The monopoly ownership of the Scudetto in Milan looks to be coming to an end. It is still early days with plenty of football still to be played, but the poor form of both clubs from the fashion capital of the world is not that surprising. Serie A has notoriously been on a decline for quite some time, crashing out of Europe has become all to familiar for Italians and UEFA have taken away a precious Champions League place because of this underachievement. For Rossoneri and Nerazzurri supporters the season has been a disaster, although both have the talent and skill within their squad to turn things around, the title is not as much a guarantee than in previous years. The influx of competition this season is welcomed by everyone outside Milan.
Massimiliano Allegri has only been able to guide his team to just two wins in all competitions thus far, neither being impressive as they were against minnows Cesena and Viktoria Plzen. The lack of goal production has been in large part due to the rash of injuries up front. Alexandre Pato has suffered another injury setback and will spend more time on the sidelines. The Brazilian looked to be in top form against Barcelona and scored an absolute gem in the match. Robinho is nursing an injury and has yet to feature at all this season, Antonio Cassano has shouldered much of the load in attack, playing the poacher and provider roles. He has been the lone bright spot in attack for the defending champions in these early stages.
Inter have struggled for other reasons, and have already sacked a manager, showing the door to Gian Piero Gasperini. The player’s performance on the pitch had shown a lack of confidence in the manager’s philosophy and tactics, looking extremely vulnerable playing with three defenders at the back. Massimo Moratti should take on most of the blame for bringing in a defensive manager that went against the clubs natural style of play. Similar to their neighbors, Inter have only two wins all season and have suffered humiliating defeats to Trabzonspor and Novara. Claudio Ranieri replaced Gasperini and has been at the helm for both victories. However the recent loss to Napoli has deflated any confidence earned.
This is a new era for Serie A, watching the re-birth of Napoli has been incredible, their core of Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Marek Hamsik and Gokhan Inler have already beaten both Milan clubs convincingly and look to be a serious threat for the Scudetto. Even former giants Juventus and AS Roma are back in the mix, although they spent their way into contention, both clubs have the pieces in place to mount a serious challenge. This is just the beginning of a massive overhaul of the old order in Italian football.
City vs Tevez - Round 2
The Tevez saga continues this week with Manchester City sending a convoy of legal representatives to the Argentines home in Cheshire to get his version of the events that transpired in Munich. Everything was conducted extremely professionally by City officials, despite not receiving the same courtesy from a player who is getting paid ridiculous sums of money to play a sport and live the life most of us can only dream about. I understand that there is two sides to a story, but never has the football community come together and unanimously condemn one of their high profile citizens. Tevez continues to deny refusing to play, and even had the audacity to speak negatively of Roberto Mancini for the manager’s decision to go public with his feelings following the loss to Bayern Munich.
After all the bad publicity he has brought to the club and the sport, to deny any wrong doing and refusing to apologize for his actions is appalling. For all his talent Tevez has never really loved football, even going so far as to discussing early retirement in years past. It is obvious this is just a job to the Argentine, and now that he has accumulated enough money to live his luxurious lifestyle, football is just an afterthought. At this point even the suspension and loss of almost two million pounds in wages will have little effect on this egotistical maniac. Little Carlito needs to be coddled like a baby. His form is affected tremendously when not given the love that his massive ego craves.
Refusing to do your job when called upon is grounds for termination and I find it hard to believe that this was all just a misunderstanding as Tevez would want everyone to believe. Football is a team sport and that type of behavior is inexcusable at any level. Mancini cannot go back on his stance or run the risk of losing credibility and authority in the dressing room. The relationship between the manager and his former star striker is way beyond any form of reconciliation. Tevez's arrogance and sense of entitlement is sickening and I commend Manchester City for backing their manager.
All signs point to Carlos Tevez being shown the door in January, but until then a spot in the reserve squad looks to be his next destination, although I doubt he will go quietly. It is amazing to think any manager is willing to welcome such a disruption and pre-Madonna into their squad. I’m sure Russia and the Middle East will be probable destinations as Tevez will get paid his quote in full and have the freedom to dictate his work schedule. I'm going with the rule, out of sight, out of mind.
The Rise of Phil Jones
Looking at Phil Jones you would never guess he is nineteen years of age. Neither would you question his on-field experience in any of his performances with Manchester United this season. For someone so young and relatively new to first team football in the Premiership, Jones has settled in quickly with his new team-mates and is even pushing for a permanent place in Sir Alex Ferguson's starting eleven. His form has been so impressive that Rio Ferdinand's place in the squad is now under question.
The biggest positive for Jones is his versatility, a tremendous asset to have for club and country. He can be deployed either as a centre-back, right-back or even as a defensive midfielder. I was thoroughly surprised at his speed and his skill on the ball, for a big man that is a rare commodity to possess. The one thing that needs to be worked on is his timing when challenging for headers on both ends of the pitch, but that will come with more minutes played. Jones has started seven matches out of nine this season for United in all competitions, which is quite remarkable for a defender of his age, slowly becoming a regular in Ferguson's side. Having all the qualities to one day become a future captain of United and even England, the positives are endless and time will tell if Jones can achieve those heights, but for the moment he is moving in the right direction.
To Foul, or Not to Foul
That is the question Premiership players have been asking themselves before committing into any challenge this season. It is always easy to point the finger and place blame on the referee and/or linesman on decisions made on the pitch. They are the usual scapegoats for players and managers when calls fail to go their way. Normally I would never jump on the bandwagon and wave my finger in the same direction but the officiating in the top flight has been extremely inconsistent. Cards are being shown at random for the most innocent of challenges and players are having trouble judging what each referee considers a foul.
