I'm sitting here at half time in what appears to be Glory's 7th loss in a row and I am wondering how they can get out of the mess they are in.
The answer is, they can't. It's not an easy thing for a team who can't pass a ball 5 metres to a teammate to win a game. The quality of play is terrible with passes being sprayed all over the place, people slipping over all the time and weak efforts on goal (when they do get them).
For a team with the likes of Mile Sterjovski and Robbie Fowler they should not have so few quality chances.
It's not hard to see why Glory has lost 6 and a half games to this point and until they start working as a team and getting the basics right they will continue to lose.
The commentator said during the half that Fowler wasn't getting enough deliver, I say that is untrue! When Howarth ran down the wing and cut the ball back for an unmarked Fowler, who you would think would bury such a chance, he scuffed the shot and the best chance of the half was lost.
There are so many problems the team have to deal with on the pitch and the only solution I can give is to get back to basics and start playing the way that won them the first 3 games this season, with good technique, pace and burying chances.
Anyway, the second half is about to start so let's see what happens next...
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Half way through the group stage, who is showing signs of a Champions League winning team
Last year’s champions Inter Milan will be looking to make it back to back titles despite a slip up on the opening match day, only managing a draw against Dutch side FC Twente. However, two wins on the trot since then including a tense finish in their 4-3 win over Tottenham puts them on top of their group and laying solid ground work for progressing to the next round.
Barcelona, who won the title in both 2006 and 2009 have been overwhelming favourites for a number of years and have made a similar start to the champions by drawing their opening match and showing some strong performances in the next two and look to be getting into their rhythm. They also top their group with seven points and look to progress comfortably.
Teams that have won all three of their group matches so far are Real Madrid, Lyon, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Arsenal. Of these teams there looks to be some potential winners.
Real Madrid are looking the strongest as they are yet to concede a goal and are looking clinical in their attack, they are bolstered by their new coach and multiple Champions League winner Jose Mourinho, who has made the backline a solid unit and has seemingly fixed the problems Madrid have had for a number of years. After being knocked out in the first knockout phase in the last five seasons of the competition they will be looking to make all the money they have spent seem worth it.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich are the champions of their domestic leagues and while Bayern are the current runners up, they are making a strong showing in the group stages so far, despite poor league form. It is highly unlikely they will progress as far as they did last season but anything is possible.
Chelsea, on the other hand, has made an impressive start to their domestic campaign scoring 23 goals in their opening eight games. They have replicated this form in the Champions League and have been known as somewhat of a powerhouse in the competition in recent times but have lacked that final push to win the trophy and have fallen agonisingly short on a number of occasions, most notably the penalty shoot out loss to rivals Manchester United in the 2008 final.
My prediction would have to be Real Madrid, they seem to have found the right formula for success and if they can’t get it right this year with everything going for them then I don’t think they will ever win it.
How do you solve a problem like Milan? Part 3
Welcome to part three of my series of blogs about Milan’s current problems.
Now that we know what the problems are and who is causing these problems, it’s time to figure out how to fix them.
The first obvious solution is to put the club up for sale and let somebody new take over. Everybody appreciates what Berlusconi has done for the club over the past 25 years but his methods are outdated and it’s time for some fresh ideas. He does not want to spend any more money on the club and although they are not in as much debt as the other big clubs they cannot survive much longer on the limited resources Berlusconi is providing.
Once a new president has been appointed it’s time to trim the fat, so to speak, and bring in some new, young and talented players. What should have been done after the 2007 Champions League victory was to start to develop young players while the older ones were still capable of performing and have them mentor the younger generation so that when these champions get too old or start to tire then the new batch of players would have been able to use all they had learnt and they wouldn’t be so inexperienced.
But that didn’t happen. So the new owner would need to clear out players like Seedorf, Gattuso, Zambrotta, Bonera, Oddo, Jankulovski and Pirlo (while he is still worth a bit of money) and invest in some younger talent and develop players from the youth academy. Obviously this would take time which is why it would have been a smart thing to begin the operation three years ago.
