Racing towards years end and into the window of doubt!

As we race towards years end, the EPL is again very much in focus as those very well paid footballers literally turn up several times in a few days. Starting with the Liverpool v Newcastle match on Friday night, most sides will play twice in the five days up to Wednesday 4th January. One thing we can all count on at this time of the year, are the regular 'turn up' results that go with the holiday period. One  particular illustration comes to mind and according to the Guardian, Fulham beat Ipswich 10-1 at home on Boxing Day 1963, then lost 2-4 at Ipswich 2 days later! Perhaps it is the unusual frequency that teams have to play but there will be upsets. A quick scan of the past weeks results show some unexpected outcomes....seven out of the ten fixtures resulted in draws, Citeh, Arsenal and Chelsea all dropping points unexpectedly.

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Arsenal 1-1 Wolverhampton |

Norwich 0-2 Tottenham |

Swansea 1-1 QPR |

Monday, 26 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Bolton 0-2 Newcastle |

Chelsea 1-1 Fulham |

Liverpool 1-1 Blackburn |

Man Utd 5-0 Wigan |

Stoke 0-0 Aston Villa |

Sunderland 1-1 Everton |

West Brom 0-0 Man City |

Such is the mind-set of our UEFA overlords that they believe we need a 'transfer window' twice a year. Here disruption and horse trading are allowed to take place with regard to the loan and transfer of footballers. Personally, I hate it. This is because it allows agents to push speculation through the media. My own side Spurs suffered particularly in the June 2011 window as Chelsea attempted to prise Luka Modric from their grasp.....this in spite of said player having recently signed a 6 year contract!

Listening recently to the tv football commentators  I was surprised to hear their take on the propects of the three recently promoted sides. QPR, Norwich and Swansea. All three of these sides have made a good fist of promotion so far, although as it was pointed out, they are now in the bottom half of the table. Apparently, only QPR new owner Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes has the cash to go into the transfer market to recruit new players for the new year....expect them to spend big. The value of staying in the EPL is worth a lot. Last year Man Utd made £60.4million in TV money alone, while at the lower end Blackpool still made £39.1million.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/8533559/Manchester-United-top-60-million-in-Premier-League-earnings.html
One slightly surprising player move will probably see Arsenal legend Thiery Henry come back to them on a loan deal, before returning to his New York club later in the year. Personally, I think this will be a good move for Wenger with little downside...the club using the usual Macdonalds 'get out clause' because even if he fails to shine, he will only be at the Emirates for a 'short time only'. It will be interesting to see what transpires for Henry. My feeling is that he will help take some of the focus / reliance away from RVP.
I also expect a few out of favour strikers to play an increasing important role in the second half of the season. Man United are already seeing the benefits of playing Berbatov. Torres will also fire again for Chelsea, while Defoe will have a big say in Spurs push for a top four spot. VDV's elastic band hamstring's will ensure Defoe gets loads of playing time (and hopefully goals) in the next few months. It seems a shame that Tevez will be lost to the EPL while Roman Pavlyuchenko looks set to accept a move to is ready to accept a move to Anzhi Makhachkala and all their petro-dollars. Man Citeh are unlikely to go into the transfer market other than unloading Tevez, while neighbours United appear to need reinforcements but are reminicent of Monty Pythons 'Black Knight' in denying the impact of multiple injury set-backs............

King Arthur:(Mancini) [after Arthur's cut off both of the Black Knight's arms] Look, you stupid Bastard. You've got no arms left.
Black Knight: (Ferguson)Yes I have.
King Arthur: :(Mancini)*Look*!
Black Knight: (Ferguson)It's just a flesh wound.

Key games of the week appear to be Blackburn's trip to United where manager Steve Kean may be asked to say goodbye. Citeh have a tricky trip to MON's Sunderland.....Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will all be wanting a return to winning ways after dropping points in draws last week. Next Tuesday Citeh entertain Liverpool while the next night United go to the Geordies.
As 2011 finishes we realise it is all still to play for....we are barely at the half-way point. Bring on EPL 2012....my resolution is to not stop talking about it!

