Tag Archives: Manchester United

The Question: Is 4-2-1-3 the future?

“Evolution never stops. As the World Cup showed, 4‑2‑3‑1 has come to replace 4‑4‑2 as the universal default (18 of the 32 teams played some form of 4‑2‑3‑1 at some stage, with another three fielding a 4‑4‑2 that perhaps should have become 4‑2‑3‑1) so the system at the very highest level has already begun to mutate. Spain, by the end of the World Cup, had followed what Barcelona did at times last season, what Arsenal seemed to be reaching towards, and set up in a 4‑2‑1‑3.” (Guardian)

Football transfer rumours: Mesut Özil to Manchester United?

Leave a reply

“Yelling football chants in the street. Puffing on tabs. Urinating beside bins. Contrary to what you might expect, the Rumour Mill doesn’t frown on such loutish behaviour. Indeed, anyone who saw us strutting proudly into work this morning, head back, chest out and arms spread in the classic Big Brave football-fan-backed-by-his-mates “you want some?” pose will know we’re wholeheartedly in favour of it. It impresses people. It earns us respect. It leaves our scent and a puddle on the street.” (Guardian)

Football’s Latest Pointless Rule: The 25-Man Squad List

1 Reply

Exequias de un emperador romano, Domenico Zampieri
“Arsene Wenger is today being quoted as stating that the new Premier League rule reducing squad sizes to 25, as being “a disastrous decision for football and for the players”. When the rule was introduced, the rules stating that Premier League clubs had to have a ‘Squad List’ of just 25, with eight of these being ‘Home Grown’, it was seen as a great thing for the England football team.” (twohundredpercent)

The Monday Miscellany

Leave a reply

“So. England have won the World Cup. (In case you haven’t got it yet, I’m asking you to imagine a hypothetical scenario. Try harder.) Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Aaron Lennon have all fulfilled their potential and England have pulled off the greatest feat in the nation’s sporting history. Gerrard, looking slightly less miserable than usual, lifts the trophy aloft in Soccer City. But is it a good thing?” (Footballing World)

Defending the Defensive Midfielder

Leave a reply

“During the excellent world cup coverage on my home channel RTÉ, two ex-footballers decried the rise in the defensive midfielder. Johnny Giles and Liam Brady are two certified legends of Irish football both won multiple trophies at club level and Brady is currently the director of Arsenal’s famed youth system. Both were also midfielders who played at an elite level for most of their careers and have commented on football and have provided genuine insight into the game.” (EPL Talk)

Football transfer rumours: Bentley, Jenas and Keane to Villa in exchange for Ashley Young?

Leave a reply

“Having made front-page news earlier this week for offering to find a nice sanctuary for para-sailing Russian donkey Anapka, Harry Redknapp is showing no such compassion to David Bentley, Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane, who he appears ready to ship out to Aston Villa in exchange for Ashley Young.” (Guardian)

Premier League Transfer Talk

Leave a reply

Stiliyan Petrov
“Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson wants Aston Villa midfield general Stiliyan Petrov as the shock replacement for transfer-seeking Javier Mascherano. (Mirror) Chelsea want to wrap up the £17m signing of Benfica star Ramires in time for their pre-season tour of Germany. (Star) With Sol Campbell heading to Newcastle, Arsenal are ready to turn to Per Mertesacker to solve their defensive crisis. Arsene Wenger will offer Werder Bremen £10m for the German international centre-back. (Mirror)…” (Telegraph)

The 2010/11 Premier League Previews 1 – Arsenal: How Long Is Too Long?

Leave a reply

“It’s that time of the season again, and we have time this year for a pre-season piece on all twenty of the clubs in this season’s Premier League. First of all, since we’re doing this in alphabetical order, Arsenal, where the big question over the next nine months may turn out to be what they can do to end their run without a trophy and how long supporters’ patience with M. Wenger will last.” (twohundredpercent)

Newcomers boost Arsenal’s hopes
“By the time defender Thomas Vermaelen had played just four games for Arsenal after last year’s $13 million move from the Dutch club Ajax, coach Arsene Wenger already knew he had a bargain on his hands. It was after that fourth game, a Champions League-qualifying victory against Celtic, that Wenger spoke of the Belgian’s “football intelligence,” an intangible quality he had also spotted in Alex Song, the young midfielder written off by many who had his breakout season the previous year. Against Celtic, Vermaelen was marshaling the defense, even telling the more experienced William Gallas where to position himself on corner kicks.” (SI)