Next would be to address the issue of the coach. After Ancelotti left, the youth director, Leonardo, was appointed with no coaching experience at all and it showed by the end of the season. At the moment the club has a coach that was at a team that finished in tenth positions last season and is also relatively inexperienced. These kinds of coaches do not have the capacity of coaching big name players or developing youth and are not tactically minded, which is an essential attribute in the Italian Serie A. If the management did its research they would know that former Milan player and Champions League winning coach Frank Rijkaard is available and in need of a club. Sure he might cost a little more than a coach that is just starting out but the benefits in the long run will be worth it.
I am sure I’m not the only one who has these solutions in mind and it is really annoying that every fan and football enthusiast can see the problems and know what needs to be done but the only people that can actually do something about it are blinded by their own egos and it’s the fan, players and the club as a whole that suffers because of it.
The first obvious solution is to put the club up for sale and let somebody new take over. Everybody appreciates what Berlusconi has done for the club over the past 25 years but his methods are outdated and it’s time for some fresh ideas. He does not want to spend any more money on the club and although they are not in as much debt as the other big clubs they cannot survive much longer on the limited resources Berlusconi is providing.
Once a new president has been appointed it’s time to trim the fat, so to speak, and bring in some new, young and talented players. What should have been done after the 2007 Champions League victory was to start to develop young players while the older ones were still capable of performing and have them mentor the younger generation so that when these champions get too old or start to tire then the new batch of players would have been able to use all they had learnt and they wouldn’t be so inexperienced.
But that didn’t happen. So the new owner would need to clear out players like Seedorf, Gattuso, Zambrotta, Bonera, Oddo, Jankulovski and Pirlo (while he is still worth a bit of money) and invest in some younger talent and develop players from the youth academy. Obviously this would take time which is why it would have been a smart thing to begin the operation three years ago.
Next would be to address the issue of the coach. After Ancelotti left, the youth director, Leonardo, was appointed with no coaching experience at all and it showed by the end of the season. At the moment the club has a coach that was at a team that finished in tenth positions last season and is also relatively inexperienced. These kinds of coaches do not have the capacity of coaching big name players or developing youth and are not tactically minded, which is an essential attribute in the Italian Serie A. If the management did its research they would know that former Milan player and Champions League winning coach Frank Rijkaard is available and in need of a club. Sure he might cost a little more than a coach that is just starting out but the benefits in the long run will be worth it.
I am sure I’m not the only one who has these solutions in mind and it is really annoying that every fan and football enthusiast can see the problems and know what needs to be done but the only people that can actually do something about it are blinded by their own egos and it’s the fan, players and the club as a whole that suffers because of it.
How do you solve a problem like Milan? Part 2
Welcome to part two of my series of blogs about Milan’s current problems.
I will now look at the reasons why the club are facing such issues and I can safely say that I will not be the only one to say that club president and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the main reason that Milan are in this current predicament.
Berlusconi bought the club after they were relegated from the Italian Serie A in 1985 and for the next 20 years resurrected the club into the European powerhouse they once were. Trophies came in thick and fast from 1986 until 2007 and the club produced many champions including the likes of Marco Van Basten, Franco Baresi, Poalo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka. But since 2007 the money flow from Berlusconi has stopped and he insists the tiring legs of the same players that are now on the wrong side of 30 can still perform at a world class level. They can’t. Since 2007, year after year Berlusconi looks for cheap options and tries to fool the fans by bringing in big names that are past their prime and tries to resurrect their careers. He brings them in because they are cheap and get the fans excited, but in reality he is just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound.
Some examples of players he has brought in for cheap include former FIFA World Players of the Year Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo’s career was reaching an end due to numerous injury problems and had gained too much weight, but Berlusconi thought it would be a great idea to bring him in because he was such a great champion in the past. This did not last long as after only a handful of games Ronaldo got injured and was forced to leave the club. We see a similar situation with Ronaldinho, who is one of the greatest players to ever walk this earth, but a weight problem had fans sceptical about how good he is now. Sure enough Berlusconi’s tactic seemed to work as Ronaldinho trimmed down and began playing world class football, but the rest of the team were not on the same level as him because of their age and he soon lost his spirit and is currently in a horrible run of form.
These are just two example of the sort of mentality Berlusconi currently has but rest assured there are many other examples that will just take too long to explain in one blog. The names Andriy Shevchenko and current player Zlatan Ibrahimovic may jog some people’s memories.