Friday, 30 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Liverpool v Newcastle, 19:45

Saturday, 31 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Man Utd v Blackburn, 12:45

Arsenal v QPR, 15:00

Bolton v Wolverhampton, 15:00

Chelsea v Aston Villa, 15:00

Norwich v Fulham, 15:00

Stoke v Wigan, 15:00

Swansea v Tottenham, 15:00

Sunday, 1 January 2012

Barclays Premier League

West Brom v Everton, 12:30

Sunderland v Man City, 15:00

Monday, 2 January 2012

Barclays Premier League

Aston Villa v Swansea, 15:00

Blackburn v Stoke, 15:00

QPR v Norwich, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Chelsea, 15:00

Fulham v Arsenal, 17:30

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Barclays Premier League

Tottenham v West Brom, 19:45

Wigan v Sunderland, 19:45

Man City v Liverpool, 20:00

Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Barclays Premier League

Everton v Bolton, 20:00

Newcastle v Man Utd, 20:00

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man City	18	14	3	1	52	13	38	45
2	Man Utd	18	14	3	1	47	14	33	45
3	Tottenham	16	11	2	3	31	19	14	35
4	Chelsea	18	10	4	4	35	21	16	34
5	Arsenal	17	10	2	5	33	25	8	32
6	Liverpool	18	8	7	3	21	14	7	31
7	Newcastle	18	8	6	4	25	22	3	30
8	Stoke City	17	7	3	7	18	28	-10	24
9	West Brom	18	6	4	8	19	26	-7	22
10	Everton	17	6	3	8	18	20	-2	21
11	Norwich	17	5	6	6	27	31	-4	21
12	Aston Villa	17	4	7	6	19	23	-4	19
13	Fulham	18	4	7	7	19	24	-5	19
14	Sunderland	18	4	6	8	21	21	0	18
15	Swansea	17	4	6	7	16	21	-5	18
16	QPR	17	4	4	9	17	31	-14	16
17	Wolves	17	4	3	10	18	31	-13	15
18	Wigan	18	3	5	10	15	35	-20	14
19	Bolton	18	4	0	14	22	41	-19	12
20	Blackburn	18	2	5	11	25	39	-14	11

EPL geographical balance is out of whack

Something that has concerned me for a while is the reality that the EPL has become geographically unbalanced over the past few years. A quick glance at the two maps below shows just how distorted it has become.

 

http://www.tankedup-imaging.com/css_dev/premiership.html

http://www.myfootygrounds.co.uk/AreaMap.asp?view=ENGLAND

Probably the most glaring gap in terms of EPL geographical presence is the complete absence of sides from Yorkshire in the top league. Yorkshiremen may be annoying, opinionated, self obsessed and Boycottlike in the worst way but I feel they ought to be represented in the top flight. Prior to the re-badging of the old First Division, Yorkshire had a healthy sprinkling of sides who were regularly up in the top division. Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and United, Bradford City, Huddersfield were all in there while Barnsley played in the EPL in the late nineties. More recently Hull City graced the EPL for a few seasons but some even doubt that Hull is a Yorkshire side at all! Of all the absences in this group, that of Leeds United is probably the most glaring. Financial problems did send the club down to League Two at one stage but even the most rabid hater of the club probably now harbours a sneeking hope that they will again grace the top competition, this writer included. I lived up there for four years and without doubt found it one of the most intimidating places to go even as a neutral! Their rivalry with Manchester United is one of the genuine club hatreds going around and has now been on hold too long.

While there has been a strong historical presence from the south coast, at the moment we see Brighton, Porthsmouth, Southampton all playing Championship football. The latter is leading the competition at the moment so the south coast may again be up there at the top quite soon.

London has five clubs in the EPL at this time.....this is historically quite typical....Arsenal Chelsea and Spurs have been in the EPL since its change-over while Fulham and QPR are present participants who have flirted historically between the top two divisions. West Ham are presently out as are Crystal Palace and Charlton. Leyton Orient played top flight for a season while the joint prayers of the other Football clubs seem to be keeping 'no one likes us' Millwall out at the moment.

The Midlands is represented by Aston Villa, Stoke City,WBA and Wolves. The underwhelming mediocrity of the regions EPL performance cannot be overstated even when the likes of Leicester, Birmingham are up occasionally doing their stuff. As a bottom line the Midlands can at least point to it's superiority over Yorkshire teams ....4-0 at the moment!