The Premier League 2010/11 Previews 2 – Aston Villa: Becoming A Single Issue Party
“Aston Villa’s summer thus far can be neatly condensed into two words, and the second of those is “Milner”. Their own supporters will be thoroughly sick to the stomach of the constant pas de deux that has been going on over the last couple of months between their most-prized asset and a team which they last season regarded as rivals for the final Champions League place, and it is starting to become a little wearing for the rest of us, too. Consider, for example, the front page of The Guardian’s section on Villa. At the time of writing, eleven of the fifteen main articles on the site concern the long, drawn-out saga. Aston Villa Football Club are at the point of becoming a single issue party.” (twohundredpercent)

2010/11 – An appointment with the oracle

Leave a reply

David Villa
“With a new European season fast approaching, we got in touch with various bloggers, prolific members of the footballing twitterati and friends of The Equaliser to make a few pre-season predictions that will undoubtedly make us all look very silly in ten months’ time. So, here are the results of our collective FIFA-approved crystal ball gazing…” (The Equaliser)

MLS All-Stars will be keen to impress against Manchester United

Leave a reply

“The smaller-market Kansas City Wizards found a way to sneak a little influence into this week’s MLS All-Star game after all. The Wizards felt slighted last week when no member of the club was selected for All-Star duty. But they kicked up a hornets nest around the Manchester United camp by laying a highly public lick on the global soccer heavyweights, who are currently touring North America. Even though it’s just preseason for Sir Alex Ferguson’s proud men, Sunday’s 2-1 loss to 10-man Kansas City must surely sting.” (SI)

Fergie’s Conundrum: Opt for the 4-4-2 formation or stick with 4-5-1?

Leave a reply

“Much of Wayne Rooney’s good form last season was put down to his role as lone striker. The 4-5-1 formation deployed by Sir Alex Ferguson saw Rooney enjoying the freedom to roam in the final third, with the majority of his 32 goals being scored in that position. Fergie still has a decision to make, however. Does he stick with the 4-5-1* going into the new season or does he turn his back on that and opt once again for the 4-4-2, a system in which United were consistently inconsistent with last year.” (ManUtd24)

What Not To Wear 2010/11: The Premier League

Leave a reply

“Now that the World Cup is over (and there will be a couple more bits and pieces to tidy it up over the next couple of days), it is time to start looking forward to the new domestic season, which starts in just over four weeks, and what better way could there be to start it all off than with our annual look at the kits that the teams of 2010/11 will be wearing. As ever, it’s a mixed bag in the Premier League this season, with some clubs getting it right, some clubs getting it woefully wrong and a couple of clubs treating the launch of their new kit as if it is some sort of state secret.” (twohundredpercent)

European Team of the Season 2009-10

Leave a reply

Pastorale, François Boucher
“Hot on the heels of the Goals of the Season, we move on to the Football Further European Team of the Season. As in any decent dream team this side is strongly, perhaps even foolishly, oriented towards attack. Feedback, particularly of the irate, finger-jabbing kind, is warmly welcomed.” (Football Further)

Goals of the Season 2009-10

Leave a reply

Dejan Stanković
“In the hope of provoking plenty of debate, disagreement and downright indignation, Football Further proudly presents – in purely chronological order – its Goals of the Season 2009-10…” (Football Further)

ZM’s end-of-season awards

1 Reply

“The Champions League final has been and gone, so we are now officially at the end of the 2009/10 season. This would not be an internet football site without an article outlining some reasonably pointless ‘awards’, but since this is a site focussed on tactics, hopefully the tactical angle will – like a newly-signed winger that doesn’t appear to fit into the team – ‘provide something different’.” (Zonal Marking)

