“A penalty on the stroke of half-time kept Rubin’s Champions League hopes alive. Rubin made one change from their previous Champions League game – Carlos Eduardo was unavailable, so Gokdeniz Karadeniz played behind the lone striker, Sergei Kornilenko.” (Zonal Marking)
“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)
“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)
Italienische Szene, Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem
“Although this is the most open Premier League for many years, it is still somewhat of a surprise to see Bolton Wanderers sitting proudly in fifth place after just over a third of the season has been completed. Not only that, but they have achieved this with a brand of passing, attractive football that most fans thought beyond them. It’s a far cry from this time last year when Gary Megson’s team was being pilloried by Bolton’s own supporters for the awful combination of poor results and an ugly, negative playing style.” (The Swiss Ramble)
“Defensively adept wide forwards such as Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt and Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung have evolved out of the need for attacking players to prevent opposition sides playing the ball out from the back when their teams’ own attacking moves have broken down. The pressing exerted by Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s 2008-09 quintuple success was seen as one of the key factors behind the team’s ability to keep their opponents penned inside their own half, while a robust and hard-working wide forward is a particularly useful weapon against marauding full-backs of the Maicon or Dani Alves variety.” (Football Further)
“Marseille were better all over the pitch here, and recorded an ultimately comfortable victory in Moscow. Spartak lined up with their usual 4-4-1-1, with Ari playing just off Welliton upfront, and Aleksandr Kombarov and Aiden McGeady either side. Yevgeni Makeev moved to the right, so Martin Stranzl started on the left.” (Zonal Marking)
“A classic Arsenal defeat – dominance of possession followed by slack defending.
Braga played a shape that was 4-2-3-1 when they attacked and 4-1-4-1 when they were defending, with Vandinho playing the holding role in front of the defence. They were unchanged from their weekend defeat to Vitoria de Guimaraes.” (Zonal Marking)
“Claudio Ranieri tinkered at half-time, and the change meant Roma went from 2-0 down at the break, to 3-2 up by full time. From the start, Ranieri chose the 4-3-1-2 formation he’s favoured in recent weeks, with Jeremy Menez as the trequartista. Francesco Totti was on the bench with Mirko Vucinic and Marco Borriello upfront, and Matteo Brighi started in midfield alongside Leandro Greco.” (Zonal Marking)
“A decent game where neither side truly hit top form. Leverkusen kept the broad 4-2-3-1 system they’ve favoured this season, making two changes – Sami Hyypia came in at the back for Stefan Reinartz, whilst Erin Derdiyok was back in place of Patrick Helmes.” (Zonal Marking)
“A topsy-turvy game that ended with a result that reflects the balance of play. Sunderland made two changes from last weekend’s shock win at Stamford Bridge: Darren Bent replaced Asamoah Gyan and Anton Ferdinand replaced Titus Bramble in straight swaps.” (Zonal Marking)
“Manchester City’s decision to start the recent derby game with a midfield of Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong and Yaya Touré was an extreme example of how much the ‘holding midfielder’ has become a part of the football scene. More than half of the teams in the World Cup used formations with two holding players, and it is just as common to see the same pattern in Leagues One and Two. Not bad for a position that Leeds United legend Johnny Giles describes as ‘a myth’.” (WSC)
“City’s superb first half display effectively won the game before half-time. Mark Hughes chose a 4-4-1-1 / 4-4-2 formation, with Clint Dempsey just behind Andy Johnson. Carlos Salcido returned so Damien Duff moved back into midfield, whilst Chris Baird replaced Stephen Kelly at right-back.” (Zonal Marking)
“Valencia had a specific plan to stifle Villarreal’s fluid 4-4-2 system – and it almost worked. The home side made one change from last week’s defeat to Barcelona. Mateo Musacchio was dropped in favour of the returning captain Gonzalo Rodriguez, so Carlos Marchena moved across to the left side of the centre-back pairing.’ (Zonal Marking)