The North East has two EPL clubs Newcastle and Sunderland. Despite a lack of trophies the area is undoubtedly passionate....add Middlesboro if they come back up and you have a region with top line support.

It is the North West that at present dominates the EPL. True they lost Blackpool and Burnley in recent years but Man Utd and Citeh, Everton and Liverpool, Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan all have an EPL place. Even Preston can claim top flight history as can Oldham.

Why then is it important that the EPL has clubs from all over? The best argument really is for balance. Even having a Welsh side Swansea in the EPL has its merits. The promotion one day of Cardiff City will add a whole new dimension to the competition but that can be dealt with when it occurs. The EPL is a competition plugged in to the world media nowdays, so some would argue regionalism is less important because so many outsiders now follow the game. There was at one stage quite a strong push to make it a British competition with Glasgow Celtic and Rangers taking part. However UEFA politics precluded this when those sides were rich and there is even less chance now they are financially struggling.

To me the map of locations for EPL clubs is unbalanced and hopefully will one day put itself right bringing those happy Yorkshire folk back into the circle. I can't wait:)

The EPL race just went up a gear

As is so often the way there is nothing like a bit of adversity to focus people on the main game. Man Utd and Man City both exited the Champions League this week and suddenly the world has changed. This has already been an interesting season in England. Witness the fact that all but one of the top sides have suffered a good hiding. For City going out of the ECL is their first failure of the season. We might remind ourselves that they were the team that won 5-1 at Spurs and 6-1 at United. Spurs themselves hammered Liverpool 4-0, while Arsenal won 5-3 at Chelsea. To round off the lop sided big team matches, Arsenal were themselves embarrassed at Old Trafford 8-2.
Roberto Maccini does seem up unto this point to have spent his middle eastern paymasters money well. Of course he didn't originally spend the cash on Tevez or Adebayor ....his role was more involved in their subsequent alienation. The tricky job of keeping warehoused players happy is a thankless one. City do indeed have seem to have more than two players per position. What will really hurt the Manchester clubs will be the drop down to the Europa League as a result of their ECL exit. The plethora of Channel 5 jokes on the net will really only be understood in England the rest of the anglo-phile football world will see the joke sail over their heads like a centre backs wayward shot.
Of course in England a failure to make the top four condemns sides the afore mentioned Europa League and exposure on a Thursday to the joys of transmission on Channel 5. My gooner buddy Robert O'Connor joyfully published this ditty today and it shows the embarrassment felt by the Manchester duo playing in just the Europa League for the rest of the season.
A little bit of Tevez out the door. A little bit of Vidic on the floor. A little a bit of Nasri on the side. A little bit of Rooney shooting wide. A little bit of Mario having a laugh. A little bit of Nani on his arse...Ladies and Gentleman - Channel Number Five.
TV money has indeed distorted the way football is perceived across Britain and Europe. At home, previously, winning the FA Cup or League Cup was perceived as a plus for most teams. Bus top parades through localities a major form of celebration. Today things seem to have shifted. The top six or seven clubs seem to be continually preoccupied with 'next season' rather than this. Of course in England a failure to make the top four condemns sides the afore mentioned Europa League. Ask the top teams fans would you rather win a cup or qualify for the ECL and many will pick the latter. This writer being in the minority preferring cup glory to cash flow. Perhaps the best argument for the former is one that says you can't attract or keep the best players without ongoing ECL qualifiaction. It is hard to argue with this financial reality.
As we head into another EPL weekend we see the following match-ups.

Barclays Premier League

Arsenal v Everton, 15:00

Bolton v Aston Villa, 15:00

Liverpool v QPR, 15:00

Man Utd v Wolverhampton, 15:00

Norwich v Newcastle, 15:00

Swansea v Fulham, 15:00

West Brom v Wigan, 15:00

Sunday, 11 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Sunderland v Blackburn, 13:30

Stoke v Tottenham, 16:00

Monday, 12 December 2011

Barclays Premier League

Chelsea v Man City, 20:00 

The key fixture being between Villas-Boas's Chelsea and Mancini's Citeh. Points will be dropped here! A win for the former closing up the title race while a win for the Sky Blues will possibly bring day light between them and the rest especially now that Vidic is out for the season with a knee injury. Spurs face the physical and aerial challenge away to Stoke while Liverpool and Arsenal should take maximum points from QPR and Everton. The Geordies, desperate to keep up have a tricky away game to Norwich. Indeed with less ECL distractions the race for the EPL has just gone up at least one gear.