The Manchester United War Of Words

Leave a reply

“Never has a football club’s ‘official wine partner’ seemed so important. And while you’re pondering the concept of a football club having a wine partner at all (what next, “prawn sandwich partner”?), I shall explain. Like Wayne Rooney’s Manchester United goals, before he had to score most of them himself, articles about the latest Manchester United takeover battle are coming in clusters. The main story is well told, especially by a very impressive set of Manchester United supporters’ groups. Manchester United’s Supporters Trust (MUST) has run a fluent visual and audible protest against the Glazer family, backed by a proper understanding of how loudly money talks to them.” (twohundredpercent)

David James should note managerial life expectancy

Leave a reply

“David James is said to be interested in taking over from Avram Grant as Portsmouth manager. James could be a good fit for the club – if anyone is likely to know what the Portsmouth players need to do, it could be the man who has been standing behind them for the past four years. For the player, however, taking the job could be a disastrous career move. James is not short of job prospects.” (WSC)

ZM’s European Team of the Season

Leave a reply

Pepe Reina
“With only one game left of the 2009/10 season, it’s time to create that inevitable, impossible-to-please dream team from across the major European leagues. Playing in a fluid 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 system that remains the most popular formation throughout Europe, it also reflects the current emphasis upon centre-backs who can pass the ball, attacking full-backs, ball-playing central midfielders and versatile attacking players.” (Zonal Marking)

Real Films Meet Reel Football

Leave a reply

“Abas Suan’s life straddles two worlds that seem inexorably locked in eternal conflict. Suan is an Arab citizen of the state of Israel, one of 1.4 million Muslim citizens of the Jewish state. Suan is a hero to the people who support his hometown club team, Bnei Sakhnin. Suan is also a beguiling figure among Israelis — an Arab who played on the country’s national soccer team and scored a crucial goal in a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland in the country’s abortive attempt to advance to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.” (NYT)

League comparison by points

Leave a reply

“An interesting (if ultimately pointless) graph that shows the points tally of equivalent clubs from the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A (all of which play with a 20-team, 38-game season).” (Zonal Marking)

Bullets have eyes

Leave a reply

Claude Gellée, Idyll: Landscape with a Draughtsman Sketching Ruins
“On the surface, the praise for Lionel Messi during his current extraordinary run has been pure. Astonishing — astonished — praise has followed his every deed. Not for a generation has there been such a rush to consider someone alongside the pantheon of great players past; to name a planet after him; to dress him in armour, plonk him on a horse, dip him in bronze and place him halfway between La Masia and Camp Nou, beside a stall selling miniature bronze-coloured plastic replica hims. Scienticians are rushing to prove by July that he is, in fact, a physical constant.” (Sport is a TV Show) (Must Read Soccer)

Is Capello set to switch to a three-man defence?

Leave a reply

“There are strong rumours this morning that, in Gareth Barry’s absence, Fabio Capello is considering switching to a system featuring three centre-backs for the World Cup. It would unquestionably be a risky move, completely changing England’s shape that was so successful in qualifying, and installing a three-man defence that hasn’t been used effectively by England for twenty years. The BBC report states that ‘A switch in formation would be a major change for the Italian, who has demonstrated his preference for 4-4-2 throughout his coaching career’, which is certainly true, but a three-man defence has not been alien to him.” (Zonal Marking)

Premier League season of the surreal will live long in the memory

Leave a reply

“The Premier League may not be home to the best football, an honour belonging to La Liga of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is certainly home to the most excitement. The Spanish keep their beach-balls on the beach. The season lacked a star but not drama and there was enough barmy material to keep soap-opera scriptwriters in episodes for years.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Premier League 2009-10: A tactical review

Leave a reply

“As the dust settles on a Premier League season that somehow managed to be full of surprises and yet completely predictable at the same time, Football Further looks at some of the tactical trends that characterised the campaign.” (Football Further)

The 2010 Premier Premiership Revue Review
“Was this a season of disappointment? Of competitive balance? A two horse race with an overpriced and underachieving show pony stealing headlines? Has the European soccer planet shifted gravitational pull towards the Iberian peninsula? The story lines abounded, and a few refreshing moments shall wet your appetite before the MOST IMPORTANT EVENT is explained.” (futfanatico)

Manchester United’s failings down to a lack of attacking variation

Leave a reply

“It depends how you want to interpret the number ‘1′. There is no shame in losing a league title by a single point, but the flip side is that when you’re a club as used to success as Manchester United, a mere one season without silverware is considered a failure. The statistics about goals easily sum up United’s problems. They had the best defensive record, despite the fact that first-choice central defensive partnership Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic started just nine of the 38 games together.” (Zonal Marking)