“It’s a lunchtime kick-off for the North London derby, and there are still a few empty seats on display at The Emirates Stadium. A chance for that one last drink before kick-off. Supporters of both teams could well be forgiven for taking the opportunity to have that drink today. Arsenal will go top of the Premier League table if they win today, but they have been strangely limp at home against Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion already this season. Spurs supporters, meanwhile, have been receiving mixed messages from their team so far this season. For every win against Internazionale, there has been a defeat at Bolton Wanderers. If their Champions League season isn’t to be a one-off, they need to improve their consistency. Which Spurs will we see this afternoon, though?” (twohundredpercent)
Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham: Redknapp proves he is a decent tactician, even if he doesn’t want to be
“An astonishing second half comeback gave Spurs their first win in this fixture since Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager. Arsenal brought in Laurent Koscielny in place of Johan Djourou at the back, and Denilson came in with Jack Wilshere a slight injury doubt.” (Zonal Marking)
“Norway continued their fine recent form by beating Ireland on a rainy Wednesday night in Dublin. From the off, Ireland were moving well against a compact Norway side set out in three very flat banks – 4-5-1. But although Ireland retained possession, and had passing options, the ball was stuck in harmless areas. Despite the Irish being set out in a 4-4-2, you could argue that they had four banks – the widemen pushing up higher than the very deep centre-midfielders.” (Defensive Midfielder)
“Great play has been made of the French top flight’s competitiveness since Lyon’s dominance came to an end in 2008, but that competitiveness reached slightly preposterous proportions in Week 13, with just four points now separating the top 12 clubs.” (Football Further)
“This game started well, faded in the second half, before being won with a brilliant Lionel Messi goal. International friendlies are, as much as anything, an opportunity to experiment – to try a new shape or new players in a pressure-free environment. That is the main concern for managers (rather than necessarily trying to win the game with a tactical shift to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses) so rather than the usual analysis of how the two sides faced each other, here we’ll take the sides individually.” (Zonal Marking)
Leo Messi scores like Leo Messi, beats Brazil
“Picking up where he left off with Barcelona against Villarreal over the weekend, Lionel Messi did what he didn’t do at the World Cup and scored a fabulous late winner for Argentina against Brazil on Wednesday. The unfriendly friendly in Qatar wasn’t exactly at a World Cup level, but Messi’s goal should at least temporarily shut up his critics who say he doesn’t score for Argentina the way he does for Barcelona. A one man show in injury time to beat Brazil, of all opponents, usually does that.” (Yahoo)
Argentina 1-0 Brazil – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
“The press pack accompanying the France squad to England may have been slightly miffed at the lack of attention given to Les Bleus in Fabio Capello’s pre-match press conference, but Laurent Blanc’s side will have plenty of opportunities to make themselves headline news when tonight’s match at Wembley kicks off.” (Football Further)
“Saturday’s match that sent West Bromwich Albion north to DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic provided an entertaining match of two clubs looking to assert themselves, albeit in different ways. Albion has been riding a strong first month, and wanted to continue to maintain real estate in the top half of the table, while the Latics have been clawing from the bottom ever since their Week One shock loss against visiting Blackpool. Wigan found success this day, thanks to a shrewd halftime replacement.” (EPL Talk)
“For football fans of a certain age, the name Ajax resonates with history, bringing back memories of the early 70s when the famous club from Amsterdam won the European Cup three years in a row, displaying a brand of ‘total football’ that also inspired the Dutch national team in its dazzling run to two World Cup finals.” (Swiss Ramble)
“For the second weekend in a row, a north-east side went to London and picked up a shock win. Like Newcastle in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend, Sunderland recorded a win over Chelsea by playing with two nominal strikers. Unlike Newcastle, they pressed high up the pitch, attacked in numbers in open play, and took the game to the opposition.” (Zonal Marking)