The most recent example of this was seen in the Merseyside derby last weekend. Martin Atkinson has a reputation of being trigger happy when it comes to brandishing cards. Looking at the past history in this fixture it was surprising to see his appointment for the match. We have the benefit of watching replays but Atkinson was in the best position possible to make the call on Jack Rodwell's tackle on Luis Suarez. It was the midfielders first challenge of the game and Atkinson decided it was worthy of a red card, and therefore becoming the benchmark for all tackles to follow. Atkinson's decision to flash the red card to Rodwell killed off what would have been an entertaining match. Everton ended up losing, never able to fully recover after being forced to play the majority of the game with ten men.
Officials need to get on the same page or the game will suffer tremendously, what is a foul to one referee is not necessarily a foul to another. Whether it is calls for hand ball or penalty decisions in the box, a trend of inconsistency is slowly developing and referees need to be held accountable for their actions with tougher suspensions handed down depending on the level of the transgression. The solution is simple; give referee's the technology needed to make the correct call and put an end to all the controversy that comes with human error.
Smashing Birds on Tyneside
Seven matches played without a defeat have Newcastle United in the top four and Geordie nation celebrating their surprising start. After all the controversy and backlash from the clubs supporters over the sales of Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Jose Enrique over the summer and the recent departure of Joey Barton, it was hard to stay optimistic. Mike Ashley has been a villain on Tyneside for much of his tenure as owner, never fully winning over the clubs supporters. It was made worse when players started to call him out through the media as they departed for greener pastures. With all this hanging over the head of manager Alan Pardew, it is remarkable to see their early accomplishments.
Funds from player sales were obviously not entirely put back into the squad as promised by the owner, but the additions made have so far proven to be more than adequate. The most important being Yohan Cabaye, he has been a revelation in the midfield for the Magpies, and has started every match this season. His vision and ball distribution has been an integral part of Newcastle's offence. Another summer purchase who has recently started to produce is Demba Ba. The Senegalese striker already proved to be a solid goal scorer in the Premier League last season with West Ham and was a smart purchase by Pardew, he started slow but has racked up four goals in the last two games and shows no signs of stopping this stellar form.
Goals would always be difficult to come by, but the most surprising statistic for the Magpies is on the other end of the pitch. Tim Krul has been fantastic between the posts and is the main reason for his teams early success. Playing behind a defensive line that is relatively inexperienced with visible holes, the Dutchman already has compiled three clean sheets in seven matches. If he can continue to produce at this level a cup run could be a possibility on Tyneside.
McClaren TKO
The life of a football manager has a short shelf life these days. In England the average time has dwindled down to just eighteen months, which is relatively long compared with other countries. Football has a short memory and when results turn negative it is the manager’s head on the chopping block. Something Steve McClaren has become all too familiar with lately. After a terrible start to the new campaign with Nottingham Forest, McClaren handed in his resignation leaving the club only one point above the relegation zone. Losers of six in ten, it was a doomed relationshipright from the start, never getting the full backing of the board in the transfer window. McClaren jumped before getting pushed overboard.
Leaving Middlesbrough in 2006 to become manager of England was an easy decision. What followed was the disastrous Euro qualifying campaign that ended at Wembley thanks to the infamous Scott Carson howler. He was clearly over his head and deserved to get the sack. However success and redemption was attained in the Netherlands, managing FC Twente to their first Eredivisie title and winning the Dutch manager of the year award. Instead of staying on and guiding the club through the Champions League, McClaren made his biggest mistake and bolted for Wolfsburg after only one season in Holland. Germany was less than kind and after numerous poor results the sack came half way through the season. His further failure in the English second tier has now left one of England's most respected football minds out in the wilderness of football management.
French Revolution Begins In Paris
The French capital has been buzzing since the club was purchased in the summer by a Qatar Investment Authority. Leonardo was brought in as Director of Football and has helped transform the clubs fortunes instantly. Transfer funds were made available and an influx of players have come through the door at the Parc des Princes, making PSG serious title challengers. The new owners have plenty of cash and have made it known they are willing to spend heavily.
Let’s start at the back with the retirement of Gregory Coupet,in goal, that opened the door for the acquisition of Salvatore Sirigu from Palermo. Nicolas Douchez was also bought to provide valuable experience in a supporting role as the number two. Diego Lugano at centre-back was also a smart purchase and will add to an already strong defensive back line. French veteran Claude Makelele also decided to hang up his boots in the off-season, leaving a huge hole in the middle of the pitch. Leonardo snapped up Mohamed Sissoko and Blaise Matuidi to plug the hole and provide cover as holding midfielders. Both are young and have some of their best football still ahead of them. Leonardo was even able to lure Jeremy Menez back to France from Roma. His creativity on the wing has been a driving force in attack for Antoine Kombouare’s side and has produced four assists so far this season. Another new signing, Kevin Gameiro has continued his brilliant form that saw him score twenty-two goals for Lorient last year, already producing five in nine matches for the Parisians.
Almost ninety million euros were spent this off-season to help catapult PSG to the top of Ligue 1, with almost half being spent on the crown jewel of the bunch Javier Pastore. It was a major coup bringing the Argentine to Paris, especially since bigger clubs were all in the running for his signature. In seven games he has scored five, assisted on two and has twenty-one shots on target. This is only the beginning of lavish spending in the French capital. Rumors are Leonardo has held talks with David Beckham in the hopes of luring him to France after his contract expires in November. PSG stumbled out of the gate earning a loss and a draw to start their Ligue 1 campaign, but have managed to win six of their last seven to put them in top spot.
Check back next week for a new edition of The Unfit Referee.
No comments:
Post a Comment