Chelsea’s Premiership win: a lesson in bringing the best out of star players

Leave a reply

“Chelsea – Premiership champions 2009/10. A great side? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue that, over the course of the season, they do not deserve to lift the trophy. In terms of the players who have started the greatest number of matches, Chelsea’s XI this season reads: Petr Cech (34); Branislav Ivanovic (21), John Terry (37), Ricardo Carvalho (22), Ashley Cole (25); Jon Obi Mikel (21), Michael Ballack (26), Frank Lampard (36), Florent Malouda (25), Nicolas Anelka (31) and Didier Drogba (31). And yet, on only one one occasion this season has that XI actually started a match together, in the 2-0 home victory over Arsenal in February, when Ancelotti fielded a Christmas Tree formation with Anelka and Malouda playing Didier Drogba.” (Zonal Marking)

Carlo Ancelotti eyes long Chelsea stay & more trophies
“Boss Carlo Ancelotti plans to establish Chelsea as the leading force in English football after winning the Premier League in his first season at the club. The Blues last lifted the title in 2006 but thrashed Wigan 8-0 on Sunday to wrest it away from Manchester United.” (BBC)

Chelsea Wins Premier League Title
“Chelsea regained the English Premier League soccer title from Manchester United with a 8-0 victory over Wigan on Sunday as Didier Drogba scored three goals. Even though United finished the campaign with a 4-0 home victory over Stoke at Old Trafford, the big celebrations were at Stamford Bridge in London where goals by Mr. Drogba, two by Nicolas Anelka and one each by Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole left Chelsea champions by one point in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in English football.” (WSJ)

Players, Lives, and ‘A Beautiful Game’

Leave a reply

“‘What makes a player?’ Answers to this question, here quoted from Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger’s foreword to the newish book A Beautiful Game, are plentiful in world football. We debate the right age to go pro, the role of intensive youth academies, shifting population demographics, the dangers and benefits of increasing professionalization, and more in hopes of figuring out how to best tap the potential of millions of children playing the game with unstructured joy.” (Pitch Invasion)

Tactics: Is the 4-4-2 making a comeback?

Leave a reply

“Having supposedly died out halfway through the last decade, the 4-4-2 formation has enjoyed a surprising renaissance this season. England’s unthinking attachment to the shape first introduced by Alf Ramsey’s ‘Wingless Wonders’ in 1966 (pictured) took a battering when José Mourinho swaggered into English football in 2004 and promptly won back-to-back Premier League titles with a counter-attacking 4-3-3 at Chelsea. The 2006 World Cup, meanwhile, was dominated by teams playing in a 4-2-3-1 to such an extent that hosts Germany were the only side playing in a 4-4-2 to achieve anything of note in the tournament.” (Football Further)

How the 2000s changed tactics #1: The fall and rise of the passing midfielder

Leave a reply

“In 2004, Gabriele Marcotti wrote an article for The Times about Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola. It wasn’t a celebratory piece looking back at Guardiola’s fine career, nor remarking on his ability to defy the critics and keep playing at a high standard, like Paolo Maldini. It was about how, in 2004-spec football, Guardiola was useless. That is not to say that he had declined as a player. A physically unremarkable player, his domain was sitting front of his own defence and spraying passes across the pitch for his more illustrious teammates – Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario being amongst the biggest names to have benefited from his presence. When Marcotti wrote the article, at 33, Guardiola should have been at his peak.” (Zonal Marking)

Unlike Europe, Brazilian league preserves its competitive balance

Leave a reply

“In England, Chelsea and Manchester United are fighting for the domestic title. In Spain, it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona. Inter Milan is out front in Italy, as are Bayern Munich in Germany. It’s the same old same old.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

A Liverpool supporter’s dilemma

Leave a reply

“Liverpool find themselves in the awkward position of potentially crowning bitter rivals Manchester United as Premier League champions today. If Liverpool defeat Chelsea, United could set up their 19th League title by beating Sunderland today and Stoke next week, while also going above Liverpool as the most successful club in the history of English football.” (WSC)

Is the sweeper set for a return to prominence?