“Milan were fairly comfortable despite playing with ten men for the final half hour. Rafael Benitez chose a 4-3-1-2 formation to accommodate both Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito upfront. Maicon was out, so Ivan Cordoba played at right-back, with Marco Materazzi in the centre. Joel Obi started on the left side of the midfield three, with Esteban Cambiasso only fit enough for the bench.” (Zonal Marking)
Inter 0-1 Milan – Nerazzurri
“In a 4-3-1-2, Inter were attempting a new formation under Rafa Benitez, one borne from players available and a willingness to place Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito in attack together. However, the team’s uncharacteristic high-line was stung by a simple lofted ball that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic outmuscle, outpace and outsmart Marco Materazzi for the decisive penalty inside five minutes.” (Football Italia)
Inter Milan 0-1 AC Milan – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Serie A
(The 90th Minute)
“Arsenal took the lead, then threatened to lose it late on. David Moyes picked a 4-4-1-1 side with few surprises. Marouane Fellaini was suspended so Johnny Heitinga played in the centre of midfield. Louis Saha was given the nod upfront ahead of Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu.” (Zonal Marking)
“Barcelona eventually passed their way past an excellent Villarreal side in a superb match at the Nou Camp. Barcelona played their usual 4-3-3 shape. The major absentee was Gerard Pique, with Eric Abidal coming into the side alongside Carles Puyol.” (Zonal Marking)
FC Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – La Liga
(The 90th Minute)
“A cracker from Vincenzo Iaquinta and a Francesco Totti penalty meant it was a point apiece.
Juventus stuck with the 4-4-2 system they’ve used for most of the campaign. Frederik Sorensen was a starter at right-back, whilst on the other side Fabio Grosso continued. Alessandro Del Piero was omitted with Fabio Quagliarella and Iaquinta upfront.” (Zonal Marking)
“For the first time in many years, Sunday night’s ‘clasico’ between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille actually felt like an important game in its own right, as PSG’s 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes took them above their hated rivals to third in the table. Delays meant the Marseille team coach did not arrive at the stadium until an hour before kick-off and it appeared to take their players around 20 minutes to realise the game had actually started, with Mevlüt Erding and Guillaume Hoarau putting the hosts two goals to the good before Marseille responded through Lucho González.” (Football Further)
“A poor first half followed by an entertaining second half, and a characteristically improbable comeback from United. Villa had an injury crisis in midfield, starting Barry Bannan and Jonathan Hogg in the centre. Gabriel Agbonlahor came in upfront, with Ashley Young just behind.” (Zonal Marking)
“A disappointing match that produced very few goalscoring chances. Roberto Mancini went with his usual 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 system. Mario Balotelli was suspended so James Milner came in, with David Silva switching to the left. Sir Alex Ferguson went with his one-striker formation, seeking to match City in midfield by playing Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick. Nani was on the right with Ji-Sung Park on the left. Rafael continued at right-back.” (Zonal Marking)
Match of the Midweek: Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United
“Perhaps it was ‘The Curse Of ITV’ returning to haunt us again. Last night, they showed a documentary about football in Manchester which examined, through the eyes of Eric Cantona, the current and historical state of the rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United. The two clubs have had their fair share of drama from the matches between them in recent years, so perhaps it was understandable that ITV should choose to schedule this match at this time. Other corners of the press had, after all, also been been building the match up in a wearyingly predictable manner.” (twohundredpercent)
Highly-anticipated match offers little for most to cheer about
“Few Manchester derbies have ever been so hyped; few have ever been so disappointing. It was a game that yielded just one chance of note: the free-kick that Carlos Tevez curved toward the top corner after 35 minutes. The effort lacked pace, though, and Edwin van der Sar was able to make a simple enough diving save. And while most were probably bored rigid, Sir Alex Ferguson could congratulate himself on a job well done.” (SI)