Berlusconi’s reluctance to bring in any fresh, young talent is really starting to hurt the team. He insists that the old players that won the 2003 and 2007 Champions Leagues are still world class players, but I think it is pretty obvious they are not.
Berlusconi is the main reason the club is in the situation it currently faces and in part three I will provide some solutions that many people around the world would have already thought of.
Berlusconi bought the club after they were relegated from the Italian Serie A in 1985 and for the next 20 years resurrected the club into the European powerhouse they once were. Trophies came in thick and fast from 1986 until 2007 and the club produced many champions including the likes of Marco Van Basten, Franco Baresi, Poalo Maldini, Andriy Shevchenko and Kaka. But since 2007 the money flow from Berlusconi has stopped and he insists the tiring legs of the same players that are now on the wrong side of 30 can still perform at a world class level. They can’t. Since 2007, year after year Berlusconi looks for cheap options and tries to fool the fans by bringing in big names that are past their prime and tries to resurrect their careers. He brings them in because they are cheap and get the fans excited, but in reality he is just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound.
Some examples of players he has brought in for cheap include former FIFA World Players of the Year Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo’s career was reaching an end due to numerous injury problems and had gained too much weight, but Berlusconi thought it would be a great idea to bring him in because he was such a great champion in the past. This did not last long as after only a handful of games Ronaldo got injured and was forced to leave the club. We see a similar situation with Ronaldinho, who is one of the greatest players to ever walk this earth, but a weight problem had fans sceptical about how good he is now. Sure enough Berlusconi’s tactic seemed to work as Ronaldinho trimmed down and began playing world class football, but the rest of the team were not on the same level as him because of their age and he soon lost his spirit and is currently in a horrible run of form.
These are just two example of the sort of mentality Berlusconi currently has but rest assured there are many other examples that will just take too long to explain in one blog. The names Andriy Shevchenko and current player Zlatan Ibrahimovic may jog some people’s memories.
Berlusconi’s reluctance to bring in any fresh, young talent is really starting to hurt the team. He insists that the old players that won the 2003 and 2007 Champions Leagues are still world class players, but I think it is pretty obvious they are not.
Berlusconi is the main reason the club is in the situation it currently faces and in part three I will provide some solutions that many people around the world would have already thought of.
How do you solve a problem like Milan? Part 1
Welcome to this three-part blog on some of the problems one of the most successful clubs in the world are currently facing, the reasons they are happening and ways they can be fixed.
A.C. Milan is the most successful club in Europe in terms of trophies won. Their history is rich with silverware and has been winning since their inception in 1899. However, since their last Champions League victory in 2007 they have been on a downward spiral that does not look like it is going to stop any time soon. The club has lost its identity of being a purely footballing team and the fans are getting fed up and are looking for a source to the problems.
The biggest problem that is glaringly obvious for the world to see is that the core of the team is just too old and cannot keep up with the young talent that is being produced by other big clubs across Europe. Players like Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo are all over 30 and although they were all great champions at the peak of their careers they just do not have the legs to keep up with the youth of today.
The next problem is that there is not enough youth being brought into the team, whether it is a transfer from another club or a youth team product. Young players are the way to develop as a club and look to the future, so the lack of young players is something that is hindering a club that is looking to discover a winning mentality and play attractive football.
The third problem is that since our 2007 Champions League winning coach, Carlo Ancelotti, left for Chelsea the club has struggled to find an adequate replacement that is experienced and knows how to deal with young players that want to develop their careers.
These are the main problems facing the team at the moment and there are several reasons why they are happening but there is one person in particular to blame as I will discuss it part two.
A.C. Milan is the most successful club in Europe in terms of trophies won. Their history is rich with silverware and has been winning since their inception in 1899. However, since their last Champions League victory in 2007 they have been on a downward spiral that does not look like it is going to stop any time soon. The club has lost its identity of being a purely footballing team and the fans are getting fed up and are looking for a source to the problems.The biggest problem that is glaringly obvious for the world to see is that the core of the team is just too old and cannot keep up with the young talent that is being produced by other big clubs across Europe. Players like Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo are all over 30 and although they were all great champions at the peak of their careers they just do not have the legs to keep up with the youth of today.