Leave a reply

Matthias Sammer, a classic sweeper
“Jonathan Wilson recently wrote in his excellent ‘The Question’ series about the possibility of the return of the sweeper to football. The sweeper prospered as the ’spare man’ in a three-man central defence up against a two-man attack, so now we have two-man central defences up against one-man attacks, should one centre-back not become a sweeper? The idea is music to the ears of anyone who fondly remembers Euro 96. The player of the tournament was Matthias Sammer, the sweeper in the German 3-4-1-2 system that went onto win the tournament. As well as being the most important player in defence, clearing up behind the two markers, he also had license to go forward and launch attacks, and found himself scoring (in open play) on more than one occasion.” (Zonal Marking)

The Title That No-One Wants To Win?

Leave a reply

Adidas advertisement makes the link between soccer and religion
“English football season has had more than its fair share of madness this season, but the race for the title is starting to give off a hint of being the title race that no-one wins. Only one of the top three clubs in the Premier League have been able to manage all three points, and even that came at the end of a less than inspiring performance with yet another injury time winner. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal were all long ago guaranteed their places in the Champions League, and perhaps it is this that is firing the most nervy end of season run-in for several seasons.” (twohundredpercent)

Champions at Home Too?

Leave a reply

“One of the curious aspects of this season’s UEFA Champions League is that three of the four semifinalists—who square off in their first-leg encounters on Tuesday and Wednesday—are all also embroiled in legitimate title races domestically. Inter Milan and Barcelona are neck-and-neck with Roma and Real Madrid in Serie A and La Liga, respectively, while Bayern Munich is nursing a slender two-point lead over Schalke in the German Bundesliga. The same held true for Olympique Lyonnais, the fourth semifinalist, at least on April 7—the day it actually reached European soccer’s final four—when it was two points off the top of the table. (It now sits third, nine points behind league-leading Marseille.)” (WSJ)

A tactical guide to the Champions League semi-finalists

Leave a reply

The Oaths of the Horatii, Jacques Louis David
“When it comes to surviving in the latter stages of the Champions League, it seems versatility is the key to vitality. One of the most notable things about the four sides that have made it to this season’s semi-finals is that all four have, to a greater or lesser extent, deployed formations and tactical systems that they do not use in domestic competition in order to reach the last four.” (Football Further)

Technology In Football

Leave a reply

“It rather seems as if every time there is a refereeing decision that costs a team a point or two, the usual suspects in the media start stating the case for all manner of whizzy gizmos to make sure that such a travesty of justice never occurs again. FIFA, however, are against the introduction of such technology and Rob Freeman has similar reservations.” (twohundredpercent)

‘English clubs did not under-perform; they did what economics suggested they would’

Leave a reply

“As an academic with an interest in economic analysis, the downfall of the English teams in the Champions League this season did not surprise me, even while it disappointed me as a Manchester United fan. Earlier this season, I was actually expecting that the English teams would “under-perform” in the competition, when set against general expectations, and now that United have followed Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool out of the Champions League, they have done so. Except I would argue they did not actually under-perform; they did what economic analysis suggested might happen.” (Sporting Intelligence)

Thomas Vermaelen’s poor positioning keeps costing Arsenal goals

Leave a reply

“There’s little doubt that Thomas Vermalen has been a good signing for Arsenal. Lacking a top-class centre-back last year, Arsene Wenger did brilliantly to dispose of Kolo Toure and bring in the Belgian – and made a profit by doing so. Vermaelen is extremely popular with the Arsenal fans because he’s the type of player they haven’t signed in recent years – a tall, strong defender who enjoys getting tough tackles in and competing in the air. His early-season goalscoring form made him an instant hit, and he’ll probably win ’signing of the season’ in many pundits’ end-of-season awards.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich: Arjen Robben does it again

Leave a reply

“Bayern do it again. Their victory in the last round against Fiorentina featured a last-minute goal at home to win the first leg 2-1, and then a 2-3 defeat away from home, with a brilliant Arjen Robben ‘winner’ near the end. It seemed inevitable when Bayern pulled a goal back before half-time that the same would happen here.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich – Recap and Video Highlights
“Manchester United hosted Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Wayne Rooney, who was injured in the first leg, made a surprise start for the match. The winner of the match would face the winner of Bordeax/Lyon. The match took place at Old Trafford with over 70,000 in attendance.” (The 90th Minute)