“In the third instalment of an intermittent series of interviews about coaching badges and the standard of coaching in the United Kingdom, Football Further spoke to Pavl Williams, a Level 2 coach working towards his UEFA ‘B’ licence. Pavl has been coaching youngsters of varying ages since 2004 and is (amongst other things) currently working with elite local players aged 6-16 at Manchester United’s Carrington training centre. He is also the editor of Better Football, a coaching website that offers advice and learning resources for developing better coaches.” (Football Further)
“Although Milan more than played their part in last week’s thrilling 2-2 draw at the San Siro against old rivals Real Madrid, especially the effervescent Pippo Inzaghi, it is fair to say that the rossoneri have started the season in somewhat inconsistent fashion, having already suffered painful defeats against Cesena and Juventus in Serie A and only winning one of their four Champions League games to date (at home against Auxerre). It remains to be seen whether Milan can mount a challenge for honours this season, but the early signs are not overly convincing.” (The Swiss Ramble)
“Earlier this year, I cracked like a soft-boiled egg. Fed up with losing three hours of my life to the navigation of a pretend pre-season, I wrote THIS. Now, in blogging terms, criticising Football Manager is sacrilegious, the equivalent of taking a red pen and scribbling, “3/10 could do better” on the inside of a bible. You just don’t do it. But the strange thing was that people agreed with me. From around the world, new players and old sent little messages thanking me for vocalising their growing concerns. Of course, a great many more called me some very mean names while Miles Jacobson, head honcho of the series, got in touch to pointedly direct me to the iphone version if I ‘just wanted a game.’ I don’t blame him. If I’d devoted my life to creating the most realistic football simulator in the history of gaming, I’d doubt I’d have appreciated having a snotty journalist tell me that it was too realistic. Thank God then that Football Manager 2011 is a such an emphatic return to form.” (Iain Macintosh)
“Two similar systems and little creativity in open play. Top of the table Lazio set up with a 4-3-1-2 formation, a shape they’ve used in roughly half of games so far, the other option being a 4-2-3-1. Tomasso Rocchi started his first game since mid-September upfront alongside Sergio Floccari, whilst Guglielmo Stendardo started in place of the suspended Giuseppe Biava at the back.” (Zonal Marking)
Sevilla 2-0 Valencia: Emery doesn’t change despite red card, both Manzano subs score
“Sevilla eventually broke through after Valencia’s Mehmet Topal was sent off in the first half. For the home side, only Martin Cacares remained from the back four that conceded five goals at the Nou Camp last week. Further forward, it was the same midfield and attack, with Frederic Kanoute pushed up closer to Luis Fabiano.” (Zonal Marking)
The Battle of San Romano, Paolo Uccello
“Liverpool got their best result under Roy Hodgson by beating Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday. The performance was far from vintage, but with Chelsea being unusually poor, the Reds rarely looked troubled. Let’s take a look at the tale that the chalkboards tell us.” (Tomkins Times)
16 Conclusions On Liverpool v Chelsea
” After Liverpool’s past couple of wins, the opinion has been voiced by a number of their fans that they had mixed feelings about the victories – happy with the points, but frustrated that the successes would buy Roy Hodgson some extra time in charge. So will this win be enough to convince those who still doubt? And if not, how many wins will it take before they cast aside their stubborn stance and accept Hodgson as their own?” (Football 365)
Winning, the Liverpool Way
“After the draw at St. Andrews I contended that Liverpool needed to change the way they played to get results. They were too narrow, with no pace and their full-backs went nowhere. It led to a dour game of football and a nil all draw that kept Liverpool in the lower regions of the table. The problem then was a lack of invention, a resistance to change and a team still getting to know each other, yesterday that all changed.” (EPL Talk)
“Shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, maybe because much of the forward’s game is played in the 30-metre ‘zone of terror’ where little Leo has scored in five consecutive matches for Pep’s Dream Boys.” (FourFourTwo)
Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid: early goals and a routine victory for Real“Ricardo Carvalho and Mesut Oezil’s first half goals gave Real a commanding lead.
