individuals, mercenaries and strangers, only there for the money – and, please, can someone explain how they are possibly going to keep them all happy? – and led by an unpopular manager who doesn’t speak to the players (and will probably be gone by Christmas anyway), they didn’t do too badly, did they?” (Guardian)

Manchester City 3-0 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
“Manchester City played their first home match of the 2010-11 EPL season with a match against Liverpool on Monday, August 23, 2010. The match highlights can be found here at Free Soccer Highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

Central players World Cup 2010

“Soccer analysis focuses on particular moments of the game, usually highlights or events preceding a goal. Goals are nice to watch and few events preceding the goal keep it comprehensible. Advanced chess players might be able to do better, but in general we memorize around seven to nine events. In the short term, judging player performance is based on seven to nine actions. Let alone putting those actions back in to team perspective.” (Sport Analysis)

The Price Of Inter’s Success

Wesley Sneijder
“There’s no doubt that the 2009/10 season was a triumphant one for FC Internazionale, better known as Inter, as they became the first Italian team to complete the treble by winning the scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in a single year. In fact, Inter have been the dominant force in Italian football ever since the Calciopoli scandal in 2006, winning five league titles in a row, the first time this has been done since Juventus achieved the feat in the 30s.” (The Swiss Ramble)

Dortmund 0-2 Leverkusen: Dominance down the right decides the game in the first half

“An interesting game here, because a 4-4-2 defeated a 4-2-3-1 – intriguing, in the light of Sampdoria, Tottenham and Liverpool’s recent problems with 4-4-2. Dortmund played a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 system, with the main point of interest being the debut of Japanese international Shinji Kagawa, a highly-rated attacking midfielder signed over the summer from Cerezo Osaka.” (Zonal Marking)

A Glance at the Premiere of the Premiership

“There is a saying – familiarity breeds contempt. However, for the attacking trident of Chelsea, a keen understanding and movement has led to a whopping 12-0 goal differential and two wins. Granted, neither West Brom nor Wigan will be fighting for titles this season, but…but…but…six goals is six goals is six goals. Malouda was at his thoughtful best, anticipating a Lampard shot and pouncing on the rebound. Anelka followed a classy far-post finish with a right-place-at-the-right-time header (read: offside).” (futfanatico)

Arsenal 6-0 Blackpool: The extended match analysis

“Arsenal’s effective wing play, Blackpool’s adventure, two holding midfelders, and the joys of Chamakh and Rosicky.” (Arsenal Column)

Fulham 2-2 Manchester United: exciting game, fair result

“Brede Hangeland scored late on at both ends in a frantic finale to a superb game. Fulham brought in Clint Dempsey and Paul Konchesky, with Mark Hughes sticking to the 4-2-3-1 shape that brought Roy Hodgson such success last season. Wayne Rooney was out, so Sir Alex Ferguson gave Javier Hernandez his first Premier League start, and selected Park Ji-Sung rather than Nani on the left – otherwise the team was the same as in their opening game of the season.” (Zonal Marking)

Newcastle 6-0 Aston Villa: Carroll the main man as Newcastle run riot

“A huge win for Newcastle thanks to two main factors – they won the midfield battle, and had a clear gameplan when they had the ball. Chris Hughton kept faith with the eleven players that started well but faded badly against Manchester United last Monday, whilst Kevin MacDonald made the one expected change – with James Milner leaving, his replacement Stephen Ireland came into the side in the centre of midfield.” (Zonal Marking)

Bayern 2-1 Wolfsburg: Heartbreak for McClaren as Schweinsteiger strikes late

“A tremendous fixture to open the new Bundesliga season – the champions from the last two seasons going head-to-head – and it turned out to be a wonderful game. Bayern continued to use their 4-2-3-1 formation that brought them such success last season, with some notable modifications. Holger Bastuber moved to centre-back, with the promising Diego Contento starting at left-back. Toni Kroos has returned from a loan spell at Leverkusen and played behind Miroslav Klose, meaning Thomas Mueller played the right-wing role he thrived in at the World Cup.” (Zonal Marking)

AZ – Aktobe 1-1, the second half struggle explained

“We’ve seen a lot of European Football action this week. No less than six Dutch teams may reach the group stages of either the Champions League or the Europa League this year. Thing however, don’t look too good for Utrecht, having lost 2-0 away at Celtic and also PSV have some repair work to do after a clumsy 1-0 defeat at far far Siberia.” (11 tegen 11)