The Blog Files #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog

Leave a reply

“Well, as we celebrate the relaunch of Just-Football.com, we decided to catch up with some of the blogosphere’s leading lights writing about Europe’s top clubs to find out what makes them tick, get their perspectives on the teams they hold dear and their opinions on said team’s prospects for the rest of the season.” (The Blog Files – #1: Just Football interviews Barcelona Football Blog), (#2: Just Football interviews The Republik of Mancunia), (#3 – Just Football interviews Oh You Beauty), ( #4: Just Football interviews Real Madrid Talk), (#5: Just Football interviews AC Milan Blog)

“England” Out Of Champions League, Apparently

Leave a reply

“So it has come to pass. For the first time in seven years, there will be no English clubs in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The manner of the defeats of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United were from three different chapters of the book, ‘How To Get Eliminated From A Two-Legged Cup Tie’. Chelsea were edged out by Internazionale over two legs during which they seldom looked a considerably inferior team. Arsenal were thrashed – fortunate to find a way back into the first leg against Barcelona, they were hopelessly outplayed by one single player in the return match. Manchester United can, at least count themselves slightly unlucky – beaten on away goals after two very tight matches.” (twohundredpercent)

European Teams Vie for Champions League Semis

Leave a reply

“Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid will be preparing for Saturday’s Spanish “clasico” with Barcelona, but the rest of the soccer world will be fixated on the four return matches in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. ‘I don’t like to watch the Champions League matches because it leaves me a bit annoyed because I know that our team was good enough to remain in the competition and we are not because of our own fault,’ Ronaldo told a Spanish television station.” (NYT)

Low-Key Ancelotti Thrives in Tough Spots

Leave a reply

“There’s a widespread belief in soccer, as in most sports, that a successful coach is basically at war 24/7, scoring virtual “public-opinion” points whenever he can. He can take a jibe at the officiating here, make a quick moan about how injuries have affected his team there, and give a recap of his own successes seamlessly dropped into conversation—just as a reminder, of course—over there.” (WSJ)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea: Ancelotti gets it right with his strikers

Leave a reply

Carlo Ancelotti
“A tight game that was won the better side. United looked tired after their midweek game in Munich – Chelsea were fresher, brighter and created more goalscoring opportunities. They are now in the driving seat. Sir Alex Ferguson would have gone with a 4-5-1 regardless of Wayne Rooney’s absence, so it was essentially a straight change, with Dimitar Berbatov in to replace him. Michael Carrick was dropped after his poor display midweek, so Fletcher and Scholes played deep, with Park Ji-Sung in the central role he played so well against Milan.” (Zonal Marking)

Time for Berbatov to show he cares
“Manchester United have been called a one-man team for the past three seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo was said to carry them before leaving for Madrid and now Wayne Rooney is supposed to be their only match-winner. United fans might be fearing the worst ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford today, but Alex Ferguson has never allowed his team to rely on one player. In the same way that Ronaldo’s exit provoked a reaction from Rooney, his injury ought to prove the catalyst for someone else to step up. If Dimitar Berbatov is ever going to prove his worth to the club, this is his moment.” (WSC)

Manchester United 1-2 Chelsea – Recap and Video Highlights – Saturday, April 3, 2010
“One of the biggest matches in the English Premier League this season took place on Saturday, April 3, 2010 as Manchester United hosted Chelsea. The two teams are separating by only one point head into the match and the result could determine who would win the title. Manchester United would be without star striker Wayne Rooney because of an ankle injury he suffered in the Champions League.” (The 90th Minute)

World’s Focus Is on Old Trafford

Leave a reply

“Hobbled by an ankle injury, Wayne Rooney looks certain to be cast in the role of spectator as Manchester United and Chelsea collide in a potential Premier League title decider on Saturday. He won’t be the only one watching. With a single point separating English football’s top two sides and only six games remaining, the eyes of the world will be on Old Trafford, with an expected global audience of about half a billion people—one in every 12 people on the planet.” (WSJ)

Bayern 2-1 Manchester United: Ferguson loses the game with a strange substitution

Leave a reply

“How on earth did Manchester United manage to lose this game? On top after twenty seconds of playing time, Rooney causing the Bayern centre-backs no end of trouble, and a spare man in the centre of the pitch, it really is quite remarkable that Bayern will go to Old Trafford with the advantage. Sir Alex Ferguson has been constantly praised on ZM for his tactics so far this season, but he might have to take the blame here.” (Zonal Marking)

The Professor’s Appeal Saves Him With One Arsenal Fan

Leave a reply

“The harmony of 60,000 voices that drifts out of the Emirates Stadium in London every other week is evidence that sport can bring people together. Singing as one, Arsenal fans serenade the leadership of the bookish, 60-year-old Frenchman who leads their favorite soccer team. ‘One Arsene Wenger,’ rings the chant . ‘There’s only one, there’s only one Arsene Wenger. One Arsene Wenger!’” (NYT)

The Champions League Quarter Finals – A look ahead.

Leave a reply

“As we’re about to seamlessly pass into another Champions League week, what better time is there to look ahead to the mouth watering quarter final ties ahead? Well, slightly later in the week perhaps, or even actually in said week as opposed to just before it maybe, but sod it I’m gonna do it anyway and I’ll be damned if such a trivial thing will stop me. So without further ado…” (Football Fan Cast)

Is this the best season of football in recent years?

Leave a reply

Inter
“A brief break from the in-depth tactical analysis here, to round-up the major European leagues, highlight this weekend’s crucial table-topping fixtures, and celebrate how wonderful European football has been this season.” (Zonal Marking)

Secrets of Bayern’s ungainly schoolmaster

Leave a reply

“Louis van Gaal, Bayern Munich’s coach, was celebrating a goal when he fell over. The scorer, Arjen Robben, had run up to hug him but instead jumped on top of him. Eventually Van Gaal stumbled into his dug-out, blushing and with a bloodied finger. The hug is already a Youtube classic in Germany.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

The Best? Football As Never Before

Leave a reply

“In looking at George Best Fußball wie noch nie (Football as Never Before) it would be logical to set the work next to the more widely viewed 2006 film, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and analyze the similarities and differences, but, in my eyes, I don’t think it would be fair to either film. There’s no doubt the Zidane edition is a direct descendant of the 1971 work by German filmaker Hellmuth Costard, with the exact same premise driving both the storyline and singular character focus. But where the two differ is outside the film itself – particularly, in the eyes of this viewer.” (Pitch Invasion)

How the 2000s changed tactics #2: Classic Number 10s struggle

Leave a reply

“The decade started with the most attacking, open tournament in modern football, at Euro 2000. The four semi-finalists all played ‘classic’ Number 10s in the hole between the opposition defence and midfield. France, Italy, Portugal and Holland had Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, Manuel Rui Costa and Dennis Bergkamp respectively – it almost seemed essential to have a player in this mould to be successful – helped by trequartista-less England and Germany’s early exits.” (Zonal Marking)

Teams of the Decade #2: Barcelona, 2008/09

Leave a reply

“What more can you say about this Barcelona side? European champions, La Liga champions and Copa Del Rey winners, all in the first season under the charge of Pep Guardiola. And they didn’t do it by merely winning games, they did it by winning in style, making them perhaps the most universally respected side of the decade. The most astonishing thing about their La Liga performance was how utterly convincing they were in defeating the sides around them at the top of the table.” (Zonal Marking)

How Pep Guardiola is looking to improve on perfection
“Just how does Pep Guardiola improve on the most successful club side in a calendar year? We detail the tactical changes the Barcelona coach has made to his side to make them even better. After Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup in which the Catalan side recorded a never before paralleled, six cup wins in a calendar year, manager Pep Guardiola turned to his assistant Tito Vilanova, with bleary eyed with tears of joy, seemingly asking ‘where do we go from here?’ Just how does Pep Guardiola possibly improve upon perfection?” (Arsenal Column)