Jose Mourinho kept the same side as in the 2-2 draw in Milan in midweek. No change in formation either – 4-2-3-1. Qique Sanchez Flores went for the usual 4-4-2 with inverted wingers, Simao Sabrosa on the left and Jose Antonio Reyes on the right. Luis Perea was out, so Tomas Ujfalusi moved over to the centre-back position he made his name in, whilst Juan Valera started at right-back. Mario Suarez made his second start for Atletico in the centre.” (Zonal Marking)
“Not many sides keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. Newcastle’s 1-0 win at the Emirates was only the second time Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to score this season. In most wins in football there is an element of the victorious side being good, and the losing side being bad. Arsenal’s poor performance cannot be overlooked – the whole team were sluggish with their passing and not creative enough. Cesc Fabregas gave the ball away far too often and didn’t look fit, and on the rare occasions he plays badly, Arsenal struggle.” (Zonal Marking)
“This week might well prove a turning point for Ajax’ season. Losing away at Auxerre saw the club effectively eliminated from the Champions League and losing a second Eredivisie home match this early in the season has put the club three and four points behind PSV and Twente, respectively, in the race for the title. ADO, meanwhile, will definitely take this. They’ve managed to defeat Ajax with their open, direct 4-3-3 game. Even without top scorer Bulykin, ADO showed that they belong among the clubs competing for the play-off places should they be able to keep this strong run of form going.” (11 tegen 11)
“Groningen managed to beat NAC Breda, two teams separated by only three points in last year’s final standings, but having quite different season starts this year. Young manager Pieter Huistra continues to impress with a 4-2-3-1 that suits the Groningen players very well. Against NAC they dominated the match, although the score line suggested otherwise, but creating 11 shots on target while allowing only one sums up the story here.” (11 tegen 11)
“Messina is the third largest city in Sicily and thirteenth in Italy; founded in the 8th century BC throughout its history it has endured countless catastrophes. Seized by Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and Spaniards for its tactical position; it has also been the site of plagues (rumoured to be the port where the Black Death entered mainland Europe), earthquakes and even a tsunami. The most recent earthquake in 1908 brought the city to its knees killing 60,000 people and destroying most of the ancient architecture. A further catastrophe is on the verge of occurring for the fans of the city’s football team.” (The Football Express)
“This week’s analysis of all 16 Champions League games, courtesy of the excellent TotalFootball iPhone app” (Zonal Marking)
“I try to imagine them, the sad, gray men in their laboratories, staring into grainy screens, lifting heavy pens to tick a piece of paper every time Big Sam takes a step. Was it a ‘big’ step? That’s two ticks. 6.7 miles he’s travelled so far, and only 3 more games to go before you move on to Harry Redknapp. You won’t sleep tonight, boy. Oh! He lumbered forward slightly! That’s half a tick!” (Yahoo! – Brian Phillips), (Football Manager)
“Torrential downpours in southern France prompted the postponement of two matches over the weekend, and when the skies finally cleared the unlikely team sitting on top of the table was Brest. Marseille’s game at home to previous leaders Rennes appeared to represent OM’s chance to recapture top spot for the first time since the end of last season, but incessant rain saw the match at Stade Vélodrome pushed back from Saturday until Sunday and then postponed definitively when the poor weather continued.” (Football Further)
“Football Manager 2011 (FM) is released this Friday in Europe and tentatively dated the 16 of November in the US. A Football Management ‘simulator’ you are put in charge of basically any club of your choice in a ridiculously realistic setting. Playing Football Manager can often be like taking a degree in football, you learn the rules of each league, the transfer rules regarding ‘Bosman’s’ and the compensation clauses in signing youth players and also you will learn to love, hate and covet players you may never have heard of.” (EPL Talk)
“A pulsating game that finished all square, with both sides disappointed to have given up the victory. Milan recalled Ronaldinho in place of Robinho, and moved back to a 4-3-3 rather than the 4-3-1-2 they used in the first half against Juventus. Only Alessandro Nesta remained from that back four, with Gianluca Zambrotta, Ignazio Abate and Thiago Silva coming into the side.” (Zonal Marking)
AC Milan 2-2 Real Madrid – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
(The 90th Minute)
“Chelsea took longer than usual to get into their stride, but recorded a familiar comfortable victory.
Chelsea rested John Terry and Michael Essien, so Branislav Ivanovic moved to the centre of the defence, and Ramires came in on the right side of midfield. Saloman Kalou replaced Florent Malouda. Spartak moved Yevgeni Makeev to right-back and brought in Andrei Ivanov on the left. Alex returned, so Ari dropped to the bench.” (Zonal Marking)
Blues forced to play out second billing
“It has been many a long year since Chelsea supporters looked upon those who swear allegiance to Tottenham Hotspur with an envious eye, but that might just have been the case this week. Carlo Ancelotti’s Blues may be riding high at the top of the Premier League table and assured of a placed in the last 16 of the Champions League after this comfortable romp against an outclassed opponent, yet such serene progress becomes a little mundane when it is the norm.” (ESPN)
Chelsea 4-1 Spartak Moscow – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
(The 90th Minute)
“Ajax adapted their formation to finally find the right solution to the problems that Auxerre’s 4-4-1-1 caused them. Unfortunately it was too little too late for Ajax, as Auxerre managed to win through a deflected shot and a debatable offside situation in a quickly taken free-kick.” (11 tegen 11)
Calumny of Apelles, Botticelli.
“Gareth Bale dominated the game to a staggering extent as Tottenham recorded a famous victory. Spurs went with their expected XI. Carlo Cudicini came in for the suspended Heurelho Gomes. Elsewhere, Tom Huddlestone and Peter Crouch returned, with the rest of the side the same as the one which faced Manchester United at the weekend.” (Zonal Marking)
Tactics: What is Gareth Bale’s best position?
“Claims that Gareth Bale’s two scintillating performances against Internazionale have turned him into the best player in the world may be a little far-fetched, but it is no exaggeration to say that in Tuesday night’s match at White Hart Lane, almost everything he did with the ball at his feet was magnificent. Speculation is already rife about which European giant he will elect to join if and when the time comes to leave Spurs, but an important decision also needs to be made about where on the pitch he should play.” (Football Further)
The inevitable rise of Gareth Bale
“It’s amazing what two games of football can do to a player’s reputation. Following a pair of sublime performances against Rafael Benitez’s Internazionale, Gareth Bale has come to be spoken of in the most glowing of terms. From Tottenham’s unlucky charm to arguably their most influential player, the speed of Bale’s development seems to have turned hyperactive of late, the Welshman now being considered by some as one of the best left-sided players in European football.” (Equaliser Football)
Match of the Midweek: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Internazionale
“Maicon is not a bad player, by any stretch of the imagination. He didn’t win the Italian national lottery to win a place in the Inter side, and he isn’t related to Massimo Moratti. He broke through the youth system in the fiercely competitive world of Brazilian football and into the Cruzeiro team. From there he was transferred to Monaco, where he again managed to hold onto his place in the first team and attract the interest of the Italian giants, Internazionale. He has played well over one hundred games for Inter, and has won four Serie A champions and, earlier this year, the UEFA Champions League. He has also played over sixty games for Brazil.” (twohundredpercent)
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Inter Milan – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
(The 90th Minute)
“A scoreline that makes the game seem closer than it was – Benfica were 4-0 up and cruising before switching off in the final minutes. Benfica played a cross between their 4-4-2 diamond shape and a classic 4-4-2, influenced by the late withdrawal of Pablo Aimar through injury, with Salvio coming in. Oscar Cardozo was still out so Alan Kardec started upfront. Javi Garcia played in the holding role, and sometimes dropped into the backline when Benfica had the ball, with Martins moving deeper.” (Zonal Marking)
“For the 2nd Premier League game running, Arsene Wenger chose to field a Denilson-Song-Fabregas midfield three but unlike the City game last weekend, Arsenal had to make do with playing against the 11 men of West Ham in a fixture that has been quite tight and low-scoring in recent years. As such, this was the first true test of this new midfield’s ability to break down a deep-lying defensive team. A similar system was in place against Partizan with Denilson the deepest midfielder and Song more box-to-box, but on that occasion Jack Wilshere played as the attacking midfielder in place of the injured Cesc Fabregas. Wilshere was of course suspended for this fixture and the one at Eastlands, had he been available it’s likely we may not have seen this novel midfield system in place.” (The Backwards Gooner)