A League......time to revisit a few decisions for FFA

Someone once asked me what I thought Frank Lowy would bring to our game once he agreed to become involved again in 2003. With some thought I told them that there were two important but not necessarily related  things that would see the man take football in Australia to a new level. First that he seemed to possess a strength that some might undersestimate. He had been a member of the Golani Brigade in Israel. This was an army group whose main purpose was to physically train to one day run with equipment up the Golan Heights and then overpower entrenched Syrian forces. For anyone struggling to gain a mental picture of this task think running up from Emu Plains to the top of overarching Blue Mountains. Needless to say Lowy was used to fughting battles others thought might be hopeless.....In this case turning Australias significant but minority based 'soccer culture' to a more general appeal 'football league' resembling those similar leagues throughout the world....now we would be thinking MLS, J League and K league.
The second point I made about Lowy was one that that made him perculiarly different to most of the 'faces' involved in the NSL in decades before. Frank Lowy, as a billionairre, had no need or driving desire to make money out of the A League, despite being elected to the prime position in 2003. To me this was a key factor that made him different, stewardship of Australian football was seen by Lowy as a role where his plan was for the good of all stakeholders in the sport. The three pronged approach of setting up the A League, getting Australian qualification for the 2006 World Cup and a bid for a future hosting of that competition.
Looking back on his efforts I would rate them as an eight and half out of ten. True to his word he seems to have avoided taking personal gain from the sport. As a  matter of fact he has helped in the past five years with the continued funding for some of the franchises in the A League....how much I don't know. There I said it, I used the F word. Franchise. To me if anywhere, it is in the establishment, choice of location and basis chosen for franchises that Lowy's A League has underperformed.
Two points I would make on this topic. First, the change undertaken to bring Australia the A League, involved marketing people rebranding the sport. They listened to ordinary Aussies and reported back that to become a main-stream sport Soccer needed to move away from ethnic based clubs and in the process reclaim the name 'Football' from the various nationwide pretenders to the title, AFL, League and Union. Recent history shows that this path was embraced with a non-ethnic....territory based model emerging. The one team per city / region idea was one of the base elements of the new eight side A League competition. Unfortunately, taking such a path meant that the old NSL was dead and few, if any of it's good aspects preserved. The old sides of the competition did not go away completely but played on in the various state league competions across Australia. Sydney Olympic, Sydney United and Marconi three of those in NSW. By abandoning these clubs completely our national competion is probably the poorer because we now have a 'disconnect' between the A League and the State competions where these clubs still play.
This takes me onto my second point on the A League and the way forward.  Any second Sydney side should be in the Western Suburbs. Unfortunately, the FFA ignored reality and not only failed to foster relations with existing Western Sydney clubs but planned to base any expansion side out of Homebush! What could they be thinking? The NRL proves every year that this stadium / venue is not a week to week proposition for a club side. Why would a new football team want to play in a massive 3/4 empty stadium? This view can be backed up by a story from the old NSL days. Marconi and Sydney United both had sides in the NSL. So what you may say. Well the west not only provided these two National Soccer clubs but they are almost in the same suburb! You can see one stadium from the other! Absurd but even more incredibly no one seemed to acknowledge this...was it because few Sydney, NSW or Australia based people ever went out there to disover this fact? To me expansion of the A League will require talks with these old school participants of the game. Italians and Croatians and others in Bossley Park could put together a strong club using one of their existing stadiums. Nearly a decade has passed since the schism  left the old NSL people disconeected from the national game. Here is an opportunity that could bring these elements back to the mainstram and in the process strengthen our National competion, the A League. Frank Lowy probably realises that some welcoming back into the fold is necessary. An A League side based in Bossley Park or Blacktown would deliver a very strong football area back into the fold....time to revisit a few hasty decisions for FFA?

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&cp=21&gs_id=k&xhr=t&q=sydney+united+stadium&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4SKPB_enAU386AU386&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&ion=1&biw=1280&bih=673&wrapid=tljp1322972785912037&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl