United on top, Scholes remains top dog

Manchester United have climbed to the top of the table by beating Stoke City at the Britannia stadium. United dominated the match and most of the play was played in the final third United’s pitch. The old guards, Giggs and Scholes, once again tunred on the screws, rolled back the years and helped their side gain three points after Chelsea lost their first game of the season, rather unexpectedly, against Wigan.

Highlights of Man United vs Stoke City

Highlights of Chelsea vs Wigan Athletic

Tony Pulis in the post match interview quipped that Scholes was the best player on the pitch by a country mile and the latest premier league statistics back that up revealing the astronomical passing percentage that Scholes has. Times ran an article stating how Scholes still remains the premier mid-field maestro in the league

Scholes remains top dog

Community Shield Review

Chelsea clinch this season’s community shield in a nervy and controversial contest at the New Wembley and also get their first victory against United in a penalty shoot out. Though the Shield has always been viewed as a glorified friendly, it gives a good indication as to how the teams would shape up for the following season.

Manchester United started the proceedings well and dominated Chelsea for the better of the first half. Losing Ronaldo did not take the sharpness in their attacking play as they could get behind Chelsea’s defence repeatedly and would have wrapped up the match bar the profligacy of the United players and the superb saves from Cech. Nani looked like a man possessed and was out there to stake his claim as the ‘New Ronaldo’. He put United into lead with a blistering drive after beating his man Ivanovic who had a torrid time dealing the Nani-Evra axis before being substituted at half time. United dominated the mid-field rendering Lampard to be a peripheral figure for Chelsea. Rooney- Berba partnership looked promising and linked well with Nani and Park.

Chelsea got into the game in the second half with retaining possession and controlling the mid-field. Ancelotti replaced Ivanovic with Bosingwa and that mitigated the threat caused down the left flank by Nani and Evra. Lampard got more involved as the clock ticked by and Anelka found himself in good positions down the left flank. Chelsea got their first goal courtesy to a number of reasons, Drogba’s presence in the box, Foster’s inability to punch out the ball clear and Nani’s lax defending in not following Carvalho’s run into the box. Chelsea got a hold of the match after their first goal and controlled the proceedings until a controversial incident which marred an otherwise fair game. Moments before Lampard celebrated the second goal, Ballack had gown down from an innocuous shoulder barge from Evra and Chris Foy stopped play when Evra found himself in a dangerous position. Chris Foy, comically though, decided to let the play continue when Ballack intentionally elbowed Evra in his face moments later which in turn led to Chelsea attackers finding themselves 3 against 2 at the edge of United’s box. The decision looks even more controversial when the replays show that the incident happened right in front of Chris Foy. So much for the referees’ consistency and so much for the ‘Respect Campaign’.

That sparked some of the United players who were mediocre at best until then in the second half. Rooney came up with a fine finish in injury time after being put clear by a superb through ball from Giggs. That equalizer took the match to the penalty shoot outs and sub par kicks from Giggs and Evra had ensured that Chelsea lifted the Community Shield for the 09/10 season.

Community Shield goals and penalties

Community Shield Preview

So the curtain raiser for the season begins today with arguably England’s best representation in Europe at action today. Both the sides Manchester United and Chelsea are beginning a new chapter in their respective club histories, for United it is without their most prolific talisman Ronaldo and for Chelsea it is the dawn of a new era under Ancelotti if he manages to survive long unlike his predecessors.

Today’s match would be a good indication as to how both these would shape up for the coming season and would be quite intriguing to see the tactics employed by either.

Sup"porter"

Well, enough has been said about the footballing world. The players, the managers, the clubs, UEFA, FIFA et all... It's time to talk about the more important contributors to the sport - The supporters.

Warning : This might NOT please many people...

Undoubtedly, the supporters of a football club/country are the most important ingredients to making football what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow. We all know that. But this post is not about that.

A decade ago, not many people I knew, even considered Chelsea as their club to support, to watch, to pay to watch.Then, Mr. Abramovic arrived and shortly thereafter, Mr. Mourinho arrived. Needless to say, many good players arrived and not surprisingly, Chelsea started winning titles(NOT by playing the best football at most times). Suddenly, there were a whole barrage of people supporting Chelsea. People who knew zilch about football were supporting Chelsea left, right and center. People even switched their support from their own club to Chelsea. Is this what you call a "Die-Hard" supporter? Is not a supporter responsible to support a club through the best and worst of times?

I am not saying, people should not watch the football, admire it etc. Hey I am a Liverpool fan and I admire the way Manchester United play at times(Again, I am a football fan first, then a Liverpool fan). But never in a million years would I "yap" about the football United play oreven think of being an United fan.

These people are definitely contributors to the football world (what with the merchandise, tickets et all). But are such people really good for the world watching football? More importantly, are such people really needed for the watching world?

You may be intrigued by the timing of this post, but, it might just be the right timing after all. What with the Manchester City explosion going on.

P.S. I hope you get the subtle pun in the title.

Turn On The Style

"The team is experienced with most of the players above and around 30. We cannot expect a drastic improvement from them."

These are the quotes made by Sir Alex Fergusan(may not be the exact words but almost means the same) at the start of the season about Chelsea's credentials this season. Not only have these old legs defied Sir's logic, but also in style. The team which was ridiculed for grinding out results after results is suddenly the team catching the eye worldwide. The same bunch of players who were written off as not capable of playing beautiful football together by a large section of the football fraternity have proved everyone wrong. Although, we've had one of the best summers in recent times with respect to transfers this season,getting what could be said as the two most important pieces of the zig saw namely Bosingwa (the most important transfer since Frank Lampard in my opinion) and Deco, one cannot discount the one most important capture of the summer, Luis Felipe Scolari. He's the man behind the face lift of the team, unarguably. What impact the gaffer can have on a team is not something too covert in todays footballing world. Its a true saying that a team clearly reflects the personality of its coach. Mourinho's Chelsea was resilient, strong, never-say-die, Scolari's Chelsea is very Brazil-like. I'm not saying we've suddenly become Barca or Arsenal for that matter, but we certainly are a joy to watch unlike the last couple of seasons.

The first couple of games of the season, I had a feeling that all the change is due to Deco. His touch and vision allow us to be more capable of unlocking defenses, which is true, but later on even without him we were as good. We gave two of the best performances against Villa and Boro without him. It was clear then that it was Deco but it is the belief in each player shown by the gaffer to express themselves is what has brought about all the change. It would be an understatement to say that Mourinho did not allow showboating, which would be the wrong word to use for this Chelsea, but certainly the confidence is there to show off some skills without having the boss at the back of your mind. When I compare Mourinho's Chelsea to Scolari's, one thing that is apparant is that the players are more comfortable on the ball than they used to. That could be attributed the movement of the players aound the guy who has the ball. He always knows where the players are moving which makes passing and controlling the ball easier.

The tactical nous of Mourinho cannot be questioned but the difference lies in the mentality of the team. The former boss gave much importance to being solid at the back. The full backs did not bomb as much forward and as frequently as they do now. The mentality was to go up and then shut shop, which is also a very good tactic given the personel he had at his disposal to do just the same. But the style was not eye catching to say the least. It was much result oriented than aesthetics oriented and that is why he was so successful. In his first year at Chelsea, we were a great force going forward too, with the width we had in the form of Duff, Robben and Joe Cole and fast paced counter attacks. That somehow went astray as we offloaded Robben and Duff. We became very one dimensional in our approach and that became easier for teams to defend against. With Makelele a constant presense in the heart of midfield, as good a defensive midfielder as he was, he lacked those move starting passes especially as he got older. With next no width on the flanks, the obvious way was to go direct. Drogba is undoubtably one of the best center forwards for that approach which helped us get results but not in so much style.

Scolari has changed that mentality. He gives much importance to retaining the ball and making it work. As in his own words 'you must have the ball at your feet to make it work'. Ball retention can only be possible if the players move intelligently around the pitch, find spaces. The cliche 'passing and movement' with which Manchester United and Arsenal were showered week in week out before, is now being linked to us too. And it has not come overnight. Any mentality needs time time to change, and the amount of work being done on the training grounds for exactly the same is mind blowing. Players perform sessions after sessions of just passing the ball and moving off the ball, which is clear on the playing field. Players like Lampard and Mikel are revelling in Scolari's system as they have the licence to create. The full backs spend most of the time in opposite half and dare I say, Ashley Cole finally looks like the player he was at Arsenal.

There are a few drawbacks too. Since we're a bit new to the system, and most importantly since we dont have a world class wide man of the likes of Robinho and Ronaldo, who can beat defenders, we struggle to create much when the opposition hunts down all the spaces and close the gaps quickly. For example the games against Liverpool, Roma and Spurs. They crowded the midfield and put their wide men to close down our full backs. Malouda is clearly appalling and looks out of sorts. Sorry to say, but he has to be the worst player since Asier del Horno to get a continuos run of games despite being poor. We certainly missed Joe Cole, who has such a great record against Liverpool. We suddenly looked like we're clueless in these games, especially without Drogba, as Anelka is hardly the man to go with route number one approach.

If most players could remain fit for the rest of the season, I think we're on course for big things this term....and in style!

Crisis at the Bridge

Its getting insane now. When Essien got injured and was facing a lengthy period on the treatment table, it was a setback but then I thought we have depth in the midfield area and the likes of Mikel can step up and take his place. Even Ballack was back by that time, though not fully fit. Then it was time for the influential Portuguese pair to follow suit. Although for not such a long period but Carvalho and Deco were going to be missed. We had trouble to break down packed defenses last season without a creative spark in the center of the park. That spark was added to our game in the guise of our number 20. Just a couple of games later, however, he was lost to a small injury. So was our best defender, Carvalho, in the same game. I still thought, ok! We have Alex and Ivanovic, two very good replacements in the squad for Carvalho and since Drogba was back from injury, for the time Deco is out we could take route one if the need be and still get results.

Joe Cole was then lost to injury before the Stoke game and Kalou took a knock in the same game and was taken off at half time. By this time things were getting slightly insane, and had it not been for the depth of our squad, loud alarm bells would already have started ringing from Fulham Street. With the squad already stretched, Scolari would have done without Drogba taking another blow on his knee and not only that, 3/4th of the back line also took knocks in the CL game against Cluj. Fingers crossed for JT and Alex to make the important game at the weekend against high flying Aston Villa. Ashley Cole too got a sore back after the game but he should be fit.

I can only have sympathy with Scolari, who got rid of some dead wood in the summer market to keep the squad small and handsome, but he wouldn't even have dreamt of this scenario. In fact, no one can. It will be interesting to see the line up he puts on the pitch in the weekend but one thing is for sure, it would by no means be what he'd have planned for while trimming his squad for this kind of game. Let me get into Scholari's shoes for once and pick eleven fit players from the squad. Following could well be the line up at the weekend:

Cech

Bosingwa Ivanovic Ferriera Cole

Lamps Mikel Ballack

Kalou(if fit!) Anelka Malouda

Bench: Cudicini, Bridge, Mancienne, Miniero, Di Santo, Sinclair, Woods

Lets hope Deco and Carvalho are back soon!

ManUtd vs Chelsea Review

Was it a case of points lost or a point gained for Manchester United?

Manchester United was 10 minutes away from breaking the seemingly invincible record that Chelsea have at home. The record in a way reminds me of the fortress that Old Trafford was when Keane was in his pomp. Though that United team lost a few matches at home they hardly drew any, Chelsea on the other hand has drawn a few but has remained unbeaten.