Arsenal yearn for the drive of Alex Song
“For eighty minutes of the game, it looked like one of the most effective man-marking jobs in football. Given West Ham’s desperate position at the bottom of the Premier League, Scott Parker’s shackling of Cesc Fabregas was ever more selfless as Parker kept Arsenal’s captain as quiet as he’s ever been. It was like Berti Vogts on Johan Cruyff in West Germany’s 2-1 win over Netherlands or Michael Essien’s shadowing of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in 2009. Except it seems Fabregas was playing with a handicap – a tight hamstring meant he was unable to, in his own words, turn or sprint without suffering great pain as he took part in his ‘worst’ first-half ever.” (Arsenal Column)
“Milan had more chances, but Juventus were more clinical and took three points away from the San Siro. Milan kept the same team that beat Napoli 2-1 in the previous Serie A round, in a fairly traditional 4-3-1-2 shape. Robinho started as a trequartista but drifted to the left. Luca Antonini was back at left-back, and got forward well early on.” (Zonal Marking)
“Two men sent off in the first half hour put West Brom on the back foot, but Blackpool couldn’t kill off the game. Blackpool continued to use the 4-1-2-3 system that has won both points and plaudits so far this campaign. One change was made – Marlon Harewood did not start, instead Gary Taylor-Fletcher moved upfront and Elliot Grandin came into the midfield.” (Zonal Marking)
Match of the Midweek: Blackpool 2-1 West Bromwich Albion“The early season is over now. The clocks have gone back, which means that there will be precious few matches that finish in daylight between now and next spring, and in commemoration of this fact the Premier League rolled out the luminous yellow ball last weekend. There is something deeply aesthetically unsatisfying about the yellow ball. Marketing fools still doubtlessly proffer the argument that it is somehow more ‘visible’ than a white ball, as if we are incapable of seeing through their guff, but still they press ahead with it. The ball isn’t the only affront to the eyes at Bloomfield Road this evening, either. Both Blackpool and West Bromwich Albion have their shirts adorned with sponsors’ logos which defy all logic by making the companies – a payday loan company and an emergency insurance company respectively – that they are flogging even less unattractive than they may already be.” (twohundredpercent)
“Three wins from three so far for Chelsea, and a fourth would effectively seal progression to the second round of the Champions League. They start as odds-on favourites to win this game against a Spartak side who would unquestionably be content with a draw. How can the Russians contain Chelsea? Here’s five key tactical points.” (itv)
“The showcase game of this La Liga round was effectively over before half-time. Barcelona played what many consider to be their strongest line-up. Xavi Hernandez was back in the side, Andres Iniesta was alongside him, with Pedro in the front three. Eric Abidal was at left-back.” (Zonal Marking)
Good Day, Bad Day: Brilliant Barça and Awful Arizmendi
“The Barcelona-barmy sports papers have more sensitive skin than that of the ludicrously pale La Liga Loca, so any slur and slurry thrown in the direction of the cash-strapped Camp Nou club tends to bring them to a bawling, lip-quiver before Sandro Rosell can say ‘cancel that UNICEF contract and sign the Halliburton deal!’” (FourFourTwo)
Normal Spanish Service Is Resumed
“As far as wake-up calls go, it was like being roused from the stickiest, most sensational of dreams by your ear drums being hooked up to church bells. This weekend’s football in la Primera stomped on any last, desperate and ultimately naive hope that this season’s title race might be anything other than a repeat of a Michael Bay-directed, deafening slugfest between Barcelona and Real Madrid.” (Football 365)
“Zonal Marking has become the standard bearer for tactical analysis on the web and beyond. It’s creator & regular contributor to ’Football Weekly’ Michael Cox took time out to speak to IBWM’s David Hartrick…” (In Bed With Maradona)
Roy Hodgson
“Maxi Rodriguez struck a late winner at Bolton as relieved Liverpool finally climbed out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. The Argentinian latched onto a brilliant Fernando Torres backheel to settle a competitive encounter at the Reebok Stadium four minutes from time. Both sides created numerous chances in an evenly-matched contest but Liverpool left satisfied knowing their near month-long stay in the bottom three was over.” (ESPN)