The next problem is that there is not enough youth being brought into the team, whether it is a transfer from another club or a youth team product. Young players are the way to develop as a club and look to the future, so the lack of young players is something that is hindering a club that is looking to discover a winning mentality and play attractive football.
The third problem is that since our 2007 Champions League winning coach, Carlo Ancelotti, left for Chelsea the club has struggled to find an adequate replacement that is experienced and knows how to deal with young players that want to develop their careers.
These are the main problems facing the team at the moment and there are several reasons why they are happening but there is one person in particular to blame as I will discuss it part two.
Why Jose Mourinho loves to be hated
Jose Mourinho is one of the most successful coaches at club level in the world. He has coached the likes of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and now Real Madrid. He has won a UEFA Champions League with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010, numerous league cups in leagues around Europe and has won countless league titles with every club he has coached. His most famous success would have to be the treble winning 2009/2010 season with Inter Milan where he won the Italian Scudetto, Italian Cup and the UEFA Champions League. The last manager to achieve this was Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United in the 1998/1999 season.Despite all his successes he still remains a somewhat hated figure in the football world for the way he conducts himself on and off the field.
The self-proclaimed “Special One” has never shied away from the media and giving his opinion on a subject, no matter how controversial those opinions may be. His arrogance is something that annoys not only the public but also other managers around Europe. He is loved by the media because he tells it like it is or may even make up rumours just for something for them to report on.
He will quite often send out a taunt to another coach or team during his own press conferences to stir up some controversy for the media to write about. Many people, including myself, believe this is a tactic used intentionally by Mourinho to deflect any criticism away from his playing squad following a poor performance. This is a tactic he uses quite intelligently as the playing group can focus on getting back to form and fixing any problems without having to worry about media or fan criticism.
Jose Mourinho is hated by so many people but from viewing his personality and the way he conducts himself on and off the field, you get the feeling that he actually thrives on the negative attention he receives from the media, supporters from all over the globe, other managers and players. His talent cannot be denied because he proves time and time again that he is a winner and can do so at the highest level.
I really don’t like the guy for the way he speaks and the way he provokes arguments but his success is there for all to see and maybe deep down I am just jealous that he is not coaching my favourite club.
Is too much money ruining world soccer?
Another transfer window is drawing to a close and a new season in Europe is beginning once again.
Like every year, all eyes are on the European heavyweights such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Milan and AC Milan. Who are they going to buy this season? How are they going to fit so many superstars in one team?For me, there is too much money being thoughtlessly thrown around every transfer window by the same clubs.
Real Madrid is the worst culprit. Just last season they spent 200 million Euros (I’m going to use Euros because that’s the currency they use on most credible websites) on new signings.
Cristiano Ronaldo (92 million), Kaka (65 million), Xabi Alonso (35 million) and these are just three of a long list. Where does all this money come from? And how are the smaller clubs supposed to compete with this kind of spending? The answer is.... They’re not! The smaller clubs will never compete because they just can’t afford to.
To put the wasteful spending into context, Real Madrid did little to no research on the 65 million euro purchase of Kaka because if they did their homework they would have known that he had been carrying a chronic injury and that his last season at AC Milan was not as productive as his previous six. But just because his name is Kaka and he is a former World Player of the Year and the new president promised to bring him to the club, Real Madrid thought they would spend the obscene amount of 65 million Euros to acquire his services.
Fast forward a year and now Kaka is reported to be on his way out of the Bernabeu as his injuries hampered a disappointing season for the hopeful Real Madrid and he is now forced to make way for the new batch of signings coming into the club.
And this is a club without a billionaire owner.
Chelsea and Manchester City are two of the main culprits that are flexing their money muscles and showing off to the rest of the world because they have billionaire owners and do not have the monetary constraints that others have.
In the four seasons since Roman Abramovich took over at Chelsea he has splashed out over 350 million Euros in new signings alone. While Manchester City’s new owner has spent over 200 million since joining just last season and they still missed out on a place in the Champions League, while Tottenham Hotspur clinched the coveted fourth spot only spending a tiny fraction of the cost that other clubs did.
The list of spending of the various heavyweights could go on and on as these big clubs keep spending and going further and further into debt and making what was once a beautiful sport into just a business or very expensive trading card game.
FIFA needs to act now or else there will be no end to the ridiculous spending.
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