Manchester United

  The intent was right from Sir Alex, he played players in their preferred positions or rather players who can provide an attacking impetus from their positions ala Hargreaves. He took a bold decision by playing Rooney behind Berbatov and benching Tevez who has been one of the better performers this season. He even played the young Evans who was actually quite impressive. Playing Gary Neville was always going to be a gamble and it didn’t back fire though he didn’t exactly show glimpses of his old which suggest Brown would regain his place in the side. Manchester United started brilliantly, they surprised Chelsea with their speed and they showed more desire than they did at Anfield. It certainly was the reaction that Sir Alex was looking from his team. They created many chances going forward and Chelsea took their time to settle into the game. Manchester United used the width really well in the first 20-25 minutes thus pushing back Bosingwa and Cole. Park buzzed around on the left flank and he even covered for Evra a couple of times. Rooney got the license to orchestrate things in the middle and played a delightful ball to Evra which resulted in the goal. Scholes slowed down the proceedings in the middle using his experience and Flethcer did all the running yesterday. He is actually turning into pretty decent box to box player.United in the second half tried to attack on the break and introduced Ronaldo who injected some speed but there were clear evidences that he is not fully fit yet.Though Sir Alex would be gutted to see his team concede a late goal , he would be happy with a point as Manchester United can only get strong from here on.

Chelsea

They were put on the back foot even before the ball was kicked by the news of Deco’s injury. But if there is anything which separates Chelsea’s squad from others then it is there depth in the squad. They had Deco going out but could afford to put in another world class midfielder there like Ballack. Ballack certainly showed rustiness as one would have expected but played a couple of very good passes. He and Lampard struggled early on to control the mid but once they started to do that Chelsea created a few chances. Lampard had a quite first half and many of Chelsea’s moves in the second half went through him. Mikel suggested little that he has the capacity or maturity to step into Makelele’s shoes or is he not exactly the player who can sit in front of the back four and just shield them?  

Joe Cole tried to create things,was a threat, but he needs to blame himself as he had two easy chances to put Chelsea ahead. Anelka was pretty disappointing for Chelsea yesterday, he was wonderfully picked up by Joe Cole but he just couldn’t manage to put the ball into an open goal. For me the stand out performer was Alex. He really put in a couple of brave challenges and he did not make Chelsea miss Carvalho. Chelsea might feel disappointed with the result as they might feel they had done enough in the second half to win the game but on the other hand they might feel satisfied as well as they were staring at their first defeat at home for God knows how long.

I thought the referee had an awful game. As the pundits on ESPN suggested, it was not a dirty game by any stretch of imagination and the referee had actually shown 8 yellow cards and some of them totally not deserving. He stopped the play on plenty of occasions in the first half and I must admit that suited Chelsea. Those interruptions not only broke the flow of the game but they also gave Chelsea the time to settle down into the game.

 But all in all this easily was one of the most entertaining games that the two teams played against each other in the last 3-4 years. 

Cheers 

Vivek

Weekend Previews And Predictions - GW 5

We're starting a weekly feature where one of the mods will take up the responsibility of giving an insight into the coming gameweek with predictions for each game.

Gameweek 5 previews and preditions

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Having had a mixed bag of a start to the new season, The Black Cats would want to put their home record straight having lost two of the first two. Boro's start to the season has been impressive. Southgate won the manager of the month in August while his team seems to be a balanced unit in all fronts, especially going forward with the likes of Tuncay, Alfonso Alves, Mido, Downing and Aliadiere all in great nick. Tuncay is out with injury which means Mido will start up front along with Alves.
prediction: a hugely entertaining game with plenty of goals , 3-2 to home side

Blackburn v Fulham
Paul Ince has found life difficult in Premiership after an impressive opening game at Goodison Park. Having shipped in the maximum number of goals by any side(which makes me wonder more about their decision to sell Friedel and replace him with Paul Robinson) and with no victories in two matches at home, he is under pressure to get a good result against Fulham, who have started well considering they were tipped to be in relegation dog fight this season. Fulham have a great manager in Roy Hodgson and I can see them easily negotiating relegation and sitting mid table come next May.
prediciton: a tight game , 1-0 to the home side

Liverpool v Stoke City
They say its champions stuff to win when not playing well. Liverpool having done exactly the same so far, apart from their last game against Man Utd where they thoroughly deserved their victory, will hope for an easy outing against one of the relegation scrape bound Stoke City. One to watch in this one is Rory Delap with his deadly throw ins which almost turned the game around last week against Everton. Torres should be fit to feature in this game and I can see him getting on the score sheet.
prediction: easy victory for the home side, 2-0

West Ham v Newcastle
Newcastle made a dream start to the season earning a 1-1 draw against champions Man Utd at Old Trafford on the opening day. It has been a steep decline for them ever since. With off the field uncertainty, the club are in a real mess. West Ham have installed Zola as their new first team coach following the resignation of Alan Curbishley while Kevin Keegan has not yet been replaced. With Ashton out for three weeks, Carlton Cole will have the pressure of scoring goals on his shoulders. Newcastle lost to Hull City at St James' Park last week and a better performance seems far from being on the cards here.
prediction: 2-0 victory for the home side

Bolton v Arsenal
Bolton were tipped to be in a relegation fight at the start of the season and their start to the season fails to suggest differently. Having to entertain Arsenal at this point would be the last thing on their wish list. With 7 goals in last 2 league games, Arsenal are in impressive form scoring four at Ewood Park last weekend thanks to some sloppy defending by the home team. Bolton could make life tough for themselves with a similar defensive display but Arsenal having played on Wednesday in CL would not be as fresh and this is where Bolton have a slight ray of hope.
prediciton: a 3-1 away victory with a typical arsenal display

West Brom v Aston Villa
Baggies finally got their first victory in their return to top flight last weekend in a game that could have yet again slipped from their hands. West brom were favourites for survival among the promoted clubs at the start of the season but their current form does not suggest the same. Martin O'Niel has assembled a great squad at Villa with an exciting attack and an astute defense. Gabby and Young are lightning quick on the flanks and in Carew they have a potent goalscorer and an effective target man. Although Carew is doubtful to start the game, I still fancy Villa to nick this one.
prediciton: away victory with a 1-2 scoreline

Hull City v Everton
Hull are off to a flier and are currently sitting at 5th in the table. 40 points are enough to avoid relegation going by previous few seasons and they have already amassed almost 20% of them. Everton have started badly for their standard having lost two home games to Blackburn and Portsmouth but the return of Cahill, with whom they seem to do much better than without, is a boost and with Yakubu and Arteta in fine form, they could easily come out victorious from this one.
prediction: a close match with a 3-1 away victory

Man City v Portsmouth
City might have the financial muscle bigger than Chelsea now but it will take some time to build a team that could challenge the big boys. Mark Hughes would like to be there or there abouts to challenge for the top four until January when he can further strengthen the squad to have a real go for it, although I doubt if any big names would arrive at Eastlands in January. Pompey have come back well after losing the first two games of the season to Chelsea and Man United. Defoe is in deadly form and could well be a good bet for the golden boot if he continues in similar fashion. Diarra is certainly a big team material playing superbly at the heart of Pompey midfield.
prediction: good entertainment is guaranteed, a 2-1 home win

Tottenham v Wigan
Having had the worst start to the season in years, Spurs are under immense pressure and Ramos already in hot waters. With all the talent at his disposal, Ramos has failed to find the right mix and Spurs the right form. Midweek victory might lift the spirits at WHL and the team could finally get going but Wigan are no whipping boys having had a good start to the season. Zaki is in sublime goal scoring form and with Valencia and Palacios in their ranks, Wigan can be a real pain in the neck for any team.
prediction: a scrappy home victory, 3-2

Chelsea v Man Utd
Game of the weekend by all means and probably the game of the season. Chelsea boast a 6 point lead against their title rivals with just 4 games into the season, though Untited have a game in hand. A victory for the home side could take the difference to 9 points which could arguably be decisive in the long run. The game could mark the return of Ronaldo and Drogba, both could have a telling effect in the final result though both not fully fit yet. Vidic's suspension means either Evans or Brown would have to partner Rio Ferdinand in the heart of United defense while the right back position being taken by Brown or Phil Neville accordingly. While Chelsea will have Terry available after his red card was rescinded by the FA. Scholari plays in a system where the full backs have the freedom to go forward while the defensive midfielder and the two center backs make up a defensive three. Sir Alex would be looking to exploit the hole created behind the full backs and they have pacey forwards to do just the same. Rooney and Ronaldo might take up the flanks with Berba(if fit) and Tevez up front. Man United might get outplayed in the midfield and this is where I see the home side winning the game.
prediction: a tight game with plenty of chances for both sides: 2-1 to the home side


Have a great weekend ahead!

Rahul