Bolton 0-1 Liverpool: An unconvincing performance but the Reds snatch 3 vital points
“Neither side dominated an even first half which saw both teams threaten without capitalising on their opportunities. Liverpool’s main offenders were Torres and Gerrard who both should have done better with decent chances. Bolton were happy to sit deep for long periods and let Liverpool keep the ball. (Presumably they saw how well this worked for Everton.) When they had an opportunity Bolton broke quickly and committed large numbers to their attacks. They were impressively drilled – Coyle is forging a tidy team at the Reebok.” (Micro LFC)
Roy’s 10-Game Rating
“Judge me after ten games, Roy Hodgson said earlier in the season. Well, it’s a damn sight better than it was after eight games, so he had a point. That said, it’s still only three wins in those ten games. That these wins were at home to West Brom and Blackburn, and away at Bolton, each by a single goal, in itself tells a story. Inspiring? No. Not even slightly.” (Tomkins Times)
Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
“This week’s top clash in the Eredivisie was without a doubt the match between the first and second ranked teams. And PSV – Twente did not disappoint at all. Both teams played a very open match and the high amount of midfield pressing in the first half did the game a lot of good. Not for the first time this season Twente converted a 0-0 half-time score into a win.” (11 tegen 11)
“Clinical Cardiff destroyed lacklustre Leeds as Dave Jones’s side moved level on points with fellow Championship high-flyers QPR. Three quickfire goals in the second half killed the game as a contest, but the home-side could so easily have made more of a spell in the first half when they were on top.” (Defensive Midfielder)
“Amid all the excitement about Mainz’s exhilarating start to the new German season, Borussia Dortmund’s surge into second place in the Bundesliga, winning seven of their first nine matches, including the impressive disposal of fierce local rivals Schalke 04 in the Revierderby, has gone largely unnoticed, even though Jürgen Klopp’s young, athletic team puts on show a similar brand of aggressive, attacking football.” (The Swiss Ramble)
“Feyenoord managed to recover from their historical 10-0 defeat at the hands of PSV last weekend. At least in the sense that they managed to get the three points playing VVV at home. Despite this positive result, their performance did not provide the sparks of light that may have been hoped for.” (11 tegen 11)
“Another impressive tactical decision from Thomas Tuchel, and another victory for Mainz. Jupp Heynckes has played a variety of formations so far this season – here, he went for a 4-5-1 / 4-3-3. Stefan Reinartz played at the back in Sami Hyypia’s absence, whilst Sidney Sam was on the right wing, outside Lars Bender.” (Zonal Marking)
Fenerbahce 0-0 Galatasaray: not enough support for the lone strikers
“Galatasaray ended their incredible ten-year losing streak at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium with a goalless draw. Fenerbahce played a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 systemwith few surprises. The powerful Mamadou Niang was the lone striker, with support from the Brazilian playmaker Alex. Miroslav Stoch started on the left and Issiar Dia on the right, but they switched flanks throughout.” (Zonal Marking)
“Football is a holistic game. Advance a player here and you must retreat a player there. Give one player more attacking responsibility and you must give another increased defensive duties. As three at the back has become outmoded as a balanced or attacking formation – though not as a defensive formation – by the boom in lone-striker systems, coaches have had to address the problem of how to incorporate attacking full-backs without the loss of defensive cover.” (Guardian – Jonathan Wilson)
Barca face African adventure in the Cup
“For those who have been reading La Liga Loca for a year or two now it’s probably best to rejoin today’s ramblings a couple of paragraphs further down. It’s Copa del Rey rant time again. The Copa del Rey is the worst attempt at a competition since Maniche and James Beattie were the only two entrants in the ‘Best Salad Eater 2009’ jamboree. The whole fiasco is designed to clear out all the nasty, oinky, lower league riffraff as soon as possible to give as much chance to Spain’s Primera clubs to win it.” (Four Four Two)
Scissors Kick 