‘Galacticos’ in Hell

1 Reply

The Hell, Coppo di Marcovaldo
“It has become a sign of spring: as swallows crowd the sky over Madrid, Real is eliminated at the knock-out stage of the European Champions League. Yet again, the richest club in the world has spent obscene amounts of money with the sole intention of winning the most important club competition in the world, but on March 10, they were knocked out from the last 16 for the sixth year in a row (in 2003, they were eliminated from the last eight).” (The New Republic)

African Teams Certain on World Cup, but Not on Coaches

Leave a reply

“A World Cup campaign is usually a four-year process that starts when a national team engages in torturous self-examination immediately after its ouster from the last championship. Coaches are fired (or their contracts are not renewed) and aging players retire from the international scene. Even the winner is often in need of a new manager to enliven the roster and refresh tactics for the interspersed continental championship and next phase of World Cup qualifying.” (NYT)

More Shots the Merrier in Quest for Football Goals

Leave a reply

“Bobby Charlton perfected his shooting technique through hours spent kicking a football against a concrete well. Oliver Bierhoff developed his predatory instinct by practicing with his eyes closed. Brazilian striker Romario even attributed his ability to stick the ball in the net to a penchant for late nights and love making. But what really separates football’s top goal scorers from the rest isn’t ice-cold nerves, a cannon shot or unerring accuracy. It’s being selfish.” (WSJ)

The Beauty Of The Ugly Relegation Scrap

Leave a reply

“Speaking as a Reading fan, I remember the day vividly. In my time away at University in Portsmouth, we were playing Middlesbrough away in an utter dog fight of a match in 2007/2008. This was not going to be pretty, with both teams languishing in the relegation zone, the deepest, darkest echelon of any league table where nobody wants to be in May. With 91 minutes of this dire spectacle gone, terrier like midfielder James Harper popped up to score a priceless winner for us. Sheer jubilation.” (EPL Talk)

Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney set to turn on the magic

Leave a reply

Philips Wouwerman, Cavalry Battle in front of a Burning Mill
“Torres sat enthralled as this footballing Fab Four enthused about Liverpool’s great history, about the philosophy behind the Kop’s chant of “attack, attack, attack” and rivalry with foe such as Sunday’s opposition, Manchester United. As they left the restaurant, Torres murmured his appreciation to these charismatic club ambassadors for giving him such an insight into such a special club.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Park Ji-sung gives Manchester United the edge over Liverpool
“The game embodied all tensions of this year’s contest for the Premier League, with Manchester United coming from behind to end a bad recent record against Liverpool with a winner from Park ji-sung. The reigning champions, who now lead the League, will feel relieved that the substitute Yossi Benayoun merely headed into the hands of the United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 90th minute.” (Guardian)

Fernando Torres reduced to pouting isolation by United’s defence
“In the end, Manchester United won because they passed the ball with more authority and provided greater support for Wayne Rooney in attacking positions than Liverpool did for Fernando Torres. There were parts of this game when Torres looked as though he would terrorise Old Trafford single-handedly but he was an isolated, pouting and aggravated figure for most of the second half, muttering under his breath and making those little hand gestures that Iberian footballers are so fond of.” (Guardian)

United beat Liverpool to go back to the top
“Manchester United came from behind to clamber back to the Premier League summit, trampling on Liverpool’s top-four hopes in the process. Park Ji-sung headed home the winner after an hour, securing the spoils after Wayne Rooney’s 33rd goal of the season had controversially levelled Fernando Torres’ fifth-minute opener.” (Independent)

We bid farewell with a look back

Leave a reply

Steven Gerrard
“As a lone infantryman wistfully bugles a lamenting Last Post into the chill twilight air, Team Limey stands forlornly on the battlements of Castle Limey contemplating our final EPL column for SI.com. Together, over a last pint of ale, let’s relive some highlights from our five years here. And what a five years it’s been.” (SI)

French Contenders to Play in Champions League Quarterfinal

Leave a reply

“Could this be the year that a French team wins the European Champions League? The last team to do so was Marseille, which won the title in 1993, the first year the current format for the European Cup was adopted. But no team from France has lifted the trophy since. Olympique Lyon and Girondins Bordeaux aimed to end that drought this season; both teams advanced to the quarterfinals in impressive fashion. But it will be one or the other as the two teams were drawn Friday to face each other in the quarterfinal round.” (NYT)